On Minerals

...does not cease to work marvels. These men also say that if these operations were attributed to the elements—as some Pythagoreans have said—or to the mixture complexion original: "complexioni," meaning the specific balance of the four elements (earth, air, fire, water) within a substance of the elements, then just as the mixture is a single thing, the operation of the stone would be a single effect. Yet, we see many effects. Furthermore, whether an elemental quality acts by itself or within a mixture, elemental qualities only operate by transforming the matter they affect. However, precious stones are seen to operate without any such transformation of their substance; for this reason, the operation of these stones seems to belong to some separate principle.

Hermes This, therefore, is the opinion of the Platonists. But Hermes and certain of his followers among the Indians, speaking much regarding universal power, used to say that the powers of all inferior things exist in the stars and in the celestial images. They claimed that all powers are infused into all inferior things through the "Circle of Alan" likely a corruption of "Al-Anwa" or a specific celestial coordinate system in medieval Arabic-Latin translations, because they said that this was the first circle of celestial images. These powers, they say, descend into the things of nature either nobly or ignobly. They descend nobly when the matter receiving these powers is more similar to the higher bodies in light and transparency. They descend ignobly when the matter is thick and dreggy, in which the celestial power is, as it were, overwhelmed. For this reason, these thinkers say that precious stones have marvelous powers above all other things because, in their substance, they are more similar to the higher bodies in light and transparency. Because of this,

Elemental stars precious stones are called "elemental stars" by some of them. For in the higher bodies, as they say, four colors are found, which are also very frequent in precious stones. One of these is

Four colors of gems modeled after the four of heaven golden and not starred, which is called "sapphire" by everyone In the Middle Ages, "saphirus" often referred to Lapis Lazuli, which contains golden flecks of pyrite, rather than the modern blue sapphire, and the sapphire possesses and gives its name to this color first; other stones later participate in it. The second color is that which belongs to many stars and is what is called "glowing and whitening light"; this color is possessed by the diamond and the beryl, and many others. The third is called "fiery and glowing," which is found in the Sun and Mars and in certain others; this is first received by the carbuncle A term used for red gemstones, especially rubies or garnets, and afterwards by the palachius or paladius likely a Balas ruby or spinel and the garnet, and certain others. Therefore, they say the carbuncle is the noblest and universally possesses the power of all other stones because the Sun, whose similar power it receives, is nobler than all celestial powers; its power is universal, giving light and power to all celestial things. The fourth color is a dark red found both in the stars and in certain other "mansions of the moon"; this is found in stones having dark clouds, such as in the chalcedony, the amethyst, and sometimes in the emerald, and in certain others. Because of these and similar sayings, they have held such an opinion.

Avicenna But Avicenna and certain others following him said that in all natures, certain portents sometimes appear from the "imagination" of the higher movers. For this

philosopher contends that the Intelligences that move the celestial spheres could never intend this or that particular motion except through some apprehension of particulars. He says this "apprehension" is called "imagination" equivocally original: "equiuoce," meaning the term is used differently than when applied to humans, or is named by the same word as the "imagination" which is part of the sensitive soul in animals. In practice, he says that all things that come to be exist beforehand in the perceptions of the movers of the stars and spheres. Furthermore, he says that the obedience of all matter of generable things to the mover is like the obedience of our body to our souls. We feel within ourselves that our body moves toward whatever form we have perceived, whether in pleasure, horror, or flight. Thus, he says the souls of the celestial bodies frequently perceive various things, and then matter is moved through obedience to that perception. From this, it happens that generated things receive various powers which we call "complexional," and especially stones—in which there is a primary mixture more easily moved by such imagination than other things in which there is greater diversity due to the works of the soul infused into them. These things were said by Avicenna and those following him, as is seen to be accepted in certain of his writings which he composed regarding magic and alchemy.

Chapter Three: Regarding the Refutation of the Stated Opinions.

He refutes Alexander. The sayings of Alexander the Peripatetic Alexander of Aphrodisias, a major commentator on Aristotle are not suitable because we know that although every simple heat and mixed heat has different operations, they nevertheless agree in the genus of "aggregating"—namely, gathering together things of the same kind and separating things of different kinds. We say the same of cold, moisture, and dryness. But the operations of stones agree neither in genus nor in species with a simple operation; rather, they seem to be more portentous and marvelous. Furthermore, it was poorly said that nothing directs and informs the qualities of the elements except the mixture and the "complexion" itself. For if that were so, there would be no need for any species or form other than the mixture—which has been shown to be false, and will be shown by us in the Book on the Soul and in First Philosophy Metaphysics. Because the powers of stones are neither complexional nor elemental, magicians use precious stones above all else, both in rings and in other images whose effect is marvelous; because of this and similar things, the saying of Alexander is proven false. As for what Plato says regarding the Ideas, it has been shown by many to be unsuitably stated,

He rejects Plato's Ideas and we shall dispute this elsewhere, because the business of the Ideas requires a greater inquiry than the current business we are engaged in. But let it be assumed here that there are no "Ideas" forming generative things, nor anything immortal within mortal and corruptible bodies; for when these are corrupted, nothing remains of the things that were in them, nor is there a resolution of the mixed things into elements and Ideas, but rather only into the elements from which they were composed. For if such Ideas were posited to exist, they would be useless.