CHAPTER VI.

Concerning the Spirit of Mars. Speaking of the Spirit of Mars, this comes from a more dense and com- bustible mixture of the elements than was the case with the others which precede. But Mars is furnished with greater hardness than the other metals, \ so that it is not melted in the fire as they are. True, it is hurt by the water
' and the air more than they are, insomuch that it is altogether destroyed by
: these influences, and it is also burnt in the fire, as experience proves. So, then,
» its spirit is less perfect than that of any of the above. But in hardness and
j dryness it exceeds all the metals above or below. For not only does it render
I the perfect metals, Sol and Luna, proof against the hammer, but even those
I which rank below itself, as Jupiter, Saturn, and the like.§ Since, then, it pro-
duces this effect on metals, this is a sign that it has the same effect on the bodies of men, that i^, it produces a struggling ; especially when it is taken for a disease to which it is not adapted, it contorts the limbs with great pain. But when it is used and applied for wounds which do not exceed its degree, it is of powerful cleansing qualities. So, then, this spirit is endowed with no less power and potency than are of those above, so far as regards those things for which it was appointed by God and by Nature.