De Praestigiis Daemonum

at around evening time on Monday, the 2nd of January 2006 by Chad

An ebay auction is going on for a 1566 De Praestigiis Daemonum

What is this very slick looking book?

Third edition (the first was published in 1563). Probably the rarest manual of demonology ever published. Unlike most works on witchcraft that were written by inquisitors or witch hunters, here is a book written by a genuine occultist and defender of witches, Johannes Wierus, the very disciple of Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, the greatest magician of the Renaissance. With a deep insight in the real nature of the Devil, having himself managed to fathom the hellish hierarchy, Wierus condemned the superstitions contained in the Malleus Maleficarum, establishing a clear boundary between true Sorcery and the mere illusions of mentally ill women. As the first book ever to defend witches it was almost immediately sentenced to fire by the inquisition, only a few copies remain.

Of course, right now the bid is for $1,275.00. Know anyone who might want to pick up a copy? Possibly Dodgeblogium…