Chapter 73

The power of writing, and how to make curses and inscriptions.
De virtute scripturae, et de imprecationibus et inscriptionibus faciendis.
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Latin — 1533, repaired

Officium verborum atque sermonis est interiora mentis enunciare ac de penetralibus cogitationum secreta depromere, voluntatemque pandere loquentis. Scriptura autem ipsa ultima mentis expressio est: sermonis vocisque numerus, collectio, status, finis, continentia et iteratio, faciens habitum, qui unius vocis actu non perficitur.

Et quicquid in mente, in voce, in verbo, in oratione, in sermone est, totum hoc et omne etiam in scriptura est. Et sicut nihil quod mente concipitur, voce non exprimitur, sic nihil quod exprimitur non etiam scribitur. Atque idcirco iubent magi in quovis opere facienda[s] imprecationes et inscriptiones, quibus opera sua exprimat affectum: ut si herbam colligat vel lapillum, proferat ad quem usum id faciat; si fabricet imaginem, dicat et inscribat ad quem effectum ea fiat. Quas quidem imprecationes et inscriptiones etiam Albertus in speculo suo non improbat, sine quibus opera nostra non deducerentur in effectum; siquidem dispositio non causat effectum, sed actus dispositionis.

Invenimus quoque idem praeceptorum genus antiquis in usu fuisse, quod vel ipse testatur Vergilius, ubi canit:

Terna tibi haec primum triplici diversa colore Licia circumdo, terque haec altaria circum Effigiem duco.

et paulo post:

Necte tribus nodis ternos, Amarylli, colores, Necte, Amarylli, modo, et 'Veneris' dic 'vincula necto.'

et ibidem:

Limus ut hic durescit, et haec ut cera liquescit Uno eodemque igni, sic nostro Daphnis amore.

De proportione, correspondentia, reductione litterarum ad signa caelestia et planetas secundum varias linguas, cum tabella hoc indicante.

Close translation

The office of words and of speech is to declare what is inside the mind, and to bring out from the inner chambers of thought its secrets, and to lay open the will of the one speaking. Writing, however, is itself the final expression of the mind: it is the count, the gathering, the standing, the ending, the holding-together and the repetition of speech and voice — producing a settled disposition that is not brought about by the act of a single utterance.

And whatever is in the mind, in the voice, in the word, in the oration, in speech — all of this, and everything of it, is in writing also. And just as nothing conceived in the mind fails to be expressed in the voice, so nothing that is expressed fails also to be written. And for this reason the magicians command that in any work there be made imprecations and inscriptions, by which the work expresses its own intent: so that if one gathers an herb or a little stone, he should declare for what use he does it; if he fashions an image, he should speak and inscribe for what effect it is made. These same imprecations and inscriptions Albertus, too, in his Speculum, does not disapprove — without which our works would not be brought through into effect, since a mere disposition does not cause the effect, but the act of the disposition does.

We find too that this same kind of instruction was in use among the ancients, as Vergil himself attests, where he sings (verse, summarized — see flag): I wind these three threads around you first, of three different colors, and I carry your image three times around these altars. And a little after (verse, summarized — see flag): tie, Amaryllis, three colors in three knots; tie them, Amaryllis, at once, and say, 'I am tying the bonds of Venus.' And in the same place (verse, summarized — see flag): as this clay hardens, and as this wax softens, in one and the same fire, so let Daphnis harden or soften with our love.

[The chapter closes here; what follows in the source is the title of the next chapter: On the proportion, correspondence, and reduction of letters to the celestial signs and planets according to the various languages, with a table showing this.]

Modern rendering

The job of words and speech is to state what's inside the mind — to bring the hidden contents of thought out into the open and reveal the speaker's intention. Writing is the final form that expression of the mind takes: it's the tally, the gathering-together, the fixed shape, the end-point, the coherence and the repeatability of speech and voice — it creates a lasting record that a single spoken act can't produce on its own.

Whatever exists in the mind, in the voice, in a word, in a speech, in an utterance — all of that also exists in writing. Just as nothing thought is left unspoken, nothing spoken is left unwritten. That's why magicians insist that any working include a spoken curse or blessing and a written inscription, so that the working states its own intention: if you're gathering an herb or a small stone, say out loud what you're gathering it for; if you're making a figure, speak and inscribe what effect it's meant to produce. Albertus, in his Speculum, doesn't reject these imprecations and inscriptions either — without them, our workings don't actually come to anything, since simply arranging the materials correctly doesn't cause the effect; actually declaring the intent behind the arrangement does.

We also find this same kind of practice in use among the ancients — Vergil himself is a witness to it, where he writes (verse, summarized — see flag): first I wind three threads of three different colors around you, and carry your image three times around these altars. And shortly after (verse, summarized — see flag): tie three colors into three knots, Amaryllis; tie them right now, and say, 'I'm tying the knots of Venus.' And in the same poem (verse, summarized — see flag): as this clay hardens and this wax softens in one and the same fire, so let Daphnis harden or melt with love for us.

[The chapter ends here. What follows in the source text is the heading for the next chapter: on the proportion, correspondence, and reduction of letters to the celestial signs and planets across different languages, with an accompanying table.]

Editorial flags — draft status

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