Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
A fresh translation from the early Latin text with annotations and study apparatus
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Latin Page · Branch 611 of 642
Book 9 · Signature · Passage 67
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1605 p. 269
Latin
Hoc autem probe notandum est, quod lapis seu Gamaheus quilibet non nisi unius Planetae proprietate & virtute pollere, adeoque ab uno saltem Planeta dotari possit. Et licet quidem duo pluresve Planetae in terrenis corporibus, velut in superiore Firmamento coniungantur: unus tamen ab altero opprimitur. Sicut enim una domus geminos dominos minime fert, sed alter alterum extrudit: ita hic quoque. Unus manet dominus: alter servit. Aut, quemadmodum custodientem domum quandam, superveniens alius, per vim eiicit, & se dominum constituit, omnia pro nutu & arbitrio suo disponens, altero interim ad servitia redacto: sic etiam astrum unum expellit alterum, unus Planeta alterum, unus Ascendens alterum, una Influentia alteram, una Impressio alteram, unum Elementum alterum. Sicut enim aqua ignem exstinguit: ita Planeta unus alterius proprietatem elidit, & suam invehit. Idem eodem modo etiam de eorum signis intelligendum est, quae multiplicia sunt, & non Characteres tantum, veluti multi arbitrantur, sed universa ea, quae in tota Mappa Planetarum inveniuntur, hoc est, quaecunque Planetis illis cognata & subiecta sunt.
English
Observe carefully that each stone or gamaheus can possess the property and virtue of only one planet, and therefore be endowed by only one. Although two or more planets may join in earthly bodies as in the upper firmament, one is nevertheless overcome by another. Just as one house cannot bear two masters, but one drives the other out, so here: one remains master, the other serves. Or as someone arriving by force ejects the keeper of a house, makes himself master and orders everything according to his pleasure while reducing the other to servitude, so one star expels another, one planet another, one ascendant another, one influence another, one impression another and one element another. As water extinguishes fire, one planet destroys another’s property and introduces its own. The same must be understood of their signs, which are manifold: not characters alone, as many suppose, but everything found in the whole map of the planets, that is, whatever is related and subject to those planets.
Socrates
Reading Nine Books on the Nature of Things · Book 9 · Signature · Book 9 · Signature · Passage 67
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Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
The complete supplied Latin–English edition of the historical title, dedication and all nine books, with 363 separately labelled historical marginal notes, 117 modern annotations and the complete Diotimos study apparatus. The transmitted composite work is traditionally attributed to Paracelsus; individual authorship remains qualified.
Historical Text and Translation
The normalized Latin follows the complete 1605 Frankfurt Palthenian witness, volume six, printed pages 198–271, in SUB Göttingen PPN578052199, historical scans 182–255. Earlier textual tradition is German; the individual translator of the 1605 Latin text is not identified. The dedication’s 1537 date is transmitted text, not an established date for the composite work.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The historical Latin text is in the public domain. The fresh English translation and editorial material were prepared with AI assistance for Diotimos Editions in 2026 and are published with the site owner’s authorization.