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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English Page · Branch 144 of 642
Book 4 · Life · Passage 4
Source reference
- Latin witness
- 1605 p. 214
Latin
Vita Mercurii nihil aliud est quam interior calor & exterior frigiditas, h.e. interius sui corporis is calefacit, exterius frigefacit, & merito vesti pelliceae comparari potest, quae etiam ut Mercurius calefacit & frigefacit. Nam si talis ab homine ea induto gestetur, calefacit eum & custodit eum, a frigore. Si autem pars calva nudo corpori applicata gestetur, frigefacit & valet contra nimium calorem, quare vetustissimis temporibus usitatum fuit & adhuc in multis locis usitatum est, ut tales vestes pelliceae aestatis simul & hyemis tempore gestentur, tam contra frigus, quam contra calorem, in aestate partem glabram interius, pilosam vero exterius vertunt, tempore vero frigoris in hyeme, partem pilosam interius & glabram exterius gerunt. Sicut igitur iam de veste pellicea audivistis, ita & de Mercurio usurpari potest.
English
The life of Mercury is nothing but inner heat and outer coldness: inside its body it heats, outside it cools. It may rightly be compared with a fur garment, which, like Mercury, both heats and cools. When someone puts on and wears such a garment, it warms and protects against cold. But if the hairless side is worn against the naked body, it cools and works against excessive heat. Thus from the earliest times, and still in many places, such fur garments have been worn in summer as well as winter, against heat as well as cold. In summer the smooth side is turned inward and the hairy side outward; in winter’s cold the hairy side is worn inward and the smooth side outward. What you have now heard about the fur garment can likewise be applied to Mercury.
Socrates
Reading Nine Books on the Nature of Things · Book 4 · Life · Book 4 · Life · Passage 4
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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.