By the power of the threefold world: elementary,
celestial
and intel- lectual.
Bruno-Cause-Principle-and-Unity
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? On magic
? This is what alteration, mutation, passion and even corruption are: namely, the separation of certain parts from others, and their recombination with still others. For death is nothing more than such a disintegration. No spirit and no body ever perishes; rather, there is only a continual change of combinations and actualizations.
Parallel to the various actualizations, which arise from the various com- positions of things, there are various loves and hates. As was said, everything desires to remain in its present state of existence and does not comprehend, or even think about, any other new state of being. Therefore, there is, in general, a bonding of reciprocal love of a soul for its own body, and of that body (in its own way) for its soul. Thus, the diversity of natures and drives gives rise to a variety of bonds which affect both spirits and bodies. We will discuss these bonds immediately after we have first defined the analogy between spirits and composites.
On the analogy of spirits
Porphyry, Plotinus and the other Platonists assign bodies to spirits as fol- lows. The best and purest spirits, which are also called 'gods', have bodies of fire, which is the purest and simplest substance. The spirits which have denser elementary bodies exist only by sharing in a more subtle element. Thus, airy spirits have bodies mixed with air and fire; aqueous spirits have bodies mixed with air and fire; terrestrial spirits have bodies mixed with water, air and fire. These substances are invisible because of their thinness. Furthermore, terrestrial and aqueous spirits sometimes choose to make themselves visible by means of dense and concrete vapours, and they appear in the purer regions, where the air is more calm and quiet.
I, myself, have seen them at Mount Libero and at Mount Lauro. And they have appeared not just to me, but frequently to the local inhabitants to whom they are sometimes hostile (but only moderately so), by stealing and hiding the local animals, which they later return in a few days to their stables.
It is well-known and widely accepted as true that these spirits have also frequently appeared to workers in gold mines and in other under- ground places, for example, in the mountains of Gebenna. These spirits sometimes harmed them, sometimes helped them and sometimes pre- dicted events. This same type of spirit is found near Nola in a desolate place near the temple of Portus, and under a certain cliff at the foot of Mount
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On magic
? Cicada,17 which was once used as a cemetery for plague victims. I myself, as well as many others, have personally experienced them while walking through that place at night. I was bombarded with many stones which vio- lently exploded at a very short distance from my head and other parts of my body, and this continued in a threatening manner for some time. Nevertheless, these stones did not inflict any bodily injuries on me or on any of the others who reported the same experience. These incidents are reported by Psellus in his book De daemonibus (On Demons), where he describes them as refugees from light and as throwers of stones, although their projectiles are harmless.
The existence of subterranean demons is established not only by the senses, experience and reason, but also by divine authority in the very wise Book of Job, which contains a great deal of the most profound philosophy. When Job curses the day he was born with the words, 'May the day of my birth perish', he adds after a few sentences, 'Why was light given to one in misery, and why was life given to those who are bitter of heart? ' 'Why did I not perish as soon as I left the womb? ' 'Why was I not hidden and replaced after having been aborted? ' 'For now I would be silently asleep and would rest in my dreams together with the rulers and princes of the earth, who have built isolated houses for themselves and have filled them with their sil- ver. ' The point at hand could not have been more clearly stated than in these words from the mouth of Job himself. 18
As was said above, different spirits reside in different bodies, and their ranks are distinguished by a definite order and justice. Origen, Pythagoras and the Platonists list humans among the demons, including those who are not good but who could become good or evil as they live out their lives in a better or worse way. This is why both Christian theologians and the better philosophers say that life is like a road and a transition, a journey and a fight. The same judgement applies to other types of beings. Furthermore, we know that the best things into which a soul or spirit enters are the things which persevere the longest. That is what we said at the beginning: namely, all spiritual substances reduce to one, all material substances to three, there is one soul, one God, one first mind above all things and one soul of the universe.
Also, it is very probable that all illnesses are due to evil demons, which
? 17 Mount Cicada (or Cicale or Cicala) is adjacent to Bruno's native town of Nola, immediately east of Naples. Its foreboding appearance made a deep and lasting impression on him during his childhood.
18 See Job, ? : ? -? ? .
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On magic
? are expelled and replaced by their opposites with chants, prayers, med- itations and ecstacies of the soul. And it cannot be denied that, in some people, there are dominating spirits who have the power to dispel certain types of illnesses. They say that Cyrus and other Persian kings could cure diseases of the spleen with the touch of their thumb. And it is well-known and clearly established that the same is true of the Kings of France, who cured disorders of the lymph glands with the touch of a thumb. It is also said that someone who is the seventh son of the same father, and who was born without the help of a woman, can do the same thing with his saliva.
One can prove that demons are material, and that they are of several different kinds, by the fact that they have emotions, desires, angers, jeal- ousies and similar feelings found in humans, and in animals composed of observable and more dense matter. That is why the slaughtering and sac- rifice of animals were instituted, for these demons are pleased a very great deal by such ceremonies and their fumes. It must be that these demons are constituted very much like us, because they also express their affections for some peoples and nations, while they detest and hate all others.
Some of these demons have names and are famous and more powerful, while others are more ordinary. The Romans called the latter 'gods of the dishes',19 i. e. , there were no specific offerings and sacrifices made to them. It is credible that such offerings were not necessary, but rather were pleas- ing to them (for they could provide for themselves whatever they needed). Nevertheless, these offerings were established for them as luxuries, which they would not have had without human contributions. For although they are able to know much more than we can, they cannot do and change as many things as we can, because of their spiritual and more noble and more reasonable characters. They are delighted by sweet scents and were adequately paid homage at one time by incense, saffron, moss, amber and fragrant flowers.
The more noble and more eminent spirits are said to be pleased by hymns, chants and musical instruments.
Above all, these are the gods who, by nature, 'have no need of us, and are neither favourably influenced by our merits, nor touched by our anger'. 20 Being affected by our good or evil actions pertains only to those spirits who can ask and receive from us some arrangement whereby they can have a better and happier life. This does not seem to be at all appropriate for those spirits who already enjoy a most happy state.
19 'petallares dei'. See Plautus, Cistellaria, ? ? , ? , ? ? . 20 Lucretius, De rerum natura, ? , ? ? ? -? . ? ? ?
? On magic
? Finally, it must be consciously accepted and firmly asserted that all things are full of spirits, souls, divine power, and God or divinity, and that the whole of intelligence and the whole soul is everywhere, although they do not do everything everywhere. The poet has taken this idea from the teachings of Pythagoras.
To begin: the heavens, the earth, the water wastes, the lucent globe of the moon, the sun, the stars, exist through inward spirit. Their total mass
by mind is permeated: hence their motion.
From mind and spirit comes life - of man, of beast, of bird, of monsters under the foam-flecked seas. 21
The same message is contained in the sacred mysteries received by all people. Thus, in the Psalms and in the Book of Wisdom, it is said, 'The spirit of God has filled the whole earth and everything which it contains', and elsewhere, 'I fill the heavens and the earth'. 22
A material substance differs from the substance of the mind and soul and sublime spirit as follows. The universal body is contained as a whole in the whole universe, but the spiritual substance is contained as a whole in each part. Thus, it exists everywhere as a whole and conveys everywhere an image of the whole, sometimes more clearly and sometimes more obscurely, sometimes in one way and sometimes in many ways. Thus, the entire nature of its form and light is reflected as a whole by all particles of matter, just as the universal body is reflected by all of matter.
This can clearly be seen in the case of a large mirror which reflects one image of one thing, but if it has been broken into a thousand pieces, each one of the pieces still reflects the whole image. Again, when different parts or bodies of water are separated from the whole or from the universal ocean by Amphitrite,23 they have different names and properties; when they later flow together into one ocean, they have the same name and properties. Thus, if all the spirits and parts of air were to flow into one ocean, they would produce one soul, which elsewhere is innumerably multiplied. As a result, the philosophers say that in the original state of things there was one matter, one spirit, one light, one soul and one intellect.
21 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . Translation is by Frank O. Copley in Virgil, The Aeneid (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, ? ? ? ? ) ? ? ? .
22 Wisdom, ? :? ; Jeremiah, ? ? :? ? . Bruno's reference to the Psalms is apparently an error.
23 Amphitrite was the goddess of the ocean and the wife of Poseidon. For Bruno, she represented the
maternal origins of all things.
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On magic
? Let us now turn our attention to the many bonds between spirits. This is where the whole teaching of magic is to be found.
? . The first bond which ties spirits together is general in character and is represented metaphorically by the three-headed Cerberus of Trivia, the doorkeeper of hell. This is the triple power which is needed by one who binds, i. e. , by the magician: namely, physics, mathematics and metaphysics. The first is the base; the second is the scale; the third is the summit of the scale. The first explains active and passive principles in general; the second explains times, places and numbers; the third explains universal principles and causes. This is a triple cord which is difficult to break.
? . The second bond is also triple and is needed in the agent, in the action and in the thing on which the agent acts. It consists of faith or credibility, of invocations, of love and of strong emotions in the application of the active to the passive. The role of the soul is to produce changes in the body of the composite, and the role of the body is to change the soul materially. If these bondings do not happen, or especially if they are not present, then no amount of attention or motion or agitation will produce any results. For a magician is most fortunate if many believe in him, and if he commands great persuasion.
? . The third bond, which is the source of effectiveness, is the number of the principles, which are distributed according to the four sectors of the uni- verse and which are needed for actions which occur in the heavens and in nature. In addition, there are other principles needed for volitional and preternatural effects, but they do not have a specific location.
? . The fourth bond is the soul of the world, or the spirit of the universe, which connects and unites everything with everything else. As a result, everything has access to everything else, as was said above.
? . The fifth bond is the souls of the stars and the principles of places, of the winds and of the elements.
? . The souls of demons which preside over times, days, storms and the elements themselves.
? . The souls of men who are tyrants and rulers, and of those who have acquired some degree of fame and thus have become spirits.
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On magic
? ? . The divine names and the names of the divine orders.
? . Markings and symbols.
? ? . Strong invocations and supplications to make the power of the superior overcome that of the inferior, for example, to banish evil demons by good ones, and to banish lower evil demons by higher ones. These demons are enticed by sacrifices and holocausts; they are frightened by threats, and they are summoned by the powers of inflowing rays of light.
? ? .
By the power of the threefold world: elementary, celestial and intel- lectual.
? ? . The disposition to ask good things from good people, for example, chastity, honesty, purification and abstinence.
? ? . The adoption of cults and natural things in which there reside spirits which are similar to those required for actions.
? ? . The assessment of cults according to their different qualities.
? ? . The force of consecration which comes from perseverance, from prayer
and from rituals.
? ? . A knowledge of feast days and of the days and hours of good and bad luck.
? ? . A knowledge of the different objects and methods found in religious observations in regard to the purity of their locations, and in regard to ablutions, contacts, endings, clothing, incensing and sacrifices.
? ? . The use of active and passive powers, for example, in the first or nearly first elements, and in stones, metals, plants and animals, in accordance with fourteen conditions.
? ? . Rings.
? ? . The techniques of enchantment.
In addition to these general bonds, others are listed in sixteen articles in the teachings of Albert. 24 Some of these are mentioned here, while others are not.
24 Albert the Great (? ? ? ? ? -? ? ? ? ). ? ? ?
? On magic
? On the bondings of spirits, and first those arising from the three conditions of agent, matter, and application
For actions actually to occur in the world, three conditions are required: (? ) an active power in the agent; (? ) a passive power or disposition in a sub- ject or patient, which is an aptitude in it not to resist or to render the action impossible (which reduces to one phrase, namely, the potency of matter); and (? ) an appropriate application, which is subject to the circumstances of time, place and other conditions.
In the absence of these three conditions, all actions are, simply speaking, always blocked. For even if a flute player is perfect, he is blocked by a bro- ken flute, and the application of the former to the latter is useless. Thus, a lack of power in the matter makes an agent impotent and an application unfitting. This is what was meant when we said that an absence of these three conditions, strictly speaking, always blocks an action.
Closer examination may show that the defect is due to only two, or even only one, of these conditions. But a defect in any one of them should be understood as meaning a defect in all three, as when the flute player and his performance are perfect but the flute is defective, or when the player and the flute are perfect but the performance is interrupted. If the whole meaning of efficient action is taken to consist in the application, then the first condition merges with the third, for the agent is nothing other than the applicator, and to do something is nothing other than to apply something.
Not all things are by nature passive, or active, in relation to all other things. Rather, as is said in the Physics,25 every passion is from a contrary, and every action is on a contrary, or more specifically, on a disposed con- trary, as is stated in the common saying, 'Active powers act on a properly disposed patient'. From this, it is clear that water mingles and mixes with water because of a similarity or awareness or sympathy, such that after they have united, no device can separate the one from the other.
Indeed, pure or unmingled wine also easily mixes with water, and vice versa, thus forming a mixture. But the parts of the wine contain some amount of heat and air and spirits, and thus the wine is not completely sympathetic with the water. As a result, they do not mix at the smallest level but survive separately to a noticeable degree in a heterogeneous compound, so that they can be separated again in various ways. The same thing
25 Aristotle, Physics, ? , ? . See also his De generatione et corruptione, ? , ? , which makes this point more explicitly.
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On magic
? happens to sea water, which yields fresh water when it is distilled or filtered through wax containers. This would not happen if the mixture had been perfect. Furthermore, oil will never mix with water because the parts of oil cohere and are glued together like lovers, and they neither penetrate nor are penetrated by the parts of water. Therefore, anyone who studies the mixing of bodies with each other should give a great deal of attention to the condition of the parts, for not everything can be mixed with everything else.
Thus, one must study the arrangement, composition and differences of the parts, for a whole can be penetrated by a whole in one direction but not in another. This happens in all things, like stones, wood and even flesh, which are penetrable, or more penetrable from one side or direction than another. This is clear when fluids are expelled by pushing along the length of fibres. And wood is more easily split lengthwise, for wood is more easily penetrated along its length than its width because the pores located between the fibres create tubes or passages in that direction.
Furthermore, one must not only examine the character and arrange- ment of the parts, but also the condition of the whole structure, for certain passions are naturally adapted to be received by one subject rather than by another. For example, a torpedo fish causes a shock to the hand of the fish- erman, but not to the net. And, as the old joke says, the fires of love burn the heart and the breast, but leave the chest cold and uncooked.
The same thing happens with thunderbolts, which have at times liqui- fied a steel sword without damaging its scabbard. An astonishing event also happened in Naples to a very beautiful and noble young girl whose pubic hair was burned, but nothing else. They also say that when the wood of a barrel was burned away, the wine remained firm and solid without it. Many such things have happened because of this ultimate occult power which resides in the atoms of this kind of fire and which acts in one place but not in another. The laurel and the eagle are used as insignia by generals and poets because they are never touched by lightning, and so like them, generals and poets are friends of Apollo and Jupiter.
What happened to that young girl does not happen to just any human being. The reason for this is that not all people have the same physical con- stitution and temperament and the same quality of spirit, and, as a result, not all have a soul that can stop the rains and command the winds and the storms. The astonishing things that happen in bodies must be related to a special constitution which, because of the innumerable differences in them,
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On magic
? is due sometimes to the laws of the whole species and sometimes to a special prerogative of the individual.
Hence, magicians carefully examine both species and individuals in order to grasp the effects of their power. Being prudent leaders, they recruit as their soldiers and gather as their military aides not those who are friends or well-known or highly recommended people, but rather those who are more favoured by fortune and those who usually are lucky enough to avoid such dangers. Likewise, by wearing and carrying and otherwise using cer- tain plants and minerals, they try, as if by means of direct contact, to appro- priate for themselves certain prerogatives of power. And thus, as leaders protected by laurel crowns, they do not fear the lightning.
Next it should be noted that for specific animals there are poisons, like hemlock generally is for humans, which usually are consumed as a very helpful nourishment by other animals, and which readily fatten them. Likewise, it should be seen that for various species there are different foods, poisons and antidotes. An important principle of magic and of medicine is to be able to distinguish the different constitutions and explanations of ill- nesses and good health, and the principles of changing or preserving their forms and dispositions by using external objects. Thus, the chemist knows that nitric acid acts on hard things, such as iron, silver and bronze, but not on gold or lead. He also knows that quicksilver absorbs oil very rapidly, but gold completely rejects and repudiates it. Furthermore, the seeds or juice of verbena plants are strong enough to break up stones in the bladder yet seem to do no damage to flesh, bones, membranes and other parts of the body.
There are those who explain these facts in terms of the pores being wide or narrow. I would readily grant this in some cases, but not in most cases, nor in the more important cases which are discussed above, for the reason why nitric acid penetrates one thing more than another is not that the one has wider pores. Likewise, the spirit of the verbena plant breaks up stones but not bones and flesh, even though the latter has larger pores. And what would they say about diamonds which are not split by fire, the smallest and most penetrating of bodies, even though they do absorb the blood of a billy goat?
Therefore, one must maintain the following general principle: not all things are influenced by everything else, and not all effects happen to every- thing in the same way. To give a proper explanation, the reason must be found in individual effects and cases. The occult forms and differences in
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On magic
? things do not have their own names. They are not observable by means of vision and touch, and explanations of their specific origins are not to be found in visual and tactile differences. All we can say about these occult forms is that they do exist. As a result, we conclude that not even the demons themselves could talk about them easily, if they were to choose to discuss them with us, using our words and the meanings which are signified by our words.
Secondly, the bondings arising from sounds and songs
A second type of bonding is based on the conformity between numbers, between measures and between times. This is the origin of those rhythms and songs which have such a very great power. Some people are affected more by tragedies, others by comic melodies, and others are affected gen- erally in all cases. Some even react like that barbarian general who, when he heard musical instruments played very skilfully, said that he preferred to hear the neighing of his horse. He clearly proved by this that he was a disgrace and was unworthy of appearing to be human.
By the term 'songs' we intend to refer to much more than harmonies, for as some have experienced, the most powerful songs and poems seem to contain more discord than harmony. Perhaps such was the condition of the soul of that subhuman general who was more easily influenced by the sounds of his horse's neighing. For just like someone who looks at the sensible har- monies of vision, the souls of humans and horses and dogs are captured by different harmonious sounds, and different things are beautiful according to the condition of each species. As is said in the proverb 'from an ass to a lyre', not all songs are well suited for everyone. And as different harmonies bind different souls, so also different magicians bind different spirits.
These bonds are tenacious for two reasons. First, they are perceived or encountered in the soul through hearing, just as the voices of the Marsi and the Psylli became such powerful voices when they were present in the ser- pent. 26 Second, the bonding effect is brought to completion by an occult murmur which, analogously to the relations between spirits, did not orig- inally come from the binder to the bound for the purposes of bonding. For those who are enchanted do not always hear the voice of their enchanters, and even when they do, they are not sensibly affected immediately.
? 26 Both the Marsi, a people who lived near Lago di Celano in Southern Italy, and the Psylli, a people who lived near Sidra on the North African coast, were well-known as snake charmers.
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On magic
? Further, one should note that the rhythm or characteristics of one sound can mingle with, and obscure, the rhythm of another sound. As a result, it is said that when a wolf, or some say a deer, is seen by people who are bonded to the spirit of that animal, they lose their voices and cannot easily form words. And they say that when a drum made of sheep skin is located next to a drum made of wolf skin, the former loses its sound, even though otherwise it emits strong sounds when forcefully hit. The reason for this is that the spirit which somehow remains in the dead wolf skin can bond with, and control, the spirit in the sheep skin, and thus they are subject to the same antagonism and dominance which are present in the living animals.
I have not personally experienced this. But it is a possibility and is rea- sonable, even though this relationship is not always found between living things and between species. The ass fears the wolf no less than does the sheep, and is equally frightened by its danger. Nevertheless, a drum made of the skin of a wolf does not diminish the equally strong beats from a drum made of the skin of an ass, but rather increases their loudness considerably.
Let us next consider lyres whose strings are made of the tendons of sheep and wolves, which are always opposed. It is well-known by many that if two lyres or cithers are constructed in the same way, and if a string of only one of them is plucked, its sound is not only consonant with the string of the other, but it will generate the same motion in the other. This, indeed, is quite understandable. It also happens that, through a certain sound or gesture or other such thing, the presence of one person affects the soul of another person, and thus an indissoluble friendship arises. There are those we dislike without reason as soon as we see them, and also others we love without cause. This love and hate are sometimes reciprocal and sometimes not. This happens because of the domination of the one person over the other in respect to one type of feeling, which in turn is blocked by another type of feeling in the other person. Thus, we are attracted by a feeling of love for one type of dog or bird, while they may be struck by fear, and thus avoid and dislike us.
This type of bonding also includes prayers and petitions, which some use to solicit both peers and superiors in cases where considerations of jus- tice, honesty or reason produce no results. Sometimes proposals from fools and buffoons are so effective that people who are clever try to ensnare the souls of their superiors by playing such a role rather than by using more proper means. This happened during the papacy of Julius ? ? ? , who rejected and dismissed those who would pray, beg or cry. But if someone
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On magic
? approached him with humour and wit, after kissing his foot, that person would be able to get from him whatever he wanted.
We might also consider the art of speaking and its type of spiritual bond- ing. This occurs in songs and poems and in whatever orators do to per- suade, to dissuade and to move the emotions. The orators omit the other parts of this art and try to hide them in the lap of magicians or philosophers or those versed in politics. But Aristotle has covered most of it in his Rhetorica ad Alexandrum,27 where he organizes his considerations under two headings. He examines first what the speaker needs and finds helpful, and second what is pleasing and amusing in what he says or binds, by con- sidering his habits, status, conclusions and practices. But this is not the place to recall and review all these matters.
Thirdly, the bondings arising from vision
The spirit is also bonded through vision, as has been said frequently above, when various forms are observed by the eyes. As a result, active and pas- sive items of interest pass out from the eyes and enter into the eyes. As the adage says, 'I do not know whose eyes make lambs tender for me'. 28
Beautiful sights arouse feelings of love, and contrary sights bring feel- ings of disgrace and hate. And the emotions of the soul and spirit bring something additional to the body itself, which exists under the control of the soul and the direction of the spirit. There are also other types of feel- ings which come through the eyes and immediately affect the body for some reason: sad expressions in other people make us sad and compassionate and sorry for obvious reasons.
There are also worse impressions which enter the soul and the body, but it is not evident how this happens and we are unable to judge the issue. Nevertheless, they act very powerfully through various things which are in us, that is, through a multitude of spirits and souls. Although one soul lives in the whole body, and all the body's members are controlled by one soul, still the whole body and the whole soul and the parts of the universe are vivified by a certain total spirit.
Hence, the explanation of many spiritual feelings must be found in something else which lives and is conscious in us, and which is affected and
? 27 In ? ? ? ? , Bruno wrote a commentary on this Aristotelian treatise under the title Explicatio rhetoricae Aristotelis ad Alexandrum.
28 Virgil, Eclogues, ? ? ? , ?
? On magic
? This is what alteration, mutation, passion and even corruption are: namely, the separation of certain parts from others, and their recombination with still others. For death is nothing more than such a disintegration. No spirit and no body ever perishes; rather, there is only a continual change of combinations and actualizations.
Parallel to the various actualizations, which arise from the various com- positions of things, there are various loves and hates. As was said, everything desires to remain in its present state of existence and does not comprehend, or even think about, any other new state of being. Therefore, there is, in general, a bonding of reciprocal love of a soul for its own body, and of that body (in its own way) for its soul. Thus, the diversity of natures and drives gives rise to a variety of bonds which affect both spirits and bodies. We will discuss these bonds immediately after we have first defined the analogy between spirits and composites.
On the analogy of spirits
Porphyry, Plotinus and the other Platonists assign bodies to spirits as fol- lows. The best and purest spirits, which are also called 'gods', have bodies of fire, which is the purest and simplest substance. The spirits which have denser elementary bodies exist only by sharing in a more subtle element. Thus, airy spirits have bodies mixed with air and fire; aqueous spirits have bodies mixed with air and fire; terrestrial spirits have bodies mixed with water, air and fire. These substances are invisible because of their thinness. Furthermore, terrestrial and aqueous spirits sometimes choose to make themselves visible by means of dense and concrete vapours, and they appear in the purer regions, where the air is more calm and quiet.
I, myself, have seen them at Mount Libero and at Mount Lauro. And they have appeared not just to me, but frequently to the local inhabitants to whom they are sometimes hostile (but only moderately so), by stealing and hiding the local animals, which they later return in a few days to their stables.
It is well-known and widely accepted as true that these spirits have also frequently appeared to workers in gold mines and in other under- ground places, for example, in the mountains of Gebenna. These spirits sometimes harmed them, sometimes helped them and sometimes pre- dicted events. This same type of spirit is found near Nola in a desolate place near the temple of Portus, and under a certain cliff at the foot of Mount
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On magic
? Cicada,17 which was once used as a cemetery for plague victims. I myself, as well as many others, have personally experienced them while walking through that place at night. I was bombarded with many stones which vio- lently exploded at a very short distance from my head and other parts of my body, and this continued in a threatening manner for some time. Nevertheless, these stones did not inflict any bodily injuries on me or on any of the others who reported the same experience. These incidents are reported by Psellus in his book De daemonibus (On Demons), where he describes them as refugees from light and as throwers of stones, although their projectiles are harmless.
The existence of subterranean demons is established not only by the senses, experience and reason, but also by divine authority in the very wise Book of Job, which contains a great deal of the most profound philosophy. When Job curses the day he was born with the words, 'May the day of my birth perish', he adds after a few sentences, 'Why was light given to one in misery, and why was life given to those who are bitter of heart? ' 'Why did I not perish as soon as I left the womb? ' 'Why was I not hidden and replaced after having been aborted? ' 'For now I would be silently asleep and would rest in my dreams together with the rulers and princes of the earth, who have built isolated houses for themselves and have filled them with their sil- ver. ' The point at hand could not have been more clearly stated than in these words from the mouth of Job himself. 18
As was said above, different spirits reside in different bodies, and their ranks are distinguished by a definite order and justice. Origen, Pythagoras and the Platonists list humans among the demons, including those who are not good but who could become good or evil as they live out their lives in a better or worse way. This is why both Christian theologians and the better philosophers say that life is like a road and a transition, a journey and a fight. The same judgement applies to other types of beings. Furthermore, we know that the best things into which a soul or spirit enters are the things which persevere the longest. That is what we said at the beginning: namely, all spiritual substances reduce to one, all material substances to three, there is one soul, one God, one first mind above all things and one soul of the universe.
Also, it is very probable that all illnesses are due to evil demons, which
? 17 Mount Cicada (or Cicale or Cicala) is adjacent to Bruno's native town of Nola, immediately east of Naples. Its foreboding appearance made a deep and lasting impression on him during his childhood.
18 See Job, ? : ? -? ? .
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On magic
? are expelled and replaced by their opposites with chants, prayers, med- itations and ecstacies of the soul. And it cannot be denied that, in some people, there are dominating spirits who have the power to dispel certain types of illnesses. They say that Cyrus and other Persian kings could cure diseases of the spleen with the touch of their thumb. And it is well-known and clearly established that the same is true of the Kings of France, who cured disorders of the lymph glands with the touch of a thumb. It is also said that someone who is the seventh son of the same father, and who was born without the help of a woman, can do the same thing with his saliva.
One can prove that demons are material, and that they are of several different kinds, by the fact that they have emotions, desires, angers, jeal- ousies and similar feelings found in humans, and in animals composed of observable and more dense matter. That is why the slaughtering and sac- rifice of animals were instituted, for these demons are pleased a very great deal by such ceremonies and their fumes. It must be that these demons are constituted very much like us, because they also express their affections for some peoples and nations, while they detest and hate all others.
Some of these demons have names and are famous and more powerful, while others are more ordinary. The Romans called the latter 'gods of the dishes',19 i. e. , there were no specific offerings and sacrifices made to them. It is credible that such offerings were not necessary, but rather were pleas- ing to them (for they could provide for themselves whatever they needed). Nevertheless, these offerings were established for them as luxuries, which they would not have had without human contributions. For although they are able to know much more than we can, they cannot do and change as many things as we can, because of their spiritual and more noble and more reasonable characters. They are delighted by sweet scents and were adequately paid homage at one time by incense, saffron, moss, amber and fragrant flowers.
The more noble and more eminent spirits are said to be pleased by hymns, chants and musical instruments.
Above all, these are the gods who, by nature, 'have no need of us, and are neither favourably influenced by our merits, nor touched by our anger'. 20 Being affected by our good or evil actions pertains only to those spirits who can ask and receive from us some arrangement whereby they can have a better and happier life. This does not seem to be at all appropriate for those spirits who already enjoy a most happy state.
19 'petallares dei'. See Plautus, Cistellaria, ? ? , ? , ? ? . 20 Lucretius, De rerum natura, ? , ? ? ? -? . ? ? ?
? On magic
? Finally, it must be consciously accepted and firmly asserted that all things are full of spirits, souls, divine power, and God or divinity, and that the whole of intelligence and the whole soul is everywhere, although they do not do everything everywhere. The poet has taken this idea from the teachings of Pythagoras.
To begin: the heavens, the earth, the water wastes, the lucent globe of the moon, the sun, the stars, exist through inward spirit. Their total mass
by mind is permeated: hence their motion.
From mind and spirit comes life - of man, of beast, of bird, of monsters under the foam-flecked seas. 21
The same message is contained in the sacred mysteries received by all people. Thus, in the Psalms and in the Book of Wisdom, it is said, 'The spirit of God has filled the whole earth and everything which it contains', and elsewhere, 'I fill the heavens and the earth'. 22
A material substance differs from the substance of the mind and soul and sublime spirit as follows. The universal body is contained as a whole in the whole universe, but the spiritual substance is contained as a whole in each part. Thus, it exists everywhere as a whole and conveys everywhere an image of the whole, sometimes more clearly and sometimes more obscurely, sometimes in one way and sometimes in many ways. Thus, the entire nature of its form and light is reflected as a whole by all particles of matter, just as the universal body is reflected by all of matter.
This can clearly be seen in the case of a large mirror which reflects one image of one thing, but if it has been broken into a thousand pieces, each one of the pieces still reflects the whole image. Again, when different parts or bodies of water are separated from the whole or from the universal ocean by Amphitrite,23 they have different names and properties; when they later flow together into one ocean, they have the same name and properties. Thus, if all the spirits and parts of air were to flow into one ocean, they would produce one soul, which elsewhere is innumerably multiplied. As a result, the philosophers say that in the original state of things there was one matter, one spirit, one light, one soul and one intellect.
21 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? -? . Translation is by Frank O. Copley in Virgil, The Aeneid (Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, ? ? ? ? ) ? ? ? .
22 Wisdom, ? :? ; Jeremiah, ? ? :? ? . Bruno's reference to the Psalms is apparently an error.
23 Amphitrite was the goddess of the ocean and the wife of Poseidon. For Bruno, she represented the
maternal origins of all things.
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On magic
? Let us now turn our attention to the many bonds between spirits. This is where the whole teaching of magic is to be found.
? . The first bond which ties spirits together is general in character and is represented metaphorically by the three-headed Cerberus of Trivia, the doorkeeper of hell. This is the triple power which is needed by one who binds, i. e. , by the magician: namely, physics, mathematics and metaphysics. The first is the base; the second is the scale; the third is the summit of the scale. The first explains active and passive principles in general; the second explains times, places and numbers; the third explains universal principles and causes. This is a triple cord which is difficult to break.
? . The second bond is also triple and is needed in the agent, in the action and in the thing on which the agent acts. It consists of faith or credibility, of invocations, of love and of strong emotions in the application of the active to the passive. The role of the soul is to produce changes in the body of the composite, and the role of the body is to change the soul materially. If these bondings do not happen, or especially if they are not present, then no amount of attention or motion or agitation will produce any results. For a magician is most fortunate if many believe in him, and if he commands great persuasion.
? . The third bond, which is the source of effectiveness, is the number of the principles, which are distributed according to the four sectors of the uni- verse and which are needed for actions which occur in the heavens and in nature. In addition, there are other principles needed for volitional and preternatural effects, but they do not have a specific location.
? . The fourth bond is the soul of the world, or the spirit of the universe, which connects and unites everything with everything else. As a result, everything has access to everything else, as was said above.
? . The fifth bond is the souls of the stars and the principles of places, of the winds and of the elements.
? . The souls of demons which preside over times, days, storms and the elements themselves.
? . The souls of men who are tyrants and rulers, and of those who have acquired some degree of fame and thus have become spirits.
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On magic
? ? . The divine names and the names of the divine orders.
? . Markings and symbols.
? ? . Strong invocations and supplications to make the power of the superior overcome that of the inferior, for example, to banish evil demons by good ones, and to banish lower evil demons by higher ones. These demons are enticed by sacrifices and holocausts; they are frightened by threats, and they are summoned by the powers of inflowing rays of light.
? ? .
By the power of the threefold world: elementary, celestial and intel- lectual.
? ? . The disposition to ask good things from good people, for example, chastity, honesty, purification and abstinence.
? ? . The adoption of cults and natural things in which there reside spirits which are similar to those required for actions.
? ? . The assessment of cults according to their different qualities.
? ? . The force of consecration which comes from perseverance, from prayer
and from rituals.
? ? . A knowledge of feast days and of the days and hours of good and bad luck.
? ? . A knowledge of the different objects and methods found in religious observations in regard to the purity of their locations, and in regard to ablutions, contacts, endings, clothing, incensing and sacrifices.
? ? . The use of active and passive powers, for example, in the first or nearly first elements, and in stones, metals, plants and animals, in accordance with fourteen conditions.
? ? . Rings.
? ? . The techniques of enchantment.
In addition to these general bonds, others are listed in sixteen articles in the teachings of Albert. 24 Some of these are mentioned here, while others are not.
24 Albert the Great (? ? ? ? ? -? ? ? ? ). ? ? ?
? On magic
? On the bondings of spirits, and first those arising from the three conditions of agent, matter, and application
For actions actually to occur in the world, three conditions are required: (? ) an active power in the agent; (? ) a passive power or disposition in a sub- ject or patient, which is an aptitude in it not to resist or to render the action impossible (which reduces to one phrase, namely, the potency of matter); and (? ) an appropriate application, which is subject to the circumstances of time, place and other conditions.
In the absence of these three conditions, all actions are, simply speaking, always blocked. For even if a flute player is perfect, he is blocked by a bro- ken flute, and the application of the former to the latter is useless. Thus, a lack of power in the matter makes an agent impotent and an application unfitting. This is what was meant when we said that an absence of these three conditions, strictly speaking, always blocks an action.
Closer examination may show that the defect is due to only two, or even only one, of these conditions. But a defect in any one of them should be understood as meaning a defect in all three, as when the flute player and his performance are perfect but the flute is defective, or when the player and the flute are perfect but the performance is interrupted. If the whole meaning of efficient action is taken to consist in the application, then the first condition merges with the third, for the agent is nothing other than the applicator, and to do something is nothing other than to apply something.
Not all things are by nature passive, or active, in relation to all other things. Rather, as is said in the Physics,25 every passion is from a contrary, and every action is on a contrary, or more specifically, on a disposed con- trary, as is stated in the common saying, 'Active powers act on a properly disposed patient'. From this, it is clear that water mingles and mixes with water because of a similarity or awareness or sympathy, such that after they have united, no device can separate the one from the other.
Indeed, pure or unmingled wine also easily mixes with water, and vice versa, thus forming a mixture. But the parts of the wine contain some amount of heat and air and spirits, and thus the wine is not completely sympathetic with the water. As a result, they do not mix at the smallest level but survive separately to a noticeable degree in a heterogeneous compound, so that they can be separated again in various ways. The same thing
25 Aristotle, Physics, ? , ? . See also his De generatione et corruptione, ? , ? , which makes this point more explicitly.
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On magic
? happens to sea water, which yields fresh water when it is distilled or filtered through wax containers. This would not happen if the mixture had been perfect. Furthermore, oil will never mix with water because the parts of oil cohere and are glued together like lovers, and they neither penetrate nor are penetrated by the parts of water. Therefore, anyone who studies the mixing of bodies with each other should give a great deal of attention to the condition of the parts, for not everything can be mixed with everything else.
Thus, one must study the arrangement, composition and differences of the parts, for a whole can be penetrated by a whole in one direction but not in another. This happens in all things, like stones, wood and even flesh, which are penetrable, or more penetrable from one side or direction than another. This is clear when fluids are expelled by pushing along the length of fibres. And wood is more easily split lengthwise, for wood is more easily penetrated along its length than its width because the pores located between the fibres create tubes or passages in that direction.
Furthermore, one must not only examine the character and arrange- ment of the parts, but also the condition of the whole structure, for certain passions are naturally adapted to be received by one subject rather than by another. For example, a torpedo fish causes a shock to the hand of the fish- erman, but not to the net. And, as the old joke says, the fires of love burn the heart and the breast, but leave the chest cold and uncooked.
The same thing happens with thunderbolts, which have at times liqui- fied a steel sword without damaging its scabbard. An astonishing event also happened in Naples to a very beautiful and noble young girl whose pubic hair was burned, but nothing else. They also say that when the wood of a barrel was burned away, the wine remained firm and solid without it. Many such things have happened because of this ultimate occult power which resides in the atoms of this kind of fire and which acts in one place but not in another. The laurel and the eagle are used as insignia by generals and poets because they are never touched by lightning, and so like them, generals and poets are friends of Apollo and Jupiter.
What happened to that young girl does not happen to just any human being. The reason for this is that not all people have the same physical con- stitution and temperament and the same quality of spirit, and, as a result, not all have a soul that can stop the rains and command the winds and the storms. The astonishing things that happen in bodies must be related to a special constitution which, because of the innumerable differences in them,
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? is due sometimes to the laws of the whole species and sometimes to a special prerogative of the individual.
Hence, magicians carefully examine both species and individuals in order to grasp the effects of their power. Being prudent leaders, they recruit as their soldiers and gather as their military aides not those who are friends or well-known or highly recommended people, but rather those who are more favoured by fortune and those who usually are lucky enough to avoid such dangers. Likewise, by wearing and carrying and otherwise using cer- tain plants and minerals, they try, as if by means of direct contact, to appro- priate for themselves certain prerogatives of power. And thus, as leaders protected by laurel crowns, they do not fear the lightning.
Next it should be noted that for specific animals there are poisons, like hemlock generally is for humans, which usually are consumed as a very helpful nourishment by other animals, and which readily fatten them. Likewise, it should be seen that for various species there are different foods, poisons and antidotes. An important principle of magic and of medicine is to be able to distinguish the different constitutions and explanations of ill- nesses and good health, and the principles of changing or preserving their forms and dispositions by using external objects. Thus, the chemist knows that nitric acid acts on hard things, such as iron, silver and bronze, but not on gold or lead. He also knows that quicksilver absorbs oil very rapidly, but gold completely rejects and repudiates it. Furthermore, the seeds or juice of verbena plants are strong enough to break up stones in the bladder yet seem to do no damage to flesh, bones, membranes and other parts of the body.
There are those who explain these facts in terms of the pores being wide or narrow. I would readily grant this in some cases, but not in most cases, nor in the more important cases which are discussed above, for the reason why nitric acid penetrates one thing more than another is not that the one has wider pores. Likewise, the spirit of the verbena plant breaks up stones but not bones and flesh, even though the latter has larger pores. And what would they say about diamonds which are not split by fire, the smallest and most penetrating of bodies, even though they do absorb the blood of a billy goat?
Therefore, one must maintain the following general principle: not all things are influenced by everything else, and not all effects happen to every- thing in the same way. To give a proper explanation, the reason must be found in individual effects and cases. The occult forms and differences in
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On magic
? things do not have their own names. They are not observable by means of vision and touch, and explanations of their specific origins are not to be found in visual and tactile differences. All we can say about these occult forms is that they do exist. As a result, we conclude that not even the demons themselves could talk about them easily, if they were to choose to discuss them with us, using our words and the meanings which are signified by our words.
Secondly, the bondings arising from sounds and songs
A second type of bonding is based on the conformity between numbers, between measures and between times. This is the origin of those rhythms and songs which have such a very great power. Some people are affected more by tragedies, others by comic melodies, and others are affected gen- erally in all cases. Some even react like that barbarian general who, when he heard musical instruments played very skilfully, said that he preferred to hear the neighing of his horse. He clearly proved by this that he was a disgrace and was unworthy of appearing to be human.
By the term 'songs' we intend to refer to much more than harmonies, for as some have experienced, the most powerful songs and poems seem to contain more discord than harmony. Perhaps such was the condition of the soul of that subhuman general who was more easily influenced by the sounds of his horse's neighing. For just like someone who looks at the sensible har- monies of vision, the souls of humans and horses and dogs are captured by different harmonious sounds, and different things are beautiful according to the condition of each species. As is said in the proverb 'from an ass to a lyre', not all songs are well suited for everyone. And as different harmonies bind different souls, so also different magicians bind different spirits.
These bonds are tenacious for two reasons. First, they are perceived or encountered in the soul through hearing, just as the voices of the Marsi and the Psylli became such powerful voices when they were present in the ser- pent. 26 Second, the bonding effect is brought to completion by an occult murmur which, analogously to the relations between spirits, did not orig- inally come from the binder to the bound for the purposes of bonding. For those who are enchanted do not always hear the voice of their enchanters, and even when they do, they are not sensibly affected immediately.
? 26 Both the Marsi, a people who lived near Lago di Celano in Southern Italy, and the Psylli, a people who lived near Sidra on the North African coast, were well-known as snake charmers.
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On magic
? Further, one should note that the rhythm or characteristics of one sound can mingle with, and obscure, the rhythm of another sound. As a result, it is said that when a wolf, or some say a deer, is seen by people who are bonded to the spirit of that animal, they lose their voices and cannot easily form words. And they say that when a drum made of sheep skin is located next to a drum made of wolf skin, the former loses its sound, even though otherwise it emits strong sounds when forcefully hit. The reason for this is that the spirit which somehow remains in the dead wolf skin can bond with, and control, the spirit in the sheep skin, and thus they are subject to the same antagonism and dominance which are present in the living animals.
I have not personally experienced this. But it is a possibility and is rea- sonable, even though this relationship is not always found between living things and between species. The ass fears the wolf no less than does the sheep, and is equally frightened by its danger. Nevertheless, a drum made of the skin of a wolf does not diminish the equally strong beats from a drum made of the skin of an ass, but rather increases their loudness considerably.
Let us next consider lyres whose strings are made of the tendons of sheep and wolves, which are always opposed. It is well-known by many that if two lyres or cithers are constructed in the same way, and if a string of only one of them is plucked, its sound is not only consonant with the string of the other, but it will generate the same motion in the other. This, indeed, is quite understandable. It also happens that, through a certain sound or gesture or other such thing, the presence of one person affects the soul of another person, and thus an indissoluble friendship arises. There are those we dislike without reason as soon as we see them, and also others we love without cause. This love and hate are sometimes reciprocal and sometimes not. This happens because of the domination of the one person over the other in respect to one type of feeling, which in turn is blocked by another type of feeling in the other person. Thus, we are attracted by a feeling of love for one type of dog or bird, while they may be struck by fear, and thus avoid and dislike us.
This type of bonding also includes prayers and petitions, which some use to solicit both peers and superiors in cases where considerations of jus- tice, honesty or reason produce no results. Sometimes proposals from fools and buffoons are so effective that people who are clever try to ensnare the souls of their superiors by playing such a role rather than by using more proper means. This happened during the papacy of Julius ? ? ? , who rejected and dismissed those who would pray, beg or cry. But if someone
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On magic
? approached him with humour and wit, after kissing his foot, that person would be able to get from him whatever he wanted.
We might also consider the art of speaking and its type of spiritual bond- ing. This occurs in songs and poems and in whatever orators do to per- suade, to dissuade and to move the emotions. The orators omit the other parts of this art and try to hide them in the lap of magicians or philosophers or those versed in politics. But Aristotle has covered most of it in his Rhetorica ad Alexandrum,27 where he organizes his considerations under two headings. He examines first what the speaker needs and finds helpful, and second what is pleasing and amusing in what he says or binds, by con- sidering his habits, status, conclusions and practices. But this is not the place to recall and review all these matters.
Thirdly, the bondings arising from vision
The spirit is also bonded through vision, as has been said frequently above, when various forms are observed by the eyes. As a result, active and pas- sive items of interest pass out from the eyes and enter into the eyes. As the adage says, 'I do not know whose eyes make lambs tender for me'. 28
Beautiful sights arouse feelings of love, and contrary sights bring feel- ings of disgrace and hate. And the emotions of the soul and spirit bring something additional to the body itself, which exists under the control of the soul and the direction of the spirit. There are also other types of feel- ings which come through the eyes and immediately affect the body for some reason: sad expressions in other people make us sad and compassionate and sorry for obvious reasons.
There are also worse impressions which enter the soul and the body, but it is not evident how this happens and we are unable to judge the issue. Nevertheless, they act very powerfully through various things which are in us, that is, through a multitude of spirits and souls. Although one soul lives in the whole body, and all the body's members are controlled by one soul, still the whole body and the whole soul and the parts of the universe are vivified by a certain total spirit.
Hence, the explanation of many spiritual feelings must be found in something else which lives and is conscious in us, and which is affected and
? 27 In ? ? ? ? , Bruno wrote a commentary on this Aristotelian treatise under the title Explicatio rhetoricae Aristotelis ad Alexandrum.
28 Virgil, Eclogues, ? ? ? , ?
