Latin — 1533, repaired
Saturnalia sunt inter elementa terra, et etiam aqua: inter humores atra bilis humectans, tam nativa quam adventitia, praeter adustam: ex saporibus acetosi, acriores, et graves. Inter metalla plumbum, et propter pondus aurum, aureaque marcasita. Inter lapides onychinus, ziazaa, camoinus, sapphirus, sulcus iaspis, chalcedonius, magnes, et omnia terrea, fusca, et ponderosa. Inter plantas et arbores asphodelus, serpentaria, ruta, cyminum, helleborus, silphium, mandragora, opium, et quae stupefaciunt, et quae neque feruntur unquam, neque fructus ferunt, et quae nigrantes baccas nigrosve fructus producunt: ut ficus atra, pinus, et cupressus, arbor funeralis, et non regerminans baccis torva, sapore amara, odore violenta, umbra ingrata, pice acerrima, fructu supervacua, duratione incorrupta: praeterea funesta, et Diti sacra, sicut apium, quo antiquitus tumulorum thecas, antequam in illis mortuorum imponerent corpora, sternere consueverunt: quamobrem in conviviorum coronamentis, ex omnibus passim herbis et floribus serta nectere fas erat, praeterquam ex apio: quoniam lugubre sit, et hilaritati non conveniat. Animalia reptilia, segregata, solitaria, nocturna, tristia, contemplativa vel penitus bruta, avara, timida, melancholica, multi laboris, tardi motus, immundi victus, et quae fetus suos devorant. Ex istis ergo sunt talpa, asinus, lupus, lepus, mulus, catus, camelus, ursus, sus, simia, draco, basiliscus, bufo, serpentia omnia et reptantia, scorpiones, formicae, et quae ex putrefactione nascuntur in terra, in aquis, in aedium ruinis, ut mures vermesque multiplices. Inter aves vero Saturniae sunt, quae sunt longicolli et grossae vocis, ut grues, struthiones, et pavones, Saturno et Iunoni sacrae. Item bubo, noctua, vespertilio, upupa, corvus, et origis avis invidiosissima. Ex piscibus vero anguilla, seorsum ab aliis piscibus degens, mustela, et canicula, fetus suos deglutientes. Item testudines, ostreae, conchylia, et spongiae marinae, et quae excisa sunt.
Close translation
Saturnine things are, among the elements, earth, and also water: among the humors, black bile that moistens, whether native or induced, apart from the burnt kind: of the flavors, the sour, the sharper, and the heavy. Among metals, lead, and, on account of its weight, gold, and golden marcasite. Among stones, the onyx, the ziazaa, the camoinus, the sapphire, the furrowed jasper, the chalcedony, the magnet, and all earthy, dark, and heavy stones. Among plants and trees, asphodel, snakeroot, rue, cumin, hellebore, silphium, mandrake, opium, and whatever stupefies, and whatever is never carried in bloom nor bears fruit, and whatever produces blackening berries or black fruit: as the black fig, the pine, and the cypress — a funereal tree, one that does not regerminate from its berries, grim, bitter in taste, violent in smell, its shade unwelcome, its pitch most acrid, its fruit useless, its wood incorruptible in duration: moreover it is a tree of death, sacred to Dis, as is celery, with which in antiquity they used to strew the tomb-chests before laying in them the bodies of the dead — for which reason it was lawful to weave garlands for banquet-wreaths from every herb and flower scattered about, except from celery: because that would be mournful, and unsuited to festivity. Reptilian animals: solitary, isolated, nocturnal, gloomy, either contemplative or utterly brutish, greedy, timid, melancholic, given to much labor, slow of movement, unclean in their feeding, and such as devour their own young. Of these, then, are the mole, the ass, the wolf, the hare, the mule, the cat, the camel, the bear, the pig, the ape, the dragon, the basilisk, the toad, all serpents and creeping things, scorpions, ants, and whatever is born from putrefaction in the earth, in the waters, in the ruins of buildings, as the manifold mice and worms. Among birds, Saturnine are those with long necks and coarse voices, such as cranes, ostriches, and peacocks, sacred to Saturn and to Juno. Likewise the horned owl, the little owl, the bat, the hoopoe, the raven, and the osprey, most envious of birds. Among fish, the eel, which lives apart from other fish, the weasel-fish, and the dogfish, which swallow their own young. Also tortoises, oysters, shellfish, and sea-sponges, and things that have been cut off [from the rock].
Modern rendering
Saturnine things start, among the elements, with earth and also water; among bodily fluids, moist black bile, whether occurring naturally or induced, but not the burnt kind; among flavors, the sour, the sharp, and the heavy. Among metals: lead, and — because of its weight — gold, and golden marcasite. Among stones: onyx, the stone called ziazaa, camoinus, sapphire, furrowed jasper, chalcedony, the lodestone, and generally anything earthy, dark, and heavy. Among plants and trees: asphodel, snakeroot, rue, cumin, hellebore, silphium, mandrake, opium, and anything that numbs the senses; also anything that never flowers or bears fruit, and anything with black berries or black fruit — the black fig, the pine, and the cypress. The cypress is the funeral tree above all: it doesn't regrow from its own berries, it looks grim, tastes bitter, smells harsh, gives unwelcome shade, oozes the sharpest pitch, bears useless fruit, but its wood never rots. It's a tree of death, sacred to Pluto — like celery, which people once used to line burial vaults before laying bodies inside. That's also why, at banquets, garland-wreaths could be woven from almost any herb or flower except celery — celery reads as mourning, wrong for a celebration. Saturnine animals are the reptilian, solitary, isolated, nocturnal types: gloomy, either deep-thinking or outright dull, greedy, fearful, melancholic, hard-working, slow-moving, unclean eaters, and the kind that eat their own young. That covers the mole, donkey, wolf, hare, mule, cat, camel, bear, pig, ape, dragon, basilisk, toad, every snake and crawling creature, scorpions, ants, and anything born from decay — in soil, in water, in building-ruins — like the countless mice and worms. Among birds: the long-necked, harsh-voiced ones, like cranes, ostriches, and peacocks, sacred to Saturn and Juno; also the horned owl, the little owl, the bat, the hoopoe, the raven, and the osprey, the most envious of birds. Among fish: the eel, which keeps to itself apart from other fish, plus the weasel-fish and the dogfish, both of which swallow their own young. Also tortoises, oysters, shellfish, sea-sponges, and things cut loose from the rock.
Editorial flags — draft status
- list: Full Saturnine correspondence catalogue: metals (lead, gold-by-weight, marcasite), stones (onyx, ziazaa, camoinus, sapphire, jasper, chalcedony, magnet), plants (asphodel, snakeroot, rue, cumin, hellebore, silphium, mandrake, opium, black fig, pine, cypress, celery), animals (mole, ass, wolf, hare, mule, cat, camel, bear, pig, ape, dragon, basilisk, toad, serpents, scorpions, ants, mice, worms), birds (crane, ostrich, peacock, owl species, bat, hoopoe, raven, osprey), fish/sea life (eel, weasel-fish, dogfish, tortoise, oyster, shellfish, sponge). Flagging the WHOLE list per spec rule 3 for manual re-key against page images.
- uncertain: 'ziazaa' and 'camoinus' (stone names) do not resolve to any standard Latin lapidary term I can confidently identify from the OCR skeleton; kept as transcribed rather than guessed. High priority for manual check against page image — per spec, a wrong stone attribution is the worst error class here.
- uncertain: Running-head/page-furniture fragment 'LIBER PRIMVS. XXXIII' (gathering signature) appeared mid-body in the raw OCR and has been deleted per spec rule 5 as non-content.