Latin — 1533, repaired
[P]atet ergo in rebus proprietates occultas non ab elementali natura, sed caelitus infitas, sensibus nostris occultas, rationi vix denique notas: quae quidem ab ipso spiritu mundi per ipsos stellarum radios proficiscuntur; quae a nobis non aliter quam experientia et coniecturis indagari possunt. Unde et cupiens, qui in hoc studio operari affectas, considerare debes, quod unaquaeque res movet et convertit ad suum simile, et inclinat ad seipsum secundum totum posse suum, tam in proprietate, scilicet in virtute occulta, quam in qualitate, scilicet virtute elementali. Quandoque etiam in ipsa substantia, sicut in sale videmus: nam quicquid diu steterit cum sale, fit sal. Omne enim agens cum agere coeperit, non ad inferius se ipso movet: sed quodammodo quoad fieri potest, ad sui par et collateraneum: quod etiam manifeste videmus in animantibus sensibilibus, in quibus cibum non in herbam, vel plantam, nutritiva virtus transmutat, sed in carnem convertit sensibilem. Quibus igitur in rebus inest alicuius qualitatis vel proprietatis excessus, ut calor, frigus, audacia, timor, tristitia, iracundia, amor, odium, vel quaevis alia passio, aut virtus, sive insit ipsis per naturam, sive quandoque etiam per artem vel casum, ut audacia in meretrice: tunc res ad talem qualitatem, passionem, virtutem, maxime movent et provocant. Sic ignis movet ad ignem, et aqua movet ad aquam, et audax movet ad audaciam. Et est notum apud medicos, quod cerebrum iuvat ad cerebrum, et pulmo iuvat ad pulmonem: sic ferunt, quod ranae dexter oculus dextro, sinister sinistro suspensi e collo nativi coloris pannis lippitudines sanant: simile etiam de cancri oculis ferunt: sic pedes testudinis conferunt podagricis, adalligati ita, ut pes pedi, manus manui, dextro dexter, sinistro laevus suspendatur. Hoc modo dicunt, quod omne animal sterile provocat ad sterilitatem: et ex eo maxime testiculi, et matrix vel urina. Sic ferunt mulierem non concipere quae accipit omni mense de urina mulae, vel aliquid infusum in ea. Si igitur volumus operari ad aliquam proprietatem vel virtutem, quaeramus animantia, vel alias res, quibus talis proprietas excellentius inest, et ex his assumamus nobis partem, in qua talis proprietas vel virtus maxime viget: ut si quando velimus promovere amorem, quaeramus aliquod animal quod maxime diligit, cuiusmodi sunt columba, turtur, passer, hirudo, motacilla: et ex his assumamus membra vel partes, in quibus maxime viget venereus appetitus: quae sunt cor, testiculi, matrix, priapus, sperma, menstruum. Atque id fiat eo tempore, quando haec animalia tali affectu maxime capiuntur, et intendunt: tunc enim valde provocant amorem, et inferunt. Simili modo ad augendam audaciam, quaeramus leonem, vel gallum, et ex his capiamus cor, vel oculos, vel frontem. Et sic intelligendum est, quod dicit Psellus Platonicus, quod canes, et corvi, et galli, conferunt ad vigiliam; et [philomela?], philomela, et vespertilio, et noctua, atque ex his maxime caput, cor, et oculi. Ideo dicunt, si quis cor corvi, vel vespertilionis super se portaverit, non dormitabit donec deponatur. Idem facit caput vespertilionis aridum alligatum in dextro brachio vigilantis: nam si ponatur super dormientem, fertur non excitari, donec depositum fuerit. Eodem modo rana et bubo efficiunt loquacem, et ex his maxime lingua et cor: sic lingua ranae aquaticae supposita capiti, facit loqui in somnis: et cor buboni impositum mammae mulieris dormientis sinistrae, fertur efficere, ut omnia secreta pronunciet: idem fertur efficere cor noctuae, et sebum leporis positum supra pectus dormientis. Eodem modo omnia animalia longaeva ad vitam conferunt longaevam: et quaecunque habentia in se virtutem renovativam, conferunt ad nostri corporis renovationem et iuventutis restitutionem, quod medici se nosse multoties ostenderunt: sicut manifestum est de vipera et serpentibus. Et notum est, quod cervi renovant senectutem suam comestione serpentum; eodem modo phoenix renovatur per rogum, quem sibi construit, et similis virtus est in pellicano, cuius dexter pes si sub fimo calido ponatur, post tres menses regeneratur ex eo pellicanus. Iccirco medici quidam quibusdam confectionibus ex vipera et elleboro, et ex quorundam eiusmodi animalium carnibus et fecibus, promittunt restituere iuventutem, et restituunt quandoque, non unquam tamen talem, qualem Medea Peliae seni promissam restituit. Creditum quoque est, ursi sanguine applicato ore e recenti vulnere hausto, hoc potionis genere corporei roboris incrementa praestari: quia id animal robustissimum sit.
Qualiter diversarum virtutum operationes transfundantur ab una re in aliam, et sibi mutuo communicantur.
Close translation
It is clear, then, that hidden properties are present in things not from elemental nature, but instilled from the heavens — hidden from our senses, and known to reason only with difficulty. They proceed from the spirit of the world itself, through the very rays of the stars, and can be traced by us in no other way than by experience and conjecture.
Hence you also, whoever you are, who long to work in this study, ought to consider that every single thing moves and turns toward its like, and inclines toward itself according to its whole capacity — both in its property, that is, in its hidden power, and in its quality, that is, its elemental power. Sometimes even in its very substance, as we see in salt: for whatever stands long with salt becomes salt. For every agent, once it begins to act, does not move toward something lower than itself, but in some way, so far as it can, toward its equal and its kin — which we also see plainly in sentient animals, in which the nutritive power does not transform food into grass or plant, but converts it into sentient flesh.
In whatever things, then, there is an excess of some quality or property — heat, cold, boldness, fear, sadness, wrath, love, hatred, or any other passion or power, whether it is present in them by nature, or sometimes even by art or by chance, as boldness in a prostitute — such things most strongly move and provoke toward that same quality, passion, or power. So fire moves toward fire, and water moves toward water, and the bold moves toward boldness. And it is known among physicians that brain helps brain, and lung helps lung: thus they say that the right eye of a frog, hung from the neck in cloth of its natural colour on the right side, and the left eye on the left, cures rheumy eyes; the same is said of crab's eyes. So the feet of a tortoise help those with gout, bound on so that foot corresponds to foot, hand to hand, right to right, left to left. In this way they say that every sterile animal provokes toward sterility, and most of all from its testicles, womb, or urine: thus they say a woman does not conceive who takes, every month, some of a mule's urine, or has it infused into something.
If, then, we wish to work toward some property or power, we should seek out animals, or other things, in which that property is present most excellently, and take from these a part for ourselves in which that property or power is at its strongest: as, if ever we wish to promote love, let us seek some animal that loves most, such as the dove, the turtledove, the sparrow, the leech, the wagtail; and from these let us take the members or parts in which the venereal appetite is strongest — which are the heart, the testicles, the womb, the member, the semen, the menstrual blood. And let this be done at the time when these animals are most seized and intent upon that passion — for then they most strongly provoke and induce love. In the same way, to increase boldness, let us seek the lion or the cock, and from these take the heart, or the eyes, or the forehead.
And thus is to be understood what Psellus the Platonist says: that dogs, and ravens, and cocks contribute to wakefulness; and the nightingale, and the bat, and the owl — and from these most of all the head, the heart, and the eyes. Therefore they say that if anyone carries upon himself the heart of a raven, or of a bat, he will not grow drowsy until it is set down. The dried head of a bat, bound to the right arm of one keeping watch, does the same; for if it is placed upon someone sleeping, he is said not to be roused until it is taken away. In the same way the frog and the owl produce talkativeness, and from these most of all the tongue and the heart: thus the tongue of a water-frog placed under the head makes one talk in sleep; and the heart of an owl placed upon the left breast of a sleeping woman is said to make her utter all her secrets; the same is said to be done by the heart of a night-owl, and by hare's fat placed upon the breast of one sleeping.
In the same way, all long-lived animals contribute to long life; and whatever things have in themselves a renewing power contribute to the renewal of our body and the restoring of youth — which physicians have often shown themselves to know, as is plain in the case of the viper and serpents. And it is known that stags renew their old age by eating serpents; in the same way the phoenix is renewed by the pyre it builds for itself, and a like power is in the pelican, whose right foot, if placed under warm dung, after three months regenerates a pelican from it. For this reason certain physicians, with certain preparations made from viper and hellebore, and from the flesh and dung of certain such animals, promise to restore youth, and sometimes do restore it — though never such as Medea restored, as promised, to the aged Pelias. It is also believed that bear's blood, drunk applied to the mouth from a fresh wound, produces, by this kind of draught, an increase of bodily strength — because that animal is most robust.
How the operations of diverse powers are transmitted from one thing to another, and communicated mutually to each other.
Modern rendering
It should be clear by now that things have hidden properties that don't come from elemental nature but are instilled from the heavens — hidden from our senses, and barely knowable by reason. They come from the spirit of the world itself, carried through the rays of the stars, and we can trace them only through experience and educated guesswork.
So if you want to work in this field, keep this in mind: everything moves toward and turns toward what resembles it, and inclines toward itself as fully as it can — both in its hidden property (its hidden power) and in its ordinary quality (its elemental power). Sometimes this happens even at the level of substance, as with salt: whatever sits with salt long enough becomes salt. Every agent, once it starts acting, doesn't push things toward something lower than itself, but pushes them, as far as possible, toward its own kind and equal — which we can see clearly in animals, where the nutritive power doesn't turn food into grass or plant matter but converts it into living flesh.
So whenever something has an excess of some quality or property — heat, cold, boldness, fear, sadness, anger, love, hatred, or any other feeling or power, whether it has this by nature or picked it up through habit or circumstance (like boldness in a prostitute) — that thing strongly provokes the same quality, feeling, or power in whatever it touches. Fire moves things toward fire, water toward water, the bold toward boldness. Doctors know this too: brain helps brain, lung helps lung. So they say a frog's right eye, hung in natural-colored cloth from the neck on the right side (left eye on the left), cures inflamed eyes; the same is said of crab's eyes. Tortoise feet help gout sufferers when bound on correspondingly — foot to foot, hand to hand, right to right, left to left. On the same principle, any sterile animal is said to induce sterility, especially through its testicles, womb, or urine: they say a woman won't conceive if she takes mule's urine, or something steeped in it, every month.
So if we want to work toward some property or power, we should look for animals or other things where that property shows up most strongly, and take from them the part where it's most concentrated. If we want to promote love, for instance, we should look for the most loving animals — the dove, turtledove, sparrow, leech, wagtail — and take the organs where sexual appetite runs strongest: heart, testicles, womb, genitals, semen, menstrual blood. And this should be done when the animals are most caught up in that drive — that's when they most strongly provoke and induce love. Likewise, to build boldness, we should seek out the lion or the rooster and take the heart, eyes, or forehead.
This is also what Psellus the Platonist means when he says dogs, ravens, and roosters help with staying awake — and so do the nightingale, the bat, and the owl, especially their head, heart, and eyes. So they say that carrying a raven's or a bat's heart on your person keeps you from getting drowsy until you set it down. A dried bat's head tied to the right arm of someone keeping watch does the same; placed on someone sleeping, it's said to keep them from waking until it's removed. Similarly, the frog and the owl make people talkative, especially through their tongue and heart: a water-frog's tongue placed under the head makes a person talk in their sleep, and an owl's heart placed on a sleeping woman's left breast is said to make her blurt out all her secrets — the same effect is credited to a night-owl's heart, and to hare fat laid on a sleeper's chest.
In the same way, all long-lived animals contribute to a long life, and anything with a renewing power in it contributes to renewing our bodies and restoring youth — something doctors have often shown they know, as is clear from vipers and other serpents. It's well known that stags renew their old age by eating snakes; likewise the phoenix renews itself on the pyre it builds, and the pelican has a similar power — its right foot, buried in warm dung, regenerates into a whole pelican after three months. That's why certain doctors, using preparations made from viper and hellebore, and from the flesh and droppings of animals of this kind, promise to restore youth — and sometimes do, though never to the degree Medea restored it, as she promised, to the aged Pelias. It's also believed that a fresh wound sucked and the bear's blood drunk from the mouth builds bodily strength this way, because that animal is exceptionally strong.
How the workings of different powers are carried across from one thing to another, and shared between them.
Editorial flags — draft status
- uncertain: the passage 'et [philomela?], philomela, et vespertilio, et noctua' — OCR shows 'etil XXI. philomela' with a stray roman numeral (running head) embedded mid-sentence; likely 'et philomela' repeated once in error by OCR duplication, kept close to source rather than silently deleting the repeat.
- uncertain: 'ore e recenti vulnere haustu' — OCR garbled at 'ore e recenti vulnere hausto/haustu'; the close/modern render the most natural reading (blood sucked from a fresh wound at the bear's mouth), but the exact syntax is not fully certain.
- list: the sympathetic-medicine catalogue (frog's eyes, crab's eyes, tortoise feet, mule urine, dove/turtledove/sparrow/leech/wagtail organs, raven/bat/owl parts, viper/pelican/phoenix rejuvenation) should be re-keyed against page images — several animal and organ names are candidates for scribal/OCR substitution.