No More Learning

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On magic
? It is easy for demons to penetrate through bodies and to initiate thoughts in us. The reason for the latter is that they convey certain impressions directly to our internal senses, just as we ourselves sometimes seem to think of something suggested by the internal senses. This knowledge seems to occur according to the following comparison and analogy. If one wishes to generate a thought in someone standing at a distance, one must shout so that the thought is produced in their internal sense through their hearing it. But if the person is closer, a shout is not needed, only a quieter voice. And if the person is immediately nearby, a whisper in the ear suffices. But demons have no need of ears or voices or whispers because they penetrate into the internal sense directly, as was said. Thus, they send not only dreams and voices and visions to be heard and seen, but also certain thoughts which are hardly noticed by some. They communicate truths sometimes through enigmas, and sometimes through sense impressions. Sometimes they may even deceive. Not all things are granted to everyone, although they always happen in a definite sequence and order.
Not all spirits or demons have the same level of existence, power and knowledge. Indeed, we know that there are many more species of them than there are of sensible things. Thus, some of them are brute animals and cause injury without any reason. Although these are far inferior to humans in knowledge, they still can do as much harm as dangerous animals or poi- sons. Mark called these spirits 'deaf and dumb',13 i. e. , they are without rea- son, since they recognize no commands, and they do not hear or perceive any threats or prayers. As a result, it has been declared that it is impossible to banish them, although it has also been said that they can be controlled and conquered by fasting or abstinence, and by prayer or lofty meditation, and by the power of the senses. This latter is a medical issue, for spirits of this crass type, like food and pleasure, are located in our dense humours and earthy melancholies, which a doctor controls either by thinning them out through fasting or by expelling them with a proper dose of laxative.
There is another type of demon which is fearful, suspicious and credu- lous. These hear and understand voices but do not distinguish the possible from the impossible, or the appropriate from the inappropriate. They are like humans who are dreaming and disturbed by fantasies. This type of demon is usually expelled by threats of death, prison, fire and other such things.
There are other, wiser demons which reside in pure air, which is a sim- ple substance. They are affected by no cult, no religious practice and no
13 Mark, ? :? ? . ? ? ?
? On magic
? prayers. Rather, they freely distort all these things and play with humans by counterfeiting illusions of fear, anger, religion and such things. They understand languages and the sciences, but never make any firm assertions. And so these hateful demons introduce confusion and doubt into the human mind and senses.
There are also ethereal spirits which are pure and luminous. All agree that they are hostile to no one and are completely good and friendly to virtuous men. But the airy spirits are friendly to some, and hostile and hateful to others.
The aqueous and terrestrial spirits are hostile, or at least are not friendly, since they are less rational and more fearful. In accordance with the saying, 'They hate what they fear,'14 they deliberately cause injury.
But the spirits of fire, which are more properly called heroes and gods, are said to be the ministers of God. The cabalists call them Fissim, Seraphim and Cherubim, and the prophet of the Psalms said, 'He made the winds to be his angels, and the flames of fire his ministers. '15 Hence, Basil and Origen rightly argue that the angels are not completely incorpo- real, but are spiritual substances; that is, they are animals with very subtle bodies, which divine revelation has said are fire and flames of fire.
In every group of spirits there are sovereigns and rulers, ministers, lead- ers, governors and ranks, by which the wiser and more powerful dominate and direct the more ignorant and more uncultured. These roles do not endure forever, but they are also not as briefly constituted as they are among humans. For in many ways, the lives of spirits are not comparable to ours, since the soul's union with a simple body is much more easily main- tained than it is with bodies like ours, which are composed of contraries. Their bodies very easily ward off change. Thus, air and water undergo less change than do composite bodies. Furthermore, they are easily restored. For example, when air is divided, it is reunited very easily, and portions of water reunite after they have been separated. Thus, Virgil did not use a ridiculous poetic figure of speech when he said that Aeneas frightened the shades when he cut through their abode with his drawn sword. 16
These various spirits occupy the bodies of humans, animals, stones and minerals. There is no body which is completely devoid of spirit and intel- ligence. Furthermore, no spirit possesses a permanent location for itself. Rather, spirits fluctuate from one matter to another, and matter fluctuates from one spirit to another, and from one nature or composition to another.
14 Cicero, De officiis, ? ? , ? , ? . 15 Psalm, ? ? ? :? . 16 Virgil, Aeneid, ? ? , ? ? ? , ? ? ? , ? ? ? . ? ? ?
? 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 (? ? ? ? ? -? ? ? ? ). ? ? ?
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? 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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