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ROBERT FLUDD Hermetic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two Worlds Joscelyn Godwin with 126 illustrations .. T&H Thames and Hudson Acknowl edgments Research for thi s book was much faci l itated by generous grants from t he Colgate Uni versit y Research Council and Faculty Development Fund. The aut hor also thanks Todd Barton, All en G. Debus, and Manl y P. Hall. The author is also grateful to Manl y P. Hall , Pr esident of the Philosophi -cal Research Society, for permi ssion to reproduce the Engli sh version of pl ate 39 from hi s The Secret Teachings of All Ages. Photographic acknowledgment s are due to the Bodl eian Library, Oxford ; St John' s Coll ege Library, Oxf ord ; t he Briti sh Library, Lon -don ; the Nat ional Library of Scotl and, Edinburgh ; the Library of the Coll ege of Physicians, Phil adelphia. ART AN D IMAGI NATI ON General Edllor ' Jill Puree Any copy of thiS book Issued by Ihe publisher as a paperback IS sold subject to the condi tion thai II shall not by way of trade or ot herwise be lent. hi red aul or otherwise Circulated. wlthoul the publisher's pnor consent, In any form of binding or cover other than thai In which It IS published and Wi thout a Simi lar condli ion Including these words being Imposed on a subsequent purchaser All Rights Reserved No part of thiS publication may be reproduced or transmitted In any form or by any means, electroni C or mechanical, including phOtocopy. recording or any mformatlon storage and retrteval system, WIthout permISSIon In writIng from the publIsher 1979 Thames and Hudson Ltd, london Printed In Great BrItaIn by But ler & Tanner Ltd, Frome and l ondon Contents INTRODUCTION 5 PLATES The Macrocosm 20 II Cabbala 34 III Pyramids and Monochords 42 IV Winds and Weather-glasses 54 V Man, the Microcosm 68 VI The Ape of Nature 76 VII The Microcosmic Arts 88 BIBLIOGRAPHY 93 Introduction (OpPosite) Robert Fludd bv Mauhleu Merian from Phllosophl;] S;)cr8. 1676 At the start of the seventeenth century the world was still fraught with wonders and nothing seemed impossible. In December 1603 there was a conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter, the hour-hands of the cosmiC clock which usher in new epochs and crumble old orders. New stars suddenly appeared the next year in the constellations of the Serpent and the Swan, and fears and hopes were rife throughout Europe. In England, the long feign of the Tudors came to an end, and from the barbarous North rode James Stuart, a weird king who loved learning and lechery, and hated witches and weapons. Britain's Renaissance. jf one can so call it, had reached its zenith, and the time of 'Renaissance men' was all but past Robert Fludd was such a man He lived at the very end of the era in which it was possible for one mind to encompass the whole of learn-ing HIS was one of the last attempts to do so, and he betrays something approaching despair In hIS endlessly elaborated plans for a magnum opus that was never finished. His goal was nothing less than to summarize the knowledge of both the universe and man - of macrocosm and micro-cosm - and the relations between them. How different hiS viSion must have been from the common one of our own time, In place of an Infinite material cosmos expanding in all directions beyond hope of description, he could envisage one that passed through a few well-defined regions and then terminated in the utter simplex of God. ThiS unified vIsion was sundered in hiS own life-time by Descartes, who laid the foundation for a philosophical separation of matter from intelligence which still holds the race In thrall, thanks to the amazing results that experimental science has wrought in the physical world. Only now, in the last quarter of our century, the knowledge won through the Scientific Revolution is ready to be Incorporated into a new system that again takes account of metaphYSical realities. The spiral of human development is leading many people back to a world-view not so very different from Fludd's, yet (as IS the way With spirals) a little more advanced. The magic of these pictures is that they remind us of the possibility, Indeed the imminence, of a cosmic view free alike from the myopiC'l of materialism and the absurdities of naive splfltualism, Fludd was born and bred an Elizabethan. His father was Sir Thomas Fludd, the younger son of a Shropshire family who had made hiS own way through a career of military administration, rising from the humble post of victualler for the Berwlck-on- Tweed garrison to that of Treasurer for Her Majesty's forces in the Netherlands. For his services he received a knighthood, and retired to his horne in Kent Milgate House, Bearsted, which though largely rebuilt In the eighteenth century still retains part of the sixteenth-century building Here Sir Thomas lived until his death In 1607, acting as Justice of the Peace, respected and esteemed by all. So much we learn from the commemorative plaque placed by Robert in Bears ted Parish Church, which also records the marriages of Sir Tho-mas's other children to knights and gentlefolk One cannot help wonder-Ing what this tough and successful man of the world thought of the career and interests of Robert himself. of whom Paul Arnold says In hIS Histoire that 'hiS Impetuous character and hiS thirst for knowledge far removed him from the peaceable life of a gentleman farmer'. Our knowledge of Robert IS a blank from hiS birth in 1574 until 1592, when he entered 5t John's College, Oxford' a Citadel of High Church allegiance in a university that was generally CalVinistic in leanings. There 6 he would have known William Laud, later Archbishop of Canterbury, and Sir William Paddy, later physician to James I and a lifelong friend of both Laud and Fludd, Both were concerned for the restoration of music to its proper place in the Anglican liturgy, and Paddy later pre-sented his college with an organ as well as with copies of some of Fludd's works, Others who may well have Influenced Fludd as an under-graduate were Dr John Ralnoldes, PresIdent of Corpus and an expert in Hebrew and rabbinical studies, and Thomas Allen, mathematician of Trinity and a collector of medieval manuscripts, By the time he graduated Bachelorof Arts in 1596, Fludd was sufficiently versed 111 mUSIc to com-pose his treatise on the subject, and had become expert In mundane and horary astrology_ He tells one of his few anecdotes in this con-nection: While I was working on my music treatise, I scarcely leh my room for a week on end. One Tuesday a young man from Magdalen came to see me, and dll1ed In my room The followll1g Sunday I was Invited to dine with a friend from the town, and while dressing for the occasion I could not find my valuable sword-belt and scabbard, worth ten French gold pieces, I asked everyone In college If they knew any-thing about It, but with no success I therefore drew up a horary chart for the moment at which I had noticed the loss, and deduced from the position of Mercury and other features that the thief was a talkative youth situated In the East, while the stolen goods must now be in the South, On thinking this over I remembered my guest of Tuesday, whose college lay directly to the east of St John's, I sent my servant to approach him politely, but he swore that he had touched nothll1g of mine. Next I sent my servant to speak to the boy who had accom-panied my visitor on that day, and with harsh words and threats he made him confess that he had stolen the goods and taken them to a place I knew near Christ Church where people listened to music and consorted with women This confirmed my conjecture that the place was to the south of 5t John's, and since Mercury had been in the house of Venus, that accorded wIth the association with music and women. After this the boy was taken into the presence of his companion and flung to the ground, He swore that he had II1deed committed the crime, and begged my servant to say no more: he promised to retrieve the belt and scabbard on the following day This was done, and I received my stolen property wrapped in two beautiful parchments. It emerged that the music-house near Christ Church was the lair of a receiver of stolen goods who had robbed many degenerate scholars, wasting them with gluttony and womanizing My friend Implored me to desist from the study of astrology, saying that I could not have solved this crtme without demonic ald. I thanked him for hiS adVice (UCH I, b, pp, 701-3) Priding himself on having always remained an 'unstained vIrgin', Fludd had little sympathy for the frailties of the flesh, and sexual deSire figured In hiS philosophy as the very cause of man's Fall He remained at Oxford until after hiS Master of Arts degree in 1598, then left England for the Continent where he travelled for nearly SIX years in France, SpaHl, Italy and Germany, supported by his father and working as a tutor In aristocratic families. He n<)mes some of hIS pupils as Charles de Lorraine, fourth Due de Guise, and his brother Frans;ois; the MarqUIS de Omon, Vicomte de Cadenet, and one Relnaud of AVlgnon. It was In AVlgnon thot he was delayed dUring the wll1ter 01 1601 2 while hop Ing to cross the Alps into Italy, and tangled with the Jesuits on the subject of geornancy. a system of dIVination from the p<ltterns of thrown pebbles. They disapproved of the sCience and tned to dIscredit hml with the Papal V,ce,Legate But that gentleman turned out to be an even better geom,Hlcer than Fludd tlimself, and the wandering scholar made a new and influential friend He said that he was sorry to have to leave AVlgnon for Marseilles. where he was to tutor the GUises Our Informa-tion on his further travels is very slim. He was certainly in Leghorn and Rome, where he met one 'Grutherus', a Swiss in the employ of Cmdinal Sextus GiorgiO who taught him engineering and the use of the weapon salve and other 'magnetic' mediCines. ThiS would have been before hiS sojourn in Avignon, where he compiled hiS knowledge of engineering into a treatise for Rcmaud. He must have returned to Itoly, for In 1607 he met William Harvey In Padua It seems fair to assume that Fludd's vocation as a physlcl<ln formed Itself dUring these years of roaming, and thell hiS lennlngs towmds the occult, already evident in his hobby of astrology, led hlln Into Paracelsian medical Circles on the Continent. ParacelslJs's 'chemical' medicine com-pared With the prevailing Galenic medicine much as hvmoeopathy does nowadays with allopathy, and jts practitioners were looked upon askance by the established physicians Trilditlonal medic me, still based largely on the balancing of the four humours (choleric. san9ulne, matic and melancholic), had made little progress since the tmle of Galen himself (second century AD), and had not taken advantage of the diSCO, which had been made as by products of alchemy Parc.lcelslJs, Itke present day practitioners of fringe medicine, was against surgery and in favour of treatmg like With like a prinCiple accepted In vaccination and the very basis of homoeopathy. HIS was a holistic healing system that treated the patient first and the disease second, thus he conSidered not Just the physical body but the subtler ones as well, and SHld that a doctor Ignorant of astrology IS nothing better than a quack Hcre, too, hiS ideas are returnmg III the treatment of the subtle bodies through radionics and the respect paid to astrology by sllch as C C; Jung, who always read his patients horoscopes. On hiS return to Englond, Fludd entered Christ Church, Oxford, "nd by May 1605 was able to pass hIS Bachelor and Doctorate of MediCine But hiS allegiance to ParacelSian prinCiples soon led him Into difficulties With the medical establishment. He failed his first cXiJrninatlofl by the College of Physicians and was not allowed to practise. In February 1606 he was eXCtmrneu a second tmle, and according to the College's records, 'Although he did not gIve full satisfaction In the examinatIOns, he was thought not unlearned Jnd therefore allowed to practise medicine' By May, he was exhibiting all the zeal of a recent convert, 'prating i1bOlJi himself and hiS chemical mediCines [lnd heaping conternpt on the GaleniC doctors' ; hiS name was removed from the roll and he was told to behave himself better. So in 1 G07 he had to apply again, was thrice eXnmined, and re-arlmittod as a candidate in December In March 1608. he again conducted himself so IIlsolently as to offend everyone', and was once more relccted Not until September 1609 was he II"olly admitted a Fellow in good standmg One feels H IIttlf; sorry for hiS fJther. who died In the midst of these embarraSSing The years after Fludd's return to England were also spent i.lssernblinn hiS assorted treatises and teaching notes Into what was to become his major work, the Historv of the Macrocosm and the M,crocosm (UlriusqfJ(J Cosm;. Historia) More of an encyclopedia than a history 7 8 in the modern sense, this massive work was intended to cover in its first volume the macrocosm-what we would call the external world-in two divisions God's works, and man's. God's works are the creation and sustenance of the universe and all Its inhabitants; man's are the arts and sciences, which for Fludd included things as disparate as music and fortification, astrology and perspective-drawing. The second volume was devoted to man himself, the microcosm, and Included both man's God-given faculties (such as prophecy, knowledge of higher worlds, and the physical body Itself) and his own inventions which lead to self-knowledge (palmistry, geomancy, horoscopy, etc) The only major fields of Renaissance learning which Fludd never touched upon were con troverslal theology and classical philology. As a broad-minded man who was proud that his wntings were acceptable to CalVinists, Anglicans and Catholics alike, he had no time for the issues that divided them As for Greek and Latin literature, he seems to have been Interested only in the philosophical works, and of those he knew the Greek ones (the Corpus Hermeticum, Plato and the Neoplatonists) only In Ficino's Latin translations. OtherWise, the whole world was his concern, and he could discuss the practicalities of engineering as authoritatively as the mys-teries which were closer to his heart A tremendous enthUSiasm and a voracious appetite for detailed knowledge mark all Fludd's encyclopedic works, and he eVidently wrote fast He assures us that he had completed the macrocosmlc volume bur or five years before he first heard of the Rosicrucians, that IS, by 1612 at the very latest. We can date some of the treatises more precisely with the help of the introduction to the second part of thiS volume He says that he prepared the one on arithmetiC for Charles, Duc de GUise, and those on geometry, perspective and military science for his brother Franc;:ols. Those on mUSIC and the art of memory were written for the Marquis de OrllOn The book on cosmography was dedicated to Fludd's father, to help him in his observlltions abroad, and the one on geomancy to the Papal Vice-Legate mentioned above. Finally, the astrological and engineering treatises were prepared for Reinaud of Avignon This dates them all, In substance If not In their final form, before 1604, making a most Impressive achievement for a man of thirty. Fludd set up his medical practIce In London, living first in Fenchurch Street and later in Coleman Street. He was successful enough to employ hiS own apothecary -doubtless a necessity for a Paracelsian phYSICian whose herbal and chemical remedies were not compounded by every pharmaCIst. His early biographers, rnisunderstandHlg hiS medica! Ideas, attributed his success merely to his bedSide manner Thomas Fuller wrote that 'seeing conceit is very contributive to the well working of phYSIC, [the patients'] fancy or faith natural was much advanced by hiS elevated expressions', and Anthony a Wood that 'he spoke to his patients amusing them with I know not what. till by his elevated expressions he operated them into a faith-natural, which consequently contributed to the well working of the physic' Obviously he was something of a psychic healer. Among hiS patients he could count John Selden, the eminent lawyer and antiquary, and among his close friends William Har-vey, who discovered the CIrculation of the blood. Once hiS rnltlal sparrrng with the College of PhYSICians was over, his standing Improved to the point of his serving frequently as their Censor (examiner) Much of his medical approach can be deduced from hiS own treatises, notably the several parts of Medicina Catha/ica. He used several tech-niques of diagnOSIs, including the time honoured methods of feeling the patients' pulses and examining their unne, to both of which he g,:)Vc a thorough If idiosyncratic philosophical grounding. He diagnosed, too, through his patients' horoscopes and calculated the" critical days from planetary transits_ But unfortunately he wrote little of treatment a few recipes and rules of life. and a great many prayers, are all the sufferer will find in his books. One exception is the weapon-salve, an ointment with which one anoints not the wound but the article that caused it. This generated a lively controversy after Fludd published the recipe In Ana/omiae Amphitheatrum, thereby annoying an obscure parish priest William Foster, who attacked it with his Sponge to Wipe Awav the Weapon-Salve And thIS was not the only 'magnetic' remedy In Fludd's medicine-bag The mysterious Scottish doctor William Maxwell was apparently close enough to Fludd to learn some of hIS darker secrets: When I was vISiting Dr Robert Fludd last year with my frrend Stafford, and we came to dIScuss these things, Dr Fludd spoke, as was his wont, very sagaciously but also secretively about this art [of magnetic healing]. Among other things he was able to tell me of the wonders of a magnet which I had heard of but never myself tried it had sur:h power of attraction that when he applied it to his heart it drew him with such force that he could not have held out for long. The Fluddian magnet is nothing other than dessicated human flesh, which certainly possesses the greatest attractive power, it should be taken, if possible, from a body still warm, and from a man who has died a violent death. (Quoted In Peuckert. Gabalia, p 271) It is hard to visualize the gentle doctor lurking at Tyburn, scalpel in hand, waiting to acquire the material for a new magnet Among the other prominent figures of the early seventeenth century with whom Fludd has been associated, strong circumstantial eVidence supports the conjectures that he knew Inigo Jones (see Yates, Theatre of the World) and Thomas Campion (see Barton) ThIS brought him, through his interest In machinery and mUSIC, Into the cHcle of masque-makers who flourished in the early Stuart court Many of the machines and fountains In his engineenng treatise are designed for frivolous or entertaining purposes, like the 'wooden ox that lowed and moved, and a dragon that moved, hissed and spat flames at the ox' which he claims in Tractatus Apo!ogeticus to have constructed himself. When in addition he tells us that his mechanical musical instruments were well received by the royal musicians, it seems more than likely that his multifarious talents were called upon by the producers of the masques In deSigning their stage effects. Was It through thIS channel or through Sir William Paddy, the Royal Physician, that he gained the ear of the King himself. to whom he dedicated his first major work? It seems that thIS, the first part of the Hislorv of the MaclOcosm, created something of a stir on its appearance in 1617. James hi:ld accepted the fulsome dedication, which addressed him with the Her-metic epithet ler maximus ('thrice greates1'), but some of those sur-rounding the paranoid king may have whispered rumours of Witchcraft when they saw the work with its mysterious illustrations. Fludd was summoned by James to reply to his calumniators, and said in hiS reply to Foster that he 'received from that time forward many gracious favours of him, and found him my just and kingly patron all the days of his life'. (James died In 1625.) Two manuscrrpts addressed to the King between 1617 and 1620, entitled Declalalio Brevis and A Philosophicall Key, also show Fludd in a defensive position, supporting hiS views with letters from sympathetiC foreign scholars. 9 The Rose and the Cross 'The Rose gives the bees honey.' This explicitly Rosicrucian symbol was first used at the head of Joachim Frizius's Summum Bonum, then adopted for Fludd's Clavis. A rose with seven circles of seven petals each alludes, in all probability, to secret doctrines of septenary emanatIOn such as were later to be publiCized In the theosophical works of H. P Blavatsky The Rose surmounts the thorny cross, the whole resembling the sign of Venus in which the solar clfcle triumphs over the cross of matter. We may interpret the motto as saying that 'spiritual knowledge gives solace to sou/s', of whom bees are a venerable symbol. The spiders' webs (a/so with sevenfold divisions) strung on a grape arbour in the background. and the Wingless IfIsect on the rose (a spider.?) may represent negative, lunar forces, as opposed to the pas/rive, solar one of the bees, both of which are reconciled by the philosophic rose SB. cp.; CPo l.p. (see Bibliography) 10 Fludd first entered print, however, not With hIS long -hatched History but with three small books occasioned by the Rosicrucian manifestoes. These anonymous publications, which kindled such emotions of sym-pathy and antipathy, were the Fama Fraternitatis of 1614, the Confessio Fratermtatis R C of 1615, and the Chymische Hochzelt Christiam Rosenkreuz of 1616, The Fama and Confessio purported to come from the Brothers of the Rosy Cross, a secret society which announced an imminent reformation of the whole world and invited prospective members to make themselves known, The Chemical Wedding IS a falry-tale deSCribing the experiences of Christian Rosenkreuz, the legendary founder of the Brotherhood, couched in alchemical symbolISm Coming at a time when Catholics and Protestants were constantly at each other's throats, the idea of a religious reformation and reconcilia-tion was welcomed by many, but rejected by the Catholics, of whose Church the manifestoes were harshly cntlcal In 1615 and 1616 Andreas Libavius issued works denigrating the Rosicrucians' doctrines as expressed in the Fama and Confessio, especially those of macro-miCro-cosmic harmony. magic, Cabbala, and their use of the Hermetic texts. This was a criticism by implication of the very foundations of the massive work which Fludd already had in hand, and naturally he felt urged to defend the RosicrUCians. This he did in hIS Apologia Compendiaria of 1616, also taking the opportunity to ask the Brotherhood to receive him as one of their number, Next year, in 1617, he issued the TractalUs Apo-/ogeticus, an enlarged version of his Apologia, which sets out in miniature the philosophy and intentions of hiS major works, and the Trac-talUs Theologo-Philosophlcus, a theological dIScussion of life, death and resurrection. also dedicated to the Brotherhood The enigmas surrounding the Rosicrucian manifestoes have attracted the efforts of many scholars, and sllll they are not altogether solved The Fama and Confessio probably came from a circle of scholars In Tub-Ingen which surrounded Johann Valentin Andreae, the Protestant utop-ist who later admitted to having written the Chemical Wedding In about 1604, while in his teens. Philosophical sources for the manifestoes are traceable In the earlier mysticism of Joachim de Flore, Thomas a Kempls, Tauler, Ruysbroek, Paracelsus, and John Dee. Andreae's circle sup-posedly sent out their works as a pleasant fiction, with the serious pur-pose of pointing a way out of the agonizing religious controversies of the day, The violent reaction to their jeu d'esprit scared them, so that Andreae dISowned the affair, calling It a silly Jest, and turned his efforts to the foundation of 'Christian Unions', So apparently the secret society of Rosicrucians had never really existed, whatever bodies were founded subsequently that bore the name, Thus far the scholars have disentangled the skein of ROSicrucian per-sonalities, books and events in the first three decades of the seventeenth century, and according to them we cannot properly call Fludd, or anyone else, a Rosicrucian. The fact remains, however, that there IS a certain type of philosophy which combines the praClical examination of nature with a spiritual view of the universe as an intelligent hierarchy of beings; which draws its wisdom from all possible sources, and which sees the proper end of man as the direct knowledge of God ThIS kind of belief underlies the manifestoes; it is presupposed in Fludd's works and In those of the alchemists; It reappears in the more esoteric aspects of Freemasonry and becomes the basis for Theosophy It is a philosophic child of NeoplatonlSm, and a close relative of the Eastern religions It forms, In short, a branch of the 'Perennial Philosophy' the primordial wisdom of mankind whose traces are found everywhere but In the modern West and Its dependencies As It surfaced In the Europe of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it has been called 'Rosicrucianism', and there are worse labels for it. Hence we may certainly say that Fludd's philosophy is Rosicrucian in spint, even If he never belonged to the Brotherhood If there was a Brotherhood. Of course it is always possIble that the manifestoes achieved precisely what they purported to do. No one has gone down in history as saying that they were contacted by the Rosicrucians ann enrolled In the Brotherhood; but if the aims and activitIes of the Brothers were deliber-ately kept secret, It may be that they were only Interested in those people who could be trusted to reveal absolutely nothing. If that were the case, we should never know what was really going on. We could only surmise that behind the known ROSicrucian philosophers like Maier and Fludd there may have been an even more esoteric group, with purposes and methods of ItS own, and we must certainly admit that the whole world has been re-formed, for better or worse, since the If time Fludd's biography from 1617 onwards IS scarcely more than hiS biblio-graphy. The next few years saw the appearance of his Historv, at the rate of one fat tome a year, from the presses of Johann Theodore de Bry In the Palatinate region of Germany. Frances Yates In The Rosicru-cian Enlightenment, has pieced together the faSCinating story of De Bry's work in Oppenheim and Frankfurt and its connection with the short reign of Frederick, Elector Palatine, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of James I The huge works of Fludd and the alchemical emblem books of Michael Maler, beautifully Illustrated with engravings by De Bry and hiS SWISS son-in-law Matthieu Merian, take on a new meaning when placed In their political setting. The hopes of all those whose outlook could be described as 'Rosicrucian' were pinned on Frederick. hopes that he could inrtiate the reform of which the Fama and Confessio spoke, and heal the religious rifts that were, alas. soon to split Central Europe apart with the Thirty Years' War. To the publisher whose press formed one of the main propaganda weapons of the reforming movement, Fludd's History of the Macrocosm and Microcosm, by now probably nearing completion, must have seemed like a bible of the Rosicrucian philosophy, and no time was wasted in getting it Into pllnt. To Fludd, the De Bry firm's effiCiency and experience must have come as a godsend, for he says in his answer to Foster that 'our home-borne Printers demanded of me five hundred pounds to print the first volume, and to find the cuts In copper, but. beyond the seas, it was printed iJt no cost of mine, iJnd that as I would wish. And I had 16 copies sent me over, with 40 pounds in gold, as an unexpected gratuitie for it . (p. 21) ThiS sounds like royal pJtronJge indeed Volume I and the first part of Volume II were duly completed and published in rapid succession In 1617-20. But the scale of the work then began to exceed all reasonable proportions as Fludd proceeded to divide and subdivide it in a way too complicated to deSCribe in words, but easily understood from a table (p. 93) By the time Philosophia Sacra appeared In 1626, being Portion IV of Section I of Tractate II of Volume II, the master plan was beyond repair, and Fludd abandoned It. only to launch a new one three years later His second major scheme, somewhat less ambitious, was the Medi-cina Catha/lea, a universal medical textbook in two volumes (see table, p. 93). Its parts came out from 1629 to 1631, completing the first of two promised volumes. Then that. too, was left unfinished, and Fludd wrote no more extensive works until the Philosophia MOYS8IC8, a fairly succinct summation of hiS philosophy, appearing posthumously In 1638 11 12 HIS other books are best understood as incidental to hiS two great compendia, prompted for the most part by an almost pathological senSI tivity to criticism. I have already mentioned the defensive positions of his early Rosicrucian works, and of the manuscript trciJtises Dec/aralia Brevis and A Philosophicall Key. His other controversial wrltmgs, with their prompters, are as follows: 1619 Johannes Kepler criticizes Fludd's ideas of world harmony In his Harmonices mundi 1621 Fludd answers Kepler in Veri/atls Proscenium. 1621/2 Kepler answers with hiS Prodromus dlssertationum cosmo graphicum. 1623 Fludd answers Kepler again in Monochordum Mundi, Issued as part of Anatomiae Amphitheatrum Marin Mersenne attacks Fludd and the Hermetic philosophy In Quaes {iones celeberrimae in Genes/in. Patrick Scot disparages alchemy in The Tillage of Light 1624? Fludd answers Scot In a manusCrIpt entitled Truth's Golden Harrow. 1628 Lanovius de La Noue) condemns Fludc1 In Judicium de Roberto Fluddo, published 1630. 1629 Fludd answers Mersenne in Sophlae Cum Moria Certamen Joachim Frizius answers Mersenne in Summum Bonum 1630 Pierre Gassendl supports Mersenne's views in Epistolica exer-citatio. 1631 William Foster attacks the weapon salve 10 Hoplocrtsma spongus Fludd answers Foster in Doctor Fludd's Answer unto M. Foster. 1633 Fludd answers Mersenne, Gassendl and Lanovlus In CIa vis Philosophiae. Most of these are slight works, especially when compared with major productions like De Naturae Simia (798 pp.) or Integrum Morborum Mysterium (532 pp). They were printed 10 folio format, apparently 10 order to match Fludd's other works, with which they arc sometimes bound Fludd died at hiS home In Coleman Street on 8 September 1637, aged sixty-three, and was buried In Bearsted Church. The handsome monu-ment deSigned by him and erected by hiS nephew Thomas may still be seen there, although it was moved from the chancel to the vestry by a disapproving vicar towards the end of the nineteenth century The name of Robert Fludd soon passed as a mere catchword for arcane and incomprehensible philosophy, and indeed hiS books are not easy to read. His greatest inspirations lie not so much in his words as in the illustra-tions which he deSigned to accompany them. Several factors had con spired to prepare the ground for this approach, in which graphic material played such a prominent part. First there was the immense popularity of emblem books, in which pictorial symbols were combined With mot toes and poems to make an ethical or philosophical pOint, or lust for the sake of a conceit. Innumerable emblem books followed on the proto type, Alciall's Emblemata (1531), and contlOued until well on 10 the seventeenth century. The idea that a picture could show what words could not tell also lay behind the beautifully illustrated alchemical texts which appeared In great numbers 10 the fifty years around 1600 When woodcuts gave way to copper engravings as the favourite means of printing such pictures. the quality of illustration improved markedly. a change for wh,el1 Theodore de Bry, father of Fludd's publisher Johann Theodore, was largely responsible through his massive illustrated books describing America and other recent discoveries_ Johann Theodore de Bry himself engraved the first part of Fludd's History of the Macrocosm, but the subsequent parts were probably done by Matthleu Merlan, who signed the sympathetic portrait of Fludd In Philosophia Sacra (our fron-tispiece) and the title-page of De Naturae Simia (plate 95), the most copiously illustrated of all his treatises. Fludd's gift for summarizing lengthy explanCltions in diagrammatic form makes It possible to understand much of his philosophy from his engravings alone, but I have annotated them in order to make them com-prehensible to those who are unfamiliar with Latin or with Rosicrucian doctrines. The task of tracing all the sources and descendants of his philosophy would demand a much larger work than thiS, but it is appro-priate here to give a brief summary of what he believed and why his work is valuable to people of the twentieth century At the head of Fludd's cosmos IS one Absolute God, whom he usually represents by the Hebrew Tetragrammaton YHVH, a word that is never pronounced, just as the Absolute can never be described. ThiS supreme, impersonal principle IS beyond the distinctions of goed and eVIl. But although it is a perfect unity, it has a dual power it can either remain In itself, contained in a state of potentiality, or it can act. The Cabballsts call both these powers by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. dis-tingUishing them as the 'Light Aleph' and the 'Dark Aleph' Fludd says that God's dark Side seems like an abyss of chaos, the parent of all the evils and discord in the world It is the source of Satan and the demons who trouble the world and fight perpetually against the angels of light. But since God's unity includes it. we must accept it as an aspect of him and hence ultimately good. God's active state, on the other hand, is obviously good, for It gives the whole universe being and sustains It with all Its creatures. Fludd expresses the problem thus rn his Mosalcall PlulosophV Touching the explication of this most profound Sphyngfan Riddle or abstruse question, namely Why God in his secret sense or mentall intent did raise up and ordain out of the informed matter or Ideally delineated III himself, these two contrarieties, to cause thereby that all things in the world, should be put Into a mutuall dissonance. or fight and conflict with one another, so that there IS found nothing which participateth of goodness, which hath not his contrary; that is to say, which doth not communicate with badness (in so much that God himself is not without an adversary) verily it is too occult a Caball to be explained by mortall capacity, berng that It may well be esteemed the profoundest secret of all the divine mysteries neither verily doth it become us of our selves to enquire why God made thiS or that. or thus or after this fashion. But It behoveth the zealous to refer all this unto the time when the secrets shall be dis-covered, which Will come to pass, when the seventh Seal shall be opened. for then that high mystery, which IS the finall cause, why and for what end God's Providence wrll by these two OPPOSltS reveal it self, and clean extinguish all enmity out of the world, shall be dis-covered So that as two contrarieties or discords, proceeded from one Unity Or unison, namely Light and Darkness from one Divine Essence; So also these two dissonant branches or confusion of Uni-ties, will at the last be reduced or return again into one harmonious Unity, In which there will be found no d,ssonancy. (p. 144) 13 14 Fludd was very Interested in the process of creation, on all levels, and anxious to find the common ground of the creation myths in the two books he most respected, the Bible and the Corpus Hermetlcum He explains the creation of the universe as the result of a ray of God's active light, sent out into the void and diminishing gradually as it went farther from him. Around it the darkness coalesced in the form of matter. The stronger the ray, the less matter could exist in its presence. But in the outer reaches of God's illumination, the darkness gradually pre-vailed over light, exceeding and finally extinguishing it. The variOUS com-pounds of spirit and matter became worlds and regions of worlds, of which there are three main divisions. first, the empyrean world, or Heaven, where light exceeds darkness, the latter taking the form of exceedingly rarefied matter, second, the ethereal world, equally com-pounded of light and darkness into a substance 'we call ether; third, the elemental world, where darkness predominates over light, producing the traditional four states of matter' fiery, gaseous, liquid and solid Far from being lifeless, material spaces, all these worlds are thronged With beings, the empyrean With angels, the ethereal with stars, planets and demons, the elemental with men, animals, plants and minerals. All these creatures partake of God's light in measure according to their place on the hierarchy. But there IS one level in particular which, though not at the top of the hierarchy, is nevertheless particularly favoured by God ThiS IS the Sun, which is placed at the crucial midpoint of the chain of being, where spirit and matter are in perfect equity and balance. God has made the Sun his tabernacle, and from this secondary residence his active power radiates anew to all the lower realms. At the beginning of his History of the Macrocosm Fludd describes the world and its divisions Martlanus [Capella] has a threefold interpretation of the word 'world' (1) As an archetype whose substance is incorporeal, invisible, in-tellectual and sempiternal; after whose model and divine image the beauty and form of the real world are constructed (as Boethlus says): and this world remainS permanently In the diVine mind, (2) As a non-celestial body, i.e, the greater world that IS bounded and contained by the concavity of the Pnmum Mobile and thiS world IS, by the will of God, eternal. (3) As man, who is called the lesser world, and IS said to be perpetual In form but corruptible In body, We differ little from Martianus's opinion in treating the world as duplex: the Macro-cosm and the Microcosm. The first is to be distinguished from man, the Microcosm, In that it deSignates the entire space of prime matter as a world, a Cosmos, or a Macrocosm: for the spiritual light, or the spirit of God, encircles both waters in its embrace. This portion of the abyss is composed of a circle of manifold lights and darknesses, divided into three regions according to their degrees of purity and impurity_ The highest is the region of the world where the igneous spirit is prepared, and the primary substance of light contained. extending inwards from the sphere of the Trinity as far as the sphere of the stars The substance of thiS region of the world IS so subtle and pure, on account of its form, that it is altogether imperceptible to our senses. Hence the Philosophers call it intellectual, and In its highest stage spiritual, The middle region is adorned by stars, both fixed and moving, and occupies the concavity between the spheres of the Pnmum Mobile and that of the moon, Thence proceeds the manifest region, the world-mass, in two principal parts: the higher one incorporeal, spiritual, most pure and subtle, ~ n the other cor-porea!. This corporeal region IS agam divided !nto two parts the middle one is subtle, tenuous and Incorruptible, and the lower is the sublunary or elemental region, impure, gross and reeking of corrup tion These the ancient Philosophers call the regions of the Macro cosm, and the Scriptures call the Heavens. But they call the highest one the Empyrean or fiery heaven, for it is filled with spiritual fire or the substance of light. And it was Into that third heaven, which '.V he called Paradise, that Saint Paul was taken in the spint. The scriptures generally call the middle region the ethere,,) or 'lucid" heaven, or simply 'heaven' (UCH I, a, pp 45-6) God's powers, says Fludd, are borne Into these three worlds by IllS ministers. The angels are the servants of his light aspect, and the devils of hiS darkness' two parallel h,erarch,"s which strive perpetually one against the other. They are not exactly equal, however, for the devils were beaten down from the empyrean heaven by the Archangel Michael and his hosts before the lower worlds were ever created, iJnd Michael then took up hiS abode in the Sun. Fludd's theogony and angelo logy are complicated and Intertwined in such a way that some very remarkable conclusions emerge. His most Important concepts are those of Nature, the Anima Mundi (World Soul), the Cabbal,sts' Metatron, the Archangel Michael, the Messiah, and God the Son Nature is the feminine, maternal principle, of whom writes In the early Tractatus Theologo-PhilosophiclJs This Nature is the nobJest daughter of the Creator, obedient to the maker of the Earthly Paradise and of herself, and to the holy Spirit of wisdom; so imbued IS she with his Word and with supercelestial Nectar, that she is surrounded with the perpetual splendour of eternClI Ufe and protected with the sword of blaZing light against the In-vasions of the impious. She reveals her essence and virtue to none but the sons of God, to whom it is given to know the 'Word that sh,neth In the darkness and by whom all things were made' ThiS noble and most pure Virgin is decked with such divine light, that some have wondered whether this splendid N()ture, thiS Psyche, minister of life to all creatures, is herself God, or whether God himself is she, since the airy virtue of the admirable Father and Son, or the holy Spirit of Intelligence, has placed its tabernacle in her. Happy IS he who shall taste of her limpid waters, for he will be exalted With the splendour of the Word and the rays of the SPirit'S teaching This Immaculate Nymph desires assiduously the presence, society and assistance of her Delform spouse, that she may lead her work to still greater perfec tion. . Thus this most fair sister, immaculate dove and friend. speaks to her beloved from the depths of her desire: 'stay me With flowers, comfort me With apples, for I am sick with love' (Song of Solomon, 2, 5). Therefore the Philosopher In his sacred sermon also says 'Out of the light a Word was made and descended on Nature, warming her' (Pmlander, 1, 5) Similarly the Spint of the Lord, which IS the igneous love having the virtue of the Father and the Word, was borne over the waters and gave them Its fiery vigour. So this burning love, a flashing Spirit of wisdom, is that true and supercelestial desire, pro-jecting its igneous seeds into the matrix of the universal waters ... that is, into the womb of Physis, whose chosen daughter is the immaculate Psyche and bride of the bridegroom. (pp 36 7) A feminine aspect of diVinity IS an Ingredient of most rellqICH1S, ol)d in Catholic Christianity this IS supplied by the Vii gin PmrcStdrliS, 15 16 to their loss, have rejected the deification of the Virgin Mother, but they do not thereby annul the psychological and spiritual need for her. An exclusively male god does not warm the emotions of many people, and the way of divine love, which In Hinduism IS called 'bhakti', is more often directed to an ali-loving female figure. Fludd's eloquent praise of Nature shows that she is such a figure to him. He describes her in meta-physical terms as God's first creation and also his spouse. This Idea, so alien to conventional theology, IS simply a way of saying that the Abso lute One must make a Second before a unIverse can be produced. These profound principles have been studied and described more systematic-ally in the East than in the modern West, and Fludd's account takes on new clarity when associated with the Hindu duality of Purusha and Prak"t!. Nature in her highest aspect IS Prak"ti, the cosmic substance which is formless and void until the cosmiC thought of Purusha enters and inseminates it. From that union, and not from either principle alone, a world can be born. for at the supreme level of the self-existent, absolute Brahma, the One without a Second, there is no Purusha, no Prakritl, and no world. Fludd seems In the above quotation to be speaking of a lower level of the primordial duality, where the manifested Logos or Word finds in Virgin Nature its field of activity. She comprises the potential creative forces that will go to make a universe, once they are 'known' by the Logos. In order for a human being to know her, he must unify hiS splintered perceptions and experience the pure presentation of know-ledge as a whole, thus transcending the world of Maya which is born from her In later works Fludd speaks less of Nature and more of the World Soul This IS the same thing: the creative forces of light, will, intellect, and so on, which sustain any cosmic entity_ He describes thus the origin of the World Soul' the Logos gives off an emanation of light, which IS the 'Eternal SPilit of Wisdom'. ThiS creative p"nclple [PurushaJ infuses the humid chaos [Prakriti], turning it from a potential state to an active one, so that it becomes the substratum for the world. From the world's point of view, this divine light is its very soul, In the words of the Masat call Philosophy, 'the soul of the world, or Mens divina In mundo [the divine Mind in the world], simply taken, IS the divine mental I emanation absolutely in It self, being distinguished from the created SPlllt' (p. 149) In the same chapter Fludd draws a parallel from the Individual soul That Anima is nothing else, but that which doth animate or vivifie a body or SPilit why then should not the catholick divine Spirit which filleth all, and operateth all, and in all, be tearmed the fountain of the world's life; by which it liveth, moveth, and hath Its being, and consequently the essentiall Irle, and Centrall or mental soul of the world, moving the created humid spirit thereof (p. 150) Fludd recognized that the Jewish Cabbala described exactly the same principle as Metatron, which he translates as the 'gift of God'. ThiS prin-ciple, whom they make the catholick intellectual A(]ent, is nothing else but that unlversall SPirit of Wisdome which God sent out of his own mouth, as the greatest gift and token of hiS benignity unto each world, and the members thereof to reduce them from deformity, and non-eXistence, Into act and formall being And this therefore was tearmed rightly in the eies of wise men Mitattron or Oaf/urn Dei catho-heurn, which reduceth the universal I Nothing Into a universall Somethlfl'l (pp 151 2) That Fludd considered this pnnciple to be none other than the second person of the Christian Trinity emerges from statements in his answer to Kepler, printed with Anatomiae Amphltheatrum. Here he actually says that the Light Aleph IS the Son, or Wisdom, or Ught. or the Word, 'And the Platonists accept this "Wisdom" of the Hebrews, and "MesSiah" of the Christians, and "Mittatron" of the Cabbal,sts, and "Word" of the Prophets and Apostles as the true Soul of the World, whom they say filled harmonically all the intervals of the world In threes, squared and cubed (pp. 302 3) The reference here IS to tile description of the world's creation In Plato's Timacus where, follOWing Pythagorean number theory, Plato shows how the universe IS organlLed mathematically and harmonically. Modern phYSICists would have to agree in principle, having discovered that matter is nothing but quasi-mathematical entities in a state of vibra-tion. But Fludd's Catholic cntlcs objected to his syncretistic mind, which could see the essential truth In any doctrine, whether Greek, Chaldaean, Hebrew or Christian. Marin Merscnne, his most Virulent opponent. said that nothing could be more impIOUS than Fludd's doctnne, which he surrrmarized thus Compounded from God and thiS ethereal Spirit IS the Anirna Mundi The purest part of this Soul is the Anqellc nature and the Empyrean heaven, which IS understood to be mixed into all things. The Demons are part of the same essence, but JOined to evil material. All souls, whether of men or of brutes, are none other than particles of thiS same Soul. ThiS Soul IS also the Angel Michael or Mlsatlron What is more, the same Soul IS the true Messiah, Saviour, Christ, corner stone and universal rock, on which the Church and all salvation are founded (Mr;rs"nrw's Lellres, II, p 441) What outraged Mersenne was the Idea that Christ should be reduced to parity with the World Soul, or, worse, a mere angel But although In the seventeenth century It W[lS d[lngcrous to say as much, Fludd seems to have known intuitively what esoteric doctrines have taught in every culture thClt there are great beings who watch over the planetary bodies, and who on occasion descend as Messiahs, Buddhas, Avatars nnd Christs_ These beings, exalted as they are, arc obviously not the saine as the Absolute Principle of the whole universe fludd himself explains that these rrlrlCiples are not all on the same level of being They are, rather, different manifestations of a Single prln clple In different worlds. In Philosophia Movsalca he also writes The more secreT Theologians and those most expert in true CabbalCl say that just as Mind has domination In the human Soul, thus does Mettatron Ir1 the celestial world. where he rules from the Sun. und the Soul of the Messiah In the AngeliC world, and Adonal In the Archetypal [world]. And to the degree to which the active II1tellect of Mind IS the light of the soul, even so the light of that same Mettatron or World's Soul is Sadai, and the light of the Messiah's soul IS Elcha!. which signrfles the living God, and the light of Adonai is Ensoph, signifying the infinity of Divinity The world's soul IS thelefore Metta tron, whose light IS the Soul of the Messiah or of the Tetragramma-ton's virtlJe, in which is the light of the living God, in which is the light of Ensoph, beyond which there IS no progression (p ]04) 17 ,----- -En Soph the Infinite Elchai the living God Sadal all-powerful Mind This may be expressed diagrammatically' --- - ---- ---is the light of Adonai who rules In the Archetypal the Lord world " i Soul of the Messiah " Angelle world YHVH's Vtrtue -- --" Metatron " Celestial world i Anima Mundi " I Human Soul and rules there Space does not permit a fuller discussion of this subject. Readers who wish to pursue it in its cabbalistic aspect would do well to consult the definitions of these Hebrew names in Leo Schaya's The Universal Mean-ing of the Kabbalah (1971), where the spellings differ slightly: EI hai for Elchal, Shaddai for Sadal Another of Fludd's deepest concerns was with the idea of harmony between microcosm and macrocosm According to this, man IS a miniature universe and the universe IS a great being; therefore if one understands the lesser cosmos, one will comprehend the greater. This IS the true meaning of the Creator's words In GenesIs, 'Let us make man in our own image', and of the Hermetic axiom, 'That which is above IS like unto that which is below.' Modern sCience has disproved thiS venerable notion of correspondence to its own satisfaction, through the simple expedient of ignoring every level of being but one the material But Fludd would have been the fllst to protest that the matellal bodies of men and planets alike are their least important vehicles. What really correspond With the macrocosmic enllties are man's subtle bodies, and it will be the task of astrology In years to come to identify, on a philo-sophical as well as a mundane level, the exact correspondences Clnd their meaninqs Harmony implies relationships, and nowhere are quantitative relation-ships so keenly felt as when they are manifested In music. Here quantity becomes quality, and arithmetic is experienced as feeling, the ratio 2 3 flowers into the unmistakable sound of a perfect fifth, and so on Our modern experience With digital computers shows that more Jnd more of our knowledge can be expressed as relationships between simple numbers. As an inheritor of the Pythagorean-Platonic tradition, Fludd also appreciated this, but expressed it in the life-enhancing language of musical harmony. The chords and Intervals which he heard between the levels of the universe may not be scientifically demonstrable or even accurate, but they testify to his faith in an orderly world, in which nothing is related by chance and all IS imbued With a harmony which we will one day understand and hear for ourselves His contemporary, Shake-speare, wrote that 'Such harmony is in immortal souls', knowing that the discords of Earth are resolved when our centre of consciousness rises to a h ig her level. I have dwelt on these few areas of Fludd's thought to the exclusion of others because they illustrate his utter independence from sectarian Christian theology, hiS readiness to recognize wisdom wherever he saw it, and his firm grasp of the theory of mUltiple states of being. All three features set him apart from the dominant philosophical and theological concerns of hiS own day and of the centurtes that followed Yet these are precisely the things that have always separated esoteric thinkers from the simplistiC and exclusive doctrines of exoteric religion. The first and 'Shakespearian' rai/plece. lound in Anatomiae Amphitheatrum (pp. 51 , 218, 250, 285). and almost identical to that used repeatedly in the lirst lalla edition of Shakespeare's works, published in London the same year, 1623 Manly P Hall and others have remarked on the occurrence of similar or identical decorations In lhe King James Bible (1611) and In early seventeenth- century publications of Bacon, Shakespeare. Raleigh, Spenser. and olhers associated with underground spifllual movements Whether Fludd was connected with any of these IS a question for speciahsls In this controversial field second features are natural for those who recognize that God and hi s wisdom are not the preserve of anyone sect or creed ; but this requires a view of humanity and God that transcends one's immediate milieu : even more of a rarity in the seventeenth century than it is today. The third feature is all ied to the others, for it involves a realization of the relativity of all standpoints : what is valid on one level may have to be sacrificed on a higher one. This is illustrated most impressively by Fludd 's synthesis of both good and evil in the Absolute. The levels of being form the principal subject of so many of his plates that they must have been Fludd' s major concern. The fact that he illus-trates them with reference to a geocentric universe is irrelevant : the Pto-lemaic system is not true physically, but symboli cally it is still entirely valid. From our position as embodied human beings on a physical earth, the universe does seem to turn around us, and we each feel and behave as if we were the centre of it. Any expansion of consciousness is an ascent through the ' spheres' or spi ritual states which the planets symbol-ize' and an escape from the 'earth ' of our physical being and shackling ego. The writings of all traditions lend their support to this idea of the soul 's ascent, which Fludd saw as the ultimate goal of man, as well as to the existence of unseen higher worlds compounded either of finer states of matter (etheric, astral, etc.) or si mply of different states of mind. Fludd used the former metaphor, and this has brought upon him the incongruous label of ' materialist' from those to whom matter and mind are an irreconcilable dual ity. Robert Fludd is a link in the chain of Christian esoteric ism whi ch in -c u d e s figures as disparate as Origen, Hildegard, Eckhart, Fi cino, Boehme, Emerson and Stei ner ; and he seems to have received his arcane knowledge not only from other writers but from t he same source as all true theosophists before and since. Such people are often at variance with the established Churches, to whose authority they offer the chal -lenge of a personal revelation . Cutting through the crystalli zat ions of dogma, they approach the spiri tual world directly, returning with a new vision of its inexhaustible ri ches. It was Fludd 's virtue that he could present hi s vital teachings unmarred by hi s own psychology, and thus his work has always been pri zed as an inspired vehicle for universal truth. 19 The Macrocosm The creation of the umvelse and the metaphysical pflne/ples (hat govern II The Solar Logos The Sun IS the brightest object vIsible to morlal sight , and a universal symbol of the Supreme Deity WhIle Fludd did nOI accept the Copernican dOctrine of the Sun as cenlre of the malerlal uniVerse, like Fl elno he d id accord It absolute pnmacy In the planetary order. as the midpoint of the cham of being stretching from Heaven 10 Earth The 20 Sun In the sky. like the heart m the human body, IS God ' s most Immediate manllesl<ltlon on ItS particular lellel (see plate 39) UCH I . p 19 2 The PtolemaIC Umverse I From the mfmlte light of God (Deus) . a spiral descends to the uttermost depths of matter The Absolute creates by Passages In the commentaries to the plat es whi ch are In Quotation marks are either Fludd's own words O( else paraphrases 01 them Page references are (0 the same book {rom which the plate IS taken, unless otherwIse indIcated For key to the abbreViated lffles (UCH, etc) . see Bibliography limiting Its own Infinity, In an act described by the capt ion ' The si mplex unity , the begmnlng , the startmg pomt , source of essences , the firSt act , the Bemg of bemgs , Nature producmg nature ' First comes Cosmic or World Mmd (Mens). open on the one hand to the Absolute on the other entering the constrlctmg vortel( that IS creation The 'IrSI of the Hebrew letters, Aleph, marks this beglnnmg of beginnings, from which the other 21 hypostases emanate In a threefold scheme The turns of the spiral marked 2 10 are the nine orders of angels Seraphim, Cherubim, Dominations, Thrones, Powers, PrinCipalities, Virtues, Archangels and Angels These inhabit mcorporeal , melaphyslcal realms With '1 , the heaven of the fixed Slars, we reach the sphere of the lodlac which encloses the seven Chaldean planets (12 18) Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun, Venus, Mercury and Moon The third divISion IS the sublunary region where all IS compounded of the four elements (19 22) fire, au, waler and earth The archetypes Or Intelligences that preSide over each 01 the twenly-two spheres are Signified both by the Hebrew leiterS and by the Winged heads UCH II . . p 219 21 3 3 The PtolemaiC Universe /I While the prevIous VISion represenled the cosmos as spl rallmg down from God. here 11 15 shown created as an Instantaneous whole The SPtrH of GOd. In the form of a dove, carves the unIVerse oul of the clouds of nothingness The three divISIons arc more clearty enunciated here The mnefold celestial hierarchy IS diVided ,nlO only three CIrcles (probably correspondmg 10 the Orphl c - Pl atoniC divISIon of the Intelligible Gods. I ntelligIble IntelleClUals, and Intellectual Gods) The fixed Slars and the seven planets follow. of which Sun and Moon shed their light upon the sublunary world First of the elemenls IS IHe , then come air and waler, appropnately stocked with birds and fishes . then earlh and here 11 seems to be our terrestrial globe Itself at the dawn of creation Adam and Eve are VISible In the Garden of Eden, already conversrng with the serpent UCH I . . p 9 4 The Ptolemaic Untverse /If ' The Mirror of the Whole of Nature and the Image of ArC Thi s most comprehensive of all of Fludd' s cosmiC schemata follows the prevIOus one In ItS 22 general layout The sublunary world IS drawn rn great detail Fire and air have Ihelr cltcles, but water and eart h are depicted as a realistiC landscape on whi ch st ands Nature (see below) Under the aegis of these elements, as II were, are the three realms of Nalllre Antmal (containi ng pictures of dolphrn, snake, lion, man, woman, eagle, snail and fish) Vege/able (trees grapes, wheat flowers and roots) Minerai ( l aic, antimony, lead, gold, Silver, copper, orplment and sal ammoniac. each ruled by the appropriate planet) The connect ions between the planetary and elementary worlds are shown by dOlled lines , notice, too. thai man faces the Sun and woman the Moon The presence of three suns may be a reference 10 the Orphi c PlatoniC dOClrtne of the Threefold Sun, for divulging which the Emperor Juhan met hiS death In AD 364 Fludd ' s deSCtlpllOn of th.s plate cent res on the figure of Nature, deplcl ed as a beautIful virgin ' She IS not a goddess, but the proximate minIster of God, at whose behest she governs the subcelest1iJ1 worlds In the picture she IS lorned 10 God by a cham [the catena aurea of Homer. which descends through all the hierarchy of eXistence] She IS Ihe Soul of the World (anima mund,) , or the I nVISible Fire of Heraclitus and Zoroaster. It IS she who turns the sphere of the stars and dISposes the planetary Influences to the elemental realms, nourtshrng all creatures from her bosom. ' On her breast IS the true Sun , on her belly the Moon. Her heart gIves l ight to the Slars and planets. whose Influence. rnfused In her womb by Ihe mercunal spint (called by the philosophers the SPlfft of the Moon). IS sent down to the very centre of the Earth Her tight foot stands on earth, her left In water. slgnlfyrng the conjunction of sulphur and mercury Without which nothrng can be crealed ' ( pp 7- 8 ) Thus Fludd desCnbes her In cryptiC, alchemical language In Hindu termin -ology, she IS God's ' Shaktl' . hiS feminine creatrve power HIS conjunction wrth her produces the universe, and Sl mll 'lI conjunct ions of lesser gods With thei r consorts generate each descending level of eXistence Fludd. as a monotheist , would not use thi S rmagery , but he ImplIes the same prinCiples by the symbols of conjunct ion In Nature's womb between stellar Influences and the mercurial Splflt , and al her feet between sulphur and mercury CreatIon on every level reqUires a tenSion between oppoSl1 es, and the symbols for th iS are manifold Nature. says Fludd. has a helper who. Imitating her, produces things SimIl ar to hers ThiS Ape of Nature we call Art , who has ansen fr om human tngenulty In the picture he forms the termrnus of the charn of being, beating the same relatron to Nature as she to God We might say, wtlh the Koran. that man IS God's vrcegerent upon Earth, where he IS entrusted With the task of looking after thiS corner 01 the universe The arts. which In Fludd's day Incl uded what we call SCiences, are man' s means of making the Earth a happy and beautIful place rf he uses them nght ly The CIrcles of the arts are as follows Liberal Arts (engineering time keeping, cosmography, astronomy, geomancy. arithmetiC, mUSIC, geometry, perspective draWIng, painting and fortrflcatlOn) Art suppfafllmg Na/ure 111 the ammal rcalm (api culture, stlkworms, egg hatchIng, medlcrne) Art asslsflflg Nature lri the vegetable realm (tree graftlng, cultivat ion of the sorl) Art correcting Nature In the mineraI realm (d,stillat Ion With alembiC and retOrt) UCH I . . pp 5 23 5 5 The Great Darkness ' And thus, to mf,MV ' 'What was there before creation" Some first Siale of unformed mailer (materis prima) , wlihoUI dimenSion or Quantrty, neither small nOr large. withOut properties or Inclinations. neither moving nor 51111 . ParacelSU5 calls It the Great Mystery (Mysterium Magnum) which he says IS uncreated ; others claim It as God's first creation: Fludd leaves us to decide between them, and depicts It as the blackest of clouds. the darkest abyss. extending from mflnlty to ,nf,nlly (pp. 23-4) UCH I . , p. 26 24 6 The Appearance of Light ' Moses, Plalo and Hermes all agree In calling the f.rst act of creation one of light This Ilghl. neither uncreated nor created. IS the mtell,gence of the angels, the VIVifYing virtue of the heavens, the (at lanaI soul In man, and the life-force of the lower realms. II diminishes gradually on this descending scale, the perfection of things being In proportion to its presence.' (pp. 27- 9) Here IS the flrSI appearance of light In Ihe darkness As II sends forth liS vlfwe from the centre, the 'watery SPiritS' begin to separate Into those nearer and those farther from It (p 30) UCH I, . , P 29 7 The DiviSIOn 01 (he Waters The prime maller, fecundated by the diVine light , diVides InIO two The part furthest removed from the light [the dark cloud In the middle of the picture} remains In a state of passrVlly, while In the surrounding part dwells the aCl lve fire of love These are the lower and the upper waters The light cloud In between IS a mysteriOUS state, nell her spmtual nor corporeal It IS called variously the Earth - spIrit , the SpHiI of Mercury, the Ether and the QUintessence It has the capacity to penetrate and alter bodies, and thus acts as the vehicle of the soul ' s descent Into mailer (pp 35 6) UCH I, . , P 37 6 7 8 The Chaos of the Elements The lower waters have now been sllrred mto a confused and 'undIgested' mass, In which the four elements fight against each other ' hal agaInst cOld. wet against dry, Manly P. Halt has pOinted out (Man. pp 48- 9) the resemblance of this figure to the human intestines Fludd himself makes the bowels In man equivalent to the elemental realm In the universe (see plate 91) . UCH I, " P 4, 9 The Central Sun Resolving the chaos of the prevIous plate, the elements arrange themselves Into concentriC Circles of fire. air. water and earth. whIle In the centre appears the Sun Fludd derived thIS Image from an alchemical experiment which he witnessed performed by a fri end. and descrtbes In detail the battle of the elements which was reproduced In the vessel. At the end, he says. they extracted from the cent re of the mass a 'solar substance', a precIous gem 'li ke Lucifer faUen from heaven' (p. 42) UCHI , ' , P 43 , AA, P 23 1 0 . L et chere be Ught' A second series of Illustrations recapitulates the creatIon of the three realms angehc (empyrean) . celestial (ethereal) and elemental Following closely the book of GenesIs. Fludd descrIbes them as the products of the first three days of creat ion Each 'day' was defined by a Circul i of the SpIrit of God. proceedIng from the primordial word FIAT ('let It be' ). as shown In thiS plate On the first day. With the words FIAT LUX (,l et there be light'), the hIghest heaven appeared Thi S IS the Ilghl - fl lled empyrean, perceptible not to mortal eyes but only to the Intellect It s base IS the crystal hne sphere, described by St John the DIVine as 'a sea of glass, mmgled With ftre' (Revel ation 15 2) On the second day the SPirit made ItS second revolulton (described to GenesIs 1 ~ and the celestial firmament appeared, dividing the upper waters (the empyrean) from the lower ones. which on the thud day woul d become the elemental realm UCH I, . , P 49. PS. P ' 57 25 10 14 The Elemental Sphere /I Earth The Qualities of eanh are cold and dry, and as the darkest and heaviest elemen! It smks, as It were, to the \lcry Centre of the universe This plate shows It condensed mto a dark ball m the middle of the flre-cucle No wonder that the Earth IS such a \lale of misery, says Fludd, smce It IS formed from the \lery dregs of creation and contams the De\lll himself , enemy to God and man ' But you, 0 celestial creatures, mhabltants of the sweetest Paradise, thrice blessed and more beyond human telling you are freed by the Ineffable power of light from the miseries and chams that shackle us!' (p 65) UCH I . . p 66 15 The Elemental Sphere 11/ AI( and Water In between the fire and eanh spheres IS a zone compounded of earth' s coldness mixed with fire' s heat , 'like the Callus of male With female' Cp 66) Three parts of Igneous heat and one of terrestrial coldness make up the element of air the re\lerse proportions gl\le water Humidity IS nol so much an archetypal Quality In ItS own right as an inCidental state of matter nOI 'productive' but 'dlsllngulshmg' between the twO extremes (pp 67 8) UCH I . . p 69 16 The Creation of the p"mum Mobile 'When the darkness had been dismissed to the region of the Earth, God made the Prtmum Mobile which gives mO\lement and hfe to all the mferlor spheres It IS the bearer of hiS Wisdom and Will. which are effected here below by the angels For want of words to descrtbe how GOd ' S Wisdom acts In the Prtmum Mobile, and how It filled the whole world before the creation of the Sun, we depict It thus With the pen ' (pp 159- 60) Here IS proof. II proof were needed, thai Fludd himself drew hiS diagrams, at least m rough Words fall him, so he sketches hiS VISion (lor a VISIon It must havo been) of the prOlocosmlC light entermg the dark womb of the unIverse PS. p 160 27 18 17 The Creation of (he Slars The fixed stars appear on the outside edge of the celestial sphere. Fludd thinks that they were probably created on the second day of creation, but that they were not vi sible until the Sun was created. They do nOt reflect the Sun's lighl , bul rather aSSimilate II and give II off later (pp. 125. 128) We can see parallel phenomena on Earth In the phosphorescence of putrefYing wood and cerlaln f ish, as also In alchemy_ Here he gives a tantalizing glimpse Into hiS own alchemical laboratory ' I myself once eXlracted the spiritual humour from some most noble body. and observed Its marvellous 28 transmutation mto Sol [gold 7] I remember at the end seemg that Spirit ascend Violently by liS own sun -gIven heal. With liS newly aCQUired IlnClUre, 10 the top of the alembiC, and there glow like the brightest of rubles Wi thout any elemental fire present ' (p. 126) He accounts In an Interesllng way for the different degrees of brightness In the fixed Slars 'We know that the empyrean light IS mVISlble to us unless flilered Ihrough matter Therefore the brightest stars will be the densest. mOSt malerlal ones, since they can best make that hghl visible to the lower worlds ' (p. 130) UCH I .. p 131 18 The Creation of the Sun I 'The penurballons allendanl on creat ion had caused some of the celestial light to be trapped In the cold mass of the cen tral Earth ObeYing the law of gravity, thiS celestial substance began to flse towards ItS rightful place m the heavens, and It was Ihus that our Sun was formed ' (pp 134-5) The Sun IS seen rising from the Earth on the fourth day of creation, the day aher the creation of the vegetable kingdom, according 10 GenesIs Fludd draws the parallel between the emergence of the Sun and the upward growl h of plants, bOlh Impelled by Ihelr mdweiling SPII;tus But It IS above all 19 21 the Sun' s power that kindles these latent rising forces In plants. and Indeed enlivens the whole creat ion Fludd explains lal er (p 175) that before the Sun' s CreatIon the souls of the plants were encouraged by the planets (bul see also plale 20) , EVidentl y he IS thinking of the ' days' of creation as longer periods of time. AnthroposophtSIS will note the anticipation here of Rudolf Stetner who In Cosmic Memory dcscttbes the exlruSlon of the Sun from the Earth UCH I, a, p 138 19 The Creation of (he Sun /I ' One might expect the Sun to have risen far beyond Its present location to reJom the onglnal SOurce of Its substance In the empyrean heaven 8uI ItS " spiutual malenal " IS act ually 100 dense for the Ilght fllled heavens, 100 rarefted for the Earth . hence It remains in the middle.' (p. 137) Fludd' s intUitive realization of the Sun' s supremacy IS here at variance With hiS materialistic cosmogeneSls According to the latter, that which IS higher IS, de facto, more spIritual, nearer to God, and more filled With light The Sun. being 10 the middle of the ethereal sphere. IS therefore more spIritual than the lOner planets and the Eart h, but mare material than the outer ones and the fixed stars Fludd compensates by stressing il s cent ral si tuat ion. and makes of It a kind of secondary reSidence for God. Here the zigzag shaded CIrcles represent the planetary spheres surrounding the Earth UCH I, a, p 136 20 The CreatIon of the Planets ' The planets all arose from the action of the Sun' s rays. streaming 10 both directions The descending solar rays met ascending vaporous material , and at the point where they were equal a battle ensued And Just as the meeting of two oPPosite Winds produces a cloud, so the globe of Mercury condensed at thiS midpOint , Imbued With the opposinlJ tendencies that manifest as ItS direct and retrograde motions. Venus was Similarl y formed at the midpOint between Mercury and the Sun : the Moon al the midpOint between Mercury and the lower boundary of the ethereal sphere The ouler planets were formed analogically, Jupiter forming at the midpOint between the Sun and the fixed stars, and Mars and Saturn filling the gaps ' (pp, 143- 5) ' Slnce the Sun IS the source of heat for the entire ethereal realm, planets Will be colder as they are further away from It Saturn and the Moon are therefore the coldest planets. but they differ 10 thai Saturn shares the dry coldness of the crystalline heaven, while Ihe Moon has the wet coldness of the lowest elhereal vapours. These qualities are conSistent With the effects of the planets In astrology ' (pp 146- 7) UCH I, a, p 145 21 A Refutatton of Coperntcus ' If the Earth were not the centre of the universe, but a revolVing body Circling the Sun, as some anCient and modern philosophers maintain (notably Copernicus and William Gilbert) , there would be no pOSSibility of life upon It Violent Winds would sweep everything to the ground BeSides. It would be remarkable If the Earth alone were to move steadily upon lIS aXIS, while all the other planets varied In latitude Finally, as the Earth IS the largest and densesl of all bodies II slands to reason that II would be at the centre of the more rarified ones. and less apt to move than any of the others. The source of all power and movement IS at the periphery of the universe, not 10 the centre - for as our picture shows, a wheel IS much more eaSily turned from ItS Circumference than from ItS hub I' (pp. 153-7) UCH I, a, p, 155 29 22 .-----------------------r------------- -------B . E . G . 22 The Pflmeval Dua/IlY This IS one of the most Important plates for the understanding of Fludd' s metaphysIcs ' There IS one God, one Supreme Being. one Essence. one D,vine Mmd, vel volens. vel nolens both willing and nliling [This IS the upper circle) These are like a man's dual faculties of affirmation and negation and Just as both can be good. so God IS good whether he wills or mils. for In God there IS no eVIl Thus Hermes, In Ihe PJm8nder " The monad generales a monad [valunty] and reflects 115 ardour In liself [nolunty] .. 30 ' In the dark Circle all IS In Ihe primal state of chaos, before the creat ion of Ihe world God IS In the middle. In hiS essence and light . but he does not send It oul P,mandcr calls thiS "an Infinite shadow In the abyss" . It IS the Dark Aleph of the Cabbala ThiS diVine property manifests as darkness. silence. death. disease. etc. as can be seen by Its connection to the central Circle, that of the world And If we could VISit the centre of the Earth. we would doubtless find there the COrner-stone of light (lapIS Iucldum angulsffs) God's other propeny gives the world ItS hfe, light, c. F. form and harmony II IS the Word of God. the spiritual Chrtst 'Illing aU, and the incorruptible SPirit In aU things ' According to the AnCients, there IS an archetypal Sun through which aU IS adorned With beauty and harmony They all"bute the mystery of the VISible, created Sun to thiS diVine Sun. Apollo, who carries life, grace and health In hiS nght hand but In hiS left a bow and arrows as a Sign of hiS seventy Similar to him IS Bacchus Or Dionysus. by whom creatures are torn In pIeces But he IS the same being, known by day as Apollo and at night as Dionysus. the Prince of Darkness [see Ihe lower hemispheres] As Dionysus lears man InlO his seven pieces by night, so Apollo restores him by day to his sevenfold constitution They are both none other than the one God, who works all In all ' (pp 5-8) The legends around Ihe Circles read, from the tOp downwards ' Olvlne volunty, from which comes the divine act or wisdom, dOing the will of the Father and revealing the foundallons from the darkness and bringing to light the lethal shadow, creates the world of formless matter' (paraphrases of Job 1222, Wisdom 11 17) ' DIVIne nolunty, from which comes divine potency, dOing the Father's nolunty.' In the middle ' One from two', ' God, sli ll one', and on the right , ' Jehova ' light , health, and the life-force ' MC I, a, p 4 , II, a, p 32 , PM, t p, 23 The Fall 01 Icarus Renaissance Initials often show some mythological or biblical figure whose name begins with the appropriate lener Here Icarus, having flown too near the Sun on the wings made by his father Daedalus, plunges to earth. But there IS another level of meantng here. Since the subject of the book which opens with thiS initial is the Fall and Redemption of mankind, we may interpret the Winged figure also as Satan, thrust down from Heaven, According to the Ancients, Fludd explains in Chapter II of Tractatus Theologo-Philosophicus, the first essence was Demogorgon, the uncreated, The second was Eternity (equivalent to Nat ure). and the thtrd Chaos, who gave birth to Lillgium, or Strtfe, Seeing the damage done by them, Demogorgon flung down Chaos and Strife to the dark, cold centre of the Earth, Nature then gave birth to another son, Pan, who dwells between the light powers and the dark and regulates the harmony of the spheres With the '- Lux., / i'\ , , , \ , ' ! \. / ... Tcnt'brre ./, .. T""'";'.J Lux. . U,I I ... p r,. i ... / i ... I \, :/-----------'1------ .. _-. -' "-'\'" . / ..., -cL \ It'neb'ta': .. cLux .. .. ........... ' m .. .... " ......... ,, .. \\ :' ! '\ ! i \ (. '. 'I ' \ . ;.: .. : ...... _.:. ..... , ....... l ..... _ ......... _, .. _ ..... " .. ", . t! *' > > 1"'1 .....a ... s:: PI PI -' . 24 sevenfold pipeS of hiS synnx In the OrphiC cosmogony. from which this tale IS confusedly derived. Pan IS far more than the woodland deity of common legend. He IS the same as Phanes Protogonus. the father of Saturn and hence the ancestor of all classical gods Fludd did not delve deeply into this complex theology It sufficed him 10 Imagine thai the AnCients had anticipated the role of Christ , sent down by his Father to combat Satan in the hearts of men It IS IroniC that the claSSical Pan was to become the very model and Image of the DeVil down In Plato' s Tlmaeus The Monad generates the Dyad, and the Triad and Tetrad follow. the arithmetical progression continuing indefinitely In the plate the absolute darkness precedes the Monad. the fust created light The Dyad IS the polauty of light and darkness, TTP, p 3, UCH II , a, 2, p 4 24 The Pythagorean Tetrad Another model of creation IS the mathematical one whose source is the Pythagorean number - phIlosophy handed with which the Humid SPlfit makes a third. The polarization of the four elements concludes the foundation of the world. bringing the number of principles up to ten Fludd borrowed thIS mathematical philosophy from Francesco Giorgio. whose De Harmoma Mundi (1525) also supplIed him With hiS Ideas of mUSIcal proportion as a unIVersal schema PS, p 33 31 25 32 !i3: t J/! : Z. I . I ./ 25 Th e Trinity and the Generation of the Four Elements In a section on sacred numbers, Fludd says Ihat ' Unity is the st arting point , and Duality is the firSI - born of Unity, Ihe mean between Unity and Trinity, From the Dyad proceeds the Third, the Holy Spirit, which is one in essence wit h the Father and the Son, and i n turn binds them together .' (pp, 25-6) He thinks of the third number as healing the rift of the primeval duality, The top figure depicts the Trtnity In the form of an eye : the white represents the Fat her, the .,is the Son, and the pupil the Spirit. The middle figure relates the Trinity to the Sun, whose characterist iCS of light and heat refer to the Son and Spirit , while the orb It self represents the Father. The third f igure shows the 'erupt ion of a cloud' , in which God the Father appears as a consummg fire The Son. being the diVine Word, IS likened to Ihe sound of thunder, and Ihe Spirit to the IIghlning-flash, This very CUriOUS plate might be interpreted, aSi de from Fludd' s own exegesis, as a downward sequence depicting the pol amat lon of t he four elements or states of matter from the undifferentiated One, by Intervention of the solar power . The lower figure certainly seems to contain lire, air, drops of water, and faecal earth. UCH II . ' . 1. P 27 ". /oJ. G.:.. .... The rom or GcneUlion whi ch is rrom"the ... Ekmcncs or the Cllholick ElI:mem rour-roldly l il crcd. 26 Generation and Corruption The world is formed of a 'slmple square" the four primal elements whose emanation was shown 10 the two previous plates Generation and its inseparabl e counterpart, corruption, are products of the subsequent unfoldment of the atlthmetlcal series, In the case of man, hiS beglnntng IS from sperm, ' a watery or flUid Substance, but l ittle altered : and as in the waler the whole Fabrick of the world, and seeds of all thlOgs was compl lcltly conteined, and yet nothing did appear externally but water, So 10 the seed or Sperm ". the whole man, namely the bones, flesh, blood, Sinews, and such like, arC camp licitly contelned, and Will by degrees appear out explicitly.' (p, 7B) See the commentary on Planetary Man ( plate BB) lor another aSSOCiation of generation with the number 5 The first cubiC number B represents ' an exact rotation of the foure vento us forms IOta one mixtion', I,e. the mlxlure of the four separate subtle elements Into a three ,dimensional compound : the body Corruption follows as a natural consequence, as night follows day, 'until II returns to the pOint of the Simple Spermatlck Element from whence it began, and there it beglnnelh a new Generat ion 10 another form : For the all -acting nature IS never Idle' . MP. p. 78 27 Growth, Decay and Rebirth The Sun's rotation is a symbol of the process ' II rises 10 the morn 109 as the prtmal point of light, the terminus a quo It Iravels across the sky to the terminus ad quem and disappears. Yet ,ts Journey IS continued out of Sigh!. and II flses again from the same pOint to create another day, The Idea IS more fully developed 10 the last three cabball sl lc figures (plates 37- 9) . If Fludd had not been so Inescapably a man of hiS tIme and ItS Judaeo-Chtlstlan dogma, he mlghl have been led to see the reflection of thiS cosmiC event 10 human life, as the pflnclple of reincarnalton. UCH II , a, 1, P 23 33 28 II Cabbala The pffncfpfes governing both the universe and i rs microcosmic image. man, expressed in the terms of Hebrew esotericism dms,mje1"ltur. 28 ' Under Thy Wings. Jehovah' King Oavld kneels before the Most High. saying ' Under the shadow of thy wings will I reJoice' (Psalm 63 7) The mOil' recalls the Rosi crucian manifesto of 1614 (the Fama) which concluded with the Simil ar words 'sub umbra alarum tuarum JEHOVA' The clouds have parted to allow David direct VISion of the Tetragrammalon, the 34 unpronounceable word to which Jews allude as Adona; (the lord) or simply ha Shem (the Word) Fludd generally uses these Hebrew letters to represent God In hiS diagrams For a Christian Cabbahsi they are easily accommodated to Tnnltanan doctrine ' the three different letters Yod, ;, He, Vau, are Interpreted as Father, Son and Holy Spi rit. The presence of two letters He IS explained In thiS COnlext by the Holy SPIrit both JOining and proceeding from the Father and the Son ; for another rationale. see the commentary to plate 29. UCH II , b, , A3' 9 ~ ______ ______ ~ __ ~ __ +-__ ______ ______ 29 The Tecragrammalon in the Macrocosm ' Hermes says that the world IS an Image 01 God, and Moses that man, too, is made after God's example. Hence all Cabbaiisis refer these lower realms 10 the archetypal one. This plate shows how the Ineffable Name is Imprrnted on the universe . above and beyond all IS Yod, the leiter from which aU proceeds and which conceal s in itself the whole Name From It emanates the empyrean world. symbolized by He. The Psalmist says that God places his tabernacle In the Sun. and thiS we may Interpret as follows God forms around the Sun the ethereal world (Vau) dividing the empyrean from the lower He, the elemental world.' (PD, 5--6) The pia Ie also shows how God's lull name unfolds stage by stage : I. IH, IHV, IHVH Allhough Fludd does not mention II , Ihese are also the four worlds of the Cabbahsls Atzifuth, the 'pure world'. Bflah. the world of creati on, Yetzirah. the world of formation. and Assi ah. the material world, UCH II , b, P 6 30 The Tetragrammaton in the Microcosm As man ' s faculties correspond to the regions of the universe, so they, 100, can be seen as a manlfestallon of the diVine Name. Yod IS the higher mind nOI contained by the phYSical body hence above the man' s hoad, lust as In the prevIous plate Yod IS above the manifested universe. He. Vau and the lower He are respectively Intellect , lile and the natural faculty ThiS IS beller understood In the light of plates 49- 56 UCH II , b, p, 8 35 3' 31 The Mystery of the Number 5 The engraver' s lack of clarity In Hebrew lenerlng IS aggravated here by one of Fludd's most confusing verbal explanations The plate seems to represent the descent 0' God's SPirit IntO manifestation. and the ascent of the soul through the hierarchies of bemg to God, expressed In cabballstle numerology The crown IS Kelher. the 'IrSI prinCiple of Cabbala. which can be signified by either the first letler of the Hebrew alphabet. X Aleph, or the primal leiter" Yod On the upper figure , the left hand letlers should be the alphabetical progreSSIon from Aleph J 8eth, ) Glmel. 1 Da/ech, ;"'T He These have the numerical values 1 to 5, and they align thus With the cosmiC hierarchy 36 X' } J 2 God, angels l3 i 4 Fixed stars, Saturn, JupIter, Mars ;, 5 Sun 6 Venus, Mercury, Moon :} Elemen'al '09,on The Sun, m hhh place, IS also eQu4vaient to the second or lower He of the Tetragrammaton It IS God's panlcular tabernacle m the centre of the un.verse On the ught. the series goes from .. Yod to 7J Mem, n Heth, 1 Daleth, , Resh Whereas Aleph .s the ' Dark Aleph', symbol of the ultimate VOid before creation, Yod is the ' Ught Aleph ', God as Creator, Mem and Heth are the 'remainder of the darkness, from which creation IS made' , Daleth IS the ' gate through which wisdom enters the world', and Resh IS the 'life produced in the world by that Wisdom' (p 44) In the lower figure are the prOtecling wings of God regarded as the goal of mortals, The lellers on either Side are reversed. and the centle column reads Yod. He, Vau, Aleph : the two ' formal' lellers embracmg the two 'material' , This is an approximation of ' JEHOVAH' (see pla,e 28) . UCH II . b. p. 42 32 32 God's Omnipresence The previous plates would seem to leave the Earth devoid of God's emanations. Fludd's diagrams often show it as a dense sphere in the cent re, excluded from his celestial schemes. This plate shows the four letters of the Telragrammaton related, as before. to God and the three worlds. The copious Quotations which Fludd gives concerning the bottom sphere (the material Earth) give a new slant : 'The Spirit of the lord hlleth the world' (Wisdom 1.7) , 'God IS everywhere m heaven, in hell , in the utlermost parts of the sea, In night, m darkness' (paraphrase from Psalm 139), ' Know therefore this day, and consider It In thine heart , that the Lord he is God in heaven above, and in the eart h beneath ' there IS none else' (Oeul. 4.39) . UCH II , b, p. 74 33 The Emanation of the Sephirolh God, though he IS One in himself, is perceived in many ways and called by many names. These names correspond to some of hiS Inexhausti ble allributes. Ten names In particular give the key to one possible symbol of the universal scheme by which the worlds are made . the tenfold emanations known In Cabbala as the Sephiroth. Here the names of God are given in Hebrew, which is untranslatable for the simple reason that the Engli sh language lacks an adequate metaphYSical vocabulary. The names manifest as the len Sephrroth, called by the conventional but misleading names of (1) Crown, (2) Wisdom, (3) Prudence, (4) Mercy, (5) Power, (6) Grace, (7) Triumph. (8) Honour, (9) Redempt ion. and (10) Kingdom. For Fl udd this is another Illustrallon of the mutipl,cat,on of God's aspects, and their descent mto the created world PS, p. '70 34 The Weighing of (he Worlds Another arrangement of the Tetragrammaton shows Yod as the Supreme Deity holding a parr of scales The fulcrum IS the Sun, In the middle of the ethereal world : the point of balance ,n the exact centre of the universe, JOined directly to God (see plate 60) . The lefl - hand balance rises, for It represents the empyrean heaven, made 01 ' I,ght fife', the fight - hand one fail s, being the 'heavy earth' of the elemental realm. UCH II , b. p. " 34 lod . Aquilo, ::t 37 35 Wisdom's Creations The second of the Sephlroth, Hokhmah, IS usually translated as ' Wisdom'. It Issues from the Ineffable CrOwn (Kether) replete with the ideas of the universe which it radiates like a sun Although these Ideas have to pass through the remaining eight Sephlroth before they can actually manifest as created beings. Fludd shows them coming di rectly from Hokhmah and filling the universe. The plate can be regarded as a cabbalistlc commentary on plate 16. The creations of Wisdom are (clockwise from the top) the fixed stars, Saturn, Mars, Venus. Moon, wind, clouds, thunder, snow, frost , vegetables, minerals, animals, ice, hail. rain, lightning, wind again, comets, Mercury, Sun, Jupiter, and angels NOle that the Winds are on the honzontal diameter, In conformity with Fludd' s view of them as mediators between the ethereal and elemental worlds, PS. P 174 36 The Sephirolhic Tree Fludd' s Idiosyncratic interpretation of the traditional Sephlrothlc tree places the ten emanations on either Side of a central trunk bearing the Tetragrammalon The four lellers correspond to the traditional dispOSition of the SephlfOth according to the four worlds (see plate 30) : Atzilulh contains one, Btiah the next two, YefZlrah six and Assiah the last Bul the middle pillar should also Include Tdereth and Yesod Each Sephira IS given lIS Hebrew name, ItS Lalln translation, the corresponding name of God, and In some cases a Trlnlt8nan Interpretation Most Interesting, for Fludd. IS the emanation from Malkulh, whence sprout ten branches In turn bearing the names of the Sephlfoth These are coupled With the traditional Chflsllan names for the nine orders of angels (Cherubim, Dominations, Vtrtues, Archangels. Seraphim, Angels. PrinCipalities, Powers. Thrones) . and ' Soul' , corresponding to a second Malkuth Thus the supreme tree of God' s names IS reflected In the angeli c hierarchy, supporting the theory of universal correspondence UCH II . b. p 181 38 35 37 37 Man 's Constitution ThiS and the next two plates derive from the cyclic .dea expressed in plate 27 Everything b&9mS In the darkness of potontlallty and emerges into light . returning again to the darkness The slanlng pOint of these Circles IS always at the boltom. and thelf progress IS clockwise The outer flngs are the archetypes of the whole ; the 'Irst reads ' Mot ion from the nothingness of potentiality to the act of generation, the origin of life . the daytime of generatIon and the contlnuallon of life ; the begmnlng of COrruption ; the ene' . of life.' The next two Circles show these archetypes as expressed by the Cabballsts In Hebrew letters. Yod IS the Absolute Father, shrouded In Incomprehensible darkness, which mantfests through the Son and SPIrit The twO Alephs, li ght and dark, are hiS positive and negative aspects (see plate 22) ' Aleph slgmfies the darkness from which the unCleated light arises II corresponds to Yod, the virtue of the Tetragrammaton Mem IS the symbol of the created waters, which are diVided by the Splnt , Shm, IOta gross and subtle by the IOterpoSltlon of the firmament Thus 10 the Tetragrammaton Vau diVides the two He' s Aleph, Mem and Shin are called the three Mother Letters, slOce they receive like wax the Imprint of the three male letters Yod, He and Vau' The Inner Circles reflect these processes as they ale manifested 10 the microcosm, through psychiC elements, subtle and matetla! substances, weather condi tions, humours, and organs, ' from all of which man IS made' UCH II , b, p 198 38 The World's ConstItution The same prlOclples govern the creation and history of the macrocosm The third tlng beg lOS with potentlahty, which by the Influence of the Light Aleph becomes the upper waters Or the empyrean heaven, made of the substance of light which IS perfect activity Corresponding to II on the negative Side are the lower waters of 9roSs Spirit , allied to the darkness The next flngs treat 01 the Slates of matter, vaporous and gaseous substances, meteorological phenomena , and In the centre condenses the animal. vegetable, or mineraI body It IS hard to separate time, space, causality and correspondence 10 thi S IdealistiC scheme UCH II, b, 199 39 38 39 , joho IBI , 39 Uni versal Causation This plate is a summat ion of the two preceding ones. enhanced by the names of God. Sephiroth. and Angels as found in the Great Meteorological Chart (plate 81) . Its layout resembles that of Giulio Camillo's 'memory theatre' (see Yates, Theatre of the World) and suggests that it IS intended as a pattern to be memorized. Whatever issue may be taken over its details, It i llustrates very aptly the doctrines of emanation, correspondence, and cyclicity The theory of emanation explains that higher principles do not create lower 40 beings out of not hing ' they emanate them as manifestations of themselves on inferior planes of existence. Thus, to take one 'chain' as an ill ustration, Vau. the archetypal Son or Word. emanates Shin, the Spirit that manifests as Eloah, the personal God. He emanates Grace : the beauty of the universe which IS bUilt by the angels called Virtues. Corresponding to this principle in our little solar system IS the Archangel Michael, whose phYSical body is the Sun. That Sun gives us our Vital force, etc. (the tower ci rcles are rather debatable) . The doctrine of correspondence states that every level of the hierarchy of being, from the mlncral world up to thc very archetypes themselves, IS a reflection of the one above. This IS a necessary corollary to the theory of emanation, for from each archetype IS suspended a chain of being that descends 10 the very bottom of manifestation So Michael , In the company of the archangels, IS like the Sun in the company of the pl anets. Or the heart In the human body, or gold among metals. The whole of magi c, black and white, is based upon this doclflne, for II assumes Ihal acllons taken on one level wi ll have repercussions In the corresponding ones In making ritual objects of gold, for example, one IS faCIlitating the descenl of the solar forces Into the cup, nng, sceptre, etc .. and thereby ImbUing Ihe user With them, The principle of cycl icity IS t he ' Myth of the Eternal Return' , the Idea that time IS not a straight line, runmng pOintlessly from infinity to mflnlty, but a system of cycles within cycles, wheels Within wheels, each unrollmg in imi t ation of its superiors, from t he spi rals of elect rons P ~ n of Un lver s.1 C.u .... V i or-900 .---. 3:::::bo - ~ , , . -. - , , . . ~ .d J ....... Th. Earth \.'o i J and Emf\)' Divi n. Pow.r up to the blnh and death of galaXies and beyond, On a human scale the cycles are experienced i n day and night , the return of the seasons, the IndiVidual ' s periodiC descent Into Incarnat ion, and Ihe lurnlng of the ages of worl d history, whether one conSiders the astrological ages ( Plscean, AQuarian, etc) or the cycle of the four ages of the Hindus and Greeks All of this adds up to a very profound world View, confirming Fludd's position In Ihe ranks of true esoteric philosophers Me II , a, p, 181 , Vl c , o :. or .. 41 40 III Pyramids and Monochords A pair of intersecting triangles or pyramids represents (he cosmic duality of light and darkness as these interpenetrate one another The monochord. a one stringed mSlrument used in musical pedagogy since Antiquity, symbolizes the chain 01 bemg : the 'scale' o( levels of existence thaI runs from the Earth to God 42 : . . :"" ;,;,'\",,,,,,,,,.,,'1"" .. ". 40 The Dark and Light Pyramids 'The heights of the empyrean realm are pure light, vi rtually free from all material qual i ties. Correspondingly, the lowest depths of the elemental realm are heavy, dense, and opaque to an extreme degree. The regions In between partake of both quali ties In varying proportions ' (pp. 79-80) Here IS a sector of the Ptolemaic universe (see plates 2- 4 ) showing the Interpenetration of material and spiri tual qualities In the form of dark and l ight pyramids. In the middle of the ethereal realm stands the Sun, at the poInt where the emanations of matter and light are in perfect balance PS. p 212 41 Dark and Light Combs ' We can also represent these dark and l ight pyramids as two combs , a light one representing the downward-pOinting spiritual forces. and a dark one for the material world (see No 1) As an adaptation of these combs, we present the two hemispheres of No 2, the upper one corresponding to the male, generative nature, and the other to the female. receptive to the seed of light. Thi s matenal hemIsphere IS like wax which can be formed by the seal of SPIrit .' UCH II . . 2. p. 188 42 The Hemispheres United ' We must now Imagine the dark and l ight hemispheres united, so that no empty space remams between thelf mterstlces ( No. 1) . The actual result of this mixture IS to be seen In No 2, where the spIritual fire diminishes gradually as II approaches the Earth Thus. gentle reader. we have tned to give an expOSItion of our doctrine concerning the material and formal pyramids, which IS the true key and gateway to phi losophy, and to every science. And since few attain the mysteries of the heavens' consti tution, for want of knowing this doctnne of the pyramIds, we have set It out succinctly here. that lovers of thIs sCience may reach the.r goal ,' UCH II . . 2. p 190 - -------------...JI/', 42 43 43 43 The Pyramids of Form and Matte, A mOre elaborate version of plate 40, thi s f.lls In the divISions of each realm. The empyrean divides Into three, assigned to the highest. middle, and lowest members of the angelic hierarchy , the ethereal Into the circles of the seven planets ; the elemental IniO four . The descendmg pyramid SlOPS short of Earth. the ascending one before the supercelestlal realm of God. UCH I .. p 89 44 The Propolfions of the Pyrami ds The pyramids of mailer and form are here separated and placed on the complete circle of the universe, In order to show thei r Internal proportions. The Earth contains four parts of matter, none of form; the rest of the elemental realm three material, one formal . the ethereal realm two of each , the empyrean only one material , three formal ; God IS all form, free from matter, 44 , These proportions lead direct ly to the Music of the Spheres. Taking the matenal pyramid as an example, we find the proportion 1 . 4 between its extremes In Heaven and Earth (Proporlio quadrupla) . Strings of lengths 1x and 4,.. produce notes two octaves apart The other proportions follow analogically : Proportio dupla - l . 2 and 2 ' 4 (octaves) ; Proportio sesquialtera =2 3 (fi fth) ; Propofllo sesquilerl ia :: 3 . 4 (founh) . UCH I .. p. 84 45 The Divine Monochord This is a conflation 01 the two preceding pl ates The three realms with their divisions are set out along a monochord To the Immediate left 01 the stung Fludd specilies the members of each realm (giVing to the empyrean hierarchy the Greek names 01 Epiphonomiae= vOices. and Ephiomae z acclamatlons) . To each IS assigned a note 01 the scale, hom low G lor the Earth (the Greek letter Gamma) up through two octaves to gg for the highest diVISion of the empyrean Applying the proportions of the last diagram. we fmd that they work perfectly e,g. the Proportlo dupla (2 ' 1) from the Earth to the Sun becomes the octave Interval from Gamma to G On the right are the Greek names 01 the musical Intervals corresponding to each proportion ' D,sd,apason "'- double octave = 4 . 1. Diapason=oct3ve=2 ' 1 ; Diapenre=flfth =3 ' 2: D,atessaron '" fourth = 4 ' 3 There IS an error In the ' Dl apenle matenahs" It should jOin the Sun' s G to the C of fire. as should the corresponding proporllo sesqUlall era And In order for the tones and semltones to be correct (10 the rIght of the st'lng) , we have to Imagine the Fs as sharp UCH I . . P 90 44 r f l I. y \ ;' " :0 ...... ;13 iO : I>-:0 : .. ~ '0 \ - ~ <."C .... '.0 \ ~ ' ~ "" <C. -B .. .. .. -Uo- A .... 45 ". .\ i ./ 45 46 ----- -46 The Elemental Pyramids ' As above, so below: The elemental realm itself is a microcosm of the whole. In place of form and matter, It has as Its extremes fire and earth. the respective bases of the fiery and corporeal pyramids. There IS no 'Ire present In earth, no earth in fire, while water and air are produced from mixtures In varying proportions. Between water and alt IS a humid lone, a 'sphere of eQuality' corresponding to the Sun In the macrocosm. In order to make the proportions work. we should imagine the fIgures 1, 2. 3, 4 inscribed In each pyramid. as in plate 44. UCH I, a, p, 97 47 The Elemental Monochord Pursuing the analogy of the elemental realm WIth the whole cosmos, Fludd assigns to II the full two -OClave span of the divine monochord Each element IS divided into three regions, the highest of each being assigned a semi tone on account of Its closeness in Quality to the next element. (Here agam some 46 accldentals are missing. ) The proportions show the sympathies and antipathies of the elements. Perhaps more significant than this rather laboured system IS the presence of the Sun at the monochord's peg, m the same pOSition as the hand of God m plate 45. Does this Imply that as the Creator is to the Universe, so is the Sun to the sublunary realm? Occult doctrine would certamly agree. UCH I ; a, p. 100 48 ' The Diapason closing full in Man ' The body is formed of food, hence of the four elements. This inert matter IS vIvified by the soul, which is of another order of existence altogether. The wonderful harmony of these two extremes IS brought about by the Spiritus Mundi , the limpid Spirit. represenled here by a sttlng. It extends from God to the Earth, and participates m both extremes. On It are marked the stages of the sours descent mto the body, and ItS re-ascent after death: (pp. 27 5) The three worlds are shown as concenttlc circles, marked on the left Empyrean Heaven of the Microcosm', ' Ethereal Heaven of the Microcosm', and ' Elemenlal Heaven'. They correspond respectively to man' s head, chest and belly, or on the mental plane to Inlellecl. Imagmatlon and sense One might also Identify them With the vital (etheric) and astral bodies, enclosed in the ' auriC egg' . Each has a light and a dark hemisphere, the latter desctlbed here as a 'mass of microcosmic earth . two columns by which the universe IS supported al right angles. UCH II , . , 1, p. 275 47 47 51 48 49 Man 's Fundamental Duality A simple diagram shows how in man the divine f jre diminishes as II proceeds downwards. while the intoxicating vapaurS of sensuality prevail. Man's loftiest faculty. the higher mmd (Mens) receives the direct rays from God Below are the regions of ,ntellect , the point of balance at the heart, and the elemental realm of the appelltes whose base and nadir, lor Fludd. IS sexuality UCH 11 . . 1. P 83 50 The Pyrami ds Uniting Man and Cosmos Like a gloss on the preceding plale, this one explainS the correlations of maCrOCosm and mi crocosm On the left are the three ' heavens', or levels of cosmic eXistence ' the Act of God and the empyrean heaven . the Act of Nature, the ethereal heaven and the QUintessence , the elemental act and the elemental heaven These ' acts' refer 10 the descending, active pyramid of formation On the fight are man' s three caVl!les head, thorax and abdomen These are the phYSical correlates of (1) the higher mind, Intellect and reason , (2) the lower mind and the Vital SpiritS, (3) the instincts and the body UCH 11 . ' . 1. p 82 ." \ , o , '" o 51 The Proportions of Man's Regions This applies Ihe system of plale 44 10 the microcosm The figure resembles Ihose In Albrechl Dure"s book on human proportions, Irom which Fludd had bOffowed several drawings for his prevIous treatise Man's members are divided harmonically InIO the ' mateflal octave' below the heart and the 'spiritual octave' above It ( The region 01 the higher Ihorax IS mls labelled II should be d,apente spllltusle) On the left are the mathematical proportions of the resultant tones UCH II . . 1. P 242 52 Pyramids of Body, Soul and Splfitus Contrary to the prevIOus plate, this one aligns the head and thorax alone with the spIritual and corporeal octaves, excluding the abdomen from the harmoniC scheme More interestingly. there ate now three pyramids, showing the degrees 01 body, soul , and spmtus Flclno' s and Fludd' s splfitus (not to be confused with the Immortal Sputt) IS a corporeal vapour, formed In the blood, which vlvlhes the brain and hnks the body with the soul It IS coextenSive with the body. hence ItS pyramid has the same size and shape as the corporeal one In the yogic tradition, with which more people are famlhar loday, we find It as 'prana' or vital breath, formed from ether. UCH 11 . . 1. P 248 53 The Macrocosm as Universal Man The futl three octaves of man' s regions are set out here the ' supercelestlal and splntual ', Ihe 'celest ial and middle', and the 'elemeOial and corporeal' The notes run up the gamut from the bottom G of the bass clef to Ihe top F of the treble, Each IS cOffelat ed With a level of the macrocosm God the Father Saturn Fife Word Jupiter Upper air Holy SPlllt Mars Middle air Mmd Sun Lower air Intellect Venus Fresh water Reason Mercury Salt water Wtll Moon Earth The legend above reads ' God thus Immerses himself In hyle or unformed material for the creation of the world God' s forming SPlrtt IS drawn Into man ' UCH II . ' . 1. P 254 52 49 54 54 The Descent and Re-8scent 01 (he Soul The .dea 01 three 'octaves' IS transposed here 10 an arithmetIcal scheme. according to which the three realms of the maCrOcosm are gIven radlcal, square, and cubiC numbers Just as a Ime generales a surf ace, and a surface a 50 ----::: --->- ----- -- .. -.. 70 :00 " " " .. ; .. 1';;' -40 :00 .: .. -!'o'i'oo " i .. " I"II- " t ... , ... ,," "., .. " " - :1 0 : 0 0 8 0 .. ; ..... . --' -__L.- ' " 7 0 """.",.,.,,' (''''69 o ";--:yot:t::!: -".-..... ," solid. so creatton proceeds downwards In the tefl - hand pyramid. And In the same way the soul ascends In the tlghl -hand column, Increasing m sputlUaluv until .t reaches perfection Whereas the lasl pl al e divided each reg.on Into seven, thiS one uses nmefold 5ubdn'lslons. To correspond With the nme orders of angel s, Fludd added the pnmum mobi le and the heaven of fixed stars above the planets. and Insert ed the vegetable and m.neral realms between water and earth. making nme subdiVISions .n the ethereal and elemental worlds UCH II . a. 1. p 45 : PS. p. 214 55 ____ _ _ 55 Man's Higher Faculties The twenty-seven levels of the macrocosm and the corporeal pyramid are familiar from the prevIous plate, On the right are man' s faculties as they correspond to the middle and upper regions ' Love 01 God, Will Intelligence ' Action Intellect : Receptive nature Love 01 others : Nat ural force Reason ' Irascible nature Aversion to oneself, Vital nature A version to the world, DeSire nature Imagination ' FantasiZing nature Sense : Vegetative nature This maps out the moral evolution of man from the state of a vegetable through the development of witt, and from self absorbed thought to the love and knowledge of God. UCH II , ' , I , P 259 56 The Seyan Chakl8s The fight - hand arc reads : ' The essential harmony by which the human soul draws 1n10 Its own constItution any portion of the regions of the three worlds ' This IS a fundamental statement of the macrocosm-mIcrocosm doctrine. I! means thai man can operate on any of the levels of being. from the terrestrial 10 the seraphic. He does thIs through hIS subtle organism, whose members Fludd describes as follows : A Pure Mmd the aperture to God B The ActIve Intellect the fuSI sheath or vehicle of Mmd c The Rallonal SPIrit. comalnlng Mind and Inieileci and open to Reason Or Intellect i $/ ... . , "i ..-,,,' ,el' '" ,/ o The Middle SOul, COOlainIOg the Rational SPIrit, MlOd and Intettect E The Vital Light 10 the MlOd, or the Middle Soul SWlmmlOg 10 ethereal flUid F The Body, receptacle of all things Although thiS termlOology IS not easily reconCiled With the Hindu system of the seven chakras - the energy-centres of the subtle body some such vISion may have IOsplred the Illustration, With ItS five ' lotuses' and the ' thousand petalled' blaze of God' s light. The engraver has even approached the traditional number of petals on the upper chakras two Wings, for the two -petalled ajna (third eye) chakra ; nineteen and thirteen petals for the vlsuddha (throat) and anahata (heart) chakras (which should have sixteen and twelve, respectively) Below that, the resemblance ceases UCH 11 , " I , p 93 51 5. 57 Threefold Mani festation The light tuangle of the Trinity represents God, who remains ' beyond all thmgs', entering the bl ack hole of matter As a result, three worlds arise the angelic (empyrean), Stell ar (ethereal ) , and elemental. The mtervals are comprehensible In the light of plate 56 there IS an octave between adjacent worlds, and a double octave between the empyrean and elemental In the centre IS the Tetragrammaton, wi th the ' pre -cosmic' numbers 1- 3 (see plates 24-5) These In turn are Joined by arcs showing theIr harmomc relations, UCH II . ' . 1. P 62 58 The Great Monochord Fludd' s syncret ic cosmology IS summarized here In ItS fullest form Four ali -embraCing statements stand at the lOp : The monad generates a monad and rel/ects Its ardour in IIsell, The One is all thmgs and all things are the One GOD IS all that there IS, from him all things proceed and to him all thmgs must return The mfimt e dimenSion of the Tetragrammaton : m and between all Ihmgs 52 At the left - hand end, where the tumng -peg governs the whole monochord, IS Alpha In a wangle, symbol of God as beglnmng ' The central pnnclple Or Oark Aleph ' To thiS corresponds, on the right , the Omega, symbol of God as 'end and circumference' Towards the upper corners are parallel statements ' ' God IS the beginning, and the beginning IS the end', ' God IS the end, and the end IS the beginning' Another symbol of thiS reCiprOCIty IS the Tetragrammaton, spelled out In palindromiC form lod, He, Vau, He, lad The scrolls read as follows God (alpha) , or Ihe Lesser Aleph of the uncreated darkness, or potency, reveals Itsell f or the world's creation by changmg to light, or act God (omega) , or the Greater Aleph, emergmg from dark earth or the creat ed darkness, reveals Itself to men for the world's salvalton Several systems are contained In the chan, and they do not always align With each other On the monochord Itself are the notes of the diatoniC scale for three octaves from C to c:J, and thereafter the octaves alone up to c ThiS IS musically correct , as are the proport Ions of string -length and the Intervals marked on the lower arcs Between c and the bridge at the Omega end, there IS theoretIcally an indefini te setles of higher octaves Similarly, the numeral s In the lowest column, which give the proportions of strtng length for each scale- tone In the lowest pOSSible whole Integers, could be continued up to infinIty If space allowed The Intervals are named In the ad,acent column The column between Alpha and Omega contains the familiar Ci rcles of the PtolemaiC umverse three diVISions of the angeliC hierarchy, the heaven of fixed stars, the seven planets and the four elements These correspond With the mUSical notes only as l ar as the Sun at the midpoint they belong to another standpOint which IS finIte rather than Indefinite, spati al rather than temporal To thiS belong also the nmefold dIVISions deSCribed directly above Nme orders of Angels 111 the Empyrean Heaven, correspondmg to the four notes of the dlatessaron [ 4th) and Uve 01 the d,apente (5th) Nme spheres of the Ethereal Heaven Nme regions of Ihe Elemental World Pl ate 54 shows the members 01 these regions when diVided nmefold They are glossed on the unbroken arcs and In the next row up With their correspondences In man The octave of Intellect or Mind, where lod IS in He , Mmd, Reason, the lUCid soul The octitve of Itle or spmtus where lod [. ?J , Ltle, Spmtus The elemental or corporeal octave, Body, humours, lesser Aleph Below these IS the ' Least Aleph', with the animal. vegetable and minerai creatIons, each an octave In ItS own fight The upper row refers to the parts of the Tabernacle of Moses, also dIVIded IOta three the Holy of Hohes , the mIddle part decked WITh gold and With seven candlesticks , the last, extenor part The seven candlesti cks of the Menorah, which overlly represent the seven Chaldean planet s grouped around the Sun, may be the reason for the second sun engraved here 10 the middle of the appropuate region AA. pp 314 15 '" .!::"- .r", tl' ""'''''-0 "", " D l q" .dUo'><lOrn (* tc I 'ron.u, . .. '" .. '" '" 1/ i i . 5.. :' '" / <ff ' f <V ," ' 'X: 01"" /' 0 .... . r_ftJ/'oo ,/."" "I' .-' la, .....', __ / ;JI: '-'-' 1'''' ./ >- 'al" .' ..rOrh o s1Ju.t '. '. .. '" <l-l''i/ \, '" ... ,.-:-;..... .... l.:l ,- . ' '" -.'. I, ., / !,bO"''2''0 , ., :'\( . D-o' IV' - . "' / " 'V", ........ rroport ,' ') '" fl. ,"-0,''-1'-.: '," ....'" . . 11\'". .. .,,}, ... -;; . ,l. .. :ll M '" IV Wi nds and Weather- glasses Fludd regards (he winds as all- important for medicine, since they carry the good and evil influences of angels and demons. rhe weather-glass (a primitive thermometer; symbolizes the metaphysical duality of light and dark. hOI and cold, as it affects human health 54 ROBER TJ FL VDD DE FLVCTIBVS METEOROLOGIA CO SMICA. Francofurri prolht in Officina Bryan .. MDCXXVI. 59 59 Cosmic Meteorology Fludd applies the word 'meteor' to any heavenly phenomenon, from the weather to the planets and stars themselves. In this book entitled 'The Holy and Truly Christian Philosophy' he surveys them all , refuting Ari stotelian notions and relating the macro cosmic events to man. The 1llle-page, though It is never explained in the book, seems to summarize the contents, A chart on page 128 provides the key to the scenes i n the four corners and the upper centre ' they represent the results of 'macrocosmlC meteors', which can be ei ther pacif ic (lower righl) or tempestuous, The lalt er are of four kinds, caused by Wind, Wind and water, wind and earth, and all three together, Exampl es of them are respectively rai ns of fi re (upper left), tempests at sea (upper right ). earthquakes (lower left ), and the combinat ion of w ind, thunder, l ightning, and rains of water and stones (upper cen tre) , More elevated 'meteors' appear above the ftanking pictures of Michael subduing the dragon and Gabriel Interpreting to Daniel his dream of the four beasts. Michael , being the solar angel of the East , has the Sun for his head, and above him are three suns beneath a rainbow. Very si mi lar pictures appeared both before and after Fludd's ti me to illustrate the (then) common phenomenon of pareNus or multiple images of the Sun Above Daniel are comets of various shapes, to be met with later (plate 81) , At the bottom of the plate l ies the microcosmic man, his viscera spread out above him to show their correspondences with heavenly phenomena The Circle is marked with the names of the eight winds, With East al the top, The organs comprIse the heart , separated by the diaphragm from the lower hemIsphere which It jOins vIa the aorta ; below the dIaphragm are the spleen, stomach, liver and gall - bladder, and at the bottom the semmal vesicles Naturally thiS IS a symboliC, schematIc diagram, deSigned to Illustrate Fludd' s theories of 'meteorological anatomy' , In parltcular the Influences of the winds on heal th, Fludd knew very well how the viscera really look (see plate 90) , PS, IP .... 60. 61 The Origin 01 the Winds The winds are proximate agents of God's will on Earth, denvlng their power from him These two plates show the chain of being by which this occurs, From the cloudy tabernacle of God himself, a light descends Into the dark Circle which represents the triple worlds (empyrean, ethereal. elemental) surrounding the Earth The diVine light settles In the Sun, In the middle of the ethereal (or planetary) world. whence It radtates throughout creation. In plate 61 we see the Sun sending out one of Its rays to the outermost planelilry sphere, that of Saturn, 'inhabiting and animating' that planet and endOWing It with power of Its own Saturn'S ray, In turn, penetrates to the elemental world where It VIVifies the appropriate Wind, Boreas The North Wind, finally, pours ItS Influences upon the Eilrth, causing the meteorological and medical phenomena to which Fludd devotes so much space In hiS Medicina Cathotica PS, p. 190, 189 61 55 , , , l- --, , 62 L-__________ ______________________________________________ __________ 62 The Fortress 01 Health ' The Sound Man' (Homo Sanus) prays to God . ' Show thy servant t he light of thy countenance, and save me for thy mercy's sake' ( Psal m 31 16) , and God replies . ' No plague shall come ntgh thy dwelling ; for I wilt give my angels charge over thee, to keep thee In all thy ways' ( Psalm 91 .10-11 ) From North, South, East and West the evil angels unleash noxIOus plagues, earned by the four winds They are comballed by the four Archangels who 56 guard the fortress. It has been remarked that the Winged Insects whIch surround each demon on hiS steed may be the first Illustration of the Idea of germs as the carriers of disease. Fl udd. however, thinks of Ihe cOnlaglon as purely aenal , and mentions that hiS frrend and printer Wil ham Fitzer, fleeing from the plague In Cologne, saw it descending on the city like a reddish cloud (p 338) Expl aini ng the reason for the eXistence of devils, death and disease, Fludd says that it was through God' s dark side (see plate 22) that they entered the world. 'They are not under DIVine Justice, but come from Inlustl ce, which IS a figment of the DIVIne Darkness, Healt h IS from God alone, given by hiS Angels whose ruler IS Jesus ChriSt. the '"st emanation before creation and the mediator between God and hiS creatures God' s Will IS carned out by both good and eVil Angels, but we. as creatures of the Light , can only be saved and remain healthy bv p'OV" to God: (If. ) :( ) :( , '- 5' ) Me I, 0 , f. ) .( ) :( 2: II , o. p 338 Archangel East Michael (Oliens) South Unel (Meridles) West Raphael (Occidens) North Gabnel (Seprentrio) () 1>1 1. 1'...: J , L d -l ... ; Demon Element Angel Demon Oriens Fire Seraph Samael Amaymon Air Cherub AZBzel Paymon Water Tharsis Azael Egyn Earth Ariel Mahazael 63 The Four Archangels and the r welve Winds The Four Great Bemgs who stand ' at the round earth's Imagm'd corners' delegate thelf power to the spints 01 the Winds dwelling in the sphere of air surrounding the Earth, whom we would call demons Each one IS under the mfluence of one or more planets. and associated With one of the cardinal pOints and a certam element The names of the wmds are given In the mner circle. and their Qualities may be deduced from their gUIding splnts. AuSlro Affrlcus. for Instance. in the south -west. is ruled by the demons of Earth and of the South. and affected by Mercury and Jupiter The exact qualities, effects. and astrological faclors are the subjects of some hundreds of pages In Medicina Catholica and Philosophia Sacra. MC I. a. p. 113; II, a, Ip. PS. p 267 57 63 65 58 64 The Dualities of the Wmds The (welve winds are shown with their Aristotelian qualities of hOI and cold. wet and dry Thus Boreas. the North Wind, IS equally cold and dry. Subsolanus, the East Wind, hOI and dry. and AqUila and Caeclas represent stages In belween In numerous tables Fludd shows the correspondences of Winds, elements and humours, and the effects of thelf equal and unequal combinations ThiS. with astrology, IS the foundallon of hiS Med/cina Catholtca, based upon the assumption thai behind each wmd IS a malevolent demon mlenl on sending disease 10 mank ind Another lengthy see lion of the book .s devoted to prayers for warding off these nOXIOus mfluences MC I . . P 125 65 The Sick Bed The Ireallse of which thiS IS the title -page IS advertIsed to 'describe In a new way, scarcely heard before, the general nat ure of dIseases, or the vanous reasons for the InvaSIon and all ack of the FOrtress of Health' (see next plate) . and 10 ' demonstrate a unIversal chart of healmgs and sIcknesses. Includmg ways of d18gnosmg and foretelling the effects of the weather. lucIdly explaIned and plamly sel out' In the sevemeenlh century Ihe weather ImpInged on people far mare vIolently than It does m these days of cemral heal mg. alr -condltlomng and comfortable travel A doctor had to take It Into account and. If pOSSIble. predIct .. Fludd regarded It as a link m the cham of bemg, lommg the human body to the planetary and stellar mfluences that m turn reflect the WIll of angels, demons, and ultimately of God Hence hIS complicated assocIatIon of medlcme wIth meteorology. astrology. and prayer MC I. b. tp 66 Enemies Invading the Fortress of Health The preceding plate showed the sick man in his Outward aspect ; here is his true situat ion. beset by the demons of the four winds, who represent God's Irascible prOperties. Azazel. mounted on a basilisk, has already broken through the fortress to affllcl the patient With the diseases associated With the South Wind (see plate 71) The sulrerer exclaims : ' The arrows of the Almighty are Within me, the poison whereof drlnketh up my splnt : the terrors of God do set themselves In array against me' (Job 64) God himself IS present al the cardinal pOints, and Issues his stern dicta from every direction : North : ' Because thou hast not hearkened unto my VOice, I will afflict thee with ", cold and Will give thee a fearful heart and a sadness of soul until thou pertsh ' (adapted from Oeut 28) South ' Because thou hast not kept my commandments, I Will affhct thee In summer With corrupt air, and give thee the pestilence to pursue thee until thou per ish' (adapted from Oeul. 28) ' I Will send serpents among you, which Will not be charmed. (Jerem. 8.17) East : ' Because thou hast not observed my precepts, I Will affhct thee wUh hot and seething and fever , ' [Illegible] West : ' I Will afflict thee With dropsy' ( Luke 14) ' I Will make thee lunaltc, and affected with a heavy SPlrtt' ( Matthew 17) ' I will dissolve thee With palsy, so that thy enterpri ses are hindered and thy mouth stopped, that thou canst not speak' (I Macc 955) One wonderS what help the phYSICian can be In the face of this diVine wrath (or negative karma) Presumably he can try to rebUild the battered fortress, and encourage prayer and the amendment of life when the punishment IS passed Mell, a, f ) :(3 .... 59 66 67 ---67 An Old Experiment Fludd says in Integ/urn MorbOfum MYSlerium (p. 9) that he saw this instrument Illustrated In a manuscript at least seven hundred years old- an estimate whi c h in Philosophia Moysaica he modified to five hundred. Actually the manuscript IS sltll exlant, If , as Sherwood Taylor suggests, It IS the twelfth or thirteenth -century copy of Philo of Byzanuum' s !realise De Ingeniis Spiritualibus now In the Bodleian library. Oxford (ty1S. Digby 40) . This manuscript belonged to Thomas Allen. a contemporary of Fludd al Oxford. and later passed to the alchemi cal physician, Sir Kenelm Digby, who presented it to the Bodleian. The relevant page IS reproduced in Taylor's article (see Bibliography) : it similarly shows an open and a closed vessel joined by an invened U -shaped tube, with the Sun nearby. The principle IS that the heat of the Sun, or its absence. Will make the air in the sealed bulb ' A' expand or contract, and hence make the water level in the tube, derived from the open ewer, fall or rise. Fludd was very fond of this experiment and its picture. and reproduced It In several works. here l isted In chronological order UCH I, a. p. 31 ; ibid. p. 204 ; PS, p. 283 ; ibid , p. 299 ; MC II , a, p 459 68 Fludd's Own Weather-glass ' You see it depicted here ,ust as you would find It In my house' (p, 8) The weather -glass, a combination of thermometer and barometer, IS made by invening a heated bulbed tube In a receptacle of water, as In the preceding plate. Here the receptacle is disguised. 60 ' to make it more wonderful and entertaining', beneath arti ficial rocks, and the tube made of glass and held by an elegant wooden framework. As the tube cools and the air In the bulb contracts. the water IS sucked up Into view. Changes In the external temperature will then cause It to nse and fall . This Simple expenmenl was to supersede the monochord as Fludd' s favounte symbol for the demonstration of hiS philosophy, By calibrating the tube (here from - 7 to + 7) one can quant ify the outSide temperature . . + 7 IS reached. perhaps. only when the Thames is frozen so thai men and animals can safely cross It The region 1 to 7 IS called the Winler Hemi sphere, 1 to - 7 the Summer one, when the warmed air pushes the water level down If a sudden drop occurs, say of twO or three degrees in four or ftve hours. it Wilt certainly rain In twelve hoUtS' t ime How wrong are the disciples of Anstotl-=:, who believe that the rise of the water IS due 10 attracllon from the heat of the bulb, analogically to their belief that the Sun pulls the water -vapour up : they do nOt understand the expansion and contracllon of the air as a factor of heat. Heat and expansion are manifest allons of God' s own light : cold and contraction of hiS Darkness.' (pp, ,0-13) MC II , a, p 8 69 Adverti sement for a Weather -glass Thi s IS not from one of Fludd's books . It IS a pri nted broadSide dated the same year as his treatise on the weather -glass. It is interest ing to find that someone was attempt i ng 10 capitalize on Fludd' s Invention, With or Without hiS consent The directions are so cl ose to hiS own thai there can be no Question of another source The text s In the panels read . Prepare 2 glasses like unto these ligures marked With AAA and EE then UniO the mouth of EE lit a close cork through which make a hole Through It put the shank of MA and fasten II so that It being put Into the glass EE may rech almost unto the botom Dtvlde then the space between bodle of AM and the cork so fastned i nto 16 eqalt parts Next fll the glas EE almost as full as you can of fait water warmed that hath some Roman Vitriol dissolved In It . Then heat the hed of AAA verl e w ell at the fl er and .... ..., put It Into the 91a5 EE and wax It fasl and you shall perceive the waler to ascend I nto II , behould the figure BBB. Lastly Include EE in a box as bb ' THE USE. 1 NOle that Ihls water ascendeth with coul d and descendeth with heate 2 If In 6 or 8 howers the water fate a degre or more II Wit sureh rain within 12 hower after 3. Soe long as the water stands at anyone degre. so long the wether Wit continue at that stay It IS then at. Lastly by diligent Observaclon you may foretell frost. snow or foul weiher You may bye the glasses AAA and EE att the Signe of the Pnnces arms In Hal e Street. Anno Domi ni 1631 .-Prtnted broadside, London, 1631 Cancri McricLic:.s . 70 The Weather glass as Svmbol of {he Earth The 'hemispheres' mentioned In plale 68 have here become literal ones, as Ihe weather -glass IS stretched from pole 10 pole of the Earth's sphere, The bulb, which the waler level approaches In cold weather, IS at the wintry North Pole ' Ihe waler reserVOir, 10 which It falls when the enclosed air expands, at the South Pole, supposedly the very seat of summer The mldpOlnl IS the equator, Intersected by the solar Circle of the Ecliptic at the spring and autumn equinoxes (Aries and Libra) Thus the archetypal Qualities of contraction and expanSion are manifested in the phySi cal world, Another of Fludd' s favouflte f 70 symbols, thai of the Intersecting pyramids of form ( =- expansion) and mailer ( "" contraction) , IS present In the triangles GH!. EFI( . Me II , a, p. 28 61 71 71 The Weather- glass as Medical Symbol Beglnnmg from the leh, we read that there are two hemispheres : the cold w l nlry one and the hot summery one The North IS cold and dry, earthy and melancholic, with three degrees represemed by the North Winds Aqullo, Boreas and ClfCIUS The West IS cold and wet. watery and phlegmatic. also wHh Its three winds Crossmg the equator we find the warm and wei South, whose humour IS sanguine, and the warm, dry, cholenc West Each of Ihese has liS characteristic diseases. borne on the wmds (see plale 62) . They range from the extremes of 62 }\nu.J Tl o monl'.callon in the North to those of Inflammation In the South. First the mental ailments, reading downwards : care, grief, sorrow, love of darkness. fear. losmg one' s mmd ; mental torpor. sluggishness. sleepiness . heavy constitution. torpor of the senses. melancholy With catarrh. tlmldlly . boldness. Irasclblilly. fury. insomnia. lust. Lastly the diseases of the body scorching, cancer, leprosy, hardening, melancholy, convulsion. apoplexy. epilepsy , edema. lethargy, apoplexy, paralYSIS. stupour. dropsy, loose bowels, catarrh ; disease of the spleen, tenesmus, decay, pleurrsy. empyema, pneumonia, tuberculOSIS, syphi liS ('the French --- . ~ ~ . disease' ) , gonorrhea, plague , Itching. Inflammation, erysipelas, dysentery, painful fever. phrenrtls. herpes and gangrene, Me II , a, p 88 72 The Origin of Catarrh ' Here we see water converted by the fire's heat into a vapour, which ascends !rom the pot and meets the lid. whose lower temperature makes It condense into drops, It IS even so with the human body the watery phlegm originates In the southerly region of the Intestines, and In disease IS heated by the 'Ire of the liver . It rises to the colder region of the head, where again it coalesces In 72 , . warm droplets These are the cause of colds. cSlarrh and coryza, and from thiS phlegm In the head one suffers thel' slde effecls of headaches. Impaired hearing and vertigo' (p, 424) Me II. a, p. 424 : IbId .. p. 432 ; Ibid . P 446 73 The Origin of Tuberculosis ThiS IS a deSign for an Ingenious fountain. taken from Hero of Alexandria and adapled as a medical allegory 'When a fife IS lit upon Ihe altar. liS heal causes the air IOslde the reservoir to expand ThiS 10 lurn forces Ihe waler out by ItS only available routes . up the tubes concealed 10 the figures. and out .. of thelf vases, thus Quenching the fire This 'oumaln demonstrates what happens In tuberculosIs . the aIr contained In the thorax becomes overhc3Ied and expands Some of It escapos through the hidden channels of the vems and arteries, emerging In the Viscera as phlegm. AI night thiS rises to the head and. condensing there, lalls back IntO the lungs. making the pallen! cough Thi S could lead to many other conclusions I merely commend It to the conSideration of doctors as an entuely new theory ' (p 466) Me II . . p 465 c 73 63 74 A Colour Wheel 'Neither cold, nor heat. nor colour, nor taste, nor odour are (as the old Philosophers thought) accidents ; but essences placed primordially In creatures by the Creator' (p, 147) , Colour dertves from the elements : fire is naturally orange or red, alf yellow, water white, earth black, The colours of things are a factor of their elemental constitution, and of the degree of primordial light and darkness within them, On the colour wheel are seven colours : red (rubeus), orange (croceus), yellow (flavus), white (albus) , black (niger) , blue (ceruleus) and green (Viridis) , Slack and white are e)(tremes of darkness and light , and red IS the mean between them, Orange and yellow are stages between red and white ; green and blue between red and black, ' Sut the uilimate cause of colour is the natural Or radical sulphur. which is present In all things and causes rOiation of the elements and mutation of forms The radical sulphur has I\S root and origin i n the Ught which first differentiated ilself out of the primal mass, Fire is the closest element to It. and most nearly approaches Its colour ' (p. 149) The theory of colours as consisting of varyi ng degrees of light and shade was carried much further by Goethe and his 64 follower Rudolf Steiner, Goethe's 'colour mystery, essence, species, causes and wheel' differs from Fludd's only i n hiS plaCing of green between blue and yellow MC I. a. p 154 75 The Colours of Urine The weather -glass, which calibrates the region between the two terrestrial poles or cosmiC e)(tremes, IS here adapted to the sCience of uroscopy, or diagnOSIs through e)(aminatlon of Urine, The colours of urine correspond to those of the prevIous plate They can apparently range from a 'putrefied black' in the north to a 'balled black' In the south, passing m between through blue- black. aqua, pale grey, white, yellow, golden (In the middle) . orange. red, wlne-coloured and green No wonder that most of them mdlcate disease r The actual disorder to be expected can be read off from the great medical weather -glass In plate 71 or deduced from plate 77 MC II . b. p. 271 76 The PhYSIcian examines a Specimen Thi S IS part of the tille- page of a treatise on ' PhYSiological Urlnomancy, or diagnOSIs through the careful inspection of Urine, In five books ' in which the meanings of urine are discussed In a new way, different from the common teachmgs and scarcely known before ' Fludd devotes nearly two hundred pages to diagnosis through Urine, In assessing the patient's state through liS colour and consistency he was acting in accordance With hiS fundamental belief In the metaphYSical dualism which manifests on Earth as the tWin poles of light and dark, rarefleld and condensed Plate 74 showed how he traced every colour to thiS duatlty, and the ne)(t plate retates these colours to the weather -glass, MC II. b. P 255 75 77 The Circle of Urinary Colours With the exception of the physician pictured in the centre, this pl ate is an exact copy from a fifteenth -century manuscript now in the Bodleian Library, Oxford ( Ms. Savde 39, f. 7') . It shows a more complete range of colOurs than plate 75, each marked with a urine flask. Their Indications are as follows, begi nning at the top : Reds, ranging from crocus-colour (0 that of Intense fire, signify excesses in the digest ion Colours resembl i ng those of liver, white beans, or cabbage stalks indicate overheating. Bl ack and leaden colours show bad digesti on. The colours of spring water, light filter ing through horn, milk, or camel hal( show indigestion. Pallid colours l ike cooked fat IndiCate the beginnings of digestion. Cider colours show medIUm digest ion. Golden colours alone are the sign of a perfec! digestion ( The Golden Mean 7} MC II , a, p. 343 78 The Pulse "The Pul se, or the new and secret history of the pulses. drawn from sacred sources yet compared wi th the sayings and authority of the ethnic physicians. " My bones are pierced In me in the night season , and my pulse takes no rest " (Job 30.' 7) . Come from the four winds, 0 breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may l ive (Ezekiel 37.9) : Fludds interest in the blood was more metaphysical than anatomical , though he was certainly familiar with the evidence of dissection. With the other Paracelsians, I)e believed that man IS nOUrished by subtle as well as physical food, and that this IS also carried by the blood. It comes in the first place from the Sun. and IS taken up by the four winds as the Sun revolves round the quaners of the Earth. The winds, in !Urn, carry this aerial spirit into the hean, which is the ' sun' of the physical body, and through it this colleClion of dead bones' IS vIvified. Obviously we have here a description of what the Hindus call ' prana', the etheric life force. Given this super - physical function of the blood and the heart, it is natural that Fludd should regard the pulse as an indicator of general health, and it is to diagnosis through the pulse's strength and speed thai this book IS devoted. Me I, b, I.p. .. 77 65 79 80 19 The System of the Universal Pulse Again the weather -glass serves as a symbol of the extremes of manifestation Here they are those specl ftcally of pulse activity, ranging on the right from slow to fast beats and from Infrequent to frequent rests Musi cal notes are used to deslgnale the tempo On the lelt are arteries of different sizes. favourtng progressively stronger blood -flow. hence a stronger pulse These are correlated with the scale thai runs from the col d, constricting North Pole to the warm. expanSive South, through the POIn! of equality and perfect balance, where the best health IS to be found Me I, b, P 78 80 Flymg a Kite ThiS charmmg Illustration IS deSigned to show how the higher elements have a natural tendency upwards Precedmg It, Fludd has gIven the example of a lIghted candle standIng uprIght m a bowl of water WIth a glass retort placed Over It The water IS raised mto the 66 retort , he says, by the ' occult faculty' of fHe Here he seems close to the ArIstotelian notIon of the attractIve property of fIre which he later relected In favour of the truer prinCiples 01 expanSion and contraction (see commentary to plate 68) That air also has a natural upward molton IS proved here by the common experiment of flYing a kite (Of course a kite can be flown m a sideways breeze, ,ust as sal'lng ships can tack agamst the wmd , but Ihls would complicate mallers and IS not considered) Fludd goes on to say that the upward tendency of the ' VIVI"C splnt' makes IIvmg creatures weigh less than dead ones 'ThiS IS more the case With humans than with animals, shOWing that man contams a higher proportion of vital Jrght than they, Take a man who weighs 200 Ibs when alive hiS corpse may weigh 240 Ibs The dIfference of 60 pounds' weight of Vital Splrtt would be enough to hft hiS [vltaI7] body to the sphere of the Sun r (pp 138-41) Perhaps Fludd had done more kite -flYing than corpse -welghmg UCH II , a_ 1, p 139 81 The Great Meteorological Chart Every heavenly phenomenon that can allect or affhct mankmd IS shown m thi S remarkable chart _ At the top IS God, symbohzed by the Tetragrammaton ' Smce no Image can represent, nor any human mmd comprehend him m hiS .nf.nlty, the Cabbal.sts and secret theologians use also the word Ensoph, which slgnt fl es Inflnttude' (p 142) Flanking God are ten compartments which are the emanations from hiS ten Hebrew names Each name or aspect of God 'gushes forth' through the channel of one of the ten Sephlroth, giving life and essence to one of the angelic Orders who In turn directs a Circle of the ethereal world The correspondences are shown m the table opposite God' s speCIal relationship Wi th the Sun IS Indicated In the upper centre where the angel Michael. the guardian of Tderell/ , descends One of Fludd' s favouftte Quotations, ' He hath placed hiS tabernacle In the Sun' ( Psalm 194), IS wrtllen close by The large semicircle contains all the meteorological phenomena, which Fludd categortzes (p 145-6) as (1) those which eXist and are seen, (2) those which eXist but are not seen, and (3) those which do not eXist but are seen In the fIrst category are the vartOUS types of comets depicted In the outSide crescent Trabs ' (a blaZing beam) Lancea a long, spear - like comet X,p11l8S a shorter one, like a pOinted sword Mercuflalts a small blUish comet With a long thm tall Mdes a red comet Aurora looks like a star, but excels all In bflghtness and splendour Rosa a large, round comet , With a human face Tenaculum stands on a fi ery base Niger a dark comet With a short tat! Cerallas has the shape of a flame or horn Chasma and } brtef appearances of SCintillae volante flames and flYing sparks Other things both seen and to be believed are the clouds In Ihe next ctrcle, and the things which fall out of them 'sudden Winds', gIving forth InVISible hurrtcanes and WhirlWindS, as well as fiery exhalations , 'monstrous showers' of blood, stones, frogs, thunderbolls, hall. ordinary rain and snow Penetrating the fissures In the clouds, the Sun' s rays cause 'perpendi cular lines', and when reflected off clouds In the evening they produce the IllUSion of a red sky Below the clouds, the twelve Winds blow In the lowest region we find the real phenomena of 'goats', falling and shOOting -stars, and lightning flashes Here, tOO, are formed the vapours that give off hal l and dew The unreal phenomena are haloes around Sun, Moon and stars, mirages such as temples In the sky, rainbows, colorations of the moon and magnifi cation of the setting Sun by vaporous atr The bl ueness of the Sky IS explained (lower left) by the combination of light With blackness The chart on the left shows the Influences of planetary aspects on the weather, according to the four seasons (Vc: sprlng, AE "' summer, A : aulumn, H"" winter) ConJunctions, OppOSitions and squares are treated alike for purposes of prognostication On the fight IS another Circle of planetary aspects, from which one can predict the ' opening of the great gates of heaven In the upper sphere ThiS occurs when the Moon IS pasSing out of conJunction, square, Or OppOSi tion With Sun, Jupiter, or Mars, and dtrectly tranSi ts Saturn, Mercury, or Venus or vice versa Then, In the opinion of all astrologers, there Will be abundant rains and consequently great floods are 10 be expected The Inner Circle shows the aspects which cause the openrng of the lesser doors of I .. heaven, with consequent rainfall. Thi s IS a secrel which the astrologers seldom divulge. but II will be found very useful ' (p. 275) The legend proceeding from the mouth of the recumbent man reads : ' Man is the perfection and end of all creatures in the world ' He seems to represent Adam beforo tho Fall On the left is a 1151 of 'meteors sen t for man 's benefit' : good angels, wind, rain, dew. manna (thought to be denved from dew]. storm, cold, ice, clouds. ram and lightnmg. On the nght are the 'meteors sen! for man's chastisement or punishment' . bad angels. f iery whirlwinds (With and without demons). wind, rain, springs, thunder, lightning and hai l . All these are supported with biblical quotations of which the Sources are given. PS. p. 170-1 Name of God 1 Ehteh 2 lah 3 Elohim 4 EI 5 Elohim gibor 6 Eloah 7 Jehovah Sabaoth 8 Eloh.m Sabaath 9 Sada. 10 Adona. Seph;ra KClher Hokhmah Binah Hesed Geburah Tiferelh Netsah Hod Yesod Malkuth . '#-1.I , n .. . "I .-. 1),. ., ' .... t !. ... , .. r,, o. IL. .... Tu' " I "" ' " LII . lfll' .--'---'- - ---Order o{ Angels Chief Angel Ethereal Circle Seraphim Metatron p,tmum Mobile CherubIm Ruzlel Fixed Stars Thrones Zabkiel Saturn Dominations Zadklel Jupiter Powers Samac1 Mars Virlues Michael Sun PrincipalitIes Anael Venus Archangels Raphael Mercury Angels Gabriel Moon Souls Soul of Elements the Messiah 67 81 82 V Man, the Microcosm The human bemg regarded as a universe in miniature . his constitution and connection with the macrocosm 68 82 Macrocosm and Microcosm The familiar tille- page of Utriusque Gosmi Historia summarizes the correspondence of the ethereal and elemental realms wIth man. The outer CIrcle represents the PtolemaIc unIverse, from the fu(ed stars through the planets. wIth four further, unmarked cIrcles denotIng the elemenls (see plates 2-4) To thIS macrocosm corresponds the mIcrocosm of man The SIgns of the zodIac. equIvalent to the fixed stars, rule hiS members from head (Aries) to feet (Pisces) After the planetary CIrcles come the elements. to which correspond the four humours of GaleniC mediCine ' hrelll yellow bile (cholera), alf'''' blood (sanguis) , water = phlegm (pit uita) and earth - black bile (melancholia) AI the head of each world preside another Sun and Moon We may recall their traditional presence In medieval paintings of the Crucifixion, represenllng the polar opposItes between which the D,v,ne Man IS sacrificed for the world In man they are SPirit and Soul, the King and Queen whose marriage IS the goal of alchemy Above and beyond the realm of OpPosItes, ali -encompassing Time turns both maCrOcosm and mICrocosm He has hIS usual allflbutcs of wmgs, hour -glass (with an escapement on the top sometimes there IS an actual clock there) and goat's feet Since Father Time IS the same as Kronos or Saturn they may refer to the constell ation of Capricorn, which Saturn rules and whIch sees In the new year Nalurally thiS ' Sawrn' IS a manIfestation of a higher order than the planetary one In the OrphiC theology the cognate name Ghronos IS actually gIVen to the Supreme PrinCiple Itself UGH I, a, t p 83 Man's Higher Vehicles A more exalted view of man relates hIm also to the world above the zodIac WIth hiS ' supernatural' faculties of Reason (RatiO) , Intellect and Mind (Mens) , he soars through the triple world of the angeliC hierarchies and contacts God himself . These higher faculties are, of course, outSide Ihe phYSIcal and ethenc bodies, whose domain stops al Ihe Circle which the man touches Beyond that, he IS on the way to becoming ' UnIversal Man' and evenwaily a God In hiS own fight UGH II , a, 1, t p DE SVPERNATVRALI, TURALIJP&TERNATURA LI ET CONTRANATURALI Microco[mi liifloriaJ in TtaRatus treS diflributa: AUTHORE ROBERTO FLUD aljasdeFlucti, , bus Armigcro <'I( Mcdicincr: Doc : t ore Oxonienfi, Iohanni.r ,,' Galleri I If':) , 83 69 84 84 The Spiritual Brain The three higher faculties of Reason, Intellect and Mind are associated with the upper ventricle of the brain, hence with the pituitary gland. Just as the thousand -petalled lotus al the lOp of the yogi's head opens up to the consciousness of the divine, so the Intellectual world 01 God and the angelic hierarchy fmds here ils entry 10 the soul. The soul is also informed by the sensible world. whose five elements of light. subtle and gross air, waler and earth correspond to the five senses (as the dotted lines show) Comparable to It In every respect is the Imagmed world which enters directly Into the two lateral ventricles, here shown In the front of 70 the brain One might align Ihese with the principles of Hindu Sankhya philosophy : five mahabhuras (sensible elements) ariSing from f ive ranmatras (subt le potentialities of the senses) , and five Inanefldriyas (organs of sense knowledge) , Sankhya also has three higher prtnclples, Manas, Ahamkara and Buddhi, corresponding to an extenl with Fludd' s reason, Intellect and mtnd, In the rear of the head is the seat of memory and motion, placed tn the two halves of the fourth ventricle, The whole concept was not ongl nal with Fludd, but can be seen in cruder Illustrations to the works of Albertus Magnus, Gregor Rei sch and others (see Manly Hall. Man) . UCH II . a. 1. p. 217 85 The Physical Brain The physical location of the pair of lateral ventricles, corresponding In the prevIous plate to Sense and Imagination, IS shown by the lellers ' 0, f ' Like most of the Illustrations to Fludd' s work on corporeal anatomy, these are borrowed directly from an edition of Andreas Vesallus' s epoch -making work, De Human; Corpofls Fabrica. These correspond 10 Book VII, plates 5-6, In the anginal edition of 1543 AA. p. 163 " '\ 86 Jacob's Ladder ' How amazing II IS thai things so disparate as the vile body and the Immortal spirit should be JOined together in man I No less miraculous it is, that God himself should have contracted InIO corporeality ; and that man should be so made that he can participate In eternal beat itude. What lOy there IS In thi s world comes alone from the presence of the Splrtt In the corruptible body How , much greater, then. must be the bliss of Heaven. where the Rational SPIrit enjOys God' s proximate presence r To attam thiS, It IS necessary to turn away from exterior things and turn mwards ; Indeed, to penetrate through one' s very centre ' (p 273) Fludd hints here at hiS own experience In meditation The ladder of perfectIon shows the steps that must be taken to mount from Earth to Heaven : from the world of the / ., .' , . \ ') , . .. ; , i1 senses to the Inner world of ImaglOallon ; thence through Reason, or dISCiplined thought , to Intel lect , the Inner organ of knowledge , 10 Intelligence, or the ob/ecl of dIrect Inner knowledge, and finally to the Word Itself, whIch opens the supercelestlal realm UCH II . a. 1. p 272 I i I 'I , 71 86 87 Zodiacal Man The rulershlps of the signs of the zodiac over the parts of the body are shown In more detat! here. a double zodiac bei ng used for Illustrative convenience. From head to toe and from left to right they are as follows : Aries : ears, eyes. head, face Taurus : neck. nape of the neck, throat. voice Gemim: shoulder, arms Cancer : lungs, chest, ribs, breasts Leo : diaphragm, back, sides, stomach. heart Virgo : belly, intestines, mesentery Libra : navel, lOins, buttocks, kidneys Scorpio : pudenda. bladder Sagiltarius : hiPS, thighs Capricorn : knees Aquarius : shins Pisces : feet UCH 11 . . 1, p. 113 88 Planetary Man The seven cucles of the planets also have their rulerships over the body, Ihough authorities differ on the details : Saturn : right ear, teeth. spleen. bladder Jupiter : l ungs. ribs, pulse, semen, liver Mars : left ear, kidneys. pudenda, galt bladder Sun : brain, heart. right eye Venus : breasts. loins, womb, gemtals, Ihroat. liver Mercury : longue. hands, fingers, brain. memory Moon : brain, left eye, belly, taste 72 ThiS f igure, like that 01 plate 82, louches the circle al five eQuldisl ant POlnlS and is centred on the genitals. The preVIOUS one, on the other hand, formed a cross centred on Ihe navel. Five is supposed to be the number of man as he IS on Earth, which he enters through the generative process. Olher intentions apart, such pentagonal figures essentially represent the microcosmic human being, whereas the cross- shaped ones represent the macrocosmic man, 'crUCified' on the four directions of space. The lalter IS centred not on the genitals but on the navel. Ihe abode of the Will through which, as Demiurge, he brings the universe IntO being and, as Avatar, redeems it . UCH It , a. 1, p. 112 89 The ParIS of the Body and their Rulerships A mOre complete lable of rulerships includes both the zodiacal and the planetary Influences on the human body, From this chart one can read off the part that is likely to be affected by any possible planet - sign combination, Saturn In Aries affects the chesl, Venus in Pisces the shins, and so on. The chart is part of a grand scheme of astrological diagnosis whi ch purports to give nOI only the probable diseases to be expected from every planetary aspect , but also a system for detecting the critical days when the course of a disease can be reversed. MC II , b, p. 183 88 89 90 The Torso Dissected Again we show that Fludd was perfectly familiar with the physical constitution of man, even if he probably learnt it more from reading Vesalius than through actual dissection. The body is for him, as for all mystiCs. the lowest member of the whole human being : a mere vehicle for the Soul and Spirit. and the seat of temptat ion and sin. Yet at the same time. this despised object is fearful ly and wonderfully made so as to reflect God's cosmos in its every particular, and from this point of view it deserves our awe and admiration. One of Christian ci vil ization's major problems arises from this dichotomy, and Fl udd coul d not surmount it. AA. p. 113 91 Threefold Man Just as Fludds diagrams of the Ptolemaic universe show the light of God shining above the three realms, so this shows the three realms as they manifest in man, under God. The sunburst above his head may recall the thousand - petalled lotus of yoga, the Sahasrara Chakra whose opening marks the transcendence of the condi tioned realms, empyrean, ethereal and elemental alike. To the highest heaven corresponds the head. with its three funct ions : The Deif ic Ray or Mind : Uncreated Light The Sphere of Light or Intellect : Created Light The Sphere 01 Spiritus : Reason : the Empyrean The planetary spheres or ethereal heaven correspond to the thorax, in whose centre rules the heart, eqUivalent to the Sun in the 'sphere of life'. The elemental spheres of fire, air. water and earth are marked both on the diagram and beneath : A Choler (gall bladder) B Blood (liver and vei ns) c Phlegm (belly) o Faeces or dung (viscera) If we need a clarification of what the ancients meant by 'bl ack bile , the melancholiC humour. here i t IS. At the centre are the genitals. corresponding to the centre of the Earth (see pl ate 88) . UCH II . , ' . p. '05 91 73 92 93 74 ANATOM liE AMPHITHEA-TRVM ErnGIE TRI PLIC I, MORE ET CONDITIONE VARIA. DEsIGNATVM '1OIu:rto Fludd \ 'II'. 92 Soul, Body and Bread LIke maSI of Fludd's lilia- pages, this epitomizes the main themes of Ihe book The Theatre of Anatomy dI scusses the anatomy 01 wheat and 01 man's physIcal and subtle bodies Here the Universal Man holds a Circle InSCflbed ' Man. or the Microcosm the admirable receplacle of all these subJects' Wlth,n are three large Circles I (above) 'The external Image of man's mystiC anatomy' The sacred monogram IHS (Jesus) IS al the heart of the lour Winds, presided over by the Archangels Gabriel (N) , Michael (E), Urlet (5) and Raphael (W) To Ihem are aSCribed Ihe respecl.ve properties of congealmg. generallng, dIssolving and conserving. The small Ci rcle to the leh explainS that the spiritus or air (A) and the soul (8) surround IHS, ' the light or centre of men', These are the ' triple members of Internal man' Further on the Winds, see plates 60-64 II (left) ' The bnght mlHOr of the anatomy of wheat or bread' Wheat , the pre emlnent ' food of man' was the subject of an alchemical experiment by which Fludd set great store He devotes the first lengthy seCti on of this book to an account of how he extracled the QUintessence of wheat, along With the many macrocosmlC conclUSions he drew from thi s process The small Circle reads 'Three things are necessary to make anatomy accessible ' They are the subject - here bread (A) and wheat (8) , the dissected members, or the elements of Ihe subject here the fIve elements Into which he diVided wheat (E G) . the Instruments alembiC and relort (I.K) III (flghl) ' The liVing effigy of common anatomy' A scene of disseCtion IS explained In a parallel way ' Three walch over common anatomy ' They are the sublect of disseCtion (A) , the dissector (8) and hiS Instruments (C) The three large Circles are 10lned by a triangle along whose Sides are written the words ' Heaven 01 SptttIUS', ' Earth or body', ' the food of man' C H Joslen has pomlCd out Ihal the three apexes Jom the monogram IHS with Ihe level m Ihe bailIe equivalent to ai r and the ear of the surgeon He suggests Ihat II IS ' probably meant to convey the Idea that the Word of God (as nOUrishing to man as wheat and bread) IS manifested to him by sound propagatmg Itself through the medium of ai" (Josten. 'Robert Fludd's " Philosoph,call Key .. ', p 23) AA. I p 93 Divine and Human Will ' God acts out of will : not, as the Peripatetics say, out of necessity. Nothing is done in Heaven or Earth which does not derive liS motion from the divine will. Only the dark mass of mailer receives ill the acts of the divine mind, and " the darkness comprehendeth It no('. We could compare this to the action of the Sun, which shi nes i ndifferently upon the whole Earth, but whose rays are variously received according to the nature of bodies. The Sun can make planls grow, yet it can also shrivel them. Simi larl y, the intellec-tual and invisible Sun is one in its act but various in its effects: (p 164) The plate shows the Sun' s rays, or God' s, meeting light and dark objects The upper one," turn gives off l ight : the lower swallows up the ray in its own darkness. Both resemble hearts, perhaps alluding to the esoteric doctrine that the highest soul i n man is associated with the subtle heart -Thcologo.Philofophicus, !" Libmlm JijlribMIII4; (de III.S (RESURRECTIONE. in(erunturnonnullaSapienriz veteris. Ada l11i (uperlliris ,&.igmenta: <?' profUn-fa.crarum Licctatum (t:nul &Jumme,.arque ulimpidiori & liquidiori (aniorurnPhiJo ... (opho(um fonte hau1l:a arque coUedat F,""ib .. .. u c. R 0 ,u.1iIIiI. 4Micllr 10. U DOL F 0 0 T R B centre. ThiS source of the divine Within man can be radiant or latent. depending on his level of consciousness. PS. p. 165 94 The Fall of Man ' Theologi cal - philosophical treatise In three books : 1 on Life : 2. on Death ; 3. on Resurrecllon. In which are i ncluded some fragment s of ancient wisdom witnessing to Adam' s misfort une ' derived and compiled in the l ight of Holy Writ and from the l impid fount of the wi ser Phi losophers, dedicated to those called the Brothers of the Rose Cross by Rudolfo Otreb [ anagram of Roberto Floud]. a Bri ton, '" the year Chrlst. life to the world". At the Oppenheim press of Hieronymus Gallerus, at the expense of Johann Theodore de Bry: The year IS concealed In a chronogram, solved by addmg the capitals of ChrlstVs MVnDo VIta : CIVMVDVI "' 1617. The t itle- page shows 94 four scenes commonly found In Christian Iconography : God creating Eve from Adams side , Adam and Eve with the frUlI of the Tree of Knowledge , the pair expelled from the Garden of Eden by the flaming SWOrd and placed under Deaths dominion , the Resurrection of the Dead Further svmbols appear In the decorations . at the tOp of each column are fruit s, representing the passions and deSires to which our f irst parents succumbed ; at the bottom are symbols of the death which came to mankind as a resul t of the Fall. The major part of the Tracrarus Theologo-PhiJosophlcus IS a statement of the traditional Christian doctrines concernmg mans Fall and Redemption, amplified by many quotations from the Corpus Hermeti cum. Fludd offers thiS, his second work, to the mysterious ROSicrucians, JOining them In expectat ion of an Imminenl renewal of Heaven and Earth TTP, t.p. 75 VI The Ape of Nature Man's accomplishments in the arts and sciences. imitating and complementing those of Nature 76 DE NATVR.J SIMlA SEll Technica macrocO'fmi histori a in partes undecim divifa . AVTHORE ROBERTO' FLUDD ALI.A.S DE FLUCTIIIUS ct in Mc:dlcina Do[lor, Q.xoniu:fi . '" In Nobili Oppenhcimio .A:.rr Iohan-T!J{oJon '" By Glllk,.i . (I:) t5 95 The Ape of Nature The ti t le - page of t he second treatise of the History of the Macrocosm represents the Arts by which Man Imitates and continues NalUre' s work on Earth (see plate 3) , The Ape squats In the centre, pOinting like a schoolmaster to an ari thmetic book. and reminding us that all the arts are based on number The other arts, proceeding clockWise. are geometry (applied 10 surveymg) , perspective, painting. military sCience. engineering, time -keeping. cosmography. astrologV. geomancv and musIc. With the exception of mUSIC, which follows arithmetiC, this IS the Order In which the subjects are expounded In the treatise The Image of the ape had borne man V different connotations before Fl udd used It In the title of hiS book De Naturae Simia (see Blbllographv. under Janson) He was probablv aware that It was a svmbol of Thoth, the legendarv Inventor of writing and other useful arts The associations Thoth - Hermes-Mercunus pOint to a deeper purpose m thiS book ' the arts of man are Indeed gUides to hiS soul , capable of transforming and preparing It for higher contemplations. UCH. I. b. I P 97 96 The Mirror of Proportions Proponlons. whether between the parts of the human body or those of the cosmos, were an Important conSideration for Greek, medieval and Renaissance philosophers alike The most detailed working out of them took place In mUSical theory, where the proportions between strings of various lengths or lens Ions were translated mto audible Inlervals Later, with the InventIon of precise rhythmical nOlatlon, they were also reahzed In melncal relationships The ' Mirror of Proportions' (Proportlonum Speculum) IS an example of the many circular charts In this book It gives the Latin terms for all manner of proportions and the corresponding numerical ratios (as they are called tOday) The number 5 at the very bottom should be 25, and there are several other misprints UCH I, b, p 13 97 Apollo and the Muses This emblem heads Fludd' s treatise on mUSIC It IS a common enough scene, besl known from Raphael's verSion In the Vatican. The god Apollo SitS under a laurel tree on Parnassus with hiS head enveloped In a solar nimbus In hiS hand IS a seven -stringed lyre, indicating that as Sun God he IS leader of the chOir 01 planets He IS a personification of the regulating, harmonIZIng forces In the Universe, and as such IS aptly assOCiated with mUSIC, In which these forces are made audible Around him are the nine Muses, some holding mUSical Instruments lyre, cornetto, bass viol , lute. cornetto (on the ground) and straight trumpet The Muses traditionally preSide over the Arts, dispenSing inspiration to mortals They are femmes msplfatflces ' Images of the Anima , or the levels of the soul from which true artistiC creation aflses UCH I, b, p, 159 77 98 98 The Round Tower In the commentary on this enlarged detail of the Temple. the subject of the next plale. Fludd defines sound as made by the sInking of air with the consequent vibrations which propagate In spirals and CIrcles (p 16B) These are fancifully drawn above the twO doors which represent the ears, sole entrances of sound, Might II be 100 fanCiful to see the spiral also as a reference to the cochlea of the Inner ear 7 Unfortunately Fludd's Anatomlae Amphirhearrum. which has very detailed dissection drawings of the human eye, barely mentions the apparatus of hearing. so we do not know the extent of his knowledge The doors are flanked by panels containing (left) harp, organ, corneno, (rtght) viol, clttern and lute On the left IS Apollo wllh a lute, on the nght Marsyas with pan -pipes. In the engraving of the complete temple, the place of the laHer IS taken by a CUriOUS profile mask The legend of the mUSical cOnlest between Apollo and the satyr Marsyas, which ended with the flaYing of the loser, was philosophically i nterpreted to represent the painful liberation from one's earthly body (the satyr's skin) In order to hear Apollo's lyre, I.e experience the celestial worlds (see Edgar Wind, Pagan Mysteries in the Renaissance, pp 171 6) 78 But whilst thiS muddy vesture of decay Doth grossly close II In, we cannot hear It (The Merchant of Venice V, I) Perhaps the ' harmony In Immort al souls' IS Indicated by the decorated clfcles Ihat surmount the edifice, one of them full of 'young ey'd cherublnS' UCH I. b. p 168 99 The Temple of MUSIC ThiS extraordinary structure, obViously Influenced by Renai ssance theatrical architecture, was probably conceived as a mnemonic deVice for the rules of mUSIC Proceeding along the bottom we find fir st a lute. an Instrument which Fludd honours With the follOWing encomium ' No other Invention, anCient or modern, IS more seemly for consorts nor more deSirable for symphonies, nor more admirable to the ears of listeners. Time destroys not the sweetness of Its sounds, netlher do fickle Inventions seduce men's affections from It, however rare, unusual , or more eaSily learnt these may be ' (p 226) Next is the famous scene of Pythagoras enlerrng the forge In which he noticed the consonant pitches produced by four hammers. Examlntng the hammers. he found thetr weights In the proportion 12, 9. 8 and 6, giving the intervals of fourth, flflh and octave, The massive foundation obscuring the remainder of the arcade IS In the form of a staff With a bass clef The lowest note IS G. the bottom of the gamut , and as the notes proceed up the scale so their values gel smaller. from maximus to semifusa ( the laller equal to our quaver Or eighth -note). ThiS IS the baSIS which the rest of the temple amplifies In the second stOrey we ftnd first a column -monochord With the notes of the gamut marked off for two octaves, two higher octaves being indicated only by Gs Skipping the charI. we come to another gamut between the first two Tuscan columns, running up from F to aM the normal limitS of most mUSIC In Fludd's day The next three spaces explain the three species of hexachords, the Six -note ' scales' of medieval mUSIC whose lowest note, ' ut', could fall on an F, C or G These were called respectively the soft , natural and hard hexachords In the engraving the soh hexachord IS surmounted by a round tower and round organ pipes, the hard hexachord by square ones These rellect the different verSions of the note B as It falls In the respective hexachords In the soft one It sounds B- flal , wrtuen With a round b thai became the familiar flat sign , In the hard one It sounds B natural , wrttten With a square b which survIves tn our natural SIgn These two accldentals may be seen In the top of the ground- floor arcadlng The natural hexachord runs far SIX nOles up from C, hence aVOi ds B altogether It being the highest of the three, Fludd li kens It to the hlghesl element. fife, and gives II the highest tower, pOinted like a flame We conSi der next the clock above ApOllo Aptly surmounted by Father Time, the upper dial shows 12 hours, the lower one the different note-values The two outer Circles contain the notes and their relatIonships 1 maxIma (Fludd calls It /arga) equals 2 longs, 4 breves, 8 semlbreves, 16 minims, 32 Semlmlnlms, 64 fusae, '28 semlfusae (The last note should have two flags on Its lall ) To each of these are added their appropriate rests. For some reason each IS also accompanied by a note of the next value down, but thrs system falls when the fusa IS reached. The area above Pythagoras tS diVided diagonally On the left IS the PlalonlC lambda. descrtbed tn the Timaeus There are two errors, rectified In the text (p. 204) : 16 should be 12, and 24 should be 27 The ramifications of this 'net' are vast, but here It serves Simply to show the proportions of note-values to each other In medieval and Renaissance notation a breve could contain either 4, 6, Or 9 minims, depending on the time -signat ure. The possibilities for longer notes were correspondingly greater The 'chess -board' IS an aid to compOSItion, constructed rather like the chans which show the mileage between cities It shows the distances between the notes of the scale. But it only gives consonances Suppose one has written a low A and wanls to wrlle a middle C against It The chart shows that all IS well the Interval IS a tenth Try a B, however, and one meets a blank the Interval IS a discord The 'clerestory' on the level of the three lowers IS a Slm,lar device. enabllOg one to check al a glance the nOles respectively an octave. sixth, third and ftfth from any given no Ie The windows for the sixths and thuds afe smaller. these bemg only Imperfect consonances as opposed to the perfect octave and fifth Fmally. In the alcove beneath the tWin portals representmg ears, a Muse stands pointing al a phrase In three parts, the tnumphant result of Ihese compositional aids (rtght) UCHI , b, p 160 1 99 (Transcribed by Todd Barlon) 79 100 100 A Musical Clock One of Fludd's own inventions, this is the culmination of his book on Ti me and its measurement. The hexagonal barrel is filled with water which runs out from a tap ( not shown) In the course of twelve hours. Floating i n the water is a wooden column fitted with a pointer that Indicates the hours as it descends. This column also carries spikes which sel off a carl lton 10 strike each hour. At noon one ref i lls the barrel , the f loat rises to the top agam, and the process repeats. UCH I. b. p. 525 80 102 101 Surveying I A man determines the height of a lower by means of a surveying instrument , al ready old In Fludd's day, called a ' Jacob' s st aff ' One has to know one's homontal di stance from the obJecl being measured, and then calculate by means of Similar triangles formed by the cali brated rod and sl iding cursor. The landscapes throughout thiS chapter have a strong resemblance to those In Michael Maiers alchemical emblem- book Atlanta Fugiens and Lambspnnck'S De Lapi de Philosoph/co Libel/us, both ascribed to Matthleu Merlan. who also Signs the title - page of t he present book. Two other examples may be seen In Frances Yates' Theatre of the World. plate 5. UCH I. b. P 282 , 02 Surveying /I Two surveying Instruments of Fludd' s own invention also work on the princi ple of similar triangles. but have the great adv3n1age of not needing a known hor izontal distance. The upper device forms a small triangle with the cursor and swivelling pOinter. Similar 10 t hat formed by the horizontal distance and the ent ire height of the rod. Fludd may also have known the use of trigonometry in surveying. One of the Illust rat ions reproduced by Yates (see previous commentary) seems to Imply the use of tangents, but he does not discuss them. UCH I. b. p. 284 '03 An Aid (0 Pai nters A frame divided by Wires IntO a grid of equal squares IS fixed on a table. and the drawi ng paper is correspondi ngly divided. Looki ng at the scene through the eyepiece, one transcri bes It square by square on to the paper Like several of the illustrations in thiS book, this recalls some of the buildings of Heidelberg where Frederick and Elizabeth enjoyed their bri ef reign, (See Yates, The Rosicrucian Enlightenment .) UCH I. b. p. 307 " .... : .. \ \ -::... :;.,.:;:- -.--:::.... ... \. , , ! , , \ -----" . . S ," /- -"".:=::-.. 103 104 ) ,. . , , . ~ - - 0(; l ~ t ~ , 82 104 Advice to the Aspiring Artist After explaining the geometrical bases of the human form, which help one to depi ct i t accurately, Fludd faces the problem of how to draw irregular objects such as animals which do not lend themselves to treatment by use of the grid. 'Sketch it in black or red pencil or charcoal. and lay it aside until the next day. Then, each day. see what parts of it need improvement and amend them bit by bit. In this way one can work on as many as forty drawings simultaneously, and gradually increase one's ski ll . Imaginat ion and memory are the two nurses and midwives of this art .' (p. 338) The elegant engraving of a deer presumably shows what one may hope to achieve through diligent practice. UCH I. b. p. 338 105 Orvieto In the section on military science. this Tuscan town is shown as an example of nat ural fortification. Fludd shows blrd' s-eye views of the fortifications of many other European ci t ies, and mentions even Tun is, Aden and Mexico. His main Interest is in the arrangement of re o entrant bastions. Perhaps this fascination began in Fludd's youth, when his father was posted at Berwlck -on -Tweed, a town famous for i ts Italianate bastions. UCH I. b. p. 345 106 The Bastions 01 Bommena and Crimpen ' There is a fortificat ion i n Holland called Bommena. surrounded by water and equipped with four bastions. It is shown i n the first picture. The town of Crimpen. well fonified, was beSieged and assault ed in 1576 by the Prince of Orange. We show it Wi th its five bastions and defences in the second pial.: (p. 384) UCH I. b. p 385 107 The Perfect Fortification No doubt the perfection of thiS ' ideal' forllfication, reputedly Invented by a German, IS due in part to It s mandala-like symmetry. With its twelve pOints, It might be mistaken for a giant zodiac. Certainly i l could repel mOSI effons 10 take It by storm, bul it does not appear as well supplied against a lengthy siege UCH I. b. p. 390 83 f I Pn.,clI.-.sore.s .sell .specu lat 0'-"" : 1\ L-jllJhttn ICllllm. cohort" .. in duo ':Iua III <.lextnun .""np" & SIIH'{lnlm dllt.s . C.V,,,;.,,'orlllll ba.nJIl I}, L')()IIIf,Ii,d.onulI clilllp",dnwn locus . LOIlIt' phll/ll.llg.s a In.' S('II mlU1.ca: . '08 84 f .sell aC1e& exercifuL'i . G.Cohores ad Til/d. cu,.lod"u" cOtloJ1,fulu.s. H.1iofdum oJell IIl1pec(unentli. ext',cif,bJ . I. SfjudJro e'lultu.nl 1uugenbu.rdlS g-fY!llflll"":' 108 The italian Army on the March 'A SCOUIS B Troops of light cavalry divided mto squares on left and tight C Corps of engineers 0 ArtIllery E TwO wings of the phalanx F Phalanx or main part of the army G Guards of the baggage H Baggage Iraln I Squadron of mounted arquebuslcrs ' Fludd's trcatlse on military SCIence, one 0' hiS most extensIve, also devotes large fOldmg plates 10 the diSposition of the Spanish and ImperIal armies UCH I. b. p 409 109 Detecting Enemy Movements 'Those under siege who suspect their enemies of tunnelling under the walls should place drums above the most suspect palms, With needles on thetr heads or bells hung around them The slightest Vibration underground Will cause them to sound Some also hang bells on posts Or In Hees for thiS purpose ' (p 417) UCH I. b. p 418 1 . , 109 85 86 , , , I I , J "0 A Perpetual Motion Machine Fludd shows this as an ingeniOus bUI fallacIous SWISS invention. The Idea was that as each weight reached the bottom of the wheel II was whipped up by the comb - like pistons, then (somehow) rehung on the lOp of the wheel. The inventor thought that the weights remaining on the wheel could easily raise a single weight in this way and that motion would therefore be perpelUal. Fludd pomts oul that he cannOI expect that single weight to be lifted so far by the much shorter motion of Its fellows He does nol seem to have believed In the POSSibility of perpetual physical motion. UCH I. b. p 457 111 A Water Pump 'When I was in Rome. one Gruterus. a SWISS by birth and my master i n thiS an. made thi s machine for Cardinal Sextus GiorgiO whom he served as engineer It caused the water flom a tiny spring. bubbling up at the foot of a mound in hiS garden. to ascend to the lOp. I cannot praise enough his artifice and IngenUi ty. which from so mean a spring rai sed water to a height with such ease ' (p. 460) Thi S Gruterus IS not Janus Gruler, the famous scholar and Palatine librarian. who was born In Antwerp and whom Fludd may also have known. Unlike some 01 the machines Fludd Illustrates, this one IS obviously laken flam life and depicted accurately and convincingly. The sketch 01 II IS from a manuscrlpl of part of the trealise, now In the British library ( MS Sloane 870) If II IS In Fludd' s hand. as seems likely. It gives a good Idea of the stale In which hiS desi gns reached the engraver. UCH I. b. p. 461 111 : 1 \ .. . ___ .:1 . ' 87 VII The Microcosmic Arts Man's sciences as they relate to self-knowledge, both psychological and psychic 88 TOMI SECVND I TRACT ATUS P R I MI; SECTIO SECUNDA, De tcchnica MicrocoCmi hi!1:oria, m Portiones V II. divif .... AUTH Oa.E RO BER.TO F LUD .liilsdeFLuc TlBu:s Armigero& in Medici naDoaore OXGnienJi. 112 11 2 The M,crocosmic Arts Whereas the book from which the prevIOus plates are taken (UCH I. b) treated man' s activities m the outside world, this one deals with the sCiences which man has devised concerning himself Again he IS shown reaching from the DIvine triangle down to the Ape, which represents his own efforts to Imitate God's work HIs achievements towards self -understanding and self -development are prophecy, geomancy, the art of memory, the mterpretatlon of natal horoscopes, physiognomy, palmistry, and the ' science of pyramids' The laner IS Fludd's own inVention, and the pOint al which man is explamed In macrocosmlC terms UCH II. a, 2, t P " 3 The Art 01 Memory The memory can be enormously enhanced by transmulmg concepts Into visual and spatial Images , herem lies the secret of the Ars Memorariva of Anllqulty, Ihe Middle Ages and the Renaissance Unlike Frances Yates, who wrote the standard historical study of the subject. I have practised this art and found It dramatically successful Here the three venttlcles are shown agam, but the things to be memOfl2_ed are brought from (he obscurity of the back of the head and exposed to the eye of Imagination The Images are the Tower of Babel. Tobias and the Angel. an obelisk, a storm at sea and the Last Judgement I have found no satisfactory explanation for these particular scenes UCH II , a, 2, p 47 "4 The Theatre 01 the World One begins the art of memory by forming an ordered collection of 'memory pJaces' In the mind's eye, In which one can then put Images of the things to be remembered A theatre IS recommended as a sUitable locale, contalnmg as II does many available places such as the doors, Windows, columns, and the spaces between them This plate achieved fame when Richard Bernhelmer and Frances Yates suggested that It might be an actual drawing of Shakespeare' s Globe Theatre UCH II , a, 2, p 55 113 89 115 , , 5 Prophecy 'The gift of prophecy can come di rectly from God, or else mdlrectly, through the ministration of demons Examples are 10 be found In many bi blical ftgures. and also In those of Antiquity, such as Mercunus Trlsmeglslus, Plalo, Orpheus, the Sibylline and Chaldaean Oracles. Apol!onlus of Tyana, Cassandra, and Merlin. In our own day we have Noslradamus Just as the Sun shines perpetually on all men, so God Incessantly offers his pearls of wisdom. and those who receive them become prophets. But the eVil demons can also give knowledge. Inasmuch as they had It before theu fall. ' (pp 8- 11) J B Craven (see Bibliography) suggests that thiS scene represents Elijah anointing ElIsha with a horn of Olt. and the Spirll In the shape of a dove ISSUing from 90 above , or perhaps Samuel anointing David Either would represent the Influx of divine grace which makes a true prophet UCH II. a. 2. p 3 "6 PhYSiognomy The sCience of phYSiognomy studies the 'middle soul' of men as revealed In their bodies Here are some typical observations from Fludd's treatise on the subject large and ffeshy feel Indlc'He fOOlishness in love, adultery and love of inJustice , very hairy arms Indicate Insanity, or rustiCity , a nose thai nearly reaches the mouth denotes a worthy and magnanimous man , baldness (see frOnilSplece) IS a Sign of subtlety and astuteness, Presumably thiS couple Illustrates the eugeniC Ideal , Indicating good memory and longeVi ty by their large ears, and prudence by their prominent upper lips UCH II. a. 2. p 117 117 Chlfomancy Lifted wholesale from Cornelius Agrlppa, thiS chlfomantlC hand shows the traditional lines and mounds of the planets, Marin Mersenne, In hiS attack on Fludd, was particularly averse to thiS SCience, and Invited hiS opponent to Interpret the markings of a palm which he Illustrated Fludd IS not known to have responded to the challenge, though he believed that palmistry could reveal not only character, but even a person's virginity Or otherWise, and the sex of an unborn child UCH 11. . 2. P 143 117 91 120 118 Part of a Plan/sphere For once, Fludd' s IllustratOr falls 10 do his lext Justice. making II almost Impossible to visualize the complete planisphere 01 which this and two other components are shown The Instrument , when assembled, can give limes of solar and lunar rtSlngs and sellings. phases of the moon, and positions of the planets and fixed slars. Fludd refers us to the world maps of Pettus Planelus (London edition. 1595) lor more accurate delails UCH I, b, P 545 '19 Zodiacal Aspects This shows the astrological aspects of each zodiacal Sign to the fes t ' oppositions. squares, trines and sextlles NOI all of them have been drawn In. Fludd says that the most efficacIoUs of all aspects is the conjunction between 92 planets, and lists the other aspects In descending order of strength, as above, UCH I, b, p 633 120 A Table of Planetary Influences ' Each hour of the day IS ruled by a certain planet, and this differs on each day of the week . The chan lists the days (SoIls Sunday, Lunae .::. Monday, etc) and the hours of the day (above the horizon) and night (below II) The first hour of the day begins at dawn and the 'Irst hour of the ntght at sunsel -whatever the time of year So one cannot rely on the clock for gUidance one must divide the day and the night , whatever their lengths, Into twelve equal pariS each Thus In summer, for Instance, the daytime " hours" Will be far longer than Ihose of the night ' (pp 638--9) These divisions of the day became ImpOrt ant in Fludd' s Medicina 119 121 Catholica, where they have an Influence on the Critical pOints of diseases UCH I, b, p 638 121 An Astrologer st Work I n thiS beautiful engraving an astrologer draws up a horoscope with the tools of hiS trade ' a globe. dividers. spectacles, books of tables, and here differing from hiS modern counterpart direct observation of the skies. In which all the heavenly bodies are obligingly shini ng Johannes FabriCIUS suggests a deeper meaning. noticing that the ' alchemist as-astrologer' IS pOinting to the Sign 01 Pisces ' I n thiS Sign the old philosopher beholds the splendour of the last comunCliO solis et lunae bursting to Illuminate the heavens at the end of hiS opus ' (Alchemy, p 190.) UCH II. a, 2, p 71 Bibiiographv PLAf.J OF FLUDD'S flistory of (he Macrocosm and Microcosm Volurne , The Macrocosm Volurne II The Microcosm 1 Tractate I, 1617 (UCH I, a) Metaphysics and CosmIC Oflgins Truclate II, 1618 (UCH C b) Ans and SCiences (Tractate I 1 Section I, 1619 (UCH II, a. 1) Spm!ual Psychology Section II, 1620) (UCH IL a, 2) Psychological SCiences Tractate II ( Scct'O" Section" [never appeared] Tractate III [never appeared] Portions I, II. 1621 (UCH II, b) Thcu!iUphy and Cabbala Portion III. 1623 (AA) Anatomy Portion IV, 1626 (PS) Meteorology and Cosmology PLAN Of- FllJO[)'S iV/edicina Calholica VoIUnlp. I Volume II [never appeared] I WRITINCS RY FI UOD [AC] Apologia cumfJenrliarla Iralernitatem de RaseD Cruce 5uspicioois el mfamlae maeulis aspersam. vefltaris quasi Fluetibus abluens el abstergens LCldcn Gottfried Bassoll. 1616 [TAJ Tracfa{us Apuluge!lcus Inlcgrilalcm Societatis De Rosea Cruce defendens 1617 Lelden, C;otl!r'erl Rasson [TTP] Tractatus Thcologo-Philosophicus, In Libros (res distributus, Quorum I. de Vita, /I de Marte, /II de Resurrectiane Oppenheim, Johann Theorlore rle Bry, 1617 [UCH I, aJ Utrlllsque Cosmi Maioris scilicet ef Minoris Mctaphyslca, PhYSICi') Atque Technica Hisloria In duo Valumina secundum COSfni dif/erenfiam divisa T omus Pflmus Oe Macrocosmi Tractate I lsect,oll I, lG79 (MC I a) Causes of dlse.:JSe wmds and demons Sec Ion II, 15:11) (MC I b) Th pulse Tractate II 1 Section I, 1631 (Me II, a) ca. uses o. f disease, contraction dna rarefactlun Section II, 1 G31 (MC II, b) Dmgnosls bV astrology and uroscopy Historia Oppenheim, Johann Theodore deBrY,1617 [UCH I, hJ Traclatus Secundus De Nalurae Simia Seu Technica macrocosm! jllstofla In partes undecim dlvlsa Orpenhelm, Johann Theodore de 8ry, 1618 2nd edn Frilnkfurl, Johann Tr1COdorc de 8ry, 1624 [UCH II. <l, 1 J Tomus Sccundus De Supernaturali, Naturali, Praeternaturall Et Contranaturali Microcosmi hisloria, In Traclalus /res dlstubula. Oppenheim, Johann Theodore de Bry, 1619 :UCfI II, a, 2] Tomi Secundl !raelalus Primi Sectio Secunda, De technica Microcosml histaria, In Portiones VII divisa \J p, n d [) Opperhe!rY1, ) 1620: :UCH II, b] Toml Secundl Tracfatus Secundus. De PraelernatUiali Utnusque Mundi Histofla In secflones fres dlVlsa Frankfurt, Johann 1 heodure de Bry, 1621 [VP] VcnW(is Proscenium. in quo Au/aeum ErrOlis Tragicum Omwvetur, SiparlUm Ignoranflae scemcum complicatu" ipsaque ventas a suo mimslro Ir7 pUblicum produC/tur. Seu Dcmonstratlo Guaedam Analytica Frankfurt. Johann Theodore dp. Bry, 1621 [All IInatomlae Amph,lheatwm tff'.Qle T(lpllcl, More Et ConditIOne Vafla Deslgnatum. F-rankfurt, Johann Theodore de Bry, 1623. Includes Monochordum Mundi as pp. 287-331. dated 9 Oecember 1671 ~ S ~ Philosophia sacra et vere Christiana Seu Meleorologia Cosmica. Frankfurt. Ollicinil BrYilna, 1626 93 [SM] Sophlae Cum Moria CCrlamen, In quo, Lapis Lydius A Falso Struclore, Fr Marino Mersenno, Monacho Reprobatus, celeberrima VolummlS SUI Babylonici (in Genesin) figmenta accurate examinat. [Frankfurt], 1629 [58] Summum 8onum, Quod est Verum Magiae, Cabalae, Alchymiae Verae, Fratrum Roseae Crucis verorum Subjectum Pcr loachimum FriZium [Frankfurt],1629 All writers on Fludd have assumed that some motive best known to himself prompted him to publish this work under a pseudonym. It appeared in the same year as Sophiae Cum MOfla Cer(amen, and, like ttlat work, is an attack on Mersenne The printer's address to the reader states' 'Because thiS treatise on the Highest Good appears to lay bare the extraordinary calumnies of Brothp-r Marin Mp-rsenne 1 have thought II worth while to bind II with thp- Response 10 Ihe same of the Illustrious Robert Fludd' I see no reason not (Q attribute It to the Joachim FrlzluS named as author on the title page, presuming him to be a friend or supportp-r of Flurid who submitted thiS defence 10 the anonymous prlnler [MC I, ill Medlcma Catho/ica, Seu Mysficum Artis Medlcand, Sacrarium, In Tomas divlsum duos In Oll/bus Metaphysica Et Physlca Tam Sanitalis luendae, quam morborum propulsandorum ratio perlrilclalur Frankfurt William Fitzer, 1629. [MC I, b] Pulsus Seu Nova Et Arcana Pulsuum Histofla, E Sacra Fonte Radlcailter txtracta, Nec Non Medicorurn Ct/!nicorum Dietis C( authorilale comprobata Hoc Est. Porlionis Tertiae Pars Tertia, De Pulsuum Scientla_ N p_, nod ~ Frankfurt, n 630] Completed , 9 October 1629 (Me II, a] Integrum Morborum Mysrerium Sive Medicinae Catho/icae Tomi Primi Tractatus Secundus, In SectlOnes dlstflbutas duas Frankfurt, Wilham Fitzer, 1631 [Me II, b]I,'XOoil"'(JI' Medlcorum ,,-:xronT//OI', In quo, Quasi Specula Poillissimo Morbi praesentes more demonstrativo clarissime indicantur, el Tomi futuri ratione prognostica aperte cernuntur, alque prosplcunlur Sive Primi. Traclatus Secundi, Seello Secunda [Frankfurt], 1631. Completed 17 December 1629 IDFA] Doclor Fludds Aflswer unto M Foster Or, The Squeesing of Parson Foslcrs Spunge, ordamed by him for the wiping away of the Weapon-Salve London. Nathaniel Butler 1631 Latin translation Responsum Ad Hoplocrisma-Spongum M Fosleri Presbiteri 1638 Gouda, Peter Rammazen, [CP] CIa vis Philosophlae EI Alehymiae Fluddanae, Sive Roberti Fluddl Armigefl, Et Mechcinae Docloris, Ad Epislolicam Petfl Gassendl Theologi ExercitaCionem Responsum. Frankfurt, William Fitzer, 1633 [PM] Philosophia Moysalca_ In qua Sapientia ee scientia creationis el creaturarum sacra vereque Christiana (UI pote cuius basIs sive Fundamentum est UfllCUS iI!e LapIs Angularis lesus Christus) ad amUSSlffI ct enucleate explicatur Gouda, Peter Rarnrnazen, 1638 (MP] Mosalcall Philosophy Grounded upon the Essential! Truth, or Eternal Sapience. Wfltten lirst in Latm, and afterwards thus rendred into English London, Humphrey Moseley, 1659 UNPUBLISHED WORKS Declaralio Brevis Manuscript in London, British Library, Ms Royal, 12.c II !ranslatloll forthcoming in Ambix A Philosophlcall Key MarlLJscnpt In Trinity College, Cambridge, Western Ms 1150 (0246), edition by Allen G_ Debus forthcoming Truth's Golden Hnrrow Manuscript in Bodleian library, Oxford, Ms AshrnoJe 766, edition by C H_ Josten In Ambix. vol. III (1949) pp 91-150 II WRITINGS ABOUT ROBERT FLUDD Allen, Paul M, A Christian RosenkreulL Anthology New York, 1968. The Rosicrucians interpreted by Rudolf Steiner and his disCiples, contains the largest collection heretofore of Fludd's plates, and a translation of SB, book IV Amman, Peter J, 'The Musical Theory and Philosophy of Robert Fludd', Journal of the Warburg and Court auld Inslltutes, vol 30 (1967), pp 198227 Arnold, Paul, Histoire des Rose- Croix et les origines de la Franc-Maf.onnerie PariS, 1955, pp. 126--9 __ , La Rose-Croix et ses rapports avec la Franc-Maf.onnerie. A reVised verSion of his 1955 book, but less well documented Ashbee, Andrew, Robert Fludd', Grove's D,clionary of Music and MUSICians 6th edl1, London, 1979 Barton, Todd, 'Robert Fludd's De Templo Muslcae' Dissertation In progress. UniverSity of Oregon. Beer, Arthur, and Peter Beer, Kepler Four Hundred Years, Proceedings of Conferences held in honour of Johannes Kepler Oxford, 1975. Vistas in Astronomy, vol 1 B Blume, Friedrich, 'Robert Fludd', Ole Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Kassel. 1955, vol 4, cols 438-42 Places Fludd's De Templo Musicae in ItS historical pOSItion Buhle, J. G., Uber den Ursprullg der Rosenkreuzcr und FrelfTiaUrer. Go1tlngen, 1804, pp. 24411. Buhle's findings were summarized by De Ouincey, q v, BoQZ, Ada Mah (A. M_ Ylrkhol7). translator, Schutzschrift fur die Aechtheit der Roscnkreuzergesel/schafl LeipZig, 1780 German translation of TA Cafiero, L.. 'Robert Fludd e la polernlca can Gassendi', R,vlsta Critica dl Staria Filosofia. vol 19 (1964), pp_ 367410, and vol 70 (1965), pp 3- 15 Casslrer, Ernsl, Oas Erkenntnisprobiem m der P/JI!osophie und Wissenschaft der neueren Zeit. 2nd edn. Berlin, 1911, pp 3431.1 Chacornac Paul, 'Robert f'Udd, Ie Docteur rosicrucien', Le Vode d'lslS, 1931, pp 321-39 Collier, K<.Ithemle P" Cosmogomes of our Fathers New York, 1934, pp 2!:J -32 et passim Craven, J B, Count Michael Maler Kirkwall, 1910, reprinted London, 1970 The only comprehensive monograph on Fludd's assoclClte Doctor Robert Fludd (RoberlllS de Fluctibus) the English Rosicrucian, Lile and Wf/tmgs Klrkwall, 1902 Still an InviJluablc startmg pOll1t for Fluddlan rese<Hch Debus, Allen G, The Aenal Nller 111 the Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries', Actes du Oixiemc Congres InternatIOnal d'Histoire des SCiences, PariS, 1964, vol. 2, pp 835-9 --, The Chemical Debates of the Seventeenth Century the ReactIOn to Robert rludd and Jean Baptiste van Helmont', Righlnl Bonelli and Shea, Reason, Expeflment and Mysticism in the Scientific Revolution New York, 1975.pp 19-47 -, The Chemical Dream 01 the Renaissance. Cambrrdge, 1969, pp 20-23 'The Chemlc(ll Philosophers Chemical MediCine from raracelsus to van Helrnonf. History 01 Science, vol, 12 (1974), pp. 235-59. A variant of 'The Chemical Debates of the Seventeenth Century' The Chemical Philosophy New York, 1977. vol. 1 --, The English Paracelsians London, 1965, New York, 1966. pp. 104 27 et paSSIfTl --, 'Harvey and Fludd the IrratIonal Factor in the Rational Science of the Seventeenth CentlJly', Journal of the History 01 Biology, vol 3 (1970) , pp 81 - 105 --, Man and Nature m Renaissance New York and london, 1978. --, ' Mathematics and Nature In the Chemical Texts of the Renaissance', Ambix, vol 15 (1968). pp. 1- 28, 211 --, 'The Medico- Chemical Wortd of the Paracelsl8ns' Changmg Perspectives m the Hi story 01 SCience; Essays in Honour 01 Joseph Needham, ed Teich and Robert Young, Dordrecht and Boslon, 1973, pp 85-99 --, 'The Paracelsian Aerial Nller, ISIS, vol 55 (1964) pp 43-61 --, 'The ParacelSian Compromise In Elizabethan England', Ambix, vol 8 (1960) . pp 71 - 97 --, ' Renaissance Chemistry and the Work of Robert Fludd', Alchemy and Chemistry m the Seventeenth Century, University of California, los Angeles . Wilham Andrews Clark MemOrial Library Seminar, 1966, pp 3- 29 --, ' RenaIssance Chemistry and the Work of Robert Fludd', Amb,x, vol 14 (1967). pp. 42- 59 --, ' Robert Fludd', Dictionary 01 Scientific Biography, New York, 1972, vol 5, pp 47- 9 --, Robert Fludd and His Philosophical Key Being a Transcflpt of the Manuscript at Trinity Col/ege, Cambridge, With an Introduction, New York, 1978 --, ' Robert Fludd and Ihe Chemical Phil osophy of the Renaissance', Organon (Warsaw) , vol. 4 (1967) , pp 119- 26. --, ' Robert Fludd and the Circulation of the Bl ood', Journal 01 the History 01 Medicine and Allied SCiences, vol. 16 (1961) . pp. 374-93 --, ' Robert Fludd and the Use of Gilbert's De Magnete In the Weapon -Salve Controversy', Journal 01 the History 01 Medicine and Allied Sciences, vol 19 (1964) . pp. 389-417 --, Science and Education in the Seventeenth Century. The Webster-Ward Debate, London and New York, 1970. pp. 23-6. --, ' The Sun In the Universe of Robert Fludd', Le Soleil a la Renaissance, Sciences et Mythes, Brussels, 1965, pp. 259- 78. De QUlncey, Thomas, ' Historico -cri tical InqUiry Into the Ongln of the Rosicrucians and the Free - masons', Tales and Phantasies, london, 1897, pp, 384-448, First appeared In the London Magazine, 1824, Reprinted Mokelumne H III. California, n,d , under title The Rosicrucians, Past and Present, At Home and Abroad DISraell , Isaac, ' The RosacrUClan Fludd' [SIC] , Amenities 01 Literature, vol. II , 2nd edn, New York, 1841 , pp 324-32 Durell e, P Jean, Eltigles contracta Roberti Flud Medici Angli, cum Naevis, Appendice et Relectlone, Paris, 1636 A conttlbutlon to the Fludd -Mersenne controversy by a friend of Ihe latter Copy In Blbllotheque Natlonale Fabncus, Johannes, Alchemy the Medieval Alchemists and thelf Royal Art Copenhagen, 1976 Incomparable collection of Renaissance ( not medieval) alchemIcal IllustratIOns Ferguson, John, B,bllotheca Chemica Glasgow, 1906, vol 1, pp 283- 5, and vol 2, p 284 Foster, Wilham, Hoplocflsma- Spongus ' Or a Sponge to W,pe Away the Weapon -Salve london, 1631 An attack answered by Fludd' s only vernacular publication, Doctor Fludd's Answer Freudenberg, F., Paracelsus und Fludd, die beiden grossen Oklcultisten und Arzre des 15 und 16 Jahrhunderrs 2nd edn, Berlin, 1921 , no 17 In series 'Gehelme Wlssenschalten' The Fludd portion IS pp 233--71, and consIsts of a German translation 01 Summum Bonum, book IV FflZlus, Joachim, Summum Bonum, Quod est Verum Magiae, Cabalae, Afchymlae Verae, Fratrum Roseae CrUCIS verorum Sub,eerum. [Frankfurt] , 1629 A defence of Fludd against Mersenne, assumed by many to be by Fludd hImself. See note 10 thiS title In ItSI of Fl udd' s works, above Fuller, Thomas, Worthies 01 England, ed John Freeman London, 1952, p. 281 ThiS contains the earltest biography of Fludd, and fust appeared In 1662. Gassendl. Pierre, Epistolica exerciral10 Pans, 1630 Gassendt's contrlbutlon to the Fludd - Mersenne controversy, --, LeUres familibres ", LUlllier pendant I'hiver 1632- 1633, with Introduction and notes by Bernard Rochot Paris, 1944, pp 26ft .. 65ff , GodWin, Joscelyn, ' Inst rument s In Robert Fludd' s Utriusque Cosmi , Historia', Galpin Society Journal, vol 26 ( 1973) , pp. 2- 14 --, ' Robert Fludd on the lute and Pandora', Lute Society Journal, vol 15 (1973) . pp. 1- 13. Gould, Robert Freke, The History 01 Freemasonry, London, 1884, vot. 3, pp 79ft Source of some oft ' repeated cliches Grillot de Glvry, Anthologle de /'occUltisme Paris, 1922, pp. 329-32, Includes French translation of part of TA --, Pi cture Museum 01 Sorcery, Magic and Alchemy, trans. J, Courtenay Locke, New York, 1963 Gunther, Robert W, T.. Early Science in Oxford Oxford, 1920- 45 , espeCially vol. I, part 2 Hall, Manly Po. ed , The AII-Seemg Eye Various Issues, 1923--31 Hall. Manly P , Man, the Grand Symbol 01 rhe Mystefles Essays In Occult Anatomy Los Angeles, 1932 ExplainS several of Fludd' s anatomi cal plates --, The Secret Teachmgs 01 All Ages an EncyclopedIC Outlme 01 MaSOniC, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and ROSIcruCian Symbolical Philosophy Los Angeles, 1928 20th edn. 1975 HawkinS, Sir John, Hi story 01 the SCience and Practice 01 MUSIC London, 1776. pp 620- 3 Hemprl ch, K , R Fludd, Leben und Schrilten, 1908 ' ImpOSSible to find ' (S Hutln) Heninger, S K , Jr , Touches of Sweet Harmony , Pythagorean Cosmology and RenaIssance Poetics San MarinO, California, 1974 Hlrsl. Hidden RIches Tradifionai Symbolism Irom the Renillssance ro Blake l ondon, 1964, pp 116 37 Traces Influences from GIorgio and on Blake Hunt , John, Reli gious Thought In England l ondon, 1870, vol I. pp 24911 Hutln, Serge, HISfoire des Rose-CroIx Pans, 1955 --, A History 01 Alchemy, trans Tamara Alferoff New York, 1962 -, ' Robert Fludd, Le Roslcruclen', Revue me(aphyslque, no 20 (1952) , pp 211 - 25 -, Robert Fludd Le ROSlcruclen Pans, 1953 -. Robert Fludd (1574-1637) . AlchinJlste et Phllosophe ROSlcruclen Parts, 1971 , Collection Alclurme et Alchimlstes, no 8 The best general monograph on Fludd, by a writer who combines sympat hy With scholarship Janson, H, W" 'Apes and Ape lore', Studies 01 the Warburg Institute, vol 20 (1952) , p 305 Brief treatment of the Naturae Simia Idea, Josten, C H , ' Robert Fludd' s " Philosophi cal Key" and hIS AlchemIcal Experiment on Wheat' , Amb,x, vol II (1963) pp 1- 23, The Philosophicall Key IS a manuSCript verSion In English of AA, part I --, ' Robert Fludd' s Theory of Geomancy and hiS Experi ences In AVlgnon In the Winter of 1601 to 1602', Journal 01 (he Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, vol 27 ( 1964) , pp 327- 35. --, ' Truth' s Golden Harrow an Unpublished Alchemical Treatise by Robert Fludd', Ambo/., vol 3 (1949) , pp 91 150 Contains the entire text of the treatise Kepler, Johannes, Harmonices mundl llnz, 1619 Kepler's attack on the world -harmoniC Ideas of UCH I. a 95 --, Prodromus dlssertarionum cosmographicum Frankfurt 1621 2 Kepler's answer to VP Kiesewetter. Karl, Geschichre des neueren Occu/tismU5 Leipzig, 1909, pp 263 87 Kircher, AthanflSlus, MiJSIJrgl8 Unlversalis. sive Ats Magna Cansoni et Olssoni. Rome, 1650, vol. II, pp 3341" 3701, 450 Lanovlus (FranGols de la Noue), Ad Reverendum Palrem Marmum Mersennum Francisci LanOV/I JllcilCtum de Roberto Fluddo Paris, 1630 Written 1628 and published in Gassendl's Epistola exerciratlO A critlcisln which Fludd ilnswered In CP Leidenfrost John W., 'Olvine Proportion In the Renaissance' Dissertation In progress, Case Western Reserve UniverSity Lenoble, Robert. Mersenne au la naissance du m6chamsme Pans, 1943, pp. 27ff LoveJoy, Arthur O. The Great Cham of Being Cambridge, Mass., 1964, PD 94 6 Macphail, lan, Alchemy and (he Occult a Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts from the Collection of Paul and Mary Mellon given to Yale University Library New Haven, 1968, see nos. 74 and 83 Mersenne, Marin, Correspondance, ed C de Waard and R Plntard, P;:HlS, 1932-70, passim, espcclally vols. 2, 3 Quaes(!ones celebemmae 111Genesim. Paris, 1623. The most severe attack on Fludd's philosophy MeyerBilcr, Kathl, MusIc of (he Spheres iJnd the Dance of Death Princeton, 1970, pp. 191-202 Munk, William, The Roll of the Royal College of Physicians of London London, 1878, vol. 1, pp. 150--3. Murz, Christoph Gottlieb von, Uber den wahren Ursprung der Rosenkreuzer und des Freymaurerordens. Sulzbach, 1803 Thinks (pp 41, 53) TA not by Fludd 'Sie 1St Fludds Namens ganz unwurdig' Pagel, Waller, 'Paracelsus and the Neoplatonic and Gnostic Tradition', Ambix, vol. 8 (1960), pp. 125 66. -'-, 'Religlous Motives In the Medical Biology of the Seventeenth Century', Bulletin of the Institute of the History of Medicine, vol. 3 (1935), pp 97-128, 213 31,265 312 Pp 26586 are on Fludd's MC William Harvey's Biological Ideas Basel and New York, 1967, pp 113-18 Pauli, Wolfgang, 'fhe Influence of Archetypal Ideas on the SCientific Theones of Kepler', C G Jung and Pauli. The /nterpretarion of Nature and the Psyche, trans. Priscilla Silz, New York, 1955, pp 147-240, 96 Peuckert. Will Erich, Gabafl8 Berlin, 1967, 2nd edn, pp. 271 2 Das Rosenkreutz, Berlin, 1973, 2nd edn Pignatel, F., 'Les trOIS dernlers astrologues', Le Voile d'lsis (1926), pp 132 5 Plobb, P. V., translator, Tralle d'astr%gllJ generale Paris, 1907. French translation of the section on Astrology from UCH I, b Traite de geomam;le. PariS, 1947 French translation of the section on Geomancy from UCH I, b Praetorius, Christoph Gottlieb, Varias variorum de Phi/osop/Jlae Fluddlana senten{IIS Wlttembcrg, 1715 Bigoted attack on Fludd's metaphYSical prinCiples Raine, Kathleen, Blake and Tradilion Princeton, 1968, vol 2, pp 74 6 Rostvlg, Maren-Sofle, 'The Rime of the AnCient Mariner and the Cosmic System of Robert Fludd', Tennessee Studies in Literature, vol. 12 (1967), pp 69 82 Saurat DeniS, Milton et Ie matcrialisme chrel/en en Anglererre PariS, 1978, pp 13 78 Milton, Man and T/llnker New York, 1925, pp. 248-67. Schick. H , Das altere Rosenkreu7er1um Berlin, 1942, pp. 273-5 Schneider, Heinrich, Joachim MorslUS und sein Kreis Lubeck, 1929 Contains faCSimile of Fludd's autogrClph in Morsius' book Scot. Patrick, The Tillage of Light London, 1623. A critiCism which Fludd answered In 'Truth's Golden Harrow' Sedlr, Paul, Histolfe et Doctrine des Rose-CrOIx Billorel, 1932 Seligrnann, Kur1, The History of Magic London. 1948 Semler, D , UnparteYlssche Sammlung zur Historie der Rnsenkreuzer l eip7lg, 1786. Shumaker, Wayne, The Occult SCiences in the Renaissance Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, 1972 Sortais, Gaston de, S J , La Phi/osop/lle Moderne depuls Bacon jusqu'J L elbni(? Paris, 1922, vol 2, pp 41 51 On Fludd, Mersenne, and Gassendl Taylor. F. Sherwood, 'The Ongln of the Thermometer', Annals of SCience, vol 5 (1942), pp 129 56 On Fludd's weatherglass Telesphore, 'DeSCription hieroglyphique du Rempart Mystique de la Sante (d'ilprcs Robert Fludd)" Le Voile d'I,'ilS (1932), pp 48 55 Thorndike, Lynn, History 0/ MagiC and Expenmental SCience, Volumes VI/-VIII the Seventeenth Century. New York, 1958 Waite, A. E., The Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross London, 1924, reprinted New York, n d , pp 271-308 et passim The Real History of the Rosicrucians london, 1887, reprinted by Health ResciHch, Mokelumne Hill, California, n.d., pp 283-307 et passim --, 'Robert Fludd and FreemClsonry il Speculative Excursion', Transactions of the Manchester AssociatIOn for Masomc Research, vol II (1922) The Secret Tradition m Alchemy London, 1926, reprinted London anrl New York, 1969 Weil, L 'William Fitzer, the publisher of Harvey's De motu cordis, 1628', The Library, vol 24 (1944), pp 142-64 Westman, Robert S, 'Magical Reform and Astronomical Reform The Ymes TheSIS ReconSidered', Hermeticism iJnd the ScientifiC Revolution, University of California, Los Angeles William Andrews Clark MemOrial Library Seminar, 1977, pp. 1 -91 Wood, Anthony a, AthenfJl: Oxoniellses, ed P. BliSS. London, 1815, vol 2, DP 618-22. FlrS1 appeared 1691 2 Yales, f ranees A., The Art of Memory London and ChicilgO, 1966, pp 370 41 el paSSim --, Giordano Bruno and (he HermlJllC Tradition. London and Chicago, 1964, pp. 438--44 et passlfrJ -'-, The ROSicrUCian Enlightenment Lonrlon and Boston, 1 r J ? pp 70 90 el passin) 'The Sw<]o In Robert Fludd's Memory System', Shakespeare Studies, vol 3 (1967), pp 13866 -, Theatre of the World London and Chicago, 1969, pp 42-79 et paSSlIl1 III THE ROSICRUCIAN MANIFESTOES The Fama Allgemeine und General ReformatIOn, der galll?en wellen Welt. 8eneben der Fama Frarcrnilatis, dess Lobhchen Ordens des Rosenkreut7es, an aile gelelifle und Haupter furopae geschflebell Knsscl, 1614 The Confessio SecretIOns Philosophlae COl/sideralio brevis fJ PhiliPP a Gabella, Philosophiae St conscflpta, et nunc prmwm unt! cum Confess/U Fraternitatis R C IfI lucem edita Kassel, 1615 The Chemical Wedding Chyn1lsche Hoc/17eit Christlani Rosenkreuz Anno 1459. StriJsbourg, 1616 Translations of all three works are prll1ted in PiJul M. Allen, ed., A Christian Rosenkrcutz Antho!aqy, and A. E. Waite, The Real History of the Rosicrucians, the Fama and Confessia, also In Frances A. Yates, The ROSicrUCIan Enlightenment,