Phytognomonica

80 PHYTOGN. I.

...they are broken, they signify noise and disturbances. Laurel original: "Laurus" is good for women because of its evergreen nature and beauty, but for those who are hoping for something, it is bad because of its bitterness. The Pine is related to sailors because of the timber from which ships are built, as well as its pitch and resin. To wear a crown made of tree branches anywhere other than the head is noted to be a sign of disaster, since the proper seat of a crown is the head. Zoilus saw his sons crowned with olive branches around their ankles in competitions; they died before they could enter the contest, since the ankles are not far from the ground. Xerxes dreamed that his head was bound with an olive crown, and that all of Greece was shaded by its branches; because of this omen—and because Athens was the discoverer of the olive—he set out for Greece, even though many advised against it. The Palm tree grants freedom to slaves, since it is the right of free men to wear crowns. Thorns and briers are signs of fertility, since hedges are made from them.

You may read more in Plato, and in Cicero’s book On Divination and On the Nature of the Gods, and in Valerius Maximus. Both Aristides and Iamblichus, in their writings on the secrets of the Egyptians, record that the sick were accustomed to receive cures in their sleep through similarities; and Strabo says that those staying overnight in the temple of Aesculapius at Epidaurus received counsel regarding their health through such means. In Haruspicy the ancient practice of divining the future by inspecting the entrails of sacrificed animals the same principle of similarity is observed, of which we shall collect some examples from the writings of the ancients—not so that we may place our faith in them, but to show that in such matters, and in all things, similarity was observed. In the discipline of Augury divination through the flight or behavior of birds and animals, a horse always signifies empire and war. In the time of Gaius Julius Caesar, a horse was born with almost human feet, having hooves divided in the manner of fingers; the Haruspices responded that it portended the empire of the world for its owner, and Caesar raised it with great care. That the horse also signifies war is shown by the clear testimony of Virgil:

original: "Bello armantur equi, bellum hæc armenta minantur." — Virgil, Aeneid, Book 3

The chickens predicted an unhappy conflict for Mancinus against the Numantines when they refused their feed and flew out of their cage. In Homer, Jupiter signified with a great crash of thunder at night that Ulysses would avenge the insults of the suitors. And when the battle lines of the Greeks and Trojans stood ready for combat on both sides, it rained blood, signifying a great slaughter of the Greeks. While the Greeks were sacrificing in Homer’s account, a serpent crawled from the altar to a nearby plane tree, in which there were eight sparrow chicks; Calchas interpreted this to mean that the war against the Trojans would be prolonged into its ninth year.

BY THEIR OWN SIMILARITY, PLANTS DEMONSTRATE

the cultivation suitable for them. Chapter XI.

A decorative square drop cap frame containing a large letter 'N' set against a background of scrolling floral and foliate patterns.

No less divinely than clearly, that supreme overseer of the world has shown through Agriculture how each plant rejoices in the specific cultivation it has adopted, according to the character it displays. For individual plants demand a peculiar kind of care, not only under different soils, climates, and locations in the world, but even under the same sky; with only a short distance intervening, everything is varied and diverse, so that nothing can be prescribed for them universally or perpetually. For this reason, we have always considered the diligence of the ancients in establishing rules for them to be vain and even ridiculous.

But because Agriculture is so necessary for the daily and long-term survival of men that the lot of mortals could not persist without it, it has been brought about by the industry of nature that every plant demonstrates its own suitable cultivation and timing through its form, similarity, and way of living, so that it can be gathered through simple inspection and observation. We shall reveal the matter in a few clear words. From the inspection of wild plants which grow by the impulse of nature, one may observe: a single root, creeping forth in a simple stalk, demands deep soil, such as the cypress, the pine, the pear, and the Italian oak esculus: a species of oak with edible acorns; for as much as they rise up in the body, so much do they descend in the root. However, a root that is short, twisted, and wandering through the surface of the turf is content with little soil, such as the olive, the plum, and the pomegranate. A plant that rests upon more slender fibers, so that it ends in hairs, threads, or the thinnest filaments, requires loose and thin earth, so that it may more easily...