From the book
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordBasiliscus names the legendary creature whose sight is said to kill.
- In the workThe basilisk follows the general assertion that animals arising from putrefaction contain poison in differing degrees.
- In this editionThe edition explicitly identifies the basilisk as legendary and the menstrual-contamination assertions as false.
- A place to read“unum longe plus & efficacius altero”
Meaning
Basiliscus names the legendary creature whose sight is said to kill. The text intensifies the surrounding vocabulary of monstrum and venenum: this is the monster above all monsters and a poison above all poisons. Aspectus and visus are the ways its alleged power is communicated; the eyes are the concealed location. The concept is not reducible to ordinary venom delivered through a wound. The accompanying phrase imaginatum venenum connects the account with the preceding theory of imagination and invisible formative or corrupting influence.
Use in the book
The basilisk follows the general assertion that animals arising from putrefaction contain poison in differing degrees. Its special status then exceeds that qualified comparison: the text says nothing in the world equals its poison. It draws a sustained analogy with false beliefs about menstruating women, alleging that gaze, breath and touch can spoil mirrors, wounds, drinks, perfumes and coloured materials. These are not observations validated by the modern edition.
The speaker gives the creature a purported generative origin within the same putrefactive framework used elsewhere. What matters conceptually is the claim that the product inherits a hidden corrupting property from its alleged material origin. That inheritance brings together seed-like correspondence, imagination and poison.
The paragraph closes with a direct warning against attempting the procedure. Its imagined mirror protection belongs to the legend, not to an effective safety measure. The closing warning qualifies the work’s invitation to experiment: this alleged generation is explicitly discouraged. The nearby margin is also textually awkward: it calls the poison incertissimum, “most uncertain,” whereas the body confidently proclaims its surpassing power. The discrepancy must be retained rather than repaired into agreement.
Places to read
- Book 1 · Generation · Passage 6Latin“unum longe plus & efficacius altero” The general preceding account admits differences of potency.
- Book 1 · Generation · Original marginal note 18Latin“Basilisci venenum incertissimum.” The unusual marginal adjective differs from the body’s certainty.
- Book 1 · Generation · Passage 7Latin“hoc venenum occultissimo modo gerit in suis oculis” The eyes are named as the hidden seat of the alleged poison.
- Book 1 · Generation · Passage 7Latin“Nemini suaserim” The speaker advises no one to attempt it.
Translation in this edition
The edition explicitly identifies the basilisk as legendary and the menstrual-contamination assertions as false. It retains incertissimum rather than silently emending an unexpected reading. Its word “imagined” should be read with the note explaining the relation to imagination.