Three Books on Fascination
Creator: Leonardo Vairo | Date: 1583 | Notes: Original title: De fascino libri tres A Latin treatise in three books on fascination, or the evil eye. It reviews proposed natural causes such as imagination, vision, touch, voice, stars, and passions, then argues that these phenomena are ultimately caused by demons acting through a tacit or express pact. The work also includes a short appended forensic-toxicological case relating to the author's own poisoning. 👉 <a href="https://tryleo.ai/collections/exlatinis/the-bride-of-sepino-a-catholic-war-printers-treatise-on-why-the-evil-eye-was-the-work-of-demons">Read our introductory primer, full report, and finding guide here</a> 📜 <a href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oQgeyZa3wfMC">View the original file on Internet Archive</a> This text was transcribed and translated as part of the ExLatinis project—an effort by Leo to make English translations of every published text in Latin in early modern Europe (between 1450 and 1750) available to the public for free online.
- Title
- Three Books on Fascination
- Creator
- Leonardo Vairo
- Date
- 1583
- Notes
- Original title: De fascino libri tres A Latin treatise in three books on fascination, or the evil eye. It reviews proposed natural causes such as imagination, vision, touch, voice, stars, and passions, then argues that these phenomena are ultimately caused by demons acting through a tacit or express pact. The work also includes a short appended forensic-toxicological case relating to the author's own poisoning. 👉 <a href="https://tryleo.ai/collections/exlatinis/the-bride-of-sepino-a-catholic-war-printers-treatise-on-why-the-evil-eye-was-the-work-of-demons">Read our introductory primer, full report, and finding guide here</a> 📜 <a href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_oQgeyZa3wfMC">View the original file on Internet Archive</a> This text was transcribed and translated as part of the ExLatinis project—an effort by Leo to make English translations of every published text in Latin in early modern Europe (between 1450 and 1750) available to the public for free online.
Document notes
Original title: De fascino libri tres A Latin treatise in three books on fascination, or the evil eye. It reviews proposed natural causes such as imagination, vision, touch, voice, stars, and passions, then argues that these phenomena are ultimately caused by demons acting through a tacit or express pact. The work also includes a short appended forensic-toxicological case relating to the author's own poisoning. 👉 Read our introductory primer, full report, and finding guide here 📜 View the original file on Internet Archive This text was transcribed and translated as part of the ExLatinis project—an effort by Leo to make English translations of every published text in Latin in early modern Europe (between 1450 and 1750) available to the public for free online.
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66 6. 14.37 6.5 14-11-9-? 3
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66 6. 14.37 6.5 14-11-9-? 3
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Roma. Dono Auctoris, Iunij mensis die. 12. 1586. / vel circiter,
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Rome. Gift of the author, on the 12th day of the month of June, 1586, or about,
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DE FASCINO LIBRI TRES. IN QVIBVS OMNES FASCINI SPE- CIES ET CAVSÆ OPTIMA METHODO describuntur, & ex Philosophorum ac Theologo- rum sententiis scitè & eleganter explicantur: necnon contra præstigias, imposturas, illusionésque dæmo- num, cautiones & amuleta præscribuntur: ac deni- que nugæ, quæ de iisdem narrari solent, dilucidè confutantur. LEONARDO VAIRO, Beneuentano , Ordinis S. Be- nediti Canonico regulari, ac sacræ Theologiæ Doctores fa- pientissimo , auctore. Accessit ad calcem Index locupletissimus. BIBLIOTeca NAZ. ROMA VICTORIO EMANUELE Cornelio S. Maria PARISIIS, Apud Nicolaum CHESNEAV, via Iacobæa, sub Quercu viridi. M. D. LXXXIII. CVM PRIVILEGIO REGIS.
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On Witchcraft Three Books. In which all the kinds and causes of witchcraft are described by the best method, and are skilfully and elegantly explained from the opinions of philosophers and theologians; and also against tricks, impostures, and deceptions of demons, cautions and amulets are prescribed; and finally the idle tales commonly told about the same are clearly refuted. by LEONARDO VAIRO, of Benevento , canon regular of the Order of St. Benedict, and doctor of sacred theology, most wise , author. There has been added at the end a most copious index. NATIONAL LIBRARY. ROME VICTOR EMANUEL Cornelio St. Mary AT PARIS, At the sign of the Green Oak, by Nicolaus Chesneav, in the Jacobaean Way. 1583. WITH THE KING'S PRIVILEGE.
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ILLVSTRISSIMO ATQVE EXCELLENTISSIMO DOMINO IOANNI STVNICÆ, PRINCIPI Petræ Præsiæ, militiæ Diui Iacobi Maiori Commendatario, Leonardus Vairus, S. P. D. INTER præcipuas rerum causas, Princeps Excellentissime, tria esse reperio, quæ hominem ad summam perfectionem & ad semipernam gloriam perducere possunt, naturam scilicet, disciplinam, & consuetudinem. Natura enim omnis perfectionis origo & fundamentum est: hæc sine disciplina, cæca, manca & imperfecta vt plurimum esse consueuit: vtraque tamen per consuetudinem & exercitationem perficitur. Natura si quidem paruulos quosdam igniculos nobis indidit, quos tamen malis moribus opinionibusque deprauatis sic restinguimus, vt nusqua naturæ lumen appareat. nam simul atque editi in lucem & suscepti sumus, in omni continuò prauitate versamur, vt penè cum lacte nutricis, errorem suxisse videamur: tum ita variis imbuimur erroribus, vt vanitati veritas, & opinioni confirmatæ natura ipsa cedat, adeo vt ab ea prorsus desciscere videamur. At qui cursum vitæ tuæ diligenter animaduerterit, summo quodam consensu hæc tria in te conuenisse reperiet. Tu enim iam inde à pueritia eximiæ indolis & summæ virtutis specimen præ te ferens, nobilissima virtutum semina ingeniotuo innata assiduo studio atque assuetudine ta- a ij
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To the most illustrious and most excellent Lord Ioannes Stvnicæ, Prince of Petra Præsia, Commander-in-Chief of the militia of Saint James, Leonardus Vairus sends many greetings. Among the chief causes of things, most excellent Prince, I find that there are three which can bring a man to the highest perfection and to semi-eternal glory, namely nature, discipline, and habit. For nature is the origin and foundation of all perfection; yet this without discipline is usually wont to be blind, maimed, and imperfect for the most part: nevertheless both are perfected by habit and exercise. For nature has indeed implanted in us certain little sparks, which we nevertheless extinguish by evil habits and corrupt opinions, so that nowhere does the light of nature appear. For as soon as we are brought forth into the light and received, we are continuously immersed in all perversity, so that we seem almost, with our nurse’s milk, to have sucked in error: then we are so imbued with various errors that, to vanity, truth, and to firmly established opinion, nature itself yields, so that we seem altogether to have departed from it. But whoever attentively considers the course of your life will find that these three agree in you with a certain highest harmony. For you, even from childhood, bearing before you a specimen of outstanding character and of the greatest virtue, the noblest seeds of virtues innate in your mind by constant study and habit ta-
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tùm iuuisti, vt summam omnium spem, quæ de te adhuc p[er]nero habebatur, continuò adolescens incredibili virtute superaueris: & vir tandem factus maximos ingenij fructus edideris, non Potentissimo Hispaniaru[m] Regi duntaxat, sed vniuersæ Christianæ Reipublicæ gratos. Postquam enim primum foelicitatis thesaurum habuisti (qui est, vt sapientes volunt, ab optimo integerrimôque pater procreari) in aula Caroli Quinti Imperatoris Inuictissimi ita educatus fuisti, vt probatissimorum viroru[m] insigniores virtutes, & clarissimorum Philosophoru[m] celebriores disciplinas imbiberis, atque in succum verteris. Téque ita comparasti, vt qui in aperto mediôque spectaculo ante omnium oculos vitam acturus esses. Denique id egisti, vt qualis videri velles, talis etiam esses, quod Socratem præcepisse legimus. Quocirca non solum nihil peccando, verumetiam honesta quæque peragendo, manifestum te omnibus exemplar exhibuisti, in quod perinde ac in speculum intuentes, ab operum simul & sermonum turpitudine auerterentur. Cúmque triplex vitæ genus, iuxta communem Philosophorum sententiam reperiatur, actiuum scilicet, contemplatiuum, & voluptuosum; postremum quidem molle ac dissolutum, actiuum verò si bonis disciplinis careat, ineptum & magnis erroribus inuolutum, contemplatiuum ab actiuo non feiungendum existimasti: vtrumque igitur complexus, tuorum maiorum virtutum hæres, eorumque laudis & gloriæ imitator euasisti. Gloriantur profectò multi Maiorum suorum ornamentis, eorumque splendescunt lumine: at tu illorum gloriam solidiorem ducis, qui non tantùm paternis & auitis decoris nituntur, sed etiam ea cumulant suis. Ideo sicut Rex Philippus tui patris institutis imbutus splendoris & amplitudinis Regiæ decus & ornamentum fuit, ita tu eiusdem parentis ac maiorum tuorum exempla imitatus, cæteris omnibus præluces; adeo vt non modò ipsius sapientissimi Regis, verum-
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You have so surpassed the highest hope of all that has hitherto been held concerning you from your earliest years, by continuing from youth onward to prevail with incredible virtue, and, having become a man, to have produced the greatest fruits of genius, pleasing not only to the most powerful King of the Spaniards, but to the whole Christian commonwealth. For after you had obtained the first treasure of happiness, which, as the wise maintain, is to be born of a most excellent and most upright father, you were so brought up in the court of Charles V, the most invincible Emperor, that you imbibed and absorbed the most distinguished virtues of the most approved men and the more celebrated disciplines of the most renowned philosophers. And you so fashioned yourself that you were as one who would live his life in open view and before the eyes of all. Finally, you so conducted yourself that you were such as you wished to seem; which we read that Socrates enjoined. Wherefore, not only by committing no fault, but also by carrying out every honorable deed, you have clearly presented yourself to all as an example, into which, as into a mirror, looking, they might turn away from the ugliness of both deeds and speech. And since, according to the common opinion of philosophers, there are found three kinds of life—namely, the active, the contemplative, and the voluptuous—the last indeed being soft and unrestrained, the active, if it lack good discipline, being inept and involved in great errors, you judged that the contemplative should not be separated from the active: thus, embracing both, you have become the heir of the virtues of your ancestors and the imitator of their praise and glory. Many indeed boast of the ornaments of their forefathers and shine by their light; but you regard their glory as more solid, since you are supported not only by paternal and ancestral honors, but also add to them your own. Therefore, just as King Philip, imbued with the teachings of your father, was the glory and ornament of royal splendor and grandeur, so you, having imitated the examples of that same parent and of your ancestors, shine before all the rest, so that not only of that most wise King, but also...
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DEDICATORIA. etiam omnium iudicio dignus habitus sis, cui grauissimarum rerum administratio, & ipsorum Regnorum gubernacula com- mitterentur. Nam vt de aliis eminentissimis virtutibus tuis ni- hil dicam, de prudentia inquam, de fortitudine, de iustitia, de grauitate, de religione; quis in litteris vir eminet, præsertim in- ter Italos, quem singulari comitate beneficentiáque tibi non de- uinxeris? Hinc ardens quidam litterarum, ac potiùs immorta- litatis, quæ litteris continetur, amor maximis quibusque animis ingenitus in te perspicitur: vnde non mirum est, si quidquid tem- poris à negotiis tibi superest, id omne ad bonorum auctorum o- pera legenda conferas. Quid? cùm Romæ per tot annos apud Pont. Max. legationem exerceres, nonne Romanorum Ciuium & Cardinalium omnium, atque adeo ipsius Pont. Max. amo- rem ac beneuolentiam adeo tibi conciliasti, vt omnes incredibi- lia propè amoris testimonia erga te tum præsentem, tum postea absentem ostenderint? Nam singulari quodam studio & inna- ta quadam humanitate ita de omnibus benemereri studebas, vt beneficentiæ ac benignitati natus videreris. Non insolens, non nimium tui amans, non vlli acerbus, non grauis, non infestus, sed omnibus benignus, blandus, comis, facilis; cuius domus ne- mini obserata, sed omnibus patens erat, quò se quisque velut è tempestate & fluctibus in portum tutò recipere posset: lætitiam tristitiámve illorum, qui te negotij causa adibant, tecum com- munem habebas. Inferiores æquitate, facilitate, & beneuolen- tia alliciebas, potentiores obsequio & comitate attrahebas, pa- ribus mira comitate honorem habebas, omnes beneuolè ample- ctebaris, eósqe in tui admirationem adducebas, tibique prorsus deuinciebas. Non longo seruorum & comitum agmine tumi- dus, non publicis in spectaculis frequens, non deliciis & nimio sumptu insignis: sed frugalis, placidus, mitis: incessu, vestitu, vxoris atque familiæ cultu, cæterisque huiusmodi lautitiis talis,
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DEDICATION. that you have been judged worthy by the opinion of all, to whom the administration of the gravest affairs, and the governance of kingdoms themselves, might be entrusted. For to say nothing of your other most eminent virtues, of prudence, I mean, of fortitude, of justice, of gravity, of religion; what man distinguished in letters, especially among the Italians, have you not bound to yourself by your singular kindness and beneficence? Hence there is clearly seen in you a certain ardent love of letters, and rather of immortality, which is contained in letters, innate in the greatest minds; whence it is no wonder if whatever time remains to you from business, you devote all of it to reading the works of good authors. What more? When for so many years you exercised an embassy at Rome before the Supreme Pontiff, did you not so win the love and goodwill of all the Roman citizens and cardinals, and indeed of the Supreme Pontiff himself, that all showed almost incredible proofs of affection toward you, both when you were present and afterwards when absent? For with a certain singular zeal and inborn humanity you strove so to do good to all, that you seemed born for beneficence and kindness. Not arrogant, not too fond of yourself, not harsh to anyone, not severe, not hostile, but kind to all, gentle, courteous, accessible; whose house was closed to no one, but open to all, so that each person could safely take refuge there as from a storm and the waves into a harbor: you shared the joy or sorrow of those who came to you on business. You attracted inferiors by fairness, ease, and benevolence, drew superiors by deference and courtesy, showed honor to equals with marvelous friendliness, embraced all kindly, and brought them into admiration of you, and entirely bound them to yourself. Not swollen with a long train of servants and attendants, not frequent in public spectacles, not distinguished by luxury and excessive expense: but frugal, calm, mild, such in gait, dress, the adornment of your wife and household, and the other like refinements,
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EPISTOLA vt quasi vnum de cætu te quilibet iudicaret: in omnibus interim rebus modestiam fidissimam omnium virtutum custodiam semper adhibens. Non cessationem & otium, quod plerique facere solent, quæritabas: sed Regiis mandatis exequendis omnem operam, atque adeo vitam ipsam impendebas. Quo effecisti, vt tua apud eum auctoritas tanta sit, quantam Antipatri apud Philippum Macedoniæ Regem fuisse legimus. nec me hercule immeritò, si quidem per te, Rex in vtramque aurem dormire potest, cuius ipse oculus appellari potes: nam in dispiciendis rebus, lynceis vteris oculis, summo in prouidendis consilio, quid Populorum ac Prouinciarum vtilitas, quid Regnorum salus, quid res, & tempora poscant, semper cogitas. Vnde nil mirum si Neapolitani Regni administrationem tibi id minimè ambienti Philippus delegauit. Ad quod munus ea mente atque consilio minimè accessisti, quemadmodum Stratoclem & Dromoclidem fecisse legimus, qui mutuò sese ad messem auream inuitabant; sic enim ioco gubernationem appellabant: non enim manus tantùm abstinentes, sed oculos & mentem ipsam habuisti. omnemque actionem, & vitæ totius consilium ita attemperasti, vt successuris in eam Prouinciam præclarum exemplar quod imitentur, reliqueris. Qua de causa quod sapientes dixerunt, verum esse experior, Magistratum non modò administrantis vir ingenium, naturam, & mores patefacere, sed virum quoque ipsum Magistratus dignitatem ostendere: non enim minori ornamento ei muneri fuisti, quàm illud tibi. Et licet vulgus mores, vitam, actiones, consilia omnia eorum qui rebus publicis præsunt, curiosissimè rimari atque introspicere soleat, quamlibet altè oblecta, & tanquam velamentis abdita: nihilominus quo accuratiùs in te oculos Neapolitani figebant, eo magis amore ac desiderio flagrabant, tuam probitatem & integritatem ad cælum efferendi, summisque laudibus prosequendi. Equidem
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LETTER so that everyone would judge you almost as one of their number: meanwhile, in all matters, always employing the most faithful modesty as the guardian of every virtue. You were not seeking idleness and leisure, as most people are accustomed to do; rather, you devoted every effort, and indeed your very life, to carrying out the King’s commands. By this you caused your authority with him to become as great as we read Antipater’s was with Philip, King of Macedonia. And not undeservedly, by Hercules, if indeed through you the King can sleep on either ear, as you yourself may be called his eye; for in examining affairs you use lynx-like eyes, and with the utmost foresight in providing for them, you are always considering what the welfare of peoples and provinces, what the safety of kingdoms, what circumstances and times demand. Hence it is no wonder if Philip entrusted to you the administration of the Kingdom of Naples, though you sought it not at all. To that office you came with a mind and purpose far different from those of Stratocles and Dromoclides, who were said to invite one another to the golden harvest; for thus, in jest, they called governing. For you were not merely abstinent in your hands, but also in your eyes and in your very mind, and you so regulated every action and the whole plan of life that you have left to those who are to succeed in that province a splendid example to imitate. For this reason I find by experience to be true what the wise have said: that office reveals not only the talent, nature, and character of the man who administers it, but the office itself also reveals the dignity of the man; for you were no lesser ornament to that post than it was to you. And although the common people are accustomed most inquisitively to pry into and examine the manners, life, actions, and all the plans of those who preside over public affairs, however deeply they may be concealed and, as it were, hidden beneath veils, nevertheless the more accurately the people of Naples fixed their eyes upon you, the more they burned with love and desire to extol your probity and integrity to the heavens and to pursue them with the highest praises. Indeed
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DEDICATORIA. nescio an ob mortem tui fratris Ducis prudentissimi Belgarum mæror, quorum afflictas ac propè cadentes res erat erecturus, maior fuerit eo, quo nunc Neapolitani ob tuum illinc discessum afficiuntur. quibus vnicum solatium esse video, quòd te apud Regem ipsum Protectorem ac Patronum habituros se sperant. Sed quorsum hæc? dicet aliquis. annon vides vt Fascinatio sit metuenda laudato? Nihil est ab hac periculi. nam tuæ gloriæ magnitudo ac splendor optimum Amuletum est contra maleuolorum inuidiam, & quoduis fascinum expellit. De quo quidem Fascino cùm tractatum absoluissem, iúmque in procliui esset, vt formis excuderetur, tuo nomini consecratum esse volui, ita præsertim suadente Illustrissimo & Reuerendissimo Domino meo Cardinali Granuellano: Cui etsi hoc opus iure quodam proprio deberi videatur, lege tamen illa Pythagorica, quæ amicorum omnia iubet esse communia, tuum esse potest. est enim æqualitas, vt Plato ait, amicitiæ auctrix. Quid Cardinalis Dominus meus habet, quod tuum esse non summopere cupiat? Vestræ profectò amicitiæ vinculum adeo efficax, potens & præualidum est, vt nulla ex parte sanguinis nexui inferius existimetur: quia hic nascendi sors fortuitum opus, illud solido iudicio coacta voluntas cum virtute coniuncta contrahit. Cùm igitur nihil aliud sit amicitia quàm omnium diuinarum humanarumque rerum cum beneuolentia & charitate summa consensio, inter vos omnium rerum, consiliorum, voluntatum, communitas esse debet, alteriúsque animus ita cum altero commisceri, vt penè vns ex duobus efficiatur, & quisque alter idem verè dici possit. nec huius amicitiæ recens principium est, altissimas iam radices egit, in suo scilicet Fratre orta ac in te propagata, mox etiam in successores vestros propaganda. Accipe igitur, Præstantissime Princeps, hoc munus animi mei qualecunque argumentum. præclarè enim mecum actum iri arbitrabor, si
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DEDICATION. I know not whether my grief for the death of your brother, the most prudent Duke of the Belgians, who was to have raised their afflicted and almost fallen fortunes, will be greater than that which the Neapolitans now feel on your departure from them. I see that their one consolation is this: that they hope to have you with the King himself as their Protector and Patron. But why say this? someone will ask. Do you not see that a fascination even when praised is to be feared? There is no danger from this for you; for the greatness and brilliance of your glory are the best amulet against the envy of the ill-disposed, and drive away every kind of fascination. And when I had completed the treatise on this Fascination, and it was already on the point of being sent to press, I wished it to be consecrated to your name, especially at the urging of my most illustrious and most reverend lord Cardinal Granvelle. Although by a certain right this work seems to be owed to him, nevertheless, by that Pythagorean law which commands that all things among friends be held in common, it may be yours. For equality, as Plato says, is the creator of friendship. What does my Lord Cardinal possess that he would not most greatly desire to be yours? Truly the bond of your friendship is so effective, powerful, and strong that in no respect is it thought inferior to the bond of blood: because the latter is the accidental work of birth’s lot, while the former is contracted by deliberate will joined with virtue. Since, then, friendship is nothing other than the highest agreement in all divine and human things, together with benevolence and charity, between you there ought to be a sharing of all things, of plans, and of wishes, and the mind of each should be so mingled with the other that almost one from two is made, and each can truly be called the other’s self. Nor is the beginning of this friendship of recent origin; it has already taken deep roots, having arisen in your Brother and been propagated in you, and it will soon be propagated also in your successors. Receive therefore, most excellent Prince, this gift, whatever it may be, as a token of my mind. For I shall think that I have been splendidly treated, if
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EPISTOLA DEDIC. nominis tui fulgore ab omni vetustatis carie & ab omni liuore atque obtrectatione tutum posteritati commendetur. Quod si tibi gratum esse cognouero, me in posterum ad multò maiora præstanda, longéque præclariora mei in te animi signa edenda alacriorem reddes. Vale, méque in ære tuo repone.
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DEDICATORY EPISTLE. May it be commended to posterity, secure from all the decay of age and from all envy and censure, by the brilliance of your name. And if I shall have learned that this is pleasing to you, you will render me the more eager in future to perform much greater things, and to give forth far more splendid tokens of my devotion toward you. Farewell, and keep me in your esteem.
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CAPITA HOC OPERE CONTENTA. LIBRI PRIMI. AN sit Fascinum. pag. 2 Quid sit Fascinu[m], eiusque definitio examinatur: & imaginationem, illius causam esse ostenditur. 6 De visu, qui Fascini definitionem ingreditur. 11 De tactu Fascinum efficiente. 17 De vocis natura, quæ Fascini causa existit. 21 De coeli observatione, quæ ad Fascinum concurrit. 27 Quale Fascinum sit. 32 Propter quid Fascinum sit. 37 De Fascini speciebus. 42 An aliqui sese fascinare possint. 44 An aliqui natura Fascinatores nascantur. 46 De qualitatibus Fascinantis. 49 Qui Fascino magis obnoxij sint. 52 De Amuletis hebetantibus, & auferentibus Fascinum. 55 Libri secundi. Qva via, quibusve principiis de Fascino determinandum sit. 59 De causæ, ac Fascini diuisione. 62 Imaginationis natura, ac munus declaratur, miniméque per eam Fascinum fieri posse ostenditur. 63 Quo pacto per imaginandi vim occulta, & futura præsciriqueant. 75
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CONTENTS OF THIS WORK. BOOK THE FIRST. Whether Fascination exists. page 2 What Fascination is, and an examination of its definition: and it is shown that imagination is the cause of it. 6 Concerning sight, which enters into the definition of Fascination. 11 Concerning touch, producing Fascination. 17 Concerning the nature of the voice, which exists as a cause of Fascination. 21 Concerning the observation of the heavens, which contributes to Fascination. 27 What kind of thing Fascination is. 32 Why Fascination exists. 37 Concerning the kinds of Fascination. 42 Whether some people can fascinate themselves. 44 Whether some are born by nature as fascinators. 46 Concerning the qualities of the Fascinator. 49 Who are more liable to Fascination. 52 Concerning amulets that blunt and remove Fascination. 55 Book the Second. By what way, and by what principles, Fascination ought to be determined. 59 Concerning the division of the cause and of Fascination. 62 The nature and function of imagination are explained, and it is shown that Fascination can by no means be brought about through it. 63 How, by the power of imagining, hidden things and future things may be foreknown. 75
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INDEX Non per acutas imaginandi vires, sed per daemonum auxilium, occulta quædam, & futura præsciuntur. 80 Nonnullos hominum conceptus, & rerum simulacra, & cordis affectus da[m]ones cognoscunt: de quibus superstitiosi quidam edocti, per vim imaginatricem eam cognitionem se assecutos iactitant. 84 Nihil ad generationem, quantum ad proliis similitudinem, ad sexum imaginatio confert, sed horum causa in semine latere ostenditur. 90 Cætera de imaginatrice vi confutantur, atque per eam nullo. modo Fascinum iaculari posse concluditur. 99 Fascinum per visum iaculari confutatur: atque singulorum, quæ ab oculorum radiis fieri censentur, vera causa redditur. 105 Per tactum fieri Fascinum non posse demonstratur: ac singulorum contrarium asserentium exemplis, & rationibus satisfit. 122 Vox sua natura fascinandi vi caret, atque nomina, verba, characteres, & numeri nihil efficere amplius possunt, quàm id præ se ferre, ad quod significandum instituta fuerunt. 137 Non in veram, sed in apparentem, aut imaginatam brutorum, aut aliarum rerum formam ac figuram da[m]monum deceptione, & non verborum virtute (vt quidam putant) mutatos fuisse nonnullos, quos legimus. 160 Corpora de loco ad locum mira celeritate da[m]monum, & non verborum vi, transferri possunt. 173 Cæli observatione, fascinare nemo potest. 184 Propria Fascini definitio traditur. 202 Libri tertij. A V[er]toritatem Fascinum esse loquentium vera expositio, ac sensus. 204
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INDEX Not by acute powers of imagining, but by the help of demons, certain hidden things and future things are foretold. 80 Some human thoughts, and images of things, and affections of the heart are known by demons: of which certain superstitious men, having been instructed, boast that they have attained that knowledge by the imaginative power. 84 Imagination contributes nothing to generation, as regards the likeness of offspring, or sex, but it is shown that the cause of these lies hidden in the seed. 90 The other things concerning the imaginative power are refuted, and through it it is concluded that Fascinum can by no means be hurled. 99 Fascinum hurled through sight is refuted: and the true cause of the individual things which are thought to happen from the rays of the eyes is given. 105 It is shown that Fascinum cannot be effected through touch: and satisfaction is given, with examples and reasons, for the contrary claims of individuals. 122 Speech by its nature lacks the power of fascinating, and names, words, characters, and numbers can do nothing more than signify that for which they were instituted to signify. 137 Not into the true form, but into the apparent, or imagined, form and figure of brute beasts, or of other things, by the deception of demons, and not by the power of words (as some think), have certain persons, whom we read of, been changed. 160 Bodies can be transferred from place to place with marvelous speed by the power of demons, and not of words. 173 By observation of the heavens, no one can fascinate. 184 The proper definition of Fascinus is set forth. 202 Book Three. The true exposition and sense of those speaking that Fascinum is Authority. 204
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CAPITVM. Quale Fascinum sit, ex Theologorum sententia. 215 Propter quid Fascinum sit, iuxta veram Theologorum sententiam. 216 De veris Fascini speciebus. 219 Quo pacto nonnulli sese fascinare queant. 221 Nemo ad fascinandum idoneus natura nascitur, sed dæmonum ope huiusmodi vis hominibus inest. 223 De veris Fascinantium qualitatibus, & cautionibus. 232 De communibus dæmonum fascinantium cautionibus. 233 Quibus cautionibus dæmonum suasu ab hominibus completis, alias dæmones addunt. 234 Veræ qualitates, ac dispositiones, ex quibus iuxta piorum hominum sententiam in Fascini pestem inciditur. 238 Per narratam fascinandi viam, dæmonum astu inuentam, homines ad amorem allici, & ad odium excitari possunt. 241. De veris, piis, ac sanctis Amuletis, Fascinum, atque omnia beneficia destruentibus. 251. FINIS CAPITVM. e ij
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CHAPTER. What Fascinum is, according to the theologians’ opinion. 215 For what reason Fascinum exists, according to the true opinion of the theologians. 216 On the true kinds of Fascinum. 219 By what means some people may be able to bewitch themselves. 221 No one is born by nature fit for bewitching; rather, this power is in human beings by the aid of demons. 223 On the true qualities of those who bewitch, and their precautions. 232 On the common precautions of bewitching demons. 233 By what precautions, by the instigation of demons, other demons are added to people already possessed. 234 The true qualities and dispositions, according to the opinion of pious men, from which one falls into the plague of Fascinum. 238 By the narrated way of bewitching, devised by the craft of demons, men can be drawn to love and stirred up to hatred. 241. On true, pious, and holy amulets, destroying Fascinum and all benefits. 251. THE END OF THE CHAPTERS. e ij
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Extraict du priuilege du Roy. Par grace & priuilege general du Roy, donné & octroyé à Nicolas Chesneau, Libraire iuré en l'Vniuersité de Paris, pour imprimer tous & chacuns les liures & traductions qu'il recouvrera non encor' publices & imprimees, il est defendu à tous autres Libraires & Imprimeurs de ce Royaume, de n'imprimer, vendre, ou distribuer en cedict Royaume ce present liure: Leonardi Vairi sancta Sophia Beneuentana etc. De Fascino lib. 3. sinon de ceux qu'aura imprimé ou faict imprimer ledict Chesneau, ou de son consentement, jusques apres le temps & terme de sept ans finis & ac- complis apres la premiere impression: à peine de confiscation de ce qui s'en trouueroit d'imprimez ou vendus au contraire, & d'amende arbitrai- re: comme plus amplement est declaré par les lettres dudit Seigneur sur ce donnees à Paris, le 30. de May, 1567. Signees, ROBERTET. Ach eué d'imprimer la premiere sols le 30. Mart, 1583. Nos subsignati Facultatis Theologicæ Doctores regentes Lutetiæ, pro- fitemur atque testamur perlegisse ac examinasse huncce librum cui titulus est, De Fascino libri tres, Leonardi Vairi sanctæ Sophiæ Beneuenta- næ ordinis sancti Benedicti, canonici regularis, in éoque nil reperisse, quod non cum sacris scripturis, conciliis æcumenicis, etc Ecclesiæ Catholicæ, A- postolicæ atque Romanæ institutis planè consentiat, in cuius rei fidem his chirographia nostra subiunximus, Idib. Mart. 1583. Sic signatum, HVART. RICHARD. DE IOS.
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Extract from the King’s privilege. By grace and general privilege of the King, granted and bestowed upon Nicolas Chesneau, sworn bookseller in the University of Paris, to print all and every the books and translations which he shall recover, not yet published or printed, it is forbidden to all other booksellers and printers of this realm to print, sell, or distribute within this said realm the present book: Leonardi Vairi sancta Sophia Beneuentana etc. De Fascino lib. 3. unless they be those which the said Chesneau shall have printed or caused to be printed, or by his consent, until after the term of seven full and complete years after the first impression: under penalty of confiscation of whatever printed or sold copies might be found contrary thereto, and of arbitrary fine: as is more fully declared by the letters of the said Lord on this given at Paris, the 30th of May, 1567. Signed, ROBERTET. Finished printing the first, on the 30th of March, 1583. We, the undersigned Doctors Regents of the Faculty of Theology at Paris, profess and attest that we have read and examined this book, entitled De Fascino libri tres, by Leonardi Vairi of the holy Sophia of Benevento, of the order of Saint Benedict, regular canon, and in it have found nothing which does not fully agree with the Holy Scriptures, ecumenical councils, etc., and the institutions of the Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church; in witness whereof we have added our signatures hereto, 14th of March, 1583. Thus signed, HVART. RICHARD. DE IOS.
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INDEX RERVM INSIGNIORVM, NOTATV ET SCITV DIGNIORVM, QVÆ IN- hoc de Fascino continentur tractatu, locupletissimus. A , & , duæ litetæ Græcæ in test, nisi per rem, quæ actu esse ha- charta scriptæ pro amule- beat. to contra lippitudinem. Actuum humanoru[m] species à rebus, 26 quæ concipiuntur, differentiam sor- Abacuch prophetæ translatio. 43 Abortus procuratio per Fascinatores. Actus humani secundum finem boni 31 malive iudicantur. Abstinentiæ quanta virtus. Adam omnibus rebus imposuit no- 260 mina. Accidens in homine duplex: vnum ex Adæ peccatum per Christi cruciatu[m], forma, alterum ex materia. deletum fuit. Accidentia facilè cognoscuntur, ea co- Adæ peccato subiicimur omnes. gnita substantia, à qua fluunt. in Adam eramus omnes, tanquam in 32 radice. Actio omnis terminata. Adam si non peccasser, non pauca fu- 99 tura cognosceremus. Actio perfectiua, & corruptiua. Adiuratores dæmonum. 101 Adolescentia tribuitur Veneri plane- Actio & passio inter quæ reperiatur. tæ. 190 de Adulterij suspicione ceremoniæ a- Actio naturalis inter illa esse non po- pud ludæos. test, quorum materia non est com- Ægiorum gens stulta, & omnium er- munis. rorum mater. 142 Ægritudines corporis ex semine pro- Actio omnis in debita distantia esse de- pagari. bet. Ægritudines hominibus, Deo volen- 133 te, dæmones inferre possunt. Actio & passio sunt per contactum. 154 100. 111 Ægrorum visa quibus ex causis oriâ- Actio naturalis effici non potest, nisi tur. agens corpore, vel virtute, rem quam Ægrotantes sæpe de medico sanat efficere vult, tangat. opinio. 142 Act inficitur Fascino. Actio animæ immanens dæmonibus Aeris perturbationes aliquando dæ- sciri nequit. monibus adscribuntur. 88 Æsculapij serpens ab Epidauro ve- 1
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Index of the most notable things, worthy of note and knowledge, contained in this treatise on Fascination, most copious. A Two Greek letters written on paper as an amulet against ophthalmia. Test, unless by the thing which must be actually present. 26 The species of human acts differ from the things conceived. Translation of the prophet Habakkuk. 43 Provision for abortion by sorcerers. Human acts are judged according to the end, whether good or evil. 31 Adam imposed names on all things. How great a virtue is abstinence. The sin of Adam was blotted out by the sufferings of Christ. 260 All of us are subject to Adam's sin. Accident in man is twofold: one from form, the other from matter. In Adam we were all, as in a root. Accidents are easily known, once the substance from which they flow is known. If Adam had not sinned, we would know many future things. 32 Conjurers of demons. Every action is bounded. Adolescence is assigned to the planet Venus. 99 Ceremonies among the Jews concerning suspicion of adultery. An action is perfective and corruptive. The people of Aegion, foolish and the mother of all errors. 101 The illnesses of the body are propagated from seed. Action and passion, where they are found. Illnesses can be brought upon men by demons, if God wills it. 190 Visions of the sick, from what causes they arise. An action cannot be natural among things whose matter is not common. The sick often have a healthy opinion of the physician. 142 An action in fact is infected by Fascination. Every action must be at a proper distance. The disturbances of the air are sometimes ascribed to demons. 133 The serpent of Aesculapius from Epidaurus was brought forth. Action and passion are by contact. 100. 111 An action cannot be effected naturally unless the agent, by body or by power, touches the thing which it wishes to bring about. 142 The action of the soul, being immanent, cannot be known by demons. 88 1
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INDEX. niens, ab illo æneo Moysis efficitus f. 213 ætas viridior in humore natiuo posita. 209 ætates hominum septem à toridem planetis regi. 31 ætas hominum singulorum à Fascinætoribus obseruatur. 32 æthiopes nó aliunde, quàm ex seminis propriétate. 95 æthiops à muliere per imaginationem conceptus & editus. 10 Affectiones animi nostri, si diu nobis inhæserint, perniciosos efficiunt habitus. 45 affectus primò est imbecillis, deinde ipse se concitar, & vires, dum procedit, parat. 254 affectus homini veluti neruos, & funiculos quosdam à natura indiros esse, à quibus trahatur. 67 affectus humanos à planetis, gubernari. 27 affectus ægrotoru[m] medici nosse possunt. 85 affectus hominis singulos singulis planetis adscribi. 186 afflictio hominis multa, quia ignorar præterita, & futura. 77 africa ab Affer dicta. 141 agendi principium duplex, ars & natura. 43 agens agit in propinquius. 99 agens & patiens oportet esse simul. 109 inter agens & patiens adeò proportio seruatur, vt inferiora à superioribus non moueantur, nisi per intermedia. 160 agens cum passo in materia communicat. 100 agentibus triplex virtutis species inest. 101 aglaophotis herba, qua dæmones euocantur. 184 agnorum chordæ cum chordis lupinis iunctæ, ab ipsis franguntur. 20 agri, qui in contrarias sedes profecti sunt. 210 agricola in iudicium vocatus, quòd se getes, ac vineas suo prædio vicinas refecisset Fascino, & suas reddidisset optimas. 209 aizoon herba miscendis amatoriis efficax. 41 alacritas ascribitur Ioui planetæ. 27 alchymistæ ridentur ibi. 74 alexander per tenebras æquè, ac per lucem cernebat. 15 alimonia ad colorum varietatem co[n]ducit. 93 allium quomodo eliciat lachrymas. 136 almansoris opinio de aliquid impetrado. 29 alterandi vis præcipua, imaginatio. 7 alyssum in domo suspensum, amuletu[m] salutare Fascinatis. 15 amantium mira vis & natura. 14 amantes sæpè ad interitum perducu[n]tur. 39. exempla. 40 amantes vnum fieri cuperent, nisi corruptio sequeretur alterius. 39 amatoria verba vim habent Fascinandi. 25 amatorium fascinum quibus ex rebus potissimum componatur. 40. 41 amatoriis poculis mortem inferri, exemplis probatur. 41. 42 amatorio fascino nequis corripiatur, amuletum saluberrimum. 57 amatorio fascino qui, & quales citius inficiuntur. 54 amatorium fascinum. 39. eiusque causâ duplex. ibid. Fascintum amatorium. 39 amatoriorum fascinoru[m] amuleta. 57 amatores à pudicissimis corporibus etiam moribundi, se temperare nequeunt. 45
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INDEX. contents, produced from that bronze statue of Moses. f. 213 a greener age placed in native moisture. 209 the seven ages of men ruled by the seven planets. 31 the age of each individual man observed by enchanters. 32 Ethiopians, not from elsewhere than from the property of the seed. 95 an Ethiopian conceived and brought forth by a woman through imagination. 10 the affections of our mind, if they have long clung to us, produce pernicious habits. 45 an affection is at first weak, then it stirs itself and, as it proceeds, gathers strength. 254 affections in a man are as it were certain nerves and strings inserted by nature, by which he is drawn. 67 human affections governed by the planets. 27 the affections of the sick can be known by physicians. 85 the several affections of man assigned to the several planets. 186 man's affliction is great, because he does not know things past and future. 77 Africa called from Affer. 141 the principle of action is twofold: art and nature. 43 an agent acts upon what is nearer. 99 there must be an agent and a patient at the same time. 109 between agent and patient there is such proportion maintained that lower things are not moved by higher things except through intermediaries. 160 the agent communicates with the patient in matter. 100 in agents there are three kinds of virtue. 101 aglaophotis, a herb by which demons are summoned. 184 the cords of lambs, joined with wolf's cords, are broken by the lambs themselves. 20 fields that have gone over to contrary situations. 210 a farmer summoned to court because he had restored his wheat and vines neighboring his own estate through Fascinum, and had made his own the best. 209 aizoon, a herb effective in mixing love-potions. 41 cheerfulness is attributed to Jupiter the planet. 27 alchemy is laughed at there. 74 Alexander could see equally well through darkness and through light. 15 food contributes to variety of colors. 93 how garlic draws forth tears. 136 the opinion of Almanzor concerning something obtained by request. 29 the chief power of altering: imagination. 7 alyssum hung in the house, a healthful amulet for those bewitched. 15 the wonderful power and nature of lovers. 14 lovers are often brought to destruction. 39. examples. 40 lovers would wish to become one, unless the corruption of the other should follow. 39 love-words have the power of bewitching. 25 of what things chiefly a love-charm is composed. 40. 41 death inflicted by love-potions is proved by examples. 41. 42 lest anyone be seized by a love-charm, a most healthful amulet. 57 who, and what kind of persons, are more quickly infected by love-charm. 54 love-charm. 39. and its cause is twofold. ibid. a love-bewitchment. 39 amulets for love-bewitchments. 57 lovers cannot restrain themselves even from the most chaste bodies, though dying. 45
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INDEX. amor obij in fascinando instructissimi. 6 ambrosia deorum à manna Israelitarum desumpta. 213 amor, insanix species. 43 amoris ægritudo est ardens affectus animi, atræ bilis affinis, &c. 39 amor, fascinationis species. 42 amoris causa & origo. 38 amoris causam, amantium intuitum non esse. 117. ad animi enim turpitudinem est referendus. 118 amorem mulierum tolo. bestium contactu pellici. 20 amor luxuriosus diuitiis alitur. 261 amor non omnia nostræ voluntatis obiecta complectitur. 219 amor boni rationem habet. 37 amor ad fascinandum aptus. 49 amor fascino inferri potest. 8 amor hominum animis à dæmonibus multis insigitur modis. 250 ad amorem inflammandum dæmonu[m] calliditas. 250 amor intrat mentes visu, ac dediscitur vsu. 258 amor infandus Pygmalionis in statuam. 245 amoris consideratio duplex. 38 amoris effectus. 39 amoris ardor vt mitigari possit. 57 amor fame, vel tempore sedatur: sin minus, ad laqueum est accedendu[m]. 58. de amore vitando Lucretij versus. ibi. amor nullis est medicabilis herbis. 251. amnes, quorum alij nigros, alij flauros, alij albos, &c. efficiunt agnos. 93. 94. amon ob amorem in sorore in morbum incidit. 250 amuleta venatorum. 36 amuleta fascinum, & omnia veneficia destruentia. 251 de amuletis hebetantibus, & auserentibus fascinum. 5. amuletum optimum, Agnus Dei, circa collum suspensus. 262 anacreon poëta vue passæ grano vitæ cum morte commutauit. 225 angeli à Deo ita creati, vt etiâsi peccassent, omnino mori non possent. 216 angelos Aristoteles, naturæ lumine ductu, mentes simplices appellat. 182 angelos superiores vniuersalioribus speciebus, quàm inferiores præditos esse. 86 angeli inferiores, superiorum angelorum species non comprehendût. 86 angelis omnium rerum, quæ natura constant, species & similitudines Deus indidit. 80 angeli corpora coelestia mouent. 174 angeli ostendunt, super quos dæmones præualeant. 253 angelus de coelo descendens, habens clauem abyssi, &c. quisnam dicatur, in apocalypsi. 170 anguis frigidus cantando rumpitur in pratis. 153 aniculę ad fascinandum potissimum aptę. 13 aniculę pueros, pecudes, & segetes effascinant. 16 animalia nulla expertia tactus. 17 animalia non per partes iuuenescunt aut senescunt, sed simul tota. 109 animalia perfecta in acre generari. 199 animalium imperfectorum ortus. 173 animalium quorundam instinctus. 65 animalia perniciosa vt ab agris expellenda. 159 animalia nociua verbis abigi. 23 animalia bruta inficiuntur fascino. 13 i ij
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INDEX. love, most skillful in bewitching. 6 ambrosia of the gods derived from the manna of the Israelites. 213 love, a species of madness. 43 the sickness of love is a burning affection of the mind, akin to black bile, etc. 39 love, a species of fascination. 42 the cause and origin of love. 38 the cause of love is not the gaze of lovers. 117. for it is to be referred to turpitude of mind. 118 love of women, induced by contact even with beasts. 20 luxurious love is nourished by wealth. 261 love does not embrace all the objects of our will. 219 love has regard to the good. 37 love is suited to bewitching. 49 love can be brought about by fascination. 8 love is impressed on the minds of men by demons in many ways. 250 the cunning of demons in kindling love. 250 love enters minds through sight, and is unlearned by use. 258 the unspeakable love of Pygmalion for a statue. 245 a twofold consideration of love. 38 the effects of love. 39 how the ardor of love may be moderated. 57 love is allayed by hunger or by time: if not, one must have recourse to the noose. 58. verses of Lucretius on avoiding love. there. love is not to be cured by any herbs. 251. sheep, some of which produce black, others yellow, others white, etc., lambs. 93. 94. amon fell ill from love for his sister. 250 amulets of hunters. 36 amulets destroying fascination and all sorceries. 251 concerning amulets that blunt and remove fascination. 5. the best amulet: the Lamb of God, suspended around the neck. 262 Anacreon the poet exchanged a grape stone for life with death. 225 angels were so created by God that, even if they had sinned, they could not die at all. 216 Aristotle, guided by the light of nature, calls angels simple minds. 182 the higher angels are endowed with more universal species than the lower. 86 the lower angels do not comprehend the species of the higher angels. 86 God implanted in the angels the species and likenesses of all things that exist by nature. 80 angels move the heavenly bodies. 174 angels show over whom demons prevail. 253 which angel descending from heaven, having the key of the abyss, etc., is spoken of in the Apocalypse. 170 a cold serpent is broken by singing in the fields. 153 old women are especially suited to bewitching. 13 old women bewitch boys, cattle, and crops. 16 animals that are not at all capable of touch. 17 animals do not grow young or old in parts, but all at once as a whole. 109 perfect animals are generated in the air. 199 the origin of imperfect animals. 173 the instinct of certain animals. 65 harmful animals are to be driven from the fields. 159 noxious animals are driven away by words. 23 brute animals are infected by fascination. 13 i ij
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INDEX. animalibus cunctis natura arma ad sui defensionem est largita, præterquâ homini soli. 223 animæ actio duplex. 87 animæ motum esse secundum Platonem. 64 in anima tria sunt, passio, habitus, potentia. 7 animam humanam intelligentiarum, & abstractarum mentium vltimam esse. 86 de animæ metamorphosi Plotini verba. 170. 171 animæ spiritus appetitui deseruiunt. 97 animæ quo pacto speciebus vtatur. 102 animam humanam vim habere diuinandi. 76 animi vis rationis expers, duplex. 49. 50 animi humani mira celeritas. 10 animus quo pacto res absentes percipit. 63 animi nostri sensus volatiles fieri, &c ad planetas referri. 29 animus viuificat corpus. 63 animus à corpore, & corpus ab animo afficitur. 90 animus longissimè progreditur, vagatur, &c spatiatur. 13 animus quandiu in corpore est inclusus, quo pacto res intelligit. 63 anima intelligere potest omnia. 63 animus malè affectus, suum quoque corpus habet malè. 15 animi & corporis valde dispar conditio. 259 animi seruanda paritas. 260 animus noster per externa signa cognoscitur. 85 animo laboranti sermo medicus. 145 animi brutorum immobiles. 11 anni primum diem lætis precationibus inuicem faustum ominabantur antiqui. 19 anni decretorij, & climacterici. 148. 149 anthropophagi humanis vescutur carnibus, & in capitum ossibus bibunt, cutibusque ipsis capillatis pro mantilibus vtuntur. 46 S. Antidius Bisuntinus Archiepiscopus à dæmone, tanquam ab alato mulo, Romam iussu S. Spiritus perlatus. 181 antiochus anchoræ figuram in femore gerebat, quæ in filiis & nepotibus propagata fuit. 96 antiochi amor infandus ex pulsu detectus. 85. antonius Sanfoelicius merè suspiciosus. 69 D. Antonio quàm variæ, ac teterimę, horridæque illusiones dæmonu apparerent. 170 anus potissimum effascinant. 51 apes, animalta ciuilia. 156 apes scintillam quandam habent rationis. 156 apes dentibus armauit natura. 223 appetitus animalis in concupiscibile, & irascibilem diuiditur. 37 apollo, quòd sibi decima hominum pars immolata nó fuisset, miras Italis induxit calamitates. 175 apolonius Thyaneus fascinandi habuit naturam. 3 apolonij Thyanei præstigiæ à veris miraculis nostri Saluatoris occasionem sumpserunt. 213 aptus minus erit cras, qui non est hodie. 254 aqua in verum sanguinem à Moyse conuersa. 163 aqua stagni, qua in lupos commutabantur homines. 164 aqua zelorypiæ olim apud Iudæos. 144. 145 aquilam fulmine non percuti. 197
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INDEX. nature has bestowed arms on all living creatures for their own defense, except on man alone. 223 there is a twofold action of the soul. 87 that motion of the soul is, according to Plato. 64 in the soul there are three things: passion, habit, power. 7 that the human soul is the last of the intelligences and abstract minds. 86 the words of Plotinus on the metamorphosis of the soul. 170. 171 the spirits of the soul serve appetite. 97 how the soul makes use of species. 102 that the human soul has the power of divining. 76 the power of the mind devoid of reason, twofold. 49. 50 the marvelous swiftness of the human mind. 10 how the mind perceives absent things. 63 that the senses of our mind become volatile, etc., and are referred to the planets. 29 the mind gives life to the body. 63 the mind is affected by the body, and the body by the mind. 90 the mind advances, wanders, and travels very far. 13 while the mind is enclosed in the body, how it understands things. 63 the soul can understand all things. 63 a mind badly affected also has its body badly affected. 15 the condition of mind and body is very different. 259 the parity of the mind must be preserved. 260 our mind is known through external signs. 85 speech is a remedy for a troubled mind. 145 the minds of brute animals are immobile. 11 the ancients used to wish one another a fortunate beginning to the year with joyful prayers. 19 decretory and climacteric years. 148. 149 anthropophagi feed on human flesh, and drink from the bones of heads, and use the hairy skins themselves as cloths. 46 S. Antidius, Archbishop of Besançon, was carried to Rome by a demon, as if by a winged mule, by command of the Holy Spirit. 181 Antiochus wore the figure of an anchor on his thigh, which was transmitted to his sons and grandsons. 96 the unspeakable love of Antiochus detected by the pulse. 85 Antonio Sanfoelicius, merely suspicious. 69 to D. Antonio how various, foul, and horrid illusions of demons appeared. 170 old women especially bewitch. 51 bees, civil animals. 156 bees have a certain spark of reason. 156 nature armed bees with teeth. 223 animal appetite is divided into the concupiscible and the irascible. 37 Apollo, because the tenth part of mankind had not been sacrificed to him, brought marvelous calamities upon the Italians. 175 Apollonius of Tyana had a nature for bewitching. 3 the tricks of Apollonius of Tyana took occasion from the true miracles of our Savior. 213 he will be less fit tomorrow who is not so today. 254 water turned by Moses into true blood. 163 the water of the pond by which men were changed into wolves. 164 the water of jealousy, formerly among the Jews. 144. 145 that an eagle is not struck by lightning. 197
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INDEX. aquilarum pennæ aliarum alitu pennas sibi mistas absumunt. 19 arbirrij nostri libertas. 89 arbitrij libertas peccatis grauiter sauciatur. 222 arbitrium liberum defenditur contra hæreticos. 246 arbores acrescere fascino. 3. 13. 16. 54. 208. arbores pulchræ fascinatu faciles. 54 archimenis herba à malesicis hominibus extorquendorum criminum vim habens. 184 Arethusa in fontem mutata. 170 Argento luna dominatur. 29 aries, signum zodiaci, capiti dominatur. 186 de arietum electione Virgilij versus. 94 aristoteles, rerum omnium indagator optimus. 2 aristotelis mos in quæstionibus examinandis. 1 aristoteles nihil sine causa dixit, nihilque sine ratione tacuit. 195 arma ad propellendas dæmonum fascinationes. 233 arma coelestia, quæ & qualia. 193 ars, vnum est agendi principium. 43 ars, naturæ parentis imitatrix. 46. 191 ars natura posterior. 46 artis causæ, ratio & voluntas. 43 ars imaginatione certior. 102 ars non res, sed rerum simulacra singit. 71 artium capessendarum vim à natura habent homines. 139 ars, sicut natura, repentinos abhorret motus. 204 artificialia & naturalia toto genere distinguuntur. 190 arteriæ exangues, & frigidæ. 127 arteriarum origo. 17 Arteriæ quo pacto aërem attrahant &c expellant. 34. 35 arteriæ rariores fascinum citius admittunt. 35 attus humanos duodecim zodiaci signis subiici. 27 asia à quo sic nominata. 141 aspectu fascinare. 5 alpidis aduersus incantatores astutia. 23 aspis aures obturat, ne incantatorum audiat verba. 156 sicut alpidis surdæ, &c. expositio huius loci. 157 assuefactio ad hoc viget, vt suam quisque excitet affectionem. 45 ab assuetis recedere difficillimum. 45 astrorum virtutes quo pacto in inferiora corpora deuehuntur. 33 astra quot & quantas in homines habeant vires. 8. 9 astrorum alia fortunata, alia non. 28 astra è coelo ad terras deripi posse, ex quorundam opinione. 29 astrologi ab omnibus antiquis doctoribus arguuntur. 188. & à conciliis. 189 astutiæ dominatur Mercurius Planeta. 27 attrahendi plures modi. 134 augurium quatenus damnandum. 79 auium quarumdam mirus instinctus! 78 aues quonam pacto humanam imitantur vocem. 65 de auium præsagiis ex propheta Hieremia. 79 ex auium volatu insidias detegere. 79 aurium tinnitus de se sermones absentes præsagire. 25 Auro sol præest. 29 B B Ascania quid propriè. 215 Basiliscus an reperiatur. 114 i iii
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INDEX. the feathers of eagles and other birds consume the feathers mixed with them. 19 the freedom of our will. 89 the freedom of the will is grievously wounded by sins. 222 free will is defended against heretics. 246 trees grow by witchcraft. 3. 13. 16. 54. 208. beautiful trees are easily bewitched. 54 the herb archimenis, having the power of extorting confessions from evil-doing men. 184 Arethusa changed into a spring. 170 the moon rules over silver. 29 Aries, the sign of the zodiac, rules over the head. 186 Virgil's verses on the choice of rams. 94 Aristotle, the best investigator of all things. 2 Aristotle's method in examining questions. 1 Aristotle said nothing without cause, and was silent about nothing without reason. 195 arms for driving away the fascination of demons. 233 heavenly arms, what and of what kind. 193 art is one principle of action. 43 art, the imitator of nature, its parent. 46. 191 art is later than nature. 46 the causes of art: reason and will. 43 art is more certain than imagination. 102 art does not make things, but images of things. 71 men have by nature the power to take up the arts. 139 art, like nature, abhors sudden motions. 204 artificial and natural things are distinguished by an entire difference of kind. 190 the arteries are bloodless and cold. 127 the origin of the arteries. 17 the arteries, in what way they draw in air, etc., and expel it. 34. 35 more open arteries admit fascination more quickly. 35 human acts are subject to the twelve signs of the zodiac. 27 Asia, from whom so named. 141 to fascinate by sight. 5 the cunning of the asp against enchanters. 23 the asp stops its ears, so as not to hear the words of enchanters. 156 as the deaf asp, etc., the explanation of this passage. 157 by habit this grows strong, so that each person excites his own affection. 45 to depart from accustomed things is most difficult. 45 in what way the powers of the stars are carried down into lower bodies. 33 how many and how great powers the stars have over men. 8. 9 some stars are fortunate, others not. 28 according to the opinion of some, stars can be dragged from heaven to earth. 29 astrologers are accused by all the ancient doctors. 188. and by councils. 189 Mercury, the planet, rules cunning. 27 many modes of drawing. 134 how far augury is to be condemned. 79 the marvelous instinct of certain birds! 78 in what way birds imitate the human voice. 65 concerning the omens of birds from the prophet Jeremiah. 79 to discover ambushes from the flight of birds. 79 the ringing in the ears foretells, concerning oneself, the sayings of absent persons. 25 the sun presides over gold. 29 B what B Ascania properly is. 215 whether a basilisk exists. 114 i iii
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INDEX. Basilisci generatio gallis gallinaceis attributa. 115 Basiliscus, si prior videt, occidit: si prior videtur, occiditur. 5 Basiliscus quoscunque intuetur, venenosis, oculorum radiis occidit. 14 Basiliscus propriis oculorum radiis in se contortis interficitur. 44 Basiliscu[m] emori, si in speculo scipsum intueatur, secundum quosdam. 114 Basiliscus à doctoribus sacris accipitur pro dæmone. 114 Batto in lapidem indicem conuersus. 170 Becas, dictio Phrygia, panem significans, qua probare cõtendebat Plammetricus, sermonem naturalem esse. 139 Bella ex vi cometarum. 30 Bella adscribuntur Marti planetæ. 27 Beneficiorum Dei recordatio perquâ vtilis. 256 Berosus arguirur mendacij. 160 Biarmi idololatræ in fascinandis hominibus instructissimi. 6 Biarmenses, arctico polo vicini, cum hoste certaturi, carminibus coelum perturbant, nubesque solicitant. 101 Biblis sui fratris amore fascinata, laqueo se suspendit. 40 Blasphemi, fascini capacissimi. 49 Bonum vniuersale, proprium voluntatis obiectum. 87 Bonum vniuersi, est bonum ordinis. 160 Bona, quæ ex malis per dæmones illatis oriuntur. 238 Bothnicorum præstigiæ miræ. 165 Brassica secus rutam lata, protinus arescit. 20 Bruta à rerum sensibilium speciebus excitantur. 63 Bruta nonnulla quandam micantis rationis habent scintillam. 156 Bruta quo pacto futura nobis designent. 78 de Bruti malo genio. 176 Bud, dictio, qua prolata cohibetur scorpio, ne vibret ictus. 25 Bythiæ familiæ mirè fascinatrices. 2 C C Adauer recens hominis interfecti cotam interfectore constitutum, eiicit sanguinem. 20 cælestia corpora à simplicibus mouentur mentibus. 174 cælestia corpora rem ab vna ad aliam formam mutare nequeunt. 161 cælestia corpora quo pacto ad fascinu[m] concurrunt. 8. & quantas in homines habeant vittutes. 9 cælestium corporum vis hominibus, brutis, arboribus, lapidibusque comunicatur. 49 cælestia corpora nihil mali nobis immittere queunt. 188 cælum, communis causa, communem vim omnibus largiens, & no[n] particularem. 190 cælum, cor orbis vniuersi. 187 cælum, locus ac Dei habitatio. 187 cælum, corporum omnium commune principium. 184 cælestium corporum celerrimus motus vnde. 182 cælum luce, & moru in hæc agit inferiora. 185 cæli primi motum omnibus vitam suppeditare. ibi. cælum, diuinæ virtutis instrumentum vniuersale. 186 cælum, animal esse sensibus præditum probatur. 28 cælum sensu caret, quia pasci & cibari necesse non habeat. 189 cæli motus secundu[m] partes nouus. 189
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INDEX. Basilisk generation attributed to rooster hens. 115 Basilisk kills if it sees first; if it is seen first, it is killed. 5 The basilisk kills whomever it looks at with venomous rays from its eyes. 14 The basilisk is killed by its own eye-radiations turned back upon itself. 44 The basilisk dies, if in a mirror it looks at itself, according to some. 114 The basilisk is taken by sacred doctors for a demon. 114 Batto turned into a guiding stone. 170 Becas, a Phrygian word meaning bread, by which Plammetricus attempted to prove that speech is natural. 139 Wars from the force of comets. 30 Wars are ascribed to the planet Mars. 27 The remembrance of God’s benefits is very useful. 256 Berosus is accused of falsehood. 160 The Biarmian idolaters are most skilled in bewitching men. 6 The Biarmians, neighbors of the Arctic pole, when they are to contend with the enemy, disturb the sky with songs and stir up the clouds. 101 Biblis, bewitched by love for her brother, hanged herself with a noose. 40 Blasphemers are most susceptible to bewitchment. 49 The universal good is the proper object of the will. 87 The good of the universe is the good of order. 160 Goods that arise from evils brought by demons. 238 The tricks of the Botnians are marvelous. 165 Cabbage placed beside rue withers at once. 20 Brutes are stirred by the species of sensible things. 63 Some brutes have a certain spark of glimmering reason. 156 In what way brutes indicate future things to us. 78 On the evil spirit of Brutus. 176 Bud, a word by which a scorpion is restrained from striking, lest it dart its blow. 25 The families of the Bithynians are wonderfully prone to bewitching. 2 C C Adauer: the blood of one recently slain is placed near the slayer, and it pours out blood. 20 Celestial bodies are moved by simple minds. 174 Celestial bodies cannot change a thing from one form into another. 161 In what way celestial bodies concur in bewitchment. 8. And what powers they have over men. 9 The power of celestial bodies is communicated to men, brutes, trees, and stones. 49 Celestial bodies can bring us no evil. 188 Heaven is the common cause, granting a common power to all, and not a particular one. 190 Heaven is the heart of the universe. 187 Heaven is the place and dwelling of God. 187 Heaven is the common principle of all bodies. 184 Whence the swiftest motion of the celestial bodies comes. 182 Heaven acts upon lower things by light and motion. 185 That the motion of the first heaven supplies life to all things. ibid. Heaven is the universal instrument of divine power. 186 It is proved that heaven is an animal endowed with senses. 28 Heaven lacks sense, because it does not need to be fed and nourished. 189 The motion of the heavens is new according to its parts. 189
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INDEX. cælum diuinum esse. 192 cælo, corporum primo ac præstantissimo, omnium motuum perfectissimus, omniumque qualitatum nobilissima lux adscribirur. cæli configurationes ad aliqua, non tamen ad rurpitudinem propenlos reddunt homines. cælos non animatos esse. cælum omnibus rebus eandem imprimis qualitatem, hâcque res singulas confirmat, ac tanquam excitat ex tomno. cælum, licet moueatur, stare videtur; idque ob visus errorem. cælum quonam pacto res inferiores afficiat. è cælo quæ in terras proueniunt mortalibus infesta, fascinantium astutia existimata contingere. cæli tempestates carmine procurare, & auerrere. cælum nec particularem, nec vniuersalem motum inrendit. de cæli obseruatione, quæ ad fascina[n]dum concurrir. cæli obseruatione, fascinare neminem posse. cæli rubedo serotina vnde fiat, & quid præsagiat. cæli reuelabunt iniquitatem illorum, ait Iob: & quid hoc sibi vult. cælorum porre per Christi cruciarum patefactæ. cæsar in ingressu vehiculi carme proferebat. cæsij quo pacto fascinant. calamitates omnes ex originali fluxere peccato. calamitates futuræ, & præuisce vt auertendæ. calenus, vates celeberrimus de humano capite in Tarpeio inuento interrogatio subdola. caloris animalium naturalis sedes, hu- mor & alimentum. calor igni inhærens, contrarius non est frigori, quod animo concipitur. campana, quæ ex seipsa pulsatur, cùm aliquid aduersi in republica Christiana futurum est. canidia per aerem à dæmone lata. canis nigri fel, & genitale, amuletum contra amatorium fascinum. cahum furor tantus, vt visus aciem perstringat, sæpius etiam penirus ex cæcet. cantum Lydium & Phrygium adolescentibus adimendu[m] esse cur censuit Plato. capilli mulierum cremari odore serpentes expellunt. caput, arx corporis humani. capur humanum in Tarpeio inuentu[m] Romani imperij præsagium. de caramandi Reguli Massiliam obsidenris spectro. carbones viuos qui manu tenent. carbunculus lapis fascinatis saluberrimus. carmina morbos abigere. carminibus equos, rauros, canesque sedare, pollutionemque in somno procurare. carmina fascinatoria. carmine magico Cham Noë patrem castrauir, sterilemque effecit. carminum fascinanrium vis interimit animas. carminibus sidera deuocare cælo. caro, hostis domesticus & familiaris. carnem pluer e. caro temperatam habet caliditatem. carnis peccato omnium maximè à demonibus solicitantur homines. carthaginese humanis hostiis Saturnum colebant.
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INDEX. heaven is divine. 192 to heaven, the first and most excellent of bodies, the most perfect of all motions, and the noblest light of all qualities is ascribed. the configurations of the heavens make men inclined to some things, yet not to ugliness. the heavens are not animated. heaven imparts the same quality above all things, and by this it confirms each thing, and as it were awakens it from sleep. heaven, though it moves, seems to stand still; and this is due to an error of sight. how heaven affects inferior things. that things which come down from heaven to earth and are harmful to mortals are thought to happen through the cunning of enchanters. to procure and avert the storms of the heavens by song. heaven does not impart either a particular or a universal motion. concerning the observation of the heavens, which contributes to bewitching. that no one can be bewitched by observing the heavens. whence the evening redness of the sky arises, and what it foretells. "The heavens will reveal their iniquity," says Job: and what this means. the gates of heaven are opened by Christ. Caesar, on entering his vehicle, used to recite a charm. how grey eyes bewitch. all calamities have flowed from original sin. future calamities, and how they are foreseen so as to be averted. Calenus, a most famous seer, questioned about a human head found on the Tarpeian Hill. subtle. the seat of the natural heat of animals, blood and nourishment. heat adhering to fire is not contrary to the cold that is conceived in the mind. a bell that rings of itself, when something adverse is about to happen in the Christian commonwealth. future. Canidia carried through the air by a demon. the gall and genitals of a black dog, an amulet against erotic fascination. such great madness that it dazzles the sharpness of the sight, and very often even blinds the eyes. why Plato thought the Lydian and Phrygian modes should be taken away from young men. the hair of women, burned, by its smell drives away serpents. the head, the citadel of the human body. the human head found on the Tarpeian Hill, a presage of the Roman Empire. concerning the specter seen while Regulus was besieging Massilia. glowing coals held in the hand. carbuncle, a stone most beneficial to those who are bewitched. charms drive away diseases. by charms to calm horses, bulls, and dogs, and to induce pollution in sleep. bewitching songs. by magical song Ham castrated his father Noah and made him sterile. the power of bewitching songs destroys souls. by songs to draw the stars down from heaven. flesh, the domestic and familiar enemy. to rain flesh. flesh has a moderate heat. because of the sin of the flesh, men are most greatly tempted by demons. the Carthaginians worshipped Saturn with human sacrifices.
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INDEX. cattilagines frigidæ & sicca. 127 catanance herba Thessala ad philtra 41 miscenda efficax. 30 catiliana prodigia. 55 catochitis lapidis gestatio, amuletum 62 contra fascinum. 74 causæ rerum variæ ac diuersæ. 74 causarum duo genera ex Aristotele. 216 causæ instrumentales tres sunt numero. 217 causam haber, quidquid est. 62 causæ superiores inferiora non mo- 160 uent, nisi per intermedia. 221 causas absque scientiæ principiis non 41 assequimur. 136 centumcapita herba ad philtra mi- 136 scenda percommoda. 41 çepæ quo pacto eliciunt lachrymas. 136 çerebrum, neruorum origo. 127 ceruos velocitate cursus armauit na- 224 tura. 143 cham carmine magico castrasse pa- 137 tre suum, in sacra historia nusquam 160 legitur. 147 characteres incantantium dæmones 143 excitant. 142 characteres fascinandi vim non ha- 137 bent. 147 characteres & verba, dæmonum pa- 147 cta sunt. 142 characteres cum rebus externis, nihil 142 habent commune. 137 characteres ad abigenda animalia no- 23 ciua. 155 characteres quando ad dæmones diri- 155 guntur. 155 charitoblepharon herba miscendis 41 amatorius efficax. 157 chordas agninas lupinis esse co[n]trarias. 157 157 christus à dæmone in templi fastigium 181 & sublimem montem portatus. 181 christi aduentu verustatis tenebræ ec- 177 ciderunt. 177. elegans hac de re hi- 178 storia de Ægypto. 157 christus & apostoli venefici. 157 ciborum spirituales species, sed ipsi- 74 met cibi, non nutriunt. 74 à cibis venerem excitantibus abstinen- 260 dum. 79 ciconia custodit tempus aduentus sui. 79 cicuta sturnis cibus est. 130 circe quo pacto socios Vlyssis in be- 163. 164 stias mutasse dicatur. 163. 164 circe carminum incantatione varias 23 imaginum mentièbatur sacies. 177 circe per aerem à dæmone vecta. 177 claui sigēdi mos ad sedandam pestem 56 olim apud Romanos. 56 clytia in heliotropium herbam versa. 170 cogitationis vis quanta. 15 cogitandi actus oritur à voluntate. 86 cogitationis humanæ quanta veloci- 10 tas. 10 cognitio per speciem, & similitudi- 80 nem sit. 107. 108 colorum species. 107. 108 coloris forma, & materia. 108 color varius in animalibus vnde. 92. 93 coloris est natura, vt irradiata luce, a- 109 ctu diaphanum moueat. 109 colores lux actu reddit. 110 color semper à sensu distat. 109 color dupliciter consideratus. 108 combustiones arceri verbis. 25 cometarum vis, & generatio. 192 cometæ quid portendant. 194 compositum quodlibet ex quatuor 33 constat elementis. 189 concilium Toletanum damnat astro- 189 logos. 189 concilij Ancyrani sanctio contra sor- 182 tilegos. 182 concupiscendi appetitu propter pri- 182 morum parentum peccatum saucia- 182
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INDEX. cold and dry cattilagines. 127 catanance, Thessalian herb for philtra 41 effective for mixing. 30 Catiline's prodigies. 55 wearing the stone catochitis, an amulet 62 against the evil eye. 74 causes of things, various and diverse. 74 two kinds of causes according to Aristotle. 216 there are three instrumental causes. 217 whatever is, has a cause. 62 higher causes do not move lower ones 160 except through intermediaries. 221 causes without the principles of science we do not 41 attain. 136 centumcapita, a herb very suitable for mixing 136 philtra. 41 onions, in what way they bring forth tears. 136 the brain, origin of the nerves. 127 nature armed deer with the speed of their course 224 . 143 Ham, with a magical song, is said to have castrated hi- 137 his father, is nowhere read in sacred history. 160 characters of enchanters stir up demons. 143 characters have no power for bewitching. 142 characters and words are a pact of demons. 147 characters have nothing in common with external things. 142 characters for driving away harmful animals. 137 when characters are directed to demons. 23 charitoblepharon, an herb effective in mixing amatory potions. 155 sheep's cords are contrary to lupins. 41 157 Christ carried by a demon to the pinnacle 181 of the temple and to a lofty mountain. 181 at Christ's coming the darkness of old age fell away. 177. an elegant history from Egypt on this matter. 178 Christ and the apostles, sorcerers. 157 spiritual kinds of foods, but the foods themselves do not nourish. 74 one must abstain from foods exciting lust. 260 the stork observes the time of its coming. 79 hemlock is food for starlings. 130 Circe, in what way she is said to have changed Ulysses' companions into beasts. 163. 164 Circe, by the incantation of songs, feigned various faces of images. 23 Circe carried through the air by a demon. 177 the custom of sealing with nails to calm a plague among the Romans of old. 56 Clytia transformed into the herb heliotropium. 170 the power of thought, how great. 15 the act of thinking arises from the will. 86 the speed of human thought, how great. 10 knowledge through species and likeness. 107. 108 species of colors. 107. 108 the form and matter of color. 108 whence the variety of color in animals. 92. 93 the nature of color is such that, with light radiating, it moves the transparent body in act. 109 light actually produces colors. 110 color is always distinct from sense. 109 color considered in two ways. 108 burns can be warded off by words. 25 the power and generation of comets. 192 what comets portend. 194 whatever composite is made up of four 33 elements. 189 the Council of Toledo condemns astrologers. 189 the decree of the Council of Ancyra against sorcerers. 182 the appetite for desiring, wounded by the sin of the first parents. 182
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INDEX. et sumus. 222 confessionis sacramentalis vis & efficacia. 257 consuetudo mala, malorum omnium causa. 255 contingentia non secus, ac necessaria Deus certissimè nouit. 82 contrarietas duplex. 99 cor sanguinis & vitæ principium. 127 cordis motu cessante, cæteras hominis partes quiescere, & interire oportet. 185 cordis sensus duplex. 84 cornicum crocitatio frequés futuram denunciat pluuiam. 77 corporis dispositiones quot, quæ, & quales. 123 corpora omnia simplicibus substatiis obedire iussit Deus. 173 corpora naturalia quo pacto agant in artificialia. 190 corporis instrumentorum vsus multiplex. 127 corpora de loco ad locu[m] mira dæmonum celeritate, non verborum vi, transferri posse. 173 corpora, in quæ mutantur dæmones, flexu facilia. 169 corporis foraminum vsus. 127 corporis & animi affectio mutua. 15 corpora tum à bonis, tum à malis angelis per aerein ferri. 179 corporis medelæ varius modus. 251 corpora ad summu[m] vigorem progressa, in vniformi statu persistere nequeunt. 44 corpus humanu[m] ad 12. zodiaci signorum similitudinem diuiditur à magicis. 27 corpora rara fascino sunt patetiora 53 corporea ab incorporeis heri. 8 crantis flume[m] homines in se lotos cæsarie candidos, & flauros efficit. 94 cresinus mirè magicus. 3 de cresino magiæ suspecto historia perelegans, & faceta. 3 crudeles homines ad Martem plane-tam referri. 29 crucis signo frons terenda. 262 cuminum maledictis, & execrationi-bus satum, nascitur lætius. 26 cutis humiditatis, & siccitatis mediam habet naturam. 127 cyparissus in cupressum couersum. 170 cyprianus magus quòd Iustin it ginem Christianam veneficiis illice-re non potuerit, Christianus est factus. 252 cyprus quondam terra continens. 211 cyzici cupidniis, fontem amorem depellere. 57 D Dæmones, humani generis capita-les hostes. 202 dæmones diuinæ iustitiæ executores. 161 Dæmones nec mates nec foeminę. 189 dæmonibus nomina varia ab ethnicis imposita, & quæ. 175 dæmones ordine naturæ hominum intellectu superiores existunt. 86. & cælestibus corporibus quoque su-periores. 161 dæmones ab exordio mundi princi-pium sumunt regnandi. 156 dæmones quondam totum mundum deceptum habebant, laxásque potestatis eis habenas Deus dereliquerat. 177 dæmones nunc no[n] tantâ habent potestatem, quantâ ante Iesu Christi ad-uentum. 175. humanum enim sanguinem sibi immolari faciebant. ibid. dæmones ante Christi cruciatum, duplicem habebant manum. 178 dæmones quibus modis re apparere possint alia, quàm re vera sint. 164 dæmonibus cum hominibus tanta o-lim intercessit familiaritas, vt bini vnicuique deputati putarentur. 176 ó
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INDEX. and we are. 222 the force and efficacy of sacramental confession. 257 bad custom, the cause of all evils. 255 contingency, no less than necessity, is most certainly known by God. 82 a double contrariety. 99 the heart, the principle of blood and of life. 127 when the motion of the heart ceases, the other parts of man must rest and perish. 185 a double sense of the heart. 84 the cawing of crows frequently announces rain to come. 77 the dispositions of the body: how many, which, and what sort. 123 God commanded all bodies to obey simple substances. 173 how natural bodies act upon artificial ones. 190 the manifold use of the body’s instruments. 127 bodies can be transferred from place to place by the marvelous speed of demons, not by the force of words. 173 the bodies into which demons are changed are pliable in bending. 169 the use of the body’s openings. 127 the mutual relation of body and soul. 15 bodies are carried through the air both by good and by evil angels. 179 the various mode of bodily healing. 251 bodies that have advanced to the highest vigor cannot remain in a uniform state. 44 the human body is divided by magicians into the likeness of the 12 signs of the zodiac. 27 rare bodies are more open to fascination. 53 corporeal things are made from incorporeal ones. 8 Crantis flume[m] makes men washed in it white-haired and blond. 94 Cresinus, a wonderful magician. 3 an elegant and amusing story about Cresinus suspected of magic. 3 cruel men are clearly referred to Mars the planet. 29 the forehead should be rubbed with the sign of the cross. 262 cumin, sown with curses and execrations, grows more luxuriantly. 26 the skin has a middle nature between moisture and dryness. 127 cypress transformed into a cypress tree. 170 Cyprian the magician, because he could not entice the Christian maiden Justina by sorceries, became a Christian. 252 Cyprus was once a continuous landmass. 211 the Cydonians of Cyprus, to drive away love, a fountain. 57 D Demons, the chief enemies of the human race. 202 demons, executors of divine justice. 161 demons are neither male nor female. 189 various names imposed on demons by the pagans, and what they are. 175 demons, by order of nature, exist superior to the human intellect, and even superior to the heavenly bodies. 86. and 161 demons take their beginning in ruling from the very beginning of the world. 156 once demons had deceived the whole world, and God had left the reins of power loose to them. 177 now demons do not have so much power as before the coming of Jesus Christ; for they used to make human blood be sacrificed to them. ibid. before the passion of Christ, demons had a twofold hand. 178 in what ways demons may appear as something other than what they truly are. 164 formerly there was such familiarity between demons and men that two were thought to be assigned to each individual. 176 ó
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INDEX. per Dæmones an occulta & futura præsciri queant. 80 dæmones inflati superbia, multa se habere, & scire, & ostendere, conantur, quæ soli Deo relinquûtur. 82 dæmones an futura præsciant. 79 dæmones hominis nô norunt voluntatem. 82 dæmones quo pacto in hominis voluntatem agunt. 248 dæmones quænâ certò præcognoscere possunt. 81 dæmones omnium discutiunt consuetudines, ventilant curas, scrutantur affectus, &c. 218 Dæmones, qui à superioribus ceciderût ordinibus, rerum imagines magis vniuersales habent: ita & plura cognoscunt, & ad maiora capessenda sunt reliquis aptiores. 81 Dæmon, etiam insuuius omnium, homine perspicacior, & quomodo. 80 dæmones intellectu non indigent agente. 80 de dæmonum præcognitione, sententia. 86 dæmonum cognitio non à sensibus, quibus omnino carêt, ortu haber. 80 dæmones naturalium causarum vires magis, quàm homines cognoscunt. 161 dæmones prophetarum prædicta verius & propius, quàm homines, intelligûr: & hominibus, quibuscun intercedit familiaritas, communicant. 83. & quo pacto id faciant. 84 dæmones nonnullas hominu cogitationes norunt, & quomodo. 84. 85 dæmones quamor modis cognoscunt futura. 82. 83 dæmones nihil ferè prorsus ignorant. 207 dæmones hominibus mala, Deo permittente, & iubente infligunt. 154 hinc est, quòd ipsi tunc sanare dicun- tur, cùm à malo desistunt. ibid. Dæmonum actio per virtutis contactum sit. 174 Dæmonum astutia quanta. 218 dæmonu fraudes destruxit Christus. 208 Dæmonu conatus ad hoc potissimum omnes tendût, vt à Deo auocent homines. 217 dæmonibus homines ex se subiici possunt, sed ex se liberari nequeunt. 253. 254 dæmones naturæ ordinem destruere nequeunt. 210 dæmonum vafrities in fascinando, eorumque cautiones. 233 dæmonum opera in vtero filiali quandoque signantur. 98 dæmones rerum naturas inuertunt, elementa conturbant, qualitates comiscent, humores alterant, & omnes corporis partes inficiut, &c. 216 dæmones in quàm varias, terrimas, horridâsque figuras ad homines illudendos sese conuertant. 170 dæmones naturas creare nequeunt: sed creatas commutant, vt appareât id esse, quod non sunt. 163 dæmones formaliter corpora transmutare nequeunt. 161. nônulla tame agunt, quæ transmutationi similia videnrur: idque tribus efficitur modis. ibid. dæmones ex terra, aqua, vel aëre quæuis corpora fingunt, & quibuscibet rebus similia reddunt. 168 dæmones quo pacto corpora de loco ad locum transferant. 174 dæmonibus, quantu ad localem locu, omnia obediunt corpora. bii. dæmonibus ad nutum omnis corpora obedit materia. 168 dæmones quo pacto loquantur, cum vocis organa non habeant. 165 Dæmô vel magus mortuum excitare
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INDEX. Whether by demons hidden and future things can be foreknown. 80 Demons, puffed up with pride, try to have, know, and show many things that are left to God alone. 82 Whether demons foreknow the future. 79 Demons do not know a man's will. 82 How demons act upon a man's will. 248 What things demons can certainly foreknow. 81 Demons examine all habits, sift cares, and search out affections, etc. 218 Demons, who have fallen from the higher ranks, have more universal images of things; thus they know more, and are more fit than the rest for undertaking greater things. 81 A demon, even the least wise of all, is more discerning than a man, and how. 80 Demons do not need an acting intellect. 80 On the foreknowledge of demons, opinion. 86 The knowledge of demons arises not from the senses, from which they are wholly deprived. 80 Demons know the powers of natural causes more than men do. 161 Demons understand the predictions of prophets more truly and more closely than men do; and they communicate them to men with whom they have familiarity, and how they do this. 83. & how. 84 Demons know certain thoughts of men, and how. 84. 85 By how many ways demons know future things. 82. 83 Demons know almost nothing at all in ignorance. 207 Demons inflict evils on men, God permitting and commanding. 154 Hence it is that they are said then to heal, when they desist from doing evil. ibid. The action of demons is through the contact of power. 174 How great the cunning of demons is. 218 Christ destroyed the frauds of demons. 208 All the attempts of demons tend chiefly to this, that they may draw men away from God. 217 Men can subject themselves to demons of themselves, but cannot free themselves of themselves. 253. 254 Demons cannot destroy the order of nature. 210 The craftiness of demons in bewitching, and their precautions. 233 The works of demons are sometimes marked in the womb of the offspring. 98 Demons overturn the natures of things, disturb the elements, mix qualities, alter humors, and infect all parts of the body, etc. 216 Into how many various, terrible, and horrid forms demons change themselves to deceive men. 170 Demons cannot create natures; but they change those created, so that what is not may appear to be. 163 Demons cannot formally transmute bodies. 161. Some things, however, they do which seem similar to transmutation: and this is accomplished in three ways. ibid. Demons fashion whatever bodies they wish from earth, water, or air, and make them similar to whatever things they choose. 168 How demons transfer bodies from place to place. 174 All bodies obey demons in respect to local place. bii. To demons, as to local position, all bodies and matter obey at their nod. 168 How demons speak, when they have no organs of voice. 165 A demon or magician to raise the dead
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INDEX. nequit. 162 dæmones iuramento deuinciunt homines sibi familiares. 178 à dæmonibus per aerem vecti, & lati. 177 dæmonum illusio, qua corpora transferrri persuadent. 182 dæmones quo pacto Fascini causa sint. 206 dæmonibus aduersantes herbæ, & quæ. 241 dæmonu cultores & familiares quibus vt antur imposturis, vt alios decipiât. 84 dæmonum adiuratores. 158 dæmonum vis in matrimonio coniunctos quid possit. 248 dæmonibus astrictorum solennia. 237 cù dæmonibus expressi foederis vsus. 206 dæmones in extremo Dei iudicio de secretis sceleribus homines accusabunt. 88 dat nemo, quod non habet. 100 Dauidis amor in Betsabeam vnde. 250 Dauid Bethsabæ amore captus, non per fascinum, sed libidine exardescens praua. 118 definitionis cognitio omnes elucidat difficultates. 204 delectatio sancta in prauam cur transeat. 250 demænetus Parrhasus in lupum conuersus, & anno decimo peracto, in pristinam formam restitutus. 167 deutes stupescunt, cùm res acres mente concipimus. 11 dentibus cur horror & stupor incutiatur ex externo stridore. 102. & 103 Desiderium boni habet rationem. 37 desideriu absétis rei amore nascitur. 38 Deus, omnium rerum supremus. 87 Deus est supra omne tempus. 81 Deus regit inferiora corpora per superiora. 186 Deus venturas calamitates minis cælestibus præmostrare consueuit. 192 diaboli cultores miserrimi. 203 diabolus, vide Dæmones. 182 diana, paganorum dea. 182 diaphanum coloris speciem ad oculos, quos mouet, desert. 109 diluuium vniuersale futurum, cùm sidera omnia errantia in capricornum couenerint, vt opinatur Berosus. 212 diluuium particulare posse fieri, non autem vniuersale. 212 dinæ raptus causa. 250 Diomedis socij quo pacto in aues commutati fuere. 163 de Dionis, Platonis discipuli, horrendissimo genio, vel spectro. 176. 177 disciplinarum mysteria nô vulgo tradenda. 171. 172 diuinandi virtus quibus potissimum hominibus inest. 75. 76 diuinandi potestatem brutis etiam inesse. 77 diuinatio duplex. 77 diuinatio supernaturalis, quæ & qualis. 78. 79 diuinatio per quietem potiùs, quàm per vigiliam sit. 76 diuinatrix virtus quibus iuuetur rebus. ibid. diuites ingenio & natura fascino patent. 54 diuitiarum cupiditas, quot causa malorum. 261. & earum etymon. ibid. dolia exhausta fulmine, operimentis intactis, nulló que relicto vestigio. 30 domum totam dæmones facilè mouere possunt. 210 draco in abysso ligatus. 179 dracones per Aegyptios magos effecti non veri, sed spectra fuere. 163 draconis cælestis caput cum Ioue, iunctum ad aliquid obtinendum. 29 druidæ sua ipsorum instituta vulgo non tradebant. 172
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INDEX. cannot. 162 demons bind to themselves by oath human beings who are their familiars. 178 borne and carried through the air by demons. 177 the illusion of demons, by which they persuade that bodies are transferred. 182 how demons are the cause of fascination. 206 herbs opposed to demons, and which. 241 the cultors and familiars of demons, by what impostures they use them, to deceive others. 84 adjurators of demons. 158 what the power of demons can do to those joined in marriage. 248 the rites of those bound to demons. 237 the use of an express pact with demons. 206 demons will accuse men before the final judgment of God for secret crimes. 88 no one gives what he does not have. 100 the source of David's love for Bathsheba. 250 David, captivated by love for Bathsheba, not by fascination, but burning with perverse lust. 118 knowledge of the definition explains all difficulties. 204 why holy delight passes into evil. 250 Demœnetus Parrhasius, turned into a wolf, and after ten years restored to his former shape. 167 the teeth grow numb when we conceive severe things in the mind. 11 why horror and amazement are inflicted on the teeth by an external creaking sound. 102. & 103 desire of good has reason. 37 desire is born from love of an absent thing. 38 God, supreme over all things. 87 God is above all time. 81 God governs lower bodies through higher ones. 186 God customarily forewarns of future calamities by heavenly signs. 192 the worshippers of the devil most miserable. 203 the devil, see Demons. 182 Diana, a pagan goddess. 182 the transparent element conveys the appearance of color to the eyes it moves. 109 a universal flood is to come, when all the wandering stars have come together in Capricorn, as Berosus thinks. 212 a particular flood can happen, but not a universal one. 212 the cause of the abduction of Dine. 250 how the companions of Diomedes were changed into birds. 163 concerning the most terrible genius, or specter, of Dion, Plato's disciple. 176. 177 the mysteries of disciplines are not to be handed down to the common people. 171. 172 in whom the power of divination is chiefly found. 75. 76 that the power of divination is also in beasts. 77 divination is twofold. 77 supernatural divination, what and of what kind it is. 78. 79 whether divination is more by sleep than by waking. 76 by what things the divinatory power is assisted. ibid. the rich, by genius and nature, are subject to fascination. 54 the desire for riches, the cause of how many evils, and its etymology. 261. & thereon the etymon. ibid. barrels emptied by lightning, the coverings untouched, and no trace left. 30 demons can easily move an entire house. 210 a dragon bound in the abyss. 179 the dragons brought about by Egyptian magi were not real, but specters. 163 the head of the celestial dragon, joined with Jupiter, to obtain something. 29 the Druids did not commonly teach their own institutions. 172
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INDEX. E. Ecclesia, omnium communis mater. 233 Echeneis, paruus admodum pisciculus, sistit ac remoratur naues, sæuiëtibus etiam vehementer ventis. 19 Echeneis piscis ad amatorium fascinu[m] componendum aptus. 41 Echeneidem piscem naues minimè remorari posse. 131. & 132 Effectuum contrariorum eadem causa existere nequit. 127 Egestatem rerum victui necessariaru[m] dæmones, Deo volente, inducere possunt. 83 Eleemosynæ virtus. 260 Elementa, mundi partes, ex quibus omnia fiunt. 148 Elemétorum vnum à suo loco totum dimoueri Deus non patitur, ne mudu destruitur ordo. 212 Elementa fascino concuti. 5 Embryo quasi alienum corpus à matri censendus est. 97 Embryo ob repentinos animi motus nota absque læsione facillimè signatur. 98 Enses Alamanici quo ex genere ferri fiant. 199 Epictetus, Stoicus nobilissimus, quid sensit de affectibus humanis. 67 Epicurus inueniendæ veritatis spe n abiecit. 60 Equorum colores ex humorum prædominio oriri. 91 Equos suribundos domare verbis. 24 Equi aspectu delectabiles fascino patent. 54 Eryngium ore capræ sumptum, totu[m] sistit gregem. 19 Euangeliu[m], pharmacum efficax. 146 Eubæa insula olim terra cōtihens. 211 Europavnde hoc nome sumpserit. 141 Eutelis, sui amore correptus, miserrimè periit. 44 Excommunicationis sentetia an contra animalia bruta ferenda sit. 159. 160 Execrationes parentum in filios, perniciosæ. | 25| Ezechiel ab Angelo per aerem translatus. | 181| F Fabius senator ac Prætor, pilo in lacte absorpto, vitam cum morte commutauit. 225 Fabulæ nonnullæ poetarum ex sacrarum scripturarum veritate desumptæ. 212 Fascinare homo naturaliter potest. 46 ad Fascinandum nemo nascitur idoneus. 223 Fascinantium qualitates veræ, & cautiones. 232 Fascinantiu[m] præcipua ceremonia est; abnegare Christum. 237 Fascinantis virtutis hæredes. 207 nec infantem, nec senem Fascinare posse. 129 Fascinantes species & vires imperceptibiliter, & velocissimè ad rem effascinandam penetrant. 36 Fascinare possunt verba quoquomodo prolata. 23 Fascinâdi vi carent vox, verba, characteres, &c. 137 ad Fascinandum concurrir obseruatione cæli: hac de re caput integru[m]. 27 ad Fascinandum quinam sint potentiores. 49 ad Fascinandum cur impellantur homines. 217 non Fascinant externæ species. 99 Fascinantium signa in oculis vnde. 237 de Fascinantium dæmonum communibus cautionibus. 233 Fascinantiu[m] animi ad Ioue[m] planeta[m] delati, in nubem conuertuntur, &c. 30 Fascinantium illusiones à dæmonibus excitantur. 143 Fascinates dæmones quid possint. 246
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INDEX. E. Church, the common mother of all. 233 Echeneis, a very small fish, stops and delays ships, even in the fiercest winds. 19 The fish echeneis is suited for preparing an amatory fascination. 41 The fish echeneis cannot at all delay ships. 131. & 132 The same cause cannot produce contrary effects. 127 Demons, God willing, can bring about a lack of things necessary for sustenance. 83 The virtue of almsgiving. 260 Elements, the parts of the world, from which all things are made. 148 God does not allow one of the elements to be entirely removed from its place, lest the order of the world be destroyed. 212 Elements shaken by fascination. 5 The embryo is to be regarded as a body foreign to the mother. 97 The embryo is very easily marked without injury by sudden movements of the mind. 98 German swords, of what kind of iron they are made. 199 Epictetus, the most noble Stoic, what he thought about human affections. 67 Epicurus abandoned the hope of finding the truth. 60 The colors of horses arise from the predominance of humors. 91 To tame enraged horses with words. 24 Horses, pleasant to behold, are subject to fascination. 54 Eryngium taken in the mouth of a goat stops the whole herd. 19 The Gospel, an effective remedy. 146 Euboea, an island once joined to the mainland. 211 From where Europe took this name. 141 Eutelis, seized by self-love, perished most miserably. 44 Whether the sentence of excommunication should be pronounced against brute animals. 159. 160 Execrations of parents against their children, pernicious. | 25| Ezekiel carried through the air by an angel. | 181| F. Fabius, senator and praetor, after swallowing a pearl in milk, exchanged life for death. 225 Some poets’ fables are taken from the truth of the sacred Scriptures. 212 Man can naturally fascinate. 46 No one is born fit for fascination. 223 The true qualities and cautions of those who fascinate. 232 The chief ceremony of the fascinators is to deny Christ. 237 Heirs of the power of fascination. 207 That neither an infant nor an old man can fascinate. 129 Fascinating appearances and powers penetrate imperceptibly and most swiftly to bewitch a thing. 36 Words spoken in any manner whatever can fascinate. 23 Voice, words, characters, etc., lack the power of being fascinated. 137 Toward fascination, observation of the heavens contributes: a whole chapter on this matter. 27 Who are more powerful for fascination. 49 Why men are impelled toward fascination. 217 External appearances do not fascinate. 99 Whence the signs of fascinators in the eyes. 237 On the common cautions of the demons of fascination. 233 The minds of fascinators, carried to the planet Jupiter, are turned into a cloud, etc. 30 The illusions of fascinators are stirred up by demons. 143 What fascinated demons can do. 246
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INDEX. fascinantes numeri. 147 fascinare sese an aliqui possint. 44. 221 fascinant potissimum aniculæ. 13 fascinatis medici mederi nequeunt. 216 fascinare pro inuidere apud D. Paulu[m] ad Galatas. 213 fascinationis causâ à natura no[n] ab arte manare. 43 fascinatio per visum sit maximè. 16 fascinatio malignitatis obscurat bona, ait sapientia Salomonis. 5 fascinationes dæmonum quibus armis propelli valeant. 253 fascinatio dæmonibus ascribenda. 130 fascinatio segetum & pecudum dæmonibus attribuenda. 120 fascinatores à veneficis no[n] distingui. 5 fascinator amorem, odium, valetudinem, ægritudinem, vitam, & interitum inferre potest. 8 naturâ fascinatores, qui & quales: exempla. 47. 48 an aliqui fascinatores nascuntur. 46 fascinatorum impostura ibi detegitur 163 fascinatrices mulierculæ. 4 fascinatores quot modis alios venenant. 2 fascinatores capite plectendi. 3 fascini ex causis efficientibus definitio. 6 fascini definitio propria. 203 fascinum, magiæ species. 3 fascini nomen duobus apud veteres accipi modis. 205 fascini quotuplex differentia. 33 fascinum simplex, duplex, triplex, & multiplex interdum appellatur. 210 de fascini veris speciebus. 42. 119 fascinum per quam diffetentiam diuidatur. 220 fascini causa quo pacto dæmones esse queant. 206 fascini causa effectiua duplex. 216 fascini duæ qualitates. 33 fascini qualitas essentialis & accidentalis. 47 fascinum quale sit: hac de re caput integrum. 32 propter quid sit fascinum. 37 fascinu[m] ob fines multiplices fieri. 210 fascinum ide[m] multaru[m] specierum habet naturam. 220 fascinum naturale, & fascinum artificiale quid discrepent. 43 fascini naturam ob eius obscuritatem non attigerunt philosophi. 1 fascinum an in rerum vniuersitate reperiri quear. 2 fascinum natura non esse. 230 fascinu[m] arte factu[m], natura fieri posse 46 fascinum quàm nefandum, & periculosum. 2 fascini vis virulenta, & lethalis. 215 fascinum perniciosissima est præditum qualitate, omnium actiuarum efficacissima. 52. absque tamen patientis aptitudine agere non potest. ibid. fascinum cur non æquè noceat cunctis. 35 fascini obiectum duplex. 42 fascinum semper ad virtutum cum moralium, tum naturalium corruptionem tendit. 43 fascini vis abdita, & salebrosa. 1 fascinum semper esse malum demonstratur. ibi. 42. 43 fascinum qui negant, philosophiam tollere videntur. 5 fascinum esse, sacris probatur bibliis. 5 fascinum omne perniciosa qualitate est prædirum, quia est venenum. 32 fascinum septem solet vsurpari modis. 62 fascinum propter quid sit, iuxta veram Theologorum sententiam. 216 fascinum quale sit, ex Theologorum sententia. 215 o iii
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INDEX. fascinantes numeri. 147 whether one can be fascinated by something. 44. 221 old women are especially fascinating. 13 the fascinated cannot be helped by physicians. 216 to fascinate, used for to envy in St. Paul to the Galatians. 213 that the cause of fascination arises from nature, not from art. 43 fascination is especially through sight. 16 the fascination of malignity obscures good things, says the wisdom of Solomon. 5 the weapons by which the fascinations of demons may be repelled. 253 fascination is to be ascribed to demons. 130 the fascination of crops and livestock is to be attributed to demons. 120 fascinators are not distinguished from sorcerers. 5 a fascinator can inflict love, hatred, health, illness, life, and death. 8 by nature, fascinators; who and what sort they are: examples. 47. 48 whether some fascinators are born. 46 there the imposture of fascinators is exposed 163 fascinating women. 4 how many ways fascinators poison others. 2 fascinators are to be punished with death. 3 definition of fascination from efficient causes. 6 proper definition of fascination. 203 fascinum, a kind of magic. 3 the word fascinum was taken in two ways among the ancients. 205 the kinds of fascinum, how many there are. 33 fascinum is sometimes called simple, double, triple, and multiple. 210 concerning the true species of fascinum. 42. 119 by what difference fascinum is divided. 220 how the cause of fascinum may be demons. 206 the efficient cause of fascination is twofold. 216 the two qualities of fascination. 33 the essential and accidental quality of fascination. 47 what kind of thing fascination is: an entire chapter on this matter. 32 why there is fascination. 37 fascination exists for many ends. 210 the same fascination has the nature of many species. 220 what differs between natural fascination and artificial fascination. 43 philosophers have not grasped the nature of fascination because of its obscurity. 1 whether fascination is found in the whole universe. 2 fascination is not a natural thing. 230 fascination made by art can be made by nature. 46 how nefarious and dangerous fascination is. 2 the virulent and deadly force of fascination. 215 fascination is endowed with a most pernicious quality, the most effective of all active things. 52. Yet it cannot act without the disposition of the patient. ibid. why fascination does not harm all equally. 35 the object of fascination is twofold. 42 fascination always tends toward the corruption of virtues, both moral and natural. 43 the hidden and treacherous force of fascination. 1 that fascination is always evil is demonstrated. ibid. 42. 43 those who deny fascination seem to overturn philosophy. 5 that fascination exists is proven by the sacred Scriptures. 5 every fascination is endowed with a harmful quality, because it is poison. 32 fascination is usually used in seven senses. 62 why fascination is, according to the true opinion of the theologians. 216 what fascination is, according to the opinion of the theologians. 215 o iii
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INDEX. fascinum ex artis & naturæ principiis habet originem. 7 fascina varia ex variis animalibus sumi. 40.41 fascini auctor diabolus. 231 fascinum à contagio discrepat. 121 fascinum æquiparatur igni. 35 fascini vires vt augentur. 34 fascinum etiam ab ipsis vibratur parentibus. 16 fascinum coelestia corpora iuuant. 49 fascinum non minus propter amorem, quàm propter odiu[m] infertur. 37 fascinum per tactum fieri non posse demonstratur. 122 fascinum sola voce fieri. 21 fascinandum laudando fieri. 4 fascinum per metallorum vsum. 29 fascinum per duodecim zodiaci signorum obseruationem. 28 fascinum amatorium quibus ex rebus fiat. 40.41 fascino amatorio quinam citiùs inficiantur. 54 fascino amatorio nequis inficiatur, remedium saluberrimum. 57 fascinum inferri tactu. 17 fascinu[m] per visum dare confutatur. 105 fascinum visu, tactu, voce, & imaginatione vibratur. 36. per imaginatione perniciosius, quàm per tactu[m] ibi qui fascino sint magis obnoxij. 52 fascinum quo pacto per visum fiat. 13 fascini mixtio ex Ouidio. 18 fascino sunt patentiora corpora rara. 52 fascino patent forma & venustas. 54 fascinum loquentium auctoritatum vera expositio. 204 fascino obstandum citò. 55 fascinum quo pacto mortem inferre possit. 34 contra fascina amatoria remedia. 57 fascini amuleta, & remedia. 55. fauni, dæmonum nomen. 175 ferrum attritum magnete cur ad septentrionem vertatur. 133.134 ferri massam monstrosam ex fulmine fuisse lapsam. 198 ferrum pluere. 31 fescennini versus. 205 fidem qui rebus claris non habet, sensu carent. 232 fides icta vnisonam impellit, ab ea que tinnitus elicit. 20. & cur. 136 fidem persuasione concipi. 1256 filij in parentes improbi & ingrati vt puniuntur. 154.155 simbriæ Iesu Christi virtus. 146 sinis dupliciter considerandus. 37 cuius sinis bonus est, & ipsum etiam bonum esse opus est. 42 sinnus quidam venale exhibebat ventum. 201 firmamentum, cor orbis vniuersi, & omnium, quæ cernuntur, maximè diuinum. 187 firmamentum, orbis vniuersi præstantissima pars, quæ est Dei habitatio. 187 fluuij, quorum alij nigros, alij flauos, &c. reddunt agnos. 93.94 foeminas visu vbique nocere. 2 foetus cur vtrique parenti in diuersis partibus sit similis. 92 foetus in vtero ob desiderium matris quo pacto signetur. 97.98 fons amorem depellens. 57 forma, cuiusque rei potior & nobilior pars. 138 formas vniuersaliores à superioribus intelligentiis contineri. 80 formæ veræ existere nequeunt, nisi cum ipso subiecto, cui insunt. 71 de formarum naturalium generatione Aristotelis sententia. 160 formicarum soletria ac diligentia. 78. 156 frigus imaginado, frigore corripitur. 11 frugu[m] penuria ex ortu cometaru[m]. 30
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INDEX. fascination has its origin from the principles of art and nature. 7 various fascinations are taken from various animals. 40.41 the author of fascination is the devil. 231 fascination differs from contagion. 121 fascination is compared to fire. 35 the powers of fascination are increased in what way. 34 fascination is even cast by the parents themselves. 16 heavenly bodies assist fascination. 49 fascination is inflicted no less because of love than because of hatred. 37 it is shown that fascination cannot be done by touch. 122 fascination is done by a mere voice. 21 that a person is made subject to fascination by praise. 4 fascination by the use of metals. 29 fascination by observing the twelve signs of the zodiac. 28 the materials from which amatory fascination is made. 40.41 who are infected sooner by amatory fascination. 54 the most wholesome remedy, lest anyone be infected by amatory fascination. 57 fascination is conveyed by touch. 17 the claim that one can give fascination by sight is refuted. 105 fascination is conveyed by sight, touch, voice, and imagination. 36. by imagination more perniciously than by touch, there are those who are more exposed to fascination. 52 in what way fascination occurs through sight. 13 the mixture of fascinations from Ovid. 18 for fascination, bodies that are more open and rarefied are suitable. 52 in form and beauty there lies openness to fascination. 54 a true explanation of the words of authorities concerning fascination. 204 fascination must be resisted quickly. 55 in what way fascination can bring death. 34 remedies against amatory fascinations. 57 amulets and remedies for fascination. 55. fauni, a name of demons. 175 why iron, when rubbed with a magnet, turns toward the north. 133.134 that a mass of iron was fallen from lightning. 198 it rains iron. 31 the Fescennine verses. 205 those who do not have faith in clear matters are devoid of sense. 232 faith, struck, drives the unison, from which it elicits a ringing. 20. and why. 136 that faith is conceived through persuasion. 1256 how wicked and ungrateful sons toward their parents are punished. 154.155 the power of the hem of Jesus Christ. 146 the end must be considered in two ways. 37 whose end is good, it is also necessary that the thing itself be good. 42 a certain Sinnus was offering wind for sale. 201 the firmament, the heart of the universe, and of all things that are seen, especially divine. 187 the firmament, the most excellent part of the universe, which is the dwelling-place of God. 187 rivers, some of which produce black lambs, others yellow, etc. 93.94 that women harm everywhere by sight. 2 why the fetus in the womb is similar to both parents in different parts. 92 in what way the fetus in the womb is marked by the mother’s desire. 97.98 a spring that drives away love. 57 form, the better and nobler part of each thing. 138 more universal forms are contained by higher intelligences. 80 true forms cannot exist unless together with the very subject in which they inhere. 71 Aristotle’s opinion on the generation of natural forms. 160 the cleverness and diligence of ants. 78. 156 the imagination is chilled, being seized by cold. 11 scarcity of grain from the rising of comets. 30
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INDEX. fruges pellici veneficiis. 3 fructus omnes à demonibus læsi, quòd decima hominum pars illi non fuis- set immolata. 175 fulguratores sacerdotes. 202 fulguris & fulminis differentia. 197 fulminum ex Aristotele duo geneta: ex Seneca tria. 196 fulmina vt fiunt. 195 fulminum ictus vnde. 30 fulmine omnia feruntur. 197 fulmina arceri, & impetrari verbis. 25 fulminis lapides quo pacto fiant. 198 fulminu[m] effectu[m] miri, & incredibiles. 30 fulmine arborum rami tacti, cur sese sursum tollant: & homo quoque fa- ciem erigar. 198 fulmina ab Ioue mirti confutâtur. 196 fulmina cur adscripta Ioui. 30 de fulminibus procurandis, & expian- dis lex lata. ibid. fulmina procurabant & expiabat He- trusci sacerdotes. ibid. fulmina dæmonum vis excitat. 155 fulmina ex voluntate fascinantium. 30 fungi è terra auuli, odore solo perdût homines. 20 fungis naturam cælestem inesse. 113 in furnum ignitum qui ingrediuntur illæsi. 141 furti inueniendi quorûda superstitio. 23 fururi cognitionem duobus conside- rari modis. 81 futurorum ignarus est homo. 77 furura præsagiendi virrus quibus ho- minibus potissimum insit. 75.76 furura imaginatione præsagiri. 9 furura quatuor modis dæmones co- gnoscunt. 82. & 83 furura quænam certò à dæmonibus præsciri queant. 81 furura an dæmones præsciant. 79 G GAlbæ imperatoris auus prouoca- bat fulmina. 31 galeatius ob amore se vita priuauit. 40 gallinacei pulli eius coloris excudi pu- tâtur, qui ipsis incubantibus fuit ob- iectus. 10 galli gallinacei obtutus timorem incu- tit leoni. 14 galloru[m] cantus intempestius futuram denunciat pluuiam. 77 gargulus auis ictericium haurit mor- bum. 15. & moritur. ibid. gaudium quid sit. 243 gaudui rei præsentis amore nascitur. 38 gaudium calorem incutir. 104 gaudium boni habet rationem. 37 gaudij consideratio duplex. 243 generatio rerum vt sit. 160.161 in generatione mas formam, foemina inateriam præber. 91 genius bonus & malus hominum cuis- que deputatus. 176 genius qui apparuit Bruto. ibid. per genium iurare, maximum apud Ethnicos exitit iuramentum. 177 de geniis Bruti, Dionis, Socratis, & a- liorum, narratio mira. 176.177 in germania cur tor nascantur mõstra. 240 gidica amatorio infecta poculo vitæ finem dedit. 40 gigantum aduersus Iouem bellum à Babelis turri sumptum. 212 super gladiu[m] acutissimu[m] ambulare. 24 græcorum mos ad aliquid obtinendu[m]. 29 grandines bruta, homines, & arbores prosternentes. 31 grandinem in bello pro armorum vi- ce gerere. 201 grandines verbis arceri, & impetrari. 25 grandines dæmonum verbis excitant fascinatores. 155 grauidarum mulierum desideria, vide dictionem Mulieris. grues, animalia ciuilia. 186 gruum instinctus initus. 78
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INDEX. fruges enticed by poisonings. 3 all fruits harmed by demons, because the tenth part of mankind had not been sacrificed to them. 175 priests who avert lightning. 202 difference between lightning and thunderbolt. 197 two kinds of thunderbolts according to Aristotle; three according to Seneca. 196 how thunderbolts are formed. 195 whence thunderbolts strike. 30 all things are struck by lightning. 197 lightning can be warded off and procured by words. 25 how thunderstones are formed. 198 the marvelous and incredible effects of thunderbolts. 30 why the branches of trees struck by lightning raise themselves upward; and why a man’s face is also uplifted. 198 that thunderbolts are confuted by Jupiter. 196 why thunderbolts are attributed to Jupiter. 30 a law was passed concerning the averting and expiation of thunderbolts. ibid. the Etruscan priests averted and expiated thunderbolts. ibid. the power of demons excites thunderbolts. 155 thunderbolts from the will of sorcerers. 30 mushrooms torn from the earth, whose mere smell has killed men. 20 that a heavenly nature inheres in mushrooms. 113 those who enter a fiery oven unharmed. 141 the superstition of finding thieves. 23 knowledge of the future considered in two ways. 81 man is ignorant of the future. 77 in whom the power of foretelling the future chiefly resides. 75.76 the future is foretold by imagination. 9 demons know future things in four ways. 82. & 83 what future things can be certainly foreknown by demons. 81 whether demons foresee the future. 79 G the grandfather of Emperor Galba provoked lightning. 31 Galeatius killed himself for love. 40 it is thought that the chicks of hens are hatched of the same color as that which was placed before them while they were brooding. 10 the gaze of the cock incites fear in the lion. 14 the crowing of roosters at an untimely hour announces coming rain. 77 the bird gargulus takes the jaundice disease into itself and dies. ibid. what joy is. 243 joy is born from love of a present thing. 38 joy brings heat. 104 joy has the character of a good. 37 a twofold consideration of joy. 243 how the generation of things takes place. 160.161 in generation, the male provides the form, the female the matter. 91 a good and an evil genius assigned to each man. 176 the genius that appeared to Brutus. ibid. to swear by one’s genius, the greatest oath among the pagans. 177 a remarkable account of the genii of Brutus, Dio, Socrates, and others. 176.177 in Germany, why monsters are often born. 240 Gidica, infected with a love potion, ended her life. 40 the war of the giants against Jupiter is taken from the Tower of Babel. 212 to walk upon the sharpest sword. 24 the custom of the Greeks for obtaining something. 29 hailstones overthrowing beasts, men, and trees. 31 to use hail in war in place of arms. 201 hail can be warded off and procured by words. 25 sorcerers evoke hail by words. 155 the desires of pregnant women, see the entry Woman. cranes, civil animals. 186 the instinct of cranes is inborn. 78
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INDEX. H H Adirigus quidam magieis presti giis longius à suis familiaribus auulsus, cum equo per vasta maris spatia ad propria reductus fuit. 180 hæretici de libeto arbitrio refelluntur. 246 hæmon Thebanus amoris impatientia sibi mortem consciuit. 40 hagberta, puella magica cælum deponere, terram suspendere, fontes duros reddere, montes diluere, sidera cælis deripere posse credebatur, &c. 169.170 halitus hominis fascinare nequit. 128 haquinus, Nouergiæ princeps, grandine, armorum loco, contra hostes pugnabat. 201 hebræi doctores religionis mysteria vulgo non tradebant. 172 helsingorum præstigię. 165 henrico, regi Suetiæ, parebant venti. 201 herbarum vis contra dæmones. 241 herba, qua Indi dæmones cōsulunt, & alloquuntur. 183 herbæ, ex quibus fiunt amatoria. 41 herbæ ad diuinandum conferentes. 76 herbæ, quibus sortilegi dæmones euo cant. 189.183.184 in herbis colligendis an verba proferre liceat. 159 herbæ ad amorem nihil conferût. 251 hercules fascinatus, sese in Octa mōte combussit. 52 M. Herennium sereno die ictum fulmine refellitur. 197 hirundinum natura. 78 hirudo custodit tempus aduentus sui 79 historiis non adhibere fidem, petini- quum. 4 hollerus magus arte sua, & osse maria traiiciebat. 180.181 homicidæ quo pacto deprehenduntur, & arguuntur. 20 homo, naturę miraculum. 228 homo, paruus quidam mundus, in quo omnia vnita reperiuntur, quæ sparsim in orbe toto sparguntur. 1 14. 185 hominem Deus ad sui ipsius archetypum effinxit, omnis mali, & miseriarum expertem. 226 homo inter angelos & bestias mediis. 22 hominis triplex status. 231 homo ex duplici natura compositus. 28 homo cur solus ex omnibus animalibus cælum versus est erectus. 229 homini soli, qui diuinus est, rationem ad omnia sibi necessaria parada largitus est Deus. 124 hominum, quàm cæterorum animalium, differentiæ plures. 10 homo omnium animantium temperatissimus. 126 hominis natura non est nouerca. 225 hominis cutis, temperici veluti regula, ac potissimùm ea quæ est in manu. 126 hominum origo prima in qua mundi parte fuerit: hac de re historia elegans & faceta. 139 homo sui ipsius interitus, & calamitatum causâ fuit. 226 homo actu tantùm immortalis erat, non autem potestate. ibid. homosi non peccasset, post longum æuum omnes in cælo immortalitate donati fuissemus. 227 hominis natura, post Adæ lapsu[m], quot & quibus exposita sit malis. 217 quicquid homo concipit, illud est homo. 8 hominis
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INDEX. H H Adirigus, a certain man, by magical powers, being carried far away from his familiars, was brought back to his own country on horseback across the vast stretches of the sea. 180 heretics refuted concerning free will. 246 Hæmon of Thebes, through impatience of love, brought death upon himself. 40 Hagberta, a magical girl, was believed to be able to bring down the sky, suspend the earth, dry up fountains, melt mountains, and tear the stars from the heavens, etc. 169.170 the breath of a man cannot bewitch. 128 Haquinus, prince of Norway, fought against his enemies with hail instead of weapons. 201 Hebrew doctors did not commonly hand down the mysteries of religion. 172 the tricks of the Helsings. 165 to Henry, king of Sweden, the winds were obedient. 201 the power of herbs against demons. 241 the herb by which the Indians consult and converse with demons. 183 herbs from which love potions are made. 41 herbs contributing to divination. 76 herbs by which sorcerers drive away demons. 189.183.184 whether in gathering herbs it is lawful to utter words. 159 herbs contribute nothing to love. 251 Hercules, bewitched, burnt himself on Mount Oeta. 52 M. Herennius, on a clear day struck by lightning, is refuted. 197 the nature of swallows. 78 the leech guards the time of its own coming. 79 not to trust histories, a petty question. 4 Hollerus, a magician, by his art and a bone crossed the seas. 180.181 how murderers are detected and convicted. 20 man, the marvel of nature. 228 man, a small world, in whom are found united all the things that are scattered throughout the whole world. 1 14. 185 God fashioned man according to His own archetype, free from every evil and misery. 226 man is intermediate between angels and beasts. 22 the triple state of man. 231 man composed of a twofold nature. 28 why man alone of all animals is upright toward heaven. 229 to man alone, who is divine, God has granted reason for all things necessary to himself. 124 there are more differences among men than among the other animals. 10 man is the most moderately tempered of all living creatures. 126 man's nature is not a stepmother. 225 the skin of man, as it were a rule of temperance, especially that which is in the hand. 126 in what part of the world the first origin of men was; an elegant and witty story on this matter. 139 man was the cause of his own destruction and calamities. 226 man was immortal only in act, but not in power. ibid. if man had not sinned, after a long age we should all have been endowed with immortality in heaven. 227 into how many and what evils human nature after Adam's fall was exposed. 217 whatever a man conceives, that is man. 8 of man
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INDEX. hominis ingenium ex patria, & educatione censerur. 225 homo ictus fulmine cur iaceat supinus. 198 homnis imbecillitas quanta. 256 homo homini lupus. 230 homo ignorat futura. 77 homo veneno carer, igitur fascinare nequit. 224 homines in lupos conuersi. 167 homines in lupos per stagneum quoddam in lupos mutari, & per annos nouem cum æteris lupis congregati, & eo rempore peracto, in pristinam redire formam. 167 homo in lupi specie vulneratus à venarore quodam. 168 homines per aëra à dæmonibus vecti. 177 homines tum à bonis, tum à malis angelis per aëra ferri. 179 hominum in animalia mutationes non esse veras, sed secundum apparentiam. 172 humida qualitas quo pacto noxia. 33 hyacinthus lapis obest fascino. 56 hyæna vmbræ suæ cõractu canes obmutesfacit. 18. & eius vis in homines, & canes dormientes. 18 Hyęnę frontis corium fascino resister creditum. 55 hyænæ pili ad philtro componenda percommodi. 41 hyænæ astus vt impeditur. 18 hyslopum cõtra fascinum salubre. 56 I Iacob gregis prolificatio diuersicolor vnde. 11. 93 Iacobi Verardi vxor oppressa beneficio. 247 Icterus auis morbum attrahit ictericium. 5. 15 ideæ existunt in mente diuina. 74 ideales rationes in diuina mente, sunt validissimæ procreâdi causæ, quoad materiam & formam. 80 Idola Ægypti aduentu Christi occiderunt. 177. 178 idolorum cultura, totius mali causa, & initium, & finis. 222 iciunium dæmones eiicit. 528 iesu nominis quanta, & quàm magna virtus. 225 4 illyrij effascinant visu. 208 imaginationis natura, ac munus. 63 imaginationis vis mira. 7 imaginatio diuinandi vires affert secum. 76 imaginatio cuilibet sensui similis. 113 imaginado futura præscii inequeût. 79 imaginatione animæ immutatur spiritus. 3 non per imaginandi vires, sed per demonum auxilium occulta quædam, & futura præsciuntur. 80 imaginatio in suo vel in alieno corpore nihil immutare potest. 73 per imaginandivim quo pacto occulta & futura præsciri queant. 75 imaginatio rerum formidabilium picturæ similis. 73 imaginationis potestas absque specie & actu quidquam agere nequit. 70 imaginationem non perfectè ad imitandum assequuntur bruta, vt homo, 65 in imaginatione simulacta formata tenuem & spiritualem habent essentiam. 74 imaginatione corrupta, multa menti sese offerunt spectra. 68 imaginandi actus extra imaginantem non transir. 72 imaginationem nihil ad prolis similitudinem efficere. 90. 91. hac de re Lucretij versus. ibid. imaginatio attingere potest externa corpora. 7 imaginationis vis in mulieris concubitu. 9 u
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INDEX. a person's character is judged from his country and education. 225 why a man struck by lightning lies supine. 198 how great is man's weakness. 256 man is a wolf to man. 230 man is ignorant of the future. 77 a man lacking poison, therefore cannot bewitch. 224 men turned into wolves. 167 men are changed into wolves by means of some marsh, and after being gathered together with the other wolves for nine years, when that time has passed, they return to their former form. 167 a man in the form of a wolf wounded by a certain hunter. 168 men carried through the air by demons. 177 men are borne through the air both by good and by evil angels. 179 that transformations of men into animals are not real, but only in appearance. 172 how the humid quality is harmful. 33 the hyacinth stone is an obstacle to fascination. 56 the hyena, by the contraction of its shadow, is believed to silence dogs. 18. and its power over sleeping men and dogs. 18 the hide of a hyena's forehead was believed to resist fascination. 55 the hairs of a hyena are very suitable for making a philter. 41 the cunning of the hyena and how it is thwarted. 18 hysop is wholesome against fascination. 56 I Jacob's flock's prolific increase, and whence its varied color. 11. 93 the wife of Jacobi Verardi ravished by benefit. 247 the Icterus bird attracts the disease icterus. 5. 15 ideas exist in the divine mind. 74 ideal reasons in the divine mind are the most powerful causes of procreation, as to matter and form. 80 the idols of Egypt perished at the coming of Christ. 177. 178 the worship of idols, the cause, beginning, and end of all evil. 222 fasting drives out demons. 528 the power and great force of the name of Jesus. 225 4 the Illyrians bewitch by sight. 208 the nature and function of imagination. 63 the wonder of the power of imagination. 7 imagination brings with it the powers of divination. 76 imagination is similar to every sense. 113 they cannot foresee the future by imagination. 79 by imagination the spirit of the soul is changed. 3 not through the powers of imagining, but through the help of demons are certain hidden things and future events foreknown. 80 imagination can change nothing in its own body or in another's. 73 by the power of imagining, in what way hidden things and future events may be foreknown. 75 imagination is like a picture of frightful things. 73 the power of imagination cannot do anything without a form and an act. 70 brute animals, like man, do not fully attain to imitation in imagination. 65 things formed in imaginary simulation have a thin and spiritual essence. 74 when imagination is corrupted, many spectres present themselves to the mind. 68 the act of imagining does not pass outside the one imagining. 72 that imagination can do nothing toward the resemblance of offspring. 90. 91. on this matter verses of Lucretius. ibid. imagination can affect external bodies. 7 the power of imagination in a woman's intercourse. 9 u
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INDEX. imaginationis falsæ mirus effectus. 66 imaginatio speculi similitudinem præ se fert. 71 imaginatione vehementi aliis petniciem inferri, & effascinati. 2.3.5 Imaginatricis vis loco, in brutis est æstimatiua. 65 imaginationis nomine tria significari. 70 imaginatione à supercælestibus substantiis adiuvari. 8 imaginationis spiritus quàm acutus, atque subtilis. 9 imaginationis spiritus seruus. 7 imaginatio cur nobis sit insita. 70 imaginatione futura prædicere. 9 imaginationis duo obiectorum genera. 65 imaginationis definitiones diuersæ ex diuersa Philosophorum schola. 64 imaginatio falsa vnde nascatur. 69 de aliquid impetrâdo plures modi. 29 impiis deus furatur, vt tribuat iustis, 93 impostura plurium incantatorum. 141. 142 incantantium verba timet serpentes, 23 incâratis medici mederi nequeût. 216 incantationes verba sunt animas rationales decipientia. 22 incantarionibus equos, tauros, canesque ferores sedati, sanguinem sisti, &c. 24 incantatoris etymologia. 157 incantatorem in bonam accipi aliquando partem. 157 incantatores falsò opinantur se, quò velint, transferri. 182 incâratores qua poena plectendi. 3.147 de indorum superstitione narratio, & historia. 183 industria dæmonum dolosa. 83 inertiæ damna. 255 infantes monstrosi ex imaginatione matris editi. 10 infanres mori fascino. 108 infantes eiulatu proprio sibi nocent. 45 infanria attribuitur lunæ. 32 infans dæmoni similis, qui in lucem editus, protinus saltare coepit. 11 infantes cur frequenter parentum signa, & notas referunt. 9 inuideles à dæmonibus possidētur. 154 ingenij humani varietas. 31 insania quibus causis sit. 68 instabilitas ascribitur lunæ. 27 insulæ multæ factæ sunt, quæ priùs iunctæ erant continenti. 21 intellectus hominum inferior dæmone, ordine naturæ. 87 intellectus seruit sensibus, & sensus seruiunt intellectui. 242 intellectus ad res vniuersales dirigitur, sensus verò ad particulares. 28 intellectus per simulacta particularium, res à sensibus perceptas intelligit. 63 inuidia quid sit ex Cicerone. 214 inuidia pallore rotu inficit corpus. 16 inuidia pascitur in viuos, & post fata quiescet. 61 inuidia mali habet rationem. 37 inuidia fascinatorum cotaminat corpus aliorum. 37 inuidi ad fascinandum apri. 49 inuidere pro fascinare frequêter sumi. 213. 214 inuidos ad Saturnu[m] planetâ referri. 29 io in iuuencam conuersa. 170 iphis amoris interiit impatientia. 48 iracundi cur familiaribus, & amicis graves, ac difficiles esse soleant. 45 ad iram dæmones concitant. 235 iratus est feræ similis. 50 iubilæum Iudæum, & Christianum. 151 iudicare non oportet secundum faciem. 67
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INDEX. The marvelous effect of false imagination. 66 Imagination bears the likeness of a mirror before it. 71 By vehement imagination harm is brought upon others, and those bewitched. 2, 3, 5 The imaginative power, in place of reason, is estimative in brute animals. 65 Three things are signified by the name of imagination. 70 Imagination is aided by supercelestial substances. 8 How sharp and subtle the spirit of imagination is. 9 The spirit of imagination is a servant. 7 Why imagination is innate in us. 70 To foretell future things by imagination. 9 The two kinds of objects of imagination. 65 The various definitions of imagination according to the various schools of philosophers. 64 Whence false imagination arises. 69 Many ways of obtaining something. 29 God takes from the ungodly, to give to the just. 93 The deceit of many enchanters. 141, 142 The words of enchanters are feared by serpents. 23 Doctors could not cure the bewitched. 216 Incantations are words deceiving rational souls. 22 By incantations horses, bulls, and dogs are calmed, blood is stopped, etc. 24 The etymology of enchanter. 157 An enchanter is sometimes taken in a good sense. 157 Enchanters falsely suppose that they are carried wherever they wish. 182 By what punishment enchanters are to be punished. 3, 147 A narrative and history of the superstition of the Indians. 183 The deceitful craft of demons. 83 The harm of idleness. 255 Monstrous infants born from the mother’s imagination. 10 Infants die by fascination. 108 Infants harm themselves by their own crying. 45 Infancy is attributed to the moon. 32 An infant like a demon, who, being brought into the light, immediately began to dance. 11 Why infants often resemble the marks and traits of their parents. 9 The unbelieving are possessed by demons. 154 The variety of the human mind. 31 By what causes madness exists. 68 Instability is ascribed to the moon. 27 Many islands have been made that were formerly joined to the mainland. 21 The understanding of men is, by the order of nature, inferior to the demon. 87 The understanding serves the senses, and the senses serve the understanding. 242 The understanding is directed to universal things, but the senses to particular things. 28 The understanding, through likenesses of particulars, understands things perceived by the senses. 63 What envy is, according to Cicero. 214 Envy makes the body pale and sickly. 16 Envy feeds on the living, and after death it will rest. 61 Envy has the nature of evil. 37 The envy of the bewitched contaminates the bodies of others. 37 The envious are ready for bewitching. 49 To envy is often taken for to bewitch. 213, 214 The envious are referred to the planet Saturn. 29 Io turned into a heifer. 170 Iphis died of impatience in love. 48 Why the irascible are usually troublesome and difficult with family and friends. 45 Demons stir up to anger. 235 The angry man is like a beast. 50 A jubilee, Jewish and Christian. 151 One must not judge according to appearance. 67
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INDEX. iupiter quòd decima hominum pars sibi nô fuisset immolata, magnas & miras Italis induxerat calamitates. 175 iupiter Lyceus humanis colebarur hostiis. 167 iuramentum per genium apud veteres solenne. 177 iustina imperatoris filia gladiatoris cuiusdam amore coriepta, quonam amulero liberata. 58 iuuentus attribuitur soli. 32 L Lacertæ ad philtra facienda per- commodæ. 41 lacertatum oua quo calore foueantur. 116 lactis pluuia. 31 læti qui propiè dicantur. 242 laminarum actio dæmonibus ascribenda. 192 lanam pluere. 31 de lanitij colore, Plinij opinio mita. 94 lapides preciosos fascinatis multùm prodesse. 56 lapides è cælo cadere instar pluulæ. 31 lapidem grandem influmen Ægos ex aëre cecidisse. 200 Lapis ex fulmine cadens qua ex materia fiat. 198 laruæ, dæmonum nomen. 175 lasciui à pudisissimis corporibus, etiam mosibundi, se temperare nequeunt. 45 lateres coctos pluere. 31 laurus recta fulmine, contra multorum opinionem. 197 lemures, dæmonum nomen. 175 leo naturâ calidus. 126 lepus naturâ siccus. ibid. leporis marini qualitates, & vires miræ. 19.20 lex pontificia de procurandis, & ex- piandis fulminibus. 30 legis dempto cultu, Dei amittitur gra- ria. 238 liberum partem quo pacto propitia- bant antiqui. 56.57 libidinis somites & robur. 245 libido adscribitur Veneri planetæ. 8. 27. 186 librorum sordidorum lectio vitanda. 255. 256 lilium contra fascinum salubre. 56 limbus ante Christi aduentum, ho- norum hominum locus erar, 178. qui possea destructus fuit. ibid. linguas turrim ædificantium deus cur dimisit. 140 linguâ fascinari. 3 lippitudo an alienis oculis incutiatur. 117 lippitudo non, nisi oculis, nocet: igitur fascinate nequit. 125 lippitudinis morbus solo contrahitur contuitu. 15 contra lippitudinem amuletum in charta duabus literis Græcis π. & α. scriptum. 26 literas à natura non esse, sed ex homi- num voluuntate. 140 literæ hieroglyphicæ. 171 de iis, qui collo literarum figuras sus- pensas portant. 138 locustæ verbis & characteribus è vi- neis & viridariis aicentur. 23.199 loquaces à dæmonum insidiis immu- nes esse nequeunt. 261 loth vxor an per dæmones in salis sta- iuum fuerit conuesa. 162 lucretius poëta amatorio poculo cor- reptus sibi intulit manum. 41 lucullus, imperator clarissimus, ama- torio poculo periit. 42 ludi Brabantiæ, in quibus memoratu dignum quid accidit. 11 ad lucem compescédam Romanorum mes. 56 luminis diffusio quadruplex. 108 û ij
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INDEX. Jupiter, because a tenth part of mankind had not been sacrificed to him, had brought great and wonderful calamities upon the Italians. 175 Jupiter Lyceus was worshipped with human victims. 167 An oath by the genius was customary among the ancients. 177 Justina, the emperor's daughter, being seized with love for a certain gladiator, by what amulet she was freed. 58 Youth is attributed to the sun. 32 L Lizards very convenient for making love-potions. 41 At what heat lizard eggs are warmed. 116 Rain of milk. 31 Who are properly called joyful. 242 The action of plates to be ascribed to demons. 192 Rain of wool. 31 Pliny's mistaken opinion concerning the color of wool. 94 Precious stones are of great use to those bewitched. 56 Stones falling from the sky like rain. 31 A great stone having fallen from the air into the river Aegos. 200 A stone falling from lightning, from what matter it is made. 198 Lemures, a name of demons. 175 The lustful cannot restrain themselves even from the most filthy bodies, even when dying. 45 Rain of baked bricks. 31 Laurel struck straight by lightning, contrary to the opinion of many. 197 Lemures, a name of demons. 175 The lion is naturally hot. 126 The hare is naturally dry. ibid. The qualities and wonderful powers of the sea-hare. 19.20 The pontifical law concerning the procuring and expiating of lightning. 30 By neglect of religion, the grace of God is lost. 238 How the ancients propitiated a part of the liver. 56.57 Companions and support of lust. 245 Lust is attributed to the planet Venus. 8. 27. 186 The reading of filthy books is to be avoided. 255. 256 The lily is a remedy against fascination. 56 The limbo before the coming of Christ was a place for honorable men, 178. which was afterward destroyed. ibid. Why God confounded the tongues of those building the tower. 140 To be bewitched by speech. 3 Whether inflammation of the eyes is inflicted by others' eyes. 117 Inflammation of the eyes harms only the eyes; therefore it cannot be bewitched. 125 The disease of inflammation of the eyes is contracted by mere looking. 15 An amulet against inflammation of the eyes, written on paper with two Greek letters, π and α. 26 That letters are not from nature, but from human will. 140 Hieroglyphic letters. 171 Concerning those who carry suspended on the neck figures of letters. 138 Locusts are driven away from vineyards and gardens by words and characters. 23.199 The talkative cannot be immune to the snares of demons. 261 Whether Lot's wife was changed by demons into a statue of salt. 162 The poet Lucretius, seized by a love-potion, laid hands on himself. 41 Lucullus, a most renowned commander, perished by a love-potion. 42 The games of Brabant, in which something worthy of mention occurred. 11 To check the Romans' lamp-light. 56 A fourfold diffusion of light. 108 û ij
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INDEX. luna iuncta Ioui ad obtinendum aliquid. 29 lupinas chordas agninis esse contrarias. lupinæ chordæ agnorum chordas sibi iunctas frangunt. 20 lupus ei adimit vocem, quem prior videt. 5.14 lupi quo pacto voce à se conspectos priuare dicantur. 115.116 lupi caudæ virus amatorium inesse. 41 in lupos homines conuerti. 167 lux, omnium qualitatum nobilissima. 184 lux duplex: vna mortalis, altera immortalis. 12 lux, rerum omnium præstantissima, oculorum causa creata. 12 lux actu colores reddit. 110 lux omnia penetrar, fouet, ac moderatur. 185 lux cælestis vitali quadam vi prædita. 185 lucem comitatur calorem. 185 M M[agn]acilenti effascinant. 51 Magnetis mystica virtus. 14 magnete ferrum. artritum cur ad sepentrionem spectet. 132 de magnete Lucretij versus. 34 magos nasci. 207 magorum Ægyptiorum virgas in veros serpentis fuisse conuersos, ex D. Augustini sententia. 162 magorum impostura ibi detegitur. 163 magus, qui taurum prostrauit verbis prolatis. 23 magicæ artis ludibria. 163 mala omnia ex originali peccato fluxere. 227 mala, quæ per infectionem communicantur, sunt multiplicia. 125 mala per dæmones inflicta piis, & iustis, ipsorum augent præmia. 239. 240 mala dæmones instigunt hominibus, Deo permittente, & iubente. 154 qui maledicunt parentibus, vt puni[n]tur. 155 maleficio homines ligari. 6 malitiam ad Saturnum planetam referri. 31 manes, dæmonum nomen. 175. marcus Herennius sereno die ictus fulmine. 30 mare à retra multis in locis recessis. 211 mare insuper in terras irrupisse, multaque loca sicca & habitata legitur circundasse. 211. mare mediterraneum excursu Oceani factum. 1bid. mares matri, & foeminæ patri sæpe similes. 94 maria virginis deiparæ templum à Nazareth ad Loretâ translatum ab angelis. 181 marmoritis herba, vim dæmonum euocandorum habens. 184 marsi, serpentum incantatores. 147 mathematici & philosophi discrimen. 148 matrimonium qui ineunt, vt suæ libidini vacet, super eos dæmones potestatem habent. 253 matrimonium quibus viis à dæmonibus impediatur. 248.249 D. Mauritij coenobium, cuius si monachorum aliqvis ægrotauerit, eiusdem conualescentia vel mors facilè præsagitur, & quomodo. 193 medea à dæmone per aërem portata. 177 medelæ corporis varius modus. 251 medici de ægrotorum affectibus coniicere possunt. 85 de medico spes quo pacto salutatis est ægrot. 103
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INDEX. the moon joined with Jupiter for obtaining something. 29 lupine strings are contrary to lamb’s strings. lupine strings break the strings of lambs joined to them. 20 the wolf takes away the voice from him whom it sees first. 5.14 how wolves are said to deprive those seen by them of voice. 115.116 that there is an amatory poison in the wolf’s tail. 41 that men are turned into wolves. 167 light, the noblest of all qualities. 184 light is twofold: one mortal, the other immortal. 12 light, the most excellent of all things, created as the cause of sight. 12 light actually renders colors. 110 light penetrates, nourishes, and governs all things. 185 heavenly light endowed with a certain vital power. 185 light is accompanied by heat. 185 M M[agn]acilenti bewitch. 51 the mystical power of the magnet. 14 the magnet and iron; why the needle points toward the north. 132 verses of Lucretius on the magnet. 34 that magi are born. 207 that the rods of the Egyptian magi were changed into real serpents, according to St. Augustine’s opinion. 162 their imposture is there detected. 163 a magician who overthrew a bull by spoken words. 23 the mockeries of the magic art. 163 all evils flowed from original sin. 227 evils communicated by contagion are many. 125 evils inflicted by demons on the pious and the just increase their rewards. 239. 240 evils are stirred up by demons against men, God permitting and commanding it. 154 those who curse their parents are punished. 155 that men are bound by witchcraft. 6 malice is referred to the planet Saturn. 31 manes, the name of demons. 175. Marcus Herennius struck by lightning on a clear day. 30 the sea has receded from many places. 211 furthermore, the sea broke into the land and is read to have surrounded many dry and inhabited places thus. 211. the Mediterranean Sea formed by the overflow of the Ocean. 1bid. males often resemble their mother, and females their father. 94 the temple of the Virgin Mother of God, from Nazareth to Loreto, translated by angels. 181 marmoritis, a herb having the power of summoning demons. 184 Marsi, enchanters of serpents. 147 the difference between mathematicians and philosophers. 148 those who enter marriage in order to indulge their lust are under the power of demons. 253 by what means marriage is hindered by demons. 248.249 the monastery of St. Mauritiius, in which, if any monk has fallen ill, his recovery or death is easily foreknown, and how. 193 Medea carried through the air by a demon. 177 different ways of curing the body. 251 physicians can infer from the conditions of the sick. 85 from a physician there is hope; in what way the sick man is saved. 103
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INDEX. de Medico frequenter ægrotantes sanat opinio. 22 Melancholici frigidi, sicci, & atri. 75. 76 Melancholicis diuinandi virtus attribuitur. 75 Melancholicis purgatiores reru[m] species insunt. 76 Melancholici fascinatores. 51 Melancholicus humor dæmonibus aptus. 240 Membranæ corporis animalis exangues, & frigidæ. 127 nescia mens hominum fati, sortisque futuræ. 77 Métés simplices corpora cælestia mouent. 174 Mentes simplices, quarum Aristoteles meminit, ipsi sunt angeli. 182 de Mentis intentione sententia Platonis. 22 Mentes hominum fascino turbari. 5 Mentes superiores, vide Angeli vocabulum. ibid. Menstruum muliebre quàm damnosum. 8.14 Menstrui muliebris virus potentissimum, & maximè noxium. 47 Messes ex agro in agrum traduci fascino. 4 Metallorum cuique planetæ singuli præsunt. 29 Metallicæ lâminæ cum characteribus insculptæ damnandæ. 190 Metallorum vsus in fascinis. 29 Metamorphoses poëticæ ibi plures cum exemplis propositæ. 170 Metempsychosis Pythagorica. 170 Methodus duplex, compositionis, & resolutionis. 205 Miluus in cælo cognouit tempus suu[m]. 79 Miracula naturæ non nimis anxiè rimanda. 5 Miseriæ propriæ vtilis consideratio. 157 monstrosi scætus vnde nascantur. 95 monstrorum in Germania nascetium causa. 240 môtem facilè dæmones mouere possunt. 210 morborum origo ex Galeno. 130 morborum origo à corporum dispositione. 52 morborum genera verbis arceri. 25 morbos varios hominibus & pecoribus à dæmonibus immitti. 83. 175 morbos quoldâ ex semine propagari. 95 morbos Christus pellebat sermone, & mortuos excitabat ad vitam. 145 morbos per dæmones illatos medici non expellunt. 120 morbos abigi carminibus. 24 morum prauitas à cælestibus corporibus dari non possunt hominibus, & cur. 188 mors, poena peccati. 227 mortem no[n] fecit Deus, sed impij manibus & verbis accersierunt illâ. 226 mortuum vllum nullus excitauit magus, vel dæmon. 162 mortuis non insultandum. 61 motuum differentia. 173 motus triplex. 101 motus idem est totius & partis. 174 motum primi cæli vitam omnibus rebus suppeditare. 185 motus cæli secundu[m] partes nouus. 189 quod motu primo mouetur, cætera mouet: atque eo quiescente, cuncta quiescunt. 185 puluis, in quo mula se voluntauerit, amuletum contra amatorium fascinum. 57 mulier natura mutabilis. 50 mulieres prægnantes sæpe carbones, sæpe cineres appetunt, &c. 98 mulieris in concubitu imaginatio mira. 9 u iii
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INDEX. The opinion that a physician frequently cures the sick. 22 Melancholic persons are cold, dry, and black. 75. 76 To melancholic persons the power of divination is attributed. 75 More purified forms of things are present in melancholic persons. 76 Melancholic persons as sorcerers. 51 The melancholic humor is suited to demons. 240 The membranes of an animal body are bloodless and cold. 127 The human mind, ignorant of fate and of the future lot. 77 Simple minds move the heavenly bodies. 174 Simple minds, of whom Aristotle makes mention, are angels themselves. 182 Plato’s opinion concerning the intention of the mind. 22 The minds of men are disturbed by enchantment. 5 Superior minds, see the word Angel. ibid. Female menstruation, how harmful. 8.14 The most powerful and most noxious poison of female menstruation. 47 Crops transported from field to field by enchantment. 4 The planets each preside over individual metals. 29 Metal plates engraved with characters are to be condemned. 190 The use of metals in charms. 29 Poetic metamorphoses are set forth there with many examples. 170 Pythagorean metempsychosis. 170 A twofold method: of composition and of resolution. 205 The kite in the sky knew its own time. 79 The wonders of nature are not to be investigated too anxiously. 5 The beneficial contemplation of one’s own miseries. 157 Whence monstrous births arise. 95 The cause of monsters being born in Germany. 240 The mind can easily be moved by demons. 210 The origin of diseases according to Galen. 130 The origin of diseases from the disposition of bodies. 52 Kinds of diseases driven away by words. 25 Various diseases inflicted on men and cattle by demons. 83. 175 That some diseases are propagated from seed. 95 Christ drove out diseases by speech, and raised the dead to life. 145 Diseases brought in by demons are not expelled by physicians. 120 Diseases driven away by incantations. 24 That depravity of morals cannot be given to men by heavenly bodies, and why. 188 Death, the punishment of sin. 227 God did not make death, but the ungodly summoned it with hands and words. 226 No magician or demon ever raised any dead person. 162 The dead are not to be insulted. 61 The difference of motions. 173 A threefold motion. 101 Motion is the same in the whole and in the part. 174 The motion of the first heaven supplies life to all things. 185 The motion of the heaven is new in its parts. 189 That which is moved by the first motion moves the rest; and when that ceases, all things cease. 185 Dust in which a mule has rolled itself, an amulet against amatory enchantment. 57 Woman is by nature changeable. 50 Pregnant women often crave coals, often ashes, etc. 98 The marvelous imagination of a woman in sexual intercourse. 9 u iii
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INDEX. mulieribus coniugatis circa genialem lactum elegantes imagines sunt proponendæ. 11 mulier, quæ per imaginationem concepit & peperit Æthiopem. 10 mulieris prægnatis desiderium an foetum macula aspergere possit. 97 mulieres menstruatæ insciunt specula. 14.116 mulierum crines cremati odore suo expellunt serpentes. 47 mulieres abortum facere, demonum malitia. 175 mulierum excrementa perniciosæ, & cur. 50 mulieres menstruales contactu vites in perpetuum lædunt, rutam & hederas mori faciunt, apes tactis aluearibus fugant, &c. mulieres mergi nequeunt, ne veste quidem grauatæ. mulieres quot modis fascinare queût. mulieres cur natura sua effascinent. mulierculæ fascinatrices. mulieres stabulariæ, quæ in iumenta vertebrant homines. mulierem Anglicanam arte magica illusam, in aërem cum horrendis clamoribus fuisse raptam. mulieres venustæ fascino patent. mundus ex nihilo creatus. mundum hunc inferiorem superioribus nationibus esse cõtiguum oportuit, vt omnis virtus eius inde gubernetur. mutes verbis capi. mulæ, dæmonum nomen. musicæ vis mita narratur. ibid. 153 mustella eiulatu miro in bufonis esse deuorandum inuchit. mutinus Deus, in cuius pudendo sinu nubentes primùm sedebant, vt illarum pudicitia prior Deus delibasse N Nabuchodonosor quo pacto in brutum conuersus. nanus quidam mirum in modum suspiciosus. narcyllus amore sui captus, interiit. nares, spiritus sunt meatus. natura, vnum est agendi principium: ars, alterum. natura arte prior. natura nihil frustra, nihilque vnum otiosum agit. natura ita retuin omnium causas ordinavit, vt ad vniuersi conseruationem, non ad destructionem pertinerent. natura sagax & prouida sui, vt in brutis apparet. natura tempore exercet actionem. nemesis ab antiquis contra fascinum inuocata, nerui humiditatis & siccitatis media naturam habent. neruorum origo, cerebrum. neruorum opticorum munus. neuri populi æstate in lupos muta[n]tur, deinde in pristinam faciem reuerti sibi videntur. niues rubentes in Armenia conspici. noe ebrius à silio Cham magico carmine castratus, sterilisque redditus. nomina rebus omnibus Adam impo-suit. nomina omnia arte, non natura esse dicuntur. multis probatur argumentis. nomina nostrarum intentionum sunt signa.
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INDEX. For married women, elegant images should be displayed around the bridal bed. 11 A woman who conceived and gave birth to an Ethiopian by imagination. 10 Whether the desire of pregnant women can stain the fetus with a blemish. 97 Menstruating women cloud mirrors. 14.116 The burnt hair of women drives away serpents by its smell. 47 Women cause abortions, by the malice of demons. 175 The excrements of women are harmful, and why. 50 Menstruating women permanently injure vines by touch, kill rue and ivy faced, they drive bees away from touched hives, etc. Women cannot be drowned, not even when weighed down with clothing. In how many ways women can be bewitched. Why women by their nature bewitch. Female sorceresses. Stable-women, who turn men into beasts of burden. An English woman, deluded by magic arts, was carried into the air with dreadful cries further away. Beautiful women are subject to the evil eye. The world was created out of nothing. This lower world had to be contiguous with the higher regions, so that its every force might be governed from there. Mute people are taken by words. Mules, a name of demons. The force of music is narrated in the same place. 153 A weasel, by a strange cry, prompts a toad to be devoured. Mutinus, a god in whose obscene lap brides first sat, so that the prior god might their modesty have tasted of it first. N Nabuchodonosor, how he was turned into a beast. A certain dwarf wonderfully suspicious. Narcyllus, caught by love of himself, perished. The nostrils are the passageways of the spirit. Nature is one principle of action: art, the other. Nature is prior to art. Nature does nothing in vain, nor anything idle. Nature so ordered the causes of all things, that they pertain to the preservation of the universe, not to destruction. Nature is shrewd and provident for itself, as appears in beasts. Nature carries out its action over time. Nemesis invoked by the ancients against the evil eye, The nerves have a nature midway between moisture and dryness. The origin of the nerves: the brain. The function of the optic nerves. The Neuri people are changed into wolves in summer, then seem to return to their former shape they see themselves. Red snows are seen in Armenia. Noah, drunk, emasculated by the dream of Ham through a magic spell, and rendered sterile. Adam imposed names on all things. All names are said to exist by art, not by nature. Proved by many arguments. The names of our intentions are signs.
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INDEX. notitia ab obiecto & potestate gignitur. 110 nubes solicitari carminibus. 201 numeris constant, quæcunque in hoc orbe continentur. 148 numerorum sonorum vis incredibilis. 26 numeris omnia constare, ex Pythagoræ doctrina. 147 numeros Plato clariores & apertiores reddidit. 147 numerus impar mas, impar foemina. 148 numeros impares ad omnia cæteris vehementiores esse. 25 numeroru[m] tymphoniacorum vis. 151 numerus sep tenarius, rerum omnium ferè nodus. 148 numerum septenariu[m] magnæ religiosis esse, ostendunt Iudæi. 151 numeri an vim habeant fascinandi. 147 numeris quado quædam insit vis. 150 & quinam doctores Christiani eis virtutem multam tribuant. ibid. nuptiarum Atheniensium ritus. 57 nymphæ, dæmonum nomen. 175 O O Ctimistris partus cur no[n] vitalis. 149 Octonarius numerus plenus. 148 Oculorum descriptio. 106 Oculi definitio. 105. & eius munus. ibid. Oculi, alter animus. 13 Oculis debetur cognitio philosophicæ. 107 Oculi bini cur singulis animalibus à natura dati. 105 Oculi ignei. 15 Oculi, affectau[m] animi indices, & nuncij. 32. ac duces fidelissimi. 13 Oculorum obiecta, colores. 107 Oculi inter se habent vnionem. 106 oculorum motus quatuor. ibid. oculi à terra vno ictu cælum pertingunt, mundique fines collustrant, &c. 13 Oculi nostri sæpe falluntur, vnde à dæmonibus facilè præstringuntur, & fasci rantur. 164 oculorum mira virtus. 5 Oculi concaui, fixi, & irari inficiunt fascino. 51. itemque truculenti, ac tetri, exemplum mirandum. ibid. Oculis quorumdam punctiones infligi. 16 Oculus quo pacto tam sæpe fallitur. 66 oculi capiuntur voluptaribus, ac reru[m] visarum alliciuntur amore. 15 oculus vrens fascinat pueros. 3. 5 Oculi cæsij, glauci, & virides quo pacto fascinant. 119 oculi hominum ponticoru[m] adeò sunt noxij, vt nulli rei parcant. 16 oculi adeò vim habent vitiosam, vt in alios proprium eiaculentur vitium. 15 Oculi inuidorum vulnerant. 16 Oculus geminam habens pupillam, vim maximam denotat fascinandi. 13 historia de quodam oculum fascinantem habente. 54 oculi singuli quarumdam mulierum geminam pupillam habentes, vbi- que nocere comperti sunt. 13 oculis gallus gallinaceus timorem incurit leoni. 14 Oculis lupus adimit vocem. 14 oculi canum tantam habent vim, vt aciem aliorum perstringat, sæpius etiam penitus excæcent. 15 oculis enecat basiliscus. 14 oddo Danicus, insignis pirata, & magicus, absque carina, mare penetras, concitatis carmine procellis, aliena euertebat nauigia. 180 Odium, fascinationis species. 42. ad fascinandum aptum. 49
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INDEX. knowledge is generated from the object and power. 110 clouds are stirred up by songs. 201 all things contained in this world consist of numbers. 148 the power of numerical sounds is incredible. 26 all things consist of numbers, according to Pythagoras’s doctrine. 147 Plato made numbers clearer and more evident. 147 an odd number is male, an odd number female. 148 odd numbers are more forceful than the others in all things. 25 the power of tymphantic numbers. 151 the number seven, the knot, as it were, of all things. 148 the number seven is held in great reverence by religious people, as the Jews show. 151 whether numbers have a power of bewitching. 147 whether there is some power in numbers. 150 and which Christian doctors ascribe great virtue to them. ibid. the rites of Athenian marriage. 57 nymphs, a name for demons. 175 O why the birth at Ctimistris is not vital. 149 the number eight is complete. 148 Description of the eyes. 106 Definition of the eye. 105. and its function. ibid. The eye, another mind. 13 To the eyes is owed philosophical knowledge. 107 Why two eyes are given by nature to each animal. 105 Fiery eyes. 15 The eyes, indices and messengers of the affected soul, and most faithful guides. 32. 13 The objects of the eyes: colors. 107 The eyes have a union among themselves. 106 the movements of the eyes are four. ibid. the eyes, from the earth with a single blow, reach the sky and survey the bounds of the world, etc. 13 Our eyes are often deceived, wherefore they are easily dazzled and blinded by demons. 164 the marvelous power of the eyes. 5 Concave, fixed, and irate eyes infect with fascination. 51. likewise truculent and grim ones; a remarkable example. ibid. Punctures inflicted on certain people’s eyes. 16 How the eye is so often deceived. 66 the eyes are taken captive by pleasures and are attracted by the love of things seen. 15 a burning eye fascinates children. 3. 5 How gray, blue, and green eyes bewitch. 119 the eyes of Pontic men are so harmful that they spare nothing. 16 eyes have such a vicious power that they cast their own vice upon others. 15 The eyes of the envious wound. 16 An eye having a double pupil indicates the greatest power of bewitching. 13 a history about someone who had a bewitching eye. 54 the single eyes of certain women, having a double pupil, were found to harm everywhere. 13 a rooster incurs fear in a lion by its eyes. 14 the eye of a wolf takes away voice. 14 the eyes of dogs have such great force that they dazzle the sight of others, and often even completely blind them. 15 the basilisk kills with its eyes. 14 Oddo of Denmark, a famous pirate and magician, without a hull, pierced the sea, and, by songs stirring up storms, destroyed other men’s ships. 180 Hatred, a species of fascination. 42. suited for bewitching. 49
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INDEX. odium in repugnantia consistit. 219 odij definitio. 37 odium mali habet rationem. 37 ex odio intectus contrahitur dolor. 38. odium quænam nostræ voluntatis obiecta complectatur. 219 odium excantatione inferri posse. 8 odores reddit calidum exhalans. 110 olempis, celeberrimis vatis de capite humano, in monte Carpio inuento, interrogatio subdola. 26 in oleum seruens qui immittunt manum. 141. oliuerum, quod in alteram vię publicæ partem ttranstaturum fuit. 34. 210. ophiones homines serpétum ictibus solo contactu medentur. 20. 47 opinio aliquando pro side. 156. opinio iuuat plurimum agrotantes. 22. opinione sæpius, quàm re, laboramus. 67. 28. opinione fascinari. 45. in opus alienum ingeniosus est improbus. 61 oratio, quædam est quantitas, quæ agendi principium esse non potest. 142. orationis triplex reperitur genus, in intellectu, voce, & scripto. 21, oratio, qua mens in Deum eleuatur, dæmones validissimè confodit. 258 orationem Dominicam in herbis colligendis dicere, non superstitiosum est. 159 in oratione triplex error contingere potest. 158 oratio Tusciæ Vestalis, quæ aquam crebro tulit. 24. & 25 orchys herba obsistit fascino. 55 ordo, est bonum vuiuersi. 160 ordo mundi, ipsius pars præcipua. 173 oscitantes cur signo crucis os nostrum muniamus. 155 Osores se vlciscuntur fascino. 38 ossa frigida, & sicca, & corruptioni contraria. 127 othinus illusor vehementer insignis, de quo mira narratur historia. 180 otium, multorum vitiorum causa. 255 oues verborum prolatione fascinatores lacte priuant. 155 P Palmarum lignu fascino resistere. 55 parentibus vtrisque cur foetus in diuersis partibus sit similis. 92 parentum in filios exectatio quid faciat. 154. 155 parentum in filios execrationes perniciosæ. 25 partum septimestrem viuere, octimestrem mori. 148. cur. 149 passio & actio duntaxat per co[n]tactum fiunt. 100. 111 peccatum, est character demonum. 87 peccatorum grauium differentia. 239 peccatum originale, omnium malorum causa. 227 peccatum originale lactat, actuale nutrit, & roborat. 222 peccato Adæ subiicimur omnes. 239 peccatum mentem & rationem obscurat, quamuis non extinguat. 222 peccatum, ad quod homines à dæmonibus magis solicitantur. 249 peccati causa tollitur gratia, non natura. 140 pecudes effascinant aniculæ. 16 penates, dæmonum nomen. 175 periculum qui amat, peribit in eo. 254 persuasio reperitur in iis, quibus non est sides, vel opinio. 156 pestis ex cometis nascens. 30 pestis Romana ab illa, quæ in deserto in Israëlitas est grassata. 213 ad pestem compescendam mos Romanorum mirus. 56 pestem
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INDEX. odium consists in repugnance. 219 definition of hatred. 37 hatred has the nature of evil. 37 pain contracted from hatred is not touched by feeling. 38. what objects of our will hatred embraces. 219 hatred can be brought on by incantation. 8 odors make hot that which exhales. 110 olempis, a most celebrated seer concerning the human head found on Mount Carpio, a deceitful inquiry. 26 those who preserve it in oil, into which they put the hand. 141. oliverum, which was to be carried to the other part of the public road. 34. 210. ophiones, men who heal serpents’ bites by mere touch. 20. 47 opinion is sometimes instead of faith. 156. opinion helps the sick greatly. 22. we labor more often by opinion than in fact. 67. 28. to be fascinated by opinion. 45. in another’s work, the wicked is ingenious. 61 speech is a certain quantity, which cannot be the beginning of action. 142. there are found three kinds of speech: in thought, in voice, and in writing. 21, speech, by which the mind is lifted up to God, most powerfully thrusts through demons. 258 to say the Lord’s Prayer while gathering herbs is not superstitious. 159 in prayer, a threefold error can occur. 158 the prayer of the Vestal of Tuscia, who frequently carried water. 24. & 25 orchys, a herb, resists fascination. 55 order is the good of the universe. 160 the order of the world, its chief part. 173 why, yawning, we fortify our mouth with the sign of the cross. 155 haters avenge themselves by fascination. 38 bones are cold and dry, and contrary to corruption. 127 Othinus, a remarkably great deceiver, concerning whom a wondrous story is told. 180 idleness, the cause of many vices. 255 by pronouncing words, enchanters deprive sheep of milk. 155 P the wood of palms resists fascination. 55 why, from both parents, the offspring is like in different parts. 92 what the curse of parents upon children does. 154. 155 the curses of parents upon children are harmful. 25 to be born in the seventh month and live, in the eighth and die. 148. why. 149 passion and action occur only by contact. 100. 111 sin is the mark of demons. 87 the difference among grave sins. 239 original sin, the cause of all evils. 227 original sin attracts, actual sin nourishes, and strengthens. 222 we are all subject to Adam’s sin. 239 sin obscures the mind and reason, although it does not extinguish them. 222 the sin to which men are more often urged by demons. 249 by grace, not nature, the cause of sin is removed. 140 old women bewitch cattle. 16 Penates, a name of demons. 175 he who loves danger will perish in it. 254 persuasion is found in those who have neither faith nor opinion. 156 plague arising from comets. 30 the Roman plague differs from that which ravaged the Israelites in the desert. 213 a wondrous Roman custom for checking plague. 56 plague
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INDEX. pestem cantu dicitur sustulisse Thales. 153 D. petri vmbra quantam haberet virtutem. 146 phaethontis è coelo casus à miraculoso die temporis Iosue sumptus. 212 phantasiæ etymon. 64 phantasia potissimum impressiones dæmonum recipit. 244 phantasiæ & cordis consensus. 242 pharmachum in Æthiopia lethale, cuius sudor tabem fascinantem affert corporibus. 51 D. philippus apostolus ab angelo in Azotum translatus. 181 philomela in lusciniam murata. 170 philosophis non tantum tribuendum, quantum veritati. 61 philtra quibus ex rebus maximè componantur. 40.41 philtris qui citiùs inficiuntur. 54 philtris mortem inferri, probatur exemplis. 41.42 phyllis amoris impatientia laqueo vitam siniuit. 39.40 phyteuma herba amatoriis miscendis efficax. 41 pictorum & histrionum comparatio. 64 picus rex à Circe in auem sui nominis fuit muratiis. 167.168 pietate vera homo destitutus, in quot & quanta illabitur scelera. 222 pileus ventosus Henrici regis Suetiæ. 201 pili natura sicci. 127 piper quo pacto sternutamentum excitet. 136 piscis Tobiæ contra dæmones. 241 planetæ septenario definiti sunt numero. 148 planetarum singulorum vis. 8.9 planetæ quo ordine foetibus in vtero præsint. 31 planetæ in oculorum gratiam forma- ti. 12 plantarum iuuentus & senectus. 209 planetas septem hominum ætates totidem gerere. 31.32 planetis singulis singulos hominis affectus adscribi. 186 planetas humanos affectus gubernare. 27 planetæ singuli singulis præsunt metallis. 29 plantæ cur sensu careant. 189 platani folia vespectiliones abigunt. 19 plumbo dominatur Saturnus. 29 pluuia quadraginta dieru[m] & noctium diluuij tempore. 151 pluuiæ prodigiosæ & monstrosæ vnde nascantur. 31 pluuiæ lactis, sanguinis, carnis, & ferri an fieri queant. 200 pluuiæ à fascinatoribus excitantur. 155 poëtę sacram scripturâ profanarût. 212 pollutionem in somno procurari carminibus. 24 pontici homines adeò fascinantes habent oculos, vt nulli parcant. 16 populi fascinantes, non vi propria, sed dæmonum arte. 208 porphyrius christiani nominis hostis. 478 eius testimonium de idolorum Ægypti casu, ad Christi aduentum. ibid. portentum de homine quodam lupi formam induente, & in illa forma sagitta vulnerato. 168 de potentia ad actum nihil reduci potest, nisi per rem, quæ actu habeat esse. 80 potētia & actus simul esse nequeut. 139 potestas duplex in rebus cunctis, vna naturalis, altera obedientiæ. 161 prædia, quæ in contrarias sedes profecta sunt. 210 prædictio, cur diuinatio dicatur. 82 prædictio futurorum, vide diuinationis vocabulum. a a
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INDEX. Thales is said to have lifted it by means of a pestle, with song. 153 The virtue of St. Peter’s shadow. 146 Phaethon’s fall from heaven, taken from the miraculous day of Joshua. 212 The etymology of phantasy. 64 Phantasy chiefly receives the impressions of demons. 244 The agreement of phantasy and the heart. 242 A deadly pharmachum in Ethiopia, whose sweat brings a pestilential fascination to bodies. 51 The apostle St. Philip carried by an angel to Azotus. 181 Philomela changed into a nightingale. 170 Philosophers are to be credited not so much as truth. 61 Philtra, from what things they are chiefly composed. 40.41 Which philtra are infected more quickly. 54 That death is brought about by philtra, proved by examples. 41.42 Phyllis, in impatience of love, ended her life by a noose. 39.40 Phyteuma, a herb effective for making love potions. 41 A comparison of painters and actors. 64 Picus, king, was changed by Circe into a bird of his own name. 167.168 How many and how great crimes a man without true piety falls into. 222 The windy cap of King Henry of Sweden. 201 The nature of hair as dry. 127 How pepper excites sneezing. 136 Tobit’s fish against demons. 241 The planets are defined by the number seven. 148 The power of each of the planets. 8.9 In what order the planets preside over the foetuses in the womb. 31 The planets, as to their form, are formed for the eye. 12 The youth and old age of plants. 209 That the seven planets correspond to the same number of human ages. 31.32 That individual human affections are assigned to individual planets. 186 That the planets govern human affections. 27 That each planet presides over a particular metal. 29 Why plants lack sense. 189 Plane-tree leaves drive away bats. 19 Saturn rules over lead. 29 A rain of forty days and nights in the time of the Flood. 151 Whence prodigious and monstrous rains arise. 31 Whether rains of milk, blood, flesh, and iron can occur. 200 Rains are stirred up by sorcerers. 155 Poets have profaned Holy Scripture. 212 Pollution in sleep brought about by charms. 24 The men of Pontus have such fascinating eyes that they spare no one. 16 Fascinating peoples, not by their own power, but by the art of demons. 208 Porphyry, an enemy of the Christian name. 478 His testimony concerning the fall of the idols of Egypt, at the coming of Christ. ibid. A portent about a certain man who took on the form of a wolf, and in that form was wounded by an arrow. 168 Nothing can be reduced from potency to act except by something which has being in act. 80 Potency and act cannot exist together. 139 A twofold power in all things: one natural, the other of obedience. 161 Lands that have moved to opposite sites. 210 Prediction, why it is called divination. 82 Prediction of future things, see the word divination. a a
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INDEX. prægnantium mulierum desideria, vide vocabulum mulieris. præmia bene honestéque viuentiu[m]. 228 præsagia, vide futura prædicere. præsidentia adscribitur Soli. 27 præstigiatoris cuiusdam mira facinora. 168 præstigiæ quorundam magorum miræ. 164. & 165 priapi penis. 205 priapus in nuptiis, seminum Deus, ne sæcunditas impediretur fascinatione, colebarut. 206 princeps huius mudi foras eiectus. 179 principiis obstandum. 254 prodigia Cariliniana. 30 per prophetas falsos deus suos quandoque tentare consueuit. 162 prothei in varias & multiples figuras mutabilitas. 189 prudentibus diuinandi virtutem inesse. 76 prunis candentibus insistere. 24 psammetici opinio de primo hominum idiomate refellitur. 139 psitacus quo pacto humanam vocem imitatur. 65 psylli populi à rege Pyllo sic vocati, odore suo sopiunt serpentes. 247 puella veneno nutrita, secum coëutes interimbeat. 46 puero in matris vtero vt imprimantur signa. 97. 98 pueri obnoxij fascino. 54 pueri vt fascinentur. 6 pueri foedis hominis irati oculis quandoque læduntur. 121 pueros effascinant vetulæ. 16 pueri quoque fascinant. 48 pueritiam Mercurio tribui. 32 pueri eiulatu proprio sibi nocent. 45 pulchritudo mundi in ordine suo cermitur. 173 pulchritudo patet fascino. 54 putitas animi seruanda. 260 putrefactionis definitio. 125 pyramus amore periit. 40 pyrrhus rex in dextro pede habuit pollicem, cuius tactus medebatur lienosis. 48. qui cremari non potuit. ibid. pythagoræ opinio de Deo, animabus, & rerum vniuersitate. 147 pythagoræ metamorphosis ibi descripta versibus. 170 Q Qvadragenarij numeri mysteria. 151. Quadrata, si procul spectentur, rotunda videntur. 66 Qualitates primæ quatuor. 17 Quercus ad fascinum venatorium dirimendum. 56 R Ranæ ex aere cadentes. 199 Ranæ à magis AEgyptiis factæ, non veræ, sed spectra fuere. 163 ratio nostra lapsu primorum parétum cæcitatis tenebras contraxit. 222 ratio peccatis grauiter sauciatur. ibid. ad rationalem parte requirutur tria. 156 ratio omnium rerum reddi nequit, 4. 5 religione vera in homine extincta, quor & quantæ ei obrepunt fascinora. 222 remora pisciculus, sæuientibus etiam ventis, sistit naues. 14 remoram piscem naues minimè sistere posse. 131. 132 res nec veræ nec falsæ propter affirmationem vel negatione nostra esse. 144 res per simulacra cognoscuntur. 137 resolutio compositioni admodum co[n]traria. 205 respirationis effectus. 52 de respirationis vsu variæ philosophorum sententiæ. 128 rex francorum hæreditariam habet virtute, qua tactu medetur strumis. 48 regu[m] deus præcipua[m] cura[m] gerit. 194 rheubarbarum euangelicum. 146
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INDEX. desires of pregnant women, see the word woman. rewards of those living well and honorably. 228 omens, see foretelling future things. presidency is attributed to the Sun. 27 the marvelous deeds of a certain conjurer. 168 the marvelous tricks of certain magicians. 164. & 165 Priapus' penis. 205 Priapus at weddings, God of seed, lest fruitfulness should be hindered by fascination, was worshiped. 206 the prince of this world cast out. 179 one must withstand beginnings. 254 the prodigies of Carilina. 30 through false prophets God is accustomed at times to test his own. 162 the mutability of Proteus into various & multiple figures. 189 that the power of divination is in prudent men. 76 to stand upon burning coals. 24 Psammeticus' opinion about the first language of men is refuted. 139 how the parrot imitates the human voice. 65 the Psylli, a people so called from King Pyllus, put serpents to sleep with their smell. 247 a girl nourished with poison kills those who live with her. 46 signs are to be impressed on the child in the mother's womb. 97. 98 children are subject to fascination. 54 children are to be bewitched. 6 children are sometimes harmed by the ugly eyes of an angry man. 121 old women bewitch children. 16 children also bewitch. 48 childhood is attributed to Mercury. 32 children harm themselves by their own crying. 45 the beauty of the world is seen in its order. 173 beauty is open to fascination. 54 purity of soul must be preserved. 260 definition of putrefaction. 125 Pyramus perished for love. 40 King Pyrrhus had on his right foot a toe, the touch of which healed splenetic people. 48. he could not be burned. ibid. Pythagoras' opinion about God, souls, & the universe of things. 147 Pythagoras' metamorphosis there described in verses. 170 Q the mysteries of the number forty. 151. If squares are viewed from a distance, they seem round. 66 the four first qualities. 17 oak tree for removing a hunting charm. 56 R frogs falling from the air. 199 frogs made by Egyptian magicians were not real, but apparitions. 163 our reason, by the fall of the first parents, contracted the darkness of blindness. 222 reason is gravely wounded by sins. ibid. three things are required for the rational part. 156 the reason for all things cannot be given. 4. 5 with true religion extinguished in a man, how many and how great fascinations creep upon him. 222 the remora, a little fish, even in raging winds, stops ships. 14 that the remora fish can by no means stop ships. 131. 132 things are neither true nor false because of our affirmation or negation. 144 things are known through images. 137 resolution is very contrary to composition. 205 the effect of respiration. 52 various opinions of philosophers concerning the use of respiration. 128 the king of the Franks has by inheritance the virtue, by which he heals scrofula by touch. 48 God has special care for kings. 194 evangelical rhubarb. 146
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INDEX. rhodus insula recessu maris apparuit. 121 rubedo cæli setorina quo pacto fiat, & quid præsagiat. 144 rubetæ philtris componendis aptissimæ. 41 rubetæ ossiculum prohibet amorem. 57 rubor non semper coniecturam facere deber. 67 ruta iuxta brassicam sata cur arescat. 137 ruta fascinatis amuletum. 55 S Sacerdores remittendi peccata potestatem habent. 257 Sacerdores fulguratores, qui fulmina procurabant, & expiabanr. 30.102 sacramentum sit, Dei verbo ad elementum accedente. 145 sacramenti confessionis vis & efficacia. 257.258 sæui homines ad Martis planetam spectant. 8 sagittæ eductæ corpo re, si terram non attigerint, subiectæ cubantibus amatorium efficiunt. 41 saliuæ Iesu Christi virtus. 146 saliua Vespasiani medebatur morbis. 48 salomon tanto amore mulierum ardebat, vt illaru[m] idola veneraretur. 119 salutarorum impostura. 141.142 salutatores propè incredibilia efficiebant salutationibus, etiam canum morsus curantes. 48 sampson in capillitio mirabilem continebat virtutem, qua quibuscibet rebus aduersis resistere poterat. 48 samuellem non excitauit Pythonissa. 162 sanguis temperatum habet calorem. 127 sanguis è naribus effluit, cùm res rubras mente concipimus. 11 sanguinem vndecuque fluentem sisti carminibus. 24 sanguinem pluere. 31 sapiens Stoicorum, vitiis omnibus liber. 67 sapores efficit humor necuum gustarium penetrans. 111 sapphirus lapis prodest fascinatis. 56 sappho puella ob amoris impatientia. vitam cum morte commutauit. 40 saræ viri septem vita priuati. 249 satanas transfigurat se in angelum lucis. 182.183 saturnus in equum conuersus. 170 saturno humanæ immolabantur hostiæ. 175 saturnus planeta frigidæ & siccae naturæ, ob id malitiam infert. 31 saryri dæmonum nomen. 175 saryrion obsistere fascino. 55 scamandrus amnis oves reddit flauas. 94 scientiarum capessendarum vim à natura habent homines. 139 scire, est per causam propriam, & non communem. 131 scorpio prohibetur, ne vibret ictum, dicendo Bud. 25.26 scripta cur fuerint inuenta. 137.138 scripturę sacræ authoritas antepone[n]da cuiuis humano iudicio. 60 scriptura sacra non semper de re, quæ verè est, loqui consueuit. 156 in scripturis diuinis multa ex gentiliu[m] scriptis vsurpantur. 214 segeres à fascinatoribus excantari. 3 segetes lætæ fascino patent. 54 seleuci regis mira in filiu[m] Antiochum pietas. 40 seminis humani genera duo. 149 seminis vtriusque parentis vis & natura. 95 senectutis incommoda. 129 āu ij
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INDEX. Rhodes island appeared in the recess of the sea. 121 How the redness of the sky called setorina comes about, and what it portends. 144 The toad is most suitable for composing love potions. 41 The toad’s little bone prevents love. 57 Blushing does not always allow a conjecture to be made. 67 Why rue, sown next to cabbage, withers. 137 Rue as an amulet for those bewitched. 55 S Priests have power to remit sins. 257 Priests who procure and expiate thunderbolts, by means of lightning. 30.102 The sacrament is, when God’s word comes to the element. 145 The force and efficacy of confession in the sacrament. 257.258 Violent men are associated with the planet Mars. 8 Arrows drawn from the body, if they have not touched the ground, when placed under those lying down, make an aphrodisiac. 41 The virtue of the saliva of Jesus Christ. 146 The saliva of Vespasian cured diseases. 48 Solomon burned with such love of women that he worshiped their idols. 119 The deception of the salutarij. 141.142 The salutat ores accomplished almost incredible things by greetings, even curing dog bites. 48 Samson contained a marvelous power in his hair, by which he could resist whatever adverse things there were. 48 The Pythoness did not rouse Samuel. 162 Blood has a moderate warmth. 127 Blood flows from the nostrils when we conceive red things in the mind. 11 To stop blood flowing from anywhere by incantations. 24 It rains blood. 31 A wise man of the Stoics, free from all vices. 67 A flavor is produced when moisture, penetrating the organ of taste, brings it about. 111 The sapphire stone is beneficial to those bewitched. 56 Sappho, the girl, because of impatience in love, exchanged life for death. 40 The seven husbands of Sarah deprived of life. 249 Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. 182.183 Saturn turned into a horse. 170 Human sacrifices were offered to Saturn. 175 Saturn, a planet of cold and dry nature, for that reason brings evil. 31 Saryri, a name of demons. 175 Saryrion resists the evil eye. 55 The river Scamander makes sheep yellow. 94 Human beings have from nature the power to pursue the sciences. 139 To know is to know through the proper cause, and not the common one. 131 Scorpio is prevented from darting its sting, by saying Bud. 25.26 Why writings were invented. 137.138 The authority of Holy Scripture is to be preferred before any human judgment. 60 Holy Scripture does not always customarily speak of the thing that truly is. 156 In the divine scriptures many things are taken from the writings of the Gentiles. 214 Fields are charmed away by enchanters. 3 Fields in bloom are exposed to the evil eye. 54 The wonderful piety of King Seleucus toward his son Antiochus. 40 There are two kinds of human seed. 149 The power and nature of both parents’ seed. 95 The inconveniences of old age. 129 āu ij
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INDEX. senses frigidi, nigri, & liuidi. 129 sensatio speciem recipiendo sic. 110 sensus omnes capiti, tâquam ministri, atque stipatores, dati sunt. 127 sensus non res ipsas, sed rerum species percipit. 71 sensuum externorum obiecta. 65. & quando ipsi circa proprium obiectu fallantur, & quando non. 66 sensus intellectui seruiunt, & intellectus sensibus seruit. 242 sensus ad res particulares dirigitur, intellectus verò ad vniuersales. 28 sensuum passio est instar celerrimæ percussionis. 64 sensus ab eo quod percipit, denuatus est. 104 sensus sæpe falluntur, ideo à dæmonibus facilè præstringuntur. 164 sensus cordis duplex. 84 sensus hominum futuros solus Deus intelligere potest. 85 sensus animi præsens quotuplex. 85 sensus animi nostri volatiles fieri, & ad planetas referri. 29 sensus externus intuitiuam târum habet notitiam. 113 septenarius numerus, rerum omnium ferè nodus. 148 septenarium numerum magni mysterij fuisse, ostendunt Iudæi. 151 septimus masculus, nulla interiecta foemina, mirabilem creditur habere virtutem. 48 sermo Dei omnipotens. 145 sermo diuinus pinguissimus. 61 sermo, animo laboranti medicus. 145 sermo an à natura: hac de re historia faceta. 139 sermo Dei ab omni falsitate purus. 60 serpentes veneno pro armis muniuit natura. 224 serpentes sibilo solo distantia magna absentes eneant. 20 serpens quernis frondibus contacta motitur: & in vestigio hæret gresus, iniecta Ibidis penna. 18 serpens, quem lancea interfecisset miles, totum eius corpus tactu mortificatum effecit. 18 serpentes sistuntur verbis. 23 ad serpentes cur verba dirigi, dæmones gaudent. 156 serpentes quo pacto senectutem deponant, & reiuuenescant. 230 serpens antiquus in abysso ligatus. 179 serui ab irato domino obiurgatimors. 51 seruitutem peccatum originale peperit. 222 sicca qualitas quomodo noxia. 53 sicilia olim terra continens. 211 sidera in oculorum gratiam formata. 12 sidera, corporum omnium commune principium. 184 siderum virtutes inferius vehuntur, & quomodo. 33 sidera è cælo ad terras deripi posse, ex quorumdam sententia. 9. 29 siderum in homines quanta virtus. 89 sigillum quomodo vim habeat imprimendi. 75 signis cælestibus calamitates futuras Deus præmonstrare solet. 192 simile à simili trahitur. 135 simile sibi quisque procreare studet. 95 similitudines rerum nihil penitus efficere valent, præterquam rerum ipsarum imagines ostendere. 74 Simon Magus se Christum esse dices, & in cælum volans, ad D. Petri preces, in terram deiectus. 179 simplicia compositis ordine naturæ præeunt. 32 simulacrum rei cuiusda[m] non plus habet viru[m], quâ imperatoris imago. 74 de Socratis genio assiduè ei loquente. 177
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INDEX. frigid, black, and livid senses. 129 sensation, in receiving the species, thus. 110 all the senses have been given to the head, as servants and attendants. 127 the senses perceive not the things themselves, but the species of things. 71 the objects of the external senses. 65. & when they themselves are deceived about their proper object, and when not. 66 the senses serve the intellect, and the intellect serves the senses. 242 the sense is directed to particular things, but the intellect to universals. 28 the passion of the senses is like the swiftest striking. 64 the sense is divested of that which it perceives. 104 the senses are often deceived; therefore they are easily dazzled by demons. 164 a double sense of the heart. 84 God alone can understand the future senses of men. 85 the present sense of the mind, how manifold. 85 the senses of our mind becoming volatile, and referred to the planets. 29 the external sense has only intuitive knowledge. 113 the number seven, the almost common knot of all things. 148 the Jews show that the number seven was a great mystery. 151 the seventh male, no female intervening, is believed to have a marvelous power. 48 the word of God is omnipotent. 145 the divine word, most rich. 61 speech, a physician to a laboring mind. 145 speech, whether from nature: a witty story on this matter. 139 the word of God is pure from all falsehood. 60 nature armed serpents with poison as their weapons. 224 serpents enchant those at a great distance away by the mere hissing. 20 a serpent touched by oak leaves is stirred, and at once clings to the track, when the feather of an ibis is cast upon it. 18 a serpent, which a soldier had killed with a spear, made his whole body mortified by touch. 18 serpents are restrained by words. 23 why words are directed to serpents; demons rejoice. 156 the manner in which serpents cast off old age and grow young again. 230 the ancient serpent bound in the abyss. 179 the servants, by an angry master's rebuke, death. 51 original sin has brought forth servitude. 222 how a dry quality is harmful. 53 Sicily was once continuous land. 211 the stars were formed for the sake of the eyes. 12 the stars, the common principle of all bodies. 184 the powers of the stars are carried downward, and how. 33 that the stars can be torn from the sky to the earth, according to the opinion of some. 9. 29 how great is the power of the stars over men. 89 how a seal has the force of imprinting. 75 God is accustomed to forewarn future calamities by heavenly signs. 192 like is drawn to like. 135 each one strives to beget something like himself. 95 similarities of things can effect nothing at all, except to show the images of the things themselves. 74 Simon Magus, saying that he was Christ, and flying up into heaven, was thrown down to earth at the prayers of St. Peter. 179 simple things precede compound things in the order of nature. 32 an image of some thing has no more force than the image of an emperor. 74 of Socrates' genius always speaking with him. 177
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INDEX. Solanum furiosum, herba, qua dæmones inuocantur, &c. 183. & 184 solertia adscribitur Mercurio planetæ. 27 solimus, assecla Plinij. 3 solis operationes diuersæ. 185 Somnium in visione nocturna, ex verbis lob patriarchæ, & loëlis prophetæ. 79 in somno à dæmonibus frequentes fiunt apparitiones, & variæ. 175 sonorum musicorum virtus. 151. 152 sonorum secreta miracula. 20 sonos reddit localis motus aeré verberans. 110 sonori numeri incredibiles in nobis pariunt effectus. 26 sortilegi falso putant se, quò velint, à dæmonibus transferri. 181 sosigenes, Alexandri Aphrodisei præceptor. 113 species vniuersas in mudo contentas, ex nihilo creatas. 145 species intentionales. 36 speciebus quo pacto vtratur anima. 102 species in imaginatione existentes, no[n] viuæ ac veræ species, sed rerum viuarum ac verarum similitudines. 71 Specierum intentionalium vis. 104 spectra, quæ ægrotis apparere putantur, vndenam oriantur. 68 specula omni mutationis genere carent, ideò similitudines in illis relucêres abeunt, & redeût, sine vlla speculorum mutatione. 71 specula si essent animata, rerum imagines ipsis, sicur cæteris animatibus, offetrentur. 72 speculi materialis, & spiritualis discrimen. 89 in speculis quæ relucent, non sunt veræ formæ, sed quædam vmbræ. 71 spes, sæpe sanitatis causa. 22 spiritus animales à cerebro per rotum corpus diffunduntur. 127 Spiritus anime deseruiût appetitui. 97 spirituum immutatio in oculis maximè sit. 5 spiritus vitalis vt fascinanti virtuti cedit. 34 stagnum, quo in lupos mutabantur homines. 164 Stellarum vis quo pacto in inferiora corpora influit. 33 stellæ compositorum respiciunt species, omnesque proprietates instillât. 33 stellarum aliæ fortunatæ, aliæ non. 28 stellæ nobis vitam infundunt. 185 stellas maleficas appellantes arguûtur ab Origene. 188 stellæ, licet cum cælo simul moueantur, stare videntur, idque ob nostri aspectus errorem. 66 sterilitatem frugum dæmones, Deo volente, inducere possunt. 83 sternutantes cur salutentur. 155 strabones insiciunt aspectu. 51 strumas sanat rex Galliæ hæreditaria virtute. 232 substantiæ simplices corpora cælestia mouent. 174 substantia cognita, accidentia ab ea fluentia facilè cognoscuntur. 32 sudorem quorumdam contactis corporibus asserre tabem. 19 summa quæque facilè deturbantur. 44 superficies actionis expers. 191 superstitiosorum illusiones à dæmonibus excitantur. 143 surdi omnes, sunt muti. 139 syluam dæmones facilè mouere possunt. 210 symbolum apostolorum in colligêdis herbis dicere, pium est. 159 T Tactus quid. 122 Tactus omnium sensuum præcipuus, & præstantissimus, & maximè āā iij
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INDEX. Solanum furiosum, a herb by which demons are invoked, etc. 183. & 184 skill is attributed to Mercury the planet. 27 Solimus, a follower of Pliny. 3 the different operations of the sun. 185 Dream in a nocturnal vision, from the words of the patriarch Job and the prophet Joel. 79 in sleep, frequent and various apparitions are made by demons. 175 the power of musical sounds. 151. 152 the hidden wonders of sounds. 20 local motion striking the air produces sounds. 110 incredible numerical sounds produce effects in us. 26 sorcerers falsely think that, wherever they wish, they are carried off by demons. 181 Sosigenes, teacher of Alexander of Aphrodisias. 113 universal species contained in the world, created out of nothing. 145 intentional species. 36 how the soul makes use of species. 102 species existing in the imagination are not living and real species, but likenesses of living and real things. 71 the force of intentional species. 104 spectres, which are thought to appear to the sick, whence they arise. 68 mirrors are free from every kind of change; therefore the likenesses in them go forth and return, without any change in the mirrors. 71 if mirrors were animate, the images of things would be offered to them, as to other animate beings. 72 the difference between material and spiritual mirror. 89 the things that shine in mirrors are not true forms, but certain shadows. 71 hope, often as a cause of health. 22 animal spirits are diffused from the brain through the whole body. 127 the spirits of the soul serve appetite. 97 a change of spirits is greatest in the eyes. 5 the vital spirit yields to the power of fascination. 34 a pool in which men were changed into wolves. 164 how the power of the stars flows into lower bodies. 33 the stars of composed things regard their species and infuse all their properties. 33 some stars are fortunate, others not. 28 the stars infuse life into us. 185 those who call the stars evil are reproved by Origen. 188 although the stars move together with the sky, they seem to stand still, and that because of an error in our sight. 66 demons can, if God wills, bring about the sterility of crops. 83 why sneezers are greeted. 155 they infect with their look. 51 the king of France heals scrofula by hereditary virtue. 232 simple substances move the celestial bodies. 174 when a substance is known, the accidents flowing from it are easily known. 32 to bring corruption to some by touching bodies and causing sweat. 19 the highest things are easily overthrown. 44 a surface without action. 191 the illusions of superstitious people are stirred up by demons. 143 all the deaf are mute. 139 demons can easily move the forest. 210 to say the Apostles’ Creed while gathering herbs is pious. 159 T What touch is. 122 Touch, the chief and most excellent of all the senses, and most āā iij
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INDEX. necessarius. 17 tactus an sit multiplex. 123.124 tactus obiecta, quatuor primæ qualitates. 17 tactus obiectum omne vel gratum, vel molestum. 124 tactus constrictio, ac dilatatio vnde. 124 tactus animalis, vitæ principium, & finis. 122 tactus organum quod & quale. 17 tactus vsus duplex. ibid. tactus expertia animalia nulla. ibid. tactus res percipit præsentes.122.eius-que munus. ibid. de tactu sensorio sententiæ variæ.123. 124 tactus quorumdam hominum salubris, quorumdam verò noxius. 19 tactu fascinum inferri. 17 tactus Vespasiani salutaris. 48 tangibiles qualitates tactum mouent. 111 tauris natura pro armis cornua est largita. 223 taurum verbis prostrauit incantator in auriculam verbis prolatis. 23 taurus furens, alligatus sicui, mansueicit. 19 tautus, signum zodiaci, coelo dominatur. 186 tempestates maris compescut magi in fauorem Xerxis præsectorum. 202 templum D. Mariæ Virginis à Nazareth ad Loretam ab Angelis translatum. 181 temporis tres partes. 81 temporum distinctio nobis, non Deo, adscribitur. ibid. tenebræ vetustatis aduectu Christi ceciderunt. 177 tereus in vnpupam mutatus. 170 terpander seditionem cantu sopiuisse fertur. 152.153 terrarum varia discrimina. 200 terras multas nasci non solùm Alumnum inuectu, sed etiam maris recessu. 211 terra pinguis ad sterilitatem deflectere potest. 210 terra motus quibus causis fiunt. 210 terra motus ex virtute cometarum. 30 testudines ova fouent, & foetus oculis excutiunt. 14.116 thabaccus herba, qua inuocantur & consuluntur dæmones. 183 theangelica herba epota, vim diuinaricem confert. 76 theologia scientiarum regina. 221 Thibij, familiæ in Ponto mirè fascinatrices. 2 Thisbe interiit amore. 40 thuris sufficitum contra fascinum valere. 56 timagoras amore victus, se præcipitem dedit. 40 timor quid. 243 timor incutit frigus. 115 de timore vano versus Lucretij. 69 tonittuorum causa, & ortus. 30 torpedinis marinæ vis mirabilis. 18 trahendi plures modi. 134 transsubstantiatio panis & vini in corpus & sanguinem Christi. 145 triballi effascinant visu. 208 tristitia duplex. 243 tristitia mali habet rationem. 37 tristium hominum natura. 242 tristitia adscribitur Saturno planetæ. 27.186 turbinis causa, & ortus. 31 turbines venti quo pacto fiant. 199 turtur custodit tempus aduectus sui. 79 V V A ccas fascinatores lacte priuat. 155 Valetudinem fascino inferri posse. 8 Vectij oliuetum excantatione alio translatum. 4 Venæ exangues, & frigidæ. 127
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INDEX. necessary. 17 whether touch is multiple. 123.124 objects of touch, the four primary qualities. 17 every object of touch is either pleasant or troublesome. 124 constriction and dilation of touch, whence. 124 animal touch, the beginning and end of life. 122 the organ of touch: what and what kind. 17 the use of touch is twofold. ibid. no animals without the sense of touch. ibid. touch perceives present things.122. and its office. ibid. various opinions concerning sensory touch.123. 124 touch in some men is wholesome, in others harmful. 19 a spell can be inflicted by touch. 17 the salutary touch of Vespasian. 48 tangible qualities move touch. 111 nature has granted horns to bulls as weapons. 223 the bull was overthrown by words by a charmer speaking into his ear. 23 a furious bull, if tied up, grows tame. 19 Taurus, the sign of the zodiac, rules the heavens. 186 magicians calm the storms of the sea in favor of Xerxes’ men. 202 the temple of St. Mary the Virgin, from Nazareth to Loreto, was carried by Angels. 181 the three parts of time. 81 the distinction of times is attributed to us, not to God. ibid. the darkness of antiquity fell away at Christ’s coming. 177 Tereus was changed into a hoopoe. 170 Terpander is said to have quieted a riot with song. 152.153 the various distinctions of lands. 200 many lands are formed not only by the encroachment of the nurturer, but also by the retreat of the sea. 211 fertile land can turn toward sterility. 210 what causes earthquakes. 210 earthquakes from the power of comets. 30 tortoises incubate eggs, and bring forth their young with their eyes. 14.116 tabacco, a herb by which demons are invoked and consulted. 183 the angelica herb, when drunk, confers divine power. 76 theology, queen of the sciences. 221 the Thibii, a family in Pontus, are wonderfully skillful in witchcraft. 2 Thisbe perished for love. 40 frankincense fumigation is effective against witchcraft. 56 Timagoras, overcome by love, threw himself headlong. 40 what fear is. 243 fear brings on cold. 115 verses of Lucretius on vain fear. 69 the cause and origin of thunder. 30 the astonishing power of the marine torpedo. 18 many ways of drawing. 134 the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. 145 the Triballi bewitch by sight. 208 double sadness. 243 sadness has the nature of an evil. 37 the nature of sad men. 242 sadness is ascribed to Saturn, the planet. 27.186 the cause and origin of the whirlwind. 31 how whirlwinds of wind are formed. 199 the turtledove keeps the time of its coming. 79 V V A ccas deprives witches of milk. 155 health can be brought about by witchcraft. 8 the olive grove of Vectius transferred elsewhere by incantation. 4 veins without blood, and cold. 127
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INDEX. venatorum amuleta. 56 veneficarum vis ex Horatio. 52 venefici eÿmon. 157 veneficia varia ex diuersis animalibus sumi. 40.41 venefici extremo afficiédi supplicio. 3 venenuin moraliter. 157 venereum vnicuique dæmones concitant. 235 venerem excitantibus cibis abstinendum. 26 venereæ rei cogitatio genitales titillat, & erigit partes. 15 ventos in sauorem Xerxis præfectorum compescunt magi. 202 venti Hérico regi Suetiæ parebât. 201 ventus vendebatur à Fino quodâ. 201 venustas fascino patet. 54 veratrum corurnicibus cibus est, hominibus lethale. 130 verborum tria genera. 24 verbû dei, lucerna pedibus nostris. 256 verbum dei omniporens. 145 verbû dei octiùm, & operatiuu[m]. 146 verbo dei ad elementum accedente, sit sacramentum. 145 verba sacrosancta à sacerdote ritè ac debitè proclara, panem & vinum in corpus & sanguinem Christi mutant. 145. & cætera efficiunt sacramenta. verbis sacris qui vtitur in fascino, grauiùs peccat, quâ qui profanis. 153 verba aut ad homines, vel ad deum referri. 145 verba cum rebus externis nihil habent commune. 142 verba duobus modis considera[n]da. 145 verbis animalia bruta retardantur, & capiunrur. 23 verba quoquo modo prolata, effascinare possunt. 6.23 verbis equos ac tauros furibundos domate. 24. canesque sedare feroces. verba amatoria fascinandi vim habet. 25 verbis barbaris intermediis dæmones efficiunt mira. 153 an verba in colligendis herbis proferre liceat. 159 verba & vox vi carent fascinandi. 137 verborum medela Atheniensium lege prohibita. 147 de iis qui verba circa collu[m] portat. 158 à verbis Maiororu[m] ac Turcarum præcipuè cauendum. 154 verecundia quid? 68 veri cognitio, cibus anni suauissimus. 202 veritas plus habet authoritatis & poderis, quàm aurhorum verustas. 61 veritarem inueniendi spem abiecerunt Democritus & Epicurus. 60 veritatis inuenio difficilis. 59 vermes intersici carminibus. 24 versus Fescennini vnde dicti. 205 vestalis, quæ æquam cribro tulit. 24.25 vetulę hodie pueros, pecudes & segetes inficiunt. 16 videre, est quoddam pati. 109 videndi facultas vbi consistat, variæ Philosophorum sententiæ. 106 ad videndum duo præcipuæ sunt necessaria. 107 vigilandum, ne intremus in tentationem. 258 ad vindictam homines concitant dæmones. 235 vipera arundine, aur fagi ramulo tæcta confestim torpet. 18 virgas magorum Ægyptiorum in veros serpentes fuisse conuersas, ait D. Augustinus. 162 virtilis æras attribuirur Marti planetæ. 32 virrutum semina nostris ingeniis innata. 218 virtus animalis, concupiscibilis, & irascibilis. 7
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INDEX. amulets of hunters. 56 the power of witches from Horace. 52 the evil eye of witches. 157 various witchcrafts are taken from different animals. taken. 40.41 witches are afflicted with the most extreme punishment. 3 poison morally. 157 the lustful demon stirs up desire in each one. 235 one should abstain from foods that excite lust. 26 the thought of venereal matters tickles and stirs the genital parts. 15 magicians restrain the winds to the favor of Xerxes' commanders. 202 the wind obeyed Eric, king of Sweden. 201 wind was sold by a certain Finn. 201 beauty is open to fascination. 54 veratrum is food for crows, deadly to humans. 130 three kinds of words. 24 the word of God, a lamp to our feet. 256 the word of God omnipotent. 145 the word of God active and operative. 146 when the word of God is joined to an element, it becomes a sacrament. 145 the sacred words duly and properly proclaimed by the priest change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ. 145. and they accomplish the other sacraments. he who uses sacred words in enchantment sins more gravely than he who uses profane ones. 153 words are to be referred either to men or to God. 145 words have nothing in common with external things. 142 words are to be considered in two ways. 145 brute animals are delayed and caught by words. 23 words spoken in any way can bewitch. 6.23 with words you tame raging horses and bulls. 24. and calm fierce dogs. amatory words have the power of enchanting. 25 barbarous words inserted in between produce marvels by demons. 153 whether it is lawful to speak words while gathering herbs. 159 words and voice lack the power of enchanting. 137 the healing of words forbidden by Athenian law. 147 concerning those who carry words around the neck. 158 one must especially beware of the words of the Moors and Turks. 154 what modesty is? 68 knowledge of truth, the sweetest food of the year. 202 truth has more authority and power than the antiquity of authors. 61 Democritus and Epicurus abandoned the hope of finding truth. 60 the finding of truth is difficult. 59 worms are destroyed by charms. 24 Fescennine verses, whence they are so called. 205 the Vestal who carried the same thing through a sieve. 24.25 today old women infect boys, cattle, and crops. 16 to see is a certain kind of suffering. 109 where the faculty of seeing consists, various opinions of the philosophers. 106 two things are chiefly necessary for seeing. 107 one must watch, lest we enter into temptation. 258 demons incite men to vengeance. 235 the viper, covered with a reed or a beech twig, immediately grows numb. 18 the rods of the Egyptian magicians were turned into true serpents, says St. Augustine. 162 the virtilis aereas is attributed to the planet Mars. 32 the seeds of virtue innate in our minds. 218 animal, concupiscible, and irascible virtue. 7
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INDEX. visa ægrotantium vndenâ oriantur. 68 viscera misericordiæ induenda. 146 visio specierum receptione sit, non emissione spirituum. 116 visionis definitio. 105 visio per tenebras qualis sit. 112 visus quo pacto fiat. 111 visus sensuum omnium rex editissimus, & animæ familiarissimus. 12 visus actio immanens. 110 visus quandam vim igneam, & mirabilem diffundit. 15 visus cur tam sæpe fallitur. 66 visus acriùs multò, quàm ractus, vel auditus lædit. 15 visus ad multas rerum differentias demonstrandas procreatus. 105 visus capitur voluptatibus, ac rerum visarum allicitur amore. 15 visu fascinare. 2 visus, fascinationis potissima causa. 16 visu potissimum aniculæ fascinant. 13 visum fascinare non posse. 109 vitolfus magus & præstigiaror. mirus. 165 vitulum marinum non percuti fulmine. 197 vitulum ex nube vna cum fulmine lapsum esse. 199 viuarium, cuius pisces valetudinem vel moriem monachorum cænobij D. Mauritij futuram præsagiunt. 143 vmbra diui Petri omnes auserebat ægritudines. 146 volendi actus oritur à voluntate. 86 volunrare libera homo præditus. 253 voluntas hominum naturali propensione in bonum fertur. 218 voluntas nostra quibus impediatur causis. 85 voluntas rationalis hebetata lapsu primorum parentum. 222 voluntatis libertatem minuit peccarum, non tame penitus adimir. ibid. voluntas hominis soli deo pater. 85 voluntas hominis dæmonibus non patet. 82 in voluntatem dæmones agunt ex accidenti. 248 voluntas (quo ad fascinum pertinet) duobus consideratur modis. 37 voluntaris obiectum proprium, bonum est vniuersale. 87 voluptas dolori permista. 15 voluptas omnes corporis partes ene- uat. 261 voluptas lætitiæ proxima, ideò periculosior. ibid. vorticis ortus, & causa. 31 vox cur nobis data. 117 vocis definitio, ac diuisio. 21 vocis organa, & formatio. 22 vocis & picturæ comparatio. 138 vocibus vim inesse persuadendi. 22 vocis & verborum vis vera. 142 voces humanas v[er]e formare queant dæmones, cùm organis careant. 165 voce sola fascinare. 21 voces barbaras fascinatores assumur, quas nec ipsi, nec hominum vlli intelligere possunt. 143 vrina, in quam exputum sit, contra fascinum salubris. 56 vulnera hominis interfecti an sanguinem cora interfectore emittant. 136 vulnus per gladium medicatum coalescere. 24 vulpium astutia. 156 vultures ex remotissimis locis cadauerum species odorabiles percipiunt. 36 ab vxore propria cur auertantur nonnulli. 239. & vnde hoc fiat. 249 Z Zodiaci signa duodecim. 148 Zodiaci signa particularibus corporis membris dominari. 186 Zorobabel quid ab Apame concubina sua passus. 118 FINIS INDICIS.
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INDEX. Where the faintness of the sick arises from. 68 The entrails of mercy are to be clothed. 146 Sight is by the reception of forms, not by the emission of spirits. 116 Definition of sight. 105 What sight through darkness is like. 112 How vision comes about. 111 Sight, the highest and most familiar king of all the senses, and to the soul. 12 Sight is an immanent action. 110 Sight spreads a certain fiery and marvelous force. 15 Why sight so often deceives. 66 Sight injures much more sharply than touch or hearing. 15 Sight is made to demonstrate many differences among things. 105 Sight is taken by pleasures, and is enticed by love of things seen. 15 To bewitch by sight. 2 Sight, the chief cause of fascination. 16 Old women chiefly bewitch by sight. 13 Not to be able to bewitch by sight. 109 Vitolfus, a magician and wondrous trickster. 165 That a seal is not struck by lightning. 197 That a calf fell from a cloud together with lightning. 199 A fishpond, whose fish foretell the health or death of the monks of the monastery of St. Maurice. 143 That the shadow of Saint Peter cured all illnesses. 146 The act of willing arises from the will. 86 That man is endowed with free will. 253 The will of men is carried by natural inclination toward the good. 218 By what causes our will is hindered. 85 Rational will weakened by the fall of the first parents. 222 Sin lessens the freedom of the will, yet does not wholly take it away. ibid. The will of man is subject to God alone. 85 The will of man is not open to demons. 82 Demons act upon the will incidentally. 248 The will, insofar as fascination is concerned, is considered in two ways. 37 The proper object of the will is the universal good. 87 Pleasure mingled with pain. 15 Pleasure weakens all parts of the body. 261 Pleasure is close to joy, therefore the more dangerous. ibid. The origin and cause of a whirlpool. 31 Why voice was given to us. 117 Definition and division of voice. 21 The organs of voice, and its formation. 22 Comparison of voice and painting. 138 That persuasive power resides in voices. 22 The true force of voice and words. 142 Whether demons can truly form human voices, since they lack organs. 165 To bewitch by voice alone. 21 Witches employ barbarous voices, which neither they themselves nor any men can understand. 143 Urine, into which spit has been cast, is beneficial against fascination. 56 Whether the wounds of a slain man emit blood with the killer nearby. 136 That a wound closes by means of a medicated sword. 24 The cunning of foxes. 156 Vultures from the most remote places perceive the smell of corpses. 36 Why some are turned away from their own wives. 239. And whence this happens. 249 Z The twelve signs of the Zodiac. 148 The signs of the Zodiac govern particular members of the body. 186 What Zorobabel suffered from Apame, his concubine. 118 END OF THE INDEX.
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LEONARDI VAIRI SANCTÆ SOPHIÆ BENEVENTANÆ, ORDINIS SANCTI BENEDICTI, Canonici Regularis, & eiusdem Abbatiæ Prioris, ac Sacræ Theologiæ Doctoris, De Fascino: Liber Primus. PROOEMIVM. EXIMII Philosophi multis de rebus quæ in Philosophia tractantur, grauissimè & copiosissimè differentes, fascini naturam ob eius obscuritatem parum aut ferè nihil attigeru[n]t. Cur de fascino scribat. Cumque permultæ ac difficiles in hac tam ardua quæstione rationes mihi occurrerent, quæ naturæ principiis innixæ non parum vtilitatis ac claritatis huic materiæ afferre posse viderentur: operæpretium me facturum putaui, si pro viribus hac de re nonnihil dicerem; quò abdita & salebrosa fascini vis aperiretur, tantisque tenebris vel tatillum lucis afferretur. Vtque optatæ rei scopum faciliùs attingerem, Aristotelis vestigia persequi decreui; qui de re quapiam tractaturus, aduersariorum opiniones in primis in medium affert; quibus examinatis & reiectis, sua deinde sententia firmior & validior persistit. In primo itaque libro fascini materiam ex Philosophorum placitis, cum eorumdem principiis, & rationibus adducemus; in reliquis verò à Theologiæ vestigiis, pro- A Aristotelis mos in examinanda quæstione aliqua. Methodus autoris in his tribus libris.
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LEONARD VAIRI OF HOLY SOPHIA OF BENEVENTO, OF THE ORDER OF SAINT BENEDICT, Canon Regular, and Prior of the same Abbey, and Doctor of Sacred Theology, On Fascination: Book One. PROOEMIUM. The most eminent philosophers, in discussing many matters treated in philosophy, have, because of its obscurity, touched upon the nature of fascination only slightly or scarcely at all. Why he writes on fascination. And since many and difficult reasons concerning this so arduous question occurred to me, reasons which, being grounded in the principles of nature, seemed able to bring not a little usefulness and clarity to this subject, I thought it would be worthwhile if, to the best of my ability, I said something on this matter; so that the hidden and rugged force of fascination might be revealed, and some small light be brought into so great a darkness. And in order that I might more easily reach the goal of the desired subject, I resolved to follow in Aristotle’s footsteps; for when he is about to treat some matter, he first brings the opinions of his opponents into the middle, and after examining and rejecting them, his own judgment then remains firmer and stronger. In the first book, therefore, we shall set forth the subject of fascination from the doctrines of the philosophers, together with their principles and arguments; but in the remaining books, from the guidance of theology, we shall proceed.
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2 DE FASCINO priusque rerum causis ne latum quidem vnguem discedentes, nostram sententiam afferemus. An Fascinum sit. CAP. I. Ab axioma- se omniu[m] cal- culo recepto, à testimonio suo profanorum, tum sacroru[m] autorum, ab historiis, ab experientia et. communi opi- nione fascinu[m] esse probat. Res de qua agendum est, prænota esse debet. Varij et loc- cupletes testes de fascino. Aristoteles et Alexander Aphrod. Plutarchus et Heliodorus. Isigonus. Nymphodo- rus. Apollonides Phelarchus, AlgaZel, Auicenna et Pomponatius. FASCINVM esse, atque in rerum vniuersitate reperiri, probatione non indigere existimo: tum quia auctores ferè omnes, non Latini & Arabes tantùm, sed etiam Græci dixerunt, Vniuscuiusque operis rem, de qua in eo agendum sit, prænotam esse oportere; & cùm de fascinatione, perinde ac de præsentis operis materia verba facturi simus, illâ notissimâ esse præsupponimus: t[ame]n etia quia non desunt historiæ, quæ de admirabilibus fascini effectibus fidem faciunt. Nam Aristoteles omnium rerum optimus indagator de fascini viribus meminit. Alexander Aphrodise[n]sis fascinatores veneficos appellat, quorum documentum esse tradit, vt venenent alios intentè illos contuentes carmine prolato. Plutarchus ab inuidia proprium corpus contaminari dicit, ex quo deinde effluua ad alios perueniunt, eósqve lædunt; à cuius sententia Heliodorus non discedit. Isigonus in Triballis, & Illyriis homines reperiri ait, Plinio referente, qui visu effascinent, interimantque, quos iratis præcipuè oculis diutius intueantur. In Africa familias quasdam esse effascinantes Nymphodorus asserit, quarum laudantium voce probata quæque intereant, arbores arescant, infantes emoriantur. Huius generis familiæ Scythiam incolunt, quæ Bythiæ vocantur, vt Apollonides prodit. In Ponto quoque Thibioru[m] genus, multósqque alios eiusdem naturæ Philarchus narrat. Algazel foeminas visu vbique nocere affirmat. Auicenna & Pomponatius re-
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2. ON FASCINATION and not departing by so much as a nail’s breadth from the causes of things, we shall present our opinion. Whether Fascinum exists. CHAP. I. Having received as an axiom common to all calculation, from the testimony of the profane, then of sacred authors, from histories, from experience, and from common opinion, he proves that fascinum exists. The matter that is to be treated ought to be noted beforehand. Various and authoritative witnesses concerning fascination. Aristotle and Alexander of Aphrodisias. Plutarch and Heliodorus. Isigonus. Nymphodorus. Apollonides Phylarchus, Algazel, Avicenna and Pomponatius. I believe that FASCINUM exists, and that it is found in the universe of things, and that no proof is needed: partly because nearly all authors, not only Latin and Arabic, but also Greek, have said that in every work the matter that is to be treated in it ought to be noted beforehand; and since we are about to speak of fascination, just as of the subject matter of the present work, we presuppose that it is well known; and also because histories are not lacking which give credence to the wondrous effects of fascination. For Aristotle, the most discerning investigator of all things, makes mention of the powers of fascination. Alexander of Aphrodisias calls sorcerers poisoners, whose practice he says is to poison others by staring intently at them while uttering a spell. Plutarch says that through envy one’s own body is contaminated, from which harmful influences then pass on to others and injure them; Heliodorus does not depart from this opinion. Isigonus says, as Pliny reports, that among the Triballi and Illyrians there are men who fascinate and even kill by sight those whom they gaze at for a long time, especially with angry eyes. Nymphodorus asserts that in Africa there are certain families that cast fascination, by whose praise spoken aloud whatever is praised perishes, trees wither, infants die. Families of this kind inhabit Scythia, and are called Bythae, as Apollonides relates. In Pontus too, Phylarchus tells of a race of Thibii and many others of the same nature. Algazel affirms that women can injure everywhere by their gaze. Avicenna and Pomponatius re-
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Liber I. 3 bus quibussibet vehementi imaginatione pernicié inferri posse autumant. Solinus Plinij assecla qualdam familias inueniri memorat, quæ voce atque lingua fascinant. Philostratus Apollonium Thyanæum fascinandi naturam habuisse fatetur. Quid illud? Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos. < Solinus.> Quid quòd in decemuiralibus tabulis apud veteres sancitum fuit, eos capitis reos fore, qui alienas segetes excantassent, aut vllis veneficiis, carminibus & fascinationibus pellicere ausi essent ita enim in his relatum est, Ne pelliciunto alienas segetes excantando < XII. Tab. lex infascinates.> Ne incantanto: ne agrum defraudanto. Nonnulli ægum periti, inter quos Ioannes Franciscus Ponzinibius, & Petrus de Tarantasia, oculo vrenti ob animam infectam pueros fascinari aiunt, totisque viribus defendunt. Illud quoque ex Plinio huc adducere libet, quod licet ad Magiâ spectare videatur, tamen quia fascinum Magiæ speciem esse reor, huic narrationi congruere videtur: C. inquit, < PonZinibij et Tarantasij Iurisconsultorum assertio.> Iurius Cresinus è seruitute liberatus, cùm in paruo admodu[m] agello largiores multò fructus perciperet, quàm ex amplissimis vicinitas, in inuidia magna erat, ceu fruges alienas pelliceret veneficiis. < Plinij historia de Cresino Magia suspecto.> Quamobrem à Sp. Albino curuli die dicta, metués damnationem, cùm in suffragium tribus oporteret ire, instrumentum rusticum omne in forum attulit, & adduxit filiam validam, atque, vt ait Piso, bene curatam & vestitam, ferramenta egregiè facta, graues ligones, vomeres ponderosos, boues sáturos: Postea dixit, Veneficia mea, Quirites, hæc sunt, nec possum vobis ostendere, aut in forum adducere lucubrationes, vigiliásque & sudores. hæc ille. < Altera Plinij historia.> Qui suo tempore portentum etiam, ac A ij
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Liber I. 3 those who think that harm can be brought upon anyone whatsoever by vehement imagination. Solinus, a follower of Pliny, relates that certain families are found who bewitch by voice and tongue. Philostratus confesses that Apollonius of Tyana had the nature of bewitching. What about this? I know not who fascinates my tender lambs with his glance. < Solinus.> What of the fact that in the Decemviral Tables among the ancients it was enacted that those should be held guilty of capital crime who had charmed away another’s crops, or had dared to attract them by any sorceries, incantations, and bewitchments; for thus it is reported in these words, Let them not entice away another’s crops by enchantment < XII. Tab. lex infascinates.> Let them not enchant: let them not defraud the field. Some physicians, among whom are Giovanni Francesco Ponzinibio and Pietro de Tarantasia, say that children are bewitched by the burning eye on account of an infected soul, and they defend this with all their strength. It also pleases me to bring in here that from Pliny, which, although it seems to pertain to magic, nevertheless, because I think fascination to be a kind of magic, appears to fit this narration: G. says, < Assertion of the jurists Ponzinibio and Tarantasia.> Iurius Cresinus, freed from servitude, when in a very small field he received far greater yields than the neighboring lands from the largest estates, was under great suspicion, as though he attracted others’ crops by sorceries. < Pliny’s story about Cresinus suspected of magic.> Wherefore, on the day appointed by Sp. Albinus as curule magistrate, fearing condemnation, since he had to go into the tribes for the vote, he brought into the forum all his rustic implements, and led in his vigorous daughter, and, as Piso says, well kept and well dressed, his excellently made tools, heavy mattocks, weighty ploughshares, and well-fed oxen. Then he said, “These, Quirites, are my sorceries, and I cannot show you, or bring into the forum, my watchings and nights of toil and my sweat.” Thus he. < Another story of Pliny.> Who in his own time even a prodigy, and A ij
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4 DE FASCINO < Oliuetu Vectij excantatione alio traductum.> prodigium omnium maximum accidisse testis est; Vniuersum scilicet Oliuetum in agro Marrucino Vectij Marcelli, qui eques Romanus fuit, & Neronis procurator, viam publicam transgressum, atque ipsa prædia ex loco in contrarias sedes profecta esse. Idque verbis Poetæ de simili reloquentis conuenire videtur, < In Pharmaceutia, Ecl. 8 Ab experie[n]tia fascinium esse probat.> Atque satas alio vidi traducere messes. Experientia insuper ab huiusmodi dubitatione nos retrahit; siquidem cùm effascinatrices, & effascinatos passim circumspiciamus, si fascinu[m] reperiri ambigeremus, nos in tanta rerum claritate allucinari, & nullam nobis rationis micam inesse quilibet arbitrari posset. Huc etiam communis omniu[m] opinio accedit; nam si acriùs quàm par sit, quidquam laudibus prosequi coeperimus, illicò nobis, vt ab eo laudando desistamus, ne id effascinemus, imperatur; & ne quam noxam contrahat, confestim contra fascinum amuletum paratur. Quin & aliqui sunt, qui dum laudantur, faciem auertunt, non tantùm vt sibi molestam esse laudem indicent, sed vt à fascino caueant; ea enim opinio inualuit, vt per laudantium vocem fascinum fieri credatur. < Immodica laus de fascino suspecta est> Nostræ præterea tempestatis mulierculæ non mediocrem fascino vim inesse indicant: dum res, quæ ipsarum curæ & custodiæ demandatæ sunt, tot præsidiis ac remediis aduersus fascinationem muniunt. < Anicularis quarumdam superstition.> Qua de causa apud peritos non bene audiunt, qui fascinum rident, & aniles nugas esse existimant; & historiis fidem non adhibere periniquum esse duco, cùm rerum euenta famæ respondant. < Danda fides historiis.> Nec si causæ ratio nos penitus prætereat, idcirco rem ipsam ridiculâ ducere debemus: infinita enim propè sunt, quorum rationem adipisci nequimus. Quinimò risu digni
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4 ON THE POWER OF THE EVIL EYE <The olive grove of Vectius, transferred by incantation elsewhere.> He is witness that a prodigy the greatest of all occurred: namely, the whole olive grove in the Marrucine district of Vectius Marcellus, who was a Roman knight and procurator of Nero, crossed the public road, and the very estates moved from their place to opposite sites. And this seems to agree with the poet’s words on a similar matter, <In Pharmaceutria, Ecl. 8. He proves by experience that there is fascination.> And I saw crops being moved to another place. Moreover, experience draws us back from any doubt of this kind; for since we everywhere observe those who bewitch and those who are bewitched, if we were to doubt whether fascination exists, we could be said to be deluded amid so much clarity of things, and anyone could judge that not a spark of reason is in us. Common opinion also comes to this; for if we begin to praise anything more warmly than is fitting, we are immediately told to stop praising it, lest we “fascinate” it; and, so that it may suffer no harm, an amulet against fascination is at once prepared. Indeed, there are some who, when praised, turn away their faces, not only to show that praise is disagreeable to them, but also to guard against fascination; for that opinion has gained such ground that fascination is believed to be produced by the voice of those who praise. <Excessive praise is suspect in regard to fascination.> The little old women of our own time likewise show that there is no small power in fascination: for they fortify the things entrusted to their care and keeping with so many defenses and remedies against enchantment. <The superstition of certain old women.> For this reason, those who laugh at fascination and think it to be merely old wives’ tales do not stand well with the learned; and I consider it very unfair not to give credence to histories, since the outcomes of events correspond to report. <Credence should be given to histories.> Nor, if the reason for the cause entirely escapes us, ought we therefore to make the thing itself a laughingstock: for there are almost countless things whose reason we cannot discover. Rather, they are worthy of laughter
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L I B E R I. 5 existimantur illi, qui nimis anxiè in rimâdis singularum rerum rationibus intēti sunt; & ex omnibus naturæ miracula tollunt: quoniam vbi causæ ratio nos latet, illinc peruestigandi nobis exordium nascitur. Quocirca philosophiam destruere videntur, qui fascino, vtpote naturæ prodigio, fidem non habent: cuius vim ne sacrarum quidem litteraru studiosi diffitentur; nam per illud oculoru radiis intermediis, & imaginatione, grauibus malis mortales affici posse censent. Vnde Sapientiæ libro hæc verba leguntur, Fascinatio malignitatis obscurat bona. Apostolus quoque ita clamat, O insensati Galatæ, quis vos fascinauit? in quorum verborum expositione interpretes aiunt: Quidam habent oculos vrentes, qui solo aspectu inficiunt alios, & maximè pueros. Diuus Hieronymus, cùm infantes ex improuiso macrescere, tabescere, miserè torqueri, aliquando miro ciulatu clamare, ac flere videret, inquit, Pueris & ætati paruulæ fascinu nocet. Isidorus fascinatores à veneficis non distinguens, ait, Hi elementa concutiunt, mentes hominum turbat, & absque veneni haustu, sola vicarminum animas interimunt. Sanctus Thomas dicit: & fortè animæ imaginatione spiritus immutatur corporis coniuncti, quæ quidem spirituum immutatio maximè in oculis fit, ad quos subtiliores spiritus perueniunt. Illa quoque verba Psalm. Qui timent te, videbunt me: sic exponunt: Magna virtus in oculis est; quod in naturalibus apparet; animal enim visum prodest ictericis: quem prior videt Lupus, ei vocem aufert: sic Basiliscus, si prior videt, occîdit; si prior videtur, occiditur. Dionysius Carthusianus de hac fascinandi vi ita sentit; Fascinationem fieri interdum per quâdam effluxionem humorum nocen- A iii
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BOOK I. 5 Those are thought to be excessive inquiring minds, who are too anxiously intent on probing the reasons of single things; and from all things they take away the wonders of nature: because, where the reason of the cause is hidden from us, from that very point the beginning of our investigation arises. Wherefore they seem to destroy philosophy, who do not believe in fascination, as a prodigy of nature; the power of which even students of the sacred writings do not deny. For by it, through the intermediate rays of the eyes and through imagination, mortals, they think, can be afflicted with grievous evils. Whence in the book of Wisdom these words are read: “The fascination of malignity obscures good things.” The Apostle also cries out: “O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you?” In the exposition of these words the interpreters say: “Some have burning eyes, who infect others merely by looking, and especially children.” Saint Jerome, when he saw infants suddenly growing thin, wasting away, being miserably tormented, and sometimes crying out with a strange shriek and weeping, said: “Fascination harms little children and the age of infancy.” Isidore, not distinguishing sorcerers from poisoners, says: “These shake the elements, disturb the minds of men, and without swallowing poison, slay souls by the mere force of incantations.” Saint Thomas says: “And perhaps by the imagination of the soul the spirit of the joined body is altered, and this alteration of the spirits occurs especially in the eyes, to which the more subtle spirits reach.” Those words also from Psalm: “Who fear thee shall see me,” are thus explained: “There is great power in the eyes”; which is evident in natural things; for an animal’s sight benefits those with jaundice: whom the wolf first sees, from him it takes away the voice; so too the basilisk, if it sees first, kills; if it is seen first, it is killed. Dionysius the Carthusian thinks thus of this power of bewitching: fascination sometimes occurs through a certain efflux of harmful humors, nocen- A iii
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DE FASCIN tium, aërem inficientium, sicut quorundam vrentes infectique oculi teneros lædunt pueros, adeo vt escam euomant atque fastidiant, propter quod pueri tales fascinati dicuntur. < Olei Magni insporta de quibusdam nationsbus effascinanti- bus.> Olaus Magnus de gentibus Septentrionalibus: Sunt, inquit, Biarmi idolatræ, & Amaxobij Scytharum more, atque in fascinandis hominibus instructissimi, quippe qui aut oculorum, aut verboru[m], aut alicuius alterius rei maledicio homines ita ligant, vt liberi non sint, nec mentis compotes, sæpéque ad extremam maciem deueniant, & tabescendo dispereant. Ne igitur tot grauissimis viris, historiis, experiétiæ, & communi omniu[m] opinioni fidem detrahere videamur, nullatenus an fascinum sit, probare conabimur; sed ipsum esse concedentes, ad eius diffinitionem assignandam, & enucleandam accedemus. Quid Fascinum sit, eiusque diffinitio examinatur: & imaginationem illius causam esse ostenditur. CAPVT II. FASCINVM, est perniciosa quædam qualitas, intensa imaginatione, visu, tactu, voce, coniunctim vel diuisim, cæli quandoque observatione adhibita, propter odium vel amorem inflicta. Pro cuius diffinitionis examine notadum est, causarum duo esse genera, naturale vnum, morale alterum; vt, qui vult, imperat, consulit, suadet, impellit, is eius rei, quæ voluntate, imperio, consilio, suasu, impulsu suo fit, moralis causa dicitur. At cùm quis innata atque insita vi, & nó externa actionem vniformem exercet, eius actionis naturalis causa appellatur. < Moralis causa.> In hac autem fascini descriptione, vtraque causa conspicitur collocata, vt intelli- Naturalis causa.
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DE FASCIN tium, infecting the air; just as the burning and infected eyes of some people injure tender children, so that they vomit up their food and loathe it, for which reason such children are said to be bewitched. < Olaus Magnus on some nations that bewitch.> Olaus Magnus, on the Northern peoples: There are, he says, the Biarmi, idolaters, and the Amaxobii, most skilled after the manner of the Scythians in bewitching men, since by the malediction either of their eyes, or of their words, or of some other thing, they so bind men that they are not free, nor masters of themselves, and often come to extreme wasting away, and perish by pining. Lest, therefore, we should seem to detract belief from so many most grave men, from histories, experience, and the common opinion of all, we shall by no means attempt to prove whether there is such a thing as fascination; but granting that it exists, we shall proceed to assign and explain its definition. What fascination is, and its definition is examined: and it is shown that imagination is its cause. CHAPTER II. FASCINATION is a certain harmful quality, inflicted through intense imagination, sight, touch, voice, either jointly or separately, sometimes with observation of the heavens added, through hatred or love. For the examination of this definition it is to be noted that there are two kinds of causes, one natural, the other moral; thus he who wills, commands, advises, persuades, impels, is said to be the moral cause of that thing which is done by his will, command, counsel, persuasion, or impulse. But when someone, by an innate and inherent force, and not by external action, exercises a uniform action, he is called the natural cause of that action. < Moral cause.> In this description of fascination, however, both causes are seen to be placed together, so that it may be understood— Natural cause.
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L I B E R I. 7 gatur ex artis & naturæ principiis fascinationem origi- nem trahere. Partes omnes, quibus descriptio hæc con- statur, iuxta præstatissimorum Philosophorum doctri- nam aperiendas & declarandas propolui; vtque à pri- ma particula, quæ est imaginatio, exordiamur, animad- uertendum est, quòd inter alias potentias animæ sensi- tiuæ attributas, quæ corpora nostra alteratione afficiuit, est imaginatio ipsa; quia etsi animales virtutes ratione qua lassitudinem in corpore ob laborem efficiunt, ma- ximè alterantes dicuntur. Vnde alia vitalis, alia con- cupiscibilis, alia irascibilis vocitetur; tamen præcipuam alterandi vim imaginatio tenet, & cò magis cùm ima- ginationi assensus vel dissensus accedit; ex quibus pas- siones & alterationes oriuntur; quarum qualitate cor- pus diuersimodè afficitur & alteratur. Idcirco Aristote- les in 2. Ethicorum hæc exprimens, inquit, Tria sunt in anima, passio, habitus & potentia; quòd autem imagi- natio alterandi potestatem habeat, hinc patet: illæ enim animæ operationes nos alterare possunt, quæ magni spi- rituum motus ad diuersas corporis partes internè & ex- ternè causa sunt: sed sic ex imaginandi virtute in nobis accidit, igitur vt notissimum præsupponendum id est. Quòd autem imaginatio externa corpora pertingere & afficere valeat, creditu facile est: Nam cordis spiritus ea qua est qualitate affectus ad imaginationem defer- tur: qua quidem qualitate iuxta imaginatis voluntatem & imperium aër inficitur, & corrumpitur; à quo postea fascinatio cõtrahitur. Verùm spiritus imaginationi de- seruiens, non secus ac rationale quoddam fidus, in quas- libet res, pro intensè imaginantis voluntate, radios fa- lutares vel perniciosos diffundit: hâc via, vehementi de-
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L I B E R I. 7 to derive fascination from the principles of art and nature. I have proposed to set forth and explain all the parts by which this description is composed, according to the doctrine of the most eminent philosophers; and, beginning with the first part, which is imagination, it must be observed that, among the other powers attributed to the sensitive soul, which have affected our bodies by alteration, imagination itself is one; for although the animal faculties are said to be most altering, inasmuch as they produce weariness in the body through labor, whence one is called vital, another concupiscible, another irascible, nevertheless imagination holds the chief power of altering, and all the more so when assent or dissent is added to imagination, from which passions and alterations arise, by whose quality the body is affected and altered in different ways. Therefore Aristotle, expressing this in the 2nd book of the Ethics, says: There are three things in the soul: passion, habit, and power. That imagination, moreover, has the power of altering, is evident from this: those operations of the soul can alter us which cause great motions of the spirits to different parts of the body, inwardly and outwardly; but this happens in us from the power of imagining; therefore it must be assumed as most certain. That imagination can even reach and affect external bodies is easy to believe: for the spirits of the heart are carried into imagination in the condition with which they are affected; and with this condition, according to the will and command of the things imagined, the air is tainted and corrupted, from which fascination is afterward contracted. But the spirit serving imagination, like some faithful instrument, diffuses salutary or harmful rays into whatsoever things, according to the intensely imagining person's will; by this means, with vehement de-
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8 DE FASCINO siderio imaginationi addito, fascinás, amorem, odium, valetudinem, ægritudinem, vitam & interitum inferre potest. Has vires nonnullorum hominum imaginationibus, à supercælestibus substantiis communicari atque infundi, sunt qui arbitrentur; sub quarum superaru[m] substantiarum benigno aspectu procreatæ sunt; si intenta imaginatione Louis, aut cuiusuis sideris specie & ideam fascinantes co[n]cepissent. Huiusmodi fascinantium animam sic imaginantem, & in planetis pro rei inficiendæ qualitate desideria collocantem, duas continere res affirmant; formam videlicet qua corpus informatur & viuit; atque planetæ simulacru[m] & idem: quo fit, vt omnis materia quæ motui subdita est, animæ non secus atque ipsi intelligentiæ celesti pareat. Nec admiratione dignu[m] existimant, si corporea ab incorporeis fiant, vt pestes, febres, & alia mala per imaginationem duntaxat excitentur, quia quidquid homo concipit, illud homo est, eiúsque foras emittédi vim habet. Hoc pacto mulieres odio, vel cupiditate inflammatæ, vehementiori imaginatione grauidæ, spiritum quendam emittunt, quo impressio ad cælum eleuatur, qua quidé impressione corpus quoddam ex menstruo assumptum est, quod è cæli conuexione resluens, cruces & alias turpes notas in hominum vestibus imprimit, quæ grauium & pestiletium morborum deinde causa sunt, idque factu haud difficile est, si hominum co[n]ceptus volatiles & corporei reddantur, atque pro conceptuum qualitate ad sidera ferantur, vt libidinosus conceptus ad Venerem, inuidus ad Saturnum, sæuus ad Martem, & sic de reliquis, qui rursus in hominum perniciem & exitium, Planetarum virtute affecti, ac roborati descendunt. Quo factum est vt
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8 OF FASCINATION If desire, with imagination added, can fascinate, it can bring love, hatred, health, sickness, life, and death. Some think that these powers are communicated and infused into the imaginations of certain men by supercelestial substances, under whose benign aspect they were generated; if, with intense imagination, they conceived Louis, or the appearance and idea of any star as fascinating. They affirm that the soul of such a fascinator, thus imagining and placing desires in the planets for the sake of infecting a thing, contains two things: namely, the form by which the body is formed and lives; and also the simulacrum of the planet and the same thing. Whence it follows that every matter which is subject to motion obeys the soul no less than the celestial intelligence itself. Nor do they consider it worthy of admiration if corporeal things are produced from incorporeal ones, so that plagues, fevers, and other evils are stirred up by imagination alone; because whatever a man conceives, that he is, and he has the power to send it forth outside himself. In this way women, inflamed by hatred or desire, pregnant with a more vehement imagination, emit a certain spirit by which the impression is raised up to heaven; and by that impression a certain body taken from menstruum is brought down from the vault of heaven, which impresses crosses and other foul marks on men’s clothing, and these later become the cause of grave and pestilential diseases. And this is by no means difficult to do, if men’s conceptions are made winged and bodily, and are carried to the stars according to the quality of the conception: so that a lustful conception goes to Venus, an envious one to Saturn, a fierce one to Mars, and so on with the rest, who in turn, affected and strengthened by the power of the planets, descend for the ruin and destruction of men. And so it came to pass that
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L I B E R I. 9 vt nonnulli, non modò conceptus astrorum virtute infectos, in hominum calamitatem venire crederent; verumetiam sidera ipsa, vt Horatius ad Canidiam veneficam scribit: < Astra hominibus funesta. > Per atque libros carminum valentium Refixa cælo deuocare sidera, Canidia parce vocibus tandem sacris, Citúmque retro solue solue turbinem. Hac via miseros mortales innumera mala, morborúmque diuersa genera inuadunt: hac imaginatione intermedia, res quandoque futuras præsagimus, quoniâ spiritus imaginatiuæ virtuti seruiens, adeò acutus, subtilis, ac penetrans efficitur, vt perquàm abditam, recóditam, & penitus ignotam rem, præuidere possit. Quòd si quis imaginationi tot tantarumque rerú stupore dignarum, causam adscribere dubitauerit, vel ex eo ad credendum adduci poterit, quòd mulieres eius adspectus, ac sexus foetus generant, cuius tempore concubitus simulacrum & imaginem animo conceperat: vnde nunc mas nunc foemina oritur patris matrîlve, aut aliam quampiam similitudinem referens. Mulier enim si quid animo concipit, aut in obuia quæque oculos desigit, mentique imprimit, ea plerunque infans in externis corporis partibus signata refert: eodem pacto inter amplexus & suauia, si mulier oculos & cogitationem in viri alicuius vultum dirigat, aut quemlibet alium præsentem imaginetur; eius effigies in foetu conspici solet: ea namque est imaginationis vis atque natura, vbi mulier aut quicuis alius fixiùs quid intuetur, vt simile quiddam conspectis emoliatur; adeo vt infanti varias rerum formas induci contingat, ac næuos, lituras, verrucásque imprimi, quæ B
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BOOK I. 9 Some indeed believe not only that conceptions, infected by the power of the stars, come upon men’s calamity, but even the stars themselves, as Horace writes to the sorceress Canidia: “Stars fatal to men. Through potent spells and books of charms To call the stars down from the sky, Canidia, spare at last thy sacred words, And quickly loose, loose back the whirling blast.” By this means innumerable evils and various kinds of diseases invade miserable mortals. By this intermediate imagination we sometimes foretell future things, because the spirit, serving the imaginative faculty, becomes so sharp, subtle, and penetrating that it can foresee a matter most hidden, remote, and utterly unknown. And if anyone should doubt whether the cause of so many and such wondrous things is to be attributed to imagination, he may even be led to believe it from this: that women conceive, through the sight and sex of him with whom they have had intercourse, the likeness and image in their mind at the time of conception; whence now a male, now a female child is born, resembling the father, the mother, or some other likeness. For if a woman conceives anything in her mind, or fixes her eyes on whatever lies before her and impresses it on her mind, the infant generally bears marks of it in the external parts of the body. In the same way, during embraces and caresses, if a woman directs her eyes and thoughts to the face of some man, or imagines any other person present, his image is commonly seen in the foetus; for such is the power and nature of imagination, that when a woman or anyone else looks more fixedly at something, something similar is produced from what is seen, so that in an infant various forms of things may be induced, and moles, blemishes, and warts impressed, which
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10 DE FASCINO non facilè elui possunt. Sic nonnullæ mulieres, ex lepo- ris obtutu infantes edunt, labello supremo bifurcatim dissecto. Eadem ratione nonnulli simis naribus gene- rantur, ore distorto, labris indecorè prominentibus, to- túque corporis habitu difformi; quòd mulier cõceptus ac gestationis tempore oculis totáque mente ac cogita- tione in monstrosas quasdam species defixa fuerit. Eá- que de causa plures in homine, quàm in reliquis ani- mantibus differetia, ac discrimina cernuntur. Nam co- gitationum velocitas, animi celeritas, atque ingenij va- rietas, multiformes notas imprimit; cùm cæteris ani- mantibus animi ferè sint immobiles, stabilésque & in suo cuique genere similes. Exdem prægnantes si alicu- ius cibi cupiditate accensæ corpus suum tetigerint, na- tum in ea corporis parte cibi illius nota signatum edût, si eiusmodi cibus negatus, aut non illicò exhibitus eis fuerit. Eodem quoque pacto gallinæ pullos excludere putantur eius coloris, qui ipsis incubantibus obiectus fuit. Plutarchus ait quandam foeminam in feruore coi- tus oculos intendente in oblatam Æthiopis imaginem, puerum nigrum ex candido homine genuisse: sic cæte- ra animalia foetus iuxta conceptionem generant. Phi- losophorum etenim scripta passim ostendunt visa in conceptu, magnam in partu vim habere. Plinius lib.7. ait, Similitudinum quidem in mente reputatio est, in qua credantur multa fortuita pollere, visus, auditus, me- moriáque, haustæ imaginis sub ipso conceptu; cogita- tio etiam vtriuslibet animo subitò transuolans, effinge- re similitudinem, aut miscere existimatur. Ideóque plu- res in homine quàm in cæteris animantibus differentiæ, quoniam velocitas cogitationum, animúque celeritas,
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10 ON FASCINATION cannot easily be washed away. Thus some women, by gazing at beauty, bring forth infants with the upper lip cleft in two. In the same way some are born with snub noses, a twisted mouth, lips unbecomingly protruding, and the whole habit of the body deformed; because the woman, during the time of conception and gestation, had her eyes and her whole mind and thought fixed upon certain monstrous forms. And for this reason more differences and distinctions are seen in man than in the other animals. For the speed of thoughts, the quickness of the mind, and the variety of genius imprint manifold marks; whereas in the other animals minds are almost unmoving, stable, and alike in each kind. If the same pregnant women, when kindled with desire for some food, should touch their own body, the child born in that part of the body is said to be marked with the sign of that food, if such food were denied them, or not immediately offered. In the same way hens are thought to hatch chicks of the color that was placed before them while they were brooding. Plutarch says that a certain woman, in the ardor of intercourse, fixed her eyes upon an image of an Ethiopian that had been brought before her, and gave birth to a black child from a white man: so other animals likewise produce offspring according to conception. Indeed, the writings of philosophers everywhere show that things seen at conception have great power in birth. Pliny, book 7, says: “The mind does indeed consider likenesses, in which many chance things are believed to prevail: sight, hearing, and memory, the image received at the very moment of conception; even a thought, too, suddenly flying through the mind, is thought to fashion or mix a likeness.” And therefore there are more differences in man than in the other animals, because of the speed of thoughts and the quickness of the mind,
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L I B E R I. II & ingenij varietas, multiformes notas imprimit: cùm in cæteris animantibus immobiles sint animi, & similes omnibus singulisque in suo quæque genere. Vnde con- iugibus præcipitur, vt elegantes circa genialem lectum imagines habeant. Vrbs est in Brabantia Buscoducis, in qua, vt in aliis eiusdem Prouinciæ, stato anni die quo maximum vrbis templum Deo dicatum ferunt, publi- cè supplicatur, ludique varij superis exhibentur. Sunt qui tunc diuoru[m] personas induant, sunt qui dæmonum: ex his vnus cùm visa puella exarsisset, domum saltitan- do se recepit, & correptam (vt erat personatus) vxorem suam, eam in lectum coniecit; asserens se ex ea dæmo- nium cudere velle: concubuit, concepit mulier, & pepe- rit infantem dæmoni similem; qui simul atque editus est, saltitare coepit. Hinc Iacob gregem suum augere didicit, vt sacra testatur historia, virgas amygdalinas variis coloribus incisas apud canales disponens, ad quos bibendi causa oves appellebant, vbi coëntes illas con- spicerent. Quid quòd ægrotus ex opinione quam de Medico, aut de re quapiam imbibit, salutem sibi parare potest? Idem, frigus imaginando, frigore corripitur, sic cùm res acres mente concipimus, dentes stupescunt: cùm res rubras, sanguis è naribus effluit. Quæ omnia fieri nullo modo possent, si imaginatio alterandi virtute prædita non esset. De visu qui Fascini diffinitionem ingreditur. CAPVT III. CAPVT in corpore humano sublimiorem & eminentiorem locum capiti natura dedit, ac tanquam arcem constituit, cæteris membris B ij
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L I B E R. II and variety of genius impresses different marks; whereas in other living creatures the minds are unchanging, and alike in each and every individual of their kind. Hence spouses are enjoined to have elegant images around the bridal bed. There is a city in Brabant, 's-Hertogenbosch, in which, as in others of the same province, on a fixed day of the year, when they celebrate the dedication of the city’s great church to God, public supplication is made, and various games are offered to the heavenly powers. There are some who then assume the persons of gods, others of demons; of these, one, when he had seen a girl and was inflamed with desire, went home dancing, and having seized his wife, who was dressed as he was, he threw her onto the bed, declaring that he meant to beget a demon from her: he lay with her, the woman conceived, and bore an infant like a demon, who, as soon as he was born, began to dance. From this Jacob learned to increase his flock, as sacred history testifies, by placing peeled almond rods of various colors beside the channels to which the sheep came to drink, so that when they mated there they might see them. What of the fact that a sick man, from the opinion he has taken in about a physician or about some thing, can bring health to himself? Likewise, by imagining cold, he is seized with cold; thus when we conceive sharp things in the mind, the teeth become numb; when red things, blood flows from the nostrils. All these things could in no way happen if the imagination were not endowed with the power of altering things. On sight, which enters into the definition of fascination. CHAPTER III. Nature has given the head in the human body the highest and most eminent place, and has set it up as a kind of citadel for the other members. B ij
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omnibus pro basi suppositis; sic inter cæteros sensus vi- < Rex sensuum visus, et animæ familia rissimus.> tum, veluti Regem omnium editissimum, & tâquam in arce collocatum esse voluit, ipsumque animæ familiarissimu[m] fecit, quod ex communi vtriusque affectu colligi potest: siquidem animi doloré moestitia suffusi oculi < Animi affectuum indices oculi.> non dissimulant: contrà gaudente animo hilares subrident, metu inualescente turbantur, animo ira flagrante exasperantur & rubescunt: in cogitatione, ac cura quiescunt, eodem obtutu hærentes, & quasi cum mente simul intenti, sicut in animi deliquio simul luxantur, & remittuntur. Idem accedente amico, beneuolum affectum, sereno tranquilloque intuitu nuntiant. Quoties verò inimicu[m] conspiciunt, molestiam, indignationemque præ se ferunt, in audacia prosiliunt, in reuerentia subsident, in amore blandiuntur, in odio efferantur, & (vt paucis absoluam) ad animi affectum visus compositus est, eius imaginem prorsus exprimens, naturamque inuisibilem perinde ac in speculo referens. Horum oculorum gratia, lucem rerum omnium præstantissimam, < Lux oculorum causa creata.> Deus Opt. Max. creauit, cuius lucis natura duplex est; altera ex hoc igne corruptibili fulgés, eaque mortalis & extinguibilis: altera perennis & immortalis è cælo ad nos delata, à sideribus singulis, tanquam à perenni fonte desluens; vtraque familiaris & gratissima oculis; quippe qui per eam ad videndum habiles & idonei redduntur. Vtque Deus, quâti oculos faceret, veluti animi nuntios, ac fidos ministros nos doceret, (nam æquè oculi aspectabili luce delectantur, atque animus inuisibili claritate ac veritate fruitur) Solis, Lunę, cęterorum que tum < Planeta et Sydera in oculorum gratia formata.> erraticorum, tum fixorum syderum splendorem in oculorum gratiam & mysterium formauit, vt ab ipsis vide- rectur,
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supposing all things as the basis; thus among the other senses he willed sight to be placed as the king of all, set, as it were, in a citadel, and made especially familiar to the soul, which may be gathered from the common affection of both: for the eyes, when the mind is filled with sorrow and sadness, < The eyes are the indices of the affections of the mind.> do not conceal it; on the contrary, when the mind rejoices they smile cheerfully, when fear grows strong they are disturbed, when anger burns in the mind they grow fierce and turn red; in contemplation and care they rest, fixed on the same gaze, and as though intent together with the mind; just as in a fainting of the mind they are likewise loosened and relaxed. In the same way, when a friend approaches, they announce a benevolent disposition with a serene and tranquil look. Whenever indeed they see an enemy, they show annoyance and indignation; in boldness they spring forward, in reverence they sink down, in love they flatter, in hatred they become fierce, and (to conclude briefly) sight is adapted to the affections of the mind, expressing its image completely and mirroring the invisible nature as though in a speculum. For the sake of these eyes, God Most Good and Most Great created the light of all things, < Light created as the cause of the eyes.> whose nature of light is twofold; one shines forth from this corruptible fire, and is mortal and extinguishable: the other, everlasting and immortal, is brought to us from heaven, flowing down from each of the stars as from an eternal source; both are familiar and most welcome to the eyes, since through them they are made capable and fitted for seeing. And just as God, in making eyes, wished to teach us that they are like messengers of the mind and faithful ministers—for the eyes delight equally in visible light, as the mind enjoys invisible brightness and truth—so too the splendor of the Sun, the Moon, and the rest, both < The planets and stars formed for the sake of the eyes.> of the wandering and of the fixed stars, He fashioned for the benefit and mystery of the eyes, so that it might be seen by them,
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LIBER I. 13 retur: quo munere omnium nobilissimo adiuti, quid- quid in orbe continetur spectant. < vulus est al- r animus.> Nec temerè oculos non animi tantùm fidissimos duces, sed alteru[m] animum nuncupare audemus; ná hos cùm osculamur, animum ipsum attingere videmur. Et quemadmodum animus longissimè progreditur, vagatur ac spatiatur; ita oculi à terra vno ictu cælum pertingunt, mundique fines, ortum & Occasum, Septentrionem ac Meridiem collustrantes, ad eorum contemplationem mentem attrahunt. < Oculi respondens affectibus animi.> Cùm igitur gaudente animo, oculi hilariter subrideant, & eodem mærente, ipsi quoque hebetentur ac languecant, grauiori premente molestia lacrymas exprimant, per iram tumescant, in māsuetudine remittantur, in contemplatione hæreant, denique omnibus animi affectibus statim respondeant, variis mutationibus, naturalem quandam animi cognationem declarantes clarum relinquitur, quòd si fascinu[m] per imaginationem quæ est animi vis, fiat, vt diximus, per oculos quoque, qui animi ministri & affines sunt, fieri potest. < Quemadmodum per visum fascinum fiat.> Ex ipsis radij quidam emittuntur, qui veluti iacula quædam, ac sagittæ ad effascinandorum corda deferutur, totumque corpus inficiunt, atque ita nulla interposita mora arbores, segetes, bruta animalia, & homines perniciosa qualitate inficiunt, & ad interitum deducunt; quam effascinandi vim mulieres, & inter eas aculæ maximè habet; quæ visu nocere vbique compertant, & illæ præsertim quæ vel in singulis oculis geminam pupillam habent, vel in altero equi effigiem. vt de quibusdam Pontum incolentibus scriptum legimus. < Anicula ad fascinandum potissimum aptæ.> Atque huiusmodi mulieres, alia dote sunt à natura donatæ, vt mergi nequeant, ne veste quidem degrauatæ. < Gemina in oculo pupilla vim fascinâdi maximam denotat.> Nec mirari debe- B iij
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LIBER I. 13 There follows: aided by that noblest of all gifts, they behold whatever is contained in the world. <The eye is the molder of the mind.> Not without reason do we dare to call the eyes not only the most faithful guides of the soul, but as it were another mind; for when we kiss them, we seem to touch the mind itself. And just as the mind advances farthest, wanders and ranges about, so the eyes, with a single glance from the earth, reach heaven and the limits of the world, surveying the East and West, the North and South, and draw the mind to contemplate them. <The eyes correspond to the emotions of the mind.> Since, therefore, when the mind is joyful, the eyes smile cheerfully, and when it is sorrowful, they too grow dull and languid, and under heavier distress shed tears, swell with anger, relax in gentleness, dwell upon contemplation, and in short immediately answer all the affections of the mind by various changes, it is clearly left to be understood that, if fascination occurs through imagination, which is a power of the mind, then, as we have said, it can also occur through the eyes, which are ministers and kindred to the mind. <How fascination takes place through sight.> From the eyes themselves certain rays are emitted, which, like some sort of darts and arrows, are carried to the hearts of those to be bewitched, and infect the whole body; and thus, without any delay, they infect trees, crops, brute animals, and human beings with a harmful quality, and lead them to destruction. This power of bewitching is possessed by women, and among them especially old women; for it is known everywhere that they can do harm by sight, and especially those who either have a double pupil in each eye, or in one eye the likeness of a horse, as we read has been written of certain women inhabiting Pontus. <Old women are especially fitted for bewitching.> And women of this kind are endowed by nature with another gift, namely that they cannot sink, not even when weighed down by clothing. <A double pupil in the eye denotes the greatest power of bewitching.> Nor should we be surprised B iij
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14 DE FASCINO mus humanos oculos tantam vim possidere; est enim Homo μι- χρόχοσμος. homo paruus quidam mundus, in quo omnia vnita reperiuntur, quæ sparsim in toto terrarum Orbe semina- ta cernuntur: quod profectò dici nô posset, si oculorum acie ea virtute insignitam non haberet, qua etiam bruta animalia prædita sunt; veluti de Basilisco legitur; qui venenosis radiis ex oculis emissis, quoscunque intuetur <Galli obtutus leoni timore incutit.> interficit. Gallorum quoque oculis semina quædam, ac spiritus inesse ferunt, quibus leonibus dolor ac moeror incredibilis incutitur: quam sententiam hisce versibus explicauit Lucretius. <Lucretij versus.> Nimirum quia sunt gallorum in corpore quædam Semina: quæ cùm sint oculis immissa leonum, Pupillas interfodiunt, acrémque dolorem Præbent, vt nequeant contrà durare feroces. <Lupus quado voci noxios.> Nec dissimilem naturam lupi habere perhibentur; qui si priores obuium quempiam conspexerint, illicò ei vocem adimunt, vt ne sonum quidem emittere possit, tantum abest vt vociferari aur fari queat. Testudines etiam oua fouere, & foetus excutere oculis dicuntur. Si verò ea quæ de oculoru radiis diximus, alicui creditu difficilia <Testudines oculis oua excutiunt.> videntur, menstruatas mulieres animaduertat, quæ specula intuitæ ea sanguinea nube maculant, tantam vim Mulieres mē- struata spe- cula inficiùs. Amantium ardor ex mu- tuo conspectu. oculis natura indidi. Amates præterea sese mutuò aspicientes, adeò ignibus quibusdam torquentur, vt viuere nequeant, nisi ipsorum insana libido, ac desideria compleâtur; & vsque adeo amoris, ne dicam furoris, ictibus cor patet, vt si alter eorum rem amatam in amore sibi non respondere senserit, angatur, crucietur, & lacrymis
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14 OF FASCINATION human eyes possess so great a power; for man is a little world, in which all things are found united that are seen scattered as seeds throughout the whole globe of the earth: which could certainly not be said, if he did not have in the keen sight of his eyes that virtue with which even brute animals are endowed; as is read of the Basilisk, who, with poisonous rays emitted from his eyes, kills whomever he looks upon. <The gaze of cocks strikes fear into the lion.> They also say that in the eyes of cocks there are certain seeds and spirits, by which lions are struck with incredible pain and sorrow: Lucretius explained this opinion in these verses. <Verses of Lucretius.> Surely because there are in the body of cocks certain seeds: which, when they are sent into the eyes of lions, pierce the pupils, and inflict sharp pain, so that the fierce creatures can no longer endure against them. <The wolf when harmful to the voice.> They report that wolves have a not dissimilar nature; for if they first catch sight of anyone encountered on the way, they immediately take away his voice, so that he cannot even utter a sound, so far is it from him to cry out or speak. Tortoises also are said to hatch eggs and bring forth their young by their eyes. But if what we have said about the rays of the eyes seems hard for anyone to believe, <Tortoises by the eyes break the eggs.> let him consider menstruating women, who, when they have looked into mirrors, stain them with that bloody cloud, so great a power has nature implanted in the eyes. Lovers moreover, gazing at one another, are so tormented by certain fires that they cannot live unless their mad desire and longing are fulfilled; and so open is the heart to the strokes of love, I will not say madness, that if either of them perceives that the beloved object does not answer his love, he is distressed, tormented, and with tears
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Liber I. 15 ac mœrore cōficiatur. Si quidem visus ob innatum suæ naturæ motum cum spiritu eiaculante quandam vim igneam, & mirabilem diffundit, ita vt hoc auctore permulta & agat & patiatur homo, ipsis etiam tenebris inuitis; vt de Alexandro legitur, qui per tenebras æquè, ac < Alexandr æquè in tenebris ac per lucem cernebat.> per lucem cernebat. Voluptatibus itaque visus capitur, ac rerum visarú amore allicitur, ad eos perueniens, quos perpulchros & elegantes perspexerit: ideo demirari quâm maximè eos quispiam posset, qui hominem visu assentire, ac molestia affici putant, & non item agere & nocere. Etenim mutuus eorum intuitus, qui venustate & pulchritudine antecellunt, quódque ex oculis profluit & emanat, siue lumen, siue profluuium quoddam sit, amantes tabe conficit, permista dolori voluptate, tantúsque ardor internus ex oculis egreditur, vt multo acriùs visus quàm tactus vel auditus lædat. Quid? Nónne stupédum est, quod de quadam aue, quæ Icterus vel < Galgulus ictericum morbum astrahit> Galgulus dicitur? quæ eam videtur sortita naturam, vt ictericium morbum, quo homines laborant, ad se attrahat, ipsumque per oculos effusum hauriat. Homo verò qui tali morbo torquebatur, sic ab alite visus sanatur, & ales moritur. Atque vt reliquos morbos taceam, lippitudinis morbus solo contuitu contrahitur: tam perniciosam vim oculi habent, vt in alios proprium vitium < Lippitudo seu e[ss]e θαλμια, ex contusso nascitur.> eiaculentur, idque ea ratione fieri posse duco: nam animus malè affectus, suum quoque corpus malè habet. < Animis corporis sua affectio.> Quod vel inde colligitur, quia rei venereæ cogitatio & contemplatio genitales partes titillat & erigit. Canum etiam furor in iis certaminibus, quæ cum feris ineunt, visus aciem perstringit, sæpius etiam penitus excæcat: sic cùm animus aliquo mœrore, aut vitio affectus est,
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and he is consumed with sorrow. For vision, by its innate motion together with the spirit that darts forth, diffuses a certain fiery and marvelous power; so that by this agent man both does and suffers many things, even against his will in the darkness itself; as is read of Alexander, who in darkness could see as well as through light. Therefore sight is caught up by pleasures, and is drawn by love of things seen, reaching toward those whom it has perceived to be very beautiful and elegant; hence one may well marvel exceedingly at those who think that a man merely assents by sight and is affected by trouble, and not also acts and harms. For the mutual gaze of those who excel in grace and beauty, and that which flows and issues from the eyes, whether it be light or some kind of effluence, consumes lovers with wasting, mixed with pleasure in pain; and such intense inward heat issues from the eyes that sight injures much more sharply than touch or hearing. What? Is it not astonishing that of a certain bird, called Icterus or Galgulus, which is said to draw down jaundice, one may say that it seems to have received such a nature that it attracts to itself the jaundiced disease by which men are afflicted, and drinks it in as it flows out through the eyes. But a man tormented by that disease is thus cured by being looked at by the bird, and the bird dies. And to say nothing of the remaining diseases, the disease of bleary eyes is contracted by a mere gaze: so harmful is the power the eyes possess, that they cast their own defect upon others; and I judge that this can happen for this reason: for the mind when ill affected likewise has its body ill. This too may be inferred from the fact that the thought and contemplation of sexual matters tickle and raise the genital parts. Even the frenzy of dogs in those contests which they enter with wild beasts blunts the sharpness of sight, and often blinds it completely: thus when the mind is affected by some sorrow or vice,
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16 DE FASCINO colores corporis immutat: si inuidia tenetur, pallore & croceo quodam colore totu corpus inficit. Vnde quo- tiescunque inuidia tab escentes liuidos in aliquem oculos desigunt, animi simul venenum vibrant, & quasi iaculis virulentis inuisum confodiunt & vulnerant. Illud verò prætermittendum non est, quod nonnulli vernas, familiarisque nonnunquam patres ipsos à quibus omnis inuidiæ suspicio abest, nihilominus oculum effascinantem habere arbitrati sunt; & ideò matres, liberos, quos in lucem ediderunt, illis non ostendunt, nisi post magnum teporis interuallum. Plutarchus homines quosdam suo intuitu & functionibus, multis negotium exhibere affirmat, quod eorum scilicet habitus, humoris imbecillitatisque causa in peiorem conditionem tendat; qui autem solido concretiorique constant corpore, vitium hoc non sentiunt. Quapropter non temerè in fascini distinctione visus positus est; quia per eum maximè fascinatio sit. Cuius quidem rei nostræ tempestatis aniculæ non paucæ fidem faciunt; quarum impuritate multi pueri effascinati grauissimum discrimen adeunt: sæpè etiam acerbam subeunt mortem, pecudes partu & lacte priuantur, equi macrescunt & emoriuntur, segetes sine fructu metuntur, arbores arescunt, ac denique omnia pessum ire videntur. Quæ res eos non latet, qui cum Ponticis hominibus commercium habent, illinc empta mancipia statim abducentes. Pontici enim homines adeo fascinantes oculos habent, vt nulli rei parcant, quin illam omni perfectione priuent, & in maximum malum coniiciant. De
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16 OF THE EVIL EYE changes the colors of the body: if it is held by envy, it stains the whole body with pallor and a certain yellowish color. Hence whenever withering envy casts livid eyes upon someone, at the same time it sends forth the poison of the soul, and, as it were with virulent darts, pierces and wounds the hated person. But it must not be passed over that some have thought that slaves born in the house, and sometimes even the fathers of the household themselves, from whom all suspicion of envy is absent, nevertheless have a power of bewitching the eye; and therefore mothers do not show their children, whom they have brought forth into the light, to them, except after a long interval of time. Plutarch affirms that certain people, by their gaze and their actions, cause much trouble to many, because their constitution, owing to weakness and a bad humor, tends toward a worse condition; but those who are stronger and more solid in body do not feel this defect. For this reason the sight was not without cause placed in the distinction of fascination, because fascination happens chiefly through it. Many old women of our time bear witness to this matter; through their uncleanness many children, bewitched by the eye, come to very grave danger: often they even undergo a bitter death; cattle are deprived of birth and milk, horses grow thin and die, crops are harvested without fruit, trees wither, and finally everything seems to go to ruin. This is not unknown to those who trade with the people of Pontus, taking at once away the slaves bought there. For the people of Pontus have such bewitching eyes that they spare nothing, but deprive it of every perfection and cast it into the greatest harm. De
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Liber I. De tactu Fascinum efficiente. Cap. III. ACTVS omnium sensuum præcipuus, & præstatissimus est, quippe qui singulis ani- mantibus inest, ideoque omnium maximè < Nulla sunt animalia tactus experta.> necessarius habetur; quia animalia absque eo nec esse possunt, nec reperiuntur; atque vt Aristoteles docet, sine reliquis sensibus viuere cernuntur, at sine tactu minimè. < Tactus organum.> < Obiecta tactus.> Illius organum neruus quidam esse reperitur, ad retis similitudinem & imaginem formatus, per vniuersum corpus extensus, cute coopertus, & carni immersus à corde originem trahés. < Duplex vsus tactus.> Cuius obiectum sunt quatuor qualitates primæ, vt calidum, humidum, frigidu & siccum. Verùm tactus hac de causa fascinum inferre dicitur, quoniam eius vsus duplex est: modò per arteriç elevationem, modò per eiusdem submissionem. < Modus fascinandi per tactum.> Cumque arteria explicaturac patescit, spiritus foràs mira celeritate emittuntur, ac quodam imperceptibili modo, ad rem effascinandam deferuntur. Et quia arteria à corde oritur, spiritus quoque inde excuntes, cordis qualitatem infectam, ac vitiatam retinent, ac iuxta eius præuitatem, omnia quæ attingut, insiciunt ac fascinant, non secus atque imaginatione, & oculoru radiis fieri ostendimus. Quandoque quatuor qualitates, quæ tactus obiectum sunt, à spiritibus ab arteria emissis insiciuntur, quæ postea sic infecte, quamlibet rem sibi obiectam fascinant ac pessundat, idque aniculæ in hoc scelere exercitatæ animaduertentes, rem effascinandam aliqua perniciosa re tangere festinant. Cæterùm si cum tactu, herbæ aut verba iungantur, celeriùs fascinum perfici putat: vt Poëta dixit, c
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Liber I. On touch, producing fascination. Chap. III. The ACT of all the senses is the chief and most excellent, since it is present in every animal; and for that reason it is held to be the most necessary of all, because animals without it can neither exist nor be found; and, as Aristotle teaches, they are seen to live without the other senses, but by no means without touch. Its organ is found to be some sort of nerve, formed in the likeness and image of a net, extended throughout the whole body, covered with skin, and immersed in flesh, drawing its origin from the heart. Its object is the four primary qualities: namely hot, moist, cold, and dry. But touch is said for this reason to bring fascination, because its use is twofold: sometimes by the raising of the artery, sometimes by its lowering. And when the artery is stretched open, the spirits are sent forth with marvelous speed, and in a certain imperceptible way are conveyed to the thing to be fascinated. And because the artery arises from the heart, the spirits also going out from it retain the heart’s infected and corrupted quality, and according to its depravity infect and bewitch all things they touch, no otherwise than we have shown to happen by imagination and the rays of the eyes. Sometimes the four qualities, which are the object of touch, are infected by the spirits sent out through the artery; and these, afterwards thus infected, bewitch and bring down whatever thing is set before them; and old women, observing this in the exercise of this crime, hasten to touch the thing to be bewitched with some harmful thing. Moreover, if with touch, herbs or words are joined, he thinks the fascination is accomplished more quickly: as the Poet said,
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18 DE FASCINO Pocula si quando sæuæ infecêre nouercæ, Miscueruntque herbas, & non innoxia verba, Auxilium venit, ac membris agit atra venena. < Torpescus vis.> Quòd si ea quæ de hoc fascini genere circumferuntur, creditu difficilia videantur, vnica marina torpedo ad id credendum nos inducere potest, quæ etiamsi eminus hasta, virgáve tangatur, nihilominus lacertos quamuis præualidos torpescere cogit, & quamlibet veloces pedes alligat; vt lateri necesse sit, vim aliquam ei inesse, cuius virtute membra afficiat: homines verò eiusmodi stupore correpti, quasi sine sensu & viribus sibi videtur: vt < Historia Auicennæ de serpentinis miro quodam veneno.> de quodam serpente Auicenna narrat, quem cùm miles lancea interfecisset, ex lanceæ contactu totum eius corpus mortificatum fuit. Eodem pacto effascinatis accidere consueuit, qui simul atque ab aliqua anicula prætacti sunt, omnibus viribus se prætactos priuatæ esse cognoscunt. Hyænæ quoque vmbræ contactu canes obmutescunt. Ferunt etiam Hyænam, quæ vel hominem, vel canem conspexerit dormientem, suum protendere corpus, & si dormietis magnitudinem excedat, dementiam ei incutere, eiusque manus, ne resistere conetur, depascere: si verò se breuiori corpore imparique proceritate videat, pernici cursu, celerrimisque pedibus fugam arripere. < Hyænæ vis in caries & homines dormienses.> Quòd si forsitâ sæuiens in te proruat, obsistendum prorsus, ne à dextris inuadat, quoniam stuporem adfert, cui vestigio hærens occurrere non valebis. Si ad læuam detorserit, intrepidus irruito; sic eam hoc impetu torporem confessam enecabis. < Astus aduersus Hyænam.> Sic serpens quernis frondibus contacta moritur, & in vestigio gressus hæret, iniecta Ibidis penna; & Vipera arundine percussa torpet, ac fagi ramulo contacta confestim obstupet. Si-
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18 ON FASCINATION If ever, when wicked stepmothers have mixed cups, and herbs, and no harmless words, the aid comes, and dark poisons stir in the limbs. <The force causes numbness.> But if what is circulated about this kind of fascination seem hard to believe, the single marine torpedo may lead us to believe it; for even if touched from afar by spear or wand, it nevertheless compels the arms, however strong, to grow numb, and binds however swift the feet; so that it must be that there is some force in it, by whose power it affects the limbs. But men seized by such stupor seem to themselves as though without sense and strength, as <Avicenna’s account of serpents with a wondrous poison.> Avicenna tells of a certain serpent which, when a soldier had killed it with a spear, from the spear’s contact its entire body was made dead. In the same way it is customary for those fascinated to happen, who, as soon as they have been pointed at by some old woman, know that they are deprived of all their strength. Hyenas too, by the touch of their shadow, silence dogs. They also say that a hyena, which has seen either a man or a dog sleeping, stretches out its body, and if it surpasses the sleeper’s size, it strikes madness into him, and gnaws at his hands, lest he try to resist: but if it sees itself with a smaller body and unequal stature, it takes flight with swift course, and with the fastest feet. <The power of the hyena against cattle and sleeping men.> But if it should by chance rush fiercely upon you, absolutely resist it, so that it does not attack from the right, since it brings on stupor, which you will not be able to meet if it keeps hold of your track. If it veers to the left, dart boldly at it; thus, by this assault, you will destroy it when it has confessed numbness. <A device against the hyena.> Thus a serpent dies when touched by oak leaves, and it clings to the spot where it stepped, when the feather of the ibis is thrown in; and a viper struck by a reed grows numb, and when touched by a beech twig is at once stunned. Si-
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L I B E R I. 19 mili quoque modo platani folia vespertiliones abigût, quare non verisimile nobis id videbitur, quod de fasci- no per humanum tactum eiaculato circumfertur? Sic Eryngium ore Capræ sumptum totum sistit gregem. < E vergio greg remo. nunc. Remora vir- sus.> Quid Echencis Remora nuncupata, paruus admodum pisciculus sic dictus, quòd naues teneat ac remoretur? Is si semel naui aquas sulcanti adhæserit, ruant licet ven- ti, sæuiant procellæ, omnium furori imperat, ventorum impetus frænat, vniuersique penè mûdi rabiem domat, ac nauigium ipsum inuitis fluctibus, ac Neptuno relu- ctante sistit. Vnde Lucanus, < Lucani ver- sus.> Non puppim retinens Euro tendente rudentes In mediis Echeneis aquis. < Magnetis ar- cana virum.> In Æthiopia quorundam sudore tabem contactis cor- poribus adferre aiunt. Quid de arcano illo mysterio di- cemus, quo ferrum à magnete attrahitur? cuius lapidis tanta virtus est, vt si bracteam ferream mediam sulpen- das, cuius altera cuspis magneti semel adhæserit, ea sua- p[er]te postea naturâ ad vtrumque polum semper conuer- tatur. Quo faciliùs credendum est, ex hominum conta- ctu fascinu[m] eiaculari posse. Ad cuius rei co[n]firmationem, illud de tauro adduci potest, quem quamuis furentem, sicut alligatum statim mansueiscere ferunt. Quis puta- ret è cepe & allio lacrymas nobis vel è longinquo elici è pipere sternutamentum? Et quemadmodum cùm A- quilarum pénis mistæ aliarum alitum pennæ absumun- tur, quod minimè fit, si cu[m] aliis teneris ac mollibus etiam putrescentibus misceantur; sic nihil prohibet alicuius hominis salubrem esse tactum, alicuius verò noxium: sicut de marino lepore legitur, qui venenum est aliis in potu, aut in cibo datus, aliis visus solùm, aliis tactus: si- c ij < Taurus ficiu[m] alligatus ma[n]sueiscit.> < Allium & cepe lacrymas excutiunt. Aquila pen- na alias absumunt.> < Variæ quali- rates leporis marini.>
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L I B E R I. 19 Likewise, in the same way, why should it seem improbable to us that what is related about a spell cast through human touch should take effect? Thus Eryngium, taken in the mouth of a goat, stops the whole flock. < Of the turning back of the flock. Now. The remora.> What of Echeneis, called Remora, a very small fish, so named because it holds and delays ships? If once it has fastened itself to a ship furrowing the waters, let the winds rush, let the storms rage: it masters the fury of all, restrains the force of the winds, and almost tames the madness of the whole world, and holds the ship itself fast, against the unwilling waves and Neptune resisting. Whence Lucanus, < The verses of Lucanus.> Not holding back the stern, with the East Wind stretching the ropes, In the midst of the waters the Echeneis. < The hidden powers of the magnet.> In Ethiopia they say that the sweat of certain people brings corruption to bodies that it touches. What shall we say about that hidden mystery by which iron is drawn by the magnet? Such is the power of that stone that if you suspend an iron plate in the middle, one end of which has once adhered to the magnet, it afterward of its own nature always turns to either pole. How much more easily, then, should it be believed that a spell can be cast through human contact. As confirmation of this matter, that story about the bull may be cited, which, though raging, they say becomes immediately tame when bound. Who would think that from onion and garlic tears are drawn from us even from a distance, or a sneeze from pepper? And just as, when the feathers of eagles are mixed with those of other birds, the latter are consumed, which does not happen at all if they are mixed with other tender and soft things, even though they are rotting; so nothing prevents one person’s touch from being wholesome, another’s harmful: as is read of the sea hare, which is poison for others if given in drink or in food, for others merely by being seen, for others by touch: sic ij < A bull, when tied to a fig tree, becomes tame.> < Garlic and onion provoke tears. Eagle feathers consume the others.> < The various properties of the sea hare.>
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20 DE FASCINO quidem grauidæ mulieres, si ex eo genere foeminam a- lpexerint, statim nausea & redundatione stomachi labo- rant; ac deinde abortum faciunt. Eiusdem speciei mas sale induratus si in modum armillarum brachiis adiun- gatur, nauseam abigit, vt Plinius fatetur. Interfecti quo- que hominis cadauer recens si coram interfectore con- stituatur, sanguine ciicere fama est. In Hellesponto cir- ca Parium homines quosdam fuisse traditur Ophioge- nes dictos, qui serpentum ictibus solo contactu mede- rentur, manuque admota illicò venenum extraherent. Huius quoque naturæ in Africa gens Psyllorum fuisse fertur, quorum corporibus virus ingenitu fuit, serpen- tibus admodum exitiale, adeò vt odore solùm eas sopi- rent: atque eadem vis Marsorum genti inest. Cur igitur non credendum est, non nullis hominibus vim inesse, qui solo tactu fascinent, & perniciem afferant? Et præsertim- cùm Ouid. solo vestium tactu, amorem mulierum alli- ci posse dicat. Si ea quę in terræ visceribus, & in eiusdem superficies procreatur, vt mineralia, lapides, herbæ, plan- tæ, & animalia solo attactu, tot incredibiles effectus da- re compertum est; quare eodem modo humanæ naturæ earundem rerum efficiendarum virtus non inerit? In so- nis quoque nonihil secreti miraculi inesse videtur: nam icta fides vnisonam suam impellit, tinnitumque ab ea elicit. Præterea si chordæ agninæ cum chordis lu- pinis iungantur, non modò nullum concentum red- dent, sed etiam agninæ à lupinis frangentur. In ter- ræ satis, brassica si secus rutam seratur, illicò arescit, fungi à terra auulsi, odore solùm homines perdunt. Serpentes sibilo tantùm magna distantia absentes enecant. Ergo non mirum videri debet, si quorum-
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20 ON FASCINATION Indeed, pregnant women, if they have looked upon a woman of that kind, immediately suffer from nausea and disturbance of the stomach; and afterward they miscarry. Likewise, if the male of the same species, hardened with salt, is attached to the arms in the manner of bracelets, it drives away nausea, as Pliny admits. The fresh corpse of a slain man, if placed before the killer, is said to cause him to spit up blood. It is related that around Parium in the Hellespont there were certain men called Ophiogenes, who by mere touch cured snake bites, and by laying on of hands at once drew out the poison. Of this same nature, it is reported that there was in Africa a tribe of Psylli, in whose bodies there was an inborn virus, highly deadly to serpents, so that they would subdue them by scent alone; and the same power is found in the tribe of the Marsi. Why then should it not be believed that in some men there exists a power by which they bewitch and bring ruin by mere touch? And especially since Ovid says that by the mere touch of clothing the love of women can be drawn forth. If those things which are produced in the bowels of the earth and on its surface—such as minerals, stones, herbs, plants, and animals—have been found to produce so many incredible effects by simple contact, why should the power to bring about such things not likewise reside in human nature? Something of a hidden miracle also seems to be present in sounds: for the struck string moves its matching unison and draws a ringing sound from it. Moreover, if lamb’s strings are joined with wolf’s strings, they will not only produce no harmony, but the lamb’s strings will even be broken by the wolf’s. In a field, if cabbage is sown beside rue, it immediately withers; mushrooms, when torn from the earth, destroy men by smell alone. Snakes, merely by hissing from a great distance, kill. Therefore it ought not to seem surprising if some people...
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L I B E R I. 21 dam hominum tactus effascinandi vi præditus sit. De vocis natura quæ Fascini causa existit. CAPVT V. < Genus orationis triplex. Quid vox et quotuplex eius significatio.> ANTEQVAM de fascino per vocem inflicto quidquam determinemus, animaduertendum est, vt Ammonius notat, triplex orationis genus reperiri, in intellectu scilicet, in vo ce & in scripto. Vox aute[m] est somus, qui ab animalis ore egreditur, cum imaginatione aliquid significandi; quæ quidem vox duobus spectatur modis: altero vt articulata, & syllabarum prolatione distincta est, ac scribi potest veluti hæc vox, veniat, ruat, & reliqua huiusmodi: altero verò quatenus inarticulata, & syllabis explicata non est; qualis est canum latratus, serpentum sibilus, & ouis balatus. < Vocis differentia.> Vocum articulatarum, quædam significandi vi præditæ sunt, vt timor: quædam omni significatione carent, vt blitiri: & alia quæ homines casu & inaniter proferre solent. Duplex in vocibus significationis modus reperitur, naturalis v[er]nus, quo animi affectus inter nos exprimimus: iuxta quem modum Aristoteles in Politicis dixit, Vox est molesti & iucundi significatio: artificialis alter, & hic profectò modus non nisi humanis vocibus inesse conspicitur: qua quidem via, nomina, verba, orationes, & quæcunque locutiones, voces dicuntur, quæ non modò animi sensus, sed res sensibus cognitas & manifestas demo[n]strant. Quando vocem fascini causam dicimus, non modò de articulata, & ad hominum placitu significatiua intelligimus, verùm de omni vocis loquimur modo, vt ex hominum ore effertur. Vtque clarius fiat, qua via vox tot incredibiles effectus c iii. BIBLIOTICA NAZ. ROMA VITTORIO EMANUELL.
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L I B E R I. 21 whether the touch of men has the power to bewitch. On the nature of voice, which exists as the cause of Fascination. CHAPTER V. < The threefold kind of speech. What voice is, and in how many ways it is signified. > BEFORE we determine anything about fascination inflicted through the voice, it must be noted, as Ammonius observes, that there are found to be three kinds of speech: namely, in the intellect, in the voice, and in writing. Voice, however, is a sound that issues from the mouth of an animal, with the imagination of signifying something; and this voice is considered in two ways: first, as articulated, and distinct in the utterance of syllables, and it can be written, such as these words, “veniat,” “ruat,” and the rest of this kind; secondly, as inarticulate, and not expressed in syllables; such as the barking of dogs, the hissing of snakes, and the bleating of sheep. < The difference of voices. > Among articulated voices, some are endowed with the power of signifying, such as timor; some lack all signification, such as blitiri; and others are those which men are accustomed to utter by chance and without meaning. A twofold mode of signification is found in voices: the natural and true one, by which we express the affections of the soul among ourselves; according to which mode Aristotle said in the Politics: Voice is the signification of pain and pleasure. The other is artificial, and this mode is indeed seen to belong only to human voices: by this route, names, verbs, speeches, and whatever utterances are called voices, which not only show the feelings of the soul, but also things known and manifest to the senses. When we say voice is the cause of fascination, we understand not only articulated voice, and one signifying according to human custom, but also every way in which voice is uttered from the mouth of men. And so that it may be clearer in what way voice produces such incredible effects c iii. BIBLIOTICA NAZ. ROMA VITTORIO EMANUELL.
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re dicatur, non est ignorandum, quòd à faucibus fistula quædam procedit introrsum ad pulmoné tendens, qua nô cibum nec potum sumimus, sed aërem per spiratio- nem in cordis refrigeriu[m] trahimus: cùm igitur aër à cor- de remittitur, in larynge pulmonis actione reprimitur, ac per eandem arteriam missus repercutitur, sitque vox, ad quam articulandam, & syllabis distinguendam, pa- latum, lingua, dentes & labia concurrunt. At aër à cor- de repercussus, cordis qualitate afficitur, qui cùm vocis naturam ingreditur, quocunque dirigitur, omnia illa perficiendi virtutem & potestatem habet, quæ in corde concepta erant. Nonnulli vocibus ac verbis vim inesse credunt ex persuasione, quam de re ac voce qualibet si- bi profuturam confidunt. <Platonis sententia de me[n]tis int[e]r[ne]sione.> Dicebat enim Plato: quando humana mens rem aliquam amat, quæ naturæ via pro- desse non potest, & nihilominus sibi profuturam per- suadet, ex sola mentis intentione corpus res illas iuuat. Cuius quidem sententię rationem afferunt; quia corpo- ris habitudo animę virtutem sequitur, quo fit, vt rem ita se habere oporteat, veluti concepta sit. <Socratis de incantatione sensentia.> Vnde Socrates ait, Incantationes verba sunt decipientia rationales ani- mas, secundum spei inceptionem, aut secundum timo- ris incisione. Galenus quoq[ue] inquit, Sunt quidâ natura læti, qui quando ægrotat, si eos sanos futuros confirmet medicus, conualescunt; quorum spes sanitatis est causa, & medicus si animæ desiderium incantatione, aut ali- cuius rei ad collum appensione adiuerit, citiùs ad va- letudinem perducet. <Ægrotantes opinio plurimum suuat.> Quidam voces ex verborum con- iunctione, sicut res materiales, vires adipisci existimant, quam rem ex præsenti siderum positione, aut ex homi- nis genitura, aut ex singulari animæ potestate, proueni-
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It must not be ignored that from the throat there proceeds inward a certain pipe tending to the lungs, through which we take in neither food nor drink, but by breathing draw air for the cooling of the heart. Therefore, when air is sent back from the heart, it is restrained in the larynx by the action of the lungs, and being sent through the same artery it is reflected, and thus becomes voice; for the articulation of which, and for distinguishing syllables, the palate, tongue, teeth, and lips concur. But air reflected from the heart is affected by the heart’s quality, and when it enters into the nature of voice, wherever it is directed, it has the power and ability to accomplish all those things which were conceived in the heart. Some believe that voices and words possess force by persuasion, through the confidence they place in whatever matter or sound they expect to be beneficial to them. <Plato’s opinion concerning mental intention.> For Plato used to say: when the human mind loves some thing which cannot benefit it by the course of nature, and nevertheless persuades itself that it will be beneficial, the body is helped toward those things by the mere intention of the mind. They give a reason for this opinion: because the condition of the body follows the power of the soul, so that the matter must turn out as it were conceived. <Socrates’ opinion concerning incantation.> Hence Socrates says, Incantations are words that deceive rational souls, according to the inception of hope, or according to the cutting off of fear. Galen also says there are certain people by nature cheerful, who, when they are sick, if the physician assures them they will recover, grow well; their hope is the cause of health, and if the physician has aided the desire of the soul by incantation, or by hanging something about the neck, he will bring them more quickly to health. <The opinion that the sick are greatly aided by belief.> Some think that voices acquire power from the joining together of words, as material things do, a matter arising from the present position of the stars, or from a man’s nativity, or from the singular power of the soul,
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L I B E R I. 23 re arbitrantur. < Verba quoque modo prolata effascinare potunt.> Nec referre aiunt, quænam verba ab ef-fascinante proferantur: & an laudibus vel maledictis rem effascinandam prosequatur, an affirmatiuè vel ne-gatiuè, barbarone an diserto sermone loquatur, quocu-que enim modo effascinans obmurmuret, ac vocem emittat, dummodò ad rem quampiam effascinandam vehemens desiderium habeat, res illa nulla interposita mora, inficitur, iuxta effascinantis voluntatem; eâmque fascinum veluti cordis nuntius ac fidus minister nô ex-cedit: hinc fieri potuit, vt verbis quibusdam prolatis ex anicularum vel prauorum hominum ore, pueri aliqui ægrotauerint, alij interierint, grauidę mulieres abortum fecerint, nonnulli homines macie confecti fuerint, equi co[n]ciderint, oues lacte destitutę fuerint; < Circe incantatrix.> Circe carminum incantatione varias imaginum facies mentita fuerit, & alia quamplurima acciderint, quæ singula recensere nimis longum foret. Nonnulli verborum vi varias bruto-rum animalium & aliaru[m] rerum formas induerunt, alij ad remotissima loca paruo temporis spatio aduolarut. Quod inde nobis persuaderi debet, quia verbis bruta animalia retardantur & capiuntur, à segetibus, vincis & viridariis, mures, locustæ, & alia nociua animalia verbis ac scriptis, vel ex improuiso prolatis characteribus ar-centur, serpentes sistuntur, qui incantantium verba ti- mentes, alteram aurem terra, alterâ cauda obdunt, iuxta illud Psal. Sicut Aspidis surdæ, & obturantis aures suas, quæ non exaudiet vocem incantantium: & ægroti pri-stinam valetudinem acquirunt. < Animal no-ciuum verbis abigi potest.> Quid quòd Magus qui-dam in tauri auriculâ verbis prolatis, Taurum ita pro-strauit, vt mortuus videretur: hoc etiam admotus panis furto inueniendo conceptis litteris inscriptus corrobo- < Aspidis na-tura contra incantatores.> < Magus tauru[m] verbis pro-strauis.> < Nonnullariu[m] furi inuenie[n]di superstitio.>
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L I B E R I. 23 they think so. < Words spoken in a certain way can also be used to bewitch.> Nor, they say, does it matter what words are uttered by the person bewitching: whether the thing to be bewitched is pursued with praises or curses, whether affirmatively or negatively, in barbarous speech or in polished language; for however the bewitcher mutters and emits a voice, provided he has a vehement desire to bewitch some object, that thing is immediately, without any delay, affected according to the bewitcher’s will; and fascination does not depart from it, as it were the messenger of the heart and a faithful servant. Hence it could happen that, when certain words were spoken from the mouths of old women or wicked men, some boys fell ill, others died, pregnant women suffered miscarriages, some men were wasted away, horses collapsed, sheep were deprived of milk; < Circe the enchantress.> Circe, by the enchantment of her songs, is said to have feigned various forms of images, and many other things happened, which would be too long to recount individually. Some, by the power of words, have assumed various forms of brute animals and other things; others have flown to very distant places in a short time. We ought to be persuaded of this because, by words, brute animals are delayed and caught; from fields, vineyards, and gardens, mice, locusts, and other harmful animals are driven away by words and writings, or by characters suddenly pronounced; serpents are stopped, since, fearing the words of the enchanters, they press one ear to the earth and cover the other with their tail, according to that verse of the Psalm: like the deaf asp, and that stoppeth her ears, which will not hear the voice of charmers; and the sick recover their former health. < A harmful animal can be driven away by words.> What of the fact that a certain magician, by spoken words in a bull’s ear, so struck the bull down that it seemed dead: this too is strengthened by the belief of some in finding stolen property through bread marked with inscribed letters. < The nature of the asp against enchanters.> < A magician struck a bull down by words.> < The superstition of some in finding a thief.>
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DE FASCINO rat; atque illud, quod carmine prolato, quidam super a- cutissimum gladium, & candêtes prunas ambulant, di- gitóque vni insistentes, alterúmque hominem, aut pon- dus grauissimum in altum subleuant, equos ac tauros furibundos verbis domant, canes feroces sedant, & à latratu desistere cogunt. < Pollutio carminibus procuratur.> Pollutionem in somnis cum muliere quam adamant moliuntur, & earum quoque rerum repræsentationem imaginantes præuident, vt eis libet, & futuras illas præscire satagût. < Vermes carmine necâtur et sanguis sistitur.> His vermes inter- ficiuntur, sanguis vndecumque fluens sistitur. Quocirca dixit Homerus profluiuim sanguinis vulnerato foemi- ni Vlyxem inhibuisse carmine. Omnes morbi ab huma- no corpore expelluntur, vulnera curantur, & sagittæ os- sibus fixæ, mira facilitate extrahuntur: nec desunt qui dicant, se homines cane, vel serpente morsos, aut quouis veneno infectos, etiam quantumcúque absentes, sanos & incolumes reddere posse, idque nulla alia re adhibi- ta, nisi quadam verborum prolatione; < Carmina morbos abiguns.> Illud verò maio- rem admirationem affert, quòd alienę cuilibet personæ remedium adhibent, & absens sanatur; alij ipsomiet gla- dio, quo quis vulneratus est cum medentur, vulnúsque coalescere ferût; & quod stupore non admiratione tan- tùm dignum est, cùm verba proferûtur, si gladium sur- sum versus digitis fricant, vulneratum nullum sentire dolorem; at si deorsum, incredibili dolore affici dicunt: & vt hanc materiam in pauca conferam, cum Plinio di- cêdum est, verborum tria esse genera, alia ad impetran- tem, alia ad depellentem, alia ad commentantem perti- nent. < Verboru[m] tria genera.> Impetrantis verba sunt illa, quibus à suprema na- tura aliquid orando obtinemus, quo quidem modo, Tusciæ Vestalis precatio extitit; quę aquam cribro eius- modi
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On Bewitching and that, when a charm has been uttered, some people walk over a razor-sharp sword and glowing embers, standing on one finger; and they lift up another man, or a very heavy weight, into the air; they subdue furious horses and bulls with words, calm savage dogs, and force them to stop barking. <Pollution is averted by charms.> They bring about pollution in dreams when they lie with the woman they love, and, imagining a representation of those same things, foresee them, as they wish, and strive to know them beforehand as future events. <Worms are killed and blood is stopped by a charm.> By these means worms are destroyed, and blood flowing from any source is stopped. For this reason Homer said that Ulysses restrained the flow of blood from the wounded woman by a charm. All diseases are driven from the human body, wounds are healed, and arrows fixed in the bones are removed with marvelous ease; nor are there lacking those who say that they can restore to health and safety, even at however great a distance, men bitten by a dog or a serpent, or infected by any poison, and that they do so with nothing else employed except a certain utterance of words; <Charms drive away diseases.> But what brings greater wonder is that they apply the remedy to any other person, and the absent one is cured; others, when treating a wound, apply the very sword with which someone has been wounded, and cause the wound to close; and what is worthy of astonishment, not merely wonder, is that, when the words are spoken, if they rub the sword upward with their fingers, the wounded man feels no pain; but if downward, they say he is afflicted with incredible pain. And to gather this matter into a few words, it must be said with Pliny that there are three kinds of words: some belong to the one who seeks to obtain, some to the one who repels, and some to the one who comments. <Three kinds of words.> The words of the petitioner are those by which we obtain something from the supreme nature by praying, as was the prayer of the Tuscan Vestal, who drew water with a sieve in such a way
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Liber I. 25 modi precatione tulit. Aliæ etiam Vestales mancipia fugitiua nondum egressa vrbe, in loco precatione retinuerunt. Demùm omnia verba amatoria, sic esse putat; quorum Theocritus, Catullus & Virgilius meminerut. Vnde Horatius dicebat, Quantum carminibus, quæ versant atque venenis, Humanos animos, has nullo perdere possum, Nec prohibere modo. Huc etiam parentu execrationes in filios spectant; quorum non paucos in calamitosum funestumque exitum, ob diras huiusmodi imprecationes deuenisse audiuimus. Ideò Plato nihil parentis imprecatione filiis periculosius censet. Depulloris verba sunt, quibus in depellendis & auerruncandis nociuis & molestis vtimur, quo modo luxatis membris carmen auxiliari Cato prodidit, & Marcus Varro podagris. Cæsarem dictatoré post vnum ancipitem vehiculi casum ferunt semper vt primùm in curru cösedisset, carmine ter repetito, securitatem itinerum stipulari solitum: sic olim primum anni diem lætis precationibus inuicem faustum ominabantur, fascinationibus etiam adoramento peculiari occurrebant. Quibusdam etiam carminibus contra grandi- nes, morborumque genera, & contra cöbustiones vtebantur. Annalium memoria proditum est, quibus verbis antiqui fulmina arcerent, vel impetraret. Commentationis verbis aliquid futuru interpretabantur, & ideò impares numeros, ad omnia vehementiores credebant, sternutantes faustis verbis salutabant, absentes aurium tinnitu de se sermones præsentiébât, tantam verbis vim olim adscribebant. Attalum affirmare tradunt, vt si quis Scorpione viso dicat Bud, cum illicò cohibeat ne ictus D
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Liber I. 25 by the mode of prayer he carried it away. Other Vestal virgins also retained fugitive slaves, before they had left the city, by prayer, in the place. Finally, he thinks that all amatory words are so; of which Theocritus, Catullus, and Virgil made mention. Hence Horace used to say, How much by songs, which turn and by poisons, The human mind, I cannot destroy by these, nor can I prevent it merely. To this also belong parents’ curses upon children; of whom we have heard not a few come to a calamitous and fatal end, because of such dire imprecations. Therefore Plato judges nothing more dangerous for children than a parent’s curse. Depulloris are the words by which we use in driving off and averting harmful and troublesome things; in what way Cato revealed that a charm helps dislocated limbs, and Marcus Varro for gout. They say that Caesar the dictator, after one dangerous overturn of his carriage, whenever he had first sat down in the chariot, used always to secure the safety of his journeys by repeating a charm three times; thus in old times they would wish one another a fortunate new year with cheerful prayers at the beginning of the year, and they also met enchantments with a special form of incantation. With certain songs they also used against hailstorms, against kinds of diseases, and against burns. It is recorded in the memory of the annals by what words the ancients would ward off lightning, or even summon it. By the words of observation they interpreted something future, and therefore believed unequal numbers, the more powerful in all things, saluted sneezing with words of good omen, and by the ringing in the ears of those absent they were perceived to be speaking of them; so great a power they once attributed to words. They say that Attalus affirmed that if anyone, seeing a scorpion, says Bud, he at once checks it so that the blow D
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suos vibret. Marcus Seruilius Nonianus, qui lippitudinis morbum vehementer metuebat, priusquàm lippitudinem ipse nominaret, aliúsve sibi prædiceret, duabus literis Græcis II. & A. chartam inscriptam, linóque circumligatam collo subuertebat, qua obseruatione, morbum illum se euitare credens semper voti compos fuit: sic numeri sonori incredibiles effectus in nobis pariunt. Illud quoq[ue] hîc spectat, quòd cùm in Tarpeio fodientes delubro fundamenta, caput humanum inuenissent, à Senatu ob id legatis missis, Hetruriæ celeberrimus vates Olenus Calenus præclarum id fortunatumque cernens, interrogatione in suam gentem transferre tentauit, ante se priùs templi imagine, scipione quodam determinata: Hoc ergo dicitis Romani, hîc templum Louis Opt. Max. futurum est? Hîc caput inuenimus? Constantissima Annalium affirmatione, transiturum suisse fatum in Hetruriam, ni præmoniti à filio vatis, legati Romani respondissent, non planè hîc sed Rome inuentum caput dicimus. Et id quod de Cumino fertur, quod cùm maledictis & probris satum est, lætiùs nascitur. Quin & Berosus Annianus ait, Cùm Noë ebrius iaceret, Cham illius virilia comprehendisse, eúque vt illuderet, nescio quid carminis magici submurmurâtem protulisse, sterilémque eum perinde ac castratum effecisse. Voces igitur & verba, siue ob aëre à corde respiratum, siue ex spe & persuasione, siue ex verborum coniunctione, ex siderum virtute, ex hominu[m] genituris vel demùm ex animi potestate, virtutem habeant, atque ad impetrandum, depellendum & commentandum concepta sint, perspicuum est, incredibilem virtutem obtinere, ac fascinationis potissimam causam existere.
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it vibrates. Marcus Servilius Nonianus, who greatly feared the disease of eye inflammation, before he would even name inflammation of the eyes, or have any other person predict it for him, used to take down from his neck a paper inscribed with the two Greek letters I. and A., and bound round with linen, and by this observance, believing that he would thus avoid that disease, he was always successful in his wish: so do sounding numbers produce incredible effects in us. This also has reference here, that when, while digging the foundations of the Tarpeian shrine, they had found a human head, and the Senate had for that reason sent envoys, Olenus Calenus, the most celebrated prophet in Etruria, seeing that event as glorious and fortunate, tried to transfer the interpretation to his own nation, first placing before himself the image of a temple marked out with a certain staff: “Do you then say this, Romans, that here will be the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus? Here have we found a head?” By the most constant assertion of the Annals, the fate would have passed into Etruria, had not the Roman envoys, warned by the prophet’s son, answered, “Not exactly here, but at Rome was the head found,” we say. And so too with what is reported of Cuminus, that what is conceived amid curses and abuse is born more happily. And Berosus Annianus says that when Noah lay drunk, Ham grasped his genitals, and, in order to mock him, uttered while muttering some sort of magical chant, and made him sterile, as though he had been castrated. Therefore voices and words, whether through the air breathed forth from the heart, or from hope and persuasion, or from the joining of words, from the power of the stars, from men’s births, or finally from the power of the mind, if they possess power, and if they are conceived for obtaining, driving away, and composing, it is clear that they have incredible force and are the chief cause of fascination.
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L I B E R I. 27 De Cæli observatione, quæ ad fascinandum concurrit. CAP. VI. Fascinantes ca[us]um adhibe[n]t[ur]. O NSVEVERVNT effascinantes non modò imaginatione, visu, tactu, & voce fascinu[m] perficere, sed cælum ipsum, ac sidera ad illud efficaciùs & validiùs patrandum adhibere, omnésque hominu[m] affectus ad septem, iuxta numerum septem planetarum reducunt, libidinem Veneri adscribentes, tristitiam Saturno, alacritatem Ioui, bella Marti, præsidentiam Soli, solertiam & astutiam Mercurio, instabilitatem Lunæ. Corpus quoque humanum ad duodecim signorum similitudinem in duodecim partes diuidunt, Arietem capiti præficientes, Taurum collo, vt Mallius Poëta ad Augustum Cæsarem scribens, notat his versibus, Signa hæc præcipuas in toto corpore vires, Exercent: Aries caput est ante omnia princeps: Sortitur quoque sensus & pulcherrima colla Taurus: & in Geminis æquali brachia sorte Scribuntur connexa humeris: pectusque locatum Sub Cancro est, laterum regnum, scapulæque Leonis: Virginis in propriam descendunt ilia sortem: Libra regit clunes: & Scorpius in quine gaudet: Centauro femora accedunt, Capricornus vtrisque Imperat in genibus: crurum fundentis Aquari, Arbitrium est: Piscésque pedum sibi iura reposcunt. Vnde quando fascinatores in aliqua corporis parte, aut circa aliquam affectionem, fascino hædere satagunt, illud in hora signi, & planetæ rei efficiendæ conuenienti efficere conantur. Ideò fascinandi modus iuxta signo- D ij
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LIB. I. 27 On the observation of the heavens, which contributes to bewitching. CHAP. VI. The bewitchers employ causes. THEY have thought that those who bewitch not only accomplish fascination by imagination, sight, touch, and voice, but also make use of heaven itself and the stars to bring it about more effectively and more powerfully, and they reduce all the affections of men to seven, according to the number of the seven planets, assigning lust to Venus, sadness to Saturn, cheerfulness to Jupiter, wars to Mars, presidency to the Sun, skill and cunning to Mercury, instability to the Moon. They also divide the human body into twelve parts, in the likeness of the twelve signs, assigning Aries to the head, Taurus to the neck, as Mallius the poet, writing to Augustus Caesar, notes in these verses, These signs exercise their chief powers throughout the body: Aries is the head, chief before all things: Taurus also obtains the senses and the fairest necks; and in Gemini the arms are assigned by equal lot, joined to the shoulders: and the breast is placed under Cancer, the realm of the sides, and the shoulders of Leo: the groin descends into the proper lot of Virgo: Libra governs the buttocks: and Scorpio rejoices in the loins: to Sagittarius belong the thighs, Capricorn rules both knees: for the flowing shanks of Aquarius there is authority: and Pisces claims for itself the rights of the feet. Hence when the bewitchers strive to fasten a fascination upon some part of the body, or about some affection, they try to do this in the hour of the sign, and of the planet suitable to the thing to be done. Therefore the manner of bewitching according to the sign- D ij
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DE FASCINO 28 rum & planetarum dispositione regulatur. Et actionem < In vniuquod-que induiudium aliqua> sub sidere rei fascinandæ prædominante incipiunt: eó- que magis id conseqvi possunt, quia vnicuique indiuiduo aliquis stellarum influxus inditus est, quem fascinantes naturæ instinctu cognoscunt; cùmque sub illarum stellaru[m] dominio augere, & minuere possunt. Aiút <Astroru[m] alia fortunata alia non.> in super quædam esse fortunata, quædam infortunata sidera, & pro fascini inferendi qualitate, sidera se eligere posse asseuerant. Et quoniam homo ex duplici natura < Anima et corpore homo constas.> compositus est, ex anima scilicet & corpore, in vtrâque sidera, & cælorum vires, fato quodam agere posse non dubitant. Quo fit vt fascinatores si hominem aut in anima, aut in corpore lædere cupiunt, nullo modo ab huiusmodi fascino sese defendere valeant. Nec desunt qui cælum animal sensibus præditum esse dicant, quòd effascinantium vota, & preces exaudiat, quod hisce rationibus < Cælum sensu præditum.> proband. Omnis nouus effectus ab agente per cognitionem emanans, noua indiget causa, quæ continuò in sua cognitione innouetur; at cæli effectus est nouus, igitur à voluntate noua ob cognitionem innouatâ proficiscitur: hæc autem cognitio non nisi ab imaginandi vi oritur, quæ quia animali sensu prædito adscribitur, cælum etiam eadem ratione animal esse dicendum est. < Primum argumentum, cælum sensu non esse ex persprobans.> Præterea, quælibet particularis actio ab eo qui cognoscit fluens à sentiendi virtute efficitur, quia sensus ad res particulares, intellectus verò ad vniuersales dirigitur, vt Aristoteles docet: sed cæli motus particularis effectus est, à cæli anima cognoscente manans, ergo cùm eiusmodi animas non nisi sensitiua esse queat, verè animal cælum est, quòd fascinantium voces, singultus, suspiria, & quælibet vota audiat & perficiat. Et hinc nonnulli ad-
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DE FASCINO 28 is regulated by the disposition of the stars and planets. And they begin the action < In every individual there is something > under the predominant star of the thing to be bewitched; and they can so much the more accomplish it, because in each individual some influence of the stars is implanted, which those who bewitch recognize by instinct of nature; and since they can increase and diminish under the dominion of those stars. They say < Some stars are fortunate, others unfortunate. > moreover that some stars are fortunate, others unfortunate, and that, according to the quality of the intended bewitchment, they are able to choose the stars. And since man is composed of a double nature, < Man consists of soul and body. > namely of soul and body, they do not doubt that in both the stars and the powers of the heavens can act by a certain fate. Wherefore, if charmers wish to harm a man either in his soul or in his body, he is by no means able to defend himself from such bewitchment. Nor are there lacking those who say that the heaven is an animal endowed with senses, because it hears the prayers and supplications of those who bewitch, < Heaven is endowed with sense. > and prove this by the following reasons. Every new effect proceeding from an agent through cognition requires a new cause, which is continually renewed in its cognition; but the effect of the heavens is new, therefore it proceeds from a new will through renewed cognition: but this cognition arises only from the power of imagination, which, because it is attributed to an animal endowed with sense, for the same reason the heaven must also be said to be an animal. < A first argument proving that the heaven is not endowed with sense. > Furthermore, every particular action flowing from the one who knows is effected by the power of sensation, because sense is directed to particular things, whereas intellect is directed to universals, as Aristotle teaches: but the motion of the heaven is a particular effect, flowing from the cognitive soul of the heaven; therefore, since such souls can be only sensitive, the heaven is truly an animal, because it hears and carries out the voices, sobs, sighs, and every kind of vow of those who bewitch. And from this some
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Liber I. 29 ducti fuerunt, vt crederent sidera è cælo ad terras deri- pi posse, cùm ad nutum fascinatoribus obedirent, vt su- pra tetigimus, quod Horatius in Canidiam veneficam his versibus explicat; Quæ sidera excantata voce Thessala Lunamque cælo deripit. At Græcorum Reges cùm aliquod negotium obtinere volebant, caput Draconis, in medio cæli cum Ioue po- nebant, aut aspectum ab eo figura amicabili, & Lunam coniunctam Ioui, aut recedente ab ipso, & coniunctionem ad non ascendentis petentem, tuncque ipsoru[m] pe- titionem exaudiri dicebant. Almansor quoque sic ait; Si quis capite in medio cæli existente, aliquid postulaue- rit, non præteribit, quin breuiter quæsitum adipiscatur. Et hinc metallorum laminæ originem sumpserut, quo- niam vnicuique metalli speciei, planetam præsidem, ac dominum præficiunt, vt auro Solem, argento Lunam, Saturnum plumbo, stanno Iouem, & sic de reliquis, & cùm aliquid perficiendi desiderio tenentur, metallum planetæ conueniens, sub eiusdem planetæ dominio su- mût, & quosdam characteres, in metalli lamina inscul- punt, quam ei corporis parti alligatam gestant, cui pla- neta ille aut eius signum dominatur, & sic quidquid cu- piunt, consequuntur. Prætermitto id quod cùm de ima- ginatione loqueremur, diximus, quod quidam, animi nostri sensus volatiles reddi posse affirmant, eósqve ad quem velimus planetam dirigi, iuxta desiderij nostri qualitatem: hoc est, qui crudeles sunt, ad Martem; qui inuidi, ad Saturnum: ij verò planetarum qualitate infe- cti, rursus in eorum hominum calamitate, & perniciem descendunt quos perdere volumus. Quo quidem mo- D iii
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Liber I. 29 they were led to believe that the stars could be dragged down from heaven to earth, since they obeyed enchanters at a nod, as we touched on above, which Horace explains in these verses about the sorceress Canidia; Those stars she calls down with Thessalian chant and drags the moon from the sky. But when the kings of the Greeks wanted to obtain some business, they placed the head of Draco in the middle of the sky with Jupiter, either by aspect from it in a friendly figure, and the Moon joined to Jupiter, or withdrawing from it and seeking conjunction with the non-ascending one; and then they said that their petition was heard. Almansor also says this: If anyone, with the head existing in the middle of the sky, should ask for something, it will not pass by without his obtaining what he seeks in short order. And from this the plates of metals took their origin, since they assign to each species of metal a ruling planet and lord, as the Sun to gold, the Moon to silver, Saturn to lead, Jupiter to tin, and so on with the rest; and when they are intent on accomplishing something, they take the metal appropriate to the planet, under the dominion of that same planet, and engrave certain characters on a plate of the metal, which they wear tied to that part of the body over which that planet or its sign rules, and thus they obtain whatever they desire. I omit that which, when we were speaking of imagination, we said: that certain men affirm that the senses of our mind can be made winged, and directed to whatever planet we wish, according to the quality of our desire: that is, those who are cruel, to Mars; those who are envious, to Saturn; but those infected by the quality of the planets themselves again descend into the calamity and destruction of those men whom we wish to destroy. In which indeed mo-
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DE FASCINO do non vni tantùm homini, verùm toti prouinciæ ac regno, & demum vniuerso orbi nocere possumus. Hinc comata sidera oriri aiût, quæ modò Regi, modò omni- bus exitium afferunt, vel pestem, aut frugum penuriam, aut bella, aut terræmotus, aut alia grauissima damna. Ex horum igitur fascinantium libidine fulmina oriuntur, quæ in mortalium exitium cadunt. Et hinc factum est, vt Ioui fulmina adscriberentur, quia fascinantium ani- mi ad Iouem delati, in nubem conuertuntur, & sic dis- sonus vapor gignitur, qui si in nube luctetur, vt ait Pli- nus, tonitrua eduntur, si ardens erúpat, fulmina oriun- tur: quorum quæ sicca sunt, non adurunt, sed dissipant; quæ humida, non vrunt, sed infuscant: quæ clara, miri- ficæ maximè naturæ sunt; nam dolia exhauriunt inta- ctis operim tis, nullóque alio vestigio relicto. Aurum, æs, argentum liquant, sacculis ipsis nulla ex parte com- bustis, ac ne confuso quidem signo ceræ. Sic legitur in Catilinianis prodigiis, Ex Pópeiano municipio Marcus Herennius Decurio sereno die fulmine ictus. Quæ pro- fectò fulminum diuersitas, ex fascinantium voluntate oritur, quibus ad nutum obediût. Hinc veteres Roma- ni ex Hetrusca disciplina sacerdotes in vrbe habuerunt, qui fulmina ipsa & procurarent & expiarent; qui fulgu- ratores etiam à Marco Catone nûcupantur: vnde in de- cemuiralibus legibus de procurandis & expiandis ful- minibus, hæc verba leguntur: Sacerdotes cæli fulgura, regionibus ratis temperanto: Vrbem, agros & templa, libera & effata habento: Prodigia, portenta, ad Hetruscos, & Aruspices defe- runto: Procuranto fulgura, & obsita pianto.
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DE FASCINO We can cause harm not only to one man, but to an entire province and kingdom, and finally to the whole world. Hence they say that comets rise, which sometimes bring destruction to a king, sometimes to all, either pestilence, or scarcity of grain, or wars, or earthquakes, or other very grave calamities. From the lust of these sorcerers, therefore, thunderbolts arise, which fall for the destruction of mortals. And from this it came about that thunderbolts were attributed to Jupiter, because the minds of those who bewitch are carried up to Jupiter, are turned into a cloud, and thus a discordant vapor is generated; if this struggles within the cloud, as Pliny says, thunder is produced; if it bursts forth blazing, thunderbolts arise. Of these, those that are dry do not burn, but scatter; those that are moist do not burn, but blacken; those that are bright are most wondrous in nature, for they empty casks without injuring the coverings and leave no other trace behind. They melt gold, bronze, and silver, while the purses themselves are burned in no part at all, nor even is the seal of the wax disturbed. Thus it is read among the prodigies of Catiline: from the municipality of Pompeii, Marcus Herennius, a decurion, was struck by lightning on a clear day. Such a diversity of thunderbolts surely arises from the will of sorcerers, whom they obey at a nod. Hence the ancient Romans, following Etruscan discipline, had priests in the city who both warded off and expiated thunderbolts; these are also called fulguratores by Marcus Cato. Whence, in the decemviral laws concerning the averting and expiating of thunderbolts, these words are read: The priests shall regulate the heavenly thunderbolts according to fixed districts: Let them keep the city, fields, and temples free and consecrated: Let them report prodigies and portents to the Etruscans and soothsayers: Let them ward off thunderbolts and make expiation for those that have fallen.
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Liber I. 31 Quæ quidem verba, procurare & expiare fulmina pontificia esse, & sacris ritibus attributa, ex M. Cicerone didicimus; & auum Galbæ Imperatoris, fulgura procurasse Suetonius Tranquillus asserit. Hinc repentini status, < Turbinis & vorticis orem.> vt vortex & turbo nascuntur, quos contrario siderum cursu Plinius fieri dicit, qui nauigantibus præcipua pestis existunt; non antennas modò, verùm ipsa nauigia, contorta frangentes, iisdem elisu ipso repercussi, correpta secum in cælum referunt, sorbèntque in excelsum. < Monstrosa pluuiæ vnde.> Hinc prodigiosæ pluuiæ ex lacte & sanguine, carne, ferro, lana, lateribus coctis, & quàm plurima alia portenta eueniunt; hinc lapides è cælo, vt in Thraciæ parte accidisse interdum Plinius refert; hinc grandines tantæ magnitudinis, quæ non modò segetes, vineta, homines, & bruta animalia; sed arbores ipsas prosternunt, ac pessundant. Denique omnia quæ in terras è cælo proueniunt, & mortalibus nociua, atque infesta sunt, fascinantium astutia accidere existimantur. Quibus si reliquæ fascini causæ accedunt, vt diximus, velociores & efficaciores < Abortus procuratio.> effectus consequuntur. Inde est quòd cùm grauidarum mulierum abortum procurant, horam planetæ qui tûc grauido vtero præest convenientem eligunt. Primo enim < Quo ordine planetæ vtero præsint.> mense, Saturnus grauidis dominatur, secundo Iupiter, tertio Mars, quarto Sol, quinto Venus, sexto Mercurius, septimo verò Luna, ac deinceps Saturnus reuertitur, cui causam adscribunt, quare octimestris partus non viuit; quia ille mensis Saturno attribuitur, qui cùm sit frigidæ & siccæ naturæ, malitiâ & interitum influit. < Ætates hominum septè à planetis regulatæ.> Alij iuxta planetaru[m] obseruatione[m], hoc pacto, quoslibet se fascinare posse affirmât, quia hominu[m] ætates septem sunt, & à septe[m] planetis iuxta Chaldæoru[m] doctrinâ regu-
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Liber I. 31 These words, that the management and expiation of thunderbolts are pontifical matters and are assigned to sacred rites, we learned from M. Cicero; and Suetonius Tranquillus states that the great-grandfather of the Emperor Galba took charge of lightning. Hence sudden whirlwinds, < Origin of whirlwinds and vortices.> vortex and turbo are born, which, as Pliny says, arise from the contrary course of the stars and are the chief scourge of sailors; for they not only break the sails, but even the ships themselves, twisted and shattered, and, being struck back by the very collision, snatch them up with themselves and carry them back into the sky, and suck them upward. < Origin of monstrous rain.> Hence prodigious rains of milk and blood, flesh, iron, wool, bricks baked by fire, and very many other portents occur; hence stones fall from the sky, as Pliny reports sometimes happened in a part of Thrace; hence hailstones of such size that they not only lay low and destroy crops, vineyards, men, and beasts, but even overthrow and ruin the trees themselves. In short, everything that comes down upon the earth from the sky and is harmful and hostile to mortals is thought to happen through the trickery of sorcerers. If the remaining causes of fascination are added to these, as we have said, more rapid and more effective < Procurement of miscarriage.> effects follow. Hence it is that when they procure miscarriage in pregnant women, they choose the hour of the planet that then presides over the pregnant womb, as appropriate. For in the first < In what order the planets preside over the womb.> month, Saturn rules pregnant women; in the second, Jupiter; in the third, Mars; in the fourth, the Sun; in the fifth, Venus; in the sixth, Mercury; in the seventh, the Moon; and thereafter Saturn returns, to which they assign the reason why an eight-month child does not live; because that month is attributed to Saturn, which, since it is of a cold and dry nature, brings in malignity and destruction. < Human ages regulated by the seven planets.> Others, according to the observation of the planets, affirm in this way that they can bewitch whomever they wish, because the ages of men are seven, and are regulated by the seven planets according to the doctrine of the Chaldeans.
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DE FASCINO 32 lantur, & quæcunque in vita aguntur; ea statis certisque temporibus planetæ ipsi efficiunt; sic Lunæ infantiam, Mercurio pueritiam, Veneri adolescentiam, Soli iuuentutem, Martii virilitatem, Ioui senectutem, Saturno senium tribuunt. Quando fascinatores aliquem insicere cupiunt, eius ætatem animaduertunt, & illi ætati aptum & idoneum planetam eligunt, in cuius hora fascinum moliuntur, quo fascinatio promptiorem effectum sortiatur. < Observatur ætas à fascinatoribus. > Meritò igitur in fascini diffinitione, de cæli observatione mentio facta fuit, postquam ea adhibita tot tantâque ferè creditu difficilia procurantur, & fiunt. Quale Fascinum sit. CAP. VII. < Simplicia copositis præcùs > ABSOLVTIS & ventilatis duabus dubitationibus; An sit, & Quid sit fascinum; reliquæ due, Quale sit, & Propter quid sit, examinandæ sunt. < Substantia perspecta accidentia facile perspiciuntur. > Nec immeritò illæ priores à nobis enucleatæ fuerunt; siquidem, vt Aristoteles docet, simplices sunt, quæ cæteras compositas naturæ ordine iure præcedunt. Circa hanc dubitationem non multùm immorari oportet, rei namque substatia cognita, accidentia quoque ac proprietates ab ea fluentes facilè cognoscuntur, vt idem Philosophus testatur. Fascinum omne perniciosa qualitate præditum esse, ex eiusdem diffinitione clarè habetur; quæ quidem qualitas veneni naturæ proximè accedit, quoniam sicut venenum corpus quod inuasit, totum ad sui ipsius virulentam naturam conuertit: ita quæcúque corpora fascino correpta sunt, in venenatam & corruptam substantiam transeunt. < Fascinum est venenum. > Quare fascinum ex destruentium & interficientium numero existit, quod nô secus atque ægritudines compo- sitorum
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OF FASCINATION 32 and whatever is done in life; these things the planets themselves bring about at fixed and certain times; thus they assign infancy to the Moon, boyhood to Mercury, adolescence to Venus, youth to the Sun, manhood to Mars, old age to Jupiter, and decrepitude to Saturn. When enchanters wish to bewitch someone, they observe his age and choose the planet suited and proper to that age; in that planet’s hour they carry out the bewitchment, so that the fascination may obtain a more ready effect. < Age is observed by enchanters. > Therefore, rightly in the definition of fascination mention was made of the observation of the heavens, since, once this is employed, so many and such great things, scarcely to be believed, are brought about and accomplished. What Fascination is. CHAP. VII. < Simple things before compounded ones > HAVING COMPLETED and examined the two doubts: Whether fascination exists, and What fascination is; the remaining two, What it is like, and For what reason it is so, must be investigated. < When the substance is known, the accidents are easily seen. > And not without reason were those first two explained by us; for, as Aristotle teaches, simple things are those which by the order of nature and by right precede all other compounded things. We need not dwell much on this doubt, for when the substance of a thing is known, its accidents and properties flowing from it are easily known, as the same Philosopher testifies. Every fascination is plainly shown, from its definition, to be endowed with a harmful quality; and this quality indeed comes very close to the nature of poison, for just as poison turns the body which it has invaded entirely to its own poisonous nature: so whatever bodies have been seized by fascination pass into a poisoned and corrupted substance. < Fascination is poison. > Wherefore fascination belongs to the number of things that destroy and kill, since it is no different from diseases composed of
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Liber I. 33 sitorum solutionem inducit. Fascinum duplicem qualitatem habere potest, essentialem vnam, quam internam formam vocamus, qua vna fascini species ab altera differt. Et hæc nihil aliud est quàm meritum, quod vnumquodque compositum ex quatuor elementis iuxta maiorem & minorem proportionem elementoru[m] in composito sortitur, & ab influentibus stellis habere meretur: quæ quidem stellæ inferiorum compositorum species respiciunt, omnésque proprietates instillant, iuxta illud Ptolemei: stellarum virtutes inferiùs vehuntur, median-tibus lincis pyramidalibus & rectis, quę in ipsarum stellarum lumine formantur; quod lumen per lineas diuersas vectum, specificas virtutes à stellis defert, quas compositis communicat, & in eis relinquit: & quoniam elementorum quantitates & pondera penitus in compositis ignoramus, ideò eiusmodi specificas formas aduenientes ignorare oportet. Alterum accidentalem qualitatem nuncupamus, quæ à sua specifica differentia in cóposita fluit, in quibus ratione quatuor elementorum, quatuor qualitates effascinantes reperiuntur. Calida scilicet, frigida, sicca, & humida. Calida effascinatrix qualitas duobus modis inficit; ná aut calefaciédo corrodit, & vsq; ad cor & medullas penetrás, corpus dissoluit; aut calefaciédo inflámat, qua inflámatione paulatim ad intimas partes perueniête, substátia deperit. Frigida autem duobus quoq; modis obest; aut stupore afficiendo, quia ob maximá frigiditate[m], cor immobile redditur; aut respirationis vias obstruédo, ita vt anhelitus cordis refrigerationi subtrahatur. Sicca quoq; dupliciter lædit, cordis humiditatem consumendo, aut partem à parte separando, quousque omnia membra vsque ad cor dissoluá- E
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Liber I. 33 produces the dissolution of a body. Fascination can have a twofold quality, one essential, which we call the internal form, by which one species of fascination differs from another. And this is nothing other than the merit which each composite made from the four elements receives according to the greater or lesser proportion of the elements in the composite, and which it deserves to have from the influencing stars: which stars indeed regard the species of inferior composites and infuse all their properties, according to that of Ptolemy: the powers of the stars are carried downward, by means of pyramidal and straight lines, which are formed in the light of the stars themselves; which light, borne through different lines, conveys specific powers from the stars, which it communicates to composites and leaves in them. And since the quantities and weights of the elements are wholly unknown to us in composites, therefore we ought to be ignorant of the advent of such specific forms. The other we call an accidental quality, which flows into composites from its specific difference, in which, by reason of the four elements, four fascinating qualities are found: namely, hot, cold, dry, and moist. The hot fascinating quality harms in two ways; for either it corrodes by heating, and penetrating as far as the heart and marrow, dissolves the body; or, by heating, it inflames, and through this inflammation, gradually reaching the innermost parts, the substance perishes. Cold, however, also harms in two ways; either by causing stupor, because by great cold the heart is rendered motionless; or by obstructing the pathways of respiration, so that the breath of the heart is withdrawn from cooling. Dry too injures in two ways, by consuming the moisture of the heart, or by separating part from part, until all the limbs up to the heart dissolv- E
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DE FASCINO tur, & intereant: humida verò ex occulta putredine inficit copositum, ac destruit. At fascinum quod à specifica differetia vim habet, non ratione alicuius prædictarú qualitatum nocet, sed quia contraria effascinatis, & parentem atque obsequentem fascinantibus naturam continet. Verùm vt sciamus quo pacto fascinum mortem inferre possit, non prætermittendum est, fascinum agendi præditum esse natura: & quidquid tangit, perniciosa indicere qualitate, & in effascinantem naturam, & corrumpentem vertere, & seipsum multiplicat, corporis qualitates consumens, eóque multiplicato, fascinans virtus augetur, & ad cor peruenit. Et tunc spiritus vitalis cedit effascinanti virtuti, & à corde egrediens, ipsum absque motu relinquit, & sic interitus statim subsequitur. Et non secus vitalis cordis virtus, fascino cedit, ac ferrum magneti; cui semina quædam insunt id efficiendi, de qua sic Lucretius ait: Principio, fluere è lapide hoc permulta necesse est Semina, siue æstum: qui discutit aëra plagis, Inter qui lapidem, ferrúmque est cumque locatus. Hoc vbi inanitur spatium, multusque vacesit In medio locus, extemplo primordia ferri In vacuum prolapsa cadunt coniuncta: fit vtque Annulus ipse sequatur, eátque ita corpore toto. Idque ea ratione fieri contingit, nam cordis arteriæ, per attrahendi & expellendi motum, quem à natura habet, aërem circum se stantem, quandiu animal viuit, attrahunt, & ille quoque arteriæ, quæ ad cutim terminantur, per suos poros intermedios, acerem qui nos ambit, vsq; ad cor attrahût, & per easde arterias nocius exhalationes è corde efflant. Quocirca cùm circumstans aer fasci-
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OF FASCINATION in it, and they perish: but moisture, indeed, by hidden rottenness infects and destroys the compound. Yet fascination, which has power from a specific difference, harms not by reason of any of the aforesaid qualities, but because it contains something contrary to the persons fascinated, and a nature favorable to the fascinators and compliant with them. But in order that we may know in what manner fascination can bring death, it must not be omitted that fascination is endowed by nature with the power of acting; and that whatever it touches it infects with a baneful quality, and turns into a nature that fascinates and corrupts; and it multiplies itself, consuming the qualities of the body, and as it increases so the power of fascination grows, and reaches the heart. And then the vital spirit yields to the fascinating power, and going forth from the heart leaves it motionless, and thus death follows immediately. And no otherwise does the vital power of the heart yield to fascination than iron to the magnet; in which certain seeds of this effect are inherent, concerning which Lucretius thus says: First, it is necessary that many seeds, or a sort of heat, flow forth from this stone, which scatters the air by blows, between which and the stone it is placed. When that space is emptied, and much void place remains in the middle, straightway the first beginnings of the iron, slipping into the void, fall together: so that the ring itself follows, and goes through the whole body. And this happens for this reason, because the arteries of the heart, by the motion of attracting and expelling, which it has from nature, draw to themselves the air standing around them, so long as the animal lives; and that air likewise, through its intermediate pores, draws to the heart the air that surrounds us, by means of the arteries that end at the skin, and through those same arteries breathes forth noxious exhalations from the heart. Wherefore, when the surrounding air fasci-
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Liber I. 35 natis opera fuerit perniciosa qualitate infectus, per ipsas arterias dilatationis motu cor inficit, quæ deinde labes, cu[m] vniuerso corpore com[m]unicatur, & hoc pacto miseri mortales fascinatur. Vnde quanto alicuius arteriæ ho- minis, rariores & patentiores existut, eo citiùs ipsi fasci- num nocet, quod ex cordis caliditate oritur, cuius est ra- refacere, vt è co[n]tra frigiditatis, condensare: & hinc est quòd si quis effascinator, plures simul effascinare volue- rit, non æquè omnibus fascinu[m] nocet, quoniâ insitus ca- lor qui vitâ subministrat, extrancis nocum[m]etis resistere potest, si viribus præualet; at si succubit, illicò fascinans qualitas naturæ vires opprimit, & ad interitu[m] perducit. Quòd si innatus calor fascinativi se opponit, nec omni- no præualet, sed aliquid effascinatis virtutis diminuit, no[n] co[n]festim co[n]positum enecat, sed paulatim, primò ad ma- cìe, deinde ad exitiale[m] exitu[m] deducit, quia perniciosa illa fascinationis qualitas, sensim innatis humoribus comu- nicatur, quos sibi similes reddere conatur: nec desistit, quousque totu[m] corpus illa tabe infecerit; sicut ignis, qui si materiâ aliqua[m] co[n]bustioni paru[m] idonea[m] inuenerit, eam priùs exsicca[n]do, co[n]trariâq[ue]; ab ea expelle[n]do sibi similem reddit, donec formam suam in eam introducat. Nec si- lentio inuoluendu[m] est, vt supra[m] monui, quòd effascinâdi proprietas natura quæda[m] est, ex humanis suppositis exi- stens, à coeloru[m] influentia emanas, quæ proprietas si ca- liditati adhæreat, calida vocatur; si frigiditati, frigida, & sic de reliquis: cuiuscunque aute[m] naturæ illa sit, spiritua- liter agit. Et hoc quidem speciebus intentionalibus inter- mediis, quæ species int[e]ctionales, etsi realè existetiam in medio tanqua[m] in subiecto habet, nihilominus spiritua- les vocatur, quia absq[ue] materia recipi[n]tur, idq[ue]; duobus E ij
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Liber I. 35 if it has been infected with a harmful quality, through the very arteries by the motion of dilation it infects the heart, which then, that corruption being communicated with the whole body, in this way fascinates miserable mortals. Hence, the more rare and open a person’s arteries are, the sooner does the fascination harm him, since it arises from the heart’s heat, whose nature it is to rarefy, whereas cold condenses: and hence it is that if some enchanter should wish to bewitch several at once, the fascination will not harm all equally, because the innate heat which supplies life can resist foreign injuries, if it prevails in strength; but if it yields, at once the fascinating quality crushes the powers of nature and leads to destruction. If, however, the innate heat opposes the fascinating influence and does not entirely prevail, but lessens something of the strength of those who are bewitched, it does not at once kill the body, but gradually leads it first to wasting away, then to a fatal end, because that harmful quality of fascination is little by little communicated to the innate humors, which it tries to make like itself: nor does it cease until it has infected the whole body with that corruption; just as fire, if it finds some material not very fit for combustion, first by drying it out and by driving away what is contrary to it makes it like itself, until it introduces its own form into it. Nor must it be passed over in silence, as I noted above, that the property of being bewitched is a certain natural disposition arising from human supposita, flowing from the influence of the heavens; and if this property adheres to heat, it is called hot; if to coldness, cold, and so on for the rest: of whatever nature it may be, it acts spiritually. And this indeed by means of intermediate intentional species, which intentional species, although they exist really in the medium as in a subject, are nevertheless called spiritual, because they are received without matter, and that in two ways.
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modis fieri potest, vel quia tota intentionalis species, in toto medio reperitur, & etia ipsa tota est in qualibet me dij parte, per repræsentatione, vt in intentione & specie albedinis patet, quæ albedine tota per paruum foramen repræsentat, vel quia fascinans formaliter in ipso fascinato aliquam formam inducit, quæ formæ inducenti similis non est, est tame eius similitudo ac simulacrum. Et hæc species siue materia in medio existens recipitur, vt quando imaginatione, aut visu, aut voce fascinum iaculatur, quod inde accidit, quia eiusmodi intentionales species, fascinatrices spiritus visui & auditui aptos inficiunt; deinde organa, demùm exitiales illæ qualitates ad cor deferuntur, quod destruunt: quo sit vt fascinum per tactum illatu, non tam perniciosum sit, quàm quod per imaginationem, visum, aut vocem iaculatur, quia cùm materiale sit, maiorem resistentiam habere potest; spirituale verò paruam, aut nullam resistentiam habet. Nam sicuti Vultures ex remotissimis locis, cadauerum species odorabiles percipiunt, vt Auer. 2. de Anima, narrat, nihil est enim quod ab huiusmodi odorabiliu[m] specierum perceptione eos impedire queat; ita species ac vires effascinantes imperceptibiliter & velocissimè ad rem effascinandam penetrant, & quasi omnis remedij spe amota inficiunt. Ex quibus infertur, quòd omnes effascinationes non sunt æqualis virtutis: nam earu[m] vis, tum fascinati, tum fascinatis ratione variari potest: quo ad fascinantem, variari contingit si materialis aut formalis fascinatio sit: quo verò ad fascinatum, si is resistendi vel cedendi vi præditus sit. Fieri namque potest, vt fascinum per materiam illatum, parum aut nihil ob- sit, vt diximus: aliquando etiam tanta potest virtute es-
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It can happen in different ways, either because the whole intentional species is found in the whole medium, and also the whole of it is in each part of the medium by representation, as is clear in the intention and species of whiteness, which represents the whole whiteness through a small opening; or because the fascinator formally induces in the one bewitched some form which is not similar to the form inducing it, yet is its likeness and image. And this species, or matter, existing in the medium, is received, as when by imagination, or by sight, or by voice it casts the spell, which happens because such intentional species, acting as spells, infect the spirits fitted for sight and hearing; then the organs, and finally those deadly qualities are carried to the heart, which they destroy. Hence it follows that a spell inflicted by touch is not so harmful as one cast by imagination, sight, or voice, because since it is material it can have greater resistance; but what is spiritual has little or no resistance. For just as vultures from the most distant places perceive the odorous species of corpses, as Averroes relates, 2 De Anima, for there is nothing that can hinder them from perceiving such odorous species; so the species and powers that bewitch penetrate imperceptibly and most swiftly to the thing to be bewitched, and, as though every hope of remedy were removed, they infect it. From this it is inferred that all bewitchments are not of equal power: for their force can vary both with the bewitched and with those bewitched, according to reason. With regard to the bewitcher, it happens to vary if the bewitchment is material or formal; with regard to the bewitched, if he is endowed with the power either to resist or to yield. For it can happen that a spell inflicted by matter does little or no harm, as we have said; at times also it can be of such great power that...
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Liber I. 37 se præditus, vt idem exitialius quàm formale sit. De fa- scini verò amatorij qualitate, in subsequenti quæsito nonnihil tangemus. Propter quid Fascinum sit. Cap. VIII. < Finis dupliciter consideratur.> Ræsentis quæsiti indagatio, ad fascini fi- nem perquirendum dirigitur: finis verò du- plici discrimine secatur, vt Aristoteles innuit, quo vnum; alterum, gratia cuius dicitur. Fi- nis quo, est illa actio, per quam, finem gratia cuius adi- piscimur. Finis autem gratia cuius est res illa ob quam laboramus; quæ quidem res intellectum & voluntatem nostram ad agendum, ratione obiecti mouet: atque vo- luntas (quo ad fascinum pertinet) altera duarum quali- tatum, odio scilicet vel amore affecta erit, & respectu motionis nostræ voluntatis, finis ratione efficientis ha- bet. In fascino itaque odium & amor causâ sunt quibus ad aliqua effascinanda inflammemur. < Voluitas diesbus modis afficitur.> Ex quo clarissimè patet, propter odium vel amorem fascinum exerce- ri: vtque id de quo agimus clarius fiat, non est ignoran- dum, in anima sentiendi vi prædita, appetitum quædam reperiri, qui à Philosophis animalis appellatur. < Appetitus animalis qui, et cui pars.> Animalis appetitus in concupiscibilem, & irascibilem diuidi- tur: hunc concupiscendi appetitu sex qualitates, tres ra- tione boni, tres verò ratione mali concomitantur: Quæ boni rationem habent, sunt, amor, desiderium, & gau- dium; mali verò, odium, inuidia & tristitia. Vnde odium est concupiscibilis appetitus repugnantia circa id quod nociui ac mali rationem continet, & quidquid repu- gnantiam, malitiam, noxam, impedimentum, & obsta- culum sapit, quia vt nociuum concipitur, ad odium spe- E iii
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Liber I. 37 being endowed with it, so that the same thing may be more ruinous than merely formal. Of the nature, however, of amorous fascination, we shall touch on something in the subsequent question. Why Fascination Exists. Chap. VIII. <An end is considered in two ways.> The investigation of the present question is directed toward inquiring into the end of fascination; but an end is divided in a twofold way, as Aristotle indicates, into that which is attained, and that for the sake of which it is said to be attained. The end which is attained is that action by which we obtain the end for the sake of which. The end for the sake of which, however, is that thing on account of which we labor; and this thing moves our intellect and will to act by reason of the object. And the will, so far as fascination is concerned, will be affected by one of two qualities, namely hatred or love, and with respect to the motion of our will, it has the character of an efficient cause in relation to the end. In fascination, therefore, hatred and love are the causes by which we are inflamed to cast spells on certain things. <The will is affected in several ways.> From this it is quite clear that fascination is exercised because of hatred or love. And that what we are discussing may be made clearer, it must not be unknown that in the soul endowed with the power of sensation there is found a certain appetite, which by the philosophers is called the animal appetite. <What the animal appetite is, and what part it has.> The animal appetite is divided into the concupiscible and the irascible: six qualities accompany this appetitive faculty, three by reason of the good, and three by reason of the evil. Those which have the character of good are love, desire, and joy; those of evil are hatred, envy, and sadness. Hence hatred is the repugnance of the concupiscible appetite toward that which contains the character of harmful and evil; and whatever tastes of repugnance, malice, injury, impediment, and obstacle, because it is conceived as harmful, pertains to hatred. E iii
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38 DE FASCINO etare videtur. Ob id enim aliquis odio aliquid prosequitur, quia vt sibi repugnans & contrariu[m], illud apprehendit, & quasi sui ipsius destructiuum & corruptiuum <Dolor ex odio contractus.> arbitratur. Et hinc internus dolor oritur, & cum doloris interni causa, malu[m] appetitui repugnans sit; sit vt dolor internus corporis, externu[m] doloru[m] grauitate excedat: & < O[mn]es se fascino vliscuntur.> ideo doloris huiusmodi, tristitiæ atque odij remedium nullu[m] aliud magis præsentaneu[m], ac salutare, quam fascinum creditur, per quod illos qui nobis aduersantur, vliscimur, eis morbos, calamitates, & diuersa maloru[m] genera inferendo. Cùm enim alicui inuidemus, & ob eius bonu[m] ac foelicitatem contabescimus, nullâ nobis salubrioru[m] medicinam adhibendâ putamus, quàm si eum pernicioso, ac lethali malo afficiamus. Idque fascino intermedio nos assequi arbitramur; tû quia in nostra manu est, tum etia[m] quia, & facilè, & secretò, nemine intelligente iaculatur. Amor autem contrario modo se habet, quamquam enim ab codem principio, hoc est, co[n]cupiscendi appetitu oriatur; tamen primus appetitus motus existit, & omnium actionu[m], ac qualitatu[m] fundamentu[m] esse existimatur. < Amore præsentiis reo gaudiu[m], absentis desiderium nascitur.> Illius namque appetitus concentus, & vnio quædam, amor nucupatur. Ex quo quidem amore si res ama- ta adsit, gaudiu[m]: si verò absit, desideriu[m] nascitur. Verùm non est prætermittendu[m]; dupliciter amore considerari posse, tum vt re diligimus, eique propter se, & non alia de causa bonu[m] concupiscimus; & hic absolutè amor vocatur, quem nonnulli amore amicitiæ dicut; tum vt amor amanti, vel alij est vtilis, & delectabilis, & no[n] rei amatæ, quem quidam amorem concupiscetiæ vocitant, & propter hunc amoris modum fascinum iaculari consueuit: < Amoris finis duplex.> cuius amoris causa ex obiecti cognitione proficiscitur,
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38 DE FASCINO it seems. For this reason, indeed, someone pursues something with hatred, because, as being opposed and contrary to himself, he apprehends it as, as it were, destructive and corruptive of himself. <Pain contracted from hatred.> And hence inward pain arises; and since the cause of inward pain is evil, repugnant to appetite, it follows that the inward pain of the body exceeds external pain in grievousness. And therefore <All avenge themselves by fascination.> a remedy of this kind for pain, sadness, and hatred is believed to be no other more immediate and salutary than fascination, by which we avenge ourselves on those who oppose us, inflicting upon them diseases, calamities, and various kinds of evils. For when we envy someone, and waste away because of his good fortune and happiness, we think there is no healthier medicine to apply than to afflict him with some harmful and deadly evil. And we suppose that we achieve this by means of fascination, both because it is in our power, and also because it is cast easily and secretly, without anyone understanding. Love, however, is disposed in the contrary way; for although it arises from the same principle, that is, from the appetite of desiring, nevertheless it is the first motion of appetite, and is thought to be the foundation of all actions and qualities. <By love, when the beloved is present, joy arises; when absent, desire.> For the harmony and kind of union of that appetite is called love. From this love, if the thing loved is present, joy arises; if it is absent, desire arises. But it must not be omitted that love can be considered in two ways: first, as when we love the thing, and for its own sake, and not for any other reason desire the good; and this is absolutely called love, which some call the love of friendship; secondly, as when love is useful and delightful to the lover, or to another, and not to the thing loved, which some call the love of concupiscence, and it is because of this mode of love that fascination is customarily cast. <The end of love is twofold.> The cause of this love proceeds from the knowledge of the object,
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Liber I. 39 nemo enim rem penitus ignotam amore ac beneuolentia prolequi potest: cùm amoris effectus, vt Aristoteles sentit, coniunctio quædam sit, qua, vt eodem referente, Aristophanes dixit, amantes vnum fieri cuperet, nisi alterius corruptio sequeretur. Et quotiescunque amans in amore sibi rem amatam non respondere animaduertit ad amatorium fascinum confugit, quo sibi illam obsequentem reddat, quod quidem fascinum, si ab interna causa fiat, eam qualitatem habet, quam fascinans in rem amatam remissè, vel intensè iaculatus fuit. Atque hæc amoris ægritudo nihil aliud esse videtur, quàm ardens animi affectus, atræ bilis affinis, & consimilis, quo animus ipse assiduè agitatus, ob alicuius pulchritudinis imaginem atque formam sibi semper obuersantem flagrat. Amans igitur stimulis desiderij incensus, vsque adeo ardet, donec per fascinum votum consequatur, vt in tertio capite de huius amoris causa diximus. Huius verò amatorij fascini duplex qualitas assignari potest, altera ab internis causis, altera ab externis oriens. Quæ ab internis principiis, vt spor , imaginatione, ac reliquis manat, non illicò rem amatam pessundat, cùm id amans effascinator non intendat; sed tantùm studet, vt sibi in amore respondeat; quæ si pertinax persecuerat, fascini tabes vniuersum corporis habitum inficit; & primò ad naciem ac pallorem, deinde ad varias ægritudines & morbos, demùm ad interitum amans perducitur. Hoc amoris genere, Phyllis Lycurgi Thracum Regis filia infecta legitur, quæ cùm Demophoonté Thesei filiù à Troiana expeditione redeûte, & à Rege hospitio acceptu deperiret, eo furore ac insania correpta est, quia illo frui nequiret, vt amoris impatiêcia
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Liber I. 39 for no one can pursue with love and goodwill a thing wholly unknown: since the effect of love, as Aristotle thinks, is a certain union, by which, as the same author reports, Aristophanes said that lovers desire to become one, unless the corruption of the other should follow. And whenever a lover perceives in love that the thing loved does not correspond to him, he has recourse to a loving enchantment, by which he may make her obedient to him; which enchantment indeed, if it arise from an inward cause, has that quality which the enchanter has thrown, either mildly or intensely, upon the thing loved. And this sickness of love seems to be nothing else than a burning affection of the mind, akin and similar to black bile, whereby the mind itself, continually agitated, burns with the image and form of some beauty always present before it. The lover, therefore, inflamed by the goads of desire, burns until, by enchantment, he attains his wish, as we said in the third chapter concerning the cause of this love. Now this amorous enchantment may be assigned a twofold quality: one arising from internal causes, the other from external. That which flows from internal principles, such as spor , imagination, and the rest, does not at once cast down the beloved thing, since the enchanter-loser does not intend this; but only strives that it may respond to him in love; and if this persists obstinately, the wasting of the enchantment infects the whole habit of the body, and first leads to emaciation and paleness, then to various illnesses and diseases, and finally brings the lover to death. Of this kind of love Phyllis, daughter of Lycurgus, king of the Thracians, is read to have been infected; for when she was madly in love with Demophoon, son of Theseus, returning from the Trojan expedition, and being received hospitably by the king, she was seized with such fury and madness, because she could not enjoy him, that the impatience of love
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40 DE FASCINO post multas ægritudines laqueo vitam finierit. Sic Iphis liberali facie puer cùm Anaxaretem puellam incredibili amore prosequeretur, interit. Sic Hæmon Thebanus, cùm Antigones OEdippi & Iocastæ filiæ amore contabesceret, ad eius tumulum sibi mortem consciuit. Eodem mortis genere puella Sappho ex Lesbo insula, vitam cum morte commutauit, Phaonis liberalis formæ adolescentis amore percita. Quam imitata Biblis Mileti filia ex Cyane, Cauni fratris amore fascinata, laqueo se suspendit, vt de Arte amandi Ouidius refert: Biblida quid referam? vetito quæ fratris amore Arsit, & est laqueo fortiter vlta nefas. Pyrami quoque & Thisbes necem, eisdem fascini viribus nonnulli adscribunt. Sic etiam Galeatij Mantuani, cui cùm quædam puella quâ deperibat, per iocum imperaret, vt se in fluuium deiiceret, amatorio fascino, rationis vsu orbatus, eidem obtemperauit, séque vita priuauit. Sic Timagoras, vt Cælius est auctor, se præcipitem dedit, Miletis adolescentis Atheniensis iussu, cuius fascinantibus radiis infectus erat. Nec secus Gidica Póminij Laurentini vxor vitæ finem dedit, dum Comminij priuigni fascino contaminata esset; in quod mortis genus paru absuit quin Antiochus quoque Seleuci Regis filius incideret, nouercæ Stratonices infando amore correptus: sed pius pater filij vitæ amans, charissimam sibi coniugem eidem filio cedere non dubitauit: quòd in amorem incidisset fortunæ acceptum referens, quòd vsque ad mortem is dissimularet, ipsius pudori imputans. At si ab externis causis fascinum interatur, præterea quæ in partium fascini declaratione diximus, grauisima mala effascinandis nonnullis medicaminibus inferuntur,
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40. ON FASCINATION after many sufferings had ended his life by a noose. Thus Iphis, a boy of handsome face, when he pursued the girl Anaxarete with incredible love, perished. Thus Haemon the Theban, when he was wasting away with love for Antigone, daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, put himself to death at her tomb. By the same kind of death the girl Sappho, from the island of Lesbos, exchanged life for death, stirred by love for Phaon, a young man of noble beauty. Imitating her, Biblis, daughter of Miletus, from Cyane, bewitched by love for her brother Caunus, hanged herself with a noose, as Ovid relates in The Art of Love: Why should I tell of Biblis? She burned with forbidden love for her brother, and bravely avenged the crime with a noose. Some also ascribe the death of Pyramis and Thisbe to the same power of fascination. Thus also Galeatius of Mantua, to whom a certain girl for whom he was madly infatuated jokingly commanded that he throw himself into the river, deprived of reason by a love-charm, obeyed her and deprived himself of life. Thus Timagoras, as Caelius is witness, threw himself headlong at the command of an Athenian youth, Miletis, by whose fascinating rays he had been infected. Nor was it otherwise that Gidica, wife of Pominjus Laurentinus, put an end to her life, while she had been infected by the fascination of Comminius, her stepson; and Antiochus, son of King Seleucus, very nearly fell into that kind of death, seized by the infamous love of his stepmother Stratonice. But the dutiful father, loving his son’s life, did not hesitate to yield his own dearest wife to that same son; since he had fallen into love, he referred it to fortune, and since he concealed it even to death, he attributed it to his own modesty. But if fascination is inflicted from external causes, besides what we have said in explaining the parts of fascination, very grave evils are brought upon certain of the bewitched by medicines,
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Liber I. 41 feruntur, vt de Echeneide pisce Plinius refert, ac de Hyenæ rostri pilis mulieru[m] labris admotis; quod etia[m] de Lacerta asserit. De Ranis verò quibusda[m] sic ait; In vepribus tantùm viuunt, & ob id rubetæ nominantur, quas Græci Phirnos vocant, grandissimæ cunctarum geminis veluti quibusdam cornibus, plenæ veneficiorum; mira de his certatim auctores tradut: Ossiculum esse in sinistro latere aiunt, quo canum impetus cohibe[n]tur, amor concitatur, & iurgla, addito in potionem. <Lupi cauda virus amatorium inest.> Lupi etiam caudæ exiguo in villo, amatorium virus inesse credit, qui si viuenti non detrahatur, vim nullam habere refert. In externis fascini causis, herbæ ac frutices numerantur, & præcipuè de quodam frutice mētio sit; Charitoblepharon vocatur, quem miscendis amatoriis efficacem esse tradunt. Item de Staphylino Plinius meminit: qui de herba quam Centumcapita vocant, sic inquit; Radix eius alterutrius sexus similitudinem refert, rara inuentu, sed si viris contigerit mas, amabiles si[n]t, ob hoc & Phaonem Lesbium à Sappho dilectum tradit. Eandem vim Airoum herbam, & Catanancen Thessalam herbâ possidere arbitratur: nec secus de herba Phyteuma sentit. Sagittas præterea corpore eductas, si terram non attigerint, subiectas cubantibus amatorium esse Orpheus, & Archelaus, referente Plinio, scribunt. <Herbis et alius instrume[n]sis fascinum amatorium fieri.> Multa item sunt, quibus amatorium fascinum procurari existimatur, vt mineralia, lapides, metalla, herbæ, plantæ, arbores, animalia; quæ singula enumerare, stomachum potius facerent, quàm fructum afferrent. Quo sit vt credatur, Lucretium Poëtam eiusmodi amatorio poculo infectum eo furoris raptum fuisse, vt manu[m] sibi intulerit, de quo Politianus in Nutricia cantat; F
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Liber I. 41 are said to do so, as Pliny reports of the Echeneis fish, and of the hairs of the hyena’s snout, when women’s lips are touched with them; which he likewise asserts of the lizard. But concerning certain frogs he says thus: They live only in briars, and for that reason are called rubetae, which the Greeks call Phirnos, the largest of all, with something like twin horns, full of poisonous powers. Authors relate marvelous things about them in rivalry: they say there is a little bone in the left side, by which the attacks of dogs are checked, love is stirred up, and quarrels too, when added to a potion. <The wolf’s tail contains a love poison.> It is also believed that in the tiny hairs of the wolf’s tail there is a love poison; but if it is not taken from a living wolf, it is said to have no force. Among external causes of fascination, herbs and shrubs are counted, and especially mention should be made of a certain shrub called Charitoblepharon, which they say is effective in mixing love potions. Pliny also mentions Staphylinus: and concerning the herb called Centumcapita, he says: “Its root resembles the form of either sex; it is rare to find, but if men happen to get the male, they are made lovable”; on this account he says that Phaon of Lesbos was loved by Sappho. He thinks that the herb Airoum has the same power, and also the Thessalian herb Catanance; nor does he think otherwise of the herb Phyteuma. Moreover, arrows drawn from the body, if they have not touched the ground, placed beneath those lying down are said by Orpheus and Archelaus, as Pliny reports, to be a love charm. <Love fascination may be produced by herbs and other instruments.> There are also many things by which a love charm is thought to be procured, such as minerals, stones, metals, herbs, plants, trees, animals; to enumerate each of these would rather cause disgust than bring benefit. Hence it is believed that the poet Lucretius, infected by such a love potion, was driven into such madness that he laid hands on himself, about which Politian sings in the Nutricia; F
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CAP. IX. DE FASCINO Nec qui phyltra bibit, nimióque insanus amore Mox ferro occubuit, sic mentem amiserat omnem. <De Lucretij obitu versus. Lucullus phylstro occubuit.> Lucullum quoque Imperatorem clarissimu[m], amatorio poculo propinato, periisse testis est Plinius. Sic alij quâ- plurimi, quorum nomina recésere nimis longum esset. Qua igitur de causa, & ad quem finem fascinum procurari contingat, satis notum esse, atque à nobis monstra- tum arbitramur. De Fascini speciebus. <Obiectum fascini duplex.> VEMADMODVM res naturaliter speciem ab insita forma accipiunt, ita mortaliu[m] actiones; vt visus à colore, auditus à sono, essentiâ ab obiecto mutuantur. Cúmque fascini obiectum duplex sit, duplicé quoque fascini speciem esse fateri oportet; amorem videlicet & odium. Sicut enim in rebus quæ à natura sunt, prima bonitas ex forma, quæ speciem largitur, nascitur; pari quoque modo, in humanis actibus, bonitas vel præuitas ex conuenienti re oblata, prout motus à termino speciem ac differentiam sumit: & quia rationalis animæ munus est, dirigere & ordinare inde sit <humani actus secundu[m] finem boni malive iudicantur.> vt si actus à ratione procedes, in malum finem dirigatur atque ordinetur, ipse quoque malus dicatur, si verò in bonu[m], ipse quoque bonus vocetur, iuxta Boëtij regulâ; Cuius finis bonus est, & ipsum etiam bonum esse opus est. Actus autem qui in bonu[m] dirigitur, amor: qui in malum, odium appellatur; & ob hanc causam amor, & odiu[m] fascinationis species dicutur; omnes enim fascinantium actus, ad illorum alterum, veluti ad <Argumenta fascinum sem per esse maiu[m] demonstrantia.> finem tendu[m]. Verùm si quis obiiciat, omné fascini modum contra comune vel priuatu[m] commodu[m] directum
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CAP. IX. ON FASCINATION Neither he who drank philters, and mad with too great love Soon fell by the sword, had thus lost all his mind. <Verses on the death of Lucretius. Lucullus died by philter.> Pliny also bears witness that Lucullus, the most illustrious general, having been given a love potion, perished. So many others likewise, whose names to recount would be far too long. Therefore, for what cause, and to what end, fascination may be procured, we think has been sufficiently made known, and shown by us. On the kinds of Fascination. <The object of fascination is twofold.> JUST AS things naturally receive their species from an inherent form, so do the actions of mortals; as sight from color, hearing from sound, essence from object are borrowed. And since the object of fascination is twofold, it must likewise be admitted that there are two kinds of fascination: namely love and hatred. For just as in things that are from nature, the first goodness arises from the form that bestows the species; in like manner, in human acts, goodness or badness arises from the suitable thing presented, according as motion takes its species and difference from its end: and because it is the office of the rational soul to direct and order these things, it follows <human acts are judged according to the end of good or evil.> that if an act, proceeding from reason, is directed and ordered toward an evil end, it too is called evil; but if toward a good one, it too is called good, according to Boethius’ rule: “That whose end is good, it is necessary that the work itself also be good.” Now the act that is directed toward a good end is called love; that which is directed toward evil, hatred; and for this cause love and hatred are called the species of fascination; for all the acts of those who bewitch tend toward one or the other of these, as toward an end. But if anyone should object that every mode of fascination is directed contrary to the common or private good,
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Liber I. 43 esse, nullâmque affinitate cum bonitate habere; quinimo inter fascinu & bonum, eam contrarietate & repugnantiam esse, quæ inter calidum & frigidu, hoc est quæ inter contraria est. Siquide[m] fascinum malu[m], semper ad virtutum tum naturalium, tum moralium corruptionem tendit. Nec refert quòd amatorium fascinum amorem excitet, quia affectus ille non amor sed insania appellari debet, cum à rationis & honestatis via maximè abhor reat, & ad propriâ improbâmque libidine[m] explendâ anhelet, ac toto impetu feratur. Huic dubitationi ita facimus satis: na[m] humanorum actuum species à rebus quæ concipiuntur differentiam sortiuntur, & non ab earundem reru[m] natura, qua constant. Cùm itaque ob amorem aliqui ad effascinâdum moueantur, atque hic amor bonus & salutaris ipsis videatur, & boni specie co[n]cipiatur, iuxta huiusmodi conceptionem, talis amor bonus existimatur, provt in cæteris rebus apparens, & existes bonum reperitur: & sic fascini distincta species ponitur. Nec prætermittendu[m] est, duplex esse agedi principium, artem & natura: at duæ fascini species declaratæ ab arte sunt, cuius quidem artis, ratio & voluntas causa sunt. Fascinum verò quod à natura, nulla artis actione concurrente fit, diuersæ speciei esse duco. Nonnulli enim ita sunt à natura procreati, vt quidquid intueantur, fascinent: idque ipsismet fascinantibus penitus ignorantibus. Non enim talis fascinandi actus à voluntate seu actione egreditur: quandoque enim patres, filios intuiti fascinant, quod quidem ipsi grauissimè ferunt. Cùm ergo huiusmodi fascinatio inuitis patribus accidat, clarum est, à natura, & non à ratione procedere. Quam ob rem hæc tertia fascinationis species F ij
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Liber I. 43 to be, and to have no affinity with goodness; indeed, between fascination and good there is that contrariety and repugnance which exists between the hot and the cold, that is, which exists between contraries. For evil fascination always tends toward the corruption both of natural and of moral virtues. Nor does it matter that amorous fascination excites love, because that affection must not be called love but madness, since it most greatly shrinks from the path of reason and honesty, and pants to satisfy its own improper and shameful lust, and rushes forward with all its force. We answer this doubt thus: for the species of human acts derive their difference from the things which are conceived, and not from the nature of those things themselves, from which they consist. Since therefore some are moved by love to bewitch another, and this love seems to them good and salutary, and is conceived under the appearance of good, according to such a conception, such love is deemed good, just as in other things what appears good is found to be good in fact; and thus a distinct species of fascination is established. Nor must it be passed over that there are two principles of acting, art and nature: but the two species of fascination already set forth are from art, for of this art, reason and will are the cause. But fascination which is from nature, brought about without any concurrence of art, I judge to be of a different species. For certain people are so begotten by nature that whatever they look upon they bewitch: and this without the fascinators themselves being wholly aware of it. For such an act of bewitching does not proceed from will or action: for sometimes fathers, when they look upon their sons, bewitch them, which indeed they bear most grievously. Since therefore fascination of this kind happens to unwilling fathers, it is clear that it proceeds from nature, and not from reason. Wherefore this third species of fascination F ij
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44 DE FASCINO ponenda est, quæ tantùm principiis adscribitur naturæ; sub qua quidem specie illa indiuidua collocantur, quæ se ipsa fascinant, de quibus in sequenti capite verba faciemus. An aliqui sese fascinare possint. CAP. X. VANDO corporis habitus ad summâ perfectione[m] peruenerit, necesse est vt in deteriore[m] statu vergat: corpora siquidem ad summum vigorem progressa, in vniformi statu persistere nequeunt, vt naturales Philosophi sentiunt, sed veluti suspensa diutius lanx in alterâ parte propendeat necesse est; quia summa quæque non magno negotio deturbantur. Cùm igitur aliquis sibi habitior videtur, séque ea de causa circumspicit, iam declinare cogitur, & habitu in deteriorem statum vergente sese fascinare creditur. Quod quidem in claris aquis, & speculis lucentibus accidere crebriùs consueuit. Ibi enim oculorum radij repercutiuntur, & reciproco iaculatu in suos retonquentur auctores, propriúq[ue] veneficij tandé luunt pœnas, atque eisdem, quibus cæteros, sese fascinis labefactant. Sic Basiliscus propriis oculorum radiis in se contortis interficitur. Hoc mortis genus, Eutelideni inuasisse, poetę memoriæ prodiderunt. Qui miser cùm in flumine se conspexisset, sibiq[ue] pulcherrimus visus esset, sui amore deperire coepit, ob fascini perniciem, quam sibi consciuit. Vnde in ægritudinem lapsus, pristinum corporis habitum, cum venustate amisit, & noxam ineuitabilem contraxit: quod de Narcysso Ouid. scribit. Vror amore mei, flammas mouéóque feróque; Quid faciam? roger, anne rogem? quid deinde rogabo?
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44 ON FASCINATION it must be placed, which is attributed only to the beginnings of nature; under which kind are also classified those individuals who fascinate themselves, concerning whom we shall speak in the next chapter. Whether some can fascinate themselves. CHAP. X. WHEN the condition of the body has reached the highest perfection, it is necessary that it decline into a worse state: for bodies that have advanced to the greatest vigor cannot remain in a uniform state, as natural philosophers think, but, just as a scale suspended for a long time must incline to one side, so the body too must necessarily tend downward; because whatever is at the highest point is not overturned with great difficulty. Therefore, when someone seems to himself to be in better condition, and for that reason looks about at himself, he is already compelled to decline, and, his condition turning to a worse state, he is believed to fascinate himself. This is accustomed to happen more frequently in clear waters and bright mirrors. For there the rays of the eyes are reflected, and by a reciprocal cast are hurled back upon their authors, and at last pay the penalty of their own venom, and with the same fascinations by which they harm others they weaken themselves. Thus the Basilisk is killed by its own twisted back ocular rays. The poets have handed down to memory that this kind of death invaded Eutelidenes. For the wretch, when he had looked at himself in a river and thought himself most beautiful, began to waste away from love of himself, because of the harm of fascination which he had brought upon himself. Hence, falling into illness, he lost the former condition of his body together with its beauty, and incurred unavoidable ruin: as Ovid writes of Narcissus. I burn with love of myself, and I both stir and bear flames; What am I to do? Shall I pray, or not pray? what shall I pray for next?
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Liber I. 45 Quod cupio mecum est, inopem me copia fecit. <Pueruli proprio euolatus sibi nocens.> Infantes quandoque suo se eiulatu vitiant, quamuis ipsos intuentibus falsò adscribatur. Nec illud prætermittam, quòd homines crebrò opinione fascinantur. Nam <Multi opinione fascinantur.> quemadmodum spectrorum, quæ inuidentes eiaculantur, nullam reddere rationem possumus, quamuis neque sensu omnino neque impetu careant, sed maleficij, & fascinationis labe repleantur, eò quòd diutius eos, quos fascinare volunt, veneno imbuta insederunt, corpusque & mentem conturbant, & sua sorde contaminant: <Alterá seipsum fascináda ratio.> ita existimandum est, hominem quodam modo opinione fascinari, cuius profectò rei rationem, nullam inire, nec causam assequi possumus. Est & alter se ipsum effascinandi modus: si quidem omnes animi nostri affectiones, si nobis diu inhæserint, perniciosos habitus efficiunt; qui quando naturæ robur adsciuerunt, quauis occasione conciti, identidem nos, vel inuitos in peculiares morbos trahunt. Inde sit vt si timidos obseruaueris, quæ illis salutaria sunt, timorem eis afferre inuenies. Sic iræcundi familiaribus, & amicissimis graues, ac difficiles sunt. Sic lasciui, & amatores à pudicissimis corporibus, etiam moribundi se temperare non possunt. <Recedere difficillimum est ab assuetus.> Assuefactio enim ad hoc viget, vt suam quisque affectionem requirat, & excitet. Vnde mirandum non est, si ij qui diuturnæ inuidiæ teredinem, aut alium fascinatorem habitum in se aluerunt, ad id quod suum est, pro affectionis natura moueantur. Non enim secus his accidit, atque orbi qui circulari vertigine volutatur, quippe qui suo veluti naturali habitu ad omnes turpes, & improbas affectiones mouentur, eisque vehementissimè nocent, quorum odio, vel cupiditate incensi sunt. E. ijj
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Book I. 45 What I desire is with me; abundance has made me poor. <Little children by their own flight harm themselves.> Infants sometimes injure themselves by their own crying, although this is falsely attributed to those who look on them. Nor shall I pass over this, that men are often fascinated by opinion. For <Many are fascinated by opinion.> just as we cannot give any account of phantoms, which they cast forth in envy, although they are not entirely without sense or impulse, but are filled with the stain of wickedness and fascination, because they have long settled upon those whom they wish to bewitch, imbued with poison, and disturb both body and mind, and contaminate them with their foulness: <Another way of fascinating oneself.> so it must be thought that a man is in some way fascinated by opinion, of which matter indeed we can find no reason at all, nor discover the cause. There is also another way of bewitching oneself: namely, all the emotions of our soul, if they have long clung to us, produce harmful habits; and when these have acquired the strength of nature, stirred by any occasion whatsoever, they repeatedly draw us, even unwilling, into particular illnesses. Hence it comes about that if you observe the timid, you will find that what is salutary to them brings them fear. Thus the irascible are troublesome and difficult to those most familiar and most friendly to them. Thus the licentious and lovers cannot restrain themselves even from the most chaste bodies, though dying. <It is most difficult to depart from custom.> For habit prevails in this, that each person seeks and excites his own emotion. Whence it is no wonder if those who have nourished within themselves the taint of long-standing envy, or some other bewitching habit, are moved toward what is theirs, according to the nature of the passion. For it happens to them no otherwise than to a wheel that is rolled about by a circular whirl, since they are moved, as it were, by their own natural condition toward all base and wicked passions, and they harm most violently those against whom they are inflamed with hatred or desire. E. ijj
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36 DE FASCINO Quicunque ergo se ipsos fascinarunt, ac fascinant, his vijs hoc fecisse existimantur. An aliqui natura fascinatores nascantur. CAP. XI. < Arte fascinum factum, natura fieri potest.> ARTEM naturæ parentis imitatricem esse, nemo est qui ambigat. Verùm cùm fascina- tores arte fieri queant, & natura omni artis genere prior existat, natura priùs fascinantes esse, quàm arte asserendum est. Si enim puella, vt olim à quibusdam Regibus factitatum legitur, napello nutriri potest, ad hoc vt cum ea coeûtes moriâtur; quare natura alicui donarimon poterit, vt idem, vel visu, vel alia efficiat actione? Huc accedit quòd cæterorum animalium quædam visu, nonnulla anhelitu, alia tactu mortem alijs, non tamen sui generis, inferre solent: <Homo naturaliter fascinare potest.> Homini ergo qui in quæcunque genera sæuit, & præsertim in indiuidua, quæ sub se continentur, nullum veneni genus à natura negatum esse creditur, inter quæ fascinatio connumeratur. Equidem homines reperi- ri legimus ad septentrionem degentes, quos Anthropophagos vocant, qui brutorum animalium more, humanis carnibus vescuntur, & quod immitius vide- tur, humanis capitum ossibus bibunt, cutibusque ipsis capillatis pro mantilibus ante pectora vtuntur, vt Isigonus Nicæensis, Plinio referente, inquit. Si itaque hâc immanitatem aliquibus natura inscuit, fateri oportet, fascinandi quoque potestatem ab ea hominibus tradi- tam esse, eóque magis id persuaderi potest, quoniam in <Hellepoto, circa Parium, genus hominum esse Pergamenus Crates tradit, vt ex Plinio didicimus, quos O-> Pergamenus Crates, de Uphiogenibus.
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36 ON FASCINATION Therefore, whoever has fascinated themselves, and whoever fascinates, is thought to have done this in these ways. Whether some are born by nature as fascinators. CHAP. XI. < Fascination made by art may be made by nature.> No one doubts that art is the imitator of nature, its parent. But since fascinators can be made by art, and nature exists prior to every kind of art, it must be asserted that those who fascinate by nature exist before those who do so by art. For if a girl, as is read to have been formerly done by certain kings, can be nourished with aconite, so that those who have intercourse with her die; why could nature not grant to someone that he might do the same, either by sight or by some other action? Added to this is the fact that among other animals some are accustomed to bring death to others, though not to those of their own kind, some by sight, some by breath, others by touch: <Man can fascinate naturally.> Therefore to man, who rages against whatever kinds he pleases, and especially against the individuals contained under himself, no kind of poison is believed by nature to have been denied, and fascination is numbered among these. Indeed, we read that there are men dwelling toward the north, whom they call Anthropophagi, who, like brute beasts, feed on human flesh, and, what seems more cruel, drink from human skulls, and use the very hairy skins as napkins before their breasts, as Isigonus of Nicaea, cited by Pliny, says. If therefore nature has planted such savagery in some, it must be admitted that the power of fascinating has also been handed over by nature to men; and this may be persuaded even more strongly, since in <Hellepotus, around Parium, there is a race of men, as Crates of Pergamum relates, as we learned from Pliny, whom O-> Pergamenus Crates, de Uphiogenibus.
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L I B E R I. 47 phiogenes vocat, serpentum ictus contactu leuare solitos. Similis in Africa gens Psyllorum fuit, vt Agatharchides < Agatharchides de Psyllu.> scribit, à Psyllo Rege dicta, quoru[m] corporibus virus exitiale serpétibus ingenitu[m] fuit, cuius odore eas sopirent, vt de tactu supra diximus. Quòd si hâc virulentam qualitatem hominibus natura indidit, fascinandi quoque vim eis tribuisse quilibet intelligere potest. Mulieru[m] capillos, si cremétur, à natura hoc habere legimus, vt odore serpentes expellant: mulieres ipsæ cùm menstruo laborat, si nudatæ segetem ambiat, erucas, ac vermiculos scarabęsque ac noxia alia decidere faciet, Metrodoro Scepsio teste: ite nouellas vites earum contactu in perpetuum lædi, rutam, & hederas, quæ medicinales sunt, illico mori, apes tactis aluearibus fugere, linaq[ue] cu[m] coquâtur nigrescere, aciem in cultris tonforum hebetari, æs contactum graue virus, & æruginem contrahere: equas, si sint grauidæ, tactas quâdoque etiam solo aspectu procul vilas abortu[m] pati, Plinius prodit: canes mestruo sanguine gustato, in rabiem aguntur, & insanabili veneno morsus inficitur. Si igitur per hæc vilissima excrementa, quæ nota sunt, tot miracula mulieres faciant; verisimilius est, tum viros, tum mulieres, natura per occultam fascinandi vim maiora efficere posse. In fascini etiam qualitate diximus, altera duarum qualitatum, ipsum præditum esse; quarum vna essentialis forma est, < Essentialis et accidentales fascini qualitas.> altera accidentalis, ab ea fluens nuncupatur. Et quonia[m] vtraque agendi, & fascinandi vi prædita est, & naturalis existit, idcirco homines, qui per illam intermediam fascinant, natura fascinatores dicendi sunt. Eadem videtur ratio reliquarum causarum fascinantium, de < Natura fascinantes.> quibus suo loco diximus, quæ quia naturales sunt,
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L I B E R I. 47 phiogenes calls those who were accustomed to relieve by touch the bites of serpents. A similar race in Africa was that of the Psylli, as Agatharchides writes, named from King Psyllus, whose bodies were by nature endowed with a deadly poison against serpents, by whose smell they lulled them to sleep, as we said above concerning touch. But if nature has implanted this virulent quality in human beings, anyone can understand that it has also granted them the power of bewitching. We read that women’s hair, if burned, has this natural property, that by its smell it drives away serpents: women themselves, when suffering from menstruation, if they walk naked around a field, will cause caterpillars and worms and beetles and other harmful creatures to fall off, as Metrodorus of Scepsis testifies; likewise, that young vines are permanently harmed by their touch, that rue and ivy, which are medicinal plants, die at once, that bees flee from touched hives, and that linen, when boiled, turns black, that the edge of barbers’ razors is dulled, that bronze, when touched, contracts a strong poison and verdigris; that mares, if they are pregnant, when touched, and sometimes even by sight alone from a distance, suffer abortion, Pliny reports: dogs, after tasting menstrual blood, are driven into rabies, and their bite is infected with incurable venom. If therefore through these very base excretions, which are well known, women perform so many marvels; it is more plausible that both men and women are able by nature, through a hidden power of fascination, to produce greater effects. We have also said in the discussion of the quality of fascination that it is endowed with one of two qualities, of which one is the essential form, <Essential and accidental quality of fascination.> the other is accidental, so called because it flows from that one. And since both are endowed with the power of acting and of fascinating, and are natural, for that reason men who fascinate through that intermediate agency ought by nature to be called fascinators. The same seems to be the case with the remaining causes of fascination, of <Those that fascinate by nature.> which we spoke in their proper place, since they are natural,
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48 DE FASCINO < Pyrrhi virtus in lienosos.> ij quoque qui talibus præditi sunt, natura fascinatores appellantur. Quorundam hominum corporibus partes innatæ leguntur, quæ mirabiles vires habuerunt. Nam Pyrrhus Rex in dextro pede pollicem habuit, cuius tactus lienosis, vt diximus, medebatur, quem cremari cu[m] < Sampsonis capellitij virtus.> reliquo corpore non potuisse tradunt. Sampsonem, vt sacræ litteræ perhibent, in capillitio mirabilem virtutem continuisse credimus, qua, quibuscibet aduersis rebus resistere poterat. In Hispania ab oculatis testibus audui, < Salutatores & eor[um] virtus.> quosdam homines fuisse, qui salutatores vocabantur, qui salutationibus propè incredibilia faciebant, etia[m] canum morsus curantes. Hi hodie in Gallia & Burgundia < Septimimaris virtus.> esse dicuntur. Quando enim aliquis septem filios masculos & inter eos nullam foeminam suscepit; septimus hanc mirabilem virtutem habere creditur. Vespasianus < Tactus & salua Vespasiani salutaris.> quoque à natura donatus legitur, vt tactu & saliua & quandoque sine his, pluribus morborum generibus mederetur. Odorem præterea ab Alexandro exisse legitur, qui omnes suauitate mirum in modu[m] delectabat. < Galliæ Regu[m] virtus in seru mosos.> Rex insuper Galliæ hæreditariâ virtutem per manus traditam habere perhibetur, vt quoscunque strumis laborâtes, atque affectos tetigerit, sanos reddere valeat. Si ergo tot mirabiles virtutes in hos à natura collatæ prædicantur, fateri oportet, etiam fascinandi vim in < Causa fascinationis à natura non ab arte manat.> quibusdam hominibus natura inueniri. Et cùm effectu[m], hoc est fascinationem, ab eis emanare videamus, causam quoque in his latere censendum est. Quam hac de causa à natura, & non ab arte proficisci putandum est, quia quandoque à pueris fascinum iaculari videmus, qui nullum artis genus scire possunt, & omnium rerum, < Pueri etiam fascinans.> quæ per artem acquiruntur cognitione penitus carent. Ideo
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48 ON THE EVIL EYE < The virtue of Pyrrhus in cases of spleen disease.> Those also who are endowed with such powers are by nature called enchanters. In the bodies of certain men there are read innate parts that possessed marvelous powers. For King Pyrrhus had a thumb on his right foot, whose touch, as we have said, healed those afflicted with splenetic disease; they say that the rest of his body could not be burned. < The virtue of Samson’s hair.> We believe that Samson, as Holy Scripture bears witness, possessed a marvelous power in his hair, by which he was able to resist any adversities whatsoever. < The salutatores and their power.> In Spain I heard from eyewitnesses that there were certain men called salutatores, who by their greetings performed things almost incredible, even curing dog bites. These men are said to exist today in France and Burgundy. < The power of the seventh-born male.> For when someone has had seven male children and among them no female, the seventh is believed to possess this marvelous power. < The touch and saliva of Vespasian, a healer.> Vespasian too is recorded as having been endowed by nature so that by touch and saliva, and sometimes even without these, he healed many kinds of diseases. Moreover, it is recorded that a fragrance issued from Alexander, which in a marvelous way delighted everyone with its sweetness. < The power of the kings of France in scrofulous persons.> Furthermore, the King of France is said to possess by inheritance a power handed down through the hands, so that whoever he touches, when laboring under and afflicted with scrofula, he is able to restore to health. If, then, so many marvelous powers are proclaimed as bestowed by nature upon these men, it must be admitted that the power of fascination is also found by nature in certain men. And since we see the effect, that is, fascination, proceeding from them, the cause too must be judged to lie hidden in them. For this reason it must be thought to come from nature and not from art, because at times we see children also shooting forth the evil eye, who can know no kind of art and are utterly devoid of all knowledge of things acquired through art. Therefore
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Liber I. 49 Ideo hos atque alios complures natura fascinatores nû- cupare possumus. De qualitatibus Fascinantis. Cap. XII. < P > Ræcipua fascinatium ratio, qua ad effa- scinandu[m] efficaciores & vehementiores red- dûtur, est corporu[m] cælestium vis; quæ no[n] ho- minibus tatum, sed brutis animalibus, arbo- ribus, & lapidibus com[m]unicatur, vt diximus. Vnde ho- minum motus, ac taciti consensus, ab huiusmodi virtu- te ad fascinum incitantur. Hæc aute[m] fascinandi vis ho- minibus innata, augeri aliquando potest iuxta animi af- fectus, & perturbationes, quæ sunt impetus, ira, timor, mæror, inuidia, vehemens cupiditas, ac nimius ad qua[m] cunque rem affectus, siue amor, siue odium sit. Si quis enim ad tumultus ciendos natura procliuis existat, vel ex animi proposito prauo quodam more, rixarum a- mator, perturbationum, calumniatum, conuitiorum, contentionum, inimicitiarum, dissidiorum, irarum ex- citator, & inuentor sit; is fascinator omnium validissi- mus habendus est. Et præsertim si adeo iracûdus, ferus, crudelis, furiosus, atque etiam insanus sit, vt iracundiæ, furoris, crudelitatis, insaniæ, impetum frenare non pos- sit: quemadmodum sunt illi, qui, cùm res aliqua ex sen- tentia sibi non succedit, ore frendentes, manibus se se tondentes, pedes supplodentes, atque etiam in Deum cunuicia iactantes, iracundiam, & furore præ se ferunt, omnibus corporis gestibus, instar eorum, qui furijs a- gitantur, ex ore spumam emittentes. Cæterum no[n] præ- termittendum est, quòd humani animi vis, quæ rationis est expers, duplex existit, vt docuimus: Altera quæ G
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Liber I. 49 Therefore we may call these and many others natural fascinators. On the qualities of the Fascinator. Chapter XII. < P > The principal reason for fascination, by which men are made more effective and more vehement in bewitching, is the power of the heavenly bodies; which is communicated not only to human beings, but also to brute animals, trees, and stones, as we have said. Hence the motions of men, and silent consent, are stirred up toward fascination by such a power. But this power of bewitching, innate in men, can sometimes be increased according to the affections and perturbations of the mind, such as impulse, anger, fear, sorrow, envy, vehement desire, and an excessive affection for whatever thing it may be, whether love or hatred. For if someone is naturally inclined to stir up tumults, or from a perverse purpose of mind is by some evil habit a lover of quarrels, an instigator and inventor of disturbances, slanders, insults, disputes, enmities, divisions, and anger; he must be considered the most powerful of all fascinators. And especially if he be so wrathful, savage, cruel, furious, and even insane that he cannot restrain the onset of anger, fury, cruelty, and madness: just as are those who, when something does not turn out to their liking, gnashing their teeth, beating their hands on themselves, stamping their feet, and even hurling curses at God, display anger and fury by all the gestures of the body, like those who are driven by the Furies, emitting foam from their mouths. Moreover, it must not be omitted that the power of the human mind, insofar as it is devoid of reason, exists in a twofold manner, as we have taught: one which G
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irascibilis vocatur, cuius est citò excandescere, & irasci ijs, qui contra nos aliquid ausi sunt; ad quam etiam pertinet inexorabilitas, quæ profectò eo est excandescentis animi perniciosior qualitas, quò est longior, ac diuturnior: Altera est, quæ concupiscibilis vocatur, & ad id quod ipsi iucundum suauéque visum fuerit, præceps fertur, antequam vtiléne sit, atque honestum, an noxium, & turpe animaduertat. Quicunque igitur has animi partes, ad sua obiecta pronas, & in eis exercitatas habet, ille fascinator promptus dici potest. Homo etenim iracundia percitus, ob amorem rabido cani & petulanti apro, vel hirco, vel cuipiam feræ belluæ similis effectus, adeo sese ira & furore inflammat, vt fascinantes oculorum radios virulentia quadam infectos quasi sagittas iaculetur; qui simul atque ad fascinandorum, corpora peruenerint, ea veluti pestilenti tabe inficiunt: & inde est quòd plures foeminas, quàm viros effascinatrices inuenimus; quia irascendi, & concupiscendi animi vim adeo effrenatam habent, vt nullo modo ab ira, & cupiditate sese temperare valeant: quo sit vt illico quauis occasione oblata ira ferueant, & belluarum more truces, ac turbulentos oculos in rem fascinandam figant. Huc accedit, quòd cùm mulieres naturam admodum mutabilem habeant, quidquid molestiæ eis accidit, confestim ab æquanimitate discedunt, humoresque ita conturbati, virulentam qualitatem & exhalationem emittunt; quæ exhalationum congeries, ob noxios cibos, quibus quotidie vescuntur, & ob excrementa perniciosa, quæ expellunt, augeri potest. Singulis quoque mésibus, superfluitatibus repletur, eisque melâcholicus sanguis bullit, ex quo vapores orti, sursum.
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It is called the irascible, whose nature it is to grow quickly hot and to be angry with those who have dared to do something against us; to this also belongs inexorability, which is indeed a quality more harmful to an angered mind the longer and more lasting it is. The other is called the concupiscible, and it is carried headlong toward whatever seems pleasant and agreeable to it, before it notices whether it is useful and honorable, or harmful and shameful. Therefore, whoever has these parts of the mind, inclined toward their own objects and exercised in them, may properly be called an apt enchanter. For a man stirred by anger, through love, becomes like a rabid dog, a wanton boar, or a goat, or any wild beast; he so inflames himself with wrath and fury that he shoots forth his bewitching rays of sight, infected with some venom, as if they were arrows; and as soon as they reach the bodies of those to be bewitched, they infect them as though with a pestilential contagion. And from this it comes that we find more women than men to be enchanters, because they have the power of anger and desire so utterly unrestrained that they are in no way able to hold themselves back from wrath and lust: so it happens that, whenever any occasion is given, they immediately grow fierce with anger, and, like beasts, fix savage and troubled eyes upon the object to be bewitched. To this is added that, since women have a very changeable nature, whatever unpleasant thing happens to them, they straightway depart from equanimity, and the humors thus disturbed emit a noxious quality and exhalation; and this gathering of exhalations may be increased by the harmful foods on which they daily feed, and by the pernicious excrements which they expel. Each month also they are filled with superfluities, and their melancholic blood boils, from which vapors arise upward.
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elati per os, & nares, ac reliquos corporis meatus fluunt, & in obuia quęque effascinatricem qualitatem inijciu[n]t. Quandam igitur auram eructant, qua quibuscu[n]que vo- lunt obesse possunt, & inter eas maximè aniculæ. Deni- que omnes macilenti, & melancholici, qui binas pupil- las in oculis habent, aut in vno oculo geminam pupil- lam, in altero equi effigiem, vt Dydimus ait: quęque ocu- los concauos, ac veluti quibusdam quasi foueis recon- ditos gerunt, exhausto[n]que adeo vniuerso humore, vt ossa, quibus palpebræ cohærét, eminere, hirquęque sor- dibus scatere cernantur; quibus in tota cute, quæ faciem obducit, squallor, & situs immoderatus conspicitur, fa- cillimè fascinant. Strabones quoque, glaucos, micantes, & terribiles oculos habentes, quæcunque fixis, & ira- tis oculis aspiciunt, fascino inficiunt: & ego hisce ocu- lis Romæ, quendam Hispanum genere vidi, quem nominare non licet, qui cùm truculentis oculis, te- tro, atque irato vultu, serum, ob nescio quid obiur- gasset, adeo seruus ille timore, ac terrore perterritus fuit, vt non modò fascino affectus, sed rationis vsu priuatus fuerit, & melancholico humore totum eius corpus inuadente, ita ad insaniam redactus fuit, vt in domo sui heri prope Ecclesiam Diui Iacobi sibi mor- tem consciuerit, & laqueo vitâ finiuerit. Hæ igitur sunt coditiones, quas excogitare, & ex varijs auctoribus col- ligere potui, quibus fascinantes, vehementiùs, ac perni- ciosiùs nocere consueuerunt. Quæ verò arte parat[ur], vt faciliùs officiant, ea recésere in animo n[on] est, cu[m] infinita propè sint: Si quidem Damon pharmacu[m] in Æthiopia esse prodit, cui[us] sudor tabem fascinante[m] corporibus afferat. G ij
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Exhalations, through the mouth and nostrils and the other passages of the body, flow out, and into whatever they encounter they cast a bewitching influence. They therefore belch forth a certain breath by which they can harm whomever they wish, especially old women. And in general all the lean and melancholic, those who have two pupils in the eyes, or in one eye a double pupil and in the other the shape of a horse, as Didymus says; and those who have hollow eyes, as if set back in certain pits, and whose whole moisture has been so exhausted that the bones to which the eyelids are attached stand out, and the lashes are seen to be covered with filth; in whom, over the whole skin that covers the face, a squalid appearance and excessive neglect are visible, most easily bewitch. Cross-eyed men too, and those with grayish, glittering, and terrible eyes, infect with their evil eye whatever they look at with fixed and angry eyes. And I myself in Rome saw with these eyes a certain Spaniard by birth, whose name it is not lawful to mention, who, having with savage eyes and a grim, angry face rebuked a servant, I know not for what reason, that servant was so terrified and struck with fear and dread that he was not only affected by the evil eye, but deprived of the use of reason; and as melancholy humor invaded his whole body, he was brought so far into madness that in his master’s house near the Church of Saint James he took his own life and ended it by a noose. These then are the conditions, which I have been able to devise and gather from various authors, by which those who cast the evil eye have been accustomed to harm more violently and more perniciously. But to go over those things prepared by art, so that they may more easily do harm, is not in my mind, since they are almost infinite. For Damon reports that there is in Ethiopia a certain poisonous substance, whose sweat brings a wasting evil by means of the evil eye upon bodies.
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Horatius quoque nonnulla enumerat, quibus Canidia ad huiusmodi fascinationes, & maleficia vtebatur: Canidia breuibus implicata viperis Veneficarum vis ex Horat. Crines, & incomptum caput, Iubet sepulchris Caprificos erutas, Iubet Cupressus funebres Et vncta turpis ova ranæ sanguine, Plumamque nocturnæ strygis, Herbasque quas & Colchos, atque Iberia Mittit venenorum ferax, Et ossa ab ore rapta ieiunæ canis Flammis aduri Colchicis. Hercules quoque tunica Nessi Cætauri cruore tincta, in tantas furias actus legitur, vt præ doloris impatientia, se- se in OEtamonte combusserit. Sunt & alia huius gene- ris innumera, quæ recensendo, nauleam potiùs pareret, quàm fructum delectationemve vllam afferrent. Qui Fascino magis obnoxij sint. CAP. XIII. VAMVIS fascinu[m] perniciosissima præditu[m] sit qualitate omniu[m] actuarum efficacissima; tamé absq[ue] patiétis aptitudine agere no[n] po- test: in omniu[m] enim [con]gritudinu[m] generatione, præcipuâ partem, vt Aristot. in lib. de Anima tradit, ha- bere videtur, corporis dispositio: tenuis siquidem substâ- tia, crassa faciliùs alteratur. Corpus etia[m] humoribus soli- du[m], proptius virulentâ qualitate[m] iaculatur, quàm ipsum ab eisdem aliquid sibi nociui asciscat. Semper enim huma na corpora respirat, modò spiritu[m] emittendo, modò eû- dem attrahendo: qua reciprocatione vapores intimos, ac fuliginosos exhala[n]t, aereamq[ue] substantia[m] in refrigeratio-
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Horatius also enumerates certain things by which Canidia used to employ such enchantments and evil deeds: Canidia, entangled with short vipers, The powers of witches, from Horace. Her hair and unkempt head, He bids the caprifigs torn from tombs, He bids the funeral cypresses And eggs anointed with the blood of a foul frog, And the feather of a nocturnal strix, And herbs which Colchis and Iberia also Send forth, fertile in poisons, And bones snatched from the mouth of a famished dog To be burned in Colchian flames. Hercules too, when the tunic of Nessus the Centaur was stained with his blood, is read to have been driven into such great madness that, through impatience of pain, he burned himself on Mount Oeta. There are also countless other things of this kind, which, if one were to recount them, would produce boredom rather than bring any profit or pleasure. Who are more subject to the evil eye. CHAPTER XIII. ALTHOUGH the evil eye is endowed with a most pernicious quality and is most effective in all its operations, yet it cannot act without a fit subject: for in the generation of all illnesses, bodily disposition seems to have the principal part, as Aristotle teaches in the book De Anima; a thin substance is altered more easily. A body also solidified by humors more readily darts forth a poisonous quality than admits from those same humors anything harmful to itself. For human bodies are always breathing, now sending out breath, now drawing it in; by this reciprocal action they exhale their inward and smoky vapors, and the aerial substance in cooling...
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Liber I. 53 nem natiui caloris attrahunt. Qui cutis desitate constant no facilè fascino lędutur: na per meatuum raritatem fa- scinans qualitas facillimè ingredi potest, eóque magis si huiusmodi meatus tenui & imbecillo humore repleantur, qui à fascinante vi, nullo negotio superatur. Vnde fascinum expeditam viam inuenit, vt in patiente actionem suam exerceat. Nam sunt nonulli, qui meatus con- clusos habent, & difficillimè à fascino læduntur, quippe qui fascinum non admittunt, nisi priùs ipsorum densi- tate soluat: quæ tamen difficillimè soluitur, quia eorum corpora, etsi rara & mollia sint, humor nihilominus cum partibus siccis firmè colligatus est, & quasi vnum effe- ctus. Meatus itaque patentes habentes facillimè fascino inficiuntur. Ex quo Lucretius ait, < Corpora rara fascino pacetiora suns. > Interiorem etiam partem spirantibus aër Verberat, hic idem cum ducitur atque reflatur. Quare vtrinque secus cum corpus vapulet, & cum Perueniant plagæ per paruæ foramina nobis Corporis ad primas partes, elementaque prima; Fit quasi paulatim nobis per membra ruina. < Versus de corporibus acris obnoxius. > Quanto itaque cordis & arteriarum alicuius hominis natura calidior & rarior erit, tanto citiùs fascinum no- cet: quoniam calidum cor, plus anhelitu attrahit, quàm frigidum; ac viæ latiores sunt in arteriis calidi cordis quàm frigidi, per quas spiritui fascinantis facilior tran- situs patet. Verùm si naturalis caliditas tanta esset, vt fa- scini vim superaret, eam expelleret, & sic nocumentum arceret. Corpus etiam frigida, & sicca natura præditum, fascini viribus resistit, nihilque in se ingredi sinit, prius- quàm ipsum ex aliqua parte diuisum sit, ac veluti exul- ceratum. Econtrà humidi & calidi corporis natura ce- G. iij
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Liber I. 53 They draw in the innate heat. Those whose skin is dense are not easily injured by the evil eye; for because of the rarity of the passages, the bewitching quality can very easily enter, and all the more if such passages are filled with a thin and weak humor, which is easily overcome by the power of the sorcerer. Whence the evil eye finds an easy path, so that it may exert its action upon the patient. For there are some who have closed passages and are very difficultly harmed by the evil eye, namely those in whom it cannot be admitted unless their density is first dissolved; yet this is dissolved only with the greatest difficulty, because their bodies, although rare and soft, nevertheless contain the humor firmly bound with the dry parts, and as it were made one effect. Therefore those having open passages are most easily infected by the evil eye. Whence Lucretius says, < Rare bodies are more peaceful to the evil eye. > The air also strikes the inner part of those who breathe, when it is drawn in and when it is breathed out. Wherefore, since the body is battered on both sides, and since the blows reach us through small openings to the first parts of the body, and to the primary elements, there comes, as it were, a gradual collapse through our limbs. < Verses concerning bodies exposed to the air. > Therefore, the hotter and rarer the nature of a man’s heart and arteries is, the sooner the evil eye harms him; for a warm heart draws in more breath than a cold one, and the passages in the arteries of a warm heart are wider than in those of a cold one, through which the spirit of the sorcerer has a freer passage. But if the natural heat were so great that it overcame the force of the evil eye, it would expel it and thus ward off the injury. A body endowed with a cold and dry nature also resists the powers of the evil eye, and allows nothing to enter into it before it has first been divided in some part, and, as it were, ulcerated. On the other hand, the nature of a humid and hot body is...
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54 DE FASCINO lerrimè alteratur; quippe quę fascini qualitate percepta, in tabidam mutatur naturam; vt sunt pueri, qui tenelli & < Pueri fascino obnoxij.> calidi, atq[ue] humidi existentes fascino facillimè inficiuntur; eóque magis quo elegantiores & venustiores sunt. < Forma & venustas fascino patens.> Omnia enim egregia ac decora, inuidentium fascinatorum animis citiùs exposita sunt: idcirco quæcunque venustatem, decorem & elegantiam quandam habent, in magno sunt periculo, ne fascinétur. Vt sunt quoque decori & pulchri iuuenes, ingenio & natura diuites, venustæ mulieres, opimæ pecudes, equi aspectu delectabiles, < Narratio de quodam perniciosumoculum habente.> lætæ segetes, pulchræ arbores. Quapropter quidam amicus mihi narrauit, se quendam qui oculum fascinantem habebat, vidisse, qui cùm in lapidarij cuiusda[m] manibus, pretiosum lapidem miro artificio politum animaduertisset, ac fixis oculis cum contemplatus esset, nulla interposita mora lapis ille ex seipso in duas partes diuisus & contractus fuit. Nihil ergo elegans, & visu iucundu[m] à fascini potestate immune ac liberum esse arbitrantur: sic etiam præpotentes, & in excelso loco constituti, in magno < Amatorio fascino qui citiùs obnoxij> sunt fascini patiendi periculo. Amatorio fascino illi præsertim inficiuntur, qui ex altera parte sanguinei, ex altera cholerici videntur, qui amplos, nitetes & glaucos oculos habet, quicque castè viuere solent, ne frequeti coitus visu, humor euacuetur. Hi namque frequetissimo aspectu, vehementi & continua imaginatione, ex apto interuallo radios cum radiis, & lumina cum luminibus coniungentes, vltrò citróque intuitu commeante, amatorio fascino afficiuntur, vnde se nequeunt postmodum liberare. Et tanta est huius fascini vis, talisque natura, vt nullum virus tantum incendium in medullis ac præcordiis amantium excitet, vt Apuleius est auctor.
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54 On Fascination The humor is altered; for, once the quality of fascination has been perceived, it is changed into a wasting nature. Such are children, who, being tender and <Children subject to fascination.> warm, and humid, are very easily infected by fascination; and the more so the more elegant and graceful they are. <Form and beauty exposed to fascination.> For all excellent and beautiful things are more quickly exposed to the minds of envious enchanters: therefore whatever has a certain grace, beauty, and elegance is in great danger of being fascinated. Such also are handsome and beautiful young men, those rich in talent and nature, graceful women, well-fed cattle, horses delightful to the eye, <A story about someone who had a baneful eye.> happy crops, beautiful trees. For which reason a friend of mine told me that he had seen a certain man who had a fascinating eye, who, when he noticed in the hands of a lapidary a precious stone polished with marvelous artistry, and had contemplated it with fixed eyes, without any delay that stone was of itself divided into two parts and contracted. Therefore they think that nothing elegant and pleasing to the sight is free and immune from the power of fascination: thus even those who are very powerful and placed in an exalted position are in great <Those most quickly liable to amorous fascination> danger of suffering fascination. Those especially are infected by amorous fascination who seem on the one hand sanguine, on the other choleric, who have broad, sparkling, and gray-blue eyes, and who are accustomed to live chastely, lest by frequent intercourse, in seeing, the humor be exhausted. For these, by most frequent gazing, by vehement and continuous imagination, from a suitable distance, joining rays with rays and lights with lights, as sight passes back and forth, are affected by amorous fascination, from which they are afterward unable to free themselves. And so great is the power of this fascination, and such its nature, that no poison excites such a fire in the marrow and the inmost parts of lovers, as Apuleius is the author of this statement.
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L I B E R I. 55 De Amuletis hebetantibus & auferentibus fascinum. CAP. XIII. < Cur nunc de amuletis agas> POSTQVAM omnes dubitationes quæ de fascinatione moueri consueuerunt, discussi- mus, eásque iuxta naturaliu[m] Philosophorum opinionem determinauimus, operæ pretium esse duxi, vt amuleta quæ fascini vires, & noxia quæque atq[ue] homini infesta amoliuntur ac depellût, subiiciam. Vt enim quis lethali epoto veneno, paruo temporis in- teruallo perit, veneni qualitate & non copia interitum afferente, nisi confestim ægrotanti remedium afferatur: < Fascino citò obstandum.> ita fascino correptus, celerem mortem obire cogitur, si amuletis citò non adiuetur. Priscoru[m] Philosophorum sedulitas contra fascinationes certo determinatóq[ue] re- medio non vtebatur: nam quidam peculiari orationis ceremonia fascinatoribus occurrebant, Græca[m] Neme- sim inuocantes, cui ob id Romæ in Capitolio simula- crum erectu[m] est: alij frontis Hyenæ corium fascino resi- stere credebant: nonnulli sinistræ, dextræque claudica- tionis occursu, fascinantiu[m] malitiam decipiebat. Alij pal- marum lignu[m] in pomo osceu[m], dente limatu[m] contra fasci- nationes policbant, aut satyrion sumebant, quæ Orchis cognominatur, & foemina esse creditur; quæque inter- nodiis ramosiore frutice & radice distinguitur. Diosco- < Dioscoridis & Democri- ti amuleta contra fasci- num.> rides alyssum in domo suspensum salutare amuletu[m] ho- minibus & quadrupedibus contra fascinationes esse re- fert. Arist. fascinationis amuletu[m] rutam cēset. Democri- tus Abderites Catochitis lapidis gestatione vel ostesio- ne frequêter contra fascinu[m] vtebatur, quo etia[m] explora- bat occulta[m] naturæ vim in certaminibus, quæ cõtra Ma- gos habuit. Quidâ non spernendi autores inter amuleta. < Ruta mede- tur fascino.>
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L I B E R I. 55 On Amulets that dull and remove the evil eye. CHAP. XIII. <Why amulets are now discussed> AFTER we had examined all the doubts that are usually raised concerning fascination, and had determined them according to the opinion of the natural philosophers, I thought it worthwhile to set forth the amulets which remove the powers of the evil eye, and all harmful things that are hostile to man and drive them away. For just as a person who has swallowed a deadly poison dies after a short interval of time, death being caused by the nature of the poison and not by its quantity, unless a remedy be promptly brought to the sufferer: <The evil eye must be resisted quickly.> so too one afflicted by fascination is compelled to die a swift death, if he is not quickly aided by amulets. The diligence of the ancient philosophers did not make use of any certain and fixed remedy against fascinations: for some met enchanters with a special ceremonial of prayer, invoking the Greek Nemesis, to whom for that reason a statue was erected at Rome in the Capitol; others believed that the skin of a hyena’s forehead resisted fascination; others deceived the malice of the enchanters by the meeting of a limp of the left and right side. Others held as a protection against fascinations palm wood in a wooden apple, smoothed with a file, or took satyrion, which is also called orchis, and is believed to be female; and it is distinguished by more branching stem-joints and by the root. Dioscorides reports that alyssum hung in the house is a healthful amulet for men and four-footed animals against fascinations. Aristotle considers rue an amulet against fascination. Democritus the Abderite frequently used the carrying or displaying of the stone catochites against the evil eye, by which he also tested the hidden power of nature in contests that he had against magicians. Some authors not to be despised among amulets. <Rue cures fascination.>
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DE FASCINO < Expuere in propriam vrinam salubre est contra fascinum.> connumerant in editam vrinam expuere, & similiter in dextri pedis calceamentum, antequàm induatur. Quod etiam salutare esse aiunt, cùm quis per locum aliquem transit, in quo periculum sibi imminere veretur. Nec desunt, qui hyssopum, vel lilium aut vngulam magnæ, vt vocitant, bestiæ secum ferant. Mulieres si pueros malum contraxisse conspexerint, eos thure suffumigant, & lapides pretiosos, vt Hyacinthum, Sapphirum, Carbunculum circa collum suspendunt: aërem instaurant, odoratas suffumigationes parando, aquis irrorando, cinnamomum, ambram, & cætera id genus adhibendo. Roma verò cùm ob fascinum pestilentia aut graui morbo laboraret, hoc pacto ciuium saluti Consules consulebant, Dictatorem ex seniorum memoria repetitum creabant, qui clauum in dextero lapide ædis Iouis Opt. Max. in Capitolio figebat, & statim pestilentia, quæ nec diuina ope nec humanis cōsiliis depelli poterat, discede bat, vt euenit quando hac de causa L. Mâlius Dictator creatus fuit. Apud Historicos side dignos legimus, cùm Romanæ aliquot matronæ de veneficiis damnatæ fuissent, Dictatoré clauum fixisse, vt mentes alienatæ sui cōpotes fierent. Simili memoria ex Annalibus repetita, claui figendi causa, Dictator creatus Cn. Quintilius fuit, qui fixo item clauo, eo piaculo ciuiu[m] mentes sui cōpotes fecit, discordésque animos conciliauit. Prætermitto amuleta quibus venatores vtutur, innumera enim propè sunt: & inter alia quercûs fruticem medium findere solent, ac per ipsum tum canes, tum venatores ipsi transeunt, quo facto fascinum dirimere sese opinantur. Diuus August. de Ciuit. Dei lib. 7. cap. 12. referens turpitudines quas Libero deo tribuebant antiqui, ait, Liberi membro
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ON THE EVIL EYE < Spitting into one’s own urine is a remedy against the evil eye.> They also count among these practices spitting into urine that has been drawn up, and likewise into the right shoe before it is put on. They say that it is also salutary when someone passes through a place in which he fears danger is threatening him. Nor are there those who carry with them hyssop, or lily, or the hoof of the great beast, as they call it. If women see that boys have contracted some ill, they fumigate them with incense, and suspend precious stones, such as the hyacinth, sapphire, and carbuncle, around the neck: they restore the air by preparing fragrant fumigations, sprinkling with waters, using cinnamon, amber, and other things of that kind. But at Rome, when by reason of the evil eye it was suffering from pestilence or severe disease, the consuls took counsel for the health of the citizens in this way: they appointed a dictator, revived from the memory of the elders, who drove a nail into the right stone of the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitol, and immediately the pestilence, which could not be repelled by divine aid nor by human counsel, departed, as happened when, for this reason, L. Mælius was appointed dictator. From trustworthy historians we read that, when several Roman matrons had been condemned for poisoning, the dictator fixed the nail so that minds that had been estranged might be restored to themselves. From the Annals the same memory is recalled: for the purpose of driving the nail, Cn. Quintilius was appointed dictator, who likewise, after the nail was fixed, by that expiation restored the citizens’ minds to themselves and reconciled divided spirits. I pass over the amulets used by hunters, for they are almost innumerable: and among other things they are accustomed to split open the middle of an oak bush, and through it both the dogs and the hunters themselves pass; by doing this, they think the evil eye is averted. St. Augustine, City of God , book 7, chapter 12, relating the indecencies which the ancients attributed to the god Liber, says, the member of Liber
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Liber I. 57 membro inhonesto matrem familiâs honestissimâ pa- làm coronam necesse erat imponere: sed videlicet sic Liber deus placâdus fuerat pro euentibus seminum: sic ab agris fascinatio repellêda, vt matrona hoc facere co- geretur in publico. Contra amatoria quoque fascina, diuersa amuletorum genera parari consueuerunt: nam Athenis inualuit vsus, vt antequàm noua nupta mariti domu[m] ingrederetur, oleo & adipe suillo, vel lupino po- stes inungerentur, ne quid perniciosæ pestis in domum irreperet. Quod Magorum commentum fuisse ferunt, quemadmodum etiam felle nigri canis suffitas domos habere, & genitale sub limine desodere, salutare contra amatoria fascina arbitrati sunt. Puluerem in quo se mu- la voluntauerit, corpori inspersum mitigare amoris ar- dores Plinius refert. Cyzici fontem Cupidinis inueniri, ex quo potantes amore deponant, Mutianus existimat. In dextro ranæ latere, quæ Rubeta vocatur, officulum inueniri aiunt, quo amor inhibetur. Chameleontis ieci- nore amatoria dissolui ex Democriti sententia traditur. Nonnulli amoris fascinum sic hebetandum consent: vi- sus est amouendus, ne oculoru[m] acies cum aliorum ocu- lis adiungamus, neve lumina cum luminibus copulen- tur: vnde namque amoris pestem nobis adsciuimus, il- linc causam remouendo remedium sumendum est. Id- circo omnis consuetudo est remouenda, otium tollen- dum, grauioribus curis animus adhibendus, sanguis e- mittendus. Omnia etiam excrementa per sudorem ci- cienda sunt. Et quoniam rei amatæ imago, & similitu- do, quæ noctes atque dies ob oculos nobis obuersatur, nos effascinatos habet, ideo in grauiorem aliam curam, magisque anxiam animus est distrahendus, quousque H
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Liber I. 57 It was necessary for the mother of the household, though most respectable, to publicly place the crown on an unworthy member; but apparently in this way the god Liber had been appeased for the outcomes of the seeds: thus fascination was to be driven away from the fields, even if a matron was compelled to do this in public. Against amatory spells too, various kinds of amulets used to be prepared; for at Athens the custom prevailed that, before a new bride entered her husband’s house, the posts would be anointed with oil and pig’s lard, or with lupine, lest some destructive plague should creep into the house. They say this was the contrivance of Magi, just as they also thought it salutary against amatory spells to have houses fumigated with the gall of a black dog, and to bury a genitale under the threshold. Pliny relates that dust in which a mule has rolled itself, sprinkled on the body, relieves the heat of love. Mutianus thinks that at Cyzicus a spring of Cupid can be found, from which those who drink lay aside love. They say that in the right side of a frog, called Rubeta, a small bone can be found, by which love is checked. According to the opinion of Democritus, amatory spells are dissolved by the liver of a chameleon. Some agree that the spell of love is to be blunted in this way: the sight must be removed, so that we do not join our eyes with the eyes of others, nor unite lights with lights; for from the place where we discovered the plague of love, there we must take the remedy by removing the cause. Therefore all familiarity must be removed, idleness eliminated, the mind occupied with heavier cares, and blood let. All bodily wastes must also be expelled by sweat. And since the image and likeness of the loved one, which night and day is before our eyes, keeps us under a spell, the mind must therefore be drawn off to a more serious and more anxious concern, until...
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DE FASCINO 58 insidens illa mētis cogitatio ac feruor intepescat. Quod Lucretius hisce versibus aperit: <De visando amore versus.> Sed fugitare decet simulacra & pabula amoris Absterrere sibi, atque aliò conuertere mentem, Atque iacere amorem collectum in corpora quæque. <Amor fame vel tempore sedatur.> Crates Thebanus de amore sic dixisse fertur. Amorem fame sedari, sin minus tempore: quòd si duo hæc non suffecerint, ad laqueum est accedendum: ad quæ Poëta Ausonius respexit, cùm de amantium dementia loqueretur. <Remedium postremum amantium, laqueus. Chaldaeorum amuletum Iustina amati adhibe[n]tu.> Simili quoque remedio Chaldæi in Iustina Antonini Imperatoris filia, & Marci Philosophi vxore vtendum consuluerunt, vt si eam à gladiatoris amore, quem deperibat, liberare vellent, gladiatoris occisi sanguinem bibendum traderent, & statim cum viro suo concumberet, quo peracto, illicò liberatam legimus: Sed quoniam de amore abolendo Cadmus Milesius, Samocratius Nigidius, & Ouidius, aliique scripserunt, hac de causa præsenti sermoni finem imponimus. Et hæc de fascino, quo ad Philosophorum sententiam dicta sufficiant. <Amoris remedia qui scripserunt.>
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ON FASCINATION 58 that the thought and ardor of the mind, once fixed there, may grow cool. Lucretius explains this in these verses: <Verses on avoiding love.> But it is fitting to flee from images and the food of love, To repel them from oneself and turn the mind elsewhere, And to cast away love gathered into whatever bodies. <Love is allayed by hunger or by time.> Crates of Thebes is said to have spoken thus concerning love. That love is assuaged by hunger, or if not by time; but if these two are not enough, one must resort to the halter: and the poet Ausonius alluded to this when speaking of the madness of lovers. <The last remedy for lovers: the halter. The amulet of the Chaldeans for Justina the beloved is applied.> By a similar remedy the Chaldeans also advised that it should be used in the case of Justina, daughter of Emperor Antoninus and wife of Marcus the Philosopher, so that if they wished to free her from the love of the gladiator whom she passionately desired, they should have her drink the blood of a slain gladiator, and immediately lie with her husband; and when this had been done, we read that she was at once freed. But since Cadmus of Miletus, Samocratius, Nigidius, Ovid, and others have written about the eradication of love, we bring this present discourse to an end for that reason. And let these things be enough concerning fascination, according to the opinion of the philosophers. <Those who wrote on remedies for love.>
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LEONARDI VAIRI SANCTÆ SOPHIÆ BENEVENTANÆ, ORDINIS SANCTI BENEDICTI, Canonici Regularis, & eiusdem Abbatiae Prioris, ac Sacræ Theologiæ Doctoris, DE FASCINO, LIBER II. Qua via, quibusve principiis de Fascino determinandum sit. CAPVT PRIMVM. < Ardua est veritatis indagatio. > A V D facilè credi & existimari potest, rerum omnium quæ in dubitationem veniunt, quàm arduum ac difficile sit veritatem inuenire: nam simul atque nostro intellectui sese res anceps offert, nulla tam paruæ dubitationis videtur, quin pro & contra de ea re verisimiliter disputari possit. Hinc priscoru[m] < Nullius rei veritas inueniri potest. > Philosophorum nonnulli credendi occasionem sumpserunt, nullius rei veritatem reperiri posse, rei que cuiuslibet opinionem tatum, non scientiam haberi. Quæ quidem sententia licet illis temporibus à peritorum hominum scholis fuerit explosa, ac penitus exsibilata, H ij
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LEONARD VAIRI OF HOLY SOPHIA OF BENEVENTO, OF THE ORDER OF SAINT BENEDICT, Canon Regular, and Prior of the same Abbey, and Doctor of Sacred Theology, ON THE FASCINATION, BOOK II. By what way, and by what principles, the Fascination is to be determined. CHAPTER ONE. < The investigation of truth is arduous. > AND it can easily be believed and judged, of all matters which come into doubt, how arduous and difficult it is to find the truth: for as soon as a doubtful matter presents itself to our intellect, there is none so slight in doubt that arguments cannot probably be made for and against it. Hence some of the ancient < The truth of no thing can be found. > Philosophers took occasion to believe that the truth of nothing can be discovered, and that for any thing whatsoever there is held only opinion, not knowledge. Which opinion, although in those times it was rejected by the schools of learned men, and utterly hissed out,
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DE FASCINO 60 nihilominus quam plurimi de natura conquesti sunt, quòd rerum medullas adeo abscóditas teneat, menda- cúsqque refertas nobis ostédat. < Veritate inueniendi spe qui abiecerus> Quinimo non pauci fue- runt, qui omni veritate inueniendi spe amissa, sese iner- tiæ tradiderunt (vt de Democrito & Epicuro scriptum legimus) casu vitam degentes, & omnium euentoru[m] cul- pam, naturæ adscribètes. Plerique etiam rerum difficul- tate perterrefacti, quidquid dicebatur, credebant, & in quamlibet sententiam, quasi maris fluctibus traheban- tur. Non igitur mirum cuiquam videri debet, si de rebus quarum causæ omnem humaná intelligentiam fugiùt, variæ apud Philosophos fuerint sentétiæ. Vnde factum sit, vt inter alia, tot opiniones de fascino haberentur, quot in præcedenti libro ostendimus. Cuius profectò varietatis ratio reddi potest, quia hominum intellectus, qui artium & sciétiarum principium est, Dei Opt. Max. imago & similitudo est: in quo vt in perfectionis prin- cipio & fine complementum reperitur. Et quoniam an- tiqui Philosophi huius immesi & infiniti principij fon- tem & originem omnis veritatis continentis perfectam cognitionem non habuerunt, hinc euenit vt veluti cæ- ci modò hanc, modò illam, de qualibet re sentetiam di- cerent, ignotæ immensitatis imaginem præ se ferentes, & veritatis scopu[m] non attingentes. At nos quibus Deus suum sermonem manifestauit, qui ab omni falsitate pu- rus est, & omni obscuritati lucem affert, de quacunque re certam indubitámqque sententiam eius innixi au- ctoritati, proferre possumus, vt Lactantius lib.1. diui. In- stitut. ait: & Augustin. libr. 2. super Genesim. Maior est sacræ Scripturæ auctoritas, quàm omnis humani inge- nij perspicacitas, Et D. Hieronym. in illis verbis Psalm. < Antiquoru[m] philosophoru[m] allucinatio vnde.> < cuius humano indicio Scripturæ autoritas anteponenda.>
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DE FASCINO 60 Nonetheless, very many have complained about nature, because it keeps the innards of things so hidden and shows them to us full of lies. <Those who have abandoned the hope of finding truth> Indeed, not a few have been those who, after all hope of finding the truth was lost, gave themselves over to indolence (as we read was written of Democritus and Epicurus), living life by chance and attributing the fault for all events to nature. Many also, terrified by the difficulty of things, believed whatever was said and were carried about into any opinion, as though by the waves of the sea. Therefore it should not seem surprising to anyone if, concerning matters whose causes escape all human understanding, various opinions have existed among the philosophers. Hence it came about that, among other things, there were as many opinions about fascination as we showed in the preceding book. The reason for this variety can indeed be given: because the intellect of man, which is the beginning of the arts and sciences, is the image and likeness of God Most High, in whom, as in the principle and end of perfection, fulfillment is found. And since the ancient philosophers did not have a complete knowledge of the fountain and origin of this immense and infinite principle, which contains all truth, it resulted that, like the blind, they now gave one opinion, now another, about any matter at all, bearing before themselves the image of an unknown immensity and not attaining the mark of truth. But we, to whom God has revealed his word, which is pure from all falsehood and brings light to all obscurity, can, relying on its authority, set forth a certain and unquestionable judgment on any matter whatever, as Lactantius says in book 1 of the Divine Institutes; and Augustine in book 2 on Genesis. “The authority of Sacred Scripture is greater than all the sharpness of human ingenuity.” And St. Jerome, in those words of the Psalm: <The delusion of the ancient philosophers from where.> <by human judgment the authority of Scripture is to be preferred.>
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Liber II. 61 < Hieronymi sententia de summa Bibliorum auctoritate.> Adipe frumenti satiat te; Pinguissimus est sermo diuinus: quidquid vis ex sermone diuino nascitur; idé omnes sacrarum literarum expositores profitentur. Hac de causa diuino fretus auxilio, sacrarumque literarum auctoritate suffultus, veris quoque Philosophiæ principijs vtendo, fascini veritatem aperiendam, & citatas de eo opiniones, confutandas & declarandas aggredior, vt veritate patefacta, clarum, apertumque sit, quàm vana ac malè cohærentia veterum Philosophorum principia fuerint, quámque à veritatis scopo aberraverint, qui eos secuti sunt, rerum causas propiùs non perscrutando, sed tantùm illorum vanæ auctoritati innitendo. Non enim < Philosophia non sancum tribuendum quantum veritati.> is sum, qui auctorum vetustati, nimia captus credulitate, tantum tribuam, vt de hac re pertractaturus supremum, & validissimum locum, ab Ethnicorum Philosophorum auctoritate sumendum censeam: alienæ assertioni < Mortuis non insultandum.> qualicunque plus fidens, quàm certissimæ rationi. Nam licèt vita functorum sententiis, nescio quid singularis indulgentiæ debeatur, eúsque refragari non liceat, ne per inuidiam, aut insolentiam id fieri eredatur, iuxta illud Ouidianum: Pascitur in viuos liuor, post fata quiescit: < Ouid. versus.> Et improbè facere videatur qui in alieno opere ingeniosus sit; nihilominus apud me plus ponderis & auctoritatis veritas ipsa habet, quàm speciosa voluminum inscriptio, & auctoru vetustas. Cæterùm ne tempus frustrà conteramus, ad rem deueniemus. H iii
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Liber II. 61 < Jerome’s opinion on the highest authority of the Bible.> He satisfies you with the fat of wheat; the divine word is most rich: whatever you wish arises from the divine word; all interpreters of the sacred writings profess this. For this reason, relying on divine help, and supported by the authority of the sacred writings, using also the true principles of Philosophy, I proceed to lay open the truth of witchcraft, and to refute and explain the opinions cited concerning it, so that, truth having been made manifest, it may be clear how vain and how ill-connected were the principles of the ancient Philosophers, and how far from the goal of truth they were who followed them, not by more carefully examining the causes of things, but only by relying on their empty authority. For I am not one who, captivated by excessive credulity, would assign so much to the antiquity of authors that, when this matter is to be treated, I should think the highest and strongest place ought to be taken from the authority of the Ethnic Philosophers: trusting more to another’s assertion, of whatever kind, than to most certain reason. For although some special indulgence is due to the opinions of those who have departed this life, and one may not contradict them, lest it be thought to arise from envy or insolence, according to the Ovidian line: Pascitur in viuos liuor, post fata quiescit: < Ovid’s verse.> And although he may seem to act improperly who is ingenious at another’s expense, nevertheless with me truth itself has more weight and authority than the fair-sounding title of a book, and the antiquity of its author. But, lest we waste time in vain, let us come to the matter. H iii
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DE FASCINO De causæ, ac Fascini diuisione. CAP. II. < Quidquid est, causam habes.> ANTEQVAM ad vlteriora descendamus, pro clariori eorum quæ dicturi sumus notitia, non est ignorandum, quòd quidquid in mundo sit, causam, ex qua oriatur, habeat necesse est: quæ quidem causa, vel Deus est, vel Angelus bonus, vel malus, aut homo, aut aliquid aliud, à Deo agendi vim habens, aut est causa merè naturalis. Fascinum præterea multis consueuit vsurpari modis. Primo < Rerum causæ diuersæ.> pro exitiali dæmonum actione: secundo pro magica ludificatione: tertio pro inuidia: quarto pro inuidentia: < Fascinu[m] multiplicetur vjurpatur.> quinto pro eo quòd aliqui homines ita sunt à natura procreati, vt ex oculis, naribus, faucibus, exitialem qualitatem spiratibus, interitum, aut malum quodlibet inferant: sexto, pro tetro, atque horribili turpis hominis, aut aniculæ intuitu, quo timor alicui incutitur; cuius causa ille in morbum incidit: septimo pro qualibet naturali, aut voluntaria actione, cùm quis certæ rei imaginatione, visu, voce, aut aliis instrumentis obest. His diuisionibus sic notatis, fascinum esse, quemadmodum primo Cap. libri primi ostendimus, nô negamus; sed ipsum reperiri iuxta tot tætorumque Philosophoru[m] auctoritates fatemur. Cæterùm ex qua causa fiat, & sub < Fascinum esse faterur autor.> qua fascinationis distinctione accipiendu[m] sit, demonstrandum est. Et quoniam in fascini distinctione aliquæ particulæ ipsum costituentes positę fuerunt, quibus natura & voluntate fieri ostenditur; quæ profectò natura & voluntas in vltimo causæ, & fascini modo à nobis prænotatæ sunt; idcirco illæ partes priùs examinandæ sunt, quibus cognitis postea facilè colligere liceat ex
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ON FASCINATION On the division of causes and Fascination. CHAP. II. < Whatever it is, you have its cause.> BEFORE we descend to further matters, for a clearer understanding of what we are about to say, it must not be ignored that whatever there may be in the world must necessarily have a cause from which it arises: and this cause is either God, or a good angel, or an evil one, or man, or something else having from God the power of action, or else it is a merely natural cause. Moreover, fascination is commonly used in many senses. First, < Various causes of things.> for the deadly action of demons; second, for magical deception; third, for envy; fourth, for ill-wishing; < Fascination is used in many senses.> fifth, for the fact that certain men are so generated by nature that from their eyes, nostrils, or throats they breathe forth a baneful quality, bringing destruction or any other evil; sixth, for the grim and horrible glance of an ugly man or old woman, by which fear is struck into someone; as a result of which that person falls ill; seventh, for any natural or voluntary action, when someone by the imagination, sight, voice, or other instruments of a certain thing does harm. These divisions thus noted, we do not deny that fascination exists, as we showed in the first chapter of the first book; rather, we confess that it is found according to the many and weighty authorities of philosophers. However, from what cause it comes about, and under < The author admits that fascination exists.> what distinction of fascination it should be understood, must be shown. And since in the division of fascination certain particulars composing it have been set down, by which it is shown to be brought about by nature and by will, and since that nature and will have indeed been noted by us in the last mode of cause and of fascination; therefore those parts must first be examined, so that once they are known it may afterwards be easy to infer from them
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L I B E R II. 63 qua causa fascinu[n] nascatur, & sub quo diuisionis mem- bro contine[n]tur. Prima pars fascinum diffiniens, est imaginatio ipsa, cuius vim, atque naturam discutere, ac ventilare exordiemur. Imaginationis natura, ac munus declaratur, miniméque per eam Fascinum fieri posse ostenditur. CAP. III. VMANVS animus dum intra corpus est, idque viuificat, res que à sensibus percipiuntur, intelli- gere nequaqua[m] potest, nisi phatamatibus inter- mediis, quæ per imaginatione intellectui offeruntur: & licèt nostri intellectus munus sit, non res singulares sed vniuersales directè cognoscere, nihilominus illarum re- rum cognitionem assequi nullo pacto potest, nisi phan- tasmatu[m], hoc est particulariu[m] specierum simulacra sibi repræsentet. Si quidé anima, etsi omnia intelligere po- tis est, cùm omnibus reru[m] speciebus imbui apta sit, atq[ue] omnia fieri, vt in libris de anima Aristot. fatetur; nihilom- minus quia corporis mole circundata, du[m] hîc viuimus, graueatur, sensibus vtitur, quoru[m] vsu ad intelligendu[m] ve- hementer indiget. Hinc factum est, vt animæ potentia, quæ imaginatiua appellatur, in fascini diffinitione poneretur. Vnde bruta animantia, prætermisso natu- ræ impetu de quo in præsenti agere non intendimus, nihil omnino efficere posse videmus, si à sensibilium rerum speciebus, in imaginatione existentibus non excitentur. Et quemadmodum animus res præsentes per rerum sensibilium species intelligit, sic eadem, res absentes imaginationis virtute, veluti in tabula depictas percipit. Dicitur autem hæc animi potentia phantasia
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L I B E R II. 63 by what cause fascinum is born, and under what member of the division it is contained. The first part, defining fascinum, is imagination itself, whose power and nature we shall begin to examine and investigate. The nature and office of imagination are declared, and it is shown that by it Fascinum can in no way be brought about. CAP. III. The human mind, while it is within the body and gives it life, cannot in any way understand things that are perceived by the senses unless by intermediate phantasms, which are offered to the intellect through imagination: and although it is the function of our intellect to know directly not singular things but universal things, nevertheless it can by no means attain knowledge of those things unless it represents to itself phantasms, that is, images of particular forms. For if the soul, though it is capable of understanding all things, since it is apt to be imbued with all the species of things and to become all things, as Aristotle admits in the books On the Soul; nevertheless, because it is surrounded by the mass of the body, while we live here, it is weighed down, it makes use of the senses, the use of which it greatly needs for understanding. Hence it came about that the power of the soul, which is called imaginative, was placed in the definition of fascinum. Wherefore we see that brute animals, apart from the natural impulse, of which we do not intend to treat at present, can accomplish nothing at all unless they are stirred by the species of sensible things existing in the imagination. And just as the mind understands present things through the species of sensible things, so it perceives absent things through the power of imagination, as though depicted on a tablet. Now this power of the mind is called phantasia
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64 DE FASCINO <Phantassæ c- tymon.> à verbo Græco phantizo, quod est imaginor latinè: sensibilium quoque retum status hæc imaginatrix vis, à nonnullis appellatur: Nam ea quæ sensibus percipiuntur, in sensibus externis non remanent, sed vt Themistio placet, passio sensuum, est instar celerrimæ percussionis, quæ, nullo vibicis vestigio relictio, traniscursim <Themistij similitudo de sensuum perceptione.> corpus percutit: Imaginationis autem passio, est veluti anuli in cera impressio, quæ anulo remoto, anuli simulachrum seruat. Et hac ratione quia apparétium formarum status est, imaginationis nomen obtinuit: idque non immeritò, siquidem ratio aliquando vino, aliquando somno, aut morbo, vel extasi consopitur, & tûc imaginatio vigilat, quæ hominem, vt nociua fugiat, ac sibi commoda sequatur, excitat. Imaginationis verò natura, <Definitio imaginationis.> ab Aristot. in libris de anima diffinitur, quòd sit motus secundum actum à sensu: vbi motum pro actione sumit, quæ subita quædam mutatio est, & pro termino motus, hoc est, pro quantitate, & qualitate, ratione augmenti, <Anima quid ex Plas.> & alterationis. Hæc notificatio diffinitioni à Platone de anima traditæ conuenit, qui animâ motum esse asseruit. Alex. Aphrodisiens. quoq; ait: Imaginatio <Imaginatio quid ex Aphrodisensi.> est motio à sensu in actu profecta. Nec ab ea Diuus Damascenus abhorret, qui lib. 2. de side cap. 7. ita inquit, <Imag. quid ex Dam.> Imaginatio vis est irrationalis, quæ sensuum adminiculo operatur. Plato in sophistam dixit, imaginatione esse simulachrorum magistram: Námque imaginatio multa <Imaginatio quid ex Plas.> phantasmata excogitat, & ob id Plato imitationem phantastico adscripsit: etenim vt pictores rerum imagines <Pictorum & histrionum comparatio.> penicillo effingentes imaginatione vtuntur, sic mimos, & histriones persona, voce, ac gestu in scenis diuersos hominum mores imitari videmus; quos priùs imaginatione
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64 ON FASCINATION <Phantassæ c- tymon.> From the Greek verb phantizo, which in Latin is imaginor, this imaginative power is also called by some the state of sensible things. For those things which are perceived by the senses do not remain in the external senses, but, as Themistius thinks, the affection of the senses is like the most rapid striking of a body, which, leaving no trace of a mark, passes through it in an instant. <Themistii similitudo de sensuum perceptione.> But the affection of imagination is as though the impression of a ring in wax, which, when the ring is removed, preserves the likeness of the ring. And for this reason, because it is the state of appearing forms, it has obtained the name imagination; and not without reason, since reason is sometimes put to sleep by wine, sometimes by sleep, or by illness, or by ecstasy, and then imagination keeps watch, rousing man to shun what is harmful and to follow what is beneficial to himself. The nature of imagination, however, <Definitio imaginationis.> is defined by Aristotle in the books On the Soul, that it is a motion according to act from sense: where he takes motion for action, which is a certain sudden change, and as the term of motion, that is, as quantity and quality, in respect of increase and <Anima quid ex Plas.> alteration. This description agrees with the definition handed down by Plato concerning the soul, who asserted that the soul is motion. Alexander of Aphrodisias also says: <Imaginatio quid ex Aphrodisensi.> Imagination is a motion proceeding in act from sense. Nor does Saint John Damascene disagree with it, who in book 2, On the Orthodox Faith, chapter 7, says thus, <Imag. quid ex Dam.> Imagination is an irrational power which operates with the aid of the senses. Plato said in the Sophist that imagination is the mistress of images; for imagination devises many phantasms, and for this reason Plato ascribed imitation to the phantastic faculty: for just as painters, depicting the images of things with a brush, make use of imagination, so we see mimes and actors, by mask, voice, and gesture, on the stage imitating diverse manners of men; whom previously by imagination
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LIBER II. 65 ginatione concipiunt. Cæterùm bruta animalia non adeo perfectè imaginationem ad imitandum assequu tur, sicut homo; Psittacus enim, & Pica per humanæ < Psittacus & Pica qvomodo vocem humanæ imitentur.> vocis auditum, verba quæ in imaginandi vi tenent, imitantur: verùm non ita vt homines, qui secundum simulacra concepta, materiam ipsam sæ lignum, si- ue metallum sit effingunt, miro artis ingenio cælantes, & exculpentes multas formas humanis visibus specta- das. < Æstimatiua viv loco imag natricis brutes inest. Animalium quorundam instinctus.> Et quia non omnia animalia ad imitandum idonea sunt, hinc aliqui moti fuerunt, vt diterent, imagina- tionis loco æstimatiuam vim eis inesse; quam naturæ instinctum siue motum nonnulli vocant: huius virtute hirundines nidum, & araneæ telam conficiunt, à nullo præceptore edoctæ; simili quoque modo agni lupum nunquam visum, & pulli gallinacci milium formidât, ac fugiunt. < Imaginationis obiectum duplex.> Nec silentio inuoluendum censeo, imagina- tionem duo obiectorum genera respicere, ac compre- hendere, proprium, & præsens vnum; commune, & ab- sens alterum. Proprium obiectum dico, no respectu vir- tutis imaginandi, sed ratione externoru sensuum: non enim immediatè sensibus externis mouetur imagina- tio, sed per sensum communem; ideo quæ externis sen- sibus peculiaria ac propria sunt, eadem ratione ad ima- ginationem pertinere dicuntur. < Externi sensus quando circa propriu[m] obiectum fallantur, quâ- do non.> Et quia externi sensus, circa huiuscemodi obiecta, vt Arist. ait, modò ipsorum vis non impediatur, ac coueniens distantia adsit, falli no solét; imaginatio quoq[ue] talia obiecta reuoluens, vt Phi- lopono, de Philosophi mente placet, falli non co[n]sueuit. At quoniam externi sensus communia obiecta co[n]tem- plantes sæpissimè decipiuntur, imaginatrix etiam vis in eisdem, quæ nobis repugnantibus, & reclamatibus sese I
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BOOK II. 65 They conceive by imagination. Moreover, brute animals do not attain imagination for imitation so perfectly as man does; for the parrot and the magpie, by hearing the human voice, imitate the words which they retain in the power of imagining: but not in the same way as men, who, according to the mental images conceived, fashion the material itself, whether it be wood or metal, carving and fashioning it with marvelous skill of art, and working out many forms seen by human eyes. The imaginative power in brutes takes the place of a judging power. The instinct of certain animals. And because not all animals are fit for imitation, some have been moved to say that in place of imagination they possess a judging power; which some call a natural instinct or movement: by virtue of this, swallows construct a nest, and spiders a web, taught by no instructor; in like manner lambs fear and flee the wolf, never seen before, and young chickens the kite. The object of imagination is twofold. Nor do I think it should be passed over in silence that imagination regards and comprehends two kinds of objects, one proper and present; the other common and absent. I call the proper object not with respect to the power of imagining, but in relation to the external senses: for imagination is not moved immediately by the external senses, but through the common sense; therefore those things which are peculiar and proper to the external senses are said in the same way to belong to imagination. When the external senses are deceived about their proper object, and when not. And because the external senses, concerning objects of this kind, as Aristotle says, are not usually deceived, provided that their power is not impeded and a suitable distance is present, imagination also, turning over such objects, as seems right to Philoponus according to the mind of the Philosopher, is not accustomed to be deceived. But since the external senses, contemplating common objects, are very often deceived, the imaginative power also in the same things, which contrary to us and protesting themselves to be
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66 DE FASCINO obiiciunt, Philosopho teste, fallitur. Ná cùm à sensuum Motu originé ducat, & quisque sensus magis à suo principio distet, imaginationis quoq[ue] motus primi sui principij vim exiliore, ac debiliorem participat. Et quemadmodú < Sensuum error.> illi circa figuram fallútur; nam quadrata si longè spectentur, rotunda vidétur, & quæ mouentur stare putantur, vt coelum, stellæ: & quæ magna, minima censentur; qui quidem errores ad communia sensibilia spectat, Alex. Aphrodisien. teste: & quemadmodum rudentes; ac remos in aquis demersos, fractos, vel tortuosos vide- re videmur, tum ob dictam causam, tum etia quia medium est diuersum: nam oculus primum per aerem videt, qui est rarior, deinde per aquam, quæ est densior, ob quam medij diuersitatem illud accidit; quoniam, vt perspectiui aiunt, radij visuales ad medium densius, refringuntur: < Radij visus ad medium densius refringuntur.> nauigantibus quoque nauis stare, & littora circumagi videntur; ita imaginandi facultas, in multos, ac varios errores, & deceptiones ob talia communia, & remota sensibilia cadit, alba nigra, & falsa vera existimans. < Imagine quo modo fallatur.> hoc deceptionis genere ille falsus est, qui quum quandam pecuniæ summam omni custode remoto vidisset, eâmque ne tetigisset quidem, paucis post mensibus pecuniæ dominum querentem audiuit, partem pecuniæ sibi ablatam, ac surreptam fuisse; is verò sibi conscius < Mirus falsæ imaginatio nus effectus.> quòd illam sine arbitris vidisset, licet ne teruncium quidem cumulo detraxisset, vereri coepit, ne de se dominus pecuniæ malè sentiret; néve ab eo surreptam pecuniam suspicaretur: ideo quotiescunque illum de hac re coquerentem, vel de quacunque furti specie loquentem animaduertebat, verens ne de se intelligeret, ac malè opinaretur (vt erat bonis moribus, ac singulari virtu-
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66 ON FASCINATION it is deceived, as the Philosopher testifies. For since it draws its origin from the motion of the senses, and since each sense is more remote from its own principle, the motion also of imagination partakes of the force of its first principle more weakly and feebly. And just as < Error of the senses.> they are deceived with regard to figure; for if squares are viewed from far off, they appear round, and things that are moving are thought to be standing still, as the heavens, the stars; and things that are large are judged to be small. These errors indeed belong to the common sensibles, as Alexander of Aphrodisias testifies; and just as we seem to see ship’s ropes and oars submerged in water as broken or twisted, both for the cause already mentioned and also because the medium is different: for the eye first sees through air, which is rarer, then through water, which is denser, and because of this diversity of medium that happens; since, as the perspective theorists say, the visual rays are refracted toward a denser medium: < The visual rays are refracted toward a denser medium.> likewise to those sailing the ship seems to stand still, and the shores to move around; so too the faculty of imagination falls into many, and various errors and deceptions on account of such common and remote sensibles, judging white things black, and false things true. < How the imagination is deceived.> He is deceived by this kind of illusion who, having seen some sum of money when all guardians were removed, and though he had not touched it at all, after a few months heard the owner of the money complaining that part of the money had been taken away and stolen from him; but he, conscious to himself < A remarkable effect of false imagination.> that he had seen it without witnesses, although he had not taken even a farthing from the heap, began to fear lest the owner of the money should think ill of him; and lest he should suspect that the money had been stolen by him: therefore, whenever he noticed him talking about this matter, or speaking about any kind of theft, fearing lest he might understand it as referring to him and think badly of him (as he was a man of good morals and singular virtue-
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Liber II. 67 te præditus, modestus, ac verecundus) falsæ huic ima- ginationi assensum præbens, adeo eius corpus totum, ac facies alterabatur, vt miro quodâ rubore suffundere- tur. Hac de causa Plato in legibus dicebat, affectus ho- mini veluti nervos, & ceu funiculos quosdam à natura inditos esse, à quibus trahamur; qui quemadmodum inter se contrarij sunt, ita & nos in varias aduersâsque partes distrahût. Huc etiam illud Senecæ spectat, de hac falsa imaginatione loquétis, opinione nos sæpius quàm re laborare: esseque plura, quæ nos exterreant, quàm quę premât: hoc etiam Epictetus ille Stoicus nobilissimus, ex Zenonis, & Chrysippi decretis significare voluit, cùm huiusmodi passiones in sapiétis animum, qui vitiis om- nibus liber est, cadere dixit. Aug. quoque de Ciuit. Dei lib. 9. cap. 4. ad id respexit, cùm affirmauit: Quòd ani- mi visa quas phantasias vocant, & quorum incursus a- nimus vitare, nec præcauere potest, cùm veniant ex for- midabilibus rebus, necesse est etiam sapientis ani- mum moueant, ita vt paulisper vel paucat metu, vel tristitia contrahatur, tanquam his passionibus præue- nientibus mentis & rationis officium. Et paulò infe- rius: Accidunt autem animo sapientis, salua serenita- te sapientiæ. Potest enim sapiens falsa imaginatione excitari, ac commoueri, etiam si nullius culpæ sit sibi conscius. Quocirca consulerem vt legum peri- ti, non ex faciei motu, & præsertim si ruborem o- stendat, coniecturam faciant de quopiam: Nam & Dominus noster secundum faciem iudicare vetuit; fa- cicéque rubor rem saluam, vt Terentius ait, demonstrat, cùm id ex modesta verecundia procedat, & ex falso as- sensu, quem prauæ imaginationi quis præbuit, verens I ij
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Liber II. 67 te endowed, modest, and bashful), giving assent to this false imagination, his whole body and countenance were so changed that he was covered with a remarkable blush. For this reason Plato, in the Laws, said that the affections are, as it were, nerves and certain cords implanted by nature in man, by which we are drawn; and that, just as they are contrary to one another, so they also drag us off in various and opposing directions. To this also Seneca refers when, speaking of this false imagination, he says that we are more often troubled by opinion than by fact; and that there are more things which alarm us than oppress us. Epictetus, that most famous Stoic, likewise intended to signify this, from the decrees of Zeno and Chrysippus, when he said that such passions fall upon the mind of the wise man, who is free from all vices. Augustine too, in City of God , book 9, chapter 4, had this in view when he affirmed: that the visions of the mind, which they call phantasms, and whose assaults the mind can neither avoid nor foresee, when they arise from dreadful things, must also disturb the mind of the wise man, so that for a little while he is either struck with fear or drawn together by grief, as though these passions were preceding the office of mind and reason. And a little below: “These things happen to the mind of the wise man, while the serenity of wisdom remains safe. For the wise man can be stirred and moved by a false imagination, even if he is conscious of no fault in himself.” Wherefore I would advise that legal experts should not infer anything about someone from movement of the face, especially if it shows a blush. For our Lord also forbade judging by appearance; and blush, as Terence says, shows a good matter when it proceeds from modest bashfulness, and from the false assent that someone has given to a perverse imagination, fearing
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68 DE FASCINO <Quid sit verecundia.> ne malè audiret. Verecúdiæ enim diffinitio, hæc esse dicitur: tristitia scilicet de defectu proprio in præsentia alterius, vel facto, vel apprehenso ex timore, ne qui præsens est factú putet: ob quâ sanguinis motus, & caloris in eas partes sit, quę maximè laborat: & quoniâ in alterius præsentia facies maximè laborat, ideo erubescit: ac parú refert, an defectus actu fiat, siue factus fuerit, aut immineat, aut nunqua faciens jus sit, dummodo dubitetur ne quis vel factú, vel faciendum censeat; ac malè de aliquo iudicet. Verú si quis non vni, sed pluribus falsis imaginationibus assensum præbeat, huic adeo imaginâdi potestas deprauatur, vt circa illâ partem, ad insaniam redigatur: dico circa partem illam, quia licet actus imaginatiùs corrumpatur, tamen rationis vsus non tollitur, sed quodámodo obnubilatur: hinc sit vt quis sibi multum assumat, ac tribuat, nemini fidem adhibeat; omnésq[ue] sibi infensos, & inimicos arbitretur: vt accidit ægris quibus imaginatio horribilium rerum ex paruis occasionibus oritur. ex aspectu enim paruarum formarum in parietibus, & lupos, & canes subimaginantur, & clamát, donec huiusmodi spectra inde auferantur; quibus enim imaginationis virtus corrupta est, ijs absurda quedâ obuersantur, confusè de rebus statuunt, prauè ratiocinantur, ac iudicant, perinde namque menti euenit, atque oculis, vbi varij diuersique coloris conspicilia obiïciantur, quibus omnia vel cærulea, vel rubra, flaua, viridia, vel denique eius coloris, quo vitrum suffusum est, apparent; sic vt aliter sese rerum species nobis obiïciant, quàm re vera sint. Corrupta itaque imaginatione, vitiatisque organis, multa spectacula se menti offerunt, ob prauorum humorum, ac spirituum agitationem,
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68 OF FASCINATION <What modesty is.> so that he should not hear ill of himself. For the definition of modesty is said to be this: sadness namely, over one’s own defect in the presence of another, whether done, or perceived through fear that the one who is present may think it has been done: on which account the motion of the blood and the heat go to those parts which are most affected: and since in the presence of another the face is most affected, therefore one blushes. And it matters little whether the defect is actually committed, whether it has been committed, or is imminent, or never done, provided there be doubt whether someone may judge either that it has been done, or should be done; and think badly of someone. But if someone does not give assent to one, but to many false imaginations, then the power of imagining is so depraved in him that, in that part, he is reduced to madness: I say in that part, because although the act of imagination is corrupted, nevertheless the use of reason is not taken away, but is in a manner darkened: hence it happens that someone greatly presumes upon himself and attributes much to himself, gives credit to no one; and considers all as hostile and enemies to himself: as happens to the sick, in whom the imagination of dreadful things arises from small occasions. For from the sight of small shapes on walls, they imagine wolves and dogs, and cry out, until such spectres are removed from there; for those in whom the faculty of imagination has been corrupted are confronted with absurd things, they judge confusedly about matters, reason and judge perversely; for it happens to the mind just as to the eyes, when various and different-colored objects are presented to be seen, by which all things appear either blue, or red, yellow, green, or finally of that color with which glass is tinted; so that the appearances of things are presented to us otherwise than they truly are. Therefore, with imagination corrupted and the organs vitiated, many sights present themselves to the mind, owing to the agitation of depraved humors and spirits,
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Liber II. 69 qui vltrò citróque commeant, sinúsque cerebri oberrant. In hanc prauam & corruptam imaginádi speciem Marcus Billefchus illustrissimi domini mei Cardinalis Gráuellani nanus incidisse creditur, homo alioqui non insulsus, neque delirus, qui à multis variúsque noxiis cogitationibus, quibus ex leuibus causis assensit, agitatur. Quæ prauæ cogitationes adeò in ipso inualuerunt, vt sibi non modò ab omnibus domesticis atque exteris, sed ab ipso illustrissimo domino vehementer timeat, ne vel veneno, vel ferro, vel alia re sublatus sit. In eundem errorem Antonius Sanfælicius Neapolitanus, vir doctrina, & ingenio insignis incidit, quem ego in pueritiæ annis præceptorem habui, qui ab omnibus venenum sibi parari suspicabatur; omnesque suos cósanguineos eo nomine suspectos habebat. Cuius doctissimi viri, vicé non potui non dolere: hinc Lucretius, Nam veluti pueri trepidant, atque omnia cæcis In tenebris metuunt; sic nos in luce timemus. Interdum nihilo quæ sunt metuenda magis quàm Quæ pueri in tenebris pauitant, singuntque futura. Hunc igitur terrorem animi, tenebrásque necesse est, Non radij solis, nec lucida tela diei Discutiant, sed naturæ species, ratióque. Hæc autem deceptionis origo ex absentibus, & cõmunibus sensibilibus radices sumpsit, quibus in imaginatione receptis assensus prauè adhibitus est, vt in libris de Anima, Simplicius, Themistius, Ioannes Grammaticus, & Aristoteles fatentur. Atque hinc Alexander dicebat, quòd sæpè hominibus euenit, vt imaginationes suas sequantur, ea de causa, quòd corum mens atque intellectus perturbatione, siue affectione quapiam veluti ne- I iij
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Liber II. 69 those who go back and forth, and wander through the folds of the brain. Into this perverse and corrupt kind of imagining Marcus Billefchus, dwarf of my most illustrious lord Cardinal Gráuellanus, is believed to have fallen, a man otherwise not foolish, nor deluded, but agitated by many and various harmful thoughts, to which he assented on slight grounds. These perverse thoughts had so taken hold in him that he not only fears everyone, both at home and abroad, but even dreads greatly his most illustrious lord himself, lest he should be taken off either by poison, or by the sword, or by some other means. Into the same error fell Antonius Sanfælicius of Naples, a man distinguished for learning and genius, whom I had as a teacher in my boyhood years, and who suspected that poison was being prepared for him by everyone; and he held all his relatives suspect on that account. For the sake of such a most learned man, I could not help grieving: hence Lucretius, For as children tremble and fear everything in blind darkness; so we fear in the light. Sometimes what is to be feared is no more so than what children in the dark dread and imagine to be future. Therefore this terror of the mind, and these darknesses, must be dispelled, not by the rays of the sun, nor by the bright darts of day, but by the forms of nature and by reason. But this origin of deception took its roots from absent things and from common sensible things, which, received in the imagination, have their assent badly applied, as Simplicius, Themistius, John the Grammarian, and Aristotle admit in the books On the Soul. And from this Alexander said that it often happens to men that they follow their imaginations, for this reason, because their mind and intellect, through disturbance or some affection, as it were ne- I iij
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bula sopitur & velatur; putà accedente ægritudine, aut sopore. Et vt vnde discessit nostra oratio redeat, nô alia de causa imaginatio nobis insita est, nisi vt imagines re- rum quæ per sensum percipiuntur, seruet, eásque quo- ties opus est, intellectui offerat. Nec alia ratione mouet, ac corpus excitat, nisi sub specie honesti vel inhonesti, boni vel mali: atque hoc pacto ad appetendum vel fu- giendum aliquid animus excitatur. Verumenimuerò prætermittendum non est, tria imaginationis nomine nobis significari, eam scilicet potetiam, qua anima apta est imaginari, etiamsi speciem nullam actu imaginetur, simulacrum ipsum conceptum, & huius potentiæ actionem. At si à nobis demonstratum fuerit, nec imaginandi potentiam, nec speciem imaginatam, nec ipsam imaginationis actionem, ea quæ in primo libro adduximus, facere posse, non bene eos sensisse ostendemus, qui ea nobis pro compertis tradiderunt. Vtque veritas manifesta ac clara fiat, qua ratione imaginationis potestas, absque specie & actu quidquam agere possit, non inuenio: non enim secus se habet imaginatio specie carens, atque oculus clausus: & sicut dum animal dormit occlusis oculis nihil videre dicitur, sic anima sine specie, & actu imaginandi, imaginari nihil potest. Homini profectò, non solùm in philosophia mediocriter exercitato, sed vel paruam quidem rationis micam habenti, verisimile videri nûquam poterit, vt quis imaginari absque specie & actu imaginandi queat. Id siquidem simile esset, ac si quis se sine obiecto visibili, ac videndi actu, videre posse assereret; quo quid insanius & absurdius? hoc enim pacto, non modò cæci, sed graui somno oppressi optimè & perspicuè cernerent. Nec simulacro
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is lulled to sleep and veiled; for example, when sickness or sleepiness comes on. And to return whence our discourse departed, imagination has been implanted in us for no other reason than to preserve the images of things perceived through the senses, and to present them to the intellect whenever needed. Nor does it move us, and stir up the body, by any other means than under the appearance of what is honorable or dishonorable, good or evil; and in this way the mind is aroused to pursue or flee something. But moreover, it must not be omitted that three things are signified to us by the name of imagination: namely, that power by which the soul is capable of imagining, even if it actually imagines no image at all; the image itself conceived; and the action of this power. But if it has been demonstrated by us that neither the power of imagining, nor the imagined image, nor the very action of imagination can do those things which we brought forward in the first book, we shall show that those who handed them on to us as certain did not think rightly. And so that the truth may become manifest and clear, I do not find by what means the power of imagination, without image and act, can do anything; for imagination deprived of an image is no different from a closed eye: and just as when an animal sleeps with its eyes shut it is said to see nothing, so the soul, without an image and the act of imagining, can imagine nothing. Surely to a man not only moderately trained in philosophy, but even having a small spark of reason, it could never seem probable that someone could imagine without an image and the act of imagining. For that would be as if someone were to claim that he could see without a visible object and without the act of seeing; what could be more insane and absurd than this? For in this way not only the blind, but also those oppressed by deep sleep would see most excellently and clearly. Nor the image
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L I B E R II. 71 ipsi talium effectuum causa adscribi potest: quoniam, vt Aristoteles ait, Quæ ars singit, non res, verùm rerum si- mulacra dicuntur: vt Iouis simulacrum, non est Iupiter: ita quæ imaginatio concipit, rerum effigies sunt, & non res ipsæ. Præterea imaginatio speculi similitudinem præ se fert, & quemadmodum quæ in speculis relucent non sunt veræ formæ, sed quædam vmbræ: eodem quo- que pacto species in imaginatione existentes, non viuæ ac veræ species, sed viuarum ac verarum specierum si- militudines appellantur: fieri namque nullo modo pos- set, vt veræ tantarum rerum formæ, in tam parua oculi pupilla reciperentur, ac deinde ad imaginatiuâ vim tra- ducerentur. Cúmque veræ formæ extendi nequeant, ni- si cu[m] ipso subiecto, cui insunt, & eiusmodi species oculi pupillæ totæ insint, à veris formis subiecta informanti- bus, à quibus abstractæ sunt, eas plurimùm distare opor- tet: sicque non veri lapides, sed lapidum species, ac simi- litudines in sensum admittuntur, vt in libris Elencho- rum contra Sophistas Aristoteles docet. Similitudi- nes autem quid aliud efficere possunt, quàm res illas quarum formas & effigies reddunt, ostendere ac præ se ferre? Quòd si artis simulacra & similitudines, quæ in speculis apparent, omni & fascinandi, & inficien- di vi carent, eam vim quis similitudinibus in imagi- natione conceptis adscribere audebit? Cùm igitur nulla res vltra suam speciem, & naturam quidquam agere possit, qua via tributum simulacris hisce puta- mus, vt aliquid efficere queant? Profectò specula & res nitidæ omni mutationis genere carent, ideò similitu- dines in illis relucentes, & abeunt, & redeunt, si- ne vlla speculorum, & nitidarum rerum mutatione:
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LIBER II. 71 this cause itself can be assigned to such effects: because, as Aristotle says, whatever art fashions are called not things, but likenesses of things: as the image of Jove is not Jupiter; so what the imagination conceives are likenesses of things, and not the things themselves. Moreover, imagination bears the likeness of a mirror, and just as the forms that shine in mirrors are not true forms, but certain shadows: in the same way also the species existing in the imagination are called not living and true species, but likenesses of living and true species: for it could in no way come to pass that the true forms of so many things should be received in so small a pupil of the eye, and then be transferred to the power of imagination. And since true forms cannot be extended except with the very subject in which they inhere, and since such species are present in the whole pupil of the eye, they must greatly differ from the true informing forms, from which they have been abstracted: and thus not the true stones, but the species and likenesses of stones are admitted into sense, as Aristotle teaches in the books On Sophistical Refutations against the Sophists. But what else can likenesses effect than to show and present before the eyes the very things whose forms and images they reproduce? But if the simulacra and likenesses of art, which appear in mirrors, lack every power both of bewitching and of infecting, who would dare attribute that power to likenesses conceived in the imagination? Since therefore no thing can do anything beyond its own appearance and nature, by what means do we think these images are endowed, so that they may be able to effect something? Certainly mirrors and polished things lack every kind of alteration; therefore the likenesses shining in them go away and return without any alteration of the mirrors and polished things:
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72 DE FASCINO quòd si specula animata, ac vitalia essent, rerum imagines ipsis, sicut cæteris animantibus offerrentur. Quocirca cum similitudines nihil amplius efficere possint, quàm sese spectantibus & meditantibus offerre, idque in proprio, & non in alieno corpore, credi nequaquam potest, vt per eius modi imagines & similitudines ea fiat, quæ Auicenna cum cæteris de vi imaginandi blatterat, tum fascinum, tum alia miracula illi adscribendo; quæ à vera philosophia maximè abhorrent. Quòd autem per imaginationis actionem, nec fascinum, nec quidquam aliud simile fieri queat, luce clarius ostendemus: si quidem, vt sensus ad rem, quæ per sensum percipitur, se habet; sic actus imaginandi ad rem imaginationi congruentem spectat: sed vnus numero est sensus actus cum re sensibili, ergo vnus etiam imaginationis actus erit, & rei quam imaginari contingit; vnus enim actus sit ex agente, & patiente vno. At res quæ imaginationi obiicitur, actum nullum alium habere potest, quàm sui speciem offerendi: igitur nec fascinare, nec aliud extra se imaginatio facere potest, eóq[ue] magis id cori oboratur, quonia imaginationis actus in eo qui imaginatur manet; miniméq[ue] in aliud exterius subiectu trâsire potest. Illa namq[ue] actio in externum patientem transire reperitur, quæ in agente non remanet: actus verò imaginandi, in eo qui imaginatur persistit, ergo non verisimile existimari potest, vt meorum oculorum videndi actus aliis quoque à me communicetur: pari igitur modo, nec mea imaginatio in alterum migrare poterit. Et sicut nihil prohibet quin plures eandem rem videre possint, sic nihil vetat, quominus eandem imaginétur. Verùm non vnus imaginandi actus erit, sed plures imaginantes: & quemadmodum
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72 ON FASCINATION if mirrors were animated and living, the images of things would be presented to them, just as to other living creatures. Therefore, since likenesses can do nothing more than present themselves to those who behold and contemplate them, and that in their own, not in another’s, body, it can by no means be believed that by means of such images and likenesses there comes about what Avicenna, together with others, babbles about concerning the power of imagining, attributing to it both fascination and other miracles, which are most alien to true philosophy. But that by the action of imagination neither fascination nor anything else of the kind can be produced we shall show more clearly than light itself: for just as sense stands to the thing perceived through sense, so the act of imagining has reference to the thing corresponding to imagination; but the act of sense and the sensible thing are one in number, therefore the act of imagination will also be one with the thing which happens to be imagined; for one act arises from one agent and one patient. But the thing presented to imagination can have no other act than that of offering its own appearance; therefore imagination can neither fascinate nor do anything else beyond itself, and this is all the more evident because the act of imagination remains in the one who imagines, nor can it pass into any other external subject. For that action is found to pass into an external patient which does not remain in the agent; but the act of imagining persists in the one who imagines, therefore it cannot be thought probable that the act of my eyes in seeing should also be communicated to others by me: in like manner, then, neither can my imagination migrate into another. And just as nothing prevents several persons from seeing the same thing, so nothing forbids several from imagining the same thing. But there will not be one act of imagining, but several imaginers: and just as
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Liber II. 73 modum oculi colorata, quæ intuentur, non alterationibus afficiunt, ita imaginatrix vis rem nullam, cuius similitudinem & imaginem contempletur, immutare aut insicere potest. Solus enim Deus Opt. Max. res quas cernit, eo pacto quo suæ diuinæ libet voluntati, permutare valet: nec ea ratio de iratis imaginantibus quidquam valet: tantum enim abest, vt irati, transeunte actione aliquid efficere valeant, vt ne eorum quidem recordetur, quæ in ira, furore, perturbatione, & omnino in vehementibus animi affectibus imaginati sunt. Quod etiam euenire solet iis quos curæ, sollicitudinesque distinent, vel quos ebrietas, timorve inuaserit, vel quos demùm vehemens aliquis affectus occupauerit. Non paru profectò esset si qui res intuerentur & contemplarentur, eas possent tales reddere, quales sensu & imaginatione illas perceperunt. Quinimò imaginatio, vt imaginatio est, non solùm in alieno, verùm ne in suo quidem corpore quidquam immutare potest. Et licet in lib. de motu animal. Aristot. dicat, Imaginationes, sensationes, & notiones alterare: & in lib. de Anima, idem corroboret: nihilominus id no[n] intellexit, vt imaginationes sunt, sed potius vt res, quas imaginamur, aliquid molesti vel iucundi habent annexum, quod vel appetendum vel fugendum cæscamus: ex qua re spirituum motus, qui est imaginationis instrumentum, alteratur. Rerum itaque formidabilium imaginatio non secus nos mouere potest, ac pictura, quæ non per se, sed per accides nos commouet, quatenus rem lætâ aut tristem præ se fert: & ita appetitum mouet, qui spiritus & humores excitat. In olfactu autem & gustu, ac tactu longè secus sit, quoniam hi sensus non tantùm species sensibilium rerum, vt visus & K
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Book II. 73 In the same way that colored objects, when seen by the eye, do not affect them by any alteration, so the imaginative power can neither change nor imprint anything on a thing whose likeness and image it contemplates. For God alone, Most Good and Most Great, is able to change the things he beholds in whatever manner pleases his divine will. Nor does that reasoning apply to angry imaginings: so far is it from being the case that the angry, while the action passes, are able to produce anything, that they do not even remember what they imagined in anger, fury, disturbance, and in general in vehement emotions of the mind. The same is commonly observed in those whom cares and anxieties wear down, or whom drunkenness or fear has invaded, or whom some violent passion has at last possessed. It would certainly be no small gain if those who behold and contemplate things could make them such as they have perceived them by sense and imagination. Indeed, imagination, as imagination, can change nothing not only in another’s body, but not even in its own. And although Aristotle says in the book On the Motion of Animals that imaginations alter sensations and notions, and in the book On the Soul confirms the same, nevertheless he did not mean this as far as imaginations are concerned, but rather insofar as the things we imagine have something troublesome or pleasant attached to them, so that we apprehend them as either to be pursued or to be avoided; from which the motion of the spirits, which is the instrument of imagination, is altered. Thus the imagination of frightening things can move us no otherwise than a painting, which does not move us of itself, but by accident, insofar as it represents a thing as pleasant or sad; and so it moves the appetite, which stirs up the spirits and humors. In smell and taste, however, and in touch, the matter is far different, since these senses do not merely receive the species of sensible things, as sight does and K
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74 DE FASCINO < Spirituales ciborum species non nutriunt. > auditus, sed qualitates sensibiles cum spiritualibus speciebus percipiuit. Non enim ciborum spiritualibus speciebus, sed ipsismet cibis nutrimur; ita non rerum speciebus alteramur, sed illaru[m] qualitatibus, ex quibus compositi sumus. Vnumquodque namque ex quibus constat, iis alitur & sustentatur: præterea rerum simulacra in imaginatione formata, tenuem & spiritualem essentiam habent; nec intra se existentia quispiam amplecti, aut euitare studet, sed res duntaxat quarum imagines sunt. Fatui enim tantummodò rerum imagines pro rebus ipsis ducunt, & iis speciebus quas-animo conceperunt, innixi, tumidi, multa sibi pollicentes incedunt, vt sunt illi quos diximus imaginatricem vim corruptam habere. No[n] enim plus virium alicuius rei simulacrum habet, vt dicebamus, quàm Imperatoris imago, quæ sicut nihil agere potest præter quàm illu[m] à quo extracta & formata est, referre; sic rerum similitudines, nil penitus efficere valent præter quàm rerum imagines ostendere. < Alcumista irriss. > Equidem non malè cum Chemicis agi arbitrarer, si specie auri, quæ nihil reale est, per imaginandi vim verum aurum adipisci possent. Si eiusmodi virtute imaginatio prædita esset, profectò nec ægroti, nec pauperes, nec literarum imperiti, nec cuiusquam rei egentes reperirentur; cùm eorum quilibet, imaginandi vi optata consequi posset. Quod cùm re ipsa non experiâtur, quæ insania est, vt tot tantâque miracula imaginationi nonnulli adscribant? Si quis verò dicat idæas in diuina mente res exteroses afficiendi vim habere, similique modo rerum simulacra & idæas in nobis eandé vim possidere posse: respondemus, similitudinem nihil ad rem facere, quonia idæa in Deo non est, sicut in nobis accidés. Nec < Idæa in diuina mete existentes à nostris simulacris differit. >
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74 ON FASCINATION < Spiritual species of foods do not nourish. > hearing, but he perceived sensible qualities together with spiritual species. For it is not by the spiritual species of foods, but by the foods themselves that we are nourished; likewise, we are not altered by the species of things, but by their qualities, out of which we are composed. For each thing is nourished and sustained by the things of which it consists. Moreover, the likenesses of things formed in the imagination have a thin and spiritual essence; and one does not strive to grasp or avoid things existing within themselves, but only the things of which they are images. For fools take the images of things for the things themselves alone, and relying on those species which they have conceived in the mind, they go about puffed up, promising themselves much, such as those whom we said have a corrupted imaginative power. For the likeness of a thing has no more power, as we were saying, than the image of an emperor, which can do nothing except represent that from which it was taken and formed; so the likenesses of things can effect nothing at all except to show the images of things. < The alchemist mocked. > Indeed, I would think the Chemists were treated not badly if, by the power of imagination, they could obtain true gold from the species of gold, which is nothing real. If imagination were endowed with such a power, surely there would be found neither sick people, nor poor people, nor people ignorant of letters, nor anyone in need of anything; since each of them could obtain what he desired by the power of imagining. But since this is not experienced in reality, what madness is it that so many and such great miracles should be attributed to imagination by some? But if someone should say that ideas in the divine mind have the power to affect external things, and that in like manner the likenesses and ideas of things in us can possess the same power: we reply that similarity has nothing to do with the matter, because an idea in God is not the same as it is in us. < Ideas existing in the divine mind differ from our likenesses. >
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Liber II. 75 quæquam mouere debet, quòd sigilli imago imprimendi vim habeat, quasi eodem modo species in imaginatione contentæ, res exteriores imprimere queant: non enim sigillum, vt imago est, aliam imaginem imprimere potest, sed ratione duritici, & partium inæqualiu[m] duntaxat. < Sigillum quo modo imprimendi vim habeat.> Quòd si sigillu[m] per se, & sua natura, vt imago est, aliam imaginem pærere posset, non vtique quidquâ referret, ex qua materia, dura an molli, sigillum constaretur. Quod cùm permagni intersit, omnia quæ de imaginatione obiecta sunt, facilè ruunt: vt illud, Quòd imaginatio sit veluti quoddam sidus, salutares vel perniciosos radios diffundens, & cui omnia sublunaria, tanqua[m] cælesti intelligentiæ pareant, quòd coceptus volatiles reddantur, & ad planetas ferantur, quódque innumera mala & calamitates inde mortalibus inferantur. Qui enim has nugas sibi finxerunt, & rationis, & philosophiæ, & omnium bonarum artium expertes, ac diabolica superstitione imbutos esse fateri oportet. Quo pacto per imaginandi vim occulta & futura præscribi queant. CAP. IIII. NON paruus Philosophorum numerus, atque inter alios Aristoteles in libr. de Insomniis, & de Diuinatione per somnium, corporis naturam ad futurorum præcognitionem conducere opinatus est, & imprimis melancholicis diuinandi virtus attributa legitur. < Virtus diuinandi melancholicis attributa.> Quoniam, etsi melancholicus humor, frigidus, siccus & ater existat; nihilominus magnam quandam spirituum commotionem continet, ideóque tantò cæteris humoribus concitatior, quantò corpora densa si accendantur, seruentius vrunt, quàm corpora rara & hinc est quod ab Arist. in Problematibus aliquid K ij
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Liber II. 75 nothing should move us, because the image of a seal has the power of imprinting, as though in the same way the forms contained in imagination could impress exterior things: for a seal, as it is an image, cannot imprint another image, but only by reason of its hardness, and of the unequal parts. < How a seal has the power of imprinting.> But if a seal by itself, and by its nature, as it is an image, could produce another image, it would certainly make no difference from what material, whether hard or soft, the seal were made. Since this is of great importance, everything that has been objected concerning imagination easily falls away: such as that imagination is like a certain star, diffusing salutary or harmful rays, and to which all sublunary things are subject, as to a celestial intelligence, because concepts are made volatile and are carried to the planets, and because innumerable evils and calamities are thereby brought upon mortals. For those who have invented such trifles must confess themselves to be without reason, without philosophy, and without all the liberal arts, and imbued with diabolical superstition. How hidden and future things may be foretold by the power of imagining. CHAP. IV. NOT a small number of philosophers, and among others Aristotle in the books On Dreams and On Divination by Dream, thought that the nature of the body contributes to foreknowledge of future things, and especially the divining power is read to have been attributed to melancholics. < The divining power attributed to melancholics.> For although the melancholic humor be cold, dry, and black; nevertheless it contains a great agitation of spirits, and therefore is so much more excited than the other humors, just as dense bodies, if they are kindled, burn more fiercely than rare bodies. And hence it is that, according to Aristotle in the Problems, something
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diuinum melancholicorum imaginationi inesse futura præsagiens putatur; cuius generis homines in Hispania reperiri ab oculatis testibus accepi, qui quibus in parti- bus aliqua lateant, certò cognoscant: nec eos latet, quot passibus terra fodienda sit, quò aqua vel quid simile la- tens inueniatur. In Ethicis etiam melancholicorum re- cta & subita esse insomnia asseritur, & sapiétibus & pru- dentibus diuinandi virtus inesse à Philosopho ostendi- tur. < Prudentibus diuinandi virtutem das Arist.> Diuus quoque August. in lib.12. super Genes. cap.13. Animam humanam, vt à sensibus abstrahitur, diuinandi vim habere dicit. < Humanus animus diuinandi vim habet.> Diuus Gregor. 4. lib. Dialogorum animæ intellectiæ hanc diuinandi vim adscripsit. < Diuinatio per quietem potius quam per vigiliam fit.> Hic etiam per quietem magis quàm per vigiliam diuinationem exerceri affirmat: tum enim variæ sensuum motiones cessant, quæ eiusmod animæ potestatem, vt Diuus Thomas ait, perturbare co[n]sueuerunt. Quo sit vt melan- cholici quibus purgatiores rerum species insunt, clariorem diuinandi facultatem habeant. < Diuinatrix virtus per quæ inuenitur.> At quoniam diuinandi vires secum imaginatio ipsa affert; ideò aliqua re excitante indigere animam autumant. < Diuinandi vim qui habuerunt.> Cui quidem tot terrarum anhelitus, & euaporationes, locáque tam diuersa, tamque inter se situ suo, ac cæli positura distantia conducere arbitrantur: quibus hominum animi ad futurorum præsagia, suapte vi proni, & ad diuinum furorem procliues concitentur, & veluti diuinitùs inflammentur. < Herba diuinationi conducenses.> Sicut de Atheniensi Musæo, de Euclo, de Epi- menide, atque aliis multis memoriæ proditum est. Nec solum cælestis, & terræ halitus ad hoc iuuat, sed herbæ, lapilli, vt de Chelonia Plin. narrat: & sic de herba Theá- gelida, quæ in Syriæ Libano, Cretæ mōtibus, Babylone, & Sussis Persidis nascitur, qua pota Magi diuinant.
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It is thought that a divine power inhere in the imagination of melancholic people, foretelling the future; and I have heard from eyewitnesses that men of this kind are found in Spain, who know with certainty in what places anything may be hidden: nor is it hidden from them how many paces the earth must be dug, in order that water or something like it that lies hidden may be found. In the Ethics also it is asserted that the dreams of melancholic men are direct and sudden, and the Philosopher shows that the power of divination exists in wise and prudent men. Likewise St. Augustine, in book 12, on Genesis, chapter 13, says that the human soul, when it is withdrawn from the senses, has the power of divination. St. Gregory also, in book 4 of the Dialogues, attributed this power of divination to the intellectual soul. He also affirms that divination is exercised more by sleep than by waking; for then the various movements of the senses cease, which, as St. Thomas says, are accustomed to disturb that power of the soul. Hence it comes about that melancholic people, in whom the purer forms of things reside, have a clearer faculty of divination. But since the imagination itself brings with it the powers of divination, they think that the soul needs some exciting cause. For this they judge that the breath and exhalations of many lands, and places so different and so distant from one another in situation and in the position of the sky, are conducive: by these the minds of men, naturally inclined toward forebodings of the future and prone to divine frenzy, are stirred and, as it were, divinely inflamed. As has been handed down in memory concerning the Athenian Musaeus, Euclus, Epimenides, and many others. Nor do the exhalations of the heavens and the earth alone help in this matter, but also herbs and stones, as Pliny relates of Chelonia: and so also of the herb Theagelis, which grows in Mount Lebanon in Syria, in the mountains of Crete, in Babylon, and in Susa of Persia, and by drinking it the Magi divine.
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Liber II. 77 Verùm non solùm hominum, sed brutorum imaginationi hanc diuinandi potestaté inesse asserunt, quoniam intempestiuus galli cantus, & frequens cornicis crocitatio futuram pluuiam denunciant. Cæterùm pro clara huius difficultatis notitia scire oportet, duplicem diuinationem reperiri, quarum vna naturalis, supernaturalis altera appellatur: de prima D. Greg. Nicenus ait, Quòd hæc vis, quo est purior, & puriora phantasmata sibi fingit, eo diligentius diuinandi per somnia assequitur officium: quæ diuinationis species fallax, incerta, & erroribus plena est. Neque mirum est, si ex eis quæ melancholici somniât, cogitant, & loquuntur, verum nonnunquam aliquid cuadat. Quis est enim, vt ait Cic. lib. 2. de Diuinatione, qui totum diem iaculans nô aliquando collimet? Non enim homo, vel creatura aliqua, ea quæ contingenter futura sunt, ex imaginandi virtute, determinatè præscire potest: vnde illud, Nescia mens hominum fati sortisque futuræ: Sic namque in Eccles. scriptum legimus: Multa hominis afflictio, quia ignorat præterita, & futura nullo modo scire potest. Et Esaias, Annunciate quæ ventura sunt in futurum, & sciemus quoniam dij estis vos. Existimarem tamen hominem (si modò diuinæ sapientiæ radium, quem Deus Opt. Max. primis parentibus humani generis contulerat) retinuisset, & multorum euentuum causas certas, quas nunc coniecturis, iisque sæpe fallacibus assequimur, & signa multa, apparentia, & aliquid præsagientia, certius, & manifestius animaduersurum fuisse. Sed postquam intellectus hominum, parentum casu obscuratus est, rerum causas mentis acie hebetata, veluti solem per densas tenebras co templamur. Sic paucas res intelligimus, signa K. iii.
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Book II. 77 But they assert that this power of divining is present not only in men, but also in beasts, since the untimely crowing of the cock and the frequent cawing of the crow announce future rain. However, for a clear understanding of this difficulty, it must be known that there are two kinds of divination: one natural, the other called supernatural. Of the first, D. Greg. Nicenus says that the purer this faculty is, and the purer the phantasms it forms for itself, the more diligently does it attain the office of divining through dreams. Yet this kind of divination is deceptive, uncertain, and full of errors. Nor is it surprising if something true should sometimes come forth from those things which the melancholic dreams, thinks, and speaks. For who is there, as Cic. says, book 2 of On Divination, who, shooting all day long, does not sometimes hit the mark? For no man, nor any creature, can by the power of imagination determine in advance with certainty those things which are to happen contingently; hence that saying: The mind of men is ignorant of fate and of future fortune. For thus we read written in Ecclesiastes: Much is the affliction of man, because he knows not the past, and in no way can he know the future. And Isaiah: Declare the things that are to come in the future, and we shall know that you are gods. I would nevertheless think that man, if only he had retained the ray of divine wisdom which God the Most Good and Greatest had bestowed upon the first parents of the human race, would have perceived more surely the certain causes of many events, which now we grasp by conjectures, and these often deceitful ones, and many signs, apparent and foretelling something, more certainly and more manifestly. But after the understanding of men was obscured by the fall of our first parents, with the sharpness of the mind dulled, we contemplate the causes of things as if through dense darkness a sun. Thus we understand few things, signs K. iii.
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78 DE FASCINO paucissima assequimur, & quid portendant præposterè sæpissime pronunciamus. Nec brutorum imaginationi huiuscemodi vis adscribi potest, si quidem illo- <Bruta, præsentia non futura designant.> rum cantus, & corporis gestus, non futura, sed præsentia designat, coelestem videlicet influxum humidum, quem naturæ instinctu in suis corporibus illico orientem excipiunt; qui hominibus non ita manifestus apparet, nisi nubes, & alia pluuiam concomitantia adsint. Quæ signa brutis minimè necessaria sunt. Formicæ enim pluuiam futuram præsentientes, frugum grana in cauernas portare conspiciuntur, verentes ne grana aqua madefacta corrumpantur: hæc pluuia respectu nostri & non formicarum futura dicitur. Nam in illarum corporibus, ob vapores ad aeris regiones delatos, tanquam à præsente pluuia alteratio sit. Nam sagax, & prouida natura in superfluis non abundans, & in necessariis non deficiens, eiusmodi naturæ varietate formicas dotauit, quò alimentum ad corporis nutrimentum seruarent. Idem quoque de gruibus autumnii tempore ad calida loca remeantibus, de hirundinibus veris tempore ad nostras regiones venientibus, de sicedulis, coturnicibus, aliisque volucribus locorum mutationem facientibus dicendum reor. Non etenim ver, autumnum, aut hyemem præsentiunt, sed secundum sui corporis alterationem à natura factam ob caliditatem, aut frigiditatem, vel aliam nos latentem qualitatem eiusmodi vicissitudines norunt. Quod in muscis experimur, quæ quasi furore percitæ pluuia imminente animalia molestius infestant. Diuinatio supernaturalis verò est illa, quam Prophetiam in sacris litteris nuncupamus, de qua nunc differere non inten-
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78 ON FASCINATION We attain very little, and very often we pronounce rashly on what they portend. Nor can such power be attributed to the imagination of brute animals, since their songs and bodily movements indicate not future things, but present ones, namely a heavenly, moist influx, which they receive by instinct of nature as it immediately arises in their bodies; this does not appear so manifest to human beings unless clouds and other signs accompanying rain are present. Such signs are by no means necessary for brute animals. For ants, foreseeing the rain to come, are seen carrying grains of seed into their holes, fearing lest the grains, wet with water, should spoil: this rain is called future in relation to us, and not to ants. For in their bodies, because vapors have been carried to the regions of the air, there is as it were an alteration from a present rain. For sagacious and provident nature, abundant in no superfluities and lacking in no necessities, has endowed ants with such a variation of nature, so that they might preserve food for the nourishment of the body. The same ought also to be said of cranes returning to warm regions in autumn, of swallows coming to our regions in spring, and of sandgrouse, quails, and other birds that change places. For these do not foresee spring, autumn, or winter, but, according to the alteration of their bodies made by nature on account of heat or cold, or some other quality hidden from us, they know such changes. We observe this in flies, which, as if stirred by frenzy, more annoyingly attack animals when rain is approaching. Supernatural divination, however, is that which we call Prophecy in the sacred writings, about which I do not now intend to speak further
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Liber II. 79 dimus, cùm sit præter nostrum institutum. Sufficit eam certissimam esse, quæ in vigilia, & frequentissimè in quiete sit. Vnde in Iob legitur: Per somnium in vi- sione nocturna quando irruit sopor super homines, & dormiunt in lectulo, tunc aperit Deus aures viro- rum, & erudiens eos, instruit disciplina. Et Iœlis au- ctoritate idem asseritur, Effundam de spiritu meo su- per omnem carnem, & iuuenes visa videbunt, & se- nes somnia somniabunt. Ad illud verò de auibus di- cendum puto, quòd Deo auctore possunt aliqua futu- ra prædicere. Hierem enim inquit, Miluus in Cælo co- gnouit tempus suum; turtur, & hirundo, & ciconia cu- stodierunt tempus aduentus sui: & D. Thomas in o- pusculis; si quis cornicula frequenter crocitante, mox futuram prænunciet pluuiam, non est nugatoriæ su- perstitionis. Similiter etiam si quis ex subito volatu a- uium, denunciet ibi latere insidias, vnde aues volando recesserunt, non est superstitio, sed humana industria. Nec absolutè obseruatio cantus, & volatus auium ab Ecclesia interdicitur; sed superstitiosa quædam obser- uatio de volatu, & garritu prohibetur, & sub anathe- matis vinculo ab Ecclesiasticis sanctionibus damna- tur. Vanum igitur est illud quod de futurorum præ- cognitione imaginatrici virtuti adscribebatur; nisi veli- mus affirmare, quòd Dæmones futura præcientes, ho- minibus manifestant; qui quidem homines futurorum eventuum cognitionem profitentes, demonum cultum nobis turpissimè proponunt, miris modis nobis impo- nendo, ac futurorum præcognitionem modò imagina- tioni, modò dæmonibus adscribêdo. Sed postquam per
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Book II. 79 We do not discuss it, since it is beyond our present purpose. It is sufficient that it be most certain, whether in waking or very often in sleep. Hence it is read in Job: “By a dream in the night vision, when sleep falls upon men, and they sleep in their bed, then God opens the ears of men, and teaching them, instructs them by discipline.” And the same is asserted by the authority of Joel: “I will pour out of my spirit upon all flesh, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” As for the matter of birds, I think it should be said that, by God's author, they can foretell certain future things. For Jeremiah says, “The kite in the air has known its time; the turtle-dove, the swallow, and the stork have kept the time of their coming.” And St. Thomas in the Opuscula says: if someone, after hearing a rook croaking repeatedly, should immediately predict rain to come, it is not a frivolous superstition. Similarly, if someone, from the sudden flight of birds, should announce that there are ambushes hidden there, from which the birds have flown away, that is not superstition, but human skill. Nor is the observation of birds’ song and flight absolutely forbidden by the Church; rather, a certain superstitious observation of their flight and cry is prohibited, and by ecclesiastical decrees it is condemned under the bond of anathema. Therefore that notion is vain which was attributed to the imaginative power for the foreknowledge of future things, unless we wish to affirm that demons, foreknowing future things, reveal them to men; and indeed those men who profess knowledge of future events most shamefully set before us the worship of demons, deceiving us in marvelous ways, sometimes attributing foreknowledge of the future to imagination, and sometimes to demons. But after
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DE FASCINO 80 imaginationem futura, nullo pacto prænosci posse ostendimus, operæpretium esse duxi, vt inquiramus, an dæmones talia futura præscire possint. Non per acutas imaginandi vires, sed per Dæmonum auxilium, occulta quædam, & futura præsciuntur. CAP. V. Cognitio per specie & similitudinem fit. ADMODVM vulgata & ventilata est apud Philosophos sententia illa, omnem scilicet cognitionem per speciem, & similitudinem quandam fieri. Quocirca quâdo Deus Opt Max. simplices mentes, quas Angelos appellamus, creauit; rerum omnium quæ natura constant, species, & similitudines illis indidit. Et sicut rationes Ideales in diuina mente sunt validissimæ procreandi causæ, quo ad materiam, & formam; ita similitudines, quas dæmones innatas habent, à dæmonum intellectu ad materiam & formam cognoscendam effluunt: Si quidem de potentia ad actum nihil reduci potest, nisi per rem, quæ actu esse habeat. Hac de causa similitudines & rerú formas, veluti actus quosdam Dæmonibus inesse asserendum est; quibus res omnes, tum vniuersales, tum singulares cognoscant. Nec intellectu agente, veluti nos, illi egêt: Non enim eorum cognitio, à sensibus, quibus omnino carent, ortum habet. Quinimo infimus Dæmon per species innatas, & quidem per vnam tantùm speciem plura de naturalibus rebus cognoscit, quàm homo per plures species acquisitas. Et pro clariori huius dubitationis intelligentia, illud quoque in lib. de Caus. notandum est, Vniuersaliores formas à superioribus intelligentiis contineri. Vnde sicut Dæmones qui è superiori- bus
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ON FASCINATION 80 Since we have shown that the imagination of future things cannot in any way be foreknown, I thought it worthwhile to inquire whether demons can foresee such future things. Not by the sharp powers of imagining, but by the aid of Demons, certain hidden things and future things are foreknown. CHAP. V. Knowledge is acquired through species and likeness. The opinion was very common and widely discussed among the Philosophers, namely that all knowledge is obtained through some species and likeness. Wherefore, when God Almighty created the simple minds, which we call Angels, He implanted in them the species and likenesses of all things that exist by nature. And just as the Ideal reasons in the divine mind are most powerful causes of producing, as regards matter and form; so the likenesses which demons possess innately flow from the demons’ intellect for the knowing of matter and form. For nothing can be reduced from potency to act except through something which has actual being. For this reason it must be affirmed that likenesses and forms of things exist in demons as certain acts, by which they know all things, both universal and singular. Nor do they need an agent intellect, as we do. For their knowledge does not arise from the senses, which they entirely lack. Indeed, the lowest Demon, through innate species, and indeed through a single species alone, knows more about natural things than man does through many acquired species. And for a clearer understanding of this difficulty, it should also be noted in the book De Causis that the more universal forms are contained by the higher intelligences. Whence, just as the Demons who are from the higher-
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Liber II. 81 bus ordinibus ceciderunt, rerum imagines magis vniuersales habent; ita & plura cognoscunt, & ad maiora capessenda sunt reliquis aptiores. Quando enim quispiam ingenij perspicacitate pollet, atque intellectum acutiorem habet, ex paucis principiis ad diversas ac varias conclusiones descendit; ad quas hebetioris ingenij venire non queunt, nisi per innumeras inductiones, & per singularia principia co[n]clusionibus appositè accommodata. Insuper animaduersione dignum censeo, futuri cognitionem duobus modis considerari; primo vt res, quæ futura est, extra causam à qua pendet, cognoscatur: qua ratione illi duntaxat conuenit, qui est supra omne tempus, vt Deus. Cuius cognitio omnem temporis ordinem excedit: ea enim, quæ per omnem temporis cursum peracta sunt, vel peragentur, diuino aspectui eo modo quo præterita sunt, vel futura subduntur: partésque temporis, præsens videlicet, præteritum, & futurum ad nos, & non ad diuinam mentem referuntur. Secundo, vt res futura vim quandam in sua causa à qua oritura est, habet: quæ quidem causa, aut certa, & immota est; aut certa, sed motui obnoxia; aut incerta & indeterminata. His breuiter prætactis tres conclusiones in medium affero; quærum prima est: Dæmones ea futura quæ certas & immotas causas habent, cognoscunt; vt eclipsis tempus, planetarum coniunctionem, atque aliorum, quæ superiorum corporum motum comitantur, in quibus, non modò causæ certæ, immotæ, ac necessariæ sunt, verùm quodlibet impedimentum ab eis abest: quæ quia hominibus nota sunt, Dæmonibus longè notiora esse possunt. Secunda, quæ certam causam & motui sub- L
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those that have fallen into the lower orders have more universal images of things; thus they know more, and are more suited than the rest to undertake greater things. For when someone is endowed with sharpness of intellect and has a keener understanding, from a few principles he descends to diverse and various conclusions; whereas those of duller intellect cannot arrive at them except through innumerable inductions, and through particular principles suitably adapted to the conclusions. Moreover, I deem it worthy of note that knowledge of the future is to be considered in two ways: first, that the thing which is to be future may be known apart from the cause on which it depends: in this sense it belongs only to him who is above all time, namely God. His knowledge surpasses the whole order of time; for whatever has been done or will be done through the whole course of time is subject to the divine sight in the same way as things past or future are to us, and the parts of time—namely the present, the past, and the future—are referred to us, and not to the divine mind. Secondly, as the future thing has some power in its own cause, from which it is to arise: that cause is either certain and immovable, or certain but subject to motion, or uncertain and indeterminate. Having briefly touched on these points, I present three conclusions: the first is that demons know those future things which have certain and immovable causes, such as the time of an eclipse, the conjunction of the planets, and other things that accompany the motions of the higher bodies, in which there are not only certain, immovable, and necessary causes, but every hindrance is absent from them; and because these things are known to men, they may be much better known to demons. The second, which has a certain cause and is subject to motion- L
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82 DE FASCINO ditam habent; certam, quia natura ad vnum determinatè respicit; motui subditam, quia multis modis impediri possunt, à Dæmone sciri, sed non per omnimodam certitudinem possunt; vt exempli gratias ager, qui licet pinguis, & optimè satus, ac cultus sit, impedimenta tamen non pauca habere potest, quæ fructuum vbertatem tollere valeant; quæ, quia Deo iubente accidunt, cuius Dæmones voluntatem ignorant, idcirco illi tantùm nota erant, cui Deus manifestare dignabitur. < Dei voluntas Dæmonibus occultæ.> Dæmones autem non nisi per quandam coniecturam ea consequi valent. Tertia, quæ incertam, & indeterminatam causam habent, à Dæmonibus prænosci non possunt: quæ profectò ea sunt, quæ ab hominum voluntate oriuntur, quatum cognitionem Deo tantùm adscribimus, & ei cui Deus huiusmodi cogitationes aperire voluerit. < Voluntas hominis Dæmoni non pates.> Cuius rei ratio est, quia Dæmonum, & aliarum rerum creatarum cognitio à tali re dependet, quæ quia in sua causa incerta est, nemo eam certè, atque omnis erroris specie remota, cognoscere potest, nisi qui rerum omnium causa, & veritas ipsa existat: sicut est Deus; qui non secus contingentia, ac necessaria certissimè nouit: & hinc est, vt prædictio, diuinatio nuncupetur, quia Dei tantùm actio est. < Cur prædictio, diuinatio vocetur.> Cæterùm Dæmones superbia inflati hoc in se ipsis habere, conantur ostendere; quibus si talium futurorum cognitionem quis adscribat, Deo Optimo Maximo iniuriam faciat. < Futura quatuor modis Dæmones cognoscunt.> Et nihilominus quatuor modis eiusmodi futura præscire dæmones possunt; ingenij acumine, temporum experientia, dolosa industria, bonorum Angelorum indicio. Ingenij acumine, quando Dæmones nostram voluntà
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82 ON FASCINATION they have it; certain, because nature is directed determinately toward one thing; subject to movement, because they can be hindered in many ways, can be known by the Demon, but not with complete certainty. For example, a field which, although fertile, and very well sown and cultivated, can nevertheless have not a few impediments that may take away the abundance of the crops; these, because they happen by God’s command, whose will the Demons do not know, were therefore known only to Him, whom God may deign to reveal them to. <The will of God hidden from the Demons.> But the Demons can attain these things only by a certain conjecture. The third class, which have an uncertain and indeterminate cause, cannot be foreknown by the Demons: these are indeed those which arise from the will of men, the knowledge of which we ascribe to God alone, and to him to whom God may wish to reveal such thoughts. <The will of man does not lie open to the Demon.> The reason for this is that the knowledge of Demons and of other created things depends on such a thing, which, because it is uncertain in its cause, no one can certainly know it, and with every appearance of error removed, unless he exist who is the cause and truth itself of all things: such as God; who knows contingent things no less certainly than necessary ones: and hence it is that foretelling is called divination, because it is an action of God alone. <Why foretelling is called divination.> Moreover, the Demons, inflated with pride, try to show that they have this in themselves; and if anyone should ascribe to them the knowledge of such future things, he would do injury to God Most Good, Most Great. <Future things are known by Demons in four ways.> And nevertheless, in four ways Demons can foresee future things of this sort: by sharpness of intellect, by experience of times, by deceitful industry, by the indication of good Angels. By sharpness of intellect, when Demons our will
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Liber II. 83 rem perscrutantur, eamque etiam explorant, & eius procliuitatem inuestigant, quæque illa sint quibus delectamur, quæve ad delectationem prosequendam impellere, quæve retrahere nos possint, rimantur. Temporum experientia, quia ex his causis, ac rationibus hos, atque illos effectus oriri experti sunt. Dolosa industria, cùm in seipsis aliquid agere statuunt, deinde aliquem hominem adeunt, cui rem illam ab alio quopiam faciendam se præuidere simulant, séque illius causam non esse demonstrant. < Alij futurorum cognoscendorum modi.> Bonorum Anglorum indicio, quando Deus, ab eis, quibus aliqua peragenda aperuit, dæmones discere sinit. Sunt & alij modi, quibus futura prænoscunt. Nam per quædam signa ægroti mortem acutius, & subtilius, quàm medici præsagiunt. Deo quoque volente, homines variis morbis ac ægritudinibus insicere possunt; & insuper rerum victui necessariarum egestatem, ac penuriam inducere. Prophetarum præterea dicta verius, & propius quàm homines intelligunt: ex quibus, quia multa, quæ futura sunt eliciunt, ea hominibus, quibuscum familiaritas sibi intercedit, communicant. Si quidem hominum corporibus, & potentiis animæ corpori affixis, illabi Dæmones possunt, atque ibi potentiam specierum conseruatiua mouent, vt ita species, & imagines in imaginatione recentes appareant, ac si tunc principium sentiendi ab externis rebus, immutaretur; idq[ue] non modò in dormientibus, sed etia in vigilantibus accidit. < Multi quæ per Dæmones cognouerunt, imaginationi tribuunt.> Quo quidem modo, ita futuraru rerum simulacra illis repræsentare student. Túc homines illi tetra Dæmonu familiaritate turpiter coinquinati, omnibus persuadere conâtur, se imaginâdi vi, vchemêti desiderio addito, huiuscemo- L ij
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Book II. 83 they thoroughly examine the matter, and also explore it, and investigate its inclination, and search out what things we are delighted by, and what might impel us to pursue pleasure, and what might draw us back. By experience of times, because from these causes and reasons they have learned that these and those effects arise. By deceitful craft, when they decide to do something on their own, they then go to some man, to whom they pretend that they foresee that the matter will be done by someone else, and they show that they are not the cause of it. <Other ways of knowing future things.> By the example of the good of the English, when God allows demons to learn from those to whom He has revealed something to be carried out. There are also other ways by which they foresee the future. For by certain signs the sick predict death more keenly and subtly than doctors do. By God’s will, too, they can infect men with various diseases and ailments; and moreover bring about scarcity and want of the necessities of life. The sayings of the prophets, besides, they understand more truly and more closely than men do: from these, because they draw many things that are to come, they communicate them to men with whom they are familiar. Indeed, demons can insinuate themselves into men’s bodies and into the powers of the soul attached to the body, and there move the conserving power of the species, so that species and images appear fresh in the imagination, as if at that moment the source of sensation from external things were being altered; and this happens not only among sleeping men, but also among the waking. <Many things which they have learned through demons they attribute to imagination.> In this way, they strive to represent to them likenesses of future things. Then those men, shamefully stained by the foul intimacy of demons, try to persuade everyone that, by the power of imagining, with an added vehement desire, this kind of
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di futura, naturæ via prænoscere. Nec dæmoniacos im- postores pudet, cùm ipsi in voluntario errore, tanquam fascinati persistant, nobis quoque in iis modis impone- re, quò talium futurarum, & abditarum rerum præco- gnitionem imaginationi adscribamus. Per hæc enim principia vehementer confidunt, paulatim homines ad varios errores, ac superstitiones pertrahi posse: quorum impudentiam, vt pro viribus meis exploderem, ad hæc scribenda motus præcipuè sum. Vtque intactum ni- hil relinquatur, aliam dubitationem de Dæmonibus ipsis ratione imaginationis examinandam aggrediar. Nonnullos hominum conceptus, & rerum simulachra, & cor- dis affectus Dæmones cognoscunt: de quibus superstitiosi quidam edocti, per vim imaginatricem eam cognitionem se assecutos iactitant. CAP. VI. VEMADMODVM Deus Opt. Max. huma- næ naturæ arbitrij libertatem dedit, cui nulla, nisi diuina potestas præest: ita eius cogno- scendi virtuti, abditiorem, & occultiorem partem quandam largitus est, ad cuius intima pene- tralia, nulla cognitio, præter diuinam penetrat. nec propterea humana mens effugere potest, quin dæmo- nes nonnullas cogitationes suas prænoscant. Vt au- tem huius quæstionis perfecta notitia habeatur, præ- notari oportet, nostri cordis sensus duobus modis co- derari. Primo vt præsentes, atq; actu in intellectu sunt; se- cudo vt futuri. Futuri coceptus, ac volendi actus nô mo- dò à Dæmone, sed ne ab ipso quidem homine præintelligi
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to foreknow future things by the course of nature. Nor are demonic impostors ashamed, since they themselves persist in voluntary error, as if bewitched, to deceive us also in such ways that we may ascribe to imagination the foreknowledge of such future and hidden things. For by these principles they are strongly confident that men can gradually be drawn into various errors and superstitions; and their impudence moved me especially to write these things, that I might, as far as my strength allowed, refute it. And lest anything be left untouched, I shall proceed to examine another doubt concerning demons themselves in relation to imagination. Demons know some human concepts, images of things, and affections of the heart; and concerning these, certain superstitious persons, having been instructed, boast that they have attained that knowledge by the imaginative faculty. CAP. VI. Just as God, the Best and Greatest, has given to human nature the liberty of choice, over which no power rules except the divine: so has He bestowed upon its faculty of knowing a certain more hidden and secret part, into whose inmost recesses no knowledge, except the divine, can penetrate. Nor for that reason can the human mind escape the fact that demons foreknow some of its thoughts. But in order that a perfect knowledge of this question may be had, it should first be noted that the senses of our heart are arranged in two ways: first, as they are present and actually in the intellect; second, as they are future. Future concepts and acts of willing are not only foreknown by a demon, but not even by the man himself can they be pre-understood
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Liber II. 85 queunt. Quoniam effectus futuri, qui à causa, quæ impediri potest oriútur, certa notitia non præcognoscuntur, nisi ab illo qui omnium impedimentorum genera nouit. At quoniam futuri nostri sensus à nostra voluntate nascuntur; quæ sua natura & variabilis est & inconstans: cuius quidem inconstantiæ causas, nec dæmon, Hominis voluntas soli Deo patet. nec ipse homo, sed Deus duntaxat nouit, solus Deus futuros hominum sensus intelligere potest. Impedimenta verò nostræ voluntati impendentia ex diuersis causis contingere conlucuerunt: ex diuino scilicet motu, vt in Prouerb Cor Regis in manu Domini, & quocúque voluerit, inclinabit illud. Hæc diuina motio futura, nemini prorsus nisi Deo soli nota esse potest. Accidunt etia[m] impedimenta ex futura corporis alteratione, ex passionibus, monitis, præceptis, & aliis futuris contingentibus; Quotuplex sit præsens animo sensus. ex quibus futurorum sensuum nostrorum, certam intelligentiam assequi nô possumus. Præsentes autem animi sensus, qui in nobis actu reperiuntur, duplici discrimine considerantur. Primo seorsum, & omni respectu ac ratione remota, quo quidem modo cùm internè voluntas nostra præterquàm à Deo, à nemine moueri queat, eiusque nutui voluntatis motus immediatè subsit, Deo tantùm, & ipsi homini cogitanti, & volenti proprius animus notus esse potest. Secundo, vt ad corporis signa referuntur, quæ in externis animi motibus, ac desideriis, Animus per externa signa cognoscitur. corpus diuersis afficiut modis. Qua via non solum dæmones, sed peritissimi quoque Medici de ægrotorum præsertim affectibus coiicere solent, vt bene Galenus in tractatu de medendis animi morbis tetigit, sic Leptini Mathematici, vel, vt quidam tradunt, Eristrati Medici solertia, infandum Antiochi amorem pia dissi- L iii
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Liber II. 85 can. For the future effects, which arise from a cause that can be impeded, are not foreknown with certain knowledge, except by him who knows all kinds of impediments. But since the future movements of our senses arise from our will; which by its nature is both changeable and inconstant: of whose inconstancy the causes neither demon, The will of man is open to God alone. nor man himself, but God alone knows; God alone can understand the future movements of men’s senses. But the impediments threatening our will are seen to occur from various causes: namely from a divine motion, as in Prov. “The king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, and whithersoever he will, he will incline it.” This divine motion of what is to come can be known to absolutely no one except God alone. There also occur impediments from future alteration of the body, from passions, admonitions, commands, and other future contingencies; How manifold a present sense there is in the mind. from which we cannot attain a certain understanding of our future senses. But present states of the mind, which are found in us in act, are considered under a twofold distinction. First, separately and with all respect and relation removed, in which way, since our inward will cannot be moved by anyone except God, and the motions of the will are immediately subject to his nod, to God alone, and to the man himself thinking and willing, the proper mind can be known. Second, as they are referred to bodily signs, by which external movements and desires of the mind, The mind is known through external signs. the body is affected in various ways. By this path not only demons, but even the most skilled physicians also are accustomed to infer, especially concerning the affections of the sick, as Galen well noted in the treatise On the Healing of Mental Diseases; thus the ingenuity of Leptinus the mathematician, or, as some relate, of Eristratus the physician, the wicked love of Antiochus was piously dissi- L iii
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mulatione contectum in Stratonicen nouercam detexit: iuxta enim adolescentem sedens, brachiumque eius dissimulanter apprehendens, animaduertit ad introitum Stratonices pullum venarum vegetiorem esse, eaque egrediente languidiorem; iuuenem præsente nouerca rubore perfundi, rursus ea absente pallere; spiritum modò increbrescere, modò excitatiore anhelitu subinde recipi, ex quibus facilè ad ipsam veritate penetrauit. Qua de re D. Aug. in lib. de Dæmonum diuinat. sic ait, Aliquado dæmones hominum dispositiones, non modò voce prolatas, verumetiâ cogitatione conceptas, cum signa quæda ex animo exprimutur in corpore, tota facilitate perdiscut. Animaduertendum quoque est id quod Arist. in lib. de Phys. aud. inquit, Humanâ animâ intelligentiarum, & abstractarum mentium vltimâ esse: & quod in Theologorum scholis clarum est, superiores mentes, qui Angeli appellantur, vniuersalioribus speciebus quam inferiores præditas esse. Vnde infertur, quòd inferioris intellectus species à superioribus intelligentiis comprehendi possunt: inferiores verò Angeli superiorum Angelorum species non co[n]prehendunt; quo sit vt cum dæmones naturæ ordine hominum intellectu superiores existat, species quibus noster intellectus informatur, cognoscant. Quæ profectò specierum cognitio absolut è & simpliciter consideratur, & non quantum ad affirmatione aut negatione, nec quantum ad electione vel fuga. Na à dæmonibus huiusmodi species minimè cognosci possunt, quoniam specierum fuga, vel electio, quæ vsus volutatis nostræ dicitur, hoc est actualis cogitatio, & rerum in metediscursus; non nisi à Deo, & ab homine cogitare intelligitur. Et ratio est quâ tetigimus; na volendi & cogitandi actus à volutate oritur, cuius mo-
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...covered with a mask, he detected in Stratonice the stepmother: for, sitting beside the young man and discreetly taking hold of his arm, he noticed that on Stratonice’s entering the pulse became more vigorous, and on her leaving more languid; the young man, in the presence of his stepmother, was covered with blushes, and again, when she was absent, turned pale; his breathing sometimes grew more rapid, sometimes was repeatedly drawn in with deeper panting. From these signs he easily penetrated to the truth itself. On this matter St. Augustine, in the book On the Divination of Demons , says thus: “Sometimes demons easily discern the dispositions of men, not only as expressed by the voice, but even as conceived in thought, when certain signs are expressed from the soul in the body.” It must also be observed what Aristotle says in the book On the Hearer of Physics , namely, that the human soul is the last among intelligences and abstract minds; and what is clear in the schools of theologians, that higher minds, who are called angels, are endowed with more universal species than lower ones. Whence it is inferred that the species of a lower intellect can be comprehended by higher intelligences; but lower angels do not comprehend the species of higher angels. Thus it comes about that, since demons exist by the order of nature above human intellect, they know the species by which our intellect is informed. This knowledge of species is certainly to be considered absolutely and simply, and not with respect to affirmation or negation, nor with respect to choice or flight. For such species cannot be known by demons, since the flight or choice of species, which is called the use of our will—that is, actual thought and discursive reasoning about things—is understood only by God and by man. And the reason is the one we have touched on; for the act of willing and thinking arises from the will, whose mo-
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Liber II. 87 tus ex summo reru[m] ordine dependet, qui quidem ordo summu[m] bonu[m] est. < Bonum uniuersale proprium voluntatis obiectu[m].> Voluntas aute[m] non alicuius particularis, sed vniuersalis boni, tanqua[m] proprij obiecti est. Id verò quod infra superioris causæ ordinem subest, inferior causa cognoscere no[n] potest, sed tantu[m] superior causa mo[u]e[n]s, & ille qui mouetur; vt ex[em]pli causa: Ego sub Cardinalis dominiosum, Angelus mei fratris filius sub mea est potestate: si quid Cardinalis immediatè meo nepoti imperabit; ego scire nequea[m], sed solu[m] Angelus & Cardinalis. Ita hominu[m] intellectus, etsi naturæ ordine est dæmone inferior; nihilominus si quid Deus, qui reru[m] omnium supremus est Dominus, immediatè ei imperabit, dæmo[n]o scire no[n] poterit. < D. Thomas in q. de scientia Dei expiscatur.> Et hoc pacto intelligendu[m] puto illud D. Tho. in qu. de scient. Dei, art. 12. vbi ait, quòd intelligere est quasi intus legere. < Cæsaris Albini argumentorum resolusso.> Et in par. 1. q. 57. art. 4. ad 1. Volutas est claudes sua secreta, quo ad affirmationem vel fuga[m] actus volendi. Quidâ asserere conabâtur, dæmones no[n] modò nostros sensus ac reru[m] species in mēte receptas, absolutè, sed etia[m] quantu[m] ad affirmatione[m] vel fuga[m] cognoscere. Inter quos Iul. Cæsar Albinus Bencu[n]etanus acutissimus iuuenis, mihi in ea ciuitate philosophia[m] ac sacram Theologiâ publicè interpretanti, sic obiicihat: Dæmones animæ nostræ substantiâ cognoscût, sed illius sensus quocunq[ue]; modo sumâtur, sunt ipsa animæ substatia notiores; q[ui]a sunt eius effect[us], q[ui] sua causa cognitu sunt faciliores: ergo dæmones animæ naturâ cognoscêtes, illius quoq[ue]; sensus p[er]cipiuit: rursus peccatu[m] est character dæmonu[m], qui quide[m] character cu[m] in mēte co[n]cipitur, dæmones no[n] latet. Primâ ratione[m] sic enodabâ; In anima duplex aëtio reperitur, quaru[m] transiés vna, & immanes altera dici < Animæ actio duplex.> tur. Effectus transiés est, cu[m] ab anima ad corporis partes
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Liber II. 87 that which depends on the highest order of things; and that order is the highest good. <The universal good is the proper object of the will.> But the will is not of some particular good, but of the universal good, as of its proper object. Yet that which lies beneath the order of a superior cause cannot be known by an inferior cause, but only by the superior cause moving, and by the one that is moved; as, for example: I am under the authority of the Cardinal, and the angel, the son of my brother, is under my power: if the Cardinal should command my nephew immediately, I would not be able to know it, but only the angel and the Cardinal. So the intellect of man, although by the order of nature it is inferior to a demon, nevertheless, if God, who is the Lord supreme over all things, should command it immediately, it could not be known by the demon. <St. Thomas investigates this in the question on the knowledge of God.> And in this way, I think, that statement of St. Thomas in the question on the knowledge of God, art. 12, where he says that to understand is as it were to read within, is to be understood. <The resolution of the arguments of Caesar Albinus.> And in part 1, q. 57, art. 4, ad 1, the will is the guardian of its own secrets, with respect to the affirmation or flight of the act of willing. Some were trying to assert that demons know not only our senses and the species of things received in the mind absolutely, but also in respect to affirmation or denial. Among them, Julius Caesar Albinus of Benevento, a most sharp young man, when I was publicly expounding philosophy and sacred theology in that city, objected to me as follows: Demons know the substance of our soul, but its senses, however they may be taken, are more known than the substance of the soul itself; because they are its effects, and effects are easier to know than their cause: therefore demons, knowing the nature of the soul, perceive its senses as well. Again, sin is the mark of demons, and indeed when that mark is conceived in the mind, it is not hidden from demons. I answered the argument in this way: In the soul a twofold action is found, one passing, and the other immanent. The passing effect is when from the soul to the parts of the body...
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DE FASCINO 88 transit, & ita ob pallorem vel ruborem qui corpus afficiunt, timorem & verecundiam coniicere possunt, quæ in anima concepta sunt. Immanens autem actio, nullo modo à dæmonibus sciri potest: quia ipsa anima est occultior & abditior. De prima itaque actione, quæ est anima notior, ratio militat. Vel dici potest, quòd ea ratio in actione naturæ locum habet, non autem voluntatis: naturæ enim actio se manifestare nata est: & sicut eius substantia abscondi nequit, ita nec eius effectus. Voluntaria autem actio secus est, quia sicut liberè in lucé exit, liberè quoque se occultare potest. Altera dubitatio de charactere, intelligenda est de illo, qui in hominu[m] frontibus imprimitur, id est quando peccatum committitur absque rubore. Nec illud obstat, Quòd dæmones in extremo iudicio de secretissimis sceleribus homines accusabunt; quia, vt ait Ioh, reuelabunt cæli iniquitatem illorum: hoc est cælestes personæ, qui sunt Angeli boni, & de peccatis ab Angelis qui fuerunt ad custodiam deputati reuelatis, dæmones, peccatores arguent. Præterea iusti & pij homines cum Christo in aëre, mali in terra erût; ideò dæmones perfacilè damnatos cognoscent, & de peccatis accusabunt. Si quis verò ex Dionysij verbis instaret, spirituales substantias sua natura esse specula, at in materiali speculo sic sit, vt quoties vnum alteri opponatur, non modò ipsum, sed quidquid in eo relucet, referat: ergo cùm spiritualia specula, vt sua natura dæmones sunt, maiorem similitudinem habeant, & expressiorem ac clariorem ostendant, quàm materialia, & corporea, videtur quòd dæmones animam nostram intuêtes, non ipsam duntaxat, sed totum quod in ea reperitur, cognoscant, idque ita roboratur. Oculus meus nihil in me vi- dere
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OF FASCINATION 88 transit, and thus, from pallor or blushing affecting the body, they can infer fear and shame, which have been conceived in the soul. But an immanent action can in no way be known by demons, because the soul itself is more hidden and more concealed. Therefore, with regard to the first action, which is more known to the soul, reason holds. Or it can be said that this reason applies to action in nature, but not to that of the will: for the action of nature is born to manifest itself, and just as its substance cannot be hidden, so neither can its effect. But voluntary action is otherwise, because just as it freely comes into the light, so also it can freely conceal itself. The second doubt concerning the character is to be understood of that one which is impressed on men’s foreheads, that is, when sin is committed without blushing. Nor does that stand in the way, namely, that demons at the last judgment will accuse men of their most secret crimes; because, as John says, the heavens will reveal their iniquity: that is, the heavenly persons, who are the good angels, and from sins revealed by the angels who had been assigned to guard them, the demons will accuse the sinners. Moreover, the just and pious will be with Christ in the air, the wicked on the earth; therefore demons will very easily recognize the damned and accuse them of their sins. But if anyone were to press Dionysius’ words, that spiritual substances are by their nature mirrors, and that in a material mirror it is such that whenever one thing is set opposite another, it reflects not only that thing itself but whatever shines in it: therefore, since spiritual mirrors, such as demons are by their nature, have a greater likeness and show a more express and clearer image than material and bodily ones, it seems that demons, looking into our soul, know not only it, but everything found in it, and this is further strengthened. My eye sees nothing in me-
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Liber II. 89 dere potest, quod alterius quoque oculus non cognoscat; sed corporei oculi cum obiecto corporeo eandem rationem habent, quam oculi spirituales respectu obiecti spiritualis: igitur sicut oculum m[en]tis meæ cordis arcanæ non latent; ita nec dæmonu[m] oculos præterire possunt, qui spiritualia specula sunt. Hæ difficultates dissoluuntur, maxima namque differentia est inter speculum materiale, & corruptioni obnoxium, & inter voluntariu[m] simplex & permanens. Materiale speculum species quas suscipit, ex necessitate refert; voluntarium verò longè secus se habet: inest enim illi clauis quædam quæ arbitrij libertas appellatur; quæ ad suum nutum aperit, & celat, quidquid libet. Ideò similitudo ad rem no[n] facit. Eàdem quoque respon[s]ione corroborationi de oculo sit satis: no[n] enim oculi corporis & spiritus eadem ratio est, quin maximè differunt. Ille siquidem omne quod in alio est non potest non videre; hic autem cùm sit voluntarius ac liber, claui sua, quæ est arbitrij libertas, suo arbitratu claudere potest, ne quod ipse videt, quisquam introspiciat. Et hoc est quod D. Aug. super Gen. ad litteram dicit: sicut substantiæ corporeæ aliqua velamenta habent, quibus se alienis aspectibus occultant, sic & in his spiritualibus suo modo intelligendum est. Nam quamuis plicarum diuersitates ex diuersarum naturarum co[m]positione in eis non sint, potentiarum tamen gradus reperiuntur; quorum respectu quæda[m] animæ intima dicuntur, vt quæ superiores potentias respiciunt, secundum quas anima in seipsa magis recolligitur, ac sua celat secreta. Ex iam dictis concludimus, quòd dæmones nostros sensus, ac species in nostra mente conceptas absolutè & simpliciter cognoscunt, & non quantum ad affirmationem vel M
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Liber II. 89 It may be doubted, that another’s eye also does not recognize; but bodily eyes, with a bodily object, have the same relation as spiritual eyes with respect to a spiritual object: therefore, just as the eye of my mind, the hidden things of my heart, are not concealed from me; so neither can they escape the eyes of demons, which are spiritual mirrors. These difficulties are dissolved, for there is a great difference between a material mirror, subject to corruption, and a voluntary one, simple and permanent. A material mirror necessarily reflects the forms it receives; but a voluntary one is far otherwise disposed: for in it there is, as it were, a certain key, which is called the liberty of choice; and at its own nod it opens and hides whatever it pleases. Therefore the comparison does not fit the matter. By the same answer, let enough have been said concerning the eye: for the eye of the body and of the spirit are not of the same nature, since they differ greatly. The former, indeed, cannot but see everything that is in another; but the latter, since it is voluntary and free, can shut, at its own will, its own key, which is the liberty of choice, lest anything which it itself sees should be looked into by anyone. And this is what St. Augustine says in De Genesi ad litteram: just as bodily substances have certain coverings, by which they hide themselves from the sight of others, so also in these spiritual things it must be understood in its own way. For although in them the varieties of folds do not arise from a composition of diverse natures, nevertheless degrees of powers are found; in respect of which certain things are called the innermost parts of the soul, namely those which pertain to the higher powers, according to which the soul is more collected within itself and hides its secrets. From the things already said we conclude that demons know our senses, and the forms conceived in our mind, absolutely and simply, and not insofar as to affirmation or
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90 DE FASCINO negatione. Vt verò eiusmodi cordis affectus corpus alterant, mira facilitate & perspicacitate ab ipsis cognoscuntur, quos quidem affectus dæmones quibus volunt detegunt, eisque persuadent, per vehemente imaginandi virtute ipsos cognosci posse: vnde ipsi dæmones illorum imaginationi insidentes, atque illis occulta aperiètes, infinitis erroru tenebris misellos quosda illaqueant: qui & rationis & salutis expertes mira se posse ac scire garriut, & ad cælu imaginandi potestate extollunt, tâquâ incredibilium & miraculoru causam blaterantes. Nec animaduertunt, quòd quæ afferunt, & philosophiè principiis, & Theologiæ, & sensui, & rationi, & experiètiæ repugnât. Vnde optimè sibi consuleret si imaginatrici virtuti minus tribuerent, sequè à dæmonibus falli non sencerent. Nihil ad generatione, quantum ad proli similitudinem, ad sexum imaginatio confert, sed horum causa in semine latere ostenditur. CAP. VII. V 1 fascinu per imaginandi vires iaculari asserut, exemplu de natoru similitudine, ac sexu adducunt: quæ omnia ex imaginantium conceptione, coitus tepore accidere fatetur; quæ, vt cætera, à ratione & à veris philosophiæ principiis abhorrere ostendemus. Arist. plerisque in locis animu à corpore, & corpus ab animo affici existimat. Corpus enim cibo expletu animum obruit, sic timente animo corpus inhorrescit; eode nimiu gaudente adeò dilatatur, vt penè semiuiuum videatur. Idque si nunqua accideret, eo tepore maximè, quo vir cum foemina comiscetur, fieri consueuit: tunc enim ob delectatione imaginatio, & aliæ partes animæ, ita laquidę & impeditæ sunt, <Animus à corpore et corpus ab animo afficietur.> <Deliquium animi in coru.>
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90 ON FASCINATION negation. But since such affections of the heart alter the body, they are recognized by those very people with wonderful ease and clarity; and these affections, which the demons reveal to whomever they wish, they persuade them can be known by a very vehement power of imagining. Whence the demons themselves, taking their stand in their imagination, and opening hidden things to them, ensnare wretches in infinite darkness of error: men who, devoid of both reason and salvation, chatter that they can do and know marvelous things, and, by the power of imagination, exalt themselves to heaven, babbling as the cause of incredible and miraculous things. Nor do they notice that what they bring forward is contrary both to the principles of philosophy and to Theology, and to sense, and to reason, and to experience. Wherefore they would best consult their own good if they attributed less to the imaginative faculty, and did not allow themselves to be deceived by demons. Imagination contributes nothing to generation, as far as likeness of offspring is concerned, nor to sex; but the cause of these is shown to lie hidden in the seed. CHAP. VII. Those who assert that fascination is hurled by the powers of imagining cite as evidence the likeness of children and their sex: all of which, they admit, happens from the conception of those imagining, at the time of intercourse; and this, as with the rest, we shall show to be repugnant to reason and to the true principles of philosophy. Aristotle in many places thinks that the mind is affected by the body, and the body by the mind. For the body, when filled with food, weighs down the mind; thus, when the mind is afraid, the body shudders; and when the same mind rejoices excessively, it expands so much that it seems almost half-dead. And if this never happened, it is especially at the time when a man unites with a woman that it is accustomed to happen; for then, on account of pleasure, the imagination and the other parts of the soul are so slackened and hindered, <The mind is affected by the body, and the body by the mind.> <Fainting of the mind in the body.>
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Liber II. 91 vt vterq[ue] animi deliquiu[m] passus iudicetur. Spiritus enim tunc pigri & graues sunt, nerui laxi & languidi, similiter & mebranæ, quibus de causis imaginatio paru[m] inteta in res, figuras & ordines. Ideò ad vehementem imaginationem tunc teporis animus inhabilis omnino est. Huc accedit, quòd animalia cæca quandoque pullos maribus similes generat, quos nunqua[m] videre potuerunt: hinc fit vt ima- ginationem generationi nihil cõferre censea[m]; sed cu[m] simi- litudinem, tum sexum ad semem refera[m]. Quod quidem Poëta Lucret. qui naturæ principia rimatur hisce versibus ex- pressit: Semper enim partus duplici de semine constat; Atque vtri simile est magis id, quodcunq[ue] creatur, Eius habet plus parte æqua: quod cernere possis, Siue virum soboles, siue est muliebris origo. Nec quenquam ex veris Philosophis legi, qui no[n] semini omnia adscribat, quæ nato innascuntur, superstitiosis quibusdam exceptis, qui cum bonarum disciplinarum ignari sint, vana quædam dogmata sibi confinxerunt, vt docti & acuti ac perspicaces videretur, atque ita tot tan- tâque imaginationi tribuerunt, reru[m] causis ac veris prin- cipiis relictis. Id genus est hoc de natorum similitudine ac dissimilitudine, cuius causa nulli rei præterquam se- mini adscribenda est. Et quanqua[m] si seminis virtus inspi- ciatur, semper proles patri potius quam matri similis na- sci deberet; quia hic formam, illa verò materiâ submini- strat; nihilomin[us] foeminea gignendi vis, quæ ad robur etia[m] ipsa, & firmitatem confert, menstrui virtute[m] & facultate[m] sibi coniungit; quæ nouemensium spatio foetu[m] nutriens, tantum roboris ac firmitatis acquirit, quatum in primo congressu à maris semine vincebatur: miniméque miru[m] cuiquam videri debet, si soboles vtrisque parentibus in M ij
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Liber II. 91 that either defect of mind may be judged to have been suffered. For the spirits then are sluggish and heavy, the nerves slack and languid, likewise the membranes; for these reasons the imagination is little intent upon things, figures, and order. Therefore at such a time the mind is altogether unfit for vehement imagination. To this is added that blind animals sometimes beget young similar to the males, whom they have never been able to see: hence I conclude that imagination contributes nothing to generation; but that both likeness and sex are to be referred to the seed. This the poet Lucretius, who probes the principles of nature, expressed in these verses: For always the offspring consists of a double seed; And that thing is more like whichever of the two creates it, It has more by an equal share, as you may see, Whether the child is of a man, or its origin is female. Nor have I read any of the true philosophers who does not ascribe to the seed all those things that are inborn in the newborn, with the exception of certain superstitious men, who, since they are ignorant of the good disciplines, have fashioned for themselves certain empty dogmas so as to appear learned, subtle, and discerning, and thus have attributed so much to imagination, leaving aside the causes of things and their true principles. Of this kind is the discussion of the likeness and unlikeness of those born, whose cause must be attributed to nothing except the seed. And although, if the power of the seed be considered, the offspring ought always to be born more like the father than the mother, because he supplies the form and she the matter; nevertheless the female power of generation, which also contributes strength and firmness, joins itself to the virtue and faculty of the menses, which, nourishing the fetus for the space of nine months, acquires so much strength and firmness as it was overcome by at the first union by the male seed: and it should seem by no means surprising to anyone if the offspring in both parents M ij
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diuersis partibus corporis similis procreatur: quia ex se- mine, quod viribus præcellit, similitudo oritur, diuersis- que in partibus in foetus formatione alterum alteri præ- stare potest. Illa siquidem seminis pars, quæ prior excidit, crassior: quæ secundavel tertia iaculatione emittitur, tenuior, frigidior & imbecillior, insitique caloris substantiæ minus particeps iudicatur: quo fit vt in quibusdam partibus maris, in quibusdâ foeminę, semen ob commistionem præcellat: & qua præqualuerit, illa foetus pars ei cuius semę præstat, similis sit; quoniam opifex virtus, in minima quaque materiæ parte inest: atq; ita natura co- paratum est, vt ea vis quę oculum, nasum, superciliu[m] fingit, singula mebra efficiat, & vim suâ habeat. Hac de causa Aug. Colibri de variis equorum coloribus sente[n]sia. Columbrus e S. Seuerino, qui de equoru[m] natura ac remediis scripsit, longè melius sensit, quàm illi, qui similitudine[m] imaginationi adscripserunt. Hic enim equorum colores ex humoru[m] prædominio oriri existimauit. Vnde equus rubei coloris ex humore sanguineo prædominatè nascitur, qui quidę humor si paru[m] adustus fuerit, equum quę Sauru[m] appellamus, reddet: ex cholerico humore excedente, qui calidus & siccus est, niger:& iuxta maiorę vel minorę eiusmodi humoris varietate[m], magis, vel minus niger equus procreatur. Albus autę equus ex flegmatico humore, qui est frigidus & humidus oritur: qui quidę humor si cu[m] sanguineo misceatur, equum quę Muscatu[m] dicunt, efficiet. Colores verò mixti, ex humore melancholico fiunt, vt fuliginosi, ceruini, soricei, ac cæteri: est enim frigidæ & siccæ naturæ, terræ accedes, coloru[m] varietatem effingens. Cæterùm illud Genesis, quòd Iacob virgas variis coloribus depictas in canalibus posuit, ad quos oves bibendi causa ducebantur, vt du[m] oves
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is generated similar in the different parts of the body: because from the semen, which excels in strength, similarity arises, and in the formation of the fetus one part may surpass another in the different parts. Indeed, that part of the semen which first falls away is thicker; that which is emitted in the second or third emission is thinner, colder, and weaker, and is judged to partake less of the substance of innate heat: from which it happens that in some parts of the male, in some of the female, the semen excels through mixture; and whichever has prevailed, that part of the fetus will be similar to that in whose semen it prevails; for the formative power is present in every smallest part of the material. And thus nature is so fashioned that that force which shapes the eye, nose, and eyebrow makes each individual limb, and has its own power. For this reason Aug. Colibri on the various colors of horses, Columbrus of San Seuerino, who wrote on the nature and remedies of horses, thought far better than those who attributed similarity to imagination. For he believed that the colors of horses arise from the predominance of humors. Hence a horse of a red color is chiefly born from a sanguine humor, which humor, if somewhat burnt, will produce the horse we call Saurus ; from an excessive choleric humor, which is hot and dry, a black horse arises; and according to the greater or lesser variation of such humor, a horse more or less black is produced. A white horse, however, arises from a phlegmatic humor, which is cold and moist; and if this humor is mixed with the sanguine, it will produce the horse they call Muscatus . Mixed colors, however, are made from the melancholic humor, such as sooty, chestnut, mouse-colored, and others: for it is of a cold and dry nature, akin to earth, shaping the variety of colors. Moreover, that passage of Genesis, in which Jacob placed rods painted with various colors in the channels to which the sheep were led for the sake of drinking, so that while the sheep...
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Liber II. 93 cum arietibus coiret, variatos foetus co[n]ciperent, vt re ve- ra accidit: n[on] per imaginâdi vires, sed per diuinâ virtute[m], vt mysteriis correspôderet, factu esse reor, sicut ex capite immediatè sequenti clarè habetur, vbi inter alia sic legi- tur, cap. 31. Abstulit Deus gregé patris vestri, & dedit mi- hi, & nisi fuisset Deus patris mei, vacuum remisisset me. Non igitur imaginationi sed Deo gregem acceptum re- fert: ibique interpretes aiunt, quòd Deus furatur impiis, vt tribuat iustis: neque solùm spiritualia illis largitur bo- na, sed & temporalia. Si quidem si naturæ via actum id fuisset, hodie quoque fieri quis vetaret? & tamen quàm plurimos illud tentasse auduii, & quid simile nunquam contigisse. Nec obstat, quod August. lib. 12. de Ciuit. Dei inquit, Anima sic vel sic affecta prægnantis, valet aliquibus velut induere qualitatibus foetum, sicut devir- gis variatis fecit Iacob, vt pecora diuersicolora gigne- rentur. Ibi enim aliorum de hac re opiniones refert; & ideo non ex sua sententia loquitur; paulóque inferius se declarare incipit, quando ait, Quælibet desideria motûs- ve animæ matris valent aliquid lineamentorum aut co- lorum aspergere teneris, mollibusque conceptibus: quæ sic, vel in suo genere afficiantur, non facit nisi summus Deus. Quòd autem ad foetuum colorem variâdum, po- tus & cibi varietas conferat, non dubito; quia cùm causa omnium accidentium, & colorum in prole sit ipsum se- men in quo latent, & semé ex sanguine fiat, qui quidem sanguis ex cibo augetur, & iuxta cibi ac potus naturam sanguis alteratur. Si cibus & potus variantur, foetu[m] co- lores, ob seminis naturam alteratam, variari oportet. A- ristot. in lib. de Historia animaliu[m] ait, quòd in terra Assi- ride agri Chalcidici Thraciæ amnis est frigidissimus, M ij
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Liber II. 93 if it were to mate with rams, they would conceive variegated offspring, as in fact happened: I think this was done, not by the power of imagination, but by divine virtue, so that it might correspond to the mysteries, as is clearly shown from the immediately following chapter, where, among other things, it is read thus, ch. 31. “God has taken away the flock of your father, and given it to me; and unless it had been the God of my father, he would have sent me away empty.” He therefore refers the flock received not to imagination but to God; and there the interpreters say that God steals from the ungodly in order to give to the righteous: and He bestows on them not only spiritual goods, but also temporal ones. Indeed, if this had been done by the course of nature, who would forbid it from being done even today? And yet I have heard that very many have tried it, and that nothing like it has ever occurred. Nor does what August. says in lib. 12. de Civitate Dei stand in the way: “The soul, thus or thus affected, when pregnant, is able in some way to impart qualities, as Jacob did with the varied rods, so that the sheep might be born of different colors.” For there he reports the opinions of others on this matter, and therefore he is not speaking from his own judgment; and a little farther on he begins to make his own view clear, when he says: “Whatever desires or movements of the mother’s soul are able to sprinkle some lineaments or colors upon the tender, soft conceptions: those which are thus affected, even in their own kind, are made so only by the supreme God.” But as to the varying of the color of the offspring, I do not doubt that variety of drink and food contributes; because, since the cause of all accidents and colors in the offspring is the seed itself in which they lie hidden, and since the seed is made from blood, and that blood is increased by food, and according to the nature of food and drink the blood is altered. If food and drink are varied, the colors of the fetus must also be varied, because the nature of the seed has been altered. Aristot. in the book de Historia animalium says that in the land of Assyria, in the territory of Chalcis, there is a river of Thrace, exceedingly cold, M ij
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94 DE FASCINO cuius aquam si oves biberint, moxque à potu coierint, nigros agnos generant. Ibidem in Antandria duos fluuios esse asserit, quorum vnius aquæ, candorem, alterius nigredinem pecori inducunt. Scamandrus insuper amnis, flauas oves reddere, eodem loco perhibetur. Strabo de Crantide flumine fines Italiæ Tarentum versus præterlabente affirmat, quòd homines in eo lotos cæsarie candidos, & flauos efficiat. Plinius etiam arictum ora introspici scribit; quia cuius coloris sub lingua habuerint venas, eius & lanitium erit in foetu, variúmqe si plures fuere, & mutatio aquarum potúsque variat. Virgilius quoque hac de causa in arietibus linguam spectandam esse monet, Georg. 3. <Plinius de lanitij colore.> Illum autem, quamuis aries sit candidus ipse, Nigra subest vdo tantùm cui lingua palato, Reijce, ne maculis infuscet vellera pullis Nascentum, plenóque alium circumspice campo. <Virg. de electione arietio.> Quòd si imaginatio ad foetuum cum parentibus similitudinem nihil confert, neque ad sexus procreationem conferre poterit. Stratonicus Philosophus foeminam ex foeminę, marem ex maris semine inualescente procreari dixit: at quia id repugnat, quòd sæpenumero accidit vt foeminæ patri, mares matri quàm simillimi nascantur: ideo non absolutè ex seminis prædominio, sed ex diuersarum partiù præeminentia procreari marem vel foeminâ alij dixerunt. Galen. verò ex effectricium qualitatum temperie id venire dicit; ex caliditatis scilicet, vel frigiditatis virtute præcellête. Verùm quia omniu[m] effectuum Deus est præcipua causa, virilis quoque sexus procreatio ab eo præcipuè dependet, cuius rej in Saëris litteris cla-
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94 ON FASCINATION whose water, if sheep drink it, and afterwards, from the drink, mate, they produce black lambs. In the same place, in Antandria, he states that there are two rivers, the waters of one of which produce whiteness, of the other blackness in cattle. Moreover, the river Scamander is said, in the same place, to make sheep yellow. Strabo also affirms, concerning the river Crantis flowing along the borders of Italy toward Tarentum, that men washed in it are made white- haired and yellow-haired. Pliny likewise writes that rams inspect the mouth of the ewe; because of whatever color they have the veins under the tongue, of that color also will be the wool in the offspring, and if there are several, it will be varied, and a change of waters and of drink varies it. Virgil for the same reason also warns that in rams the tongue must be observed, Georg. 3. <Pliny on the color of the wool.> But if imagination contributes nothing to the resemblance of offspring to their parents, neither will it be able to contribute anything to the production of sexes. The philosopher Stratonicus said that the female is procreated from the female, the male from the male semen gaining strength: but since this is contradictory, because it very often happens that females are born most like the father, males the mother: therefore some said that male or female is procreated not absolutely from the predominance of one seed, but from the preeminence of different parts. Galen, however, says that this comes from the temperament of the productive qualities; namely from the power of heat or of cold prevailing. But since of all effects God is the chief cause, the procreation of the male sex also depends chiefly on him, of which matter in the Sacred Writings the cla-
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Liber II. 93 ra exempla habemus. Quòd autem circa genialem le- ctum vt elegantes imagines habeant, mulieribus præci- pitur, nihil refert. adeo enim in vulgi opinione recepta est de imaginatione confidentia, vt circa generationem quam maximè valere censeatur. Illud verò quod fertur de laruato qui dæmonem procreauit, fabulosum cen- seo. Nec mirum mihi videtur quod Plutarchus nar- rat, ex candido homine Æthiopem genitum: id etenim non ideo accidit, quia mulier in tabella Æthiopem pi- ctum viderit, sed quòd semen vitiatum erat, & maiorem procliuitatem ad nigrum, quàm ad album hominem procreádum habebat, cholerico humore in semine ve- hementer præcellente, ac dominante. Quod inde per- suaderi potest: nam quandoque canem ex muliere pro- creatum audiuimus; & nihilominus nulla vnquam mu- lier canem procreandi voluntatem habuisse creditur, cùm vnsuisque sibi simile procreare studeat, vt A- rist. non semel fatetur. Cùm itaque canis ex humano sanguine generatur, non ad imaginantem refertur, sed ad semen duntaxat. nam canis ex eo generari non potuit, nisi vitiato & corrupto. Quod semen corru- ptum, vt diximus, sicut ad hominem generandum in- ceptum, ita ad canem idoneum erat. Quo fit vt si ca- nem ad hominem, vnde semen decidit, referas, mon- strum dicitur: si autem ad seminis vitium canis refer- ratur, per se genitus nuncupatur. Eodem quoque pa- cto dicendum est, cùm ex albo homine Æthiops pro- creatur, quia ad seminis proprietatem, & non ad ima- ginantem referendum est. Ex eo enim non modò su- prædicta, verum etiam podagra, comitialis morbus, atq; innumeræ aliæ ægritudines hereditariæ vocatæ, foetibus
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Book II. 93 We have examples of this. But that women are instructed to have elegant images around the bridal bed, it makes no difference. For such confidence in imagination is received in popular opinion, that it is thought to be of the greatest force in generation. But the story told of the masked man who fathered a demon I consider fabulous. Nor does it seem strange to me what Plutarch relates, that an Ethiopian was born from a white man; for this did not happen because the woman had seen an Ethiopian painted on a tablet, but because the semen was corrupted, and had a greater tendency to produce a black man than a white one, the choleric humor in the semen greatly prevailing and dominating. This can be inferred from the fact that we have at times heard of a dog being generated from a woman; and nevertheless no woman is believed ever to have had the will to produce a dog, since each strives to produce what is like itself, as Aristotle more than once admits. Since therefore a dog is generated from human blood, the cause is not referred to the imagination, but to the semen alone. For a dog could not have been generated from it unless it had been vitiated and corrupted. This corrupted semen, as we have said, just as it had begun toward generating a man, so was also suitable for a dog. Hence it follows that if you refer the dog to the man from whom the semen fell, it is called a monster; but if the dog is referred to the defect of the semen, it is called self-generated. The same must also be said when an Ethiopian is produced from a white man, because it must be referred to the property of the semen, and not to the imagination. For from this are produced not only the aforesaid things, but also gout, epilepsy, and countless other diseases called hereditary, in the offspring
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DE FASCINO communicantur. nam cùm semen ex præcipuis partibus defluat, omniumque membrorum in se naturam virésque complectatur: sit vt quæ vitia vlli parti inhæseriunt, ea hæreditario iure proles sortiatur. Et quoniam mater- nus sanguis præcipuum sit foetus alimentum, quâdoque accidit, vt plus labis ex matre cōtrahat, siue corporis habitum, siue animi mores spectes. Quæ fatuum esset dicere, si ad imaginantem referrentur. < Accides duplex in homine.> Nec prætereúdum censeo, duplex accidens in homine reperiri: quorum vnum ex forma, alterum ex materia oritur: quod ex forma originem trahit, cum omnibus singularibus sub specie contentis communicatur; quod autem à materia emanat, non omnibus, sed nunc vni, nunc alij innascitur: & hinc sit, vt ratione materiæ accidentia, quæ in parentum corporibus reperiuntur, in filiis quoque videri contingat; < Iustini historiade anchora in femore Antiochi.> vt Iustinus Historicus lib. 16. de Seleuco Antiochi filio refert, in cui femore quia anchorę figura nata erat, in eius quoque filiis, ac nepotibus, veluti generis naturalis nota anchoræ in femore innata visa fuit. Illud de gallinis, risu potiùs quàm cōfutatione dignu[m] est, quoniam gallinarum, & aliarum volucrum calor, ouis quæ fouet, formam non tribuit: cùm quotidie experiamur sub gallinis, pauonum, anserum, & cæterorum animalium oua subiici, & ob illarum calorem pullos, quorum oua erant, gigni. < Gallinæ incubibus pullis excludendis non variâdis prodest.> Nihil profectò gallinarum calor efficere potest præter quàm insitum ouoru[m] calorem excitare: quod si gallina oua fouens, aliud quàm calorem excitandi vim conferre potest, non certè anserem, non anatem, nô pauonem ipsa procreare posset, vt fieri videmus: quia specie à gallina differunt, quin eadem oua, simi & ignis calore gallinarum calori conuenienti excludi videmus, & pullos
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DE FASCINO are communicated. For since semen flows from the principal parts, and contains in itself the nature and powers of all the limbs, it follows that whatever defects have adhered to any part, the offspring acquires them by hereditary right. And since maternal blood is the chief nourishment of the fetus, it sometimes happens that it contracts more blemish from the mother, whether you consider the shape of the body or the habits of the mind. This would be foolish to say, if these things were referred to an imaginer. <Accidentes duplex in homine.> Nor do I think it should be passed over, that a twofold accident is found in man: one arises from form, the other from matter. That which takes its origin from form is communicated to all the particulars contained under the species; but that which flows from matter is not in all, but is born now in one, now in another. And hence it comes about that, by reason of the matter, the accidents found in the bodies of parents may also be seen in the children; <Iustini historia de anchora in femore Antiochi.> as the Historian Justin, book 16, relates of Seleucus, the son of Antiochus, in whose thigh because the shape of an anchor had been born, in his sons also and grandsons, as though it were a natural mark of the family, the anchor in the thigh seemed to be inborn. What is said about hens is worthy of laughter rather than refutation, since the heat of hens and other birds that brood upon eggs does not give them shape: whereas we daily experience eggs of peacocks, geese, and other animals being placed under hens, and by the heat of those hens chicks being produced from the eggs that were laid. <Gallinæ incubib-us pullis excludendis non variandis prodest.> Indeed the heat of hens can do nothing except excite the natural heat of the eggs; for if a hen brooding over eggs could impart anything other than the power of exciting heat, she certainly could not produce a goose, a duck, or a peacock, as we see happen, because they differ in species from the hen; yet we see the same eggs, by a gentle and suitable heat like that of fire and of hens, being hatched, and chicks
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Liber II. 97 pullos eius speciei cuius oua foucbantur, in lucem edi. Cùm itaque pullorum forma, & accidentia in ouis lateant: frustrà gallinis, tempore quo ouis incubant, res variis coloribus depictas obiüciunt: cùm imaginandi virtus ad oua non pertingat. Pro illius dubij enodatione, in quo notas filiis impressas ex grauidarum matrum alicuius cibi desiderio accidisse obiiciebatur, notandum est, quòd spiritus animæ appetitui deseruiunt. < Anima spiritus appetitui deseruiunt.> idque tûc fit, cùm imaginationis potestas appetitum excitat. Omnis enim anima suis spiritibus veluti instrumentis vtilitur: quos quidem spiritus in corpore, quod viuificat, procreat: ijsdemque extra eiusmodi corpus, nihil agere possunt; quinimo si tales spiritus vehementi actione aliqua, puta exercitatione, calore aut frigore exagitati fuerint: nullo modo ipsi animæ, à qua originem habet, obedient, nec quidquam efficere poterunt: atque hoc inde clarum esse potest, quia nihil habent, quod eos dirigere possit: & simul atque in aerem emittuntur, disperguntur, ac dissoluuntur: vt in animalis corpore fieri solet, quando illius repentinus interitus accidit. < prægnantis desideriùs an foetis macula aspergere possit.> Nec embryo quasi alienum corpus à matre censendus est; si quidem eodem sanguine, quo matris corpus, sustentatur ac nutritur: iisdem spiritus per venas, & arterias illi communicantur. Et cùm illa carnis massa cæteris matris membris tenerior sit, facillimè pati potest, ac spirituum motiones sentire apta, & idonea est, & præsertim dum virtus formatiua, partes ac membra procreat; & aptat. quo quidem tempore si in spiritibus matris motus vehementiores fiant, ad foetum absque dubio penetrabunt. Vnde sæpius filij repentini motus ac timoris signis notantur, quàm rerum, quarum desiderio ma- N
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Book II. 97 the chicks of that species whose eggs were being incubated are brought forth into the light. Since, then, the form and accidents of the chicks lie hidden in the eggs, it is in vain that, while the hens are brooding over the eggs, things painted in various colors are shown to them: since the power of imagination does not extend to the eggs. For the solution of that doubt, in which it was objected that the marks impressed on the children had occurred from the desire for some food in pregnant mothers, it must be noted that the spirits serve the appetite of the soul. <The soul, the spirits serve the appetite.> And this takes place when the power of imagination stirs up the appetite. For every soul makes use of its spirits as instruments: and indeed these spirits it produces in the body that it vivifies; and outside such a body they can do nothing. Nay, if such spirits, stirred up by some violent action, such as exercise, heat, or cold, should be disturbed, they will in no way obey the soul itself, from which they derive their origin, nor will they be able to accomplish anything: and this can be made clear from the fact that they have nothing that can direct them; and as soon as they are emitted into the air, they are scattered and dissolved, as is usually the case in the body of an animal when its sudden death occurs. <Whether a pregnant woman’s desire can stain the foetus.> Nor must the embryo be considered as though it were a foreign body to the mother; since it is sustained and nourished by the same blood as the mother’s body: the same spirits are communicated to it through the veins and arteries. And since that mass of flesh is more delicate than the other members of the mother, it can very easily suffer and is fit and suitable for sensing the motions of the spirits, and especially while the formative power is producing and fitting together the parts and members; and at that time, if stronger motions arise in the mother’s spirits, they will undoubtedly penetrate to the foetus. Hence children are more often marked by signs of sudden movement and fear than by things whose desire they have not-
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98 DE FASCINO tres afficiebâtur, signa trahant. Si namq[ue] ex intensa imaginatione talia signa orirentur, alienos foetus potiùs quâ suos concupitarum rerú notis matres signatos esse vel- lent. Nulla enim matrú, natum suum foeda insignitum nota, extra vterum exire desiderat. Non igitur desideris, < Ob repenti- nos animi mo- tus foetus no- tatur.> sed perterrefactionis, & timoris, ac repentini motus, huiusmodi signa esse existimo. quia tenellus embryo ex subita perturbatione, cùm materia spirituú impressiones recipientium plena sit, qualibet figura, ac nota, absque læsione facillimè signatur. fieri namque in corpore consueuit, vt ex intenso desiderio spiritus inordinatè mo- ueantur, humores perturbentur, quibus co[n]citatis, & per- turbatis, varia signa tenello puero imprimuntur. quæ co[n] citatio si paulò violentior est, abortum mulieres facere solent, vt sæpius accidit. Quandoque parentes dæmoni- <Dæmonu[m] ope- ra filioli quâ doque signa- tur.> bus adstricti sunt, quoru[m] dæmonum opera tales spiritus commouentur, vt filij signati oriantur, quò eisdè dæmo- nibus co[n]secrentur, & hæreditariam dæmonu[m] amicitiam consequâtur. Nec equidem ignoramus prægnantes mu- lieres multaru[m] rerú desideriis teneri. Sæpè carbones, sæ- pè cineres appetut: vidimusq[ue] morsum ceruicis cuiusda[m] à prægnante appetitu[m], quæ correta magnis doloribus abortum fecisset, ni momordisset, exanimato penè iuue- ne in quê dentes auidos infixerat. De his tam absurdis appetentiis ciboru[m], medici quidem plurima, Philosophi < Prægnantis cuiusda[m] mi- rus appetitus.> quoque nonnulla scribunt, velut Aristot. in libris de A- nimal. Fieri aute[m] hoc dicunt, ex humore in stomacho vi- tioso, qui si viris quoq[ue] contingat, no[n] dissimilia expetét. Non itaque imaginatio ad similitudinem sexúmve, nec ad natorum signa nec ad aliquid huiusmodi conferre quidquam potest: vt de fascino tractantes, obganniunt.
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98 ON FASCINATION are affected, the marks follow. For if such marks were to arise from intense imagination, mothers would rather wish their children, not those of others, to be marked with the signs of desired things. For no mother desires her own child, marked with some foul sign, to come out of the womb. I therefore think that such signs are not caused by desires, <The fetus is marked by sudden movements of the mind.> but by fright, fear, and sudden movement. For the delicate embryo, from a sudden disturbance, since its material is full of spirits receiving impressions, is very easily marked with any figure or sign, without injury. Indeed, it is customary in the body that, from intense desire, the spirits are moved in an irregular way and the humors are disturbed; and when these have been excited and unsettled, various signs are impressed on the little child. If this excitement is somewhat more violent, women are accustomed to have miscarriages, as often happens. At times parents are bound to demons, by whose work such spirits are moved, so that marked children are born, in order that they may be consecrated to those same demons and may acquire an inherited friendship with them. Nor do we, for our part, ignore that pregnant women are stirred by many desires. They often crave coals, often ashes; and we have seen the bite of a certain neck, desired by a pregnant woman, who, if restrained, would have miscarried with great pain, had she not bitten him, almost to death, a young man into whom she had fixed her greedy teeth. About these absurd appetites for food, physicians indeed write much, and philosophers also write something, as Aristotle in the books On Animals. But they say that this happens from a corrupt humor in the stomach, which, if it should happen to men as well, they would desire no less similar things. Therefore imagination can contribute nothing at all to likeness to sex or to marks on newborns or to anything of this kind, as those who babble on about fascination claim.
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Liber II. 99 Ego certè malo veris Philosophiæ principiis adhærens errare, quàm cum eiusmodi hominibus, qui tam absurdam doctrinam seminant, bene sentire. Cætera de imaginatrice vi confutantur, atque per eâ nullo modo fascinum iaculari posse concluditur. Cap. VIII. < Contrarietas duplex.> N omniu[m] Philosophorum ore celebris est illa propositio, Quæcunque agunt, quibuscum agunt esse contraria; quandoque formaliter, vt sunt illa inter quæ mutua est actio; aliquando vnú saltem virtualiter, veluti lumen, & frigiditas; lumen etenim frigiditati virtute tantùm contrariu[m] est, cùm ad calorem producendu[m] idoneu[m] sit; & no[n] formaliter, quia frigiditas in lucé, è contrà agere non potest. At inter species quæ in imaginatione reperiuntur, & inter ea, quæ < Species externa non fascinans.> exterius à speciebus inficienda sunt, nulla contrarietas inuenitur: non formalis, quia non communicant in materia, cùm illæ simplices, & illa composita sint; nec virtualis, quia nulla virtus excogitari potest, quæ species ad externa tangenda adiuet, cùm specierum naturis omnino repugnet: igitur species externa insicere, ac fascinare asserendum non est. < Ages agit im propinquius.> Rursus agens in id magis agere solet, quod sibi est propinquius, quàm in remotius. < Actio omnis terminata.> Sed species in imaginatione receptæ, ipsi hominicius imaginatio est, propinquiores sunt, quàm rebus externis: & hominem illum species fascinare nequeunt, igitur multò minus alia ab ipso insicere possunt. Quod ea ratione roboratur, quoniam omne agens cùm potestatem terminatam habeat, non nisi per terminatum spatium, & vsque ad certum terminum N ij
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Liber II. 99 I certainly prefer, while adhering to the true principles of Philosophy, to err rather than to think well of such men who sow so absurd a doctrine. The rest is refuted by the imaginative power, and it is concluded that by it no fascinum can in any way be cast. Cap. VIII. < Twofold contrariety.> Among all philosophers there is famous that proposition: Whatever things act, and whatever they act upon, are contrary; sometimes formally, as those between which there is mutual action; sometimes only virtually, as light and cold. For light is contrary to cold only in power, since it is fit to produce heat; and not formally, because cold cannot act upon light, and vice versa. But between the species found in the imagination and those external things which are to be affected by species, no contrariety is found: not formal, because they do not share matter, since the former are simple and the latter composite; nor virtual, because no power can be imagined that would assist species in touching external things, since this is altogether repugnant to the nature of species. Therefore it must not be asserted that external species are infected and bewitched. < An agent acts more upon what is nearer.> Again, an agent is accustomed to act more upon that which is nearer to it than upon what is more distant. < Every action is bounded.> But the species received in the imagination are nearer to the imagination itself, to the human being, than external things are; and therefore those species cannot bewitch that man, much less can other things infect him. This is strengthened by the fact that every agent, since it has limited power, acts only through a limited space and up to a certain boundary. N ij
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agere potest. quinimo nec in spatio illo toto vniformem actionem efficit, sed eam debiliorem in partibus à se re- motionibus producit. Igitur fascinandi & res destruen- di, imaginationi non est assignanda causa: sed potius dæmonibus, & maledicis, vt dicemus. Insuper actio & passio, vt Aristot. docet, non sunt per agentis in passum penetrationem, nec per partium agentis in meatus passi ingressum; sed per contactum dûtaxat: verùm quia spe- cies in imaginatione receptæ, externa obiecta tangere nunquam possunt; minimè fascinare eadem, idonea exi- stunt. Præterea huiusmodi species cõceptæ, vel commu- nem materiam cum re effascinanda habent, vel non: si non, nullo modo fascinare queunt: quia agens in mate- ria cum passo communicare debet: si eandem materiam habent, reciprocam passione suscipiunt, & ita species in- uicem patiuntur ab externis obiectis, & ab ipsis fascina- tur: quod contra fascinantis intentione est, & ab expe- rientia abhorret, ideo species nullâ fascinandi vim habe- re, fateri debemus. Et eo magis, si quidè actio ex victoria actiux alicuius virtutis super alterius resistetiam oritur: sed in eiusmodi speciebus respectu externarum reru[m], no[n] modò victoria aliqua, sed ne leuis quidè contactus esse potest; ergo agere omnino nihil possunt. Item nihil age- re quisquam potest, nisi vel in actu formali, vel eminen- tiæ, vel virtuali existat; hic enim triplex actuum modus reperitur, vt ignis respectu rei calefaciendæ: Sol respectu horum sublunarium; tertiò, vt semen quatenus re pro- creandam respicit. Si quis enim aliquid cùm non esset in actu ageret, secundum id quod non habet, ageret, quod fieri non posset, cùm nemo det quod non habet. Sed species imaginantis vt in externas res agant, nullum
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it can act. Indeed, it does not produce a uniform action throughout that entire space, but rather produces it more weakly in the parts more remote from itself. Therefore the cause of bewitching and of destroying things is not to be assigned to the imagination, but rather to demons and to malefactors, as we shall say. Moreover, action and passion, as Aristotle teaches, are not through the penetration of the agent into the patient, nor through the entry of the parts of the agent into the channels of the patient, but by contact alone. But because the species received in the imagination can never touch external objects, they are by no means fit to be the means of bewitching them. Furthermore, species of this sort, whether conceived, either have a common matter with the thing to be bewitched or they do not. If they do not, they can in no way bewitch, because an agent must communicate in matter with the patient. If they have the same matter, they receive reciprocal passion, and thus the species in turn are acted upon by external objects, and are bewitched by them; which is contrary to the intention of the bewitcher and contrary to experience. Therefore we must confess that the species have no power of bewitching. And the more so, since indeed action arises from the victory of some active power over another’s resistance; but in such species, with respect to external things, not only can there be no victory, but not even any slight contact; therefore they can do absolutely nothing. Likewise, no one can act unless he exists either in formal act, or in eminence, or in virtual act; for this threefold mode of acts is found, as fire with respect to the thing to be heated; the sun with respect to these sublunary things; and thirdly, as seed insofar as it looks to the thing to be generated. For if someone were to act on something while not being in act, he would act according to that which he does not have, which could not happen, since no one gives what he does not have. But if the species of the one imagining were to act on external things, no
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Liber II. 101 actum habent: non formalem, quia actus formatis qua- litatem sibi similem in passum iaculatur, quod species imaginat[ur] non efficere possunt, cùm nullam aliam vim, quàm se imaginanti offerêdi habeant: non actum emi- nentiæ, nam eiusmodi actus est longè sublimior eo, cu- ius respectu actus dicitur; modò species coceptæ, rebus natura constantibus nobiliores nô sunt: nec actum vir- tualem, quoniam omni virtute carent, nisi quòd imagi- nanti sese offerre possunt, quod hoc pacto ostendi po- test. In agētibus duplex virtutis species reperitur, remo- ta vna, quam alteratiuam seu actuatiuam aliqui dicunt; qua illud agens præditu est, quod nihil alterat, nisi priùs ab ipso alteratione afficiatur; veluti vinu[m], piper, & phar- maca, quæ nisi priùs à naturali calore alterentur, non ca- lefaciunt. Altera propinqua, & est illa, quæ alterata alte- rat. V tramque virtutem propinquam & remotam, spe- cies solùm respectu corporis imaginatis habent, quæ vt diximus commouere illud queunt, non autem respectu rerum externarum, cùm omni trâseunti actione careat: cuius ratio est, quia cùm duobus modis actio consideretur, vt rem corrumpit, & vt eandem perficit, & actio corruptiua ad qualitates primas pertineat, & species iam dictæ huiusmodi qualitatum sint expertes, illas ad per- fectiuam actionem, & nô corruptiuan spectare dicendum est; cùm re vera rectè imaginatem perficiant, & ad externa nô exeant. Quòd autem omni motu extra cor- pus species illæ careant, hoc pacto probatur. ex Aristot. 5. de Physic. aud. habemus omnem motum vel ex acci- dête fieri: vt cùm aliquis [con]dificator est musicus, dicimus musicum [con]dificare: vel secûdum partem, vt cùm homo mouet librum, quia manus solùm mouet: vel secûdum N. iii,
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Liber II. 101 they have an act: not a formal act, because an act casts into the passive the quality similar to itself in form; what images cannot do, since they have no other power than to present themselves to the imagining mind: not an eminent act, for such an act is far more sublime than that in respect of which it is called an act; provided that the conceived species are not nobler than things existing by nature: nor a virtual act, since they lack all virtue, except that they can present themselves to the imagination, which can be shown in this way. In agents there is found a twofold kind of virtue, one remote, which some call alterative or actuative; by this that agent is endowed which changes nothing unless it first itself has been affected by alteration; such as wine, pepper, and drugs, which, unless first altered by natural heat, do not warm. The other is proximate, and it is that which alters when altered. Both proximate and remote power, the species alone have with respect to the body imagined, which, as we said, they can move, but not with respect to external things, since it lacks all transient action: the reason is that, since action is considered in two ways, as it corrupts a thing and as it perfects the same thing, and corruptive action pertains to the primary qualities, and the species just mentioned are devoid of such qualities, it must be said that they pertain not to corruptive action but to perfective action; since in fact they rightly perfect the imagination and do not extend to external things. But that those species are without any motion outside the body is proved in this way. From Aristotle, 5 Physics, we have that every motion takes place either incidentally: as when someone who is a builder is a musician, we say that the musician builds; or according to a part, as when a man moves a book, because only the hand moves; or according to N. iii,
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totum, vt cùm lapis cadit. Sed nullo horum modorum species extra quidquâ mouere possunt; non primo, quia species in imaginatione semper manent, quæ quidem imaginatio extra imaginatem sua natura exire non potest, nisi per sui destructione[m]: non secundo, quia species cùm sint simplicissimæ non habent partes: non tertio, quia, vt dicebamus, immanente[m], & no[n] transeunte[m], actionem habent: & fac transeunte[m] actionem habere, si foris pellerentur, quis eas regeret? nonne euanescerent? non enim secus anima, spiritibus & speciebus vtitur, quàm faber malleo: & veluti malleus, fabro recedete, arte[m] exercere nequit; cùm omnis virtutis expers sit; sic species ab anima egressæ nullâ faciendi quidpiâ vim habent. < Anima quo pacto speciebus vtatur.> Nec ignoramus artem imaginatione fortiorem esse, ac certiorem: quia imaginatio sæpè incerta vagatur, at ars nihil absque instrumentis agere potest; imò neque cælestia corpora, & ipsorum animæ, quæ nostris nobiliores sunt, absque instrumentis, motu videlicet & lumine, quidquâ agere possunt: ergo nec imaginatio, quæ quia omni instrumento caret, nihil prorsus extra corpus inficere potest. < Ars imaginatione certior.> Quòd si posset, citiùs in eo in quo est, quàm in externo perficeret, quia ei est propinquior: & ideò si per vim imaginâdi, aliquam rem, panem, vel aurum, vel quid eiusmodi fieri vellet, priùs imaginantis corpus, panis, vel aurum, vel quid simile fieret: quod quia falsum est, nec quisquam id vnquam expertus fuit, falsi & mendaces sunt, qui talia confinxerunt. < Cur stupor et horror densibus incutiatur ex externo striore.> Ad illud verò de acrium rerum coceptu, quibus dentes obstupescere aiût, Aristotel. 7. sectione Problematum, problem. 8. respondet; vbi quæstionem quoque mouet, cur horrorem, sonantia quædam incutiant, vt quando serra exacuitur, &
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entirely, as when a stone falls. But by none of these ways can species move anything outside; not in the first way, because species always remain in the imagination, which indeed cannot by its nature go outside the imagining faculty, except through its destruction; not in the second, because since species are most simple they have no parts; not in the third, because, as we were saying, they have an immanent, and not a transitive, action: and even if they had a transitive action, if they were driven out, who would govern them? Would they not vanish? For the soul uses spirits and species no otherwise than a craftsman uses a hammer; and just as the hammer, once the craftsman has withdrawn, cannot exercise the art, being deprived of all power, so species, when they have gone out from the soul, have no force at all for doing anything. < How the soul uses species.> Nor are we unaware that art is stronger and more certain than imagination; because imagination often wanders uncertainly, whereas art can do nothing without instruments; indeed not even the heavenly bodies, and their souls, which are nobler than ours, can do anything without instruments, namely motion and light: therefore neither can imagination, which because it lacks every instrument cannot affect anything outside the body at all. < Art more certain than imagination.> And if it could, it would more quickly bring to completion in that in which it exists than in something external, because it is nearer to it; and therefore, if by the power of imagining it wished some thing, bread or gold or something of that kind, to be made, first the body of the one imagining would become bread, or gold, or something similar: and because this is false, and no one has ever experienced it, those who have invented such things are false and deceitful. < Why stupor and horror are inflicted on the teeth by a sharper external object.> As to that point, however, concerning the perception of sharp things, by which they say the teeth are made numb, Aristotle in the 7th section of the Problems, problem 8, gives an answer; where he also raises the question why certain sounding things cause a shudder, as when a saw is sharpened, and
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L I B E R II. 103 cur plerique cùm alios suspendi aut strangulari vident, deficiunt: quorum omnium causam non in imaginantem retulit. Non enim ex aspectu vel cogitatione rerum acrium dentes semper obstupescunt, sed cùm in alicuius dentibus propinqua dispositio ex humiditate aliqua reperitur, aut ex aliqua occulta causa oritur, vel quia calor imbecillus leui de causa quatitur. Admissus per aëre[m] sonus mouet aërem qui intus est, iis proxima quæque, illis alia suis sedibus conuelluntur. Sic etiam nec ex rubrarum rerum aspectu, nec cuiuis sanguis è naribus effluit, sed cùm homo in sanguine dispositionem quandam habet, vt facilè quacunque occasione oblatâ id accidat, idque de reliquis responderi potest. Illud autem de ægrotò cuius opinio concepta de Medico sibi salutem affert, ad imaginatricem vim referri no[n] debet, quoniam rectæ valetudinis imaginatio, no[n] est morbo contraria, vt eum expellere possit, sed in eode[m] subiecto reperiuntur simul. Ideò spes quâ ægrotus de Medico habet; salutê per se non affert, sed tantùm ex accidêti, quatenus ille qui de Medico optimam spem concipit, exhibita remedia faciliùs capit. < Spes de medico quo pacto ægrotò salutaris est.> Potest & alia ratio reddi, na[m] ex valetudinis spe quâ ægrotus cōcipit, spiritus t[ame]n vitalis, tum animalis agitatur ac cōmouetur, humores excitâtur: vnde vapores, ventositates, humiditates & alia noctua expelli solêt, quæ salus subsequitur, quia virtus cōtra morbum & morbi causam roboratur. Quo fit vt appetitus ad salutê, quê delectatio sequitur, alterato & exhilarato ægrotò optimâ valetudinem afferat, & non imaginatio ipsa ex sua natura. Sic etia[m] illud de frigore intelligendu[m] est, quia cu[m] frigoris imaginatio non sit frigiditatis forma, sed târùm illius similitudo, nec imaginatio frigoris,
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L I B E R II. 103 For very many, when they see others hanged or strangled, fail; and he did not refer the cause of all these to the imagining faculty. For it is not always from the sight or thought of harsh things that the teeth are stunned, but when in someone's teeth a proximate disposition is found from some moisture, or arises from some hidden cause, or because the heat is weakened and shaken by a slight cause. A sound admitted through the air moves the air which is inside; the nearest things among them, others are torn from their seats. Thus also not from the sight of red things, nor does everyone have blood flow from the nose, but when a man has a certain disposition in the blood, so that it easily happens on whatever occasion is offered; and the same can be answered concerning the rest. But that about the sick man, whose opinion conceived of the physician brings him health, must not be referred to the imaginative power, because the imagination of sound health is not contrary to the disease, so that it could expel it, but both are found in the same subject at once. Therefore the hope which the sick man has of the physician does not of itself bring health, but only by accident, in so far as he who conceives the best hope of the physician receives the remedies more readily. < Spes de medico quo pacto ægrotò salutaris est.> Another reason can also be given, for from the hope of health which the sick man conceives, nevertheless the vital spirit, and then the animal spirit, is stirred and moved, the humors are excited: whence vapors, flatulences, moistures, and other noxious things are accustomed to be expelled, by which health follows, because the power against the disease and the cause of the disease is strengthened. Whence it happens that the appetite for health, which pleasure follows, with the sick man altered and cheered, brings about the best health, and not imagination itself by its own nature. So also that concerning cold is to be understood, because since the imagination of cold is not the form of coldness, but only its likeness, nor the imagination of cold,
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104 DE FASCINO esse reale sed intentionale habeat, frigescere non potest. < Specierum intentionalium vis.> quia species intentionalis, accidens reale tuius est species producere nequit: sicut enim sonitus, aut coloris species sonitum & colorem efficere nequeunt: ita nec species caloris & frigiditatis, calorem & frigiditate procreant: quòd si id efficere valerent, in sentiendi profectò organo, huiusmodi qualitates gigneret: quod experientiæ repugnat, nam tunc sensus non sentiret, quia vt Aristoteles testis est, sensus debet esse ab eo quod percipit, < Sensus ab eo quod percipit omnino denudatus est.> omnino denudatus: vt si percipit colore, non debet esse coloratus, & sic de singulis. Cùm itaq[ue] species & imago frigiditatis, nec sensum, nec externa organa frigefaciat, cùm illis primò occurrat, & sic primò aërem, deinde oculos alterare debeat, non imaginationi frigiditas adscribenda est, sed potius gaudio vel timori, in quę ex imaginatione incurrimus: quoru[m] vnum caliditatis, alterum frigiditatis causa esse solet. Denique vt ad institutum redeamus, valetudinem, ægritudinem, amorem, odium, ac singula alia quæ imaginationi nonnulli adscribunt, dæmonum actioni, vt inferius dicemus, adscribenda esse duco, qui tacitum vel expressum pactum cum maleficis habere solent: & ideò ad primum fascini modum, quæ de imaginatrice vi, vltra suam naturam dicuntur, reducenda sunt. Fascinum
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104 ON BEWITCHMENT if it has a real rather than an intentional existence, it cannot become cold. < The force of intentional species.> for an intentional species, being a real accident of you, cannot produce its own species: for just as the species of sound or color cannot bring about sound and color, so neither can the species of heat and coldness generate heat and coldness; and if it were able to do this, then in the organ of sensation it would certainly engender such qualities, which is contrary to experience, for then the sense would not perceive, because, as Aristotle testifies, the sense must be wholly stripped of that which it perceives, < The sense is wholly stripped of that which it perceives.> wholly stripped: as if it perceives color, it must not be colored, and so with each thing. Since therefore the species and image of coldness neither cool the sense nor the external organs when they first encounter them, and thus ought first to affect the air and then the eyes, coldness is not to be ascribed to imagination, but rather to the joy or fear into which we fall from imagination: one of these is usually the cause of heat, the other of coldness. Finally, to return to our subject, health, sickness, love, hatred, and all the other things which some ascribe to imagination, I judge must be ascribed to the action of demons, as we shall say below, who are accustomed to have either a silent or an express pact with witches; and therefore, with respect to the first kind of bewitchment, whatever is said about the imaginative power beyond its own nature must be referred back. Fascinum
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L I B E R II. 105 Fascinum per visum iaculari confutatur: atque singularum quæ ab oculorum radiis fieri censentur, vera causa redditur. CAP. IX. Oculi definitio ex Petro Apponensi. S I quis oculorum naturam, ac munus rectè contemplatus fuerit, non fascinandi, sed videndi duntaxat potestatem illis à natura tributam reperiet. Petrus Apponensis oculum ad videndum factum esse ostendens, ita diffinit: Oculus est instrumentum videndi, complexione aqueum cum quadam anteriori planitie, rotundum, in suprema ante- riore capitis parte locatum, ex septem tunicis, & tribus humidis constitutum, sex musculis motum, & vno vel duobus seu tribus fultum. Munus autem oculoru[m], quæ visio est, diffinitur, Quod est medij luce mediante per pupillâ speciei coloris susceptio. Et Arist. de gen. anim. 5. inquit, Visio est oculi motus, secúdum quod Diaphanus, & Alex. Aphr. Visio eò fit, inquit, quòd sensorium colores excipit, & sese quodammodo coloribus simile præbet. Arist. de Sensu & Sensato, visum ad multas reru[m] differentias ostendendas procreatú affirmat. Ex quibus verbis, & ex aliis quæ Aristot. in lib. de histor. anim. & de Anima, ac cæteri Philosophi dixerût, non fascinare, sed videre oculos posse colligimus. Et quâuis Democritus, Empedocles & Plato in modo videndi ab Arist. discrepauerint, nunquam tame[n] ob alium finem visum homini datum esse dixerunt: quod si quis negaret, dignus esset cui oculi eruerentur. Vnde natura de tam præstantissima oculorum actione sollicita, no[n] vnum animali, sed binos singulis largita est; vt perfecta cognitio esset, & vt vno deficiente, non protinus tanto priuaremur dono. O
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BOOK II. 105 Fascination by sight is refuted: and the true cause is given of the things that are thought to happen from the rays of the eyes. CHAP. IX. Definition of the eye from Peter Apponensis. IF anyone has rightly contemplated the nature and function of the eyes, he will find that nature has granted them power not to bewitch, but only to see. Peter Apponensis, showing that the eye was made for seeing, defines it thus: The eye is the instrument of sight, in composition watery, with a certain anterior flatness, round, situated in the upper front part of the head, constituted of seven tunics and three humors, moved by six muscles, and supported by one or two or three. The function of the eyes, which is vision, is defined as, that it is the reception of the species of color through the light of the medium by means of the pupil. And Aristotle, in de gen. anim. 5, says: Vision is the motion of the eye, insofar as it is transparent; and Alexander of Aphrodisias says: Vision occurs because the sense-organ receives colors and somehow presents itself as similar to colors. Aristotle, in de Sensu et Sensato , affirms that sight was created for showing many differences among things. From these words, and from others which Aristotle in the book de histor. anim. and de Anima , and the other philosophers, have said, we gather that the eyes are able not to bewitch, but to see. And although Democritus, Empedocles, and Plato differed from Aristotle in the manner of seeing, nevertheless they never said that sight had been given to man for any other purpose: if anyone should deny this, he would be worthy to have his eyes plucked out. Wherefore nature, being concerned for so excellent an action of the eyes, has granted not one eye to an animal, but two to each, so that there might be perfect knowledge, and so that if one should fail, we might not at once be deprived of so great a gift. O
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106 DE FASCINO < Oculorum v- nio. > Et quamuis duobus oculis præditi simus, vnionem tamen oculi habent inter se: neruus enim opticus à cerebro duplici discrimine sectus oritur, qui paulò post coiungitur, & vns sit, postea in duos diuiditur, ac quisque in suum oculu proficiscitur. In hoc nervo spiritus visui sunt, per quos vis à cerebro ad oculos defertur, & per eosdem reru visarum species ad sensus interiores ascendut: quod si ita est, vt certè est, quî fieri potest, vt spiritus visui immediatè à corde egrediatur, & pro cordis qualitate inficiat ac fascinet: Profectò qui hoc pacto loquitur, corporis humani sectionem nec viderut, nec ab aliis descripta legerut. < Philosophoru varia sente[n] sia de virtu- sia visuæ situ > Ná etsi inter Philosophos maxima est difficultas, vbi videdi vis consistat; & hanc quidâ in humore crystallino statuat, alij in tunica retina, nônulli in aranea, quidâ in humore vitreo, quidâ in neruoru opticoru coiunctione, reliqui in humore crystallino, quatum ad initium: in nervo & spiritu, quantu ad progressum: in sensu exteriori, quantum ad perfectione, locent: nihilominus aliud quàm videdi officium in illis non collocarunt: & omni ex parte visum ad videndu, non autem ad nocendu, videri potest esse formatu; siue ipsius téperiem animaduertas, siue positionis opportunitate, siue coloris fulgoré, siue operimentoru vim, siue oculoru motu: quonia tegme leue & lucidum, est ad speculi similitudinem: quod aute huic proximum est, venosum, molle, nigrum ac perforatum est. Venosum quidé, quò corneam abudè alat: molle verò, ne suo contactu crystallinu humore lædat: nigru, vt splendorem vniat, & ad pupillam transmittat: perforatu, vt quem transmittit splendorem foras mittat. Tegmen tenue, albú ac durum: tenue & album, vt nitores celeriter transmittat, duru, vt tutò cofer-
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106 On Fascination < Union of the eyes. > And although we are endowed with two eyes, nevertheless they have a union among themselves: for the optic nerve, arising from the brain divided into two branches, is shortly afterward joined together and becomes one, and later is divided into two, and each proceeds to its own eye. In this nerve are the spirits of sight, through which vision is carried from the brain to the eyes, and by the same the species of things seen ascend to the inner senses: which if it is so, as certainly it is, how can it happen that the spirit of sight should issue immediately from the heart, and, according to the condition of the heart, infect and fascinate? Certainly whoever speaks in this way has neither seen the dissection of the human body nor read what others have described. < Various opinions of philosophers about the seat of the visual power > For although among philosophers there is the greatest difficulty as to where the power of seeing consists; and some place it in the crystalline humor, others in the retina, some in the spider’s web, some in the vitreous humor, some in the conjunction of the optic nerves, while the rest place it in the crystalline humor as to its beginning; in the nerve and spirit as to its progress; in the external sense as to its perfection: nevertheless they have placed in them nothing other than the function of seeing; and on every side the visual faculty seems to be formed for seeing, not however for harming, whether you consider its temperament, or the suitability of its position, or the brilliance of its color, or the power of the coverings, or the movement of the eyes: because the outer covering is light and lucid, in the likeness of a mirror; but that which is next to it is full of veins, soft, black, and perforated. Full of veins, indeed, so that it may abundantly nourish the cornea; soft, however, lest by its contact it injure the crystalline humor; black, so that it may unite the brightness and transmit it to the pupil; perforated, so that it may send forth the brightness which it transmits. The covering is thin, white, and hard: thin and white, so that it may quickly transmit light; hard, so that safely it may...
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Liber II. 107 vet: atque ne læderetur, palpebris, ciliis, ossibus, ac etiam cute circûdedit & muniuit, vt omne quod à frôte, atque adeò à capite fluit, antequâ in oculos incidat, auertatur: sic arenâ, puluerê, parua animalia volantia intrò in oculos cadere, aut quidquâ demùm ipsos côturbare prohibeat. Vt Cic. inquit, Oculoru[m] motus quatuor sunt, vns quo intrò, nasum versus vertuntur: alius, quo extrà, paruum angulum versus abducuntur: tertius, quo sursum, versus supercilia attolluntur: quartus, quo deorsum, malas versus trahuntur: ex quibus non ad lædendu[m], & fascinandum oculos factos discimus, sed potius ad ea quæ opifex condidit optimè intuendu[m] & contemplandu[m] esse formatos animaduertimus. Et hac de causa Arist. principem locum oculis datu[m] esse asserit, à cuius sentetia Io. Dam. in 2. li. de side, cap. 18. non discedit, & Plat. quoque in Tim. ide affirmas, oculis philosophia[m] accepta[m] refert. Siquid Philosophi celi altitudine[m] suspicientes, & astrorum nitoré, ornatissimamque mundi machina[m] mirates, tanti operis causam inuestigare coeperunt, vt ipse ait. At si homini visum ad effascinandu[m] natura dedisset, præfectò non bene hominu[m] vtilitati prospexisset, vt fusius dicemus. Verùm vt mota dubitatio omni ex parte enodetur, prænotandum est, quòd ad videdum duo præcipuè sunt necessaria, videndi potestas, & ipsum obiectum visui idoneum. Ex neutro horum fascinum originem ducere demonstrabimus; atque ab vltimo incipiamus. Videndi obiectu[m] visibile esse Arist. in lib. de anima, docet: res visibiles cernendi virtutem perficientes, color, diaphanu[m], lumen, & visibile innominatu[m] dicuntur. Coloru[m] quidâ sunt meteorologici, vt illi qui in nubibus, Iride & aquis ob variâ ipsius lucis comistione[m] cernutur, alij verò O ij
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Liber II. 107 old: and lest it should be injured, it surrounds and protects it with the eyelids, eyelashes, bones, and even the skin, so that whatever flows from the brow, and indeed from the head itself, is turned aside before it falls into the eyes: likewise, it prevents sand, dust, small flying animals, from falling inside the eyes, or anything else that might disturb them. As Cicero says, there are four motions of the eyes: one by which they are turned inward, toward the nose; another, by which they are drawn outward, toward a small angle; a third, by which they are raised upward, toward the eyebrows; a fourth, by which they are drawn downward, toward the cheeks: from which we learn that they were made not for harming and bewitching the eyes, but rather are formed to behold and contemplate those things which the Maker has most excellently created. And for this reason Aristotle asserts that the chief place has been given to the eyes; from whose opinion John Damascene does not depart in book 2, On the Faith, chapter 18, and Plato likewise affirms the same in the Timaeus, referring philosophy to the eyes. Since the philosophers, gazing up at the height of the heavens and wondering at the brilliance of the stars and the most beautifully adorned machine of the world, began to inquire into the cause of so great a work, as he himself says. But if nature had given man sight for bewitching, she certainly would not have provided well for human utility, as we shall explain more fully. But so that the doubt raised may be thoroughly resolved in every respect, it must first be noted that in order to see there are chiefly two things necessary: the power of seeing, and the object itself suitable to sight. We shall show that fascination arises from neither of these; and let us begin with the latter. Aristotle teaches in the book On the Soul that the object of sight is visible: the things that perfect the power of seeing, namely color, the transparent, light, and the unnamed visible, are called visible. Some colors are meteorological, such as those that are seen in clouds, the rainbow, and waters, through the various mixture of light itself; others, however, O ij
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108 DE FASCINO sunt colores, qui suæ generationis principia, quatuor qualitates habent, ex quarum comixtione colores simplices, < Color dupliciter consideratur.> vt album & nigrum nascuntur; & alij qui misti dicutur, vt viridis, rubeus, croceus, ac reliqui. Quilibet color duobus modis considerari potest, vt potestate tantùm est, quando lumen abest; tunc enim potestate quædam tantùm in tenebris est, & actu (vt Alexander longo sermone optimè demo[n]strat) quando lumine illustratus est. In quolibet colore duo sunt, materia scilicet & forma. < Coloris materia & forma.> Coloris materia perspicuitas est, quæ licet vniuersis corporibus largita sit, & com[m]unicata, nihilominus non æquè; vt idem Alexander, inter Græcos præcipuus ostendit; quoniam quædam maximè perspicua sunt, quæ imam & intimam partem transparentem habent, vt aër, aqua, ignis, cælum: alia solùm in extrema superficie perspicuitatem continent, vt lapis, aurum, & cætera corpora densa. Coloris verò actus & forma, lumen est. Vnde lumen in perspicuo color dicitur, vt Alexander, & cæteri Aristotelis Græci & Latini interpretes aiunt. At si in intima perspicui parte lumen receptum consideretur, non propriè color est, sed lumen appellatur: vt quando lumen, aërem, aquam, & alia huiusmodi penetrat. Color autem tunc propriè nuncupatur, cùm extrema perspicui superficies lumine illustratur. Illa enim illuminatio verè color est; & quæ magis perspicua sunt, colorem habet, lumini magis conformé, & coloratiora ea Alexander vocat: luminis autem diffusiones quatuor apud Philosophos reperiutur, < Luminis diffusio quadruplex.> recta, reflexa, fracta, & refracta. Quando sine impedime[n]to lumen diffunditur, recta processio dicitur: si quid obstat, quominus iuxta suâ naturam via recta situat, tunc in se multiplicatur, quæ reciproca in se reuersio, re-
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108 ON FASCINATION there are colors which have the principles of their generation, the four qualities, from whose mixture simple colors arise, < Color is considered in two ways.> such as white and black; and others that are called mixed, such as green, red, saffron-colored, and the rest. Every color can be considered in two ways, namely potentially only, when light is absent; for then a certain color is only potentially in darkness, and actually (as Alexander excellently demonstrates in a long discourse) when it is illuminated by light. In every color there are two things, namely matter and form. < The matter and form of color.> The matter of color is transparency, which although it has been granted and communicated to all bodies, nevertheless not equally; as the same Alexander, preeminent among the Greeks, shows; since some things are most transparent, which have a transparent inner and most intimate part, such as air, water, fire, heaven: others contain transparency only on their outer surface, such as stone, gold, and other dense bodies. But the act and form of color is light. Whence light in the transparent is called color, as Alexander and the other Greek and Latin interpreters of Aristotle say. But if the light received in the innermost part of the transparent is considered, it is not properly color, but is called light: as when light penetrates air, water, and other such things. But color is properly so called when the outer surface of the transparent is illuminated by light. For that illumination is truly color; and those things that are more transparent have color more conformable to light, and Alexander calls them more colored: but among philosophers four diffusions of light are found, < The diffusion of light is fourfold.> direct, reflected, broken, and refracted. When, without impediment, light is diffused, it is called a direct passage: if something stands in the way, so that it is not set in a straight course according to its nature, then it is multiplied in itself, which reciprocal return into itself, re-
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Liber II. 109 flexio vocatur. Vt auté à medio déso in mediú rarius desilit, luminis fractio dicitur. At si à raro in densum coangustatu lumen sese colligit, vt quâdo ab aere desiliens in aquam se transfundit, refractio appellatur. Quocunque dictorum modorum visionis obiectu sumatur, & quæcunque luminis diffusio intelligatur, fieri nullo modo potest, vt per ea fascinum iaculetur. Si quidem omnis coloris natura est, vt luce irradiata actu diaphanum moueat: < Videre est pati quoddam.> quia cùm videre sit quoddam pati; vt ait Philosophus, & color semper à sensu distet, medium aliquod intercedere necesse est, per quod color in sensum agat; quod quidem medium diaphanum ipsum est: nam vt idem Arist. in 7. de physico auditu docet, agens, & patiens oportet esse simul; < Agens & patiens simul sunt.> quare color diaphanum mouet, qui color speciem suam in eiusmodi medio lumine affecto spiritualiter multiplicat. Diaphanum autem coloris speciem ad oculos, quos mouet, defert; & ita videndi actio absoluitur: vnde si ex parte obiecti quidqua incommodi, vel læsionis oriretur, nulli nisi oculis ipsis noceret, vt fieri videmus, quando excellens obiectum illis offertur, quod sensum corrumpit: vt cùm oculos solis radiis obiicimus. Non ergo ratione obiecti per oculos quisquam fascinare potest. < Visus potest ac siue actiua siue passiua sit, fascinare non potest.> Nec etiam ratione potestatis; quę siue passiua sit, vt Arist. ait, sentire est quoddam pati, quantùm ad organum, vt interpretes exponunt; siue actiua, quatenus species suscipit, vt Themistius, Simplicius, & D. Thomas intelligunt: per visum fascinum fieri non potest. Non vt actiua, quia Arist. in lib. diuinorum, actiuam potestatem principium mutandi aliud quatenus aliud, esse dixit; sed visus non modò nihil transmutat, quin potius à re visa, vt dicebamus, alteratur, & mu- O iij
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Liber II. 109 is called refraction. But if light, contracted from rare into dense, collects itself, as when descending from air into water, it is called refraction. In whichever of the said ways the object of sight is taken, and whatever diffusion of light is understood, it can in no way happen that by these means fascination be cast. For the nature of every color is such that, when irradiated by light, it actually moves the transparent medium: <To see is a kind of suffering.> because since seeing is a kind of suffering, as the Philosopher says, and color is always distant from sense, it is necessary that some medium intervene, through which color may act upon sense; and this medium is the transparent itself: for as the same Aristotle teaches in book 7 of De physico auditu, agent and patient must be together; <Agent and patient are together.> wherefore color moves the transparent medium, for color multiplies its species spiritually in such a medium affected by light. But the transparent conveys the species of color to the eyes, which it moves; and thus the act of seeing is completed: whence, if on the part of the object anything harmful or injurious should arise, it would harm none but the eyes themselves, as we see happens when an excellent object is presented to them, which corrupts the sense: as when we direct our eyes to the rays of the sun. Therefore no one can fascinate through the eyes by reason of the object. <Sight can, whether active or passive, but it cannot fascinate.> Nor can it do so by reason of the power; which, whether passive, as Aristotle says, “to sense is a kind of suffering,” with respect to the organ, as the commentators explain; or active, insofar as it receives species, as Themistius, Simplicius, and St. Thomas understand: by sight fascination cannot occur. Not as active, because Aristotle in the book De divinis said that an active power is the principle of changing another insofar as it is another; but sight does not merely not transmute anything, rather it is altered by the thing seen, as we were saying, and mu- O iij
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DE FASCINO tatur: quoniam, teste Arist. sensus non à se ipso sed à re sensui apta in actu fit, quod si ita est, passionem aliis inferre non potest, sed ipse ab aliis patitur. Nec quatenus passiua, quia vt Philosophus in primo de generat. < Sensatio speciem referendo fit.> ait, sensatio speciem recipiendo fit: & dum à re obiecta speciem recipit, in alios fascinum iaculari non potest. Species enim visibiles ab obiecto diffusæ, & in sentiendi parte receptæ, sentiendi actu absoluunt: qui quidem sensus si patitur, clarum est, quòd fascinare non potest. Si verò agit, nihil amplius efficere, nisi species comprehendere potest; ergo non fascinare. Et hoc D. Aug. intellexit, cùm dixit, ab obiecto, & potestate notitia paritur. < Notitia ab obiecto et potestate gignitur.> Igitur à visu nihil aliud quàm notitia gigni potest. quinimo si visus species quas recipit in alios iaculari posset, etiam tunc fascinare non posset: si quidem species, vt diximus, non est res, sed rei vestigium, & simulacrum, quod omnis actionis est expers, vt Themistius & Alexander inquunt, & tantùm visum ad videndum excitat. < Visus actio immanes est.> Quod inde roboratur, quia visus immanens, & non transiens actio appellatur: per transeuntem enim actionem semper aliquid fit, quod actione absoluta, manet; vt domus ædificatione perfecta, domus ædificata relinquitur, vt in Ethicis Arist. asserit. sed desistente visione, nihil superest, vt Alexander & Arist. fatentur; ergo immanens actio est, vt idem in lib. diuinorum fatetur, & ad externa obiecta nihil iaculari potest. Nec sensum agentem, vt Ioannes de Gandauo opinatus est, fingere possumus, qui transeuntem actionem efficiat: namque cùm lux, actu colores reddat; calidum exhalans, odores: localis motus aerem verberans, sonos: humor penetrans neruum gustatium, &
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OF FASCINATION it is argued thus: since, as Aristotle testifies, sense is made actual not from itself but from the thing suited to sense, if this is so, it cannot inflict passion on others, but itself suffers from others. Nor, insofar as it is passive, because, as the Philosopher says in the first book of Generation, < Perception is made by receiving the form.> he says, sensation is made by receiving the form: and while it receives the form from the object, it cannot hurl fascination upon others. For the visible species, diffused from the object and received in the part that senses, complete the act of sensing; and if this sense suffers, it is clear that it cannot fascinate. But if it acts, it can do nothing more than apprehend the species; therefore, it cannot fascinate. And this is what St. Augustine understood when he said that knowledge is generated from the object and power. < Knowledge is begotten from the object and power.> Therefore from sight nothing other than knowledge can be produced. Indeed, even if sight could hurl the species it receives into others, even then it could not fascinate: for the species, as we have said, is not a thing, but the trace and likeness of a thing, which is devoid of all action, as Themistius and Alexander say, and merely excites sight to seeing. < The act of sight is immanent.> This is further confirmed because sight is called an immanent, and not a transitive, action: for through a transitive action something is always produced which, once the action is complete, remains; as when a house, after construction is finished, is left built, as Aristotle asserts in the Ethics. But when vision ceases, nothing remains, as Alexander and Aristotle admit; therefore it is an immanent action, as the same author confesses in the book On Divine Things, and it can hurl nothing to external objects. Nor can we imagine an active sense, as John of Gandavo supposed, which would produce a transitive action: for when light actually makes colors; warmth exhaling, odors; local motion striking the air, sounds; moisture penetrating the gustatory nerve, and
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Liber II. linguam, sapores; qualitates tangibiles, tactum mo- ueant; eiusmodi sensus agens abundat, & ab omnibus Peripateticis exploditur. nô igitur ab oculis quidquam < sensus agens exploditur.> exire quod noceat, potest. Et quamuis Plato dixerit, per emicantem ab oculis lucem, visionem fieri, quæ qui- dem lux rerum simulacra inueniens in visum inuehat, nihilominus Arist. hoc non admittit. Verùm lumen o- culis vernaculum nouit, nec profectò vt egrederetur, & externo luminis occursu maiores vires sumeret, quin- imo si exiret, innatum oculorum lumen ob extraneum debilitaretur. Sed eò hoc lumen in oculis est, vt lumen externum, quod vehemens est, temperetur, & oculi < Radij ex oculo lis non ex- euns.> rerum sensibilium formæ modum accipiant. Rationes enim non desunt, quibus eiusmodi radiorum ex oculis egressus impugnatur. Nam si luminis radij ex oculis ex- irent, non sècus in luce, ac in tenebris videremus; mi- niméque medio, vt externa luce, neque oculorum tuni- cis indigeremus; atque horum aliquo destructo visus non impediretur, quia internum lumen sufficeret. Nec permagni referret an cominus, vel eminus aspiceremus, quoniam eodem modo, & sub eisdem dimensionibus & figuris vicina & remota viderentur; quia insitum lu- men ad vtraque esset idoneum. Præterea tempore ven- toso, emissum lumen foras agitaretur, & pyramidale, & triangulare præsertim: & ita si per luminis emissio- nem, visio compleretur, quandoque non videre con- tingeret, & eo maximè quia radij non tantæ magnitu- dinis sunt, vt adeo dilatari possint, quòd tot, ac tantas < Actio et passio fiunt per contactu> rerum differentias ambiant, & temporis momento comprehendant. Quia cùm omnis actio, & passio per contactum fiat, radij visuales visibilia remotissima,
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Book II. the tongue, flavors; tangible qualities, the sense of touch may move; a sensory agent of this kind is abundant, and is rejected by all the Peripatetics. Therefore nothing can be made to issue from the eyes that would harm the sensory agent. That it may issue out is possible. And although Plato said that vision is produced by a light flashing out from the eyes, which light, finding images of things, conveys them into sight, Aristotle nevertheless does not admit this. Indeed, he knows that light is native to the eyes, and certainly not in order that it should go out and gain greater strength by encountering external light; rather, if it did go out, the innate light of the eyes would be weakened by foreign light. But this light is in the eyes so that external light, which is powerful, may be moderated, and the eyes may receive the form of sensible things in due measure. For there are no lack of reasons by which the issuing of such rays from the eyes is attacked. For if rays of light were to come out from the eyes, we should see no differently in light than in darkness; nor would we have any need of external light, nor of the membranes of the eyes; and if any of these were destroyed, sight would not be impeded, because the internal light would suffice. Nor would it matter greatly whether we looked at things near or far away, since the nearby and the distant would be seen in the same way, and under the same dimensions and shapes; because the inborn light would be suitable for both. Moreover, in windy weather the emitted light would be driven outward, and especially in a pyramidal and triangular form; and thus, if vision were accomplished through the emission of light, it would sometimes happen that we could not see, and especially because rays are not of such magnitude that they can be so extended as to encompass so many and so great differences of things and comprehend them in a moment of time. Since, inasmuch as every action and passion takes place by contact, visual rays [with regard to] the most distant visible things,
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DE FASCINO vt cælum, & astra pertingere nô possent. Reliquis quo- que sensibus eiusmodi sentiendi modus repugnaret, quippe qui species suscipiendo, & non aliquid à se foras emittendo, actionem exercent. Quod quidem si ita fieret, ob tantum radiorum exitum, videndi actio debilitaretur: quia cùm sentiendi virtus in calore seruetur, si vti- que tot radij ex oculis egrederentur, vidédi potestas frigida euaderet, & sic videndi vires amitteret; veluti Alexander, contra Platonem, Aristotelem exponens ostendit. Cæterùm fac radios ex oculis egredi, quis eos ad rem visam comitabitur? num rationis participes sunt? & si ad rem visam pertingunt, quî visas species ad oculos referre possunt? quæ quidem colorum species externæ lucis auxilio satis se diffundere, omni alio adminiculo remoto, possunt. Illud etiam quod Alexandro Magno adscribunt, qui noctu, non secus atque interdiu videbat, falsum esse arbitror: Nam mihi quoque sæpissimè < visio per senbras qualis sis.> accidit, vt nocte in lectulo cubans, & toto corpore, atque etiam capite linteaminibus cooperto, omnibus sensibilibus & visibilibus remotis, colores cæruleos, virides, rubros, albos, nigros, & quoscunque alios videre visus sim; quæ profectò visio externis sensibus adscribi nô potest, & propterea hanc visionem fictam, & imaginariam dicerem, vt ex Alex. in pri. de anima habemus. Illi enim veri colores, & splendores nô sunt, sed hæc imaginationis actio est, vt in 3. de anima Philoponus quoque sentire videtur; cuius rei ratio reddi potest; si quidem imaginatio simul à vehementi sensibili acta cum externo sensu species in rei absentia seruat: quæ species, ac simulachra efficiunt, vt nos veluti postquam in nimiù quempiam fulgorem diutius obtutum fiximus, varios quosdam
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DE FASCINO that they could not reach heaven and the stars. Nor would such a mode of sensing be consistent with the other senses as well, since they exercise their function by receiving species, and not by emitting something from themselves outward. And indeed, if it were so that, by such an خروج of rays, the act of seeing were weakened, because since the power of sensing is preserved in heat, if so many rays were to go out from the eyes, the power of sight would become cold and thus lose its force of seeing; as Alexander, expounding against Plato and Aristotle, shows. Moreover, suppose that rays do go out from the eyes: who will accompany them to the thing seen? Are they partners in reason? And if they reach the thing seen, how can they bring back the visible species to the eyes? Yet these species of colors can sufficiently spread themselves by the aid of external light, with every other help removed. I also think false what they attribute to Alexander the Great, namely, that he could see by night no less than by day. For it has happened to me very often < visio per senbras qualis sis.> that, lying at night in bed, and with my whole body, and even my head, covered with linens, all sensible and visible things being removed, I seemed to see blue, green, red, white, black, and whatever other colors there may be; which vision certainly cannot be attributed to the external senses, and for that reason I would call this vision fictitious and imaginary, as we have from Alexander in the first book On the Soul. For these are not true colors and splendors, but this is an act of the imagination, as Philoponus too seems to think in the third book On the Soul; and the reason for this can be given: since imagination, being acted upon at the same time as the external sense by some vehement sensible object, preserves the species in the absence of the thing. These species and images cause us, even after we have fixed our gaze for a long time upon some excessively bright object, to see various kinds of ...
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L I B E R II. 113 dam colores in tenebris videamus, sicut Arist. in lib. de somno, & vigilia innuit. nec de coloribus tantùm id ve- rum est, sed de innumeris propè rebus: nam cùm inter- diu aliquid accuratè agimus, serióque tractamus, earum rerum species, ac spectra noctu animo obuersantur; vo- césque clamosas, ac turbulentas extorquent. Quòd si quis rogitet, quare hanc imaginariam colorum visio- nem non semper habeamus, sed solùm quando diutius aliquid splendidum, & viride, aut rubeum, aut quid si- mile aspeximus, dicimus, Quoniam id temporis dun- taxat à sensibili obiecto vehementissima impressio fit, ideo species quas imaginatio excepit, simul atque à sen- sibili obiecto nos subduximus, imaginatricem vim ve- hementer mouent, adeo vt omnia viridia, vel rubea, aut alio quous colore affecta, & qualia visus spectauit, oc- clusis oculis videre videamur. qua ratione imaginatio sensui similis ab Arist. esse traditur; quippe quæ coloru[m] apparentias illis similes faciat, quas sensus exhibet. < Imaginatio cuilibet sensui similis.> Nec externo sensui aliam notitiam, quàm intuitiuam adscri- bimus; si enim absente sensibili visus videre posset, ab- stractiuam profectò notitiâ ei adscribi oporteret; quod ab omnium Peripateticorum sententia & experientia ipsa abhorret. Miniméque de Alexandro possumus di- cere, vt Plinius de noctiluca, fungis, & lignis putridis, & pisce lucerna ait, quibus coelestem naturam inesse Sosi- genes Alexandri Aphrodisæi præceptor dicebat, vt The- mistius in lib. de anima refert. hæc nocte lucentia carere nomine, Arist. in lib. de anima fatetur, in quibus per pu- trefactionem & superficiem corrupti corporis, humidu[m] extractum est: in quo quidé humido debilis ignis reten- tus seruatur, qui paruulum fulgorem emittit; veluti car- P
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that we may see colors in darkness, as Aristotle intimates in the book On Sleep and Waking . And this is true not only of colors, but of almost innumerable things: for when by day we do something carefully, and handle it earnestly, the images and appearances of those things present themselves to the mind by night; and they force out loud and tumultuous voices. But if anyone asks why we do not always have this imaginary vision of colors, but only when we have looked for a long time at something bright, and green, or red, or something similar, we say: because only at that time is a most vehement impression made by the sensible object; and therefore the species which imagination has received, as soon as we withdraw ourselves from the sensible object, powerfully move the imaginative faculty, so that with our eyes closed we seem to see everything green, or red, or affected with some other color, and such as sight has looked upon. For this reason imagination is said by Aristotle to be like sense: indeed, it makes appearances of colors similar to those which sense presents. Imagination is like every sense. Nor will we ascribe to the external sense any other kind of awareness than intuitive; for if sight, when the sensible object is absent, could see, then it would certainly have to be ascribed an abstractive mode of knowing, which is at odds with the opinion of all the Peripatetics and with experience itself. And we can by no means say this of Alexander, as Pliny says of the noctiluca, fungi, and rotten wood, and of the fish lucerna, in which Sosigenes, the teacher of Alexander of Aphrodisias, said that a heavenly nature inhered, as Themistius reports in the book On the Soul . Aristotle admits in the book On the Soul that these things shining by night are without a name, in which, through putrefaction and the surface of a corrupted body, a moisture has been drawn out; in which moisture a weak fire is retained and preserved, which emits a little gleam; just as the car-
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bones igniti ad eosdem admoti albicant. Ille igitur ignis ibi retentus collapsam vim habet, vt Cicindela, cui cùm sanguis non sit, in locum digestionis igneæ partes con- gregâtur, & spirituum repercussio ad succinctorium indigestionis locum sit; ideo fulgent. Vnde sicut huiusmodi animalia diuersam lucendi rationem à putridis lignis habent, ita & homo à reliquis oculos habentibus, & nocte videntibus, vt felc, ac reliquis differt; nec ex proprietatibus brutis inditis, hominis proprietate indagare debemus, cùm ab eorum natura maximè distet, & maior differentia, quàm couenientia in ipsis reperiatur. Verùm quod de basilisco circumfertur, ridiculu esse censeo, vt virulentis radiis ex oculis emissis quoscunque intuetur, <Basiliscus an reperiatur.> interficiat; & primùm tale animal non reperiri, & iuxta vulgi opinione Philosophos de eo locutos arbitror, dein de si reperiatur, non per spiritus, sed per venenosos halitus nocere potest, per sibilum fortasse virulentam expiratione efflans. <Basiliscus si seipsum irs speculo intueatur, non moritur.> Quòd autem aiunt, si se ipsum in aqua vel speculo intueatur, illico emori, nullo pacto veru esse potest; tum quia ex oculis spiritus exire no possunt, tum etiâ quia si id admitteremus, exitiosi basilisco non foret, cùm ei venenu co[n]genitum continere familiare esse dica- tur. Nec quia sacræ historiæ de basilisco mentionem faciut, illum reperiri inferendu est. ex communi enimloquentiu modo sacræ litteræ quod intendut, confirmare <Basiliscus in sacris literis pro D:abolo capiendum.> consueuerunt. & quia ia ab omnibus receptu est, animal quoddâ basiliscum vocatu reperiri: ideo ipsum pro Dæmone sacri Doctores accipiunt. Dæmon aute[m], quia assidua nocendi intentione, quæ eius oculus est, multos æternæ mortis laqueo tradit, eademque intentione se ipsum, diuina gratia priuando interemit, cum suis meritis, & no-
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the bones, when ignited and brought near to them, turn white. Therefore that fire, retained there, has a collapsed force; as in the Cicindela, which, since it has no blood, gathers its parts in the place of fiery digestion, and the repercussion of the spirits serves as a fastening place for indigestion; therefore they shine. Hence, just as animals of this kind have a different way of shining from putrid woods, so too man differs from the rest that have eyes and see at night, such as the feline and others; nor must we investigate from the properties of brute creatures the property of man, since he differs most greatly from their nature, and in them a greater difference than resemblance is found. But what is reported about the basilisk I judge to be ridiculous, namely that with poisonous rays emitted from its eyes it kills whatever it looks at. <Whether a Basilisk is found.> And first, I think that such an animal is not found, and that the philosophers have spoken of it in accordance with popular opinion; then, even if it is found, it can harm not by spirits, but by poisonous breath, perhaps breathing out a virulent exhalation through its hiss. <A Basilisk, if it looks at itself in a mirror, does not die.> But what they say, that if it looks at itself in water or a mirror it immediately dies, can in no way be true; both because spirits cannot come out from the eyes, and also because, if we admitted that, it would not be destructive to the basilisk, since it is said to contain a poison congenial and familiar to it. Nor because sacred history makes mention of the basilisk is it to be inferred that it exists. For by common usage of speech the Sacred Scriptures are accustomed to confirm what they intend. <The Basilisk in the sacred writings is to be taken for the Devil.> And because it is now received by everyone that a certain animal called a basilisk exists, therefore the sacred doctors take it as a symbol of the Devil. For the Devil, because by his continual intention to harm, which is his eye, he delivers many to the snare of eternal death, and by the same intention kills himself by depriving himself of divine grace, with his merits, and no-
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Liber II. 115 diuino sauore illam sibi largiendam fore putauit: ob id basiliscus oculorum radiis quoscunque intuetur intersi- cere dicitur: sèque si in speculo intueatur ad necem per- ducere; quia naturalia sua dona contemplatus in quibus tanqua in speculo omnium rerum species relucent, super- bia inflatus se ipsum interemit. < Basilisci orsus gallis ascribueres.> Basilisci verò ortum nô- nulli sic fingunt, quòd vbi gallus decrepitus esse incipit, quod septimo, aut nono, vel ad summum decimoquarto anno euenit, pro virium robore vel imbecillitate ouum edit æstuius mensibus, ex putrefacto seminis excremeto, aut humorum colluuie conflatum, ex quo quidem ouo basiliscum oriri consent: & hoc creditu admodum difficile videtur, cùm eiusmodi animal à nemine vnquam visum legatur. Ad illud de gallis, qui per oculos leonibus dolo- rem incutiunt, vt Lucretius ait, dicimus quòd inter bru- ta animalia cösensum, & dissensum esse non ignoramus; vt de mustella, quæ miro eiulatu in bufonis os se deuo- randam inuehit, vt ego sæpe vidi; sed ex his hominis proprietatem longè diuersam arguere non possumus, cùm maior dissimilitudo inter hæc, quàm similitudo inueniatur. Id verò de lupis voce priuantibus, quem vi- derint, ni ipsi antea videantur, fabulosum esse duco, & quia in vulgi opinione ita receptum est, Virgilium quo- que vulgi opinionem sectantem locutum arbitror, cùm dixit; - lupi Mærin videre priores. Vel fieri potest, vt lu- pum ex improuiso aspicientibus, ob micantium & ter- ribilium illius oculorum aspectum maximus timor in- cutiatur: & quia ex timore frigus oritur, & ex frigore artuum impedimentum, & totius ferè corporis immuta- tio nascitur; hinc fieri potest, vt vocis quoq[ue] emissio im- pediatur. Aliis dicere visum est, lupos adeo sese ingurgitare, P ij
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Liber II. 115 he thought that it would be granted to him by divine favor: for this reason the basilisk is said to kill by the rays of its eyes whoever it looks upon; and also, if it looks at itself in a mirror, to bring about its death, because, contemplating its natural gifts, in which, as in a mirror, the forms of all things shine forth, swollen with pride, it destroys itself. <The origin of the basilisk you would ascribe to cocks.> But some imagine the origin of the basilisk in this way: when a cock begins to grow old, which happens in the seventh, or ninth, or at the latest fourteenth year, according to the strength or weakness of its powers, it lays, in the summer months, an egg formed from the rotting deposit of seed, or from a mingling of humors, from which egg indeed the basilisk is said to arise; and this seems very difficult to believe, since it is read that no one has ever seen such an animal. As for that story about cocks, that with their eyes they inflict pain on lions, as Lucretius says, we say that among brute animals there is agreement and disagreement, as we know; as in the case of the weasel, which with a strange cry rushes toward the mouth of a toad to be swallowed, as I have often seen; but from these things we cannot infer anything very different concerning the nature of man, since a greater dissimilarity than similarity is found among these things. But that story about wolves depriving of voice anyone they have seen, unless they themselves have first been seen, I take to be fabulous; and because it has been received as such in popular opinion, I think Virgil too, following popular opinion, spoke when he said: “the wolves saw Mæris first.” Or it may be that those who unexpectedly look at a wolf are struck by great fear because of the flashing and terrible look of its eyes; and because cold arises from fear, and from cold impediment of the limbs, and an alteration of nearly the whole body follows, it may happen that the emission of voice is also hindered. Others have thought that wolves gorge themselves to such a degree,
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ac putridis cibis ventrem implere, vt nunquam non ex illorum naribus, ac ore, perniciosus halitus egrediatur; qui quidé halitus acrem paulatim, gradatúmque inficit, quousque homines lupum aspicientes contingat: & hoc modo eis vocé eripit. quæ opinio multis de causis, quas breuitatis causa prætermitto, mihi non arridet. Nec testudo < Testudo oculis oua non fouet.> oculis oua fouet, sed illa custodiendi studio spectat, vt ab eis nociua remoueat. & hac ratione ea fouere dicitur, non quòd per oculos calorem eis communicet: ad foetus namque excutiendos terræ calor sufficit, veluti de lacertis, ac cæteris ouiparis animalibus patet, & de piscibus præcipuè, quorum oua in aqua fouentur, & excluduntur. < Lacerearum oua quo calore foueantur.> Id aute[m] quod de menstruatis mulieribus fertur, nos mouere nô debet; quòd leuigata specula si aspiciant, ex oculis emissis sanguinea nube aspergant: visionem si quidé non spiritu[m] emissione fieri, sed specierum receptione diximus. Si verò spiritus ex oculis exire concederemus, quo pacto tanta spiritu[m] copia elabi posset? Insuper si cu[m] aliquid intètè aspicimus, tot spiritus emitterétur, animalia paru[m] viuerent, cùm sine spiritibus anima in corpore permanere nequeat. Nô igitur specula ex spiritibus ab oculis emissis tingutur, sed potius à vaporibus ab ore, & naribus excutibus maculæ in speculis fiunt, vt cuilibet periculu[m] facere volenti notum esse potest. si quis verò spiritus ex oculis exire defendere vellet, hac via intelligi posset; quoniam in caluariæ concauitate duo foramina sunt, vnum oculi centro directè oppositum, per quod neruus opticus procedit: alterum ad alterius latus, & inde procedit neruus motiuis à secundo coiugio neruoru[m] tractus, & per hoc foramen ex cerebro lacrymæ emanant, ac fluunt: quæ per exteriores oculi partes, & cir-
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to fill the belly with putrid foods, so that from their nostrils and mouth there may never not issue a harmful breath; which breath gradually and step by step infects the eye to such a degree that it may happen when men look at a wolf; and in this way it takes away their voice. That opinion, for many reasons which I omit for the sake of brevity, does not please me. Nor does the tortoise fertilize eggs with its eyes, but rather looks after them with the care of guarding them, so as to remove what is harmful from them. And for this reason it is said to warm them, not because it communicates heat to them through the eyes: for the heat of the earth is enough to hatch the offspring, as is clear from lizards and the other oviparous animals, and especially from fishes, whose eggs are warmed and brought forth in water. What is said about menstruating women, however, ought not move us; since, if they look into polished mirrors, they stain them with a bloody cloud emitted from their eyes. For we have said that vision occurs not by the emission of spirit, but by the reception of species. But if we were to grant that spirit goes out from the eyes, how could so great a quantity of spirit escape? Moreover, if when we look intently at something so much spirit were emitted, animals would live very little, since without spirits the soul cannot remain in the body. Therefore mirrors are not stained by spirits emitted from the eyes, but rather spots are made in mirrors by vapors thrown out from the mouth and nostrils, as anyone wishing to make a test can know. But if someone should wish to defend the view that spirits go out from the eyes, it could be understood in this way: because in the hollow of the skull there are two openings, one directly opposite the center of the eye, through which the optic nerve proceeds; the other at the side of the other, and from there proceeds the nerve of motion from the second pair of nerves, and through this opening tears flow and run from the brain: which through the outer parts of the eye, and cir-
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Liber II. 117 cumferentiam inter tunicam candidam, & palpebras stillant. Ex quibus inferimus, non per spiritus ex oculo- rum substantia excuntes specula infici, sed per humores ex eorundem oculorum circumferentia effluentes. Et hoc modo Aristotel. locutum hac de re arbitror. Nec < Lippitudo an alienis oculis incurratur.> lippitudinem ex oculis lippis, in alterius oculum eiacu- lari posse negamus, ac consimilem infectionem inferre; sed eam visionem no[n] esse, sed vitium in oculo dicimus. Ad mutuum autem amatium aspectum respondemus, quòd si quis amoris causam rectè rimatus fuerit, eâ non ad intuitum referendam esse facilè iudicabit. Non enim < Amoris causa amantium intuitus non est.> amatis animum rei amatæ aspectus inficit, sed proprius amor, ne dicam insania; cùm vnsuisque suæ ægritudinis & erroris causa sit. Amans namque non illius amore quâ amat, sed formæ tantùm imaginem, & simulacrum accipit, & in imaginatrice vi seruat; & hanc imaginem sæpe reuoluens, omnibus aliis pulchriorem & venustiorem iudicat. Et ideò non quia amans ab amata videtur, afficitur; sed quia ipse videt, & rem visam pluris quàm debet æstimat. Quæ tabes postquàm ab imaginatione, vniuersi corporis partes inuaserit, non ita facilè vitatur, nisi priùs animi vitium expellatur, vt Lucretius rectè inquit, < Luer. versus de amore & animi vitio expellendo.> Nam vitare, plagas in amoris ne iaciamur, Non ita difficile est, quàm captum retibus ipsis Exire, & validos Veneris perrumpere nodos. Et paulò inferiùs, aliis versibus animi vitium, & peruersam rei amatæ persuasionem amouëdam suadet, vt huiusmodi remedium adhibeatur. Et tamen implicitus quoque possis inque peditus Effugere infestum, nisi tute tibi obuius obstes, P. iij
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Liber II. 117 the circumferences between the white tunic and the eyelids drip. From which we infer that mirrors are not infected by spirits issuing from the substance of the eyes, but by humors flowing out from the circumference of those same eyes. And I think Aristotle spoke of this matter in this way. Nor < Whether blearedness is caught by another’s eyes.> do we deny that blearedness, from bleared eyes, can be cast into another’s eye and produce a similar infection; but we say that this is not vision, but a defect in the eye. As to mutual loving gaze, we reply that if anyone has rightly examined the cause of love, he will easily judge that it is not to be referred to sight. For it is not < The cause of love is not the gaze of those in love.> the gaze of the lover that infects the beloved mind with love for the loved object, but love itself, or rather madness; since each person is the cause of his own sickness and error. For the lover does not receive the loved object through the love by which he loves, but only takes in the form’s image and likeness, and preserves it in the imaging faculty; and often revolving this image, he judges it more beautiful and graceful than all others. And therefore it is not because the lover is seen by the beloved that he is affected; but because he himself sees, and values the thing seen more than he should. And when this decay, after it has invaded the parts of the whole body, is not so easily avoided, unless the defect of the mind is first driven out, as Lucretius rightly says, < Verses of Lucretius on love and on driving out the defect of the mind.> For to avoid being cast into the snares of love, is not so difficult as to escape once caught in the nets themselves, and to break through the strong knots of Venus. And a little below, in other verses, he advises that the defect of the mind, and the perverse persuasion of the loved thing, must be removed, so that such a remedy may be applied. And yet, even if entangled and ensnared, you may escape, unless you yourself stand in your own way, as an obstacle. P. iij
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118 DE FASCINO Et prætermittas animi vitia omnia primùm: Tum quæ corporis sunt eius, quàm perpetis, ac vis. <Amor nô ad intuitum, sed ad animi turpitudine referendus.> Quòd autem non amâtis intuitus, sed animi libido, quæ maximum vitium est, amâtem in varias infanias rapiat; hinc clarius sit; quia quamplurimi sunt, qui seu videant, seu videantur, nunqua tali vesania afficiuntur. At si spiritus ab amatæ oculis exeûtes quempiam afficiendi vim haberent, in cunctis hominibus eûdem effectum parent. Verùm quia permultos in honestos amantes eandem mulierem inspicere videmus, à qua & ipsi vidêtur, & nihilominus in se amoris nihil ob eiusmodi aspectu recipiunt; hinc est quòd ad animi turpitudinem, & non ad intuitum, amorem referimus. Non igitur per oculorum spiritus, amor communicatur; sed potius amans, cùm rem amatam intuetur, illius pulchritudinis imaginem in imaginâdi virtute recipit; ex qua ob continuum imaginandi actum, concupiscendi vis afficitur: vnde totius corporis alteratio, & commotio nascitur. Non enim oculorum fascino, sed effrenatæ libidini adscribendum <Zorobabel quid ab Apame sua concubina sit passus.> puto id, quod Zorobabel ab Apame Rapsacis Theneasini filia concubina sua sibi fieri patiebatur: ab ipsa namque alapis cædebatur, nec hoc tantùm ferebat, sed vt sibi detractum diadema, capiti illa suo imponeret: <David Bethsabeæ amore capens.> rideret cum ridente, & illa irata fletet, & adulatoriè se ad illius affectus humiliter satisfaciens accommodaret, <Animonis amor in soro rem.> si quid eam offensam animaduerteret, vt Iosephus de Antiquitatibus refert. Sic Dauid cùm in domus Regiæ solario deambularet, & Bethsabeæ Vriæ vxoris amore caperetur, vt Regum 2. capit. x1. legitur, non fascino, sed praua libidine exarsit. Idem de Ammon Dauid filio asserendum est, qui cùm sororem suam spe-
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118. On Fascination And first pass over all the vices of the mind; then those of the body, how lasting they are, and their force. <Love is to be referred, not to the glance, but to the ugliness of the soul.> But that love, which is not caused by a glance but by the desire of the soul, which is the greatest vice, should draw lovers into various foolish acts, this will be clearer from the following: for there are very many who, whether they see or are seen, are never affected by such madness. But if spirits issuing from the eyes of the beloved had the power to affect someone, they would produce the same effect in all men. Yet since we see very many honorable lovers looking upon the same woman, by whom they are also seen, and nevertheless receiving nothing in themselves of love from such a sight, this is why we refer love to the ugliness of the soul, and not to the glance. Therefore love is not communicated through the spirits of the eyes; rather, the lover, when he looks upon the beloved object, receives in the power of imagination the image of that beauty, from which, through the continual act of imagining, the force of desire is affected; and from this the alteration and agitation of the whole body is born. For what happened to Zorobabel must, I think, be attributed not to the fascination of the eyes, but to unbridled lust. <What Zorobabel suffered from his concubine Apame.> I think of what Zorobabel allowed to be done to him by Apame, the concubine, daughter of Rapsaces Theneasin: for he was beaten by her with slaps, and he not only endured this, but also allowed her to remove his diadem and place it on her own head; <David captivated by the love of Bethsabee.> he laughed when she laughed, and when she was angry he wept, and in a fawning manner humbly accommodated himself, satisfying her feelings; <The love of Amnon for his sister.> if he noticed anything that offended her, as Josephus relates in the Antiquities. Thus David, when he was walking on the roof of the royal house, and was seized by love for Bethsabee, the wife of Uriah, as is read in 2 Kings, chapter xi, burned not with fascination, but with base lust. The same must be said of Amnon, David’s son, who, when he was with his sister spe-
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Liber II. 119 ciosissimam, Thamar nomine, adamaret, ægrotare coe- pit, eamque vi oppressit, vt eiusdem libr. cap. 13. habetur, quam postea adeò exosam habuit, vt maius odium es- set, quo eam prosequebatur, amore quo antea æstuabat. < Salomon mulierum amator.> Quid dicam de Salomone? qui tanto mulierum amore ardebat, vt illarum idola ac falsos deos veneraretur, vt eis obsequeretur, veluti 3. Regum, ca. XI. narrat historia. Eodem pacto de omnibus aliis sentiendum est, qui sese totos penitus mulieribus tradunt; non oculorum scilicet fascino, sed praua libidine infici atque corrumpi. Id < Galguli fabulosæ est proprietas.> quoque quod de aue Ictero, seu Galgulo nuncupata dicitur, fabulosum esse reor; nô enim adeò credulus sum, vt quidquid de occulta rerum vi dicitur, ac scriptum reperitur, credendum existimem. Vtcunque ex brutorum animalium proprietate hominum vires expendere non debemus: cùm inter se distet maximè, vt sæpissimè me- minimus. Mulierculis verò ac senibus imprimis hæc fa- scinandi per oculos vis adscribi non potest: illis etenim cornea tunica adeò rugosa fit, vt alij quidé prorsus nihil, alij verò malè, aut vix videat. Multa enim incomoda il- los circuueniunt, rugę non paruæ, tunicę duplicatæ, quę crassitiem contrahunt. Spiritus præterea supernè ad pu- pillam parcior adfluës, quibus atque aliis ne videat im- pediuntur. Quòd si senes parum vident, & exiles spiritus ab oculis emittat, fieri nô potest, vt maxima fascinandi vis in senû oculis vigeat: nec in iis qui tristes ac macileti sunt. Siquidé esto spiritus huiuscemodi virtute habere, tamé quia siccaæ naturæ sunt, ob spiritus è cerebro efflu- entis inopiam, fascinare non possunt. Nec quia nonnul- li oculos cæsios, aut glaucos, aut virides, aut diuersico- lores habent, aut duas pupillas, in iisque modò equi, < Aniculis & senibus fascinum falsò adscribunt.> < Casij & pupillam geminam habeces quomodo fascinons.>
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Liber II. 119 If he should love a very beautiful woman, named Tamar, he began to fall ill, and by force he oppressed her, as is related in the same book, chapter 13, whom afterward he held in such utter hatred that the hatred with which he pursued her was greater than the love with which he had previously burned. < Solomon, lover of women.> What shall I say about Solomon? who burned with such love for women that he worshipped their idols and false gods, and obeyed them, as the history narrates in 3 Kings, chapter XI. The same must be thought of all others who give themselves wholly over to women; namely, that they are infected and corrupted not by the fascination of the eyes, but by depraved lust. Id < The property of the Galgulus is fabulous.> I think also that what is said of the bird called Icterus, or Galgulus, is fabulous; for I am not so credulous as to think that whatever is said and written concerning the hidden power of things ought to be believed. Nevertheless, from the properties of brute animals we ought not to estimate the powers of men, since they differ greatly from one another, as we most often remember. But especially in little women and in old people this power of fascinating by the eyes cannot be ascribed: for in them the corneal tunic becomes so wrinkled that some see absolutely nothing, while others see badly, or scarcely at all. For many inconveniences surround them, not a few wrinkles, doubled tunics, which contract thickness. Moreover, the spirits flowing more sparingly from above to the pupil, together with these and other things, prevent them from seeing. And if old people see poorly, and emit slight spirits from the eyes, it cannot happen that the greatest power of fascination should prevail in the eyes of the old; nor in those who are sad and thin. Indeed, even if they have spirits with such a virtue, yet because they are of a dry nature, owing to the lack of spirit flowing from the brain, they cannot fascinate. Nor because some have gray, or glaucous, or green, or differently colored eyes, or two pupils, and in them sometimes horses, < They falsely ascribe fascination to old women and old men.> < How those with gray eyes and a double pupil fascinate.>
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DE FASCINO 120 modò alterius rei speciem gestent, fascinare dicuntur: hæc enim colorum in oculis varietas, ex humoris vincentis, vel caloris, siue amborum (vt ait Galenus) comistione in cornea tunica oritur: quæ, vt Aristot. inquit, in hominibus tantùm reperitur. < Fascinatio segetum & pecudum damonibus attribuenda.> Si quos autem interdum solo intuitu mala inferre putamus, vnde equi macrescant & emoriantur, segetes exhauriantur, arbores arescant, pecudes lacte destituantur; ac denique alia malorum genera instigantur, non oculorum naturæ, sed dæmonum virtuti adscribendum est. Qui profectò dæmones, virulentam qualitatem, & contrariam illi rei quam pessundare volût, iaculantur; quę qualitas odore solùm, aut rerum adhibitarum vapore humores corrumpit, & in carne & neruis, ac toto denique corpore eos morbos gignit, quos postea nulla Medicorum vis cognoscere, nedum sanare potis est. < Morbos per damones illatos medici non expellûs.> Quòd verò id naturæ via effici nequeat, hinc claru[m] esse potest; quia natura magno temporis spatio, non puncto actione perficit: nec quod hominibus nocet, segetibus, arboribus, ac brutis animalibus officere solet: & nihilominus, qui per visum inficere putâtur, eodem intuitu, & nulla interposita mora, quæcunque volunt, perimunt. < Natura sempore actionem exercet.> Hic igitur fascinandi modus ad primum & secundum, in secundo capite positum reducendus videtur; quia hæc, vt Isidorus ait, & D. Thomas mulies in locis fatetur; ex dæmonu[m] actione, & maleficorum prauitate accidunt, atque omnes autoritates, quibus per oculos fascinum exerceri demonstratur, hoc pacto intelligendæ sunt. < Autoritates de effascinansibus ocularis quo pacto intelligenda.> Verùm quia non omnes, tali virtute dæmones præditos esse nouerunt, ideò eiusmodi causam, oculorum naturæ adscripserunt. Interdum accidere consueuit, vt pueri & homines imbecillæ na- turæ,
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ON FASCINATION 120 when they bear the appearance of some other thing, they are said to be bewitching. For this variation of colors in the eyes arises in the cornea from the predominance of one humor, or of heat, or of both mixed together, as Galen says; and, as Aristotle says, it is found in human beings alone. <The fascination of crops and livestock is to be attributed to demons.> But if we sometimes think that by a mere glance people inflict harm, whence horses waste away and die, fields are drained, trees wither, livestock are deprived of milk, and, in short, other kinds of evils are stirred up, this must be ascribed not to the nature of the eyes, but to the power of demons. These demons, indeed, cast forth a poisonous quality contrary to the thing they wish to ruin; this quality, by smell alone or by the vapor of things applied, corrupts the humors, and in the flesh and nerves, and finally throughout the whole body, engenders those diseases which afterward no force of physicians is able to recognize, much less heal. <Diseases brought by demons are not expelled by physicians.> But that this cannot be brought about by the way of nature may be made clear from this: nature accomplishes things over a great span of time, not by action at a point; nor does it usually harm what is harmful to human beings in fields, trees, and brute animals. And yet those who are thought to infect by sight, with the same glance and with no delay intervening, destroy whatever they wish. <Nature exercises action over time.> This mode of bewitching therefore seems to be reducible to the first and second kinds set down in the second chapter; because these things, as Isidore says, and St. Thomas often admits, occur from the action of demons and the perversity of sorcerers, and all the authorities by which it is shown that fascination is exercised through the eyes must be understood in this way. <How authorities concerning those who bewitch by sight are to be understood.> But because not all have known demons to be endowed with such power, they have therefore attributed such a cause to the nature of the eyes. It also happens at times that children and men of feeble na- ture,
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Liber II. 121 turæ, quos facilè infectio penetrat, visu & exhalatione inficiantur: ex sordidis enim & putridis ac malè affectis corporibus vapores tetri & insuaues, tanquam ex palude quadam limosa exhalare solent; qui veneni naturam obtinent: quod accidit cùm quis lepra, peste, aut alio co[n]tagioso morbo affectus, alios inficit, idque nô fascinum sed contagium dicédum est. Tales enim putridi & cor- rupti spiritus corporis virtuti non obediùt, nec certum, determinatumque potius hominem, quàm quemlibet obuium sine discrimine lædunt: si enim corporis virtuti halitus patêrent, eósqve natura regere posset, in corruptionem abire nunquam pateretur. < Fascinum à contagio differet.> Nec rationi consentaneum videtur, vtilem & bonum humorem, quem natura liberare à putredine non potuit, corruptum iam, & exitialem gubernare, & quorsumlibet porrigere posse. Profectò, si halitus seipsos ad præfinitum locum conferendi, & res imperatas faciendi vim haberent: nemo esset qui rationis participes eos non arbitraetur: & si animati forent, talia per spiritus fieri concedere possem; sed cùm animæ expertes sint, & sui itineris ducem nullum habeant, ad præfinitam rem lēdendam deferri nequeût: quod si fiat, demonibus, vt dictum est, adscribitur. < Pueri foedis irati hominis oculis quandoque læduntur.> Quádoque fieri solet, vt ex tetris ac foedis irati hominis, aut aniculæ oculis, tenelli paruuli, & ad morbum parati, ex eiusmodi intuitu perterrefacti, in varios morbos & ægritudines incidant; in quas fortasse ob aliâ causam paulo pòst incidissent: quæ quidem via, etsi fascini nomen non meretur, tamen quia vulgus sic censet, sextum fascini modum hac de causa assignauimus. Q
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Liber II. 121 those who are easily infected are contaminated by sight and by exhalation: for from sordid and putrid bodies, and those badly affected, foul and unpleasant vapors are wont to breathe forth, as from some muddy marsh; these possess the nature of poison: what happens when someone afflicted with leprosy, plague, or some other contagious disease infects others should not be called fascination, but contagion. For such putrid and corrupt spirits do not obey the power of the body, nor do they harm some particular and determined person rather than any one encountered indiscriminately: for if the exhalations were subject to the power of the body, and nature could govern them, it would never allow them to fall into corruption. < Fascination differs from contagion.> Nor does it seem consistent with reason that a useful and good humor, which nature was unable to free from putrefaction, once already corrupted and deadly, could be governed and directed wherever one pleases. Indeed, if exhalations had the power of of themselves moving to a predetermined place and doing commanded things, no one would think them devoid of reason; and if they were animated, I could concede that such things are done through spirits; but since they are without soul, and have no guide for their own journey, they cannot be carried to a predetermined thing to be harmed: if this happens, it is ascribed to demons, as has been said. < Children are sometimes harmed by the evil eyes of an angry man.> Sometimes it happens that from the harsh and ugly eyes of an angry man, or of an old woman, frail little children, predisposed to illness, frightened by such a gaze, fall into various diseases and ailments; into which perhaps, for another reason, they would have fallen a little later: which way, although it does not deserve the name of fascination, nevertheless, because the common people think so, we have assigned this as the sixth kind of fascination for this reason. Q
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Per tactum fieri fascinum non posse demonstratur, ac singulorum contrarium asserentium exemplis et rationibus satisfit. CAP. X. ALEXANDER Aphrodisiensis Græcorum Aristotelis interpretum facilè princeps, tactum dissiniens ait, Quòd est reru[m] tactilium susceptio atque deprehensio, qui tunc fit, cùm quod contrectandi potestatem habet, ad rei tactilis similitudinem immutatur. Hunc sensum omnibus animalibus necessarium esse non semel Aristot. docuit. Illas siquidem res ex quibus omne animal componitur, animal ipsum cognoscere necesse est. At quoniâ debita primaru[m] qualitatu[m] calidi, frigidi, humidis & sicci proportio cuilibet animali inest, cùm ex illis co[n]stet: hinc fit vt cùm sensus tactus ad huiusmodi differetias cognoscendas dirigatur, vniuersis animalibus pernecessarius sit: & quia tactus vitæ animalis principiu[m] est, sine quoque vitæ in illo Arist. collocat: namq; ipso superstite, vita etia[m] salua est; codem sublato, omnis vita tollitur. Relique[m] aute[m] omnes tangibiles co[n]trarietates ac differentiæ, vt asperu[m], lene, ac singulæ ad enumeratas redigi posse, tanqua[m] ad principes videtur, vt in li. de gen. & corrup. Philosophus ostendit. Cæterùm quæcunque res illi offeruntur, præsentes cas esse necesse est: absentes etenim tactus no[n] percipit. Si itaque animalium tactus prænarratu[m] officium, ac munus est, & ad animalis salutem, & non perniciem à natura compositus, non bene eos sentire existimo, qui fascinandi potestate tactum præditum esse dixerunt. Quòd si homo per tactu[m] fascinare posset, profectò eiusmodi fascinandi vis, aut ei per tangendi potestate[m] ines-
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It is demonstrated that fascination cannot be effected through touch, and the arguments and examples of those who assert the contrary are answered. CHAP. X. ALEXANDER of Aphrodisias, easily the foremost among the Greek interpreters of Aristotle, distinguishing touch, says that it is the reception and apprehension of tangible things, which takes place when that which has the power of handling is changed into the likeness of the thing touched. Aristotle has more than once taught that this sense is necessary to all animals. For it is necessary that an animal itself should know those things of which every animal is composed. But since the due proportion of the primary qualities—hot, cold, moist, and dry—is present in every animal, as it consists of these; hence it comes about that, since the sense of touch is directed to recognizing such differences, it is most necessary for all animals; and because touch is the principle of animal life, Aristotle also places life in it, for while it remains, life too is safe; when it is removed, all life is taken away. Moreover, all the remaining tangible contrarieties and differences, such as rough and smooth, and each of the others, seem capable of being reduced to those enumerated, as to principles, as the Philosopher shows in the book On Generation and Corruption. Furthermore, whatever things are presented to it must be present there; for touch does not perceive absent things. If, then, touch is the office and function of animals as already described, and is formed by nature for the preservation of the animal and not for its destruction, I do not think well of those who have said that touch is endowed with the power of fascinating. But if a man could fascinate through touch, certainly such a power of fascinating would either be inherent in him through the power of touching...
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Liber II. 123 set, aut à particularibus corporis instrumentis illam haberet, vel à cibis quibus velcitur illi acquireretur. Horu[m] modorum nullo hominem ad effascinádum idoneum esse, luce clarius demostrabimus: & vt à primo exordiamur, Tactus siue vnus sit, siue plures: si plures, an tot sint quot tangibiles cótrarietates habétur, nunqua[m] per eiusmodi sensum fascinu[m] iaculari, persuaderi potest. Eodem quoque pacto, siue caro tangibiles qualitates excipere nata sit, & in se tâgendi potestate[m] habeat, siue internum quidpiâ aliud sit, quod illas excipiat: siue vnume[m] esse sensorium auribus, oculis & naribus simile cöcedamus, intus verò aliud corpus haberi, quod sentiendi facultate fungatur, sitq[ue] in sensibilibus omnibus idé subiecto, siue tactui duo sensoria adscribâtur, vt cor & cerebru[m], cor tanqua[m] principium, cerebru[m] aute[m] vt cõplementu[m], sicuti Algazel sentire videtur, fieri minimè potest, vt per eiusmodi media fascinatio cõpleatur. Quoniâ si tactus multiplex est, dispositionu[m] quoque multiplicitate[m], & in quibusda[m] partibus singularitate[m] etiam habet, quibus tot cõtrarietates percipere natus est, vt in 2. lib. de Anima, Philoponus ait. Multiplices dispositiones sunt, quæ vniuerso corpori insunt, seu calidi, frigidi, humidi, sicci, doloris & lætitiæ. Particares verò non toti corpori, sed partibus cohærent, vt dispositio linguæ ad sapores, dispositio ad alimenta percipienda, dispositio per quam in genitalibus delectatio percipitur. At si tactus specie vnus, & rationis multiplicis sit, sicut anima, quæ natura simplex, & iuxta vires multiplex est, vt verè cum Aristotele tenemus, aliud facere nihil potest, quàm huiusmodi differentias percipere. De sensorio autem dicimus, quòd cùm sagax & prouida natura animaduertisset, Q ij
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Book II. 123 whether it had that power from particular instruments of the body, or acquired it from the foods by which it is nourished. We shall demonstrate more clearly than daylight that by none of these ways is a man fitted for bewitching; and to begin with the first, the sense of touch, whether it be one or many: if many, whether there are as many as there are tangible contrarieties, it can never be persuaded that a fascination of this kind can be cast by such a sense. In the same way, whether flesh is by nature able to receive tangible qualities, and has in itself the power of touching, or whether there is some other internal thing that receives them; whether we grant that there is one sensorium similar to the ears, eyes, and nostrils, but within there is another body which performs the faculty of sensing, and is the same subject in all sensibles; or whether we assign to touch two sensoriums, as heart and brain, the heart as the principle, the brain as the complement, as Algazel seems to think, it is by no means possible for fascination to be accomplished through such means. For if touch is multiple, it also has a multiplicity of dispositions, and in some parts even singularity, by which it is born to perceive so many contrarieties, as Philoponus says in book 2 of De Anima . The dispositions that are multiple are those which are present in the whole body, such as hot, cold, moist, dry, pain, and pleasure. But the particular dispositions belong not to the whole body, but to its parts, such as the disposition of the tongue for flavors, the disposition for perceiving food, the disposition by which pleasure is perceived in the genitals. But if touch is one in species, and many in mode, like the soul, which is simple in nature, and yet multiple in its powers, as we truly hold with Aristotle, it can do nothing other than perceive such differences. But concerning the sensorium we say that, since sagacious and provident nature had observed, Q ij
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DE FASCINO 124 animalia omnia quàm citissimè ad tangendum parata esse oportere, & ad vtilia ac contraria sentiendum, nam si lentum sensorium habuissent, non parua ei detrimenta contigissent, quæ per citissimum tactum fugiunt: idcirco tangendi etiam medium ipsi animali datum est, siue caro, siue quid aliud sit, verùm si cor tactus sensoriu[m] est, ab ipso nerui per totum corpus diffunduntur; quibus quidem animal nihil aliud facit nisi quòd tangibilia tangit: si verò cerebrum eiusmodi sensus sensorium existit, spiritus animales impartit, per quos omnes corporis partes de tangibilibus iudicant. Quòd si tactus, siue vnus, siue multiplex sit; & sensorij præterea quodcúque illud sit, tale munus atque actio est, sicuti ab eildem emanare diximus, quî fieri potest, vt per tangendi potestatem, homo fascinare queat: Sed vt hoc melius intelligatur, non est ignorandu[m], quòd res omnis quæ nobis tâgenda offertur, ab anima, vel vt grata, vel vt molesta accipitur: si vt grata, dilatatio: si verò vt molesta, co[n]tractio oritur. Grati enim & iucundi specie recepta, corpus & anima gaudent, ex quo dilatatio sit; at iniucundi & molesti specie admissa, corpus & anima mœrét, ac dolore quodâ afficiuntur, inde co[n]tractio oritur: Primùm quia penitiores & magis internæ partes omnes illud bonum accipiùt, non enim vniuersum corpus se bene haberet, nisi singulę eius partes eiusmodi bono fruerétur: Secundu[m] verò, quia tactus in minima parte, & quâuis minimâ molestiâ fugere, seq; à nocente retrahere studet: vnde vt noces, secundu[m] minimu[m], quo potest, tâgatur, co[n]strictio fieri reperitur; & quoniam minimu[m] illud quod tâgit, diu ferre nô potest, mox dilatatio nascitur: quê quidemotu[m] alternatis vicibus facit; siquidem si anima semper perferre
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On Fascination 124 all animals ought to be prepared as quickly as possible for touching and for perceiving what is useful and what is contrary; for if they had a slow sensory faculty, they would have suffered no small harm, which escapes by means of the quickest touch. Therefore a medium of touching has also been given to the animal itself, whether it be flesh or something else; but if the heart is the sensory organ of touch, then the nerves are spread from it throughout the whole body, by which the animal does nothing other than touch tangible things. But if the brain is the sensory organ of such perception, it imparts animal spirits, through which all parts of the body judge concerning tangible things. But if touch, whether it be one or many, and moreover whatever that sensory organ may be, is such a function and activity as we have said to proceed from the same source, how can it happen that, by the power of touching, a man may be able to bewitch? Yet in order that this may be better understood, it must not be ignored that whatever thing is offered to us to be touched is received by the soul either as pleasing or as troublesome: if as pleasing, dilation arises; but if as troublesome, contraction arises. For when the appearance of what is agreeable and pleasant is received, body and soul rejoice, from which dilation results; but when the appearance of what is unpleasant and troublesome is admitted, body and soul grieve, and are affected by a certain pain, and from that contraction arises: first, because the innermost and more internal parts all receive that good, for the whole body would not be well unless each of its parts enjoyed such a good; secondly, because touch, in the smallest part and with any smallest discomfort, strives to flee and to draw away from what is harmful: whence, as the harmful thing is touched, in the smallest degree possible, contraction is found to occur; and because that smallest thing which touches cannot endure it for long, dilation soon arises, which makes that motion by turns in alternating periods; since, if the soul were always to endure
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Liber II. 125 vellet, succumberet. Quæ constrictionis & laxationis beneficia naturæ optimè nota existimantur: namque ad priorem dilatationem noui aeris attractio sequitur, à quo cor refrigeratur; ad co[n]strictionem autem noui eiusdem aeris calefacti eiectio subsequitur. quæ quidem calefacti aeris eiectio fascinare nullo modo potest: si quidem in proiicientis hominis corpore, putrefactionem esse oporteret, vnde enim infectio transit, putrefactum esse necesse est. Putrefactio autem est dissolutio quædam mestionis calido innato, atque humido euaporante. Sed in illo, qui aerem per eiectionem emittit, nulla putrefactio, nullâque calidi innati, & humidi dissolutio reperitur; ergo nullam infectionem iaculari idoneus est. Quæ profectò solo contactu afficere videntur; ea sunt, quæ marcescere consueuerunt, vt fructus aliquis, si fructui adhæreat. Sic namque aliena caliditas, atque humiditas, quæ euaporationis principia sunt, commiscentur. quod de hominibus dici non potest, quippe qui ab huiusmodi accidentibus alieni sunt. Huc accedit, quòd mala, quæ per infectionem communicantur, multiplicia sunt: quoniam aliud & arboribus, & satis nocet, & animalium nulli obest: contrà, quoddam animalia infestat, & satis, & arboribus parcit: & inter animalia, hoc hominem, illud boues, aut equos, vel alia carpit; quin & in eadem specie, quod senibus nocet, pueris & iuuenibus non obest, & sic è contrà nec quod mares, semper mulieres tangit: alij certas pestes sensere, alij non: alij inter pestilentes illæsi versantur. Inter membra etiam sua infectio est: nam lippitudo nô nisi oculis nocet; at cùm per fascinantis tactum omnia, quæ corruptioni obnoxia sunt inficiantur; eiusmodi infectionis causam ad alium Qiii
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Book II. 125 would wish it, he would succumb. Those benefits of constriction and relaxation are considered best known to nature; for to the former dilation follows the drawing in of new air, by which the heart is cooled; but to the constriction follows the expulsion of that same air, now heated. Yet the expulsion of heated air can by no means be enchanting; indeed, in the body of the man who emits it, putrefaction would have to be present, since from where infection passes, there must necessarily be putrefaction. But putrefaction is a certain dissolution of the mixture by innate heat, and the evaporating of moisture. Yet in that man who sends out air by expulsion, there is found no putrefaction, nor any dissolution of the innate heat and moisture; therefore he is in no way capable of darting any infection. Those things which seem to affect by mere contact are such as are wont to wither, as when one fruit adheres to another fruit. For in this way foreign heat and moisture, which are the beginnings of evaporation, are mingled. This cannot be said of men, since they are foreign to such accidents. Moreover, the evils communicated by infection are many: for one thing harms both trees and crops, and injures none of the animals; on the other hand, another attacks animals, and spares crops and trees; and among animals, one affects man, another oxen or horses, or others; indeed, even within the same species, what harms the old does not injure children and the young, and likewise conversely, nor does what always affects males affect females: some have felt certain plagues, others not; some remain unharmed among the plague-stricken. Infection is also found among the members themselves: for ophthalmia harms only the eyes; but when all things liable to corruption are infected by the touch of the enchanter, the cause of such infection to another Qiii
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Liber II. 137 scinum? Non à pilis qui sicci sunt, non à neruis, quippe qui humiditatis, & siccitatis mediam naturam, vt cutis, habent. non per os, & cartilagines, quæ frigida, & sicca sunt, & corruptioni contraria. idem est de membranis, arteriis, & venis, quæ exangues & frigidæ comperiuntur. Non per carnem, & sanguinem: nam temperatam caliditatem habent. non per cerebrum, à quo animales spiritus pertotum corpus diffunduntur: & cuius causa caput procreatum creditur, cui omnes sensus, veluti serui quidam ac ministri, & Regis stipatores dati sunt. Non per cor, quod sanguinis, ac vitæ origo, & principium ab Arist. nuncupatur. At si cor vitæ causa est, qui mortem, ac fascinum iniicere potest? Fieri enim non potest, vt eadem res sua natura eodem modo se habens, contrariorum effectuum simul causa existat. Profectò, si naturæ artem contemplemur, eam mirabilem, ac diuinam iudicare cogimur; quia tam varia instrumenta pro animalium salute, & non ad corum exitium fabricat. Alia namque idoneum cuìque particulæ nutrimentum alterando impartiuntur, alia excrementa separant, alia transmittunt, alia suscipiunt, alia expellunt; idem quoque de foraminibus; quæ corpori insunt, dicendum est. Nam aliud quo cibo, & potui, ac aeri nobis circumfuso esset ingressus, nobis datum fuit: aliud, quà humida, & sicca excrementa exirent; ex superiori parte spiritui per nares est ingressus: in inferiori verò semini pro exitu deseruit, excernendorum excrementoru[m] causa nonnulli meatus sursum ad cerebum perueniunt: alibi verò corpus perforatu[m] inuenias vesicæ aluóque exonerandæ. Si igitur in horu[m] omnium dispositione, ac mensura, naturæ solertiam & laudamus,
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scinum? Not from hairs, which are dry; not from nerves, since they have a middle nature between humidity and dryness, like the skin. Not through bone, and cartilages, which are cold and dry, and contrary to corruption. The same is true of membranes, arteries, and veins, which are found bloodless and cold. Not through flesh and blood: for they have a temperate warmth. Not through the brain, from which animal spirits are diffused throughout the whole body; and for whose sake the head is believed to have been created, to which all the senses have been given, as certain servants and attendants, and as guards of the king. Not through the heart, which Aristotle calls the source and principle of blood and of life. But if the heart is the cause of life, who can inflict death and fascination? For it is impossible that the same thing, being in its own nature and in the same way disposed, should at the same time be the cause of contrary effects. Certainly, if we contemplate the art of nature, we are compelled to judge it admirable and divine; because it fashions such various instruments for the preservation of animals, and not for their destruction. For some things, by altering them, impart suitable nourishment to each part; others separate excrements; others transmit; others receive; others expel; the same also must be said of the openings that are in the body. For one passage was given to us by which food, drink, and the air surrounding us might enter; another, by which moist and dry excrements might pass out; from the upper part there is an entrance for the spirit through the nostrils: in the lower part, however, it serves as an exit for semen; some passages extend upward to the brain for the sake of excreting waste matter; elsewhere you may find the body pierced for emptying the bladder and the bowels. If therefore in the arrangement and measure of all these things we praise the ingenuity of nature,
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& miramur, quæ pro animantium, & præsertim pro hominis omnium domini beneficio, tot, tantáque instrumenta confinxerit: fieri non potest vt fascinandi vim per eiusmodi organa exerceri existimemus. < Halitus hominis no fascinas.> Miniméque ex hominis halitu fascinum oriri fingere possumus: quonia[m] respirationis, & pulsuum vsus finisque vnus est; caloris videlicet in quacunque parte custodia. Nam quamuis Asclepiades respirationem ob animę generationem esse dixerit, Praxagoras ob corroborationem; Philistion, & Diocles propter innati caloris ventilationem: Hippocrates ob nutritionem, & refrigerationem; Erasistratus arteriarum expletionis gratia, Arist. ob cordis calorem refrigerandum, & conseruandum; omnes tamen ad corporis vtilitatem respiciebant, nec vnquam effascinádorum hominum causa, halitum ex ore emitti quisquam somniauit. Insuper ex brutis animantibus n[on]nulla sunt, quę torporem, quædam grauiorem soporem, alia exitialem qualitatem, alia frigiditatem, alia putrefactionem, alia aliud quoddam tetrum malum respirando incutiût: at hominis naturæ nihil eiusmodi inesse videmus, ne mortuo quidem, & putrefacto. Quæ ergo insania est, vt à viuo talia fieri dicamus, quando in corpore humores pacati, & tranquilli sunt? ne dum si ad rebellionem tendere inceperint. At, si per tactum eiusmodi mala fieri possent, in iis maximè hæc facultas reperiretur, qui sub æstiuo sole diu versati sunt, totumque corpus siccum, aresactum, squallidúmque habent, humorésque ad summam discordiam redactos: qui nihilominus ab eiusmodi actione quàm maximè alieni sunt. & si homo, ob intemperatam qualitatem, ac naturam tactu intermedio insicere posset, id maximè efficeret simul atque ex vtero in
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& we marvel that, for the benefit of living creatures, and especially of man, the lord of all, he should have fashioned so many and so great instruments; it cannot be that we should think the power of bewitching is exercised through such organs. <Man’s breath does not bewitch.> And least of all can we imagine that bewitchment arises from a man’s breath, since the use and end of breathing and of the pulse is one and the same, namely the preservation of heat in whatever part it may be. For although Asclepiades said that respiration exists for the generation of the soul, Praxagoras for strengthening it; Philistion and Diocles because of the ventilation of innate heat; Hippocrates for nourishment and cooling; Erasistratus for the filling of the arteries; Aristotle for cooling and preserving the heat of the heart; yet all were looking to the benefit of the body, and never did anyone dream that breath should be emitted from the mouth for the sake of bewitching men. Moreover, among brute animals there are some that, by breathing, induce torpor, some a heavier sleep, others a deadly quality, others coldness, others putrefaction, others some other foul evil; but we see nothing of this sort in man’s nature, not even in the dead and putrefied body. What madness then is it to say that such things are done by a living person, when the humors in the body are peaceful and tranquil? much less if they should begin to incline toward rebellion. But if such evils could be caused by touch, this faculty would be found especially in those who have long stayed beneath the summer sun and have their whole body dry, parched, and foul, and their humors reduced to the greatest discord; yet such people are most remote from any such action. And if a man, on account of an intemperate quality and by intermediate touch, could infect, this would be done especially as soon as he came forth from the womb in
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Liber II. 129 in lucem editur. Nam cùm eius prima compositio ex ca- lidis & humidis rebus constet; quibus crescere incipientibus omnia pueri mebra, omnésque partes perficiu[n]tur, eisque perfectis quæ superfluunt, foras emittuntur, tan- táque in eo corpusculo excrementoru[m] copia co[n]spicitur, vt nô secus ac ceram mucosam carne[n] nutrices forment, ac tractent; ea ætas magis apposita esse videtur fascino inferendo: & nihilominus ex mollium infantiu[m] tactu a- deo intemperato, nec nutrices, nec tangentes inficiu[n]tur, aut minimam labé contrahunt. Quòd si tunc non acci- dit, neque etiam accidere potest illoru[m] ætate florescente. At, si excrementoru[m] naturâ propiùs perscrutari velimus, nec in senio quide[m] hominem id facere posse videbimus: nam etsi ea [con]tate oculi lacrymis suffundantur, nares mu- cosa distillatione man[n]et; in ore saliuæ, & excreatus copia abundet: omnes articuli quodá modo mucosi apparea[n]t; internè denique & externè pituitoso humore, & mucoso totum corpus scateat; quæ senum incommoda sunt: ta- men hanc excrementoru[m] humiditatem nemini vnquam fascinum intulisse comperimus. Si ergo senes, frigidi, ni- gri, liuidi, & superfluitatibus perfluentes hæc non iaculâ- tur mala, cùm co[n]coctionem, digestionem, sensum, mo- tum, ac denique oblæsa & vitiata omnia habea[n]t, totum- que corpus veluti tabes existat, nec pueri ex ciboru[m] cru- ditate vomentes, delectiones putridas, & asperas, ac nu- tritioni contrarias proiicientes: in nulla ætate id fieri ab homine potest; co[n]que tépore minus, cùm ad florentem ætatem peruenit. Tunc enim intellectum, sensum, om- nes denique corporis partes, atque actiones ad summam perfectionem, bonitatemque natura perduxit. Non ita- que ex corporis instrumentis fascinandi potestas homi- R
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Liber II. 129 comes into the light. For since its first composition consists of hot and moist substances, by which, as they begin to grow, all the limbs of children and all their parts are brought to completion, and when these are perfected, whatever remains is sent forth outward, so great a quantity of excrement is seen in that little body that nurses form and handle it no otherwise than as a waxy, slimy flesh; that age therefore seems more suited to the inflicting of the evil eye, and yet, from the handling of soft infants, so excessively temperate, neither nurses nor those who touch them are infected, nor do they contract the slightest stain. But if it does not happen then, neither can it happen later, when their age is in bloom. But if we wish to inquire more closely into the nature of excrement, we shall see that even in old age a man cannot do this: for although then the eyes are bathed in tears, the nostrils drip with mucus, the mouth abounds in saliva, and discharge, all the joints appear in a manner slimy; finally, both within and without the whole body swarms with phlegmy and mucous moisture, which are the inconveniences of old men; yet we have found that this moistness of excrement has never inflicted the evil eye on anyone. If therefore old men, cold, swarthy, livid, and overflowing with superfluities, do not cast forth these evils, though they have digestion, sensation, motion, and in short everything impaired and corrupted, and the whole body as it were consumed by decay, and if children too, vomiting from the crudity of food, casting out putrid and harsh discharges contrary to nourishment, cannot do so: then at no age can this be done by a human being; and still less at the time when he comes to flourishing age. For then nature has brought understanding, sensation, and finally all the parts and actions of the body to the highest perfection and goodness. Therefore the power of bewitching does not come from the instruments of the body R
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DE FASCINO 130 nibus inest. Nec ex cibis, quibus homines vescuntur: quia, si ex ipsis fascinandi vis oriretur, in omnibus corporibus iisdem cibis vtentibus eandem fascinandi proprietatem ingenerarent; quod fieri non videmus. Quòd < Argumentu[m] de puella veneno nutrita resoluitur.> si cibi virulenta præditi sunt virtute, vt illi fuerunt, quibus quædam puella nutrita fuit, cuius amplexu Regi cuidam mors parata fuit; id fieri non potest, nisi magno te- poris spatio, nec postea per simplicem cõtactum nisi per sudoris admistionem obesse potest, at quia aniculæ, & mulierculæ quædam in hac diabolica prauitate edoctæ, & exercitatæ, leuissimo contactu exitialem, ac lethalem effectum in illis, quæ attingunt, efficiunt: ideo non nisi <dæmonibus fascinatio ascribenda.> dæmonibus, eiusmodi effectus, & non tangentibus adscribendi sunt. omne enim animal cibo sibi idoneo alitur; is verò cuique cibus cõueniens, & idoneus est, quem in suam quisque naturam vertit; contrarium namque respuit. At si natura debilis est, & segregatrix, & expultrix facultas suo munere fungi in expellendis nocuiis no[n] potest, si calida excrementa sunt, vel frigida, aut cuiuscu[m] que proprietatis, graues morbos in corpore generant, vt in lib. de atra bile Galen. inquit: qui quidem morbi, si <tangentibus obesse debent, priùs corpus eiusmodi ægitudine affectum reddent, quàm aliis noceant. Sturno enim Cicuta cibus est, homini autem lethale venenum,> tangentibus obesse debent, priùs corpus eiusmodi ægitudine affectum reddent, quàm aliis noceant. Sturno enim Cicuta cibus est, homini autem lethale venenum, <Lucretio poeta auctore ita quoque veratru[m] coturnicem nutrit, hominem statim interficit: quia coturnicu[m] temperies sibi simile veratrum reddere potest, quod hominu[m] proprietas non potest. Verùm si quis ex hominibus veratru[m] edere tentaret, tantum abest vt suo cõtactu quempiam inficere posset, vt sibi ipsi mortem statim pararet. Sed fac in hominum corporibus, æque instrumentis> Cicuta stur- no, veratrum coturnici ci- bus est.
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OF FASCINATION 130 is present in the body. Nor is it from foods which men eat: because, if the power of bewitching arose from those very things, then in all bodies using the same foods they would generate the same property of fascination; which we do not see happening. Since <The argument from the girl nourished on poison is refuted.> if foods are endowed with a poisonous virtue, as were those with which a certain girl was nourished, by whose embrace death was prepared for a certain king, that could not happen except over a great span of time, and even afterward it could harm not by simple contact but only by the admixture of sweat. But since certain old women and women, instructed and practiced in this diabolical wickedness, by very slight contact produce a ruinous and deadly effect in those they touch, therefore such effects are to be ascribed not to anything other than <fascination must be attributed to demons.> demons, and not to those who touch. For every animal is nourished by food suitable to itself; and the food suitable and proper to each is that which each converts into its own nature; for it rejects what is contrary. But if the nature is weak, and the separating and expelling faculty is unable to perform its duty in expelling harmful things, if there are hot excrements, or cold ones, or of whatever property, they generate serious diseases in the body, as Galen says in the book On Black Bile: which diseases, if they are to harm those who touch, will first make the body affected with such illness before they injure others. For to the starling hemlock is food, but to a human being a deadly poison, <with Lucretius the poet as authority, hellebore likewise nourishes the quail and kills a man at once: because the temperament of the quail can render hellebore similar to itself, which the property of man cannot do. But if someone among men should try to eat hellebore, so far would it be from infecting anyone by its contact that it would immediately prepare death for himself. But suppose in human bodies, likewise instruments> Hemlock is food for the starling, hellebore is food for the quail.
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Liber II. 131 summum calorem, aut frigus, aut quamuis excessiuam aliam qualitatem reperiri: nunqua[m] per ipsam quemqua[m] fascinare posse inueniemus; quin priùs proprium corpus eiusmodi qualitate inficiat, quo casu non fascinum, sed potius contagium appellandum erit; & in quinto modo à nobis in 2. Cap. assignato collocari debet. Ad similitudinem autem quæ de marina torpedine, serpente, Hyæna, Vipera, ac reliquis adducitur, dicimus eam roboris nihil prorsus habere: quia, cùm homines & bruta specie differant, proprietatibus quoque omnino diuersis præditi sunt. In alimento quoque, vt diximus, differunt, & in generandi modo, neque in iisdem locis degunt: non enim in limo, in colluuie, in paludibus, in plantis; fructibusque putribus, in visceribus terræ homo nascitur, ac victitat, vt animalia venenosa. Eiusdem farinæ est exemplum de Echeneide Remora dicta: quæ, vt eiusmodi proprietate nauem sistendi prædita sit, quid tum commune cum homine habet? Quo pacto ex piscis natura, hominum virtutem ac proprietatem metiri possumus? hic profectò demonstrationis modus ab Aristotele in libris Posteriorum exploditur: ac scire per causam propter quam res est, nos oportere docuit, & non per generalissima, & remotissima ac disparata, & penitus diuersa principia: quæ cùm re scita aut paruam, aut nullam cognationem habeant, sicuti in re nostra nunc accidit, cùm ex Echeneide pisce hominum proprietatem inferre volumus, quem piscem, non causam, sed signum potius illius retentionis esse quidam arbitrantur, vt illic, vbi nauigia sistuntur, Magnetis montes subesse ostendat; ex quibus montibus species ferri clauos, quibus nauigia adstricta sunt, pe- R ij
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Liber II. 131 the highest heat, or cold, or any other excessive quality whatever is found: we shall never find that by it alone anyone can be bewitched; rather, it must first infect his own body with such a quality, in which case it should be called not fascination, but rather contagion; and it must be placed in the fifth mode assigned by us in chapter 2. But the comparison that is brought forward from the marine torpedo, the serpent, the Hyena, the Viper, and the rest, we say that it has no strength whatever: because, since men and brute animals differ in species, they are also endowed with utterly different properties. They differ too, as we have said, in food, and in the manner of generation, nor do they dwell in the same places: for man is not born and nourished in mud, in filth, in marshes, in plants, and in rotten fruits, in the bowels of the earth, as poisonous animals are. Of the same kind is the example of the Echeneis called Remora: which, though it is endowed with such a property of stopping a ship, what then common ground does it have with man? In what way from the nature of a fish can we measure the virtue and property of men? This indeed is a mode of demonstration rejected by Aristotle in the books of the Posterior Analytics: and he taught that we ought to know through the cause why a thing is, and not through the most general, and remotest, and unrelated, and wholly different principles: which, once the thing is known, have either little or no kinship, as now happens in our case, when we wish to infer the property of men from the fish Echeneis, which fish, some think, is not the cause, but rather the sign of that stopping, so that there it may show that where ships are halted, the mountains of the Magnetes lie beneath; from which mountains pieces of iron, to which the ships are fastened, are pe- R ij
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tunt, ferrumque adeo tenaciter ac veheméter tenent, vt vix inde extrahi nauigia queant, idq[ue] inde roborari aiut: nam quibusdam in partibus nautæ verentes ne nauigia vel retardentur, vel ex illis ferrei claui ob magnetis montium copiam extrahantur, clauis ligneis in contabulandis nauigiis vtuntur. ex quibus concludût, Echeneidem circa magnetis scopulos vel montes victitare, nauiumque retentionem ostendere, & non efficere. Non enim verisimile est, tam paruulum pisciculum sua natura ea virtute præditum esse, vt tam vasta nauigia remoratur, ac tantas vires, tantósqque ventorum impetus compe- scat. aliam ergo causam esse oportet, quàm paruulum illum pisciculum, quæ tantorum effectuum causa existat: sed, vt verum fatear, nauis retentionem, neque tam minuto pisciculo, neque magnetis montibus adscribe- rem; sed potiùs id ad aliquod ignotum, & ex accidenti obiectum impedimentum referendum putarem: tum quia rarò illud euenisse legitur, & vt Arist. in 2. de Phys. auditu docet, quæ rarò fiunt, ad casum spectant; tum etiam quia eiusmodi magnetis montes nauigia impedientes nullibi, nec leguntur, nec timentur, nec videntur, & nihilominus omnia ferè maria à nautis sul-cantur. < Ferrum magnete attrisit cur ad septe-ratione spectet.> Quòd autem dicitur, laminam ferream alte- ra ex parte magnete attritam ac in æquilibrio suspensam, ad oras septentrionales conuerti, vi ipsius magnetis attractam, cuius maxima moles in ipsis locis reperiri sertur: mihi verisimilius videtur, non ex magnetis, & ferri montibus, vsque ad illud ferramentum magnete temperatum species distendi, ac porrigi: tum quia alibi effoditur, & tamen ferrum eo illitum non ad fodinam, sed ad septemtrionis polu[m] dirigitur, tum etia[m] quia
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they hold it so tenaciously and violently that ships can scarcely be drawn away from it, and they say that this is strengthened thereby: for in certain parts sailors, fearing lest ships should either be delayed or have their iron nails pulled out by the abundance of magnet mountains, use wooden nails in planking their ships. From this they conclude that the Echeneis lives around the rocks or mountains of the magnet and shows the holding back of ships, but does not cause it. For it is not likely that so tiny a fish should by its nature be endowed with that power, that it can check so vast a ship, and restrain such great forces and such assaults of the winds. Therefore there must be some other cause than that little fish, which may account for such great effects: but, to tell the truth, I would ascribe the holding back of a ship neither to so tiny a fish nor to magnet mountains; rather I would think it should be referred to some unknown impediment, occurring by accident: first because it is read that it happens rarely, and, as Aristotle teaches in Book 2 of the Physics, things that happen rarely belong to chance; and also because mountains of this kind of magnet, impeding ships, are nowhere mentioned, nor feared, nor seen, and nevertheless almost all seas are traversed by sailors. < Why iron attracted by a magnet pertains to the north.> As for the claim that a sheet of iron, rubbed on one side with a magnet and suspended in equilibrium, turns toward the northern regions, being drawn by the force of the magnet itself, whose greatest mass is said to be found in those places: it seems to me more likely that the species are not extended or carried from the mountains of the magnet and iron all the way to that piece of metal tempered by the magnet. First, because it is mined elsewhere, and yet iron smeared with it is directed not to the mine, but to the pole of the north; and also because
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Liber II. 135 omnem actionem in debita, & non in difformi distantia fieri oportet, Aristotele teste: non enim credibile est, < Etio omni in debite distansia is.> species in tam immensa distantia, ab illis montibus eò vsque pertingere posse; sed potius id fieri ob occultum consensum, ac propensionem, quam magnes, qua lamina illa attrita est, ad partes illas habet: idque clarius & manifestius fiet, si modum quo magnes ferrum trahat, ostendamus. Alexander Aphrodisiensis cùm causam redderet, quare Herculeus lapis ferru trahat, reprehendit Empedoclem, qui dicebat, quòd ex desfluxibus, qui < Philosophoru[m] variæ sententiæ de magnetis vs.> ex vtroque fluunt, & ex meatibus lapidis, qui cum meatibus ferri commensurati sunt, ferrum ad lapidem trahitur: quia lapidis desfluxus aërem, qui est in meatibus, ipsos operientem propellunt & mouent: hoc autem separato desfluxu, toto simul fluente, ferru sequitur. Cùm autem feruntur ab ipso desfluxus ad lapidis meatus, quia sunt ei commensurati, & coueniunt, ferrum ipsum cum desfluxibus sequitur, & fertur, & huius opinionis Poëta Lucretius fuisse videtur, vt in calce 7.cap.lib.1. diximus. Democritus quoque reprehenditur, asserens desfluxus fieri, & similia ad similia ferri, ac ferru ex similibus atomis constare, tenuioribus autem atomis lapidem esse constatum, & esse rariorem, ac pluribus vacuitatibus patentem, & ob id mobiliorem ad ferrum citius deferri. Diogenes etiam Apolloniates arguitur, ductilia omnia dicés nata esse aliquid emittere, à seipsis nata esse humiditatem quâdam trahere ab extrinseco: & quia lapis est ferro rarior, ideò plus humidi à circumfuso aëre trahit, quàm emittat. Quod verò sibi cognatum & simile est, recipit: quod autem non est sibi simile, respuit. Verùm quoniam ferrum est sibi cognatum ob co[n]gregationem R iij
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Book II. 135 Every action ought to occur at the proper, and not at a disproportionate, distance, as Aristotle testifies: for it is not credible that species, in so immense a distance, from those mountains could reach all the way there; but rather that this happens by an occult consent and inclination which the magnet, by which that plate was rubbed, has toward those parts: and this will become clearer and more manifest if we show the manner in which the magnet draws iron. Alexander of Aphrodisias, when he gave the cause why the Herculean stone draws iron, criticized Empedocles, who said that from effluxes, which of the various opinions of philosophers concerning the use of the magnet.> flow from both, and from the pores of the stone, which are commensurate with the pores of iron, iron is drawn to the stone: because the stone’s effluxes drive and move the air which is in the pores, covering them; but by this separated efflux, when the whole flows together, the iron follows. But when the effluxes themselves are carried to the pores of the stone, because they are commensurate with it and agree, the iron itself follows and is carried along with the effluxes; and the poet Lucretius seems to have held this opinion, as we said at the end of chapter 7 of book 1. Democritus also is criticized, for asserting that effluxes come about, and that like things are carried to like things, and that iron consists of similar atoms, while the stone consists of finer atoms, and is more rarefied, and open to more void spaces, and on that account more movable, and is carried more quickly to the iron. Diogenes of Apollonia is also charged, saying that all ductile things are born to emit something, and that from themselves they are born to draw some humidity from outside: and because the stone is rarer than iron, therefore it draws more moisture from the surrounding air than it emits. But what is akin and similar to itself, it receives; what, however, is not similar to itself, it rejects. But since iron is akin to itself by the aggregation R iiij
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DE FASCINO 134 humidi in ipso reperti, hinc est quòd magnes ferrû trahit. Ferrum verò non e contra lapidem trahit, eò quia ferrum non adeò rarum est, vt congregatam ab ipso hu- miditatem recipiat, harum opinionum confutationes breuitatis causa prætermittimus. < Varij attrahendi modi ex Alex.> Sed plures attrahendi modi ab Alexandro enumerantur, quò ille inueniatur, cuius causa lapis ferrum trahat. Vnde dicit, quòd quædam vi & actu trahunt, & hæc cùm mouentur mouent? quo quidem modo Herculeus lapis, qui immobilis est, non mouet, quia nec ferrum tangit, nec medium aërem trahit, aut aquam, sed ipsum per ipsa trahit: nec vt cucurbitula caliditate intermedia aërem intermedium; in illa enim ignis motus & exiens proximum humidum trahit. Si hoc modo lapis traheret, omnia quæ in aëre sunt leuiora ferro, ad lapide priùs quàm ferrum traherentur. Matrix præterea viri semen, & venæ nutrimentum trahere videtur: lapis autem non sic ferrum trahit, cuius ratio est, quia horum quæcunque trahunt, inde habent, eo quòd aërem & humidu prius mediu trahut; ad quorum motum alia trahuntur, & sic per accidens, & non per se trahi videntur. < Ferrum ad lapidem fersur eimo desiderio.> Sol insuper aquam trahit, quia cùm à solis caliditate terra & aqua in vapores mutâtur, ad locum sibi naturalé sursum feruntur, nec ita lapis ferru trahere potest, non enim ferru mutat. Nutrimentu etia animal trahit, & omne co cupiscibile & appetibile, co cupiscen tem & appetente trahit, non faciendo id quod inter appetente est, sibi ipsi simile: no enim sit nutrimentu, ipsum intermediu, nec hoc trahitur: sed motu intermediu appetibile ei specie præbet, quod mouetur, vt in visione sit. Sic & ferru ad lapidem fertur, non trahente ipsum vi ad se, sed eius desiderio, quo ipse indiget. Non enim quæ
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DE FASCINO 134 moisture found in the thing itself; hence it is that the magnet attracts iron. But iron, on the other hand, does not attract the stone, because iron is not so rare as to receive from it the moisture gathered by it; for the confutations of these opinions we pass over for the sake of brevity. < Various modes of attraction from Alexander.> But several modes of attraction are enumerated by Alexander, so that it may be found which is the cause why the stone draws iron. Whence he says that some things draw by power and in act, and these, when moved, move? In this way indeed the Heraclean stone, which is motionless, does not move, because it touches neither the iron nor draws the intervening air, or water, but draws it through itself: nor, as a cupping-glass does, does it draw the intervening air through intermediate heat; for in that case the motion and outgoing of fire would draw the neighboring moisture. If the stone drew in this way, all things in the air that are lighter than iron would be drawn to the stone before the iron would be. Likewise the matrix seems to draw the man’s semen and the nourishment of the veins; but the stone does not draw iron in this way, the reason of which is because all those things that draw have this from the fact that they first draw air and intermediate moisture; by whose motion other things are drawn, and thus they seem to be drawn incidentally, and not in themselves. < Iron is borne to the stone by a kind of desire.> Moreover the sun draws water, because when by the sun’s heat earth and water are changed into vapors, they are borne upward to the place natural to them, nor can the stone thus draw iron, for it does not change the iron. Nourishment also draws the animal, and every desirable and appetible thing draws the desirous and desiring one, without making that which is between the desiring one and itself similar to itself; for nourishment is not made the intermediate thing, nor is this drawn; but by the intermediate motion it gives to it in species the appetible thing, which is moved, as in vision it may be. Thus also iron is borne to the stone, not because it draws it to itself by force, but by its desire, of which it is in need. For not those things which
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L I B E R II. 135 sensum tantùm habet, & animata sunt, tantu desiderat, quod eis naturale est, sed inanimatoru multa hoc pacto se habet. Quæ Alex. opinio si rectè perpendatur, ab aliis enumeratis, & præsertim à Democriti opinione no[n] discedit: is enim à similibus similia trahi asserit, quia omne simile sibi simile appetit, vt Arist. est in Peripatetica < simile à simile trahitur> scho la ventilata sentetia. Et sic etia[m] Alex. ait, quòd lapis ferru[m] trahit, sicut appetibile & co[n]cupiscibile appetente[m] & co[n]cupiscente[m] trahere conspiciu[n]tur: modò appetetis & co[n]cupiscetis attractio non nisi à simili fit. Quòd aute[m] simile ad sibi simile moueatur, claru[m] est, idque in elemetis, & in aliis manifestu[m] est. In aqua quide[m] inter bullas illas quæ fiunt, vna[m] ad aliâ[m] accedere videmus, eóque velocius quo proximiores fiut. In igne quoq[ue] sæpius videre est, paruâ[m] flammâ[m] à maiori mira celeritate trahi. Quid? cibus & potus ab esuriétibus & sitientibus quàm velocissimè absumitur, ob similitudine[m] quæ inter vtrosque reperitur? Sicut igitur in elementis, simile ad simile trahitur, ita in omnibus est, eademq[ue] in omnibus ratio & finis trahendi est. Sed interdu[m] illud quod trahedi principiu[m] est, validissimu[m] reperitur, interdu[m] debile; veluti forma à qua emanat, existit. Hinc est, vt idem magnetis frustu[m] attractionis diuersitatem faciat, & ex vna parte velocius, ex altera tardius ferrum trahat: nec propterea ex hoc exemplo à magnete sumpto fascinu[m] per tactum fieri inferendum est, cùm, vt sæpius diximus, similitudo nulla sit. Fac enim à magnete ferrum trahi, aut narratis modis, aut ex astro- rum decursu, quo ad horale partes dirigunt, aut uina virtute mouente, vt ait Plato, aut ex totius substantiæ vi, formáq[ue] specifica, nunqua[m] per eam fascinu[m] arguemus. Illud verò de tauro sicui alligato verisimile no[n] est.
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L I B E R II. 135 [it] has only sensation, and living things desire only that which is natural to them; but in inanimate things there is much that is affected in this manner. If Alexander’s opinion is rightly weighed, it does not depart from the opinions already enumerated, and especially not from Democritus’s opinion: for he asserts that like things are drawn by like things, because everything like to itself seeks what is like to itself, as Aristotle says in the Peripatetic school, <like is drawn to like> the doctrine debated in the school. And so also Alexander says that a stone draws iron, just as the desirable and the coveted are seen to draw the one who desires and covets them: provided that the attraction of the desirous and coveting is made only by similarity. But that like is moved toward like is clear, and this is manifest in the elements and in other things. In water, indeed, among those bubbles that are formed, we see one approach another, and the more rapidly the nearer they are. In fire too it is often seen that a small flame is drawn with marvelous speed by a larger one. What? Is food and drink consumed by the hungry and thirsty as quickly as possible, because of the similarity found between the two? Therefore, just as in the elements like is drawn to like, so it is in all things, and the same reason and end of drawing applies in all. But sometimes that which is the principle of drawing is found to be very strong, sometimes weak; just as the form from which it emanates exists. Hence it is that the same piece of magnet causes a diversity of attraction, and draws iron more quickly from one side, more slowly from the other: nor ought one therefore to infer from this example taken from the magnet that fascination is caused by touch, since, as we have often said, there is no similarity. For suppose that iron is drawn by a magnet, whether by the modes mentioned, or by the course of the stars, by which they direct things toward their hourly parts, or by some moving divine power, as Plato says, or by the power and specific form of the whole substance; we shall never on that account argue fascination. But what is said about a bull tied in that way is not probable.
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DE FASCINO Quòd autem è cepe & allio lacrymæ nobis eliciantur, mirum non est, & sic è pipere sternutamentum, exhalât nimirum ex omnibus his, ac circumquaque insensibilia corpora feruntur, quorum diuersæ sunt actiones & vires, nósqque alterare sua vi possunt. Id verò quod dicitur, quorundam contactus tabem aliquibus inferre, venena tollere, lienosis mederi, ad rem nô facit, cùm per id probari fascinum nequeat: nihilominus longiori sermone de his & similibus inferius agemus. < Vulnera interfecti an sanguine corâ interfectore emissans.> Nec ex confesso cadauere ad inimici conspectum, sanguinem emittente, hominis viui proprietatem inferre debemus, quia æquiuocè & non vniuocè, vt in anteprædicamentis Aristotelis dicitur, homo mortuus ad viuú se habet: & fac cadauer ad interfectoris præsentiam sanguinem emittere, quid postea? num ex hoc fascinâdi vim colligere possumus? non sanè. < Fides vnisona cur vnisona impellas.> Siquidem cadauer loqè diuersam à priori est sortitum naturam, & per occultum dissensum, cum interfectore ad sanguinem ebulliédum moueri potest, qui quidem latens dissensus, cùm cognitu difficilis sit, eius completam rationem reddere, (si id modò verum sit) non possumus. Ad id namque asserendum nonnulli moti esse possunt, ob sanguinem in interfectoris co[n]spectu à cadauere casu fluëtem, quod certè interfectori non bene adscribitur: quia quæ casu fiunt, non ab vna, sed à multiplici causa depédent: & hæc causa incerta est, ideò ab huiuscemodi effectu penitus remoueri debet: & inter alia fieri potest, vt moto, agitatóque corpore sanguis qui in venis delitescit, erumpat, cùm venarum ora per motum referentur, nec id ad interfectoris conspectum magis, quàm coram quocunque alio. Ab vnisono autem alterum, aut plures vnisonos moueri nihil refert: quia chordæ
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ON FASCINATION That tears should be drawn from us by onions and garlic is not surprising, and likewise a sneeze from pepper; for from all these there surely proceed subtle effluvia, and invisible bodies are carried all around, whose actions and powers are diverse, and which can alter us by their force. But what is said, that the touch of certain things brings corruption to some, takes away poisons, cures those with spleen troubles, is not to the purpose, since by this fascination cannot be proved; nevertheless, in a longer discourse we shall speak below of these and similar matters. <Whether the wounds of the slain man, in the face of the killer, emit blood.> Nor must we infer from a confessed corpse, in the sight of an enemy, emitting blood, the property of a living man, because, equivocally and not univocally, as Aristotle says in the Antepredicaments, a dead man relates to the living man: and even if the corpse, in the presence of the slayer, were to emit blood, what then? Can we gather from this the power of bewitching? Certainly not. <A single faith; why do you drive on a single faith?> For a corpse has acquired a nature quite different from its former one, and through some hidden discord it may be moved with the slayer to make the blood boil; but since that hidden discord is difficult to know, we cannot give a complete account of it, if that only is true. Indeed, to assert this, some may have been moved because blood flowed by chance from the corpse in the presence of the slayer, which certainly should not be attributed to the slayer, since things that happen by chance depend not on one cause but on many; and this cause is uncertain, therefore it must be wholly removed from an effect of this kind. And among other things it may happen that, when the body is moved and agitated, the blood hidden in the veins bursts forth, when the mouths of the veins are opened by movement; and this is no more in the presence of the slayer than in front of anyone else. But from a single tuning, one or more other strings being likewise tuned is of no importance; because strings
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Liber II. 137 chordæ eodem tensæ sunt modo, consimiles aëris vndationes & facere & recipere aptæ sunt: quæ verò dissimiliter tensæ sunt, non eodem modo moueri queunt: miniméque mirum est, chordas agninas lupinis esse contrarias, quia contrariæ species ex vtrisque emittuntur. Ruta verò brassicæ contraria non est: quòd si altera iuxta alteram sata arescit, inde accidit, quia vtraque calida est, & ob humiditatis inopiam ambas archeri contingit. Non igitur ex tangendi virtute, non ex corporis instrumentis, non ex cibis quibus homines vescuntur, nec alio quouis modo fascinum ciaculari potest. Vox sua natura fascinandi vi caret, atque nomina, verba, characteres, & numeri nihil efficere amplius possunt, quàm id præ se ferre, ad quod significandum instituta fuerunt. Cap. XI. Res omnes quarum cognitio & cõtemplatio ad homines spectat, dum ab hominum intellectu percipiuntur; ab illis simulacra quædam & similitudines abstrahuntur atque formantur, quæ passim mentis affectus seu animi sensus, cogitationesve appellantur. Verùm quia huiusmodi cogitationes occultissimæ sunt, ac veluti in penitiori loco latentes & penitus ignotæ, ideò vocibus tanquam signis quibusdam ad eas significandas & exprimendas, & cum aliis communicandas vtimur. Cùm autem hæ voces, nec permanentes, nec omnes vnitæ, nec omnibus præsentes esse possint, nam simul atque ab ore emittuntur, cuanescut: scripta inuenta sunt, vt D. Augustinus ait, quæ omnia hæc optimè præstare possunt. Et hinc Aristoteles inquit, Sunt igitur ea quæ sunt in voce, earum quæ sunt in S
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Book II. 137 when cords are stretched in the same way, they are suited both to produce and to receive similar undulations of the air: but those that are stretched differently cannot be moved in the same way: and it is very little wonder that sheep-gut strings are contrary to wolf-gut strings, because contrary species are emitted from both. Rue, however, is not contrary to cabbage: for if one is planted beside the other and withers, this happens because both are hot, and from a lack of moisture dryness affects both. Therefore, fascination cannot be cast by the power of touching, nor by bodily organs, nor by the foods on which men feed, nor in any other way whatever. Speech by its nature lacks the power of fascination, and names, words, characters, and numbers can do nothing more than set forth what they were instituted to signify. Chapter XI. All things, the knowledge and contemplation of which pertain to men, when they are perceived by the human intellect, have certain images and likenesses abstracted from them and formed, which are commonly called affections of the mind, or feelings of the soul, or thoughts. But because thoughts of this kind are most hidden, and as it were lying in a more inward place and utterly unknown, therefore we use words as signs of a sort to signify and express them, and to communicate them to others. But since these words can neither be permanent, nor all united, nor present to all, for as soon as they are uttered from the mouth, they vanish: written characters were invented, as St. Augustine says, which can best accomplish all these things. And from this Aristotle says, Therefore those things which are in voice are of those things which are in S
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138 DE FASCINO anima passionum notæ, & ea quæ scribuntur, earu[m] quæ dicuntur. Quia sicut scripta voces perpetuas ac manifestas reddunt, ita voces internos sensus perinde explicat, < Vocis ac pictura comparatio.> ac pictura eius rei imaginé refert, à qua extracta est: huiusmodi autem vocum, ac nominum cunctorum significatus non natura, sed ex hominum consensu & libito est. Nam licet illorum materia spiritus sit, qui à natura est, nihilominus quia forma est determinata articulatio, quæ ab organis animali insitis non secus in spiritum à pulmone, & aspera arteria ascendentem imprimitur, atque simulacrum animo, mentéque excogitatum, in externam materiam pingitur ac formatur; factum est, vt omnia nomina arte, & non natura esse dicatur: est enim < Forma cuiusque rei potior pars.> forma rei potior ac nobilior pars, à qua, & nomen, & agendi vim res quælibet sumit, vt Aristoteles sæpissimè fatetur. Domum etenim (vt hoc exemplo vtar) quæ ex lapidibus qui natura sunt componitur, non à natura, sed ab arte denominamus. Eodem quoque pacto de nominibus dicendum est. Et sicut illa operimentum ab æstu, < Verba arte et non natura parata sunt.> frigore, pluuia, atque aliis nos tegens, artis opus vocatur, ita hæc instrumenta & signa arte conflata dicuntur, quibus animi affectus aliis notos facimus. Si enim aliquid certi sua natura nomina & verba significarent, vns & communis significatus esset, sicut apud omnes communis, & eadem est natura, qua ad edendu[m], bibendum, dormiendum, & ad reliquas actiones naturæ proprias impellimur, ad quas exercendas doctore non indigemus, quia nobis natura insunt, etsi luxus adeò mortaliu[m] corda peruertit, vt exquirendis & condiendis dapibus exercitationes magistros præsiciant, nulliq[ue] sumptui parcat, vt suam voluptatem expleant. At verba non eade[m] apud
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138 ON FASCINATION the marks of the passions of the soul, and those things which are written are the signs of those things which are spoken. For just as writing makes voices perpetual and manifest, so voice likewise explains inward feelings, << Comparison of voice and painting.> and painting represents by an image the thing from which it was taken; but the meaning of words of this kind, and of all names, is not by nature, but by the agreement and will of men. For although their material is breath, which is natural, nevertheless, since their form consists in a determined articulation, impressed by the natural organs no less upon the breath ascending from the lungs and windpipe, and since the likeness conceived in the mind is painted and fashioned in external matter, it has come about that all names are said to exist by art, and not by nature: for << The form of each thing is the better part.> the form is the better and nobler part of a thing, from which each thing takes both its name and its power of action, as Aristotle very often admits. For a house (to use this example), which is composed of stones that are natural, is named by us not from nature, but from art. The same must also be said about names. And just as that which shelters us from heat, << Words are fashioned by art and not by nature.> cold, rain, and other things, is called a work of art, so these instruments and signs, fashioned by art, by which we make the affections of the mind known to others, are said to be made by art. For if names and words signified something definite by their own nature, there would be one common meaning, just as among all there is a common and the same nature, by which we are impelled to eat, to drink, to sleep, and to the other actions proper to nature, for the performance of which we do not need a teacher, because they are in us by nature, although luxury has so perverted the hearts of mortals that, in seeking and preparing dishes, they appoint instructors for their exercises, and spare no expense, in order to satisfy their pleasure. But words do not [the same among
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Liber II. 139 omnes reperi[n]tur, verùm illorum varietas maxima est: quo fit vt nô modò diuersis nominibus & verbis diuersæ nationes vtantur, sed eadè verba apud diuersas gêtes, res maximè diuersas significent. Huc accedit, quòd qui natura surdi sunt, loqui scire[n]t, quanuis nemine loquentem audivissent, si verba, & sermones natura nobis inessent: & hinc falsum illud esse Psammetichi, teste Herod. lib. 2. co[n]probatur, qui cu[m] haud aliter deprehêdere posse diceret, in qua mûdi parte prima hominu[m] origo fuerit: duos pueros recés natos inter pecora educados pastori tradidit, iubés nemine coram eis vocé edere, ne alicuius sermoné perdiscerét, vt qualis esset prima vox, quæ eru[m] peret, intelligeretur. Quos pueros biénio pòst, aperta Ianua (intus enim à capris nutriebantur) ambos porrectis pastori manibus, Becas clamitasse ait, quo verbo Phrygæ panem appellant. Nâ si panem nunqua[m] viderant, quî appellare poterant verisimilius esset, si lac eos clamitasse dixisset, quo nutriti erât, quod etia[m] impossibile est: si cut enim ego lapide[m] in terræ visceribus genitú, & nunqua[m] visum nominare nescio; ita pueros illos, quo ad pané attinet, loqui nescuisse existimo, & eo magis, quia illi omniu[m] nominu[m] notitiæ expertes erant. Præterea si nomina à natura essent, illis ea imponere non possemus, vt bene Alexander Aphrodis. ait. Nam quemadmodum nos habentes vim percipiendi scientias natura, scientiis tamen ipsis natura caremus, alioqui enim scientiarum capaces non essemus; sed illas haberemus & possideremus, quia potentia & actus simul esse non possunt: ita & vis nominum impositiua à natura est, non tamen nomina ipsa, alioqui ipsorum impositio[n]is domini non essemus. Rursus si nomina à natura S ij
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Liber II. 139 All things are found everywhere, but their variety is very great: hence it comes about that not only do different nations use different names and words, but the same words among different peoples signify very different things. To this is added that those who are naturally deaf would know how to speak, although they had never heard anyone speaking, if words and speech were naturally inborn in us; and hence that false opinion of Psammetichus is disproved, as Herodotus testifies, book 2. For he said that he could discover in no other way in what part of the world the first origin of mankind had been: he handed over two newborn children, brought up among beasts in secret, to a shepherd, ordering that no one should utter a voice in their presence, lest they learn someone’s speech, so that it might be understood what the first cry would be when it emerged. These children, after two years, the door being opened—for they were in fact being nourished inside by goats—both, stretching out their hands to the shepherd, are said to have cried “Becas,” a word by which the Phrygians call bread. For if they had never seen bread, how could they have called it so? It would have been more plausible if he had said that they cried for milk, by which they were being fed, though that too is impossible; for just as I do not know how to name a stone generated in the bowels of the earth and never seen, so I judge those children, as far as bread is concerned, not to have known how to speak, and all the more because they were devoid of all knowledge of names. Moreover, if names were from nature, we could not impose them, as Alexander Aphrodisiensis rightly says. For just as we, having by nature the power to perceive sciences, nevertheless lack the sciences themselves by nature—otherwise we would not be capable of sciences, but would have and possess them, since power and act cannot be together—so too the power of imposing names is from nature, but not the names themselves; otherwise we would not be lords of their imposition. Again, if names from nature S ij
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DE FASCINO essent, eleméta & syllabas, quibus constantur, natura esse oporteret: at quoniá huiusmodi elementa & syllabæ ab hominum volútate sunt, & illoru[m] inter omnes nationes differentia maxima est, ideò & nomina ipsa ab arte esse asserendum est, & non à natura. Quòd si à natura essent, summus mundi opifex Deus vniuersis rebus perfectis, animalia ad Adam primu[m] omnium parenté non adduxisset, vt eis nomina imponeret: qui, cù eius filiis omnibus rebus, quibus iam tû vti cœperat, nomina imposuit, vt Ioseph. testis est in 1. Ant. & Eus. de præp. Euang. quæ quidé sine nomine internosci minimè potuissent. Nec linguas turrim c[on]dificantiu[m] diuisisset, vt per multas, absonâsque voces intelligetia inter se carerent, quia propter < Deus propter peccata gratiam et non natura tollit.> peccatum gratiam & non naturam tollit, vt in Angelis qui ab ipso desciuerût, clarum est. Vnde si nomina à natura essent, & ea sustulisset, naturâ sustulisse videretur. Si igitur nomina ab arte formantur, vt probauimus, & nostrarum intentionum signa tantùm sunt, per ipsa nihil amplius efficere possumus, quàm ea quæ mente concepimus, aliis notificare: ergo fascinandi, interficiendi, & alia innumera mala inferendi vim eis adscribere nô debemus. Omnia siquidem quæ oratione exprimere possumus, vel Deus, vel perfectiones ad Deum spectantes, vel Angeli, vel cæli, vel tempus, vel elementa, vel mundi partes, vel animalia, vel plantæ, aut ea quę in terræ visceribus generâtur, sunt, vel quid aliud quod homines cogitare & inuestigare possunt: sed nec Deus, nec eius perfectiones, < Argumenta verba fascinare non posse asserentia.> aut Angeli ad huiusmodi scelera perpetrâda concurrût, vt clarum est: nec cæli, quia cùm vniuersales causæ sint, omnibus eandé efficiendi vim instillant, nec in rem artificiale aliquid immittere possunt: nec tēpus,
Transcription: Translated (English)
of fascination it would be necessary that the elements and syllables of which they are composed should be by nature; but since elements of this kind and syllables are from the will of men, and the difference among them is very great among all nations, therefore the names themselves must be asserted to be from art, and not from nature. But if they were from nature, the supreme maker of the world, God, would not have brought animals to Adam, the first father of all, after all things had been made perfect, so that he should impose names on them; rather, as the witness Josephus states in 1 Ant. and Eus. de præp. Euang., he imposed names on all things to which he had already begun to refer, which indeed could hardly have been distinguished without a name. Nor would He have divided the languages of those building the tower, so that through many discordant voices they would lack understanding among themselves, because on account of sin He takes away grace and not nature, as is clear in the angels who departed from Him. Whence, if names were by nature, and He had removed them, He would seem to have removed them by nature. If therefore names are formed by art, as we have proved, and are only signs of our intentions, by them we can effect nothing more than to make known to others the things we have conceived in mind: therefore we ought not to attribute to them the power of enchanting, killing, and inflicting countless other evils. For all things which we can express by speech are either God, or perfections pertaining to God, or angels, or the heavens, or time, or the elements, or parts of the world, or animals, or plants, or things generated in the bowels of the earth, or whatever else men can think and investigate: but neither God, nor His perfections, nor angels concur in perpetrating such crimes, as is clear: nor do the heavens, since, being universal causes, they impart the same power of acting to all, nor can they introduce anything artificial into a thing: nor time,
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LIBER II. 141 cùm motus causa tantùm sit, vt Arist. in lib. de Physico auditu inquit. Nec mundi partes, Asia enim ab Asia Orientali Regina, Africa ab Affer, vno de composteris Noe, Europa, ab Agenoris Regis filia nomina sumpsisse dicuntur: Non animalia, vel plantæ, vel in terræ visceribus genita, quoniam, vel à manifesta illorum proprietate, vel ab inuentore, aut à loco, vel similitudine aliqua, aut ab alia causa nomen traxerunt: ideo fascinandi virtute omnino carent: quinetiam si re ipsa commisceantur, efficere quidquam nequeant, vt credi, aut existimari possit, nominata, & pronuntiata tot tantâque efficere posse: nec ex genitura eiusmodi potestas homini inesse potest, quia tunc omnibus inesset, quod falsum esse videmus. Et quamuis aliqui ex familia Diui Pauli, vel Diuæ Catharinæ se esse simulent, serpentis, & Rotæ signa in aliqua corporis parte impressa ostendentes, eâque à natura sibi indita iactitent; tamen falsum esse, sibique ea impressisse signa comprobatu[m] est. quia qui à Diuo Paulo genus iactitant, venena, & serpentes attrectare non audent, nisi priùs validissimis remediis se muniant, aut serpentibus dentes euellant. Qui autem Diuæ Catharinæ agnationi sese inserunt, & viuos carbones manu paruo temporis spatio tenent, in feruentem oleum, aut aquam manum immittût, in ignitum furnum ingrediuntur, hoc vt populum in admirationem, & ad sibi credendum adducant faciunt, quia iam expertum est, quòd sibi illa signa imprimunt, séque maluæ, mercurialis, aut aliarum herbaru[m] succis vngunt, quibus ab igne aliquo temporis interuallo se defendunt. Vnde accidit, vt quodam homine salutatore: (sic enim illi dicuntur) furnum ignitum ingresso, furnus clausus fuerit, & salutator perierit. S iij D. pauli & D. catharina geneiles sunt impostores. Salutatorum impostura.
Transcription: Translated (English)
LIBER II. 141 since motion alone is the cause, as Aristotle says in the book De Physico auditu . Nor are they the parts of the world, since Asia is said to have taken its name from Asia, the Eastern Queen; Africa from Affer, one of Noah’s companions; and Europe from Agenor’s daughter, the King’s daughter. Nor are they animals, or plants, or things born in the bowels of the earth, since they have drawn their names either from some manifest property of theirs, or from their discoverer, or from a place, or from some likeness, or from some other cause; therefore they are altogether devoid of the power of bewitching. Indeed, even if they be actually mixed together, they can effect nothing, so that it cannot be believed or supposed that, when named and pronounced, they are able to accomplish so many and so great things. Nor can such a power belong to a man by generation, because then it would be in all men, which we see is false. And although some pretend to be of the family of Saint Paul or Saint Catherine, showing the marks of a serpent and a wheel impressed on some part of the body, and boast that these were given them by nature; nevertheless, it has been proved that this is false, and that they themselves have impressed those signs upon themselves. For those who boast that they are descended from Saint Paul do not dare to handle poisons and serpents unless they first protect themselves with very powerful remedies, or pull the teeth from the serpents. But those who attach themselves to the kinship of Saint Catherine, and for a short time hold live coals in their hands, or put their hand into boiling oil or water, or enter a fiery furnace, do this in order to bring the people to admiration and to make them believe them, because it has already been found that they impress those signs upon themselves, and smear themselves with the juices of mallows, mercurial, or other herbs, by which they protect themselves for some time from the fire. Hence it came about that, in the case of a certain “salutator” (for so they are called), when he entered a fiery furnace, the furnace was shut, and the salutator perished. S iij The descendants of St. Paul and St. Catherine are impostors. The imposture of the salutators.
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142 DE FASCINO Nec ex singulari animæ potestate ea vis habetur, nam per imaginationem, vt diximus, ea fieri nequeunt: & nihilominus imaginatio tot, tantâque incredibilia efficere posse existimatur. Quòd si ipsi non inest, cui maximè inesse videtur, fieri non potest, vt aliis animæ potentiis insit, quibus minus verisimile est eam inesse. Nec ex spe, vel persuasione, vel ex fide verba fascinandi potestatem habere possunt; quia hæc omni transeunte actione carent, & nihil penitus in rem externam agere queunt; sed homines qui hac insania agitantur, in varia duntaxat deliramenta, & infanias rapiunt. namque talium rerum spes, persuasio, ac fides quæ est ingenita quædam credulitas, non nisi in superstitiosis quibusdam reperitur, extra quorum corpora nil agere possunt. Non igitur voces, aut verba vim aliam habere possunt, quàm illam quam primi Antecessores nostri eis imposuerunt & attribuerunt, vt scilicet notæ tantùm, & signa essent, quibus alter alteri quidquid animo concepisset, manifestaret. Oratio enim quantitas quædam est, quæ agendi principium esse non potest. Insuper actio naturalis inter illa esse non potest, quorum materia non est communis, & eiusdem rationis, vel vniuocè, vel analogicè: calor enim igni inhærens, contrarius non est frigori, quod animo concipitur; illi tamen aduersatur, quod in aqua reperitur. sed verba, & characteres cum rebus externis nihil omnino comune habet, propter quod illa agere, & hæ pati queant: ergo quæ de ipsis dicuntur mendacia sunt. Huc accedit, quòd actio quæ à natura est, vt aliàs diximus, effici non potest, nisi agens corpore, vel virtute, & qualitate aliqua rem quam afficere vult, tâgat, prout coelu hæc inferiora, lumine, &
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142 ON FASCINATION Nor is that power derived from any singular power of the soul; for it cannot, as we have said, be effected by imagination, and yet imagination is believed to be able to accomplish so many and such incredible things. And if it is not present even in that which seems to possess it most, it cannot be that it should be present in other powers of the soul, in which it is even less likely to be found. Nor can words of enchantment have power either from hope, or persuasion, or faith; because these lack any transitive action, and can in no way act upon an external thing at all; but men who are stirred by this madness are carried only into various delusions and follies. For the hope, persuasion, and faith of such things, which is a certain innate credulity, is found only in certain superstitious persons, outside whose bodies they can do nothing. Therefore voices, or words, can have no other force than that which our first ancestors imposed and attributed to them, namely, that they should be merely notes and signs by which one might make known to another whatever he had conceived in his mind. For speech is a certain quantity, which cannot be a principle of action. Moreover, there cannot be natural action between things whose matter is not common and of the same kind, either univocally or analogically: for heat inherent in fire is not contrary to cold conceived by the mind; yet it is opposed to that which is found in water. But words and characters have absolutely nothing in common with external things, by virtue of which they might act, and those things be acted upon; therefore what is said about them is false. To this must be added that an action which is by nature, as we have elsewhere said, cannot be effected unless the agent, by some body, or power, and some quality, touches the thing it wishes to affect, as the lower heavens do these things by light, and
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Liber II. 143 motu, per attritum aerem calefacit: at verba res, & præsertim absentes nullo pacto tangere possunt, cùm ad res non deferantur, quemadmodu[m] ab arcu sagitta cu[m] excutitur: < Nec ex materia nec ex forma verba vim habent.> Ergo. Præterea, si quæ vis verbis inesset, aut ex forma, aut ex materia illa[m] haberent; sed neq[ue] ex forma, quia artificialis est, & illis tantùm nota, qui eâ formarunt, & nihilominus superstitiosi, quasdam barbaras voces assumunt, quas no[n] illi tantu[m], sed nec vlli hominu[m] intelligere possunt. Vnde sequitur, vt Dæmonu[m] illusiones eiusmodi characteres, & verba existat, vt dicemus. < Nec ex materia nec ex forma verba vim habent.> Nec ex materia, quia cu[m] spiritus sit, & ex pectore per aspera[m] arteriam in larynge effingatur, vim aliâ habere non potest, quàm reliqui nostri corporis halitus, qui simul atq[ue] extra corpus emissi sunt, dispergutur: nullâ ergo vim habet. Quòd si expirationis materia peculiaré vim haberet, eandem sub quacunq[ue] artificiali materia possideret: ideo quibus verbis vteretur non referret, quin ne verbis quidé opus foret, sola enim efflatio satis esset: quæ tanto maiores vires haberet, quanto vberius effunderetur. Superstitiosi aute[m] in selectis solùm, & exquisitis verbis vim esse contendunt. Et licet sua virtute verba res remotas attingere diceremus, quod falsum est; eis tamen miram efficiendi virtutem adscribere non possumus. < Nec per se quatenus verba sunt, nec vt indeterminata materia reperiuntur. Non primum, quia cùm per se præsupponat de omni, vt Arist. in lib. posterior. ait, omnia verba eandem potestatem habere oportet. Non secundum, quia singulis horæ momentis pro humoris, & sanguinis qualitate materia est longè diuersa, quia affectus, & spiritus circa cor nunquam idem pro ciborum, & diuersarum qualitatum, ac motu variantur.>
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber II. 143 by motion, by the friction of the air it is heated: but words cannot in any way touch things, and especially absent things, since they are not conveyed to the things themselves, as an arrow shot from a bow is. Therefore. Moreover, if there were any power in words, they would have it either from their form or from their matter; but not from form, because it is artificial, and known only to those who formed them, and nevertheless the superstitious adopt certain barbarous words, which not only they themselves, but no human beings can understand. Whence it follows that such characters and words are the delusions of demons, as we shall say. Nor from matter, because, since it is breath, and is shaped from the chest through the windpipe in the larynx, it can have no other power than the breath of the rest of our body, which, as soon as it is emitted outside the body, disperses: therefore it has no power. If the matter of exhalation had a special power, it would possess the same under any artificial material; therefore it would not matter what words were used, indeed words would not even be needed, for the mere exhalation would be enough, and it would have so much greater force the more abundantly it were poured forth. But the superstitious contend that power lies only in selected and exquisite words. And although we were to say that words by their own virtue touch distant things, which is false, we still cannot ascribe to them a marvelous efficacy in producing effects.
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Adde etiam quòd si verba aliam quàm sensus animi exprimendi vim haberent, Arist. non dixisset, Rem, nec veram, nec falsam esse propter affirmationem, vel negationem nostram: sed tunc oratio nostra est vera, cùm rebus est cõformis, vnde non sermoni rem, sed sermonem rei conformem reddere conamur. At cùm verba causæ non sint, & plures ipsis prolatis effectus sequi videamus, vt pueros ægrotare, alios macie confici, viros ab vxorio concubitu arceri, abortum fieri, equos, & tauros concidere, ac propè innumera alia huiusmodi; fateri oportet, aut signa illorum effectuum esse, aut accidens quoddam; veluti cùm aliquis ambulat, lapis è tecto cadit. Signa quæ à natura sunt, esse nequeunt; omne enim naturale rei signum, aut illiusmet rei causa, aut effectus, ab eade[m] causa emanat, à qua, id quod significat, sit. Quòd causæ esse non possint, demonstratum est: quòd nec effectus, ex se liquidò constat. Quòd verò vtrumque ab vna causa non fiat, clarum est, rubedo namque serotina, vt hoc exemplo, quod dico clarius fiat, serenitatis signum esse consueuit, & ab eadem causa oritur, à qua serenitas ipsa, ad quam quidem serenitatem rubedo nihil confert. Quòd si sunt signa ex mutuo consensu, artificialia non naturalia esse necesse est, veluti tympana, & alia instrumenta quibus vtimur in præliis. Non enim legimus, Deu[m] promisisse certis & determinatis verbis, aut characteribus talia in admirationem ducentia se facturum. Si namque Deus vellet, miracula vna cum verbis efficere posset: quæ verba ad miraculorum actionem nihil conferrent: veluti Numerorum lib. 5. Cap. scriptum legimus de cæremoniis, quæ ob adulterij sus fiebant, in quibus inter alia, verba quædam scripta aqua in fictili vase
Transcription: Translated (English)
Moreover, if words had any power other than that of expressing the thoughts of the mind, Aristotle would not have said that a thing is neither true nor false because of our affirmation or negation; but rather our speech is true when it agrees with things, and so we strive not to make the thing conform to the speech, but the speech to conform to the thing. But since words are not the cause, and since we see that many effects follow when they are uttered—such as children falling ill, others being wasted by emaciation, men being kept from conjugal intercourse, miscarriages occurring, horses and bulls falling down, and almost innumerable other such things—we must admit either that they are signs of those effects, or some sort of accident; as when someone is walking and a stone falls from a roof. Signs that are from nature cannot be; for every natural sign of a thing is either the cause of that very thing, or an effect proceeding from the same cause from which the thing it signifies arises. It has been shown that they cannot be causes; that they are not effects is clear enough in itself. But that neither can both come from one cause is plain: for evening redness, to make this point clearer by this example of mine, is commonly a sign of fair weather, and arises from the same cause from which fair weather itself arises, though that redness contributes nothing to that fair weather. If signs are by mutual agreement, then it is necessary that they be artificial and not natural, like drums and other instruments which we use in battles. For we do not read that God promised, by certain and fixed words or characters, that He would bring about such astonishing things. Indeed, if God wished, He could effect miracles together with words; yet those words would contribute nothing to the working of the miracles: as we read written in the Book of Numbers, chapter 5, concerning the rites performed because of adultery, in which, among other things, certain words written in water in an earthen vessel
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Liber II. 145 vase delebant; qua aqua epota, mira quædam in muliere accidere conspiciebantur, nec inter homines simile pactum reperitur, quo alter alteri ad obtemperandum per hæc aut illa verba, & characteres astringatur. Sed pro clariori huius materiæ intelligentia, non est ignorandum, verba, aut ad homines, aut ad Deum referri: quo- cunque modo sint, duobus modis considerari possunt: aut cum intentione significandi, & efficiendi simul: & tunc si verba ad homines inter homines referantur, efficere extra se possunt, vt res vnius in alterius potestatem transferatur, dicendo, vel per contractum, vel per simplicem rei assignationem, hoc est tuum, & illud meum, & similia: illico enim res transit in alienum dominium, quoniam dominus de re sua sic facere constituerat, & postea idem verbis expressit. Si autem verba ad Deum spectent, & à Sacerdote ritè, & debitè proferantur, mutant panem, & vinum in corpus & sanguinem Christi, ac cætera sacramenta efficiùt; accedit namque verbum ad elementum, & fit sacramentum. Deus Opt. Max. mundum, & vniuersas in eo contentas species ex nihilo creauit: dixit, & omnia facta sunt, non verba proferendo, sed voluntate imperando. Sic Dominus Iesus Christus dum in terris viueret, corporum morbos, quanuis atroces, & inueteratos sermone pellebat, & mortuos ad vitam excitabat. No[n] enim erat sermo magicus, sed omnipotens sermo Patris omnipotentis. Idem sermo profligat animorum morbos cùm ait, Fili remittuntur tibi peccata tua. quod quia solius Dei est, meritò in Græcoru[m] adagiis dictu[m] est, animi laborantis medicum esse sermonem. qui quidè diuinus per sinceram fide[m] charitate informatam sermone proferatur, omnes T
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber II. 145 they were destroying a vase; when the water had been drunk up, certain wonderful things were seen to happen in the woman, and among men no similar agreement is found, by which one is bound to obey another through these or those words and characters. But for a clearer understanding of this matter, it must not be ignored that words are referred either to men or to God: in whichever way they are taken, they can be considered in two ways: either when they have both the intention of signifying and of effecting at the same time: and then, if words are referred to men among men, they can effect outside themselves that the property of one be transferred into another’s power, by saying, either by contract or by a simple assignment of the thing, “this is yours, and that is mine,” and the like: for immediately the thing passes into another’s ownership, because the owner of the thing had so determined to do, and afterwards expressed the same by words. But if the words are directed to God, and are rightly and duly uttered by the priest, they change bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ, and bring about the other sacraments; for the word comes to the element, and a sacrament is made. God, the Best and Greatest, created the world and all the kinds contained in it out of nothing: he spoke, and all things were made, not by uttering words, but by commanding through his will. Thus the Lord Jesus Christ, while he lived on earth, drove away the diseases of bodies, however violent and long-standing, by speech, and raised the dead to life. For it was not a magical speech, but the omnipotent speech of the omnipotent Father. The same speech drives out the diseases of souls when it says, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” and because this belongs to God alone, it was rightly said in the Greek proverbs that speech is the physician of the troubled mind. which indeed, being divine through sincere faith formed by charity, is uttered by speech, all T
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DE FASCINO 146 animorum morbos aufert. Sicut in illis verbis (vt tetigimus) videre est, quæ in sacramentorum confectione dicuntur. Nam quemadmodum amici medici si quando ægrotis semper adesse nô licet, pharmacum aliquod relinquere solent, quò sibi qui laborant medici esse possint, si ita res postulet: ita Dominus Iesus in coelum reuersurus, nobis per Apostolos suos diuinum sermonem, hoc est Euangelij pharmacum reliquit, facile quidem, & cuiuis expositum, sed efficax: quod si quis opportunè sumpserit, illico ab animi morbis liberatur. nec id gustasse satis est, sed in viscera quoque admittendum est; vt corde receptum per omnes sensus illius vis diffundatur. & tunc demum pristinæ vitæ odio totum hominem concutere incipiat, quam quidem perturbationem magna animi tranquillitas sequitur. Vis audire diuinum sermonem, id est, reubarbarum Euangelicu[m] poenitentiâ agite: & mortificate membra vestra: ac mox, exspoliates vos veterem homine cum actibus suis: & rursus, Induite vos sicut Sancti Dei electi viscera misericordiæ, benignitatem, humilitate[m], modestiam, patietiam, super omnia autem charitatem habete. quæ virtus non modò diuino sermoni inerat, sed Iesu Christi saliuæ, & omnibus rebus ad eum spectantibus, vt de vestimêtis patet, quorum simbriam mulier, quæ sanguinis profluuoio duodecim annos laborauerat, tetigit, & statim conualuit: vt Matth. 9. cap. legitur. Quid? quòd Petri quoque vmbra omnes ægritudines auferebat, vt in 5. Actuum Apost. videre est. adeo diuinus sermo, ac virtus potentissima, & validissima omnem humanam intelligentiam superat. Dei igitur verbum actiui Ambros. ait, & ei omni <Verbo Dei omnia parent ex D. Ambros.> < Euangelici verbi vm. > < Pharmacum saluberrimu[m] sermo Dei. > < Ant, ita inquiens, Si>
Transcription: Translated (English)
DE FASCINO 146 takes away the diseases of the soul. As can be seen in those words (as we touched on) which are spoken in the consecration of the sacraments. For just as friendly physicians, if they cannot always be present with the sick, are accustomed to leave behind some medicine, by which those who suffer may be able to be their own physicians, if the matter should require it: so the Lord Jesus, about to return into heaven, left us through his Apostles the divine word, that is, the medicine of the Gospel, easy indeed and open to anyone, yet efficacious; and if anyone shall take it at the proper time, he is at once freed from the diseases of the soul. Nor is it enough merely to have tasted it, but it must also be received into the inner parts; so that, once taken into the heart, its power may be spread through all the senses. And only then does it begin to shake the whole person, with hatred of former life, after which a great tranquility of mind follows. Do you wish to hear the divine word, that is, the rhubarb of the Gospel? Repentance and mortify your members; and soon, put off the old man with his deeds; and again, put on, as the elect saints of God, compassion, kindness, humility, modesty, patience, and above all charity. This virtue was present not only in the divine word, but also in the saliva of Jesus Christ, and in all things pertaining to him, as is clear from his garments, the fringe of which a woman who had suffered from a flow of blood for twelve years touched, and was immediately made well: as is read in Matthew 9. What then? Even Peter’s shadow removed all diseases, as can be seen in Acts 5 of the Apostles. So divine is the word, and so most powerful and strong, that it surpasses all human understanding. Therefore the word of God is active Ambrose says, and to it all things <All things obey the Word of God according to St. Ambrose.> < The shadow of the Gospel word. > < The word of God is a most wholesome medicine. > < Ant., thus he says, If>
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LIBER II. 147 tanta vis in sermone Domini Iesu, vt inciperet esse quod non erat, quantò magis operatorius est, vt sint quæ erant, & in aliud commutentur? nec propria virtute, sed instrumentali diuinitus recepta id verba efficiunt. Si verò cum intentione significandi tatum verba sumantur, omnibus verbis, orationibus, & enunciationibus id commune esse dicimus, vt probauimus, nec aliud efficere pos sunt, quàm intentu nostru exprimere. < Verba & characteres Demonu paeta sunt.> Quid quòd verba, & characteres ad res vita carentes, quâdoq; applicantur? Anne ea percipiùt? annon luce meridiana clarius est, ea dæmonu pacta, signa, & coüenta esse? & ex hominu credulitate dæmonib[us] prædocetibus, & suggeretibus inueta esse? idq; quàm satuu sit, etia gentiles non ignorarût. < Ouid. enim de Marsis serpètes incantantibus ita inquit,> Nec mediæ Marsis finduntur cantibus angues, Nec redit in fontes vnda supina suos. < Atheniensiu[m] lex verboru[m] medela prohibens.> Athenis quoque lege cautu fuisse legimus, ne quis verbis mederetur. Vnde cùm in Achaia quandam mulierem esse Atheniens[is] cognouissent; quæ verbis medebatur, ea[m] lapidibus obruendâ dederunt: asserentes non verbis, sed lapidibus, herbis, & animalibus Deos immortales sanâdi vim dedisse. Veru[m] quid numeri efficere queat, enodandu[m] est. < Numeri an fascinent.> Pythagoras Deum, animas nostras, & quæ in rerum vniuersitate sunt, cuncta numeris constare asseruit, & ex illorum concentu, & harmonia, vniuersa progigni credidit. < Pythag. numeris quantu tribuerit.> quos quidem numeros postea Plato ab Italicis Philosophis, qui Pythagoreæ disciplinæ præceptorum sectatores erat, edoctus, & clariores, & apertiores reddidit. < Numeri Platonis.> tametsi no[n] ita aperuit quin à maxima eoru[m] parte lectore excludat. Vnde illa re obscura apud Cicero[n]e ad Atticum scribe. < T ij> Platonis. Omnes itaq;
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BOOK II. 147 So great is the power in the speech of the Lord Jesus, that it begins to be what it was not; how much more effective is it, so that the things which were may exist and be changed into something else? Nor do words accomplish this by their own power, but by the divine power received through an instrument. But if words are taken merely with the intention of signifying, we say that this is common to all words, speeches, and utterances, as we have proved, and that they can do nothing else than express our intention. <Words and characters are part of demon-pacts.> What of the fact that words and characters are sometimes applied to lifeless things? Do they perceive it? Is it not clearer than the noonday light that these are pacts, signs, and agreements of demons, and that they have come into use through the credulity of men, with demons foretelling and suggesting them? And how absurd this is, even the Gentiles were not unaware. <For Ovid says this about the Marsi, who enchant serpents:> Nor are the middle snakes split by the chants of the Marsi, Nor does the water return upside down to its own springs. <The law of the Athenians prohibiting cures by words.> We also read that at Athens it was provided by law that no one should heal by words. Hence, when the Athenians learned that there was in Achaia a certain woman who healed by words, they handed her over to be buried under stones, declaring that the immortal gods had given the power of healing not to words, but to stones, herbs, and animals. But what power numbers may have is to be explained. <Whether numbers bewitch.> Pythagoras asserted that God, our souls, and all that is in the universal world are made up of numbers, and believed that all things are produced from their concord and harmony. <How much Pythagoras attributed to numbers.> These numbers Plato later, having been taught by the Italian philosophers who were followers of the precepts of the Pythagorean school, made both clearer and more open. <Plato’s numbers.> Yet he did not reveal them so openly that he did not exclude the reader from the greater part of them. Hence that obscure matter in Cicero’s letters to Atticus. <T ij> of Plato. Therefore, all things
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DE FASCINO 148 numerorum mysteria tam mysteriosè tradiderunt, vt etiam professores ipsos, ne dum profanum vulgus, atque idiotas voluisse celare videantur. Cicero de septenario numero ita dicit, Qui numerus rerum omnium ferè nodus est, & in eodem Scipionis somnio septenario, < Numerus impar, mas; par verò fæmina est.> & octonarium numerum plenum vocat. cuius rei Macrobius rationem reddit, & imparem numerum parem, & parem fæminam dicit; sicut Arithmetici imparem patris, & parem matris appellatione venerantur. Nónulli verò Pythagoræ sectatores, numeris, < Mathematicus res abstractiores quæ naturalis philosophus contemplatur.> characteribus, & figuris maximam vim tribuebant, quod sibi inde persuadebant, quoniam numeri & lineæ omnes ad mathematicum spectant, mathematicus autem res abstractiores, ac formaliores, quàm naturalis Philosophus contemplatur; & cùm virtus formam sequatur, per numeros, veluti per efficaciorem virtutem omnia fieri existimabant, eóque magis, quia quæ minus ab aliis dependent, vt sunt intelligentiæ separatæ, quas Angelos vocamus, in suis quoque actionibus minus < Quæcunque in orbe continetur, numeris constant.> dependent, & virtute pollentiores sunt. hinc est, quòd vim efficiendi maiorem habere dicebantur, quàm res, quæ natura sunt. Accedit etiam, quòd cleméta, quæ sunt mundi partes, ex quibus omnia fieri videmus, quaternario numero definita sunt, planetæ septenario, & Zodiaci signa duodenario; & quia illis rerum vicissitudines adscribuntur, ideo numeris tantam vim tribuebant; à qua sentétia medici, qui septimestrè partum viuere, & octimestrè mori dicunt, non omnino abhorret; asserentes insuper, annorum numeros semper aliquid < Anni Climacteros vis.> mutationis afferre consueuisse: constabilitatis omnes qui per septem & nouem , decretorij dicuntur:
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DE FASCINO 148 they handed down the mysteries of numbers so mysteriously that they seem to have wished to conceal them even from the teachers themselves, let alone from the profane crowd and the unlearned. Cicero says thus of the number seven: “This number is the bond of nearly all things,” and in the same dream of Scipio, of the number seven, “ ” and he calls the number eight complete. Macrobius gives the reason for this, and says that the odd number is male and the even number female; just as the Arithmeticians honor the odd by calling it father, and the even by calling it mother. Some of the followers of Pythagoras, however, attributed the greatest power to numbers, characters, and figures, because they persuaded themselves from this that since numbers and lines all belong to the mathematician, and the mathematician contemplates things more abstract and more formal than the natural philosopher does, and since virtue follows form, they thought that all things were accomplished through numbers, as though through a more effective power; and all the more because those things which depend less on others, such as the separate intelligences, which we call Angels, are also less dependent in their actions and are more powerful in virtue. Hence it is said that they have a greater power of effecting than things which are by nature. It is also added that the elements, which are the parts of the world, from which we see all things made, are defined by the number four, the planets by seven, and the signs of the Zodiac by twelve; and because the changes of things are attributed to these, therefore they ascribed so great a power to numbers; from which opinion the physicians, who say that a child born in the seventh month lives, and in the eighth month dies, do not entirely differ; furthermore asserting that the numbers of years have always been accustomed to bring some change: the constable all who are by seven and nine are called critical:
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Liber II. 149 in quibus vel grauissimis morbis, vel domesticæ rei iactura, aut calumniis magnam mutationem homines subeunt. Vnde Cæsar Augustus, Liuio teste, sibi gratulatus fuit, sexagesimo tertio etatis suæ anno incolumi peracto, qui annorum numerus septimi & noni multiplicatam summam continet. Horum etiam sententia Albertus Magnus fuit, qui figuris & sigillis incredibiles virtutes inesse credidit: at Arist. in lib. diuinorum, prænarratis vim nullam inesse, demonstratiuis & efficacissimis rationibus probat. Nos verò Pythagoricorum rationes contra ipsos vertere possumus. nam licet mathematicus res maximè abstractas contempletur, illa tamen abstractio & forma per intellectus actionem fit, ideò artificialis appellatur: ars autem naturalem vim non habet, & virtus naturalem & non artificialem formam sequitur. Nec verum est, quòd quæ mathematicus considerat, ita separata sint vt intelligentiæ: nam mathematici abstractio ab intellectu & non natura fit. Elementa verò, planetæ, & Zodiaci signa non ideò agunt, quia tali numero præfinita sunt, sed quia qualitate & efficiendi vi prædita reperiuntur. Aliud verò de septimestri partu sic diluunt, prætermissa Astrologorum de planetarum dominio responsione: nempe quòd humani seminis genera duo sunt, quorum alterum septimo, alterum nono mese partum edit. Vnde ob imperfectum semè octimestris partus non viuit, quia non datur semen quod ad illud tempus foetu procreare valeat, sicut in genere tritici quoddam est, quod tribus mensibus gignitur, quoddâ quod mensibus nouem, ideò non ratione numeri ille viuit, & hic moritur. Ad aliud vulgò responderi solet, quòd humana corpora certis annorum terminis magnam hu- T. iij
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Liber II. 149 in which, either in the most grievous diseases, or through the loss of domestic property, or through slanders, men undergo a great change. Hence Caesar Augustus, as Livy testifies, congratulated himself that he had passed his sixty-third year in good health, a number which contains the multiplied sum of seven and nine. Of the same opinion also was Albertus Magnus, who believed that incredible powers were inherent in figures and seals; but Aristotle, in the book On Divine Things, proves by demonstrative and most effective arguments that no power at all lies in the things aforesaid. We, however, can turn the arguments of the Pythagoreans back against themselves. For although the mathematician contemplates matters that are most abstract, that abstraction and form are nevertheless produced through the action of the intellect, and are therefore called artificial; but art does not possess natural force, and virtue follows a natural, not an artificial, form. Nor is it true that the things which the mathematician considers are so separated as intelligences are; for the abstraction of the mathematician is made by the intellect and not by nature. But the elements, the planets, and the signs of the Zodiac do not act because they are fixed by such a number, but because they are found to be endowed with quality and with the power of effecting. Another point they dismiss in the case of the seven-month birth, leaving aside the astrologers’ answer concerning the rule of the planets: namely, that there are two kinds of human seed, of which one brings forth in the seventh month, the other in the ninth. Hence, because of the imperfect seed, the eight-month birth does not live, since there is no seed that is able to produce a foetus for that period of time, just as in the kind of wheat there is one sort that is generated in three months and another that is generated in nine months; therefore it is not by reason of number that the one lives and the other dies. To another objection it is commonly replied that human bodies, at certain limits of years, suffer great chan- T. iij
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150 DE FASCINO morum congeri e[st] congesserant, quoru[m] agitatione ægri- tudines excitatur: natura enim cum ad nimia redundantiam peruenit, in morbum erumpat necesse est. Sed me- lius dicendum reor, quòd cum Deus Opt. Max. ægritudinis & valetudinis, mortis & vitæ, secundaru[m] & aduersarum reru[m] auctor sit, hasce reru[m] vicissitudines tue[m] mortalibus immittit cum suæ diuinæ prouidentiæ libet. Et si quis annoru[m] cursum rectè contemplatus fuerit, hominum longè plures in morte[m], aut in aliud graue malu[m] incidisse inueniet, in aliis ætatis vniuscuiusq[ue] annis, quàm climacterico qui ex nono & septimo co[n]surgit. Ad illud Alberti dicimus, eum aliorum opinione[m] recèsere, qui id asserebat, & non assertiuè locutu[m]. < Quando numeris vis inf.> Numeri igitur & figuræ per se nullâ penitus vim habent, at respectu reru[m], quibus numeri & figuræ adscribuntur, vires illis inesse affirmare non veremur: namque sex macipia, fortiora sunt quàm duo. Imago regis Philippi, & Gregorij XIII. magis efficax est, quàm villici. Nemo enim dubitat, nomen Regis & summi P[ræ]tificis maiore[m] vim ac dignitate[m] apud omnes, quàm nome[m] priuatæ alicuius personæ habere: no[n] quatenus nome[m], sed ratione rei quæ per nome[m] significatur. < Numeri permulta habes sacramenta.> Scriptores nostræ pietatis Græci & Latini, sacramenta in numeris esse permulta existimarunt. Hieronymus inter omnes plurimu[m] numeroru[m] religioni tribuit; qui etia[m] nonulos progenitores esse ex genesi Christi ab Euangelista prætermisso ait, vt ad numeru[m] omnia co[n]gruerent. < Numeris qui mulsum tribuerunt.> Idem in Ezechiel e[st] senarium numeru[m] sacramentu[m] creaturaru[m] continere scribit. Et D. Aug. de Ciuit. Dei, inquit, Per senariu[m] numeru[m] est operu[m] significata perfectio, subdens, Nec frustra in laudibus Dei dictu[m] est, omnia in numero, pondere, & mensura disposuisti. Vnde ide[m] ait, Ra-
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150 ON FASCINATION a mass of habits had been gathered, by whose agitation maladies are stirred up: for when nature has come to an excessive redundancy, it must needs break out into disease. But I think it is better to say that, since God Almighty is the author of sickness and health, of death and life, of favorable and adverse things, he sends these vicissitudes of events upon mortals whenever it pleases his divine providence. And if anyone has rightly considered the course of years, he will find that far more men have fallen into death, or into some other grave evil, in the several years of life, than in the climacteric which arises from the ninth and seventh. In that of Albert we say that he departed from the opinion of others, who asserted that, and spoke not assertively. <When numbers have no force.> Numbers, therefore, and figures by themselves have no force at all; yet with respect to the things to which numbers and figures are assigned, we do not hesitate to affirm that force resides in them: for six servants are stronger than two. The image of King Philip and of Gregory XIII is more effective than that of a steward. For no one doubts that the name of a King and of the Supreme Pontiff has greater force and dignity among all men than the name of any private person: not as a name, but by reason of the thing signified by the name. <Numbers have many sacraments.> The Greek and Latin writers of our piety considered that there are many sacraments in numbers. Jerome above all attributed very great religious importance to numbers; he also says that some ancestors are omitted by the Evangelist from the genealogy of Christ, so that all things might agree with the number. <Those who attributed milk to numbers.> The same author in Ezekiel writes that the number six contains the sacrament of created things. And St. Augustine, in the City of God, says, By the number six the perfection of works is signified, adding, Nor was it said in vain in the praises of God, “Thou hast disposed all things in number, weight, and measure.” Whence he likewise says, Ra-
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LIBER II. 151 tùo numeri contemnenda non est, quæ in multis sanctarû scripturarû locis, quàm magni æstimâda est, & cluret diligenter intuentibus. Numerû septenariû magnæ religionis, mysteriùq[ue] fuisse ostendût Iudæi, qui propter die sabbati multùm eû venerabantur, vt D. Hieron. in Esaiâ dicit. In Christiana etiâ religione magna sunt mysteria, in septenario numero co[n]clusa, quê Macrobius A. Gellij æmulus, eade ratione qua D. Aug. laudat & co[m]mendat. Septenarius enim numerus septies repetitus, quinquagenariu[m] vnominore[m] efficit, qui numerus quinquagenarius gratiâ, indulgentiâ, libertate[m] & lætitiam præsignat. Quo < Quinquagenarium lubilaum.> exe[m]plo Romana ecclesia quinquagesimo quoque anno Iubilæi fores aperiebat, Clemête VI. iubête. Id quod Xystus III. Pont. Max. ob humanæ vitæ breuitate[m], ad vice-simumquintu[m] annu[m] redegit. < Vicenu[m] quinarium lubilaum.> Quadragenarius verò numerus vitioru[m] animi & corporis purgationi attributus fuit: sicut anni quadraginta habitationis in deserto filioru[m] Israël post exitu[m] ex Ægypto testâtur, & pluuia quadraginta dieru[m] & noctiu[m] diluuij tépore. Eundè quadragenarium numeru[m] in cibi & potûs abstinentia Saluator noster sanctificauit, quê sancta Romana ecclesia imitatur, vt in orationibus corâ Gregorio XIII. habitis fusius < Numerus quadragenarius.> diximus. Nullus tamé ex piis scriptoribus per huiusmodi numeros quidquâ flagitij & prauitatis vnqua[m] fieri posse asseruit, sicut superstitiosi quidâ, qui tot tantâq[ue] mirabilia per ipsos fieri affirmât. Numeri verò ex quibus musica constat, non miru[m] est si tot varios effectus in anima generent: non etenim quatenus numeri sunt, id efficiu[n]t, sed quaten[us] per ipsos modi sonoru[m], hoc est symphonię, adinueni[n]tur: naq[ue] omne ordinatu[m] & distinctu[m], vt Arist. in Prob. ait, delectat: ideò sonus vniformis molestus est,
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Book II. 151 The number seven is not to be despised, for in many places of Holy Scripture its great importance is evident to those who carefully consider it. The Jews showed that the number seven was of great reverence and mystery, since because of the Sabbath day they held it in great veneration, as St. Jerome says in his commentary on Isaiah. In the Christian religion also there are great mysteries enclosed in the number seven, which Macrobius, an imitator of Aulus Gellius, praises and commends for the same reason as St. Augustine. For the number seven, repeated seven times, makes fifty-one less one, that is, the number fifty, which signifies grace, indulgence, liberty, and joy. Hence the Roman Church, by command of Clement VI, opened the gates of the Jubilee every fiftieth year. This Xystus III, Supreme Pontiff, because of the brevity of human life, reduced to every twenty-fifth year. <Twenty-five-year Jubilee.> The number forty, however, was assigned to the cleansing of the vices of soul and body: as the forty years of the dwelling in the desert of the sons of Israel after their خروج from Egypt testify, and the forty days and nights of rain at the time of the Flood. Likewise our Savior sanctified the number forty in abstinence from food and drink, which the Holy Roman Church imitates, as we said at length in the prayers held before Gregory XIII. <The number forty.> Yet none of the pious writers has ever asserted that through numbers of this kind anything base or wicked could be done, as certain superstitious people affirm, who claim that so many and such great wonders are worked through them. But as for the numbers from which music is composed, it is no wonder if they produce such varied effects in the soul: for they do not do this insofar as they are numbers, but insofar as through them the modes of sounds, that is, harmonies, are discovered; for everything ordered and distinct, as Aristotle says in the Problems, delights. Therefore a uniform sound is annoying,
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152 DE FASCINO quia anima per ipsum nihil addiscit. Si verò soni obstreperi, rauci, discordes ac incôgrui sint, vt molesti recipiûtur, corúmque perceptio animæ incommoda est, & auditus mebrana veluti icta offenditur, vnde repentè contrahitur, vnáque cum ea neruuli quidam vsque ad dentium radices, in quem locum subitò nouus aër incidés, horrorem quendam circa dentes facit, & sic sonusvehemens plus æquo, plus aëris mouet, quàm sensorium ferat. Constat igitur, animam nô numeris gaudere, vt numeri sunt, nec quia ex eis anima côposita sit. Plato enim non ideò per numerum eam diffinit, quasi ex eo côfletur, sed quia ex maximis rerum perfectionibus anima constat. < Bruta sonoris gaudent numeris.> Nec tantùm humana anima sonoris numeris delectatur, verùm clitellaria iumenta in labore, itineréque cantu simul ac sibilo leuantur ac reficiuntur: na[m] assiduo vsu compertum est, mulos tintinabulorum sonitu valdè delectari; quapropter muliones diuersa tintinabula illorum collis suspendere solent, quò faciliùs sarcinarum onus perferant. Reliqua autem quæ de musicæ effectibus legûtur, partim vera, partim fabulosa esse existimo. < Musica vis.> Fieri enim potuit, vt Ægisthus Clytemnêstra non priùs potitus fuerit, quàm citharædus, qui illi custos relictus erat, vt probarum mulierum laudes caneret, interfectus esset: & Damô musicus tibicinæ iusserit, quæ adolescentibus quibusdam temulentis insana quæda agentibus Phrygium canebat, vt mutaret modum in Doricu[m], eóque facto illi à temerario impetu destiterint, atque phalangij morsus sono curatus fuerit, vt indies in Apulia videre est, & Amatus Lusitanus testis est: prout infantes quoque ad cunarum agitationem, & nutricum cantum à vagitu desinunt, & dormiunt. Verùm quòd Ter- pander
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152 ON FASCINATION because the soul learns nothing through it. But if the sounds are harsh, hoarse, discordant, and inharmonious, so that they are received as unpleasant, and their perception is uncomfortable to the soul, and the membrane of hearing is offended as though struck, whence it suddenly contracts, and along with it certain little nerves even to the roots of the teeth, into which place a new air suddenly entering produces a kind of shivering around the teeth; and thus a powerful sound moves more air than the sensory organ can bear. It is therefore clear that the soul does not delight in numbers as numbers, nor because the soul is composed of them. For Plato does not define it by number as though it were fashioned from it, but because the soul consists of the highest perfections of things. <Brutes take pleasure in musical numbers.> Nor is the human soul alone delighted by musical numbers, but pack animals too, while working and traveling, are lifted up and refreshed by song and by whistling alike: for it has long been observed that mules are greatly delighted by the sound of bells; wherefore muleteers are accustomed to hang different bells from their necks, so that they may bear the burden of the loads more easily. The rest, however, that is read about the effects of music I think is partly true, partly fabulous. < The power of music.> For it could have happened that Aegisthus did not gain possession of Clytemnestra until the musician, who had been left as her guardian to sing the praises of virtuous women, was killed; and that the musician Damon ordered a flute-player, who was playing Phrygian mode to some drunken youths doing certain insane things, to change the mode to the Dorian, and by that act they ceased from their reckless attack; and that the bite of the tarantula was cured by sound, as may be seen daily in Apulia, and as Amatus Lusitanus testifies; just as infants too, at the rocking of the cradle and at the nurses’ singing, stop crying and fall asleep. But as for Ter- pander
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Liber II. 153 pander seditionem inter Lacedæmonios cantu sopiuerit, & Thales Cretésem pestem sustulerit, verisimile non est. Ferunt Platonem cantum, cùm Lydium, tum Phrygium adimendum adolescentibus consuluisse: quòd alter luctu & mœrore animum affligit, alter ad libidinem irritat; quod à veritate minimè abhorret. Si verò nónulla verbis intermediis fieri videamus, quæ à verboru[m] natura abhorreat, vt cùm tauri furibundi illicò mites fiût, canes feroces à latratu desistant, pollutio cum mulieribus in somnis procuratur, serpentes non modò sistere, sed rumpi coguntur, iuxta illud, < Dæmones verbis intermediis mira efficium. > Frigidus in pratis cantando rumpitur anguis: ægritudines per characteres & barbara verba tollûtur, hæc & alia huiusmodi per dæmones fieri dicimus: ij si- quidem quàm maximè conantur, vt nobis imposturam faciant: & ideò verba effingunt, quibus quasi pactionis signo quædam hominibus euenire student. Qui autem huiusmodi verbis ad ea consequenda vtuntur, tacitú vel expressum cùm dæmonibus pactum habet. Et aliqui licet tale pactum ignorent, & verbis illis vtâtur, tamen nihil refert, quoniam is cui primo dæmon ea verba dictauit, ea lege habuisse existimatur, vt quicunque illis vt eretur, tacitè dæmonem inuocare intelligeretur. Atque in grauius crimen incidit, qui sacris, quàm qui profanis verbis vtitur: quippe cùm illa nobis à Deo data sint, vt ad eius nos cognitione ducant, nostræq[ue] saluti inseruiant, non vt ad diaboli cultum ipsis abuteremur; vt ille impostor innumeris propè modis nobis persuadere studet, tum quia diuina instituta imitari vult, diuini honoris cupidus, tum vt Deum iniuria afficiat, nôsqve ad æternos cruciatus, nostræ saluti & foelicitati inuidens præcipitet. < Granius peccant qui sacris quàm qui profanu[m] verbis abutu[n]tur. > V
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Book II. 153 It is not probable that the sedition among the Lacedaemonians was calmed by song, or that Thales removed the plague from the Cretans. They say that Plato advised that song, both Lydian and Phrygian, should be taken away from the young, because the one afflicts the mind with grief and sorrow, the other excites it to lust; which is not at all contrary to the truth. But if we see certain things brought about by intermediate words that are foreign to the nature of words, as when raging bulls are at once made tame, fierce dogs stop barking, corruption in sleep is procured with women, serpents are compelled not only to stop but to burst apart, according to that saying, < By intermediate words demons accomplish wonderful things. > A snake in the fields is burst by singing; diseases are removed by characters and barbarous words. We say that these and other things of this kind are done by demons; for they, if anything, try as hard as possible to deceive us, and therefore they devise words by which they seek, as if by a sign of agreement, that certain things should happen to men. But whoever uses such words to obtain these things has a tacit or express pact with demons. And some, although they are ignorant of such a pact and use those words, nevertheless it makes no difference, since the one to whom the demon first dictated those words is thought to have had them on the condition that whoever should use them would be understood to invoke the demon tacitly. And he falls into a graver crime who uses sacred words than he who uses profane ones; since those were given to us by God so that they might lead us to knowledge of him and serve our salvation, not that we should abuse them for the worship of the devil. For that impostor strives to persuade us in countless ways, both because he wishes to imitate divine institutions, being desirous of divine honor, and because he wishes to injure God and, envying our salvation and happiness, hurl us into eternal torments. < They sin more grievously who abuse sacred words than those who abuse profane words. > V
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DE FASCINO Qui igitur hæc faciunt, veluti sacramentis quibusda[m] demonibus se obstringunt, quanuis imprudenter id agat, nec ea intentione exequatur. < A Mauroru[m] & Turcaru[m] verbis præcipuè cauendu[m].> Et ab illis verbis præcipuè cauendu[m] puto, quæ à Mauris, Turcis, & à quibuscibet infidelibus traduntur, qui quia à dæmonibus possidentur, eiusmodi verba, vt dæmonum pacta iure cæseri debent, quibus si vtamur, dæmonib[us] assentire cogimur. < Deus per dæmones mala quandoque infligis.> Et quonia[m] nulla est corporis ægritudo, quæ à dæmonibus Deo permittete inferri nequeat, etia[m] cum vsus rationis impedimento, & internoru[m] sensuum vexatione, & interitu, vt per sacras historias patet. Hinc est, quòd tunc dæmones sanare dicûtur, cùm à malo inferedo desistunt: no[n] quòd ipsi salute afferre queat, nisi naturaliu[m] rerum qualitates, quæ eos non latent, adhibendo. Quandoque mala quæ à dæmonibus inferuntur, non modò permittete, sed iubente Deo ab illis fiunt, sicut gl. super illud Psal. Immissiones per angelos malos, ait, Deus punit per malos angelos, veluti populu[m] Israëliticu[m] sæpè puniuit variis languoribus, & tunc nullu[m] naturale remediu[m] prodesse potest. < Parentum in filios execratio quid facias.> Ad illud de parentu[m] execratione in filios, ita responderi potest, quòd cùm pueri adeò parentes excâdescere, & atroces execrationes in sese congeri vident, obstupescunt, trepidat, perturbatur, ac terrore, metuq[ue] concussi, aut in spasmu[m] incidunt, aut furore ac rabie corripi[n]tur, menteq[ue] atq[ue] animo alienatur, tantaq[ue] sit in huiusmodi corporibus spirituu[m], humorumq[ue] concursus, agitatio, & intéperies, vt sensuum instruméta conuelli contingat; omnesq[ue] animi facultates inuerti: vnde non modò ætas tenera, sed etia[m] adultior, quæ reuerentia ac pudore erga parētes ducitur, repétino terrore, subitáq[ue] animi cõsternatione, tanqua[m] fulmunc cõcussa, magnâ rationis men-
Transcription: Translated (English)
ON FASCINATION Those therefore who do these things, bind themselves, as it were, by certain sacraments to demons, although he does it unwittingly, and does not carry it out with that intention. <Words of the Moors and Turks especially are to be avoided.> And I think that those words especially are to be avoided which are handed down by the Moors, Turks, and by any unbelievers whatsoever, who, because they are possessed by demons, use words of this kind, as if they were rightly to be considered the covenants of demons, and by using them we are compelled to assent to demons. <God sometimes inflicts evils through demons.> And since there is no bodily illness which cannot be brought about by demons with God’s permission, even with impairment of the use of reason, and with disturbance and destruction of the inner senses, as is clear from the sacred histories. Hence it is that demons are said to heal, when they cease from inflicting harm: not because they themselves can bring health, unless by applying the natural qualities of things, which are not hidden from them. At times the evils that are brought about by demons are not only permitted, but by God’s command are done by them, as the gloss on that verse of Psalm, “Afflictions by evil angels,” says: God punishes through evil angels, as he often punished the people of Israel with various ailments, and then no natural remedy can avail. <What to do about a parent’s curse upon children.> To that matter concerning a parent’s curse upon children, it can be answered thus: when children see their parents become so enraged, and dreadful curses heaped upon them, they are struck dumb with amazement, they tremble, are disturbed, and shaken by terror and fear, and either fall into spasms or are seized by frenzy and rage, and are alienated in mind and spirit, and so great is in such bodies the concurrence, agitation, and disorder of the spirits and humors, that the instruments of the senses are driven asunder; and all the faculties of the mind are overturned: whence not only tender age, but even more mature age, which is led by reverence and shame toward parents, is struck by sudden terror and abrupt consternation of the mind, as though shaken by lightning, with great loss of reason
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LIBER II. 155 tisq[ue] iacturâ patiatur, nec minoré in corpore clade percipiat: & hæc quidem mala Deus improbis & ingratis filiis infligere consueuit, ob eorunde filiorum irreuerentiâ erga parentes, quibus quotiescunq[ue] aliquis ex filiis maledixerit, morte ei Dominus minatur: iuxta illud, Qui maledixerit patri aut matri, morte moriatur. Et Eccle. 3. legitur, Benedictio patris firmat domos filiorum, maledictio aute[m] matris eradicat fundame[n]ta. At qui cum verborum prolatione vaccas & oves lacte priuât, dæmones per eiusmodi verba ad id peragendu[m] inuocant; quod si ex alicuius herbæ pastu accidere solet, non miru[m] si à dæmonibus facilè procuretur. Eode[m] quoq[ue] pacto fulmina, grandines, pluuiæ, & aliæ aëris perturbationes, verbis, veluti dæmonum pactis, < Fulmina & pluuias dæmonum vis excitat.> prolatis concitantur: ad hæc enim procurada sola dæmonum virtus naturalis est satis, quia vaporum ex aqua & terra resolutorum motu fieri possunt. Quòd aute[m] faustis verbis sternutates salutabat, nô ideò fiebat, quasi sternutantibus per verba aliquid afferre possent, sed potius quia cùm sternutamentum eâde[m] agatur parte, qua status eruptio est, augurale signum, & vnum ex spirituum generibus sanctum & sacrum existimatum fuit. Hinc inos initium sumpsit, vt sternutatio veluti bonæ valetudinis index sacra habita sit, & sternutates passim salutetur: prætermisso eo quod pestilentiæ tempore accidisse fertur, quòd simul atq[ue] aliquis sternutabat, illicò mortuus co[n]cidebat. Simili etiam pacto oscitates ex religione quadam sibi time re constat, quòd oscitatio ex somno vel tædio sequi co[n]spiciatur: inde sit vt oscitantes illicò signo crucis os muniamus. < Oscitates cur cruce os muniamus.> Quâdo aute[m], vt supra tetigimus, numeri, characteres & verba ad animalia diriguntur, ad dæmones dirigiri césendum est. Non enim pecudes verba intelligere V ij
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BOOK II. 155 if it suffers loss of this kind, nor does it receive a lesser calamity in the body: and indeed God is accustomed to inflict these evils upon wicked and ungrateful children, on account of their sons’ irreverence toward their parents, to whom, whenever any of the children has spoken evil, the Lord threatens death; according to that saying, He who curses father or mother, let him die the death. And in Ecclesiasticus 3 it is read, A father’s blessing establishes the houses of children, but a mother’s curse uproots the foundations. But those who, by the utterance of words, deprive cows and sheep of milk, invoke demons by such words to carry this out; and if this is accustomed to happen from the eating of some herb, it is no wonder if it is easily procured by demons. In the same way also thunderbolts, hail, rain, and other disturbances of the air, are stirred up by words, as it were by pacts of demons, < The power of demons stirs up thunderbolts and rain.> and are incited by words uttered for this purpose: for to procure these things the natural power of demons alone is sufficient, because they can be produced by the movement of vapors resolved from water and earth. But that by auspicious words they greeted sneezes was not done because they thought anything could be brought to sneezing by words, but rather because, since sneezing takes place through that same part through which there is an eruption of the state, it was considered a prophetic sign, and one of the kinds of spirits, holy and sacred. Hence the custom took its beginning, that sneezing should be regarded as a sign of good health, and that those who sneeze should be greeted everywhere; passing over the fact that, in time of pestilence, it is said to have happened that as soon as anyone sneezed, he at once fell dead. In a similar way also it is clear that yawning is feared by some on religious grounds, because yawning is seen to follow from sleep or weariness: hence it is that when people yawn we immediately protect the mouth with the sign of the cross. < Why we protect the mouth with the cross when yawning.> When, however, as we touched on above, numbers, characters, and words are directed toward animals, they must be judged to be directed toward demons. For beasts do not understand words V ij
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156 DE FASCINO possunt, nec quidquam eis persuaderi potest, veluti oratores hominibus persuadent: nam opinio est fides, vt in 3. de Anima, Arist. ait: fides autem persuasione concipitur: in quibus ergo opinio & fides non est, nec persuasio reperitur. Et ratio est, quia hæc tria ad rationale partem pertinent, qua bruta animantia omnino carent, etsi per similitudinem quandam eis ratio adscribi potest: vt de apum & formicarum prudentia, vulpium astu, canum fidelitate, & aliis innumeris patet, quæ micantis rationis scintillæ videntur: eásque Albertus Magnus qualitatum temperamento, variæ dispositioni, aut spiritui vitali, vel sensuum perfectioni, cælesti influxui, aut denique appetitui & naturæ impulsui adscripsit. Quo quidem sensu Arist. in lib. de hist. anim. apes & grues ciuilia animalia appellat; quia ducé habent, quem sequuntur. Ad serpentes autem præcipue dæmones verba dirigi gaudent, quia in huiusmodi animalium specie primos parentes deceperunt, & modò eandem fallendi artem prosequuntur; cùm hinc à mundi exordio regnandi principium sumpserint. Ad illud verò Psal. 57. in quo aspidem aures obturare dicit, ne incantantis verba audiat, dicimus cum Nicolao de Lyra, quòd pro aspide peccatores obdurati intelliguntur, qui nolunt audire vnde reuocetur à suo errore, vt erat Saul, & eius familiares. Sacra namque scriptura, vt sæpius diximus, non semper de re, quæ verè est, loqui consueuit, sed loquendi modis in vulgi opinione receptis vtitur: atque inter alia, quæ vulgus opinatur, est, quòd aspis serpés, quando incantatorem suis carmini bus ipsam cuocare de latebra volentem, & sibi soporem immittere præuidet, vt carbunculu[m] arripiat, quæ in frôte gerere creditur: illa nolens exire, aurem vna fixa in terra
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156 ON FASCINATION can, nor can anything be persuaded to them, just as orators persuade men: for opinion is faith, as Aristotle says in De Anima 3; but faith is conceived through persuasion: therefore, in those in whom there is no opinion and no faith, persuasion is not found either. And the reason is that these three belong to the rational part, of which brute animals are altogether devoid, although by a certain similarity reason may be attributed to them: as is clear from the prudence of bees and ants, the cunning of foxes, the faithfulness of dogs, and innumerable other things, which seem to be sparks of glittering reason; and Albertus Magnus ascribed them to the tempering of qualities, to a varied disposition, or to the vital spirit, or to the perfection of the senses, to celestial influence, or finally to appetite and the impulse of nature. In this sense, Aristotle in the book De historia animalium calls bees and cranes civic animals, because they have a leader whom they follow. But to serpents, especially, demons delight to direct words, because in the species of such animals they deceived our first parents, and now pursue the same art of deceiving; since from the beginning of the world they took up the principle of ruling from here. But with regard to Psalm 57, in which it says that the asp stops its ears so as not to hear the words of the enchanter, we say with Nicholas of Lyra that by the asp are understood hardened sinners, who are unwilling to hear the means by which they might be called back from their error, as Saul was, and his companions. For Sacred Scripture, as we have often said, does not always customarily speak of the thing that truly is, but uses modes of speech received in popular opinion: and among other things commonly believed is that the asp, a serpent, when it foresees that the enchanter, with his chants, wants to draw it out of hiding and send sleep upon it, so that he may seize the carbuncle, which is believed to be borne on the forehead, does not wish to come out, one ear fixed in the ground
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Liber II. 157 ponit, altera cauda obturat, ne magicas incantationis vo- ces audiat. Per qua quidem similitudine, obdurata con- tra Christum Iudæorum persidiam Propheta ostendere vult: quia ipsi ne eius & Apostolorum verba audirent, < Sensus Psalmisticus aspidis surda, & cætera.> aspidis more suas obturabat aures, vnam terra, quia eos nil aliud cætra Christum mouit, nisi terra, hoc est rerum caducarum, quæ terræ sunt, cupiditas, ne eas amitteret; alteram cauda, per quam falsa simulatio notatur. Sicut enim animantis cauda eius turpitudinem, & posteriora operit; ita Iudæi falsa verborum simulatione malitiam contra Christum tegebant. < Incantator, & eius etymon.> Nomen verò incantationis hîc positum pro eo, qui verbi artem exercet, accipitur: Incantator enim, quasi intus in corde cantator, sonat. Vnde quando verborum arte quis alium ad bonum in- ducere conatur, bonus incantator appellatur: quando ad malum, malus. Et licet hic in bonam partem accipia- tur; quia per incantatorem Christus cum suis Apostolis intelligitur, qui diuino sermone audientes ad Deum co- uertebant, semper tamen in malam partem accipi con- sueuit. Veneficus quoque sic accipitur. < Veneficius vnde.> dicitur enim fa- ciens, aut componens venenum, quod sanguini contra- rium est; & sic à vena tanquam contrarium venæ, quæ sanguinem continet. Quid ergo venenum nisi frigidam poenitentiam notat? quæ carni, & sanguini contraria est. < Christus & Apostoli venefici.> Ergo Christus, & Apostoli venefici erant, qui tale vene- nú concionando conficiebant, poenitentiæ asperitatem docendo. Vtque de Venefico in bonam partem sumpto intelligeretur, inquit, Venefici incantantis sapienter. At si verba sacra, & piæ orationes ad fugandos vermes, lo- custas, & alia nociua animantia, cu[m] deuoto animi affectu dicantur, non ad animantia, quæ non intelligunt, sed ad. V iii.
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Liber II. 157 places one with the tail, so that the magical words of the incantation may not be heard. By this likeness, the Prophet wishes to show the hardened perfidy of the Jews against Christ: because they, lest they should hear His words and those of the Apostles, shut their ears like an asp, one with earth, because nothing moved them against Christ except earth, that is, the desire for perishable things, for things that belong to the earth, lest they lose them; the other with the tail, by which false simulation is indicated. For just as the tail of an animal covers its ugliness and hinder parts, so the Jews covered their malice against Christ with false verbal pretence. But the word incantation here is taken for one who practices the art of speech: for incantator, as it were “a singer within the heart,” sounds thus. Hence, when by the art of words someone tries to lead another to good, he is called a good incantator; when to evil, a bad one. And although here it is taken in a good sense, because by the incantator Christ is understood together with His Apostles, who by divine speech were turning hearers to God, nevertheless it is always customary to take it in a bad sense. Veneficus is understood in the same way. For it is said to be one who makes, or compounds, poison, which is contrary to the blood; and thus from vena, as though contrary to the vein which contains the blood. What then does poison signify except cold repentance, which is contrary to flesh and blood? Therefore Christ and the Apostles were venefici, who were preparing such a poison by preaching, teaching the severity of repentance. And so that it might be understood of a veneficus taken in a good sense, he says, “The sorcerer of the incantation wisely.” But if sacred words and pious prayers are spoken with devout affection of mind for driving away worms, locusts, and other harmful animals, not to the animals, which do not understand, but to the... V iii.
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158 DE FASCINO dæmones per modu[m] compulsionis, & ad Deu[m] per modu[m] supplicationis referuntur, qui quidé Dæmones fortasse eiusmodi luis Deo permittente causa fuerunt, Deusque illis verbis rogatur, vt talia animalia dæmonum fraude in hominu[m] perniciem congregata destruat. quod etiam in plerisque locis, pluuiarum, ventorum, tonitruoru[m], & fulminum tempore eade[m] de causa fieri consueuit: & tue[m] ad adiurandos dæmones eiusmodi verba concipiuntur, per squillas quoque tanqua[m] per co[n]secratas tubas arcentur, & vt populus tintinabulis excitatus, Deum contra tempestates inuocet. Cæterum animaduertendu[m] est, in huiuscemodi orationibus triplice[m] errorem contingere posse, in materia, in forma, & in modo. In materia error est, vel cu[m] petitur quod iustu[m] non est, vt sunt amatoriæ preces, vel quæ ad proximi pernicié dicuntur, vel cum in literarum characteribus, & figuris spes ponitur, & no[n] in orationis sensu. Qua de re D. Ioannes Chrysost. super Matth: sic ait. Quidâ aliquam parte[m] Euangelij circa collu[m] portant, sed nonne quotidie Euangelium in Ecclesia legitur, vt audiatur ab omnibus? Cui ergo non præsunt in auribus posita Euagelia; quomodo possunt circa collum suspensa saluare? & subdit, Vbi est virtus Euangelij? in figuris litterarum, an in intellectu sensuum? si in figuris, bene circa collum suspendis; si in intellectu, ergo melius in corde. In forma, cum verba vana, aut barbara, vel non intelligibilia ponuntur: velut Quintus Serenus ait, verbum Abracadabra subinde littera minus scriptu[m], donec in a desinat, pyramidalem formâ conficiens, collo suspensum Hemitritæu[m] depellere. In modo deniq[ue] error est, cum superstitione quadâ ad res vita carêtes diriguntur, vt faciunt illi, qui herbas colligunt, psalmos, & alias
Transcription: Translated (English)
158 ON FASCINATION demons are referred to by way of compulsion, and to God by way of supplication; and these demons perhaps were, by God’s permission, the cause of this kind of plague, and God is asked by these words that He destroy such animals, gathered together by the fraud of demons for the ruin of men. This also is customarily done in many places at the time of rain, winds, thunder, and lightning for the same reason; and then too words of this kind are uttered for adjuring demons, and they are also driven away by squills, as though by consecrated trumpets, and so that the people, awakened by bells, may invoke God against storms. However, it must be observed that in prayers of this kind a threefold error can occur, in matter, in form, and in manner. In matter the error is either when what is just is asked for is not, as are amatory prayers, or those spoken for the ruin of one’s neighbor, or when hope is placed in letters, characters, and figures, and not in the sense of the prayer. On this matter St. John Chrysostom, on Matthew, says thus: Some carry a part of the Gospel around their neck, but is not the Gospel read daily in the Church so that it may be heard by all? How then can Gospels placed in the ears; how can they save when suspended around the neck? And he adds, Where is the power of the Gospel? in the shapes of the letters, or in the understanding of the meanings? If in the shapes, you do well to suspend it around the neck; if in the understanding, then it is better in the heart. In form, when empty, barbarous, or unintelligible words are employed: as Quintus Serenus says, the word Abracadabra, written each time with one letter less, until it ends in a, forming a pyramidal shape, when hung around the neck is said to drive away hemi-tritæus. Finally, in manner the error is when, with some superstition, one directs things that are devoid of life, as those do who gather herbs, psalms, and other
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Liber II. 159 preces dicentes, quę si ad herbas dirigantur, cùm non in- telligant, frustrà dicuntur: si verò ad intelligentiâ aliquâ, quæ vel Deus est, vel Angelus, vel Dæmon. Si Deus est, < In colligendis herbis an verba proferre liceat.> ergo Deum rogant, vt naturalibus rebus maiores vires largiatur, quàm ab exordio dederit, & sic vt in hoc mi- racula absque necessitate faciat, quod equu[m] non est, quia Deum tentare non licet, sicut Pharisa[i]i tentandi studio à saluatore miracula petebant. Si Angelus, non exaudiet, quoniam Deus dûtaxat vim rebus maiorem donare po- test. Si verò dæmon, impium & illicitum est: ipse enim omnia agit, vt rudes decipiat, superstitiosos illaqueet, & à recto cultu omnes diuertat. at si quis ob pium animi affectum, vt Deus honoretur, in colligendis herbis sym- bolum Apostolorum, aut orationem Dominicam dixe- < Symbolum in herbis colligendis dicere, pium est.> rit, piè, & non superstitiosè illum agere puto. abusus ve- rò ille vituperandus videtur, qui in nonnullis partibus inoleuit; vbi si quando locustas, & alia perniciosa ani- malia è campis expellere volunt, aliquem adiurato- rem in iudicem eligunt, coram quo duo procurato- res constituuntur; ex populi parte vns, ex bruto- rum animalium alter. Populi procurator contra lo- custas, vel similia animantia iustitiam petit, ad ea exi- genda; cui ex aduerso respondet alter, non esse abi- genda: tandem seruatis seruandis, nisi infra certum tempus abeant, contra locustas excommunicationis sententia fertur. qui quidem modus superstitione re- fertus est: tum quia lis contra animalia ratione ca- rentia agitari non potest, & cùm ex terræ putredine genita sint, culpa carent; tum etiam in blasphemiæ pec- catum inciditur, dum Ecclesiæ excommunicationi illu- ditur. perinde etenim est, bruta exco[m]municationi velle An exco[m]municationis senseria in bruta sit ferenda.
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber II. 159 prayers are said, which, if they are directed to the herbs, since they do not understand, are said in vain: but if to some intelligence, which is either God, or an Angel, or a Demon. If it is God, < Whether it is lawful to utter words in gathering herbs.> then they are praying to God that He may grant greater powers to natural things than He gave them at their origin, and so that in this matter He may work miracles without necessity, which is not right, because God must not be tempted, just as the Pharisees, in their desire to tempt Him, asked miracles of the Savior. If it is an Angel, he will not heed it, since God alone can grant greater power to things. But if it is a demon, it is impious and unlawful: for he acts in all things in order to deceive the unlearned, ensnare the superstitious, and turn everyone away from the right worship. But if someone, out of a pious feeling of the soul, so that God may be honored, were to say the Symbol of the Apostles, or the Lord’s Prayer, while gathering herbs, I think he acts piously and not superstitiously. < It is pious to say the Creed when gathering herbs.> Yet that abuse, which has taken root in certain regions, seems to be worthy of blame: there, if at any time they wish to drive locusts and other harmful animals from the fields, they choose some exorcist as judge, before whom two procurators are appointed; one on behalf of the people, the other on behalf of the brute animals. The people’s procurator seeks justice against the locusts, or similar creatures, in order to have them expelled; to whom the other responds in opposition that they should not be driven away. Finally, after the required formalities have been observed, unless they depart within a certain time, a sentence of excommunication is pronounced against the locusts. This manner is indeed full of superstition: first because a lawsuit cannot be conducted against animals lacking reason, and since they were generated from the corruption of the earth, they are without fault; and also because the sin of blasphemy is committed when the Church’s excommunication is mocked. For it is much the same, whether one wishes to excommunicate brute beasts or to bring forth a sentence of excommunication against brute beasts.
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DE FASCINO 160 subiicere, ac si quis canem, aut lapide baptizaret. Quòd autem Berolus Anianus refert, falsum est: in Sacra nam- que historia non reperitur quòd Cham, quando Noe patris virilia aperuit, magicum carmen, vel quid simile dixerit, cuius rei gratia castratus effectus sit. Non in veram, sed in apparentem, aut imaginatam brutorum, aut aliarum rerum formam, ac figuram dæmonum deceptio- ne, et non verborum virtute (vt quidam putant) mutatos fuisse nonnullos quos legimus. CAP. XII. ARISTOTELES in lib. Diuinorum, natu- ralium formarum generationem perscrutans, eas à formis simplicibus procreari ex- pressè negat. Sed cùm illarum causam ape- rire vellet, à formis, quæ in materia sunt, ipsas gigni docet. Quo in loco Auer. etiam materiam ad formam ab intelligentiis, & simplicibus substantiis trásmutari non posse ostendit. Cuius quidem rei in Diuinor. xj. idem Arist. rationem reddit, si quidem, bonum Vniuersi est bonum ordinis, nec quidquam reperitur, quod huic ordini non subiiciatur. Deus autem à quo omnia emanant, quique hûc ordinem suæ diuinæ sapientiæ instituit conformem, extra eiusmodi ordinem est, atque incredibili arte illi præest. Hic ordo ac rerum omnium in mundo dispositio, quanuis in cunctis rebus conspiciatur, in actionibus tamen, & motibus præcipuè lucet. Namque inter agens, & patiens adeo proportio seruatur, vt hæc inferiora à superis causis non moueantur, nisi per intermedia: atque res, quę per generationem procreatur, non nisi per contractam, & particularem causam, ad super- narum
Transcription: Translated (English)
of fascination 160 to subject, as if one were baptizing a dog or a stone. But what Berolus Anianus reports is false: for in Sacred history it is not found that Ham, when he uncovered his father Noah’s nakedness, uttered a magical song, or anything similar, by reason of which he was made castrated. Some whom we read of were changed not into the true, but into the apparent or imagined form and figure of beasts, or of other things, by deception of demons, and not by the power of words, as some think. CAP. XII. ARISTOTLE, in the book of Divine Things, investigating the generation of natural forms, expressly denies that they are produced from simple forms. But when he wished to disclose their cause, he teaches that they are begotten from forms which are in matter. In this place Averroes also shows that matter cannot be changed into form by intelligences and simple substances. Aristotle gives the reason for this in Divine Things xi, since the good of the Universe is the good of order, and nothing is found that is not subject to this order. But God, from whom all things emanate, and who established this order conformable to His divine wisdom, is outside such order, and presides over it with incredible art. This order and arrangement of all things in the world, although it is seen in all things, shines especially in actions and motions. For between agent and patient such proportion is maintained that these lower things are not moved by the higher causes except through intermediaries; and a thing that is produced by generation is not produced except through a contracted and particular cause, to the higher causes.
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Liber II. 161 narium causarum virtutem accipiendam idonea sunt. Cùm igitur dæmones, iuxta naturæ ordinem ipsis su- premis causis, cælestibus scilicet corporibus superiores sint, quæ quidem cælestia corpora ad nutum rem ab v- na ad aliam formam mutare nequeunt, clarum relinqui- tur, quòd sua virtute dæmones inferiora corpora for- maliter transmutare non possunt, alioquin mundi ordo destrueretur. Nonnulla tamen agunt, quæ transmuta- tioni similia videntur, nec sine actiuvorum & passiuorum cômistione: nam quædam semina, effectibus, quos mo- liuntur, proportionata ex diuersis orbis partibus præpa- rare, illisque admouere possunt; sicque opera naturæ cô- formia agere queunt: non secus atque agricolæ, qui tri- tici grana cum subacta terra miscent: etsi agricolis mul- tò celerius fructum emittere, & effectum videre faciant. tanta enim celeritate res efficiunt, vt quæ per ipsos fiunt, quia humanum captum excedunt, miracula existimen- tur, idq[ue] tribus modis fieri potest: Primo, quia naturaliu[m] causaru vires magis dæmones, quàm homines cognoscunt. Secundo, quia velocius quàm homines eas con- gregare possunt. Tertio, quia causæ naturales, quæ vt instrumenta à dæmonibus assumuntur, ad maiores, & plures effectus ab eis, quàm ab hominibus extendi pos- sunt. Præterea notatu dignum, duplicé potestatem, tum in materia, tum in cunctis rebus inueniri; naturalem v- nam, obedientiæ alteram. Naturalis potestas nihil aliud esse videtur, quàm diuina actio, qua Deus à mundi exor- dio, ex materia certo modo mista, & ab agente determi- nato, per motum in tempore factum, certum, ac deter- minatum effectum procreari voluit. Obedientiæ autem potestas illa nuncupatur, qua Dei voluntati, absq[ue] aliqua X
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Liber II. 161 are suitable to receive the power of the causes from which they spring. Since, therefore, demons, according to the order of nature, are superior to the highest causes themselves, namely the heavenly bodies, and since those heavenly bodies cannot, at will, change a thing from one form into another, it is clearly left to follow that, by their own power, demons cannot formally transmute inferior bodies; otherwise the order of the world would be destroyed. Yet they do perform certain things that seem similar to transmutation, and not without a mixture of active and passive things: for they can prepare certain seeds proportioned to the effects they intend to bring about from different parts of the world, and apply them to those effects; and thus they are able to carry out works in conformity with nature, just as farmers do, who mix grains of wheat with well-worked soil: although they cause fruit to appear and the effect to be seen much more quickly than farmers do. For they bring things about with such speed that what is done through them, because it exceeds human understanding, is thought to be a miracle; and this can happen in three ways: first, because demons know the powers of natural causes more than men do. Second, because they can gather them together more quickly than men can. Third, because the natural causes, which are taken up by demons as instruments, can be extended by them to greater and more numerous effects than by men. Moreover, it is worthy of note that a twofold power is found both in matter and in all things: one natural, the other of obedience. Natural power seems to be nothing other than the divine action by which God, from the beginning of the world, willed that from matter mixed in a certain way, and from a determined agent, through motion made in time, a certain and determinate effect should be produced. But the power of obedience is that by which, to the will of God, without any
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DE FASCINO 162 determinatione, ac repugnantia, vniuersa, sicut vniuersorum dominæ, obtemperant. quam quidem obedientiæ potestatem non modò Deus immediatè, & nulla penitus re adhibita exercet, verùm nunc per Sanctos viros, & per bonos Angelos, sæpe etiam per dæmones illam administrat, vt quando aliqua, quæ naturæ vires superant, facienda iubet; in quibus tanquam diuinæ virtutis instrumento Deus illis personis vtitur. Quocirca si Loth vxor in salis statuam conuersa. Loth vxor per malos angelos in salis statuam conuersa fuit, vt Genes. 10. legitur, & aliqui tenent, non sua vi conuersionem illam, sed veluti ministri diuinæ voluntatis executores dæmones fecerunt. Eodem quoque pacto D. August. in lib. de Trinit. illud Exodi cap. 7. intelligendum putat, vbi Magos suas virgas in serpentes <Virgariò magicarum in serpentes conuersio.> trasformasse legitur: diuina enim virtute magis assistente, veros serpentes procreatos esse censet; qua subtracta, nihil amplius potuerunt. Deus namque per falsos prophetas quandoque suos tentare consueuit, vt quàm stabiles, ac firmi sint, appareat & ni fallor, puto citatam. Exodi auctoritatem etiam iuxta communem vulgi opinionem, ac loquendi modum intelligi posse. Nam eadem scriptura Samuelem è morte ad vitam excitatum à Pythonissa dicit: cùm certum, indubitatumque sit, præter vmbram Prophetæ effigiem mentientem nihil prodiisse. Nullus enim magus, aut dæmon mortuum verè vquam excitauit: quanuis aliquando spectra mortuorum hominum vitam ementientia dæmones cum magis euocarint. Talis vmbra Sauli apparuit, quæ quidem à Scriptura Samuel vocatur, quia tam Saul quàm <Pythonissa præstigiæ in excitando Samuele.> Pythonissa Samuelem esse opinabantur. Ita serpentes, & ranæ à magis factæ dici possunt, cùm harum rerum si-
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DE FASCINO 162 by determination and opposition, all things, as the mistress of all, obey. This power of obedience God exercises not only immediately and without the application of any thing at all, but now through holy men and good angels, and often also through demons he administers it, when he commands some things to be done that surpass the powers of nature; in which cases God uses those persons as an instrument of divine power. Therefore if Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt. Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt by evil angels, as is read in Genesis 10, and as some maintain, not by its own power did that transformation take place, but demons, as ministers and executors of the divine will, brought it about. In the same way also St. Augustine, in the book De Trinitate , thinks that that passage of Exodus chapter 7 should be understood, where the magicians’ rods are read to have been transformed into serpents: for, with divine power assisting the magicians, he judges that true serpents were produced; but once that was withdrawn, they could do no more. For God is accustomed at times to test his own through false prophets, so that it may appear how steadfast and firm they are; and, unless I am mistaken, I think the cited authority of Exodus can also be understood according to the common opinion and manner of speaking among the people. For the same Scripture says that Samuel was raised from death to life by the pythoness: when it is certain and beyond doubt that, apart from the appearance of a shadow-like image, nothing deceiving was brought forth. For no magician or demon has ever truly raised a dead man to life, although at times demons have summoned spectres of dead men, pretending to be alive, together with magicians. Such a shade appeared to Saul, which indeed is called Samuel by Scripture, because both Saul and the pythoness supposed him to be Samuel. Thus serpents and frogs are said to have been made by the magicians, when of these things si- Pythoness’ trickery in raising Samuel.
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Liber II. 163 mulacra quædam dæmones fingerent, & astantium oculos, vt veras ranas, serpentésque putarent, perstringerent, iuxta illud August. 18. de Ciuit. Dei, Nec sanè < Dæmones naturas non creant.> Dæmones naturas creant, si aliquid tale faciunt, de quo hæc vertitur quæstio: sed specie tenus, quæ à Deo sunt creata commutant, vt videantur esse quod non sunt. Cuius rei signum esse potest, quia Moysis draconem magorum dracones deuorasse legimus, hoc est, veros serpentes non esse demonstrasse. < Aquam sanguine à Moyses conuersa.> Sic ranas à Deo effectas in aceruum collectas, in putredine versas scimus: quod de magorum ranis non legimus. Sic & aquam à Moyses in sanguinem versam graueolentem, & potui ineptam redactam fuisse narratur: adeo vt pisces in eainterirent: de illa verò, quam magi vertisse perhibentur, nihil simile scriptura refert. Demum sapientiæ Cap. 17. hæc verba leguntur: Aderant autem magicæ artis ludibria, & contumeliosa exprobratio eius arrogantiæ, qua ob prudentiam vsti fuerant. Si igitur vera fuissent, quæ illis vera videbantur, magicæ artis ludibria, & contumeliosam exprobrationem auctor non appellasset. & in hanc sententiam plures ex sacris Doctoribus eunt. < D. Thomas de ranis magicis.> Diuus autem Thomas cum quibusdam aliis, magorum ranas per aptam, & idoneam agentium, & patientium applicationem factas esse censet. Sic etiam Aug. Diomedis socios in aues conuersos, per actiua enim cum passiuis aues formatas affirmat. Nihil ergo Dæmones verè efficere queunt, quod per naturæ ordinem ac viam generari non possit, nisi, vt dictum est, per diuinam virtutem, idque adscribendum illis non est, sed Deo tantùm. < Circes aliorumque magorum impostura.> Si verò aliqua naturæ ordini repugnantia effecisse legitur: quale est illud quod de Vlyssis sociis à Circe X ij
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Liber II. 163 certain illusions by which demons should deceive the eyes of those standing by, so that they would think they saw real frogs and serpents, as Augustine says, Book 18 of the City of God: “Nor indeed do demons create natures.” Demons do create natures, if they do anything of this sort, concerning which this question is raised; but only in appearance do they alter things created by God, so that they seem to be what they are not. A sign of this may be that we read that Moses’ serpent devoured the serpents of the magicians, that is, that it showed them not to be true serpents. “The water turned into blood by Moses.” Likewise we know that the frogs produced by God, when gathered into a heap, turned into corruption; but we do not read this of the magicians’ frogs. Likewise the water turned by Moses into blood is said to have become foul-smelling and unfit for drinking, so that the fish perished in it; but of that which the magicians are said to have turned, Scripture records nothing of the sort. Finally, in Chapter 17 of Wisdom these words are read: “There were magic arts’ mockeries and the insulting reproach of that arrogance, by which they had abused their skill.” Therefore, if the things which seemed real to them had truly been real, the author would not have called them mockeries of the magical art and an insulting reproach. And many of the sacred Doctors go along with this opinion. “St. Thomas on magical frogs.” But St. Thomas, with certain others, judges that the magicians’ frogs were made through a suitable and fitting application of agents and patients. So also Augustine affirms that Diomedes’ companions were changed into birds, for by active things together with passive things birds were formed. Therefore demons can truly effect nothing which cannot be generated by the order and course of nature, unless, as has been said, through divine power; and this is not to be attributed to them, but to God alone. “The imposture of Circe and other magicians.” But if anything contrary to the order of nature is read to have been effected, such as that concerning Ulysses’ companions by Circe X ij
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164 DE PASCINO magica arte in bestias mutatos narrant; & illud quod de Arcadibus fertur, qui cùm stagnum quoddam transnatarent, in lupos mutabantur, & de stabulariis illis mulieribus in iumenta homines vertentibus, hæc, & si quæ sunt his similia, fabulosa esse duco, vel secundum phantasticam apparentiam, & non re ipsa contigisse. Nec vno duntaxat modo, sed innumeris propè viis id effici potuisse ostendemus. Prima, sensuum vires obnubilando, n ad rem, quæ sensuum obiectum est, pertingat, in quo sensu August. in lib. LXXXIII. quæst. ait, Dæmon quibusdam nebulis implet omnes meatus intelligentiæ, per quos aperire lumen rationis radius mentis solet. hic fallendi modus dæmonibus adeo est familiaris, ac facilis, vt nobis sæpissimè, nec quid simile cogitantibus idem vltro contingat: quod sit cùm in aliquo pariete, agro, lapide, ligno, vel panno, à longè seu languidè fixis oculis intuemur, in quibus equidem rebus lineaméta, figuras, & imagines videre videmur, quæ aliquos nobis notos ad viuum exprimere videntur: at si postea propius, & attentius idem respicias, nihil tale reperies. Quòd si sensus, cùm non viuidi sunt, & multo interuallo distantes ab obiectis, falluntur, atque nobis multorum errorum causa sunt; quantò magis dæmones, qui callidissimi sunt, nos eodem serè modo decipere, & rem vnam, quæ aliam referat, ostendere possunt? Secunda, obiectum ipsum occultando, & eius loco rem aliam ostendendo, & sic pro homine nonnulla nobis obiiciunt, quæ bruti formam referant. Tertia, oculorum vim impediendo, vt cuidam ægrè videnti accidit, cui semper Idolum suum obambulas ante se præcedere videre videbatur. quod inde fiebat,
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164 DE PASCINO They tell of those transformed into beasts by magical art; and that which is related of the Arcadians, who, when they were swimming across a certain pool, were changed into wolves, and of those innkeepers’ women who turned men into pack-animals, these things, and if there are any similar to them, I take to be fabulous, or to have happened according to a phantastic appearance, and not in reality. Nor shall we show that this could be brought about in only one way, but in nearly countless ways. The first is by clouding the powers of the senses, so that it does not reach the thing which is the object of the senses; in which sense Augustine, in the book of the Eighty-Three Questions, says that the demon fills all the passages of understanding with certain mists, through which the ray of the mind is accustomed to open the light of reason. This mode of deceiving is so familiar and easy to demons that very often it happens of itself to us, even when we are not thinking anything of the sort: as when we gaze from afar, or dimly, with fixed eyes, at some wall, field, stone, wood, or cloth, in which things we seem to see outlines, figures, and images that appear to represent some persons known to us vividly; but if afterward you look at the same thing more closely and attentively, you will find nothing of the sort. But if the senses, when they are not vivid and are very far removed from their objects, are deceived and become the cause of many errors for us, how much more can demons, who are most cunning, deceive us in nearly the same way, and show one thing that resembles another? The second is by hiding the object itself and showing another thing in its place, and thus they set before us, in place of a human being, certain things that resemble the form of a brute. The third is by impeding the power of the eyes, as happened to a certain man who could scarcely see, to whom it always seemed that he saw his own idol walking ahead of him in front of him. This came about because,
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Liber II. 165 quia visus in ipsum refrangebatur, adeò enim debilis ac tenuis erat, vt aërem impellere ac diuidere nequiret. Sic Alexandro Aphrodisiensi teste per aërem spissum fa- ctum radij emissi pertransire non possunt, sed refran- guntur. Extant præstigiæ seu malficia Helsingorum, vt < Helsingorum et Bohonicorum præstigia.> Olaus Magnus testis est, quoru princeps Vitolfus fuit, qui quos voluit, ita videndi officio spoliauit, vt propin- quas ædes, nec prospectu capere, nec certis vestigiis in- dagare possent, adeò luminum vsum nula quadâ ca- ligine obtudere callebat. In eâdem deceptionis arte Bo- thnici Septentrionis homines exercitatissimi erant, qui per summam ludificâdorum oculorum peritiam, suos, alienósqve vultus variis rerum imaginibus adumbrare callebant, fallacibusque formis varios obscurare co[n]spe- ctus. Quarta, aërem intermedii inter nos & rem, quam nobis occultare volunt, co[n]densando, illúque rei similem reddendo. Quinta, nubem ad alicuius rei similitudinem redactâ lineamentis fingendo, quæ res illa nobis videa- tur, quam ostendere cupiunt, cum alteratione quoque quadam in nostris sensibus facta. Et hoc duobus modis sieri posse existimo; vel cùm dæmones ex otio in nego- tium & actionem nos com[m]iciunt; quod tunc sit, cùm rei præsentia, quę sensu percipi potest, adest: qua via de non videntibus, videntes; & de non audientibus, audiêtes si- mus. Sonos enim humanis vocibus similes effingere possunt, in quibus quidvis exprimunt. Nam etsi denti- bus, lingua, & pulmone carent, quibus vox formatur; hæc tamen arte facta ostedere possunt, quibus tanquam per quosdam sonos, vocum quandam similitudine fingunt, & per aërem non respiratum, sed in corpore inclu- sum, quem percutientes ad aërem externum vsque ad X iij
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Liber II. 165 because the sight was refracted back into the thing itself; for it was so weak and slight that it could not impel or divide the air. Thus, as Alexander of Aphrodisias testifies, rays emitted through thick air cannot pass through, but are refracted. There are the tricks or sorceries of the Helsingers, as in the <tricks of the Helsingers and Bohonians.> Olaus Magnus is witness, whose chief was Vitolfus, who deprived whomsoever he wished of the function of sight in such a way that they could neither take in nearby buildings by sight nor trace them by sure footprints, so well did he know how to blunt the use of the eyes with some cloudiness. In this same art of deception the men of Boeotia in the North were most practiced, who, by the greatest skill in deluding the eyes, were able to sketch both their own faces and those of others with various images of things, and by deceitful shapes to obscure many kinds of appearance. Fourth, by condensing the intervening air between us and the thing they wish to hide from us, and making it similar to that thing. Fifth, by forming a cloud, with outlines worked into the likeness of some thing, so that the thing itself may seem to us to be what they wish to show, with a certain alteration also having been made in our senses. And I think this can happen in two ways: either when demons, from idleness, engage us in business and action; which occurs when the presence of the thing, which can be perceived by sense, is at hand: by this means, of things not seen we are made seeing, and of things not heard, hearing. For they can fashion sounds similar to human voices, in which they express whatever they wish. For although they lack teeth, tongue, and lungs, by which voice is formed, nevertheless by this art they can present things made in such a way that, as it were through certain sounds, they fashion a certain likeness of voices, and through air not breathed, but enclosed in the body, which, striking it, up to the external air X iij
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DE FASCINO 166 audientium aures articulatè omittunt. Vel cùm de vero iudicio nos dimouere, & in errorem inducere volût, veluti in præstigiosis aspectibus fieri consueuit, vt cùm à gallo festucam trahête, & ab homine baculum manibus tenente, longâ trabé omnes trahi arbitrantur. Vterque modus dæmonibus facilis est: primus, quia ad sentiendi actum, rei sensu perceptibilis præsentia requiritur, quæ res vt sensib. offeratur, dæmones præstare possunt, cùm modus eos non lateat. Secundus eade[m] facilitate ab ipsis perfici potest: nam ad indebitam dispositione[m] sentiendi organum alteratione aliqua afficere valent, & sic à vero iudicio in fallaciam, fraudem, ac deceptione[m] inducere, perinde ac cùm febricitantiu[m] palatus malè affectus est, amaras dapes, vinum ac singula iudicat. Nihil namque dæmones fugit, quominus per indebitam dispositione[m] alicuius innaturalis humoris immissi actione circa oculos, aut in aliis sensibus inconsueta & mira nobis nonnulla appareant. Sexta, rerum quarum simulacra in hominum imaginatione recepta sunt, immutationes dæmones faciunt, non secus ac somniorum apparitiones fiunt, quorum in lib. de Som. & Vig. Aristot. causam reddens inquit, Animali dormiente, & ad sentiendi principiu[m] plurimo sanguine descendente, impressiones ex sensibilium motionibus factæ descendunt, & perinde ac si ab ipsis externis rebus phantasia immutaretur, apparitiones fiunt, humorumque dictorum tanta cômotio atq[ue] agitatio cum spirituu[m] eleuatione esse potest, vt huiusmodi apparitiones etia[m] vigilantibus appareant, idque quo pacto fieri queat, in phrenesi laboratiibus animaduertere possumus. Et veluti per humoru[m] agitatione[m] hoc vsuvenire cõtingit, ita per dæmonu[m] vim
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OF FASCINATION 166 the ears of those who are listening are distinctly left out. Or when he wants to divert us from true judgment and lead us into error, just as in deceptive appearances it is customary to do, as when all think that, as a cock drags a straw, and as a man holding a stick in his hands, they are being pulled by a long beam. Both methods are easy for demons: the first, because for the act of sensing, the presence of the thing perceived by the senses is required, which, since the object is presented to the senses, demons can provide, since the manner is not hidden from them. The second can be accomplished by them with the same ease: for they are able to affect the organ of sense with some alteration, so as to bring about an improper disposition, and thus lead from true judgment into error, deceit, and deception, just as when the palate of one suffering from fever is badly affected, it judges bitter foods, wine, and everything else. For nothing escapes the demons, since, by the action of some unnatural humor introduced through an improper disposition, certain unusual and wondrous things may appear to us in the eyes or in other senses. The sixth: demons produce changes in things whose images have been received in the human imagination, not unlike the appearances of dreams, concerning which Aristotle, in his book On Sleep and Waking, giving the cause, says: when the animal is asleep, and much blood descends to the principle of sense, the impressions made by the motions of sensible things descend, and as if the imagination were altered by the external things themselves, appearances are produced; and such a commotion and agitation of the humors, together with the elevation of the spirits, can occur that appearances of this kind even seem to those who are awake, and how this can happen we may observe in those suffering from phrenesis. And just as this happens through the agitation of the humors, so by the power of demons
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L I B E R II. 167 cui omnis corporea materia obtéperat, effici posse non dubitamus: & siue hoc siue alio imperceptibili nobis modo, Nabuchodonozor diuino iussu accidisse, vt Dan. 4. legitur, claru[m] est: ná simul atq[ue] vox de cælo audita est, < Nabuchodonosor quo pacto in bruitio conuersus.> sic dicens, Fænum quasi hos comedes, demens, furens; ac rabidus effectus, iuxta suæ imaginationis potestatem in brutum se mutatum existimauit, & per syluas & aruæ errans herbas vt hos comedebat. Quo quidemodo dæmonum arte parato, illud quod Solin. 20. cap. de Neuris populis asserit, intelligendu[m] puto: qui populi, deu[m] Marte[m] numen colunt, & simulacroru[m] loco enses venerantur. Ij æstatis tepore in lupos mutatur, deinde fatali hoc tempore exacto, in pristinâ faciem ac formâ reuerti sibi videtur. < Plin. de cuiusdam metamorphosi.> Sic illud Plinij intelligi potest lib. 8. cap. 22. Refert enim, quod Euathes inter Græciæ auctores non spertus, tradit, Arcades scribere, ex gente Antæi vnu[m] hominem sorte electu[m] ad stagnum quoddâ regionis eius duci, vestitúque in quercu suspensio tranare, & in deserta abire, atque in lupum mutari, & per annos nouem cum cæteris eiusdem generis animatibus congregari: quo in tepore si ab hominum carne abstinuerit, ad idem stagnu[m] reuerti, & cùm tranauerit, pristinam formam, nouem anno- rú senio addito recipere: Quocirca Agriopas qui Olympiacas scripsit, narrat, Demænetu[m] Parrhasium in sacrificio quod Arcades Ioui Lycæo humana etia[m] hostia tum faciebant, immolati pueri exta degustasse, & in lupum conuersum fuisse: eundem decimo anno restitutum in athleticæ pugilatu certasse, victoremq[ue] cuasisse. Quibusverò superstitionib[us] malesici ad hoc efficiendu[m] vteretur, siue vnguentoru[m] vi, siue verborum prolatione, no[n] clarè habetur, Ouid. tame[n] de Circe, quæ Picum rege[m] in auem. Agriopa historia de Demaneto trasformato.
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L I B E R II. 167 which, since all corporeal matter had obeyed it, we do not doubt could be brought about: and whether by this or by some other imperceptible means to us, Nebuchadnezzar’s having so happened by divine command, as is read in Dan. 4, is clear: for as soon as the voice was heard from heaven, < Nebuchadnezzar, in what manner he was turned into a beast.> saying thus, “You shall eat grass like oxen,” he, made mad and raging, and rabid, according to the power of his own imagination, thought himself changed into a brute, and wandering through woods and fields he ate herbs as oxen do. In this way, indeed, prepared by the art of demons, I think that which Solinus, ch. 20, asserts concerning the peoples of Neuri is to be understood: those peoples worship Mars as a god, and in place of images venerate swords. In the heat of summer they are changed into wolves, then, when this fatal period has passed, they seem to return to their former countenance and form. < Pliny, concerning someone’s metamorphosis.> Thus that passage of Pliny can be understood, book 8, ch. 22. For he reports what Euathes, not inexperienced among the authorities of Greece, relates: that the Arcadians write that from the people of Antaeus one man, chosen by lot, is brought to a certain lake of that region, and, after his clothes are suspended on an oak, he swims across and goes into the wilderness, and is turned into a wolf, and for nine years associates with the other animals of that kind: during which time, if he abstains from human flesh, he returns to the same lake and, when he has swum across, receives back his original form, with nine years’ age added. Wherefore Agriopas, who wrote the Olympiads, narrates that Demanetus of Parrhasia, in the sacrifice which the Arcadians also then made to Zeus Lycaeus with a human victim, tasted the entrails of the sacrificed boy and was turned into a wolf: the same man, restored in the tenth year, competed in athletic boxing and carried off the victory. By what superstitions, however, sorcerers used to effect this, whether by the force of unguents or by the utterance of words, is not clearly known; Ovid, however, speaks of Circe, who turned King Picus into a bird. Agriopa, the history of Demanetus transformed.
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168 DE FASCINO sui nominis mutauit, hæc affert, lib.14. Metamor. Tum bis ad Oceanum, bis se conuertit ad Ortum, Ter iuuenem baculo tetigit, tria carmina dixit. Ego quidem quoties hominu[m] artem & agilitatem animaduerto, qui dæmonibus inferiores natura loge sunt, non miror prænarrata à simplicibus illis mentibus fieri. Hisce namq[ue] oculis præstigiatoré quendam me vidisse memini, qui mira manuu[m] celeritate multa faciebat, quibus mortales in no[n] mediocre admiratione inducebat, & inter alia vini cyathum seruo bibendu[m] prebebat, deinde terebella serui frontem se perforare simulabat, & tota quanta erat terebella in serui caput ingredi videbatur: postea illam se extrahere simulabat, ac tantum vini ex illius serui fronte in cyathum profluere conspiciebatur, quantum seruus biberat. Quòd si manuum & aliorum membrorum dexteritate, celerique actione rem vna pro alia nobis homines demonstrant; quid de dæmonibus censendum est quibus ad nutu[m] corporea materia omnis obedit? Septima, ex terra, aqua, vel aëre quæuis corpora singunt, & quibuslibet rebus similia reddunt. Atque aliquo ex dictis modis id fieri potuit, quod illustrissimus dominus meus Cardinalis Granuellanus narrauit. Nam in Burgundiæ Comitatu in oppido Polinico accidisse fertur, quendam venatoré dum venandi studio per syluam, saltusque peragraret, lupum vidisse, quê cum idem venator sagitta transfixisset, sanguinis signa fugientis lupi quandam casam ingredientia obseruauit: in quam ingrediés venator hominem vulneratum cum quadam muliercula inuenit, quæ viri vulneri in eadem corporis parte illato, qua lupus vulneratus fuerat, medebatur. At venator oppidi Prætorem protinus adiit: qui re intelle- cta,
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168 ON FASCINATION on the change of names, he adduces these words, book 14 of the Metamorphoses: “Then twice he turned toward the Ocean, twice toward the East, three times he touched the young man with his staff, and spoke three charms.” Indeed, whenever I observe the skill and agility of men, who by nature are far inferior to demons, I do not marvel that the things already related are performed by those simple minds. For with these eyes I remember having seen a certain conjurer, who, with marvelous swiftness of hand, performed many tricks by which he brought mortals into no slight admiration, and among other things he would offer a cup of wine to be drunk by a servant; then he would pretend to pierce the servant’s forehead with a drill, and the whole drill, so far as it was, seemed to enter the servant’s head: afterward he would pretend to draw it out, and as much wine from that servant’s forehead would appear to flow into the cup as the servant had drunk. But if by the dexterity of their hands and of the other members, and by quick action, men show us one thing for another; what then should be thought of demons, to whose nod all bodily matter obeys? Seventh, from earth, water, or air they fashion any bodies whatever, and make them like any things whatsoever. And by one of the methods mentioned above, that may have happened which my most illustrious lord Cardinal Granvelle related. For in the County of Burgundy, in the town of Poligny, it is said to have happened that a certain hunter, while in his zeal for hunting roaming through woods and clearings, saw a wolf, and when the same hunter had pierced it through with an arrow, he observed the traces of the fleeing wolf’s blood entering a certain cottage: into which, as he entered, the hunter found a wounded man with a certain little woman, who was treating the man’s wound in the same part of the body where the wolf had been wounded. But the hunter immediately went to the town’s praetor: who, having understood the matter,
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Liber II. 169 [eta], hominem illum vulneratum capi iussit, captumque tormentorum vi verum fateri coëgit: hoc est, se vnectione quadam dæmonum arte confecta lupi formam induisse. Cuius rei in eodem oppido iuxta fores templi fratrum sancti Dominici, monumentum in charta pergamena descriptum hodie extat. Eâdem fieri potuit via, illud quod de Protheo Homerus scribit; quem introducit, Omnia vertentem sese in miracula rerum, Ignémque, horribilémque feram, fluuiúmque liquantem. < Prothei mutabilitas.> Et de Acheloo Ouid. lib.9. Metam. Inferior virtute meas diuertor ad artes, Elabórque viro longum formatus in anguem. Et de Periclymeno, Mira Periclymeni mors est, cui posse figuras, Neptunus dederat. Et de Protheo ac Metra Erisichthonis filia, Nunc aqua, nunc ales, modò bos, modò ceruus abibat. Nec quisquam dæmonu[m], quia maris aut foeminæ figuram sumit, sua natura mas aut foemina verè est. Huiusmodi enim passiones, nô simplices sed compositas substantias consequuntur. < Decororibus à damonibus assumpsis.> Corpora quoque in quę mutantur, flexu facilia sunt, ad omnem configurationem idonea; & sic modò tanquam vir apparent, modò vt foemina, nonnunquam leonis more fremunt, saltant vt caprea, vt canes latrant, ac denique quarumlibet rerum, & animalium imaginem suo arbitratu facillimè induere omnes possunt. < Olai histor. de Hagberta.> Et hinc est, Olao teste, vt Hagberta Vagusti gigantis filia, insolito suæ proceritatis aspectu, nûc co[n]tractioris, nunc exilis, nunc desluentis substatiæ, modò corrugata, modò explicati corporis situm arbitraria Y
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Book II. 169 [eta], he ordered that man, wounded as he was, to be seized, and once captured compelled him by force of torture to confess the truth: namely, that by some slaughter, made by the art of demons, he had assumed the form of a wolf. Of this matter, in the same town, beside the doors of the church of the brothers of Saint Dominic, there still exists today a memorial written on parchment. By the same means it was possible to do that which Homer writes of Proteus; whom he presents “Turning himself into all wonders of things, And into fire, and into a dreadful beast, and into flowing river.” <The mutability of Proteus.> And of Achelous, Ovid, Metamorphoses, book 9: “I, inferior in strength, turn aside to my arts, And slip away, shaped into a long serpent.” And of Periclymenus: “Wonderful is the death of Periclymenus, to whom Neptune had granted the power of taking shapes.” And of Proteus and Metra, daughter of Erisichthon: “Now water, now bird, now bull, now stag he would go away.” Nor is any demon, because he takes the form of a sea or of a woman, truly by nature a male or a female. For passions of this kind follow not simple but composite substances. <About bodies assumed by demons.> The bodies also into which they are changed are pliant in their bending, fit for every configuration; and thus now they appear as a man, now as a woman, sometimes they roar like a lion, leap like a goat, bark like dogs, and finally all can most easily assume at their own will the image of whatever things and animals. <From Olao’s history of Hagberta.> And from this it is, as Olaus testifies, that Hagberta, daughter of the giant Vagust, with an unusual aspect of her tall stature, now of a more contracted, now of a slender, now of a falling substance, sometimes hunched, sometimes with body extended, had a form at her own discretion Y
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170. DE FASCINO mutatione transformare solita sit: atque nunc proceritate cælis inuecta, nûc in hominem angustioris habitus composita cælum deponere, terram suspendere, fontes duros reddere, montes diluere, naues sublimes tollere, sidera è cælis deripere posse crederetur. Præterea si illusiones quas dêmones D. Antonio fecerût, in memoriam adducemus, de illorum deception ac fraude mirari desinemus. < Athanasius verba de illusionibus D. Antonij.> Athanasius namque Alexandrinus Episcopus de S. Antonio refert, Quòd dêmones aliquando vt draco teterrimus, vt puer horridus & niger illi apparebant: sæpè serpentiù formas induentes, omne protinus locum repleuêre phantasiis leonum, tauroru[m], luporu[m], aspidum, serpentiù, scorpionu[m], necnon & pardoru[m] atq[ue] vrsorum: quæ singula secundu[m] suam naturam fremebant, multâque contra D. Antonium minâtes suis dentibus fremebant, quod nullus eoru[m] tentationes sequeretur effectus, quinimò ipsi frustrati ac ludificati essent. Illæ verò quas Poëtæ in suis fabulis inserût, vt de Saturno in equu[m], Tereo in vpupam, Philomela in lusciniam, Io in iuuêcam, Daphne in laurum, Cypariso in cupressum, Clytia in heliotropium, Arethusa in fontem, Batto in lapide[m] indicem, ac reliquæ, quarum narratio apud Ouid. præcipuè fit, esse possunt, vt Laberius de Pythagorica metamorphosi scribit, sicut in Nonianis libris inuenimus: Et audio mala multa etiam ex bonis Par illud, vt nos olim mutant Philosophi, Et nunc de mulo hominem, de muliere Colubrum Faciant, & ex diuersis, diuersa alia. < Plotini verba de animi metamorphosi.> Aut vt Plotinus de animi metamorphosi sentit, qui sic ait: Quicunque humanâ proprietatem seruarût, iterum & ipsi homines renascûtur. Qui aute[m] ad sensum defece-
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170. ON FASCINATION is wont to transform by change: and now, mounted high into the heavens in stature, now reduced into a man of lesser build, it was believed able to cast down heaven, suspend the earth, make springs hard, dissolve mountains, raise up ships on high, snatch the stars from the heavens. Furthermore, if we call to mind the illusions that the demons made to St. Anthony, we shall cease to marvel at their deceit and fraud. < Athanasius’ words on the illusions of St. Anthony.> For Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, relates concerning St. Anthony that the demons sometimes appeared to him as a most hideous dragon, as a horrible black boy: often assuming serpent forms, they immediately filled every place with apparitions of lions, bulls, wolves, asps, serpents, scorpions, and also leopards and bears: each of which roared according to its nature, and with great threats gnashed its teeth against St. Anthony, because none of their temptations took effect, nay rather they themselves were frustrated and made the sport of others. But those transformations which the poets inserted in their fables, such as Saturn into a horse, Tereus into an owl, Philomela into a nightingale, Io into a heifer, Daphne into a laurel, Cyparissus into a cypress, Clytia into heliotrope, Arethusa into a spring, Battus into a stone as a marker, and the rest, of which the narration is found especially in Ovid, may be possible, as Laberius writes concerning the Pythagorean metamorphosis, as we find in the books of Nonnius: And I hear many evils even from good men That same thing, as philosophers once transformed us, And now make a man from a mule, a serpent from a woman, And from different things, different other things. < Plotinus’ words on the metamorphosis of the soul.> Or as Plotinus thinks concerning the metamorphosis of the soul, who says thus: Whoever preserve the property of the human, they in turn are born again as men. But those who have fallen away to sense-
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Liber II. 171 runt, bruta quidem ac stolida animantia redeunt, sed ita tamen, vt qui & iram adiecerint, sera existant, & pro ipsa inter se differentia dissentiant: qui in libidine, & in volu- ptatibus vitam egerint, salacia voluptuaria animalia re- uertantur. Quòd si nec sensu ipso, nec sensus parte vsi fuerint, hi vtique omnes plantæ resurgunt, quoniam in his vel animus tantùm vegetalis fuerit, neque aliud ege- rint, quàm vt in plantas verterentur. Qui autem musicis modulis affecti ac deliniti vixerunt, si in cæteris non de- generarunt, animalia musica renascuntur: qui sine ra- tione ciuitates & imperia rexerunt, aquilæ fiunt, nisi alia prauitate sint infecti. Qui absque sapientia subli- mia improbius tractarunt, cælumque inspexerunt, in alites euaserunt. Qui virtutem ciuilem assequutus est, homo reuersus dicitur; qui eam minimè adeptus est, in ciuile aliquod animal trâsformatus simulatur. Sed ege- rint, ac simulauerint Philosophi illi huiusmodi meta- morphoses, qua intentione ipsis collibuit, clarum est quòd nisi meræ nugæ ac fabulæ sunt, vel ob animi sen- sus celandos, & aliqua mysteria tegenda inuentæ fue- runt: veluti in Ægyptiis eadem de causa literas Hiero- glyphicas excogitasse perhibet. Clemens namque Ale- xandrinus refert, Ægyptios nô quibuslibet mysteria co- misso, nec reru diuinarum cognitione ad prophanos deferre solitos. Extat Lysidis Pythagorei epistola, in qua Hipparchum reprehendit, quòd publicè contrà ac ma- gister instituit, philosopharetur. < Hipparchus reprehensus quòd mysteria vulgaris.> Nec enim fas esse ea omnibus porrigere, quæ paucis & iis quidem disertis communicanda sunt. Nec à Lyside duntaxat, Hippar- chus reprehensus est, sed etiam accusatus à discipulis aliis, & expulsus schola, & propter ipsum, tanquam Y ij
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Book II. 171 they return; indeed, they return as brute and stupid creatures, but yet so that those who have added anger too become sluggish, and, according to their very difference among themselves, are at variance: those who have lived in lust and in pleasures return as lewd, pleasure-seeking animals. But if they have made use neither of sensation itself nor of any part of sensation, all these certainly rise again as plants, since in them there was only the vegetative soul, and they have done nothing else than to be turned into plants. Those, however, who have lived affected and charmed by musical modes, if in other respects they have not degenerated, are born again as musical animals; those who have ruled cities and empires without reason become eagles, unless they are infected with some other depravity. Those who, without wisdom, have dealt wickedly with lofty things and have looked up to the heavens, have escaped into birds. He who has attained civic virtue is said to be returned as a man; he who has not attained it at all is represented as transformed into some civic animal. But that those philosophers made and represented such metamorphoses for whatever purpose pleased them is clear; unless they are mere trifles and fables, or were invented to conceal the feelings of the soul and to cover certain mysteries: just as he says that among the Egyptians hieroglyphic letters were devised for the same reason. For Clement of Alexandria reports that the Egyptians were accustomed to entrust mysteries not to just anyone, nor to convey knowledge of divine things to the profane. There is a letter of Lysides the Pythagorean, in which he rebukes Hipparchus because, contrary to what the master had established, he was philosophizing in public. <Hipparchus rebuked for making mysteries common.> For it was not lawful to impart to all what should be communicated only to a few, and to those indeed who were eloquent. Nor was Hipparchus rebuked by Lysides alone, but he was also accused by other disciples, expelled from the school, and because of him, as though
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Propter mortuum facta columna est. Plato etiam Dionysio de quibusdam sacris mysteriis scribens, monet vt epistolam è vestigio decerpat, ne in indigni vulgi manus perueniat. Tantæ olim priscis illis philosophis curæ fuit, disciplinarum mysteria à contemptu & prophano abusu defendere. Sicut Cæsar quoque de bello Gallico, li.6. de Druidaru[m] institutis dicit:& ex plerisque Hebræorum doctorum, ac ex nostris Hilario & Origene idem colligitur. At si ob animi intentiones celandas, huiusce modi transmutationes inuestigatæ non sunt, sed demonum arte procuratæ, asserendum est, vt D. Aug.18. de Ciu. Dei inquit, quòd transmutationes hominu[m] in animalia bruta, quæ dicuntur arte dæmonum factæ, non fuerunt secundum veritate, sed solùm secundum apparentiam, vt enucleanimus:& in Anquirensi concilio his verbis sancitum est: Quisquis credit posse fieri, aliquam creaturâ aut in melius aut deterius immutari, aut transformari in aliam speciem, vel in aliâ similitudine[m], nisi ab ipso Creatore qui omnia fecit, & per quê omnia facta sunt, proculdubio infidelis est, & pagano deterior. Quòd autem perverboru[m] vires fieri nequiverint, probatione non indigere existimo. Satis enim superque à nobis demonstratum est, verba nihil amplius efficere posse, quàm ea præ se ferre, ad quæ exprimenda ac significanda instituta fuerunt. Miniméque ob aërem à corde respiratu[m], nec ex spe & persuasione, aut ex verborum commistione, ex siderum virtute, ex hominu[m] genituris, vel ex animi potestate aliam vim quàm animum exprimendi, verba habere possunt, vt suo loco latissimè diximus.
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It was made a pillar because of the dead one. Plato also, writing to Dionysius about certain sacred mysteries, warns that the letter should be torn up at once, lest it come into the hands of the unworthy crowd. Such care was once taken by those ancient philosophers to protect the mysteries of the disciplines from contempt and profane misuse. Likewise Caesar, in De Bello Gallico , book 6, speaks of the institutions of the Druids; and the same may be gathered from many Hebrew doctors, and from our own Hilary and Origen. But if, in order to conceal the intentions of the mind, transmutations of this kind were not investigated but brought about by the art of demons, it must be affirmed, as St. Augustine says in book 18 of De Civitate Dei , that the transmutations of men into brute animals, which are said to have been made by the art of demons, were not in truth, but only in appearance, as we have explained. And it was decreed in the Council of Ancyra in these words: Whoever believes that some creature can be changed, either for the better or for the worse, or transformed into another species or another likeness, except by the very Creator who made all things, and through whom all things were made, is without doubt an infidel and worse than a pagan. That such things could not be done by the power of words, I think needs no proof. For it has been sufficiently and more than sufficiently demonstrated by us that words can accomplish nothing more than what they present themselves as, namely the things for which they were instituted to express and signify. And words can have no force at all beyond expressing the mind, neither from the air breathed out by the heart, nor from hope and persuasion, nor from the mingling of words, nor from the power of the stars, nor from men's nativities, nor from the power of the soul, as we have very fully said in its proper place.
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Liber II. 173 Corpora de loco ad locum mira celeritate dæmonum, non verborum vi, transferri possunt. Cap. XIII. <Ordo huius mundi pars præcipua.> P RÆCIPVA huius mundi pulchritudo in ordine ac sua dispositione cernitur, in qua mira Dei sapientia manifestatur, quæ à mudi exordio, vt D. Aug. in 3. de Trinit. ait, Corpora omnia simplicibus substantiis obedire iussit, quò per huiusmodi abstractas mentes, motibus intermediis vniuersa corpora gubernaretur. Et quanuis per alios motus, aliquid quod rei intimum sit, varietur: vt quantitas, qualitas, forma substantialis, puta per motum qui est ad mixti formam, & per eum qui generationem efficit; & alios; nihilominus per localem motum corpora secundum aliquid externum duntaxat mutantur, qui quidem localis motus, immediatius, vt ita dicam; aliis motibus mouet: alij namque motus non nisi hoc locali intermedio à simplici substantia oriuntur. <Motuum differentia et variatio.> At inter hos motus maxima differentia est; si quidem mutatio per motum localem à substâtia simplici immediatè fieri potest, quasi ab externo, & remoto agente; quod de aliis motibus dici non potest. Cuius rei eiusmodi ratio reddi potest: Nam variatio per motum localem, etsi ratione mobilis perfectissima sit, vt Arist. 8. de Physico auditu probat, respectu tamen sui debilis actio censetur, quæ à remoto quoque agente fieri potest. <Animalium imperfectoris orbus.> Cuius quidem imperfectæ ac debilis mutationis ex imperfectorum & è putri materia nascetium animalium ortu exemplum afferre possumus, quæ animalia imperfecta, per solam coelestiu[m] corporu[m] virtutem, vt à sua causa externa, & remota absque Y. iij
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Book II. 173 Bodies can be transferred from place to place with marvelous speed by demons, not by the force of words. Chapter XIII. <The chief part of the order of this world.> The chief beauty of this world is seen in its order and arrangement, in which the marvelous wisdom of God is manifest, who, as St. Aug. says in Book 3 of the Trinity, from the beginning of the world ordained that all bodies should obey simple substances, so that through such abstract minds, by intermediate motions, all bodies might be governed. And although through other motions something inward to the thing may be changed, such as quantity, quality, substantial form, as by the motion that is toward the form of a mixture, and by that which produces generation; and others; nevertheless, by local motion bodies are changed only with respect to something external, and indeed that local motion, if I may so speak, moves the others more immediately; for other motions arise from a simple substance only through this local motion as an intermediate one. <Difference and variation of motions.> But among these motions there is the greatest difference; for change by local motion can be brought about immediately by a simple substance, as though by an external and remote agent; which cannot be said of the other motions. A reason for this can be given in this way: For change by local motion, although in respect of the movable thing it is most perfect, as Aristotle proves in Book 8 of the Physics, is nevertheless considered, with respect to itself, a weak action, which can also be caused by a remote agent. <The orbit of less perfect animals.> Of this indeed imperfect and weak change we can give as an example the origin of animals born from imperfect and putrid matter, which imperfect animals, by the power of the celestial bodies alone, as from their external and remote cause, without Y. iii
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DE FASCINO 174 semine oriuntur, & procreantur. verùm præstantiores & nobiliores effectus causam proximam postulant, vt sunt cæterorum motuum actiones, & præcipuè per- sectorum animantium ortus. Cùm ergo substantiæ simplices, quæ corpora coelestia mouent, sua natura ipsis coelestibus corporibus præstantiores, ac digniores sint, necnon Dæmones communem, & eandem natu- ram cum illis simplicibus mentibus, quos Angelos appellamus, <Dæmonibus quoad motum locale omnia corpora obediunt.> habeant; apertum, & manifestum relinquitur, dæmonibus, quantum ad motum localem vniuersa corpora obedire: idque ea ratione fieri censeo; nam dæmonum actio per virtutis contactum sit: qui contactus per applicationem cognitionis rei agendæ, & ipsius actionis, atque per efficacem agendi voluntatem perficitur, vt quando dæmon de loco ad locum corpus aliquod transferre vult; vehem[m]eti desiderio considerat locum à quo, & ad quem, & etia corpus transferendum, & actionem, quâ efficaci voluntate comprehendens perficere cupit: & illico actio absoluitur, corpusque dæmonis volutati, nisi Deus secus iubeat, obtemperat. Quam sententiam < Motus totius et partis idè est.> per rationem à D. Aug. 3. de Trinit. sumptam corroborare possumus, quia idè est motus totius & partis, vt Arist. 3. de Physico auditu fatetur; sed dæmones ex diuersis mundi partibus quædam semina colligunt, & transferunt, quæ ad certos, & determinatos effectus perficiendos adhibent: igitur huiuscemodi effectus, qui vel corpora, vel corporis partes sunt, ab vno ad alium locum portare possunt. Et quoniam hac de re, maxima inter Doctores controuersia est: nonnulli enim ex legum peritis id à dæmonibus præstari posse negant: inter quos Ioannes Franciscus Ponzinibius, & plures
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DE FASCINO 174 are born from seed and are propagated. But more excellent and nobler effects require a proximate cause, as do the actions of the other motions, and especially the births of perfect animals. Since therefore the simple substances which move the heavenly bodies are by their nature more excellent and more worthy than the heavenly bodies themselves, and since the demons have a common nature, and the same nature with those simple minds whom we call Angels, <With regard to motion in place, all bodies obey demons.> it is left clear and manifest that all bodies obey demons as regards local motion; and I judge that this happens for this reason: for the action of demons takes place by contact of power; and this contact is brought about through the application of knowledge of the thing to be done, and of the action itself, together with an effective will to act. Thus, when a demon wishes to transfer some body from one place to another, he considers with intense desire the place from which and the place to which, and also the body to be transferred, and the action, which he desires to accomplish by an effective will; and immediately the action is completed, and the body obeys the demon’s will, unless God commands otherwise. We can support this opinion <The motion of the whole and of the part is the same.> by an argument taken from St. Augustine, De Trinitate, book 3, because the motion of the whole and of the part is the same, as Aristotle admits in book 3 of the Physics; but demons gather certain seeds from various parts of the world, and transfer them, and employ them for bringing about certain and determined effects: therefore they can carry effects of this kind, which are either bodies or parts of bodies, from one place to another. And because there is a very great controversy about this matter among the doctors: for some jurists deny that such things can be performed by demons; among whom are Ioannes Franciscus Ponzinibius, and many
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Liber II. 175 alij, qui maleficarum imaginationem à dæmonibus mo- ueri & agitari putant, non quidem nouam formam in organa imprimendo, sed formas in sensuum organis receptas localiter, ad vim apprehensiuam transmutan- do, vt inde tales apparitiones ac visa in somnis fiat, qua- les ab illis desiderantur, & à dæmonibus inferuntur. Theologiæ professores in contrariam abeunt senten- tiam, non modò hominum, sed quarumlibet rerum corpora, ad quam remotissima loca, breui temporis spa- tio à dæmonibus ferri posse defendentes: hac de causa; vt huius perplexæ dubitationis veritas habeatur, & nulla prorsus dubitandi ansa posthac relinquatur, duo- rum temporum discrimine dæmones cum maleficis considero: Primò respectu potestatis, qua ante Iesu Christi Salvatoris nostri aduentum fungebantur, & tunc clarum est, quòd non tantùm corpora transferre, verùm multò maiora efficere poterant. & quo sibi diuinum cultum usurparent, hominesque ita deceptos tenerent, humanum sanguinem sibi immolari faciebat. Dionysius enim Halicarnasseus in primo Antiquitatum refert, Iouem, & Apollinem, quoniam decima hominum pars non fuisset sibi immolata, magnas Italis calamitates induxisse, vsque adeo vt nulli fructus ad maturitatem vsque permanerent, sed immaturi desluerent: fontiu[m] alij bibi non possent, alij desicerent: mulieres abortu[m] facerent: homines & pecora variis morbis passim interiret, donec decima redditæ esset. Diodorus quoq[ue] testis est, Carthagine[n]ses Saturno humanas hostias immolari solitos. Quos quidé dæmones, lemures, faunos, satyros, laruas, maues, penates, nymphas, semideos, musas, & multis aliis nominibus antiquitas appellabat. <Pon Zinibij de Dæmonio potestate sententia.> <Dæmonio potestas dupliciter consideratur.> <Halicarnasseus de sacris Ioui et Apollini præstatis.> <Dæmonio nominaria.>
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Liber II. 175 others, who think that the imagination of witches is moved and agitated by demons, not indeed by impressing a new form upon the organs, but by locally transmuting the forms received in the organs of the senses into the apprehensive power, so that thence such apparitions and sights in dreams arise as are desired by them and brought about by demons. The professors of theology go over to the opposite opinion, defending that not only the bodies of men, but even bodies of whatever things, can be carried by demons in a short space of time to the most distant places: for this reason, that the truth of this perplexing doubt may be obtained, and that no pretext at all for doubting may hereafter remain, I consider demons together with witches with the distinction of two times: first, with respect to the power by which they were operating before the coming of Jesus Christ our Savior, and then it is clear that they could not only transfer bodies, but also accomplish much greater things. And, so that they might usurp divine worship for themselves and keep men thus deceived, he caused human blood to be sacrificed to him. For Dionysius of Halicarnassus in the first book of the Antiquities reports that Jupiter and Apollo, because the tenth part of men had not been sacrificed to them, brought great calamities upon the Italians, to such a degree that no fruits remained until ripeness, but fell away unripe; some could not drink from the springs; others failed; women would miscarry; men and cattle would perish everywhere from various diseases, until the tithe was paid. Diodorus also bears witness that the Carthaginians were accustomed to sacrifice human victims to Saturn. These demons, indeed, antiquity called lemures, fauni, satyri, larvae, maues, penates, nymphs, semidei, muses, and by many other names. <Pon Zinibij de Dæmonio potestate sententia.> <Dæmonio potestas dupliciter consideratur.> <Halicarnasseus de sacris Ioui et Apollini præstatis.> <Dæmonio nominaria.>
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Tantáque hominum cum dæmonibus erat familiaritas, vt binos vnicuique deputatos arbitrarétur; quos genios appellabant, à quibus bona & mala contingere ipsis putabant, & quandoque nec consultantibus, nec cogitantibus hominibus, sed ex improuiso multa secunda & aduersa ab ipsis geniis, iis nuntiata fuisse creditum est. < Bonus et malus genius.> Quod quidem Marco Bruto Platonis asseclaru[m] studio- so, ipsiusque sectatori Plutarchus euenisse narrat, asse- rens, quòd Brutus cùm ex Asia traiecturus esset exercitum, noctis conticinio, luna non admodum lucente, to- tus exercitus silentio tenebatur, ipse verò animo quiddâ reuoluens, visus est quempiam ingredientem audire; respiciensque ad ianuam spectru[m] cernit immane, & pro- digiosum, vasti & horrendi corporis ad se accedere, si- bique tacitum assistere. Quod protinus rogare coepit, Quisnam (inquens) aut hominum, aut Deorum es? aut qua de causa ad nos venisti? Ad hæc spectrum, Tuus sum, inquit, Brute malus Genius, in Philippis me vide- bis. quæ verba rei euentus comprobauit; nam cùm Bru- tus in Philippis esset, antequam eius exercitus à C. Octa- uio vinceretur; & ipse sibi, ne viuus in hostium manus veniret, mortem conscisceret, rursus ei Genius apparuit. Idé de Dione Platonis discipulo, ac familiarissimo Plu- <t> <Dionis visio ex Plus.> tarchus refert: si quidem dum Syracusis coniuratio con- tra Dionem pararetur, & ipse vesperi cogitabundus in porticu domi sederet, ibi strepitu repentè facto, respi- ciens clara adhuc luce, in alteram porticus partem, quâ- dam mulierem, cultu & facie nihil à tragica abhorren- tem furia conspexit, quæ scopis domum verrebat; & ea- dem nocte, eius filius ferè adultus ob nescio quem ani- mi dolorem, & iram leui de caussa susceptam, è fastigio domus
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There was such familiarity between men and demons that they were thought to have two allotted to each individual; these they called genii, from whom they believed both good and evil things came to them, and sometimes, when men were consulting neither nor even thinking, many favorable and adverse things were believed to have been announced to them unexpectedly by those genii. < Good and evil genius.> This indeed Plutarch relates as having happened to Marcus Brutus, an eager follower and disciple of Plato, saying that when Brutus was about to cross over from Asia with his army, at the stillness of night, with the moon not shining very brightly, the whole army was held in silence, while he himself, turning over something in his mind, seemed to hear someone entering; and looking toward the door he saw a huge and monstrous specter, of vast and dreadful body, come toward him and stand silently beside him. He immediately began to ask, Who are you, he said, a man or a god? Or for what reason have you come to us? To this the specter replied, I am your evil genius, Brutus; you will see me at Philippi. These words were confirmed by the outcome of the matter; for when Brutus was at Philippi, before his army was defeated by C. Octavius, and before he himself took his own life so as not to fall alive into the hands of the enemy, the Genius appeared to him again. The same story Plutarch tells of Dion, a disciple of Plato and very intimate friend of Plutarch <t> <Vision of Dion from Plus.> Indeed, while a conspiracy was being prepared against Dion at Syracuse, and he himself in the evening sat in thought in the portico of his house, there, suddenly a noise having arisen, looking back, he saw, in clear daylight still, at the other part of the portico, a certain woman, in dress and appearance not at all unlike a tragic fury, who was sweeping the house with brooms; and the same night, his son, nearly grown, because of some grief of mind or anger taken up for a slight cause, from the roof of the house
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Liber II. 177 domus se præcipitem dedit, & interiit. Paucis pòst diebus Dion ipse à coniuratis interfectus est. Simile spectru[m] < Caramandi Regulo visio.> per quietem specie toruæ mulieris à Caramando Regulo visum est, cùm Massiliam vrbem obsideret, à quo exterritus, vt Iustinus Historicus lib. 43. ait, vltrò pacem cum Massiliens. fecit. qui Caramandus vrbem ingressus cùm in arcem Mineruæ venisset, conspecto in portibus simulacro Deæ, quam per quietem viderat, repentè exclamauit, illam esse, quæ se nocte exterruisset, illam quæ recedere ab obsidione iussisset. < Socratis Genius.> Quid dicam de Socrate, circa quem, vt Lactantius affirmat, assiduè dæmô loquebatur? Idem Apuleius confirmat, qui hac de causa librum co[m]posuit, quem de Deo Socratis, inscripsit. Idem in lib. de morte Socratis Xenophon refert, qui eum sic loquêtem, ab Atheniens. condemnatum inducit: Enimvero iam bis mihi defensionem paranti dæmô aduersatur. < duramentum per Genium apud veteres solenne.> Quocirca per Genium iurare maximum apud veteres iuramentum extitit. Et à Caligula multi supplicio affecti leguntur, qui per suum Genium peierauerant. Illo inquam tempore, quia dæmones totum mundum deceptum habebant, laxásque potestatis habenas eis Deus reliquerat, nô secus atque equi alati, homines ad longissima loca per aerem portasse leguntur, vt de Pasete, Exagono Oblogenum legato, Circe, Medea, Canidia, Tyridate, Apuscoro, Tarato, Marmaridio, Hippoco, Arnuphi Ægyptio, & innumeris aliis scriptu[m] inuenimus, qui veluti volucrens dæmonu[m] ope aduolasse perhibentur. Secudò post Saluatoris nostri aduentu[m] dæmonu[m] potestas considerâda est, quæ hoc tépore multò minor fuit, quia post eius aduentum, vetustatis tenebræ ceciderunt. Nam < Christo adue[n]tu vetustates tenebræ ceciderunt.> dum in Ægypto cum Ioseph, & matre fuit, eo temporis Z
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Liber II. 177 the house threw itself headlong, and perished. A few days later Dion himself was killed by the conspirators. A vision in sleep, in the form of a grim woman, was seen by Caramandus Regulus when he was besieging the city of Massilia; terrified by it, as the historian Justin says in book 43, he of his own accord made peace with the Massilians. When Caramandus had entered the city and come into the citadel of Minerva, seeing in the porticoes the statue of the goddess, whom he had seen in his sleep, he suddenly cried out that she was the one who had frightened him in the night, the one who had ordered him to withdraw from the siege. What shall I say about Socrates, around whom, as Lactantius affirms, a daemon was constantly speaking? Apuleius confirms the same thing, who for this reason composed a book which he entitled On the God of Socrates. Xenophon likewise reports it in the book on the death of Socrates, introducing him as speaking thus when condemned by the Athenians: Indeed, even now, as I am making my defense for the second time, the daemon opposes me. For this reason, to swear by one’s Genius was the greatest oath among the ancients. And under Caligula many are read to have been punished, who had perjured themselves by their own Genius. At that time, I say, because the demons had deceived the whole world, and God had left them the reins of power loose, it is read that they carried men through the air to the most distant places, no differently than winged horses; as we find written of Pasetes, Exagon, the envoy of Oblogenes, Circe, Medea, Canidia, Tyridates, Apuscoro, Taratus, Marmaridius, Hippoco, Arnuphius the Egyptian, and countless others, who are said to have flown as if through the aid of demons. Secondly, after the coming of our Savior, the power of demons is to be considered, which at that time was much less, because after his coming the darkness of antiquity fell away. For while he was in Egypt with Joseph and his mother, at that time
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178 DE FASCINO spatio simulacra Deoru[m], quos gens stulta, & omniu[m] erro- rum mater coluit, sua sponte cecidisse dicuntur. Quod Porphyrius ( vti Eusebius dicit) Christiani nominis hostis, in libro, quem aduersus religionem nostram scripsit, < Porphyrij testimonium de Idoloriu[m] casu.> hoc modo testatur: Nunc verò mirantur, inquit, si ta[m] multa peste Cuiitas vexatur, cùm & Æsculapius, & alij dij longè absint ab ea. Postea enim quàm Iesus colitur, nihil vtilitatis à diis conseqvi possumus. Dæmones namque ante Christi cruciatum, duplicem manum habere dicebantur, attrahentem vnam, impellentem alteram. < Ante Christu[m] passum Dæmones duplicem manum habebant.> Manus attrahes, viros Deo charos ad limbum trahendi potestas erat: Impellens autem erat facultas, quæ homines per innumeros fallendi modos præcipites dabat, & inter alios ille præcipuè vigebat, quo dæmones diuinum cultum sibi vsurpabant: quod vt assequerentur, hominibus sibi iuramento, aut alio foedere, ac lege deuinctis, ad nutum omnia concedebant. Quæ verò aut suas vires excedebant, aut Deus agere non sinebat, in iis homines illusionibus fallebant, vt illi id se assecutos esse putarent, quod dæmones spoponderant, aut mortales concupiuerant. Et ideo de Medæa apud Ouid. in Epistolis sic legitur. Illa reluctantem, cursu deducere lunam Nititur, & tenebris addere solis equos. Illa refrenat aquas: obliquaque flumina sistit. Illa loco syluas, viuâque saxa mouet. < Adæ peccatu[m] per Christi passibulu[m] delesum est.> Primæ manui ob fortitudinem qua prædita erat, nemo resistere poterat. & hæc à Domino nostro penitus amputata fuit, quia per eius cruciatum Adæ peccatu[m] deletum est, cælorumque portæ patefactæ sunt, & ille locus qui limbus dicebatur, destructus est. Et ideo Apocalyp.
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178 OF FASCINATION the simulacra of the gods, whom the foolish race, mother of all errors, is said to have worshiped, fell of their own accord. This Porphyry, an enemy of the Christian name, as Eusebius says, in the book he wrote against our religion, bears witness in this manner: “Now indeed,” he says, “they marvel if the city is afflicted by so great a plague, since both Aesculapius and the other gods are far absent from it. For after Jesus began to be worshiped, we can obtain no benefit from the gods.” For the demons, before the suffering of Christ, were said to have a twofold hand, one drawing, the other driving away. < The demons had a twofold hand before Christ suffered.> The drawing hand was the power to drag men dear to God to the edge. The driving hand, however, was the ability which gave them power to deceive men by countless ways; and among these that one especially prevailed by which the demons usurped divine worship for themselves: and in order to achieve this, they granted everything at their nod to men bound to them by oath, or by some other covenant and law. But whatever exceeded their own powers, or God did not permit them to do, in these they deceived men by illusions, so that they thought they had obtained what the demons had promised, or what mortals had desired. And therefore, concerning Medea, these lines are read in Ovid’s Epistles: She strives to draw down the reluctant moon by her course, and to add the horses of the sun to the darkness. She restrains the waters; and bends the wandering rivers. She moves forests from their place, and living rocks. < By the Passion of Christ, Adam’s sin was destroyed.> Against the first hand, because of the strength with which it was endowed, no one was able to resist. And this was utterly cut off by our Lord, because through his suffering Adam’s sin was destroyed, the gates of heaven were opened, and that place which was called limbus was destroyed. And therefore Apocalyp.
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Liber II. 179 20. cap. D. Ioannes ait, Vidi Angelum, id est Christum, descendêtem de Coelo, habentem clauê abyssi, & cathe- nam magnâ in manu sua; & apprehêdit draconem ser- pentem antiquum, qui est diabolus, & ligauit eü. Et Sal- uator noster apud Ioanne cap. 12. inquit, Nûc Princeps huius mundi eiicietur foras. Manum verò impellentem ita strenuam habebat, vt ei quisquâ vix resistere posset. & hæc à Domino nostro non penitus sublata est, cùm sic expedierit, verùm encruata, ac debilitata fuit. & propter- ea dæmonu[m] potestas, post Christi cruciatum, quantu[m] ad homines per aerem ferendos, duobus modis considera- ri potest: Primo cùm improborum confusio, Dei gloria, Ecclesiæ vtilitas augetur, ac fides in fidelium animis lar- giores radices mittit, & sic homines, tum à bonis, tum à malis Angelis per aerem sublatos esse legimus; & nunc si Christi fidelium hominu[m] vtilitati conduceret, ferren- tur. Quantùm verò ad malos Angelos spectat, ex D. Ma- ximo Episcopo Taurinense, ex Hieronymo, Arnobio, Damaso & ex sancto Lino Simoné Magum, per aerem sublatum habemus, his verbis: Cùm Simon Magus se Christu[m] diceret, & tanqua[m] filium ad patrem assereret vo- lando posse conscendere: atq; elatus subitò magicis ar- tibus volare coepisset; tum sanctus Petrus fixis genibus precatus est Dominum; & precautione sancta vicit magi- cam leuitatem. Tunc igitur Petrus velut vinculum illum de sublimi aere deposuit: & quodam præcipitio in saxo elidens, eius crura confregit: & hoc in opprobrio facti illius, vt qui paulo antè, volare tentauerat, subitò ambu- lare non posset, & qui pennas assumpserat, plantas a- mitteret. Sed ne fortè hoc mirum videatur, quòd Ma- gus ille præsente Apostolo per aerem aliquado volitaue- Z ij
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Book II. 179 20. cap. D. John says, I saw an Angel, that is Christ, descending from Heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand; and he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the devil, and bound him. And our Savior, in John chap. 12, says: Now the Prince of this world shall be cast out. But he had such a mighty hand striking, that scarcely anyone could resist him. And this was not entirely taken away from our Lord, since it was expedient so, but it was broken and weakened. And therefore the power of demons, after Christ’s passion, as far as carrying men through the air is concerned, may be considered in two ways: First, when the confusion of the wicked, the glory of God, and the benefit of the Church is increased, and faith takes deeper root in the souls of believers, and thus we read that men were carried through the air, both by good and by evil Angels; and now, if it were to the benefit of Christ’s faithful men, they would be borne through the air. But as far as evil Angels are concerned, from D. Ma- ximus, Bishop of Turin, from Jerome, Arnobius, Damasus, and from saint Linus we have Simon Magus carried through the air, in these words: When Simon Magus said that he was Christ, and as though he were able to ascend flying to the Father as a son: and when, raised up, he had suddenly begun to fly by magical arts; then Saint Peter, with knees fixed, prayed the Lord; and by holy prayer he overcame magical levity. Then therefore Peter, as it were a bond, cast him down from the lofty air: and hurling him by a kind of fall against a rock, he broke his legs: and this was done to the disgrace of that deed, so that he who a little before had attempted to fly, should suddenly be unable to walk, and he who had assumed wings should lose his feet. But lest perhaps this seem marvelous, that the Magus in the presence of the Apostle had at times flown through the air Z ij
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180 DE FASCINO rit, hoc patientia Petri fecit. Permisit enim illum in sublime ascendere, vt ex altiori loco cuerteretur. Voluit cu[m] in excelsum leuari ad conspectum omnium, vt ruentem illum de excelso, oculi omnium peruiderent. Ecce quo- modo ex volatu huius perfidi malesici à dæmone eue[n]cti illius confusio, opprobrium, & poena secula est, Dei verò gloria in Sanctis viris manifestata est. ex quo fides in animis credentium corroborata est, in cæteris verò adhuc infidelibus altas radices egit, cu[m] magna fidelium hominum lætitia, videntium quæ ab ipsis crederentur, miraculis confirmari. Huic exemplo non admodum dissimile est illud, quod Vinc. in speculo histor. lib. 25. Cap. 26. asserit, Anglicanam scilicet foeminam arte magica illusam à dæmonibus post dira tormenta ad aera cum clamoribus horrendis fuisse raptam. Prætermitto recentiora multorum maleficorum lemurum & strigum exempla, quæ tum à Paulo Grillando, tum ab aliis afferuntur. qui omnes à dæmonibus per aerem viros ac foeminas in longissimas partes translatas sibi constare fatentur. Illud autem, quod Olaus Magnus refert, non prætermittam. Oddo Danicus, inq[ui]t, pirata maximus, adeò magica arte doctus extitit, vt absque carina altum pererrans, hostilia sæpe nauigia, concitatis carmine procellis cuerteret. Idé de Othino maiore atq[ue] seniore inter magos refert, qui Hadirigú quendá Daniæ Regem magicis præstigiis turpiter illusum, atque logius à suis familiaribus auulsum, cum equo per vasta maris spatia ad propria reduxit. Sic de Hollero mago affirmat: qui adeo in magica arte clarus euasit, vt ad traicienda maria osse, quod diris carminibus obsignasset, nauigij loco vteretur, nec segnius eo, quàm celerrimo velo-
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180 OF FASCINATION this, Peter’s patience accomplished. For he allowed him to ascend on high, so that he might be cast down from a higher place. He wished him to be lifted up in the sight of all, so that, as he fell from on high, the eyes of all might behold it. Behold in what manner, from the flight of this treacherous magician, brought about by the demon, his confusion, disgrace, and punishment became everlasting, but the glory of God was manifested in holy men. From this, faith was strengthened in the minds of believers; and in the rest, who were still unbelievers, it took deep root, to the great joy of faithful men, who saw the things they believed to be confirmed by miracles. Not very unlike this example is that which Vinc. in Speculum histor. lib. 25, cap. 26 asserts, namely, that an English woman, deceived by the art of magic and after dire torments seized by demons, was with horrid cries carried off through the air. I pass over the more recent examples of many sorcerers, lemures, and striges, which are brought forward both by Paulus Grillandus and by others. All of them confess that it is certain that by demons men and women were transported through the air to very distant places. But I shall not omit what Olaus Magnus relates. Oddo the Dane, he says, was a greatest pirate, so learned in the magical art that, without a keel, traversing the deep, he often overthrew hostile ships by stormy winds stirred up with a chant. He says the same of greater and older Othin among the magicians, who, by magical tricks, shamefully deceived a certain King Hadirigú of Denmark, and, torn away from his companions, brought him back with his horse to his own country across the vast stretches of the sea. Thus he asserts concerning Hollero the magician: he became so renowned in the magical art that, for crossing the seas, he used as a ship a bone which he had sealed with dire incantations, and he made the voyage no less swiftly than with the fastest sail-
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LIBER II. 181 Christi in montem eue- tio. rum ventorumque vsu proiecta aquarum obstacula su- peraret. Quinimò & Christus ipse à dæmone à quo ten- tatus fuit, se supra templi fastigium, ac sublimem mon- tem portandum permisit, vt D. Gregor. in Matth.4.cap. inquit. De sanctis quoque quibusda viris legitur, quod ipsi per dæmones, veluti per alatos equos, diuini oracu- li lumine afflati, à longissunis orbis partibus sese feren- dos curarunt, sicut de S. Antidio Archiepiscopo Bisun- tino scriptum inuenimus, qui non multarum horarum spatio à dæmone, quasi per mulum alatum ac volucrem, Spiritus sancti iussu se Romam deferendum mandauit. Quod verò cùm sic expediat, etiam per bonos Angelos corpora per aërem sublata legantur, de beatæ virginis Domini nostri Iesu Christi æde exemplum manifestum habemus, quam à Nazareth vsque ad Illyricum, & illinc vsque ad cuiusdam mulieris nemus quæ Loreta appel- labatur, transtulerunt. Quid? quod postquàm Eunuchus Reginæ Æthiopum à Philippo Apostolo salutaré ba- ptismum accepit, Angelus Domini rapuit Philippum, atque in Azotu transtulit? Validissimo quoque suo im- petu; Angelus diuinum Prophetam Ezechielem assum- psit, vt Ezechiel ipse fatetur: Et aspexi, inquit, & ecce si- militudo viri à labiis suis, & inferius ignis, & à labiis eius & superius tanquam visio electri: & accepit me à vertice in spiritu suo in medio cæli & terræ, & deduxit me in Ie- rusalem. Idè de Abacuch Propheta legimus, quem An- gelus sui spiritus impetu à Iudæa in Babylonem cu[m] ali- mento portauit, ipsumque in lacum leonum, non solu- tis illinc signaculis, intulit, & Domini seruus Daniel co- medit: rursusque idem Angelus nulla interposita mora, in locum suum Abacuch restituit, nihil ei impedimenti Z. iij
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LIBER II. 181 of Christ into the mountain. ... of the winds, and by use of the winds, overcome the obstacles of the waters. Nay rather, Christ himself also, when tempted by the demon, allowed himself to be carried up above the pinnacle of the temple and the lofty mountain, as St. Gregory says in Matthew 4, ch. 4. Likewise, of certain holy men it is read that they, as though by demons like winged horses, inspired by the light of divine oracle, took care to have themselves conveyed from the farthest parts of the world; as we find written of St. Antidius, Archbishop of Besançon, who within not many hours caused himself to be borne to Rome by a demon, as it were by a winged and flying mule, at the command of the Holy Spirit. And since, when it is thus fitting, bodies are also read to have been raised through the air by good Angels, we have a clear example in the house of the Blessed Virgin, the Mother of our Lord Jesus Christ, which they carried from Nazareth to Illyricum, and thence to a certain grove of a woman who was called Loreta. What of this, that after the Eunuch of the Queen of the Ethiopians received saving baptism from the Apostle Philip, the Angel of the Lord caught away Philip and conveyed him to Azotus? By the most powerful force of his own impulse also, an Angel took up the divine Prophet Ezekiel, as Ezekiel himself confesses: And I looked, says he, and behold the likeness of a man from his lips, and beneath fire, and from his lips and above as the appearance of electrum; and he took me by the top in his spirit, in the midst of heaven and earth, and led me into Jerusalem. The same we read of the Prophet Habacuc, whom the Angel, by the force of his spirit, carried from Judea to Babylon with food, and placed him in the lions’ den, not loosing the seals therefrom, and the servant of the Lord Daniel ate; and again the same Angel, with no delay intervening, restored Habacuc to his own place, with nothing hindering him. Z. iij
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182 DE FASCINO < Corporis cælestium celerimus cursus.> afferens quominus eâdem hora rediret, eodemque cibo messores suos copiosè aleret. Prætermitto cælestia illa, lucidáq[ue] ac perspicua corpora, quæ cùm vastissimæ molis sint, agitatione tamen adeò rapida feruntur, vt vigintiquatuor horarum spatio virtute Angelorum quotidie orbem suum co[n]ficiant, quos quidem angelos Arist. per naturæ lumen simplices mentes orbibus assistentes appellauit. < Dæmonum illusio quis corpora trâsserri persua- dent.> Quòd ni huiusmodi vtilitas cum improborum hominum infamia ac poena, ex maleficorum per aërem volatu subsequatur, nullo pacto dæmones id attentaturos affirmare auderem: cùm Deus Opt. Max. nunc dæmones suo arbitratu quidquid velint, agere non patiatur: sed potius crederem, vnguentorum vi, dæmonum arte factorum, maleficos oblinitos, aut per alia signa & verba ludificatos vehementi somno consopiri, in quo per dæmones simulacris, imaginibus, ac phantasmatibus subministratis, & accommodatis ea re ipsa agere putant, quæ vigilantibus in animo erant. Et hanc nostram sententiam Ancyranum concilium confirmandit, in quo hæc verba per decem & octo Episcopos sancita reperiuntur; quòd sceleratæ quædam mulieres dæmonum illusionibus seductæ nocturnis horis cum Diana Paganorum dea, & innumera multitudine mulierum credunt se equitare super quasdam bestias, & multa terrarum spatia pertransire: quæ falsa opinione deceptæ, hæc vera esse credunt, & credendo à recta fide deuiant: ideò sacerdotes per Ecclesias sibi commissas populo prædicare debent, hæc omnino esse falsa, & à maligno spiritu talia phantasmata mentibus fidelium arrogari. Siquidem Satanas transfigurat se in Angelum lucis, & cùm mentem cuiusque mulierculæ coeperit, & hanc
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182 ON WITCHCRAFT < The swiftest course of celestial bodies.> preventing it from returning at the same hour and likewise abundantly feeding his reapers with the same food. I omit those celestial, bright, and clear bodies, which, although they are of immense bulk, are nevertheless carried along by such rapid motion that within the span of twenty-four hours, by the power of the Angels, they complete their course daily; indeed Aristotle, through the light of nature, called those angels simple minds assisting the spheres. < The deception of demons persuading that bodies are transported.> Unless a benefit of this kind, together with the disgrace and punishment of wicked men, should follow from the witches' flight through the air, I would not dare affirm that the demons would by no means attempt it: since God Almighty now does not permit demons to act according to their own will in whatever they please; but rather I would believe that, by the power of ointments made by the art of demons, witches, being smeared with them, or deceived by other signs and words, are cast into a deep sleep, in which through demons supplying and adapting likenesses, images, and phantasms, they think they are in fact doing those things which, while awake, were in their minds. And this our opinion is confirmed by the Council of Ancyra, in which the following words, established by eighteen bishops, are found: that certain wicked women, seduced by the illusions of demons, believe that at night with Diana, the pagan goddess, and an innumerable multitude of women, they ride upon certain beasts and traverse vast stretches of land: and that, deceived by this false belief, they think these things are true, and by believing depart from the right faith: therefore priests, through the churches committed to them, ought to preach to the people that these things are altogether false, and that such phantasms are imposed upon the minds of the faithful by the malignant spirit. For Satan transforms himself into an Angel of light, and when he has taken hold of the mind of some little woman, and this
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LIBER II. 183 sibi per infidelitatem subiugauerit, illicò transformat se in diuersarum personarum species, atque similitudines, & mentem quam captiuam tenet, in somnis deludens, modò læta, modò tristia, modò cognitas, modò incognitas personas ostendens, per deuia quæque deducit. Valdè itaque familiare, & consuetum dæmonibus est, vt ea quæ in vigilia mortales cupiunt, in somnis ipsis obiiciant, & ita clarè atque apertè, vt sese non dormire, sed vigilare opinentur. Quod quidem malum per totum orbem terrarum repsit, & vsque ad Occidentales Indias peruenit. Idque ex Monardo medico Hispalensi scriptum inuenimus, qui in tractatu secundæ partis, in qua de rebus agit, quæ ex Occidentalibus Indiis ad nos transportantur, cuiusdam herbæ vim recensens, quam Thabaccum vocant, nos verò herbam sanctæ Crucis appellamus, sic ait, Cùm inter Indos de re aliqua graui, & maximimomenti ageretur, de qua Magnatibus & Principibus consulto opus erat, ad sacerdotem ibant, cui rem exponebant: sacerdos autem in eorum conspectu statim frondem, aut surculum illius herbæ capiebat, qua prunis imposita, per os & nares cannulo quodam fumum attraheat: quo facto extemplò vt mortuus in terram sacerdos cadebat: deinde fumi operatione consumpta (cuius gratia in somniis varias illusiones & simulacra viderat) provt dæmones illi suggesserant, ambiguas responsiones dabat, vt quidquid ex re accideret, illud fuisse dicerent, quod à sacerdotæ prædictum erat, & sic populos dæmones deceptos tenebant: idque etiam animi causa alij Indi factitabant, quia magnopere phantasmatibus, figuris & imaginibus in somnis delectabantur, quod de herba Solano
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BOOK II. 183 having subjected him to itself through treachery, it immediately transforms itself into the forms and likenesses of various persons, and, deceiving the mind which it holds captive in sleep, shows now cheerful, now sad, now known, now unknown persons, and leads it through every kind of byway. It is therefore very familiar and customary for demons to place before mortals in sleep those things which they desire while awake, and to do so so clearly and openly that they suppose themselves not to be asleep, but awake. And indeed this evil has crept through the whole world, and has reached even the Western Indies. And this too we find written by Monardes, the physician of Seville, who, in the treatise of the second part, in which he discusses matters brought to us from the Western Indies, after recounting the power of a certain herb, which they call Thabaccum, but we call the herb of the holy Cross, says thus: When among the Indians some serious matter of very great importance was under discussion, about which it was necessary to consult the nobles and princes, they would go to a priest and explain the matter to him. The priest then, in their presence, would at once take a leaf or twig of that herb, and place it on embers, drawing the smoke through a tube by the mouth and nostrils; when this had been done, the priest would immediately fall to the ground as though dead. Then, after the force of the smoke had been spent—by reason of which he had seen in dreams various illusions and apparitions, as the demons had suggested to him—he would give doubtful answers, so that whatever happened in the matter, they would say that it had been what had been foretold by the priest. And thus the demons kept the peoples deceived; and other Indians also practiced this for amusement, because they took great delight in phantasms, figures, and images in sleep, which is told of the herb Solanum
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184 DE FASCINO furioso dicta scriptores etiam tradunt. Plin. quoque lib. 24. cap. 17. < Aglaophosis herbæ vis.> Aglaophotin herbam memorat, quæ homi- num admiratione propter eximiu[m] colorem nomen accepit: quam in marmoribus nasci Arabicè Persico latere, & ea de causa Mamaritin quoque vocari, Magosque ea < Archemenidis vis.> vti, cùm deos euocari velint. Ibidem Archemeniden co- lore electri, sine folio nasci in Tardactilis Indiæ inquit: cuius radix in pastillos digesta, deinde vino propinata noxiis, ab ipsis confessionem criminum perpetratorum in somnis, magis quàm quilibet alius cruciatus extor- quet. Clarum igitur est, quòd non nullis medicaminibus, dæmones malesicis ac strigibus somno consopitis, ap- parere faciunt, quidquid vigilantes desiderant, nihilque verba ad illos per aërem ferêdos facere possunt, sed tan- tummodò signa esse quibus dæmones ad id præstadum inuocantur: cùm ad significandum tantùm, & non ad aliquid efficiendum verba inuenta sint, vt sæpius di- ximus. Cæli observatione, fascinare nemo potest. CAP. XIII. ÆLVM ac sidera corporum omnium natu- ra constantium commune esse principium, nemo est qui ambigat: & quoniam corpori, quod à naturæ principiis originé trahit, duo inesse videmus; motum scilicet, & qualitatem quandam sensu perceptibilem, quam lucem appellamus: hinc fit, vt cælo omnium corporum primo, ac præstantissimo, omnium motuum perfectissimus, omniumque quali- tatum nobilissima lux adscribatur. Siquidem id quod primum in vnoquoque genere reperitur, reliquorum quæ
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184 ON THE EVIL EYE writers also report sayings made in frenzy. Pliny too, book 24, chapter 17, <The power of the herb Aglaophosis.> mentions the herb Aglaophotis, which, because of its striking color, received its name from the wonder it aroused in people: he says that it grows among marbles in the Arabian and Persian regions, and for that reason is also called Mamarit, and that magicians use it <The power of Archemenis.> when they wish to summon the gods. In the same place he says that Archemenides, in the color of electrum, grows without leaves in Tardactylis of India: its root, made into little cakes and then given with wine to those doing harm, wrings from them, in sleep, a confession of crimes committed, more than any other torture would. It is therefore clear that by certain remedies, when evil demons and witches are put into a deep sleep, they are made to appear whatever the waking person desires; and that words carried through the air toward them can do nothing, but are only signs by which demons are summoned to do that thing: since words were invented only for signifying, and not for accomplishing anything, as we have often said. No one can bewitch by observing the heavens. CHAPTER XIII. That the heavens and the stars are the common principle of all bodies that are constant in nature, there is no one who doubts it; and since in a body which draws its origin from the principles of nature we see two things present—namely motion, and a certain quality perceptible to the senses, which we call light—this comes about so that to the heavens, first and most excellent of all bodies, the most perfect of all motions, and the noblest of all qualities, light, are ascribed. For indeed that which is first found in any class, the rest of the things
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Liber II. 185 quæ sub eodem genere collocantur, causam esse Aristoteles asserit. Quo fit vt quod primo motu mouetur, cætera moueat, atque eo quiescente, cuncta quiescant: veluti in homine, qui paruus mundus dicitur, accidere videmus, in quo si cordis motus desistat, cæteras hominis partes quiescere & interire oportet. Qua ratione Philosophus adductus, < Primi cali motus omnibus vita est.> primi cæli motum in lib. de Physico auditu, vitæ omnibus esse affirmare ausus est. Plato etiam in Timæo vitam nobis corpoream à stellis infundi asseruit: lux enim cælestis vitali quadam vi prædita est, non quòd aut ipsa viuat, aut vitam conferat, sed corpora vitæ capacia ad vitam disponat. Namque lucem calor concomitatur, < Calum luce et motu in hac inferiora agit.> qui mira quadam efficacitate omnia penetrat, omnia fouet ac moderatur. Quòd autem in hæc inferiora, luce & motu cælum agat, Auerroes in 2. de Ortu, hisce verbis declarat. Propter diuersitatem causæ agentis in vltimo, fit diuersitas rerum hîc: & diuersitas operationis Solis, propter congregationem & segregationem planetarum cum eo. Et Aristotel. in 2. Cæli, causam reddente, quare corpus cæleste pluribus motibus moueatur, inquit Auerroes: Vult hîc loqui de causa finali, qua cælum habet plures motus, & vult dare causam ex eis quæ hîc apparent. Apparet enim quòd proportio eorum quæ sunt hîc ad corpora cælestia, est sicut proportio facti ad faciens. Id verò quod factum est, respectu actionum facientis finis rationem habet, vt sunt ea quæ in hoc inferiori mundo fiunt. Idem Aristoteles in 12. Diuinorum corroborat. Vbi Auerroes com. 44. ita inquit, Dispositio in iuuamento corporum cælestium adinuicem in creádo etiam quæ sunt hîc, & conseruando ea, est sicut dispositio bonorum Regentium, A2
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Liber II. 185 which are placed under the same genus, Aristotle asserts to be the cause. Whence it follows that that which is moved by the first motion moves the rest, and when it ceases, all things cease: as we see to happen in man, who is called a little world, in whom if the motion of the heart cease, the other parts of man must rest and perish. Moved by this reason, the Philosopher dared to affirm that <The motion of the first heaven is life to all.> in the book De Physico auditu, the motion of the first heaven is life to all. Plato also in the Timaeus asserted that corporeal life is infused into us from the stars: for heavenly light is endowed with a certain vital power, not because either it lives itself, or confers life, but because it disposes bodies capable of life to life. For light is accompanied by heat, <Heaven acts upon these lower things by light and motion.> which with a wondrous efficacy penetrates all things, nourishes all things, and governs all things. But that heaven acts upon these lower things, by light and motion, Auerroes in the 2nd book De Ortu explains in these words. Because of the diversity of the acting cause in the end result, there is a diversity of things here: and a diversity of the sun’s operation, because of the gathering and separating of the planets with it. And when Aristotle, in the 2nd book of De Caelo, gives the cause why the heavenly body is moved by many motions, Auerroes says: He wishes here to speak of the final cause, by which heaven has many motions, and he wishes to give the cause from those things which here appear. For it is apparent that the proportion of those things which are here to heavenly bodies is like the proportion of the thing made to the maker. But that which is made, in respect of the actions of the maker, has the reason of an end, as are those things which are done in this lower world. The same Aristotle confirms in the 12th book De Divinis. Where Auerroes, in commentary 44, says thus: The disposition in the mutual aid of the heavenly bodies in creating even those things which are here, and in preserving them, is like the disposition of good rulers, A2
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186 DE FASCINO qui iuuant se adiuicem in regendo bonam ciuitatem, idem Arist. in lib. de Proprietatib. element. & de Mudo, repetit. Demùm li. 1. Meteor. sic ait, Oportet hunc mun- dum inferioré superioribus stationibus esse contiguum, vt omnis virtus eius inde gubernetur. Qua de re loqués Aug. in 3. de Trin. ita sentit, Deus regit inferiora corpo- < Deus regit inferiora corpora per superiora.> ra per superiora. Ex prætactis igitur claru[m] ac manifestu[m] esse constat, cælu[m] ac sidera in hæc inferiora corpora motu ac lumine co[m]comitato calore agere, quæ quidé actio, regimen & gubernatio appellatur, Dei volutate sic imperante atque ordinante, vt scilicet suæ diuinæ virtutis cælum esset vniuersale instrume[n]tum. Ex quibus falsum < Calum diuinæ virtutis vniuersale instrumento.> esse co[n]uincitur, quod in 6. cap. lib. 1. ad superstitiosorum mentem dicebamus, hominis affectus vnicuique planetae adscribendo, vt libidinem Veneri, tristitiâ Saturno, & sic de reliquis. Nec Zodiaci signa particularibus humanorum corporu[m] partibus dominari queunt, vt Aries capiti, Taurus collo, & ita de singulis, ac successiuè per cælum ac planetas fascinum iaculari non posse asserédum est. Quoniam multis in locis Arist. fatetur, tum mentes mouentes, tum cælestia corpora mota, ac influxus ab eis descendentes coru[m] effectuu[m] qui hîc fiunt, non particulares, sed com[m]unes causas esse; illamq[ue] virtute, quâ Aries & Sol capiti instillare dicitur, no[n] potest no[n] singulis corporis membris, & omnibus denique rebus com[m]unicare: id enim communis causæ munus est; vt æqua ratione ad omnia se diffundat. Et licet cælestium corporu[m] motus & configurationes hominem ad aliqua propensio- < Cæli configurationes ad aliqua, no[n] tamen ad surpicudines propensos homines reddunt.> rem & inclinationem reddere possint, no[n] tamen ad turpitudinem, ac prauas & diabolicas actiones, sed ad virtutes, sanctissimos mores, ac sanctissima tantùm des-
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186 OF FASCINATION who help one another in governing a good commonwealth, the same Aristotle in the book De Proprietatibus elementorum and De Mundo , repeats. Finally, in book 1 of the Meteorologica he says thus: It is fitting that this lower world be contiguous to the higher stations, so that all its virtue may be governed from there. On this matter, speaking Augustine in book 3 De Trinitate thinks thus: God governs lower bodies through higher ones. < God governs lower bodies through higher bodies.> From the things stated before, therefore, it is clear and manifest that heaven and the stars act upon these lower bodies with motion and light accompanied by heat, which action indeed is called rule and government, thus commanding and ordering by the will of God, so that, namely, the heaven would be the universal instrument of his divine power. From which it is proved false < The heaven a universal instrument of divine power.> what in chap. 6 of book 1 we were saying to the mind of the superstitious: assigning human affections to each planet, as lust to Venus, sadness to Saturn, and so on for the rest. Nor can the signs of the Zodiac rule the particular parts of human bodies, as Aries the head, Taurus the neck, and so on for the individual parts, nor is it to be asserted that one can successively cast fascination through heaven and the planets. For in many places Aristotle admits that both the minds that are moved, and the celestial bodies moved, and the influences descending from them, are not particular causes of the effects that are produced here, but common causes; and that virtue whereby Aries and the Sun are said to instill into the head cannot but also communicate itself to the individual members of the body and, in short, to all things: for that is the function of a common cause, to spread itself evenly to all things. And although the motions and configurations of the celestial bodies may render a man inclined and disposed to certain things, they do not however render him prone to baseness, and to wicked and diabolical actions, but to virtues, holiest morals, and only to most holy des-
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Liber II. 187 -deria nos propensos, inclinatosque cælestes virtutes, & cælestium luminum in nos descédentes influxus faciut, tantum abest, vt ab eisdem ad malum, & ad vitium ali- quod, ad noxias, vanásque & perniciosas cupiditates, homines sollicitentur & adigantur, ac tandem per eos- dem fascinum procuretur. Quid enim mali ab illis præ- clarissimis naturæ, & Dei Opt. Max. corporibus? quid inquâ, damni ab ipso vniuersæ naturæ auctore, per hæc augustissima corpora? siue per suos, tanto tamq[ue] admi- rabili ordine digestissimos, regulatissimósqque motus, si- ue per sua fulgétissima, saluberrimáq[ue] ac vitę mortalium omnium accomodatissima lumina? quid, inquâ, damni, quid exitij, quid cōtumeliæ nobis per Sole & Lunâ, per errantia, aut fixa, fulgentissimáq[ue]; sidera contingere vn- quam potest? Firmamentu[m], dicebat Arist. in 8. de Phys. aud. est cor vniuersi orbis. In 12. diuinor. Omnium quæ cernuntur firmamentum est maximè diuinum. In lib. 1. de Cælo, Cælum est locus & habitatio deorum. Si igitur firmamentum est orbis vniuersi præstantissima pars, si cor est, si quid diuinu[m], si deoru[m] habitatio; nonne quem- admodum cor in animali fons illius virtutis est; qua ani- malis integritas, ordo, & mixturæ nexus seruatur, mor- borumq[ue]; inuadentiu[m] iniuria propulsatur, ita existimandum erit, firmamentu[m] hoc & cælestia corpora, ac stellas, quæ in ipsis cælestibus corporibus sunt, eorum quæ intea ipsius cæli amplitudine[m] continentur, integritatem conseruare: propulsare aute[m] ea, quæ orbis totius integri- tati, & eius partiu[m], hoc est reru[m] in ipso cōtentaru[m] incolu- mitati aduersantur? Quòd si secus fieret, nec quid diui- nú, nec deoru[m] habitatione[m], nec cor cælestibus corporib. Philosophi adscripsissent. At si cælestia corpora hæc infe- A a ij
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Liber II. 187 If the celestial virtues incline us and cause the influxes descending into us from the lights of heaven, it is so far from being the case that by them men are incited and driven to evil, or to any vice, to harmful, vain, and pernicious desires, and that at length by them sorcery is procured. For what evil can come from those most excellent bodies of nature and of God the Best and Greatest? What harm, I ask, from the very author of universal nature, through these most august bodies? Whether through their motions, so greatly and so admirably ordered, most regular as they are, or through their most brilliant, most healthful lights, and most suited to the life of all mortals? What harm, what destruction, what disgrace, I ask, can ever come to us through the Sun and Moon, through the wandering or fixed, most shining stars? The firmament, Aristotle said in book 8 of the Physics, is the heart of the whole world. In book 12 of the De Divinatione, the firmament is the most divine of all things seen. In book 1 of De Caelo, heaven is the place and dwelling of the gods. If therefore the firmament is the most excellent part of the universe, if it is a heart, if something divine, if the dwelling of the gods, ought it not to be thought that, just as the heart in an animal is the source of that power by which the animal’s integrity, order, and the bond of its mixture are preserved, and the injury of invading diseases is repelled, so this firmament and the celestial bodies, and the stars that are in the celestial bodies themselves, preserve the integrity of those things contained within the expanse of heaven; and repel those things that oppose the integrity of the whole world and of its parts, that is, the safety of the things contained in it? But if it were otherwise, the philosophers would have attributed neither anything divine, nor a dwelling of the gods, nor a heart to the celestial bodies. But if these celestial bodies were infa- A a ij
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183 DE FASCINO riora, vt Arist[oteles]loquentem citauimus, gubernant, atque gubernare idem est, ac dirigere, statuerem & ordinare; quî fieri potest, vt inficere, vitiare, euertere, ac fascinare queant? < Origenes arguit, stellas malesicas appellantes.> Hinc Origenes 4. tractat. super Marth[us] eos acriter damnat, qui stellas malesicas affirmat: quia nulla stella est à Deo facta quæ malefaciat. Iamblichus lib[er] de mysteriis, vires omnes ab illis bonas descendere ait. Plotin[us] libr[atus] de Fato, ita inquit, Iam verò prauitas morum, quo modo à cælestibus, qui dij sunt, hominibus dari potest? < Plosinus morum præstassem à calo nobis dari negat> Pierius libr[atus] 3. Hieroglyph. vbi de tauro sermonem habet, Platonem com[m]endat, quòd à cælesti corpore, nihil nobis posse demitti mali crediderit. Et à Io[an] Pico Mirandulano longo processu, libr[atus] 4, aduersus Astrologos ostensum, probatumq[ue] fuit, à cælestibus corporibus non bella, non vitia, nô morbos, non mortem, non denique quidquam mali contingere posse. Quæ igitur insania est, vt nonnulli per ea fascinum iaculari posse garriant? Prætermitto quæ D[ominus] Cyprian. Ioan[nes] Chrysost[omus] D[ominus] Aug[ustus] Hieron. Gregorius, Ambrosius, Lactantius, Seuerianus, Cassiodorus, D[ominus] Thomas de cælestibus corporibus affirmant. < D[ominus] Basil. cum aliis Theologis astrologos arguit.> Cùm D[ominus] Basil. Magnus in Hexameræn lib[er] scribat, ridiculum esse Astrologis contradicere, cùm omnia eorum dicta sint ignorantiæ & impietatis plena. D[ominus] quoq[ue] Bonuentura in Cētiloquij prima parte, ea quæ per astra procurantur, demonum illusionem & deceptionem appellat, quam observationem à Deo maledicta, & ab Ecclesia interdicta affirmat: velut illam inter alias existimo, qua lunam ingentibus sonitibus iuuari arbitrabatur, quominus ab ea incantantium voces exaudiri possent, vnde varia instrumentorum genera pulsabant, quò lunæ laboranti opem ferrent, sicut Propertius meminit,
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183 ON FASCINATION they rule, as we cited Aristotle speaking; and to govern is the same as to direct, establish, and order. How then can they be able to infect, corrupt, overthrow, and bewitch? < Origen refutes those who call the stars evil.> Hence Origen, in the 4th tractate on Matthew, sharply condemns those who assert malignant stars: because there is no star made by God that does evil. Iamblichus, in the book On Mysteries, says that all powers descend from them as good. Plotinus, in the book On Fate, says: “Now indeed, how can depravity of morals be given to men by the heavenly beings, who are gods?” < Plotinus denies that depravity of morals is given to us from heaven.> Pierius, in book 3 of the Hieroglyphics, where he speaks about the bull, praises Plato because he believed that nothing evil can be sent down to us from a celestial body. And from Giovanni Pico Mirandola, in a long passage, book 4 Against the Astrologers, it was shown and proven that from celestial bodies neither wars, nor vices, nor diseases, nor death, nor finally anything evil can happen. What madness, then, is it that some babble that through them one can hurl the evil eye? I pass over what D. Cyprian, John Chrysostom, D. Augustine, Jerome, Gregory, Ambrose, Lactantius, Severianus, Cassiodorus, and D. Thomas affirm about the celestial bodies. < D. Basil, together with other theologians, refutes the astrologers.> Since D. Basil the Great writes in the Hexaemeron, book, that it is ridiculous to contradict the astrologers, since all their statements are full of ignorance and impiety. D. Bonaventure also, in the first part of the Centiloquium, calls those things that are brought about through the stars an illusion and deception of demons, and affirms that this observance is cursed by God and forbidden by the Church: such as that one, among others, which imagined that the moon is aided by loud sounds, lest the voices of enchanters be heard by it; hence they would strike various kinds of instruments, so as to bring help to the laboring moon, as Propertius mentions,
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LIBER II. 189 Cantus [est] è curru lunam deducere tentant, Et facerent, si non æra repulsa sonent. < Toletana Synodus astrologicæ obseruationes damnat.> Iure ergo, ob huiuscemodi errores, ac deceptiones vitandas in Toletana Synodo, ac demum in regulis ex Tridentini Concilij decretis promulgatis, astrologicæ obseruationes prohibitæ ac damnatæ sunt. Quòd verò superstitiosi quidam tenent, coelum sentiendi vi præditum esse, atque incantantium vota & preces audire, falsum esse affirmamus: lucidissimus namque Themistius in hoc sensu sic ait: Constat animantem naturam, vtraque sui parte extrema, sine sensu exigere. per extremam autem partem coeli naturam, & plantas intellexit. < Coelum sensu eares.> Sed alia ratione coelo; alia plantis sensum natura non tribuit: Plantis, quia viles & crassæ sunt, ideo dignæ non fuerunt, nec eum capere potuerunt, nec etiam eis necessarius erat. < Plantis cur sensus non attributi.> Coelo, quia eminentioris censetur ordinis, quàm vt ad sensuum vsum descendere debeat, & neutrum passione foras accersita ad inquirendum indigebat. Plantæ, quia obuiam, & proximum alimentum sortirentur: Coelum, quia pasci & cibari non necesse haberet. In huiusmodi autem ardeliones secus asserentes, Damascenus lib. 2. ita clamat, Nullus animatos coelos vel luminaria existimet: inanimati enim sunt, & insensibiles. & D. Aug. de Ciuit. Dei ait, Non est credendum, quod Plato dicit, globos istos luminum, siue orbiculos, luce corporea super terram, seu die, seu nocte fulgentes, suis quidem propriis animabus viuere. Ad ambas verò rationes coelo sensum inesse probantes vno verbo respondetur: quia licet coeli motus secundum partes sit nouus, non tamen secundum totum: sic enim æternus est: nec particularem, aut vniuersalem motum efficere Aa iij
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BOOK II. 189 It is attempted to draw down the moon from its chariot by singing, and they would do so, if the repulsed bronze did not sound. < The Toledan Synod condemns astrological observations.> Therefore, rightly, for the avoidance of errors and deceptions of this kind, astrologic observations were prohibited and condemned in the Toledan Synod, and finally in the rules promulgated from the decrees of the Council of Trent. But that which certain superstitious men maintain, namely that the heavens are endowed with the power of sensation, and that they hear the vows and prayers of enchanters, we affirm to be false: for Themistius, most lucid on this point, says thus: It is established that living nature, in both its extreme parts, is without sensation. By its extreme part he understood the nature of the heavens, and plants. < Why the heavens are without sense.> But nature has bestowed sensation for one reason on the heavens, for another on plants: on plants, because they are base and coarse, and therefore were not worthy, nor could they receive it, nor was it even necessary for them. < Why sensation was not attributed to plants.> On the heavens, because they are judged to be of a more exalted order than to descend to the use of the senses, and they had no need to inquire, either by external impression called in from outside, or by the other. Plants, because they would obtain food at hand and near by; the heavens, because they would not need to be nourished and fed. But against such busybodies who assert the contrary, Damascenus in book 2 cries out thus: Let no one suppose that the heavens or the lights are animated; for they are inanimate and insensible. And St. Augustine, in City of God , says: It must not be believed what Plato says, that those globes of lights, or little spheres, shining with bodily light over the earth, whether by day or by night, live indeed by their own proper souls. But to both arguments proving that sense is in the heavens, one reply is made in a single word: because although the motion of the heavens is new according to the parts, it is not so according to the whole: for thus it is eternal; nor does it produce either a particular or a universal motion Aa iij
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intendit, sed motum absolutè. < Cælum nec vniuersalem nec particularem motum intendit.> Nec illis hæc fuga suffragari potest, si dicant, quòd cælo tantùm cognoscendi gratia sensus attributi sunt, & non propter salutem, vt caducis animalibus, quia tunc dictoru sensuum organa cælo natura dedisset, vt bene Arist. cõtra antiquos ide[m] tenētes probat. < Metallica laminæ damnantur.> Illud verò de metallicis laminis cù characteribus insculptis, dicimus impiù, & execratione dignum esse censendum, quia laminæ illæ nullam penitus præcipuam virtute à cælo habere possunt. Si quidè cælù, vt probauimus, cõmunis causa est, communemque vim omnibus largitur, & non particularem, ac proinde particulares vires, quibus res inter se differunt, nô à cælo, rebus inseruntur, sed omnibus pro sua cuiusq[ue] natura insunt. Cùm enim vnâ, & eandem omnibus qualitatem cælum imprimat, & hac res singulas cõfirmet, & tanquâ ex somno excitet, vt pro naturæ suæ quæque viribus actiones exerceat: quas quidè singularum rerum naturas cælum non det, sed tantùm cõmuni quadam qualitate gubernet; < Actio et passio inter qua est.> vnsuisque iudex esse potest, cælù imaginibus nihil proprium dare posse, sed illud duntaxat in materiam imprimere, quod in res omnes quouis tempore imprimit. < Corpora naturalia quo pacto in artificialia agat.> Quis namque Philosophiæ principiis vel leuiter imbutus est, qui actione & passione in illis tantùm reperiri nesciat, quæ ad idem genus pertinent? At naturalia, & artificialia, non proximis modò, sed totis generibus distinguuntur. Si quidè naturalia motus, & quietis in se principiu[m] habet; quo quidè interno principio, quæ ab arte sunt, caret. hac de causa naturalia corpora in artificialia (quatenus artificialia sunt) agere nequeunt. nô enim cælum in vestem aliquâ agere quidquam potest, quatenus hanc vel illam formam ab artifice accepit: sed
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it intends, but absolute motion. <The heavens intend neither universal nor particular motion.> Nor can this escape serve them, if they say that senses were attributed to the heavens only for the sake of knowing, and not for preservation, as in perishable animals, because then nature would have given the organs of those senses to the heavens, as Aristotle well proves against the ancients who held the same view. <Metallic plates are condemned.> But with regard to metallic plates with characters engraved on them, we say that it is impious and ought to be judged worthy of execration, because those plates can have absolutely no special virtue from the heavens. For if the heaven, as we have proved, is a common cause and bestows a common force on all things, and not a particular one, then the particular powers by which things differ from one another are not inserted into things by the heaven, but are inherent in all things according to each thing’s own nature. For since the heaven impresses one and the same quality upon all, and by this confirms individual things and, as it were, awakens them from sleep, so that each may exercise actions according to the powers of its own nature: since the heaven does not give those specific natures of individual things, but only governs them by some common quality; <Action and passion among what it is.> every one can judge that the heaven cannot give anything proper to images, but only impress upon matter that which at every time it impresses on all things. <How natural bodies act on artificial ones.> For who, having been even slightly imbued with the principles of philosophy, does not know that action and passion are found only in those things which belong to the same genus? But natural and artificial things are distinguished not merely by proximate kinds, but by entire genera. For natural things have in themselves a principle of motion and rest; this internal principle, however, is lacking in things produced by art. For this reason natural bodies cannot act on artificial bodies, insofar as they are artificial. For the heaven can in no way act upon a garment, insofar as it has received this or that form from the craftsman; but
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Liber II. 191 ideo à cælestibus viribus vestem corrodi, tineis consumi experimur, quia ex lana, aut lino, vel pellibus, vel alia materia confecta est, & non quia hac, vel illa forma conflata sit. Cùm itaque laminæ, & imagines, nihil prorsus à cælo virium accipere possint, quàm si earum materia eo modo nunquam formata fuisset, clarum est, diabolicum esse illud, quod de huiusmodi fascino obstrepunt. Quod inde clarius fiet; nam si in succino Arientis, aut Scorpionis, aut cuiuscunque signi vel planetæ figuram insculpas, non magis succinum erit, quâ priùs, nec vehementius paleam trahet, quàm antea, quia quæ naturam eandem habent, quam priùs habebant, eodem modo à cælo mouentur. Præterea ab arte imaginibus tribui nihil aliud potest, quàm ordo, compositio ac figura: quæ agendi principia esse non possunt, vt bene in Philosophia exercitati norunt. Rursus ars naturæ < Ars naturæ imitatrix.> imitatrix appellatur, quia in externis tantùm partibus naturæ similia facit, interna autem nô contingit. Quòd si partes in profundo sitas attingeret, non ars imitatrix, sed inuentrix natura diceretur. Superficies verò actionis omnis est expers. < Superficies actionis expers.> Ideo cùm in imaginibus, & figuris, & characteribus tâtùm superficies mutetur, per eos agi nihil prorsus potest. Verùm fac, plumbum, aut alias æris species, per fusionem liquefieri, & laminam cum his, aut illis imaginibus formari, quid tum? Annon liquidò constat, ea quæ ab arte sunt, naturæ motibus nullo pacto esse subiecta, & ita à Cæli actione nihil recipere? sed fac, laminis cælestem fluxum instillari, quod nullo pacto admittitur; num eiusmodi influxus perniciosus, exitialis, & fascinandi vi præditus erit? minimè. nam tum ad Platonis, tum ad Aristotelis, & omnium
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Liber II. 191 we experience that garments are gnawed by heavenly powers and consumed by moths because they are made of wool, or linen, or skins, or some other material, and not because this or that shape has been cast into them. Since, therefore, plates and images can receive absolutely no power from the heavens, except insofar as their material had never before been formed in that way, it is clear that what they cry out about concerning such fascination is diabolical. This will become still clearer from the following: for if on amber you engrave the figure of Aries, or Scorpio, or of any sign or planet whatsoever, it will be no more amber than before, nor will it attract straw more strongly than it did previously, because things that have the same nature as they formerly had are moved by the heavens in the same way as before. Moreover, from art nothing else can be attributed to images than order, composition, and figure; and these cannot be principles of action, as those well trained in philosophy know. Again, art is called an imitator of nature because it makes things similar to nature only in outward parts, but does not touch the inner ones. But if it should reach the parts situated in the depth, it would not be called imitative art, but inventive nature. However, the surface is devoid of all action. < Surface devoid of action.> Therefore, since in images, figures, and characters only the surface is changed, absolutely nothing can be done through them. But suppose lead, or other kinds of bronze, are liquefied by fusion, and a plate is formed with these or those images—what then? Does it not plainly appear that things which are from art are in no way subject to the motions of nature, and so receive nothing from the action of the heavens? But suppose celestial flux were instilled into the plates, which is in no way to be admitted; would an influx of this kind be harmful, destructive, and endowed with the power of bewitching? Certainly not. For then, according to both Plato and Aristotle, and all
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DE FASCINO 192 philosophorum metem probauimus, coelum diuinum esse, diuinarum mentium sedem ac locum appellari, & veluti cor virtutes in animalis partes diffundit, ita salutares influxus, ac vires in hæc inferiora coelum immittit. < Laminarum altio Damon. ascribisur.> Quando verò per eiusmodi laminas & imagines tot scelera committi, & tot mira fieri contingit, non laminis, & imaginibus, sed dæmonibus, qui talia perpetrarunt, adscribenda sunt. < Siderum comatorum vis & ortus.> Nec laminæ & imagines quidquam efficere potuerunt, quàm signa maleficorum, ac dæmonum pacta, & foedera ostendentia præstare. Miniméque verum est, hominum vota volatilia reddi posse, vt suprà monuimus: neque ex hominum volútate comatorum siderum generatio pendet, vt aduersarij defendunt: Si quidem eiusmodi comatorum siderum ortus nihil aliud est, quàm calida & sicca impressio in tertia aeris regione genita prope sphæram ignis, ex calido & sicco vapore solis virtute eleuata, globus verò illius vaporis sic vnitus, stellæ corpus videtur. partes autem illius vaporis discontinuatæ circa globum illum, & in longum protensæ in suis extremitatibus illi globo conjunctæ, quasi eius comæ sunt. At si solis virtute comatum sidus procreatur, fatuum est dicere, ab hominum voluntate eiusmodi pendere. Et si Regum obitum significare aliquando reperitur, non illius sideris natura, sed diuino iussu fieri potest. Si autem natura fiat, casu & ex accidenti, ita Regum sicut rusticorum interitum portendet. < Deus vcturas calamitates signis præmostrat.> Deus namque immortalis, cùm aliquid diri, vel aduersi, ob mortalium scelera punienda, in mundum est immissurus, id portentis, & prodigiis futurum ostendere, venturásque calamitates signis, minisque celestibus præmonstrare consueuit, vt qui legendis histruiis,
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DE FASCINO 192 We have proved the opinion of the philosophers, namely that the heavens are divine, and are called the dwelling and place of divine minds; and just as the heart diffuses virtues into the parts of an animal, so the heaven sends salutary influences and powers into these lower regions. < The efficacy of tablets is ascribed to a demon.> But when through such tablets and images so many crimes are committed, and so many wonders occur, they should be attributed not to the tablets and images, but to the demons who carried out such things. < The power and rising of cometary stars.> Nor could tablets and images accomplish anything except to serve as signs indicating the pacts and alliances of sorcerers and demons. And it is by no means true that men’s wishes can be made to fly, as we noted above; nor does the generation of cometary stars depend on the will of men, as our opponents maintain. For indeed the rising of such cometary stars is nothing other than a hot and dry impression generated in the third region of the air near the sphere of fire, raised by the power of the sun from a hot and dry vapor; and the mass of that vapor, being thus joined together, appears as the body of a star. But the dispersed parts of that vapor, extending around that mass and stretched out lengthwise, joined to it at their extremities, are, as it were, its hair. But if a cometary star is produced by the sun’s power, it is foolish to say that such a thing depends on the will of men. And if it is found at times to signify the death of kings, this can happen not from the nature of that star, but by divine command. But if it happens by nature, it will portend the destruction of kings just as of peasants, by chance and accidentally. < God foretells future calamities by signs.> For God the immortal, when he is about to send some dreadful or adverse thing into the world to punish the crimes of mortals, is accustomed to show that it is coming through portents and prodigies, and to forewarn by heavenly signs and threats of the calamities that are to come, so that those who read the histories will be instructed,
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Liber II. 193 riis, vel mediocriter exercitatus sit, iudicare potest. Hinc Daud, Dedisti metuentibus te significatione, vt fugiat à facie arcus. & D. Cyprianus, Hortamur planè quan- tum possumus, vt quoniam prouidentia Domini mo- nentis instruimur, appropinquare iam certaminis & a- gonis nostri diem, ieiuniis, vigiliis, orationibus, insiste- re cum omni plebe non desinamus, incumbamus ge- mitibus assiduis, & deprecationibus crebris. hæc sunt enim nobis arma coelestia, quæ stare, & persecuerare fortiter faciunt. In Regnis Hispaniæ, in Oppido Vilil- la nûcupato Cæsaraugustanæ diœcesis campana quæ- dam est, quam miraculorum appellant; hæc per aliquot menses antequam aliquid aduersi in Christiana Repu- blica contingat, ex se ipsa, nemine impellente, pulsatur. Cuius rei testimonium per publicos tabelliones, testi- bus plurimis adhibitis hisce oculis egomet legi, præter fidem, quam de eadem re illius Regni Proreges suis litteris faciebant. Quid dicam de coenobio sancti Mau- ritij, quod in consuiibus Burgundiæ prope fluuium Rhodanum situm est? in eo enim viuarium est, in quo iuxta numerum monachorum pisces ponuntur. ex qui- bus monachis cùm aliquis ægrotauerit, pisciculus quo- que semiuuius supernatare in viuario cernitur: quòd si monachus è vita migraturus sit, paucis antè diebus pi- scis moritur. & hoc tum à Cardinale meo, tum ab aliis testibus fide dignis accepi. Vnde non immeritò Diuus Cyprianus ait, Nos quod fidei & charitati, & solicitu- dini congruebat, quæ erant in conscientia nostra pro- tulimus, diem certaminis appropinquasse, hostem vio- lentum contra nos exurgere, pugnam non talis qualis fuit, sed grauiorem multò, & acriorem venire, hoc no- Bb
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Liber II. 193 Anyone who is skilled, or even moderately practiced, can judge these things. Hence David: “Thou hast given a sign to them that fear thee, that they may flee from the face of the bow.” And St. Cyprian: “We exhort you as much as we can, that, since we are instructed by the providence of the Lord warning us that the day of our contest and struggle is now drawing near, we may not cease with all the people to persevere in fasts, watches, and prayers; let us persist in continual groanings and frequent supplications. For these are the heavenly arms for us, which make us stand and persevere bravely.” In the kingdoms of Spain, in the town called Vililla, in the diocese of Zaragoza, there is a certain bell, which they call the bell of miracles; for several months before anything adverse happens in the Christian commonwealth, it is of itself rung, no one touching it. I read a certificate of this fact with my own eyes, drawn up by public notaries and attested by many witnesses, besides the testimony which the viceroys of that kingdom gave in their letters concerning the same matter. What shall I say about the monastery of Saint Maurice, which is situated in the county of Burgundy near the river Rhône? In it there is a fishpond, in which, according to the number of the monks, fish are placed. Among these monks, when one has fallen ill, a little fish is seen floating half-dead in the pond; but if a monk is about to depart this life, a few days beforehand the fish dies. This I heard both from my cardinal and from other trustworthy witnesses. Whence St. Cyprian rightly says: “What was fitting for faith, charity, and solicitude, we brought forward from what was in our conscience: that the day of contest had drawn near, that a violent enemy was rising up against us, that the battle was not such as it had been, but much heavier and more severe, this we...” Bb
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DE FASCINO 194 bis diuinitus frequenter ostenditur, de hoc nos pro- uidentia & misericordia Domini sæpius admonere dignatur. hæc ille. Et quoniam ex Regum interitu regnorum perturbationes oriri solent, & ex eo plu- rium vtilitates vel detrimenta accidere possunt, atque Deus præcipuam Regum curam gerit: hinc fit vt de illis Angeli magis quàm de reliquis solliciti sint, eo- rumque ministerio, comata sidera Dei iussu aliquan- do gigni piè credere possumus; quò de venturis cala- mitatibus, ac perturbationibus præmoneantur. Non- nulli verò aiunt, quòd vehemens & inordinata sic- citas & caliditas comati sideris ortum comitari con- sueuit; & quia vt plurimum Reges, Principes, diuites, ac magnates calidis & siccis cibis aluntur, nihil nisi cum pipere, zingibere, croco, cinnamomo, & aliis aromatum speciebus vescendo, hinc vsuvenire solet, vt plurimi ex illis eo tempore intereant. Arist. autem in lib: meteori ventos validissimos, ac terræ motus futuros ex comati sideris ortu præmonstrari asserit. Cuius rei ratio reddi potest, nam cùm eiusmodi comatum sidus generatur, accidit vt aliqua illius exhalationis pars, in interiori ter- ræ parte commota obductis poris terræ ob internu[m] fri- gus concludatur, & intercipiatur, & ex ea inclusa mate- ria, & ex vi sua in multitudinem redacta, per antipari- stasin terræ motus fiat. Eadem ratione maris inunda- tionem prænuntiat: at si interdum fructuum egesta- rem, legum mutationes, Regnorum translationes, li- tes, rixas, iurgia, & contentiones comata sidera præ- nuntiare solent, vel fieri potest, quia ob siccarum & calidarum exhalationum elevationem, homines fu- riosi, & non sanæ mentis à cholerico humore prædo-
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DE FASCINO 194 is frequently shown divinely; about this the providence and mercy of the Lord deigns often to admonish us. Thus far he. And because from the death of kings disturbances of kingdoms are accustomed to arise, and from this the advantages or losses of many may occur, and God has the chief care of kings: hence it comes about that the angels are more concerned about them than about the rest, and by their ministry we may piously believe that hairy stars are sometimes produced by God’s command, so that they may be warned of future calamities and disturbances. Some indeed say that a vehement and disorderly dryness and heat usually accompany the rising of a hairy star; and because for the most part kings, princes, rich men, and magnates are nourished with hot and dry foods, eating nothing except with pepper, ginger, saffron, cinnamon, and other spices, hence it usually happens that very many of them perish at that time. Aristotle, however, in the book of Meteors, asserts that very strong winds and earthquakes are foretold by the rising of a hairy star. The reason for this can be given: for when a star of this kind is generated, it happens that some part of that exhalation, stirred up in the interior part of the earth, is shut up and intercepted by the closed pores of the earth because of the inward cold; and from that enclosed matter, and from its own force, being reduced into a multitude, by antiparastasis an earthquake occurs. In the same way it foretells an inundation of the sea; but if at times the scarcity of fruits, changes of laws, transfers of kingdoms, lawsuits, quarrels, disputes, and contentions are accustomed to be foretold by hairy stars, it may be because, through the rising of dry and hot exhalations, men become furious and of unsound mind, from a choleric humor...
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Liber II. 195 minantur, vel quia dæmones, Deo sic permittente, ad malesicorum preces, ac vota, ob hominum peccata punienda, eiusmodi agere ac procurare consueuerunt. Arist. autem præsagitionem per Cometas prætermisit, quia admodum incerta est, nec illi fortasse persuasa. Cuius sententiæ libentissimè adhæreo, cùm nil sine causa, & efficaci ratione, neque dixerit, neque tacuerit. Illud quod de fulminum ortu blatterant, execratione potius, quàm confutatione dignum videtur: si quidem vt ex Arist. didicimus, natura, & non arte fulmina fiunt, ex exhalatione scilicet sicca, sed in humida, seu in his quæ ex humida constant, intercepta, & inclusa, ac vi quadam ab eis erumpente: spiritusque ex quo fulmen constatur, magna vi è nubibus exilire nititur: cùmque nubis densitate prohibeatur, vis eius perpetuò augetur, itaque tandem maximo impetu, ex illa exprimitur, quemadmodum globi qui è tormentis æneis maxima celeritate excutiuntur, in qua violenta expressione fulmen accenditur, aut certè plurimum incalescit, & feruidus redditur: quanquam & antequam extrudatur, hinc atque illinc ad latera nubis commeans, nec exire valens, mobilitate sua, & attritu incalescere potest, & ardorem quendam concipere, qui postea extrusione augeatur. Quin & dum longo spatio per aerem spiritus ille celerrimè defertur, & illa motione agitatur, atque ad aerem caliginosum, & densum alliditur, magis magisque accenditur, & calet; non secus ac sagittarum plumbum aeris attritu, & motus velocitate incalescit, vt sæpè liquifieri contingat. Quocirca duo fulminum genera Bb ij
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threaten, either because demons, God thus permitting it, are accustomed, at the prayers and vows of evil-doers, to act and bring about such things, for the punishment of human sins. Aristotle, however, passed over prognostication by comets, because it is very uncertain, and perhaps he was not persuaded of it. I most gladly adhere to his opinion, since he said nothing, nor was silent, without cause and effective reason. That which they babble about the origin of thunderbolts seems worthy of execration rather than refutation: since, as we learned from Aristotle, thunderbolts are produced by nature and not by art, namely from a dry exhalation, but intercepted and enclosed in a moist one, or in things composed of moisture, and by a certain force bursting forth from them: and the spirit from which a thunderbolt is formed strives with great force to leap out of the clouds; and since it is prevented by the density of the cloud, its force is continually increased, and so at last, with the greatest violence, it is pressed out from it, just as balls that are discharged from bronze cannon with the greatest speed; and in this violent expulsion the thunderbolt is kindled, or certainly becomes very much heated and made fiery: although even before it is driven out, moving hither and thither along the sides of the cloud, and unable to escape, by its motion and friction it can grow warm and conceive a certain heat, which is afterward increased by expulsion. Nay, while that spirit is carried with great speed through a long stretch of air, and is agitated by that motion, and strikes against the dark and dense air, it is kindled more and more and grows hot; just as the lead of arrows is heated by the friction of the air and the speed of motion, so that it often happens to melt. Wherefore there are two kinds of thunderbolts Bb ij
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DE FASCINO Arist. commemorat, spiritus tenuitate, & crassitie inter se differentia. Vnum spiritus admodum tenuis, alterum crassioris: ob quam tenuitatis & crassitici differentiam efficitur, vt quod tenui spiritu constat, præ nimia illa tenuitate non incendat, & eò magis si materia in quam incidit non reluctatur, sed cedit: & hinc sit vt æs interdum liquesiat, crumena verò illæsa remaneat: dolij ligna dissoluantur, vinum exiccatum ob exhalationis illius sicca admissionem, densum & veluti concretum reddatur. Vnde dolium reluctando exustum relinquitur, vinum autem cedendo seruatur. Etsi Seneca tria fulminum genera distinxit: quod terebrat vnum, aliud quod discutit, vltimum quod vrit. Quod terebrat ait subtile esse, & flammeum, cui ob puram flammæ tenuitatem, per angustissima sit fuga. Quod dissipat, conglobatum esse, & spiritus procellosi commistam vim habere, & perforamen, per quod ingressus est, redire, & cuadere, ictúque rumpere, & non perforare. Quod vrit, multum terrei habere, & igneum magis, quàm flammeum, & ideo magnas ignium notas relinquare, quæ percussis adhærent: Ad illud verò de Ioue, dicimus, quòd Lucretius ridet veteres, quasi Iouem fulmina verè mittere crediderint. Quid, vt Seneca testis est, tam imperitum est, quàm credere fulmina ab Ioue è nubibus mitti? Sed non tam hebetes illos fuisse existimo, vt ea quæ de his ab eis tradita sunt, crediderint. Quin potiùs, ob imperitorum hominum animos coercendos sapientissimos viros hac de re locutos censeo, vt aliquid supra nos esse ostenderent, quod timeremus. In tanta namque scelerum audacia non parum fuit vtile, aliquid esse do-
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OF FASCINATION Aristotle mentions that spirits differ among themselves in subtlety and thickness. One is exceedingly subtle, another thicker; and by reason of this difference of subtlety and thickness it comes about that what consists of a subtle spirit, because of that excessive subtlety, does not burn, and all the more so if the material upon which it falls does not resist but yields: and hence it happens that bronze sometimes melts, while a purse remains unharmed; the wood of a cask is dissolved, while the wine, dried up by the admission of that dry exhalation, is made dense and, as it were, congealed. Whence the cask, resisting, is burned up, whereas the wine, by yielding, is preserved. Although Seneca distinguished three kinds of thunderbolts: one that pierces, another that shatters, and the last that burns. That which pierces, he says, is subtle and fiery, because, by reason of the pure thinness of the flame, it has a way through the narrowest opening. That which scatters is gathered into a mass and has a mixed force of stormy spirits, and returns through the opening by which it entered, and escapes, and by its blow bursts rather than pierces. That which burns has much of earth and is more igneous than flaming, and therefore leaves great traces of fire clinging to those struck by it. But with regard to that about Jupiter, we say that Lucretius makes a mockery of the ancients, as though they really believed that Jupiter sent thunderbolts. What, as Seneca bears witness, is so foolish as to believe that thunderbolts are sent from the clouds by Jupiter? But I do not think those men were so dull as to believe the things that were handed down by them concerning these matters. Rather, I think that the wisest men spoke thus about this matter in order to restrain the minds of ignorant men, so as to show that something above us exists, which we should fear. For in such great boldness of crimes, it was not a little useful that something should be do-
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Liber II. 197 cere, ad quod euitandum nemo sibi idoneus videre- tur. Id verò quod de M. Herennio Decurione fertur, & in Catilinianis prodigiis legitur, fabulosum esse credo. non enim fieri potuit, vt sereno die fulmine ictus fuerit: in maxima namque tempestate, & tetra nimborum caligine mitti fulmina, & experimur, & ex Aristot. didicimus. hinc Lucretius: <Fulmina gignier è crassis, altéque putandum est> Nubibus extractis: nam cælo nulla sereno, <Nec leuiter densis mittuntur nubibus vnquam:> Si enim sereno die fulmina mitti contingeret, non bene eorum constitutio tradita esset, quando dictum est, fulme multum & tenuem spiritum esse à nube expressum. <Vnde à fulgure differre aiunt, spiritus expressi multitudine,> quonia fulgur non è multo spiritu, & illo quidem sparso, & per interualla exeunte excitatur. In fulmine autem multus est, & simul extrusus, quod à cæteris spiritibus à nubibus extrusis tenuitate, & subtilitate differt, <Quæ illi transitum præbeat, illam> quia si materiam inuenit, quæ illi transitum præbeat, illam non ferit; si resistentem aut reluctatem, percutit aut adurit, quod quidem de aliis non legitur, nec creditur. Hinc etiam experientia comprobatum est, Autumno &c <Vere fulmina maximè mitti,> quæ à fulmine nô seriantur, non admittere, vt de aquila, vitulo marino & Lauro serunt: non enim voluntario <omnia feruntur.> sed violento motu mouetur, & absque cognitione. Et <Laurus fulmine percussa.> ego laurum à side dignis de cælo tactam auduii. Cæterum, si quæ venenosa fulmine icta, venenum amittunt, Bb iii
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Liber II. 197 to guard against which no one would seem fit to himself. But what is reported of M. Herennius the decurion, and is read among the Catilinarian prodigies, I believe to be fabulous. For it could not happen that he was struck by lightning on a clear day: indeed, lightning is sent in the greatest storm and in the dark gloom of rain-clouds, as we both experience and have learned from Aristotle. Hence Lucretius: <Lightning must be thought to be generated from thick, and high> clouds drawn out; for in a clear sky none, <Nor are they ever sent lightly from dense clouds:> For if it should happen that lightning were sent on a clear day, their constitution would not have been well explained, since it is said that lightning is a great and thin spirit pressed out from the cloud. <Whence they say it differs from a flash, by the multitude of the spirit pressed out,> because a flash is not stirred up from much spirit, and that indeed scattered, and coming forth at intervals. But in lightning there is much, and all at once forced out, which differs from the other spirits forced out from clouds in thinness and subtlety, <Which may furnish it passage, that> because if it finds matter that provides it passage, it does not strike it; if it meets something resisting or opposing, it strikes or burns it, which indeed is not read of in the case of others, nor believed. Hence also experience has shown, in autumn etc., <that lightning is sent most especially in spring,> that things which are not struck by lightning do not admit it, as they say of the eagle, the sea-calf, and the laurel: for not all things are <struck of their own accord.> but it is moved by violent motion, and without knowledge. And <The laurel struck by lightning.> I have heard that a laurel, touched from heaven by a star of such rank, was hit. Moreover, if any poisonous things, struck by lightning, lose their poison, Bb iii
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& quæ non sint, venenosa fiant, inde contingere potest, quòd fulmen, spiritus & sicca exhalatio est, ex cuius admistione quæ sulphurea & amara est, quæ veneno carebant, venenosa fiunt, reliqua autem venenosa, venenum amittunt, eiusmodi exhalatione illorum venenum extinguente & expellente. Ratio autem, cur arborum rami fulmine tacti sese sursum tollant, & homo quoque faciem erigat, hæc esse potest: quia fulminis exhalatione rami sicciores fiant, quocirca in alteram partem inclinati, postea vi ac suæ naturæ relicti sese erigunt, vt contra fulmen stare existimentur. At homo faciem erigit, nam veluti attonitus à fulmine redactus ita supinus iacet, quasi aduersus fulmen pugnare videatur, illique resistere velle iudicetur. Lapis verò, qui interdum ex fulmine cadit, siue metalli quoduis genus sit, ex eadem materia intra nubem, è qua in terræ visceribus generatur, nempe ex humidæ & sicca exhalationis admistione, quæ quidem exhalatio, quemadmodum fuerit, maioremque huius aut illius partem in se habuerit, ita lapidem aut metallum efficit. Nec à ratione & natura alienum est, posse illas exhalationes, in nube, vt in terra misceri, atque concrescere, atque insolubili quodam nexu adeò duras fieri, vt in lapidem, aut metallum crescant. De ingenti tamen metalli magnitudine in tam paruo temporis spatio, an ea in nubibus genita sit, vt Auicenna memorat, affirmare non auderem; Corpora, inquit, & ærea, & similia sagittis hamatis in Persia, cùm coruscat, decidunt; quæ in fornacibus non liquescunt, sed eorum aqua in fumum resoluitur, terra autem sit cinis. Decidit quoque ferri massa quinquaginta librarum, quę pre du- ritie frangi non potuit. Cuius pars ad regem Torati est
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And those things which are not poisonous can become poisonous, and this can happen because lightning is a spirit and a dry exhalation, from whose admixture things that are sulfurous and bitter, which were free from poison, become poisonous; while other poisonous things lose their poison, because such exhalation extinguishes and expels their poison. The reason why the branches of trees struck by lightning lift themselves upward, and why a man also raises his face, may be this: because the branches are made drier by the exhalation of the lightning, whereupon, having bent in the other direction, later, left to the force of their own nature, they raise themselves up, so that they may seem to stand against the lightning. But a man raises his face, for, as if stunned by lightning, he lies on his back, as though he were seen to fight against lightning and were judged to wish to resist it. As for the stone which sometimes falls from lightning, whether it be some kind of metal, it is from the same matter within the cloud, from which in the bowels of the earth it is generated, namely from the admixture of a humid and a dry exhalation. And indeed, according to the nature of the exhalation, as it has been, and according as it has had a greater share of this or that within itself, so it produces stone or metal. Nor is it contrary to reason and nature that those exhalations may, in a cloud as in the earth, mingle and harden, and become so hard by some indissoluble bond that they grow into stone or metal. However, I would not dare affirm, concerning the great size of the metal in so short a span of time, whether it is generated in the clouds, as Avicenna mentions. “Bodies,” he says, “both brass and the like, fall in Persia like hooked arrows when it flashes; they do not melt in furnaces, but their water resolves into smoke, and the earth is ashes. There also falls a mass of iron weighing fifty pounds, which could not be broken because of its hardness. Part of it is with the king of Torati.”
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Liber II. 199 missa, is verò vt enses inde cuderentur, iussit; sed illa, nec frangi, nec cudi potuit. Arabes autem dicunt enses Alamanicos, qui optimi sunt, ex eiusmodi ferro fieri. Hæc < Ensis Alama nici materia qua.> ille. Quæ ego creditu difficilia, & mercatorum comenta esse existimo, vt suos enses carius védant. Nec minus à ratione alienum cæseo hoc, quàm quod alibi Auicenna affirmat, se scilicet vitulum è fulmine cadentem vidisse. < Animalia perfecta in aere minimè generantur.> Nam quamuis animalia minus perfecta, vt ranæ in aëre, ex materia præparata procreari possint, perfectu[m] tamen non nisi ex semine in femellæ vtero gigni potest; quo fit vt Auicenna, aut vitulu[m] illum cadentem somniauerit, aut aliis narrantibus nimis leuiter crediderit. Aut si ipse aut alius side dignus viderit; turbine aliquo vitulus alio in loco sublatus fuit, deinde in terrâ vbi Auicena[m] aut alius erat, demissus, vt è nubibus cadere videretur: na[m] lapides & animalia in sublime subduci per turbinê possunt. < Turbitus ortus.> Cuius turbinis ortus no[n] ab hominu[m] voluntate, sed natura fuit, vt Arist. docet. Ventus namq; in circuli speciem excitatur, cùm spiritus qui è nube excernitur, alteram in nube[m] incurrit; atque ab ea ob illius densitate[m] repercutitur, ac ne rectà feratur, prohibetur; perinde atque in terra euenire solet in locis angustis, in quæ ex amplo & patulo loco vétus coactus est; in quibus locis turbo & vertigo fieri contingit: idque hac de causa, nam ipsius spiritus fluentis prima pars repellitur; quia corpora in quæ incurrit, non cedunt, sed renituntur; aut ob locorum angustiam, aut quòd alius status contrà spiret: Illa igitur status prima pars repulsa, & ab eo quod obstat, ne progrediatur impedita, cùm etiam retrocedere ob statum qui sequitur, & à tergo impellit, non valeat; in obliquum necessariò fertur, qua nimirum
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Book II. 199 he ordered that it should be cast, so that swords might be forged from it; but it could neither be broken nor forged. The Arabs, however, say that the German swords, which are the best, are made from such iron. This is what that author says: <The material of the German sword.> I regard these things as difficult to believe, and think them to be the inventions of merchants, so that they may sell their swords more dearly. Nor do I consider this any less contrary to reason than what Avicenna elsewhere affirms, namely, that he saw a calf falling from a thunderbolt. <Perfect animals are not generated in the air.> For although less perfect animals, such as frogs, can be produced in the air from prepared matter, a perfect animal can be begotten only from seed in the womb of the female; from which it follows that Avicenna either dreamed of that falling calf, or too lightly believed the reports of others. Or, if he himself or someone else worthy of credence saw it, the calf was carried off by some whirlwind elsewhere, and then dropped in the place where Avicenna or the other man was, so that it seemed to fall from the clouds; for stones and animals can be carried aloft by a whirlwind. <The origin of a whirlwind.> The origin of such a whirlwind is not from the will of men, but from nature, as Aristotle teaches. For wind is stirred up into the shape of a circle when the spirit that is discharged from a cloud collides with another cloud; and being repelled by it because of its density, it is prevented from moving straight on; just as on earth it commonly happens in narrow places into which a current of air has been forced from an open and spacious place; in such places a whirlwind and eddy come about: and this happens for this reason, namely, that the first part of the flowing spirit is repelled, because the bodies against which it strikes do not give way, but resist, either because of the narrowness of the place, or because another state blows against it from the opposite direction. Therefore that first part of the current, being repelled and hindered by what stands in the way of its advance, and being also unable to go back because of the current that follows and drives from behind, is necessarily carried obliquely, namely where
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DE FASCINO parte non prohibetur, ita verò vt quod deinceps sequitur, in obliquum vnà cum eo semper deferatur, donec eiusmodi pars prima reflexa, cum eo quod à tergo impellit, coiungatur, & orbis vnus efficiatur: cùmque vnus motus sit, alia quàm orbis figura fieri nequit, & veluti narrato modo in terra, ob dictum statum ne rectà feratur impeditum, ventorum vertigines efficiuntur: ita in nubibus sit, si is qui excernitur spiritus in nubem incurrat, quæ rectum illius exitum impediat, vt diximus. Qui profectò turbines è nubibus ex aëre in mare incidentes, ea quæ in primo libro dicta sunt, & multò plura efficere possunt. < Pluuiæ lactis et sanguinis an fiant.> Miniméque pluuiæ ex lacte, sanguine, carne, ferro, & aliis huiusmodi hominum volutati adscribendæ sunt, cùm naturæ ordine ex vaporibus caloris virtute ex multis terræ differentiis in aërem delatis eis similes fiat. < Terraru[m] differentiæ varia.> Terræ enim aliæ macræ sunt, aliæ pingues, aliæ mediocres, aliæ raræ, aliæ densæ; sunt item molles, duræ, leues, asperæ ac cæruleæ, cinereæ, fuscæ: præterea dulces, pingues, acres, suaues, astringentes. Vnde sit, vt pro vaporum exhalationumq; diuersitate naturam, colorem, saporem & odorem pluuiæ induant. < Niues rubentes in Armenia quare.> Quibus terræ differentiis id accidere arbitror, quod Eustathius Homeri interpres ait, in Armenia scilicet rubentes niues conspici, illa etenim loca minio scatent, cuius colore exhalationes, ex quibus niues fiunt, tinguntur. Et licet Aristoteles nullibi lapides in nubibus gigni dicat, & qui in flumen Ægos decidit, vi ventorum sublatum asserat, tamen non ex hoc infertur, quòd in nubibus non gignantur, vt suprà tetigimus: cùm illuc halitus siccus humido admistus, quæ lapidum materia est, euchatur. Verùm si interdum fulmina, grandines, pluuias, ventos, turbines, &
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OF FASCINATION is not prohibited in part; rather, that which follows afterward is always carried obliquely along with it, until that first reflected part is joined with what impels from behind, and one orbit is made; and since there is one motion, no other shape than an orbit can be formed, and just as, in the manner related, on the earth, by the said condition, because it is hindered from being borne straight, whirlwinds of winds are produced, so it is in the clouds, if the spirit that is exhaled should strike against a cloud that prevents its straight exit, as we have said. Such indeed are the whirlwinds falling from the clouds into the sea through the air, which can produce the things said in the first book, and many more. <Whether rains of milk and blood occur.> And rains from milk, blood, flesh, iron, and other things of this kind should by no means be attributed to the caprice of men, since, according to the order of nature, from vapors carried into the air by the power of heat from many different parts of the earth, things similar to them are produced. <The differences of lands are various.> For some lands are lean, others fertile, others middling; some are rare, others dense; some also are soft, hard, light, rough, blue-gray, ashen, dark: moreover, sweet, rich, sharp, pleasant, astringent. Hence it comes about that, according to the diversity of the vapors and exhalations, rain takes on nature, color, taste, and odor. <Why reddish snows occur in Armenia.> I think this happens because of the differences in the earth, as Eustathius, Homer’s interpreter, says that in Armenia reddish snows are seen; for those regions abound in cinnabar, by whose color the exhalations, from which snows are formed, are tinged. And although Aristotle nowhere says that stones are generated in clouds, and states that the stone which fell into the river Ægos was lifted up by the force of the winds, nevertheless it does not follow from this that they are not generated in clouds, as we touched on above; since there a dry vapor mixed with moisture, which is the material of stones, is raised up. But if sometimes lightning, hail, rains, winds, whirlwinds, and
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Liber II. 201 & alias aeris perturbationes, pro hominum voluntate fieri conspiciamus, huiuscemodi non hominibus, sed dæmonibus adscribenda censeo; quorum innata virtus ad huiuscemodi efficienda sola sufficit, cùm materia ex qua fiunt, dæmonibus obtemperet. Quæ omnia inde mani- festiora esse possunt; nam vt Olaus Magnus refert, Ha- quinus Nouergiæ Princeps contra Danos pugnaturus, orti imbris malficio ita hostiù vertices inusitatis gran- dinis ictibus conuerberauit; vt eorum oculi veluti qui- busdam nimborum spiculis lacessiti, prospiciendique penitus facultate priuati, grauiorem ab elementis pu- gnam, quàm ab hostibus sustincerent. Biarmenses quo- que, eodem Olao referente, polo Arctico viciniores, in Septentrione cõtra potentissimum Regem Regnerum pugnaturi, carminibus aggressi cælum, solicitatas nubes ad summam vsque nimborum violentiam impulerunt. De ventis aute[m] idem asserit, quòd Henricus Suetiæ Rex, in magica arte nulli suo tempore secûdus, tam familia- ris malis dæmonibus erat, vt quocunque suum pileum verteret, confestim inde optatus ventus spiraret, quo e- uentu inditum illi nomen fuit, vt ventosus pileus dice- retur. Finni præterea, vt idem testatur, negotiatoribus in eorum littoribus contraria ventorum tempestate impe- ditis, ventum venalem exhibere solebant; mercedéque oblata, tres nodos magicos non cassioticos loro con- strictos eisdem reddebant; eo seruato moderamine, vt vbi primum dissoluissent, ventos haberent placidos; vbi secundum, vehementiores: at vbi tertium laxauissent, ita sæuas tempestates paterétur, vt nec oculo extra proram in euitádis scopulis, nec pede in naui ad vela deprimen- da, aut in puppi pro clauo dirigendo, integris viribus C c
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Book II. 201 and since we see that these kinds of disturbances of the air happen according to the will of men, I judge that such things should be ascribed not to men, but to demons; whose innate power alone is sufficient to produce such effects, since the matter out of which they are formed obeys the demons. All these things may be made the more evident from this: for, as Olaus Magnus relates, Haquinus, Prince of Norway, being about to fight against the Danes, by his magical contrivance so beat his enemy’s battalions with unheard-of blows of hail from a storm of rain, that their eyes, as if assailed by certain darts of the clouds, were deprived altogether of the ability to look ahead, and they endured a fiercer battle from the elements than from their enemies. The Biarmians also, according to the same Olaus, being nearer the Arctic pole, when about to fight in the North against the most powerful King Regnerus, assaulted the sky with incantations and drove the summoned clouds to the utmost violence of storms. Concerning winds he likewise states that King Henry of Sweden, second to none in his time in the magical art, was so familiar with evil demons that whichever way he turned his hat, immediately the desired wind would blow from that direction; from which event he received the name that he was called the wind-cap. The Finns moreover, as he testifies, when merchants were hindered on their shores by adverse weather of winds, used to provide a wind for sale; and when payment had been offered, they would return to them three magical knots, tied with a band, not without purpose; observing this condition: that when they had first untied the first, they would have gentle winds; when the second, stronger ones; but when they had loosened the third, so savage a storm would follow that they could with neither eye look out beyond the prow to avoid the rocks, nor with foot on the ship to lower the sails, or on the stern to direct the helm, with full strength C c
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potirentur. Quòd asseritur vendi ventos, Herodotus libro 7. de Præfectis Xerxis testatur, quòd in triduana tempestate quadringentas naues amisêre: donec quarto die Magi incisiones faciendo, & veneficiis incantando ventum, Theti & Nereidibus sacrificando tempestatem compescuerunt. Et quoniam dæmones humani generis capitales hostes, & honoris cupidi hominum mentes obcæcatas tenebant, atque illius temporis mortales veri Dei cognitionem ignorabant, hinc est, vt cùm dæmones suo arbitratu ad hominum preces talia efficerent, pro diis haberentur; sibique sacerdotes inter cætera pro fulminibus procurandis expiandisque constitui voluerint, vt in decemuiralibus legibus habetur. Qui quidem sacerdotes à Marco Catone, vt diximus, fulguratores appellantur. At nobis qui longè herclè foelicio re ætate geniti sumus, propterea quòd verum Deum quotidie intuemur, contemplamur, atque veneramur, nullisque amplius dæmonum præstigiis & imposturis illudimur, ecquid turpius magisve pudédum est, quàm nugas terere? & fonte veritatis amisso, fabularum ac deceptionum riuulos sectari? cùm præsertim ita natura co[m]paratum sit, vt nullus animo suauior cibus sit, quàm veri cognitio. Qua veritate motus ad vanam cæli obseruationem refellendam, & ad cæteras nugas confutandas, quorum causa fascinum iaculari creditur, consultò veni. Propria fascini diffinitio traditur. CAP. XV. EXAMINATIS & discussis partibus, quibus fascinum, ex Philosophorum sentetia diffinitum fuit, reliquu[m] est, vt ad Theologorum aures, vera
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so that they might take possession. As for the claim that winds are sold, Herodotus, in Book 7, concerning the commanders of Xerxes, testifies that in a three-day storm they lost four hundred ships: until, on the fourth day, the Magi, by making incisions and by chanting spells with sorcery, offering sacrifices to Thetis and the Nereids, calmed the tempest by means of the wind. And since demons, the mortal enemies of the human race and desirous of honor, kept the minds of men in darkness and blindness, and the mortals of that age were ignorant of the knowledge of the true God, hence it came about that, when demons at their own will produced such things in response to human prayers, they were held to be gods; and they wanted priests to be appointed for themselves, among other things, for procuring and expiating thunderbolts, as is stated in the Twelve Tables. These priests, indeed, are called by Marcus Cato, as we said, fulguratores. But for us, who have been born, by Hercules, in a far happier age, because we behold, contemplate, and venerate the true God each day, and are no longer deceived by any tricks and impostures of demons, what is more shameful or disgraceful than to waste time on trifles? and, having lost the fountain of truth, to follow streams of fables and deceptions? especially since it is so naturally arranged that no food is sweeter to the mind than the knowledge of truth. Moved by this truth, I came deliberately to refute the vain observation of the sky, and to confute the other trifles, on account of which it is believed that the evil eye is cast. The proper definition of the evil eye is set forth. CH. XV. THE PARTS having been examined and discussed, by which the evil eye was defined according to the opinion of the philosophers, it remains that, for the ears of the theologians, the true
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Liber II. 203 eiusde diffinitio assignetur. Quam hâc esse statuo: Fascinum est perniciosa qualitas, demonu arte illata, ob tacitú vel expressum hominú pactú cum eisdé dæmonibus firmatur. In qua quidé distinitione, res distinita est Fascinú, reliquæ verò partes distinientes sunt; ex quibus perniciosa qualitas generis vicem gerit, reliquæ autem, differentiè locum tenent. Et meritò tacitum vel expressum cum dæmonibus pactú ponitur: maxima namque differentia est inter eos qui tacitè, & eos qui expressè dæmones inuocant, vt 1.cap.sequentis lib. fusius dicemus, & cap.xi.præsentis lib. tetigimus: vterque tamen modus eò spectare videtur, vt dæmonibus honor & cultus < Qui diabolu[m] colunt, miserimi sunt.> quidam exhibeatur, dum rebus aut verbis ab illis institutis tanquam sacramentis, ad turpes affectus superstitiosi vtuntur. O infælicis deceptionis errorem, tale nume colere, quod hominibus quotidie imponit, eorum- que sempiterno interitu gaudet. Cuius vanissimæ credulitatis laqueis, vniuersum ferè terraru[m] orbem respersum videmus. Cæterùm præstat, vt ad reliqua ventilanda descendamus, quod in sequenti tractatu exequemur, :CC ij
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Book II. 203 its definition should be given. I set it down thus: Fascination is a pernicious quality, brought in by demonic art, and confirmed by a silent or express pact of men with the same demons. In this definition, indeed, the thing defined is Fascination, while the remaining parts are the defining terms; of these, pernicious quality serves in place of the genus, and the rest hold the place of differentia. And rightly is a silent or express pact with demons included: for there is a great difference between those who secretly, and those who openly invoke demons, as we shall discuss more fully in the first chapter of the following book, and touched on in chapter xi of the present book: yet both modes seem to aim at this, that honor and worship be shown to demons, while by things or words instituted by them, as though sacraments, they are used for shameful, superstitious desires. < Qui diabolu[m] colunt, miserimi sunt.> O error of wretched deception, to worship such a god, who daily deceives men and rejoices in their everlasting destruction. We see the whole world, or nearly the whole earth, sprinkled with the nets of this most vain belief. Moreover, it is better that we proceed to examine the remaining matters, which we shall set forth in the following treatise, :CC ij
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LEONARDI VAIRI SANCTÆ SOPHIÆ BENEVENTANÆ, ORDINIS SANCTI BENEDICTI, Canonici Regularis, & eiusdem Abbatiæ Prioris, ac Sacræ Theologiæ Doctoris, DE FASCINO, LIBER III. Auctoritatum fascinum esse loquentium vera expositio ac sensus. CAPVT PRIMVM. NEMINI mirum visurum arbitror; si in præcedetii libro, non à primo huius materiæ capite examinando, verùm à secundo orsi sumus. Si quidem maiorem < Diffinitionis cognitio omnes difficultates elucidas.> lucem atque intelligetiam ex definitionis examine, dicédis afferri posse existimauimus, quàm si ab ipso SI EST, initiu sumptu fuisset. Quod quidem pertractandi præceptum ab Auerroc in libr. de Physico auditu mutuati sumus; vbi non rei naturam tantùm, sed omnes difficultates de re incidentes ex diffinitionis cognitione, < As & natura repentinos motus abhorrent.> dilucidari docet. Accedit etiam, quod in lectorum odium, ac maleuolentiam incidissem, si in ipso operis limine fascinum in hominum, ac vulgi opinione receptum in dubium vocare voluissem: ars enim, sicut natura, repentinos motus abhorret: ideò paulatim veri-
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LEONARDI VAIRI OF SANCTÆ SOPHIA OF BENEVENTO, OF THE ORDER OF SAINT BENEDICT, Regular Canon, and Prior of the same Abbey, and Doctor of Sacred Theology, ON FASCINATION, BOOK III. The exposition and sense of the authorities is that fascination belongs to those who speak the truth. CHAPTER ONE. I do not think anyone will find it surprising if, in the preceding book, we did not begin by examining the first chapter of this subject, but rather the second. For we judged that greater <The knowledge of the definition makes all difficulties clear.> light and understanding could be brought out from the examination of the definition than if we had started from the very question of whether it exists. Indeed, we borrowed this method of treatment from Averroes in his book On the Physics of Hearing, where he teaches that not only the nature of the thing, but all difficulties arising concerning the thing, are made clear through knowledge of the definition. <And as nature abhors sudden movements.> Moreover, I should have fallen into the dislike and ill will of readers had I wished, at the very threshold of the work, to call into question the fascination received in the opinion of men and the common people; for art, like nature, abhors sudden movements: therefore little by little,
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LIBER III. 205 tatis viam fascini causas rimando, & discutiédo examinari oportuit, quò falsitatis, ac deceptionis origo, & fundamentum cognosceretur, & cognitum radicitùs auferretur. Consutandi præterea modus similis est resolutioni, quæ compositioni est admodum contraria: componentes enim à principiis, resoluentes à mediis, ac postremis exordium. Cum itaque primo lib. tradita consutaturi essemus, dissimili ordine à compositione incipiendum fuit, vt Boëtius non semel monet. Verùm vt à nobis dicenda clarius intelligantur, notatu dignum existimo, duobus præcipuis modis apud Vteres fascini nomé vsurpari solitum; primo pro Priapi pene, vt Aug. lib. 6. de Ciuit. Dei Cap. 9. refert, quo quidem modo Ouid. vsus est, Soles sacrum reuinctum pampino caput, Ruber sedere cum rubente fascino. Super ipsum namque noua nupta more honestissimo, & religiosissimo matronarum sedere iubebatur. Horatius quoque rem eandem fascinum nominat in Epo. ita inquiens: Minúsve languet fascinum. Causam Porphyrius adducit, quòd fascinádis rebus hæc membri deformitas adderetur. Alij potius ab auertendo fascino, dictum esse consent: quòd in sacris Dionysij ritè propitiatro Priapo, & imposita illi corona à matrona honestissima, fascinum à frugibus auerteretur, vt Aug. lib. 7. de Ciuit. Dei, ex Varrone meminit; & ad fascinu[m] amolendum super id sedere iubebatur: nam Pompeius Festus versus Fescenninos, qui in nuptiis dicebantur, etiam inde videri dictos posse scribit, quòd fascinum atcere existimarentur. atque illi etiam qui fascinum pellere credebantur, Fesnoæ, vel Fescennini dicebantur. Et sicut in Cecii
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LIBER III. 205 the way of the fascinum had to be examined by tracing and scrutinizing its causes, so that the origin and foundation of falsehood and deception might be known, and, once known, uprooted entirely. Moreover, the method of stitching together is similar to resolution, which is very contrary to composition: for composing proceeds from first principles, while resolving begins from the middle and the end. Since therefore we were about to treat of what had been handed down in the first book, a different order from composition had to be followed at the outset, as Boëtius more than once warns. But that what is to be said by us may be understood more clearly, I consider it worthy of note that among the ancients the name fascinum was customarily used in two principal senses: first, for the penis of Priapus, as August. relates in book 6 of the City of God, ch. 9; in this sense Ovid used it: Soles sacrum reuinctum pampino caput, Ruber sedere cum rubente fascino. For over it the new bride, according to the most honorable and most religious custom of matrons, was ordered to sit. Horace also calls the same thing fascinum in the Epodes, saying thus: Minúsve languet fascinum. Porphyrius gives the reason, namely that this deformity of the member was added to things that were being bewitched. Others rather agree that it was so called from warding off the fascinum, because in the rites of Dionysus, when Priapus had been duly propitiated and a crown placed upon him by a most honorable matron, the fascinum was turned away from the crops, as Aug. recalls from Varro in book 7 of the City of God; and to drive away the fascinum, one was ordered to sit upon it: for Pompeius Festus writes that the Fescennine verses, which were spoken at weddings, may also seem to have been so called from this, because they were thought to ward off the fascinum. And those also who were believed to drive away the fascinum were called Fesnoae, or Fescennini. And just as in Cecii
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agris, ita & in nuptiis Priapus seminum Deus, ne foecunditas fascinatione impediretur, colebatur. nisi potius sit, quod Lactantius lib. pri. ait, Mutinum esse deum, in cuius siuu pudendo nubentes primùm sederent, vt illam pudicitiam prior Deus delibasse videretur: qui fascini modus, cùm nullam penitus rationem præ se ferat, omnique turpitudinis genere refertus sit, co[n]futatione non indiget. nam vt prim. Ethic. ab Arist. dicitur, non quæuis opiniones refellendæ sunt, sed quæ probabilitatem aliquam habent & rationes aliquas, quibus nitantur. Secundò fascinum sumptum reperio sicut pri. lib. à nobis definitum est, quod satis superque præcedenti tractatu examinantes co[n]futa[ti]o[n]imus: & illius erroris, ac deceptionis origo, præter ea quæ diximus, inde ortu[m] habere potuit, quòd dæmones omniu[m] artium ac fraudu[m] quas hominibus tendere potuerunt, nihil intentatu[m] reliquerunt, quò illoru[m] mentem à veritatis via ac scopo abstraheret, atq[ue] diuerterent: scientes quòd vbi deceptio vel leuiter semel humanu[m] intellectu[m] inuaserit, adeo cęcos homines reddit, vt ad omniu[m] scelerum perpetratione[m] eos slectat, ac penè præcipitet. Illos namq[ue] comunes omniu[m] hostes non latet, quòd veluti nemo est tâ fatuus, vt sponte sese præcipite[m] det, sic postqua[m] semel ipsis adhæserit, etsi maxima præditus sit sapientia, vi sua ab eius retibus ac laqueis fugere nullo pacto potest. Quocirca per n[on]nullas imposturas, veluti per quæda[m] oblectamenta humanum genus fallere coeperut. Mortuusq[ue] iis quibus cum expressum foedus inierunt, per vsum veneficiorum, collyrioru[m], vnguétorum, potionum, alligationu[m], suspensionum, annulorum, imaginum, characteru[m], laminarum, certorum numerorum, sonoru[m], sacrificiorum, solitudinu[m], imagi-
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Likewise, in weddings Priapus, the god of seed, was worshipped, so that fertility might not be hindered by fascination. Or rather it may be, as Lactantius says in the first book, that Mutinus was the god in whose shameful lap the brides first sat, so that it might seem that the first god had tasted that chastity before another: which mode of fascination, since it presents no reason at all and is full of every kind of baseness, does not need refutation. For, as Aristotle says in the first book of the Ethics, not every opinion is to be refuted, but only those that have some probability and some reasons on which they rest. Secondly, I find fascination taken in the sense defined by us in the first book, and enough and more than enough we examined and refuted it in the preceding treatise: and the origin of that error and deception, besides what we have said, could have arisen from this, that the demons, leaving nothing unattempted among all the arts and frauds by which they could ensnare men, tried everything to draw and divert their minds from the path and goal of truth, knowing that where deception has once, even lightly, invaded the human intellect, it makes men so blind that it inclines them and almost hurls them into the commission of all crimes. For those common enemies of all are not unaware that just as no one is so foolish as to cast himself down of his own will, so once he has attached himself to them, even if endowed with the greatest wisdom, by his own power he can in no way escape their nets and snares. Wherefore they began to deceive the human race by certain impostures, as it were by certain pleasures. And they pursued those with whom they had entered into an express pact by the use of sorceries, eye-washes, ointments, potions, bindings, suspensions, rings, images, characters, plates, certain numbers, sounds, sacrifices, solitudes, imagi-
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Liber III. 207 nationu[m], incantationu[m], adiurationum, consecrationum, iciuniorum, somniorum, orationu[m], cæremoniarum, coelestium coiunctionum, & alioru[m] huiusmodi, posteri succedeant, ad quos dæmonum familiaritas & amicitia, velut hæreditario iure per innumeras superstitiones, & <Fascinandi virtutis hæredes.> inter alias per matris & filij coeubitum, iuxta Persarum superstitionem proueniebat, vt Catullus ait; Nascatur magus ex Gelli matrisque nefando Concubitu, & discat Persicum haruspicium. <Magi nativitas ex Catullo.> Nam magus ex matre & gnato nascatur oportet, Si vera est Persarum impia relligio: Natus vt accepto veneretur carmine diuos; Omentum in flamma pingue liquefaciens. quorum posterorum alij expressum, nonnulli tacitu[m] pactum superstitiosis quibusdam signis adhibitis cu[m] dæmonibus seruabant: sibi persuadentes eiusmodi signa causas illorum effectuum esse, quos perficere intende- bant. Dæmones aute[m], qui per notiones sibi inditas, maxinam rerum omnium scientia habent (virtutes namq[ue] <Dæmonum scientia.> coelorum, stellarum, volucrum, piscium, arboru[m], herbarum, metallorum, lapidu[m], elementorum optimè callent, & quid homini prodesse aut obesse possit, non ignorat: quid morbos, mortem, cruciatus, aut alia quæuis nocumenta afferre queat, bene norunt) secretò venena adhibebant, aut in vestem, aut in potum, aut in cibum, aut in stomachu[m] immittendo: eis etenim corpora omnia obediunt, vt sæpius diximus: Vnde per naturæ venena dæmones ea faciebat, quæ fascinatores per oculos, aut alia instrumenta se efficere putabant. na[m] venena fascinantes ignorabat, nec illis rebus quas perdere volebat, ea adhiberi cernebant: eaq[ue] flagitia non omniu[m], sed illoru[m] tantu[m]
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Liber III. 207 nations, incantations, adjurations, consecrations, fasts, dreams, prayers, ceremonies, celestial conjunctions, and other things of this kind, successors arise, to whom familiarity and friendship with demons, as if by hereditary right through innumerable superstitions, and <Heirs of the power of bewitching.> among others through the coupling of mother and son, according to the Persian superstition, used to occur, as Catullus says; A magician is born from the forbidden union of Gellius and his mother, and let him learn Persian haruspicy. <The birth of a magician from Catullus.> For a magician ought to be born from mother and son, If the impious religion of the Persians is true: So that, born, he may worship the gods with an accepted song; Melted fat from the omentum in the flame. Some of these descendants preserved an express, others a silent pact with demons, employing certain superstitious signs, persuading themselves that such signs were the causes of those effects which they intended to bring about. But demons, who, by the notions implanted in them, possess the greatest knowledge of all things (for they know best the virtues <Knowledge of demons.> of the heavens, the stars, birds, fish, trees, herbs, metals, stones, and elements, and do not ignore what may be useful or harmful to man: they know well what may bring diseases, death, torments, or any other injury) secretly applied poisons, either by introducing them into clothing, or into drink, or into food, or into the stomach: for all bodies obey them, as we have often said. Hence, by the poisons of nature, demons did those things which fascinators thought they accomplished by means of the eyes, or other instruments. For the poisons were unknown to the fascinators, nor did they see these things being applied to the objects they wished to destroy; and these crimes were not of all, but only of those
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gratia præstabantur, qui eiusmodi tacitum, vel expressum pactum cum dæmonibus habebant. interdum autem in vna familia admodum pauci reperiebantur, qui id facerent, sæpè tota familia huius criminis hæres erar, aliquando etiam totus vnius Vrbis populus hac pestilentia contaminatus erat: quæ labes per dæmonum astum, ac malitiam deinde diffusa, totum terrarum orbem inuadere coepit, tantásque in hominum animis radices egit, vt si Iesus Christus Saluator noster in hunc mundum ad humanum genus redimendum & illuminandum dæmonumque fraudes destruendum non venisset, adhuc in tantorum errorum tenebris iaceremus. Quemadmodum veteres iacuisse legimus, & inter alios Isigonum, ex cuius sententia Plinius lib. 7. cap. 2. refert, in Triballis, & Illyriis homines reperiri, qui visu effascinent, interimantque quos iratis præcipuè oculis diutius intueatur; & ex Nymphodoro in Africa, familias quasdam effascinates tradit, quarum oratione laudata quæque intereant, arbores arescant, infantes emoriantur. Et ex Apollonide huius generis familias in Scythia esse prodit, quæ Bythiæ vocantur, ac denique in Ponto Thibiorum genus, multósqque alios eiusdem naturæ ex Philarcho narrat. Eodem quoque pacto illud Arist. Alexandri, Solini, Heliodori, Plutarchi, Pomponatij, Auicennæ, Algazelis, omniumque hac de re loquetium intelligendum est, ac denique omnes auctoritates, & rationes à nobis ad fascinum esse probandum adductas eodem sensu intelligendas, & exponendas duco, hoc est non propria vi, sed dæmonum arte eiusmodi mala homines intulisse, & vbi Arist. de fascino in problematibus locutus est, sectione 7. problemate 7. ibi non de sua, sed de aliorum
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Favours were bestowed on those who had such a tacit or express pact with demons. Sometimes, however, in a single household only a very few were found who did this; often the whole family was heir to this crime, and sometimes even the whole population of a city was contaminated by this plague. This corruption, spreading afterward through the cunning and malice of demons, began to invade the whole world and took such deep root in men’s minds that, if Jesus Christ our Savior had not come into this world to redeem and enlighten the human race and to destroy the deceits of the demons, we would still be lying in the darkness of so many errors. In the same way, as we read that the ancients lay under such beliefs, and among others Isigonus, from whose account Pliny, book 7, chapter 2, reports that among the Triballi and Illyrians there are men who bewitch by their glance and kill those whom they look at for a long time, especially with angry eyes; and from Nymphodorus he records that in Africa there are certain bewitching families, by whose praise whatever is praised perishes, trees wither, infants die. And from Apollonides he relates that in Scythia there are families of this kind, called Bythiae, and finally in Pontus the race of the Thibii, and many others of the same nature, as Philarchus tells. In the same way, that statement of Aristotle, Alexander, Solinus, Heliodorus, Plutarch, Pomponatius, Avicenna, Algazel, and all others who speak on this matter is to be understood; and finally I judge that all the authorities and reasons cited by us to prove that fascination should be understood and explained in the same sense, namely, that men inflicted such evils not by any proper power of their own, but by the art of demons; and where Aristotle spoke of fascination in the Problems, section 7, problem 7, there he was speaking not of his own, but of others’
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LIBER III. 209 aliorum mente respondet, vt fecit quando lumen esse corpus dixit, quia sic Anaxagoras & Democritus sentiebant, atque Arist. satis est, nunc ad huius nunc ad illius placitum problemata soluere. Cumque magis magisque innumera propè mala à scelestis hominibus passim perpetrarétur, opus fuit apud veteres (vt in Decemviralibus tabulis notatum citauimus) omnes capitis obnoxios iudicari, qui eiusmodi scelera perpetrassent, segetes excantassent, aut vllis veneficiis & carminibus pellicere ausi essent. Ad illud verò de Agricola, qui in iudicium vocatus fuit, quòd omnes segetes, ac vincas suo prædio vicinas fascino arefecerit, & sua sata opima reddiderit; dicimus, terrâ cum animalibus, & plantis proportione ac similitudine quadâ, quædam principia habere; nam & stirpibus & animalibus, eorumque partibus status ille validus & vigens, ac senectus cernitur, & Huiusmodi à frigore & calore ortum habent. quos equidem status in terra inueniri, & ab eisdem causis proficisci, cum Arist. in pri. Meteororu[m] asserimus. Sed hoc interest, quia animalia non per partes iuuenescunt, aut senescunt, sed tota simul corpora, terra verò no[n] tota simul, sed per partes, vt quibusda[m] in locis iuuenescat, vigeatque, in aliis senescat. & sicut animalia, & stirpes, tu cum vigore prædita sunt, humore abundant, quo cum senescunt, destituuntur; ita & partes terræ vigentes ac firma ætate præditæ, humidæ sunt, & ad aliquod vsque tempus in eo statu perseuerare possunt; senescentes autem arescunt, & effoetæ fiunt: quæ permutatio in aliquibus partibus terræ reperitur. In siccitate namque & frigiditate, senectus est posita. In senectute stirpium & animalium, humor ille natiuus, quo viridior ætas pollebat, quique caloris natu- Dd
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BOOK III. 209 responds to the mind of others, as he did when he said that light is a body, because Anaxagoras and Democritus thought so, and Aristotle is satisfied that problems may now be resolved according to the opinion of this man, now of that. And since more and more countless evils were being perpetrated everywhere by wicked men, it was necessary among the ancients (as we have cited, noted in the Decemviral tables) that all those liable to capital punishment should be judged, who had committed such crimes, had bewitched crops, or had dared to allure by any sorceries and incantations. As for that case concerning a farmer, who was summoned to trial because by his evil eye he had withered all the crops and vineyards neighboring his estate and had made his own fields fruitful, we say that the earth, together with animals and plants, has certain principles by a certain proportion and similarity; for in both plants and animals, and in their parts, that strong and vigorous state, and old age, are observed, and such things have their origin from cold and heat. These states, indeed, are found in the earth, and proceed from the same causes, as we assert with Aristotle in the first book of the Meteorologica. But this is the difference, because animals do not grow young or grow old in parts, but their bodies all at once, whereas the earth does not all at once, but by parts, so that in some places it grows young and flourishes, while in others it grows old. And just as animals and plants, when endowed with vigor, abound in moisture, of which they are deprived when they grow old, so too the parts of the earth that are flourishing and endowed with a firm age are moist, and are able to persist in that state for some time; but when growing old they dry up and become exhausted: which change is found in some parts of the earth. For in dryness and coldness old age is placed. In the old age of plants and animals, that native moisture, by which a greener age flourished, and which was of the nature of heat-
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DE FASCINO ralis sedes est & alimentum, imminuitur quousque ad extremam siccitatem redacta sua sp[eci]e te intereant. Cùm itaque per naturæ principia terra pinguis ad sterilitatem deflectere queat, quæ principia dæmonibus nota ad nutum eis obtemperat, clarum est ac manifestum, dæmonum ope, ab agricola id effici potuisse. quemadmodum illud accidisse reor, quod Plinius de Oliueto viam publicam transgresso, & de prædiis in contrarias sedes profectis narrat, ac Virgilius de satis messibus aliò traductis in Bucolicis affirmat. quæ omnia ex Diui Aug. sententia lib. 8. de Ciuit. Dei cap. 19. dæmonum ministerio fieri potuerunt: & nunc si Deus sineret, ab illis similia fieri possent. Sicut enim humanus animus, ad corpus sibi vnitum mouendum se habet: ita spiritus illi tanquam elevatio[n]es ad omnia inferiora corpora mouenda se habent, vt Aug. ac cæteri Ecclesiæ Doctores sentiunt: nisi quòd totam terram mouere, aut à suis locis elementa extrahere non possunt, cùm naturæ ordinem destruere nequeant: at domum, montem, turrim, Syluam facillimè mouere possunt. mira namque celeritate, & tempore incomprehensibili ab Oriente in Occidentem, à terra ad coelum, & è conuerso, etiam continuo motu, non transeundo per media, mouere queunt: veluti nostra imaginatio iuxta sanctum Thomam mouetur. Quòd si terræ pars, de vno ad alium locum per naturæ causas trasferri potest, pariterque à dæmonibus sedibus suis dimoueri, miru[m] videri non debet, si eisdem de causis mare in terras irrupere, aut eas deserere interdú accidat, marisq; & terræ mutatio fiat. Cuius rei nô vna, sed plures causæ esse solent: vt terræ motus, vis vêtorum, stellarum virtus, aggerum quibus continetur effra-
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For it is its natural seat and nourishment, it is diminished until, reduced to extreme dryness, its species perish. Since therefore, according to the principles of nature, fertile land can decline into sterility, and these principles are known to demons and obey them at their command, it is clear and manifest that, with the help of demons, this could have been brought about by a farmer. I think the same sort of thing happened, as Pliny relates of the olive grove that crossed the public road and of estates that passed over into opposite places, and as Virgil in the Bucolics affirms concerning crops and harvests carried elsewhere. All these things, according to the judgment of the blessed Augustine in book 8 of De Civitate Dei , chapter 19, could have been done by the ministry of demons; and even now, if God were to permit it, similar things could be done by them. For just as the human mind behaves with respect to moving the body joined to it, so those spirits behave like elevations for moving all lower bodies, as Augustine and the other Doctors of the Church think; except that they cannot move the whole earth, or draw the elements out of their places, since they cannot destroy the order of nature. But they can very easily move a house, a mountain, a tower, a forest. Indeed, with marvelous speed and in a time beyond comprehension, from East to West, from earth to heaven, and conversely, even by continuous motion, without passing through the intervening spaces, they can move them, just as our imagination is moved, according to Saint Thomas. And if a part of the earth can be transferred from one place to another by natural causes, and likewise be displaced from its seats by demons, it should not seem strange if, for the same causes, the sea should break into the lands, or at other times leave them, and a change of sea and land should take place. The causes of this are not one, but many: such as earthquakes, the force of winds, the power of the stars, the embankments by which it is held in check, which are bro-
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Liber III. 211 etio, & incendia quæ postrema ratio in causa superioribus annis fuit, vt Puteolis aliquot miliarium interuallo mare à terra recesserit. < Mare à terra moliis in locis recessit.> Memoriæ præterea proditú est, in Ambraciæ Portu decem milliu[m] passuum interuallo mare recessisse. < Rhodus apparuit ex maris recessio.> Item Athenis quinque millium, & supra Memphim vsq; ad Æthiopú montes: & Ephesi, ac circa Ilium. Pindarus quoq; maris recessu Rhodú apparuisse inquit. de Ammonis regione, & de eius circa templum exsiccatione Strabo ex Eratosthene meminit lib. pri. vbi ad tria millia stadiorum, quod est spatium viæ, qua ad illud itur, permultam ostreorum effusionem esse tradit: per multa quoq; salis semina, ac prope etiam ipsum, maritimarum quàm plura nauium fragmêta ostentari, quæ hiantibus terris apparuerunt. Hinc Xanthum Lydium, & Stratonem Physicum existimasse, loca illa mare aliquando fuisse. Vnde illud Plinij ita intelligitur, quando ait, terras multas nasci non solùm fluminum inuectu, sed etiam maris recessu. Mare insuper in terras irrupisse, multâque loca sicca & habitata, inundasse legimus. qua ratione multæ insulæ factæ sunt, quæ priùs iunctæ erant. Sicut Sicilia à Calabria auulsa fertur, Cyprus à Syria, Eubœa à Bæotia. Anaxagoras maris inundationem in multa loca sensisse fertur: qui interrogatus, an aliquando futurum esset vt Lampascus aqua tegeretur, respondisse dicitur, nisi tempus finem recipiat. In multis denique locis hæc terræ & maris vicissitudo, ob vestigia quæda relicta spectatur: vt etiam sint qui putent, totu[m] Mediterraneum mare per columnas & Gaditanum fretum intra terras irrupisse, totamque eam, quæ nunc tegitur, aquis partem inundasse. Dd ij
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Book III. 211 and fires, which in former years were the final remedy in the case, so that at Puteoli, at a distance of some miles, the sea had receded from the land. The sea receded from the land in certain places. It is likewise recorded by memory that in the harbor of Ambracia, at a distance of ten thousand paces, the sea receded. Rhodes appeared by the recession of the sea. Likewise at Athens, five thousand paces, and beyond Memphis as far as the mountains of Ethiopia; and at Ephesus, and around Ilium. Pindar also says that Rhodes appeared through the recession of the sea. Strabo, from Eratosthenes, mentions the region of Ammon, and the drying up around its temple, Book I, where he says that for three thousand stadia, which is the distance of the road by which one goes there, there is a very great scattering of shells; and likewise, over many seeds of salt, and even near the very place itself, many fragments of seagoing ships are displayed, which have appeared where the earth gaped open. Hence Xanthus of Lydia, and Strato the Natural Philosopher, judged that those places had once been sea. From this Pliny’s statement is thus understood, when he says that many lands are formed not only by the carrying down of rivers, but also by the recession of the sea. Moreover, we read that the sea has broken in upon lands and flooded many dry and inhabited places. By this process many islands have been made, which were formerly joined together. As Sicily is said to have been torn from Calabria, Cyprus from Syria, and Euboea from Boeotia. Anaxagoras is said to have perceived the inundation of the sea in many places: for when asked whether it would ever happen that Lampsacus would be covered by water, he is said to have replied, Unless time itself comes to an end. In many places, finally, this alternation of land and sea is observed because of certain traces left behind: so that there are even those who think that the whole Mediterranean Sea broke in through the Pillars and the strait of Gadira into the land, and flooded the entire part of it that is now covered by waters. Dd ij
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DE FASCINO & ita particulare diluuium natura fieri potest; non auté < Particulare diluuium natura fieri potest. > vniuersale, quale à Poetis Deucalionis tépore fingitur, vt aliàs innuimus, quo totum genus humanum præter ipsum Deucalionem & Pyrrham interiisse perhibent. Vnde Seneca ait, Berosum ea sententia fuisse, vt putarit totius terræ inundationem fore, cùm sidera omnia errantia < Berosi opinio de futuro diluuiio. > in Capricornum conuenerint, sic sub eode[m] posita vestigio, vt recta linea per eorum orbes possit exire. At quoniâ illius signi virtus in omnes terræ partes diffundi non potest, siue specialem influxum illi adscribamus, siue luminis & caloris priuationem, ob tales effectus, ideo cùm in Septentrionalibus partibus duntaxat eiusmodi dominiu[m] habet, ob eam causam ibi solùm tale diluuium accidere posset. Natura etenim ita rerum omnium causas ordinauit, vt ad vniuersi conservationem, & non ad destructionem pertineret: quò fit vt maris ac terræ mutationis vicissitudo, non vbique terrarum, sed quibuscum tantùm in partibus per dæmones sicut per naturæ causas fieri queat, quemadmodum de eiusde[m] terræ partis translatione de vno loco ad alium diximus. Deus enim totum elementum à suo loco dimoueri non patitur, < Elementis totum à suo loco dimoueri non potest. > ne mundi ordo destruatur. Illud verò quod sub historiæ nomine à Philostrato de Apollonio Thyaneo scriptum legitur, à scripturis sanctis, quæ à populis idololatris corruptæ fuerunt, veluti nonnullas poetarum fabulas, & gentilium scripta originem duxisse, cum Paulo Orosio arbitrari quis posset. Sicut Deucalionis & Pyrrhæ diluuium, à vero diluuiio Noe: Phaetontis à Coelo casus, à miraculoso die, qui tot horis tempore Iosue auctus fuit; bellum Gigantum qui montes cumulabant, vt cum Ioue pugnarent, à Babelis turri:
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ON FASCINATION and thus a particular flood can be brought about by nature; but not a universal one, such as is imagined by the poets in the time of Deucalion, as we have elsewhere indicated, in which they relate that the whole human race perished except Deucalion and Pyrrha. Whence Seneca says that Berosus held the opinion that there would be an inundation of the whole earth when all the wandering stars had come together in Capricorn, being thus set beneath the same footing, so that a straight line could pass through their orbits. But since the power of that sign cannot be diffused into all parts of the earth, whether we ascribe to it a special influx or the deprivation of light and heat, because of such effects, therefore since it exercises such dominion only in the northern parts, for that reason such a flood could occur there alone. For nature has so ordered the causes of all things that they pertain to the preservation of the universe, and not to its destruction; whence it follows that the alternation of changes in sea and land does not take place everywhere on earth, but only in those parts in which it can occur, whether through demons or through the causes of nature, just as we have said concerning the transfer of that same part of the earth from one place to another. For God does not allow the whole element to be moved from its place, so that the order of the world be not destroyed. But that which is read under the name of history in Philostratus concerning Apollonius of Tyana, may be thought to have had its origin, like certain fables of the poets and writings of the pagans, from the sacred Scriptures, which were corrupted by idolatrous peoples, as Paulus Orosius thought. Just as the flood of Deucalion came from the true flood of Noah, and the fall of Phaethon from heaven from the miraculous day that was lengthened by so many hours in the time of Joshua; and the war of the Giants, who piled up mountains in order to fight with Jupiter, from the tower of Babel:
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Liber III. 213 deorum ambrosia à manna, quam in deserto Israëlitis pluit: pestis Romana, ab illa quæ in deserto fuit: Æsculapij serpens ab Epidauro veniens, ab illo æneo Moysis: sic Apollonij Thyanei præstigiæ, à veris Saluatoris nostri Iesu Christi miraculis occasionem sumplerunt: quem Apollonium, cùm Philostratus tot mira de Saluatore nostro audiuerit, illo argumento vtens extollere voluit, vt scribêdi materiam haberet, vti nonnulli censent. D. verò August. de Ciuit. Dei, cap. 19. lib. 8. illum Magum fuisse affirmat, Romanusq[ue] legibus apud Domitianum Cæsarem de magia postulatum fuisse, sicut Apulcium apud Claudium Maximum Africæ præfectum. Ad auctoritates verò D. Thomæ, Hieron. Isidori, & omnium piorum scriptorum fascinum asserétium respondemus, quòd si bene inspiciantur, omnes de malo per dêmones illato loquutur, quod verius veneficium quàm fascinum diceretur. Sed quoniam vulgaris hominum sermo fascinum appellat, nos quoque ita nuncupauimus. At in illis verbis Psal. Qui timent te, videbunt me: interpretes de aue Ictero atque de reliquis non assertiuè, sed aliorum opiniones recensendo loquuntur. Verbum autem ad Galat. D. Pauli, interprete Hieronymo, fascinauit, pro inuidere sumitur: quia cùm Galatæ in Christo quasi inodò geniti infantes foeliciter crescerent, à falsis Apostolis inuidentibus quasi à fascinanti bus læsi sunt, & ad legis inopiam ac miseriam tabescentes, veluti fascinati reducti fuerunt: nâ quemadmodum fascinator diros in infante oculos figit, donec horribili intuitu, aut dæmonum ope illi noceat; ita peruersus ac pestilens doctor oculum suum improbum, hoc est, impiam doctrinam in simplices animas, instillando figit, D d. iii.
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Liber III. 213 the ambrosia of the gods from the manna, which in the desert rained down on the Israelites; the Roman plague, from that which was in the desert; the serpent of Aesculapius coming from Epidaurus, from the brazen serpent of Moses: thus the tricks of Apollonius of Tyana took their occasion from the true miracles of our Savior Jesus Christ. Philostratus, having heard so many wonderful things about our Savior, wished to exalt that Apollonius by using that argument, so as to have material for writing, as some think. But St. Augustine, De Civitate Dei, book 8, chapter 19, affirms that he was a magician, and that he was prosecuted under the laws at Rome before Emperor Domitian for magic, just as Apuleius was before Claudius Maximus, prefect of Africa. As for the authorities of St. Thomas, Jerome, Isidore, and all pious writers who affirm the fascinum, we reply that if they are carefully examined, they all speak of evil brought about by demons, which would more properly be called sorcery than fascinum. But since common speech of men calls it fascinum, we have likewise so named it. Yet in those words of Psalm: “They that fear thee shall see me,” the interpreters speak of the bird Icterus and of the rest, not affirmatively, but by recounting the opinions of others. Moreover, in St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, the word, as interpreted by Jerome, fascinavit, is taken for to envy: because when the Galatians, like infants newly born in Christ, were happily growing, they were harmed by false Apostles who envied them, as though by those who bewitch; and, wasting away into the poverty and misery of the Law, they were brought back as if bewitched. For just as a bewitcher fixes his dire eyes upon an infant until, by a dreadful glance or by the aid of demons, he harms him, so a perverse and pestilent teacher fixes his evil eye, that is, his impious doctrine, upon simple souls, by instilling it into them. D d. iii.
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DE FASCINO 214 quousque meram & germanam intelligentiam diabolico suasu corrumpat: & quis vos fascinauit id est, more magorum ludificauit, atque decepit, vel more oculos inscientiú veneno falsitatis immutauit? Quocirca bea- tus Hieronymus, ex vulgari sermone & vulgi opinione Apostolum locutum censet. Sicut nonnulla ex Gentilium scriptis in diuinis litteris assumi videntur; quæ à Poëtarum fabulis causam & originem habent, vt Vallis Titanorum 2. Reg. 23. Sirenæ & Onocentauri, Esa. 34. Arcturus, Orion, Pleiades, Iob 9. cap. Eodem quoque modo illud Sapientiæ, pro inuidia interpretes exponût. Nam sicut sacris scriptoribus consuetum ac familiare est, fascinare pro inuidere vti; ita è contrà profani inuidere pro fascinare assumunt, cùm fascinandi libido ab inuidia oriri soleat. Vnde Catullus, Conturbabimus illa, ne sciamus, Aut ne quis malus inuidere possit. Quòd autem inuidere pro fascinare Poëta intellexerit, ex alterius epigrammatis versibus in eodem sensu compositis colligimus, vbi sic ait: Quin nec pernumerare curiosi Possint, nec mala fascinare lingua. Eis enim rebus fascinatio nocere non posse credebatur, quarum numerus ignoraretur: sicut nostræ tempestatis mulierculæ, in superstitiosis rebus exercitatæ non ignorant. Dionysius Carthusianus citata Sapientiæ verba 4. cap. Fascinatio malignitatis obscurat bona, exponens ait; Inuidus non solùm sibi ipsi, sed etiam his nocet, in quib[us] aliqua bona esse incipiuit. Et quia, vt Cic. in 3. Tusc. inquit, Inuidentia est animi ægritudo, quæ propter alterius res secundas suscipitur, nomen verò inuidiæ ambi-
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ON WITCHCRAFT 214 how long he corrupts with devilish prompting the pure and genuine understanding; and “who hath bewitched you,” that is, after the manner of magicians has deluded and deceived you, or, like the eye, has changed it by the poison of falsehood in ignorance? Wherefore blessed Jerome thinks that the Apostle spoke from common speech and the opinion of the common people. Just as some things from Gentile writings seem to have been taken into the divine Scriptures, things which have their cause and origin from the fables of the poets, as the Valley of the Titans, 2 Kings 23; Sirens and Onocentaurs, Isa. 34; Arcturus, Orion, the Pleiades, Job 9, chapter. In the same way also the interpreters explain that passage of Wisdom as meaning envy. For just as it is customary and familiar to sacred writers to use “to bewitch” for “to envy,” so on the other hand profane writers take “to envy” for “to bewitch,” since the desire to bewitch is usually born from envy. Hence Catullus: We will disturb that, lest we may know, Or lest some evil one may be able to envy. And that the poet understood “to envy” for “to bewitch” we gather from the verses of another epigram composed in the same sense, where he says thus: Indeed, let not the curious be able to count them through, Nor the evil tongue bewitch them. For it was believed that fascination could not harm those things whose number was unknown: as the women of our own time, practiced in superstitious matters, do not ignore. Dionysius the Carthusian, explaining the cited words of Wisdom, chapter 4, “The fascination of wickedness obscures good things,” says: “The envious man harms not only himself, but also those in whom some good things have begun to be.” And because, as Cicero says in the third book of the Tusculan Disputations, envy is a sickness of the mind that arises because of another’s good fortune, the very name of envy is ambi-
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Liber III. Inuidia nomine ambigui. guum est, quæ in vtrumque cadit, & in eum qui inuidet, & in eú cui inuidetur: ideò Carthusianus fascinationem suprà citatam, vt nominis ambiguitatem fugeret, non pro inuidia, sed pro inuidentia exposuit: quæ est vera ratio & causa, qua quis ad inuidendum, fascinandum, & malum machinandum mouetur. At Nicolaus de Lyra, in eorundem Sapientiæ verborum expositione, inquit: Fascinatio est propriè sensuum illusio, sed tractum est hoc nomen ad significandum omnem deceptionem: & loco malignitatis, legit ipse nugacitatis, id est, verbositatis ornatæ, vt exponit, obscurat bona, quia sequenter facit ea apparere mala. Qui exponendi modus, etsi parum diuersus, contrarius tamen sensui, quem D. Pauli verbis dedimus, non est; vbi loco, fascinauit, textus Græcus habet e , quod verbum pro inuidere sumptum reperio, vt diximus. Inde Bascania apud veteres quædam ridicularia dicebantur, quæ Fabri ferrarij ante fornaculam appendere soliti erant, inuidiæ auertendæ gratia, vt Ludouicus Cælius Lectionum antiq. lib. 20. cap. 30. ait: ex cuius relatu ille qui oculorum acie ob inuidiam conceptam pernecare & corrumpere visa putabatur, Bascanius appellabatur. Quale fascinum sit, ex Theologorum sententia. Caput II. Niversam & communem affectionem quæ fascino inest, nemo est qui nesciat: quippe quæ tantam calamitatem, adeóque pestilentem perniciem rebus afferre solet, vt virulenta atque lethalis existimanda sit. Particularem verò, ac specificam fascini proprietatem Fascini vis lethalis.
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber III. Envy under an ambiguous name. Since it is something that falls upon both, both the one who envies and the one who is envied; therefore the Carthusian, in order to avoid the ambiguity of the name, interpreted the fascination cited above not as envy, but as invidentia: which is the true reason and cause by which a man is moved to envy, to bewitch, and to plot evil. But Nicolaus de Lyra, in his exposition of those same words of Wisdom, says: Fascination is properly an illusion of the senses, but this name has been extended to signify every deception; and instead of malignity he himself reads nugacity, that is, ornamented verbosity, as he explains it, it obscures good things, because it subsequently makes them appear evil. Which manner of explanation, though somewhat different, is nevertheless not contrary to the sense we have given from the words of St. Paul, where, instead of fascinavit, the Greek text has e , a word which I find taken in the sense of to envy, as we said. Hence among the ancients certain ridiculous objects were called bascania, which smiths at Ferrara used to hang before their forges for the purpose of averting envy, as Ludovico Cælio says in Lectionum antiq. lib. 20, cap. 30: from whose account that which was thought to kill and corrupt by the glance of the eyes, through envy conceived, was called Bascanian. What sort of fascination it is, according to the opinion of the theologians. Chapter II. No one is unaware of the universal and common affection that lies in fascination: for it is wont to bring such calamity, indeed so pestilent a ruin, upon things, that it must be judged virulent and deadly. But the particular, and specific property of fascination The lethal force of fascination.
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nosse, admodum difficile est, cùm dæmones aperire nemini consueuerint, quibus rebus fascinantium gratia, mala inferant. Quapropter re expertum est, ne medicos < Medici fascinatis mederi nequeunt.> quidem specificam fascini affectionem vnam quam potuisse coniecturâ consequi; tantum abest vt eius cognitio omnibus nota sit. Si enim particularem fascinantis virtutis qualitatem medici scire possent; remedia quoque eiusmodi pestilentem vim destruentia non ignorarent: quod equidem fieri non videmus, cùm nullu[m] auxilium nisi diuinum, eiusmodi morbo laborantibus prodesse, < Damonu[m] vis cueta inficit.> quotidie experiamur. Adeò namque dæmones tum insita vi, tum occulta externarum rerum adhibitione naturas inuertunt, elementa conturbant, qualitates commiscent, humores alterant, ac denique omnes corporis partes inficiunt, vt nulla interposita mora exitium interitusq[ue] appareat, qualitas autem qua id paratum est, penitus ignoretur: sicut multa quæ in sacris litteris leguntur, & indies accidunt, testantur. Quæ verò in 7: primi libri capite, de hac affectione adduximus, perinde intelligenda sunt, acsi fascinandi vis, natura hominibus incesset. Quod quàm à ratione abhorreat, inferius disseremus. Propter quid fascinum sit, iuxta veram Theologorum sententiam. CAP. III. CAUSARVM duo esse genera Aristoteles in libris de Phys. audit. non semel protulit: efficiens vnum, instrumentale alterum. Vtriusque < Causarum duo genera.> causæ natura in fascino reperitur. Rursus < Fascini causa effectiva duplex.> effectiva causa duplex est: vna remota, & est homo ipse, qui vulgò proxima causa falsò creditur; altera verò pro- pinqua,
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to know this is exceedingly difficult, since demons have been accustomed to disclose to no one by what means, for the sake of bewitching, they inflict evils. Wherefore it has been established by experience that even physicians cannot heal those who are bewitched by any specific affection of the spell by conjecture alone; so far is it that its knowledge should be known to all. For if physicians could know the particular quality of the power of the bewitcher, they would also not be ignorant of remedies destroying such a pestilential force: which, indeed, we do not see happening, since we daily experience that no help is of use to those laboring under such a disease except divine help. For the demons so thoroughly overturn natures, both by inherent power and by the secret application of external things, disturb the elements, mix the qualities, alter the humors, and finally infect all parts of the body, that without any delay the destruction and ruin appear, while the quality by which this is brought about remains entirely unknown: as many things read in the sacred writings, and happening day by day, testify. But what we adduced in chapter 7 of the first book concerning this affection is to be understood as if the power of bewitching were inherent in human nature. How much this is contrary to reason, we shall discuss below. Why there is a spell, according to the true opinion of the Theologians. CHAPTER III. Aristotle has more than once stated in the books On Physics that there are two kinds of causes: one efficient, the other instrumental. The nature of each cause is found in bewitching. Again, the efficient cause is twofold: one remote, and that is the man himself, who is commonly but falsely believed to be the proximate cause; the other, however, is prox-
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Liber III. 217 pinqua, & est dæmon. Causa autem quæ instrumenti vi- cem gerit, sunt res, quas vel dæmon perdedis rebus ad- hibet, vel homo fascinandi actum exercens, collocat. Quando propter quid fascinum sit, quæritur, nô instru- menti, sed agentis gratia eiusmodi inuestigatio sit: non enim sua, sed efficientis virtute instrumétum agit, quod quidem agens, cùm remotum vnum, vt innuimus, pro- ximum alterum de fascino dicatur; de vtroque propter quid sit statuendum est, iuxta doctrinam Philosophi in lib. Poster. hominem non propinquam, sed remotam fascini causam esse; in 6. cap. clarius fiet; cùm fascinandi vim natura homini nullam inesse ostédemus. At ipsum vt tacitè vel expressè dæmones inuocanté, communem esse causam facilè intelligemus; si aduerterimus quanta sit, post peccati lapsum humanæ naturæ imbecillitas, quàm lubricè carnis conditio, quàm facilis ad decipien- dum, quàm fragilis ad resistendum, quàm ad malu pro- na, quàm ad bonum inepta, quàm ad caduca bona pro- cliuis, quàm ad cælestia tarda atque difficilis, quàm sui amans, quàm Dei rerumque diuinarum negligens, ac demùm quàm multis ac variis cupiditatibus & affecti- bus obnoxia, & dæmonum deceptionibus exposita. Cúmque dæmonum conatus ad hoc tendant, vt homi- nes à Deo auocent, atque à virtutis, pietatis & charitatis studio deterreant, primùm omnium homines homini- bus infensos & inimicos reddere student; quo fit vt nûc ob odium & maleuolentiam, sæpè ob inuidiam & su- perbiam, aliquâdo ob auaritiam, interdum ob luxuriam ad fascinum iaculandum homines impellâtur. Quo fa- scino intermedio, vel mortem fascinatis afferant, vel eosdem diuersis morborum generibus, aut calamitati- Ec <Natura humana post peccati lapsu quibus malis exposita est.> <Dæmonum conatus.> <Homines quæ re ad fascinâdum impellansur.>
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber III. 217 proximate, and it is a demon. But the cause which serves as an instrument are the things which either the demon applies to things ruined by it, or which the human being, while exercising the act of bewitching, places. When the question is asked why a fascination should exist, the investigation should be made not for the sake of the instrument, but for the sake of the agent: for the instrument acts not by its own power, but by the power of the efficient cause; and this agent, as we have indicated, is called the remote cause of the fascination in one respect, and the proximate cause in another. Of both, then, an account must be given concerning the “why,” according to the teaching of the Philosopher in book VI of the Posterior Analytics: that man is not the proximate, but the remote cause of fascination will become clearer in chapter 6, when we shall show that by nature there is in man no power of bewitching at all. But that the human being himself, by tacit or express invocation of demons, is the common cause, we shall easily understand if we consider how great is the weakness of human nature after the fall into sin, how slippery the condition of the flesh, how easy to deceive, how fragile in resisting, how inclined to evil, how unfit for good, how prone to fleeting goods, how slow and difficult toward heavenly things, how self-loving, how negligent of God and divine things, and finally how subject to many and varied desires and passions, and exposed to the deceptions of demons. And since the efforts of demons tend to this, namely, to draw men away from God and to deter them from the pursuit of virtue, piety, and charity, they first of all strive to make men hostile and inimical toward one another; thus it comes about that men are impelled now by hatred and malevolence, often by envy and pride, sometimes by greed, at times by lust, to hurl the fascination. Through this fascination they either bring death upon those bewitched, or afflict them with various kinds of diseases, or with calamities. Ec <Human nature after the fall into sin exposed to what evils.> <The efforts of demons.> <What impels men to bewitching.>
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DE FASCINO 218 bus & grauibus iacturis afficiant: & veluti Rhetores affirmant, summam artis in dicendo esse, ne ars esse videatur: < Astusia daemonum.> ita summus dæmonum astus est, ne eorum astus cognoscatur, néve fascinandi & inficiendi vis ab ipsis oriri ac prosicisci intelligatur; sed homines sibi ipsis eandem perdendi vim inesse putent & credant. Propter quid verò dæmones fascinum & iaculentur & machinentur, haud multis verbis ad explicandum est opus: quoniam cùm dæmones à cælesti domicilio, in quo fuerant creati, in horrendum chaos, propter eorum superbæ scelus præcipitati fuerint, eorumque sedes dilectis hominibus qui in terra geniti sunt, dominus instaurare constituerit, partim odio aduersus Deum incensi, partim inuidia humanæ dignitatis affecti, cùm Deo obesse nequeant, totam furoris rabiem contra homines convertunt; iuxta id quod in Apoc. 12. cap. legitur, Væ terræ & mari, quia descendit diabolus ad vos, habens iram magnam. Quocirca vt improbam nocendi voluntatem & cupiditatem celent, sub recti specie nos decipere semper nituntum < Voluntas nostra ad boni natura propensa.> Cùm enim hominum voluntas naturæ quadam propensione in bonum feratur (nam Arist. teste ingeniis nostris sunt semina innata virtutum) neque quidquam nisi sub ratione boni amplecti possit, virtutis autem & honestatis bonum, principem inter omnia bona locum teneat, hac ipsa honestatis specie laqueos tegunt, vt his artibus vel technis parum prospicietes homines decipiât. Et quia vnicuique bonum videtur, vt suam expleat voluntatem, hinc est, vt D. Bernardus in Sermonibus ait, quòd dæmones omnium discutiunt consuetudines, velant curas, scrutantur affectus, & ibi causas quærunt nocendi, vbi nos studiosius viderint occupari. Vtque
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DE FASCINO 218 by which they afflict with serious losses; and, as rhetoricians affirm, the highest art in speaking is that it should not seem to be art: <The cunning of demons.> So the greatest cunning of demons is that their cunning may not be recognized, nor the power of bewitching and infecting understood to arise and proceed from themselves; but rather that men may think and believe that the same destructive power lies within themselves. Why demons truly cast and contrive fascination is not needful to explain in many words: since, when the demons were cast down from the heavenly abode, in which they had been created, into the dreadful chaos, because of the crime of their proud rebellion, and when the Lord had resolved to restore their seats by means of his beloved human beings who are born on the earth, partly inflamed with hatred against God, partly affected by envy of human dignity, since they cannot harm God, they turn the whole fury of their rage against men; according to what is read in Rev. chapter 12: Woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath. Wherefore, in order to conceal their wicked will and desire to do harm, they are always striving to deceive us under the guise of what is right. <Our will is inclined by nature to what is good.> For since the will of men is carried toward good by a certain natural inclination (for, according to Aristotle, the seeds of virtues are innate in our minds), and can embrace nothing except under the aspect of good, and since the good of virtue and honesty holds the foremost place among all goods, under this very appearance of honesty they hide their snares, so that by these arts or tricks careless men may be deceived. And because to each man it seems good to fulfill his own will, hence it is, as St. Bernard says in his Sermons, that the demons examine all habits, veil cares, scrutinize affections, and there seek causes for harming where they see us occupied most zealously. And so
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Liber III. 219 quod hominum libidini arridet, facilè perfici posset, fa- scinum dæmones inuenerunt; quo quibuscunque ho- mines vellent, quodlibet mali genus inferre possent. Ob inuidiam igitur qua dæmones hominum genus prose- quuntur, & ob rabiem & furorem quo in Deum frustrà incitantur, fascinum perficiunt ac iaciunt. De veris fascini speciebus. Cap. IIII. I speciei nomine naturam quandam com- munem Philosophi intelligunt, sicut certè est, quæ pro suæ naturæ ratione de multis sub se singularibus potestate quadam verè & reipsa cum sui supremi generis participatione dicitur, profecto non duæ aut tres, sed plures fascini species e- runt. Et cò magis si à rebus nostræ voluntati oblatis spe- cies interdum nomen mutuari contingat; vt nunc in re nostra accidit, cùm non pauca nobis offerantur, quæ fa- scini naturam habent, ac de multis infra se contentis di- cuntur. Et quanuis amor in vnione & coiunctione qua- dam, odium verò in repugnantia reperiatur, atque o- mia quæ nostræ voluntati offeruntur amplecti videâ- tur, tamen plura sunt quæ amoris & odij nonnihil sa- piunt, naturam verò ab eis longè diuersam habere vi- dentur; & ideò no amor & odium fascini species solùm dicuntur, vt in 1. lib. dictum est. Et ne sermonem de hac re longius protraham, sed paucis difficultatem hanc ab- soluam, notatu dignum existimo, fascinum esse speciem subalternâ, quæ sub magia tanquâ sub suo supremo ge- nere co[n]tinetur. Et quia species subalerna, genus quoq; dicitur, quod per aliquâ differentiam internâ diuiditur, hinc est, vt per qualitate perniciosam veluti per suâ diffè E e ij
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Liber III. 219 because what is pleasing to human lust could easily be accomplished, the demons invented the fascination; by means of which they could bring whatever kind of evil they wished upon whomever they wished. Therefore, out of the envy with which demons pursue the human race, and out of the rage and fury with which they vainly assail God, they accomplish and cast the fascination. On the true kinds of fascination. Chap. IV. By the name of a species, philosophers understand a certain common nature, as indeed that is which, in accordance with the ratio of its nature, is truly and in reality said, with power, of many singular things under itself, together with participation in its highest genus. Surely there are not two or three, but more species of fascination. And this is all the more so if species should sometimes take their name from the things offered to our will, as now happens in our matter, since not a few things are presented to us that have the nature of fascination, and are spoken of among the many contained under it. And although love is found in a certain union and conjunction, hatred indeed in repugnance, and although it seems to embrace all things offered to our will, nevertheless there are many things that savor somewhat of love and hatred, yet seem to have a nature far different from them; and therefore love and hatred are not said to be the only species of fascination, as was said in the first book. And lest I prolong the discourse on this matter any further, but may in a few words settle this difficulty, I judge it worthy of note that fascination is a subalternate species, which is contained under magic as under its supreme genus. And because a subalternate species is also called a genus, since it is divided by some internal difference, hence it is that by a harmful quality, as it were by its own diff&e
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220 DE FASCINO <Fascinum per quam differentiam diuidatur.> rentiam fascinum diuidatur; ex qua quidem diuisione cæteræ fascini species, per accessionem rei oblatæ con- stituantur & componâtur. Siquidem fascini species non perinde se habent, ac species quæ à natura ortum habet, quarum differentiæ specierum singularibus de quibus species ipsæ dicuntur, innascuntur, verùm nunc à fine, nunc à re oblata differentiam sumunt. A fine quidem fascinum speciem adipiscitur, dum à fascinatore concipitur, <Fascini species multæ.> antequàm in actum exeat: ab oblatis verò rebus, quando fascinum in aliquam rem eiaculatum est, quo sit vt alia fascini species sit illa, quæ ob inuidiam iacitur, alia quæ luxuriæ gratia exercetur: alia quæ ob adulterium; alia quæ ob stuprum, aut auaritiam infligitur: sic diuersa fascini species co[n]trahitur, si furti causa sit, quàm si ob odium & maleuolentiam iaciatur. Præterea affirmare non vereor, si ob multiplices fines fascinum fieri vsuveniat, multarum quoque specierum rationem & naturam vnum atque idem fascinum habere posse. Vt <Fascinum idem mulieris specierum naturam habet.> exempli causa, si quis fascinum iaculetur, vt mulieris matrimonio copulatæ amorem sibi alliciat, eâmque deinde neci tradat, non vnius, sed duarum specierum naturam fascinum habebit. Insuper non à fine, aut à re oblata duntaxat, sed à loco & à fascinatore, fascinum speciem assumere assero. Non enim ad eandem speciem fascinum pertinet, si à viro sacris initiato, aut à prophano, in templo aut in foro iaculetur. Et inde sit vt fascinum simplex, duplex, triplex, & multiplex interdum appelletur, pro finium multiplicitate, aut rei oblatæ, aut personæ, aut loci qualitate & natura. Qua de causa ignorâdum non est, quòd à deformiori effectu, siue potius defectu, fascinum nomen & speciem mutuatur: at-
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220 ON THE WITCHCRAFT <How the term fascinatum is divided by difference.> the term fascinatum is divided by difference; and from this division the other species of witchcraft are constituted and composed by the addition of the thing presented. For the species of witchcraft are not as species which have their origin from nature, whose differences of species are inherent in the individual things of which the species themselves are spoken, but rather now from the end, now from the thing presented, they take their difference. Indeed, witchcraft acquires a species from the end, when it is conceived by the practitioner of witchcraft, <There are many species of witchcraft.> before it comes into action; but from the things presented, when witchcraft is hurled toward some thing, so that there is one species of witchcraft which is cast out of envy, another which is exercised for the sake of lust; another which is inflicted on account of adultery; another which is inflicted on account of rape or avarice; thus a different species of witchcraft is gathered, if the cause be theft, than if it be cast out of hatred and malevolence. Moreover I do not hesitate to affirm that if, because of multiple ends, witchcraft happens to be made, the same witchcraft can also have the reason and nature of many species. As <The same witchcraft has the nature of the species of a woman.> for example, if someone were to cast a spell in order to attract to himself the love of a woman joined in marriage, and then hand her over to death, that witchcraft will have the nature, not of one species, but of two. In addition, I assert that witchcraft takes its species not only from the end, or from the thing presented, but also from the place and from the practitioner. For witchcraft does not belong to the same species if it is cast by a man initiated into sacred rites, or by a profane man, in a temple or in a forum. And hence it happens that witchcraft is sometimes called simple, double, triple, and multiple, according to the multiplicity of the ends, or of the thing presented, or of the person, or of the quality and nature of the place. For this reason it must not be unknown that witchcraft borrows its name and species from its more deforming effect, or rather defect: at-
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LIBER III. que huc illud Arist. 5. Eth. respicit quando ait, Qui fur- to operam dat, vt adulterium committat, magis est adul ter quàm fur, etsi vtrumque amplectatur, & in se clau- dat; adulterium tamen grauius, & turpius crimen quàm furtum censetur. Quo pacto nonnulli sese fascinare queant. CAP. V. VOTIES CVNQVE aliquid præter naturæ ordinem fieri contingit, cùm nihil absque cau- sa euenire certum sit; illico eius rei causam ri- mari, & vndique perscrutari placet: idque sine alicuius scientiæ principiis nos assecuturos fore non speramus. < Causas sine scientiæ principiis no[n] assequimur.> Hinc est, vt cùm nonnulli sese fascinasse legantur, non mediocrem omnibus admirationem afferat: cuius rei rationem cùm à naturæ principiis habere nequeamus, (tum quia naturæ ipsi repugnat, tum etiam quia Deum naturæ auctorem fascinantem potestatem alicui indi- disse dedecuisset, vt in sequenti cap. patebit) ipse in hac sicut in cæteris dubitationibus ad Theologiæ auxilium confugiendum duxi, in qua tanquam in vberrimo, pe- rennissimo, & clarissimo fonte omnium difficultatum sitis extinguitur. Ex hac igitur omnium scientiarum Re- gina habemus; quòd quemadmodum vbi olim, ob in- obedientiæ crimen, spiritus Domini Saulem reliquit, < Theologia scientiarum Regina.> confestim spiritus malus eum inuasit: ita cùm quis in lethale crimen lapsus est, extemplo à spiritu Dei relin- quitur, & à Daemonibus inuaditur: Qui dæmones non alio funguntur officio, non alij curæ aliive negotio inte- ri sunt, nulli operi dies noctésque peruigiles incum- Ec iiij.
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BOOK III. to which Aristotle in 5 Eth. refers when he says, “He who applies himself to theft in order to commit adultery is more an adulterer than a thief,” although he embraces both and includes them in himself; nevertheless adultery is judged a graver and more shameful crime than theft. On how some people may fascinate themselves. CHAP. V. OFTEN, whenever something happens contrary to the order of nature, since it is certain that nothing comes about without a cause, it is immediately pleasing to search out and investigate the cause of the thing on every side; and we do not hope to attain this without the principles of some science. <We do not attain causes without the principles of science.> Hence it is that, when it is read of certain persons that they have fascinated themselves, it brings no small wonder to everyone. Since we are unable to derive the reason for this from the principles of nature, both because it is contrary to nature itself, and also because it would be unworthy for God, the author of nature, to have granted to anyone a power of bewitching, as will appear in the following chapter, I have thought it best in this as in other doubts to have recourse to the aid of Theology, in which, as in a most abundant, ever-flowing, and clear fountain, the thirst of all difficulties is quenched. From this queen of all sciences we have this: that just as once, on account of the crime of disobedience, the spirit of the Lord forsook Saul, <Theology, queen of the sciences.> the evil spirit immediately seized him; so when anyone has fallen into a deadly crime, he is at once forsaken by the Spirit of God and assailed by demons. These demons perform no other office, are occupied with no other care or business, and are ever wakeful day and night to no work...
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DE FASCINO 222 bunt; nisi vt diuersa cupiditatum malarum irritamenta hominibus parent, quibus ipsos laqueis, retibusque suis implicent. Non enim capitales humani generis hostes lacet, quòd sicut concupiscendi appetitus, propter pri- morum parentum peccatum, praui desiderij vulnere sauciatus fuit; sic rationalis voluntas cæcitatis tenebras contraxit. Quæ seruitutis lex lethalium criminum accessione grauior sit, ac durior. Quam enim seruitu- tem originis peccatum peperit: actuale lactat, nutrit, & roborat. Huiusmodi enim peccatis non modò coelestia, atque gratuita bona amittuntur: sed naturalia etiam, nempe ratio, & arbitrij libertas grauiter, vt diximus, sauciantur. Vt enim peccatum mentem & rationem obscurat, quanuis non extinguat: ita voluntatis libertatem minuit, licet non penitus adimat, quibus peccati vinculis, si praua peccandi consuetudo accedat, seruitutem auget, & veram libertatem minuit; hominesque à vero Dei cultu, ad dæmones colendos trahit, & ad corruptibilia, & infructuosa bona concupiscenda cogit. At vera religione, & pietate ita extincta, non fascinum duntaxat in homine reperitur; sed omnium flagitiorum genera in eo abundare existimo. vt enim Sapiens ait, Infandorum idolorum cultura, totius mali causa est, & initium, & finis. Extincta namque veri numinis cognitione, mens humana cæcis quibusdam tenebris obfunditur, paulatimque dignitatis suæ obliuiscitur: ita vt nihil aliud cernat, nihil amet, nihil expetat, nisi quod ad corporis vsum, & voluptatem referatur. Corporis itaque cupiditati addicta, illi tantùm ministrat, illi seruit: & omnia vitæ consilia ad illius obsequium conferenda putat. Veru cùm religio scelere suscepta scelus augeat
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DE FASCINO 222 ...; unless they produce in men various incentives to evil desires, by which they entangle the men themselves in their snares and nets. For not without cause are they called the capital enemies of the human race, since, just as the appetite for concupiscence, because of the sin of the first parents, was wounded by the sting of evil desire, so the rational will contracted the darkness of blindness. This is a law of servitude, made heavier and harsher by the addition of deadly crimes. For the servitude which the sin of origin brought forth, actual sin nurtures and strengthens. By sins of this kind not only are heavenly and gratuitous goods lost, but natural gifts also, namely reason and the freedom of choice, are gravely wounded, as we have said. For just as sin darkens the mind and reason, though it does not extinguish them, so it diminishes the freedom of the will, though it does not entirely take it away; and by these bonds of sin, if a wicked habit of sinning be added, it increases servitude and diminishes true liberty; and it draws men away from the true worship of God to the worship of demons, and forces them to desire corruptible and unprofitable goods. But when true religion and piety are thus extinguished, not merely fascination is found in a man; rather, I think, all kinds of disgraceful deeds abound in him. For, as the Wise Man says, the worship of unspeakable idols is both the cause and the beginning and the end of all evil. For once the knowledge of the true deity has been extinguished, the human mind is covered with certain blind darknesses, and gradually forgets its own dignity, so that it sees nothing else, loves nothing else, desires nothing else, except what is referred to the use and pleasure of the body. Thus, devoted to bodily desire, it ministers to that alone, serves that alone, and thinks that all the plans of life must be directed to its service. But when religion, undertaken through wickedness, increases wickedness
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Liber III. 223 & amplificet, necesse est tandem pudorem exterminari, leges, atque iura perfringi, humanitatem sepeliri, rationem obscurari, omnia tenebris circumfundi, solamque in terris tetram & impuram libidinem, cum omnium rerum humanarum vastitate dominari. Quo facto, animus hominis, tot tantisque monstris obsessus, quid mirum est, si totum homine ipsum fascinat, curis tristissimus intabescere, & miseram vitam in cruciatibus consumere facit, & tandem in sempiternu[m] exitium precipitat? hinc alij vlulant, canumque more latrant, alij sibilant, ac dentibus strident, nonnulli clamores edunt horrendos, atque intetiùs vociferantur: non desunt qui prorsus obmutescant, cerebro oppleto densis humoribus, occlusisque respirandi fistulis. Hac igitur via, quicunque sese fascinasse leguntur, fieri potuit vt fascini labem contraxerint, non ex reciproca in se ipsos fascinatione, aut ex opinione, aut ex mala corporis qualitate: nec aliam huiusce fascini causam inuenire, aut excogitare potui. Quicunque igitur sese fascinasse leguntur, hoc pacto id facere potuisse reor. Nemo ad fascinandum idoneus natura nascitur, sed Dæmonum ope huiusmodi vis hominibus inest. Cap. VI. VAMQVAM in vniuersis animantibus, miram ac propè incredibilem naturæ solertiâ & videmus, & contemplamur: tamen in hominis compagine mirabiliorem, atque incredibiliore[m] eam perspicimus. Namq[ue] nulli animantiu[m] præterqua[m] homini ad sui corporis defensione[m] aliqua pro armis instrum[en]ta largita natura no[n] est; tauru[m] enim cornib[us] muniuit, apru[m] detibus,
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Liber III. 223 and if it is to be increased, it is necessary that at last modesty be driven out, laws and rights be broken, humanity be buried, reason obscured, all things be enveloped in darkness, and that alone on earth foul and impure lust, with the devastation of all human affairs, should rule. When this has been done, the mind of man, beset by so many and so great monsters, what wonder is it if it bewilders the whole man himself, causes him, most wretched with cares, to pine away, and to consume his miserable life in torments, and at last hurls him into everlasting destruction? Hence some howl, and bark like dogs, some hiss, and gnash their teeth, others utter dreadful cries, and cry out more and more vehemently: not a few are altogether struck dumb, the brain being filled with thick humors, and the channels of breathing closed. By this path therefore, whoever is said to have fascinated themselves, it could have happened that they contracted the taint of fascination, not from a reciprocal fascination upon themselves, or from opinion, or from a bad condition of the body: nor could I find, or devise any other cause of this fascination. Whoever therefore is said to have fascinated themselves, I think that in this way they could have done so. No one is born by nature fit for fascinating, but this power is in men through the aid of the Demons. Cap. VI. ALTHOUGH in all living creatures we both see and contemplate a wondrous and almost incredible craft of nature: yet in the composition of man we perceive it more wonderful and more incredible. For no living creature except man has nature bestowed upon it any instruments as weapons for the defense of its own body; for she armed the bull with horns, the boar with teeth,
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DE FASCINO 424 damam, & ceruum cursus velocitate, venena serpentem < Homini soli ratio dasa.> armauit: at homini, qui diuinus est, nihil horum, sed rationem ad omnia sibi necessaria parâda dedit: cum qua internos & externos sensus vniuersa cognoscentes copulauit. Quo sit vt sicut is non cornibus, vt taurus, non dentibus, vt aper, non cursu, vt dama, & ceruus insignitus est: ita non venenum, vt serpens à natura habeat. Et quemadmodum si in manibus cornua, aut quid simile ei natura concreasset, ipsis ad sibi necessaria paranda vti non posset; sic si venenum vel fascinandi vim ei natura tribuisset, consuetudinem, familiaritatem, comitatem, ac lenitatem cum cæteris hominibus habere nequiret; & perinde homini oueniret, atque viperis, quæ quia innatum venenum reliquis animantibus contrarium, & lethale habent, cum illis conuenire, ac viuere non possunt. Præterea, sicuti natura superfluu[m] duxit, hominem <Homo. veneno caret.> armis munire, vt pote cui ingenium rationemque in seuit ea excogitandi, parandi, ac tractandi; ita pariter frustatorium censuit, homini venenum indere, vt cui alienis omnibus venenis vtendi potestas sit. Natura autem <natura nil frustra agit.> nihil frustrà, otiosumve vnquam agere visa est, quippe quæ non minus sollicita est, ne qua in re deficiat, quàm ne superfluum aliquid efficiat: quòd si virulentam proprietatem homini indidisset, cùm ipse omnibus venenorum generibus vti possit, ociosè natura id egisse videre tur. Accedit etiam, quòd omnia pro vniuscuiusque speciei natura affectionem quandam habet, quæ in singulis eius indiuiduis reperitur, verùm in singulis quibusque humanæ speciei indiuiduis fascinandi affectio non est, vt clarè experimur: non ergo natura homini ciuimodi inficiendi potestas inest. Vsu etenim venire solet,
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DE FASCINO 424 ... and the swiftness of its course, poison armed the serpent < To man alone reason is given.> but to man, who is divine, nature gave none of these things, but reason to prepare for himself all things necessary; with which it joined the inward and outward senses, by which all things are known. Hence it is that just as he is not distinguished by horns, like the bull, nor by teeth, like the boar, nor by speed, like the doe and the deer: so neither does he have poison by nature, like the serpent. And just as if nature had fashioned horns in his hands, or something similar to them, he would not be able to use them to provide what is necessary for himself; so if nature had bestowed poison, or the power of bewitching, upon him, he would be unable to have custom, familiarity, sociability, and gentleness with other men; and it would be the same for man as for vipers, which, because they have innate poison contrary and lethal to the rest of living creatures, cannot associate with them or live among them. Moreover, just as nature judged it superfluous to arm man <Man lacks poison.> with weapons, since his wit and reason are sufficient for devising, preparing, and handling such things; so likewise it deemed it futile to infuse poison into man, since he has the power to use all other poisons. But nature <nature does nothing in vain.> is never seen to act in vain or idly, since she is no less careful not to fail in anything than not to produce anything superfluous: but if she had bestowed a venomous property upon man, since he himself can use every kind of poison, it would be seen that nature had done this idly. There is also the fact that everything, according to the nature of each species, has a certain affection, which is found in each of its individuals; but in each individual of the human species the affection of bewitching is not present, as we clearly experience: therefore nature has not placed in man the power of infecting the citizen with this sort of thing. For it usually happens,
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Liber III. 225 solet, vt alicuius naturæ affectio efficacior in vno, quâ in alio eiusdem naturæ indiuiduo inueniatur: Veluti di- sciplinæ habilitas ad humanâ naturam se habet, cuius naturæ suppositum nullum extat, in quo eiusmodi affe- ctionis aliquæ scintillæ non reluceant: quod quidem de fascinandi vi asserere non possumus: cùm maior hominum pars, tantum abest vt per fascinum quæ- piam efficere queat, vt ne fascinationi quidem habendam esse fidem arbitretur; id vulgarium hominum, aut impostorum meras nugas censendo. Nam quanuis < Hominis ingenium ex patria et educatione cæseri.> pro regionis temperie, genere ac educatione homines solertiores, agrestiores, & mitiores esse soleant, proprie- tatem tamen naturam consequentem omnes eandem habet, alius alio ex accidente promptiorem & viuacio- rem: quod quidem de omnibus hominibus ratione fa- scini dicere non possumus. Miniméq; in illoru[m] Philoso- < Natura homini non est nouera.> phoru[m] sententiam discedendum vnqua[m] putaui, qui na- turâ brutorum animaliu[m] matrem, hominis verò nouer- câm esse dixerunt; quonia[m] cætera animalia vestita, & co- operta, hæc pilis & pellibus, illa plumis nascantur: homi- nem verò, quasi re vilem, nudum, flentem, omniumque reru[m] egentem simul pepererit, & exposuerit. Illa, natura duce herbas ac reliqua saluti necessaria cognoscunt: hic ignarus, ac simplex, tanquam tabula rasâ, in qua nihil sit depictum, vt Arist. ait, per tot annos omnis actionis est expers. Illa, nùquam aut rarò ægrotant: hic verò salutem < Fabij et Anacreotis prodigiosus interitus.> integram nùquam habet, & à minima quauis re offen- ditur, ac interiuitur: vt Poeta Anacreon, qui vux passæ grano, & Fabius Senator ac Prætor, qui pilo in lacte ab- sorptovitam cum morte commutauit, vt Plin. lib.7.cap. 7. refert. Si quidé Deus hominem immortalem ad suam Pf
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Book III. 225 It is customary that the property of one nature should be more effective in one individual than it is found in another individual of the same nature: as the aptitude for learning belongs to human nature, of which nature there is no subject in which some sparks of such an inclination do not shine forth: which certainly we cannot assert of the power of fascination; since the greater part of men is so far from being able to accomplish anything by fascination that it does not even think that belief ought to be given to fascination at all, deeming it mere nonsense of common people or impostors. For although A man’s character is shaped by his native land and education. according to the climate of the region, men are usually more clever, more rustic, and more gentle by race and education, yet the same nature follows them all in its property, one being by accident more ready and more lively than another: which indeed we cannot say of all men with regard to fascination. Nor have I ever thought that we should depart in the least from the opinion of those philosophers Nature is not a stepmother to man. who said that nature is the mother of brute animals, but the stepmother of man; because the other animals are born clothed and covered, these with hair and skins, those with feathers; but man, as though a thing of little worth, she has at once brought forth and exposed naked, weeping, and in need of all things. They, guided by nature, know herbs and the other things necessary for health; he, ignorant and simple, as a scraped tablet on which nothing is painted, as Aristotle says, is for so many years devoid of all action. They are never, or rarely, sick; but he never has full health, and is harmed and destroyed by the slightest thing: as the poet Anacreon, who changed life for death by a raisin grape, and Fabius, senator and praetor, who changed life for death from a hair swallowed in milk, as Pliny relates, book 7, chapter 7. If indeed God had made man immortal for his own The prodigious deaths of Fabius and Anacreon. Pf
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DE FASCINO 226 imaginem, & similitudinem finxit, eumque omnis mali, < Homo ad Dei imaginè creatus est.> ac miseriarum expertem incredibili sapientia ornauit, in loco omnium deliciarum pleno collocauit, omnium animantium dominu[m] constituit, ad Deum contempla[n]dum habilem, & idoneum fecit. quapropter ad ipsius Dei clementiam, sapientiam, & iustitiam pertinebat, vt is qui ad sui ipsius archetypum effingeretur, cæteris animantibus multò præstaret. à summa namque clemetia, < Hominis fætiscas ante lapsum.> sapietia & iustitia, summa pulchritudo oriri debet. Quo circa D. Aug. lib. 14. de Ciuit. Dei cap. 26. inquit, Viuebat itaque homo in paradiso sicut volebat, quandiu hoc volebat, quod Deus iusserat, bonus viuebat fruens Deo; ex quo bono, bonus erat, viuebat sine vlla egestate, ita semper viuere in potestate habens, cibus aderat ne esuriret, potus ne sitiret, lignum vitæ, ne illum senecta dissolueret, nihil corruptionis in corpore, nihil ex corpore vllas molestias vllis eius sensibus ingerebat, nullus internus morbus, nullus ictus metuebatur externus. Non itaque Deus, sed homo ipse sui interitus & calamitatum causa fuit; vt Sapientiæ primo legitur: Deus mortem non fecit, sed impij manibus & verbis accersierunt illam non enim eo modo Deus homines, sicut Angelos condidit, vt etiamsi peccassent, mori omnino non possent. Vnde naturæ humana actu tantùm immortalis erat, nam potestate quadam in mortem cadere poterat, sicut cecidit, quod ex ipsius Dei verbis in Genesi expressis < Homo fui ipsius interitus causa.> colligimus: Quacunque die comederis ex eo, morte morieris; id est morti adstrictus eris, vel, moriendi necessitatem incurres: quasi Deus diceret, etsi nunc te immortalitatis actu donaui, tamen si à me per inobedientiam desciueris, potestas quam ad mortem in manu tua
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DE FASCINO 226 an image and likeness He fashioned, and adorned him with incredible wisdom, free from all evil and miseries, < Man created in the image of God.> placed him in a place full of all delights, made him ruler over all living creatures, and fit and suitable to contemplate God. Wherefore it pertained to the clemency, wisdom, and justice of God that he who was fashioned according to the archetype of himself should excel the other living creatures by far. For from supreme clemency, < The state of man before the Fall.> wisdom, and justice, supreme beauty ought to arise. Therefore St. Augustine, lib. 14, De Civitate Dei, cap. 26, says: Thus man lived in paradise as he wished, so long as he wished that which God had commanded; he lived well, enjoying God; from that good he was good, he lived without any lack, having it in his power always to live; food was at hand lest he hunger, drink lest he thirst, the tree of life lest old age dissolve him; there was nothing of corruption in the body, nothing from the body brought any troubles upon any of his senses; no inward disease was feared, no outward blow. Therefore it was not God, but man himself, who was the cause of his own destruction and calamities; as is read in Wisdom 1: God did not make death, but the ungodly called it forth with their hands and words; for God did not create men in the same way as the angels, so that even if they should sin, they could not die at all. Whence human nature was immortal only in act, for by a certain power it could fall into death, as it did, which we gather from the words of God Himself expressed in Genesis: < Man was the cause of his own destruction.> In whatever day you shall eat of it, you shall die the death; that is, you shall be bound to death, or incur the necessity of dying: as if God were saying, although I have now endowed you with actual immortality, nevertheless if by disobedience you depart from me, the power which you have in your hand toward death
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Liber III. 227 habes, necessitas fiet. Cui sententiæ illud Aug. de Ciuit. Dei lib. 12. cap. 21. non aduersatur, ita dicentis, Homo cuius naturam quodammodo mediam inter Angelos, bestiásque condebat, si creatori suo, tamquâ vero domino subditus, præceptum eius pia obedientia custodiret, in consortiu[m] transiret Angelicu[m] sine morte media, beatam immortalitatem sine vll[.] termino consecuturus. Si autem dominum Deum suum libera voluntate superbè atque inobedienter vsus offenderet, morti addictus bestialiter viueret, libidinis seruus, æterno post morte supplicio destinatus. Quapropter inter Christicolas, verè Catholicam fidem tenentes, constat, miseras in quibus nunc homo est, atque ipsam nobis corporis mortem no[n] naturę lege, qua nullam mortem Deus homini fecit: sed merito inflictâ esse peccati; nam Deus peccatu[m] puniens, homini, in quo tunc omnes tanquam in radice eramus, dixit, Terra es, & in terram ibis. Ex quo quidé peccato tantus rerum futilium & exitialium amor emanauit, tot mordaces curæ, tot perturbationes, moërores, formidines, insana gaudia, discordiæ, lites, bella, insidiæ, iræ, inimicitiæ, fallaciæ, adulatio, fraus, furtum, rapina, perfidia, superbia, inuidentia, homicidia, crudelitas, sæuitia, luxuria, petulantia, impudentia, hæreses, periuria, falsa testimonia, iniqua iudicia; denique quidquid eiusmodi malorum humanam naturam aggreditur, ab illa erroris, & insani amoris radice egreditur. At si non peccasset, sed Deo paruisset, vnicuique ab omni malorum genere immuni, viuendi tempus super terram statutum fuisset, quo absoluto, vitæque ligno gustato, natura confirmata fuisset, ac post longum tandem æuum omnes in Coelo immortalitate donati essemus. Ff ij
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Book III. 227 you have, necessity will follow. This saying is not contradicted by that passage of Augustine, De Civitate Dei , book 12, chapter 21, where he says: “Man, whose nature was in a manner intermediate between angels and beasts, if, being subject to his Creator as to his true Lord, he had kept His commandment with pious obedience, would have passed into the company of the angels without the intervening death, and would have attained blessed immortality without any end. But if he had offended his Lord God by proudly and disobediently using his free will, he would have been assigned to death, would have lived like a beast, a slave to lust, and after death destined for eternal punishment.” For this reason, among Christians who truly hold the Catholic faith, it is agreed that the miserable condition in which man now is, and even bodily death itself, has come to us not by the law of nature—for God made no death for man—but has been inflicted as the deserved punishment of sin; for God, punishing sin, said to man, in whom at that time we were all as in a root: “Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.” From that sin there has indeed arisen so great a love of vain and ruinous things, so many biting cares, so many disturbances, sorrows, fears, mad joys, discords, quarrels, wars, plots, wrath, enmities, deceit, flattery, fraud, theft, robbery, treachery, pride, envy, murders, cruelty, savagery, lust, wantonness, shamelessness, heresies, perjuries, false witness, unjust judgments; in short, whatever evils of this kind attack human nature, all spring from that root of error and mad love. But if man had not sinned, but had obeyed God, each person, being free from every kind of evil, would have had a time appointed to live upon the earth; and when that was completed, and after having tasted of the tree of life, nature would have been made secure, and after a long age at last we should all have been endowed with immortality in heaven. Ff ij
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228 DE FASCINO < Quales liberi, si homo non peccasset, nati fuissent.> Quales verò liberi, si primi parentes mali nihil commisissent, in lucem ederentur, D. Aug. de Ciuit. Dei lib. 13. cap. 3. & de baptismo paruulorum, dubium mouet, sed non absoluit: nonnulli verò paruulos in lucem editos iri consent, non hac totius corporis imbecillitate, sed robustos statim futuros, & (sicut agnos, & pullos gallinaceos videmus confestim ingressuros, secururósqque matrem, nec cõfestim, sed temporis successu) ad perfectam ætatem peruenturos. Quamobrem ab animis Christiana religione imbutis opinio illa penitus remouenda est, qua bruta, ob nonnullas corporis dotes, homine meliora esse existimantur. Nam post Mercurium Trismegistu, < Homonaturæ miraculum.> D. Aug. lib. 10. de Ciuit. Dei cap. 12. hominem naturæ miraculum appellat. & Plin. Hominis, inquit, causa cuncta videtur genuisse natura. & Arist. eum omnium finem vocat. Et in Psal. Gloria & honore coronasti cu[m], & cõstituisti eum super opera manuum tuarum, omnia subiecisti sub pedibus eius: ac demum idem qui supra Philosophus nobilissimum, & altissimu animal homine esse ait. quippe cui eam Deus animam dedit, qua per rationem, atque intelligentiam omnibus animantibus esset præstantior. Et sicut his omnibus ratiocinando & intelligendo nobiliores sumus, ita bene atque honestè viuendo meliores esse debemus. Ob id enim diuina prouidentia eis, quibus nos constat esse potiores; quædam munera data sunt potiora: vt nos doceret, illud quo eis antecellimus, longè maiore cura nobis excolendum esse, quàm corpus: ipsamque corporeâ excellentia, qua bruta habere nosceremus, pro vitæ bonitate, qua illis anteponimur, cõtemnere disceremus; habituri & nos corporum immortalitate, non quam supplicioru[m]
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228 ON FASCINATION < What children, if man had not sinned, would have been born.> What children, indeed, if our first parents had committed no evil, would be brought into the light, St. Augustine, City of God , book 13, chapter 3, and on the baptism of little children, raises the question, but does not resolve it: yet some agree that infants born into the light would be, not subject to this weakness of the whole body, but would at once be robust, and (just as we see lambs and chicks immediately able to walk, and safe with their mother, and not all at once, but with the passage of time) would arrive at full maturity. For this reason, that opinion must be utterly removed from minds imbued with the Christian religion, by which brute animals, on account of certain bodily endowments, are thought better than man. For after Mercurius Trismegistus, < Man, a wonder of nature.> St. Augustine, in book 10 of City of God , chapter 12, calls man a wonder of nature. And Pliny says, “Nature seems to have generated all things for man’s sake.” And Aristotle calls him the end of all things. And in the Psalm: “Thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, and set him over the works of thy hands; thou hast subjected all things under his feet.” And finally the same Philosopher says that man is the most noble and most exalted animal. Indeed, God gave him that soul by which, through reason and understanding, he would be superior to all living creatures. And just as by reasoning and understanding we are nobler than all these, so by living well and honorably we ought to be better. For this reason divine providence has given certain gifts to those whom we know to be superior to us; so that it might teach us that that in which we excel them must be cultivated in us with much greater care than the body: and that from bodily excellence, which we should recognize brute animals to possess, we might learn to despise it in comparison with the goodness of life, by which we are preferred before them; and we ourselves too shall have the immortality of bodies, not such as is of punishments
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Liber III. 229 æternitas torqueat, sed quam animoru puritas per Dei gratiam possideat. In ipso etiam corpore, quod nobis per peccatum cum belluis mortalitate commune est, multisque earum debilius reperitur, quata Dei bonitas, quanta prouidentia apparet? Nonne ita sunt in eo sensus ac cætera membra disposita, speciésque ipsa ac figura ita ordinata, vt ad animæ rationalis ministeriu omnia esse facta existimes? Non enim, vt animalia rationis expertia in terram prona videmus, ita factus est homo; sed < Discrimina inter homines & bellitas.> erecta in cælum corporis forma admonet, eum no huic mundo corruptioni obnoxio, sed cælesti patriæ ac gloriæ esse destinatum. Et dum in hac vita cum brutis homo degit, qua subtilitate sapientiam haurit virtutibus imbuitur quibus aduersus errores armatus, omnia vitia superat, omnes deformitates ac turpitudines, cælestis & summi boni desiderio vincit. Solus enim ipse, inter reliqua omnia animalia, post oblatam sibi imaginationem de re aliqua, tanquam agenda, potest quærere de ipsa, assentirúne rei debeat, annon. Cætera verò animalia, oblatis sibi rebus, necessitate quadam impulsa assentiuntur, vt bene Alexander in 2. de Anima, cap. 46. disertissimè < Hominis præstantia.> ostendit. Et sicut aëreæ volucres nobis qui terrestres sumus, non modò non præferuntur; verumetiam ob animæ rationalis dignitatem, quę nobis inest, subiiciuntur: ita bruta quanuis corporum perfectionibus præcellant, longè nobis deteriora sunt; quia veluti natura sentiendi vi prædita, etiamsi dolore crucieret, melior, ac præstantior est, quàm lapis, qui nullo modo dolere potest: ita homo etiam in miseriis & calamitatibus ac in Dei odio constitutus, præclarior est, quàm illa natura quę rationis est expers. Nec quia æquales esse non possumus aquilis F. f iij.
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Liber III. 229 eternity may torment, but what purity of souls may possess through the grace of God. In the body itself, which through sin is common to us and the beasts in mortality, and is found weaker than many of them, how great is the goodness of God, how great his providence, made manifest? Are not the senses and the other members so arranged in it, and the appearance itself and the shape so ordered, that you would think all things were made for the service of a rational soul? For man is not made, as we see irrational animals, prone toward the earth; but Discrimina inter homines & belluas. the upright form of the body points to the fact that he is destined not for this world, subject to corruption, but for a heavenly homeland and glory. And while man lives in this life among brute creatures, with what subtlety does he draw in wisdom, is imbued with virtues by which, armed against errors, he overcomes all vices, all deformities and shamefulness, and conquers them by desire for the heavenly and highest good. For he alone, among all other animals, after an image of some matter has been presented to him, as something to be done, can inquire concerning it whether he ought to assent to the matter or not. But the other animals, when things are presented to them, are moved by a certain necessity to assent, as Alexander in book 2 of On the Soul, chapter 46, most clearly Hominis præstantia. shows. And just as birds of the air are not only not preferred to us, who are earthly; but even, because of the dignity of the rational soul that is in us, are subject to us: so brute animals, although they excel in the perfections of their bodies, are far worse than we are; because just as a nature endowed with the power of feeling, even if tortured by pain, is better and more excellent than a stone, which cannot in any way feel pain: so man, even when placed in miseries and calamities and in the hatred of God, is nobler than that nature which is devoid of reason. Nor because we cannot be equal to eagles F. f iij.
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230 DE FASCINO videndo, canibus odorando, ceruis currendo, elephan- < serpètes quo- modo repubescant. > tis portando, leonibus certando, serpentibus diu viuendo, qui deposita tunica, senectutem deponere & reiuenescere perhibentur; idcirco ab illis naturæ nobilitate ac dignitate nos superari asserendum est; quoniam licet < Homò homini lupus. > homo homini (vt in prouerbio est) lupus sit, & plures ex hominibus hominum impetu; quàm omni reliqua calamitate deleantur; cætera verò animantia vnaquæque suo generi non sint infesta, cæteris inimica leonum feritas inter se non dimicet, serpentum morsus serpentes non petat, ne maris quidem belluæ, ac pisces nisi in diuersa genera sæuiant; nihilominus ob vnicam tantùm rationalis animæ scintillam, nullum animalium cum ipso homine quantumuis imperito & improbo comparandum est. Sed ne susceptam prouinciam excedere, & lumen lumini addere videamur, eò vnde nostra discessit < Fascinum naturâ non est. > oratio, redeamus. Nam postquàm per corporis sensus, vt supra ostendimus, fascinum iaculari nemo potest, ridiculum est asserere, fascinandi vim hominibus innasci. Siquidem id nobis innascitur, sine quo aliquid eorum quæ nobis insunt, esse non potest, vt videre sine oculis, & ideò cùm visus sit natura, ipsi quoque oculi natura erunt, & demùm omnia sensoria natura insunt, quia eorum actiones nobis innascuntur; sed fascinum destruit naturam, igitur naturâ non est, quoniam natura in ea re intenta semper videtur esse, vt vnumquodque sibi simile conseruet ac procreet; quò saltem in ipsis singularibus atque indiuiduis specierum perpetuitas propagetur. At si homini fascinâdi vis à natura tributa esset, non eius conseruationi sed destructioni prosperisset; quod de homine omnium animalium præstantissimo cre-
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230 DE FASCINO seeing, by dogs in smelling, by deer in running, by elephants in carrying burdens, by lions in fighting, by serpents in living a long time, which are said, after shedding their skin, to cast off old age and become young again; < serpents, in what way they become young again. > therefore it must be asserted that we are surpassed by them in the nobility and dignity of nature; since although < Man is a wolf to man. > man is a wolf to man, as the proverb says, and more men are destroyed by the assault of men than by any other calamity; yet the other living creatures are not hostile to their own kind, and the fierceness of lions does not fight among itself, the bite of serpents does not seek serpents, nor do the beasts of the sea and fishes rage except against different kinds; nevertheless, on account of the single spark of the rational soul, no animal is to be compared with man himself, however unlearned and wicked he may be. But lest we seem to exceed the task we have undertaken and to add light to light, let us return to the point from which our discourse departed. < Fascination is not by nature. > For since, as we showed above, no one can hurl fascination through the senses of the body, it is ridiculous to assert that the power of bewitching is innate in human beings. Indeed, that is innate to us without which something among the things that are in us cannot exist, as seeing without eyes; and therefore, since sight is by nature, the eyes themselves too will be by nature, and finally all the sense organs are in us by nature, because their activities are innate to us; but fascination destroys nature, therefore it is not by nature, since nature in that matter always seems to be intent on this: that each thing preserve and produce what is like itself, so that at least in singulars themselves and in individuals the perpetuity of the species may be propagated. But if the power of bewitching had been granted to man by nature, it would have served not for his preservation but for his destruction; which, regarding man as the most excellent of all animals, cre-
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Liber III. 231 dendum non est. Non igitur ex natura ortæ, sed ab ho- mine, auctore diabolo, fascinationes superstitiosæ sunt: < Diabolus au- sor fascini.> quas quia verus Philosophus irridet, & Catholicus Theologus damnat, è medio funditus tollendas asse- ro. Et quanuis homines reperiantur, qui neminem a- ment; quod in gustu etiam accidit, in quo tempera- menta quædam inueniuntur, quibus edulia ferè omnia stomachum mouent, & sicut in his praua quædam constitutio est linguæ, & stomachi longè diuersa ab ea, quæ vt plurimum fieri à natura solet, ita inter ho- mines censendum est: in quibusdam alienissimam ab eo, quod vt plurimum est, constitutionem esse humo- rum, per quos aliquos odio habent; tamen ab omni naturæ lege abhorret, vt per eiusdem odij vires nul- la re alia adhibita, quenquam interficere queant. Et cum Hugone de sancto Victore, in libr: de Sacramen- tis, tres humanæ naturæ status designare possumus. < Naturæ hu- mana status triplæ.> Primus est naturæ à Deo in illa prima bonitate ac tran- quillitate procreatæ: Secundus est naturæ in vltima foelicitate collocatæ, à quibus certè etsi diuersa ratione, omnis tamen mali suspicio remouenda est: Ter- tius status humanæ naturæ in peccatum lapsæ ad- scribitur; in quo licet nulli hominum; vt ostensum est, fascinandi vis innascatur: tamen ob pro- pensionem, quam ad peccatum habet, & ob diabo- li deceptionem, vt sæpè diximus, ea daemonum ope perficere homo potest, quæ omnes, quia eorum cau- sas ignorant, per fascinum perpetrata esse existimant. Quando autem contra hoc obiicitur, de Phyllis (Pli- nio teste) & de multis aliis, quorunt corporibus vi- rus serpentibus exitiale ingenitum fuit, & sic de
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Liber III. 231 ... is not to be believed. Thus, then, superstitious fascinatio is not born from nature, but from man, with the devil as its author: <The devil is the author of bewitchment.> These things, because the true Philosopher ridicules them and the Catholic Theologian condemns them, I assert ought to be utterly removed from the midst. And although there may be found men who do not love anyone—for this also happens in matters of taste, in which certain temperaments are found by which almost all foods move the stomach—and just as in these there is a certain bad constitution of tongue and stomach, far different from that which most commonly occurs by nature, so among men it must be judged that in some there is a constitution of humors most alien from that which most commonly is, by means of which they hate certain persons; nevertheless it is wholly contrary to every law of nature that, by the force of that same hatred, without any other means being applied, they should be able to kill anyone. And together with Hugh of Saint Victor, in the book De Sacramentis , we may designate three states of human nature. <The state of human nature is threefold.> The first is that of nature created by God in that first goodness and tranquillity: the second is that of nature placed in final happiness; from both of these, certainly, though for a different reason, every suspicion of evil must nevertheless be removed: the third state is assigned to human nature fallen into sin; in which, although no power of bewitching is inborn in any human being, as has been shown, nevertheless, because of the propensity it has to sin and because of the devil’s deception, as we have often said, a person can, by the aid of demons, accomplish those things which everyone, because they are ignorant of their causes, thinks have been done by bewitchment. But when the objection is raised against this, concerning Phyllis (Pliny being witness) and many others, whose bodies had an innate venom deadly to snakes, and so of
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DE FASCINO 232 multis aliis proprietatibus homines concomitari soli- tis; dicimus huiusmodi affectiones, nullo pacto à natu- ra hominibus innasci, sed aut diuina virtute communi- cari, aut humana industria acquiri, vel dæmonum auxi- lio exerceri. < Regis Gallia virtus in strumas unde.> Quòd verò asseritur, Regi Galliæ hæreditariam inesse virtutem, vt quoscunque strumis laborantes tetigerit, sanos reddat, non eo intelligendum est modo, vt vulgò existimât, quasi naturæ proprietate, & non sin- gulari Dei munere salubrem illam gratiam Rex habeat; & hoc inde conspicitur, quia antequàm ad egrotos tan- gedos accedat, ieiuniis, vigiliis, eleemosynis, & piis pre- cibus se munit. De veris fascinantium qualitatibus & cautionibus. CAP. VII. < Qui claris rebus fide non habet sensio eares.> N omnium Philosophorum ore sententia illa est, quòd qui claris & manifestis rebus fidem non habet, sensu caret; qui de dubiis repentè iudicat, temeritatis labem incurrit; qui dubitandi gratia de iis quæ nota sunt, dubia mouet, illorum in numero collocâdus est, qui non scientiis sed dubitationibus & sophisticis delectatur, qui ob dubiorum obscuritatem, & ingenij hebetudinem, non modò de apertis & perspicuis dubitat, sed ea confutare & reiicere audet, rationis est expers. Ne igitur in huiuscemodi vitiorum notam incidere; diu anceps animus meus fuit, an fascinantium cautiones huc afferre deberem: tâdem ardens meum benefaciendi desiderium, omnem carpentium ac maledicentium suspicionem superauit, atque ad huius rei narrationem me impulit. Verùm quia dæmones & homines, vt diximus, ad fascinandum con- ueniunt,
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DE FASCINATION 232 with many other properties that usually accompany men; we say that such affections are in no way innate to men by nature, but are either communicated by divine power, acquired by human industry, or exercised with the help of demons. <The power of the King of France to cure scrofula, from where.> But as for the claim that the King of France possesses an hereditary power, so that he makes healthy whomever he touches who is suffering from scrofula, this is not to be understood in the manner commonly thought, as though the king had that salutary gift by a property of nature and not by a special favor of God; and this is evident from the fact that, before he approaches the sick to touch them, he fortifies himself with fasts, vigils, alms, and devout prayers. On the true qualities of those who bewitch and on precautions. CHAP. VII. <He who has no judgment in clear matters is senseless.> It is the saying in the mouths of all philosophers that he who does not trust clear and manifest things lacks sense; he who suddenly judges doubtful matters incurs the stain of recklessness; he who, for the sake of doubting, stirs up questions about things that are known is to be placed among those who delight not in sciences but in doubts and sophistries; he who, because of the obscurity of doubtful things and dullness of mind, not only doubts open and evident matters but dares to refute and reject them, is devoid of reason. Lest, then, I fall into the reproach of such faults, my mind long wavered as to whether I ought to bring forward here the cautions against bewitching; at last my burning desire to do good overcame every suspicion of detractors and slanderers, and moved me to relate this matter. But since demons and men, as we have said, come together for bewitching,
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Liber III. 233 -ueniunt, vtrorumque cautiones recensendas duxi: & primùm de dæmonibus, deinde verò de hominibus paucis expediam. De communibus dæmonum fascinantium cautionibus. < Dæmonum vascreties in fascinando, eorumque cautiones.> CONTRA puritati ac sanctitati inseruientes, vni- uersam dæmonum aciem in plures ordines ad ag- grediendum distribuunt. Contra homines baptismate initiatos, & mundanis re- bus procliues vnicuique vnum vel plures dæmones ad seducendum destinant. Contra medio modo se gerentes, visa opportunitate il- lorum affectum scrutâtur, & pro vniuscuiusque ani- mi propensione, eos ad scelera alliciunt. Contra impios & scelestos dæmonibus ab ortu subie- ctos nihil laboris assumunt, sed eos quasi vinculis li- gatos tenent, ac pro mercede, eorum voluntati fasci- nandi & malè agendi potestatem subministrant. Contra Dei rebelles, qui spretis sacramentis à fide disce- dentes dæmonibus sese dediderût, nihil moliuntur, sed veluti fascinatos in erroribus, & cæcitatis tene- bris illos habere videntur, eúsque ad malefaciendum & nocendum ad nutum obtemperant. Contra vulgares ac rudes homines fidem ex eoru[m] cor- dibus extirpare nituntur, singulis dæmonem aut dæ- mones deputantes. Contra charitate incensos & inflâmatos, proximi odiu[m] & contemptum suadent. Contra Dei honorem & amorem, illius dedecus & in- famiam proponunt. Contra Ecclesiam communem omnium matrem Chri- Gg
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Liber III. 233 -They proceed; I have judged it proper to review the cautions of both kinds: and first I shall briefly treat of the demons, then of men. Of the common cautions against the bewitching demons. < The demons’ artifice in bewitching, and their cautions.> AGAINST those devoted to purity and holiness, they distribute the entire host of demons into several ranks for the attack. Against men initiated by baptism, and inclined toward worldly things, they assign to each one, or to several, demons to seduce them. Against those who behave in a middle way, when occasion is seen they examine their disposition, and according to the inclination of each one’s soul, they entice them to crimes. Against the impious and wicked, subject to demons from birth, they take up no labor, but hold them as though bound with chains, and as reward they supply them with the power of bewitching and of doing evil at their will. Against rebels against God, who, despising the sacraments and departing from the faith, have given themselves over to demons, they contrive nothing, but seem to keep them, as it were bewitched, in errors and in the darkness of blindness, and they obey their nod in doing evil and causing harm. Against common and uncultivated men they strive to root faith out of their hearts, assigning one demon or more demons to each. Against those inflamed and enkindled with charity, they suggest hatred and contempt of their neighbor. Against the honor and love of God, they propose His disgrace and infamy. Against the Church, the common mother of all Christians Gg
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DE FASCINO stum eius sponsum penitus tollere, vel contumeliis afficere docent. Cótra viros probos pro improbis deprecates, illos floc- cificiendos, nullámq; fide eis adhibendá inculcant. Contra Dei verbú exponétes immane odiú cócitant, & probris, contumeliúsq; afficiendos illos stimulant. Contra concionem ipsam, diuersis curis & conscientiæ stimulis homines distrahendo, illam vt nihili faciant satagunt. Contra paupertatem profitentes aut patiétes, ad impa- tientiam & desperationem inducunt, vel ingentes di- uitias, modò sibi obsequantur, promittunt. Contra diuina sacra facientes, non Deo sed sibi ea offe- renda esse suadent. Contra sacramenta suscipientes, vel ministrantes, varia superstitione, aut præposterè, aut aliarum rerum per- mistione ministrare ostendunt, nec à Deo sed ab illis virtutem habere tenendum esse iubent. Contra Ecclesiæ ceremonias, contemptum proponunt. Contra verum Deum vniuersarum rerum Dominú, ca- pitale odium habendum & iurandú curant, sibique præcipua munera ac dona tanquam legitimis domi- nis offerenda esse suggerunt. Et tandem contra castitatem virginalem, maritalem, & vidualem omnes luxuriæ turpes & nefandos modos, licitè exerceri posse asseuerant. Quibus cautionibus dæmonum suasu ab hominibus com- pletis, alias dæmones addunt, scilicet: PRo homine fascinando atque ad interitum vel ad morbum pertrahédo, innatam vim dæmones exer-
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ON FASCINATION they teach to drive away his betrothed altogether, or to treat her with insults. Against good men, they enjoin prayers on behalf of the wicked, that the former are to be despised, and that no trust whatever is to be placed in them. Against the word of God, by expounding it, they stir up immense hatred, and urge that it is to be loaded with reproaches and insults. Against the sermon itself, by distracting men with various cares and the goads of conscience, they strive to render it of no account. Against poverty, whether professed or endured, they lead men into impatience and despair, or promise great riches, provided they obey them. Against those who perform divine rites, they persuade that these are to be offered not to God but to themselves. Against those receiving or administering the sacraments, they show that they are to be administered with various superstition, either in a disorderly manner or by mixing in other things, and they order it to be held that they have their power not from God but from them. Against the ceremonies of the Church, they present contempt. Against the true God, the Lord of all things, they take care that capital hatred and even oaths are to be held, and they suggest that the chief offices and gifts are to be offered to themselves as to legitimate lords. And finally, against virginal, marital, and widowed chastity, they affirm that all foul and abominable kinds of lust may lawfully be practiced. When these precautions, by the prompting of demons, have been completed by men, they add other demons, namely: For fascinating a man and dragging him toward death or toward sickness, the demons exercise an innate power
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Liber III. 235 cent, aut res perniciosas eiusmodi exitio idoneas adhibent, vbi eoru insita vis ad id se extendere nequit. Pro pueris fascinandis, virulentam quandam aurâ duntaxat ex loco in quo cubant, excitat, eamque in pueros immittunt, & ita eos macrescere, languere, cibum euomere & perire faciunt. Pro pecoribus lacte priuadis noxias herbas seu frutices comedere faciunt, aut innatas vires depromunt, quibus non lac solùm, sed vitam quoque eis adimunt. Pro vini & messium penuria, humoré vtilem remouent, cuius indigétia ad debitam maturitatem sata & vuæ peruenire non possunt. Pro fascinandis hominibus, vt veru non intelligent, sed in errore, vt heretici, persistant, voluntate non per se, sed ex accidenti & indirectè mouendo, & persuasionibus incitando, & passiones concitado, immutant. Pro concitado homine ad iram & vindictam per spirituum motum, in quibus sunt phantasmata, in imaginatricè vim aliqua visa reducere possunt, eaq; irascibile potestate vehemetissimè internè mouédo, iraru, odij atq; vindictè stimulis excandescentibus lineata, ad quoduis scelus homines disponunt, ac ferè præcipitant, quo fit vt intellectum ad iudicandu, & nolentem ad volendum per hasce alterationes adigant. Pro concitatione ad libidinem, res externas Veneré excitantes vnicuique mira vafritie latéter adhibere norunt, veluti etiam co[n]cupiscendi potestate inflammare solent, aut humores commouédo, aut illius simulacrum ad imaginandi actum semper reuocantes, & quasi ob oculos obuersari facientes, cuius amore homines teneri dæmones non ignorant. Gg ij
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Liber III. 235 For causing men to be enchanted, they employ a certain noxious power only from the place in which they lie, and send it upon the boys; and thus they make them grow thin, languish, vomit their food, and perish. For depriving cattle of milk, they cause them to eat harmful herbs or shrubs, or they draw forth their innate powers, by which they take away not only the milk, but life itself from them. For lack of wine and crops, they remove the useful moisture, through whose deficiency the sown fields and the grapes cannot come to due ripeness. For enchanting men, so that they may not understand the truth, but remain in error, as heretics do, they change the will not directly, but by moving it incidentally and indirectly, and by stirring it up with persuasions and arousing the passions. For a man stirred to anger and revenge by the motion of spirits, in which phantasms are present, they can bring back into the imaginative power certain things that have been seen, and, by most vehemently moving the irascible power inwardly, and kindling it with the goads of anger, hatred, and revenge, they dispose men to any crime and almost drive them headlong, so that by these alterations they compel the intellect to judge and the unwilling to will. For inciting lust, they know how to apply to each person, with marvelous cunning and secretly, external things that excite Venus; likewise they are accustomed to inflame the power of desire, either by stirring the humors, or by continually recalling its image to the act of imagination, and making it seem to stand before the eyes, with the love of which demons know that men are held. Gg ij
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DE FASCINO Pro vxoris & mariti odio comouendo, imaginandi vim turbant, vt mulier exosa reddatur, vel ipsa maritum exosum & molestum habeat. Pro generandi vi impediêda, membri rigorem tollunt, sicut motum localem vniuscuiusque organi impediunt, aut spirituum emissions ad membra prohibent, in quibus est vis motrix; & ideò quasi seminis vias intercludunt, ne ad generationis vasa descendat, neve emittatur. Pro serpentibus, tauris, equis, aut quibuscunque animalibus sistendis, vel in terram deüciendis, parum aut nihil laborat, quia eis omnia corpora obediunt; quo circa dæmones in eiusmodi animalia ingressi pro voluntate de eis determinant, nisi diuina virtus contra eos se opponat. Pro muribus, locustis, & aliis nociuis animalib. ab agris pellendis, aut iisdem in eos immittendis sola dæmonu[m] vis sufficit; primùm, quia huiuscemodi animalia dæmonibus non repugnat: secundò, quia actiua cum passiuis commiscendo, ea procreare possunt. Pro pluuia, grandine, niue, fulgure efficiêdo, eade[m] indita dæmonum vis satis est: vapores enim ad id necessarios admiscere & sciunt & possunt. Pro aspectabili præsentia vniuscuiusq; aut absentis aut vita functi, ex vaporibus aqueis, terreis, aut ex aëre corpora fingunt, & quibusvis similia reddunt in quæ dæmones ingressi, viuentium actiones fingunt. Hominum verò qualitates, quibus habiles ad fascinandum redduntur, duobus modis considerari possunt. Siquidem fascinandi vim, aut ipsimet à dæmonibus habuerunt, aut veluti hæreditario iure à suis maioribus traditâ <Qualitates hominum fascino parrado apsa.>
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OF THE WITCHCRAFT For stirring up hatred between wife and husband, they disturb the power of imagining, so that the woman is rendered hateful, or else has her husband hateful and troublesome to her. For impeding the generative power, they remove the stiffness of the member, just as they hinder the local motion of each organ, or prevent the emission of spirits to the members, in which is the moving force; and thus they as it were shut off the paths of the seed, lest it descend to the vessels of generation, or be emitted. For stopping serpents, bulls, horses, or any animals whatsoever, or causing them to fall to the ground, they labour little or nothing, because all bodies obey them; wherefore demons, having entered into such animals, determine them at will, unless divine power oppose itself against them. For driving mice, locusts, and other harmful animals from the fields, or sending the same against them, the power of demons alone is sufficient: first, because animals of this kind do not resist demons; secondly, because by mingling active things with passive ones, they are able to produce them. For producing rain, hail, snow, and lightning, the same power given to demons is enough: for they know and can mix the vapours necessary for this. For making the visible presence of any person, whether absent or dead, they fashion bodies from watery, earthy, or aerial vapours, and make them similar to any persons whatsoever; and when demons enter into these, they counterfeit the actions of the living. But the qualities of men by which they are made apt for bewitching may be considered in two ways. For either they themselves had the power of bewitching from demons, or else it was handed down, as by hereditary right, from their ancestors. <The qualities of men for the production of the evil eye.>
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Liber III. 237 acceperunt. Si primùm solennes ceremoniæ adhibitæ fuerunt, vt fidei Christianæ abdicatio, nostri quoq[ue]; Sal- uatoris Iesu Christi, eiusq[ue] beat[us] Virginis matris, atq[ue] Ec- clesiæ Catholicæ, omniumq[ue] sanctorum odiu[m], & præci- puus contemptus, cum códitione ac lege ipsis litandi, sa- crum faciendi, munera offerêdi, & veroru[m] dominorum loco ipsos habendi, aliásque superstitiones commiscét, quas dæmonum asseclæ non ignorant. At si filij & ne- potes, & quicunque ab illis progeniti eandem vim ha- bere comperiûtur, tacitè vel expressè iuramento, ac foed- eri per maiores dæmonibus præstito consenserunt, vel matres, nascentes infantes ea intentione dæmonibus co- secrarunt. Quòd si per nefandum matris cum filio con- cubitum infantes nati sunt, parum aut nihil dæmones sollicitantur, an aliæ ceremoniæ interponantur. Et hinc est, vt per dæmonum ministerium pro initi foederis si- gno, nonnulli fascinatores binas pupillas in oculis inna- tas, quidam in vno oculo geminam pupillam, in altero equi effigiem habebant, vt Dydimus inquit, Plinio refe- rente. Dæmones enim tenelli embryonis carnem his & similibus lineamétis, & signis fingere & effigiare, vt di- ximus, possunt. Vt autem dæmonum pactis ac promis- sis sese stare demonstrent, quotiescunque fascinare, aut quid simile patrare volunt, opus est vt dæmones tacitè vel expressè inuocent, verba proferendo, quæ dæmonu[m] suasu dictata sunt: vel eadem scripta superstitiosè por- tando, aut nodos plicando, combinando, soluendo, in coelum excreando, aut quid simile faciendo, pro pro- missorum dæmonibus præstitorum fide, ac pacto. His cautelis, & conditionibus, atque aliis, quas breuitatis causa prætermittimus, maiorem aut minorem vim, pro Gg iii
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Liber III. 237 received. If, at the beginning, the customary ceremonies were employed, namely the renunciation of the Christian faith, and likewise hatred of our Savior Jesus Christ, of his blessed Virgin Mother, and of the Catholic Church, and of all the saints, together with the special contempt of them, with the condition and law that they should sacrifice to them, make offerings, and hold them in place of true masters, and mingle other superstitions, which the followers of demons do not ignore. But if sons and grandsons, and all who have been born from them, are found to have the same force, they tacitly or expressly consented by oath and covenant to the demons, made in former times by their ancestors, or the mothers consecrated the infants as they were born to the demons with that intention. But if, through the abominable intercourse of mother with son, infants are born, the demons are little or not at all concerned whether other ceremonies are interposed. And hence it is that, through the ministry of demons, as a sign of an initiated covenant, some sorcerers had two pupils inborn in their eyes, some had a double pupil in one eye and in the other the figure of a horse, as Dydimus says, Pliny reporting it. For demons can fashion and form the flesh of the tender embryo with these and similar outlines and signs, as we said. But in order to show that they stand by the covenants and promises of demons, whenever they wish to bewitch or to bring about something similar, it is necessary that they invoke the demons tacitly or expressly, by uttering words dictated by the persuasion of demons; or by superstitiously carrying the same written words, or by plaiting knots, joining them, loosening them, spitting into the air, or doing something similar, as a guarantee of the promises made to the demons and of the pact. By these precautions and conditions, and others which, for the sake of brevity, we omit, a greater or lesser force, according to Gg iii
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maiori & minoriarundem conditionum confidentia, exerceri credimus. Philosophi verò, qui hâc dæmonum calliditatem, & hunc philosophandi modum non intellexerunt, varias de Fascini causis sententias protulerunt, & qualitates ab his longè diuersas fascinatoribus adscripserunt, vt primo libro videre est. Veræ qualitates ac dispositiones, ex quibus iuxta piorum hominum sententiam in fascini pestem inciditur. CAP. VIII. VANVIS ob mala per dæmones & illorum ministros illata non mediocria bona oriantur; nam fides seruatur & roboratur; dæmonum fraudes deteguntur; & inspiciuntur; Dei misericordia & potestas aperitur, & manifestatur: homines ad cautioré sui custodiam erudiuntur & inflammantur: & denique ad Christi cruciatu, & Ecclesiæ ceremonias venerandum lectuntur atque incitatur: nihilominus de fascinandaru[m] rerum qualitatibus locuturi, eas dûtaxat extremis, vt dicitur, digitis attingere decreuimus, per quas sua sponte causas homines præbet, vt fascino inficiantur: & no[n] eas, quibus Deus per malos angelos, mala in mortaliu[m] perniciem inferenda iubet, ob prauorum hominu[m] poenam, ob suam gloriam, ob Christianorum meritorum cumulum, & ob virtutis robur, si patienter, & summisè ea perferant: id enim alterius, & no[n] præsentis contemplationis munus est. Præcipuam causam, qua fascinamur, nullam aliam esse arbitror, quàm legis contemptu[m], & coelestium inobedientia[m] mandatorum; vt cap. 10. patebit. Na[m] simul
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with greater and lesser confidence in the same conditions, we believe it is practiced. But philosophers, who did not understand this cunning of demons and this manner of philosophizing, put forward various opinions about the causes of the Evil Eye, and attributed to those who bewitch qualities very different from these, as may be seen in the first book. True qualities and dispositions, from which, according to the opinion of godly men, one falls into the pest of fascination. CHAP. VIII. Although by the evils brought about through demons and their ministers not inconsiderable goods arise; for faith is preserved and strengthened; the deceptions of demons are exposed and examined; the mercy and power of God are disclosed and made manifest; men are instructed and inflamed to keep themselves more carefully; and finally they are drawn and incited to revere the sufferings of Christ and the ceremonies of the Church: nevertheless, since we are about to speak of the qualities of things that bewitch, we have decided to touch them only with the fingertips, so to speak, through which they of themselves provide causes by which men are infected by the Evil Eye; and not those by which God, through evil angels, commands evils to be brought upon mortals for the destruction of men, for the punishment of the wicked, for His own glory, for the increase of Christians' merits, and for the strengthening of virtue, if they endure them patiently and most steadfastly: for that is the duty of another contemplation, and not of the present one. The principal cause by which we are bewitched, I judge to be none other than contempt for the law and disobedience to the heavenly commandments; as will be made clear in chapter 10. For immediately
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Liber III. 239 atque à legis cultu & obseruantia desistimus; à Dei gratia & Angeli custodia destituimur, & in dæmonu[m] potestate[m] ac iura incidimus. qui quidem dæmones circa nos, veluti circa re suæ potestati subiectam, tu[m] in corpore, tu[m] in rebus externis, quæ volunt, efficiunt. Et hinc est, vt no[n] núquam homines ac cætera animalia grauibus doloribus affici videamus, mares gignendi, foeminæ concipiêdi, quidá coeundi vi ac potestate[m] priuentur. Hinc etiam mulieru[m] partus, animalium foetus, terræ fruges, oues, boues, ac reliqua animalia pessum ire videantur. Si enim dæmones tot donis & gratiis ornati tanqua[m] fascinati in tot, tantáq[ue] sempiterna mala ob crime[m] in Deu[m] commissum præcipitati fuerunt; quid nobis miseris fiet? qui atrocissimis, & grauissimis peccatis subiicimur; grauissimis inqua[m], vniuersitate, vt Adæ peccato: deformitate, vt < Peccatorum grauium differentiæ.> proditionis Iudæ & similiu[m]: condonandi difficultate, vt peccato in Spiritu sanctu[m]: periculo, vt ignoratiæ: coiunctione, vt cupiditatis: pronitate, vt carnis; diuini numinis læsione, vt idolatriæ; expugnandi difficultate; vt superbiæ: mentis cæcitate, vt iræ; aliúsque de causis, quas recensere nimis longum ac prolixu[m] esset. Equidem vehementer miror; cum vniuersum hominu[m] genus in tot sceleribus immersum reperiatur, cur tam pauci fascino infecti reperiantur: sed hoc diuinæ clementiæ ac bonitati adscribendum est; quæ dæmones non pro voluntate in nos sæuire patitur. Qui enim alienæ vxoris, aut < Ab vxore propria cur nonulli auersantur.> cuiusuis foedæ libidinis cupiditate tenetur, miru[m] no[n] est, si à sua per fascinum auertitur; aut gignendi virtute, aut < Mala per Dam. illata istorum præmia augens.> prolis solatio priuatur. Quæ quidem mala hodie piis, ac probis viris dæmones inferre no[n] magnopere satagut, sed nimis rarò ea de re eos infestant: cu[m] ipsi optimè calleant,
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Liber III. 239 and when we cease from the worship and observance of the law; we are deprived of God’s grace and of angelic protection, and fall into the power and jurisdiction of demons. These demons, indeed, around us, as though around something subject to their power, bring about whatever they wish, both in the body and in external things. And hence it is that we sometimes see human beings and other animals afflicted with grievous pains; males deprived of the power of begetting, females of conceiving, and some of the act of intercourse itself. Hence also the childbirth of women, the offspring of animals, the fruits of the earth, sheep, cattle, and the rest of the animals seem to perish utterly. For if the demons, adorned with so many gifts and graces, as though bewitched, were hurled down into so many and such great everlasting evils for the sin committed against God; what will become of us wretches? who are subject to the most atrocious and grievous sins; grievous indeed, I say, in universality, as in Adam’s sin; in deformity, as in <On the differences of grave sins.> the betrayal of Judas and the like; in the difficulty of pardon, as in the sin against the Holy Spirit; in danger, as in ignorance; in association, as in lust; in proneness, as in the flesh; in offense against the divine majesty, as in idolatry; in difficulty of overcoming, as in pride; in blindness of mind, as in anger; and for other reasons, which it would be too long and prolix to enumerate. Indeed, I greatly wonder; since the whole race of humankind is found immersed in so many crimes, why so few are found infected by the evil eye: but this is to be ascribed to divine clemency and goodness, which does not allow demons to rage against us according to their will. For whoever is held by desire for another man’s wife, or by <Why some are averse to their own wife.> any foul lust whatsoever, it is no wonder if he is turned away from his own wife by fascination; or is deprived of the power of begetting, or of <How evil brought by demons increases the rewards of such people.> the consolation of offspring. And these evils, indeed, the demons today do not greatly endeavor to bring upon pious and upright men, but very rarely trouble them in this matter, since they themselves know very well,
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DE FASCINO 240 mala ac damna iustis viris illata, illorum merita atque præmia augere. Porro si quis in fide titubet, & de Ecclesiæ Catholicæ ritibus non bene sentiat, quo pacto à fascinationis veneno securus erit? idque in caussa esse arbitror, vt in multis partibus, & in Alemania præsertim mulieres tot monstra pariant. < Monstrorum in Germania nascentium causa.> In quibus odia, dissidia, liuor, ambitio, superbia, auaritia dominatur: quî fieri potest, vt ij à fascini peste cum filiis & bonis liberi sint? Et qui prauam iurandi, detrahendi, maledicendi, maleprecandi, obloquendi, concupiscendi consuetudinem habent, à fascino sibi cauere non possunt. Quos autem belluarum more victitare videmus, nulla religione imbutos, nullo Dei timore attactos, nullis legibus astrectos, in omni intemperantiæ genere profusos, sed ira, odio, temeritate, cupiditate, omnique praua libidine, & scelere co[n]taminatos, ij idoneas appositásque partes habent, quibus fascinentur: quò viuentes inferorum poenas prægustare incipiant, ipsorum dæmonum cruciatibus, illusionibus, ac imposturis patentes. Fascino quoque amatorio iisdem de causis insiciuntur: quibus si addatur visus, linguæ, habitus, gestus, tactus, cæterarumq; turpium cogitationum & actuú fomes, ij fascinari quidem non possunt, quia iam fascinati sunt. Huic quoque fascino obnoxiæ sunt eæ, quæ se lasciuanas, garrulas, procaces, nugaces esse gestiunt, quod cò perniciosius est, si matrēfamilias (quam tota familia in omni scelere imitari consueuit) ea vitia comitentur. < Melacholicus humor Domo nib. aptus.> Has ego qualitates illis veriores esse puto, quas Primo lib. cap. 13. iuxta Philosophorum sententiam retuli. Quòd si quis melancholico humore redundantes, in fascini casum procliuiores futuros esse arbitretur, cum non omnino malè sensisse dicam;
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DE FASCINO 240 the evils and losses inflicted on just men, to increase their merits and rewards. Moreover, if anyone wavers in the faith, and does not think rightly about the rites of the Catholic Church, by what means will he be secure from the poison of fascination? And I judge this to be the cause that in many parts, and especially in Germany, women bring forth so many monsters. <Cause of monsters born in Germany.> In those places where hatred, dissension, envy, ambition, pride, and greed hold sway, how can it happen that they should be free, with their children and goods, from the plague of fascination? And those who have the wicked habit of swearing, backbiting, cursing, evil-praying, slandering, lusting after, cannot guard themselves against fascination. But those whom we see living like beasts, imbued with no religion, touched by no fear of God, restrained by no laws, excessive in every kind of intemperance, but contaminated by anger, hatred, rashness, greed, and every evil lust, and by wickedness, have suitable and fitting parts by which they may be bewitched: so that while living they begin to taste beforehand the punishments of the lower world, being exposed to the torments, delusions, and impostures of the devils themselves. They are also infected with amorous fascination for the same reasons: to which if sight, speech, manner, gesture, touch, and the fuel of other shameful thoughts and actions be added, then they cannot indeed be bewitched, because they are already bewitched. To this fascination also are subject those women who make a show of being lewd, garrulous, shameless, and frivolous, which is the more pernicious if, as a matron of the household (whom the whole family is accustomed to imitate in every evil) these vices accompany her. <Melancholic humor suitable for the household.> I think these qualities more true of them than those which I mentioned in Book One, chapter 13, according to the opinion of the philosophers. But if anyone should suppose that those abounding in melancholic humor are more likely to fall into the case of fascination, I shall say that he has not altogether thought amiss;
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Liber III. 241 dicam; cum huiusmodi enim humore dæmones facilè commiscentur: qui cùm amarus, tristis, ac turbulétus sit, locus dæmonum naturæ congruere iudicatur. Et perinde in humano corpore cor strangulari videtur ex densis nebulis & humorum caligine, atque in cubiculo fumo oppleto conuiuæ suffocari videntur, & oculorum iacturam perpeti, in quod corpus sic affectum si dæmon ingrediatur, luctuosissimam tragædiam excitabit. Et hinc est, vt per herbarum & aliarum rerum corporearum applicationem ab humanis corporibus interdum expelli dicantur, quia humorem illum tetrum, ac tristem adhibita ea consumunt, quo consumpto dæmones corpus relinquere solent: quanuis verisimilius putem, res illas si piè, ac deuotè adhibeantur, tanquam diuinæ iustitiæ instrumentum in dæmones agere, illósqque ab humanis corporibus detrudere; vt de felle, & iecore piscis Tobiæ, de herbæ radice Eleazari, ac de aliis legimus. Alias verò corporis dispositiones, quas citato libro adduximus, nullas, vanas, ridiculas, & superstitionis refertas arbitramur. Per narratam fascinandi viam, dæmonum astu inuentam, homines ad amorem allici, & ad odium excitari possunt. Cap. IX. EXPERIENTIA ipsa, quæ rerum magistra nucupatur, comprobari cernimus, hominum alios natura tristes esse, alios lætos: nonnullos magis, aut minus his affectibus pro corporis temperie affici: ij enim tristiores creduntur esse, qui cõtrariis resistere minus possunt, lætâque obire non sunt idonei: læti autem Hh
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Liber III. 241 I say this; for with humors of this kind demons are easily mixed: since, when it is bitter, sad, and troubled, the place seems to suit the nature of demons. And likewise in the human body the heart appears to be strangled by dense mists and the darkness of the humors, just as in a room filled with smoke the guests seem to be suffocated and to suffer injury to their eyes; and if a demon enters into a body so affected, it will stir up a most grievous tragedy. And from this it comes about that they are sometimes said to be driven out of human bodies by the application of herbs and other bodily things, because the dark and sad humor is consumed by the thing applied, and once that has been consumed, demons are accustomed to leave the body; although I think it more likely that such things, if used piously and devoutly, act upon demons as an instrument of divine justice, and thrust them out of human bodies; as we read of the gall and liver of the fish in Tobias, of the root of the herb of Eleazar, and of others. But the other dispositions of the body, which we brought forward in the cited book, we judge to be nothing, vain, ridiculous, and full of superstition. By the narrated way of bewitching, invented by the cunning of demons, men can be drawn to love and excited to hatred. Cap. IX. Experience itself, which is called the teacher of things, we see confirms that some men are naturally sad, others cheerful: some are affected more, others less, by these emotions according to the temperament of the body. Those are believed to be sadder, indeed, who can resist opposites less and are not fit to encounter cheerfulness; but the cheerful Hh
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existimantur, qui tristibus & moestis maximè resistere possunt, quicque ad læta aptissimi sunt, qua de causavnus ad amore ac beneuolentiâ, alius ad odium procliuis est. Hinc sit vt qui pauci caloris sunt, & exangues ac debiles & senes, ægri, conualescentes, parum resistere contrariis possint, ideóque plurimu[m] tristes sint. Illi quoq[ue] qui me- lancholici natura sunt, & sanguinis amarioris, ac siccio- ris, ad res lætas parum idonei, atque habiles iudicantur, eásque res si quis eis offerat, non vt lætas, & iocundas, sed tanqua[m] ingratas, tristes, & inimicas respuunt. Aliud præ- terea, vt suprà monuimus, animaduertedum est, phan- tasiam cum toto corpore, & præsertim cum corde præ- cipuum consensum habere. Nulla enim interposita mo- ra, sed mira quadam celeritate, quibus boni aut mali speciebus phantasia mouetur, iisdem cor inficitur; nam magis quàm credi potest, corvocatis imaginationis spi- ritibus consentit, atque iis vti famulis, sibique deuinctis, & addictis ministris vtitur. Quoniam hicut phantasia cum vniuersis sensibus intellectui seruit, ita intellectus cum aliis tum corporis tum animæ viribus cordi veluti regi obsequitur. Rursus prænotari oportet, ex humore melancholico fumos gigni, eósqque ad phantasiam & ad cerebrum vsque ascendere, vnde accidit, vt ob intelle- ctus perturbationem melancholici, & dormientes & vigilantes, res timoris & horroris plenas animo vol- uant, & iis non secus timeant, ac si graues calamitates, & excidia sibi imminere, vel euenisse certò sciant. Illud quoque notatu dignum censeo, quòd cum quouis hu- more in corpore concitato dæmones commisceri pos- sunt, eósqque pro arbitrio incédere, & augere, sicque hu- mores à dæmonibus cõmoueri & excitari consueuerût.
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Those are considered to be most able to resist sad and gloomy things, and most suited to cheerful ones; for that reason one person is inclined to love and goodwill, another to hatred. Hence it is that those who have little heat, and are bloodless and weak, and the old, the sick, and those recovering, are able to resist opposites only little, and therefore are mostly sad. Those also who are melancholic by nature, and whose blood is more bitter and drier, are judged to be little suited and fit for joyful things; and if anyone offers them such things, they reject them, not as cheerful and pleasant, but as unwelcome, sad, and hostile. Another point, moreover, as we noted above, must be observed: that the imagination has a special agreement with the whole body, and especially with the heart. For without any intervening delay, but with a marvelous kind of speed, by whatever appearances of good or evil the imagination is moved, the heart is infected by the same; indeed, more than can easily be believed, the heart agrees with the spirits summoned by imagination, and uses them as servants and as ministers bound to and devoted to it. For just as the imagination, along with all the senses, serves the intellect, so the intellect, together with the other powers both of body and soul, obeys the heart as if it were a king. It should also be noted again that from melancholic humor fumes are generated, and that they rise as far as the imagination and the brain; from this it happens that, because of disturbance of the intellect, melancholic persons, both sleeping and waking, turn over in their minds matters full of fear and horror, and fear them no differently than if they knew for certain that serious disasters and ruin were threatening them, or had already happened. I also consider it worthy of note that demons can mingle with any humor stirred up in the body, enter into it and increase it at will, and thus the humors are accustomed to be moved and excited by demons.
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Liber III. 243 Nec est ignorandum, quòd gaudium totius animalis affectus & alteratio propter bonum in phantasia recep[tu]s existimatur, qua de re boni specie in phantasia recepta gaudium sit. Si verò bonum & adest, & possidetur, simplex gaudiu[m], & boni fructus appellatur: sin aute[m] abest, nec possidetur, appetitus, id est, animi motus ad bonum non habitum prosequendu[m] dicitur. in gaudio duo considerantur, boni receptio, & eiusdem boni causa, si ue res, quæ bonum illud efficit. Si enim anima, vt bonu[m] illud recipit & apprehendit, inspiciatur, absolutè, & simplici modo gaudere censetur: at si consideretur, vt causam respicit, quæ gaudium facit, cum gaudio amor coniunctus est. Ex quo amore desiderium quoddâ nascitur, quo rei bene esse cupimus; quam rem dum in nostrum commodum vertimus, libidinosus & prauus amor est. Et quemadmodum de gaudio & amore diximus, ita de tristitia & odio dicendum est. Tunc enim simplex tristitia vocatur, cùm animus sub recepta mali specie malè se habet, ac timet; omnes enim ex aliquo malo timemus. Si malu[m] est præsens & lædit, tristitia vocatur; si futurum immineat, timor ac pauor dicitur. Vnde nihil aliud est timor, nisi tristitia ex imminenti malo. Odium verò nûcupatur cu[m] causam respicit, cui malè optamus: sic namque odium describi solet, desiderium quoddam esse, quo malè imprecamur causæ, à qua tristitia oritur. His prætactus, & veluti huiusce materiæ principiis notatis, ad rem ipsam deueniendo asserimus, quòd licet dæmones libero hominum arbitrio vim inferre nequeant, minimèque nostram mentem contingere possint, vt hunc odio, & illum amore prosequamur (libertati enim in qua Deus hominem creauit, repugnat, iuxta illud Hh ij
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Liber III. 243 It must not be ignored that joy is considered an affection and alteration of the whole animal by reason of a good received in the imagination; wherefore, when the appearance of good is received in the imagination, there is joy. But if the good is both present and possessed, it is called simple joy, and the fruit of good; if, however, it is absent and not possessed, it is called appetite, that is, a movement of the mind toward pursuing a good not yet held. In joy two things are considered: the reception of the good, and the cause of that same good, that is, the thing that brings about that good. For if the soul, insofar as it receives and apprehends that good, is regarded absolutely and in a simple manner, it is deemed to rejoice; but if it is considered as regarding the cause that produces joy, love is joined to joy. From that love a certain desire arises, by which we wish well-being for a thing; and when we turn this matter to our own advantage, it is lustful and perverse love. And just as we have spoken of joy and love, so must we speak of sorrow and hatred. For then it is called simple sorrow, when the mind, under the received appearance of evil, is ill at ease and fears; for we all fear from some evil. If the evil is present and harms, it is called sorrow; if it threatens in the future, it is called fear and dread. Hence fear is nothing other than sorrow arising from impending evil. Hatred, however, is so called when it regards the cause to which we wish ill: for hatred is usually described as a certain desire by which we call down evil upon the cause from which sorrow arises. These things having been laid down beforehand, and as it were the principles of this matter having been noted, we proceed to the thing itself and affirm that although demons cannot bring force to bear upon the free will of men, nor in the least touch our mind so that we follow this one with hatred and that one with love (for it is contrary to that liberty in which God created man, according to that passage Hh ij
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Eccles. 7. Deus ab initio constituit homine, & reliquit illum in manu consilij sui &c.) tamen inferiores animæ vires, & inter alias phantasiam præcipuè, variè afficere possunt, & in ea quidquid voluerint, menti inspiciendum < Phantasia potissimum Dæmonu[m] impressiones recipit.> proponere, quamobrem ad affectus, ne dicam defectus & cupiditates nostras, ad amorem & odium excitandum, peritissimorum pictorum arte & officio funguntur; qui res omnes quas pingunt, nunc hac specie & figura, nunc illa, non pro eorum natura, sed pro arbitrio suo effingunt: qua profectò arte si nos ad amorem incitare & inflammare cupiunt, reni quam nobis cogitandam & intellectu contemplandam offerunt, omnium formosissimam & maximè delectabilem, atque amabilem depingunt, licet turpissima & foedissima illa sit, & pro sua libidine eandem rem nunc pulcherrimam, nunc maximè deformem in nostram perniciem, nulla interposita mora effingunt: nôsque ad amorem, aut ad odium instigant, atque inflammant, quia, vt Arist. ait, si quis in animi affectibus reperitur, à praua similitudine, amore aut odio afficitur, sicut calida < Ouidius, de amoris natura.> cinis per sulfuris contactum accendi solet, iuxta illud Ouidij: Vt penè extinctum cinerem si sulfure tangas, Viuet, & ex minimo, maximus ignis erit. Quibus accedit, quòd vt D. Hier. in illis verbis ait: Virtus eius in lumbis eius &c. Dæmones naturali iuuenum calore & cupiditate ad eoru[m] lasciuiam abutuntur: quem quidem calorem flatu, & suggestionibus adeo incendunt, vt eos hoc incendio deuorent, atque consumant. in cuius rei testimonium illud Pygmalionis Cilicis filij qui in eburneam statuam exarsit, facere videtur,
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Eccles. 7. God from the beginning established man, and left him in the hand of his own counsel, etc.) nevertheless the lower powers of the soul, and among others especially imagination, can be variously affected, and present to the mind whatever they will for it to behold <Imagination especially receives the impressions of demons.> and therefore, to stir up our affections, not to say our faults and desires, to awaken love and hatred, they perform the office and craft of the most skilled painters; who depict all things they paint, now in this appearance and form, now in that, not according to their nature, but at their own will: by which art indeed, if they wish to incite us to love and inflame us, the thing they offer us to be thought upon and contemplated with understanding they portray as the most beautiful, and most delightful, and lovable of all, although it be most foul and ugly; and according to their own whim they make the same thing now most fair, now most deformed, to our ruin, with no delay interposed; and they provoke us to love, or to hatred, and inflame us, because, as Aristotle says, if anyone is found in the affections of the mind, he is affected by a false likeness, by love or hatred, just as hot <Ovid, on the nature of love.> ashes are accustomed to be kindled by the touch of sulfur, according to that saying of Ovid: If you touch ashes, though nearly extinguished, with sulfur, they will live, and from a small spark there will be a great fire. To these things it is added that, as St. Jerome says in those words: His power is in his loins &c. demons abuse the natural heat and desire of the young to their wantonness; and they so ignite that heat by breathings and suggestions that they devour and consume them with this fire. As testimony of this matter, that example seems to apply of Pygmalion, the Cilician son who burned with desire for an ivory statue,
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Liber III. 245 de quo apud Ælianum sic legitur, Adolescens summo loco natus, statuam bonæ Fortunæ deperibat, & sæpè in complexus eius se insinuans, oscula dabat; atque inde raptus in furorem propter cupiditatem in senatu veniebat, & enixè rogabat, vt sibi eam liceret emere: at cùm nihil proficeret, multis regiis sertis imagine coronata, oblato sacrificio, ipsâque vestitu pretioso exornata, sibi mortem cum lacrymis consciuit, adeò fascinás dæmonum vis in eum potuit: statu enim atque suggestione satis per se incensum animum ad mala procliuem inflammant, inflammatumque in peccata & in excidium præcipitant. Et huc verba illa spectant, De ore eius lampades procedût, quasi tædæ ignis accensæ: hoc pacto carnis appetitus, vbi accensus fuerit, ita voluntatem ipsam sollicitabit, vt eam in suam sententiam trahat: eóque magis, si vitiosis affectibus & cupiditatibus, quæ à carne ortum habent, luxus, crapula, & cibi Venerem excitantes accedât. <Libido vnde roboretur.> Libido enim quæ ex humorum redundantia vires colligit, deliciis & nimia indulgentia roboratur: quia cùm natura omne superfluum tâquam noxium & redundans in corpore pellere studeat, protinus naturali quadam titillatione atque illecebra obscænas corporis partes excitat, per quas egerere & protrudere foràs possit, quidquid sibi nociturum sentit. <Omne superuacuum natura è corpore pellis.> Ex qua valida tentatione & titillatione homines ignari, sese ad amorem cogi existimant: quia tantum ignem, furorem, insaniam, pestem, atque, vt ita dicam, demétationem in seipsis sentiunt, vt eorum més perstringatur, & ad quæuis flagitia impellatur. Eóque turpitudinis & furoris huius tentationis magnitudo processit, vt non defuerint, nec nunc desint hæretici, qui dicant, cupiditatis huius Hh iii
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Liber III. 245 of which it is thus read in Ælian: A young man, born of the highest rank, had fallen in love with a statue of Good Fortune, and often, slipping into her embraces, he gave kisses; and thereupon, carried into frenzy by desire, he came to the senate and earnestly begged that he might be allowed to buy her: but when he achieved nothing, after she had been adorned with many royal garlands, her image crowned, a sacrifice offered, and the statue itself embellished with costly dress, he brought upon himself death with tears, so great was the power of the fascination of demons over him: for the posture and suggestion alone sufficiently inflame an already kindled mind, prone to evil, and drive the inflamed one on to sins and ruin. And to this point the words refer, Out of his mouth proceed lampades, as it were torches of fire kindled: in this way the appetite of the flesh, when it has once been kindled, will so trouble the will itself that it draws it to its own opinion; and all the more so if vicious affections and desires, which arise from the flesh, are joined by luxury, excess, and foods that excite Venus. <From where lust is strengthened.> For lust, which from the abundance of humors gathers strength, is fortified by delights and excessive indulgence: because when nature strives to drive out everything superfluous, as something harmful and redundant in the body, it immediately by a certain natural tickling and enticement excites the obscene parts of the body, through which it may cast out and thrust away whatever it feels would be harmful to it. <Nature drives all superfluous things out of the body.> From this strong temptation and tickling, men who are unaware imagine that they are compelled to love: because they feel in themselves such a fire, fury, madness, pestilence, and, so to speak, a kind of delusion, that their mind is dazzled, and driven on to every disgraceful act. And so great has the magnitude of the turpitude and frenzy of this temptation become, that there have not been wanting, nor are there now lacking, heretics who say that of this desire Hh iii
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DE FASCINO < Maretici, Sereni & Carnis se ratione liberrum arbitrium deleri, refelluntur. > immanitate, liberum hominis arbitrium penitus obrui & deleri. Quod fallum esse ex D. Paulo monemur his verbis, Fidelis Deus, qui non patietur vos tentari, supra id quod potestis. Quando igitur dæmones ad odium aliquem excitare satagunt, in illius phantasia, vt diximus, omnes opportunas odij causas pingunt, ac veluti ob oculos ponunt, & ad memoriam reducunt, miris amaritudinis modis eiusmodi causas augédo, corporis etiam humores turbát, omnesque ad melancholicum & cholericum tendere cogunt, quibus humoribus cõturbatis, & tristitia cù odij causis accensa, ob dissensionis quoque fomenta disseminata, adeò cor cum toto corpore, contra hominem illum odio & furore afficitur, vt igne eumere, & cõtra illum furere videatur. Quod quidé eò facilius dæmones excuuntur, si res eiusmodi odio excitando idoneas (vt herbas & alia) adhibeant, vt sæpissimè solent: & ita sicut fera repagulis soluta, aduersus rationis imperiú effrenato impetu homines odio incensi feruntur. Tanta est dæmonú potestas atque calliditas, hominumque cæcitas & dementia. Et postquàm hac de re loquimur, me continere non possum, quin capitalis odij dæmonum arte in cuiusdam mulieris voluntate incensi aduersus maritum exemplum referam. In oppido Sepino, quod ab vrbe Neapoli circiter quadraginta millia passuum distat, est quidam ciuis non obscurus, Iacobus Verardus nomine, amicus meus: illuc cùm ego mei beneficij S. Mariæ nuncupati videndi studio me contulissem, & à Ioanne Baptista Mutio eius consanguineo, ac meo procuratore hospitio receptus essem, ab vtroque mihi narratum fuit, vxorem ipsius Iacobi tantú odium cù eo exercere, vt à primo die quo inter ipsos matrino-
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DE FASCINO < The Mareticians, Sereni, and Carnis, who reasoned that free will is destroyed, are refuted. > by savagery, the free will of man is utterly overwhelmed and destroyed. That this is false we are warned by St. Paul in these words: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able.” When therefore demons strive to stir someone up to hatred, they paint in that person’s imagination, as we said, all the causes of hatred that are at hand, and, as it were, set them before his eyes and bring them to memory, increasing such causes by wonderful methods of bitterness; they also disturb the bodily humors, and force them all to incline toward melancholy and choler, and with these humors disturbed, and sadness kindled by the causes of hatred, with the seeds of discord also scattered abroad, the heart together with the whole body is so affected with hatred and fury toward that man that it seems to boil with fire and rage against him. And this is the easier for demons to bring about if they use such things suitable to arousing hatred, such as herbs and others, as they very often are accustomed to do; and thus, like a wild beast freed from its barriers, men inflamed with hatred are carried against the rule of reason by unbridled impulse. So great is the power and cunning of demons, and the blindness and madness of men. And since we are speaking of this matter, I cannot restrain myself from relating an example of capital hatred kindled by demonic art in the will of a certain woman against her husband. In the town of Sepino, which is about forty miles distant from the city of Naples, there is a certain not unremarkable citizen, named Iacobus Verardus, a friend of mine. When I had gone there out of desire to visit my benefice called S. Maria, and had been received into lodging by Giovanni Battista Mutio, his kinsman and my procurator, it was told to me by both of them that his wife bore such hatred toward him that from the first day on which between them matrimo-
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Liber III. 247 nium contractum fuit, simul habitare nequiverint, tantum abest, vt sese inuicem copulauerint. Et si quâdo Iacobi < Iacobi> di vxor v[erò] necicio oppressa. Iacobus ad vxorem accedere voluisset, tanto furore ac rabie percitavxor erat, vt se per fenestrâ potius precipitem daret, quàm illum pati posset: quod cùm mihi difficile creditu videri dicerem, illicò mulierem accersi iubent; eiusque maritus in interiorem ædium partem sese abdidit, ne eius præsentia vxor ingredi tenueret; venit mulier, quæ de odij causa contra coniugem à me interrogata, suam vicem priùs, miserumque fatum deplorata, inquit, se nullam eius rei rationem reddere posse: quin absentis mariti tanto desiderio & amore se flagrare dicebat, vt id verbis exprimere nequiret: cùm autem ad illum alloquendum & videndum accedere vellet, illicò imaginationi suæ tot deformitatibus & turpitudinibus, tótque horribilibus monstris maritum depictum apparere, vt mortem priùs subire vellet, quàm illum ferre, asserens quòd eius anima tota, omnésque vires, & spirituum partes in maritum, tanquam in oblatum malum, & sui perniciem ferebantur; rursus eo absente, eiusdem desiderio æstuare se aiebat: De cuius mulieris verbis, cùm ego periculum facere vellem; dixi mulieribus eam comitantibus, vt illam circum pedes & brachia super lectum valido fune in crucis modum vincirent; quò maritus omni repugnantia remota expeditum accessum ad eam haberet. Verebar enim ne ob deformitatem aliquam celandam, mulier se ita affectam esse simularet. Vxor denique ob mariti desiderium se ligandam tradidit, rogans vt ad se maritum admitterent, quo ingrediente, nullę vnquâ furiæ tam immanes visæ sunt,
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber III. 247 so contracted was the matter, that they could not live together; so far from it was that they joined themselves to one another. And if ever Jacob’s wife, in truth, was oppressed by death. When Jacob had wished to approach his wife, she was seized with such fury and rage, that she would rather throw herself headlong out of the window than endure him: and when I said that this seemed to me difficult to believe, they immediately ordered the woman to be brought in; and her husband hid himself in the inner part of the house, lest, by her presence, his wife should be prevented from entering. The woman came, and when I questioned her concerning the cause of her hatred toward her husband, she first lamented her own lot and her wretched fate, and said that she could give no account of the matter: indeed, she declared that she burned with such longing and love for her absent husband that she could not express it in words; but when she wished to draw near to speak with and see him, there immediately to her imagination her husband appeared portrayed with so many deformities and uglinesses, and with so many horrible monsters, that she would rather undergo death than endure him, declaring that his whole soul, and all the powers and parts of her spirit, were borne toward her husband, as toward an offered evil and her own ruin; yet again, when he was absent, she said that she burned with longing for him: Regarding the words of this woman, when I wished to make trial of the matter, I told the women who accompanied her to bind her around the feet and arms over the bed with a strong rope in the form of a cross, so that her husband, all resistance removed, might have unhindered access to her. For I feared lest, in order to conceal some deformity, the woman should feign herself to be thus affected. At length the wife, because of her longing for her husband, allowed herself to be bound, asking that her husband be admitted to her; and when he entered, never were any such monstrous fits of fury seen,
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DE FASCINO 248 nulla fera tam efferata, nulla bellua tanta rabie & furore concitata ei similis inuenta fuit, spumam ex ore emittebat, dentibus fremebat, oculos cõtorquebat, totúmque corpus veluti furiis agitatum, ac dæmonibus plenu[m] videbatur, mulierésque ibi assidentes retulerunt eius ventrem ac stomachum funibus contortis ipsistangentibus refertum visum esse, totámque cutim vt flagris cæsam redactam. Nec furendi finis factus est, donec maritus côcertationis labore defessus, & illius misericordia motus illinc exiit, & tandé post tres annos mulier quædam in veneficiis versata, quæ Iacobi matrimonium cum illa vxore grauiter molestéque tulerat, fascinum quod patrauerat, soluit: & ita Iacobus vxore potitus est, hodiéq[ue] ambo in summa pace atque otio tranquillissimè viuunt. Ecce quomodo dæmones odij causa esse possunt, humanu[m] corpus cænoso turbidoque sanguine, & quadam sordida melancholia afficiendo, in nonnullos frigus inducendo, in aliis humores exurendo. Vnde insolentes, inuidos, tumidos ac misanthropos homines efficiunt. Adde quòd ipsam quoque hominis imaginatione[m] variis spectris phantasmatisque ad eam rem depingût: sæpè etiam corpori illabuntur, animæque potentiis corpori affixis adhærent. Ex qua actione intellectus turbatur; & quia voluntas rem oblatam ab intellectu sub boni specie accipit: hinc fit vt dæmones in voluntatem ex accidenti agere dicantur, quam ea via grauissimo odio incendere aduersus aliquem possunt, qui quidem odij & inimicitiæ modus inter matrimonij sacramento coniunctos à dæmonibus exerceri consueuit, vt in adulterij crimen eos cadere suadeant, & ad alios luxuriæ turpes actus habiles reddat: vt tam viro quàm mulieri peccan- di
Transcription: Translated (English)
OF FASCINATION 248 no wild beast so savage, no brute so driven by such rage and fury was ever found like her; she was emitting foam from her mouth, grinding her teeth, rolling her eyes, and her whole body seemed as though roused by furies and full of demons. And the women sitting there reported that her belly and stomach seemed stuffed with twisted ropes touching one another, and her whole skin reduced as if beaten with whips. Nor did the frenzy cease until her husband, worn out by the labor of the contest and moved by pity for her, left that place; and then at last, after three years, a certain woman skilled in sorcery, who had bitterly and grievously resented Jacob’s marriage with that wife, dissolved the spell she had wrought. And so Jacob regained his wife, and today both of them live most peacefully and quietly in the greatest harmony. Behold how demons can be the cause of hatred, by affecting the human body with muddy and turbid blood and with a certain foul melancholy, inducing cold in some, and in others burning up the humors. Hence they make men insolent, envious, arrogant, and misanthropic. Add also that they paint the very imagination of man with various apparitions and phantasms for this purpose; they often even insinuate themselves into the body and cling to the powers of the soul that are attached to the body. From this action the intellect is disturbed; and because the will receives the matter presented by the intellect under the appearance of good, it comes about that demons are said to act upon the will only accidentally, though by that means they can inflame it with the most violent hatred against someone. This kind of hatred and enmity is commonly exercised by demons among those joined together by the sacrament of marriage, so that they may persuade them to fall into the crime of adultery, and render them fit for other shameful acts of lust, so that both the man and the woman may be capable of sinning
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Liber III. 243 di occasionem suggerant, & sic excitationem libidinis ab vna tollere, & in aliam incendere vi sua aut externa virtute possunt. < Peccatum quo homines à demonibus magis sollicitantur.> Nam etsi in omnibus peccatorum generibus homines sollicitat, in carnis tamen peccatis maiorem tentandi solertiâ adhibent: cùm per hanc viâ originis culpam contrahamus, qua præcipuè demonibus subditi facti fuimus. < Matrimonio quibus viis à demonib. impediatur.> Atqui matrimonij copulam præter narratas vias aliis modis impedire possunt; primo generandi vim herbis, aut aliis rebus adhibitis tollêdo: secundo, coniugu corpora ne mutuò adhæreant distrahendo & amouendo: tertio, coëundi voluntatem diuertendo: quarto, eandè voluntatem à coniuge remouendo, & in aliam vel alium inflammando: quinto, genitalis membri rigore reprimêdo: sexto, spirituum missionem (in quibus est mouendi virtus) ac membra impediêdo: septimo, seminis vias intercludendo, ne ad generationis vas persluat: octauo, amborum corpora inuadendo, variisque affectibus eorum animoru motus contaminando: nono, ipsa generationis membra inutilia reddendo: decimo, vnum alteri deformem, infestum & inimicum esse suadendo. < Coeundi impedimentum unde.> Ex quibus liquidò constat, eos qui non demonibus, sed vel naturali causæ nobis occultæ, aut hominum artibus coitus impotentiam adscribenda esse dixerunt, malè sensisse, cùm tali ac tanta virtute dæmones præditos esse non crediderint. < Sara septem viri vita priuati.> Et nihilominus septe Saræ viros non coëundi duntaxat virtute, sed vita quoque simul priuarunt. Si enim à naturę causis impedime[n]tum illud oriretur, cum omnibus mulieribus eandè difficultatem homines haberent. Verùm quia multos nouimus, qui cum vna rem habent, & cum alia commisce ri nequeût, vicissimque multas foeminas à propriis ma- Ii
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Liber III. 243 give occasion, and thus can, by their own power or by an external virtue, take away the excitation of lust in one and kindle it in another. <The sin in which men are more greatly tempted by demons.> For although they tempt men in all kinds of sins, in sins of the flesh they employ greater skill in tempting: since through this way we contract the guilt of origin, by which we were chiefly made subject to demons. <By what ways marriage is hindered by demons.> Yet they can impede the bond of marriage in other ways besides those mentioned; first, by taking away the power of generation by means of herbs or other things applied; second, by separating and moving apart the bodies of husband and wife so that they do not mutually cling; third, by diverting the will to unite; fourth, by removing that same will from the spouse, and inflaming it toward another woman or man; fifth, by repressing the stiffness of the genital member; sixth, by hindering the emission of spirits (in which lies the power of movement) and the limbs; seventh, by blocking the pathways of the seed, lest it flow to the vessel of generation; eighth, by attacking the bodies of both, and corrupting the motions of their souls with various affections; ninth, by rendering the very organs of generation useless; tenth, by persuading one to think the other deformed, hostile, and inimical. <Whence the impediment to intercourse comes.> From which it is clearly established that those who said that impotence for intercourse must be attributed not to demons, but either to a natural cause hidden from us, or to the arts of men, thought badly, since they did not believe that demons are endowed with such and so great a power. <Sarah deprived of seven husbands’ lives.> And nevertheless they deprived Sarah’s seven husbands not only of the power of intercourse, but of life as well. For if that impediment arose from natural causes, men would have the same difficulty with all women. But since we know many who are able to have relations with one woman and cannot mingle with another, and in turn many women from their own ma- Ii
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250 DE FASCINO ritis auersas, cæteris verò addictas vidimus: propterea dæmonu[m] astu & solertia id fieri iudicamus. Amor quoque in nostris animis multis modis à dæmonibus insigi consueuit; propter pulchritudinem, propter gratiâ, propter probitatem, propter doctrinam, propter vitæ simplicitatem, & hæc quandam internam voluptatem affe- runt. Et hoc quidem bene à nobis fieri existimatur, tum vt Deo nos gratos reddamus, tum etiam vt animi virtutes naturæque dotes digno amore prosequamur; quibus iniutiis, quia obicem no[n] ponimus, latenter amor nostris animis irrepit, & paruo post tempore affectum in nos admissum, incensum inflammatumque sentimus: eáque amoris signa edimus, quibus cor illicitis amoris ictibus fauciatum esse ostenditur. Quocirca cùm virulentiora <vulnera indies cordi infligantur, delectatio quepia, sancta & honesta videbatur, in prauam & detestandam transit delectationem. Nec modò dæmones id sua vi student, sed hominibus ad idem efficiendum vtutur: quo pacto Bethsabæx nihil eiusmodi opinanti suggesserunt, vt se in suæ domus solario lauaret; ac Dauidi suaserunt, vt eo temporis momento in eo loco deambularet, vnde illam intueri posset; quo dæmones effecerunt vt rex ille omni sanctitatis genere cumulatus, libidinis impetu stimulatus, foedissimum homicidij crimen cum adulterio coniungeret. Sichem etiam cùm Dinam ad mulieres videndas excuntem conspiceret, adamauit & rapuit. Amon quoque eodem modo suam sorore Thamar adeò amauit, vt ob eius amorem in morbum incideret. Prætermitto alias artes quibus dæmones ad idem efficiendum vtuntur: eas enim nonnihil tetigimus, vt, quòd vim appetendi inflamment, in imaginatione rem-
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250 ON FASCINATION we have seen some turned away, others, however, devoted to them: for this reason we judge that this is done by the craft and cunning of demons. Love also is accustomed, in many ways, to be instilled by demons in our minds; because of beauty, because of grace, because of virtue, because of learning, because of simplicity of life, and these things bring a certain inward pleasure. And this indeed is thought by us to be done rightly, both that we may render ourselves pleasing to God, and also that we may pursue with worthy love the virtues of the soul and the gifts of nature; and because we do not set up any obstacle to these enticements, love creeps secretly into our minds, and after a short time we feel the affection admitted into us, kindled and inflamed: and we give forth those signs of love by which the heart is shown to have been wounded by unlawful arrows of love. Wherefore, when more virulent wounds are inflicted day by day on the heart, a pleasure which seemed for a time holy and honorable passes into a depraved and detestable pleasure. Nor do the demons merely strive to do this by their own power, but they also use men to accomplish the same thing: in this way they suggested to Bathsheba, who suspected nothing of the kind, that she should wash herself on the roof of her house; and they persuaded David to walk at that moment in that place from which he might be able to look at her; by which the demons brought it about that that king, laden with every kind of holiness, incited by the impulse of lust, joined the foulest crime of murder with adultery. Sichem also, when he saw Dinah going out to see the women, fell in love with her and carried her off. Amnon likewise in the same way so loved his sister Tamar that, because of his love for her, he fell ill. I pass over the other arts by which demons use to accomplish the same thing: for we have touched on them somewhat, namely, that they inflame the appetite for desire in the imagination-
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Liber III. 25. adamandam delectabilem depingant, semperque ob oculos illam obtrudant, humores ad amorem disponant, res amorem excitantes latenter adhibeant, & comedendas suadeant, sordidoru[m] libroru[m] lectionem proponant, improboru[m] hominum consuetudinem sectandam inculcent, voluntatemque occultis insidiis & stratagematibus ad amandum impellant. Quando autem dæmones alicui impio homini suadent, vt pro alicuius mulieris amore alliciendo herbas, aut quiduis aliud illi comedendum tribuant, credendum eis non est; quia tunc herbæ illæ ad amorem nihil conferunt, sed alia via idem agere curant, & huc illud spectare videtur, < Herbæ ad amorem nil conferunt.> Sic potius nos urget amor, quàm fortibus herbis, Quas maga terribili subsecat arte manus. Nec vos graminibus, nec misto credite succo: Nec tentate nocens virus amantis equæ. Et rursus: Hei mihi quòd nullis amor est medicabilis herbis. Qui verò insita fascinantium virtute homines ad illicitum amorem allici putât, vt 3. & 8. cap. primi libri retulimus, eos hunc philosophandi modum, quem sacrarum litterarum interpretes Spiritus sancti lumine illustrati excogitarunt, non animaduertisse iudicamus. De veris, piis ac sanctis amuletis, fascinum atque omnia veneficia destruentibus. CAP. X. < Corporis medela modus varius.> ONGE diuersus medendi modus illis adhibetur, qui corporis ægritudine laborat, ab eo qui fascino dæmonum arte illato, infectis adhibetur. Ex illis enim alius cibis reficitur, alius ab- I i ij
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Liber III. 25. they depict a desirable woman, and ever thrust her before the eyes, dispose the humors toward love, secretly apply things that excite love, and persuade them to be eaten, recommend the reading of filthy books, inculcate the practice of associating with wicked men, and by hidden snares and stratagems drive the will to loving. But when demons persuade some impious man to give, for the purpose of enticing a certain woman’s love, herbs or anything else to be eaten by her, they are not to be believed; because then those herbs contribute nothing to love, but they seek to produce the same effect by another way, and this seems to be the point of the saying, < Herbs contribute nothing to love.> So rather does love urge us than strong herbs, Which a witch’s hand cuts with terrible art. Nor trust the herbs, nor the mingled juice: Nor try the noxious poison of the loving mare. And again: Alas for me, that love cannot be cured by any herbs. But those who think that by an inherent power of charmers men are drawn to unlawful love, as we related in chapter 3 and 8 of the first book, we judge have not observed this mode of philosophizing, which the interpreters of the Sacred Writings, illuminated by the light of the Holy Spirit, have devised. Of true, pious, and holy amulets, destroying fascination and all sorceries. CHAP. X. < Different mode of bodily cure.> A very different mode of healing is applied to those who labor under bodily illness, from that which is applied to those infected by fascination brought in by the art of demons. For among the former, one is restored by food, another by- I i ij
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252 DE FASCINO stinentiæ beneficio extenuatur: quidam balneum, non- nulli ferrum exposcût: hic laxandi, ille adstringendi me- dicinam postulat: & pro vario ægritudinum genere, va- ria medicamenta perquirunt. At fascini labe cõtamina- tis, sicut vna dûtaxat causa, diuinæ scilicet legis contem- ptus extitit, vt fascinarentur, ita vnica solùm res fascini calamitates & miseras penitus aufert, nempe eiusdê le- gis obseruantia. Sicut ex dæmonum asseclis, & ipsis dæ- monibus, atque à sanctis Angelis testatu legimus. Philo namque Iudæus Magum quendam celeberrimu[m] refert, ( quem Rex Balaces ex Mesopotamia acciuerat, vt eius execrationibus Hebræos contra quos bellû gerebat, de- strueret) retulisse, fascinationes & dæmonu[m] artes, aduer- sus illum populu[m] nihil valere; quippe qui ob legis sibi da tæ obseruantiam, Deo charissimus erat; Regi que consuluit, vt Hebræos ad legis contemptu[m] impelleret, sic tan- tùm expugnabiles fore: idque à Iosepho etiam de Anti- quitatibus relatu[m] legimus. Quòd autem dæmones idem cõfessi sint, ex Gregorio Nazianzeno, & ex Aurelio Pru- dentio viro Consulari, qui S. Cypriani martyris vitam carmine scripsit, habemus. Vterq[ue] enim scribit, quòd cu[m] Cyprianus magus esset, & in dæmonum deceptionibus admodum versatus, Iustinâ Christianam virginem ar- dêter amabat; quam cùm veneficiis ad suæ libidinis as- sensum allicere conaretur, dæmoné consuluit, quanâ id re consequi posset; cu[m] dæmon, nullâ ei arte profuturam contra eos, qui verè Christu[m] colerent, respondit: qua re- sponsione cõmotus Cyprianus, de vitæ superioris insti- tuto vehementer dolere coepit, ac magicis artibus reli- ctis, se totum Christo tradidit. Quòd verò sancti Angeli ostenderint, contra quos dæmones præqualere possint, in
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252 ON THE SPELL is weakened by the benefit of abstinence: some demand the bath, others the iron; one asks for medicine to loosen, another for medicine to bind; and according to the different kinds of ailments, they seek out different remedies. But for those contaminated by the stain of sorcery, since there was but one cause, namely contempt of the divine law, by which they were bewitched, so there is likewise only one thing that utterly removes the calamities and miseries of sorcery, namely observance of the same law. As we read testified by the followers of demons and by the demons themselves, and also by holy Angels. For Philo the Jew relates that a certain very famous Magus, whom King Balaces had summoned from Mesopotamia in order that by his curses he might destroy the Hebrews against whom he was waging war, said that spells and the arts of demons were of no avail against that people, since, because of their observance of the law given to them, they were most dear to God; and he advised the king to drive the Hebrews to contempt of the law, for then only would they be conquerable. And we also read this related by Josephus in the Antiquities. That the demons also confessed the same, we have from Gregory Nazianzen, and from Aurelius Prudentius, a man of consular rank, who wrote in verse the life of the martyr Saint Cyprian. For both write that when Cyprian was a magician, and very skilled in the deceits of demons, he ardently loved Justin, a Christian virgin; and when he tried by his sorceries to entice her to the consent of his lust, he consulted a demon as to by what means he might accomplish this. The demon replied that no art of his would be of any use against those who truly worship Christ. Moved by this response, Cyprian began to grieve greatly for the conduct of his former life, and, abandoning his magical arts, gave himself wholly to Christ. But that the holy Angels have shown against which demons they may prevail, in
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Liber III. 253 Tobia legitur his verbis: Qui coniugiu[m] ita suscipiunt, vt Deu à se & à sua mente excludant & suę libidini vacent, sicut equus & mulus, quibus no[n] est intellectus, super eos dæmones potestatem habent. Et quoniam diuina lex, Dei que præcepta (quorum cultus dæmonum fascinationes & fallacias dirimit) plures circumstantias coniunctas & annexas habent; hac de causa ex illis nonnullas enumerare statui: quò per earum obseruantiam, tela nequissimi hostis vitare possimus. Ante omnia Dominum Iesum Christum Deum & hominem confiteri, & ex animo diligere oportet: deinde peccatorum occasiones fugere, malarum cogitationum principiis obstare, otium, prauorum hominum consuetudinem, sordidorumque librorum lectionem vitare, piis libris semper incumbere, diuinorum beneficiorum reminisci, confessionis, Eucharistię sacramenta, & orationem frequentare, carnem per cibi & potus abstinentiam domare, eleemosynas libenter impartiri, animi puritatem, solitudinem & silentium amare, voluptates spernere, & opibus animum no[n] adhibere: quibus conditionibus completis, omnes fascinationes, dæmonum imposturæ, atque etiam dæmones ipsi non secus euanescunt, ac puluis ante faciem venti. Primum inde omnibus persuasum esse debet: Si quide[m] dæmones vincere nemo potest, qui illis validior non sit: sed nihil eis fortius reperitur, nisi Dei filius, qui ea de re in hunc mundum venit, vt dæmonum opera destrueret. Nam etsi homo libera sit præditus voluntate, ad hoc tamen opus peragendum, nisi diuina virtute adiutus inhabilis est. quia quemadmodum quisque sibi mortem consciscere potest, è morte tamen ad vitam suam redire nequit: sic in dæmonum potestatem ex se ruere potest, li iij .
Transcription: Translated (English)
Liber III. 253 Tobit is read in these words: Those who enter marriage in such a way that they exclude God from themselves and from their mind and give themselves over to their lust, like the horse and the mule, which have no understanding, over them the demons have power. And since the divine law, and the precepts of God (whose observance dispels the enchantments and deceits of demons), have many circumstances joined and annexed to them, for this reason I have determined to enumerate some of them, so that by their observance we may be able to avoid the snares of the most wicked enemy. Above all, it is necessary to confess and love from the heart the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man; then to flee occasions of sin, to resist the beginnings of evil thoughts, to avoid idleness, the company of wicked men, and the reading of filthy books, always to apply oneself to pious books, to remember the benefits of God, to frequent confession, the sacrament of the Eucharist, and prayer, to tame the flesh by abstinence from food and drink, to give alms willingly, to love purity of mind, solitude, and silence, to spurn pleasures, and not to set one’s mind on wealth: when these conditions are fulfilled, all enchantments, the deceptions of demons, and even the demons themselves vanish no otherwise than dust before the face of the wind. First of all, everyone must be persuaded of this: if no one stronger than them can overcome demons, then nothing stronger than them is found except the Son of God, who came into this world for this reason, that He might destroy the works of the demons. For although man is endowed with free will, nevertheless for carrying out this work he is incapable unless aided by divine power. For just as each person can bring death upon himself, yet cannot return from death to life by his own power, so he can of himself fall into the power of demons, but cannot of himself return from it.
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DE FASCINO 254 à semetipso verò inde emergendi vires non habet: qui- bus id accedit, quod Iesus Christus, talem ac tantam vir- tutem habet, vt solo eius nomine omne genu flectatur, coelestium, terrestriu[m], & infernorum, sicut sacræ litteræ perhibent, & fide tenemus: Secundu[m] ex vulgarium hominum dictis colligimus, qui nihil referre aiut, si in hoc aut in illud oculos co[n]iiciant, per vicos & plateas deambulent, cùm Dominus non aspectum, sed affectum prohibuerit. multaque alia faciunt, quæ licet crimina non sint, illorum tamen occasiones sunt, quibus gradibus in dæmonum retia cadunt, & ad peccati præcipitium perueniunt; quibus id meritò dicitur quod in Eccles. legitur, Qui amat periculum, peribit in illo. D[em]monibus admodum familiare est, à paruis occasionibus ad maxima nos mala præcipites dare. Ideo qui luxuriæ causa d[em]monum fascinationes vitare cupit, non modò studet, ne quid turpe (puta concubitum, osculumve, aut amplexum) petat, sed omnia quoque suspicia, vel colloquia, vel spectacula, vel contubernia, & tandem quidquid viam ad huiusmodi facinora aperire videtur, mira vigilantia vitat. Tertium etiam prophani Philosophi intellexerunt, malarum videlicet cogitationum principiis obstandum, ac renitendum esse. Quocirca Seneca in Epistolis inquit; Imbecillis primò omnis affectus est, deinde ipse se concitat, & vires, dum procedit, parat. hinc Ouid. Principiis obsta: Serò medicina paratur, Cùm mala per longas conualuere moras. Sed propera, nec te venturas differ in horas: Qui non est hodie, cras minus aptus erit. Quo enim impura cogitatio diutius in nobis moratur,
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DE FASCINO 254 but he has no strength to emerge from himself: to this is added that Jesus Christ has such and so great a power that at his name alone every knee bends, of things in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, as the sacred Scriptures testify, and we hold by faith: secondly, we gather it from the sayings of ordinary people, who say that it makes no difference if they cast their eyes on this or that, walk through streets and squares, since the Lord has forbidden not sight, but desire. And they do many other things which, though they are not crimes, are nevertheless occasions for those by which they fall by degrees into the snares of the demons and come to the precipice of sin; concerning which it is rightly said, as is read in Ecclesiasticus, He who loves danger will perish in it. It is very familiar to demons to drive us headlong from small occasions to the greatest evils. Therefore he who, for the sake of lust, desires to avoid the fascination of demons, not only takes care not to ask for anything indecent (such as intercourse, or a kiss, or an embrace), but also carefully avoids every suspicion, every conversation, every spectacle, every companionship, and finally whatever seems to open the way to such crimes, with marvelous vigilance. The third point was also understood by the profane philosophers, namely, that the beginnings of evil thoughts must be resisted and withstood. Wherefore Seneca says in the Epistles: Every passion is weak at first; then it stirs itself up and, as it advances, gathers strength. Hence Ovid: Resist the beginnings: medicine is prepared too late, When evils have grown strong through long delay. But make haste, and do not put off to future hours: He who is not fit today will be less fit tomorrow. For the longer an impure thought remains in us,
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Liber III. 155 eo altiùs radices agit, & quadam voluptatis illecebra, vt glutino quodam menti infixa, difficulter expellitur. Mira ergo celeritate omnis praua cogitatio retundenda est, cùm primùm animi fores pulsat, antequam affectus aliquis praui amoris scintillas in concupiscendi vi excitet: quæ semel accensa, mentem incendio suo vrit, & no[n] paruolabore postea extinguitur. Quartum non mediocris momenti est, ex otio namque dæmones tentandi occasionem sumunt, maiorque vitiorum pars ex eo oritur: quod Ecclesiast[er] verbis roboratur, ita dicetis; Multa[m] malitiam docuit otiositas. ad quod illud Ouid[em] respicit, Quæritur Aegy stbus quare sit factus adulter? In promptu causa est, desidiosus erat. Quintum admodum necessarium est; improboru[m] enim hominum consuetudine adeo perniciosam ac pestilentem nonnulli esse crediderunt, vt non defuerint aliqui, vt Valerius Max[imus] refert, qui cùm alicui maximum aliquod malum imprecari vellent, dicerent; I, vt vti possis mala consuetudine; ex qua omnium malorum genera oritura Cretenses putabant. Probi namque viri ad improbos accedentes multò faciliùs eorum vitia contrahunt, quàm suas illis virtutes affricent. qui enim cum scorpionibus & viperis degit, eum ab illis non morderi difficile est. iuxta illud: Quis tangit picem, & non inquinatur ab ea? quis communicat superbo, &c non induit superbiam? ideo mala consuetudo non minus quàm perniciosa corruptela fugienda & vitanda est. Sextum c[uius]què necessarium est ac præcedens; cùm ex sordidorum libroru[m] lectione animus inficiatur, ac sæpenu- mero lenocinio verboru[m], mellitáq[ue] oratione allectus, pestifera dogmata, quasi venenu[m] saccaro conditu[m] hauriat. <Orÿ & inertia damna.> <Ex prava co-suetudine mala omnia fluunt.> <Lectio fords-dorum librorum visanda.>
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Book III. 155 it takes root more deeply, and, with a certain enticement of pleasure, as if fixed in the mind with some glue, it is difficult to cast out. Therefore every evil thought must be checked with marvelous speed, as soon as it knocks at the doors of the soul, before any passion of perverse love arouses in the power of desire its sparks; once these are kindled, it burns the mind with its fire, and is afterwards extinguished only with no little effort. The fourth point is of no small importance; for from idleness demons take occasion for temptation, and the greater part of vices arises from it: this is confirmed by the words of Ecclesiastes, where it is said: Much wickedness has idle[n]ess taught. To this Ovid refers in the line, Why was Aegisthus made an adulterer? The cause is ready to hand: he was idle. The fifth is very necessary; for the company of wicked men some have believed to be so harmful and pestilential that there have been not a few, as Valerius Maximus relates, who, when they wished to imprecate some great evil on someone, would say: Go, that you may be able to make use of evil companionship; from which the Cretans thought all kinds of evils would arise. For good men, when they approach the wicked, very much more easily contract their vices than impress their virtues upon them. He who dwells with scorpions and vipers is not easily left unmutilated by them. According to the saying: Who touches pitch and is not defiled by it? who keeps company with the proud, and does not put on pride? Therefore evil company is to be avoided and shunned no less than pernicious corruption. The sixth is necessary for everyone, and follows upon the foregoing; since from the reading of filthy books the mind is infected, and very often, drawn by the seductive charm of words and the honeyed style of speech, it swallows pestiferous doctrines, as though poison prepared in sugar. <The harms of sloth and idleness.> <All evils flow from evil habit.> <The reading of filthy books is to be shunned.>
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256 DE FASCINO & ob id cùm primùm eiusmodi libros in nostris manibus vident, omnes dæmones, velut agmine facto, ad nos tentandum irrumpunt, vt suo quisque loco animæ nostræ mænia inuadat. horum autem nequissimus ille est, qui ad luxuriam inflammandam partes suscipit. Et cùm ad seducendum faciles, ad bene operandum debiles, ad resistendum fragiles natura simus; non multo labore ipsus opus est, vt in vana nos discrimina coniiciant: sed ex illorum lectione librorum voti compotes euadût. Hinc fit vt septimu[m] totis viribus amplecti debeamus, vt cum Propheta dicere possimus, Lucerna pedibus meis verbum tuum. < Verbum Dei lucerna pedibus nostris esse debet.> Si enim piorum librorum lectioni incumbimus, intellectum illuminamus, bonum affectum inflamma[m]us, animum pascimus, vitia fugamus, virtutes nutrimus, dæmonum laqueos detegimus, armáque contra illorum fraudes paramus: quia eiusmodi lectio, tot propositis præmiis, ad virtutem inuitat; tot suppliciis & minis à vitiis deterret: tot promissa, tot mysteria, tot sacramenta ante oculos ponit, vt quisquis illa suo animo rectè perpenderit, eum ad virtutis amorem, & ad improbitatis odium excitari opus sit: Deóque charus, ac dæmonum victor ac triumphator cuadet. & ex hoc tanquam ex perenni fonte, octauum sequitur, quia diuinorum beneficiorum non potest non meminisse, qui piis libris legendis animum adhibet. & profectò creationis, redemptionis, & diuinæ prouidentiæ memoria ad alia beneficia nobis præstanda Deum quodammo- do impellit: nec quidquam efficacius est, ad mentis aciem purgandam & fascinationes destruendas, quàm Christi vulnerum assidua meditatio. Et quemadmodú Christi cruciatus peccatu[m] sustulit & dæmones subegit: sic
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256 ON FASCINATION And for this reason, as soon as they see books of this kind in our hands, all the demons, as if drawn up in battle array, rush upon us to try us, each one to invade in his own place the walls of our soul. But the most wicked of them all is the one who takes up the part of inflaming us to lust. And since by nature we are easy to seduce, weak in doing good, and fragile in resisting, he needs not much labor to cast us into vain dangers; but from the reading of those books they come forth having obtained their desire. Hence it follows that we ought to embrace the seventh with all our strength, so that we may be able to say with the Prophet, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet.” <The word of God ought to be a lamp to our feet.> For if we devote ourselves to the reading of pious books, we enlighten the understanding, inflame good affection, feed the soul, drive away vices, nourish virtues, uncover the snares of the demons, and prepare weapons against their deceit: because such reading, with so many rewards set before it, invites to virtue; with so many punishments and threats deters from vices; with so many promises, so many mysteries, so many sacraments placed before our eyes, that whoever rightly considers them in his mind must be stirred to the love of virtue and to hatred of wickedness; and thus he becomes dear to God, and a conqueror and triumpher over the demons. And from this, as from a perennial fountain, the eighth follows, because the one who devotes his mind to reading pious books cannot but remember the divine benefits. And indeed the memory of creation, redemption, and divine providence somehow moves God to bestow other benefits upon us; nor is there anything more effective for purging the keen sight of the mind and destroying fascinations than the continual meditation on the wounds of Christ. And just as Christ’s sufferings took away sin and subdued demons, so
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Liber III. 257 sic assidua de eo cogitatio ad vtrumque plurimùm confert. < Misera priæ conpacratio vtilis.> Quibus si accedat memoria earum miseriaru[m], quæ indies ob nostra crimina nos inuadunt, omnia nobis nocentia, vt cupiditates & alios affectus à nobis expellemus. Hinc illud, Ad mala quisque animum referat sua, ponet amorem: Omnibus illa Deus, plusve minusve dedit. < Confessionis sacramentalis vis.> Nonum à dæmonibus vehementer timetur; nam idem in Confessionis sacramento hodie agitur, quod à Saluatore nostro factum fuit, cùm hominem mutum & surdum à dæmone obsessum liberauit. Christus namq[ue] dæmonem ab humano corpore eiecit, Sacerdos absoluêdo dæmoné ab anima pellit. Verba enim illa Sacerdotis adeo efficacia sunt, cùm ait: Ego te absoluo, vt nô secus peccatoru[m] tenebræ, dęmonésq[ue]; ipsi tenebraru[m] principes, vocis illius potestate aufugiant; ac tenebræ ex mundo euanuerût, cùm in mûdi exordio Deus dixit, Fiat lux. Decimum cum nono debet esse coniunctu[m]; quod enim peccatoru[m] detestatio & cõfessio aggreditur, hoc Eucharistiæ sacramentu[m] perficit & auget. Christi namq[ue] corpus à deuota < Eucharistiæ sacramenti mirus effectus.> anima sumptum conscientiâ exhilarat, animæ vires reparat, homine[m] meritorum Christi participe[m] facit, deuotione[m] excitat, fidem illuminat, spem roborat, charitatem inflammat, affectus regit, præterita peccata delet; cõtra futura armat, dæmonum fraudes ac fascinationes penitus auertit. Quocirca cùm quidam Neapoli luxuriæ stimulis ardêter sollicitaretur, eâque de re ad sanctum Eucharistiæ sacramentu[m] accedere non præsumeret; illi cõsiliu[m] dedi, vt conscientiæ examine præmisso, & peccatoru[m] confessione peracta, quanta posset humilitate ac deuoto Kk
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Liber III. 257 Thus continual reflection upon it contributes greatly to both. < The useful preparation for misery.> If to these there be added the memory of those miseries which daily assail us on account of our sins, all things harmful to us, so that we may drive away from ourselves desires and other affections. Hence that saying, Let each one turn his mind to his own evils, and he will put away love: God has given these to all, more or less. < The power of sacramental confession.> The ninth is greatly feared by the demons; for the same thing is done today in the sacrament of Confession as was done by our Savior, when He freed a man possessed by a demon, who was mute and deaf. For Christ cast the demon out of the human body; the Priest, by absolving, drives the demon from the soul. Indeed the Priest’s words are so effective, when he says: I absolve you, that no otherwise than the darkness of sinners, and the demons themselves, the very princes of darkness, flee from the power of that voice; and just as darkness vanished from the world, when at the beginning of the world God said, Let there be light. The tenth ought to be joined with the ninth; for what the detestation and confession of sins begins, the sacrament of the Eucharist perfects and increases. For the body of Christ, taken by a devout < The wondrous effect of the sacrament of the Eucharist.> soul, gladdens the conscience, restores the strength of the soul, makes man a participant in the merits of Christ, awakens devotion, enlightens faith, strengthens hope, inflames charity, governs the affections, blots out past sins; on the contrary it arms against future ones, and utterly drives away the deceits and enchantments of demons. Wherefore when a certain man in Naples was burning with the goads of lust and on that account did not presume to approach the holy sacrament of the Eucharist; I gave him this counsel, that, after first examining his conscience, and having made confession of his sins, with whatever humility and devotion he could Kk
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DE FASCINO 258 mentis affectu hoc sacramentum sumeret: Quod simul -tque is executus fuit, ardens illud luxuriæ incendiu[m] ita sublatum sensit, vt nullæ amplius reliquæ relictæ fue- rint, & deinde nullo penitus libidinis ardore stimulatus est, sed castitatis gratia donatus, cum summa conscientiæ tranquillitate vitam egit. Sicut enim praua cum lasciuis familiaritas intemperatum & incontinentem illum reddiderat, < Amor vsu paratur, et vsu amittitur> ita continuus huius sacramenti vsus, temperatum, continentem, & castum eundem effecit, iuxta illud, Intrat amor mentes vsu: dediscitur vsu. Vndecimum iaculum dæmones validissimè confodies esse existimo orationem, qua mens in Deum eleuatur, votorum nostrorum compotes simus, per quam omnes dæmonum fraudes, fascinationes & maleficia destruuntur, & ipsimet dæmones subacti in tormentoru[m] locum, velut vulnerati graui vulnere abire coguntur; hominesque ab omni illoru[m] molestia atque impetu, liberi & immunes seruantur. Ad quod respiciens Saluator noster admonens suos discipulos dixit, Vigilate et orate, ne intretis in tentationem. < Orationis vis.> Et Propheta, Oculi mei semper ad dominum; quoniam ipse euellet de laqueo pedes meos. Cumq; orationis contra dæmones robur, Dominus noster demonstrare vellet, asseruit: Hoc genus dæmoniorum non eiicitur nisi in ieiunio et oratione. Ex quo intelligimus, præcipua dæmones effugandi vim Orationi tributam esse: quia per orationem cum Deo vnimur, vnusque spiritus cum Deo cuadimus; quam excellêtem humanæ mentis cum diuino intellectu coniunctione[m], dæmones peius inferorum igne formidant. Quapropter cùm Do-
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DE FASCINO 258 with the affection of the mind he would take this sacrament: which as soon as he had done, he felt that burning fire of lust so taken away, that none of it was left any longer, and afterward he was stirred by no trace of sensual desire at all, but, endowed with the grace of chastity, he lived with the greatest peace of conscience. For just as wicked familiarity with wantonness had made him intemperate and incontinent, Love is acquired by use, and lost by use ; so the continual use of this sacrament made him the same man temperate, continent, and chaste, according to that saying, Love enters minds by use; by use it is unlearned. I believe the eleventh dart with which demons are most powerfully thrust through is prayer, by which the mind is lifted up to God, so that we may obtain our requests; through it all the deceits, spells, and evil arts of demons are destroyed, and the demons themselves, brought low, are compelled to depart as though wounded with a grievous wound to the place of torment; and men are preserved free and immune from all their harassment and attack. Looking to this, our Saviour admonished his disciples and said, Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The power of prayer. And the Prophet, My eyes are ever toward the Lord; for he will pluck my feet out of the snare. And when our Lord wished to show the power of prayer against demons, he declared: This kind of demon is not cast out except by fasting and prayer. From this we understand that the chief force for driving away demons is attributed to Prayer: because through prayer we are united with God, and become one spirit with God; which excellent union of the human mind with the divine intellect the demons fear more than the fire of hell. Wherefore, when Do-
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Liber III. 259 minus orationem cum ieiunio ad dæmones expelle[n]dos coniunxerit, nos quoque ea non separabimus, atq[ue] duo- decimum præsidium contra dæmonu[m] arma statuemus. Dæmones enim ad nostrarum animaru[m] interitum, carne, tanqua[m] familiari & domestico hoste vtuntur, in qua cupiditatum nostrarum radix existit: quæ si ciboru[m] multitudine & varietate pinguis reddita fuerit, sui amorem, luxuriæ reliquorumque vitiorum impetus germinabit. Et hoc in causa esse consueuit, vt mariti absque Dei timore cum vxoribus misceantur, quod est contra Dei præceptum, quod Tobiæ filio per Angelu[m] dedit, ita dicens: < Caro domesticus noster hostis. > Cum acceperis vxorem, ingressus cubiculum, per tres dies continens esto ab ea, & nihil aliud, nisi orationibus vacabis cum ea. Quod quia per incontinentiam, crapulam, & ebrietatem prætermittitur, plerique coniugati fascinati & veneficiis affecti reperiuntur: alij eadem de causa thoru[m] geniale[m] polluunt, illicitoq[ue] pellicis co[n]cubitu gaudent: & quod peius est, intra domesticos parietes hâc vetusti flagitij consortem retinent, eamque adeo ad quotidiani ministerij vsum necessariam existimant, vt se viuere sine illa non posse dicant, familiarem pudicitiae hostem in conspectu semper habentes. Ideo per ciborum abstinentiam < Abstinentiae virtus. > caro attenuanda est, vt ipsius impetus & affectus exiles ac debiles reddatur; animusque robustior ad certamina cum dæmonibus obeunda efficiatur. Corporis namque prælium ab animi cum dæmonibus conflictu plurimùm differt: In vno corporis robur requiritur, in altero debilitatæ corporis vires victoriam præbent. < Corporis & animi dispar condicio. > Qua de re Dominus nos admonens, inquit: Attendite ne grauentur corda vestra crapula & ebrietate. At si à Kk ij
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Liber III. 259 unless he has joined prayer with fasting for expelling demons, we too shall not separate them, and we shall establish the twelfth defense against demons as arms. For demons, for the destruction of our souls, use the flesh, as with a familiar and domestic enemy, in which the root of our desires exists: if this is made fat by the multitude and variety of foods, it will produce love of self, and the impulses of luxury and the rest of the vices. And this is commonly the cause that husbands, without fear of God, unite with their wives, which is against the command of God, which he gave to Tobias’s son through the Angel, saying thus: < The flesh is our domestic enemy. > When you have taken a wife, enter the bedroom; for three days be continent from her, and do nothing else except occupy yourself with prayers with her. Because this is neglected through intemperance, gluttony, and drunkenness, many married persons are found bewitched and affected by sorceries; others for the same reason defile the marriage bed and take pleasure in unlawful intercourse with a mistress; and what is worse, they keep within the walls of the house a companion of this ancient crime, and even deem her necessary for the use of daily service, so that they say they cannot live without her, always keeping before their eyes an enemy of chastity in the household. Therefore by abstinence from food < The virtue of abstinence. > the flesh must be weakened, so that its impulses and affections may become feeble and weak; and the spirit may become stronger for undertaking battles with demons. For the struggle of the body differs greatly from the conflict of the soul with demons: in the one, bodily strength is required; in the other, the weakened powers of the body give victory. < The differing condition of body and soul. > For this reason the Lord, warning us, says: Take heed lest your hearts be weighed down with gluttony and drunkenness. But if from Kk ij
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260 DE FASCINO < Acib> < rerem recitan- tibus abstine[n]dum.> consuetis cibis abstine[n]dum est, quò dæmonum victores euadamus; quantò magis illorum ciborum vsum vitare debemus, qui ad libidinem homines stimulant? quod etiam Ethnici docuere: Vnde Ouid. Nec minus erucas aptum est vitare salaces, Et quidquid Veneri corpora nostra parat. Qui enim salacibus cibis se implent, dæmonumque vi- ctores esse cupiunt, iis sunt similes, qui inermibus hosti- bus, ad se confodiendu[m] arma tradunt. Vtque nostri cor- poris abstinentia Deo grata fiat, quod corpori subtrahi- mus, pauperibus erogemus; & ita decimum tertium sta- tuimus: Nam sicut per bonorum largitionem, egenis subueniendo à peccatis & ab animæ interitu liberamur, vt Tobias ait: ita dæmonum deceptiones, fallaciæ & fa- scinationes per eandem frangutur; virésque nobis sub- ministratur, quibus per eiusmodi bonorum operum viâ incedentes, perque animi puritate, charos nos Deo red- damus. Et est decimumquartu[m]; quo animi simplicitate[m] sectari & turpitudinem fugere iubemur: præcipua nam- < Puritas animi seruanda.> que dæmonum cura est, omnia spiritualia arma destrue- re, quibus homines internam lucem percipere, & diui- næ gratiæ auxilium co[n]tra ipsorum fallacias habere me- reantur. Et sicut ob animi simplicitatem, humilitatem & puritatem Deo placemus; ita per easdem virtutes dæmones frangimus, atque in maximas angustias redi- gimus. Et præsertim si ab hominum consuetudine re- motam vitam agimus, diuinæ tantùm contemplatio- ni vacantes: & ita ad decimumquintum accedimus; < Solitudo amplectenda.> quo ad solitariam vitam agendam hortamur: In iis e- nim, qui hunc viuendi modu[m] eligut, Deus præcipua qua- da vigilantia, tanqua[m] in sacrato teplo habitare existima-
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260 ON WITCHCRAFT <One must abstain from the food of the reciters.> One must abstain from the customary foods, so that we may escape as victors over demons; how much more must we avoid the use of those foods that stir men to lust? This was also taught by the heathens. Hence Ovid: It is no less fitting to avoid lustful arugula, And whatever prepares our bodies for Venus. For those who fill themselves with lustful foods and yet wish to be conquerors of demons are like those who hand weapons to unarmed enemies so that they may be wounded by them. And that the abstinence of our body may be pleasing to God, let us give to the poor what we take away from the body; and thus we establish the thirteenth point: for just as by the giving of goods, by helping the needy, we are freed from sins and from the death of the soul, as Tobias says, so the deceptions, frauds, and witchcrafts of demons are broken by the same means; and strength is supplied to us, by which, walking in the way of such works of charity and through purity of mind, we render ourselves dear to God. And this is the fourteenth point; by it we are instructed to pursue simplicity of mind and flee ugliness: <The purity of the mind must be preserved.> For it is the chief concern of demons to destroy all spiritual weapons, by which men may be granted to perceive the inner light and to have the help of divine grace against their deceit. And just as through simplicity of mind, humility, and purity we are pleasing to God, so through the same virtues we break demons and reduce them to the greatest distress. And especially if we lead a life removed from the company of men, devoted only to divine contemplation: and thus we come to the fifteenth point; <Solitude is to be embraced.> by which we are exhorted to lead a solitary life. For in those who choose this manner of living, God, with a certain special vigilance, is deemed to dwell as though in a consecrated temple.
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Liber III. 261 tur, cùm spretis contemptisque inanibus huius mundi rebus, Deo sese penitus addixerint. Ideò dæmonu[m] astus (vt D. Antonius fecisse legitur) floccifaciunt: eóque magis si silentij beneficio vti sciant, ad quos decimum sextum nos hortatur. Qui enim loquaciores sunt, à dæmonum insidiis immunes esse non possunt. < Lequacitas eussanda.> Loquacitas namque suam quoque voluptatem habet; cùmque omnem voluptatem respuere per decimum septimum moneamur, ab vtraque abstinendum esse instruimur. Voluptas enim omnes corporis vires eneruat; & sicut falsam dulcedinem, ita veram amaritudine coniunctam habet. Et quia lætiriæ voluptas proxima est, lætis moribus luxuriam dæmones proponunt. < Voluptas spernenda.> Quo quidem modo homines religione, Dei timore, & omni denique virtutis genere spoliantur, ac dæmonibus subiiciuntur: à quo periculo si liberi esse cupimus, voluptates spernere, & humanarum rerum cupiditatem abiicere debemus, vt decimum octauum consulit. < Voluptas lascitiæ germana.> A qua sententia prisci etiam Philosophi non abhorruerunt, vt hisce versibus pater, Gnosida fecisses inopem, sapienter amasset. < Diuitiarum cupiditas fugienda.> Diuitiis alitur luxuriosus amor. Qui enim diuitiarum cupiditate tenetur, in dæmonum viribus, tanquam fascinati esse creduntur: tum quia auaritia est idolorum seruitus; tum etiam quia cupientes diuites fieri, incidunt in tentationem & in laqueum diaboli, vt ex sacris litteris habemus: quocirca rectè Valerianus ait, diuitiis à vitiis nomen esse impositum. < Auaritia idolorum seruitus.> Hæc sunt amuleta, dæmones ipsos, fascinationes, & omnia mala dæmonum arte illata expellentia; & non illa quæ K k ij
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Liber III. 261 when, having despised and scorned the empty things of this world, they have wholly devoted themselves to God. Therefore they make light of the tricks of demons (as St. Antony is said to have done); and the more so if they know how to make use of the benefit of silence, to which the sixteenth admonition exhorts us. For those who are more loquacious cannot be immune from the snares of demons. < Loquacity is to be avoided.> Loquacity for indeed has its own pleasure too; and since we are warned by the seventeenth to reject every pleasure, we are instructed that we must abstain from both. For pleasure drains all the powers of the body; and just as it has a false sweetness, so it has true bitterness joined with it. And because the pleasure of delight is akin to joy, demons present luxury to cheerful dispositions. < Pleasure is to be despised.> In this way indeed men are stripped of religion, fear of God, and of every kind of virtue, and are subjected to demons: if we wish to be free from this danger, we must despise pleasures and cast away desire for human things, as the eighteenth advises. < Pleasure is the sister of wantonness.> From this opinion even the ancient Philosophers did not dissent, as in these verses the father, You would have made the Gnossian woman poor, had she wisely loved. < The desire for riches is to be shunned.> Luxury is nourished by wealth. For he who is held by the desire for riches is believed to be, as it were, fascinated by the power of demons: partly because avarice is the service of idols; partly also because those who desire to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil, as we have from the sacred writings. Wherefore Valerian rightly says that wealth has had its name imposed from vices. < Avarice is the service of idols.> These are amulets that drive away the demons themselves, the fascinations, and all evils brought in by the art of demons; and not those which K k ij
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DE FASCINO 262 < Agnus Dei amuletum optimum.> primó libro de Philosophorum sententia retulimus, le- gitatis, turpitudinis, & superstitionis plena. Atque si his, Agnus Dei addatur, qui sine labe peccati & Dei offensione circa collum suspensus gestetur; & si ad omnem progressum, aditum, exitum, vestitum, calceatum, ad lauacrum, ad mensam, ad lume[m], ad cubile, ad sedile, & denique ad omnem actionem sanctæ Crucis signo frons < Cruce frons serenda.> teratur (vt Tertullianus ait, in lib. de Militis corona:) Iesu Christi Saluatoris nostri quoque nomen in corde & ore habeatur, nihil esse puto, quod in his nostris amuletis desiderari possit. FINIS.
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DE FASCINO 262 < Agnus Dei amuletum optimum.> I have referred in the first book to the opinion of the Philosophers, full of licentiousness, baseness, and superstition. And if to these there be added the Agnus Dei, which, without stain of sin and offence to God, is worn suspended about the neck; and if for every going forth, entering, departing, clothing, putting on shoes, bathing, at table, at the fire, at bed, at the seat, and, in short, in every action, the sign of the holy Cross be traced on the forehead < Cruce frons serenda.> (as Tertullian says, in the book De Militis corona :) if also the name of Jesus Christ our Savior be kept in the heart and on the lips, I think there is nothing that can be desired in these our amulets. FINIS.
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LEONARDO VAIRO SACRÆ THEOLOGIÆ DOCTORI PRÆSTANTISSIMO, Horatius Albinus, Beneuentanus, S. P. D. INGVLARI quadam humanitate sæpenerò à me efflagitasti, mi Leonarde, vt scriptis meis indicem, quid causæ fuerit, cur in ipso coenæ initio te ex improuiso maximis doloribus opprimi senseris, cùm apud monachos sanctæ Sophiæ Beneuentanæ, annom. D. LXXIII. die tertia Augusti, hora verò XXIII. coenares: vnde te repentè emori exclamaueris, quoniam omnia in te venenum concomitantia indicia visa fuerint, ac demùm adhibitis contra venenum remediis, illicò melius habere coeperis, & multorum die- rum spatio post purgantis medicamenti exhibitionem, cerebri læsione sedata, & cordis palpitatione expulsa, penitus conualueris. Ego verò in omni obsequio præ- stando duo imprimis consideranda censeo, tum vt cui plurimum debeamus, tum vt ei qui aliquo virtutum genere fulgeat (is enim non potest non iusta petere) more geramus. Cùm autem nemo sit à quo non ego duntaxat, verumetiam tota Albinorum familia maiora beneficia acceperit, quàm à te, qui consiliis & auxiliis adeò
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To LEONARDO VAIRO, most distinguished Doctor of Sacred Theology, Horatius Albinus of Benevento, sends greetings. In your unusual kindness you have very often pressed me, my Leonardo, to set down in writing what cause there was that, at the very beginning of the supper, you suddenly felt yourself overwhelmed by the greatest pains, when you were dining with the monks of Holy Sophia of Benevento, in the year of Our Lord 73, on the third day of August, at the twenty-third hour; whence you cried out that you were suddenly dying, since all the signs accompanying poison seemed to be present in you, and finally, after remedies against poison had been applied, you immediately began to feel better, and after the passage of many days following the administration of the purgative medicine, with the injury to the brain allayed and the palpitation of the heart driven out, you recovered completely. But in rendering every kind of service I judge two things above all to be considered: first, that we should do what is due to the one to whom we owe the most; and second, that we should show due regard to him who shines by some kind of virtue—for such a man cannot but make just requests. And since there is no one from whom not only I myself, but indeed the whole family of the Albini, has received greater benefits than from you, who by your counsels and assistance so greatly...
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164 EPISTOLA domui nostræ profuisti, vt perpetuò nos tibi deuinctos esse oporteat: cùmque ea virtute polleas, quæ paucis, iis- que optimis ac præstantissimis viris tecum communis sit, non potuit tibi in hac re studium meum deesse. Quid enim fælicis recordationis pater meus dû viueret egit, in quo tuum consilium fidelissimum non adhibuerit tuum iudicium non exquisierit? tuam sententiam secul- tus non fuerit? Te siquidem non in amici, sed in germa- ni fratris loco semper habebat: meas verò ærumnas & calamitates tibi communes semper existimasti, nihil de- nique prætermisisti, quod ad honore commodumque augedum pertineret. Quid de tuis maximis clarissimis- que virtutibus dicam? quid de integritate & humanita- te commemorem? quæ quales & quantæ sint, vniuersa hæc ciuitas Beneuentana fidem facere potest: dum enim hîc multos annos te publicè legentem docentemque omnes audiuimus, ita studiosoru animos Logicæ, Phi- losophiæ ac Theologiæ disciplina illustrasti & auxisti, vt tui nominis memoriam sint perpetuò habituri. Illud quoque silentio non inuoluam, quòd Theologiæ ma- gistri Neapolitani, cùm te ad Doctoratus gradum pro- moturi essent, ingenium doctrinamque tuam ita admi- rati sunt, vt te nô modò Doctoratus laurea nemine dis- crepante, viuáque & vna voce ornauerint, verumetiam in eorum collegium cooptauerint, qui doctorandorum exami intersunt, non sine aliquo honorario. Vnde postea M. Antonius Columna tuarum singulariu virtu- tum fama accensus, te minimè ambientem, Romam ad Ascanium eius filium docedum, atque optimis artibus instituendum vocauit; dignum hercule discipulum, qui tali præceptori committeretur: qui cùm tuis institutis præceptisque
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164 EPISTLE you have been of service to our household, so that we ought always to be bound to you. And since you possess that virtue which is shared by few, and by those most excellent and outstanding men, my zeal in this matter could not be lacking to you. For what did my father, while he lived, ever do in remembrance of his happiness, in which he did not employ your most faithful counsel, or seek out your judgment, or follow your opinion? Indeed, he always regarded you not in the place of a friend, but of a brother born of the same mother. And you always considered my troubles and misfortunes to be shared by you; in short, you left nothing undone that concerned the increase of my honor and advantage. What shall I say of your greatest and most renowned virtues? What shall I mention about your integrity and kindness? This whole city of Benevento can bear witness to what and how great they are: for while here, for many years, we all heard you publicly reading and teaching, you so illuminated and increased the minds of students in the study of Logic, Philosophy, and Theology that they will forever keep the memory of your name. I shall not pass over in silence this also: that the masters of Theology in Naples, when they were about to promote you to the degree of Doctor, admired your talent and learning so much that they conferred upon you not only the laurel of Doctor, with no dissent and with one unanimous voice, but even admitted you into their college, which takes part in the examinations of those to be made doctors, and this not without some honorarium. From this, M. Antonius Columna, inflamed by the fame of your extraordinary virtues, called you—though you were not at all seeking it—to Rome to teach his son Ascanio and to instruct him in the best arts; a pupil worthy, by Hercules, to be entrusted to such a teacher: who, with your precepts and instructions
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GRATVLATORIA. 265 præceptisque maximum in Philosophia ac reliquis spe- culatiuis disciplinis progressum fecerit, ad Iurisprudentiam adipiscendam Salamanticam properauit. Te verò illustriissimus & reuerendissimus dominus Cardinalis Granuellanus in suorum familiariu[m] & commensalium numerum accepit. Tacco laude[m] & gloriam quam con- cionibus sacris indies maiorem tibi comparas, quas ad Gregoriu[m] XIII. Pont. Max: magno totius Cardinalium collegij applausu assiduè habes: prætermitto alias tui a- nimi dotes innumerabiles. Nam cùm omni virtutis ge- nere ornatissimus sis, encyclopædiámque bonarum ar- tium absolveris, nequeo satis pro dignitate tuas laudes deprædicare. Ad tuâ verò ægritudinem venia[m], in quam incidisti, cùm M. Antonius Columna ad reformandos monachos sanctæ Sophiæ te destinasset: vbi Abbas As- canius eius filius te generalem in spiritualibus & tem- poralibus Vicarium esse voluit. Nec miror cur cùm tuæ curationi non ego solus, sed præstantissimi in re medica viri adfuerint, mihi potius hanc prouinciam dederis: ra- tio enim succurrit: nam etsi iudicio ac doctrina me illis inferiorem duco, amore tamen & beneuolentia erga te facilè omnes antecello, & quodlibet onus libentissimè tua causa suscipio, præcipuè hoc quod mihi æquè ac tua salus iucundissimum est. Ad rem igitur veniam, quam iuxta veritatem & medicæ facultatis canonas me expli- caturum polliceor. LI
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CONGRATULATIONS. 265 When he had made the greatest progress in Philosophy and the other speculative disciplines according to their precepts, he hastened to Salamanca in order to acquire knowledge of Jurisprudence. There indeed the most illustrious and reverend Lord Cardinal Granvelle received you into the number of his familiars and table companions. I pass over in silence the praise and glory which you gain day by day through your sacred sermons, which you deliver constantly before Gregory XIII, Supreme Pontiff, with the great applause of the whole College of Cardinals; I omit your other innumerable gifts of mind. For since you are adorned with every kind of virtue, and have completed an encyclopedic knowledge of the liberal arts, I cannot sufficiently extol your praises as they deserve. But let me come to your illness, into which you fell when M. Antonius Columna had assigned you to reform the monks of Saint Sophia, where Abbot Ascanius his son wished you to be his general Vicar in spiritual and temporal matters. Nor do I wonder why, when not only I but the most distinguished men in medicine were present for your treatment, you should have given this office rather to me: reason indeed suggests it; for although in judgment and learning I consider myself inferior to them, yet in affection and goodwill toward you I easily surpass them all, and I most willingly undertake any burden for your sake, especially this one, which is as pleasing to me as your own health. I shall therefore come to the matter itself, which I promise to explain according to the truth and the canons of the medical art. LI
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DE VENENO DOMINO LEONARDO VAIRO SACRÆ THEOLOGIÆ Doctori, exhibito, Horatij Albini Enarratio. DOMINVS Leonardus Vairus Prior sanctæ Sophiæ Beneuentanæ, iuuenis, etatis anno- rum triginta, integra sanitate semper frues, salubri victu vten, paratò conuiuio à mo- nachis eiusde Abbatiæ, inter coenandum repentè à præ- uis ac sæuis symptomatibus correptus fuit. Intumuit ei lingua, vt vix balbutire posset; totius faciei ac vniuersi corporis habitus maximo incendio flagrabat: de dolore ac morsu ventriculi conquerebatur: inextinguibilis sitis cum afflictabat: huc atq[ue] illuc iactabatur, nec quid- quam quietis inuenire poterat, corpus totum denique rubescebat, & iam rubor ad lucedinem tendebat: flam- meis oculis astantes, vt ei opem ferrent, aspiciebat. Ex his igitur de veneni assumptione in suspicionem inci- dit, tum quia illius loci recenter, cùm esset exterus, erat factus Prior, tum etiam quoniam reformatio, quam in eodem Monasterio tunc faciebat, ad abusus & malos mores tollendos, erat dyscolis quibusdam admodum odiosa. Quapropter ad cubiculum suum, quod propè < Oleum absorptum iuuas veneno infectos.> erat, properauit, in quo lecythum cum parum olei reperiens, totum absorpsit: facto ab illo vomitu, ab omnibus ferè symptomatibus vindicatus fuit. Accersitis medicis, & omnibus præintellectis, denuò amygdalarum oleum recéter expressum propinarût, factoq[ue] iterum vomitu, fermè ad pristinâ sanitate restitutus fuit; cùm dolore capitis licet leui afficeretur, ac quandâ veluti auram à ventriculo ad cor, à corde ad cerebrum eleuatam, post vomitum relicta persentiret. Voti fuerût Medici ei me-
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On the poison of Lord Leonardo Vairo, to the Doctor of Sacred Theology, an explanation by Horatius Albinus. Lord Leonardus Vairus, Prior of the holy Sophia of Benevento, a young man, being thirty years of age, always enjoying perfect health, while using wholesome food at a prepared banquet with the monks of the same abbey, was suddenly, while dining, seized by pre- vious and violent symptoms. His tongue swelled so that he could scarcely speak; the appearance of his whole face and of his entire body was burning with a most intense heat: he complained of pain and biting in the stomach: he was afflicted by an unquenchable thirst: he was tossed hither and thither, and could find no rest at all; finally his whole body turned red, and the redness was already tending toward lividness: with fiery eyes he looked at those standing by, begging them to bring him help. From these signs he therefore fell under suspicion of having taken poison, both because he had recently, as a stranger, been made Prior of that place, and also because the reform which he was then carrying out in that same monastery, for the removal of abuses and bad habits, was most hateful to certain unruly men. Wherefore he hurried to his own room, which was nearby, and there, finding a vessel with a little oil, he swallowed it all. After he had vomited, he was freed from almost all the symptoms. Doctors were summoned, and, all things having first been understood, they again gave him freshly expressed almond oil, and after he had vomited again, he was restored almost to his former health; although he was afflicted with a slight headache, and perceived after the vomiting a kind of breath, as it were, raised from the stomach to the heart, from the heart to the brain, left behind. The doctors vowed to him that he me
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DE VEN. VAIRO EXHIB. 267 dicamentu purgas exhibere, quo, septimo die illius mo- bi exhibito, cu[m] condecenter alium exonerasset, ab ipsis etiâ symptomatibus liber cuasit, & viginti dieru[m] spatio pristinâ sanitate[m] recuperauit, de nulla alia re penitus co- quereus. Talis fuit morbus & curatio prædicti Domini, cui septe[m] medici interfuerunt, vt potè Antonius Bilocta Pro totatius homeli cu[m] , Donatus Antonius Pater meus, Franciscus Renna, Salvator Mauronus, Angelus & Iulius mei fra- tres, & ego. Et quoniâ aliqui ex no[n] accersitis medicis o- pinabâtur ea symptomata ab exteriori veneno no[n] pro- uenisse, sed ab aliis, ob inquisitos de hoc delicto purga- dos asserebant; ideo vt huius rei veritas pateat, nonullas rationes à natura veneni assumptas in medium afferam, quibus venenum exterius assumptum esse demonstra- tur. Venenum omne intra corpus nostrum assumptum, omnibus suis facultatibus opponitur cibo quo nutri- mur. Nam quemadmodu[m] cibus in nostri corporis san- guinem vertitur, sitque in omni sui parte membris, quæ præcipuè nutrit, similis, locu[m] illius quod co[n]tinuò in no- bis exoluitur subintrans; ita venenu[m] contrario modo se habens corpus, ac membra quibus primò adhæret, in si- bi particularem & venenatam naturam transfert. Vnde quemadmodu[m] animalia omnia omnesq[ue] fructus, quos terra parens gignit, & vniuersa quæ in nutrimentu[m] verti possunt, si à nobis edantur, in nostrum transeunt nutri- mentum: sic per oppositum modum, venena intra cor- pus sumpta, singula nostri corporis membra venenata reddunt; & ratio est, quia cùm omne agens suo passo sit fortius, venenatè sua vi agendi valida nostram vin- cit substantiam, vertitque in sui venenatam naturam, ea sanè ratione qua ignis sua vi agendi potentissima Agens suo passo est for- tius. Ll ij
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DE VEN. VAIRO EXHIB. 267 medicine to be given as a purge, by which, the seventh day after that medicine had been administered, when he had suitably evacuated the other matter, he was freed even from those symptoms themselves, and in twenty days recovered his former health, complaining absolutely of nothing else. Such was the illness and treatment of the aforesaid Lord, to whom seven physicians attended, namely Antonio Bilocta Prototatius homeli cum , Donatus Antonius my father, Franciscus Renna, Salvator Mauronus, Angelus and Julius my brothers, and myself. And because some of the uncalled physicians were of the opinion that those symptoms had not arisen from external poison, but from other causes, and for that reason asserted that purgatives should be sought for this offense; therefore, that the truth of the matter may be made clear, I shall bring forward certain reasons drawn from the nature of poison, by which it is shown that the poison had been taken externally. Every poison taken into our body is opposed in all its powers to the food by which we are nourished. For just as food is turned into the blood of our body, and in every part of it is like the limbs which it chiefly nourishes, entering into the place of that which is continually lost in us; so poison, acting in the contrary way, transfers into itself the body and the limbs to which it first adheres, a particular and poisonous nature. Hence, just as all animals and all fruits which mother Earth brings forth, and everything that can be turned into nourishment, if eaten by us, pass into our nourishment; so, by the opposite process, poisons taken into the body render each member of our body poisonous. And the reason is that, since every agent is stronger than that which it acts upon, poison, by its powerful action, overcomes our substance and turns it into its own poisonous nature, indeed by that same reason by which fire by its most powerful action Agent is stronger than that on which it acts. Ll ij
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HOR. ALB. ENARRAT. oaleas in seipsum conuertit, vt ex Galeno 3. de simplic. medic. facult. habetur, & in libello de Venenis doctissi- mus Conciliator idem asserit. Hinc ratio reddi potest cur si aliquis à Phalâgio, vel Scorpione, vel alio animali virus iaculante, mordeatur, totum corpus venenatum reddatur, ac tam paruæ veneni quantitas, tam praua pa- riat symptomata, quod ideò euenire credimus, quia li- cet venenum sit paruæ molis, cùm venenum sit poten- tius illa parte cui fuerit iniectum, ipsam in sui venena- tam substantiâ conuertit, & illa rursus aliam sibi partem continuam in venenatam naturam vertit, & sic successi- uè suas validas vires multiplicâdo totum animal vene- natur redditur. < A cane rabido morsi a- quam expauescunt.> Hinc etia causa assignari potest, cur morsi à rabido cane aquam expauescant, à qua sola forsan sa- nari possent: ob eandé causam illud euenire arbitramur. Nam cùm humorum omnium & totius corporis prin- cipaliu[m] facultatu[m] functionumque imperium venenum ipsum susceperit, atque omnes corporis dispositiones, sibi similes reddiderit, mouentur vniuersæ corporis vi- res, irruuntque contra id quod contrariu[m] sibi existimat, id est, contra ipsam aqua, si ea in mediu[m] efferatur. Et sic cùm tota substantia illius morsi à cane rabido sit versa in rabidam naturam, cùm venenum illud sit calidum & siccum, expauescit aquam, tanquam contrariâ, & suam naturam destruentem. Vel dicendum hoc ex corru- pta imaginatione co[n]tingere: imaginatur namque æger canes esse in aqua, & imaginatio continua, quam de ca- ne obtinet, sigillat in se canis figurâ, & phantasiatur ca- nis in aqua, & in aliis liquidis & tersis corporibus: & ob id à cane rabido morsi aquam abhorrent, licet propter sitim illa indigeant, vt in differentia sua CLXIX. Pe-
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HOR. ALB. explains. Poison turns back into itself, as is found in Galen, book 3, De simplicium medicamentorum facultatibus , and the most learned Conciliator likewise affirms in the little book De Venenis . From this a reason may be given why, if anyone is bitten by a Phalangium, or a Scorpion, or some other animal that shoots out venom, the whole body is rendered poisonous, and why so small a quantity of poison produces such terrible symptoms. We believe this happens because, although the poison is of small bulk, since it is stronger than the part into which it has been injected, it converts that very part into a poisonous substance; and that part in turn changes another contiguous part into a poisonous nature, and thus successively, by multiplying its powerful force, the whole animal is made poisonous. <Those bitten by a rabid dog fear water.> Hence a cause can also be assigned why those bitten by a rabid dog fear water, from which alone perhaps they might be cured. For the same reason we think that this happens. For since the poison itself has taken over the rule of all the humors and of the principal faculties and functions of the whole body, and has made all the bodily dispositions like itself, all the powers of the body are moved and rush against what they suppose to be contrary to themselves, that is, against water itself, if it is brought before them. And so, since the whole substance of that person bitten by a rabid dog has been turned into a rabid nature, because that poison is hot and dry, he fears water as something contrary and destructive of his nature. Or it must be said that this happens from a corrupted imagination: for the sick imagines dogs to be in the water, and the continuous imagination which he retains of the dog impresses the figure of a dog upon him, and he fantasizes dogs in water and in other liquid and smooth bodies; and for this reason those bitten by a rabid dog shun water, although because of their thirst they need it, as in their distinction CLXIX. Pe-
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DE VEN. VAIRO. EXHIB. 289 trus Apponensis Conciliator disertè scribit. Ad rem ergo redeuntes dicimus, illud fuisse venenum exterius absumptum. Sit prima ratio à natura veneni, quæ est, substantiam in sui venenatam naturam vertere. Cùm prædictus D. Leonardus bene ac rectè vale[n]s pauca quædam ingessisset, ab illis prauis symptomatibus correptus fuerit, signum euidentissimum est, non assumpsisse alimenta, quæ in nostram vertutur substantiam, illamque nutriunt, augent & conseruant, sed venenata alimenta, quæ eius substantiam ad venenatam naturam conuertebant, vt ex repentinis symptomatibus manifestum est, & illis per vomitum ciectis, sedata ac remissa sunt omnia, cùm præcipuum auxilium in veneni assumpti curatione sit vomitus, vt in sexto lib. à Dioscoride habetur: < Veneni proprium est, substantia in sui venenatam naturam conuertere.> quæ sic statim sedari non potuissent, si ab alia causa orta fuissent intrinseca, quæ nec adesse poterat stâte eius per omne tempus sobrietate & integra sanitate. Secunda ratio. Magnitudo symptomatum à magna causa originem trahit, sed symptomata prænarrata fuerunt magna; < Veneni assumptio vomitus curatur.> ergo causa ex qua dependebant erat magna: verùm hæc nô poterat esse alia, quàm venenum assumptum. Quòd autem talia symptomata fuerint magna; probatione nô indigemus, cùm in ipsius ægroti corpore euidentissima fuerint. Quòd verò aliud quàm venenum assumptum esse nequiverit, probatur. Nam si ab alia causa ea symptomata prouenire possent, illa vtique humoru prauitas ac malignitas esse posset, quæ similis veneno in corpore humano progigni potest: at talis causa esse nô potuit, cùm corpore esset salubris, & quotidiani victus rectam rationem semper adhibuit: ex quo ergo humoris malignitas generari potuit? Et si ex huiusmodi causa < Symptomata magna, à magna causa oriuntur.> Ll. iii.
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DE VEN. VAIRO. EXHIB. 289 trus Apponensis, the conciliator, writes expressly. Returning therefore to the point, we say that it was external poison that had been swallowed. Let the first reason be taken from the nature of poison, which is to turn a substance into its own poisonous nature. Since the aforesaid D. Leonardus, while in good and sound health, had taken in a few things, and was thereafter seized by those evil symptoms, it is an unmistakable sign that he had not taken foods which are turned into our substance and nourish, increase, and preserve it, but poisonous foods, which were turning his substance into a poisonous nature, as is manifest from the sudden symptoms, and when these were cast out by vomiting, all things were calmed and abated, since the chief aid in the treatment of poison taken into the body is vomiting, as is found in the sixth book of Dioscorides: < The proper effect of poison is to turn substance into its own poisonous nature.> which could not have been so quickly relieved if they had arisen from another intrinsic cause, which could not even have been present, since he was throughout that time in sobriety and full health. The second reason. The greatness of the symptoms takes its origin from a great cause, but the aforesaid symptoms were great; < Poison taken is cured by vomiting.> therefore the cause on which they depended was great: but this could be nothing other than poison taken into the body. And that such symptoms were great we do not need proof, since they were most evident in the body of the sick man himself. But that it could not have been anything other than poison taken in is proved thus. For if those symptoms could arise from another cause, that cause could certainly be the corruption and malignity of humors, which in the human body can be generated like poison; but such a cause could not have existed, since his body was healthy, and he had always followed the proper rule of daily regimen: from what, then, could the malignity of humors have been generated? And if from this sort of cause < Great symptoms arise from a great cause.> Ll. iii.
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270 HOR. ALB. ENARRAT. < Mutatio omnis fit à contrario.> Venita essent, nec sic citò symptomata sedari potuissent. Tertia: Omnis mutatio sit à contrario; quia à simili, nec actio nec passio prouenit, ergo intensior mutatio, ab in- tensiori opposito, & sic maxima mutatio à maximè op- posito: quia vt se habet simpliciter ad simpliciter, ita magis ad magis, & maximè ad maximè; sed quod maxi- mè oppositum est nostræ substantiæ ac naturæ est venenu[m], igitur venenu[m] est illud quod maximè nostram sub- stantiâ alterat, ac transmutat. Cùm itaq[ue] à priori statu sic repentè maximè eius substantia transmutata fuerit, ergo à maxima causa transmutante quæ est venenum. Quar- ta: Ad hoc quod aliquod agens in maiori vel minori té- poris spatio suam actionem perficiat, hoc sit ob maio- rem vel minorem resistentiâ passi; nam vbi maior resi- stentia, ibi logior actio, vbi minor resistentia, ibi breuior actio; sed minima est resistetia inter venenum & nostrâ substantiam, cùm veneni natura sit potétissima, ac ma- ximas obtineat vires respectu nostræ substantiæ: ergo in minori, & breuiori temporis spatio, ab ipso veneno no- stra substâtia trasmutatur. Cùm itaq[ue] illa praua sympto- mata in tam breui temporis spatio aduenissent, non nisi à causa potentissima, quæ est venenum, cui eius substan- tia resistere nô poterat, manarût. Nam cùm téporis mo- méto bene se habuisset, hilaris fuisset, ac buccellas panis in iure pulli intinctas pergustasset, & semel vinum bene limphatum bibisset, prænarrata aduenerunt symptoma- ta. Quinta: Cùm talia grauia symptomata assumptum cibum subsecuta sint, & in homine qui rectâ quotidiani victus ratione adhibuit, cù paulò antecrectè se haberet, & in ipso couiuij ingressu ab illis symptomatibus corre- ptus fuit, euidentissimu[m] veneni assumpti indiciu[m] esse de-
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270 HOR. ALB. ENARRAT. < “Every change is made from the opposite.”> If they had been delayed, the symptoms could not so quickly have been relieved. Third: Every change is from the contrary; because from what is similar, neither action nor passion proceeds. Therefore, the more intense change is from the more intense opposite, and thus the greatest change is from the most opposite: for as simple things are to simple, so are more to more, and greatest to greatest; but that which is most opposite to our substance and nature is poison. Therefore poison is that which most alters and transforms our substance. Since then, from the former state, its substance was thus suddenly and most greatly transformed, therefore it was from the greatest transforming cause, which is poison. Fourth: For any agent to complete its action in a greater or lesser span of time, this is because of a greater or lesser resistance in the patient; for where there is greater resistance, there the action is longer, where there is less resistance, there the action is shorter; but the resistance between poison and our substance is minimal, since the nature of poison is most powerful and has the greatest force in relation to our substance: therefore in a shorter and briefer span of time our substance is transformed by the poison itself. Since then those evil symptoms had appeared in so brief a span of time, they could have arisen only from a most powerful cause, namely poison, to which its substance could not resist. For at the moment of time he had been quite well, cheerful, and had tasted pieces of bread dipped in chicken broth, and had once drunk wine well diluted with water, when the aforesaid symptoms came on. Fifth: Since such severe symptoms followed the food taken, and in a man who had followed the proper daily regimen of diet, and since a little before he had been in good health, and at the very beginning of the meal he was seized by those symptoms, it is a most evident indication of poison having been taken to be
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DE VEN. VAIRO. EXHIB. 271. bet, quia ipso per vomitu eiecto pristinâ sanitate[m] recu- perauit. Sexta: Ad particularia magis descendentes, cùm venena triu[m] sint generu[m], vt ab antiquis memoriæ prodi- tu[m] est: aut enim à plâtis, aut ab animalibus, aut à metallis exitiosam vim induerunt; quæ licet exitiosam vim ha- beant, nô tamen ab vna cademq; causa suos pariunt ef- fectus: Si quidé quæda[m] agunt excessu qualitatu[m] elemen- torum, quaru[m] mixtione constant: quædam verò propria forma, quam occulta proprietatem aliqui medicorum appellant: alia autem sunt, quę vtroq; modo agunt, qua- litate elementari, ac specifica forma. Venena quæ suaru[m] qualitatu[m] excessu agunt, suas variant actiones pro varie- tate ipsarum qualitatum, cùm vnum sit calidum, aliud frigidum, aliud siccum, aliud humidum: venena quę ca- liditate excedunt, animal perimunt, ipsum excalefacien- do, vrendo, & corrodoendo. hac ratione venena, quæ ca- lefacie[n]do hominem interimunt, omnia membra inter- < Veneni calidi effectus.> na celeriter inflammant, sitim ingentissimam excitant, oculos inflammant, continuam molestiam & inquie- tudinem inducunt: quæ omnia venenum calidum & erodens portendentia, cùm primas offas subsecuta sint, venenum calidum assumpsisse arbitramur. Se- ptima: Fuerunt propinata auxilia conuenientia venenis calidis & erodentibus, & ab illis illico adiutus, vt fuit oleum commune, & amygdalarum dulcium, & a- lia: post quorum assumptionem subsecuto vomitu à symptomatibus illis fuit vindicatus; ergo venenum ca- lidum & erodens assumpsisse indicatur. Octaua: Ad magis particularia descendentes, illud sublimatu[m] fuisse arbitramur, tum propter symptomata, quæ sublimatum assumptum concomitantur, tû quia vulgaris est, notitiæ
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DE VEN. VAIRO. EXHIB. 271. because, having been expelled by vomiting, he recovered his former health. Sixth: Descending to particulars more closely, since poisons are of three kinds, as has been handed down from the memory of the ancients: for they have assumed their destructive power either from plants, or from animals, or from metals; and although they have a destructive force, they do not produce their effects from one and the same cause. For some act by an excess of the elementary qualities of which they are composed through mixture; others by a specific form, which some physicians call an occult property; others again act in both ways, by elementary quality and specific form. Poisons that act by an excess of their qualities vary their actions according to the variety of those qualities, since one is hot, another cold, another dry, another moist: poisons that exceed in heat destroy the animal by heating it, burning it, and corroding it. For this reason poisons that kill a man by heating him rapidly inflame all the limbs, excite the most intense thirst, inflame the eyes, and induce continual distress and restlessness: all of which, being signs of a hot and corrosive poison, when they have followed the first morsels, we judge that a hot poison has been taken. Seventh: Appropriate remedies were given for hot and corrosive poisons, and he was immediately assisted by them, such as common oil, sweet almonds, and others: after taking these, with vomiting that followed, he was delivered from those symptoms; therefore it is indicated that a hot and corrosive poison was taken. Eighth: Descending to more particular points, we judge that it was sublimated, both because of the symptoms that accompany the taking of sublimated mercury, and because it is commonly known, the knowledge of it
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HOR. ALB. ENARR. & faciliùs inuenitur: & illud cum vino exhibitum potiùs quàm cum aliis dapibus coniectamur, quia dapes ille ea- rum pinguedine veneno erodenti sunt contrariè, nec sic repentè tam sæua symptomata efficere potuissent. No- na. Huius rei fidem faciunt, ac comprobant suprà citati accersiti medici fide digni, qui vno ore ac consensu omnes illud fuisse venenum exterius assumptum asseruerunt, qui ipsum tanquam venenatum exteriori veneno per os assumpto curauerunt, & ad pristinam sanitatem Domino annuente, reduxerunt. His rationibus prænarratis, & eas, & rem ipsam rectè perpendenti luce clarius patet, D. Leonardum veneno affectum fuisse: quod quidem multis aliis rationibus comprobari posset, verùm potiùs breuitati quàm claræ iam rei comprobationi studêtes, satius erit silere, quàm solem lumine præditum esse demonstrare præsertim cu[m] veneni reliquias absconditas in quadam arca cuiusdam monachi, Curiæ ministri inuenissent; qui monachus ob nonnulla euidentissima indicia, cum duobus aliis monachis eius consanguineis captus, in vincula coniectus erat: & postmodum precibus D. Leonardi sub cautione, sicut modò reperiuntur, liberati fuerunt à D. Scipione Santino vtriusque Iuris Doct. Neapolitano, qui à M. Antonio Columna ad hanc causam decidendam Beneuentum missus fuerat. Qui Scipio licet omnes tres monachos morte dignos cognouerit, tamen ob sedandas inimicitias visum fuit tum Illustrissimo D. Ascanio Abbati, tum aliis, vt in hac re D. Leonardo Priori obsequeretur, qui Christi & martyrum vestigia secutus, pro suis inimicis intercessit, credens hac via Deo & hominibus se rem gratam facturum. Et
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HOR. ALB. ENARR. and it is more easily found; and we judge that it was rather administered with wine than with other foods, because those foods, by their fatty quality, are opposed to the corrosive poison, nor could they so suddenly have produced such severe symptoms. Ninth. The witnesses to this matter, and the previously cited reputable physicians summoned, confirm and verify this, who with one voice and agreement all declared that it had been poison taken from outside, and who treated him as one poisoned by exterior poison taken by mouth, and, with the Lord’s favor, restored him to his former health. From these reasons already set forth, and to anyone considering both them and the matter itself rightly, it is clearer than daylight that D. Leonardo had been affected by poison: which indeed could be proved by many other reasons, but rather striving for brevity than for the confirmation of a matter already clear, it will be better to remain silent than to demonstrate that the sun is endowed with light, especially since they found the remnants of the poison hidden in a certain chest of a certain monk, a servant of the Curia; and that monk, because of certain very evident indications, had been arrested together with two other monks, his relatives, and thrown into prison: and afterward, at the prayers of D. Leonardo and under bond, as they are now found, they were released by D. Scipione Santino, Doctor of both Laws, a Neapolitan, who had been sent by M. Antonio Colonna to Benevento to decide this case. This Scipio, although he recognized all three monks as deserving death, nevertheless, in order to allay hostilities, it seemed good both to the Most Illustrious D. Ascanio, the Abbot, and to others, that D. Leonardo the Prior should yield in this matter, who, following the footsteps of Christ and the martyrs, interceded for his enemies, believing that by this course he would do something pleasing to God and to men. And
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HOR. ALB. ENARR. 27. Et ego finem huius narrationis faciam, cùm præservationem ac communem venenoru[m] curationem tetigero, < Venenorum commonis curatio et præseruatio.> quorum ob varia eorum genera, varia existit: & si vniuscuiusq; veneni auxilia sigillatum enarraretur, breuitatis < De venenis scribere præsti hominis est.> propositus scopus præuerteretur, & genera quæcunque venenoru[m] tum simplicia, tum composita recésere cogeremur: & venena conscribere praui hominis ac improbi esse, scriptum reliquit Galenus in 2. lib. de Antid. cap. 7. licet multica co[n]scribere aggressi sint, inter quos est Orpheus ille Theologus cognominatus, Heliodorus Atheniensis, Horus Mendesius iunior, Aratus & alij quamplurimi, quorum scripta omnium oculis propalata iudico; ideo venena Galeni præcepto potius reticéda quàm docenda erunt, cuius sententiæ libenter subscribe. Nam cùm venenorum species docere, ac parare studemus, improbi magis instruuntur, & praui ad malu[m] ducuntur. Sed ne adeo noster de veneno sermo protrahatur, silentio non inuoluam optimu[m], præstantissimum, ac generale ad vnumquodque venenum, auxilium, quod tu ante, tum post veneni exhibitionem, tum præseruando, tum securando aliquis à veneni potentia tutò præcaueri poterit, exemplo Aurelij Antonini Imperatoris, Theriaca < Theriaca, optimum ad venena antidatum.> ac Mithridatica antidoto vtendo: Omnia enim ad venena valentia medicamenta in vnum omnia miscuit Mithridates, vt pri. de Antid. asserit Galenus, qui in lib. de Theriaca ad Pisoné, atque in lib. de Anti. adeò Theriacalem ac Mithridaticam facultaté extollit, vt summatim eius laudes complectendo ait: corpus ita disponit, vt ab vlla re noxia non corrumpatur. ad venena ergo omnia Galeni præcepto valet Mithridatica Antidotus. Etsi quâ plurima alia possemus narrare præsidia, duo tantùm Mm
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HOR. ALB. ENARR. 27. And I will bring this narration to an end, once I have touched upon the preservation and common cure of poisons, <The common treatment and preservation against poisons.> because, owing to their various kinds, there are various remedies; and if the aids for each and every poison were to be narrated in detail, <To write about poisons is the task of a wicked man.> the intended scope would be thwarted, and we would be forced to go through all kinds of poisons, both simple and compound; and Galen has recorded that to write about poisons is the work of a bad and wicked man, in book 2 of De Antidotis, chapter 7. Although many have attempted to write about them, among whom are that Orpheus called the Theologian, Heliodorus of Athens, Horus of Mendes the Younger, Aratus, and very many others, whose writings I judge should be laid open before all eyes; therefore, by Galen’s precept, poisons ought rather to be kept silent about than taught, to whose opinion I willingly subscribe. For when we strive to teach and prepare the kinds of poisons, the wicked are more instructed, and the base are led toward evil. But lest our discourse on poison be drawn out too far, I shall not pass over in silence the best, most excellent, and general aid against every poison, by which, both before and after the administration of poison, one may safely guard oneself against the power of poison, by preserving and securing oneself, as in the example of the Emperor Aurelius Antoninus, by using Theriaca <Theriaca, the best antidote to poisons.> and the Mithridatic antidote: for Mithridates mixed together into one all medicines effective against poisons, as Galen states in the first book of De Antidotis; and in the book De Theriaca ad Pisonem, as well as in the book De Antidotis, he extols the Theriacal and Mithridatic preparation so highly that, summing up its praises, he says: it so disposes the body that it is not corrupted by anything harmful. Therefore, the Mithridatic antidote is effective against all poisons according to Galen’s precept. Although we might narrate many other remedies, only two Mm
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DE VEN. VAIRO EXHIB. remedia referam, quæ sunt inter omnia præcipua, & quorum ego sæpissimè periculum feci. Rx Radicis Angelicæ siluestris ʒiii. Angelicæ satiuæ & Alteæ ana ʒii. Enulæ campanæ ʒiii. Asclepiadis vel vincitoxici, vrticę polypodij ana ʒj. Corticú de radicibus Thimeleæ siue Mezereonis ʒij. <Remedium præstantissimum aduersus venenum.> Colligantur hæ radices à medio Augusto vsque ad octauum diem mensis Septemb. & siccentur in vmbra in calido loco, deinde in olla parua terrea vitreata noua cum aceto albo ferueant per quartam partem horę, coperculo imprimis circumquaque cum pasta farinæ conglutinata; deinde tollatur ab igne, & ita quiescant quousque refrigerentur, eximantur deinde & extendantur inter duos linteolos crassiculos, & ita siccétur in loco calido. Demum addantur his omnibus duodecim baccæ herbæ Paris, quæ mense Maij colliguntur, & triginta folia eiusdem herbæ, & omnia in mortario tundantur, & fiat puluis, & seruetur in ampulla vitrea, cera & membrana conclusa: datur cum vino pondere ʒ. 1. secundum rem. Rx Dictami Cretensis, Dictami albi, Gentianæ, Cardi benedicti, termentillę, superioru[m] corticum cancroru[m] fluualium in vmbroso loco siccatarum ana vnciam vnam; boli armeni orientalis, terrę Lemnię, ossis v nicornij puluerizati ana vnciâ mediam, almischij boni dragmâ vnam. Hæc omnia subtilissimè terantur, & aqua ardenti perfectissima misceâtur: & postquâ septem vices imbibita & desiccata ad solem fuerint, iteru[m] puluerizentur & per setaciu[m] emittantur, & in ampulla vitrea bene clausa serue[n]tur, & dragma vna cum duobus digitis vini albi optimi detur indigenti. Atque inter alia remedia, lapis quem
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Ven. Vairo exhibits. I shall set forth remedies, which are among the chief of all, and of which I have very often had experience. Rx Wild Angelica root ʒiii. Cultivated Angelica and Althea, ana ʒii. Enula campana ʒiii. Asclepiad or vincitoxicum, stinging nettle, polypodium, ana ʒj. Bark from the roots of Thymelaea, or Mezereon, ʒij. <A most excellent remedy against poison.> These roots are to be gathered from the middle of August until the eighth day of September, and dried in the shade in a warm place; then in a small new glazed earthen pot, with white vinegar, let them boil for a quarter of an hour, the lid in particular being sealed all around with paste made of flour; then take it off the fire, and let them rest until they are cooled; afterward take them out and spread them between two rather thick cloths, and thus let them dry in a warm place. Finally add to all these twelve berries of herb Paris, which are gathered in the month of May, and thirty leaves of the same herb, and bruise everything in a mortar, and make a powder, and keep it in a glass bottle, sealed with wax and parchment: it is given with wine, the dose being ʒ. 1., according to the need. Rx Dictamnus of Crete, white Dictamnum, Gentian, Card benedict, tormentil, and the outer shells of river crabs dried in a shady place, ana one ounce; Armenian bole, Lemnian earth, and powdered unicorn’s bone, ana half an ounce, almischij boni one drachm. Let all these be very finely ground, and mixed with most perfect strong water: and after they have been imbibed seven times and dried in the sun, let them be powdered again and passed through a sieve, and kept in a glass bottle well closed, and let one drachm be given with two fingers’ breadth of the best white wine to one in need. And among other remedies, the stone which
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Bezaar nominant, reperitur, qui ex Orientalibus Indi: ad nos transportatur, qui si cum aqua herbæ scorsuncræ ægroto detur, confestim a veneno liberabitur. Adest etiam terra Lemnia vel sigillata nuncupata: tanta enim est eius vis, vt bibita vel comesa venenum expellat. Scribitur namque quòd Reges ac Principes Orientales & Meridionales quotidie in suis cænis & praudiis hac sigillata terra vtebantur. Vnde Regum sigillo terra hæc signabatur, hinc terræ sigillatæ nomen inditum est: verum nunc sigillorum fides cuanuit, quoniam tam bona quàm adulterata ad nos transportatur. Verùm omnia, & quæcunque venenorum genera atque innumera illorum præsidia recensere, præsentis non est instituti, sed duntaxat huius optimi & celeberrimi viri venenationis casum enarrare. Cui ne susceptam prouinciam excedamus, finem imponimus, Deo Opt. Max. gratias agentes. Hæc habui, mi doctissime & amicissime Leonarde, quibus festinanti calamo subseciuis, vt dicitur, horis tuę voluntatimorem gererem, mædatisque obtemperarem, ac posteritati de veritate fidem facerem. Reliquum est nunc, vt postquàm non ego solùm, verùm omnes huius ciuitatis homines tibi plurimùm debemus, & quidquid in nobis est, tibi acceptum referimus, vt si occasio feret, nobis vti velis. Nulla enim res tam ardua ac difficilis erit, in qua peragenda nos paratos non inuenias. Fac valeas, meque, vt soles, ames. Datum Beneuenti, Calend. April. 1579. M m iii FINIS.
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Bezaar is the name given to that which is found in the Orientals’ India and is brought to us; if it is given to a sick person with water of the herb scorsonera, he will at once be freed from poison. There is also the Lemnian earth, or what is now called sigillated earth: for so great is its power that, when drunk or eaten, it drives out poison. For it is written that the Eastern and Southern Kings and Princes used this sigillated earth daily at their dinners and suppers. Hence this earth was marked with the seal of the kings, and from this the name “sigillated earth” was given to it; but now the reliability of the seals has vanished, since both genuine and adulterated kinds are brought to us. But to recount all things and all the kinds of poisons and their innumerable remedies is not the purpose of the present work, but only to narrate the case of the poisoning of this most excellent and celebrated man. Lest we go beyond the province we have undertaken, we bring it to an end, giving thanks to God, the Best and Greatest. I have said this much, my most learned and dearest Leonardo, in order that, with hurried pen in the hours that were left over, as they say, I might satisfy your wishes, obey your commands, and make the truth known to posterity. It remains now that, since not I alone but all the men of this city owe you very much, and whatever is in us we ascribe to you, you may be willing to make use of us if occasion should require. For there will be no task so arduous and difficult in which, if it must be carried out, you will not find us ready. Farewell; and love me, as you are accustomed to do. Given at Benevento, on the Kalends of April, 1579. M m iii THE END.
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LEGATORIA * UMBERTO VALLETTA ROMA Via del Monti di Crata, 53 Tel. 6224613
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Bookbinding * UMBERTO VALLETTA ROME Via del Monti di Crata, 53 Tel. 6224613
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