CHAPTER XL

The second Tome of the “ Historia ” — in three sections — 1619 — Title — Prefixed Thanksgiving to God — The Macrocosm — The Utterance of the Praise of God — The Picture of God — Microcosm, Picture of the Greater World — Three parts in each and correspondence of these — Body of man bears marks of the Triune — Numbers, their truth and vivific force — Point within the Circle — God’s form purely igneous — Temple of God the Universe — Septenary numbers — Fifth and tenth numbers — Divine Harmony — Devil, Author of Discord — The Anima in the Microcosm — The “ Round World ” — The Centre in Man — The Organs of Reproduction — Why is Man the Image of God ? — Harmony of Man’s Interior — Man a Geometrical Figure — Different parts refer to Angelic Powers — East — External Harmony of Man — Zodiacal Signs — Result of the Divine Voice in Man — The Pyramid — Prophecy — Demons in Human Bodies — Vision — Sleep — Formation of Man — Passion — Paracelsian — The three parts of man governed by the Trinity in God.
rjlHE Tomus Secundus” of the “ Historia” is divided into three tracts or sections, and bears the title, “ Tomus Secundus de Supernaturali, Naturali, Prseternaturali, et Contranaturali Microcosmi historia, in Tractatus tres distri- buta. Authore Roberto Find alias de Fluctibus Armigero et Medicinm Doctore Oxoniensi. Oppenhemii Impensis Johannis Theodori de Bry, typis Hieronymi Galeri, 1619.” This descriptive title is placed on an emblature. The lower half of the page contains a figure of the universe, in the centre circle of which stands the naked figure of a youth, extended so as to fill up the circle. This I’epresents the microcosm. Above this, and abutting on the title, is a glory enclosing a triangle, in the centre of which is a burning^ mass of white flame. Above the head of the figure are three circles, “ Mens, Intellectus, Ratio.” At the bottom
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smaller lines are enclosed by the circle, showing in each a name, ‘"Angeli, Archangeli, Seraphim,” &c. Inner circles contain Zodiacal figures, with lines directed to different parts of the human figure.
Prefixed to the whole work is a prayer of thanksgiving for kindness and mercy addressed to God, the greatest and the best, the incomprehensible, the creator of man, whom, in the words of the most ancient writers, he calls upon man to worship. “ Tu Solus, Tu Ter Maximus, 0 Jehova.” He is God, whose ineffable name shall be blessed for ever. The macrocosm is the very utterance of the praise and glory, the visible effulgence and declaration of the praise of God. His power is shown by the effulgence of His lightnings and the magnificence of His thunder. These display the continuance of His active governance of the universe, and the harmony of all can be seen by those who thoughtfully walk up and down the earth and meditate by the sea shore, where the fiowino’ and the return of the tides sound in metrical
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harmony. Heaven, earth, light, the Spirit, waters invisible, the sun, the fountains, the rivers, the rain, the hail, the snow, thunder and lightning, winds, and all other parts of the macrocosm rejoice as with one mouth and declare Thy praise, 0 Inaccessible Elohim. Shall not, therefore, man, the microcosm, celebrate Thy praise ; man, who was imbued with life by the afflatus of Thy mouth ? The address goes on in a sort of splendid peroration formed from many passages of Holy Scripture, knit together into a mosaic. The power of Jehovah is one of the deepest realisations of Fludd. “ Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in earth, in the seas, and in all deep places. Therefore, 0 Jehovah, shall all creation adore Thee, with reverence and fear. O regalissime Jehova, vere atque unice Deus atque imperator, sceptrum Angelorum ac coelorum gerens.” This magnificent power was seen as expressed in the 114th Psalm, and as expressed in 2 Samuel vi. 2 — “ Whose name is called by the Lord of hosts, that dwelleth between the cherubims.” Turning from the contemplation
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of the magnificence of the Deity, he asks, with the Psalmist of old, What is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou regardest him ?” Yet the divine strength has been made manifest in man — in Samson, in Samgar, in Joshua, and in Gideon. In olden times His spirit spake in the wisdom of those who, with Bezaleel, wrought in the Tabernacle and made the mystic garments of Aaron. Mercy, on the day when Jehovah shall be fully revealed, is then prayed for, and wisdom to declare the wonders of the divine law. Fludd concludes the “ Oratio gratulabunda with a prayer that his whole existence may proclaim “ Tu Solus, Tu Termaximus, 0 Jehova Es Deus,” who has made heaven and earth, the world and men, may Thy name be blessed for ever. Creatura tua in bonitate luminis tui felicissima. Ego Hominis Filius.”
The macrocosm — the universe — was a picture of God, or the manifestation of God ; so man, the little world, is a manifestation of the greater. “ As is God, so is the universe; as is the Creator, the supernal man, so is the created, the inferior man ; as macrocosm, so microcosm ; as eternity, so life.”^ In consequence, the microcosmos is divided into three parts — Unus est Empyrteum,” the intellectual part, '' Mens, Intellectus, Ratio, residens in capute ; Alterum sit ^thereum,” the vital faculties, “ in medio pectore — corde ” ; “ Postremum,” natural faculty, “ventre residens.”^
At page 113 of the “ Historia Microcosm! ” will be found a diagram of the microcosm, the circle of the world sur-
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rounded by the signs of the Zodiac — in the centre the figure of a youth disposed in the shape of a S. Andrew’s Cross. Thus man bears in his own body the picture of the “ Triune.” Reason is the head, feeling is the breast, and the meclianical means of both feeling and reasoning, or the means of his being man, is the epigastric centre, from whicli the two first spring as emanations, and with which the first two form ultimately but “ one.” A veiy curious diagram ^ Mather’s Kabbalah, 155. “ Jennings, 307.
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of the microcosm, “ caccording to the astrologers, from an almanac of the fifteenth century,” will be found in the undernoted rather remarkable workd
The first tractate in this part of the “ Historia ” is “ De numeris divinis.” In the “ Tractatus Apologeticus,” the writer had asked, which of us has at this day the ability
From page 113 of volume ii. of “ Utriusque Cosmi Historia.”
to discover these true and vivific numbers, whereby the elements are united and bound together ? ’ He now lays down as an axiom that, by number, weight, and measure, the concord and order of the world and its anima miraculosa” are preserved. The Monad, the Diad, and the Triad are
^ The Canon and Rule of all Arts, 369.
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treated of in the next three chapters. Trismegistus’ axiom is approved, “ Monas generat monadem et in seipsam reflexit ardorem suum,” and the hymn of Synesius : —
“ Cano Te Unitas, Cano Te Trinitas : Unus es, Trinitas Cum sis : Trinitas es, Unitas cum sis.”
The first figure is the eye, which, in a threefold circle, is a suitable emblem of the most Holy and super-substantial Essence.” The second is the sun. The third is the clouds and thunderstorms, in which, through the lightning fire, is seen an emblem of the Holy Spirit, which, in fire, descended upon the apostles. The countenance of Jehovah could not be seen, but the voice in the midst of the thunder was that of the Word of God. The point within the circle of the world, as delineated by the compass, is the unity of essence, the one God, held in the chain of love. '' By the Word of God the heavens were created,” &c. This tractate contains seventeen chapters. The sixth chapter treats of binary numbers, of the second person proper, and his concernment in the making of the world. The Son, consubstantial with the Father, is the voice in His mouth, and heard on Mount Sinai in the thunder. Fludd refers in this chapter to the fiery nature of the Almighty Jehovah. This was a favourite idea of his. God is described as the “ Ens entium,” eternal form, inviolable, purely igneous, without any intermixture of material, unmanifested before the creation of the universe, according to the maxim of Mercurius Trismegistus above quoted.
The twelfth chapter is followed by ‘‘ Demonstratio luculentissima numerorum formalium.” The illustration is headed by the first verse of the sixth chapter of Isaiah — ‘‘ I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high, and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” The “ temple ” here really signifies the universe — the nine angelic orders, the nine celestial worlds, then the nine elementary regions, tiie latter
^ Waite’s Histy. Ros., 292.
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being “ suprem teris regio, media seris regio, infima seris regio, aquae salsa, aqua dulcis, regio vegetabilis, regio mineralis, pura terra.” The septenary numbers are next treated of, with the mysteries which they comprehend. The number seven is the result obtained, “ ab unitate binario et quaternario.” It is diapason — perfect harmony. It is the number of rest. Hence the seventh day was the Sabbath. Seven is the number of perfection. It is also the number of benediction and blessing. By Pythagoras it is called the virgin number. It is the number in fulfilling an
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oath, as Abraham, when he loade a treaty with Abimelech, offered seven lambs. It is also the number of health, of protection from death, as when the prophet ordered Naaman to bathe seven times in Jordan. It is the number of sancity and praise — “ Seven times a day do I praise thee.” Its value and power are also illustrated from the cases of Cain, Noah, Jacob serving for Ba.chel. It is the critical hour in disease — “at the seventh hour the fever left her.” The seven planets also. Abraham lived 175 years — a perfect and happy complete age.
The sixteenth and seventeenth chapters treat of the mysteries of the fifth and tenth numbers. In Hebrew, Jod and Jah are always denoted by the number ten. Again, El is denoted by the letter Aleph, 1.
The next book of the tractate treats of the Divine Harmony in three chapters. The Son to be in the Father, and the Father with the Son, and the Spirit with both. The mystery of the Divine Unity and Trinity is illustrated by the diagram of the triangle in the trefoil — lod, He, -and Van — the trefoil surrounding the triangle — diapason and diatessaron. A second diagram is given, in which the first is included. Beyond the circles of heavenly music, com- mencing with God and ending at the Sun, are the three words, angelic, stellary, elementary. The circle is again formed, “ Diapason spiritualis,” “ Dis Diapason,” and “ Dia- pason corporalis.” This greater circle is prolonged into a triangle, marked at each elongation, “ Deus.” A black
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circle fills up the part marked “ Hyle,” while the points of the triangle extend even beyond this “ extra omnes.” Is it possible, Fludd enquires in his third chapter, to cause discord ? Although God, in the most Holy Trinit}q is the original of concord, the Devil, on the other hand, is the parent of discord. Thus is the strife between concord and discord produced between light and darkness. From this discord, introduced into the heavenly music and perfect progression of the splieres, has come the fear of death, the fall of Adam. Hence, bad is taken for good, hence the love of the world and vanity, hence the hatred of God, the Creator.
Having thus shown the perfection of the Divine Three in One, and the harmony of creation in God, Fludd proceeds more particularly to speak of the internal part of the microcosm — the anima,” whose essence is threefold, and partakes of the threefold nature of the heavenly Empyreum, ^thereum, and Elementorum — the highest, the medial, and the lowest. The God of God, in tiis inaccessible temple, is seated in perpetual joy ; human eyes cannot behold Him, yet the pure soul can rise in flights of inexpressible gladness, and so contemplate the palace of everlasting glory. Illu- minated by rays of light from the spirit of wisdom, in the purified human mind, the way of rectitude can be clearly seen, and the majesty of God discerned. The divine architect who formed the universe, made man equally perfect and complete, the image of His own greatness. The circle of existence was made complete. The circle of existence which formed the worlds, formed man. As Trismegistus has said, God made two images of Himself — the world and man. What perfection the world received, that also did man receive. Heaven and earth have their counterparts in the body and soul of man. As the universe is one, so body and soul are one. Thus man is properly called the image of God — the other world — microcosmos. As (according to Fludd’s opinion) the “ round world ” found its centre in the earth, so man, regularly proportioned, can
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be bounded by a circle, at tlie centre of which are the oro'ans of rey)roduction. Thns is man the mundus minor.” In chapter five, the question is put, why is man said to be the image of God ? Wlien the opaque body of man received the breath of life he received beauty, and in him was formed the spiritual image of the great arclietype. The declaration of Holy Scripture and the author’s favourite, Trismegistus, are com})ared and found to state the same truth. S. Paul and Xystus both declare that the soul of man may be called the temple of God.
The ninth chapter treats of the theological opinions about the creation of the soul. “ Major Theologorum chorus concludit animum corporis infundi et infundendo creari,” taking as proof the words in the second chapter of Genesis, He breathed into him the breath of life.” Origen, with other Greek fathers and the Platonists, however, held a different opinion, namely, that the souls for men were created in the beginning with the angels. Fludd concludes by a comparison of the action of the sun warming and fertilizing the earth. In like manner the mind, which is of the essence of the Deity, is not divided from its source. A diagram is given showing, in pyramidical form, the descent of the divine spirit in man. The pyramid is double, reaching from the head to the genitals, the body being divided into the three parts, “ Regio intellectus, Orbis solis seu Cordis, Regio Elementaris.”
The next book, four, treats of the numbers and harmony of the interior of Man. The mind of man is both unity and multitude, yet collected, like the music of the spheres, in a wonderful harmony. On account of the darkness and inconvenience of its abode, the mind of man finds it very difficult to exercise the power which, in its divine nature, belongs to it. In its activity, the mind is a very icon or picture of the Holy Trinity, having the threefold divisions already explained. The heavenly music illuminates the opaque body. The harmony of soul and body with the divine essence is rendered complete. A chart is given,
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illustrating the influence of the heavenly powers and the divine music upon the soul and spirit. From seraphim, the power of God reaches to earth. Luna, Ignis, Aer, and Aqua complete the one side, while on the other the swellings of spiritual harmonies, in a ninefold wave, constitute a three- fold portion in the “ anima humana.” At the bottom of the plate, as in the earth, lies a figure of man — ‘‘ Corpus receptaculum omnium.”
The last chapter of the section shows in what manner the influence of the greater intellect penetrates to that of man. The direct influence of the angelic world is detailed, and the influence of the different planets referred to. In the next section of the tractate, Fludd treats of the external part of the microcosm, of the origin of minerals, vegetables, and animals — in what way they differ externally — as to the effect of the sun on the animal creation. Then the question is put, “ Corpus humanum quod ?” Man’s body was made of the purest earth, that created in the highest region — the very centre of the world. Some philosophers say it was made of a red earth ; Plato, of a golden sort. Water was used, and fire also, to complete the divine likeness, so that man shares portions of these three elements. Therefore it is that the Psalmist says — “ Thy hands not only made, but fashioned or shaped me also.”
The author goes on to speak of the proportions of man, being geometrical, showing, as explained in the diagrams before given, that, as the earth was the centre of the great world, “ sic etiam mundi minoris centrum sit genitalium seu pudendorum.” As in the middle region of the macro- cosmos the sun is the centre, so in the middle region of the microcosmos the heart is the centre. As the sun in the greater world is supplemented by the action of the planets, so each part of the world lesser has its planetary influence also. As the soul is united to the Deity, so the different parts of the body have reference to the angelic powers, efood and bad. And the relation which man bears to God, the stars, and the angelic powers, is the reason why, in
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contradistinction to the lower creatures, he lifts his head upward, “ et supercoelestice contempletur.” In ascertaining man’s position as microcosmos, he is to face the east. Fludd (quotes, as proof of this, the words of Christ, who speaks of the lightning coming out of the east and shining to the iuest\ the method of the foundation of the Jewish cities, beginning at the east side (Num. xxxv. 5). The words of Job, xxiii. 8, 9, according to Pagninus, refer — the word translated “ forward ” — to the east. Comparisons are then drawn out between the different parts and sides of the body and the different points of the compass, more curious than exact.
The next section treats of the external harmony of the microcosm. To illustrate the relations externally to the macrocosmos, two diagrams are given, where, in circles, on the edge of the first, are the eight planets ; and, in interior circles, the influence of these on the different parts of the body of a youth, extended to the second circle, are ex- plained. The second diagram also represents a circle, on the edge of which are set the signs of the Zodiac, and the reference to the influence of the different Zodiacal signs to
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different parts of the body shown. The centre of the latter circle is the umbilicus. The signs are repeated on both sides. Thus Cancer influences the lungs, the breast, the ribs, the breasts, the liver, and the spleen. Leo, again, reigns over the heart, the stomach, the sides, and the diaphragm ; Pisces, both feet ; and so on. Aries, of course, rules the head, the eyes, ears, and teeth. Of the planets, the sun rules the right half of the brain, the heart, the right eye ; the moon, the left half of the brain, the left eye; and so on. The next two diagrams are square, and the first represents man, in the form of a cross, filling the square. Fludd says this is a figure of the true Cross, and man here represents Christ. The centre of this is genitalia. Another follows, where the man is extended in the form of a S. Andrew’s Cross, the centre being the umbilicus. In this, of course, the hands and feet of the
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figure fill the corners of the square. Some studies in squares and circles, as applied to the head of man, are added. All go to prove the geometrical proportions of the human figure. The relation of the form of the pyramid to the body has already been referred to.
Fludd now proceeds to .show the connection between the internal and the external economy of the microcosm, as shown by the action of the body and mind together. In the introduction he refers to the remarks on the description of the joys of paradise, made in the Tractatus de vita, morte et resurrectione,” which he here acknowledges as his. If there were any doubt on that point, this reference settles it.^ The lion, he tells us, was the first animal created. Inward blessedness and joy is the result of the divine voice heard, the re.sult of the indwelling of that same Spirit which Moses, being immediately commi.ssioned by God, be.stowed on the chosen men in Israel. The animal spirit in man is not immortal, but of the nature of vaporous shade, which returns to the regions of darkness. It is but “ phantasia ” ; this is the lowest portion of the interior spirit. The spirit of life, the vital spirit, is the middle or central part. It is setherial, and is connected both with the true mind and the animal spirit. It is that life which is the cause of all the functional acts of life. Adhering to the true light, it makes the life blessed ; resisting error, it exhorts to the highest virtue. Or it may be otherwise, as S. Paul exclaims — “ I find a law in mj^ members leading me into the law of death.” Wonderful, indeed, is it to think what a glorious harmony there can exist between the soul and the body. Then the divine light, in form pyramid ical, descends as into a basin. The stars have evil influences as well as good ; but, on the other hand, the heavenly powers are ready to assist in overthrowing that evil, as seen in the cases of Tobias and others.
In the tenth chapter, the cause of the power of prophecy is explained, which is an illapse of the afflatus of the Divine
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Spirit on the mind. But as the passage in Deut. xiii. 1, compared with Deut. xviii. 22, will show, there may be also an illapse of a djemon — “ per alieiios Deos.” This is further illustrated by the extraordinary vision given to Micaiah before the two kings. The spirit of lies is sent by God to punish sinners. A curious comparison is drawn between the ancient pythoness, the sybils, and Merlin, who is con- sidered to have been fully authorised by the “ true Spirit ” to reveal the future history of England. The spirit of prophecy is of a threefold nature — Furor, Raptus seu Ecstasis” (Nuni. xii ; 1 Sam. xix. 24). In this way, also, does the soul become the temple of God — the very fire in which Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood, became the vehicle through which their prophecy sounded forth ; and such a case may teach us that prophetical actions are not human, and are connected with events beyond natural power — as S. Peter’s going through the closed gates, Christ walking on the waves of the sea, Moses preserved in the midst of the fire of God. As the motion in the macrocosm is rotatory or circular, so, therefore, must it be in the microcosm, in the mind, and in the soul. Man is thus an image of “ God’s eternity.”
The next book treats of the “ anima media.” The following treats of the exterior senses — sight, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. As authorities, Galen and Avincenna are largely quoted. The consonant opinions of philosophers, theologians, and medicinars are given. In the ninth chapter of this ninth book, Fludd again expresses the opinion that the divinity is of the nature of pure fire. He quotes Trismegistus, who calls God fire, revealing itself in darkness. Thus the Psalmist — “ The darkness is no darkness with Thee ; the night is as clear to Thee as the day.’^ The darkness is dispersed, and over the abyss broods the Divine Spirit. Life is infused ; the waters become feculent. The Platonist hyle is the Mosaic abyss. Then heat is the type and the producer of sound bodies and
good actions. On the other hand, cold produces diseases,
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paralysis, and apoplexy ; melancholy, vapours, and humidity produce tremor of the heart and syncope. Body, spirit, and soul have their counterpart in earth, air, and fire — “ Sal, mercurium et sulphur.”
The next, the tenth, book of this section treats of the threefold vision of the soul in the body. The first — 1st, corporal ; 2nd, spiritual ; 3rd, intellectual. The first detects colour, dimensions, and such obvious things ; the next detects spiritual similitudes and likenesses ; the third, the intellectual, has no bodily view, but observes in its own mind, God, justice, wisdom, and other good affections. Illustrations of the second are given. The Aries Coeli ” is seen to have the “ simalcrum arietis terrestris.” So with the milky way in the heavens. Under the same head come dreams, phantasms, and such utterances as those of Caiaphas the high priest — an utterance unintended, or rather, per- haps, against his own will. So in dreams. The wave of thought, arising in the brain, conveys its intention to the eyes. Macrobius expresses the opinion that those things which by sleep appear, have a fivefold nature — oracle, vision, sleep, sleeplessness, and phantasy. Messages from God are thus sent (Numb. xii. 6). Fludd does not omit under phantasms the mention of Ephialta seu incubus et succubus. Some medical men are, however, of opinion that these proceed from the fumes of the stomach. Ecstasy is such as that S. John, in the Apocalypse, underwent. That dreams convey truths and divine messages is further illus- trated by the vision vouchsafed to S. Joseph and the declaration in the book of the prophet Joel.
Daemons entering human bodies will change the likeness of men and women from innocence to guilt, from a human appearance to that of likeness to beasts. Parents, by their neglect, may cause Satan, often most near, to enter in. A mother caused her daughter, through neglect, to be ready for possession. The girl had used some money, spending it on trifies, when her mother cried out, “ I wish the devil and his legions would now enter into you.” She was immediately
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taken possession of by the evil power, and as she confessed, or the Devil by her mouth, six legions of daemons abode in her. It is into the setherial part such daemons enter. The mens may not actually suffer ; for, in the same way, comets and flying dragons may appear, and other prodigies, yet the sun in the heavens is undisturbed, but continues constant in his usual course. So, too, the intellectual part, the highest of which is the very temple of God, to which the Devil has no power of ingress.
The last chapter of this book treats of the third, the intellectual, vision. Two diagrams are added. The first shows the influence of the world of sense, which enters in by the forehead ; the world of imagination, which enters in the upper part of the head ; and the “ mundus intellectu- alis,” which is placed at the top of the head. ‘‘ Mens^ Intellectus, Katio,” form three circles, below which the soul is placed. The other diagram represents a universe of twenty-two spiral circles, distinguished by the Hebrew letters on one ascension, and by the heavenly orders, the planets and the four elements, in another. Thus the mind ascends spirally from the world to the Divine Unity, a multitudine ad unitatem.”
The eleventh book of the section treats of the more secret operations of nature in the formation of man. In this, Fludd remarks, there is much that is arcane. He refers first to Jamblicus, who divides living existences into four sorts — gods, dsemons, heroes, and souls — and of these the heroes” stand as a four-sided pyramid, the souls of men as a cube. But God, the Word, and the Spirit are everywhere. From chaos the material of production and substance was accepted and taken by God. The figure or growth of an apple is taken as emblematical of generation. Its form is full of suggestion. Creation is the origin of all species of life which were not existent before creation began. Life is continued by real generation. God is the first father, the generator the next. Here Trismegistus is quoted — “ Where passion is, there is not the good ; where
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the good is, there is no passion ; where it is day, it is not night ; where it is night, it is not day.” So what is produced cannot be good, where imperfection is found. The monad is the origin, root, and principle of all generation. The planets have an influence on the generation of man ; the circular motion brings existences together, as has been taught by astrologers. Without the sun could be no life. So it is to be believed that the other heavenly bodies have also an influence on births.
In the next chapter Fludd enters into fuller details, abstract and curious, as to man’s substance. The masculine element predominating, the result is male ; the feminine predominating, the result is female. All elements are con- tained in the original fluid. As the sun is the great source of light and growth in the macrocosm, so the heart is the great influence in generation. The seventh month of gestation is governed by Luna, the eighth by Saturn ; the issue in the first will live, but be weak ; if in Saturn, will not live. The ninth month is governed by Jupiter, so those born will be perfect, strong, and proper. The first voice of the human being is the voice of grief. Coming from a place warm, humid, and nutritious, the human creature is cast on the earth cold and dry, and so utters the voice of lamentation and distress. The human being is the longest in walking, the cause being cetera animalia menstrua non habent.” Seventy years is the age of man; that is called “ annus climactericus,” the age of contempla- tion ; the desire of the body has gone, and it is under the curve and government of Saturn. The ages of men in different countries are influenced by the planets, and the inhabitants take their characters accordingly. Luna governs Flanders and England, the climate humid and the men cold ; Mercury governs France, not so humid, and the inhabitants leves sunt, quasi viventes in vita puerili.” Italy, again, is governed by Venus, and the people addicted to works of the flesh. Greece, again, is governed by Sol, and so the people thereof are learned. The whole system
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elucidated by Fludd in regard to generation is Paracelsiand Death and corruption are not by God’s creation in man, nor can affect him ; they are the result of a mixture of another element in his constitution. “ For God made not death, neither hath He pleasure in the destruction of the living; for He created all things that they might have their being.
. . Righteousness is immortal.”^
The next book of this section, the twelfth, treats of the internal and external harmony of man. The interior triangle or pyramidical form is represented in opposite ways. It reaches from the head to the thigh, and in the one form has its point in generative organs. The music of soul and body join together in perfect notes ; thus perfect movement is made. But the human harmony can also be seen accord- ing to the proportions of geometric figures, the triangle, the circle, and the cube. At page 254 a very curious diagram is given, showing the division of the head and trunk of man in three parts ; the head, governed by God the Father, the Son, the Divine speech, mind, intellect, reason, and will, sounding the diapason, “ supercselestis et spiritualis ” ; the breast, governed by the planets Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, Luna, “ Diapason coelestis et media” ; the lower part of the body, governed by “ Ignis seris regiones tres, aqua dulc., aqua salsa. Terra”; in the latter the generative organs, Diapason elementis et corporalis,” all dissolving into “ Disdiapason spiritualis et disdiapason materialis.” The “ Dies microcosmicus et nox microcosmica” are illustrated by a diagram. Man here fills the circle of the world ; above is the name of the Deity ; His divine fire touches the head of the man outlined in this circle. A double circle, the “ via solis,” extends from the heart to the knees ; the centre, as before, is at the organs of reproduc- tion ; the point in the centre from which the master mason works.
^ A comparison of this section with the anthropology of Paracelsus will show this ; see Waite’s Paracelsus, 63-67.
2 Sap., i. 13, 14, 15.
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The whole section ends with a prayer for help from Jehovah, that God may be the writer’s help, and that from His dwelling in the cloud on the hill of Zion regard him, and by His blessing preserve him from the injuries of the wicked.