Hermes and Virgil’s failed renewal legend

Nigromantia; nigromantia; Hermes; Hermetis; Virgilius; Virgilii

The narrator says Hermes and Virgil attempted self-renewal after death, aided by nigromancy, and that the attempt ended badly.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

Browse this book’s lexicon →

Meaning

The narrator says Hermes and Virgil attempted self-renewal after death, aided by nigromancy, and that the attempt ended badly. Failure is indispensable: the account is not a success story or an authorized extension of natural restoration. Note 59 retains the period term nigromancy instead of identifying every operation with modern necromancy and places the narrative among legendary and alchemical arguments.

Places to read

  1. Book 6 · Resuscitation · Passage 5Latin“adiuvante Nigromantia, Hermes & Virgilius”