11 APOLOGY

Marobrunus says: original: "Trithemii, inquiens, Steganographiam evolvi velitatim..." "I leafed through the Steganography a book on secret writing of Trithemius in a cursory manner, reading only the beginnings of some chapters. I hardly had the book in my hands for two hours. I threw it away immediately because such great incantations and such barbaric, unusual names of spirits, not to say demons, began to terrify me." * This man is an excellent censor, a living example of his kind, a rival to Cato, and sharper than Lynceus a mythological figure known for keen sight. Following his lead, a great number of others joined this accusation: Mersennus, Voetius, Cardinal Bellarmine, and Franciscus Junius.

But their laziness was demonstrated by the Abbas à Seon Abbot of Seon †, Joannes Caramuel ‡, Tannerus ⊥, Gustavus Selenus (or Augustus, Duke of Brunswick) 6, Gabriel Naudæus γ, Athanasius Kircherus δ, and Heidel ζ.

The book of VANINI suffered the same fate. In the same hour, a dark hand seized it, and

* Jo. Wierus, On the Deceptions of Demons, book 2, chapter 6. Fromman, On Fascination, page 523. Add the very witty history of Agrippa, book 7, epistle 26. original: "Mutato nomine de te fabula narratur" With the name changed, the story is told about you.
† In The Apologetic Defense of Trithemius, Ingolstadt, 1616.
‡ In The Little Key of Solomon, or a Declaration of Trithemian Steganography, Cologne, 1635, in quarto.
⊥ In The Apologetic Oration for Trithemius, Ingolstadt, 1630.
6 In Cryptography, Lüneburg, 1624, folio.
γ In Apology for Great Men Suspected of Magic.
δ In Magnetic Steganology.
ζ In The Steganography of Trithemius Unlocked, Mainz, 1676, in quarto.