to a short biography of this extraordinary man, for which I am indebted to the gentleman who did me the honour to publish a French translation of the pamphlet I distributed at the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Oxford, in 1860.—Correspondent, May 3, 1866.
My inquiries show that the story of the medals is not incredible. There are at Paris little private societies which have not so much claim to be exponents of scientific opinion as our own Mechanics' Institutes. Some of them were intended to give a false lustre: as the 'Institut Historique,' the members of which are 'Membre de l'Institut Historique.' That M. Lacomme should have got four medals from societies of this class is very possible: that he should have received one from any society at Paris which has the least claim to give one is as yet simply incredible.
Nicolai de Cusa Opera Omnia. Venice, 1514. 3 vols. folio.
The real title is 'Hæc accurata recognitio trium voluminum operum clariss. P. Nicolai Cusæ…proxime sequens pagina monstrat.' Cardinal Cusa, who died in 1464, is one of the earliest modern attempters. His quadrature is found in the second volume, and is now quite unreadable. In these early days every quadrator found a geometrical opponent, who finished him. Regiomontanus did this office for the Cardinal.
De Occulta Philosophia libri III. By Henry Cornelius Agrippa. Lyons, 1550, 8vo.
De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarum. By the same. Cologne, 1531, 8vo.
The first editions of these works were of 1530, as well as I can make out; but the first was in progress in 1510. In the second work Agrippa repents of having wasted time on the magic of the first; but all those who actually deal with demons are destined to eternal fire with Jamnes and Mambres and Simon Magus. This means, as is the fact, that his occult philosophy did not actually enter upon black magic, but confined itself to the power of the stars, of numbers, &c. The fourth book, which appeared after the death of Agrippa, and really concerns dealing with evil spirits, is undoubtedly spurious. It is very difficult to make out what Agrippa really believed on the subject. I have introduced his books as the most marked specimens of treatises on magic, a paradox of our day, though not far from orthodoxy in his; and here I should have ended my notice, if I had not casually found something more interesting to the reader of our day.
