Fulgentius: MITOLOGIARUM LIBRI TRES

Inscientiae formidolosa suspectio semper excusandi quaerit suffragia, quo quidquid ignorantia incursionum mater peccauerit, id ueniae absoluat petitio quae culpas uestire consueuit. Sed quia numquam de se male aestimat sermo qui ad amantem iudicem mittitur, idcirco meae simplicitatis negotium tuo, domine, purissimo commisi iudicio, fretus quia quicquid absurde digestum est non ut inuidus detrahis, sed ut doctissimus corrigis.

The fearsome suspicion of ignorance always seeks suffrages for excuse, so that whatever the mother Ignorance has sinned in her incursions, that petition accustomed to clothe faults may absolve it by pardon. But since a speech sent to a loving judge never esteems itself ill, therefore I have entrusted the business of my simplicity to your most pure judgment, lord, relying on the fact that whatever has been foolishly composed you will not, as an envious man, detract, but as the most learned correct.

I. Fabula Bellerofontis.

1. Tale of Bellerophon.

Pritus rex uxorem habuit Antiam nomine; quae amauit Bellerofontem. Cui dum ob stupri causam mandasset, ille noluit; quem marito criminata est. Ille eum ad Cymeram interficiendam misit per socerum suum; quam Bellerofons equo Pegaso residens interfecit, qui de Gorgonae sanguine natus fuerat.

King Pritus had a wife named Antia, who loved Bellerophon. To whom, when she for the sake of adultery had commanded him, he refused; and she, accusing him to her husband, charged him. He sent him, by his father‑in‑law, to be put to death by the Chimera; which Bellerophon, seated on the horse Pegasus, slew — Pegasus having been born from the blood of the Gorgon.

Bellerofonta posuerunt quasi buleforunta, quod nos Latine sapientiae consultatorem dicimus, sicut Homerus ait: [Ou chre pannuchion heudein boulephoron andra], id est: nec decet tota nocte dormire consiliatorem uirum. Nam et Menander similiter in Disexapaton comedia ita ait: [boulephoros hemeteran Demea prokatelabes horasin], id est: consiliarie nostram, Demea, praeoccupauisti uisionem. Nam ut hoc certum sit, Homerus in fabula eiusdem Bellerofontis ita ait: [agatha phroneonta daiphrona Bellerophonten], id est: bona cogitantem, sapientissimum consili<ari>um. Spernit libidinem, id est Antiam; antion enim Grece contrarium dicitur, sicut antichristus dicimus quasi [enantion tou Christou], id est contrarius Christo.

They put Bellerofonta as though buleforunta, which we in Latin call a counselor of wisdom, as Homer says: “nor is it fitting to sleep the whole night, O counselor of men,” that is: nec decet tota nocte dormire consiliatorem uirum. For Menander likewise in the comedy Disexapaton says: “you have anticipated our counselor, Demea, in seeing the hours,” that is: consiliarie nostram, Demea, praeoccupauisti uisionem. For to make this certain, Homer in the tale of the same Bellerophon thus says: “good-thinking, well-minded Bellerophon,” that is: bona cogitantem, sapientissimum consili<ari>um. He scorns lust, that is Antiam; for antion in Greek is said to mean opposite, as we say antichrist as if “opposed to Christ,” that is contrarius Christo.

Uide itaque cuius uxor Antia dicatur; nihilominus Priti. Pritos Panfila lingua sordidus dicitur, sicut Esiodus in bucolico carmine scribit dicens: [bebrithos staphules eu <le>laktismenes haimorroo] , id est: sordidus uuarum bene calcatarum sanguineo rore. Et cuius uxor libido est nisi sordis.

See then whose wife is called Antia; nevertheless she is of Pritus. Pritos is called sordidus in the Panfilan tongue, as Hesiod in a bucolic song writes, saying: [bebrithos staphules eu <le>laktismenes haimorroo], that is: sordid from grapes well trodden with sanguineous dew. And whose wife is lust if not of filth.

At uero Bellerofons, id est bona consultatio, qualem equum sedet nisi Pegasum, quasi pegaseon, id est fontem aeternum. Sapientia enim bonae consultationis aeternus fons est. Ideo pinnatus, quia uniuersam mundi naturam celeri cogitationum teoria conlustrat.

But truly Bellerofons, that is, good consultation, what horse does he ride but Pegasus, as pegaseon, that is, the eternal spring. For wisdom is the eternal fountain of good consultation. Hence winged, because he traverses the universal nature of the world with the swift theory of cogitations.

Ideo et Musarum fontem ungula sua rupisse fertur; sapientia enim dat Musis fontem. Ob hac re etiam sanguine Gorgonae nascitur; Gorgona enim pro terrore ponitur; ideo et in Mineruae pectore fixa est, sicut Homerus in tertio decimo ait: [te d' epi men Gorgo blosuropis estephanoto]. Ergo hic duplex assertio est; aut enim terrore finito sapientia nascitur, sicut de sanguine id est de morte Gorgonae Pegasus, quia stultitia semper est timida, aut initium sapientiae timor est, quia et magistri timore sapientia crescit et dum quis famam timuerit sapiens erit. Unde et Cymeram occidit; Cymera enim quasi cymeron, id est fluctuatio amoris, unde et Homerus ait: [kuma kel<ain>on korthuetai]. Ideo etiam triceps Cymera pingitur, quia amoris tres modi sunt, hoc est incipere, perficere et finire.

Therefore he is said to have cleft the Muses’ spring with his hoof; for wisdom gives the Muses a fountain. For this reason also he is born from the blood of the Gorgon; for Gorgon is put for terror; therefore too she is fixed in Minerva’s breast, as Homer says in the thirteenth: [te d' epi men Gorgo blosuropis estephanoto]. Thus here is a double assertion; either wisdom is born when terror is ended, as Pegasus from blood, that is from the death, of the Gorgon—because foolishness is ever timorous—or the beginning of wisdom is fear, for wisdom in masters also grows by fear, and while one fears his reputation he will be wise. Whence he also slays the Chimera; Chimera, as if cymeron, that is the fluctuation of love, whence Homer says: [kuma kelon korthuetai]. Therefore the three‑headed Chimera is painted, because love has three modes, that is to begin, to perfect, and to finish.

Dum enim amor nouiter uenit, ut leo feraliter inuadit, unde et Epicarmus comicus ait: [damastes eros leonteia dunamei thaleros], id est: domitor cupido leontea uirtute praesumptior; nam et Uirgilius in georgicis tetigit dicens: 'Catulorum oblita leena seuior errauit campis'. At uero capra quae in medio pingitur perfectio libidinis est, illa uidelicet causa, quod huius generis animal sit in libidine ualde procliuum; unde et Uirgilius in bucolicis ait: 'edique petulci'. Ideo et Satyri cum caprinis cornibus depinguntur, quia numquam nouerunt saturari libidinem. At uero quod dicitur: 'postremus draco', illa ratione ponitur, quia post perfectionem uulnus det penitentiae uenenumque peccati. Erit ergo hic ordo dicendi quod primum sit in amore inchoare, secundum perficere, tertium uero peniteri de perfecto uulnere.

For when love arrives newly, it attacks ferally like a lion, whence Epicarmus the comic says: [damastes eros leonteia dunamei thaleros], that is: desire, a taming passion, is proud with lion-like force; for Virgil too in the Georgics touched on this, saying: 'Catulorum oblita leena seuior errauit campis'. But the goat, which is pictured in the middle, is the consummation of libido, evidently because that sort of animal is very prone to lust; whence Virgil in the Bucolics says: 'edique petulci'. Therefore the Satyrs are also depicted with goatish horns, for they never knew satiety of desire. But what is said: 'postremus draco' is placed for this reason, because after consummation a wound of penitence and the poison of sin will strike. The order of speaking here will therefore be that first in love is to begin, second to perfect, and third to repent because of the consummated wound.

II. Fabula Perdiccae.

2. The Tale of Perdicca.

Semper delicata consuetudo laborioso fert praeiudicium operi, et molliter educata, dum quod non optas euenerit, penitentiam creant; melius est enim labore partiliter securiore doceri quam ex necessitate uenientem repentaliter perterreri. Perdiccam ferunt uenatorem esse; qui quidem matris amore correptus, dum utrumque et inmodesta libido ferueret et uerecundia noui facinoris reluctaret, consumptus atque ad extremam tabem deductus esse dicitur. Primus etiam serram inuenit, sicut Uirgilius ait: 'Nam primum cuneis scindebant fissile lignum'. Sed ut Fenestella in archaicis scribit, hic primum uenator fuit; cui cum ferinae cedis cruenta uastatio et solitudinum uagabunda errando cursilitas displiceret, plusquam etiam uidens contiroletas suos, id est Acteonem, Adonem, Hippolitum miserandae necis functos interitu, artis pristinae affectui mittens repudium agriculturam affectatus est; ob quam rem matrem quasi terram omnium genetricem amasse dicitur.

Delicate custom always brings prejudice to laborious work, and one gently reared, when that which you do not wish has befallen, creates repentance; for it is better to be taught by toil, somewhat more securely, than to be terrified suddenly by necessity coming. They say Perdicca was a hunter; who, seized by a mother's love, while both immodest libido boiled and the modesty of a novel crime resisted, is said to have been consumed and drawn down to extreme wasting. He moreover first discovered the saw, as Virgil says: "For first with wedges they split fissile wood." But as Fenestella writes in the archaic records, this man was first a huntsman; to whom, when the bloody devastation of the wild quarry and the vagabond skittishness of solitudes in roaming were displeasing, and seeing moreover his own comrades—namely Acteon, Adon, Hippolytus—having met miserable death in their end, rejecting the former art he applied himself to agriculture; for which reason he is said to have loved his mother as the earth, the mother of all.

Quo, labore consumptus etiam ad maciem peruenisse fertur. Et quia cunctis uenatoribus de pristinae artis opprobrio detrahebat, serram quasi maleloquium dicitur repperisse. Matrem etiam Policasten habuit quasi policarpen quod nos Latine multifructam dicimus, id est terram.

He is said thereby, consumed by toil, even to have reached emaciation. And because he was stripping from all hunters the opprobrium of the ancient art, he is reported to have discovered the saw, as it were a maleloquium (evil‑speech). He also had a mother called Policasta, as if policarpen — which we in Latin call multifructam — that is, the earth.

III. Fabula Acteonis.

CHAPTER 3. THE FABLE OF ACTEON.

Curiositas semper periculorum germana detrimenta suis amatoribus nouit parturire quam gaudia. Acteon denique uenator Dianam lauantem uidisse dicitur; qui in ceruum conuersus a canibus suis non agnitus eorumque morsibus deuoratus est. Anaximenes qui de picturis antiquis disseruit libro secundo ait uenationem Acteonem dilexisse; qui cum ad maturam peruenisset aetatem consideratis uenationum periculis, id est quasi nudam artis suae rationem uidens timidus factus est; inde et cor cerui habens, unde et Homerus ait: [oinobares kunos ommat' echon kradien d' elaphoio], id est: ebriose, oculos canis habens et cor cerui.

Curiosity is always the sister of dangers, and declares to its lovers to bring forth losses rather than joys. Acteon, finally, the hunter, is said to have seen Diana bathing; who, turned into a stag, not recognized by his dogs and bitten by them, was devoured by their bites. Anaximenes, who wrote about ancient paintings in his second book, says that Acteon loved hunting; who, when he had come to mature age and, the dangers of hunts having been considered — that is, seeing as it were the naked rationale of his art — became fearful; hence having the heart of a stag, wherefore Homer says: [oinobares kunos ommat' echon kradien d' elaphoio], that is: drunken, having the eyes of a dog and the heart of a stag.

Sed dum periculum uenandi fugiret, affectum tamen canum non dimisit, quos inaniter pascendo pene omnem substantiam perdidit; ob hanc rem a canibus suis deuoratus esse dicitur.

But while he fled the peril of hunting, he nevertheless did not dismiss his affection for the dogs, whom by feeding idly he nearly lost almost all his substance; for this reason he is said to have been devoured by his own dogs.

IV. Fabula Ero et Leandri.

4. The Tale of Ero and Leander.

Amor cum periculo sepe concordat et dum ad illud solum notat quod diligit, numquam uidet quod expedit. Eros enim Grece amor dicitur, Leandrum uero dici uoluerunt quasi lisinandron, id est solutionem uirorum; solutio enim uiri amorem parturit. Sed natat nocte, id est: in obscuro temptat pericula.

Love often accords with danger, and while it notes only that which it loves, it never sees what is expedient. For Eros in Greek is called amor; Leander, however, they wished to name as if lisinandron, that is, the dissolution of men; for the dissolution of a man begets love. But he swims by night, that is: in the dark he attempts dangers.

Ero quoque in amoris similitudine fingitur. Lucernam fert; et quid aliud amor nisi et flammam ferat et desideranti periculosam uiam ostendat. Cito tamen extinguitur, quia iuuenilis amor non diu perdurat.

Ero too is fashioned in the likeness of Love. He bears a lamp; and what else is love but that it carries a flame and shows to the one desiring a perilous way. Yet it is soon extinguished, for youthful love does not endure long.

Denique nudus natat illa uidelicet causa, quod suos affectatores amor et nudare nouerit et periculis sicut in mari iactare. Nam et extincta lucerna utrisque mors est procurata maritima, hoc in euidenti significans quod in utroque sexu uapore aetatis extincto libido commoritur. In mari uero mortui feruntur uelut in humorem frigidae senectutis; omne enim caloratae iuuentutis igniculum torpidae ueternositatis algescit in senio.

Finally she swims naked, evidently for this reason: that Amor knows both how to strip his suitors and to toss them into dangers as at sea. For when the lamp is extinguished a maritime death is wrought for both, this signifying plainly that in either sex, with the vapor of youth extinguished, libido is laid to rest. In the sea, however, the dead are borne as into the moisture of chilly senescence; for every little spark of warm youth grows cold in the torpor of aged oldness.

V. Fabula Berecintiae et Attis.

5. TALE OF BERECINTIA AND ATTIS.

Decepta Grecia credulitate demonum potius quam deorum numquam deterius suis diis reponeret quam ut eorum matrem ueternosam anum non solum puerilem amatricem quantum etiam fingerent et zelotipam. Tantum enim zeli succensa anus inuidiosa fraglauit quae nec suis utilitatibus furiosa pepercit, ut unde fructum sperabat libidinis illut ueterana succideret meretrix. Et quamuis apud muliebres animos libido optineat regnum, tamen etiam in inuicta libidine zelus optinet dominatum.

Deceived, Greece, by the credulity of demons rather than of gods, could not set among her own gods anything worse than to portray their mother an ever‑old hag, not only a childish amatrix but even, as they fashioned her, a zealot. For so kindled with zeal that envious old woman raged, who, furious, spared not even her own interests, so that from the place where she hoped for the fruit of lust the ancient harlot fell. And although among feminine minds libido holds the kingdom, yet even within unconquered lust zeal holds dominion.

Berecintia enim mater deorum Attin puerum formosissimum amasse dicitur, quem zelo succensa castrando semimasculum fecit. Quid ergo sibi in his Grecia sentiri uoluerit edicamus. Berecintiam dici uoluerunt quasi montium dominam; ideo matrem deorum, quod deos nuncupari pro superbia uoluerunt; ideo eos in Olimpo habitantes quasi excelsos ac superbos; ideo et demonia nuncupant secundum Homerum dum dicit: [meta daimonas allous], id est: cum deos alios; demos enim Grece populus dicitur, is dicitur unus, et quia populos subdere cupiebant et soli super populos esse demones dicti sunt.

Berecintia, the mother of the gods, is said to have loved the most beautiful boy Attin, whom, inflamed with zeal, she made half-male by castrating him. What then Greece wished to signify by these matters let us declare. They wished Berecintia to be called as if mistress of the mountains; hence mother of the gods, because they desired to be called gods out of pride; hence they placed them dwelling on Olympus as lofty and proud; hence too they call them demons, as Homer says: [meta daimonas allous], that is: “with other gods”; for demos in Greek is called the people, daimon is said to be a singular being, and because they wished to subdue peoples and to be alone above the peoples they were called demones.

Ideo et apud Romanos indigetes quasi nihil indigentes. Ergo Berecinthiam montibus praeesse dixerunt quasi uerniquintos; quintos enim Attica lingua flos nuncupatur, unde et iacintos dicitur quasi hioscintos, quod nos Latine solus flos dicimus, quasi omnibus perfectior. Nam [et] Epicarmus ita ait: [kunthoeides stephephoros kai rhantheis probebeke Chrusalos], id est: florigere coronatus atque ebrius processit Crisalus.

Therefore among the Romans they called them indigetes, as if those who need nothing. Thus they said that Berecinthia presides over the mountains, as if vernal‑quintessenced; for in the Attic tongue quintos is called flos, whence hyacinths are called iacintos as from hioscintos, since we in Latin alone say flos, as if the most perfect of all. For even Epicarmus says thus: [kunthoeides stephephoros kai rhantheis probebeke Chrusalos], that is: crowned with flowers and drenched, Crisalus went forward, intoxicated.

Itaque florem quamuis quilibet amet, tamen abscidit, ut Berecinthia in Attin fecit: antis enim Grece flos dicitur. Ut Sosicles Atticus in libro teologumenon quem appellauit scribit, matrem deum in modum potentiae uoluit poni, unde [et] Cibebe dicitur quasi cidos bebeon, id est gloriae firmitas; unde et Homerus ait: [ho ken Zeus kudos opaze], id est: cui Iuppiter gloriam donauerat. Ergo ideo et turrita pingitur, quod omnis potentiae elatio sit in capite; ideo et leonum curru praesidens, quia omnis potentia etiam uirtuti dominatur; ideo et multiplici ueste, quod omnis potentia ornata sit; sceptrum etiam fert, quod regno uicina sit omnis potentia.

Therefore though anyone may love the flower, yet he plucks it off, as Berecinthia did in Attin: for in Greek flos is called antis. As Sosicles Atticus writes in the theological book he titled, he wished the mother of the gods to be placed as a form of potency, whence she is also called Cibebe, as if cidos bebeon, that is, firmness of glory; whence Homer also says: [ho ken Zeus kudos opaze], that is: to whom Jupiter had bestowed kudos (glory). Therefore she is depicted towered, because all elation of potency is on the head; therefore also presiding in a chariot of lions, because all potency even rules over virtue; therefore also in manifold dress, because all potency is adorned; she even bears a sceptre, because all potency is akin to rule.

Ob hanc rem etiam mater deum dicta est, illud nihilominus ostendere uolentes, quod siue indigetes siue dii siue demones aput antiquos a diuitiis dicti sunt, ergo potentia diuitum mater est; unde et Homerus Agamemnonem considerans ait: [o ma<ka>r Atreide moiregenes olbiodaimon], nec non et Euripides consimilans Tantalum Ioui in tragoedia Electrae ait:

For this reason she was also called Mother of the Gods, wishing nevertheless to show this: that if, whether the indigetes or the gods or the demons among the ancients were called from riches, then power is the mother of riches; whence Homer, considering Agamemnon, says: [o ma<ka>r Atreide moiregenes olbiodaimon], that is: O blessed Atreid, born of fate, rich in good fortune, and likewise Euripides, likening Tantalus to Jove in the tragedy Electra, says:

[ho gar makarios, kouk oneidizo tuchas, Dios pephukos hos legousi Tantalos Koruphes hu<per> ...],

[for the truly blessed, I do not reproach Fortune,
Tantalus, sprung from Zeus, as they say,
chief above ...],

id est: beatus ille — nec inuideo fortunas eius — Iouis aequalis ut dicitur Tantalus. Ergo potentiae gloria semper et amore torretur et liuore torquetur citoque abscidit quod diligit, dum tamen amputet illud quod odit. Denique omnis nunc usque potentia nescit circa suos diuturnum seruare affectum, et quod amauerit cito aut zelando amputat aut fastidendo horrescit.

that is: "blessed is that man" — nor do I envy his fortunes — Tantalus, as they say, equal to Jove. Therefore the glory of puissance is always scorched by love and twisted by envy, and it quickly severs what it cherishes, while yet it amputates that which it hates. In short, every potency up to now does not know how to keep a lasting affection toward its own, and what it has loved it soon either, by zeal, cuts away or, by disgust, recoils from.

Ideo et Attin dici uoluerunt quasi eton; etos enim Grece consuetudo dicitur. Ergo quantuscumque amor sit potentibus, stabilis esse non nouit.

Therefore they wished also to be called Attin, as it were eton; for etos in Greek is called ethos, i.e. custom. Hence, however great love may be among the powerful, it does not know how to be stable.

VI. Fabula deae Psicae et Cupidinis.

6. Fable of the goddess Psyche and of Cupid.

Apuleius in libris metamorfoseon hanc fabulam planissime designauit dicens esse in quadam ciuitate regem et reginam, habere tres filias, duas natu maiores esse temperata specie, iuniorem uero tam magnificae esse figurae quae crederetur Uenus esse terrestris. Denique duabus maioribus quae temperata erant specie conubia euenere; illam uero ueluti deam non quisquam amare ausus quam uenerari pronus atque hostiis sibimet deplacare. Contaminata ergo honoris maiestate Uenus succensa inuidia Cupidinem petit, ut in contumacem formam seueriter uindicaret.

Apuleius, in the books of the Metamorphoses, most plainly described this fable, saying that in a certain city there was a king and a queen who had three daughters: two elder were of moderate appearance, the younger, however, of so magnificent a figure that she was believed to be Venus incarnate. At length the two elder, who were moderate in looks, obtained marriages; the younger, as if a goddess, no one dared to love but all were prone to venerate and to propitiate her with offerings. Venus, her majesty of honour thus defiled, inflamed with envy, attacked Cupid, in order that she might severely avenge the contumacious beauty.

Ille ad matris ultionem aduentans uisam puellam adamauit; poena enim in affectum conuersa est, et ut magnificus iaculator ipse se suo telo percussit. Itaque Apollinis denuntiatione iubetur puella in montis cacumine sola dimitti et uelut feralibus deducta exequiis pinnato serpenti sponso destinari; perfecto iamque coragio puella per montis decliuia zephiri flantis leni uectura delapsa in quandam domum auream rapitur, quae pretiosa sine pretio sola consideratione laude deficiente poterat aestimari, ibique uocibus sibi tantummodo seruientibus ignoto atque mansionario utebatur coniugio; nocte enim adueniens maritus, Ueneris proeliis obscure peractis, ut inuise uespertinus aduenerat, ita crepusculo incognitus etiam discedebat. Habuit ergo uocale seruitium, uentosum dominium, nocturnum commercium, ignotum coniugium.

He, coming to avenge his mother, fell in love upon seeing the girl; for the punishment had been turned into affection, and like a splendid javelin-thrower he himself was struck by his own shaft. Therefore by Apollo’s denunciation the girl is commanded to be set alone on the summit of a mountain and, as if led to funeral rites, to be destined as bride to a winged serpent; and with her courage now accomplished the girl, borne down the mountain’s slopes by a gentle west wind, is carried off into a certain golden house, which, precious though beyond price, could be valued only by mere regard, the praise of worth failing; and there she used a marriage with only voices serving her, an unknown and lodging-master husband; for the husband arriving by night, after Venus’s battles had been obscurely performed, as the evening had come upon him unknown, so at dusk he departed also unknown. Thus she had a servitude of speech, a windy dominion, a nocturnal commerce, an unknown wedlock.

Sed ad huius mortem deflendam sorores adueniunt montisque conscenso cacumine germanum lugubri uoce flagitabant uocabulum, et quamuis ille coniux lucifuga sororios ei comminando uetaret aspectus, tamen consanguineae caritatis inuincibilis ardor maritale obumbrauit imperium. Zephyri ergo flabrantis aurae anhelante uectura ad semet sororios perducit affectus, earumque uenenosis consiliis de mariti forma quaerenda consentiens curiositatem, suae salutis nouercam, arripuit et facillimam credulitatem, quae semper deceptionum mater est, postposito cautelae suffragio arripit: denique credens sororibus se marito serpenti coniunctam uelut bestiam interfectura nouaculam sub puluinal abscondit lucernamque modio contegit. Cumque altum soporem maritus extenderet, illa ferro armata lucernaque modii custodia eruta Cupidine cognito, dum inmodesto amoris torretur affectu, scintillantis olei desputamento maritum succendit, fugiensque Cupido multa super curiositate puellae increpitans domo extorrem ac profugam derelinquit.

But the sisters came to bewail his death, and having climbed to the summit of the mountain they demanded the brother with a doleful voice, and although that husband, avoiding the light, by threatening forbade them a sisterly sight, yet the unconquerable ardor of consanguineous affection overshadowed the authority of marriage. Therefore the panting breath of the blowing Zephyr, serving as a conveyance, led her to sisterly feelings, and consenting to their venomous counsels to seek out the form of her husband, she seized, as a mother‑in‑law for her own safety, and the most facile credulity, which is always the mother of deceits, having put aside the support of caution, she seized them. Finally, believing the sisters that she was joined to her husband as to a serpent and, like a beast, about to kill it, she hid a razor under the pillow and covered the lamp with a measure. And when the husband had stretched himself in deep sleep, she, armed with iron and having dug the lamp out from the custody of the measure, Cupid discovered, while scorched by an immoderate affection of love, by the sprinkling of the glittering oil set her husband on fire; and Cupid, fleeing and reproving the girl much for her curiosity, tore himself away from the house and abandoned her homeless and a fugitive.

Tandem multis iactatam Ueneris persecutionibus postea Ioue petente in coniugio accepit. Poteram quidem totius fabulae ordinem hoc libello percurrere, qualiter et ad infernum descenderit et ex Stigiis aquis urnulam delibauerit et Solis armenta uellere spoliauerit et seminum germina confusa discreuerit et de Proserpinae pulchritudine particulam moritura praesumpserit; sed quia haec saturantius et Apuleius pene duorum continentia librorum tantam falsitatum congeriem enarrauit et Aristofontes Atheneus in libris qui disarestia nuncupantur hanc fabulam inormi uerborum circuitu discere cupientibus prodidit, ob hanc rem superuacuum duximus ab aliis digesta nostris libris inserere, ne nostra opera aut a propriis exularemus officiis aut alienis addiceremus negotiis. Sed dum is qui hanc fabulam legerit in nostra haec transeat sciturus quid sibi illorum falsitas sentire uoluerit: Ciuitatem posuerunt quasi in modum mundi, in qua regem et reginam uelut deum et materiam posuerunt.

At last, after being tossed by many persecutions of Venus, she was afterward taken into marriage when Jupiter sought her. I could indeed run through the order of the whole fable in this little book—how she descended even to the underworld and washed a little urn in the waters of the Styx, and plundered the herds of the Sun and tore off their spoils, and separated the mingled sprouts of seed, and presumed to take a particle of Proserpina’s beauty as if about to die; but because Apuleius has narrated these things more fully—and in nearly two compact books he has set forth so great a heap of falsities—and Aristofontes Atheneus in the books which are called Disarestia has handed down this tale to those desiring to learn it in a shapeless circuit of words, for this reason we judged it superfluous to insert from others into our books what is already arranged elsewhere, lest our work be either exiled from its proper duties or devoted to alien enterprises. Yet let him who reads this tale of ours pass over these matters, knowing what he will wish to feel about the falsity of those: they set up a City as it were in the mode of the world, in which they placed a king and a queen as though god and matter.

Quibus tres filias addunt, id est carnem, ultronietatem quam libertatem arbitrii dicimus et animam. Psice enim Grece anima dicitur, quam ideo iuniorem uoluerunt, quod corpori iam facto postea inditam esse animam dicebant; hanc igitur ideo pulchriorem, quod et a libertate superior et a carne nobilior. Huic inuidet Uenus quasi libido; ad quam perdendam cupiditatem mittit; sed quia cupiditas est boni, est mali, cupiditas animam diligit et ei uelut in coniunctione miscetur; quam persuadet ne suam faciem uideat, id est cupiditatis delectamenta discat — unde et Adam quamuis uideat nudum se non uidet, donec de concupiscentiae arbore comedat — neue suis sororibus, id est carni et libertati, de suae formae curiositate perdiscenda consentiat; sed illarum conpulsamento perterrita lucernam desub modio eicit, id est desiderii flammam in pectore absconsam depalat uisamque taliter dulcem amat ac diligit.

To these they add three daughters, that is, the flesh, the self-will which we call the freedom of choice, and the soul. For Psyche in Greek is called anima, which they wished to be younger because they said that the soul is given afterwards to a body once formed; this therefore they hold fairer, both because she is superior to liberty and nobler than flesh. To her Venus begrudges as if she were Lust; she sends desire to destroy her; but because cupiditas is of good and of evil, desire loves the soul and is mingled with her as in a union; it persuades her not to see her own face, that is, to learn the delights of cupiditas — whence even Adam, although he sees himself naked, does not see until he eats of the tree of concupiscence — and not to consent with her sisters, that is, flesh and liberty, to learn by curiosity about her own form; but, terrified by the assault of those sisters, she casts the lamp from beneath the bushel, that is, she conceals the flame of desire hidden in her breast and so loves and cherishes what she has perceived to be so sweet.

Quam ideo lucernae ebullitione dicitur incendisse, quia omnis cupiditas quantum diligitur tantum ardescit et peccatricem suae carni configit maculam. Ergo quasi cupiditate nudata et potenti fortuna priuatur et periculis iactatur et regia domo expellitur. Sed nos, quia longum est ut dixi omnia persequi, tenorem dedimus sentiendi.

Which is why it is said to have been set afire by the ebullition of the lamp, for every cupiditas burns in proportion as it is loved, and fastens a stain upon her sinful flesh. Thus, as if stripped by desire, she is deprived of potent fortuna, buffeted by perils, and expelled from the royal house. But we, since it would be long, as I said, to pursue all things, have given the tenor of what is to be felt.

Si quis uero in Apuleio ipsam fabulam legerit, nostra expositionis materia quae non diximus ipse reliqua recognoscit.

If any one, however, has read the very tale in Apuleius, he himself recognizes the remaining matter of our exposition which we have not said.

VII. Fabula Pelei et Thetidis.

7. Tale of Peleus and Thetis.

Tetidem dici uoluerunt aquam, unde et nympha dicta est. Istam Iuppiter quasi deus coniungit Peleo; Pelos enim Grece [Latine] lutum dicitur. Ergo terram cum aqua commixtam uolunt hominem genuisse, unde etiam Iouem cum Tetide uoluisse concumbere dicunt et prohibitum esse, ne maiorem se genuisset qui eum de regno expelleret; ignis enim, id est Iuppiter, si cum aqua coeat, aquae uirtute extinguitur.

They wished the water to be called Tetidem, whence the nymph was likewise named. Jupiter, as if a god, joins Peleo; for Pelos, in Greek (Latin), is said to mean lutum (mud). Therefore they suppose that man was begotten from earth mixed with water, whence also they say that Jupiter desired to lie with Tetis and was forbidden, lest one greater be begotten who would expel him from the kingdom; for fire, that is Jupiter, if it meets with water, is extinguished by the virtue of the water.

Ergo in coniunctione aquae et terrae, id est Tetidis et Pelei, discordia sola non petitur, illa uidelicet causa aut quia concordia est utrorumque elementorum ut homo gignatur; nam et conpetentia ipsa indicat quod Peleus ut terra, id est caro, Tetis ut aqua, id est humor, Iuppiter qui utraque coniungit ignis, id est anima. Ergo in conceptione hominis ex elementorum iugalitate tres deae, ut supra diximus, tres uitae certantur. Nam et discordia malum aureum iecisse dicitur, id est cupiditatem, illa uidelicet causa, quod in malo aureo est quod uideas, non est quod comedas, sicut cupiditas nouit habere, non nouit frui.

Therefore in the conjunction of water and earth, that is of Tethis and Peleus, it is not discord alone that is sought; that, namely, is the cause either because there is concord between both elements so that man is generated; for the very aptness also indicates that Peleus as earth, that is flesh, Tethis as water, that is moisture, Jupiter who joins both as fire, that is soul. Therefore in the conception of man from the yoke of the elements three goddesses, as we said above, contend for three lives. For discord is said to have cast the golden apple, that is desire — that, namely, is the cause, because in the golden apple is what you see, not what you eat, like desire knows how to have, not how to enjoy.

Omnes etiam deos Iuppiter ad nuptias dicitur conuocasse illa de causa, quod putarent pagani singulas partes in homine deos singulos obtinere, ut Iouem caput, Mineruam oculos, Iunonem brachia, pectus Neptunum, cinctum Martis, renes et inguina Ueneris, pedes Mercurio, sicut Dromocrites in fisiologumenon scripsit; unde et Homerus ait:

All the gods, moreover, are said to have been summoned by Jupiter to the wedding for the reason that the pagans thought each part of the human body to be held by individual gods: Jupiter the head, Minerva the eyes, Juno the arms, the chest Neptune, Mars the girdle, Venus the kidneys and loins, Mercury the feet, as Dromocrites wrote in his physiologumenon; whence Homer also says:

[ommata kai kephalen homoios Dii terpikerauno
Arei de zonen, sternon de Poseidaoni],

[eyes and head like to Zeus, the delight‑thunderer
and to Ares the girdle, and to Poseidon the chest],

id est: caput et oculos similis Ioui fulmina delectanti, Marti cingulum et pectus Neptuni; nam et Tiberianus in Prometheo ait deos singula sua homini tribuisse. Denique Achillem natum uelut hominem perfectum mater in aquas intinguit Stigias, id est: durum contra omnes labores munit; solum ei talum non tinguit, nihilominus illut fisicum significare uolentes, quod uenae quae in talo sunt ad renum et femorum atque uirilium rationem pertineant, unde et aliquae uenae usque ad pollicem tendunt; quod tractantes et fisici et mulieres ad optinendos partus et sciadicos eodem flebotomant loco; nam et inplastrum entaticum quem stisidem Africanus hiatrosofistes uocauit pollici et talo inponendum praecepit. Nam et Orfeus illum esse principalem libidinis indicat locum; nam denique et enterocelicis in isdem locis cauteria ponenda praecipiunt.

that is: the head and the eyes like unto Jove delighting in thunder, the girdle to Mars, and the chest to Neptune; for Tiberianus in his Prometheus likewise says that the gods allotted to man each his several parts. Moreover the mother, as if making Achilles a perfect man, dips him in the Stygian waters, that is: she hardens him against all labors; she alone does not dip his heel, nevertheless those wishing to mean it physically say that the veins which are in the heel pertain to the function of the kidneys and of the thighs and virile parts, whence some veins even run up to the thumb; which, practising, both physicians and women for securing births and for sciatica perform phlebotomy in the same place. For also the entatic plaster which Stisidemus Africanus the hiatrosofist called, he ordered to be applied to the thumb and the heel. And Orpheus likewise points out that that is the principal seat of lust; for indeed the surgeons of enteroceles prescribe that cauteries be placed in the same places.

Ergo monstrat quod humana uirtus quamuis ad omnia munita tamen libidinis ictibus subiacet patula; unde et ad Licomedis regiam datur quasi ad luxoriae regnum. Licomeden enim Grece quasi gliconmeden, id est dulce nihilum; omnis enim libido et dulcis est et nihil est. Denique et amore Polixenae perit et pro libidine per talum occiditur.

Therefore he shows that human virtue, although fortified against all things, nevertheless yields manifestly to the blows of lust; whence it is given even to the palace of Licomedes, as it were to a kingdom of luxury. For Licomedes in Greek is something like gliconmeden, that is “sweet nothing”; for every lust is both sweet and nothing. Finally he also perishes by the love of Polyxena and is slain for desire by the heel.

Polixene enim Grece multorum peregrina dicitur, seu quod amor peregrinari faciat mentes ab ingenio suo, siue quod aput multos libido ut peregrinabunda uagetur.

For Polixene in Greek is called multorum peregrina — either because love makes minds peregrinate from their own ingenium, or because lust, like a peregrinant, ranges about among many.

VIII. Fabula Mirrae et Adonis.

CHAPTER 8. The Tale of Myrrha and Adonis.

Mirra patrem suum amasse dicitur, cum quo debriato concubuit; cumque eam pater utero plenam rescisset, crimine cognito euaginato eam coepit persequi gladio. Illa in arborem myrram conuersa est; quam arborem pater gladio percutiens, Adon exinde natus est. Quid uero sibi haec fabula sentiat edicamus.

Mirra is said to have loved her father, with whom, depraved, she lay; and when her father perceived that she was full in the womb, the crime having been ascertained and he maddened, he began to pursue her with the sword. She was turned into a myrrh tree; which tree the father, striking with his sword, cut open, and from it Adon was born. But what, moreover, this fable signifies in itself, let us declare.

Mirra genus est arboris, de qua sucus ipse exsudat; haec patrem amasse dicitur. Istae enim arbores in India sunt, quae solis caloribus crementantur, et quia patrem omnium rerum solem esse dicebant, cuius opitulatu cuncta germinum adolescit maturitas, ideo et patrem amasse dicitur; dumque iam grandioris fuerit roboris, solis ardoribus crepans ragades efficit, per quas sucum desudat — quod mirra dicitur — et redolentibus lacrimosa guttulis fletus suaues scissuris hiantibus iaculatur. Unde et Adonem genuisse fertur; adon enim Grece suauitas dicitur; et quia haec species odore suauis est, Adonem dicitur genuisse.

Myrrh is a kind of tree, from which the sap itself exudes; this is said to have loved its father. For these trees are in India, scorched by the heats of the sun, and because they declared the sun to be the father of all things, by whose help the ripeness of all shoots grows to maturity, therefore it is said to have loved its father; and when it has grown to greater strength, the sun’s ardors making it burst, it produces fissures through which the sap oozes forth — which is called myrrh — and with fragrant, tearful droplets it casts forth sweet weeping from the yawning clefts. Whence it is also reported to have begotten Adon; for adon in Greek is said to mean sweetness, and because this species is sweet of smell, it is said to have begotten Adon.

Ideo autem Uenerem eum amasse dicunt, quod hoc genus pigmenti sit ualde feruidum; unde et Petronius Arbiter ad libidinis concitamentum mirrinum se poculum bibisse refert; nam et Sutrius comediarum scriptor introducit Gliconem meretricem dicentem: 'Murrinum mihi adfers quo uirilibus armis occursem fortiuscula.'

Therefore they say that Venus loved him, because this sort of resin is very ardent; whence Petronius Arbiter also reports that he drank a myrrhine cup as a spur to lust; for Sutrius, a writer of comedies, introduces the courtesan Glicon saying: "Bring me myrrhine [wine] by which I might more boldly encounter virile arms."

IX. Fabula Apollinis et Marsyae.

9. The Fable of Apollo and Marsyas.

Minerua ex osse tibias inuenit, de quibus cum in conuiuio deorum cecinisset eiusque tumentes buccas dii omnes inrisissent, illa ad Tritonam paludem pergens in aqua faciem suam speculata, dum turpia adiudicasset buccarum inflamina, tibias iecit. Quibus Marsyas repertis doctior factus Apollinem concertaturus de cantibus prouocauit. [Qui] sibi Midam regem iudicem deligunt.

Minerva fashioned tibias from a bone; after she had sung of them at a banquet of the gods and all the gods had laughed at her swelling cheeks, she went to the Tritonian marsh and, looking at her face in the water, and having judged the ugly inflations of her cheeks, cast away the tibias. Marsyas, finding these, grown more learned, challenged Apollo to contest in song. They appoint Midas the king as their judge.

Quem Apollo, cur non recte iudicasset, asininis auribus deprauauit. Ille criminis sui notam tonsori tantum ostendit praecipiens ei ut, si crimen eius celaret, eum participem regni efficeret. Ille in terram fodiuit et secretum domini sui in defosso terrae dixit et operuit; in eodem loco calamus natus est, unde sibi pastor tibiam faciens — quae cum percutiebatur dicebat: Mida rex aures asininas habet, nihilominus quod ex terra conceperat [calamus canebat]. Unde et Petronius Arbiter ait:

Whom Apollo, because he had not judged rightly, deformed with donkey ears. He revealed the mark of his crime only to a barber, instructing him that if he should hide the crime he would make him a sharer of the kingdom. The barber dug into the ground and told his lord’s secret into the buried earth and covered it; in that same place a reed was born, whence a shepherd, making a pipe for himself — which when it was struck said: “King Midas has ass’s ears,” yet the reed sang what it had conceived from the earth [the reed sang]. Whence Petronius Arbiter also says:

'Sic commissa uerens auidus reserare minister
fodit humum regisque latentes prodidit aures;
concepit nam terra sonum, calamique loquentes
inuenere Midam qualem conceperat index.'

'Thus the entrusted thing, fearing, the eager minister to disclose,
dug the ground and revealed the king's hidden ears;
for the earth conceived sound, and the speaking reed
found Midas such as the revealer had conceived.'

Nunc ergo huius misticae fabulae interiorem cerebrum inquiramus. A musicis haec reperta est fabula, ut Orfeus in teogonia scribit; musici enim duos artis suae posuerunt ordines, tertium uero quasi ex necessitate adicientes, ut Ermes Trismegistus ait, id est: adomenon, psallomenon, aulumenon, hoc est: aut cantantium aut citharidiantium aut tibizantium. Prima ergo est uiua uox, quae sibi in omnibus musicis necessitatibus celerrima subuenit; potest enim et limmata subrigere et parallelos concordare et distonias mollire et ptongos iugare et ornare quilismata.

Now therefore let us probe the inner mind of this mystical fabula. This tale was discovered among the musicians, as Orpheus writes in the Theogony; for the musicians placed two orders of their art, adding a third as it were from necessity, as Ermes Trismegistus says, that is: adomenon, psallomenon, aulumenon — i.e., of singers (cantantium) or of citharists (citharidiantium) or of flautists/pipers (tibizantium). The first therefore is the living voice, which most swiftly comes to aid in all musical necessities; for it can raise the limmata, set parallel concords, soften dissonances, join ptongos, and adorn quilismata.

Sequitur secunda cithara; quamuis enim de his rebus quas musici disafexis dicunt, sicut Mariandes scribit, multa de his faciat, tamen aliqua non implet quae uiua uox potest; limmata enim facta non erigit, quilismata in se catenata non implet. At uero tibia artis musicae partem extremam poterit adimplere. Cithara enim simfoniarum gradus habet quinque, secundum quod Pithagoras ait, dum numerorum arithmeticos modulos ad symphoniarum adduxisset concordiam; prima enim simphonia diapason, quod est in aritmeticis diplasion, quod nos in Latinis I ad II dicimus; secunda simphonia diapente, quod est in arithmeticis emiolius, quod nos Latine II ad III nuncupamus; tertia simphonia diatessaron, quod est in arithmeticis epitritus, id est III ad IV; quarta simphonia dicitur tonus, quod aput arithmeticos epocdous nuncupatur, aput nos V ad IV; et quoniam ultra arithmeticus ordo progredi non patitur propter nouenarium limitem, quia decimus alterius ordinis primus gradus est, contingit ergo ut habeat quintam simphoniam quae armonia nuncupatur, id est VIII ad IX; nullum enim ultra numerum coniunctiorem inuenies.

Next follows the second, the cithara; for although about those matters which the musicians call disafexis, as Mariandes writes, she makes many things concerning them, yet she fulfils some things which the living voice cannot: for things made limmate do not raise, quilismata bound in themselves she does not supply. But truly the tibia can complete the extreme part of the art of music. For the cithara has five degrees of symphonies, according to what Pythagoras says, when he brought the arithmetician modules of numbers to the concord of symphonies; for the first simphonia is the diapason, which in arithmetics is the diplasion, which we in Latin call 1 to 2; the second simphonia is the diapente, which in arithmetics is the hemiolus, which we in Latin call 2 to 3; the third simphonia is the diatessaron, which in arithmetics is the epitritus, that is 3 to 4; the fourth simphonia is called the tonus, which among arithmeticians is named the epogdous, among us 5 to 4; and because the arithmetic order does not allow progression beyond, on account of the novenary limit, since the tenth is the first degree of another order, it happens therefore that it has a fifth simphonia which is called the armonia, that is 8 to 9; for you will find no further connecting number.

Habet igitur musica partes septem, id est genera, diastemata, systemata, ptongos, tonos, metabolas et melopias; unde et Uirgilius in sexto ait:

Music therefore has seven parts, that is, kinds: diastemata, systemata, ptongos, tonos, metabolas and melopias; whence also Virgil in the sixth says:

'Nec non Threicius longa cum ueste sacerdos
obloquitur numeris septem discrimina uocum.'

'And likewise Threicius, a priest in long vesture
utters, with numbers, the seven distinctions of voices.'

In arithmeticis enim quibus plenitudo formulae est ut etiam in geometricis, <in musicis> tonus. Uox uero habet gradus symphoniarum innumeros, quantum natura dotauerit ipsam uocem ut habeat arsis et thesis quas nos Latine elationes et deiectiones dicimus. Tibia uero uix unam et dimidiam perficit simphoniam; una enim simphonia quinque symphonias habet.

For in arithmetic, wherein the fullness of the formula is, as also in the geometrical, <in musicis> the tonus. The voice, however, has innumerable degrees of symphonies, as much as nature has endowed the voice itself to have arsis and thesis, which we in Latin call elations and dejections. The tibia, however, scarcely completes one and a half symphonies; for one simphonia contains five symphonias.

Ergo post artem musicam Minerua repperit tibias, quas omnis doctus in musicis propter sonorum despuit paupertatem. Inflatas uero buccas ideo risisse dicuntur, quod tibia uentose in musicis sonet et idiomatum proprietate amissa sibilet potius rem quam enuntiet. Ideo illam iniuste sufflantem omnis quicumque est doctior ridet; unde se et Minerua, id est sapientia, exprobrans proicit; quas Marsyas adsumit.

Therefore after the art of music Minerva found the tibiae (pipes), which every learned man in musical matters despised because of the poverty of their sounds. The inflated cheeks, moreover, are said to have laughed for this reason: because the tibia sounds windy in musical performance and, its idiomatic propriety lost, hisses rather than utters the thing. Therefore everyone who is more learned laughs at her unjustly puffing; whence Minerva herself, that is Wisdom, reproaching herself, casts them away; which Marsyas takes up.

Marsyas enim Grece quasi morosis, id est stultus solus, qui in arte musica tibiam praeponere uoluit citharae; unde et cum porcina pingitur cauda. Sed his duobus certantibus Mida rex residet; Mida enim Grece quasi medenidon dicitur, quod nos Latine nihil sciens dicimus. Ideo etiam et asininis auribus dicitur, quia omnis discernendi ignarus nihil differt ab asino.

For Marsyas, in Greek as it were morosis, that is, merely foolish, was the only one who wished to prefer the tibia to the cithara; whence he is also painted with a porcine tail. But with these two contending, King Mida sits as judge; for Mida in Greek is called quasi medenidon, which we in Latin call nihil sciens, knowing nothing. Therefore he is also said to have ass’s ears, since anyone ignorant of all discernment differs not at all from an ass.

Ob hanc rem etiam et seruum eius auriculas referunt prodidisse. Ingenium enim nostrum seruum habere debemus ad omnia quae uolumus obsequentem et nostra secreta celantem. Quod autem per cannam prodidit, 'per fistulam gutturis', 'loquendo' significat.

On account of this matter they also report that even his slave betrayed (it) with his little ears. For we ought to keep our mind as a servant, obedient to all things we wish and hiding our secrets. But that which he revealed through a cane, "per fistulam gutturis," signifies "by speaking."

Quod uero pastor audit, pastores sunt illi, qui aliena exculcando suptilius pascunt.

But as for what a shepherd hears: those are the shepherds who, by scraping away another’s goods, feed themselves more subtly.

X. Fabula Orphei et Euridicis.

10. The Tale of Orpheus and Eurydice.

Orpheus Euridicem nimfam amauit; quam sono citharae mulcens uxorem duxit. Hanc Aristeus pastor dum amans sequitur, illa fugiens in serpentem incidit et mortua est. Post quam maritus ad inferos descendit et legem accepit, ne eam conuersus aspiceret; quam conuersus et aspiciens iterum perdidit.

Orpheus loved the nymph Eurydice; soothing her with the sound of the cithara he took her as his wife. Aristaeus the shepherd, while following her amorously, she, fleeing, encountered a serpent and died. After which the husband descended to the underworld and received the law that he, having turned, should not look at her; which he, turning and looking, lost again.

Haec igitur fabula artis est musicae designatio. Orpheus [enim] dicitur oreafone, id est optima uox, Euridice uero profunda diiudicatio. In omnibus igitur artibus sunt primae artes, sunt secundae; ut in puerilibus litteris prima abecetaria, secunda nota, in grammaticis prima lectio, secunda articulatio, in rethoricis prima rethorica, secunda dialectica, in geometricis prima geometrica, secunda arithmetica, in astrologicis prima mathesis, secunda astronomia, in medicinis prima gnostice, secunda dinamice, in aruspicinis prima aruspicina, secunda parallaxis, in musicis prima musica, secunda apotelesmatice.

Therefore this tale is a designation of the art of music. Orpheus is said to be oreafone, that is, of the best voice; Euridice, however, a profound diiudicatio (deep discernment). In all arts therefore there are first arts and second arts; as in childish letters the first are the abecetaria, the second the nota; in the grammars the first is lectio, the second articulatio; in the rhetorics the first rethorica, the second dialectica; in the geometrics the first geometrica, the second arithmetica; in the astrologies the first mathesis, the second astronomia; in the medicines the first gnostice, the second dinamice; in the aruspicines the first aruspicina, the second parallaxis; in the musics the first musica, the second apotelesmatice.

De quibus omnibus breuiter rationem perstringam necesse est. Aliut est enim aput grammaticos aliena agnoscere, aliut sua efficere; aput rethores uero aliud est profusa et libero cursu effrenata loquacitas, aliud constricta ueritatisque indagandae curiosa nexilitas; aput astrologos aliut est astrorum ac siderum cursus effectusque cognoscere, aliut significata traducere; in medicinis aliut est morborum agnoscere meritum, aliud infirmitatis uenientem mederi concursum; in geometricis aliut formulas lineasque depingere, aliut numeros formulis coaptare; in aruspicinis aliud fibrarum particularumque inspectio, aliud secundum Battiadem euentuum inmutatio, in musicis uero aliud est armonia ptongorum, sistematum et diastematum, aliud effectus tonorum uirtusque uerborum; uocis ergo pulchritudo delectans interna artis secreta uirtutem etiam misticam uerborum attingit. Sed haec quantum ab optimis amatur sicut ab Aristeo — ariston enim Grece optimum dicitur —, tanto ipsa ars communionem hominum uitat.

I must briefly skim an account of all these matters. For with grammarians one thing is to recognize what is alien, another to make what is one’s own; with rhetoricians, however, one thing is profuse and unbridled loquacity in a free course, another a constrained and curiously woven tightness of truth‑seeking; with astrologers one thing is to know the courses and effects of stars and constellations, another to translate the significations; in medicine one thing is to recognize the merit (cause) of diseases, another to treat the onset of infirmity; in geometry one thing is to draw formulas and lines, another to fit numbers to formulas; in haruspicy one thing is the inspection of fibres and particulars, another — according to Battiades — the alteration of events; in music, moreover, one thing is the harmony of ptongorum, systems and diastemata, another the effects of tones and the virtue of words. Thus the beauty of the voice, delighting, touches the inner secrets of the art and even the mystical power of words. But these things, insofar as they are loved by the best, as by Aristeus — for ariston in Greek means “the best” — all the more does the art itself shun the communion of men.

Quae quidem serpentis ictu moritur quasi astutiae interceptu, secretis uelut inferis transmigratur. Sed post hanc artem exquirendam atque eleuandam uox canora descendit et quia apotelesmatica fonascica omnia praebet et modulis tantum ui secreta latentibus uoluptatum reddit effectus; dicere enim possumus quod Dorius tonus aut Frigius Saturno coiens feras mulceat, si Ioui, aues oblectet. At uero si rei expositio quaeritur cur hoc fiat, uestigandae rationis captus inmoritur.

Which indeed dies by the serpent’s blow, as if by the interception of craft, and is transmigrated into hidden things as into the infernal realms. But after this art is sought out and exalted a melodious voice descends, and because apotelesmatic phonastic art supplies all things, and by moduli alone with force restores effects to those whose secrets lie hidden in pleasures; for we can say that the Dorian tone, or the Phrygian joining with Saturn, soothes wild beasts, and, if joined with Jupiter, charms birds. But truly, if an explanation of the matter is sought, seized by the tracking of reason, it perishes.

Ideo ergo et ne eam respiciat prohibetur et dum uidet amittit; nam perfectissimus Pithagoras dum modulos numeris coaptaret simphoniarumque pondera terminibus arithmeticis per mela et rithmos uel modulos sequeretur, effectus uero rationem reddere non potuit.

Therefore, and lest one look upon it, he is forbidden it, and while he sees he loses it; for the most perfect Pythagoras, while he fitted modules to numbers and traced the weights of symphonies by arithmetical terms, following mela and rithmos or modules, yet could not render a reason for the effect.

XI. Fabula Finei.

11. The Fable of Phineus.

Fineus enim in modum auaritiae ponitur; a fenerando Fineus dictus est. Ideo cecus, quod omnis auaritia ceca sit quae sua non uidet; ideo ei Arpyiae cibos rapiunt, quia rapina ei aliquid de suo comedere non permittit. At uero quod eius prandia stercoribus fedant, ostendit fenerantium uitam rapinae inluuie esse sordidam.

Fineus, then, is presented as a type of avarice; he is called Fineus from money-lending. Therefore he is blind, because all avarice is blind that does not see what is its own; therefore the Harpies snatch away his foods, for plunder does not allow him to eat anything of his own. But that his meals stink of dung shows that the life of moneylenders is sordid with the filth of robbery.

Sed has a conspectu eius Zetus et Calais fugant; Grece enim zeton calon inquirens bonum dicimus. Ideo uolatici quia omnis inquisitio boni numquam terrenis rebus miscetur; ideo Aquilonis uenti filii, quia bona inquisitio spiritalis est, non carnalis. Ergo ueniente bonitate omnis rapina fugatur.

But Zetus and Calais drive these away from his sight; for in Greek we say zeton, calon, meaning “seeking the good.” Therefore the volatici, because every inquiry of the good is never mingled with terrestrial things; therefore the sons of the North Wind, because the inquiry of the good is spiritual, not carnal. Hence, with goodness coming, every rapine is driven off.

XII. Fabula Alphei et Arethusae.

12. Fable of Alpheus and Arethusa.

Alfeus fluuius Aretusam nimpham amauit; quam cum sequeretur, in fontem conuersa est. Ille in mediis undis ambulans non inmixtus in sinu eius inmergitur; unde et aput inferos obliuionem animarum trahere dicitur. Alpheus enim Grece quasi aletiasfos, id est ueritatis lux, Arethusa uero quasi areteisa, id est nobilitas aequitatis.

The river Alpheus loved the nymph Arethusa; and when he pursued her, she was changed into a spring. He, walking in the midst of the waves, is plunged into her pool without mingling in her bosom; whence even among the dead he is said to draw away the oblivion of souls. For Alpheus in Greek is as it were aletiasphos, that is, the light of truth, and Arethusa likewise as it were areteisa, that is, the nobility of equity.

Ergo quid amare poterat ueritas nisi aequitatem, quid lux nisi nobilitatem. Ideo et in mari ambulans non miscetur, quia lucida ueritas omni malorum morum salsidine circumdata pollui aliqua commixtione non nouit. Sed tamen in sinu aequissimae potestatis omnis lux ueritatis delabitur; nam et descendens in infernum, id est in secreta conscientia, ueritatis lux malarum rerum semper obliuionem inportat.

Therefore what could truth love except equity, what light except nobility. Hence also, walking in the sea, he is not mingled, for lucid truth, surrounded by the brine of all bad morals, does not know to be polluted by any admixture. Yet in the bosom of the most equitable power every light of truth will slip away; for descending into the inferno, that is into the secret conscience, the light of truth always brings in the oblivion of evil things.