The Proscenium of Truth

ANALYTICAL DISCOURSE.

Theory is accustomed to corroborate the truth of practice. But where he says that in exchange for me handing over the instruments, he himself inquires into the causes of things or harmonies—how poorly this fits with his own assertion presented in the preface of his third book, I leave to your judgment, O eminent Readers of learning. For he says in that place: Pythagoras, by observing the size of hammers, found the differences between deep and sharp sounds, by which he finally revealed the harmonic intervals of voices or sounds; these intervals he later adapted more exactly to the lengths of strings, because the ears are accustomed to judge by them more perfectly; which parts of the string harmonize with the whole, and which dissonate from it. Fludd refers to the famous legend of Pythagoras discovering musical ratios by listening to blacksmiths' hammers of different weights. Furthermore, he himself filled Chapters 1 and 2 of that book with fragments of this kind of business, where he even draws out the ratios of harmonies from various proportions of strings divided unequally. And yet, having neglected the consideration of instruments, he says he is inquiring into the causes of harmonies. How vain and frivolous this is appears clearly, because a string without an instrument is worth no more than a bell without a clapper. And we, in our third book, have shown that all harmonies, and even the smaller musical intervals, are derived from the exact division of the MonochordA single-stringed instrument used by ancient and Renaissance theorists to demonstrate the mathematical ratios of musical intervals—that is, from the proportional partitioning of a string stretched over its proper instrument. This is something he himself admits throughout his Chapter 2 of Book 3. Furthermore, he acknowledges in Chapter 3 of the same that deeper sounds arise from longer strings and sharper sounds from shorter strings when they are equally tensioned. Therefore, he cannot explain the harmonies—whether in heaven or on earth—by any better way than by the proportion of strings in size or length. For we know higher things by the relationship they have to lower things. For what mortal has ever entered the heavens and afterward returned to earth so that he could reveal their mysteries exactly as they are there? But the sect of the most excellent Astrologers has its heavens and its Planets even here on earth, which are observed in both body and soul through the vision of truth itself; and by setting aside all false opinions, they walk in the right way.

Next, he says that while I teach how to compose a melody of several voices, he puts together mathematical demonstrations. And yet he said before in Text 4 that his intent was to open up the causes of natural things. How much Mathematics differs from PhysicsIn this context, 'Physics' refers to 'Natural Philosophy'—the study of the actual substance and nature of things, rather than just their abstract measurements, I leave to the more sagacious judgment of the learned Reader, since the latter is about things in the concrete, while the former is in the abstract. Those best versed in Philosophy know that demonstrations of causes are made from what is similar rather than from what is foreign, since like rejoices in its like. And this is why Natural Philosophers (Physicists) have made their inquiry into secondary causes through prior principles without the help of Mathematics; nor did they run from one art to another to complete that business. For among Natural Philosophers, that axiom is most celebrated: It is in vain to do with more what can be done with fewer. original: "Frustra fit per plura quod fieri potest per pauciora" — a version of Occam's Razor Therefore, we think it must be concluded that, just as Mathematical Music needs mathematical foundations for its discovery of causes, so also Harmony needs Physical ones. Indeed, the reasoning of all audible music, and even the origin of the intervals themselves, looks more toward Physics by reason of its hidden nature than toward Mathematics, if we rightly inspect its internal principle. For its secret consists in the physical division of spiritual matter (whether thick or thin), the divider of which is the acting soul of the singer or player, whether it be in the Microcosm or finally in the Macrocosm The 'Microcosm' is the human being, and the 'Macrocosm' is the universe; Fludd believed they mirrored each other perfectly. But because it would be too deep and difficult for the grasp of the ignorant to think this out, the Sages were accustomed to explain and open the substance, nature, and motion of true Physics by mathematical reasoning (since this kind of demonstration is more familiar to the senses), touching in this way the marrow of divine Music with Geometric and Arithmetic shadows. Through these, such great error has now crept into the art of Music that, by dragging it out from the belly and bowels of Nature, they have placed it among the mathematical liberal arts. And by this path, we conceive a vain shadow, or we look upon the tunic or bark of Music, but we are ignorant of its interior essence or kernel—which is nevertheless the same in man as in the world, the same in the elements as in the Planets, and finally the same in those as in the Archetypal worldThe 'Archetype' is the divine mind or original blueprint of the universe in Fludd's Hermetic philosophy itself, from which the Harmony of the entire machine originally arose.

TEXT X.

ANALYSIS.

Here indeed his words (For this reason also) ought to introduce the cause of something. But of what? I certainly do not see it from the preceding words. For this is his preceding statement in the text immediately before: And for the fact that he teaches how to compose a melody, I put together mathematical demonstrations. Then his reason follows: For this reason also there are very many pictures in his work. And why? Because I teach how to compose a melody? As if that could not be done without pictures! Furthermore, we have seen that he himself uses infinite "mathematical pictures" throughout almost his entire first book, and especially on page 58 where he depicts his five mathematical solids; and on pages 61, 62, and 64. And in Book 3, pages 5 and 6, where he composes figures out of units, and depicts lines for strings throughout the whole Chapter 2 of Book 3. And in Book 5, with Mathematical figures demonstrating his harmonic configurations; and again on page 180.