Magic in Western Culture: From Antiquity to the Enlightenment

616 Pages·2015·81.84 MB·English

by  Brian P. Copenhaver

MAGIC IN WESTERN CULTURE
The story of the beliefs and practices called ‘magic’ starts in ancient Iran,
Greece, and Rome, before entering its crucial Christian phase in the
Middle Ages. Centering on the Renaissance and Marsilio Ficino – whose
work on magic was the most influential account written in pre-modern
times – this groundbreaking book treats magic as a classical tradition with
foundations that were distinctly philosophical. Besides Ficino, the pre-
modern story of magic also features Plotinus, Iamblichus, Proclus, Aquinas,
Agrippa, Pomponazzi, Porta, Bruno, Campanella, Descartes, Boyle, Leibniz,
and Newton, to name only a few of the prominent thinkers discussed.
Because pictures play a key role in the story of magic, the book is richly
illustrated.
Brian P. Copenhaver is Distinguished Professor and Udvar-Hazy Chair of
Philosophy and History at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is a
fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and past president of
the Journal of the History of Philosophy; he is also a member of the council of
the Istituto Nazionale di Studi sul Rinascimento in Italy. He serves or has
served on the boards of Rinascimento, Renaissance Quarterly, Annals of Science,
the Journal of the History of Ideas, Early Science and Medicine, the International
Archives of the History of Ideas, and the I Tatti Renaissance Library. The most
recent of his eleven books is Peter of Spain’s Summaries of Logic (2014, with
Calvin Normore and Terry Parsons).

MAGIC IN WESTERN

CULTURE
FROM ANTIQUITY TO THE
ENLIGHTENMENT
BRIAN P. COPENHAVER
University of California, Los Angeles
32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473, USA
Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge.
It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of
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www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107070523
© Brian P. Copenhaver 2015
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception
and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements,

no reproduction of any part may take place without the written
permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published 2015
Printed in the United States of America
A catalog record for this publication is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Copenhaver, Brian P.
Magic in Western culture : from antiquity to the Enlightenment / Brian P. Copenhaver.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-107-07052-3 (hardback)
1. Magic – History. 2. Ficino, Marsilio, 1433–1499. I. Title.
BF1589.C83 2015
133.4∙309–dc23 2014043085
ISBN 978-1-107-07052-3 Hardback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs
for external or third-party Internet Web sites referred to in this publication and does not
guarantee that any content on such Web sites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
A MJBA,

IL MAGO MIGLIORE,
DA BPC,
UN APPRENDISTA

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations and Charts page ix
Preface xiii
PART I INTRODUCTION
1. The Scruples of J. G. Frazer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
2. Magic as a Classical Tradition and Its
Philosophical Foundations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
PART II MAGEIA
3. Ancient Philosophy in Ficino’s Magic: Plotinus . . . . . 55
4. Ancient Philosophy in Ficino’s Magic:
Neoplatonism and the Chaldaean Oracles . . . . . . . . .69
5. Ancient Philosophy in Ficino’s Magic:
Hermes and Proclus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
6. Scholastic Philosophy in Ficino’s Magic . . . . . . . . . . 102
7. Data: A Tale of Two Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
PART III HERMETICA
8. Hermes the Theologian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
9. Hermes Domesticated . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186
10. Hermes on Parade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
vii
CONTENTS
PART IV MAGIC REVIVED AND REJECTED
11. How to Do Magic, and Why . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
12. Nature, Magic, and the Art of Picturing . . . . . . . . . . 272
13. The Power of Magic and the Poverty
of Erudition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331
14. Disenchantment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363
PART V CONCLUSION
15. Who Killed Dabholkar? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431
Notes 451
Abbreviations and Bibliography 503
Index 559
viii