A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 2 (of 2) / During the First Thirteen Centuries of Our Era

by Lynn Thorndike

CHAPTER LIII

THOMAS OF CANTIMPRÉ

De natura rerum; date, authorship, and relation to similar works—Life of Thomas—Character of the De natura rerum—Plan and contents—Chief authorities—Embodiment of long extracts—Other citations—Credulous attitude—Very uncritical character of the Bonum universale de apibus—A chapter on the lion—Different kinds of lions: their generation—Disposition and behavior—Fear inspired and felt by lions—Their diet, medicine, and mode of fighting—Medical virtues of the lion’s carcass—Medieval and modern encyclopedias compared—Examples of the zoology of the Experimenter—Fish, worms, and toads—Solomon’s experiment in worms—Trees—Marvelous virtues of stones—An adamantine mariner’s compass—The mariner’s compass and magic—Occult virtues of sculptured gems—Thetel on images on stones—Zahel or Zaël the Israelite—Consecration of gems—The seven metals: modern plumbing—The seven regions of the air—Astrological—Elements and spirits—Other works incorrectly ascribed to Thomas of Cantimpré—Appendix I. The Manuscripts of the De natura rerum—Appendix II. Some Manuscripts of the Treatise of Thetel on Seals.

De natura rerum; Date, authorship, and relation to similar works.

We now approach the consideration of two works with titles similar to Alexander Neckam’s On the Natures of Things, namely, Thomas of Cantimpré’s On the Nature of Things[1254] and Bartholomew of England’s On the Properties of Things. These two works are much longer and more elaborate than Neckam’s, containing each nineteen books, whereas of his five books only two really dealt with the natures of things, and they lead up to the later and still better known natural encyclopedia of Vincent of Beauvais. Thomas and Bartholomew were contemporaries and it is difficult to say whose book was finished or appeared first but we shall consider Thomas first. As he says that he spent fourteen or fifteen years in collecting his material, he perhaps began to write first and his work seems to reflect a somewhat less developed state of learning. Thomas is later than Michael Scot whom he cites, while an allusion to Jacques de Vitry as the most recent of his authorities and as now bishop of Tusculum and a cardinal indicates that the work was finished between 1228 and 1244. On the whole Thomas and Bartholomew seem to have compiled their works independently, employing different general plans, emphasizing rather different fields, and using somewhat different authorities. Possibly, therefore, the two works may have been completed almost simultaneously, and one wonders whether they may not have represented rival ventures of the two friar orders. Bormans and Rose[1255] after him have dwelt on the use made of Thomas’s compilation by his fellow Dominicans, Vincent of Beauvais and Albertus Magnus, but I have little doubt that most of his sources were known to them directly. The De natura rerum remained long in use; an official price was fixed for it at the University of Paris in the reign of Philip the Fair;[1256] and the manuscripts of it are numerous and widespread, but as yet often unidentified because in the manuscripts themselves it is either anonymous or ascribed to Albertus Magnus.[1257] This attribution to Albert is found even in a manuscript of the thirteenth century, while “Albert in the book De naturis rerum,” is cited in the Thesaurus pauperum[1258] by Petrus Hispanus, a work written at some time before 1277 when its author died as Pope John XXI. But Thomas himself speaks in the Bonum universale de apibus[1259] of the De natura rerum as an earlier work of his, which seems decisive, and he is also credited with the authorship of both these works in the fourteenth century Dominican bibliography. A critical edition of the De natura rerum would be a valuable contribution to the study of medieval learning.

Life of Thomas.

The date of the birth of Thomas in Brabant has not been fixed but seems to lie between the years 1186 and 1210 and probably is close to the latter date. He attended the episcopal school at Liège for eleven years and entered the Dominican order in 1232. He states that he was in Paris in 1238 when William of Auvergne as bishop of that city called a meeting of all the masters in the chapter house of the Friars Preachers to consider the abuse of plurality of benefices.[1260] In 1246 he became subprior and lector of the Dominicans at Louvain. Kaufmann placed the date of his death between 1263 and 1293, but if the date 1276 mentioned in his Bonum universale de apibus is correct,[1261] he was alive then. In that work he seems to refer to Aquinas and Albertus Magnus as both still living,[1262] but the former had already completed his studies with Albert and become a professor of theology himself,[1263] while Albert is spoken of as if an old man.[1264] Thomas says that he was an attendant upon his lectures “for a long while” when he occupied the chair of theology. It does not seem, however, that this passage implies any very close relation of discipleship between Thomas and Albert.

Character of the De natura rerum.

The De natura rerum is professedly a handy compilation made from numerous other writings, as Thomas states both in his preface and conclusion. Stimulated by the remark in Augustine’s Christian Doctrine that it would be a splendid achievement if someone should collect in one volume data concerning the natures of things and especially of animals, Thomas has spared neither labor, solicitude, nor expense toward that end and has spent fourteen or fifteen years in collecting material “scattered widely over the world in the diverse writings” of many philosophers and authors. He has not been satisfied to pursue his investigations merely in Gaul and Germany, although books abound in those countries, but has gone beyond the sea and collected the books published in England on nature, and has made excerpts from all sources. He asks indulgence of his readers if he has omitted anything that should be included, reminding them how great a task it is for one man to read and digest all the varied and scattered works of the philosophers. Nevertheless he feels that “there will scarcely be found among the Latins so much and so varied material compressed into a single volume.”[1265] Thomas does not directly state as his aim, although it is perhaps involved in his citation of Augustine, the elucidation of the properties of things mentioned in the Bible, as we shall find that Bartholomew of England does. But he expresses a hope that arguments for the Faith and illustrations serviceable in sermons may be derived from his work, and there are a number of little books in existence in manuscript which seem to be extracts from the works of Thomas or Bartholomew intended for pulpit use.[1266] Thomas will sometimes, moreover, like Alexander Neckam, explain the allegorical or moral significance of natural phenomena, “but not continually, because we have tried to avoid prolixity.” As a matter of fact, it is rarely that he does so,[1267] although the amount of allegory or moralizing varies somewhat in different manuscripts. These also differ as to the fulness of the text generally and there are numerous minor differences, certain passages being abbreviated or entirely omitted in some manuscripts. Copies have also been discovered of a second or revised edition in which a twentieth book has been added.[1268]

Plan and contents.

The manuscripts also differ in their arrangement of the work, but as Thomas supplies us with a table of contents, there can be no doubt as to the original and correct order. He begins with the parts of the human body, devoting a chapter to each member, its ills and their cure, and having considerable to say on the subject of obstetrics. His second book discusses the soul (anima). The brief third book treats of strange and monstrous races of men who are found chiefly in the orient but in some cases elsewhere, hermaphrodites, for instance, in France. Then come successive books on quadrupeds, birds, marine monsters, fish, serpents, and worms. These six books devoted to animal life other than man occupy considerably more than half of the entire work. Thomas turns next to the vegetable kingdom, devoting two books to trees, of which the second deals with aromatic and medicinal trees, and one book to herbs. After the brief thirteenth book on fountains and other bodies of water he comes to (14) precious stones, (15) the seven metals, (16) the seven regions of air, (17) the sphere and planets, (18) meteorology, and finally to the universe and four elements. These two topics of his nineteenth book are usually discussed near the start of medieval scientific treatises, and the reason for the order adopted by Thomas is not very evident, unless perhaps he at first intended to write about animals alone and then added further books on other subjects, or unless he decided to begin with man the microcosm and end with the mundus or macrocosm. If such was his plan, he does not seem to say so, and it is hardly surprising that liberties were taken with his order in some of the manuscripts, which begin with book sixteen and end with book fifteen, apparently in order to start with the heavens and elements and then consider the particular creatures of inferior creation.

Chief authorities.

As the work of Thomas is professedly a compilation, it is important to note his authorities. At the start he mentions those to whom he is most indebted: first, Aristotle, and then Pliny. Third comes the De mirabilibus (instead of memorabilibus) mundi of Solinus whom Thomas esteems both as a man of marvelous eloquence and as a diligent scrutinizer of the natures of things. Very different this from Albertus Magnus’ sceptical estimate of Solinus as a philosopher who told many lies, and yet there are modern scholars who contend that Albert took much of his natural science ready-made and without acknowledgment from the De natura rerum of his pupil[1269] Thomas. It will be noted that Thomas names his chief authorities in chronological order. Fourth comes Ambrose, to whose eloquent description of birds and beasts in the Hexaemeron Thomas finds it necessary, however, to make additions; and fifth, Isidore. Sixth, and most recent in time, is the Oriental History of Jacques de Vitry to whom Thomas “was intimately devoted.”[1270] Jacques had occupied several chapters of his Oriental History[1271] with the fountains, trees and herbs, animals, serpents, birds, and rare fish, precious stones and strange races of the orient, and had then added a briefer list to show that the west, too, was not without its marvels. Thomas also mentions two anonymous works, which he appears to cite chiefly concerning animals[1272] and whose titles he gives as Experimentator and Liber rerum. Thomas was probably correct in his surmise that Experimentator had been compiled in recent times and we shall meet citations of it in other authors of the thirteenth century. But the original texts of the Liber rerum and Experimentator do not seem to have survived.

Embodiment of long extracts.

Thomas mentions yet other authorities in his preface and even more in the course of his work. His method in using his sources varies. Sometimes he combines in one paragraph brief statements from a number of authorities bearing on the same topic. Again he may insert practically verbatim a long extract or complete treatment of a matter by some one author, or even an entire treatise such as the Letter of Alexander to Aristotle or Thetel’s discussion of seals in stones. Thus in his first book on the human body he uses a work supposed to have been written by Cleopatra to her daughter on the subject of gynecology, and inserts in condensed form John of Spain’s translation from the Arabic of the medical portion of The Secret of Secrets supposed to have been written by Aristotle to Alexander. His second book on the soul follows Augustine’s treatise De anima. His third book on strange and monstrous races of men includes also some account of the Gymnosophists and Brahmans and their verbal repartee or epistolary correspondence with Alexander of Macedon.

Other citations.

With some of the authors whom he names Thomas was almost surely not directly acquainted. Dorotheus the Athenian, Menander, and Mago, for instance, he mentions as “authorities according to Pliny.” He does not seem to make as much use of Galen as might be expected, were that author’s works already accessible in Latin translation; but he probably had the old Latin version of Alexander Tralles, to whom he probably refers as “Alexander medicus.” He probably also had seen Basil’s Hexaemeron in Latin translation, since he cites it as well as Ambrose a number of times, and also in the preface to his Bonum universale de apibus lists “the great Basil” together with Aristotle, Solinus, Pliny, Ambrose, and Jacques de Vitry as his authorities in the discussion of bees in the De natura rerum. Many other writers he has without much doubt read for himself: Boethius, Martianus Capella, and Rabanus of earlier medieval Latin writers; Platearius and Constantinus Africanus in medicine; Aldhelme[1273] and Physiologus on animals; of the Arabs Alfraganus, Albumasar, and perhaps Averroës. Michael Scot seems to be cited in some manuscripts and not in others.[1274] In treating of stones Thomas does not cite Marbod by name but states that he is using the metrical version of the account which Evax, king of Arabia, is said to have written for the emperor Nero. Thomas, however, adds statements from other authors on stones. Like Alexander Neckam Thomas seems to use the Natural Questions of Adelard of Bath without acknowledgment. In discussing herbs he asks the three opening questions of Adelard’s treatise and proceeds to solve them in words which are often identical. After this general introduction his chapters on particular herbs are almost invariably introduced by the formula, “As Platearius says.” Ferckel has pointed out that the greater part of three chapters in his first book on human anatomy is drawn from the Philosophia of William of Conches,[1275] and that the twentieth book, added in some manuscripts, is taken from the same work. Thus Thomas makes much use of comparatively recent authorities. He also tells us that he has not disdained to include some popular beliefs.

Credulous attitude.

Thomas of Cantimpré must be reckoned as one of the most credulous of our authors. In his books on animals he seems of the uncritical school of the marvelous of Solinus, Basil, Ambrose, the Physiologus, and Jacques de Vitry. Seldom does he question any statement that he finds in his authorities; indeed, he does not appear to possess the independent knowledge of animal life to enable him to do so. He does state that the power of the little echinus to stop ships has seemed incredible to many, but inasmuch as Ambrose, Jacques, Aristotle, Isidore, and Basil all assert it confidently, he does not see how there is any room left for doubt.[1276] The story of the beaver’s self-castration in order to escape its hunters is given without comment, and we are further told that the animal cannot live unless it keeps its tail in the water.[1277] Thomas tells us that Isidore held that the Sirens were really harlots who enticed men to moral ruin, but he adds that the more general opinion is that they are irrational marine monsters who still exist and he cites “those who testify that they have seen the Sirens themselves.” Their song is more like that of birds than it is like articulate speech. Sometimes, on the other hand, Thomas prefers a miraculous or supernatural to a natural explanation of a marvelous statement. He is not sure whether the onocentaur seen by St. Anthony in the desert was real or a deception of the devil, and he regards as not natural but a divine miracle the story that the Apostle Peter had shut up in a mountain near Rome a dragon which will live until the end of the world. He adds, however, the tale of the two dragons found alive under the tower from the History of the Britons. About all that can be said for Thomas on this score is that he does not appear to add many new marvels of his own to the incredible assertions of past writers.

Very uncritical character of the Bonum universale de apibus.

Thomas’s credulity seems to have increased with age, since his later Bonum universale de apibus,[1278] in which bees are a mere starting point for a disquisition on the qualities which bishops and other clergy should possess and the introduction of innumerable anecdotes, is a tissue of monkish tales and gossip, instances of special providence, apparitions of the dead and of demons, and other miracles and moralities, most of which are supposed to have occurred in Thomas’s own time and are recounted upon hearsay. Thus we read of a son who did not adequately support his aged father and was punished by a toad leaping onto his face and taking such a hold that it could not be removed but remained as a disfiguring growth. As a penance the son was sent by his bishop through the diocese as an example and warning to others. Or Thomas assures us that Albertus Magnus told him that at Paris the demon appeared to him in the form of a fellow friar in an effort to call him away from his studies, but departed by virtue of the sign of the cross. In short, the work is on the same order as the Dialogues of Gregory the Great.

A chapter on the lion.

Thomas’s treatment of animals in general and quadrupeds in particular can perhaps best be illustrated by a paraphrase of some one chapter entire, for which purpose I have selected that on the lion. It will be noted that there is no apparent logic in the order of the statements which I have had to divide into paragraphs rather arbitrarily. It has seemed fairer, however, to reproduce the order unchanged than to bring together scattered statements bearing on the same point. Many of Thomas’s statements are found also in Aristotle’s History of Animals,[1279] although Thomas’s citations would indicate that some items, at least, were derived by him from that source only indirectly.

Different kinds of lions: their generation.

The lion, as Jacques and Solinus state, is called the king of animals. There are three kinds of lions. Many are short and have curly manes but are weak and cowardly. Those generated by pards are ignoble and degenerate and have no manes. The larger ones with ordinary manes are noble and keen and without guile or suspicion. The lion’s brow and tail reveal his intentions. His virtue resides in his breast and forefoot and tail.[1280] And he is stout-hearted.[1281] He is so hot of nature that he is said to have sexual intercourse at all times.[1282] The lioness bears first five, then four, then three, then two cubs, then only one, after which she becomes sterile.[1283] Aristotle accounts for this by the great heat attending the generation of lions who have solider and stronger bodies for their size than other animals. The lioness has only two tits and not corresponding in size to her body. This is not because she has so few cubs but because she eats only flesh which does not readily turn into milk.

Disposition and behavior.

Solinus says that the lion is not easily enraged, but when anyone does provoke him he shows no mercy to his adversary. On the other hand, he spares the prostrate captive and allows those whom he meets by chance to proceed on their way.[1284] He is fiercer to men than to women, and to women who have had intercourse with men than to virgins and children. Adelinus says that he sleeps with his eyes open. Pliny says that as he walks he obliterates his tracks with his tail in order to foil his hunters. Lions do not fight among themselves.[1285] Solinus[1286] says that if hunted in the open, the lion will wait for the dogs and dissimulate his fear, but in the woods, where no one can see his cowardice, will take to his heels. When pursuing his prey he leaps into the air in order to see farther, but not when he is fleeing. Aristotle states that the lion and Arabian camel are the only quadrupeds to move the right foot first. In making water the lion lifts his foot like a dog. When the lion opens his mouth a strong odor exudes. “The lion, very swift by fortitude, is somewhat heavy of nature because of its slow digestion.” When running, it cannot come to a stop the instant it wishes.

Fear inspired and felt by lions.

When about to drink, the lion draws a wide circle with its tail and roars so that the other animals dare not cross this line.[1287] Ambrose tells a marvel to the effect that many animals which are swift enough to evade the lion’s onset are paralyzed by the sound of its roar. As king of beasts the lion scorns the society of the other animals and will not touch meat which is a day old.[1288] But it fears a scorpion. According to the Liber rerum, some say that the lion is consumed internally by its own fury and fiery blood, even when it does not have the appearance of being angry. Solinus says that a lion in captivity fears the sound of wheels but dreads a fire still more. Jacques says that it is also afraid of a white cock. Pliny says that a captive lion can be tamed by seeing its cub whipped or by watching a dog obey a man.

Their diet, medicine, and mode of fighting.

Lions are never found overladen with fat. They take food or drink on alternate days, and fast if their digestion fails to operate. If they devour too much flesh, they put their claws into their mouths and extract it. The lion has a natural enmity for the wild ass. A sick lion eats an ape, as Ambrose says, or drains a dog’s blood. Pliny tells of a Syracusan whom a lion persistently followed until he extracted a splinter from its foot. Another lion insisted on having a bone removed from its teeth. Some manuscripts[1289] here insert from Pliny and Solinus the tale of the wiles of the lioness to conceal her amours with the pard, and the assertion that a lion wags its tail only when in good humor. When a lion begins to move it beats the ground with its tail but as it increases its speed lashes its back. When wounded it always takes note of the man who inflicted the wound and goes for him. If a man has hurled missiles at it but failed to hit it, the lion merely knocks him down. Philosopher says that when fighting for its cubs the lion keeps its gaze fixed on the ground so as not to be terrified by the spears of the hunters.

Medical virtues of the lion’s carcass.

Pliny recommends eating the flesh and heart of a lion to persons afflicted with colds. The lion’s bones are so hard that they strike fire like flint. The hollow in its bones is very small and rarely contains any marrow, and then only in the hip bones, as Experimenter[1290] says. Lion’s fat is an antidote for poisons, and a man anointed with it and wine puts to flight all beasts and snakes. It is hotter than the fat of any other quadruped. The lion is almost always feverish, and that with quartan fever. The effect of its roar upon other beasts is again mentioned. When crossing hard or stony ground the lion spares its claws since they are its weapons. Pliny asserts that lion fat with oil of roses keeps the face white and free from blotches. The neck bone of the lion is continuous and the flesh there cartilaginous like a muscle, so that it cannot turn its neck, a disability which some, the Liber rerum states, ascribe incorrectly to indignation or stolidity on the lion’s part. Aristotle says that the internal organs and teeth of a lion are like those of a dog.

Medieval and modern encyclopedias compared.

After this account in the De natura rerum the article on the lion in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica will be found rather dull reading and scanty as concerns the behavior of lions as well as the medicinal properties of their carcasses. Almost all of antiquity’s interesting assertions concerning lions are omitted, no doubt as false, but little of interest is supplied in their place. We are told a number of things that the lion will not do: he will not climb, he will not take more than three bounds after his prey. But even Thomas does not say that a lion ever climbs; the notion does not seem even to have occurred to him.[1291] Nor does Thomas assert that all lions are brave or noble or magnanimous. On the whole, the lion does not seem a subject upon which modern science has added vastly to our knowledge. There were far more lions in existence in antiquity, and men were more interested in them then, and thought at least that they knew more about them.

Examples of the zoology of the Experimenter.

Some notion of the work ascribed by Thomas to Experimentator may be gained from Thomas’s citations of it in his chapter on the wolf. Experimenter explains the fact stated by Ambrose, that a man who is seen first by a wolf cannot speak, by arguing that the rays from the wolf’s eyes dry up the spiritus of human vision which in its turn dries up the human spiritus generally. Thereby the wind-pipes are dried up and in consequence the throat so that man cannot speak. Experimenter states further that the wolf collects willow leaves in his mouth and makes a pile of them under which he hides in order to catch goats. And when walking over dry leaves he licks his paws so that the dogs will not hear him. An insulting reflection upon the canine sense of smell!

Fish, worms, and toads.

We will pass over Thomas’s books on birds, marine monsters, fish, and serpents, except to note in passing that Delisle credited him with supplying some new information concerning the medieval herring fisheries,[1292] and come to his separate treatment of “worms.” Those with only two or four feet have a little blood, but those with more feet than four are bloodless, because the blood is exhausted in providing nutrition for so many feet and because the motion of so many feet annihilates the blood. Many worms begin and end their life in the course of a summer, since they are born rather from corruption than from seed. Earthworms in particular are generated from pure and unadulterated earth with no admixture of semen, and so furnish illustration and proof of the virgin birth of Christ. In the opinion of the Liber rerum the toad is a worm. It is venomous and has a pestilential glance. It feeds on earth, eating as much as it can clutch in its forefoot, in which it is emblematic of avarice and cupidity. In Gaul there are big toads or frogs with a voice like a horn, but they lose their voice if taken outside of that country, typifying clergymen who like Jonah will not preach outside of their own land. Some manuscripts add from “Alexander”[1293] that toads are fond of the plant salvia and that it is sometimes poisoned by contact with them. Hence it is advised to touch a patch of salvia with rue, the dew from which is deadly to toads. A stone found in the head of a toad, if worn by a man, is an amulet against poison. Several toads can be generated from the ashes of a toad.

Solomon’s experiment in worms.

In planning to build a temple of fine marbles Solomon found embarrassing the prohibition in the Mosaic law forbidding one to cut stones for the altar of the Lord with iron. But then he sought by an experiment in worms what the art of man knew not. He shut up the fledglings of an ostrich in a glass vase, so that the mother bird could see them but could not get at them to feed them. The ostrich thereupon flew (?) off to the desert and came back with a worm. It then broke the glass vase by smearing it with the blood of this worm. Solomon found this worm, called Thamur or the worm of Solomon, equally efficacious in cutting marble.

Trees.

In speaking of trees most manuscripts[1294] tell of an oak under which Abraham dwelt and which lasted until Constantine’s time. The trees in the Garden of Eden or terrestrial paradise are also discussed, though of course no longer accessible. Josephus is cited concerning trees near the Red Sea and apples of Sodom. Thomas thinks that the Sun-tree and Moon-tree mentioned in Alexander’s letter to Aristotle had been referred to much earlier in the benediction of Joseph in Deuteronomy. As for the responses which these trees are said to have given Alexander, Thomas has little doubt that this was the work of demons, although some contend that it was done by divine permission through ministering angels.

Marvelous virtues of stones.

Like Marbod, Thomas points out that, while plants and fruits receive their virtues “through the medium of the operations of nature,” no excess of cold or heat can be observed in stones to account for their miraculous powers, such as conferring invisibility, and that consequently their virtues must come direct from God. He alludes to the belief that Solomon imprisoned demons beneath the gems in rings, and cites the fifteenth book of The City of God for the statement that demons are attracted by various stones, herbs, woods, animals, and incantations.

An adamantine mariner’s compass.

While Thomas’s exposition of the virtues of gems is largely based upon Marbod, in discussing adamas or adamant he introduces a description of the mariner’s compass, concerning which Marbod is silent and which had probably not been invented or introduced in western Europe that early, although Neckam of course alludes to it before Thomas. After speaking of a variety of adamant which can be broken without resort to goat’s blood but which will attract iron even away from the magnet, Thomas adds that it also betrays the location of the star of the sea which is called Maria. When sailors cannot direct their course to port amid obscure mists, they take a needle and, after rubbing its point on adamant, fasten it transversely on a small stick or straw and place it in a vessel full of water. Then by carrying some adamant around the vessel they start the needle rotating. Then the stone is suddenly withdrawn and presently the point of the needle comes to rest pointing towards the star in question.[1295]

The mariner’s compass and magic.

Having concluded this description of a mariner’s compass, Thomas again follows the poem of Marbod and goes on to say that the adamant is also said to be potent in magic arts, to make its bearer brave against the enemy, to repel vain dreams and poison, and to benefit lunatics and demoniacs. I mention this accidental juxtaposition of the mariner’s compass and magic because, as we shall find in the case of Roger Bacon, it has often been stated that those in possession of the secret of the mariner’s compass were long afraid to reveal it for fear of being suspected of magic, or that sailors were at first afraid to employ the new device for the same reason. This passage in the De natura rerum is as far as I know the only one in the sources that might even seem to suggest such a connection, but Thomas does not really connect the compass and magic at all. Later in the same book, in discussing the magnet, he says nothing of the compass, although repeating the usual statements that the magnet attracts iron, is used in magic, and has the occult property of revealing an unchaste wife.

Occult virtues of sculptured gems.

After completing his account of the occult virtues of gems in their natural state, Thomas goes on to discuss the sculpture of gems and the additional virtues which they thereby acquire, a subject on which Marbod had not touched. Thomas had already announced at the beginning of his book on stones:[1296] “Moreover, at the close of this book we have given certain opinions of the ancients which we think are neither to be credited in every respect nor denied in every respect, and in this we follow the glorious Augustine. The children of Israel are said to have carved certain gems in the desert, especially carnelians, and their work of sculpture is said to have been of such subtle skill that no one since has ever dared attempt an imitation of it. And there is no doubt but that figures and images of figures are engraved according to the efficacies of the virtues of gems.” Thomas also admits that the Israelites should have been adepts in such work, when he recalls the divine direction which they received in the case of the twelve gems in the breast-plate of the high priest. “Therefore it is evident that sculptures are not found on gems without good reason. On the other hand, I would not say that every such engraving is a token of mystic virtue.” Later, when he comes to “the relations of the ancient sculptors concerning the engraving of gems,” Thomas warns that, although the form of stones is to be honored for its virtue, “yet hope is not to be put in them but, according to what is written, in God alone from whom is derived the virtue of stones and the dignity of every creature.” The astrological character of such engraved images is made manifest by the connection of many of them with the signs of the zodiac.

Thetel on images on stones.

Thomas complains that the ancient authorities for such images and their virtues are often not cited, but he had found a treatise in which the images which the children of Israel were supposed to have engraved in the desert were recorded by a Jewish philosopher named Thetel or Techel.[1297] Of this treatise Thomas makes a Latin translation for his readers, cautioning them, however, that Thetel’s opinions “are not to be trusted on every point.” Thetel’s treatise, at least as it is reproduced by Thomas who, however, has perhaps already used parts of it in his preceding discussion, begins with the sentence: “When a jasper is found and on it a man with a shield about his neck or in his hand and a serpent beneath his feet, this has virtue against all enemies.” It ends with the sentence: “When there is found on a stone a foaming horse and above a man holding a scepter in his hand, this is good for those who have power over men.” These sentences perhaps sufficiently suggest the character of the work. It is also found separately in the manuscripts as early as the twelfth century.[1298] Some of these vary considerably from the text as given by Thomas. The popularity of the treatise is also attested by the allusions in its prefaces to spurious imitations of it.

Zahel or Zaël the Israelite.

This Thetel, Techel, or Cehel, with his seals of the children of Israel, is presumably no other than Zethel or Zachel or Zahel or Zaël, the Israelite or Ismaelite,[1299] some of whose astrological treatises appeared in early printed editions,[1300] and several of whose works are listed by Albertus Magnus in the Speculum astronomiae.[1301] This Sahl ben Bisr ben Habib lived until 823 with the governor of Chorasan and then became the astrologer of El-Hasan, vizier to the Caliph al-Mamun. He was highly esteemed by the Byzantines, who called him Σέχελ or τοῦ σοφωτάτου Ἰουδαίου τοῦ Σὰχλ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ Πέσρ.[1302] The translation of his works into Latin seems to have begun at an early date, as his Fatidica or Decrees of Fate was translated in 1138 by Hermann of Dalmatia,[1303] while our treatise on seals appears in a twelfth century manuscript.

Consecration of gems.

Thomas terminates his book on stones by instructions, quite in the tone of the blessed Hildegard, concerning the blessing of gems. As a result of Adam’s fall every creature was corrupted and lost some of its original virtue, and even such virtues as are left to gems are often further corrupted by the touch of impious and impure men. Hence, just as sinful men are renovated by baptism and penance, so gems can have some of their lost virtues restored by a ceremony of consecration and sanctification. They should be wrapped in linen, placed on the altar, and the priest, after saying mass and while still wearing his sacred robes, should offer this prayer:

“God, almighty Father, who showed Thy virtue to all through certain insensible creatures, who bade Thy servant Moses adorn himself among other holy vestments with twelve precious stones as a token of judgment, and also showed the Evangelist John the heavenly city of Jerusalem eternally constructed of the virtues which these same stones typify, we humbly beseech Thy Majesty to deign to consecrate and sanctify these stones by the sanctification and invocation of Thy Name, that they may be sanctified and consecrated, and may recover the efficacious virtues with which the experience of wise men proves Thee to have endowed them, so that whatever persons may wear them, may feel Thy virtue present through them and may deserve to receive the gifts of Thy grace and the protection of Thy virtue, through Jesus, Thy Son, in whom all sanctification consists, who lives with Thee, and reigns as God through infinite successions of cycles.”[1304]

The seven metals: modern plumbing.

In his book on the seven metals, namely, gold, electrum, silver, copper, lead, tin, and iron, Thomas alludes to transmutation in speaking of copper and cites a work of alchemy ascribed to Aristotle, The Light of Lights (De lumine luminum), for the assertion that the best gold is that made from a boy’s urine and brass. This statement is to be understood, however, only of the color of the gold and not of the substance. In his discussion of lead, tin, and iron Thomas cites no authorities except that once he remarks, “as the philosopher says.”[1305] Perhaps therefore we have here what is largely a contribution of his own. At any rate it seems to include the first mention of the invention of modern plumbing.[1306] Tin, Thomas tells us, rusts out easily if it lies long in water. Therefore the underground pipes of aqueducts have long been made of lead, but they used to be joined with tin, but in “modern times” human art has thought out a method of uniting them with hot molten lead. For while tin will not remain solid for long, “lead lasts forever underground.” Thomas goes on to say that lead has the peculiar property among the metals of always increasing in size. Like Hildegard, he also mentions steel, which he says is hardened by many tensions so that it surpasses iron in virtue. He further tells of an oriental iron[1307] which is very good for cutting and is fusible like copper or silver but not ductile like the iron in other parts of the world.

The seven regions of the air.

The discussion in the De natura rerum of the seven regions of the air and their humors, namely, dew, snow, hail, rain, “laudanum,” manna and honey, reminds one of Michael Scot’s treatment of the same subject,[1308] but seems to be drawn from a common source rather than directly copied from it. Thomas states that Aristotle has treated more fully of these humors in his Meteorology, but in reality Aristotle says nothing of the last three named in the Meteorology, although in the History of Animals he says that honey is distilled from the air by the stars. Thomas draws the same distinction as Michael Scot had made between natural honey and the artificial sort made by bees. He is willing to grant that the manna upon which the children of Israel lived was created in this region of the sky, although especially prepared for them by a divine miracle.

Astrological.

The astrological passages of the De natura rerum are neither striking nor novel. In his books on animals Thomas had stated that various animal substances such as the brains of wolves or the livers of mice vary in size with the waxing and waning of the moon. He denies that the planets possess sense or that their movements are voluntary, but he quotes Pliny’s statement that by the influence of Venus all things on earth are generated, and states the influence of each planet when it is in the ascendant. Under Mars men become choleric and bellicose. Jupiter is such a source of safety and good health that Martianus declared that were Jupiter the only planet, men would be immortal. Such, however, was not the Creator’s will. The word “Jupiter” is not without reason derived from iubens and pater, since during the ascension of this planet all terrestrial things are born. For unless seeds were severed from their beginnings by some occult virtue, they would always remain immovable in the state in which they were created. God accordingly put such power in the spheres of the stars and especially the planets that created things might obey his command to increase and multiply. They return, however, to the earth from which they came; the processes of nature are unceasingly repeated; and, as Solomon said, there is nothing new under the sun. Thomas therefore reaches the usual conclusion that except for human free will and special manifestations of divine will, all nature is placed by God under the rule of the stars. The influence of sun and moon is manifest, and “why should we not with entire reason believe the same of the other planets?”

Elements and spirits.

The nineteenth book opens with a discussion of the universe and creation and closes with a discussion of the four elements. Fire has eight effects expressed in the couplet:

Destruit, emollit, restringit, consolidatque;

Clarificat, terret, accendit, letificatque.

Thomas illustrates each of these effects by a verse of Scripture. Fire also has six properties, likewise expressed in a couplet:

Mobilis et siccus mundusque favilla tenetur;

Crescit et accendit[1309] sed aqua modica removetur.

Concerning these properties also Thomas quotes Scripture. He then treats briefly of that purest fire which is above the seven regions of the air. Demons dwell in the air “awaiting with torments the judgment day.”[1310] When they appear to men, they assume bodies from that part of the air which is densest and most mixed with the other three elements. But angels coming as messengers to mankind assume bodies in the region of pure fire extending from the sphere of the moon to the firmament.

Other works incorrectly ascribed to Thomas of Cantimpré.

In the life of Albertus Magnus written by Peter of Prussia toward the end of the fifteenth century[1311] it is stated on the authority of the chronicle of Brother Jacobus de Zuzato, master of theology, that Thomas of Cantimpré translated word for word from Greek into Latin “all the books of Aristotle in rational, natural, and moral philosophy and metaphysics which we now use in the schools,[1312] and this at the instance of Saint Thomas of Aquinas, for in Albert’s time all commonly used the old translation.”[1313] The task of translating Aristotle was scarcely one for which Thomas of Cantimpré was qualified, and his name almost never appears in the extant manuscripts of translations of Aristotle.[1314] Peter of Prussia and his source have probably confused William of Moerbeke with Thomas of Cantimpré, as they both came from Brabant, and their names are juxtaposed in a fourteenth century list of writings by Dominicans, where, however, William is said to have “translated all the books of natural and moral philosophy from Greek into Latin at the instance of brother Thomas.”[1315] Because of Thomas of Cantimpré’s chapters on gynecology, the De secretis mulierum usually ascribed to Albertus Magnus has sometimes been attributed to him, but Ferckel denies this.[1316]

[1254] Only extracts of the De natura rerum have been printed (by J. B. Pitra, Spicilegium Solesmense, III, and in HL and Ferckel as noted below). Some discussion of the MSS and a partial list of them will be found in Appendix I to this chapter. I have chiefly used MSS Royal 12-E-XVII, 13th century; Royal 12-F-VI, 14th century; Egerton 1984, 13th century, fols. 34-145; Arundel 323, 13th century, fols. 1-98; and Arundel 164, 15th century, at the British Museum; and BN 347B and 523A at Paris. As any topic to which a chapter is devoted can be found without much difficulty in these MSS, which are divided into books and chapters and equipped with tables of contents, I shall usually not take the time and space to make specific citations by folio in the ensuing chapter.

Of Thomas’s Bonum universale de apibus I have used the 1516 edition.

Some books and articles on Thomas and his natural science are: Bormans, “Thomas de Cantimpré indiqué comme une des sources où Albert le Grand et surtout Maerlant ont puisé les matériaux de leur écrits sur l’histoire naturelle”; in Bulletins de l’Acad. roy. des Sciences de Belgique, XIX, 132-59, Brussels, 1852.

Carus, Geschichte der Zoologie, Munich, 1872, pp. 211-33.

HL 30 (1888) 365-84, Delisle, “La Nature des Choses, par Thomas de Cantimpré,” supplementing and correcting the earlier account by Daunou in HL 19 (1838) 177-84, where the De natura rerum had been called an anonymous work known only from Vincent of Beauvais’ citation of it.

A. Kaufmann, Thomas von Cantimpré, Cologne, 1899, 137 pp., an unfinished work published posthumously without a projected section on Thomas’s natural science, which the author had scarcely begun.

Stadler, “Albertus Magnus, Thomas von Cantimpré, und Vincent von Beauvais,” in Natur und Kultur, IV, 86-90, Munich, 1906.

C. Ferckel, Die Gynäkologie des Thomas von Brabant, ausgewählte Kapitel aus Buch I de naturis rerum beendet um 1240, Munich, 1912 (in G. Klein, Alte Meister d. Medizin u. Naturkunde).

[1255] V. Rose (1875), pp. 335, 340.

[1256] HL 30: 380.

[1257] Sometimes the work concludes with the extraordinary Explicit, “the book of Lucius Annisius Seneca of Cordova, disciple of Fortinus the Stoic, De naturis rerum,” as in Arundel 323.

[1258] III, 16.

[1259] In the preface.

[1260] Bonum universale de apibus, I, 19, vii.

[1261] Ibid., II, 57, lix. At I, 5, ii, 1252 is given as the date of the “recent” murder of a Dominican by heretics at Verona; at II, 57, iii, great winds and thunders are mentioned, which frightened men in Germany nearly out of their wits in 1256.

[1262] Aquinas died in 1274, Albert in 1280.

[1263] Bonum universale de apibus, I, 20, xi.

[1264] Ibid., II, 57, li, “venerabilis ille frater ordinis predicatorum magister Albertus.”

[1265] From this statement one might infer either that Bartholomew’s book was not yet published or that Thomas did not know of it.

[1266] HL 30: 384.

[1267] As HL 30: 374-5 has already noted.

[1268] HL 30: 383 mentions three such MSS; see also CLM 6908, where, however, the three last books are missing; Lincoln College 57, 13th century; CU Trinity 1058, 13th century; Wolfenbüttel 4499, 14th century.

[1269] As has been said above, it is doubtful if there was any close relation of master and disciple between Albert and Thomas.

[1270] HL 30: 377.

[1271] Jacobus de Vitriaco, libri duo ... prior Orientalis ... alter Occidentalis Historiae, 1597, Hist. Orient. caps. 85-92.

[1272] Experimentator, however, is also cited concerning the properties of air.

[1273] Thomas’s extracts from Adhelmus were printed by Pitra (1855) III, 425-7. Concerning St. Aldhelm see above, chapter 27, page 636.

[1274] Michael Scot is cited concerning silk-worms and gourds in Egerton 1984, fols. 100r and 121r, and, judging from the catalogue notice, also in Corpus Christi 221, but not in the corresponding passages in either Royal 12-E-XVII or 12-F-VI. The Histoire Littéraire, however, gives a citation of Michael’s translation of Aristotle’s History of Animals from three Paris MSS.

[1275] Ferckel (1912), p. 4, “und tatsächlich ist fast das ganze Kapitel De Impregnatione ein Teil des folgenden und die erste grössere Hälfte des Kapitels 73 fast wörtlich der Philosophia des Wilhelm von Conches entnommen.”

[1276] “Tanta fides in hoc auctorum est et tanta concordia ut nulli umquam de hoc dubitare relinquatur.”

[1277] In the condensed version of Egerton 1984 and Arundel 323 the castration story is omitted, but the other statement is made.

[1278] A fuller form of the title is: Liber apum aut de apibus mysticis sive de proprietatibus apum seu universale bonum tractans de prelatis et subditis ubique sparsim exemplis notabilibus.

[1279] See especially Historia animalium, VI, 31; VIII, 5, IX, 44.

[1280] In Egerton 1984 and Arundel 323 this statement occurs later and is ascribed to “Alexander”. These MSS add that in its fore-quarters the lion is of a hot nature, in the hind-quarters cold, like the Sun in Leo.

[1281] “Firmitas autem in pectore est.”

[1282] Egerton 1984, “to be feverish all the time.”

[1283] EB, 11th edition, “The number of cubs at a birth is from two to four, usually three.”

[1284] Ibid. “The lion ... seldom attacks his prey openly, unless compelled by extreme hunger.... He appears ... as a general rule only to kill when hungry or attacked, and not for the mere pleasure of killing, as with some other carnivorous animals.”

[1285] EB, “Though not strictly gregarious, lions appear to be sociable towards their own species.”

[1286] Also Aristotle, IX, 44.

[1287] EB, 11th edition, “On no occasions are their voices to be heard in such perfection, or so intensely powerful, as when two or three troops of strange lions approach a fountain to drink at the same time.”

[1288] Ibid. “He, moreover, by no means limits himself to animals of his own killing, but, according to Selous, often prefers eating game that has been killed by man, even when not very fresh, to taking the trouble to catch an animal himself.”

[1289] For instance, I found the passage in Royal 12-E-XVII, but not in Royal 12-F-VI.

[1290] Aristotle, instead of Experimentator, in Egerton 1984 and Arundel 323. Of the small amount of marrow in lions’ bones Aristotle treats twice, Historia animalium III, 7 and 20.

[1291] I am told, however, that in a recent moving picture lions are seen climbing trees to escape from dogs.

[1292] HL 30: 367.

[1293] Egerton 1984 and Arundel 323.

[1294] Omitted in the two MSS mentioned in the preceding note.

[1295] Compare the similar description of the magnetised needle in Neckam, De naturis rerum, II, 98 (RS 34: 183).

[1296] HL 30: 370 does not mention this introductory passage but quotes a somewhat similar passage which occurs later on. In fact, Thomas makes practically the same statement at least three times in the course of his fourteenth book.

[1297] “Rechel” in Royal 12-F-VI, fols. 106-7. Printed by Pitra (1855) III, 335-7, as “Cethel aut veterum Judaeorum Physiologorum de lapidibus sententiae.”

[1298] A further discussion of them will be found in Appendix II to this chapter.

[1299] Steinschneider (1906) 54-5, 103-4, fails to include our treatise on seals in his mentions of Zaël’s works; but in BN 16204, 13th century, the Seals of Theel is immediately preceded by two treatises of “Zehel the Israelite” on interrogations and elections.

[1300] In the astrological miscellany of Petrus Liechtenstein, Basel, 1551, fols. 122-7, Introductorium de principiis judiciorum; 127-38, De interrogationibus; 138-41, De electionibus; 141-2, De significatione temporis ad judicia. Steinschneider mentions only the Elections as printed in 1551, but also notes a 1533 edition of it and 1493 and 1519 editions of all these treatises.

[1301] In cap. 6, Introductio, “Scito quod signa sunt duodecim”; in cap. 9, Judicia Arabum, “Cum interrogatus fueris”; De significatione temporis, “Et scito quod tempore excitat motus”; in cap. 10, Liber electionis, “Omnes concordati sunt”; Quinquaginta praeceptorum, “Scito quod significata lunae.”

[1302] CCAG V, 3, 98-106.

[1303] Steinschneider (1905), p. 34, names Hermann the Dalmatian as translator and notes CUL 2022, 15th century, fols. 102r-115v, Hermanni secundi translatio. “Explicit Fatidica Ben Bixir Caldei....,” but the Gi in the Explicit of the following MS might stand for Gerardi and indicate Gerard of Cremona, who would, it is true, have been but twenty-four in 1138: Digby 114, 14th century, fols. 176-99, “Explicit fetidica Zael Banbinxeir Caldei. Translacio hec mam. Gi. astronomie libri anno Domini 1138, 3 kal. Octobris translatus (sic) est.”

Some other MSS which Steinschneider does not mention are: Harleian 80; Sloane 2030, 12-13th century, fols. 41-76; Amplon. Quarto 361, 14th century, fols. 96-113, Chehelbenbis Israelite; and perhaps Sloane 3847, 17th century, fols. 101-12, Zebel alias Zoel, liber imaginum, but more probably this is the Pseudo-Zebel found in Berlin 965, 16th century, fols. 1-63, and printed at Prague, 1592, “Incipit zebelis sapientis arabum de interpretatione diversorum eventuum secundum lunam in 12 signis zodiaci.”

[1304] This consecration of gems also follows Techel’s treatise on seals in Ashmole 1471, fol. 67v, while in Canon. Misc. 285 the work of Thetel is preceded at fol. 36v by De consecratione lapidum, and at fol. 38 by De modo praecipuos quosdam lapides consecrandi.

[1305] Or, in one MS, “sicut dicunt phisici.”

[1306] This fact has already been noted by the HL.

[1307] Called andena in one MS, and alidea in another.

[1308] See above, chapter 51, page 324.

[1309] Or perhaps “ascendit.”

[1310] Compare Bede, De natura rerum, cap. 25.

[1311] Petrus de Prussia, Vita B. Alberti Magni, (1621), p. 294.

[1312] Trithemius, De script, eccles. probably has Peter and Jacobus in mind when he states that some writers say that Thomas of Cantimpré knew Greek and translated the works of Aristotle used in the schools.

[1313] As Albert lived six years beyond Aquinas, this would indicate that his Aristotelian treatises were completed early in life. Yet some accuse him of using Thomas’s De natura rerum in these works.

[1314] Additional 17345, late 13th century, imperfect, ascribes the antiqua translatio of the fourteen books of Metaphysics to him, but is the only such MS I know of.

[1315] One wonders if this can mean Thomas Brabantinus, whose name immediately follows that of Wilhelmus Brabantinus in the list, rather than Thomas Aquinas.

[1316] Ferckel (1912), pp. 1-2, 10.