Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Name: Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Author: Attributed to Paracelsus

A fresh translation from the early Latin text with annotations and study apparatus

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Nine Books on the Nature of ThingsBook 9 · Signature · Passage 38

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Facing Pages · Branch 545 of 642

Book 9 · Signature · Passage 38

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Source reference

Latin witness: 1605 pp. 258–259

Latin

Posset hic arguendo quispiam ita instare, & asserere, nullam herbam quamdiu radici suae adhaeret, adultiorem fieri 4. aut ad summum quinque mensibus, dum a Maio usque ad autumnum supputatio incoatur, quo tempore quaelibet herba interit, & a radice sua deficit. Ad hoc ego respondeo Deo, unicam virtutem in radice exsistere, quae primum Ens & spiritus herbae sit, ex quo herba enascitur & sustentatur usque ad praedestinatum suum tempus, adeoque usque ad seminis productionem exaltatur. Et hoc signo seu indicio est, virtutem illam retro in radicem illam commeare, & herbam ita exarescere. Quamdiu autem spiritus iste, qui herbae summa vis est, in radice remanet, quotannis herba ea renovatur: nisi fiat, ut spiritus iste una cum ipsa herba auferatur & exolescat. Tunc enim herbae illius renovatio nulla est. Radix enim emortua est, nec in se vitam amplius habet. Quo vero modo spiritus ille cum herba a radice, aut cum radice a terra auferatur, ut virtus eius retro, aut in radicem, aut a radice in terram abeat, hoc loco pendendum non est. Id enim sublime Naturae Mysterium est, nec propter Sophisticos Medicos palam proferendum, ut quibus talia arcana non saltem ludo, sed etiam summo contemtui sunt. Hic ergo quod omittimus, in Herbario trademus, &c.

English

Someone might object that no herb, while attached to its root, becomes older than four or at most five months, reckoning from May to autumn, when every herb dies and falls away from its root. To this I reply that a single power from God exists in the root, the first being and spirit of the herb, from which the herb springs and is sustained until its predestined time, being raised as far as the production of seed. This is a sign or indication that the power returns into the root, so that the herb dries up. As long as this spirit, which is the herb’s highest force, remains in the root, the herb is renewed every year, unless the spirit is removed and dies away together with the herb itself. Then the herb is not renewed, because the root is dead and no longer has life in itself. How this spirit is removed with the herb from the root, or with the root from the earth, so that its power returns into the root or from the root into the earth, need not be considered here. It is a sublime mystery of nature, not to be made public for sophistical physicians, who regard such arcana not merely as a joke but with the utmost contempt. What we omit here we shall teach in the Herbarius.

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.