Latin — 1533, repaired
Omnibus notum est, virtutem quandam magneti inesse, qua ferrum attrahit: et quod adamas sua praesentia virtutem magnetis tollit: sic electrum et balagius fricati et calefacti paleam deducunt: lapis asbestus accensus nunquam aut vix extinguitur: carbunculus in tenebris lucet: iactites foetus mulierum et plantarum superpositus corroborat, suppositus trahit: iaspis sanguinem comprimit: echineis navem sistit: rhabarbarum choleram depellit. Chamaeleontis iecur summis tegulis exustum, imbres et tonitrua excitat. Heliotropius lapis visum perstringit, et gestantem invisibilem reddit: lyncurius lapis praestigia ab oculis aufert: liparis suffitus omnes bestias evocat: synochitides umbras inferorum educit: anachitides divorum imagines apparere facit: enneceris somniantibus suppositus oracula reddit. Est herba Aethiopica, qua ferunt siccari stagna, et clausa omnia aperiri; et lataces herbam legimus a Persarum regibus dari legatis, ut quocunque venissent, rerum copia abundarent. Est et herba Spartanica, sive Scythica, qua gustata, vel saltem in ore detenta, ferunt Scythas duodecim dies fame et siti durare. Et dicit Apuleius se a numine edoctum, multa herbarum et lapidum genera esse, quibus homines etiam perpetuam vitam sibi contribuere possunt: sed fas non esse scientiam eorum homines cognoscere, qui, cum parvum tempus vivant, malis avide studeant, et nullum non scelus audeant: si prolixitatem temporis acciperent, neque diis ipsis parsuros.
Verum unde nam sint hae virtutes, nemo ex his prodidit, qui de rerum proprietatibus ingentia volumina ediderunt: non Hermes, non Bochus, non Aaron, non Orpheus, non Theophrastus, non Thebith, non Zenothemis, non Zoroaster, non Euax, non Dioscorides, non Isaacus Iudaeus, non Zacharias Babylonius, non Albertus, non Arnoldus: et tamen omnes hi fassi sunt, quod Zacharias ad Mithridatem scribit, magnam vim et humana fata lapidum herbarumque virtutibus inesse. Unde igitur haec veniant, altior speculatio requiritur. Opinatur Alexander Peripateticus, a suis sensibus et qualitatibus non discedens, haec ab elementis earundemque qualitatibus provenire: quod forte verum putari posset, nisi qualitates illae sint eiusdem speciei, operationes autem lapidum multae, nec in specie nec in genere convenientes. Ideo Academici cum suo Platone ideis rerum formatricibus has virtutes attribuunt: Avicenna autem ad intelligentias, Hermes ad stellas, Albertus ad formas rerum specificas, huiusmodi operationes reducunt. Et quamvis hi auctores sibi invicem adversari videantur, nullus tamen eorum, si recte intelligatur, a veritate discedit, cum omnia eorum dicta ad eundem effectum in pluribus conveniant.
Deus enim in primis omnium virtutum finis et origo, sigillum idearum ministris suis praestat intelligentiis, qui tanquam fideles executores res quasque sibi creditas ideali virtute consignant caelis atque stellis, tanquam instrumentis, materiam interim disponentibus ad suscipiendum formas illas, quae in maiestate divina, ut ait Plato in Timaeo, per astra deducendae resident, easque dator formarum distribuit per ministerium intelligentiarum, quas super opera sua constituit rectrices et custodes, quibus ea facultas in rebus sibi commissis credita est, ut omnis virtus lapidum, herbarum, metallorum, et caeterorum omnium sit ab ipsis intelligentiis praesidentibus. Provenit itaque forma et virtus primo ab ideis, deinde ab intelligentiis praesidentibus et regentibus, postea a caelorum aspectibus disponentibus, porro ab elementorum dispositis complexionibus correspondentibus caelorum influxibus, a quibus ipsa elementa disponuntur. Habentur igitur operationes eiusmodi in rebus istis inferioribus per expressas formas; in caelis autem per virtutes disponentes; in intelligentiis per rationes mediantes; in archetypo per ideas et formas exemplares: quas omnes in cuiusque rei effectus et virtutis executione convenire necesse est.
Virtus igitur et mirabilis operatio est in unaquaque herba et lapide, sed maior in stella, ultra quam etiam ab intelligentiis praesidentibus unaquaeque res multa sibi comparat: potissime autem a suprema causa, cui omnia mutua et consummata correspondent, consonantia suo harmonico concentu, veluti hymnis quibusdam, semper summum illum opificem collaudantes, quemadmodum in fornace Chaldaica a sanctis illis pueris invitantur cantantibus: Benedicite domino universa germinantia in terra, et omnia quae moventur in aquis, omnes volucres caeli, bestiae et pecora simul, cum filiis hominum. Nulla itaque est causa necessitatis effectuum, quam rerum omnium connexio cum prima causa, et correspondentia ad illa divina exemplaria et ideas aeternas, unde unaquaeque res determinatum habet in archetypo particularem locum, unde vivit et originem trahit: omnisque virtus herbarum, lapidum, metallorum, animalium, verborum et orationum, et omnium quae sunt, a deo infita est. Qui licet per intelligentias et caelos in haec inferiora operetur, nonnunquam tamen omissis his mediis, aut suspenso eorum ministerio, immediate ex seipso illa facit deus, quae opera tunc miracula vocantur: nam cum primae causae imperio et ordine secundariae causae, quas ministras Plato et alii vocant, necessario agant, et effectus suos necessario producant, nonnunquam tamen pro libitu suo sic illas absolvit aut suspendit deus, ut ab illius imperii et ordinis necessitate penitus desistant. Et haec maxima dei sunt miracula. Sic ignis in fornace Chaldaica non combussit pueros; sic sol ad imperium Iosue a cursu suo unius diei spatio retrocessit; sic ad Ezechiae petitionem per decem lineas sive horas egressus est; sic patiente Christo in plenilunio defectum sol sustinuit. Et harum operationum rationes nullo rationis discursu, nulla magia, nulla quantumcunque occulta seu profunda scientia investigari aut attingi possunt, sed solis divinis oraculis addiscenda sunt et exquirenda.
Close translation
It is known to all that a certain power is present in the magnet, by which it draws iron; and that the diamond, by its presence, removes the power of the magnet: so too amber and the balas-ruby, when rubbed and heated, draw straw to themselves; the stone asbestos, once kindled, is never, or scarcely ever, extinguished; the carbuncle shines in the dark; the eagle-stone, laid upon the offspring of women and of plants, strengthens it, and laid beneath, draws it forth; jasper checks blood; the remora stops a ship; rhubarb drives away choler. The chameleon's liver, burned on the topmost roof-tiles, stirs up rains and thunders. The heliotrope stone dazzles the sight, and renders the one wearing it invisible; the lyncurius stone removes illusions from the eyes; the fumigation of liparis calls forth all beasts; the synochitis draws up the shades of the dead; the anachitis makes the images of the gods appear; the enneceris, laid beneath those who dream, gives oracles. There is an Ethiopian herb by which, they say, marshes are dried up, and all closed things opened; and we read that the herb lataces was given by the kings of Persia to their ambassadors, so that, wherever they came, they might abound in plenty of all things. There is also a Spartan, or Scythian, herb, which, tasted, or even just held in the mouth, they say enables the Scythians to endure twelve days of hunger and thirst. And Apuleius says that he was taught by a divine power that there are many kinds of herbs and stones by which men might even confer perpetual life upon themselves — but that it is not lawful for men to know the knowledge of them, since men, living only a short time, eagerly pursue evils, and dare every crime; and were they to receive length of time, they would not spare even the gods themselves.
But whence indeed these powers arise, none of those who published huge volumes on the properties of things has declared: not Hermes, not Bochus, not Aaron, not Orpheus, not Theophrastus, not Thebith, not Zenothemis, not Zoroaster, not Euax, not Dioscorides, not Isaac the Jew, not Zacharias the Babylonian, not Albertus, not Arnoldus: and yet all of these have confessed — as Zacharias writes to Mithridates — that a great power, and the fates of men, are present in the powers of stones and herbs. Whence, then, these things come, a higher speculation is required. Alexander the Peripatetic, not departing from his own senses and qualities, supposes that these arise from the elements and their qualities: which might perhaps be thought true, were it not that those qualities are of one and the same kind, while the operations of stones are many, agreeing neither in species nor in genus. Therefore the Academics, with their Plato, attribute these powers to the form-giving Ideas of things; Avicenna, however, reduces operations of this kind to the intelligences, Hermes to the stars, Albertus to the specific forms of things. And although these authors may seem to contradict one another, none of them, if rightly understood, departs from the truth, since all their statements agree, in most respects, upon the same effect.
For God, in the first place the end and origin of all powers, grants the seal of the Ideas to his ministering intelligences, who, as faithful executors, consign whatever things are entrusted to them, by ideal power, to the heavens and the stars, as to instruments, these meanwhile disposing matter to receive those forms which, in the divine majesty, as Plato says in the Timaeus, reside to be brought down through the stars; and the giver of forms distributes them through the ministry of the intelligences, whom he has set as directors and guardians over his works, to whom that faculty is entrusted in the things committed to them, so that every power of stones, herbs, metals, and all other things is from the presiding intelligences themselves. Form and power, then, come first from the Ideas, then from the presiding and ruling intelligences, afterward from the disposing aspects of the heavens, and further from the dispositions of the elements' complexions corresponding to the influences of the heavens, by which the elements themselves are disposed. Operations of this sort are therefore had in these lower things through their expressed forms; in the heavens, through disposing powers; in the intelligences, through mediating rational principles; in the archetype, through Ideas and exemplary forms: all of which must necessarily agree in the execution of the effect and power of any given thing.
Power and marvellous operation, then, are present in every herb and stone, but greater in the star, beyond which each thing also procures much for itself from the presiding intelligences; but most of all from the supreme cause, to which all things correspond in mutual and consummate fashion, sounding together in their harmonious concert, as it were in certain hymns, forever praising that highest maker together, just as in the Chaldean furnace those holy children were invited by their singing: Bless the Lord, all things that spring up in the earth, and all things that move in the waters, all the birds of heaven, the beasts and the cattle together with the sons of men. There is, then, no cause of the necessity of effects other than the connection of all things with the first cause, and their correspondence to those divine exemplars and eternal Ideas, whence each thing has its determinate particular place in the archetype, whence it lives and draws its origin: and every power of herbs, stones, metals, animals, words and prayers, and of all things that exist, is implanted by God. And although he works in these lower things through the intelligences and the heavens, nevertheless sometimes, these means being set aside, or their ministry suspended, God does those things immediately from himself, and such works are then called miracles: for although, by the command and order of the first cause, the secondary causes — whom Plato and others call ministers — necessarily act, and necessarily produce their effects, nevertheless sometimes, at his own pleasure, God so releases or suspends them that they wholly cease from the necessity of that command and order. And these are the greatest miracles of God. Thus the fire in the Chaldean furnace did not burn the children; thus the sun, at the command of Joshua, went back from its course by the space of one day; thus, at the petition of Hezekiah, it went back ten lines, or hours; thus, while Christ suffered, the sun sustained an eclipse at the full moon. And the reasons of these operations can be investigated or attained by no discourse of reason, no magic, no science however hidden or profound, but are to be learned and sought out from divine oracles alone.
Modern rendering
Everyone knows the magnet has a power that draws iron to it, and that a diamond, simply by being nearby, cancels that power. In the same way, amber and the balas-ruby, once rubbed and warmed, pull straw toward them. Lit asbestos almost never goes out once burning. The carbuncle glows in the dark. The eagle-stone, placed on top of a pregnant woman or plant, strengthens the pregnancy; placed underneath, it draws the birth forward. Jasper stops bleeding. The remora fish can stop a ship in its tracks. Rhubarb clears out bile. Burn a chameleon's liver on the rooftop and it stirs up rain and thunder. The heliotrope stone dazzles vision and makes whoever wears it invisible. The lyncurius stone dispels illusions from the eyes. Burning liparis as incense calls every animal to it. Synochitis summons the shades of the dead. Anachitis makes the images of the gods appear. Placed under a sleeper, enneceris produces prophetic dreams. There's an Ethiopian herb said to dry up marshes and open anything that's locked. We read that the herb called lataces was given by Persian kings to their ambassadors so that wherever they traveled they would find abundance. There's also a Spartan, or Scythian, herb that, tasted or simply held in the mouth, is said to let the Scythians go twelve days without food or water. Apuleius says a divine power taught him that many kinds of herbs and stones exist that could give people eternal life — but that people aren't meant to have this knowledge, since human beings, living such a short span, already chase after evil eagerly and dare any crime; if given endless time, they wouldn't even spare the gods.
But none of the writers who produced enormous volumes on the properties of things ever explained where these powers actually come from — not Hermes, not Bochus, not Aaron, not Orpheus, not Theophrastus, not Thebith, not Zenothemis, not Zoroaster, not Euax, not Dioscorides, not Isaac the Jew, not Zacharias the Babylonian, not Albertus, not Arnoldus. And yet all of them admitted — as Zacharias writes to Mithridates — that a great power, tied even to human destiny, resides in the powers of stones and herbs. So figuring out where these powers actually come from calls for deeper thinking. Alexander the Peripatetic, sticking to his own framework of senses and qualities, thinks they come from the elements and their qualities. That might seem plausible, except that elemental qualities are all of one kind, while the effects of different stones are so varied that they don't even agree with each other in species or genus. That's why the Academic philosophers, following Plato, attribute these powers to the form-giving Ideas; Avicenna traces this kind of effect to the intelligences, Hermes to the stars, and Albertus to the specific forms of things. These thinkers may look like they contradict each other, but properly understood, none of them is actually wrong — their claims agree with each other on the underlying effect in most respects.
God, the ultimate end and origin of every power, hands the seal of the Ideas to the intelligences that serve him. Acting as faithful agents, these intelligences pass along whatever is entrusted to them — by way of that ideal power — to the heavens and stars as their instruments, which in turn prepare matter to receive the forms that reside, as Plato says in the Timaeus, in the divine majesty, waiting to be brought down through the stars. The giver of forms distributes these forms through the service of the intelligences, whom he set over his works as their directors and guardians, entrusting to them the task of managing what's been committed to their care — so that every power in stones, herbs, metals, and everything else comes from these presiding intelligences. So form and power come, first, from the Ideas; then from the presiding and governing intelligences; then from the arranging aspects of the heavens; and then from the dispositions of the elements' mixtures, which correspond to the influences coming down from the heavens that shape the elements themselves. These effects, then, exist down here as concrete forms; in the heavens as disposing powers; in the intelligences as mediating principles; and in the archetype as Ideas and model forms — and all of these have to work together for any given thing to produce its effect.
So every herb and stone carries real power and does remarkable things, but the stars carry more, and beyond that, each thing gains further power from the presiding intelligences — and above all, from the supreme cause, with which everything corresponds in complete mutual harmony, sounding together like a kind of hymn, forever praising that highest maker, just as the holy children in the Babylonian furnace called out in song: Bless the Lord, all things that grow on the earth, and everything that moves in the waters, all the birds of the sky, the beasts and cattle, together with the children of mankind. So the only real source of necessity behind any effect is the connection every single thing has to the first cause, and its correspondence to those divine models and eternal Ideas — which is why every single thing has its own fixed place in the archetype, the place it draws its life and origin from. Every power in herbs, stones, metals, animals, words, and prayers — everything that exists — is planted there by God. And though God normally works on this lower world through the intelligences and the heavens, sometimes he sets those channels aside, or suspends their operation, and acts directly, on his own — and those acts are what we call miracles. Because although the secondary causes (what Plato and others call ministers) act by necessity, under the command and order of the first cause, and necessarily produce their effects, God can, whenever he chooses, release or suspend them so that they're entirely freed from that necessity of command and order. These are God's greatest miracles. This is how the fire in the Babylonian furnace didn't burn the three children; how the sun, at Joshua's command, reversed its course for the space of a day; how, at Hezekiah's request, it went back ten steps, or hours; and how, while Christ was suffering on the cross, the sun went dark during a full moon. And the reasons behind these events can't be worked out by reasoning, by magic, or by any science, however hidden or profound — they can only be learned and sought from divine revelation itself.
Editorial flags — draft status
- list: Long catalogue of stone/herb virtues (magnet, diamond, electrum/balagius, asbestos, carbuncle, aetites, jasper, echineis, rhabarbarum, chameleon liver, heliotrope, lyncurius, liparis, synochitis, anachitis, enneceris, Ethiopian herb, lataces, Spartan/Scythian herb) — legible but per spec flagged in full for manual re-verification against page image; a wrong stone/plant attribution is the highest-cost error type per spec.
- list: List of pseudo-authorities on occult properties (Hermes, Bochus, Aaron, Orpheus, Theophrastus, Thebith, Zenothemis, Zoroaster, Euax, Dioscorides, Isaac Iudaeus, Zacharias Babylonius, Albertus, Arnoldus) is legible but flagged for verification, since several are obscure/legendary figures whose exact form could differ from the printed page.
- uncertain: 'iactites' for the eagle-stone (elsewhere called aetites in the classical/medieval lapidary tradition) kept close to the OCR form rather than fully normalized, since the exact intended spelling in the 1533 print is not certain from this OCR alone.