PART I

THE LETTER OF
PEREGRINUS

PART I
CHAPTER I
PURPOSE OF THIS WORK

Dearest of Friends:

At your earnest request, I will now make known to you, in an unpolished narrative, the undoubted though hidden virtue of the lodestone, concerning which philosophers up to the present time give us no information, because it is characteristic of good things to be hidden in darkness until they are brought to light by application to public utility. Out of affection for you, I will write in a simple style about things entirely unknown to the ordinary individual. Nevertheless I will speak only of the manifest properties of the lodestone, because this tract will form part of a work on the construction of philosophical instruments. The disclosing of the hidden properties of this stone is like the art of the sculptor by which he brings figures and seals into existence. Although I may call the matters about which you inquire evident and of inestimable value, they are considered by common folk to be illusions and mere creations of the imagination. But the things that are hidden from the multitude will become clear to astrologers and students of nature, and will constitute their delight, as they will also be of great help to those that are old and more learned.

CHAPTER II
QUALIFICATIONS OF THE EXPERIMENTER

You must know, my dear friend, that whoever wishes to experiment, should be acquainted with the nature of things, and should not be ignorant of the motion of the celestial bodies. He must also be skilful in manipulation in order that, by means of this stone, he may produce these marvelous effects. Through his own industry he can, to some extent, indeed, correct the errors that a mathematician would inevitably make if he were lacking in dexterity. Besides, in such occult experimentation, great skill is required, for very frequently without it the desired result cannot be obtained, because there are many things in the domain of reason which demand this manual dexterity.

CHAPTER III
CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD LODESTONE

The lodestone selected must be distinguished by four marks—its color, homogeneity, weight and strength. Its color should be iron-like, pale, slightly bluish or indigo, just as polished iron becomes when exposed to the corroding atmosphere. I have never yet seen a stone of such description which did not produce wonderful effects. Such stones are found most frequently in northern countries, as is attested by sailors who frequent places on the northern seas, notably in Normandy, Flanders and Picardy. This stone should also be of homogeneous material; one having reddish spots and small holes in it should not be chosen; yet a lodestone is hardly ever found entirely free from such blemishes. On account of uniformity in its composition and the compactness of its innermost parts, such a stone is heavy and therefore more valuable. Its strength is known by its vigorous attraction for a large mass of iron; further on I will explain the nature of this attraction. If you chance to see a stone with all these characteristics, secure it if you can.

CHAPTER IV
HOW TO DISTINGUISH THE POLES OF A LODESTONE

I wish to inform you that this stone bears in itself the likeness of the heavens, as I will now clearly demonstrate. There are in the heavens two points more important than all others, because on them, as on pivots, the celestial sphere revolves: these points are called, one the arctic or north pole, the other the antarctic or south pole. Similarly you must fully realize that in this stone there are two points styled respectively the north pole and the south pole. If you are very careful, you can discover these two points in a general way. One method for doing so is the following: With an instrument with which crystals and other stones are rounded let a lodestone be made into a globe and then polished. A needle or an elongated piece of iron is then placed on top of the lodestone and a line is drawn in the direction of the needle or iron, thus dividing the stone into two equal parts. The needle is next placed on another part of the stone and a second median line drawn. If desired, this operation may be performed on many different parts, and undoubtedly all these lines will meet in two points just as all meridian or azimuth circles meet in the two opposite poles of the globe. One of these is the north pole, the other the south pole. Proof of this will be found in a subsequent chapter of this tract.

A second method for determining these important points is this: Note the place on the above-mentioned spherical lodestone where the point of the needle clings most frequently and most strongly; for this will be one of the poles as discovered by the previous method. In order to determine this point exactly, break off a small piece of the needle or iron so as to obtain a fragment about the length of two fingernails; then put it on the spot which was found to be the pole by the former operation. If the fragment stands perpendicular to the stone, then that is, unquestionably, the pole sought; if not, then move the iron fragment about until it becomes so; mark this point carefully; on the opposite end another point may be found in a similar manner. If all this has been done rightly, and if the stone is homogeneous throughout and a choice specimen, these two points will be diametrically opposite, like the poles of a sphere.

CHAPTER V
HOW TO DISCOVER THE POLES OF A LODESTONE AND HOW TO TELL WHICH IS NORTH AND WHICH SOUTH

The poles of a lodestone having been located in a general way, you will determine which is north and which south in the following manner: Take a wooden vessel rounded like a platter or dish, and in it place the stone in such a way that the two poles will be equidistant from the edge of the vessel; then place the dish in another and larger vessel full of water, so that the stone in the first-mentioned dish may be like a sailor in a boat. The second vessel should be of considerable size so that the first may resemble a ship floating in a river or on the sea. I insist upon the larger size of the second vessel in order that the natural tendency of the lodestone may not be impeded by contact of one vessel against the sides of the other. When the stone has been thus placed, it will turn the dish round until the north pole lies in the direction of the north pole of the heavens, and the south pole of the stone points to the south pole of the heavens. Even if the stone be moved a thousand times away from its position, it will return thereto a thousand times, as by natural instinct. Since the north and south parts of the heavens are known, these same points will then be easily recognized in the stone because each part of the lodestone will turn to the corresponding one of the heavens.

CHAPTER VI
HOW ONE LODESTONE ATTRACTS ANOTHER

When you have discovered the north and the south pole in your lodestone, mark them both carefully, so that by means of these indentations they may be distinguished whenever necessary. Should you wish to see how one lodestone attracts another, then, with two lodestones selected and prepared as mentioned in the preceding chapter, proceed as follows: Place one in its dish that it may float about as a sailor in a skiff, and let its poles which have already been determined be equidistant from the horizon, i. e., from the edge of the vessel. Taking the other stone in your hand, approach its north pole to the south pole of the lodestone floating in the vessel; the latter will follow the stone in your hand as if longing to cling to it. If, conversely, you bring the south end of the lodestone in your hand toward the north end of the floating lodestone, the same phenomenon will occur; namely, the floating lodestone will follow the one in your hand. Know then that this is the law: the north pole of one lodestone attracts the south pole of another, while the south pole attracts the north. Should you proceed otherwise and bring the north pole of one near the north pole of another, the one you hold in your hand will seem to put the floating one to flight. If the south pole of one is brought near the south pole of another, the same will happen. This is because the north pole of one seeks the south pole of the other, and therefore repels the north pole. A proof of this is that finally the north pole becomes united with the south pole. Likewise if the south pole is stretched out towards the south pole of the floating lodestone, you will observe the latter to be repelled, which does not occur, as said before, when the north pole is extended towards the south. Hence the silliness of certain persons is manifest, who claim that just as scammony attracts jaundice on account of a similarity between them, so one lodestone attracts another even more strongly than it does iron, a fact which they suppose to be false although really true as shown by experiment.

CHAPTER VII
HOW IRON TOUCHED BY A LODESTONE TURNS TOWARDS THE POLES OF THE WORLD

It is well known to all who have made the experiment, that when an elongated piece of iron has touched a lodestone and is then fastened to a light block of wood or to a straw and made float on water, one end will turn to the star which has been called the Sailor’s star because it is near the pole; the truth is, however, that it does not point to the star but to the pole itself. A proof of this will be furnished in a following chapter. The other end of the iron will point in an opposite direction. But as to which end of the iron will turn towards the north and which to the south, you will observe that that part of the iron which has touched the south pole of the lodestone will point to the north and conversely, that part which had been in contact with the north pole will turn to the south. Though this appears marvelous to the uninitiated, yet it is known with certainty to those who have tried the experiment.

CHAPTER VIII
HOW A LODESTONE ATTRACTS IRON

If you wish the stone, according to its natural desire, to attract iron, proceed as follows: Mark the north end of the iron and towards this end approach the south pole of the stone, when it will be found to follow the latter. Or, on the contrary, to the south part of the iron present the north pole of the stone and the latter will attract it without any difficulty. Should you, however, do the opposite, namely, if you bring the north end of the stone towards the north pole of the iron, you will notice the iron turn round until its south pole unites with the north end of the lodestone. The same thing will occur when the south end of the lodestone is brought near the south pole of the iron. Should force be exerted at either pole, so that when the south pole of the iron is made touch the south end of the stone, then the virtue in the iron will be easily altered in such a manner that what was before the south end will now become the north and conversely. The cause is that the last impression acts, confounds, or counteracts and alters the force of the original movement.

CHAPTER IX
WHY THE NORTH POLE OF ONE LODESTONE ATTRACTS THE SOUTH POLE OF ANOTHER AND VICE VERSA

As already stated, the north pole of one lodestone attracts the south pole of another and conversely; in this case the virtue of the stronger becomes active, whilst that of the weaker becomes obedient or passive. I consider the following to be the cause of this phenomenon: the active agent requires a passive subject, not merely to be joined to it, but also to be united with it, so that the two make but one by nature. In the case of this wonderful lodestone this may be shown in the following manner: Take a lodestone which you may call A D, in which A is the north pole and D the south; cut this stone into two parts, so that you may have two distinct stones; place the stone having the pole A so that it may float on water and you will observe that A turns towards the north as before; the breaking did not destroy the properties of the parts of the stone, since it is homogeneous; hence it follows that the part of the stone at the point of fracture, which may be marked B, must be a south pole; this broken part of which we are now speaking may be called A B. The other, which contains D, should then be placed so as to float on water, when you will see D point towards the south because it is a south pole; but the other end at the point of fracture, lettered C, will be a north pole; this stone may now be named C D. If we consider the first stone as the active agent, then the second, or C D, will be the passive subject. You will also notice that the ends of the two stones which before their separation were together, after breaking will become one a north pole and the other a south pole. If now these same broken portions are brought near each other, one will attract the other, so that they will again be joined at the points B and C, where the fracture occurred. Thus, by natural instinct, one single stone will be formed as before. This may be demonstrated fully by cementing the parts together, when the same effects will be produced as before the stone was broken. As you will perceive from this experiment, the active agent desires to become one with the passive subject because of the similarity that exists between them. Hence C, being a north pole, must be brought close to B, so that the agent and its subject may form one and the same straight line in the order A B, C D and B and C being at the same point. In this union the identity of the extreme parts is retained and preserved just as they were at first; for A is the north pole in the entire line as it was in the divided one; so also D is the south pole as it was in the divided passive subject, but B and C have been made effectually into one. In the same way it happens that if A be joined to D so as to make the two lines one, in virtue of this union due to attraction in the order C D A B, then A and D will constitute but one point, the identity of the extreme parts will remain unchanged just as they were before being brought together, for C is a north pole and B a south, as during their separation. If you proceed in a different fashion, this identity or similarity of parts will not be preserved; for you will perceive that if C, a north pole, be joined to A, a north pole, contrary to the demonstrated truth, and from these two lines a single one, B A C D, is formed, as D was a south pole before the parts were united, it is then necessary that the other extremity should be a north pole, and as B is a south pole, the identity of the parts of the former similarity is destroyed. If you make B the south pole as it was before they united, then D must become north, though it was south in the original stone; in this way neither the identity nor similarity of parts is preserved. It is becoming that when the two are united into one, they should bear the same likeness as the agent, otherwise nature would be called upon to do what is impossible. The same incongruity would occur if you were to join B with D so as to make the line A B D C, as is plain to any person who reflects a moment. Nature, therefore, aims at being and also at acting in the best manner possible; it selects the former motion and order rather than the second because the identity is better preserved. From all this it is evident why the north pole attracts the south and conversely, and also why the south pole does not attract the south pole and the north pole does not attract the north.

CHAPTER X
AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE NATURAL VIRTUE OF THE LODESTONE

Certain persons who were but poor investigators of nature held the opinion that the force with which a lodestone draws iron, is found in the mineral veins themselves from which the stone is obtained; whence they claim that the iron turns towards the poles of the earth, only because of the numerous iron mines found there. But such persons are ignorant of the fact that in many different parts of the globe the lodestone is found; from which it would follow that the iron needle should turn in different directions according to the locality; but this is contrary to experience. Secondly, these individuals do not seem to know that the places under the poles are uninhabitable because there one-half the year is day and the other half night. Hence it is most silly to imagine that the lodestone should come to us from such places. Since the lodestone points to the south as well as to the north, it is evident from the foregoing chapters that we must conclude that not only from the north pole but also from the south pole rather than from the veins of the mines virtue flows into the poles of the lodestone. This follows from the consideration that wherever a man may be, he finds the stone pointing to the heavens in accordance with the position of the meridian; but all meridians meet in the poles of the world; hence it is manifest that from the poles of the world, the poles of the lodestone receive their virtue. Another necessary consequence of this is that the needle does not point to the pole star, since the meridians do not intersect in that star but in the poles of the world. In every region, the pole star is always found outside the meridian except twice in each complete revolution of the heavens. From all these considerations, it is clear that the poles of the lodestone derive their virtue from the poles of the heavens. As regards the other parts of the stone, the right conclusion is, that they obtain their virtue from the other parts of the heavens, so that we may infer that not only the poles of the stone receive their virtue and influence from the poles of the world, but likewise also the other parts, or the entire stone from the entire heavens. You may test this in the following manner: A round lodestone on which the poles are marked is placed on two sharp styles as pivots having one pivot under each pole so that the lodestone may easily revolve on these pivots. Having done this, make sure that it is equally balanced and that it turns smoothly on the pivots. Repeat this several times at different hours of the day and always with the utmost care. Then place the stone with its axis in the meridian, the poles resting on the pivots. Let it be moved after the manner of bracelets so that the elevation and depression of the poles may equal the elevation and depressions of the poles of the heavens of the place in which you are experimenting. If now the stone be moved according to the motion of the heavens, you will be delighted in having discovered such a wonderful secret; but if not, ascribe the failure to your own lack of skill rather than to a defect in nature. Moreover, in this position I consider the strength of the lodestone to be best preserved. When it is placed differently, i. e., not in the meridian, I think its virtue is weakened or obscured rather than maintained. With such an instrument you will need no timepiece, for by it you can know the ascendant at any hour you please, as well as all other dispositions of the heavens which are sought for by astrologers.