Agrippa's penetrating study of 'Occult Philosophy' is widely acknowledged as a significant contribution to the Renaissance philosophical discussion concerning the powers of magic and its relationship with religion. In a discriminating revival Agrippa pursued the 'natural' magic of Ficino and Pico, while relating it to Reuchlin's synthesis of magic and religion. Agrippa broadens the ideas he found in his sources to forge a much more comprehensive conception of the occult.
The critical edition of De occulta philosophia clarifies a number of controversies about the interpretation of this magical work. More generally, this Renaissance 'magus' proves to be driven by a deep scholarly curiosity, which seeks to come to grips with the intellectual and religious problems of his time.