Summary Of In The Company Of Demons By Armando Maggi

The book I have chosen to do my review on is called In the Company of Demons by Armando Maggi. It is a study of modern works that together, aid to answer a commonly asked question: What was meant by the early thinkers when they referred to the demons? Maggi's assumption on the matter is that, "Unlike our contemporary culture, that of the Renaissance tended to believe in an ongoing interaction between spiritual beings and humankind" (p. viii). Maggi later then explains that, "I have tried to recuperate the spiritual, cultural, and philosophical elements of the dialogue and interaction between humans and spirits as they were detailed primarily during the Italian Renaissance. My readings have an intentional pre-modern flavor, as if to resist a modern rhetoric and mindset" (p. 139). In a way, this approach makes sense to me, because for one to understand a premodern text, one must also have knowledge on the assumptions brought to the text by the writer and readers. This valuable understanding by Maggi explains what is so important about this book. His mindset demonstrates the most important insights on the real and specific premodern context. His ideas portrayed in an unspoken assumption that in many cases spirits existed in the real world and they could intervene in
He knew of a young man that was often visited by a well-known spirit. It seemed to be a kind spirit, one that often helped him and ran errands for him, unlike demons. The spirit could take the appearance of many different physical forms, such as a teacher, a noble man, etc. These types of spirit could hold the form of any physical being because they had no corporeal bodies. They usually took the form of somebody that the person they attempted to contact would deem familiar to them so that they would not be scared or intimidated. They formed these appearances by compressing air or "forming their fantasies like