Chapter 72

The extraordinary power of incantations.
De incantamentorum mirabili potentia.
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Latin — 1533, repaired

Incantationum itaque sive carminum tantam ferunt esse potentiam, ut pene omnem naturam posse subvertere credantur; quemadmodum inquit Apuleius: Magico susurramine amnes agiles reverti, mare pigrum colligari, ventos animos exspirari, solem inhiberi, lunam despumari, stellas evelli, diem tolli, noctem teneri. Et de eisdem canit Lucanus:

[verse, OCR-damaged — see flag] Cessavere vices rerum, dilataque longa Haesit nocte dies, legi non paruit aether, Torpuit, et praeceps audito carmine mundus.

et paulo ante:

Carmen Thessalidum durae in praecordia fluxit, Non satis adductus amor.

et alibi:

Mens haustis nulla sanie polluta veneni Excantata perit.

Item Vergilius in Damone:

Carmina vel caelo possunt deducere lunam. Carminibus Circe socios mutavit Ulixis. Frigidus in pratis cantando rumpitur anguis. et Atque satas alio vidi traducere messes.

Item Ovidius in [Sine Titulo], inquit:

Carmine laesa Ceres sterilem vanescit in herbam, Deficiunt laesi carmine fontis aquae, Ilicibus glandes cantataque vitibus uva Decidit, et nullo poma movente fluunt.

Quae si vera non essent, non tam arcte statuta poena legibus sancitum esset contra eos qui fruges excantassent. Et Tibullus de quadam incantatrice ait:

Hanc ego de caelo ducentem sidera vidi, Fluminis haec rapidi carmine vertit iter. Haec cantu findit solum, manesque sepulchris Elicit, et tepido devocat ossa rogo. Cum libet, hic tristi depellit nubila caelo, Cum libet, aestivo convocat orbe nives.

De quibus omnibus veneficia [†multum iactare videtur] apud Ovidium, cum ait:

Cum volui, ripis ipsis mirantibus amnes In fontes rediere suos, concussaque sisto, Stantia concutio cantu freta, nubila pello Nubilaque induco, ventos abigoque vocoque, Viperas rumpo verbis et carmine fauces, Vivaque saxa sua convulsaque robora terra Et silvas moveo, iubeoque tremiscere montes, Et mugire solum, manesque exire sepulchris, Te quoque, luna, traho.

Omnes praeterea poetae canunt, et philosophi non negant, posse carminibus miranda multa effici: ut pellere segetes, cogi fulmina vel impetrari, curari morbos, et eiusmodi. Nam et Cato in re rustica contra bestiarum morbos quibusdam utebatur cantionibus, quae adhuc in scriptis eius extant. Solomonem quoque eiusmodi incantationes calluisse Iosephus testatur. Narrat quoque Celsus Africanus, iuxta Aegyptiorum doctrinam, humanum corpus iuxta signorum zodiaci facierum numerum, per totidem scilicet triginta sex daemones curari, quorum singuli propriam partem suscipiunt atque tuentur, quorum nomina patria voce appellant; quibus invocatis, incantamentis suis vitiatas corporis partes sanitati restituunt.

Close translation

Incantations, then — that is, songs — are said to have such power that they are believed almost able to overturn the whole of nature; as Apuleius says: that by a magical whisper rivers are made to run backward, the sluggish sea is bound fast, the winds breathe out their spirits, the sun is checked, the moon is made to foam down, the stars are torn away, day is taken off, night is held in place. And Lucan sings of the same things (verse, summarized — see flag): the turns of things ceased, day was held fast and prolonged into long night, the upper air did not obey its law, the world went numb and headlong at the sound of the charm. And a little before (verse, summarized — see flag): the spell of the Thessalian woman poured into hard hearts, love not sufficiently drawn on. And elsewhere (verse, summarized — see flag): a mind touched by no drop of drunk poison perishes, sung out of it by a charm. Likewise Vergil, in his Damon (verse, summarized — see flag): songs can even draw the moon down from the sky; by songs Circe changed the companions of Ulysses; the cold snake in the meadows is burst by singing; and: I have seen crops carried off elsewhere by charm. Likewise Ovid, in the poem 'Without a Title,' says (verse, summarized — see flag): grain harmed by a spell fades into barren grass, springs' waters harmed by a spell fail, acorns fall from the oaks and the grape sung-over from the vines, and fruits drop though nothing shakes them. If these things were not true, so strict a penalty would not have been fixed by the laws against those who had charmed away crops. And Tibullus says of a certain enchantress (verse, summarized — see flag): I have seen this woman draw down the stars from the sky; with a song she turns aside the course of a rushing river; she splits the ground with her chant, and calls up the shades from their tombs, and summons down the bones from the still-warm pyre; when she pleases, she drives the clouds from a sullen sky, when she pleases, she calls up snows out of a summer sky. Of all these matters sorcery seems [†to boast a great deal] in Ovid, when she [Medea] says (verse, summarized — see flag): when I have wished it, rivers have run back into their own springs, the banks themselves marveling, and I still waters that were stirred, and stir waters that stood still with my song, I drive away clouds and I bring clouds on, I send winds away and call them, I burst the throats of vipers with words and with song, and living rocks and oaks torn up from their own earth, and I move forests, and I bid mountains tremble, and the ground to bellow, and the shades to come out of their tombs; you too, moon, I draw down. All the poets besides sing of this, and the philosophers do not deny, that many marvelous things can be brought about by songs: that crops can be driven off, lightning compelled or obtained, diseases cured, and the like. For Cato too, in his work on farming, used certain chants against the diseases of animals, which still stand in his writings. Josephus testifies that Solomon likewise was skilled in incantations of this kind. Celsus Africanus also relates that, according to the doctrine of the Egyptians, the human body is healed, according to the number of the faces of the signs of the zodiac, by that many — that is, thirty-six — demons, each of whom takes up and guards his own proper part, whom they call by names in their native tongue; and these being invoked, they restore to health, by their incantations, the parts of the body that have been damaged.

Modern rendering

Incantations — spells sung or spoken — are said to be so powerful that people believe they can overturn almost all of nature. Apuleius puts it this way: a magical whisper can turn rivers backward, chain up a sluggish sea, make the winds breathe themselves out, stop the sun, make the moon foam and fall, tear down the stars, cancel the day, and hold back the night. Lucan sings of the same effects (verse, summarized — see flag): the ordinary turning of things stopped; day was held back and stretched into a long night; the sky itself would not follow its own law; the world went numb and reeled at the sound of the charm. And a little earlier (verse, summarized — see flag): the Thessalian witch's spell poured into unyielding hearts, when love alone hadn't been enough to move them. And elsewhere (verse, summarized — see flag): a mind untouched by any drop of poison can still be destroyed, sung out of the body by a charm. Vergil, in his Eclogue on Damon, says the same (verse, summarized — see flag): songs can pull the moon down out of the sky; Circe used songs to transform the men of Ulysses; singing can burst a cold snake apart in a meadow; and: I have seen whole crops carried off to someone else's field by a chant. Ovid, in the poem called 'Untitled,' says (verse, summarized — see flag): a crop hit by a spell withers into barren grass, a spring hit by a spell runs dry, acorns drop from oak trees and grapes drop from vines once they've been sung over, and fruit falls though nothing is shaking the tree. If none of this were true, the law wouldn't impose such a harsh penalty on people who charm crops away. Tibullus describes a sorceress this way (verse, summarized — see flag): I have watched this woman pull the stars down from the sky; with a song she redirects a raging river; she splits open the ground with her chanting and calls the dead up out of their graves, summoning bones down off a pyre that's still warm; when she wants to, she clears storm clouds from an angry sky, and when she wants to, she brings snow down out of a summer sky. Ovid seems to have this same sorcery in mind, and to lean on it especially hard [†], when he has Medea say (verse, summarized — see flag): when I've wanted it, rivers have reversed course back into their own springs while their banks looked on amazed; I calm waters that were churning and stir up waters that were still, just by singing; I drive clouds off and I call clouds in; I send winds away and I call them back; I split a viper's throat with words and with song; I tear living rock and oak trees up out of the ground they grew in, I move forests, I make mountains shake and the earth groan, and I call the dead up out of their tombs — and you too, moon, I pull you down. Every poet says this, and no philosopher denies that a great deal that seems impossible can be brought about by incantations: driving off crops, calling down or forcing lightning, curing diseases, that sort of thing. Cato himself, in his book on farming, used certain chants against livestock diseases, and they're still in his writings today. Josephus reports that Solomon, too, knew incantations of this kind. And Celsus Africanus reports, following the teaching of the Egyptians, that the human body is treated according to the number of faces on the zodiac's signs — that is, by that many, thirty-six, demons, each one responsible for guarding one particular part of the body. The Egyptians call these demons by names in their own language, and when they invoke them, they use incantations to restore the damaged part of the body to health.

Editorial flags — draft status

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