EXBIBLIOTHECA FRANCES A. YATES Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014 https://archive.org/details/opusmajusofroger01baco THE OPUS MAJUS OF ROGER BACON HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH AND NEW YORK THE 'OPUS MAJUS' OF ROGER BACON EDITED, WITH INTRODUCTION AND ANALYTICAL TABLE BY JOHN HENRY BRIDGES . FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS SOMETIME FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE ' Induire pour deduire afin de construire ' AUGUSTE COMTE ' Omnes scientiae sunt connexae, et mutuis se fovent auxiliis, sicut partes ejusdem totius, quarum quaelibet opus suum peragit non solum pro se sed pro aliis ' Roger Bacon, Opus Tertium IN TWO VOLUMES: VOL. I AT THE OXFORD CLARENDON MDCCC XCVII PRESS PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART, M.A. PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY COLLEGIO REGALI MEDICORUM LONDINENSI CUJUS OLIM PRAESIDENS RICARDUS MEAD LITTERIS PERINDE AC SCIENTIIS ILLUSTRIS PRIMUM BACONIS EDITOREM CONSILIIS INSTIGAVIT JUVIT ALTERAM EDITIONEM DEDICO PREFACE A SUFFICIENT reason for a new edition of Roofer Bacon's principal work would be the extreme rarity of the edition of the Opus Majus pubHshed by J ebb in 1733, and reprinted seventeen years afterwards in Venice. But a more cogent reason is that this edition is incomplete. The work, as we learn from Bacon's account of it in his Opus Tertunii, consisted of seven parts ; and the seventh part, a discourse on Moral Philosophy, was omitted by the editor. Why J ebb should have taken this course is not clear. In his preface he speaks of the work as con- sisting of six parts, ' in sex partes distributum/ and adds, ' tractatum de Morali Philosophia ad calcem adjunxit.' In 1858 a paper was read by Dr. Ingram before the Royal Irish Academy, and was printed in the seventh volume of the Proceedings of this institution, in which the writer showed conclusively the continuity of this seventh part of the Optis Majtis with all that had gone before. The continuity is marked unmistakably in the very title of the section, Incipit septima pars hujus persuasionis de Morali Philosophia, and in its opening words, ' Manifestavi in praecedentibus,' &c. Repeated references to the foregoing parts will be found ; and if viii PREFACE. further proof were wanting, it is supplied in abundance by the two appendages to the Optts Majus which were sent by Bacon to Pope Clement IV within a few months of the dispatch of the principal work, published by Professor Brewer in 1859, in the Rolls Series, as Opera Inedita. Special mention is made in the OpiLS Minns (Brewer, p. 315) of passages of this seventh section which the author regarded as of special im- portance. In the Opus Tertium (Brewer, pp. 48-52), a brief account is given of each of the six divisions of which it consisted. Dr. Ingram's paper was carefully studied by Victor Cousin, who had already devoted much time to the study of Bacon's unpublished works. He remarked upon it {JoiLrnal des Savants, 1859, p. 717), 'Nous croyons qu'il n'y a pas d'exemple dans I'histoire litte- raire d'une erreur semblable a celle de J ebb. Elle est vraiment etonnante, mais elle est incontestable.' And in truth the omission is of much o-reater siofnifi- cance than the mere loss of Bacons opinions on a subject of importance would imply. Throughout the Opus Majns there is an orderly arrangement of the subject-matter formed with a definite purpose, and leading up to a central theme, the consolidation of the Catholic faith as the supreme agency for the civiliza- tion and ennoblement of mankind. For this end a complete renovation and reorganization of man's intellectual forces was needed. After a brief exposition of the four principal impediments to wisdom — autho- rity, habit, prejudice, and false conceit of knowledge — Bacon proceeds in his second part to explain the inseparable connexion of philosophy with the highest truths of religion. In primaeval ages both were entrusted to the patriarchs. Subsequently, while the PREFACE. ix evolution of religious truth was proceeding in Judaea, Greece became the scene of the growth of philosophy. Both were alike ordained in God's providence. In our own times, as in those of antiquity, the study of both should be carried on continuously. But for this purpose it was essential that the wisdom of the ancients should be studied in the language in which it was originally set forth. To limit students to Latin trans- lations is to ensure the multiplication of error. Most of these translations, especially those of the Bible and of Aristotle, are deplorably defective, and have been made by men imperfectly acquainted with the subject treated of The first condition, therefore, of a renova- tion of learning is the systematic study of at least three languages besides Latin, namely, Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic. The second condition was the application of mathe- matical method to all objects of study, whether in the world or in the Church. Mathematic is the ' gateway and the key to all other sciences ' ; it raises the under- standing to the plane at which knowledge can be distinguished from ignorance. Without it other sciences are unintelligible. It reveals to us the motions of the heavenly bodies, and the laws of the propagation of force in things terrestrial, of which the propagation of light may be taken as a type ; without it we are incapable of regulating the festivals of the Church ; we remain in ignorance of the influences of climate upon character ; of the position of cities and of the boundaries of nations whom it is the function of the Catholic Church to bring within her pale, and to control spiritually. With these subjects the fourth and fifth sections of the Optts Majtis are occupied ; they form the principal bulk of its contents. But mathematical X PREFACE. method, though essential, is insufficient. It must be supplemented by the method of experiment. Even a purely geometrical proof is not convincing or con- clusive, until the execution of the diaoram has enabled us to add ocular, that is to say, experimental, evidence that the demonstration is sound. This method, moreover, will lead us into new reo^ions into which mathematical procedure is not able to penetrate. Experimental science governs all the preceding sciences (' domina est omnium scientiarum praecedentium '), it controls their methods ; in prosecuting its own special researches it makes use of their results. Here then ends the Opus Majus as presented in the edition of 1733. A glance at the fourteenth and pre- ceding chapters of the Opus Tertmm^ in which the structure and purpose of the Opus Majus are reviewed, will show how disastrously the suppression of the seventh section of the work has mutilated it ' All these foregoing sciences,' says Bacon, ' are, properly speaking, speculative. There is indeed in every science a practical side, as Avicenna teaches in the first book of his Art of Medicine. Nevertheless, of Moral Philosophy alone can it be said that it is in the special and autonomatic sense practical, dealing as it does with human conduct with reference to virtue and vice, beatitude and misery. All other sciences are called speculative : they are not concerned with the deeds of the present or future life affecting man's salvation or damnation. All procedures of art and of nature are directed to these moral actions, and exist on account of them. They are of no account except in that they help forward right action. Thus practical and operative sciences, as experimental alchemy and the rest, are regarded as speculative in reference to the PREFACE. xi operations with which moral or political science is con- cerned. This science is the mistress of every depart- ment of philosophy. It employs and controls them for the advantage of states and kingdoms. It directs the choice of men who are to study in sciences and arts for the common good. It orders all members of the state or kingdom so that none shall remain without his proper work.' The seventh part of the Optts Majus is for the first time printed in this edition. Unfortunately it is not complete. It consisted, as we learn from the fourteenth chapter of the Opus Tei'tiitm^ of six divisions ; and the only two MSS. of it as yet discovered, those of Dublin and Oxford (the first of which, as will be shown after- wards, is copied from the second), stop short before the conclusion of the fourth. We gather, however, that the missing portions are not of primary importance. Another alteration of considerable importance has been made in the present edition. Professor Emile Charles, in his very important monograph on Roger Bacon (Bordeaux, 1861), pointed out that the treatise De Multiplicatione Speciertim^ which in J ebb's edition of the Opus Majlis is placed between the fifth and sixth sections of the work, does not in reality belong to it. And indeed the second sentence of the treatise makes this evident. ' Recolendum est,' Bacon observes, ' quod in tertia parte hujus operis tactum est quod essentia, substantia, natura, potestas, potentia, virtus, vis, significant eandem rem.' No such passage is to be found in any part of the Opus Majus, least of all in the third part, which deals with Comparative Philology. Here again the Opus Tertiuni comes to our aid. Several references will be found there to a distinct treatise sent to Pope Clement IV simultaneously with the Opus xii PREFACE. Majus (Brev/er, pp. 38, 99, 117, 227). It is a treatise on the propagation of radiant forces, usually spoken of as Mitltiplicatio Specie^^um, but in one passage entitled Tract at us de Radii qicem vobis niisi separatim ab Ope7^e Majori. In the present edition this treatise will be found in its proper place as an appendix to the Opus Alajus. It must be added that the text, as edited, is in certain parts of the work far from perfect. This remark applies especially to the third and sixth sections. In the third section several missing pages have been supplied from a Cottonian MS. (Julius D.v.), con- taining amongst other things a Greek and a Hebrew alphabet. It is the more remarkable that J ebb should have omitted these passages, since it is clear that he had consulted this MS. and had made frequent correc- tions from it. The sixth section, on Experimental Science, has been so carelessly edited that it seems probable that the editor must have entrusted the work to a less competent assistant. Contractions of the most ordinary kind are misinterpreted (as e. g. * e converso ' is rendered ' ergo,' ' conclusio ' is written ' quaestio,' &c.), and in some passages sentences have been omitted. While indicating these shortcomings, it ouoht at the same time to be added that other parts of the work give proof of great labour and care in the collation of the MSS. consulted. This is especially the case with the fourth and fifth parts, which form a very large proportion of the whole work. Having spent much time over the MSS. used by Jebb, in addition to others, I can bear testimony to the accuracy with which variations have here been noted. All of them which are of more than verbal importance have been noted in the present edition. PREFACE. xiii A further change has been made in the arrangement of the diagrams, which in J ebb's edition were collected into two tables, and thus rendered inconvenient for comparison with the text, and which, moreover, in many cases are incorrectly drawn. They have been carefully re-copied from a MS. in the British Museum (Royal, 7 F. viii), which Sir E. Maunde Thompson, who was so kind as to examine this and several other Baconian MSS. in the British Museum for me, pro- nounces to be of the latter part of the thirteenth century, i.e. contemporary, or very nearly so, with Bacon. Each diagram has been placed in its proper context. It was found that in many cases the reasoning of the author had been entirely nullified by defective punctuation. This has been entirely revised, and the number of distinct sentences and paragraphs has been very largely increased. Students of the Opus Majus have found the work difficult to refer to, owing to the multiplicity and diversity of the subjects treated, and the want of such guidance as page-headings or marginal notes can supply. This defect has been remedied, an analysis of the work has been prefixed, and an improved index added. A few remarks on the MSS. of the Opits Majus. Jebb's edition was founded on a MS. in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, which at that time was the only MS. known to contain the complete work. It con- tains a note in Archbishop Usher's handwriting to the effect that the MS. was presented to the College by Gordian Strowbridge, and that the diagrams were drawn by Sir Christopher Heyden. This MS. is very clearly written in 249 folios of four columns. Sir Christopher Heyden, of Baconsthorpe, in Norfolk, was xiv PREFACE. a well-known astrological writer who died in 1623, which fixes the date of this MS. at the end of the sixteenth or beginning of the seventeenth century. A glance at the MS. shows that the figures were drawn simultaneously with the text, room being left in each page for their insertion. The character of the writing quite corresponds with this date. It is referred to in this edition as D. In 1825 another MS. of the Optis Majtis was bought for the Bodleian Library. It belonged at one time to Thomas Allen, the astrologer of Gloucester Hall, who early in the seventeenth century gave twenty MSS. to the Bodleian. This one, however, passed into the possession of Sir Kenelm Digby, whose well- known signature and motto are inscribed on the first page. It is now numbered 235 of the Digby MSS. The greater part of it is of the fifteenth century. But a portion of it (pp. 249-295) is in an older and more beautiful handwriting, considered by Mr. Coxe to be of the fourteenth century. This portion in- cludes a considerable portion of the Perspcctiva. These two MSS. have been carefully collated for the present edition. In the course of the collation unmistakable proof was given that the Dublin MS. was a copy of that in the Bodleian. At the close of p. 470, col. 2, of this latter, the sentence breaks off midway, and is continued on the first line of p. 487, col. I. An error of this kind, analogous to that caused by the transposition of sheets in binding a modern book, is easily explicable. In the Dublin MS. the same rupture of the sentence occurs, but in the middle of a column (fol. 224, col. a, line 12), the sentence being ultimately continued on fol. 229, col. d, line 14. It may be added that these two MSS. exhibit through- [ xix* ] Note. In the July issue of the English Historical Review, 1897, Dr. Gasquet publishes a MS. of Bacon which he has found in the Vatican, and which he inclines to think is a preface to the Opus Majlis. There is much to justify this view. The work in question describes Bacon's overflowing gratitude for Pope Clement's message to him ; apologizes for the delay in the transmission of his works by pointing out that none of these works were in a complete state ; explains the obstacles interposed by the distress of his family, ruined in the civil wars, and by the re- strictions of his Order ; introduces his disciple John, who had been for seven years under his tuition ; and finally concludes with a brief summary of the contents of the Opus Majus. This he describes, not as his principal work, but as a Persuasio. It has seven parts. After briefly noting the contents of the first two, Bacon passes to the seventh (published for the first time in this edition) and then comiments successively on the sixth, fifth, fourth, and third. It will be observed by readers of this short treatise that it contains little that is not set forth with much greater fullness in the Opus Tertium, which is to be regarded as the real Introduction to the collection of writings sent by Bacon in 1267 to Pope Clement IV. The first chapter of Dr. Gasquet's MS. is almost exactly identical with pp. 7-12 in Brewer's edition of Opus Tertimiiy the latter, however, having certain sentences not contained in the former. The fifth chapter is a repetition of Opus MajuSf pt. i. cap. 16. One or two sentences, however, of this newly published work deserve attention. We learn from it that Bacon's life in Paris between 1257 and 1267 was a time of comparative inaction : a decern annis propter languores [XX*] iintlfos ft infinnitatcs varias occiipaiionibits exteriorihiis studii non vacavi. He had written, he says, much before entering the Franciscan Order, with a view to the instruction of youth [inulta in alio statu conscripseraiu propter pivenum rudimcuta) ; and of late years he had sent fragments of his works to friends [aliqua capitula uitnc dc una scientia nunc dc alia ad instantiaui aniicoritni aliquando more transitorio compilavi. No treatise, however, on any department of philosophy had been issued in a complete form. On the whole I am inclined to think that the short work edited by Dr. Gasquet is a first draft of what was afterwards expanded into the Opus Tertiunu Bacon tells us that he was in the habit of writing his discourses several times over until they were brought into satisfactory shape. Sentiens nieam inthecillitatem nihil scribo difficile quod non transeat usque ad quartuni vel qumtuni exemphnn antequam liabeani quod intendo. J. H. B. Jidy 21, 1897. Baco)is Opus Majits.^ PREFACE. XV out an almost exact correspondence in their errors and in their variants. The Oxford MS. has therefore been taken as the foundation of the present edition, and is denoted by the letter O. It is, however, by no means perfect, especially in the second and third sections of the work : and recourse was had both by J ebb and by the present editor to various MSS. in the British Museum and elsewhere to supply the imperfections. Foremost among these are the two Cottonian MSS., Julius D.v., and Tiberius C,v. (desig- nated here as Jul. and Tib.). The first of these, unfortunately much injured in the fire of 1731, gives the first three sections of the work and a large part of the fourth. The second gives the whole of the fourth. For the geographical portion of the fourth section, I was allowed to consult the MS. in the possession of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. It is not, how- ever, believed to be of earlier date than the middle or later part of the fifteenth century. Occasional reference has been made to a MS. of the fifth section of the work (Perspectiva) in the possession of Magdalene College, Cambridge, which I was permitted to examine. It is not, however, of earlier date than the Bodleian MS., and its variants are not of great importance. Of the MSS. of the Perspectiva and of the De JVhtltiplicatione Specieriim which appear to have been transcribed more frequently than other portions of the work, by far the most important is the British Museum MS. (Royal, 7 F. viii), already spoken of as contem- porary, or nearly so, with Bacon. This, as I have said, was carefully collated by J ebb, who indeed has in certain places copied on the margin extracts from Combach's printed edition of the Perspectiva of 16 14. The diagrams of this MS. are of special value. The xvi PREFACE. Sloane MS. 2156, and the Harleian MS. 80, 60 b, have also been consulted. The sixth section of the Optis Majiis {Scientia Experimentalis) appears to have been seldom copied. In the third volume of Baconian MSS. presented to University College, Oxford, by John Elmhurst, there is a MS. of this section which is described as copied from Allen's MSS. (see Brewer, p. xliii). It may, therefore, be merely copied from the Oxford MS. of the Opus Majus. But it offers some variants, and in one or two passages it has proved serviceable. It is spoken of in this edition as U. Of the seventh section, here printed for the first time, there is a MS. in the Royal Library (8, F. ii) containing the first two parts and a portion of the third. This has been carefully collated with the corresponding parts of the Dublin and Oxford MSS. The variations will be seen to be of no great impor- tance. The MS. appears to be of the middle of the fifteenth century. Besides these MSS., others have been consulted which throw light on Bacon's life and work. Chief amongst these is the important MS. of the Mazarin library (formerly numbered 1271, but at present 3576), from which Professor Emile Charles gives copious ex- tracts in his monograph entitled Bacon, sa vie, ses oiLvrages, ses doctrines, d'apres des textes inddits (Bor- deaux, 1S61). More will be said afterwards of its contents. They offer a considerable instalment of the Scrip turn Principale, of which the Opus Majus, inclusive of its adjuncts, the OpiLs Minus and the Op2Ls Tertium, was but the prelude. Another valuable fragment of this final work is preserved in the British Museum among the Sloane PREFACE. xvii MSS. (2156). It contains the first book and part of the second of the Commimia Matlmnaticae. Attention was called to it both by Brewer and by Charles, and occasional references to it have been made in the present edition. Yet a third fragment is the elementary work on Greek grammar in the possession of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, which was sent to the Bodleian for my perusal. An imperfect copy, in seventeenth cen- tury handwriting, apparently made from the Corpus MS., is contained among the Baconian MSS. of University College. Bacon's commentary on the Secrehim Secretoriun (Tanner MSS. 1 16) has also been examined. It throws liofht on the astroloo^ical side of his work. Amonor the books consulted for this edition, far the most important are those of Professors Brewer and Emile Charles, already spoken of. It is unfortunate that two such assiduous and able investigators should have worked simultaneously and without communication. Several not unimportant errors might have been avoided, had either of them known of the other's work. Charles had a far more extensive knowledge than Brewer of Bacon's unpublished works ; and his extracts from them are so copious as to render it desirable that his monograph, which has already become extremely rare, should be republished. He makes, however, the erroneous statement (p. 62) that the missing portion of the Opus Majiis (here printed for the first time) had been published in Dublin ; and he does not appreciate the distinction, so clearly demonstrated by Professor Brewer, between the Opus Tertiuin (which is at once an introduction and a supple- ment to the Opus Majus)^ and the far vaster Scripturn \ VOL. I. b xviii PREFACE. Principale projected by Bacon, but only in part executed. On these points, and on the bibHography of Bacon generally, Mr. Little's Grey Friars in Oxford is of ereat value. Other works consulted will be noted as reference is made to them. Attention, how- ever, may be specially called to Govi's recent edition of the Latin translation of Ptolemy's Optica, so fre- quently used by Bacon (Turin, 1885), a publication of the greatest value for the history of science ; and to Heiberg's edition of Euclid's Optica (vol. vii. of his edition of Euclid, Leipsic, 1895). Wuestenfeld's Gesc/iickte der Arabischen Aerzte (Gottingen, 1840), and Cantor's GescJiichte der Mathematik (Leipsic, 1880- 1892), throw light on the mediaeval men of science, Eastern or Western, mentioned by Bacon. Haureau's Histoire de la Philosophic ScolqLstique (Paris, 1872) defines, with some acerbity, Bacon's position among the schoolmen. Jourdain's RecJierches critiqjLCS sur les traductions latines d'Aristote (nouvelle edit., 1843) contain indispensable information as to the translators of whose shortcomings Bacon so often complains. For the geographical section of the work, in addition to the classical works, of Yule and Bunbury, frequent reference is made to, the complete version of the travels of Rubruquis and Carpini, published by the Paris Geographical Society, in the fourth volume of their Rcc2ieil de Voyages et de Mdmoires {\^}<^. As Seneca occupies so large a place in the seventh section of the Optts Majus, it may be mentioned that the edition used for this work is that of Haase (Leipsic, 1887). As to Aristotle, the references are to Didot's edition (Paris, 1848-1873). It remains for me to express my thanks to the Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge ; to PREFACE. xix the Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge ; the Master and Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge ; and the President and Fellows of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, for permission to examine the MSS. of Bacon belonging respectively to these societies. J. H. B. March 26, 1897. b 2 \ FACTS RELATING TO BACON'S LIFE Contetnporary Events. 1209. Condemnation of Aristotle's Physic and Metaphysic in Paris. 1215. Confirmation of this by Papal Legate. (Cp. Opus Tertium. cap. 9. i 1222. Alexander of Hales enters the Franciscan Order, and teaches phi- losophy in Paris. 1231. Condemnation of Physic and Metaphysic partially removed by Gregory IX. 1238. Alexander of Hales resigns his post as a teacher of philosophy. 1245-8. First residence of Thomas Aquinas in Paris with Albertus Magnus. 1249. Death of William of Auvergne (Bishop of Paris). 1252. Second residence of Aquinas in Paris of un- certain duration. 1253. Death of Grosseteste. 1255. Bonaventura becomes General of Franciscans. 1258. Bagdad captured from Saracens by Tartars. 1265. Guy Fulcodi elected Pope Clement IV. 1268. Death of Clement IV. 1270. Death of Saint Louis. 1274. Death of Bonaven- tura ; Jerome of Ascoli becomes General of Franciscans. Death of Thomas Aquinas. (?)Birthof Duns Scotus. 1280. Death of Albertus Magnus. 1288. Jerome of Ascoli becomes Nicolas IV; Raymundo Galfredi suc- ceeds him as General. 1292. Death of Nicolas IV. Statements resting on later authority. 1210-15. Born near II- chester in Dorsetshire, or, according to another tradition, in the parish of Bisley in Gloucester- shire. (Cf. Brewer, p. Ixxxv.) 1240. V^ent from Oxford to Paris about 1240. Probably entered Fran- ciscan Order a few years later. 1250-7. Probably in Oxford. Legend as to Bacon's Tower may perhaps be referred to this period. 1278. Imprisonment />ro/)^^r novitates suspectas, 1278. (See Summa Historialis of Antoninus Archbishop of Florence, a writer of the fifteenth century.) 1292. Release from prison probably 1292. Died 1292 or 1294. Buried in Franciscan Church in Oxford. Legend as to exposure of his writings to wind and weather told by Wood. Facts verified by Baco7t's state- ment or by contemporary aut/iority. 1230. Michael Scot intro- duces his translations of Aristotle. (0/>. Maj. vol. i. p. 55.) 1233. Interview of Bacon with Henry III at Ox- ford, as described by Matthew Paris. 1245. Heard William of Auvergne (Bishop of Paris) lecture on in- tell actus a gens. {Op. Tert. cap. 23.) 1250. Saw the leader of the Pastoureaux marching through France in 1250. {Op. Maj. vol. i. p. 401.) 1257. ' Exile ' from Oxford to Paris began. {Op. Tert. cap. i.) 1258-67. His family took the King's side in war with barons. [^Op. Tert. cap. 3.) 1264-5. Enters into rela- tions with Guy Fulcodi. 1266. Bacon ordered to send his writings to the Pope. 1266-7. Composition of Opus Majiis , Opus Minus, Opus Teiiium. 1268. Deathof Clement IV. 1271. Writes the Compen- dium Studii F/iilosophiae, denouncmg the corrup- tions of the Church. (See Brewer, p. liv.) 1292. Writes Compendium Tlicologiae. See MS. of this work (Br M. Royal 7 F vii. fol. 154). INTRODUCTION I. BACON'S LIFE. In considering the little that is known of the life of Bacon, it is well to give precedence to the few facts that are fixed with perfect precision by his own statement. We know with entire accuracy the date of the composition of the Opiis Majlis^ and of the two subsidiary works, the Opus Minus and the Opus Tertiitni. Pope Clement ^ IV's instructions to him to transmit the results of his labours were issued June 22, 1266 from Viterbo. Within the year that followed, the Opus Majus, with its supplement, the Optis Mi?ms, and its intro- duction, the Opus Teriuim^ had been completed and sent to the Pope. At this time he speaks of himself as an old man, and he says that he had been studying language^ science, and philosophy for nearly forty years [Opus Tertium^ cap. 20). From this it may be supposed that he was born between 1210 and 1215. But the place of his birth cannot be said to be fixed with certainty. One, and only one, notice of his name occurs in a con- ^ Guy Fulcodi (or Foulques), who succeeded to the Papacy in 1265 as Clement IV, was born at Saint Gilles in Languedoc. He began his career by studying law, in which he achieved great distinction. He was married and had several children. He seems to have acted for some time as a private secretary to Louis IX. After his wife's death he entered the Church, was made arch- bishop of Narbonne in 1259, cardinal bishop of S. Sabina in 1261. (See Fleury, Hist. Ecdesiastique, liv. 85, whose spelling of the name Guy Fulcodi is here adopted.) Brewer conjectures (pp. xi et seq.) that he entered into relations with Bacon on the occasion of his mission to England as Papal legate in 1263 or 1264. But Bacon was then in Paris, and had been there for several years. Guy Fulcodi had far better opportunities of hearing about Bacon in Paris than could have occurred during the time of his stormy and ineffectual legation to England. xxii INTRODUCTION. temporary writer. Matthew Paris relates, under the year 1233, that Henry III convoked the counts and barons of the kingdom to a council at Oxford. Their animosity against Pierre des Roches, Bishop of Winchester, the king^s chief adviser, who had surrounded his person with a body-guard of Poitevins and filled England with these foreigners, led them to refuse the summons. While the king was debating what measures to take against the recalcitrant barons, a Dominican preacher, Robert Bacon by name, told him frankly that there would be no hope of permanent peace in the kingdom so long as the Bishop of Winchester and his son, or kinsman, Peter of Rievaulx, retained power. Robert Bacon's opinion was echoed by others, and the king was induced to listen to it patiently. ' Then a certain clerk who was present at the Court, Roger Bacon by name, a man of mirthful speech, said with pleasant yet pointed wit, " My lord king, what is that which is most hurtful and fearful to those that sail across the sea ? " " Those know it," the king replied, " who have much experience of the waters." " My lord," said the clerk, " I will tell you ; stones and rocks"; meaning thereby Pierre des Roches.' It has been thought that the date of the dialogue was too early to refer to the Roger Bacon with whom we are here concerned. But since he might well be more than twenty years old at the time, the doubt seems hardly founded. What is certain from Bacon's own statement is that his family was one of some wealth, since he himself had been able to spend much money on experimental research. It appears also that this family had taken the royal side through- out the disputes between Henry and his barons, and had suffered pecuniary loss and exile for their loyalty. He tells Pope Clement that, being in sore distress for the money necessary for the transcription and conveyance of his MSS., ' I wrote to my brother, a rich man in my country. But he, belonging as he did to the king's party, was in exile with my mother, brothers, and the whole family. P^uincd and reduced to utter poverty, he was unable to help me, and up to the present day he has sent me no reply.' (Op. Tert. cap. 3 ) The forty years of study, of which he speaks in 1267, may BACON'S LIFE. xxiii be divided into two periods, apparently of nearly equal length ; the periods before and after his admission into the Franciscan Order. In the seventeenth chapter of the Opus Tertiinn he speaks of having devoted more than twenty years to the study of languages and of science. ' I sought,' he says, ' the friend- ship of all wise men among the Latins ; and I caused young men to be trained in languages, in geometrical figures, in numbers, in the construction of tables, in the use of instru- ments, and in many other necessary things. . . During this time I spent more than two thousand pounds in those things and in the purchase of books and instruments.' We may presume that the pounds were French, which at that time would correspond to between 600 and 700 pounds sterling. The sum was a large one. And whether large or small, it would be quite incompatible with the profession of an Order specially devoted to poverty. It may be inferred, therefore, that since he had studied independently for some twenty years, it was not till some time between 1245 ^"^^ ^^5^ that Bacon became a Franciscan. Among the men distinguished for their learning whose friendship he cultivated at this part of his career may be counted, in all probability, Adam de Marisco ; Edmund Rich, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury and ultimately canonized ; Thomas Bungay, whose name was one day to be associated with his own as a worker of magic; Thomas, Bishop of St. David ; John of Basingstoke, scholar and traveller ; John Peckham, afterwards Archbishop of Canterbury ; Hermann, one of the principal translators of Aristotle; Shirwood, the treasurer of Lincoln ; and last and greatest, the illustrious Bishop of Lincoln, Robert Grosseteste. In Bacon's earlier years of study, Grosseteste had not plunged into the arduous and absorbing work of his episcopate. Novit sciejitias, Bacon says of him. He was rector scholaritm^ and also Chancellor of Oxford, and in 1224 was the rector of the Franciscans recently established there. The terms in which Bacon bears testimony to his encouragement of philology, to his attempts to apply mathematical method to the study of physical phenomena, to his disregard of the philosophy of the schools xxiv INTRODUCTION. as founded on bad translations of Aristotle (Brewer, Compend. SUidii^ cap. 8), would be conclusive as to his personal contact with this great man, even though it were not confirmed by reference to Grosseteste's scientific writings, in which Bacon's debt to him is unmistakable. His treatise De Physicis Lineis^ Ajigjdis, et Figtiris contains passages as to the spherical radia- tion of force, and as to the change in its direction by reflection and refraction, which bear a close resemblance to the lan- guage used many years afterwards by Bacon. It would appear that, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, there was a stronger impulse towards scientific study in Oxford than in Paris. In the eleventh chapter of the Opus Tertium, when speaking of the science of Optics, Bacon observes, ' On this science no lectures have as yet been given in Paris, nor anywhere among the Latins, except twice at Oxford.' It is not stated that the lecturer was Grosseteste ; but we ma}^ well believe it. It may be supposed that the influence of Adelard of Bath, the first translator of EucHd, had left its traces. Twenty years before the close of the twelfth century we hear of two Englishmen, Alexander Neckham and Alfred Sershall, lecturing in Paris on the Physics of Aristotle, then recently introduced from the school of translators from Arabic directed by Archbishop Raymond of Toledo. But the University of Paris, placed nearer the centre of the spiritual forces that swayed mediaeval society, had grown up under the dialectical influences of theological controversy; and when Bacon went there, perhaps about 1 240, he found what is called, vaguely and inaccurately enough, the scholastic philosophy in the fullness of its growth, with the enlarged scope given to it by the recent permission to study the Physics, Metaphysics, and Psychology of Aristotle. Its two most prominent representatives were at this time Alexander of Hales and William of Auvergne. Of the methods and the controversies then current Bacon made himself a master, and received the title of doctor. To be able to speak the language of the schools with authority was the first condition of obtain- ing a hearing. But he was not slow to perceive that the men who taught this philosophy were, for the most part, wholly BACON'S LIFE. XXV destitute of positive knowledge. They knew no language but Latin. Beyond the shreds of arithmetic, mensuration, and astronomy taught in the manuals of the Quadrivium, they were ignorant of mathematics. Of the possibility of applying mathematical knowledge to the facts of nature they had formed no conception whatever. Their philosophy was a tangle of barren controversies reducible, for the most part, to verbal disputes. It bore no relation to the facts of real life. It held out no hope of raising the Catholic Church to the position of intellectual domination needed for establishing her authority over the Asiatic world, from which dangers were looming of appalling magnitude. It was in Paris that Bacon came into contact with a remark- able man of whom very little would be known to us but for Bacon's eulogies, Peter of Maricourt ^, a native of Picardy. From the description given of him in the thirteenth chapter of the Op?is Tertium, he would seem to have been an un- ambitious man, anxious only to pursue his researches in private, regardless of the metaph3^sical turmoil around him. Speaking of experimental research, Bacon says : ' One man I know, and one only, who can be praised for his achievements in this science. Of discourses and battles of words he takes no heed : he follows the works of wisdom, and in these finds rest. What others strive to see dimly and blindly, like bats in twilight, he gazes at in the full light of day, because he is a master of experiment. Through experiment he gains know- ledge of natural things, medical, chemical, indeed of everything in the heavens or earth. He is ashamed that things should be known to laymen, old women, soldiers, ploughmen, of which he is ignorant. Therefore he has looked closely into the doings of those who work in metals and minerals of all ^ There is some doubt as to the orthography of the name, though none can now be left as to the identity of the person indicated. Emile Charles (pp. i6- 17) mentions a MS. in the Paris library (Bibliotheque Nationale, Manuscrits Latins, 7378^1 in which the only known work of Peter Peregrinus is spoken of as ' Epistola Petri Peregrini de Maricourt ad Sygerium de Fontancourt de Magnete.' Charles adds that there is a village called Mehariscourt in Picardy near the abbey of Corbie. The Latin form of the word in one MS. of the Opus Tertium is written Maharncuria, but in others Mahariscuria. Cf. vol. ii. p. 203 of the present work ; see also Bertelli's Dedinazione Magnetica (Rome, 1892). xxvi INTRODUCTION. kinds ; he knows everything relating to the art of war, the making of weapons, and the chase ; he has looked closely into agriculture, mensuration, and farming work ; he has even taken note of the remedies, lot-casting, and charms used by old women and by wizards and magicians, and of the deceptions and devices of conjurors, so that nothing which deserves inquiry should escape him, and that he may be able to expose the falsehoods of magicians. If philosophy is to be carried to its perfection and is to be handled with utility and certainty, his aid is indispensable. As for reward, he neither receives nor seeks it. If he frequented kings and princes, he would easily find those who would bestow on him honours and wealth. Or, if in Paris he would display the results of his researches, the whole world would follow him. But since either of these courses would hinder him from pursuing the great experiments in which he delights, he puts honour and wealth aside, knowing well that his wisdom w^ould secure him wealth whenever he chose. For the last three years he has been working at the production of a mirror that shall produce combustion at a fixed distance ; a problem which the Latins have neither solved nor attempted, though books have been written upon the subject.' Of this remarkable man little is known but what Bacon tells us in the foregoing and other passages of the Optis Tertiiim, and the Opus Majiis. But what we know is not inconsistent with Bacon's eulogy. Libri, in a note contained in the second volume of his History of M athcvmtics, transcribes a letter written by Peter Peregrinus of Maricourt to a certain Sigermus of Fontancourt, which is a treatise on the properties of the magic stone on the relations of its poles to those of the heavens and earth, on the way to find these poles ; on the repulsion in two magnets of poles of the same name, and the attraction of those of different names ; and on the construction of a globe which should revolve with the revolution of the heavens, and thus supply the place of the ordinary observation by the astrolabe. This is, no doubt, the invention of which Bacon speaks in the sixth part of the Opus Magus. Gilbert, in his great work on Magnetism, makes frequent mention of this treatise of Peter Peregrinus ; and a careful comparison BACON'S LIFE. xxvii of the two works, separated as they are by an interval of more than three centuries, shows undoubted and weighty obhgations of Gilbert to his predecessor. In the construction of globular magnets (the ' terrella,' or model of the earth), in the mode of finding their poles, the procedure, and indeed the very language of Peter, is closely followed by the later inquirer. To a mind so original as Bacon's, trained in scientific method by Grosseteste and other members of the English mathe- matical school, the influence of an experimental thinker like Peter of Maricourt must have been stimulating in the extreme. Bacon was thirsting for reality in a barren land infested with mictaphysical mirage. From the horse-load of verbal controversies contained in the Sttinma of Alexander of Hales, from the interminable series of tedious commentaries on Aristotle, of which so great a master as Albert was setting the first fatal example, he took refuge in the visions of the harvest of new truth that was to be reaped by patient observa- tion of Nature, by submission of her processes to experimental questioning, by following the lowly paths used by plain men in their daily avocations. ' The wiser men are,' he said, ' the more humbly will they submit to learn from others ; they do not disdain the simplicity of those who teach them ; they are willing to lower themselves to the level of husbandmen, of poor women, of children. Many things are known to the simple and unlearned which escape the notice of the wise. I have learned more important truth beyond comparison from men of humble station, who are not named in the schools, than from all the famous doctors. Let no man therefore boast of his wisdom, or look down upon the lowly, who have knowledge of many secret things which God has not shown to those renowned for wisdom' (Opits Majiis, vol. i. p. lo). Assuming that Bacon entered the Franciscan Order about 1247, he would be at that time still in Paris. The degree of doctor, rarely conferred before the age of thirty-five, was probably received about the same time. He tells us [Optis 7>r/zV/;//, cap. 23) that he heard William of Auvergne lecturing to the University on the ' active intellect.' This must have been xxviii INTRODUCTION, before 1248, the date of William's death. We know that he must have been still in France in 1250, for in that year the revolt of the Pastoureaux broke out ; and Bacon tells us that he ' saw their leader walking barefoot in a troup of armed men carrying something in his hands with the care with which a man carries a sacred relic ' [Opus Majiis, vol. i. p. 401). For some time between this date and 1257 he was probably in Oxford. Whether he lectured there publicly we do not know. But that he incurred the suspicion of his superiors in the Franciscan Order is certain ; whether by audacity in specu- lation, by experiments looked upon as magical, or by frank exposure of the ignorance of professorial magnates, cannot be said with certainty. His old friends and teachers, Edmund Rich and Adam de Marisco, had passed from the scene. Grosseteste, his revered master, was dead, or died (1253) shortly after his return, in despair at the corruption of the Papacy, and half doubting whether Rome had not become the seat of Antichrist. No one was left to promote the study of Greek, which for aught we know died out in Oxford till P^rasmus witnessed its revival. In 1255, John of Fidanza, better known as Bonaventura, became General of the Franciscan Order, a man of exalted and aspiring mysticism, eager to revive the spirit of St. Francis, and not likely to care much for new learning that might lead he knew not whither. Perhaps it was by his direction that Roger Bacon, about 1 257, was removed from Oxford, and placed under close supervision in the Paris house. What degree of restriction was placed upon his liberty is not very easy to define with precision. He was not forbidden to write, although he implies that he had not availed himself of the power to do so to any considerable extent. To multiply books by copyists was impracticable ; first, because copyists outside the Order could not be trusted to make an honest use of the copies at their disposal ; and secondly, because a strict prohibition was laid down and enforced against com- municating any manuscripts to those who were not members of the Order. When Pope Clement's message reached him requiring him to transmit his works with the least possible BACON'S LIFE. xxix delay, these works for the most part were still unwritten. Never- theless there were exceptions. He had compiled^ he tells us, from time to time, certain chapters on various subjects at the ' instance of friends (Opus Tertiiim, cap. 2). Among these chapters is probably to be reckoned the treatise De Midtipli- catiojte Speciemni, which was sent to the Pope by the same messenger who conveyed the Opus Majus, though it does not, strictly speaking, form a part of that work. Careful examina- tion shows it to be a portion of the more complete philosophical treatise to the completion of which Bacon always aspired, till the time came, ten years afterwards, when his philosophical career was fatally arrested. Its style is different from that of the other three treatises, Majus, Minus, and Tertium. It is not like these a Perstiasio, that is a more or less popular discourse addressed to a reader like Clement IV ; a reader of keen understanding doubtless, but at the same time the busiest man in Christendom. The Multiplicatio Specierum is a fragment of a systematic work written with full observance of philosophic language and of the dialectic of the schools. Whatever the discipline imposed during this period of his life, one important sphere of activity undoubtedly remained open to him. For many years he had been striving to form a school of young men, who should carry on the work which he had begun. We have seen in the treatise which throws so much light on the details of his life {Opus Tertium, cap. 17), that he had been engaged for a long time in instructing young men in languages, in geometry, in arithmetic, in the construc- tion of tables, and in the use of scientific instruments. From this part of his work he was evidently not cut off during his life in Paris from 1257 to 1267. The messenger whom he selected to convey his manuscripts to Pope Clement was a poor lad whom he had been training in this way for five or six years. On the whole it seems probable that the restrictions placed on his liberty at this period of his life were not of extreme severity. Of the reception given to Bacon's manuscripts in Rome we know absolutely nothing. A few months after their arrival Clement IV died ; and the papal see remained vacant for XXX INTRODUCTION. three years. The Pope elected in 1271 (Gregory X) was a Franciscan. Owing his elevation to St. Bonaventura, he was not likely to show favour to a suspected member of his Order. Yet it was in this year or shortly afterwards that Bacon wrote the work known as Coinpenduun Stiidii Pliilosophiae^ ^2.n introductory discourse, perhaps, for the encyclopaedic Srriphmi Principale, at the completion of which he was always aiming. In this treatise Bacon plunged into stronger invective against the intellectual and moral vices of his time than he had ever used before. In no previous writing had the moral corrup- tion of the Church, from the court of Rome downwards, been so fiercely stigmatized ; ' the whole clergy is given up to pride, luxury, and avarice. Wherever clergymen are gathered to- gether, as at Paris and Oxford, their quarrels, their contentions, and their vices are a scandal to laymen.' Unbridled violence among kings and nobles, fraud and falsehood among trades- men and artificers were the inevitable result. Progress in wisdom was hopeless when the moral condition of those who should promote it was so far below that of the teachers of the pagan world Unless sweeping remedies were appHed by a reforming Pope, there was no prospect but the advent of Antichrist in the near future (Brewer, pp. 399-404). Perhaps even these denunciations roused less antagonism than the sweeping attacks on the scholastic pedantry of his contemporaries, their false conceit of wisdom, and their pre- ference of metaphysical subtleties and verbal strifes to the pursuit of real knowledge. Of these charges his previous writings had been full, but they were now renewed and emphasized. Aristotelian study^ which at the beginning of the century had been the great stimulant of thought, was already becoming the great obstruction, and was preparing for the next century a reign of darkness. Based on false and ignorant translations, it were better, Bacon said, to do away with it altogether than that it should be carried on by men ignorant of the language in which Aristotle wrote, and destitute of the scientific training which alone could qualify them for explaining him (Brewer, pp. 469-473). ^ Contained in Brewer's work, pp. 393-519. BACON'S LIFE. xxxi The storm of indignation had long- been gathering : and in 1277 it broke. In that 5'ear Jerome d'Ascoli, who four years before had succeeded Bonaventura as General of the Franciscan Order, held a chapter in Paris. Bacon was summoned on account of ' certain suspected novelties.' He was condemned, and thrown into prison. What were the ' novelties ' that constituted his crime we do not know. His works abounded in them. It was not perhaps difficult to show that he had gone too far in connecting changes in religious faith with conjunctions of Jupiter and Mercury; and in hinting that underneath the jugglery of the m.agicians, valuable truths might sometimes lie concealed. The real motives for stifling his voice lay far deeper. That he should have held the history of Greek philosophy to have been under the keeping and guidance of Providence no less than the history of Judaea ; that he should have regarded the teaching of the Stoics on personal moralit}^ as superior to that of any Christian teacher; that he should have dwelt with such frequent emphasis on the ethical value of Mohammedan writers like Alfarabius, Avicenna, and Algazel — these were things likely to startle even the most tolerant and thoughtful of his contemporaries, much more the common average of his Order, who had suspected him of unsound views for twenty years. Not indeed that his career would have been impeded by the fact that the founder of the P'ranciscans had shown disregard, if not dislike of worldly knowledge. Alexander of Hales had joined the brotherhood before the death of St. Francis, and had dominated the schools of Paris long before the voice of Albert had been heard there, and while Aquinas was a child. To a man of ordinary temper, addicted to bold speculation, the protection of so powerful a corporation as the P^rancis- cans had become when Bacon joined them would have been invaluable. But Bacon threw his chances away. He attacked the celebrities of his own Order as severely as those of its rival. His fiery and impatient spirit was to be bound by no shackles of prudence. He had come to Paris fresh from the teaching of men like Grosseteste, eager for the promotion xxxii INTRODUCTION. and diffusion of science, no less than for the reform of the Church. He found the great university immersed in dialec- tical controversy. Many of the controverted questions were of momentous importance, and Bacon was prepared to take his part in them. But they w^ere prosecuted by men devoid of scientific training, unprepared therefore to distinguish truth from error, verbal subtleties from fundamental realities ; unwilling even to take the trouble to study Aristotle and the Bible in their original language. He saw that philosophy without science could not fail to degenerate (as history, ancient and modern, shows that it always has degenerated) into academic pedantry, and would confirm that one of the aber- rations of intellect which he looked on as the worst and the most fatal, the false conceit of knowledge. Against ignorance under the cloak of wisdom he urged, like Socrates, a lifelong war ; and, like Galileo, he met with a worse fate than that of Socrates, the martyrdom of enforced silence. No crusade has been conducted by blameless crusaders. It cannot be denied that Bacon's indiscriminatiiig zeal in- cluded, with pedants and obscurantists who were his lawful prey, two men who were his equals, one of them, perhaps, his superior. Albert was a student of nature as well as a philo- sopher. Aquinas, as a student of man and of society, and as the constructive thinker who gave coherency to the vast fabric of Catholic discipline, achieved results which, judged at the distance of six centuries, Bacon neither equalled nor approached. Jealousy of the rival Dominican Order, of which these men were the chief ornaments, cannot account for Bacon's failure to recognize their value ; for the Irre- fragable Doctor, Alexander of Hales, Vv^as a Franciscan, and was criticized more harshly than either. In their failure to appreciate duly the importance of scientific culture as a basis of Catholic action on a doubting and unbelieving world, the doctors of the Paris schools were all alike involved in his unmeasured strictures. We may understand, though we cannot justify, his impatience. He has bitterly expiated it by many centuries of neglect. It can hardly be doubted that the seclusion consequent BACON'S LIFE. xxxiii on his condemnation in 1277 was effective and rigorous. Appeals to the Pope had been anticipated by Jerome, who took care to impress on the court of Rome the expediency of confirming his decision. All hopes of completing the Scriptmn Principale were shattered. He remained a prisoner, so it is thought, for fourteen years. Jerome meantime had become Pppe Nicholas IV. After his death in J 292, a chapter of the Franciscans was held in Paris, at which Raymond Gaufredi, then General of the Order, set free some of those who had been condemned in 1277. 1^ "^^7 be looked upon as nearly certain that Bacon was of the number. Certain at least it is from his own words that in that year he was again at work, on his last treatise, the Coni- penduim TJieologiae, in which the date 1292 is expressly mentioned. Whether he died in this year, or two years afterwards, is uncertain. He was buried in the Franciscan church in Oxford. The legend that his works were nailed to the walls of the library and allowed to perish ignominiously may be dismissed. But that his life-long efforts to establish a Catholic school of progressive learning utterly failed, there can be no doubt whatever. Such men as Rich, Grosseteste, and Bacon, were not seen at Oxford in the fourteenth century. Greek, mathe- matics, and experimental science were overwhelmed in the paralyzing mists of Scotian dialectic. Nevertheless it would be an error to suppose that his life-work was a failure. Here and there throughout Europe the tradition of the Doctor Mirabilis survived as a stimulating force, and kept the embers of scientific study alive till the time of the Renascence. In proof of this, three instances may be given : — I. Peter d'Ailly, in his Imago Mtuidi^ written early in the fifteenth century, discussing the relations of the extreme east and west of the habitable globe, has a long passage treating of the probable proximity of Spain and India. For all that appears in the work this passage is his own. But in fact it is a verbal quotation from the fourth part of the Opus Majtis^ vol. i. p. 290. And it has a history worth recording. For it is cited in J 498 in a letter from Columbus to Ferdinand and VOL. I. c xxxiv INTRODUCTION. Isabella, as one of the authorities that had put it into his mind to venture on his great voyage. 2. John Dee, in a memorial addressed to Queen Elizabeth in 1582 on the reformation of the Calendar, speaking of those who had advocated this change, says^ : ' None hath done it more earnestly, neither with better reason and skill, than hath a subject of this British Sceptre Roj^al done, named as some think David Dee of Radik, but otherwise and most commonly (upon his name altered at the alteration of state into friarly profession) called Roger Bacon : who at large wrote thereof divers treatises and discourses to Pope Clement the fifth {sic) about the year of our Lord 1267. To whom he wrote and sent also great volumes exquisitely compiled of all sciences and singularities, philosophical and mathematical, as they might be available to the state of Christ his Catholic Church.' Dee proceeds to give extracts from Bacon's works in proof of these assertions ; and remarks that Paul of Middle- burg, who was much occupied with the question of the Calen- dar, and had treated of it in his work Paulina de recta Paschae celebratione, had made great use of Bacon. ' His great volume is more than half thereof written (though not acknowledged), by such order and method generally and particularly as our Roger Bacon laid out for the handling of the matter.' When we remember that it was Paul of Middleburg by whom Copernicus was urged with a view to this very problem to construct more accurate astronomical tables, we shall gladly acknowledge that here, too, Bacon's labour was not lost. 3. No part of Bacon's work was more frequently transcribed than his Perspectiva. Based as it was upon the great work of Alhazen, which was itself a development of the Optics of Euclid and Ptolemy, and claiming indeed to be but an abridgement or condensation of the truths laid down by his predecessor with wearisome copiousness, it was in fact much more than this. It selected from a mass of propositions, ^ Dee's memorial is contained among the Bryan Twyne MSS. in Corpus Christi College, Oxford. The supposition that Roger Bacon changed his name on entrance into the Franciscan Order appears to rest on no authority but that of John Dee's very erratic imagination. BACON'S LIFE. XXXV many of them mere displays of geometrical ingenuity, pre- cisely those which aimed at the interpretation of nature, and at the adaptation of the laws of luminous radiation to human purposes. He was aware of what was unknown to Ptolemy and Alhazen, the concentration of parallel rays from reflecting surfaces formed by revolutions of a conic section ; though how far he was indebted for this knowledge to Peter Peregrinus or to Vitello cannot be stated with certainty. Of the magnify- ing powers of convex lenses Bacon had a clear comprehension. He imagined, and was within measurable distance of effecting^ the combination of lenses which was to bring far things near, but which was not to be realized till the time of Galileo. In 1614, four years after the invention of the telescope, Combach, professor of philosophy in the University of Mar- purg, published this great work of Bacon, 'viri eminentissimi.' It would be interesting to know whether the allusion in the Novum Orgmmni (lib. i. 80) to the work of an obscure monk (' monachi aHcujus in cellula') has reference to this work. The Cogitata et Visa was written before Combach's edition was published ; but examples of the Perspectiva were numerous, and it can hardly have been unknown to Francis Bacon. In any case it must have been known to Descartes, to whose epoch-making researches on Dioptriqtte it assuredly contributed a stimulating influence. This at least they have in common, that light is looked upon as correlated with other modes of propagation of force through the Ether. With the scientific Renascence of the sixteenth century, Roger Bacon's name slowly emerged from the darkness which had enwrapped it for three centuries. Astrologers like Dee, Heyden, and Allen hailed him as a champion of their out- worn creed. Men of greater mark and sounder judgement, like Selden and Mead, were struck by his emancipation from the pedantry of the schools, and by his forecasts, made at so remote a time, of an age of industrial and scientific discovery. His central aim, the enlistment of progressive intellect in the cause of moral and religious renovation, was appreciated by none. But since the publication of his principal work in the eighteenth century, his name has gradually ascended towards c % xxxvi INTRODUCTION. its permanent position, on the lofty summits which were the earh'est to ' take the morning ' of European thought. 11. Bacon's Position in the Metaphysical Contro- versies OF the Thirteenth Century. It is too often forgotten that Bacon was a schoolman ; trained in scholastic methods, and ready to take part in the philosophic discussions which interested his contemporaries. It is not perhaps surprising that this side of his work should have been ignored ; for in the Optis Majiis, though visible enough to an attentive reader, it is thrown into the shade by the prominence given to positive science, and by the practical application of science to political and religious purposes. Certain chapters of the Opus Tertmni, which supplement too hasty or imperfect treatment in the larger work (chapters 38-52), afford better illustrations of Bacon's aptitude for metaphysical discussion. Nevertheless, the position of Bacon in the scholastic controversies of the thirteenth century remained an unknown quantity till the appearance of Professor Charles's monograph. His comprehensive survey of Bacon's unpublished works includes a careful study of, and copious extracts from the important fragment of the Scriptiim Princi- pale, entitled ' Communia Naturalium,' of which copies exist in the Mazarine library in Paris and in the British Museum. Haureau's comprehensive work on Scholastic P/iilosopIiy hdiS, made it easy to refute the illusion, still, however, not entirely dis- sipated, that scholasticism implies a special set of philosophical tenets or an uniform method of treatment. Philosophical writers in the thirteenth century differed from one another no less than philosophical writers in the nineteenth ; though in either case a certain similarity in the subjects (Considered, and in the mode of handling them, was impressed by the circumstances of the time. Scholastic philosophy means simply philosophy taught in mediaeval schools. And between the schools of the twelfth, of the thirteenth, and of the fourteenth centuries^ there were great and essential differences. POSITION AMONG SCHOOLMEN. xxxvii To pass from the reading of the Polycraticiis of John of Salisbury, who knew nothing of Aristotle but his logic, and that imperfectly, to a treatise of Albert or of Aquinas seems, and isj a transition quite as abrupt as to exchange a volume of Addison or Swift for one of Schopenhauer or Carlyle. In the one case as in the other, a tide of revolution had swept between the centuries. For it was nothing less than a revolution for the western mind to receive very suddenly from the Mohammedan world the results of three centuries of Arabian learning, includ- ing as it did all the more serious part of Aristotle's work, enriched with keen-witted and audacious comment, and accom- panied by the scientific results of the schools of Alexandria ; the Syntaxis of Ptolemy and the biology of Galen. Isolated thinkers like Adelard of Bath, the first translator of Euclid into Latin, had already entered this field of study, when Raymond, archbishop of Toledo, established in the middle of the twelfth century a systematic school of translators from the Arabic, of whom the Jew, John Avendeath (other- wise known as Johannes Hispalensis), Dominic Gundisalvi, archdeacon of Segovia, the translator of Algazel, and Gerard of Cremona, best known by his translations of the Almagest and of Alhazen, were the most prominent representatives^. Their translations of Aristotle, including his Physics, Meta- physics and Psychology, were not long in finding their way across the Pyrenees. Alexander Neckham, afterwards abbot of Cirencester, lectured upon them in Paris in 1180. His junior contemporary and countryman, Alfred of Sershall, pursued a similar course. Neither of these men roused suspicion. But the case was far otherwise with David of Dinant and Amaury of Bennes. Though we know little ' See Jourdain, Recherches sur Vdge et Voriginc des traductions Latines d' Aristoie, pp. 107-124 (ed. 1843). The history of mediaeval translations from Greek into Arabic, sometimes through intermediate Syriac versions, and from Arabic into Latin, deserves more elaborate treatment than it has yet received ; provided always that the writer of such a history combined the two conditions so constantly insisted on by Bacon : knowledge of the languages concerned and knowledge of the subjects treated. Meantime much useful preliminary work has been done in this direction by such writers as Wuesten- feld and Jourdain. xxxviii INTRODUCTION. of either, except through the criticism of their opponents, notably through that of Albert and Aquinas, yet such criti- cism is too detailed and definite to admit of doubt that their deductions from Aristotle and from his Arabian commen- tators led them to the assertion of the unity of substance ; in other words, to the ultimate identity of matter, mind, and God. As quoted by Albert, the language of David was : ' It is manifest that there is one sole substance, not only of all bodies, but also of all souls, and that this is nothing but God himself. God, matter, and mind, are one and the same sole substance ' (Albert. Sunniia Theolog. part 11. tract, xii. quaest. 72, memb. 4, art. 2). David kept himself within the limits of philosophic theory. He is said to have been personally intimate with Innocent III ; and at least during his lifetime his heresies escaped notice. It was otherwise with his contemporary Amaury of Bennes, who, maintaining the same opinions, was condemned by the Pope and forced publicly to disavow them. But they survived in his disciples, who used them in ways directly hostile to Catholic faith and discipline. A Council was held in Paris in 1 210. Amaury's body was disinterred and buried in un- consecrated ground ; several of his followers were burnt. It was at this council, the decrees of which were confirmed and enforced five years afterwards by Robert de Cour9on, the papal legate, that the study of the Physic and Metaphysic of Aristotle was prohibited, on the mistaken supposition that the ultimate source of these heresies was to be found there ; a mistake due probably to the comments of Averroes, with which the first translations of these works into Latin were accompanied ^. How to deal with the problem of matter so as to give no countenance to pantheistic error, was therefore an urgent and momentous question, to which the schoolmen of the thirteenth century, and Albert especially, devoted their full powers. ^ See Jean de Launoy's work De varia Aristotelis in Academia Parisiensi fortima liber (Paris, 1653), in which seven stages are noted, from the condemna- tion of Aristotle in 1209, to the condemnation of his opponents by the Parlement of Paris in 1624. Cf. Haureau, Hist, de la Philos. Scolast., Part II. vol, ii. pp. 73-119. POSITION AMONG SCHOOLMEN xxxix Terrestrial substance, said Aristotle, was made up of matter and form. Apart from form, what then was matter ? A pure essence, having the capacity, /^'^^/^//ir?, to become the subject of form, was the reply. How, then, distinguish matter from this potentia ? Yet, if this be so, if matter is potentially the subject of all possible forms, we have in matter something that under- lies all substance. Suppose all forms destroyed, matter holding in itself all the conditions of existence still remains. How, then, distinguish matter from God ? Albert's attempted solution of the problem is involved and obscure in the extreme, and it must not occupy us here. We are concerned with Bacon's. Bacon attacked the problem in his own way, and with a full sense of its importance. His conclusions are expressed in the seventh chapter of the fourth part of the Opus Majtis, and in the thirty-eighth chapter of the Opus Tertitnn ; and a still further exposition of them is found in the unpublished work of Bacon already mentioned, entitled ' Communia Naturalium.' This treatise on Physical Philosophy consists of four parts, of which the discussion of Matter occupies the second. Substance, Bacon maintains, can be predicated neither of matter nor of form ; but only of the compound which results from their union. ' Compositum habet rationem per se exis- tendi in ordine entium : non sic materia et forma.' Matter and form are not substances : substance results from their union. Proceeding from above downwards through the hierarchy of being in the order of increasing speciality, we have, as the genus generalissimum, ' Substantia composita universalis.' This may be corporal or spiritual. Corporal substance may be terrestrial or celestial. Terrestrial substance may be a mixture of elements, or a single element. Mixed substance may be animate or inanimate. Animate substance may be sensitive (i.e. animal) or vegetal. Animal substance may be rational or irrational. To each of these grades in the hierarchy of substance belong corresponding grades, not merely in the hierarchy of form, but also in the hierarchy of matter. ' Matter,' says Bacon, ' is not what most teachers of philosophy maintain it to be, " una xl INTRODUCTION. numero."' In the descending scale from general to special, each grade of matter, like each grade of form, is distinct from the preceding. One kind of matter is separated from another by specific differences, just as form is separated from form. The difference between an ass and a horse is not a difference of form only; it is a difference of matter' (' Commun. Natur.' Part II. Dist. ii. ch. 6). Bacon has condensed these views in the diagrammatic form shown in the subjoined schedules, which I have copied from the Mazarine MS. pp. 23, 24. (They have been collated with those of the Br. Mus. MS. Royal, 7 F. vii. fol. 91 and 92. The variants in this MS. for the schedules oi substantia coin- posita and forma are unimportant. Those of materia are omitted ; this MS. being in other respects less perfect than that of the Mazarine library.) How are we to estimate these speculations ? It is obvious in the first place that they stand in marked opposition to, or at least in distinction from, theories current among Bacon's contemporaries. To judge rightly of them we must bear in mind that throughout the greater part of the thirteenth century questions were being agitated of even greater impor- tance than the controversy between realism and nominalism. The pantheistic tendencies discernible in Averroes and other Arabian thinkers had been diffused, as we have seen, by men like Amaury and David of Dinant They were responsible, as some thought, for the disastrous anarchy which early in the century had devastated southern France. Bacon was quick to perceive the danger of maintaining the unity of matter. It had been defended, as he points out (Op. Maj. vol. i. p. 144), by passages from Aristotle which he wishes to believe had been badly translated. In any case, he says, * the error is enormous, as great as any that can possibly be found in speculative questions. If it be granted, it is im- possible to comprehend the generation of things, and the whole course of nature will be misunderstood. And what is more, if this error be looked at closely, it will be found to tend towards heresy, or rather to be the profanest of heresies, since the inevitable result of it is to endow matter with the DiVISlO SUBSTANTIAE COMPOSITAE UNIVERSALIS. [Vol. I. To face p. xl.j DiVISIO FORMAE UNIVERSALIS. DiVISIO MATERIAE PRIMAE UNIVERSALIS. POSITION AMONG SCHOOLMEN. xli creative power of God.' Whatever dangers were involved in the unity of matter, Bacon met by a bold denial of such unity. ' Divide et impera,' he said in effect ; matter, thus split up into sections, is no longer to be feared. Looking at Bacon's theory by the light of subsequent cen- turies, it is not difficult to see that its value lay in its solvent and destructive power. His aim from beginning to end of his career was to draw men away from verbal subtleties and concentrate them on the realities of life, as plain men under- stand them. ' You ask me,' he would say to the young students around him, ' what is this matter which remains apart from all form, with capacity for receiving all ? But who told you that it was one and indivisible ? There are as many kinds and degrees of matter as there are of things. Look at the things, try them, see how they act on you, how you can act on them. As to the matter and form that may underlie them, leave that to God.' Bacon's part in the great controversy between realism and nominalism will lead us to a similar conclusion. It was a less burning controversy in the thirteenth century than in the days of Roscelin and Abelard, or than it became afterwards in the days of Duns Scotus and William of Ockham ; and it was debated by Albert and by Aquinas with the far larger and deeper understanding of its complications, that might be expected from men who were not merely trained like their predecessors in the study of Aristotle's Logic, but had become conversant with the problems raised in his Physic and Metaphysic. Both these thinkers rejected the independent existence of universals in re as clearly as Aristotle had done. They were clear that universals had no existence except in the mind. ' Non est universale nisi dum intelli- gitur' (Albert. Met. lib. v. tract, vi. cap. 7). * Una et eadem natura quae singularis erat et individuatur per materiam in singularibus hominibus efficitur postea universalis per actionem intellectus depurantis illam a conditionibus quae sunt hie et nunc ' (Aquinas, Traciaius prirmLs de tmiversalibus). Never- theless, both of them left a place for the universal ante rem, not indeed in the fantastic world of Ideas which Plato had xlii INTRODUCTION. portrayed, but as radiations centred in the primal form, the mind of God. Turning to Bacon, who discusses the question of universals at considerable length and with extreme independence, we find the same tendency to emancipate himself from bondage to words, entities, and verbal discussions, and to dig down to a foundation of solid fact. One individual, he says^, is of more account than all the universals in the world. A universal is nothing but the similarity of several individuals ; ' convenientia plurium individuorum.' ' Two things,' he goes on to say, ' are needful for the individual. The first is absolute : it is that which constitutes his existence, as when we say, " This man is made of soul and body." The second is that in which he resembles another man, and not an ass or a pig. This is his universal. But the absolute nature of an individual is of far more importance than his related nature. It is fixed and absolute by itself. Thus the singular is of more account (iiobilins) than its universal. Experience leads us to this conclusion, and so also does theology. God has not created the world for the sake of the universal man, but for the sake of individual persons.' ' Individuum est natura absoluta et fixa habens esse per se ; et universale non est nisi convenientia individui respectu alterius.' In some passages Bacon appears to go much further in the direction of nominalism than Albert and Aquinas. ' The prevalent view,' he remarks, ' is that universals exist only in the mind. Yet two stones would be like one another, even though there should be no mind to perceive them. But it is precisely this likeness of the two stones that constitutes their universal' (' Commun. Natur.' Part II. Dist. ii. ch. lo). Closely allied with the controversy as to universals was the question of Individuation. Are things individualized by form or by matter? Albert and Aquinas took the latter view, Bonaventura the former. 'Individuorum multitudo,' says Albert [De Coelo, tract, iii. c. 8), ' fit omnis per divisionem materiae. Formae quae sunt receptibiles in materia indivi- ^ On the question of Universals, and also on that of Individuation, cf. the extracts from the Commiinia Naturalimn given by Emile Charles, pp. 383-386. SCRIPTUM PRINCIPALE. xliii duantur per materiam.' (Cf. Aquinas, Summa TJieoL i. quaest. iii. cert. 2.) Aquinas was obliged, however, to add that this materia must be ' signata ' : must be quantified. ' Signatio ejus est esse sub certis signationibus quae faciunt esse hie et nunc' This addition went far to neutralize the Thomist view of Individuation ; for as his opponents at once rejoined, ' What determines quantity if not form ? ' In opposition to Aquinas, Bonaventura maintained that 'species est totum esse individui.' Substance consisting of the union of matter and form, matter was uniform in all : the form was that which distinguished, individualized. Bacon (' Commun. Natur.' Pt. II. Dist. ii. ch. 9), in opposition to either view, maintained that the question was meaningless and foolish. All substances, whether universal or singular, have their own constitutive principles. Soul and body make man. This soul and this body make this man. In the inten- tion and procedure of nature, ' this man ' is prior to ' man ' ; ' man ' comes in as something subsidiary, ' extra essentiam ejus, similis accidenti,' as the means of comparison with other individuals. There is no more reason for inquiring what causes individuation than for inquiring what causes universality. There is no answer to such a question, except that the Creator makes everything as its nature requires. Individual matter and form is made in one way : specific or generic matter and form is made in another. ' Stultitia magna est in hujusmodi quaestione quam faciunt de individuatione.' III. Bacon's ' Scriptum Principale.' The foregoing remarks, which it would be easy, but not, in this place, justifiable to prolong, will illustrate Bacon's position as a schoolman, thoroughly versed in the technique of scho- lastic controversy. But he was a schoolman whom a long and laborious study of the realities of life, whether in nature or in man, had taught to distinguish things from words : solid facts from subtle figments. He was not alone in this. Albert and Aquinas were solid thinkers like himself. Less versed in natural science than Bacon, they had more than he to do xliv INTRODUCTION. with the science of man ; they had to face the difficult and urgent problems connected with the spiritual government of mankind. Their philosophy, like his, dealt with real things. And if theirs was less positive, less free from metaphysical figments, it is only that the complications of human nature were less adapted for positive treatment than the physical phenomena to which Bacon devoted so large a share of his attention. But in contrast with these three great schoolmen stand the weavers of word-systems, like Alexander of Hales, Henry of Ghent, and Duns Scotus, wasting their own and other men's time and energy in defining, dividing, and refining with infinite ingenuity, and with such result as when children build sand- castles on the shore. With such men it may have been needful to fight, yet fighting was but beating the air. Of what avail to discuss Individuation with dialecticians who explained it by ' haecceitas ^ ' ? In all Bacon's discussion of scholastic problems, the solution he reached was of a kind to favour the falling off of the meta- physical husk, and to bring to light the real and positive problem which lay beneath it. His scholastic theories are therefore for us, and in all probability were for him, of far greater negative than constructive value. But his central aim lay in another direction above and beyond scholasticism. We shall best learn how to appreciate it by looking at the pro- gramme of the encyclopaedic work, the ' scriptum principale,' often spoken of in the Opus Majus and the Opus Tertium,hut ' This word is believed to be due rather to the disciples of Duns Scotus than to the master himself. Happily for Bacon's peace of mind, he did not live to witness the triumphal career of the Doctor Subtilis. Of Haureau's careful appreciation of his work the final words may be quoted : ' Cette philosophic n'explique pas la nature, elle Tinvente ; substituant I'ordre rationnel a Tordre reel, elle dispense, il est vrai, de l etude des choses ; mais, quand apres avoir admire Teconomie d un systeme si complet, si habilement ordonne, on abaisse ses regards vers ces choses dont on a jusqu'alors dedaigne de s'enquerir, on soupfonne des I'abord qu'on vient d'achever un reve, et bientot, devant le spectacle qu'offre la realite, s'effacent, s'evanouissent I'une apres I'autre toutes les abstractions decevantes, toutes les chimeres dont la creation appartient au systeme, a lui seul.' {Hist, de la Philos. Schohsiique, Part II. vol. ii. pp. 171- 259, ed, 1872-80.] SCRIPTUM PRINCIPALE. of which the persecutions and imprisonment of his later life never allowed him to execute more than a few fragments. And of these fragments many are lost. This ' scriptum principale,' as he tells us in the first chapter of the unpublished work entitled ' Communia Naturalium,' consisted, or was intended to consist, of four volumes. The first volume dealt with Grammar and Logic, the second with Mathematic, the third with Physic, the fourth with Metaphysic and Morals. The second chapter of the * Communia Naturalium ' is entitled, * De universo ordine scientiarum naturalium.' He distinguishes eight natural sciences. The first treats of the principles common to Natural Philosophy. The others are: — (i) Per- spective or Optic, (2) Astronomy, (3) Barology, (4) Alchemy, (5) Agriculture, (6) Medicine, (7) Experimental Science. The general principles of Physics form the subject of the first treatise here spoken of. Of the seven special sciences, the first three form part of what would in the present day be called Physics. Under Astronomy is included not merely the study of planetary motions, but the scientific determination of terrestrial positions, in other words, Geography, and also the influence of the stars and the sun on the earth and man : that is to say, the study of climate and of astrological forces. As to the third of the special sciences, ' scientia de dementis/ or as he also calls it, 'scientia de Ponderibus,' what in the present day would be called Barology, it is not without interest to find it thus set apart as a distinct department of speculation. The fourth, Alkimia, corresponds, so far as the description of its purpose goes, very nearly to the modern science of Chemistry. It deals, says Bacon, with the ' mis- tiones elementorum/ with the generation of liquids, gases, and solids (' humores et spiritus et corpora '), with all inanimate substances, including organic products (' usque ad partes ani- malium et plantarum inclusive'). The title of the fifth science, Agrictdtttra, would be mis- leading, if Bacon had not given us a clear explanation of its purposed It is the science of living bodies, vegetal and ^ Cf. the long extract given by Charles, pp. 370-374. The unfortunate rarity xlvi INTRODUCTION. animal; reserving, however, the subject of man's physical nature for subsequent treatment under the head of medicine. Before man be properly investigated, we must know the nature and surroundings of other animate things. First we must distinguish the soil fit for different kinds of plants, arable land, forest land, pasture land, garden land. We then examine the whole subject of plants which has been left in- complete in the treatise attributed to Aristotle, Vegetabilibus. But as lands cannot be tilled without domestic animals, and as forests, pastures, and deserts depend for their value on the wild animals they contain, the science we are now speaking of embraces the full consideration of animal life on which, as Bacon believed, Aristotle wrote far more volumes than have come down to us In the sixth science we proceed to the study of the animal possessing reason, the study of Man. of Charles' work is my excuse for citing the portion of this extract relating to the study of living bodies, based, as Bacon explains, on the preliminary study of Alkimia specidativa. Deinceps de plantarum natura et animalium specialis scientia et maxima constituitur, scilicet de omnibus animatis praeterquam de homine, de quo propter nobilitatem suam et dignitatem constituitur scientia propria quae dicitur medicina. Sed in ordine disciplinae prima est scientia animatorum praecedentium hominem et ejus usui necessariorum, quae primo descendit ad omne genus agri et terrae, distinguens quatuor species agrorum, propter vegetabilia e terra nascentia in eis. Est enim ager in quo serunt segetes et legumina ; est ager consitus arboribus, ut nemus ; est ager pascivus, ut prata et deserta ; est ager qui hortus dicitur, in quo domesticae arbores et caules et herbae et radices tarn nutritivae quam medicinales parantur. Haec igitur scientia extendit se ad perfectam considerationem omnium vegetabilium quorum notitia nimis imperfecta traditur in libro De Vegetabilibus Aristotelis ; et ideo necessaria est scientia sufficiens de plantis et animalibus supplens defectus librorum communium Aristotelis vulgatorum apud Latinos, qui vocantur De Plantis et Animalibus. Sed cum agrorum cultura non potest fieri sine copia animalium domesticorum, neque utilitas agrorum, praecipue consftorum arboribus, et pascuorum et desertorum, posset haberi nisi nutrirentur animalia sylvestria, ideo extendit se haec scientia ad plenam considerationem animalium omnium; et ad horum cognitionem misit Aristoteles plura millia hominum per regiones mundi, et fecit ilia praeclara quinquaginta volumina prius memorata. Haec autem scientia traditur in libris Plinii, in libro Palladii De Agricultura, et in libro Georgicorum Virgilii non ignobili, cum expositione egregii commentatoris ejus. Scientia septima est de animali rationali, scilicet de homine, et praecipue de sanitate et infirmitate ejus ; et ideo de ejus compositione et generatione illius, sine quibus sanitas et infirmitas ejus non possunt intelligi nec doceri. Constat vero quod homo est res naturalis, et ideo scientia ejus naturalibus constituta erit inter naturales comprehensa. SCRIPTUM PRINCIPALE. xlvii Our aim being to understand the conditions of his health or disease, we have first to examine his structure and develop- ment, without which health and disease cannot be understood or spoken of. Finally, to complete the whole, comes Experimental science. It is, he says, a final judge of the assertions and reasonings put forth in all the foregoing sciences. More than this : it gives directions to those engaged in other sciences as to the construc- tion of instruments by which their conclusions are to be tested, in the same way in which a navigator instructs a shipwright as to the building of a ship. Thus, for instance, it instructs the geometer to make a mirror such that the rays reflected from it shall converge in a single point. It scrutinizes every natural, every artificial force. It sifts the artifices of magic, as logic sifts the reasonings of the sophist, so as to dissipate falsehood and error, and leave nothing but truth remaining. How Bacon would have treated this part of the subject we have no means of judging, other than the sixth section of the Optis Majtis. But even the summary exposition there given is enough to show how large was his conception of experimental method, and at the same time how carefully he steered clear of the danger of undervaluing the mathematical or deductive process of discovery. So far as was possible the two should be pursued sim.ultaneously and in close alliance. Euclid's demonstration of his first proposition would, he says, fail to carry complete conviction unless visual evidence of it were forthcoming in the construction of the figure. And on the other hand, we see that his inductive investigations of the rainbow were controlled at every step by deductions from astronomy. With these general remarks, we may now pass to each of the principal divisions of the ' Scriptum Principale,' which in the main correspond to the order followed in the Opits Majiis. First comes Language, as the channel through which the thoughts of other men are handed down to us ; then follows Mathematic, embracing the four branches of the Quadrivium, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Thence we pass to Physic, which included the study of the propagation xlviii INTRODUCTION. of force, specially illustrated by the radiation of light and heat. Next comes Alkimia Speculativa, not the mere metallurgy of the gold- seekers, but the study of the transformation of matter from its simplest to its most complicated state. The study of living matter followed, ending with Medicine, the science dealing with the physical structure of man. Finally, the edifice of the sciences is crowned by Ethic and Metaphysic. Of this comprehensive scheme let us see what fragments are forthcoming. IV. Bacon's Philology. In urging that the comparative study of language should form part of the University curriculum, Bacon stood nearly alone. He does indeed. full justice to those among his con- temporaries who had promoted the translation of Greek books into Latin ; and, first among those, to the illustrious bishop of Lincoln, his forerunner and counsellor. But though Grosseteste had caused many books to be translated for the sake of their contents, it does not appear that he or any one else had proposed to carry the study of language, as such, beyond the routine of grammar presented in the Trivium ; the Latin accidence and syntax of Priscian or Donatus. What Bacon proposed was the systematic and comparative study of Hebrew, Arabic, and Greek, with the dialects belonging to each. With Hebrew went Chaldaean, and, in more distant relationship, Arabic : with Greek its various dialects, which were, he tells us, comparable to the Picard, Norman, or Bur- gundian dialects of French, or to the northern, southern, eastern, and western dialects of English. ' I do not mean,' says Bacon, ' that every one should learn these languages as he learns his mother tongue, so as to be able to speak them as we speak English, French, and Latin ; nor again that we should content ourselves with being able to translate into our own language the Latin versions. There is an intermediate degree of attainment quite easy to those who have teachers. We should know enough to be able to understand how these PHILOLOGY, xlix languages should be rendered in Latin. The point is that a man should be able to read these languages, and understand their grammatical structure ('accidentia partium orationis,' Compendiiun SUidii^ Brewer, p. 433). What Bacon's linguistic attainments were cannot be pre- cisely decided. No woik of his, published or unpublished, that I am aware of, affords evidence of knowledge of Arabic. His own words in the twenty-fifth chapter of Opus Tertium are scarcely decisive on the point. ' De Arabica tango locis suis ; sed nihil scribo Arabice, sicut Hebraee, Graece, et Latine, quia evidentius et facilius ostenditur propositum meum in his. Nam pro studio theologiae parum valet, licet pro philosophia multum, et pro conversione infidelium.' Some pages printed for the first time in this edition show acquaintance at least with the Hebrew alphabet. An elementary Greek grammar, in the possession of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, testifies to his knowledge of Greek, which indeed is sufficiently apparent in the present work, and still more in the ninth and following chapters of the Coinpendmm Studii (Brewer, pp. 495-519). This grammar is incomplete, dealing chiefly with the alphabet, with the Greek system of accentuation, aspiration, and quantity, and with the numeral system. It concludes with the paradigm of the verb Tv-nroi. Its opening sentence seems to indicate that it formed a part of Bacon's encyclopaedic work. ' Here begins the first book of the volume on the grammar of languages other than Latin. This book deals with Greek grammar.' ' I have already,' he continues, ' spoken of the ad- vantage to the Latin world of knowing the four languages, Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldaean ; and in the preface to this volume devoted to grammar I have explained the division of subjects and their order. I now proceed to consider Greek grammar, beginning with such rudiments as boys are taught in Latin in order that they may read, write, and construe simple passages, and may pass thence to points of greater difficulty.' A point of interest presents itself as to Bacon's pronuncia- tion of Greek. Much attention is given to the transliteration of the Greek alphabet into its Latin equivalents. The Lord^s Prayer, the Salutation to the Virgin, and the Apostles' Creed VOL. I. d 1 INTRODUCTION. are written out in Latin, underlined first with the Greek words in Roman character, and secondly with the same words in Greek. The second of these is here given as an example : Ave Maria gratiosa Douiinus cum te benedicta Chere Maria kecharitomeni ho Kyrios meta su eulogimeni Xalpe Mapta Kexapircofxevrj 6 Kvpto^ /.tera aov evkoyi-jixivrj tu in muheribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui. sy en gynexi ke eulogimenos ho karpos tis kilias su. (TV iv yvvai^l koI €v\oyi]ixivos 6 Kapirb^ rris KOtAta? (rov. Amen. Amen. 'A/xr/z;. It is evident from the transliteration of vowels and diphthongs here adopted, with which may be compared pp. 75-76 of the Opus Ma/us, printed for the first time in this edition that these were pronounced as in modern Greeks It appears also in the subsequent discussion on accents, that accents were considered, no less than quantity, in pronunciation. Bacon may not im- probably have learnt the language from one of the Greeks who had been invited into England by Grosseteste. Some of these, he tells us, had become permanent residents. (In Co7npend, Stitdii, Brewer, pp. 495-514. the same subject is treated.) In urging so strongly the study of language, Bacon had two main purposes in view : an improved text of the Bible, and an ' In the Corpus Coll. Grammar, a systematic scheme of transliteration and of pronunciation is also given. We learn from it that the second letter of the alphabet was pronounced like the modern English ; and that there was no single letter rendering the sound of our b. ' Item tt post vel sive in eadem dictione, sive in diversis, dummodo sine intervallo proferantur, sonum nostri b habet, quem aliter non habent, ut Xaf^rrds, dfiireXoy. Similiter t post fx vel v sonat nostrum d, quod aliter non habent, ut dvTixpiOTOs.' All this is in accordance with modern Greek pronunciation. The transliteration of the diphthongs av and ev was a matter of some difficulty owing to the confusion between h and v. Bacon usually renders them as a/ and ef. But in modern Greek it is only before ^5 f^i ^) o") '■5 0» Xj 'A' ^^"^ they are thus pronounced ; before other letters they would have the sound of av or ev. With regard to accents, Bacon's language (both in the Corpus MS. and in the Compendium Studii) puts it beyond all doubt that they governed his pronunciation of the language. PHILOLOGY. li intelligible translation of Aristotle. Under both these heads the minor works, edited by Brewer, contain much for which in the Opus Majus Bacon had not found room. With regard to the first, the valuable memoir published in 1888 by Abbe Martin may be consulted It appears that, towards the end of the twelfth or the beginning of the thirteenth century, a text of the Bible had become generally current in Paris under the title of Textus Parisiensis.' Bacon, writing in IZ67, speaks of it as having been hastily compiled, about forty years before, by second-rate theologians and carelessly copied by uncritical booksellers [Opus Miiius^ Brewer, p. 333). It abounded in errors and in interpolations inserted from patristic quotations, from liturgies, and from the works of Josephus. Many of these errors attracted notice, and attempts were made, prin- cipally by members of the mendicant orders, to correct them. But these attempts, in Bacon's judgement, only resulted in making the matter worse. Each critic worked independently and without adequate critical apparatus. Not merely did Franciscan differ from Dominican, but the members of each Order differed amongst themselves. Successive corrected versions were put forward, each worse than the preceding. By the middle of the century the Paris text had fallen into hopeless confusion ; and it had become, in Bacon's judgement, far the lesser evil to use the uncorrected text than any of those which had been so uncritically amended. Of these strong remarks he gives many pointed illustrations. So devoid were these successive editors, not merely of linguistic knowledge, but of the critical spirit, that they seem to have been entirely unaware of the origin and history of the Vulgate. Bacon's history of the various Biblical versions, ending with that of Jerome, as given in the Opus Tertiuin^ pp. 334-349, is not one of the least interesting portions of his work. His principal result was to show that, before Jerome's translation from the Hebrew, the version regarded as authen- tic by the Church was the Septuagint ; although theologians had felt themselves at liberty to correct that version from that of Aquila, Symmachus, and above all of Theodotion. ' See note on vol. i. p. 77. d 1 Hi INTRODUCTION. After the time of Jerome, the translation from the Septuagint continued to be used in the Psalter ; but, with that exception, Jerome's translation from the Hebrew constituted the Vulgate, and was received as authentic by the Church. Bacon is care- ful to add that Jerome's version is by no means free from error, due partly to over-haste, partly to his unwillingness to offend his contemporaries by making too many changes in the text hitherto accepted. With Aristotle the case was even worse than with the Bible. The brilliant hopes with which the century had opened, of re-entering the temple of Greek wisdom, and listening to the voice of the greatest of ancient thinkers, had been falsified by the failure of Aristotle's translators to comply with the two elementary conditions of transla- tion ; knowledge of the language in which, and compre- hension of the subject about which, the book was written. Something has already been said of the Toledo school of translators instituted by Archbishop Raymond in the twelfth century. A new and vigorous impulse was given forty or fifty years afterwards by the Emperor Frederic II, whose preference of Mahommedanism to Christianity, had he occupied a humbler station, would assuredly have subjected him to a worse fate than that of Bacon. Leaving out of account translations of Aristotle's Orgamim, parts of which were familiar to the western world from the times of Augustine and Boethius, the translators of Aristotle's philosophic and scientific work in the twelfth and thirteenth century, to whom Bacon calls attention, were five : Gerard of Cremona, Alured or Alfred of England, Michael Scot, Hermann the German, William of Moerbeke, otherwise called the Fleming. Of these, Gerard, Scot, and Hermann translated from Arabic versions. Gerard spent many years in Spain, attained a thorough knowledge of Arabic, and translated Ptolemy's Almagest, and Aristotle's Meteorologies, also the astronomy of Alfraganus, several works of Alkindi, and, almost certainly, the Optics of Alhazen. He died in 1187. Michael Scot flourished in the first half of the thirteenth century. He was a friend of the Emperor Frederic II, under whose PHILOLOGY. patronage he visited Spain, and translated from the Arabic many of Aristotle's works, with the comments of Averroes. Albertus Magnus says of him that he was ignorant of natural things, and that he did not thoroughly understand Aristotle's books. Bacon, who speaks of the impression produced in the schools when he appeared in 1230, with translations of Aristotle's metaphysical and scientific treatises, says that he was ignorant of words and of things, and that the greater part of his work was due to Andrew the Jew. Scot's transla- tion of Avicenna's treatise De Animalibus, as I have remarked in a note (vol. ii. p. 85), certainly seems to bear out this severe judgement. Hermann, the German, was personally known to Bacon ; he worked in Spain, and with the help of Arab interpreters, produced translations of the Rhetoric, Poetic, and Ethic of Aristotle. He mentions incidentally {Jourdain^ p. 140) that Grosseteste had produced a more complete rendering of the Ethic directly from the Greek. Hermann, in answer to some questions put to him by Bacon as to Aristotle's logical works, frankly confessed his ignorance of logic. * Nor was he well acquainted,' Bacon continues, 'with Arabic, being rather an encourager of translations than a translator himself; the principal part of his work was done by Saracens in his employment' [Couipend. Stiidii^ cap. 8). William the Fleming (of Moerbeke) had the advantage over these men that he translated directly from the Greek. His work is believed to have been done at the special request of Thomas Aquinas, who made use of it in his Commentaries on Aristotle. ' But it was notorious in Paris,' says Bacon, ' that William of Moerbeke was totally ignorant of science, and his translations are consequently full of errors.' On the whole, he concludes that it would have been better that Aristotle should never have been translated, rather than that such a mass of error should be propagated under the shelter of his name. Had I the power of disposing of these works, I would have them all burnt : it is a waste of time to study them, a source of error and of diffusion of ignorance greater than can be described.' 'Aristotle's works,' he continues, 'are the foundation of all wisdom, but they must be studied in the liv INTRODUCTION. original to be of any profit' [Coinpend. Stiidii, Brewer, p. 469)- Every one who considers Bacon's efforts in promoting the study of language must agree with Professor Brewer (p. Ixii) that ' his labours in this respect have attracted less attention than they deserve. ... It is as creditable to his discernment as to his courage that he should have seen, better than Lord Bacon did, the paramount importance of philology, and urged it repeatedly on his contemporaries. It is amazing to hear a scholar of the thirteenth century insisting on the necessity of constant references to original authorities as the only sure foundation of sacred criticism.' It may be that Bacon^s exhortations, reiterated as we feel sure they would be, not in writing merely, but in conversation with the young men whom he gathered round him, were not entirely without effect on the following generation. In the council convoked in 1312 by Clement V at Vienne, one of the provisions, says Fleury [Hist. Eccl. book 91), was ' the establishment in the Roman Curia, and in the Universities of Paris, Oxford, Bologna, and Salamanca, of teachers for the three languages, Hebrew, Arabic, and Chaldaean, two for each. They were to be maintained in Rome by the Pope^ in Paris by the King of France, and in the other cities by the prelates, bishops, and chapters of the country.' This subject has been carefully studied by Mr. Rashdall in his important work on the Universities of Europe in the middle ages. He gives strong authority for the belief that Greek was included ; and if so, the avowed purpose of the ordinance, which was the conversion of the Mahommedans and Jews, may not have been the only purpose ; some faint echo of Bacon's exhorta- tion to study Aristotle and the Bible in the original, with the view of understanding them better, may have been still audible. Few and short-lived were the attempts made to carry the decree of this Council into effect. In 1320 we hear of a rate levied upon benefices in the province of Canterbury for the support of a converted Jew alleged to be teaching Greek at Oxford. But Oxford was already passing under the spell of the enchanter. The fine webs of Duns Scotus, which the MATHEMATICS. Iv sword of Ockham might cleave but could not dissipate, were paralyzing her energies. Five generations were to pass before she could again begin to promote the study of ' languages other than Latin ^ ' ; and even then not in the comprehensive spirit which Bacon had advocated. It is tempting, though painful and perhaps useless, to imagine how far European culture might have advanced had schools of Oriental languages, concurrently with those of Greek and Latin, been instituted and continuously maintained from the thirteenth century. V. Bacon's Mathematics. In the Opiis Majus, though much is said of the importance and necessity of mathematical method, there is very little display of mathematical knowledge. Frequent references are made to Euclid, whose Elements had been introduced to the western world early in the previous century, by Adelard of Bath, and more completely in the thirteenth century by Cam- panus of Novara. Archimedes and Apollonius are rarely mentioned. But in his Optics Bacon shows that he was acquainted with the properties of parabolic concave mirrors, and of their power of causing parallel rays to converge after reflection to a focus. In this respect he was in advance of his principal teachers in Optic, Euclid, Ptolemy, and Alhazen. Of the Calculus, arithmetical or algebraical, Bacon has but slight occasion to speak in the Opus Majiis. It has always to be remembered that this work, with its appendices, the Opus Minus and Opits Tertiitni., was not, properly speaking, a philosophical treatise, but an exhortation addressed to a statesman, absorbed in ecclesiastical and political struggles, to exert his authority for the revival of learning. Hence it is uniformly spoken of as a Persttasio. It contains just as much learning and science as was thought needful to convince the Pope that learning and science were capable of strengthen- ing the Church. It is but the preamble to the ' Scriptum ^ The organized teaching of Greek in Oxford is due to Richard Foxe, the founder of Corpus Christi College (1515-16). But when Erasmus was in Oxford about twenty years earlier, such men as Thomas Linacre and William Groc3ai had already become Greek scholars, under the teaching, perhaps, of Cornelio VitelU. (Cf. Hallam, Lit. Hist, of Europe, part i. ch. 3.) Ivi INTRODUCTION. Principale,' which there is reason for thinking that Bacon had ah-eady begun, but which he regretfully expresses his inabihty to send at such short notice. Hence though it deals, often very cursorily, with every department of knowledge then recognized, we must not infer Bacon's ignorance of a subject from the fact that this provisional treatise makes no mention of it. Among the fragments of the ' Scriptum Principale ' which have come down to us, is a portion of the first book on Mathematics, preserved among the Sloane MSS. (2156). This first book contained three parts. We have the first part of this book, and a considerable part of the second. A few fragments more are to be found in the Bodleian (Digby MSS. 76). As far as I am aware nothing more is extant. The first part deals with preliminary principles (' quaedam preambula ad interiora mathematicae '). It has five divisions or distinctions. The subjects dealt with are the relation of mathematic to metaphysic : its dis- tinction from magic ; the hindrances to its culture offered by the four causes of error, viz. false conceit of wisdom, authority, custom, and popular prejudice ; the utility of mathematics, its importance to the preliminary studies of logic and grammar. The final chapter of this section is curious. The final purpose, says Bacon, of logic is conviction. But conviction is not reached by argumentative process alone, but by the arts of rhetoric and poetry, which are therefore in a true sense departments of logic. But the.^e arts are governed by the laws of music, which is a branch of mathematical science. The second division deals with the definition of the parts of quantity. Certain general terms, such as simultaneity in space and time, limit, continuity, infinity, dimension, are explained. The distinction is drawn between continuous and discrete quantity. Continuous quantity in one, two, and three dimensions is defined. Discrete quantity is distinguished into what is permanent, as number; what is not permanent, as sound. The third division expounds the distinction between the speculative and the practical departments of geometry and MATHEMATICS, Ivii of arithmetic. The section on practical or appHed geometry is of much interest as illustrating Bacon's enlarged views of scientific training. He indicates eight departments of this branch of science, (i) Agriculture, in a far wider sense than is usually given to the word, comprising mensuration, archi- tecture, civil, mechanical, and military engineering. (2) The fabrication of astronomical instruments. (3) Of musical in- struments. (4) Of optical instruments. (5) Of barological instruments. (6) Of instruments of experimental science. (7) Of medical and surgical appliances. (8) Of chemical apparatus. In connexion with the practical branch of arithmetic, after speaking of the use of the Abacus, he mentions 'vias algorithmi, scilicet quomodo conjugantur numeri et dividuntur, secundum omnem speciem algorithmi, tarn in particularibus fractionibus quam in integris.' In this connexion he speaks of ' Algebra quae est negotiatio, et almochabala quae est census.' How far Bacon had assimilated the work of Mohammed ben Musa^, whose surname, Al Chwarismi, is incorporated in the word Algorithm, we cannot tell. But with the work of one of the two great mathematicians of the thirteenth century, Jordanus Nemorarius, he was certainly familiar, as may be seen by reference to vol. i. pp. 1 58, 169 of the Opus Majus, Among other branches of practical arithmetic he includes the con- struction of astronomical tables, mensuration, alloys and coinage, partnership, and other operations of commerce. These things are treated of at great length in the Liber Abaci of Leonard of Pisa, the other great mathematician of the time, whose work, dedicated to Michael Scot, Bacon ^ Muhammed ibn Musa Alchwarismi was born in the first quarter of the ninth century. He constructed astronomical tables for the Caliph Al Mamoun, which were translated into Latin by Adelard of Bath. Of more importance, however, are his Arithmetic and his Algebra. The first of these remained for a long time unknown. But it was discovered in Cambridge in 1857, and is included among the Tmttati d'Aritmetica published by Boncompagni. A full account of this work and of the Algebra, translated and edited by Rosen (London, 1831), will be found in Cantor, vol. i. pp. 611-629. Cantor (p. 612) explains clearly the passage of the word Alchwarismi into Algorithm. Bacon's interpretation of the words Aldschebr walmukabala, which Alchwarismi uses, is incorrect. Dschebr means Restoration, mukabala means opposition. Iviii INTRODUCTION. had possibly seen and studied ; though he makes no mention of it, in any work known to us \ Astrology and astronomy come next. The first is the speculative branch, dealing with planetary motions, with the figure of the, earth and of its various regions. Astronomy, the practical branch, has to do with the construction of tables and with the forecast of future events. Bacon admits that this use of the words has not been universally adopted, but main- tains its correctness. 'Astrologia componitur ex hoc nomine astron quod est stella, et hoc nomine logos quod est verbum, vel ratio, vel sermo. quia est sermo de stellis. Astronomia vero dicitur lex stellarum et nomos est lex. Unde quia lex univer- saliter sonat in practicum, ut in morali philosophia lex est ipsa practica, ita similiter Astronomia est practica astronomiae.' In the fourth division music is considered. This includes not merely sound but gesture. Audible music is considered under the two heads of vocal and instrumental. In the vocal division every branch of elocution is included. Finally, the effect of music on the temper and health both of men and of animals should be systematically studied. Abstraction is the subject of the fifth division. First we have the abstraction common to all science, since science deals with universals, not with particulars. There is then the abstraction of a first cause from secondary causes and of spirit from body, which the metaphysician deals with. Mathematical abstraction has to do with the study of quantity apart from the substance to which it belongs: apart from all natural changes such as growth, diminution or change of place. This first part closes with an explanation of the difference between axioms, postulates, and definitions. The second part begins with the study of whole numbers and fractions : passing from this to the subject of arithmetical, geometrical, and harmonic ratio, and to the question of pro- portion generally. Continuous and discontinuous proportion are considered ; and Euclid's definition of proportion is care- fully considered. ^ To each of these two mathematicians Cantor devotes a full chapter. Cf. Gesch. der Math. vol. ii. pp. 3-79. ASTROLOGY. lix Here the portion of the work contained in the Sloane MSS. ends. We find it continued, however, in a somewhat frag- mentary way in the Bodleian Digby MSS. No. 76. The author proceeds to the consideration of geometrical truths, professing his intention to select those which were of para- mount importance, since it was obvious that the number of possible problems in geometry was infinite. ' Illae (veritates),' he says, ' sunt eligendae quae possunt vocari radices et elementa respectu ramorum et foliorum, quorum fructus vadit in infinitum.' Proof is given in this part of the work that Bacon was acquainted with the geometry of Apollonius as well as with that of Euclid. After defining the cone (' pyramis rotunda ""J he mentions its three sections, presenting curves of a different form from the circle, one of which was of use in the construction of mirrors capable of rendering rays convergent to a point. He promises to deal with these curves later in the work. Of the whole, so far as the fragment of his mathematical work preserved to us enables us to judge, it would seem that Bacon had made himself acquainted with the highest mathe- matics of his time ; though no evidence is forthcoming to show that he contributed personally to the advance of the science, otherwise than by strongly insisting on its culture, and by pointing out new fields for its practical application, in the better government of the Church, and in the development of industry. His interest, like that of Galileo, lay in applied rather than in abstract mathematics. Whether the study of equations as carried on by the Italian algebraists of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries would have interested him is doubtful. But he would have eagerly welcomed the invention of logarithms, as facilitating the construction of astronomical tables. VI. Bacon's Astrology. The transition from Mathematics to Physics supplies the best opportunity for a few remarks on the subject of Bacon's Astrology, on which something is also said in a note to vol. i. p. 269. Bacon dwelt frequently and emphatically on the Ix INTRODUCTION. unity and the correlation of the sciences. In passing- from Mathematics to the direct study of Nature, he found a con- necting Hnk in the imaginary science of Astrology, which he studied zealously. That the fixed stars and the planets exercised a powerful influence on all earthly things and not least on man ; that the careful observation of their position at the moment of birth would do much to reveal the hidden springs of character, and make it possible to form a forecast of the ensuing life, that the influences radiating from them acted with greater or less potency according as the course of the rays was perpendicular or oblique, and that in this way an explanation could be given of climate, temperament, and of the thousand complex chances and changes of mortal lifC;, was a belief firmly held by Bacon, and it operated powerfully over his whole view of man's position in the world. He has been much reproached for holding it ; and it has been supposed to be an explanation, if not an excuse, for the disastrous repression exercised over him by his superiors, and for the popular discredit attaching to his name. But this would be an entire misconception of the beliefs current in Bacon's time. The influence of the stars over human life was a belief almost universally held by all instructed men from the thirteenth to the sixteenth century ; and abundant traces of it are visible throughout the seventeenth, not to speak of still later times. The Divina Coinmedia is full of it. Beatrice, admonishing Dante at her first meeting with him in the Earthly Paradise, speaks of the rich endowment with which he came into the world, ' Per ovra delle ruote magne, Che drizzan ciascun seme ad alcun fine, Secondo che le stelle son compagne ^ Purgat. XXX. 109-1 1. Even more sig-nificant is the passage, Parad. viii. 127-32 :— ' La circular natura, ch' e suggello Alia cera mortal, fa ben sua arte Ma non distingue I'un dall' altro ostello. Quinci addivien ch' Esaii si diparte Per seme da Jacob, e vien Quirino Da si vil padre che si rende a Marte.' ASTROLOGY. Ixi By Dante's master in theology, Thomas Aquinas, the reality of astrological influences is laid down with perfect clearness in 5. T. Pars Prima (quaest. 115, art. 3 and 4). In the first instance the question is put whether heavenly bodies are a cause of things that take place in terrestrial bodies. This after the usual statement of reasons, for and against, is answered emphatically in the affirmative. ' Celestial bodies causally affect all the varied motions of terrestrial bodies^.' The second question is, Are heavenly bodies a cause of human actions? The authoritative conclusion here is, Directly speaking, they are not, but indirectly they are^. 'Indirectly, and by accident, impressions of celestial bodies may reach intellect and will, since both intellect and will receive somewhat from inferior faculties which are bound up with bodily organs. A dis- tinction is, however, to be made between will and intellect. The intellect is of necessity affected by the lower apprehen- sive faculties of imagination, thought, or memory, and when these are stirred, the intellect is stirred Hkewise. But the will does not of necessity follow the promptings of the lower appetite. For although the passions of anger and desire have a certain power of moving the will ; yet it remains in the power of will to follow passion or to repu- diate it. Thus the influence of celestial bodies, so far as it produces change in the lower faculties, has to do rather with intellect than with will; and will is the proximate cause of human action.' Finally Aquinas remarks that ' most men follow passions, which are motions of the sensitive appetite ; and with these heavenly bodies may have to do. For few are the wise who withstand such passions. And thus it is that astrologers may often foretell truly ; but for the most part rather in general than in special, since nothing hinders any one man ^ The words are: 'Corpora caelestia cum tantum mobilia sint secundum lationis motum, causa sunt omnium eorum quae in his corporibus inferioribus variis motibus aguntur.' ^ 'Cum intellectus et voluntas, quae humanorum actuum principia sunt, corporeis organis vires alligatae minime sint ; non possunt corpora ipsa caelestia humanorum actuum causae directe esse, sed indirecte, agendo per se in corpora quae ad utriusque potentiae opera conducunt.' Ixii INTRODUCTION from withstanding passions by free will. Hence, astrologers themselves say that the wise man governs the stars, in so far, namely, as he governs his own passions.' Further on, in Prima Seciindae, quaest. ix. art. 5, this subject is again dis- cussed. The question asked is, 'Can will be influenced by a heavenly body ? ' The conclusion is, ' Since will is a faculty absolutely immaterial and incorporeal, it can only be in- fluenced by heavenly bodies indirectly.' And in his comment Aquinas observes, ' So far as will is influenced by any out- ward object, it can evidently be influenced by heavenly bodies : since all external bodies, which, when presented to the senses, move will, and even the very organs of sensitive faculties, are influenced by the motions of the heavens. But there is no direct action of heavenly bodies upon the will. For the will, as Aristotle says (^De Anima, lib. iii) resides in reason ; and reason is a power of the soul not bound to a bodily organ. . . . On the other hand, he adds, ' Sensitive appetite is the function (actus) of a bodily organ. Wherefore nothing hinders impressions of celestial bodies from rendering some men apt to anger, or to lust, or to some passion of this kind ; and thus from natural complexion many men follow passions, and wise men alone withstand them. And so, in a general way, are verified those things that are foretold of the actions of men in accordance with the consideration of heavenly bodies.' Now the view taken by Bacon coincides precisely with that of Aquinas. Confusion, he says [Opus Majiis, p. 150), had arisen in the matter in consequence of the equivocal meaning of the word, Mathematics, sometimes held to be derived from /jtazTtKi/, sometimes from /xa^i^a-i?. The characteristic, he says, of false mathematic, was to assert that through the powers of the constellations all things took place of necessity. No place was left for contingent matter, for judgement, for free will. Such a view of nature was condemned not only by theologians but by philosophers. Aristotle and Plato, Cicero and Pliny. Avicenna and Albumazar were unanimous in holding that free will remained uncoerced by the motions of heavenly bodies. ' True mathematicians and astrologers lay down no ASTROLOGY. Ixiii necessity, no infallibility, in their predictions of contingent events. . . . What they do is to consider the way in which the body may be affected by celestial things, and the way in which the body may act upon the mind in private affairs or public, always without prejudice to the freedom of the will. For although the reasonable soul is not coerced to any future actions, yet it may be strongly stirred and induced, so as freely to will those things towards which celestial force may incline it ; as we see men in community taking counsel, or through fear or love, and feelings of this kind, freely choosing what before they would not, though not forced to do so ; like the sailor who to save himself from drowning throws precious merchandise into the sea. We see, indeed, that impressions from things on earth may so act upon sense as to stir men to will what before they had no care for, so that they take no account of death or disgrace or fear, if only they accomplish their desire, as with those who see and hear the onset of their enemies, and are borne onwards at all hazards to avenge them- selves. Far more potent than the impressions of earthly things are those of the heavenly upon bodily organs, which being strongly moved, men are led on to actions of which they had not thought before, yet always with full reservation of the freedom of the will.' There are perhaps few fictitious creeds for the origin of which it is so easy to account as for the belief that the position of the planets with regard to one another and to the constella- tions of the zodiac were of significance to man and his environment. With populations whose religion was astrolatric rather than polytheistic, taking shape in worship of the heavens rather in that of invisible but manlike gods, astrology would be an easy and almost inevitable deduction from their creed. The immense majority of the Asiatic population, whether Semitic or Mongol, were, unlike the Indians and the Greeks, not polytheists but astrolaters. When the Arabs received and enlarged their inheritance of Ptolemaic astronomy, their astrologic beliefs, far from being dissipated, were strongly confirmed. Of the seven wanderers of the sky, the influence on earthly things of two, the Sun and the Moon, was too Ixiv INTRODUCTION. obvious to be disputed. The one swayed the tides, the other brought summer and winter. Why should the rest be sup- posed inert? Was it not probable that the successive and infinitely varying connexion of each of them, singly or com- bined, with the fixed groups of the starry vault, indicated changes or tendencies to change here below which careful and prolonged study might at last interpret ? So it was that with the growth of knowledge, and with increasing strength of the conviction that all nature was under the dominion of fixed laws, astrology came to be regarded as the key to the understanding of all that was specially con- tingent and variable in man's environment ; the phenomena of temperament and of disease ; the revolutions of states, and even of rehgions. The boundary of its lawful application was drawn differently by different thinkers. Apart from charlatans and miracle-mongers, few stretched it farther than Bacon. But by him, as strictly as by Aquinas, the saving clause, ' salva arbitrii libertate,' was always added. Outside influences might suggest motive and kindle passion ; they could never trench upon the sacred domain of the freedom of the will ^. What is strange is not that the belief in the convergence of ^ Comte has pointed out [Philosophie Positive, vol. iii. pp. 273-280, ed. Littre) that in order to appreciate astrology with any approach to justice, it is needful to keep steadily in view the very real connexion between the sciences of astronomy and biology. On the relations of mass and of distance between the sun and earth, involving as they do the familiar facts of weight, equilibrium of fluids, temperature, life on our planet is obviously dependent. If we consider the period and velocity of the earth's rotation, the degree of ellipticity of her orbit, the angle at which the axis of rotation is inclined to the plane of the orbit, the same truth is impressed upon us even more strongly. ' In the early stages of the human mind these connecting links between astronomy and biology were studied from a very different point of view ; but at least they were studied and not left out of sight, as is the common tendency in our own time under the restricting influence of a nascent and incomplete positivism. Beneath the chimerical beliefs of the old philosophy in the physiological influence of the stars, there lay a strong though confused recognition of the truth that the facts of life were in some way dependent on the solar system. Like all primitive inspirations of man's intelli- gence this feeling needed rectification by positive science, but not destruction ; though unhappily in science, as in politics, it is often hard to reorganize without some brief period of overthrow.' This was written in 1836. Much has been done since by Mr. Spencer and others to familiarize the European mind with the dependence of life on its astronomical conditions. But the injustice in our historical judgement of mediaeval astrology still remains. PROPAGATION OF FORCE Ixv stellar influences towards the central point of a closed universe should have arisen, but that it should so long and so per- sistently have survived the discovery that the universe was not closed but boundless. That Francis Bacon, who rejected or doubted the Copernican theory, should have retained his belief in astrolog}^ is not surprising. But we should have expected that with men like Kepler and Campanella, it would have vanished like the morning mist. Yet it was not so. VII. The PRorAGATiON of Force. Bacon's views of stellar influences must be taken in con- nexion with his speculations as to the transmissions of force through space. These are set forth briefly in the second and third Distinctions of the fourth part of the Opus Majiis ; and more in detail in the special treatise De Mtiltiplicatione Specierinn^ which in this edition is given as an appendix. ' Species ' is the word chosen by Bacon to express the emanation of force which he conceives to be continually pro- ceeding from every bodily object in all directions. Body of every kind is endowed with force which indeed is identical with its substance or essence. The first result of this force, resembling it in character, is its species, otherwise called likeness, or image, or intention or impression In other words, body is a centre of activity or force radiating in every direction. Species is the first result of this force, the ray proceeding from the body. Tracing back this doctrine to its origin, we find it expounded in the fourth book of L7icrethis, in Diogenes Laertius' account of the system of Epicurus, and in the traces that remain to us of older philosophers, notably of Democritus. Aristotle, in his short treatise on Divination by dreams, alludes to the theory of Democritus that eiOco\a and a-noppoiai were continually emitted from objects which in the stillness of the night were capable of affecting the sleeper. By Epicurus, in his letter to Herodotus quoted in his biography by Diogenes Laertius, the theory is more fully detailed. ' There are moulds,' he says, 'corresponding to all solid bodies pre- serving the same shape and arrangement as these bodies VOL. I. e Ixvi INTRODUCTION. which emanate from them, and are conveyed through space with incredible velocity. These maybe called images. Their flow from bodies is continuous so that they are not separately perceived.' The description of them by Lucretius is more definite and better known. ' Pictures of things and thin shapes are emitted from things off their surface ; these are like films or may each be named a rind, because each image bears an appearance and form like to the thing, whatever it is, from whose body it is shed and wanders forth ' (Lucretius iv. 40, Monro's translation). And again, ' Many idols are be- gotten in a short time, so that the birth of such things is with good reason named a rapid one. And as the sun must send forth many rays of light in a short time in order that all things may be continually filled with it. so also for a like reason there must be carried away from things in a moment of time idols of things, many in number, in many ways, in all directions round. . . . As soon as ever the brightness of water is set down in the open air, if the heaven is starry, in a moment the clear radiant constellations of aether imaged in the water correspond to those in the heaven. Now do you see in what a moment of time an image drops down from the borders of heaven to the borders of earth ' (Lucretius iv. 1 59 and 211). He goes on to explain that not the sense of sight only, but all the senses, are affected by these emanations. But it would be an entire misapprehension of Bacon's views as to the propagation of force to identify them with the crude physics of Epicurus. In the first place, Bacon wholly rejects the notion that the species is something emitted from the agent, or acting body (De Mult. Spec. pp. 432-438). If it were so, the agent would be weakened and ultiEnately destroyed by the emission, which is not the case. Nor again does the agent create the species out of nothing. Nor does it collect the species from sur- rounding space and send it on into the body on which action takes place — the patient. Nor, as some have supposed, does the agent impress the patient as with a seal. What happens is that the agent stimulates the potential activity of the matter of the patient. The species is generated PROPAGATION OF FORCE. Ixvii out of the matter acted on. ' Fit species de potentia activa materiae patientis.' The agent acts on the first part of the body of the patient, and stimulates its latent energy to the generation of the species. That part thus transmuted acts on the part next succeeding ; and so the action proceeds [De Mult. Spec. p. 457)- While the agent acts on the patient, the patient re-acts on the agent. ' Omne agens physice patitur et transmutatur insimul dum agit, et omne patiens physice agit ' {De Mult. Spec. p. 439). Heavenly bodies as they act on one another, so do they receive emanations of force from terrestrial bodies. Not that they are so affected by them as to be destroyed, being incorruptible. Nevertheless there is in this way an interchange of force between all parts of the universe (p. 448). The ray, or species, is of corporeal nature ; but this corporeal nature is not distinct from that of the medium ; it is generated from the substance of the medium, and is continually re-formed out of successive portions of the medium occurring in the line along which the force is propagated (p. 505). If wind is driving the air transversely to the line of force, this in no way affects this line. The species is formed and reformed from particles of the medium presented in the line of propagation, and from no others. Finally the propagation of rays occupies time (vol. ii. pp. 67-72 and 525-9), though its velocity is such that the time occupied in passing through so vast a space as the diameter of the universe is imperceptible to sense. It will be seen from the foregoing how wide is the divergence between Democritean and Baconian physics. Though Bacon retains the word ' species ' in his theory, the word has almost entirely lost the significance attached to it by Lucretius. We are no longer dealing with the notion that bodies emit from their surface films or moulds which are transmitted through space. Like the word ' ray,' which is retained by the modern physicist who accepts the undulatory theory, ' species ' for Bacon has become a mere word to denote the propagation of force in certain definite directions. Indeed the multiplica- tion of species as defined by him has much in common with e 2 Ixviii INTRODUCTION. the undulatory theory. He formally rejects the contrasted theory of emission. The species, like the wave, is a motion or change in successive portions of the aerial or ethereal medium ; occupying time in its transit : propagated so long as the medium be homogeneous, in direct lines ; liable to deflection when the medium alters its character. In Bacon's theory of the radiation of forces two very important points are to be noted. The first is his clear grasp of the principle that time was occupied in their transmission. He discusses, in the passages already cited, the view of Aristotle and others that the propagation of light differed from that of sound and odour by being instantaneous. We might admit, Aristotle had said, that light could pass through short spaces without our being able to detect any interval of time during the passage. But when light passes from east to west through the universe, the space is so vast that if time were occupied we could not fail to detect it. Bacon's conception of the subject is far more scientific. Our inability to perceive minute intervals of time is no evidence, he said, for their non-existence. Imperceptible time, he remarks, has many degrees. There is, first, the interval of time occupied by a single propagation of force (or, as we should say, undulation) followed by the interval of rest before the next propagation begins. Take such a multiple of that interval as would suffice for the whole distance between the extremities of a diameter of the universe, and that multiple may still remain below the limits of our power of perception. It is interesting to compare with this passage the speculations of the second Bacon on the same subject (Nov. Org. ii. 46). Francis Bacon had formed the conjecture that the transit of light from the stars occupied time. But he did not grasp this conjecture with the same firmness as Roger Bacon, and he follows it up with ingenious arguments which explain it away. Radiant force, in Bacon's view, proceeded independently of man's power to perceive it. Opaque bodies, he observes, offered resistance to the passage of a luminous ray (De Midt. ^S/^^^:. p. 4/ 8 ; see also vol. i. p. 114). But 'no substance is so dense as altogether to prevent rays from passing. Matter OPTICS. Ixix is common to all things, and thus there is no substance on which the action involved in the passage of a ray may not produce a change. Thus it is that rays of heat and sound penetrate through the walls of a vessel of gold or brass. It is said by Boetius that a lynx's eye will pierce through thick walls. In this case the wall would be permeable to visual rays. In any case there are many dense bodies which altogether interfere with the visual and other senses of man, so that rays cannot pass with such energy as to produce an effect on human sense, and yet nevertheless rays do really pass, though without our being aware of it.' Recent dis- coveries have given significance to this remarkable passage ; which, not merely to his contemporaries but to succeeding generations, must have seemed in the highest degree fan- tastical. VIII. Bacon's Optics. The most striking illustration of laws governing the transit of force through space was obviously to be looked for in the science of Optics {Perspectivd). The fifth section of the Opus Majlis^ amounting to about one-fifth of the whole, is devoted to this science ; and much supplemental matter is added in the treatise De Mtiltiplicatione Speciertim. Optics had been studied by the Greeks to much purpose. The works of Euclid, Theon, and Ptolemy were translated into Arabic, and were carefully studied by Arabian men of science, notably by Abu *Ali al Hasan ibn al Hasan ibn Alhaitam, better known to Occidentals under the name of Alhazen. Their principal results are embodied in Bacon's work. Euclid, or the author passing under his name^ was aware that light proceeded in straight lines, and that visual rays were reflected from plane mirrors in such a way that the angles ^ Heiberg, in his recent edition of Euclid's Optica v forming the seventh volume of the complete edition of Euclid, edited by Heiberg and Menge^, remarks (p. xxviii of Prolegomena)^ ' Optica qualia hie e codice Vindobonensi maxime primo loco repetivimus, Euclidis esse, non est cur dubitemus. Sed cum recen- tiores tantum extent codices, mirum non est locos nonnullos tarn corruptos esse ut verba Euclidis restitui nequeant.' Ixx INTRODUCTION. made with the surface on each side were equal. He con- ceived the assemblage of rays as a cone having its apex in the eye, and its base in the boundary of the object seen : that the apparent magnitude of the object depended on the magnitude of the angle of the cone. Thence followed the ordinary prin- ciples of perspective, as that of equal magnitudes at unequal distances ; those nearer to the eye appeared larger, and so on. In the Catoptrica (attributed to Euclid, but probably due to Theon), from the equality of the angles of reflexion and inci- dence in plane mirrors was deduced the convergence of rays falling on a concave speculum. Ptolemy ^ carried the science much further than pAiclid. To the study of reflected light he added that of refraction. The chief interest of his work lies in the application to the subject of the experimental method, an instance of it unique^ if we ex- cept the Pythagorean experiments in acoustics, in the history of Greek science. Using an extremely simple but ingenious apparatus^ he discovered, not merely that the luminous ray in passing from one medium to another was deflected, but, within certain limits, he ascertained the amount of de- flexion and its dependence on two distinct factors, the angle of incidence, and the nature of the two media concerned. Ptolemy distinctly describes and explains the error introduced by refraction into astronomical observations. The fact that in his great astronomical treatise there is no mention of refrac- tion had led to the conclusion that the Almagest and the Optics must be attributed to distinct authors. The Optics^ however, may be a later work. We know it only from a trans- lation from the Arabic into Latin, made in the twelfth century ; it has been recently edited by Gilberto Govi, of Turin. The researches of Euclid, Ptolemy, and others on Optics, engaged the attention of the Arabian schools from an early period. ^ On Ptolemy's Optics there is a very interesting chapter in Delambre's Astrotiomie Ancienne, vol. ii. pp. 411 430, ed. 1817. (See also a note on p. li of Preface to vol. i which modifies some of his conclusions.) All our knowledge of Ptolemy's optical work comes from an imperfect Latin translation from the Arabic made in the twelfth century by Admiral Eugenius of Sicily. There are late MSS. of this work in Paris and in the Bodleian Library. But Govi's recent edition is from a much older MS. in the Ambrosian Librar}^ of Milan. OPTICS. Ixxi Their knowledge of the subject is summed up in the work of Alhazen, whose remarkable work, Thesaurus Opticae, written perhaps in the eleventh century, was translated in the twelfth into Latin ; as Jourdain thinks, by Gerard of Cremona, the translator of Ptolemy's Almagest, Alhazen was the writer on whom Roger Bacon principally relied ; though he makes fre- quent use of the optical treatises of Euclid, Ptolemy, Tideus, and Alkindi. Alhazen's work is copious in the extreme ; in some parts extremely tedious. Its value as a document in the history of science is, however, very great. It consists of seven books. The first begins with a brief exposition of the nature of light and colour, and proceeds to explain the anatomy of the organs of vision. The second deals with the function of vision and with the physiology of perception. The third, with imper- fections and illusions incident to vision. The fourth, fifth and sixth are devoted to the subject of reflexion. Seven kinds of mirrors are discussed, plane, spherical, cylindrical, and conical ; the convex and concave forms of the three last being separately considered. The multiplication and position of the images formed is treated with inordinate length, but with such geometrical skill as to secure for him an abiding place in the history of pure, no less than of applied mathematics. ' His investigation,' says Cantor [GescJiichte der Matheinatik, vol. i. p. 677), ' of the problem : In a spherical concave mirror, to find the point from which an object of given position will be reflected to an eye of given position, is one which, analytically handled, leads to an equation of the fourth degree.' Alhazen solved it, as Govi remarks (Ptol. Opt. p. xix), by the use of an hyperbola. The seventh book of the Thesaurus Opticae deals with re- fraction. A very elaborate description is given of the instru- ment for measuring it, part of which Bacon quotes. Moreover, an attempt is made to explain the cause of refraction which is substantially identical with Bacon's, as may be seen by com- parison of Alhazen vii. 8 with De Mult. Specierttm^ Part II. cap. 3. The apparatus for measuring the angle of refraction, which was more accurately designed than that of Ptolemy, Ixxii INTRODUCTION. enabled a series of observations to be made of the angle of refraction, in different media, on which the true law of the variations of refraction at different angles and in different media might ultimately be based. Vitello \ Bacon's contem- porary, drew up a table of refractions, as Ptolemy had done before him, for the three media of air, water, and glass. It was soon seen that the angle of refraction did not vary in accordance with the angle of incidence. But more than three centuries were to pass before the discovery of the law of sines, that is to say, the law that the ratio of the sines of the angles of incidence and refraction is constant for refraction in the same medium, was effected by Snell and Descartes. It might seem, at first sight, that the optical work of Bacon was little more than an abridgement of that of Alhazen -. But this view would render Bacon but scanty justice. Problems of great importance were indicated by him which Alhazen had entirely neglected. In considering the point on the axis of a spherical concave mirror to which rays were reflected, Bacon remarks that this point would be different for rays reflected from each concentric circle traced round the centre of the mirror. Such a mirror failed therefore to produce complete ^ Of Vitello, or Witelo, very little is known. He describes himself in his dedication to William of Morbeta (identified by Cantor as William of Moerbeke^ as filius Thuringorum et Polonorum. In lib. x. 74 of his work he speaks of Poland as his country, and other passages (x. 42 and 67) show that he travelled in Italy. His work on Optics was edited with great care, and with many emendations, by Risner, and published at Bale in 1572 in the same volume that contained Risner's edition of Alhazen. Indeed, it may be described with little exaggeration as a revised edition of Alhazen's work ; with many additions certainly from other authors, but with none of those acknowledgements of his principal teacher of which Bacon's Perspediva is full. Vitello's tables of refraction have excited much admiration. They prove, how- ever, on careful examination to be an almost exact repetition of those of Ptolemy. Whether Bacon and Vitello ever came into contact there is no evidence to show. Bacon was always ready to mention the sources of his knowledge. Not so Vitello. If he borrowed from Bacon, he would not have said so. ■''It must be owned that where Bacon differed from Alhazen, the advantage M'^as not always on his side. Alhazen contended vigorously against the view of the older oculists that vision took place b3' visual force issuing from the eye, maintaining that the ray proceeded to the eye from the object. Bacon (vol. ii. pp. 49 53) makes a fruitless attempt to conciliate these opposite views. OPTICS. Ixxiii convergence of rays. For such convergence the curvature must be other than spherical, it must be that produced by the rotation of a conic section. Bacon, moreover, is distinguished from the Arabian optical writers, and from other investigators of his own time, by his sedulous endeavours to turn the discovery of the laws of re- flexion and refraction to practical account. Neither in Alhazen nor in Vitello is there any attempt to construct instruments for the purpose of increasing the power of vision. With Bacon this object was always held steadily in view. Of the simple microscope he had a perfectly clear conception. His scientific imagination played freely with the possibilities of bringing distant objects near, and of indefinitely magnifying minute objects, by giving suitable directions to refracted rays, and by the use of appropriate media. It would be, however, an entire exaggeration of his achievements to speak of him as the inventor of the telescope. No evidence is forthcoming for his having effected the simple combination of two convex lenses, or of a convex with a concave lens, on which the power of telescopic vision depends. All that can be claimed for him is that he was the first definitely and explicitly to bring the problem forward, leaving it for after generations to solve. In truth, his conception of an optical image, as constructed by the assemblage of foci of rays proceeding from each point of the object magnified, though in the main correct, was not always clearly grasped. Of the distinction between virtual and real images, his notion was entirely in default. Nor, again, had Bacon a clear conception of the conditions of distinct vision. He examined to much better purpose than Alhazen had done the structures of the eye ; and he was aware of the refraction produced by the curved surface of the cornea, and by the doubly convex crystalline lens. But what he failed to grasp ^ was the necessity of a clear image of the object defined on the retina; that image being produced by the focussing on the retina of rays proceeding from each point of the object. The phenomena of accommodation, produced by the action of the ciliary muscle, which, by altering the curva- ^ See vol. ii. p. 159. Ixxiv INTRODUCTION. ture of the lens, enables rays from near objects to be accurately focussed, were unknown to him. But this is only to say that he had not anticipated the physiological knowledge of the nineteenth century. It must always be borne in mind that, in Bacon's view, the radiation of light through space did not stand alone. It was a type of other radiant activities, such as colour (then supposed to be distinct from, though dependent on, light), heat, sound, and odour. (With regard to sound, however, certain reserves were made.) It is interesting to note Bacon's handling of an important problem, not to be solved but by a more potent calculus than any in his possession, how these various actions, crossing one another's paths in their passage through space, retained their distinctness ^. IX. Bacon's Alchemy. It will be remembered that among the various branches of knowledge regarded by Bacon as falling under the head of Physics, was Barology {Scientia ponderinn). The treatise of Jordanus Nemorarius, De Ponderibus, to which reference is made, vol. i. p. ]6g, had perhaps suggested the treatment of the phenomena of gravity as a distinct branch of science. No treatise by Bacon upon this subject, so far as I am aware, is extant ; and the few remarks in the fourth section of the Opus Majus (pp. 167-174) contain all that we know of his speculations on the theory of gravitation. Nor is anything known to us of the way in which Bacon treated, if indeed he ever attempted, the science which he called ' Agricultura,' which, as we have seen, was intended to include the study of living bodies, vegetable and animal. But the case is otherwise with the science regarded by him as preparatory to the study of life, ' Alkimia Speculativa.' On the subject of Alchemy, very little is said in the Opus Majus ; and the omission was supplied in the provisional way, which alone was possible under the hurry of compilation to satisfy Pope Clement's orders, by the Opus Minus, the first of the ^ See note on vol. ii. p. 46. ALCHEMY. Ixxv two appendages to that work. Unfortunately the only text of the Opus Minus ^\viQ\i we possess has come down to us, not merely incomplete, but in so corrupt a state as to render it often very difficult to decipher Bacon's meaning. Enough remains, however, to show the large and comprehensive spirit in which Bacon regarded the subject. The contempt expressed in much modern writing for mediaeval alchemy might be well retorted on its authors. Admit that some prosecutors of the occult art were deceivers as well as deceived, and that others were impelled by wild hopes of gain, has the pursuit of physical science in modern times been wholly free from similar taints? Electricity applied to medicine has been a fertile field for impostors. And will any one maintain that the pursuit of chemistry has not been stimulated by hopes of industrial profit ? Yet such things are not allowed to cast a shade on the names of a Lavoisier, a Dalton, or a Faraday. Alchemy was chemistry in its prescientific period. Under the guidance of hypotheses which were not nearly so wild or crude as they at first appear, it attacked, like the true science which gradually grew from it, the important problem of the transmutation of matter by artificial agencies. It took for granted that metals were compound bodies, the elements of which might be separated and recomposed. This was no unreasonable supposition. Indeed, until modern spectrology had shown that the vapour of many metals existed undecomposed in the intense heat of the sun's atmosphere, there was no adequate reason for abandon- ing the attempt to decompose them. It would be hard to find in alchemy any conjecture more baseless than that of Phlogiston, the subtle spirit of flame, the loss of which by combustion made the oxide heavier than the metal. Yet Priestley accepted this hypothesis, and a Lavoisier was needed to destroy it Alkimia, as conceived by Bacon, fell into two great divi- sions — speculative and operative. Under the latter was included the metalkirgy of the gold-seekers, and generally all the practical and industrial processes pursued, with more or less wisdom, by men who had a definite purpose in view — Ixxvi INTRODUCTION. the transmutation of metals, the discovery of the philosopher's egg-, or the elixir vitae. Rut Bacon was one of the few who saw that the empirical proceedings of the honest mystics or scheming charlatans, who were toiling at their royal road to wealth or longevity, covered speculations of a far deeper kind ; the study of the transition of matter from the four Aristo- telian elements, through increasing degrees of complexity, up to the highly compound forms exhibited by organized bodies. The ' Alkimia Speculativa ' of Bacon was, indeed, not alchemy at all as commonly understood : it was nothing less than chemistry. ' Alkimia Speculativa,' he says, in the twelfth chapter of the Opits Tertiiim, 'treats of the generation of things from their elements, and of all inanimate things — as of the elements and liquids [humor es) simple and compound ; common stones, gems, and marbles; gold, and other metals; sulphur, salts, pigments, lapis lazuli, minium, and other colours; oils, bitumen, and very many other things — of which we find nothing in the books of Aristotle; nor are the natural philosophers or any of the Latins acquainted with these things. And being ignorant of them, they can know nothing of what follows in physics, that is, of the generation of animate things — as vegetables, animals, and man — because knowing not what is prior, they must remain ignorant of what is posterior. For the generation of men, and of brutes, and of plants, is from elemental and liquid substances, and is of like manner with the generation of inanimate things. Wherefore, through ignorance of this science, neither can natural philosophy, commonly so- called, be known, nor the theory, and therefore neither the practice, of medicine ; not merely because natural philosophy and theoretical medicine are necessary for the practice, but because all simple medicines are derived from inanimate things by this science.' Of such fundamental truths of chemical science — as the composition of air and water, the theory of combustion, and the chemistry of carbon — he, like his contemporaries, was ignorant ; but the ignorance was shared by the second Bacon with the first, and was not to be dissipated for five centuries. All that could be done in the meanwhile was to collect empi- ALCHEMY. Ixxvii rical information as to a few metals and their oxides, some of the principal alkalis, acids, and salts. On all these things the Arab investigators, from Geber downwards, had accumulated a considerable mass of material. It is not easy to define the results of each inquirer, owing to the prevalent habit of describing their procedure and results in mystical language. Self-defence against charges of magic and imposture was probably their motive. And that the danger was real, the history of Bacon's life suffices to show. His efforts to refute the charge of magic were incessant. In his treatise, De Secretis Operibtis Artis et Nahtrae et de imllitate Magiae, he describes in detail the various procedures of the magician, sleight of hand, ventriloquism, pretended movements of inanimate things in dim light, the aid of accomplices, utterance of mys- terious formulae, invocation of spirits. We gather from the description that the lapse of six centuries has done little to change the character of charlatanism. But Bacon was aware that the charlatan was often in possession of valuable secrets. ' Many books are held to be magical,' he says, ' which are not really so, but which contain important truths ; which are of this kind, and which are not, it is for the experience of the wise man to decide. If he find in them any result of natural or artificial forces (opus naturae vel artis), let him accept this; otherwise let him reject them as worthless.' Bacon carefully guards himself against denial of the mystical force of words uttered under solemn conditions, as in the daily miracle of the Eucharist, or in the solemn invocations that protected the innocent when exposed to judicial ordeal. Such powers might be exerted for good as for evil ; and the unlawful use of them was strictly and severely to be condemned. But to whatever extent Bacon may have shared the illusions of his time with regard to the practical operations of alchemy, it is a striking proof of his scientific discernment that under the head of Speculative Alchemy he should have formed a clear, though distant survey, of chemical science as the inter- mediate link between Aristotelian Physics and the science of living bodies. As Physics followed on Mathematics so did Chemistry, in Bacon's arrangement of the sciences, succeed Ixxviii INTRODUCTION. Physics. After chemistry came the study of living- bodies, on which Bacon, while assigning to this science its natural place in the series, has said Httle or nothing. But on the study of plants and animals was based, under the name of Medicina, the study of the physical structure and functions of man. Here Bacon had for his guides, not Galen indeed, to whom his references are few, but Avicenna, Haly, and a host of Arabian professors of medical art, to whom Galen had suppHed a very substantial foundation of anatomical and physiological knowledge. Bacon's short treatise, to which reference is occasionally made in the Optis Majiis, De re- tardandis senecttitis accidentibiis, will sufficiently illustrate his views on this branch of science. X. Experimental Science. Last among the series of the natural sciences comes that which Bacon denotes as ' Scientia Experimentalist The sample of it, for it can hardly be regarded as more than a sample, given in the sixth section of the Opus Majiis indicates that it was connected in Bacon's mind with no special department of research, but was a general method used for the double purpose of controlling results already reached by mathematical procedure, and of stimulating new researches in fields not as yet opened to inquiry. In some respects this is the most original part of his work. Not that experiment was a new thing. Experiments without number had been made by man from the time of his first appearance on the planet. The Greeks towards the end of their marvellous scientific career had begun to use experiment in their investigations of natural truth. Galen had applied it in his researches into the nervous system ; Ptolemy had arrived by its means at his remarkable discovery of the refraction of light. The Arab astronomers, far more skilful mechanicians than the Greeks, had constructed extremely elaborate apparatus for the same purpose, and also to verify the equality of the angles of incidence and reflection. But no one before Bacon had abstracted the method of experiment from the concrete EXPERIMENTAL METHOD. Ixxix problem, and had seen its bearing and importance as a uni- versal method of research. Implicitly men of science had begun to recognize the value of experiment. What Bacon did was to make the recognition explicit. Experiment took its place as a distinct department of philosophy. What makes this result peculiarly remarkable is that it was reached by a thinker who was so profoundly penetrated by the mathematical spirit. In this matter Roger Bacon compares favourably with his illustrious namesake of the seventeenth century, who wholly failed to appreciate the import of mathe- matical method. He rises to the level of one greater than either — the author of the Discoitrs siir la Methode. For Descartes as for Roger Bacon, mathematics was clavis scientiartini, the key to the temple of science. But it was held by both alike that experiment was needed to carry out the researches which mathematical deduction had suggested ; and that, as each science grew, the share taken by experiment in its progress was to become more and more predominant. XI. Moral Philosophy. Last in order, both in the Opus Majus and in the Scriptiim Pri7icipale, comes the science the study of which is the key- stone and crown of the whole work — the science of life and conduct. All the other sciences lead up to this. Their con- clusions form its point of departure. The analysis which has been given of this, as of other parts of the work, renders it unnecessary to cover the ground a second time. But a few remarks may be made on its salient features. In the first book, which treats of man's relation to God, Bacon follows the procedure common to Aquinas, indeed to most of the schoolmen, of pushing metaphysical reasoning as far as it can be made to go in support of the articles of the Catholic faith. Theology, says Aquinas [S. T. Pars I. Quaest. i. art. 5), uses other sciences as her handmaids and assistants. Man is more easily led on to things above reason, if he begins with things which reason can demonstrate. It is true that unassisted reason is incompetent to discover and demonstrate the doctrine Ixxx INTRODUCTION. of the Trinity. ' Impossibile est,' he says (Quaest. xxxii. art. i), *per rationem naturalem ad cognitionem Trinitatis divinarum personarum pervenire.' But he goes on to explain that there are two modes of employing reason. One is to discover and prove a principle : as in physics we prove the uniformity of the motion of the heavens. The second mode is, when the principle is admitted, to show that certain observed effects are consistent with and follow^ from it. So, for instance, assuming the reality of our hypotheses as to eccentrics and epicycles, we can show that the movements of the planets take place in accordance with these hypotheses. It is this latter form of reasoning that we use in reference to the Trinity. ' Trinitate posita, congruunt hujusmodi rationes.' We find analogies with this doctrine when we consider what passes in our own minds. ' Ipse conceptus cordis de ratione sua habet quod ab alio procedat, scilicet a notitia concipientis ' (Quaest. xxxiv. art. i). ' Quanto aliquid magis intelligitur, tanto conceptio intellectualis est magis intima intelligenti et magis unum . . . unde cum divinum intelligere sit in fine per- fectionis . . . necesse est quod Verbum divinum sit perfecte unum cum eo a quo procedit, absque omni diversitate ' (Quaest, xxvii. art. i). Similarly (art. 3), the procession of the Third Person is likened to the operation of the will which we call in human beings love. ' Processio Verbi attenditur secundum actionem intelligibilem. Secundum autem operationem volun- tatis invenitur in nobis quaedam alia processio, scilicet processio amoris, secundum quam amatum est in amante, sicut per conceptionem verbi res dicta vel intellecta est in intelligente. Unde et, praeter processionem Verbi, ponitur alia processio in divinis, quae est processio amoris ^' Bacon, as we might expect, was not less eager to find the mysteries of revelation foreshadowed by human reason. Holding, as he has fully explained in the second part of the ^ It is perhaps hardly necessary to refer in this connexion to Hampden's lectures on The Scholastic Philosophy considered in its relation to Christian Theology. Compare p. 8r (second edition), 'The object of the Scholastic llieology was to detect and draw forth from the Scripture, by aid of the subtle analysis of the philosophy of Aristotle, the mystical truths of God on which the Scripture Revelation was conceived to be founded.' MORAL PHILOSOPHY, Ixxxi Opus Majlis^ that the rise and progress of Greek philosophy- was no less a part of divine providence than the succession of the priests and prophets of Judaea, he found without surprise that Aristotle, Plato, Porphyry and others had apprehended, more or less dimly, some of the fundamental truths of Christian theology ; among them being the Trinity, the Incarnation, the existence of angels and the resurrection of the body. Moral philosophy, as Bacon conceived it, was in every respect con- current with theology. ' De iisdem negotiatur quibus theologia, licet alio modo.' It is perhaps more surprising that he should have gathered these truths not merely from Greek and pre- Christian writers, but from the great Mahommedan teachers, such as Albumazar, Avicenna, and Algazel. Some of the most remarkable passages in the first part of his moral philosophy are quotations from Avicenna. More than once he refers to the passage in which Avicenna, speaking of future life in the unseen world, observes : Our present relation to that life is like that of the deaf man who never listened to the delights of harmony, though he never doubted that such delights existed. Or again : We are like the palsied man to whom delicious food is offered which yet we cannot taste till the palsy be healed. Avicenna tells us how the soul's vision is clogged by bodily impulses, and limited by the obtruding influences of the visible world ; and he insists on the need of purging the soul from sin, of concentration of its forces on invisible things, and of acceptance of revealed truth. We may well believe that the attempt to level up Mahommedan philosophers to the level of Christian teachers was among the novitates for which Jerome d'Ascoli cut short Bacon's philo- sophical career. The second part of the Moral Philosophy, dealing with the laws of civil and social life, is summarily disposed of in two short chapters. Possibly a reason for this cursory treatment may be found in Bacon's aversion to the introduction of Roman law, which finds vehement expression in the twenty- fourth chapter of the Opus Tertmin, and again in the Com- pendium Studii (Brewer, pp. 84-87, and 418) ^. ^ Something additional on this subject was probably said in the missing sixth VOL. I. f Ixxxii INTRODUCTION. We are here brought face to face with the faihire, and the cause of the failure, of Bacon's social and political ideal. He was aiming at an enlarged and renovated Catholicism which should bind together and incorporate all that was best and noblest in Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic tradition in the fabric of the Christian Church, for the spiritual government of the world. The keystone of the fabric was supplied by the mistress-science, theology, resting on Mosaic and Christian revelation, consolidated by Aristotelian philosophy, and penetrated by the vital and progressive spirit of natural science. A progressive papacy, carrying on in continuous and harmonious development the work which Mosaic law and Greek intellect had begun — such was Bacon's vision : and the marvellous upheaval of thought in Paris and elsewhere during the thirteenth century seemed to bring that vision within reach of fulfilment. But while Paris was building up its systems of philosophic theology, south of the Alps, in the rival university of Bologna, work of another kind was going on. The study of the civil law of Rome, which had never wholly ceased in the cities of North Italy, had been stimulated early in the twelfth century by the teaching of Irnerius and others ; and from that teaching the university of Bologna gradually arose, as the university of Paris had arisen from the teaching of Abelard. It was a momentous event in the history of Europe. Civil law was a study as secular as the Roman empire itself. Clerical and lay students sat at the lectures side by side. ' Very early in the twelfth century men of mature age, men of good birth and good position, beneficed and dignified ecclesiastics, or sons of nobles, flocked from the remotest parts of Europe to the lecture-rooms of Bologna' (Rashdall, History of Universities, i. 124). The civil law embraced the entire system of man's social relations, and dealt with them on principles with which theology had no concern. The Church felt the danger, and coped with it in the only part of the Moralis Philosophia. But his language on the subject does not warrant the behef that the subject was fully dealt with. Cf. Op. Tert. cap. xiv. Brewer, p. 52. MORAL PHILOSOPHY. Ixxxiii way that was possible, by borrowing weapons from her lay rival, and arranging her own system of law in a form not less comprehensive and systematic. Irnerius had hardly finished his lectures when a fellow-citizen, the monk Gratian, in 1143 published his great text-book of canon law known as the Decretum, to which, in 1234, Gregory IX added five books of Decretals. Nominally the situation was saved, but at the cost of secularizing the Church. For the canon law was in reality based on the civil law. ' Everything in the canon law was Roman which was not of directly Christian or Jewish origin.' ' After the age of Gratian the studies even of ecclesiastics took a predominantly legal turn. Speculative theology was abandoned in favour of the canon and even of the civil law ; while the estrangement of the canon law from theology kept pace with the increasing closeness of its union with the faculty of civil law' (Rashdall, i. p. 138). In 12 19 Honorius III formally prohibited the study of civil law in Paris on the ground that it threatened to extinguish the study of theology in the one great theological school of Europe. But prohibitions that were powerless to exclude Aristotle were equally impotent against the invasion of Ulpian and Justinian. Bacon's pages reflect very vividly the conflict of clerical with secular influences. ' More praise,' he says, ' is gained in the Church of God by a civil jurist, though he may know nothing but civil law and be utterly ignorant of canon law and theology, than by any master in theology, and he is more quickly promoted to high ecclesiastical positions.' ' Oh that the canon law might be purged from the superfluities of civil law, and be ordered by theology,' he exclaims, ' then would the government of the Church be carried on honourably and suitably to its high position' (Opus Tertitini, ch. 24). He recurs to the same subject in a later work. * For the last forty years the abuse of the civil law of Italy has been under- mining not merely the study of philosophy, but the Church of God, and all the kingdoms of Christendom.' ' They monopo- lize,' he proceeds to say, * every office of emolument, so that Ixxxiv INTRODUCTION. students of theology and philosophy are deprived of the means of following their studies. And besides this, the study of civil law is obliterating the distinction between clerical and lay professions. The doctors of law of Bologna call them- selves clerks and masters, though they have not the tonsure, though they take to themselves wives, have families, and in every respect adopt the ways and practices of laymen ... If clergymen and laymen are to be subject to the same law, at least let it be the law of England for Englishmen, and oT France for Frenchmen, and not the law of Lombardy ' {Com- penditini Sttidii^ cap. 4) ^. When Bacon appealed to the Pope to arrest the diffusion of civil law, he was like one who should attempt to stop the tide or the courses of the stars. He was fighting against the laws of historical evolution. It was written that the constitu- tion of society should be settled on a human and secular, not on a theological basis ; and the study of civil law, radiating in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries from Bologna into every part of Christendom, was one of the most significant among many signs that the function of the Catholic Church, as the organizer of political society, was gone. Widely different was the future of that Church in all that re- lated to personal morality. Yet here too there was much to be desired. In the third section of the work this subject is discussed with great fullness. * On virtue and vice,' says Bacon, * the ancient philosophers have spoken so wonderfully that a Chris- tian man may well be astounded at men who were unbelievers thus attaining the summits of morality.' ' On the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity,' he adds, 'we can speak things of which they knew nothing. But in the virtues needed for integrity of life, and for human fellowship, we are not their equals either in word or deed. Blameworthy and shameful in us that it should be so.' Acting on this view, Bacon has composed this third part almost entirely of selections from ^ This was written (as Brewer shows, p. Iv) in 127 1, three years after the death of Clement IV. Guy Fulcodi, before his ecclesiastical career began, had been a distinguished lawyer, and would hardly have tolerated such strong language. MORAL PHILOSOPHY. Ixxxv Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and above all, from Seneca, adding the fewest words of his own that were needed to mould them into systematic shape. He begins by adopting Aristotle's general scheme of the moral virtues as means between opposing vices. From these he passes to the consideration of special vices in the order of the seven mortal sins of Catholic theology. Six of these deal with man's conduct under prosperous circumstances ; the seventh, anger, with his conduct in adversity. Dealing briefly with the first class, Bacon devotes much more atten- tion to the subject of anger. His reason for doing so lay in the disturbing influences of this passion on the whole of man's life public and private, and also that, in seeking remedies for its ravages, we are led up to the state of inward peace and resignation under outward trials which forms the highest plane to which the soul can aspire. Nearly the whole of Seneca's three dialogues on Anger are quoted, but with complete rearrangement, in pursuance of the aim in view. Beginning with a picture of this passion and its disastrous effects on the highest qualities of the soul, such as clemency, pity, and joy, he enlarges on examples of self- restraint, and thence proceeds to consider remedial action ; patient inquiry, time allowed for the mood to pass by, and constant remembrance of human fellowship with the offender. This leads him to the wider subject of fortitude under calamity, of forgiveness of injury and insult, of recognition of the truth that whom God loves He chastens. He concludes the section with long selections from the dialogues on consola- tion under bereavement, exile, and poverty, on the shortness of life and the state of inward bliss and spiritual peace. It appears that though other parts of Seneca were well known, especially the series of letters to Lucilius, these dialogues had escaped notice till Bacon called attention to them. The apocryphal correspondence between Seneca and St. Paul shows that an affinity between Seneca and Christian teaching had been widely recognized in the Church. Nowhere is this affinity so strongly marked as in the dialogues De Providentia. Ixxxvi INTRODUCTION. De Vita Beata, and De Tranqiiillitate Animi, from which Bacon has quoted so largely. The fourth section of the Moral Philosophy contains the first attempt ever made at the comparative study of the religions of the world. These Bacon ranges in six classes : Pagans, Idolaters, Tartars, Saracens, Jews, Christians. What specially called attention to this subject in Bacon's time were the events proceeding in Central Asia, and already seriously affecting European politics. Mongol hordes had swept over Russia and South Eastern Europe, and were threatening the Western kingdoms. Franciscan and Dominican missionaries had been sent by Pope Innocent IV and by Louis IX to investigate the danger at its source. The reports brought back by these missionaries, especially those of Carpini and Rubruquis, brought the religious problem before the view of the leaders of the Church in all its magnitude. It was seen that beyond the Christian world, beyond the Mahommedan world which bounded it, there lay regions of unsuspected magnitude in the extreme East, where other creeds prevailed. One of these w^as Buddhism, recently imported into Central Asia from Tibet, with its elaborate monastic system, its image- worship, and its complicated liturgy. This creed was always spoken of by Rubruquis and Carpini, as by Marco Polo in the succeeding generation, as Idolatry. Christianity of the Nestorian type was widely disseminated ; though not, it would seem, in its most highly militant form. Side by side with these were tribes whose religion was of a lower grade, not rising above the rudest fetichism ; these were spoken of as Pasrans. Between these various modes of faith the Tartar chiefs held a doubtful and almost neutral attitude. If these could be brought within the pale of the Catholic Church, Mahommedanism, crushed between the forces of the West and the extreme East, would cease to be a danger. The issue remained undecided in Bacon's time. But we can imagine with what interest he would confer, as he tells us that he did, with Rubruquis on his return to Paris, and listen to his story of the Parliament of Religions, Saracen, Christian^ and Buddhist, held at Kara Korum at the sug- MORAL PHILOSOPHY. Ixxxvii gestion, and under the presidence^ of Mangu Kaan. (Cf. vol. ii. p. 389.) In Bacon's demonstration of the superiority of Christianity to other reHgions, use is made of this singular experiment. The majority of those who took part in it accepted the unity of God. The Pagans were few in number. The Buddhists (spoken of as Idolaters) raised the question of the origin of evil as an objection to a single ruler of the Universe ; but they allowed the question to be evaded. The Tartars, though somewhat indifferent on religious matters, were disposed to side with the Mahommedans and Christians in maintaining the unity of God. On the whole, the conclusion to which this conference tended was a fair sample, in Bacon's judgement, of the preponderating voice of mankind. Appeal is then made to Aristotelian reasoning as to the necessity of a First Cause. The attributes of wisdom and goodness are shown to follow from omnipotence. Man's duty being to do God's will, how is man to know it? Evidently by revelation. And which revelation is true ? There can be but one : for if there were more the human race could not be united. * The unity of the Church follows from the unity of God. If there were more Gods than one, more worlds than one, and more mankinds than one, then there might be more revelations than one, but not otherwise.' Which, then, is the true revelation ? On a comparison of the six religions before us, three, the Pagan, the Buddhist, and the Tartar, are at once ruled out. Of the three that remain, the Jewish, the Saracen, and the Christian, philosophic reasoning, external and miraculous evidence, and ethical purity combine in giving preference to the last. The book, as we have it, closes with some ardent and rapturous words on the Sacra- ment of the Altar, as the means whereby Christ always remains present with His Church. Of the missing books we are not left in entire ignorance. We know from the fourteenth chapter of the Optis Tei'tiuin that the purpose of the fifth book was, to insist upon such modes of setting forth moral truth as were likely to impress, not merely the intellect, but the emotions and character of Ixxxviii INTRODUCTION. the hearer. The art of preaching, Bacon thought, was one demanding the most serious and systematic study. Rhetoric was no mere field for the gratification of vanity by ornamental display. It was a part of logic, and the most important part, since by its means truth was so conveyed to the listener that ' he is seized unawares and lifted above himself and filled with thoughts beyond his power to control, so that if evil he is absorbed by the love of good, if imperfect he receives the spirit of perfection, not through violence, but through the strong and gentle power of speech.' Rhetoric thus conceived implied the study of music in its widest sense, the study of rhythm and metre, the management of voice and of gesture (Opus Tertmm, ch. 75). The sixth and final section of Bacon's moral philosophy treated, he says, of lawsuits and of justice. He implies, how- ever, that he dealt with this subject cursorily. XII. General Characteristics of the Opus Majus. The question presents itself, How far can the Opus Majus ^ with its two appendices, the Opus Minus and the Opus Ter- Hum, be accepted as the final exposition of Bacon's philosophy and polity? It is spoken of by the author throughout as a pei'suasio praeainbula. It is a hortatory discourse addressed to a busy statesman (for Clement IV, like most other popes of the thirteenth century, may be so called), urging him to initiate a reform of Christian education, with the direct object of establishing the ascendency of the Catholic Church over all nations and religions of the world. A fundamental principle with Bacon was that truth of what- ever kind was homogeneous. 'All the sciences,' he said, ^are connected ; they lend each other material aid as parts of one great whole, each doing its own work, not for itself alone, but for the other parts : as the eye guides the whole body, and the foot sustains it and leads it from place to place. As with an eye torn out, or a foot cut off, so is it with the different departments of wisdom ; none can attain its proper result separately, since all are parts of one and the same complete THE OPUS MAJUS. Ixxxix wisdom ' {Op. Tert. ch. 4). Much light is throv/n by passages Hke these, and there are many such, on the varied and at first sight heterogeneous character of the Opus Majiis. A glance at the Index of this edition will give some notion of the multiplicity of the topics treated. History of philosophy, comparative philology, mathematics, astronomy, geography, optics, the physiology of sensation, all find a place ; and all are subordinated to the service of the Catholic Church as the guardian of the highest interests of man. All these topics are handled so far and in such a way as to convince the Pope, or others in authority, of the width of the field to be culti- vated, and of the importance of the object in view. Bacon's procedure is like that of a traveller in a new world, who brings back specimens of its produce, with the view of persuading the authorities of his country to undertake a more systematic exploration. To that further and more complete inquiry he proposed to devote the remainder of his life. He speaks of it in several passages of the present work under the title of Scriptuni Principale. But, as we have reason to believe, of the twenty-five years of life that remained, more than half were sterilized by his imprisonment. When released, though he persevered, like Galileo, indomitably to the end, he was too old to think with his former vigour, and was capable only of such inferior work as the Compendium Theologiae, or the Commentary on the Secrehim Secretorum. There remain the years between 1268 and 1278. They produced the Com- pendhim Sttidii (published by Brewer), the Commitnia NatiL- ralmm, the Commtinia Mathematicae, and other fragments of the Scriptnm Principale. But, making large allowance for what may have been lost through neglect or through malig- nant hostility, or for what may yet remain to be discovered, the balance of probabilities indicates clearly enough that the Scriptnm Principale was never brought to completion. The Opns Majns remains the one work in which the central thought of Bacon is dominant from first to last ; the unity of science, and its subordination to the highest ethical pur- pose conceivable by man. Another characteristic of Bacon's philosophy, to which it xc INTRODUCTION. seems to me that sufficient attention has not yet been called, is the sense of historical continuity by which it is pervaded. Not indeed that Bacon stood alone in this respect. Comte, in a remarkable passage of his appreciation of the mediaeval Church, called attention, perhaps for the first time, to the awakening of the historic sense which the very constitution of that Church involved ; rising as it did from the threefold root of Roman law, Greek thought, and Hebrew theocracy {PhilosopJiie Positive, vol. v. p. 247, ed. Littre). As an example of this influence, he proceeds to quote the example of Bossuet, one of the first of European thinkers to form, in however imperfect a way, a broad and definite conception of the unity of history. But the example of Roger Bacon, writing four centuries earlier, is even stronger and more startling. Two centuries before the Renascence, he states explicitly what others may have implicitly thought, but would have shrunk from avowing even to themselves, that the whole course of intellectual development of mankind from the beginning of the w^orld was not multiple but one, not discrete but continuous. He takes pains to synchronize the demi-gods, the heroes and the thinkers of Greece with the kings and prophets of Judaea. In his conception, philosophy, science, and religious truth had a common origin with the patriarchs : though separated in later centuries, they pursued a parallel course in Judaea and in Greece. The growth of science, no less than the growth of religion, was a process of continuous evolution, taking place under divine guidance. It may be said that traces of such a doctrine as this may be found here and there in the early fathers, and especially in the writings of St. Augustine. But a comparison of the ninth and tenth books of De Civitate Dei with the second and seventh sections of the Opus Majiis, will reveal a profound difference in the mode of treatment, even more than in the conclusions reached. What the earlier writer looks at as concessions wrung from an opponent, the later hails as the testimony of a friend. Augustine dwells on the points that separate the Christian from Porphyry and Seneca ; Bacon on the points of union. There are students of history even yet surviving to whom THE OPUS MAJUS. xci the centuries following the fall of the Western Empire seem a chasm hard to pass ; so that they prefer, with Vico, to con- ceive of an ancient civilization which has run its course, and a new cycle as beginning. For Roger Bacon the apparent breach of continuity was in great part filled up by the long series of thinkers and students, who kept the torch of science alive in the Mahommedan schools of Mesopotamia and Spain. A glance at the Index to this edition will show the use which Bacon made of such men as Thabit ben Corra, Alfarabius, Alfraganus, Alkindi, Alhazen, Albumazar, Avicenna, Hali, and Averroes. They are spoken of, and most truly, not merely as the principal channels through which Greek philo- sophy and science were introduced to the Western world, but as having increased the treasure entrusted to them ; a treasure which the Westerns of the thirteenth century, ' unless they are dolts and asses,' will regard it as their duty to transmit with due interest to their posterity. At the close of these introductory remarks, some attempt may be made to assign Bacon's position in the history of human thought. It appears on the surface that he belongs to the order of thinkers, typified by Pythagoras rather than by Aristotle, who engage in speculation, not for its own sake alone, but for social or ethical results, that are to follow. His protests against the intellectual prejudices of his time, his forecasts of an age of industry and invention, the prominence given to experiment, alike as the test of received opinion and the guide to new fields of discovery, render comparison with his great namesake of the sixteenth century unavoidable. Yet the resemblance is perhaps less striking than the contrast. Between the fiery Franciscan, doubly pledged by science and by religion to a life of poverty, impatient of prejudice, intolerant of dullness, reckless of personal fame or advance- ment, and the wise man of the world richly endowed with every literary gift, hampered in his philosophical achieve- ments by a throng of dubious ambitions, there is but little in common. In wealth of words, in brilliancy of imagination, P'rancis Bacon was immeasurably superior. But Roger Bacon had the sounder estimate and the firmer grasp of that com- xcii INTRODUCTION. binatlon of deductive with inductive method which marks the scientific discoverer. Finally, Francis Bacon was of his time ; with Roger Bacon it was far otherwise. M. Haureau, the historian of Scholastic philosophy, and also M. Renan, have suggested a parallel (or, it may be, have adopted it from Littre) between Roger Bacon and Auguste Comte. Some anticipation of the Philosophie Positive there assuredly is in Bacon's subordination ofmetaphysic to science, in his serial arrangement of the sciences, and in his avowal of a constructive purpose as the goal of speculative inquiry. But it is well not to push such comparisons too far. We shall best understand Bacon's life and work by regarding him as a progressive schoolman. Like the other great schoolmen of the thirteenth century, he set before himself the purpose of strengthening the Church in her work of moral regenera- tion, by surrounding her with every intellectual resource. But the forces that he brought to bear were not limited, like theirs, to the stationary dialectic of Aristotle ; they were also, in great part, drawn from the progressive culture of natural and historical science. As compared with his successors of the Renascence, his purpose was loftier ; for, in urging the continuous advancement of knowledge, he had higher things than knowledge in view. His aim, pursued in no spirit of utilitarian narrowness, yet steadily concentrated on the moral progress of mankind, was, Indtiire poitr dediiire afin de constrtiire. ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS.' PART I. THE FOUR GENERAL CAUSES OF HUMAN IGNORANCE. CHAPTER I. VOL. I. PAGES True wisdom implies— i. Sound methods of gaining knowledge ; 2. The appHcation of knowledge to important purposes; as the government of the Church, the conversion of the heathen, and the repression of evil-doers. Such wisdom is hard to obtain, and there are four principal causes of failure. These are — i. Subjection to unworthy authority. 2. The influence of habit. 3. Popular prejudice. 4. False conceit of our own wisdom. We will begin by dealing with the three first : the fourth demands separate treat- ment . . . , . . . . . . . .1-4 CHAPTER U, Opinions of philosophers on these defects. — Citations from Aristotle, Seneca, Cicero, Averrhoes, Abelard, Jerome, Chrysostom , . 4-6 CHAPTER HI. Leaving authority, let us look to experience. Authority, habit, and prejudice may sometimes lead to truth, but the probabilities are much against it. We may take an illustration from arithmetic. Of perfect numbers, there is but one among the first ten, one between 10 and 100, one between 100 and 1,000, one between 1,000 and 10,000. Among men the number of the truly wise is even smaller. Even of philosophers few are to be counted among them. Aristotle, the wisest of all, was not perfect , . » , , 6-8 CHAPTER IV. Of the three first causes of error, popular prejudice is the most potent. The truth that pearls should not be cast before swine is confirmed by Aristotle and other philosophers .... 9-11 xciv ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS.' CHAPTER V. VOL. I. PAGES Continuation of the subject. Gratitude is to be shown to the great founders of truth even where they have failed . . . 11-13 CHAPTER VI. Errors are infinite, truth single. New generations inheriting the results of their predecessors can see their mistakes. Avicenna sees where Aristotle erred ; Averroes corrects Avicenna. Among the fathers of the Church we see the same thing. They acknowledge their own errors and point out those of others .... 13-15 CHAPTER VII. Further illustrations, justifying cautious scrutiny of received opinions ............ 15-17 CHAPTER VIII. By habit of discussing received opinion we cease to be slaves to it 17 CHAPTER IX. But the fourth source of error, false conceit of our own wisdom, is far the most dangerous. It fortifies itself with the results of the other three by endowing this false wisdom with the force of authority, of custom, and of popular prejudice. Prior to the detection of the symptoms of this spiritual disease, we must acquire, as physicians of the body do, some knowledge of universal causes from the study of nature (communia naturalium). The potency of this source of error is shown by historical examples ...... 17-21 CHAPTER X. Two things are to be distinguished : presumption of knowledge ; concealment of ignorance. What each one of us can know is little in comparison with what faith reveals ; but both together are as nothing to the unknown world which neither faith nor reason can reach. Why then boast of knowledge ? The labours of a long life can be assimilated by an intelligent boy in a year. If this boy has learnt at the right source he will be further advanced than many of his learned seniors, as the youth entrusted with this work will prove. Wise men know their ignorance, and are ready to learn from every one. I have learned more from plain men quite unknown to fame than from all the doctors 21-23 CHAPTER XI. The evil tends to multiply itself owing to the claims set up by ignorance to authority. Yet men, however learned they may be in PART L xcv VOL. I. PAGES Other ways, should be credited with no authority whatever in things of which they know nothing 23-24 CHAPTER XII. Many things known to the ancients we neglect, as the study of mathematics and languages, from sheer ignorance of their value. In other cases the fact that subjects are not studied by the fathers is held a good reason for passing them by. We forget that the saints and fathers were justified by the circumstances of their time, and moreover that they were not infallible. Augustine found much fault with Jerome, and so in other cases 24-26 CHAPTER XIII. We must remember that the best Greek work was not known to the Latin fathers. Plato indeed was translated and carefully studied ; but Aristotle, from the very fact of being Plato's opponent, was neglected. Yet Augustine had translated the Categories, a work highly valued by Alcuin. Boethius also translated some of the logical works. But if the greater works of Aristotle had been known to them, they would have gladly received these, and not have troubled themselves about the ashes of his philosophy .... 26-28 CHAPTER XIV. The early Church made no use of Greek science except for the purpose of regulating its calendar and its music. The explanation of this neglect of ancient learning is fivefold, i. Philosophy was the foundation of law and government to all the nations of antiquity except the Hebrews. 2. Therefore it was that philosophy resisted Christianity. 3. Moreover these nations not merely studied philo- sophy, but practised augury and oracular magic. 4. They persecuted Christians. 5 The Church, finding her enemies occupied on the one hand with the study of philosophy, and on the other with the study of magic, associated these two things, and thus came to despise and dislike philosophy. The truth is however that philosophy, so far from being hostile to the Church, is capable of yielding it indispensable support 28-30 CHAPTER XV. Later ecclesiastical authorities have followed a similar course, though without the excuse which justifies the early fathers. Though Greek philosophy is no longer untranslated, they study only its most trivial productions, neglecting the great works of science and ethic 30-31 xcvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MA JUS/ CHAPTER XVI. VOL 1. PAGES Let me not be misunderstood. I am not proposing to your Holi- ness any violent change in the ordinary course of studies. I am merely suggesting free access to a land of plenty for those who care to avail themselves of it. If once the leaders of thought become more enlightened, the rest will soon follow 31-32 PART II. THE CONNEXION OF PHILOSOPHY WITH THEOLOGY. CHAPTER I. Theology is the mistress-science. All truth is contained in the Scriptures ; but to elicit truth we need the help of the canon law and of philosophy. Wisdom comes from one God, is given to one world, for one purpose. Itself therefore is one. It cannot be inconsistent with itself 38-34 CHAPTER II. The canon law has its root in Scripture. From that root spring branch and fruit ; the teaching of the fathers and doctors of the Church and the rules finally laid down by them .... 34-35 CHAPTER IH. So with philosophy. Augustine dwells at length on the importance of taking from it all that is precious, as the Hebrews of old borrowed jewels from the Egyptians. He included in the word ethics, history, knowledge of the arts, logic, and grammar 35-37 CHAPTER IV. Jerome and Bede used similar language. Bede remarks that, as Solomon when building his temple called foreign workmen to his aid, so has Christ availed himself of heathen philosophers in building his Church. Paul, too, quotes heathen poets 37-38 CHAPTER V. Wherever truth is found it belongs to Christ. We must distinguish between mtelleciiis agens and mtellectics possibilis. The first is no part of our nature. Our minds are capable of receiving it and of being stirred to action by it, but it comes from without. This can be PART II. xcvii VOL. I. PAGES proved from Aristotle, when rightly interpreted, and from his com- mentators Alpharabius and Avicenna. Reason comes from God : therefore philosophy is divine 38-41 CHAPTER VL But we may go farther. Wisdom was a direct revelation of God to the philosophers of antiquity. Aristotle, Cicero, and Augustine may be cited to show this ......... 41-42 CHAPTER Vn. Indeed the very purpose of philosophy is to lead up through know- ledge of the creature to knowledge and service of the Creator . 42-43 CHAPTER VIII. The Scriptures tell of the creature, and reveal its final cause : leaving the efficient cause to be dealt with by philosophy, which as yet has but imperfectly done her work. The rainbow is an illustra- tion . . . . . 43-44 CHAPTER IX. • The most important point of all has now to be explained. Philo- sophy is not an invention of heathen nations : it was revealed in its entirety to the first patriarchs, by the same Spirit who revealed to them the oracles of God. We learn from Josephus that Noah and his sons taught the Chaldaeans ; Abraham the Egyptians. That philosophy originated with the patriarchs is admitted by Aristotle. From the Chaldaeans and Egyptians, thus taught, further progress ensued, the history of which may now be traced in parallel lines with that of the Hebrews. Isis and Pallas were contemporary with Jacob and Esau. Under Phoroneus, the second king of the Argives, a few years later, moral philosophy was first taught. Then came Prometheus and Atlas, contemporary with Moses. Hermes was the grandson of Atlas ; by him or by another wise man, Apollo, Asclepius was taught, the founder of medical art ; though probably medicine was better known to the sons of Adam and Noah, who thus attained great longevity 44-49 CHAPTER X. In the time of Othoniel, the Hebrew judge, Cadmus gave the art of writing to the Greeks. [Under the name of Hercules as under that of Apollo several distinct persons living at widely different periods are included.] Orpheus was a contemporary of Gideon. VOL. I. g xcviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MA JUS/ VOL. I. PAGES The Erythraean Sibyl lived between the taking of Troy and the founding of Rome, in the seventh Olympiad, 433 years afterward. Hesiod, Homer's successor, is prior to the foundation of Rome. Romulus, Thales of Miletus, and Hezekiah were contemporaries . 49-51 CHAPTER XI. With Thales began the series of the wise men of Greece ; he himself was in Josiah's time ; Pittacus, Solon, Bias and others, were contemporary with the Jewish captivity. Shortly afterwards arose the Italic schaol of Greek philosophy, Pythagoras at their head, in the time of the Jewish restoration ; Tarquinius Superbus reigning at Rome 51-52 CHAPTER XII. Pythagoras was followed by Archytas, Timaeus, and others ; but the great school of Greek philosophy, culminating in Aristotle, was inherited from Thales, through Anaximander, Anaximenes, Anaxa- goras, Archelaus, Socrates, and Plato. Plato, who travelled and studied in Egypt, and learnt much from the Pythagorean school, uttered truths so profound that many have thought that while in Egypt he must have been taught by the prophet Jeremiah ; though chronology will hardly confirm this view ..... 52-54 CHAPTER XIII. Aristotle studied under Socrates for three years, and for twenty years under Plato, whom he survived by forty-three years. He is the greatest of philosophers, rightly called The Philosopher. He strove by diligence and observation of nature to bring philosophy to the perfect state m which the patriarchs of old received it. But he was not infallible ; and as long as the world lasts, additions to his knowledge will continually be made. Little use was made of his teaching till after the time of Mahomet, when Avicenna, Averroes and others brought it to light. Boethius indeed had translated some of his logical works. A great stimulus was given to the study of Aristotle by Michael Scot's translations, with commentaries, of his physical and metaphysical works. Of Avicenna's commentaries, however, not more than a third part has yet been translated . 54-56 CHAPTER XIV. The conclusion is that philosophy and theology are two aspects of one inseparable whole. Philosophy leads us to the threshold of divine truth ; apart from this function it has no meaning or value. But if rightly regarded its work never ends. In the sight of God we are PART II. xcix VOL. I. PAGES but as children ever growing and learning : what we know is due to those who have gone before us ; it is for us, if we are not dolts, to supply their shortcomings. As Christians it is our duty to avail ourselves of their teaching as the foundation of our more perfect doctrine, some glimpses of which, due to the tradition of the primitive patriarchs, were not denied to heathen writers .... 56-59 CHAPTER XV. Such glimpses are to be found in the Sibyls, who prophesied of the death of Christ and of the last Judgement. Divine truth, as Augustine has said, was not confined to the seed of Abraham. Job believed in the Resurrection 59-61 CHAPTER XVI. There are two principles of metaphysic which will lead us to the same conclusion. The first is that the business of philosophy is to furnish a criterion of knowledge. It is aware of the incompleteness of its own knowledge in those matters which are of the greatest importance. It concludes from the goodness of God that such know- ledge must have been somewhere revealed : it finds this revelation in the Christian church ; and shows that Christian doctrine supplies the complement to its teaching which hitherto had been wanting . 61-62 CHAPTER XVII. Secondly, we must consider that all speculative philosophy has moral philosophy for its end and aim. The two are co-ordinated. As the speculative philosophy of antiquity is related to the moral philosophy of that time, so must our own speculative philosophy be related to the moral philosophy of the Christian time, in other words, to Christian theology. But Christian ethic, as all authorities admit, assumes the previous existence of heathen ethic. So therefore must it be with the speculative philosophy of Christians. It starts with the speculative theories of antiquity and carries them many stages farther. And in so doing the Christian theorist will not merely select from his heathen predecessors those truths the relation of which to theology is manifest. He will embrace all truths without distinction, arranging each in the division to which it belongs ; confident that all truth, in whatever department, will conduce in one way or another to that which is divine 62-64 CHAPTER XVIII. We see then that wisdom was revealed in its fullness to the first patriarchs ; that, through the imposture of those who followed them, g 2 c ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MA JUS/ it was afterwards hidden from men ; that Thales and his successors down to Aristotle, aided by some trace of primitive tradition, revived its culture. Philosophy, therefore, has its place in the divine govern- ment of the world : its conclusions must be demonstrated, diffused, and enlarged. It is a component part of that perfect wisdom which is contained in the Scriptures 64-65 PART III. THE STUDY OF LANGUAGE. Having seen the essential unity of wisdom as contained in Scripture, the canon law, and philosophy, we pass to the divisions of the subject. These are five. The first is the study of grammar, not so much of Latin, as of the languages from which Latin received its culture, i. The quality of one language can never be perfectly reproduced in another. This is true even of the dialects of a language: far more true as between different languages. A literal translation of Homer into Latin, and thence into a modern language, results in utter absurdity 66-67 2. Secondly, Latin is altogether wanting in many of the necessary words for the things described by foreign authors ... 67 3. Thirdly, the translator must not only be perfectly acquainted with his subject, but also with the two languages with which he deals. Boethius and Robert Grosseteste fulfilled these conditions. But most translators have failed, and especially the translators of Aristotle. Jerome and Augustine have pointed out the errors of the Septuagint version and of the other versions. Nevertheless Jerome has left very many uncorrected 67-70 4. Fourthly, in the Latin texts now in our possession there are vast omissions, as well as many confused and corrupt passages. E. g. the third and fourth books of Maccabees are wanting : also the books of Samuel, Nathan, and Gad. We need also good translations of Josephus's book of Antiquities, of many of the Greek fathers, of the second and third books of Avicenna, and of many essential treatises of Aristotle, on metaphysics, on physical and mathematical science, and on that part of his logic which deals with practical reason, the part that is of the greatest importance in the guidance of human life 70-73 5. Fifthly, owing to our neglect of foreign languages, we fair to understand the allusions to them contained in many writings of PART III. ci VOL. I. PAGES antiquity. We are told, for instance, that certain parts of the Scriptures are written not in Hebrew, but in Chaldaean. The precise relations of these two languages ought to be made familiar to us 73-77 6. Sixthly, the Latin text of the Scriptures, as commonly used, is extremely corrupt, and becomes more so as time goes on. It needs careful correction by reference to the original Greek and Hebrew. The versions in recent use by the Franciscans and Dominicans are far inferior to the old versions 77-81 7. Seventhly, when the text is correct, there is often the greatest obscurity as to the interpretation. The same Latin word corresponds often to many totally distinct Hebrew words 81-85 8. Eighthly, and lastly, since Latin grammar is formed on the model of Greek and Hebrew grammar, much confusion arises from this source. Latin words of foreign origin are not recognized ; and conversely, to many words of Latin origin a foreign source is erroneously given. Again mistakes occur as to the vowels and diphthongs in Greek that correspond to a Latin vowel. The rules for gender that hold good in Latin are not applicable to Greek. The same holds good of pronunciation. The penultimate of possessive adjectives, which is long in the case of words of Latin origin, as bovinum, is short where they are derived from Greek, as in such words as crystallinum, adamantinum 85-92 In conclusion, I must point out the importance to the Church of linguistic studies ; (i) for explanation of the liturgy, (2) of the formulae used in sacraments and consecrations, (3) for the due regulation of foreign churches, (4) for throwing light on the future history of the Church, (5) for intercourse with foreign nations .... 92-96 PART IV. MATHEMATICAL SCIENCE. First Distinction. CHAPTER I. I pass now to mathematics, the foundation and the key to all other sciences, studied from the earliest ages of the world, but of late fallen into neglect. I shall deal successively with its application to human knowledge, to divine knowledge, and to the government of the Church 97-98 cii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ CHAPTER II. VOL. I. PAG There is high authority for this estimate of mathematics. In the study of divine things and also of man's social life Boethius and Ptolemy show that it is of great service. The various modes of proportion have their analogue in civil polity. It is needed both in grammar and logic, as Alpharabius and Cassiodorus have shown. For prosody depends entirely on arithmetical relations. Logic, on its practical side, has the same purpose as poetic and rhetoric, which depend on harmony. Further, the subject-matter of logic is in- timately connected with mathematic. This is obvious in the Categories of quantity, of time, and of place. In the Category of quality much belongs to the mathematical domain, as e.g. geo- metrical form. The same may be said of the Category of relation. Spiritual substances can only be known through the medium of corporal : and the first step to the knowledge of body is the study of the heavenly bodies. The dependence of astronomy on mathe- matics is obvious 98- CHAPTER III. We reach the same conclusion by reasoning, {a) In all other sciences we use mathematical examples, because they illustrate the point without confusing complications ; e.g. in explaining the difference between augmentation and change, we add a gnomon to a rectangle, augmenting its magnitude without changing its shape, {b} Mathe- matical knowledge is innate in us and only needs drawing out, as Cicero explains, Qiiaest. Tusc. book i. [c] Mathematical truths are discovered prior to others. [d] They are simpler of compre- hension than others, {e) Students attain them who are incapable of proceeding further. ( /) We see the same thing with children, who easily appreciate the simple arithmetical relations on which music depends, {g) We acquire our knowledge of things known to ourselves more easily than of things known to nature (i.e. intrinsi- cally simpler ; as, for instance, the truths of theology). But mathe- matics have the double character of being both relatively and absolutely simpler. {h) In mathematics demons' ration is more complete : its cogency has the force of necessity, which is not the case either in physics, in metaphysic, in ethic. (z) In other sciences the uncertainty of the premisses involves uncertainty in the con- clusion. These principles require verification by some science more perfect than themselves: i.e. by mathematics, {k) Finally, the subject-matter of mathematics is more directly cognizable by our senses. It deals with quantity, which hes at the root of all know- ledge. The simplest process of intellect implies continuous quantity, PART IV. ciii VOL. I. PAGES i. e. time. (/) Finally, we are confirmed by the experience of all who have most distinguished themselves in science. They owe their results to the mathematical foundation of their studies . . 103-108 Second Distinction. CHAPTER I. Leaving method, and passing to the objects of study, we find it impossible to make progress without mathematics. The number and motions of the heavens, planetary motions, eclipses obviously require this science. And things terrestrial no less, since they are governed by things celestial. The sun, acting on the surrounding medium, dilTuses light. This may be taken as a type of the propagation, or multiplication, of species, or forces, by other agents. Let us consider how it takes place 109-111 CHAPTER IL Rays passing from a rarer medium to a denser, if they impinge upon the latter perpendicularly, pursue a rectilinear course. Otherwise they are refracted, i. e. diverted towards the perpendicular drawn to the surface of contact. In passing from denser to rarer they are diverted away from this perpendicular. Hence if the denser body be spherical, the solar rays passing through it converge at a given point beyond it. The convergence of many rays produces heat. If the second medium is so dense that the ' species ' cannot pass through, or at least that its transit cannot be appreciated by human vision, it is reflected. If the ray falls perpendicular to this medium, reflexion is in the reverse direction of incidence. If otherwise, the angle of reflexion is equal to the angle of incidence. By concave reflectors solar rays may be concentrated. If the reflector is spherical, those rays will be focussed which impinge on points in it corresponding to a circle placed at right angles with its axis. But reflectors can be devised of such form that all the rays shall fall on the reflecting surface at equal angles, and thus be reflected to the same focus. We have further to consider the diffusion of light impinging on objects not directly from the sun but indirectly. Constant exposure to direct rays would be destructive. Lastly, we have to consider the effect of light on the nerves of vision, when there is no question of its following any rectilinear course, its path being modified by the vital principle . . . 111-117 CHAPTER III. Rays issuing in infinite number from a point in every direction find their termination on hollow surface of a sphere. Each point of civ ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MA JUS.' VOL. I. PAGES the surface acted on is the vertex of a cone of rays, of which the base is the whole surface of the agent 117-119 Third Distinction. CHAPTER I. Light and other forces not merely propagate themselves by multiplication of species, but work ulterior effects ; light produces heat, heat putrefaction, putrefaction death, and so on. To these effects the same law applies. Rectilinear action is more effective than curvilinear ; perpendicular than oblique. In refraction the effect is greater than in 'reflexion, because in the latter the reflected and incident rays neutralize each other. In refraction action is stronger where the second medium is denser than the first, because the ray is deflected towards, not away from, the perpendicular. In reflexion more is done by oblique rays than by perpendicular. With the latter there is neutralization of incident and reflected rays. Further, there can be but one perpendicular ray, but infinite numbers of oblique ; and these may all be made to converge . . . 119-123 CHAPTER II. The rays of which a natural action consist form, as we have seen, a cone. In the shorter cones the strength of the action is promoted first by greater proximity of the agent, secondly by the greater proximity of the conterminal rays after intersection. On the other hand in the longer cones, the rays before intersection are the nearer to each other, and in this respect the action will be more potent. But the first of these conditions will outweigh the second . . 123-124 CHAPTER III. When two equal spheres interact, the half of each which is averted from the other is unaffected ; the extreme rays from each can only embrace the half of the other sphere. But with unequal spheres, the less receives rays from less than the hemisphere of the greater, which touch more than its own hemisphere. From each point of a sphere rays issue into space outside of the tangent plane. Of these rays only one is perpendicular to the surface. This is the potent ray. Rays vertical to a sphere are divergent. But when the object of vision is very remote, as in the case of stellar bodies, they appear to us to be parallel : just as the walls of a house seem parallel, although their lines of direction converge to the earth's centre . 124-127 PART IV. cv Fourth Distinction. CHAPTER I. VOL. I. PAGES By the foregoing principles and others akin to them, which for want of space are here omitted, all natural actions are to be ex- plained. A few illustrations may be given. The planets receive their light from the sun. Hence when the earth is between the sun and moon, the moon is eclipsed by the earth's shadow. The cone of this shadow not reaching however to the other planets, these are not eclipsed. Again, that the eye and the stars can mutually transmit their emanations through the media of the planetary orbits, proves these media to be of great rarity, to be invisible, and non-luminous. The sphere of fire also is neither luminous nor visible. A planet differs from the sphere in which it moves by greater condensation of celestial substance; hence its luminosity. This, though ultimately derived from the sun, is not due to the sun's reflected rays. The diffusion of moonlight proves the moon to have independent luminosity. Owing to the magnitude of the sun being 170 times greater than that of the moon, much more than half of the earth is illuminated by the sun ; and the same is the case with the moon and planets. Other affections of the moon's light depend on her varying conjunctions with planets and with constellations . . . 127-130 CHAPTER H. The same principles may be applied to disprove the alleged simplicity of cosmic structure. A star on the meridian is seen to be further from the pole than at its rising. In the latter position refraction displaces it. This shows the world to consist of distinct substances of varying density ; for a ray would not be refracted while passing through the same substance, even though its parts should be of different density 130-132 CHAPTER III. Hence it is that the temperatures of the various zones are explained. Beneath the poles the cones of rays are prolonged, and therefore feeble ; capable only of raising vapours from the earth and sea, so that the air of those climates is heavy and cold, and unfit for living things. Nevertheless, owing to the length of the days and of the twilight in summer, the sun being never far distant, there may be places in those regions, favoured by the position and inclination of certain mountains, where the rays are so reflected that the climate is temperate 132-135 CVl ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ CHAPTER IV. VOL. I. PAGES Passing to the torrid zone, it would seem that the region under the equinoctial circle must be the hottest, since twice in the year the sun's rays there are vertical. But this is over-weighed by the fact that under the tropical signs the sun is nearly stationary. The matter is further comphcated by the eccentricity of the solar orbit. . 135-137 CHAPTER V. The emanations from the stars affect not merely climate, but character ; implanting on the new-born child dispositions to good or evil, to quick or to dull apprehension : though free will, God's grace, temptations of the devil, or education may modify these innate tendencies 137-139 CHAPTER VI. Our theory may be applied to the tides. These evidently depend on the moon. When the rays fall obliquely on the surface, their effect is only to raise vapours from the surface and create ebullition and a consequent flow of water till the time comes when the rays fall vertically, and with force enough to extract the vapour ; and then the reflux begins. This however leaves it unexplained why the same thing happens in the hemisphere averted from the moon. We must suppose the ninth or starry heaven to be solid and impenetrable, and that the vertical rays of the moon are reflected from it, these producing the same effect as the incident rays .... 139-142 CHAPTER VIL The application of these principles to the preservation of life and health is obvious. Protection must be sought against the vertical rays of injurious emanations, as of the moon at night, of Saturn and Mars, of persons infected with contagious disease, of the evil eye ; and we must adapt our bodies to the reception of emanations known to be salubrious 142-143 CHAPTER VIII. We may give mathematical disproof of what is one of the greatest errors in philosophy : namely, that matter is of one kind only, the differences of substance resulting only from difference in form. The consequence of this error would be to elevate matter to equality with PART IV. cvii God. Nor is it enough to say that matter is infinite potentially, but not in essence. Nor that it is potentially infinite in the sense in which this is said of continuous quantity. For to attribute to matter existence in indefinite numbers of substances is to attribute to it infinity, not merely potentially, but in act. The contradiction in which this lands us may be set forth geometrically. Nothing infinite can have finite power, and conversely nothing finite can have infinite power 143-148 CHAPTER IX. When two spheres are brought together, and the straight lines from their centres to the point of contact are continuous, the question arises whether these lines become one, or whether we are to regard them as two. Averroes maintained a distinction between mathematical quantity and natural quantity. But this distinction is untenable. The lines in question are two, although they have the effect of one, and for convenience of speech may be spoken of as one. Against the separability of different masses of matter it is argued that if two circular planes are brought into contact and then separated, air will penetrate into the outer portion before the inner, hence for a moment there will be a vacuum in the central part. But the answer is that the separation is not simultaneous throughout the whole surface of the plane, so that the air penetrates gradually. From the divisibility of matter, it is not to be argued that the world is composed of an infinite number of material particles, as Leucippus and Democritus maintained. Were this so, it might be inferred that the diameter of the square was commensurable with its side ; which Euclid in the seventh proposition of his tenth book has shown to be impossible 148-152 CHAPTER X. On geometrical grounds the shape of the universe can be inferred to be spherical. No other form would preclude the possibility of a vacuum in the course of its revolution. Cylindrical or lenticular form would suffice if revolution took place round a certain axis. With the spherical form revolution round whatsoever axis would avoid vacuum. Looked at from within, it must be concave and spherical ; otherwise lines drawn from the centre of the earth to the extremities of the universe would not be equal. Further, the sphere is that form which under a given surface has the greatest content. It is the simplest and noblest of forms. The water, the air, and the fire surrounding the earth concentrically, are of similar form . . 152-157 cviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ CHAPTER XI. VOL. I. PAGES Suppose two vessels similar in shape and equal in size ; one placed at a higher level than the other. More water can be placed in the lower, for its surface will be a portion of a smaller sphere : the diameter of the rim of the vessel being equal in both cases . 157-159 CHAPTER XII. The Platonic school maintained that heaven and the four elements corresponded to the five regular solids. For there can be no more than five. Since in the dodekahedron the other four can be inscribed, this was regarded as representing heaven : fire was identified with the tetrahedron, air with the octahedron, earth with the cube, water with the icosihedron. But the difficulty in this theory is that, though solid masses can be built up of tetrahedra and of cubes with- out leaving vacua, this is not the case with the other three . 159-164 CHAPTER XIII. There can be only one universe. For, on the supposition that there were two, both being spherical would touch in one point only, so that a vacuum would be left, which is impossible. Further, the universe cannot be infinite, otherwise two infinite lines, from one of which a given portion was cut off", would be equal ; i. e. the part would be equal to the whole, which is impossible . . . 164-165 CHAPTER XIV. Unity of time does not imply unity of matter. Nor is it needful to suppose plurality of ages (aeva). The subject of time is not matter, but motion. The subject of motion is not matter, but body composed of matter and form. Motion is of linear dimension. Prior excludes posterior, past excludes future. But as to the present being a point having no dimension, there is no such exclusion ; one point does not exclude another : many points occupy the position of one. One present moment suffices for all present moments. Hence time is one. And so to the conception of aevum the same applies. It is single and not multiple 165-167 CHAPTER XV. In a body falling to the earth's centre, a strain is involved : since, though the central point of the body tends directly towards the centre, the extreme points are prevented from doing so. From this strain heat results. This is shown by experiment to be the fact. But on geometrical grounds the reason of this fact appears; and our knowledge of it becomes thus more complete .... 167-169 PART IV. cix CHAPTER XVI. VOL. I. PAGES When two equal weights are placed in the scales of a balance, and one scale is depressed, the lower scale being nearer the earth's centre, will have greater gravity. But this is counterbalanced by the tendency of the upper scale to fall in a curve of more rapid descent than the lower. The oscillation of the arms of the balance above and below the horizontal is due to the motion communicated to the surrounding air , 169-174 THE APPLICATION OF MATHEMATICS TO SACRED We have now seen the potency of mathematics as applied to things secular. We now pass to its application to things divine. Philosophy is impossible without mathematics : theology without philosophy. All knowledge is contained, directly or indirectly, in Scripture. Therefore for the right understanding of Scripture, knowledge of nature is needful. In Scripture there is a double meaning, literal and spiritual. The first is necessary for the second : and, as we have shown, mathematical knowledge is necessary for it. It is certain that the patriarchs studied mathematical science and transmitted it to the Chaldaeans and Egyptians, whence it came to the Greeks. This is proved by Josephus, and confirmed by Jerome and other doctors, and also by such philosophers as Albumazar. Further, the fathers have themselves extolled the value of mathematical science, as may be shown by passages from Cassiodorus, Augustine, Bede and others. The importance of mathematics to theology may be considered under First head. Knowledge of the heavens. Astronomy shows the insignificance of the earth as compared with the heavens. The smallest of the stars is larger than the earth, and the largest star is insignificant compared with the space of the sky. The earth can be traversed at foot pace in three years. A star moving with immense velocity takes thirty-six thousand years to compass the heavens. Further, it is to astronomy that we look for solution of many theo- logical problems, as for the substance of which the heavens are made, the position of paradise and of hell, the influence of heavenly bodies upon the things of earth. Again many obscurities in the text of Scripture can only be cleared up by astronomical research . 180-183 The second head is that of sacred geography. By geography, which is dependent on astronomy, we can determine the precise position and the physical conditions of the places named in Scripture. SUBJECTS 175-404 seven heads 175-180 cx ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MA JUS/ VOL. I. PAGES All these, apart from their literal importance, have a distinct spiritual signification. The river symboHzes the world ; the Dead Sea, hell ; Jericho, the flesh ; the Mount of Olives, spiritual life ; the valley of Jehoshaphat, humility ; Jerusalem, the soul in the enjoyment of peace, or again the Church militant and triumphant. Minute research v^ill reveal numberless intermediate meanings . . 183-187 The third head relates to sacred chronology. Scripture presents to us a succession of times, with regard to which precise knowledge can only be given by mathematical astronomy. The starting-point is the creation of the world. Was this in the autumnal or the vernal equinox } From what is said in the Old Testament as to the Feast of Ingathering [Exodus xxiii. i6] we should infer the former. Yet Jewish and Christian commentators adopt the latter view. It will be for astronomy to decide this difficult point. Further, the question of the longevity of the ancient patriarchs has to be considered. One mode of accounting for it may be the more favourable position of the sun and the planets in primitive times. Again there is the problem of the Deluge. The right interpretation of Josephus points to November as the month in which it began. Lastly, did night come before day, or the converse ? The former would seem to be the true view 187-195 The fourth head deals not with chronology in general, but with the definition of periods. How is the beginning of a lunation to be fixed ? by astronomical calculation, or by the moment when the new moon is visible The actual lunation is variable. The average lunation must be used. The Jews use the Metonic cycle of nineteen years, or 235 lunations. This gives twenty-nine days, twelve hours, and -x ifo of an hour for the mean lunation. They take a period of thir- teen lunar cycles or 247 years, within which all their festivals recur at the same moment. The lunation is considered to begin with the sun- set immediately following the computed time. These considerations may be applied to the date of the Creation, of Noah's issue from the ark, of the Passover, and finally of the Passion. The current belief in the Latin Church is that Christ was born in the second year of a lunar cycle, and died on March 25 (a. d. viii Kal. Aprilis), the moon being at the fifteenth day (the Greeks holding that it was the fourteenth day). Against this much may be urged. It implies that it was in the thirteenth year of a cycle. From the computation of S. Dionysius this would involve the Passion taking place on a Sunday, which is impossible. A table is appended showing one solution of the difficulty. This would show the date of the Passion to be April 3 (a. d. iii Non. Aprilis), on the fifteenth year of the lunar cycle, Christ being then thirty-two years old. This view is offered to the Pope for consideration 195-210 PART IV. cxi Fifth head. This relates to geometrical forms ; and again it has to be premised that the spiritual meaning of Scripture is not to be grasped, unless the literal meaning be first understood. The precise form of the ark, the tabernacle, the temple should be pre- sented to us with mathematical accuracy ; it will then be possible to interpret their mystical signification. A remarkable case in point is the rainbow, of which we are told that it is a symbol of God's promise as to the Deluge. The meaning of this is misunderstood for want of understanding the geometry of the rainbow, which is produced by the solar rays striking on the raindrops and being refracted or reflected thence. Only by geometry can such a text as that of the threefold burning of mountains by the sun be under- stood. The mountains receive direct rays. The rays reflected by them are focussed in the air and contribute to warm them. Lastly, there are the doubly refracted rays passing from the sun into the clouds and from the clouds into the air. Again, the rays may fall either vertically, or obliquely, or horizontally, producing different effects in each case. The laws as to the passage of light through space apply equally to the passage of all other forces. Of all these things there is a spiritual interpretation. Direct vertical rays may be compared to the action of grace on the righteous ; they neither reflect nor refract it. In the wicked we see the light driven away, reflected : in the imperfect it is bent aside, refracted. It is to be noted here that the geometrical form of the triangle is specially adapted to symbolize the Trinity. Each angle is distinct yet each embraces the whole space. Again, our geometrical principles as to the action of forces may be applied to the estimation of the forces of temptation, which act in proportion to their proximity. Hence the need of keeping the tempted as far removed as possible from the objects which tempt 210-219 Sixth head. This relates to number, (a) As with geometrical forms, so with number there is a spiritual meaning behind the literal meaning, {b) For the understanding of chronicles it is necessary to know the different systems of numeration, and to be able to convert one into another, {c) There are various arithmetical operations in the Jewish law requiring a knowledge of the subject, {d) There are many corruptions in the text which only an arithmetician can unravel. {e) The perfections inherent in the number three can only be under- stood by arithmeticians. (/) Arithmetic is necessary in astronomy, which we have seen to be needful to the theologian. Some instances of its value in astronomy are here given. We have to define the length of a line on the earth's surface corresponding to a degree. We must take a mile as 4,000 cubits : a cubit as feet. How many miles must we walk northward from a given point to find the pole- cxii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MA JUS.' VOL. r. PAGES Star a degree higher in the sky? We shall find the result to be fifty-six miles, 2,984^% cubits. From the diameter of the earth we obtain its circumference and its surface. The distance of the heavenly bodies may be measured in semidiameters of the earth = 3,2 50 miles. Alfraganus estimates the distance of the starry sphere to be 20,110 semidiameters ; which gives the diameter of this sphere as 130,715,000 miles. From this we can calculate the circumference and surface. The longest distance of Saturn is the semidiameter of this sphere, or 65,357,500 miles, of Jupiter 46,816,250 miles, of Mars 28,847,000 miles, of the Sun 3,965,000 miles, of Venus 3,640,000 miles, of Mercury 542,750 miles, of the Moon 208,54 1§ miles ; the shorter distance of the preceding planet being always equal to the longer distance of the succeeding. As to the ninth and the tenth heaven we have no scientific knowledge. As to the height of the atmosphere there is great uncertainty. For measuring the apparent diameters of the Sun and the Moon recourse has been to water-clocks; the number of drops issuing from the beginning to the end of the Sun's rising have been compared with the number issuing during a revolution ' of the heavens. But there are more accurate methods by astrolabes or quadrants. From these, and from observations of eclipses, the moon's diameter is estimated at {\ of the Earth's diameter. The Earth is therefore about 31^ as large as the moon. Similarly the Sun will be found to be 170 times as large as the Earth. Mercury is of the Earth. In a similar way the relative magnitude of the other planets as compared with the Earth may be determined. The fixed stars are 1,022 in number, and are divided into six groups according to this magnitude. Those of the first magnitude are 107 times as large as the Earth ; of the second, ninety times the Earth's magnitude : of the third, seventy-two times, of the fourth, fifty-four times, of the fifth, thirty-six times, of the sixth, eighteen times. But besides these there are infinite numbers of other stars whose magnitude cannot be determined 219-236 Seventh head. Music. The theologian should be acquainted with the theory, if not with the practice, of vocal and instrumental music. Music covers the whole ground of recitation, punctuation, accent, things necessary for prose as well as poetry. Of instruments again many are spoken of in Scripture, and each has a spiritual as well as literal meaning. Nor must dancing, which may be called visible music, be forgotten ......... 236-238 We have now to consider certain objections that have been raised with regard to mathematical science. Mathematic has been con- founded with magic, and put on the same level as fortune-telling, witch-craft, and the preparation of charms and incantations. It has been credited with the doctrine that human actions are absolutely PART IV. cxiii ; VOL. I. PAGES determined by stellar influences. But this doctrine is explicitly condemned by all philosophers, both of Greece, Rome, and Arabia, They maintain free-will against any such supposed physical necessity ; and they reprobate utterly the use of charms and incantations. The prejudice against mathematics was strengthened by the strife of heathenism against Christianity, in which magic was used by the former, and in which Christian miracles were accounted for by magic. The reproach of denying free-will remained, when the suspicion of magic had passed away. But examination of Ptolemy's works shows clearly that he never fell into this error. He, and his principal Arabian commentators, held that the forecasts of the future revealed by astronomy indicated general tendencies only, and did not impose any specific compulsion on individual actions. But this distinction has not been always perceived in the attacks made by Christian writers on mathematical science. They have confounded true science with false 288-249 What is true is that the influences of the stars implant certain tendencies to good or evil action, always at the same time leaving free scope to human will. It is evident that physical temperament is one of the factors in human action. Temperament is itself a result of the influence of the stars. That climate affects character is obvious to every one. And this influence is to be traced in liiitiimis. From every part of the sky to every point of the earth's surface a cone of forces proceeds, affecting more or less every community and every individual, though not in such a way as to override free-will. These things would be studied by physicians if they were better acquainted with astronomy. In the case of a commonwealth, or of the states- men who direct commonwealths, it is more easy to discern the nature and degree of such influences, and to forecast their re- sults. And great advantage will accrue to the community from doing so 249-253 We now arrive at the practical applications of mathematical science to Church government. The first of these is the proof offered by astrology of the superiority of Christianity to other religions, and the insight given into the nature of Antichrist. It must be under- stood that the heaven is to be divided into twelve Houses ; that is, taking the quadrants formed by the intersection of the meridian and horizon, each may be divided into three. To five of the seven planets two Houses are allotted ; to Mercury and the Moon one each. The association of Jupiter with each of the other planets has a special meaning. If with Saturn, the reference is to Judaism. With Mars, to Chaldaeism. With the Sun, to Egyptian religion. With Venus, to the Saracen worship. With Mercury, to Christianity . . 253-258 VOL. I. h cxiv ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ VOL. I PAGES But there is another and more essential meaning of the word House. If we divide the ecliptic into twelve parts, and through the divisions conduct circles intersecting at the poles of the ecliptic, the regions between any two of these circles is in the true sense a House ; bearing the name of its zodiacal sign. The principal House of each planet is that in which it was created. Leo is the House of the Sun, Capricorn of Saturn, Sagittarius of Jupiter, Virgo of Mercury. There are certain signs for each planet which are called its Exaltation ; for the Sun Aries, for Saturn Libra, for Jupiter Cancer, for Mars Capricorn, for Venus Pisces, for Mercury Virgo. The signs are divided into four groups : three, Aries, Leo, Sagittarius, are hot and dry : three, Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn, are cold and dry : three, Gemini, Libra, Aquarius, are hot and moist : three, Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces, are cold and moist. A planet being in any of the groups to which its House belongs is said to be in its Triplicity. We have further to consider Boundaries and Aspects. With regard to Boundaries, they vary for each planet and for each sign. With regard to Aspects, each sign is divided into three equal portions of ten degrees, and a portion is assigned to each planet in sequence 258-261 It will appear in the result that Mercury has manifold and strong connexions with the sign of Virgo. As Mercury is connected with Christian faith, so is the Moon, with its irregular motions, connected with the corruption of that faith. The conjunctions of the planets, and especially those of Jupiter and Saturn, throw light on important epochs of history. These are of three kinds, occurring respectively in periods of 20, of 240, and of 960 years. Judging from what took place at previous periods, it may be inferred that the Mahometan faith will not be of much longer duration. There yet remains the period of Antichrist, on the date of which study of these astronomical periods may throw light ........ 261-269 A second application of mathematics to the service of the Church is the correction of the Calendar. The Julian Calendar fixed the length of the year at 365^ days. Hence the arrangement of an additional day every fourth year. But this estimate is known to be too great by the y^^j part of a day. Therefore in every 130 years there is an accumulated error of one day 269-271 Again, it has been assumed that the equinoxes and solstices occurred on fixed days. These days in the beginning of the Church were fixed thus : the winter solstice on December 25, the vernal equinox on March 25, the summer solstice on June 24, the autumnal equinox on September 24. Subsequently the vernal equinox was transposed to March 21. Hence the earliest Easter, being the first Sunday after the full moon succeeding to the vernal equinox, was PART IV. cxv March 22. But the winter solstice and the vernal equinox are no longer on these days. At the present time the winter solstice is on December 13, the vernal equinox on March 13, the summer solstice on June 15, the autumnal equinox on September 16. In every 125 years the error of another day accumulates. The con- sequence of this error is that Easter is observed at the wrong time, in the third and in the fourteenth years of the lunar cycle. The error will be far more serious in future centuries, so that ultimately the period when Lent should be observed will be at a time when every one is eating meat 271-274 Further, there is a serious error in the computation of the lunar cycle. Successive periods of nineteen years differ in length, some containing four, others five leap-years. The only satisfactory period would be thirty Arab years of twelve lunations, making 10,631 days. It is true that the Council of Nice adopted the lunar cycle; and 120 years afterwards it was confirmed by Pope Leo. The error at this latter period was not more than a day. Since that time astro- nomy has been in disrepute, for reasons already mentioned, and no one has been found who could clearly indicate the error, with sufficient authority; although in the time of Pope Hilary some con- sideration was given to the subject. At the present time the error is so great as to attract the ridicule of Jewish and Arab astronomers, and deserves the serious attention of the ruler of the Church . 275-285 Geography. We now pass to the influence of the heavens upon things terrestrial. In all things that are brought forth on earth, whether for good or evil, the sun and the heavens are the moving cause. We have therefore to consider the different ways in which different parts of the earth's surface are affected by these agencies. Imagining that surface divided by the equator and the equinoctial colure into four equal portions, we have specially to consider the portion contained between the equator and the poles, bounded east and west by the colure. What proportion does land bear to water ? Ptolemy thought one- sixth, but other authorities think the proportion much greater. Seneca and Pliny look on the space of ocean dividing the west of Spain from the east of India as inconsiderable. Under the word Spain we must include a vast tract extending westwards across the Straits of Gibraltar, in the direction of Atlas. On the whole, it seems probable that the land known to us from east to west extends over more than half the earth's circumference. Further, it seems probable ha cxvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ VOL. I. PAGES that the disposition of land and water may be similar on the other side of the northern hemisphere to that of this side ; and the same may be argued of the two divisions of the southern hemisphere, especially as the sun in its annual course comes nearer to it . 286-294 Speaking of the parts known to us, Ptolemy and others have dis- tinguished seven marking them by the increasing length of the longest day. The position of each place referred to is defined by the intersection of the line of latitude and longitude belonging to it. The zones, or cliviata^ of Ptolemy are marked according to the increase of a quarter of an hour in the length of the longest day up to the sixty-first degree of latitude ; thence to the sixty-fourth degree, by half an hour's increase ; thence to the sixty-sixth by one hour's increase. Beyond this point we come to the region where in the summer season the sun is always above the horizon, in winter always beneath it. Here the divisions must be marked according as the longest day is one month, or two or three, up to six. As to longi- tude, it should be measured not from any arbitrary point, but from the true east and west on the equator. The neglect of this pre- caution has led to much confusion in the tables of Toledo ; and generally a far more accurate determination of the latitude and longi- tude of towns and states is needed, such as can only be instituted by apostolical, imperial, or at least regal authority .... 294-301 A right understanding of locality and climate concerns alike the interpretation of Scripture, the propagation of the faith, and the wel- fare of commonwealths. Missionaries in particular should know the distribution of the various religions of the world ; where the lost tribes of Judea are to be looked for, where the incursions of Anti- christ are most to be dreaded. Our knowledge of these matters, derived from Pliny, Ptolemy and other writers of antiquity, has been recently enlarged by the travels of William Rubruquis in Central Asia 301-305 At the tropic of Cancer we begin to find regions where the sun at the summer solstice casts no shadow. Southwards to the tropic of Capricorn the same phenomenon occurs for each place twice in the year. And we have knowledge of regions south of the tropic of Capricorn where the noonday shadow is always to the south. And though in these last the sun approaches so nearly at our winter time, and recedes so far at our summer time, as to involve great extremities of heat and cold, yet these evils may be lessened by the configuration of mountain and plain, so that the region is habitable, as we know in the case of the island of Taprobane 305-309 We may begin our description of the habitable world with India. Its southern coasts are washed by a branch of the Atlantic Ocean, so vast that from the mouth of the Red Sea to the south of India is PART IV. CXVII a year's voyage. India has a third of the habitable surface. East of South India is the island of Taprobane abounding in gold and jewels, and governed peaceably by an elected king with a council . 309-810 The south coast of India passes from the south tropic north-west, cutting the equator at Arym, a point ninety degrees from the west, but more than that from the east. Then the coast line proceeds south-west, passing the opening of the Red Sea, and bounding South Ethiopia till the Indian Sea joins the Atlantic. On the Nile, at the latitude of sixteen degrees, we find the island of Saba, the royal city of Aethiopia— called also Meroe, about 700 miles from the coast. At the same latitude, on the Red Sea, is the city of Ptolemais. Between these two, or more probably to the west of Meroe, is Berenice the city of the Troglodytes, who are identified with the Garamantes. West of these are the Hesperi ........ 310 -313 Egypt is the region included between Syene and the Mediterra- nean : divided into upper Egypt or the Thebais, and the Delta. The Delta extends from Heliopolis on the Arabian frontier to Alexandria on the confines of Africa. Africa received its name from Affer, a descendant of Abraham. Before this it had been called Libya. Much of the northern coast was occupied by Medes, Persians, and Armenians brought by Hercules. The interior was occupied by Gaetulians, afterwards called Numidians, amongst whom the Carthaginians established their empire. Between Carthage and Egypt are Tripolis and Cyrene 313-318 Something must be said of the Nile. Its origin is in Aethiopia, probably in the region bordering on the Red Sea. Its course is for a long time westwards as far as Meroe. Between Meroe and Syene it is northward, and so onward to the Delta. Its inundation is in summer, hence the difficulty of explaining it. The opinion of Thales that it was due to northern winds preventing the outflow, is disproved by the fact that the inundation begins in the upper part of the river. A more probable view is that of Anaxagoras, that it is due to the melting of snow in the mountains of Aethiopia. Aristotle rejects this view, but gives reasons for supposing a great rainfall to occur n summer time in the marshy regions from which the Nile flows ■ . . 318 325 The region from the eastern bank of the Nile is to be regarded as part of Arabia, which also includes the vast space eastward as far as the Persian gulf and northward through south and east Palestine as far as the Euphrates. We can now trace the principal positions of the Hebrews in the Desert, and also of Edom, of Moab and of other neighbouring tribes mentioned in the Scriptures, . 325-332 The region between the Tigris and the Euphrates is Assyria or Mesopotamia, in which were the cities of Nineveh, Aram, and cxviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ VOL. I. PAGES Babylon. In Babylonia dwelt Noah and his sons after the deluge. Both the Tigris and the Euphrates rise in Armenia. The Tigris flows for some space underground before reaching Nineveh and joining the Euphrates. The Euphrates swells in summer as does the Nile. To the east of the Euphrates lie North Arabia and Syria, the southern part of which is the Holy Land. Here a more detailed description becomes necessary 332-335 Beginning with the coast, we find Gaza on the confines of Egypt and Palestine, then proceeding northward Ascalon, Joppa, Azotus, Caesarea, Aeon, Tyre, Sarepta, Sidon, Barut, Gibeleth, Tortosa, Laodicea. From this last to Antioch is two days' journey. From Antioch to Tarsus in Cilicia three days' journey . . . 335 336 Passing to the interior, we find Beer-sheba at the southern boundary. Twenty miles to the north is Hebron, the place of sepulture of the patriarchs. Near Hebron is Carmel, and a little to the east, the town and mountain of Ziph ; fourteen miles to the north is Bethlehem, which is six miles to the south of Jerusalem. This city is twelve leagues from Joppa, and nine leagues to the east of it is Jericho. Tekoa, the country of Amos, is twelve miles to the soath-east, and here we come to Pentapolis, the region of the Dead Sea, where nothing lives, where bodies that usually sink in water float, lumps of bitumen are found on the surface ; here too are found the apples of Sodom 336- 339 The Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. Its origin is by two branches from Lebanon, and it passes through the lakes of Gennesareth and Tiberias. North of Jericho is Scythopolis or Bethsan. Westward and to the north of Jerusalem is Anathoth the birthplace of Jeremiah. Thence northward, twelve leagues from Jerusalem, is Samaria, now called Sebaste. North-eastward is the plain of Megiddo ; north of this and east of Aeon, at seven leagues' distance, is Nazareth. Two leagues further east is Mount Tabor, and the city of Tiberias, and the lake of that name, containing the purest waters of Judaea ; it is near but distinct from the lake of (iennesareth. To the north, separated by a desert region, are P>ethsaida and Capernaum. East of Aeon, and two leagues north of Nazareth, is Cana of Galilee. Still further north is Corazaim. We are thus brought into the region of Lebanon, whence fertilizing waters descend to the neighbourhood of Tyre and Sidon . . 339-348 Beyond Jordan, north of the Dead Sea, is the citadel of Macheron. Here was the tribe of Reuben. North is Bella, at the boundary of Palestine on that side of Jordan. Eastward were the kingdoms of Og and of Sihon. On their boundaries is Ramoth-Gilead, not far from the range of Anti-Lebanon. In this neighbourhood is the city of Damascus, situated four days' journey from Jerusalem . 343-344 PART ly. cxix Summing up these details, we may speak of Syria as including the space from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean, and from Ciiicia to Egypt. It is divided into the provinces of Syria Comagena, Syria Caele, Phoenician Syria, and the three divisions of Palestine, Galilaea, Samaria and Judaea. Comage is the capital city of the first, Antioch of the second. Phoenician Syria extends from the south of Lebanon to the north of Palestine. It contains the cities of Damascus, Tripolis, Tyre and Sidon ; and beyond the Jordan, Pella and Mount Hermon and Mount Gilead .... 344-347 The three regions of Galilaea, Samaria, and Judaea belonged to the Hebrews, who held the region beyond the Jordan from the Dead Sea to Mount Hermon. In the north part of Galilee is Decapolis. South of this Ithuraea or the tetrarchy of Trachonitis. The northern part Of Galilee contained a mixed race of Jews and heathen. Lower Galilee begins with the lake of Tiberias. South of Galilee is the district of Samaria, and south of Samaria is Judaea . 347-348 We see then that the amount of territory possessed by the Jews was but small. From Dan to Beer-sheba is but 170 miles, from Joppa to the Jordan, not seventy. To this, their possessions east of the Jordan are to be added 348-350 Passing to other regions of the world, we find the range of Mount Taurus extending from the Indian Ocean, separating Parthia, Mesopotamia, and Syria, from the Scythian regions, and from Armenia and Cappadocia, and finally reaching Cilicia. In its course this range receives various names, as Caucasian, Caspian, Hyrcanian and many others. Media, Persia, Parthia, lie between the Indus and the Tigris east and west, having the Caspian Sea and Caucasian mountains to the north, and the Persian gulf to the south. The Parthian empire coincides with what was once the Persian 350-352 India lies east of the Indus, bounded on the north by the Seric sea and by the mountains which extend east from the Caucasian range. Vast as the Indus is, the Ganges flowing from the Caucasus into the Eastern Ocean is yet greater. On the Ganges live the Brahmins, living a life of extreme temperance and chastity, and attaining great longevity. North of India is the Scythian ocean and the Caucasian range already spoken of . . . , . . 352-353 Westward from India, at the confines of India and Parthia, we find the Caspian gates on the south shores of the Caspian or Hyrcanian Sea. This sea is entirely inland, formed by great rivers flowing from the north. West of Parthia is Hyrcania, and then the greater Armenia divided by the Euphrates from Cappadocia. The lesser Armenia is identified with Cilicia. This region from south to cxx ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ VOL. I. PAGES north is of about four days' journey, bounded by Lycaonia, now called Turkia, and including several ancient provinces as Lydia and Phrygia. The whole of this country is now called by the Greeks Anatolia, otherwise Asia Minor . 353-356 Dividing this from Europe is the Arm of St. George, with Constanti- nople on its left shore, leading to the Pontic Sea, which extends 1,400 miles from east to west. From north to south its narrowest part is between SinopoHs and the province of Cassaria (Crimea), on the east of which is the shallow sea of Maeotis formed by the mouth of the Tanais (Sea of Asof). This river flows from the Riphaean mountains in the extreme north. From the Tanais to the Danube is a vast desert plain, which it takes the Tartar horsemen two months to traverse. It is bounded by Poland and Hungary. To the north of it is Great Russia — bounded to the west by the Baltic Sea, beyond which lie Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Then across a great expanse of sea Scotland and England lie to the west, and beyond them Ireland 856-358 At the north of the Baltic Sea is Esthonia, eastward is Livonia, and south of it Courlandia, then Prussia and Pomerania. On the confines of Dacia and Saxonia is the port of Lubec. In the Baltic lies the island of Gothland. South of Prussia is Poland ; south of this Bohemia, then Austria ; west of Austria is Alemannia, France and Spain ; eastward is Hungary bounded to the north-east by Albania, which extends as far as the river Don, having Bulgaria, and Con- stantinople, and the province of Cassaria to the south, and Russia to the north. North again of Russia are the Hyperboreans, a peaceful long-lived race, with a climate far more equable than might be ex- pected from its position. Among these northern nations is a great variety of religions. The Livonians, Curlandians, Prussians, Estho- nians are pagans. The Ruscenes are Greek Christians, though in common with the Poles, Bohemians and many others, their language is Sclavonian. The Tartars, who have subjugated almost all nations from the Danube to the extreme east, lead a wandering pastoral life. Some of the tribes subject to them are pagans, others follow the Mahometan law 358-361 On the north-eastern border of the Pontic Sea is the land of the Georgians, and Corasiminians, where of old Amazons used to live. South of these are Cappadocia and Armenia. From the mountains of Armenia flow the Euphrates and Tigris. Here Noah's ark rested. SS. Bartholomew, Judas, and Thaddeus suffered martyrdom here ; and at one time there were 800 Christian churches ; though Rubruquis found but two, and these small. The city of Naxuana, the principal town of Armenia, now destroyed by the Tartars, was visited by him, as he passed up the river Araxes. In the mountains to the east he PART IV. cxxi VOL. I. PAGES found the Alani who are tolerant and orthodox Christians, and east of these the Lelgi who are Saracens 361-364 This brings us to the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, where Alexander erected the Caspian gates, as a protection against the incursion of barbaric tribes from the north. Rubruquis passed through these gates. This being the region of Gog and Magog, who after ravaging the world will become at last the foes of Anti- christ, it is of the highest importance to the Church that its geo- graphy should be known. The Caspian Sea, extending from west to east, is as large as the Pontic Sea, and to compass it is a four months' journey. Rubruquis traversed its northern shore in going to the Tartar emperor, and its western shore in returning. It has no connexion with the ocean, being formed by the Ethilia (Volga) and other rivers. From the Don to the Ethilia was the land of old called Albania, till lately occupied by the Cumani. East of the Volga also the Cumanians dwelt till dispossessed by the Tartars. Northward is Asiatic Bulgaria, whose inhabitants are of the same race and language as those on the Danube. East of this region is the land of the Huns 364-367 These regions extend as far as Caracathaia or Black Cathay. Here it is that the emperor of Tartary dwells, changing his abode according to the season. It has sometimes been said that Prester John lived here, but his kingdom, formed of a Nestorian tribe, was far more westerly. His power was established on the death of Coir Cham. Prester John was succeeded by his brother Unc, who took the title of Cham, and who reigned for a time in Cara Corum, the principal Tartar city. But Unc Cham was destroyed by the Tartar leader Chinghis. His grandson, the son of Unc's daughter, is Mangu Cham to whom Rubruquis was sent by the King of France. The name given to these Tartars by themselves is Moal. They have by this time conquered nearly all Asia ; they hold Russia, Bulgaria, and the neighbourhood of Constantinople 367-371 Eastward of Black Cathay are several tribes with peculiar habits ; and beyond them, to the extreme east, is Great Cathay, the nation of the Seres, whence comes silken clothing. The inhabitants of this country are skilful workmen, and acquainted with the medical properties of plants, and carefully study the changes of the pulse and other symptoms of disease. They use paper-money. They are for the most part idolaters (Buddhists) ; but Saracens are mixed with them, and also Nestorians, who preach and practise a corrupt form of Christianity. Their patriarch professes willingness to acknowledge the authority of the Roman See. Of these various peoples some write from above downwards and from right to left. Others write as we do, and with our letters. The inhabitants of Eastern Cathay paint cxxii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS.' VOL. I. PAGES rather than write, forming groups of letters, each group representing a sentence. The geography of Western Europe does not require any- detailed description 371-376 Astrology. This geographical description should be followed by an account which I have not been able to complete, [a] of the stars, {b) of the planets, {c) of the way in which the climatic disposition of each place is affected by them, {d) thus making true astrological judgements possible, [e) with the result of promoting the safety of the state. All that I can do is to offer a few remarks on these points. Each of the hxed stars has properties of its own. Those of the twelve signs are specially important to us. A special treatise would be needed to describe these characteristics adequately and to point out the way in which we are affected by them. Each planet has also its special character, modified by the zodiacal sign in which they are situate, by their aspects, that is by any two or more of them being in the same, in opposite, or in intermediate directions, by the position reached in their epicycle or eccentric, and by the House of the heavens which they may be occupying. This again requires a special treatise . 376-379 From this we pass to the effects produced by the heavens on places and things upon the earth. The sun may be said to beget no less than the parent : and the sun's influence endures through life. Each spot on the earth's surface is the centre of a distinct horizon, and is thus affected differently from every other. We have to consider its distance from the pole and the equator, what stars are in the zenith, and what signs are dominant there. On all these points the Hebrew astronomers are specially instructive. Special parts of the body are affected by different constellations, and by the position of the moon in them. Elach hour of the day is under the control of a particular planet. On medical art especially, but also on all other departments of human activity, the bearing of all this is obvious. The quarters of the moon must be of course studied, and also the daily transit of the moon through a portion of the Zodiac 379-385 Besides the revolutions of the moon and sun, attention must be given to those of the planets, especially to those of longer period. The comet for instance of 1264 was due to Mars, and was related to the wars in England, Spain, and Italy of that time. All planetary conjunctions are important ; but of special importance to man's welfare are the conjunctions of the Moon with stars of various nature. I*osition in the orbit must always be examined. In the apsis planetary force is greatest: weakest in the oppod.e point. We PART IV, cxxiii must observe too in what house each planet may be ; for on this the whole complexion of the year may largely depend. On the foregoing data we form our judgements of events past, present, and future. As a first step to this we must form accurate astronomical tables exhibiting the position of the heavenly bodies at any given date. Comparing these positions with the political events of such a date, we obtain methods for forecasting future events. Our best authorities on this subject are Albumazar, Ptolemy, Haly, and the Hebrew astrologers. A work of Aristotle on celestial impressions should also be translated 385-390 Next comes the question. How far can this knowledge guide our action ? We cannot do away with the force resulting from any special position of the stars : but we can modify our own action so as not to be adversely affected by it. If we know that great cold is coming, we can make provision against cold. Similarly the trained astronomer will provide against pestilence, or any other calamity which he sees impending. Of such modifying influences Moses and Solomon have given examples recorded by Josephus. Another instance is the advice given by Aristotle to Alexander as to the treatment of certain perverse tribes : Change their atmosphere and thus change their morals. 390- 394 What deters students from the examination of this subject is fear of the imputation of magic. Doubtless astrology may be turned to a bad account; but so may the most useful of tools. Men do not dispense with weapons because malefactors use them, nor cease to go to law because some lawyers are dishonest. So, again, there is a strange force in certain words, uttered with full consciousness of their meaning, which may co-opeiate with stellar forces. This too has been abused for purposes of magic and witchcraft, and dis- credit has been thrown on such agencies, which yet in wise hands are useful. Like the stars, the human soul, which is nobler than they, emits forces from itself, which acting in harmony with stellar forces may produce great results. The objection often made that, when the stars act on any object, they must act equally on other objects in the same horizon, is of no account : for no two objects are in the same horizon ......... 394-398 Fascination, again, is a word with a bad sound. Yet important truth is contained in it. Influences radiate from certain persons, which may be good or bad, and which may be concentrated by a strong will and directed to a special object. Words used with this concentrated purpose may have great power. The exercise of miraculous power by the saints has been accompanied by words. We need knowledge of all these forces to resist the coming power of Antichrist. It is certain that the Tartar conquests have been cxxiv ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MAJUS. VOL. I. PAGES largely assisted by confidence in their astrologers. Should they make common cause with the Saracens, the results to Christendom may be disastrous. The children's crusade in the last century, and the fascination exercised by the Shepherd in our own time, are proofs of what hostile influences may do if not arrested promptly. What is needed is that all these influences, instead of being con- temptuously ignored, should be carefully studied, and used under the direction of the Head of the Church as a defence against the inroads of Antichrist 398-403 ANALYSIS OF THE ^OPUS MAJUS/ PART V. OPTIC. PART I. VOL. [I. PAGES In this section there are three parts. The first explains the general principles of vision. The second deals with direct vision. The third with reflected and refracted vision 1-166 In Part I there are twelve Distinctions. First Distinction, dealing with the General Character OF Optical Science, and with the Organs of Vision, Psychical and Cerebral . 1-12 CHAPTER I. The superiority of vision to other senses has been pointed out by Aristotle and other authors. Vision reveals the difference of things. It supplies a knowledge of the heavenly bodies. It is the channel of experimental knowledge. Hearing can give faith, but not proof. Of the other senses we need not speak. Therefore the sense of vision becomes the object of a special science . . . .1-3 CHAPTER II. The first thing is to determine the organs of the sensitive soul, which are to be found in the brain. Others have told us that the visual nerves issue from the brain ; but the account given is defective. The brain has two membranes— the Dura Mater, lining the cranium ; the Pia Mater, enfolding the brain. The brain has distinct chambers, or cells, each of which has its own function. In the anterior part of the first cell is sensus communis. This takes cognizance of, and distinguishes, the impressions brought by each special sense. But it is unable to retain these impressions, being loose and slippery. In the back part of the same cell there is therefore the organ of Imagination, which, being neither too moist or too dry, can retain and store up the material received by sensus communis. The combined operation of these two organs is called Phantasia .... 4-5 cxxvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ CHAPTER 111. VOL. II. PA The attributes, or properties, of which sense takes cognizance may be reduced to twenty-nine heads. Nine of these are apprehended by some special sense ; as colour by sight, heat by touch, sound by hearing. The other twenty may be called sensibilia communia, because apprehended by all, or by more than one, of the special senses. Distance, position, figure, number, motion, rest, are among these . CHAPTER IV. But animals, though they have not intellect, have other faculties than those implied in the apprehension of these twenty-nine pro- perties. First there is the instinct prompting flight from an animal of a dangerous species, or approach to one of its own, independently of experience. Each object in nature has its own constitution or complexion, and radiates corresponding impressions (species) which concur with those of like complexion, or disagree with those of unlike. They operate on special and on common sense, but are taken cognizance of by a higher faculty of the sensitive soul, which we may call the estimative sense, and may locate in the posterior cell of the brain. But as in the case of sensus communis, it does not retain its impressions, and needs another faculty acting as its storehouse, the memorative faculty. Midway between these two divisions or cells of the brain is the cell devoted to the cogitative faculty, the mistress faculty in brutes which have not true reason. By this faculty the spider weaves its web, the bird its nest. In man the rational soul, coming from without, uses this cogitative faculty as its chief in- strument CHAPTER V. That we do not find this view of the threefold division of the brain and of animal faculty in Aristotle is due to imperfect translation. It can be got from Avicenna, who has been better translated. And Avicenna is the greatest philosopher since Aristotle. In any case it will not do to confound the faculty which stores sensations with the faculty which stores judgements, under the common name of memory. It must further be stated that while placing these faculties in the brain, the substance of the brain is not itself sensitive, as Avicenna points out, respectfully correcting Aristotle on this point. We must remember however that the sensitive soul has a twofold organ — the brain and the heart. The latter is the true seat of all life, as Aristotle maintains : the former is that which first receives im- pressions and in which the various operations of the senses are separately manifested 9~ PART V, cxx\ ii VOL. II. pa(;ks Second Distinction 12 18 CHAPTER I. On the origin of the optic nerves. Clearly the function of vision cannot be understood without a knowledge of the structure of the eye. Most writers on Perspective have ignored this part of the subject, or contented themselves with a bare reference to work on medicine. I hope however to make the matter clear by reference to three authorities— Alhazen, Constantine, and Avicenna. There are two cavities in the fore part of the brain called ventricles, one on the right, the other on the left. From these the optic nerves issue. They meet and cross ; the right nerve passing to the left eye, and conversely. In the hollow of the eye the nerve spreads itself out in spherical form. Each nerve consists of three coats, the innermost derived from the pia mater; outside this is one coming from the dura mater ; these two are wrapt in a third, coming from the lining of the skull 12-15 CHAPTER II. Thus the eye itself consists of three coats ; containing three humours, and a structure like a spider's web (tela araneae). The inner- most is called by Avicenna and others the retina, and is supplied with veins, arteries, and slender nervous fibres ; the second, coming from the dura mater, is called the uvea ; it has an opening in front through which light passes. Behind, it is highly vascular : in front it is trans- parent and is called cornea. The third and outermost coat is the sclerotic, which is firm and solid. It is sometimes called consolidativa ; it does not extend so far forward as to cover the cornea . . 15 16 CHAPTER III. The uvea contains three humours, and also a web-like structure, arising from its anterior part. A crystalline or glacial substance fills the greater part of the cavity of the eye ; it consists of two parts. The hinder part, in contact with the terminal expansion of the nerve is like melted glass, thence called vitreous ; the anterior part, which has received various names, is like ice, hail, or crystal ; it is some- what whiter than the vitreous. Anterior to the web, occupying the space between it and the cornea, is the third humour, somewhat like the white of egg. On the mode in which these parts receive nourishment there is some difference of opinion. Vision is dependent on the crystalline humour, though not so essentially as on the optic cxxviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS/ VOL. II. PAGES Third Distinction. On the Sphericity and Central Points of these Humours 18-25 CHAPTER I. The eye approaches the most perfect of geometrical forms, the sphere. But between the various humours there are important differences of form. The crystalline is a portion of a sphere of different curvature from the vitreous. The centre of curvature of the vitreous is situated further forward on the axis of the eye ; that of the crystalHne further backward. The cornea has the same centre as the globe of the eye. The same may be said of the Hquor albugineus. The centre of the uvea is anterior to that of the cornea . . 18-20 CHAPTER II. It must be remembered that, in speaking of these bodies as spherical, we have only to deal with sections of spheres, relating to those parts of the eye concerned with the passage of light. In other parts these structures are not necessarily of spherical form . . . . 20-21 CHAPTER III. The centre of the consolidativa is generally placed further back than that of the other parts. The truth is that it is not of strictly spherical form, neither is its inner surface concentric with the outer. It is of irregular spheroid form, somewhat prolate on the forward surface. But the central points of all these ocular structures lie on one straight line, as the figure shows 21-25 Fourth Distinction 26-30 CHAPTER I. The cornea closes the opening in the uvea, and prevents the escape of the aqueous. Being transparent it allows the passage of luminous impressions. It is strong enough to resist inroads of air and of dusty particles from without, being made up of four layers. The aqueous is also transparent : its moisture prevents the crystalline and iris from getting too dry. The uvea is usually black, so that feeble impressions of light and colour may produce their full effect. It is however, from various causes, sometimes grey. The colour of the eye depends on this structure . . 26-27 CHAPTER II. The anterior glacialis [lens] is connected very specially with the function of vision. It is moist, for luminous impressions would not PART V. cxxix affect dry surfaces so readily ; it is of delicate structure, suited to subtle influences of light. It is transparent, yet not too transparent, so that the passage of light may leave sufficient traces to allow of the exercise of judgement. Its surface forms part of a larger sphere than that of the vitreous, as already explained ..... 27-28 CHAPTER III. The vitreous is denser than the crystalline, so that refraction of the entering ray takes place towards the normal. Through it visual impressions are continued to the expanded fibres of the optic nerve. This nerve is the direct channel of communication with the brain. The consolidativa (sclerotic) is moist so as to adapt itself to the inward structures ; firm, so as to keep them in their places ; and white, so as to contribute to the beauty of the face . . . 28-29 CHAPTER IV. The eyelids protect the eyes during sleep, and from invasion of irritating particles ; thus the eyes have rest from the toil of receiving impressions. The lashes moderate the intensity of impressions. Creative goodness has supplied two eyes, in case of accident to one ; and to add beauty to the face. The eyes are spherical, so as to admit of easy and swift motion in all directions ; and also, because had their surface been plane, rays from the points of a large object would not have been normal to the surface. As it is, perpendicular rays impinge upon their surface from nearly a fourth part of the horizon at once 29-30 Fifth Distinction . , . 30-34 CHAPTER I. We have now explained the instruments of vision. We pass to the function itself; considering in the first place rectilinear vision. First, we find that impressions must emanate from the visible object, as Aristotle has shown to be the case in every kind of sensation. Vision is a virtus passiva ; but the passive must resemble the active, which in this case is the visible object. Thus the species, or impression, is a likeness of the object. These species are thrown out as from a centre along every possible radius. Vision then takes place by the radiation of species, especially by those of light and colour. Colour has much to do with vision. A strong colour impression remains in the eye after the object has ceased to act on it. The species of light are even more essential than those of colour . . . 30-32 VOL. I. i cxxx ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MAJUS! CHAPTER II. VOL. II. PAGES Vision is not completed in the eye, but in the commissure of the optic nerves within the brain. Here the impressions coming from each eye coincide, so that the object is seen as single. If one of the eyes be forcibly misplaced, this coincidence does not take place, and the impression of duality is produced 32- 33 CHAPTER III. The terminal point of the visual process would seem to be the optic commissure : in the same way as the olfactory bulbs terminate the olfactory process. This in no way conflicts with what has been said as to the location of sensus coinmunis. We are here speaking of special sensations. The function of vision then is partially carried on within the eye ; and is completed in the point of junction of the optic nerves 33-34 Sixth Distinction, containing Explanations of Diffi- culties IN THE Function of Vision 35-46 CHAPTER I. A difficulty is suggested by the smallness of the pupil. Although cones of rays come from every part of the object to every part of the ocular surface, yet we need only consider for practical purposes one cone, made up of those rays which are normal to this surface. As to the oblique rays we shall see afterwards. Now it can easily be shown by geometry that from the base of a triangle, however large, any number of lines can be drawn to the vertex, which will all pass through any line subtending the base however short. Matter is infinitely divisible : as many divisions can be made in a grain of millet as in the diameter of the world 35-37 CHAPTER II. But independently of the cone whose rays fall perpendicularly on the eye, there is an infinity of others whose rays fall obliquely. It would seem that confusion must result. The explanation is that the perpendicular rays come with much greater force, and obscure the effect of the others, as the sun's light conceals the light of the stars. It has further to be observed that of these oblique rays many are made to converge by refraction with those which fall per- pendicularly on the central part of the eye. There are thus various degrees in vision. The central rays and those which converge with them are seen well : some rays result in imperfect vision ; some in none at all 37-39 PART V. CXXXI CHAPTER III. V(3L. II. PAGES A third difficulty presents itself. The species from colours must mix throughout the medium ; black and white becoming grey, and so on ; the mixture of species having the result as the mixture of their originals. The cone reaching the eye would thus present no distinctions of colour. The reply given by Aristotle, Averroes, and others is that these species have only a spiritual existence, and do not observe the laws of material forms. Any number of them therefore may meet in the same point without being mixed. But this view is profoundly erroneous. We shall find the true solution by recurring to what has been said before ; the preponderating force of the rays that fall vertically over ail the rest. Suppose the object to be black in the centre, white and red at the extremities. The black in their course will come into contact with white rays and red rays : but these latter will be oblique, and will therefore not affect the result. So with the rays from the white and the red parts of the Those who have spoken of species as spiritual, do not use that word as it is used of God or the Soul : they mean imperceptible. But such a use of the word is confusing. The species resembles that of which it is the image ; it is therefore material. It passes through a material medium ; is therefore material. It produces material results ; being related to that result as the incomplete to the com- plete, as the embryo to the fully formed animal. Species are indeed invisible, except it be by accident ; when an opaque body intercepts the ray of light or colour, we become sensible of it. Or again, weak- ness of sight may make us sensible of the passage of the ray, though we should not be so otherwise. The same principle applies to objects perceived by the other senses. It may be asked, How is it that three candles placed near a small opening appear as three on the other side? There is true mixture of the species in this case, for one illumination results. Still if the eye be applied to the opening, the distinction of the principal rays proceeding from each will make Seventh Distinction . , 47-53 CHAPTER I. Importance of the difference in density between crystaUine [lens] and vitreous. If the vitreous were of the same density as the lens, the rays passing from the latter to the former would follow their object 39-42 CHAPTER IV. itself felt 43-46 2 cxxxii ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MAJUSJ VOL. II. PAGES Straight path. In this case a ray falh'ng on the right side of the lens would pass backwards to the left of the eye, and conversely. Con- fusion as to right and left would thus result. But, the vitreous being denser, the rays leaving the lens are refracted ; and as the diagram shows, they converge in a way which avoids this confusion . . 47-49 CHAPTER II. The action of the eye on the object seen. Like every other object, the eye radiates species. But are these radiations, or those of them which touch the object, necessary to vision ? Aristotle's remarks in his treatise on Generation seem to point to this. Ptolemy and subsequent optical writers have asserted it. Plato maintained that sensation was wholly active ; the Stoics that it was wholly passive. Aristotle takes a medium course. Vision is in fact not merely passive, but active 49-50 CHAPTER HI. Nor do Alhazen, Avicenna, and Averroes contest this view. They only protest against the notion that the eye emits some material substance to the thing seen. A passage in Aristotle {De A/nma, ii. 12) has been understood as though he looked on sensation as wholly passive. But it was only by way of protest against the Platonists, who went too far in the opposite direction 50-52 CHAPTER IV. As all objects in nature complete their action by emitting their own special forces, so does the eye generate rays from itself. These meet the rays proceeding from the object to the eye, and facilitate the passage of these latter. As they are of different nature no confusion arises from their meeting ........ 52-53 Eighth Distinction, Four of the Conditions required FOR Vision 54-61 CHAPTER I. The first condition is Light. Without light, colour either (a) does not exist, or (d) sends out no emanations, or (c) what emanations it produces do not affect vision. The third of these explanations is the true one. The second condition is. Distance of the object. An object placed in immediate contact with the organ of sense is not perceived : for the organ acts by emitting force from itself into the medium. This is the case even with the senses of touch and taste. The medium for these is the flesh and skin surrounding the sense organs . 54-56 PART V. cxxxiii CHAPTER II. VOL. II. PAGES The third condition is the Position of the object in respect of the eye. They must be connected by straight lines either direct, re- fracted, or reflected. Why is this the case with vision, and not so in the case of hearing, or of the sensation of heat ? Aristotle here fails us. The difficulty is obvious. A man can hear his own voice : why cannot he see his own face } It would seem that sound generates something more than species of sound : it must generate sound itself The trembling of the air following on that trembling of the object struck which constitutes sound, is propagated in all directions, and is therefore perceived as sound everywhere. In the same way an odorous body not merely sends out species, but subtle material particles, which being diffused through the air themselves emanate in every direction. It has been already explained that there are certain qualities capable of completing their species, by generating fresh sources of radiation. Fire is one of those .... 56-58 CHAPTER III. The fourth condition of vision is that the object be of suitable Magnitude. Each point of the object must be represented on the surface of the lens. And although that surface, like all others, is infinitely divisible, yet, for purposes of sensation, the division must not go so far that the points become undistinguishable. Again, the object must not be too large. What are the limits ? If the extreme angle of vision be a right angle, an eye placed at the earth's centre would see one fourth part of the heavens ; at the earth's surface something less, as geometry shows. The view that the limit of the angle of vision must be a right angle rests on no sound basis, either of theory or experiment. Examination of the structure of the eye furnishes geometrical proof that it is less than a right angle. And experiment makes this certain 58-61 Ninth Distinction. Other Conditions of Vision . . 62- 74 CHAPTER I. The fifth condition of vision is that the Density of the object shall exceed that of the air and of the heaven. This is why we see water, glass, and other transparent bodies. Air we can only see when accumulated in great masses, which produces the same result as density. So the most transparent water becomes opaque if the depth be very great, shadows being cast by each particle of water on that which succeeds to it. Further, we have to note that the cxxxiv ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES power of the eye to send out radiations, which we have seen to be an essential factor in vision, is limited. And as such limitation of penetrating power implies visibility, we have in extreme distance a reason why extremely rare bodies become visible. The blue colour of the sky is to be explained as in the case of deep water. Blue is the colour which most nearly approaches blackness ; it results here from the shadows thrown by each particle of air on succeeding particles. If the heavenly spheres were opaque, it might be supposed that they would be visible objects. But theological reasoning shows that they are not opaque. Beyond the eight stellar spheres is the sphere of water, and beyond that again the tenth. It may be asked how is it that we see a ray of light passing through a window, though in this case the air being warmed by the sun is rarer than the air surrounding it ? The reply is that what we see is not the luminous ray but the boundaries of the denser air which it penetrates. As to the heavenly spheres, it has been already shown that they are themselves transparent, the star placed in each of them being opaque . 62-66 CHAPTER II. The sixth condition of vision is Rarity of the Medium. It is objected that flame is rarer than air, and yet that a flame placed between the object and the eye impedes vision. But it is a mistake to suppose that flame is rarer ; and Alhazen, who has been quoted as saying this, is misinterpreted. Whether a lynx sees through a wall or not, the human eye which we are here considering certainly does not. On the other hand, we are not to suppose a vacuum betvv'een heaven and earth. Radiation of species would be impossible in that case. A vacuum is a mere mathematical abstraction 66-67 CHAPTER III. The seventh condition is Time. Time, as Aristotle shows, is needed for an act of memory : much more for an act of sensation. It has been maintained that radiations from the object and the eye take place in an indivisible instant of time. For if not, then the particles of time, however small, would form a perceptible aggregate while the radiation passes from the east of the heavens to the west. This view is held by all but Alhazen, and by him is contested on in- sufficient grounds. Some however of his arguments against it are sound, resting as they do on Aristotle's doctrine that finite energy requires time for its operation, the time being inversely as the energy. Suppose the energy infinite, then, and then only, does the time become zero. The notion that the ray is spiritual not PART V. cxxxv VOL.11. PAGES material, and therefore not amenable to physical laws, has been already disposed of. It is material, and as such cannot be in several places at the same time 68-71 CHAPTER IV. It may be further observed that the time occupied by a luminous radiation may be so small as to be imperceptible to our senses even when the distance traversed is very great. Aristotle's supposed denial of it was a denial of the view of Empedocles that a corporeal body was transmitted across space. But the luminous radiation is not a body, but a form continually renewing itself out of the particles of the medium, as it travels. It is true, as Aristotle says, that there is a difference between the transmission of light and that of sound and other sensory impressions. With sound there are three distinct displacements of material particles, viz. motion of the body struck, tremor of the air, and rarefaction of the air. Nothing of this kind takes place with light, for though light makes heat and rarefies the air, yet it is transmitted through celestial spaces where rarefaction and heat-production is impossible. In the transmission of odours, again, there are special differences. But all need time : though not the same time. We see the stroke of a distant hammer before we hear it. Lightning reaches us before thunder. The eighth condition is a healthy state of the eye. A final con- dition, relating to the axis of vision, will be spoken of afterwards (p. 97) 71-74 Tenth Distinction . . . . . , , .74-82 CHAPTER I. We may now inquire with greater precision of what matters vision takes cognizance, what degree of certainty it brings, and to what errors (limiting ourselves to direct vision) it is exposed. Knowledge is either given to us directly and immediately by Sense, or indirectly and per accidens. Supposing the eight conditions described to be present in just degree, the eye will perceive the twenty-two qualities previously noted, with or without the help of the other special senses, and of Sensus Co7nmunis and Imaginatio (pp. 4-5). By qualities indirectly sensible I mean those which come under our cognizance through sensation, but which are appreciated by other faculties, as judgement ; as when a lamb seeing an object of the form and colour of a wolf, knows it to be an enemy. When I see a man, I see an animated object and a substance ; thus in an indirect way substance may be spoken of as sensible. Again, the sensations peculiar to one cxxxvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES of our senses are indirectly appreciated by another, as when we see iron to be hot, or ground to be wet. For cold, heat, moisture and dryness cannot be directly appreciated by the eye . . . 74-76 CHAPTER II. The question arises, Do all sensible things of which the eye takes cognizance propagate rays to the eye, or light and colour only ? The latter is the true view. These other things are magnitudes or properties of magnitudes, and belong to matter, which is passive, not active. The air which is the medium of sound is itself soundless, and the medium of colour, colourless. They are called sensible, not because they emit species to the sense, but because the sense appreciates them. All that is really necessary for vision are the rays of light and colour, combined with the ray directed to the object from the eye 76-79 CHAPTER III. Knowledge comes to us in three ways : (i) by sensation pure and simple, as when a colour strikes the eye without remembrance of any previous colour ; (2) by similitude of the present sensation with a past sensation remembered ; (3) by a ratiocinative process, as when we judge an object to be transparent because we are able to see an opaque body behind it. But, although the process by which our perception takes place is one of reasoning, it takes place so instantaneously that we are not aware that we reason. We are logicians instinctively, without having names for the various steps which the mind takes. These three modes of knowledge have been inappropriately named. Sensation, Science, and Syllogism . . 79 82 OPTIC, PART II. Special CONSIDERATION OF Direct Vision . . . 83-129 First Distinction. On Vision as determined by the Structure of the Eye 83-91 CHAPTER I. Those whose eyes are deep-set see further than those whose eyes are prominent. First, because the eye is nearer to the brain. Secondly, because it is better preserved from external injury. Thirdly, because the visual force being compressed within a narrower channel issues with greater energy and directness. We often prolong this channel by holding the hollow of the hand PART V. cxxxvii VOL. II. PAGES before the eye when we wish to see very distinctly. Eye-lashes help in the same direction. In fishes which have none, the visual force is dispersed. So too it is that from the depth of a well we are able to see the stars. The amount of the aqueous humour in front of the lens would also affect vision. Those who have little see further than others, for deep water, though transparent, yet is a bar to the trans- mission of light. It may be observed that old people hold objects that they wish to examine further from the eye. The reason is that their eyes abound in moisture : and the object to be clearly visible must be placed beyond the range of that moisture . . . 83-86 CHAPTER II. Distinctness of vision does not always accompany length of vision. It depends on the sufficient size of the lens, on the purity of all the humours of the eye, and on the absence of that degeneration of the cornea and the capsule of the lens which comes with age, and which involves the casting of shadows. Why is it that some eyes see better in the dark than others ? Absence of moisture and extreme trans- parency in the ocular structures conduce to this result ; such eyes are overpowered with light in the daytime, and see badly. P^urther, the eye has a certain amount of independent luminosity ; greater in some men and animals than in others 86-88 CHAPTER III. Double vision results from disturbances in ocular structures. In the normal condition of the eyes, the object seen appears single. If the eyes are congenitally or forcibly displaced, this unity of the object is lost. Extreme heat or cold may produce this result ; or anger, infirmity, or drink. Duplicity of vision may depend either on displacement of the vitreous humour, or of the nervous spirit pro- ceeding from the brain to the eye, or on dilatation or contraction of the uvea. In some cases there may be an exudation covering a portion of the lens. Another cause of duplicity has been suggested. The radiations issuing from the eye may be so feeble as to be stopped not merely by the object of vision, but by some one of the radiations from this object. It is stated also that in some cases the eye has had two pupils, though I have not myself seen this . . . 88-91 Second Distinction. On Radiations from the Object AND FROM the EYE, AS AFFECTING DIRECT VISION . . 92-99 CHAPTER I. How is it that we see a cloud at a distance, whereas when close to it, or immersed in it, we do not ? The answer is that the radiations VOL. I. k cxxxviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! from the eye are strong enough to penetrate it when near ; not so when distant. We must conceive the pencil of rays from the object and that from the e^'e as having a common axis drawn through the various ocular centres ; this central line being specially potent in vision. The point at which it strikes the object is seen with clearness ; adjacent points also, in proportion to their proximity. The axis of the eye is directed successively to each point in the object. The eyes act in concert, their axis being directed to the same point 92-94 CHAPTER II. When one of the eyes is pushed by the finger from its proper position, the angle of vision ceases to be the same for both of them, and the object appears double. So too when the eyes are fixed on a given point, an object placed between that point and the eye, or beyond that point, will appear double. It is easy to demonstrate this by experiment 94-95 CHAPTER III. Further experiments on double vision may be made. If the finger be held between the eye and a candle, and the eyes be fixed on the candle, the finger will appear double. If the right eye be closed, the left image will disappear. If however the light be very distant, the result is different. The right image vanishes on closing the right eye 96-97 CHAPTER IV. Again, the axes of each eye may make such an angle with the common axis of vision as to produce a double image. Or the direction of any point in the object of vision may make such an angle with the axes of the eyes that the point is seen double .... 97-99 Third Distinction 99-129 CHAPTER I. Let us consider further the three modes of perception, through sense, through recollection, and through argument, in reference to the eight conditions of vision. Light and colour are appreciated through sense only : and this without error, so long as the right conditions of vision are fulfilled without excess or defect. Starlight is not seen by day because of excess of solar light. Diminish the latter, as by descending to the bottom of a well, and the stars are seen. The Milky Way, PART V. cxxxix VOL. II. PAGES consisting of a multitude of small stars clustered, produces the erroneous impression of a continuous light ; this is due only to distance. This luminous impression is caused by the passage of rays from these small stars through the sphere of fire ; the medium in the stellar spaces would be too rare, that of the sphere of air too dense. We have also to take into account the refraction of rays in the sphere of fire ; but of this afterwards. The light of dawn raises a question. Why do we not see it earlier ? Why, since outside the earth's shadow the whole sky is illumined, does the sky appear dark to us ? The reply is, first, that the spheres of heaven are very distant ; also that the heaven, apart from the dense bodies contained in it, is too rare to have fixed light ; light passes through it without affecting the eye. When the sun's rays touch that portion of air which is comparatively near to us, this illuminated air becomes per- ceptible. It may happen that a luminous body of small magnitude appears far larger than it is on account of rapid motion. Sparks from a fire produce this effect. Shooting stars are probably bodies of small magnitude. Colour, like light, is apprehended by pure sense ; and correct apprehension of it depends on the conditions before men- tioned. Extreme transparency of the object, great intensity of the colour, too great remoteness of it, rapid succession of different colours, will interfere with accurate perception .... 99-104 CHAPTER II. Of Perception through knowledge (recollection). Under this head are to be classed distinctions of characters, whether general or special, in visible things. The moon's light outside the earth's shadow is clear and white, in the upper part of the shadow red, in the lower part is invisible. These differences, though perceived by sight, become known to us only after repeated observation. The explanation is not easy. The moon's light, like that of other stars, comes from the sun. When the moon is in conjunction, the hindrance to illumination of the part of the moon turned to us is the moon itself ; the solar rays diverge widely on either side, and do not reach us, even secondarily, by dispersion. But when the moon is in the earth's shadow, the earth being distant from the moon, the moon is near the vertex of the cone, and accidental solar rays entering within it produce the reddish light seen in a lunar eclipse. The degree of this light will vary with the distance of the moon from the earth at the time of eclipse, which may be greater or less. Another problem, raising a similar difficulty, occurs with colour. If we look through a very thin piece of parti- coloured cloth at an object of given colour, we may see that colour if the apertures in the web are large enough ; if otherwise, we see a mixed colour. The quality of the medium will modify the result. k 2 cxI ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES The rays, in this case, coming from the threads of the web are so nearly coincident with the rays coming from the object, as to be con- fused with them 104-106 CHAPTER III. Of Perception through reasoning. Many examples can be given of this. The most striking is our perception of distance. An object may be so distant, as to subtend so small an angle in the eye that vision ceases. Short of that limit, the degree of distance is deter- mined by a continuous series of objects between the object and the eye. In a flat country we have no means of judging the height of the clouds, which we can do when we see them on the sides or summits of mountains. [Clouds would appear to be of no great height, though, as we know from the fact of twilight, exhalations other than clouds may rise fifty-one miles. Such exhalations are not aqueous : being dry they retain the sun's heat better, and thus rise higher.] Forjudging, then, of distance, we must have an inter- mediate series of objects, each of which shall be appreciable by the eye with sufficient accuracy. These limits are soon exceeded. A line of trees appears continuous, though there may be a great interval between each of them. So planets seem to be in the same surface as fixed stars, though the difference of remoteness is immense. So an equilateral figure of many sides becomes at a distance undistinguishable from a circle. A circle may be taken for a straight line, a sphere for a plane figure. When a circle is held sideways before the eye, the part nearer to the eye will be recognized as nearer if the distance is moderate : if it is very far off, the difference of distances in the points bears so small a proportion to the whole as not to be recognized. Thus it is that, when the moon is in her first or third quarter, the circular line defining the light part from the dark appears as a straight line. So too the sun and moon seem to us flat, though they are spherical 106-108 CHAPTER IV. All this is exemplified in the study of the Moon's Phases. The base of the cone of solar light occupying the moon's surface appears to us twice in the month as a straight line ; otherwise as curved : a fact unexplained in the Latin translations of Aristotle and Averroes. Here we have to leave the region of sense, and penetrate to the real facts, which, but for the remoteness of the sun and moon, we should be able to see. The boundary of rays proceeding from one eye to the moon is a great circle of that body ; that of rays proceed- ing from the sun to the moon is also a great circle, or nearly so. At conjunction and at full moon these circles coincide, the lunar surface PART V. cxli presented to the earth being whoHy concealed or wholly illuminated. At other times the illuminated surface is represented by the space left between the intersections of two great circles, the points of intersection being at the extremity of a lunar diameter. Regarding these points as the lunar poles, the inner boundary of the illuminated part may be regarded as a meridian circle. A circle drawn through the lunar poles so as to divide the lunar surface visible to us into two equal parts may be called the lunar colure. The inner boundary of the luminous portion becomes identical with the colure on the seventh and twenty-first day, and appears to us as a straight line. Before the fourteenth day this circle presents its convex side to the sun, after that day its concave side. In the latter half of the month the phases are seen reversed till complete occultation returns. So too by a reasoning process we become convinced that though the heaven appears to us as a plane surface, it must in reality be spherical, or at least polyhedral, so as to be undistinguishable from a sphere. Were it plane, the stars would all disappear below the horizon or rise above it at the same moment .... 108-114 CHAPTER V. As distance is appreciated only through a reasoning process, so it is with magnitude. The mere magnitude of the angle subtended by the object does not suffice, for objects of the same magnitude at different distances appear of different magnitude, and conversely. As in the case of distance, there must be intermediate objects familiar to the eye with which mental comparison can be made. Extreme distance often renders such a comparison impossible . . 114-116 CHAPTER VI. The eye looking at a sphere sees somewhat less than the half of it, as the third book of the Elements shows. Heavenly bodies look larger at rising and setting than when at the meridian. Why is this ? When looking either to east or west, the sky seems a plane, or nearly plane, surface stretched overhead. What is over the head seems nearer to us, and subtending the same angle, is judged smaller. Further, owing to the interposition of terrestrial objects between our- selves and the rising or setting star, we are better able to appreciate its distance, and thus are led to imagine it larger. Our perception of motion and rest depends also on a reasoning process. Motion is apprehended by a change in the position of a body relatively to another, the change involving a lapse of time. Rest is the absence of such a change. Hence illusions arise. When clouds are driven across the moon, the moon seems to be moving through them. The clouds must be numerous and almost continuous for this effect to be cxlii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES produced. Again, while we are walking at night in any direction, a star to the right of us will seem to move with us, since it holds very nearly the same position relatively to us at the end of our passage as at the beginning : the star being far off, the difference made by our change of place is imperceptible. When the sun is on the meridian, a long line of men extending from east to west will all see him directly in front and the shadows of their bodies will appear parallel ; the divergence of the shadows is too small to be perceptible. The motion of the planets is imperceptible by direct inspection. Rapid motion in a circle, followed by rest, gives the sensation of movement in surrounding objects. In this case when the man stands still, the humours of the eye still continue in motion. In a moving ship, trees and houses on the bank seem to move, especially if distant : if the eyes converge on a near object it will seem stationary 116-119 CHAPTER VII. One of the most difficult problems is that of the scintillation of the fixed stars. Aristotle remarks their contrast in this respect with the planets, and attributes it to their greater distance ; the eye, being more strained, is tremulous. Scintillation is different from the tremor sometimes seen in the sun and other planets at rising and setting. If distance were the sole explanation, we should expect Saturn to scintillate, which it does not. Further, it is only the larger of the fixed stars that do so. Therefore strength of light must be a condi- tion. And yet, since the sun at noon does not scintillate, the light must not be too strong. One of the causes would seem to be the internal strain of the eye at very distant objects. The planetary bodies are easily perceived to be near, and with them there is no strain. Moreover, the fact of extreme distance of itself weakens the visual rays. It may be objected that the strain is greater in the case of small stars than of large : but here the condition of sufficiently strong Hght is wanting. Again, it is objected that if ocular strain be one of the factors, this depends upon each observer's choice and will. But this is not so. It is one of those actions which have become involuntary through habit. But how is this difference of distance between the planets and the stars to be known ? Its quantity doubtless is not known. But the fact that there is a difference is a matter of sensation. Has the density, or has the motion of the medium, anything to do with scintillation ? Perhaps both contribute, as Averroes has suggested ; and perhaps also at these immense distances the visual power is exhausted, and acting only intermittently, produces the tremulous impression. By motion of the medium we are to understand here, not violent motions of the PART V. cxliii lower air like wind, but subtle motions caused by the revolutions of the heavens and of the exhalations which pervade them. A com- bination of the foregoing causes may sufficiently explain this complicated problem . ... . . , . . . 120-126 CHAPTER VIII. We may now sum up the results of our study of direct vision. We have spoken of vision as operating by sensation, by recollection, and by a syllogistic process. If these two last are to be interpreted as in the schools, they would imply the intervention of Reason. But it is evident that brutes have the power of recognizing and distinguishing both universals and particulars. A dog recognizes a particular man, and also recognizes men in general from clogs, trees or other objects. Therefore this faculty must be a function of sensitive life, and cannot imply reason in the strict sense of that word. Further, animals pass through a train of mental processes analogous to syllogistic reasoning, though they cannot put it into a logical figure. They have a store- house of mental impressions. They can generalize, and they can draw conclusions ; though they are not conscious of doing so, and cannot give an account of what is passing within them . . 126-129 OPTIC. PART III. First Distinction : On Reflected Vision . . . 130-146 CHAPTER I. It is unnecessary to repeat what has been already said of the structure of the eye and the functions of sensation. Bodies that impede the passage of visual radiations may be either wholly opaque, as a stone wall ; or partially opaque, as water, glass, crystal. Opaque bodies do not destroy the radiation : they merely alter its path. An opaque body may be rough or smooth. Wlien the surface is rough, the parts being unsymmetrical scatter the radiations irregularly, and there is no image. With smooth surfaces the parts all act alike, and the radiation comes back to the eye uninjured, though feebler than in direct vision. Proof is subjoined of the equality of the angles of incidence and reflexion, and this proof will hold, whether the surface be plane or spherical : for the ray may be regarded as falling on the tangent plane .... 130-132 CHAPTER II. The mirror contains nothing. What is seen is the real object, only the radiation from it has followed an angular course. The eye cxliv ANALYSIS OF THE ' OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES must be situated at the extremity of that course, whether it has been straight or angular, in order to receive the impression. It follows that the radiation produces no durable effect on the reflecting surface. From this again it follows that the moon and the stars shine with their own light, not with light reflected from the sun : otherwise we should see the sun's image reflected in them. Neither, again, is a comet the reflexion of solar light from the surface of a star. The case of the rainbow will be considered afterwards. The position in which we judge the reflected object to be is, in plane mirrors, at the intersection behind the mirror of the prolongation of the reflected ray with that of the perpendicular let fall on the mirror from the object. But in mirrors other than plane the apparent position varies very greatly 132-134 CHAPTER III. There are seven kinds of mirrors, spherical, conical, cylindrical, or plane. Of the first three classes each may be either convex or concave. Geometrical proof is given that in plane mirrors the image and the object appear equidistant from the plane of the mirror on opposite sides. Nothing really takes place either in the mirror or behind it. The effect produced is a mental impression caused by the peculiar path taken by the radiation from the object. In spheri- cal convex mirrors, the intersection of the visual ray with a line drawn from the object to the centre of the sphere fixes the apparent position of the object. This intersection may be beyond the mirror, in the mirror, or on the same side as the object. Usually the image appears less than the reality, because the rays come from a smaller area than in the case of the plane mirror : in the spherical most of them are dispersed. The image is erect but distorted : the outer rays of the cone touching points more distant from the eye than the median rays. Only when the image of a right line crosses the centre of the sphere is that image rectilinear. Moreover, in convex mirrors the image is nearer to the mirror than the object is, because the inter- section of the visual ray with the perpendicular occurs sooner in spherical than in plane mirrors. In cylindrical mirrors the errors are even greater than in spherical, except in the one case where a line in the object is equidistant from the axis of the cylinder. Only if this line has any breadth, its transverse magnitude wiU be distorted. In convex conical mirrors the same errors occur as in convex spherical 134-137 CHAPTER IV. The greatest illusions are those that occur in concave mirrors, both as to the size of the image, and the number of its repetitions ; some PART V. cxlv VOL. II. PAGES of these being inverted, some erect. The two diagrams accompany- ing this chapter illustrate these effects ..... 137-141 CHAPTER V. Many observations of natural objects show the dependence of colour on the angle at which the light falls, as for instance the plumage of the peacock's tail or the pigeon's neck, and also the rain- bow, as we shall see in dealing with experimental science. Drunken men or those in weak health see their own image projected in front of them. Seneca explains this by a supposed feebleness of the radiations proceeding from their eyes, which instead of penetrating the air are reflected back as from a mirror to their bodies ; and the eye thus perceives the body to which it belongs. It may be supposed that the air round persons in this condition is specially charged with morbid vapours, capable of reflecting the radiation. On this hypo- thesis it is objected that the strongest radiations from sound eyes would be ultimately reflected from the clouds. But their distance and their uneven surface prevent such reflexion. In the case of drunken or weak persons we need not accept Seneca's view of emanations from the eye reflected from vapour. We may suppose the emanations from the object, i. e. from the person, to be weak and to be easily stopped, and so to become an object of direct vision. The rays seen projected from a candle are due to the light falling in certain directions on the eyelashes, which being polished surfaces, act as minute mirrors. The scintillation from a metallic surface in an elevated position, as from a cross on a church tower, is due to the motion of the sun or moon whose light is reflected from it . 141-144 CHAPTER VI. If a mirror be placed in a vessel of water and the image of the sun reflected from it, a second image will appear beside the first, which was held to be that of a star. If it were, the sun's light would hide it. Moreover, the same effect is produced by the moon or by a candle. There are in fact here two mirrors, the surface of the water and that of the mirror. That from the mirror is more perfect, the other being weakened by the loss of some of the rays through refraction. Fracture of a mirror does not necessarily result in multiplication of images, unless the pieces are removed from each other 144-146 Second Distinction : On Refraction .... 146-159 CHAPTER I. We now come to the question of refraction. Rays passing from a point in the object towards the eye are refracted at the cornea, cxlvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES which is denser than the air, towards the normal ; with the exception of such rays as fall vertically on the cornea. The same point may emit a vertical ray and also an infinite number of oblique rays, these latter co-operating in the act of vision 146-148 CHAPTER II. The intersection of the perpendicular directed from a point in the object with the visual ray determines the apparent position of that point. If the eye be in the rarer medium and the object be in the denser the point appears nearer than it really is ; and conversely 148-149 CHAPTER III. The case is complicated if the surface separating the two media be not plane but spherical. Here we have eight distinct cases. I. When the curved refracting surface is concave to the eye. i. The eye being in the rarer medium, {a) the eye is between the centre of curvature and the object, {b) the centre of curvature is between the eye and the object. 2. The eye being in the denser medium, cases {a) and {b) as before. II. When the curved refracting surface is convex to the eye. i. The eye being in the rarer medium, [a) the object may be between the centre of curvature and the eye, {b) the centre between the eye and the object. 2. The eye being in the denser medium, cases {a) and {b) as before .... 150-153 CHAPTER IV. Examples of the foregoing. The submerged part of an oar illustrates case i of ch. 2. If the eye were under water the upper part would illustrate case 2. If an object be placed in a basin, and the observer step backwards till it becomes invisible, the object will again become visible by pouring water into the basin. This again illustrates case I. The sun and moon when near the horizon, where vapours abound, seem larger than usual. The vapours form a lens with the con- cavity towards the eye: the eye being between the centre of curvature and the object. The object therefore seems larger and nearer. Why then do the sun and moon not appear larger when they are high up and the sky is cloudy ? Because in this case there is no refraction, or but little. So there is no apparent increase of size when, the horizon being free from vapour, there is no refraction. The angle under which the celestial object is seen is of more importance in forming our judgement than the apparent distance, since the absence of intervening objects makes judgement of distance difficult. A crystal lens if consisting of a small portion of a sphere, with the convexity turned to the eye, will magnify small objects placed beneath it, in PART V. cxlvii VOL. II. PAGES accordance with the fifth rule. If it be the half of a sphere or more than the half, then the centre of the sphere will be between the eye and the object and the magnifying effect will be less. A candle however held at a moderate distance will appear larger than if placed nearer, because the refracted rays from the extremity of the object are taken for direct rays. Moreover, rays from the nearer position are apt to dazzle a weak vision and thus are neutralized. From a somewhat more distant position they are better appreciated. These are a few illustrations of the effects of refraction. They are not intended as an exhaustive treatment of the subject. . . 153-159 Third and last Distinction ...... 159166 CHAPTER I. All these scientific truths have a spiritual signification. The prayer, Guard us as the pupil of thine eye, cannot be understood without knowledge of the structure of the eye and the pupil. Each of the structures by which the pupil is defended has an allegorical meaning . 159-161 CHAPTER II. As in vision we should neither be too far from the object nor too near, so for spiritual vision we should neither be too far from God, nor too presumptuously near. Vision is by sense, by memory, and by reasoning ; this may be paralleled in spiritual vision. Vision is direct, refracted, or reflected : spiritually the first is divine, the second angelic, the third human. Or, again, the first is the perfect vision after the resurrection ; the second, before resurrection and after death ; the third, the imperfect vision of life on earth . . 161-163 CHAPTER III. On the practical application of this science there is much to be said. By reflexion we can multiply the images of objects at will, as by natural mirrors formed by vapours in the sky the image of the sun and moon are multiplied. Mirrors may be erected in elevated positions which may reveal the details of an enemy's camp, as is said to have been done by Caesar from the coast of Gaul when about to invade Britain 164-165 CHAPTER IV. By refraction even greater wonders may be wrought ; small things may be made to seem great, distant things near . . . 165-166 cxlviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS.' PART VI. VOL. II. PAGES EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE 167-222 CHAPTER I. Having laid down the general principles of wisdom so far as they are found in language, in mathematics, and in optics, I pass to the subject of experimental science. There are two modes of acquiring knowledge — reasoning and experience. Reasoning guides us to a sound conclusion, but does not remove doubt from the mind until confirmed by experience. A man who has never seen fire may read the proofs that fire burns, but will not be satisfied of it till he has been burnt. Even in geometry the demonstration of the first proposition of Euclid fails to carry conviction till the figure has been inspected. When Aristotle speaks of knowledge of the cause as a higher kind of knowledge than that gained by experience, he is speaking of mere empiric knowledge of a fact ; I am speaking of experimental know- ledge of its cause. There are numerous beliefs commonly held in the absence of experiment, and wholly false, such as that adamant can be broken by goats' blood, that the beaver when chased throws away his testicles, that a vessel of hot water freezes more rapidly than one of cold, and so on. Experience is of two kinds : (i) that in which we use our bodily senses aided by instruments, and by evidence of trustworthy witnesses ; and (2) internal experience of things spiritual, which comes of grace, and which often leads to knowledge of earthly things. The mind stained with vice is like a rusty or uneven mirror, in which things seem other than they are. Without virtue a man may repeat words like a parrot, and imitate other men's wisdom like an ape, and all to no purpose. The in- tellectual effect of a stainless life is well illustrated in the young man who is the bearer of this treatise. The degrees of spiritual experience are seven, (i) Spiritual illumination; (2) virtue; (3) the gift of the Holy Spirit described by Isaiah; (4) the Beatitudes; (5) spiritual sensibility ; (6) Fruits, such as the peace of God which passes understanding; (7} states of Rapture 167-172 CHAPTER II. It is solely by the aid of this science that we shall be able to dis- abuse men of the fraudulent tricks by which magicians have imposed on them. As compared with other sciences, this science has three characteristics (' praerogativas '). Of these the first is, that it con- PART VI. cxlix stitutes a test to which all the conclusions of other sciences are to be subjected. In other sciences the principles are discovered by experi- ment, but the conclusion by reasoning. An instance of this is afforded by the rainbow, and by other phenomena of a similar kind, as haloes, &c. The natural philosopher forms a judgement on these things : the experimenter proceeds to test the judgement. He seeks for visible objects in which the colours of the rainbow appear in the same order. He finds this the case with Irish hexagonal crystals when held in the sun's rays. This property, he discovers, is not peculiar to these crystals, but is common to all transparent substances of similar shape, similarly placed. He finds these colours again on the surface of crystals when slightly roughened. He finds them in the drops that fall from the rower's oar, when the sun's rays strike them, or from a water-wheel, or in the morning-dew on the grass. They may be seen again in sunshine when the eye is half opened, and in many other cases 172-174 CHAPTER III. The shape in which the colours are disposed will vary. Sometimes it is rectangular, sometimes circular 174 CHAPTER IV. Armed with these terrestrial facts, the experimenter proceeds to examine the celestial phenomenon. He finds, on examining the sun's altitude and that of the summit of the bow, that the two vary inversely. The bow is always opposite the sun. A line may be drawn from the centre of the sun through the eye of the observer and the centre of the circle of which the bow is an arc to the sun's nadir. As one extremity of this line is depressed, the other is elevated. It becomes thus possible to compute the altitude of the sun beyond which no rainbow is possible, and also the maximum altitude of the bow. It will be found both by calculation and experience that this altitude in the latitude of Paris is forty-two degrees ..... 175-178 CHAPTER V. Still further investigating the shape of the iris, and the portion of it that can be seen, the experimenter conceives a cone of which the apex is the eye, the base is the circle of the iris, the axis being the line already described drawn from the sun's centre through the eye to the sun's nadir. In cases where this cone is very short, the whole of the base may be above the horizon, as may often be seen in the spray of a waterfall. In the sky however the cone is too elongated to admit of this : the base is bisected in various proportions by the plane of the cl ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. 11. PAGES horizon. The arcs visible are not portions of the same circle. When the sun is high, and a small arc is visible, it belongs to a larger circle than the arc seen when the sun is rising or setting. A bow can be seen when the sun is just below the horizon ; but owing to terrestrial vapours, only the crown of the arch is usually seen . . . 178-181 CHAPTER VI. In some latitudes there can be no rainbow at noon even in the winter solstice. When the latitude (i. e. the distance from the zenith to the equator) is 24° 25', the sun's altitude at noon in the winter solstice will be 42°, therefore there can be no bow. Passing north from this latitude, there can always be a noon rainbow till we come to latitude 66° 25', when at the winter solstice there is no sun. Similar calculations can be made for other latitudes .... 181-185 CHAPTER VII. We have now to inquire whether the iris comes from incident, reflected, or refracted rays. Is the bow an image of the sun ? Are the colours on the clouds real 1 Why is the iris of circular form ? Here we call experiment to our aid. We find on trial that if we move in a direction parallel to the rainbow it follows us with a velocity exactly equal to our own. If we approach it, it recedes : if we recede, it follows. The same phenomenon occurs with respect to the sun. We have seen that the sun is always opposite the rainbow; the line between the centre of the bow and the centre of the sun passing through the eye of the observer. If the sun were apparently stationary, this would involve the bow moving much faster than the observer, the latter moving through the same angle, but at less distance from the apex. But this is not so. Therefore there is an apparent motion of the sun concurrently with that of the bow. The case is analogous to what happens when a hundred men are ranged in line facing the sun. Each sees the sun in front of him. Their shadows seem parallel, though we know that in reality they must diverge, yet owing to the vast distance of the sun this divergence is imperceptible. We are thus brought to the conclusion that, supposing a rainbow to occur, each of the hundred men, facing backwards, would see a different rainbow, to the centre of which his own shadow would point. The rays causing the iris are therefore not incident rays, otherwise the colour would appear fixed in the cloud. And for the same reason they are not refracted rays, for in refraction the image does not follow the change of place of the observer, as is the case here. One condition of the phenomenon is that the atmosphere shall be more illuminated at the standpoint of the observer, and less PART VI cli VOL. II. PAGES at the position of the cloud. The movement of the sun from east to west during the appearance of the rainbow may be left out of account 185-190 CHAPTER VIII. The colours in the bow arise from an ocular deception. They are analogous to those which appear when the eyes are weak or half-shut. They are not due to the same cause as the colours produced when light shines through a crystal, since these do not, like the colours of the rainbow, shift with the position of the observer . . . 190-192 CHAPTER IX. Each drop of rain in the cloud is to be regarded as a spherical mirror ; these being small and close together, the effect is that of a continuous image rather than of a multitude of images. The colour is due to the distortion of the image caused by the sphericity of the mirror 192-193 CHAPTER X. The diversity of colours has been attributed to varieties in the texture of the cloud, the denser parts producing violet and blue, the lighter parts red and orange. But we see the same colours in the dew- drops, w4iere there can be no such differences of density ; similarly in the crystal. Aristotle has been wrongly translated and interpreted in this matter. Another erroneous belief is that lunar rainbows occur only once in fifty years. They may occur at any full moon under suitable atmospheric conditions 193-194 CHAPTER XI. The shape of the bow is a difficulty. It cannot be explained by refraction. It is to be observed that the same colour is continued all round the circle in each ring. All parts of the ring therefore preserve the same relation of the solar ray to the eye. This implies circularity of form. It is asked why the whole space contained by the circle is not occupied with colour. Because from the points in this central area rays equal to the angle of incidence are not reflected to the eye 194-196 CHAPTER XII. The cloud therefore is not coloured ; the appearance of colour, for it is only an appearance, is given by rays reflected from the raindrops. Of colours there are five, white, blue, red, green, black : though Aristotle, dividing blue and green into other shades, speaks of seven. clii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES These colours appear to have some relation to the various structures of the eye. In addition to the problem of the rainbow, there is the problem of haloes and coronae. On this I give the best explanation that as yet occurs to me. I do not however pretend that it is satis- factory. Far more careful experiments, made with properly con- structed instruments, are needed before an adequate explanation can be given 196-201 The Second Prerogative of Experimental Science . 202-215 In all sciences Experiment is able to reveal truths quite un- connected with the discussion of principles, and with regard to which it is useless in the first instance to assign a reason. The initial state of mind should be readiness to believe ; this should be followed by experiment : reasoning should come last. I subjoin examples of my meaning. 1. The astronomer constructs his spherical astrolabe, by which he can observe the precise longitude and latitude of heavenly bodies at different times. But it is not inconceivable that experiment may devise means of bringing this instrument into such relation with the revolution of the heavens that it should follow their course. The motion of the tides, the periodic changes in certain diseases, the diurnal opening and closing of flowers, are facts tending to belief that such a discovery is possible. If effected it would supersede all other astronomical instruments 202-203 2. My next example relates to the act of prolonging human life. As yet we have nothing to rely on but ordinary rules of health. These are observed but by few, and usually not till the close of life, when it is too late. If a suitable regimen were observed by all, no doubt life would be much prolonged. But there are special remedies unknown as yet to medicine, but to be found by experiment, which may extend the period of life much further. Observation of the habits of certain animals may guide us to truths on this matter which are as yet hidden. Other indications are given in the works of Aristotle, Pliny, Artephius, and others. A combination of gold, pearl, flower of sea-dew, spermaceti, aloes, bone of stag's heart, flesh of Tyrian snake and of Aethiopian dragon, properly prepared in due proportions, might promote longevity to an extent hitherto un- 3. A third example may be found in Alchemy. The problem here is not merely to transmute the baser into the more precious metals, but to promote gold to its highest degree of perfection. In this perfected gold we should probably have a further aid to the prolonga- imagined 204-208 tion of life 214-215 PART VII . cliii vol. ii. pages Third Prerogative of Experimental Science . . 215-222 In this we leave altogether the domain of the sciences now re- cognized, and open out entirely new departments of research. At present the influences exerted on us by the stars can only be known through difficult astronomical calculations. Experimental science may enable us to estimate them directly. It may be possible for us to act on the character of the inhabitants of any region by altering their environment. Inventions of the greatest utility may be dis- covered, as perpetual fire, or explosive substances, or modes of counteracting dangerous poisons, and innumerable other properties of matter as yet unknown for want of experiment. The Magnet, of which use is already made, is but a type of other mutual attractions exerted by bodies at a distance. For instance, if a young sapling be longitudinally divided and the two divisions be brought near together, held each by the middle, the extremities will bend towards each other. In conclusion, I may point out the influence which the possessors of this science may exercise in the promotion of Christianity among the heathen, whether in subduing their pride, in disabusing them of false beliefs in magic, or in overcoming their material force . 215-222 PART VII. MORAL PHILOSOPHY . 223-404 First Part of Moral Philosophy ..... 223^249 We have now considered Philology, Mathematics, and Experi- mental Science, and have seen their intrinsic importance, and their value to the Church. I come now to a fourth science, which stands on a higher level ; that which relates to the practical conduct of life. Other sciences relate to action of various kinds ; but this to those actions by which we become good or bad. It is the science which instructs Man as to his relations to God, and to his neighbour and to himself. It deals therefore with the final purpose of all human wisdom. It is closely related to Theology, to which it suppHes important aid, sharing therefore its dignity. Proceeding to the divisions of the subject, the first point to note is that the conclusions of the previous sciences form the principles of ethical science. The others have prepared the way for this science as their mistress. We find ethical principles everywhere diffused through them, which are now by this highest of the sciences to be gathered together and find VOL. I. 1 cliv ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES their proper place. It is called by Aristotle Moral Science ; by- others Civil Science, as laying down the obligations of citizens and states ; the city standing in old times in the place of the modern state or empire. It falls under two divisions : first, the establish- ment of laws of conduct ; secondly, exhortations towards their fulfilment 223-225 The first division consists of three parts : (i) duty to God ; (2) duty to our neighbour ; (3) duty to ourselves. These three divisions are indicated both in the Old and in the New Testament. We may begin by laying down certain principles either held by this science in common with Metaphysics, or reached through metaphysical methods which here would be out of place. These are, (i) that God exists; (2) that He is naturally known to man ; (3) that He is of infinite power and wisdom ; (4) that He is One ; (5) that He is also Trine ; (6) that He is the author of Nature ; (7) of angelic substances ; (8) of human souls ; (9) these are immortal; (10) the highest good is in the future life; (11) man's capacity for this good; (12) the moral government of the world; (13) future rewards and punish- ments; (14) the worship of God; (15) man's duty to his neighbour and to himself; (16) the need of revelation; (17) of mediation between God and man 225-228 There are other principles of which Metaphysics can take no cognizance — relating to the nature of God and the angels and to future life. Of these the first is the Triune nature of God. Something of this has been revealed to the ancient philosophers, having been received by them from the patriarchs, as explained in the second part of this work. Plato and Porphyrins are instances of this ; examples may be found also in Aristotle and Avicenna 228-232 The mutual relations of the three Persons of the Trinity constitute the first foundations of Moral Science. Next to this is the Incarna- tion. Here too many traces of knowledge of the truth are discover- able in the ancient philosophers, both Greek and Arabian. There are also facts in natural history pointing in the same direction . 232-234 The coming of Antichrist is also an article of faith, of which some knowledge is to be observed in the writings of Greek and Arabian philosophers, and which some have thought is to be fulfilled in the actual Tartar invasions, though this is uncertain. It will be followed by the final punishment of the Evil one 234-235 The creation of the world and of the human race is also a principle laid down in the writings of Aristotle, Albumazar, and others. We find also the doctrine of the existence of angels, good and bad. The former direct the motions of the heavenly bodies ; and one of these is specially attached to the destiny of each human being as his guide through life. Bad angels may tempt him to evil . . 235-238 PART VIL civ VOL. II, PAGES Of the immortality of the soul much is to be found in Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, Hermes Mercurius, and Avicenna ; and they were not ignorant that the body must be regarded as inseparable from the soul. They had knowledge also of a future state of rewards and punishments ; though, as Avicenna insists, the cares, enjoyments, and occupations of this world hide this knowledge from us. In shaking off these earthly trammels and receiving spiritual enlightenment true wisdom consists, which Aristotle in the sixth and tenth book of his Ethics holds up as identical with true happiness. Theophrastus his successor, and Cicero, confirm what he has said. Thus that highest good of which Aristotle speaks consists in participation of the life of God. Nor were the ancient philosophers unaware of the future misery that awaited the bad, as the writings of Socrates, Cicero, and Hermes show 238-246 We now pass to the obligation to worship God, in thankfulness for our creation, in reverence for His infinite power, in consideration of our future bliss. On these points Avicenna, Porphyry, Plato, and Cicero have spoken explicitly. St. Augustine has accepted Cicero's explanation and definition of religion. Avicenna has compared our approach to the presence of God to our entrance into the presence- chamber of a great king. And Hermes has enlarged eloquently on this subject. As to the ceremonies of heathen nations, they were for the most part superstitious and useless, and there is no need to dwell upon them. They were practised by these ancient writers not for their intrinsic value, but in order to conform to popular prejudice and custom. .......... 246-249 Second Part: Civic Morality 250-253 CHAPTER I. The first subject under this head is the regulation of the propagation of the race by the law of marriage. Next comes the subordination of ranks, both in the state and in the family. Thirdly, the appoint- ment of educators and judges. A definite position and function should be allotted to each citizen. Provision should be made for the treatment of criminals, and for the replenishment of the treasury. Laws must be made for testamentary dispositions and for contracts of all kinds. Occupations injurious to the state must be prohibited. The defence of the country by an organized force must be secured . 250-252 CHAPTER n. It is further necessary that orderly succession in the government should be arranged. The ruler should choose his successor with the 1 2 clvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES consent of his nobles and of the people. Any subsequent pretender should be outlawed. These are the principal divisions of the subject ; which however includes the whole of Civil Law as received among the Latins, to whom the Greeks transmitted it . . . . 252-253 Third Part: Personal Morality 254-365 CHAPTER L This third division is subordinate to the two preceding. Our duty to God occupies of course the first place. Secondly comes public good ; which takes precedence of private good, as Aristotle has maintained. Love, Peace, Justice fall in this second division. Man is a social animal. A hermit living by himself is neither good nor bad. We are born to make our lives useful to others, as Cicero, Seneca, and the Stoics have so often said. On the subject of personal conduct and character admirable truths have been laid down by heathen writers, which may put Christians to shame. We will begin with those relating to virtue and vice in general ; passing afterwards to special branches 254-255 CHAPTER H. Aristotle has defined two kinds of virtue. The first consists in the subordination of feeling to reason ; to this the name of moral virtue is appropriated. In his Ethics he has spoken of twelve moral virtues, each regarded as the mean between two opposite vices. These are fortitude, chastity, liberality, munificence, magnanimity, public spirit, gentleness, friendliness, sincerity, gaiety, modesty, justice. The second kind of which Aristotle speaks is virtue of the Intellect. Its branches belong to the region of speculation, except so far as they are directed to the knowledge of divine things, or of matters useful to the state. Aristotle has distinguished innate from acquired virtue. All the philosophers of antiquity speak of virtue as the only real good, notably Seneca, Apuleius and Cicero, and have also insisted on the inconsistency of those who theorize about virtue without practising it. They have spoken of it as the beauty and the health of the soul, and have pointed out that it is only to be acquired by long and arduous practice. By this means even inveterate vices may at last be eradicated 255-262 CHAPTER III. The ancients have spoken of vice in the same spirit as of virtue. Algazel has said that vice acts on the soul like rust on a polished PART VII . clvii mirror, hindering the perception of the highest truth. Sin blinds the soul ; and hence the view of Socrates that evil actions result from ignorance. There is a natural shame at sin for its vileness ; a con- sciousness that it lowers to the level of the beasts, each race of whom typifies some one among human vices. We take our tone from those around us for good or evil : hence it is of the utmost moment with whom we associate. This truth also is illustrated by the lower animals, as Boetius has pointed out. Much importance is attached by Seneca and others to self-examination at the close of each day, as to the control or the encouragement that has been given to vicious impulse. Such control, as Aristotle and Seneca insist, should be exercised from childhood 262-266 CHAPTER IV. From virtue and vice in general we pass to special virtues and vices. We find that the teaching of ancient philosophers relates to Avarice, Pride, Lust, Gluttony, Anger, Envy, and Sloth — in other words, to the seven mortal sins. Of these, all but one. Anger, relate to pleasure and prosperity ; Anger only has to do with adverse circumstances. Let us begin with the former class. Disregard of wealth was preached and practised by Aristotle and a long series of philosophers. Seneca and Ptolemy have pointed out that this earth is but an infinitesimal part of the universe, and that the disputes of contending nations for its possession are like the quarrels of ants for an anthill. Apuleius, in his study of Socrates, has insisted strongly on the distinction between the inner man and the casual accidents of health, strength, or wealth that surround him. Sallust and Seneca have spoken of the general corruption that has followed the pursuit of wealth 266-270 CHAPTER V. As to sexual desire, Archytas and Cicero have said much of its disturbing influence on reason. Aristotle in his exhortations to Alexander dwelt on this, and on the degradation of man through lust to the level of the brutes. Seneca and Cicero have dwelt on the same subject. On Gluttony and Drunkenness, Seneca has enlarged in his discourse to Helvia, and in his other letters. He speaks of it as throwing the door open to lust, cruelty, and other vices. Cicero quotes a letter of the philosopher Anacharsis upholding the advantage of simplicity of life. Plato, Avicenna, and others have said much of the necessity of setting the mind free from the trammels of the body 270-275 clviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! CHAPTER VI. VOL. II. PAGES Having spoken of the vices connected with pleasure and pros- perity, we pass to the discomfiture of the soul in adversity by Anger. In resisting anger, the first step is to see it as it really is, with all its disastrous consequences to spiritual and temporal welfare. By nature man is mild and gentle, inclined to help his fellow-man. Giving way to anger he exhibits the physical symptoms of wild beasts, distortion of the countenance, agitation of the limbs, swelling of the veins, foaming at the mouth, gnashing of the teeth, spasm of the breath. The effect on the rational faculties is no less disturbing. It has often utterly destroyed the mental balance, and the temporary insanity caused by it has become permanent. No less pernicious is its effect on practical conduct. All the virtues are inter-connected, so that the loss of one involves injury to the rest. Anger is destructive to the noblest virtues, such as clemency, magnanimity, pity, natural affection, tran- quillity and joy. Clemency is specially characteristic of man, and to the ruleri^of men it is peculiarly appropriate. It may be noted that among bees the king alone is without a sting. The noblest of the Roman emperors have been distinguished for this virtue. Closely connected with it is the virtue of magnanimity, which leads its possessor to forgive injuries, and to be unconscious of their existence. But this state of mind is wholly incompatible with anger. As that part of the heavens which is nearest the stars is free from clouds, so is the magnanimous spirit free from the disturbing influences of anger. The swelling and exaltation of spirit which anger produces is no sign of vital energy, but rather of morbid flatulence and weak- ness. Besides magnanimity, other virtues are impaired by anger, as mercy, patience, and joy. Mercy is that which lifts man nearest to the level of God. Nothing is nobler than forgiveness and forbearance, and readiness to find extenuating circumstances in every offence, remem- bering how prone we are to give offence ourselves. To avenge ourselves on brute animals is what no one thinks of: and should we be less indulgent to men than to brutes ? Readiness to forgive a personal injury is stimulated by cultivating indulgent feelings towards human nature. But such a state of mind as this is wholly incom- patible with anger. The destructive effects of Anger on such virtues as Piety and Peace are too obvious to dwell upon . . . 275-288 CHAPTER VII. In addition to these things, anger makes a man reckless of his own life and that of his friends, as there are many signal examples in history to show. Under its influence a man becomes careless of wealth or reputation, and is led to blasphemous rebellion against PART VII. clix VOL. 11. PAGES Providence. It differs from the other vices in the suddenness of its access, and in its overthrow of the mental balance. Moreover it spreads by contagion through whole populations, and vast regions have been devastated by it ....... 288-290 CHAPTER VIII. Examples of self-restraint. In contending against this vice, it will be useful to recall the examples of those who have succeeded in over- coming it. Socrates is one of the most striking of these. Plato is another. Of Archytas, Xenophon, Diogenes, Democritus, Heraclitus, similar facts are recorded. Kings and rulers have shown the same self-mastery. Antigonus dealt indulgently with those whom he over- heard speaking ill of him. Philip of Macedon forbore to punish an Athenian ambassador who had grossly insulted him. Even Alexander could at times restrain himself. Pisistratus and Cato may also be mentioned, and the behaviour of Augustus to Timagenes should not be forgotten 290-294 CHAPTER IX. We now pass to the direct remedies against this vice. One is the resolution to inquire into the facts of the case before we give way to anger. We should wait, and we should demand sure evidence of the injury. We should guard against the suspicious temper, against readiness to take offence, and not allow, as so often happens, anger to be its own evidence. We should beware of expecting too much from our friends. To Caesar his friends were more fatal than his enemies, on account of the unreasonable expectations which they had founded on their friendship. The second remedy is to insist on delay before punishing an offence, so that the angry mood may pass, and meanwhile to restrain every external sign of anger, whether in voice or gesture. This was always the habit of Socrates. Meanwhile every effort should be made to -find excuse for the alleged perpetrator of the wrong. Finally, it should always be remembered that the injurer is a fellow-citizen, or at least a member of that greatest of communities, the human race. The offender is either an equal, an inferior, or a superior. In each case there is a special ground for refraining from revenge. The enormity of the ravages resulting from this vice is my excuse for dwelling upon it at such length . . 294-298 CHAPTER X. From the subject of Anger I pass to that of patient endurance of misfortune. And first, since there is a moral government of the world, why do good men suffer ? Seneca in his essay on this point says clx ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES that God sends these sufferings to strengthen their character. In the training of children the father has more regard for vigour of character than the mother, and acts accordingly. So it is with God. Those whom He loves He chastens, lest through ease and comfort their forces should decay. There can be no proof of heroism except wrestling with calamity, therefore those are to be pitied who have no such trial of their force. A brave man is proud that his general sends him to the post of danger. The sailor, the ploughman, are hardened by their calling : and it is so with character. Brave men face their trials willingly, and are purified by them as gold in the furnace. Thus the true blessings of life are given ; the false appearance of happiness is seen for what it is, a superficial veneer veiling the vice and worthlessness within . , . . . . . . 298-303 CHAPTER XL Seneca proves further that the wise man cannot sustain injury or insult. That he will be attacked is certain, but he will not give way to attack ; it will not injure him ; he will be as asbestos in the flame or rocks in the sea-foam. We may distinguish injury from insult ; the former being the graver, though the latter is often more dreaded. The injurer seeks to inflict hurt. But for the wise man there is no hurt but sin. What is external, what is inflicted by fortune, cannot touch him. He can lose nothing : for what is truly his own he carries with him. It may be urged that such a man is impossible. Rare he is doubtless : but Cato proves the possibility. Injury can only be inflicted by the strong on the weak ; and how can the bad man be stronger than the good ? Obviously the bad man may intend a wrong : but it does not follow that the wise man will suffer it. He is beyond the reach alike of injury or benefit ; he is raised to the level of God, except that he is mortal. He bears all assaults gladly, looking on them as trials of his strength. Insult is a smaller matter, to be complained of rather than avenged. It implies some mistrust in the recipient of his own worth, from which a wise man would be free. We are not to suppose him insensible. Bodily pain, the loss of friends, political disaster, he will feel like other men ; but of mere insult he will be simply unconscious, or will treat it as a passing dream. He will not take offence at it any more than a mother at the petulance of her child. For those who would insult him are but grown-up children. If he restrains and punishes them, it is not because himself has been hurt, but for their own welfare. The physician is not angry with his delirious patient. If rich men pass him by unnoticed, he reflects that they are but beggars or worse, since the beggar wants little, they much. It would be doing them too much honour to be offended by them. The current of opinion is nothing to him : he PART VII. clxi VOL. II. PAGES passes on athwart it, as the planet moves against the revolution of the sky. He makes no distinction of what can be tolerated and what is intolerable. He must conquer fortune wholly or not at all. For the wise man such a thing as injury does not exist. If he deserves what he suffers, he takes it as a judgement : if not, let the doer blush for it. Such was the spirit of Socrates .... 303-311 CHAPTER XH. In a discourse addressed to his mother, Seneca has suggested consolation under every kind of calamity. When misfortunes are many, it is not worth while bewailing any one of them separately. We are hardened by the rest, like veteran soldiers who bear their wounds in silence. Seneca alleges his own example under trial. Though not attaining to the level of the truly wise, he yet has followed wise men's teaching, and so has been forewarned and forearmed against the caprices of fortune. Take each misfortune singly. And first of exile. What is exile but a change of place ? Of the vast multitudes in Rome is not a large proportion foreign ? Again, is not constant motion as natural to the mind as it is to the heavenly bodies ? Looking at the human race, we find each part of it constantly migrating; and what is migration but exile? Wherever we go we carry our moral nature with us : we find the same universe around us. Let us remember what Brutus tells us of the cheerful activity of Marcellus in exile. Poverty is sometimes added. If meat and drink and clothing are supplied, it is no cause for complaint that avarice and gluttony are not satiated. The real necessities of life are easily provided. For the rest, the mind is everything ; jewels, gold and silver are of small account. Violence and disease may affect the body ; the mind they cannot touch. The poor are not less happy than the rich. But luxury has been carried so far that the travelling money of an exile is what once would, have been the patrimony of princes. Homer had but one servant, Plato three, Zeno none. But how if all these evils, poverty, exile and neglect, be joined together ? The answer is the same. The same reason which supplies endurance of one will suffice for all. As for ignominy, it depends on him who endures it : the prison was an honourable place when Socrates was its inhabitant. When a great man is cast down he is venerated still, as when a stately temple is laid in ruins .... 311-317 CHAPTER XIII. Writing to Gallio, Seneca asks. Is death an evil ? All men share it. Do men speak ill of you ? What, if they are bad men ? You are in pain. If the pain is slight it is easy to bear, if severe the greater clxii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS' VOL. II. PAGES honour in bearing it. It is hard to be poor. All depends on who is the poor man. The birds and beasts do not feel their poverty. The rich man is but a money-chest. The crowds that follow him are but as flies looking for honey, or wolves round a carcass . 318-319 CHAPTER XIV. Writing to a lady who had lost her son, Seneca continues, The mastery of life is only to be seen when trial tests it. Your son stood this test nobly. Natural affection has its natural limits. The grief of animals for the loss of those dear to them lasts but a short time. Men alone grieve long ; and even with them it is the weaker sex, or the more barbarous tribes, who are crushed by it. Was this sorrow unexpected by you Remember that none are exempt from it. Of no earthly possession have we a secure hold. We have them as actors have their stage properties ; the scene ended, they pass back to the manager. What we have we should be ready to give up at a moment's call. In loving it think of it as even now passing away. Why weep one part of life when the whole of it is sad Man is but a frail helpless thing that the most trivial accidents may destroy. His longest life is but a few years, and may be cut short at any moment. There are noble instances of constancy under such calamities as yours, as of the priest engaged in sacrifice who, hearing of his son's death, went on calmly with the service. Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, Livia and Octavia the sister and the wife of Augustus, bore their bereavement nobly. Reflect further that life is so un- certain that the sudden close of it may mean avoidance of calamity which would otherwise have followed. Nothing is sure but what has been already done. The sooner we are disentangled from earthly things the speedier will be our flight to the realms above . . 319-322 CHAPTER XV. My reasons for treating this third part of Moral Philosophy at such length are two. First, that although we are far in advance of heathen nations in knowledge of spiritual life, we are far behind them both in word and deed, as to public and private life in this world. Secondly, the works of Seneca from which I quote have been hitherto unknown to me, in spite of a long search for them, and probably to others 322-323 CHAPTER XVI. I proceed therefore with selections from his Essay on the Brevity of Life. Men complain that life is short. It would be long enough if PART VII. clxiii VOL. II. PAGES they spent it wisely. But they waste it like spendthrifts, in luxury, vice and sloth, or at the best in restless activity. Men cherish a dream of retirement and quiet reflection at the close of life. But they put off realizing it till too late. We know how Augustus longed for such a time of peace. The art of life is no easy matter to be learnt in a moment. Life itself is not too long for it. The wise man knowing this guards his time against the encroachments both of pleasure and business. Thus whatever his span of life he truly lives. For length of years is no proof of life. The shipwrecked sailor, tost hither and thither, has not made a voyage. Men crave for life when they see the end of it at hand. But while it lasted they lavished it recklessly. Much too is wasted in schemes for the morrow, the immediate work before us being left undone. Time must be seized as it flies. Of the three parts of time, past, present and future, the first alone is our inalienable possession. Yet how few care to look at it. The ambitious, cruel or intemperate man hates his memories. The one part of life which is really his own he flees from ; and yet men cling to life when it threatens to escape them. Few understand what true leisure is. Most men's pursuits even when harmless are but laborious futility. Learned men occupy themselves with the collection of trivial and useless facts : [though be it said in passing that sometimes these facts have philological interest ;] wise men have the whole expanse of history open to them. They can escape from the littleness of the present to companionship with the great thinkers and teachers of past ages. All time belongs to such men. They recall the past : they act in the present : they arrange the future. They see things to which other men are blind, and they escape other men's miserable anxieties as to what may befall them. It is well therefore to spare a few years for quiet meditation before our faculties are enfeebled 323-S33 CHAPTER XVn. It is well for us not to be exempt from the common lot. Great wealth is great slavery. Life at the best is but a stormy voyage, and the only haven is death. Life has been lent us ; let us return the loan ungrudgingly. And for the death of those dear to us, though we must feel like men, let us also bear like men .... 333-335 CHAPTER XVIII. I now pass to Seneca's discourses on the Blessed Life, and on Peace of Mind ; for they are well adapted to strengthen the spirit and render it careless of outward prosperity. Men wish for happiness, but know not where to find it. It is worse with them than with travellers who clxiv ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES have lost their way. These can be set right by natives of the place. But in life it is the broadest and most trodden road that leads farthest astray. We must leave the crowd if we would go right. We must look within ; the mind must be a law to itself. Nature must be our guide. If our mind is attuned to nature it will not fail us. We shall thus substitute for the distractions of pleasure and fortune the joy and tranquillity of inward peace. He is to be called truly blessed to whom the only good or evil is good or evil of the soul, the only pleasure, to be free from slavery to pleasure. Virtue is undying, pleasure perishes in the act of fruition. Pleasure may be the lot of good men and of bad : but for the good it is a servant, not a master ; they are undisturbed by its absence ; like the universe, like the Deity, they retain self-mastery. They live and act without strife, without vacillation, in inward harmony and peace. Yet virtue is not to be sought for the joy that it brings, any more than fields are tilled for the flowers that may spring up amidst the corn. It is an end in itself; there is nothing beyond it. With vicious pleasure virtue is incompatible. Lawful pleasures it accepts, as using but not abusing them. Unless raised above them, the wise man could not withstand the trials of life. Pleasure is but an addition to his life, not the governing principle. To confound these things, to regard pleasure and virtue as inseparable, is a fatal error, leading inevitably to the triumph of the baser element. There must be no compromise. The highest good ceases to be the highest if mixed with something alien to itself. The very foundation of virtue is undermined when it is made to depend on outward circumstance. It will no longer inspire deeds of heroism and self-sacrifice. When such are called for, they will be done unwillingly, and not with the prompt obedience of the faithful soldier. The reward of our fidelity is true freedom. Nothing can be done to us against our will, for our will is at one with that of God. But who, it may be asked, comes up to this standard whose life is not utterly inconsistent with it ? Admit this, and yet we need not be deterred from aiming at it. It is best to have high aims. If we resolve to be fearless in the presence of death, not to be the slaves of fortune, to acknowledge our bond to our fellow-men, to act when alone as though the world beheld us, to set restraint on appetite, to bow in all things before God's will, we are at least on the upward path, though we may not attain. Those who scoff at us will profit little. A man may be wealthy and prosperous, yet good. He may use his wealth to relieve the needy or to support the state. He will not throw it away ; yet, if it be taken from him he will be content. The difference between him and others is that his riches belong to him, they belong to their riches. If innocently gained they cause him neither pride nor shame. He will hold them lightly, and will use PART VIL clxv them worthily. We must distinguish between those who are strug- gling towards true wisdom, and those who have attained it. We can at least resolve not to bow down before wealth as a blessing, not to be the slaves of it, always to hold ourselves in readiness to abandon it. Strange indeed is the tendency in bad men to malign men better than themselves, instead of attacking one another ; to pick out the specks in these, heedless of their own hideous eruptions. Yet they only bring into greater prominence the virtue which they assault 335-347 CHAPTER XIX. We must pursue our steady course, not diverted from it by the varying blasts of opinion. We shall incur the reproach that a philo- sophic life involves abandonment of the duties of a citizen. But in retirement we remain active, still working at what will be of use to those who come after us. The turbulent politics around us are not our only field of action . 348-349 CHAPTER XX. I conclude with extracts from Seneca's discourse on Peace of Mind, without which there can be no happiness. We are as ready to flatter ourselves as others. , We are too timid to tell ourselves the truth. Yet without uprooting our secret vices there can be no inward j)eace. Sometimes we yield to the desire for incessant change ; sometimes we sink into inertness. Or we have not attained full mastery over our passions, and are kept in perpetual struggle ; or again we are still tor- mented by ungratified ambition. These disappointed hopes prey on the mind, and we become envious of the success of others. We shift and turn in hope that change may bring relief, we lose all power of forbearance, and end with disgust for life and the world. The remedy for this is not, as Athenodorus advises, to re-enter the arena of public life, but to choose such occupations in retirement as shall make our lives useful to others. We may serve the state by advising and directing the young, as well as by holding public offices. We are not to flee from men and live only for ourselves. We remain citizens ; but of the world, not merely of a single state. We act on those around us by the influence of example. Socrates under the Thirty Tyrants was a tower of strength to his fellow citizens. It is well carefully to measure our own powers, which we are apt to overrate. Defects of temper, health, fortune, often unfit us for public life, and point to retirement as the better course. We should not begin what we cannot carry through. Great care should be taken in the choice of friends ; not insisting on perfection, but above all avoiding the clxvi ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES querulous. Consider next the question of wealth, perhaps the most fruitful source of our miseries. The less wealth we start with the less we can lose : and the rich bear losses quite as badly as the poor. Of this Diogenes was well aware, when he took to a life of voluntary poverty. There can be no more doubt of his happiness than of the happiness of God. When his one slave left him he merely remarked that if the slave could do without him surely he could do without the slave. Our wisdom is to reduce the number of our wants, to be content with a moderate fortune, and to live well within it. Even in intellectual pursuits there should be the same moderation. Vast collections of books are of small avail, monuments of luxury rather than aids to study. In all the perplexities of life courage first, then custom, will teach us to bear the yoke. Custom is nature's sovereign remedy for all cares and sorrows. Life, whatever its station or degree, is a servitude. Custom adapts us to it and we cease to com- plain. Let us leave the unattainable, and attempt things within our reach. The lofty are liable to the deepest fall These counsels are for ordinary men, not for the man of perfect wisdom. For he can walk more boldly : to him not fortune only, but his own life, is but a tem- porary loan, which he is ready to surrender at call and gratefully. The test of a good life is readiness to die. Knowing that he was born into a world of trouble, no evil can take him unawares. Let us avoid the crowds of men who rush hither and thither like insects on the trees in restless and purposeless activity. Idle conversation is apt to be worse than idle. Let us refrain from too many occupations ; our disappointment will be the less. Let us take the work that comes to us, neither too eager nor too fickle. Let us possess our souls in patience, all else being external to us and indifferent. The behaviour of Theodorus the philosopher, and of Canus Julius when sent to his death by Caligula, are noble examples. Further, we must not indulge in too much grief at the errors of mankind. Laughter is more to the purpose than indignation ; though calm observation is a better attitude than either. Nor need the painful death of brave men afflict us, since they themselves endured it gladly 349-362 CHAPTER XXL Since the body acts upon the mind, time for relaxation and recreation must be given. Saintly men have always admitted this and practised it, following the example set by St. Benedict. Seneca, to whom much divine truth has been revealed, has insisted on this point strongly. We must not always be alone, he says, nor always in a crowd. There must be a change of occupation ; occasional amusement and gaiety. Hours of work must be limited ; exercise in the open air, occasional change of scene, are good ; even indulgence PART VIL clxvii VOL. II. PAGES in wine is not to be wholly forbidden. The mind is stirred by such influences and raised above its usual level. To these may be added the inspiring influence of music, of which the prophet Elijah availed himself 362-365 Moral Philosophy : Fourth Part . . . . 366-404 The beauty of the subject, and the rarity of the books treating of it explain the length of the preceding part. I now pass to the grounds for accepting the Christian religion, which points the way to happiness in a future life, and thus gives a meaning and a purpose to moral philosophy. God has never left men without the means of salva- tion : hence we find ancient philosophers, and especially. Aristotle, considering what are the principles which preserve or destroy states 366-367 The religions now existing in the world are those of Saracens, Tartars, Pagans, Idolaters (Buddhists), Jews, Christians. They are distinguished not merely by opinion, but also by difference of moral aim. The wSaracens permit excessive indulgence in sexual pleasures. The Tartars err from lust of power ; as we learn from the travels of William Rubruquis. Their mode of life is coarse and rude. The Pagans live by custom rather than reason, and suppose that their present enjoyments will be continued in a future life. The Idolaters resemble them in this, except that their priests practise chastity and abstinence. The Jews combined spiritual with temporal blessings ; the latter as well as the former belonging to the future life. The Christians, while accepting temporal wealth in the present life, are wholly independent of it in the future . . 367-370 Of these sects we may place the Pagans lowest ; they are guided by no priesthood, and each follows his own way. The Idolaters have a priesthood and a ritual ; but they have a multiplicity of gods. The Tartars come third ; they worship one God, though with many superstitious and cruel observances. Next in order come the Jews, of whom the more spiritual attained to the knowledge of the true Christ. Fifth come the Christians, who practise the Jewish law spiritually. Finally, there is the law of Antichrist, which for a time overwhelms all others. And each of these has its own moral principle — pleasure, wealth, ambition, fame, or blessedness in a future life. In the mathematical section of this work it has been shown that there is a connexion between these sects and the various planetary influences, which incline men's characters in certain directions, though without depriving them of free-will. As these influences change, each of the sects may be modified by the others. So the Saracens, though mainly under the influence of Venus, are modified by Jewish and clxviii ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS! VOL. II. PAGES Christian law. The Tartars, though governed by Mars, in like manner are modified by Mercury, which implies Christian influence. A The Pagans, again, and the Idolaters may differ according as the influence of Mars or of the Sun may prevail. With the Pagans, terrestial things as well as celestial may be objects of worship . 370-372 We have now to consider the means of showing the truth of the Christian religion. We may appeal to miracles ; or we may take the ground of reason and philosophy common to us and the other sects. Though the Christian should not place his chief reliance on reason, yet he should be able to render an account of the faith that is in him. And as the heathen do not accept this faith, we must challenge them on philosophical ground. Philosophy is given to men for the very purpose of leading them to truth .... 372-373 In what follows I am appealing to the wise among them rather than the simple. There are three kinds of knowledge : that coming from our own study or experience ; that which is learnt from others, and that which is natural, in the sense of being shared by the whole species. It is no less natural to act on such truth than to know it. Practical and speculative reason have the same source, and are essentially the same, as Aristotle has taught . . . 373-375 The existence of God is one of these natural truths, as Cicero has said. The necessity of demonstrating it comes from the weakening effect of sin on our faculties. The divine unity is not known by nature ; and even those who accept it are in error as to God's attributes. These therefore have to be explained, beginning, as the mathematician begins, with elementary principles. That God is an eternal first Cause of infinite wisdom, power, and goodness is accepted by the Tartars, Saracens, Jews, and Christians. Pagans cannot deny this truth when presented to them; as the recent conference in Tartary between Christians, Saracens, and Buddhists has shown. Their resistance elsewhere to Christianity is due to attempts to impose on them a foreign yoke 375-377 The Christian advocate may further plead that in tracing causes we cannot go back endlessly. There must, as Aristotle has laid down, be a first Cause, that has always existed, and must exist for ever, unchangeably. Boethius has shown that imperfection implies perfection, to which it is an approximation. Perfect power, as Aristotle shows, is boundless power : and if the power of God be infinite, a fortiori is His essence infinite. It follows that His good- ness is infinite ; and from infinite power and goodness follows the attribute of infinite wisdom. Such a cause is capable therefore of creating this world, and is disposed to govern it in the best way. If it be said that the world is eternal, this is to raise it to equality with God. If more than one Cause is asserted, then none can be PART VII. clxix VOL. II. PAGES infinite. In one world at least there can be only one. And if there should be more worlds than one, the same infinite God is capable of governing them. But plurality of worlds is an hypothesis which Aristotle has dissipated ; for they would all tend to the same central point, and lose their separate existence 377-381 God being one and infinite, man is bound to, yield Him boundless reverence, in thankfulness for his creation and for his hopes of future happiness. Even the Pagans believe in a future life ; so do the Saracens, although their belief is tainted with thoughts of animal enjoyments. The Jews have the same belief. Thus the Buddhists have universal opinion against them. This present life is full of misery, from which we must believe that the future life will be free. In our glorified body and soul we shall participate in the divine nature. So too will the punishment of the evil be infinite. This then is the twofold motive for doing the v^ill of God. But man cannot of himself know that will ; as the difference of his religions show, differences which exist even within the pale of Christianity. Of the true nature even of rnaterial things we are profoundly ignorant ; much more of things immaterial 381-383 Therefore Revelation is necessary. Aristotle has said that in these things the human mind is as the eye of the owl or bat to the light of the sun, or, as Avicenna says, as the deaf man to musical harmony, or as the untaught child to the highest truth. Man, says Seneca, is too mortal for immortal things. And apart from intrinsic inability to discern infinite truth he is blinded by sin. Man must therefore be taught by divine authority 383-385 All sects claim such authority. We have to consider to which of them has true revelation been made. Evidently to one only, since God is one ; there is only one world and one human race. Avicenna and Alpharabius fully recognize this. We have therefore to choose between the six religions of which I have spoken. The Pagans and the Idolaters, who take creatures for God, or who assert plurality of gods, may be at once eliminated. When confronted by the Tartar emperor with Christians and Mahometans, they at once succumbed. The Tartars, while accepting the unity of God, worship fire, and their teachers are mere magicians. It is clear therefore that they are not in possession of the authoritative truth which we seek. This they themselves have confessed. We must therefore examine the remain- ing three religions — Jewish, Mahommedan, and Christian . 386-388 The superiority of the Christian law is proved first by the authority of philosophy, which as I have before shown has given its sanction to the principal doctrines of Christianity. No such testimony has been given to Judaism or Mahommedanism. Seneca has attacked the Jewish creed; and Mahommedanism has been asserted by VOL. I. m clxx ANALYSIS OF THE 'OPUS MAJUS: VOL. II. PAGES Avicenna and Albumazar to be imperfect and transitory. We may add to this the testimony of the Sibyls. Coming more into detail, we find the Jewish prophets bearing testimony for Christ, and Josephus supplying proof that Judaism would give way to Christianity. Other evidence is contained in the books of Esdras and of the twelve Patriarchs. The authorship of these books is unknown, but they are of weighty authority. Further, the Jewish religion taken by itself, with its incessant slaughtering of cattle, is extremely repulsive ; and is so spoken of in the Psalms and prophetical books. Similarly the Koran uses very strong language in praise of Christ. Mahommedan writers say much in dispraise of their own sect, and admit that the life of its founder was stained by many vices. Accepting then the testimony of each sect as standing on the same level, we find none of them, except the Christian, testifying in favour of their own founder, to whom both Jewish and Mahommedan authorities, as well as Christian, bear witness 388-393 The credibility of Christian writers rests on six grounds : personal sanctity ; wisdom ; miraculous powers ; firmness under persecution ; uniformity of faith ; their victory in spite of humble origin and estate. Besides these grounds for accepting Christianity, there are the miracles wrought by Jesus, especially the forgiveness of sins, the surest proof of His Divine nature. For neither Moses nor for Mahomet was divinity claimed. There is the yet further proof of holiness of life, which both in Mahommedanism and Judaism is found wanting. In neither is there any recommendation of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Nor is the sanction of a future life clearly set forth in them 393-396 Having thus proved that the Christian faith is to be accepted as true, we need not examine each one of its articles. There is however one of them as to which much difficulty has been experienced, the Sacrament of the Altar. I wish therefore to give reasons why it should be wiUingly and ardently accepted, containing as it does the essence of the whole. First, it is accepted by the whole Christian Church. Secondly, it is manifestly set forth in Scripture, as in the Gospel of St. John, and in the Book of Wisdom, and in the Epistle of St. Peter. Thirdly, it is confirmed by the unanimous authority of the saints. Fourthly, we may add the testimony of innumerable miracles, of which I here record two of undoubted authenticity and recent date. Finally, as the Creator is omnipresent throughout the world, so by this sacrament is the Redeemer omnipresent to those who are in a state of grace. Without the Creator's presence the creature would cease to exist. So without the Re-creator's presence would the re-created fall from the state of grace. It consists with the infinite power and goodness of Christ that this infinite good should be PART VIL clxxi VOL. II, PAGES shared by those who have been re-created. This sacrament is a con- tinual renewal of the sacrifice by which Christ has taken away the sins of the world. He who made the original sacrifice will be willing to renew it 396-400 But it is not enough for reason to be convinced in this matter ; it is necessary that the heart be stirred. We must feel that this sacra- ment contains in itself the highest good, the union of man with God. We must feel that in every Church, for each recipient who is in the state of grace, in every part of the Sacred Host, the whole Deity is contained. Thus humanity transcends itself, and ceases to be bound within the limits of space and time. To the priest is given in this Sacrament a far greater power than that of creating a universe. The utterance of five words brings the Creator into communion with us. Again, what would be impossible to sense, to sustain the presence of God, is thus rendered possible. St. Dionysius was not able to endure the sight even of the Holy Virgin. How then could we endure the Divine presence? Even under the veil of this sacrament the heart is overwhelmed. Only when thus veiled would it be possible for us to eat of Christ's flesh and drink His blood. We are thus prepared to believe that all our truest blessings lie in a world beyond the world of sense. We are thus made one with God and Christ ; and to what greater good than this can man aspire? 400-404 m 2 ANALYSIS OF ^THE MULTIPLICATION OF SPECIES; PART L CHAPTER I. VOL. IL PAGES (a) As to the name and the essential meaning of species. By species is here meant the first effect of any natural agent. Thus light passing through space is the species of the Hght in the sun. If light passes through coloured glass, the colour shed by the light is called the species of the originating colour. Species is here used in the sense of likeness or image. In a dream the hallucination is a species. Intention, form, virtue, impression, passion, are other words used to express it . . 407- 410 This first effect of the agent resembles the agent. The agent transmutes the patient into its likeness ; thus fire transmutes what it acts on into fire, heat into heat, light into light, and so on. The subsequent effects have not the same likeness to the agent. This first effect is of the same specific nature as the agent, otherwise we should be at a loss to assign its category ; for it cannot belong to the category of accidents; and there is nothing intermediate between substance and accident. But, although of the same nature, its essence is incomplete ; just as we should say of the embryo, only that the incompleteness is far greater. Some agents produce more complete species than others, as light, colour, heat. Generally speaking, the higher the rank of agents, the more incomplete are their species 410-413 (d) There can be only one such resembling effect for each agent. This we call univocal ; the multiple secondary effects may be called equivocal. While the agent is acting on the patient, the effect or virtue is called species ; afterwards, when the effect is completed, it takes the name of the agent. Fire, when it has taken hold of the clxxiv ANALYSIS: MULTIPLICATION OF SPECIES. VOL. II. PAGES wood, is called fire. This, however, is only true when the patient is corruptible ; when the patient is incorruptible, the case is otherwise. The sun does not communicate its nature to the moon and planets by shining on them. The species of light is completed in them, but not the species of the sun. And generally it would be truer to say that the patient was assimilated through the species to the nature of the agent, than to speak of the patient losing its identity in that of the agent 413-416 {c) Natural agents produce the same species whatever be the nature of the patient ; in other words, their action is uniform. This does not apply to agents possessing free-will, except in so far as they may resemble natural agents. The difference in the patient may bring about a different result, but the species is the same . . 417-418 CHAPTER II. {a) We have now to inquire what are the things which generate species. First, all qualities that act on sense, producing some change in the sense-organ. There may be a doubt as to sound. Here there is a tremor in the part of the object struck : this tremor is com- municated to the adjacent part, and so again to the next. The first tremor makes a sound ; so does the second and the third ; but the second sound does not come from the first sound ; it comes from its own tremor 418-419 {b) Do substances generate species ? Assuredly, since substances are nobler than accidents. An accident is not generated until its subject be first generated. Heat, the accident, is posterior to fire, the substance. When heat appears in water, fire must pre-exist, and the substantial nature of fire, and this we call the species of the substance fire. Such species are not cognizable by the five senses, or by sensiis coinimmis. But they are cognizable by a mental process, akin to that which causes the sheep instinctively to flee from the wolf which it has never before seen, feehng something injurious in its proximity. It is sometimes said that substance can have no contrary: but there is a sense in which substances, or substantial forms act in opposition 419-42B ic) The species of substance is of the whole compound ; i. e. of matter and form, not of form alone 423-424 [d] Every corporeal substance can produce species, therefore also the organs of sense. The species generated by the organs of sense are concerned in sensation 424-425 ie) With regard to matter, which is passive, it may be affirmed that it does not generate species, except in so far as compounded with form 425-427 (/) Light and colour generate species, but other properties of body, PART L clxxv VOL. II. PAGES such as magnitude, position, motion, &c., which are apprehended by sensiis co?nim/7iis, do not. The magnitude and figure of an object are inferred from the species of hght and colour that issue from it ; not by species of magnitude and figure. Still more obviously is this the case with properties like proportion, relation, and position . 427-430 {g) Of things some are universals, some are particulars ; species issue from both. Universals do not exist apart from their particulars, neither do their species. The species in every case is of the same nature as the source from which it issues 430 431 CHAPTER III. We have considered the agent ; we are now to. consider the mode of action. It is not correct to say that the species is something which issues from or is emitted by the agent. Nor is it created out of nothing. Nor again is it an impression made upon the patient as with a seal upon wax. The true view is that the species results from a change in the potential activity of the recipient matter. We must distinguish between the potentia activa and the potejitia receptiva. The latter is that on which the Creator implants Form. But it is the poteittia activa which is here in question. The agent produces its effect, not by union of its substance with the patient, but by stimulating the latent activity of the matter which is acted on . . . 431-434 Action does not take place at a distance. Force is not exerted by the agent except on the part of the patient with which it is in immediate contact. The effect generated in the first part of the patient becomes a force acting on the second, and so onward. Action is thus propa- gated from particle to particle 434-436 It is objected to this view that a ray of light passing through coloured glass produces bright colours on an opaque screen ; how could such colours be evolved from the potential activity of the intervening air, a simple substance ? The reply is that the species produced in the air is extremely feeble. It only becomes relatively strong on reaching the screen which is so constituted as to develop colour. In the same way the species of the magnet is feeble until it reaches the iron which is better adapted to receive it. The colour on the opaque screen is but the species of colour, and is far from being so complete as it appears 436-438 CHAPTER IV. Six propositions have now to be considered, {a) It is not possible to assign a minimum of quantity below which a given agent will cease to act. In animate agents there is an augmentative power bringing clxxvi ANALYSIS MULTIPLICATION OF SPECIES. VOL. II. PAGES the agent up to a given degree of force. In inanimate agents the force is simply proportionate to the quantity, however small the quantity may be. It may be so small as not to be appreciable by the senses, and yet none the less act. For instance, the smallest particle of matter, all appearances to the contrary notwithstanding, possesses gravity 438-441 {d) The whole agent acts along the whole line of its depth on the patient ; not merely that extremity of the agent which comes into con- tact with the patient 441-442 [c) A certain definite portion of the patient is affected by the agent, and no more. The sun and the moon diffuse light through similar dimensions of the medium, although with enormous differences of intensity, corresponding to their differences of magnitude . , 442-443 {d) Will less than that definite portion suffice for the action ? It will not, unless that lesser portion be disunited from the rest, so as to become a whole in itself . . . . . . . .443 {e) Does half of the agent act on half of the portion affected, or does the whole act on the whole portion ? The whole acts on the whole portion 443-444 (/) Does the half of this portion first affected, carry on the change to the second half, or does the whole change come from the agent } The latter is the true view ........ 444- 445 CHAPTER V. [a) With regard to the patient, how can terrene substance be acted on by celestial, which is of different kind, since celestial is incorruptible ? The reply is that whatever the difference between celestial and terrestrial substance, yet the species generated by the former are communicable to the latter ..... 445-446 [t?) One celestial body may act on another; not by changing its specific nature, but by bringing that nature to greater per- fection . . 446-447 (c) We must admit that, in a certain sense, terrene things act on celestial, since there is a sense in which all parts of the universe are assimilable to all the rest. In vision species pass from the eye to the object seen. Such species do not change the specific nature of the celestial object, nor interfere with its superiority ; they do but draw out that which it has in common with the lower . . . 447-449 CHAPTER VI. We have, lastly, to consider what corporal agents are capable of completing their action on patients affected by them. (The earth, as the central point of the universe is the great region of change. The PART 11. clxxvii VOL. II. PAGES heavenly bodies moved by spiritual intelligences are unchangeable.) We shall find that the four elemental substances can carry their action to completion, and especially the element of fire . . 449-451 But many compound substances are higher in rank than the elemental. Why cannot they do the same ? There resides in them an aptitude for doing this, but they are practically debarred from doing it. Were it otherwise, the higher substances would transmute the lower into their own substance, and the lower would disappear, and thus the order of the universe would be subverted. Consequently spiritual and celestial substances, while generating their species, cannot bring them to actual completion. Such compound substances as the heavens or as man, if their species were made complete, would do away with all lower substances. Consequently, the carrying of species to their complete effect is limited to very few substances, such as the elements, and especially the element of fire , . . 451-455 The same thing is to be said of attributes or accidents. Some of these, as hot, cold, moist, dry, can complete their species, especially the accident of heat. Light also can do this in bodies adapted to it. Of colour, odour, savour, and sound the same cannot be said . 455-456 PART II. CHAPTER I. W^e now have to consider the mode in which the radiation of species takes place. The first part of the patient, when acted on, becomes itself a force acting upon the second part, and so onward. These successive parts of the patient are of equal dimension. From the starting-point in the agent, or, which is the same thing, from the point of the patient first affected, emanate rays in all directions in straight lines. Those emanations, of whatever kind they be, are called rays, by analogy with what we see emanating ircm a star or any luminous point. Their rectilinear direction continues until modified by an opaque surface which reflects them, or a change of medium which refracts them. These lines are not merely of one dimension : they have breadth, and depth, as well as length . 457-460 CHAPTER II. There are five kinds of rays to be considered, {a) Rectilinear rays, where the medium is uniform, {b) Refracted rays. The ray passing from a rarer to a denser medium is deflected towards the perpendicular drawn to the surface at that point ; and conversely, when passing from denser to rarer, {c) Reflected rays. When the clxxviii ANALYSIS: MULTIPLICATION OF SPECIES. ray meets an opaque surface, it is turned back in a direction making with the perpendicular to the surface an angle equal to the angle of incidence, {d) In the case of animate bodies, the ray follows a tortuous path along a nerve towards the centre of sensation. ( X (0 76 OPFRIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. Sunt autem septem vocales quantum ad figuras diversas, quum habent triplex i et duplex o ; sed quatuor tantum habent quantum ad sonum principalem, videlicet, a, e, i, o. Diphthongus apud Graecos est conjunctio duarum vocalium. Sonus unius vocalis habetur ut vocalis cum consonante. Et finales literae in diphthongis sunt iota et ipsilo. Potest igitur ipsilo consequi alpha sic, av, et tunc sonat quantum a cum V consonante, quia sonus aliquantulum similis est sono ipsius a cum f, et ideo vulgariter exemplificamus quod sonat af. Et potest consequi e, sic eu, et tunc sonat quantum e vocalis cum v consonante, quasi ef, ut dictum de alpha et ipsilo. Vel potest consequi iota, sic lv, et sonat quasi if, ut dictum de aliis. Vel ipsilo potest consequi o micron, sic ov, et tunc sonat u vocalem. Et sic solum habent Graeci sonum hujus vocalis u. Quum autem iota consequitur alpha sic, at, tunc sonat e, quasi e. Quum e, sic et, tunc sonat i per iota : si o, sic ot, tunc sonat y per ypsilo. Et hi octo diphthongi vocantur proprii. Et alii tres dicuntur improprii ; et fiunt per subscriptionem hujus literae iota ad alpha, ita, et o mega, sic, a, ry, (Id. Aliquando ponitur iota in linea, sicut in aliis diphthongis sic ai, r}L, cot. Sed remanet sonus literae princi- palis, scilicet ejus cui subscribitur iota. Nam cum subscri- bitur a, quae est alpha, sonat a : quum vero ?], quae est ita, sonat ita : si vero w, quae est o mega, sonat solum o mega. Et his tribus diphthongis utuntur Graeci semper in dativo casu primae declinationis. ... Et ^ licet exemplificare in praesenti loco de Jacob qui cum obviaret Esau fratri suo veniens de Mesopotamia et distaret dicit, Vidi faciem tuam quasi faciem Dei vidissem. Quaerit Augustinus, qualiter poterat homo sanctus hominem reprobatum comparare Deo ? et solvit quod multipliciter Deus in scriptura accipitur pro vero Deo, aliquando aliter. Et hoc multis modis : sed ut LXX interpretes designaverunt quod non loquebatur de vero Deo ideo apposuerunt articulum Graecum ad nomen dei. Nam hoc est de proprietate articuli ut veritatem rei designet. Sed hoc non apparet in Latino, ^ There is evidently a hiatus here. The subject considered is now the use of the article in Greek. LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 11 quia Latini non habent articulum. Nam satis innotescit in Gallico. Unde cum dicitur Parisius Li reis vent, iste arti- culus li designat proprium et verum regem talis loci, quasi regis Franciae. Et non sufficeret hoc ut denotaret adventum regis Angliae. Nullus enim diceret de rege Angliae veniente Parisius, Li reis vent, sed adjungeret aliud dicens, Li reis de Engletere vent. Et ideo articulus solus sufficit ad veritatem et proprietatem rei de qua est sermo designandam. Propter quod Augustinus dicit quod Graecum hoc sit upoa-coTrov deov, quod in Graeco sonat prosopon theu ; cum articulo enim non sic, prosopon tu theu, irpoa-oj-nov rod deov. Prosopon hie signi- ficat vultum vel faciem. Theu est genitivus casus hujus nominis theos quod est Deus, et tu est articulus genitivi. Magna ergo necessitas est ut Latini sciant linguas propter dicta sanctorum et caeterorum sapientum. Sexta ratio est propter errorum falsitatum infinitarum The text correctionem in textu tam theologiae quam philosophiae, non ^j^k j^^g solum in litera, sed in sensu. Quod autem correctio sit become necessaria, probo per corruptionis magnitudinem. Et quo- conupt^^ niam violentius et periculosius erratur in textu Dei quam textu philosophiae, ideo convertam linguarum potestatem ad corruptionem textus sacri, ut pateat necessitas earum, propter ^ corruptionem infinitam exemplaris vulgati quod est Parisiense. Et Deus novit quod nihil tam valida indigens correptione potest Apostolicae Sedi praesentari sicut haec corruptio infinita. Nam litera ubique in exemplari vulgato falsa est, et si litera sit falsa vel dubia, tunc sensus literalis et spiritualis falsitatem et dubitationem ineffabilem continebit, quod volo nunc ostendere sine contradictione possibili. Nam Augustinus contra Faustum dicit, ' Si discordia in Latinis codicibus est, recurrendum est ad antiquos et plures. Nam antiqui praeponendi sunt novis, et plures paucioribus prae- 1 From here to the end of the following sentence, supplied from Jul. The corruption of the Biblical text is fully discussed in the Opus Minus, under the head of the fifth sin of Theology (Brewer, pp. 330-349). See also, the valuable Memoir of Abbe Martin, La Vulgate Latine au xiii^ Steele d'apres Roger Bacon. Paris : Maisonneuve, 1888. The exemplar Parisiense appears to have been a text very carelessly compiled about 1230, and probably very carelessly copied, to meet the demands of the multitude of students who were flocking to Paris. OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. feruntur.' Sed omnes antiquae Bibliae quae jacent in mona- steriis, quae non sunt adhuc glossatae nec tactae, habent veritatem translationis, quam sacrosancta a principio recepit Romana Ecclesia, et jussit per omnes Ecclesias divulgari. Especially <^q^ j^a^g jj^ infinitum contradicunt exemplari Parisiensi : the Pans . . , . . , text. igitur hoc exemplar magna indiget correctione per antiqua. Caeterum Augustinus ibidem dicit, ' Quod si dubitatio adhuc remaneat in antiquis bibliis, recurrendum est ad Hnguas, scilicet Hebraicam et Graecam ' ; et hoc dicit secundo de doctrina Christiana, et ostendit in exemplis. Et Hieronymus hoc dicit ad Frecellam sororem et super Zachariam, et omnes sancti concordant ; sed antiquis bibliis concordant linguae Graecorum et Hebraeorum contra exemplar Parisiense ; igitur oportet quod corrigatur. Caeterum Hieronymus dicit ad Damascenum in hoc casu, ' Ubi est diversitas, non est Veritas nota.' Sed illi qui nituntur cum omni veritate quantum pos- sint corrigere textum sunt duo ordines Praedicatorum et Minorum. Jam de correctione formaverunt varias scripturas, et plus quam una biblia contineat ; contendunt ad invicem, et contradicunt infinities, et non solum ordines ad invicem, sed utriusque ordinis fratres sibi invicem contrariantes plus quam ordines totales ; nam omnis dominus alii contradicit, et in eadem correctores sibi invicem succedentes mutuas eradunt positiones cum infinito scandalo et confusione. Unde cum ad viginti annos praedicatores redegerunt correctionem in scripturis, jam venerunt alii, et novam ordinaverunt correc- tionem, quae continet plus medietate unius bibliae ; quantum vix ponatur in tanta scriptura quantum Novum continet Testa- mentum. Et quia vident se errasse in antiqua correctione, jam fecerunt statuta quod nullus ei adhaereat ; et tamen secunda correctio propter horribilem sui quantitatem simul cum veritatibus multis habet sine comparatione plures falsi- tates quam prima correctio. Illustra- Quod autem dixi in universali, potest patere in exemplis ; nam infinities accidit corruptio additione, subtractione, con- junctione, divisione orationis, dictionis, syllabae, literae, diph- thongi, aspirationis notae : et non solum litera, sed sensus literalis et spirituaHs mutantur ; et non solum cadunt haec LINGUA RUM COGNITIO. 79 vitia circa unam orationem, sed circa multas, immo penes folia quamplurima ; et de singulis unum ponam exemplum vel duo. Nam multi prologi superflui ponuntur in textu, cum non sint prologi textus in quibus redditur ratio translationis librorum quibus praeponuntur, sed sunt epistolae familiaribus missae^ ut epistola Hieronymi ad Paulinum, quae in capite bibliae reputatur prologus et vocatur a vulgo, quae tamen in libro epistolarum Jeronymi continetur ; vel respectu prologi in commentarios et in originalia non in textum, sicut idem quod praemittitur ante librum Ecclesiastis. Nam patet quod pro- logus est ibi originalisj et patet ex sententia. Et sic est de multis aliis, quae non sunt in bibliis antiquitatis. De una oratione superflua est exemplum Deuteronomii 27. ' Male- dictus qui dormit cum uxore proximi sui, et dicet omnis populus Amen;' quoniam nec antiqui codices, nec Hebraeus, nec Graecus habent versum hunc. De superfluitate dictionis horribile est ac nefandum octavo Genesis, cum dicitur quod 'Corvus ad arcam non est reversus,' et Hebraei et Hieronymus in originali habent affirmativam. Et accepta est negatio a paucis temporibus de alia translatione, scilicet LXX inter- pretum, cujus falsitatem Hieronymus ostendit locis infinitis, et jam a tempore Isidori et antea evacuata est. Nam ipse dicit in libro de officiis quod generaliter omnes ecclesiae Latinae utuntur translatione Hieronymi, pro eo quod veracior sit in sententiis et clarior in verbis ; excepto quod propter nimium usum psallendi in ecclesia solius psalterii translatio scilicet LXX interpretum remansit. Sed antiquitus Romana Ecclesia jussit translationem banc ubicunque haberi. Augustinus et alii et ipsemet Hieronymus tempore suo usi sunt sicut Ecclesia translatione antiqua. Et ideo Augustinum quum recitat textum hunc decimo sexto de Civitate Dei et exponit oportuit quod uteretur translatione quae fuit vulgata et recepta apud Latinos, nec potuit aliud facere. Omnis vero glossator qui infixit glossas super textum accepit auctoritatem Augustini de Civitate Dei et eam posuit infra textum, sed non mutavit eam nec intulit negationem . . . inter caeteros hoc fecit. Et sic vulgatus est error horribilis cum contradictorium pro contradictione pona- tur. Nam videtur in philosophia quod ejusdem libri est 8o OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. aliquando duplex et triplex translatio ; et una habet diversum vel aliquando contrarium alteri. Sed nullus est qui ausus est translationem unam miscere cum alia. Quod autem ecclesiastici habent in legendo negationem hoc est de corruptione exemplaris apud studentes ad ecclesiasticos derivatum, et de syllabae mutatione, et per consequens totius dictionis. Et exemplum mirabile est de Joseph, qui dicitur in exemplari vulgato venditus fuisse triginta argenteis propter exemplum Domini, sed secundum antiquos codices et He- braeum, et Graecum, et Arabicum, et Hieronymum in origi- nali, et Josephum in antiquitatum libro, debent esse viginti non triginta, Et similiter in Psalterio ad syllabae mutationem mutatur tota dictio cum infinito errore, cum dicitur, ' Sitivit anima mea ad Deum fontem vivum.' Nam cum ecclesia in solo Psalterio utatur translatione LXX interpretum, Hierony- mus correxit hanc translationem bis, et posuit forteni ubi ponimus fontem per errorem propter similitudinem dictionis, et propter hoc quod in praecedenti versu fit mentio de fonte ; sed ut dixi Hieronymus correxit fortem,t!i ita est in Hebraeis bibliis et in psalteriis antiquis monasticis. Nam hoc diligenter inspexi ; et omnino certum est quod non est hie error vilissimus propter similitudines praedictas. De literae mutatione est exemplum notabile primo Judicum, cum dicitur in monte Ares, quod interpretatur testaceo, ut penultima litera sit e non i, sed communiter habetur testacio per i, ut sit nominativus casus, et idem quod testificatio a teste ; sed si deberet esse ablativus, derivatur a testa. Nam in omni- bus antiquis bibliis est testaceo per e, et in Graeco, et in Hebraeo, ubi habetur hares, Hieronymus transtulit testam, vel aliquid derivatum a testa ; nam hares in Hebraeo testani vel aliquid praedictorum significat in Latino. Unde Hiero- nymus in sexto libro super Isaiam exponens idem verbum decimo sexto capite, ' His qui laetantur super muros cocti lateris,' dicit hares testam sive coctum laterem significat. Et in decimo octavo libro super idem vicesimo quarto Isaiae, ' Erubescet luna,' dicit quod hares testam sive coctum vel ariditatem sonat. Quod vero tricesimo primo et tricesimo secundo Jeremiae confunduntur haec nomina Ananeel et LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 8i Anameel per errorem, ut in litera indifferenter ponitur m in penultima, est error magnus in mutatione unius literae. Nam Hieronymus dicit in originali, quod Ananeel per n scriptum est turris, per m est filius patruelis Jeremiae, et sic invenitur in Hebraeo. De aspirationis nota exemplum primo ad Thessa- lonicenses, cum dicitur, ad cujus oi-e, ut sit ablativus casus hujus nominis os, oi'is, et non genitivus hujus nominis ho?'a, horae\ scribitur enim in ablativo casu, et glossatur non a sancto, sed a magistro sententiarum, qui glossavit epistolas ; sed sicut defecit multipliciter in expositione propter ignorantiam Graeci, ita fecit hie. Quum procuP dubio in Graeco, a quo sumptus est genitivus hujus nominis Jiora, invenitur Jwras, et aspiratur tarn apud Graecum quam apud Latinum. Scilicet Os, oris, non aspiratur. Hoc enim verbum, hora, est Graecum, licet Latino nomine declinatur, sicut Domina : sed Graecus declinat sic, Jwra, horas, hora, horani, Jiora. Unde nominativus et dativus, et vocativus, similes sunt : accusativus in am, genitivus in as ; ablativum non habent Graeci. Et hoc in Graeco est horas, sicut ego legi diligenter et omnibus possim probare qui sciunt Graecum, et in Graeco invenitur asplratio. Haec exempla volui assumere ut quae probant quod necesse est linguas sciri propter textus Latini corruptionem tam in theologia quam in philosophia. Quomodo vere de corruptione plene probo et in speciali per omnes corruptiones bibliae, in aliud tempus differtur propter rei magnitudinem quae potest Vestrae Sancti- tati praesentari, sed non nunc ut sufficiat, sed magis per alium in sequentibus explicabo. Septima ratio est, quia necesse est ut Latini sciant linguas Even when specialiter propter sensus falsitatem, etsi litera esset verissima. corrlct\ris Nam tam in theologia quam in philosophia necessariae sunt wrongly interpretationes et praecipue in textu sacro, et in textu ^"^^^P^^^^^^* medicinae et scientiarum secretarum ; quae nimis occultantur propter ignorantiam interpretationum. Nam medici confusi sunt propter malas interpretationes. quas vocant synonyma ; non est autem eis possibile uti medicinis authenticis propter errorum istorum synonymorum ignorantiam ; et ideo accidit ' The following passage, down to the end of the paragraph, is omitted in O. and D., and has been supplied from Jul. VOL. I. G 82 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. in manibus eorum infinitum periculum. Eodem modo est in textu sacro ; nam summa difficultas, quae est apud ipsum sciendum est propter varietatem et obscuritatem infinitarum interpretationum, et in exemplo familiari pro infinitis aliis apparet. Vulgus enim hoc nomen Israel pro patriarcha inter- pretatur virum videntem Deum. Et praevaluit hoc in usu usque ad tempus Hieronymi, et etiam usque quo sua translatio et sua expositio jussae sunt per omnes ecclesias divulgari. Sed ipse dicit in originali quantae grandis auctoritatis sunt, et eorum verbis nos opprimit qui Israel virum videntem Deum interpretati sunt. Nos tamen magis consentimus Domino vel Angelo qui illi hoc nomen imposuit quam auctoritati alicujus saecularis eloquentiae. Et ideo probat egregie quod affirmat. Nam illi qui sic interpretati sunt crediderunt quod hoc voca- bulum significet idem conjunctum vel divisum, sicut respub- lica apud nos. Sed hoc non est generaliter verum, immo in pluribus habet instantiam in omni lingua. Nam apud Hebraeos Is est vir, Ra videns, El Deus ; et ideo crediderunt multi quod hoc nomen patriarchae habet resolutionem in ilia tria. Sed Hieronymus reprobat per multa argumenta ; quatuor enim possunt sumi e dictis suis a parte vocis, et quatuor vel quinque a parte rei. Nam in illis tribus nominibus aliae literae sunt et plures quam in nomine patriarchae, et aliter ordine et syllabicatae reperiuntur. Ex hoc ergo triplici argumento sumto penes literas concluditur per Hieronymum quod id significari non potest hinc inde ; cum potentia significationis ejusdem sumitur propter vocis identitatem, sed vocem et literas nimis variari, quum in nomine patriarchae sunt hae quinque literae per ordinem : lod, Sin, Resh, Aleph, Lamet, sicut ipsum Hebraeum hie positum declarat Israel. Sed in hoc triplici vocabulo hae octo literae habent hunc ordinem, scilicet, Aleph, lod, Sin, Resh, Aleph, He, Aleph, Lamet, ut hie Hebraeum ostendit, Et quarto argui potest explicatione. Nam sicut puncta ostendunt nomen proprium non retinet apud Hebraeum sonum praecisum illorum vocabulorum. Nam secundum majorem quasi Iserael sonatur in quatuor syllabis, tamen ibi vocabulorum sonus in solis tribus syllabis coarctatur, quoniam punctum sub litera LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 83 sonat i, et duo puncta sonant e, et linea cum puncto sub ea sonat a. Sed argumenta fortiora trahuntur ex sensu vocis secundum Hieronymum. Et hoc ostendit ipsum Hebraeum hie scriptum hoc modo : IT Et textus Graecus habet sic : ' quia invaluisti cum Domino [et cum hominibus valebis ^].' Nam secundum Hieronymum et per textum Hebraeum, et Graecum, et Latinum, et per Josephum patet quod Israel non debet dici vir videns Deum, sed principalis vel princeps cum Deo, quoniam in Hebraeo ad literam est sic : ' Et dixit Deus non vocabitur nomen tuum a modo Jacob, sed Israel ; quoniam principalis vel princeps fuisti cum Deo, et cum hominibus poteris principari.' Et ideo dicit Hieronymus quod sensus est, ' Non vocabitur nomen tuum supplantator, hoc est Jacob, sed vocabitur nomen tuum princeps cum Deo, hoc est Israel. Quoniam ego princeps sum, sic tu, qui mecum luctari potuisti, princeps vocaberis. Si autem mecum pugnare invaluisti, quanto magis cum hominibus ; hoc est, cum Esau, quem formidare non debes ^ ? ' Et quoque Latinum habet : ' Quoniam si contra Dominum fuisti, quanto magis contra homines praevalebis ? ' Et Josephus primo antiquitatum libro, Israel ideo appellatum dicit, quia contra Angelum steterit. Omnia igitur haec, scilicet principari cum Deo, et invalescere, et fortem esse, et stare cum Deo ut patet reducuntur ad eundem sensum, sed diversis vocabulis interpretationum, quorum nullum de virtute significationis suae potest elicere visionem Dei. Et ideo vera interpretatio est princeps ami Deo. Et adhuc confirmat hoc Hieronymus per argumentum derivationis ; nam Sarith et ab Israel nomine derivatur, et principem sonat. Unde Sara uxor Abrahae princeps dicitur, ^ The words in brackets are omitted in the MSS. 2 See Jerome's Liber Hehraicarum Quaestionum in Genesim. Jerome adds : 'Quamvis igitur grandis auctoritatis sint, et eloquentiae ipsorum umbra nos opprimat qui Israel virum sive mentem videntem deum transtulerunt, nos magis Scripturae et Angeli qui ipsum Israel vocavit auctoritate ducimur quam cujus- libet eloquentiae saecularis.' G % 84 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA, ut dicit Hieronymus super septimum decimum capitulum Geneseos ; quapropter si viilgus vel aliqui antiqui, ut Eusebius Caesariensis in libro nominum Hebraeorum quem Hieronymus in Latinum vertit, et alii, famosa abutentes interpretatione dicunt Israel interpretari per viriim videntem Deuin, dicamus cum Hieronymo^. Illud vero quod in libro Nominum inter- pretatur Israel Vir videns Deitin omnium pene sermone de- cretum non tam vero quam violenter interpretatum videtur. Et igitur per Eusebium in libro Nominum quem Hieronymus transtulit in Latinum et per Ambrosium et alios forsitan sanctos allegare si quis concedat quod recta hujus vocabuli, Israel, expositio sit Vir videns DeJtm, dicendum est quod locuti sunt secundam vulgatam expositionem, antequam Veritas fuerit patefacta quam postea beatus Hieronymus vera et perfecta interpretatione Latinis revelavit, sicut in ejus libris continetur et in glosa etiam habetur. Et si forsan dicitur quod consuetudo vulgi theologorum modernorum hanc interpretationem frequentet, patet responsio per supradicta secundum Augustinum, et Cyprianum, et Isidorum, et alios et per varias declarationes ^. Nam secundum eos manifestatae veritati cedat consuetudo, et relicto errore vulgi sequamur veritatem. Et quod ex mera ignorantia venit non debet allegari, sicut accidit in proposito, et praecipue contra auctorem et doctorem sacrum non licet contraire. nisi pro se rationes sufficientes et auctoritates allegat. Et ad om- nem affirmationem poterit quilibet Hebraicae peritos consulere, et inveniet sententiam Hieronymi ratam et inconcussam ^. Summa vero necessitas remediorum falsitatis requiritur in his interpretationibus propter formam Hebraei sermonis ; nam in interpretationibus vulgatis quae in fine bibliae ponuntur, sunt infinitae occasiones errorum : propter hoc erramus quod unum vocabulum aestimatur simplex secundum normam Latinorum, quod est multiplex apud Hebraeos : et abundantius erratur quod tali vocabulo dantur variae interpretationes tanquam ^ The remainder of the paragraph is omitted in O. and is supplied from Jul. ^ et . . . declarationes om. in O, 2 This sentence omitted in O. LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 85 ejusdem sint vocabuli Hebraei, cum tamen quaelibet sit diversi, eo quod vocabulum Hebraeum apud nos male consideratum in scriptura una habet diversas literas apud Hebraeos, penes quos recepit diversas interpretationes, secundum quod Hieronymus ponit exemplum in epistola de mansionibus. Nam oportet si ar scribatur per aleph, significat liunen ; si per ain^ inimicimt, si per heth, foramen ; per he^ montetn ; dicit igitur quod vicesimo Numerorum quidam interpretati sunt his modis quatuor ; sed opiniones tres destruit, quia in Hebraeo scribitur hie per he^ et ideo solum moniem in hoc loco designat. Sed in prae- dicando et legendo theologi recurrunt ad omnes quatuor expositiones in hoc vocabulo, et sic alias, igitur multipliciter errant. Est ultima ratio scientialis de necessitate linguarum, quod Latin Grammatica in lingua Latinorum tracta est a Graeco et fas™n^ Hebraeo. Nam litteras accepimus a Graecis, ut docet Pris- formed on cianus, et ^ totam rationem tractandi partes omnes Priscianus QxttV accepit a Graecis et miscet Graecum in multa abundantia per 1-1 T- • 111- T • Hebrew. omnes libros suos. iLt ipsa vocabula hnguae Latmae, et tam theologica quam philosophica, ab alienis Unguis pro parte maxima sunt transfusa, quorum aliqua suspicantur Latini esse alterius linguae ; et de aliquibus non considerant quod ab aliena lingua descendunt. Multa vero aestimantur quod sint penitus Latina, cum tamen sint Graeca, vel Hebraea, vel Chaldaea, seu Arabica, in quibus tam in pronunciatione quam in scriptura et sensu accidit multiplex error Latinorum ; nec est modicum errare in vocabulis, quia per consequens errabitur in orationibus, deinde in argumentis, tandem in his quae aestimantur concludi ^. Nam Aristoteles dicit quod 'qui nominum ignari sunt, saepe paralogizantur.' YA primum et principale fundamentum doctrinae ponit Boethius in certa et Integra cognitione terminorum, sicut docet in libro de disci- plina scholarium, atque nos experimur hoc in singulis scientiis. Nam principalis difficultas ^ et utilitas est, quod homo sciat intelligere vocabula quae dicuntur in scientia et prudenter ^ The following six lines supplied by Jul., om. in O. ^ The last six words om. in O. " difficultas et om. in O. 86 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. sine errore proferre ; quando veraciter scit hoc, potest per scriptum perficere sine ulteriori doctrina si sit diligens in studio. Nam textus scientiarum sunt ei plani, quando noverit proprie ac certe intelligere et interpretari ; et sine difficultate potest quemlibet sapientem intelligere, et cum quolibet suf- ficienter conferre, et a quolibet si necesse est edoceri. Et Aristoteles dicit in primo coeli et mundi, quod parvus error in principio est magnus in principiatis ; qui enim in fundamentis errat, necesse est ei in errore totum aedificium cumulare. Aestimamus igitur linguam nostram Latinis dictionibus esse compositam, et pauca esse vocabula aliarum linguarum, cum tamen quae communiter utuntur sunt de linguis alienis, ut domus, scyphus, clericus, laicus, diabolus, Satanas_, ego, pater, mater, ambo, leo, ago, malum ^, et sic de infinitis, quae vix in magno volumine possunt congregari ; praecipue si scrutemur vocabula singularum scientiarum, et maxime theologiae et medicinae ; quo volumine nihil esset utilius, si vocabulorum omnium recta scriptura ac pronunciatio debita cum fideli derivatione et recta interpretatione probarentur ^. Sed nunc in his quatuor erratur in magnum totius detrimentum sapientiae, quod paucis exemplis potest intelligi. Nos enim non con- sidcramus ordinem linguarum, nec quod prior lingua non recepit interpretationem posterioris, nec quod diversae linguae in eo quo diversae sunt non se mutuo exponunt : sed quod dicit Hieronymus, et maxime prior ex posteriori non potest originem habere, ut certum est omni homini rationem habenti ; unde Graecum non oritur ex Latino, nec Hebraeum ex Graeco, et non debet Hebraeum capere etymologiam ex Graeco, nec Graecum ex Latino: unde Hieronymus dicit contra quosdam in dicto loco memorato, quod Sara non Graecam sed Hebrai- cam debet habere rationem, Hebraea enim est. Et saepius dicit quod Lenaeus a Xrivj], id est, lams, dicitur, non a le?iio, quia Graecum non potest Latinam etymologiam recipere ; sed quod hoc facimus graviter et indifferenter. Et nos contra; nam dicimus quod ame?i, licet sit Hebraeum, dicitur ab a, quod est si7ie, et inene Graeco, quod est defectus. Et cum ^ The last nine examples om. in O. J/s reading, praeliarentur, is unintelligible. Jul. has probarentur. LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 87 parasceue sit Graecum, dicimus quod derivatur a paro^ paras, et coena, coenae, quae sunt Latina. Et ^ dicunt quod dogma dicitur a doceo, et sic de infinitis quae omnia falsa sunt. Et non solum vulgus Latinorum sed auctores in his oberrant, et Hugo et ejus sectatores qui aestimant jtibileum a jiibilo derivari, cum tamen jttbilewn debet esse Hebraeum. Jiibilo est Latinum ; sed non debet dici Jiibileiivi ut litera i sit in secunda syllaba sicut in Jubilo. Debet i esse e litera ut dicatur jubelens, sicut vult Isidorus et Papias, et omnes libri antiqui sic habent. Nam dicitur a jobel quod est Hebraeum. Ita aestimamus quod multa vocabula quae sunt in usu Latinorum debent exponi per alias linguas. Assueti autem in hoc credimus quod longe plura, quam Many Veritas sit, capiunt etymologiam aliunde. Nam sola ilia voca- Lathi^ bula, quae oriuntur et derivantur ex Graeco et Hebraeo, ^"g^'^ debent habere interpretationes per linguas illas. Ea enim, thought to quae pure Latina sunt, non possunt habere expositionem nisi ^^''^^s^- per vocabula Latina. Nam purum Latinum est omnino diversum ab omni lingua, et ideo non potest habere inter- pretationem aliunde : sed Latini non hoc considerant : imo indifferenter pura Latina per alias linguas interpretantur. Unde multis modis hoc verbum coelum quod est pure Latinum Graece interpretantur dicentes quod coelum dicitur quasi casa helios, i.e. domus solis, nam sol dicitur helios ; sed incongrue dicunt et falso. Debent enim dicere, Casa helm, cum helios sit nominativi casus, heliu genitivi. Deinde falso dicitur. Nam sicut Varro peritissimus Latinorum et Plinius in prologo plene confirmat, coelum dicitur a coelo, coelas, quod est sciilpo, is, quia stellis sculptum est et orna- tum. Quod etiam est lege scripturae vocabulorum. Nam coelo, coelas, pro sctdpo, sctdpis, scribitur per diphthongum ae in omnibus libris antiquis. Et sic hoc verbum coelum apud omnes codices antiquos scribitur per diphthongum eandem. Et ideo derivatur a coelo quod est sculpo. Et ex hoc sequitur quod non derivatur a celo, celas quod est occidto, occultas, sicut illi qui huic nomini dant etymologiam absurdam dicentes sic dici quod occultatur et elongatur a nobis, vili errore sicut ^ The following passage, to the end of the paragraph, supplied from Jul. 88 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. priores decepti. Similiter hoc nomen ave, quod est pure Latinum, Graece exponunt, dicentes quod dicitur ab a, quod est sine, et ve, quasi siite ve : sed hoc fieri non debet, quia hoc vocabulum non sumitur a Graeco vocabulo cognatae signi- ficationis. Nam chacre in Graeco signat ave in Latino, sed haec duo non concordant. Hie ergo est unus modus quo in infinitis Graecis vocabulis errat Latinus. Greek Alius modus est, quod in Graecis vocabulis non intelligimus diphthongs . , - , . . misnnder- corum scripturam, quam habent multipliciter variatam ; quia stood. vocabula consimilia in sono distinguunt in significato : unde habent triplex et duplex o, et duplex t, ac p et c ; et habent undecim diphthongos, et multa alia, ut sic varietatem suorum vocabulorum in significando designent. Nam cenos quod est inanis, a quo cenodoxia, i. e. inanis gloria, de quo Deutero- nomi septimo, per e breve scribitur. Et cenos quod est novus, a quo encenia, i. e. innovationes, ut nova festa et dedicationes, de quo Johannes decirno, et scribitur per ae diphthongum, sic caeuos. Cenos vero quod communis, a quo cenobunn et epi- cejiinni, scribitur per oi diphthongum, quam Latinus proferat e, sed deberet proferri i, ut diceret cmos, unde ab hoc dicitur cinomia, quod est secundum Hieronymum in correctione Psalterii, communis vel omnimoda musca. Unde Papias dicit quod scribitur per diphthongum in prima syllaba, sic coinomia. Et hoc manifestum est in Graeco Psalterio. Et cynos, canis, qui scribitur per j Graecum, unde cynoniia, i.e. musca canina, de qua Exodi octavo, et xenos per x, quod est pcregrinus, a quo xenia, quae sunt munera seu dona, de quibus liber Machabaeorum, et secundus Ecclesiastici. Et schenos per sche est fiuiis, a quo schcnobates, qui graditur in fune et super funem. Scena est 7imbra, vel tabernacuhim^ a quo scenopegia^ i. e. fixio tabernaculi, et scenofactoria ars est in qua Paulus Apostolus laborabat. Cum igitur derivativa istorum vocabulorum et composita sic variantur in significatis, licet sint similia in sermone et sono, manifestum est quod non est possibile evadere in sensu literali sine errore, qui non advertit scripturam hujus- modi. Unde magni viri et famosi expositores aliquando decepti sunt, sicut Rabanus, qui dicit quod scenofactoria ars docet facere fiincs^ quia aestimabat quod scJienos^ quod est LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 89 funis, esset idem a quo nomen derivatur. Sed Beda docet contrarium volens quod a scena derivatur, et hoc manifestum est per scripturam vocabuli. Scilicet ^ ignoratione Actuum in Graeco textu scribitur vocabulum penultima syllaba sine aspiratione et per vocalem quae vocatur ita, quod est i longum, et sic scribitur scena pro tabernacnlo ; sed schenos pro fune scribitur per oe diphthongum et per aspirationem. Et sic contentio est inter doctores de cinomia et de caeteris prae- dictis. Unde de xeniis credit vulgus quod nihil sit, et corri- gunt in textu Latino dicentes exenia. Sed in Bibliis antiquis non est sic, nec in Graeco ; nec potest sic dici secundum Graecam grammaticam quia oporteret quod ex praepositio Graeca poneretur primo quod non est possibile, quia vocabu- lum incipit per consonantem sicut patet per grammaticam Graecam. Per hunc modum accidit error quasi in infinitis vocabulis. Tertius modus est, quod licet Latini multum communicant Differences cum Graecis, tamen in aliquibus differant, quod non obser- ^nf ofter- vatur ut oportet. Nam cum dicat Priscianus et omnes Latini mination sciunt, quod nomen arboris apud Latinos est foeminini generis ^^^^ Latin, et terminatur in us, et nomen fructus est neutrius, et terminatur in um ; ut ponins, poninm ; pyrns, pyrnm ; et sic de aliis, aesti- matur quod hoc sit intelligendum de omnibus vocabulis, quae sunt in usu Latinorum, ut de malo et de aniygdalo et aliis. Nam regula Latinorum est solum intelligenda de Latinis dictionibus, non de Graecis nec aliis. Et quod hoc sit verum patet primo quod Latinus dat regulas de Latinis, et non pertinet ad eum ordinare regulas de Unguis alienis. Deinde Priscianus dicit quod omne Graecum cadens in usum Lati- norum retinet genus suum quod habuit apud Graecos. Et ideo cum malum pro arbore sit Graecum et neutrius generis, est sic apud usum Latinorum. Et ideo tam pro fructu quam pro arbore est ejusdem generis et ejusdem terminationis. Et hoc probatur per Virgilium qui dicit in Georgicis mala insita arbores quae inservantur in fructus. Et super hoc Servius commentator qui fuit major quam Priscianus, cujus auctoritate saepius utitur, dicit, quod hoc, onine nomen arboris est foeminini generis^ ' This sentence, and the three following, have been corrected from Jul. 90 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. intelligendum est de Latinis, non de Graecis. Et certum est quod mahiin est Graecum, licet secundum morem Latinorum aliquantulum sit aliter prolatum. Nulla dictio apud Graecos temiinatur in m literam, sed in n ; et Latini omnes consue- verunt terminare dictiones suas in m, ut scamnum, ligmnn^ poinum, et hujusmodi. Idem multoties Latinus mutat ali- quam vocalem in vocabulo Graeco, ut ubi dicit Graecus grainmaticos, Latinus dicit grammaticus^ et sic multipliciter ; et sic est hie. Nam Graecus dicit melon pro arbore et fructu, Latinus mutat e in a, sicut n in m, et dicit mahnn. Sed ista mutatio non mutat vocabulum secundum substantiam et secundum radicem, quia acceptum est a Graeco, licet aliter prolatum, et hoc omnes auctores testantur. Caeterum per textum Latinorum in antiquis libris, tam de theologia, quam de philosophia, invenitur semper malum pro arbore. Nam in primo Joel invenitur communiter apud omnes Biblias malum pro arbore, etiam usque correctores dimiserunt illud in novis Bibliis: et quarto Canticorum ubi dicitur, 'sicut maluiii inter ligna sylvarnni ' ; sic exponit Beda in originali, et duodecimo, Ecclesiastis est amygdalnm et malogranatum in singulari et malogranata in plurali, quod non fieret, si malum non esset neutrius generis. Mutantur igitur hujusmodi vocabula se- cundum formam Latinorum, Et praecipue mirum est quod in aliquo correctores dimittunt antiquam literam et in alio abradunt, quod est omnino contra rationem. Mistakes in Similiter in pronunciatione literarum Graecarum multum dueTo ^ erratur, propter hoc, quod Latini volunt formam suam servare neglect in Graecis dictionibus ; et in hoc peccatur maxime, cum d[ffe^ences. oiTi^es Poetae et omnes antiqui Latini proferebant secundum primam institutionem. Sed nos moderni violavimus hoc multis modis contra usum omnium antiquorum ; verb! gratia, cum Priscianus dicit, quod nomina possessiva desinentia in nus longantur et acuuntur in penultima, ut Bovinus, Latinus, equinus, intelligenda est regula de Latinis dictionibus, non de Graecis, propter aliquas rationes tactas prius. Et ideo cum Adamantinum, Byssinum, Chrystallinum, Hyacinthinum, Bombycinum, Onychinum, Amethystinum, Smaragdinum, et hujus modi sunt Graeca, debent breviari in penultima, LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 91 sicut Graeci faciunt. Praeterea nec ista sunt possessiva. Nam duae tantum sunt terminationes possessivorum apud Graecos, scilicet in cos, ut Grammaticos; et in nios, ut Uranios, i. e. coelestis. Caeterum omnes Poetae Latini breviant penul- timam, et ideo non est poetica licentia quia communiter fit ab omnibus et ubicunque : quod enim raro fit et ex causa, licentiae poeticae ascribendum est, sed non quod fit semper et communiter. Unde Juvenalis, '' ainetJiystina convenit illi! Et idem dicit, ^ Grandia tolhmhir crystallina' \ penultimam corripiendo, sicut omnes faciunt, et nuUus facit contrarium : igitur non est poetica licentia sed ex lege naturaii. Et cum secundo Regum septimo decimo capitulo habeatur, ' siccaret ptisanas', expositio famosa vocabulorum Bibliae, cui omnes adhaerent, nititur probare quod media sit producta ; et auctor illius expositionis defendit se per versum Horatii, ' Tu cessas, agedum sume hoc ptisanarium orizae.' Sed error est, nam sicut per omnes auctores probatur, nun- quam abscinditur in metro, nisi una syllaba in fine dictionis ; et ideo sic debet scandi, ' Ptisanari' orizae,' ut haec syllaba sa brevietur, et haec syllaba na longetur. Et hoc patet aliter, quia in omnibus derivativus a ante riitm longatur; ut con- trarium, arniaritnn et hujusmodi infinita quae observantur in hac scansione, sed non modo vulgato cum dicitur ptisanar orizae ut duae syllabae auferantur, quia ibi breviatur haec syllaba na, ut patet. Ergo oportet quod media hujus dic- tionis ptisana sit brevis. Praeterea erratur in scriptura, nam in novis Bibliis habetur tipsanas quod nihil est, et debet p anteponi, sicut in hoc nomine Ptolemaeus. Et in hoc modo erratur infinities in aliis vocabulis, et tam violenter mutamus veras accidentium causas et regulas, quod non est remedium per magistros. Ouoniam consuetudo cogit omnes male pro- ferre, ut in uno patet exemplo pro mille millibus. Butyrum habet penultimam correptam apud auctores ; unde Statins, ' Lac tenerum cum melle bibit, butyrumque comedit.' Et Macer in libro herbarum : ' Cum butyro modicoque oleo decocta tumorem.' Et Graecus sic breviat. Atque componentia ipsum requirunt hoc. Nam componitur de tyros et bos^ et tyros est breve in 92 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA, prima syllaba et est lacticinium, quod a bove venit. Sed longe sunt majores errores apud multos, et ignorantia veritatis apud omnes circa accentus. Sed major disputatio requiritur quam praesens scriptura concedit^. ^ Cum jam manifestavi quomodo cognitio linguarum sit necessaria Latinis propter studium sapientiae absolutum nunc volo declarare quomodo oportet eum haberi propter sapientiam toThe^^"'^^ comparatam ad Dei Ecclesiam et rem publicam fidelium et Church of confusionem infidelium et eorum reprobationem qui converti studie?^^ non possunt. Nam quadrupliciter in eis necessaria est eccle- siae, primo videlicet propter officium divinum, eo quod Graecis et Hebraeis et Chaldaeis utuntur in officio sicut in Scriptura. (i) for ex- Et plura accipimus quorum Scriptura non facit usum, ut ofTiuirgy, <^gios, atJieos, athanatos^ iskiros, ymas, eleison^ et hujusmodi. Cum ergo ignoramus scripturam et pronuntiationem rectam et sensum multum deficimus a veritate et devotione psallendi. Nam loquimur sicut pica et psittacus et talia bruta animalia quae voces emittunt humanas, sed nec recte proferuntur nec intelliguntur quae dicuntur. Quum enim dicimus alleluia infinities in anno, deceret multum et expediret ut omnes per totam ecclesiam psallentes scirent quid sint duo vocabula, scilicet alleliL et ia. 1^ dim a lie hi significat idem quod Laudate, et ia denotat Dominuin, quum est unum de decem nominibus Dei, sicut Hieronymus scribit ad Marcellum ; et praecipue significat invisibilem, et Deus est maxime invisibilis. Verum non quodcunque invisible, sed Deum designat. Et cum in omni Missa dicimus Osanna, haec dictio est composita ex corrupto et integro. Nam ut Hieronymus dicit ad Damasum Papam, Os est idem quod Salvifica, et anna est indicatio depre- cantis, secundum quod per aleph scribitur syllaba prima; unde significat idem quod, salva deprecor. Nam aliter scribitur prima syllaba per e literam, et tunc significat conjunctionem quod Latinus sermo non habet. Et cum gloriosam Virginem ' The subject of accentuation is treated with some fullness in the Greek grammar by Bacon preserved in Corpus Christi College, Oxford ; and also in Compendium Studii, cap. xi (Brewer, pp. 508-514). 2 All that follows, to the end of Part III, is omitted in Jebb's edition, and has been restored here from Jul. LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 93 salutamus, dicentes, Ave Maria gratia plena Dominus tecum, multum esset necessarium ad intellectum veracem et intellec- tum ut quilibet litteratus sciret sensum vocabiili ; et praecipue cum multi aestimantes scire in hoc oberrent. Mirum quidem vocabulum est Maron, et significat doinimiin a quo venit Maria, et idem est quod dominatrix, ut dicit Hieronymus in interpretationibus. Et hoc valde competit beatissimae Virgini, quae dominatur supra omnem immunditiam peccati expellen^ dam a nobis et diabolicae fraudis et nequitiae, quia ipsa est terribihs peccato et de moribus sicut castrorum acies ordinata. Haec vero interpretatio est peritissima et sine calumnia, Dicit autem Hieronymus quod multi aestimaverunt interpretari . . . . quod ipse non recipit et dicit quod debet dici Stella Maris, vel amarum mare secundum Hebraicam interpreta- tionem. Et vere dicitur Stella Maris ut nos dirigat ad portum salutis, et Amarum Mare quia in omni paupertate et amaritudine temporali vixit in hoc mundo, et ipsius animam pertransivit gladio in morte Filii, ut sit nobis exemplum omnis patientiae et consolatrix in omnibus adversitatibus hujus mundi. Necesse est ergo nobis in omnibus psalmodiis et obsecrationibus nostris ut sciamus recte proponere et intelli- gere quaecunque et juxta verborum proprietatem devote nostras petitiones sonare, ut quod recte et devote petimus, Dei et sanctorum pietatem et merita ecclesiae consequamur. Sed hoc non possumus facere sine notitia vocabulorum alterius linguae. Et ideo multum expedit et necessarium est ut hoc sciamus. Secunda causa est quod Ecclesiae necessaria est cognitio (2) for ex- line^uarum propter sacramenta et consecrationes. Nam Pj.^^^-'^^^^^ , , of sacra- intentio necessaria est sacramento, ut theologi sciunt. Et ments and intentionem praecedit intellectus et notitia rei faciendae. tkmT^^^ Et ideo per omnem modum expediret Ecclesiae ut sacerdotes et praelati omnia vocabula sacrificiorum et sacramentorum et consecrationum scirent recte proferre et intelligere, sicut a principio sacri et summi pontifices et omnes sancti patres et institutores ordinum ecclesiasticorum constituerunt et sciverunt qualiter in verbis et sensibus mysteria Dei con- sisterent. Unde incipiendo a primis ut ab exorcismis et 94 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. catharizationibus, et sic per baptismum et omnia sacramenta discurrendo, noii solum decens sed expediens et necessaria est ut ab eis qui ministrant sacramenta sciretur recta pronuntiatio et debitus intellectus, quatenus in nullo derogaretur sacramento. Sed modo per universam Ecclesiam innumerabiles proferunt verba instituta ab Ecclesia et nesciunt quod dicunt, nec ver- borum servant rectam pronuntiationem, quod esse non potest sine injuria sacramenti. Utinam fiat cum plena efficacia effectus sacramentalis ! Et cum Ecclesia statuit hoc ex certa notitia, et omnes patres antiqui sciverunt rectam pronuntia- tionem et sensum vocabulorum secundum quod competebat sacramentis, nos nuliam habemus excusationem ; sed turpis et vilis ignorantia est nulla tergiversatione excusanda. Et quum in consecrationibus ecclesiarum cuspide baculi pastoralis fuerint factae literae alterius linguae secundum ordinem alphabeti, certum est quod paucissimi faciunt figuras debitas secundum quod a Sanctis patribus et Ecclesia fuerint institutae, propter ignorantiam characterarum alterius linguae. Et praecipue in hoc erratur quod tres figurae sunt quae nullo modo scribi deberent in Graeco alphabet©. Nam procul dubio figurae quae vocantur episemon, koppa, sanpi non sunt de alphabeto Graecorum, nec Graecis inservierunt in ordine literarum ; sed sunt figurae et notae numerorum. Modo vero Latini non considerant quod Graeci numerant per literas alphabeti, et quod ad complendam computationem interserunt tres figuras prius nominatas, scilicet has <5-, ^, ^. Sed hoc faciunt quum numerant, non quasi nominetur figura pro literis et scriptis. Unde in scribendo nunquam utuntur his tribus figuris nec ponunt eas in ordine alphabeti. Sed Ecclesia instituit quod literae solae alphabeti scriberentur in consecratione ecclesiae, et deceret uti literis non notis nume- rorum. Quapropter valde indignum est quod per universam Ecclesiam fiat hujus erronea scriptura. Et vile est quod haec nomina IHC, XPC, scribuntur per literas Graecas et aestimatur quod sunt Latinae, aut nescitur cujus modi sunt Graecae. Nam procul dubio in hoc nomine IHC prima est iota quae valet i nostrum; secunda est ita, quae valet e longum. Tertia est sima quae valet s nostrum. LINGUARUM COGNITIO. 95 Et in hoc nomine XPC, prima est chi quae valet ch aspiratum. Secunda est ro quae valet r nostrum. Tertia est sima. Tertia vero causa est de notitia linguarum Ecclesiae Dei (3) for ^"e TVT 1 • • ^1 1 1 • A • regulation necessaria. Nam multi Graeci et Cnaldaei et Armeni et of foreign Syrii et Arabes et aliarum linguarum nationes subjiciuntur Churches, Ecclesiae Latinorum, cum quibus multa habet ordinare et illis varia mandare. Sed non possunt haec recte pertractari nec ut oportet utiliter nisi Latini sciant linguas earum. Cujus signum est quod omnes dictae nationes vacillant fide et moribus, et ordines ecclesiae salutares per sincerum non recipiunt in lingua materna. Unde accidit quod apud tales nationes sunt mali Christian! et ecclesia non regitur ut oportet. Quarta causa est propter totius Ecclesiae doctrinam a (4) for principio usque in finem dierum. Nam dicit Dominus, Iota doctrine" unum aut unum apex non peribit a lege donee omnia fiant. Et ideo docetur publice in libro de senibus Scripturarum quod singulae literae alphabet! Graeci figurabant super populum antiquum, et oportet numerum centenariorum annorum quibus decurrebat status illius gentis juxta singulas aetates et saecula [computare] secundum spirituales vires et potestates literarum. Et deinde .... ecclesiae Latinae per necessitates literarum Latinarum. Et consimilis est consideratio super ecclesia Graeca per literas sui alphabet!. Et in hujus consideratione mirabili tempora ponuntur secundum omnes status Ecclesiae usque in fmem, et per quot centenarios annos durabit quae- libet immutatio quae accidet Ecclesiae in decursu suo, cu! si prophetias et ttstimonia digna necteremus possemus per Dei gratiam praesentire utiliter ea quae Ecclesia recipiet tam in prosperis quam in adversis. Et ideo nil utilius esset hujus veri- tatis literarum consideratione et aliis considerationibus simi- libus. Nam ad certificationem harum rerum multae materiae requiruntur, quarum saltem una non ignobilis est per literas linguarum diversarum. Et nequeo satis admirari cum videatur inexpertis habere debile fundamentum, scilicet literas alpha- bet! quae sunt prima puerorum rudimenta, sed secundum documentum apostoli munera sunt magis necessaria et majori honore circumdanda. Et sicut Deus elegit infirma ut fortia 96 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS TERTIA. quaecumque confundat, ita in rebus quas reputamus minimas posuit majestas majora quam possit intelligere mens humana. Et sic est in his literis triplicis alphabeti. Unde non sine maxima causa in epitaphio Domini scriptum est Hebraice Graece Latine, ut doceremur quod Ecclesia cruce Domini redempta habeat considerare veritates literarum triplicis alphabeti ; praecipue cum Ecclesia incepit in Hebraeis et profecit in Graecis et consummata est in Latinis. (5) for Quinto multum est necessaria reipublicae Latinorum diri- commerce , •.-1- - . • tt ^ with foreign cognitio Imguarum propter tria. Unum est com- nations. meatio utilitatum necessariarum et mercatis et negotiis sine quibus Latini esse non possunt, quia medicina et omnia pre- tiosa recipiuntur ab aliis nationibus. Et inde oritur magnum malum Latinis et fraus eis infertur infinita quia linguas ignorant alienas, licet per interpretationes eloquantur. Nam hae raro sufficiunt. Ex his ergo quae circa linguas dicta sunt patens est quod Latini magnum habent sapientiae detrimentum propter lin- guarum ignorantiam. Unde ex hac parte gloriari non possunt de sapientia ; immo multum inglorii et cum vario sapientiae damno languent. PARS QUARTA HUJUS PERSUASIONIS. In qua ostenditur potestas mathematicae in scientiis, et rebus, et occupationibus hujus mundi. DISTINCTIO PRIMA, HABENS CAPITULA TRIA. Capitulum I. Manifestato quod multae praeclarae radices sapientiae The key dependent ex potestate linguarum, per quas est introitus in greitgj. sapientiam Latinorum, nunc volo revolvere fundamenta ejus- sciences is , . . . . . . mathe- dem sapientiae penes scientias magnas, in quibus est specialis nmtic. potestas respectu caeterarum scientiarum et rerum hujus mundi. Et sunt quatuor scientiae magnae, sine quibus caeterae scientiae sciri non possunt, nec rerum notitia haberi : quibus scitis, potest quilibet gloriose proficere in sapientiae potestate sine difficultate et labore, non solum in scientiis humanis, sed divina. Et cujuslibet istarum tangetur virtus non solum propter sapientiam absolute, sed respectu caeterorum prae- dictorum. Et harum scientiarum porta et clavis est mathe- matica, quam sancti a principio mundi invenerunt. ut ostendam, et quae semper fuit in usu omnium sanctorum et sapientum prae omnibus aliis scientiis. Cujus negligentia jam per triginta vel quadraginta annos destruxit totum studium Latinorum. Quoniam qui ignorat cam non potest scire caeteras scientias nec res hujus mundi, ut probabo. Et, quod pejus est, homines eam ignorantes non percipiunt suam ignorantiam, et ideo remedium non quaerunt. Ac per contrarium hujus scientiae notitia praeparat animum et elevat ad omnium certificatam VOL. I. H OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. cognitionem, ut si radices sapientiae datas circa illam cognoscat, et eas radices recte applicet ad caeterarum scientiarum et rerum cognitiones, tunc omnia sequentia poterit scire sine errore et sine dubitatione, ac de facili et potenter. Sine his enim nec praecedentia nec consequentia sciri possunt ; unde perficiunt priora et regulant, sicut finis ea quae sunt ad finem, et dis- ponunt et aperiunt viam ad sequentia. Ad quod nunc intendo innuere per auctoritatem et rationem ; et primo in scientiis humanis et rebus istius mundi, deinde in divina, et ultimo prout ad Ecclesiam et caetera tria comparantur. Capitulum IL In quo probatur per auctoritatem, quod omnis scientia requirit mathematicam. Authorities Per auctoritatem quidem sic procedo. Dicit Boetius^ in secundo prologo Arithmeticae, quod ' mathematicae quatuor Boethius. P^rtibus si careat inquisitor, verum minime invenire possit' Et iterum ' Sine hac quidem speculatione veritatis nulli recte sapiendum est.' Et adhuc dicit ' Qui spernit has semitas sapien- tiae, ei denuncio non recte philosophandum.' Et iterum, ' Constat quisquis haec praetermiserit, omnis sapientiae perdi- disse doctrinam.' Quod etiam omnium virorum authenticorum sententia confirmat dicens, ' Inter omnes priscae auctoritatis viros, qui Pythagora duce puriore mentis ratione viguerunt, constare manifestum est, haud quemquam in philosophiae disci- plinis ad cumulum perfectionis evadere, nisi cui talis prudentiae nobilitas quodam quasi quadrivio investigatur.' Et in particulari ostenditur per Ptolemaeum et ipsum Boetium ^. Cum enim ^ Boethius, as appears from a letter addressed to him by Theodoric which is quoted by Cassiodorus, made Latin translations of many of the Greek mathe- maticians ; Euclid, Nicomachus, Archimedes, Ptolemy, &c. These, however, have disappetared ; the two books De Institutioiie Arithmetical and the five books De Musica, with a few doubtful fragments of his Geometry, alone remain. The expression quadrivium, as applied to the four sciences of arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy, seems to have originated with Boethius. ^ In the introduction to the Almagest Ptolemy remarks that mathematic holds an intermediate place between the invisible and incomprehensible object of MATHEMATICAE IN PHYSICIS UTILITAS. 99 sint modi tres philosophiae essentiales, ut dicit Aristoteles in sexto Metaphysicae, mathematicus, naturalis, et divinus, non parum valet mathematicus ad reliquorum duorum modorum scientiae comprehensionem, ut docet Ptolemaeus in capitulo Ptolemy, primo Almagesti quod et ipse ibidem ostendit. Et cum divinus sit dupliciter, ut patet ex primo Metaphysicae, scilicet Philoso- phia prima, quae Deum esse ostendit, cujus proprietatesexcelsas investigat, et civilis scientia quae cultum divinum statuit, multaque de eo secundum possibilitatem hominis exponit, ad utramque istarum multum valere mathematicam idem Ptole- meus asserit et declarat. Unde Boetius in fine arithmeticae mathematicas medietates asserit in rebus civilibus inveniri. Dicit enim quod ' arithmetica medietas reipublicae comparatur quae a paucis regitur, idcirco quod in minoribus ejus terminis major proportio fit, musicam vero medietatem optimatum dicit esse rempublicam, eo quod in majoribus terminis major proportionahtas invenitur. Geometrica medietas popularis quodammodo exaequatae civitatis est : namque vel in minoribus vel in majoribus aequali omnium proportionalitate componun- tur. Est enim inter omnes paritas quaedam medietatis aequum jus in proportionibus conservantis.' Et quod sine hisrespublica regi non potest, Aristoteles et ejus expositores in moralibus in pluribus locis docent. De his vero medietatibus exponetur, quando ad divinas veritates applicabuntur. Cum vero omnes modi Philosophiae essentiales, qui sunt plures quam quadra- ginta scientiae ad invicem distinctae, reducantur ad hos tres, sufiicit nunc per auctoritates dictas persuasum esse valorem mathematicae respectu modorum philosophiae essentialium. Modi autem philosophiae accidentales sunt grammatica et Alphav- logica. Et quod sine mathematica non possunt sciri scientiae proves istae patet per Alpharabium in libro de scientiis. Nam etsi dependence . . . .of grammar grammatica puens mmistrat ea quae vocis sunt et propnetates and of logic on mathe- Theology, and the shifting phenomena of nature. Td fxlv dWa 5vo yevrj rov OfwpTjTtKov /jidXXov dv Tis e'lKaalav ■q KardXtjipa/ iiiroi' rb fJ€V OeoXoyiKov 8id to TtavTiXws dfpaves avrov ml dven'i\7]irTov, rb 5e cpvaiKov Sid rb t^s vKrji dararov kol dtrjKoV ws did rovro jxrjZktTOTi dv iKirioai nepi avTobv 6fxoVor](Xai tovs (piXoao • • fleeted incessum naturalem quem appetit natura virtutis incedentis in continuum et directum nisi impediatur, et ideo reflexio multum debilitat speciem et virtutem,et magis quam fractio. Sed hoc ^ This sentence and the first part of the following are omitted in J. Fig. 6. 122 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. intelligendum est de fractione et reflexione secundum pro- prietatem incessus in eis. Si tamen consideremus, quod est reflexio in eodem medio, et fractio in diversis, oportet quod duplex medium magis impediat quam unum, et hoc saltem quando reflexio fit in medio subtili, et fiat fi'actio in secundo densiori, ut est in vase vitreo. Nam si congregentur radii a speculo comburente, et post perspicuum comburens, oportet quod major sit combustio, sicut inferius suis locis explicabitur. Fractio vero quae est in corpore secundo densiori minus debilitat, quam ea quae est in corpore secundo subtiliori. Nam incessus perpendicularis est fortissimus, et ideo quae magis accedit ad perpendicularem, magis est fortis. Sed fractio in corpore secundo densiori declinat versus perpendicularem, quae ab eodem puncto exit a quo fi'actio, ut patet superius in figura, tam in planis, quam in sphaericis, et ideo nulla minus debilitat. De reflexione vero quae est ad angulos rectos, licet geminetur radius accidentaliter, et sic fit fortior actio, tamen de natura illius reflexionis est, quod per se loquendo plus debilitat speciem ; nam omnino est in contrarium conatus naturalis ipsius speciei, quoniam per eandem lineam redit species super quam venit. Sed quando est ad angulos obliquos, non est omnino in contrariam partem, sed a latere, et ideo non tantum debilitat haec reflexio, sicut alia. Quantum est de natura reflexionis dico, sed propter geminationem virtutis in eodem loco, et propter aequalitatem angulorum, et conditiones perpendicularis, fortior est actio. Of con- Et tamen considerandum hie, quod per casum radiorum ad r^yrthe angulos obliquos possunt plures radii congregari per intersec- greater tionem, quam per radios cadentes ad angulos rectos, non solum number oblique. ex proprietate speculorum, ut dictum est, sed propter radios occurrentes sibi infinities ex lege incidentiae et reflexionis ad angulos obliquos, sicut accidit in acre, quando propter casum hujusmodi et reflexionem intersecant se radii in quolibet puncto infinities, et fit calor. Nam pauci sunt incidentes perpendiculariter super aliquam rem, quia non nisi ab uno puncto agentis cadit unus perpendicularis ad unum punctum patientis, et ideo sunt pauci reflexi. Sed infiniti non perpen- diculares exeunt a quolibet puncto agentis, et infiniti reflexi MATHEMATICAE IN PHYSICIS UTILITAS. 123 sunt eis respondentes. Deinde per casum perpendicularem tantum duo conjunguntur in eodem loco aeris, scilicet, incidens et reflexus ejus compar. Sed per casum ad angulos obliquos incidentes infiniti se intersecant in quolibet puncto aeris. Et similiter incidentes penetrant reflexos non sibi compares, et reflexi reflexos infinities. Nam ad omne punctum terrae incidunt radii infiniti, et ab eodem infiniti reflectuntur, et ideo fortior operatio nascitur sic per accidens ex incidentibus et reflexis ad angulos obliquos, quam ad rectos. Ars vero potest juvare naturam in formatione actionis ; nam potest sic figurare specula, ut fiat congregatio virtutum magna per specula con- cava, et maxime per ovalia, sicut dictum est. Sed virtus principalis, scilicet recta fracta et reflexa, est fortior acciden- tali; quia non venit accidentalis ab agente, sed a specie agentis, et est species speciei, propter quod debilior est. Capitulum II. In quo consideratur fortitude actionis secundum figuras. Et cum pyramis, ut dictum est, requiratur ad actionem Short cones naturae, considerandum est quod conus brevioris pyramidis more^potent fortius operatur, tum quia minus distat ab than long, agente, tum quia radii conterminales circa conum pyramidis brevioris magis vicinantur, et vicinia radiorum ac congregatio fortius opera- tur; et hoc patet in figura. Nam per xvii primi elementorum Euclidis, omnes anguli circa punctum unum in superficie non valent nisi quatuor rectos ; ergo quatuor anguli apud conum pyramidis brevioris valent reliquos quatuor apud conum longioris. Sed per xxi ejusdem, angulus in cono pyramidis brevioris est major quam angulus in cono pyramidis longioris, scilicet a est major quam c ; et per XV ejusdem, anguli contrapositi sunt aequales, scilicet a et b, item c d \ ergo c d simul sun^pti sunt minores quam a b simul conjuncti ; ergo cum quatuor 124 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. simul sumpti aequantur aliis quatiior simul sumptis per xiii, tunc oportet quod h et / sint majores quam / et e. Quapropter radii qui continent e magis vicinantur quam radii continentes h. Et eodem modo radii continentes / propinquiores sunt quam radii continentes /, et sic de infinitis radiis qui conterminales sunt in pyramide breviori, oportet quod omnes magis vicinentur quam radii qui simul terminantur in cono pyramidis longioris. Sed vicinia virtutum est causa fortioris actionis. Sed tamen cum incessus perpendicularium sit fortissimus, et omnis accessus ad perpendiculares fortior est recessu, tunc radii pyramidis longioris cum magis accedant ad perpendiculares a c b d, erunt fortiores. Item tot radii veniunt ad conum pyramidis longioris, sicut ad conum brevioris, quoniam infiniti utrobique. Sed conus pyramidis longioris acutiorem habet Ergo radii ejus magis uniuntur. Ergo Et dicendum est, quod hae rationes ad Fig. 8. angulum per xxi. fortius comburent. utramque partem demonstrationes sunt, sed fortiores sunt ad primam partem, et ideo praevalent. Unde quantum possunt rationes ultimae, tantum concludunt, sed aliae potentiores sunt et efficacius operantur. Capitulum III. Quantum alteretur de patiente, et quantum de agente alteret, explanans. Ad haec subjungendum est quod in corporibus sphaericis aequalibus medietas cujuslibet recipit virtutem alterius, quia radii extremi contingunt corpora ilia, et ideo transeunt per terminos diametri, et non attingit aliquis radius ad aliquam partem alterius medietatis. Sed corpus minus recepit virtutem majoris in majori sua portione, propter hoc quod radii extremi corporis majoris non aequidistant semper, sed concurrunt, et possunt amplecti plus medietate minoris. Nam diameter cor- poris majoris est major diametro corporis minoris ; et ideo Mutual action of large and small spheres. MATHEMATICAE IN PHYSICIS UTILITAS, 12- possimt radii exeuntes a terminis diametri corporis majoris transire ultra diametrum corporis minoris, ut majorem ejus portionem comprehendant ; et e contrario corporis majoris Fig. 9. minor portio recipit virtutem a miiiori corpora, quia diameter minoris corporis non aequatur diametro majoris, sed alicui chordae minoris portionis corporis majoris. Et nullus punctus sphaerici corporis potest facere virtutem a se, nisi ad spatium quod separatur ab eo per lineam quae contingat illud corpus in puncto illo a quo fit virtus ; quoniam ab a puncto non potest aliqua linea cadere inter lineam contingentem et corpus sphaericum, ut demonstratur in XV tertii elementorum Euclidis. Et ideo spatium, quod est in angulo contingentiae, et sic per totam retro lineam contingentem versus corpus, non recipiet vir- tutem ab a puncto, sed totum spatium ultra lineam contin- gentiae, in quo sunt puncta. dc de, recipiet virtutem. Et omnes radii qui exeunt a superficie cor- poris sphaerici, quorum directio cadit in centrum corporis illius, sunt perpendiculares super ipsum et tales undique exeunt infiniti ut patet in figura. Et tum ab eodem puncto supernciei corporis, a quo fit radius perpendicularis, super idem corpus fiunt radii infiniti, ut patet ad a punctum, et sic de omnibus ; sed unus solus, scilicet a I?, radius est perpendicularis super illud corpus, quia ille solus, si protrahatur in continuum et directum, vadit in centrum corporis, et ideo ille est fortissimuSj et habet longe plus de viitute. ( Fig. 10. 126 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Convergent rays from distant objects appear parallel. The central ray of each cone is most operative. Et isti radii perpendiculares, eo quod concurrunt in centrum corporis, non sunt aequidistantes ; potest tamen oculus esse ita longe a corpore, quod non percipiat concursum, et judicabit radios tales esse aequidistantes, sicut accidit nobis de radiis solis et stellaruna, et ideo judicamus umbras rerum diversarum aequidistantes, quando opponuntur soli, sed non secundum veritatem. Multa enim videntur aequidistare, quia non per- cipimus eorum concursum, ut parietes domus cujuslibet videntur ad sensum aequidistantes, sed non sunt quia omne grave tendit ad centrum naturaliter, et ideo rueret domus, si essent omnino aequidistantes. Et circuli meridiani diversarum civitatum videntur esse aequidistantes, et lineae meridiei, quia non per- cipimus concursum, et tamen concurrunt in polo mundi. Est etiam sciendum, quod radii qui cadunt in centrum corporis sphaerici a quo veniunt, sunt illi per quos judicamus Stellas per foramina instrumentorum. Unde astronomus et perspectivus, qui experiuntur hujusmodi, utuntur istis radiis quia sensuales sunt et fortes. Ouamvis enim a portione aliqua corporis sphaerici objecta rei patienti veniat una pyramis habens radios infinitos, qui fiunt a singulis punctis illius portionis, et omnes concurrunt in conum pyramidis cum radio perpendiculari, tamen unus solus est perpendicularis in una pyramide, et ille perpendicularis dominatur in fortitudine, et est axis pyramidis et tota pyramis ab eo nominatur apud experimentatores, et vocatur radius corporis agentis, ut patet J 1 a d / Fig. II. in figura. Nam sit a centrum, et ^ sit poitio solis objecta terrae, et b conus pyramidis cadentis in terram, planum est quod e b radius cadit in centrum solis, et nulli alii qui sunt de corpore pyramidis, quamvis sint infiniti. Nam^^ b declinat a centro solis, ut patet, et sic de omnibus aliis f b,c b. Et ideo MATHEMATICAE IN PHYSICIS UTILITAS. 127 est perpendicularis super corpus solis, et axis pyramidis, et ideo est fortior, et plus habet de virtute, quoniam virtus venit secundum hunc radium a tota profunditate solis, quod non accidit in aliis. Nam diameter k 0 est longior quam p q, et quam omnes lineae cadentes in circulo a latere diametri, et ideo plus capit de substantia solis, ideo plus habet de virtute. Et h b linea est brevior quam c b, et omnes aliae quae a por- tione solis descendunt in terram, quapropter plus habet de virtute secundum praedicta. Et haec, quae nunc dicta sunt, patent ex viii tertii elementorum Euclidis. DISTINCTIO OUARTA. Capitulum I. In quo canones dicti applicantur ad lucem stellarum. His principiis et hujusmodi datis per vias geometriae, Illustra- potest homo verificare omnem actionem naturae, quia omnis Veritas circa operationem agentis in medium, vel in materiam generabilem, vel in coelestia, et in totam mundi machinam, sumit ortum mediate vel immediate ex jam dictis, et quibus- dam similibus, quia non potui omnia in hac persuasione ponere, quae opus majus requirit. Et quod dico manifestare volo per aliqua exempla in diversis rebus mundi, et incipiam a supe- rioribus. Aristoteles vero dicit in primo Meteorologicorum ^ quod omnes stellae habent lucem a sole ; et hoc patet per Lunar eclipsin lunae : nam quando terra interponitur inter solem et ^'^^^P^^^' lunam, ipsa ecHpsatur, et quando non, tunc illuminatur ; et ideo similiter esset de aliis, si essent in tali situ in quo luna. Sed non sunt, nam conus pyramidis umbrae non attingit nisi usque ad orbem Mercurii^ et ideo sola luna potest cadere in umbra terrae. Et tamen stellae inferiores eclipsant superiores, sicut Aristoteles vult secundo Coeli et Mundi, quando cadunt^ Meteor, i. 8, § 6. Aristotle explains that the earth's shadow reaches to the moon, but not much beyond ; and that the distance of the stars from the earth is many times as great as that of the sun ; wherefore, ava'^Kr] irduTa tuv TjKiov ra aarpa irepiopdv, koi fxijOevl rrjv yiju avTicppdrTeiv avrojv. In Meteor, i. 6, § 11, Aristotle speaks of an occultation of one of the stars in Gemini by Jupiter. 128 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. inferiores inter solem et superiores, et hoc bene accidit, sed non est ita notabile, sicut de luna. Sed quoniam, ut patet ex praedictis, rara et perspicua permittunt transitum speciei, ut aer et species oculi et stellarun:i transeunt per orbem ignis^ et per medium omnium orbium septem planetarum, necesse est quod sint rara et perspicua, et quod non terminant visum. Ergo non sunt densa. Ergo nec visibilia, quia solum est visibiie, ut docet Avicenna tertio de Anima, quod potest visum terminare, et verum est hoc. Sed si non sunt visibilia, non sunt lucida, quia lucidum est visibiie. Et loquor de lucido quod habet lucem fixam, et non transeuntem ac propriam quae potest multiplicare a se radios, ut Stella et ignis ; non loquor de lucido quod recipit lucem transeuntem sicut aer, quem Aristoteles vocat lucidum ^ in secundo de Anima : sed hoc est aequivoce. Quapropter errant, qui aestimant sphaeram ignis lucere naturaliter, sicut hie inferius, et praecipue cum magis sit rarus quam aer^ et ideo minus visibilis, et propter hoc minus aptus luci, quia densitas est causa illuminationis, ut dicit Averroes secundo Coeli et Mundi, et libro de Substantia Orbis. Et similiter turpius erratur a vulgo, quando ponit orbes stellarum lucere, praecipue cum dicant quoddam falsum, et imponunt Averroi illud. Nam dicunt, quod stella non differt ab orbe nisi per majorem aggregationem et minorem lucis. Sed Averroes non dicit hoc, sed contrarium docet et probat : bene enim dicit totum hunc sermonem praeter casum genitivum ultimum, qui est htcis, loco cujus dicit perspiciti coelestis. Et quia fere omnia vocabula sermonis vulgati et ipsius Averrois sunt eadem, et aestimant perspicuum et luci- dum esse idem, propter verbum Aristotelis secundo de Anima^ ubi accipitur lucidum aequivoce, imponunt Averroi quod velit orbem lucere propria luce et fixa^ ut stella, licet minus. Sed dicit contrarium, volens quod propter fortitudinem actionis quam habet stella in hoc mundo, oportet quod multum habeat de substantia coeli congregata in suo corpore, et ideo perspicuum coeleste, quod dispergitur in partibus orbis, ^ De Animay ii. 7, § 2 "Ect: 877 tl dtacpavir diacpavh he \4yoj o (ffTL fxev oparuv, oil tcaO^ avTo 5' oparov dWa di' dWorpiov xp^H-(^' toiovtov 5' karlv ui]p Ka\ vdojp . . . ^ - r • • ^ astro- sciamus quota luna Dominus luit passus, an xiv vel xv, et tableTwe ^'^^ illarum stabiliatur, tunc inveniatur dies passionis per should be tabulas astronomiae, ut tactum est. Sed haec omnia habent the date^"^ summam difficultatem, magis tamen propter hoc, cjuod theologi ignorant astronomiam et computum, et hujusmodi, quam propter difficultatem rei in se. Si enim essent periti in his, pro certo bene invenirent aetatem lunae et diem passionis, et mutarent multas sententias quas solemnizant. Nam peri- tissimi in istorum consideratione tenent quod Dominus fuit passus xiv luna. Et hoc verificato, facile est invenire calendas per tabulas speciales ad hoc compositas. Quatenus vero excitatio mentis fiat ad hoc, ponam hie unam tabulam, in qua secundum tabulas primationum inventa est oppositio solis et lunae per omnes annos Domini usque ad xxxviii, ut scilicet videatur in quo anno accidit in Martio circiter passio- nem Domini, et in quo in Aprili. Non tamen propter certifi- cationem hujus rei pono banc tabulam, sed pro exemplo, ut videatur modus persuadendi in hac parte ; nam certificatio est valde difficilis propter hoc, quod motus coelorum non sunt omnino certificati, nec tabulae qualescunque sufficiunt in hoc casu. Multi enim in astronomia periti laboraverunt hie, ut has oppositiones solis et lunae invenirent, et non potuerunt invenire annum passionis a xxx in xxxv, ubi in Martio esset oppositio in die Veneris, nec dies ante oppositionem nec proximus post, ita quod cum passione concordaret. Nec ego potui invenire adhuc. Ubi tamen poterit oppositio cum die Veneris inveniri secundum tabulam praesentem \ patebit per ejus expositionem. ^ This is evidently not the table referred to in Opus Teiiium, chap. 54 (Brewer, p. 215). He says in that passage, ' [Hebraei] posuerunt unam tabulam ex tredecim cyclis talibus (i. e. cyclis lunaribus\ qua revoluta complentur omnes, et omnia redeunt ad idem temporis principium. Et hie cyclus cum canonibus suis et expositionibus est apud eos loci computi et kalendarii apud nos quantum ad Principium cycli alia via, sc. rationis. Principium cycU se- cundum computistas. Hie. .2 S .Si rt . 2 ° S S "5 ^ • " § o 0H ^. e f^. . o _ a o 4; d g c c a (1 f b e g c f 26 15 4 2 12 20 55 3 52 5 44 23 15 24 33 44 32 20 April. April. April April. April. April. April. g d g a e a b f b c g c 22 12 I 18 3 12 25 13 2 5 45 24 57 5 ^5 52 40 28 e g d f a e g b f a c g 20 8 26 9 18 15 35 23 56 6 45 28 40 48 13 0 48 20 b e b c f c d g d e a e 17 6 24 0 9 7 45 33 6 7 46 28 21 30 55 48 56 28 e b f f c g g d a a e b 13 3 21 15 0 22 55 43 16 8 47 29 4 13 37 16 4 36 b e c c f d d g e e a f 10 30 18 7 15 13 5 53 26 8 47 30 46 55 19 24 12 44 April. Mart. April. f c g g d a a e b b f c 7 25 15 22 19 4 15 47 36 9 51 31 28 53 32 4 52 c a b d b c e c d f d 4 23 10 13 10 19 25 46 10 52 31 10 35 44 40 12 0 g d a a e b b f c c g I 9 4 2 lo 35 7 56 10 53 32 52 17 26 48 20 8 e a e f b f g c g a d a 27 16 6 8 17 2 29 17 6 14 53 33 50 59 8 40 28 16 b e a c f b d g c e a d 34 13 2 23 S 17 39 27 16 15 54 33 32 41 50 48 36 24 f b e g c f a d g b e a 21 10 30 14 23 8 49 37 26 16 55 34 14 23 32 56 44 32 April. Mart. c f 1 d g e a f b 18 7 5 14 59 47 16 56 57 5 4 52 April. 1 1^0/. 1. To face /. 209. MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. Tabulae explicatio. Prima igitur linea in prima tabula inferius occurrens tenet annos Domini usque ad xxxviii ; quia certum est infra hos ipsum subiisse passionem. Secunda linea habet omnes literas feriarum sextarum, quae contigerunt in illis xxxviii annis. Tertia linea tenet dies proximos ante oppositionem solis et lunae. Quarta, diem oppositionis. Quinta, diem post op- positionem immediate. Sexta, diem sequentem, et sumitur hie oppositio solis et lunae media. Septima linea cum sibi annexis tenet tempus transactum de Martio ante diem pas- sionis. Reliqua vero tabula negotiatur circa Aprilem, ut inveniatur oppositio in Aprili circiter diem passionis, excepto quod xvii anno et xxxvi accidit in Martio. Sciendum autem quod hae tabulae factae sunt ad meridiem civitatis Novariae, licet fuerit facta Parisius ; sed causa fuit, magis enim secreta est, et meridies ibi praecedit meridiem Parisius per xxv minuta unius horae. Si igitur de tempore habito subtraxe- rimus xxv minuta, relinquetur tempus oppositionis post medium diem civitatis Parisius. Secundum ergo banc tabulam passus fuit Dominus iii nonas Aprilis die Veneris in opposi- tione solis et lunae mediae xv anno cycli decemnovennalis et xiv cycli Solaris, anno xxxiii ab incarnatione secundum cyclum Dionysii, et hoc est, xxxii secundum veram aetatem Domini. iLt istud in tabula secunda accidit super b literam in directo xxxiii anni post duos dies de Aprili et xvii horas, et xvi minuta, et xxxiii secunda, 1 tertia, xxiv quarta, et sic sapientissimi in his considerationibus aestimaverunt, qui multa. Et banc tabulam literis Hebraicis misi in Opere Majoti cum ejus expo- sitione et canonibus suis, secundum quod pertinet ad computum eorum.' He refers to this table again in the following chapter, p. 220. The table given in the Opus Majus is the one spoken of in the Opus Tertimn, p. 223. What seems probable is that Bacon included with the Opus Majus the whole or part of a work written by him in 1263, entitled Computus, of which a good description will be found in Charles's work on Bacon, pp. 336-8. The Computus contains a full discussion of the solar and lunar year and month, of the lunar cycle of nineteen years and its insufficiency ; and a series of tables com- paring the Mahommedan and Christian calendars. The table here given contained in the first edition several errors which have been corrected by collation of O. with Tib, VOL. I. P 2IO OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. miiltum laboraverunt ad hoc probandum. Unde secundum eos, quod viii calendas Aprilis passus fuerit, non est opinio ecclesiae certificata, sed vulgata, sicut multa alia vulgantur, quae indigent majori certificatione. Si igitur oppositio media et xiv luna ab accensione concurrant in unum in passione, res manifesta est secundum banc tabulam et secundum aestimationem sapientum. Si vero oppositio praecessit in passione xiv lunam per diem integrum, oporteret recurrere ad tabulam accensionis novae lunae factam con- similiter huic, et tunc magis excluderetur dubitatio, Sed hujus rei certificatio, sicut aliorum quae scribo, desiderat Vestrae Celsitudinis assensum, quatenus periti in hujusmodi veritatem firmiter stabilirent. Occasionem vero dedi in hoc capitulo qualiter ad hujus rei certificationem poterimus pervenire, et nego me in praesenti tractatu de tanta difficultate certificasse. (s^^p^o- Dictum est, quod septem sunt radices mathematicae, quibus throws necesse est uti mathematica. Una est de coelestibus. Alia light on \oc\s mundi. Tertia de temporibus quantum ad substan- many _ . theological tiam. Quarta de passionibus et accidentibus temporum, de questions, q^jj^^^g dictum est. Nunc volo afferre quintam radicem, et est de figurationibus geometricis penes lineas, angulos, et figuras tarn corporales quam superficiales. Impossibile enim est quod sensus spiritualis sciatur, nisi fuerit literalis scitus. Sed sensus literalis sciri non potest, nisi homo sciat significata terminorum et rerum significatarum proprietates. Nam in illis consistit profunditas sensus literalis, et ex eis extrahitur sensuum spiritualium altitudo per convenientes adaptationes et similitudines, sicut sancti docent, et patet ex proprietate scripturae, et omnes sapientes antiqui sic tractaverunt scrip- The Ark. turam. Cum igitur opera artificialia, ut area Noae, et taber- naculum cum vasis suis et omnibus, atque templum Salomonis et Ezechielis et Esdrae et hujusmodi alia pene innumerabilia ponantur in scriptura, non est possibile ut literalis sensus sciatur, nisi homo ad sensum habeat haec opera depicta, sed magis figurata corporaliter ; et sic sancti et sapientes antiqui usi sunt picturis et figurationibus variis, ut Veritas literalis ad MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 211 oculum pateret, et per consequens spiritualis. Nam in veste Aaron, ut dicit scriptura^ erat descriptus orbis terrarum et Aaron's parentum magnalia. Et ego vidi Aaron sic figuratum cum veste sua. Sed nullus posset de hujusmodi corporum figu- ratione cogitare nec ordinare, nisi optime sciret libros Elemen- torum Euclidis et Theodosii et Millei^ et aliorum geometrarum. Nam propter horum ignorantiam apud theologos non solum decipiuntur in maximis, sed in minimis. Dicunt enim cum magistro in historiis quod sphaerulae candelabri fuerunt corpora circularia, non habentes plenam sphaericitatem. Sed non dicuntur sphaerulae diminutive propter hoc, sed quia fuerunt parvae sphaerae, habentes tamen completam defini- tionem sphaerae Euclidis et Theodosii. Nam Hebraei in Gallico suo illas sphaerulas vocant pomeas a rotunditate pomali et sphaerica, et sic de aliis infinitis. O quam ineffa- bilis luceret pulchritudo sapientiae divinae et abundaret utilitas infinita, si haec geometricalia, quae continentur in scriptura, figurationibus corporalibus ante nostros oculos ponerentur. Nam sic mundi malitia diluvio gratiae deleta, attoUeremur in sublimi cum Noe et filiis et omnibus ani- mantibus suis locis et ordinibus collocatis. Et cum exercitu Domini in deserto excubaremus circa tabernaculum Dei, et mensam propositionis, et altare, et sancta sanctorum, ac cherubim obumbrantia propitiatorium, et caetera illius antiqui The taber- populi insignia tanquam praesentia videremus. Deinde temple, tabernaculi vacillantis instabilitate vacuata fixum Domini templum Salomonica sapientia fabricatum intraremus. Et cum Ezechiele in spiritu exultationis ad sensum intueremur, quod ipse tantum spiritualiter intellexit, ut tandem reparata nova Jerusalem cum Esdra et Nehemia intrarem.us majorem domum pleniori gloria decorandam. Certe ipsa visio sensi- bilis esset pulchra, sed pulchrior quando figuram nostrae veritatis videremus praesentialiter, pulcherrima vero quando ^ Milleius is the Arabic transformation of Menelaus of Alexandria, a mathe- matician and astronomer of the first century a. d. Two of his astronomical observations, made in the first year of Trajan, are mentioned in the Almagest (vii. 3). His work on Spherical Trigonometry (for his discussion of spherical triangles may be so called) is not extant in the Greek original, but has been preserved in Hebrew and Arabic translations. It was edited by Halley in 1758. P 2 212 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. scripturae intellectum spiritualem et literalem contemplantes gauderemus visibilibus instrumentis excitati, quod scimus omnia nunc in ecclesia Dei esse completa, quae ipsa corpora sensibilia nostris oculis exhiberent. Et ideo nihil reputo dignius studioso in sapientia Dei, quam hujusmodi figurationes geGmetricas ante ejus oculos exhiberi. Utinam jubeat dominus quod haec fiant. Et sunt quatuor homines vel tres, qui ad haec sufficerent, sed sunt peritissimi Latinorum ; et merito debent esse periti, quoniam ineffabilis difficultas hie latet propter obscuritatem textus sacri, et propter contra- rietates sanctorum et diversitates caeterorum expositorum. ho\v^'^^'^' Sed aliter patet geometrica utilitas respectu sapientiae divinae, tarn in textu quam in questionibus ; et non sokim in his, sed in comparationibus pulchris respectu gratiae et gloriae et poenae futurae, et cautela vitiorum. De quolibet ponam aliquod exemplum. Et pro omnibus in generah revocemus ad memoriam, quod nihil sciri potest de rebus hujus mundi sine geometrica potestate, ut prius probatum est. Et rerum ccgnitio necessaria est in scriptura propter sensum literalem et spiritualem, ut superius expositum est. Nam proculdubio tota rerum mundi Veritas jacet in sensu literali, ut dictum est, et maxime rerum geometricarum, quia nihil est nobis ad plenum intelligibile, nisi figuraliter ante oculos nostros dis- ponatur ; et ideo in scriptura Dei tota rerum sapientia figurationibus geometricis certificanda continetur et longe melius quam ipsa philosophia possit exprimere. Nec mirum, cum ipse Deus auctor totius sapientiae suam ordinavit scrip- turam. Quare pro infinitis exemplis volo unum ad praesens afferre. Nam Aristoteles magis omnibus philosophantibus nos involvit suis obscuritatibus in tractando de iride, ut nihil per eum quod dignum sit intelligamus, immo multa falsa in translatione Latinorum continentur, sicut ex interpretum varietate contendimus. Nam quod in codicibus Latinorum habetur, quod iris non accidit ad radios lunae nisi in quinqua- ginta annis bis, manifeste falsum est, sicut quilibet potest in plenilunio quando pluit experiri, dummodo claritas lunae non impediatur per nubium densitatem. Et Avicenna dux ac princeps philosophiae post Aristotelem, ut clamant omnes, MATHEMATICAL IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 213 seipsiim ignorasse iridis naturam humiliter confessus est. Et sic de omnibus philosophis certum est, quod nuUus potuit scientiam iridis obtinere. Nec mirum, cum sacram scripturam non ita diligenter perscrutati sunt ; sicut fuerat eis necesse. Nam omnes philosophi ignoraverunt causam finalem iridis. Sed finis imponit necessitatem eis quae sunt ad frnem, ut Aristoteles dicit secundo Physicorum, et certum est in omnibus. Finem autem, propter quern est iris, solus textus Dei explicat evidenter, scilicet, cum dicitur, 'Arcum meum ponam in nubibus coeli,' &c. Ex quo habetur, quod contra diluvium et abundantiam aquarum est arcus Dei ordinatus. Ergo oportet, quod quandocunque apparet hie arcus in coelo, sit valida consumptio humiditatum aquearum ; et hoc est verum. Nam nubes resolvuntur abundanter^, et rorationes fiunt in- finitae, sicut philosophi dicunt, et nos videmus in magna parte. Sed consumptio humiditatis aqueae non est nisi propter aliquid quod habeat virtutem consumendi. Nihil autem in generatione iridis invenimus nisi radios solis et nubes. Nubium congregatio est causa materialis ; ergo radioruni projectio est causa efficiens. Sed radii incidentes non possunt magnas et mirabiles operationes perficere, quia non concurrunt ad invicem ; concursus autem virtutum exigitur ad hoc, quod valida operatio educatur. Sed concursus non potest fieri nisi per reflexionem et fractionem. Quapropter oportet, quod iris generetur per infinitas reflexiones vel fractiones in stilli- cidiis infinitis sine intervallo cadentibus, ut sic tam colorum quam figurae Veritas per hujusmodi multiplicationes penes figuras, angulos, ac lineas inveniatur, et non per diversitatem materiae nubis ut in textu Latinorum continetur et omnes credunt, sicut certis experimentis explicabo cum de scientiis experimentalibus faciam mentionem. Sicut ergo philosophi propter ignorantiam scripturae sacrae non potuerunt scire veritatem iridis, sic eodem modo impossibile est philosopho infideli attingere ad plenam certitudinem creaturae alicujus ^ Lunar Rainbow. Aristotle's words are {Meieorologttomm, in. cap. 2) : ev rfj TTavaeK-qva) yap yeveaOai dva-yKT] to fxeXXov eafcOai, koi Tore dvaTeWovCTjs r] Svvovffrjs' SioiTfp (V ercaiv vnep to, vevTrjKovTa 5is 6veTVxo/J.ev jxavov. Bacon had good cause to complain of Aristotelian translation. 214 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. propter scrlpturae ignorantiam. Nam in veritate quaelibet creatura ibi accipitur secundum ultimam sui dignitatem, scilicet secundum veram definitionem et descriptionem ejus, quia Deus fecit creaturas quas posuit in scriptura, et solus ipse scit eas sicut sunt. Cum igitur geometrica potestas requiratur ad cognitionem omnis creaturae corporalis, non est dubium quin ineffabili modo valeat sapientiae divinae propter rerum cognitionem. Kxpkna- Sed rediens spiritualiter ad propositum pono exemplum de Eccleiiasti sc^^ptu^'^j quae dicit, 'sol tripliciter exurit montes^,' &c. Nam cu5,cap.43. et incidunt radii infiniti ad omne punctum montis, propter ^' quod infiniti exeunt a quolibet puncto solis, et lux est causa caloris maxime cum congregatur, ut sensibiliter scimus, et infiniti reflectuntur a superficie montis, quia a denso fit reflexio, et congregantur in omni puncto aeris, et distrahunt omne punctum aeris, rarefacientes aerem prope montes, et sic secundo calefaciunt montes. Et per medium nubium fran- guntur radii duplici fractione, primo in superficie nubium versus solem, dein in acre inter nubes et montes. Et per hanc duplicem fractionem est necesse omnes radios solis venientes ab uno puncto concurrere ad invicem in punctum unum in monte vel aere prope montes, praecipue in bene altis montibus et Alpibus^. Et sic fiet calor in montibus, licet non in altissimis ; quoniam montes qui ascendunt usque ad nubes vel prope sicut sunt montes Italiae et Hispaniae, et mons Caucasi et Caspiae et alii innumerabiles, habent frigus magnum et nives quasi perpetuas ; quia nimis accedunt ad medium interstitium aeris, qui est locus frigidissimus in hoc mundo. Et sic a singulis punctis solis radii venientes ac dupliciter fracti incedunt et augmentant calefactionem montium. Et haec omnia patent per figurationes mathematicas, sicut ac- cidit de beryllo rotundo vel crystallo, vel urinali, vel quo- cunque perspicuo grossiori aere. Quando enim haec corpora ^ This passage in the Revised Version is given thus : ' A man blowing a furnace is in works of heat ; but the sun three times more, burning up the mountains :' a rendering which would dispense with Bacon's laborious attempt to explain tripliciter. ^ The following sentence seems to imply that Alps are spoken of in the sense usual in Switzerland, of the lower mountain pastures. MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 215 occurrunt radiis solaribus, accidit per duplicem fractionem quod possit ad oculum et ad tactum eligi punctus aeris post hujusmodi corpus, in quo stuppa sicca vel aliquid bene com- bustibile accendatur, ut prius habitum est. Et haec triplex calefactio potest vocari triplex combustio, de qua loquitur scriptura ; vel aliter possumus dicere quod facit unam montium combustionem de tribus de quibus scriptura intendit, cum dicit, ' sol tripliciter exurit montes.' Nam alio modo con- sideratur combustio penes varietatem angulorum, quia multi- plicatio lucis vel est ad angulos rectos, vel obliquos, vel nuUos. Si ad obliquos, est fortis actio ; si ad rectos, fortior est per xviii primi Elementorum Euclidis et per alias vias ; si ad nullos, fortissima propter omnimodam aequalitatem, ut prius habitum est. Sed ab omni puncto solis ad quodlibet punctum mentis objecti soli veniunt radii, et infiniti cadunt ad angulos rectos, infiniti ad obliquos. ut manifestum est. Ouamvis autem superficies montium non est ubique polita et lenis, nec sphaerica, tamen in multis partibus ejus est hujusmodi, et infinities per portiunculas diversas, et ideo ratione sphaericitatis hujusmodi accidit casus ad nullos angulos, et ideo est triplex incidentia. Quapropter accidit triplex radiorum casus penes angulum et privationem anguli. Et in omnibus modis est calefactio per casum lucis et congregationem. Quapropter secundus modus combustionis, de quo loquitur scriptura, potest hac via nunc dicta assignari. Tertio vero casus lucis variatur penes figuras, nam cadit in sphaerica figura et pyramidali cujus conus est in sole et basis in monte, atque in pyramidali cujus conus est in puncto montis et basis in sole. Et omnibus his tribus modis figuratur multiplicatio lucis a sole in monte, ut certum est ex supradictis. Sed multiplicatio lucis sphaerica licet possit esse fortis, tamen pyramidalis, cujus conus est in sole, est fortior ; et pyramidalis^ cujus conus est in puncto montis, est fortissima, quia, ut dictum est per illam pyramidem a tota superficie solis objecta monti venit lux ad quodlibet punctum montis, quoniam basis illius pyramidis est superficies solis, et infinitae tales pyramides veniunt ab eadem solis superficie, sicut manifestum est figuranti. Et natura non requirit plures figuras in multiplicatione lucis, nec in alicujus virtutis vel 2i6 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. speciei multiplicatione, ut a quocunque agente fiat species mul- tiplicanda, ut certum est scienti naturae vias per geometricam potestatem. Et per has tres multiplicationes figuratas oritur combustio tertia, de qua loquitur scriptura. Sed haec sciri non possunt, nisi homo optime sciat potestatem geometricam. Propter vero quaestiones pono unum exemplum pro mille, ubi geometrica requiritur potestas, licet vulgus non advertat. Nam de luce et multiplicatione ejus multa quaerunt theologi, scilicet utrum sit substantia vel accidens^ utrum sit corpus in medio, utrum subito vel successive feratur in medio et caetera. Sed haec nullo modo sciri possunt sine eis quae dicta sunt de multiplicatione secundum lineas angulos et figuras. Nam multiplicatio lucis est sicut multiplicatio omnis alterius speciei cujuscunque agentis. Lux enim in medio est species lucis quae est in corpore luminoso. Et ideo regulae, quae dictae sunt de speciei multiplicatione sumptae generaliter, intelliguntur in luce et in qualibet specie determinata. Cum ergo multiplicatio speciei absolute consideratae requirat maximam geometriae potestatem, ut prius ostensum est abundanter^ manifestum est quod ad lucis multiplicationem intelligendam eadem geometriae potestas necessaria est, quamvis theologi non utantur. Symbolic Deinde de spiritualibus rebus exprimendis per res geome- direct,"re-^ tricas pono exemplum in gratia et gloria et salvandis ac fracted,and damnandis, ut videamus quomodo lineae rectae, fractae, et lavs. reflexae^ valeant hujusmodi spiritualibus adaptari. Et cum gratiae infusio maxime manifestatur per lucis multiplicationem, expedit per omnem modum ut per multiplicationes lucis cor- porales manifestentur nobis proprietates gratiae in bonis, et repulsa ejus in malis. Nam in bonis perfectis infusio gratiae comparatur luci directe incidenti et perpendiculari, quoniam non reflectunt a se gratiam, nec frangunt per declinationem ab incessu recto, qui attenditur secundum viam perfectionis vitae. Sed infusio gratiae in imperfectos, licet bonos, comparatur luci fractae ; nam propter imperfectiones eorum non tenet gratia in eis incessum omnino rectum. Peccatores autem, qui sunt in peccato mortali, reflectunt et repellunt a se gratiam Dei, et ideo gratia apud eos comparatur luci repulsae seu MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 217 reflexae. Sed sicut corporum, a quibus reflectitur lux, quaedam sunt aspera, a quibus lux reflexa dissipatur nec apparet ; et quaedam sunt polita et aequalis superficiei et laevis, a quibus fit reflexio sensibilis, ut patet in speculis ; sic peccatores existentes in mortali peccato sunt dupliciter. Ouidam enim sunt, qui sic repellunt gratiam, quod nihil boni apparet in eis, sed apud se et apud proximos manifestum est quod dissipatur totus gratiae effectus in eis, et isti sunt aperte mali qui peccata sua non abscondunt. Alii vero sunt, qui licet boni non sint, tamen occultant peccata sua, et apparent boni in conspectu hominum, ut hypocritae. Et potest aliter fieri comparatio ista. Nam peccatores in hac vita comparantur corporibus reflectentibus, ut dictum est, et homines in gratia in hac vita comparantur illis quibus est fractio lucis propter imperfectiones humanae fragilitatis, quia quantumcunque sit homo perfectus in hac vita, tamen habet multas obliquitates, et imperfecta est caritas in eo et notitia Dei. Sed existentes in patria com- parantur illis rebus quae recipiunt lucem penitus secundum rectum incessum omni exclusa declinatione, quantum possibile est creaturae, et quantum exigit ordo divinae justitiae, qui reddit unicuique secundum quod meruit. Quoniam vero damnati omnino carent gratia et gloria Dei, et glorificati ratione imperfectionis meriti in multis atque ex lege creationis (cum omnis creatura habeat imperfectionem respectu gloriae conditoris) sunt quodammodo imperfecti, potest fieri tertia comparatio secundum statum damnatorum et glorificatorum et Dei, quatenus apud damnatos teneat omnino comparatio lucis reflexae, et apud glorificatos valeat similitudo lucis fractae, et divinae gloriae summa rectitudo et perfectio noten- tur, quomodo melius probatur trinitas personarum et unitas, per incessum lucis directum, secundum quod possumus et secundum quod licet nos exemplificare per creaturas ea quae sunt apud creatorem. Et quod valde notandum est adjungam, scilicet quod im- Geo- possibile est beatam trinitatem et essentiae unitatem aptius symbol of a nobis repraesentari in exemplo creaturae sensibilis quam per Trinity, res geometricas. Nam in solo triangulo inter omnes res factas invenitur unitas essentiae cum distinctione trium occupantium 2i8 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Symbolic sense of rational and irrational numbers. And of propaga- tion of rays. eandem essentiam. Quoniam idem spatium numero et totum capit quilibet de angulis trianguli, ut patet ad sensum, et tamen veraciter sunt anguli distincti, quod est mirabile in creatura, nec alibi reperitur nisi in summa trinitate. Et cum super datam lineam necesse est triangulum aequilaterum col- locare, ut prima propositio Euclidis denunciat, quid magis proprie potest assumi ut intelligamus quod data persona Dei patris necesse est trinitatem personarum aequalium exhiberi ? Haec et hujusmodi multa possunt ex geometricis ad sapien- tiam salutarem pertrahi, et maxime de decimo libro, ubi rationalitas et communicatio quantitatum declaretur. Nam haec et ad divina et ad virtutum figurationes cum exclusione vitiorum utiliter et praeclare possunt adaptari. Nam quic- quid de rationabilibus quantitatibus continetur ibi potest pulchre et proprie ad vitam rationabilem, quae in virtute consistit, facile pertractari. Et quod de irrationabilibus quan- titatibus exponitur potest moribus irrationabilibus et bestialibus peccatorum conformari. Quicquid etiam de communicatione quantitatum dicitur potest convenienter trahi ad actus caritatis. Et quod de incommunicatione proponitur, ad odium et divisionem anim.orum noscitur pertinere. Sed longiorem ser- monem haec requirunt. De cautela vero peccatorum magnum adjutorium est per considerationem hujusmodi geometricarum multiplicationum. Nam cum res delectabiles hujus mundi sint nobis sicut muscipula, quibus capiamur ad peccatum, ut in libro Sapientiae scribitur ; et sicut est in hamo diaboli, qua strangulemur, nisi quantum Deus dignatur nos custodire, et sensus nostri super res delectabiles delati nuntiant intellectui occasionem peccati ; primum et principale remedium quod in homine sit est ut in quinque sensus suos species rerum delec- tabilium. ut mulierum, et ciborum, et divitiarum, in quibus humana cupiditas aestuat et ambitio superba gloriatur, non recipiat secundum multiplicationem principalem ; nam accidentalis sufficit homini ad damnationem, quando recipitur avide et abundanter. Sed magis adhuc cavenda est multipli- catio recta sensibilis quam fracta vel reflexa, propter fortiorem actionem prius expositam. Maxime vero, ne species delecta- MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 219 bilis recta cadat ad angulos aequales in sensum, quia tunc fortissima est, praecipue si conus pyramidis brevis occurrat. Sic Eva recepit speciem soni serpentis et pomi visibilis et suavis odoris. Et Adam allectus est ut se et totum genus humanum specierum sensibilium multiplicatione damnaret. Sic David sanctus propheta per speciem Betsabeae deceptus de adulterio cecidit in homicidium. Sic senes presbyteri quos judicavit Daniel specie mulieris decepti sunt. Et certum est omnem hominem decipi speciebus rerum hujus mundi ; quia secundum Johannem, ' omne quod est in mundo, vel est concupiscentia carnis, vel concupiscentia oculorum, vel superbia vitae/ a quorum amore nuUus se potest abstinere, qui gaudet in sensu specierum quae veniunt a rebus. Nam capitur sicut bestia. Et ideo homines sanctitati vacantes avertunt sensus ab omnibus rerum delectabilium speciebus quantum possunt, et maxime de illis quae pertinent ad sensum tactus et gustus, quae sunt gulae et luxuriae, ut non solum non tangant, sed nec videant nec audiant de his fieri mentionem, ne species multiplicata in sensus spiritum cogat servire carnis illecebris ; et praecipue cavent ne prope sint, ut vitent pyramides breviores, atque multiplicationes principales et rectas et ad angulos aequales, ut praedixi. Et haec maxime cavenda sunt quando oportet vel in confessione vel ob aliam aliquam causam loqui cum mulieribus. Nam omnes homines quantumcunque sanctos species fortes in hac parte turbarent, etsi non vincerent quos Deus custodire dignatur. Jam dictum est de quinque radicibus mathematicae respectu (6) Sixfold scripturae ; nunc remanent nobis duae aliae, scilicet numeri et of arith- musicalia. Quoniam vero sancti abundanter ostendunt utili- "^etic in , 1 . . . 1 theolo£?v. tatem istorum respectu theologiae, et magis exprimunt norum comparationes et laudes respectu divinorum quam de prioribus, ideo plura de aliis tetigi, et de his solum innuam quasdam vias, quarum explicatio in Hbris sanctorum copiose invenitur. Numeri vero ad sensum scripturae valent quatuor modis. Nam non est numerus in scriptura positus, quin accipiatur in sensu literali secundum omnes ejus proprietates arithmeticas, qua- tenus per congruas similitudines eliciantur sensus spirituales, sicut sancti infinitis quasi modis manifestant. Secundo, propter 220 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. historias sciendas et certificandas necesse est theoloffum abundare in potestate numerandi, ut sciat omnes modos algoristicos, non solum in integris sed in fractionibus, quatenus sciat numerare, addere, minuere, mediare, multiplicare, dividere, et radices extrahere, tarn fractiones quam integra ; et iterum quod non solum sciat vulgares fractiones penes medietates, tertias, quartas, quintas, et sic in infinitum ; sed quod sciat astronomicas fractiones per minuta, secunda, tertia, quarta, quinta, et sic in infinitum ; quia in his historialibus oportet recurrere ad motum solis et lunae, in quibus tales fractiones considerantur principaliter, de quibus satis exemplificatum est superius. Et non solum oportet fractiones Latinorum scire et Arabum, sed Hebraeorum, qui frangunt unam horam in mlxxx partes de quibus tactum est prius. Caeterum ilium, qui uti debet his, scire necesse est reducere diversa genera fractionum ad invicem ; quia si inter integra accidant septem quintae, et decern septimae, et viginti octavae, et hujusmodi infinitis modis, non potest homo se expedire, ni istas diver- sitates fractionum reducat ad unum genus fractionis, ut sic reducantur ad integra. Sed in his fractionibus et integris utendis magna est subtilitas, et pulchra sapientiae lumina relucescunt, praecipue cum per haec tota sapientia divina et humana dirigitur et rectificatur, secundum quod auctoritates Cassiodori et Isidori prius manifeste expresserunt, qui crude- liter nos redarguunt ex eo, quod omnes ignorantes numerorum potestatem asserunt non differre a brutis animalibus, quae nec divina nec humana cognoscunt. Tertio, valet consideratio numerorum in scriptura, scilicet in divisione et distributione sortium praedarum et portionum facienda sacerdotibus, Levitis, principibus, et singulis, secundum quod Moyses peritissimus in numerationibus algoristicis distribuit unicuique quod suum est, infinitam quasi multiplicationem rerum distribuens in partes certissimas operibus algoristicis propriissimis tam in fractionibus quam in integris. Et nullus literalem sensum, nec per consequens spiritualem potest elicere, ut exigit dig- nitas scripturae, nisi operum horum sciat rationem et noscat operationes numerandi per quas Moyses et alii in scriptura procedunt. MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 221 Quarto ^ necesse est optime scire rationes numerandi propter Arith- . . r meticai corruptionem numerorum in scnptura, quia quasi intinitis ^^^^^^ modis corrumpuntur ; fere enim omnes numeri sunt corrupti. received ^ . . version or Quae corruptio ad veritatem reduci non potest, nisi per Bible, omnimodam numerandi potestatem tarn in fractionibus quam in integris. Fere enim aut pro majori parte omnes numeri in sacro textu et in libris sanctorum sunt scriptorum et cor- rcctorum vitio depravati, de quibus pauca exempla subjungam pro infinitis. Nam undecimo capitulo Genesis habetur, 'Vixit Arpbaxat, postquam genuit Sale, ccciii annis.' Sed in Hebraeo habentur cccciii anni. De Graeco vero non potest haberi Veritas, quia inter Arphaxat et Sale interponit Cainan, quem nos non habemus, sicut nec Hebraeus. Et in eodem capitulo, 'Vixit Reu xxxii annos ' secundum Hebraeum et antiquos codices Latinorum. Sed in exemplari vulgato habentur xxxv, ut liistoriae Veritas continuari non possit. Et xviii capitulo in penultima parte ejus, 'Quid si minus quinquaginta justis quinque fuerint, delebis propter quinque.' Sic Hebraeus, sic antiqui libri habent. Moderni autem posuerunt xlv propter sensum planiorem. Sed non licet sine sede apostolica mutare textum quem recepit et jussit per omnes ecclesias derivari. Et xxxvii capitulo, ' Joseph cum esset xvii annorum ' secundum Hebraeum et Graecum. Sed moderni habent xvi, et quod in eodem capitulo non sit venditus xxx argenteis, sed xx, probatum est superius multiplici testimonio. Et in Exodi xiv capitulo, 'tulitque sexcentos currus,' secundum Hebraeum et Graecum et Josephum et antiquos codices. Sed pars glossae truncata fere in omnibus libris facit quod exemplar vulgatum habet ccc currus. Nam communiter habetur hoc tantum in glossa ' contra fidem trinitatis pugnaturus.' Unde propter nomen trinitatis abraserunt sexcentos et posuerunt ccc. Sed in pluribus antiquis glossatis invenitur sic, ' contra fidem trinitatis numcro senario se armavit pugnaturus.' Et ideo secundum ^ This paragraph supphes further illustrations of the corruption of the Paris text of the Bible, spoken of on p. 77, and also in the Opus Minus (Brewer, pp. 330-349). It is also one of many proofs of the care with which Bacon had collated the Septuagint and the Hebrew text. 222 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. glossam possunt ibi esse sexcenti. Et Exodi xxxii habetur in Hebraeo et Graeco ' quasi tria millia.' Sed exemplar vul- gatum habet viginti tria millia. Et dicit magister in historiis quod hoc est de antiqua translatione. Sed antiqua translatio est LXX interpretum, et est de Graeco, Graecus autem non habet hoc, sed sicut Hebraeus. Et hie error habet apparen- tiam ex prima ad Cor. x. Sed non est intelligendum pro hoc loco, ut patet in textu et in glossa. Quoniam cum dicit, * Neque idololatrae efficiamini,' &c. quod ad hunc locum per- tinent, non ponit numerum interfectorum. Sed statim cum dicit, ' Neque fornicemur ' &c. sequitur, ' et ceciderunt viginti tria millia,' quod intelligitur secundum glossam de his, qui for- nicati sunt cum Madianitis, ut legitur xxv Numerorum. Nolo plura exempla aggregare ad praesens, cum non sit ex principah intentione corruptionem textus probare. Sed haec ideo intuli, ut videatur necessitas computandi in scriptura, quatenus sciamus verificare corruptiones numerorum. Properties Et adhuc potest quinta ratio de numerorum utilitate signari. of number . . , , . . , , three. Nam unitas m se ducta cubice, id est, ter, ut semel unum semel non multiphcat essentiam, sed eadem manet licet aequa- litate trium laterum deducatur. Et sic familiari exemplo theologi notant beatam Trinitatem. Quamvis autem multiplex numeri perfectio inveniatur secundum quod denarius dicitur esse perfectus, et septenarius, et senarius, tamen maxime ternarius sibi vindicat perfectionem ; quoniam perfectio praecipua quae numeris aliis attribuitur est quod omnes partes aliquotae simul sumptae reddant suum totum, ut patet in senario. Sed in ternario solo accidit, quod pars aliquota et non aliquota simul sumptae reddunt ipsum, scilicet unitas et binarius, quod non potest in alio inveniri. Atque cum in omni numero sint duo, scilicet discretio partium et unitas congregationis earum, qua numerus dicitur esse unus ; nec aliquid aliud facit numerum nisi haec duo ; ista praecise re- periuntur in ternario. Per binarium enim est discretio, et per unitatem ipsa unitas habetur. Et ideo tota perfectio numeri in ternario et non in alio reperitur. Et propter hoc hie numerus convenit creatori magis quam alius. Et sicut ab unitate omnis multitudo procedit, sic ab ipso Deo. Et arith- MATHEMATICAE IN DlVIISflS UTILITAS. 223 metica docet in fine suo omnes medietates investigari in Three proportionibus numerorum. Nam nec geometra nec musicus pJ-^pQ, nec astrologus de his tractat, sed supponit quod arithmetica, quae est scientia numerorum, edocet. Theologi autem nituntur has medietates ad proprietates divinarum persona- rum exaltare, et praecipue Ricardus de Sancto Victore in libro de trinitate^ qui liber magnam habet difficultatem ob istarum medietatum ignorantiam apud vulgus. Et multi propter eandem abutuntur comparationibus istarum medie- tatum ad divina. Triplex vero est medietas, scilicet arith- metica, geometrica, musica. Arithmetica vero consistit in identitate differentiarum primi ad secundum, et secundi ad tertium, ut quatuor, tria, duo. Nam unitas sola est differentia hinc inde, et huic simile reperitur in divinis personis. Nam differentia Patris ad Filium est quod Pater dat Filio et non accipit ab eo ; Filius autem e converse. Similiter inter Filium et Spiritum Sanctum est consimilis differentia. Nam Filius dat Spiritui Sancto et non accipit ab eo ; Spiritus autem Sanctus e converso accipit ab eo et non dat ei. Et cum geo- metrica medietas sit, quando est eadem proportio primi ad secundum, et secundi ad tertium, ut inter viii, iv, ii, ratio hujus medietatis per omnimodam aequalitatem et unitatem essentiae in tribus personis reperitur, et in omnibus essentia- libus, quae sunt potentia, sapientia, bonitas. Nam credimus et firmiter tenemus quod qualis est Pater talis est Filius, et talis Spiritus Sanctus. Harmonica seu musica medietas con- sistit in identitate proportionis primi ad tertium, et differentiae primi et secundi ad differentiam secundi et tertii, ut vi, iv, iii. Nam dupla proportio est inter primum et ultimum ; similiter inter binarium, qui est differentia primi et secundi, et unitatem, quae est differentia secundi et tertii. Et sic per similitudinem in personis divinis reperitur. Nam quae est proportio Patris ad Spiritum Sanctum quantum aequalitas ; sic est inter differentiam Patris et Filii, et inter differentiam Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Nam inter Patrem et Filium est differentia, quod Pater dat et non accipit, Filius accipit et non dat ; et haec eadem est inter Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, ut patet. Sic igitur breviter assignantur hae 224 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. medietates, quamquam et aliter a multis assignentur, quos non possum intelligere ; quia videtur mihi quod non possunt secundum arithmeticae judicium salvari, Sed non est tem- poris praesentis opiniones singulorum explicare. Dimen- Et sexta ratio de utilitate arithmeticae potest sumi in heavenly scriptura penes res hujus mundi, quibus ipsa utitur. Nam bodies. altitudinem et magnitudinem et spissitudinem et numerum coelorum et stellarum tangit et requirit certificationem istorum Et sancti in expositionibus suis multa loquuntur. Nam Hieronymus dicit super Isaiam, quod Orion habet xxii Stellas, quarum ix primae sunt in tertia magnitudine, et ix residuae in quarta, et iv ultimae in quinta magnitudine, et non exponit se. Oportet ergo theologum haec non ignorare. Sed specialiter arithmetica rectificat in his, et ideo volo hie has veritates magnificas aperire per numeros, quatenus pulchre et utiliter apparet comparatio numerorum. Ad hoc autem considerandum necesse est ponere aliquam radicem Terrestrial ^lotam. Haec autem est quantitas arcus terrae, quae re- arc corre- spondet uni gradui in coelo, secundum quod docet Alfraganus sponding to a capitulo vni. degree. jr^ Averroes consentit in fine secundi Coeli et Mundi. Isti vero dant modum certificandi hoc in numero milliariorum et partium ejus. Ptolemaeus autem quinta Almagesti dictione procedit per viam demonstrationis diffuse in quantitate alti- tudinum solis et lunae et in eorum magnitudine. Sed non dat quantitatem certam per numerum milliariorum ; nec de aliis corporibus coelestibus determinat quantitatem. Oportet igitur supponere, quod cubitus aequalis et geometricus con- tineat pedem et dimidium, et milliare continet 4,000 cubi- torum, et sic accipit Alfraganus in sua consideratione. Omnis autem circulus sphaerae potest dividi in 360 partes, quae gradus vocantur. Intelligamus igitur maximum circulum in sphaera coelesti, qui transeat per centrum et dividat sphaeram in duas partes aequales. Dico ergo quod uni gradui^ istius ^ The first attempt to compare angular astronomical magnitudes with terrestrial distances was that of Eratosthenes (b. c 276-196), who found that when the sun was vertical at Syene, it was one-fiftieth part of a great circle (i. e. 7° 12') from the zenith at Alexandria. The distance between the two places was MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 225 circuli in coelo respondebunt multa milliaria in terra, cujiis experientiam innuit Alfraganus in hoc, quod accepta in aliquo loco elevatione poli super horizonta, si perambuletur ad septentrionem vel meridiem, usquequo elevatior polus appareat vel depressior per gradum unum, invenitur quantitas milliari- orum terrae, quae respondeat uni gradui in coelo. Nam si in nocte clara stellata quis per foramina quadrantis vel astrolabii vel alterius instrumenti perspexerit stellam nauticam et ipsum polum, et notaverit gradus quos attingit extremitas virgae in dorso astrolabii vel filum in quadrante, processeritque in terra ad septentrionem donee in altera nocte stellata viderit eundem polum elevari plus super horizonta per unum gradum, ille arcus terrae, quem perambulaverit, respondebit uni gradui, et erit ei similis, ut sumuntur arcus similes in sphaeris diversis secundum Theodosium, sed non erunt propter hoc aequales. Cum autem per semidiametrum terrae, quae continet 3,250 Dimen- milliaria, doceat 21^ capitulo mensurari diametros orbium the^Earth. coelestium et distantias augium et oppositorum earum, oportet quod veram quantitatem semidiametri accipiat. Nam aliter magnus accideret error in distantiis augium, eo quod quantitas semidiametri terrae multotiens replicata faceret magnum errorem in illis distantiis, nisi praecise sumeretur. Cum igitur fatendum est Alfraganum percepisse hunc errorem, manifestum est quod ipse accipit veram semidiametri quanti- tatem, scilicet 3,250, et veram diametrum, scilicet 6,500. Ergo oportet quod supponat radicem veram et completam, quae est in quantitate arcus terrae respectu gradus coeli^ licet non exprimat eam perfecte. Quapropter ipse supponit quod sit 56 milliaria, et duo tertiae milliarii, et 27 nonagesimae, et una sexcentesima tricesima, vel 56 milliaria et 2,984 cubiti et regarded as 5,000 stadia. But the uncertainty as to the Greek measures of length, and the coarseness of their astronomical instruments ^independently of the fact that Alexandria and Syene are not on the same meridian), m.ake it impossible to deduce any- precise result from this observation. The Arabian instruments were better, but were obviously insufficient as a basis for solving the problem here discussed by Bacon, of the Earth's magnitude. It may be noted here that in the oldest MSS. of the Opus Majus, as well as in those of a later date, Arabic numerals are very commonly employed in dealing with large numbers. VOL. I. Q 226 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. quinque septimae unius cubiti. Et ideo, si quis bene con- sideret, ipse respectu diametri et semidiametri, quibus utitur, omittit octavo capitulo in hac radice, quae est quantitas arcus terrae respectu gradus in coelo, 50 ^ sexcentesimas tricesimas unius milliarii, sive quod idem est, 317 cubitos, et tertiam cubiti, 28 sexagesimas tertias unius cubiti, quoniam non exprimit ibi nisi quod arcus iste terrae est 56 milliaria et duae tertiae unius milliaris. Sed licet radicem plenam sup- ponat, tamen fractiones aliquas omittit propter taedium numerorum. Mos enim ejus est in libris suis multotiens omittere fractiones et similiter faciunt alii autores. Si igitur volumus huic quantitati diametri, scilicet 6,500 qua utitur. adaptare radicem, dicemus quod arcus terrae respondens uni gradui in coelo continet 56 milliaria, et duas tertias unius milliaris, 27 nonagesimas milliarii, et unam sexcentesimam tricesimam. Et si volumus computare per cubitos, erit arcus terrae respondens uni gradui in coelo 56 milliaria, et duo millia cubitorum, nongenti octoginta quatuor cubiti, et 8 sexagesimae tertiae unius cubiti, quae 8 sexagesimae tertiae sunt plus quam una octava cubiti per unam quingentesimam quartam unius cubiti, quod de facili patet. Nam octo sexa- gesimae tertiae valent 64 quingentesimas quartas, et 63 quingentesimae quartae sunt octava totius ; ergo 64 quin- gentesimae quartae excedunt octavam in una quingentesima quarta ; et ita octo sexagesimae tertiae unius cubiti ex- cedunt octavam ejus in una quingentesima quarta. Et si triplicaverimus diametrum banc 6,500 et ejus septimam addiderimus, habebitur circumferentia totius terrae, et erit praecise viginti millia milliariorum quadringenti et viginti octo milliaria, et duo millia ducenti octoginta quinque cubiti, et quinque septimae unius cubiti ; vel penes alias fractiones, erit numerus hie vigesies mille quadringenti viginti octo milliaria, et quatuor septimae unius milliarii. Et secundum hoc tota terrae superficies erit centies trigesies bis mille millia milliaria sexcenties mille milliaria. Et secundum banc radicem perfecte computatam erit quarta terrae habens 33,150,000 milliaria in sua superficie. Et octava terrae ^ The omission is greater than Bacon states ; i. e. it is -Jf ^- of a mile. MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 227 habebit 4,143,750 milliaria. His enim duabus quantitatibus indigemus, sicut et caeteris praedictis. His visis, consideranda est altitude coelestium, et similiter Dimen- magnitudo et spissitudo. Nam Alfraganus dicit xxi capi- cSes^kl tulo, quod Ptolemaeus et alii sapientes posuerunt medie- spheres, tatem semidiametri terrae esse quantitatem qua metiti sunt longitudines a centre terrae, et posuerunt corpus terrae quantitatem qua mensuraverunt corpora stellarum. Et hoc satis patet ex demonstrationibus Ptolemaei quinta dictione Almagesti. Sententiat ergo Alfraganus ex comparatione semidiametri terrae ad semidiametrum orbis stellati, quod distantia orbis stellati a centro terrae est vigesies millies centies decies aequalis medietati diametri terrae, quod est sexaginta quinque mille mi'Uia trecenta quinquaginta septem millia quingenta milliaria, quod si duplicetur, erit diameter totius orbis stellati scilicet 130,715,000 milliaria. Et cum multiplicatur hoc in tria et septimam diametri erit rotunditas maximi circuli in coelo stellato, scilicet 410,818,57 1 milliaria, et tres septimae milliarii, hoc est, 1,714 cubiti, et 2 septimae cubiti. Et si hunc numerum diviserimus in 360 partes, una pars, scilicet quae erit quantitatis unius gradus coeli stellati, habebit milliaria 1,141,162 et 251 trecentesimas sexagesimas milliarii, hoc est 2,788 cubiti, et octo nonae unius cubiti. Et si duxerimus diametrum in rotunditatem, erit superficies totius coeli stellati, 53,700,149,508^265,000, videlicet, quinquagesies ter millesies millesies millesies millesies mille miliaria^ septin- gentesies millesies millesies millesies mille milliaria, centies quadragesies novies millesies millesies mille milliaria, quin- gentesies octies millesies mille milliaria, ducenties sexagesies quinque millia milliaria^. Semidiameter autem coeli stellati est longitudo longior orbis Saturni, quia junguntur sine medio. Sed ejus longitudo propinquior terrae est 46,816,250 milliaria, quod est longitudo longior orbis Jovis, cujus longi- ^ The manipulation of these large numbers is interesting ; and they may, perhaps, to some extent account for the contentment of the ancient and medi- aeval mind with a limited universe. Archimedes, in his PsammiteSj had assigned a wider limit for the diameter of the universe ; viz. ten thousand million stadia, or one thousand million miles, as against one hundred and thirty million in the computation of Alfraganus and Bacon. Q 2 228 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA, tudo propinquior est 28,847,000 milliaria, quod est longitude longior orbis Martis, cujus longitudo propinquior est 3,965,000 milliaria, quod est longitudo longior orbis solis, cujus longitudo propinquior est 3,640,000, quod est longitudo longior Veneris, cujus longitudo propinquior est 542,570, quod est longitudo longior Mercurii, cujus longitudo propinquior est 208,541 et duae tertiae milliarii, et hoc est 2,666 cubiti et duae tertiae cubiti, et haec est longitudo longior Lunae, et haec, ut dicit Alfraganus, est 64 vicibus et sexta vicis unius aequalis medie- tati diametri terrae, et longitudo propinquior Lunae est 109,037 et medietas milliarii, hoc est, 2,000 cubiti, et haec est 33 vicibus et semis et medietate decimae, id est, una vicesima unius vicis aequalis medietati diametri terrae. Diametri quidem singu- lorum orbium habentur per duplum semidiametri ; rotunditas cujuslibet habetur per triplicationem diametri cum additione septimae partis, et tota superficies cujuslibet orbis habetur per ductum diametri suae in rotunditatem suam, ut exemplificatum est in terra et in orbe stellato. Et quilibet potest haec experiri per computationem, et ideo omitto haec propter prolixitatem. Quoniam vero subtracta longitudine propiore a longiore remanet spissitudo orbis, ideo patet, quod spissitudo orbis Lunae est 99,504 milliaria, et spissitudo Mercurii 334^209, et Veneris 3,097,250, et Solis 325.000, et Martis 24,882,000, et Jovis 17,969,250, et Saturni 18,541,250. Haec ex radicibus Alfragani et Ptolemaei in Almagesti sumuntur. Sciendum vero quod in omnibus istis altitudinibus sumitur distantia a centro terrae. Unde licet sapientes aliquando dicant longitudines has fieri a terra, intelligunt tamen quod a centro terrae, quia medietas terrae nihil facit sensibile. Cum ergo longitudo propinquior orbis Lunae sit 109,037 mil- liaria et medietas milliaris, subtracta medietate diametri terrae, quod est 3,250, a numero praedicto integrorum milliariorum, scilicet 109,037, relicta medietate, residuum distantiae orbis Lunae a terra erit 105,787. Et ponantur 20 milliaria pro dieta. Ergo si iste numerus dividatur per 20 exibit numerus dietarum 5,289, et restant 7 milliaria. Et si istae dietae divi- dantur per 365 dies unius anni, exibunt anni 14, et restant dietae 179, quae si dividantur per 30 quae sunt dies mensis MATHEMATICAE IN DIVINIS UTILITAS. 229 perfect!, exibimt menses perfecti 7, et restat unus mensis im- perfectus, id est, 29 dierum. Patet igitur quod sumendo dietam in 20 milliaribus posset homo pertransire spatium usque ad orbem Lunae in 14 annis et quinque mensibus perfectis et uno mense imperfecto, et adhuc restarent 7 mil- liaria et medietas milliarii, quae a principio relicta fuit. De nono vero coelo et decimo nihil potest per instrumenta Height of sensibiha sciri in altitudine et spissitudine et magnitudine, sicut de ahis coehs, ut de spissitudine octavi coeH quia haec omnia latent sensum, et ideo super haec cessat certificatio quantitatum et altitudinum, et spissitudinum. Et per longitudinem pro- pinquiorem Lunae est manifesta longitudo longior orbis ignis, sed longitudo longior aeris non est nota. Nam philosophi haec neglexerunt, quia non est utilitatis notabilis. Quantum tamen est usque ad locum nubium verificaverunt, quoniam demonstratur in libro de Crepusculis ^ quod altitudo ilia est per 51 milliaria et duas tertias. Plinius^ autem secundo Naturalium recitat nubes elevari stadiis 400 et 900 secundum diversa philosophorum testimonia. Ergo ad minus extenditur aer in tantum et plus ; quamvis Albumazar et quidam alii aestimant vapores non elevari nisi per duo milliaria et decimam et tertiam milliarii. Et Ptolemaeus in libro de Dispositione Sphaeraedicit, quod decem stadiis est ultima elevatio vaporum. Et Martianus in Astronomia in hoc concordat. Nam montem altissimum ponunt decem stadiis elevari, ut Olympum, in ^ This book is generally attributed to Alhazen, and, like the treatise on Optics of the same author, was translated into Latin from Arabic by Gerard of Cremona. It is an attempt to determine with geometrical precision {a) the position of the Sun with reference to the horizon when evening twilight ceases or morning twilight begins : {b) assuming twilight to be caused by solar rays passing through terrestrial vapours, the height above the Earth to which these vapours rise. He found that at the extreme limit of twilight the Sun was between nineteen and twenty degrees below the horizon. From this datum, and from the three data of the Earth's radius, the Sun's radius, and the distance of the Earth from the Sun (as given in the current astronomy), he concluded that the extreme altitude of terrestrial vapours was somewhat less than fifty-two miles. Pliny {Hisi. Nat. ii. 23) makes the limit of cloud vary from 40 to 900 stadia ; the stadium being estimated at 125 paces or 625 feet. Bacon, in the following sentences, shows himself aware of the extreme uncertainty of these measures of length, But the estimate of the stadium hardly varied to the extent stated by him. 230 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. cujus caciimine non invenitur ventus nec vapor, quod probant homines per experientiam. Sed quoniam Aristoteles^ libro Meteorologicorum vult vapores elevari usque ad confinium aeris et ignis, ideo tenenda est sententia saltern libri de Cre- pusculis, et aliae glossandae sunt per diversam quantitatem stadii et miiliaris. Nam aliquando invenitur, quod stadium est octava pars miiliaris, et alias quod est longe plus, et similiter de quantitate miiliaris est magna diversitas ; scitur enim quod montes Italiae et alii, ut Caucasus, in cujus cacu- mine apparent radii solis usque ad tertiam partem noctis, habent plus quam octies 125 pedes, et ideo habent plus quam octo stadia, secundum quod stadium dicitur esse 125 pedum. Et ideo alibi inveni in expositione libri de Ormesta Mundi, quod stadium continet duas leucas, et duas partes unius leucae, et sic unum stadium continet quinque milliaria et tertiam milliarii. Per hujusmodi ergo diversitates solvuntur praedicta. Quod autem certius est de altitudine maxima montium est, quod est octo milliaria, secundum quod docetur libro de Crepusculis, et ideo apud librum Ptolemaei potest esse falsitas translationis vel scripturae, quando altitudo maxima ponitur in octo stadiis. Postquam jam habemus coelorum altitudines, planum est nos habere et stellarum secundum considerationes Ptolemaei et omnium mathematicorum. Nam longitudo propinquior Lunae est longitudo orbis ejus, et longior longitudo similiter est una, et sic de aliis. Sed de magnitudinibus et spissitu- dinibus stellarum non est notum per hanc viam. Qui igitur posset invenire diametros, de facili inveniret rotunditatem et totam superficiem per doctrinam quam prius tetigi in orbibus. Antiqui vero quidam, ut Martianus in sua Astro- logia, nisi sunt invenire diametrum Solis et Lunae per fluxuni aquae per foramen vasis, dum oritur stella, et dum volvitur totus orbis coeli ; et ita per illas duas aquas inveniebant quanto arcui diameter corporis stellae subtenditur. * Aristotle observes, Meteorolog. i. 3, § 10, that clouds form in a region not too near the heavenly bodies to be dissipated by their heat, nor too near the Earth to be affected by the rays of heat reflected from its surface, Tivovrai yap at Twu v( minus tamen tota philosophia a nullo damnatur, nec debet nec potest. Quapropter cum in mathematicae partibus omnibus aliis a judiciaria omnia utiHa proponantur respectu theologiae et ecclesiae ac reipublicae et conversionis infidehum aut repro- bationis et totius philosophiae, et nihil reprobatum determinatur etiam in ilia parte cui judicium ascribitur, multa etiam praeter artem judicandi praeclara de proprietatibus coelestium rerum et secundis stellarum et caeteris rebus hujus mundi tanguntur, manifestum est eos omnino errare, qui pro una parte, quam falso damnant, totum residuum quod maximas habet utiHtates et in nullo habet calumniam ausi sunt reprobare. Et iterum JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 249 licet pars judiciaria de humanis rebus esset culpanda, tamen alia pars de naturalibus et coelestibus calumniam fidei non importat. Sed in rebus humanis veri mathematici non praesumunt Astrology certificare, sed considerant quomodo per coelum alteratur p°g^^|i"°^ corpus, et alterato corpore excitatur anima nunc ad actus action : it privates nunc publicos, salva tamen in omnibus arbitrii liber- Stes a tate. Quamvis enim anima rationalis non cogitur ad actus motive, suos, tamen fortiter induci potest et excitari ut gratis velit ea ad quae virtus coelestis inclinat, sicut nos videmus homines per societatem consilia timorem et amorem et hujusmodi multum mutare de proposito, et gratis velle ea quae prius non volebant licet non cogantur, sicut ille qui spe salutis projicit merces in mare carissimas. Caeterum nos videmus quod species seu virtutes rerum inferiorum immutantes sensus nostros, etiam species visibilium et audibilium quae debiliter immutant cor- pus, ita fortiter excitant homines ad volendum quae prius non curabant, quod aliquando nec mortem nec infamiam nec timorem aestimant dummodo suas compleant voluntates, sicut sunt illi qui vident et audiunt suos inimicos eis occurrere, et feruntur omni casu contingente ut se vindicent. Similiter voluptuosi, opportunitate accepta complendi suas delicias circa res visas et auditas, quasi bruta animalia moventur contra judicium rationis, gratis eligentes ea ad quae excitantur. Sed longe magis possunt virtutes coelorum et species eorum Tempera- et stellarum fortes imprimere in corpus et organa, quibus ^^^ted by vehementer alteratis excitabitur homo fortiter ad actus de stellar quibus non curavit prius, salvo suae libertatis arbitrio ; quoniam virtutes coelorum fortiores sunt quam istorum inferiorum visibilium et audibilium et multorum aliorum sensibilium, et possunt mutare substantiam non solum accidentia, et cor- rumpere et destruere res omnes inferiores ; quoniam secundum allationem solis sub obliquo circulo accidunt generatio et corruptio in rebus, ut Aristoteles dicit. Et non solum haec allatio solis absolute considerata, sed cum virtutibus aliorum planetarum et stellarum ; et ideo valida est alteratio corporum nostrorum per virtutes coelestes, et per consequens animus fortiter excitatur ad actus suos licet non cogatur, et secundum OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA, hoc CLirrit judicium astronomi, et non per infallibilitatem et necessitatem. Et astronomus in hoc multum juvatur, quod videt homines in actibus suis sequi multum suas complexiones quas habent, ut cholericus movetur de facili ad iram, nec potest refraenare primes motus omnes, et sic de aliis, secundum quod homines diversificantur in complexionibus. Et ideo astronomus, cum videt homines sequi suas complexiones, quae oriuntur a coelesti operatione, sicut et tota generatio, non est mirum si se extendat ad considerationem actuum humanorum. National Caeterum ipse videt manifeste, quod secundum diversitatem moi^ldedby ^^-bitantiuni sub diversis coeli parallelis variantur mores, sicut climate. habitantes versus polum, ut Scythae, alios habent mores quam habitantes versus meridiem, sicut Aethiopes ; et alios ab his habent illi, qui in quarto climate ; immo secundum diversitatem cujuslibet climatis et etiam partium climatis variantur mores habitantium, ut in climate scilicet septimo Picardos, Galileos, et Normannos, et Flamingos, et Anglicos, videmus manifeste in moribus discrepare, cum tamen sint continui ad invicem et propinqui. Hoc autem non est ex ipsis hominibus a parte diversitatis animae rationalis, sed propter complexiones cor- porum innatas a natura coeli, sub cujus parallelis diversis et stellis situantur, et secundum diversitatem situs eorum respectu planetarum. Et non solum est haec diversitas secundum latitudinem regionum ab aequinoctiali circulo versus polum, sicut nunc tactum est, sed secundum longitudinem, licet causae sint occultiores. Per experientiam enim videmus, quod sub eodem parailelo variantur regiones, secundum quod magis ab occidente vei oriente distant, et non solum ipsae regiones sed partes regionum. Et non potest in terra nec in hominibus inveniri causa principalis hujus rei, sed in coelo requiritur secundum omnes sapientes ; unde, sicut prius dictum est, ad omne punctum terrae incidit conus unius pyramidis virtuosac a toto coelo. Et coni isti sunt diversae in natura, et pyramides similiter, quia diversas habent bases propter diversitates horizontum, quoniam quilibet punctus terrae est centrum proprii horizontis. Et ideo oportet omnium rerum diversitatem magnam ex hac causa oriri, etiam quantumcunque propinqui sunt, ut gemelli m eodem utero ; et sic de omnibus, JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE, 251 prout videmus quod a duobus punctis terrae proximis oriuntur herbae diversae secundum speciem. Et hie sumit astronomus fundamenta sui judicii, et merito, quia diversitas plena rerum per coelum sic invenitur. Quapropter potest astronomus peritus non solum in natura- Predictions libus sed in humanis rebus multa considerare de praesenti et ^unities™ futuro et praeterito, et ideo saltem super regna et civitates "^ore easy . , , , . , , . than as to potest judicare per coelestia et secunda coelestmm quae per individuals, virtutes speciales coelorum renovantur, ut sunt cometae et hujusmodi, quia facilius judicium est super communitate quam super singulari persona. Nam judicium communitatis est judicium universale, et astronomus potest bene in judicia universalia. Et quia ad mores et consuetudines cujuslibet civitatis famosae tota provincia circumjacens inclinatur, tum propter refugium ad eam et communicationem negotiorum vitae, tum propter potentiam civitatum super loca vicina ; (et similiter est de regno potentiori respectu regnorum circum- jacentium,) tum propter communicationem, tum propter violen- tiam ; prudens astrologus potest multa considerare utiliter in hac parte super moribus et iegibus et sectis et guerris et pace et hujusmodi, quae pertinent ad rempublicam civitatum, pro- vinciarum, et regnorum, quamvis difficultatem recipiat majorem in actibus singularium personarum judicandis. Et si velit considerare diligenter et sine errore horas con- But even ceptionum et nativitatem singularium personarum, ut sciatur ^ividuals dominium coelestis virtutis ad horas illas, et diligenter con- bodily sideret quando ad eas dispositiones venient coelestia secun- may b? dum singulas partes aetatis cujuslibet, potest de omnibus Precast, naturalibus, sicut de infirmitatibus et sanitate et hujus- modi judicare sufficienter, quandocunque debent occidere et qualiter terminari, secundum quod auctores non solum astronomiae sed medicinae, ut Hippocrates, Galenus, Hali, Isaac, et omnes auctores determinant. Sed medici hujus temporis pauci sciunt astronomiam et ideo nec auctores suos multi intelligunt nec possunt intelligere, et ideo negligunt meliorem partem medicinae. Sed de his longus sermo fieri potest et utilis, cum fuerit opportunum. Et cum secundum complexiones infirmitates et sanitates varientur voluntates OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. hominum et desideria et considerationes, licet non cogantur sed fortiter inducantur, ut manifestum est, tunc prudens astronomus potest de actibus moralibus singularis personae prudenter judicare, salva tamen omnibus arbitrii libertate, et poterit in multis habere judicium certum secundum pos- sibilitatem materiae quam tractat. Nam quia ista est con- tingens et non necessaria, non potest dicere quod de necessitate contingent haec vel ilia, potest tamen dicere in multis quod contingent, et quod Veritas est de futuro, licet non necessaria. Aliud enim est esse verum, et aliud necessario verificari. Et hoc est judicium medium inter necessarium et impossibile. Et in quibus non potest habere hujusmodi judicium, habebit de facili judicium universale, aut medium inter universale et particulare ; per judicium tamen universale et secundum quod possibile est de persona publica, ut principe et consiliario principis in civitate vel regione potest saepius habere judicium particulare de factis reipublicae ; quia, ut dictum est, facilius est, judicare de communitate quam de singulari persona, et secundum judicium principis regulantur civitates et regna ; quod enim principi placet, legis habet vigorem. The hero- Et idco super negotiis civitatum famosarum et provin- the^ruler ciarum et regnorum potest multum astronomus, dummodo throws sciat bene dominium coeli in conceptione et nativitate principis, fmure^of^^ et bene sciat quod complexio variatur per hoc, et qualiter ad his realm, mores inclinatur juxta proprietatem complexionis. Et tunc notet quando constellatio veniet quae stimulet complexionem et fortificet ut stimuletur et excitetur animus ad actus con- similes ; et similiter quando in contrarium mutatur complexio per contrarium coeli dispositionem, ut ad contraria excitetur animus principis. Secundum enim hujusmodi variationes constellationum et complexionum et voluntatem principum et praelatorum oriuntur in populo auctoritate superiori inno- vationes consuetudinum et mutationes legum et morum. Deinde de facili oriuntur aliquando discordiae et dissensiones ad quas sequuntur bella, vel aliquando propter legum hones- tatem et utilitatem oritur concordia civium et aliorum, et fit pax. Et ideo astronomus peritus potest de facili judicare de ' hujusmodi negotiis communibus civitatum et regionum, quia JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 253 non solum per vias proprias eis habeat unde procedat, sed per conditiones personarum, quae principantur. Et similiter per proprietates earum personarum quae principibus et prae- latis assistunt, et quorum consiliis innituntur, quia principes mali ducuntur ad bona reipublicae per bonos consiliarios, et principes boni pervertuntur per malos consiliarios. Si igitur ex constellatione nativitatis et conceptionis complexio alicujus principis, vel alterius cui innititur, inveniatur disposita ad perversitatem morum et discordias et guerraS; et astronomus simul cum hoc videat quod trahunt hujusmodi in consuetu- dinem et fortius excitantur quando constellatio consimilis accidit, potest rationabiliter judicare de infoituniis civitatis et regni quibus praesunt, quando dispositio coeli et eorum quae per coelestia renovantur, ut cometae et hujusmodi, con- formiter accidunt. Et optima judicia fieri possunt, secundum oppositas conditiones principum et eorum quibus per omnia credunt, quando similiter coelestis dispositio conformis in- venitur. Et quoniam tales personae in uno regno paucae sunt, et sunt publicae et notae omnibus, quorum mores relucent toti regno, multum potest astronomus certificare de eis, et utiliter judicare de factis publicis per proprietates talium personarum. Haec igitur sunt quae volui recitare pro infamia mathematicae toUenda in hujusmodi judiciis, ex quibus patet omni sapienti quod non sit vera mathematica in hac parte vituperanda, sed omnino amplectenda et diligenda propter gloriosas utilitates quae possunt evenire ex judiciis mathe- maticae verae, quae in nullo veritati contradicit. Postquam potestas mathematicae respectu scientiarum Astrology philosophiae et rerum istius mundi et theologiae, et sic ouJ"S|]f"^ respectu totius sapientiae ostensa est, prout ipsa sapientia in the secundum se consideratur absolute, nunc volo ostendere illud ofthe'^^ idem secundum quod refertur haec sapientia ad ecclesiam Church. Dei et rempublicam fidelium et conversionem infidelium et repressionem eorum qui converti non possunt. Et quia in multis quae nunc numerari non possunt necessaria est ecclesiae, nunc volo tres casus proponere, qui sunt quasi infiniti miraculi et utilitatis ineffabilis. Primus consistit in certificatione fidei quam tenet ecclesia. Magnum enim solatium fidei nostrae OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. possumus habere, postquam philosophi qui ducti sunt solo motu rationis nobis consentiunt, et sectam seu professioneni fidei Christianae confirmant et nobiscum concordant in stabi- litate hujus sectae ; non quia quaeramus rationem ante fidem, sed post fidem, ut duplici confirmatione certificati laudemus Deum de nostra salute quam indubitanter tenemus. Et per hancviam mathematicae non solum certificamur de professione nostra, sed praemunimur contra sectam Antichristi, de qua simul cum secta Christi fit consideratio in mathematica. Et hujusmodi nobilissima perscrutatio fit per revolutionem omnium sectarum ^ principalium a principio mundi, nec possunt esse plures, et sunt sectae Hebraeorum, et Chaldae- orum, et Aegyptiorum, et Agarenarum seu Saracenorum, qui fuerunt de Agar et Ismaele, secta Christi, ac secta Antichristi. Nec mirum si locuti sunt philosophi de his, quoniam fuerunt post patriarchas et prophetas et instructi per filios et libros eorum, ut prius ostensum est. The moral Quanto igitur planius et plenius possum ad praesens, influence rccitabo sententias mathematicorum in quibus auctores con- peculiar . . t to each cordant. Dicunt igitur Jovem et Venerem esse planetas planet. benivolos et fortunatos, Saturnum et Martem malivolos et in- fortunatos. Mercurium dicunt medio modo se habere, quia cum bonis est bonus, cum malis malus, quia convertibilis naturae est. De benivolis vero fortunatis dicunt Jovem meliorem esse, et majorem fortunam ei deberi, minoremque Veneri. Et ideo cum duae vitae sunt, praesens et futura, et plus valet futura quam praesens, sicut aeternum quam temporale, dicunt Venerem significare super fortunas hujus vitae, quantum ad ludos et gaudia atque laetitiam et hujusmodi, et Jupiter re- spectum habet ad bona alterius vitae, quae majora sunt. Et significat super sapientiam et intellectum et solutionem somniorum et divinum cultum fidem et legis doctrinam, religionem et venerationem et Dei timorem et aptationem morum et multa talia ut astronomi narrant. The heaven Praeterea distinguunt totum coelum in xii partes, quae divided into Jioiises. ^ The list of religions given in the fourth part of Bacon's Moralis Philosophia is somewhat different; viz. Pagani, Tartari, Idololatrae, Saraceni, Judaei, Christiani. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 255 vocantur domus, quae distinguuntur per meridianum cir- culum et horizontem, et alios quatuor circulos intersecantes se in eorum sectionibus, ita ut prima domus incipiat ab horizonte et sub eo sit constituta, deinde succedunt ei secunda domus et tertia usque ad angulum terrae, qui est punctus in coelo sub terra oppositus puncto meridei super terram. Et ab illo puncto sunt aliae tres domus usque ad lineam occidentis. Deinde supra horizonta incipit vii et sequitur viii et ix usque ad punctum meridiei. Deinde X et xi et xii usque ad horizontem. Primam igitur domum dant Saturno, secundam Jovi, et sic ulterius se- cundum ordinem planetarum, ita quod octava iterum datur Saturno, et nona Jovi. Consideraveruntque omnes con- corditer quod domus nona est domus religionis et fidei. Et Ptolemaeus et Albumazar et Altavicus et Messehalac et alii omnes assignaverunt istis domibus proprietates suas, quia prima est domus vitae, secunda domus substantiae, et sic de caeteris, juxta suas proprietates et dispositiones naturales. Unde nona domus, ut dicunt, est peregrinationum atque itinerum fidei et deitatis et religionis, ac domus culturae Dei sapientiae librorum epistolarum et legatorum narrationum ac rumorum et somniorum. Et ideo merito, ut dicunt, at- tribuitur Jovi, qui habet respectum ad bona alterius vitae, ■ quia illis bonis debentur fides et religio et cultura Dei et consideratio sapientialis, et librorum et epistolarum multitudo, ut patet ex lege divina ; et legatorum, ut prophetarum et apostolorum et praedicatorum copia narrantium rumores idoneos de nobilibus conditionibus illius vitae, et revela- tiones frequentes habentium in somnis et extasi et raptibus de hac vita. Dicunt igitur planetas conjungi et complecti sibi invicem, Religious et hoc est quando fuerunt in eodem signo et praecipue quando of^jj^p'j^gj^!^^ in eodem gradu et in xvi minuto illius gradus et infra, in conjunc- Volunt ergo philosophi Jovem ex sua conjunctione cum oTher^^^^ aliis planetis significare super sectam religionum et fidei. Et planets, quia sunt sex planetae quibus complecti et conjungi potest, ideo asserunt sex fore debere in mundo sectas principales. Unde periti auctores praedicti et alii dicunt, si complectatur 256 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. Jupiter Saturno, significat libros divinos, et significat de sectis Judaicam, quia est antiquior aliis et prior, sicut Saturnus pater planetarum et remotior et prior in exitu planetarum et ordine in esse. Et ipsam omnes confitentur, et ipsa nullam aliam, sicut Saturno omnes planetae complectuntur et ipse nulli, propter tarditatem sui motus. Quia quando planeta est ante eum ad orientem, nunquam ipse Saturnus consequitur aliquem, sed in tantum invalescit alius planeta, quod con- sequitur aliquando Saturnum et conjungitur ei. Omnes quidem sectae appodiant se ad sectam Judaeorum, quia haec fuit prima et est radix aliarum, a qua omnes aliquod genus testi- monii et constitutionis sectae habuerunt: u.nde philosophia accepit ab ilia multa testimonia et multos modos constituendi sectam, sicut prius patuit. Si vero Jupiter complectatur Marti, tunc dicunt ipsum significare super legem Chaldaicam, quae docet adorare ignem, cujus naturae Mars est in naturali potentia et effectu. Si Soli, significatur lex Aegyptia, quae ponit coli militiam coeli, cujus princeps est Sol. Si Veneri, significare dicitur super legem Saracenorum, quae est tota voluptuosa et venerea, quam licet in scriptis Mahometus redegit, ipsa tamen per longa tempora in usu vitae habebatur a suis cultoribus ; unde in libro qui ascribitur Ovidio ^ de vitae • suae mutatione cum loqueretur de secta venerea, quam homi- nibus sui temporis legem dixit esse, dicit in metro suo, ' In qua, si libeat, quod cunque licere putatur, Scripta licet super hoc nondum lex inveniatur ; ' Quam postea per sexcentos annos et amplius scripsit Mahometus in libro qui dicitur Alcoran. Ovidius enim ante Christum et in temporibus Christi fuit, et secta Mahometi incepit per sexcentos annos et amplius post incarnationem Christi, sicut patet ex differentia annorum Christi et Arabum, quae est dcxxi annorum, et cxcv dies. Sed anni Arabum computantur a Mahometo, ut dicit Alfraganus et alii similiter. Combina- Si vcro complcctatur Mercurio, tunc est lex Mercurialis. tion of ^ The poem De vetvtla sen de mutatione vitae suae, attributed to Ovid, is believed to have been w^ritten in the tw^elfth century by Leo, protonotary of the palace of Byzantium. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 257 Mercurius enim habet respectum, ut dicunt, ad Deitatem et Jupiter oracula prophetarum et credulitatem et orationem, et maxime Mercury quando conjungitur ei Jupiter ; quoniam tunc significat ^^^^^^^ * numerum psallendi et numerum librorum divinorum. Et anity. dicunt, quod lex Mercurialis est difficilior ad credendum quam aliae, et habet multas difificultates supra humanum intellectum. Et hoc convenit propter motus Mercurii difficiles, cujus circuitus est in epicyclo et eccentrico et aequante, in quibus considerantur sui motus longitudinis et inflexus et reflexus in motibus latitudinis, per declinationem eccentrici ab orbe signorum ad septentrionem et meridiem, et epicycli ab eccentrico in partem septentrionis et meridiei, et sunt mira- biliores et difficiliores omnibus motibus planetarum, sicut patet ex dictis Ptolemaei, et planius ex sententiis Albategni, Thebit, et Archaselis, et probabiliter ex dictis Alfragani. Et propter hoc significat, ut dicunt, super legem quae habent difficiles articulos et occultas veritates, cujusmodi est lex Christiana. Sed quia Mercurius est significator scripturae et scriptorum, et profunditatis scientiae in libris profundis, atque facunditatis, sive dulcedinis locutionis et linguae, et rhetoricae et velocitatis ejus et explanationis sententiarum, significat quod tam authenticis scripturis et tot profundis scientiis et tanta potestate eloquentiae defendetur, quod stabit semper in robore suo, donee ultima lex Lunae perturbet eam ad tempus. Et dicunt, quod haec lex est prophetae nascituri de virgine, secundum quod omnes antiqui Indi, Chaldaei, Babylonii, docuerunt quod in prima facie Virginis ascendit virgo mundis- sima nutritura puerum in terra Hebraeorum, cui nomen Jesus Christus, ut dicit Albumazar in majori introductorio astronomiae. Et in moralibus recitabitur auctoritas ejus inter alias philosophiae auctoritates de iis quae pertinent ad philoso- phiam moralem, quia etiam ea quae dicuntur hie praeparat mathematica ad usum illius philosophiae, ut ibi declarabitur expressius. Et ortus prophetae de virgine multum convenit legi Mercuriali, quia Mercurius habet maximam potestatem in Virgine, secundum judicium astronomorum omnium. Creatus enim fuit in Virgine, et dignitates, seu potestates seu testimonia seu virtutes seu fortitudines quinque quae debentur VOL. I. S 258 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. planetis ratione signorum habet Mercurius in Virgine, ut sunt scilicet domus, exaltatio, triplicitas, terminus, facies. Double Et domus nunc et prius dicitur aequivoce ^ ; quoniam istae meaning of House in i The two senses of the word Domus will be best illustrated by the accom- astrology. ponying figures taken from Bacon's commentary on the Secretum Secretorum / \ ^ ^ < 1 # / \ / ^ / yK°' Jovis / ^'sces^O^ ^ / ^\ ^^^f^^^ \ ^ / (P \ \ ^ \ <^ ^ A \ / / ^ \ / 1 B 1 5 \ \ "0 / s 0 V \ y (Tanner MS. 116). In the lower figure which represeuits the domus accidentales or sitiiales described on a previous page, the division into houses gives the state of the sky at any particular moment. The sign placed in the first house may be ASCENDENS PRIMA DOMUS ARIES QUAE VOCATUR vASCENDENS TAURUS DOMUS DOMUS 12 QUAE SUNT 12 PARTES TOTIUS CQELI DIVISI IN EAS; NEC POSSUNT IN PLANO MELIUS FIGU- RARI. CUM ALIAS NASCITUR UT AD QUAESTIONEM VENIUNT FIGU- RARI HUlC SIMILES FACIES SIC- UT CIRCA HORAM QUAESTIONIS PLURIMAE SUNT IN SIGNIS IPSAM FIGURAM DESCRIBAS SED UBI NUNC EST ARIES IN ORTU IBl PONE SIGNUM ASCENDENS MORA FIGURA- TIONIS QUODCUNQUE ID FUERIT. DEIN SIBI PROXIMO SIGNUM SUeCEDENS USQUE TOTUM COM- PLEATUR. 4T? DOMUS CANCER DOMUS SCORPIO ANGULUS TEBRAE JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 259 domus vocantur essentiales et naturales, priores vocantur accidentales et situales ; quoniam hae domus sunt xii signa, quorum divisio naturalis est, quia sectiones zodiaci et coeli manent in suis locis de circulo coelesti, hoc est de firmamento, quam divisionem signorum faciunt sex circuli sese inter- secantes in polls zodiaci, et dividunt totum coelum et mun- dum in xii partes aequales. Quae partes possunt considerari in zodiaco solum, et tunc sunt proprie signa, ut Aries et alia, aut possunt illi circuli imaginarie extendi ad polos, in quibus se intersecant, et tunc dividunt totum coelum in xii partes aequales habentes angustiam in extremitatibus circa polos et latitudinem in medio ad modum fundi naviculae, ita quod ilia latitudo continet extremitates partium zodiaci, quas communi nomine vocamus signa, unde signum dicitur proprie, ut Aries, vel Taurus, &c. Et sumitur aliter pro tota coeli parte contenta inter duos circulos transeuntes, verbi gratia per fines Arietis, qui circuli concurrunt in polls mundi ; et istud signum dicitur esse signum Arietis, quia ejus latitudo consistit in extensione Arietis, et sic stellae quae sunt extra corpus Arietis dicuntur esse in signo Arietis, quamvis sint juxta polos mundi. Sed aliae domus dicuntur accidentales, quia divisio earum est accidentalis, et non manent sectiones in eodem loco coeli, quia non sequuntur motum coeli, et ideo mutantur earum loca in circulo sen coelo in omni hora. Et sumuntur hae sectiones, ut dictum est, per circulum meridi- anum et horizontem cum aliis quatuor. Domus autem quae dicitur naturalis adhuc est duplex ; quaedam est principaHs, quaedam non principalis, unde dicitur accidentalis respectu principalis. Principalis autem domus planetae est in qua creatus fuit, ut Leo est domus Solis, Cancer Lunae, Virgo Mercurii, Libra Veneris, Aries Martis secundum quosdam, secundum alios Scorpius, Sagittarius Jovis, Capricornus any of the twelve, according to the hour at which the horoscope is taken. The figure here given shows Aries rising, and Libra setting. In the upper figure, representing the domus essentiales et naturales, special signs of the zodiac are allotted to each planet ; one to the Sun, one to the Moon, and two to each of the other five. Each of these five has a masculine and a feminine sign ; corresponding, I suppose, to the distinction in the text oi principales and minus principales. S % 26o OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Saturni. Domus autem minus principales sunt, ut Aquarius Saturno datur, Pisces Jovi, Scorpius Marti secundum unam opinionem, secundum aliam Aries, Taurus Veneri, Gemini Mercuric ; ita quod quilibet quinque planetarum habet duas domos sed Sol et Luna non nisi singulas. Ita decrevit antiquitas sapientum. Exaltation Exaltationes vero sunt hae. Sol exaltatur in Ariete, Luna Triplicity. Tauro, Saturnus in Libra, Jupiter in Cancro, Mars in Capri- corno, Venus in Piscibus, Mercurius in Virgine. Et sicut Sol exaltatur in Ariete, sic ejus descensio est in Libra, et sic de reliquis ; et similiter depressio Mercurii est in Piscibus, et ideo exaltatio Mercurii est in Virgine, sicut ejus domus, et est haec exaltatio in xv gradu Virginis. Triplicitas planetae dicitur, cum sit in signo in quo creatus est, vel in aliquo ejusdem naturae cum signo in quo creatus est. Unde scien- dum est quod quatuor sunt triplicitates signorum. Una est calida et sicca quae continet tria signa calida et sicca cujus- modi sunt Aries, Leo, Sagittarius. Unde cum est Sol in aliquo istorum trium dicitur esse in sua triplicitate. Et alia est triplicitas secunda, ex Tauro, Virgine, et Capricorno, et haec est frigida et sicca ; et Mercurius, quando est in aliquo istorum, est in triplicitate sua. Quia licet domini istius triplicitatis in die sint primo Venus, deinde Luna, et in nocte primo Luna, postea Venus, et eorum particeps in nocte et die sit Mars, tamen Mercurius participatur eis in Virgine proprie, ut dicunt astronomi, et ideo triplicitatem habet in Virgine sicut exaltationem et domum. Tertia triplicitas est ex Geminis, Libra, Aquario, quae est calida et humida. Et quarta est ex Cancro, Scorpione, et Pisce, quae est frigida et humida. Terminus Famosiores autem termini sunt Aegyptiorum. Jupiter and Facies. j^^^j-^^^ primos gradus Arietis, Venus sex sequentes, Mercurius octo, Mars quinque, Saturnus quinque, Venus adhuc octo primos Tauri, Mercurius sex sequentes. Et sic mira diversitate variantur isti termini, ut patet in tabula terminorum, ita quod Mercurius habeat septem primos gradus Virginis pro termino, non solum secundum Aegyptios, sed secundum Ptolemaeum, et hoc est quod nunc c^aerimus. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. Fades autem signorum accipiuntur per divisionem cujuslibet signi in tres partes aequales ; et unaquaeque constat ex decern gradibus, quae vocantur facies, et alio modo decani ; quarum facierum initium est a primo gradu Arietis, et terminatur in decimo gradu ejusdem, et dicitur Martis. Secunda usque in vicesimum, et dicitur facies Solis, quia Sol succedit ei in ordine circulorum. Tertia est in finem Arietis et dicitur facies Veneris, et sic de caeteris secundum ordinem, ut patet in tabula facierum ; ita quod Mercurius habet decem gradus Virginis ultimos pro facie. Et sic patet, quod Mercurius habet omnes istas potestates in Virgine. Et vocantur istae potestates per similitudinem. Unde planeta in domo sua comparatur regi in domo sua regia et in dominatione sua ; et cum fuerit in exaltatione sua, est sicut vir in regno suo et gloria ; et cum fuerit in triplicitate sua, est sicut vir in honore suo et inter auxiliatores atque ministros ; et cum fuerit in termino suo, est sicut vir inter parentes suos et cognatos et gentem suam ; et cum est in facie sua, est sicut vir in magisterio suo. Et domus dicitur habere quinque fortitu- dines, exaltatio quatuor, triplicitas tres, terminus duas, facies unam. Unde domus habet in se fortitudines quinque facierum, et exaltatio habet fortitudinem quatuor facierum, et sic ulterius. Ex his igitur patet quod hae potestates Mercurii essentiales Connexion et principales sunt omnes in Virgine. Atque addendum ^,^itlf con-^^ est, quod unusquisque planeta habet adhuc potestatem stellation accidentalem quandam in signo sibi debito, quae vocatur gaudium. Unde Saturnus, cum intrat Aquarium, gaudere dicitur, ut Jupiter in Sagittario, Mars in Scorpione, Venus in Tauro, et Mercurius in Virgine. Et ideo nusquam domi- natur Mercurius tantum, sicut in Virgine. Nec aliquis planeta habet tot in ea dominia, propter quod appropriatur Virgini Mercurius. Et ideo ex hac causa dicunt legem Mercurialem debere esse sectam prophetae nascituri de virgine : et ideo haec secta Mercurialis ponitur ab eis esse lex Christiana. Si vero complectatur Lunae, dicunt domini astronomiae, quod erit lex Lunae et ultima, quia circulus Lunae est ultimus, et haec erit lex corruptionis et foeda quae 262 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. violabit omnes alias leges et suspendet eas, etiam Mercurialem ad tempus. Luna enim, ut dicunt, significat super nigro- mantlam et mendacium, et ideo lex Lunae erit nigromantica et magica et mendosa. Et propter corruptionem Lunaris motus et figurationum Lunarium significat super corruptionem istius legis, quae in se erit corrupta et alias corrumpens. Non tamen multum durabit, ut dicunt, quia Luna velociter mutatur a figuratione et luce sua et motu propter brevitatem sui circuli. Et hoc, ut dicunt, statuetur ab aliquo magno et potente qui praevalebit aliis, et aestimant astronomi fideles tarn moderni quam antiqui quod haec est lex Antichristi, quia ille ultimo in fine mundi adveniet, et inducet legem corruptionis, et infatuabit mundum per artem magicam et mendacia sua. These Sic igitur astronomi discutiunt sectas et praecipue Albu- poinTto i^azar ^ in libro conjunctionum, et maxime primo et secundo supremacy libro, ut inveniantur sex sectae principales in quibus homines Fakh"^'^^^" occupantur in hoc mundo. Et per hoc habetur quod secta Christi sit una de principalibus. Et si comparemus cam ad alias, manifestum est per nobiles conditiones legislatoris et ipsius sectae quod nulla alia digna est, sed sunt hominum figmenta. Et hoc de ultima lege statim patet, quia non est ibi Veritas. Et in lege Venerea, quae est Saracenorum, delectatio peccati abundat secundum tenorem ejus praedictum. Sed philosophia excludit peccatum a lege. Similiter lex Aegyptiorum nulla est nec Chaldaeorum, quia docent colere creaturam, et hoc negat philosophia. Nam soli Deo cultus debetur, sicut exponetur in moralibus. Secta vero Judaeorum minus elongatur a veritate. Sed lator non fuit filius virginis, ^ This astrological writer is frequently cited by Bacon. He is entered in the Museum Catalogue as Jafar ibn Muhammad {A\ Balkhi). His principal works appear to be (a) the Liber Corijundioimm^ otherwise called Albmnazar de magnis conjunctionibusj minorum revolutionibus^ ac eorum profedionihiis, odo continens tradatus; and (b) Introdudormm in Astronomiam Albumazaris Aba- ladii, odo continens libros padiales. Both were printed at Vienna, 1489. The latter treatise deals with objectors to astrology, and is specially severe on the more ignorant medical practitioners (plebaei medicinae professores) who neglect the science, as contrasted with the skilled and experienced physicians who acknowledge its value. See Introdiid. in Asiron. lib. i. cap. 5, entitled ' De Utilitate Astrologiae.' JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE, 263 siGut in lege Christiana ; atque non habet confirmationem per tot scripturas authenticas^ nec habet tarn nobiles articulos secundum quod prius expositum est secundum philosophos. Et ideo oportet quod lex Christi obtineat principatum. Sed in morali philosophia hoc ex propriis erit planum. Nam non solum sic in universali investigant leges, sed determinant tempora inceptionum earum et finem aliquarum. Et hoc Threekinds investigant per conjunctiones planetarum, et per revolutiones j\xnction of motuum eorum. Albumazar igitur in libro coniunctionum et Ji^^piter and ^ Saturn, caeteri astronomi determinant tres esse Saturni et Jovis con- junctiones, magnam scilicet, majorem, et maximam. Magna est, qua conjungitur in omnibus viginti annis in quocunque signo hoc sit. Jupiter enim perficit suum cursum in duodecim annis, et Saturnus quasi in triginta annis, et ideo fit ut post viginti annos junguntur in nono signo ab eo, in quo prius juncti fuerant ; et post alios viginti in quinto a primo ; et post tertios viginti iterum in illo primo, Et haec est conjunctio magna, quae fit in hac triplicitate duodecies, vel aliquando terdecies. Primum enim signum, quintum, et nonum faciunt triplicitatem. Et haec conjunctio dicitur significare pluries super sublimationem regum et potentum, et super gravitatem annonae, et super ortus prophetarum. Et postquam totiens in ista triplicitate conjuncti fuerint, ut ad aliam mutentur, tunc vocatur conjunctio major. Et hoc fit in omnibus ducentis quadraginta annis vel circiter, et significat super sectam et mutationem ejus in quibusdam regionibus. Etquando mutata fuerit conjunctio ab ista triplicitate in aliam, ut a fine Cancri ad initium Arietis, tunc dicitur maxima, per revolutionem Saturni triginta duabus vicibus, et fit omnibus nongentis sexaginta annis, et significat super mutationes imperiorum et regnorum, et super impressiones ignitas in acre, et super dilu- vium, et super terrae motum et gravitatem annonae. Et una One of the major vel fere maxima fuit xxiv anno Augusti Caesaris, quam occurred at dixerunt sapientes astronomi significare super legem Mercuri- Christian era alem futuram. Et in libro, qui dicitur de mutatione vitae Ovidii, qui inscribitur de Vetula, propter quam mutatio fuerat facta, refertur Ovidius Naso locutus fuisse de hac conjunctione, et ex ejus dispositione prorupisse in admirationem sectae 264 OPERIS MJJORIS PARS QUARTA. Mercurialis producendae in mundum per prophetam nasci- turum de virgine absque maris commixtione, quam futuram esse praedixit post illam conjunctionem per annos sex, ita quod secundum ipsum nasceretur xxx anno Octaviani Augusti. Nam xii anni fluxerunt a morte Julii usque ad Actium bellum, in quo plene obtinuit imperium Octavianus Augustus. Nam ante magis laboravit ut acquireret regnum, quam possedit. Et tunc Christus fuit natus xxx anno Octaviani. Si vero computentur illi xii anni de regno ejus, tunc Christus fuit natus xlii anno Augusti, secundum quod alii computant Sed in idem redit. Gessit enim Augustus quinque bella civilia magna infra illos xii annos, ut narrant historiae, et maxime Orosius in libro de Ormesta^ Mundi. Ultimum vero fuit ad Actium, in quo Antonium et Cleopatram devicit et quievit imperium in pace, Loquens igitur Ovidius de conjunctione majore et fere maxima dicit in metro suo hoc modo, * Una quidem talis fatali tempore nuper Caesaris Augusti fuit anno bis duodeno A regni novitate sui, quae significavit Post annum sextum nasci debere prophetam, Absque maris coitu de virgine, cujus habetur Typus, uti plus Mercurii vis multiplicatur. Cujus erit concors complexio prima futurae Sectae nam nusquam de signis sic dominatur Mercurius sicut in signo Virginis.' Et prima facies Virginis ascendebat in oriente, quando conjunctio ilia facta fuit. Et fuit conjunctio ilia propc caput Arietis. Si enim revolvamus motus Saturni et Jovis ad tempus illud, inveniemus eos fuisse conjunctos per medios cursos suos ante nativitatem Christi per sex annos, quinque dies, et tres horas ; et erat medius cursus utriusque in Ariete decem gradus, Ivi minuta, lii secunda. Medius vero ^ The title, Ormesta Mundi, was often applied to the encyclopaedic work of Orosius. Ducange throws out the suggestion that Ormesta is a misreading for Orchestra, scene or spectacle. But this seems hardly a satisfactory explanation of the word. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 265 motus octavae sphaerae erat ex signis circuli parvi decern gradus, quinque minuta, li secunda, xxvii tertia, et erat minuenda a locis omnium planetarum ; unde remanserunt de Ariete ii gradus, xiv minuta, xlii secunda. Cum ergo differentia inter duas conjunctiones per cursus medios addat viii signa, ii gradus, xxv minuta, xvii secunda, sequitur quod praecedens conjunctio fuerat in Cancro xxix gradibus, li minutis, xxv secundis, et ita mutata fuit triplicitas a signo aquatico ad igneum. Si vero haec conjunctio fuisset propinquior capiti Arietis, fuisset maxima, et tunc erant anni Graecorum perfecti trecenti quinque et novem menses, et fere xviii dies, quod potest probari per tabulas annorum. Per revolutiones vero motuum planetarum considerant illud Influence of idem. Nam Albumazar octava differentia libri secundi de revolutions conjunctionibus dicit, quod mora sectae et regni et permutatio ^^j^^^^^^*^^^ accidunt praecipue secundum quantitatem decem revolutionum religious Saturniarum, praecipue si Saturno conveniat mutatio ad signa '^^^^"S^- mobilia, quae sunt Cancer, Libra, Capricornus, Aries, dummodo Jupiter fuerit cadens ab eo. Sed si Jupiter fuerit cum eo, aut aspiciat eum, minuet multum de malo propter ejus bonitatem. Quando enim fuerunt completae decem revolutiones Saturni in diebus Darii, fuit apparitio Alexandri magni, et destructio regni Persarum. Et circiter post decem alias revolutiones completas apparuit Jesus filius Mariae, super quem sunt orationes cum permutatione sectae. Et quando completae sunt decem aliae apparuit Meni ^ et venit cum lege quae est inter Paganos et Nazarenos. Et post decem alias venit Mahometus, et fortasse illud est ante complementum decem revolutionum, ut in revolutione nona, et forsan post, ut in undecima. Et illud est secundum quantitatem ejus, quod exigunt conjunctiones praemissae, quae sunt fortiores istis revolutionibus. Et similiter mutatur citius vel tardius secta secundum proprietates planetarum dominantium regnis diversis, ut Saturnus Indiae dominatur, Jupiter Babyloniae, Mars Thraciae, Sol Romanis et imperio eorum, Mercurius Aegypto, Luna Asiae. ^ Meni, commonly written Manes, is the originator of the Manichaean heresy, which arose in Mesopotamia towards the end of the third century. 266 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Destruc- Et dc destructione legis Mahometi pulchre et certitudina- Mahom- ^i^er loquuntur. Nam secundum quod Albumazar dicit viii medanism. capitulo secundi libri, non potest lex Mahometi durare ultra sexcentos nonaginta tres annos. Sed tantum valet durare et durabit nisi propter aliquam causam coincidentem abbrevietur tempus secundum quod prius tactum est, quod abbreviatio potest fieri major et minor ex causis diversis. Et nunc est annus Arabum sexcentesimus sexagesimus quintus ^ a tempore Mahometi, et ideo cito destruetur per gratiam Dei, quod debet esse magnum solatium Christianis. Propter quod laudandus est Deus, qui philosophis dedit lumen sapientiae, per quod lex veritatis confirmatur et roboratur, et per quod percipimus inimicos fidei destrui debere. Et huic sententiae concordat Apocalypsis xiii capitulo. Nam dicit quod numerus bestiae est 663, qui numerus est minor praedicto per XXX annos. Sed scriptura in multis locis subticet aliquid de numero complete, nam hie est mos scripturae, ut dicit Beda. Et hie forsan voluit Deus, quod non exprimeretur totaliter, sed aliquantulum occultaretur, sicut caetera quae in Apocalypsi scribuntur. Unde ante tempus ultimum quod isti sectae determinatur, secundum ejus causam principalem, prout determinat Albumazar, forsan continget quod Saraceni destruentur aut per Tartaros aut Christianos. Et jam major pars Saracenorum destructa est per Tartaros, et caput regni quod fuit Baldac, et Caliph qui fuit sicut papa eorum. Jam haec facta sunt xii annis elapsis ^. Planetary Et quamvis loquantur de sectis, et sectae dependent ex rnerefy^°°^ libertate rationis, tamen non imponunt aliquam necessitatem signs of the ]ibero arbitrio, dicentes planetas esse signa innuentia nobis ea future, but 5 r o co-opera- quae Deus disposit ab aeterno fieri sive per naturam, sive per fluences voluntatem humanam, sive per rationem propriam secundum though beneplacitum suae voluntatis. Ita dicitur in libro de cursibus not com- pulsory. 1 Arabic years of 354 days make very nearly 644 of our years, which added to 622 the date of the Hejira brings the date to 1267, the year in which Bacon was writing. 2 The capture of Baghdad, called by Bacon and others Baldac, by Halagu, grandson of Chinghis Khan, was in the 656th year of the Hejira, which counting Arabic years, would bring the date to 1258 of our era. But Halagu s expedition had begun three years before. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE, 267 planetarum. Et praeterea dicunt quod voluntas non cogitur, sed tamen corpus alteratur per virtutes coelorum, et tunc anima corpori unita excitatur fortiter et inducitur efficaciter, licet in nullo cogatur, ut velit gratis sequi inclinationes corporis ad actus privates vel publicos, et ad bonos sicut ad malos, ut sic opiniones et sectae et mutationes consuetudinum inducantur per aliquem famosum in populo et potentem, secundum quod praevisum fuit et praecognitum a Deo ; ita quod planetae sic non solum sint signa, sed aliquid faciant in excitando. Et cum posuerunt Dominum Jesum Christum esse Deum et hominem, ut Ethicus astronomus manifeste dicit in Cosmo- graphia, et Alchimus similiter, necnon et in illo libro qui inscribitur, Oviditis de vetida, Deum incarnari in Christo colligitur, attribuentes ei quod soli homini denegatur, volunt quod dispositio coelestis potuit esse in signum conceptionis Virginis, et nativitatis illius Hominis, in quantum homo, sicut Stella praestitit signum in ejus nativitate, secundum quod dicitur in libro cursuum planetarum, quod planetae omnes et caeterae stellae aliter Deo homini facto, aliter puro homini, aliter creatori, aliter creaturis famulantur. Voluit ergo Deus res suas sic ordinare, ut quaedam quae futura praeviderit vel praedestinaverit rationabilibus per planetas ostenderentur, ideo scilicet ut mens humana Dei mirifica recognoscens in amorem sui conditoris succensa excresceret. Et ideo volunt quod innuere et significare possunt coelestia hoc opus deificum conceptionis et nativitatis, quatenus creatura attestetur suo creatori in carne venienti. Sicut contra naturam sol obscura- tus fuit in passione ; propter quod philosophi haec videntes dixerunt, quod aut aliquid Deus naturae patiebatur, aut tota mundi machina dissolveretur. Et proculdubio volunt quod impossibile sit Deum subjici creaturae, nec quod istud opus divinum in quantum fuit a virtute infinita et supra naturam, aliquo modo fuerit subjectum dispositioni coelesti : sed solum quod illud fuerat in signum. In quantum tamen Virgo mun- dissima fuit vera mater et naturalis Domini Jesu Christi, et operata fuerit ex virtute natural! in praeparando materiam et in fovendo post conceptionem et in hujusmodi, posuerunt virtutem coeli cooperatam fuisse virtuti naturali Virginis 268 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. gloriosae, et excitasse earn in quantum naturaliter operabatur, quia homo generat hominem et sol. Si enim aliquid naturale fuerit in ilia conceptione per materiae praeparationem et fomentum in utero et hujusmodi, in quantum fuerat naturalis et vera mater, non aestimant inconveniens ponere coelestem dispositionem esse plus quam signum, consideratis pure natu- ralibus. Sed quicquid dicunt in hac parte, hoc ad regulam fidei reducendum est, ut a catholica veritate non discordet. Et licet omnia et ad plenum non sufficiant ostendere secreta istius sectae, tamen an sit haec secta, et qualis sit in universali, pulchre attestantur, ut satis admirantes sapientiam eis datam facile excusemus eorum ignorantiam, quia defecerunt a plena certificatione ritus Christiani, cum in eo non fuerant instructi. Et laudare debemus, quod nobiscum concordant et confirmant nostram professionem. Sed in tertia parte moralis philosophiae de hac confirmatione abundantior fiet sermo. Astrology Et quoniam post legem Mahometi non credimus quod iis^to^fore- ^liq^^^ secta veniet nisi lex Antichristi, et astronomi similiter tell the concordant in hoc, quod erit aliquis potens qui lee^em foedam time when . ^ ^ . , , Antichrist et magicam constituet post Mahometum, quae lex suspendet shall come, omnes alias, multum esset utile ecclesiae Dei considerare de tempore istius legis, an cito veniet post destructionem legis Mahometi, an multum longe. Et Ethicus philosophus in sua Cosmographia dicit expresse, quod gens quae fuit clausa infra portas Caspias irruet in mundum et obviabit Antichristo et eum vocabit Deum Deorum. Et proculdubio Tartari fuerunt infra portas illas et exiverunt. Jam enim fractae sunt portae, sicut certi sumus. Nam fratres minores ^, quos dominus rex Franciae Ludovicus qui nunc regnat misit, transiverunt cum Tartaris per medium portarum ultra longe inter montes, ubi fuerunt inclusi. Et notum est non solum omnibus nationibus orientis quod Tartari exiverunt a locis eis, sed et eis qui bene sciunt mundi dispositionem, et noverunt partes habitabiles et regionum diversitates per astronomiam, et per auctores alios ut Plinium et Martianum et caeteros qui mundi regiones describunt, et per historias. Nolo hie ponere os meum in ^ Much will be said in the course of the work of this important mission, of which William Rubruquis was the leader. JUDICIA ASTRONOMIAE. 269 coelum, sed scio quod si ecclesia vellet revolvere textum sacrum et prophetias sacras, atque prophetias Sibyllae, et Merlini et Aquilae, et Sestonis, Joachim et multorum aliorum, insuper historias et libros philosophorum, atque juberet con- siderari vias astronomiae, inveniretur sufficiens suspicio vel magis certitudo de tempore Antichristi ^. Sed haec hactenus. Nunc vero inferam secundum ^ quod Reform tion of ^ The subject of Astrology is again discussed at the end of the geographical Julian section in what may almost be regarded as a distinct treatise. Calenc It has often been remarked that Roger Bacon was supported by Albertus Magnus, by Aquinas, and indeed, all the best thinkers of his time in his convic- tion of the truth of astrology. To a believer in a limited and spherical universe with a terrestrial centre, nothing could seem more valid as a working hypothesis for explaining physical changes on the earth's surface than that alterations of the directions in which the planets were seen should be followed by corre- sponding alterations of terrestrial objects. The combinations of planetary bodies as seen in conjunction, in opposition, or in intermediate positions, offered a wide field of speculation, which became practically boundless when to the appa- rent relation of these bodies to one another were added their apparent relations (also ever varying) with the fixed stars. Human and terrestrial events com- plicated as they might be, were paralleled by equal complication in the play of celestial forces. It may be said on the whole that so far from belief in astrology being a reproach to Bacon and his contemporaries, to have disbelieved in it would have been in the thirteenth century a sign of intellectual weakness. It conformed to the first law of Comte's philosophia prima as being the best hypo- thesis of which the ascertained phenomena admitted. When the universe was unlocked by the Copernican theory, it might have been supposed that astrology would speedily disappear. Yet it was not so. Francis Bacon, writing three centuries and a half after Roger Bacon, had not abandoned belief in it, and Campanella's work {Astrologicorum lihri sex) pub- lished in 1629, a treatise that Roger Bacon might himself have written. 'Sunt causae ipsae stellae,' says Campanella (lib. ii. i), nedum signa, ut optima probat S.Thomas; corporearum mutationum per se, voluntariarum per accidens. . . . Omne judicium astrologicum aut est de mutationibus aeris et maris et telluris; unde de penuria et abundantia rerum nobis utilium et noxiarum ratiocinamur ; aut de monarchia et rerum publicarum initiis et mutationibus, et de gentium et legum et morum translationibus et civitatum et provinciarum ; aut de cujusque hominis ortu vita morte et eventibus, aut tandem de bonis malisque electionibus rerum agendarum. ^ In Opus Tertium, chap. 68, p. 274, there is an almost exact repetition of what follows in the next sixteen pages. [In O. these are altogether omitted. The Cottonian MS. CJul.) supplies them.] It is probable that the scribe copied the MS. of Opus Tertium ; since in the passages of that work here referred to, Bacon explains that what had been said in the copy of Opus Majus sent to the Pope on the subject of the Calendar, was not in all respects correct, so that, he goes on to say, ' hie iterum feci transcribi et correxi.' 270 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. non solum expedit ecclesiae, sed quod maxime decet earn, et quod sine grandi periculo et confusione vitari non potest ; quamvis tamen longis temporibus jam accidit multiplex abusus. Et quoniam totus hie error procedit ex pura igno- rantia et negligentia considerationis, tanto est vilior coram Deo et hominibus Sanctis, et apud omnes,non solum sapientes astronomos. Sed et computistae vulgati sciunt multiplicem errorem, et scribunt super hoc sicut et astronomi, quorum utrorumque scripta per Dei ecclesiam vulgata sunt, in quibus errores hi notantur, et de remediis datur consiHum. Sed nullus propter concilium generale ausus est facere remedium. Quod autem intendo hie est de correctione calendarii quo utitur ecclesia. Julius quidem Caesar in astronomia edoctus complevit ordinem calendarii secundum quod potuit tempore suo ; et sicut historiae narrant contra Achorium astronomum et Eudoxum ejus doctorem disputavit in Aegypto de quantitate anni Solaris, super quam fundatum est calendarium nostrum. Unde, sicut Lucanus refert, ipse dixit, ' Non mens Eudoxi vincetur fastibus annus.' That Sed non pervenit Julius ad veram anni quantitatem, quam makes the pouit esse in calendario nostro ccclxv dies et quartam diei in- long^by ^^S^^^ ' quae quarta colligitur per iv annos, ut in anno bisextili of a computetur unus dies plus in quarto anno, quam in aliis annis communibus. Manifestum autem est per omnes computistas antiquos et novos, sed et certificatum est per vias astronomiae, quod quantitas anni Solaris non est tanta, immo minor. Et istud minus aestimatur a sapientibus esse quasi cxxx""* pars unius diei ^. Unde tamen in cxxx annis superflue computatur unus dies, qui si auferretur, esset calendarium correctum quoad hoc peccatum. Et ideo cum omnia quae sunt in calendario fun- ^ That the length of the year was wrongly given in the Julian Calendar must have been known to the small group of Arabian men of science who studied Ptolemy's Almagest. But that the amount of the error was not matter of common knowledge half a century after the Opus Majus was written, is shown by the passage in Dante {Paradho, xxvii. 142-3), where the error is spoken of as being the hundredth part of a day. The difference between and ^ is considerable to those who know Dante's minute and precise way of dealing with such questions. The mean length of the equinoctial year is 365^, 5'', 48™, CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 271 dentur super quantitatem anni Solaris, necesse est ea vacillare, postquam est erroneum fundamentum. Deinde accidit alius error major, scilicet de fixione aequi- It takes no , . , ^ , . , account of noctiorum et solstitiorum ^ Nam hic error non solum ex changes in quantitate anni exoritur, sed habet in se graves errores. .^^"^^ ^ ... equinoxes Ponuntur autem aequinoctia et solstitia in diebus fixis, ac si and of semper fuissent ibi et debeant esse in aeternum. Sed certum solstices, est astronomis quod non figuntur, immo ascendunt in calen- dario, sicut per tabulas et instrumenta probatur sine dubita- tione. Et in principio ecclesiae ponebatur solstitium hyemale viii calendas Januarii in die nativitatis Domini, et aequinoc- tium vernale viii calendas Aprilis in festo annuntiationis Virginis gloriosae, et solstitium aestivale viii calendas Julii, scilicet in die nativitatis beati Johannis Baptistae, et aequinoc- tium autumnale viii calendas Octobris. Et istius opinionis fuit Hippocrates medicus^; cui Christian! facile concordabant, propter hoc quod beatus Joannes dixit, Ilium oportet crescere, me vero minui. Unde expositores aliqui sacrae scripturae posuerunt Dominum natum quando dies crescit, et hoc est in solstitio hyemali ; et Johannem Baptistam nasci quando dies incipiunt minui, ut in solstitio aestivali. Et Isidorus fuit istius opinionis Hippocraticae. ut patet ex viii libro Etymologiarum, et sanctus Anatolius, qui in principio ecclesiae de hujusmodi disputavit. Sed postea mutaverunt haec viri ecclesiastici, et statuerunt aequinoctium vernale esse xii calendas Aprilis, sicut dicit Beda in libro temporum, quod usque nunc tenetur. Et hoc manifestum est omnibus qui aliquid sciunt de computo, et qui considerant usum ecclesiae. Nam sicut in lege veteri post aequinoctium vernale quando luna fuerat xiv celebrabatur Pascha, sic ecclesia ordinavit quod terminus Paschae sit ibi, et in dominica sequente celebraretur Pascha ; quia oportet quod ^ It should be noted that the time of the solstifia in the middle of the thirteenth century coincided ahnost exactly with that of the sun's apogee and perigee (aux et oppositum augis). In our own time the former occur about nine days before the latter. The perigee and apogee have a progressive motion on the ecliptic of ii''- 8 annually. The retrograde motion annually of the equator on the ecliptic (precession of the equinoxes) is 50". i. 2 Hippocrates of Chios the geometer, not Hippocrates of Cos the physician, is presumably meant. They were contemporaries. 272 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. in die dominica fiat festum istud apud Christianos, et ideo non possumus celebrare Pascha xiv luna, sed in dominica sequente. Et posuerunt quod primum Pascha sit xi calen- das Aprilis ut nuUo modo sit ante, propter hoc quod aequinoctium dixerunt figi in xii calendas ubi luna potest aliquando esse xiv. Nam sicut dicit Beda in computo suo, ecclesia non utitur xiv luna quae praecedit aequinoctium, sed quae est in aequinoctio, vel post ipsum ; et ipsum aequinoc- tium, ut dicit, est xii calendas Aprilis, et ibi est primus terminus Paschae, sicut omnes computistae sciunt ; quod si sit in die sabbati, tunc in crastino potest esse Pascha quia dies dominicus est. Et ideo propter rationem aequinoctii fixam in xii calendas Aprilis, dicit ecclesia quod infimum Pascha est in xi calendas Aprilis. Theseoccur Sed quamvis usus ecclesiae tenuit in principio aequi- earlier than ^. ^ ^ . , in the noctium csse vni calendas et postea mutavit, et teneat nunc official aequinoctium fixum xii calendas Aprilis, tamen certum tables at ... ir j the rate of est quod aequmoctmm istud non est in locis illis, sed one day m j^^^ ascendit in calendario lon^e ab his locis, et similiter 125 years. ^ & 5 solstitia et reliquum aequinoctium. Nam hoc anno fuit solstitium hyemale idibus Decembris per duodecim dies ante nativitatem Domini, et aequinoctium vernale iii idus Martii, et solstitium aestivale est xvii calendas Julii, et aequi- noctium autumnale xvi calendas Octobris. Et hoc potest non solum astronomus certificare, sed quilibet laicus ad oculum perspicere per casum radii Solaris, nunc altius, nunc inferius ad parietem vel aliud, secundum quod quilibet potest notare. Et mutabuntur ab his locis in temporibus succeden- tibus, quia post annos circiter xciv, scilicet anno Domino mccclxi, erit solstitium hyemale pridie idus Decembris et aequinoctium vernale iv idus Martii, et solstitium aestivale xviii calendas Julii, et aequinoctium autumnale xvii calen- das Octobris, scilicet quodlibet eorum per unum diem ante- quam sit modo. Nam post annos circiter cxxv ascendit per unum diem. Et hoc accidit ex errore quantitatis anni, quia sol circiter tantum tempus deficit de quantitate anni, quo utitur calendarium, per unum diem. Et hoc est quod plus concordat cum annis quos computamus ab In- CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 273 carnatione. Nam Ptolemaeus anno cxl ab Incarnatione invenit aequinoctium vernale xi calendas Aprilis et solsti- tium hyemale xi calendas Januarii, ut patet ex Almagesti. Sed ab hoc loco in calendario usque ad idus Decembris, ubi nunc est solstitium, sunt ix dies quibus ascendit hoc solstitium. Sed ab anno probationis Ptolemaei sunt nunc de annis Domini mcxxvii eo quod nunc sit annus Domini mcclxvii, a quibus si demantur cxl, qui fluxerunt ab Incarnatione usque ad probationem Ptolemaei, remanebunt mcxxvii anni. Sed in isto tempore nunc dicto cxxv anni reperiuntur novies et duo anni ultra. Quapropter hoc tempus, scilicet cxxv anni, satis convenit cum numero annorum Christi, ut semper unus dies in tanto tempore minuatur de quantitate anni, et denotet mutationem solstitii et aequinoctii. Protestor tamen quod in tanta difficultate non loquor There are praecise, sed multum propinque veritati certificandae, usque ^^^^ ^^^^ quo currat finalis probatio super anni quantitate et mutatione further in- solstitiorum. Per jam dicta tamen secundum probationem ^estigation. Ptolemaei non potuit in viii calendas esse solstitium hyemale in tempore nativitatis Domini, sed oportuit quod in decimo calendas fuerit ; eo quod in clx annis a tempore nativitatis usque ad probationem Ptolemaei non potuit mutari solsti- tium per tres dies, nec per duos, sed per unum et parum de alio. Et ideo x calendas Januarii potuit esse secundum hoc quod Ptolemaeus invenit xi calendas. Et cum per eandem probationem Ptolemaei potuit aequinoctium primo anno nativitatis fuisse xi calendas Aprilis, non potuit esse viii sicut primo crediderunt in ecclesia primitiva, et longe magis non potuit esse xii calendas Aprilis, sicut nunc creditur secundum usum ecclesiae. Quia cum semper ascen- dit aequinoctium, et in tempore Ptolemaei fuit xi calendas Aprilis, tunc ante illud tempus fuit retro hunc locum magis versus Aprilem ; et ideo x calendas secundum probationem Ptolemaei. Secundum haec igitur neque sunt aequinoctia et solstitia fixa, nec sunt fixa illis diebus quibus usus fuit in ecclesia. Nec fuit Hippocrates longe a veritate, quoniam ipse fuit ante Christum plus quam ccc annis, et ideo potuit VOL. I. T 274 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. esse aequinoctium temporibus suis viii calendas vel prope, scilicet vii. Hence Sed tertium inconveniens est longe majus. Nam, ut prius grSvoiis tactum est, Veritas est, quod sine errore debet Pascha celebrari errors as to die dominica post xiv lunam quae invenitur vel in aequi- the time of ^. , / . . ^ , ^ . keeping noctio, vel post aequinoctium vernale, propter conformitatem Easter. legis Christianae ad legem antiquam propter Paschae solemnitatem quae primo fuit in lege veteri, et praecessit sicut figura novi Paschae. Cum igitur verum est quod aequinoctium sit iii idus Martii, et possibile est quod ibi sit luna xiv, scilicet in xiv anno cycli decemnovennalis, ut prima computetur pridie calendas Martii super C literam, oportet quod die dominica proxima post illam diem sit Pascha secundum veritatem. Sed non potest ab hac xiv luna dies dominica elongari plus quam usque ad xiii calendas Aprilis, ut patet in calendario. Sed hoc est ante xi calendas Aprilis ubi primum Pascha celebrat ecclesia. Quare in illo anno xiv cycli celebrabitur Pascha gloriosum tempore non suo. Et idem accidit in tertio anno cycli, ut patet per aureum numerum in calendis Martii. Nam xii calendas Aprilis vel citra erit Pascha. Et quoniam potest contingere dies dominica in his annis pridie idus Martii, et idibus, et sic ultra, usque ad xii calendas Aprilis, ideo multipliciter debet fieri Pascha in illis diebus, quod observari non potest si primum Pascha sit xi calendas Aprilis. Et quoniam aequinoctium verum ascendit plus et plus, ita quod circiter mcccclxxxi annum erit v idus Martii, et sic ascendendo ulterius versus principium Martii secundum computationem calendarii, et ultra Martium continue propter errorem de falsitate anni, necesse est quod Pascha fieret circa principium Martii vel in Februario, et sic semper antecedendo secundum antecessionem aequinoctii. Sed hoc est inconveniens maxi- mum ; quia sic non solum Pascha, sed Quadragesima et omnia festa mobilia recederent horribiliter a statu suo, et confunderetur totus ordo ecclesiastici officii. Praeterea cum secundum veritatem Pascha potest celebrari ante xi calendas Aprilis secundum aequinoctiorum veritatem, et hoc per multos dies et quot volumus secundum quod aequinoctium CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 275 antecedit, oportet quod verum Quadragesimae principium similiter ascendat antequam incipiatur secundum usum ecclesiae, et ita in vera Quadragesima carnes per multos dies comedentur ; et in tantum potest aequinoctium antecedere, quod tota Quadragesima vera erit in tempore quo Christiani comedent carnes, quod est absurdissimum. Et sic festum Paschale quo mundus salvatur, et festum Pentecostes quo gratia Dei diffusa est in ecclesiam, et caetera festa mobilia violantur : et per consequens alia festa immobilia, quia ilia cedunt Paschati et festis aliis sui generis, ut notum est evidenter. Et cum haec sunt horribilia ex se, sunt magis stulta et derisione digna ; quia propter ignorantiam et negli- gentiam diabolus procuravit quod sic accideret ecclesiae Dei. Nam non oporteret aliud, nisi quod certificarentur anni quantitas et aequinoctium. Et si peritissimis astronomis non denegatur certificatio quantitatis anni, tamen facilius est certificare aequinoctium, quia per centum et circiter viginti annos non mutatur nisi per unam diem secundum opinionem magis probatam nunc diebus. Et daretur ars de hoc, et etiam inveniretur aequinoctium per secula futura usque in finem mundi et ultra, quod facile est, et fierent tabulae et canones de hoc, et scriberentur per totam ecclesiam Dei, et ponerentur cum calendario, et tunc non accideret impedi- mentum in hac parte. Et similiter aliud aequinoctium inveniri posset, et solstitia de facili, et omnis error in his evacuaretur ad laudem et honorem Dei, et tollerentur infamia et scandalum, quae nunc multiplicantur apud omnes compu- tistas et astronomos et sapientes propter errores qui in hac parte vulgari ab ecclesia permittuntur. Sed majus inconveniens accidit ex primatione designata per The error aureum numerum in calendario. Nam quilibet potest videre Q^f^/;^^^^^ ad oculum, si aspiciat coelum, quod luna est prima secundum "^o^^ as 1 . 1 . . given in the veritatem per tres dies vel quatuor antequam signetur m calendar calendario, et in omnibus Ixxvi annis recedit primatio a loco ^^crpses ... at the rate suo in calendario per xvi minuta unius diei et xl secunda, of nearly et hoc est plus ^ quarta unius diei, et prope tertiam unius diei, in^y^ ye^j^Vs^ * I have corrected this passage from Opus Tertium, cap. 70. Minutmn unius diei means the sixtieth part of a day, i. e. twenty-four minutes. It does not T 'X 276 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. quia xvi minuta et xl secundae sunt sex horae et xl minuta unius horae. Et in omnibus ccciv annis recedit a loco prima- tionis in calendario per unum diem et vi minuta unius diei, et xl secunda. Et post 4.256 annos dicetur luna secundum calendarium prima, quando est plena lumine. Et post 7,904 annos erit error unius lunationis integrae, excepto modico, scilicet exceptis xxxviii minutis, et xxx secundis. Et hie error potest devenire ad centum lunationes, et tunc iterum redibit error primus, ut sequantur sequentes per ordinem, et sic in infinitum hi errores revolvuntur. Et quod haec omnia sint vera non est dubium peritis astronomis. Etiam quilibet computista novit, quod fallit primatio per tres dies vel quatuor his temporibus, et quilibet rusticus potest in coelo hunc errorem contemplari. ^^^.^^^"^^^ Quantumcunque vero brevius possum, aperlam grossam use does not declarationem errorum praedictorum. Nostrum vero calen- corres^Jond ^^^^""^ ponit cyclum deccmnovcnnalem esse aequalem xix to nineteen annis solaribus cum quarta integra sumptis, secundum quod solar years. ^^I^^^^^j^^ utitur hujusmodi anno solari, ut prius habitum est. Et hie cyclus continet lunationes omnes, quae con- tingunt in xix annis lunaribus. Et computantur ccxxxv quia quolibet lunari anno, qui dicitur communis, habemus xii lunationes, et illis addimus vii lunationes in toto cyclo decemnovennali ad restaurationem defectuum, qui accidunt xii lunationibus respectu xii mensium solarium in anno solari, quia annus lunaris consistens ex xii lunationibus non habet nisi cccliv dies integros, et Solaris habet xi plures, nam habet ccclxv. Et ideo annus lunaris citius finitur quam Solaris per xi dies ; et tunc colliguntur isti xi dies superflui usque ad tertium annum, et fit una lunatio seu mensis lunaris. Et sic in tertio anno cycli apponitur unus mensis lunaris, et vocatur embolismus et annus embolismalis, id est, superexcrescens, quia habet xiii lunationes, et sic ultra per totum cyclum semper colliguntur isti menses embolismales, ut fiant anni emboHsmales, quatenus cyclus seem quite clear why Bacon chose the numbers 4,256 and 7,904, except that they were multiples of 76. The error in the first period would be 15'^ 12^, 57"^, 36'', and in the second, 28', 19', 32™. CORRECTIO CALENDARIL ^11 lunationum decemnovennalis aequetur xix annis solaribus, Sed istud est impossibile. Nam secundum Ptolemaeum in Almagesti et omnes astronomos mensis lunaris non est proprie a visione novae lunae, quia hoc tempus est inaequale ; quia aliquando in mane ejusdem diei est novacula veteris lunae, et in vespere novacula novae lunae, et aliquando est spatium duorum dierum inter eas, et aliquando tres dies intercipiuntur, ut planum est sensui, et causae ab astronomis assignantur ; sed menses debent aequari. Item nec a con- junctione solis et lunae secundum eorum cursum verum, quia hoc tempus est inaequale ; et ideo considerabitur penes conjunctionem solis et lunae secundum utriusque eorum cursum medium et aequalem, quia hoc tempus est aequale et uniforme. Et secundum quod probat Ptolemaeus in Alma- gesti, hoc tempus est xxix dies, et xxxi minuta unius diei, et 1 secunda, et viii tertia, et ix quarta, et xx quinta. Et huic concordat Arzachel, qui fundavit tabulas suas super quantitatem anni lunaris, qui annus lunaris continet cccliv dies et quintam et sextam unius diei, id est, xxii minuta. , Et secundum hoc erit tempus aequalis lunationis xxix dies, et xxxi minuta et 1 secunda, quae multiplicata per xii faciunt cccliv dies et xxii minuta. Sed Arzachel omisit tertia Ptolemaei et quarta et quinta, quia in maximo tempore parum quantitatis adjiciunt. Posito ergo quod tempus aequalis lunationis sit xxix dies The et xxxi minuta et 1 secunda, accidit quod minimum tempus eyde^of reducens integras lunationes ad idem temporis principium est ^^^[^^g^^^^^^ xxx anni Arabum, qui continent ccclx lunationes integras ; Umar et continet dies io,6Qr praecise. Ouoniam cum una lunatio f ' ^ ^ preferable. sit xxix dies, et xxxi minuta, et 1 secunda, xii lunationes quae faciunt unum annum Arabum et annum unum lunarem, continebunt cccliv dies et xxii minuta unius diei. Sed cccliv multiplicata per triginta faciunt 10,620. et xxii multi- plicata per triginta faciunt xi dies integros, qui prioribus additi faciunt 10,631, reducentes primo lunationes aequales ad consimile temporis initium. Cum igitur xxx anni Arabum sint tempus minimum quod reducit integras lunationes ad consimile temporis initium, non est possibile ut aliud tempus 278 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA, hoc idem faciat, nisi sit ei aequale vel multiplex. Sed xix ^ anni calendarii nostri non aequantur xxx annis Arabum, nec sunt eis multiplices, quia xxx anni Arabum continent xxix annos solares et unum mensem et octo dies. Ergo relin- quitur quod xix anni solares non possunt aequari vero cyclo primationum, nec per consequens xix anni cycli decem- novennalis. Et ideo cyclus decemnovennalis non est verus cyclus primationum. Successive Praeterea istud potest magis in particulari manifestari, mneteen^^ ut appareant inconvenientia prius nominata. Nam singuli solar years xix anni solares non sunt aequales ad invicem, eo quod in are not of . . . .. the same pnmo cyclo sunt tantum quatuor bisextiles anni^ et m tnbus owmg to ^^^^^ ^^^^ quinque, quia quartus annus in primo cyclo bisextilis leap-years, est, et viii et xii et xvi, eo quod quartus annus semper sit bisextilis. Et ideo in secundo cyclo primus est bisextilis et sic ulterius, ita quod in illo sunt quinque, ut patet consideranti, et similiter in aliis duobus ; et tunc iterum redit cyclus qui habet quatuor bisextiles, et subsequuntur tres qui habent quinque, et sic semper currit ordo cyclorum. Primus autem cyclus annorum solarium xix praecise habet dies 6,939, et in illis assignantur ccxxxv lunationes. Sed si multiplicaverimus tempus aequalis lunationis, hoc est xxix dies, et xxxi minuta, et 1 secunda, in ccxxxv resultabunt 6,939 dies et xl minuta et 1 secunda, quae sunt plus quam duae tertiae unius diei. Quapropter completis xix annis habentibus tantum iv dies bissextiles, nondum completae sunt ccxxxv lunationes, sed desunt eis xl minuta et 1 secunda unius diei. Quilibet vero xix anni habentes quinque dies bisextiles habent dies 6,940. Unde cum ccxxxv lunationes aequales habeant 6,939 dies, et xl minuta, et 1 secunda, tunc xix anni habentes quinque annos bisextiles superant ccxxxv lunationes spatio xix minutorum, ct x secundorum, quod est fere tertia unius diei. Quod patet si de uno die. quo superfluunt nunc dicti xix anni super ccxxxv lunationes, subtrahantur xl minuta^ et 1 se- cunda, quibus illae lunationes superfluebant super xix annos habentes tantum quatuor dies bisextiles. Et ita patet, quod non quilibet xix anni solares aequantur sibi invicem. Sed ^ xxix in J. CORRECTIO CALENDARIL 279 quater xix anni redeunt ad idem temporis principium, qui faciunt Ixxvi annos, et semper aequantur aliis Ixxvi annis. Si ergo aggregentur ter xix minuta et decem secunda, quae quilibet xix anni habentes quinque bisextos addunt super ccxxxv lunationes, provenient nobis Ivii minuta et xxx secunda, quibus isti ter xix anni habentes quinque bisextos simul sumpti excedunt suas lunationes. Sed xix anni habentes tantum dies quatuor bisextiles sunt minores suis kmationibus in xl minutis et 1 secundis. Si igitur subtrahantur haec xl minuta et 1 secunda a praedictis Ivii minutis et xxx secundis, relinquentur xvi minuta et xl secunda, quibus quater xix anni solares, qui faciunt Ixxvi annos, excedunt suas luna- tiones. Et hie est primus error notabilis^ quern a principio notavi, ex quo sequitur secundus. Nam si accipiamus quater Ixxvi annos, qui faciunt ccciv annos, superabunt suas lunationes in quater ^ xvi minutis et xl secundis. Sed haec sumpta quater faciunt unum diem et sex minuta, et xl secunda. Relinquitur ergo error secundus, quod ccciv anni superant suas lunationes in uno die et vi minutis unius diei et xl secundis. Et ideo accidit quod post ccciv annos dicamus secundum calendarium lunam primam, ipsa existente majoris aetatis quantitate unius diei et vi minutorum et xl secun- dorum. Et si haec accidunt, manifestum est inquirenti, quod multiplicato tempore multiplicabuntur inconvenientia. Et ideo post 4,256 annos dicetur luna prima secundum computa- tionem calendarii, quando ipsa erit plena lumine. Et ulterius, quod una lunatio Integra superabundabit ; et tandem quod centum lunationes in maximo tempore superfluent, sicut patet per radices jam datas. Nec est necesse facere computationes majores pro praesenti persuasione, quia promptae sunt demon- strationes ad hoc, cum fuerit opportunum. Manifestissimus igitur est error primationum secundum calendarium, et non unus sed multiplex, nec parvus sed quasi infinitus. Et cum ita sit error cycli decemnovennalis in singulis annis. Error in sequitur quod similiter erit error in cyclis epactarum. Nam epacts. xi dies excrescentes in anno solari super annum lunarem * J. has quantitate. 28o OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. dicuntur epacta sequentis anni solan's, quasi epiaitcta, hoc est, superaugmentata ; et per illos xi dies majoratur aetas lunae in prime die sequentis anni, et per eosdem dies majoratur aetas lunae in principio cujuslibet mensis futuri anni super aetatem suam in principio cujuslibet mensis prions anni. Et quia hujusmodi errores contingunt, necesse est ut aetas lunae vera quaeratur aliter quam per hujusmodi cyclos. Superiority Et remedium horum omnium est, quod possumus cognoscere Arabicand pnmationem lunae secundum veritatem astronomicam, si of Hebrew numeremus tempora secundum annos et menses Arabum ; quia primus dies cujuslibet mensis anni Arabum est dies con- junctionis solis et lunae secundum eorum utriusque cursum medium. Unde si diem hunc volumus dicere primum diem aetatis lunae, tunc cognitis initiis mensium cognoscuntur ini'tia primationum. Quod si velimus inchoare primationes nostras prima die visionis lunae vel secunda vel tertia, in- cipiemus primationes nostras a secundo die vel tertio cujuslibet mensis Arabum, et procedemus uniformiter in computatione lunationum et nan proveniet nobis error. Et quia scientia annorum Arabum, et initia mensium eorum, dabit nobis verani cognitionem primationum, ideo non oportet nisi recurrere ad tabulas et canones annorum et mensium Arabum. Et hoc dico secundum doctrinam quae vulgata est apud astronomos Latinos et Arabes. Si tamen velimus alia via procedere, pos- sumus eadem certitudine sed majori auctoritate probare quae volumus, scilicet per tabulas Graecorum, et maxime Hebrae- orum. Nam a principio Hebraei fuerunt peritissimi in sapientia astronomiae ; et omnes nationes habuerunt hanc scientiam sicut caeteras ab eis, sicut probavi in superioribus. Et ideo si quis consideret tabulas Hebraeorum ad occasum solis Jerusalem, inveniet plenam in hujusmodi veritatem. In the Sed quamvis errores quos enumeravi sint horribiles secun- year^^i267 ^^"^ tamen non est comparatio ad eos qui ex jam dictis Lent begins sequuntur. Nam totus ordo ecclesiasticarum solemnitatum a week too confunditur per hujusmodi primationes erroneas secundum ^^te. calendarium, sicut per aequinoctiorum falsam fixionem. Et ne differam in alios annos ad evidentiam istius erroris, pono casum in hoc anno. Nam non solum media conjunctio solis CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 281 et lunae hoc anno fuit vi calendas Aprilis, super B literam, sed prima accensio limae et visio primae lunae. Ergo luna fuit xiv quinto idus Aprilis, super A literam, et xiv luna est terminus Paschae, ac dominica sequens est dies Paschae. Quare in B litera sequente, scilicet in crastino, videlicet iv idus Aprilis debet esse dies Paschae secundum veritatem. Sed modo transfertur usque ad octo dies ultra propter primationem sumptam juxta aureum numerum. Nam aureus numerus istius anni est xiv, qui ponitur iii calendas Aprilis super E literam, et ibi dicitur esse primatio secundum calendarium. Et ideo secundum hoc xiv luna, quae est terminus Paschae est pridie idus Aprilis, et in dominica sequente assignatur Pascha, scilicet xv calendas Mali, et sic per viii dies ultra veritatem. Quapropter solemnitas paschalis qua mundus sal- vatur non celebrabitur tempore suo, sed jejunatur hoc anno per totam septimanam Paschae veram. Nam jejunium exten- ditur per viii dies plus quam deberet. Et tunc sequitur aliud inconveniens, quod per octo dies tardius incipiebatur jejunium Quadragesimae ; ergo Christiani comedebant carnes in vera Quadragesima per octo dies, quod est absurdum. Et iterum tunc nec Rogationes nec Ascensio, nec Pentecostes, celebrantur hoc anno suis temporibus. Et sicut hoc anno 1267 accidit, ita accidet anno sequenti. Nam secundum aureum numerum erit Pascha iv idus Aprilis, scilicet 1268 anno Domini. Sed esse debet tertio nonas Aprilis per octo dies ante, quia luna prima est per tres dies antequam assignatur per aureum numerum. Et ideo quarto calendas Aprilis, vel saltern tertio, erit decima quarta luna quae est terminus Paschae ; quapropter in prima dominica sequente erit dies secundum veritatem. Et sicut hoc anno accidit, ita et saepius per antecessionem aequinoctii et primationis potest contingere quod Pascha non solum per octo dies, sed per multo plures celebretur antequam debeat, et caetera festa, sicut prius ex- positum est de aequinoctio. Nam per longitudinem temporis accidet lunaris diei primatio quando erit plena, et quando erit in quacunque distantia a sole, ut prius habitum est in erroribus primationum. Et ideo maximum inconveniens et intolerabile hie sequetur. 282 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. The Cum igitur omnes astronomi et computistae possunt videre o?easy I'^os eiTores, et omnis homo qui vult inclinare cervicem suam Wlica- ad veritatis inquisitionem potest hos intueri, necessarium esset et debitum ac Deo beneplacitum et hominibus sapientibus desideratum ut remedium poneretur. Et remedium facile esset ; nam inveniretur verum aequinoctium per tabulas astro- nomiae et per instrumenta, et verificaretur primatio per easdem considerationes, ut evacuarentur omnes modi errorum prae- dictorum, et xiv luna ab aequinoctio sumeretur, sive esset in die aequinoctii sive post eum, et ibi fieret terminus Paschae ut in die dominica sequente fieret dies paschalis. Et ideo non esset sequendus aureus Humerus, ut aliquid fixum super calendas. Et possent fieri tabulae de his primationibus et aequinoctiis, et secundum illas posset ordinari calendarium in anno et in mensibus secundum consimile artificium quo Hebraei utuntur. Objection Sed contra haec possit objici de synodo Nicaena, quae Council of statuit primationes paschales inveniri juxta cyclum decem- Nice, and noveunalem. Et beatus papa Leo, discussione facta de hujus- aftcrwards Pope Leo, modi contentione, tandem definivit adhaerere sententiae synodi ckkdlhe Nicaenae. Atque Beda in Hbrotemporum capitulo xliii nititur matter. quantum potest roborare hunc cyclum et primationes per decursum hujus cycli accidentes. Nam auctoritatem Nicaenae synodi et Leonis papae introducit et miraculum interponit. Nam cum multi voluerunt quodam tempore Pascha debere celebrari viii calendas Aprilis, et alii x calendas Maias secundum quod ordo cycli decemnovennalis exigebat, elisa est haec contentio per quoddam baptisterium, in quo nocte Paschae singulis annis replebatur fons sacer aqua per se, et baptizatis hominibus sicut venerat recedebat ; quod accidit decimo calendas Maias secundum quod cycli ratio exigebat, et non octavo calendas Aprilis. At that Sed haec si bene intelligantur non contradicunt veritati. error had Nam cum Euscbius Cacsariensis episcopus primo ordinaverat not become j^^^c cyclum, ipse parum fuit ante synodum Nicaenam, ita serious. y ' r i ^ quod cum ipse ordinavit veraciter hunc cyclum secundum quod cursus lunae tunc fuit, non potuit esse mutatio aliqua sensibilis in tempore quo celebrata fuit ilia synodus sacro- sancta. Et ideo sancti patres statuerunt hunc cyclum obser- CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 283 vari^ quia non habuit tunc errorem, nec diu postea habuit falsitatem notabilem. Unde cum papa Leo ^ fuerit post synodum Nicaenam quasi cxx annis, sub Martiano principe, manifestum est non posse primationem ad plus recessisse a loco suo in calendario a tempore Eusebii nisi per unum diem. Et cum ipse papa discussit hunc errorem, saltern dedit occasionem posterioribus considerandi veritatem in hac parte. Caeterum novus error fuit et non multum notabilis, et synodus Nicaena magnae auctoritatis fuit, propter quod non expedivit tunc temporis definitioni hujus synodi contraire. Etiam non invenit astronomos in ecclesia sufficientes ad Scientific hoc, quia a principio fuit astronomia odiosa Christianis, ^^"en^wjilf^ propter causas superius annotatas, scilicet in parte prima hujus not suffi- tractatus. Nec adhuc inventi sunt usque nunc qui darent gQ^^g remedia in hac parte. Nam bene fuerunt multi qui sciverunt settlement 11. • ^^'''^^ probare hos errores per vias astronomiae, et quantum erratur ; necessary. nec mirum, cum visus nobis multos ostendat ; et in universali dixerunt quae essent remedia, scilicet quod certificaretur quantitas anni, quod aequinoctia et solstitia invenirentur veraciter, quod primationes similiter ; et tangunt modos universales ad haec. Sed nuUus adhuc expressit nobis veram quantitatem anni, cum plena demonstratione, in qua non sit dubitatio. Similiter nec de aliis. Et ideo non fuit mirum si non fuerunt haec certificata temporibus ecclesiae primitivae, quando mathematica reputabatur inter artes suspectas et inutiles Dei ecclesiae, sicut multae aliae nobiles scientiae ^ Pope Leo was in doubt as to the day on which Easter should be celebrated in 455 A. D. According to the calculation of Theophilus of Alexandria, it should be the 8th before the Calends of May, that is on April 24. This seemed too late : for the view hitherto maintained was that Easter day should not be earlier than March 22, nor later than April 21. The Pope wrote on the subject to the emperor Martian who referred his letter to Proterius of Alex- andria. Proterius confirmed the view of Theophilus, and the Pope to avoid schism in the matter accepted his authority, and wrote to the bishops of the Western church in accordance with it. To avoid similar difficulties in future, he urged Victorias, a Gaul of Aquitaine, to construct a new paschal canon. Victorius multiplying the lunar cycle of nineteen years into the solar cycle of twenty-eight, produced a cycle of 532 years, beginning with the consulate of the Gemini which he took for the date of the Passion, and terminating in 559 A. D. This canon was usually followed by the Latin church afterwards. (See Fleury, Hist. Ecclesiast. lib. xxviii, ch, 51.) 284 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. propter quinque rationes in prima parte signatas. Synodiis igitur Nicaena decrevit cyclum observari dum haberet veri- tatem et quia illis temporibus non fefellit. Caeterum decrevit hoc teneri, ut vitaretur contentio juxta caput cujuslibet, donee accideret in ecclesia Dei potestas mathematicae, qua certifi- cari possunt omnia de quibus est contentio. Minus enim malum est sine comparatione unum inconveniens ad tempus tolerari propter impossibilitatem remedii, quam quod quilibet opinionem suam promulget aeque falsam sicut est ilia quae ab omnibus communiter sustinetur. Et sic loquitur Beda. Nam dicit, ' cum lunam sic secundum cycli rationem signabant, aliud majus periculum per hoc declinaverunt.' Et quod Beda adduxit miraculum, concedendum est quod illis temporibus non fuit error in cyclo, ut manifestum est, sed postea crevit et apparuit sensibiliter. Quod etiam adducit exemplum de lapide selenite, cujus splendor crescit cum luna primi mensis et decrescit, per quae cognoverunt antiquitus primationes paschales, istud non est pro cyclo, nisi dum habuit veritatem, sed magis contrarium : quia ille lapis ostendit nobis verum aequi- noctium, et decimam quartam lunam paschalem in eo vel post ipsum sumendam pro termino Paschae ; quod non potest hie cyclus his temporibus facere, nec unquam faciet, nec fecit diu ecclesiae. Caeterum Beda fuit circa tempora exordii cycli. Nam ipse refert in computo suo se tunc attigisse annum Domini septingentesimum primum. Et ab Incarnatione usque ad tempora Constantini, sub quo fuit synodus Nicaena, fuerunt cccxxxii anni secundum Bedam. Et ab hoc tempore usque ad Martianum principem fuerunt centum viginti anni, sub quo Leo papa fuit, qui sunt in universe cccclii. Ex quo patet, quod Beda non fuit per ccc annos postea, sed nec a synodo nisi per circiter ccclxix annos, et ideo non potuit lunatio multum recedere a loco suo. Nam ad plus per unum diem integrum et per aliquid de secundo, eo quod in ccc annis et iv fit mutatio unius diei. Et ideo propter causas prius tactas bene potuit cyclus observari in tempore Bedae, sicut in tempore Leonis papae. Sed tamen scrupulus dubitationis jam exortus fuit a tempore Leonis, et CORRECTIO CALENDARII. 285 augmentabatur haec dubitatio in tempore beati papae Hilarii, qui praecepit Victorio novum cyclum componere, in quo quia non fuit certitudo, sicut nec in decemnovennali, adhaeserunt posteriores consuetudini antiquae et statuto concilii Nicaeni. Patet ieitur ex his, quod salva omni auctoritate Nicaenae At present 11.- . ' ■ . r the im- synodi, potest cyclus hic immutari ; quia tunc error non tuit, perfections et sustinebatur ut vitaretur majus periculum ad tempus, donee ^^Jjj^^^^^ ecclesia posset habere astronomicam potestatem, per quam bring dis- solam potest remedium adhiberi. Nam primitiva ecclesia non habuit usum astronomiae. Et ideo postea usque nunc fuit omissa correctio hujus rei propter longam consuetudinem, et propter hoc quod usus astronomiae non fuit in usu praelatorum nec multitudinis studentium, nec adhuc est ; hcet aliqui sunt satis prompti et periti in hac parte. Debet autem nunc temporis remedium apponi propter istos errores manifestos et palpabiles, atque propter scandalum multiplex in ecclesia. Nam omnes literati in computo et astronomi sciunt haec, et derident ignorantiam praelatorum qui haec sustinent. Atque philosophi infideles, Arabes, Hebraei, et Graeci, qui habitant inter Chris- tianos ut in Hispania, et Aegypto, et in partibus orientis, et in multis aliis mundi regionibus abhorrent stultitiam quam conspiciunt in ordinatione temporum quibus utuntur Christiani in suis solemnitatibus. Et jam Christiani habet peritiam astronomiae, per quam potest fieri certificatio. Potest igitur Vestra Reverentia jubere, et invenietis homines qui praeclara remedia apponent in hac parte; et non solum in praedictis, sed in totius calendarii defectibus. Nam tredecim sunt radicales, et habent ramos quasi infinitos. Si igitur istud opus gloriosum fieret temporibus Vestrae Sanctitatis, tunc una de majoribus rebus et melioribus et pulchrioribus consummaretur quae unquam in ecclesia Dei fuerunt attentatae^. ^ Paul of Middelburg, bishop of Fossombrone, in his work, Paulina de recta Paschae celehratione (a. d. 1513) discusses the question of the Calendar with great fullness. Speaking of the confusion resulting from the error as to the length of the year and from the imperfection of the lunar C3'cle, he says, ' Quod animad- vertentes majores nostri exhortati sunt aliquando Romanos pontifices ut errori huic enormi succurrerent.' That he should not have mentioned Bacon's name in this connexion is the more strange that he does mention him in another part of his work, when he treats at some length of his conjecture as to the date 286 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. The value Postquam ^ declaratum est quomodo mathematica potenter matical^' rcquintur ad philosophiam et theologiam et Dei ecclesiam, science in nunc manifestandum est qualiter est necessaria rei piiblicae menfoTthe fidelium dirigendae. Et duobus modis principalibus valet, world. Uno scilicet mode propter cognitionem futurorum, praesentium, et praeteritorum ; alio mode in operibus utilibus. Cum vero humanum genus sit expositum infinitis periculis de futuro, summe necessarium est, ut habeat vias cognoscendi futura. Et cum Deus dedit homini majora, scilicet animam et corpus, et promittit vitam aeternam, non debuit denegare minora. Nam et sceleratis sol oritur et piratis patent maria ; qua- propter longe magis Deus debet bonis utilem cognitionem rerum, et praecipue multitudini, propter hoc quod in ea bonum publicum invenitur. Et quia semper aliqui boni et Deo placentes in mundo inveniuntur, ideo Deus mundo dedit multiplicem futurorum cognitionem, nec potest stare sine ea, ut docet Avicenna in primo de Anima, et decimo Metaphysicae. Prius vero tactae sunt radices de cognitione futurorum in ilia distinctione in qua de excusatione matliematicae disputavi, et ostensum est quod possibile est sufficiens judicium in omnibus, quod est scilicet medium inter necessarium et impossibile, et inter universale et particulare. Nam per haec mens humana illustratur, ut possit prudenter in omnibus dissere et utilitates sibi et aliis providere. Postea vero descendi ut res postulabat ad judicia specialia in humanis, scilicet in distinctione de sectis. Et si in rebus humanis et praecipue in hujusmodi fiat verum et utile judicium, multo magis in rebus naturalibus potest hoc fieri, tarn in particulari quam in propria disciplina. Et licet, ubi actum est de excusatione mathematicae, atque superius de comparatione virtutum coelestium ad haec inferiora, of the Passion. But the niajores whom he speaks of here are Peter d'Ailly and Nicolas of Cusa. The first of these had, as will be seen presently, copied into his Imago Mtmdi an extract from Bacon's Geographical treatise : and with regard to the lunar cycle, he advocated Bacon's view that the Arab cycle of thirty lunar years should be adopted. It is abundantly clear that the impulse to this reform was given by Bacon. By no previous writer had any attempt been made to apply astronomical science to the rectification of the Calendar. ' Bacon now passes to the subject of Geography. A survey of the planet was needed in order to estimate the dangers to the Church from foreign foes ; and generally for the exercise of the Pope's functions as universal bishop. GEOGRAPHIA. 287 sit tactum de cognitione locorum mundi et rerum generabilium Effect of 1 ^. , 1*1 i. astronomic in eis per coelestia, tamen nunc uberius hoc exponam trans- conditions eundo ad medicinam propter corpus humanum, cuius cognitio "'^ . . . 1 . . . organic magis est hommi necessaria quam alicujus rei altenus in hoc and mundo. Et non solum manifesto quomodo res in diversis "^^p^^^ ^ ^ nature. locis mundi cognoscuntur, sed quomodo in eisdem per tem- porum diversa curricula causantur. Effectus vero non cog- noscitur nisi per suam causam, ut certum est apud omnes ; sed coelestia sunt causae inferiorum, unde oportet quod sciant haec generabilia per ingenerabilia quae sunt coelestia. Quod vero coelestia non tantum sint causae universales, sed causae rerum inferiorum propriae et particulares, probatur per Aristotelem, qui dicit secundo de Generatione, quod elementa deterius agunt quam organa et instrumenta artificialia respectu artificis. Sed tota actio artificialis principaliter attribuitur artifici, ut aedifi- . catori, non ejus organo, ut securi. Ergo manifestum est quod coelo attribuitur operatio principalis omnium inferiorum, cum non sint agentia nisi coelum et elementa quae sunt ejus instru- menta. Praeterea hoc patet inductive. Nam in omnibus inanimatis coelum est causa particularis sine contradictione ; quia inanimata non generant aliquod, nec producunt individua suae speciei, quia lapis non generat lapidem, sicut homo hominem et asinus asinum. Manifestum est igitur quod virtus coeli incorporata in materiam elementorum producit omnia inanim.ata, et animata per putrefactionem similiter : nam circa eorum generationem non sunt nisi coelum et elementa. Prae- terea dicit Averroes septimo Metaphysicae quod idem facit virtus solis in materia putrefacta quod virtus patrum in seminibus, quare necesse est coelum esse causam particularem usque ad generationem rerum ex propagatione. Sed quod similiter sit ibi probo. Nam in Vegetabilibus Aristoteles dicit primo de plantis, quod sol est pater plantarum et terra mater ; et in Animalibus vult illud idem ; quia de homine, de quo minus videtur, dicit secundo Physicorum, homo generat hominem ex materia et sol, et constat quod pater non continuat nec terminat generationem, sed incipit tantum per decisionem seminis ; quapropter oportet quod continuans et perficiens generationem sit sol seu virtus coeli. Et non solum est coelum causa in 288 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. General principles of geo- graphy. Celestial and terrestrial equator and equi- noctial colure. recte generatis, sed in peccatis naturae et monstris. Nam Avicenna decimo octavo libro de Animalibus dicit ; Si embryo non potest recipere humanitatem, recipiet animalitatem sicut in rebus monstruosis : ut quando filius hominis habuit caput arietis, et agnus habuit caput tauri : quoniam virtus in eo induxit formam secundum figuras coelestes, quae accidunt unicuique. Et si ulterius descendamus, possumus causas rerum inferiorum magis prope investigare per coelestia. Primo vero articulus hie est, quod quihbet punctus terrae est conus unius pyramidis virtuosae coeli. Ut hoc autem certius planiusque videatur quod intendimus, necesse est considerare quae sit diversitas regionum mundi, et quomodo eadem regio in diversis temporibus variatur, et quomodo res diversae ejusdem regionis diversas reciplunt passiones in eodem tempore. Sed haec sciri non possunt, nisi quantitatem et figuram habitabilis terrae et cKmata ejus distinguamus. Quatenus vero ad haec deveniamus, oportet nos supponere mundum esse sphaericae figurae, sicut superius est demonstratum. Et imaginabimur tres hneas a mundi terminis ductas intersecantes se in centro mundi ad angulos rectos, ut una sit a dextro in sinistrum in coelo, et hoc est quod ab oriente in occidens per centrum mundi ducatur ; aha a sursum in deorsum, id est a meridie in septentrionem, et hoc est a polo antarctico ad polum arcticum, et tertia ab ante et retrOj id est a puncto medii coeH supra nos usque ad punctum oppositum in coelo sub terra. Et per quandam transump- tionem vocabuh vocatur angulus terrae. Sic docet nos Aristoteles imaginari sex diversas positiones in coelo in secundo Coeli et Mundi. Si igitur imaginabimur unum circulum transeuntem per oriens, et medium coeli, et occidens, et angulum terrae, hie dividit coelum in duas partes aequales, in medio ejus re- linquens unam medietatem respectu unius poli, et aliam respectu alterius, et vocatur aequinoctialis, et quia habitantes sub eo habent perpetuum aequinoctium, et quia omnibus habitatoribus terrae est aequinoctium quando sol venit ad ilium circulum et describit cam in die naturali : et hoc est in principio veris et in principio autumni, quando sol GEOGRAPHIA. 289 ingreditur capita Arietis et Librae. Si vero imaginemur alium circulum magnum, qui transeat per polos mundi et per fines orientis et occidentis, intersecantem priorem circulum ad angulos rectos, qui vocatur colurus transiens per aequinoctia, tunc coelum sic dividetur per quatuor quartas, quarum duae erunt supra terram in situ nostro, et aliae duae sub terra. Et erit una quarta septentrionalis supra nos, scilicet quae continebitur inter medietatem aequinoc- tialis circuli et duas quartas coluri dicti, terminatas ad polum arcticum ex una parte, et ex alia ad puncta orientis et occi- dentis apud aequinoctialem, ut patet in figura, et haec est quarta pars quae est supra. Consimili autem modo oportet nos imaginari terram sphaericam esse, et illae tres lineae praedictae transibunt per centrum terrae intersecantes se in eo ad angulos rectos ; nam sunt perpendiculares super eam, et quia in earum intersectione est centrum coeli et totius mundi, necesse est quod idem punctus sit centrum mundi et teiTae ; quia intersectio ista non est nisi in puncto uno, per quintam priml libri Theodosii de Sphaeris. Nam si linea recta descendat a coelo perpendiculariter ad superficiem contingentem sphaeram terrae, in ea erit centrum terrae, per illam quintam, quae dicit, Si sphaeram plana superficies contingat, a puncto vero contactus recta linea ad contingentem superficiem perpendicu- lariter ducatur, in eadem centrum sphaerae esse necesse est : sed ilia eadem linea erit perpendicularis ad superficiem con- tingentem sphaeram coeli, ergo in ilia erit centrum coeli, et haec linea est una trium dictarum. Similiter et utraque aliarum per eandem rationem transibit per centrum coeli et centrum terrae: sed quaelibet istarum non intersecat aliam nisi in puncto uno, ergo in eodem erit centrum terrae cum centro coeli, et propter hoc terra jacet in medio mundi. Et ideo si imaginemur circulos duos in terra respondentes circulis in coelo praetactis, unum sub aequinoctiali circulo trans- euntem per oriens et occidens, et punctum in terra sub puncto medii coeli ; et alium, per occidens et oriens et puncta in terra respondentia polis ; tunc per hos circulos dividetur terra in quatuor quartas, quarum duae erunt in superficie terrae in situ nostro ; et alia ex altera parte terrae. Et una erit VOL. I. U 290 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. septentrionalis, scilicet a medio terrae sub aequinoctiali usque ad punctum terrae sub polo arctico contenta infra lineas quae ab oriente et occidente concurrunt in polum sive punctum terrae polo suppositum. Et haec est quarta quam quaerimus, in qua est habitatio nota, et est sub quarta coeli prius notata. What pro- Habitatio ^ vero dupliciter consideratur ; uno modo respectu die earth's ^^^^^r scilicet, quantum propter solem potest habitari, et surface is quantum non. Et de hoc dictum est prius in universali, et tangetur posterius. Alio modo consideratur quantitas habi- tabilis respectu aquae, scilicet, quantum aqua impediat. Et hoc est modo considerandum. Ptolemaeus vero in libro de Dispositione Sphaerae vult quod fere sexta pars terrae est habitabilis propter aquam, et totum residuum est coopertum aqua. Et ideo in Almagesti secundo libro ponit quod habi- tatio nota non est nisi in quarta terrae, scilicet in qua habitamus ; cujus longitudo est ab oriente in occidens, et est medietas aequinoctialis ; et ejus latitudo est ab aequinoctiali in polum, et est quarta coluri. Sed Aristoteles vult in fine secundi Coeli et Mundi quod plus habitetur quam quarta. Et Averroes hoc confirmat. Dicit Aristoteles^ quod mare parvum est inter finem Hispaniae a parte occidentis et inter princi- pium Indiae a parte orientis. Et Seneca libro quinto Natura- lium dicit quod mare hoc est navigabile in paucissimis diebus, si ventus sit conveniens. Et Plinius ^ docet in Naturalibus quod ^ This paragraph, including half of that which follows, has a remarkable history. It is inserted without acknowledgement of its source in the Imago Mimdi of Cardinal d'Ailly (Petrus Alliacus), who died 1425, and whose work was printed at Louvain, 1480. It forms the greater part of the eighth chapter, entitled, ' De quantitate terrae habitabilis.' From this work it was quoted by Columbus in a letter written in October 1498 to Ferdinand and Isabella from Hispaniola. See Imago Mundi, fol. 13, b ; and Humboldt, Examen Critique, vol. i. pp. 61-70 and pp. 96-108 : also Cosmos, vol, ii. p. 621 (Bohn's ed.). Humboldt remarks that the Imago Mundi ' exercised a greater influence on the discovery of America than did the correspondence with the learned Florentine Toscanelli.' ^ Arist. De Coelo, ii. 14, § 15 hw tovs vTrokafx/SavovTas avvavT^iv tov vepl ras 'HpaicKdovs aTT]\as tottou rw inpi rrjV 'IvBiK-qv, Kai tovtov tov rpotrov uvai TTjV BaKaTTav fx'iav, nrj Xiav vnoXaf^PaveLf diriaTa doniiv. Cf. Seneca, Nat. Quaest. i. Prolog., ' Quantum enim est quod ab ultimis litoribus Hispaniae usque ad Indos jacet? Paucissimorum dierum spatium, si navem suus ferat ventus, implebit.' 2 Pliny, Nat. Hist. ii. 67. GEOGRAPHIA. 291 navigatum est a sinu Arabico usque ad Gades : unde refert quendam fugisse a rege suo prae timore et intravit sinum maris Rubri qui vocatur Arabicus, qui circiter spatium navi- gationis annualis distat a mari Indico secundum Hieronymum in epistola, ut inferius exponetur. Et ideo latitude terrae per quam decurrit mare Rubrum est magna valde ; ex quo patet principium Indiae in oriente multum a nobis distare et ab Hispania, postquam tantum distat a principio Arabiae versus Indiam. A fine Hispaniae sub terra tam parvum mare est quod non potest cooperire tres quartas terrae. Et hoc per auctoritatem alterius considerattonis probatur. More than Nam Esdras ^ dicit quarto libro, quod sex partes terrae sunt paJToUhe habitatae et septima est cooperta aquis. Et ne aliquis earth is 1-1 . 1. ^ 1-1 -1, habitable, impediat banc auctoritatem, dicens quod liber ille est apo- cryphus et ignotae auctoritatis, dicendum est quod sancti habuerunt ilium librum in usu et confirmant veritates sacras per ilium librum. Et pluries in officio divino utuntur auctoritatibus illius libri. Et ideo, sive Esdras sive alius hunc fecerit, supponendus est pro auctoritate. Et propter hoc dico quod licet habitatio nota Ptolemaeo et ejus sequacibus sit coarctata infra quartam unam, plus tamen est habitabile. Et Aristoteles potuit plus nosse, quia auctoritate Alexandri misit duo millia hominum ad investigandum res hujus mundi, sicut Plinius dicit octavo Naturalium. Et ipsemet Alexander perambulavit usque ad finem orientis, et sicut patet ex historia Alexandri et ex epistolis qnas Aristoteli conscripsit, semper mandavit ei de omnibus mirabilibus et insolitis quae inveniebat in oriente. Et ideo potuit Aristoteles plus certi- ficare quam Ptolemaeus. Et Seneca similiter ; quia Nero imperator discipulus ejus similiter misit ut exploraret dubia hujus mundi, sicut Seneca narrat in Naturalibus. Et ideo secundum haec quantitas habitabilis magna est et quod aqua cooperitur modicum debet esse. Versus enim polos mundi oportet quod aqua abundet, quia loca ilia frigida sunt propter What Bacon calls the fourth book of Esdras answers to the second book in the Apocrypha. See ch. 6, v. 42, ' Upon the third day thou didst command that the waters should be gathered together in the seventh part of the earth : six parts didst thou dry up.' U % 292 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. elongationem a sole, sed frigus multiplicat humores ; et ideo a polo in polum decurrit aqua in corpus maris et extenditur inter finem Hispaniae et inter principium Indiae non magnae latitudinis, et vocatur Oceanus ; ut principium Indiae possit esse multum ultra medietatem aequinoctialis circuli sub terra accedens valde ad finem Hispaniae. Sed ne verum hie pro falso damnetur, oportet nos scire quod Hispania in hoc loco accipitur non pro citeriori sed pro ulteriori, de quo auctores certi loquuntur, ut Plinius ^ in Naturalibus et Merlinus in pro- phetia sua, et Orosius in libro de Ormesta Mundi, et Isidorus decimo quarto Hbro Etymologicorum. Quoniam docet quod inter Hispaniam quae nunc vocatur et Africam nunc dictam non fuit aqua decurrens, sed terra continua ab antiquis tem- poribus, sed postea oceanus irruit in profunda terrae et con- junxit se mari Tyrrheno, quod decurrit per littus Arragoniae provinciae et Italiae. Citerior igitur Hispania a Pirenaeis montibus usque ad Carthaginem porrigitur : sed ulterior transit Gaditanum fretum usque in provincias Africae. Unde extenditur ultra Gades Herculis et attingit montem Atlantem. Haec necessario recitavi secundum auctores dictos, ne Aris- toteles et suus commentator per ignorantiam ulterioris Hispaniae deriderentur, cum dicunt ad probationem parvi- tatis maris inter Hispaniam et Indiam quod elephantes sunt tantum in illis duobus locis. Verum enim est quod circa montem Atlantem abundant elephantes, ut Plinius dicit, sicut et Aristoteles, et similiter in India, et ideo in ulteriori . Hispania est frequentia elephantorum ; sed Aristoteles dicit quod elephantes in illis locis esse non possunt nisi essent similis complexionis, et si essent multum distantes non haberent similem complexionem, et ideo nec elephantes essent in illis locis tantum. Quapropter concludit haec loca esse propin- quiora, et ideo oportet quod mare sit parvum inter ea. The sea Non igitur mare cooperiet tres quartas terrae, ut aestimatur. ksTthan Nam sit medietas terrae superior a b c d/m cujus una quarta, three- scilicet ab c, est habitatio nobis nota. Jam patet quod multum quarters of surface^^ ^ ^ Pliny speaks of the tradition that Spain was originally continuous with the opposite African coast (lib. iii, proemium). But he never speaks of any part of Africa as Hispania ulterior. GEOGRAPHIA. 293 de quarta ilia sub nostra erit habitatione, propter hoc quod principium orientis et occidentis sunt prope, quia mare parvum ea separat ex altera parte terrae. Et ideo habitatio inter orientem etocciden- tem non erit medietas aequinoctialis cir- culi, nec medietas rotunditatis terrae, nec duodecim horae, ut aestimant, sed longe plus medietate rotunditatis terrae et plus quam revolutio medietatis coeli. Quan- tum autem hoc sit, non est temporibus Fig. 22. nostris mensuratum, nec mvenimus m libris antiquorum ut oportet certificatum ; nec mirum, quoniam plus medietatis quartae in qua sumus est nobis ignotum ; nec sunt civitates a philosophis comprehensae, ut patebit ex sequentibus. Similiter si loquamur de aliis duabus quartis, et consideremus vias naturales secundum quod philosophia naturalis decurrit, non erunt illae coopertae aquis, ut vulgus mathematicorum aestimat. Nam cum poli et regiones versus eos sint ejusdem remotionis a sole et planetis secundum com- parationem polorum ad vias planetarum in medio mundi inter duo tropica ; necesse est quod secundum haec aequales dis- positiones sint in quarta nostra, et in quarta ultra aequinoctialem versus alterum poluni ; et similiter in quarta sub pedibus nostris usque ad aequinoctialem ; et in quarta ultra aequinoctialem erit consimiliscomplexio secundum tenorem praedictorum. Et ideo si quarta nostra non est cooperta aquis saltem usque ad latitudinem et distantiam ab aequinoctiali per 66 gradus, ut in fine insularum Scotiae et in regno Norguegiae, manifestum est quod similis causa naturalis erit in alia quarta ultra aequinoc- tialem in superiori parte terrae sicut in ilia in qua sumus, quia elongatio a via solis inducit frigus, et frigus multiplicat humorem, et ideo circa polos erit congregatio naturalis aquarum, et in regionibus quae sunt prope. Et ideo in altera quarta ultra aequinoctialem secundum hoc debet esse multum habitabile ; saltem usque ad regiones quarum latitu- dines sunt usque ad 66 gradus, sicut hie. Caeterum potest argui secundum mathematicos major The ec- habitatio ex defectu aquae ibi quam in quarta nostra, of"thTsolar 294 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. orbit is likely to produce more dry land in the southern hemi- sphere. quoniam in parte ilia est oppositum augis solis, et sol descendit ad terram ibi multum. Unde oportet quod com- burat quartam illam in aliqua parte sui, et residuas usque ad polum magis calefaciat quam partes nostrae quartae in qua habitamus. Et similiter contingit persuadere de reliqua quarta sub ilia. Et iterum sumitur argumentum ad hoc per Aristotelem in primo Coeli et Mundi et per Averroem, quod reliqua medietas terrae ultra aequinoctialem circulum est locus sursum in mundo et nobilior et ideo maxime competit liabitationi. Et propter hoc ex ordinatione naturae erit quod impedimenta habitationis magis excludantur, saltem in magna parte illius medietatis, scilicet longius ab opposito augis solis, si eccentricum ponimus, et ubique si non ponatur eccentricus, et hoc propter Stellas nobiliores in ilia parte, ut vult Averroes primo Coeli et Mundi. Et Ptolemaeus dicit in libro de Dispositione Sphaerae quod natura exigit ut sint duo genera Aethiopum, scilicet sub duobus tropicis. Ex quo arguunt aliqui quod habitatio est ultra aequinoctialem sicut citra : et secundum haec non erit figura habitabilis quartae sphaerae nec semicirculus descriptus in piano, nec aqua circuet in circuitu mundi per polos et oriens et occidens co- operiens tres quartas ejus, ut creditur: sed magis erit figura Principium Imdiae PRINCIPIUM HISPANIAE \^ Fig. 23. aquae hujus vel consimilis, ita quod hoc mare vocetur Oceanus, habens plurimum de aqua circa polos, cujus longitudo ex- tenditur a polo in polum inter principium Indiae et finem Hispaniae, quae est mathematicis nota. Descrip- Et quoniam non est mathematicis nota habitatio nisi in known quarta in qua sumus, et etiam non tota quae comprehenditur world. intra medietatem aequinoctialis et medietatem coluri trans- GEOGRAPHIA. 295 euntis per polos et extremitates medietatis aequinoctialis ^ The seven sub hac figura, ideo in ex-ecutione sententiae mathematicorum p°oiemy oportet relinqui quod incertum est, et fieri sermonem de eo and Al- quod philosophis magnis innotescit. Ptolemaeus ^ iater ^^^^anub. omnes ab incarnatione Domini maxime certificavit in hac parte, et in secundo Almagesti quartam istam, in qua sumus, distinguit. Et ejus et Alfragani et aliorum divisio magis nota est per septem climata famosa. Clima vero apud eos est spatium terrae in quo dies prolixior excedit per dimidiam horam diem prolixiorem alterius partis terrae, vel exceditur ab eodem. Certum tamen est quod magis naturalis et verior distinctio esset penes quartam horae, secundum quod Ptolemaeus primo dividit : sed quia istae partes sunt parvae, ideo considerant philosophi majores et conjunxerunt duas illarum in uno climate. Et quoniam haec climata et civitates famosae in eis non possunt evidenter percipi sermone, oportet ^ The words, 'et medietatem coluri . . . medietatis aequinoctialis' are printed twice over in Jebb's edition. ^ In the first printed edition of Ptolemy's Cosmographia, dedicated to Pope Sixtus IV, in 1478, there are twenty-seven maps : one of the World, ten of Europe, four of Africa, twelve of Asia. These correspond exactly to the description given in the eighth book of the Cosmographia. In all of them parallels of latitude and meridians are given, as in modern Atlases. In his map of the World, embracing as it did, on his system, 180 degrees of longitude and 80 degrees of latitude, a very elaborate and scientific attempt is made to project those curved lines accurately on a plane surface. It appears probable that these maps are the work of Agathodaemon of Alexandria a contemporary of Ptolemy. [Bunbury, vol. ii. p. 578.] The parallels of latitude are twenty-five in number : four of South latitude, twenty-one of North. They are arranged according to the length of the day at the Summer solstice, by intervals of one quarter of an hour. Beginning with 16° 25' S. where the longest day is thirteen hours, proceeding north to the Equator where it is twelve ; thence northwards to lat. 45°. From this point the parallels are drawn at half-hourly intervals to lat. 58°, where the longest day is eighteen hours. The next parallel is drawn at 61°, the day being nineteen hours ; the last at 63°, where it is twenty hours. This, says Ptolemy, is the latitude of Thule. In Ptolemy's Atlas longitude is calculated in degrees and half degrees, taking as the starting-point the meridian of the Fortunate islands (Ferro in the Canary islands), which he wrongly estimated as being only 2° 30' west of the Sacred Promontory (Cape St. Vincent). Further, owing to his acceptance of Posidonius' estimate of the Earth's magnitude, 180,000 stadia, his degrees of longitude as measured on the Equator, were only 500 stadia (i. e. fifty geographical m.iles instead of sixty). 296 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. quod figura sensui ministretur ^. Primo igitur figuram hujiis quartae cum climatibus suis ponam, et signabo civitates famosas in locis suis per distantiam earum ab aequinoctiali, quae vocatur latitude civitatis vel regionis ; et per distantiam ab Qccidente vel oriente, quae longitudo regionis vocatur. Et in divisionibus climatum atque in latitudinibus et longitu- dinibus civitatum utar auctoritate et experientia sapientum. Sed in signatione civitatis in loco suo per longitudinem et latitudinenri suam inventas ab auctoribus, superaddam arti- ficium, quo locus civitatis habeatur per distantiam ejus a meridie et septentrione et oriente et occidente. Et hoc artificium consistit in concursu lineae rectae aequidistantis aequinoctiali signatae in piano : secundum formam lineae rectae ductae a numero graduum latitudinis regionis signato in quarta coluri ducta ab aequinoctiali ad polum mundi in concursum, inquam, cum arcu circuli magni qui transit per polos mundi et per numerum longitudinis civitatis signatum in aequinoctiali circulo. Hie autem modus melior est et facilior, et sufficit considerationi locorum mundi in hujusmodi figuratione sensibili. Equatorial Ostendam etiam cum latitudine cujuslibet climatis quot south^of milliaria quodlibet contineat in se, et quot gradus in coelo the zones, cuilibet respondeant, et quot horas habet dies prolixior. Elevatio autem poli supra horizonta in quolibet climate est latituda ejus ab aequinoctiali, et distantia zenith capitis ab aequinoctiali, idem cum latitudine et cum elevatione poli : et pono numerum milliariorum totius spatii septem climatum. Sed licet non notata sunt a philosophis nisi septem climata^ nihilominus tamen signant alia spatia terrae et ante climata^ et post. Nam Ptolemaeus dicit in libro de Dispositione Sphaerae, quod perambulatum est auxilio regum Aegypti usque ad aequinoctialem circulum. A paucis tamen et raro pertransitum est hoc spatium ante climata propter distantiam ejus, sed magis propter negligentiam principum qui philosophos deberent juvare in hac parte. Signo ergo spatia tria ante ^ It is evident from this and other passages that Bacon prepared a map of the world to illustrate this part of the Opus Majus. No trace of it, however, has been hitherto discovered. ^ Ante climata, i.e. beyond 16^^ 25', South latitude. GEOGRAPHIA. 297 climata nota, quae plus de terra habent quam unum clima, et pono numerum milliariorum latitudinis istius spatii inter aequinoctialem et primum clima, et quot milliaria sunt ab aequinoctiali usque ad finem septimi climatis ; deinde divido spatium quod est ultra climata. Et Ptolemaeus in secundo Almagesti distinguit istud spatium per excessum quartae unius horae adjectum super longitudinem diei in praecedenti regione usquequo veniat ad latitudinem regionis quae est Ixi gradus. Et postea per medietatem unius horae usque ad latitudinem Ixiv graduum ; et ab illo loco dividit spatia per unam horam usque ad latitudinem Ixvi graduum ; ubi est nox continua in solstitio hyemali, nisi quod medietas solis fertur subito sub horizonte et est dies continuus in solstitio aestivali, et hoc est ultra Scotiam longe. Et deinde semper apparet sol in aquilone versus polum. Sed tunc ulterius dividitur spatium notabiliter per quanti- Polar tatem diei unius mensis, vel duorum, vel trlum, vel quatuor, ^^'^^^^ vel quinque, vel sex. Nam habitantes sub polo habent dimidium annum diem, hoc est, solem supra horizonta per sex menses et sub horizonte per alios sex ; sed tamen crepusculum vespertinum durat per septem septimanas et unum diem, scilicet, a sexto decimo die Septembris inclusive, in quo sol ingreditur nunc temporis signum Librae usque ad sextum diem Novembris exclusive. Et in tanto spatio est claritas solis super terram, sicut apud nos in aestate accidit post occasum solis : quia in illo die sexto est declinatio solis sub horizonte per octodecim gradus et sex minuta ; et crepusculum durat usque ad finem octodecim graduum et non plus. Et ab eodem die sexto Novembris inclusive usque ad 2^1 diem Januarii inclusive est nox obscura per decem septimanas et per quinque dies. Nam in illo 21 die est sol sub horizonte octodecim gradibus et sex minutis ; et ideo non potest incipere crepusculum matu- tinum in illo, sed oportet quod sol prius transeat ilia sex minuta. Sed ab illo die, scilicet 21 Januarii exclusive incipit aurora, et durat usque ad ingressum solis in signum Arietis, et hoc est 13 die Martii nunc temporis, unde durat per septem septimanas et unum diem. Et per residuum temporis dum sol vadit a primo gradu Arietis usque ad primum gradum Librae est sol 298 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. semper super horizonta eorum ; et hoc est per dimidium annum : quia horizon eorum est aequinoctialis circulus. Et ideo sex signa septentrionalia sunt semper super horizonta, ut apparet in sphaera ad sensum. Et ideo dum sol est in iUis signis habent diem manifestum. Et nihilominus duo crepus- cula in quibus apparet claritas solis super horizonta simul sumpta continent tres menses et quindenam et duos dies, et ideo respectu crepusculorum et diei habitatores illius loci sub polo parum habent de nocte per annum. Haec omnia scripsi sequendo principaliter Ptolemaeum et Alfraganum ^, et tabulam de longitudinibus et latitudinibus civitatum. Nam in latitudinibus climatum et spatiorum ante climata et post secutus sum sententiam Ptolemaei in Alma- gesti. Expansionem autem climatum per sua milliaria et spatiorum ante climata et post, atque quae civitates et regiones continentur in ilh's climatibus et spatiis, descripsi secundum Alfraganum principaliter, nisi quod ipse non tangit praecise computationes quas pono per examinationem majorem, atque sequendo alios auctores aliquod immuto aliquando et addo, secundum quod oportet propter certitudinem majorem : ut tetigi de civitate Syene. Different Quod si objiciatur, quod in canonibus astronomiae et in wMch East ^^^^^^^ aliis invenitur aliter in longitudinibus et latitudinibus and West civitatum, ut evidenter patet de Toleto, ad cujus meridiem aie a en. ^^^^^^ ^^^^^ tabulae ^ Toletanae ; dicendum est quod aliter et ^ Ahmad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Kathir, commonly known as Alfreganiis or Alfraganus, lived early in the ninth century. His works on astronomy, geography, and chronology were translated in the twelfth century by Joannes Hispalensis. This version was very inaccurate, and a more correct one was made afterwards by the Jew Jacobus Anatolius. The mathematician, Regiomontanus, gave lectures on Alfraganus at Padua in the fifteenth century. His works were printed at Nurimberg in 1537, together with a very interesting lecture on the history of Mathematics by Regiomontanus. Another edition was published, apparently from the corrected version, at Frankfurt, in 1590. The seven zones described by Alfraganus, extend from the equator to lat. 45°. The parallels are arranged according to the length of the day at the Summer solstice : the length in each exceeding that of the parallel to the south of it by half an hour. See the two editions referred to: also Cantor, vol. ii. p. 238, and Jourdain, p. 115 2 Alfonso X of Castile appointed a committee of astronomers to construct new astronomical tables. In this work the Rabbi Isaac Ebn Sid Hazan pla3^ed an important part. ' Their principal defect was the introduction of an inequality in the motion of the fixed stars in longitude by which this motion appeared GEOGRAPHIA. 299 aliter accipiunt oriens et occidens. Nam oriens et occidens The de quibus hie loquimur sunt ultima terrae habitabilis. Sed t^^^^ uno modo accipiuntur oriens et occidens sub aequinoctiali circulo in medio terrae ; ita quod principium Indiae sub aequinoctiali est oriens habitabilis ; et finis Hispaniae ulterioris, si extenderetur usque ad aequinoctialem circulum, esset occidens ; sed non tantum extenditur, immo est magnum spatium terrae a meridiana parte Hispaniae ulterioris usque ad aequinoctialem. Finis igitur istius spatii a parte occidentis est occidens habitabilis. Sed cum terra a parte occidentali habeat magnam latitudinem, scilicet ab aequinoctiali usque ad montem Atlantem et Gades Herculis, et citra per totum circuitum Hispaniae totius et Hiberniae, possunt diversi diversimodo accipere occidens ; unde aliqui accipiunt a Gadi- bus, ahqui a monte Atlantis, aliqui a fine habitabilis sub aequi- noctiali. Sed cum accipitur sub aequinoctiali, certius accipitur, quia illud uno modo est et melius, quia hoc est in medio mundi inter duos polos, et ideo est verum occidens ; et eodem modo est de oriente. Tabula vero latitudinum et longi- tudinum non accipit longitudines ab occidente sub aequi- noctiali, ut certum est. Nam sic longitudo Toleti est viginti novem graduum ab occidente, et secundum tabulam non est nisi undecim. Et auctor illius tabulae sumpsit occidens ei notum et certum et respectu situs suae regionis. Consideran- dum vero hie est quod oriens et occidens in divisione terrae non possunt sumi nec debent nisi penes ultima terrae, ubi mare quod vocatur Oceanus deficit, qui extensus est inter Indiam et Hispaniam ulteriorem et regiones alias occiden- tales et orientales, quae sequuntur Indiam et Hispaniam. Unde non debent accipi penes oriens et occidens secundum fines alicujus orientis, secundum quod nos dicimus aliquando oriens et occidens penes ortum et occasum solis. Nam to be sometimes accelerated and sometimes retarded. It was known as the trepidation of the fixed stars, or the motion of the eighth sphere.' This imaginary inequahty continued to disfigure the best tables till the time of Copernicus. See Library of Useful Knowledge^ History of Astronomy, p. 38. Previous tables had been constructed at Toledo in the eleventh century by Arzachel. It does not appear quite certain vs'hether it is to those that reference is made, or to those of Alfonso. 300 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. Determina- tion of longitude and latitude. Ijacon's map. More accurate determina- tion of infiniti sunt horizontes tarn obliqui quam recti. Et ideo oriens et occidens in divisione terrae non sumuntur penes horizonta; tunc enim quod esset oriens unius horizontis esset occidens alterius horizontis, et medium ejus. Et notandum quod verum occidens et oriens sub aequi- noctiali circulo est, ut dictum est : et hoc est ad ultimum habitabile ulterioris Hispaniae pro occidente et ad ultimum Indiae ulterioris pro oriente. Si igitur volumus sumere dis- tantiam civitatis ab occidente nunc dicto ducemus unam lineam ab hoc occidente aequidistantem civitati, et Hnea intercepta inter civitatem et dictam aequidistantem denotabit longitudinem ejus ab occidente. Et similiter ducatur una hnea ab Arym ^ civitate in medio mundi usque ad polum arcticum, et ab ea ducatur linea recta usque civitatem, quae notabit distantiam civitatis a medio mundi. Sed aliquando accipitur distantia ab occidente respectu finis habitabilis in directo ilhus civitatis : et quia hoc variatur infinitis modis apud diversos habitantes, variatur sumptio longitudinum. Sed melior acceptio est ab occidente sub aequinoctiali, quia hoc est uno modo. Et quia aliarum civitatum a Toleto longitudines et latitudines non inveniuntur congregatae nisi in hac tabula, ideo secutus sum cam in hac parte. Quam- quam major certitudo requiratur, quia nondum apud Latinos certificatae sunt longitudines et latitudines civitatum et regionum ; nec unquam certificabuntur nisi per apostolicam auctoritatem vel imperialem, aut per auxilium alicujus regis magni praebentis philosophantibus adjutorium. Secundum igitur praedicta praesentem affero descriptionem in albiori parte pellis ^, ubi civitates notantur per circulos rubros ; nam in alia parte pellis alia descriptio poterit assignari propter evidentiam majorem locorum mundi. Et hanc secundam descriptionem addo propter summam utilitatem locorum. Quoniam igitur locorum mundi cognitionis maxima utilitas est, ideo aliam descriptionem oportet afferri. Nam res mundi sciri non possunt nisi per notitiam locorum in quibus ^ O. has ab arcu civitatis, which is clearly wrong. See note on p. 310. Another reference to the lost map included in the writings sent by Bacon to the Pope. GEOGRAPHIA. continentur. Locus enim est principium generationis rerum, latitudes ut dicit Porphyrius ; quia secundum diversitatem locorum I'ongitudes est diversitas rerum ; et non solum naturalium, sed moralium necessary et scientialium, ut videmus in hominibus quod secundum knowledge diversitatem regionum habent mores diversos et occupant °J "^^^ ... . . ... . . ol nature. se in artibus et scientiis diversis. Quia igitur philosophia intromittit se rebus mundi, multum ei deest adhuc apud Latinos, postquam non habet certificationem locorum mundi. Sed haec certificatio stat in cognitione longitudinis et lati- tudinis cujuslibet loci ; tunc enim sciremus sub quibus stellis est quilibet locus, et quantum a via solis et planetarum, et quorum planetarum et signorum loca recipiant dominium, quae omnia faciunt diversas complexiones locorum : quae si scirentur, possit homo scire complexiones omnium rerum mundi et naturas et proprietates quas a virtute loci contra- hunt. Et hoc requirit non solum philosophia, sed sapientia Dei (2) For cujus series tota decurrit per loca mundi. Unde sensus govern^ literalis stat in coG^nitione locorum mundi. ut per convenientes meat of the 1 . ., . ... world. adaptationes et similitudines sumptas ex rebus eliciantur sensus spirituales. Nam haec est propria expositio scripturae, ut superius manifestavi in exemplo. Et haec cognitio locorum mundi valde necessaria est reipublicae fidelium et conversion! infidelium et ad obviandum infidelibus et Antichristo, et aliis. Nam propter diversas utilitates reipublicae et propter praedi- cationem fidei mittuntur homines ad loca mundi diversa, in quibus occupationibus valde necessarium est proficiscentibus ut scirent complexiones locorum extraneorum, quatenus scirent eligere loca temperata per quae transirent. Nam valentissimi homines aliquando ignorantes naturam locorum mundi seipsos Christianorumque negotia peremerunt, eo quod loca nimis calida in temporibus calidis aut nimis frigida in frigidis transierunt. Receperunt etiam pericula infinita, eo quod nesciverunt quando intraverunt regiones fidelium, quando schismaticorum, quando Saracenorum, quando Tartarorum, quando tyrannorum, quando hominum pacificorum, quando barbarorum, quando hominum rationabilium. Deinde qui loca mundi ignorat, nescit non solum quo vadit, sed quo 302 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. tendat ; et ideo sive pro conversione infidelium prpficiscatur, aut pro aliis ecclesiae negotiis, necesse est ut sciat ritus et conditiones omnium nationum, quatenus proposito certo locum proprium petat ; ne, si velit Paganos adire, cadat in idololatras, vel si illos intendat, scismaticos invadat, vel pro scismaticis obedientes Romanae ecclesiae eligat, aut in- differentes utrique parti, cujusmodi sunt populi qui vocantur Aas ; quatenus etiam Nestorianos desiderans Nicholaitas declinet ; et sic multis gentibus sectarum diversarum ne unam pro alia eligat oberrando. Quamplurimi enim a negotiis Christianorum maximis sunt frustrati eo quod regionum distinctiones nesciverunt. (3) For Deinde non modica necessitas sciendi loca mundi oritur ex of th^^len^ hoc, quod oportet ecclesiam optime scire situm et conditiones tribes and decem tribuum Judaeorum, qui exibunt in diebus futuris. Christ. Nam Orosius in libro de Ormesta Mundi ad Augustinum libro tertio dicit ; Ochus, qui est Artaxerxes, plurimos Judaeorum in transmigrationem egit, atque in Hyrcania ad Caspium mare habitare praecepit ; quos usque in hodiernum diem amplis- simis generis sui incrementis consistere atque exinde quando- que erupturos opinio est. Et magister in historiis addit, quod Alexander magnus conclusos ibi invenit, et ob malitiam eorum arctius eos constrinxit, quos tamen egressuros circa finem mundi testatur, et magnam stragem hominum esse facturos. Et in Cosmographia sua Ethicus astronomus ^ dicit gentes varias debere exire circa dies Antichristi, et eum vocabunt Deum Deorum, prius mundi regiones vastaturi. Et Hiero- nymus hoc confirmat in libro quern transtulit de sapientiis hujus philosophi. ^ Under this title two geographical writers of the early middle ages are often confounded. One is Julius Honorius, sometimes spoken of as Julius Aethicus. The work of the other is known as Cosmographia Aethici Isirici, written in barbarous Latin, and fabulously said to have been translated from the Greek by St. Jerome. To the first is perhaps due (or on the other hand his work may be a modification of) the summary of geography prefixed to the history of Orosius. The second, purporting to be written by a mysterious traveller who visited all parts of the known, and many of the unknown, world, is a treatise wholly without value, except on the ground of its popularity as a text-book of geography in the middle ages. (Cf. Bunbury, vol. ii. pp. 692-3, and pp. 703^5-) GEOGRAPHIA. Et Alexander magnus cum eis pugnavit, sed superare non Attempts potuit, sicut iste Ethicus testatur et refert Hieronymus, ^^^^^ ideo ingemuit et ait, ' Gentes rationabiles et sapientes vasta- control in- , . , 1 , . . cursions of vimus, attrivimus populum iiiclytum et subliinem ac smceram dangerous gentem. Quid utilitatis aut necessitatis fuit ? cum omnes ^nbes. inferorum daemones et adversariorum phalangas hie relinqui- mus in humana specie latitantes. Item ne quando audiant vel percipiant terram mellifluam et uberrimam mundi gloriam ; ne forte irruant in universam superficiem terrae, et quasi panem cuncta decerpant atque deglutiant. O terra, mater dra- conum, nutrix scorpionum, fovea serpentum, lacus daemonum, facilius fuerat in te infernum esse quam tales gentes par- turire. Vae terrae fructiferae et mellifluae, quando ingruent tot serpentes et bestiae in earn. Vae habitatoribus orbis, cum istae coeperint triumphare : contra quos nisi ad tempus posuisset Alexander remedia, nulla gens aut populus oppressionem illorum ferre potuisset,' ut scribit Hieronymus. Quando igitur hae nationes inclusae in locis certis mundi exibunt in desola- tionem regionum et obviabunt Antichristo, multum deberent Christiani et maxime ecclesia Romana considerare situm locorum, ut posset percipere hujusmodi gentium feritatem et per eos percipere tempus Antichristi; et originem ; nam debent obedire ei : ergo si illi ex una parte mundi veniant, ipse ex contraria procedet, quando autem claustra Alexandri rupta sunt. Nam aliqua fuerunt ante Isidorum quassata, quoniam scribit de eis. Atque frater Willielmus^^ quem dominus rex Franciae misit ad Tartaros anno Domini 1253, quando fuit ultra mare, scripsit regi nunc dicto quod transibat cum Tartaris per medium portarum quas Alexander construxit. Quando enim non potuit vincere has gentes, tunc ut scribit Ethicus et confirmat Hieronymus, Alexander immolavit hostias Deo et deprecatus est tota nocte et die Dei miseri- cordiam et consilium, et divina potentia affuit terrae motus magnus, et convenerunt montes adversus montes, et approxi- ^ More will be said on this subject in a subsequent note. For an account of Alexander's gates, and the nations enclosed by them, see Aethiopian version of the pseudo-CalHsthenes, edited by Mr. Wallis Budge, pp. 230-238 (1896). See also Marco Polo, i. 4 (vol. i. pp. 49-50, Yule's ed.). 304 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. maverunt per stadium unum usque ad spatium unius quadrigae, et ipse tunc erexit portas mirae magnitudinis et linivit eas bitumine incognito, quod nec igne nec ferro nec aqua nec aliqua re dissolvi potest, nisi solo terrae motu violento. Special Quoniam igitur infinita est utilitas cognitionis locorum geographi- , . , • -r^ • i cal de- nujLis mundi pro philosophia et theologia et ecclesia Dei, volo pardy f?om ^"^^^"^ alium sermonem de hujusmodi locis componere et Pliny and divisiones regionum evidentiores assignare ; et sequar Plinium writers abundantius, quem omnes sancti et sapientes sequuti sunt. Ubi autem aliquod certum per alios auctores invenero tam per sanctos, ut Hieronymum, Orosium, Isidorum, quam per alios auctores, non negligam quae necessaria sunt assignare. Sed regionum nobis notarum divisiones particulares non oportet annotare, similiter nec loca singula in aliis regionibus, sed magis notabilia et famosiora in scriptura et philosophia ; de quibus gentes tyrannicae venient et venerunt, quae mundum referuntur de praeterito vastasse aut aliquando vastaturae. Et assignabo ritus et sectas gentium, ut qui sunt Pagani, qui idololatrae, qui Tartari, et sic de aliis. ut certior apprehensio locorum pateat perlegenti. Haec autem via, qua procedam, non est per certificationem astronomiae, scilicet per veras longitudines et latitudines ^ locorum respectu coeli ; quia nondum habent eam Latini, sed est sumpta ex auctoribus qui mundi regiones describunt secundum quod quilibet potest loca natalis soli describere, et per alios de locis extraneis edoceri. ^^^^^^s^of"^ Non nunquam tamen plura reperiuntur scripta, quae ex travellers. ^ In Ptolemy's Atlas, lines of longitude and latitude are drawn, so as to give an appearance of precision to his maps, which in reality they do not possess. His conception of what a map ought to be was derived from Hipparchus, and is thoroughly scientific. Having made these maps, he drew up a list of places with the precise latitude and longitude (to the twelfth part of a degree) assigned to each. But these positions are in the immense majority of cases purely hypo- thetical, and are determined by the best estimate he could get from travellers' reports. Considering the immense reputation of Ptolemy during the middle ages, it is extremely remarkable that Bacon should have seen so clearly the fallacious character of this side of Ptolemy's work, and should show himself so clearly aware of the necessity for accurate determination of the latitude and longitude of each place by astronomical observation. Cf p. 300. GEOGRAPHIA. rumore magis quam per experientiam habuerunt auctores. Nam et Plinius minus bene dixit mare Caspium oriri ex marl Oceano, et Ptolemaeus in Almagesti de piano erravit de situ Britanniae majoris et minoris, sicut manifestum est cuilibet, et sic isti de aliis multis, et caeteri auctores similiter. Propter quod recurram ad eos qui loca hujus mundi pro magna parte peragrati sunt. Et maxime in regionibus aquilonaribus sequar fratrem praedictum, quern Dominus Rex Franciae Lodovicus misit ad Tartaros anno Domini 1253, perlus- travit regiones orientis et aquilonis et loca in medio mundi his annexa, et scripsit haec praedicta illustri regi ; quern librum diligenter vidi, et cum ejus auctore contuli, et similiter cum multis aliis, qui loca orientis et meridiana rimati sunt. Sicut tantam priorem descriptionem feci, magis propter exem- plar et excitationem Gloriae Vestrae, ut compleatur suo tempore per sapientes hujus mundi, quam propter certifica- tionem, sic et banc divisionem noto ut Vestra Sapientia recognoscat quod major labor hie requiritur, quam praesens persuasio debeat continere. Scriptura enim perfecta quam requiritis habet utramque descriptionem perficere. Expediendo quidem natural ium et experimentatorum in- Inhabited super sanctorum sententias circa partes habitabiles non oportet sOTth^of nos coarctari in his quae mathematici apud Latinos certifi- the , , 1 . Equator. carunt ; nam pauca sunt haec ; sed latius progredientes auctoritate et experientia multiplici roborati dicimus quod non solum septem climata habitantur, sed quarta terrae, et plus longe quam quarta, hominum continet nationes. Nam invenimus apud Plinium et alios, quod quaedam loca sunt in nostro habitabili, quae ascia dicuntur, id est sine umbra, ab a quod est sine, et scia quod est umbra, et haec multis modis variantur. Nam in aliquibus locis res non habent umbram aquilonarem nec meridianam in solstitio aestivali. Nam quando sol fertur supra capita eorum in meridie, non est aliqua umbra neque ad septentrionem vel ad meridiem, neque ad orientem vel occidentem, et hoc est in insula Nili quae dicitur Syene, quae est in suprema parte Aegypti in confinio illius et Aethiopiae, sicut patet ex Plinio in libro secundo et quinto ; et Lucanus dicit ' umbram nullo flectente Syene ' ; id VOL. I. X 3o6 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. est, in meridie solstitii aestivalis, et hoc est versus finem se- cundi climatis, de qua in Ezechiele pluries sermo fit. Alialoca dicuntur ascia, quia bis in anno umbram non habent. Nam quaedam in aestate nostra projiciunt umbram in austrum, solem ad aquilonem habentes. Et in hyeme nostra, faciunt umbram ad aquilonem, quoniam sol est in austro, secundum Plinium secundo libro : et haec alternatio umbrae fit per senos menses, sicut Plinius dicit sexto libro, capitulo decimo nono. Quod impossibile est fieri, nisi sub aequinoctiali, quoniam licet ei qui habitant inter tropicum Cancri et aequinoctialem habeant varietatem multiplicem de umbris projiciendis nunc ad aquilonem nunc ad meridiem, tamen non possunt habere hanc varietatem per menses sex, sed plus projicient umbram in aquilonem quam in meridiem ; quia solem plus habent ad meridiem quam aquilonem ; sed illi qui sub aequinoctiali circulo sunt, habent aequaliter solem ad septentrionem et meridiem, scilicet per senos menses utrumque. Et haec gens in India Orestes dicuntur et Monedes et Simari, apud quos est mons Malcus nomine, in quo umbrae sic per senos menses variantur, ut dicit Plinius secundo et sexto libro. Sed, quod plus est, invenimus per eum habitationem fieri sub tropico Capricorni ultra. Nam rcgio Pathalis in India dicitur habens portum, ut dicit, celeberrimum, ubi umbrae solum in meridie cadunt ; ergo habitatores ejus habent semper solem ad Aqui- lonem. Et idem refert sexto libro de insula Taprobane in India, de qua homines, cum Romam venerunt Claudii princi- patu, mirati sunt quod umbrae eorum cadebant in Aquilonem et quod sol a meridie oriebatur; et ideo apud eos umbrae cadunt semper in meridiem, et sol semper oritur eis aquilonaris ^. The habit- Et ideo verum est quod Ptolemaeus dicit libro de dispositione ^^^y J^fg°2 ^phaerae, quod natura exigit ut sint duo genera Aethiopum beyond the sub duobus Tropicis. Quod si sol habeat eccentricum, tunc Caprkorn. ^^^et quantum ad naturalem coeli dispositionem erit locus inhabitabilis in superficie terrae propter calorem, quando sol ^ Pliny, Hist. Natur. lib. vi. cap. 22 '■ Sed maxime mirum lis erat umbras suas in nostrum caelum cadere, non in suum : solemque a laeva oriri et in dexteram occidere potius quam e diverse.' As Ceylon is in north latitude these men must have come from far more distant and southerly regions. GEOGRAPHIA. venit ad Sagittarium et Capricornum propter appropinqua- tionem ejus ad terram, et propter confusionem aequidistantium, et propter casum radiorum ad angulos rectos ; et inhabitabilis propter frigus, quando est in Geminis et in Cancro, quia sol tunc nimis recedit ab eis, et cadunt radii ejus ad angulos obliquos ; tamen propter alias dispositiones locorum acci- dentales, turn propter altitudinem montium prohibentiuni calorem solis, turn propter alias causas, possunt aliqua loca ibi esse habitabilia et maxime ia locis subterraneis, quando sol est circa oppositum Augis. Et alibi potest esse talis planities inter eos et solem, et a posteriori talis montium laevitas et figuratio ad modum speculorum concavorum et comburentium, quod loca possunt esse habitabilia quando sol est in Auge non obstanti frigore, sicut prius dictum est de locis circa polos mundi ^. Quod si ponamus solis concentricum cum epicyclo, sicut possibile est, ut dicit Ptolemaeus in Almagesti^, tunc de facili potest salvari habitatio illius loci, quia tunc sol non tantum accedit ad terram ut omnino comburat eam sub tropico hyemali, nec tantum recedit ab ea ut eam frigore destituat. Quod si nec epicyclum nec eccentricum ponamus ut naturales aestimant, tunc nullum inconveniens sequitur de habitatione. Et ideo quamcunque opinionem in hac parte sequamur potest Plinius salvari. Et necesse est^ quia ex- perientia certa docuit eum saltem per eos qui de Taprobane insula venerunt in Romanam civitatem, et per eos qui ad insulam perducti sunt. Sed quamvis locus ultra tropicum Capricorni sit optimae habitationis, quia est superior pars in mundo et nobilior per Aristotelem ^ et Averroem primo Coeli et Mundi, tamen non invenimus apud aliquem auctorem terram illam describi, nec homines illorum locorum vocari, nec quod ad nos venerunt, nec nostri ad eos. Et ideo opinio aliquorum est quod ibi sit paradisus, cum sit locus nobilissimus in hoc mundo secundum Aristotelem et Averroem secundo Coeli et Mundi. Sed non solum philosophic sed sancti. ut Ambrosius ^ See p. 134. ^ De Coelo, ii. 2, § 8 rwv h\ noXaiv 6 jueu vnep ■qfx.a.s (paiv6fx(vos to Kara jxepos kariv, 6 6' ijiuv dd-qXos to dvoj. We see here the origin of the view as to the position of the terrestrial Paradise described in the Purgatory of Dante, X 2 3o8 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. in Hexaemeron et Basilius in hac umbrarum diversitate con- cordant. Nam quarto libro dicit Ambrosius, ' sunt qui per duos totius anni dies sine umbra sunt in partibus meridianis, eo quod solem habentes super verticem suum undique per cir- cuitum illuminantur ; unde ascii dicuntur, id est, sine umbra ; et amphiscii, id est, circum umbrati ; et hi sunt sub aequinoctiali et circiter ab utroque latere, qui quando sol non est super eorum capita projiciunt aliquando umbram in aquilonem aliquando in meridiem, secundum quod sol nunc est ad aqui- lonem, nunc ad meridiem eorum' ; et addit 'quod sunt in hoc quem nos incoluimus orbe terrarum circa meridiem positi, qui in australem plagam videntur umbram transmittere.' Quod signanter dicit de umbris meridianis, potest intelligi de his qui solas habent umbras meridianas, scilicet sub tropico Capricorni et ultra ; quia semper sol est eis ab aquilone, nisi quando semel est super capita eorum in tropico Capricorni. Pliny and Quantum vero habitetur versus aquilonem Plinius ostendit otheishave ... . . , , . shown how quarto libro per expenentiam et auctores vanos. Nam usque far It ad locum ilium habitatur ubi extremi cardines mundi sunt ; et reaches noiihvvaid. ubi est dies per sex menses et nox per tantum. Et Martianus in sua mundi descriptione concordat ; unde volunt quod sit ibi gens beatissima, quae non moritur nisi satietate vitae, ad quam cum venerit praecipitat se alto saxo in mare ; et vocantur hyperborei de Europa et Arumphei in Asia. Haec igitur dicta sunt secundum latitudinem regionum quae est ab aequinoctiali citra vel ultra, ut videamus quod habitatio excedit quartam secundum latitudinem regionum. East and Quod similiter potest patere secundum longitudinem, quae feriarger^ consideratur ab oriente in occidens. Nam, ut Plinius sexto libro than is naturalium scribit, sola India est pars tertia ^ habitabilis. Nam thai;MTt^^' gentes habet centum et decem et octo. Et Hieronymus dicit ad Rusticum monachum, ' Navigantes rubrum mare multis difficultatibus ac periculis ad urbem maximam perveniunt. ^ Pliny, Hist. Natur. lib. vi. cap. 17, 18. He states this on the authorit}^ of writers who accompanied Alexander. 'Alexandri Magni comites . . . scripserunt . . . Indiam tertiam partem esse terrarum omnium, multitudinem populorum in- numeram, probabili sane ratione.' Pliny had said (lib. iii. cap. i), somewhat inconsistently, that Europe was perhaps half the habitable world. GEOGRAPHIA, Felix cursus, si post sex menses supradictae urbis portum teneant, a quo se incipit aperire oceanus, per quern vix anno perpetuo ad Indiam pervenitur.' Ergo a portu rubri maris versus nos exigitur navigatio usque Indiam per annum ct dimidium. Et Hieronymus dicit libro locorum, quod classis Solomonis per triennium ab India deportabat commercia, ut anno et dimidio navigarent usque ibi, et tanto tempore redirent. Sed immensa est distantia rubri maris usque ad finem ulterioris Hispaniae circa montem Atlantem. Manifestum est igitur quod a fine occidentis usque ad finem Indiae supra terram erit longe plus quam medietas terrae ; ut cadamus necessario in opinionem Esdrae et Aristotelis et Averrois, quae superius tacta est de magnitudine habitationis inter oriens et occidens, quae quartam terrae secundum longitudinem excedit. Cum vero dicat Plinius, Europam esse majorem Asia, non includit ibi Indiam sub ea propter Indiae magni- tudinem ; cum sit tertia pars habitabilis secundum eum, ut dictum est. His consideratis in summa circa magnitudinem habitationis. Special de- nunc partes aliquas magis famosas in scriptura et in philosophia sJJiuh^"^* notare dignum est ; et quas utile est sciri a Christianis propter Infii^^ ^nd infidelium conversionem, et propter negotia diversa cum diver- sitate gentium tractanda, ac propter utilitates ecclesiae contra furorem Antichristi et eorum qui tempora ejus praevenire creduntur, ut mundum primo vastent donee tribulatio maxima veniat per Antichristum. Et hie non solum necessaria est depictio locorum et figuratio, sed narratio eorum quae depingi debent ; neutrum enim sufficit. Sequar vero auctores et experimentatores ea diligentia qua valeo quantum modo sufficit, usquequo perfecta locorum doctrina requiratur. Et incipiam a meridianis et orientalibus partibus, praecipue propter scripturam, quae loca ilia magis frequentat. Dico igitur secundum praedicta, quod frons Indiae meridianus pellitur ad tropicum Capricorni propter regionem Pathalis ^ et terrarum ^ The port of Patale is noted by Pliny (ii. 73) as a place where the sun was in the north at noon, and the shadows were thrown southwards. It may be noted here that Bacon's general method in this description is to pass from East to West in the equatorial region, then to return from West to East in a higher 3TO OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. vicinarum, quas alluit brachium maris magnum descendens a mare oceano, quod est inter Indiam et Hispaniam ulteriorem seu Africam, de quo superius dictum est secundum Aristo- telem. Quod enim mare tangat meridiana Indiae hoc expresse dicit Plinius, et per Hieronymum patet, et Alfraganus similiter hoc testatur. Et illud mare decurrit per regiones Indiae meridianas, et annua navigatione protrahitur donee concurrat mare rubrum, sicut planum est per Hieronymum et Plinium et caeteros ; et in illo mari ad Eurum respectu Indiae est insula Taprobane distans per mare Nadosii septem dierum navigatione in qua non videntur septentriones et vergiliae. Auro et argento et gemmis pretiosis abundant, majoresque opes eorum sunt quam Romanae. Sed apud Romanos major usus opulentiae, ut recitat Plinius. Et eligitur apud eos rex senex et clemens, liberos non habens ; quod si postea habeat filios, non fit regnum haereditarium. Regi dantur rectores triginta, quorum utatur consilio in regimine populi ; qui si delinquat criminaliter, morti judicatur, ita tamen quod nullus manum ei imponat : sed alimenta et omnia ei denegantur, etiam nullus cum eo loquitur, unde per se deficit. Vita hominis apud eos centum annorum modica est^ Arym, or Meridianum vero latus Indiae descendit a tropico Capri- Syene, corni, et secat aequinoctialem circulum apud montem Malcum et regiones ei conterminas et transit per Syenem, quae nunc Arym^ vocatur. Nam in libro cursuum planetarum dicitur quod duplex est Syene ; una sub solstitio, de qua superius, alia sub aequinoctiali circulo, de qua nunc est sermo, distans per nonaginta gradus ab occidente, sed magis ab oriente elongatur propter hoc, quod longitudo habitabilis major est quam medietas coeli vel terrae, et hoc versus orientem. Et ideo Arym non distat ab oriente per nonaginta gradus tantum. Sed mathematici ponunt eam in medio habitationis sub aequi- Jatitude ; then from East to West in a still more northerly parallel. He does not, however, always abide strictly by this plan. ^ See Pliny, vi. 22. ^ Arym was supposed to be situated on the equator, midway between West and East. Apparently some of the tables of longitude used by Arabian geo- graphers took it as a point of departure. It was of course quite distinct from Syene on the Nile, which in Ptolemy's map was not more than 60° E. GEOGRAPHIA. noctiali distans aequaliter ab occidente et oriente, septentrione et meridie. Nec est contradictio, quia mathematici loquuntur de habitatione eis nota secundum veras comprehensiones longitudinum et latitudinum regionum : et hoc non est tantum quantum notum est per experientiam itineris et navigationis apud Plinium et alios naturales. Secundum vero quod prae- tendunt auctores et maxime Plinius, mare Indicum decurrens per latus Indiae a tropico Capricorni secans aequinoctialem transit per latus meridianum Indiae ; deinde immensum spatium terrae absorbens flectit se versus occidens per meri- diem, donee recipiat fauces maris rubri et ostia ejus, decurrens versus aequinoctialem ultra meridiana Aethiopiae in mare occidentis ^ Et inter fauces maris rubri et mare Aethiopum incipit Aethi- Aethiopia. opia. Et ubi latitude regionis est circiter sedecim gradus, et longitudo diei prolixior fere tredecim horis secundum Ptolemaeum in Almagesti, et Plinius satis concordat sexto libro et secundo, est Saba, insula Nilo inclusa, civitas regalis Aethi- opiae, de qua in Isaia ' labor Aegypti, negotiatio Aethiopiae et Meroe. Sabaim,' super quod decimo tertio libro dicit Hieronymus,quod parallel est gens Sabaea quae est trans Aethiopiam. Et haec est Meroe, quae est in ultimo Aethiopiae et in fine habitabilis notae, secundum quod prius dictum est, et in Ezechiele xxvii, quam Josephus primo antiquitatum a Cambyse rege Meroen cog- nominatam ex sororis vocabulo refert, et hoc Hieronymus testatur libro locorum. Quae civitas distat a mari Aethiopico circiter septingenta milliaria secundum Plinium sexto libro. Et est haec civitas in primo climate, a qua nominatur clima Diameroes. Regnavit ibi Candax foemina, unde nomen Can- dacis multis jam annis ad reginam transit, ut dicit Plinius, et infert, cum potirentur rerum Aethiopes, insula ea magnae claritatis fuit. Tradunt armatorum 250 millia dare solitum, artificum 400 millia alere ^. Actus autem apostolorum me- moriam faciunt de eunucho Candacis reginae Aethiopum, ^ It will be noticed that Bacon does not adopt the Ptolemaic view that the Indian ocean was an enclosed sea. 2 These numbers are wrongly given in the MSS. They are given here as in Pliny, vi. 29. 312 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. quern Philippus baptizavit : unde Candax est nomen digni- tatis, sicut Caesar, Ptolemaeus, Pharao, Antiochus, Abimelech. Nam Abimelech in Philistiim, Antiochi in Syria, Ptolemaei in Aegypto post mortem Alexandri, Pharaones ibidem tempore antique, sicut Caesares et Augusti in Romano imperio, ut dicit Hieronymus nono libro super Ezechielem. Sed ubi latitude regionis est quasi consimilis super ripam rubri maris ad orientem, est Ptolemais civitas a Ptolemaeo Philadelpho condita ad primes venatus elephantorum, ubi quasi per quadraginta quinque dies ante solstitium et pest nen sunt umbrae in meridie, sicut dicit Plinius, et in illis nonaginta diebus, aut circiter, cadit umbra in meridiem, quia sol est ad aquilonem, et post hos dies cadit umbra per residuum anni in aquilonem. Et hie habitant sub circuitione medietatis Tauri et medietatis Leenis. Unde sol transit bis in anno per capita eerum in illis medietatibus signorum. Central Deindc ulterius in eadem latitudine sed versus eccidens Berenice. ^'^^^^ Ptolemaidcm et Mereen per 4,820 stadia distans a Ptole- maide, ut Plinius dicit et Beda libro temporum contestatur, est Berenice urbs Trogledytarum Aethiopum, in qua sol similiter bis in anno pertransit, et umbrae censimiles sunt sicut in Ptolemaide. Oportet enim quod Trogledytarum regie de- clinet in parte versus eccidens, ut exponetur inferius. Et idee nen erit in erientali Aethiopia, sed magis in medio. De istis vero Troglodytis meminit Scriptura secundo Paralipemenon duodecimo capitulo^ qui venerunt cum Selac rege Aegypti in adjutorium. Hi, ut Plinius narrat libro quinto specus ex- cavant, haec illis demus, victus serpentum carnes, stridorque non vox, sermonis commercio carent. Et in sexto libro dicit, ' gens Trogledytarum mirae velocitatis a venatu dicta vele- cieres equis.' Unde Isiderus libro none, ' Tregledytae gens Aethiopum ideo nuncupati, quod tanta celeritate pollent ut feras cursu pedum assequantur.' Post hos ad orientem sunt Aethiopes de Nubia et ultimo illi qui vocantur Indi propter appreximatienem ad Indiam, a quibus incipit Plinius de- scribere gentem Aethiopum. Nam secundum Isiderum nono libro, Aethiopum tres sunt pepuli principales ; Hesperi, Garamantes, et Indi. Hesperi sunt occidentales, Garamantes GEOGRAPHIA. in medio, Indi in oriente. Cum Garamantibus Troglodytas involvit, qui conjuncti sunt. Meroe vero quae est domina gentium inter Nubienses et Indos et Garamantes secundum Alfraganum coUocatur. Garamantes a Garama oppido, quod est caput regni eorum nominati, matrimoniorum exsortes passim cum foeminis degunt. Hesperi vero circa Hispaniam commorantur. Nam Hispania dicitur Hespera : unde illi qui supra ulteriorem Hispaniam inhabitant Hesperi dicuntur. Multi tamen alii sunt Aethiopes his tribus popuHs diversis locis copulati, etiam a natura hominis debita multum de- pravati, quorum nomina et regiones et mores assignare non est praesentis persuasionis. Quae omnia ex hbris PHnii et aHorum satis patent, et in scriptura principali debent annotari. Aethiopia vero terminatur inferius ad mare rubrum a Syene. parte orieniis, ad Africam ex parte occidentis, ad Aegyptum parallel, in medio inter haec extrema ; in quo medio est civitas Syene, de qua Ezechiel xxix et xxx capitulis expresse loquitur, dicens, ' quod a terra Syene usque ad terminos Aethiopiae non transibit pes hominis.' Syene vero est terminus Aethiopiae inferior et pars suprema Aegypti, sicut dicit Hieronymus super Ezechielem nono libro. Meroe vero est terminus superior notae habitationis secundum Plinium secundo libro. Nam a meridie ponit Meroen principium habitationis notae. Et dicit Plinius sexto libro quod a Syene ex utroque latere orientis et occidentis, scilicet Arabiae et Africae, non remansit oppidum nec castrum nec villa usque Meroen. Nam omnia dekta sunt bellis continuis, ut Scriptura sacra verificetur. A Syene vero usque ad Meroen, secundum Plinium secundo libro, sunt quinque millia stadiorum. In sexto vero libro ponit 972 millia passuum. Latitudo autem hujus Syenes dicta est. Nam sub tropico Cancri coUocatur, et ab ea clima secundum denominatur clima Diasyenes. Non possunt vero sequentia expediri, nisi hie aperitur Egypt, descriptio Aegypti et Africae et Nili decursus. Caput vero Aegypti est Syene, ut dictum est. Sed Aegyptus est duplex, scilicet superior et inferior ; quae vero inferior vocatur, con- cluditur infra Nilum ad modum insulae triangularis, sicut OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. Jitera Graeca quae delta dicitur : et ideo Aegyptus vocata est Delta antiquitus. Et haec habet ab oriente terram Philisti- norum, a septentrione mare Mediterraneum, ab occidente Africam, a meridie superiorem Aegyptum. Et a parte Palaestinae est ostium Nili quod vocatur Pelusium, ubi cadit unum latus trianguli, scilicet unum brachium Nili in mare. De hoc Pelusio habetur Ezechielis xxx, ubi dicitur, 'effundam indignationem meam super Pelusium robur Aegypti ' ; et Hieronymus libro nono ait, ' quod robur Aegypti dicitur eo quod habeat portum tutissimum, et negotiationes maris ibi maxime exerceantur.' Aliud quidem ostium vocatur Canopium, ubi aliud brachium trianguli cadit in mare versus Africam, inter quae ostia Nili est basis trianguli super littus maris con- tinens cx milliaria, ut dicit Plinius quinto libro. Et a concursu brachiorum Nili in vertice trianguli usque ad Canopium ostium sunt cxlvi, et ad Pelusium ostium cclvi milliaria. Superior vero Aegyptus est contermina Aethiopiae, ut dicit Plinius, et Thebais vocatur, et incipit a Syene, quae est civitas Thebaidis, ut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Et habet a meridie Aethiopiam, et ab oriente partem Arabiae, ut inferius magis clarescet ; ab occidente superiorem partem Africae. Et haec est regio Thebaidis, in qua est Thebae civitas. Thebas autem Aegyptias, ut dicit Isidorus quinto decimo libro, Cadmus aedificavit : quae inter Aegyptias urbes numero portarum nobiliores habentur, ad quas commercia undique Arabes subvehunt. Deinde Cadmus in Graeciam profectus Thebas Graecorum condidit in Achaia, quae nunc dicitur terra principis Amoreae. Alexandria. Aegyptus vcro inferior habet in parte Africae super mare paraHel Alexandriam, nobilem urbem ab Alexandro magno conditam, quae ab illo tempore caput Aegypti constituta est. Et Alexandria est in tertio climate, quod ab ea nominatur clima Dialexandrios, et distat a Syene secundum Plinium secundo Naturalium quinque millia stadiorum, Et ab hac civitate versus orientem super littus maris per circiter centum leucas, ut experientia itineris docet, est Memphis civitas, quondam arx Aegypti et caput, quae nunc Damiata vocatur. A qua per unam dietam est Tampnis, ubi Pharao habitavit et Moises GEOGRAPHIA. 315 fecit miracula, secundum quod dicit Hieronymus nono libro super Isaiam. Et in extremis finibus Aegypti, ut Hieronymus dicit in epistola de mansionibus, est Ramesse urbs versus orientem, quam aedificaverunt filii Israelis. Olim autem, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum, universa provincia sic vocabatur, in qua habitavit Jacob cum liberis suis : et haec est terra Gessen, ut Genesis liber testatur, et Hieronymus dicit libro praedicto quod in ea habitavit Jacob cum filiis prope Memphim. Et non multum a Tampne est Heliopolis civitas solis, Arabiae conterminum, ut dicit Plinius, et magnae claritatis oppidum, in qua, ut dicit Hieronymus libro praefato, fuit Phutifar sacerdos, cujus filiam accepit Joseph, sicut in Genesis legimus xli capltulo. Tana vero est civitas Aegypti, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum, in qua habitaverunt Judaei qui ob metum Babyloniorum cum Jeremia fugerunt, et non solum in ea, sed in Memphi et in terra Phatures et Magdalo, sicut habetur in Jeremia xliv capitulo. Phatures, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum, est regio Aegypti in qua profugi habitavere Judaei. Sed Socoth et Ethan et Phiaroth et Magdalon, de quibus xiii et xiv Exodi legitur, non sunt in Aegvpto sed prope extra, ut patet ex epistola Hieronymi de mansionibus, et hoc versus orientem ad mare rubrum ; ad quae loca profecti sunt filii Israelis de Aegypto, antequam transirent mare rubrum, sicut Exodus declarat. Descriptione Aegypti facta quantum hie est necesse, nunc Africa, ad Africam accedendum est. Et licet Plinius et multi multa hie scribunt, sententia tamen Sallustii in Jugurthino certior est et planior, quam principaliter exponam ; quoniam Hieronymus dicit libro Locorum et Hegesippus in Historia Hierosolymitana quod Sallustius est auctor certissimus. Et insistam attentius circa hanc provinciam, quia licet sit prope nos, tamen minus nota est quam Europa et Asia ; atque sacra scriptura et dicta sanctorum et historiae multa requirunt de hac regione. Africa quidem dicitur ab uno posteriorum Abrahae^ ut dicit Hierony- mus super Genesim, qui vocatur Affer : qui dicitur duxisse exercitum adversus Libyam, et ibi victis hostibus consedisse, ejusque posteros Afros et terram Africam nuncupasse, quae 3i6 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. tamen prius Libya et ante omnia Phuticensis regio a filiis Cham nuncupata fuit, ut inferius exponetur. Getnlians Africam autem, ut dicit Sallustius, in initio habuere Getuli yang et Libyes. Getuli vero, ut Isidorus aliquando et Hugucio, a Getis seu Gotis ab aquilone venerunt per mare. Sed Hieronymus super Genesim auctor est quod ab Evila, filio Chus, filio Cham, filio Noe venerunt : nec est verisimile quod advenae primo inhabitarunt terram debitam uni nationi, unde Africa debebatur filiis Cham, sicut Aegyptus et Aethiopia. Libyes vero fuerunt filii Labaim, filii Mesraym, filii Chus, filii Cham, ut Hieronymus dicit super Genesim. A quo Labaim Libya appellata est, quamvis secundum Hieronymuni super Genesim et super ultimum capitulum Isaiae, Libya prius dicebatur Phuth vel Phutensis regio, a filio Cham qui Phuth dicebatur. Est enim adhuc fluvius in Libya, qui Phuth dicitur, omnisque regio Phutensis dicta est. Getuli vero magis versus Aegyptum et Libyes versus occidentem habitabant, utrique oberrantes latius propter regionum amplitudinem. Et aliquando tota Africa dicebatur Libya, ab una sua parte domi- nante nominata, et Libyes vocati sunt populi terrae, de quibus secundo Paralipomenon xii et xvi, et Naum tertio, et alibi pluries invenitur ; sed, ut ait Sallustius, postquam in Hispania Hercules interiit, exercitus ejus compositus ex variis gentibus dilapsus est. Ex eo numero Medi et Persae et Armeni navibus in Africam transvecti proximos mari nostro locos occupavere ; sed Persae ^ intra oceanum magis et plus approxi- mabant Aegypto et Italiae quam caeteri prope mare habitantes sub Getulis. Nam Getuh' ad solem magis approximabant, et Aethiopiae vicini. Hi paulatim copulaverunt se Getulis per connubia. Et infert, quia saepe temptantes agros alia deinde loca petiverant, semetipsos Numidas appellavere ; id est, sine oppido vagos et errantes, sicut dicit Isidorus libro nono. Medi vero et Armeni supra littus maris nostri a Numidis usque ad Gades inhabitabant sub Libyis, qui supra eos ad meridiem versus Aethiopes coarctati sunt. Sed Medorum paulatim Libyes nomen corrupere, barbara lingua Mauros pro Medis appellantes. ' J. has per se. GEOGRAPHIA. 317 Et hi omnes ab oceano et Gadibus usque ad provinciam Carthage Carthaginensium habitabant. Nam secundum Sallustium postea Phoenices imperii cupidine moti a Tyro et Sidone venientes loca Africae invaserunt, et Numidas ac Getulos et caeteros Africanos coarctaverunt, et Carthaginem sive pro- vinciam firmaverunt, in qua sunt Punicae, id est, Phoeniceae civitates nobiles, scilicet Hippo, civitas beati Augustini, Utica Catonis magni, Carthago quae tanquam Roma altera [fuit]. Cujus imperium extendebatur versus Aegyptum usque ad aras Philenorum, quam posuerunt Ixxii interpretes in Ezechiele, ubi Hebraeum habet Tharsus, sicut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum, et non solum ibi, sed xxiii Isaiae et pluries alibi. Et xxvii Ezechielis habetur de Carthaginensibus. Deinde sequitur regio Tripolitana eorum qui Byzantium Tripolis. incolunt, quam Tyrii et Sidonenses occupabant, unde vocatur Africa vel Libya Phoenices, quia Phoenices ibi habitabant scilicet Tyrii et Sidonenses. Terra haec est fertilitatis eximiae, nam centesimam frugem reddit, ut dicit Plinius. Ibique est ilia Leptis magna inter duas syrtes, minorem a parte Cartha- ginensium et majorem a parte Aegypti : quae, Sallustio referente, sunt loca vadosa et arenosa, quae cum excitantur ventis et fluctibus maris eructant pulverem infinitum et arenas copiosas, unde syrtes dicuntur a trahendo sen a tractu arenarum et pulverum. Syrma enim Graece est tractus Latine, et syro idem est quod traho : unde habitantes loca terrae proxima perturbant et confundunt. Deinde sequitur provincia Pentapolitana regio, quae Cyre- Cyrene, nensis dicitur in scriptura, ubi sunt quinque civitates magnae, quarum caput Cyrene dicitur, de qua in evangeHo Lucae, et in Marco, ac Matthaeo habetur. Cum Dominus ducebatur ad passionem apprehenderunt Simonem quendam Cyrenensem, &c. Et in Actibus Apostolorum^ Surrexerunt de synagoga quae appellabaturLibertinorum etCyrenensium, &c.,et quarto regum 26 dicitur, quod rex Assyriorum transtulit Damascenos in Cyrenen ; et Amos quinto et nono habetur de ea. Quum vero arae Philenorum in multis scripturis sanctorum et historiarum reperiuntur et multotiens corrupte leguntur, ut dicantur arae Philistinorum, propter hoc ad vitandum errorem non est 3t8 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. inutile considerare quod Sallustius dicit in hac parte. Cum enim Cyrenenses et Carthaginenses multa bella commiserant, nec fuerunt fines certi inter eorum imperia, ob bonum pacis decreverunt ut legati eodem die et eadem hora ab utraque civitate mitterentur, et ubi sibi obviarent invicem, ibi fines regnorum deberent constitui. Sed legati Cyrenenses casu impediti non potuerunt in tantum procedere sicut vellent ; finxerunt igitur quod Carthaginenses citius recesserunt a loco suo quam debebant, et dixerunt eis quod vivi obruerentur in loco quern attigerant, si eum pro termino regni habere vellent ; vel quod eis permitterent transire quo vellent ; aut ipsi mortem ibi eligerent. Legati vero Carthaginensium consenserunt, et principales fuerunt duo fratres, qui Philenes vel Phileni dice- bantur, qui pro republica sua voluntarie vivi obruti sunt : in quorum memoriam Carthaginenses aras erexerunt quae vocantur arae Philenorum usque in hunc diem. Sub Cyrenen- sium vero provincia totum usque ad Aegyptum secundum multos auctores computatur : sed Plinius parvulam provinciam per se constituit, quae vocatur ab eo Libya Mareotis. Et sic terminatur extensio totius Africae a Gadibus in Aegyptum cum distinctione suarum provinciarum. Aethiopian Supra vero Aegyptum et Africam ad meridiem extenditur of'Egypr^^ Aethiopia ab oriente in occidens usque ad mare Aethiopicum, and Africa, et principalcs regiones eorum sunt, ut dixi, Indi, Sabaei, qui sunt Meroenses, Nubienses, Troglodytae, Garamantes, Hes- perides. Pars auteni Troglodytarum flectit se versus occi- dentem super syrtes majores et partes vicinas, a quibus distare videtur secundum Plinium libro quinto per xviii dietas. Et ideo licet major pars gentis Troglodytarum vergat ad mare rubrum, tamen aliqua se inclinat in partem occidentalem super Africae regiones. Et ultra eos versus occidens est regio Gara- mantum in directo syrtium minorum et Carthaginensium : orientalis tamen parsGaramantumvergit in directum Cyrenaicae regionis secundum Plinium libro sexto, ut tandem Hesperides occidentals Atlanticas partes attingant. The Nile; Quoniam vero Nilus Aegyptum et Aethiopiam alluit et its prob- ea^-um provincias multipliciter distinguit, et Scriptura multi- able source, i ^ ° .... plicem facit mentionem de eo, et in philosophia et in historiis GEOGRAPHIA. 319 vulgatus est, satis conveniens est aliquid notabile recitari de CO. Oritur autem de paradiso, ut scriptura refert, sed ubi erumpat nostrum habitabile, aestimatur diversimode a diversis. Verisimile tamen est quod in littore incipientis maris rubri in Aethiopia oritur, secundum quod affirmat Orosius in libro de Ormesta Mundi ad beatum Augustinum, et Seneca tertio Naturalium^ satis concordat. Nam refert Neronem impera- torem misisse duos centuriones ad explorandum Nili ortum, et cum venirent ad primum regem Aethiopum fuerunt per eum instructi et adjuti, ut reges caeteri Aethiopiae darent eis conductum. Et tandem venerunt ad paludes vadosas et her- bosas, quarum magnitudo ignorabatur ab incolis : de qua etiam certificanda desperabant. Nam neque navigio propter aquae parvitatem potuerunt homines explorare ; nec humus hmosa potuit pondus hominis sustinere. Credebant igitur incolae ibi esse caput Nili: Et ideo quod Plinius dicit Nilum oriri in finibus occidentis juxta montem Atlantem non procul a mari, non est credendum. Duplex enim testimonium fortius est hie quam singulari, et experientia Neronis principis mul- tum operatur. Deinde fluvius Africanus tendit in regionem, quae Libya A river in Aegyptia dicitur, ad immensum lacum^, quo finitur, sicut dicit flows into Orosius. Et ad hoc est quod paradisus est in oriente. Et^7f^^hK^ ^ ^ with wmcD. ideo verisimilius est quod Nilus erumpat in oriente quam in the Nile occidente : nec est unus et idem fluvius Africae et Nilus, licet "^^J^^.^a ' ' connected. ^ This reference is to Nat. Quacst. vi. 8, The marshes are in all probability those found by modern explorers on the White Nile above its junction with the Sobat in 9° N. Ptolemy describes this river as formed 2° south of the equator, by the junction of two rivers flowing from two lakes still further south. He describes also the Astapus, answering to the Blue Nile, which joined the main stream 4° 30' south of Meroe and originated in Lake Coloe, now known as the lake Tzana in Abyssinia. [Bunbury, vol. ii. pp. 612 -13.] The views of Aristotle as to the inundations of the Nile, which had been carefully studied by Bacon, though with his usual independence, will be found in Frag. 212 and 213. In De Animalibus, lib. viii. cap. 12, he speaks of the marshes of the Upper Nile ; and in Meteorol. i. cap. 13 he alludes to its origin in the Silver Mountain. The passage in Post. Analyt. ii. cap. 13, as to the lessen- ing of the flow at the end of the month, does not seem to represent any real opinion held by him. ^ There was great confusion in antiquity, and throughout the middle ages, as to the connexion of the Nile with other African rivers; nor, indeed, was it 320 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. consimiles pisces et monstra conformia et crocodilos enutriant, sicut arguit Plinius, quia flumina in diversis regionibus videmus consimilia animalia secundum speciem enutrire : atque se- cundum ipsum Plinium et alios, flumina in India nutriunt crocodilos, sicut Nilus. Sed quod allegat Nilum Aegypti augeri per incrementa imbrium et nivium fluminis Africani, concedendum est hoc, quia lacus dictus quo absorbetur hoc flumen Africae parum distat a Nilo secundum Orosium et occulto meatu in alveum Nili potest transfundi, sicut nos videmus multotiens in diversis regionibus consimile evenire. Its siibse- Decursus autem NiH a sua origine per Aethiopiam et couli. Aegyptum traditur a Plinio et aliis, licet in ortu ejus discordet ab illis. Fluit igitur ab origine sua, ut ait Orosius, diu ad occasum solis, et transit per medium Aethiopiae spargens multas insulas, quarum omnium nobilissima est Meroe, quae et Saba dicitur. Deinde flexus ad septentrionem inter Meroen et Syenem, ut exprimit Plinius, et montibus inclusus cataractas inter occursantes scopulos aperit, ut non fluere videatur sed ruere, ubi nimio fragore auditum in accolis tollit; propter quod ad loca convenientiora se transtulerunt. ut dicit Seneca libro octavo Naturalium. Istud dico propter hoc, quod Macro- bius Pythagoricus volens docere qualiter infinitum sonum ex dissipated til] our own time. Pliny (v. 9^ speaks of the belief, held by many in his time, that the ultimate source of the Nile was near Mount Atlas in North Western Africa, that, proceeding eastward, it sank underground and reappeared at a distance of several days' journey and finally reached Eastern Aethiopia and took a northerly direction. Plin}?' distinguished the Niger as distinct from the Nile, but thought that both arose from the same source. Orosius also maintained (lib. i. cap. 2) the existence of an African river which, though distinct from the Nile, yet probably had some subterranean connexion with it (occulto meatu in alveum ejus qui ab oriente descendit eructat). The great Arabian geographer of the twelfth century, Edrisi, describes at great length a Western Nile which flowed through the Soudan, and at last found its way into the Atlantic. He speaks of it as the Nile of the black people ; and notes the names of many of the cities on or near it, especially Gana, a great commercial centre, probably identical with the modern Kano, described in Mr. Robinson's recent book on the Hausas. This Western Nile Edrisi believed to originate in the same range of mountains as the Egyptian Nile, 16° S. latitude. His description obtained from the reports of Mohammedan travellers consulted by Roger of Sicily, Edrisi's patron, corresponds on the whole with 'the Niger; but some parts of it seem to relate to the northern tributaries of the Congo. GEOGRAPHIA. 321 motu coelorum sustinemus illaesi auribus, ponit vanum exem- plum de gente quae sustinet propter consuetudinem rugitum Nili pacifice. Sed exemplum suum falsum est, sicut Plinius et Seneca decent, et exemplatum esse non potest, sicut docet Aristoteles secundo Coeli et Mundi. Hie locus est prope Syenem secundum Hieronymum nono libro super Ezechielem ; et dicit quod usque ad Syenem est Nilus navigabilis a mari Italico. Et ulterius septentrionalis effectus Nilum includit, et tandem fauces ejus in mare quod est inter Aegyptum et Italiam projicit ; ostia ejus duo, scilicet Pelusiacum et Cano- pium. Sicut autem ait Hieronymus quarto libro, super xix capitulum Isaiae, Nilus ante Caesarem Augustum unus alveus fuit, sed tunc divisus est in septem, unde ad Pelusium una pars descendit, et ad Memphim quae est Damiata decurrit : alteraque extenditur in altum versus meridiem usque ad Kayr et Babyloniam, a qua nunc dicitur Soldanus Babyloniae, per circiter tres dietas a Damiata ; et ab ilia Damiata extenditur a latere una pars fluminis per unam dietam quasi inter meridiem et orientem ad villam, quae vocatur Lancassor^, ubi exercitus Christianorum devictus fuit, quando Dominus Lodovicus filius Lodovici filii Philippi illustris rex Franciae primo crucem arripuit ad partes transmarinas. Alii autem rivi fluminis Nili descendunt prope Tampnem et Alexandriam et caetera loca Aegypti. Nili vero proprietas secundum Plinium et caeteros est, Inundation quod inundat certis temporibus et plana Aegypti rigat : ^-^^^ secundum cujus egressiones stat Aegyptiaca fertilitas vel negatur. Nam si fines suos naturales egrediatur solum per xii cubitos, tunc Aegyptus famem sustinet, in tredecim non esurit, xiv cubiti hilaritatem afiferunt, xv securitatem, xvi delicias. Si plus, temperate tamen affluat, ad abusum delicia- rum excitat indigenas. Sed si creverit super debitum nocet, ut dicit Seneca. Incipit autem crescere, ut dicunt, luna existente nova quacunque post solstitium sensim, id est paulatim modiceque, Cancrum sole transeunte, abundantissime vero in Leone, et residet in Virgine. Et iisdem quibus crevit VOL. I. ^ O. has Lamassor. Y 322 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Difficulty of explain- ing it. Wind theory of Thales. modis revocatur. intra ripas dum sol est in Libra et centesimo die a principio fluxus. Causas vero hujus inundationis et crementi difficile est assignare, quia valde mirabilis est, eo quod fit in fervore aestatis, quum aquae plus consumuntur quam in aliis temporibus. Caeterum nuUus fluvius sic inundat secundum Aristotelem in tractatu de Nilo, secundum Plinium nisi Euphrates ; possumus tamen tertium addere, scilicet Ethiliam, qui est major Euphrate faciens mare Caspium, de quo superius tactum est. Istud docent illi qui apud Tartaros fuerunt, ut frater Willielmus et alii. Aristoteles vero et Plinius locuti sunt secundum suas experientias. Hujusmodi igitur natura singularis, quae in aliis mundi fluminibus paucissimis reperitur, est satis mirabilis. Deinde sapientum discordia in causis istius incrementi quasi infinita inducit in nobis perplexitatem, ut in quam partem vertamur non sit perspicuum ; praecipue cum multi tam probabiles sententias reprobent quam sunt illae quas affirmant. Seneca etiam omnibus auctoribus, excepto si volumus Aristotele, ubicunque figit intentionem certior, tamen in proposito solum certas dat reprobationes in libro suo de Nilo, qui est octavus Naturalium, nuUam praesumens firmare sententiam, victus difficultate hac, licet alias victor gloriosus existens. Aristoteles etiam quamvis opinionem spargat, multis tamen contradictionibus semper turbari potest. Quae vero magis aestimo digna relatu propter hanc persuasionem usque ad tractatum principalem inferam tolerabili brevitate. Sapientes vero Latini negligentes experientiam in hac parte adhaerent opinioni Thaletis, qui fuit primus de septem sapientibus famosis, quae consistit in hoc, quod venti annuales determinati flant contra ostia Nili revolventes fluctus et arenas maris, quibus obstruuntur ostia, et aquae Nili penitus redeunt, et sic exit suas ripas. Sed auctoritate et experi- mento refellitur. Nam secundum Aristotelem et Senecam et secundum quod docet experientia eorum qui in Aegypto fuerunt, aquae Nili incipiunt fluere a superiori parte Aegypti ab Aethiopia. Nam et Aegyptii prae gaudio exultantes ascendunt naves et obviam Nilo defluenti occurrunt cum cantu et instrumentorum musicalium genere multiplici ; unde ab GEOGRAPHIA. 323 ostiis ejus prius dictis non incipit fluere, sed a superior! parte in ostia. Anaxagoras vero philosophus inducit opinionem magis Snow probabilem omnibus, et dicit nivem liquefied in aestate in jj^^^^.^^^ montibus Aethiopiae, et sic Nilum augmentari, sicut Rhodanus, goras re- et Padus, et Danubius, et hujusmodi flumina prope Alpes Arfsto^L crescunt ex nivium liquore. Sed banc opinionem Aristoteles et Seneca negant et reprobant. Aristoteles vero redarguit per hoc, quod ex multa nive parum de aqua generatur, sed augmentum Nili est maximum, quia regiones infundit latissi- mas et aliquando usque ad triginta cubitos altitudinis. Iterum aliter arguit ; aquae quae fluunt a longe sunt fortiores in fine, sicut venti qui a longinquo veniunt ; et qui de propinquo fluunt sunt impetuosiores in principio. Cujus causa est in aquis, quia in magna distantia concurrunt multae aquae in unum et imbres multi fiunt et vapores multi resultant ex terra, et ideo fortificantur omnia flumina versus finem et sunt ampliora quam in principio ; et sic de ventis propter multiplicationem vapo- rum ex diversis locis confluentium in unum corpus propter distantiae quantitatem. Sed inundatio Nili augmentatur in principio et magis ac magis fortificatur ad tempus, donee tepescat in fine, ut Aristoteles dicit et Plinius, et experientia docet. Ergo non veniunt aquae istae ex longinquo, sed et montes Aethiopiae, ubi probabilius posset dici quod nives abundent, distant secundum orbem a Nilo per iter quinque mensium. Ergo non causabitur inundatio Nili a nivibus. Major propositio istius argumenti est digna valde ; nam multam habet scientiam, quicquid sit de minore propositione. Item dicit quod in plenilunio omnia congelata tabescunt et resol- vuntur magis, sed Nilus crescit in fine mensis, ergo non est ex nivibus. Item Nilus magis fluit quando flat Boreas, quam quando Auster ; sed Auster magis dissolvit nives quia calidus est. Caeterum Aristoteles dicit quod in Aethiopia propter calorem maximum, qui comburit omnia, non possunt esse nives ; quod facile credendum est. Et his Seneca concordans addit, quod nives dissolvuntur in tempore verno et liquescunt tactae temperato calore et faciunt crementum fluviorum ; sed calor nunquam temperatus est in Aethiopia antequam erit in Y 2 324 O PERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. hyeme. Nilus autem post solstitium crescit aestivale. Quid vero Pythagoras, quid Diogenes, quid Democritus, quid alii multi et magni philosophi senserint, non est necesse in hac persuasione praeambula recitare. Aristotle's Sed inferatur sententia Aristotelis pro omnibus dicentis, rain theory, ^^^q^ jj^ Aethiopia in aestate nostra sunt multae pluviae et in hyeme nullae, et Nilus in illis regionibus oritur, unde augmen- tantur ejus paludes et lacus ; et addit, quod venti annuales determinati in aestate et orientales flant, et fugant nebulas ad regiones unde Nilus fluit, quae dissolvuntur in lacus ejus. Causa autem quare augmentatur in fine mensis datur ab Aristotele secundo Posteriorum, quia finis mensis lunaris est frigidior, et frigus multiplicat humorem et augmentatur per Boream, quia ille ventus fugat nubes naturaliter propter impetum suum, quia venit de prope propter hoc quod habitatio est in septentrionali quarta terrae, et impetuosus est in hac quarta, ut Aristoteles docet, et propter hoc fugat ante se nubes, ut congregari possint in paludibus Nili, quae sunt quasi incomprehensibilis magnitudinis, ut superius tactum est, et ideo multum capiunt de loco nubium, et possunt sic per resolutionem nubium in pluvias aquae multiplicari. Objections Sed sicut objectum est contra alias positiones, sic contra istam fieri potest. Nam cum terra sit inhabitabilis propter calorem, id est, pessimae habitationis cum sit combusta, quo- modo potest ibi esse abundantia pluviae et maxime in aestate, sicut nec nives, ut ipse Aristoteles objicit contra secundam posi- tionem ? Et contra primam dicit quod idem accideret in aliis fluminibus, et quod venti annuales non semper veniunt suo tempore. Cum ergo pluviae sunt in regionibus multis ubi sunt flumina magna et venti annuales, et tamen non videmus hujus- modi augmentum ibi contingere ; et Boreas similiter fugat nubes cum majori impetu in regionibus prope, quia minus a sua origine distat ; igitur magis augmentarentur flumina in nostris regionibus et similiter in fine mensis ; sed non videmus hujusmodi augmentum. Dubia igitur est Aristotelis positio, sicut aliorum. Quapropter difiicillimum est reddere causas hujus augmenti singularlS; quod non est nisi in Nilo secundum Aristotelem, vel saltern secundum Plinlum non est nisi in Nilo GEOGRAPHIA. 325 et Eiiphrate. Est tamen adhuc in tertio flumine superius tacto, ut fuit in Jordane ante subversionem Sodomae et vicinarum civitatum, testante scriptura Geneseos. Propter igitur hujus rei difficultatem sufficit in hac persuasione, ut sententias philosophorum videamus quatenus per eas excitati in principaliori ^ tractatu certius Veritas inquiratur. Revertendum igitur est ad descriptionem regionum. Et Arabia; its inveniemus apud Plinium sexto libro, et Alfraganus concordat, et Lucanus quod antiqui vocabant partem Arabiae totum quod habitatur a mari Aethiop'co et meridie descendendo per Meroen et Syenem, ita etiam quod Heliopolis Aegypti, de qua dictum est, in Arabia computetur ; et ideo totum quod habitatur a Meroe et Syene et Heliopoli versus orientem inter mare Rubrum et mare Aethiopicum sub Arabia contine- tur; unde Alfraganus in primo climate ponit insulam Arabum, et in secundo ; quae insula est in mari Aethiopico vel circa ortum maris Rubri. Et Lucanus dicit, ' Ignotum vobis Arabes venistis in orbem, Umbras mirati nemorum non ire sinistras.' Hoc dicit de Arabibus, qui venerunt Romam in adjutorium Pompeii, qui mirati sunt umbras sinistras et septentrionaies non ire, id est, non mutari in dextras seu meridianas. Nam in terra sua, quae est inter tropicum Cancri et aequinoctialem, habent in aliqua parte anni meridianas umbras quando sol transit ultra eos versus tropicum Cancri, quia tunc sol est in aquilone respectu eorum ; et quando transit ultra eos versus aequinoctialem, tunc oportet quod habeant aquilonares, quia sol est in meridie eorum. Tota igitur haec pars Aethiopiac citra Meroen et Syenem et Heliopolim versus orientem sub Arabia continetur. Et non solum hoc, sed quicquid est circa linguam, id est, extremitatem maris Rubri et super littus ejus versus orientem a cuspide linguae usque ad sinum ejus Persi- cum. Et extendit se a mare Rubro usque ad Pelusium Aegypti ad occidentem, et diktat se ad septentrionem per totum ^ It will be noticed that this discussion of the Nile problem contains three references to the systematic work in which this and many other questions were to be more thoroughly investigated ; the Opus Majus being merely a persitasio pmeambula. 326 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. desertum, in quo vagati sunt filii Israelis usque ad terram Phiiistinorum super mare nostrum conterminam Aegypto, et exteiisam ad orientem donee occurrat Amalechitarum regio, quae est ad orientem terrae Philistiim, et usque ad terram Edom., seu Idumaeam, quae est ad orientem Amalech et usque ad terram Moab. Deinde flectit se magis versus sep- tentrionem per terram Seon regis Esebon, et Og regis Basan usque ad montem Galaad et Libanum, et adhuc magis flectit se ad septentrionem orientalem usque ad Ciliciam et Syriam Comagenam, et usque ad Euphratem. Desert of Unde Arabia large sumpta est terra magna valde, et con- tinet in se primo Desertum Sur seu Ethan, nam Ethan dicitur solitudo ex utraque parte maris Rubric et in extremitate ejus juncta Aegypto et Palaestinae. Quoniam in Exodo habetur quod fllii Israelis metati sunt castra in Ethan ; et deinde transierunt mare Rubrum et venerunt iterum in Ethan. Nam Scriptura dicit quod post transitum maris Rubri venerunt in desertum Sur, et ibi fixerunt tabernacula in Mara, et ambu- laverunt per tres dies antequam fixerunt tabernacula, et primo fixerunt tabernacula in Mara, deinde in Helim. Sed Hierony- mus dicit in epistola de mansionibus, quod desertum Sur et Ethan sunt idem. Et in hac Arabia prope Sur versus orientem ultra transitum filiorum Israelis super littus maris Rubri est Elamitarum regio secundum Plinium et Hieronymum in libro interpretationum ; ubi est Elam civitas urbs ultima Palaesti- norum. Nam in hac parte juxta desertum Sur flectit se angulus Palaestinae ad Rubrum mare secundum Hieronymum, ut dicit Plinius, ibi prope est Stagnos ^ insula maris Rubri, quam canes non intrant expositique cuncta littora errando moriuntur. Desert cf Post desertum vero Sur versus orientem sequitur Sin deser- tum, ubi fuerunt quinque mansiones filiorum Israel secundum Hieronymum in epistola de mansionibus, quarum prima non habetur in Exodo, sed xxxiii Numerorum, unde dicitur, 'pro- fectique sunt de Helim ad mare Rubrum quod vocatur Jamsuph.' Et Hieronymus quaerit quomodo reversi sunt ad mare Rubrum, et solvit dupliciter uno modo quod potuit esse 1 This appears to be a mistake for Sygaros, of which Pliny says (vi. 28) ' Sygaros insula quam canes non intrant expositique circa errando litora moriuntur.' GEOGRAPHIA. 327 quidam sinus maris Rubri qui extenderetur in deserto Sin a principali corpore maris, nam Jam est Mare et Suph dicitur Rubrum. Sed convenientius solvit dicens quod Suph potest signare rubrum vel scirpum, et hie non habet sumi pro rubro sed pro scirpo ; unde dicit quod possumus suspicari quod venerunt ad paludem quandam et lacum, qui carecto et juncis plenus fuit. Quod autem Scriptura sacra omnem congregationem aquarum mare vocet, nulla dubitatio est ; hie igitur secundum Hebraicam veritatem significat paludem juncorum. Sed quia etiam nimis vulgatum fuit in antiqua translatione quod haec mansio vocetur mare Rubrum, ideo Hieronymus dimisit in nostra stare ut fuerat in antiqua, sicut multa alia per universum corpus scripturae. Ultima vero istarum quinque, quae est undecima ab egressu filiorum Israel de Aegypto, est Raphidim in directo ad septentrionem, cujus est Amalechitarum regio, quae pugnavit cum filiis Israel in deserto Raphidim, et victa est ab eis. Deinde magis versus orientem est desertum Sinai, ubi est mons Sina, qui est mons Dei Oreb, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum. Sed non est petra Oreb in Raphidim, de qua Moyses aquam eduxit. Nam Horeb pro monte Sina scribitur per Heth literam, sed Oreb non. Et post sunt sepulcra concupiscentiae et Asseroth, quae sunt duae mansiones post montem Sina in hoc deserto Sinai. Deinde magis ad orientem est desertum Pharan, ubi incipit Desert of regio Ismaelitarum tendens versus mare Rubrum ad orientem. Ad septentrionem vero Pharan est Ebron civitas David, et ubi Adam magnus et Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob, sepulti sunt. Per viam deserti inter Pharan et Ebron misit Moyses Josuen, et Caleph, et alios exploratores. Pit in hoc deserto Pharan, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro mansionum, fecerunt filii Israel octodecim mansiones, a quinque usque ad triginta duo, computando extremas cum mediis, ut ultima sit Asyon- gaber; unde Pharan desertum est latissimum. Et hie percussi sunt ab Amalechitis et Chananaeis, et hie dat Dominus judicia, et orta est seditio Chorae, et fronduit virga Aaron, et multa alia facta sunt, sicut a tertio decimo capitulo Numerorum in vicesimum patens est, Postquam exiverunt desertum Pharan, transiverunt magis ad 328 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Another orientem usque ad desertum Sin, quod est Cades Barne, ubi known as murmuravit populus ad aquas contradictionis. Sed istud non est illud desertum Sin. Nam istud desertum multo plus elonga- tum est a Rubro mari, cui annexa est terra Edom ad orientem septentrionalem. Nam ab hoc loco miserunt filii Israel nuntios ad Edom dicentes, Ecce in urbe Cades, quae est in extremis finibus tuis, positi obsecramus ut nobis transire liceat, sicut dicitur Numerorum xviii. Quod si quis contendat quod desertum Sin superius dictum possit se extendere aliquando ad hunc locum, patet quod non ; per Hieronymum in epistola de mansionibus, tam per interpretationem quam per Scrip- turam ; quoniam Sin primum scribitur per Samech et inter- pretatur rubus vel odium ; hoc autem per Sade et vertitur in mandatum. Et ideo filii Israel declinaverunt per viam quae ducit ad mare Rubrum circumeuntes terram Edom, et venerunt ad montem Or in ultimis finibus terrae illius, in quo monte mortuus est Aaron. Moab. Et in finibus terrae Edom fecerunt adhuc alias tres man- siones secundum Hieronymum usquequo venerunt ad terminos Moab, unde Moab est in oriente Edom. Nam egressi de finibus Edom fixerunt tentoria in deserto quod respicit Moab contra orientalem plagam, sicut dicitur Numerorum xxi. Deinde, ut habetur Deuteronomiae xi, transierunt urbem Moab nomine usque ad confinium terminorum Ammon. Et in his locis incipit ab oriente terra Seon regis Amorraeorum, et terra Moabitarum et Ammonitarum, et ideo diligenter consideranda sunt haec loca. Nam hie incipit terra filiorum Israel, et de his multum loquitur Scriptura et sancti. Est igitur in confinio horum locorum rupes in sublime porrecta, quae vocatur Arnon, et haec rupes distinguit extrema filiorum Ammon et Moab et Seon regis Amorraeorum; et ideo ibi incipit terra filiorum Israel. Sed sub hac rupe versus occi- dentem est vallis quae vocatur Arnon, juxta quam a latere meridiano est civitas Ar, quae est caput regni Moabitarum, quae postea dicta est Acropolis ex Hebraeo vocabulo et Graeco composita, id est, civitas adversarii, sicut dicit Hierony- mus quinto libro super Isaiam prophetam. A rupe autem hac descendit torrens versus occidentem, quae vocatur torrens GEOGRAPHIA. 329 Arnon, super cujus ripam situatur oppidum, quod vocatur Aroer prope Arnon. Haec patent ex libro Locorum Hieronymi, et ex textu in libro Numerorum xxi et Deuteronomiae ii et iii et Josue xiii et Judicum xi et multis aliis locis Scripturae. Terra igitur Moab ascendit ab Arnon in occidentem usque Midian, ad Edom et usque ad mare mortuum, et ubi fuerunt civitates Seon. submersae, et usque ad Jordanem contra Jericho, sicut patet ex locis praedictis Scripturae et Hieronymi. Et infra terram Moab prope Arnonem et Ariopolim est Madian civitas Jethro soceri Moysi, sicut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Et necesse est ut ibi sint Madianitae. Nam ut patet Exodi xxii et Numerorum xxiii et xxiv et xxv, Balac rex Moabi- tarum vocavit Balaam hariolum ut malediceret Israeli, qui dedit eis consilium ut offerrent eis filias Madianitarum, et peccaverunt cum eis et interfecti sunt multi de Israele. Insuper Madianitae destructi sunt et deleti postea per filios Israel. Ex altera parte torrentis Arnon incipiebat terra filiorum Ammon versus septentrionem et orientem tendens versus Euphratem, et ad occidentem accedit ejus angulus versus Jordanem usque ad vadum seu torrentem Jaboc, quem trans- ivit Jacob quando venit de Mesopotamia Syriae, post cujus transitum luctabatur angelus cum eo sicut xxxii Genesis recitatur. Et quod ad hunc torrentem Jaboc sit terminus filiorum Ammon patet per Deuteronomiam iii capitulo. Et hie est terminus Ammon et Seon regis Amorraeorum et Og regis Basan, sicut patet ex Judicum xi. Nam a Jaboc incipiebat terra Seon, ut ibi habetur ; et ubi terminatur ejus terra, incipit terra Og regis Basan, et descendit etiam usque prope torrentem Arnon usque ad confinia Esebon urbem regis Seon Amorraeorum. Et ideo terra quae fuit propria Seon est inclusa a meridie Moabitis et ab oriente Ammonitis, et ab occidente habet Jordanem fluvium, et a septentrione habet terram Og regis Basan. Sed iste Seon potentior factus irrupit in regiones Moab et Ammon, et abstulit terras eorum. Nam quod abstulit terram filiorum Ammon habetur Judicum xi. Et quod medietatem terrae suae amiserunt filii Ammon habetur Josue xiii. Moab etiam multum amisit sicut patet ex xxi Numerorum. 330 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Other ^ Postquam vero inventae sunt hae regiones a lingua maris Arabia.^ Rubri per mansiones filiorum Israel, adhuc considerandum est quod in desertis quae sunt inter mare Rubrum et terras jam nominatas sunt aliae regiones magnae, quae extenduntur ab Euphrate in circuitu terrarum jam dictarum, scilicet terra filiorum Ammon et Moab, et desertum Pharan, usque ad terram Elamitarum, quam superius esse positam dixi super littus maris Rubri a transitu filiorum Israel usque versus orientem. In hac igitur regione pergrandi similiter et in Pharan habitaverunt filii Keturae et Agar, quos generavit Abraham, de quibus fit mentio xxv capitulo Genesis. Et primo ab Euphrate incipit regio Nabathena a filio primo Ismaelis, qui vocatur Nabaioth, sicut dicit Hieronymus, super Genesim xxv capitulo, et nunc dicto concordat Plinius primo libro, nisi quod unam partem Nabathenorum vocat Nomades, qui vagantur circa Euphratem prope Chaldaeos ; post hos versus desertum Pharan est Cedar regio, quae ab altero filiorum Ismael nominatur qui Cedar vocatus est. Et quamvis aliae regiones filiorum Ismael nominentur usque Sur, nam habitavit ab Evila usque Sur, sicut dicit Scriptura, tamen omnes vocantur Cedar, sicut vult Hieronymus quinto libro super illud Isaiae xxi Onus in Arabia, dicens, Hie loquitur pro Cedar, quae est regio Ismaelitarum, qui dicuntur Agareni et Saraceni nomine perverso ; et septimo libro super capitulum Isaiae Ix dicit de his regionibus Cedar et Nabathena, quod Cedar est regio Sara- cenorum, qui in Scriptura vocantur Ismaelitae, et Nabaioth est unus filiorum Ismael, quorum nominibus solitudo appellatur, quae frugum inops, pecorum plena est. Evila vero est pars regionis Ismaelis distans a Pharan oppido in deserto Pharan per tres dietas, ut dicitur in libro Locorum. Est vero et alia regio Evila in India juxta flumen Gangem de qua primo Genesis dicitur. Saba, in Et inter Cedar et Elamitarum regionem supradictam exten- ditur Saba regio super littus maris Rubri secundum Plinium quinto libro. Et haec regio est thurifera et aromatibus plena, et habet tres partes. Una vocatur Arabia Eudaemon, quae includitur inter sinum Persicum maris Rubri et sinum Arabi- cum, secundum Orosium libro de Ormesta Mundi, et secundum which lies Arabia Felix, GEOGRAPHIA. 331 Isidorum libro xiv. Alia est Madian, nominata ab uno filio Abrahae ex Kethura. Tertia est Epha, regio nominata ab uno filio Madian, ut patet ex xxv Genesis. Et quod hae duae regiones sint de regno Saba vult Hieronymus expresse super xvii Isaiae, dicens, Madian et Epha sunt regiones fertiles came- lorum, omnisque provincia appellatur Saba ; unde fuit regina Sabae sicut dicit. Et quod Arabia Eudaemon sit pars Sabae • patet, quia ilia juncta est Chaldaeis immediate, sicut dicit Orosius. Et Chaldaei et Sabaei eorumvicini simul invaserunt armenta Job sanctissimi, ut patet ex capitulo primo libri sui ; et illud patet expresse per Isidorum decimo quarto libro, qui dicit sic, Arabia appellatur sacra^ eo quod regio sit thurifera odores creans. Hanc etiam Graeci Eudaemon, nostri Beatam nomina- verunt, in cujus saltibus et myrrha et cinnamonum provenit ; ibi nascitur et phoenix ; ipsa est et Saba appellata a filio Chus, filii Cham, filii Noe, qui filius Chus Saba appellatus est ; et hoc dicit Hieronymus in Hebraicis quaestionibus. Et ideo cum Madian et Epha numerantur Ix Isaiae, adjungitur etiam Saba, cum dicit, Omnes de Saba venient. Nam Arabia Eudaemon nominatur specialiter Saba et principaliter, licet tota regio ilia et Madian et Epha dicantur Saba. Et ideo tota regio a Chaldaeis supra mare Rubrum usque ad Elam dicitur Sabaea. Et considerandum est hie propter aliquas contrarietates, Different quod Arabia large sumpta habet omnes regiones dictas ex t-Jj^^g^o^ utraque parte maris Rubri secundum Plinium et Alfraganum Arabia, et philosophos antiques. Specialius tamen sumpta accipitur solum pro regione quae est a lingua maris Rubri usque ad Euphratem et sinum Persicum versus orientem, et usque ad Palaestinam Idumaeam versus septentrionem ex una sui parte, cujus alia pars septentrionalis et magis orientalis extenditur ad montem Libani, et comprehendit totam regionem Moab et filiorum Ammon et regna Seon et Og regis Basan, et aliqua eis conjuncta. Et sic utitur Scriptura ut in Isaia cum dicit, Onus in Arabia, ubi Cedar comprehenditur sub ea ; et mons Sina sic est in Arabia, secundum quod apostolus dicit ad Galatas iv. Tertio modo magis stricte accipitur, ut excludatur Pharan et Cedar et Madian et Epha et Saba Eudaemon. 332 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Nam sic in tempore Hieronymi et deinceps accepta est Arabia, quoniam ipse dicit in libro Locorum Pharan trans Arabiam esse ; quarto et decimo septimo libro super Isaiam dicit Madian et Epha et Cedar et Nabatheam regiones esse trans Arabiam. Quod vero Saba thurea Eudaemon et tota regio Saba sit distincta similiter contra Arabiam isto tertio modo dictam patet per Hieronymum in Hebraicis quaestionibus. Nam dicit quod cum in Psalmis dicitur, reges Arabum et Sabae dona adducent, ilia est Saba thurea et thurifera praedicta, de qua adducit auctoritatem Virgilii, Solis est, inquit, thureis virga Sabaeis. Nam, ut Hieronymus dicit et patet cuilibet scienti Hebraeum, in Hebraeo dicitur, reges Saba et Saba dona ad- ducent ; sed primum Saba interpretatur Arabia et scribitur per sin litteram, secundum scribitur per samec, et est ilia Saba thurifera, et de hac Saba venerunt magi qui adoraverunt Christum, non de Saba quae, est in Ethiopia. Nam ilia est in meridie. Ab oriente enim secundum Evangelium venerunt magi. Et isti sunt reges Sabae, sive reges Arabum et Sabae. Syria. Post hacc scquitur regio praegrandis quae vocatur Syria, quae, secundum Scripturam et Plinium et antiques auctores continet omnes provincias a Tigri flumine ab oriente usque ad Arabiam a meridie et usque ad mare nostrum sau magnum, quod dividit Italiam et Syriam et Aegyptum ab occidente Mesopo- et a Cilicia et Tauro monte altissimo a septentrione. Prima tamia. ^j^^g principalis regio est Mesopotamia seu Assyria, nam idem sunt secundum Plinium ; et Hieronymus dicit tertio libro super Isaiam, quod tota regio inter Tigrim et Euphratem est regio Assyriorum. Similiter Mesopotamia inter Tigrim et Euphratem continetur. Unde dicitur a meson, quod est medium, et potamus, quod est fluvius, quasi inter duos fluvios contenta, Tigrim scilicet et Euphratem. Et ideo idem fuit antiquitus Mesopotamia et Assyria. Et haec Mesopotamia seu Assyria ab oriente habet Tigrim, ab occasu Euphratem, a meridie mare Persicum, quod est sinus Persicus maris Rubri, a septentrione Taurum montem, cujus longitudo est circiter octingenta milliaria, latitude trecenta, secundum Plinium. In hac Mesopotamia sunt Ninive et Babylon, et tota terra Chal- daeorum, et Babel turris constructa in terra Senaar. In hac GEOGRAPHIA. 333 autem Mesopotamia sunt civitates quas Nimroth construxit, scilicet Arad, id est, Edissam, et Archad, quae nunc Nisibis, seu vulgariter Nisibin dicitur, et Calampne, quae postea a Seleuco rege dicta est Seleucia, sicut Hieronymus exponit super decimum capitulum Genesis. Et praeterea in Mesopo- tamia est Aram, sicut in Genesi habetur, quae adhuc nomen suum retinet. Et Ajam distat per duas dietas ab Euphrate, et Hieronymus dicit quod Aram est trans Edissam ; ergo Edissa est inter Aram et Euphratem, et Ninive est circiter deccm dietas ab Aram, id est, ad orientem super Tigrim fluvium, secundum quod vult Scriptura quod Tigris currit contra Assyrios. Ninivitae enim principaliter vocati sunt Assyrii. Ab Aram usque ad Baldac versus meridiem sunt dietae circiter xxvi. Et est Baldac civitas regia, in qua Caliph Dominus Saracenitae sectae sedem suae dignitatis constituit. In illis vero partibus est turris Babel, et ruinae Babylonis magnae, quae fuit caput regni Babyloniorum et Chaldaeorum, qui cum fuerant Mesopotamii et Assyrii a principio, eo quod tota terra inter Tigrim et Euphratem dicebatur Mesopotamia et Assyria, tum quia Babylon Chaldaicarum gentium caput summam claritatem obtinuit inter urbes toto orbe. Reliqua pars Mesopotamiae Assyriaeque Babylonia appellata est, ut dicit Plinius, ita quod tandem Babylonii praevaluerunt. Nam, ut patet ex libris Regum et Paralipomenon primo nominati sunt reges Assyriorum, ut Salmanasar et Sennacherib et caeteri. Deinde Nabugodonosor, rex Babylonis, et ejus successores vastaverunt Assyrios, et dominati sunt per totum inter Tigrim et Euphratem. Noe quidem et filii ejus primo post diluvium habitaverunt in Babylonia, sicut dicit Albumazar quinto libro in majori introductorio astronomiae. Nam cum ipsi fuerunt sapientes astronomi et docuerunt primo Chal- daeos astronomiam, ut ibidem dicit, sciverunt quod quartum clima est temperatissinium, in quo Babylonia est, et ideo ad earn declinaverunt. Quoniam vero Tigris et Euphrates sunt duo de quatuor The Tigris principalibus fluminibus mundi et Nilo connumerati, ideo de Euphrates, illis aliqua sunt dicenda. Varius autem est ortus eorum. Nam secundum veritatem primo oriuntur de Paradiso, ut vult 334 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. Scriptura, Deinde secundum Plinium Tigris erumpit in Armenia majore et postea cadit in lacum omnia illata pondera sustinentem et nebulis exhalantem, cui unum genus piscium est, qui aquae transcurrentis non miscentur alveo, sicut ncque a Tigri pisces in lacum transnatant. Deinde occurrente Tauro monte in specum mergitur, et ab altero mentis latere erumpit in lacum, et postea ad formam fluminis revertitur et Euphrati jungitur, et transit per Ninivem, et post longa spatia currit in maris Rubri sinum^ qui Persicus vocatur. Euphrates vero secundum Plinium quinto libro in Armenia majore oriens separat Cappadociam ab ilia, deinde occurrit ei mons Taurus postea fluenti in occasum. Iterum se flectit in meridiem, et funditur in duo brachia. Unum cadit in Tigrim includens a septentrione Mesopotamiam, aliud alluit eam ab occidente et currit per mediam Babyloniam, ut dicit Orosius ad Augustinum, deinde fluit in paludes, et tandem in miare Persicum. Nam Chaldaei sunt inter Babyloniam ad meridiem versus Persicum mare, et Euphrates eos, sicut caeteros Mesopotamios et Assyrios, alluit ab occidente, separans eos a caeteris Syriae regionibus et ab Arabia. Euphrates vero, ut dicit Plinius, crescit Nili modo parum ab eo differens. Nam Mesopotamiam inundat sole obtinente xx partem Cancri, et incipit minui in Virgine, Leone transgresso. In totum vero remeat xxxix parte Virginis. Quod autem Boetius quinto de consolatione et Sallustius dicunt, quod Tigris et Euphrates uno se fonte revolvunt, potest intelHgi de fonte Paradisi ; nam hoc verum est secundum Scripturam, quam Boetius saltem bene scivit, et Sallustius ex revolutione historiae Scripturae credere potuit ; aut hoc verum est de ortu eorum in Armenia, quoniam uterque ibi oritur secundum PHnium ; aut intelligi poterit de ortu eorum citra Taurum montem, nam occursu ejus absorbentur in terram, et ex altera sui parte erumpunt. Other parts Ab Euphrate qui currit in oriente est Arabia, de qua of Syria, (ji^tum cst, vcrsus meridiem et mare Rubrum. Et versus septentrionem sunt reliquae regiones Syriae, scilicet Syria Comagena, Syria Coele seu Coele-Syria, et Syria Phoenicis, et Syria Palaestinae, quae includunt provincias a Judaeis possessas, scilicet Judaeam, Samariam, et Galilaeam citra GEOGRAPHIA. 335 Jordanem, et per earn trans Jordanem, quam possederunt tribus Ruben et Gad, ac dimidia tribus Manasse, ubi est regio Decapolis et Ituraea sen Traconitis regio. Et in his provinciis reperiuntur omnia loca sacra, quae Sacred calcaverunt primo sancti patriarchae et prophetae, deinde seography. Dominus ipse et Mater ejus et apostoli sacrati, et in quibus crevit ecclesia primitiva et quae resonant evangelia, in quibus majora mysteria continentur quam auris mortalis possit audire aut mens humana intelligere, ut vult Origenes xviii Josue. Ouapropter de his diligentius est dicendum. Primo igitur super mare nostrum, quod dividit Italiam et Cities on Aegyptum et Syriam, coUocandae sunt civitates famosae vel co^st^"^" prope ilkid, ut sic superius versus orientem facilius depre- hendantur loca quae volumus. Primo igitur non super mare sed prope, quasi per tres leucas in confinio Aegypti et Palaestinae et Judaeae est Gaza civitas insignis Palaestinae, ut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Deinde sunt novem leucae usque ad Ascalonem, quae est metropoHs Palaestinae super mare sita. Deinde xii leucae usque ad Joppen. Deinde usque ad Aeon xxiv, vel duae dietae. Nam duae leucae vel tres usque Assur, quod antiquitus Adotus dicebatur, et postea decem vel novem usque Caesaream Palaestinae, quae antiquitus turris Stratonis vocabatur, in qua Petrus baptizavit Cornelium, ut dicit Hieronymus multis locis, deinde usque castrum pere- grini quinque leucae; et postea usque Caiphas tres; et quatuor usque Aeon ; et postea usque Tyrum in corde maris sunt novem leucae; et postea quatuor vel quinque usque ad Sarep- tam Sidoniorum, ubi vidua pavit Heliam prophetam ; deinde tres vel quatuor usque ad Sidonem ; postea novem vel octo usque Berithum, quod Barut vocatur. Deinde novem usque Biblium, quod nunc Gibeleth dicitur, unde xxvii Ezechielis dicitur, Senes Biblii et prudentes ejus habuerunt nautas. Postea novem leucae usque Tripohm ; postea est una dieta usque Tortosam, quae ante Radum dicitur. Deinde usque Laodiceam sunt dietae circiter tres. Nam usque Valaniam sunt leucae circiter decem. Alii tamen dicunt, quod a Tortosa usque ad Margat est una dieta ; et a Margat usque Laodiceam una dieta ; et a Laodicea usque Antiochiam duae dietae. Sed 336 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Antiochia est per quinque leucas a mari infra terram. Ab Antiochia usque ad Tarsum Paulo apostolo gloriosam, metro- polim Ciliciae, sunt dietae circiter tres. Sed tamen usque prin- cipium Ciliciae sunt dietae circiter duae, vel una et dimidia. Palestine; Redeundum est igitur ad loca infra terram. Abraham et sionsTnd ^saac frequentabant loca Gerarae. Gerara enim, a qua boundaries. Gerarchica regio, ut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum, fuit terminus olim Palaestinorum inter Cades et Sur, et ibi est . Bersabe, qui vocatur puteus juramenti, ubi Abraham et Isaac foedus cum Abimelech iniverunt. Et ab isto loco incipit terra Hebraeorum ab eis possessa. Nec ultra hunc locum ad austrum amplius possederunt, sicut dicit Hieronymus in epistola ad Dardanum de terra repromissionis. Quamvis terra repromissa eis a Deo incipiebat a torrente Aegypti sicut dicit Hieronymus octavo libro super Isaiam et primo libro similiter. Ille enim torrens, ut dicit Hieronymus, ibi est fluvius turbidus in finibus Aegypti versus Palaestinam et Judaeam, nec habens perpetuas aquas, non procul a Nilo^, sed juxta castrum quod Rinocorura dicitur, quod LXX interpretes posuerunt loco torrentis sicut in eorum translatione habetur in Isaia. A Ber- sabe vero viginti milliaria versus septentrionem est secundum Hieronymum libro Locorum Ebron metropolis olim Philisti- norum., sed decorata nobilium sepultura quatuor patriarcharum scilicet Adae maximi, xA^brahae, Isaac, et Jacob. Et facile est tunc advertere loca vicina, scilicet convallem Mambre et ilicem Abrahae et campum Damascenum a meridie Ebron, qui sic nominatur a Damasco servo Abrahae. Unde non est Agar ille prope civitatem illam magnam Damascum, quae caput Syriae est. Nam ab illo loco distat circiter per quinque dietas, sed est juxta Ebron, in quo Adam plasmatus est, et in quo Cain interfecit fratrem suum ; sic dicit magister in historiis et super Genesim. Carmelus, ubi quondam Nabal Carmelus fuit, et nunc villa est Carmela nomine in sexto lapide oppidi Ebron ad orientalem plagam, sicut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Et prope Carmelum ad orientem in octavo milliario ab Ebron Ziph vicus ostenditur, ubi absconditus est David, juxta quem mons squalidus idem nomen habet, scilicet Ziph, in quo sedit David prope Carmelam ut dicit Hieronymus. GEOGRAPHIA. 337 Quartodecimo vero milliario versus septentrionem est Bethleem, civitas in qua Dominus natus est. Et secundum Hieronymum sexto milliario a Bethleem versus septentrionem fuit Jerusalem longe clarissima urbium orientis, ut dicit Plinius ^ Haec autem civitas distat a Joppe per duodecim leucas, et ab Aeon per dietas circiter tres, et ad orientalem plagam distat Jericho a Jerusalem per novem leucas; et inter Jericho et Jordanem sunt duae leucae. Et Thecua villa Amos prophetae distat versus Eurum inter orientem et austrum per duodecim milliaria, ut dicit Hieronymus secundo libro super Jeremiam. Et secundum Hieronymum in epistola de epitaphio sanctae Pentapolis. Paulae prope illam fuit Pentapolis regio continens quinque civitates maledictas, scilicet Sodomam, Gomorram et caeteras. Nam ab illo loco describit Paulam reversam Jerusalem, et primo per Thecuam proximam. Orosius autem primo de Ormesta Mundi dicit quod Pentapolis regio in confinio Arabiae et Palestinae sita est ; mediamque vallem quam Jordanus irri- gaverat nunc mare superinfusum tegit. Et hoc est mare Mortuum, et mare salis, et mare salinarum et lacus bituminis, et vallis salsa, et vallis salinarum, et mare Araba, id est, de- serti. Unde in libris Regnorum scribitur, Ab introitu Emath usque ad mare Araba et mare Asphalti, id est, bituminis, secundum Hieronymum in libro Locorum, et super Genesim. Nam in valle salinarum fuerunt putei bituminis ante subver- sionem civitatum, sed post pluviam sulphuris in mare Mortuum versum est, quod stagnum bituminis appellatun Quatuor autem civitates submersae sunt, et quinta quae Bale post voca- batur remansit ad preces Loth, ut in ea post ruinam aliarum posset morari, quae postea Segor dicebatur^, et nunc Zoara Syriace nuncupatur, sicut dicit Hieronymus super Genesim et in multis locis. Et haec civitas. licet non fuerit cum suis socia- bus igne sulphuris consumpta, tamen post lapsum temporis tertio terrae motu subversa est, ut ait Hieronymus, quae re- parata Zoara dicitur ab incolis, qui Zoari nuncupantur. Et haec civitas est in termino maris Mortui ad occidentalem plagam, a qua non longe super mare Mortuum ab occidente ^ Pliny, V. 14 ' Hierosolyma longe clarissima urbium Orientis, non Judaeae modo.' VOL. I. Z 338 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. est oppidum Engaddi urbs palmarum fertilis, unde balsamum venit et opobalsamum. Nam arbor est distillans balsamum in vineis Engaddi, de quibus Solomon meminit in Canticis. Et haec civitas vocatur in Genesi Asasontamar, quod in lingua nostra dicitur urbs palmarum ; tamar quippe palma dicitur, sicut Hieronymus dicit. Ouamvis vero multi multa scribunt de conditionibus istius maris et locorum subversorum, tamen hie principaliter introducamHegesippum^ in quarto libro historiae de subversione Jerusalem, quia plura scribit quam alii, et multi aliorum receperunt ab eo quae recitant, ac si sua essent quae narrant. The Dead De mari vero Mortuo dicit, quod omnia viventia resiliunt et statim excutiuntur nec mergi possunt in eo, quod aqua ipsa amara et sterilis est, nihil recipiens generum viventium, denique neque pisces, neque assuetas aquis et laetas mergendi usu patitur aves. Lucernam accensam ferunt aquis super- natare, sine ulla conversione extincto demergi lumine, et quamvis demersum difficile haerere in profundo. Denique Vespasianum imperatorem praecepisse ferunt nandi ignaros revinctis manibus in profundum dejici, eosque omnes illico supernatasse quasi spiritu quodam venti levatos, et ad superiora vi magna repulsos resiluisse. Vagari super aquas bituminis glebas certum est atro liquore, quas scaphis appropinquantes coUigunt, quibus id muneris est ; haerere sibi fertur bitumen ; ut ferro haudquaquam vel alia peracuta metalli specie recidatur ; sanguini sane cedit mulierum quo menstrua solventes lavari feruntur, cujus attactu, ut allegant quibus experiendi usus fuit, interrumpi proditur. Utilis ad com- pagem navium fertur, et corporibus hominum salubris admixta medicamentis. Longitudo lacus hujus ad Zoaros Arabiae dirigitur stadiis dlxx. Latitudo in stadiis cl usque ad viciniam Sodomorum, qui quondam uberrimam regionem inhabitabant. ^ The Hegesippus here spoken of is not the Christian writer of the second century, but the unknown author of a work probably written in the fourth century, De hello Judaico, or De excidio urhis Hierosolymitanae. It was sup- posed to have been translated from Greek into Latin by St. Ambrose. The book is principally composed of extracts from Josephus. Some have thought that Hegesippus was a misreading of an early copyist who had before him the words, Ex Josippo. (See Smith's Did. of Christ. Biog.) GEOGRAPHIA. 339 Quatuor itaque iirbes incensae sunt, quarum umbra quaedam et species in favillis videtur. Arsere terrae, ardent aquae, in quibus coelestis ignis reliquiae adiiuc manent. Aspicias illic ad speciem poma viridantia, formatos uvarum racemos, ut edendi gignant spectantibus cupiditatem ; si carpas, fatiscunt et resolvuntur in cinerem, fumumque excitant quasi adhuc ardeant. Quicquid vero Isidorus et Solinus de mirabilibus mundi et Hieronymus decimo quarto libro super Jeremiam et Plinius et alii multi dicunt, sub sententia Hegesippi compre- henduntur. Nam si ipse aliqua summatim perstringat, dicens nihil vivum ibi posse nutriri nec mergi, alii specificant. Nam Plinius et Solinus dicunt quod nullum corpus animalium recipit ; tauri camelique fluitant ^. Et Hieronymus dicit, quod propter amaritudinem maris nihil spirans ibi invenitur, unde nec pisces nec serpentes, sed et pisces a Jordanis inundatione delati in hoc mare statim moriuntur. Isidorus vero in Etymologiarum libro verba Hegesippi exponens dicit, quod nec ventis movetur, resistente turbinibus bitumine, quo aqua omnis stagnatur, nec ullam materiam sustinet, nisi quae bitumine illustratur. Et extenditur inter Jericho et Zoaram, quae est Segor. Ouoniam vero Jordanes influit in mare Mortuum, et ibi The Jor- nomen suum et virtutem amittit, atque regiones Hebraeorum et multae aliae notificantur per Jordanem, ideo de illo nunc dicendum est. Quamvis vero Hieronymus eleganter et veraciter loquatur de ortu manifesto et discursu Jordanis, atque Plinius et Isidorus et alii, tamen omnibus merito praeponendus est Hegesippus, qui in tertio libro explicat certius et abundantius istius fluminis originem. Omnes enim auctores praeter Hegesippum, qui per experientiam procedit, aestimant Jordanem fluvium oriri ex duobus fontibus ad radices montis Libani juxta Daneadem^ quae nunc Caesarea Philippi nominatur ; quorum fontium unus Jor, et alius Dan, qui sua profluvia divisim protendentes tandem concordant in unum, unde Jordanes efficitur ; et per aliquod spatium terrae ^ Plin. V. i6 ' Nullum corpus animalium recipit : tauri camelique fluitant ; inde fama nihil in eo mergi.' Z '2, 340 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. fluminis jura defendens se postea transmittit in lacum qui Genesar dicitur cui contiguatur lacus Tiberiadis et deinde Jordanes erumpens decurrit ad orientem Jericho et fluit in Mortuum mare supra dictum. Sed totum illud praeter ortum ejus certum est. Ortus etiam manifestus et vulgatus se habet, ut dictum est, a duobus fontibus. Sed Hegesippus probat quod ibi non est primus ejus ortus, immo a Phiala fonte, qui est ex altera parte Jordanis in Traconitide regione distans ab urbe Caesarea cxx interjacentibus stadiis. Ab hoc igitur fonte labitur aqua subterraneis meatibus, et ubi Caesarea est rursum ebullit. Nam PhiHppus tetrarches Traconitidis regionis misit paleas in Phialam, quas ad Caesaream fluvius subterraneus ebulHvit ; unde liquet non exordium primum esse Jordanis in Caesarea, sed fluentum, ut paleis resurgentibus manifestatum est. Addit etiam ad decursum ejus, quod a Paneade sen Caesarea, non latente jam neque abdito per cava terrae meatu, sed visibili per terras atque aperto flumine incipiens se superfundere Semeconitim lacum, paludesque ejus intersecat. Inde quoque cursus suos dirigens centum viginti stadiis progreditur usque ad urbem, cui Julias nomen est. Postea lacum istum qui Genesar dicitur in medio transit fluento, quibus ex locis plurima evagatus deserta Alfacio suscipitur lacu atque in eum conditur. Itaque duos lacus victor egressus tertio haeret. Cities and Notificato Jordane urbes et regiones distinguendae sunt. Palestine^^ Nam vicinia Jericho se extendit ad urbem Scythopolim a parte septentrionali Jericho secundum Hegesippum, quae civitas in biblia vocatur Bethsan, ut dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum, et est oppidum in tribu Manasse, a quo accolas pristinos non potuerunt filii Manasse expellere. Descendendo vero ad occidentem usque in septentrionem Jerusalem est civitas sacerdotalis et insignis ortu Jeremiae prophetae, quae vocatur Anathoth, tribus milliaribus ab Hierosolymis separata, sicut dicit Hieronymus quinto libro super Jeremiam. Deinde magis ad septentrionem per xii leucasa Jerusalem, et per xii a Caesarea Palaestinae in directo Caesareae est Samaria civitas famosa, metropolis decern tribuum, quae nunc Sebaste dicitur. Super autem regionem Caesareae Palaestinae, et mari magno GEOGRAPHIA. 341 usque ad fines Ptolemensis regionis incumbit mons Carmelus per dietas circiter duas in longitudine distensus, in quo oravit Helias propheta, oleis consitus^ et arbustis ac vineis, sicut vult Hieronymus in quinto et primo libro super Jeremiam. Postvici- niam Samariae ad orientem septentrionalem sequitur planities Sabae nunc vocata, sed antiquitus dicebatur campus magnus Estrelon de quo . . . . Et campus Magido in quo Josias rex optimus fuit occisus . . . . Et per fines ejus ad septentrionem decurrit torrens Fison usque in mare magnum inter Caiphas et Aeon. Deinde ad septentrionem illius campi, et ab Aeon versus orientem ab ea septem leucis distans est Nazareth beata civitas Domini Salvatoris. Deinde ulterius ad orientem per duas leucas est mons Tabor gloriosus, in quo Dominus suam gloriam discipulis tribus et Moysi et Heliae ostendit. Et deinde ad orientem est Tiberias civitas, quae antiquitus Lakes of Cenereth dicebatur, ut dicit Hieronymus decimo quarto libro J^^^Gen- super Ezechielem^ et prope hoc mare Tiberiados et Cenereth nesaret. dicitur lacus, super quem sita est civitas, qui secundum Isidorum decimo tertio libro, ' omnibus aquis in Judaea est salubrior, et circuit stadia centum sexaginta, cui conjungitur lacus Genesar amplissimus in Judaea ; longitudine clx stadiis extenditur, latitudine xl diffunditur, aquis crispantibus aura non ventis, sed de se ipso sibi excrispans, unde et Genesar dicitur Graeco vocabulo quasi generans sibi auram. Deinde per diffusiora spatia lacus frequentibus auris spirantibus agitatur. Unde et purior haustus ejus et ad potandum dulcis et habilis.' Haec Isidorus, qui distinguit hos lacus quantitate et naturali proprietate, quamvis glossa sexto Matthaei dicit quod idem dicitur stagnum Genesareth, et mare Tiberiadis, et lacus salinarum. Sed lacus salinarum secundum omnes, ut prius dictum est, mare Mortuum vocatur, et ideo haec glossa magi- stralis magis ex rumore locorum habita est quam ex auctoritate sanctorum vel experientia. Quod tamen dicit unum esse mare Tiberiadis et Genesar, hoc potest referri ad vicinitatem corum. Nam contigua sunt et cohaerent, et ideo pro uno computantur. Quoniam diversos esse lacus evangelium Johannis ostendit, quia sexto capitulo dicit, quod abiit Jesus ' A hiatus occurs here in all the MSS. 342 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. trans mare Galilaeae quod est Tiberiadis, et deinde venit in desertum Bethsaidae secundum Lucam ; et postea venerunt discipuli Bethsaidam, secundum Marcum ; deinde ascenderunt mare ut irent Capharnaum, secundum Johannem, quod non erit proprie mare Tiberiadis, quia ultra illud prius transierant. Ergo hoc est mare Genesareth, et ideo diversa sunt, sed cohaerentia. Deinde versus septentrionem, deserto interjacente, in quo Dominus pavit quinque millia hominum ex quinque panibus hordeaceis et duobus piscibus, est Bethsaida civitas principis apostolorum et Andreae ac Philippi ; deinde Capharnaum. Et quod hie sit ordo istorum locorum patet ex evangehis. Nam ante miraculum de panibus dicit Johannes, abiit Jesus trans mare Gahlaeae quod est Tiberiadis ; et tunc occurrebat mukitudo quam pavit ; et post discipuU ascen- derunt in navem, ut transfretarent in Capharnaum, sicut dicit Johannes ; sed antequam. illuc devenerunt, et antequam pavit multitudinem, venit in desertum locum, qui est Beth- saida, cum discipuiis suis, ut Lucas refert, et Marcus dicit quod venerunt ad Bethsaidam. Ouapropter primo est Tiberias, deinde ultra mare Tiberiadis versus septentrionem est desertum Bethsaidae, et juxta illud est Bethsaida, et postea lacus Genesareth et tandem Capharnaum super oram ejus, et haec omnia docentur in glossa magna sexto Marci. Deinde post Capharnaum est Julias oppidum de quo supra ; deinde Caesarea Philippi ad radices montis Libani. Cities of Amplius ab Aeon in orientem versus septentrionem magis Palestine, ^uam Nazareth est Cana Galilaeae, in qua Dominus mutavit aquam in vinum. Et distat Cana ab Aeon per quinque leucas. Et inter Canam et Nazareth sunt duae leucae. Item ab Aeon in oriens septentrionale per novem leucas est Sapheth civitas Tobiae ultra Cana quasi per quinque leucas. Deinde per leucam et dimidiam est Corazaim civitas, et inter Corazaim et Tiberiadem sunt leucae circiter duae. Et in his locis scilicet Tiberiade, Beth.saida, Corazaim, Capharnaum, Cana, Nazareth, Dominus maxime conversatus est praedicando et faciendo miracula,sicut evangelia referunt. Mons vero Libani extenditur a Paneade seu Caesarea a regione Tyri et Sidonis, et Baruch, et Biblii, et Tripolis, per mille quingenti GEOGRAPHIA. 343 stadia, ut dicit Plinius, et contra Tyrum descendit aqua de Libano sub terra, et currit prope Tyrum ad unam leucam, et ibi erumpit in puteum latissimum, et altitudinis ad modum turris, qui per canalem descendit in terrain et iiTigat loca vicina. Et hie puteus est puteus aquarum viventium, qui fluit cum impetu de Libano, de quo in Canticis habetur. Contra vero Tripolim est fons hortorum juxta colles Libani et fluit usque ad montem peregrinum, a quo flumen emanat, et cadit in mare inter Tripolim et Tortosam, prope tamen Tripolim. Sed et ab eodem fonte peregrini currit aquae- ductus in Tripolim. Fons hortorum et Libanus distant a Tripoli per tres leucas. Sidon distat a collibus Libani per leucas circiter tres, a monte magno per leucas circiter quinque. Et cum nunc tactae sunt civitates et montes citra Jordanem cities et versus mare nostrum, possunt aliqua addi versus Euphratem. y^J^^j Et primo super mare Mortuum est Machaerus, quondam arx secunda post Hierosolymam, ut dicit Plinius, a qua incipit ti'ibus Ruben a meridie ; et in septentrione super Jordanem juxta montem Libanum est Pella ^ civitas, quae est ultimus terminus terrae Hebraeorum ultra Jordanem in septentrione prope Caesaream Philippi. Est autem ad orientem finis istius terrae secundum Hieronymum libro Locorum civitas Phila- delphia, quae dicitur in Biblia Rabath filiorum Amon. Et in termino regni Seon, et Og regis Basan, est Jaboc fluvius ut dictum est, ubi est Ramoth-Galaad, de quo satis habetur in bellis regum Israel. Circa Pellam et Caesaream Philippi est mons Hermon Caesareae imminens ; et e regione Libani ad orientem terrae filiorum Israel, ut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum, de quo aestivae nives Tyrum ob delicias deferuntur. Sed, ut dicit Plinius, valle interjacente post Libanum, huic par mons exoritur qui Antilibanus nominatur, et est in orientalem partem montis Libani, ut dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Et secundum Hieronymum libro Locorum, Galaad mons est ad terminum Phoenicis et Arabiae collibus Libani copulatus ad meridiem, extenditurque per desertum usque ad locum ilium, ubi trans Jordanem habitavit olim Seon rex ^ Pella is twenty miles south of the sea of Tiberias, and sixty miles away from Caesarea Philippi. 344 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Amorraeorutn. Et cecidit hie mons in sortem tribuum Ruben, Gad, et dimidiae tribus Manasse : sed et Jeremias loquitur, * Galaad, tu mihi caput seu principium Libani.' Antilibanus vero, secundum Hieronymum libro Locorum, extendit se circa regiones urbis Damascij quae cecidit in sortem tribus Manasse, et haec est Damascus^ quae in libris Regnorum caput Syriae nominatur, quae distat a Jerusalem per dietas circiter quatuor, ab Aeon circiter tres, a Tripoli circiter duas, a Baruch per unam. Deinde a Damasco per dietas circiter septem vel octo in septentrionem est ci vitas famosa Alap, quae antiquitus mansio fuit Abrahae^ quae ab Euphrate distat circiter per duas dietas et ab Antiochia per dietam et dimidiam. Deinde in fine terrae repromissionis ad septentrionem in oriente est et Amath civitas, ut habetur Numerorum xxxiv, de qua etiam scribitur secundo Regum viii, et primo Paralipo- menon xviii, et pluribus aliis locis. Et Hieronymus dicit libro Locorum quod diligenter inquisivit de hac civitate et invenit quod vocatur Epiphania. Deinde est Comaga civitas prope Ciliciam, ubi malta bitumen ardens reperitur, quod projectum super militem armatum comburit eum, nec est remedium per aquam nec per aliud liquidum, sed per terram apponendum. Diu vero turbatus est exercitus Romanus et confusus per hoc bitumen projectum in milites, usquequo remedium per terrae pulveres sparsos super locum a bitumine tactum didicerunt. Haec Plinius narrat libro secundo ^. Division of Postquam civitates, et montes, et aquae, et caetera loca provinces! particularia sunt assignata, nunc juxta haec facilius provinciae et regiones capi possunt. Haec autem tota Syria citra Euphratem situm habet porrectum in immensam longitu- dinem, sed in lato angustior est, ut dicit Isidorus, et Plinius ait quod ejus longitudo a Cilicia usque ad Arabiam tenet cccclxx milliaria ; habet autem multas provincias, quae omnes nomine Syriae continentur. Nam in ea nominatur Syria Comagena, Syria-Coele^ Syria Phoenicis, Syria Palaestinae, Galilaea, Samaria, Judaea. Nam hae regiones ad Syriam per- tinent Palaestinam secundum auctores. Syria vero Comagena, ut dicit Isidorus decimo quarto libro, nominatur a vocabulo * Pliny, ii. 104. GEOGRAPHIA. 345 Comagae urbis quae quondam ibi metropolis habebatur. Haec ab oriente habet Euphratem, a septentrione Ciliciam et Cappadociam, ab occasu mare nostrum, a meridie Syriam- Coele, quae per diphthongum scribitur, et Coele-Syria nuncu- patur. In hac est caput et principalis civitas Antiochia in occidente, cui super mare adnectuntur Laodicea, et Ateradum, et vicinae civitates usque ad provinciam Phoenicis, et in oriente est Emath. Nam Hieronymus dicit libro Locorum, quod diligenter investigans invenit quod haec civitas Emath fuerit in Coele-Syria, et hoc dicit Plinius. P^t similiter Alap, quae est prope Antiochiam et multum distans a Damasco, quae est in Syria Phoenicis. Habet igitur haec ab occidente mare magnum, a septentrione Syriam Comagenam. ab oriente Euphratem, a meridie Syriam Phoenicis, quae incipit in septentrionali termino montis Libani. Nam Plinius dicit quod porrigitur hie mons usque in Coele-Syriam et hoc est circa Tripolim ; in qua sunt Tripolis, et Tyrus, et Sidon, et Aeon, usque ad Caesaream Palaestinae. Nam Plinius dicit, quod in ora Phoenicis est Ptolemais, Phoenicia, quae Aeon dicitur, et Caesarea Philippi est de provincia Phoenicis, ut dicit Hieronymus, et totum citra Jordanem usque ad Palaestinam ; atque continet montem Libani et Antilibanum et Damascum cum sua regione, et totum ultra Jordanem continet usque Pellam et montem Hermon et montem Galaad, et illas terras filiorum Israel super Jordanem. Quod autem contineatur Damascus in Syria Phoenicis patet. Nam Hieronymus dicit libro Locorum, Damascus est nobilis urbs Phoenicis. Et super Genesim comprehendit Damascum sub Syria Phoenicis, cum dicat, quod Hus filius Aran possedit Damascum, et usque ad Coele-Syriam. Principales tamen civitates Phoenicum sunt Tyrus et Sidon. Nam, ut dicit Isidorus decimo cjuarto libro, Phoenix Cadmi frater de Thebis Aegyptiorum in Syriam profectus apud Sidonem regnavit, eamque provinciam suo nomine Phoenicen appel- lavit. Et isti similiter condiderunt Tyrum ; a quibus tota terra in circuitu vocatur Phoenicea. Haec tamen in duas partes principales distribuitur, scilicet in regionem Tyriorum, Syriorum, et Sidoniorum, et Aconensium, et totam terram 346 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. - inter Libanum et Tripolim ; et alia ejus pars principalis est Syria Damasci, quae civitas Damascus quantum ad regnum Syriae inter Euphratem et montem Libanum usque ad terram Hebraeorum vocabatur caput Syriae. Nomen enim Syriae in tempore regum Israel attribuebatur Damasco et regioni ejus. Haec igitur provincia Syriae Phoenicis habet terram Hebraeorum a meridie et terram Philistinorum ; sed terra Philistinorum incipit a finibus Aconensis territorii usque ad turbidum fluvium Aegypti, et antiquitus continebat fere totam terram Judaeorum citra Jordanem. Judaea. Quia tamen Judaei multa occupabant de regione Philisti- norum et coarctabant eos in civitatibus maritimis, scilicet Caesarea, Joppe, Ascalone, et Gaza, et caeteris ; ideo distin- guendum est hie quod citra Jordanem sunt tres regiones principales Judaeorum, scilicet Galilaea, Samaria, Judaea specialiter dicta, secundum quod xix Matthaei dicitur in glossa. Omnis Judaeorum provincia ad distinctionem aliarum gentium Judaea dicitur, sed specialiter meridiana plaga, in qua Hierosolyma, ad differentiam Samariae, Galilaeae, Deca- polis et caeterarum regionum ejusdem provinciae. Hanc autem terram Judaeorum totam trans Jordanem et citra Josephus in antiquitatum libro distinguit in partes et ordinat ; quem secutus est Hegesippus tertio libro, et exponit ea quae obscurius apud Josephum reperiuntur. Tota autem regio trans Jordanem vocatur ab eis Pera. Longitudo ejus a Macheronte super mare Mortuum usque ad Pellam prope Caesaream Philippi et montem Hermon ; latitudo ejus a Phila- delphia usque ad Jordanem. Duas vero partes principales invenimus in ea ; una est Decapolis regio continens decern civitates, quarum una est Pella, ut dicit Plinius, et caeterae ei annexae ad meridiem Libani et Antilibani secundum Plinium versus Philadelphiam, quam cingunt, ut dicit, duae tetrarchiae, scilicet Paneas seu Caesarea Philippi ab occidente et Traconitis regio a meridie super Jordanem. Et ideo Decapolis haec est , prope Libanum et Caesaream Philippi, et jungitur finibus Tyri et Sidonis, secundum quod Marci viii habetur ; ' Exiens Jesus de finibus Tyri venit per Sidonem ad mare Galilaeae inter medios fines Decapoleos.' Et post hanc ad meridiem GEOGRAPHIA. 347 super Jordanem est Ithiiraea sen Traconitis tetrachia, in qua est Phiala fons Jordanis, ut prius dictum est, parum distans a Caesarea, et Gerasenorum regio, cujus caput est Gerasa. Et dicit glossa Marci quinto, Gerasa est urbs Arabiae trans Jordanem juncta monti Galaad in tribu Manasse non longe a stagno Tiberiadis, in quo porci praecipitati sunt. Hie igitur habitabant Geraseni seu Gergaseni, ut ex hoc loco accipitur. Deinde versus meridiem est alia pars Ithuraeae seu Traconi- tidis regionis, de qua dicit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Traconitis regio sive Ithuraea, cujus tetrarches Pbilippus juxta evangelium Lucae, est trans Bosram Arabiae civitatem in deserto contra austraiem plagam, et in septentrionem respicit versus Damascum. Quae Bosra est in deserto trans Jordanem, quae cecidit in tribu Ruben ad orientalem plagam Jericho et extenditur versus Macherontem et terminos Moabitarum. Sed ne fiat quaestio de Bosra, dicendum est quod alia est civitas in Idumaea, de qua dicit Isaias : ' Quis est iste qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bosra?' sicut distinguit Hieronymus libro Locorum. Et quod hie Ithuraea extendatur usque prope Decapolim et Caesaream patet per hoc, quod Plinius dicit quod Ithuraea cingit Decapolim. Regiones vero citra Jordanem sic dividuntur. Nam Galilee, secundum Josephum et Hegesippum primo est tota Galilaea, quae habet a septentrione fines Tyri et Sidonis, ab occasu Aconense territorium cum monte Carmelo, ab ortu Decapolim, a meridie Samariam et Scythopolim superius assignatam. Duplex tamen est GaHlaea, una gentium et superior, quae finibus Tyri et Sidonis adhaeret. Quae ideo dicitur Galilaea gentium, quia Solomon dedit in ea Hiram regi Tyri viginti civitates ; et ideo quia gentes in hac Galilaea mixtae sunt cum Judaeis, et quia est prope nationes gentium a septentrione, et ortu solis, et occidente, vocatur Galilaea gentium ; et haec terminatur circa Tiberiadem, et infra campum magnum Esdrelon. Et in illis locis incipit Galilaea inferior, quae dicitur Galilaea Judaeorum, quae est in tribu Zabulon. Sed hie cavendum est, ne putetur esse trans Jordanem, ut multi aestimaverunt propter verbum Isaiae et evangelium Matthaei, cum dicit, ' terra Zabulon et terra Nepthalim via maris trans 348 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Jordanem, Galilaea gentium.' Seel glossa super Matthaeum dicit Galilaea gentium quae est in tribu Nepthalim vicina Tyriis ; et ideo cum tribus Nepthalim sit citra Jordanem, tunc haec Galilaea similiter, et hoc dicit Hieronymus in libro Locorum ; et Josephus, et Hegesippus, et omnes volunt hoc. Sed considerandus est modus loquendi in hac parte. Nam pluries invenimus hunc modum loquendi in evangeliis. Quo- niam sexto Marci dicitur, ' et ascendentes in navim abierunt in locum desertum, et viderunt eos abeuntes et cognoverunt multi, et pedestres de omnibus civitatibus concurrerunt illuc et praevenerunt eos.' Ubi dicit glossa, non ad aliam maris ripam sive Jordanis pervenerunt, sed transito aliquo freto vel stagno a Domino et discipulis ejus, proximos ejusdem regionis locos indigenae adierunt quo pedestres pervenire potuerunt. Ex quo accepimus quod trans Jordanem hie significat fi^iri trans ejus aliquam partem, non totum. Similiter cum dicatur sexto Johannis, ' Post haec abiit Jesus trans mare Galilaeae quod est Tiberiadis,^ non transivit usque ad aliud littus, ubi est regio Gerasenorumi, sed angulum maris transivit ex eadem parte, scilicet citra Jordanem, et ideo hie sicut prius ponitur pars pro toto. Et cum eodem capitulo dicat, ' Venerunt trans mare in Capharnaum,' adhuc in eadem regione et citra Jordanem semper fuerunt. Et ideo non totum mare accipitur, nec fit transfretatio ad aliud littus, sed pars pro tota accipitur ex eadem parte Jordanis : et ita hie, cum dicitur trans Jordanem Galilaea gentium, sumitur pars pro toto. A loco enim Isaiae, in quo haec dicebat, fuit magna pars Jordanis usque ad Galilaeam gentium, quam in eundo de uno loco ad alium oportet transmeare, et ideo dicit trans Jordanem, id est, trans magnam partem Jordanis, quae extendebatur a loco Isaiae usque ad Galilaeam superiorem. Samaria. Deinde ad meridiem Galilaeae Judaeorum est Samaria, quae non est solum civitatis nomen, sed regionis, quae incipit in campo magno et extenditur usque ad Judaeam, cujus Judaeae latitudo est a Jordane usque ad Joppen secundum Josephum et Hegesippum, cujus longitudo usque ad Bersaben extenditur. Extent Et nunc in fine solvenda est quaestio notanda, ut sciamus of the quantum est terra repromissionis et quantum est possessum GEOGRAPHIA. 349 a Judaeis. Sed Hieronymus certitudinaliter hoc in epistola promised de terra repromissionis determinat, dicens quod nec David, nec Solomon, nec alii possederunt unquam nisi a Dan usque Bersaben, licet post victoriam multos inimicos et tributarios receperunt. Et hujus terrae longitudo inter Dan et Bersaben vix continet centum et sexaginta milliaria, ut ipse dicit et infert. Pudet dicere latitudinem, nam a Joppe usque ad viculum nostrum Bethlehem sunt quadraginta sex milh'aria, et a Beth- lehem usque ad Jordanem est circiter una dieta ; quapropter parum fuit possessum a Judaeis. Sciendum tamen est, quod hoc quod nunc tactum est, solum fuit possessum citra Jordanem. Ultra tamen habuerunt suas possessiones duae tribus et Judaea , . . 1 . . T T • • -1 • T beyond dimidia, ut patet, sicut Hieronymus etiam m nac epistola Jordan, exponit. Sed repromissum fuit eis ab Euphrate ex parte orientis, usque ad mare nostrum ex parte occidentis, et a Cilicia et Tauro monte a parte aquilonis usque ad fluvium . turbidum Aegypti, et usque ad terram Edom, et Moab, et Ammon, ex parte meridiei. Nam octavo libro super Isaiam dicit Hieronymus quod ab Euphrate usque ad rivulum Aegypti fuit Judaeis repromissum, immo usque ad Nilum. Nam ille rivus est prope Nilum. Et Euphrates est ab oriente istius terrae. Rivus autem Aegypti cum mari nostro, in quod in- fluit, est ad occidentem, et in primo libro dicit illud idem. Et addit quod ex parte aquilonis fuit eis repromissum a Cilicia et Tauro monte, et decimo quarto libro super Ezechielem dicit, quod plaga septentrionalis incipit a mari nostro usque ad Zephirum Ciliciae oppidum, et usque ad Taurum montem altissimum, et usque Emath, quae est civitas Coele- Syria, quae nunc Epiphania dicitur, et in occidente durat a torrente Rinocorurae urbis influente in mare magnum super mare istud usque ad eum locum maris qui est contra Emath urbem Syriae, de qua supra. Meridiana vero pars incipit a torrente Aegypti, ubi cadit in mare magnum, ascendendo per desertum Sin et Cades, et per terram Edom, Moab et Ammon, usque ad Euphratem. Nam si Euphrates est in oriente, et mare in quod cadit rivus Aegypti in occidente, tunc meridiana pars extenditur inter illud mare et Euphratem. Hoc sequitur 350 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. necessario. Sed non habetur hoc una auctoritate, sed ex multis coUigitur et sequitur ex praedictis. Quod eriim xxxiv Numerorum et xiv super Ezechielem multis locis habetur, quod mare Cenereth et Jordanis et hujusmodi sunt in oriente, hoc est verum respectu terrae possessae a Judaeis citra Jordanem. Sed ultra Jordanem multa possederunt, ut patet per duas tribus et dimidiam, et plura fuerunt eis repromissa, quoniam usque ad Euphratem. Jerusalem. ^ In medio Judaeae est Hierusalem variarum opum dives, unde secundum gratiam elementorum putaverunt Judaei earn promissam fluentem lac et mel, cum hinc eis Deus resur- rectionis praerogativam poUicetur. Scissura decem tribuum nomen dedit Judaeis, nam ante Hebraei sive Israel nomina- bantur. Ex quo autem in duo regna Dei populus est divisus, duae tribus quae de stirpe Judae reges habebant Judaei dicti sunt. Reliquae decem tribus quae in Samaria regem sibi constituerunt Israel dictae sunt. TheTauric Ad caeteras regiones accedendo oportet describere Taurum clufhig^' montem^, quoniam ipse disterminat regiones inhnitas. Ab Caucasus, oriente et Indico mari incipit, et transit in occasum per fines Indiae et Parthorum regna, et Mesopotamiam et Syriam, quas provincias relinquit versus meridiem, et ab aquilone totas Scytharum regiones et partem Armeniae majoris et Cappadociam relinquit et transit in Ciliciam. Sed secundum varietatem regionum diversa sortitur nomina. Aliquando enim Caucasus, ubi altior est propter abundantiam nivium, nam illorum lingua quibus attollitur Caucasus significat candidum ; alibi Caspius vocatur, alibi Taurus, et aliquando Hyrcanus ; et multis aliis nominibus, pluribus quam viginti, secundum ^ This paragraph, which is missing in the other MSS., is found in a MS. of Corpus Christ! Coll., Cambridge, containing the geographical section of the Opus Majus, which I was kindly permitted to collate. ^ This conception of the continuity of the great Asian chain seems to be due to Eratosthenes. He considered it as a vast range of mountains occupying in parts a width of not less than 2,000 stadia, and stretching in a direct line nearly parallel with the equator from the interior of Lycia and CiHcia . . . north of the plains of Mesopotamia and Assyria as well as of the table-land of Persia, and the plains of India, till they ultimately ended in the unknown ocean that formed the eastern boundary of Asia.' Bunbury, Hist, of Ancient Geography, vol. i. p. 641. Cf. Pliny, v. 27. GEOGRAPHIA. 351 Plinium. Nam novem nomina habet ab oceano Indico in oriente, antequam vocetur proprio nomine Taurus, deinde Caucasus, et postea tria sortitur nomina extranea, et iterum Taurus vocatur. Sed ubi se aperit et portae fiunt Caspiae, ibi vocatur Caspius, et Hyrcanus, et multis aliis nominibus, de quibus non est curandum ad praesens. Haec secundum Plinium, quamvis Orosius velit aliter, et multi alii aliter quam ille. Unde totus ille mons a multis vocatur ab India Caucasus et postea Taurus. Alii e converso, sed non est curandum, quia diversae imaginationes et diversa vocabula hie sunt circa rem eandem. Quod tamen magis est in usu sapientum describentium mundi regiones, est quod vocetur in orientali parte Caucasus^ deinde Caspius et Hyrcanus, postea Taurus, et iterum Cau- casus, quia ubi se maxime attollit vocatur Caucasus, et tum postea adliuc Taurus nominatur. Totus etiam Caucasus dicitur, et totus Taurus secundum diversas considerationes. Revertendum est igitur ad regiones orientales supra Meso- Media and potamiam, Assyriam et Babylonem, et dicendum est secundum P^^^'^^^^^- Plinium et omnes, quod ibi sunt regna Medorum et Persarum et Parthorum. Et haec regna habent ab occidente Tigrim fluvium, ab oriente Indum fluvium, a meridie mare Persicum, sive sinum Rubri maris Persicum, a septentrione habent Arme- nian! et Taurum, et Caucasum montes, et portas Caspias, seu Hyrcanias, et terram Hyrcanorum et mare Hyrcanicum, quod est et Caspium. Nam idem est mare Caspium et Hyrcanium, sicut dicit Plinius. Et Persarum regna nunc Parthorum intelligimus, ut dicit Plinius. Veruntamen ilia pars quae est super mare Persicum est prope Persida ; nam ab ilia mare Persicum nominatur. Sunt enim Parthorum regna octodecim, ut dicit. Undecim dicuntur superiora et septentrionalia, quae incipiunt a confinio Armeniae et Caspiae littoribus seu Hyrcanicis, et hi proprie dicuntur Parthi, et pertinent ad Scythas, cum ex aequo vivunt qui adhaerent montibus et mari Caspiis et Hyrcanicis. Alia septem regna Parthorum sunt meridionalia, et adhaerent mari Persico et proprie vocantur regna Persarum, et illi sunt Elamitae, id est principes Persidis, sicut Hieronymus dicit super Genesim et in libro Locorum. Nam Elam est civitas principalis 352 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. Persarum, in qua fuit Susis vel Susa castrum, de quibus habetur octavo Danielis, ubi fuit caput regni Persarum. Et Plinius dicit, quod prope Tigrim et a mari Persico per ccl milliaria est Susa Persarum regia, a Dario Hydaspis filio condita in septentrionali Tigris alveo. Et ibi prope est oppidum ubi mortalium soli aurum in odium contrahunt, idque fodiunt ne cui in usu sit. Medi vero sunt vicini tarn Parthis quam Persis. Nam una pars Medorum scilicet sep- tentrionalis est sub Parthis et Caspiis, et incipit recte a portis Caspiis, et in confinio Armeniae. Et ideo habent hi Parthos ab oriente, et a septentiione Armeniam et portas Caspias, ab occi- dente vero Tigrim, quia Parthi sunt supra eos versus Indum fluvium. Alia pars Medorum meridiana flectit se inter regna Partbica superiora et inferiora, ita quod inferiora, scilicet regna Persidis habeat non recte ab ortu, sed magis a meridie vergente in occasum secundum intentionem Plinii. Nam Media includit utraque regna Persarum et involvit secundum Plinium. India. Supra vero Indum fluvium versus orientem est tota India usque ad mare ^ Scythicum, quod est ab aquilone, et montes Himanus, Hemodus, et multi qui sunt partes Caucasi ; et extenditur usque ad mare Eoum, quod est orientale, et usque ad mare Indicum meridianum, in quod cadit Indus fluvius, ut dicit Plinius, quia jam evanuit mare Rubrum. Unde India habet Indum fluvium ab occidente, et regna Persarum et Medorum ; et habet mare Scythicum, montes Caucasum et Taurum a septentrione et Scytharum regna, et Indicum mare a meridie, et Eoum ab oriente ; cujus dispositio in principio tacta est in multis, quia ibi est principium habitabilis. Et ideo ab ea fuit incipiendum, ut ulterius curreret stylus per longitu- dinem habitabilis usque ad occidens per regiones Aethiopum, et iterum ab occidente revertendo secundum longitudinem. Indus and Tactae sunt regiones succedentes prioribus usque in Indiam, Ganges. adhuc aliqua dicenda sunt. Habet enim flumina maxima, inter quae praecipue sunt Indus et Ganges, de quo loquitur Scriptura. De magnitudine vero Indi, dicit Plinius, .Alexander magnus nullo die minus sexcenta stadia navigavit in Indo, nec potuit ante quinque menses enavigare totum, ^ Reg. has Scythicum : O. Sericum. GEOGRAPHIA. 353 adjectis paucis adhuc diebus. Et tamen Ganges major est ut dicit, et hie fluvius, sicut Scriptura dicit, circuit omnem terram Evilat, ubi aurum nascitur optimum. Nam a montibus Caucasi oriens in septentrione dividit Indiam, decurrens ad orientem ubi sunt ejus ostia magna, quibus in mare Eoum, id est, orientale delitescit. Bragmani vero, de quibus habetur in epistola Hieronymi Brahmins. Bibliae praeposita, sunt in India. Et quia sancti et philosophi et historiae narrant mirabilia de eis plus quam de aliis genti- bus, ideo aliqua hie inseram de illis, et praecipue adducam ea quae volo de scripturis beati Ambrosii propter majorem certi- tudinem. Dicit igitur in epistola ad Palladium de vita Bragmanorum quod habitant juxta flumen Gangem, ubi in mare oceanum quod est Eoum ingreditur, sed viri ultra flumen versus oceanum, foeminae vero citra inhabitant propter in- signia castitatis. Nam solum propter spem prolis conveniunt mares cum foeminis certis temporibus, scilicet Julio et Augusto, ut refert sanctus praedictus. At ubi quadraginta cum foeminis suis compleverunt dies, mox ad propria revertuntur. Et cum fuerit alicujus uxor enixa edideritque unum et alterum partum, non transit ulterius ad ipsam ejus maritus, singulis enim filiis loco patrum substitutis per totam in reliquum ab hujusmodi coitu abstinent vitam. Si autem acciderit, ut quisque sterilem sortiatur uxorem, usque ad annos quinque maritus ejus transit et cum uxore propria dormit, quae si gravida per illud tempus omnino non fuerit, mox abstinet penitus ab ea. Et sicut ex hac epistola patet et ex libro principali, quem de vita Bragma- norum scribit beatus Ambrosius, illi habent aerem temperatis- simum, ita ut vestimentis non utuntur, sed foliis arborum se tegunt. Nec colunt terras, nec arbores, nec panem habent, nec vinum ; sed herbis et foliis et fructibus sponte nascentibus vescuntur, et aquis optimis sitim extinguunt. Sani sunt sine infirmitate, et vitam protendunt longissimam. Ad aquilonarem vero partem Indiae, ut dictum est, sunt The mare Scythicum et montes illi magni, qui Caucasus et Taurus ^^^P^^"- et multis aliis nominibus vocantur secundum diversitatem loco- rum et gentium. Et ad occidentem est Persida seu Parthia, et Media. Deinde sub eis ad occidentem est Mesopotamia VOL. I. A a OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. et tota Syria, ut dictum est. Sed in confinio Mediae et Parthiae est porta ferrea Alexandri, quae est civitas denomi- nata a portis, et illae portae dicuntur Caspiae\ non Caucasiae, ut dicit Plinius. Nam aliae sunt portae Caucasi, ut postea dicetur, quia in littore maris Caspii sunt hae portae. Est enim mare quoddam, quod fit ex concursu maximorum fluminum venientum ab aquilone, et Caspium vocatur, atque Hyrcani- cum secundum Plinium. Nam Caspii et Hyrcani super littora illius maris inhabitant ; non igitur est hoc mare veniens ab oceano^, ut Isidorus et Plinius, et omnes auctores occidentales scribunt. In hoc enim casu non habuerunt experientiam certam per se nec per alios, sed ex rumore scripserunt. In libris autem de moribus Tartarorum, ut per fide dignos qui in illis regionibus fuerunt patet, quod hoc mare fit ex concursu fluminum, et est mare satis magnum. ^ This pass is ' still traversed by the most frequented route from Teheran to Meshed and Herat. The identity of this pass with the one now known as the Sirdar pass, between Veramin and Kishlak in Khowar, has been fully established by modern travellers.' Bunbury, Arte. Gcog. vol. i. p. 477. The pass called by Bacon Caucasian, and carefully distinguished by him from the Sirdar pass (cf. p. 364), is described by Marco Polo (i. ch. 4) when speaking of Georgia. ' This is the country beyond which Alexander could not pass when he wished to penetrate to the region of the Ponent, because that the defile was so narrow and perilous, the sea lying on the one hand and on the other lofty mountains impassable to horsemen. Alexander caused a very strong tower to be built there to prevent the people beyond from passing to attack him, and this got the name of the Iron Gate. This is the place that the book of Alexander speaks of when it tells us how he shut up the Tartars between two mountains ; not that they were really Tartars, however, for there were no Tartars in those days ; but they consisted of a race of people called Comanians and many besides.' ' This,' says Yule, in his note on this passage, ' refers to the Pass of Derbend, still called in Turkish Demir Kapi or the Iron Gate, and to the ancient wall that runs from the Castle of Derbend along the ridges of Caucasus, called in the East Sadd-i-Iskendr, the Rampart of Alexander. Bayer thinks the wall was built originally by one of the Antiochi, and renewed by the Sassanian Kobad or his son Naoshirvan.' The mediaeval legend, bearing the name of Callisthenes, as to the imprison- ment by Alexander of twenty-two wild tribes behind those gates, Gog and Magog among them, is repeated by Aethicus, and by many other mediaeval writers. ^ This is one of the most important corrections made in the geography of Asia by Bacon, in consequence of the atcention paid by him to the reports of the two Franciscan missionaries, Rubruquis and Carpini. Previously to their travels the Caspian had usually, though not alwa^'S, been held to be a gulf communicating with the Scythic, or Arctic, ocean. GEOGRAPHIA. 355 Nam circiiitus ejus est quatuor mensium. Et Hyrcania prope est super littus meridionale illius maris in termino Parthiae ; et ubi Parthia conjungitur Mediae in portis illius extenditur a portis Caspiis versus orientem, ut dicit Plinius ; deinde contra residuum Mediae ad ejus septentrionem, et ad occidentem Hyrcaniae est major Armenia, et eam dividit Euphrates a Cappadocia, ut dicit PJinius, propter quod Cappadocia est ad occidentem Armeniae majoris. Deinde versus Syriam et mare nostrum est Cilicia, quae AsiaMinor. dicitur Armenia minor. Unde jacet partim in meridie, partim in occidente Cappadociae, et ejus principium non distat ab Antiochia per duas dietas. Sub Cilicia ad septentrionem super mare comprehenditur Pamphylia, ut dicit Plinius, neglecta gente Isaurica, vel non computata per se propter parvitatem, sed sub eis comprehensa. In Cilicia est Tarsus metropolis ejus, in quo natus fuit beatus apostolus Paulus. Et durat Cilicia a meridie in septentrionem per Tarsum in latitudine circiter quatuor dietas versus Turkiam ; nam ad septentrionem Ciliciae est Lycaonia, ubi est Iconium celeberrima civitas, a qua Lycaonia dicitur quasi Iconia ; unde princeps eorum vocatur Soldanus Iconii et Turkiae, nam Lycaonia vocatur nunc Turkia. Et a finibus Armeniae usque in Iconium sunt octo dietae. Nomina provinciarum in his regionibus sunt multum mutata propter guerras. Nam Turkia multas terras occupat, quae apud auctores habent nomina antiqua, ut est pars Asiae minoris, et Phrygia, et Lydia. Asia vero major continet plus medietate mundi, et totum praeter Europam et Africam, unde continet hanc Asiam minorem. Et haec nunc vocatur apud Graecos Anatolia, id est orientalis Graecia, in qua est Galatia, unde Galatae quibus scribit apostolus, Ilium, quod et Troja dicitur, ilia famosissima civitas. Et sunt aliae multae, ut EphesuSj et septem ecclesiae Apocalypsis, et Nicaea, unde synodus Nicaena, et multae aliae. Et ab Iconio usque Nicaeam sunt viginti dietae in aestate ; et ab ea usque ad brachium sancti Georgii, quod apud antiquos vocatur Helles- pontus, sunt circiter septem, quod brachium exit a mari inter Italiam et Antiochiam. Et ibi terminatur Asia minor, et hoc ex parte occidentis. A parte vero meridiei habet mare illud A a 3 356 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. quod est inter Italiam et Graeciam et Antiochiam et Aegyp- tum. Ab oriente habet Phrygiam. Nam, ut dicit Plinius curialiter, Phrygia Troiadi superjecta septentrionali sua parte Galatiae continua est, meridiana Lycaoniae, ab oriente Cappa- dociam habet, et dicit quod Lydia Phrygiae ex ortu solis vicina est, unde fuit Croesus ditissimus rex Lydorum. Brachium vero sancti Georgii est strictum multum et habet Constanti- nopolim ab occidente in Europa, et extenditur a mari magno quod est inter Asiam et Aegyptum, Syriam et Italiam, cir- citer centum leucas versus aquilonem usque ad aliud mare quod vocatur Ponticum, et mare majus. Et istud mare habet formam arcus Scythici, multas regiones disterminans. Tartar- Unde hic incipiunt regiones aquilonares, de quibus philo- sophi meridiani parum sciverunt, secundum quod Ethicus astronomus refert in suo libro ; sed hic perambulavit omnes has regiones, et mare oceanum septentrionale cum insulis suis navigavit Volo igitur ipsum sequi, et nihilominus libros de moribus Tartarorum, et praecipue fratrem Willielmum ^, quem Dominus rex Franciae, Lodovicus, in Syria existens misit ad terram Tartarorum anno Domini 1253, frater scripsit Domino regi situm regionum et marium. The Black Extenditur autem hoc mare majus ab occidente, scilicet a Sea. ^ William de Rubruquis, to whom several allusions have already been made in the course of this w^ork, was a Flemish Franciscan sent by Louis IX to the Emperor of Tartary in 1253, with letters inviting him to cease from his wars of extermination. In Joinville's memoirs we read how, when Louis IX was at Cyprus on his way to Egypt, ' envoia le grant roy des Tartarins ses messages a li, et li manda moult debonnairement paroles. Entre les autres li manda que il estoit prest de li aidier a conquerre la terre sainte, et de delivrer Jherusalem de la main aus Sarrazins.' The king sent back many presents, including a tent embroidered with Christian emblems, ' et touz les autres poins de la foy. Et ces choses leur envoia-il par deux freres preescheurs qui savoient le Sarrazinois, pour eulz moustrer et enseigner comment ils devoient croire.' Part of the narra- tive of Rubruquis was published by Hakluyt in 1598, and is to be found in Purchases, Bergeron's, and other geographical collections. But two-thirds remained unpublished till 1839, when the whole was carefully edited by the Paris Geographical Society {Recueil de Me'moires, vol. iv.). Of Rubruquis, Yule remarks (Marco Polo, vol. i. p. cxxx), ' His narrative in its rich detail, its vivid pictures, its acuteness of observation and strong good sense, seems to me to form a book of travels of much higher claims than any one series of Polo's chapters ; a book indeed which has never had justice done to it, for it has few superiors in the whole history of travels.* GEOGRAPHIA. 357 Constantinopoli in oriens per mcccc milliaria in longum, et in medio ejus coarctatur ex utraque parte in angulos, et in angulo meridiano est castrum et portus soldani Turkiae, quod vocatur Sinopolis. A parte vero aquilonis habet aliud castrum in angulo, quod vocatur Soldaia, et est in provincia, quae nunc Cassaria dicitur vel Cessaria, et sunt trecenta milliaria inter Sinopolim et Soldaiam, et haec est latitudo maris inter illos angulos. Et ista castra sunt duo portus famosi, a quibus transeunt homines a meridianis regionibus ad aquilonares et e converso. Et ab istis castris versus occidentem seu Con- stantinopolim extenditur mare per septingenta milliaria in longum et latum, similiter ad orientem per septingenta. Et ista provincia Cassaria circumdatur mari a tribus lateribus. Nam in occidente habet partem maris Pontici, ubi est civitas Kersona, in qua fuit sanctus Clemens martyrizatus. Et prope eam est insula, in qua est templum, quod dicitur angelicis manibus praeparatum, in quo corpus sancti sepultum fuit. Et a Kersona usque ad Soldaiam sunt quadringenta castra, quorum quodlibet fere habet proprium idioma. Et sunt ibi multi Gothi, qui omnes loquuntur Teutonicum. Et a parte meridiei Cassariae extenditur mare Ponticum,, et The Don. in oriente ejus cadit flumen Tanais in mare, ubi habet lati- tudinem duodecim milliariorum, ubi est civitas Matrica. Et flumen illud versus aquilonem facit mare quoddam habens septingenta milliaria in longitudinem et latitudinem, nusquam habens profunditatem ultra sex pedes. Et hoc mare est palus Maeotis famosissima, de qua philosophi et historiae et poetae loquuntur. Et flumen Tanais extenditur ultra illam paludem versus aquilonem usque ad montes Riphaeos, qui sunt in ultimo aquilonis, a quibus montibus oritur hoc flumen et descendit per longum terrae tractum in paludem supradictam, faciens eam. Et ultra eam digreditur et fluit in mare Ponticum, ut praedixi. Et hoc flumen famosum dividit Europam ab Asia in locis illis, et palus dicta et plures paludes sunt contiguae, sed quasi pro una computantur ; et vocantur paludes Maeotis, vel Maeotidae in adjectivo. Paludes igitur illae, quae vocantur mare illud vadosum, sunt in oriente Cassariae, et pars fluminis Tanais quae est inter paludes et mare Ponticum. 358 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. Cumanians Et haec provincia Cassaria habet ab aquilone vastam by^Tarto, solitudinem, quae extenditur a flumine Tanai in oriente usque ad Danubium in occidente, itinera duorum mensium velociter equitando, sicut equitant Tartari ; et hoc est una die quantum est ab Aurelianis Parisius. Unde durat haec terra circiter quatuor menses secundum quod alii homines communiter equi- tant \ Et haec terra fuit tota Cumanorum, qui dicebantur Captac ; sed Tartari destruxerunt eam totaliter et interfecerunt Cumanos praeter partem, quae fugit ad regnum Hungariae, qui sunt ei tributarii, et a Teutonicis dicitur Valana, a PHnio et Isidore et caeteris Alania occidentaHs. Et haec provincia habet Danubium et Poloniam et Hungariam ab occidente. Russia and Et ab aquilone istius provinciae est Russia magna, quae Scandi- similiter a Polonia in una parte sua extenditur ad Tanaim : navia. . . ^ sed in magna sui parte habet Leucoviam in occidente, quae est terra ita magna sicut Alemannia. Ad cujus partem occidentalem sunt multae terrae in circuitu maris cujusdam, quod mare fit per multa brachia maris oceani, quae veniunt per medium Daciae ; et ultra eam versus orientem dilatat se in magnum mare, quod ab occidente habet Daciam ^ et Sweciam. Sed Swecia est ad aquilonem Daciae, declinans aliquantulum in orientem ultra Daciam ; ultra quas ad aquilonem est Norguegia. Deinde, mari magno interjecto, sunt Scotia et Anglia, et mari parvo interposito, Hibernia. Notae sunt hae regiones, sed tango eas propter notitiam aliarum. Si ergo a finibus occidentalibus ex parte aquilonis ascendamus versus orientem, primo est Hibernia, secundo Britannia major, quae continet AngHam et Scotiam, deinde The Baltic. Norguegia, Swecia, Dacia. Et postea orientem versus est magnum mare praedictum, quod vocatur mare orientale, quia ^ The distance from Orleans to Paris is seventy miles ; eight weeks of such riding would make the distance from the Don to the Danube 4,000 miles ; about four times the real distance between Buda Pesth and the easterly bend of the Don. Obviously the unit of measurement is extremely lax. But cf. p. 366, in which the Cumani are described as extending eastward far into Central Asia, prior to the Tartar conquests. Dacia is often found instead of Dania in mediaeval maps, e. g. in the Catalan map of 1378 given in Lelewel's Atlas, Plate xxix {Ge'ograpliie du Moycn Age, ed. 1850). GEOGRAPHIA. 359 oceanus non se extendit ultra illud mare. Sed super latus aquilonare istius maris immediate post angulum Sweciae est Estonia ; deinde Livonia versus orientem illius maris ; deinde Curonia seu Curlandia declinando ad meridianum latus ; postea Prussia magna terra in meridiano latere ; deinde Pomerania ; postea Lubec, portus magnus et famosus in confinio Daciae et Saxoniae. In medio vero istius maris est insula quaedam quae vocatur Gothlandia. Et super Livoniam ad orientem est Semi- Gallia. Et istas terras, scilicet Estoniam, Livoniam, Semi-Galliam, Curoniam, circumdat Leucovia praedicta, et eam circumdat Russia magna ex utraque parte dicti maris, et terminatur in parte meridiana ad Prussiam et Poloniam. Polonia vero jacet ad meridiem Prussiae ; et ad Poland and meridiem ejus est Bohemia, deinde Austria. Et ad occidentem terrarum istarum est Alemannia, et postea Francia et Hispania ; sed hae sunt notae, facio tamen mentionem propter alias. Ad orientem Austriae et Bohemiae est Hungaria, ad quam occidentalis pars Albaniae descendit. Nam cadit super Danubium qui fluit per medium Hungariae, et ultra eam in mare Ponticum per duodecim ostia magna. In termino vero Hungary. Hungariae orientalis a parte aquilonis occurrit haec Albania, contra quam ad meridiem Danubii sunt Balchi et Bulgari, et Constantinopolis, quae terrae antiquitus vocabantur Thracia. Thrace. Albania igitur occidentalis extenditur a Danubio post finem Hungariae versus orientem, usque ad flumen Tanaim, habens Cassariam a meridie et Balchiam, et Bulgariam, et Constanti- nopolim ; ab occasu vero Hungariam et Poloniam, et extremi- tatem Russiae ; ab aquilone habet totam longitudinem Russiae. Et ultra Russiam ad aquilonem est gens Hyperborea, quae The Hy- sic nominatur a montibus magnis, qui vocantur Hyperborei. • Et haec gens propter aeris salubritatem vivit in sylvis, gens longaeva usquequo fastidiant mortem, optimarum consuetu- dinum, gens quieta et pacifica, nuUi nocens, nec ab alia gente molestatur. Sed alii confugiunt ad eam sicut ad asylum. Qualiter autem potest regio ibi esse temperatissima, tetigi prius in complexionibus locorum mundi. Et sic habemus regiones aquilonares in Europa notabiles. 360 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. Religions of Ritus vero istarum gentium sunt diversi. Nam Prusceni, nations. Curlandi, Livonii, Estonii, Semigalli, Leucovii sunt pagani. Alani vero non sunt, quia Tartari terram illam invaserunt, et fugaverunt Cumanos usque ad Hungariam ; et Cumani sunt pagani, et Alani fuerunt similiter, sed deleti sunt. Rusceni sunt Christiani et sunt schismatici, habentes ritum Graecorum, Sclavonic sed non utuntur lingua Graeca, immo lingua Sclavonica, quae l^^nguages. Hnguis quae plures occupat regiones. Nam Rusciam, Poloniam, et Bohemiam, et multas alias nationes tenet. Tartari vero a Danubio inhabitant terram Alanorum seu Cumanorum, et ulterius usque fere ad partes ultimas orientis ; et alias nationes eis vicinas ad aquilonem et meridiem subjugaverunt pro maxima parte. Nam aliquae gentes sunt in montanis et locis tutissimis, quas non possunt debellare, licet sint eis vicini, quia sunt inexpugnabiles. The Don. Tanais quidem fiuvius descendit a montibus Riphaeis altissimis, qui sunt in vero aquilone, nec est ultra illos ad aquilonem habitatio. Et in termino orientali Rusciae et Alaniae, ubi mercatores et alii qui venerunt de Hungaria et Cassaria, et Polonia, et Russia, est quoddam casale, ubi navigio pertransitur flumen Tanais. Et est Tanais ibi ad The Volga, latitudinem Secanae Parisius. Et ultra flumen illud est Albania superior usque ad aliud flumen magnum, quod vocatur Ethilia, quae major est in quadruplo quam Secana, et est de majoribus fluminibus mundi, et crescit in aestate sicut Nilus ^. Et a parte aquilonis distat hoc flumen a Tanai per decem dietas, sed versus meridiem multum separantur. Nam Tanais cadit in mare Ponticum, et Ethilia in mare Caspium, et facit illud mare cum aliis fluminibus multis, quae veniunt de Perside, et aliis locis. Nam a Pontico mari secundum Plinium, sunt ccclxxx milliaria usque ad mare Caspium. Tartar Et in hac terra habitabant Cumani, sed Tartari deleverunt ties!^^^^^^ omnes, sicut ex altera parte Tanais fecerunt usque ad Danubium, ut dictum est. Et Tartari habent pecora infinita ^ The Tartar name for Volga is Ethel, which means bountiful. In May and June this river is swollen by melting snow, and inundations result. By Marco Polo the Volga is not spoken of by this name, but under that of Tigeri (cf i. 9, ed. Yule). See p. 322. GEOGRAPHIA. 361 et habitant in tentoriis, non habentes villas nec castra nisi rarissime. Et unus princeps cum exercitu, et cum suis armentis gregum vagatur inter duo flumina, ut unus inter Danubium et Tanaim, alius inter Tanaim et Ethiliam, et sic ultra versus orientem, quod semper divisi sunt per pascua et aquas. Et a Januario incipiunt adire partes aquilonares infra flumina usque ad Augustum, et tunc redeunt versus meridia- nas propter frigus aquilonis in hyeme. Et versus aquilonem distat Ethilia a provincia Cassariae per unum mensem et tres dietas, sicut equitant Tartari. Haec vero terra Tartarorum inter Tanaim et Ethiliam Northern habet ab aquilone quasdam gentes. Et primo est gens Arumphea prope montes Riphaeos, quae est similis Hyper- tars, boreis in omnibus. Et hae duae gentes sunt prope polum in aquilone ; sed remotius ab aquilone ultra Tanaim est primo gens quae vocatur Moxel subjecta Tartaris ; et sunt adhuc sine lege pure pagani, civitatem non habent, sed casulas in sylvis. Dominus illorum et magna pars eorum fuerunt interfecti in Polonia per Polonos et Alemannos et Bohemos. Nam Tartari duxerunt eos ad bellum cum Polonis. Et multum approbant Polonos et Alemannos de strenuitate, sperantes adhuc liberari a servitute Tartarorum per eos. Si mercator veniat inter eos, oportet quod ille in cujus domo primo hospitatur, det ei expensas quantum vult ibi morari. Haec enim est consuetudo illius regionis. Post hos ad orientem est gens quaedam, quae vocatur Merduim subjecta Tartaris. Sed sunt Saraceni habentes legem Mahometi. Post eos est Ethilia flumen praedictum, quod descendit a majori Bulgaria, de qua postea dicetur. A meridie vero istius regionis Tartarorum super mare Ponticum sunt Hiberi et Georgiani. Et in Georgia est Georgia, metropolis civitas, quae vocatur Thephelis, in qua fratres praedicatores habent domum. Et ulterius versus orientem est terra Corasiminorum, sed deleti sunt a Tartaris. Et in his locis solebant antiquitus esse Amazones secundum Plinium et Ethicum astronomum. Amazones enim, ut refert Ethicus, The Ama- fuerunt mulieres ducentes exercitum magnum ex mulieribus ^nikjufty sine viris collectum, quae advocantes vires certis temporibus 362 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. anni conceperunt ; sed masculos genitos interfecerunt foeminas reservando ; quarum in juventute mamillas dextras per artificium chirurgiae abstulemnt, ne sagittando reciperent impedimentum per mamillas. Et minotauros ac centauros monstra ferocissima nutriverunt a juventute mamillis suis ; unde antecedebant eas sicut matres suas et omnem exercitum premebant magis per hujusmodi monstra quam per arma. Et similiter elephantes a juventute nutriebant et assuescebant ad proelia ; et sic per centum annos vastabant meridianas partes Asiae et Graeciae, donee ab Hercule fuerunt seductae et destructae. Haec vero loca Georgianorum et Corasiminorum habent terram Soldani Turkiae et Cappadociam a meridie. Nam in latere meridiano maris Pontici est terra Soldani usque ad Sinopolim, de qua prius dictum est. Et post cam in eodem latere maris versus occidentem est terra Vastachii, scilicet Graecia orientalis. Nam occidentalis vocatur ubi Constantinopolis est, et regiones ei annexae citra brachium sancti Georgii in Europa. Armenia. Sed Armenia major est super Cappadociam ad orientem ; et ideo ilia Armenia etsi meridiana sit respectu Georgiae, tamen in orientem tendit et extenditur usque Mediam et Mesopotamiam ; et haec terra tota aestimatur a multis esse terra Ararath, propter hoc, quod in Isaia dicitur quod filii Senacherib, interfecto patre, fugerunt in Ararath ; et in libro regum dicitur quod fugerunt in Armeniam. Sed Hieronymus secundo libro super Isaiam solvit hoc, dicens Ararath regio est Arme- nia campestris per quam Araxes fluit^ incredibilis ubertatis ad radices monti Tauri, qui usque illuc extenditur. Quapropter Ararath non est tota Armenia, sed regio determinata, magna tamen est. Nam Araxes fluvius, a quo Ararath regio nomi- natur, extenditur a capite suo per iter trium mensium et amplius. Caput autem ejus est fons in monte Armeniae, ubi prope oritur Euphrates ex parte aquilonis et Tigris ad aliud latus montis versus meridiem. In montibus autem Armeniae, testante Scriptura, requievit area Noe ; sed non in quibus- cunque montibus, quoniam non est in istis ubi oriuntur ista tria flumina magna, sed in altissimo Tauri montis cacumine, ubi Ararath regio est, secundum quod dicit Hieronymus secundo GEOGRAPHIA. super Isaiam, area, in qua liberatus est Noe cessante diluvio ; non ad montes generaliter Armeniae, sed ad montes Tauri altissimos, qui Ararath imminent eampis. Et prope illos montes est civitas, quae maxima fuit ante- Destruc- quam eam destruxerunt Tartari. Nam fuerunt in ea octingentae Armenian ecclesiae Armenorum ; et in tempore fratris Willielmi, quando churches, transivit per eam, non fuerunt nisi duae parvulae. Et ibi prope fuerunt martyrizati beati Bartholomaeus, et beatus Judas, et Thaddaeus. Et ibi sunt duae prophetiae. Una est beati Me- thodii martyris, qui fuit de gente ilia, et plane prophetavit de Ismaelitis, quae prophetia impleta est in Saracenis. Alius propheta eorum vocatur Akaton, qui prophetavit de Tartaris et de destructione eorum. Dicit enim ' quod ab aquilone veniet gens sagittaria, quae omnes nationes orientis subju- gabit, et venient in regno occidentis, scilicet ad Constanti- nopolim, et ibi per principes occidentis destruentur. Et tunc convertentur omnes gentes ad fidem Christi, et erit tanta pax ubique, quod vivi dicent mortuis, Vae vobis, quod non vixistis usque nunc. Et imperator Christianus ponet solium suum in Taurino in Perside.' Et Armeni habent istam prophetiam sicut evangelium. Et haec civitas memorata vocatur nunc Naxuam ^, quae solebat esse caput regni ; et est versus partes aquilonares Armeniae. Nam a festo sancti Clementis ascendit frater Willielmus juxta Araxem, ubi terminatur versus aqui- lonem. Et in festo natalis venit ad illam civitatem, et in octavis epiphaniae recessit ab ea, et per Araxem ivit usque ad caput ejus, ad quod pervenit in secunda dominica quadra- gesimae ; et ideo longe plus est a civitati ilia ad ultimum Armeniae a parte meridiei quam ad aquilonem. Deinde superius ad orientem sunt montes Alanorum et Regionsbe- Aas, qui sunt Christiani, et recipiunt indifferenter omnes ^ZqSL and ^ This is Naxuana or Nachitschuan on the Araxes. It is now in Russian ^^^pi^"- dominion, about 100 miles to the East of Lake Van, between 60 and 70 miles south east of Mount Ararat, On his return journey from Tartary, Rubruquis after passing through the Caucasian gates at Derbend on the Caspian travelled up the valley of the Araxes. He mentions the tow^n Vaxua ( probably = Naxua) of which he says, 'solebant esse in ea octingentae ecclesiae Hermenorum ; modo non sunt nisi duo parvulae. Sarraceni enim destruerunt eas.' (See his journal published by the French Geographical Society, vol. iv. 1839, P- 385-) 3^4 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Christianos tarn Latinos quam Graecos, unde non sunt schismatic!, et pugnant cum Tartaris ; et similiter Alani. Post eos ad orientem sunt Saraceni, qui vocantur Lelgi \ qui propter terrae fortitudinem pugnant cum Tartans. Post illos ad orientem sunt portae Caspiae super mare Caspium, quas Alexander magnus construxit in concursu montium. Nam cum voluit expugnare gentem aquilonarem, non potuit propter illius gentis ferocitatem et multitudinem. Et, ut dicit Ethicus, stetit per annum unum et menses tres, ut defenderet se ab eis, et ingemuit quod talis gens pessima fuisset in partibus aqui- lonis, et exclamavit ad Deum ut apponeret remedium, ne mundus destrueretur per eos. Sed licet non fuit dignus exaudiri, tamen Deus sua bonitate et propter salutem generis humani jussit fieri terrae motum maximum, et montes per stadium distantes conjuncti sunt usque ad latitudinem unius portae. Alexander's Et Alexander tunc fecit fundi columnas aereas mirae Caspian .... . i- • • i • • gates. magnitudmis, et erexit portas et Imivit eas bitumme quod nec igne, nec aqua, nec ferro dissolvi posset, quod adquisivit ex insulis maris, nec potuerunt dirui aliquo modo nisi per terrae motum ; et jam dirutae sunt. Nam frater Willielmus transivit per medium earum cum Tartaris. Et est ibi civitas quae vocatur porta ferrea Alexandri : a qua versus orientem incipit Hyrcania super Hyrcanium mare, quod est Caspium, ut superius dictum est. Nam Hyrcania jacet super latus meridionale illius maris et extenditur usque ad terminos Indiae, a cujus latere meridional! sunt Media et Parthia, sicut prius fuit annotatum. Hae vero portae non sunt Caucasiae sed Caspiae, ut dicit Plinius nec Caucasiae sunt Caspiae. Nam Caucasiae distant a Caspiis per ducenta milliaria versus mare Ponticum ; et a mari Pontico distant per clxxx milliaria circa partes Hiberiae et Geo!"giae. Et ista loca cum montibus interjacentibus vocantur clausti-a Alexandri, per quae cohibuit gentes aquilonares ne irruerunt teri'as meridianas devastando eas. Nam Alexander multa bella gessit cum eis, ut refert ^ J. has Belgi : O. Lelgi. ^ Pliny in the eleventh chapter of his sixth book describes the Caucasian gates : in the fourteenth chapter, the Caspian gates. See notes on pp. 303 and 354. GEOGRAPHIA. 365 Ethicus, et aliquando infra tres dies ceciderunt ex utraque parte decies centena millia hominum. Alexander tamen magis arte et ingenio vicit quam armorum potestate. Et cum fuerunt excitati sicut ursi de cavernis suis, non potiiit eos reprimere per violentiam, sed Deus juvit per terrae motum et clausuras montium. Nunc autem ruptae sunt, et diu est quod fractae sunt sive terrae motu sive vetustate. Et considerandum est diligenter de locis istis. Nam Gog These et Magog, de quibus Ezechiel prophetavit et Apocalypsis, in should' be his locis sunt inclusi, secundum quod dicit Hieronymus secundo carefully examined. libro super Ezechielem. Gog Scythica gens trans Caucasum et Maeotim et Caspium mare ad Indiam usque tenduntur ; et a principe Gog omnes qui subditi sunt Magog appellantur et Judaei similiter, quos Orosius et alii sancti referunt exituros. Atque sicut Ethicus scribit, Alexander inclusit viginti duo regna de stirpe Gog et Magog, exitura in diebus Antichristi, qui mundum primo vastabunt et deinde obviabunt Antichristo, et vocabunt eum Deum Deorum, sicut et beatus Hieronymus confirmat. O quam necessarium est ecclesiae Dei, ut proelati et viri catholici haec loca considerent, non solum propter conversionem gentium in illis locis, et consolationem Christia- norum captivorum ibidem, sed propter persecutionem Anti- christi, ut sciatur unde venturus sit, et quando, per hanc considerationem et alias multas. A portis vero Caspiis incipit mare Caspium ^ extendi in The Cas- longum ad orientem ; et in latum ad aquilonem, et est non [JJfand sea minus quam Ponticum mare, ut dicit Plinius, et habet spatium quatuor mensium in circuitu. Frater vero Willielmus in ^ The changes of opinion in antiquity as to this sea are curious. Herodotus and Aristotle held the true view that it was surrounded by land. See Arist. Meteor, ii. i, § 10. But Patrocles, an officer of Antiochus I, maintained that it was a gulf of the northern ocean, and that it would be possible to sail from it round to the Indian sea (Strabo, xi. 11, § 6). Pliny went so far as to say that Patrocles had actually accomplished this voyage (Hist. Nat. vi. 17). And notwithstanding that Ptolemy reverted to the belief that the Caspian was an inland sea (Cosmographia, vii. 5, § 4), Pliny's view continued to be reasserted through the Middle Ages, till Bacon, on the authority of Rubruquis, confirmed the fact that it was surrounded by land. Bacon however did not free himself from Ptolemy's error of supposing its greatest length to be from east to west, rather than from north to south. 366 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. The third and princi- pal of the Tartar kingdoms ; Gara- cathaia. Great Bulgaria. redeundo ab imperatore Tartarorum circuivit latus occidentale ; et in eundo ad eum perambulavit latus aquilonare, ut ipse retulit Domino regi Franciae qui nunc est, anno Domini 1 253. Et a parte aquilonis habet vastam solitudinem, in qua sunt Tartari. Et ultra eos sunt multae regiones aquilonares ante- quam perveniatur ad Oceanum ; et ideo non potest illud mare esse sinus maris Oceani, quod tamen fere omnes auctores scribunt ; sed experientia hujus temporis facta per fratrem Willielmum et homines alios fideles docet, quod non venit a mari, sed fit per flumina magna et multa, quorum congrega- tione fit hoc mare Caspium et Hyrcanicum. Tota vero haec terra Tartarorum a Tanai usque ad Ethiliam fuit Cumanorum, qui vocabantur Canglae, qui omnes sunt deleti per Tartaros. Et tota ista vocabatur Albania antiquitus. Et hie sunt canes maximi, ita ut leones perimant, tauros premant, et homines ponunt eos in bigis et aratris. Deinde ultra Ethiliam est tertius principatus Tartarorum ; et destructae sunt gentes indigenae ab eis, et fuerunt Cumani Canglae, sicut prius. Et durat ille principatus a flumine in orientem per iter quatuor mensium ex parte meridionali usque veniatur ad terram principalem imperatoris. Sed ex parte aquilonari durat per iter duorum mensium, et decem dierum. Ex quo patet quod Cumania fuit terrarum maxima. Nam a Danubio usque ad terram hanc, in qua imperator residet, habitabant Cumani, qui omnes sunt destructi a Tartaris praeter eos qui fugerant ad regnum Hungariae. Et hie principatus habet ab aquilone primo majorem Bulgariam ^, a qua venerunt Bulgari qui sunt inter Constantinopolim, et Hungariam, et Sclavoniam. Nam haec quae in Europa est minor Bulgaria, habens linguam illorum Bulgarorum qui sunt in majori Bulgaria, quae est in Asia. Et isti Bulgari de majori Bulgaria sunt pessimi Saraceni. Et hoc est mirabile ; quoniam ilia terra distat a porta ferrea seu a portis Caspiis triginta diebus et plus per transversum solitudinis ; et est in fine ^ Marco Polo (i. 9, ed. Yule) mentions the city of Bolgara. Yule remarks on this, ' It was the capital of the region sometimes called Great Bulgaria, on the Volga. . . . latitude about 54° 54', 90 miles below Kazan. It was captured by the Mongols in 1225.' GEOGRAPHIA. 367 aquilonis ; unde mirum est valde quod ad eos tarn distantes a Saracenis pervenit secta Mahometi. Et de hac Bulgaria venit Ethilia, de qua dictum est. Post earn ad orientem est terra Pascatyr quae est magna Hungaria, a qua exiverunt HunI, qui postea Hungri, modo dicuntur Hungari ; qui colli- gentes secum Bulgaros et alias nationes aquilonares ruperunt, sicut dicit Isidorus, claustra Alexandri. Et solvebatur eis tributum usque in Aegyptum, et destruxerunt terras omnes usque in Franciam ; unde majoris potentiae fuerunt quam adhuc sunt Tartari ; et magna pars eorum resedit in terra quae nunc vocatur Hungaria, ultra Bohemiam et Austriam, quae est modo apud Latinos regnum Hungariae. Et juxta terram Pascatyr sunt Balchi' de Balchia majore.a quo venerunt Balchi in terra Assani inter Constantinopolim, et Bulgarian! et Hungarian! minorem. Nam populus ille dicitur nunc a Tartaris Ilac, quod idem est quod Blac. Sed Tartari nesciunt sonare h literam. A parte vero meridiei istius solitudinis Tartarorum est mare Caspium. Et deinde montes Caucasi usque in orientem. Et extenditur hie principatus ab Ethilia usque in Cathaiam nigram, unde vocatur Caracathaia. Et Cara idem est quod nigra ; et dicitur Cathaia nigra ad differentiam alterius Cathaiae, quae est longe ultra hanc ad orientem multis regionibus distantem ab ista Cathaia nigra ; de qua postea dicetur. Et haec terra cum sibi adjacentibus est terra imperatoris Tartarorum praecipua. in quibus vagatur semper cum curia sua, asccndendo in aestate ad frigidas regiones, et in hyeme ad calidas. Et haec Cathaia nigra fuit terra Presbyteri Johannis, sive regis Johannis, de quo tanta fama solebat esse, et multa falsa dicta sunt et scripta. Hie vero oportet exprimi originem Tartarorum, non solum Origin of propter evidentiam distinctionis regionum majorem^ sed po^J^^^^^' propter ipsam gentem, quae nunc famosissima est, et subdit mundum pedibus suis. Sciendum igitur est, quod quando bellum fuit Antiochiae tunc regnavit in terra ista Coir Cham^. ' J. has Blaci and Blacia ; O. has Balchi and Balchia. ^ Yule, in his notes on Marco Polo, i. 46, remarks that during the last two-thirds of the twelfth century there was a great empire in Northern Asia called Kara 368 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Nam in historia Antiochena legitur, quod Turci miserunt pro succursu contra Francos ad regnum Coir Cham, qui tenebat monarchiam in regionibus aquilonis tempore illo quo capta fuit Antiochia, qui fuit de Caracathaia. Coir vero est nomen proprium, et Cham est nomen dignitatis, et sonat idem quod divinator. Nam principes ibi regunt populum per divinationes et scientias quae instruunt homines in futuris, sive sint partes philosophiae, ut astronomia et scientia experimentalis, sive artes magicae, quibus totum oriens est deditum et imbutum. Prester Omnes igitur imperatores Tartarorum vocantur Cham, sicut apud nos vocantur imperatores et reges. Mortuo vero isto Coir, fuit quidam pastor Nestorinus in terra ilia potens et dominus super populum, qui populus vocatur Naiman, qui erant Christiani Nestorini, qui sunt mali Christiani, et tamen dicunt se esse subjectos Romanae ecclesiae. Et isti Nestorini non solum sunt ibi in terra Naiman, sed per omnes regiones usque in orientem sunt dispersi. Iste vero pastor erexit se in regem, et vocatus est Presbyter et Rex Johannes. Huic Johanni erat frater quidam pastor potens, nomine Unc ^, habens sua pascua ultra fratrem suum per iter trium septimanarum, et erat dominus cujusdam villae, quae dicitur Caracarum^, quae Khitai : founded by a Prince of the Khitan dynasty of Liao, who had escaped from North China on the overthrow of that dynasty by the Kin or Niuche about 1125. His empire extended over Eastern and Western Turkestan. He took the title of Gur-khan, said to mean universal khan ; and fixed his centre of government at Bala Sagun north of Thian San. This Gur-khan is the Coir Cham of Rubruquis. ^ Prester or Presbyter John is a shadowy and almost mythical personage whose habitat shifts between Abyssinia and the wall of China. Marco Polo (i. 46) identifies him with Unc Cham. Rubruquis, a somewhat earlier authority, regards him as his brother. Unc, or Ung, Cham, says Yule, is called Tuli by the Chinese and Togrul by the Persian historians. The Kin sovereigns of North China had conferred on him the title of Wang ( = king) of which probably Aung or Ung is a corruption. He was the king of the Keraites who had professed a nominal form of Christianity since the eleventh century. The wide diffusion of Nestorian Christianity through Central Asia is very emphatically marked in Rubruquis's narrative. It was a somewhat colourless creed. ^ Near the upper course of the river Orkhon, about 250 miles south of lake Baikal. After the overthrow of Prester John, Okkodai the successor of Chinghis established his capital here. ' It continued to be the Mongol head- quarters till 1256, when Mangu Khan decided to transfer the seat of government to Kaiping, far north of Peking.' [Yule's ed. of Marco Polo, vol. i. note to p. 204.] GEOGRAPHIA. 369 est nunc civitas imperialis, et major in terra imperatoris, et tamen non est ita bona, sicut sanctus Dionysius juxta Parisius in Francia, sicut scripsit frater Willielmus domino regi. Et ultra pascua illius circiter duodecim dietas erant pascua Moal, qui erant pauperes homines et stulti ac simplices sine lege. Juxta quos fuerunt alii pauperes, qui vocabantur Tartari, similes eis. Mortuo igitur Johanne rege elevavit se in regem Unc frater ejus, et vocavit se Cham, unde Unc Cham dicebatur qui misit armenta sua versus terminos MoaL Inter quos Moal erat faber quidam nomine Cingis^ furans Chinghis . . . TT Khan. animalia et rapiens ipsms Unc Cham, quo congregante exercitum Cingis fugit ad Tartaros qui dixit ad eos et ad Moal, Quia sumus sine duce ideo vicini nostri opprimunt nos. Et factus est dux eorum ; et congregato exercitu irruit super Unc Cham et vicit eum, et factus est princeps in terra, et vocavit se Cingis Cham, et accepit filiam Unc et dedit eam filio suo in uxorem, ex qua natus est Mangu Cham qui regnum divisit istis principibus Tartarorum, qui nunc regnant et discordant ab invicem. Ad hunc enim Mangu Cham fuit frater WiUielmus missus. Et ipse Cingis Cham ubique praemittebat Tartaros in pugna, unde exibat fama Tartaro- rum, qui fere deleti sunt per crebra bella. Et licet propter hanc causam nos istam gentem vocemus Tartaros apud quos est imperium et dominium, tamen semper sunt imperatores et principes de gente Moal. Nec volunt vocari Tartari, sed Moal ; quia primus eorum imperator, scilicet Cingis Cham, fuit natione Moal. Unde non habuerunt adhuc ante istos ^ Cingis, or Chinghis, was born in 1155. His original name was Temujin, The resemblance of the name to Temurji, the Turkish word for blacksmith, probably gave rise to the legend of his origin (Marco Polo, ed. Yule, i. 234). In the list of Mongol sovereigns Bacon, following Rubruquis, omits Chinghis's son, Okkodai, who succeeded him. Okkodai was succeeded b}^ his son Kuyuk, the Keu of Rubruquis ; Kuyuk by his cousin Mangu, a son of Tuli, and grandson of Chinghis. Mangu was followed by his brother Kublai, in whose time Marco Polo visited the Tartar court. Another grandson of Chinghis, Batu son of Juji, held dominion between the Volga and the Don at the time of the Franciscan mission ; he had led the great Mongol invasion of Europe 1240-2. It need hardly be said that Moal is Bacon's reading, after Rubruquis, for Mongol. The war between Chinghis and Ung Cham is described at somewhat greater length by Marco Polo. VOL. I. B b 370 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. qui nunc regnant, nisi tres reges, scilicet Cingis Cham, et Keu Cham, et Mangu Cham : qui Keu fuit filius Cingis, et Mangu filius ejus. Present Haec igitur gens Moal est stultissima ab origine prima et Tartar paupcrHma, quae tamen permissione divina paulatim omnes dominion, nationes vicinas subjugavit, et totam mundi latitudinem in parvo tempore prostravit. Quae si esset concors, primo egressu Aegyptum et Africam vastaret, ut sic ex omni parte Latinos circumdaret. Nam nunc a parte aquilonis regnant usque in Poloniam, quia tota Ruscia est eis subjecta; et tota terra ab oriente usque ad Danubium et ultra Danubium, scilicet Bulgaria et Blachia sunt eis tributariae. Ita quod usque ad terram Constantinopolitanam tenet eorum imperium. Et Soldanus Turkiae, et rex Armeniae, et princeps An- tiochiae, et omnes principes in oriente usque in Indiam sunt eis subjecti, praeter paucos, qui aut nimis distant aut habent loca in montanis tutissima quae expugnari non possunt. Primo igitur in terra ubi imperator moratur est Cathaia nigra, ubi fuit Presbyter Johannes. Post eam terra fratris sui ultra per iter trium septimanarum, deinde terra Moal et Tartarorum ultra eos per iter quasi duodecim dietarum. Sed tota haec terra est in qua moratur imperator vagans per diversa loca. Terra tamen, in qua primo fuerunt Moal, vocatur Oznam Kerule ; et ibi est adhuc curia Cingis Cham ; sed quia Caracarum ejus cum regione fuit prima adquisitio eorum, ideo civitatem illam habent pro imperiali, et prope illam eligunt saum Cham, id est imperatorem. Deinde post Moal et Tartaros ad orien- tem sunt fortes homines, qui vocantur Tangut ^ qui ccperunt primo Cingis Cham in bello ; sed, pace facta, iterum subju- gavit eos. Isti homines habent boves fortissimos, habentes caudas plenas pilis, sicut equi, quorum vaccae non permittunt ^ ' Tangut is a name very conspicuous in the Mongol era. The name Tanggod is properly a Mongol plural designating certain tribes of Tibetan blood called by the Chinese Tanghiang, who established an independent kingdom on the North- West frontier of China with their capital at Ninghia on the Yellow River. . . . This kingdom, called by the Chinese Hia and by the Mongols Tangut, was several times invaded by Chinghis, and it was on the campaign of its final conquest that he died in 1227. In a general way Tangut corresponded to the modern province of Kansuh.' [Yule's ed. of Marco Polo, vol. i. note to p. 186.] GEOGRAPHIA. 371 se mulgeri, ni cantetur eis ; et si isti boves vident hominem indutum rubris pannis, insiliunt in eum volentes interficere. Post istos ad orientem sunt homines qui vocantur Thebeth, Nations to qui solebant comedere parentes suos causa pietatis, ut non Tartars, facerent eis alia sepulchra nisi viscera sua, de quibus scribunt philosophi, ut Plinius et Solinus, et alii, et frater Willielmus testatur in libro suo, ac frater Johannes de Piano Carpini^ similiter in libro quern composuit de Tartaris, inter quos fuit anno Domini 1246, missus a Domino papa in legationem ad imperatorem Tartarorum. Sed quia fuerunt ex hoc facto abominabiles omni nationi, ideo jam mutaverunt hunc ritum, et tamen adhuc de ossibus capitum faciunt scyphos, in quibus bibunt propter memoriam parentum suorum. Post istos ad orientem sunt parvi homines et fusci sicut Hispani, et dicuntur Solangi, quorum nuntii quando veniunt ad curiam alicujus habent in manu tabulam de ebore, in qua inspiciunt quando narrant ea quae volunt ac si omnia essent ibi scripta. Et ultra istos est quidam populus, quorum animalia non appro- priantur alicui nec habent custodem, sed si aliquis indigena vult habere aliquod animal, stat super collem et vociferat sicut vult, et veniunt ad vocem suam, et accipit quod vult. Quod si extraneus veniret, odore suo fugaret omnia et faceret ea sylvestria. Et ideo quando homines veniunt extranei, clau- dunt eos in domo, et dant eis necessaria vitac; donee habeant ^ Carpini was a native of Perugia, and was amongst the earliest disciples of St. Francis, who sent him in 122 1 to Germany to assist Caesar of Spires as provincial of that country. At the Council of Lyons, held by Pope Innocent IV in 1245, it was decided to send a mission to the Tartar emperor (at that time Kuyuk, the grandson of Chinghis) inviting him to cease from slaughter and adopt Christianity. Carpini was charged with the mission. Starting in the spring of 1246 from Poland, he reached the Khan's headquarters near Kara Korum on July 22. The story of his journey is full of interest, though not equal to that of Rubruquis. It is to be found complete in the fourth volume of the Memoirs of the Paris Geographical Society, 1839. Carpini devotes much attention to the military problem of arresting Tartar invasions. His description of the marvellous manoeuvring of their huge hordes of cavalry is most vivid. He was much struck by their discipline and loyalty, and their abstinence from internal quarrels. ' Sunt magis obedientes dominis suis quam ahqui homines qui sunt in mundo sive religiosi sive saecuiares, et magis reverentur eosdem ; neque de facili mentiuntur eis. Verbis ad invicem raro aut nunquam contendunt; factis vero nunquam.' B b 2 372 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. responsiim de eis pro quibus veniunt; nec permittunt eos vagari per regionem. Cathay or ultra hos est magna Cathaia, quae Seres dicitur apud China. philosophos, ct est in extremitate orientis a parte aquilonari respectu Indiae, divisa ab ea per sinum maris et montes. Et hie fiunt paniii serici optimi, et in magna copia, imde ab hac terra deferuntur ad alias regiones. Et hie popiilus aspirat miiltum per nares, et sunt optimi artifices in omni arte, et sunt boni medici apud eos in omnibus praeterquam de urina, cujus judicio non utuntur, sed per pulsum et aha signa optime dijudicant, et bene cognoscunt vires herbarum, et totius medicinae potestatem. Multi ex eis sunt apud Tartaros. Et istorum Cathaiorum moneta vulgaris est carta de Bam- basio^, in qua imprimunt quasdam hneas. Nec mirum, cum Rusceni qui prope nos sunt habent pro moneta faciem Hesperiolorum. Et ista Cathaia non distat per octo et viginti dietas^ a terra in qua moratur imperator. Et in ilia terra sunt rupes exaltae, in quibus habitant quaedam creaturae habentes per omnia formam humanam, non tamen genua flectunt, sed ambulant saltando ; sed non sunt longitudinis majoris quam cubiti, et vestitur totum corpus crinibus, et non loquuntur. Et venatores portant cerevisiam et faciunt foveas in rupibus ad modum scyphorum, et ilia animalia veniunt et bibunt cere- visiam et inebriantur, et dormiunt, et sic capiuntur. Et venatores ligant eis manus, et pedes, et aperiunt venam in collo, et extrahunt tres vel quatuor guttas sanguinis, et dissolvunt ea ac dimittunt ea abire, et ille sanguis est pre- tiosissimus pro purpura. Religions Sciendum vero est quod a principio Cathaiae nigrae usque artary. .^^ f^j^^j^ orientis sunt principaliter idololatrae ^5 sed mixti sunt ^ Not Gombasio, as in J. For an account of the Chinese paper-money see Marco Polo, Book ii. ch. 24. It was made of the inner bark of the mulberry tree. Its use began in the ninth century a. d. and rapidly extended. ^ 28 days journey at 20 miles would come to 560 miles, which is nearly the distance between Caracorum and the nearest point of the Great Wall. The reading of some of the MSS., cxxviii, is quite inadmissible. 3 Marco Polo, like Rubruquis and Bacon, usually denotes Buddhists by this term. We do not know, says Yule (Marco Polo, vol. i. p. 187), whether the Buddhism found here at this time was a recent introduction from Tibet, or GEOGRAPHIA. 373 inter eos Saraceni et Tartari, et Nestoriani, qui sunt Christian! imperfecti habentes patriarcham suum in oriente, qui visitat regiones et ordinat infantes in cunabulis ad sacros ordines, quia ipse solus ordinat, et non potest venire ad unum locum nisi quasi in quinquaginta annis ; et ille dicit se habere auctoritatem a Romana ecclesia ab antiquo, et paratus est obedire, si via esset aperta. Et isti docent filios nobilium Tartarorum evangelium et fidem et alios quando possunt ; sed quia parum sciunt, et sunt malorum morum, ideo Tartari despi- ciunt eos. Et consecrant in missa unum panem latum ad modum palmae, et dividunt primo in duodecim partes secun- dum numerum apostolorum ; et postea illas partes dividunt secundum numerum populi, et sacerdos dat unicuique corpus Christi in manu sua, et tunc quilibet assumit de palma sua cum reverentia. Sed idololatrae praevalent in multitudine in omnibus his regionibus, et omnes conveniunt in hoc, quod habent templa sicut nos et campanas magnas. Et ideo ecclesiae Graecorum, Armeniae, et totius orientis nolunt habere campanas propter idololatras. Rusceni tamen habent et Graeci in Cassaria. Omnes sacerdotes eorum radunt totum caput et barbam, et servant castitatem ex quo radunt caput, et vivunt centum vel ducenti in una congregatione. Diebus quibus intrant templum ponunt duo scamna, et sedent e regione chorus contra chorum in terra, habentes libros in manibus, quos aliquando deponunt super ilia scamna ; et habent capita discooperta quamdiu sunt in templo, legentes in silentio, et nullo modo loquerentur in templo, nisi verba officii sui. Habent etiam in manibus quocunque vadunt quandam chordam centum vel ducentorum nucleorum, sicut nos pater noster, et dicunt semper haec verba, On man baccan, id est Deus tu nosti^. Haec sunt communia omnibus idololatris. Sed tamen Ingeres, qui habitant in terra ubi imperator moratur, differunt ab aliis. Nam alii non ponunt unum Deum, sed plures, et creaturam adorant. Isti vero a relic of the old Buddhism of Khotan and other Central Asian kingdoms, but most probably it was the former. ' This is evidently a perversion of the Buddhist formula, often imprinted in flags and revolved in prayer-mills, Om Mani Padme Hum, Ah, the jewel is in the lotus (the self-creative force is in the Cosmos). 374 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. propter viciniam Christianorum et Saracenorum ponunt unum Various Deum. Et sunt optimi scriptores, unde Tartari acceperunt wdtrno-^^ literas eorum, et illi sunt magni scriptores Tartarorum. Et isti scribunt a sursum in deorsum, et a sinistra in dextram multiplicant lineas et legunt. Thebeth scribunt sicut nos, et habent figuras similes nostris. Tangut scribunt a dextra in sinistram, sicut Arabes, sed multiplicant lineas ascendendo. Cathai orientales scribunt cum punctorio quo pingunt pictores, et faciunt in una figura plures literas comprehendentes unam dictionem, et ex hoc veniunt characteres qui habent multas literas simul ; unde veri characteres et physici sunt compositi ex literis, et habent sensum dictionum. Et tota terra a Danubio usque in orientem vocatur apud antiquos Scythia, a quo Scythae et omnes regiones Tartarorum sunt de Scythia, et etiam Ruscia, et totum usque ad Alemanniam. Briefnotice Descripsi igitur regiones omnes Asiae et Africae, et aqui- Emope^^^" lonares Europae. Nunc orientales et meridianas Europae et occidentales breviter annotabo. Nam fere omnes notae sunt omnibus. Dictum quidem est quod Albania occidentalis terminatur ad Danubium sub mari Pontico, et ad Hungariam minorem extenditur. Sed ex altera parte Danubii sub eodem mari antiquitus prima regio occurrens dicebatur Thracia, in qua est Constantinopolis. Cui ad occidentem super Danubium jungebatur Moesia. Sed nunc in illis locis sunt Balchia et Bulgaria minor. Deinde Hungaria ad occidentem. Et postea Moravia, quae est sub regno Bohemiae. Cui a meridie est Histria, quibus in occidente succedunt Bohemia Moraviae, et Austria Histriae. Deinde tota Alemannia ad occidentem, et postea Francia, quae notae sunt. Greece. Post Thraciam versus meridiem est Macedonia regibus inclyta maximis, Antigono, Philippo, Alexandro magno ; quae alio nomine dicebatur Emathia. Post eam ad meridiem est Magnesia ; deinde Thessalonia, quibus apostolus scripsit. Deinde adhuc ad meridiem est Boeotia, ubi Thebae civitas famosa, a qua in orientem xviii milliaribus est civitas nota, quae Niger Pons vocatur. Sub istis terris ad occidentem primo contermina Macedoniae Thessaloniae et Bulgariae est GEOGRAPHIA. 375 Sclavonia. Sub Boeotia est Attica dicta ab Athenis civitate, quae est nutrix philosophorum, ubi Socrates et Plato et Aristoteles et caeteri famosi docuerunt. Et haec est Attica *pars Arcadiae secundum Ethicum philosophum, quae est illustrissima provincia non solum propter Athenas, quam vocat Ethicus umbilicum Graeciae, sed propter potentiam militarem. Nam haec a Scycione rege dicebatur Scycionia, unde regnum Scycioniorum dicitur, unum de quatuor principalibus regnis mundi quae fuerunt a principio, scilicet regnum Scytharum sub Reu atavo Abrahae exortum ; et regnum Aegyptiorum sub Seruch proavo Abrahae : et regnum Assyriorum, et Scycioniorum sub Nachor avo Abrahae ; sicut scribit Beda libro Temporum ; et hoc est regnum Graecorum. Nam, ut ait Ethicus, tota Graecia conspiravit in nomen Scycioniae quoniam regnum Graecorum dicebatur regnum Scycioniorum, propter hoc quod principale robur militiae fuit ad Scycionios, qui sunt Arcadi. Haec gratis expressi abundantius, quia historiae omnes faciunt magnam mentionem de regno Scycioniorum ; et apud solum Ethicum philosophum manifeste potest inveniri ratio vocabuli, et quid sit quod per nomen designatur. Secundum vero Plinium postea est Achaia, postea Peloponnensis provincia, in qua est Corinthus nobilis. Deinde Locris et postea Epirus, et sic est terminus Graeciae. Sub qua ad occidentem est Dalmatia, in qua Duracium. The Adri- ¥A sub ea lUyria, a qua dicitur mare Illyricum, quod gpaiJ*^^^' extenditur a flumine Arsiae usque ad flumen Dirinum, quod totum alio nomine Libnia dicitur, Sed proprie circa flumen Dirinum sunt Illyrii, et ejus longitudo est a flumine Arsia usque ad flumen Dirinum ; et jacet super mare Adriaticum, quod est mare Venetiarum. In cujus extremitate occidentali sunt Venetiae. Et habet haec Illyria multas parvas insulas, et habet haec longitudo dxxx milliaria, latitude vero cccxv milliaria. Haec de Illyrico recitavi verbo ad verbum secundum Plinium, propter hoc, quod nos moderni nescimus intelligere verbum apostoli, cum dicit se replevisse evangelium usque ad Illyricum. Et in multis historiis invenimus Illyricum et lUyricos, et non intelligimus quae dicuntur ; unde Illyrii jacent inter Dalmatiam et Histriam. Et ideo ubi nunc 376 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. Sclavonia est et forum Julii et circa partes Venetiarum sole- bant esse Illyrii. Et hae omnes nationes sunt inclusae inter brachium sancti Georgii, et mare magnum ab oriente ; et inter Danubium qui vocatur Hister in magna sui parte a» septentrione ; et inter mare Adriaticum a meridie. Distantia vero penes milliaria et dietas potest in aliquibus notari. Nam a Venetiis per littus maris sunt plus quam cccc milliaria usque ad Duracium. Deinde superius ascendendo usque ad Patras civitatem famosam sunt xl, a qua usque Corinthum Ix, a qua usque ad Athenas xl, a qua usque Thebas xl, deinde usque Nigrum pontem xviii, a quo per mare usque Constantinopolim quingenti milliaria ; et a Nigro ponte usque Cretam insulam ccc milliaria. Deinde ex altera parte maris Adriatici, inter ipsum et mare quod ab Adriatico decurrit in Hispaniam, jacet tota Italia, et deinde Provincia, et tandem Hispania. Sed quia notae sunt, non oportet nunc plus de istis regionibus dici. Haec igitur est historia, quam volui hie texere secundum experientiam naturalium et itinerantium de locis et gentibus totius habitabilis, usquequo Vestra Reverentia requirat princi- palem scripturam ^. Outlines of Post locorum descriptioneni deberent sequi alia quatuor, logicar' scilicet certificatio naturarum stellarum fixarum et planetarum, treatise. ut certior haberetur per haec certitude complexionum omnium locorum et rerum locatarum, quatenus posset fieri judicium de praesentibus, praeteritis, et futuris, ut tandem fierent, quinto ^, opera quae promoverent omnia rei publicae utilia et nociva excluderent. Sed cum non potui propter impedimenta ^ ' Usquequo . . . scripturam ' omitted in C. C. C. (Cambridge) MSS. In O. are the words : ' Finitur quarta pars majoris operis.' Nevertheless the MS. proceeds to the astrological section that follows, and indeed divides this section into chapters as though it were a distinct treatise. The reference to prindpalem scripturam, so often spoken of before, will be noted. ^ The four previous points are (a) the nature of the zodiacal signs ; (b) of the planets ; (c) the influence of each over places and things ; (d) judgement as io past and future events founded on these facts. ASTROLOGIA. 377 perficere descriptionem locorum in figura secundum vias naturalium, et haec quatuor sequuntur, oportuit ab horum tractatu cessare ; volo tamen hie in summa tangere intentionem tractatus horum quatuor, ac si factus esset, sicut de aUis feci de quibus tractavi ; quatenus videat Vestra Sapientia quid requirendum sit pro utiHtate rei publicae procuranda, et quaUter scripturas et opera sapientiae petatis a quocunque. Superius quidem dictum est quod sunt 1,022 stellae fixae, Qualities of quarum quantitas potest deprehendi per instrumenta astrono- signs, miae, quae habent virtutes varias in calore frigore humore et siccitate et omnibus ahis passionibus et alterationibus naturali- bus. Inter quas sunt principales stellae duodecim signorum, per quas omnia alia specialiter alterantur. Signa vero sunt, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces ; quae sic nomi- nantur, quia stellae in coelo habent dispositionem rerum sic nominatarum. Et haec signa Aries, Leo, et Sagittarius sunt effective ignea ; Taurus, Virgo, et Capricornus sunt terrea ; Gemini, Libra, et Aquarius, sunt aerea ; Cancer, Scorpio et Pisces sunt aquatica. Et Aries, Cancer, Libra et Capricornus sunt mobilia, quia renovantur in eis quatuor complexiones principales omnium rerum, scilicet calida et humida in Ariete ; calida et sicca in Cancro ; frigida et sicca in Libra ; frigida et humida in Capricorno. Taurus et sui sequaces sunt signa fixa, quia dictae complexiones figuntur in eis et perficiuntur. Gemini et sui sequaces dicuntur signa communia, quia jam declinat complexio in eis ad novam, quae renovatur in signo sequente. Habent autem signa haec quamplures alias varietates et proprietates, quas caeteri tractatus habent determinare. Planetarum prima diversitas est in virtutibus propriis. Qualities of Nam Saturnus est frigidus et siccus, et omnis pigritiae et P^^"^^^- mortificationis et destructionis rerum causativus per egressum siccitatis et frigoris. Mars vero est corruptivus propter egres- sum caliditatis et siccitatis. FA isti duo planetae nunquam faciunt bonum nisi per accidens ; sicut aliquando venenum est bonum per accidens, ut Scammonea, quae purgat materiam morbi, sed tamen per se laedit naturam. Et vocantur 378 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. isti planetae inaequales, et infortunia, et malevoli, Jupiter vero et Venus habent caliditatem et humiditatem ; sed Jupiter magis et melius : et isti duo planetae dicuntur aequalis fortunae, et benevoli. Mercurius est mediocris inter bonum et malum, et convertibilis naturae. Nam cum bonis est bonus, et malus cum malis. Luna vero frigida est et humida. Sol habet generativum calorem et vitalem, quia est causa vitae et generationis in omnibus, unde licet sit calidus et siccus, suus tamen calor non est corruptivus, sed generativus, et sua siccitas non est mortificativa, et ideo aliter est quam in Marte. Their Habent autem planetae virtutes alias a signis ; nam quando varies with ^"^"^^ signo calido, habent virtutem calefaciendi, et sic de their posi- aliis. Sed speciales praeter has habent virtutes, de quibus tion. ... , superms dictum est, quae sunt domus, exaltatio, triplicitas, terminus et facies, et secundum has dignitates habent effectus mirabiles. Et iterum penes aspectus, qui sunt conjunctio, oppositio, &c. Conjuncti dicuntur planetae, quando sunt in eodem signo ; oppositi, quando unus est in septimo ab alio. Trinus vero aspectus est, quando per quatuor distant signa. Quartus, quando per tria. Et sextilis, quando per duo. Et oppositio et quartus aspectus sunt mali ex natura sua. Trinus et sextilis sunt boni, et conjunctio similiter. Aspectus autem isti considerantur in quinque planetis, praecipue respectu Lunae et Solis. Quando ergo malus planeta aspicit in malo aspectu, detestabile est, quia tunc duplicat malitiam ; quando vero bonus planeta aspicit in malo aspectu, tolerabile est ; et si malus in bono aspectu aspicit, mitigatur ejus malitia. Quando vero malus opponitur aut conjungitur malo, tunc magnum malum est. It varies in Habent etiam planetae magnam varietatem actionum penes pSrof eccentricos et epicyclos. Nam quando sunt in partibus their orbit, superioribus istorum, faciunt operationes fortissimas, quando vero in inferioribus debiles ; quia quando sunt in superioribus partibus suorum circulorum, qui vocantur auges, tunc moventur circa mundum motu diurno in circulis magnis, et tunc velociter feruntur, et velocitas motus inducit fortitudinem actionis in rebus quae natae sunt moveri, cujusmodi sunt stellae. Habent etiam effectus varios penes partes revoluti- ASTROLOGIA. 379 oniim suarum, et penes totas revolutiones. Nam secundum quod transeunt quartam coeli et medietatem et tres quartas, et totum circulum, habent sensibiles varietates in effectibus. Et non solum sic, sed penes quamlibet revolutionum determina- tarum ; sicut Saturnus, completis decem revolutionibus suis, inducit magnam mundi alterationem, sicut prius tactum est in sectis. Domus etiam duodecim, in quas dividitur totum coelum, quae superius tactae sunt, maxima considerantur respectu virtutum planetarum. Nam varias potestates contra- hunt planetae ex eis, et varia per virtutes harum domorum operantur planetae in hoc mundo : et ideo has domos considerare maxime docent mathematici. Haec igitur sunt radices principales in actionibus stellarum, quae habent ramos et flores; et fructus infinitos. Haec igitur est intentio tractatus quem in hoc opere facere proposui de virtutibus et actionibus stellarum. Tertio considerandum est quomodo loca mundi et res The effects alterantur in complexionibus per jam dictas radices. Quidam foj-cei^on^^ autem universales sermones facti sunt de hac materia in terrestrial prioribus, ut oportuit, sed in hac parte operis deberent plura certificari in particulari. Et certum est per Aristotelem, quod coelum non solum est causa universalis, sed particularis, omnium rerum inferiorum. Nam Aristoteles dicit secundo ^ de Generatione quod elementa debilius agunt respectu coeli quam organa respectu artificis, ut securis et dolabrum respectu carpentatoris ; et ideo licet per qualitates elementares fiant omnia hie inferius, non erunt tamen respectu coeli nisi sicut instrumenta respectu artificis. Et ideo si artifex est agens principale universale et particulare respectu operis, multo magis coelum respectu rei generandae. Et Averroes dicit in septimo Metaphysicae quod idem facit virtus coeli in materia putrefica, quod virtus patris in seminibus ; et ideo quae generantur per putrefactionem, licet sunt animata, fiunt tamen immediate a coelo, et multo fortius alia inanimata. Et non solum in his sed in generatis secundum propagationem in 1 De Generatione, ii. 9. In this chapter Aristotle shows that the elements left to themselves are like tools without a workman ; in the following chapter the revolution of the heavens is indicated as the efficient cause of generation. 38o OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. plantis ; quia dicit Aristoteles in libro Vegetabilium, quod Sol est pater plantarum et Luna mater. Et in hominibus et animalibus dicit, quod homo generat hominem et sol ^. Sed Averroes dicit quod sol plus facit quam homo ad productionem rei. Nam virtus solis continuatur in semine a principio generationis usque ad finem, virtus autem patris non, sed fit semel, scilicet solum in seminis decisione, et ideo nihil faceret nisi esset virtus coeli continue multiplicata et infusa, regulans totam generationem. r our opera- Per coelum ergo complexiones omnium rerum habentur, et (list^ki^^^^ non solum regiones diversificantur per coelum, sed resejusdem guished. regionis et partes ejusdem rei, et non solum in generatione recta sed monstruosa, et peccatis ac erroribus naturae. Nam per diversitates horizontum, secundum quod singula puncta terrae sunt centra in horizontibus novis, patet omnia variari, ut superius notatum est de herbis diversarum specierum, quae nascuntur quasi in eodem puncto terrae, et de diversitate gemellorum in eadem matrice ; propter hoc quod coni diversa- rum pyram.idum continentium virtutes stellarum et partium coeli super capita habitantium veniunt ad singula puncta terrae, ut cadat diversitas plena in rebus. Sed alia diversitas est per elongationem a polis et a medio mundi. Et hujus causa duplex est. Una est causa universalis, scilicet solis distantia vel propinquitas secundum quod superius in locis mundi est memoratum. Alia est causa particularis, scilicet diversitas stellarum fixarum super capita habitantium. Nam specialiter per has variantur res naturales in diversis regioni- bus, et homines, non solum in naturalibus, sed in moribus, in scientiis, in artibus, in linguis, et in omnibus. Tertia est ex praedominanti virtute duodecim signorum. Nam diversa signa dominantur in diversis regionibus, aut quia in mundi principio fuerunt in directo illarum creaturarum recipientium virtutes primas, et quod nova testa capit inveterata sapit ; aut quia sunt similes in natura cum stellis quae super capita habitan- ^ Nat. Auscidt. ii. 2 avOpwiros yap dvOpwuov yevva teal f/Ato?. The reference to the apocryphal work De Plantis seems to be incorrectly given. See Lib. cap. 6 'Ava^ayopas . . . ((prj irpus Aex'i^eov on 77 7^ I^WVP P-^^ eari rwv (pvTOJV, it h' jjAios iraTTjp. ASTROLOGIA. tium revolvimtur. Et quarta causa est per planetas. Nam planetae assignantur diversis regionibus per dominium sicut signa, et hoc ex duplici causa dicta. Nunc de signis, quomodo aut in quibus regionibus assignentur signa et planetae, difficile est certificare, nam auctores diversificantur. Tractatus tamen de his habet hie expedire. Sed non est plena certitudo de his, sicut non de aliis These . things best difficultatibus multis, nisi ex libris Hebraeorum, quos primi understood composuerunt astronomi qui revelationem a Deo habuerunt by Hebrew . . . .... astrologers. in omnibus specialem. Nec solum quidem accidit diversitas complexionis in diversis regionibus per Stellas, sed in rebus ejusdem regionis. Ouaedam enim sunt de complexione solis, et quaedam de complexione lunae, et sic de aliis ; quae secun- dum quod sui planetae habent quinque dignitates suas ante- dictas, vigorantur, confortantur, augmentantur, et roborantur. Quando vero sunt in oppositis locis suarum dictarum dignita- tum, deteriorantur et destituuntur a naturali vigore. Et similiter accidit de signis, nam res diversae sequuntur complexiones diversorum signorum. Nam secundum quod quaedam sunt ignea, et secundum quod planetae sunt ignei, id est, calidi et sicci, penes hoc sunt res aliquae de complexione ignis, et hujusmodi res vocantur martiales a planeta, et de complexione Arietis, Leonis, et Sagittarii, quae sunt signa calida et sicca ; et sic de aliis rerum complexionibus et signorum et planetarum. Nominare tamen et signare res singulas respectu suorum planetarum et signorum, est satis difficilis certificationis et impossibilis, nisi per libros Hebraeorum, ut ad fontem certitudinis recurratur. Ista vero quae nunc dicta sunt de assignatione signorum et planetarum rebus diversarum regionum et ejusdem regionis, sunt de majoribus difficultatibus philosophiae, et ubi major diversitas est auctorum Latinorum. Et non solum sic variantur res ejusdem regionis, sed partes Action of ejusdem rei et maxime in homine, quia omnia sunt propter on^spedar hominem. Nam caput est de complexione Arietis; collum de parts of the complexione Tauri ; et humeri et brachia de complexione Geminorum. et sic ulterius. De qua divisione satis concordant auctores et ratio sufficiens dictat, et experientia, quod plus est. Nam si Luna sit in Geminis, quod est signum respondens 382 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. brachiis et humeris, periculum est tangere hujusmodi membra ferro, ut minutione, scarificatione, seu ventosa, et maxime cultello vel ense. Et non solum sic, sed de omnibus medica- minibus chirurgiae ; difficultatem enim magnam recipiunt et languorem, et aliquando mortem ; quae non fierent si Luna esset in alio signo. Nam Ptolemaeus dicit in Centilogio, Luna existente in signo respondente membro, periculum est tangere membrum ferro. Et Haly medicus, dans causam hujus, dicit, quod tunc propter existentiam Lunae in tali signo confluunt humores ad tale membrum, et generant nocumen- tum ; et hoc experientia tota die probat. Nam in anno praecedente medicus famosior in Francia tibiae fratris sui fecit chirurgum dare medicamen ; sed astronomus peritus prohibuit ei ne faceret, quia Luna fuit in Aquario, quod est signum respondens tibiis. Et accidit quod continue invaluit infirmitas et languor usque ad mortem. Hujusmodi casus accidunt saepe, sed propter ignorantiam astronomiae non percipiuntur. Planetary Sed res ejusdem regionis non solum sic variantur in com- special^" plexionibus per diversitatem signorum et planetarum in hours and eodem tempore^, sed in diversis. Nam omni horae dominatur unus planeta specialiter, et medietas signi oritur super horizonta in qualibet hora, ex quibus variantur horae semper et quartae dierum similiter et ipsi dies, qui sicut in omni lingua dies nominantur a planetis, sic habent diversitatem ab eis, ut omnes concordant sapientes. Et hoc est a divina ordinatione a principio mundi. Unde in prima hora diei sabbati dominatur Saturnus, et toti diei principaliter, quia per ejus qualitatem alteratur prima hora, quae est principalis, et principium unde derivatur virtus Saturni in totum diem. Et tunc Jupiter habet aspectum ad horam secundam, Mars ad tertiam, Sol ad quartam, Venus ad quintam, Mercurius ad sextam, Luna ad septimam, et iterum Saturnus ad octavam, et sic ulterius, ut dominetur in xv, et tertio in xxii, ut Jupiter dominetur in xxiii, et Mars in xxiv, et sic completur dies naturalis ipsius sabbati, ut incipiat Sol dominari in prima hora diei dominici, qui ideo vocatur dies solis apud omnes nationes. Et per banc artem currit variatio omnium dierum septimanae et horarum. ASTROLOGIA. 383 Ex his patent complexiones quartarum diei et noctis, et quae AppHca- sunt horae sanguinis, quae cholerae, quae phlegmatis, et quae knowkdge melancholiae. Sed medici, qui nesciunt astronomiam, non to Medi- judicant de qualitate horarum nisi per intentionem et remis- sionem caloris Solaris, vel per absentiam. Nam solum considerant quod sex horae diei naturalis sunt calidae et humidae, et reliquae sex sunt calidae et siccae ; aliae sex sunt frigidae et siccae, et ultimae sex frigidae et humidae. Sed cujus complexionis sit signum quod oritur in duabus horis, et quis planeta dominetur inhora secundum regulam praedictam, insuper quis et qui planetae oriantur super horizonta, non considerant, cum tamen haec et quaedam alia necessario debeant considerari. Haec tamen diversitas dierum et horarum bene debet ab omni homine sciri, et maxime a medicis, et a quolibet qui vult suam sanitatem servare. Nam secundum diversitatem complexionis cujuslibet et secundum diversitatem aetatis et occupationis, oporteret eligere diversas horas pro minutionibus, pro medicinis, et omnibus aliis actibus vitae, et pro negotiis et occupationibus et aggressionibus operum, seu sapientia aliorum, quia virtutes coelorum in his horis et diebus diversimode movent complexiones sanorum et infirmorum diversas. Et ulterius secundum quod complexiones variantur, excitantur animi et ducuntur ut gratis velint sequi complexi- onis motum, etiam in omnibus operibus voluntariis, salva in omnibus arbitrii libertate. Unde in die sabbati et maxime in hora prima, non esset minuendum, nec aliquod dignum incipiendum quod ad complexionem pertinet, sive primo in naturalibus, sive secundario ut in voluntariis. et hoc propter malitiam Saturni, qui in omnibus generat infortunium quan- tum est ex parte sui, nisi aliud impediat. Et tamen ex errore omnes homines faciunt se minui in die sabbati, quod faciunt propter quietem diei dominici ab occupationibus et laboribus. Et non solum in horis et diebus accidit variatio magna Influence consideranda per coelestia, immo in septimana, et hoc praecipue ^^^^ per aetatem Lunae. Nam dum crescit Luna, omnia crescunt ; dum decrescit, omnia decrescunt, sive decrementum patiuntur. Hoc non solum astronomi, sed medici considerant; ut Galenus 384 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. in libro Dynamidiarum ^, et alii considerant in superiori expe- rientia, ut in maribus, cerebrisque hominum, medullis, et conchyliis et omnibus. Nam augmentantur et plena sunt cum Lunae plenitudine, et deficiente Luna deficiunt. Nam et lapis Lunae, qui vocatur Selenitis, crescit et decrescit secundum Lunam, quo vafietates lunationis paschalis festi sancti antiquitus probaverunt, ut suo loco in opere recto. Nam quaedam malva in prima Luna ascendit super ipsam, et crescit usque ad plenam Lunam, et deinde cum Luna decrescit. Et est herba mirificae virtutis ; cum prima Luna duo folia nascuntur ex utroque latere stipitis, et in secunda Luna duo alia, et sic usque ad plenilunium, et deinde ordine consimili cadunt secundum quod Luna decrescit. Caeterum ut Ptolemaeus ait, et Haly exponit Ivi propositione Centilogii, humores in corporibus prima septimana Lunae, et tertia, recedunt ab interioribus ad exteriora, sicut flumina fluunt a suis canalibus. In secunda vero septimana et in quarta retrocedunt ab exterioribus ad interius, et in hoc est magna rerum transmutatio et mirabilis. Ex quo sequitur satis veridice, quod in prima septimana et in tertia utendum est evacuationibus exterioribus, ut est phlebotomia, et in secunda et in quarta septimana medicina laxativa ; quia Hippocrates in prima particula aphorismorum dicit, undecumque reperit natura, inde ducere per convenientem regionem, id est per partem corporis ad quam humores naturales decurrunt. Sed hoc medici astronomiam ignorantes non attendunt, saepius in praejudicium patientum. The lunar Et etlam est alia alteratio magna rerum per mansiones mansions. ^ ... . , . i-' Lunae, quae sunt xxvni. Mansio quidem est spatmm zodiaci quod pertransit Luna in die. Istae autem mansiones dis- tinguuntur, quia quaedam sunt temperatae, quaedam distem- peratae in sicco, frigido, calido vel humido. Et secundum hoc quolibet die si homo aspiciat mane in qua mansione sit Luna, poterit de pluvia et alterationibus aeris judicare, sicut docet Albumazar in majori introductorio, et patet per ex- perientiam. Et praecipue considerandum est de dispositione ^ The two books, De Dynamidiis^ are among the spurious works attributed to Galen. ASTROLOGIA. 385 Lunae in novilunio ; nam talis debet esse dispositionis, saltern prima septimana vel quindena, et aliquotiens totus mensis ; igitur in principio secundae septimanae, tertiae, et quartae, currit eadem observatio. Nam in istis quadraturis fortissima operatic Lunae est, ut Galenus in libro de Crisi et criticis diebus, secundum quod transit quartas sui circuli. Nec solum septimanae, sed menses integri variantur praecipue per motuni solis in singulis signis^ secundum quod recedit a nobis vel accedit ad nos. Sed quartae anni mutantur manifeste in complexionibus suis, quum ex his communiter oriuntur qua- tuor complexiones principales, ut calida et humida in vere, calida et sicca in aestate, frigida et sicca in autumno^ frigida et humida in hyeme. Nam fortissima est mutatio stellaruni in quadraturis suorum circulorum, ut auctores docent et experientia certificat. Annorum vero mutatio est major per hos caeteros planetas, influence qui secundum suas revolutiones in quadraturis suorum circu- Jf^^^^^n?^ lorum et in totius circuli revolutione mutant annos; et maxime Saturn, tres superiores, scilicet Saturnus, Jupiter et Mars ; ut in rebus maximis, quae tarde veniunt, quia hi planetae sunt tardi motus, et ideo effectus eorum non sunt quotidian! vel mensivi sicut Lunae vel Solis. Hujusmodi autem effectus sunt diluvia, terrae motus, et pestilentia, fames valida, cometarum et caeterorum ignium in acre apparitio, sicut docet Albumazar in Conjunctionibus, et omnes sapientes concordant ; unde cum anno Domini I264mense Julii fuit apparitio cometae horribilis, per virtutem Martis fuisse generatus approbatur. Nam Mars cum fuerit tunc in Tauro et cometa ortus sit in Cancro, non cessavit decurrere ad suam causam, scilicet Martem ; sicut ferrum currit ad magnetem. Sicut enim magnes trahit ferrum, sic planeta, cujus virtute sublimatur vapor ignitus et assimilatur coelesti naturae, attrahit cometam, et ideo cum ad Martem motus est, et ibi delituit, necesse fuit eum a Marte causari. Deinde cum natura Martis sit ignea, cujus natura est multi- plicare choleram, et per consequens excitare homines ad iram discordiam et bella, ideo accidit quod cometa ita significabat super iras et discordias hominum et bella, sicut sapientes astronomi docent. Sed verius experientia totius ecclesiae VOL. I. C C 386 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. comprobavit per bella Angliae, Hispaniae et Italiae, et aliarum regionum, quae circiter tempus illud et a tempore illo acci- derunt. O quanta utilitas ecclesiae Dei potuisset procurari, si coeli qualitas istorum temporum fuisset praevisa a sapien- tibus, et praelatis et principibus cognita, et pads studio mancipata ! Nam non fuisset tanta Christianorum strages nec tot animae positae in infernum. Planetary Et non tantum dico hoc propter revolutiones planetarum tions!'^^ generantes cometas et hujusmodi, sed magis propter con- junctiones superiorum planetarum a tempore memorato. Conjunctiones autem planetarum multiplicatae sunt nimis his temporibus ; sed in capitulo superius de sectis et Christi professione confirmanda adducta est praeclara astronomorum scientia de istis conjunctionibus, quomodo consuetae naturae jura mutantur, et animi hominum excitantur ad seditiones et immutationes consuetudinum et legum, ad discordias et bella, et mutantur dominatus et regna, et vices principum renovantur. Albumazar et caeteri sapientes docent hoc evidenter. Et si haec exempla sint nimis sublimia, converte stylum ad exempla vulgata et utilia corporibus humanis. Nam Ptolemaeus dicit in nona decima propositione Centilogii, si quis purgationem receperit Luna conjuncta cum Jove, abbreviabitur opus ejus et effectus minuetur. Et dicit Haly, quod hujus causa est, quia ex beneficio Jovis in tantum confortatur natura, quod impedit effectum medicinae. Et si Luna conjungatur Saturno, potio- natus patietur torsiones et in periculo erit propter malitiam Saturni nec se poterit expedire propter Saturnalem siccitatem ; qua retinebitur medicina in corpore, quia siccum est bene retentivum. Medical Sed qualiter cognoscuntur infirmitates penes hujusmodi arto°their conjunctiones et aspectus caeteros et dignitates planetarum, effects on egregie designant auctores medicinae ; et praecipue Hippocrates in libro suo de alterationibus corporum humanorum, quae contingunt ex motu Lunae suscipientis conjunctiones et aspectus caeteros planetarum. Et Galenus dicit tertio de Crisi et criticis diebus ^, ' Et ego redii ad rem, quam consideravi ^ The next three sentences are quoted from Galen. The passage will be found in the treatise De Diebus Decreioriis Jib. iii. cap. 4 and 5). ASTROLOGIA. cum studio et perscrutatione vehementi, et inveni eandem veram et certam quae non perit, et est res quam invenerunt astrologi Aegyptii. Et est quod Luna signat super dies qualiter erit dispositio hominis in aegritudine et sanitate sua ; quod est, si applicentur Lunae quaedam stellae aequales, et sint stellae quae nominantur fortunae, erunt illi dies illi homini convenientes. Et si applicentur illi quaedam stellae egre- dientes ab aequalitate, erunt illi dies laesionis et • tristitiae.' Et sumit hie applicationes pro conjunctionibus et caeteris aspectibus, et multa dicit hie de hac materia. Atque Haly medicus in libro de Regimine Regali docet praeclare quod medici indigent consideratione hujusmodi, unde ait, medicina eget astronomia, quae medicaminibus electis utitur temporibus electis, quibus est Luna bonis et felicibus contemperata planetis et competentibus figuris zodiaci. Et omnes auctores con- cordant in istis. Et propter has conjunctiones et revolutiones planetarum mutuas Avicenna secundo libro de Animalibus dicit, totam generationem regulari et augmentaii, et initium vitae et mortis. Unde ait, opus est ut termini vitae et mortis essent positi in specie, donee sit vita concordans cum revolutione alicujus stellae aut multarum stellarum. Et primus terminus est dies cum sua nocte : deinde est alius, quem Luna constituit in quarta sui circuli ; deinde est mensis, qui est circulus, qui completur in conjunctione Solis et Lunae ; deinde annus planetarum ; deinde annus mediarum conjunctionum et re- versionum ad eas figuras in quibus fuerunt istae conjunctiones, quae faciunt ad augmentum naturalium et diminutionem innaturalium. Et non solum haec accidunt in recta genera- tione, sed in monstruosa et peccatis naturae, secundum quod ipse Avicenna docet eodem libro, dicens, Si embryo potest recipere humanitatem, potest recipere animalitatem, sicut in rebus monstruosis, ut quando filius hominis habuit caput arietis, et agnus habuit caput tauri, quoniam virtus in eo induxit formas et figuras coelestes, quae accidunt unicuique. Nec solum his modis accidunt alterationes complexionum Planets in rerum inferiorum, sed propter ascensiones planetarum ad auges of^thefr'^^ suorum circulorum, et postea descensiones ad oppositionem orbits, augium propter fortitudinem motuum in augibus et debili- C c 2 388 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. House of the planet. tatetii in oppositis augium, sicut nos videmiis per experientiam. Omnia enim terrae nascentia circa solstitium aestivale quando Sol est in auge sui eccentrici, plus crescunt et vigorantur per unum diem quam alias per septimanam. Et quando Luna est in augibus suorum circulorum, ut in novilunio et plenilunio, tunc sunt fortiores operationes ejus, ut patet in fluxibus maris et in piscibus ; tunc enim pisces meliores sunt, tunc saniora sunt conchylia, sicut auctores docent, et experientia ; et sic est de omnibus planetis. Sed ultimum quod hie volo tangere est de domibus duo- decim, quae per divisionem coeli in duodecim partes oriuntur, scilicet quarum consideratio maxime docetur a philosophis. Nam Albumazar in libro de Floribus dicit, quod certissime discutiendae et examinandae sunt. Nam per has primo con- sideratur, quis planeta dominatur complexioni totius anni ; quae consideratio fit in principio veris, quando Sol ingreditur primum minutum Arietis in aequinoctio vernali ; et per has significationes scitur, quomodo planetae inducunt complexiones singulorum dierum et singularum horarum, et omnium rerum, secundum quod ascendunt super horizontem. Nam ostendunt hoc manifesto astronomi et experientia manifestat. Hae igitur sunt radices de alteratione complexionum rerum per virtutes stellarum, in cujus tractatu debent explicari rami et fructus et flores cum tabulis et figurationibus nobilissimis, ex quo manifestior est potestas figurarum et numerationum, nec non praegrandis utilitas et sapientiae pulchritudo. Interpieta- Post hacc scquitur quartum, quod est consideratio de judicio these'things cognitione praeteritorum praesentium et futurorum. Nam with refer- si causa complexionum rerum est coelestis constellatio, poterit human hujusmodi effectus sciri per hanc causam. Et quomodo vel events. quando, certificatur hoc per sanctos, et praecipue per pa- triarchas a principio mundi, a quibus habuerunt philosophi possibilitatem judicandi. Et considerandum est quod omnes philosophi in hoc concordaverunt, et Aristoteles certificavit in libro suo de hac materia, et experientia docet. Nec est con- tradictio, nisi per ignorantiam infinitam, quae currit in vulgo et in cis qui pracsunt eis, qui omnia quae ignorant reprehen- dunt et negligunt. Modus autem universalis judicandi per ASTROLOGIA. 389 planetas consistit in hoc, quod homo sciat per tabulas et instrumenta aequare motus coelorum et invenire loca planeta- rum ; et considerare quis eorum habeat plures et majores fortitudines ex loco suo secundum illas qumque famosas. quae sunt domus, exaltatio, triplicitas, terminus et facies ; et similiter cum hoc videre fortitudines quae contingunt ex aspectibus illorum et ex motu in augibus suorum circulorum, et ex domibus duodecim. Et cum bene examinaverit et viderit haec et eis annexa, tunc si Sol habuerit plura testimonia et fortitudines hujusmodi, debet judicare secundum complexionem solarem in rebus, eo quod ilia dominatur in eis ; et sic de aliis. Par- ticularis vero consideratio et specialis in singulis habet suas leges determinatas secundum rerum conditionem. Et potest homo revolvere historiam ad tempora praeterita, et considerare effectus coelorum a principio mundi, ut sunt diliivia, terrae motus, pestilentiae, fames, cometae, monstra, et alia infinita, quae contigerunt tam in rebus humanis quam in naturalibus. Quibus comparatis, revolvat tabulas et canones astronomiae, et inveniet constellationes proprias singulis effectibus respon- dere. Deinde consideret per tabulas consimiles constellationes in futuro tempore propinquo vel remoto sicut vult ; et poterit tunc pronuntiare in effectibus, qui consimiles erunt sicut fuerunt in praeterito, quia posita causa ponitur effectus. Et istorum judiciorum introductoria habentur sufficienter Authorities ex libro Albumazar proprio ad hoc, et ex libro Alkabiz, et j^^^^^^ Haly Abenragel. Sed radices judicandi ponuntur in centum verbis Ptolemaei, qui est potentior in philosophia speculativa. Rami vero extrahuntur in quadripartito Ptolemaei, ut idem dicunt. Flores vero et fructus in multis aliis libris colliguntur ; sed praecipue in libro Conjunctionum Albumazar, secundum quod pervenit hujus scientiae notitia ad manus Latinorum ; hoc dico, quia nondum habent scientiam completam de his, quia Latini nihil quod valet habent nisi ab aliis Unguis ; et pauci fuerunt interpretes et mali ut ostenditur. Libri enim Hebraeorum certificant de his, quam certificationem Aristoteles consideravit et redegit in scriptura Graeca. Nam Averroes dicit super quartum Coeli et Mundi quod Aristoteles certificavit hoc in hbro suo de impressionibus coelestibus, qui liber est 390 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. melior tota philosophia Latinorum, et potest per vestram jussionem transferri. Our con- Quintum vero annunciatum superius est principale inter bemod°fied ^^ec, nam nominata omnia sunt propter hoc ; quia non sufficit by this rei publicae ut cognoscantur omnia, sed oportet quod utilia knowledge, . . , , . •,. as advised cognita promoveantur, et nociva evacuentur. Sed hic licet totk'^^^" geometria, et arithmetica, et musica dent maxima et quam- plurima juvamenta, tamen astronomia regulat omnia, propter hoc quod omne opus magnificum debet fieri in temporibus electis. Et ideo operata aharum scientiarum requirunt tem- pora idonea, quae consideratione astronomi eligi cognoscuntur, et ideo praeest omnibus scientiis in hac parte, quamvis etiam specialia remedia habeat infinita, in quibus aHae scientiae non habent potestatem. Et quia tam universaHs est potentia istius scientiae, ideo Aristoteles sapientissimus philosophus docet Alexandrum in libro Secretorum, quod nec comedat, nec bibat, nec aliquid faciat sine consilio astronomi, quia tempora electa sunt ad omnia ; omnia enim tempus habent, sicut dicit Salomon sapientior Aristotele. Et Aristoteles sibi objicit dicens, Deus praevidit omnia ab aeterno, ergo non potest astronomus ea impedire vel mutare. Et ipse respondet, quod ea quae Deus praevidit sunt immutabilia. Sed tamen effectus eorum quae Deus posuit in potestate hominis ex sua provisione aeterna, potest homo mutare ut vult, quia in contingentibus ad utram- libet. Et in rebus humanis Deus non posuit necessitatem, licet sciverit ab aeterno in quam partem debet terminari con- tingens, et humani libertas arbitrii. Et ideo potest homo omnes utilitates suas procurare, et impedimenta removere, si fuerit peritus in hac scientia, Et ponit exemplum. Si enim, ut dicit, necessario erit superfluitas frigoris in tempore futuro, astronomus praevidens potest apponere remedia, ut sine grava- mine patiatur frigus illud, quod alii incaute non potuerunt sustinere : potest enim astronomus praeparare loca cahda, nutrimenta calida, vestimenta calida et medicamina multa, ita ut frigus ei in nullo nocebit, quamvis alii qui haec non prae- viderint prae frigore moriantur. Et ideo in potestate hominis periti in hac scientia est ut evadat nociva ct consequatur utilia. ASTROLOGIA. 391 Et hoc egregie docet Isaac in libro Febrium, capitulo de By Isaac pestilentia ; nec solum de infirmitatibus, sed etiam universa- ckn!^^^^^ liter in omnibus, dicens quod anima rationalis dignior est stellis, nam actio earum minime ei nocet nisi cum ignorantia teneatur. Dum enim ipse sciverit earum actionem omnino cavere poterit ; et infert, Testificatur autem id quod videmus ab optimis factum mathematicis, qui cum certissime noverint dies mortis in eis qui mare ingressuri sunt, satis possunt eos tueri ; similiter et eos qui in bello morituri sunt ; et addit, Homo differt ab animalibus, nam rationis et discretionis est super inquirere et desiderare bona et respuere mala, et eis repugnare, quia non est subditus actioni naturali, nisi cum ignorantia tentus sit. Et ideo dicit Ptolemaeus in quinto verbo Centilogii, astrologus optimus multo magis prohibere poterit quod secundum stellas venturum est; et in octavo dicit, anima sapiens adjuvabit opus stellarum, quemadmodum seminator fortitudines naturales, unde et nociva poterit repellere, et utilia promovere. Et Isaac ponit exemplum de pestilentia futura, et facit sibi quaestionem juxta ignorantiam medicorum, sicut Aristoteles fecit. Quaerit ergo utrum hujusmodi putre- factio veniet necessario propter coelum, quia tunc medicus non potest prohibere, et ideo inutile videtur hoc praecognosci. Sed solvit, dicens quod corruptio aeris non nocet nisi corporibus praeparatis ad eam ; et ideo cum medicus videret significa- tionem aeris corrupti in unoquoque tempore anni venturo, poterit mundificare naturam, et malam corporis dispositionem auferre, ut sciat venienti corruptioni repugnare. Nam si viderit per motum stellarum fieri in acre calorem et siccitatem nimiam et ustionem, festinet purgare choleram eorum in quibus inest complexio cholerica, det frigida et humida calori venturo repugnantia. Et Haly dat consimilem sententiam in expositione quintae propositionis Centilogii. Ex his patet quod astronomus potest dare remedia contra nociva et promovere utilia, non solum in infirmitatibus, sed in aliis universaliter, cum ratione electionis temporis apti ad omnia opera, cum ratione operum utilium, cum remotione nocivorum ; et hoc specialiter in cuiis corporum humanorum, quo nihil melius est quantum ad bonum civium particulare. 392 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. confirmed Sed tameii respectu boni communis civitatis et regnorum, mauers^by ^^lajora possiint fieri opera per virtutem astronomiae quam example of aliquis potest dicere, et quam aliquis vult per scripturam Moses and . , . ^ ^ . . . of Solo- explanare ; nam haec sunt multa de secretissimis openbus mon, sapientiae. Sed propter rerum magnitudinem et ignorantiam multitudinis studentium, qui de operibus sapientiae non curant, et propter fraudes multorum et malitias qui abusi sunt his, occultantur semper a vulgo et a capitibus ejus ; de quibus tamen Moyses et Aaron, Solomon, Aristoteles, Ptolemaeus et caeteri sapientes operati sunt nimis admirande. Unde cum hoc sit unum de maximis, et quasi potens quodammodo in omnia, non decet ut Vestrae Gloriae occultetur. Et quia praecepistis ut scriberem de sapientia philosophiae, recitabo Vestrae Clementiae sententias sapientum, praecipue cum ecclesiae Dei sit omnino necessarium contra furiam Antichristi. Cum vero Moyses in juventute sua fuisset dux exercitus Aegyptiorum contra Aethiopes, et ob bonum pacis acceperat Aethiopissam, pro qua contra eum duodecimo Numerorum objurgati sunt Aaron et Maria, quae fuit regina Aethiopum, nolens dimittere earn ut rediret in Aegyptum propter amoris superfluitatem, cum esset peritus astronomus, fecit duas imagines in annulis, unam oblivionis quam dedit mulieri, et alteram memoriae quam sibi detinuit, et sic ab ea libere cum exercitu et sine bello recessit. Haec Josephus primo Antiquitatum libro, et magister in historiis, et multi confirmant. Mira res fuit haec, quae animum mulieris immutavit. Salomon vero ordinavit de hujusmodi multis, quae praeter solitum cursum naturae facta sunt, ut dicit Josephus octavo libro, qui cum fuit sapientior omnibus praecedentibus et sequentibus, ut scriptura sacra et Josephus docent, non potuit haec opera negligere, et ideo scripta multa in aenigmate reliquit, quae postea per magicos in malos usus conversa sunt atque male interpretata, in quibus multa enormia sunt per fraudulentos admixta. Sed sapientes sciunt eligere grana de paleis, et theriacam de serpenti separare. -md of Aristoteles vero summus philosophorum docet haec opera Aristotle, j^^j.j Whro Sccretorum, ut quaeque magnifica utiliter promo- veantur et omnia nociva destruantur. His enim operibus Alexandrum magnum fecit Aristoteles cum minus quadraginta ASTROLOGIA. 393 millibus armatorum mundum superare. Is cum in lecto mor- tal! jacebat, et jam esset in januis mortis, civitatem suam et regionem ab inimicis eripuit. De primo facto notum est in gestis Alexandri, de secundo in Valerio Maximo, libro quinto. Sed constat eum non posse hoc fecisse potentia corporali, sed magna sapientiae virtute, quam in libris Secretorum reliquit solum sapientissimis indagandam. Et cum propter pondus senectutis, devicto Dario, mundum tradidit Alexandro, recessit in terram suam, dixitque Alexandro quod ei scriberet quae vellet, et ipse consilium daret opportunum. Et cum Alex- ander invenit gentes habentes mores pessimos, scribens Aristoteli quid faceret de eis, ipse princeps philosophiae re- spondit, Si potes alterare aerem ipsorum, permitte eos vivere ; si non, interfice omnes. O quam occultissima responsio est, sed plena sapientiae potestate ! Nam intellexit quod secun- dum mutationem aeris, qui continet coelestes virtutes, mutantur mores hominum ; eo quod alios mores habent Gallici, alios Romani, alios Hispani, et sic de singulis regioni- bus. Voluit ergo quod Alexander in bonum mutaret qualita- tem aeris illarum gentium, ut secundum mutationem illam mutarentur mores, et excitarentur ad honestatem morum sine contradictione liberi arbitrii ; sicut quaelibet natio excitatur ad proprios mores per aerem proprium habentem virtutes stellarum quae sunt super capita hominum, et secundum quod signa vel planetae dominantur singulis regionibus. Ostendo enim in tractatu quem mitto ^, quod induci potest aliquis ad bonum et malum, tarn publicum quam privatum, per virtutes coelorum sine coactione, sicut exemplariter videmus quod homines mutant suas voluntates per dominos, amicos, et socios, et rerum praesentiam novarum, et infinitis modis sine coactione. Quod satis explano in capitulo de potestate judi- candi de rebus humanis per coelum, in quo capitulo est ratio ^ This does not refer to the treatise De MtdHplicatiotie Specierum, several times mentioned in the Opus Teiiimn as being sent together with the Opus Majus. The subject of astrology is not dealt with there. The reference may be to p. 251 et seq. If so, the fact that the Opus Majus should be in this place spoken of as a distinct work shows that the whole of this second treatment of astrology would have been elaborated into a special treatise had opportunity permitted. 394 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. omnium quae tanguntur de hac materia ^. Philosophus igitur voluit quod faceret opera sapientiae per debitas constella- tiones ad modum Moysis, qui excitavit animam mulieris per coelestes virtutes receptas in materia. Nam qua ratione potuit ilia mulier mutari ad castitatem et oblivionem viri per imagines, potuit et ad alios mores moveri non solum ipsa, sed quicunque. Ptolemaeus in nona propositione Centilogii docet, quod vultus hujus seculi sunt subject! vultibus coelestibus. Et dicit Haly, quod in hoc capitulo vult Ptolemaeus imaginum secreta patefacere. Et patet intentio eorum in universali, quia si contingit temporibus electis eas sculpere ad vultus coelorum, omnia nociva repelli possunt et utilia promoveri. Thebit ^ inter omnes Christianos summus philosophus, qui in multis addidit ad opera Ptolemaei et aliorum astronomorum tam in speculativis quam in practicis, specialiter hanc scientiam ampliavit, et alii sapientissimi super his insistebant. Theo- Sed quia haec opera videntur vulgo studentium esse supra avoid"this ^^^^^""^ intellectum, quia vulgus cum suis doctoribus non subject ; vacat operibus sapientiae, ideo vix est aliquis ausus loqui de imputation ^^'^^ operibus in publico. Statim enim vocantur magici, cum of magic, tamen sint sapientissimi qui haec sciunt. Utique theologi et decretistae non instructi in talibus, simulque videntes quod mala possunt fieri sicut et bona, negligunt haec et abhorrent, et computant inter magica. Vident enim quod magici et abusores documentorum sapientiae his utuntur, et ideo aestimant indigna Christianis. Sed non debet Veritas damnari pro ignorantia, nec utilitas pro malitia, quamvis eadem fieri valeant ; nam tunc deberent homines carere cultellis in mensa, quoniam comedentes possunt interficere socios eodem ferro quo scindunt cibaria, et tunc arma debent deleri ab ecclesia et brachium seculare, quia multa mala possunt per haec fieri, et ^ See pp. 246-53. 2 Thebit, or Thabit ben Corra ben Zahrun el Harrani was born a.d. 836, at Harran in Mesopotamia, and died a.d. 901. Most of his life was spent at Bag- dad. He was a friend of the great algebraist Mahommed ben Musa ; and he translated into Arabic the works of Archimedes, Apollonius, and Euclid ; also the Physics and Analytics of Aristotle, and many of the works of Hippocrates and Galen. He was not a Mahommedan ; but his Christianity is more than doubtful. ASTROLOGIA. 395 quotidie peraguntur. Et nihilominiis jura debent esse in usu bonorum hominum, quamvis per cavillationes et fraiides multi juristae juribus abutuntur. Et nunc videmus quod plus est in usu studentium quicquid de cavillationibus sit scriptum quam verus usus demonstrationum ; non tamen propter hoc studium sapientiae damnandum est. Nam semper mali in malis convertuntur, ex quibus boni utilitates varias producunt. Et cum opus animae rationalis praecipuum sit verbis uti Operative efficaciter et ex intentione formatis, potest astronomus formare ^ords and verba temporibus electis quae ineffabilem habebunt potestatem. written 1 . . . T . , . . . -I- characters. JNam ubi nitentio desidermm et virtus animae rationalis, quae dignior est stellis, concurrunt cum potestate coeli, necesse est sive verbum sive aliud opus produci mirae virtutis in alteratione rerum mundi hujus, ut non solum naturalia, sed animi inclinentur ad ea quae velit sapiens operator, salva arbitrii libertate, quia potest animus sequi coelestes virtutes gratis sine coactione, ut tractatum est suo loco et declaratum. Ex hac radice incepit apud sapientes usus characterum et carminum. Nam characteres sunt sicut imagines, et carmina sunt verba ex intentione animae rationalis prolata, virtutem coeli in ipsa pronunciatione recipientia ; unde de mira potestate literarum ego facio mentionem in tertia parte ^. Per banc enim potestatem sanantur corpora, fugantur animalia venenosa, advocantur ad manum bruta quaecunque, et ser- pentes de cavernis et pisces de profundis aquarum. Alteratur enim mundi materia ad multas passiones mirabiles, si recte fierent ista, et ideo contra malevolos homines et inimicos reipublicae possunt mirabiliter valere, sicut et caetera opera stellificata, ut oportet. Sed magici maledicti induxerunt summam infamiam in hac parte, quum non solum in malis abusi sunt characteribus et carminibus scriptis a sapientibus contra nociva, et pro utilibus maximis, sed adjunxerunt men- dosa carmina et characteres vanos et fraudulentos quibus homines seducuntur. Insuper daemones temptaverunt multos et tam mulieres quam daemones docuerunt multa super- stitiosa, quibus omnis natio plena est. Nam ipsae vetulae ubicunque faciunt characteres et carmina et conjurationes, ac 1 See pp. 93-4. 396 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. ipsi magici utuntur invocationibus daemonum et conjurationi- bus eorum, et sacrificia eis faciunt. Sed haec omnia sunt maledicta et extra vias philosophorum, immo contra sententias eorum ; et per haec defamatur philosophiae potestas. Itaque theologi nunc temporis et Gratianus et sancti plures multas utiles et magnificas scientias reprobaverunt cum his magicis, non attendentes differentiam inter magicam et philosophiae veritatem propter causas quinque de quibus in prima parte dictum est ; quod capitulum necessarium est omni homini ad magnalia sapientiae aspiranti et volenti verum a falso separare. Nam Gratianus, sicut multa scripsit jura quae nunc abrogata sunt, sententia saniore praevalente, sic, cum de scientiis locutus est, multa dixit quae debent in partem alteram commutari, ut inferius abundantius explicabo. In this Redeo igitur ad verba et opera sapientum, stellarum virtute nature^he" animae rationalis potestate formata, reddens rationem in mind co- summa de his secundum quod docuerunt sapientes. Sicut mfh^siSlar enim puer natus, et aeri novo tanquam mundo recenti ex- forces, positus, recipit impressionem virtutum coelestium, a quibus habet complexionem radicalem quam nunquam potest amittere, quia quod nova testa capit, inveterata sapit ; sic est de omni re noviter facta, quae recipit virtutem coeli in prima ejus existentia, et illam quam in principio recipit nunquam amittit donee a suo esse naturali destituatur et corrumpatur. Et ideo in istis imaginibus, carminibus, et characteribus, constellatione debita compositis, recipiuntur virtutes stellarum et retinentur, ut possint per eas agere in res hujus mundi, et recedente constellatione, in qua fuerunt res hujusmodi compositae, recedunt. Et quoniam anima rationalis dignior est stellis, ideo sicut stellae et omnia faciunt virtutes suas et species in rebus extra, de quibus speciebus et virtutibus scribo satis in quarta parte, ubi de geometricis agitur, potest ergo anima rationalis, quae est substantia maxime activa inter omnia post Deum et angelos, facere et facit continue speciem suam et virtutem in corpus, cujus est actus, et in res extra ; et maxime quum ex forti desiderio et intentione certa et confidentia magna operatur. De quibus operibus Avicenna in sexto Natu- ralium potenter eloquitur. Et ideo hujusmodi opera et verba ASTROLOGIA. 397 de quibus loqiior non solum recipiunt virtutem a coelo, sed ab anima rationali, quae est nobilior, et propter hoc possunt habere magnam virtutem alterandi res mundi hujus. Et si dicatur, quod sicut hujusmodi opera recipiunt virtutem Objection, coeli, sic alia omnia quae sunt in eadem regione, et in tempore compositionis hujusmodi verborum et operum ; et ita omnia ^ debent habere has virtutes, et homines, et boves, et equi, et arbores, nam radii coelestis constellationis attingunt infinita in eodem tempore ; dicendum, quod non valet objectum, quia non Reply, sunt res in eodem horizonte. Nam singula puncta terrae sunt centra diversorum horizontum, ad quae coni diversarum pyramidum virtutum coelestium veniunt, ut possint producere herbas diversarum specierum in eadem particula terrae minima, et gemellos in eadem matrice diversificare in com- plexione et moribus, et in usu scientiarum, et linguarum, et negotiorum, et caeteris omnibus ; tum quia res aliae jam factae prius ante compositionem imaginis, licet sint ^ cum ilia, tamen ab origine sua receperunt influentiam propriam radicalem secundum quam operantur, et ideo virtus coeli ad lianc horam, de qua loquimur, non habet effectum naturalem in rebus hujusmodi prius factis, sicut habet in istis operibus et verbis nunc de novo factis ; tum quia ab anima rationali non sunt facta, aut non tunc ; aut si tunc, multa fiunt ^ ab homine alia, non tamen ea intentione, nec desiderio, nec confidentia, nec ordinantur ad hujusmodi actiones, et ideo hujusmodi aut non habebunt virtutem alterandi, aut non ita notabiles operationes. Si dicatur, quod saltem omnis res per virtutem Second quam recipit in sua origine a coelesti constellatione, cum in ^t)ject]on. ilia maneat complexio radicalis juxta fortitudinem constella- tionis, alterabit res extra se et immutabit sensibiliter, et maxime in novitate sua ; et quod per processum temporis, per continuas virtutes coelorum alias, remittatur et debilitetur virtus prima paulatim donee deficiat ; dicendum est, quod hoc Reply, est verum, et secundum quod oriuntur tales res, hunt aliquando ^ J. has, omnia animalia : but animalia is omitted in O, and the sense is improved by the omission. ^ J. fuit. ^ J. has fuerint : but fnint^ the reading of O., is evidently better. 398 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. magnae mutationes, licet non consideremiis iinde tales altera- tiones contingunt, sicut accidit de cometis et aliquibus aliis. Fascina- Et itei'um potest elici quid inteliigendum est de fascinatione, quae licet habeat verbum suspectum, et potest modo intelligi ut vetulae sortilegae et magici considerant ; tamen certum est quod multi homines sunt malae complexionis et corruptae compositionis et infirnnae, ita quod contagiosi sint^ sicut homines infirmi multis morbis contagiosis. Et praecipue accidit complexioni hujusmodi virtus infectiva et contagiosa per malam constellationem in qua conceptus est puer vel natus. Nam a sanissimis parentibus et optimae complexionis nascuntur infiniti qui sunt pessimae complexionis ; et isti, sicut omnes res suam speciem et virtutem producentes, contaminant res praesentes, maxime teneras aetate et complexione, et praecipue per oculos ; quia porosi sunt et rari, et exeunt vapores et spiritus corrupti et inficiunt res. Unde Virgilius, ' Nescio quis teneros oculus mihi fascinat agnos.' Sicut mulier menstruosa, si aspiciat speculum novum et politum, maculat ipsum nube sanguinea, ut Aristoteles dicit secundo de Somno et Vigilia et experientia docet, et ita inficit alias res, licet non ita appareat : et sic leprosi inficiunt. Ethaec omnia naturalia sunt. Quod si ulterius aliqua anima maligna cogitet fortiter de infectione alterius, atque ardenter desideret et certitudinaliter intendat, atque vehementer consideret se posse nocere, non est dubium quin natura obediet cogita- tionibus animae, ut docet Avicenna octavo de Animalibus et quarto de Anima, quatenus fortior sit multiplicatio speciei et infectio violentior ; sicut si leprosus intendat desideret et con- fidat multum nocere alicui quem odio habet, longe plus laedit eum quam alium cui malum non cogitat. Omnis enim operatio hominis est fortior et impetuosior, quando ad cam est multum solh'citus et voluntarius, et fixo proposito firmat intentionem, et sperat firmiter se posse consequi quod intendit. Nam dicunt sapientes, quod sicut scammonea acuit medicinam et dat ei vigorem, sic intentio et desiderium et confidentia se habent in operibus humanis ; et adhuc non est magicum. Nam Plinius docet septimo Naturalium, quod multi homines ^ See p. 142. ASTROLOGIA. 399 sunt talis complexionis, qui alios inficiunt et laedunt ex sua The eye or praesentia^ et per visum et per verbum \ Nam quia verbum ^0^^ h^av^" ab interioribus membris naturalibus generatur et formatur ex power for cogitatione et sollicitudine, et delectatur homo in eo, et pro- priissimum est instrumentum animae rationalis, ideo maximam efficaciam habet inter omnia quae fiunt ab homine, praecipue cum ex intentione certa, desiderio magno, et vehementi con- fidentia profertur. Cujus signum est, quod omnia fere miracula quae facta sunt per sanctos a principio fiebant per virtutem verborum, unde in verbis summa est potestas, sicut explicavi. Et si hujusmodi multiplicatio speciei et verbi prolatio fiant in constellatione debita, necesse est quod operatic valida consequatur ; et in his omnibus nihil est magicum vel insanum. Et si hoc vocetur fascinatio, nomen, si volumus, possumus mutare. Sed res in nullo habet calum- niam apud sapientes. Feci vero mentionem de fascinatione ^ ; sed hie uberius explicatur. Sed quia magici et vetulae male- dictae non considerant fascinationem per has vias, immo asserunt alterationes subitas indifferenter fieri per homines quoscunque, cum videtur res in mane vel sero, vel loquuntur de ilia, ideo vana est eorum sententia et a sapientibus reprobata. Non solum pro consideratione sapientiali haec scribo, sed propter pericula quae contingunt et contingent Christianis et ecclesiae Dei per infideles, et maxime per Anticliristum, quia ipse utetur potestate sapientiae, et omnia convertet in malum. Et per hujusmodi verba et opera stellificanda, et magno desiderio malignandi componenda cum intentione certissima et confidentia vehementi, ipse infortunabit et infascinabit non solum personas singulares^ sed civitates et regiones. Et per hanc viam magnificam faciet sine bello quid volet, et obedient homines ei sicut bestiae, et faciet regna et civitates pugnare ad invicem pro se, ut amici destruant amicos suos, et sic de mundo faciet quod desiderabit. Et sic poterunt Tartari et Saraceni facere. Nam constat, The quod Tartari plus vacant astronomiae quam alii, eo quod c"hristen licet in multis nationibus sint astronomi sapientes, tamen dom may ^ Plin. vii, 2. ^ Cf. p. 143. 40O OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUARTA. avail them- principes reipublicae ^ non reguntur nisi per eos. Sed illi qui* selves of ^ ^ this know- ^^^^^ apud Tartaros sicut praelati apud nos, sunt astronomi. ledge, to Mangu Cham, imperator Tartarorum existens anno Domini our hurt. ° \ 1253, quando domnius rex Franciae Lodovicus misit fratrem Willielmum de ordine Minorum ad Tartaros, dixit Christianis congregatis coram eo, praesente dicto fratre ; ' Nos habemus legem a Deo per divinos nostros, et facimus omnia quae ipsi dicunt. Et vos Christian! habetis legem a Deo per prophetas, ^ sed non facitis earn.' Hoc dixit, quia in oriente sunt mali Christiani, ut Nestoriani et alii multi, qui non vivunt bene secundum legem Christi. Et ille frater scripsit domino regi, quod si parum scivisset de astris, ipse fuisset bene receptus apud eos ; sed quia nescivit terminos astronomiae, ideo despexerunt eum. Et ideo Tartari procedunt in omnibus per viam astronomiae, et in praevisione futurorum et in operi- bus sapientiae. Cujus signum est evidens, quod cum sit gens habens parvos et debiles homines, et quasi non comedentes nec bibentes quod naturam confortet, et nihil pedibus valentes, et inermes si proprie loquamur, nisi quod habent sagittas ad terrorem quibus persequantur fugientes, nec unquam de prope confligunt potestate bellandi, ut acies contra acies ordinentur, cum jam totam latitudinem mundi prostraverunt ab aquilone ad orientem, et ab oriente usque ad meridiem, solum eis deficiunt duo anguli terrae Christianorum, scilicet Aegyptus et Africa. Nisi enim Dominus reprimeret eos et permitteret seminari discordias inter eos frequentes, jam totum mundum occupassent. Et ideo oportet quod per opera sapientiae procedant magnifica quibus mundum conculcant. Nam narrat dictus frater in libro suo de moribus Tartarorum quern Domino ^ Principes et respublicae, J. The report of WilHam Rubruquis, already referred to, contains (p. 362) a full account of the Mongol diviners. 'Ipsi sunt multi et semper habent unum capitaneum tanquam pontificem qui semper collocat domum suam ante majorem domum ipsius Mangu Cham . . . Istorum aliqui sciunt de astronomia, maxima iste princeps, et praedicant eis eclipsim solis et lunae . . . Praedicant dies festos vel infestos ad omnia negotia agenda ; unde nunquam faciunt exercitum nec ineunt bellum sine dicto eorum.' Mangu, in his interviews with Rubruquis, frequently dwelt on the inconsistency of Christians with their principles. ' Vobis,' he said ' dedit Deus scripturas, et non custoditis eas ; nobis autem dedit divinatores, et nos facimus quod ipsi dicunt nobis, et vivimus in pace' (pp. 359-60). ASTROLOGIA. 401 regi transmisit, quod qiiatuordecim millia Tartarorum devi- cerunt Soldanum Turkiae, qui habuit secum ducentos millia equitum sine peditibus. Sed hoc facere non poterant per potentiam bellandi, ut planum est, et ideo per opera sapientiae, et maxime per astronomiam, qua profitentur se regi et duel in omnibus. Similiter Saraceni multum utuntur astronomia, et sciunt sapientes inter eos facere haec opera. Et timendum est valde quod Tartar! et Saraceni in suis regionibus com- morantes ad Christianos mittant homines, quibus opera astronomiae conficiant ad infortunandum et ad ponendum discordias inter principes, quia ad hoc maxime nituntur inimici Christianorum, ut ponant inter eos bella et discordias. Nam multa facta sunt hujusmodi, licet multitudo stulta Proofs of non consideret unde accidant. Forsan vidistis aut audistis ^^e^n^t"^* pro certo quod pueri de regno Franciae semel occurrebant in wanting, infinita multitudine post quendam malignum hominem, ita quod nec a patribus nec a matribus nec amicis poterant detineri, et positi sunt in navibus et Saracenis venditi ; et non sunt adhuc quatuor et sexaginta anni ^ Similiter in temporibus nostris magister Pastor totam Alemanniam et Franciam commovit, et cucurrit post eum multitudo hominum, et gratiam habuit coram toto vulgo laicorum in contemptu cleri et ecclesiae confusionem. Et dixit Dominae Blanchiae, quod iret ad filium suum ultra mare, talibus verbis sapientis- simam mulierem decipiens. Non dubitent sapientes, quin ipsi fuerunt nuntii Tartarorum aut Saracenorum, et quin habuerunt aliqua opera unde fascinabant plebem. Et vidi cum oculis meis portare patenter in manu sua quiddam tanquam esset res ^ Matthew Paris relates this under the year 12 13, 54 years before Bacon wrote. The Shepherd, or leader of shepherds, of whom Bacon goes on to speak was, according to Matthew Paris, a renegade Hungarian, who, in 1251 gathered round him troops of shepherds and other poor people offering to lead them to the Holy Land, professing to have a mandate for that purpose from the Virgin. ' Addidit fidem dictis suis eloquentia et manus suae indissolubilis clausura, in qua se mentitus est beatae Virginis habuisse chartulam et mandatum.' He seems to have imposed upon Blanche the queen-regent, until a disorderly attack made by the leader and his followers upon Orleans undeceived those who had previously trusted him. This impostor had two successors. Matthew Paris thought, like Bacon, that they were emissaries from the Mahommedaa camp. VOL. I. D d 402 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS OUARTA. sacra, ac si homo deferret reliquias, et ivit nudis pedibus, et erat circa cum miiltitudo armatorum, ita tamen dispersa in campis, quod ab omnibus occurrentibus potuit videri cum illo quod portabat in manu cum magna ostentatione. rapal Ouicquid sit de Tartaris et Saracenis, certum est de L'ayTeSt Antichristo et suis, quod haec operabuntur. Et nisi ecclesia against occurrat per sancta consilia ad impediendum et destruendum gers. opera hujusmodi, aggravabitur intolerabiliter flagellis Chris- tianorum. Et creditur ab omnibus sapientibus quod non sumus multum remoti a temporibus Antichristi, sicut in capitulo de sectis per astronomiam in uno revolutis patet. Si igitur Christiani scirent haec opera auctoritate papah' facienda ad impedienda mala Christianorum, satis esset laudabile, et non sokim propter mala repellenda, sed ad promotionem quorumcunque utilium. Et quia personae, et civitates^ et regiones secundum praedicta possunt alterari in melius, et ut vita quantum sufficit prolongetur, et omnes res utiliter procurari, atque multo majora fieri, quam praesenti scripturae debeant commendari, non solum in naturalibus, sed in moralibus scientiis et artibus, sicut patuit per Moysen et Aristotelem. Et haec praecipue fieri possunt, quando cum virtute et specie coeli currit a parte operantis species et virtus animae rationalis, quae est dignior coelo, ita ut adsit fortis cogitatio, et ardens desiderium, certa intentio et plena confi- dentia, et maxime sanctitas vitae ; et quia natura obedit cogitationibus et affectibus animae, et maxime sanctitati. Nam octavo de Animalibus Avicenna ponit exemplum de gallina strenua, quae vicit gallum unum miserum, et ex gloria victoriae statim crevit ei cornu in crure, et dicit ibi Avicenna, in hoc cognoscimus quod natura obedit cogitationibus animae sensitivae. Et ponit exemplum in quarto de Anima, de eo qui lignoposito super aquam ambulans cadit, quia cogitat de casu et desperans est, et natura obedit cogitationibus et affectibus animae ; unde ait, quod provenit calor non ex calore, et frigus non ex frigore, sed ex sola animae cogitatione et sic fit infirmitas, et omnis alteratio proprii corporis. Et pro- culdubio multa fieri possunt in corpore alieno ; quia quoddam genus luporum est, quod reddit hominem raucum, si primo ASTROLOGIA. 403 aspiciat eum, ut vulgatum est apud auctores. Et multo fortius anima rationalis potest propter nobilitatem suae speciei rnulta immutare cum quinque conditionibus supradictis; et maxime cum sanctitate, quia nobilior est sanctitas quam cogitatio vel desiderium, et ideo animae sanctae plus obediet materia mundi quam aliis quatuor conditionibus. Et hoc videmus adimpleri in Sanctis qui fecerunt miracula, quibus elementa mundi obediebant. Et Avicenna quarto de Anima docet, quod anima sancta et munda a peccatis potest universale et elementa alterare, ut ejus virtute fiant pluvia, tempestates, et omnes alterationes corporum mundi. Verum est autem quod gratia Dei m.ultum facit, sed anima sancta cooperatur gratiae gratum facienti, ut non salvetur homo per solam gratiam, sed oportet animam cooperari gratiae tali ; multo ergo fortius poterit cooperari gratiae gratis datae quae est gratia miraculorum. Sed in aliis mirabilibus melius est cogitare quam scribere, donee apostolica auctoritate requi- ratur major certitudo, et haec possibilia sunt. Et si vos et successores Vestrae Beatitudinis velint, poterunt omnia adim- pleri. Hae sunt radices in summa tractatus, quem proposui de hujusmodi conscribere ; sed propter impedimenta non potui plura scribere ^. ^ With regard to the influence of the Moon on human action, on which so much has been said in the foregoing pages, the following extract from Bacon's Commentary on the Secretum Secretorum (Tanner MSS. 116, fol. 86), may be of interest. It represents Lunar action as modified by each of the planets, under various aspects. Sextilis ASPECT us DE ASPECTU LUNAE AD PLANETAS. Tkinus aspectus aspectus qppositio VENUS MERCURIUS Dies laudabilis jungi juvenibus et militibus et quaerere dilec- tionem et orna- mentum. Dies laudabilis. Bonum est in ea computare scri- bere et jungi consulibus et scriptoribus et disponere opera. Dies laudabilis. Bonum est indui novis vestibus, ornari et nubere et omne orna- mentum quae- rere causa dilec- tionis. Dies laudabilis. Bonum jungi scriptoribus, fir- mare pactum, jungi consulibus, et disponere opera. Dies laudabilis. Bonum estemere servos et indui novis vestibus, adducere opera- rios, ornari or- namentis, uti balneis, et delec- tari. Dies laudabilis. Bonum mittere cartulas,tractare de scripturis, se- dere cum sapien- tibus, et his simi- libus. Dies laudabilis, bonum emere servos, indui novis vestibus, uti medicamini- bus digestivis, si in scorpione op- ponitur. Dies mediocris in conventione scriptorum, re- gum, et horum simiiium. CONJUNCTIO Dies laudabilis omnibus operi- bus et peregri- nationi, uti mili- tibus, emere sub- tilia, et peterc uxorem. Dies laudabilis. Bonum jungi scriptoribus et computatoribus, et agere omnia opera. 4^4 OPERIS MAJORIS PARS QUART A. J L TITER MARS SOL Sextilis I Trinus ASPECTUS I ASPECTUS Diesfortunata; bonum est vir- ginibus consuli- bus et senibus, et agereres cum eis. Dies laudabilis. Bonum est jungi justis Judicibus, et quaerere quod jus est et lauda- bile in omni opere. Dieslaudabilis. Bonum jungi du- cibus et regibus, disponere exer- citus, uti armis, et tractare de bello. Diesfortunata. Bonum jungi consulibus et se- nibus, ac regibus potestatibus prin- cipibus et petere principatum. I Dies laudabilis; bonum est in ea aedificare plan- tare et res an- tiquas agere. Dies laudabilis ad augenda justa judiciaet omnem justam inquisi- tionem et omne opus bonum et amicitiam secun- dum Deum. Dies laudabilis fortunata. Bonum jungi regibus et eraere bestias, et tractare de bello. Dies laudabilis. Bonum est in ea jungi senibus et regibus et colere terras et dis- ponere omnia opera. QUADRATUS ASPECTUS Dies timenda ; cavendum est in ea jungi regibus et potentibus seu divitibusomnino. Dies laudabilis ad justa agenda, et inquisitionem sapientiae, et rein quam vult occultari, et maxime si fuerit ipse occultatus sub radiis solis. Dies cavenda ; non bonum jungi ducibus et regi- bus Cavendum in ea omne opus in quo speratur bonum. Dies laudabilis omni operi si fuerit luna re- cepta. Si non, nullum bonum, sed cavenda est in omni opere. Oppositio Dies cavenda in omnibus operi- l)us et nullum in ea est bonum opus faciendum. Dies laudabilis in omnibus operi- bus ; bonum est jun^i potentibus et petere verita- tem et quod jus- tum est. Dies cavenda in omnibus operi- bus ; et in ea nul- lum bonum est. Dies cavenda est in omnibus operibus quia nullum bonum est in ea. CONJUNCTIO Dies ista caven- da est ill omni- bus et nullum bonum est in ea. Dies laudabilis et propria in minutione san- guinis et medi- caminibus et cae- teris similibus. Dies cavenda in omnibus operi- bus, quia nullum bonum est in ea. In hac die erit luna sub radiis. Nullum bonum nisi in his quae necesse sunt oc- cultari et con- tegi.