Latin — 1533, repaired
Annuli etiam quos semper magnifecit antiquitas, quando opportune fabricantur, simili modo suam in nobis promunt virtutem, quatenus gestantem, eiusque spiritum, afficiunt laetum, vel tristem, mansuetum vel terribilem, audacem vel timidum, amabilem vel odiosum: etiam quatenus muniunt nos contra aegritudines, venena, hostes, cacodaemones, et contra quaevis alia noxia, vel nos obligant iisdem. Modus autem construendi annulos eiusmodi, talis est: quando videlicet stella aliqua ascendit fortunata, et a Luna feliciter aspecta, vel sibi coniuncta, debemus lapidem herbamque huic stellae subditam accipere, atque annulum ex metallo huic stellae conformi fabricare, et in eo lapillum infigere, herba vel radice subiecta: deinde inscriptiones imaginum, nominum, characterum, praeterea suffumigationes non praetermittere: sed haec alibi discutiemus, ubi de imaginibus et characteribus tractandum erit. Sic legimus apud Philostratum Iarcham, sapientum Indorum principem, septem annulos hac lege confectos et septem planetarum virtutibus, ac nominibus insignitos, tradidisse Apollonio, quos ille singulis diebus singulos gestaverit, iuxta dierum nomina distinguens, quorum beneficio ipse supra annum centesimum ac trigesimum vixerit, insuper et iuventae nitorem semper retinens. Simili modo Moses, Hebraeo legislator ac princeps, in Aegypto magia imbutus, annulos amoris et oblivionis confecisse legitur apud Iosephum. Erat etiam, narrante Aristotele, apud Cyrenaeos annulus Batti, gratitudinis atque honoris habens argumentum. Legimus insuper Eudamum quendam philosophum annulos contra serpentum morsus, fascinationes atque daemonia confecisse. Idem de Salomone narrat Iosephus. Quin et apud Platonem legimus Gygi Lydo regi annulum fuisse mirandae ac inusitatae virtutis, cuius sigillum cum ille in palma convertisset, a nullo videbatur, ipse omnia videns: qua annuli opportunitate fretus, reginae stuprum intulit, regem dominum occidit, quoscunque sibi obstare arbitrabatur interemit, atque in his cum facinoribus nullus videre poterat, tandem eo annuli beneficio rex Lydiae factus est.
Close translation
Rings too, which antiquity always held in high regard, when they are opportunely fashioned, in like manner display their power in us, inasmuch as they affect the wearer, and his spirit, with joy or sadness, gentleness or terribleness, boldness or timidity, being lovable or being hateful: also inasmuch as they fortify us against sicknesses, poisons, enemies, evil demons, and against whatever other harmful things, or bind us over to the same. The manner, however, of constructing rings of this kind is as follows: namely, when some fortunate star is ascending, and is favorably aspected by the Moon, or conjoined to it, we ought to take the stone and the herb subordinated to this star, and fashion a ring from the metal conformable to this star, and set into it a small stone, with the herb or root placed beneath: then not to omit the inscriptions of images, names, and characters, and furthermore the suffumigations — but these we shall discuss elsewhere, where images and characters are to be treated. Thus we read in Philostratus that Iarchas, chief of the wise men of the Indians, having composed seven rings by this rule, marked with the powers and names of the seven planets, handed them down to Apollonius, who wore them one by one on their several days, distinguishing them according to the names of the days — by benefit of which he himself lived beyond his hundred and thirtieth year, and moreover always retained the bloom of youth. In like manner Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver and prince, steeped in magic in Egypt, is read in Josephus to have made rings of love and of forgetfulness. There was also, as Aristotle relates, among the Cyrenaeans a ring of Battus, holding proof of gratitude and honor. We read further that a certain philosopher, Eudamus, made rings against the bites of serpents, against fascinations, and against demons. Josephus relates the same of Solomon. Indeed, we also read in Plato that Gyges, king of the Lydians, had a ring of wondrous and unaccustomed power, whose bezel, when he turned it toward his palm, made him seen by no one, while he himself saw everything: relying on this convenience of the ring, he violated the queen, killed the king his lord, destroyed whomever he judged stood in his way, and in these crimes no one could see him — until at last, by the benefit of that ring, he was made king of Lydia.
Modern rendering
Rings, too, which antiquity always prized highly, when properly made, show their power in us the same way — affecting the wearer and his spirit with joy or sadness, gentleness or menace, boldness or fearfulness, likability or repulsiveness. They can also protect us against sickness, poison, enemies, evil spirits, and any other harm — or, alternatively, bind us over to those same things. Here is how such rings should be made: when a fortunate star is rising, favorably aspected by the Moon or joined to it, take the stone and the plant assigned to that star, make a ring from the metal that matches that star, and set into it a small stone with the plant or root placed underneath. Then don't skip the inscriptions of images, names, and symbols, or the fumigations — but we'll cover those elsewhere, in the section on images and symbols. So we read in Philostratus that Iarchas, chief of the wise men of India, made seven rings this way, marked with the powers and names of the seven planets, and gave them to Apollonius, who wore one each day matched to that day's planet — and thanks to this he lived past his hundred and thirtieth year, still keeping the glow of youth. In the same way Moses, the Hebrew lawgiver and leader, who had been steeped in Egyptian magic, is said in Josephus to have made rings of love and of forgetting. Aristotle also tells of a ring of Battus among the Cyreneans, kept as a token of gratitude and honor. We further read that a philosopher named Eudamus made rings against snakebite, against curses, and against demons — and Josephus tells the same story about Solomon. And in Plato we read that Gyges, king of Lydia, had a ring of astonishing, unheard-of power: when he turned its bezel toward his palm, it made him invisible to everyone while he could still see everything himself. Relying on this power, he raped the queen, killed the king who was his master, destroyed anyone he saw as standing in his way — and throughout these crimes no one could see him doing it — until at last, thanks to the ring, he became king of Lydia.
Editorial flags — draft status
- uncertain: Proper name 'Eudamus' (philosopher credited with anti-venom/anti-fascination rings) — OCR form is plausible but this is a less commonly attested name than the other classical figures in this passage; flag for verification against a critical edition
- uncertain: Ring-making procedure (stone + subordinate herb/root + planet-conformable metal + inscriptions + suffumigation) is operative instructional content, not a simple correspondence list, but still flagged per rule 3's spirit given the chapter's practical/recipe character
- list: The Apollonius seven-rings anecdote (one ring per planet, worn according to day) implies a day-to-planet correspondence list; the specific planet-per-day assignments are not spelled out explicitly in the surviving text (only 'iuxta dierum nomina distinguens'), so nothing further is asserted or guessed beyond what the Latin states