On one point only does the Speculum appear more radical in its astrological theory than Albert elsewhere and more in accord with views expressed by Roger Bacon. We have heard Albert in his Summa deny that Christ was born under the influence of the stars, while Bacon was inclined to agree with the astrologers that He was, in so far as His birth was natural and His nature human. The writer of the Speculum cites Albumasar to the effect that the Virgin birth of Jesus Christ was prefigured in the sky,[2316] and regards this assertion as a notable confirmation of the true Faith, not that the Lord of all things was under the stars but that what God had decreed was signified by the stars. Thus there is after all perhaps no necessary conflict with Albert’s attitude in the Summa, since both Speculum and Summa deny that Christ is under the stars. However, the Speculum gives the impression that the birth of Christ was signified astrologically; the Summa, that it was signified miraculously. But neither does the Speculum quite agree with Bacon who suggests that Christ’s body was under the stars. And the fact that Bacon cites the same passage from Albumasar is of little value as a sign that he is the author of the Speculum, since the passage in Albumasar was a well-known one and is cited in such a vernacular work as The Romance of the Rose.[2317] Thus the astrological doctrine of the Speculum offers little or no reason for questioning the traditional ascription of that treatise to Albertus Magnus.
Attitude to magic of the Speculum and Albert.
We have next to inquire, does the attitude of the Speculum to other magic arts accord or conflict with that of Albert elsewhere? Our study of Albert’s attitude toward magic in his other works has made it abundantly evident that Mandonnet was mistaken in deeming him too hostile to such superstition to have written the Speculum. He is, on the contrary, too favorable, if anything, toward magic, to have been the author of that treatise. Indeed, it was to the Speculum astronomiae, which he accepted as a genuine work, that Peter of Prussia appealed in his effort to prove Albert’s hostility to necromancy and magic. Yet Mandonnet cites these very pages of Peter of Prussia in his effort to show that Albert was too hostile to occult arts to have written the Speculum! On the other hand, we saw that Albert’s attitude to magic varied somewhat in his different works, so it is no disproof of his authorship of the Speculum that it seems more hostile to magic than some of Albert’s utterances elsewhere. The occasion of writing the treatise is probably sufficient to explain this.
Of Bacon and the Speculum.
We have to admit, however, that Roger Bacon almost invariably spoke of “magic” unfavorably, whereas Albert a number of times used the word in a good or neutral sense. Thus there might seem to be some reason for ascribing the Speculum to Bacon for the exactly opposite reason to that advanced by Mandonnet, namely, that he displayed more hostility than Albert to magic. Also there is a certain resemblance between the attitude of the author of the Speculum toward books of necromancy and what we saw to be Bacon’s attitude toward books of magic in his De secretis operibus artis et naturae et de nullitate magiae. But there is also a difference, and when Mandonnet asserts, “Both authors reject books of magic,”[2318] he gives a false impression and overlooks an interesting point. For the De secretis operibus not only tries to distinguish between books of magic and others which are unjustly regarded as magical, it also is largely devoted to an attack upon “magic.” And such censure of magic is frequent in Bacon’s works. The Speculum, on the other hand, distinguishes between “necromantic” and “astronomical” works, and never mentions “magic.”
Significance of the failure to mention magic in the Speculum.
Is not this significant? Had Bacon written the Speculum, would he not have indulged in his usual censure of magicians and their follies? But if Albert wrote the Speculum, is it surprising that he maintains a discreet silence concerning that “magic” which he had coupled more than once with astronomy and had spoken of as a field bordering upon that of natural science? In undertaking the defense of “astronomical images” against those who looked at them askance, would he deem it prudent to repeat his assertion in the treatise on minerals that to comprehend astronomical images one must go to “the science of the magi”? In that treatise on minerals, it will be recalled, he had been bold enough to propose to discuss the doctrine of images, even if it was closely associated with necromancy, and he twice associated in the same phrase “astronomy and magic and the necromantic sciences.” But then he was writing for his pupils and associates who were eager to learn of the images engraved on gems, even if they were connected with necromancy. In the Speculum he writes for a different audience, or for an audience in a different mood,—men inclined to condemn books of astronomy and astrology along with books of necromancy. Where before he admitted an association, he now has to make a contrast and to give the impression of a great gulf fixed between necromancy and astronomy. To save astrology from hostile attack he gives up necromancy, and probably willingly and sincerely enough, since his allusions to it even in the treatise on minerals were rather unfavorable. Is it strange that he says nothing of the connecting link, “magic,” which he perhaps does not wish to condemn, yet does not feel it expedient to defend? May it not be one of those reasons, which the author of the Speculum says he will not disclose, why even the books of necromancy had better be preserved rather than destroyed? Thus the failure of the author of the Speculum astronomiae to use the word “magic” does not sound in the least like Roger Bacon, but does seem to be just about what one might expect in the circumstances from Albert, whose mentions moreover of “magic” in his other works are brief and occasional.
Similarity of its citations to those in other works of Albert.
Finally we may note a positive bit of evidence in favor of the Albertine authorship of the Speculum which has hitherto escaped notice. His other writings mention some of the very books of necromancy which the Speculum lists and condemns. In his theological Summa, when denouncing magic as concerned with evil spirits, he supported his view not merely by the authority of the saints and common report, but also by “the teachings of that branch of necromancy” which treats of “images and rings and mirrors of Venus and seals of demons,” and is expounded in the writings of Achot of Greece, Grema of Babylon, Hermes the Egyptian, and other treatises which he mentions.[2319] Again in the treatise on minerals, in investigating why gems are engraved with images, he cites as authorities Magor Graecus, Germa Babylonicus, and Hermes the Egyptian.[2320] The Speculum also especially mentions in its list of necromantic books on images Toz Graeci, Germath of Babylon, Belenus, and Hermes.[2321] Leaving Belenus out of account, there can be little doubt that the other three names are identical with the two preceding trios. One also is impelled to believe that the same Albert wrote Summa, Mineralium, and Speculum, and it may be added that the variation in the attitude towards images and necromancy in the latter two is no greater than the difference in the attitude towards magic which we observed between the first two of those treatises. This too makes it plausible that Albert should have adopted a third attitude of silence concerning “magic” in the Speculum.
Is the Speculum astronomiae to be connected with the condemnation of 1277?