Another collection of philosophical conferences of the French virtuosi upon questions of all sorts for the improving of natural knowledg made in the assembly of the Beaux Esprits at Paris by the most ingenious persons of that nation / render'd into English by G. Havers, Gent. & J. Davies ..., Gent.

CONFERENCE CVIII. I. Of Talismans. II. Whether a Country-life or a City-life is to be preferr'd? (Book 108)

TAlisman (which the Chaldaeans call Tsilmenaia; the He∣brews, [ I] Magen; the Greeks, Character) is an Arabick word,* 1.1 form'd by transposition and addition to the beginning and end of the two Hemantical Letters Tau and Nun, of the Hebrew word Tselem, which signifies Image, Figure, or Character. For those Talismans (of which Zoroaster is made the first Author) are no∣thing else but Images in relief, or engrav'd upon Medals or Rings, ordinarily of Mettal or precious Stones, in shape of Men or Animals, fabricated under certain Constellations and Aspects of Stars, whose influence they thereby receive and keep, being af∣terwards instead of the same Stars; yea, with the greater virtue, in that the re-union of influences being made in one point, their activity is redoubl'd: As Burning-glasses take more heat from the Sun, than perhaps he hath himself. These Figures act, as they say, either upon mens minds, as to cause one to be lov'd,

honour'd, enrich'd, or fear'd; or upon their Bodies, as to cure them: Of which some shadow is seen in the magnetical cure of Wounds, by applying the Medicine to the Weapon that did the hurt, or to the bloody shirt. Or else these Figures act upon na∣tural things, as to keep away from a place rain, hail, and wild or venomous Beasts; only by natural means: For we speak not here of magical or diabolical Characters, whose virtues for the most part depend upon either a tacite or express compact with the evil Spirit, who sometimes really produces those effects, of∣ten deludes our Senses; and not the Character, Word, Sound, Number, or such other means, commonly inept, and uncapa∣ble of such action. But we speak only of natural Agents, which acting almost all by a propriety of their whole substance, and by occult and sympathetical virtues, cause many strange effects, which the ignorant Vulgar incongruously ascribe to Magick or Sortilege. There might be doubt of the effect of these Talis∣mans, if divers Histories did not give assurance thereof: For those Teraphins, such as Laban's Puppets were, might be call'd Talismans, as the Brazen-Serpent and the Golden-Calf are by Marselius Ficinus; the one to preserve from the morsures of Ser∣pents, by its sight; the other to turn away the heats and droughts of the Scorpion, and of Mars. The Idols of the Pa∣gans may also be put in this rank, as Memnon's Statue in Aegypt, which mov'd and spoke when shone upon by the Sun; that of Paphian Venus in Cyprus, upon which it never rain'd; the Palla∣dium of Troy; the Ancilia or Bucklers of Rome, whick kept the Fortune of the Empire; the Dii Penates, figur'd by two Ser∣pents; those call'd Averrunci, who kept away domestick misfor∣tunes; Sejanus's Statue of Fortune, which the Emperours left to their Successors; Virgil's brazen Fly and golden Horseleech, with which he hinder'd Flies from entring Naples, and kill'd all the Horseleeches in a Ditch; the Figure of a Stork, plac'd by Apollonius at Constantinople, to drive them away thence in the year 1160; and that wherewith he drove away Gnats from An∣tioch; those of Tripoli in Syria, and Hampts in Arabia, which were preserv'd from venomous Beasts by the Talisman of a Scor∣pion engraven upon one of their Towers; that at Florence, made against the Gowt, by a Carmelite nam'd Julianus Ristonius à Prato; those of Paracelsus against the Pestilence; and infinite others; render their effects as common, as their existence cer∣tain: Which is prov'd also by the example of Gamahés or Ca∣maien's, which are Stones naturally figur'd by the impressions of the Stars, which consequently may have influence upon Ar∣tificial Figures. For as the Sun may lighten or heat a mans Pi∣cture, as well as a Man; so may the Stars give their influences to the Figure of a Thing, as well as to the Thing it self; especi∣ally when the subject is fitted thereunto, as the Talisman is; not only by its metallick matter, symbolizing with that of the Star, both in colour and solidity; but especially by the Figure im∣printed

on it, which is like the Sign whose influences it receives. For though the Constellation be not very like that Figure, yet in regard the Qualities of the Animal which the Figure repre∣sents, are like those of the Sign, (whence the Constellations of the Zodiack are call'd, The Ram, the Bull, &c. not for the re∣semblance of such Animals parts with those of those Signs) the Figure of the Animals attracts them of the same Sign much more powerfully by sympathy. And indeed we see many things have qualities consentaneous to the Figure they bear; as the Stone call'd Ophites, for the small veins which cut it in form of little Serpents, cures their poyson; as also the Stones of Maltha do, which bear the Figure of a Serpents-tongue; and the Herb call'd by that name: The Squill and the Poppy, which resemble the head, asswage the pains thereof: Wild Tansey and Eye∣bright cure the Eye, whereto they are like. But if it be said, That 'tis not the Figure that acts in them, but a particular vir∣tue depending on the temper of their Qualities; since losing their Figure either by distillation or infusion, (they cease not to act, yea more effectually than before. I answer, That in the spirits of those same active qualities remains always the Form and Figure; as some Chymists have resuscitated Roses and other Flowers, by holding their ashes in a glass Phial, over a Candle.

The Second said, That Talismans cannot produce the effects attributed to them; whether you consider them in their Matter and Substance, or in their Figure. Not in the former; for any sort of Matter, as Wood, Wax, Stone, Metal, &c. are made use of for cutting of these Talismans; which, besides, lose their Name when they produce an effect by the virtue of their Mat∣ter; as a Scorpion engraven on a Bezoar-stone would not cure the bitings of that venomous Animal by its Talismanical Figure, no more than any other; but 'tis an effect depending on the Stone it self. Nor do Simples cure by the resemblance between the Parts of our Body and their external Figure (of which we speak here), but by the virtue and property of their Substance, which remains when they are powder'd and despoil'd of their Figure; which, moreover, is a Quality indeed, but no active one; being only a certain situation and disposition of Parts, and a mode of quantity; which depending on Matter, a purely pas∣sive thing, is as uncapable of any action by it self, as the Figure which terminates it. But though the artificial Figure of a Talis∣man could act, it could produce no natural effect, because be∣yond its power; much less upon the Will, to incite Love or Ha∣tred, as is pretended. For 'tis a ridiculous and groundless vanity to imagine a sympathetical Commerce between a Constellation and a Figure of an Animal, graven upon Copper, or such other Matter, which is much less fit to receive the influences of the Stars to which such Animal is subject, than the Animal it self, whose skin stuff'd with straw were more proper to drive away

other Beasts of the same kind; there being nothing Living-crea∣tures dread so much as the dead Bodies of their own kind.

The Third said, It needs not to seek Reasons and Authorities to prove Talismans, either in Art or Nature; since Man himself may be said to be the Talisman and Perfection of God's Works, plac'd by him at the Centre of the Universe; as of old Talismans were plac'd at the Foundations of Cities: His countenance being a Medal imprinted with all the Characters of the Stars, the two brightest of which are at the Eyes; Saturn at the Eye-brows, the Seat of Severity; Jupiter at the Fore-head, the place of Honour; Mars at the Nose, where Anger resides; Mercury in the Mouth, where Eloquence lies; Venus at the Chin, and rounding of the Cheeks, the pourfit of the grace of this Medal, which serves him for an Universal Talisman, in its Beauty to procure Love; in its Majesty, to cause Respect; not only to drive away Flies or Frogs, but to reign over all Animals, by the prerogative of this Face, before which they tremble. Are not his Hands (the Artificers of his Felicity) Talismans noted with the Characters of the Signs and Planets, which the Rules of Chiromancy uncypher? In the Right Hand are his Days and Years, (saith the Wiseman) the Talisman of his long life; in the Left are Riches and Honours, the Talisman of his good Fortune. In short, Is not his Soul the Talisman of his Immortality; which at the instant of its Crea∣tion receiving all the influences of the Deity, and retaining the Image thereof, hath been inserted into this Work, not to pre∣serve it from Thunder and Tempests, which can touch only the least part of it; but from Corruption and Extinction, to which all other Creatures are subject.

The Fourth said, He's too sensual that impugns the truth of things, under pretext that they fall not under our Reason; which though very weak and uncertain, abusing the principality which it usurps over all the Faculties, hath turn'd its denomination into Tyrannie: Whence if Experiences be alledg'd she denies them, because not able to accord them with the weakness of her Judgment. Witness what is seen in all the admirable works of Nature and Art, in the Magnetical cure of Wounds, and that of Diseases, by Amulets or Periapts; and what Cicero and all Antiquity affirms of Gyges's Ring, upon turning of the Stone whereof inwards, he became invisible; and returning it out∣wards, was perceiv'd. Such also was Minerva's Shield, where∣with Perseus combated the Gorgons, which was of Glass, through which one might see, without being seen; as also the Rings of those Mistresses of Alexander the Great, and Charlemain. For if it be said of the first, That Olympias shewing her self stark naked to him, made him confess, That the great Beauty of all the parts of her Body was the only Talisman wherewith she en∣chanted Alexander: The same cannot be said of the latter; since after his death the Talismanical Ring found under her Tongue caus'd Charlemain to love not only her, but also the Lake of

Aix-la-Chapelle whereinto it was cast; and that which was found in the Foundations of the Walls of this City of Paris, under Chilperic, where there was a Fire engraven upon a Brass-plate, a Serpent, and a Rat; which having been remov'd from the place, the very next day a great Fire happened in the same City. For if every thing below is as that which is above, and the effects of inferiour things proceed from the various configuration of the Celestial Bodies, as of the different combinations of the Let∣ters of the Alphabet are compos'd infinite Books, there may be some proportion and correspondence between those Ce∣lestial Figures, and such as are made upon fit and suitable mate∣rials; the knowledg of which sympathetical Correspondences, is the true Magick; which is, by the testimony of J. Picus Mi∣randula, the highest point of humane Knowledg, marrying Hea∣ven with Earth; as black Magick is detestable, shameful, and ridiculous.

The Fifth said, That every thing acts in the World by the first or second Qualities, or by its Substance; whence proceed occult Properties and Sympathies: But Talismanical Figures cannot act by any of these ways; for 'tis certain, that they act neither by heat, cold, hardness, softness, or such other first or second Quality, no more than by their Substance, which is different in Talismans of Copper, Iron, Stone, &c. Although the Authors of this Art ascribe the same virtue to all, provided they be graven with the same Figures, and under the same Constellations and Aspects of the Starrs, from whom alone they make them derive their, strange virtues; alledging, as a Principle, That there is no∣thing in the World but hath both its Contrary and its Like, as well in Heaven as on Earth; where we see not only the Mari∣gold and the Sun-flower follow the motion of the Sun; the Sele∣notrope, that of the Moon; the Cock proclaims the approach of the Sun: As also, on the contrary, Dogs commonly run mad in the Dog-days, and Lions under the Sign Leo: But also some Persons beheld with an evil eye by some Planets, others being propitious. So to cure hot and dry Diseases they engrave their Talismans under a Constellation contrary to the Evil, as cold and moist; having regard to the Signs whereunto every Malady and diseas'd Part is referr'd; which is an Invention of Paracelsus, who fancies Poles, a Zenith, a Nadir, an Equator, a Zodiack, and other phantastical Figures in our Bodies, answering to those of Heaven, without the least proof of his sayings.

Upon the Second Point it was said, Since Man is compos'd of [ II] Body and Soul,* 1.2 the best Life he can lead is that which is most proper for the perfection and good of both. Such is the Coun∣try-life, being accompanied with the Goods of the Body, For∣tune, and the Mind. Those of the Body, as Health and Strength, are possess'd with advantage by Rusticks, who know not so much as the Names of Diseases; the cause whereof is their Exercise

and Labour, which dissipates and resolves the humours that pro∣duce most Diseases; as also the purity of the Air they breathe, which is the more healthful in that it hath free motion, and is less confin'd; for which reason Physitians send their recovering Patients to confirm their Health in the Air of the Country: Which also supplies the Goods of Fortune, the true and natural Riches, to wit, the Fruits of the Earth, and the Spoils of Ani∣mals; Gold, Silver, and other artificial Goods, being but ima∣ginary and useless without those first, whereunto they are sub∣servient. But above all, the Goods of the Mind, which consist in Knowledg and Virtue (the two Ornaments of its two chief Fa∣culties, the Understanding and the Will) may be acquir'd much more easily in a Country-life, in regard of the purer Air, which begets like Spirits, as these frame purer Species and Phantasms, on which depend the actions of the Understanding; which, be∣sides, cannot meditate nor improve without rest and silence, scarce found in a civil and tumultuary Life, as that in Cities is, which hold our Minds as well as Bodies in captivity, depriving us of the free aspect of Heaven, the rising and setting of the Sun and Stars, and of the means of considering the Wonders of God in the production of Flowers, Fruits, and Plants. Hence the Poets feign'd the Muses, the Goddesses of the Sciences, living in the Mountains of Helicon, and in Woods; not in the in∣closure of Cities, where Virtues are also more difficultly pra∣ctis'd than the Sciences, nothing of them being left there but shadows and phantasms, which under veils of Dissimulation, Hypocrisie, Complements, and other testimonies of Virtue, co∣ver Injustices, Sacriledges, Impieties, and other Crimes unknown in the Country, where Simplicity and Innocence are sure tokens of true Virtue; which is also better retain'd amongst the Thorns and Sweats of the Country, than in the Luxury and Idleness of Cities. And if things may be judg'd of by their beginnings, the Sacred History tells, That Cain, the first Murtherer, was the first that built a City, named Henoch, after the Name of his Son; as a little after did the first Tyrant of the World, Nimrod, who built Niniveh. On the contrary, all holy Personages have lead a Country-life: Adam was a Husband-man, and so was Cain, as long as he continu'd in the state of Innocence, which as soon as he lost he desir'd to become a Burgess. Jacob, and the twelve Patriarchs his Sons, were Shepherds; as also the Kings, Saul and David; and the Prophets Amos, Elisha, and many others; in imi∣tating whose example we cannot erre.

The Second said, That Man being a sociable and political Animal, the habitation of Cities is as consentaneous to his Na∣ture, as the Country-life is repugnant to the same. And there∣fore Men had no sooner discover'd the inconveniences of the Ru∣stick-life, but they unanimously conspir'd to build Cities, to the end to supply one anothers Necessities, and defend themselves from wild Beasts and their Enemies, to whose fury they were

expos'd before they liv'd in some Town, which is a Sacred Soci∣ety or Unity of Citizens, all aspiring to the conservation of the State, to the maintaining of the Laws and Justice, and to the publick Ornament and Glory; making Arts and Disciplines flou∣rish, and procuring Safety to all People, by the distribution of Rewards to Virtue, and Punishment to Vices, which have not their effect but in publick: For our Lives would not differ from those of Brutes, if we were oblig'd to dwell in Dens, or wan∣der up and down Woods, as the Barbarians of the new World do; whose Brutality, Irreligion, Cruelty, Ignorance, and Misery, compar'd with the Politeness, Devotion, Humanity, Knowledg, and Happiness of others, sufficiently manifest what difference there is between a City and a Country-life.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Of Talis∣mans.
• * 1.2

  Whether a Country-life or a City-life is to be pre∣ferr'd?