SinceIhave nothing else
compelling
to think about, I will amuse myself listening to their discussions, and maybe they can teach me some nice chess moves in the philosophy game besides.
Bruno-Cause-Principle-and-Unity
From which it follows that this separated form cannot be multiplied in the numerical sense, since all numerical multiplication depends on matter.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Further, it is invariable in itself, but varies because of the subjects and the diversity of matter. And such form, although it differentiates the part from the whole in the subject, is not, however, itself different in the part and in the whole, even if the definition we use for it differs according to whether it is considered as substantial by itself, or con- sidered in so far as it is the act and perfection of some subject - and in that case, it is considered according to that specification and that individuation which it has assumed in this or that subject.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Exactly.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Youdonotconceiveofthisformasbeingaccidental,notas accidental form, not as mingled with matter or inherent in it, but as exist- ing in it, associating itself with and assisting it.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . ThatisjustwhatIsay.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Moreover, this form is defined and determined by matter, since, on the one hand, possessing in itself the faculty of constituting the particulars of innumerable species, it happens to restrict itself in order to constitute an individual, and, on the other hand, the potency of inde- terminate matter, which can receive any form whatsoever, finds itself limited to a single species. Thus, one is the cause of the definition and determination of the other.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Verygood.
? ?
Second dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . So that, in some way, you allow Anaxagoras' notion, who qualifies with the word 'latent' the particular forms of nature, and you approve, in part, that of Plato, who has them derive from ideas, and, in part, that of Empedocles, who has them issue from the intelligence, and, in certain measure, that of Aristotle, who puts them down as emerging, so to speak, from the potency of matter?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes, for as we have said, where there is form, there is, in a way, everything. Where there is soul, spirit, life, there is everything. The one who forms is the intellect, which acts through the ideal species; even if it does not bring forms out of matter, it does not then look for them outside of matter, since this spirit fills everything.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Velim scire quomodo forma est anima mundi ubique tota [I would like very much to know how the world soul is a form which is pre- sent everywhere in its totality], if it is indivisible. It must, then, be very large, even of infinite dimension, since you say the world is infinite.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Here is good reason, indeed, for its being large. It is like what a preacher at Grandazzo in Sicily said of our Lord: to signify that he is present everywhere, he ordered a crucifix as large as the church, in the image of God the Father, who has the heavens for a canopy and the starry sky for a seat, and who possesses such long legs that they stretch down to earth, which he uses as a footstool. To this preacher came a certain peas- ant, saying, 'Reverend father, how many ells of cloth would it take to make his hose? ' Another said that all Melazzo and Nicosia's chickpeas, haricots and broad beans would not suffice to fill his belly. Be careful, then, that this world soul is not cut out the same way.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I would not know how to satisfy your perplexity, Gervasio, but I can that of Master Poliinnio. But for both of you, I will use a com- parison, for I want you, too, to gather some fruit from our reasonings and discussions. In short, you must know, then, that the world soul and the divinity are not present entirely everywhere and through every part, in the same way as some material thing could be - since that is impossible for any body or spirit of any kind whatsoever - but are present in a manner that is not easy to explain, save in the following way. Please note that if we say the world soul and universal form are everywhere, we do not mean in a corpo- real or dimensional sense, for they are not of that nature and cannot be found so in any part. They are everywhere present in their entirety in a spiritual way. To take an example (crude as it is), you might imagine a voice which is entire inside the whole room, and in every part of it: in effect, one hears
? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? it everywhere entirely there. Similarly, the words I am saying are entirely heard by all of you, and would still be if a thousand people were present. And if my voice could reach all the world, it would be everywhere entire. To you, then, I say, Master Poliinnio, that the soul is not indivisible in the manner of a point, but, in some way, in the manner of a voice. And to you, Gervasio, I answer that the divinity is not everywhere like the God of Grandazzo is in the whole of his chapel, because, though that God is pre- sent in the whole church, he is not everywhere wholly present, but has his head in one place, his feet elsewhere, his arms and his chest still somewhere else. On the contrary, the divinity is entire in any part whatsoever, just as my voice is heard entirely from all sides of the room.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Percepi optime. [I understood perfectly. ]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Ihavealsounderstoodyourvoice.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I believe it about the voice, but as for the argument, I think
it has gone in one ear and out the other.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I do not think it has even gone in, because the hour is late,
and my stomach's clock has sounded.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Hoc est, idest [That is] he has his head in patinis. [on
casseroles. ]
End of second dialogue Third dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Itisalreadytimeandthosepeoplehavenotyetcome.
SinceIhave nothing else compelling to think about, I will amuse myself listening to their discussions, and maybe they can teach me some nice chess moves in the philosophy game besides. It is also a pleasant sport, with the whims that flit about in the bizarre brain of that pedant, Poliinnio. He presumes to be a judge of who speaks well, who discourses better, who commits philosoph- ical incongruities and errors, but when his turn comes, and not knowing what to offer himself, he starts to spin out from the sleeve of his hollow pedantry a little salad of puny proverbs and phrases in Latin and Greek, which have nothing at all to do with what the others are saying, whence any blind man can see without much strain how mad he is, with his Latin, while the others are wise with their vulgar tongue. But, by my faith, here he is. By the way he moves along, it looks like he knows how to adopt a Latin pace even by the motion of his legs. Welcome, dominus magister [superior master].
? ?
Third dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . ThatmagisterIdonotcarefor. Inourmisguidedandlaw- less age, it is attributed to any barber, rag picker or sow-gelder as often as to my peers. That is why we have the advice: nolite vocari Rabi [Be ye not called Rabbi]1
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Thenhowdoyouwishmetocallyou? Doyoufancy'most reverend'?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Illud est presbiterale et clericum [That is for clerics and priests].
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Doyoufeellike'mostillustrious'?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Cedantarmatogae[armsgivewaytothetoga]. 2Thattitle befits knights as well as the purple-clad. 3
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . And'Caesareanmajesty',hm?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Quae Caesaris Caesari [Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's]. 4
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Then take domine [Lord]! , take 'thunderer', 'divum Pater' [father of the Gods]! To come back to us: why are you so late?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I think the others are held back by some business. As for myself, in order not to waste the day away without tracing a line,5 I dedi- cated myself to contemplating that symbol of the globe commonly dubbed a world map.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Whatonearthhaveyoutodowithaworldmap?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I am contemplating all the parts of the earth, climes, provinces and regions that I have traversed ideally in spirit, and many also on foot.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Ishouldlikeyoutocomebackalittletoyourself,asitseems to me that is what you need most but worry about the least.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Absit verbo invidia [Be it said without boasting]6: in this way, I come to know myself much more effectively.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Andhow,praytell,isthat?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Fromthescrutinyofthemacrocosm,onecaneasilyarrive (necessaria deductione facta a simili [having made the necessary deduction by similitude]) at the knowledge of the microcosm, the most minute parts of which correspond to parts of the former.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . So that, within you, we will find the moon, Mercury and other heavenly bodies, as well as France, Spain, Italy, England, Calcutta and other lands?
1 From Matthew ? ? , ? . 2 Cicero, fragm. De meo consulatu. 3 Magistrates. 4 Matthew ? ? , ? ? . 5 Allusion to the Plinian adage: 'Nulla dies sine linea. ' 6 Livy ? ? , ? ? .
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Further, it is invariable in itself, but varies because of the subjects and the diversity of matter. And such form, although it differentiates the part from the whole in the subject, is not, however, itself different in the part and in the whole, even if the definition we use for it differs according to whether it is considered as substantial by itself, or con- sidered in so far as it is the act and perfection of some subject - and in that case, it is considered according to that specification and that individuation which it has assumed in this or that subject.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Exactly.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Youdonotconceiveofthisformasbeingaccidental,notas accidental form, not as mingled with matter or inherent in it, but as exist- ing in it, associating itself with and assisting it.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . ThatisjustwhatIsay.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Moreover, this form is defined and determined by matter, since, on the one hand, possessing in itself the faculty of constituting the particulars of innumerable species, it happens to restrict itself in order to constitute an individual, and, on the other hand, the potency of inde- terminate matter, which can receive any form whatsoever, finds itself limited to a single species. Thus, one is the cause of the definition and determination of the other.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Verygood.
? ?
Second dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . So that, in some way, you allow Anaxagoras' notion, who qualifies with the word 'latent' the particular forms of nature, and you approve, in part, that of Plato, who has them derive from ideas, and, in part, that of Empedocles, who has them issue from the intelligence, and, in certain measure, that of Aristotle, who puts them down as emerging, so to speak, from the potency of matter?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Yes, for as we have said, where there is form, there is, in a way, everything. Where there is soul, spirit, life, there is everything. The one who forms is the intellect, which acts through the ideal species; even if it does not bring forms out of matter, it does not then look for them outside of matter, since this spirit fills everything.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Velim scire quomodo forma est anima mundi ubique tota [I would like very much to know how the world soul is a form which is pre- sent everywhere in its totality], if it is indivisible. It must, then, be very large, even of infinite dimension, since you say the world is infinite.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Here is good reason, indeed, for its being large. It is like what a preacher at Grandazzo in Sicily said of our Lord: to signify that he is present everywhere, he ordered a crucifix as large as the church, in the image of God the Father, who has the heavens for a canopy and the starry sky for a seat, and who possesses such long legs that they stretch down to earth, which he uses as a footstool. To this preacher came a certain peas- ant, saying, 'Reverend father, how many ells of cloth would it take to make his hose? ' Another said that all Melazzo and Nicosia's chickpeas, haricots and broad beans would not suffice to fill his belly. Be careful, then, that this world soul is not cut out the same way.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I would not know how to satisfy your perplexity, Gervasio, but I can that of Master Poliinnio. But for both of you, I will use a com- parison, for I want you, too, to gather some fruit from our reasonings and discussions. In short, you must know, then, that the world soul and the divinity are not present entirely everywhere and through every part, in the same way as some material thing could be - since that is impossible for any body or spirit of any kind whatsoever - but are present in a manner that is not easy to explain, save in the following way. Please note that if we say the world soul and universal form are everywhere, we do not mean in a corpo- real or dimensional sense, for they are not of that nature and cannot be found so in any part. They are everywhere present in their entirety in a spiritual way. To take an example (crude as it is), you might imagine a voice which is entire inside the whole room, and in every part of it: in effect, one hears
? ?
Cause, principle and unity
? it everywhere entirely there. Similarly, the words I am saying are entirely heard by all of you, and would still be if a thousand people were present. And if my voice could reach all the world, it would be everywhere entire. To you, then, I say, Master Poliinnio, that the soul is not indivisible in the manner of a point, but, in some way, in the manner of a voice. And to you, Gervasio, I answer that the divinity is not everywhere like the God of Grandazzo is in the whole of his chapel, because, though that God is pre- sent in the whole church, he is not everywhere wholly present, but has his head in one place, his feet elsewhere, his arms and his chest still somewhere else. On the contrary, the divinity is entire in any part whatsoever, just as my voice is heard entirely from all sides of the room.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Percepi optime. [I understood perfectly. ]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Ihavealsounderstoodyourvoice.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I believe it about the voice, but as for the argument, I think
it has gone in one ear and out the other.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I do not think it has even gone in, because the hour is late,
and my stomach's clock has sounded.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Hoc est, idest [That is] he has his head in patinis. [on
casseroles. ]
End of second dialogue Third dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Itisalreadytimeandthosepeoplehavenotyetcome.
SinceIhave nothing else compelling to think about, I will amuse myself listening to their discussions, and maybe they can teach me some nice chess moves in the philosophy game besides. It is also a pleasant sport, with the whims that flit about in the bizarre brain of that pedant, Poliinnio. He presumes to be a judge of who speaks well, who discourses better, who commits philosoph- ical incongruities and errors, but when his turn comes, and not knowing what to offer himself, he starts to spin out from the sleeve of his hollow pedantry a little salad of puny proverbs and phrases in Latin and Greek, which have nothing at all to do with what the others are saying, whence any blind man can see without much strain how mad he is, with his Latin, while the others are wise with their vulgar tongue. But, by my faith, here he is. By the way he moves along, it looks like he knows how to adopt a Latin pace even by the motion of his legs. Welcome, dominus magister [superior master].
? ?
Third dialogue
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . ThatmagisterIdonotcarefor. Inourmisguidedandlaw- less age, it is attributed to any barber, rag picker or sow-gelder as often as to my peers. That is why we have the advice: nolite vocari Rabi [Be ye not called Rabbi]1
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Thenhowdoyouwishmetocallyou? Doyoufancy'most reverend'?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Illud est presbiterale et clericum [That is for clerics and priests].
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Doyoufeellike'mostillustrious'?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Cedantarmatogae[armsgivewaytothetoga]. 2Thattitle befits knights as well as the purple-clad. 3
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . And'Caesareanmajesty',hm?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Quae Caesaris Caesari [Give unto Caesar what is Caesar's]. 4
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Then take domine [Lord]! , take 'thunderer', 'divum Pater' [father of the Gods]! To come back to us: why are you so late?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I think the others are held back by some business. As for myself, in order not to waste the day away without tracing a line,5 I dedi- cated myself to contemplating that symbol of the globe commonly dubbed a world map.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Whatonearthhaveyoutodowithaworldmap?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . I am contemplating all the parts of the earth, climes, provinces and regions that I have traversed ideally in spirit, and many also on foot.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Ishouldlikeyoutocomebackalittletoyourself,asitseems to me that is what you need most but worry about the least.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Absit verbo invidia [Be it said without boasting]6: in this way, I come to know myself much more effectively.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Andhow,praytell,isthat?
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . Fromthescrutinyofthemacrocosm,onecaneasilyarrive (necessaria deductione facta a simili [having made the necessary deduction by similitude]) at the knowledge of the microcosm, the most minute parts of which correspond to parts of the former.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? . So that, within you, we will find the moon, Mercury and other heavenly bodies, as well as France, Spain, Italy, England, Calcutta and other lands?
1 From Matthew ? ? , ? . 2 Cicero, fragm. De meo consulatu. 3 Magistrates. 4 Matthew ? ? , ? ? . 5 Allusion to the Plinian adage: 'Nulla dies sine linea. ' 6 Livy ? ? , ? ? .
