Because the public good requires that you should be spared as much as possible from all trouble, I have subjoined to this epistle the contents of each of the following books, and have used my best endeavors to prevent your being obliged to read them all through. And this, which was done for your benefit, will also serve the same purpose for others, so that any one may search for what he wishes, and may know where to find it. This has been already done among us by Valerius Soranus, in his work which he entitled “On Mysteries.”
The 1st book is the Preface of the Work, dedicated to Titus Vespasian Cæsar.
The 2d is on the World, the Elements, and the Heavenly Bodies.
The 3d, 4th, 5th and 6th books are on Geography, in which is contained an account of the situation of the different countries, the inhabitants, the seas, towns, harbors, mountains, rivers, and dimensions, and the various tribes, some of which still exist while others have disappeared.
The 7th is on Man, and the Inventions of Man.
The 8th on the various kinds of Land Animals.
The 9th on Aquatic Animals.
The 10th on the various kinds of Birds.
The 11th on Insects.
The 12th on Odoriferous Plants.
The 13th on Exotic Trees.
The 14th on Vines.
The 15th on Fruit Trees.
The 16th on Forest Trees.
The 17th on Plants raised in nurseries or gardens.
The 18th on the nature of Fruits and the Cerealia, and the pursuits of the Husbandman.
The 19th on Flax, Broom,[8] and Gardening.
The 20th on the Cultivated Plants that are proper for food and for medicine.
The 21st on Flowers and Plants that are used for making Garlands.
The 22d on Garlands, and Medicines made from Plants.
The 23d on Medicines made from Wine and from cultivated Trees.
The 24th on Medicines made from Forest Trees.
The 25th on Medicines made from Wild Plants.
The 26th on New Diseases, and Medicines made, for certain Diseases, from Plants.
The 27th on some other Plants and Medicines.
The 28th on Medicines procured from Man and from large Animals.
The 29th on Medical Authors, and on Medicines from other Animals.
The 30th on Magic, and Medicines for certain parts of the Body.
The 31st on Medicines from Aquatic Animals.
The 32d on the other properties of Aquatic Animals.
The 33d on Gold and Silver.
The 34th on Copper and Lead, and the workers of Copper.
The 35th on Painting, Colors, and Painters.
The 36th on Marbles and Stones.
The 37th on Gems.
Book II.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE WORLD AND THE ELEMENTS.
CHAPTER I.
THE CHARACTER AND FORM OF THE WORLD.
The world,[9] and whatever that be which we otherwise call the heavens, by the vault of which all things are enclosed, we must conceive to be a Deity, to be eternal, without bounds, neither created, nor subject, at any time, to destruction. To inquire what is beyond it is no concern of man, nor can the human mind form any conjecture respecting it. It is sacred, eternal, and without bounds, all in all; indeed including everything in itself; finite, yet like what is infinite; the most certain of all things, yet like what is uncertain, externally and internally embracing all things in itself; it is the work of nature, and itself constitutes nature.
To go out of this world and to search for what is beyond it would be madness, perfect madness, as if one who is ignorant of his own dimensions could ascertain the measure of anything else, or as if the human mind could see what the world itself cannot contain.
That the universe has the form of a perfect globe we learn from the name which has been uniformly given to it, as well as from numerous natural arguments. For not only does a figure of this kind return everywhere into itself[10] and sustain itself, also including itself, requiring no adjustments, not sensible of either end or beginning in any of its parts, and is best fitted for that motion, with which, as will appear hereafter, it is continually turning round; but still more, because we perceive it, by the evidence of the sight, to be, in every part, convex and central, which could not be the case were it of any other figure.
The rising and the setting of the sun clearly prove, that this globe is carried round in the space of twenty-four hours, in an eternal and never-ceasing circuit, and with incredible swiftness. I am not able to say, whether the sound caused by the whirling about of so great a mass be excessive, and, therefore, far beyond what our ears can perceive, nor, indeed, whether the resounding of so many stars, all carried along at the same time and revolving in their orbits, may not produce a kind of delightful harmony of incredible sweetness.[11] To us, who are in the interior, the world appears to glide silently along, both by day and by night.
Various circumstances in nature prove to us, that there are impressed on the heavens innumerable figures of animals and of all kinds of objects, and that its surface is not perfectly polished like the eggs of birds, as some celebrated authors assert. This is evident to the eye; for, in one part, we have the figure of a wain, in others of a bear, of a bull, and of a letter;[12] while, in the middle of them, over our heads, there is a white circle.
With respect to the name, I am influenced by the unanimous opinions of all nations. For what the Greeks, from its being ornamented, have termed κοσμος, we, from its perfect and complete elegance, have termed mundus. The name cœlum, no doubt, refers to its being engraved, as it were, with the stars, as Varro suggests. In confirmation of this idea we may adduce the Zodiac, in which are twelve figures of animals; through them it is that the sun has continued his course for so many ages.