De Magnetica [...] Plantarum p. 613

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Stephen at Feb 07, 2024 03:58 PM

De Magnetica [...] Plantarum p. 613

modam conseruationem requiri videbantur: primum est, vt pars
parti ritè cohæreret, ordinatimque dispositi essent singuli corporis
artus, vt caput videlicet collo, collum pectori, pectus cruribus veluti
columnis quibusdam totius ædificij molem sustinentibus innitere-
tur; Alterum est, vt tota huiusmodi ædificij strues, ritè in ordine ad
vniuersum constituta, capite vergente sursum, deorsum pedibus
erecta subsisteret; Quod si aliter fieret, corpusque inuerteretur, aut
extra directionis lineam declinaret, id ex huiusmodi situ naturæ suæ
maxime contrario summam violentiam pati necesse foret. Quæ
omnia, quotquot productæ sunt, rebus conueniunt. Hinc enim, vt
in præcedentibus fusè dictum est, elementa tam studiosè situs sui ra-
tionem obseruant; vt mundum labi faciliùs sit, quam vt illa con-
trarij situs violentiam sustineant. Hinc ignis aërque terris inclusa,
omnia rumpunt, findunt, dissipant, vt liberis regionis suae campis
perfruantur. Hinc, dum grauia cum leuibus consistere nesciunt,
inundationes, ruinas, interitus vrbium, integrarumque prouincia-
rum impetu grauitatis ad locum naturalem centrumque tendentis
causari necesse est. Ita singula mineralia certas suas sibique appro-
priatas telluris sedes ita tuentur, vt si ab ijs remoueantur, prorsus
pereant; hinc alia arida, quaedam humida, nonnulla calida, cætera
frigida, singula sua loca amant; hinc plumbum perpetuis aquis salsu-
ginosis damnatum, in hydrargyrum soluitur; ferri quoque fodinæ
aquarum tyrannidem passæ, in liquorem abeunt rubiginosum; sed
vt tandem ad nostrum institutum reuertamur, videtur præterea hic
naturalis appetitus maximè, vt in magnete, ita & in plantis, &
fructibus; sicut igitur magnes duos terminos habet Borealem &
Australem, ad conseruationem eius requiri videtur, vt partes, seu
fibræ in terminos tendentes non tantum benè inter se compositæ
sint, debitumque in longitudinem situm obtineant, sed etiam, vt situm
ad vniuersum habeant conuenientem, alias enim commode se
conseruare nequirent; ita etiam planta requirit, vt non solum radicibus
truncus superimponatur, rectaque qua ramis, qua stolonibus
diffusis luxuriet; sed etiam vt vigorem conseruet, radix humi vt
condatur, scapus sursum vergat necesse est. Sicut autem magnetis
vis per fibras quasdam propagatur in longitudinem, ita & vegetalia
certas quasdam fibras obtinent, seù poros, per quos nutri-
mentum haustum, singulis partibus
communicent.

Hhhh 3 /Expe-


Translation

survival: the first is that the parts be correctly attached to each other, and that the individual limbs of the body be arranged in order, namely that the head should be supported by the neck, the neck by the chest, the chest by the legs, like columns sustaining the mass of the whole edifice. The second is that the whole assemblage of such an edifice should stand erect, built in an orderly relationship to the universe, with the head pointing up and the feet down; if this were done differently, and the body were inverted, or inclined outside the directional line, it would necessarily suffer the greatest violence as a result of this position most contrary to its nature. All of which applies to all of the many things that have been produced. Accordingly, as profusely explained in the preceding pages, the elements so studiously observe the arrangement of their position that it is easier for the world to slip than for them undergo the violence of a contrary position. Hence fire and air, if enclosed in the earth, break, split and scatter everything so they may enjoy the free range of their own domain. Hence, since the heavy cannot coexist with the light, floods, ruination, and the burying of cities and whole provinces, must inevitably be caused by the impulse of weight tending to its natural place and centre. Thus individual minerals keep to their particular and appropriate seats on earth, so that if removed from them they immediately perish; hence some prefer their individual lodgings dry, some damp, some hot, and the rest cold; hence lead, subjected to constant salt water, is dissolved into quicksilver; iron mines too, under the tyranny of water, disappear into red liquid; but to return to where we began, this natural appetite is moreover seen very much both in lodestone and in plants and fruits; so, just as lodestone has two ends, North and South, it seems necessary to its survival that the parts, or fibres tending towards it ends should not only be well arranged in respect to each other and hold their due position along the length, but also that they should have a suitable position with respect to the universe, for otherwise they cannot comfortably preserve themselves; and thus a plant too requires not only that the trunk be placed over the roots, and upright, so it can luxuriate in branches and side-shoots, but also, to preserve its vigour, it is necessary that the root be buried in the ground and the stem turn upward. But just as the force of lodestone is propagated lengthwise by certain fibres, so vegetal things also have certain fibres, or pores, through which they may communicate to their individual parts the nutriment they have consumed.

De Magnetica [...] Plantarum p. 613

modam conseruationem requiri videbantur: primum est, vt pars
parti ritè cohæreret, ordinatimque dispositi essent singuli corporis
artus, vt caput videlicet collo, collum pectori, pectus cruribus veluti
columnis quibusdam totius ædificij molem sustinentibus innitere-
tur; Alterum est, vt tota huiusmodi ædificij strues, ritè in ordine ad
vniuersum constituta, capite vergente sursum, deorsum pedibus
erecta subsisteret; Quod si aliter fieret, corpusque inuerteretur, aut
extra directionis lineam declinaret, id ex huiusmodi situ naturæ suæ
maxime contrario summam violentiam pati necesse foret. Quæ
omnia, quotquot productæ sunt, rebus conueniunt. Hinc enim, vt
in præcedentibus fusè dictum est, elementa tam studiosè situs sui ra-
tionem obseruant; vt mundum labi faciliùs sit, quam vt illa con-
trarij situs violentiam sustineant. Hinc ignis aërque terris inclusa,
omnia rumpunt, findunt, dissipant, vt liberis regionis suae campis
perfruantur. Hinc, dum grauia cum leuibus consistere nesciunt,
inundationes, ruinas, interitus vrbium, integrarumque prouincia-
rum impetu grauitatis ad locum naturalem centrumque tendentis
causari necesse est. Ita singula mineralia certas suas sibique appro-
priatas telluris sedes ita tuentur, vt si ab ijs remoueantur, prorsus
pereant; hinc alia arida, quaedam humida, nonnulla calida, cætera
frigida, singula sua loca amant; hinc plumbum perpetuis aquis salsu-
ginosis damnatum, in hydrargyrum soluitur; ferri quoque fodinæ
aquarum tyrannidem passæ, in liquorem abeunt rubiginosum; sed
vt tandem ad nostrum institutum reuertamur, videtur præterea hic
naturalis appetitus maximè, vt in magnete, ita & in plantis, &
fructibus; sicut igitur magnes duos terminos habet Borealem &
Australem, ad conseruationem eius requiri videtur, vt partes, seu
fibræ in terminos tendentes non tantum benè inter se compositæ
sint, debitumque in longitudinem situm obtineant, sed etiam, vt situm
ad vniuersum habeant conuenientem, alias enim commode se
conseruare nequirent; ita etiam planta requirit, vt non solum radicibus
truncus superimponatur, rectaque qua ramis, qua stolonibus
diffusis luxuriet; sed etiam vt vigorem conseruet, radix humi vt
condatur, scapus sursum vergat necesse est. Sicut autem magnetis
vis per fibras quasdam propagatur in longitudinem, ita & vegetalia
certas quasdam fibras obtinent, seù poros, per quos nutri-
mentum haustum, singulis partibus
communicent.

Hhhh 3 /Expe-


Translation

preservation: the first is that the parts be correctly attached to each other, and that the individual limbs of the body be arranged in order, namely that the head should be supported by the neck, the neck by the chest, the chest by the legs, like columns sustaining the mass of the whole edifice. The second is that the whole assemblage of such an edifice should stand erect, built in an orderly relationship to the universe, with the head pointing up and the feet down; if this were done differently, and the body were inverted, or inclined outside the directional line, it would necessarily suffer the greatest violence as a result of this position most contrary to its nature. All of which applies to however many things have been produced. For hence, as profusely explained in the preceding pages, the elements so studiously observe the rationale of their position, to make the world glide more easily, that they themselves undergo the violence of a contrary position. Hence fire and air, if enclosed in the earth, break, split and scatter everything so they may enjoy the open fields of their own region. Hence, since the heavy cannot coexist with the light, it is necessary that floods, ruination, and the burying of cities and whole provinces, be caused by the impulse of weight tending to its natural place and centre. Thus individual minerals keep to their particular and appropriate seats on earth, so that if removed from them they immediately perish; hence some like their individual lodgings dry, some damp, some hot, and the rest cold; hence lead subjected to constant salt water is dissolved into quicksilver; iron mines too, under the tyranny of water, disappear into red liquid; but to return to where we began, this natural appetite furthermore clearly appears equally in lodestone and too in plants and fruits; so, just as lodestone has two ends, North and South, it seems necessary to its preservation that the parts, or threads tending towards it ends should not only be well arranged in respect to each other and hold their due position along the length, but also that they should have a suitable position with respect to the universe, for otherwise they cannot comfortably preserve themselves; and thus a plant too requires not only that the trunk be placed over the roots, and upright, so it can luxuriate in branches and side-shoots, but also, to preserve its vigour, it is necessary that the root be buried in the ground and the stem turn upward. But just as the force of lodestone is propagated lengthwise by certain threads, so vegetal things also have certain threads, or pores, through which they may communicate to their individual parts the nutriment they have consumed.