Who is Cornelius Agrippa and how does Victor find out about him? How does Victor's father respond, and how does Victor comment on that response?

Cornelius Agrippa was a German scholar, physician, astrologist, and philosophist. Victor finds out about him when he finds his book at an inn in Thonon. Alphonse told his son not to waste his time on "sad trash". Victor "continued to read with the greatest avidity."