BOOK THE SECOND

original: "LIBER SECVNDVS"

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The firmament belongs to it: but not with physical bodies, but only with the elemental essence. The Sun has a different body, coming from the element of Fire; but within it, the element is substantial with heat. Not that its heat has an origin from its motion Paracelsus rejects the Aristotelian view that the movement of celestial spheres creates heat through friction., but from itself: even if it stands still and never moves, it still possesses its radiance along with its heat. For the crystals original: "Crystallen"; likely referring to the luminous bodies or "stars" within the fire element. from the element of Fire were given to the Sun: and although no other body is in it except what it received from the element of Fire, for the elements were incorporated out of that same source. The Moon and other stars have their origin likewise from the elements of Fire: but only in the ruby-colored shades, in which there is no heat nor burning nature, but rather a dead glow. And although there are many kinds of signs according to the forms and shapes in the heavens, which we do not mention here: yet such a form is to be understood just as it is with us on Earth, for there is not just one eternal thing, but many—both known and unknown to us. Because the Mystery of the element of Fire has been divided, each thing has stood and become as we see it: therefore, the stars are a daughter of the elements of Fire, and the heaven is nothing but a vapor original: "Chay," a Paracelsian term for a chaotic, misty, or vaporous substance from which things are formed., that is, the steam from the firmament, so hot that it is beyond description. And that same heat gives the heavens their colors and shape: for it is the pure element of Fire original: "Ignis" at those ends, as will be further mentioned in its proper place.

The Eighth Text.

B

And in like form, with the diversity of shapes and beings, just as Fire has provided, so in such a manner has the element of Air original: "Aëris" also provided. But although there is a distinction between the four kinds of elements in those who are born from them: each one has procreated something special. The Firmament is like none of the other three; the Fate Fatum: In this context, Paracelsus refers to the specific destiny or spiritual inhabitants belonging to the element of Air. from the Air is also not like the other three. The Signatures original: "Signata" of the Earth are not to be compared to the other three at all: likewise, the water-wonders Likely referring to nymphs, undines, or other elemental beings of water. are just as little similar to these three. For each element has born within it rational and irrational things: just as the heavens have intelligent creatures in the firmament, so does the element of Earth original: "Terræ". Likewise, the Fate of the Air is endowed with reason and unreason in its signature: and the same applies to the water and earth. Now, who will grant us the truth to know which among the signatures of the four elements are those commanded to have faith, the right path, or which alone possess eternity—or if it is in all four? This we shall let pass for now. Now, it cannot be otherwise than that there are people in all four, just as in this one, which is the Earth. But to recognize the "Fate," its birth has been shown to be manifold from the element, and yet without any physical bodies or substance, according to the quality of the Air, which is not corporeal, along with its dwellings: for some have it corporeally, some intangibly original: "intangibiliter", according to how it is understood.

The Ninth Text.

C

For in the same way that from a seed the root goes out into many fibers, then the stalk with many branches, then the leaves, the blossom, the fruit, and the seed: just as that has happened, so it must also happen with the many kinds of procreations from the four elements: and all these that are in one element hang together, like a plant from one seed. And although it does not look like the seed: for those created from water, some are people, some animals, some for their health and sustenance. For an element has left its signature, its necessity and sustenance: it has also given indications of its course and future, which is most easily recognized through the stars: not that the stars rule or incline us, but only that they run parallel to us, with the internal course of our body. In the same way, all things happen in the water as in the element of Earth: for the Lorind Lorind: A Paracelsian term for a meteorological sign or "comet" occurring within the element of water. is a movement of the change of that same element of Water original: "Aquæ". And when such a thing moves in the element of Water, the element of Earth also moves toward a change. For Lorind is to be noted just like a comet: and a water-wonder is to be understood just like an anomaly of the firmament. And thus, in the water, a special world is to be recognized, together with its Mystery, until the end of the world: for there is no other beginning in them than in the other elements: there is also no other end in them than what is noted in the other elements. There is only a difference of forms, beings, and natures, which exists between the elements with their signatures. Therefore, we are to recognize four worlds, according to the four elements and four ancestral dwellings: but according to the truth, only one eternal thing is to be recognized equally in all four.

The Tenth Text.

In the element of Earth, we have great understanding, because we are from the element of Earth: for "like understands its like" original: "simile verstehet sein simile". But to understand other elements comes from philosophy: but that is a "likeness" that comes from experience, from which philosophy follows afterward: and yet, not otherwise than how the element of Earth has procreated the Signature, so have the others procreated. The stones that we have exist just as well in the other elements as with us: although they are not stones in our form, but rather in their own form. The mineral among them is the same as among us, for the heavenly firmament gives blossoms and mineral stones, which we consider a miracle original: "Miracul".