De Incantationibus

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...by chance. Furthermore, words by themselves alone only affect the sense of hearing, but in this case the sense of touch is affected, as when a person is healed or made ill. Signs, too, are merely quantities, or qualities within a quantity, none of which are active agents by themselves, as the Commentator original: "Commentator." This refers to Averroes (Ibn Rushd), the 12th-century philosopher whose commentaries on Aristotle were the standard textbooks of the era. says in the fourth book of the Physics Physics: Aristotle's foundational work on the study of nature, motion, and change.. What activity, then, can these signs possibly have? There must, therefore, be something else by whose power this can occur, which (as he says) is imprinted by a celestial body original: "cœlesti corpore." In this context, a planet or star whose movements were thought to influence earthly events.. What that primary power might be, then, is clear. If these things were produced by a celestial body, it is likely that they would not happen under just any arrangement and position of the celestial bodies, as is evident in their other effects: for the moon does not cause the ebb and flow original: "fluxum & refluxum." This refers to the tides, which were one of the most widely accepted examples of "celestial influence" in the natural world. [of the sea] under just any arrangement or position. However, we see such men performing these works at all times: therefore, these things do not happen because of the influence of the celestial bodies original: "influxu corporum cœlestium." The theory that "virtue" or power flows down from the stars to affect objects on Earth.; otherwise, it would be in our power to bring the virtues of the heavens into operation, and to withdraw them...