[Title page of] Ioannis Reuchlin Phorcensis LL. Doc. De arte cabalistica libri tres Leoni X. dicati : lum privilegio imperiali.

The humanist Johann Reuchlin dedicated his second and major kabbalistic work "De arte Cabalistica" (Haguenau, 1517) to Pope Leo X. He developed his theme in conversations between Simon, the Jewish kabbalist, Marannus, a Muslim, and Philolaus, who represents Pythagorean and mystical philosophy. Unlike in his former book, Reuchlin here identifies himself more or less with the Jewish kabbalist and explicitly underlines the affinity of some central kabbalistic teaching on God with that of Nicholas of Cusa. The first and third parts of the work discuss the Kabbalah at considerable length and with a fair amount of objectivity and sympathy, while the second part contains a long dialogue on Pythagoras' philosophy. Reuchlin lays equal stress on the theosophic school of Kabbalah as on Abulafia's and Gikatilla's teachings on the Holy Names and their permutations and combinations, although he dissociates himself from the magical misuse of such speculations. Christology no longer plays a part in these expositions and appears, if at all, in marginal comments. The quiet and dignified tone and the wealth of new information assured wide interest in the book and made it a classic of the "Christian Kabbalah." (Source: EJ).DigitizationAdamsVD 16Benzing, J. Bibliographie der Schriften Johannes ReuchlinsCatalogin