Johannes Trithemius in a letter to Johannes Virdung dated 20 August 1507 warns the latter of a certain "Georgius Sabellicus", a trickster and fraud styling himself "Georgius Sabellicus, Faustus junior, fons necromanticorum, astrologus, magus secundus etc." According to Trithemius, in Gelnhausen and Würzburg, Sabellicus boasted blasphemously of his powers, even claiming that he could easily reproduce all the miracles of Christ. Trithemius alleges that Sabellicus received a teaching position in Sickingen in 1507, which he abused by indulging in sodomy with his male students, evading punishment by a timely escape.