Latin — 1533, repaired
Propria rerum nomina magicis operationibus plurimum necessaria testantur fere omnes: nam quum vis rerum naturalis procedit primo ab obiectis ad sensus, deinde ab his ad imaginationem, ab hac denique ad mentem, in qua concipitur quidem primo, deinde per uoces et uerba exprimitur. Dicunt idcirco Platonici in hac ipsa uoce, siue uerbo, siue nomine, ita in suis articulis formato, ipsam uim rei sub significationis forma quasi uitam aliquam latere: primo ab ipsa mente quasi femina rerum concepta, porro per uoces siue uerba quasi partu edita, postremo etiam scriptis seruata. Hinc dicunt Magi propria rerum nomina esse quosdam rerum radios ubique semper praesentes, rerumque uim seruantes, quatenus essentia rei signata in ipsis dominatur et discernitur, atque res per illa tanquam per proprias et uiuas imagines agnoscuntur. Sicut enim ex caelorum influxibus et elementis cum uirtutibus rerum omnium summus opifex producit diuersas species et res particulares: sic ex eadem influxuum et influentiarum proprietate propria rebus nomina resultant et imposita sunt ab eo, qui numerat multitudinem stellarum, omnibus eis nomina uocans, de quibus nominibus alibi dicit Christus: nomina uestra scripta sunt in caelis. Hos itaque caelestium influxus rerumque singularum proprietates cognoscens protoplastes, nomina rebus secundum earum quidditates imposuit, sicut scriptum est in Genesi: quia adduxit deus cuncta quae creauerat coram Adam ut nominaret illa, et sicut ipse uocauit rem, hoc est nomen illius, quae quidem nomina profecto admiranda in rerum significata continent res. Omnis itaque uox significatiua primo significat per influxum harmoniae caelestis, secundario per impositionem hominis, licet frequentius aliter et aliter per hanc atque per illam. Quando autem in aliqua uoce siue nomine concurrunt utraque significationes, quae ab harmonia et quae ab hominibus impositae sunt, tunc geminata uirtute, naturali uidelicet et uoluntaria, nomen illud ad agendum redditur efficacissimum, quoties debitis locis et temporibus et solennitate cum intentione exacta in materia disposita, et a natura sua ab illo patibile fuerit prolatum. Sic legimus apud Philostratum, quod cum Romae puella quae pridie nuptiarum die mortua Apollonio oblata esset, contacta uirgine nomen eius accurate inquisiuit, quo cognito aliquod occultum pronuntiasse, quo puella reuixerit. Erat etiam Romanis in sacrorum ritu obseruatio, ut cum urbem aliquam obsideret, eius proprium nomen, nomenque illi numinis in cuius tutela esset urbs illa, diligenter exquireret: quibus cognitis carmine quodam tunc eius urbis tutelares deos euocarent, urbemque ipsam habitantesque deuouerent, atque sic tandem absentibus diuis deuincerent, sicut canit Vergilius: 'Excessere omnes, adytis arisque relictis, / Dii quibus imperium hoc steterat.' Carmen uero quo euocabantur numina hostesque deuouebatur cum oppugnatione ciuitas cingeretur, qui nosse uelit apud Liuium et Macrobium requirat: sed et plura illorum narrat Serenus Sammonicus in libris recoditorum.
Close translation
That the proper names of things are of the greatest necessity to magical operations, nearly everyone testifies: for since the natural force of things proceeds first from objects to the senses, then from these to the imagination, and from this finally to the mind — in which it is indeed first conceived, and then expressed through voices and words. The Platonists therefore say that in this very voice, or word, or name, so formed in its articulations, the very force of the thing lies hidden under the form of signification, as it were a certain life: first conceived by the mind itself as though by a mother of things, then brought forth by voices or words as though by a birth, and finally preserved even in writing. Hence the Magi say that the proper names of things are certain rays of things, everywhere and always present, and preserving the force of things, insofar as the signified essence of the thing rules and is discerned in them, and things are recognized through them as through their own, living images. For just as the highest craftsman, out of the influences of the heavens and the elements together with the powers of all things, produces diverse species and particular things: so out of that same property of influences and influxes, proper names result for things, and are imposed by him who numbers the multitude of the stars, calling them all by names — of which names Christ says elsewhere: your names are written in the heavens. Knowing therefore these celestial influences and the properties of each particular thing, the first-formed man imposed names on things according to their quiddities, as it is written in Genesis: that God brought before Adam all that he had created, that he might name them, and as he himself called each thing, that is its name — which names indeed truly contain, in wondrous fashion, the things signified. Every significant utterance, then, signifies first through the influence of celestial harmony, secondarily through the imposition of man, though more often in one way through the one and in another way through the other. But when in some utterance or name both significations concur — that which is from the harmony and that which is imposed by men — then, by a doubled power, namely natural and voluntary, that name is rendered most efficacious for acting, whenever it is uttered in the due places and times and with solemnity, with exact intention, upon matter that is disposed and by its own nature receptive to it. Thus we read in Philostratus, that when at Rome a girl who had died on the very day of her wedding was brought to Apollonius, having touched the maiden he inquired carefully after her name, and once it was known, pronounced some hidden thing, by which the girl revived. There was also among the Romans, in the rite of their sacred things, this observance: that when they besieged some city, they would diligently seek out its proper name, and the name of that deity under whose protection that city stood; and once these were known, they would then, with a certain incantation, call forth the tutelary gods of that city, and devote the city itself and its inhabitants, and so at last, the gods being absent, overcome it — as Vergil sings: 'All have departed, the shrines and altars left behind, the gods by whom this empire had stood.' The incantation, however, by which the gods were called forth and the enemy devoted, when a city was surrounded in siege — whoever wishes to know it, let him seek it in Livy and Macrobius: but Serenus Sammonicus also tells more of these things in his books of hidden matters.
Modern rendering
Almost everyone agrees that the proper names of things matter enormously for magical work. Here's why: the natural force of a thing moves first from the object to the senses, then from the senses to the imagination, and finally from the imagination to the mind, where it is first conceived and then expressed through speech and words. The Platonists say that in that very sound — the word or name, shaped into its parts — the thing's own force lies hidden beneath the form of meaning, almost like a kind of life: first conceived by the mind itself, as if by a mother, then delivered through speech as if by birth, and finally preserved even in writing. That is why the magi say the proper names of things are a kind of ray given off by things, always and everywhere present, holding onto the thing's force — so that the essence the name signifies actually governs and can be discerned within it, and things are recognized through their names as through living images proper to them. Just as the highest craftsman produces the different species and individual things out of the influences of the heavens combined with the powers of the elements, so out of that same set of influences proper names arise for things and are assigned by the one who numbers the multitude of the stars and calls them all by name — the same names Christ refers to elsewhere: your names are written in heaven. Understanding these celestial influences and the particular properties of things, the first man accordingly named things according to what they truly were, as Genesis records: that God brought everything he had made before Adam so that he might name them, and whatever Adam called a thing became its name — and these names genuinely, remarkably, contain within them the things they signify. Every meaningful word, then, signifies in two ways: first through celestial harmony, second through human assignment — though usually more one way than the other. But when both kinds of meaning line up in a single word or name — the one from celestial harmony and the one people gave it — the doubled power, natural and deliberate together, makes that name extremely effective for actually doing something, provided it is spoken in the right place and time, with due ceremony and exact intention, over matter that is properly prepared and naturally receptive to it. Philostratus tells the story: when a girl who had died on her own wedding day was brought to Apollonius at Rome, he touched her and carefully asked her name, and once he had it, spoke some hidden formula that brought the girl back to life. The Romans, too, observed a sacred rite: when besieging a city, they carefully tracked down that city's own name and the name of the god who protected it. Once they had both names, they used a particular incantation to call out that city's guardian gods, formally devoted the city and its people to destruction, and so, with the gods now gone, finally overcame it — as Vergil puts it: "All have gone, leaving their shrines and altars behind, the gods on whom this power once rested" (verse, summarized — see flag). Whoever wants the actual incantation used to call out the gods and devote the enemy during a siege can find it in Livy and Macrobius; Serenus Sammonicus also gives a fuller account in his books of forgotten lore.
Editorial flags — draft status
- verse: Vergil quotation 'Excesscre omnes, adytis arisque reliclis, Dii quibus impcrium hoc steterat' (Aeneid II.351-352) — given in Latin as reasonably legible OCR, but close/modern give it as a marked quotation per spec; content is straightforward (the gods have abandoned their shrines and altars).
- uncertain: The clause on Christ ('nomina vestra scripta sunt in caelis') is a paraphrase Agrippa attributes loosely to Christ (cf. Luke 10:20); kept as Agrippa gives it.