Arbatel de magia veterum

[3] Unlike other grimoires, the Arbatel exhorts the magus to remain active in their community (instead of isolating themselves), favoring kindness, charity, and honesty over remote and obscure rituals.

[2] The Bible is the source most often quoted and referred to throughout the work (indeed, the author appears to have almost memorized large portions of it, resulting in paraphrases differing from the Vulgate).

)[2] The Arbatel was one of the most influential works of its kind from its period, inspiring figures such as Johann Arndt, Gerhard Dorn, Adam Haslmayr, Robert Fludd, Heinrich Khunrath and Valentin Weigel, in addition to its editor and publisher, Zwinger and Perna.

[2] It was possibly the first work to use "Theosophy" in an occult sense (as opposed to a synonym for theology),[5] and for distinguishing between human ("anthroposophia") and divine knowledge ("theosophia").

The book was condemned by Johann Weyer in his De praestigiis daemonum[2] as being "full of magical impiety",[7] and by Reformed Church censor Simon Sulzer.

[14] In 1898, Arthur Edward Waite undertook the first historical study of grimoires as a genre, detailing the Arbatel as one of many important works.

[15] A copy of a German translation appeared in the Berlin publishing company Herman Barsdorf Verlag's Magische Werke in 1921.