although they my seem to be against nature, yet we read have been done, and we see some reliques of them remaining till thisday, which the vulgar say were the works of the divell [Devil], seeing the Arts, and Artificers thereof have been dead out of all memory, neither are there any that care to understand, or search into them. Therefore they seeing any wonderfull sight, doimpute it to the divell, as his work, or think it is a miracle, which indeed is a work of naturall, or Mathematicall Philosophy.As if anyone should be ignorant of the vertue of the Loadstone, and should see heavy Iron drawn upwards, or hanged in theAire (as we read the Iron Image of
Mercury
did long since at
Treveris
hang up in the middle of the Temple by Loadstones,this verse attesting the same.
The Iron white rod-bearer flies i'th' Aire.
The like to which we read was done concerning the image of the Sun at Rome, in the Temple of
Serapis
) would not such anignorant man, I say, presently say it is the work of the divell? But if he shall know the vertue of the Loadstone to the Iron, andshall make triall of it, he presently ceaseth to wonder, and doth no more scruple it to be the work of nature. But here it isconvenient that you know, that as by naturall vertues we collect naturall vertues, so by abstracted, mathematicall, andcelestiall, we receive celestiall vertues, as motion, life, sense, speech, southsaying [soothsaying], and divination, even inmatter less disposed, as that which is not made by nature, but only by art. And so images that speak, and foretell things tocome, are said to be made, as
William
of
Paris
relates of a brazen head made under the rising of
Saturn
, which they say spakewith a mans voice. But he that will choose a disposed matter, and most fit to receive, and a most powerfull agent, shallundoubtedly produce more powerfull effects. For it is a generall opinion of the Pythagoreans, that as Mathematicall things aremore formall then Naturall, so also they are more efficacious: as they have less dependence in their being, so also in theiroperation. But amongst all Mathematicall things, numbers, as they have more of form in them, so also are more efficacious,to which not only Heathen Philosophers, but also Hebrew, and Christian Divines do attribute vertue, and efficacy, as well toeffect what is good, as what is bad.
Chapter ii. Of Numbers, and of their power, and vertue.
Severinus Boethius
saith, that all things which were first made by the nature of things in its first Age, seem to be formed bythe proportion of numbers, for this was the principall pattern in the mind of the Creator. Hence is borrowed the number of theElements, hence the courses of times, hence the motion of the Stars, and the revolution of the heaven, and the state of allthings subsist by the uniting together of numbers. Numbers therefore are endowed with great and sublime vertues. For it is nowonder, seeing there are so many, and so great occult vertues in naturall things, although of manifest openations, that thereshould be in numbers much greater, and more occult, and also more wonderfull, and efficacious, for as much as they are moreformall, more perfect, and naturally in the celestialls, not mixt with separated substances; and lastly, having the greatest, andmost simple commixtion with the Idea's in the mind of God, from which they receive their proper, and most efficaciousvertues: wherefore also they are of more force, and conduce most to the obtaining of spirituall, and divine gifts, as in naturallthings, elementary qualities are powerfull in the transmuting of any elementary thing. Again, all things that are, and are made,subsist by, and receive their vertue from numbers. For time consists of number, and all motion, and action, and all thingswhich are subject to time, and motion.Harmony also, and voices have their power by, and consist of numbers, and their proportions, and the proportions arisingfrom numbers, do by lines, and points make Characters, and figures: And these are proper to Magicall operations, the middlewhich is betwixt both being appropriated by declining to the extreams, as in the use of letters. And lastly, all species of naturall things, and of those things which are above nature, are joyned together by certain numbers: which
Pythagoras
seeing,saith, that number is that by which all things consist, and distributes each vertue to each number. And
Proclus
saith, Numberhath alwaies a being: Yet there is one in voyce, another in the proportion of them, another in the soul, and reason, and anotherin divine things. But
Themistius,
and
Boethius,
and
Averrois
the
Babilonian
[Babylonian], together with
Plato,
do so extollnumbers, that they think no man can be a true Philosopher without them. Now they speak of a rationall, and formall number,not of a materiall, sensible, or vocall, the number of Merchants buying, and selling, of which the
Pythagoreans
, and
Platonists
, and our
Austin
[Augustine] make no reckoning, but apply it to the proportion resulting from it, which number theycall naturall, rationall, and formall, from which great mysteries flow, as well in naturall, as divine, and heavenly things. By itis there a way made for the searching out, and understanding of all things knowable. By it the next access to naturallprophesying is had: and the
Abbot Joachim
proceeded no other way in his Prophecies, but by formall numbers.
Chapter iii. How great vertues Numbers have, as well in Naturall things, as inSupernaturall.
That there lyes [lies] wonderfull efficacy, and vertue in numbers, as well to good as to bad, not only most eminentPhilosophers do unanimously teach, but also Catholike [Catholic] Doctors, and especially
Hierom, Austin [Augustine],Origen, Ambrose, Gregory
of
Nazianzen, Athanasius, Basilius, Hilarius, Rubanus, Bede,
and many more confirm. Hence
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa: Occult Philosophy. Book II. (part 1)file:///M|/PDF-Bücher/Esoterik & Magie/HTML/Agrippa2/agrippa2.htm (5 von 18) [20.02.2001 16:11:47]
Leave a Comment