![]() ![]() ![]() The first edition was published in 1575 in Basel, with no evidence for earlier editions despite some claims otherwise. In 1623, an accused witch named Jean Michel Menuisier revealed that, despite not owning a copy of the Arbatel, used a few invocations from it. In 1617, the University of Marburg took action against two professors who intended to use the grimoire as a textbook, and expelled a student obsessed with it. The book was condemned by Johann Weyer in his De praestigiis daemonum as being 'full of magical impiety', and by Reformed Church censor Simon Sulzer. It was where Thomas Vaughan found the term anthroposophy, later adopted by Rudolf Steiner to describe his belief system. Indeed, Jakob Böhme may have chosen the word 'Theosophy' to describe his ideas due to its use in the Arbatel. It was possibly the first work to use 'Theosophy' in an occult sense (as opposed to a synonym for theology), and for distinguishing between human ('anthroposophia') and divine knowledge ('theosophia'). The Arbatel was one of the most influential works of its kind from its period, inspiring figures such as Johann Arndt, Gerhard Dorn, Adam Haslmayr, Robert Fludd, Heinrich Khunrath and Valentin Weigel, in addition to its editor and publisher, Zwinger and Perna. (All of these traits also feature in the works of Jacques Gohory, which Peterson claims as evidence for his theory of Gohory's authorship.) Reception and influence Indeed, the Arbatel is both broadly and deeply rooted in classical culture, including Ancient Greek philosophy, the Sibylline oracles and Plotinus, in addition to the contemporaneous theology and occult philosophy of figures such as Iovianus Pontanus and Johannes Trithemius. The Arbatel cannot be understood if separated from the philosophy of Paracelsus, who appears to have coined the term 'Olympic spirits', and was the inspiration for the Arbatel 's understanding of elementals (including Paracelsus's gnomes and the uniquely Paracelsian 'Sagani'), the macrocosm and microcosm, and experimentation combined with respect for ancient authorities. The Bible is the source most often quoted and referred to throughout the work (indeed, the author appears to have almost memorized large portions of it, resulting in paraphrases differing from the Vulgate). ![]()
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