Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
History of N atural
~libansky
Jn ~ !ih' f
KRAUS REPRI NT
Nendeln/ Liechtenstein
1979
,, :
,, i
Preface to Reprint
SfIturn and Melancholy has been out of print for a long time.
Following requests from scholars in many count-ries the book is now
made available again. Much could be added to it, especially in the
lig ht of recent studies in the his tory of ancient medicine. However
R.K.
First Publisbed 1964
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ISBN 3-262-00381 -6
KRAUS REPRINT
A Division of
KRAUS-THOMSON ORGANIZATION LIMITED
NendelniLiechtenstein
1979
Printed in The Netherlands
Preface
.;
.,
From the remote times when events in the world of man were first held to be
linked with the stars, Saturn was thought to retard any undertaking connected with him. No doubt the ancients would have found ample evidence
of his sluggish influence in the fate of this book.
]n 1923. Erwin Panofsky and Fritz Saxl published Dilrers 'Melencolia . l' .
Eitle queJJ.en- fmd typengeschichiliche UnteTsuchung (Studien der Bibliothek
Warburg, B. G. Teubner, Leipzig). When this study was out of print, it was
decided to prepare a new, revised and enlarged edition in which the development of the doctrine of the temperaments would be described in detail and
the history of "Saturn, Lord of Melancholy" traced to the threshold of
modem times. In due course, the broadened scope of the work made it
necessary to abandon the framework of the monograph on Diirer's engraving.
The plan of a new book on Saturn and Melancholy emerged, to be undertaken
by the three authors whose names now appear on the title-page.
At every st age, the preparation of the book was beset by delay and adversity. After a lengthy interruption due to the political upheaval in Germany
during the Thirties and t o the authors' emigration from that country, work
was resumed in Britain. In the summer of 1939, the fi nal proofs were
votumed to the printers in GHickstadt near Hamburg; shortly after the
)..rmistice, in 1945, it was learned that the standing type had been destroyed
during the war. To resurred the now defunct Gennan book seemed out of
:he question. [nstead, the a ut hors agreed t o publish an English translation,
'. be made from a surviving copy of the German proofs. Owing t o the
untime1y death of Fritz Saxl in March 1948, the e.xtcution of this project
suffered a long de1ay.
When eventuaUy the work was taken in hand again , some rearrangements
and several modifications were found necessary; however, the contents of the
book were left substantially unaltered. During the last two decades much
has been written concerning the various fields touched upon in this book; in
particular. almost every year presents us with new interpretations of Durer'S
engraving, a few of which are mentioned in E . Panofsky's Albrecht Dii r~r
(4th edition, Princeton 1955). Any attempt to take account of all this
literature would have swelled the present volume to an unma'1ageable size.
Some further details might have been filled in, some controversial points
more fully discussed; yet the aut hors feel confident that the argument as a
whole would not have been affected.
At the same time, they are aware of some gaps in the treatment of their
vast subject . There ' are many re1ated themes which might have been
foUowed up. To name only a few : The legend of Democritus, the melancholy
philosopher. whom "the world's vanity. full of ridiculous contrariety," moves
t o laughter, could have been traced from its Hellenistic origins to its memorable appearance in the preface by 'Democritus Junior to the Atlatomy of
PREFACE
;1/tlancholy. )t Uc)1 might have been added concerning the part played by
melancholy in French literature of the later Middle Ages, e.g. in the poetry of
Charles d 'OrMans. In trea ting of astrology, the authors confined themselves
to investiga ting the historical origins and the development of the belief in
Saturn 's in fluen~ ; there remain the wider tasks of understanding the signi.6
cance of a ny such belief in the power of the stars and of elucidating the reasons
for which human beings have invested the planets 'w ith the very forces that
rule their own microcosm.
The limits set to this book excluded any endeavour to do justice to the
complex a nd enthr.illing topic of Elizabethan and Jacobean melancholy.
Tempt ing as It was to delve into the riches of Bunon, the authors had to
content themselves with paying homage to the great 'melancholiz.er' by
prefixing his cffigy to the present volume.
Our wa rm thanks a re due to Miss Frances Lobb who carried out the
arduous task of preparing the first d raft of the translation from ~e Gennan.
Wi th part icula r gratitude we record the aid received from the staff of the
\Varburg Institu te. University of London, above all in procuring the photog raphs for the illustrations and in rendering valuable assistance throughout
the long period of prcparation and in the e.arlier stages of the proofs. We
a rc especially beholden t o the la t c Hans Meier who first drew our attention
to the origina l vcrsion of Agrippa's D~ ocadJ4 Philosqphia, discovered by him
in a manuscript of t he University Library of Wiirzburg.
Wc wish also to express our appreciation to the many institutes and
libraries whose coUections we were able to use: in particular, to the J ohns
Hopkins I nstitute of the H istory of Medicine, Baltimore, and t o the ltutitut
Hir Geschich te der Medizin, J ohann Wolfgang Goethe-Universitat, Frankfurt
(ilolain); to the Courtauld [nstitute, University of London; to the British
Museum. London ; to the Budldan Lil,.oralY, Oxford; to the Dayerische
Staa tsbiblio thek, Munich, a nd to the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana; last,
not least , to the librarians and the staff of the Redpath Library and the
Osler Library of McGill University. Montreal.
We a re obliged to the .many scholars a nd collectors who answered our
enqu iries; a nd to Miss Desiree Park, M.A. (McGill), for sharing the burden of
reading the proofs.
We are most grateful to aU those wbo collaborated with us in revising the
translation: Dr Gertrud Bing, London, "{iss Rosemary Wooll, Fellow of
Somer;iIIe CoUege, Oxford and above all Dr Lotte Labowsky, Lady Carlisle
Research FeUow of SomerviUe College, who by her valuable observations abo
helped in establishing thc Greek tcxt of the fam ous Problem XXX, I,
attributed to Aristotle.
F inally. we are indebted to the publishers, Thomas Nelson & Sons, for
their patience and assista nce in seeing the book through the press.
R. K.
Contents
Part I
Chapter II
1
'5
4'
4'
43
....
48
55
Melancholy as an lilness
(a)
(b)
(b)
E. P.
(c)
75
75
8,
8,
86
90
97
""
LIST OF CQNTE:STS
VI1l
Part
Chapter I
LIST OF CONTENTS
Part IV Durer
Chapter I
I'l7
:2
133
133
(b)
1)6
Krol1()5.Saturn as a Planet
K,cmos-Sal"NI iN Ancien.! AsJrophysics
ii K'lYIIos-SatuNi iN AncUnl Astrology
iii K,onos-Sal"NI iN Neoplaiotlism
Chapter Il
I
131
140
15t
Chapter II
I
165
16,5
170
178
t</J
200
201
20'}
.5 Saturn in Humanism
201)
Chapter I
It
"Dame
M~fencol ye"
3 Melancholy
Chapter II
Heightened Selfawareness
:2
284
(a)
284
Traditional Motifs
The Punt atUl tlu Keys
284
ii
286
iii
289
306
317
(a)
317
290
29 1
321
ii Geomdrical SymtoU
iii
290
322
327
Chapter III
331
339
345
366
376
393
397
"Melancholia Generosa"
Part III
"Poetic Melancholy" and "Melancholia Generosa"
277
159
159
lX
Appendices
r"
Mani.lio Ficino
II
400
403
Acknowledgements
Most of the illustrations in this book are reproduced from blocks made for the
projected German book of 1939. Gra teful acknowledgements for pennission to
reproduce manuscripts. paintings or drawings in their possession are made to the
Trustees of the British Museum, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, and to the
authorities of the following libraries and museums: Antwerp, Musee Royal des
Beaux-Arts : Athas, Panteleimon; Autun, ?!fusee Rolin; Bamberg, Staatliche
Bibliolhek; Basle. Kupferstichkabinett; Bayonne, M~ Bonnat; Berlin, Deutsche
Staatsbibliothek amI Kupfers tichkabinett; Bonn, Landesmuseum ; Boston,Isabella
Stewart Gardner ;\[useum ; Bremen, Kunsthalle; Brussels. Bibliotb~ue Royale;
Budapest. Library of the Hungarian Academy of ~ences; Cambridge. Gonville
and Caius College: Chantilly. Mus~ CoRdi!; CittA del Vaticano, Bibliot~ Vaticana; Copenhagen, Royal Museum of Fine Arts; Dijon, Mu* Magnin ; Dresden,
Landesbibliothek and Kupferstichkabinelt; Erfurt, WissenschaItliche Bibliothek
and Anger-Museum ; Frankfurt, Sladclsches Kunstinstitut ; Gotha, Museum ;
The Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum ; Hanover, Kestner-Museum ;
Leiden, University Library ; Madrid, Instituto Valencia de Don Juan; Milan,
BibJioteca Ambrosiana ; Monte Cassino, Bibtioteca Abbaz.iale ; Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibtiothek and Alte Pinakothek; Naples, Museo Nazionale ; New York,
Pierpont Morgan Library; Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek ; Oxford, Bodleian Library;
Paris, Biblioth~ ue Nationale, Mus du Louvre, Ecole des Beaux-Arts and Muste
Jaquemart-t\ndre; Rome, Museo del Laterano; Stuttgart, Landesbibliothek ;
Tubingen, UniversiUitsbibtiothek; Vienna, Oesterrcichische Nationalbibliothek and
Ku nsthistorisches Museum; Wolfegg, FUrstliche Sammlungen ; Woilenbo.ttei,
H er.eog August Bibliothek; ZUrich, Zentralbibliothek.
The photographs fo r pis. 10, 32, 33 and 49 were supplied by Messrs. Alinari,
for pI. 13 by the Archivio Fotografico of the Gallerie Pontificie, for pis. 86 and 88
by the Courtauld Institute of Art, for pI. 55 by the German Archaeological I nstitute
in Rome, and for pI. 1 00 by MademoisdIe M. Bouvet, Chartres.
List of Illustrations
FrrmJispieu: Tomb of Robert Burton, died 1640. Author of .A,flalomy of MeJa1lcholy. Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford .
I DUrer, MeUmolia I. Engraving, Bartsch 74. X517.
2
Dilrer, Seated woman, study for Meknrolia J. Pen drawing, Lippmann 79.
1514. Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett.
3 Oilier, Studies for the putto's head. Pen drawing, Lippmann 249. 15 14 .
London, British Museum .
4 Copy of a lost sketch by D Urer. Study for the dog. Dra....IDg. Formerly
Bayonne, Musee Bonnat.
5 DUrer, Scales. Pcn drawing, Tietze 587. 1514. Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett.
6 DUrer, Compasses and moulding plane. Pen drawing, Tietze 586. 1514.
Dresden, Landesbibliothek. F rom Robe rt Bruck, Da.s Skizzenbt#:h von
Albrecht Durer, Strasbourg 1905. pI. x34.
7 Diirer, Polyhedr01I. Pen drawing, Tietze 585. 1514. Dresden, Landesbibliothek. From Robert Bruck, Das Skiul1Ibw ch von A lbrecht DI1rer,
Strasbourg 1905, pI. 131.
8 DUrer, Putto. Pen drawing, Tiet7.e 538. 1514. London, British Museum.
9 Mithraic ruon. Rome, Villa Albani. From S. Reinach, Repertoire de Ja
staJuaire gruque et nmwi~, I, 299.
IO Saturn. Fresco from Pompeii, Casa dei Dioscuri. Fourth style under
Nero, alter 63 A.D. Naples. Musco Nat.ionale.
I I Saturn.
Calendar of 354. Biblioteca Vaticana, MS Barb. lat. 2154, Col. 8.
12 Saturn, Ju piter, Janus and Neptune.
Raban us Maueus, De UllivU50.
About 1023. Monte Cassino. MS 132. p. 386.
13 S:.ttlm. Tomb of Corouttls. Vatican Gardens.
14 Kronos devouring the swaddled stone. St Gregory of Nazianzus, OraliOnM.
Eleventh century. Athos, Panteicimon, 1o1S 6, fo1. 162 -.
15 Saturn. Germanicus, AraJu. Ninth century. Leiden, University Library,
Cod. Voss. lat. Q.79, fol. 93-, detail.
x6 Kronos and Zeus. 5t Gregory of Nazianzus, Orationes. Ninth century.
Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS E.491so inf. vol. 11, p. 755.
17 Corybantes and Curetes protecting the infant Zeus. St Gregory of Nazianzus,
OTaJionu. Eleventh century. Athos, Panteleimon, MS 6, fol. I63~.
18 The Pagan Gods. Remigius of Auxerre. Commentary on Martianus
Capella's N uptiae P/ailologiae. About 1100. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. MS lat. 14271, fol. II.
X9-;22 Saturn's e:\:altation and decline. Albumasar, Jntroductio in ast10J0~iam,
translated by Zotori Zappari. Mid-thirteenth century. Paris. BlbJiothequc Nationale, MS lat. 7330, fols. 42r. 42-, 43~, 43-.
23 Saturn's and Jupiter's e:\:altation and decline. Albumasar, Kitab al-Bullaafl.
x399 Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS BodL Orient 133, fo1. 26-.
24 Saturn and his zodiacal signs. Albumasar, InJroduclw ill lUfroJogiam .
. About 1400. New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 785, fol 34.
25 Saturn. Qaswlnt, W01Iders of Crt4Jion. 1366. Munich, Bayerische Staats. bibliothek, MS arab. 464, fot 17 r.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Xli
26 Saturn and his zodiacal signs. Bartolomeo di Bartoli, Cantone delle virtu
e delle scien%t. Fourteenth century. Chantilly. Muree Cond~, MS 1426,
tol.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
51
II.
28 Saturn.
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
6'1
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
6g
70
71
72
73
74
75
xiii
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIOKS
XIV
;6
ii
78
i9
:;'0
8,
82
83
84
The Four Ages of Man. Aldebranrun de Sienne, Livrt.S poor Is sarUi garaer
(Rigwle d,t corps). Late thirteenth century, London, British Museum,
Sloane MS 2435, fol. 31.
The Four Temperaments. Probltl1Us d'Arisrote. First half of the fifteenth
century. Paris, Bibliotheque NationaJe, MS Nouv. acq. fro 3371, fol. 4-.
The Four Temperaments. Broadsheet. Middle of the fifteenth century.
ZOrlch. Zentra.lbibliothek (Schreiber 1922 m).
The Wheel of Life. German Losbw;h. Augsburg, 1461. Munich, Bayerisehe Staatsbibliothek, MS germ. 312, fol. .
The Four Temperaments. Guild-book of the Barber-Surgeons of the City
of York . End of the fifteenth century. London, British Museum,
Ege"on i\lS 2572, foJ. 51".
The Four Temperaments as riders. Broadsheet. Second baJf of the
fifteenth century. Gotha, Museum (Schreiber 1922 0).
The Four Temperaments. Woodcut. Simon Vastre, Book of Hours.
Paris, 1502.
Durer, Philosophia. Woodcut, Bartsch 130. Title-page to ~nrad Celtes,
Quattuor Libri AmOfum. Nuremberg, 1502.
The Four Temperaments. Italian miscellany. Second halI of the thirteenth century. Berlin, Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, MS Hamilton 3go,
fol. 83".
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
xv
'3
xvi
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIO NS
List of Abbreviations
'40
1603).
Phlegmatics. Engraving by Pietee de Jode after Marten de Vos (1532-1603).
'42 Phlegma. Engraving by J acob I de Gheyn (1532-82) after H. Goltzius.
Clm.
Corp. flVd. Gr.
Corpus Ss. Eccl. Lat.
Page
The magical square of Mars. From a Spanish manuscript of about
1300. Bib!. Vat., Cod. Reg. lat. 1283
:2 FlOm Eobanus Hesse, De conservamlo bona r:a1dtuline, Frankfurt , 1551
3, 4 Reconstruction of the polyhedron on Durer's engraving, by Professor
G. Niemann
5 Malinconia. F rom Cesare Ripa's l conologia, Padua, I6u
t
3:26
395
Diirers
MtI~ .u;olia
FlcnfO, De v. tripl.
400
405
GnnlLow (1903)
GIEHLOW
(1904)
HAltTLAUB ,
Gdceimnis
(Jones)
HIPPOCltATU
H .d.C.
I SI DORE,
1.
Of
ElY"' .
Lippmann
LF, N tzdUu$
M. A. R. S.
B.ERNARDUS S Il.VllSTRIS,
De ~"ci". m.,ftd;
'45 Durer, Sclf-portrait with the yellow spot. Drawing. Lippmann 130.
1512- 14. Bremen, Kunstballe.
DOrer, Man in despair. Etching on iron, Bartsch 70. 1515- 16.
F.
BBC, SUnil1awt
'4'
B or Bartsch
Leipdg 1931 .
D, m.,PIlli universitak libri duo
Ii", AfeglU<)S~U5 eJ; MiU-(N;oSmul. edd. C. S. 8ara<:h a nd
J. Wrobel. IllllSbruck 1876.
_ Cdta/o8us codieum ast,ologDrum Gratcorum, tom. I - X II .
Drussels 1898--1953 (continued).
Codell lati"us mOtlac.msis _ Munich , Bayeri!IChe Staatsbibliothek, MS lat.
Corpus mediw",," Grauorum, edd. Academiat Berolinensi!
Havniensis Lipsien!is. Leipzig and Berlin (later, Berlin
only) 1908-56 (continued j.
Corp ws SCriPIorWM Eee/,sia~tiw~m Latlnorum, editum
coll9ilio et impensis Academlae Lltterarum Caes. Vindobonensls (now Acad . Scientiarum AustTiacae), Vienna
1866--1<}62 (continued ).
Frqml"H4 der Vorsolmdike" ed. H . Diels, revl~ed by
W . Knnt. Vol!. I- It I, 5th edn. Berlin 193,,-)7
E . PANor.nc:Y and F . SAXL, DUffrS 'Mefeou:"lia l' tStudlen
del Bibliothek Warburg}, Leipzig and Berlm 192)
M ARSILIUS FICISUS , De vild 'npI,c;, 10: MaTSlhu$ Ficinlls,
Opera on".ia. Basle 1576.
Ct..AUDIUS GAL ESUS, Opera o,.",ia. ed. C. G
I-CUhn.
Vols. I- XX, Leipzig 1821-33
= KARL ylHLOW, "DUren Stich 'Melencolia I' nnd der
maximilianische Humanistenkreis" , l"fittcilu"X~ 1I d"
GlUllscluJ/' /il r vcroiel/iiltigcnd, Kunst . Vienna 190),
PP 29-4 1.
KAR L CIEKLOW, "DUren Stich ' l\Ielencolia l' und del
maximil ianische H umanistcnkreis", II/tll,ilullge., du
G,sefllcha/t jii' vervitljiilli8",de Kunst. \"ienna 19O~.
pp. 6-18; 57-58.
G . F . HARTLAUB, Giorgiollts Gtheimllls. )lum(.h 192 5
HIPPOCRATES, with an English translation by \\. H S.
Jones. Vol!. I-IV. London and r\ew York 19 2 )-3 1
C . H O'STE DE DE GROOT, DIe llanaulc/:,,""gUl Rtmbrandts. Haarlem 1906
I SIDORUS, Etymologia1tlm sit,~ oriCin"m 111m In , ed .
W . M . Lindsay. Oxford 1911.
F . LIPP MAN N, DlSsi..s d'A lln rl Durtr-Zeie.~nung~ " uo n
AIb"elll Duft' , Vols. I- VII . Berlin 1883- 1<)Z,}
K. LANCE und F . FUHSE, Daft'S s,hrijllieh e~ Nu,hlass.
Halle a.. S. 1893
"'" Oeuvres completes d'Hippocrate, tradu ct ion nouvtlle
avec Ie texte grec t n regard, par . Littn!. \ ol ~ . I - X .
Paris 183!}-61.
_ Mediaeval and Retla"sa"" S tudies , cd. R. Hunt and R
K1iba.nsky, Vots. I-V, l.ondon, 1941-61
BRNAROUS SILVESTRIS,
xvii i
)I IG.'I' ,
LIST Of ABBREVIATIONS
f> Gr
J.
)(IGSE , P . L
PART I
Stutt-
gart ISq .. fl .
P or Panavant
J. D . PASSAVM"T.
1860-6...
THIWDORUS PRISC IANUS, Euporiston libM 111, ed. v . ROSt',
ScHREI BER
T or Tietze
VINUI CIANUS,
W E DEL,
Epi$l.
M .A .A .
Leipzig 189.. .
_ RUFus EPHU IUS, Oeuvru, edd. C. Daremberg and
E. RueHe. Paris 1879.
F. SAXL, Verzrid>lis IUI,ologilcJur w>li ...ythologilc/uf'
ill,u/ri"I,,, HaMulIri!"n des lahifliltlle n M illelDlterl,
Vol. I, Heidelberg 191.5; Vol. n, Heidelbug 1927.
_ W. L. ScHREIBBR, H/lrwJbwfll tier HoU- wild M,~cll1lilu
del XV. ]/lh,hwNkrl$, Vols. I-VIII, Leipzig 1926-)0.
_ H . TIETZE und E . TIETtft-CoNRAT, Krirnches Veruicltflis
de, W'f'ke Albre,ht Daren. Vol. l , Augsburg 1928; Vo1.11,
i- ii. Ba!!le and Leipzig 19.H-)8.
VIND1ClANUS, EPislwlo. lUi Pentadiulfl fI,potem SHum, in :
THEODORUS PRISC'A'H)S, Ewporisum libri 1 [J ._Accedunt
Vindiciani Arri quae reruntur reliquiae. Ed. V. Rose.
Leipzig 189.. .
_ T. O. W EOEL, Tile lt1edialtl)al Alii/Md. towards As/,0lcfY,
parluulafly in England (Yale English Studies, Vol. LX).
New Haven 19:.10.
See E . K"' ..... ' .. WN, M/I,.w-D,p,.uj~. [fU/I.,.Uy IUUI P/l.~/I.,.(/i.. Tn;~1. by R. M.
B&rcla.y, Edinburgh 19n; G. L. DUYI'U5. Di. M.kn.doli" with ~face by E.
Ka.u'&l,.llf, Jena 1907 : E. L. HO'J.WJ.u..-oUH, MUiJ><dIoli. /ttEw'1lo.y PrlJdiu, London
193.. : E . DICIllfAIfIf'S survey DM Mtr..rodtoli#fr..,. i,. Lite"lJll4r ,,"" SIat/mA, MS. di.MeJ"~
tatioo, Jeu 1926: L. B~SW"IfG.a., Mu.'lKluJlie
M ...... Pfulllil,gea 1960 .
tI""
H~n",
CHAPTER
131), it I, R.mukable In many ......,.., I.lId we Shiall deal .... ithit elst:.... hcrf In
detail.
[I.
I.
"heterodox" schools of antiquity had opposed to humoral pathology was either forgo tten or else merged into the orthodox doctrine
by the second-century eclectics, especially Galen. In the same
..
way, Paracelsus's objections went long unheard.
This system can be accounted for only by the combmahon
of three ~ery ancient (and, in part at least, specifically Greek)
principles:
. .
1. The search for simple primary elements or qualibes, to
which the complex and apparently irrational structure of both
macrocosm and microcosm could be directly traced.
:2 .
The urge to fin d a numerical expression for this complex
structu re of bodily and spiritual existence.
3. The theory of harmony, symmetry, isonomy, or whatever
other name men may have chosen to express that perfect proportion in parts, in materials, or in faculties, which Greek thought
down to Plotinus always regarded as essential to any value, moral,
aesthetic or hygienic.
In seeking, then, to ascertain "the origin of humoralism, we
must go back to the Pythagoreans, not only because the veneration
of number in general attained its highest e>:pression in Pythagorean
philosophy, but more particularly because the Pythagorcans
regarded the number four as specially significant. They used to
swear bv four, "which holds the root and source of eternal nature"!;;
and not only nature in general, but rational man in particular.
seemed to them governed by four principles, locat ed in the brain,
the heart, the navel and the phallus respectively.' Even the soul
was later on envisaged as fo urfold, enclosing intellect. understanding, opinion and percept ion (VcM , hncrrlJ~ll, S~a, a~o&n(Jl5).?
The Pythagoreans themselves did not evolve a d~trme o~ four
humours, but they prepared the ground by postulatmg a senes of
tetrad ic categories (such as, for instance, those already mentioned ;
earth. air. fire and water; spring, summer, autumn and winter).8
In this system, once it was evolved, the four humours could easily
be accommodated. Above all, they defined health as the
equilibrium of different qualities. and sickness as the predominance
of one-a concept truly decisive for humoralism proper.
Dun.s.
DIELS.
ed.
E. Hiller. Le.ipti{
l]
[I.
I.
I]
",pi
.. Cf. especially TJnO,.UJ..UTtn. 0, #OI.J'II, I II (Dmu., F~.,... E mpedok le.. -'86) and
G . M. S TlUoTTOlf, T'-P"~.JltU .,,", ,... C~ult Pllyri~ P')'f'TwlOO lx/on Ari,tolU (...tth
tnt o f
aW.fot-s), LondoA 19'7. pp . 74 sqq.
Pap. Loud.
ICC. : ,
.. cr. f"Q.DaJCH.
,4,,/1>1 .
op. cit., p. 47
" 'JoJ
[ I. I.
Both theories reached their full maturity not long before 400,
when humoralism really originated. It originated then for the
vcry reason that the ideas discussed by us so far concerning the
elements and qualities were now-not without violence-applied
to the humours (xwol) as empirically demonstrated in the human
bod\.I$ These humours had long been known in the specifically
medical tradition, in the first instance as causes of illness, and.
if they became visible (as in vomiting or the like). as symptoms
of illness. Nourishment brought substances into the body which,
thanks to the digestion, were partly made use of (that is, turned
into bones. flesh and blood). but were partly lin,,! IU indigestible;
and from the latter arose the "surplus humours" (lftPlcrcJWuara).
the notion of which had developed very similarly to that of the
cosmic primary elements. Euryphon of Cnidus had .assumed an
indefinite number of such humours, which rose to the head and
generated illnesses: Timotheus of Metapontus believed they were
caused by a single acid salty fluid; and Herodicus of Cnidus dis
tinguished two such fl uids, one sour and one bitter.16 These were
the two humours which later received the names phlegm (,Atwa)
and bile (xo"An)-phlegm because it caused inflammation, although
not a few writers attributed to it the qualities of cold and moisture.
Such a correlation is presupposed in the very important t reatise
Of a~ Nature of Ma" (nEp\ ~\OO;: avepc.:mov),l1 attributed by the
ancients. as we know from Galen, either to Hippocrates or to his
soninlaw Polybus,'8 and written in any case not later than 400 B.C.
What gave this document its uniq ue value for posterity was its
attempt to combine in one system humoral pathology proper with
general cosmological speculation, more particularly that of
Empedocles.lI'
.. Such Iln attempt ...., m.ade in the "'Mk n~,: .,pl-rrs :".~ IbelOR 4(0) bkb tn.....
formed AJcmaoon 'l doctrine .a .. \.0 apply primarily \.0 subsu.nces actually pruent in the
body (Ialt. bitter. fWeet . .aur, .harp and inlipid ItuU.) ..... hile reprnenting the Qual ities w;u-m.
cold. wet and dry u mere aceident.: d . FAIDI!.ICH , op. cit .. p . )). 1'hiI attempt, however,
deviates Irom Ol e trend lIDder in ..... til.tio n. ;11. .a fu u it increues the number of these
... b5tances even more IDdefi.~itely tha n the orilina! Alcuuoeic doctrine had increued the
n umbo:r of qualities : ;:... ,..., ,~ _",po:,.", "Ill .u,...,o.. ...1 " ,q>O. ..1Il yAoori - ' 4EiI ...u IIT~ ...u
".A..s..p<I~ .. ,,! 4,A;\ .,,,,pl,, (C. 14; C"..p. _d. Gr 1.1,4')'
" FIUIO.'C", op. cit., pp. l4 ~q.
If We a re con~rned only with ths (11_ part of this composite work.
11 FU.DII ' CII. op. cit . pp. 51Iqq.: H.",ocaATU. ed. W . H . S. Jones. vo... IV, p. uvi, London
I. FIlI:DIUCK, 01'. cit., pp. 'lI8 &qq. ; d . also R. O. MOOK. H ippo.r.r lJlII "". lI is Sr:auors in
(>/ t./wi, Ti_. l.oodoo 192). especially pp. 67 IqQ. AlIII O.
VU.LAa!:TS diaseru.tlon H ippomuu", .."t ..~. AaMi,," lilr. Berlin 1911 ; GAUI'f. I" lIif'POv.ti.
de "aI. ..""'. W illi'll in Cllf'p.
Cr., v,Ur., I.
Rfl",;" .. t (> III. P~i14",p.y
_fl.
jI]
9
Guided by this desire, the author's first step was to reject
the view of those who held that the human body originated
from, and subsisted in virtue of, a single element only. He was
moreover, as far as we mow, the first writer who put forward a
theory of the four humours. At the outset- though later it was
to become almost canonical- it could only be established with
the help of two quite arbitrary assumptions. The blood had t o
be included in the system , although it was not in fact a surplus
humour ; and in the bile, which hitherto had been regarded as a
single fluid, or else split down into innumerable sub-species, it
was necessary to distinguish two independent "humours", the
yellow bile (xoAli ,(~). and the black (0JIAa'"" xol"" = "",ayxo>la)."
These four humours were always present in the human body and
determined its nature; but according to the season sometimes
one and sometimes another gained the ascendancy-the black
bile, for instance, in the autumn, whereas the winter was un
favourable to it and the spring inimical, so that autumnengendered
pains would be relieved by the spring. 'The four humours, then,
caused both illness and health, since their right combination was
health, but the predominance or defect of one or another, illness:
VylolV1:1 ~~v ow ~\OTa, 6Tav \JiTpl(o)S" (XI) Tcx&ra Tfjs TrpOs 6JJI.ll"Aa 5w6:I.I(o)S"
KCrl TOO Tr}.~6os KCrl ~\O'Ta, ~v 1.II'~lyj.dva {l .ll
These are all ideas of which the origin can now be established.
The notion of the humours as such comes from empirical medicine.
The"notion of the tetrad, the definition of health as the equilibrium
of the different parts, and of sickness as the disturbance of this
equilibrium, are Pythagorean contributions (which were taken up
by Empedocles) . The notion that in the course of the seasons
each of the four substances in turn gains the ascendancy seems
t o be purely Empedoclean. But the credit for combining all
these notions in one system, and thereby creating the doctrine of
-Ad mitted ly. already Phikllau. (DInt, F ....,..... U7) col1lidered blood a c;aute o f illness,
while the division. nf bile Into yO xo.\WI.t .nd
xol.~ 1&$ in De:dppU3 of Coa) Or into
~"l<>..80 a nd .ro.\~"
(u in El>UI.",iu I. cue 5, H1PPQCIlATU, VOL. I, p. ' 96. ed.
w. H . S. J Ones. London 192)) teems t o havs been known to some Ulppoeratea.na. Th ese
refere:nceI are Isolated. howsvu--t'1<* in OexlppUi and In pUkmis Me de1initely not olda
than the work D~': ~_ ...,.......~d here too there II a te1ldeoey to incl ude them in the
cos~ .pUm.
In any ease. that the doctrine contained in n~,: ~ ...,,..;-..
nther than any other pined the da.y (d. WELLMMHI, cp. Cit.. pp. -1.5 IqQ.) ~ due to the
fact. that it ...., th e one to m.ke this Inclulion complete a nd to present the .ystem with
Imp~ve a mpliclty.
1""""
,.0...,...
10
(r. I.
E~~oclean
e ernen s.
Humour
Season
Spring
Blood
Yellow Bile
Black Bile
Summer
Phlegm
Winter
Autumn
Qualities
o~
I
~ ~t:lll: ancleot writers bclieVl!d In the lenuinely 'Hippoc:,.,teao' origin of rr,,cN .010.01
lee above, p. g and DOtc I'; in"y ease the author o f thil work appeani to b
r--- .
ave
_III
cd.. FU:Il&l 01, cp. CI't. , p. 45 Cl GAUK. 1), ~is HiJl~~iI " PWo.is libn
: I. Ml1d1ef. Lcipd, 11114, VOL.. I, pp. 679 Iqq. ("....Is" M,ooJ I,,". btl "" T_ ........
If Bon is rilbt, the Kriel in 'ADtioc.hlll 01 Athl!nl'
bl
;:ontemporuy
(Cot. IlJIr. G,.., VOL. VII. p. 104; UBC, S,...,.,ffllllo., p. 54): ....
oweveJ". the rubnc teruJieramenta' Ihould be omitted.
~t.....).
--i
wl~ ~a]el1
would~be~
he~:
II
Alh~I .. ,",
12
Ll.
I.
11~,.
"'P<". oi&I~"""
10 I SIDOIUI,
I)
13
~it .
p. 1.5.
.. The expreuion Ufa'l'-"f had indeed 100t its morbid meaning among the Pby5iognom~U.
but as far as we know it ....as Dot equ.ated with ~ ete . but meant ll!ither "fuU-blooded"
(as in ARlSl"OTUI '. in St:rip' rnfS p.,.nopot'fl 'c i p llUi " l4Ii ..', ed. R. FOUTU. Le.ipl.ig ~39J,
VOL. I, p. 18. 8) or, more geoera.lly, was used for the t\lddy o r bloodshot appea.-.nce of
individual features {&riPI. pit,.. ",. ,( ltU. , I, JO, 17; II, 225, 16) . The Pby. iogoomilts ~
to bave uxd the word ~ ooly in the latter "Me (&rip ' .
p . d 141., I. )88, .5;
J3 1, 3J
M Significaotly enough. It took the form "u.ngllinc\tJ", ... bern. tbe three o ther adje<:tives
had bee n formed witb ".lcUJ".
P.,&.
'4
(I. I.
the same way as the beautiful but vacant "normal profile" stands
oul . from the ugly but striking "character profiles" in Durer's
physiognomic drawings. The black bile, on the contrary, had
long been considered a noxious degeneration of the yellow bile.
or, alternatively, of the blood.36 It presented such a well ~known
and characteristic picture of morbidity (dating possibly even from
pre.Hippocratean times) that the disease as such was denoted by
one noun. Against the compound expressions XOMplI<cd or
tpMyl1QTIKcrl vOaol . XOApuca o r ,).ry'\.laTIKCr: ".a6tl~a. were set the
simple pt),ay)(oAla, lJE}.ayxoAlm.37 So, too, later conceptions of the
melancholy temperament were coloured far more by the notion
of a melancholy illness than was the case with the other three
temperaments. It is also significant that melancholy as an
illness became the subject of monographs particularly early and
often. 38
l1lUs it is understandable that the special problem of
me1ancholy should have furnished, as it were, the leaven for the
further development of humoralism. For the more striking and
terrifying the morbid manifestations that came to be associated
with the notion of a certain humour, the greater became its
power to create a character type; and it is only by an ~pparent
paradox that this very melancholy, which of a11 the "'crases"
bore the most markedly pathological connotation, came to be
the one in which a difference was earliest and most cIe1.rly discerned between actual disease and mere predisposition, between
pathological states and divergencies of character, in short between
disease and temperament; whereas an analogous development of
the other humoral conceptions followed only much later.,g
There is, however, a further consideration. Unlike the others.
the illness called "melancholia" was one mainly characterised by
symptoms of mental change, ranging from fear, misanthropy and
depression, to madness in its most frightful f('rm s. Later,
melancholia could equally well be defmed as a boduJ illness wit h
mental repercussions or as a "permixtio rationis" of physical
origin ; a peculiarity which must have considerably facili tated
See below, p. 103.
.. Ct. S" ip,/W,s PA,.'iDl"O",i~ i IriJui ,'/cliHi. cd. R.
lS
F(h'$ TI!R.
Ldprlg 1293,
' OL. II ,
p . 27.,
and p . d2. 1 1.
I. Cf. Rulu and Galen, re view of older works. cited below. pp. H sqq.
As lar as we know, the complete .yst em of the doctrine nf the four temperamenu,
correlating habitual p hyl w and mental qualities wi th the four humours, wu not fuUy
dC~'eloped until ....0. 200 or a little later (see below. p . ,8).
2]
'5
PERI PATETICS:
PROBLE~I
BY T HE
xxx, I
6'IJui el fiJli,, ' . cd. R. FOnT.!!. Leipzig ,893. VOl.. II . p. 282. 10.
"l<f.
tu
~ I E LA NCIIO L Y
(t. t.
whose \'cry name ( ~v.a~ = black) conjured up the idea of all t hat
was cd l and noctumal. This substance was SO generally
acce pted as the source of insanity t hat the verb \JEMxyxoA&v (with
which d. XOAepulv) was used from t he end of the fifth century
B.C svn onvmously with llalve06cu (to h e m ad). ' ''W \JoXanp~ .
IJtAoyx~A~s,' ;45 mean t " Poor man, you are mad;" Dcmosthenes'
word s concerning Oly mpiodorus, "oV 116vov &5u<os aJJ..a KCrl ~ayxoAav
" ",e wo~d I'lAor. as ita equivalent in most other languagel. means far more than a CUlou r ;
1'1,\,0....
(or instance. are rulhlru men, l'iAa ...... ~. ue horrible pains. HeD(:e _
have no ditf,culty ;n understanding Gal~. word.: " J us t as outward darkness 6L1s nearly all
men wi th fear. unle.. they are very brave or very enlightened. 10 the dark colour of black
bile generates fear. in that it darkens the seat 01 rcallOn:' (D~ Io<is "fftdi, . 111. la, in GALEr<
( KOli N), VOl... \" 111 , p. 19 1.) Tbere are countiesa parallels ill later literature.
2]
THE
~.
p.
~2<).
100.
17
.. PJilUdnu. 24-4 4. Tbis ill not the place to enlarge Oft the historiCl.I ante.:l:denb 01 Plato',
doctrine of freuy. Nevertheless we may point ou t that Empedoelea had already disti ngu isbed
between a " furor " ell1llnatilll "ex aDimi pursamenlo and an "alienatio mentis e,. corporis
causa si ve iniquitat.e" (D ins. Fragm., A<)8). and tbat a &imilar dininction seems to be
implied in Democrltu,, doctri.ne of poetic mwness (n.pl ....,,10'101", DilLS, Frllcm . B I 7-18.
21). as is e vident from bis choice of warda. It wa.J an essentially Platonic thought. bowever.
that ,.... ,....M i.n It.. " fourth (erotic) 1000m tranllCetlds the p rophetic, religiws and poetic
forms. and becomes the uni~SiLI power whicb n.ises aouls to the viaion of idea!!.
M PA"td""s. 24811. In the Timuws (, IA !qq .) only the unconscious aide of the p rophetic
.tate seems to be linked in some compl icated way with the function 01 the liver and the
"bltter" bile.
II
.. The notino of mclancholy generally held by educated men of the. late fou rth ceIltUI;}" a.c.
i3 admirably illustrated b y lOme lines of MIIr<M<OZ,," (ed. C. JeDleil. &rli01929) . E.mpl.........:t.
lines 494 sqq . io which the slave Onesimll8 expreues hi..s opinion of hia m.aster:
~t..9" o~, ~
~T'
...w 'A..AW,~,
T<l.. H~ Ai)w
X..."w-..
~~
~ .~IfO
i.--G-rd "n.
TI ,...lp I. ... r c<dn""" .tUo ".yo"'-';
I n F. G. Alli nsoo '. rendering (MltN4NDU. TA4 P , iou iptd Frag ..." .ls. London and New ()I"k
19 11) :1,
He', going crazy, by Apollo; yes. he's crued!
Clean crued he is, in truth: he', cruy. by tile gO<iJ I
"Cf ,\T<lSI01"LE. l'folliem XXX. 1 (below. pp. 18--:19). where the previously mentioned
heroes "and m'lny others" atl! q uoted as melall(;bolics. See also E . D. BAli}!"'''''', P s,du ,
Ujd, ,,, Rotterdam 1917. pp. 178 sqq.
""'pontO<
.. Pilrvdrus 268 11 .
NOTIO~
18
[I.
I.
.)
~X6eTo
nOm &toTalv.
b KCm mSlov -rb 'AAfJTov otos:
6Aiho.
"'TOt
lua .1 nWrEs 0001 mplTTOI YEYb.
vaow 6v6pfS ~ KaTa q>1).ooa.plav i'l
1To;\I'T1KflY 1"1 1TO{'lO'IV Tj -rtx,vas: ~I
VOVTOI ~oYX:.o~ I KOI 6vn5. Kat 01
~ M(o)') txrre Km ;\~ailat -roTs
am, IJEhOIVf\S XOh1)S &:ppc..>OTij ~O'O' I\I,
oIov htyFrOI -r&v TE 1'lP(':liKOOV .a TIEpl
TOv 'Hpcnc).to; m l yap lKElVOS WIKE
ywWeal Ta\mys Tik: ~Ol:Co)'). SIb KClI
.a appc.xrrljJ.UITo .6)v nrv.'ll1lll((;)v
&n' tKtlvou 1Tpoatly6pEuov ot apxo1ol
IEpav vOaov. Kol fl mpl -reVs 1TOt5as
OOnO'O'IS Kal " lfpb "",5 &:qKMa.>S tv
OTT!) TOOv tMcwv fKq>IX1lS ~
ToV-ro Sl1hoT' I(Q\ yap -roVro yl\I'TOI
1ToMois' am, llEholVl'lS xohiis. 11\.M~1)
6t 1(0'1 "VO'&v5~ Tt;) NJ,xCI)\Il 1Tpb Tns
Td.vri'k: ywta6m Ta t\K1) TaUTO'. h i
~ TO: mpl AravrO' Kal BU.M:p0<p6VTT1\I.
i:lv 6 IJtv b<<TTaT,Kbs tyt\lE'ro 1Tavrt-
.. Editions. tnnsliltions. critical worka : Aa ,s'rOTELBS. PflIbk",IJUJ ploysiu edd. Ruelle. Knoel.
linger, Klek. Leipli8 19n _ Ruelle; Ari,lotlli.r, AluIJ"ilri d ClISrii Probl4 rNoJII ""rN TMfr
/llm...' .................."d,,,... toluu._i cum prUfatiODe Friel . Sylburyl l. FnuJcof. I SiS - Sy1bu '1l: :
H. P. Richard" A , ;$Ioklitll. London 1915 _ Richilrds : Tio. Wor.h 0/ Aris/otl. tlllwsl. ;,,10
E"6lisll. cd. W. D. Ron. vol. VII: Pmblemat$.. tr. E . S. FOl'$ter. Oxford 19'27 - Forster. Except where stated in the app;ora.tlls. we follow the t ext of Rllelle.
.. The close Inne>do n betw~D melancboly and epilepsy wu poill ted Ollt by the Hippoera.tealll; lee p. 1.5. note 41 .
,lAavepc:rnOUS.
v.d!l1ovaS,
IT~ ' aM' oU'xt -r6 ~I oV& Tb
y6).a oV6I: -rb \i&lp OUS' 6AAo T6)V
TOIWrc.w wSw. (601 6' 6v TIS 6'n
19
20
Ws LIIT~I
ToV-;
napa>.ajlWv yap ~
~ fyTQ viJ~IV ked O'IW1TTl>.oVs \JI~
ay~,.
~
Tf>..I(.)1I
".oEh:l~
MV-IO"'Tipovs: 'TrOllt,
flOos
elO'\
yap oVws
~wv vVv lO'Tlv, 6MOS TtS TO loV-rQS
IfvO't1 l<TTlv, 6 IJtv 7I.6AOS. 6 6i J(O(IVTl.aTIIltS
&vepc..:llfOI.
e las
Kal TOL~,
advov or~".
Ka! yap v.r1\~s lTO'TE ylVOVTll\ m\
11\ O'lc.m1\Aol (vIOl y6p cro
6:yPIOI
anOO It.m'GXn,
111
~10"'Ta
TliW
[I.
I.
2)
6t:PlJ.Ctrrtn T~IE~
)("1'0, "'" " ><plio" "
6 TE Sil
Til< '-''''''
bocrrov Richards.
21
22
1(al fn
am.
/yyVs
lIvn<
..w ~Jl<iv
~aalav'
ylvnm st
w-npov
aM.f)pol
6l: o\t& 1TavnS 01 ~o}.IKOI mO..1"\pol oUst [01]11'1 ~Q\I(S. 6JV,.' ollJaAAcw
Sao-ad"" &r,
nId.
"1 l't\IWa"fW&:IS sed.
III 01
std. Bekker.
Forster.
[I.
I.
2]
6-T"<W
IJ.tll
6JJ,.a
"TOlaVra.
,.oTs
IJ!v oiiv
ano Tiis
TToJV.oi~
I-IMl
(J)
bTl1f6).alo~
Sylburg.
23
.. It hu been obHrved (e. PaAJlrI., .Abll. 4 . by'~. Ahd., VI, 1, 353) that thIS reference
cleuly point. to a c:onnexlon of our Prob)em with Theopbrutu$. It e\"dently refers 10
TbeopWuw. n.~..."., (ed. A . Cudo:s, C ... U."'ald 18')6), ch. J' whlc:h deals wllh maluial.
lib iron. and ItolM which, tbou,b 'naturllily cold', let WIry bot. ....s ""c kno .... from t he hit
of hi!! writiop Jivea i.I1 Diot:eDet Laertilll tv, H l that TheophTutll5 wrOtc a book Oil
Md....u.oly. tbe inkrene. that Ol1r Problem it connec ted with this book $Cern, Wofe.. Cf .1so
below, p. 41, and O. RaGII<IIOGIIO", An.. 'Tbeophraatos' , Pa")r-Wilo5OW", Rut ...:. d K l .
.Alt.rlt4_"';IU/l.UMft, Suppl. 1. eoI$, 142. 1406.
lToi\Ail mi
t:OL ~Wpo{,
lwrrapxu, vw6pol
CaO!S 6l Alav TToMi} t:oi
6viJoVs 1C01 T~
(IIJ
(I. I.
straight away the greatest variety of characters, each according to his individual mixture.
For example, those who possess
much cold black bile become
dull and stupid , whereas those
who possess much hot bile are
elated and brilliant or erotic or
easily moved to anger and desire,
while some become more loquacious. Many too are subject
to fits of exalt ation and ecstasy,
because this heat is located near
the seat of the 'intellect; and
this is how Sibyls and soothsayers arise and all that arc
divinely inspired, when they
become such not by illness but
by natural temperament, Maracus, the Syracusan, was
actually a better poet when he
was out of his mind, -Those,
however, in whom the black
bile's excessive hea~ is rt:laxed
towards a mean,$8 are melan,
choly, but they are more rationaJ
.. The lenIence o....r " .~ l.,..,fj ..... . ,... ~nJ .,os " JAi- is IUliD te1li(ible .. it stands
(H. Donlu in h... dml .... ble 1>14" A .i"i1Uliuo,. p. 1.6,. &be> <:Ite$! tbe verb bt."q u corrupt).
and I, .. ,Iven file to K"eral emendabanl. oone eotWly satisfaetory ; the best. perb.~
's Byw.ter's i ..... " ; .,...Ic~" Aor;ordine to the context tbe mea.niag most be that
reasonable (a nd therefore h13hly giftt-d) melancholic. are protectt-d both from OVe'I".butin,
(u occurs among~.nd especi.ny among Bakides. Sibyb, etc.) and h"om cbill (as occur.
amon, ....,.- ... , ,,~), thus. to that extent. achievine a
It miebl be . uggested to
replace ..i ....
by "i..a.,a",8'I"', thus not only makin, tbe 8e nleoce cornet pmm.UcaUl,
a nd ,i ving it meaning. but making it ac:cord .... ith Aristotle's uuge elsewbere: d . II,,!
u..~ I ~,
a): .. ' """,,<POi ~ fir"'; "I."... .. ~ ...
':-p/Ia).~. Howevr.,
we prefer to read lro.. 911 ,~. ciyo.w 8l,,.&T1tf"a (understood as "accusative of retpect"). Earlier
Innslaton wert! a llO .., eed " to the necessl.ty for emending this passage. Tbeodorus of
Ga.u m nsl.let It: ".t q uibus minus (JU- f 'Di.mius'] iI1e calor remissus ad mcd.iocritatelll
sil"; the Venice edition of I SO ' (APi"ord,s ProbIe"",I., fol. 2 ~~') bas "quibutc1lDque .utern
...Ido calidillie m redud l ad medium", al\d the edition with uceUent commentary 01
LlIDOVICl.:S S'"ALI lIS (111 Arislokli,
Lyons 1633 , VOL. UI , p, )46)
has "At quibul calidilal ma,na ad rnodiocritatem redu<:ltv.''',
.er
47'
2]
.maeii.
~ft\lS 6E kOl npOs TaS kae'
ilj.li\pav 6:6vtlfcrs ' noM6:KlS yap oUTWS
fxolJ.EV Wcrn i\vnlla&;tl, bp' In<t> GI,
"1',_".
* :c.-
ProbI#_'. _ ...............
25
26
01
vlv
KcxAov, 01
ot
a1axp6v, 01 5e
5e
O:Tr01TAT]KTlKa,
aA}.OIS 5l:
awE~lVt
criTlav
T'i> MaKEoovicro;:
~-a\Aei.
a...
KpaCI"lS, OTT"X
(Xl) qN~EWs TE Kai
Ctp\.L6-rrrT~. '+'VXpoTIpa \.LW yap oOOa
(II ".O)..al
[r. r.
2]
mentioned befonf9 we
to those
are all subject in some small
degree, for a little of the stuff
which causes them is mixed in
with everybody.
But with
people in whom this quality
goes deep, it determines the
character. For as men differ in
appearance not because they
possess a face but because they
possess such and sucli .a face,
some handsome, other~ ugly,
others with nothing extraordinary about it (those whose looks
are ordinary); so those who
have a little of this temperament
are ordinary, but tho.~e who
have much of it are unlike the
majority of people. For if their
melancholy habitus is quite undiluted they are too melancholy;
but if it is somewhat tempered
they are outstanding. If they
are not careful they tend to
melancholy sicknesses, different
individuals being affected in
different parts of the body:
some people suffer from epileptic
symptoms, others from paralytic ones, others from violent
despondency or terrors, others
from over-confidence, ' as happened to Archel.us, King of
Macedonia.
Such tendencies are caused by
the temperament, according to
whether it is hot or cold. If itis
.I
ow
(ml
TO
l1apo:ly6~v
Forster.
6ep\J6v
[ I. I.
2}
(a)
5~
add. Richards.
29
30
[I.
l.
D . lripl.,
I, 5
in
O/Hrt. o",,,i_,
&sla
1 j76, V OL.
2]
31
There was also the very important fact that the black bilc, like
stone or iron , could be powerfully affected by heat and cold.
Naturally cold, it could become immoderately so, as well as
immoderately hot (5 u~ 111 1\ ~~alVa xoM 11\ ep~6-raTOV Kal 'V)(p6TO'TOV
y IVFT(X\). Marsilio Fieino, whose ideas decisively influenced the
notion of melancholy in the Renaissance, was later to say :
Bilis enim atra ferri instar, quando multum ad fogus intenditur, fri g~
ad summum. quando contra ad calidum valde declinat, caler 3d summum.
p . ..9d.
.. FICINO,
D,
II.
l ripl .
I, }
32
[I.
I,
U".
blood, phlegm, yellow bile and black bile ue in the proportion 8:4:7. :1.
2]
33
fi~~eque
trip'.,
I, o5.
.. ClCEIlO, Tuscllt..... , di,Pu41tiOfUS, I, 80: " Aratoteles qllid~ &it omDU ingenioeos
melaneholicoe esse, Ilt ego me tardiorem esse non molesto tenun." Cl. abo SIU<c.!,. De
1r1l"'1"iUiltIk, 11, 10 : "nam . iye Gn.eoo poetae eredimllS 'a1iquaodo et insaoiu illcllndllm 'est'
liVe ~to~ ' f~stn. poeticas foretl compot I lli pepulit', live Aristoteli 'nullum magnu~
iDgeo.oum lme DllIltura dementia.e luit': non pota:t gn.nde a,liqaid et I Uper ceteros loqui nisi
m~ta
mens."
as
,...,.u" f""<t.
',' Ct.
E. S. FORST!:R',
introduction to VOL.
of w.
i",o "8';'"
." tf. esp. n.pl 3w.l~"r, chapter 3~, whicb describe. the conditioning of the ;p6"'l0" by a
IlllXture 01 the tour elements (IlipPOCR . VO L. IY, p. 280 sq . Jones). Sec also above, p. 14.
.. Althougb Arebelau, and DiogeQes derived tbe afJoetions from the relationship between
beat and cold, they ltill con,illere(! heal a lld cold as elemental power, bollnd up with matter,
and fiot as mere states of an in itself indifferent 01.\'1, which Aristotle was the first to con~t
with the determining factors,,, a constant "'I4rnoillll"dllm. ct. FIIEDIUCH, op. cit., pp. 134,
IJ1 and 140. n.pl -.z~, t, 7. (LITTd, VI, p . 141.) b puticularly informa.tive, lor it tells
UI that ilIneuetl may come';"'; TOG BfPlU'G v..P&f'I'oIJ.~G""1 ...u ...w .;.w..rJ v.~r;
oo1y the essentially warm ca.D become In(H"dinatoly hot, and the etaentially cold inordina~IJ
cold. For Rulla's eveD. more mataialistie conception, lee below, p. 057. (text) .
6\.
.. D , diuiMliMl' In>' "'... "'..... I[ (161 b .5): &.i r? ~ .....J.. I ..."".;."", ..,;.,..;.,. ..
..:...,....r ,.' idr- "~f, Cf. EU, Nir. . ".54 b II: ,,;, U fU,\.,.Y.~o.\..'ol '-;. +M- 1 Uo..... .
iH~las. ..... .,., T9 ...z,." &."",,*,...- 5<4 ...4., &i .... ..pO"' ...u ...1 dt>i/<. ~
'IC>'O .....
u ~ '\~." .... J....".,.i4 ....1.. "'?;Ow.. , ,;." d ~ ....2 3ui n;;'" .....IA1U7TOI ....I ~it.\o. ,.l-.".,
.un..
ol
.. ' 4. Nie. , I 1S0 b 2S : ,.4.\......" J' ol ohif .... ljUAayp.\.tn>l.,.,p. .."....n"ij ........,,{... lu!. u,.. .... o1.
,.~. y4p 50 .. n).. nxu"ir", "I If 3ui nj. af<>SpG"fT" DOl .......,.1.. 0 ...... T9 .\&yo., 50 .. ....I "-ADo..9>rr.....l
II
(4.5) a 19).
It!>'",,,,,
.,1.
:oj
35
could love give them lasting satisfa ction nor gluttony alter their
congenital leanness, In both cases they sought enj oyment not for
its own sake but simply as a necessary protection against an
organic failin g; for just as t heir sexual craving came from excessive
t ension, so did their greed spring from a metabolic deficiencythe latter having the virtue of protecting them from normal
after-lunch sleepiness." The melancholic's capricious memory,"
however, was the effect of another peculiarity derived from his
vehemence, which was to prepare the way for the concept ion
of the melancholic as a man of genius, This peculiarity lay in
his capacity to react just as easily and violently to all physical
and psychical influences-especia1ly to visual images-as the
melancholy humour in Problem XXX, I, reacted to heat and
cold, If the melancholic was more liable than other men to be
seized with a recollection too late or unseasonably. after he had
tried and failed to conjure it up by an effort of will, it was due
to the very fact that this exertion of his memory had produced
in him mental pictures or images (!pavTClO'l.1crTO') which affected
his mind more strongly and were more compelling than was the
case wit h other people; a nd this agitated and crowded memory,
once it had been awakened , could as little be arrested in its
automatic course as an archer could recall an arrow once shot, n
It would seem that the expression axohOV&rrnKoi Tfj !pCIvmO'i9' is
meant to characterise this exaggerated irritability of the ""is
7f D~ """10(1 II "itiU" , III ('U 7 a 2.9).
Thill IndiBerenu to $lee p ...u later re<:koned as One
of the fe ... favourable tn.its ill tlIe melanc;hol y dispositinn-" Hi vigilant studiis, neC men.
ell dedita. somno." In view o f .n thill, Aristotle as a moralist cannot reall y condemn the
mehu>eholie'$ haek 0 1 control, for .inee bis Qrg-anie constitution excl udes Ihe prulJb,h ~y QI
Iree win. he is monal1y Ies" to be blamed (and, in fac t. easier 10 Cll re sinCe the t reument IS
purely medical) than lboae who ruolve to do evil. or those who ha"e [he ca paci t y tQ make
good r esoill tions but lack the Itrengtb to k.eep them . FQr th e latter can oo"ttol them se\vu
more ea.sily in tbe AllIe way as: penon who !rno..... he IS SQing to be tidded can take b,mself
in haud (EIII, Ni", IJ SO b ,S aqq,. esp , IlS2. 19 and 1132 hn), The passage in the MaG""
M""AliD (n, 1'03 b 7 8Qq.) wblch treats the melancholic's lack of self-control lUI more bla meworthy, on the groulld tha t, heillg by nature. cold, he is uncontrolled only from a eemun
weakness (~,...j n s), il in contradiction with all other pusages. and ~" be expla ,ned ,as
a mistaken attempt to ret()ndle Ar ittotle' l nQ tionl with the Simple doctune of the qU<lllt'es
h eld by sebool medidne. I n any cue it might be arglled that the author of the .If''8l11'
MorAli" falls into many errors at lOOn at he attemptll to go forw ard On his o,,'n: and the
eontradiction just pointed out it freJh evidence that, despite H. von Arnlm's iltl empt to
reseue it, the work should be reguded more or less as an abridgment of the twO Ar IS totelian
EIl.Su. Cl. E, I{App in C ........... , VOl III (19a7), pp . 19 sqq., and 73 sqq.
In later literature, especiall y after a eonnellion b&d been ntahlished between temperaments and plan~tlI, the "constant" Saturn became patron of melanchQlics, and the latte r
..ere thougb t to have particularly good memories.
.. D. MnPIaria ., r.",i .. i lcnoli". II , 1S)" f 8 sqq.
[ I. I.
p,.
.. EO.." . VII . 2 . .s (B. AI~.ti Ma,,,i o/,"a 0 ..... "". ed. A. Borgnet, Paris 1890-99, VOL. VU,
p . .s l l ). The young m&n u well u the old multi. laborat defectibu." . the youlll because
he w;utes too m ucb energy , the old because 'i n se.nectute, q ua.e frigida et sicca est ad mod um
melancho!illt,', he, like a building fallen into rui n!, Is In constan t need of rep,a;r ; 'Ne<:: hoc
dicimu s tanturn de melancholici s melanchol ia inndun.li, quae com busta cholera est et nign,
sed de mclancholicis gene ... litet. QtI<IMvis erum melanchoLici de melancholia aceldeutali ex
ae\1mine humoru morsa babeant eorpon., ta,,"11 dicit Amtoteles in Probiematibul. quod
omncs hi, qui fuerunt heroicaru m virtutu m, Hector e t Priamus et alii. in hac melancholia
laborabant : co quod b aec melancholia rube; vini, q \1od vaponnum eat, babet similitud inem :
et quia gra.vitatem habet, constantiam facit; quia vern vapocon, virtut em erigit ad
operation em . Melancholia enim natun.lis. ut dicit Galenus, l rigida est et licx:a. P er
!rigiditatem abscidens motllm et otVaporatioueJD, per l1ecitatem autem gravitate propria
decldi t ; propteT quod Itomachul mel&n<:bolicorum e.t II<:Dnm l uperlu. V&CuUI est, omlli
evaporation e destitutus. et semper luam se.ntien. in aui tioneJD ex nutrimen ti defect u; propter
quod continue cibum desi deraut . . .. Cuius signum est. q\100 tales m ultum et eontinu e
come<lunt. multl stercoria luot et puv i nutrimenti. IIppet uot conti nue et lupplena defect\1m
et expellens tristitiam, quae " t e:o: de lectu . Ddectatio a utun !Ii fortis lit, fadt u puislonem.
l ive ilia delectatio sit con~a slve etiam con~nieDs q"uc umque. Vehemena enim
2]
37
is treatcd throughout as a pathological abnormality always
needing medical aid, with virtues that are merely the reverse
side of its failings (true dreams. for instance, come not from
good SCIl5C---qlpOvncJls- but, to put it in modem language, from
the unchecked activity of t he " unconscious") . The Problem,
however, considers a melancholy disposition essential for just
those achievements which require conscious aim and deliberate
action- those in fact which correspond to the essentially
intellectual virtues, that is to say achievements in the realm of
art, poetry, philosophy or politics. Such a conception is not
"un-Aristotelian" , but to a certain extent it does go beyond
Aristotle's own range of interests. In the Parva naturalia it is
t he physiologist who speaks, for whom the " abnormal" means
merely a " modus deficiens"; in the Et.hics the speaker is the
moralist, who considers the individual in his relation to the
community, and who to that exten t sees the existence and
behaviour of men from the standpoint of decorum and responsibility.. In both cases t he melancholic is conceived as "melancholic
t hrough illness", whose physical suffering results either in quite .
clear,deviations from the normal, or in a smaller degree of moral
responsibility. The author of Problell\ XXX, I, however, sets
himself the task of doing justice to a type of character which
evades judgement from the medical as well as from the moral
point of view- the " exceptionaJ " type (mprrrb;:).
This concept really denoted the fatal lack of moderation
characteristic of the heroes and victims in the great tragedies,
shown in E lectra's grief83 or Antigone's work of charity; these
seemed insolent and pointless to the reasonable Ismene or the
rigidly autocratic Creon, but they meant the fulfilment of a
higher moral law to poet and audience." The epit het "exceptional" carried a certain sinister pathos because of the suspicion of
Vj3pls which any attempted departure from the recognised human
nonn seemed to imply. To this popular religious feeling Aristotle
alludes in t he beginning of t he MuaPhysicSJ5: "If there is
THE NOT ION OF MELANCUOL Y: PROBLEM XXX, I
delectatio in quoc umqu e sit. ad lie trabit an imam, ~t non si nit ave:rte:re tristitias, qu a~ ex
allis contilli unt deloctibus. Propter hoc ergo, q uod tam teoes q uam juvenes I UpeTabu nd&ntiu pnJSCquun t ur delectation 11m, .6URt inumperati et pravi: quia inunlperatu! eiru tales
est delectatiooes: ' The derivation from Aristotle is obvious alDlO5t ~verywhere.
oJ SoPHOCUIS, E k a rll line 1.5.s.
.. AIItig""" linea 68, 780. Whell Cu()D. calls Antigo<l~'1 burial of her b rother .0"". ,,~~
it Includ es the notio\lS both of 'excen (because the act is contrary to woman. nature Or a
citiun's duty) and 0 1 " I u pertlulty" (d. the frequen Uy quoted medica.l espreuion .._....,.., .... ).
Mdllphyn", ' . '1 (<)82 b 32 IIqq .).
[ I. I.
2}
39
great because his passions were more violent than those of ordinary
men and because he was strong enough, in spite of this, to achieve
a balance out of excess ; not only Ajax and Bellerophon, but
Plato and Socrates belonged to this t ype. And so the Problem
links up \\>;th genuine Aristotelian themes. The notions of creative
frenzy and of enthusiasm were not unacceptable to t he young
Aristotle,OO nor did he abandon them in the course of his develop
ment; they remained operative in his thought and feelings, though
t hey were not always explicitly stated. For the same thinker who
sometimes used the words 1J00I1K6s and !VaOVO"lOO"T1KO$ in an entirely
derogatory sense91 was also the man who described the art of
poetry itself as inspired,n and who said in the Poetics93 tha t,
because t he poet must have a clear picture of every moment of the
drama and must in himself directly experience aU the emotions
experienced by his heroes, he must eit her be a talen ted man
(eV'l'vtis) or inspired by frenzy, for the one has an impressionable
(EVrrAaO"TOS) nature, the other is ecstatic.94
.. Cf. WERNER J "EGER, ArislC1lit, Oxford 1934, passim.
Here the notion of "~';a is
tOQ much considered as having been taken over from Plato and as ha vi ng become less imporla l\t
to Aristotle as he became mOTe independent ; whereas in our opinion it is something q uite
conS(>nant with Aristotelian thought. which in tbe coun;e of his developme nt was no: SO muc h
pushed aside as assimilated. and Ihu~, of course. modified .
" See for instance Eth. Eud., 1130 a 31: ,.~ ",11M.
.. Rhetoric.
11!, 7 (1408 b
,;.ua ,.,,'"''''.;.
19).
.. Poetics. 17 (14SSa 33): ct. J. V"HL.El< , Dt ilnlge .." rlristoltles Powl!, new ed n . l'r~ ?a,~ ,J
(from Sit,"Nt.b.n~"'. du AA"dc"". d,r lI' i... " ,<;"./,'~. P~ ,i .!" "
J<I . '.Il ..... ienna ,866. p. ' 29). The ~~'-"1' is the man equipP"d with 'n r~ll~ t"al g ' I:~ h"
nature (the opposit e of )'<Y"p ....a,.l.o.). especially he who knows and chooses t ru t h t ~ar..' ~ "I
his native powers of judgement (th . N ic. , tll4 b 7, Tol"'~. 163 b 13). and may :lk rdo:~
be described as w.rM...,.OS (pliant. easily sympathet ic to olher peoples idea;;. \ahl er. ad
othe";' read if"""""''''''' instead of ''',,",''TIHo/. but pai ri ng ~.: '-"1< with <.i"h O"Tol and ,.nl ~~ ;
with '~a/rt,,, ol would not make such good u nsc. sin<;e judgeme nt app lies 10 tne ,,'-<f,'~ 5
mu ch sooner than to the p"",,,,,x. Ct. also the Arabi<; text, J"ROSL"lS TKA1:5C H . it,.
~Tabisch Uebersdnmg de~ Pottik des A t istoftln. I (A kad, ..." dIT lI'is.u " s~h~fl.r. '" Wi." .
PMI.-kist. KI., Kom ... iui()fl fu ~ <lie HlPau!cabe de, ",,,bische,, A,ulotd ... /J. b.rul",,,so: )
Vienna 1928, pp. 2S0 &qq.
NThe fragment from SltXTUS EltIf'IRICUS, AaVtT$l1! doS,~~titos. Ut, 2 0-~ 2 . (.hislote!;s Fyag .
"'tnta, ed. V. Rose, frag. 10) is important for Aristotles attitude to enthusiasm and prophec )'.
We cannot say whetber Aristotle bimulf was a melancholie. (If he was, it would of COu rSe
be a very ;Uurninating dtcum stance with regard to the presuppositions of Proble m XXX,I. I
In any case it is c urious that a malicious satire should give a list of the very traits which
appear in the genuine writings of Arist<.>tle as signs of th e melancholic :
l.>y R . S<;h""n ... Leipzig '914
[I.
I.
Pllud~$.
2654,
u~
the
2]
xxx,
41
It wks only natural that this conception shou1d not have been .
capab~e at once of satisfactory development; a true understanding
of ~roblem XXX, I, . c.ould not begin to emerge until something
which was here antICIpated had become a reality for men's
.. [hOG. /O u t.... .. ~TIU ', LillU of llu I>Aiklfl1/>Iwr" v, 2, -H alId IX, I , 6. H . Usener', AouoJu; 11I
n~Jt"'~ (Kl. Schrifteo I, 54), uipzi, 1912- 14. tra(:es the whole Problem back to
TbeopbrastU$.
[I.
l.
3]
43
lee
abo ... e p.
' .. AULu, GaLl.l u Noell"," AllitllrN'" tibri 20. XVIII. 7.4: "Cumq\le dij:reui t,Memu
'Non tempestive,' inqu it FavoriDu,. 'hune hominem acQe$Simus. Videtur e?im mihl t.r~
$citote: Inqult. 'tamen intemperiem ~tac.. quae: ,...,\anM~ d1f; ltur non ~rvl.
nee ab ieeti. illsenii. attldere .l.U.I .r... "xes.;.. TO . . . .u... .....v.. ,J,.,..r.a.. et ven tat_
pleTumque fortlt.er d icere. ted retpeCtllm non habere "fT' "...,.6 ,,>In pl.".. ...
,....w........
' . ' See etlp . RUFu, . p. 3.5S. 2 : ,#voh"'" ",02 ~ " """'~...k X""" : .bo Gal en , COm'
mmtaty on the U.pl.--U,.:....III. 40-1 {Corp. ,",d.G". v. Ix. I. p. SI).quoted. fOriD.tance
by Aibertul ~tacnu. : lee above. p . )6. DOte 81.
,.. Sto;t:(W"'" w it ...... fr.I'N IIUI , ~ . 1. AI AUll loI . vo t.. Ill . lrags 658. ~l . ~J , 66$
With fno g. 664 : .a..... r .....:.s6", ... .LUG .on nj. i(l'l~ ril ciOpoCl"''!1 1''''-''' -(I,""
...,.0........., eI. lra g. 66S ( _ C,C O, T."t. D'lp .. I.... .H ): Slole . qui omnn Ins'p,.,nttJ lnunOi
esse dieunt. " Cf. alto frat! . 666 : " Slolcl omne. homin" inu nos er s tul:os esse tl,cun~. c"cep to
sapiente." Ac<::ordinSl y . the . ta terne nt t ha l l ho wite man ca n M,er be ovena;'en b), madneu
is lo~ieal ; wh05Of>ver is ,,~ "~f {In. lple nl) I. a
(;n53n ul ). and as t he "*1 cllnnot
l.,......, ".1....
"n,01S".""f
''' D'OGElfIlS ....... ZItTI \:S. Li~'J o/ '~ ' pMIOlopA, r J, "1 1. 11 8 _
AS
:I .
44
[I.
l.
arose from mere dullness and whose victims might still be equal
to managing their lives and affairs moderately well. But on the
other hand. this illness was treated throughout as a negative
Ie,.. ,.....-...
P291.
V, p . lOS (_ Corp. _d. Gr. V 4. J.I. P.1 1), printed io partin Rurva.
45
himself, according to Galen, "did not dare to do" , they had
defined it in a new manner.
Asclepiades of Bithynia, who came to Rome in 91 B.C. and
became the friend of Cicero and other noble Romans, was the
first to bring Greek medicine into repute on Italian soil uo ; and his
teachings have been transmitted to us mainly by Aulus Cornelius
Cclsus, who flourished under Tiberius. w It is from Celsus's
writings that we first learn of a systematic division of mental
illness into three categories: (I) fren zy ("phrenesis"), which came
on suddenly and was accompanied by fever; (2) the more lasting
and generally feverless "tristitia quam videtur atra bilis
contrahere"; and (3) an absolutely chronic form, which arose
either from a disorder of t he imagination, sometimes sad and
som~times cheerful, or else from a disorder of the understanding.
Thu ~., not merely the second but also the third t ype came
under what in earlier-and again later- authors was described as
"melancholy". This is clear from the fact that it was exemplified
in A'j ax, among others, whom Problem XXX, 1, had explicitly
repr(lsented as a melancholic. Celsus barely mentions symptoms
and causes but confines himself mainly to therapeutic prescriptions'; and in accordance with the general principles of Asclepiades,
the treatment of all these illnesses was based far less on the use
of medicaments and surgeryU2 than on dietary and, most important
of all, on psychological remedies. These remedies were: living in
rooms full of light (as opposed to the old view that darkness was
soothing); avoidance of heavy food; moderation in the drinking
of wine, espedally of strong wines; massage, baths, exercises, and
(if the patient was strong enough) gymnastics; fighting insomnia
(not with medicaments but by gentle rocking to-and-fro, or by
the sound of running water); change of surroundings, and long
journeys U3; especially, strict avoidance of all frightening ideas;
cheering conversation and amusements; gentle admonition;
K. SU DHOI''', KUfltS HIJOIdbud 114' Gndkh/, Ur M.dUi" . Berlin 19H, pp. 93 &qq.
'" A. Coroulii Cds; '114.... , .. pc.su"'. cd. F. Marx (C(lrpus ...tdiC<l ....... Ltui"orun.. VOL. I ,
Leipzig 191 j , pp. 121 sqq.). For this and the following. d . M . WJl.LLMANN. A . Corne/iut
Cehus, eiM Q..elle",mJ"S'"'''''''I, Berlin 191]. pp. 10j sqq., and J. L. HEl liERG. Gthted"IJd
",il, ,, i ... ItlIJssis~",,, AII,r/ult!. Berlin 1917, offprint from AI/BettU;'" Z';/.scArijljiJ., Psyc",,,,, i,,
II.
VOL. LXXXVI.
'" Pres:cribing (among other things) hellebore. proverbi'" in lIDaeDt and modem times ..
an aid to the undenlaDding .
& mc.a ... ot dlatnction Ia typical. : Porphyry says in chapter XI of hla
that be himself WU onte Dear auiclde; PlotiDns, diagnosinc it as arising
~" poAa~ ......., .0..0'" advisW him to travel. and. this saved him.
.u Pracribing tIavelas
L;j, oj
PloS;",,~
,,
MELANCHOLY I N ANC lENT PHYSIOLOGY
[ I. I.
on R. p"blic, 198D IllIJ. For the P hrYlia n and Doria n ",odet see eliI'. 399A-<:; further,
ef. ARISTOTLE, P olilie1. VIII, 4-9 (1339b S<J'l.) : Pr..UTA RC H, n (pl """"'''~f, 17 ; in Chllstlan
times. CII"jot!.n; SUlllofis VllriM, n . 40. ed. Th. Mommsen, BerUn 18g4, in MOltll",'1I11I
G,nnllll"" HI$llniclt. Aou;/Of"tI AHliq"iSlj'rli, VOL. XII. pp, 70-2 .
... See below, pp. '5,
2~
!
I
a'nd
... Mn-lCTJ,.. ... 5l oW~ f - 0';'" ,,1M..... p1j iyytY"<?a" om a~ "~lI"tY"Of. ...., ~':"', .. 01 ~a""fi~
"wof. ..... ......s..k.:. ~~ nJt/",.,.., pi! ,oJ. 'if omf fv".,..(~<V1fi". I'.4."!J ~ ....l,,o;.
II. Bnides <:ell Ul, d. CAII!.LIUS AUIIELlA:CCS, IN mortis ""NJis d clt,oltieis, cap. cit., p . l39 ; ~I .
WIU..UlAl'IS, A . CllnldlNI CdslU, ,in. QNdklt"nl~"t<fh".r, p. 65.
' -Tnnsmitted by AII.l.TA.l.UI. III, 5 (01'4' . OIItrl/a, ed. C. G. Kllhn, Leipzig 1828, p. 74 :
ed. C. H ude, in Corp . ...,d. G,. , II , p. 19. whose tex t we follow).
,..A.!yx"""".
?f w., 'Il"", ...... i~f
fw.>-
[I.
1.
gencratio nigra sint fella; hoc enim est aestimantium magis quam videntium
vcritatem, vel potius falsum , sicut in aliis ostendimus.J..t;
op. dt.,
I,
ihe e mphasis on sea voy ages. abo ree<>rnmendw by Vindician. w as imp<>rtant for the
fUlur..,.
!II
or. cit., I , 6.
p. 339
3]
49
In :Tbe main passages are; the fragment triutsmitted by Rhus (RuFUS, p. 4.54, 18 sqq.);
the ~cerpt from Aetius (Rul'us, p. 354. 1 sqq.) ; and the fragment in Rul'us, p . 3:10, 8 sqq.,
also from Adius. Cf. J. 1t.81i:I<O, Rut"" vcm Ep"esos, Leipzig 1930 (AbbndJ"n8~n du
S4clz~;sc"m AktJdemi~ tier WinenscAajten, P"il.lzisl. Klasse, VOL. XLI, p. 35).
'" ,C f. A. BU1UI, Obey di4 Ilhntit.u der Ablzandlultgen de! IJJz411 ibn AmraII' "lid des Cons/an_
tinus. AjriCllnUS fiber .Mtlandwli4, Munich, privately prioted, no date. R. CREU"I.t aod W.
CR.l!UTZ. in A""hi~ fur P$ychialri~, XCVI( ( 1 93~), PP.:1H sqq., attempt to prove that Constantine
owed his knowledge not to ls.\llq but to Rufus direct, but their proof (whicb, inddentally, Ur
put fOfward witbout reference to Is\1iq'5 original text) is mainly based on the fact tbat
Constantine named Rufus and not the Arabic author a s bis authority ; but thUr, of course,
means little in view of the medieval habits of quoting. For us, the question wheth
Constantine made use of Ruluss treatise on melancholy directly or indirectly makes hardly
any t1i~ereuce.
lO.
R .UFUS,
p . 45 7, 18.
50
[I. I .
But the physician went one step further than the natural
philoso?hers: for the author of Problem XXX, I, intellectual
pre-emmenc:e ,:as a direct consequence of natural melancholy;
for. the StOlCS It had becomc merely a predisposition t~ patho10glca~ melancholy; but for Rufus activity of the mind becamc
the direct cause of melancholy illness:
dixit , quod muIta cogitatio et tristitia faciunt accidere melancoliam.ul
~roblem XXX,
I,
"1,,~lJYUs.. p. 4~5, 31. Of th~ three physicians previously mentioned, only Soranll l cit"
the mten h~ nlm,. sensuum et mtelloctllJ ob cllpiditatem d ~iptinarum", and then as CaU!(I
only of mama. oot of melancholy, and not as any thin, v"'ry remarkabl", ; it is ranged alonglid", "quaeslus pecunialis" and "gloria" (C .... LIUS AUaBUANU I, D. "'Of bit acwtis tl u,r(!.is,
ehron. I, 5, p. 316),
... According to ISII)OlU: (ElY"'., XI, 111J. who is celtainly Iollowing older IOUrct;S the spleen
is ~he organ gcnl'!rating blaclr. bile, is abo ilie seat of laugbter: "ham sple~e ridemllS:
feU~ ~"nu~, corde sapimU$, iecore amamU$." A curious wftnes. for the longevity of I nch
notions IS a dUIJogue from CASANOVA'S M,,,,oirs (I, 9): Whatl The hypochondria/f affections,
whleh make al! who luffer from them sad, mak e you cheerfnl1" ' Yes, becauS(j without
doubt y 'Oati' do not affec t the diaphragm hut the ipleen, which, in the opinion 01 my
doctor, 15 the organ oj laughter. It is his discovery." "Not at all. This idea ;1 very
aneient' - in whicb we fully agree with the autbor.
wbic~
.u.
- Among oompuls{ve idms he "'",nt iollt not only the delusion of being an earthenwar",
jar (already cited by An;higenca) bot alao the beUeI that one had no hQ(! , an example
frequently quoud In lat",r time!!; as remedy 10m", physicians . uggest<!d a lead",q headpi_t
,.. I:'t r"" too, ....Xo/y.w.. ....., ~,.,,...,;Ito(. Rbazes (RUFUII, p. 4.54. 18 sq,q.) "'y.
expHc,Uy that th",y ca nnot pronounce S, lind tay T instead.
I
i
I
!
51
Thus. temporary illness was not divorced from natural constitution, but within t he limits of the disease a distinction was made
between an innate and an acquired form.U7 Next, howeverand this was perhaps still more enlightening and more important
.... Problem XXX, I, 954 a.
~6
"'N.
52
[I.
I.
for future development-Rufus of Ephesus took over the conceptions of excessive heat and cold but applied them in an entirely
new way According to 'Aristotle' it was the property of black
bile to manifest both great heat and great cold without altering
its matenal nature ; according to Rufus, its property was to
originate from the immoderate heating or cooling of other elements
of the body. Rufus declared that either the blood could change
uno black bilc by being chilled, or yellow bile could change into
black by onrheating (\fTn~(ns), for the black colour could
result both frolll cooling (as in quenched coals) and from heating
ias shown by fru it dried up by the sun) .I311
The physician tried to combine the medical humoralism with
the Peripatctic ambivalence of melancholia . He thought in terms
1I0t of fu nction but of matter, and rather than attribute two
differen t symptoms and effects to one and the same substance,
he preferred to recognise two different substances. In SO doing
he distinguished the black bile deriving from the cooling of the
blood from a fa r more noxious " melancholia combusta" or
"adusta" arising from "burning" of the yellow. bile, a difference
which from then onwards was never forgotten. I n Rufus's text,
which has been handed down to us only indirectly, this does not
emerge q Uil(, as distinctly as we have put it here; but Galen
(especially in his work De [ods aifectis), put it in so clear a form
that we can certainly deduce Rufus's opinion from him .131I
A ccording t o Its compositi o n . black bil~ m::tnifesl.. distinct differences.
One is like the dregs of t he blood,It' very t hick and not unlike the dr~gs of
wine. The other is much thinner and so acid that it eats into the ground
. .. and produces bubbles. The one I have compared with dregs . . . I call
" melancholy humour" or " melancholy blood" (llAcryxoAIKOs: xw6s or
IJlAayxOAIKOV O'TIJO'), for it cannot really be described as black bile. I n
some it predominates, wh~ther as the result of tbe original combination, or
as the result of nourishment. . .. If it establishes itSelf in the passages of
a brain ventricle, it usually generates epilepsy: but if it predominates in
,M Ru.u,. p . ll6,
1~
x~
w.....c .......
jdt> m"."...~,
1,"''''''''. !."UY/.,.,,,_,.l,,
......i a.1
.:.c.f'
,.,,..,0.u....
orol d ~or "'" ...,.~ ... ,"T. U Jf ......,........,........ "is fa"'Vr ,ro.\~ ." ~-.
..,....1...
The lound.tlon of this theory of .d .... tioo <;an be ~n ;n Ole Ti ....... ",
8,,,-<:. 8,51.l, where. it i. true. t be bUe is Attributed to . dUltiOn of tbe body io Gelleral.
0.... . ..
"' D, IDd, . f1,ulJ. III. 9. in G..... ltI<I (K OliN), VOL. VIII. pp. 7ti eqq .
,.. Ho:n: ?,Mt. utin floU: In II.noth~ puMfle ... bere the cold quality 01 the fI ..k! th ..,
U"".
53
54
[I. I.
>
"ItI.
*"'"
... I"aI!lCIAN,
J.
Eupor.,
11,
18. p .
J '~.
HK I811'10.
I 9~1
(Corp. med.
Gr .. IX, I).
... Edited by T. Puschmann, Vienna 1878, I, pp . .591 sqq.; HII18&RO, op cit .. pp. 40 ,qq.
II' For thit mlLO, and hilluoc.eason in the later Middle Ages.
,II
Ru,us, p. 4$6,
I.
C~.
I,
10. ALIlXAMDIl.
~o.
tee
1
,
3J
MELANCHOLY AFTER THE PERIPATETICS
55
Latin t ranslation, took it to mean an involuntary clenching of
the fist:
Novimus quippe foeminam ipsi eiusmodi phantasia obrutam, quae
pollicem tam arctissime constringebat, ut nemo digitum facile posset
corrigere, affinnans se universum orbem sllstinere... .uo
... Cf. K . ScnRo..... B,i/r'" .fUr Gu&/lidl' d,~ C";~"rli' , ,,' ."!illd(lll~~ (Sr"dirn ....
G,sdliduf der Muiirill, VOl,.. x), Leip%ig 1914, pp. 76 $Qq. In Paul of Aegina. howe~'er, it
set:ms to be a question of eaulerieillg the region of the spleen, and not yet the "me<!,,, "ertel("
as described in medievaltourcea ~tee below, p . ~9 1 ).
,.tu,;
~ll"l;n;,
56
A~C I NT
P HYSIOLOGY
[ I. I.
H e sayl further ;
"iracundo' fervida animi nat ura taciet . .. frigidi mix tu ra timido. rscit:'
'''1(. RII:II<HAIlOT.
P l)ui<Wtliol, Munieh 1921, esp. pp. 22S .qq., )17 sqq. and ) 8S sqq.
3]
57
... Cf: tor instance GALIIN. D , t,,"pe~Il'"fflt;$, III , 6~6 sqq. (ed. G. Helmnich, Leipzig
J~ pp. 86 sqq.) . who disting uish" between nat ural and acquired qualities: or ibid., II ,
64.' (ed .C. HeI~e1ch, PJ? b ~q . where it is reeommended that atten tion be paid to age ;
thick haJr,. lor lnatan(:c. IS an rndlCatloo of melancholy in the prime o r life, but neitbu in
!outb: Dor In old age. Stlltemen13 u to the melancholic's out.... ud appearante are also fOl1nd
In Galen 's commentary (s urviving only In Arable: German tra nslation in Corp. ,,"d. G~.,
V.:II, 1, p . )jS) on thesecood book of Pt.-Hippocratee'. EpUk ... /u. For tbe "chanu:teroIogical"
side of the d!Xtrine 01 "cruea" see below. p. 100 (ta t).
.l'
.. 0 GALIIN, D, kuis
[f."';.so_
, ' ''.Galen q uot~ this work a moOC othen in the patSage o f. bQ commt oWy Oft
(G AUIO US, Sa '; p'" Mi,"",".
VOL. II, .Ldp.ug 1891, pp. 32-79); "0,., T<U{ .... a.,Q,~ ..pOJno"' ..i ~'ir ~ J~.r "'"""""',
58
aptitudes . . But ?n~ would l1avc to start by demonstrating first that the
mental ~aractenstJcs depend on the bodily constitution. About this we
have wntten elsewhere. Assuming it, therefore. as proved, it follows that
acute~ess and in t~igence of the mind come from the bilious humours,
steadl~ess and SOI!dlty from tl'Ie atrabilious, but from the blood simplicity
bordenng on . foolishness. But phlegm by its nature does not contribute
10. Commenta~ Oil f'!fpl. f.J<nor ""'~u. ed: c. C. Kuhn. xv. p. 97 : ed. J . Mewaldt. Cm-p .
,.., d. Cr .. v. 9. I, LelllElg 1914: p . .5 1. also pnnted in FOrster (ed.), op. cit . VO L. ". p. '19.5.
frae 10] (el . 'bill., p. '196, fnr. 10.5).
... hblished br J. L. II)&UJ;. Ploysici" MdiQ ,.,.w:.i
II. p. ]oJ.... Fredrieh u)'s, op. cit., p. 49).
31
[ I. I.
59
)
I
I
f
I
\
Why is it that some people a re amiable and la ugh a nd jest, others are
peevish, sullen and depressed, some again are irritable, violent and given
to rages, while others are indolent, irresolut e and timid ? The cause lies in
the four humours. For th ~ governed by the purest blood (of t~ ailJCITOS
Ka60:pw-rQ-rOV 'TVY)(cXvovrts) are agreeable, laugh, joke and have rosy. well
coloured bod ies; those governed by yellow bile are irritable, violent , bold,
and have fair, yellowish bodies; those governed by black bile are indolent.
timid, ailing, and. with regard to body, swanhy and black-haired: but those
governed by phlegm are sad, forgetful, and. with regard to the body, very
pale.I &!
In
ap~ar
In
are governed by one 0<' other of the fou r humou .... but also tem po....I) In ,,'er}'One. Sluee
eaeh humour temporari ly lai n. the upper hand in one o f the four ages of man SO tha t " p" rt
from thOM who ;Ire by na tu re sanilli nie.. (holene.. melancholic. 01 ph iegmat icl. ehildren.
youths. men in tbnr p!"ime and old men each .hare in the nature of the dllf~rent femperam<,nlf
(and so say Pse udo-Soranul. Vindician and tbe medieval authon .... ho .ellow them! Ho,,"
deliberately tbe eharaetera d........ n in n.pl. ..a.A"O<'...)f "'er" dislinRu lShed fWr:l actuill pat!!!)
logical portraits il clear from the fact th lt each norm'll type ...... credited "jth a pa rticular
form of disorder ; wben (u nluin,,) ch ildren cry. they aoon cheer up; when \chole(lcl you thS
let angry. they take longer to reeover (cIMoI ..-,"",). hu l do SO of their o,"n accord . \\"h"n
(melancholy) ml!n go mad. it it! ditllcult to brin&, Ihem 10 a!>Other frame of mind. lind. to do
.., the inft ...... ee of othen .. ntl!d.d (a..o~'1_. th pa&Sl,e \,olce IS used l: and ", her. in
(phlegmatie) old age the ume thin&, oceuTl. change il no Jonger possible (ciJlToifl.l.~T'OI 3,apfCI'(1U(1,).
.. " A aISYOTLz". in Smpl(W1S I'Ays'OI .. o... i,i ~"'" dlali.. i . ed. R FlIrs l.'. " Ot
liDe
JO ; A" OIfYIIIlUS.
VOL.
op. cit.,
VOL.
I. p. 34. line 7.
1. p, ~~ .
60
[I. I.
Xvtlwv.U8
178. line
" timidus' Is dlstlngul'hed by. among other thingl , "flex io staturae," dark skin. a nd " tri, tl,
ou tUIU,: '
undermlnu J. van Wa geningen ', theory that we owe the formula tion o f the
doctrine of the fou r temperaments as character types to ' H OllOri U5 01 Autun' (that;', WlItia m
of Conches), CI. J. V,"H W"GI!.~tHGINlarticlc 'De quattuor tcmpen.m~n tis'.in M"'mo". ....
new ~l"ICi. :XLVI, (19 18), pp, JH sqq . Also F . Don, 'VitacoDtcmpIaUva'. in Sj'~",~e."
.uT H.,<kU-" ,A b1J4 ",j, d" Wi$u,udaJ"OI. PAII.-Md, Kkme. VIIt ( Heidel ~1 1910). p, 20.
aion ~
VOL. :X UI.
61
century. This short treatise of his was to exerl a determining influence on the medieval notion of the temperaments which began to take shape in the twelfth centuryPO
It is certain that the pseudo-Galenian work nipl X\,l\.l&v cannot
have been composed under Arabic influence but must have been
written not later than the sixth or seventh century. because some
of its statements--cornbined with the genuine commentary on the
nEpl cpVo1os &vepc.:mov, and more particularly with the letter to
Pentadius-ound their way into Bede's De tempoT"Um ratiom.l7I
We will now tabulate the statements met with in all these
works, in so far as they are of importance to U 5. 172
What makes the development shown in this table so particularly interesting is the growing acceptance of the idea that
the humou rs possessed the power of determining types of men.
In the commentary on the n fp l CPV(lIO') &vepWTfOV it is still stated
in a neutral manner- "keen wit arises or increases through the
yellow bile." In fact, it is very doubtful whether Galen ever
believed that the predominance of one or other humour could
determine the whole being of a specific type of man. But later
the theory is expressed by a t ransitive verb- "yellow bile produces
quick~tempered men," to which the expression used in the n Epl
X~v; "yellow bile makes the soul more irritable," provides a kind
of stepping stone. Moreover, amid all the vacillations and irrelevancies. there appears a clear shifting of values which decisively
determines-and, in fact, il11.ticipatcs- both medieval and modem
conceptions of the temperaments. The sanguine person, who in
the genuirle Galenian writings was still merely the simpleton,
gradually became what he was always to remain-a merry, lighthearted, good-tempered, handsome person of an altogether good
is or mean StatuN. dsrk.halred and .... ith a ra pid gai t. "in quo aliqn;d inclination;' ""t " l ;
p . 170. tine I ) {the bo ...ed a ttitude and dark colouring ..... a sign of " vir timid"s ignavul"}:
p. 2H . line j the da ,k .kin mean. "timiditatem et d iuturnam sollicitudinem et ffiaelltitiam " I,
In the anon ymous lext. FOuter (ed.). op. cit.. VOL. II , p . 92, !iDe 7, black hak means "tlmldum
nimium et avarum""; in PIIauoo POLaIllON. F Orster (ed.l. op. cit . VOL. U, p. 160, line 6. the
, .. Th is
31
". Printed in PJoISCI"'''. E ..por. pp. 4&t sqq. For P8eudo-SoranUll's and Vindician',
distributio n o r the hmno uflI amon l the ase. o f ,nan s nd lho houts of the day. see above.
pp. 10 sqq. (text), Distribution among the teallOlU It customary : Vindiclan's distribution
among the ori fice. ot the body, which Pteu do-Soranus does not men tion. agree!! with t ho
. tatemen ts in the wor k n .oI "'......."'..tjr. For the rovivlli or Vlnd ie ian', doctrine in the
twelfth ce';'tu ry. s,.., betow, pp. toc: Kjq .. es p, pp, 112 sqq. (too:t/.
'" Ch. xxxv (M'GNI!, P . L ., vo ... xc, cot. ~ 59). Amo ng points of si mitarity with Jhpl
we may mention the appticatlon 0 1 the term " hltarel"' t o the ",ngulnie, and of "audllCe!j'
to the chol~ic. It can alto be .bown tha, the work flf.ol XUfI';;" mllllt have been know o to the
Byzantine .m onk ;\lektius who wfote in the ninth centu ry (ace below. p. 99, note gSl .
xu~.
.,. We include the statement. In b idore and in t be t hort wotk, prob;ably early sirlh-ntury,
S .. pi.",i" ..l is wudi,;,,_ (ed. by M. Wlue.hlty in Kyliwl. j.'"bw.A du /rulitJdI J.... d i,
CeuA~/d6 in' iIIedi,;". I, Lei pzig 1918. pp. 10) tqq .). tbous h here it is merely a q uestion of
tnditional elements .... bleb are embedded in ltatcments 00 patholo(y .
r ~
62
31
[I. I.
Sapic.ntia
Galen Commentary
0.,:. .,so,,,,
pteudo-Galen
""',.;no..
n.pI.~
0..,-1,..("". "nn&-
,......... +"X'f.>
in ..
-.
........""
r~
(sc. faci t )
booi voli
(_ benivolol)
::r,liotS,
.'"'
(unde et
bomine:t, ;n
qllibua
dominatur
Ans uia)
dulcet et
x_ .
....u/.
~""
bbndos,
eUCh~ot
...
Yellow
...
~~
oral -..-.
,,...,.,.1,...
i
i~,.'onol.
~/JU
iracur>dos,
iracuo<Jo.,
~"'.
ingeniolos
et !eves,
maci.l=ntos
III~
ao;utol. !eves,
et multum
et
cito digerentu
comedentel,
citodigerentu
.,""
blandl (Iun l )
(tc. ac:it)
..0
.1,.;"" ....1JUfJo,,,,,
macilcntol,
plu~itQum
comedeDt~
~ - ... ''''''''I
. ."'';:'' '''"' l
I
I
.
~/(IQII' .... lt"~
.1"",
(feroclort!m et
impudentiorem)
bile
'ubdolos,
avaros et
perfido!,
, ubdolos cu m
ifac uod; .. ,
avaros,
tristes,
Mlmnicll lOlOl,
IOmniculosol,
iQvidiosot; et
invidiosos
l
......
;r't'
""'' '01, (6:lr
1" .... . "" t
dflOI,
Bod.
Isidore
Medleinae
plX'"
timidO!!, t rilltu,
I
.
~d ry
audace.,
iraeundos,
UIOS.
",I.m
Irpcr&m , ' .
Fervidi
alih~.
f'I1Int in in
tt eeleriul
dedioant, . ,
Faciem IUbIonpm
habeRt,
lupercUia
obducta
Deulo- ob-
(melancholiei
diculllu r)
homin es, qui
et 000-
Ibbilet,
venationem
d o l,**
graves,
compollitos
morlbul,
humanam
rel..,tunl et
amicorom
reddent.
w.~
c:omedentH,
k'~
timidos
,~
mixricoo'de&,
multd m
rideote. et
loquentu
(IC. facitj
........
...........
~'111os
....
hi lans.
m lleola..
multllm tamen
Fadem
rotuod.m
babent et
_,m
pavilattm
p&tillntdr et
e...,..
, ......
,
"""'"
sunt
rtllnatica
IDdaDcboliei
~nt ... et
m~~
illl:gntlldlnes
..
~'!t::r~,j
1'~~Tc... ... ~
""'-'~
(pi(liorem e t
IlupidioremJ
""P""
compaita.
vigib.ntes et
intra lie
cog itantes.
canos eite;>
produceotel
.......
I
~.......... I""
compositos,
..-.,pol. aT1fY"OI1. """'"~
vi&i1&.ntea, intra
=:ur
..,""".
.amnolenkll,
obliv;o-
lie cogi~tet,
cito a~feren~e.
canos ID capIte.
minua aud~
~IEL."'XCHOLY
I K ANC IE XT PHYSIOLOGY
[ l. l.
3J
65
no In P!leudo-Soranus and Vindician, for Instance, one can hudly eacape the thought that
certain "cold and moist" and "",ann and. dry" qualities were attributed to the blac k bile
purdy by mistake, since the latter it both cold and dry. Were it not for such a miltaito,
the a ttribution to the mela ncholic uf IUch ulltraditional attribute. u "sleepiness" and
" iraselbllity.. , or, to tbe phlegma.tjc, of "wakefulness" a nd "reflexion", OO\Ild hardly be
uplaiDed. Belle restores the traditionil order.
'" Th~ . tatement that the phlegmatic mao. "goes grey eady" ill 10 specifi.c that 113 I18ree.:
me nt Wlth the ~~ ... TflxI-s 10 Galen', "cold and dry crasis" eau hardly be a pure
coincide nce.
.... isiDORE,
Elym.,
IV, "
7.
66
1I
Il
i
I
CHAPTER
I.
11100,
.s. 6-
E"..... x, '76-
II
68
[I. n .
J. QUltTlI'
and
J.
PETRUS tI& A.I'O!fo, EJI/>Osi#o Prob/sma/.um "',iJ/#lis, Mantua 147.5. Padua 1"181. In
the postscript to th~ Mantuan edition, Pietro's commentary it ~xpr_ly deseribed as the
first attempt of its kind. and the date of Its completion it given as 1310. For printed edition,
and mallu scripts. ~ L. NoltPOYII, "Zur Bio-, Bibliograpllie und Wis.senscb.'tslehre des
Pietro d'Abauo." in Kylllos, VOL, 111, Leipzig 19]0. p . ]03.
Cf. esp . H . LIJlIII!SCll O'n.
Leipzig 19l6, esp. pp. 16 aqq.
F.u",,'ilU
located in the warm and moist "cellula logistica" in the middlebrain; and (3) Memory, located in the cold and dry ventricle of
the back part of the h ead.6 For this reason the sanguine natures,
whose warm and moist complexions (already regarded as indisputably the most favourable) corresponded to the "cellula
logistica", were most inclined towards learning:
Videtur autem nobis contrarius esse Aristoteles, qui dicit solos
melancholicos ingeniosos esse. Sed hoc dictum est ab Aristotele propter
felicitatem memoriae. quae frigida est et sicca, aut propter eorum astutiam.'
Whereas h ere the outstanding qualities of the Aristotelian
melancholic were somewhat arbitrarily limited to a good memory
and astu teness, Albertus Magnus attempted to restore the thesis
of Problem XXX, I, to its full stature, but in order to harmonise
it with t he general opinion he was obliged to take refuge in an
almost reckless reconstruction of the whole doctrine. The
expressive "tamen" in his introduction t o the Ethics (cited above,
p. 36) suggest s t hat he was not quite happy about the' Aristotelian'
Problem; and in the fuller statements contained in certain passages
of the Liber de a1~imalibus7 he attempted to resolve the contradiction as fo llows: natural melancholy was (as in Rufus and Galen)
This theory o f locali$atioo. oo:asionally attributed to Ariltotle in the Middle Ages (thus
AOI!LAlto 01' BATH. Quan liOf1IJ f1aJ ..rlOlu, ed. M. MUlier. MOnster 19]4, ch. XVIII) preI Upposes Galen', anatomy of the br ... in and the division (probably Stoic, but tnlnsmitted by
Galen) o f the !sculties into #a"'... "ia., 1""11"'1 a nd ...!'l"',r. a n analysis which Galen bimself had
not fully dev~loped: for the early history o f t.hi" thflOry see the remarkt of H . LU:BucIiOn.
Vorl'4,r~ 4~r 8ibliollld W"rb"'I, VOL. III , 192)- 14, p. 117; this 6hould be supplemented bv
WALTIlIfR SUDHO""'S very thorough-going rc:sean:h. tra.ci1l8 the notipn back to the fourth
century A.D. and down to Leonardo and VeM.iius; "Die Lehre von den Him ventrikeln", in
"'r,hi" fr. r G's,,"~IaI, du M,dUi .., VII (Leiplig 19 1]). pp. 1"19 ""q. According to Liobeechfitz
the claSsification o f the various brain ven t rl.:::1es " "warm and moist," etc., as taugh t by
Neck.am as well as by the professional anatomists (Richardu! Salernltanus, Lanfranc. etc).
it to be attributed to William o f Conches (see. how.,'er. below, text. pp. 104 sqq.}--al! euily
explici.b!1I byprod uct o f !Wi urge to scientilie systemat.iaatio~d abo W. SudbotJ dOO!'s
not p lace this eoneeption any earlier (QP. cit. p . 170).
ALlIXANOBB NJlCKAJoI, D~ ..al .. ~i$ r, ru,.. Iibn duo, ed. T. Wrigbt. London J863 (R., ..."
Br;"'f1l1iu....... medii aa;j StripttwU. \'OL. XXIV). p . ~1 . Aocording to the vie,.. held there
Neckam ;" bound to gi ve tbe pt.net Venll. (which ho abo ~ds as .....arm and moist" the
patronage of .aence: "Quintu. autem planeta propU:r eRactus, quOll exercet in inferiO!'ibus,
c:a.lidus dicitur et hum id us, ideoque $Cientia eI aptatur, quae in sanguineia vig~ sold ... "
thougti- a very . igniJica.nt distinctioll- ho put!! wisdom under the influe nce of Saturn. The
view that meIancholy. as correspolldin( to the heavy and hnprcssionablo elements water and
eutb, favoured memory ....as everywhere ... idely beld; d . the passage from R.an iUNDus
LULLUS. PrirodpitJ plli.losop'"i<u. quoted by L. VOLX"ANH, in Jallrowlt d" ItUtI.J',"i..s~"
Sllmml ....g' .. i .. Willi, M.I'.'II (1919) . p. 117: "Rursllll ai t Memoria. 'eftactiv" mea natura es t
melancholia. quoniam per frigid itatem restri ngo speciu et eonwrvo metaphorico loquendo, .
quoniam aqua habet nat uram restringend i, el quia terra habet nat ul"lUlt vacuativam, habeo
Inca, III quibUi possum ponere ipl species:" (Seo alto belo..., text pp. 337 &qq.).
I Quoted in G IKHLOW (190-4), p . 6 1.
70
[I.
II .
spmts whIch are abundan t. constant and strong. .For this reason
such pea Ie have firm convictions and verj well regulated passio.ns ; and
they wiIJ be industrious and possess t he highest virtucs. Therefore
Aristotle says in his book of Problems that all the great philosophers such
VItal
AUIli:JtTI1S MAO:<I1S. D, "" j...,,(ibUJ libri .'1m. ed. H. Stadler, Milnster tW. 19 16-2 1, VOL
I, p. 329, f " 9 (Beitrllge zu r Getchiehte der Philosophie des Mittelalten, va l.. xv).
t See op, cit., VOL. I, p . 3l9, ! no lor the division of "melan.;:holia non natunal is" into
four $1I b-speeies, whieh we c:all the " doctrine o j tbe fOllr lonns," see below, pp. 86 sqq. (lu i).
I. See op. cit. VOL. II , p. 1 30~. i 6 1: "Nihi l delectation;s aplld n invenientes et malae
IU$picionis etiam ex;stentea ad a lios, oeddunt Ie ipsos, et sunt nec diligenle. nee dilig ibi let,
solitudine.m, qu ae malitia vitae humanae est, amantes, et in sor dibll ' ease. delectabile. ett eil,
el alia multa mala oon tingunt ni. et sunt frequente.r fures etiam quando non ind ige ut de re
quam lurantur, et multum aunt insomnes propter (:() mplex ionis siedtatem et frigidltatem."
Here, ptlrhapi in un(:()nKious regard tor Aristotle.. the melancholi.;: is not 10 .;:slled by name ,
but. q uite ..""r t fro.n the traditJonal samene... of the prediea.tes and tho exprelfion
"oomplexionil skcita. et frigidiw, " the d e$Cription is so obviously oonnectod with t be
doctrine of umpenamentl contained in
~g~l (for this see below, text p . 119) tha t there
(:.I.n be no doubt o f the author's intention. Moreover in tbe same work, VOL. I. p . H , i 129,
it has been ltated that the melan<:holie is &ad aod gloomy. a.nd s uBen from terrifying
del urions.
,"
I
I j
7'
(I.
72
II.
''',uon 0,1 I~ ;:I ~~Pho,..!''',uid .. m enid. IIIn! n .. tura frigid; el,iee!, maxime io q uibulmden,"
me .. nco ICI I U .. uU
~.,
,
.
t
, non eoim fuent
dom.nln! ~e<;undu m G( alen"rn) ul humor n'le. ; de qu.b us noll ~. &ermo. tione eoleno ae
ILL predict" 11Iu5lnlJIII aut pu;untu. preta,:: ,t a"t s ~n: ~t~~ .. ~~~ :~ ~;:~r q uod melan.
. '
ueo ler
r.an8u ls [II C] . " (II Th e nn.l piUSage ...... CI ., O. 4 , .
Ii i sh 'e
r!le sive qualilCtCuruqu c coatingat , pr~lIuot alio$ LD ~~ oonaeq
l:C:t per M: mag is. delnde eoleric:.l e! ,qui
me1aooolia
est
" 15u'" e~t : sec undum en!m primam coleram IlLg.... m I,ve hlitoOn:m rna!" 11Lsru m 0
m"
(Uf!l non lu n\ hu;usmodi. verum propter le(:unda m, oolere perm
, ~tamhr Ubee v~ a: II:!:w~)
Plet;o d ' \bano seeml in lut, th",t.lore. like Albertua ala.g IlUI w m ,,~y
v
b
to ha ve been nluctant to include the higbly-&ift~ atoO?,' IUltunJ. .melam:bo~~nd:ad::~
~:meperau,
dei~cep$;
~n.,,;,
du~~,::
.
. 't u r ~ to bills ilb.., q u.un clixim ua naturalem,
0. II. 1,lpI.,
I. $, p, 497,. " Sob. 181
judiciu m nobil et ppientiam eondue;t; neque t~men semper,
."i",..
"Hie
1\ (CorJ'1lJ R'f~~"'"'" :. X ILI ) : co I. A115' oeoaia
uuritu r de atra bile: a n et quomodo prae.tan~ motus LD Ln,en~q ef6eiaH
po
i
~on netc iud ic:at, qui exiltima.t bot mol Wi In ~ vi , is ;Lb
bile _ , ~;OD" Da~~
Nam a.dulta effie!t fu rore. et ~menti.u. non. pa.nt motu . qUI '""'."o tur eo~ieI ~nt
est Apooenli, eum putavlt An.toulem hoc: lnterrop.re, an p;Lub.tim aeate
ta
melUICbolic:.> ' 1d enim nOD propooit Aristote1es, sed ipsas _tUn.l et tempe ...... n eor\Idm
senut esse ~"la.ncholiea. Ac dei nde NtI. OIItendi t. K DOD de vicioso ~ulDOr'fl Ioqui,. sed~
.. Th. fo, I Ihat P ietro d'Abano', view was 001 ~hle to preva il In the 'pee,.1
nuura I.
tha th
rat e ileet
0 1 the "problem of meLancholy does not of eoune a lter the fa.et
t
e gene
U of bilL
Commen ul)' was very (onJiden.ble. .u euly as 1)' $, J OU AMIU[lII OK JIUfOU"O eaD e
J.. ndun) head 01 th" Parit.ian Avetrolsts, made a collUllentary o n Pietro'l commentary. ~E.
A W"Dlf, 3rd edn,.
ri. 1866, p. ~~o) ; be ~d fe(;eived the mll;"~~p=h~':~~~;
01 P,dua a nd It a.ppean that the Avem.l trend In North Italy, "'hi
t
Id
bl
denou nced and .... hieh W:I.. partly ba5ed o n AriILtotle'l Prohk"" . WIoI due, to a OOIlt
e
t t; Pietro d'AhAno', a ctivit1e"
R ICH ..... D OF M ZI)'A"ILLA (Q...1Wf Ollul,_,
/ Ul1dll lj"i ... i dOdo rl, m'ardi d4
q.oacstio
Venice 1$09, tol. 19"
:t
.J makes '" li mllu attempt, though adm ittedly Without douet reler~Dce to Problem
xxic.\ The qUeltion at to wblch
..... the best lor sc.holartln p was lenert.!ly
anl we'red ;n f~vour of t he choler ic:. and the sanguine, a nd , the objection t hd ~el. nchOltc~
too were often partlc uhuly gifted lehol .... wu brushed astd e by the h ypothests t hat suc
Ie .... ere really cholerlca and had only become mela.ncbolics "accideoter propter ad ustione m
" ted inlcllui boc: [I.e. th .. t th" mela,;",boly
w.. hy nat,,", oot
favourable to IICholarship) de melanchotici.t n.turaltter ... dlL erum $lint minime apti per lie
ad lCieotiam."
a:tU$ta
P..
er:-
e:~~7ibetakJ
~~,, :
/I1e~i4t1i11lJ,
tem~ent
I)
73
thirteenth century, William of Auvergne, another great scholastic
who had adopted Aristotle's teaching, arrived once more at interpreting the meJancholy oCgrea t men in t erms of natural disposition ,
and in contrasting it, as particularly favourable for a man's
salvation, with t he phlegmatic complexion which (according to
Galen !) "benefits none of the faculties of the soul" . He was,
however, speaking entirely as a t heologian, concerned far less with
the scient ific basis of the Aristotelian thesis than he was with its
interpretation in t erms of Christian moral philosophy. H e could
therefore simply ignore the difficult ies which Albcrtus Magnus
and Neckham had found so considerable. In his eyes, the
immense advantage of the melancholy disposition, and the real
reason for its glorification in Aristotle, lay in the fact that it
withdrew men from physical pleasures and worldly turmoil,
prepared the mind for the direct influx of divine grace, and
elevated it, in cases of special holiness, to mystic and prophetic
visions,
There is nO doubt that many are hindered from direct illumination by
the stench of their vices and sins, but many are hindered by their complexions. For some complexions gorge the soul and hinder its noble powers,
for which reason Galen, the great physician. says t hat the phlegmatic
complexion benefits none of the faculties of t he soul. . .. The reason is
that they (that is to say, the relevant humours) bend t he soul and take
possession of it; for which reason they keep it far from the attainment of
sublime and hidden matters, even as a vessel filled with liquid can receive
no other liquid, or a tabJet or parchment COver-cd with writing CiUl rt:Ceive
no other writing. This accords with the words of the sage, when he says
"Non recipit stultus verba prudentiae, nisi ea dixeris, quae versantur in
corde eius .. .. " (Prov., XVIll.2). For these reasons Aristotle was of t he
opinion that all highlygifted men were melancholies; and he even believed
that melancholies were fi tted for inspirations of this kind in a higher degree
than men of other complexions-namely, because this complexion withdraws
men mpre from bodily pleasures and wordly t urmoil. Nevertheless, though
nature affords t hese aids to illumination and revelation, they are achieved
far more abundantly through the grace of the Creator, integrity of living,
and holiness and purity.1I
~vu!,
~~eot
.. W U..UA'" 0 ' AlJ\'tRGtfl, Bi&bop o f Parit, D, lI"iw~$ct, II, 3 , ~o (0/>n'4 _" .... , Venice 1$91,
p. 99): 0p"tI, Orleans . 674, VOL, " p. '0$.) : "F; t io mo ltls Ind obitllDter proh ibet irndiationem
Illmed la tam ipu. vitio .... m et pe(:<:a lorum tae tu l"ntia. . , , In multis .utem eomple;do;
quaedAm eDim eomplexlones inerupnt aol ..... et impediun t vi res eanlln nobile&, propte r
q uod dici t GAlenul ' UDUDIlS medkUI, quia. negmatica oom plexlo n lllliun virtutem aDimae
iLlYat . . " CaDsa in hoc: elt, q uoniam incur vant et occu pant animas h Ulnanu, p ropter hoC
probiboo.nt eu a perfectione retulll .ublimium et rerum oc:eU ltarulll, q uemadmod um pJen.i t udo
V2Ria de. uoo liquor" prohibe t ipw.m a ~tione liquorl.t altenUI, ale et iaacrip tio tabulae
74
[r.
II .
,
" 1:1 pell~ . prohlbet aiiam inscriptionem ab ilia iw<u. sennonem Sapientis, que: dixit: 'Quia
no~ rec. p~t Itultul verba prudentiae nbi til. diJreris. quae veraan t ur in corde eJut Propter
hU lusmod. cauus vllum {uit Aristoteli om nes ;ngeniosos melanchoiieol esse et vide ri e 'd
potuit ~e~ncholico.t ad irradiationes huiulmod i magis idoneoa esse quam homin~ ai!~r::
compleXIOn,.,. propter hoc ~uia c~mpleli:io ista magis abstrahit a dcleetationibus Jorporalibul
~! a . tu~ultlbllS mund:mlS. LI~t autem adiu meota praenominata nat ura p racs:e t ad
Illuml~ationes et revelati(lnes, gratia larnen ereatoris mUllditiaquo eonvenationis et ..nctias
et puntas mu lto abllndantius ipsa, hnpetTant . . . . "
IT " l nvtniuntur tamen animae aJiquae, quibns istac irradia tiones auperve.n.il!nt e lortitudine cogiu.tionum in rebus divinalibns et ex vebementia devotionis io ~.'-"b:
. m ac sanetorum d eaiderionl m, quibua pulehritudioem-iucundissimam
- -mln er ex ardore PlOnI
~reatoris eo~cupi~unt. Galenus alltem in Jibro de rnelanchoUa dicit ex hu iusmodi desideri is
mterdu~ al~q \los me.urre.rf: ~(lrbum melancholieum, qui p rocul dubio desipientia magna est
et abahenatlo I. rectit ud me m telleet us et discretione ration;s:'
. .. '.' &:i re tam~n debes, q uia huiusmodi homio es, videlicet morbo melancholieo laborantes,
Irn.d ... tion~ ~plunt, ven.m partieula l... ct detruncatu. Quapropt.u ad iDstu prophduum
d~ ,rebus dl~' n .. libus natu .... l.t .... loq ... indpiu nt. Sfld Ioq" elant bul...... adl no .. con tle" a .. l,
n.'SI ad modICum . .E t propter hoe statim recid unt in verba delipkntiae consume. ta" Q"am
~. fumul melanehohcus ascendens ad v irttltem intellectivam in illill {ulgorem ipsiua inten:iplens
illam off"!IC~t, et propt~r hoc ab atti tudlne tantl lumin is mentcm i n &.Iiena deliciat. "
" J, 7 (OP".~ 0":,"'1>, Venice 159 '. p. 725: 0P' ,I>, Orleans 1674,
VOL.
I, p. 769):
De 'I'' wa rn ma lo furon$ d,co, quod pl erumqlle, immo semper. valde utile .... t furioai.:
2]
2.
(a)
,I
75
MELANCHOLY AS AN I LLNESS
I lve enl,., boni el iusti s'n l, cum in furorem incidunt, HI t uto ponit ur pet furorem .nC!l tas
eoru m sh'e boni tas, cu m tempore fured, peceare nO n poss int .. . . ai,., "'ai, t l :n,,,'f, 5;nl
in hoc eis per fu rorem consulitur, ut malitia eorundem to tempore no n a ug~a tu r
Qtlod
I i creditur Galeno, adiuvat hunc lermonem id quod didt in libro de ;\I t lan ehohn. "ldthcet
quia q uida m CJC nimio desiderio vidend i Deum nimiaqut solliciludine Circa hoc In(,,l~ re in
melancholiam. quod non esse! pouibile "pud neatoris oon;utem . . n i11 elsdem 'ps um
praenosceret utilem fore mu ltiplidtu et salubre. Debe...utem scire. q uia tempore mre
multi fuernot viri ...... ctiss.mi ac leliliol.iui mi. quibus desiderlO magno era t morb." melan
choliae propter It(; uritatcrn anteciictarn. Unde et cum Jnltr cos esset qUldam mela ochollC'"
e t sta tum elus non medk>eritu ,,8'e(:taTtnt, aperte dicebant Dtum onaumnabllerr, gr;oliam
iIIi ml:lancholieo cont" lissc . . . :'
.. MIONe. P . Cr.,
Al ost 1487.
76
[I. u .
.. 5! allO Ct.SSI/l,lf, CqlJllfioOUJ , ch&ptu "De lpiritu ac:ediae", 110' a rl ume.nu on the ... mfl
tbeme by JOH "~"' &S C"' IIIACUS and 15100.' 0" S.VIl.t.I (joiotl y dcalt with b y F. P /I,GIIT,
Til, 5p.,i, of DiuipU"" 7th ed n . Londan 11196, pp. 8 aqq.),
\ 2 'J
ME LA KC IIOL Y AS AN ILLNESS
77
.. In tbe .u:tH'atb OI!:Dt\l1'}' this notioD ltill- "~pptan, treated no- . from the
a"lll! of bun:>onJ patbolofy ,athu th&n 01 JDOnll payeboloc:y. Coa~llLlua /I, L.t.PIO'" (Conottii
o LopiU . .. tmotlflftlorii. i" scripturo". ,ana".. Lyons.hriI 186,5, ays Ion I Reg. 16.231:
"Nullul. m m hlllllOr- map qu",m hic mdanc:boIiaI. (st. opportunu. cst diabolo. ut hommeIJ
vexet .) Quare daemon, q ui .glt per cau... nat\lrales, max imo uti tnr hUmnnI mdancholico."
.. fulltll MaYS ls, T , aQalou.u r~I .... i". , ... flalil, 1477 ",nd a ftu ; dapter I U (in the edition
to us. Aupburg 1,5 18, loll, b 4' MI .); "Et causa totiu. huiu. (st. the oondition a l
d illOJdered melancholy. and lear] est molUlia animae et lpaillS iCnorantia ruum veritatis,
Dacti vero tt acquiJVltes mares phiJosophiae ... ac:qainlftt .... imabut lUis fortitudi.aem , ..
fit qu&ntumcunque aliquls magis S\lKi p;t dfl doc trina, nUnua patittur ell: alDbobus aecidentibul
aequalit.er. videlicet ex die boni vel mali. Dooee" pervenerit ad aliquld magn am bonum
ex honis mundi, quae quiuem vOC&otur a philosophi! bona phantllttlca, non magoifica tur
mud apud ipsu m , , . el eum pervenerit ad cum magnu m d",mnum, et angustia magna u :
tempore~advenitatll . , , non . tupHCit n~lue timet, sed u.s tolent bouo modo .... Merito
na mq ue philosoph; a ppellave runt bona h ulul ueeull et hui " . mala bona tt mat... phan w t ica.
Pl ura etenilll suorum boaorum imaginatur hoalO bona _ , qu ae quidem in v itate mala
.unt, $iniliitu tt plura mala malorum s ucru m exiltimat _
mala, q ua.e q uldc:m bona
I\l ot. '.. .. " Nevertheleu, Maimooidet a llO p rueribts purely medical remedies. eapecially
med,,:ul<:s wbieb ",re particularly adapted to the dispoaitioa of the aUfU.lt addrasc:e. Nat\1n1!ly
reasoned reflectioo-with .pc:cific:alJy Christia n overtonet, of oourso--as a remedy against
melancholy oontinued to be rec:om~nded 10 westem liten.turt as well, II ntil far 11)10
modem ti.mca. A, ,",U .. medical .clentifle a nd ehuaeterolosical litec;atun!, tberi! is a whola
.mes a f writingl whieh migh t be gra upe(! uoder tho tlUe " Anti -melancholy bortatioo.s"; a very
avai!abl~
[r.
II .
M""
Poll..,. VOL.
I X) .
.. The complexity of the notion 0 1 "aeed~" j'>OSQ ill prol.Mem whieh eanl>Ol be dtalt wi th
hne.. 0 . the (u nfonunaUoty ';npu blioshed) diucrlation by M. A. CO.....u. of Comcll Unl.
vErSity. I th..:... entlt~ A 51""',. oj AtdJ/ill ."d _
oj ill Lit~~ar,. Pltaus. 19)2. kindly
pointed out to Oil by MT Herbert StoDe. New York.
n Cf. the dc:finitiofUI in IU. ... MU1I MA..,RUI {lhe."". P . 1-. VOl. . ClC Il. cols. 1150 ~q.}. wh_
"study a nd toad ororks" arcrecommcnded as a ntidotes. and in Ps. HuGO OF ST V,CTOR (~lle"
r . L . VOL. eLKXV I . cot\. 1000 ~ .) .
How nearly the thoo!OSical definitionl of ".cedia" or
"tri$titi." eoincldl! with modica! d tllCription. nl meb.ncll<>!y can be ICen from the bri lliant
description 0 1 " Irl.titia" by Theodul l o( Orleans (pn nted in C. ",,$CAL, p".ia l.ti ... ".,di(f."/'.
Catania '907. p. 120) :
"Est et e! line clade dolor. aine nomine moeror.
l ntima led cordis nubil .., error babet.
Hanc 1TlO(!0 IOmnUI babet. modo larda sileutia ~nJl,,1,nt.
Ambulat et sterti t. murmllnt a tqne tacct.
SIImni., hie oculis residen, isnavus apl!rtil.
r\ l1qllc loqu enl sese dicerc multa putat .
.".cluJ hebel. _ S UI int'r$, obl i" ;a pign
Sunl , et nil fixum mente vel ore vehi t .... "
.. ' H uJO of SI Vic;t"'" (toe. elL) considered " ! .;.,titia" as t he O\>lSter notton to wbich
" d espera l io, rallCOl'. torpor. timor, aeidia, ql1erela. pusil\anlmiw" are aubordiuted I.S
"egmitell". "!lancOT", ho ...ever. is dellned as "ex atra bill au t nlmia pigritla virium anim!
et egrporis _ n'atio et CGn'U ptio." To name a G~k auth as well. JOI<" D"'....ICII" ;n
bis Yi~'$ tlJ 1M 5ew/. lists. i>tJ" Q/i ...-.",,...ta. .\tion} L\oyft r'triltitia abaque ca",. "I}.
~. " ..lta. a...,u.. 1""""'''X{a (D. vi!luJibw$ II vi/iiJ, MIG~II. P. Gr., VOL . XCV, .tol. 88).
Cum autem Adam transgressusest ... fel immutattlm est in amarituch nem
) j.
~('
:\!E I.A~CHOLY I~
[I.
2]
blackness.":W
.
This tragic conception of melancholy to a cert~m ext~nt
81
MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS
1[ .
'"ati'
<fa."
.. '"Si superbUI 9 . bumilia te ipsum vaJde, . . . quia. nisi te emendavcri... .. ipse deu"
qui superb;s re.istit, nolons quod peTCU, aden te bum iliabit . .. quod ezemplum alii,
uil."
82
:~
[I. n .
t~e
West:
Constanti1ms Africanus
In contrast to the blendings of theological and medical conceptions such as we may observe in the writings of St Hildegard
and in many other medieval works, especial1y of the twelfth
century,o Gaspar Offhuys drew a sharp line between the "ex
accidenti naturali" view, and the "ex dei providentia". But
what did he cite as "natural" causes of melancholy illness? The
partaking of "melancholy foods" and "strong wine", the " animi
passiones, scilicet solicitudo, tristitia, nimium studium et timor".
and in general "malicia humoris corrupti dominantis in corpore
hominis"- in other words, exactly the same as appeared in the
writings of RuIus of Ephesus and his followers in later antiquity.
The account given by this monastic chronicler, who later rose
to various honours, thus reveals the remarkable stability of views
in clinical psychiatry, which really had changed only in minor
points since the days of later Hellenism. The reason for this
remarkable stability lay mainly in the fact that, as we have said,
Constantinus Africanus's monograph on melancholy, which became
of great importance to the western world, wa!, based either directly
or indirectly on Galen and particularly on his account of the
doctrine of Rufus. oIl But. in addition, t he early Arabic treatises
on melancholy, which were absorbed into the culture of the school
of Salerno and therefore of the whole west, made use of the later
Greek conceptions, yet they adopted a considerably less theoretical,
and, regarding the subject matter, much more practical ;Point of
view. Both " Serapion" , whose writings were sometimes circulated
underthe nameof "Janus Damascenus",f2 and the great "Rhazes" ,43
.. C f. for il\5tance Hugues de Fouilloi. below.
.. CI. A. BUtUf. Ob"di~ tdeHlir<'IJ d~ r AU" .. dl""Cen t!.tJ tJ~4.1t. ib .. Am~<f" tid du CDtlJt.m /i" " J
Afrita .... s Ubtr MdIJ"'lt.oU. Munich , privately printed, no date, Th~ para of h~.l.q'. work
not given in Bumm can therefore be complcted from CONBTANTINUS AYRICAN US (Op"a,
VOL . I, Basle T536, pp. 280 sqq.) .
.. Really YUIIANJ<l IBN S .... lBIYON. of Damascus (later half of ninth <:entury): Ja .. '
D ....... su .. i ... ~ ..~a ..di arl;s lilwi, VOl. . III. u : in the BasJe edition (l5.U), pp. 123 1JqQ.: in
tbe edition which was published undCl" the n&me of
(Venice
I jSO),
fols.
1-
sqq.
.. Relolly Abll Bekr Mu1;lammad ibn Za.karlyi aIRb!, d . 91S : AlmalUOriJ lilu, ""....,.
eb . 13. frequently repri nted witb varMlus oommentari~. For westem commentaries set!
H . I Ll.GEN, Di. alu ..dl.tndische .. Rlt.aUJXomm fH /alootI iUs XIV, bis XVII. Ja~rhu ..dffts,
dissertation, Uip1ig 1921.
2]
.. Thua CoNSTANTlN US Anlc.uroa (OpffIJ, VOL. I. Basle 1536. p. 288) : " Alii
ama nt
$Olitudioom et oll:uritatem et ab Ilominibu$ remotionem. AliI spati0$8. loea. ama nt et
lucida atque pratoea, bortos tructiferos, aquosos. Alii amant equ ilare, dl\~rsa. mU5itorum
geDera audire. loqu i quoque cum sapientibu, vel ama bi libus .. Alii babent nim ium $On:num,
a li i ploratlt, .Iii ride lit."
.. After
I, p. 287).
(1.
II.
2] ,
MELANCHOLY AS A N ILLNE SS
85
op. ci t .. p.
prefe~nce shou~d be. slYe n 10 mois t things in b is diet, luch .. fr"Hh filb. honey. all ma nner
~I !nut. ~. WI th resard to meat. tho Il eab o f very you aS a nd, il poqible. female, animal .
like Ye:a-rlms Iaml, youos hen. and female partrid,es (vegetables, on tho contrary. uo to
be aVOIded. becaute of .nad); above aU. his diSestion is to be aided by means of thit d iet
as .....11 a.$ of euly montin, ...&lQ in d>eerlul dry iJIUTOUadin(l. Ul&NaCe .nth warm and
.
nos'::
oiatments. a.~ daily inlullioDt 01 lukewarm (01" cold. In aumma) ..... ttt: "Studi"m
~~ adhibeudulD en in dia:eItioae. Ordinetur dieta humida ot limpta. quia iUe cibus facile
d ,gen.~. 'i.vi in lubst&lltia limplex est et hllmid u.. "
Melancbolici """UeIQnt ad pedum
nerct~ ~~ u~nt~l um . Ipparen t. IUrora., per Ioc::a Jpltiou. Ie pllD&, ItCnosa. et $OI.porota ~ ,
Post eFef"C'tia lo lund.ntur aqua cal ida et d uld."
" . CotfSI Atf Tltf US ArluCANUS (Oper/J. VOl.. I. pp. 2!H and 290: "Oportet autem medic um
melior~e 5uspicionew melancholieorum. mitigare furorem eo,um et gra tific:are quod prius
babu.. nn~ charu~ . . . Adbi ~nda. rationabilia et grata verba. cum pedecto iosenlo et
l ufficlenti memon a, toUendo qUhln awma l unt pla.n tata c um diver... mUlica et vino odorifero
daro et 5ubtiliaimo."
.. CoNSTA NTllfU. A ICA MUI (OJu~/J. VOL " p. 29l) . CI. &lao h is Libn- .u wit .. (O/>4Y/J
VOL '. P. lOll : "Rufus vt:ro ait: Quod coitus ..h it mall;1m habitum corporis et fl;lrore ~
mil~,.t. Prodest melaacholieis et aJr.e:Dtes rnocat ad notitlam. et .oIvit &morem COft_
cup~~tis. lic:e.t COrICU~bat cum alia q1lllD COftCupivit". PLAT1IAJUUS', Pr-Wiu< (0.
M p-iJv4,,.. Ulpt.hs, v. Ven_ 1491, 101. ' 13), "'mmarisina: the flews CUlTeO t in. Saleroo at tho
86
[I. II.
a more energetic preoccupation with intelledual studies to combat
HE. g. UGO SaNaNS]!. Corumlll, XIY, V~nice 15' S. fol . 14 : "Caveat a v~noroit" . Not
tHl Manilio Ficino. who otb~rwiH: accords ontiroly with medical tradition with ug .... d to
thorapeutical practico, do wo _ i n connoxion with his Neoplatonic attitlld_the a5efltic
idelll aSAI" applied to empirica.l dletotic admittedly those. designed especially for Intollect ual
men.
"Th(l. it4 P4~/~,..i, IX. 8 (Opl'~,
20 jO/U'II, VOL. I, pp. IS sq.).
H"'LY FILIUS As!!",s, Lib., /0/;14$ ,",di~;~tU. Lyons 1."113. TIuOf" . IX, 7, fol. 104'; Prlll.tie/l.,
v, 2], I.... 21 7' . Whother 'All Ibn ',\bbb for IU. part was familiar with hbiq Ibn. ' Am,",n'l
work. it it difficult to doeido. It ia f.irly c:ert.ain that Abulqhim knew it (ALhIl ..... n u
Libu 14lo"ctU ....~ p,...~, pr.d. 26127, Augsburg edition of 15' 9, foil. ]11<I1"j.).
CI. 1. 1- LoWIS. " Tho Loveres lt1aladyo of Her_". in MtHln. PAilok>f:y. XI (1914J.
pp. 491 .qq.
distinction (deriving apparently from Rufus) between the substance of a "succus melancholicus" as a deposit of the blood and
that of a "melancholia adust a" originating from the scorching of
the yellow bile had to some extent disrupted the cogency of the
scheme of the four humours; and we can see how later times took
advantage of this loophole, in classifying and accounting for the
endless variety of symptoms of melancholy. If red bile could tum
to "melancholia adusta", why should the same not be possible
for other humours? 'Ali ibn 'Abbas (and of course Const antinus)
admitted that non-natural melancholy might originate both in
burnt red bile and in burnt black bile," and later added yet 3
third form originating in "adust blood", so that the difference
between the more depressive, more euphoric and more manic
symptoms seemed to repose on a genetic foundatio n.~ .'\11 tha t
was lacking was its logical completion by a fourth form originating
from the scorching of the phlegm, the possibility of which , however, had been expressly denied by the earlier school of Salemo.36
Avicenna's orderly mind adopted onc principle of division which
the authors so far cited had either not accepted or not known, and
which brought melancholy completely into the system of the four
humours.51
.. HALY, Tlwor., 1 .1~. fol. t9; follo"';"1 him. Co!<STAI'TlltuS .",a""11t:5. Tiu.,r':2 f'~>:lft":.
yo .... II, p. 22 MI.J, "CoImL nigna DOn naturali. u incens;&. colera nig-r .. Ut ruo.: Ilrah
EstquIl alicia ~t a "ut. . . Alii nascitu r ~x inluiono colorao < rub ... ~. el :> uut>or u
calidior priore. Haec: habet pessimas qualiu'eI dnlrvendl." This me\Ar.c:.o!y fn'm b~ rr.t
red bilo may be Identlcal ... ith Iho " molancholia 100nlna" lllII men tooned b~' Connamm". d 1:
and W. C.. un. In Ardlu /I'r P$ytl"lIIlri IlCIY 119)1), p~. ~H JIlq .1. sym ;>toms 01 " b,~ h
I . 1S (O~III.
includo "insol~Q(;e. foolhlfdine.. aru1 indifference to correction." all thmgs 10 oernam tha l"~'
t"ri$tie of tbe c holoric molancholic.
.. H .. LY. Tllter .. I ll, 1, fol. 104', aceordin, to CosaT .. STlSu . ..... IC .. S1l5 . Tk.. c"r.;l P"PlI'f~. ,
IX. 8 (opt,... vo .... II , p. 249J : "SiJnifieatio un,uselliusque lpeeiei propria. Qu ae "mm ,Ie
humoribus ost melancholu
In rebro innli.. nimam habe t ahenahonem. Ingusu.l.
tristitias. timOl"es. dubilationQ, malu imaginationes. , ufplcionu 6:: s.mllia . . .. Quu <'x
s&nguino estanlente, alionaliollom. cum rilu .t laotitia. CorpUI inflrmi macldu:n. color r ube~l .
Pili in corpore. ,"n t almii. nisi ill pectoro, uonae. ~tae. uli rubei. pulsus magn .... parutt]
uoJox. . . .. fD bllmoribu. ex coler-. rubel., babent alienalionem, clamorem, instlb,hutem ,
uigilias, non qu;etCulIt. multum i~untur. cal idum hlbent taClum ame f~brl. maCldllltem.
ol corporit liccitatem, oeuJorum instabi litatem, 'Ipec tum quasi leonis. Cltrinitatem colom."
.. Pu.nt ... luI'. P.llleljc. furth~r defi nes the H'ly.conllan l ;n~$ doctrine of tll~ threo lorm l,
and, recalling the o ld conftpond~nce with the $enons, Itales that aduslion of Ihe " ,,;holrra
rubra" occurs mainly In .ummer, of the "Cholera nigra" in aUlumn. and o f the blood In sf' rln~.
adding (fol. 11): "quod non habentur fieri (se. melancholiue pauiones] ex phlegma te, 'lula
phlegma. cum , it album, .tbedinem rebri nun Immutat." lnllud oi th is. Ha ly and th~
s..lomitans took "molancholla ex atOma.ebo". i.e. lh. hypochondriac form . no: relll,. .n a:l
Itlitablo, for tho fou rth form Of me~ncboly.
Of This princiJ'lo appears ill rnul>O-G .. LIt1< , ' 0,0. jAr,......, C .. u.S' (Kt'HS). 'OL. Xl:>' , J' 36~
Accordi,,&" to 1.1. Wau.N ....... Di. ~ .. _"ull. 5~1I ..1., PhiioiOSIKbe Un t~lSucllun&e". :00; 1\',
Berlin. 189."1. p. 65, this work u hued OD a " . follower of tho pnoumatic school Inclining to
.yncretism. who lived III the third century at tbo earliest."
SS
[I.
II.
.. n GORDONIU5 {l2h- IJI81. 1'"/;"'. liIi ........,4ui,,,,. """"'1'0.10.. Venice 14<}8. VOL. II
fol. 30" &qq. He would also like treatment to be differmtiated aceording: to the four I()I'VII
respectively.
II GU ILLEL)lUS BRtXIEl<SIS (d. l)z6). P1,,,liUJ. Venice tS08. eh. u. 101. 1;0".
.. Died about IHo.
sqq. (text) .
" f"ICII<O. D. ".IT'pI .. I. S: "Melancholia. ldo elt atra bills, eat duplex: alten quidem naturali,
medici5 appeUa lur. altera vero adllstiooe contingit. Natural;' ilia nibil aliud. es~ q~am
d ensi01' quaedam licdorque pan sanguinis. Adusta vero in specia; q ua ttuQl" dl5trl~ul~'r.
a ut enim naturali. melancholiae. aut sanguinis purioris aut bili. [sc. fta,va.e] a ut salsac pitUitae
combustione oonclpitu r:
.. De /lni",,, . II : Corp ..s Refo' ...alrtr ...... x m , cols. 8) fl.
2]
MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS
We can see how these few though clear"cut traits were built up
into a more and more vivid picture; until at length, deeply imbued
as "he was with the heroic conception of Problem XXX. I,
Melanchthon finally ennobled even the four forms of melancholy
disease as far as possible by classical and mythological exampLes,
and , by including Democritus, even anticipated the romantic
type of melancholy humorist:
When melancholy originates from the blood and is tempered with the
blood, it gives rise t o the insanity of the fatuously happy, just as the cheerful
madness of Democritus is said to have been. who used to laugh a t the
foolishness of mankind and by his unruffled mind prolonged his life to Ule
hundred-and-ninth year.
But when melancholy originates from the red bile or is tempered with
much red bi le, there a rise horrible ravings and frenzies; of this sort was
the Ipadness of Heracles a nd of Ajax. As Virgil says of Heracles's rage:
"Hie vero A1cidae furiis exarserat alro Fdle dolor." For although in anger
the red bile i.s irritated. Virgil calls it black bccall!lC the red is mixed with a
larger quantity or black, indeed it is burnt up t ogether with the black. and
t ogether with it becomes like ashes.
II A...uoIllY 0/ Melan' holy. London 16u. C. A. BIII DER (Oor Md"Nc~olilurtyp .., Sioall
'1"01<1 lid UiN U"p .... NI. Auglistiscbe Arbeiten. III . Heidelberg 1913. p . u) makes a curious
mistake when he dra~ the conclusi<:m. from the completely traditional distinction betwCC'n
sang uine. cboJttic. pblegmatic and melancl'lolic melancholy. that Burton sometimes used the
word 'melancholy' only as a synoo)"'l for temperament.
.. AVICIlNII .... Libf, 'II_is. Venice I ~~S. 111. I . 4. ch. 19. fol. 20S': Et dicimus q uod
cholera nigra. faciens melancholiam. cum est cum sanguine. est cum gaud io et r~u et non
cODcomibtur Ipsam lristitia vehemens. Si autem est cum phlegmate est cum pigritia et
paucitate mows et qu iete. Et si est cum cholera. vel ex cholera est c um agitatione e t aHquaJi
daemonio et est sl mitis maniae. Et s i fuerit c boleta nigra pura. tunc cogitatio in ip$& erit
plurima et agitatio se u turiositas edt minus: nisi moveatut et rixetur e t habeat odium c ui u,
non oblivUcitur." Tbe chal'acteristict of tb ese lour form5of melancholy. witb the exceptio n of
the phlegmatic. which b transformed joto the complete opposite. CQI"I'espond to t bose gi"en
in n.pI ~ for the general pathological sta tes deriving from the four bum"" ra:
........ [..:."'" """-] .iouo ,~ .y...Tot'. ,.(r' .frfi}f ...__ lrrowl .... ~eI yl~f'OS". 000. 3' .,;". ("~s
Uo-\ijs). 8~,.. ~eI ..."',w.(,... ... ' 00 ... a' .~ ";.0 I"N.Intr. "".A,."n-.-.,.. ,...l. .......".y...,..
,...l. "", .6n-,.. ........ 3' .~ .,;n ;>.iy,.-os "",....0&... "..1 .,; .........Aivo"" ... {Pnooo-GAU'I<. (KOul<j
VOL.; ;I<IX. p. 493)
0-.,..,
90
,:.
[I. II .
When it is tempered with much phlegm, it causes unusual apathy, and
MELANCHOLY IN MEDIEVAL MEDICINE
gnef :
"Qui miser in campis errabat solus Aleis,
I pse suum cor edens, hominum vestigia \'jtans,"
as Homer says.10
.. Similarly in PUTEoUtt05, op, cit., fol, 113. In the pa.n.age quoted o n page 93, AVIQI<lfA
had already said that th" cboleric form o f melancholy resembled " mania", a nd elxwbere
(Ulur ' '' lIOIIis, Ven ice 1555, III, I, 4, cap. XVIII, fol. :101') he even declared. th ... t the "ultima.
.dustio" of yellow bile generated not melancholy but mania.
\2)
MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS
"ot,.
:'IE LA ~CHOLY
9'
I N MEDIEVAL MEDICINE
[I.
U.
1"l.ATII: ~a lU$,
loc. cit.
.. Two im por tanl medievalautllon admittedly adopted a 'Yery dHJerent I tandpoint, linking
t he IlOtio n o f melancholy (in on" CUll as iIIn.,.., in the other all t"mperament) with the ootion
of the facultiu of th~ lOlli, not in order to PU",UII the pathologica l d il tu rba nce. tllreatcoing
th e th ree facu lties (rtlm the aid" o f melancholy. but, on th e contrary, in order to co ofirm Ule
fact that lII(' n In ... hO$ll menial dispolition one of the three " 'Yirtu tes", i.e .. UI" imaginat ive,
predominated over the oilier two, wef" at tb" .ame time. indeed for thi, ver y realOn, ei th er
melancholic. ~Iready or bollnd to boco me ,"ch. But tbe3c t wo a utbors, H." IUCUS oa
G,o,NU,o,vO and R,o, I NU~OUS Ltrl.1,tr'. wjU be dealt with laler(_belo"" tozt pp. JJ7loqq .).
.. Cf. Pl.AT.... IlI~, loc:. ciL : "Mania elt inlcctio anterioris ceUulae capita cum privatioo"
Melancolia.,.t infcctio media" cdluw cum priYllUoQ<l ratio".,,: IIt:uilarly
Aa"'Al.DU' Olt VI1.LANO"A. 0. 1OII1f'6i. ctlr."dis, Strubours IH" fot $7, and, LI_t ... on:!
for word , BltllltH,o,II0 'YON W"'(OINO, R __llilllritl. """I,,, />tUia.. .. ilftO. ~I u",p..r_. dm. 18600.
imal'natoon~.
MELANCIIOLY AS AN ILLNESS
93
thought they had no head, or that they saw black men, the
" imaginatio" was disturbed, while understanding and memory
remained intact. Those who during a plague forgot the names
of their kinsmen still thought correctly on the whole and also
imagined correctly. Finally, the sick man who threw glass vessels
and a child out of the window was affected neither in imagination
nor memory. but in his power of thought and judgement, "because
he did not know that the vessels were fragile and the child
vulnerable. and beCause he thought it correct and useful to throw
such things out of the window as though they were harmful in
the bouse:'.
For the rest, later medieval medicine added little to the
traditional notion. On the one hand , the stream of medica l
knowledge trickled into the channels of popular medical literature,
preserved for u s in t he shape of countless calendars, pharmacopoeias and herbals86 ; on the other hand, though the medical
practitioners emphasised that they were speaking not as
philosophers or theologians but as "physici", they attempted
more and more to adopt the later scholastic way of thinking.
Thus the ancient problem, whether melancholy was possibly
caused by evil demons, was elaborated with ever greater abundance
of subtle distinctions, withou t progressing beyond Avicenna's
consciously sceptical attitude." "Subst antia l" and "accidental"
priot.~ in P.n, BiWiolAulII AJUfitlll. VOl.. VII, pp. 496 &qq.: a nd J OItN OP GAOOIISOEH (johanlt,ea
Anghcus). ROJIII ''''lllUl, j>f,wi", ""4k",,, .. Ul/Hf, 1114 pedn, completed in 1)14. Pavia 1"91,
!ol. 1)2 ' : h,...e however. only .. an addition to Averrot!II. triputito di .. iaion, and therefore
'~~uoed ... ith a "tounen proprie loquendo." VALUCUI os TALU<TA e .. en approved of a
~lv""":,I1.:.hich Ioca~ "I y~~ " " lllUal in the "cellula poItcrior" , hut pll t mclancholy aDd
.mama together 10 the 'med,a ceUnla." &nd (I"vcrith) Irwly in the "prima oeI.Illla ~op.
at., fol. 12"). Gu.a.inerill, repub Piateariu,'. di'Yirion, bllt ...- it only as a OOIlvenie!lt
.ylttm of nomenclatll~ and ultimately flJlt back on purely Iymptomatic di$t.inctiona :
me~oly proper is ah ra)'li ".ine riu," "m.oia" !lever (op. cit., fol. 111.
- .Thus Giovanni da Concorr('aaio'l vt:rslon of the frequently repaated . tory (P1.utitlll " ""I>
Pavia 1509. fol. I~) . Th" di.tributioll 01 GLlen', examples . mollg Ille three lac:ulties of
Ihe soul (though without lpeeial mention of melancholy) ace" r. already in 'All ibn 'AbbAs
anll COlista ntin us Afri<:enul. See p. 9! (text).
If
., A\.;i~EN" A. LiWr ""IOll b, Venk" I ~~~. III . '.4, ch . 18. fo!. 204 ": "Et quibu$dam medicoru~ Visum est, quod melanc.holia cootingat ,. dumooio: ted nOlI non <:IIr;o.mUI. cllm
ph)'IJC&m. dooemu . ~ lU~~ w ntillgat a d:aorooaio au t noD am li",at, . . . quod. si contingat
a daemoOIO tunc: w nting.t.ta ul OO!lvet"tat >;omple>lioDem a d c.holen.m nicram d s it c::a.... eiu
propinqna [prob. "pl'OJtima"] <:bolen. niva : deiDd" lit causa iUill' daemonillm aut lIOII
daemonium." On the nther hand llie quettion becom.,. Important in Punao D'AaANO',
<Atw:i1i1114w, diBere.otla )ll;lDtll (E",ilUfltin. ...r /llIiloMI>lI~ _ _ Ilk. PUrl A ~N Ii_
CAouilw," diJ/~...tiMI4M pllilowpll'" ..... U ......."""14'" .Pt-u"tlU. Florence 1,.,6. fol. 46'1.
II C f. K . SI;O" O",
r../rtltt"lIA, .....liJtn,
,.d",
MELANCHOLY AS AN ILLNESS
95
o (J
(I.
3l
II .
97
MEJ.ANCHOL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT
.. See below. p .
Warbur'k.
'l6'l
(te::o:t).
98
[I.
If.
Or:
Melancholia est nomen human s unius de quattuor, qui sunt in nostro
corpore : et est nomen aegritudinis provenientis ex dicto humare.1?
1ilH:~
.. The " Pure Brothers" .... ere S(Imething of a n exception. for by their Platonist syncretisro.
they linked in a remarkable manner the humoral stan dpoi nt with the doctrine based on th e
qualities alone. In their view. pb ySiog nomical and psychological types we~e intrinsically
based on U.e (simple) qualities of warmth, cold. etc. Dry people, for .rtstance. were
genenaUy patient in tbeir dealings. COnltant in opinion. unreceptive; predominant in the ro.
is patience. ha tred . a \"arlce. tenacIty. cau tion [or memory?)"". Th e qualit.es fM theIr plrt
"-ere doscly linked with the four hu roou". God sap of the ~re:;Jr.lio~ 01 Ad~m : '1 comfl'"'ltd
his bod y of moisture. dryness. beat and cold. and indeed I made h.m from dnlt and water
a.nd breathed breath and spirit into b im. Thus the drl'nell comes Irom dust. mo.Jtllu trom
~ter. beat from bru..th , and cold from .pi';t. Thereupon. after the.e. I set 10 hi , body
four o ther k inds which hold the bodily dispositio ns together. Withollt them the bod)" Clnnot
exist. and not even one of the m can ex i$t without the others. These arc the bl .. ck bit... ydlow
bile. blood a nd phlegm. And then I l ~t them ..... id e wit h one another, il nd gave dr)"n ..ss u.s
leat in the blac k b ile. heat in the yellow bi le, moistu re in the blood, .. nd cold III t!~e phlegm.
~o ... the body in wh ich th e fOllr admix tures, which I gave it as a wall and protectIon, are 01
equ ..1 strt'ngth. 50 th&t Cilch is in the proportion of one q uarter, neither mOre nor less_th.a t
bod y il completdy hnlthy. and constitu ted equall y. B~t when one of them exceeds It.~
broth ers. oppressin, them a nd departing from them, then SICkness overtakes the bodr ....
(in tn e RIIs.'il j~"' " IIf"JIJj ii'W/I-;iII' .. III-Wllja'. Cairo 1]41/19 28. VOL. I, pp. 220 sqq . ace
also VOL. II. p. ]21 ).
.
.
Middle Byzantine liternture . hows a certai n spli t . On the one ba nd. "T.ters remamed
faithful to Orib.a.siOll and Aetius and the orthodox doctrine of t he trilSl:s ; on the other hand.
tbe humora l doctrine 01 temperaments survived, such as it had been tr .. nsmitted a:$O m
Gre.ek. in n."z "".,_"'-"if, and , more especially. in n .pi X""",," . Thus the monk MI!:LETICS
in his (probably n ioth...:.entu ry) wQrlt U f pl rijr"";; d.~"';""" ""~"",,."1)s" ()II.. "",, P . G: .. ' ......
I..:'t IV. col . Ion tqq . esp. 1271. sq q.) repeats the traditoonal correlation of the humolHI "'Ih
the elements. q " ..1itie:s, seasons alld lies of m.. o (thollgh he qllalifies the ulull compamon
o f .. r,... .. _ you th. ~, _ ma nhood, ,...~an-o.\(IJ - mid dIll age, ~ty/''' - Qld age. by the
remuk th .. t phy.icians had &1$0 mentioned in l.. ncy a nd ICnility all tv.o spec.a! p~sses i : bU I
he also tDnsmits Il humoral " characterology" whic h w &.!l eJlj~n tlall)' based on 1I ,~, ~,.,.w a.o;
the use of otherwise rare expression. in both works . howl ; I~ap",,'p<>' b. ,.,;, <,I"ri" ~.,;.,.
(IC ..rp..] I"...:IC....... b> ot~ ...
i U fll>"f,\ xo-\.j yo~po~ ~
".,po~. ~ ~ ,,;,\ ....... " 'I'l'fYrl" ...
"... cUae_rnP'U [!t nI U ~ ~ ....IP'U " .....,.,\",....5<.,..;':"'..
.
Th e author a deb tha.t a lso ou t......-d appearance (proportion and colo"nn!"l .~ due to the
.\0""""0
,p....
mixture of hl>mooR.
N For the notion 01 melancholy in particular, t he important d.ivision in~ . tbe natural .. nd
ul>naturai 1clnd, givel> at the beginni ng o f h is hlll"I', rema.lDed d~fiml1,"e; I~ J. "'A:<
WAu81<"IlI(.a :I<". In M.umos)',,', new series. VOL. XLVI , 4 (1018). pp. 374 ,qq.
In ~ ..ct
J obannitius'l summary recommended itself by ilt unequa!led bre~i t }' and clamy:
"Commixtiones , lint lIOvem, octo inatqllales et una a equa lis. De \n ..equahbu$ \"~ro qua ttllor
I Uot simplice., hoc est cal . frig., h um .. alec. Et qu a ttuor ea his composltae. SCII. ca l e\
b\l1ll . cal. et ,icc. trig. et bum.. (rig. et sicc. Aequ~is veTO est, qu .. ndo cum moduilt.o"~
corpus incolumll d ucitor."
ON Cf. W. ~y .... aT. " F.iD Konoplexionentex t einer Leipliger I nkuna be! und Jl'LOe hanoi
achrifUiche Herleitung'. in A.d;!1IU~ GfSdlicJ.fc d6~ M edi:i .. , xx (19:8). p. ll!O.
'" See IlboVII, pp. ~7 sqq. (t""t). AVeJToeI was the fint to do a war ,,jth t.he fOllr "n.ple
"crases" and to recognise only the lour compound oncs. Cf. SaV PI'lRT, op. CI t .. r ~Sl
1 00
[I.
3J
11.
,.. We quOle as uample CO" $TAl<TI""'1 A.I.,c ... II",S. T/uant;<1 P<1" Upi. I. I , (0/>1'.' YOLo
II . p. 16). ailer HALY. ThUlr" ' . 11. fol. ' .s :
Wann : "i nteileclul bollUI. hll mo mu.ltum facunduI, mobmnimus, audu:,
mu:und us. libidinosul. multum appele1:ls et cito diget"enl ."
Simple
Cold : "contrana e eontrario."
"Crax, "
{ D ry: (only phYliokltlical characleristics).
Mois l : (only pbyliolo(ical characteristics).
"Crases"
to
to
(oper.,
Liba. ,.~" is. Venice 1.s55. I, z.]. 7, 101. .. ~ . Tho maa s ufte.:ia, from a
It !lOt only lea.a and diKolourecl. (as tho me1anehoUc:: ;. in tho rNl
~t"UIOn OC~I,r:e. but alto laboun IIMer " immodica sollic:itudo et oociu.tio." beartbWll.
falta appete:ntia, bad liken. and . pleell, and has nilbtmare. .bolll dark abysses, tortures
and black .an~ tenifyinl matters.. We must therefore di~reo witb Seylert wben he ~~
ueh desenptJoa. 01 I,..nl"y mor bid. .tates . imply .... ith Slngui niu, melancholies etc . th
temperamental senile.
., III e
TIo-". P.fIfI"".,
2]) : d. IIAl,Y ,
,"pe~\lI.ty ~f ~)b'lc
, .. T he To\e wbich tho lour con' pound "Cruel" play in the COOl .... o f l1I an. liIe Is a1ao determined by a law of succession correspondinS uactJy to that CO" eroiDI Iho four humoun:
A,,., un,pi,.-..::eocdinS
~lI'STA"n ll'\U' A,a ' CAlI'US, T"~o.iu PIf""pi. I. 'l~ (Op'~(J, YOLo II. p.
101
Compound
102
MElANCHOl Y
I~
MEDJEYA.L MEDICI KE
[I.
(b) Th e
II .
1fl
Tn view of all this, it is natural that it should have been not the
preponderantly Galenist clinical medicine but rather scholast ic
philosophy which, in the course of a comprehensive rev'ival of
leaming-,UG revived and codified anew the real doctrine of
temperaments.
One viv id and highly signifIcant exposition was that o ( W ill iam
of Conches, in whose Philasaphia the doctrine seems to have been
incorporat ed into a vast framework of Chris tian cosmology,III
When the earth was freed from the water , he says, moisture
prevailed in one place, fire in another, earth in another, whence
resulted the various substances for the creation of the animal
kingdom ; there arose choleric animals like the lion, phlegma.tic
ones like the pig, and melancholic ones like the ox and the ass;
and only where the mixture was equally proportioned could man
Sanllm e'1o corpus ex perlectione color.. , , ,c:osDOKitur" (TtVori.::.. P.at,,.;. I. 1. in Opt~.,
VOL. 11. p. ' 9); d , alto HALY. Tu-" I. 14. 101. 17'. On the other hand. the GalenK: doclrine.
too, connecta the "cruet", dettrmined Kllely by the qua.Uties. M> intimately with tIM! dl~e ...
ddermintd by the prepondelance of one of Ihtl humoars that , despite aU attempts t.o effect
a clear d ivilion, a urta in confusion wu inevitable. Thus. for In.tance, the conten t of
Aviunn ... cbapter mentioned in tbe JX"tlVioUI note, ~ well .... of other correspondi", pq... g..,
WQ taken over in M1CMAItt. ScOT', Lib..- pAi,,,",,,,,,;. ,; and this work beeeme very important
for the future deve~ment of this branch o f knowledge (cbs. 161:- 171, in the Braku "",nu
.:ript a vailable to nl, Cod. F. 11, fols. 6 1' Mfq.).
... See ou r a!),trac" from Isidore a nd Bedfl (text pp. 6, Mfq.). A rhymed vfnion of
hldoTfl'. statement l, of uncertain date, perhapl Carolingian. oeeuu In the I*udopigtl.phlc
OvidiuJ ,u f""llu or A","Ori/)Ul. for which d . elp. c. PASCAL. P lJ'lig luling _di,~"l,. Catania
1907. pp. 107 Mfq.
1
... Cf. !!.g. C. H. HA SIIC HI ,. TI" R,.."in ","' 011,1,. Twill/A C,xlu')'. Cambridge 1927.
u 'Thi$ work .... as printed under thr... different names (8ede. WiUiam o f Hltau and
HOPOriIlS of Autuo) until CHAltLb JOUJlD,UN discovered the real a llthor (d. Diupl./i.,. ' OIr
IItgl d, lu plti~Ai, tf/Jlurdll. #1'1 OteidePlI If priPlci/Jill'''''"t ,PI F r.PI". pnul/IPII ,,, /Wt.;."
"..,;til dOl XI/' JUd4. thete. Paril IS38). We quote from MIG",a, P . 1.., VOL. CLXXII, lIs.
39 .qq . A diiIC lllsio n o f William of Conches'l sou rces by R. Klibaolky will appear In
oonneJCion with his Il udi es on the mediaeval Immentuies o n Pla t.o.
103
.,e.
... Taken OVff by William 01 Conches (_ below). lhislenn'noiosY made r.ap,d head,,a )". A
twellth-ull tury pM:~o--Augu.ti,,;t.& ut.ct (D4 Jpirih. II ""' '''/J, xxv . .'otu.s!:. P. L . 'OL. :C~.
col. "]98) (;Onsider. In a ll'ettion dealin, ... ilh the maninl 01 dreams their different ellKt 0/1
the rour tempera.mellts : "Alia namq ue vldeot Anguinei, alia cholerici, alia phlfgmaucl. all ...
meb.ncholk:i." Another euly piece of evidcnCII fot the adject ;'a1 fo rm of the namel of the
I O.~
[I.
II .
The
3J
MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAME NT
temperaments a ppean in a text in Cod. Drm . Dc. I S$, nth cent . pllblished by R. FUCHS,
"Anccdota. Hippocn.tica', in P/lilol~, ..s. VOL. LVII I (1899). p. 41 3
" ' Oxlord, Dodl.. Digby MS l OS. fols. 4--2.6; Berne, Cod. A :\2, folt. I -~ O; iIu;:. "Cllm inter
omnia . nimalia'.
". Oxford , Bod!., Digby MS
l OS.
105
... PAi/Q$oplulI. IV, 39 (M.u::f<C, P. L , VOL. Cl..XXII , 00J. 100): "'(Jl1am"Yu "Yen:! sangulnea
oomplexio $it habilis ad doetrinam. in omn i tamen a1iqui. perfectu. pote.t esse Cu m labore,
q u ia labor omnia vi ncit:'
IU For th is view. par ticularly well expl"KSed. by William 0 1 Conches r'ulidissiftl;L ( mulier)
frisidior est tnpdiulmo viro')- .. h W;h l ";lI""Vived until well into the elgb teenth century_d.
GALU. D, """' I'Mti..... VII. 22. eel . G. HelJ:nreic.h, VOL. I (Lei.p~ '907), p. 440 _ XU'u; .
VOL. III. p. 606 ; CoHUANTUI U' An.ICANUS. T Aeork" P(J1Ut:pi, I, 22. "De mutatione
( complexionis> propter aexum" (OJ>M#. vo'- II , p. 19); ~d ADII.l.AID 0,. BATH', Q";'u/iO"llIlJ"
....I .. , .. lu. ch. 4' , For the
" 70 .lee below. p. 4~ 1Iq.
significance of th is axiom in
UI PAi'sopliia. I . 2] (MiGl. .,
P. L..
VOL. Cl-'UII,
inte<prllti~
col. :\6).
106
[I.
II .
While for this reason various beasts were created melancholic and
innumerable ones phlegmatic and choleric. only man was crea ted' as a
creature by himselr, because, as Bo~t h ius says in the A,ithnutic, every
e(luality is confined to a small and limited number of cases, but inequality
knows countless different forms.1M
... Bemardlili Silv" tri. modllies tbe doctrine IRnsmitted by William of Cone~e11 ollly I'll
far .. be introd uces sansuine sn imal. as well, while proclaimillg the "ght of a ll men by
nature to an equiUbrium o f the four bumours, Whertas in William of Conehu man.', .peelal
place was due 10 tbe fact that he ailln e cou ld be unguine, ani mall being limited to t he t hret!
other t~ mpe r.men t ', in Berna rdll ' Si h'eatris it is due to the fact that man alone II immune
froln the dilbarm ony o f the humours. "Ceterum non ea, q uae in homlne est. et in ceteris
a nimantibu, Na turae dlllgen tla reperitur. I ntemper1lDS enim h'llmonom cohaerentla bnotol'\lI:I1
conpl~ nem ..ephll a..o let de~van. AsinUI bebes elt ex phlegmate, leo lrieundul e:J[
cholen., canil lerio IOh.. in ficit ur odoratu. Sola et .ingularu. hominum c:ondlOo; de hUlJlOnlm
com ple>ru faeu. " t in qualitatibu. et quantitatibul temperatio . . . , Futurum enlm intelli.
genliao el n.Ooni. babitacu lum DOn oportuit inaeq'llalitatem l ut tlIrbatrieem colI.lli!
di ffidentfam paleretur" (BautAIlDUs SILVUTltIS. D. ",,,i~'#I4Ir. ".,,114;, II, I)),
fO
uo For. sfmilar d"veiopmellt in the typology of the vices, and Its Inlluell on portrayal.
of the tempen.menU, _ belo ... pp. ) _ 1IqQ.
107
lOS
[I.
ME LA XCH OL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT
II .
that laughter comes from the spleen ; from this proximi ty it seems to me
very understandable that melancholIes both laugh and cry. . .. It makes
men irascible. according to the words of t he Bible, "irascimini et nolite
pcccare." It makes lhem timid . because '"beatus homo, qui semper est
pavidus.'" Sometimes sleepy and sometimes wakeful means sometimes
bowed down by cares, sometimes wakefully direded to h eavenly aims.
it is like autumn, earth and old age, because in the shape of the earth, it
imitates eartb's constancy, in the shape of old age, it imitates the worthiness
of the old, in t he shape of autumn, it imitates the ripeness of fruit. Its
exit is from t he eyes, for if we free ourselves by confession of the sins that
sadden us we are purified ["purgamur"] by tears. . .. Its quantity increases
in autumn ... for t he more thou waitest upon ripeness of understanding and
age, the more must grow the agony of pain for the commission of sin ....
Through blood thou hadst the sweetness of love-now, through black bile
or "melancholia", hast thou grief for sin .ln
1"9
,I
I,
,
lIO
[1. n .
"""t,
IN Ibid., p, 36.
haberet".
1.5 ;
ed. P . Kaiser, Leipzig H}03. pp. 12,11-76,8 (males) and pp. 37,11-89.37
"Si erum bomo in paradiso pennansisset, Ih:gmata in corpore
taO
non
"' Tbid., p. 72. 16 $Ilq, (de sallluilleis) ..... Sed et delect:l.1.>ilem humon:m in Be habent
qui nee tri,ti!i .. nee acerbitate oppreuus eat, et quem !lcerbltal melanCOli .. e fugi t et de ... ita~
. , Sed cum mulicr ibu5 in hones tato et fertilitatc ene possu nt ct Sf: etiam lib I.'is
abstintre ... alent et pulchris et sobrii. {)C uli. eas inspiciunt, quoniam. uhi oc uli aliorum ad eu
velut sagittac . unt. ihi ocul i istorum ad Ip!<II.I honesle Iymphoniunt, et ubi auditu. aliorum
quasi validinimu l ... entus ad ipsu s uot. ibi audltus istorum ... elllt .anum cithanae habent ... .
et etiam intelligibU em intelJ.ectllm h;l.hoent. Sed qui de hu. naillCllntur. eontineotes et felice.
ac lltiks et probi in o mnibus operibus l unt et sine iovldia manent , , .. Et quia in ",u.u in
Iludit~ e t in eogitatiollibus suave'll sunt. aaepius quam alii aquoSOlm spumam et oon coctal'!: de
te emlttunt , , .. Atque Iadlius quam quidam Illii seu cu m temet ipsis seu cum aliis rebus
a calou libidinil solvun tur" ,
;\IELA:SCHOL Y AS A TEMPERAMENT
III
31
it was simply a question of different types of temperament distill
guishable, among other things, by their sexual behaviour, St
Hildegard 's account, painted in the liveliest turns of phrase, could
really be described as a picture of sexual types conditioned by
the temperaments underlying them; and perhaps this very
singular and entirely individual viewpoint also accounts for the
fact that St Hildegard was the first, and for a long time the on ly,
writer to treat of male and female types separately.137 Thus,
in the Catl>Sae et curae, we find the various traits whose origin
we have described always referred in the last resort to sex, and
the temperate and cheerful sanguine persons who "omnia officia
sua in honore et sobrio more perficiunt" are contrasted in particular
with the melancholy person, a type describea with horrible clarity
as a sadist driven by hellish desire : one who runs mad if he cannot
sate his lust, and, simultaneously hating the women he loves,
would kill them by his "wolfish" embraces if he could; and whose
children, "absque caritate emissi", are just as unfortunate, warped,
shunned and misanthropic as himself, although sometimes, like
him, "uWes et prudentes sunt in operibus manU\lm suarum et
libenter operantur."l38
.., Hitherto I1l1-Ono had gol beyond the ain:lldy mentioned ItMemen t that wom ~ 1l in general
were "colder alld moister" than men, and that therelorc men should onlr be compared with
men, women wIth women. This peculiarity alone IIf Caus",. cI e,,''''' must surely tHence any
doubt as to it:. authenticity. Against C.. StNGIl'S i,olated dllubt (St"ilIIS ;11 the History "lid
I>fllfuHl "I ScU..u, Od". d '9' 1, VOL. I, pp, "'lq.I, d . H , L I IUC HOU, D,u
'd.
Wt//bi/d tier HI. Hild"lJrd II. Bi"leM (Stud ie n der Bibliothek Warburg X"'") . ULp.'g 1930.
"'Il'," ....
plJ.Sri ....
...,
lH C",II,UI, II ,u~
p. 73,20 $Ilq. (ti. ",./a",,r,olit: .s): " Alii autem vin Sllnt , quorum ce re
brum pingue e.t , . , atque austcrum colorem facie; habent, ita quod etiam oculi torum
al iquantum ignei et vlperei sunt, et dura.s e t fortes venas habent , qu ae "'grum et sr isau m
sanguinem in Ie continent, et grouss et duru urnes habent atque grona ossa., qUilt! mod.cam
medullam in te tenent. quae tamelL tam fortiter aTdet, quod cum mu Heribu, " .. Iu t aOimaha
.. t nt vipuae iocontioentes SUllt . . . ; 5ed amarl et avan .. t inSlpient.., sunt et superftui In
Jibidine " l ine moderation .. cum mulieribus velut asini ; unde si de hac tibidme mter':!um
eessa. ... erint. facile illSalliam capitis iTH:UlTUnt. ita quod freneticl erunt. Et cum hane
libidinem in coniunctione mulierom ezercent, insaniam capitis nnn l'a tlUnlur ; sffl Ia,men
a mplexio . . tartuosa atque odiosa et marti/era eu ... elut rapldorum luporum. QUlda m
autem ex iltis . . . libenter cum reminis secund um humanam na t uram sun t , s<'d tamen ~u
odio habent, Quldam autem femineum l u:um devita!e fi<llL nt, qUIa lemina$ non diligunt
nec cas habere " olunl, sed in cordibus suis tam aCres sunt ut leonu, et mores m .arum lIahent :
sed tamen utiles et prudentes sunt in operibll$ ma nuum luarum atque !ibent~r 0l'uantnr,
Ventw autem dclectat>o.o is. qui ;11 duo tahernacul. pnaedictorum ,';Torum cad,t. tanta
immoder.t.tione e t tam n:pentino motu ... enit, quemadmooum ... entus, qm totam don'UIJI
repente et fortiter movei. et ltirpem in u.n.ta tyrann,de eri,i l, quod ead ~m Stirps qu:l.e ~n
ftorem 1I0rere debebat, in acerbitalem ... ipen:orum morum se .ntorqu.. t
, . qtlla sUll g..s: IO
diaboli io libidine vironom istorum ita furit, UI, si po$Sent, lemmam in conlUnc tl(1ne hac
morlificarent, quoniam nulla opera caritalil et ampl exionil in ei, I Unt . Cnde ill" aut fillae,
quos sic de Ie pro!lucunt, multotien. diabolicam insaniam in "itil, et in mori hus SUIS habent ,
MELANCHOLY
I12
(c)
1~
ME Dl E \ ' AL I'.IEOICI::\,E
[1.
II .
In
,et
... H . J. Onalllo4uTH, Plorn Ji"d"r ..... , tin. S"'t~";I,, ,,iu". Nd' ....Csmjllddi4ll1;1I "''1 tit ...
n .J"",,,,,,,d,,I. ""j"lIl w~ ..."tli, /o VO " J ~Io"""rI d. S .. "do P.. "lo . dU:I('!ru t ion, Lcipdl ""'II.
, .. Thi, had frequently l>een copied in the eighth. ni nth and tenth een t urltl. (Cf. VIHDICIAH,
Epul .. p. 484. and C. " ""C AL. Pauia I ..ti"" ...,di..,.. It, Catania 1907, p p. 11 7 tqq .). An
extract quite independent of Salerno (and wi th partl y differe nt rcad in8') exists in a n E n8tish
manuscr ipt (Oxfo. d. 5 1 John', College, Cod. 17), whi ch ca'i IJo dated " ' 0- 1 11 3 with ao me
rlalnt y. (CI. C. S' I'OIll., "A Review 0 1 the Med ic:al Lit erat llre of t he Oar k A88, witb a
New Tex t of .bout 111 0", in Pnuudi..,1 ()j llot RQyal S", idy oj M,d~i .(. VOl.. l( (19 ' 7l. pp.
101 tqq .).
'" Osr.r.RloltJTI1 ,
op. cit., p. 54: Seyfert has meanwhile seen the c:on nexlon.
, .. Cf. p . .s8 (t~t). !-'Hllda-Soranu. has no sta tements as LO the orifices o f exit : the)' first
.ppur in Vmdician ano in Ihpl ....--..."'l,.
'" He lice abo the emphasis on the qualities of the
dil!e~nt
Joodstufb a nd delicacitll.
3)
I l3
-all this came out of the letter to Pentadius; and the characterological statements (except for the admittedly not unimportant
deletion of "somniculosus" in the description of the melancholic)
are taken over literally Crom this text, as they were also in the somewhat earlier De q~aU!"" J'U11wr~b~4-S (see above, p. 104, note II9).
There are no significant addillons, a nd so our interest in these
Saiernitan texts (the only ones known to us) is limited to two
quest.ions. The fi rst is the problem of their historical positiontha! IS t.O say. ~hether t~ey were connected at all with any of the
scholas~lC .~reatl~ .menh?ned above, in particular with Hugues
de FOUillOl s M ed1cma alufftae; the second is the problem of their
historical consequences. Inasmuch as the excellent researches of
the me~ical .h~storians have unfortunately not yet dealt with
scholastic wnhngs,l the. first question cannot yet be decided ;
the. ~swer to the second IS that these modest Saiernitan treatises
m~y be regarded, if not as the basis, nevertheless as the starting
POint, of a deVelopment which was to determine the commonly
accepted notion of the nature of the four temperaments in general
and of the "complexio melancholica" in particular.
. The echoes of Aristotle among the learned scholastics St
Hild.eg~rd's visionary descriptions, highly SUbj ective and ~ften
~omfym~. H~gues de Fouilloi's interpretations expressly designed
ad. aedtficatIonem claustraiium". the subtle doctrine of the
medical .schools, al~ays sceptical of, or downright inimical to, a
schematIc adaptatIon of pure humoraiism-a1I this was not
calculated to become part of the common stock of knowledge
or to serve as a guide to medieval man, overshadowed as his existence was by fear of diseases of aU kinds. Wha t was needed was
,.. All
. we. tu.o.11 tha t bo tb J no de St Paulaod lIugutli de FouiUni mu. t have made direct
useo f. ~'nd ic:ian s texl." eaeb of thent iaclucks . tate_tII ftO<llit whic:b theotber omillII. On!
~n cditioD of the CXlmmentar1es 011 Joloannili ... lurvivingia aevenl man lUCriptli bu t hi lbert!
ISnored b), scholl'" (_ above, tut p. J ~ ) ean anawer t he q utlltlon as to whether the doc;trioe
of tempera'."en ts was not .evolved In Salerno in tbe eleventh century I nd spread fro m there.
Abo d~ln, of mention'l a cla.e acoord between one o f I(u, ues de Fouil lol's senterlCtl a nd ..
SaJernita.n. frasme~t r:athcr di~" t to pt.c., but pnlbably 1110 datlq lro m the tweUth cen tury
(P. G Il,COSA, M #fU/n S"/...tlll....' , Turin 1901, p. 11 ' ) ' With both Jl".MiI.St8 e1 WII.I.IAIo4
0 ' .CoNCHES, Ploi/a,oplola, IV, ] 5- ] 6 (lfIOH., P . L ., VOl... cuomo col. 99) ; no doubt both arc
den ved from .. CXl mm on .aura:.
7'
P. L., VOl..
II4
[I.
II.
MELANCHOLY A S A T EMPERAMENT
.TIS
31
favourable characteristics of the melancholic, namely, strength of
will and capacity for ceaseless study:
bibltogra ph~ .
,n W ...... SSVR.T. "11l Ko mpiexk\nentext einer Le; p~iger In kun abel und sellle
handsc:hriftiiebe Herleituo, " . In A,di~ fu, GllcMdl, d" /It,d"i". xX {1918J. pp . 56 sqq
The "compluio melzoncl:lolic:a" I. dllKribed ... 10110"" : " Et id~ .;c"t iste humor est frig,du.
et silXns. Ilk ina oomp\e.1lo Qt lrft;ida et .ieea CIt a"imiLatur terrae et a u tu mn(!. Signa
b .. iusmodi oomplexioni. '''Ilt pet" oppositum .igni. sanguineae oomplexiollis. Qui"t HUlpe:"
t::ristD et noa ioxutndus. pareu awporil ni.g:et lIku t lutum. P1a1e direrit. m' -idul. IIlfidelis.
malDS. fal\.a:l:. iDCOJUlt.ans alliroo.
III omnib..- f.aetis ,uia. ioordinatum habe t appeutum.
semper dili.g:it _
toIu .. et daudit oc.loI M'mpet" lIkut iePIlI, quando debet insplCt're hom mes,
timidus. 1\011 d.ilicit hononbilia, ebel est in inceoio. duru habet eames. w ,,\ru:n bibi t. patum
eomedit . quia _
potest digerere fatlODempli et . Ied. Parum apperit q " ia f::-igidui. parum
vel nihil pottst rlltione aioci, qllia a aicco huwidum spernutil:ilm vix vel ditficile poteat
tepaQri. Ideo DOta aDam doetrioam : II meiaocholitu. vult bene appetere. bona dbada
h umida lit pulverou. live beae pipefata comedat, boDl'm viDum vel pl"tDm calid um bib,at .
TUlle ratioDe eaton. In .peeiebul aurmentatur ealot natufali. ill ipsa et per conseq uens ap~tlt
Sed rariolle bumidltatis humidum ineipiet auementa" . . .. Haec S\l nt l Igna melantholiel
Unde VeRI'S :
lnridu. et trilti .
Cupid ul . du-traeque tellaeis,
Non expc:n nudi .
Timldu., luttlque colon..
tard".
... FOI" c:ompleu:_. lUe we include the other coupkts, which appear with .m.1I and
unimportant variatiolll:
Sane
l..alJu.,
Ct. also C. PA.SC:,l. L, P(Hfill III/'flil ""doell(Ju, Catania 1907. p. 114. and K . SUDHO'~ In ..hdiv
fiJ~ G."Mt~/' d., M,di#ifl. lUi (1910) , p. 151. Sudhoff also found the verlet In .. thlrtecHlth
century mAnutcrlpt wit h tile following additions:
San e .
Chol.
Mel.
Phl/llm.
The coocludi ng statement... to the "!mmuUtio" of the humourl by the way of li fe. by clim3t~
aDd heredity, ~ alao important. especially t he introdu ction of combin~d typ"" of tempera.
mellt (SaY7s.T. op . cit . pp. 196 sqq.). Complexion. wbich have one quality In COmmOn Cl n
be combined III one and the lAm' individual. 10 that beside the lour pure ty pes t here are
fonr mixed typal. namely, the II.Ilguille.pWegmatle. tile melaneholie-eho!eric, the sa nguine
choleric and the. melandlolfe..phlq:onade. Thi. vi ..... complicating a!l agreeably .imp le
.ystem again. did not at once InlluellU the popular doetTln. of temperaments. but r.,a r~art<l
in the popular pbiloaopby 0 1 later cantu';ea: ct. am0nt: otherl J. H . BECKU . K"rl~" docl,
lrihu/Jid# UPIl,...,.v.Jol _
",.. T_PPII,tUfI"". Bremen 1139. ch. 6 " Von denen zuu.m
mengeseUttn oder venn.ilebtell Tanparamellten."
n6
[I.
II.
l ' 148
of which described the melancholic as even more repu stve,
there is the rhyming jingle (1325) by the Low Germ~ Everhard
of \\'ampen . which describes the melancholy compleXIon expressly
as the "snodeste"149 ; and this was followed by a vast number
of cheap manuscripts, broadsheets, ahnanacs, and popular
pamphlets on the subject of th~ complexio~s. Generally bascd
on ] ohann von Neuhaus's treatise, they brmg to the humblest
cottage not merely those definitions (handed down from late
antiquity) of the types of temperament, but the still more venerable
conception of that mysterious correspondence between elements,
humours seasons and ages of man, in a rough and often somewhat
garbled form. Even the last great transf~rmation in. the medieval
notion of nature, which expressed itself m the medical field as a
recourse to iatromathematics, was reflected in these coarsely
but powerfully illustrated produc.tions; for they included the
,.. We quote twO italian stanzas '
.
(a ) LlO:< .. RDO DATi. SlmJ (London. Brit. Mu,., Add. MS 2))29 , fol. 5'; New York, P,erpont
",[organ Libr ary , )1 571 1 : and Cod. Vat. Chis., M. VII. 1-48, fol. I~') :
"Malincon;a ~ di tucte peggiore,
palidi et magri son santa letitia
color cbabbondan in cotale homore.
disposti a tuctc larte dauaritia
et a molti pensleri sempnl hanna il core,
~n Y1litari et di poca amicitia,
quartane $0 Ie febbr; malinconich e,
. ehe piu che tucte l'altre sono croniche."
(b)
WAM Pl!N,
MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT
II7
3l .
conriexion between earthly life and the course of the stars, so that
each temperament appeared both in word and picture under the
dominion of certain constellations or planets (see PLATES 78, r44):
,.. Thus the caption to the Zurich broadsheet reproduced in Pt.Al"K 78 uad!:
"'Gott hat gegeben vngehure
mir melanchoticu9 eyn nature
gtich der et"den kalt vnd druge
ertua[ haut swartz vnd ungefug e
kar(:h hes.sig girieh vnd bose
unmudig fabc h lois vnd blode
ieh enachten ell nOCD frowen h ulde
SaturnllS vlld herbs t habent die schulde."
In the Munich manuscript, elm. -4394, which shows the four complexions as riders (like our
PLATE 8 1), the variou s temperamellts are subordinated not to the p lanets but only to the
zodiacal $igll' of the~. the Bull, allel the Virgill (similarly, among others, ill.MS lat. 1-4068
of the Bib!. Nationale, dating from about 1-450) .
II8
[I.
II.
given to liking. He desires little owing to his sadness, and likes little
owing to his coldness. He also resembles the planet Mars and the sun.l6l
But not only was the opinion of the readers of such almanacs
and pamphlets determined by this overwhelmingly negative
presentation of the melancholic's nature, only softened here and
there by recognition of his good memory, penitence, and love of
study. but so powerful was the influence of the new trend inspired
by Vindician. reinforced as it was by popular scientific literatu re
m TtulSu.u K"I. ..,ur, AugsbUfg 149.$ (H. ScH /)OISPERGRR). 101. g ..5'- ' , The mentlon of MAn
and th e sun in. tead o f Saturn aa the melancholic's plar.ets may be due to a misundeuunding.
Among other texu o f this type. we may mention (I) the r~lev"nt s eetions in the )'early
KJllitsp"It""h .. KII{e ..der Which. ateOnling to Gieb]ow. can be traced back in manusenll t
form to 141 1 (Viennll. Nntionalbibliothek. }f S ,H 86. GIKHLOW (1903), p. )1): (z) the vtr~'
simi lar I .. diu,,.. bieeh/,i .. wi., ,./uIlde.. 00 .. w",pkrio .. d,. "" ..
AugsburS. H.
SchOnsperger. ISI~, th. II, 101. a, 3 ("Melancoliti seind !<alt vnnd trucken gleich .dor Erden
vnd dern herbst. vn nd il t die vnwelS! complexion. Wt licher mensch der natur (ist) , Itt karg.
geytzig, traurig, aschenfar. trIg. vntrew. forcht$am. bOs~begitrig. eerliche ding nit Jiebhahend,
blM &C inn, "nwelss. hert Haisch. t rinekt vii vnnd iszt wen ig. mag nit vi I vnkeulJ(:h sein, hat t ain
bOse n magcn"): Ilppro.'Cimalely th e same in English. Oxford. Bodl.. Ashmol. MS 396, 101.
<)0'-. (melancholy as "the worst co mplexion of all",; and finally (3) the freq uently' reprint ed
CO"'POI/ tl/la/I",dri du /urtierl, Paris 1493. fol. I :" f'Le me.lencolique a nature de terre
SC'C et froit ; , i est triste, po;sant, conuoiteu:'!, cschers, mesdisant, susp icionneux, malicieux,
pansscux. A vi n de porceau c:est a dire quant a bien beu ne quiert qua dormi . ou ,ommtillcr,
Naturellement ayme J obc de noire couleur", translated word lor word in the CIII",dg, 0/
S"'ph"d~l, Pari, 1j03 (ed. H. O. Somme r, London 1891, 101. }\1') . Clm'094 reeeats. i .. lt~
a/ill, the $al"m;bl n vel'1e3. while the broadsheet corrcspondins 10 illl ilIustrationt in the
Golba MU$C\im {our PLATa SI} conalM the following lines:
"Oabey kent me~colicus
Vnd det hal kainen lust abus ;
VI'Ir ~eytlie h sorg tU kayner ' ...,ud
Mit .eincm su t mag e.r nit ,cud ;
Klainhait von lilber vnd du g011
VDd -ehon seticht, dacs hat er holt.
Danu ilt er neydig v nd kargk
Vnd geitzikai t er nye verba;-glo:,
DQch 1st er dechtig vnd aucb ,",Y5,
Wie er .ein sach it furt 1n preys.
Der erden art sagt sein natllr
Vnd plod ist cr. ei n plaich figu r.
GI'O$ lieb hat CT I U schatz vnd kunst,
Wem er daa givt des hat er gunst.
Trueken vnd kalt ist sein oatu r,
E. ist gem aUein in seiner llIaur,
Vnd ist iIOrelde.ltig sei nes guts,
Da rumb isl er eins schwern mutz.
Sein bann der lst rot gefar
Sagen die maister vos {ilr war."
,,/I,.. .. ..
The fact t h ..' The melancholic I, crl!dited sometimes with ;ndir,,",nce 10 .Jeep, sometime., on
the contrary, with a liking for much sleep, has its media! origins in the dual function ascribed
to the black bile with reprd to sleeping and waking (cf. CONSTAHnHUS AUICAHU5, Q#rfJ,
VOL, I, p, lIS8; Cholera /lulem nigra in "actione! l ua duplex elt circa soo:U:lnm et vigilia..
Quao enim dominatur essenti&iiter, CCTebrum de.primenl, ex fumi moltitudine nimium faeit
dormue. Quod Ii cum suu qu&iitatibus faciat, vel Cllm qualitate beiet lete ioeensa, undf'
MELANCliOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT
3J
119
naturaliler tit nigTa. vet cum iam jere ineenA. . l"ip autem naturalitef SO mnu m lacn .
Fere incensa qualitu lacit viSitiu, quia punSi t cerebrum et deslccatj. T b"!i .E OIM. SI: S
HESSUS (F"17lf1i"'s. Sehwl.b. Hall I j39. VOL . II , fol . 8: ) wr ites in f" n aecoreance ",t h thf
caJender terls;
"Ansi"l d niger est. timd omnia triltia, d ormh,
Mote .... bili~ '1ucru nimi. U r. premit."
At tbe $aIDe time. !.hu existence o f contl'a.)es CJ<pruscs the polarity inherent in
m~lancholy
, .. } IATFU EJlMKNGAl,iD, L, Brnill" d'Amar. ed. G. A u.is. ~%iers 1861. line, 7779-7g~ 4 '
The poet (almost as in ArUitotle's doctrine o f te]f<control, see aoo,e. p . 35. not e n l conside~
avar ice and irritability relatively JIIOfe pardonable in the melancholic t han in t he nguHlIC.
though he maintains that tbe lonner, too. can control his passions b , the exercise 01 his
lree. will;
v.78jZ
"'" See above. p . 70 sq. (text). ~;. "'ell known, Albertu s M.. gnus deals wit h the doc trin e of
tem peramen ts (Lille, d, " ..i",aliblO l, ed. H. Stadler. MUnster i.W , 1916-~O . VOt. II , p . 130 ~ .
59 sqq.) as a uo;vCTsal law governing man and beut, so that his remarks always apply bo t h
to certain ]clnds of animal. and to eertain human t y pes (for ",hich reason he attnbutea gr eat
in8uence to the quality 01 the blood). Here one can l ee a synthesis of Aristotle's co mprehensive idea of nature. and the "lOOlogical" doctrine of tem peraments brought to the lort 1 '
William of Conches. With res:u'd to phy. iognomics. too, (short or tall , fat Or t hin), Albenul 's
char2c:ter:istics correspond e..actly";!h Wim .. m of Conches's s tatements quoted above. pp. 10!
sqq. (text).
120
[I. U.
Spirit. " per p(oportionabile medium " . can be at one with it.
He may
observe that one of the four vital humours goes beyond or lags behind
nght proportion in the combination. a nd that thereby the body is estranged
from its proper combination. This may occur through an excess of
CO\"('lOUS melancholy. which gives rise to the most varied pestilences in t he
body-usury. fra ud, deceit . t heft. pillage, and all the arts by which great
riches a re W'oll not by work but only by a ccrtain deceitful craftiness. which
can IIC\'cr exist without doing harm to the State; or again it may occur
through choleric dissensions. wars, {actions and schisms, or through sanguine
ostentation, excess, debauchery a nd suchlike. or throuth phlegmatic sloth
in all Good works, in the daily toil for existence a nd in the defence of the
fatherland. Then the body becomes paralysed, feverish. swollen up or
bled dry; t hen must he seek a remedy, consult books. and give ear to the
wisest State physicians: and when he has found a remedy he must bring it
fort h and test it by means of taste. sight and smell . . .. 1M
3]
MELANCHOLY AS A TEMPERAMENT
I2r
of this work, nor by the fact that the humoral explanation of the
temperaments was ultimately reduced to a mere outline of
characters and emotions. In a commentary on the Regitnen
Salerm'tanum lS6 printed in 1559. for instance. the words " Hi
vigilant stu~: ' were ~~de the point of departure foe a long
and enthuSiastic descnptlon of the contemplative life. Ovid
Quintilian,lM Cicero and, of course, Aristotle, were cited, and th~
ad~antages of the melancholic disposition were highly praised,
while the other purely negative statements in the text were no
Jess eagerly defended and substantiated. This attitude remained
typical of even the most scholarly treatises on the temperaments,I.57
In the popular ~hilosophi~ writ~gs of the eighteenth century
the cha~~cter ~rtralts first pamted ill later antiquity still preserve
a stability WhICh they have not entirely lost even to-day
Bud?eus,168 J. H. Becker,uI G. E. Stahl,11O Appelius,lGl and th~
rest.. were ~ content merely to fill in the old contours with new
~~lou.rs; :vhile elaborating the familiar traits with regard to the
tnchn~tions of the human mind, manners, and dispositions",
they lwd a stronger emphasis on the psychology of races, and,
as we should expect, devoted more space to what they caUed
" moral and historical" aspects. They were hardly affected at
all by the .great process of transformation which the picture of the
melancholic had undergone during the Renaissance, and which
~ad had such a significant effect in other realms of life and
hteratunf62; all of them continued irrunovably to maintain the
fundamen~al infe~ority of the melancholy temperament, the
most. obstmate bemg, perhaps, Appelius, who blamed it for the
a.va.n~e. ,~trayal and suicide of J udas, as well as for the "despicable
turudity of the Jews as a race; and all of them adopted the view
- A:<o l'l., Cmo_...t.w .."iI./# prOfU!". ulwIMrri ....., Frankfurt 1559, rol.. " ..8.
... QuintiJiao', remulct as to tho la vnurablo e/Jeelf of si lence and IIOlitude on menta.! .... ork
(I....,. Or. x , 3, n !!qq.) have been UeqllenUy quoted In this coonulon.
... cr. am~mg mlU:ly .o t her ex.mple~: LVl"U I LaMN!t1S. I), '..oilw d ~11H$tilwli01l' ""tjJorn
f NO ':' G~..tel q6."' fn lJiall$ nmlp,",_ ... -..lIf. Ant .... erp 1561. and T. W.u..JUNorolf TJu
OpticA GlAu. ,,111N_$, London. 1607.
'
' .. E~",,"t.I>"kntJfJ"o. pr..d luu, ed iUo noyissima a uctior et COrrec:tior Halle I " , <h
.
, . II ,
T, .....- .
_.
y-' . """''''.
rt men 1739.
' 71 ;
JIiJlcoriulJ-_aliuJ,n
E.t.wrff"'. r""-"-"""wII
,_" "'.,,_
y-' .
, .....
1.....0. ' 737.
122
[I.
lI .
3l
123
He whose emotions incline him to melancholy does not have that name
because he is affli cted with gloomy depression as being robbed of li fe's joys,
but because his sensibilities, when strung above a certain pitc~ " or when
for some reason given a wrong direction, attain to this condlh~n more
easily than to any other. In. particular, he h~ a sense of the ~ubl~me . . ..
All the sensations of the sublime possess for hIm a greater fascmatlOn than
the transient channs of the beautiful. . . . He is constant. For th~ l
reason he subjects his sensibilities to principles.. . , The man of melancholic
disposition cares little for the opinions of o th~rs . . . for that , re~n he
depends solely on his own judgme~t, ~ause Imp.ulses assume In hIm the
nature of principles, he is not eaSIly distracted ; his constancy,. too, t urns
sometimes into obstinacy.. . , Friendship is sublime and he I~ therefore
susceptible to it. He may lose a fickle friend, but the latter ~1I not 1~
him as quickly. Even the remembrance of a severed fri endshIp, remains
precious to him. . . . He is a good guardian of his" own and others . s~cret s.
Truth is sublime, and he hates lies or deceit. He has a deep convl~tlo~ of
the nobility of human nature. . .. He will not suffer base ~u~J e<:lion :
instead, he breathes freedom in a noble breast. From the courher s golden
chains to the heavy irons of the galley-slave, all fetters are abhorrent to
him. He is a stem judge of himself and of others; and is not seldom weary
both of himself and of the world.I"
\
I
, .. Generally In the followl nl order: Phlegma. SaD(1IU, Cholera rubra, Melancholia {and.
possibl y. asain Ph legma). Casanova. too, at 71 yea.rs of age, writ9 in th e prefaee to bl.
/tf,,,",irs: "I have had every temperament ODe ,,!tee the other, the phl egmatie in ehlldl'lood,
the ..nguine hl youth, and later the eholeTle, and DOW J have tbe mel ancholic which will
probably DOt ].u.VI. rna any mote."
l/o. diet lor t he different tempenmellta even . ucvive<! ill the fashionablo beauty m&guille. o (
U>e 01....'1 nineteenUl century, a bo .. t whlc:b rica Strau.. wrote in Q"ITu A"W, Sept, 19z1l.
, .. Put II , pp, 27 $(Jq. o f tl'le 2nd ed n., I<Onigsberll 1766:
Derlin 1912, pp, 1.511-64 ,
1M With this. d . W .u -n ..
p. '4 1,
B"~J.AM t M.
Un/WV"K
lV~rh,
u. ",dub_
ed . E , Casslrer, VOl. , II ,
1M Kant deKnbu tbe wdl-knowlI da.rker upectJ 01 the melancbolr temr~.r2m(nt tOO,
qaite ill aooGI"d with tradition. He c:olI,lideno . th~m as "deg(ne~te forms a:lli d,DO(:,at u
them from ""bat he considers the essenually Ilgmlic:an t c.haracten, ucs.
PART II
S aturn, Star of Melancholy
;.
C HAPTER
Nearly all t he writers of the lat er Middle Ages and the Renaissance
' Thll. t he rhymed caption (quoted a bove, text p_ 11 1) to the woodcut In Pl. ' TI':-5
Cf. also th e Portugu~ "sotu rno,'" dark, unfriend ly, and the group of wo rd. of Roma nce
origin collected by G . K ORTH<G , J. ..I ,.... isth~I) ... (J "u~h~& II'lirlub " ch . nd cdn . P"der \l.-.r ll
'<]Q '
GUIMLOW ( 1904).
p.
6, .
Abu Ma'tar, i ndeed, occaaionally quotes Apolloniu' in this conn n:ioll n e saf'''Tll>u~
Secundu m AppoUi ne m [IJ humld' t ... in natu ra sua. ,,01 luav ,. lapori ,. ,ic,,"," \ u o am3"
(from the rna nus.;:ript q uo ted in the fo llo wing not e. foL )2 '). The I.a tin tra,u la tio n o f tilt
IIO-CaiZed ApoUonius in Cod. P arit, Bib!. ~,. t . liS tat. 1)9~1 d~s contaon t h,. ~! .. : e-r."It nt
(el. fo l. I ~ and fol.. 17'). b ut we could not lind the planet-spectrum t heory t hec . F o r
Apollon ius. ICe J. Rusx". Tab"l.. $"''''''14;,." (Heidelberger Akt~o de. \" Po rt llti mS t dn:ng.
XVI). H eide lber, 1926, " .. u i ... ; for planetspec tr um theories cf. BOG, H sq.
"7
12$
TRADITIO~
[n,1.
its nature, like that of the earth, is cold and dry, But the colour
of Saturn also is dark and black, so that Saturn too I~ust be c?ld
and tin' by nature, Similarly red Mars is coupled WIth red bile,
Jllpitt:~ with blood, and the mo~n wi~h phlegm ,~ As we learn
from Abu )'la'i5ar's detailed polemics, thlS hypothesis of the colours
and correlation of planets with humours must h~ve been rega~ded
as a pro\'Cll theory in certain circl:s in the rmddle ~f the ~mth
ce ntury, Abu l\Ia'sar himself attnbutes to the vanous plan~ts
the qu'alities corresponding to the t:mpera:nents (cold and ~OIst,
and so forth) and credits them with an mfluence on phySique,
~motions and' character largely corresponding to t~e effects of
the humours' but he does not relate them systemattcally to the
four l:ull1our~,6 I-low widespread this correlation must .11ave b,een
in the east among Abu Ma'sar's predecessors and ,lmmedla~e
Sllcces:>ors, howewr , can be seen even from t.11e medi~val Latt~
translations which are our only source of mfonnahon, ~bu
),la';ar's master, .\1-Kindi (born in the early part of the mnth
cent un') distinguishes the four parts of the circle of the day
accordin~ t o the four humours, Men born in the first, qu,,:drant
from the cast point to the centre of the sky are sangume, m the
---; ~I,'re ,,< alwav~ Johannes Hispalensis's translation j~ more detail,,.,! than Dalmata's, ,\\c
, the manuscript
- '
" Collese, Ofd
' S f oI33'
'''ooen:
quote from
in Co rpus Chnstl
x or , N
, I ) , _4,
.'
nigre wlor \.'st {u!;Cus, id est gr;sius. et eius 5apor acredo. Natura quoque ~IUS Ingl
su;ca~
ro rieh9 ,'erO e;u5 cst siccit.l$ ct opus e;us rdent;o rerum: et hoc oongrult ~a~re terre e
p mPriet~i; eius, Hoc est quod O:\Travt_runt ex naturis e!ementorum et co~.m 'xllon~m""
~er~i]li""tUr enim natu~ eorum (I.e. planetarum j atq ue coLores per cO,noor<1'",'" calons CQrutll
cum colorn harum 1111 eommilttionum, quia cuiu. planete coLorem ",demu5 conoorda~e:,"m
colore harum comm ixtionum, scimus quod natura eiusdem planete sit moors oa,ture ~IU em
clcmenti cni ipsa com mi,~tio concordat per natufarn ac proprietatem, Et ".' fuen~ cOI~r
planet" :Ii"e,.,;u. a colore I I11 co mmi"tionum, oommlseemus ei, id , est, quenm~s ~I (33.:
comrle~i,.,ncm e~ po n emn ~ natura [I] e;"s, secundu m quod congru.t ~'us color., urn S'
comml,;tio, Di xcrllnt itn<I'I<'. cum si t color (eulere) ni gr!: fuseu. et m~er, natll:a quoq:
eius ut natura tene {ri!tlda et sicca, Color uerO saturni ~"t f~SCuS et ~.ger; novlmus qu .
esset "i concors per naturam frigoris et siccitntis et per propnetatcm e,~s atque QpUS '
colorenl co]ere mfe . lmilem co lori ign is , , ' coloTque ~ larti9 similis coLon eor~m , , , na t\lra
e i\ls [i ,. Soli ~l sit cal ida sicca, quemadmodum indicauim~s li e natum Martl$ , ' .- propter
,., , ,_ [i e VenercJ qui est similis oolori colere rule , retuhmus earn
."
. ,
I'd h d
croccum co orem, qUI."
'_I"_"l~,m
assim;latur colori flegmatis , , . natura lou's !lIt ca I a urn' a
I ou~v<--...
I
"
,"
, {' 'd h
'd
a d caorcro,e
temperatll et hoc congruit nature s;l.lIt.:uinis et aeris : ' , , quod natur ... lu ne Slt ns' a UIll1"',
et hoc consrui t nature I\egmatis ' , ,"
Joha nnu Hispale nsis's Latin tr ... nslation 01 Abu )la'.sar, wh.ich is gencral1,~ more lait~I~~
than Hermannus Dalmata's. differs Irom the iatt~r in introdu cmg the wor" melanchollca
into th<' description o f Saturn's natun:, bu~ this interpretation, tlluugh u nderstanda,b le .for
the twelfth century, is I\ot justified by the ori!;inal Arabic ted, AsO B"'''R ,(Albulml"~ ~Ibe.
Ge"tlhiill'''s, Xurem~rg 1~ ~0: d , GEOR(iK SARTO!'!, ltd,odlle/ion t~ 'lot Hula.)' of 5" ~Ct,
VOl,. I Baltimore '927, p, 6031. who floudshed probably in the thln\ quarter 01. the mn~
ccn~u;r, countenanced a systematic correl ation between humours al1(\ planets a! httle as <.lid
AbU J\.[a'ar,
'
"da'
lj
129
I Oxford, Bodl" Digby hiS ' 059, 101. ~ ': 'Nu nqu am enim ipsum sperma in oriticium descendit
matrici s, neo::: plana terre inseritur. nisi juxta ipsius stelle ortus (sup,.-1IS6r, uel ascensu s] vel
naturam, que ipsius hore temperanciam et proprietatem deo coopel"3.nte vendicauit, Nam
quocien~ ;n prima tr;um diurnalil1m horarum et " lib vernal; . igno .perma matrici comm" n_
datur et sub stellarum eiusdem generis ac proprietatis de trigono vel oppo$icione ad ipsum
respectll nascitur vir precipue s ub Venuis potencia, in propria lege summus ac excellell!!,
honeste forme, omni utilitate dcspecta, risibus, iocis deditus et ocio ince!itus [ IJ, Cuius
tandem natura mens atque uoluntas et operacio, ad eius complexionis et temperantie modum
neo:::en atio ref~runtur, Cuius eDim conceptus ,ive plantatio io sequcntibus tribus horis e t
sub signis igneis. sub Martis preelpue po":eState facta e';t, durn stelle (prout supradictum est)
ipl um respiciant, nascetur vi r col(!l'icus, audax, I trenUIlS, prorntlls, impacabilis [101. 6']
iraeundie : Huius runum doctrinam, naturam, plutem. morbum, animos a tque ncgocia
Marti necessario similari oportet, Si vew in his, que ucuntur, tribus quid con~ptul'l\ uel
plantatum sit, sub Saturni potissilllum potestate et in signo teaeo. melancoliclls eeit, corpulentus. iracundus. fraudulentu8 deoque in actibus SlIis contrariUI, Sicque color, natur.."
plus atque infirmitas, animus et opera.cio ah eiusdem ordine non n:<;edunt. In reliqnis
demum niblls, que videlicet diem tenninant, plantaeio sive conceptio facta muime luna
dominan~ et signo aquatico magnum. carneum, corpulentum exibent atque flegmaticum.
Sed et oolor ac natura. salus atque egritudo. et quicquid ex eo est ad luoe temperanti ... m
Deus enim sub prime Cfea.cionis ortu. dum ea indissoJubili nature
neeessario accedunt, , "
nexu attributo ad esse proouxit, VlI stellarum [Glossa ; id est planetarum] atque XII
signoru~ (Clossa: id es t signorum) nature ac proprietati omci similitudine relata placuit
subiugari, , , (101. 6 ) bon um porro atque ma[um, Jaudem, vituperium, fortunam utramque,
sponsalicia, sobolem filiorum. servos, itincra. que mortis s it occasio, legem, oolores, naturns,
operatiQnes, humorca llU----sanguinelll dico, melancolialll, colcyam et fleg~t quiequid
ex his procreatur, mundan e molis condibr deus VII plane tarum et signorum XII nature ua
pwvidencia naturaliter s ubdidit:
130
(n .
l.
veins into every part of the body, and through it the blood coagulates and
the parts adhere to one another.-
So far as they reached the west at all, the works of these authors
and the theses of those masters against whom Abu Ma'Sar's
polemics were directed, did not have any considerable influence in
Europe. For the west, the decisive event was the translation of
Alcabitius. In his widely known Introductoritl,m maius, with its
full commentary, we find a connexion traced between the humours
and Saturn,. Jupiter, Mars and the moon respectively.lO Living
two gene:atto~s after Abu Ma'sar, A.lcabitius in general agrees
closely .wlth him, but h~ transmits the account o f the planets'
effects In a somewhat ncher and more systematically arranged
form . We give here the texts on Saturn of Abu Ma'sar and
Alcabitius from the Leidenl l and Oxfordl :! manuscripts.
ABU MA'SAR (Leiden, Cod. or. 47):
. With regard to Saturn, his nature is cold, dry, bitter, black, dark,
vI.olent and harsh. Sometimes too it is cold, moist, heavy, and of stinking
WInd. He eats much and is honest in friendShip. He presides over works
of m01st~re, h~ls~andry, and farming; over owners of land, works of
constmctlOn on estates, lakes and rivers; over measuring things, division of
estates, land and much property, and estates with their wealth; over avarice
and bitter po.verty; over domiciles, sea travel and long sojourn abroad;
over far, evli Journeys; over blindness, corruption, hatred, guile, craftiness,
fraud, disloyalty, harmfulness (or harm); over being withdrawn into one's
self; over loneliness a nd uu~ociabiJity; over ostentation, lust for power,
pride, haughtiness and boastfulness; over those who enslave men a nd rule,
. Thus in F. DIETERIC!"S version, Die A"lh~opologit der Arab Leipzig 187 1, p. 61; very
slmi!:uly in. th.e same writer's Dj~ PhiloJophie der Arllfu~ im 10. Jalt.I"...dert. n. II (}\film' .
110$1100$) . u'pzlg 1879. p. 74 Corresponding connexions e.x;st between Jupiter and the li ver
from whicb the blood Rows harmonising all the elements of the body, between Mars and the
yellow bile, the moon and the lungs, Mercury and the brain. the sun and the heart, Vcnus and
the stomach.
" In the prints of Alcabitiu$ of 148.'), '4 9 1 and I~ll "!lcgma" is misprinted as " falsa ...
Abenragel. who wrote during th e first half of thc eleVEnth century (Al.aOHAZEN HAI.Y FTI.IUS
ABENRACKI.IS, P",lari$$;mW$ tiber ",,,,pte/us ill j!Ulidis ostrOffim, Venice 1,S03, fol. 3.)
mentio~8 only <in ~es<:ribing the nature of Saturn): "assimilatur melanCOlie qu e gUbernatur
de ommbus humor,bU5 et nuUu8 de cOl:' The express inclusion of tbe phlegm, which is needed
to complete the classification, is al so found in a Byzantine treatise, based on a Persia.n or
Arabic source of unknown date; d . Cal. ,.sIr. Gr_. VOL. VII , p. 96; he ..... however, the phlegm
be~Ol1gs to the m~n as .wel~ as to Venu s. In western sources (d. below. text pp. 188 sqq.)
thIS complete ClassIficatIon ,s the rule rather than tht exception.
11 Leiden, UniveT3ity Library. Cod. or, 47. fol. 2,,S'.
II Oxford, Bod!.. lIfarsh MS 66], fol. 16'.
I]
131
as well as over every deed of wickedness, force, tyranny and rage; over
fighters (?); over bondage, imprisonment, distraint, fettering, honest speech,
caution, reflection, understanding, testing, pondering ... over much thinking,
aversion from speech and importunity, over persistence in a course. He
is scarcely ever angry, but when he becomes angry he is not master of
himself; he wishes no one well; he further presides over old men and surly
people; over fear, reverses of fortune, cares, fits of sadness, writing, confusion,
, . , affliction, hard life, straits, loss, deaths, inheritances, dirges and
orphanage; over old things, grandfathers, fathers, elder brothers, servants,
grooms, misers and people whose attention women require (?); over those
covered with shame, thieves, gravediggers, corpse robbers, tanners and
over people who count things; over magic and rebels ; over low-born people
and eunuchs; over long reflection and little speech; over secrets. while 110
one knows what is in him and neither does he show it, though he knows
of every dark occasion. He presides over self-destruction and matters of
boredom.
ALCABITIUS
132
(II. t.
2]
o,crcome b\ cold and dryness. It is also said of him that he is lean, timid,
th in. strict. wilh large head and small body. wide mouth, large hands, bandy
legs. but pleasant to see when he walks, bending his head, w.alking bea~ily,
shuffi lllg IllS feet, a friend to guile and deceit. He has the fa1th of JudaISm,
black clothing; of dap Saturday, and the night of Wednesday. . . . To
hun belong iron, remedies, the oak, gallnuts, latrines, sacks and old coarse
stuffs, the bark of wood, pepper, qust (a herb), the onyx, olives, med1ars,
sour pomegranates . .. lentils, myrobalans, barley, ... the terebinth and
everythi ng whatsoever that is black, and goats and bullocks, waterfowl,
black snakes and mountains.
Jupiter is auspicious, masculine, in daytime warm, moist, temperate,
temperate blood like that of the heart; of the ages of man, youth
belongs to him ...
On rt"ceiving the full fo rce of t his wealth of characteristics
and correspondences, derived mainly fTom post-<lassical sources
(especially Ptolemy and Vettius Valens)p one's immediate impression is of utter madness. Saturn is said to be dry, but
sometimes moist too. He "presides over" the utmost poverty,
but also over great wealth (admittedly always coupled with
ava rice and illwill towards others) , over treachery but also over
uprightness, over domiciles but also over long sea journeys and
ex ile.
Foe t he technique of f5(}iol the llano. d. BOG. Sfmtllll wbe. pp . .58 sqq.
133
science had attributed to tbe slars Saturn, Jupiter, and the rest ,
but also by the t radition which ancient mythology had handed
down concerning the gods Saturn, Jupiter, and so OD. In astrology
general ly, but especially in astrological notions of planetary rulers
who had inherited the names and qualities of the great Olympic
gods, ancient piety had been preserved in an apparently profane
form ; and it was to remain so much alive in the fu ture that the
very gods who had been turned into stars-that is to say,
apparently stripped of divinity- were an object of pious veneration
and even of formal culls for hundreds of years afterwards,a while
those not turned into stars-Hephaestus, Poseidon and Athenacontinued to exist merely in learned compendiums and allegorical
moral tracts; even tbeir re-awakening in the humanism of the
Renaissance, was to a certain extent a matter of literary convention.
Even in the sources from which the Arabic astrological notion
of Saturn had arisen, the characteristics of the primeval Latin
god pf crops Saturn had been merged with those of Kronos, the
son of Uranus, whom Zeus had det hroned and castrated, as well
as \v.ith ebronos the god of time, who in turn had been equated
with the two former even in antiquity; to say nothing of ancient
oriental influences, whose significance we can only roughly estimate. When one considers further that all these mythological
definitions were in tum mixed with astronomical and scientific
definitions, and that astrological (that is, fundamentally magical)
speculation, by reasoning fro m analogy, derived a mass of further
more or less indirect associations from every given predicate, the
apparently chaotic nature of a text such a" Abu Ma'Sar's or
Alcabitius's seems perfectly intelligible,
bringing
" c r. beloit', text p. 14'i11<1. A very hutructivc and detailed tab leQ I the aUribu tetQI SatlirD
aordio, to .0eJeot "'"ten appean io G. S ..l'.......TI'I , BeiIF4t. ~ .. r K , ....I..is W LiI"..,wr ...
<I~I 1111... An-Pie .. , VOL.. H . Le.ipsi, 183). pp. ,51-60.
2.
From the beginning, the notion of the god Kronos, a eli vinity
apparently venerated before the days of classical Greece, and
134
[II.
I.
"YO!" t ..... and the foUowins d. t"e article:. "Sat...... ". "K ron ... " .nd " 1'1.neten " i.. W .
ROSCH", AM$f/ilo rlidu u.rjltolll der pUd:iult'lII ....d ,iimiulo... Mylltolop, Leip~ig 1890-91,
and in PAI1Ly. WISSOWA . U. VON WIl-'.MOWITZ.M6LL.1iNOORFFS suggfl$tion that t"e ' ,.. re
of Kronos I, a IJOrt of hypostatisation of the Homeric epithet for Zeus . ..:,.....a", (" ~rOIlOS .. nd
die Titaael)" . In 5jt~""IJbn-idl. dl' P"", n'Jde>l A ....d,m'. dIT W"'""ubf/no, plli/ .Ioi".
X/lUll., IV (19"l9l. pp. 3.5 IIQq.) has met with little support.
~
DJlI18N~ It.
.. HESIOI), 1V0rltt tid Dyl, Hnell III sqq. Hence Kronos appears in tbe comedy af lord
of Utopia (CJtATINUI, nMm" aeeo:rding to ATH1I"~EUS, DeipnosopMJlu, -a61 e). Ptm.o
mentions nl~ ....,..;. _'1~"i~ d ....yfH1f./on Kpo....oco. {Uoo $Omewhat in the ~n$(! o f "bllH" (T,'ltio
4 C";,,m, 13. in Op,r", ed. L. Cohn and P. Wendland, VOL. V I, Berlin 191.5, p. 158, 3) .
.. H)!:~IOI),
VON
PtN1)AR,
Olympi~f
2, 68 sqq.
Cf. U.
2]
..r
135
27
TIr~IIY.
E ...... ,,'411. e.,. Ii..., 641. Cf. also the wootltn bonds of the Rom an San,,.,,
(lIACIIO&l t11I, Slll ......"/ia. I. 8, .5), snd the "$a t urn iacae euenae" in Al:c~'nl"" C"~:T" 1:"",;"",
.\1111"",10., XX, 13 (MI ONE. P . L., VOL. XLII, col . 370)
"AESCH YLUS.
" lIilld IV, .59: v, 11.1; HUIOI), TIt.otlHty, line 168, etc.
I. L
.~.
.. o.-pltiumlm F'agm::,,(<<, Pan post. 80, ed. O. Kern. Berlin 1922 : d ........."r ""n"i,,,,~ hOlT
Cf. NONNUS. Dio"ysiIKG, II , li ne 331: XpO.- w"'1'""';"o; or E. ABEl. (ed.). Orf'ltica. Leip:ig
188S, Hymnu$ XIII, 3; os ",.. ~,.n. .."a.....
repr~enu
Moloch .
.. Cf. M... CR0 8IUS, 51.. ,...I11/ia. I, 7, 24 ("vitae melionl auctor" ). DIOl<YSTI:S OF
HAUCAHN ... SSUS, I, ]8. I (..",,",-,s . vs...,.o....", krii,. "".l ..:\'1,......-.1v). For Sa turn ILS guardmn
of the aer.ui .. m, cf. T8RTU U I...,.", Apolol,li,. 10 (MI GN ~ , P. L, VO L . I . cols. 330 sq .) . ud
TIt ...a .. ,,,s
lal;"ae, VOl.. I. pp. 10.5.5 aqq. For Saturn u P2tron of the moneta ry S)"Sleffi.
d. V"'RHO, D, Ii .., ..a 1411.. a, v, ,8] : "Per ttutinam sol vi solitum: vestigium etlam nunc m~ntt
in aede Saturni, quod e;L etr..m "uno I".opter peMuram trIIlinalll habet poai tam " IS'OOR':,
Ely .... XVI, 18,): "Po$tu. a. Satnma aeteu. nUlnmUS inventus."
Ii..,"'"
VOL . VI.
"POL~ISARIS,
(b)
[II.
I.
How the god Kronos came to be lin~ed with the star Sat~rn has
been explained by Franz Cumont, III ~o .f~r as e.x?lanabon. has
been possible.a.:. The Greeks, whose pnmitIve religIOn contamed
hardly any elements of star-worship, at first knew only the pl.an~ts
Q)wO''lloPoc; and ' EO'1T~poS, which seemed to precede ~he s~n m .lts
rising and setting; the one seems not to have been Identified ~lth
the other until the time of t he P ythagoreans Of even of Pannemdes.
The fact t hat in addition to t his most obvious of the planets,
four others pursued their courses through ~he zodiac, was c~m
municated to the Greeks by the Babylomans, who from tune
immemorial had clearly recognised the planets as such, and
\vorshippcd them as gods of destiny- Mercury as Nebu, .the god
of writing and wisdom, Venus as Ishtar, the great goddess of l?ve
and fe rtility, Mars as Nergal, the grim god of war and hell, JU~l~er
as :.'Ilarduk, the kingly ruler, and Saturn as the strange god Nmlb,
of whom little more is known than that he was sometimes regarded
as the nightly representative of the sun and was therefore, in
spite of l\'[arduk , considered the "mightiest" of the five planets.
Thus with. the single exception of Phosphorus- Hesperus, the
planets ~ppeared to t he Greeks from the beginning in the guise
not only of stars but of divinities, with which indigenous Greek
gods were almost inevitably equated. Nebu must be He~~,
Ishtar Aphrodite, Nergal Ares, and Marduk Zeus; and Nlllib
must be Kron os, with his cruelty and his great age; (his age corresponded to the length of his revolution, in marked contrast to the
steady pace of his "son" and the swift movement of his "grandchildren") and his peculiar powers were overshadowed but by no
means lessened by his dethronement.
This original set of equations, however, which first appeared
in complete form in the late Platonic Epinomis,3& was b~ought
into confusion by the growing influx of eastern elements m the
Hellenistic period. According to the country in which the process
took place, the planets Zeus or Aphrodite were associated with
Bel and Battis, or else with t he Great Mother, or with Osiris and
.. FR,.~ t CU MONT, "Les noms des planetes et l'asttolatrie chez I...,. Crees," in L'Anliquiti
da.siqlU, VOL. IV ('93.5), pp. 6 sqq. See also the articles on t he planets quoted aoove (po 134
n. 16); SSG, Sl~rnglaube, p. 5 and passim: and A. BoUCI!t;L"SCLERCO, L'Qslrelogie t re'que,
Pa.-is 1899, esp. pp. 93 sqq.
Epan., 987b, c. The /iftb-century Pythagoreao$ (e.g. Philolaua) "e~ to hav e been the
first to cstablish the equation with the Babylonian gods (CUMONT, op. Ci t .. p.S).
2J,
I 37
Isis; the planet Ares with Heracles; the planet Kronos with the
Eg:yptian Nemesis; and so Oll. The astronomers attempted to
stein this confusion by seeking to replace the multiplicity of
mythological tenns by a uniform system of nomenclature on a
purely phenomenal basis. Mercury became IiIA~c..lV the twinkler,
Venus lc..>O''ll6pos the bringer of light, Mars ITvp6E1s the fiery one,
Jupiter Q)atswv the brilliant one, and Saturn lalvc..lv the shining
one. But owing to its non-personal character, this terminology,
which itself very probably came from Babylonian sources of a
more scientific type , was as little able to make headway against
the old mythological terms as, say, the artificially chosen nam f'!~
of the months in the French Revolution were able to supplant the
traditional ones. The Romans never attempted to translate thp.
~iiA~v-Q)aivc..lv series (Isidore of Seville still continued to use the
Greek words). and the growth of astrology as a "religion", which
characterises the later Empire, weighted the scales decisively in
favour of the " mythological" nomencla ture. Towards the end of
the Republic we find the periphrasis "the star of Kronos", replaced
by the simple "Kronos", and " star of Saturn " replaced by t he
simple "Saturn".37 Thus, the mythical identification of the
planets with what the western world had hitherto considered
only their "corresponding" divinities was completed once and for
all.
(i) Kronos-Saturn in A"cient Astrophysics
The Greeks at first developed the planetary doctrine transmitted to them in classical times in a purely scientific direction.
In this, an astrophysical viewpoint seems from the beginning to
have been adopted simultaneously with the purely astronomical.
Epigenes of Byzantium, who is thought to have lived in early
Alexandrian times and therefore to have been one of the oldest
mediators between Babylon and Hellas, classified Saturn as "cold
an~. windy" .38
The epithet "cold", according both with the
pla.nefs great distance from the sun and with the god's great
ag1, adhered to Saturn throughout the years and was never
11 Thus CICERO, De "alura deer",", 11, 119, in the case of .Mao . First Greek instance in
papyrus 01 A.D. 200, the text of whi ch is older (CUMONT , op. cit., pp. 3:; and 37).
I. SENECA, NtJJ"rafes qUfUslWPles, Vil, 4, 2 "natura veotosa et frigida." Cf. also CICE RO',
De. ntJJ"ra ~eo"!,,,,, It, I 19, according to wh~~ the cold Saturn nUs the highest spheres of the
UOlvene With ICY !rort. Both passagt$ explic.Uy emphasi~ that the doctrine is of "Olald
..
origin; .
"an
[II,
I.
Cf. P U NY, Nat. Hisl ., II, 106: Saturn bri ngs rain when h" passes from one zodiacal sign
to the next. ?tOL ENV, TetTabiblo$, III (IT.pll'0P4fj<;), Basle '55), pp. '42 $<lq.: Sat urn
produces men of cold a nd moist disposition when he ill in t he east, cold a nd dry when it: tbe
west. Later ast rologens did not fi nd thi$ moist-dry contrad iction incomprehensible since it
seemed to ag ree more or less with Saturn 's two " houses", the Goat a nd the Wattr-<;arrier,
Thus K . RIlINHARDT, Kosmo$ ",,4 Symp"Mie. MuniCh
sqq.
,'y".
19~6,
.. SENJlCA, D.
11. 19 ; "refert quantum quiSfJ ue humidi in 8e calidique continea t; culos in
ino elementi portio p raevalebit. ind e motes erunt."
rI
1
I
{
,I
139
Stoic philosophy, however, had prepared the ground for
rccognition of astrological belief in two further directions . In
the first place, there was the Stoic acceptance of the not ion of
"Moira", which was conceived both as a law of nature and as
Fa.te,ta and was bound, in view of this dual significance, to favour
astrological fatalism, Secondly, there was the rati onalistic disintegration of the religious myths, enabling latcr times to identify
the properties of the stars, considered as physical bodies, that is,
as natural phenomena, with those of the divinities whose na mes
they bore. The Stoics did not complete this fusion themselves,
but the effect of reducing the myths to a rationalistic and allegorical
significance was to deprive the gods of t heir status as "persons" ,"
so that their characteristics and destinies, ' separated from their
mythical context and surviving only as single traits, were no
longer contrasted with the properties which men attributed to
the stars as natural phenomena, but could be merged with t hem
as soon as the moment was ripe.
The moment was ripe when the question, prompted by an
age-old psychological urge, as to the destiny of the individu al,
could fmd as little answer in the various philosophical systems
as in the official religion which these very systems had displa ced,
and when it sought a new answer which should satisfy faith
rather than reason. With regard to the fat e of the individn:1.1 in
the next world, the answer was given in the ever more widespread mystery cults, among which Christianity was ulti matelv
to triumph. But with regard to the fate of the individual in this
world, the answer was afforded by the astrology of lat er antiqu it y,
whose development and recognition took place at the same time
as the adoption of the mystery religions. Through this astrology
the old mythological motives which Stoicism had secularisedthereby ensuring their survival-once more became "mvthlcallv
SATURN IN ANCI ENT LITERATURE
.. Note the Stoic reference to th~ lI;"d, VI, 488: ~("'pa. S' 0';'" ... 9'11" ".0" 1-"/"''''' '1'1''' 0'
doJpW. . Ct. SloicoY"m ull.rum f ragrr..,.ta. ed. J. "on Armm. \'01. . Ii. Le,!u,:; UI!3, ira~ '}lj
"The "physlea ratio" of the old m yths in Clea nthes and Chry",ppus. C!. .... ''''m ,..,1.1.
op. cit., frags. S~8 &qq. and 1008 sqq. In these Kronos was .denufied ,.;lIh Ch rono< l, y the
Stoics (hence "Saturnus quod satunretuI anni s'"). He devours hIS childr en (; ke Tim~. ",It"
brings forth the ages and swaJlows them up again, an d he is ch ain ed b~' Jupi ter so : 1>3: the
fligh~ o f time $hould not be measu reless but shou ld be "hound" by the coune of 't,e , ' :>.t,
CICERO, D. "alUM tk".. .. m, II, 64: Amim (ed.), op. cit .. fr:>.g . 10<)1
The olh er Interpreta: ton
aceepted by Varro (t-ransmitted by !I,lJGUSTI!>IE, D. C;~ilg t. D. i, \" , S ~nr: YI! . !91 U k C5 t he
word "sata" as the derivation of Saturn's name: he devouns his children as the earth (l""\'(' utS
t he suds she hcrself generates, and he was given a dnd instead of the infant Zeu. t Q eat
bocause, before the plough was discovered . dods used to be thrown on the seed co,n .
[ II. I.
Beronus. 1Tf!..t influence, and the replltation he enjoyed throughout a ntiqllity, can be _ n
fro m I't.n'y (NtJ / . Ail/" VII. 123 ) and FLAV I US jO$l! PIlUS (Co .. /~tJ Ai'iON~ "', I , 129 ) ("Testimonl a" . 5<:h nabcl. op. ci t ., p. 250). Accord ing to l'liny the Athe ni;o. ns even erected a stat ue
to Beronu. wh1<;;h bcca use of his manellou. prophecies bad a l ilded toogu e.
.. Cf. foc iusta n! the passage (rom Lucan quoted in t he previous note, wbere "frigida"
stands immediately next to "nocens". Later we fiEld Saturn', coldness (u wet. as his d ryness)
actually described aa " q uali tal morli fe.a" (~ bela ..... , text p. , 87).
II For t he astrology of the co nstellatio ns alld "dec;ms " d. F . Bou ., Spbe rtJ, l.eipEig 1903,
an d W. C.UtlOll l., Dda ote ,, >Cd DdtJ .. .$lf .-ltbildtf (Studien der B ibliothelr. Warb urg, XIX, 1936).
Of C ICI!lt O, D, divi .. atione, I, 85; l'U/ TA RCH. D. l side d OJ., jde, 18.
Correspondi ng pa!l~ge!
in poet r y ate: HORACII, Od" , II . 17 ("To l ov is impio tutela/ Satl,llno refulgOfl3/ Eripuit
voluerisque lati/Tarda\';'t a las . . .. ") ; T IB UU.US, I, 3. '7 ("sacra d ie. Satu rni" a.s a bad
day for t ravel) ; OVID, I bis , Hnes 209 I<jq . ("Te fcnl. nee quicquam placldum aponden tia
Mart il/Sidera presserunt falcifer ique senil" ); J UVINAl., Sill., VI, 569 ("quid sidu. trim
minetur/Sa turn i . . .. "); PRO PS RTI US, IV, 1, 8 ) (" . Felicesqllo J ovi. stellas Ms.rtisque
rapace!/ Et grave Saturni sidu , " ) ; LUCA l'!, B d l _ "tril" I, 65 1 ("Summo . i frigld a eaeJ.oj
StC'-l1a nocen. nigros Sat urn; actendoml t ignis"). F urther, S,Aol. i .. L,,,., I, 660. In
Fll.OC" LUS'. ~enda.r o f 354, Tues.:lay a nd Satumay are d.,.,.;ribed as " die. nelu ti ", Thursday
a nd Frlda.y u lucky da ys, and the remaJ nder as neutral f 'communO$"J.
A II,ono ...
i,,,,
II , lines 92 9 sqq.:
a t qUll l ubaidit converso cardine mund ul
lunda rnent& tenenl ad versu lll et uspicit or bcm
ac media su b nod e lacet, Saturnnt. in ilia
parte , uu agitat vires. deiectus et ipse
imperio q uondam m undi solioque deoru m,
et pater in patrios exeroet Dumina casu,
fortunamque IIOIlllm; priva est tu teh. duorum ,
[n.ateel'ltn m a tque patrum, qnae tali eondlta pan est. ]
asper erit templis titul\lll, qnem Gr.loei;o. fecit
da.emonillm, aigutq ue 5\I.U pro oomine uires.
'42
[n .
J.
.. VEnlUI V"U!<J. A"tAl cokIfi" ...", fibn. ed. w. Kroll. Derlin 1908. p . ::: (.) u,ftIi KpO.. ,.l~ ~ ,.....,;,-... ~ ,.....~III", ~""-~ .oJ...,u:p1,.-, (.,urM ...n//Ii.-.-...r.
,.-"s_.
...
2J
SATURN I :-;!
A ~C I ENT
'43
LITERATURE
.-+
~
oI....,,04,,,",,,",,s ... ~II, lI~ofr, KQ . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . .<, "'o.,,...,,,"'1~
lpo,,.~ lXO"'IU. II';X/,,/poIir, ,.<,\....... t;.o ...., ...pooG ,~'1?..... ~, ... ~ .,,,,, a.'.i MoT......<, [tHd ,
...4...... uteoif).
""P ..,r.... ,.'0''''''&< ~* <tt'IJ~~- "",! .... ~ .......5 .,p! ~'P;"'" ..p4.t .., oi.......wi, 3O~a., '''p'.olCi 1',,,.u4f
: .. oi~." ,,,... ~~ "a!. J,m,....~!_r " ..l 0JWn~ a"""""r "..l ~,:..... ..I ....... 'O'~'f'AJ. o~
.....,...w.
,.~. l~ ..l ~ ..... 50! fOG ~fOS' ~ ...."..w, ........1.&0., """",.._ ...s,.-.
;"-i'<"". fUr,."'fOf. """""'1', ..~ '"" TC.... . ..nIt "_~. 0 ........ 50! ~ &0.. ~ ....
I .. ~V{C"'l' ....1 ,;"poIn,ror, ol<w .:.a,-.....;;~....:- oil,..,50....... woUYf'AJ, /J'I}(4,. 3~.,J.,. ~,
0"""1',;,.,06,;,., 50! 3a..J"""Of'OD. "'''''&.'''5. 0.08''1'0'''''' _6 If ,,01 oi~ ~ "..l X'/IH:"r, ~lIf.
50!
....""'". ....It U I",..,..." oI_.4i fJoJ.. ~ b o;&",~, ~ & ...~ ~ HO,""", a.......,.,lotf. - . i n
...l ......." J..; ~.. 1m U N.jJ<H_ ~ ....1 "if ~~ ...."'1' ...; ,.1. xM .........,..{_,
Ii y.oI.H. o-n+>r.
.-s
.. The fact th.at Saturn was ~ded the 6rmeat iN'rts o f the hllman body (bonel . tendon .
Imees. etc.) wu no doubt du e to hi. "earthy" natu re : the parallel bf:tween the enth Olnd the
human body (earth Il.S flesh , wOlter ... blood,eto::.), pre~n tatil I in Nichola! 01 Cuu. a nd Lfona,.d o
da Vinci. gGei back to oriental and c laslical tholl i:ht (0::1 . R. Hl!lTlE:<STI!t:< and H. H. SO:: I! A.E !> n
AWl h ,n' wfJli GriuAf..Jllfld (Stu dien der Bibliot hek WarbllrJ. VII). l.of lpl ig 1!,!6. P!' I ,I " ~'1
SAX L. VUuUlINiJ, VOl.. II .
pp.
40
"lq.;
P'l'"
Brussels 1935. PI". 7 and 60, who. ho ... e~er, leaves Ollt e\'ldence from the high \\ ul'he ' get
e.g. Ho.noriul 01 Autun and Hi ldega.rd of J)ingen . For th e whole, d R. Khb~n ,I<' led I ,n
NICKOL.U 0' CUSA.. D, Ilot-t. i,r"o~o" ri., II . 13. Leipzig 1931. P I II (list of 50llrcn
.. Tha.t In Vdtius Valent
1 )8
(telt t).
'ul~. C~.,
14';
(u.
I.
S6 111'1' (text).
.. Astrologer . o f course, ~ndow childreD o f the Goat, ..hich i. th~ house o f Saturn, with the
samc qu alities as the childrcn of the planet. Thus tbey an! de:ten'bed {C.t. (Ulr . Gr., v9L ]C,
pp. 23:1 sqq.):...,.ua I'Qxf,j,,<U', Y""'1 I""p.j: Hf,PHAUT., 11,2 (e"l. ~Ir. Gr .. VOL. VII', 2, p. '91
has I'-'''~'''''f ....,... ..v,...~ar, el C. Especially clear conne:tions appear in VEn l u. VALli"!;.
A "lltologu.. NHI lilm. I. 2, ed. W . Kroll, Berlin 19.08, p. II .
2]
'45
clted above, pp. 62 sqq.; esp. R. FOasTltIl, S,ripl . ploy,. ,.,. II (..t., "
Jp~"",*
JJl<n.
146
SATURN I N THE J, ITERARY TRADITION
[II . J.
governed only by Saturn, such as misers, t he avaricious, and
(after Vettius
Valcns)
I-}
fL"pO~
(el. Vettius
Valens: T'ji U
y<W-(, un.?<>f)
(b) ~Ae.,jU>S
(el. Vetnu!
Val ens :
"'m1<1'Tl')'>'<W.
..o>."JP'JlI'OJ,
It ) M",pO-
"'' '
(e l. Vettiu!
V alens:
f'.ltpoAOyo.)
"o."o".,,8.i~.
"/.,e."
sa"p.... )
(d) Miser
(Colligendae
pccu niae
aman!, cf.
VcUius
Valens;
Postulates of
Melancholy
I',,,&noj ...
""I~ ..",~
K<ll"'~_)
~~,"<>Vs ItaT1l.{>_
The'
P'~"
melancholic's
suicidal
tendencies
p.o.hpa.,,,,
Conversa_
tion em
humanam
fu.giun~,
"",...,. ""gfWfr"'
MUW~'f
,;"o,,~<wT<T
-n)~
$ubdoJi,
&No"!,."
"..,."......."""...~,
Vrr""t><W>I""'1"
~. 0,...0'.
'XO"Uf
perM;
'ftpoa..."".
u''''I"os
TO
"lIxl'''lpol
iaxvOs
,..4""'{_r
JU~xp<ur,
.." ....
o~
T ...
"''').=1''''''i"xo-Os
,-
in quo
al~uid
inc inationi!
'"
Lean ness
,...M."fI~
""~'f,
Leanness in
spite of much
food, thin
,...,\"..0,1'<><,
,.*M..,.".XO'
m~,
......"...Is
-X"~"
.."is
.;
,...
poor figure
",~..,.
$Omniculosi
d'"lY"P<VK~
Th.
",,""'pl,-
melancholic's
bad smell"
.. Pl'OLEM Y, Tel,abib/os, III (BasIc 1553. p. 1,58). In an iatromathematical WOTk ent itled
Lilm od Ammontm (J. L. IOI!:Lr;~ (ed.), Physic; , 1 medid grae&i ",jn""s. Berlin 18,,1. VOL. I,
p. 389). patienh who fell sick under Saturn (and, it is true, Mercury) were given a prognosis
some sym ptoms of whieh were word br word like those of melancholy: 01 Ill. yp
.m~ h "al ~ ........" "h...:......., ""'xWi~ la" ...." .. ,..! 6"""""'1",,1 (,,'" d""'\y.-!~) .... ;~ T. Jp8po.s ""I "........1
TiP "W/,aT' J .... ",J{f"ll' ""I ~I".T..,,.O~ lruoI. 1A'''plJ. J~l~ ....j ..Gaoo ..... PpoU_ ~..l'.,pOJ'....'
1""p4f>",... I ........ &8.6 .. lr
+op..';l'f_ "alla.VTOIJr tldJ."Ol'7fr .... {I'IlT""S TO ~ f>f6yo1"TH
""~~ "~llTwOC""'US Kal fJpa~_ bll,'""'ol"T~S Kal I"K~"Y,.o, ....u Tv fJ0tJ8.."., 8fI'l'0.o.ea.,. l~""fs.
K'" $.", """ af>vr/loW" 8<U<vV/Iofl'0, i.8u;s ... at aT""'" """: n)~ b"+4.""," -...,:; 0.":;/1011"" "o.".IvY/Io''''''.
xpfjo8o., o~ ;"l TO ...."'~ &i "'o's fhp/lo"'"""vo, ,,0.1 ......xa-\ ......~ JCT~Y""'/Io''''''f.
.".l
,s
"'0.,
aspcctu
assiduQ in
terram
lim bs
Black bair as
si~n of the
"''''''''''';TI7S
"'0.,
.. For instance. according to tbe doctrine of the twelve 'Ioci. Saturn caused in to e si xth
'E iJy,..,.,., ......t 1vY~ ..al /Iof),,u..,,f XO),ijs . .,..; ","OS KT),. (R HErORlt:S. in Cal. "sir GT.,
VOL . VIU, of. p. ISS).
AcoordiDg to V BTTIUS VALENS (Alliholog'" ' ''''' lib.i. ed. \\". Kroll .
place
Berlin 1908, p. 17). th e "termini" of the Scorpion belonged t o Saturn and engendered
melancholiC!J: as well as other undesirable types o f men . According t o FIR1IICGS , when Saturn
is in a certain point of the firmament, and when the moon. r etreating from him . comes l:1to
conjunction wilh Mars. be generates "insanos. lunatico!, melancholicos. languido, \ F:~~IIClS
M ",n: RSUS. Malhe~ea$ libri VIII, edd. W . Kroll and F. Skutseh. Leipzi g 13<)-- 1<)13. "K Ill .
2,24: p. 10 l. Cf. also the passage IV. 9, 9: p. 2tl. 11. which says that u:1der cena:!:
evel> more complicated conditil>ns oS.turns influ ence helps til. generate mel ancholici. lC l ~ric, .
splenetici. thisici. hydropici, pleumatici. elc." The passage in F'''_''TC1;S. 111 ~ . I, nbdou s!v
connected with a passage in MANETHO. Apolelest>lala, 111. 593 sqq.: 'Bu t when The 1'o: n':d
Selene comes iato conju nction with Helio., aad Ares shines in thei r midst . and Kronos i ~ ,een
together with them in a co nstellation of fou r. then tbe black bile stething in th e breast co nt uses
t h e understanding of men and rouses them to madness."
qS
[11.
I.
,. Cili . (ulr. Gr., VO l.. V. 3, p . lIS . The llen ttoee ,.~J.r,,~ ~py< ....:, xM>75 "'(""''''IS "'"""" . ".....i
b hnked by an d,ft " po<:r.t8'),,," .;~, . to Sill verses iu Dorotheus rd~lTing to the efJect 0 1
Sat ur n in conjunction wi th Mus. For this passllge d. J. HAEO in H ......ts. VOL. XLV (' 9 10),
PI" 31,5-19, and Cllt. Q$I~. Gr., YOLo II , lIP. l S9 sqq., esp. p. 16 2, 3 aqq. Also W. Kroll in
t he critical app'l'I\tll' to F'lI ldl cUS M UKIII'IUS, op. cit., VOL. II, p. 11,5. Fo r Dorotheus d .
no w V. STllGn' AlHI , in lJ,iIrlJ" .I""~ <';uthidl. d~~ A sl~ologi', I, H~iddberg 193,S
" See a bove, pp. 60 sqq. (text ).
,. Admitted ly Satu rn with his dual, mo ist-dry nature .... u thus bou nd to be CTedited not
ou ly .... ith the "cold illld dry " cruis of the me[.ncholic---which in itself .....s importan t enough
_ but aho wlth thl! "cold .nd damp " crub o j the phlegmatic. P!:OLlUIY, TlInlrillloJ. III
(aule ISS3, p. 1~3)
n See below, pp. 178 .qq. (ted ).
2]
'49
among the seven planets, Saturn was allotted the last and saddest
phase of human existence, that is to say, old age with its loneliness
its physical and mental decay, and its hopelessness. 14 And yet
this. same Saturn, according to Manetho, "in peculiaribus suis
dorrubus", might not only signify riches and luxury, but also
produce men who were happy, versatile, and sociable as long as
they lived.7<i Elsewhere we read that in certain constellations he
generated physicians, geometricians,1S and those who could
prophesy from hidden books and knew many esoteric rites of the
mysteries.7 ? Firmicus and the writer of another, closely related ,
GreeIt text credit Saturn with the power to produce "in the fifth
place, kings, rulers, and founders of cit ies", and "in the ninth
.. Cf. F. BoLL, " Die Ll:bensalter". in NtlUi J .. "~bi4;"'~ fo~ /UlS IIll1SJiuM Alln!" ..., XVI
(19 13), RP. 117 sqq. Tbere i$ li t tle to be ildded to his masterly :account which trace$ th ..
evolution of the idea tbat each of the !leven .g... of rnan ia goveTned by One of the se~n
planets,. best ellPretlled b y P'rOUMY, Tet,abwlor, IV (Basle ISS3. p . 20~), fro m ita first appear
ance do!"n to modern timn. We ro'Y. however, rema rk that this system, too, was boun d
to prepaTe the w.y for an u!IOCmtion between Saturn and melancholy, whicb also governed
the later phase of lIl.n'. life. Also, the " , ixth ut" of m:an 's life as described by the
melancholy J aques (BoLl., op . eit. p . 131) belongs beyond doubt to SatuTn, aud not, as
Boll th~ught: to Jupitn. Jupi ter i. allotted the fifth I.Ct, ",hile the ilge corresponding to
the l un IS o~t~ as too '.imHar to the "jovial ". The l lippered pa.ntaloon, "youthful helle"
can hardly In thll conne.xlOIl be interpreted .. the rodimenu of the ~ti.wI,...,.. characteristic
of ~he age .ascribed to J~piter, while the purse denot ... not the joyous ",e<h of the" J ovial"
period of life but the ml5el'ly rich ... 01 the &.tumine period (el. below, text pp. 284 sqq.).
.. MAI'IETHO, ApotelumdtlJ, I V, I S $Qq.:
"Stella, quam f'hilenoni.a dei hominesque appdb-nt.
H ...., qu....do il> pecu liarit....~ ~u .. ap.,..-et dom';bus.
Nucentibus moltlJiblll ild iDipectorem boCile " itae,
Locuplettll oatcndit It opu lent'. plurima. patiri
Feiicel, It in vita etiam .. d finem uaque IIeDlper faales."
U, ho ....ever, Sa.tum shines "in non domesticis locb" (IV, 31 .qq.):
~. Thus .PALCKUS, CIIl. IISI~. G~., VOL. v, I, p . 89. It is abo uQtoworthy tha~ iu a town
laid out In accorollnC<! with utrological reqll iTelllenU which' i. described in th Pet
book DtJbi
14
.. ma...
S N,
.... emati'cl ' IIS, prophetl and u tronomert," among others, are A id to
bave
bved
rOllnd
about
Sat urn', temple. while in the temple itself " the sciences WeT
. e .",- .. tu'tted
"
m,
and taught (el. S H",U': MOHAM I D F ....u'. Dfllrisldll, translated by Francis Gladwin
a nd F. IOD Dalberg, &m bug and WDrzburg 18 17, p . S2).
.=
[II. I.
place, even famous magicians and philosophers, as well as excellent
soothsayers and mathematicians (that is t o say, astrologers). who
always prophesy correctly, and whose words possess, as 1t were,
divine au thority".1Il
The positive evaluation of Saturn's influence as it appears in
these and similar passages and as it was partly adoptedt by the
Arabic astrologers (whose conception therefore appears con~
siderably less homogeneous than that of Vettius Valens) can in
tum be partly derived from certain features of Saturnian myths.
For instance, riches, the founding of cities, association with
geometry, knowledge of everything secret or hidden, can be traced
immediately to the myths of the Golden Age, of the colonisation
of Italy and of t he sojourn in " Latium", or perhaps of Saturn 's
banishment to t he hidden underworld.79 Wit h regard , however,
to the purely mental qualit ies attributed to some speciall y
fo rtun ate children of Saturn , namely the capacity for deep
philosophical reflexion, and for prophecy and priesthood , one
must reckon with the influence of one notion of Saturn which
had no connexion wit h astrology but had used the same my thical
and astrophysical raw material to form a very different picture.
This notion of Saturn, which astrology, of course, could only
ISO
TRA D1TI O~
" Th us Fllu n CU5 MATItR~US, op. ci t ., 11K III, 2, pp. 9 7 sqq. Thievcs born u ndcr Saturn.
inc identally, are those 'quos in fnrto numquam prosper !lequa tur cvcntus". A parallcl
passage from R IIIITORIUS is in CiJl. /pry. Gr . VOl,.. VIII. 4. pp. Ij2Iqq.: Salum ....hen in t he fifth
piau t~Jler... ted u," ~~. /yyfl_ I.pl(O'Wll~, ,~,.OJ_ nt....... f ~ ~ oj ...u._: in the
n inth p lace. othC1" conditions being favourable. the
dp,wuiYO"S, ~.- ?O ,.J>J.o,.
...poU~. T...!.' 5.1 .....1 h ICpaT"C"'f d"~"'f .; u~ . . p.... ~. Anotber impor ta nt pa3Sage
is in F I RMI C;Us lfAT&RH US, op. cit., 11K IV. 19, pp. 2H !!Qq.: "Si Sat urnus dominus geniturae
fueri t effectu. et ,it oportune in geniturn ~itu s et ei domini um crescent Luna decreverii.
faciet homlnu In fl atos. spiritu sublcvatos, honorato$ bonos grave., honi consil ii et quorum
fides Tecto semper iudicio comprobctu r et qui negotia omnia rec ti iudicii ration ibu$ compltan t.
sed circa u"orcs e! lilies erunt aHeno semper II.ffect u : eru nt .... ne se moti et sib; vacantes.
mod icum ,umentes eibum et multa potatione gaudcntcs. Corpore erunt modiei pallid i
lang uidi, friSido ventri et qui &dsidue .eiecbre con5Ue,erint et quos ICDlpcr malign'us h umor
h.pugnet et q uo. intrinsecus collectus <tolar adsidua ratione discruc ict. Vita vern eorum
ent malitiola laborio .... .all icita et adsiduis doloribus &lIimi implia.ta, circa aquam vt! in
aquoso loco labcnlu vitae> s ubsidium.' 111.. pas .... ge (d. a lso Cld . IISh-. G~ . VOl,.. VII, P.239.
20 sqq .) is repealed almost word for word in J ohan nes E ngel (j OHAHNIlS ANClI'l.tlS, Aslrolll~i"".
plIlNt, ,,., Augsburg 1~ 88 a nd Venice 14 9 4 , fol. U', as a sixteenthcent ury read er has noted In
his copy of the Vcnice edition , now at the Warhu rg Instit ute. London. Gmoo CoLON .' lAS
Hi~lon ll T roia,," still baSC!l t he fact that Satu rn foresaw th e evil thrca te ned him b y his son
on his being "in mathematica. arte pcritlsaimus" (eh. '"Dc ini tio Idola tric". Strashourg li94 ,
fol. es1.
"""'CU".
.. For the Latin etymology "Latium _ latere". see below. tex t pp. 160; 162. For the Gree k
expressions d"'>>tfJ'Jlo p.p>.;" (CiJl . .. ~I~. Gt ., VOl.. I. p . lI S) and "I"'ftai (Vettios Valen.) s.ee
H .SIOD, T It,oIOflY, lines 729 sqq. :
bBo. 9.ol T,n;..., Vr~ l# .j.p&wr,
ICf~n... . . ,
I,
?....
'''''''''In..~
,;,..-...--?.....
3..2.r",..
""f
"'~,
.,;;~
,\
n .t.:.""
xB"","'''
.W.'" "'Jt~, . w~
01 Heavenly phenomena arc. bo,.,.~ver. admitt ed as signs o f the IUlure (PI.OTI:< t:S. E""III1 .
u. J . 7) for that whicb Is enacted only . lowly and con fu sed ly on earl h is bound :0 ~ recogniiCd
earliC1" &lid more clearly ill the sky.
,_">
SATU RN
I~
TH E LITERARY TRADITION
[II. I.
for all \' star to have an essentially evil influence. Even the
meane~t of the planets was still nearer to the divine than the
material world. Even the planet mythically or physically regar~ed
as the most evil and noxious was a transmitter of forces which
by their very nature could o~ly be good. This principle was
ex pressed most clearly by IambhchusA:
In this manner all the visible gods in heaven [i.e. the stars] are In a
certain sense incorporeal. The further question is in doubt as to how
some of these can work good, others evil. This notion, is taken ~rvm the
:l.suo!ogers, but misses completely the real state of affaus. ~or, In truth.
all the astral divinities are good and are the cause of good, sm~e they all
equally ga7.c llpon the good and complete their course:> accordmg to. the
gooJ and tbe beautiful alone. . .. Th ~ world of becommg, howev~ , smce
I t i:;. itscH multiform and composed of different parts, can because Qf its own
incol\$I" tCllC" and fragmcntation, absorb these unifonn and homogcneous
forces onl\' in a contradictory and fragmentary way.
e.,.,
C'nv....,ing tbe ,ifts of the planeta &I puuly be:ne6eial. the latter OOQSidenn, Satum, inlluwee
in particnlar ... preponderanUy harmful. In the essentially Neoplatonie metapbyAca. of
Pie&trill, tho planets have the tuk 01 IAIlI.mittin' ~ emanations of the. '"' to the .:.\",
and. in 10 doing. to d iff~ntiate them aeeordln' to lb~ o_n nature. (for lb.., d . H . RITT.a,
"Piea tm: , C'in arabiKhes Handbueb bC'lIe nistileher Magie," in VOl't~41' d# BiWioIIo W.,.bMrl,
VOL. I, 19 Z1 -n) . Th erefore, si nce these emana tions are by nature
the planeb un
only work good, thouSh thal doe. not preve nt Pi~tri.x, any ~rC' than th e Pure Brothe~
(who weAl al$O in!lueneed by Neoplatonism) from painting the Inftuence of Saturn or Man as
prepon tl cra.nUy baleful. One ean lee that It botlo~ ~e. ve.ry eo,nplieated &l tTologie&l
Iyatem could 1I0 t be re<:onciled with tl.e euenUaUy optimIStic v,eWI 0 1 NtoplatODlam.
,nod.
.w.
U ) "MII LlCHUl, I>. ",yd,riis, ed. G. Parthey, Berlin I &S7, I, 18, pp . .511 and .54 The
notion. which lItO re.emerged oeeuionaUy In the Middle ACes, that the Influence 01 t~
..... conditioned by the natu rC' 0 1 thC' lubstance reiving it and not merely by their o;-n
dynamiam (1ft
text pp. , 6" 169 tqq.) is dC'alt with in gnater d etall .1n the f~~won.g
.eetionl , particularly with ref.:.-eftU to Satllnl and lotan, ... t>o.& tnetapb,..ical , ublumty ..
eonuastetl with tbe ma\C'V(lienc:e attributed to them by the astroioSS'L
be"'_,
2] .
153
Cf. Pu:ro', wdIknowD triparti te di vision o r the principles often intC'fpreted as a model
lor the Christian doctrine 01 the Trinity : L,U. r VI, 3lJed (genuine) and ultn 1/, Ju e
(apocryphal). On this, tee R. KLlII"'oISICY, Ein PrQIlIO$FIHld II"d I~if/' Brtklllllll&. HC'idelber@'
' 9'9, pp. 10 sqq., esp. p. II, note I.
.. PJ.OTIl<US, E"",,/Id.r, v, I , 4 : Kpd ... ~ .. 8.011 "0(10<1 "'" 1'066,,",.
.. PLnTINUS,
...
;'~ ';~'"
Ef/IUlIIh, v , I,
JtOl .A."." ...:
7 : ~,u.
oo(1r
ynoIah& II
Y""i..o.....
it. ......
O. PLO:mous, Ennead .. v, 8, I ): cWo "'Or ,;, H ,.J..,., ......w- ...a.,J_ JtOl '"'Y~u
. . .....0.6< nM7& ~
ipx;o'" IoU ,.., ;. "*? .,Or ~""- . . I ...; y ..... O+hn ...- ' _ .'"'"
uJ
....or
"'"14' ,"N,"",
lIfO"" .....
...,Or n a-, .. ,
l-orWi 4
,.1~.m..;
'AJJ,'
.....t
+- .,.:,-.
154
[II.
I.
For the word K6po~ does not mean "son" but signifies the pure and unadulterated mind itself."
.,4.
"* ..
St"t,,",",,,,.
'J6c}a Mjq.
wicked KroIlN, o n the other hand, occlln in Plato only on. and then o nly in oonnexion
with II ~neTal polemic against the notions of the gods in the old myths (R'l'ubli,. II. 378a).
...,...
CI. E . A. .L (ed.). Or-"II~" . LeipKig 188j. XHI , 4 : &,,~ ~ h lX't, ..... T 4".........
" Cf. E. AUL (ed.).loe. cit.; a.l.a o.l'lIi'tmJMfr"P'nI!4 , ed. O. Kem.. Berlill Ion. 119.
.. CI. E . AIUIL (ed .), lot. cit.: "poW "P'>I',h'; also Lvcol'lIaoft'. AI,or. ..d,,,. line 20J: ro(;
.,."...,.._ K,O-. with IChoUon : "~",,"r oW ,; K,..Io-or. ,; .,4 ..... ~ ,..~t_ (p. 8
10, in G. Kinkel's edition, Leipzig 1880).
.. " Orpheus calls the very fi~t principle X~, I.e. a]moat homonymously with Kpd_."
sa)'1 J>~ OCL U'. S,II()li" III C.,u),luIII. ed. G. PasquIIII. Leipzig 1<)08. p. ,S9. 17: the Kpdoor-..o(;s
cannu ion il a lto described as Orphic: DA",-,S(;IU5. De pri",iJ prifltipiit. 67; O. Kerll (ed .).
O''1''''-''''.''Il'UtttA. 1)1 : 1_ II "..I 'o~ nIo> K,oOo- . ~...,;,.; and PltOCLUS ill S, lwl.
Old JI,JitJ4.
line 126 (G. isfo.-d (ed .) op. cit . p . IU, ' 7): " p.h. op#f.~ nil ~_ yl..",
/lO()WW'. +~ 7~. )(pO ....... TO~ ......... nIo> ",rJJ~ M,...~ C
.:...-as .lpyupool-r U~ .:..nul' rook " ...1 ..0.-
.,''.
~X~
.. X,..;....s.. IOC' instance. is called rI~ ~. which brinSI the ooncept of him ciON to
tha t of the old .nd wise founder of. city (ct'. CU TES, F."p . 39. and the paraUels quoted in
th is oonnu ion by T . KOC K. CCI",i,CI""" AlliUWlf'" fr"Imn.J4. VOL. I. LeiPKiS 1880. p. 142).
155
s", ..,..
fI '"''''
15&
[no
I.
157
though e\'en here it appears in a form already rationalised in
astronomical terms. This runs as follows :
SATUR:S- IN AN CIENT LITERATURE
The philosophers teach us what the soul loses in its descent through the
various spheres. For that reason the astrologers say that our souls and
bodies are connected by the agency of the divinities in those various spheres;
for when souls descend they drag wHh them the lethargy of Saturn, the
irascibility of Mars, the sensuality of Venus, the greed for gain of Mercury
and the lust for power of JupiterY"
Correspondingly , Poimandres says that on the soul's ascenSion
aft er death it frces itself of the bad qualities of its earthly
existence, leaving in the sphere of Saturn its "lurking lies" . 101
This account of the souJ's joumeyings largely retained its
essen~ially Gnos tic character, that is, the "endowment" of t he
soul descending through the spheres with specific properties, all
of the'm fatal gifts ; but this basic character was lost as soon as
a connexion was formed with a purely cosmological theory, that
is to say, one directed not so much to the problem of sin as to the
problem of the essential unity of man and universe. When this
essential unity began to be sought more generally in the biological
rather than in the psychological realm, the original idea of
"journeying" faded into the background, while the planetary
gifts, now not SO much acquired on a journey as received at birth,
become neutral, constructive elements, some mental, some
physical, It so happens that Servius is again the writer who
passes on this version of the old doctrine, this time appealing
not to the philosophers and astrologers, but to the "physici".
At birth, human nature receives "a Sole spiritum, a Luna corpus,
a Marte sanguinem , a Mercurio ingenium, a love bonorum
desiderium, a Venere cupiditatem, a Satumo humorem" .lln
the Zodiac. on the other hand, an eaUed "leaderl on the side. of OrLnuzd" (d. H . J Ur<KILR,
"ObeT i.-anische Quellen d es bellenistisehen Alonbqriffs". ;n V"rlr<l6' der Bibli",Jr.tk; WIJrblU',.
LIlU, pp. 14 1 &qq.). Cf. also T. ZIILLLr<$KI. " Hennes and die Hennetik", in Ardi.. fU r
Rdisi","swiunudlJfl, YILI (l 90j). pp. ]25 sqq., esp. ]30 sqq.
L.. SZ RVIUS, COllI"'. ill A eMiII., VI. 714.
..' Cf. BoLL, BoUSS,T. and ZU.UNS"-I. 10:. cit.; ZIIl1.INSKI, op. cit., pp, ]21 sqq.; F. CVIoIONT.
After-Lif, ." RomlJ" PII611."i&m , New Haven 19:1:1, pp. 106 &q q.
, .. SILRVIUS, Cu""" . i" ,A",eid.. XI . ". This physico-biological conception of the gif" of
the planets side by lide with a more NeopJatonle one was lle<:4lpted al80 by Isidore (1sInoRIL.
Elym ., v, ]0, 8. largely arreeiag with Servlu bllt put forward . aignillun Uy enOU8h....
".tuLtiti;>. g.. ntilium " ): this ServiU5 serie!: u reprod uced word tor WOld in Myflws'IJPJr.u& 111 {cr.
below. t ext pp. 17'1 sqq.}. in the chapter on Mercury (C. H . Bonll'. S#.ri/>Io>u reno ... ...,lAic.. ,.,.,.
',u.
14li"i
Celie 18]4, pp. 217. line ] 3). On tbe other band , the real notion of the _I's
jour?eyin,s .11 ....';'..ed ;n m any forms in a Larce number nf P1atoniat writing. and poenu.
e.g. ,n D."NAROU. SILVltBTaI 5. De .. "il>. _"di, 11, ] : ALAlItI$ All Ill SULLS {_ bl:low. pp. ,86
sqq., t exth and later in MATTEO PAut!IL ILL (_ below pp , ." , sqq" text); CAIUMNU!.,
ATLIAII'ASIUS KLRCLL ILR, etc.
[II. t.
. When. however. the ~elationship between macr~osm and
microcosm was so conceIved that planetary influences were
supposed to be of a physical as weH as of an ethicaJ nature and
when at the same time the ideas of emanation and reasce~sion
were linked ~th the joumeyings of the soul, all this gave rise to
a transformation suc.h as w e' have encountered in the Ne6platonists
Pr~lus and Macrobms. Whet~er classified according to "series"
as 111 Proclus, or regarded as acquired in different planetary
spheres, as in Macrobius, the planetary gifts became faculties of
the soul, and these (acuities were without exception beneficial.
Neoplatonism, too, considered the soul's incarnation in the material
world as a descen t, but one in which the soul's endowments
brought with her (rom her higher home, could only be good;
and among these innate goods the noblest. as we have seen, was
Saturn's gift. 1oo
. TllU~. in this double interpretation of the myth of the soul's
]oumeymgs- and between those extremes there ex isted many
mi xed fonnsH1'- the polarity of the notion of ]{ronos led to two
opposing basic attitudes. The pregnant antithesis "dullness,
sadness. fraud vs. reasoned or even inspired thought" was to
dominate the ' future too. though the bald "either/or " was soon
softened to " both/ and". The Saturn to whom the lethargic
and ~ulgar beJonge~ was at the same time venerated as the planet
of high contemplatIon, the star of anchorets and philosophers.
Nevertheless. the nature :md destiny of the man born under
Saturn. even when, within the limits of his condition. his lot was
the most fortunate, still retained a basis of the sinister ' and it is
on t~~ !~ea of a contrast. born of darkness. between th~ greatest
POSSIbilitIes of good and evil, that the most profound analogy
between ~at~m and melancholy was founded . It was not only
the combmatlon of cold and dryness that linked black bile ,with the
apparently similar nature of the star; nor was it onJy the tendency
to depression, loneliness and visions, which the melancholic
,u SH llbove, p. 1.5.5 (text).
' .. Ct. the literature quoted on page 1.57. notes 101 "'t. In thi. t ypo o f mi xed teria (as c.g. in
1. 1I)(l RIl. D. "4lrml "rulll . cd. C. Becker, Berlin 18.'57, 1II, p . 10; BBDIl. IH. t".. ~," r,tjo.., .
ch. 8 (MIOMI!, P . ..... VOl.. XC, col. ),81q.); ANDAI.US DEN IORO. Ikil. Mil, . MS Add . ')77<1. foi l.
l6:-lry,. Saturn ,.en~?Uy ~.Ionp to the evil side; he bts"tQws 01" l ignifies u.../"'. _~"
me:rores. trlStiham. vrlrtatem et malum" and tarditatcm". Only in the K6p.J Ko..J'OU
(T. Zll.I.lrfS'U. "HUiIles und die Jlennetlk." in A ~J.fp jMr RdiliOft;mluotuAt.jt, VIII (190.'1).
p . 36 .5) doai Satu~ play a,~ part ; as d">i<" N~jd_"",......" he bestows d~ and A..,{,.....
OR the. to~l . ThIS at lint "Ibl .Inglilar ueeption can be t:rplained by the inftllence of
Plalo .... l t irtenture. Uaeeable alto el_here in the Corp," H,r_tUw ....
'Ik_.
3.
;.."",,,.t.... "...j".,..,
M .A. A .
, TEJtTuLLlalt. IH. '''olAma. 9, however, tells ua ,n rdenin, to t he stu "!lIch It,~ thl
Three Kinp ; "at enim . de lltia istol (I.e. utnMOJY ) IIlqlle ad e," uge!;em le:t c:onc: .. u
Fot his attitude to ut.ToJosy, ct. F . W. C. L. ScKUt.TJt. H" JI"d.."Jo", t l) T"",!." ;r~",. !\,:~eri<
191). th. 7. t&IDOJl.JI., Etywa . VIII. 9, 16 foUo ...TeNulh.n .."Otd for ,,"OI"d ct. WeDll..)1 \ .\.
p. IS).
S.\TL:R~
I (Il"
1:\ T HE LITERARY
TRADIT[o~
31 ...
[ II. I.
Saturn. the prince of this race and horde, was described b~e a~e~V~~:~
in anuquit \', both Greek a nd Roman, as a ma n. . .. "~hen
.
fur fe a, " r"his son's wrath , came to Italy and \Va:> hospltabl~ rt~cel~~d by
In many t~tngs. hkake~he
1"- " ""~. he Instructed thOSCl wild and savage .men
.
.
d In the m mg
~ tlltur(:tl Greo.:k that he was, in writ ing. in mmtmg com, an
f 1 hidden
'Jf t ()l\J~. Flir that n'ason he \\'anted the asylum where he had sa e y
hilll!'{'if to il(' called Latium ({rom " Iatere") ' l~' so he was altogether a man
who lIed, altogether a man who hid himself.
;::t
i
; ,
FELIX. O~II~ius, :'1:"". 4-1: T",RTlILLIAN. 111'01"1";": x ; t.ACTAl'I~II.IS,
,. 8 . based o n fhe q ... otat ion frum V,RG,L (A,,, .. VIII, Ime'll )20 $(jq .. see . 0 ,
S
. f
ently menboned
I" sl., L I), ...... 15
t e!!t n . ( 1) later taken o,'er by A ... gustine. The panage 01\ a : ... rn IS req...
I
, 'h
,
.
. h h
l' \ d isc ...Med on n ... me ro ... s artic!:S, 0
e
..
. ' H J B VLlS
In cri tical literature in , 0nne:'l:lon Wit t e qllcs 101 .
interdcpomdenee of Min ... cills Felix and TertllUian. ~ th~ blblt.ogn..phl~
.:T ;'dlill~
\1 ,,,,1(1 ,.5 FtliJ< London 1<)28, and in G. A. JOIIANNA ScHMIDT. MI " ""UJ t....
r er
(di ssertatiQn.lIi ... nieh 1932). pp. 89 sqq. For th~ s tar of th~ Ma~, d. ~: BoUCtl::L~~~:;o~~~
L'aslrolori' ",.'ql<t.. Pa n s 1899, p. 611. and L. o s VUUI, urllJ 1"1<$ e..
(d'aMrtation, Amsterdam 193Jl, pp. 7 ' !qq.
The pas!Nl ges on Saturn in the Ch ... reh Father. ue eoovenient1~ collected in V~L:
the index to MIG"''''. P. L., VOL. CC:O<I :'I:, pp. )88 $(jq. I' or ~he elLrly h15t0':s of /~e ~i~~:I:
pagan gods wi th a detailed eommentilry on two of the earhH! C,:,,~ wor , c . . II Lo
'
Z ',i " iU!ti$l:M ApoIo&tlu, (A";stides and Athenagotal'l. Le' p~lg 1901: j09",", . an,
l ':'II.. IIi~ " Ills Ape/oed , VOL~ . I_II , 1921-28 (~Hin$ tcr . Deitr!ge ~ur TheQh).t;l" c. 1:'1:- :'1:) d,sc,, ~se~
t he problem 0 1 early Homan attacks ou pagani!lm. CI. esp. pp. 128-1 79
". }tor th e distaSte with which the myth of the birth of Zcn. and Kron(ls's d"."Q... rin g of
, ..
~h:SI.lCl uS
,'.nrxk
II.
II 0:
the stone was reguded. we nlay mention & later text. CU:GQJlY 0' NAZl ANJ;US, O~al'O , .. sa"dll
1,.",,"11 (MI CNE, P . Gr. , VOL . XXXV I, col. ))7) Ke below, text p . 199, and P U T'" ' 1,
r 6r
This 1S not the place to describe in de~ail the .way in which oth~r
themes in heathen or J ewish polemICS ag~mst t~le. gods we e
t aken over by the apologists and employed Ul Christian speculat ion.109 Throughout this battle the Kronos-S~t~~ myth p!ayed
a not unimportant part , whether because its prumtlVe and vlole~t
theme shocked the sensibilities of the time,110 or because Its
Stoic and physiological interpret ation seemed ~ profound as
espcciRllv to warrant rebuttal. Whether Kronos s madness was
interpreted as the met amor phosis of th~ "Kairos", or .wbet~er
Kronos was time , darkness, frost or mOisture: he c,ertaml y ",as
not a god, for divinity is essentially unchangmg. rhus argu~d
Athenagoras, taking his argument from t he older StOIC
..
... A p olotill FO Clorntia.. i.s. 22 (J. GIPPC Xll'I , ZltIIi t"juloiuJ" Apolot'u", Le!pzi8 1907
pp. 1)9 sqq., 20$ sqq.).
". Ad ... lio~s. I I, 12 (Corp. SIt . F.ccl. Lat .. VOL xx, p. 11 8). Tert ... lIia.t:I ooDtQd;ets the
Stoic doctrine developed by CICU.O,.o. ~U .... tlcon...., II. :l4-2~, eq ... ating K...o__ with X"o.-:
" Sed elegant.er q ... idamsibi videntur physiologice per a l1 egorieam arg ... mf:ntationem d~ Saturno
In terpretarl temp ... , esse. . . . Nominis q ... oq ... e testimonium eompl!:tlant: K,o- dictum Cr:aece
u t x"o_. Aeque latin! voeabuti if. sationibus r:ationem ded ... e ... nt, q ... i f:UJD p~torem
ooniectantur, per eum seminalia caell in terram defeni." The later derivation of the name
SatU Tl\ o\ a satu ". based on VARltO, Ddin, .... k! tinll, v , 64, ed d. C . Goetz and F . SchoeU, Leipzig
' 9 ' 0, p. 20 (5ef: also the parallel pus&ges siven in the appendix) is &Iso mentioned several times
by AUGQSTI~I. D, CiviW. Dli, VI. 8; VII , :t; VII, ) ("Satu rnUI aemiDia da.tor vel lat,o,-',;
VII, I); VII , 1$. How V&n'o attempted to combine this derivation with that from the notion
of Tirne 'ca.n be seen in JR Cj~ilaU Dn, VII , 19: " Ch rODon appeU at ... m d;eit (tc. Vuroj, quod
Gr:aeeo voeabulo stgni6at tempori! spatium, sine quo seIDell, inquit, DOD potHt 'esse
feeund ... m." Ct. E . SCHW,....n:, "De M. T. V&n'onia a.pud lancto. patres vl!ltigiis" in JA~rbu,A
fUr Itilluiu/t, P llil%, i" SU PPL. VOL. XVI (1888), pp. 424 $(jq. , 439, 482 !qq.
III
m ct. 1.. D& VUOI, AUI,,$Iift ..s t il .u "hlu,{0ti, (d issertation, Amsterdam 19))), a od
J. A. DAv is, D. O~0.5 io tI SlIoro A .." u tino P riu illioni,lafum ad~"sarii, U/mlttenJllrilllti'lo~i~1I
" ploil"",,U:1I
(<!~tation ,
Civil"" Dn, VII, 19. The remainlns pusagett on Saturu in D. Civilllu Dei &re easily
available in the index to E. Hoffm&nn', edition, VieDn& 1899-1900 (Sa.t ... r n ... ... nlueky planf:t ,
god of th~ JewI, lord of the Sabbath, etc.). For Saturu in Augustine', other worn sec
SIST EK MAay OAl'IaL MADD"'l<, Til. PIIf~'" Divi"ilj" ....d IJuj~ Wrwsllip .. i ... /I" WOI',h of
St A ~i.., uci.uin, oftlu City ofGDd (The Catholic: University of America, Patristic Studies,
VOL. XXJV, 19)0). pp. 4 6-~]. For Aug ... stiDe" transmitting &nd perfecting of early Christian,
lpologeties in general. see C"' I'I'CI(sn, op. cit .. pp. ) 18 Iqq .
\ " J).
[n.
I.
According to this modern interpretation ... they call Jupiter the son of
Saturn more in the sense as it were of spirit ("spiritus"] emanating from
that highest intellect ["mens"], and considered as the soul of the world fillin g
all heavenly and earthly bodies. . .. The Romans, however, who dedicated
the Capitol not to Saturn but to jupiter, and also other peoples who believed
that they owed worship to jupiter before all other gods, were not of the same
opinion as the Platonists. The latter in their new theory, if only they had
had any power in such matters, would have preferred to dedicate t heir
chief sanctuaries to Saturn, and also, above all, to extirpate the astrologers
and horoscope-makers who had relegated Saturn (described by the Romans
as the "wise creator"},l17 to the position of an evil god among other stars.1I8
The Ncoplatonic interpretation of Saturn was here treated
with unmistakable irony, it is true, but not altogether wit hont
respect. It is therefore the more remark-abJe that August.ine,
who elsewhere frequently made use of middle and later P latonic
notions,ut should not have employed t his pagan heritage in the
service of the Christian viewpoint. His rad ical aversion applied
as much to pagan theology as to pagan astrol ogy . l~
5t Ambrose blazed another trail important for posterity when,
instead of attacking, as Tertullian, Athenagoras, Augustine and
their contemporaries had done, he associated himself with
Philonian and Pythagorean speculation . He took his point of
departure not from the planetary gods but from their number,
." According to anotber readillg; "ereator of wise men".
'" AUGus n NJI, V , WtlUIlS" '''I1Nldi$/Jl",.... , I, 34 sqq . (Corp. Ss. Eccl. Lat.. VOL. XLIll ,
ed. F. W cihrich, V1eIlD:>. ' 904. pp. ]'I .qq.). So~ of the polemics IIccord with r... t:tanl,uJs
statements mentioned above (see the Dotes to the edition cited) The concludillg pana,e.
of great pregD.&llcy, may be given in the origin~; 'Romani tamen, qui non Saturno, $ed lovi
Capirolium condidC"l"unt, vel aliu nationel, quae lovem pr.ecipue su pra eeter01l deos
colendum I!SS(I putaverun t, non boc q uod iali [IC. philosophi reeentiores Platonlei] sen5-Cr~ n t,
qui secundum istam luam novam opinionem et SUmma! arees, Ii quicqoam in hii :ebua
potest.a.tis habu inent, Satumo poth.!! dedicarent et mathematiCOI u~1 gne t::'liacDs ma",me
delerent, qui Saturnum, q uem sapientem [another reading; u.pielltu~ ; eifecto:el:1 ;111
dicerent, malelicum dellm inter alia lidera consti tu crent.
n. A striking aample 0 1 this is A~gvstine'. doctrine of ideas (e .l . )hGSF.. P. L. 'OL. XL col
a9sq.); d. alto E . P"N OFSII:Y,Id'4 (Shldien der Bibliothek Warbu lll, VOL. '". 19~~), pr ,S Ill'!.
aDd 8l sqq .
... This radically hostile Utitude q weU illustrated by a pusage fromllAlI.TI:< 0 .. BRACA~AS
.enuon to th e peasants. Martin o f Bracara reguds the gods of the da.y. 01 the week as fa.lIen
ang<lb or demoWl, wbo observe the wiekedn C$S 01 men a.nd give themselves ou! as god iess
men 01 earlier tim ... (Saturn, Jupiter, etc .). The.." demom; persuade the J>Mple to ,,outlip
them under the narnel of tbese suppoJe<l persons. Hence Martin heanily dliJapl'fOveS of
naming the days of the week a.lter the plane t.. 'Non tamen sine pcnnissione del nocent. qu,a
deum babent iratum et non ex toto corde in lide Christ i credunt. Sed sunt dubu in Illnlum.
Ilt nomina ipsa. daemoniorum in singulo$ dies nominent, et aplM'Uent diem )!~t1S tt )It:~ u"
e t lovis et VenCI";' et Satnrrn, 'In! n ullum d itm fe(:ttunT. sed lutlunt homInes pt"nllT:I t:
Kelerati i.o gente Graecornm" (D,
rusli'" ....m, 8. ed. K. P. Caspan. Chris tianIa
188), pp. II an d l.u:viii.) This work was written between A .I.l. ,,2 and 3;4. Seol Cupari
(ed.), op. cit., pp. cvii aqq., fOT its l urvival in the Middle All"'.
,on,,''-'"''
110 His quoniam Jatuisset t utus in ori.'; VIRGIL. Ae" ., vui. )20-)2 4.
5e\'ell.
[II.
I.
J. Hau sslciter,
COfl'. s,.
Ecc!. Lat.. VOL. xu x. Vienna. 1916. pp. 6 sqq.). For this passage lee W . MACH?LZ, .Spur",
bi"il". iJ&her D, .. kWlis, (di"ertation , Halle_W ittenberg 1902). p p. 16 sqq. Vlctormu s 0 1
P etlau lollows O rigen In the main. FOT Vic;torlnus'. attitude to Origen, cf. HIEIl ONVM1)fi,
Epist . 61. 2.4. a nd Vigilius. (Sud' E.lIimmy",; ,pUt".llU. ~ . J. HiI~g, ~p. 5$. Ece~ . Lat.,
VOL. LI\. Vienna 191 0- n. pp . .5.57-8) : " TateO de Ulctonno Pctob,onensl et (:f!te:ris, ~u l
Origenem in explanation" dumtaxat scrlpturaru m $eCuti &lint et expresseru nt" : al.so E.plst.
84, 7. ad P" ... ",,,,,hiU,,,,1
(Hil blerg (ed.). ibid . V?L. LV. pp. '~O. sqq .): "Nee ~5UtIOrft
lu mu, Hilario nee fideliores Vietorino, qui tnetatUI elus [seil. O!"lgcnls) non ut I.n~rpr~
led ut auctores pra pr;; operis tra.nstulerunt. Nuper ArnbrOlliu l sic Exaeme:ron IHiu! [KII.
QTigenis] conpil:>.vit. lit magis Hippolyti sententias Basiliique lCq uel'f!t ur"; al loO HU:RON VMUS,
Adt'.rJ"s libms Ru/i"i. J. 14 (MlvNE. P . L . VOL. XXIII. col. -4 6 7).
,.. F. BoLL ("'Die LebensaLter'. in N~ .., ]/iMbilthff Iilr Ii,," IIl"ni"II. Altfft" ... , XVI ( 19 I J) .
p. 126. note J ) was the flBt to point .out ~he ~ge in AmMo:" in thl.' con ne,uon. YOT
Philo. d . K . STAZ HLIl. Di. Z"JJn>"'ysl.1I lift PIIIUnf. """" Alu"..dm. , l..elpZlg 19)1.
tractamus. sed. secundum formam et divisiones gratiae spirit&.lis: septem enim vlrtutes
principales $;Ulc;ti aplritUI proph"'ta Es&iu eompleJtul est (!Jai ....... XI, ':I). Haec: hebdomu . ..
si ne tempore. sine ordi ne, auctor numen. non l ub numeri Icg~ d$vincta. Itaque . icut ad
&eterna.. Trinitath gr&tiam caelum. tern.. mula formata. "cut anl, luna et stellae: ita ctiam
ad ilium septenarium virtutum spiritalium c!rculturn atque orbern operationis divinae vigore
pr&e$ t&ntem, septen&rium quoddam mlnl$terium planetarum cl'f!at um advertimus. quo hi e
mundu l illuminatur." ACQ)rdiug to J. A. DAVIS, op. cit ., p . ,87. Ambcose was here under
OrifleD's iufluence. In HVNU .... lib . 4. f 17 (lIh G" P . L . VOL. XIV. eol. I j3) Ambrose adopted
another vie ...,
,n Cf . : ..., "'M~_ .;......-s ..... ;P dpoI,..&. in Pnll..o. D, opifido ,..u"ll;' 106 (Op"", I,
J 8, ed. L . Cohn, Berlin 1896).
, .. A)llIROSE , Epid. 04 Horollli/l ........ H . 3 (MIGl<z. P . L., VOL. XV I, coli. 11)6 Iqq.):
"Donu! septimus numerU8, quem non Pyth&gorieo et eeterorum philosophotulll man
0"".."...
lI.ili,,..
r66
[n .
I.
'" D, "al"ris ~'~'m' (ed. Wright). p. 41. The soul also acqui res tha followin& faculties:
fram J upiter "intell ectu" qui providentiam creat et hebetudinem expeZlit"; from Mars
"dQnum cOMllii, quod praecipibtionern renuit e.t cautclam procn:at" (lhls, no doubt, because
af diseretion being the better part o f the $Oldierly virtue of valour); from Sol Oil the other
band, "donum fortitud;,ti~, qnia ... eTtat perseverantiam el lid uciam e t msgnall;mitate.m";
from Venus "scientia ... quae In s.anguinei~ vlgcre solet." Mercu ry's gift is connected with
the "pietatis donum," a, "honl;nibu~ dulc.il conversationb spirituale augmentl.m gratlac
min;stTat"; Luoa', giit is connected with "timor qui negligentiam tl<peUit . . , et . . .
humilibtem genent." In AbAilard we find .. limilar conception, namely that the p lanets are
piritu.Uy illumined by God's grace. which I. de..::rii>ed as sevenfold. (Optra, ed. V. Cousin,
Pari. 1839, VOL . II, p. oz).
" . See above, pp. 161 sqq. {text).
I" B a aTKOLD vo:< RacERS.UIIG, So",,,,,s IV and LXI (F . Pfeiffer', edition. VOl... I, Vienna
1562, pp. 48 sqq., VOL. It, Vienna ISSo, pp. 23) tqq.) .
!
tf
[n. I.
SATURN 1:\ THE LITERARY TRADITION
I6S
spiritual hea\'cn the Lord adorns her with spiritual stars. In
'''L ou. til . "A1SQ wirt an d en' himel der sele Saturnus [der fUrber] der engelischen
reinekeit u[}(le bringet !.II lone anschouwunge der gotheit .. . ."
,.. Th e passages quoted ;r;oove. pp. 153 !>qq., can be adduced only as parallels, not as SOUN;C$.
The other corresponden ces are : Jupiter: "Blessed are the meek. for they shall inherit the earth"
(cf. BERTIIOLD vo"" RroItNSBURO, ed. cit. I. p. ,58: "miltekcit"; ll. p. 236, also referring to
etymolog y : "i uvans pater"); Mars (with a curious inversion of hls nature) : "BLessed a re
those who are persec uted for righteousness' sake"; Sol (with a play on " Sol Justitiae");
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after rightcousness"; Venus (the train of thought
leadin g to \o"'e, weeping, longing and consolation): "Blessed are they that mOUln, lor they
shan be comforted "; Mercury .Cbe<:ause of "des himelriches richeit") : "Blessed U<! the poor
in spirit. for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven."
3l
I69
170
[n. I.
,
... ,\Vn. LJAM OF AllVEII.GNE, D. ,,,,,vlrso, I, I , ch. 46, p. 619 ill the Venice edll . of 1591, VOL. 1,
p . 6:;:; in the Orleans edn. of 1674: "sed qui ponulit Saturoo vel vim vel potentiam adiDvand i
et dirigendi vim intelle<:tivam humanam, nullo modo debellt ei attribuCl'e corruptionts aut
perversitates ipsius. nequ e inclinationem .ive extorsionem clulidem ad !raudes, dolos, astutias.
simulationes atq ne mendacia, sed haec omnia fieri in vi intellectiva per ineptitudinem .. .
et haec ineptitudo est ei a parte materiae. hoc est corporis ... cum Saturnus secundum cos
(i.e . astronomos) intendat dirigere et iIluminare virtutem inteUe<:tivam h UlD<lIlam ad ea
eognosccnda, quae re<:ta. et utilia, et interdum usque ad splendoretD prophetiae: impeditur
haec intentio eius et operatio a partee corporis. quocl anirnae illi coniunclum est ." With
this passage d. K . WaRN!,:R "Die Kosmologie und Naturlebre des scholastiscben Mittelalten
mit specielJer Beziehung auf Wilhelm von Conches", in SillUtlg5btridie del' kaiu,Uthetl
Aka<lemie <Iei' Wiu,,,selraJle,,, Phil.-hisi. Kraue, LXXV (1873). pp. 334 sqq.
'" Both th e older and the reo:;ent literature has lately been admirably dealt , with by F.
CIIISALBRTI, "L' 'Ovidius morali:r.atus di Pierre Bersuire," in Sludi romatlri. VOL. XXIII (1933),
PP5- 136 .
3l
17
'
90urCe of a pictorial motif in the Cybel'" fresco in th e Pala zzo Schlfanola. Ferrara) ha$
been brou ght to light hy F . ROVG. ><ONT (A. Warburg, G~s. Sclrrifl ..,. VOL. II , LeipZIg 193 2 .
lIS
p. 64 1
... \Ve correct J. M. KE><SL' S tnrnslation . The Dialoc ue oj Salomo" .. ",/ S"~"";" l . l.ondon
J848, p . 134. For the 90urces of the notion of Sa t um in the O . E. dIalogue d . :\. \'0 :VINCENTS' " Die alt.englischen Dialoge von Solomon und Sa t urn " . in .\; ,,,; , 1. :... ~"I"'f' .:.it
roma"i.seloe" ....Ii mg/ilclrt1l Philowgie, X;O:XI ( 1 90~ ). pp. 8i - 105
S.-\TCR:\
J~
[11.
I.
"" For the com mentary by Remigius. see Dox (:ApPUYl<s. op. cit.~ also M. M.o.lflTlIJS.
Hemigiuskommentare". in Nell(l5 A~t'\i" !U~ .wen uU:sw Gudic,\ull ..
VOl.. XLIX
(1932). pp. 17J-8J . Substantil.l portion. of the commentary were even tn.l1$Iated into
German (by Notker Labeo): lite JUl.'" ScHULTIt. Das Verhallnil POfI. Notll 1 N ..pliM Pllilo/QIiu
d Me",..jj Z"III J(o ......'nlo ' del R,miti .. s Afttiu'O/lOO'e"I'I. Mllnster i.W. 1911.
"Z ... ci
,.d,.
... For Ncci<am. see H. LlIlB UC Ii OU . Fulge .. /i .. s MehJ!IWol'i (Studien der Bibliothek
Warburg. VOl.. IV. 1916). pp. 16 "lq . I.nd M ....uo EsPOSITO. in E"Ilblo flisfrwi,tIJ Revi,w.
VOL. XXX (191.5). p . ~66. l\u R. W. Hunt'. r~arches have shown that Ncckam made eJ<ten.
, ive II$<'! of Myllt 0l.aplt ..1 III for hi, wmme ntary on Martianul CapeUa. bllt for tbia very
reawn there is no qu estion o f hi. being himself the author. The troe author. as Mias .
Rat hbon e.ha s . hown. i. Magister A lbericu. Londinensi c. 117<'; Se(: M~djaeval alld R~"ajn'Jllc.
St .. din. I ( 19~3) . pp. 35 .qq . and pp. 39 sqq.
... P.o''''' u", ; G. H . BoD8. S,.iploru rerl",' ...ylll~'" /al'n' I~u. Celie 183 pp. 1,2.
16 !qq. H e takes thi, Stoic doctrIne from S.tlVIUS. CO!II"'. i .. A,neid . IV. 6)8, alld
Rl!lUG[US', Com .... in /'.10.1 ch . v; d . R. RASCHKJI.. De Alberiw Mylle%p. B~ula,.'r
pltil4logi.u1ce AbllO lldl ....glft . XLV ([9 13). p. 13. Even NICHOLAS OP Ctlli .. de voted the whole
of ch. XXV o f his D. dfKlIJ igno. .. "I'O to the idea tbat "Gentiles DeUtn vane oomillabao.t
c:alllrarll m respectu" (etid. E . Hoffmann and R. Klibansky. Leipzig 1931. pp. ,2 sqq., ,nd
the list of SQUI'I for that chapter).
3)
SATl' RN
I~
M.EDIEVAL UTERATURE
'73
... 0. Ipr instance the acwunt of Servin quoted on p. t 57. note 100, intl'odllcing which the
Mythograpber 1laY" "Nell a bborreas. quod iuxta atellarom ItatUI prospera nobis vel adveru.
dicantur 'destillari ; et fides eatboliea qllod .. ne le ntit. firml~ime ampleeta.tur. Gentilium
tamen opinio habet ... " (Myllcogt'lJpltus. //1. 9. 7).
'u As i. wcU knowl1. it was not Ovid'. text. bul the moralisat.ions 01 Ovid wh ich wen~ pla.eed
o n tbe Tridentine lnde.>: (el. Metropolita .. M,,,,w* SJ .. diu. IV (1933), pp. 276 II<Iq.).
In Cf. H . LIJ';BESCHtln:. FulgntJi .. , M,IIl!oralu (Studlen der Bibliolhek Warburg. VOL. IV.
Leiprig 1926). pp. 16 and .1 ~ and . for Petn.rc:h, principles of t.n.nl formation. E . P"'COI'Slty.
H"",Jts .'" S&Juiu...
(Studien d er Bibllothdt Warblll'l. VOL. XVIII , Leipz.ig 1<}30).
w"
174
[II . I.
aqq. and
6.5.
'
I.. Cf. the introduct ory chapter quoted by Ln:BtscHOTZ, op. cit., p. 21. note 33 : 'Qui
pnmlU apud gentiles de us habitus . it .. :. Bocx:accio deal, with Saturn in th. 1 ~ Book
""' (pp. 191 sqq. in the BasIc: edition of 1")2). Fo~ Boccace.lo. method of interpreting t he
myth~. _ C. C . Osaooo, B,,",,",o 0" Pod..,. Princeton '930, pp. :ttvil sqq . and the excellent
monograph by CARLO L.""01, D''''OK~K'''' . Palermo 1930.
den,,, ...
(The Modern
m Cf. E. H . WILKI"" TIl, UHi,,,,,i/y oICM",co MS 01111, C,",olop a
P hil ology Monographs). Chicago '927. th. II. The Greek quotations in the Gtlttalolia';
a lso L ... NOI, op. ci t., pp. 22 8'1'1.
' 75
CAII.TA~I.l.# I~";
,,"'i~IIi.
Ri,u"',
Th., inu"!!"
1,0
(II .
I.
ThN~
,_""U;II.
1M CI CARLO
IJu"OfO"IOU. Palermo. 1930 : also M. CUTELA If< , " Dbnogo'10n ou
Ie barbolmme d,,1i6" in B,IIIullft d, f Au"'..,;.... G.. ;u.. ....... B"" . 36. July 1931. pp. 21 tqq . :
BocCAa:IO, 0P"'" pp. 118 tqq. in the 1,6.5 edn.
I,
tqq.
31
I77
MytJt~trlJp/lI<S
~n1I '"
... Ct. H. UEB II$CJl OTI. F"'I",/iou M'~f~~"'"" (Studien du B;blinthek W.rb\lr,. VOL. IV,
pp. 71 sqq.: ef. also F . S AXL In F,uld rift fUr j ..u .., St.AJI" ~' Zil rich 19z6, pp. 104
tqq. Hcnu, the covcn:d bead of the a llelcnt nges l. Inkrpreted bere as a sign of the bonour
they ~y to intellect, and t he lickle il Intellect'. IoCe ptre. btling curvcd back upon itsclf to
show hOw tbe inteUigent man "nmDet ad 1M! polI!lt a tlrall ere et panem potumque sapienli ...
cunc tislarg;""imc miuistrare." etc.
t9~6) ,
M'I'ltJ_p"~,il O,,'di/l"IJ. ",~,,,,"'/4r .. MlI.fi, 'rll TAo,"" W..I.y, . . . UPltJ,,4113, lois. ii'
tqq. in the Paris cdn. 0 1 1.5 1.5. In all th_ C&t4!t. 01 coune, each individual trait h .. a
corrcsp,:mdin, interpretation, C<ration. lor Inttance, preY;nsln thc cas.e nl the "cvil pastor"
that "tilta vol upta.. au! iD am&ritudlnem conyert!tur": i n the cas.e of the "good puto."
that ".ttlCl bani pcel.a.ti IOlent . . ambitiot.b .ubditis inft'lltarl" : In tbc cas.e of the "tyrant"
that like Ihall be rendered for like, ~ in the CUB 01 gluttony that thila generates lust ...
Satum', castrated member cencnted \'cn ..., etc.
."
,
178
ElI. I.
... Cf. the decree. o f Bi.tlops Burchard of Wornu and h 'o of (harteH (q uoted' in W XD.L,
M .A .A., pp. 30 aqq .) against astrologk:al praetiee$ on oceasion.li ke marriages, agriculrural
un dertaltings. etc.
180
(u .
I.
,,' "Contingens autem secundum Aristotdieam senteutiam e&t. quodcumque aut <;wUS
lerl aut ex libcro cu iu.libct arbiuio et propria \'oluntate venit aut ~acHitau. naturae I~
\ltTamque paTtern redire possibile e$t, ut fiat lCilicet et non fiat.: BoI:~HI~S. Ce>m"'....
;11 libr"m ...trillollSiI nfpl rPP'lOCU6, ~nd ed n . III , 9. ed. C. Metlw:r, Lelp%l g I SSo. p. 190,
ta"'
sqq.
I .. AO"'IUM D.
V.
I,
p . 6~9 sq.
, ... The historical con text of William 01 Conclle&. natural philOllOphy will be mofe clearly
understood when his commentary on Plato', Tlm aeus will be available in the (ArptLs PIAto" ,-",,1ft
/.fldii Awi.
," P/l,ilOloplli". n , 5 (MIG"Z, P. L., VOL. CU<XlI, col. 59"'-B); Dr"g"'At~. III ("Dialogul do
t ubsta ntiis physids a VuHhelmo Aneponymo," Strubourg 1567, pp. 70-1 1).
IT. "Unde in fa-buI ll senu: fingitw." Plliklu>plIi" II, 17 (MIGN8. P. L., VOL. CU.XII, col. 6., B
tmended aCC(lrd ing to Oxford, Bodleia.D Library. MS Bodley 679); Dragm..tkoft, IV
(Strasoourg edn. 0 1 1567, p. 99) .
on "Haec eadem ttella ex frigiditate d id tur nociva., et maxlme quando est retrograda:
IInde in fabulis dicitllr falc:cm deferro". P1I1l0$6p1li6. II. '7 (MIGN.I:, P. L., VOL. CLXX". col.
638); d. Dr"gm"l;u", IV (ed. cit., p. 102). In L. THOIlMDlkII:, A Hi&/QIy of Mop, ,,"4
E~p.ri_l..J Sdflll', VOL. II , I,.(Indon 19l3. p . 57. the lDeaning or the atntence "Didtur Jupiter
patrem Satumum expullue, quia Satumo vici niQT factus natu,.}em noc:ivitau.ID ei a ufert"
It inadvertently revened. For the special role whieh this astrological ioterpntation 0 1 tbe
Saturn-J upifer mytb played .in the R~oc:e. see below. pp. 271 sq., 326 sqq. (text).
,,. Cf: esp. SVIUI, CO,"HU1It. ;" Virgil. G_giu , I, 336 (CO"' .......' .. rii i" Yngilii ' 0'"""" ,
VOL. Ill, edd. G. Thilo a nd 1:1. Hagen, Lelpdg 18,8, p. 201), whOle doctrine Willi&m modified.
in :to ch,racteristic manner.
[II.
I.
CI-XX II .
eol. 6)A).
,n This commentary, whkh appears in a tt.ri~ o f MSS o f the twelft h to fourteenth nlurle.
(e.g. CopenhaStn , CI. Kg!. S. 19 10 ; Bamberg J IV2 1 dass. i O; Berne '1.66) . will be tbe , "bJec:t
01 a specia.l ~per. R.K
0;0
IT'MS Ber ne 216 101. I''' : " . . . ut apparel.!. qual;s est ratio P Lotini. ponit earn; quae
tali. est , quod plnnctae non ton(erun! hom\n;bll' Jlrospcra vel a dversa, led significant prosper.
vel adversa homlnibu. eventura. Unde. qll ia utraque stella , Solis !leilicet ct Lunae, signu m
elt boni eventUI. d lel tur u. llltaris; lteILac vern Satumi et Martis terribiles dicuntur, ideo
quia Soli coniunclae in .liquo slano IU nl lign um mali eveotWl: '
n . Ibid .: "sic PtolomlelU et cl us sequ.ces volebant actul hominu m proveniR u: effectu
p'-netarn m. nQfl tamen omnes. q uia .clllum .m naturales. alii voIll ntari i. llii ~ualCf . . .
VOh.mUI tameo aetu l hominom non provenire u: .. Recto planctarum. sed aptitudiuCf aClUlion
ct huma norum olficiorum . . .. Nam minime voIum.,s quod planetu con lerant hoonlnibul
scient iam , divltiu, e l huiusmod i, sed apl itudines ipsas."
r,
here clearly anticipated . The stars have dominion only over the
physical realm , the actions of men are outside their power.leo
William of Conches provides the metaphysical basis for this
division of spheres of influence by adopting Plato's explanation,
according to which the formation of the body is left to the spirits
and stars "created" by God, the soul, on the contrary, being a
direct "creation" of God.l8J
This drew a new theological boundary, and though the intention
with which it was drawn was certainly hostile to astrology,le:! the
result meant a decisive victory for the new doctrine.
For all the scientific and astrological knowledge that reached
the west between Abailard and the later scholastics, theology had
altered very little in its attitude towards astTological fatalism.
Naturally the data were better differentiated than in the old ?ays ;
a whole fresh arsenal lacking to their predecessors was available
to thirteenth-century theologians for discussion pro and contra.
St Thomas Aquinas, for .instance, considers it a possible result of
stellar influence that one doctor is more gifted than another, one
peasant better at growing things than another~ or one warrior
better adapted to fightin g (though the perfection of ~ny s~ch
aptitude was due to Grace).I83 But though Thomas .-\qulnas ~ L m
self thought he could go so far as to consider that the st ar~ nl1g l~ t
exert an indirect influence on the intellect,IS-I yet he, hkc 1\15
'''I bid.: " Nlmqlle planetae in tHT11 d In aquil vi vel potC$. ate operallt:;, nc
homi num DeCIDe vi aeque potestate aliquid operantur."
,;"I
an:!'",
.11 " Uode MaiO dicit o..um creatorem Itellis et Ipintlbul a se creatls cllram lo rmand :
hominis iniecn.e. if4l1m vero anlmam lec.lMe" ; PAiloso/,AI". IV. 3l r.-hGS E. P . L.. 'OL. CLXXII.
eol. 98c, emended looording to lot S Bodley 679, and the Bule edn . o f 1 H I . "'Phll~phlcarll m
et astronomiearulU institutionum Cumelmi Hirsa ugiellsil olim Ilbbaul lib.. Ires, fol .. 3 .).
,.. This trend il particularly notic..llbl, il one compares WiIli,m ', " Titings ....,t h. the D,
...."uti UIIIJIiI .. ti0ll6. Thi, cosmoJo&y, printed among Bede's ...o.\,;s bll t reaUy "Tl tt en br
one of William'l Immediate predeeeuors (M IGN . P. L .. VOL. xc. eol s. 381 sqq., falKlr
attributed to th" nintb century by P. DUNIl)! (Le slrll"" 4" ,,"o.. dr. VO L. Ill, Pan, 191~.
p. 81. I.lld mistaken lor an as trolog ical ext....ct from Mlrtianu. Ca Pf'lla br L. TKOII.SDIt.:1!
and P. KIll"', A CII14/0,," of II1,ipil$ .. . , Cambridge, Man . 193i. col. ~z l) ad op ts uno
logical d octrinCi unreservedly .
... Tbe main RleRneCl to s tella. loR lle ncClare: Sli m."" T Alol.. 11K 1, qu 11 5. IIrt 3 and 4 '
5"""",," tOHI'4I,lIIilu, BK Ill, 8a !!qq.: " In qlubus homo pot u . hciu u. ; Wdl<:IO ~"ro:"m
(~ .. ". XV II, ed . P. Mandonllet. Pari, 19Z7, VOL. III. pp. 1~ <1 sq.). Cf.~. C " o:~ S "'ItI,
5. Tiro,."., "A,..." " 1',,,jtlU"" 4" .,h" , Puil ' 926; C . CUl lt I LU . ~.T . d A. " I ~nil~ ..,
genetliaeo delle I teU,,", in Ci"l1~ C4/10/it" , IV (19'1. 7). p. ) 03-3 16:. \\ .. Sc KOt.LGtS, Oer
ant.bropolocisehe Sinn der astrOlOSlschen Schicksalsdeuillng . . 1m \\ el t bdd d..sThoma. , on
Aqnino", In PlrilwoplriuJul lalr.b.'" tleo- C~.u GISlIlJdI4/', XLIX (1936;, pr ,n~-J' Tl:f
piLSSOlg ... qlloted here are taken from book III. !i 92 of the 5"",,,,.. ' 0":'" I'''/I.e!
l S4
SATUR~
[II . I.
. " 5"""".. T~."l. , OK I. quo ".5, art , 4 : 01'0<$' ..11.... XVI! (<:ited abo ... e, not~ ~83) . The
sentence quoted e.g. in the Ro'"'''' drl" /101": "S8 pie"s homo dominatuf IIlIt.hi ." p~b&bl~
based ultimately on a passage in Pseud o-Ptolemy (d. PSI;UOOPrOI.BMY, C, nhl"'l ..lw.... 8.
"",nim:!. aa pienl 8diu ... at opu s stellaru m"), a<:(:()rdi ng to which the learned astrologer <:8n
percel ... e whether the stellar inn uencea permit human counter-action or not {SBC , S"""~,,.,
Sut for St Thomas the ""homO u piens"" was no longer the astrologer but the CbTll'ltian
p. I ",
11 ._"
' tb _ ... to maHen
endowed
with f~e will , who can the~lore oppose any ste a.r 'Dllueuce WI "'r.- ~
afleeting hi' IOUI. In Gower (see below, p. 194, note 2~7) he becomes the hnmbl.e and devout
n .....},o au.empts to 5&, 'e himsetl by prayer. aad ID R enaissance an thon, Ill... Fico de~
~ndol . he he>me5 the man who, thanks to his inherent dignity, and independently of his
rellgiou. attit ud<'!. is above the power 0 1 the I tan.
in,.ri_. .
"' \ d 1 rd of Bath was certai nly one 01 th e lirst to be 18miliar with tho new material in
Arab;c ~:"'logy; he himself worked on two ~trolog~caJ trea wes by Arabic authors (ef.
C H . H"SKIl<S, 5! ..dw i n III, Hj~tory 0/ M , duuo.l !X'ffl<'. znd edn. Ca mbridge 19 27, ~.
z~ and )oJ . In his own works, h owcver, we ha ... e 10 !.ar found no tracll 01 the use 0 1 Arabic
t Iog 'cal doctrinC1. Abu Ma'yr was used in the lIOuth of Franco lroro about 1140 on
::"::. (~.g. R.\VMOl<O OF M...... Sf;.ILLB. D" ' ..,J" pIOMI",..,", Corpus Christi College, Oxfo~d,
, _"
1- ' ,,", . and .,,,U:nsive u ... both o f thi. author and 0 1 other ,.-cat uuologen h l<e
......... 24J ...
I'
'
D
Me.sahall is found in the main work "Tit~en by Abil Ma'iu s translator, H laMAW"Us AUtATA,
D. ,'UN';;S (lor Saturn d. Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Codex 243. fot 105").
IN MEDIEVAL LITERATURE
cit., p. 36,
"Ibid.
U. BBaN"P.()US
edd.
m B i;RNAIIDUS S II. ... II$T al$. D...niv. "".Ndi, ed. cit., pp. 41 tqQ
186
[ II. I .
A"tiuIIUd"'''U$,
IV.
(MIONe, P .
1...
3l
I
I
,e
... The encyclopaedia (If AaNOLD U. SAX(I, I. 'De coelo e\ mllndo,,(fod .f. . Stallge. Ik.I... :um
J ahresOOk.hl de. K , .. CymDasi ulnIi ~u Erfurt. 190, -05. p. 1&): 10 !,bl o c e mQt,hu5 fll ~r. e.
tarum Ptolomeu. . .. S ub eo [IC. Satumo l <;ontinetur ,na. cd,lic ... m, doc tn na el :ncu,
Frigidus e.t et aKcu et ';cnl6cat merorcm. vilitatem. malum
." V.,.<CKWTI U.
... B ... aTH oLoMeu5 AWGLl CU5. D, l'H)p,itl~l;l"'J . rnlll. \'111 . 1) . S \r"'ibou r~ l~ ~~ . In! , ~ .
S AT t; RS I S Til E LITERARY
TRADITIO~
[II. I.
3.
SATURN
l~ ~IEDIEVAL
LITERATURE
I8<)
'" For Petrarch. oppotlt lon to utr~log)' tn which anticipation of modern ironical
IUpticism and rever.ioD to the a's ument, of the early Fatheu a re \:lIriOIl,l)' mixed. d . WXI)l'!L,
M. A. A . pp. 8z sq.; lor the polcmiu o f fourleentb-ccntur)' a.tronomcre, d. R . PallcKNzR,
S".dil n III' .un d$l~",,,,i""l" SeA .iflu. dll lJ,inri,h ~o .. LII""",ln .. (Studien det Bibliothek
\!o-"arburg VOL. XIV). Lelpdg u)J): for :J."letno ' " below. text pp. 2~4 sqq.: for Agrippa ot
~etteshei m, belo..... text pp. J~l fqq. ; 101 Pioo, R. W. R.,d. D."hU .. ", 4u l"halls dt~
" Dilp..JiUiOtlu i .. IUI.oIoplI,"" ~I P/'o /kill' Mi,.ndol. (Bud; I_Ill), disaertJttion Hambul1
'9J3
,n l"f.nw. X"'. lit1(!8 liS Iqq.
, .. Do Adr<>tIOM .... I, J . We quat. from the Basle odn. o f '''0. wi. 91 sqq. llinoc'
emeDdulons of tbe text ... e-re made OD the buis of eallie, editio....
'<)0
(II .
I.
1 1,
not e
11 .
31
IQ2
THl~
[II . I.
... (k-CCO
H""TOLO~r:O
~,, ~,,:(
"",(("mllc h,
p. 31)
... Thus the MS o f the Cafi.SC1 Land n blbHOl bek. Cod . ...,tron. I . 20, f~1. 62 ' . The. pu!-lgo
is ;nh'rnting enQullh to ",arrant reproduction In an abridged form : "D~se UT Satur~' li t ...
...,' 1 ...... _ tun danu is ', ,I';reeht. Vntl davolilSt darynn n.t gut fur
n.t gu t . wa nll ....... rna "U~
"eo.
- ThllS, e.8., tbe G6ttingen Kyesu MS (Cod. philos. 63: c l. A. HAuBn. Plu4udiruk,..
O/"d Sltr'flbjl u r , SttasboUfl 1916, pp. 54 tqq .). ConupoDdingly Jupiler "nat
magllanimita~m animao" ; Mars, "an imo.ilat~m iuBuit animac" ; Sol. "da t Ilnimae virtllulI:1
meliorandi et n:m lullCtndl" ; Venus. "dd auimae coneupiSOClltiam e1 desidcrium"; Mercury,
" dat animae virtlltell:1 .audendi et d~ltc:tand l"; Lnna, " dat anlmae virtutem vqetandl. q uao
dieitur wtllS aatu"l;' LIlimalis."
bilde~
Cf. fin" iD$1aDaI R" ....". de t. RIIU. ed. 1::. Lau.kli$, Paria 191 4, liua 5336 sqq. r.od ~0(I3a
J. L VOGAn. R~ .d. S4oq...zJ,.t.:. ott. E. >epa, Lon.doa 1901. !iues 1889 aqq . aud
]08J -:czq.: J. LVDQua. F.U <>/ Pri-.., . ed . J. De.-seu. WuhinitoD 1913. I. Ii.,. '401 Mlq,
and vlI, linea 880 aqq . a nd 1153 sqq; J onlf Cow , CoIo/ elJ io A_IlIi, ., IV. lilies 244 .5 fqq . ;
LIlti B~. v. linu 845 aqq ed . G. C. Macaulay. VOl.. I. London 19(10.
-
Mlq. ;
'94
[n.l.
3l
195
Finally:
The planet Saturn is the highest and the grutest and the most worthless,
and is cold and dry and the slowest in his course, The planet is hostile to
our nature in every way and stands o... er to the east, and is a planet of
wicked and worthless men who are thin, dark and dry, and is a planet of
men who have no beard, and whit e hair, and who wear unclean garments.
Children who are born under Saturn are misshapen or body and dark with
black hair. and have hair on the skin. and little hair on the chin, and with
a narrow chest, and are malicious and worthless and sad. and like unclean
things, and would rather wear dirty linen than fi ne. and are unchaste and
do not like to walk with women and pass the time, and also have all evi l
t hings by nature. The hour of Saturn is the hour of evil. In that hour
God was betrayed and delivered to dt'ath ....n l
"'.0.
Cf JOM"
IU SdWIIspu,"sdin K.u..d", Aupbu '1 1"9~ It nn.la lion from the Gt1'ma nl.
FlIr tl:e
CO!TesJ>OD4in, connexion between the tra itor Ju das and melancholy , $Ce a b(we. p . 1:1 In.: .
The connuton of luch c:.alendan (ef.
Klllt"4.~,,,s l~ iilseA .U:l alu j e,..,>:u h' f, r.rJi "iEH
Angsburc 1,512. fols. Ff U- Ul') aDd related te:< u (e .l. Brit. ~Iul . MS .'\o dd. 1;9S,. from Il': e
region 01 the Lake of Constance, dated 1116. fol. ~9 ') with th e :'t.lichael !;eo t "adil lon IS
unmistakable.
e.,.
l]
CHAPTER
II
SATt:R~
For this type and Its oriental deriV&tlvn. d . F . SAU. in. Dr<' 111..... VOL. III ( 1912). p. 16)There il an analotlous portn.it o( Vcnul .bo.... ber wdiacal sign o( the.-.....n on a t - . . froM
P.lmy.... publithro by M. I . R OSTOVTZ&n- "I tbe J o,,",," of R_,. S,,..,iIII, VOL :u.n. p . I r 1.
Plate. XXVI, 1 (.... ithout upl.nation of Ute picture).
.,.
I97
standing, but otherwise very similar in conception, The second
type shows him in the attitude of a thinker, scated, with his head
on his hand.
The first type is exemplified in an impressive mural in the
Casa dei Dioscuri at Pompeii (PUTE 10).' The god's eyes are
frightening. The cloak hides all but the face, the feet, and one
hand holding a sicklf' somewhat awkwardly at one side. This
awkwardness is certamly deliberate, for the fresco is the work
of a great artist. The implement which the god holds is no
ordinary one, but is the symbol of the power of this severe god,
and appears to menace the faithful . The unusual rigidity and
somehow frenzied quality of the fresco may therefore be regarded
as the expression of an individual view on the part of a paintcr
during the golden age of Pompeian painting. For him, Saturn
was the awe-inspiring god of the earth.
rhe second type, as we have said, is characterised by the
god's being seated, with his ann resting on some object, a characteristic which seemed so typical of the god that echoes of it survive
even in portraits where it is almost wholly out of place. For
instance, Saturn's left hand is raised to his head in a picture of
the scene where he is given the stone which he is to devour instead
of the child.' The tomb of Cornutus in the Vatican (PLATE I3)
is the most important monument of this type, together ,vith a
small bronze in the Museo Gregoriano" and a few fragments of
m0r:'-umental statuary. Saturn here appears sadly reflecting, like
Attis on other tombs. His right hand does not hold the sickle
upright, as in the Pompeian fresco, but lets it rest wearily upon
hiS knee. His head is bent and rests upon his arm. For Comutus,
who ordered this portrait to be placed on his own and his children's
tomb, Saturn was symbolic of the sad tranquillity of death.
Ancient art therefore gave expression to the two sides of Saturn's
nature, on the one hand as the aweinspiring and beneficent god
of the earth, on the other as the destructive but at the same time
peace-giving ruler of the underworld. In early medieval art in
the west the latter type disappeared; the type of the thinker
was at first reserved in Christian art for the evangelists, apostles
SATURN lN ANClENT ART
[rr. u.
199
which owes its existence only to the interpretation of the eleventhcentury copyist. IS
Except in pictures of planets such as that mentioned above,l'
portraits of Saturn appear in Byzantine art only in illustrations
to St Gregory of Nazianzus' H omilies.
The oldest portrait of Saturn occurs in a ninth-century
manuscript in Milan.ls It illustrates the fi rst homily Contra
jfrliamfm, and is conceived so exclusively in terms of the text,
which vehemently attacks the pagan gods, that the artist has fallen
into a ludicrous mistake. St Gregory says ironically that it is an
admirable way to make children love their parents, when one
reads how Kronos castrated Uranus, and how his son Zeus then
lay in wait for him and gave him tit for ta1. 16 But the illu strator
who took the word OVpavos as meaning not the god Uranus but
the sky itself, and who understood by ,.ElJ,VEIV not " to castra te"
but "to cut" or "to split", shows us Saturn ('a KPONor TON
OY(PA) NON TEMNO(N) with a mighty axe cleaving the vaults of
heaven, while Zeus ('0 6.1Al: KATA TOY KPON(OY) 'EITAN!ITAMENOr)
threatens him with a similar axe from behind (PLATE r6).
But a later group of Gregory manuscripts, dating from the
eleventh and twelfth centuries (that is, from the peak of the
humanist movement start ing in the tenth century), shows a substantially different picture. In these manuscriptsl ; the illustrations
of the pagan gods have been lifted from the homily COl/tra julimwm
and added to those of the homily In, sancta lumina . But the
cycle is now much richer and, what is more imponant , the reprc
sentations based on Jiterary tradition (such as the " Birth of
Venus" from Saturn's genitals thrown into the sea, which appears
des
\I For the Germ.nieul Codex. Lehlen. Voss. lat. q . 79. and the copy in Boulognc. Bibl.
Municip .. MS 188. see G. THI ELE. A.,/illl Hi ......el$b;ld~" Fp. 138 sqq. A similar modeLwu um
by the miniaturist of Vat. Reg.lat. Jl3, reproduced in SJoXL. V. uei",.,;J. VOL. I. plate 5. fig. 11 .
The pietu re in R~g. lat. 123 whieb shows Saturn in medieval dress. witll covered bead a nd a
lon, sey the. il pn>b&bly baMd primuily on deseriptionl . and not on pictorial traditlon. BUI
that docs not seem to exelude the poss ibility of vague remini!l(:cnecs of aneient modeb bei n,
p!'esoent even in thil portrait.
"Mi"i4luo, "ac,. , tr0ltJ'" dell'tJ" ..o 1013 . . . ed. A. M. Amelli. Monteeusino 1896.
plate (:VIII; d . RJo ...... ul ;\buaus. n, .... ',..,~SO'. 11K xv: "Filleem tenet (inquiunt). proptf!r
.
arieulturam lig nifica ndam" (MIG"'., P. L VOL. CXI, tol. ,18).
! },J.
" Paris. BibJ. Nat. MS Coillin 239 (el. n. O).o",r. Ln "".,'1'1"," <in ;-!," a,,:"', 1 ,,'.11::'
se,ill ,'-5 d, la Blbli!>l.klq". Nali ...a/,. a nd cdn . Paris 1929. plat" CN'Jl!. no,. q !'l'l ..
Jerusalem Bibl. Grace. Pau. Cod. Tapbou Ii. Alhos Pan telelmon. Cod. 6 ~ Pl..>lES
al: :i
17). Of tbese the Alhos MS is lh. eadiest and bes t . ",ithllut necessaril)' ~in~ nn.aM ~o
the original typo.
I.
2 00
[ H . II.
.or
they
relied on models emanating Crom a different culture that
.
~
to say, from that of the east. For both reasons the medieval
artist 's imagination was free to create really new types, nearer
to the contemporary mind. The best example of such an early
IS
202
Ell. 11.
D~, hl~m,
2]
In the Paris codex 7 330 Sat urn appears in an 0ntirely v.:est ern
form, as a ruler with a sceptre and without any other attn butes,
His zodiacal signs, t oo, the Water-Bearer as Ganymed:, and the
Goat, are conceived in a purely western manner. But if ~e look
at later manuscripts of this group,ttI we fmd to our surprise th at
east ern influence has increased to such an extent that Saturn
is now given a spade, as in eastern ~anu~ripts, and t ha~ the ?o~
is shown in a peculiar altitude, st andmg With one foot on his chair.
H ere he ret ains not hing of the calm , regal aspect of the older
picture ; the figure seems rather to resemble those o~ eastern
manuscrip ts in which a similarly agitated attitude IS fo~nd
(P LATE 25) . After t heir journeyings in ~he east the a~Clc~ t
gods could now become far more realist ic fIgures, resembli ng 111
their outward appearance late medieval sc holars, peasant~. or
nobles, standing in direct visual relat ionship to t he mortals horn
under them, and thus for t he fi rst time, rca\\"akenin.g to powerful
vitality. Saturn , in particular, became In later medieval art more
and more the leader and representat ive of t he poo r and t.he
oppressed, which not only corresponded to the rea1i~t i c tendenCies
of late medieval art in general, bu t also, more speClfically, t ~ the
social upheaval of t he epoch. As ead y as in t he 50-called Guanento
frescoes in the Church of t he E remi t ani at Padua30 he app~a:s
as what he was to remain until modern times, despite all humamstlc
refinements-a ragged peasant , leaning on the tool of his rrade,
In a North Italian manuscript , too, he appea rs as a pe:lsant,
with a scythe and a water-bottle at his waist , about t o go to
the field s3J. (P LATE 26) . Under east ern in fl uence, the GrceJ,:
harvest god and the Italian god of husband ry has himself h t("omt'
a peasant , He remains a peasant even in a my thcloglca l ~.:ene
where he appears coupled wit h Philyra who "as t~lrncd Int o
a ma re, as the Andalus de Nigro manuscri pts show hlln (P:.HF
27) .
He is the representative of t h,e .lo\\~est rung of me~lC\'al
society, to whom all in tellectual activity IS a closed book, and
.. This e"arnple
o f the AbO Ma 'ar MSS is not a ll isolated one. In a geo mancy written
for Kine Richard II , Ox ford , MS Bodley $81, we also find the oriental Saturn with a p ickaxe.
.. P ari!, Bib!. N at" MS la t, 1330 (mid thirteenth wntury, but presupposillg an oldcr
tweUlh -century mode l),
"Cf. BSG, Sl,.,..gl~ubf, p. 148.
same group, MS 188.
Library owns a
Turkish MS 01 the
20 3
painted
U In portraits of Lu na, the oriental Intl ue nce bea.me so . tro ng that while sh" IS stili rep,re.
(fols . jS " sqq.)
as a marl. li ke
na .IU P ar.s
. 0 "
3.!1 D ,a
, , N'
a .. ]I.IS
'
.
' she apnurs
..
t he ancient oriental Sin. In Brit, MilS. Sloane MS )983 il nd Its de n ,'a. ,,es.
'at ",0
sented
If
del Treecllto
.,11,
~i,' ;' dell' ,ci. .... d, B~.,,,I,, .."c J: !'" ,.';.: .; I !I.l:.,'~
[ II. II.
The east gave to the west entirely new notions of the planetary
rulers, notions which no longer had anything in common with
the types e\-ol\'ed by classical art. More than that, it brought
to the west a hitherto unknown system of complicated designs
pictorially represen ting the relationship of the planets with those
m en who come under their influence.
Eastem writers inform us that in pagan temples Saturn was
represented as an aged Indian, as a man riding on an elephant,
as a man meditating on ancient wisdom, as a man drawing a
bucket of water from a well, and so on. With few exceptions,32
these pictures are representations 'of the occupations attributed
to Saturn in the astrological texts dealt with in the previous
chapter, and we have therefore every reason to suppose that the
murals described by these writers were the predecessors of the
designs described by later historians of art as pictures of "planets'
children" . This belief is strengthened by the fact that such
pictures of "planets' children" really are to be found in later
eastern manuscripts. In an Arabic manuscript 33 and its later
cousins3~ we find the "trades of the planets" represented in eight
times seven pictures (PLATE 31) . The fi rst picture in each row
shows the planet itself, while each of the seven neighbouring
pict ures shows one of its children. Saturn appears as a man with
a pick-axe (as in PLATE 25), with, next to him, trades like leatherworking, farming, and so on; Mercury is a scholar with a book,
associated with more refined occupations. The west must have
met with similar arrangements in t he fourteenth century, for that
alone would account for t he fact that the Salone at Padua3:i
." The man with the water-bucket is obviously ... quariut. one of the "hou.:oes" of Saturn.
The fact that he was represen ted thu, in the east can be _ n o for ins tauce. from t he portrait
on the Islamic astronomical instrument in the possession of Prince Ottingen.Walientei n,
reprod uced in De~ Isla .... III {19 U ). plate 7. fig . 13; ib., pp. 1:;6 sq .. the texb .
.. Oxford. Bod!. .:'.IS Or. 133 .
.. Such as Paris, Sib!. Nat .. suppl. turc. 242, and New York. Pierpont Morgan ' Library.
MS 788.
.. A . B,\.RZOS. [
del; e la /0"" ittjlutlUa tttgl i a!fuJu,i dtl Salone in Padova, Padua 1924.
THE
31
20 5
Melr~poli/a ..
" A. YhR8URG. Gua"" ....U. S,hri/kn. VOL. T, Leipzig 1932, pp. 86 and 331.
,.....,
,
The planetary god sits on a cloud. a halo of st ars about
206
SATURN IN
nm
PICTORIAL TRADITION
. j
[ II . 11 .
d'Othi a:
him , like a true heaven1y ruler, and beneath, on the eart h, live
his "children"- in the case of Venus, lovers holding u'p their
hearts as sacrifices, in lhe case of Saturn , wise men asscrftblcd in
'.5.
SATURN
I~
20 7
189!I, pla te
30.
Bib"Qth~k
&qq .
.. See A . W ,UIII,;RG, GfJlIIM_flr Sd , i//t M, VOL . II . Le'pl'G 19J2 . pp. Q2i sqq.
l\.
20t-
SATU RX I X TH E PICTORI.'\L
TRADJTIO~
[ II. IT .
St .\n,t:: ust ilu's Ch.'itas Dei, and also-and these were more
fru itfll ~ the illustrations in the Ovide nlOTalisi. In both series
Saturn is endowed with attributes and brought into contexts
which had played, and could play, no part in astrology . In t~e
illustrations to t he Cite de Die" , Saturn, in remembrance of hlS
long and difficult voyage to Latium, appears as a dignified old m~
with a ship or ship's mast in his hand." On the other hand, .m
the first version of the French Ovide moralisi, where portr3.1ts
of t he great pagan gods appear as title vignettes to each book,
he is once more connected with the "Dragons of Time"u; above
all, Ihe :.cene of Saturn devouring his children, never before
represent ed even in antiquity, is here sho\\n in aU its crudity ,
just as the birth of Venus from the castrated m~mber is sho~n
in the above-ment ioned illustrations to FulgetJt~us meta/oral,s.
We see the god putting the child to his lips, sinking his teeth
in to its arm, or even having already devoured its head (PLATES
,,6, 49, 52, 144). Here we see the rut hless wickedness of the god,
Moloch devouring his own children, and the unbearable starkness
of this is softened only by the accompanying text . which
endea ....ours to interpret the picture allegorically ,
These motives are elaborated in the illustrations to Berchorius's
int roduct ion to the Latin Om'de 1IIoralist. and also in those to the
Libellus de i1lluginibll.s deorum ,411 which was taken from the same
introduction, The descriptions in this work later won a place in
cou ntless representations in both north and south ." The
.. U A 011 LAltQllllll, L.6J .... " ..U,../I " ~./ ..rfl 4# 1<1 CiU fl. Dot .. , ParU 1909, \'01.. I,
pp. 19S-<) : VOL. II, PI" 3n, 36,. 38:1, and plale ItX IV b.
.. A~ In elm. 14171.
.f
",,)tI" Se/frif/," ,
.. T he fantattic poel ... lt, 01 th" pillnet. in t he Scow s &ISS are a Iy nthesis o f u trologieal
IDd m)'lhoio&ical pictorial tradition (the origin 0 1 Ihi, Saturn t ype, with . h ield a nd helmet,
.. diKuHed in E. PAt<O" KV ILDd F . SAX!.. in Mtlrop-oli/,.., .Jfwu ..... ShuJit$, IV, 1 (1 933),
p. 241 "'Iq.). The Scol ul l ype of planetary portr;t.i t becomes the predominant form o f iUut tn.
lion in astrolojj:ical MSS from the four teent h century o nwards, save that i n the fi fteenth
century they become "humanut lc" in a TIl.m ...... tHe m;r.nner by the re.introduction of the I l y le
of the Calendlr of 3:1 4, t.-.nsmi tted by Carolingia n model. (d. Dar mstadt , Cod. 166,
reprod nced in i'AtoO"KY and SAXL (Ioc. ci t ,), p. 166; SaJr.burg, Cod. V 1 G 8 , / 83 ; and Cod,
Vat . 1'1.1. la t. 1J70). Si milar ly, we have tbe copie~ of Ca.rolingl&n Rabanu s Maurul MSS
mad e in t he fi fteenth ce ntnry, U" revi v. 1 0 1 interest in Carolingian Ulu st ... tion, of Terenu
(also d ... scr i~d I,)y I'ANO" KY and SAX1., Ioc. ci t ,), the copies o f th e No/iii" di, nil/J/""', etc,
A cella;n p;r.raI1el to this proto-RenaiSN.n(e in the north can perillo", ba di.cerned in the fact
that pl .. net;r.ry god. in nort hern fi fleent h-century art ;r.PIKar U .. r uto as Da ..ed ltandinl
figurn, somewhat reminilCen t of the clusical type o f Romu TIlliefs repr_nt in, the Godl o f
the Week, though no direct inlluence can be . hown , In the high Middle ASes n .... ed pla netary
god. appear, for I(,.!dal reuons, in t he el<ce ptio" ..1 case of the J>ro,,-en<;a1 Illust rations to
) b TFlu. E IU,'J:~(;"'U D'. n ",/i", j ",'A ... "" (d, e.l, tl' e \'ichlres 01 Sat urn in Paris 13i1.ll. Nat.,
MS fro 9~19, fol. 3J. Dr Lon<lon, Drit. Mu . , H.,k ill n MS 4940 , fol. 33).
s)
SATURN IN HUMANISM
20<)
pictures of the planets and their "children" (in PLATE 47. even
combined with the castration motif!) and later became a characteristic feature of such representations ( PLATES 48 and 49).48
5
SATURN IN HUMANISM
The great diversity of types which arose from the fourteenth century
onwards shows that, after the almost complete stagnation of the
previous epoch, a real revival of the ancient gods had now begun,
and that a genuinely humanistic re-creation- that is to say, a
consciously "c1assical" treatment of them- was both possible
and to some extent called for. This was especially true of Saturn.
We shall see later the significance which this most sinister of the
gods was to attain in Italian humanism, but even here we can see
how the fonner portraits of the poor peasant, the wicked devourer
of children, the cunning arithmetician, or even the triumphal god
of Time or the worthy founder of cities, could not satisfy the
requirements of a culture in which the ancient gods again became
proper deities. The Italian Renaissance desired a picture of
Saturn comprising not only the two aspects of the Saturnine
nature, the wicked and the mournful as well as the sublime and
the profoundly contemplative, but also revealing that "ideal"
form which seemed attainable only by reverting to genuinely
classical examples. This humanistic rehabilitation of Saturn was
achieveU about 1500 in one of the most remarka ble centres of
Italian culture-the city that was the home of the ageing Bellini,
of the young Giorgione, and of Titian .
Humanism took time to reach Venetian art, but after the
later years of J acopo Bellini a distinctly humanistic trend can be
obser,Ved. In the sketchbooks which J acopo left to younger
gener;a:tions we find a singular collection of archaeological drawings.
JacopO Bellini not only drew sketches of works of antiquity,
which might serve one or another artist as a model or as an
inspiration for his own work, but he also preserved inscriptiops
of no artistic or even historical significance, such as those on the
tomb of a seamstress.4t There was therefore a general archaeo.. ID the relief OD the Campanile ID FI()I"tDCe, Saturn. ua.;tly u in the o..u- ...or.li,1 W:S
(Paris, BiN. Na.t., .[5 Ir, 19IU), holds the ehlid be is about to devour upright, but inltead
of the dracoD of Time he hokb a whecl of Time, evidently a bumam.tk Innovatioa..
"'iut"i,
~ ;..u rip-
210
'[II . II.
K,," IIIIIi~" .. u
2II
SATUR N IN H UM.ANISM
s)
that no disunity would be visible in the picture. It looks rather
as if he had actually intended a sort of dualism . For it was in
the historical tradition of Venetian art after ]acopo Bel1ini to
regard ancient monuments with archaeological detachment, while
placing them in a "modem" setting which underlined their
remoteness. The figure of the god is strange. so is his name, so
is the whole convention, yet he appears in the present, among
objects of everyday life. The body on the bare earth looks like a
statue, but the left hand reaches gently towards the reed like t he
hand of a living man, his regard is turned reflectively to one side,
his brows are drawn together. There is certainly nothing st atuesque about the foot or the reed , but how remote from life the completely rounded folds of the drapery appear. compared with the
stones on the ground! Perhaps the impression of this fi gure can
best be explained by saying that it looks like the apparition of a god
of an tiquity in modem life. In this respect , Campagno\a is a
typical fifteenth-century Venetian . who studied antiquity fr om
the archaeological point of view and related it to t he present without ever quite bringing it to life, as T itian was to do only a little
later on. It seems that we can even trace Campagnola 's act ual
model, for his engraving obviously deri ves from the figu re of the
river or sea god (the interpretation is not defini tely settled) on the
triumphal arch at Benevent053 (PUTE 55' . Campagnola's Sat um
shares with this god the sidelong glance and bent head, both of
which are really only explicable within the whole composition of
the arch. Even the tree stump is a visual memory of the somewhat
indistinct um; the attribute of the reed may probably be explained
by the fact that in the relief the reed s growing behind the fi gure
merge into the now unrecognisable symbol in the god 's right hand.
and, more important still, the Benevento god' s billowing drapery
together with the singular headdress makes it look e\en to-day
as if his cloak were pulled over his head in the classical mann er
of the "caput velatum" . This odd combination of seeming and
real peculiarities of the melancholic and Saturni ne n a tu~e
hand propped up, head apparently concealed by a cloak- might
very well have given the archaeologically-minded Campagnola
reason to interpret the figure on the Benevento arch as Sahlrn .
or at least to use the figure as Saturn. He cert ainly considered
.. The arch may have become lmown to h im througb an tnpVHlI .(n r a ~ra"' ,o~) hl<e the
212
[11. II .
59J
SATURN IN HUMANISM
2I3
of many works dealing with the ruined and yet remembered past
(PLATE 59).~
In outward appearance, too, portraits of this
resu~ected Saturn-Chronos often resemble the Chronos, Aion or
Kairos of late antiquity69; but it is doubtful whether he actually
derives from them. The figure of a winged Saturn seems rather
to have been formed at a point where a spontaneous connexion
could be established between the peasant ~deity and the allegory
of Time: that is to say, in t he illustrations to Petrarch's Trio1ifo
del T empo60 (PLATE 57). Petrarch makes Time appear in conjunction with the sun, but gives the illustrators no further
indications. The latter, therefore, in the representations of this
triumph, used Saturn, who is not mentioned in the text, as the
personification of Time and endeavoured to make his significance
clear by giving to Saturn the attribute of an hour-glass," or,
occasionally, of a zodiac. Above all, however, they idealised the
traditional, pre-Renaissance form of the peasant god by giving
him wings. In this way they equipped him as a true personification of time, completing his portrait by a new and, in medieval
opinion, quite un-Saturnine trait taken over from a purely
allegorical tradition in art- as seen, for instance, in an allegory
of Temps of about 1400 (PLATE 58).u This process is confrrmed
by some fifteenth-century Italian illustrations to Petrarch, in
which Saturn, personifying time, stands, like the figure in the
French miniature, with arms hanging down symmetrically, and
is equipped with four wings which are to represent the four
seasons.03 Once completed, this humanist reunion of Saturn and
1/,,,,
'''IIUI'l.
.. Fdr lhd. d . A. GUIn:IfHAGIJN. J)i, ANi.. ,. vot.. XI, Bulin 19)5. pp. 61 sqq.
.. After PaINe. D'EssLING and E. Mttl'lTZ. Pit''''flU ... Paris 1902. plate faeing p . 1.8.
"Th~ later- found its way ioto Renaissanee and Ba.toquc portrayalt of De.a.th. and bcume
.. Iymbol of impeTmanen~ ud " memento morr' in seoeral.
n Cf .. E. PANOl'Sl(V. H ,,,ul,, /J'" Sclll:id.wel' (StudieD der BiblioUlek Warburg. VOL. XVIU).
p . plate $.
Leip~ig 19)0.
214
PART III
"Poetic Melancholy': and
"Melancholia Generosa"
.. Sometimes even reviving tbe winged feet eharacteristie of lh e eluaieal Kair'OS (d. e.g
F. S,l.X L. "Veritu lilia T emporb", In PM/asaplly find Histtwy. EUIlY, p"s, nled to E. C.lli",.
edd. R. K1ibanlky and II. J. Paton. Odord 1936. p. 197 .fig. 4). A. CRIIJ'ENU,l.OI N. Di,
An/ill,. VOL. XI. Berli" 1935, pp. 67 .qq ., dilCUHeS other Ren.a.issane. imitatiollll of the anelcnt
KaUo. and Chrono. typa:, occ:uionally even evolved from the type of Cupid bound a.od
coo.demned to .. boIIr with. pieku;e, .. in fip. 13 and 14, wtueb, Ineldentally, are derived
from Carmi. A.....y be upeeted. W .pec:mcany middle- and late-Rt.nalMana portn}'1l.l
... based throuShout on the two-winSed typt.. The only uCf.ption ... the 6",", illu. trated III
V. CAllTARl, u l-,i.. i d,i tWde, 1i .,,'idi. Padlla . 603. p. 3', and Veoiee 1674. p. 19. which
hal four winp on the shoulders and two 011 the head-aDd which, as Cartari expreesly l tate..
was evolved from a dcsc:ription of the Phoenician Sat urn in Eusebiu. (d. above, test p. 196).
CHAPTER I
" 7
218
[III. I.
Not, of course, that the two original notions of melancholyas a disease and as a temperament-disappeared entirely fro m
literature and common usage. In love lyrics, (or instance,
" melancholy" was still constantly used as a synonym for madness,
and in portraits the description "melancholy" was used entirely
in the sense of a permanent disposition. But, except in scientific
literature, the traditional usage tended more and more towards
the subj ective and transitory meaning, until at length it was so
overshadowed by the new "poetic" conception that this last
became the normal meaning in modem thought and speech.1i
Even in Boccaccio (especially in his Ninfale Fiesola1Jo) we fmd
expressions like
pella maninconia e pel dolore
ch'j' sento, che m'offende dentro il core,
or
or
or
Cf . the enamoured autb<N"'. leU-portrait in Lu kJu~, .. mollr~ ..... (ERHST SI"',._, "Let
fdle<:S alliouffllx", in L;u~..rlli$l,,"u/u F(Wu"""INl, IX (18<)8), p. 60) :
,Ii..,
2 19
I.",IU
" Lorsquc Ie roy vyt qu e il nen ve ndroi t point ai,teeme nl a IOn ,nlen l10n . 'l.se melen con".
et se party d .. euls (bkl n from Gonx"aoy. op. cit. ; ibid .: 'et pUl. il se prenon a pen.e r su,
Ia table en se merencoliant"). In trln,ltlv.form : " eton t plus.eur. foi51"~"OIent melOlncohet
et Courouciet. ft I. Intllresting that Ger man naroque should h"ve reintroduced the ' er h
" meLancholien:n " (I'. VOH SPII:a, T.N/z" adllta" . ed. G. !bIke. Leipzig 1579. P 70 ).
II From GoDUROY, op. cit.
II From GoD ....OV. op. cit.
II F rom Goo"n.ov, op. cit .
.. en a1STIHa Da PIS,,",', C,ot' e.urul" 4'A .... ,,/ ~/ i, D....' . ~o 8,!; ,Or.,... u t'I:J'I"
vO .... III. ed. M. Roy. Socio!u! des ancitns tut ... fr.n~ai .
11190. P ' 95'
r"ris
220
[III . I.
"'n.
L,ll,.,
1~4 .
lin es 2 sqq.
"DAME MERENCOLYE"
2]
221
" How' srudy the notion. 01 ";l.Cedia". "tristitia" a nd " melanc;bo[~" minsled a nd inter.
penetrated d uring the b.tet Middkl Ages call be !teen. lor inatanoe. ill tbe ltalia.rl trad Fio
4i Y i.lu. in whi~h "maniDconla" is introduced as a ' ub-species of "trlst itia" (Rom8 edn ..
1140, p . 18); wh il8 on the ot her hand, in CECCO O'ASCOLi'. A,nb<a, ' Aecedi.a" a ppeart with
all the c haracteristics of the "'T,istesse 01 the Ro .." ... 4. ta R on. (F. Rougemont kindly
in formed u~ that ill Florenoc. Bi btioteca LauI8n~ia.na Cod. pl ut. XL. ~2. fot. )1'. " Accedia"
appeal1l as .a woma n ",ith torn rai m8llt and lleel<s 01 blood on her breast.)
with a list
.. GUll.LAUI",
VOL. II,
13~ .
222
(m.
J.
,/>"',
.. Cf. o. S.lITA ... and E. Wl/He u . H'~1Of R~ .. I N " l"'jON. L iv,~ liN C..." " ...",o."
Vle.nnil 19J6, yo .... II , pp. ~ l ~q . and .. 9 "lq. I n liftnth-ce ntury French lyric., ioo, it ""at
cUltomary to treilt "Melll.n chotie" almost as il Hying penonilge:
' Ferme~ luy I'uis au visaige,
Mon c ueur, a Merancolye,
Cardu 'la'elle n 'en tre mye,
Poor guter nostre mesnaigt . . . . "t
C"AaLES D'Oar.tANS. PoIJu$, cd. p, Champi on, vot. II. Paris 19Z7, p. ~ ,8, C1. al.oa poem h y
the 11U118 author with the. refrain
"Ale&.vou...ent, aIle&, ales,
So"" y, Soing et 1olercneolie"Champion (ed .) op. cit., p. )fo. We o ..e both these re f~nees to Dr A, Hdma nn,
!I
223
"DAME Mt RENCOLYE"
2J
the hero, "Le Cuer", accompanied by his squire "Desir", strays
into Melancholy'S wretched hut and asks for food and drink,
"Melencolie" contents herself with giving him a beaker of water
from the "Fleuve de Lann e" and a crust of bread of "DuTe Paine"
grain , and with pressing the same nourishment on him on a .later
occasion; whereupon " Le Cuer" falls into " un pcnscment Sl t res
grief" that he would almost have died of sorrow had not the
recollection of his mistress " Esperance" fortified him a little.
Melancholy's actions and influence are therefore not particularly
dramatic or terrifying, although, within the limitations of a
romance where "Dame Tristesse" saddens the hero mainly by
the poor quality of hel wine, the peculia: nature of a strictly
melancholy depression is none the less visible,
Alain Chartier's unfinished poem, however, shows such intensity
of emotional experience, and such astounding capacity for findin g
for this experience dramatic symbols and forms of speech, th at
here, in complete contrast to King Rene's work, the poet's verbal
images far excel the illustrator's visual ones in power. On account
of their unemotional character , the static descriptions of Rene s
romance lent themselves easily to the contemporary style of
illustration, and the miniatures of the fa mous Vienna manuscript
with their enchanting lyrical atmosphere were t heir nat ural t ranslation into visual terms ( PLA TE 60) ,25 Alain Chartier , on t he
contrary, described his exper~ence of melancholy with a dramatic
force far surpassing the possibilities not only of contemporary or
near-<:ontemporary miniaturists ( PLATE 64)21 and wood en g r~l.\'e rs
{PLATE 6I),:t7 but even of the increased powers of expressIOn
.. 0 , s... ly ...... a.nd E . WlInr ....:. , H" z"f Rul "II" Atljt/ II , I.w" d" elft. da"r~" . : '
V'leIlna 19Z6, V()l.. Ill, plate vu.
H Pilril , Bibl. Nat. , )'I S fr o 12 6 , fol. 218, ilbou t IH.5 {also reprotl ue~d in I' ('I' ",':0 ..His/o;." po/liq.., tiN X V, ,;I~/. , Pa ris 19Z) , yo .... I, pl ate VII}. The thi rd_ ijct ne. Ioo :'- 'C I n~
il .. thor, OYf;1"C:Of!le b y melancholy, lyi ng on hil sic:kbe-d. has to Ili lter the HI\"~et" .i IWI,
femmes eapoUVilntablu", ' Dcffianec'. " lnd ign:lt1(ln', and ' ~ses~fan ce. _, loot!. a. : ~ e 'H
the consoling worda o f the ladi" "Nil ture', " Foy", a nd Esptra nce' IS do ... !\, conn tcltd
with typical portrait.. of "Accidia" (lte beto,,', te ~t pp. l oo $(j q .) . Vcry 51 ml l ~ " !n that the
H at of ' Acc;dia" is he ...., too, l urrou nded b)' ~rso n iti.(&tions o f mc"."liacuitLu It\tee gOf'rl
and fh," eYil- the " De.penrr.rio ploTt)' na.tufally Itilnding on the le ft of the ma l", "~Il re, : h r
"Fortitudo" party on the. right-Is a tapeltry In the collec tIon o f the Conde de \' alene,. or
Don J lla n (BolUl .. .u III Soci ed4t1 Elp" ftolo tI, EU II,&ioneJ. XI (190JI, p. 19; our I'U T~ 60).
n T iUt--page o f th e printed edition Fo iJ Moul " A/o;" CIIo,/,. " I'an~ 1 ~ ~9 \1\. t .. ~ : 'I
.... hich., unfonunate\ )' disftr; ..rod by many mIsprints, ",e ha'e used for our l :a::ll;r.. ~" rHn
in the title-page woodcut. misundeutanchn s hn cf ept in. lor the ,...~"d .. r:f\t,"'I~ -:' .. ~ !
should natuTillly occur on the blank ba nner o f the youth hol don g back : i1e o.-.!';llrta.'lt.
"'hile the reelinins man;1 of COlIne the author, Jncid em aU) it" ontl:re5ling to:;;"1 I :;'a ' ::-'~
Z.24
<In.lllll'd ill the sixteenth century ( PLATE 65)28 This was bec~usc
his account is largely a psychiatric self-diagno:is .translat~d ~to
terms of poetry, so that it echoes the often terrifymg descnptlO~s
of illness gh cn in mcdical literature. The poet laments .the mlSfortunes of his country. T he best are dead, the fi<:lds 131d waste,
the cit ies ruined. and learning is destroyed; w~at is the~~ left to
li \.c for ? The fi rst chapter of this book whIch was .born .of
s.urrow" ("dont par douleur ay commence ce livre") begms Wlth
th e words :
By this sad and painful though ~ whi~h is ever present in .my he~Ht. and
accompalllcs me, be il in rising or III gomg to my bed, making my mghl~
long and my life wearisome, J have so long exerted a~d tormented my poe
brain, ;;0 oppressed and encircled it br repu~ant Images, ~hat I cannot
emplov it on any matter which might bnng me JOY or co.nsol~bon .. .. . And
in this plight 1 saw an old woman draw near to
qUIte disordered m her
clothing and yet indifferent to it, lean, dry, and Withered, of a pa1e, ~ead~n,
earthy complexion with lowered glance, halting speech, and droopmg hp.
Her head was cov~red with a soiled and dusty kerchief, her body mu~ed
in a ceremonial clo~ k . As she drew near, suddenly,. in silence, she selZ~
me in her arms and covered me from head to foot With her mantle o~ mIsfortu ne, and she held me so fast in her arms that 1 f~lt my beart III my
breast crushed as in a vice; and with her hands she bhnded my eyes a.n d
blocked my ears so that I could neither see nor h~ar. And so s~~ carned
me, unconscious and in a swoon, to the house of Slckncss and deh'iered me
into the jaws of Terror and Disease, Even my reason, that youn~ and able
attendant29 who had folluwed me, sometimes from afar off, sometlme.s fro~
close at hand, according as God pcrmitte~ me }I~s company, .even hlll.\ did
she in toxicate with such strange and nox.lous dnnk. brewe~ III frenzy and
madness. that this goOO and clever youth, who for thiS purpose had
m:,
woo<Ieu t is closely connec ted ,with a type of repre.senta.tion ~ating hom !he ~gi?ning ~f ,~~
filteenth century showing Doc thius ;n bed H10urmng and !.>eLllg contoled by P hilosoph a
e"en the curious seat on the lel t foreground is reta.i~ed-{PLo\TJI 6 ). fro"! BoIlTJIL US. D~
"'"JoIlIl'un~ PMI~phif" New York Pierpont Morpn L,br.u'y, MS 33~. 101. .. ). The style 0
this MS prob.>bl y datln~ fro m '41~- I":10, resembles that of the workshop 0 1 the --:ailed
~ I Uler o f BoucicaUI. and In Ihis circle Ibe same type of picture was u~ ~or portr.1'ts .of
rulers showing a pl'lnee ,i"lng a ud ience from bit bed (d . H. MA UllI' , L .. ,:", ",,",,,~~ f~""f"ts'
d .. I)' .... 1S' sil," Pad, ' 923. pla te 88. and C. COUt>Bac, A lb .. m d, por/r.. ,'s . . . . ParIS 19 27.
platn ~" III . ' and 'Llx, 2). I t is possible that in the Id ea of such a " le v~" as well a! of ~he
"lit de justice" (c ..... tainl y en"isaged originally as a real bed) u ,,,i,,ed .by Charl". V, the notIon
o( a "Icct ulum Salomon;'" may ha"c played a p a.rt, for In Ibe later Middle AgCII ,t. wu referr~d
to IlS a "bed of wisdom" (el. Rome. Cod. Cuanat . ' 40 '" (01. 9 ' . .. nd F . SAXl., zn Fu/sclLrifl
(,1> J,.J"'$ Sd/one" Zurieh 19:17, p. 118).
j ' !'ew York. Pierpont Morgan Library. MS .08. tots. I aoo ~ .
One ea n see that ,!e
em otional Renaissance style of tbis pen drawzng, probably dat,", from IS2S- 3, ,
mON: appropriate to poe tic " ision than does !he li f~nth-ntury minia.tufe style. (We
have to thank MIS' Belle da Cos ta Green for thif photograph .)
.. " Ba.ehelier".
2]
[Ill . I.
I
i
'I
225
226
[Ill.
I.
Ij
l
,
j
"DAME MERENCOLYE"
':.27
.. This antithesis not only co~nds to general usage (d. Michelan gelo' s poem men t io ned
below, text p. 232). but Ripa him.self alludes to it wb eu be contrasUi the "gio .. ""i a\legri"'
with the "vecchi malluconici" in designing his portrnit of "Malinco nia" , In an ilI lJ str:l.t ed
MS 0 1 about B OO {Paris, Bib!. Na.t., !>IS lat , '1077 . d , A. lc...uEN ELLES8<;1G F." , .-f! legod e. 0 j
tM Virtues lind Vic., i" Med~,,111 Art, Studies of The Warburg Institut e, VOL . X, Loodo n ' 939
PP' .I1 sqq.}, the penonifica.tions ol tbe corresponding faculties still appear ~fl{!~r t~e narr:e,s
"Gaudium" and "Tristitia" ; in the Fior. di Vi~I"'. Rome wo. tHO. we read Tns t,l HI. [whlc .
here includes "noaninconia," see above. text p . 221 note Zl ) si ~ contrario vino d ' Allegreu a :'
The same pair of opposites appears in the port>ayals of "Democri t us and Herachtu s" , fi rst
occurring about t5O, but not really popular till the time of t he Baroq ue (el. W , Wr.[SBAGH.
iu ja".b .. ," dl:l' 1"'~U$sis,1oe" K ....slsfJ ......luttgm, XLIX (' 9z8), pp . I~ I sqq. , ant! H . K" ~' FF>IA :;",
Oud Holla"d, YOL. XLVIII, Amsterdam 1931, p. 234)
.. Cl. W. BEN1A)lIN, U~~pn"'l d~s deu/s,h,,, r'fJ,.".spie/s , Berl in 1923, T'p. 150 s'lq . (th oug h
without noference to any connexion with Ripa and Milton).
228
[m , I.
head I\\"ho sits on a 'stone/ under a leafless tree/ her head bowed, on
her knees," The dialogue proper, however, presupposes acqua~t
ancc with a far greater work written some thirty years earher,
"
'
i\lilt on 's poems L'Allegro and II Penseroso,
But here we arrive at a subject of such size and m t n c~cy , VI Z,
)lelanclioh in English literat ure, that a full account of It would
far exceed- the scope of t his book. A discussion of the S~h~l of
:\ight , for instance, \"ould not on1~ have .been a v~t task m Itself
but would also have involved us Ul. a history of Its antecedents.
We are therefore limiting ourselves to a few strokes lin~g t~e
English development with the tradition traced elsewhere m thiS
book.
3.
...
3]
229
In sho wing that MiltQn. work belongs til. II. aepar;!.te poetic and ieonological traditiQn we can
discard Lord Conway'. h ypothesis that it had been inspired by Dllrer, "MelenCQlia I'
(Festschrift der internatlo na len Dllrer forscbu ng . Cleero", 19,8, pp. '9 sqq.), If a eon nection
with the visual arb has til. be aS5u lned, the inlluern;e Qf a p icture imitating Ripa, such all that
by A. jalillsens. PLAn 69. "'Quld be much mQre likely.
., I n choosing this tilLe. Milto n may also bavt: had in mi nd Michelangelo'. statue Qf Lorenzo
de' Medici, which {rom the time Qf Vasui had beeD known under this name.
.. It is all the roon lignificant that, in some Qf the poelNl on Melancholy frDm the second
quarter Qf the eigbtee.D.tb eentury. in _bieh the aim .. again to prodDCe ... uncanny an d
gloomy al.m()o;ph~. theae p leasant ~ are Qnsted by figures like Despair" and
"Dejection; cf. SICK1l..E, QP. ciL, pp . .43 sq.
23 0
[III.
I.
)lELA~CHOI.Y
AS HEIGHTENED SELF-AWARENESS
231
232
(111 . I.
Hi~i"
.. Report of the Ferrarue c.hu/li d atl";rea P:auluul. o f 17 December 1.s19 (aut p.-inted in :
"Ooo;umenU In6dits lur nspbatl"', Gudl. d" B~"WI'-Ar', 11. 1863, p . ''1). But
these phen omena ... e Ilready the reali lt 0 1 the flll>on of t wo linea of dev.:lopment : that of
"poetic m",laneholy" and that of tbe human;"'U NC!IOplat(>a k; theory 01 melaocboly. This
latter ..... ll be the I lIbject o f the lnUnwin, d>apte.- (pp. 219 tqq.J.
CA ~ T"O R' ,
.. 01, Did'...., ... d., MieAdatf.tio/tI Ol'llll"rol/i, ed. c...1U. F It!<Y. '897, No. !.XXXI. ACQOrding
to Lomuzo, Mich eillnselo had a "proportione uturni na" Id. $cHLOSSIUI. L. ItI' ,rlJl", ,,
1J,liJ'it:", 193', p . 381) ; .. bovo:. p . U7 &.!l ....ell as p. 310, note 30~ belo .....
L<'!ssin,'.
3]
233
face of poetry-Qne has only to mention Tasso or Samuel DanieJbut actually.det ermined the physiognomy of men Jiving then, as
we can see 10 the forbidding, reserved, imperious and yet sad
features of "mannerist" portraits.401 In this transitional period
the very strength of the emotional pressure made Melancholia a
merciless reality, before whom men t rembled as before a "cruel
plague'~ or a "melancholy demon", and whom they tried in vain
to barush by a thousand antidotes and consolatory treatises.oI3
It \~as as yet ~possi.ble for the imagination to transfigure it into
an 1~~a1 con~lhon, mheren tly pleasurable, however painful- a
condItion which by the continually renewed tension between
depression and. exaltation, unhappiness and "apartness", horror
of death and mcreased awareness of lile, could impart a new
vitality to drama, poetry and art.
. ~his dynamic liberation fmt occurred in the Baroque period.
S ignific~tly enough: it achieved its fullest and most profound
results m the countnes where the t ension which was to bear fruit
in art istic achievement was at its most acute-in Cervantes' Spain,
where Baroque d eveloped under the pressure of a particularly
harsh Catholicism, and still more in Shakespeare's and Donne's
England, ,:here it asserted itself in the tee th of a proudly stressed
Protestanhsm ....' Both count ries were and remained the true
" .E. P ANOnKY, 1<k4, Stud. d . Bib!. Wubllrg. v. 19 2 4< p. "
aq.
. .. Cf. aboye, p' . 76. Concerning Cm-many In IXl"ticular. abllndant material is to be Ioulld
,n , M . PAULVI, DU N.u.~lu.Iu i ... 16. jaArb,.,u,1 (WiIoic".,;h.tUkbe Be:ll&ge .ur "~rmani."
~nI 1 Februu 1879. No. 18). HoweveI', thb b. definite ly tendenoo .... auy. The.uthor
II out
proye that the hit;ber mc.ideJICCI 01 melancholy. both in. the IeJUoO of de~ .. e
I.endeDQe! and of &D actual llIental iUneq. abould be laid at the door of the Rdonnatioll and
that Protesta.Du were mlKh more liable to fIIffu from it than Catholics.
:0
f':'
.. cr.
F1. KALldtHI.CIt,
OJ,
NGlllr
IC. 2, line 55 Iq .; "You must endtavour to Iud deanlr at your ordInary. slt meilnchol y: :and
pick ),01lr teeth wben you tan not IJMlk ." " 'bal a long life "fashionable me l.. nc~nl\' ~a.d
in En,l=d, and how la ilbf .. Uy it wal a u endfll by th e ",l i."ts. " . hown. t.g. by Chu ~ci,, 111
poem (q1l0ted by SICKl(:LS, 0p. cit., p. 39) of 1761 :
18
[m.
I.
combined all the aspects of the melancholic: the ecstatic and the
contempla tive . the silen t a nd Saturnine no less than the musical
and ;\pollinian , the gloomy prophet and the idyllic lover of
nature, and \\'elded their manifoldness into a unified picture, mild
on the whole rather than menacing. The portrait could be
differe ntiated fur ther, and this process of differentiation was
carried ou t, more especially in eighteenth-century English literature, with great speed and consistency.52 The "Odes to Melancholy" , the " E legies" and the poetic glorification of the pleasures
of melancholy with all its minor forms and varieties like contemplat ion, solitude and darkness, increased constantly from
Gray to Keats; we can foIlow_ step by step how in this type of
literature new refmcments and distinctions of the melancholic
sentiment evolved with regard to both quality and object. Corresponding to the old contrast between natural melancholy and
melancholic disease, they distinguished "black melancholy" in
the sense of a morbid depression from "white melancholy" in the
sense of Goe the's "Selig, wcr sich vor der Welt ohlle Hass versc hli esst" . This latter form was expressed sometimes in philosophic resigna tion, somet imes in elegiac sadness, sometimes
in melodramatic passion , finally drowning in a sea of sensibility.
The conten t of the poems varied according to the greater or
smaller importance given to the theme of "Withdrawal" or of
"Deat h". or to t he "Complaint of Life", though in a work like
Gray's "Elegy in a Country Churchyard", where the basic emotion
is so singly and expressively sustained, these three themes could
very well be compined. 53 Finally, one can see how, in accordance
.. Outside Englan d. Melancholy was no longer an important poetical subject in the eighteenth
The re ..sons for t his ' development .. re various: in the literature of Italy and France,
natio ns 01 mOre extrovert than introvert tendencies, the theme had never taken proper root s;
Spanish liter.. !ure in the first half 01 the !lCvollteen th century was more Or less ' ft abeyance,
while in t he seeo nd ha lf it was under Strollg Fr<:nch influ ence; German poetll valued mel .. n~holy n<ot for its OWn uke. but on ly, as it weTe. as a subsidiary subjee t, mOre substantial
sorrows or sen timen ts affording the dominating theme (u nhappy love in GQethe 's Wert~er.
friendship in j~pa rdy in Klopstock's famous ode A .. Ebert).
~~ntury.
.. I n d istinguisbing these three themes we follow R!:!:o, op. cit,. pp. 38 sqq. As reg ard s
Gr .. y's Eltgy , the tiUe .. Iready indica.tes a oombit:la.tion of the three themes. "Elegy" pointing
to the general sen time nt of Wells,;}, men, "connuy" to the "retirement", and "churehyard"
to the "deatJI theme". The con nection of the!IC ideas with each other aod with th e idea 01
infi nity, ,,hiell m.. kes tbem more p~ofoundly signinca nt. is beautifully expressed by Balu.<:
in hi s M ldtt;n de campagne : "PourqUOi les hommes ne reglU"dcnt-ils point sans une tlmotlon
pro fonde toutes les ruines. m~me les plus humbles? SiUlS doute elles sont pour eux une im,,-,::e
dn m .. lheur do nt Ie poids est senti par CUlt 5i divenement .. un village abandonn6 fait songer
aux pein es de la ,je: .. . les peines de la vi e SOD.t innnies. L'infini nest-il pas Ie secret des
grandes mtll .. ncolies)"
3]
237
with the new aesthc\ic theories of "the Sublime", Milton's " smooth
shaven Green " and "Waters munnuring" were gradually ousted
by a "wild and romantic" landscape with dark forests, caves,
abysses and deserts. Thus the Gothic Revival with its love for
the Middle Ages enriched the poetic scene with so many Gothic
ruins, churchyards, night ravens, cypresses, yew trees, charnel
houses and ghosts- mostly of sad virgins-that a certain group of
poets was actually described as the "Graveyard School".M The
"Poetic Calendar" for 1763 contained an anonymous satire entitled
"To a Gentleman who Desired Proper Materials for a Monody",
in which all these ingredients were amusingly catalogued,55
This mockery is un4erstandable, for in English literature of
the eighteenth century-a curious age, in which rationalism and
sensibility at once denied and evoked one another- poetic
expreSsion of the melancholy mood did in fact become more and
more of a convention , while the feeling itself became more and
more ,emasculated. 53 And yet, in proportion as the traditional
form and content lost their significance, either becoming conventi0nally insipid or degenerating into sentimentality, so did
new and untraditional possibilities of expression arise to rescue
the serious and real meaning of melancholy. Therefore, true
melancholy, while it fled from -the painted backcloths of ruins,
vaults and cloisters, is now fOlUld, e.g., in the bitter wit of Lessing's
later letters, or in the deliberately fragmentary style of Sterne,
which was but a symbol of the eternal tragicomic incompleteness
of existence as such, It can be perceived in those regions of the
mind explored by Watteau and Mozart in which reality and
fantasy, fulfilm ent and renunciation, love and loneliness, desire
and death bear so close a likeness that the customary expression
of sorrow and pain can scarcely be used save in parody .51
.. CI. RBI!.O. op, cit,; SICKI!.l.&. op. cit., p. 28 and Ix..~;m. Mmittedly, Miltoo already b as
"The IItudious cloister's pale", and "The high embowed roof, With antick pilillrs massy
proof, And storied windows richly digh!, CutiD.g a dim religious Iight.' See KE~HIl!.TH
CURl(. The Gothic RtoJi"al, 1929, p. 170, where a passage i. q uoted from A. WI!.I.BY PUGH',
An Apology for Ih. rev;t,..1 of C}'ri~lian A rchil~~lu"" London 18H, which is characteristic of
the conneetion between melaocholy aD.d gothic style; "It (Le. tho gothi~ style) is considered
suitable for !lOme purposes-melancllmy, and therefore fit for religious huildiogs." (Author's
italics),
.. P rinted by
SIC KELS,
.. Cf. SICKLS,
op. cit., p. 6 7.
op. cit., p.
18 2
sq.
.. We are thinking of such passages with oomic empbasis o n the minor key as those in the
suicide ana of Papageno, and in Barbarina's "needle" aria in the MlJrriage of Figl1rt1.
[III.
I.
239
24"
or Il:-~ (on::ciuusly from the past as seen with the eye of the
hi;.turi:m
In the beautiful poem prefacing Part II of this book,6l
\erlaiIlC (:~ plicitl y cite:::; the "sages d'autTefois" and "grimoires
.uu.:iclls , and in j. P. Jacobsen we fmd afin-de-siicle , pleasure---cekin"~ sat icn- ac tually- attributed to Baroque times. "They have
a gn.' ;ncr heart and more restless blood" , he says of the "secret
~ict v ' which one might call the Fellowship of Melancholies.
"Th~;' desire and veam for more, and their longing is a wilder
and lu ore burning one than runs in common veins . . . but the
ot hers, what do they know of delight amid grief or despair?"
"But w h\" do vou call them melancholies, since joys and worldly
they think of?" "Because all earthly joy is ~
pleasures are
fleet ing and tran!=itory, SO false and incomplete . .. Do you still
ask wi1\" they arc called melancholies, when all delight, as soon
as possc~sec1 , changes its aspect and turns to disgust ... when all
beau ty is a beauty that vanishes, all luck a luck that changes?"12
CUAPTER
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
The Glorification of Melancholy and Saturn
in Florentine Neoplatonism
and the Birth of the Modern Notion of Genius
;11
.. J. P. jA(:08.l; I.!< , Fu .. M a.ic G ...~. ch. " . The action (I f t he n(lv~1 tak(!$ place in the
seven teenth ce ntury , and the au Uwf tri.., t<.I imitat .. th .. styl .. and moo.. of feeling of the
baroq ue period.
II
I.
'.'
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
,; rm. II .
:0
, Cf. K. BoR[NSIU, Di~ Atll;lI~ in Pot/ill und Kutlsllheo";e, VOL. II , Leipzig [9 2.,,pp. {sqq'
.' ~f. E. PANOf'SKY, Her". /u ,,'" Scheidtwegt (Studien der Bibliothek Warbucg, VOL. XVIU).
Lelp:ug 19)0, pp. ISO sqq: . At that t~me the fact was ov",,"looked that a foutt~enth.~ntl1ry
al1~()r, Fra~~~~ B.ar~ml. had notleed the lack of a pictorial type for virtue as sucir. (as
agamst th~ indIVIdual vIrtues of the Middle Ages). and endeavoured to remedy this state of
affairs by an imaginative reronstrueti on of a portrait of virtue in general (d. F. &7101. [
d<>e<,."enli d'", ..."... di F~'... <esco d", B",tbuinQ. VOL. I. Rom~ ' 9<>.5. pp. 66 sqq and in A~u.
V (19<>~) . pp. I .sq~. and 78 sqq.). The basis of his in""ntion. however (Arl~ V (1<)02). p. 89).
was stIll the blbhcal representative of the original virtue "For~zza". namely. samson. for
whom th e RenaissanCt'l then substi tuted Hercules; it is ~igni/icant that Francesco's solution
taken up by Ripa, shOUld have been so far forgotten that Filarete (ef. PANOYSKY. op.
pp. 192 sqq.) had to formulate the whole problem aU ClVer again.
cit.:
ri
r
II
!
I
t
I
!~
i
t
I
IJ
243
d ..
[m. n.
Hen ce a re1 .. ti"e l~k of cl.. ims to origi nality distinguishes medie"a1 from ancient or
modern philosophy : cf.. among olhera, jOHAIUUS HBssBN, A"s"jlinju;M .. "d Ilto,..j'fi$'~'
E,It~"lIlni,'d . P. derborn 1921. pp. 9 sqq. and 19 sqq.
It is apparen tly an almost i$alated pheno menon when .. man like Jl.1arbod of Rennel in
the twelfth century celebrat es the lei'''lre of his country life and ,closely followin!! H orace,
lip .. I . 14. co mpous a hymn in praise of completely self-nfficient meditation :
" ... B ulla virens. e t silva s ilens. et spi ri tus aurae
Le nis et festi"uJ. et fons in gramioe " j "UlI
Dcfcsn..m menten\ recreant. et me mihl reddunt.
Et faciunt in me consilltere ..
Haec et plul'll mih; licet atque libet meditad.
Fronde lub a!!rti d ... m Hire moml patrueli"_
MIG1<lt. P. I H' VOl.. CLXXI. col. 1666; ct. W . GANUNloltlU.U. Dt N.' ....selt.iA I i ... Mittel.II".
Leip~;g
19'4. pp.
U~
&qq .
I )
, \Vim thill, ct. A. VON MAr:rtN, Mitulalltrlid, WI/t. flood Le/mu."s''' ..... ''l 1m 5pi~Stl
de.. 5d! ~iftM' Colt",jo 5.1..1"lil. M ... nieh 19 13. pp. 12~ sqq.
cr.
pp.
J.~
../:Juell
.. Disputatw IV; C.,nOI'OIIIO i.AN I)tNO, U/:J. l Olt'<lUWr (_ C. _Idwkoui" ... disp .. ,. libfi
1.508. ro1. K Ii' . The. pueq:e lrom Macrobius is q ... oted 'OJ uu",o.
.. Pointed o ut by E . WOlF, in
p.
~S7 .
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
[III.
If .
~<
!t
l]
247
practised the most obscure astral magic. There were those, too,
who attempted to find a way between that conviction of freedom
which was affirmed in theory but could not quite be realised in
practice, and that fear of the stars which had not been wholly
banished from practice although it was theoretically repudiated"~
The "bondsman" of the Middle Ages (so to speak) was 0 11 the
whole immune from astrology, but the "free man" of Renaissance
times was obliged either to fight it or to fall its victim.
The birth of this new humanist awareness took place, therefore,
in an atmosphere of intellectual contradiction. As he took up
his position, the self-sufficient "homo li~eratus" sa~v him~~f torn
between t he extremes of self-affirmatIon, sometImes rlsmg to
hubris, and self-doubt, sometimes sinking to despair; and the
experience of this dualism roused him to disc~ver th: new intelle~
tual pattern, which was a reflection of thiS t ragtc and herOIC
disunity- t he intellectual pattern of "~.odem ~;nius". At .thi~
point we can see how the self-recogmbon of modern gemtls
could only take place under the sign of Saturn and melancholy;
and how, on the other hand, a new intellectual distinction now
had to be conferred on the accepted notions of Saturn and melancholy. Only t he humanism of the Italian ~ena~sance \~as C\bie to
recognise in Saturn and in the melanchohc thiS polanH-, wInch
was, indeed, implicit from the beginning, but which only 'Aristot le ~:
brilliant intuition, and St Augustine's eyes, sharpened by hatred,
had really seen. And tilt! Italian humanists not ~nly r<'Cogni:3cd
this polarity: they valued it, because they So.1.W III it tilt' m :l1U
feature of the newly discovered "genius". There was therefore
a double renaissance: firstly, of the Neoplatonic notion of Saturn.
according to which the highest of the planets embodied, and also
bestowed, the highest and noblest (acuities of the soul. reason
and speculation; and secondly, of t he 'Aristotelian ' doctrin e .of
melancholy, according to which all great men were melancholi es
{whence it followed logically that not to be melancholy was a
sign of insignificance}. But this new acknowledgemc~t of a
favourable view of Saturn and melancholy was accompamed-or,
as we saw conditioned- by an unprecedented consciousness of
their polarity, which 1ent a tragic colour to the. optim~st ic Yie\~ .
and thus gave a characteristic tension to the fechng of Ide expcnenced by the men of the Renaissance,
H Thu. F1c1Da.
He
248
[III . II.
pp. 12 ILnd ~ o .
" G. E. LesSING. B.;,/, di. ",..u l. Liltr .. lvr IHlrff!nlll, Letter
I]
249
.. How 1&r Petr"arch "till "'as from t he nolio .. of 'ennohled" melancholy can be seen from
a letter 10 , Laeliu., in which he excuses hi. boldo/:Oill in cont radictillg Aristotle by a
re fereO<:e to Ck ero, ",ho had dared to do .. milch : "Quale est m... d, quod cu m Aristoteles
omnes ingen ........ mdancholicos esse d~luet. Cieero, cni did ... m non plaeet>.t, iocaus ait :
gratnm sibi quod tanli esset iogeoii, clare satis bis verbis quid se ntiret inlimant' (F.
Ptl, ..,t;IU EpiJ/oku, eel. I . FraCU$etti. FloreD(:a 1$6), YOlo . fU , p. 501. Petrar.. h therefO!
takes Cicero'" jest u a senous rebuttal of the Aristotelian notion 01 melancholy and appro"es
o f this criticism.
., Lto" .. ,d' B", ,,, A14/i"i EPislowM(III lib'; VllI, ed. L . Mehus, Florence 114 1, VOl.. II ,
pp.)6 sqq., ep. VI. I . Bruni a nswen tile poet Marrasio, challenge "lnd ... lgere velis nostro
Arreli ne fUfori 1" ",Ith the controversial statement: "Jdalills fonan a Uter, ego certa.sic accipJn,
q ....asi lalldis l ... ror lit, non vituperationil'; a.nd reinforces it with bil f&lllO\l. exegesis o f the
P1atoni.. nntion of ma nIa. For the problem of the modern notion 01 genius see also E. ZI t.SBL,
D" E"lsld'''''I Q ' G,,,ilbtpif!s, Tllbingen 1 9~6. Ind H. Tu tJ ... . B,i/, 4"
G~nlo'dl' du
Gnt~ffJ ill " ,141111.. Halle 1921 ..... d their biblioc:raplties. To the partic:ulu aigniJi~e
of the notion. of Saturn .... d mela..ncholJ' In thiJ c:onnexion. however. these authors bavo no\
done justice.
,,,r
to
"MELANCHOLIA GENJo:ROSA"
[III.
If .
was "aut deus aut daemon".u Finally, not till then was t he
equation of the Aristotelian melancholy with Platonic "divine
frenzy"- never clearly formulated by the ancients themsclvesexpressly made." Then- and not till then---did the modem age
conceive the modem notion of genius, reviving ancient conceptions
indeed, but filling them with a new meaning.
That Petrarch should have felt melancholy before he called
himself so, that he should have been conscious of both the "divine"
and the "frenzied" nature of his poetic achievements before there
had been any revival of the orthodox notion of divine frenzy,
and that he found both these aspects in his own experience before
he grasped their unity-aU this shows most plainly that for the
H.enaissance the connexion of melancholy with genius was no
mere cultural reminiscence, but a reality which was experienced
long before its humanistic and literary formulation, Not that the
Middle Ages had entirely forgotten the good qualities of the
melancholic and Saturn's auspicious influence; the rudiments of
such a conception survived even in astrological and medical
literature,U and scholastic writers like William of Auvergne even
made explicit attempts to rescue it, by contrasting the curren.t
view with Aristotle's doctrines, and with those of Neopiatonism. n
But there was a fundamental difference between scholastic
attcmpts to fmd a theological and moral justification for
melancholy and for Saturn's influence, and the humanists'
apotheosis of them, rooted and grounded in personal experience.
It was one thing, with the permission of supreme authority., to
try to find a place in a God-given world order for the connexion
between the melancholy disp:>sition and intellectual pre-eminence.
and for a similar link between Saturn and "intellectus"; quite
another to discover it in one's own experience and, in affirming
it, to be driven by one's own personal urge for intellectual se.lfpreservation. The argument was now, so to say, "ad hominem"27 ;
.. Cf. T . WIo1.J(HIGTQIf. Til' Opti" GI.u. eIH""'OO'J, London ' 607, p.6., 0: "The melaneholiel<
man is lII.id o f the wi$tl to be 'a ut ~u, aut Daemon.' ~ither ADgel of heaven o~ a fiend 0 1 bell :
fot in whomsoever thi, hu mou r hath dominion. t he soule i. either wrapt up into an Elyaium
and paradise 01 blessc by a heavenly con templation, or into a di re full hellish purgatory by a
cynicall meditation."' Thi, is followed, however. by an entirely unfavourable a.tCOun t both
of melancholy and of the influence of s..tu rn.
II
2.10
(te"t) .
:=nes esse
ingenioso- docet Aristotelel. "t Ae id quidem m,rum.
~ 'g" ur ope':L ~Iar:rla
f nrens ingenium nimio ado defrigetCu.lu etiam .tudendum. ne tn",ore consu e. ur! tn.
L
::~:e eomnino hili fad u otmoxium." Here. as in othH" Renaissance authou '....,e follo""!"JI
) the ..ish to do jUlt ice to melancholy at all costs led 10 tht- trans formauon of ('l et-'o S
from Aristotle. "omn~ in,eniosos m~lancholicof esse' (see aoo'e. tt"!l:t P 3.3. nntt
65), into "omnes melancholiCOl IR,emo-os ate
.. The old etymOlosy Satum _ .....cer nu, (see above. p 17;) occu r~ ag'lln e.g III G
;:~~tion
r
'Cf
of the _
tiall y dUll inllu.nce of the planets (i l ocCurs lau.r e g ,n G P
LoKAUO Irlu dtllmlpio hUa pi"'*", Milan 1590. ch 26, p. 36 : he.r S;otur."! mr:LM_el : h~r
.. Thi$ Idea
"
. :.
Thus . )b b,
.I.
cr.t v ..... or
,,_.&
,\
. 01 m .-. :'\ <lrOl
certaiD l.,uARtlS $CHeOne. dated '497. in WoUenhti tlcl . ~. 29. q . uc ~ . ..'
_. ~
fob. 84 aqq . not only allots correspondinl liber.ll an . metals and d :, ,'s ('1 : e ,,<"(,;': to .h,
[Ill, II,
t }
to hard work on the land; but through his position, as the highest
of the planets, he produced the most spiritual people, such as
"religiosi contempiativi" , withdrawn from all worldly life. 32 But
b'y the time of Cristoforo Landino the revived Neoplatonism is
already well established, In his commentary on Dante, Landino
refers ' to the authority of Macrobius in order to contrast the
many, base and evil things which astrology had attributed to the
influence of Saturn with "quella virtu della mente, la quale i
Greci (chiamon 'theoreticon',"33 Finally, a monumental formula
was evolved, expressly contrasting Saturn's bipolarity with the
influence of the other planets, and, significantly enough, within a
few decades it had become a proverb, "Saturn seldom denotes
ordinary charact ers and destinies, but rather men who are set
apart from the others, divine or animal, joyous or bowed down
by the deepest grief"M; or, as Bovillus says in his Proverbia
vulgaria, "sub Saturno nati aut optimi aut pessimi,"35
.. L!';CIASO SCARABI!I.I.I, Com~d;a di Drut,d'lli Alll!llLuii, col ,,,,"me,,,11! di jaUJpo dtlll! LI!"''''
Bologna 1866, VOL. m, p. 316: "s; come si hac per Alcabizio e per gli alui libri d 'astrologla'
Saturno uoiversalmente Iii hae a significare due generazioni di genti, I'una tutta gt'OllS3 e
materiale, s\ CODle sono viUan i, agricoli e simile gente; I'altra ~nerazione ~ tutta ..stratla
dalle mondane oecupazioni, sl come sono religiosi contemplativi; e provaaL di mostrarne
ragione in questo modo. La prima gente ,i /! di sua significaziont: scguendo sua eomple,sionc'
sl COme Saturn o freddo e S<'CCU , che .. complt:SSione material" e di terra, . . .. L'altra gente
che ~ lOtto sua impressione, 5i IIOno contcmpJanti, com'/! detto; questi seguono 10 sito d,
Saturno, the 81 come eUo I! elevato sopra tutti Ii altri pianet i, coslla contemplazinne ~ elevata
.
sopra tutti Ii alui aUi e operuioni."
.. FoL eclxvii ' in tile Yenetian cdn. of '''9 ' 01 Cristoloro Landino's commentary on Vant,,:
"el quale piancto, quando I! l>cn disposto Della nativiti dell' huomo, 10 fa investigatore delle
COlle antiche et rl'Condite; et ;nferisee acuta ratiOl::inatione et d iscocso di ragione.
fit anco".
secondo Macrobio quell,. virtu della mente, la quale i Gn:ci chiamon 'theor~tjcon: i.e
potentia di contemplare et specular<'; la qual cosa induxe el poeta che ..-appresenti in questa
spnera l'anime speculatrici."
.. F1CIN O, De ~. tripl. 111, 2 (Oper4 , p. 533); "Saturnus non facile communem sigoificat
humani geLleris qualitatem atque sortero, sed hominem ab alii! segregatum, dj"ioum aut
brutum, beatum aut utrema miseria prt:55um, Mars, I.una, Venus, affeetus et actus homini
cum caet~ri~ aLlimantibus aequl: communes."
"
.. C, P.oVII.LUS,
P'01Jerbiorum vulgarium libri Ire!, Paris 1531, fo1. 109':
"Sub ""turno nati aut optimi aut pessimi.
Qui 90ubz saturn" sont ne:>: !lnt tout bons OU tout mauluais."
Similarly' in LEos ... ano DATI 'S Sjera Iwe quote from MS 721 in the Pierpont Morgan
Library, ~ew York);
"Questo pianeta ci fa contemplanti
Et pensativi, easti e bene astuti,
Sottiglleza d'ingegno han tutti quanti,
Sono al ben fare si com" al male &etlti . , . . "
Again, LEONE E8 R!;O'S attempt to combine all the vaTidy of Saturn's traditional traits into
a unified black and white picture (DialCIIM d'AmOfe, Ve nice 1541, fol. 70'-') is particularly
interesting:. "Ia gli huomini, ne quali domina, malenconiei, mestl, graui et tardi, et di color
254
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
[III. tI .
For ..that very reason, however, the elite among t'he Italian
humanists turned to Saturn rather than to Jupiter, According
to Pica della Mirandola, the very possibility of becoming either a
god or a beast was what made man; and the very situation on
the narrow ridge between the two "chasms", which was recognised
more and more clearly as the main characteristic of the Saturnine
and melancholy man, seemed to these elect persons, by its very
peril, to raise them above the secure but uneventful level of the
commonplace. Thus, out of the intellectual situation of humanism
- that is to say out of the awareness of freedom experienced with
a sense of tragedy- there arose the notion of a genius which ever
more urgently claimed to be emancipated in life and works from
the standards of "normal" morality and the common rules of art.
This notion arose in close combination with the notion of a
melancholy both gracing and afflicting the "Musarum saccrdos"
(just as, in ancient belief, the lightning both destroyed and
sanctified); and with the notion of a Saturn who despite all his
menace, was a "iuvans pater" of men of intellect3$; because they
could honour in him both the ominous demon of destiny and a
type of the "insenescibilis intellectus", or even the "intellectualis
deus",87
2,
MARSILIO FICINO
di terra. inclinati all" agTic.ultura, edificii et officii Unen; . , . Da O]ITa. questo grand' ;ngegno.
profonda cogitatione, uera scientia, retti consegli. et conltantia d 'animo per]a mistione della
natura. del pad~ celeste con II. terrena. mad~; et finalmen te dalla parte del padre da la
diuiniti dell' anima, et dal]a parte ddl .. madre ]a bruttezza, et rui na. del corp!) , , ."; th e
purely mythological rl'asonl for this polarity are a!so remarkable.
U F ICINO, D, v. tripl., Ill ,
(Op'~I1.,
... Cf. N ICHOLAS 011 Cus ...s autograph marginal comments on the Latin transb.tion o f
P1tOCLUS'S TheoW&il1. PI...tcNi, (Cllel . Hospital, Cod. 185, fol. ~6' and 166' ; furtber passages,
fo] . 163").
.. The new doctrine did not leave even Olese entirely nntoaded, bowever;
p . 118 (text), and below, pp. 39~ Iqq. (text),
~.
ICC
above,
2]
}tARSILIO FICINO
255
and had thus from the outset helped the notion of Saturn as a star
of sublime contemplation to gain the day, In the twenty~first
canto of the Paradiso, it is the sphere of Saturn in which the
"anime speculatrici" , led by Peter Damian and St Benedict, appear
to the poet; and from it the shining ladder of contemplation rises
to the vision of the Deity, in which Beatrice's smile dies away,
and the nearness of the Absolute silences even the music of the
spheres- a curious reminiscence of the silence of the ancient god
Kronos.4.0 The whole conception- here only hinted at and still
concealed behind general symbols, although later. as we have
seen, it was to include the personal experience of generations of
humanists-reached both its full systematic development, and its
psychological objectification, in an author 'from \\--hose work we
have already quoted frequently when it was a matter of flOdin g
the new doctrine of Saturn and melan choly "classically"
fonnulated, This was Marsilio Ficino, the t ranslator of Plato and
Plotinus ; or, as he described himself on the title page of his
translation of Plato, the "Philosophus Platonicus, Medicus et
Theologus", Marsilio went far beyond the scattered remarks of
other authors'l and devoted a complete monograph to the new
doctrine, He it was who really gave shape to the idea of the
melancholy man of genius and revealed it to the rest of Europein particular, to the great Englishmen of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries-in the magic chiaroscuro of Christian
Neoplatonic mysticism:t2 In him the SUbjective chnra cter of the-
An edition of Ficl no', Libri d, ";1.. trip/iei wu hein!; prepa.:-ed before th~ ".11 by I ':,~;ennr
E. \Veil. Paris. to whom this ~on 01 Ole book o",'es severa] addi tions and ~ect,~cat;on~.
hence wt: bave limited ourselves hert! to very brief ~ferencel and quotations. Fo~ othu
aspects besides the general litera~re. see F . FIORltSTISO, II r;larg;mn.!(J {::(}Joj",o ",I
Quatt~ClUNto. NaplC11 1835 : A . "DI!.LI..\ TORRI!., Sto n" dtll" A"adt,,,ia Platoniclf d, F,' rtH;t .
Floreoce 1903: E. CUSIU.R, J.. dj~id""", Ifnd KOI"'OI (S tud!en der Bib!;oth~k \\'a rburg.
VOL. xl, Leipzig 1927: and GlltHLOW (1903-G4); G. S... ITT .... l,a filos0fta Iii .\lI1.,;1i1.' Fio;; wo,
Messina 1923 ; H. B.-I.ROI'I", "Willensfrciheit und A~trologie bel Fici no und Pico. in ,.;"!:,,,. ""d
UNilllrsA1gtsdi,hI,. W41lu G61r "" .h iNt'" 60. Glbu.lJlag,darg,b~"AI . . . . Le ' pZlg 191 ~ 1 Pt'Sl:<O
(with additions by L . THORNOIU) in ZdtJ~hrilt lilr Kj.~hf"l' $tl.. ,~rt, 1925. PI' ~o . ":;',
w. DIIESS, Di, MySlilt dn Mafsilio Ficiow, Berlin 1929 ("\li th Important remarks nn Fic,rlo'l
secret anthropoenti. m. CIp. p. 79). Fcrr Fic.ino. innuence on the E Ii,a!.>ett:a n~, d F S
5cJ!:Ol<LL, "Etllde. l ur \'bulftanisme continental en Ansleterre 1 II lin de 1a Rtn.:nancc
in Bibli<HJJf ... d, u. R", ... .u liIlJ~.. I..u tom/Jl'.J" VO l. . :eXIX (1926). PI'. 2 sqq . . ,,~ mar "dd
that BUIITOH too offen a detailed discussion 0 1 Ficino'. theory of melancholy tI'ar: I. ::lemb.
3, s ubs, 1$\.
25 6
2]
[ III . II.
as
" Op'r/1o O17I"i.. , Basle l,n6, VOl.. f, pp. 731 (misprinted as 6)1) Iq. ; " Ego autem bit
temporibu5 q uid velim q uodammodo neseio. Forte et quod lcio nol.im, el qood nescio volo.
Veruntamen opinor tlbi Dune jovUt tui 10 Piscibul d ir ect! beDignltate COlUtare, q uao mih!
Saturni mel hill diebus in Leone retrogradi nulignltate non constant. Sed quod frequtnter
praedicare !IOlemu s in omnibus aseDdae i11i gratiae aunt, q ui inli nita oonitate sua omnia.
convertit iD bonum." T his conclusio n bring ing the whole o f astrological pagaoism into
harmony with ChrilLtian faith ill typical of Fielno and bis epoch.
U Ficino can be eoun ted among the opponents of astroiocy oDly with certain qualificatiolll
(on l lIis, s.ee below. text pp. ::63I1'1.q.). It is at least u nderstandable that tbe great a.!ItTolo~er
L.uca. Gauricus, In a l peh in praise a nti de fence of his science. should ha"e quoted. h,m,
togel ht"r "'; t h T'tolcrnr. Pleatrix. Pietro d '''lia no lind th,~ Archduke Leopold ~f "ustna: u
one of the malO represenlati"cs o f "astrolog ical magic" (LuCA$ GAURlCUS. ~r"ha d , I.. ,ull/)w$
'UCr~lc:'a.~ h<lbif<l In F"ra.ri~ "si A chndt,,,ia, pr inted In Sphere IrlJl:/<l/ .., joannu de Sn,HI BIISIo,
p'-",
.. m
257
\"eniee 153t )
" For FIC.no. huroscope see the letten to c..valcanli quoted belo ,,", ~p. ::57 sqq: (Ioxl),
and t he passage quoted from his introduction to the comroeDtary o n Plotmua; abo .~IS leiter
10 :-<ocholas of Balbor, Bilhop of Wa illen in Hungary (Opn.., VOL. I, p : 684) : ~I e v~
pain... mm:ue sedel m itum fuef il, si ve mu tationem prohibeat Sa.tumu, 10 AquaJL~ nobis
ncc nlic n ~ . quod lor te iudicabi t Astrologus. lieU .. mens coDtemplationi semper IDlenla
qulescere iubea!.' 1\ may be usclul W e"Vlain that by '~endant astrologer~ meant tlle
point of the ecliptic rising abc'e t he horizon at a give n moment. a~d also-n ot qu,te eorr~ctl.y
-the sign of the zodiac in which this point lay. The fint tbuty sradcs of the ,:hptLC
(coun ting from tbe aKflndant point) are lhe lirst ' place" {lQ<'..s).--often abo equated w,th t~e
,
' Rl" cs " "I ,e.
.. . Tho ':'
,~
. - .' i n this
'locu.
re!e,ant zodiacal lugnw h'I( h s'g
...............
,. . first
..
, It
I.herefou the one governing the life of the man In question, and IS really blS star. When,
as in FiciDO1 case, there is the added fact that the ascendant siS~ i. also ODe ~f the " holl_:
of th e planet in question (in which tho planet in any case exerts Its greatest mIght), then th,s
act o j course inerea$el the planet'. influen ce I t ill furlhn.
MARSILIO FICINO
!
i
" Opu/J, p. 133. The translation s iven here, as elsewbere, is tee and considrrably " bridSed.
The tex t runa as follows: "N unquam erso m ihi amplius, mi Maxaili, inai mulabls malignitatem
$atllmi. Nnllnm Herelo m.alu.m Jaeere nobi. possunt utn.. ncq ueunt. inquam, noIUDt.
Velie autem et poue est Idem apud 5Uperoa. Qua ratione autem no. lummi boDi fi lio.
laederen t ? Cum aliis, qui a iummo bono solum originem suam trahuDt, ducantur. Atque
ea omnino secllndum bonl ipsius rntionem felieiQl mae illae mentes clreumaSant. SI ta.ntum
qUQlltum ,idemus et sciunt. qui experti nnt, I UOS dlligi t lilios le(;uudut lit turestris pater, qu i
comparatione coelestill Patrill, vix dicendus eat pater, quantum nos primum et verum Patrcm
putemus am.are ~ Mirom In modllm certe. Nu nq uam igitur laedemur ab iia, qui convi vlln t
In prot;pera domo Panit n<tri. ea"e igitur p<tbac t rantleras culpam tuam ad aupremum
lIIud a.!IUUtn, quod te for te innumerit alque mu imis beneticiia ac:cumulatum reddidit.
Sed ne in &i1l81l1a (rostra eD umerare eoner, noane til Uliasum ad 80~ntem urbem omandam,
lam per te fioreDtiatimao.n efl"ect;o.m, vC)lui <b OO<Iem aspicero uJ*lu, quo divum Platonem
aspexit ad Athenu iII ustraDdas eunt~? Responde mm! quaeso, unde admirandum
ingenium, q llo quid I i <t> Saturnus Intdlill., quod triginta annis suum iter pel1lgat cognosc:il .
qUOlve effect us in terris hoc in loco vel illo coliocatul producat, non is noras. Age, dic rnihi,
uode robu$tum iII ud et vaHd um corpus, quo per dev ios et indomltos saltus uui..-erMm
Graec~peragras t; , atq lle in AeBYptu m lIsque penetrasti, ad nos ... plentissim< ilI< $enes
. uper tuos hnmerOil allaturul! Audax eette lacinusl Pro quo tantum tibi posted debebunt,
quantum solvere d ifficlle erit. Haud to tuum fe feUit ineoeptum. TulilLti c:erte cos. quos
attingue est nemo. atq ue Oc:eidentaliblll rqiODilnts ostendisti. quoram taQtum prius nomin ..
aceepera"t. eaque tamen magnopere venerabUQlUl a tque ab eit omnern oblcuritatem quaa
eIrca. (:0$ ~t, amov i.ti nOiIroSqUe oculos .. b omni caligi ne abstersillti, ita ut etlam cor eorum
inspicl posslt, nisi penitu. lippl l im us. Denique per te eos inspcxit bue aetas, quos nuuquam
viderat Italla. Haec omnl.. t ibi ab eodem dOData sunt. Ad hoc etlam te respondere vrlim.
unde m~.lioria ilia tot rerllm capacissi ma, q uae adeo tenacissima est. ut quolibet momento
sibl omn i, ad$int q uae uDquam vldisti aut .. udlsti, nec tant um rea tenet, sod quibut eae sestae
. u nt, meminit temporum atque locorum. Tu ne erso Saturoum incusabls, q ui te tantum
ceteros homines . uperare voluit. quantum ipse eeterns planetu . uperat. Itaque OPUI, m ib!
erede, cit palinoo.;.., quam Ii sapit, quam primum caDes."
" Cf. the letter to Pion della htirandola (01'''''. p. 888): 'Sed non ne et ID.a3n um aliquld
lore decrevil Platonicorum documetltonJm copu1am ab initio l upern u. ilIe $aturnus in na tali
utriDII'I.Ue figura dominus ~ Dominus et in figura Platoois ... . " Fieino gives Plato'. alleged
horoscope in the long letter to Francesco llandi no (Op.r,., p. 763).
,
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA 'J
[m. lI.
. Who gave you the st rength to travel through Greece and reach
even the I~nd of the Egyptians in order to bring back t o us the wisdom
of ~hat ancu:~t people? Whence have you tbat comprehensive memory. in
wh lc~ all thmgs are present in correct time and place? All these things
ar~ gifts from ~atum. Therefore, do not complain of him, seeing that he
raised you as high above ,other men as he ,himself is abo\'e Ihe otber planets.
~ere IS urgent need, believe me, of a palinode. and if you are wise you will
sing one as soon as possible.
A few years .1ater there appeared the three books De vita triplici,
on the therapy and symptoms of the Saturnine character."
~ Op~ , ... p.1J'l: " Iu~, m! t~n~,. ut ~tllmo. de .ql>O .uperioribu. diebaa valde qll~eb&r,
pal.'~Lam un.am. Et luslilaime quidem: Demo emm iullet iDltillS, quam qui IU'1a iubent
!ac,t 'pM. quae hlboet Palinodia igifllr 1Iianilio tuo luent epislo/.;a t.... In qua 'audn
dIu. III ellm tun hac eonrtilloow Jibenteo" accipit, ut partim .,,}cutiaimo amorl In Urn tliO
attn.bllant1lr, partlm vero $;atu-:n' mun\!l'1Ous. Amoris autem, atque Saturni. el c!eniqlle
om.!Uum laudn oml'\el . i!feqntur,n Denm. principiumomnium atqlle tinem. (CI. tHe eoncilldi",
~ge of the l.ettn- qll(lted above. p. :1,57. note .. 7.] . qllod \'ffO cin:& mal. nimls
'~111 IUm, quod. intenlum in rile rq>rdlend.is. cotnplelrionem quand.m aceu ...
melilncbol,alD, rem. ut m,hl quldem videtll r. ~, nisi frequent! UIII citbar.. nobU
qvod ..... modo delinila duleaoeret. Quam mihi ab initio videtur impreuiDe Sa tumu . In
media ferme Aquarlo atCendlM te meo eoltStitutus, et in Aquario eodem rec:lpi.enl Martem
et Lunam ~n Capdeorno. atque ... pieienl ex quadratunL Solem Mereurjl.lmQl.le In Scorpio:
novam coeli plag.m oocI.I{l&ntu. H llie forte DOnn/hi! ad natUr;lm melaneholia.m restill!l'unt
Venull n U br., I uplterque In Canero. Sed quonam temere proiapsul suml Cagn me video
ru"'~1 non iniuria pallnodiam .lteram eantare Sat nmol Quid igitur laciam1 Equidem
terg,v~l'Mbor, .c dleam, vel nUuram eiul modi [lie. melancbolicam], Ii Vii, al1 me) non
ProfiCI$CI, vel I I ab llIe) proficisei neussarium fuerit, Aristoteli aslent iar ha nc !psam
insulare dlvioum que don um esse dicent;'''
'
" Thi, corrrspondenee between Ficino and Ca valeanti cannot be dated ..... ilh at.olule
certainty, but as It Will printed in Book III of the Ep1s1o/al, among many lettenl dated '474
and 1 ~76 (on ly. t.he miglve to Kin, Ma Uhiu o f Hungary at the beginn ing of tbo book, .... hleh
OCCUpies f'CM~hon 01 Ita own. bean the date , .. 80). while the remai ning lctterl of 1480 dO
not appear un til ~k VI, and letters a fter 1480 not uDtH Dook Vlltl.> X II. It .. li kely 10 date
from the mlds.evenliea. The fi rlt book of the DI flit.. lripiiei, ho .... ever. was eompleted in t 4h
the ..ec:ond and third not lill , .. 89 (d. W . KAK L, N,_ JaIotbUdn fil~ dtIJ AIIUJiull, AII. , lw,"
~'1didu wfld ,"wlulu Liln-'lIr w"tI fill' P4tl"8~A, VO!... .x. t<)06, p . 4911). Even the c""Pt~
In Book II de,otn! 10 the pr"'ption 01 lif_1Id tberefore. in particulu. to dieletic:s for
2]
MARSILIO FICI NO
259
.. FICINO. D, ... tripl.. I, , (0t-'II, p. 497) : " H.clenlll quam ob a uoam :o.hu.a ru".. 5.lc",d"le.
vel sint ab initio, vel .tudio fi.nt. rauonibus primo coelest, b::s. s~lIn do
oaturaliblls. tertio burnanit. OIl end~ lit ..til. Quod quidem confirma: ;n li l.>l' o Proble
matum Aristotdea. Omen enim. Inquit, ... ire. ill qu.vil facultate pnesta nles I:l~lancl:ohcol
extitisse. Qu~ in re Pi.tonieum illlld, quod ill libro de Scicnt,a scribirur . confirma,u .
ingenioaol< videlicet plorimum eoncitatCJI luriOtOtqlle _
solen. Democrilus qUOGue nullo. .
inq"it, virm ingenio ma,lIOIo, practer 11~, qlll fl.lrore quod.m percih sunt. esse unquam poue.
Quod qu idem Plato nOiter in Ph.edro probare videtur, die!!ns poeticas fore, frusua ablquc
furore pul$3.ri. Eui divinum furorem hie for te in telligi vult. tamen neq\l e fu ror eiusmodl
apud Phys.icOll, allil unqu.m ullil p raete.quam melancholiclS incitat\lr," See allo Ih ...
following not!!.
mel~ncboHci.
WF IClIoIO. D, o. tripi., I, 4 (01''' p. 497): "Muime ve.o literatorum ommum, hi ",Ira blle
premuntur, qui lII!du lo philo.ophlae .tudio dedi tio mentem :I corpore rebuS(j\1" CO~rofl!' lI
$CVOC'I.nt. incorpol'!!isque coniunguot, tum quia diffici1ius .dmodum opus m:lIO:, quoque
indiget mentil intentione. tum qui. qua tenlll mentem incorpore-ae " er:t:ltl COnlllr.gll:n
eatenllS a. corpore disiungere eompellllntur. Hinc corpus eorllm nonnu:lquam. qU:Ul nm.
.nimum redditur atqll't m~IaDCholicum . Quod quidem Plato I>05ter II> T , ma~ 1."n:::I.:
d icens: ..,imnl'll d ivina saeptsaimt, et intelltlSli me eontemplanlem. ahm~:ll j~ <'l1um,,.j, ad"O
adcHescece. poteoumque e\o'&dere. vt corpus IUllm supra quam na(<lr,a CO'l'<lfl ~ pa: Lat,,
e:cnJ)en!1 ... . "
260
[Ill . II.
2]
26I
, .. pl.
I. 6 (Op.: . p. 498).
.. F:cl~O. n. t. "'pi .. III. 9 (Op.:". , p , S46. mispriat for S4S ): " Ullde ad M!Cntlon
aiuora ~ontelnp!and.a cond"':'<I ." CI. abo III . 24 (opo p.. S68): " Sed qui ad I.letiuim.
q ...at"pr c\,; r~'u, ,leneruundll pelutU. Int t i!atur, sci.at sc lIOn Mercurialem .oI um _ , Ret
!'A:CTfm'~
\I 10 Ih .. Ill ite, . tatement. ,.'e rna)' note that Menlury bimeelf_
the "Epp'ft'
.\Q.,.~o , ,d~r:,:.n! ",til Ihe El rptian Thot and Ihe Babyloni.an god 01 scribes. Nebu_ bad
l'::.: c:ann to the ram,m age o f ,ntdl1I11l1 yrolcss>on.: VETTI US VAUN$ {Alltlwlofi<z~"'" lib. i.
cd \\. "roll. Uelli n ' 90S. II . 16, (I . HI plaen geometry a$ ,,~n iU philosopby uDdcr h is Ufe.
SeIther d",l I"oemo "ish to ,0 .g.inst the principle that the ~mmon nature. of all men ,if ted
v~ t ile I('tnet'l ,,'U ~ I erc.urial. " Q uon iam vero de literarum Itudiosi, loquor. recordAri
unulnquc'!VIUe " 0:0 hterHum IURore capt um inprimis se esse Mercurialem .. ,. Atque
haec com01\un il hi, omnl bll l en condi tio." But, within this generalauumption. the varlou )
tyve ' of " vlri Ul~ 'IlI I" CAn be differentiated: thns t h e pl ...asaot a nd witty. or dignified . nd
amiable, orator should ackno wledge, beside Mercury. Apollo a nd Venns u hi. p.tronl: ..
man engaged In la w or "nUura,U. communlsquc ' philosophia" should acknowledge J upite r
besido Mercury; while-.nd thif is the lmpo:un t point-the thinker ri5ing to thc greatclt
beigllts and plumbing the greatest de pths "sciat se non Mercllrialem 50lum ellle . .ed
5.aturmum: f lelDO', In terest and Iy mpathy. however, is TUlly lim ited to thil Saturnine
t ype of scholar, and moreover he recogn ises I pa.rticularly close relationthip between Saturn
and Mercury, I inee the. la tter too. thankl to h it dry nature, o;orrespond. to the black bile
(el. FI CINO, D,~. tripl. I, 4 and I, 6 (ap.~", pp. 496 aDd 498) : abo Ct.a.&~Tltll CLl lltll:lfTINtll.
L .."d/Jo"/ioJUJ, Bule 1'3S, p. IS: "Splenque. bilern gipit. moatis MercDn ... atram"). Mercury
too, like Saturn. ';1"'&"" phllosopby (letur to Sind:acius Recuolanus. 0/>" p . 943) 11Id.
aerordlns to PJ .. to. resem bled Sahlfl'l more thaD any other planet io light alld colouri..,
(lette r to F,lippo Carduc.c:i. Op-~ . pp. 948-949 ; d , also tbe letten to Bernardo Jkmbo. 0/>4 ~
p. ~. and 10 !"iccolb V"lo , Op..T". p . 9,:0) Tho" in the ~nd tM Mereu';'" dI ..... ctH It;"'a~' com?lctel)' to the Saturni ne In t he ,enen.l picture of the "i.ngeniosut". ~ the oooon
01 :'Ien:ury ' . as It " crc. abtofbcd by the notion o f S;r.tum: cL for iJutance the eb~terltUc
p;u5&le In FIf:I~O. n. . lripl .. I, 6 [ap.r p . 498). whiclt irst m.... tioDi Saturn and ).te:rc.lIry
together. bn. then relerl to Saturn alooe; "Congruit in!uper [K.. atra bUn) c um Mercurio
atqlle Satu rno, quor\l m a luo.r ornni\lm planeiar\lm altiaimus, iDvCltipoum evehit ad
altiuima. Hi ne phiJo.ophl ' ingulua evad unt, praesertim cum animul sic a.b uteroi.
motlbt1l. autue col"J'lO'$ proprio levoutu et q\l .. m proximusdi,-iois. divil)Orum iDluu mcnt um
effici.. tur, Unde d ivinia in ll u1\:ib\l'. orac\lJisque e:r: alto repletus nov" q u.aedam Inu.itauque.
semper e1I:cogit. t et I\ltura praedicit."
See the letter to t he K holu. Jacopo Antiquuio (Oln ..... p. 8601: "Sane Vlatonicl. cum
animam in tres (lr&ecipu e d istingulnt vi res. inunigendi videlicet et irasc.endi a lQu e o;orn;u pi sten (i;. pri mam partlun tur In dU ll!. IClllceI in menkm. vel contemplationi vel actionl praeeipu e
dedit.m. Mcntem <lui(! cm tontempla trice m nomine Sa.tur ni $ignifieant. mentcm vero
actionibul occ uplotam nom inant l ovem. " etc. Cf. also FIC INO. De v. Iripl . III . U (Oplra.
p. ,6S). " qui ad d ivi nam contempla tionem ab ipan $aturno signific..tam .. , Ie co nlerunt. "
His lIOurCCl were of wutle thc Neol)latoniMI. Piotinns. Macrobiul . and, above all, Proe.lu l.
whOle remar kable Inlluence on the views o f Ital ian huroanism is becoming ever more appuent.
The general accepta nce of thl, view . mong Florentine humanisu can be seen, lor Inl tance,
from CR,nomao L ..... OIMO. C.",,,ld..l,,ul .. ,,, diJjn4WwII,. .. libri ' ....11_ [Slrubour, edn.
l soli. 101. K 11') or Pt co DII:L.U MIRANDOI ....... Op.:" di GirolAmo Belliui... i .. . C{I/ Co",,,,,"Io
(kilo 111. S. CAM" Gio. Pko Mi ..,.~uutO, Venice l SU. ' , c.h. 7-both refCI'Tlns to the journeying. o f the lIOul in t he ~net' of MacrobiD' and Proclus.
and Aristotle, with " tbe COnsta.Dtly baneful ..... ture of Saturn": for we have seen how the
Neopla~Dic notion of Saturn bad alrndy won generalrecoa:nition among Italian bumani5lt.
.. Th~ nolioc 0 1 e1eelive affinities with t he. p lanetl, founded OD the doctrine o f the
"COncinDity" of certain activities and oertaln .ta.r1, was elsewhere CAprCS$ed by Ficino in
~!most ~actl)' the ... me terml: d . FtCtNO. D. II. I,ipl .. III , 22 (Opm l . p. S66) : "Expositos,
mqllarn 1M:. the IOUJa of men to the in Ruence uf heave nly bodiel]. non tam naturali quodam
pacto. q uam electione arbitril lIberl, v41 atrcctn ." Thil doct rine for wbich thinkers like
Matteo Pal mieri (el. above, text pp. :1, 1 "'Iq.) had prepared t he way, helped t he Renain.ance
thinkers to bring into harmony utrology and Chrlstlln-Neoplaton ic ethics. See abo F1CINO
D. v. l~iJ~I. , III. 12 (Oper~. p. ,,,8). where" Albert ... Mlg nulln Speculo" isc.aJlcd as main _i tD~
for t~e possibility of l uch a harmonllJ.tion.
.. This remukabLe se ntence, which is followed by cor responding ItatemeDb a bout the
other planet.. and _bic.h recapit\llates III Its di.parat. Lis t the. wbole confusioro 0 1 the S;o.tum
c.omplu fOll nd in !.ate classical and Anbic write..., comel from FIClIfO, D, . I';pl.. III, 2
[opa,.. p . S3").
..
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
[m.
II.
fI''''
,
i
),fARSILIO FICI NO
2]
Constantinus Africanus, Avicenna, Pietro d'Abano, and the
remarkable Arnaldus de Villanova, who somewhat resembled
Ficino in his . many-sidedness, and whose work De conservanda
i1~velltute was to some extent the pre-humanist forerunner of the
De vita Iriplici. 61 F urthermore, the whole o.f t he third boo~ is
based, as the author himself admits, on the Lf.ber de favore coeldu.s
haltriendo of Plotinus. '7 But, above all, the whole undertaking
turned into nothing less than an heroic attempt to reconcile the
whole of school medicine, including astrological and purely magical
remedies, with Neoplatonism; and, indeed, not only with Neo
platonic cosmology, but- what was consi~erably. h~ rdcr-with
Neopiatonic ethics, which fundamentally dented behef 10 astrology
and magic. This reconciliation was to be ~o mere ?utw~rd
harmonisation. Rather it was to be an orgamc syntheSIS WhICh
should not deny the barrier behveen the realms of freedom and
necessity, but should est ablish it at a significant. ;>ain.t,_ This was
made possible by the principle of the serie.;,88 whtch Flcmo appear.s
to have discovered mainly from a fragment of Proclus known unul
recently only by his translation. 6l1
.
'
In accordance with the Platonic and Neoplatomc doctnne,
t icino conceives the cosmos as a completely unified organism ,'o
and defends himself hotly against those who see life in the most
.. For A_N.u.DIJ5 DI VILLA NOV A (Ul4- 13 11), who, "Itanding ouuid e the university guild ,
pr"I""Tf'd I.h.. ",ay hy hi~ medical and chemica.l labours for a .renaina~,ee of mc<l,<;m~" (,~e
"'a.s also .. prophet, politician, social critic. diplomat, theolo8'an and. clerl cu, \ll<o~at u ! ),
ct. K. Bt;lllMCl<, B" i,'. diS eel.. d i R ;m~o (Ve ... lllimlalltr z~r R'/".m "/I"~ , II . I), ~',lm 19~ 3 .
p, 14 6 , with substantia.! biblioppby. His Dt ..,..St"".. "dll "'''',,,Iul,. " a rk 01 lunGamenta.
importaDce lor F >cino, derives. ac:cord ing to E . WITlU !<GTOS (ROI" 811:'" CC"' '''~''' :;' ~: :'t
EnGYs, ed. A. G. Linle, Oxford 19 ' '', p. 3n), from Roger Bacon.
"Cf the rOQemium to Book lit. The .trange LaCin title quoted hert ~~. Fi emo , de" to
e"",,.dt, IV: " (ncpt ~ d~ D, 30-4)) and E"flt ..dt. 11, 3 {O.p;. ,0" . i .,.." , ~.;
The difference between Ficino aDd PIotiou . however, lies in the fact t n .. t the lauer ..D.C.
this theory only h ypotbetica.lly. (Even if.n th.t were IIO--;. e. e\'en ~f. as t he Stoic! behe\'f.
all earthly things were d etermined by cosmic i nfluence-DIan ,:oul~ '"." bt'; free 10 turo t o the
'Ev). 1.n f.ct PlOtinul, whom Ficil10 uses to reconcile tree ",,11 wllb ... tr omathem atlcS, and,
7',,,1.
,,01<.. ,
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA'J
[Ill. II.
MARSIUO FICJNO
between the other two. This was the "spiritus", which was
~egarded as a highly subtle fluid generated by, or even contained
m. the blood, but working only in the brain.n Ficino also
natur;illy believed in the "spiritus", which, in accordance with
its position between "physis" and "psyche", could influence
either. pa~~; ~~d since the division of human nature into body,
soul and SplTltu s humanus" corresponded to a similar division
of t he universe into universal matter, universal mind and "spiritus
mundanus", he imagined the influence of the stars upon men
to be of the following kind.
The stars send out rays which confer astral qualities on the
"spiritus mundanus" which then passes them on to its cotmterpart ,
namely the " spiritus human us" ; the latter, thanks to its central
position, can pass them on to both body and soul. These now in
their tum- according to the principle of structural "concinnitas"
which was the central tenet not only of primitive magic but also of
any cosmology based on something other than mechanical causality
- were determined by astral qualities. For body and soul either
"corresponded" to them from the beginning or else had attuned
themselves by special measures. The soul, however- and this is
the important consideration- was not quite subordinate to these
influences. According to the doctrine held by Ficino, the soul
possessed three distinct faculties forming a hierarchically ordered
whole: the "imagmatio" or imagination, " ratio" or discursive
reason, and "mens" or intuitive reason." Only man's lower
Thus all li ving things and beings in the world are in a peculiar
way sa turated with t he "qualities" of the stars, in which the life
force of the universe is concentrated in the same way as that of
a man is concentrated in his eyes74.: nutmeg contains the quality
of t he sun's rays, peppermint the combined qualities of t he sun
and of J upiter .7.!> Yet not only inorganic and unconscious things,
whose properties are conditioned ~y the fact that they more or
less passively (though for that reason more directly) partake in
the "common life of all", but also beings that are alive in the
higher sense are connected with the stars, and determined by the
universal forces concentrated and differentiated in them . In the
latter case, however, t he influence of the general cosmic forces
has to deal with an individual consciousness. and in man, owing
to the special structure of his physical and psychological constitution, an exactly definable limit is set to the scope of the
determining power.
As represented by- among others-Nicholas of eusa and Pico
della Mirandola,'6 the anthropological theory held during the
Renaissance was th~t the two basic components of ma n's nature,
" corpu s" and "ani ma", were connected by a third element
describ ed as the " medium " , the "vinculum", or the "copula"
v,
.. FlCI NO.
u. lripl., m, Il (op.~tJ . p . SH ; a characteristic se ntenee is quoted below
p. 269. n~te 94) Ct . alllO the whote of ch . III. 2Z (OpertJ , pp. j6S sqq .). For the " . pirilU;
hum~u 5 cf. I, .2 (Op'YIJ. ~' . 496): "Insu~ ~entum eiusmodi Ipi ritus ipso: est, qui ap ud
med~cos vapor qU ldam $a.llgIIlms, purus. subtihs, calidu et lucidus ddi.nitllf. Atque a b iptO
cordiS c.&.Io"" . elt ~ubtiliorl sa.D8uin!!. procrutus voiat ad ee",bnlm, iblque anim us ipso ad
lC~u . tam. In ~es. quam eztulOres exerQllodos a$Sidue utitur. Quamobr~ .... ngub
spmtlll ~IV lt, 'Plfltu, sen.i but, ten.us denique ration.i."
.. This tripartit!! division . born of a fu,ion of Platonic and S toic doctrinl!ll, 13 distingubh ed
.. A pol0li ..
f~m the 1710", or less tOJlOSraphic.&.l divbion of the m ental facultie. within the brain
:: unagi.~atio'" "r.atio" and " memoria" (we above, t ext pp. 91 aqq .). m ainly by the fact tha~
(Op'~tJ,
melll ap pears In place of .. memoria ... whkb results in a rising teale of valu~ in tbe faCu lties
The earliest and most important in.tance seem. to occur
In B Ol!THII.lS. '?~
o.~ali()n' ~1Ii1I,lsOP1li"', v,<4 .(MtGNII:, P . L . VOL. LJ<III , col. 849), who includl!ll.
b owe~er ... the ~nsu. standlD8 below the "Imq inatio" (between the latter . nd tbe pllrel y
mat~~~a.1 ~y ~ ::~.ritu 5" was lata a.asumed), and c.&.Ita thl; highest facility not "mms"
b~t '~telli~ent~ . Ipsum quoq ue hom inem aliter sensu., alitu ima(inatio, a1ite~ ratio.
allte~ lD~elhgenba eont.u etur. SemlU$ enlm .6glJr.t.m in lubiecta m a teria COastitl;ltam ,
Jma~matlo v~ro salam sine. mll.ttrill. iudicat figuram. Ratio vero hanc quoque tran seendi t
1p~llmque IP .... ~. quae 'lD~u~aribus ineat, universali consideratione pa-pendit. Inl.ellJ.en~ v~ celSlOr ocuhl$ cxllht . SU pe:'8~ namque unh"t:nit&tis .mblt um, ipsun ;Uam
IImphcem formam pun. mentU ade COIltuetur." After PsBI.lDO-AUGl.ltTlIol US, D, ' pirifll
p. j 74).
'1,I".
D, ... tripl., II , I) (OJu~'" p. Slg). The idea tha t earthly thins' ""ere to some
"",teD t reser voirs for Itellar forces and could therefOTe be used_ven in the form of U1Iul~
~ iDSlfumcnts of entirely pumissible "oa tural " magic, is already fou nd in RoGlllll BACON
(Opus M lti"" cd. 1. H. Bridges, 0 :0:101 18<;17. VOL. I, pp. )9jaqq., q uoted by WZDn, Jar. A. A ..
pp. 12 sqq.) , whose ide." in this re.peet come astonishingly close to Ficino' .
" FICI NO,
;' C f. I' lco DIU.LA MUtANOOt..o., H,ptajH"u. IV, I (Opera, Basle 1512, p. J O). With th ll.
Main~ 1866, pp. 71, 176 .
,,
66
[111 . n.
" ... i""1 (lllc"s, P. L.., VOL. XL, eol. 7h), " intellj~ntia" was fqu~ntly split in to"iDt~lIi
,I!DCe" in thc narrower .eNe. aOO "intdleo:t"; ct. l$.U.c DS SU LL.!. (d. 1169). Epiu.J. .u
(MJo "a, P. L... VDL. CXCIV, coIL uSo sqq.); AUlCUI .... h~SVLI$ (d. rU02), eo..l~..
111.. ~di~, 1,:3 (10111;;"1, P . L.. , VOL. ccx, col. 330); ."'-'NVS A8 II'SVLlS, Disti"t:/imtu lIi~'i"" .....
/Ji,olClliuli"", {MUlliS, P . L., VOL. ccx. cob. 9:211. 8 190; OO)l'" ICVS GVI'IOI U "UI'IVI (,.
1150), D. "'",,"$lio.., """.di (ed. G. Bulow, C. B"" ..... ,t .n B';I~61"'" C,uAuAII II" PAiltnCl."Ai,
lin Mill,l4lfer" VOL. XXIV. 3. 19:5, p . 259).
."i_
.. CI. K. SUO"o"", lII.l~lIllu.~ilt#, _ J.... l~ i ... 15. " .. 4 16. J.A'A"~ (Abbandlu ngl!n lu r c..dtlehte der Medi,uD , VOL. u). lkc:slaa 1\)02 , kx:. cit.
"FiCINO, Ih . I';""., I. 4 (Opn p. 496): "Ut a utl!m litet'atl ';nt melan.o:botid, t:rea
potiuimum eaUArum tpecies lac.hlnt, prima COI!lestD, MC:uuda naturall" tertia est
h umana . .. . " The celestial caule lies in tlIe influence o f tlIe cold a nd d ry planet M~eury,
and. especially, 0 1 Saturn. The na t ural eause lies in tbe fact th at t he teal"Ching min d concentratel, as It were, inwards ("tanquilom II. circumferentia q uadalD ad centr um
loclper.,
atque, d um lpeculatur, i n ipso . .. bomini, centro stabiilnime pertna n~e"), and I. t betdol'tl
a naloaou, to earth ("ad centrum ve ro a cireumferentia se collisere, ligiqae in centro. lIlui me
tetTU iptiu. Ht p roprium"), whiCh in its tam i5 related to tile black bile: while the black
bile, agaIn, " muMi eentro ';mili., ad centrum reram lillJtllarum CO(it invtstipndum.
evebitque ad allisaima quaeque eompr"l!hu.dendOl, quandoquidem cum Saturno tnaIlme
eonsreit alti..lmo planetarum. Contemillatio quoque ipsa vic;issim auidua !luadam
eollectioM, fit quni eompressione natDram atrae bili persimilem coatnhit." Finally, the
human caU$6 liu in the PUr"l![Y {lhYlloIogieaJ eolltiequen(.l!, 01 the life led by the tcbolat_
drying up of the bcain, thidrenins of the blood. poor d illeation, etc.
.eu.
.]
p. 71 and p.ouiM).
n FICllfO, D. 11'. lripl., I, 7 (Op,,., p. sOG) and I. 8 (0/H-r4, p. 50 1). The day" mean t lor
work, t hl! nisht for repose; evenlnr or nocturnal work is barmfl,l! and .u nproduct lve .. Ther~.
10..., the .cbolu should begin bis ,"or k o f meditation at lunrise, II poSSIble-but not Imme d,
atelyon rlaing : t he lint hallbour belonp to "upurga tio"'-and continue, with .mtervall.
\Inti! noop. The ~mainin& hOUTIO' 1M day aTI! " veteribul al.ienlsque legeodls potiVS. qvam
novis propiisque ucogit..ndit acc:clmmodatn.... HI! shOuld, IKIwt"'o"ef, relu on~" ;An ho ....
n. .
.. FlCllOO.
,ripl., I, 9 10JH"~, p . SO l ): "Habitatio alta a , ra vi r. ub,loqlle aen rfmot'l'
sima, hom i,ni. tum calidi od<>ris 11111 humidital I!XpI!lIenda."
" FICllfO, n.~. ,ri.",., I, la and II (0",.,... pp. 301 sqq.1 lie .... Fie,,,o. ag-: .. rnl('nt "'t~
ICbool medicinl! app.... 1 particularl y cl.... ly: he brought h ll if of h,. OW"
t!lt ut ual
prescriptions for eatinsand dri nlLins (el. atso F"ICISO. D~ .,. , .pl .. II . 0 "nd - 0t'>1 i'1' ~ I)
,I)
sqq.) .
.. F .CII<O, IX . tri."I., lIT, I I (0.".. . p . 344).
Cf. esp. Flcllfo. D, "'. I';""., I, 7 tOp" . p 500) and I, 2Z (0,..: ... , r 30; "oth the ';><'Clal
recommendation of oily e1ystCtl..
., FlCI!oI0, D. u. ri."I. I, 8 (0""", p . 301 ): "Sed ant~u'ln e [to .urI:U. perfriea paTum~.
.uavi t~rque palm is corpus totum pri mo, deinde caput u~gu ibul"; ami " Delnde rf ",,\tU
parum per mentis Jncentionem. a tque interim eburneo peCllne dlh genler tt mod era'" {leetci
caput a frontl! cervicem venUI qUld.a!;e. pec tine duc to. Tum cen \c .. m pnnno :ur edor '
perlrica .... "
.. For quotations. see abc:Jve, p . '5 and below, p. ~68 (telllt) and note 93
to
FICHIO, D.
1'.
"Book 111 (Opu... pp. 531 .qq.) i. de voled to Ih~1f use and a pplit,mo"
.. f'lt 1&DJUCH GUI'lDOU"S fine book on Plmoub ..J (Berlin 192" pp. - 9 sq.:;.~ d ..... " " I pay
e nough attention to this backgroul\d. 11 Paracetsus ""'as &enoul m cn(ka\""u r:mr t (' f1~t...,m
this p1"6UppoHd c .... ope,.,..ion bet",.,.n the All and )Ian." and "SHO' e !,.., me,,-"s ,.: r~ I ~:urh
[III . II.
I
I
I
r
I
M FICINO. Dc u. lripl., III , I I (ape"" p. 544): "Inttr baec diutinime diurno tempore . ub
divo venaberis, quateDus tuto vel commode fieri poten Pl, in regionibus all is et serenis atque
tempe-rati,. Sic enim Soli, . teUarumque radii exptditiu5 pur!u'Que und ique te contingunt,
,pititumque tuu m eom plent mundi spiri m per radios uberius em!can t~." The eorrtspondi ng
prtsCription in <;ONSTANTINUS "' PJU~US (OperlJ., Da.t~ t3)o, p. ~9.5) iJ: 'Me1an<:hoUcl
llIIIuescant ad pedum exerci tia. .Hquantulum. apparente aurora, pe r Ioca. spa.tiosa, ac pla n.,
a reoQ!la, et R porosa. r
.. FICINO, D. ~. trip l., III. 18 (OperA. pp. 556 sqq.); "Sat urni vete~ imaginem ad vitae
longitudinem facieb:;r.nt i n lapide Feyriuch, id est s.,pb)'TO, hora Satu mi, Ipso a.see.nden te
atque ftJiejur constituto. Forma erat : homo sena in . Ition cathedra sedens, vel dracone ,
<:aput ta.ctU$ panno quodarn li neo fusco. manus su pra caput erigent, fak:.em manu tencM aut
pisees, fusea indut u. veste. ,. This dt!$C:ription is derived from the circle of PkatrLz..
.. Cf. H . RITTER, " Picatrix, ein arabUcbt!l Handbuch hcUenbtischer Mag ie", in Vo./r<i"t'
1I'lJ.rbw~I, vor., I (19H-1l), p/lSsi ....
i" LJiblioiftek
. , Apdllltill (OpaA, p . .573) : "Deniq ue duo su nt magiae genera. Unum quidtm l'QrU m,
qu i cert6 quodam cultu d aemonu sibi concilian t, qu orum opera Ireti fabrica nt saepe portent.
Hoc autfm penitu. explosum est, quando princeps buiu! mundi eiectu. es t fOfas. Alterum
vero eorum qui nat urale. ma terias opportu ne cau si. s ubiiclunt n.tur.libus, mira. quada m
ratione iormandu." Of the Intter, too, there a re two IOr u, "m.agl.a c ur iosa; which appli ...
tbese natural magic powerl only to unnecessary, or even harmful, ends, Ind 'mllIia
necessaria; "ith the a id of which cures are brought abou t, "cu m Astrologia copulans
:'Iedicinam. Furtber: "Q uae sane facullu tam eoncedenda videtur Ingeniis legitime
utentibus, quam medieina et .gricultura iure eonceditur, ~toque etiam m:;r.gis, qu anto
perfectior est indlQtria tenl:nis coeIestia eopulans.." Only..nth reprd to figurate talismans
("imagines'), Ficino is obviol1$ly not certain wbttber tbex do not belong to the real m of
demonology ; he never fa il. to qualify his statements concerning UiWl by a.o " ut pu an t,"
"MELANCHOLIA GENEROSA"
llJl, II ,
Such was the view contained in Ficino's syst em, and while it
facilitated the recognition of astrological medicine-and in fact
attributed an astrological and magical significance to all therapeutic measures-at the same time, it strictly denied astrology
the power of determining man's thoughts and actions, Astrological
prognostications were regarded as valuable only in so far as the
recognition of the constellation at birth. or of the "daemon
geniturae", showed the way to iatromathematical treatment of
each individual case," Man as an active and thinking being was
fundamentally free, and could even, thanks to this' freedom,
harness the forces of the stars by consciously and willingly
exposing himself to the influence of a certain star; he could
call such an influence down upon himself not only by employing
the manifold outward means, but also (more effectually) by a
sort of psychological autotherapy, a deliberate ordering of his
own reason and imagination:
Imaginationis conceptus motusque concinnos, congruas rationis discursiones, tranquillas mentis contemplationes,"
Thus Ficino's system- and this was perhaps its greatest,; achievement...---contrived to give Saturn's "immanent contradiction'" a
" u t opinantur", or "veteres faclebant" (cf. e.g. the pllssage quoted alxn'e, nob:! 95), a nd
formall y safeguard s himself several times against the vie ..... put forward being con. idered
hi! own dilOCOveries, o r even his own aerioUI opinion. Thul. too, in the ApoI0I I",il)C. cit. :
" , , . curiosi, lngeniis respondeto. m;agiam vel il1laiines non prowi quidem a Marailio, led
.. a ...... ri: and as";n ;n the introd uction to Book III ! " Oeni'luo ai non probas hn.Sin ....
a.rtronomicas, al ioq oio pro vaietudine monalium adinventas, quaa et ego 0011 tam probo,
q ua.m nuTO, baa utiquc me concetl enb:! ac etiam Ii vis consulente dimi ttito' (OjH''' , p, 5)0),
l>e$pite theM resen.-a.tions ,.,hieh clearly do not come entirely from the beart (and which ,
a s Dr Weil kindly llOints out, are lacking in the Florence, Bibliotec a Laurenziana, Cod, plu t,
l-XX III. 139. be ing, for obvious reMOns, only added in print), Fieino himself made considera.ble
use nf figurate amuletl.
.. F lctso . D~ 11. lripl., Ill. :) (Openl , p. 567): ' NDS autem optare praeterita I upervac:ullm
a rb itrati, mo nemus e15dem plagH, quas illi pro daernon ibu ... fw tunisque optabant, ob$ervari
pro Planeti1 et stem. ad opus effielendQm accomodandis .
.,
Cf. the panage quoted p. : 68, F ICIHO, D. ", lripl., TIl, : l . It Ia I.II\derstandable that those
..ho attempted to defend astrology In the tradition. 1 or " plebeian" (as the FlQnntine
P1atonists KornfuJly said) serue found the Platonist attitude exceed ingly vulnerable. Th ese
defenders, naturally ignoring the II.IbtL etiee 01 Ficim's doctrlne of freedom, could even, with
aome show 01 Justificatinn, maintain thl.t, in fact, the }o1orentinCi nted tbe influence of the
. taI'$ h igher than did the realastrologerl , "q ui;acontendunt omnia in coelo fieri.nedum adcorpul
sed ad animam pertinentia." The most interesting polemic of th is sort. whence the Mntence
quoted above i. ta.ken, comes from a Mi~neae, G.unusl- P UtoV"HUS, D. ClSlrono,"i... IIlril..l.
OPIoU alnolJdiu,,",,,,, (tint edo, 1507, reprinted in Dasle, 15501, tofI;ethu with ... ~milar apologia
by Lucius BeUantiuI) . According to him, when the Ptatonists ltate thal the planets inftuence
our aouls by their emanation. , and eall Sat..,rn "intelli&entiae ducem" who lead, them up to
the "jutelloctu. primus' and finally to " l p$um Bonum", they make the planets the mroiatorl
between man a nd God, and thal il a heresy such as nOl even th e most ardent profu lionlll
lutrologer wou ld have dared to propaglte.
MARSIUO FICINO
2,2
[III. II .
MARSILIO FICINO
273
II call become in \erv trulh a \"\~ssel for solar and Martial influences. In
t he same wa\", wheth~r througb "imaginat io" and the "spiritus", or through
"deliberalio:' or both , "ratio" by way of a certain imitation can come so
to resem ble jupiter that, being more dignified and more akin, it receives
mOTe of Jupiter and his gifts than do "imaginatio" or the "spiritus" (as,
for t he same reason, ' imaginatio" and the "spiritus" receive a greater share
of celestial gift s than any lower things or material5). Finally, the contempla.
t1\.~ " mells, which withdraws itself not only from what we generally
pe rCC L\c but also from what we generally im~ne or express in our h~maJ'L
c\lstoms and which in desire, ambition and life tends towards the Ideas,
exposes ltself m a certain measure to Saturn. To t his faeult): alone is
Sat\1fn propitious. For just as the sun is hostile to nocturnal al1lmaJs but
fri.::ndh- t o those which are acti,e in daylight, so is Saturn an enemy 01
tho~e ;nell who overtly lead a commonplace life, or who, though they flee
the company of vulgar people, yet do not lay aside their vulgar thoughts.
For he resigned common life t o Jupiter, but retained the sequestered and
divine life for himself. Men whose minds are truly withdrawn from the
world are , to some extent, his kin and in him they find a friend. For
Saturn himself is (t o speak in Platonic terms) a Jupiter to those souls who
inhabit the sublime spheres, in the same way as Jupiter is a "iuvans pater"
to those who lead an ordinary life. H e is most inimical of all, however, to
those wh ose cOlltemplative life is a mere pretence and no reality. Sat~m
will 1I0t acknowledge them as bis, neither will Jupiter, tamer of Saturn,
support them, because they violate the ordinary customs and morals of
men. , .. Jupiter arms us against Saturn's influence, which is generally
foreign to. and somehow ullsuitable for, mankind: firstly, by his natural
proper ties ; theil, undoubtedly, by his nourishment and medicines, and also,
it is believed , by number.talismans ; a nd finally, by the customs, the
occupations, the studies, and all things in general which of their nature
lJtlollg to him. Dut those who escape the baneful influence of Saturn, and
enjo,< hi!'\ benevolent infiuence, arc not only those who flee to Jupiter but
also those who give themselves over with heart and soul to divine contempla
tion, which gain!'- distinction from the example of Saturn himself.IM Instead
of earthly life, from which he is himself cut off, Saturn confers heavenly and
etemallife on you.1
bu t it would be wrong to endeavour to eure a man labouri ~ g under Satu rn by Veoereal mea ",
lo r, vic;e ,er!la. a man too mueb given o, er to Venus by Saturnine means}: "Hine rulllll
effio;it ur ut 5i quem Saturn ia , "eI eonkmplilliollf! nilOium oc:cupatum, ""I euta pressum, levare
interi m e 1 aliter c.onsol ui ,'('Iimu$, per venereo. actus, ludos, locos [amone which, therelD,
IICWrdin g to III , Z, exce..i ... ely gay music must also be reckoned), tentt-ntes tanquam pciI'
remedia longe dilltan tia. frustra atque eliam cum iactura ronemur, Atque ... icissim si quem
ve nereo " el opere pcrditum. vdludo iocoque oolUlum moderari ... elimus. per Sa.turni severilatem
emend-'lre nOD facile ... alumu" Optima ,'ero diseiplina est. per quaedam Pbo<:bi l ov isque,
qui inter Saturnum Veneremque aunt medii, studia similiaque remedia bomine. ad alterutrum
declinante!! ad medium revocare ."
Letter to Pieo della Mirandola (O~,1l, p . 888 ~.) .' . .. Sed Doone et magnum aliquld
fore dea-evit Platonkorum documentoru m copulam lob initio IUperuUS ille. SaturDus in nat&li
utrillsque dominus. Dominus lit in "eur. PJatonill, horum itaque oopul&m Saturllii daemon ....
praecipue regnnt. Sod hanc iuterea dissolvere passhn M.artiales daemones maebiuotur . . .
Tant~m denique. copula haee destinata ... ad_riGS s uperabit, quanto s.turnus est Marteo
lupenor .. buc teudit (ut arhitror) La.llrentillJlDter S&turruos pra.e5t.1.DtIsslmll$, et me toe.tnr
et Pi~um ad Flore.ntem I"(!voeat UrOO1O . . . . "
'
' " FIGlso. n ... lripl . III , 2Z (Op",., pp. !i64 sqq.). KAliL BoIlU<SKI (Di~ RoiJul M~hl.
...,dos. lluokb 1908, p , 36) mention parallel passage in Pico della hli ... n60la: ""s.tumo .. ,
significati vo deUa nat ura inteLietluale . . , la Ii hoomini c.ontemplativl ; G)o~ die it I"anims
d el mondo ... d a Lor o princip;o.ti, governi . . . perch!: Ja ... ita attiva it circa Ie cose ;nleriori.'
Tbe. subtle tbought tbat Saturn did Dot harm ""bi, own"" (exemplifiod, lur ther on. by the tong
Uved Indians, wbo, ac<:ording to the Arabs, were under Saturn '. dominion, became l\ fi rm
I.
I
I
l
,
... Leiter til Pierleool (Oplta, p. 9z8): "Vide ie:itur Pierleone m.i alter ego, quam aimilem
10 plerisq ue sortem nactl Sumus, disciplinu Modieem (lhls should c1urly read "disciplinam
moditam."] i n coelettibu. eundem, ut ooolecto. Saturnum, duoem quoque Platonem, Patronum
rursus eundem Lau",ntium Modicem ... . " Cf. also OJ>t.l'a. n , p. l!i.)7 (Introduction to the
commentary On Plotinus): "Divioitut profecto videtur effectum, ut dllm Plato .quasi
TeDaKc:retllr, natur Piel>I heros sub S&tumo Aquarlum. possidentfl: aub quo et ego similiter
anno prius trigesimo natos fueram, ao: perv~oIC1l1 Floreoti&m, quo die Plato ooater lISt editu.,
antlquum iliud de. Plotino herois CosmJ votum mihi pro~lIS oco::uitum led sibi coe.litua
irapiratumi,' idem et mlhl mirabiliter inspinverit."
'
274
fearless Pico della Mirandola, who often smiled at his good teacher's
astrological belief in Saturn,IO? was not displeased when. in
reference to the constellation that presided over his birth, and
with a typically humanistic play upon his name,lOS he heard
himself described as a "son of the sublime Saturn "l" ; nor was
he displeased when the elegant jest was directed at him that he
devoured " libri" as his divine father did "Jiberi" even though
he did not, like the earthly fire, turn them to ashes, but rather,
like the heavenly fire, to light.1l0
I
PART IV
Dtlrer
I.. Letur from Pieo to . ';(;;no (op,.... , p . 889): "Sa.I1'CI patH" Platonicae familiae ! l am ex tra
omllem c:ontroversiam, ot noxlum atq ue infaustum esse Satu m i ayd us, et te, m! F>cinl, 8t
at t ltO ftuM: bono, moo eerte malo Satomigm _
na tum. 1.Jt .. nim me est plurlmu m
feS ..... datiu., t ie et tu q uoque , ;mill praedituJ ingonio ia m bis ad me venien. reJTadatlu. laetu.
!>is ret.ro rdllUatl pedem . . .. Sed d ie, am&bo, qwd Illit in caliU iten.tu reuoecaion!.1
An 11011011 Salurnusl All VOtiUI a t uri 110.1 Sed qu icqllid iIl ud fuit . quod te lllibl, id at me
mihl abstullt, fae, q uaeso, In posterum, lit 11011 ..,i ulli at 11011, qui nm! olim c:o niunxlt [lor Pic:o
is aha a eh ild of Sa turn], nee te uDqllam endu ad PIe; satllrum IlQeeMUrum , qui tfl, IOla tium
ml!lfl vitae, me.., mentll deliUII, in, litutorem marum , diKiplinae maglstrum , fit el uno
R in pe:r d liUo. Vale et n lli, u t tliliS SatW'nus, ld e&t t UUI u tllrus volis" me qllOq llfl Aturum
r eddat."
' M Aecordlnl to la te elauleal my tho logy (Ovid, M d. XIV, 320), Ficus was the IOn of Sat urn,
and pndfather o f Latill\l.l.
I
1M
Letter to Pieo della Mirandola (OpnIJ, p . 90 1): ''Pic um l ublim is Saturni filium,"
". Le iter to Francesco Caddi (Op.:TIJ, p. J93) : "Pi!:us Sau.rDO natas, ceu Saiumul 1Iif1
1ib<i!1"0I, sie Ii*' (randes quotidifl Iibl"OlI iDtegrQS devont, quo. q uidem lion in cinerem redip l ,
III lIO$ur 'enil, sed ut codes!!. In luam."
I
I
II
I
CHAPTER
I
t
I
i,
I
I
f
~
Fieino's correspondence, whence the facts just set out were taken.
was published in 1497 by DOrer's godfather, Koberger, barely
three; rears after the publication, in Florence, of the first edition;
and the De vita triplici also bad become known in Germany by
the end of t he fifteenth century.1 But it would be wrong to assume
that the new notion of melancholy forthwith gained unchallenged
supremacy_ It is obvious that, unlil well on in modem times, t he
popular notion of the temperaments was conditioned far more
by the medical tradition than by the new revolutionary metaphysical theories, which affected popular ideas only gradually, after
the views of the Florentine Neoplatonists had become a part of
general culture . But even the humanists themselves were held
too fast in the grip of traditional humoralism and astrology for
the new doctrine to become established without opposition.
E ven in Italy, where the rehabilitation of Saturn and melancholy
really originated, and whc~e men like Gioviano Pontano, Caelius
Rhodiginus, and Francesco Giorgio (for t he most part making use
of Ficino's own words) unreservedly acknowledged the new
'Cl. W. KAHL. N~ IU Jaltrlt;lu.er fl1, das IIll1u Ud. AIlerI....., Cu~lIi~4U liNd tkwlsd.
Litm./wr .. ,.dfiir P'dilte>&i'. VOL. IX {19Q6J. p . 4<)0, and GllI:HLOW ('903), P. ,54 (which contain.
the inform:;LtiOD tha t tho yO\l1l1 WilU bald PUckheimu had to procure a copy 01 the D~ llil"
Iripliri in Pad\la lor h;' father). and, more recently, H. RU.UICH, WiUibol4 Pirdt/u._ .." d
4u nih Reiu Dfirerl ","l IWierI, Vienna 1930, pp. 1,5 lCjq . The fint. very la\l\ty. tnnslatlon
(by AdelphUi Muelich) appeared in HUU,0IfYMU8 BRAUNSCHWXIG', Lilur 4. ",1. dilfillaoui;
lim pliti" tl comj>Q,jlll, Das NUw Buc" dt r rHIIII" K'Hut ZN dimllur.". lob. exlt.Ui Iqq"
Straaboura 150,5, and COIlWDt on ly the 6rst two boon, as do the t.teI" reprints. As for t he
third (fol. clJ::uVO): " Vnd du dritte bach aagt von deru leben von rome! herab . Is von
hy melischen Dingen III vberkommen. Das gar hoch IU vuston. 1st hie vas gelon ,"
'77
MELANCHOLY IN
CO~RAD
[IV.
CELTES
I.
gospeJ,t the idea still persisted that Saturn was a purely inauspicious planet3 and could engender great talent only if, like a
poison, correctly tempered with other planets. In the north
especia1ly, where the third book of the De 1nta triplici first seemed
"incomprehensible",f. it was only Agrippa of Nettesheim who full y
adopted Ficino's views. The other Gennan humanists of the
first generation occasionally quoted 'Aristotle's' Problem XXX, I,'
though without specia1 emphasis, or else made the usual cpncession
that Saturn in combination with Jupiter "excellenter "ingenium
auget et quarundam artium inventorem facit"' ; but even Conrad
Ceites, generally of so humanistic a turn of mind . seems not to
have been influenced at all by the Florentine conceptions. With
regard to melancholy, he identified himself completely wi th the
customary views of school medicine,' and Sat urn was for him
nothing but a mischief-maker who produced sad, labouring, and
"monkish" men , and who had to be implored to let his "morbosas
sagittas" lie idle in the quiver.s
J OVlA"'UI Po"'TA"'U5. D, ~tbtOJ 'ot/e$liblt'. IV .6. pp. ' 261 Iqq. In Opnll . Bule I'sS6. VOL.
III : CAaL'UI RIIOOIG I"'UI. in Sicwli 11"11'""" ....... kaioo. ..... _"'"' ..f.,;...
f o/i", ';.111$
(;4u/''''. it .... '" ' ow". .. ~,p. lli.t
~9. Ven ice 15 16. p. OS : F"ANCISCUI CaoItC' UI.
H.~""OIli.. """"IIi loti .. ,. Venice IS25. lob. xlvii,
and e:JI;v!.
,:c.
,,,IOci.......
xli,.
,,07.
Abo in DOrer'1 own hOrOM:O(MI, cast by the Ihmbert canon. Loren z Bebeim. in
Saturn was mentioned only bridly at a distu r bing element apinlt tbl! in"u~ce o f Venul
(E. JU;ICIUl In Fl4lulonft d" V,~tj'lJ fUr G,uloi,loJ. lin Siadt Nlinobnt n .. 4ooj4lonllM
G,d4Uoi .. i.!rin A~,dl OU.... ,,28- ' 928. Nuremberg 1928. p . J67) . J nvian u, Pont.nu.
hirnsdJ lives elMwberl a de.aiption o f Satu.rn (U, iIJ. lib. I . p . 2907 io VOL.. IV of tbe Balle
cdilioll quoted.hove) wbleb banly diller. from that. say. 01 Chaucer (lee ahove. text pp. 19]
&qq .).
Th ", J ORA"':' U A. ' '''''loG' ''' . htrod. /'Ol'/uHOIIJ. '" C.""' ......f VI. quoted in GJaHl.OW
(19041, p. 10. Moreover, be is convinced that Saturn is tbe "pessim ul plaroet&" and
mel;l. ncholy lb. "peuim a oomplexio. and that when the mdancholie. alrudy equipped
wi tb e,ery bad quali t y, i, in additio n . ubjed to a particularly I t rong inDuence from Saturn.
tb e I.tter "omnb. hAee mAla condupHeat " ! Similarl;, JOHAf<ff TI<"ff" ,a. OP'l& "' ,d~ ,."af;tlt ""
Cologne 1,S61, p . ' 31. For Melllnchtbon, th eory 01conjunctions. lee below, p. J Jo. note "S.
~nI!I
Puu.ge. in GIIHLOW (1904), pp. 9 Iqq. The m~t bitter U lrom L i bri ."'_"", ' . I :
Sa.turnuJ, Intiens qui mmi damna tuUt". Giehlowendeavoured to interpret (he !act tbat
Celte. ooaoeeted old age witb kno .... ledge. wisdom and pbUotOphy as evidellOll o f a lairly
favourabk a ttit ude to melancholy a nd Sat urn , .. Saturn wu a "lencx" and ~Iancboly ......
the temperament JWOJII!T to old agl!. Bu t one il bardly ju.tified in deducing any l ucb fact
merely from the natura! respect for tbe wisdom of old ilge, leut of aU here, where It eolltralU
with such \Inambiguoul lIatemenu.
by bi. pu pil LonginUi at the beginning of the !.ibn a."o.... ~ (pri nted In
GTlHL.C)W (1904). p. 7).
, See tbe
279
and, on the otber hand, cosmological represenl.1. tions in whi ch the head, of th~ four .,,"Illdl
(sometilDes already cqn&lP.d witb the leuont. elemenU. etc.) occupy the co,,,en of tbe p'~ture
See the numerous plates in E. W, cKKIIIsMaIMKIII.
VOL. XIX. ( '9Q ). pp. 1" t.qq . ar.d.
further, t he p icture of ."".., froID Zwiea lten (K. L6..,ulII. SdlC-6bu,~, 8..do",,,I,.,,. Aug'~Ur!
19211, plate 22), or Vienna, Na tionalblbllothek, Cod. la l.
lot i': d . al$O C. S':<O::IIl. f ....",
M~ t" Seinou, LoMon 1928, pp. '4' Iqq.
.. For further diKuaioD. _ below. pp. J10 Iqq. (text).
.. Accord ing to Boanuus. D. to</Jolatioft, PM/osopM,... I. I, the SCille should r ise Iro m t'
to tMta (froID prac tioc to theory): DOrer hu a P~' insteld 0 1 the Pl . Did he thonk 01 In
ascent from pbilosophy to theolO(J 1
fl..,"".
,6.4.
2 80
[IV.
1.
28 I
r
t
"LF' ."lad/au ,
p. u8, 28.
.. The d~fts of IS13-13 actually say : ''Wir haben mAncherlei Geoital t der Menachen Uruch
der vier Complexen: LF. "Nael!./au, pp. 299, 23 : 303. 9: 306, 12),
'
I
,1
j;;
<
I'
"Thos the printed version of Isz8 ; LF, Nael!./ass, pp. n S. 2S sqq. For this. see the
preliminary dra1ts, certainly alos.o dating from the 'twentie. , LF. NaellJil$S, p. z41. 1: " Hem.
11 thou shoul<bt diligently make use of the thing of which I have written above, then canst
thou very easily portray all manner 01 men, be they o1what complexion they wiU. melancholies,
pblegmatic~. cholerics or sanguinics. For one can very well malte a picture which is a true
image 01 Saturn or Venus. and especi ally in painting by means of the oolou[$. but also with
other thillS' too" ; and LF ."lad/au, p . 364. 21 (almost identical with the printed edition).
11 G1ERLOW (1904). pp. 63 sqq.
( IV, t ,
" LF, Noelr1<,u, pp. ~8 3, 14 ...284, "1. These six points are notblng bllt a more detailed
ela boration of "'hat "'as dCleribed .. the contents of the "lirst part" of the introd uction in
the lentence quoted in the p reyiou! noto. Tbe lentence in LF. NAd/ou, p . ~84, J "'l \1 bell rl
the same r elationship to p . ~8z. IJ"' I 7 and so do pp. 284, 2~8" 6 to p . 28z, 1 8-~0,
. , The expret. ion "lIberhandnehmcn" il a literal tranalation of the Creek .... ~~ Of
the Latin ".uperueedenl"; ju.t as " urdriltzig" conespondl to the Latin "taedium" or
" pert lt.eSu." .
.. Nu rernbe-g, Stadtbibliothek. Cod. Cent. V. ,\I. 101. "lJI' ; London, )kit. MUI . Sloane
)IS '4J'. fot 10; ParIs, Bib!. NaL. MS tat. 11 226, fol. 17' .
II }.(IGNa. P . L . VOL. LlUV, c.oI. UJo: " Omnia liquid-em I OpctiU' expedi ta de Khotariu m
informllione Mint infix.. NUrl( de COI'Um sap.ci provisione brcvitec Ci t traetandum. Co m
r] ,
CHAPTER
II
LF. Nachlass. p.
39~ ,
, See above. p.
110
(text).
'"
281
(with which d.
285
I.
See above, p.
I
t
I
192,
note ~oi.
'~ome, Bibl. Vat., Cod. Ur b. lat. 1398, 101. I I ' . Saturn reckoning and tounting h is
g~ld In c~. Pal. lat. 1369, fol. IH (PLA.TJ:t ~3) ~Iongl!l to this rea lm of ideas (though this tim"
WIthou t th~ ke~) , .and $ 0 does the remarkable figu re in the top left-hand corner of the portrait
of Sa turn 10 TubIDgen. MS ~[d .. 2 (PLATJ:t ~o). II. seated king counting gold pie<;es on top of a
large .tre::sure chest WIth hIS rIght hand, but raising a gobl et with his left (derived from II.
~ombinabon of the carousing King Janus with th" re<;koning Saturn, who rules January no
less than Decem~r).
286
[IV . II.
of
In One cue the purK motif i$ even eombined witb the trnsure-eh est motif.
The woodcut
~q.
(tex t) .
I I J. l...lGoul'. AII'IOl'y "/ .th an" (H . Vos, Di, Malerri .uT Sp6tT""';$JaNu ;;' R_ .",d
Flt1~'Nz, Berlin, '9 20, VOL. II, plate ] 6,) with ita: purse, treasure-cbest and band onj chin could
equally weUltand for "Melancho]y" were it not for the ,-emu"ing motifs.
" F . H ......cJ( (in Z~,'/glorii' fiJ~ bildeNd~ K""sl, VOl... LX (1916-27), supplement. p, HI) b,'U
,",ain .110""" that it ru1ly was a prelimina ry study.
I)
,. The prototype of lbi. extremely wide. pre:ad design of the "contemplati,'c" person II,
of eourse, the ancient portrait of philosopher or poet. the adoption of wbich fot m>:<lie"al
portraits of the evangelists bu bn studied in detail by A . M . FRIESO (in A ,./ S!" d' t J. VO L
v (1927), pp. II, sqq., plate XVI being pLrtieularly instructive).
.. Paris, Bib1. Maurine. MS 19, fol. J'.
II
.. Reproduced in
My/hoi""" Leip~ig
~q.
(text).
"t. H . RoseHsR,
I S S~,
A"J/iJh"i~Au Lu;iAon
de,
l,j" Ajh~~
""J
I. For pictuf"(:S 01 Saturn, "'" above , text pp, 200 sqq.; 01 melanch olies. ~lo " . PI'
(text).
l ."lO
sqq .
"Cf. e.g. Modena, Biblioteca EsuMe, Cod. 697; I'll" tbis :'IS and tbe Guaricnlo Ire:o.:oo:s in :ht
Eremitani Chape], Padua, d . A. VtNYUR I, .n A,I6, VOL. xVII (1914), pp. 49 SIl q .. tho;,g!! the
eoonenon bet .... een tbem ;1 not ql:ite OOTre<:.tly .tated.
.. F.
SAlU..
in R6pt.rltlri" ....
11l~
[IV . II .
I]
89
general.~~
..,twi,.....
n'Pe
II lI ow grea Uy the propped.up head was laler w naidered a s pecifie alti tude 01 the mel.. n
cholic can be ~n , for in, tance. from the fact Ih a l Dilrer's d .... w;ns LI44 (In iUeIf a hannless
I tudy for a poru a it) apPeared in au old inventory as the "Prultpild" o f an old mela.nc~oly
_an (d . C . CI.Cclt,in jd,/)wc" da /fIlNJ//f' "orl",IIn< S ....... I.. ..,... h' alU""H~ X u ,.
11.11$1.1 , VOl. . xxv III (1909- 1910). p. 4). The paper- by UasUI-.l H opp q uoted below (po )9~.
note H ) conta ins an Interating collectltln of "melaoeholy" portnJu with th is sesture of the
head -onhand.
.. Tbe minis tU fa are Illu sn a tions to the a bove-quoted v~ (p. 116. note 1",8) by L1olf,uoo
DAT I m ROlne . Bi b!. VRI .. God. Chis. M. VI[. 148, foil. II' $<jq. (aoollt 1460-70). Only the
eholuic is nl ueh altned ; he h.. been tranlformed from. medieval warrlo. Into a Roman one.
The unguinie II earryi n, a laurelwreath inttead of hawk', hood.
" ["or ympagnola ', en' .... vin' of Sa tum . d. H ....TUUII. G.lui .....
esp. p. !i3 &Dd plata 2) ,
allll the same autho. in Repalari .... JIi.. K ..
d .jt. VO l.. lI:LVIII (1927). pp. 2)) tqq
For iu rdat>on to a n Yu ,od on the triumphaJ an:.h .t SelleVeato. u well as it:a mlueslin,
tra nsforma tions in lo ( I) a peasan t Saw.m in a plctliR by Girolamo da Santa Croc:e (PI.AT~ ,6)
anti (1) jnto a 51 J erome In a portrait by i.oren&a Costa (pllblisbed In Arl VOl.. v ( 1!~01'.
p. 196) set! a bove, tut p. 1 12. Ca mpagnola himself some yean later t .... ndonned the
p hilosophical type 01 Sa turn into a p llrely human, and, so to . peak, anonymous type
(cn,ra"jng Pu, reproduced in HAaTuUB. G,",im"is, p. 24). In the north. the type 01
Sat"rn resU!lcita ted by CampaS nola "'-U not senel"t..lly adopted "ntil the late ';xt.eenth u ntilf)'.
and ewn then . ai,nilieantly enollSh. not undet bit mythological name but as a melanchotic
(PI..I,Tt 12'6. for ... hich c:!. text. p. 379) .
Hutlaub may be riSht in statiDl that pieturea sueb u the en,ravia, B", may have beell
directly familiar to Ollrer (for a possible connexion bet,,"eeD O!irer and Campt-gnola. see alto
below. p . 3~4, no te 13' )' bUI the l uppoMd depe ndence of Ympt.ano1a '. e nsraving Pn on
Giorg ione see ms to III a~ Hilla ~u !ICeptible o f proo f at the assllmption that the t ngu.ving B I'i
by the "muter of 1,1," repnsenb a fisure of ).(elanc.holy. Thelisure lnapirill8 the ..troloser
II mOA Il.Ir.ely to be the MUM Urania, or, moz-e probably ltill. I. petlOrlitieation of AstrolOSY_
of whom. for Insh.ace. Ripa ~prc:saly nata th at she is to hl.ve winS' "per dimostra. ehe
el" I ta. sempre con n penalero levatl. in a lto per sapere el inte.nder .. Ie t:Ie cdesti"
.. 11 is di~ull to prove that the drawin, Ln was I. study of Dllrer', wife; but tWO if It
wete. the IrtIst could have oluvtd het in .. ~auindy depreqod .tate.
i'.
or In D . . ....1"I:'. /,,1_, fnc- inatanc:e (Canto VII. ,6). we read of tho avarir:iou ma.D that
"OullIti resarget't.ltDO de.! tepulc:ro. Col pu,no dtiuao. e qllesti eol erm ~"; aec:ordiDf to
CASLIUS CALCAOK llf tJ. U_lrlnu:l tin .t""UAil/.Oriu.v.. 511 _1$1"1," II" alkrMdska K.b.,...
" .II NUI. VOL. lI:XX If (191,), p. 169). " maDIiS du tta ClI:paosa (denotlll] libc:ralitatem. ml.nu.
I1Dlstra comprellIa tenacltatem:' Tho oz-I,lnator of this eonc:elt wbJc.h . till per,itted In
Sandrarl', l rofU)/OI. IoeDll to haw beell DI ODO l U. SaCULtlS: .; a:.~ """'Iyp.J..., ~
....1~. vwnJ.7_ (III. 4. ) ed. F. Vocel. LelpuS 1888. p. 272).
.. }'or quotl.lions. _ abo"" p.
(teu).
5'
~ Edurt. W~IWUkhe
Sri/' I{'
nT
to For tho eban,e by DUrer in the ClI:pnlQlve val lie of these ttadllioaal motifs. see belo ....
pp. )17 &qq. (text).
290
[IV. II .
the Engraving
Written in his own hand, Diirer's explanation of the sy~bolism
of t he purse and keys called our attention to various singl~ motifs.
We shou~d now ask ourselves whether the picture as f whole
a1so has 1ts roots in the tradition of pictorial types.
IJ
I: Descriptive
Single Figures (the Four T emperaments and the FOil /" Ages
of Man) -II: Dramatic Groups: Temperaments aJld V1'ceS
On the other hand, an attempt at precise characterisation
seems to have been made in portraits of the melancholic in the
context of the four temperaments. It is true that here, too, no
completely new t ypes were coined; nor was this to be expected,
since the problem of illustrating the complexions arose comparatively late. But, through the deliberate use of analogies at
relevant points, these pictures grew at length into solid and
striking portraits of character types .
II Cf. K. 500>10"1'. Beilr/l8_ ~"r Gu~";clll. de. C"ir" .gi. i," .Hillt1d;II~ . VOL. I, pla te X X x\" I ;
in some cases the physician operating is also shown, e.g. Rome. Cod. Casanat. 13S~ tS t;PJ1 0H .
op. cit., plate XXV) alld above. pp. 5~, 94.
I I With PL ... TES 61, 10d. e.g. thepictufe5 of Saul a.nd David; with PL ... n: i l d . ... min'''t" r~
like Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Cod. Hamilton 390, fol. 19' ; "Iste "~rb~~at u" o~em s\l am ""
(for this codex, see below, te:.:t p. 298) .
29.?
( IV. II.
1'1'. 7: J.q<t . Here the nnsuinia are playin, the lute, the cboleriQ "'T5c.ling. and the
phlesm;atie il .e;ated in I. depre:ned attitude generally characteristic of the mel.ncholic; on
this, s<:c below, p. )11). note 111.
" Cambridge, Cai u! College. J\lS 41 6, 101. 21 . c l. M. R. J "I"U, Du"'I"h" C<llai()8'" o/ IM
Pic turel
like those di!ICUIIICd Ilene ca n easily be accounted !or as a Iy nth esis o f the abstract tetradic
.yttem, occurr illl from the ninth century on.... rds. first in lsidore}.lSS and then in muSIn
tio~ to cosmoloslcal treatises (d. E. WICIUIIl$RIIIIUIR in Jafl'U. VOL. XIX (1914), pp. In tqq .,
.nd C. SIN GEII . F ro... Milt" ~ Sdnu. LoDdon 1928, pp. 211 J.qq. and plale X I V), ..nth COBnate
fi , ure rcpruentation. tro m Crueo-Roman times. like the Cbebba mosaiet, etc.
.\/t:.II"'Cf'iPI, I .. II" Library 0/ Go .. ~lI, anll C" i lls Coll,,<, Cambridge IgoS, p . 300.
r]
293
tradt'
f U '
hi
'
e anCIent
.on 0 ow.ng 1 a e.. cu.to~ry 'Yltem bellinning with the "phlegm." (_ abova.
text !'. ' 1'1 ".... obvlo~lly Ia~ge]y eclipsed; fol. 22 ,.buws a CiK;UW 8Chema analogoul to t he
two Just. men t~ned, In ~bich the Mqueoce, lbouSh normal. begins from the bottom and
ru~. anticlock .._ (top, c.hoJera ntbn" _ warm a nd dry; rilbt, """, uis" _ wann
d
mOll t; ~Io"'. "~ua" - cold and moill; lefl. "terra" _ cold and dry) . It is' abo hi ~
unul ual to dC!Cn be the Wlrlll and dry "choleric" ~ as "aenectu." and to wl . L I T
" cold. d "'~."
_.. '
....e welt
. n ~~ as compa, .... WIth the "warm alld mout" east. In the examples collected
by Wlcktfnhelmer the cycle alway. runs in the ulual aeq uence : ",.nlll;." " chol
b "
"cholera ?igra", .. phlesm... .
'
era ru ra ,
S:U;::
. .. .Especially in these tetradic cycles it Is not uncommon to find a double Or even Ireblll
~f. the u.mples cited on p. 292. note 41, and the Rive.. of
ParadISe on the Rosloek baptismal font of 1291 (which, .ccordilll to the in.scriptioll, also
represent the four delllentr;),
repr~nta~o", o f the foUl' HatOnl, thue being linked with antiqu ity by a continuous "';~to":-'
tradItIOn.
y'
....
! ,
294
!'
[IV. II.
N#tI.~ Jilf>rbtkf>~
fo,.
"
I. :Fot tn., typc of repreaontation of Spring we I1~d only refer to the aoove-lDentl9fte:d Cbebba.
iUClsaic or th~ Cf>",..ico1!. ZllIilallmu mentioned above. p. 279, note 9. Tho ton:esponding
repre$Cnbi.tionf of May are il1munttablo: the earliest exampl~ i" th .. "W.. lI_kno~ S.:Jxbllrg
caleml:l.t of 818 (our }>UTlI. 97). That "MiLY" and "Spring" cou hl 100 usell .ynonymously In
literaturco u well c:a.n lie sell n from the c:a.ption to the portrait of th~ sanguioie in I>LA,.:s 78:
"d.u w1rk~t lDey und Jupi1.er".
:s
"In the fully developed aUe&OI"yof tho ages of ma.n, the distaff denotes the Ji ft)!. .t:age III
the eycle o! Ryen, :lDd the sev=th dec:od .. in the hundredye;u- cycle (YI~' ~Or..sI,lOIl",
Christ/ieh. S,...,boIiA ~,. 11I;II.talltrli"t~K. K .. out, Leiprig 1926, Nos. rip and lIil). Apart
CrOl:lI thi., IIpinnin! is the ehnaderlst>c lann of lem..al .. activity, and the Cambrid!o miniatu re
is toQCerned only with feminine oecapatioru.
~
\1]
295
"F. Bou., "Dill Lebensaltu". in ]:.Till. J"'ri1iI"'~" Iii,. dIU IIf"Sfis'}~ Allalurn, vot.. :\....... 1
(J9J3). pb.te II, 3 &ad 4. It q obviously an cm>t wben. OD. p . 1"29: "SoU say, that th .. falCOuet
i, balding "a dove,.. th4 creaturo 5aCffd to Veaa ....
2g6
I)
[IV. II.
the four elements (the sanguine man stands on clouds, the choleric
in flames the melancholic on the earth); and, in certain repre
sentation~ (for example, in PLATE 82), the addition of a symbolic
beast an ape for the sanguine, a lion for the choleric, a boar for the
1Ilel~choJic, and a sheep for the phlegmatic.$!
. .
Moreover, the Conn of these pictures shows little vanation
throughout the fifteenth century; the various types became so
well established that, once defined, they intruded upon. .the
illustrations of the "children" of the planets in astrologtcal
manuscriptsS' and could even. be included in illustrations to
Aristotle's Py~blems (PLATE 77), the fourteenth chapter of which
had nothing to do with tht>: late medieval doctrine o~ the tempera
ments, but which is headed 000 1tEpl 1C.p<lGeIS, or, In the French
translation, "Qui ont regart a la complexion".iS Even where the
representatives of the four temperaments appear on hOnieb~ck
(PLATE ST), by analogy with a certain planetary type ~t occurnng
in the wcllknov.n Kyeser manuscripts they remam falconers,
.. For anImal lymooll5,n as applied to the f01lr tetnpe.rammt:l . .e abo,e. text p . 101 "I..
Thoe worl<i hUll in qutll\loo (Th. S1Kph'Ii~' C.II>WI4,,1n French aDlI l!u.j;IWl. tbe latter editC!.l
by 0, H. Souuncr. 1!19:1. and theprilltcd :&>okao~ HOll by Simon V...lr4 ~ ~OOIU IOu:rvet)
fOOD a .pKial rc,ional , flIUP d.,.iycd rom & ,,0c:1o I'rototypo:, a.ud cLlltiDgu.,IIl!d by ~. fact
tbat the Ilhle;matic, who occupies the third plaI:C, ;. characterised by a pu.ne. while the
mdanchelic, reier-ted \.0 {ollrth plal:C. bu a cr1ltdl.-~rll.ap:ll ~u&e of a mi&u.ko wbieb.
ollce ",ade, bec"n1e tradition&!. Tho meI.&fICbolic: .. alJo g;ftJl foarth pace 10 ... I.,.,. other
cyc!es. thou, h lh" re!evallt tutf ezprtulr corn:lale autumn ...nh him (see abo above, text
p. 280).
.. Cf. tM Ctlr"'..... fi(u!e.l in tho p:ct.,re of Saturn In the Edurt MS, 0 1Ll' P~AT~ 1"; ill tI..
pictuu of the , uu iu!bc _me MS (A. 1-.... "8E1l. Pkatul,nJ;ioulpbilu"II""! Sf"PW~~' StrlSboulll'
19\6, plate XX IV) tbe " l&I1$uinc" falconer OO::lIples the ~'D3 po5Jtxul.
.. l"llris. Bib!. Nat . MS noll". acq.lr. ll71 . .A .pecial inltuc.e. appa.rently: without analOlY,
but of _ e i lllorut because of i~ early c!.ate, .. ppun in a:MS dated 1108 by JOIIA!UUtJ Da
" OXTON. 1.;1)., ,ol '"Of",,/,hi/l~ (Cam bridge. Trluity College. MS 9 41. JoI . n" tqq.). lIe.e
the fou~ teu' )H:alUe ntl appear M na ked men, de!oCrlbcd as "Pfima ymalt~" . etc., with the
Sakfl,:talt couplet. . . IU per.:riptim", :lnd in the odd sequ.,uca _IIJlIIIII(:, phkltnaUc,
melancioolie, ch~eri c, tbonsh tile "hl(I;ml.:ic ;1 clearl)" the: oldesl. The eb.oice of attd1.>utn.
too. is $Omc..llat 11ngula:. Tho choleric. as u.~, is gi:d~ with a sword, but thle .' taJlcb
o ,, ~ in 0<\,1 CUIIUUl 1.0 bit nakodne.. ; the ..... nguluic. 1.00, is bmodishing :iL ,word ID hw rlt ht
haud. al>d boldine II r.0blat in hI. ldt. The mal.aueboHc is holding a TayeD ~ his r1c:b.t. hand
(th is. ;u;....... rd iu ll to tin' Hgr. di Vittll. ia Iho OOml)ItO;On of "trlatlda") whIle wllh h ,. 111ft
haud_ at In IIOr tr.lt! or "I'.... n: " I>e'l"',atio"- hc plunges II d3.ggt:r into bis ~rc ..t (probably
r~ft:'l'ence to hUl l uld.la! luoil\ll); and tho phleSmatic, r,o.ther drastlully IIhoWI1 ill
'sp ,,~mine plo::ltlll", ~ luooi:'l, wltb II. boo~, his bea d on hi9 haD~ .. r.l0n:0~er, . the a.lllu-inic
b ,,,:th.,.. distlng " W' .... by a plant across hill cb...,t., and a dO"" "t'UnI Oft h15 "&Ill IlniI, ..00
the cholerIC b y It ftu,,u em.ec&in& from his mollth. 1"0 i;le6.l1itll interpretation 01 thesa dotails
h .. yet ~n arrl ... ed at-some o f them were no doubt taken o ... er (10m the pictOfial typel of
tho d ead ly Bins ; lIur are the physioslKllnieal delcriptions, in eaeh cue .. ppeuinS in t h' le: fthand maq~ln. CDlnlorelM!n~bh u tbey ,l::aDd.
I
,
1.]
I
l.
.\
., .
i<
't:
.J,;
'"
2 97
men ~ armour and so on6l ; and even the series of single figures
rcpresenting the complcxions in the middle and latc Renaissance,
with which we shall deal later , preserves in many respects a
recollection of the fifteenthcentury types.
The second group (that in which the different temperaments
are represented by means of a scene in which several figures take
part) has a very different character. The series so far discussed
evolved from, and in combination with, illustrations of the four
ages o! man, which in their turn could be traced. back to classical
repr~tations of seasons and occupations.
It is therefore under
standable that they should emphasise differences of age and
occupation, while psychological traits such as the melancholic's
avarice and depression, or the choleric's rage, only gradually
appear, and then seem to be based as much on the respective
ages to whic.:h they are allotted as ou the respective types of
temperament.
In the dramatic representations of t he temperaments, on the
other _hand, difference in age fades as much into the background
as difference in occupation or situation. Here, from the beginning,
inter~t is centred so entirely on the humorally-given traits of
charaG:'ter that the scene is limited to actions and situations
reveati:nc these traits: everything clsc is neglected; and only the
introduction of the four elements (also lacking occasionally)
distin,gJ.tishes works of this type from morality paintings or
illusti~tions to novels.
T~ diUerence in artistl.c intention corresponds to the dillerence
in hist~rical origin. The historical study of pictorial typcswhich -is just as necessary and just as possible for the dJ"dJDatic
compositions as for the static single des<.;tiptive figures-takes us,
uot into the world of "speculum naturale", but into that of
"specq~um morale", not into the r~alm of the pictures of the
four ages but into that of tile illustrations of virtues-or rat her,
vices; for this realm was almost the only one. in which (though
Wlderthe menacing aspect of ecclesiaslica1 moral theology) the
..
H rJm. ~394. PI-ATJt 81. a{1br II. brl)(ldthoct in U, .. Goth:o. Mu.~um (Seb.relbc< J<)u 0; P.
E';':'bWtd~ du ' .5. J"""J.UHJ.,", VOl.. I,.XlV, No.8). }' or n:ptnCntatioDli 01 pl.oJneb
un boneb,aclt (~be.btf based. on .. oooYlll1tlon ill JOUItlDf and t.oUTnaments). cL SAXL,
Y,u'i~Nls, VOl. p . 11'1' A culold COOIU!Ction. ~ these r ktera and the Shepb."d-ll '
r..fendara "and 800b of Hoo.... eall ba _ In the H(If'IU B . V. M.n.u printed by Jo1ueUII
Reinhart.J<ircbbeim ab<;tut . ,,90 (Schreiber 1.57lo Pmctor 3'09). fol ' . . Here the cbol..,.ic
ILPI>eanJ as the Wild Huutsm3n, tha _ugwDicl '" a pair of loyen, .wo on horseback._the
pillea-nau~. boweve:r.... II. simple ltandina; tig1.>r<1 wilb a .beep. an<l tbl! melancholic (in the
fOll.rth plabe) as a sWldiug .6""a wi:l, a piS'
Halu,
"
298
[IV. II .
" ,
:!
, "
"
r' , ~','
.r
,I
.... :1.
:. ~ .;:.,
"
"
a The fiut German Calendar, AuphvfJ:, aha .. t I.So. The same .....oocut'll ruppear . in
lab:r onl:$, ... g. AupburC. SebIInlpet(tf 1490 (published ift laalmlle by K. Pfister. M~nlCh
J9U). '495. de.
,'; ';.
l ..
et in furil.".
.mwar
.. StrasboUll Ca1eNlu abo.. t I~OO: ROl1ock Calendar for 1~2J. Ali one .can. ate the
uoguiDC knrert are Ccnc:nJly on h orae\ll.ek a nd piDl ha....kin'; the reprQentation'$ dcn .. ed
from a. model like the ptclldo-Dlhw dn-willA' In the Berlin Print Room (1"". 7595. N!prod~ced
in H. TlETZJI and E. TUJTZa.coNItA'J, D'r i""t' Dil r,r. Aug.b\lrC 1928, p. 279. and else w hC1"el.
... hile the J:lUS"tnll of the phlegm.tieeem. hued o n a..o. eOgnloving by K s. (uhu 103: thi,
nb.<er\.. tioD wu made by M. 1. Friedll nder) . Tho KeDe of the cbolnric's <:udgelling ~ nOW
euri cbed by a hon-ificd female oo lookllr ; and II.longbe&rdcd. mon k, a. IIsu r" which the ,WCr:lge
mind would probably n iU auocl"to with the " .. ita cantcmplati ..... enters the r(}Om of till'
twO"melancholiCi.
.. Thus t he Ziirich MS. fol. ,,', Here, "'lIn a few othe r cases, " WeAkening of the original
idea has n :S1Jltcd ill tbe 'FinWeu, 10 far ;rom .lecpln,. being actua.lly cnJ:aged in work.
.. Fw thll gTn\lp, e(. e.lI. thll ilhud:n.tian an fol. 20' W Ca lo'" "P't;r1UU IVili,_ dcnu/nm ted
parcc".
,~ .'
... Fol.
299
mannerism. with its northern connotations. North of the Alpsapart from the fact that the Hamilton Codex could hardly have
been known there-the conditions for the deve10pment and
diffusion of scenic and dramatic pictures of the four complexions
were not available until the birth of an artistic style which was
to be realistic in e>..-pression and psychological in intent. The
designs in the Hamilton manuscript, therefore. remained an
interesting exception. The standard type. did not arise until the
middle of the fifteenth century, and then apparently in Germany.
The original sequence, which was to become almost canonical,
arose in illustrated manuscripts,l1 imposed itself on the majority
of almanac illustrations (PLATRS 8S. 87, 89A, 89n),62 and u.nderwent
its first supcdicial modernisation as late as about 1500
(PLATES goA_O).63
It consisted of the followil1g scenes:
"sanguineus"-n. pair of lovers embracing; "colericus"-a man
beating his wife; "melencolicus"-a woman fallen asleep over
her distaff,U. and a man (in the background) also asleep, generally
at a table but occasionally in bed; and "phlegmaticus"-a couple
making music. Th.e proverbial indifference of the ph1e~atic
was made the harder to illustrate by the fact that the motif of
exhausted slumber had to be reserved for the melancholies. so
that illustrators were forced to be content with a neutral group
of musicians. 55 Hence a."1 soon as in the sixteenth century the
sleepy melancholic had been replaced by one doing intellectual
work the now unemployed siumbcr-motif naturally reverted to
I)
.. The choic:e 01 this onotif. which In itaelf ...aukl l uit 0. .. u llguint temperamcnt far benu
(d. I"u.TU 119 and 12. as ..ell IS the Ulual c:banctuisties 01 "Voiuptu" in the pidures 0/
Herml.." at I.be CrOUC'Oads). may have been bcI.'\ed on the vie.., that t he p"-legma1X d~nnC$'
might be a liItJe animated by 'cilhafaG IOno" (d. Me.IaDChthon...ccoun t. qU(lto:tl abo,~.
text p. 89 sq.).
[ IV. II .
"_,.,.1<IIa
I
. , boa work 0.
bo,.. NW~ilU dis8emil1lltooi in tn:I.Dy Praa.ldurt edilion..
.c . In
The
lesion
edi lo~ stIrling. tint. Eo~Q5 Ue55C aOll t heD Curio and Cn:l!iu..
COD1~
Kqu.eoce (1.5.5 1: t ols. 1111 tqq. ; 1.5.5J : lou. 116 "lq.: ISS'I! f~ . 1.51 sqq.) Is -t.hin.& IIf ~
patcb-..wk. 11M: purtn.iu of the ..",a.inic. lUlU the c:bo\erie ue t&ken from olde!: eyelet.
the melancholic and "the pbkp.tic. however". an: DeW. a.nd very rouSh. the for~
meu-ici.n at a ..... Itin' tk:sk ,..,. text ficun= 2. el te:;l<t p. 39S 5<1.). th$latter a pot.bdlied maD
aslffp b. an armchair. A ail"ll.ilu ill3'tan<le ocelln In the :erlia Cod. Sum. fol.I I~I._1n
M a1bIlT~. -:h.,." tha o.~huN:boJie It ,hown .. a IIChuLar rcadmg (thouth abo, .. a m ....r) ~bll.
t he phlfCru;r.tlc appe.rs IU ''bomo aoodilH:u.. Ooa C1II. . . . that wheoever. the po,-Inll of
,10th DC" .Iull""". i. IIOt IUCd for tho melaDC.bolic, it f.&Us to tbe phle,ma~. all .11 the HunU\.on
Cod'"". l'LAu: 84,
_I,lIi, ,,"vl.Mi in the Cambridge F oxb:)J1 MS.
u
,eG-
.ad.
.. The AIOiens t)'I:lc ul vi.rtuu loud vicelc IlOd. tln si milu anes in Chartres (eouUH:1'iI tn.QIep~)
an d Paris (bue of lhe Welltttn lafad" aDd the rase) (01'111. o( COline, .. VOUP uf thcuUW II.
lton:o>er the complel<;Dn-seqlleuea are by 110 means the emly proface cydH derlvtd
from the t ypes of vic;es; tb .. " LuEuria" S' oup. for insunce, beu.mll a. ",?nlItal1t pt.tt o f the
astrologleal pictur .. <I I V" " UI, just a . vice vern, the origilla.lly llUur Uy ptetu~" o( the COl1plCl
hulltin on illlrH Loack ..... hlch uccaeionally repl~~'" the ~i lUpl" eoup!? 01IIbn.e1~~: can appl'l~r
In a lUuu.lising eelllleKioIl (e., . in." f"Cl,refttllbltoon of lhe devotees o f Voluptna III the 1WT11l1
Casso ne picture of Herculu at the CfO$Sr~, reproduced ~11 E . P.utonKY, H tnwfn " '"
.xllridt:M" , (Stv<lien der BibJiotbcll Warbarg. v ot.. XVIII),. Leipd, 193 0 .
.. s....
5_..
I)
30 1
in a manner which proves almost beyond doubt the derivation
of our picture of the melancholic from this series. Among the
many sins included in the notion of "accidie", it was a question
of ch<?Osing the one most suited to iUustration, and this was the
neglect of one's duty t o work and to pray. The illustrations to
the $ q?nfne Ie Roi, therefo["e, show a ploughman asleep with his
head on his hand, baving left his plough in the middle of the field,
or let~ing his team graze unwatched in the field; while in contrast
to hiIh'. 1here is an eager sower-the image of "work" (PUTE 91).71
And sp,ch a human being, "sleeping the sleep of the Wljust " ,
(mowfied in many ways, according to estate and occupation-or
rathe{ Jack of occupation) became the typical representative of
sinful : sloth. A pictorial sequence of virtues and vices in t he
Antwerp Museum, dating fTom 1480 or 1490 and wrongly attributed
to B~h, represents sloth by a sleeping citizen who, instead of
prayif1.g before his crucifix, bas fallen asleep on his soft piIJow
("Led~ctleyt is des duive1s oorkussen", says a Dutch. proverb),
and tl!e~efore comes under the sway of the devil (PLATE 93, closely
similar , in type to a tapestry showing "acedia" in person,
FLATE t?6). ?1 The woodcut illustrating the chapter on "Sloth and
Idleness" in the 1494 edition of Brant's Ship of Fools , retains the
diligent.sower of the SOm1tu: Ie Roi as a virtuous contrast but for
the sle~ping ploughman it substitutes the familiar s~inning
woman,?, a figure already used OD a oroadsheet (probably "from
Nurcm1i.erg) which, thanks to its full text, presents itself. as it
were, as a Somnu Ie Roi for the plain man (PLATE gz).?:1 The
figure is. here expressly called "Acedia" and can be explained
primarily by the wish for a female personification. In the Latin
edition of the Ship of Fools of 1572 we even find t he now traditional
spinstTess combined in one picture with the sleeping ploughman
of the Somme Ie Roi as a double example of the sin of sloth,
differing from our pictures of melancholies merely by the circumstance that emphasis is laid on morality rather than On
Cf. ~.R.!l!'<. op. cit., P . .5 4 fI.II d pla te X I : law- m~lIU1cr;ptl, c.g. BruMCIs. Bib!. Royale.
MS 229J <t~n den Gha),,,, , fo!. 88" (ddod 141.5'. repeat this type failhfuUy. Our reproduction
u !rom HrusBf!Is, DibL Royal~, MS :ll94 (Van den Ghe)'n'. ' oL .5J'.
.. See abi:tve. p. u,S, nute ~6.
i
.
"Ch. 91. fol . T . iii. The rather inappropfiat e wood fire -...m.id.st the oat~ra1 kDclscape ill
j llstificd by ibc t.u.t:
': ';
"Vnd ist ... trI ". du Jm. v.bccD.a.t
;':
Syo seb.yenbe)'D, ee el" t1ch Yel"WeDn t. "
n P.
Ra(~.
E i"bllfII4nu1t, du
, .!
I,.
...
' 302
' t
[IV. II .
IJ
characterisation . It bas been stated elsewhere that Durer's engraving 8]6, the so-called Doctor's Dream (PLATE 96), is nothing but an
14
"
-<.. ~.,.
.: :';"
"
'
.,
.
>~.
";;"
-.
'.
\
.;
'...
..
.....
"
"
; ..
;.
,; :... '
:f
:r.
>.
-:; .
..~
",;".
or:
::i
Dat vier-de [i.e. the sin of sloth} is swaerheit. dat een m.ensce also
swacnnoedich is, dat hem gheens dinghes en lust. dan te leggllcn rusten.
of slapen .. .. 11
.:
~
.'
''-'
;..>,
This. then, was the way in which the two main types of
illustration of the four t emperaments arose. Portraits of charact ers
were created in which either the personifications of certain ages
of man, or the representatives of certain sins forbidden by the
.. SluUii"" ",uri.e. Basle (llenricpetri)
1 51~,
p . 194.
'.'
Cl. E. PANon.:y. in M{i", hn f"I1 .",.", th. bild~n4t" KMlCsI, ne'" 5ei1es. VOl,.; VIII (1931).
pp. I aqC\. See al50 ANnd: e llASn:!., "J..... Tenbtion de St Antoine. ou Ie longe do m&nebo!ique", in Cue/I. hs 1J,ISU-.of,ts, VOl.. LXXVIl (1936), pp. uS sqq: We may meotion
that On t be t itle engraving of t hc B,,.jU.J DOn tiD M,z ..n&ADlia HypocJunu1ria. by .Dr- J on,\HNU
PIIl'IYUG (Frankfurt 1644). the "hypochondriac mclam:boly" s uccudulty o:vnoorue by the
plIaut physiciaD is ltilllhowu as a s Leeping woman .... itb head propped on ht..Ddj iotn whO$f:
brain a batwlnt:M demon h hIO)Wiog dell1sloru: by rotanS of b.!lIow" t h., c,leL';~ions belng
.ymboJit ed by Iwnuaing insecb.
.
.'
',-
,
~".
,,
"II
303
i.
I. D. C. TtNIllIlItC:&N, DOl! C"" i.... SUm""'. Bil>Uotb&ek van b1id.de1DedeTllLlld.O~h, J.etterkunde. Croningen IgoD-O). p. 2'3. This passage coulirm.-il collfumaUon it. De.eded_ the
c..:l I.bJo.t I.D the Celondar ...... ICS the ~><p<msion Schwe ....ntiskeit.. d ocs not mc~ the purely
mental mood of depreuJoll. as It doa in llIod&ro ~e, but a ve.ry mal.erlal hea;-:ilieu of mind
...d bod, which mipt today be best described .... indolence. The cbQlee of the word, too
confirms, on tlIe li ncnistic level, the deeply-rooted CODnu;ion between th.; .cc:niq;upresenta.
t iD ol 01 the te.npe~'lb ud the port:n.ya.l.s of the vi""" (as d<>l:S the krm "bi(l"l-do mached"
applied to tlJa AIIr'4lnic).
.
" H . R. PAre" in Motkm r. .."tlUt,,_ Noles. VOL. XI. (19:15). pp. '''lq. The mod,e,"ll l
nf virto... and vices served as a buil for reprC5cn.i::I.tinn .. of the "1';,." SeOl'-C'.
$0 popular in the later sixteenth an!l. et]ltlCially, lbe ~ve~tee nth ccn~ry. as Hans Kauflmann
e,nphasl,es in b i, informative levi"tI' of W , R. Valeat.lntr , book 00 Pi.;tcr de H ooch (D~"lui:t
L ir't"lJllUsnlu"l. 1930, pp. 50. sqq.). Th'" birth ot th1s type of the " Five $(:n sc~" denn!es
as it were, a second ph25e in aeculatiutioa: the originally monl1istic repres.;ntation ... fir!'t
tran5fOn'lled into objeclive aad cOSIIIOloPeal up!"escntation, of til e temperaments. were nnw
drawn into the spbere of the sobjecti ve. KA""al perception.
repre&cmbt:ion~
30 4
Til},; ENGRAVIXG
":'I!ILE~COLlA
t"
[IV. II .
IJ .
0:-
necessary,
"11,~ iund;"', Il l .uch hUl1IaD figuTl~' In "stand ing for" ~ notion un of CO'1r~ be assume d
by an;,:'! .1... plnull or lnan imlllc obJ"cta withm,l thc conditions ROl.'cming tho methotl 1.>1
1",l1IQuiJicatioll uflXl1na tu ~ altered. In cc:r1:lliu cir<;:llm~taneca the pomcrt,1LJI3tcr ul're~lIth' ,
noliotl 01 "concord " lulfil~ the: lam. (unetiun as il bUC03n .. COncordi ..... \,.hil" lu other.
It may .. ppc:ar Ih'll ply 41 one of bet attributes.
.. The elaMific& lion o f alle,Q/'ica1 lorro., 01 rcpusent&tiun here attemptel.i. whi<;h naturally
.
In iu litenl I'enH
lea\'" ou t ID.&D )' mix. d or bocderlincr
cun. ta k es t h
e " rro. ..a I ...........
""OY".1
"
.'
..
oI.I.M .l'''"''~ as a lfeDerle f'Otion intlbdlng tbe ",ymOOl;,," a, .....11 u tbe 'b.t-btulln,
(ell', th", "~nonifyl ",") and tll4 " PI'radi&IDIo.ti,," form of reJ1felCntation, What IS ~cllen>Jlr
ull"') all(pry (In II. R&r ro~r ",mo) ;5 mf.rely a more compliC3to:tl 10Jm of ,v.b5titll.tJoa-
tho
man ~ropUeated. in that 'tweral penohlacationl (I.e, livia, bc:inp or objecta denotWB kteN)
tDflIt m. a !ICeDO oc a tp,a.t.W fl:<b.tionthlp Uhatnllil.g the ~nllC:UOG bct_ r.uiou.s abrtnet
noti~ A typica.l CUDlpJe is Dlir..r". Tri""'pl of MLri",ilill". CoI tdu .. &llq:~ (<:ited
below, p. ;U]. note 11102) 01 the rl'b.Uonship bc:twcall "AW' ~Dd " u.ue",
.
H ~oc
spec:laI probleDl!J OO[Ul~ with the poetic perSQni/iQtion of mdancholy (aDd
It. pactopal illl1llu;a1ion) _ abova, pp. 221 act'l' (text),
.
:!be
306
[IV. 11 .
:r]
anything that lies beyond remains "in the t ext". It is; ~ fact,
quite literally in the text, as the curiously indetenninate ~harncter
of these illustrations shows. It is actually due to the fact that
the texts illustrated had already anticipated pictorial art in its
function of allegorical translation. In these romances such
general psychological notions as "mistrust". "under5t~ndin g",
"honour", ".s weet reward", "long hopc" and even "melancholy",
had already become, in the poet's 0\1,In mind, 50 individualised
and so concrete-so much progress along the road from the
abstract to the visual had already been made-that the ill"ustrator
had only to translate the concrete particular figure or ev~t
described in the text into pictorial terms; and that tHete was,
in his pictures, not the slightest reason for the spectator t? revert
in his tum from the particular to the underlying general con~ept.
Situations which in literary fonn are already well-su,stamed
aU"gories, that is to SllY, which provide dramatic co~~~xion"
between personifications, are bound to become genre or ,~ Ilts tory
pictures if the attempt i~ made to illustrate them Ji lerall'y in all
their details.
.
.'
II""
,.
307
x"
3"9
W? 'can see th~ scenes from Roman mocuments adopted almost
WIthout alteratlonlt ; only in the later course of development
were~ they modified and brought up to date. The personification
of t~e Seven Liberal Arts, however, had still to be created-Qf
rather, translated from Martiallus Capella's lively and vivid
desctiption 90 into pictorially impressive tenns-before they could
asswne the forms in which we so frequently !l\CC them in the
great cathedrals and in illustrated manuscript5. Tht!r'e, thry
are .often accompanied by a particular historical figure refre
s:enhn? them- just as, in th.e mosaic pavements of late antiquity:
the !llile Muses are sometunes accompanied by representa.tive
pra~~itioncrs of the nine arts-Calliope by Homer, Urania. by
Ara~us,'l and so on. Figures also of the Seven Mechanical Arts,
re.pfe;sentcd mostly by paradigm rather than by personification,
still. ~ad to be evolvcd.r- And, without borrowing from antiquity,
~,: p~ocess. of spont~eous re~creation, there arose a type of
~lC~?:~C 10 winch the skill of a. man or of an allegorical being wa.o;
m<li;.ated merely by the inclusion of a distinctive tool of his trade.
~ tu ries before t~e conscious reversion to the Roman type
of mpnument for artisans or architects f:ook place during the
Ren.~ce ,Sl the background of the archivolt reliefs showing
[IV. 11.
.. nWit HcUcnistk r~prCltIl u.tions of the life .. I cit)' populac:e, ptuanu, en .. VClI beasts are
dislir.II'Jished ((Om 0. .. lpo:ofteall)' Roman onn b y a" e .....tloual cmph..",b' ariaiJI.G h.,.... , ..
mil #nith;ty in . ~,&,d to the unll.miliu. It
rdect a hol'tOJ' of uesradatioD, lIS In
the o;Ut of the Dnod." Oliltv_all ; 01' a IOClltimwW inten!:ll ill (dlo_Q't&tures or nalUR,
.... ill the ease o l i lle Dla<1t }joy ~I<f M.nk. or th .. D..... nu;A1i"I"n You",; CoC. 6l1ally ...
longing fQ'r lhe Idyllie u in the ea.se 0 1 tloe " peua.nt lype" prope:r. 10 e>:~t1y the .. nle
m,,,,,,el H ellen istic llOrtritqre I:ontrastt with lwmall by reMlNI of ill eJl(dlo:tDtn t and M n....
u f t r illm ph or IU!(ennl\, 1.h" "boly ..-briety" of the Latiu Mtilltie IJfIlrit. whieh, in "duel led
elrclM.....as otten wnc:,aLcd under a mul< of .Helhmi.u:.. but ro:,,~alt d IUdI the more dearly In
VOpula r ",or~s. 01' in .. I.-I ".(.an VfO"indalIVt, b,...,ked baek, deal/ite cludci$m IlIUi HeUon.i~m ,
alA,
..,
.. oupatiooaL emblelJls co'llld either be added to the fiBure of the d~ (this was the
U$ual p.,"1I.U custom... in OIlr Pt..Al" ~o), or replace it al~ther (th&! .u.tunlly bo:in& ..
~rt.i(ulady popatat foIm In the Ouistian catacombs).
.. It. C.UtCcc:l, Su.rlll"'" Ark "UN.,.., VOL. III . Z0'2, 3 ,.. C".ItOLLiJ.CLI;llC(l. Diiti,.",JI"
d'ardiolcti' dodlitfln, , 1 Wllr'; . I . 2, 001. 29iS (With Ill,,", d ..U.\I).
" E. CI!'Il""lItI. Elrl<Ski,tA~ Spitg". Derlla 18o...(i7. Plate 33 0, I.
br
Ii
<
,,
1
I1
..
"
310
d[IV. II.
IJ
"
"
.1'
'1."
P.
"
:J"
::i
..
Arbril N"Ii Bitu"d, /(1f,ul,l.eipa.ie:
""
'1'
, ~
'
P:lri~
.:!
.:
;
..~,
''.,.
n.d . p. 31.
... Tho Hague, l-[u . )(unnan no-We:sttceni.. num, MS 10 0 I (the "small" ArilltfltJe-Ore,m(l
MS M Ch.. des V). fol. ItO ' (cf. A. DVV,\NCK, Ln prindpav:r "'''nU$~ro'hi <I p:i~lu'n de ta
nibli(1/hlq ... ROY'll. , / d .. }.flui, MII>'IIIuII(I-Wulu...
,m a 10 If"~, Paris 19~1, p. 1I4;
leplicaa in J. l\( IIIJIl(lIlY, Ltll'.i".;p~"x ",,,,"uuils Q f1ri"'Nn~ tiN Musi, Crmdi Q ClIlmfiU".
Publieatlon, d" la Soci~b! Iran~i.e de: reproductions de >nanusCl'iu a pein l ures, VOL. )1:111XlV, l'aris 1\,13<>, pIal. UI and P? 46 sqq., with bibliography). On the left. next to "Art",
w "Sciouoe". reading: on tho right w the thf'ee-liuded "Prudent"' (for tho motif of tb e
three lltadl , ct. . P"'tlOI'lll":Y, H"'f;uln Q'" Sl/IeuulNt. (Stud;e" der mbtiothelc; W"rbuf'{,
VOL. xvru), Lci}W' 19)0, pp. I II<Jq.; it is remarkable, however, t hat hCTe tb" thretl ~
3Il
i",..
"'.
"
'~.'
If
T.
London, Brit. Mu,., Add_ MS 15692. (D. Upltm MfibNs libulllib.u) , foL 29'
.
I] , .
,~
n.
[IV ,
are ~ subordinated to it as dependent notions rather than (;0ordi~ated with it as objects in a coherent space; that is to say,
the re1ation of the tools to the main fIgUre is something like that
of th~ small occupational scenes in the Hague miniature t o the
figut~ of "Art", or those on the gilt glass already mentioned to
the figure of the deceased ship-owner. Like these, lhey may be
regarded as dramatised trade enlblems. In an organisational
sense; the toil of the ship-builders sawing and planing is "governed"
by the ship-ownc.c; and in an intellectual sense Ute activities shown
here are "subordinated" to "Geometria"; for all the work that
is going on is merely a practical application of her theoreticaJ
discoveries. On the ground fl oor of the house Wlder construction
(a huge block of stone is still suspended from a crane) the CCilillg
is being vaulted; hammer, ruler and moulding plane are lying
on the ~round; a kneeling man is drawing a plan with Ute help
of a set -square; another is dividing a very naturalistic map into
"iugera"; and with the help of a sextant and astrolabe two young
astronomers are studying t he night sky, in which, despite heavy
cloud; the moon and stars arc brightly shining,lOJ
No one whose historical sense can bridge the gulf between a
clida~tic picture and a great work of art ca.n deny t hat this "typus
Geon~~triae"loa is extraordinarily akin to Mekncolia I . . We must
... Cf. Jd....TIA... U. c.. ... U-A. N.ptiu Plriloll.rfiM d Mft'COIrii, VI, 57) sqq . "9. sao-Ih
(vp ~8 sqq. i.Q A. Okk, edition. Lcip.l~ Iga.s). Geometry, Ktvw],l WOlDen ue ben: carrylll,
"me~Ia." coY~ed with a creelliab du", "depinrcndis dal&nllJld;'que <lJ'PMlunalorml.":
tI..,
'0'
'9<11. plate 5.
313
.. Munic!l., Sla:at.t;l>ibUoth ck, Cod. pll, 15. 00 this, cr. CON"JII DE RosAtuw, "~utlce .~r
U. I)ouu Da:ne, de Hh'lodquc (from :"ItS fro 111<1 of the DibliotMllue NII.Uonale), m D.dld,n
<I. '" Sodili f'<lu~tljs. <I. ''In'OrJU,,"Ol'' d~ _"usuils Ii pA1UllrtJ, YuL. XIII (1929). In U\e
bistOfY 01 types theN Llldln (and abo, lor IlLItalll;c "Dame Eloquence") come very ncae to
DU,er's :' &1clen~oJia .
A similar mcu.phorical" 01' dou.ble" .1Jetory .bo oc~un in !hI " Arta" seri8 probably
from A~ (~I<lt"IIIII !d wd, No. ,11'4, .qmJdu.ced in P . Hl:IU. r.i~' "' J~.
}tl/"Aw"u.ls, vot- UUV, No. Ii. 1.00 ill E. 1bJc.... Dc,. Gdehrl"11
.~wlulln VDf,",:,~t,
Lcip~ir. '900. fip. ~1-~V). Thfle pol'lnita. 4ap1te thelr ab.traet title. 'IKh as Arn.rMl1CI1 ,
.. t<:. 1If", rcgarded as ~ypel. fully realistic OI:eupaUooal representa.tJoaa- ,,? lDucb 110. md~td,
lhat wltll. n,;c exception !.hIlY ~hDW u S lIot tho par.digmlltlc RpHNotal.ivet of u." V;moUI
tele:lcu. but simplo p..:u.ou,ts aDd artisa.n" WhoK aclivit)' refclI to tho Uberal ~ etther by
way uf o:rw:l.phoc (u in lhe CJ.,!;<! of Did.wawn 11Nlbll:). or elw by aUudiDi to. thCIr pn.ctLca1
application. AriU.meUe alallO is r~aelilcd by run adllaUy counting; Grammar,
llhtt<.>rM: ar.d ~c.. 00 lbc other hnd ...... IfP'"UeDtcd by a .ower, uUliec .~ ... bUa" (for
AristoUc ClIIde bread out of the HIed whleh Pritcian had $Own aDd Cic:ef'o groand). and
A,l.roOOmy by a p;Ullter, a fiCUfC kfI?Wu irotn lII. pieture5 of tho children of Jol~ or of
Luke" MadoltM. e:x.upl that be be is po.illlilllj l\alSiD the sky. (;eollldry. howeveT. IS ~e
..,ole<1 not by a. eeOluottici.n but by :\n al!pl.riOlUaur" who is meuurlns " .tono 00 l ite,
Ind the aeco,mpanyhtll c:uuplet runs
"Iell loan pawen vnd ..o1 meMeJI,
D.nmb will ich Edide. (-,,,) nit vergts5'!II."
T he d.!iercnte. in cOInpuiloa ... ith Ded.w.n- loMl., is, as in otbot c;aK$, tha.t then a .lady
easil y te>tDisablo! . . . pct'tonifiaticm is lltting in a urpeole:r', thoI', wbel:__ h~ O\iDary
peaaauls L'ld workmell .ua teally s.owinl. mill"" aod baiting.
the .ut,h or datt;bOIlbe lll4y hUlleJJ lUI "f~mlnun 1".... lenu,m, I"Ddium dex ler., I/.Iter.. spbatram
lOlid<l-r"! iCltit;tutem: '
'u Thft: ~ound":,rk fur all ttri, bad .l~ady l>eeQ laid by }.wt/aoQl Cap!!lla's dc:scdpUun.
l! w~n( a "peplnm". "in quo lidtnam ftla8nitutlh'eI d tBUw" t-ireuloc-nm
mel1S\II~ OOPU~ .... vel Iormae. nmbra etiam telJuris in caelum quoq_ pervenieas .. eI
iUDlie ~bes ac Il0l.;' au~toa ealit!::t.Dti MUJica deeolonna intu alden yk\ebaUlf"; and 1rI
un,m Jerman... Ip.lul Astro...-iaa cn:brl\l.ll commodatum. rdiqua .. ero versis illihun
diva:"';&~bn5. O\Ull.l:tonun. ~DOIlwn 'lills. illuntitiorum, polldemm memurarumque
form .. ~!VeBlUIO colorom yar'e~b reuhlebolt" (A. Dick (ed.), 'P. ~Sg). Suc1t. larm'ltt
could ~a.turally 1Jo dbpeu~ed with by onr artilt,
utal pltenumcna eould be d irL'Ctly
r~pr~~~d, thollgh the p";u:ock', lea.ther 10 Gehmetrj.a', eap is not without allegurical
II~D~Ii~~: lhe pcaeoek IIOCOrWlI.( to Rlpa, unuer the hcadiq Ngtlt, """u/.. puu (Iluotin(
PiecIO V~) , 8i.cDi6es "ia notle chiJ,ra, mo-ta.. ,-cden.1oII acllJ.
toda tanU occM,
come u.':l~ tldlo ael Cicio'.
GeolQeyY
as
,Da
- ~Y. ia ~ I,ll editio .. of GIUtGOII. It&15CIl'S MotT,lIril. ,ltilfnll,ltu. (101. 0 I') U,e
portrait IS 5IUlp1i5ed aklD( the5l\ linea: Geometra.. Is holding tbI aatant benclf alld It
nno:.
ENGRAV[NG "MELENCOLlA
i'
[H
[[v .
II.
not forget that, as lta.... been frequently pointed out, trade tools
and trade scenes are constantly interchanged, and, in certain
instances. even combined. We are therefore justified in imagining
that the illustrator of Gregor Reisch's book might ha;ve represented the tools as emblems instead of showing their application
in the minor scenes1tlt ; and we have then only to add to'.them the
implements tha.t are in fact seen scattered a.bout on 'the table
.and on the ground in the woodcut in order to be aware of an
astonishing measure of agreement in the inventory of bo~ designs.
DOrer, too, still in accordance with Martianus Capella; shows a
figure with a sphere and a pair of compasses engage4 ' in construction ; here. as in the woodcut, there are hammer, moulding
plane and set-square on the gTound. In the woodcut, Geometria
has writing materials beside her on the table ; in Durer's eItgraving,
also, there are writing materials on the ground near the sphere10$;
....
Then! Is no MUOn to doubt that this object i. in reality nothmg but a po:;lible writi",
eompcmdium, eo"",tins: o( a lockabto inkwell w iill a peo-c:asc attached to il. by a lather
strap bllt ullfortulIatcly truncaud by the lelt-hand mugln of the p4<:tuu. And yet after
1 . A . EltDU$ (D;. cNiJJl;u,., X".",. VOL IX (1913). $e\'ef'al instaJmenb). had ,illtttprettd
It .. a spino;", top. a"d F. A. N... olt.L (Dcr KrUWl dwf Dflnrs Mddtw:Hlit. Nllrtmloettl: 19:1:1)
a. a plummet. W. llOza.1II. in (l>fi/kiIN"P. Ik, G~Uu;iGft /NY rfffMlflllil'rul. lflnUl. 19'5.
pp. .... 1111].) uUcd It a paint-jar..nth stiek and with a thread woand rOllnd It rn ipir.k to
!acllltata the dra..nnc of a atrait:bt line (wbercu tbcae !pira1 efit.eu an= nathi,,'i but plaited
leatbar. IUGh u occurs not only 011 other pm-cues but oven OD.knife~eatht. ef. e.~: Dle",bel'a
d ...wi!lf. Tolna; No. 77): while aocording to P. BIANDr {in Di, Um.u.A4 .. i. W~bft .,,,4
TubiA. VOL. XXXII (1928). pp, 216 Iqq.} it was Ovell munt to be a coae-sba ped. pummet.
with a _
for the lioe standin. on a sallccrl To sct aU doubt at rat
m:al .i.eot>on the
analocoua cues in Oii..... own WOC'U altu4y pointed out by Ciehlow .ndil.bo by P.
H OIIIlC. ... (in Zrit,dilrift /wr e"riplidu X'IllU i . VOL. :xltVt (1913). eol. J2J}-:the 'I1"OOdGut
B60 aDd tb. prayer book of Afu:imilian I, plato 14. botb reprasent!II' St Juhn on P_hnoI.
and tho 'ff'OOdcut BI I) of St Jerome and add _ fe .... oth.en wbieh IJIltht easily tJC 'multiplied :
(I) the Ybioa of St Jobn by tbe br(llMn Umburg in (.h;l.Dtilly (Lu ,," ridw At"",,.
tU Frs,,", ed. 1>. l>urrin, l":arit. 19<'4. 101_ l"r. pbt.. ...); (2) tho vifioJl o.f St JoIm.ita the
Cob.. rg Bit)!,,; h } Dil.,.'. _)cut B70: (4) tho Ruggiui lZIedal already meutioocd above,
p. J'o. nubl91: (5) a portrait of St A"gusUa, datiag: !rom c. 1450., in a MS at UtTecb~ ofbis
CooleasiOlUl (reproduC1ld by A. W. BYV",,,cII: aDd G. J. H~~.II1I'. La """i,,fMf, 1Il1lla"ltJiu
If I.., ", I1IJerlll f,/hulriJ I .. z,f' IlI!l z6' ri#lu " ..... P"'>,I-BtJS up/,ll/rio"" ...... YQL. II, Tbe Hague,
f9:11. (llll.le 187); (6) a utirlcal woodcu t in GlIfLER VON Ku5EIllIPflaOo'i S,llllf/!,! tin Miliids.
Stril.lbourc 'S18 (reproduced io E. RJllco. D" Gd.ht" fiS. 99); (7) Ghidalld&io. St J erome
in Ognisuntl ; (8) !iansDCri... woodcut ( .,.. below, text P.1J'~. and Pun 107! which i, an
the more important Ilnce be took tho whoto of bis instramC'lltarilim direetly Irnm Dtirer'1
engn.vioe. GI,hlow', txplauatiou (GIIltWW (1!)Cl4), p. 16} 01 u.. Ink_II Ill! .. hieros1ypb
.y.."boll-'II& the ~ ..,..;tings of the
dues lIDt seem to uS (",.able; beeavK tbe
h)eros;lyph for tbe "AQM li tterM Aefyptiorum" (eI. jllArlnJd. /Iff .... ". ijporiukls Sa",.,.
1_,lII M .JI6rllkbJ", KIlU6rllswus, VOl-lOOm (1915). p. 19S) i. IIOf. eom~ mer;ely'of 1M
pen M of thelnk.....ll a l... ne, but ...f in~lI. ~ph and. aicve. tM _patlyin, text .yme
a t le.u! as m1tt.h emph.aail on the last mmpo nent as e>u the olher two: "AecypdacaiOlkndelltes
littHas IlCruve aut 611II1II. atrameatom et cribnzm " I,UllUID quoque IffiCiapt. Litl'f:ru'
if
,
~(
.-.," .
...
w.
" .J'''.
fol 47"}
... Appendix J. pp. 100 .qq.
10'1 Cf. D6rer'. own enCRvlnx 01 St J .mme. tho Dal'lnstsdt mini;ature 01 Peu.rch repr~'
dueed in J. Seal-MUlt, Ob"iln li,"ucl" Tr,e'~llst~", l.eipliC l'}"ll. plate Ill. ~he woodr-n t In
B. Corio', CII",";c1~ of Milll" of 1,Se>1 (reproduced In E . IUlc,,: . D~ r ~d~hrf~ ... d d~,,'s~h'."
V"gll"J,nJi,il, Leilitig 1900.
55) or the illusttatie>o e f medical . tudy In 11. B .....1JNSGII Wlr;lG ~
Libu de IIrk dulil","d', StrasOOllr, 15t:r. (rtPfOduead 10 IUICkI, op. eit.. tig. 46).
s.
ti,.
, .. Cf. E.
.emm.....
pl&t~ I,
p. 131>.
J"'(:O.
.1
3l
[IV. U .
ru:
I" J OHII1IM t!.S AMGIfI. II~, A$lrll/iWium pi""""" Venice 1494 (lacki ng in the 15t editi.un of
I", S.~). Ct . ill & contn;ry $ellSl!, e.p. the relatioJlllhip of the lillure to th, P~ of tho p1ctnnl
aw! lb a (lialollal ootllpo$itkm a f the wholeueonditioncd by tbb ; e\'m the .. ttitudeo{ the bead.,
wi lli one lIy' cut iutO by the ootline o.f ~e profil~, ~ms" f..milillr.. Tb~ laroe.scheme, ~oq:h
wilh tbe {'Sure giltcn heightcn~d act'Vlty a.nd emotiol"lt.l expn';"1I1on, Ul typical Rc.nai15ln~o
fashion, appear. ill the woodcut to CECCO lJ'A.$cuI.f. A eetb .. , V~nico IS;. (reproduced In
HAllrLA1ie. Gud"... is, 1'- 381.
lI' For tl,~ .lgnifiCllnu of \.bi., :oee below, p. ':11:9 (text).
" H. Wlk""L(tI", 1)i. K#1U1 Albu<M mi~u, 5th edition , Mwtich 1916, 1' :ll:S3
!" .
2.
"
':'
..
111 Pn.y%r:Book, fal. 48 . . For the FHeDCt! of the litcur~ i D the Gertn:lD SAi/>
tbe ilhntra.~D' of which Dtlru probllbly contribllted. lCC abov .., p. 301 (tcxl).
III
Diih~.,
p.
".5.s.
tJ/ F {JIIls
to
,,
318
_ [IV. Tl.
and
ts
plane of a symbol,UG this change appears now as the. meansor perhaps the result-<li a change in significance: the potion of
a "Melencolia" in whose nature the intellectual distinction of a
liberal art was combined with a human soul's capacity for suffering
could only take the form of a winged genius.
..
The creative power which generated this new' concep't ion
naturally informs also the traditional details. Set pieces that
seem to be entirely conventional playa curious part in producing
that impression of casualness so typical of the engraving; the
purse, for instance, instead of being attached to the belt by
ribbons, has slipped carelessly to the ground, the kbys hang
crookedly in their twisted ring-very different from the housewifely chatelaine of the Madonna at the Wall . And when even
tllese inanimate details become eloquent, when the sleeping dog
(which in the usual picture of scholars is enjoying the quiet of the
study and the warmth of the stove) has become a half-slarved
wretch, curled up, dead-tired, and shivering on the cold earth, then
how striking and how new those things appear which have always
been significant in a specifically human sense. We kO-ow now
that the motif of the clenched fist was a traditional one, already
used here and there before Durer (PLATE 72) . For a medieval
illustrator, the clenched fist was the sign of certain delusions,
and he conceived it as an inevitable adjunct of -the figure in
question, as inevit.1.ble as the knife which St Bartholomew always
carries. But in Durer's .Melencolia I the clenched hartd also
support!> the head; it thereby visibly approaches the scat of
thought, and, by ceasing to be an isolated attribute, metges with
: ;
.... TheM .tages of develop!mllt. di5eaased above from a systemat: point ." v iew, can be
5hown in the eXample of M.tm,olill/IO have been sta.ges io an actual histliriea] ,pfoccu; for
the ".ymboli<:" form of the engTavill, did. io ract evolve (rom tbe combination' oi ... pu~ly
" peTllonify;nC" represenbtion (I.e. tho "typ". Geomelri,...) ... iUl,
oue Ii e. the portnlit 01 a mdaneholie .. in tbe calenda.rs).
purely "paradigmatie"
':' . '
2]
31 9
the thoughtful face into one area of compressed power, containing
not only the strongest contrasts of light and shade, but also
absorbing all there is, in the otherwise motionless figure, of
physical and mental life. Moreover, the clenched left hand is
in striking contrast to the lethargically sinking right hand; it
is the hand no longer of an unfo rtunate madman who "thinks",
as one text puts it, "that he holds a great treasure, or the whole
world, in his hand"; but of a compJetely reasonable being. intent
on creative work-and sharing none the less the same fate as the
poor madman in not being able either to 'grasp or to release an
imaginary something, The gesture of the clenched nst, hitherto
a mere symptom of disease, now symbolises the fanatical con
cennation of a mind which has t ruly grasped 'a problem, but which
at the same moment feels itself incapable either of solving or of
dismissing it,
The clenched fist tells the s.-'l.me 5tory as thc gaze directed
towards an empty distance. How different it is from the downcast
eye formerly attributed to the melancholic or child of Saturn 1111
Me1encolia's eyes stare into the realm of the invisible with the
same vain intensity as that with which her hand grasps the
impalpable, Her gaze owes its uncanny expressiveness not only
t o the upward look, the unfocussed eyes typical of hard thinking,
but also, above al1, to the fact that the whites of her eyes,
. particulaIly prominent in such a gaze, shine forth from a dark
face. that "dark face" which', as we lmow, was also a constant
trait of the traditional picture of Melancholy, but in DUrer's
In cr. Rulu,' ""~;f (above, te>l:t p . so), probably to be understood ;\$ a J15~cholo;:IC.:II
term, .:Id numeroWilal.4r le:x.ts, ill wbicb certainlytbe Jl'OSej, intended u a me:ll"l$of e}(\'"e'I5iDn :
e.c. "Raimuadu, LuUul: " Et natunJitu erp. terram respkiunt"; Berlin, Cod. germ. fol. ' 9 ' .
now in Marbur&: "Sin [0.,. tb.e melaocholic'.] AnUiuQu der Erdell Ce"";"; also the I~"t on
SaturD priotcd in A. HA ua , Pf" ..d, ..M ..dabifdtr u .." SI, ... bit"u
"Sin [e.!:. SatuTn'lII dlild] :u!G:tsicltl aUts geneiget ~Il deo- erden." It s:ays sometbinc lor t.lle
power o( su ggestion oj ,,,ell a trad ition that a description 01 Duret's e ngravi ng (Pi,II""
MdllJldoU<u) by :/i.feJauehthon.-<lmittcdly known to UI Duly alsecond halld-Mys ill obvinus
eonna.diction to lhe visibio faet: "Vultn severo, 'lu i in u.a.Ifl\' CQAsideralione n ..:oquarn u?iei l.
sed palpebris dejeeti. humum intu.etllr: Thus B.:rUn, loiS tll col. lat. qu. 97. nOw in
TUbingen, a eolDpo:site MS whi ch a eertain SebMti"n Redlich eopied. from not~.~ 1>)" C.onrad
Cordatus, tol. "9'" (rather poorly edited by H. Wrampelmeyer, U"c,d",c.1I'e St" ..i/le" Philipp
M./rlm;lotbm, Deilat:e lura Jabresbericht des Kg!. GymnAlliums 11> Clausthal. EU leT HJII,
p . 8, No. 61) . Thi, deJlCription, an illuminating one In many .... ays ("Albutns Durenls .
a.rtificiosWimu$ pictor, melanchotici pktoram in expressit , .. ") is a mixture of Ininule
ob$erva.tion aud ' ubUe psycholO&i~ interpretation, aDd oC pure fantasy. At the end. (01
instance, the author .ay. "Ceme: etiam est .. ad fenel tlllm aranearum tela ". altho ugh
ne:ithu a Ipider'....eb nllr.ven a windowispresent. Here Melanehthon ........ pro~bly ~lI i nkin,
of aItoth<:r portrait of melancholy (et. our PLATE IJ9 and p, llll sq .) Or of ;In enp" 'ing $uch
as G. Pencz. TtuI.. s IBI(9).
[IV. IT .
they
.hIMLld~rJ.
' " 1{'I'a Upt cssly d~r lbt:3 thi s u an :thrihute 01 the! .. Ct~uscu1o delta $em" . Mol1.:(u ,
know (_ . bovc, p . '1, not6 l~ IUld PILSSi,,,) th",t the tbinJ qu.artcr of llLe oay, i.e. the time!
t..et..aoo 3 p. m. and 9 p.m ., ;" proper to 1l\~la nchnly.
We
... Il :oo:ctnl hitherto to have been jpor,," that the sun eoukl DOt poMibly s laDd.. to h"b
at th ~ li.ne of day indiea.led I.>y the sky .ntl the bat.... t9 c:ast, lor in st.nce, tbe hoor-s:rass.
5hadu... The IlCene. thereforc, if iIldecd ~oc/, a realiltic if\terptetlltlon is delired, wu imagined
at- by moonlight, OOCA: mOn iII .ignifi<;ant eo.otrasl to the , un-drenched interior III Ute St
Jtfume e nSNwlnc- (see b.. low. p. 16.t. note .,6).
m lrl N ela nebll.o n', analysia, just q\lO~, the la ddar motif i n partituhl.f i, interpreted in
t h is ,ertSe, t ... as a .ymbol of an atl-embtKing tll.1 o f1cn inefteetua.l, if not absurd. m~ot:lll
SMa ld!: ""t Autem indic:an:l nibil fIOn talibu. ab lngcruis eo mp-rdien<.li tolcre. d q"'''11 t a dem
IMP'! in a Ullurda defe.fI'mtll r, alLt" itlarn &Cf.IU in nubet cduxit.. pcr <tuarulll g"d ul <t""dratu.u
Iu:um veJut i .KeoWn,,,, moliri fecit."
2] .
321
t~at she will not unfold, with a key that she will not use to unlock,
wlth . ~.aure1s on her brow, but with no smile of vietory."m
!?urCl' define? and enhanced t his impression of an essentially
hum.~ :ragedy ill two ways by the adQ.,ition of auxiliaIY ftgllres.
The: ~zmg of t he ,tired and hungry dog (the former owner of the
pr~ma?" dra~g-see PLATE 4- l"ightly called it "canis
dormltans , making use of the intensive form. rather t han "canis
dorrni~~") signifi<:> the dull sadness of a creature entirely given
over. ~o Its, ~nconsclO~S comfort or discomfortl2S ; While t he industry
of th~ wn ting. puUo signifies t he careless equanimity of a being
tbat]:las o:,"y Just learnt the content ment of activity, even when
unprqduchve, and does not yet know the torment of thought
even when productive; it is not yet capable of sadness because
has not yet attained human stature. The conscious ~orrow of a
hum~n ~cing wre~tling Witll problems is enhanced both by the
unco~sclOUS suffermg of t he sleeping dog and by the happy unsellM
conSCl.ousne5S of the busy child,
it
.'
I, '
'''T~~~. Wo. ill MclanclLtho,,. dcscriptio.a: " J ac:.et .lItem JIl'Opt! bane ad ped-as iV!liu5
contrU .' r:oq>ol"~ pa~, pam t"tiam, poueeta, ca.nJs. euiuSll10di MIlot illa. besti~ ill ~
etl:v, b..ngu.da et 10llWlJC:Olosa et port .... bari w q .. i"t.... ..
~
::~:" ~'"
~ ,~:
322
[IV, 11,
;:
E.g. in IbI! Eara the "canu n.1(r1", aDd. in .. Greek M5. dop In (;'entnl (C.J . $I~. W .,
V. I. p. tho to; quoted by W. GUMU!U. in GKtI_. VOL. II (19~ 6l, p . 29'), and ,npG, St,~,, .
,botJu. ~. J 141.
~
.
Iff
'1-.
.:,:
"
L::.
2]
323
'
. :'
" ,
,
l
.,
....
of the Horapollo from the Greek, and Durer himself had supplied
it with illustrations; and curiously enough, of thi.. jointly produced
codex, there survives the very page (DUrer's drawing 1..83) on which
it is written that the hi.eroglyph of a dog signifies among other
things Ole spleen, prophets. and "sacras literas"-all notions
which, since the time of Aristotle, had been closely linked with the
melancbolic-, and that the dog, more gifted and sensilive than
other beasts, has a very serious nature and can fall 3. victim
to madness, and like deep thinkers is inclined to be always on the
bunt, smelling things out, and sticking to tbem.128 . "The best
dog", says a contemporary 11ieroglyphist. is therefore the one
"qui facicm magiS, ut vulgo aiunt, melancholicam prae se feral "l1li
-which could be said with all justice of the dog in DureT's
engraving.
. The bat motif is quite independent of picturcs. In fact, its
invention is due purely to a textual traditiou; and even. in Ramler's
Shorter Mythology it is still cited as the animal symbolic of
melancholics.l3o It is mentioned, too, in the HorapoUo as a
sign of "homo aegrotans et incontinens, r.l31 Further, it served
the Renaissance humanists (for better br worse) as an example
of night vigil or nightly work. According to Agrippa of Nettesheim
its outstanding characteristic i!> "vigilantia"13'; according to
Ficino it is a warning example of the ruinous and destructive
effect of night study"'; and (most remarkable of all, pexhaps)
W On this d . GIIItLOW from wbose ...orb _ have frequently quoted. and to whom the
credit bdonp for haviDf o:lisco..e:.ed the wbole system of Rell.ais.v..nce hieroglyphic. and tor
eo\leCtin, aU the mostimpCIrtaDt material; d. also 1- VOLIUIANH, Billlerw.ri/tcn II,. Nil"""
Lcipdg 1923, p.ui.... G. LBIOIf(GIIt (ill Sitll<l<Il'"""':' lIu Sayerird,,; AJIfI Il",,;,
4n Wis#t&sdlfl/Utc. ,1I1k1l.-II/4t. 1<1...,. 1929) has sboWl! tbat DOrer !me and ""en o ...'T>Cd. thc
Hyprterotl1_"i. l'oli,.;IJ.
sm.".
MyI~oli"
m AC111' ..... o. NltTTKS.nlt IM. 0",,11# p~iIQJQP1oi,.. in tbe autograpb cl 151 0 discnvered by
Dr .Hans Meier. WQnburg, UoLv. Bib!.. Cod. Q. $0 (for this. ", below. ted pp. 331 sqq.l.
fo!.9r.
lJI
FIClNO. De II. tripl., I, 7 (OPU. VOL. I. p. sool: "Spiritus fatiguinno! diurna. pratstttiOl
324
2]
[IV. U.
cOm ~t
tb.ey..
(ft'''''
vnpertlUo.
Ve.pcre qua<:: bnhtlll voltt;a.t, quae Iumloc lu ..... en.
Qu'" c;.m ab::J sestet, u.o:i.o:n. murit blobet;
Ad res d i..erus tullit", : mat& DOIIliaa ptlm\1I1l
SiID,t, quae ).;atitaut, Illdidul""l>que limeDL
luda et Philosop\>OII, qui dum ~Ieslia quacrunt.
Cullf(ant oculis, faJnquc 101.. vident .... "
11leie lines. rc.".! like a ll~l 01 th e tharoc:terilltlCl of the ~turnine aod melantholy miocl .
r",lc.taItC. to a cu t.. in tyllC: 01 phiklsopber 15 . illilic;a.ot.
1:1< T. n ....t , Di, D",jroa.
Ur K14,"" Lclp&i, 1907, pp. 2.86tqq. (with rd"etl!lleQ).
51_,""',
... 0 . 800,
P. "1 ..ad below. pp. 351 .qq. (tut).
....For the objoct " 'hich has fonaet Jy becu illtcrpreted erl'OClCUl.lllyu .. elyste<', _
P. 3~9, note I) ' .
..See above, p. ) 1.5 (~xt).
Tbc
'I'
(')
h&
. ~
Call1pagnola'i enp ...;ns lIJ 53,turn, menticmed abo ... e. pp. :1I1I . tex
IIV
J)Uur the " ctu al Jmpube tll adnl>l the Jell mutif. Thi, e n,",vllll!". Innlleot~ m Its turll by
""diu Dun,r engravings. can hard ly ba ..... Ucell unknown to th~ mature artlst.
war . V.
below.
':01 3 0
w~
I
I
I,
,50 0 . BAM'rOLO.. BO I)'" PAIlIotA. ed. E. NUdui, iu B14l1ft;"o IIi IIilllio,~tzfi" IIi SIo..w.
dl, 5,;",u Mt6I_'iU4 FuidJf. XVII (ISS41, p. 15&. CorcllldJ", iAdividu:at annet. to
IGdirid ual plaoetadatea bac.k to N"bepooo.P..:tusiris; d. BOG, SI,"",,,...I, pp . .5 1 and IS,), &lid
W CU "1)EL i.rI P ... tlLy.WIUO-WA, . ..... " KolDltc.n" , aod ia lIurld, B/IIUr fii7 Y~"e. VII
II~)' pp. 109 *N. (The pl:ouet beqllUtbes iu prnperliet to tho comel... "tanq~ fillo" ;
d . A. Mn..U.DlIII. CoMdol pAiIl.. hn. '.549. 1" 9f. the am .. autbor ...YlI iPP: 117 a.od ISo)
that SatOfn'~ millet UU$U 'wcb.nehoUCOI ,norbntl" aDd ftoocl .. Ilc .. and .5 particularly.
danlllll"OUl to ths eblld.re n of Sall,ll"ll.)
..
.}
. j
326
2]
.; J IV. IT.
" ,'
:'
FICiU!!.!: I.
,. :
only because the squares had been -recognised as symbol~ ~f the
various planets at a time when the arithmetical problems il'l.'yolved
in them had not been gone into at all,l4.S but also because, as it
was recently discovered, one man with whom Durer p~:qbably
10> "'ieana, Nationalbibliotbek. Cod. 5239. fol. 147": "E1 9; Qui~ porlaueril ea~~, qui Sit
in{ortunalus fOltunabitur, de bono in meliWi efficiet [sicr quoted in A. WARBURO, H!idn;sch","like WeiSSO,I"', i .. Wo,.-t "n" B ild:u L",h,r$ Zeit,n. in Gwzm", ,zt.< 5'/'"/1"" VOL. il . Leipzig
1932, p. 528).
HI A ..m~li P"llip~ T~et>pblJdi ParlJulsi opera QtllllilJ, Geneva 1658, VOL. n, pp. ,16.
"SigiUum hoe 5i gestetur, gratiam, a moreIn et favorem apud univerlOS eon ciliat .. : ge.9torem .
que suum in omnibus negotiis feliccm facit, ct ableit euras om ncs. metumque: it was this
eOl15lant depression due to wony and tmgovetnable an"icty (el. Constantinus Africanus,
"limor de ro non timend.'", and Ficino, "quod circa m:l.b, nimis form idolosus sam") th at
.
formoo one or the .WQflIt lmd most s ignWt.aut symptoms of melanchofy.
I . . The planetary "'lu:u-e. weAl shown lIy A. \VAKliIlUI> (lhidn;sd....."Uke W ei$SIJ8Ufl8 -in
W,," ""d Bi/d.m L"Jdh.r& Zeit ... , j'l Gw"m ...l!fo &hri/ler:. VOL, II, Leip:<ig 1932, W : /j I G sqq.)
to be in evid ence as early as Cool. Reg. I:lt. 12M3 (about 1300, from which FIG. I w.~s taken).
a lso in Vienna, NatioMlbibliothelt, Cod. 5239 (fourteenth century). and Wolrcnbttttl;I, Cod. 11,
8. Aug. ~' .. In the Ea.t they could no doubt he found conAiderahly =rJje~.
"
','
'
Th~ ~qu8.!e
~um
K. H. DE HA"S, I'fillicle(s 880 Bruit M48;' S'luaru oj 4 X '" ulh ... Rotleal3m 1935
.., Luc.o. P" O;: I0Ll'" remaru au tbe seven planetary squares, writt= "boul 1500 (Bolosna.
Dibl. Univ. Cod. 250, Cols. 1I8-I22] were disr.o\en:d by AMADI!.O AGOSTlloIl, who
the likely connex ion with Durer: Boll,li"a
(d.
w.
WIRLElTloIII.R.
deWI("ioll ~
~mpbaslsu
"9 23 ). p. 2
VOL. XX II (1923). p. 125. and VOL. xxv (J 926), p. 8). It is remarkable th:l.t PadoH deals
with U"l squares simply as a math~matieal "jeu d'espnt", and me,ely mentioM their "-~tro
oe:ical and magical sisnifi.cance withont going iDtn it: he therefore eomplctely ignorcs any
taliBmanie virtntl$ of the various squares: "I.e quali figurtl eosi numerose non st:nr.a misteri
gU rano aeomodata . . .. u quaJi Lgure in qutl$to nostro compendio 110 1Ioluto in~ererl acio
COil Ipse ale uolte possi fonnar qualche li giadro sol:uo . . .. " AgTippa of Neltesh.,iz:os
works eontain t he piatletary ~quan, only in th ~ printed edition (II. 22); Uley we.e lacking
in the original version.
10" Cf. A. WARURG, Ih idnisd.ontik, WO"i$sag""8 ill Wort und Bild : 1< L.diJers Z eilw. in
G&W".I>U:II, S,""/te". VOL. II. Leipzig 1932, p . 529. However. we eall Blisoeiate ourselves
with hi$ <'Iescriptwn only w.ith =y reservation,. ~in"'" we canDOt imagine tlu, "u~moniae
confliet between Saturn and Jupiw ending in a victory for thc latler; nor can we aecord it
that priml BigDitic.aDee for the ;nterpretatlou of Dilrcrs engravinG. wweb Warburg atbib"'t"'"
to it. The "mensuLa. Jovis", after aU. is only one of many motifs, and by no mealls the m06t
import:mt. D<!spite Giehlow's and Warllurg-s aeute arguments. thc re!C\'ince of the
engraving for Maximili3..B 1 caDnot be prov.:d; =d even if it conld, M_J.t:G4}i1l 1 would have
beeo a wuning ... th<:~ th."m a consolatiou to bim.
[IV. U.
c.......
. ,,,onc
....-.hol.n
2]
:" .
32 9
~~i all
A.. ll/il
~ .. ~~ 00: s~>ere
to
of
like.
III T~ intcrpt"et.lion, lI(X:ordiJig tu whie!l. the in ~lnImel"Lt i.o. queMion iii to be t:ounf.Od ..oon
tlt~ aotidote$ to meJam:holy i'putptio ILlvi" was 1.0 .ollie edc:ot the alpha :>ond ome. ~
IlLtI.melancholy .dicltetics) h";' lately i>ftll chaJJCIlsed Ily nOh.lcr. lhoo,h "i\hout v
II ~
rruoll. for th~ ~11C.o tIC bulb-lik", ~iOl.Uo.u aka appear. ill H. S. Bob,.".', ,",Cll.koow-;..~.
cut. the. FOII.t.dI ... of Y.....tfl; (Paoli 1 11 0; M. GJ:lSlIlnG, Ih~ 1f.tJJst.U E.ixb/lltl.Ho4sd..w v
XlI lI, Ii) .b....c a dystn- is eertaiolr intended. Mormvu thoft~" all the atte
or..
pretatioa made .a i
t ......
.
"&"'
mp a Intu
r 111\11 ..... ~JCCIId. for the colour apn.y .. bleb Naee! (oy. cit.) _
in it
~cs ~hcro d.., and a Bail remover l uch as BIlII.!u (op. cit.J ""8I"b 00. not OCCu r
vatil the. Qiaetoentb uahu:y. WI! too DOW think: lbat the tnY'te:riou.. object j. me Iiket to
belo~, to tbc cla... 01 occup.tional t oobL than to tbat o( antidotes to mcl&achol TO It Y
be ~~H a glassbJower's pipe (, .. c:b .. Is .illQtn.ted In G. AGaloou.'a lamo", ~k: ;;~
;~~~:' Da.sle 1$.56, new Cer'Tlao. cd.n. 19:.8. p . .507-thil s"qestiao COmes from Dr
~ Ha.ruw.-g). ~, 1DQrc. pcobably. a pair of '*laws lot thillaUer In.-e.u...
.
oouJdhringtoi b . ..........rtaoo __
. ........ _ , .
-t"'
II
.
'
-Er-
1I..,llIporvy )lte ........ Itattal","I, Jll.D)tly Haoa DUrin s WOCLde t
(of ....hlc.b;,~"tI sha~ IPf!I.k: in. more deWI later), wbicll borrows ita .....hole ilUlnt...
rr~
Md. ..t:ell:! and tndud m 10lCt. I. p.tr of bellows (el. Pl. ... 'tll 107. and OIIr t4Jtt pp. JJS &qq.) .
to ..
,..'!n....
tho..... .
.M
if;,~oFuPu",,"
CD(raVlng. 0)1.
z,;,
or Jon
It with alchemical
~tloos )~ still t..sed on lb. tact tbat Jaltr mastcQ nell loa "D . . _ IP' I th
Mu~
' P ' B IPLA
.....cJ~.
.. ... . ... I1j.
"
.
r
.. .
. Ta 116) and M.. de VOl (Pt. ... T. 110) endowc:d ld.cL"lDchol with UD.
Jl\Istab.bly. alchemi$tie aUributes, and iliat '.--,.. th _ _ '''...
y
,-
............,
.,
THE ENGRAVI NG "MELENCOLIA I" "
330
[IV. n .
We blOW , too, from his own lips, that Durer himSelf considered
t.he purely manual activity of the minor crafls to be applied
geomet ry, in exactly the same way as did the tradition repre.c;ented
.,
necalio ,ml1y hol d
;0.
ra!r 01 coal-tongl
I" Thill GMIII,A)'" (1001), p. 65, 1n addition r:t.. Lo.II, la lo; .. n In till! KIlN of t be hermIt',
beU .... itb whleb S t Alltboooy ill alln..,. endow-ed, miht paiot to tbe Saturnine lIIe1Ancho1k'l
le;a.nin, to ....ud. 10111111'10 : in F. P'leuun,U', ~..1ttlJt$ spHboli~t. CoItlJne ~6al. XlV, i , 23, a
bell .till denotes .olitude, aOld t.boreb'e. in remarkable co~ who lhe U I"~ cbaraeteristir.s 01 th, ~J.nebolie, "anima a .... bnl materialibus, ~ et diilboUcis remota".
On U1e otha ha,:,-d, tha belkl that the pealing of ba1l5 could avert natural t lil aater. (el. W .
GUN!)"-, In GIlQIJI"", VOt, " (1926). p. 292) im'pl iu larp ehlln:b ben...
.
... M",caonlU., S.twruli. , I, 8, 1 (for this cf. the pusa.c:e Irom Mattiall.... Capel.la CllIOted.
abov., p .)I), DOte 10-'), A dn.,..in, by Locu v:uI Leyden (Lillo:, Mu . Wicar) ~llOebancter:i_
geomlltry by an I.oartlul.
e.,.
-"I
I.. Prinled
In }o". OV.ItIl".c..:. Y,,~,.~",1I1:e..\kl ~,.., /Iq,nrl If", ""ttlfGI.u ,l!r-l"n Sdol4sti/l,
ed . C. A, Bemnulli, &sle 1017. p . 29. In the lao: of loch evi.donl aDd
the faet that
th. &e;;alel a ro not pietorially d illerentiat.ed in a.ray way !rom tho other Instturnenta (for
after all. l:Xher wall no lOGger at the sbe of U,e T Obingtn M$ brought in for eomparilnn by
SIOIUO StU.V"_KLOall", i n M Undo"., jllbbwdo tl", bild,Hd,,, K~PISI. Dew M:fiH, II (J93,5).
p. }8, whieh mixed. heavenly .nd Qrthiy Ula.tkr~ with" deliberately hull\9I'oo, intention),
It ;, difficliit to Interpt the lealcs astrooomical.ly. I.e. u the ~od~ .ip of U1e ex.ltatlon
0 1 Sa.turn (thu. alto 'V, GUNnar.. in G.", .....", VOL. U ('925). p. 293). If,ono lIcver thelcas
wistJes to mainbLin the ..troIogical interpretation. 01lC! rnay qoote not only the pua&!o from
S""ijtwll mentioned by C;und~l. but liso Mclillchthon'. view, bn,u&ht to Hghil,y A..W.ulluao,
H,id"iul--futJ'" W,m..,.,,,, ix lVo.-l .. 114 BiLl ~ .. L .. /Mrl Zrik14. ill C6uu.""ltI. SeJrrijlllJ,
VOl... II, Leipr.ig J9)2. po 529, according to which " rnul tD !tmCfosior est melanebolia, Ii
eon.hlnetr._ Saturui ot Iovis in libra. tc:rDperetur" (thlll al50 S. Strauss-Kloebe).
of
2)
.. M'EL'ENCOUA ('
.33
'.
Perhaps. t oo. it was not me.re chance that in a draft of t~is ~~e
introduction Durer coupled together "planing and. t umlllg , ~
the same way as the plane and the turned sphere he t ogether m
the engraving.1U
say:
"RHulll
.n_
1&1
181 , 311
IlJ.q,
,
d" l. '.".d des liobet! oder
"' LF, N/IdIlau. p. 268, 1-' : "Wi1l d<lmlbel'l an.~tlgenh:~:: .:e A~aiutBIlh1cr. denial
Drcb .... ern .tal ist durch cUa gercden oder rund.cn ~e~ac t t~al Craoaeb wbo looked " t the
that a .tun..e~ wooden sphere 11 mcaot, .....0 may;~:; ~: IP~ (OD n,\TRS n& a~d n9)
en~raV1?g.
'M:
qUIte dgWlt Y as
_ .
b
h ' h had been to .ome ex.tcnl the symbol 01
Biibler's It. tcmClJt tbst D urCf' Ip ere. w 'e .. th ball of .. churd! swpla or e"en the
.....
Cf
"'prest"
'"
. .
II_~.J ev
I f th Hoi Cr.il of whleb the rbombokl was the biI-Ec, 1$ slInply fanlutl~ ,
apex of tho Temp I <I
~
Y
"'~_ ' .
Id )u.~ to be shown ho .. st.'dI an objec l was to
If one;MisU! 0JI..uth Ul lntupretlu"... h 'III'OU
be fMtened.
33 2
ltv.
H.
2] ; ,;
mela~choly.
,"
; ,
F ' 1 .'A .~, VOl.. XVIII (1915), pp. 147 sqq. (also G. GRONAU ill P(11ll"tfltl
v " 'a
.C
. 10eell,lII
01.. 11-(1928), p . .533), who I'oinb Ollt II. p<r<tu.it of Du rer in CamJNlllola'.
pal
m':.wc.
"l'\' (text).
I.. He ap'pun for UIII sewnd time u an old maD with a pick.axe alld a mil'f'!'l', bllt thb
Ii!,,:u", gOCll ~k to a [cstoration. The IldgiDlll probably occupied th~ panclllOW filled by
... hu(:e IUIgel.
, .. Rc!er",nt:cl quott:d above, pp. 130 .qq., I'J o sqq. (text, with rclCViIollt tootDot.clJ.
10+
ted
~tWC~~511~ and 1510 in t1,~ ScIlOIa del Cannine, Pad ua. Recently, however the ~lIes
ave ,_.n gIven a. Inter date. a. H . nr:ru. T.... illll. Vienna. '936, pp. 68
', Of course
C~1I1ya.~~lll may ~so have d""''''tl VY"r in V",nice. J!urthcr, d. H. RUP:'~ Willibaid
,""",'
;
liP.
333
spen,~
~~::~:'!"'''
... Ste abov",
..
,,,,,10
KGi!Ur""~U ,
ltVU (,-6)
" , esp. pp. 4.5 Ifqq.
,
.:., ~ ..
V~~lO,
334
.i_'
2]
[IV. II.
,::
II
335
I~O
T.
336
who
2] ,
rUE
0 11
I
I
Rod 'her putto-the position a nd childish air from the latter, the
thoughtful gesture, the book and ,the compasses from the [o:me~,
The sphere. however, bears the sign o{ Saturn, and a~ve It al ,
copied exactly from George Pencz's, set of p\anetar~ pictures, o~
153 1 (formerly attributed to Hans Sebald ,Beh~m) , the old ch~d
devourer himself drives furiously' past III his ,dr~gon chan~t.
'Btmeath is a board with an inscription which IS mtended still
furlher to emphasise the picture's relationship to Saturn:
Grandaeuus ego sum tardus ceu primus in Orbe
omnia constcrne:ns qUILe jam mihi fata dederc
falee mea, ne nunc in me Mavortius heros
bella det : loea tuto. mcis haec artibus usus
circum{ossa iacent, sed tu qui castra moliris
valle sub Ilngusta. cir('undarc" Respic~ , quaeso,
online quo possct fieri; puer illc d~b't :
hoc'boo quos genui ingeruo. hac uututc ualebunl.
337
I
I
,.
'0
,. , ~~t habcnt bol\ltm. memoriam. lIvia a'1ua elt restric:liVII, aVA.a, et imprnsi~. c:t lpeelu
fal1t~~cas dillgul\t et matomalieu. l;:t tetra c.t lubieclllni .piuum. in qut> dlll"at at .. r~lo
.peCl~nIID. qllo memorate. fucrant"; " ith this cl. tbe. abov.quoted paMag6 from Alberlu!<
Mago~,,:, nd tb .. other pa.nago bum Lullut. qo.ot~d abovil. p, 69. note 6.
I.. W. b&~ no t IIIt<:eeded in detectln , tither tha bor.t.lt ju metltIontld. by Ehlen, or the
'Y"'bot klr lad in the s moke , is;"" !rom the cOICibje.
"
' _ ". n d , " ;ft Z """ri"jjr bildu,h K ..uJ. N .S .
." Quote.J. in W . A MIt!!"'. IRs ma""", ... vila ra .~. ~" ""'~'.
wn
\'OL. )(.)I VI (1 9 I S). p. ,a I, \ 'asari. tvo (tee belo ..... te~t p. llI6l $a?" that lheIUItJUmea~~
In !)lifer', e ngraving of ;'IPiam::bo!y " rldllOOllo 11I0Rl0 e (;h1Unq~ ,II adopera.
Nalintonico,"
1..
the I tatemeDtl lnx" AbB Ma'''''' aDd /Ucabitiu. quoted above, p. 1)0 "I.
UI ~ Et a
I.
"
2]
,,l
!"
rI
... HJf.,CVI D~ GA~DAVO. Q..<HlJObolll, Pari, 1.518. fol. """",iv' (QM~. Jr, Qua~t . 9) : "Qul
u&o non poIlIun t angelUJl) ]nl.eUigen' liKundum ration ..... snlntantiae IUM, I UPt iIIi, de
quibus dicit Comro"ntat . aper secundum Mfttaphys.i<:ae.: in <']lIibt virt.,. (marinlt.iva
domill1tUT saper " lrtatelll cognitivam. Et Ideo. ut dicit. vldemuw illOS non acdcr .. demon
str.Ltionibas. nbl ImasinatiD concomib!lt elIJ. Non crulll poNlint cndl!n p"'nuIU lion _c
a ut vacuum lut umpul clCtra mnndnm. Nlllille PQII,uo t credere hi<: _
""tia nOll cporea.
Mque in Joeo nequlI In tecnpore. )'r ilDum non possunl end .....". quod imaginatlo co rum
oon stat In quantitate linita: .t ideo malMmaW e imaginati9ncs et quod at uta coelu m
"identQr eb infinlb. SecundlllD nOlI poHlint eredve. quia inlalketu l eo:vm DOn IlOtt:llt
t.r&ntcendue I~natio"em . . . tl non l tat nisi luper magnihlliiMm lut b~bens ~tu:n et
positionem in ~nitudine. Propltr quod, lieut non pouu nt ercdf!lo nee conciperc e"tra
natu!1lm univerai. hocClh:ld!1l mllndum. nillil et~e (nequc locum neqlfl! t"IIlPUS, oeque plenum
lIe'lue V...,UU ILI.) .,ie non poN\,nt e.ede . .. ""'lU'" conel1>C'r<I hie (li ne est inte r r .. at de
numeTO rerum uitlvenl, qull.C lunt io unlveTSQ) _
aliqui IncprpPrea. q!,!:.e in slIa natura ot
eS$OOtia UfI!rcnt nmnl talioo. magnitudinla et , itWl
posltloni. in magniluo ine. ~d
quioquid to(itant. qua... lum. Ht lu t lilam habens in ~1.I~oto (ut p~~ch"!, Undl! ta ln
metancbolici lunt. ct O!,tim; (IUDt mltbcrnatiel, led J""S'Ul' metaphYIICI. qma non l>05Sunt
intf:lligt ntiam lalm erlI!n6t:re ulln. altum ct ,...ae nitad;Otm. in quib!'!1 !und&nl .. r
mathematieaUa: ' The c-.-Ult..t.... ulfN~ '""'''~_ MtlIfP"yJiUI (VO L. II. A l>.:irno~. th.
,11) is, of murK. AvelTOf!S. who dQC!!l in fact litcnilly I[IUIc: (If lhasa "in quiool , 'irT".lmllgi_
nativ:l domioatur IUpc!' virtotl!ln eociu.u"am. et ideo vldcmus iltos aon c.~cre demonslTll
t:ionilous. ais; luia,iullm. oonc:olDitet eu. DOD tnim poAunt crederOil" Ilc . do.wn to " ;ncorpor,,~"
(VOL. Vtll, fol. I,. 01 lb. ,,(Iilioo of Aristotle with eommerotary. Veruee 1.5S2). Bu~ In
AVI':rTOeS thl. statement d0f!5 not r"fer to mathematicians, bot to the mon: poet ic varody
of the Imqinative type, ttamety those who "qllllf!l1l.at testiD)OD.ium VI:r$i6cator~ before tbey
believe anythlDlI:: atKI ~ is DO mmttorl o r lPel:uocholy (<=lWCp1 '00- the: ..t.at.: ......... t that_
become u4 over a "M:nPO penautatWl" because they taonot ret.aU:o a:ld di,esl it). The
eueDtial DOtioo La thi. JlGASc, then:fare. ftll.llt bo repn:led II be!ooging to Ilenricu d~
.h"
. .. It is sixuificant that now the artnt. too. 1ikcI to portray blmseU with eolDl>asseS ;11 hl$
hand; ct. A. AUDO""", 10 c..dJ~ du BMWf;frll, 1.111. 1 (19U). p. II ).
..,.e,.,......
"
(~J .
339
Their intellect cannot rref! itself from the dictates of the.ir imagiriation .. .
whatever they think o( must have extension or, as tlle. geometriCal point,
occupy a position in space. For this reason such pe.ople are melancholy,
and arc the best mathematicians, but the worst metaphysicians: .fo. they
cannot raise their minds above th ~ l'lpatial notions on which mathematics is
based.'l7
:I
... '11. H l c.: IJSO b 2.5: Ilnd e$p. P'n:Ilolnn., XI, 38; both quoted above. P l.
[IV. II.
2]
When you ha~e learnt to measure well ... it is not Dec~ always to
measure everytiunS, for your acq uired art will have trained your eye to
measure accurately, and your practised hand will obey you. Thus the
PO'~e.r of art will drive error From you.'" work and prevent yOu from making
a mIStake ... and thereby your work Will Stem artistic and pleasing powerful
!ree
and good, a.nd will be praised by many. for rightness is made part
l
It.
" "Iff.,".
'IIU' ....
,,'ui/, .. """'''''4$,
,,6,
'~ LF.
~4.
'"' LF. Nllell"." . p. 181 , I and up. pp. 101, 3.:1 $C}q .
'f"-,ItIus.
it
,
, J,.
".Ite.nc:e.
~~m~.l
... Fox Itlb lIotion of art, c:1. E . PArtOn""", Du,er, K"1U1IAeon~. Bulin 1915. pp. 16(; sqq.
.n~ tht UTIle autho[ In Jd.6 ..d ttl, K,,~i.su.uM.ft, 1926, pp. 190 tqq.
... LF. Nadlfl$'. p . .,111. J3.
0;
... ith a 100'1\.1 quotiftS WOld for word I.om tM WU"g ... of 501_. XI, :at). 141 (hare Cod
lha Fathff i, Rpj;l(;ed by a perwnificalMlII of the COSIDO$I) u'e t itle woodc;ut 10 Albertu
loIalnlls's 1''';I~Sl)pJoia na,,,,,lI1l1 in the l1retda and Venice edition, of '49l aod 14 respectively
WaltfCB UESILlII"G, 1.-. Iu;"., ,I; fip'"
vex.. 11, n I. FJ,oo-....(.C 1'}08. p . 19') , Fa.
_
often we encQUn'.tr Go4 the }-alh.e.f tneiDt the wolki ";tb a pair of comPl"IU but
wit/lout 1Cl1es. IUId thi, it typical of. ..1td probably oripn.tQ1 In. the ~Bible !IlOf'alisH': A. 11.
1..,\11011..>1:. 11,,,114 , .... /. J:libh mfW_UIi. W.. ,lt'k, Paris 1911--a1, our PLAn 103, altEr Laborde,
pbte 1; also A. o. L.o.UOIl.1ls. Lu "' ....."rils ol J>riN/t4ru u Z. Cid "PUll, l'ariIl909, plate VI;
H. M...... TIN . La ".j.. w.." JrIUff_iH 411. 13' IS' ,;kilo, Paria 1!jl23, ))late. .}4 and 74; G.
RlcnuT. Jlfillllaileriul/. ].I"lnti ill Sf"lIim. Berti n 192.5. plate 40; London, Royal MS 19
D. 111, fol. 3 (datin!! from 141I-n.). reproduced;n H. G. Mu..L.\R, S_ni, dl.l~,ilitnf d
...."lI#ritsfr.HfIri' .. p..'..
Paris 1933. pi. 43: The H&(tIc. K31. BlbI.. 1\lS 78 D. 43.
fol. 3: I'a.n. nib!. St<ll_Ccneviht, MS 10:18. fol . 14. rqxoduccd ill n"lltfi" til. iii 1111'frp.ttp.iu
4. r.pr.xiru/io", d.......
YOLo v ( 1921). plate XXXVII ; Druu eb, lrfS 900...
101. .; P.ris. AncnaI647. ful. 11; Parll. llib!.. Nat .. )1S fro ~41. 101. I (P . D'OllUav. Lu
....,Ujllitu JI.dlllfuu . .. Paru 1907. pl:l.to I I: . nd even in Rllgle oroodc:ub: lia.:. that in P .
H Jl lT'Z. illl;lalfdr",4. d" I S. Jabltll.wJnl,. VOL. XI., NO.2,.. Cod or tho Haud of God, witb
tc:,l" but .... IUlu"t comI"'~S", vu(cdy &II n ')'IIlbol ot jU&tiCll. a l' pea... t-t:. in the Stuup.rt
P ... lte~. Ed. E. 00 WaJ(\. Prlncetotl '930. 101. 9 ". 17 ", 166", also. wi t h a cosmolOSieal UluoitlS,
on an ILVPllfcntly "upubJW>cd lont ill tbe MII.Kc. lapldaiz'e ill Bordeau ...
... LF. NlldtUu,. p.
34 I
lImft'. iU
. to" ' .,
J~})I'.
"o. .
it J!.
'"" ~
THE ENGRAVING "MELENCOLIA I"
,, [IV,
n.
For . they [mighty kings] made the best. artists nch and hejd t hem in
honour. For they thought that the very wise bore a resemblance t.o God,lM
. IteIn, that such an excellent artist shaU be paid much mon~y for his
art, "and no money shall be too great, and it is godly and right.J,~1
LF,
Nach!il.u, pp_
N",~Uur.
all<>
p . 231,
~.
, .. Co Ibv,,-lSSON-MoLUlIlf, 1-# ...... NUriLr /U I...irrAn1'4 U Vi'..., l"a:ris 1881 , MS 'J. 101. 1]0'.
Ct. alto J. P. lliClirmr., Ti. Lit.nory IVcw.ll 0/ Lwwarda 4. ViMci. Lontlou 188], t 19.
00f
p. 230. 1_
j!'
nm
343
name this contrast and suggest that the child signifies "practice" .
This child sits in almost the same attitude as the woman, and yet
-almost to the point of parody- reverses her appearance in its
every detail: eyes not aimlessly gazing on high, but fastened
eagerly on the slate, hands not idle or clenched, but actively
busy. The putto (also winged, but for all that only a little
assist ant, offering mere manual act ivity in 'exc11ange for the
power of the mind) may well be an example of activity without
thought, just as Me1encolia herself is an example of thought
without activity_ He takes no share in intellectual creation, but
neit her does. he share the agony bound up with that creation.
If Art feels herself faced with impas.o;able limits, blind Practice
n~ti ces no limitations. Even when, in Satlim's most in'a uspicious
hour, "Ars" and "Usus" have become separated-such is the
hour we see in the picture, faT the main figure. is too much lost
in her own thollghts to heed the child's activity:202_an d even
when Art herself is overcome with despondency, Practice still can
indulge in pointless and unreasoning activity.2lI3
That admirable etcher and engraver, Alexander Friedrich, has
shown us t hat this is no mere arbitrary interpretation20-1; for he
... p~, RJ .. f~_ Hcndri k Golt~i\lS shows II. happy and .etivC! lUIOei.tion betwee n "A r. anti
" Usus" in his engraving nUl reproduced in E. PANO)-"sICV (in Jd.bwd< ft,', X"nJlwisunuio_/l.
19%6. plate n), ....hue "ATS" aI'I'eM"I a$ teacher and pUtc! to ""USIIS"".
001 We have now been eo,.v~rtoxl. th01'eh (or dilter.",t T"elIS""S, to H. \\'61IRi,,'s "pinion,
aCCOrding: to which thc I'utto ;a not "a thinker in miniature" but " ... child Kribbling" (Di~
KUnJt AIbn~'" DJi.,.,. ,lh eeln._ Mlln;ch ~9"6. p. ",CoJ. In t ws respect it i5 01150 important
that DUrer gavc a morC! sJMleifie:llly cb.ildislt colollri"!:" to tbe putto 's activily by replacing the
mathematical iostruments .... itll the slate. The motif originally inlen/1cd, like thl.t iu th ..
engraving by tho Muta! "A. Co" (Pun XI.) , ""'Illd have provided a parallel Toather tba ll ..
oon~t.
Indeed. there are cu.mples $hawing that a. putto busywitb mathematical instn!men"Q; may mean the very opposite of mere "USIIS"; ef. e.lJ. Hans Doring'S woo<k:llt (I" ]]'
and PLATe 1071 .......eU as an. eQgn.ving in J O'-'CIIII( S.uroult r '. r,wst.he Aillll'.mit (new
cditio1l by A. R. Peltzer, Muakh 19"25, p. 307), sho..-fn&: putto with rule .nd 00"'1'_ .
SUfTOUnded by othv ml.l.heulaticaJ in$l:nttnen"Q;, with the io.scriptiOll ".Io.rs", "Nllmerus.
" PoDdas". "Menlura"_ }b.1lIi D6ring's "pocr doccos" provides a sort of C;f&'''P'O~ for our
interpretation 01 Dilrllt', pa.~to, in that. althollgh dcveloped from Diirer's, he is hol ding lIot
a slate bot the book and compasses of the main figure, and. iosl.Ud ot eagerly Kribbling . has
adopud thIS thoUSbtful polIS of the ;ldlllt. Durer', putto eould only cbange from ;\ persoDillealion of mere "PneliclS" to a being embodyiDg "Art" by talciog over tbe attributCl an d
attitud~ of Melllllcholy. Ou U,e other ha.nd, the interC$ting Va:riati001 OD the nllmber 10ll T
by Paul Flindt (QU/I(_ "'{lfllluhi_. p,..1n ""..,4i, etc.. cd. P.,,1 Fl.indt. Nurember& l611 ,
No. l:l) show tbe OO1Itn.st bet... Cleo. "Art";!.lId "Pr""DIlft" by mean. of t ....o pulli. Due o f ...hom.
eagerly eupged witb a chisel. is described as "phl..gnuticut". the other, still reminiscent .o.f
00..,[, as "meb.ncholieua" (d. abo below. pp. 3.9. note 217, and 380. note 16).
344
r"
[tv.
II .
1~ 10.
IN Tbe crane allotted to th .. righthand putto was .II Iy mbol o f wakelulneu already In late
antiqui ty; th .. 1:"1;10. on t be leIt (next to the putto). t ILe tate or Uliduity dOKly OOQ.IlCIetod wltb
vi silllnc8 (cl. e.,. CI!:SAU RIP" , }'lIl1woli". 1St edu., Rome. 1393. e..v. 'VlgiJanu." and
"Sollccl lutlioe').
-
",i~h .. ,
A....i,
...uti I.. (If" 4" PU/yo 4. jui.t, Antwecp 1639 (PLATE 110), On Ib.. left Is "Di&!"DO",
2]
i<
345
hanJ~.
ill
)"outh witb mirror aud eompas$le$, on tbe richl. '"Labor""'. _ labou.reI' d41'11I8'
_bovII.;;.' ?loa ore .GrO":~ with tb. 1..llrel wreath of "Pama.". and with "Abollda.oo;a'. ':
COI"D IiCOpta, Tho lO.Scnptlon rUIIa
;
.
"Door den albert .. 0 Iloor d ~ 1.li1oo-cQlUlt
Comt mellicb leD e'" en S'prinoeQ IONt.'"
Another e~lI&I1y vivid example of the aJle,oriq of ~ IlOd Practice Is the eagraveU title
~ thll.p ....;~$~ . i/'OJOP.II/lJ, ".lIlwrllfis by A. F . I). DONH"rrLS, Padllil 1(1.81 : (l\>ove re[gD. the
vICbor~us," ~e.taa R ..1PU!.>hcae Venetae'". to tbe left .i. ~ .. mbodimellt of "Contempllot ione
e.t Iu~ In tho perMln ol an ideatiled youthful jj,gIlU with ..t:roJabe Iood Comp<LUCI. to tbo
n(ht a persotIification of "Rat>ouo et Experimento", TepreseDtcd as Merl:\lry.
.~ ~?r::'~s no tion cf. K. ltfoUlNIl Il IoI. "' BeitrlSe .. ur Theone der Welulltchal>nngsintcrpre_
tatIDO .. m Id~d liir R ..,.st,~MiUl/4 (formerly Jdlbwel d" 11.11. Z~.tJnuk_iuio ..)
1.(192 1- 22) .PP;,2J6tqq.: bou r P"~ i l _ c d neoessacy torepJaca 0.. tam " repn:leDta:
hOul JDearunC IIlI8rted IIy W"nnbeim bet_ "cq>ressional tDeaDiDg" and "'doeulDCDtary
meaaillg"; by thc turn "lIOlional mcanWs".
I.
[IV. II.
(t~ t).
lIol'lcllfo. De . 'ripl. , I. 4 (Ope,'" p. "91): "Maxim" veto lit ...... torum omnium hl am
bi le P'"emuutur, qui Hdulo pWlosophiae ,todio dediti, mentem. .. COl"pOfe ~ebusqo~ oofJ'CIUit
seVOClnt, illcorpQi$qlle conillllgunt."
"'::"
.., ,''.
2]
347
other words, certainly not mathematicians, and sti1lless practising
artists.:2l1 Accordingly, in his hierarchy of the intellectual faculti e~.
he does not place the "vis imaginativa" (the lowest facu lty,
directly attached to the body by t he " spirituS")21Z under Saturn .
As we read in the third book of t he De vita triplici, the "imaginatio"
tends towards Mars or the sun, the "ratio" towards Jupiter, and
only the " mens contemplatrix", which knows intuitively and
transcends discursive reasoning, tends towa.rds Saturn.%13 The
sublime and sinL"ter nimbus which Ficino weaves about the head
of the Saturnine melancholic does not. t herefore, have anything
to do with "imaginative" men; the latter, whose predominant
faculty is merely a vessel to receive solar OT l\fartial influences,
do not, in his view, belong to the "melancholy" spirits, to those
capable of inspiration; into the illustrious company of the
Saturni.nc he does not admit a being whose thoughts move
merely within the sphere of visible, mensurable and ponderable
forms ; and pe would have question ed the right of such a being
to be called "Melencolia".
The cont rary is the case with Henriclls de Gandavo. He
considers only imaginative natures-in particular those mathematically gifted-as melancholies ; and to that extent his view
comes substantially closer to Durer's. It is also by no means
impossible that Durer was affected by Henricus's ideas, for no
less a person than P ico della Mirandola had revived these views
in his Apo/.()gy,nt. and thereby reminded many other humanists,
... III book I. ell. II FicillO emphuises explicltl) and with cOlI$i<;Ierablc pride the fund~
lIIedtal coo.tnst betweeD what be call. the "){UQrllm $\cemot~' "nd all other. even arti~tic
professions: ..... sollers quilibet arLilex inslrumcnta .UIL diiientissimc c llr"t, pcllkiUos pictor.
maU_ ineudeque f;iller a.erarlu., miles equos et &noa, venatm" canu et ;lV"S. ci tbaram
eitb.a.roedus. tit sua quisque tim.iliter. Soli vem Mn&:&nlm u eecdotes, soli summi boni
veritatisquc VllJIiLtores, tam ncgligentu (proh nefu) tamquc infortDnati 5111"11, lit in5trum~ntum
iIlud. quo mundum uuiVIM"SUID metirl qlloda.mmodo et Qpere possunt. negLigerc penitus
videant ur.
ltIstnlmentum ciusmodi spinl:n. ips e est. qui apud mediCOS va.]'or CJnitlam
sanguinis purus, l uutili. et lucidus de6.Di.tllr.'
0.1'
[IV. 11.
Cil'" liz' Vii,.; I, 11., . 8 (~1. M. Rooke, in Smith ColIe8e Studies in Modero I ...anglU.ges, VOl..
VIII . Nortll;\mpton, bws., 1916-21, p. ~9), wherCl tho build iDg:S "ppem:lng in Satum's W(ltld
;nld U,eir an:hit..ct 5 a u d~bc<I .. follOWS:
"Tutto que110 ~ nel mondo ym"ginato
linea 0 lor (OdOR
00 .....;.." ch6 sia d.a. questa impressioll dato.
Fannu an:hJtetti quc:sbc creatun...
mathcm"tici IIOIJO Ii lanno In tetra
'" alb; in cicllor fonno & lor fi81lre."
inddelltaHy, the "'luau..." "Saturnus" _ " l mll8iDlltio", was also mado in olle of novillus '.
tlChc,,~..1.:l.. L;~e r d. Ii>/J iu'k, up. xi (cd. R. lGibansky, in E . CASSlREIt, Ifl4;~id .. v", .... 4 Kosm(Js
10. tltr I'h ilt>st>P;';c d.r }U"fliJlfI"U, Leip1i; 1917, pp. J'l6 &qq.) but thill is too i o.dividv.a.1 ..
coD$tTUetion to be treAted hue: it COJl$ilrts 01 &1'1 analogy betwUI'I the Kvell plaDets aDd the
mental faculties 50 tll.llt Sol C(luab " Ratio" while the six othel" plllleU con..... poo.d each to
l'lne in,truUlent of "matcTiillis eognWI'I''.
po:!" nDmen 0
'" We \t.now, for ir.staoce, tllat both Conrad. PeuUn8u of Augsbu rg lIId H a r truaDJl Scbodcl
o r }\' uremberg had II copy of Pico', APoloti'" in their libr~iu (E. K(I~IG, PIIUi"fl"ilUlie",
Freiburg i.D: [9 11, p. 6.5).
.
2]
349
cOD?-plete the sequence started by ]"l~lencolia IU6 is neither a
representation of the three other temperament~ to make up a
set .of the "fOUT comple.x:i<?ns", nor yet a picture of disease contra.~ting "melancholia adusta" with "melancholia natutalis".
What is lacking is, rather, the representation of an intellectual
co~dition signifying t he next highest rung of cognition in the
sc<\Ie of melancholy; a Melencolia I I in contrast to Melencolia I
wh~<:h should reveal no~ a state of complete derangement. but:
on ;the contrary, a state of relative liberation. Herem lies the
greatness of Durer's achievement; that he overcame the medical
~t~ction~ by an image, uniting in a single whole, full of emotional
h~e~ :the phenomena which the set notions of temperament and
dise~ bad robbed of their vitality; that he conceived the
meI.~~hoJy of intellectual men as an iUdivisible destiny in which
the .differences of melancholy temperament , disease and mood
fade to nothing, and brooding sorrow no less than crcative
;?t~usiasm ~e but the ext~emes of one and the same disposition.
1 he ;depreSSlon of MelffiCQl2a I , revealing both the obscure doom
and the obscure sourc~ of creative genius, lies beyond any contrast
between health an? ~lSease; and if we would disc.over its opposite
we ~~ ~ook for It Ul a sphere where such a contrast is equally
lac~g-m a sphere, therCore, which admits of different forms
and ~egrees within "melancholia generosa".
How then are we to imagine . such a gradation ?217 The
,,". lotcrpntr.~ia ....uel..o Q "ltIckndmlia, r' ("Go away, Mel&neholyt 'J CIT '.Mclauoolia i.u;l!t,
( M"~c.holy II" 011. the p-0ulld" , thlll MiJl#il,u'I{'" us Rridub.""/u ...~ T , .,
1919N
6D cccmber) are sc.ucely worth ri!futing. More ftCent lint equally untenabla
"'U,
.
, 0. 47,
... E .; BO~'a view (ill Di ._4.;~ .. juA. Wilt, VOL VII ('9;U). No. II tLoat DOter', cnllIav.icr,
~ 1IBJIil"ed by a propbetlc vISIon of an epidemic of the plague (tlaoul!:h nothinl; b ko.owo.
01 on~ in 1 ~ 14, .. t leart Dot in Nuremberg), and tli.... t tho Dgu{e I ltood for the first 11,,001
the d'$caH.
'" .u~e Alllhu., "l'baulinl; and Gi~l.w .... we, too, fonncrly iU5WDed that Diirer's "nKl1Ilvinl;
to be Uifl fitlt o r a tel'llpel1llrnent...mes. Th .. diftic:ul ties iJ:rvolved ;u luch an
~U ru?~MlII ....ero DOt unlwowo to \II, for ...e realised that it wuuld haye bleeo. hichly WlUJUaJ
to bqiq, the llUics with MeJaDCholy. and that 11.0 tuUy =alo8\?..... D.alIIU "WOnld have beel\ avail.
a~le r~ the othu tflED.pentml\ts (d. Dri,,,,'s "MII,-'i",l", pp. 68 lIId 1.2 ; abo H. WOl."..l.Ut,
K~'~ AUwuJd DJOn1'"s, 5th e<!D., Munich 19%6, p. :I.5J): we uotice4 further tb ... t art:i!.ts UDder
DlI,rCl":I "II roflucnc., who did a complet~ temperamont_ries, retu.taed fot tlle .ake of neatne"
~ thl'l,.~~ription " mcr...ncolieus" antl ga.ve UWI "mel;uicoHcU9" tlllrd Or """II fourth pilei!
III th~ sene! (PuTaS 121 and 126). Gerard do J ode in hb tell'lpers.mcut-$Crics aftIII' lit I
~os (P~t~ ~!3J, .... h~cb is iJ:rdepelldeul of DUrer, follo-.s a De... way of bringing tlu: ~r::'
mol~(:h~lia 1010 lIne with th~ dCDotiDg th~ other tcmpernmenlt by trRtillg it. b
a?al~ Wl.~ C;r~ u,~c. as the desc:r~tion O'IUl aUal ho.lDOur, lIS an equivalent '<>r "cbol~
mgra ... clr atn bill.. , aDd thus TaI'lJlD.g It IlIorrglide "IaJlSuil", "eboJera", aud "phlegma":
but h';':"' too, mela.o.cboly OCCUpiCII third plaoe ..od DOt fint; er. ou r PLAn. 126. In tlI_
c~eu~~a.nee:!, however: the other yje ..... post"lAting a plan fo.r it. MdfnCf1lifl 11 as a picture oj
dllease,
Ot rather InuD.lty (H . WULl'l'I.IW
Di.1(wlI#
AI1w,,~ / DUrerJ , , .. In. .11111"''')92
M ._"
,,
, :.
.
'
..
"'Jo. lu~c...ded
m..'
'.,'
35 0
: l [IV. II.
!,
,
"
!.
,
. t
"
.-'.
p . %~3. an tI i n J"k,lrud IN' K'UH$b#i$U,ud~ft. 19%3, p. 113: al..a K D OKlNSK1, Di.~ Antjk' in
Po.lI!~ .. nd K,,~.lIbeorie, VOl... I, LeipUg J914, pp. 16, a nd 296 aqq.}, seem to us stl.lllCiis .e<:eptable and we cannot ima~ine a rcpuscnb.tion of "mclaneholia adusb." s uch as to cpQStitute a
couutelJll'rt ~ Dii..... engn.'\ng as it st&nda. For s uch iii. representation, given the;gcnally
lCIlown d.odrllle of t he "foU!" foTm,", two ponlbiliti .... wou ld haY<: lain open. ElIh"," aU four
"ub-spe~:Jes of melancholy m;\dlleBS. i.e. m",I:lI,,;holy "ex I18niluine", " ex chol~ra", "e;ll:
'$
phlegmate" and "ex melancbolia naturali". Could have been combined in one generj.l picture
-which wn~ld have r"~lilted in a gru8lKlme correction of madhouse scenes haviD'g' no pnlnt
of contact clthcr ~n conte'lt or form with Md.mo/i4 I (we shall show in appc1ldixli:, p. ",,OJ.
' bllt t~c mucb-d.seussed etehll\g H;ro (PLATE 146) may give us an idea 01 wha}: such.
col1eeuon of the "qnattuor specie! melancllolllle adust.e" would h.:ave looked likeJ-or else
the one real a n;Llogy. Le. "melancbolia ex m elallchol.l3. na.tur.U; ", wonld have 'b~d to be
eh0s:'n from ~mong t be f~ur {onn, of diseaslI:!I, and in that ca.se it would 5Catcely' ;a.ve been
po.slble to bring out the Intended p~ycbologieal contllL'Jt. Ever-yollO is at least agi"<!ed th.t
eVCD the winged woman on th e engraving, though she expTeSSes t he "melancboli~ naturalis"
of the mentally en:a.tive mall, bu at tbe moment been overcome by a. fit of depres.~ion in
.....hich the blaek bile ha.s so fa, gained the ascendancy ~hat, in FiciDo'9 words, the sou l "all
too deeply en tangle d in Saturnine broodi ng and oppressed by ear,,~" (BONO, D e 1/. IriPI., II,
16, Optfo., p. 523). "evadit tristis, omnium pertaesa." (A .P.T. Paro.,~lsj Opno. -mia, Geneva
16,8, VOL. n,I" 11); t he dcpr"",,;on di ffers 'from the pathological state ot "melancholia e;ll:
melancholia naturali adurla." only by it$ tnnsitory nature (thus,
H . W{iI..\I"t"(,lIr, Die
KUI4( AI/tr,,1Il D;;'rns. ,th cdn., Mllnich r9~6, Jlp. ~5~ eqq .).
... On hiro.. d. P. ZAlI:BlIl.t.I, A proposito del 'D~ vanitat~ !cientiarum et ar1j"m' d( Cornelio
AgrlPJKL." Rill. Crit. di SIDn.. dtlla Filas., I g6o, pp. 161- 81.
." .
a.t
vp. n
"Adol,dimus aDte m
hlcuriosllm v:ldebatnr. "
)U
sqq.
DOIlIIUUa
l,leraqu~,
"L1:1.e
p(aet~rm;ttere
an The dedication, in II slightly altered lorm. was nsed in the introduction to the printed
o:i!ition, a! was Trithem.iuss answer- of 8 April 1510. The MS of t'>e ariginal edition (quoted
above, p. 323. note 132} bears II MVtnteenth-ccotury inscriptioll Mon. S. Jacobi" on the first
page (Trithemius, of course. was the abbot of this monastery), and Trithem;us himself wrote
on Ule right-haml margin of the top cover : "Hcinricus Cornelius Colonicn.~s de ma.gia" . Sec
J. BIIILJoIAIlN, "Zu emu H ds. deI" 'Occulta philo6ophia' des Agrippa von Nettesheim:' A . ,h;!'
I KtoJl".gtJd., VOL. 21 (1931J. pp. 318-24.
too,
35'
that its inventor was none other than Agrippa of Nettesheim,
the first Gennan thinker to adopt the teachings of the Florentine
Academy in their entirety, and to familiarise his humanistic
friends with them. He was, as it were, the predestined mediator
between Ficino and Dlirer.219
Karl Giehlow, in spite of being familiar with all the relevant
parts of the printed Occulta pMtosophia,no somehow failed to notice
what was essentially new in Agrippa's theory, or fully to grasp
its special significance for the elucidation of the numeral in
Melencolia I; in the same way, later interpretations have been
equally inadequate by neglecting to follow up the line of research
suggested b y GiehlCfw. Admittedly, on Agrippa's own .a uthority,
the printed edition of Occ-uUa pltilosopltia which appeared in 1531
contai:ned considerably more than the origina l version completed
in 1510,221 so that it apI*..ared uncertain whether the relevant parts
were not later additions: in which case it would be impossible to
regard them as sources for Durer's engraving. But the original
version of Occulta philosophia, believed lost, did survive, as H ans
Meier has proved, in the very manuscript which Agrippa sent to
his friend Trithemitis in Wiirzburg in the spring of 1510.222 "Ve are
thus on firm ground; and in this original version the two chapters
on the furor melancholicllS" approach the view of life implicit
in Diirer's engraving more nearly than any other writing known
to us; it was circulated more or less secretly in many manuscript
COpiCS223; and it was ecrtaiJily available to Pirckhcimer's circle
critic~$
,i
- " Colltlgit lIutnm POltea., tit intC:ret:ptum !lPLlS, priusquam iUi summalll ml\num
imposuissem, carrupUs ucmp!arlbus truD&UIII ct impolitum ei!;Cnmferretu. &tq"" ia lul;a,
ill Gallia. in Gemia.nia. per muitorum manns volitaret.' The d~l ay in w uing a priPl ed "t1ition
wa! probably due mainly to fear of el(:ri(";l.l pl:T$ee.utj(,n; TriU,emius himself advised poli'''!y
but firmly against publishing it; " Untlm hoc tamen te mon"muS custodire PrilfC~pf"m. ut
vt\1g;l(;a "1Ilgao"bus. altiora veTO et an;;m."l aitioribu~ atque seeretis lantum communi"""
amieu.:
35 2
[IV. II.
2] .'.
through Trithemius,Z"..A and ('an now lay claim to being the main
source of Meletlcolia I .
Agrippa's Occui.ta philosophia is. in the printed edition" a
highly comprehensive but unwieldy work. encwnbered With
countless astrological, geomantic and cabbalistic spells, figures
and tables. a real book of necromancy in the meclicval sorcerers
style. 'In its original {ann, however, it was qu~te different, ~~g
rather a neat. homogencous treatise, from whIch the cabballstic
element was entirely lacking. and in which there were not so many
prescriptions of practical magic as to blur the clear outline of a
logical, scientific and philosophical system.w This system was
presented in a threefold struclurc,u, was manifestly based entirely
"" Thus the abov"1Ilentioncd (p. 3:1) sq., note Il3) bW'nt,.o/fefina: to Saturn.
... Tho' i::orn:l&tlon, with the planct. (with -regard to thOIl(l r,forrU.l 10 Sa.tun:r see t h o _
re!er:t?ce) t.llI ,ive.. in Q.. 16-,,) (in th. 16 add from MS 101. IS":'oo1lf&n1llt S-tumaUa ad
trJ.$ti~1Il rl mdanc:oll.am, ~ovi~ ad Ieticiam et lIill.utiltem" , . The kIcalities governed by
the. diIJ~t planet. art IL.~ I.R c.h. . faL 36" hi uuolo!!1cat terms, but 'With & new,
Flclnesqllc fIIlIaDi~ wb.l.le clI . ofS. lot. 3.5", CODt&l1l5 the mlmic aad t&da.I cha.tacWistks 01
the chilllrt:rr. of the ~'-'. wbote bUQvioIlr both spriq:. hom, ud evoke., the iDIlumc:.e 01
the st&r) ~~: Sun,t J1f..t'~ ~hu Sa.tumom tU"f'mte., qui S1lnt tristM ac IJaOCIti,
plaDetus" Qpr.t,U ><;:tu" It_ .,eUpm. lilt senu.ftuio peel\! ueOl1um b:o, pectnn, !etlls
vultulPCJ.~e. tonslmil.. tt a"t"n, ct ut scribit satyrieu.:
! .
'Obttfpo eapitlll et fige1ltes lumina ler...
i .'
Mumr,uno. com teCUUllllt rabiOt:l fileDti .. rodunt
\
Atql\o clCpOrrecto trntinantur vMba p&"to' ...
... Th.llilfcr~nce betw,,",11 tbe t ..o edition. of ~ufUz " ...;(oro" ..... is of oour.. a vital &)'lO.ptom
or the dC\'eiOl"ment .... hich IwrU,ern humanlltll., had undersone hctw~u about 1510 and 1'30;
Dr B . Meier Intended to edit the WUnbul'J MS, which ""oulll h .. "c lar;llitated In bistoriea.l
c\'aJ uUiol:' uf bis lIiKovery.
... 11M! prin~d edil.i.on o;.o~n a lmost throe timo :os much s(lQ.ce ... tho oci(ill.. l vcni,,"
C\'en apart liolll the apocryphal Book IV.
3~ tqq.
in
b"",.
"'Ulgo.lSdm.,~.m,,:!'''''''' 4" 1IU,,.lIikJu/no KIlU"1w!uUI. VOL. XIX (t&98). plaiD VI. text p . 166)
... kc.-o Ut~ .dca.s of LUlln and beasts are vividly portrayed Unked by nt.y.. with their eartbly
cquDte.rp.Utl.
_owe
CLuI.,.. ill
.IM I, 5
V~eQ.ll.a, Nationalbibllothck, Coct . Phil. crue. of JH. J. Unx~lf, ill }altrixld d~,.
... nat Trithell,ius .... d I'il'cl<hcime r Ud tom .. cow,uIon with a&cll other duri", the years
in qUClioo.. (15to-I515). in ,,:bitb ,,"u.lt matt.enl aIM p1&}"'d a part. un be _II from a Dumber
ot I,tten. the knowledge of wbich
to th' atdUrist, DrE.. Rew:kt: P. toT., 1 J1I11 1,5c01.
and T . to P . 18 July.~ Uobao_ Tritbemi1ll. E'~/_iti4nnro Ilbri ~-, probably
1I&8~nau. L536. pp. "1')-281 alld 0 .... -4008, tol. 11). P. to T .. 13 JUIl .. 1.51.5 (~a
work by Trlthemiu...gainlt maSic), pui"lbJ out by O.
353
consummatio", the first book lists the manifest and occult powers
of ea~hly things, and then, by means of the" Platonic" doctrine
?f th~ pre-fonnation of individual Objects in the sphere of ideas.mt9Prets them as emanations of divine unity transmitted by the
stars, : As the effects of the "chain" here represented work upwards
as ~ll as downwards, metaphysical justification can be found not
onl1!':for the whole practice of magic with its potions, burnt
offer~gs,231 sympathetic amulets, healing salves, and poisons, but
also for the whole of the old astrological associations232 ; and even
t.~e PSY~?Qlogical riddles of hypnotism ("fascinatio"). suggestion
( hgatio ) ornd auto-suggestion can be explained by t he fact that
the ~uential part can become saturated with the powers of a
cert~ pl~et ~d set them in action against other individuals,
or even agamst Itse1f.tu
Th.e seconq book deals with "coe1estia", the general principles
of ast~ology,iil3C and with the manufacture of specific astrological
talismans,taIi as well as with the occult significance of numbers
(which.,. remark~bly enough, however, are regarded rather from
the ,P0mt of Vle~ of mystical correspondence than of practical
magic; somewhat m the same way as in the well~known treatises
on t~e. numbers seven or four}!3S; it treats also of the astrological
and r::~gicaJ character of the stars,D1 and of the effect of music.23S
i"
t
"" .n.
~~~9.
"11. -4-16.
(text).
..
.0'11.11
The pra.yer to 5,"\tum (ch. 31, fol. 1O"-71,"} ruDS a.~ followj: "Do!i:tinlUl altus
magnus sapieTL~ intr:lligens ingeniosus UVO\utoT long; 5j",ti;, ""nex m~1! profunditatis,
arcane oontcmplatiouis auetor, in oordibus bominum eogi tationcs magnas deprimens et val
imprimem, vim et }>Ot!:stB.tem .ubuertcnB, omnIa d elltrucns et oonseruB.nB, secre.torum 8t
absoondil.Orum ostensor at inuenlor, faciens amitter8 8t inu~oirc, auctor vite ~t morti! ."
In tlll! pdnted edition (II. ~9, p. ~oS) tWs polarity. which we found affeocting even:Alanus ab
.In.nllg (d. text p. 186). "PPC"n eqUluly c\.,.....ly C'vim et potestatem ~bvertentem ct
eorutituentem, ab!lcollditorum eustod e:m et ostensorera.").
"'-1'
(
."
'.,.
355
and SO on.24S As these "daemons" fulfil the same function in the
universal soul as the different faculties of the soul fulfil in the
individual, it is understandable that the human soul, "burning
with divine.1ove, raised up by hope and led. on by faith", should
be able to associate itself directly with them and, as in a minor
of eternity, should be able to experience and achieve all that it
could never have experienccd and achieved by itself.2AG This
makes possible "vaticinium", the power of "perceiving the
principles ("causae") of t hings and foreseeing the future, in that
higher inspiration descends on us from the daemons, and spiritual
influences are transmitted to us"; this, however, can only happen
when the sout is not busied with any other matters but is free
("vacat").24.? Such a "vacatio animae" could take three forms,
namely true dreams ("somnia"),248 elevation of the soul by means
of contemplation (tf rapt us")U,9 and illllminatjon of the soul
("fuoor") by the daemons (in this case acting without meruators)!50;
and we are told, in terms unmistakably reminiscent of Plato's
Phaedrus, that this "furor" could come from the Muses, or
Dionysus, or Apollo, or Venus,2(;.l-or else from mclancholy.2(;2
As physical cause of thls frenzy [says Agrippa in effect], the philosophers
give the "humor melancholicos", not, however, that which is called thc black
bile, which is something so evil and terrible that its onset, according to the
view of scientists and physicians, results not only in madness but in
possession by evil spirits as well. By "humor melancholicus" I mean rather
that which is called "candida bills et naturalis", Now this, when it takes
fire and glows, generates the frenzy which leads us to wisdom and revelation,
especially when it is combined Witll a heavenly influence, above all with
... III, 7-(0. The "'d;u:mones medii'" inh.biting the sphnrcs COTTcspond on the one hand
to th~ nine Muses (cr. MARTIA.N"US CAPlU.U.. Nllpliae PhiloloKiae et Memlri;, I, 27-:8, ed.
A. Dick, Leipzig '925. p . 19); on the other, to certain angels; it i, typical of the sun';",,1 of
ancient mythology that the spirit of MeTCUr"y WitS identified with Michael. who bad mkcn
<;vt!r $0 In:my of the funetinn... of Hames Psyehnpompu while the ~pirit of the virginal
goddess oJ birth, LUllaArtemi" was Identified with Gabdel, augel of the Annunciatioll. We
cannot bere euter Into Agrippa's demonology-or ev::a.iuate tha cosmology and lIiglll)' inle re.~t in&"
psychology contailled in cb. In, 16-20,
.., III, 20, 01. J03' .....
..' III, 30, fol_ 104'. "III:ap~iones V<!ro e'usmodi .. _ non tr.m5eunt in animam nnstram,
quando illil in aliud quiddiltn ilttentiQS inhians est OCCQp0.ta, sed ttanseunt, quando \"aeat.'
w m, 38.
"'IU, 31 .
.... 111,
31-36.
w m, 33-36.
I .. Ill.
1-6.
.., FOTtbO doc.trlncof "vaca.tio animaa" aud the possibilityo! its being caused by m~lancholy,
sn e.g. FJcu:o. TheolDgilJ PIQJQnica tl. immo.Ju.liIal. a,,'''''''''w. BK XI1I, ~ (01'''11.. VOl ..
P29 2).
..
the ratio~a1 , .. and
2] 1:
[IV. II.
357
that of Saturn. For, since, like the "humor melancholicus", be is cold and
dry. he infiuen<:cs it constantly, increases it and sustains it. And as moreover. be is the ICJrd of secret contemplation, foreign to aU public affairs, Ilnd
lhe highest among the planets. so he constantly recalls the soul from outward malters towards the innermost. enables it to rise from lo.....er things
to the highest, a nd sends it knowledge and perception of the future. Therefore Aristotle says in the Probkma14 that througb melancholy some men
have become divine beings, foretelling the future like tbe Sibyls and the
inspired prophets of ancient. Greece, while others have become poets like
Maracus of Syracuse: and he says further that all men who have been
distinguished in any branch of knowledge have generally been melancholies:
to which Democritus and Plato, as well as Aristotle, bear witness, for
according to their assurance !'.Orne melancholies were so outstanding by
their gcnius that they seemed gods rather than m en, We often see
uneducated. foolish, irresponsible mellUlcholics (such as Hesiod, lon,
Tynnichus of Chalcis, Homer, and T. ucretius are said to have heen) suddenly
sei7.cd by this frenz.y, when thcy change into great poets and invent
marvellous and divine sollgs which they themselves scarcely under-
or:
st and ....~
Moreover, this "humor melallcholicus" has such power that they say it
nttl"3cts ccrlain daemons into our bodies, through whose presence a.nd
activity mcn fall into ecstasies and pronounce many wonderful things. TIle
wholc of antiquity bears witness tha t this occurs in three different forms,
corresponding to the threefold capacity of our soul. namely the imaginative.
,. _ , tel'Tetllo'''m
~
..... ..-\lmam.
u IIra~. .r,nort;"'lb.tcm. J~... ~ v,,1 .fn8e.m ut dUIlDOdi. Sic IeJimuli apud Aulam Gellium
Corneliu. m ~erdotC'fll c:uU&lUnulll eo tllQpore qao Cesar Pompe<ul in ~ja oo.oflj eo
Mnt, PalaUI fur?"e COlTep~"w f~.Iuc, ita quud et tempus et OI'di!lrrn lit u: itum pll~ Vidu'l
Q~a.ndo . \","~ aruma tala UI ratiODCm CO!lU .... til1lr. mediorulll demonum dficitur dQmiciU a ,
I~ ga('!i&lilltO rerum lallmanarl,lmqut> nalll;i$elWflclft.tiam .... 11. pnadaatiam "',. , .. 11m.
'""--"bo1I1lD_
~
hi
- . . .,.., V",elQut
........,.
-""(Gem III to in phl~WIl vel lQedlcum vel onItorem
.
e."a.d<en; u. tuwns lGtf:D1 OIlwdUI\~ ~bll qlll Ad. rqnonnll mutatlo,lell el H>ClIklru~'::.~'i~:
t,onl:l ~"IUl', qUlll1alll!lodullJ SL/)Jila HUll\a1Ul v.. ticinata {wt C"- ..,_
.
t
,
b"
.
~~ ..... 8Jmn;t. lota
anu~1 mmen em,,," lLmLum<ie mon um.oflid lbrdumieJJium af"ib-- - -.-.. .~d . .
t Id r t
~-" ~"UI.SCI . n.'1nurum
" v e Ice
egcm. 0n1111e1 i.ngcloruDl et til QI1C1ld etawllfUllLferUIU '""~u . , .,~~~
u
'
.
-II
y~~
Ilmlrlln!
ue SOlI ...,
11 ~ pi!{ ~ell'; ex !utu.ns vera OItend unt n~b~I, ut futura pcodlgia, mira(:aJa,lutunun
'pmphetam vcllCfl I,S: mulntillnem, CJ.U(lmadonochun Sibille de J el .. CtlrUtO Iollgo te.m
adoetLtulI1: eius VlLticlnate luot, quem quldtlm VClJiliut spirito coo.i ill .
I"?"II llnto
IlIteJJi~o Sibille Cllmane reoainilQell.J ceeiltit:
11\
lam proplllq lturn
'''111, J I, fo!s. 1<l.4' "Iq. (proper namell corrected in the t ranslation): "Furor at iliollrllilo
IIn!me a diis v~1 a demonibla proveniens. Unde ~a30nis hoc carmen:
'Est deu. in nobis. , unt el commen::ia ceJi;
SrdibIU et.bereb .plrlt\ll iUo ~t:
lIulln illl.qne fu,olis caut&tJt. qlHl intna humllolH.m 0IKpus est. dieuot philoaopbi __ hUllUXatI
meI:lnootieunl. non qul6em ilium. qlli atza bills YQeaI-.u. qui adeo pran. bonibililque ret ell,
ul hnpetll' eiUI II pbWch ... medi<;is ultra manlilD1 quQ1 iDdl>Cit, eeiA.m m.a1onuD deniollum
ublenlones .trerre OOQlirmatllf. Hurnotem 19itnr dioo me1ana1li.eum. qui ealldida blUl
vacalur et natur.o.li.. Hie cnim q~oaCUDdltur atquoudet, 'ura..,.,. cooeltat *<l Aoplentlam
nobi, vali<:iniumqll e cond"r;entem, m:ll(ime qualeu"," con5entit eum influJtu a liquo cell$ti.
prceipuo Saturnl. J-lk. en.im eum lpee lit irl,ldu. atque siccu.., qu ..... im eIOllaumormeI..a.Dcolicul,
It-um quotidie inlh.;I, .... ~t ef OQnten>d : fH"'tua. cum s.il arcan. OQllteCQplationi! auctor
.. ., o.nui publM:o nqocio Alienu .ac PWt"lanIlI1 .Ili.si-mll&, .. Ilim .. m ipu.m wm ab CJttcrn~
QffICii. ad inlima leIlIp"r ruoc:.t. ttllllab iululotibu. aIiOCndcrc fadt, tnabendo ad ..11."'m..
1IC:icntiasqox: . e futurmullt preAGla la lli tur. UDde iuquit Ariltoule'll In litHo psl)b1em&lulII
ex rne1anc:oli .. quida ... I.. di l unt .teut ;diuloi prediec:ntcs hlt-.u;a. nt Slbi ll .. .,( &chides. quldam
f.etl , uM poel .. III M.I.nehlu1 Sinlelllaoul; ait pretom:a. 0lllD01 viros io qua u!. telontia
prut .."tcII ut I'I ... rilO ... m UtltltiSIl me.iancolico.. quod etia... Den'<leriL"S el Plato C\lm
.... ri&\otelll te$t;o.nttlr eOllilr nta"tcl oonnullOll mcianoo\i(;os in t""tnm l,n:.~l.arfl iugenio. ul
dimn; poli ",. q,,:am h"Ilt:I.IU vldeaotur. Pleruoq"e etiam vide""ul hOllllnc,lIIe1aoooUcol rudn,
ineptOl, inunOll. ll .... h", Itaimu. cxtitbeo Hes.iodum. JOntm:l, Tym nJeulil Calcldonsem.
Homerlllll et LaeretlulU. Mpe ("r,"it' .... bite eorripi ac io poetu OOI1Oll cu.adero et miTllnda
Del,
'
....
A .
...
qum:.m tJiu;o.aqlle a.ncn etiam qu" ipaill1el vilt intelLigant. Uncle dillu Pl;o.to 10 J one.
"bi de furoce poet.ic:o tractat ; Pluique. iDquit, v;at.es, postquam flltoru rem.iftu eft impetul.
q .... Kri.-ruol ODD utia I"telli,unt, cum tame" rtcdosinaulls utJb\UI ill flltOR tnCtaUentot,
quod '; ..,ul; h.rulU IIrtlftoes legendo diJudieanl... It is evident throu,hollt that AUippa
01\""" Fieino.
.'
'II
~"
.!
'
,
~:
The
1,2
"
THE NEW MEAN I NG OF "lotELE NCOLIA I"
2)
359
very fusion, however, was what was most fruitful and impressive
in Agrippa's achievement; the notion of melancholy and of
Saturnine genius was no longer restricted to the "homines literati",
but was expanded to include-in three ascending grades-the
geniuses of action and oC~tic vision, so that no less than the
great politician or religious genius, the "subtle" architect or
painter was noW reckoned among the "vat es" and "Saturnines".
Agrippa expa.nded the self-glorification of the exclusive circle of
the humanists into a universal doctrine of genius long before the
Italian t heorists of art did the same; and he varied the theme of
the gifts of melancholy by distinguishing their subjective aspects
from their objective eHects; t hat is to say, by placing side by
side the gift of prophecy and creative power, vision and achievement.
The three grades and the two ways in which, according to
Agrippa, Saturnine and melancholy inspiration works is snm marised in the following tabJe.
Ynstru-
Love'
-J
- 11
"""IS
Psychologic.al
Habitat
Lower
Spirits
"Imaginatio"
Middle
"Ratio"
Realm of Crcative
Achievement
Mechanical arts,
especially architeeture, painting,
etc.
Spirits
Knowledge of
natural and human
things, especially
natural science,
Realm of Prophecy
Natural events,
especially cloudbursts, famine, etc.
Political events, overthrow of ru..IHS,
~toration, etc.
medicine, politics,
- JII
etc.
Higher
Spirits
"Mem"
Knowledge of
divine secrets,
especially cognition
of divine law,
angelology and
theology
Religious cvwts,
especially the advent
of new prophets or
the birth of new
religions
(text)
Let us now imagine the task of an artist who wishes to undertake a portrait of the first or imaginative fonn of melancholy
talent and "frenzy" , in accordance with this theory of Agri~pa
of Nettesheim. Wbat would he have to represent? A bemg
under a cloud, fat' his mind is melancholy ; a being creative as
well as prophetic, for his mind has a share of inspired "furor" ;
2] ,~. "
[rv. n.
an.
36 1
of
exact science,2el Durer, despite his passionate championship
of this very "ratio",- was aware of the fact that the deepest
sou'ice .of ~ative J'C?wer was to be :sought elsewhere, in that
P~Y lrrallonal and mdividual gift or inspiration2e3 which Italian
b~~ granted, if at all, only to the "literarum studiosi." and the
"M.,u~arum sacerdotes". Alberti's and Leonardo's speculations on
the :theory of art were totally unaffected by the Florentine
Neo~latonists.SM c.md laid thc foundations of an "exact" science,
as defined by GaliIeo_ They assigned to pictorial art that place in
cul~ure a~ a whole which we to-day are accustomed to allocate to
"so~r sciencc", and none of the classical art-theorists would ever
h~,:e . tho~ght. of consid~ the architect, painter or sculptor as
divmely msplred; that did not happen until the birth of that
m~~erlst ~hool which inclined to northern conceptions in all
~_s.; wblch s~turated. the theo~~ of art (until then wholly
obJ.~hve and rat~onal) Wlth the spmt of mystic individualism!&s;
wInch coneen-cd the adjective "dlvine" on the artist and wI ch
tried~ignificantly enough-to imitate M ektJ.Colia I, 'Which ~til
then ha d been almost ignored in Italy.2" But DUrer had known
by ~stinct. what the Italians learnt only later, and then as ~
matter of secondary importance: the tension between "ratio" d
..non-rat10' f, between general rules and individual gifts; as eady
an
as 1512 or 1513 he had written the famous words in which he
....For oor.,...
i~. the trao_d onnation of :FiciDo', Uo<::trin.e 01 beauty ioto a metaphyalc$ of mannerist
art, cf, E. PAI'fO:-XY. loU pp.. ,~ tqq . For tbo protesr. asainellDa~ticall1l1es ",bleb
had ~r the pnde o f tile cJusical tbeory o f Ilrt. d . ibid. pp. .. a aqq.
~ ~ below. pp. l8S ...... (ted). From th;' point 0{ view it ~ uJldentaudable that, in
IJPltII 1;" the lemar'" on Rap!Jacl quoted above. p . 232. DOte: ...., a flIndamental ODnllexion
bctweeq melancholy and figurative art, lu<;h II A&ril'''' had 'I!alllbhed at tho b. "
,
th . . t
th
t
dOd
.
gll~rung 0
" IJ~ ~om
cen ury, I DOt appeM In Italy until the ma.anerillt e ......'
........ ' th"vugh I't was tl
1 ~n
d .
USt a,t .oll<;e liS an ugtlment fur the nobility ollLrtistie activity. ROIIANU ALBllltn', Tulfale
d.lI" !'r~ilf. ~d1~ pilfu~". 'Homo IS8,. aayl (p. 111: 'Et a wD6rmadonc di eib [i.e. the I tate.
ment ~t pamtl.l1( ol~fVCd to be n.nktd .. a Ubetai. art) vedWIIO clle li Pttol d'
Ilenoolici ~I.",
__
I
IVCOgono
~
.
. ~ ..... . vo .......o ~ uwbre bi.o,u. the Ti te:o&hino li ra ubimal! fissi Del.
I lutcl1!:~to: .. db dlpoi U CSpnmllDO 10 qocl modo, ell. prima Ii ha"a.o. vitti in ~otia Et
questo 0011. solo ua.a volt.. Dl& ccmtiDllamcate, CHIIru;(o ,vette II __ --'ti~ .
" ..t.
t&J
t- t
Ia
A , ..
we In ;tKlf t he dOh Jlot Jleces.grily IILC;LI1 that Diiffr actually ltit.oded to draw the other
l wo fot'YN 01 melan<;holy; it it pouiblo that ;0 efl""lfing thb on. he m""ely lmactocd tho
otller t " -I). amI ,",xpedtU !.he odlleated apflCtatuf lo ima"ine them at well.
;,'
2]
[IV. II.
in
.... LF, Nadltlu, p. 19S. 13 eeL I" 39\1, I ), and p. 191, 115.
... LP, N ..dla:u. fl. 118, 16, The lbeoly of t"OiUB held hy Ftclno a CId hia circlo, dOlpite
aU tilt emphaais laid on iDCt~ .elf.... _reness. is not really u iudividuali.lie one, iCl all far
&I tbe "MusarulIl ~otc." Of " vlfll[tuau" ate always ooneel"ed of u .. ebst,;and meD 01
,eniD. appear, as it
In Ilocka, R.tc.ocelitloD of:aD illdivKl"alu oricinal &lid ~epeatable
("deqleichuo lhm zu ...,inen. Selten Kclnu Gleleh .... fnnden wirdat und etwan lanK Kdller
vor ibm ",cst lind na.c.h ibm n it bald Einer kummt," U', N..uuIJII, p_ 22 ' , 16) Or' Ol:to work
u ociginal and UCll"f:pe..table ("d.' DIU YW IIit ,ueben noc:h ein Allel.,.. ~dacbt liiH") 0CCIlnII
in Dill" ea.flier tltan 10 the South. Tbit alto atx:ollDts lor Dll.ru'. deep a~D to selJrepetition Ut lUI work. "'!he ....11 " bote " lIeOaomic&1 hbiu" (W6IflliD) disposed hi~ to fe-IUO
abtehe$ or Itud"'" nwJe l'CI.UIy yllltl evUor, did DOt 0llC8 repeat htmaeU fn lUIy o.lt:be-..rtks
wbich actually left his ItlI.dk>, i.e. "'rn-Yinp. pielmea or "W'DOIkuta; tM monke" Ad the
man with the pmkt,. takuo oyfrom the enpvina: B4s ortha 'frOOdeQt B I 11lnto tJlo DI~en
am. of tbe Seven Sorrow. of the Virg;1l.. mefeJy bear wib:1es.....aln lt the autbmHdty of the
pa.lnt.i~; fOI" tbe c.onnexion betw~n the St Pa.ulat MunJcb. and the CII;n.villg 15i6: ace above. .
p. 302. note 7S, the ".,.per in the M alle1t,.., J drbudl der bUd",t1~1I KNflJI.
W""'.
M Relerences In E . l'AWO:rsl'Y. [d' il (Studien der Bihliothek Wuburg. VOL: ~), Lcipug
1{l2., p. 7<'. The kTltenee ooneemiD the "w,,411 EillliW1l1ll'II" was already ~eD.tioned in
t bilwnnexioD by GI1IfLOW (1904).
,
W. have a1l""1'Jady me.Uoned (text p. 3,,1 Ulat Acrippa ~len abo to the Platotlf,;doctrine
of I deu. We 111&1 fsrtba: GOte to C>IIIlDeldoft. with the apec:1fica.Uy oortlIem notion 01 the
i!Wpi.. ed. artist Uoat it"WU In b.te Gothic IU"tln the JOrtb tht.t "the ltfotber of God portnyod
by St L lIlre" wu tint tcpresented as a visioflal")' imace in the clouda; (1;:1. Dortonr_ ... ~,
5 1 LNhs ..I. Mill,,. dw Marl.. l~rIoI)fflfpJ.;'", Lllkll$-M.do''''If, d isttrtatioCl: },f"mburg
1933. whieh. bo.....,vef. iuve- uruootiecd IIIIvetll important e:or .. mplell).
-
",'
wt
,.., For thi., d. UttlIuu. Hon. R_/t.a"dl "n4 E",I'''14, dl"ertation. HIUlbu., 1I~3 S
.oa !.-t1q
... LF, N",/Jl"-'S, p . 11,.5. It is very typiu.l of Oll~er'. lI.ture that evell in the tlistu l bsnce
aUend.ant ou thil vi,loury dream be DOtic:e.t at what dilltanc:e thl ......tas meet the In.nd a nd
even attempc. to Infer from the rapidity of tbe raiolall Ut. hei,ht ~ ....bic:h. ;1 fan . r' und
lie kamtm 10 bocb hmb. dass s)e 1m Gedllllkeu ,1ekh laqsam Jidn 1
r.. Cf. KaIIt', &eQ)V.nt of the nab.nthoUe, quoted above, p . \13 (t~d) . whicb wu &n lle ipated. to .. eolllidenble extmt, by c.metariU51 fiM de5c:rlpticWl 01 Albrecht D Urer : " E.ra l
anten!, 51 quit! omllioro Ut illo viro quod vitii .. mile vidcr.tUf. uDiea in~nila d;li,e~t la el in
SCI quoque Inqullitrix ucpo pMU m ~n:to ." Il ulrOduetion to tbe ubn tTaMlahon vi tll ~
TA<wy 0/ Pl"Of>ot'f;(/"Jf. Nvn:mbut" ' 532.)
2] ,
[IV. II.
mthi"2.80 ; and his scept.icism had now reached such a pitch that
not:even an approximation to the highest beauty seemed' possible
to :liim any longer.
~or I believe that there is no man living who can contemplate to the
very end what is most beautiful even in a small creature, much less in
man. . .. It enters not into ma.II's soul. But God knows such things, and
if He wishes to reveal it to someone, that person too knows it. . , . But
I kn.ow not how to show any particular measure that approximates to the
grea~est
H,I~6,
'" Lt', Jl."tlchlau, I'. ::t88. 27. Diirer', ij:oont.nCa aatu(ally tefcr. DOt to the ide;!. of bo!<auty,
to the vil;ibte eo lulitiolll, esp. proportioll. detefminlllg beauty (thut also H . "\V01."n.Uol.
1Ji. Klntu A lb"elll J)iJr,r~, Sth <:<111. , Munieh 1926, p. 368). So much iI cleat from what
'000_: "Idoch wiU ic:h bie die Schollhrit also tilr IlIleb aeblWllI : Wu tu dea mc.aschliehen
z"itllu vau delft meillllten Th.,11 doln geaebtt. wUrd. dell soU wit tum lieiu c" w m.ach.,II."
1bo stn t,,";;e "wu "b die SeMnheit lWIi. d.u w.:U ich Bit' u equlvalellt, lherefOl:II, to tho
, latemants quoted below, LF. N/Id.I.us. p. :Z:Z1, 1, or p. 3..59. 16.
LF. N =/Ouus, pp. 200. 2) &qq. Thi. i , identical alrn03t wo:r;d for word witb a dna.ft
d" tw (S12 (L F , NIIo,hll1S1, p. 300. 9)
b\J ~
IT'
beauty.w
pold
t,. Only in this on8 fe!Jpet Is Md,t\COlitJ. J iQ fact. a countcl"JW"t to thll engn.vlng of 51
j ,I"O"'c. A. WJ:IXJ.G .l.JlT~.lSr. (iu Mjtllrilll.r~" In- GUeltsdAfl 1M' ..urvi,lliiltifendl K u"st.
19''' . " p. 47 sqq.) shows that the idlOll ot an uwoal. JormAl JmcIl4'" iI bero entirely out ot
plaCt:. Still leu caD otIC ..,.ume, &I R. WUUN"..,... doe5 (in Zribdrift jilr bild""h KtllUl.
new $IIr;II$, VOl.. !tXt! l (911). p. I(6), that the KOGrd bangi.J:Ig hum Ute eeiling io the St jt~
engraving was originally int.cuded to r~tllive the inacciption " McleDcolia II". Neverthdess,
Dij .. ~r almo~t alway. pow: away tbeao two eupviDI. togetbCi" (LF, NIUJ,I,US, pp. !:to, 16;
nl, 6 : 115. U : 117, 13. 17 :.118, 17): and they have frequently bean ill~pected and dia<:llu ed
toge ther (c!. ilia lctt.er to John Cochlaelll of ~ April I S:tO printed. with others, by E. RAtCKll
in MiII,;/""lefl de, V~~~ i" s !ur C;,uAidl. II., Siadl N .....b.'l, VOL. XXVIII (1918). p. 315)
... For th i5 tha.nge in Oil.er's view o f arl, d. e!lp. LUDwtO Jun,. KfI'I4slrtn.T/# Fi,u,~ .. .....
X op!, ""~ d, .. W",h. Albrtdol J)iire", l"'';l,~ig 190t, pp. u aqq., and the $aIIIe author ill
R~'I/Jriu,..', \O!.. XXV III (l90SJ, pp. l 6!l aqq. Also E. l'ANOnll:'f: DUrn. Kw .. ~rorif,
pp. 113. Il7 sqq., and the nme author ;n j",It,buA. Jii.r K .. >lslwl .."udajl, VOl.. III, Lci~l,
j.
J~F, NIf,/oltul. P.M9, 3. The printed cdition of tb" lh~ary a! ProPOTlw" eoutinne!: "Oa..
gib ich 'l1&Cb. d8S!l EIn~r ein biibsclleu :Bi1d .. mach ... dann d cr Aadet. Aber nit bI, ~u dem
Eade,~aus EO; nit noeb hltb&ehcr mOCht Icill. DaDn Saleh! I t$lgt: ...it in des ltenaehcli ~1:Dllt.
Ab' Gatt "Wei", Salichs allan. ~1Il en oflellbatte. der _ t lIS aueb.. Die Wahrheit h i lt
aUein. ~aeD, weJ~ dec Memcbea scMlLSt., Gc:sb.lt und Mau klDnte -= in aDd kcia andre .
tn lOIic!hem lntulll.. den wir jctzt ~uuW bel
haben. ... tis ich nit Itatlhaft .Iu bo5cbmbCll
endli~ wu Mast sieb ~.u der rccbtcD Hllbsche lIlI.Cbneli m.lScht."
(LF. NAdla..ss. p. "UI, '0).
iIo1
WI'
-I
!
.01 I.F.
[IV. It.
as
..
I
n . II!. CODnexiol!. with tbl.. 5eetion, _ tho CfMy already cited GO p. 30Z nobl ' ," 1- ..Mil",,
d"''''
":lu-~. y'As .........
D_ I"' rhe",
,
~ K WIW. new torIes. VOL. VIII (l 51l1), pp. ' 1 aqq,"
both
~ t. dul With tM aame aubjed: mattei', though from a ditkrMt vIewpoint, it ~q been
dd'6clllt to Jl,vokl. overlappllll: .arne phralU and _11 whole paratrapha have bad lo be
repeated almotl wort! lor WOl'd for tb c aakc of c1uit y aod cohorence.
.:,
... JOAClUIl SAND..... ", T.uLKlI, Abd,... ;" ed. A. It. Pelller', Munich
8" ,
,J, HnLu,
DIU~
15I~5. p. 6;:,
.. CI.
Diir.",
~~.
VOtI
1860~ /!~/~~:
ursprti~1kbeD
fiH
~~HlU" B~.H"', IX (1930). ~. 4S0 "lq.. 'fI'ith reproductWn. or UM ilHCriptiom now rE'un.ited
WIth U,e piC1 G.retl e nd .. dctalJod ~" nt of DUrer', relaUonswp with NClId6rlfer. H . A.
VAM lMKaL f Melancholia pnero._ma Durai", in NiR., TII~'II Tijutlorift 10 8)
bu abo returned to tIIo old, tr.ditional in tGrprstjltion of theM pictu rn 0' W8 ApO;tlet 2U
~y.. ll?' tbe kmporam~~I. but ~,Iy reprds St John u
IDI:ll.ncholle. whicb makn
C:OnclUlO1lI U 10 tMlp,rltual cnmpleKion of Md",,&Dli.. / .IOmewbat /lontiont.blo.
the
h,.
liA)('E
In
..... 8ft .. mal!. of tbe clght oeMh contury Hjeclllny a ttempt to clu:IUy the I,;shn"ieal flg\lr. f
tho Apo$tlct accordilll to the compluiolUl with tbe r'8lDark U,d ho do""" nnt lilul"it " wh 0
01
wbo a..
by the 110ly Ghost, arc jlllll,,1\ so completely 'Withe:
ph,lulIOphlcal yard, tick lIke ordinary people, and wbcn not only their tempen.mentl bUl a lso
the dCilr~. IIMlulne". and God know. whnt clse o ! the smaUl<!Il parlll of them at. detatted
and prec_ly detenmned", (J. \V. A,,.LI1,JII. HWtlMIo''''f1ralutllu E,.'wu.rt! m 'T'.fun..
,",,,1&11. Pr~ to the znd odD. 1137. tot. (~
m~,n ~d,
d;~..ctly ift~pired
,.z.,.
.., II: K .. t:" .... " H. All/"d l Diirtr, .. loylA ....u ... K.n..t, Lerpd.g 15114. pp. 60 and IlS Jljq.
to K ...lona"l1 the ducriptions 'If the fou r AJICI!;t1u u tile to.... typc:I of OOlDplulon
?.,~ly t~en1N1 not to th8 differern:o in therr bumoral constitut ion but to tho d Ul8o:ente
In Ihelr attitudes and le:'tun:I.. and it WI. only from this that "tho opinion gn.c.lulllly arOK
tba~ tbcte f.our compleJtion, we re tile lour le,nperaroenls". Kallhnann apparentiy did not
nob: .that It ",at act~ the oIded source whido e"'Pressly Ilexribed them AI "_nlfUinlc"
...hoIenc:1U.
et l'IIel:uJChoIiclIl".
us.
A~ldiog
pbl~atic\l'
R./_"jjero, Leip1iS
'C)09, p. S7,
on He says of D~ie1 Enselhart, th_ a"""""al scu1ptot .nd t.ulc~~tc:r. ~hat he ...::r.s to
exeell.ml "~t AIbt'tCht Darer tukl m8 hue in his . oom. as I ...... wlltlog at the foot of tbe
aloremomtiooed loW' pictures ."d cnuriol vuiou. If:lI.tel)C.d from Hol)' Writ . nat he had
not seen a. miCbti8l' nr m o... lkil1al a.rIQOrial KlIlpto.... (jOIl,\Nlf NI<UOOI!F1'Ii!II, .... (J~/"j,M'n
von K;i ..,U",. ... 1V.,.""j", ;VilnW'"'' IS47. n8wly edited by G. W. K. Loch:leT In (},,~lItn.
.drift~" I"' K ..... 'lutllWlJ VOl.. x. Vienn:l 187S. PP, 158 .qq.) .
_ ~&u o'lh." , "1"
'1I' sqq,
[iv. II.
place the Divine Face in the centre between the figures of the
four temperaments, thereby showing the four humours as the
fourfold reflexion of a single divine ray {PLATE Bo).n3 It was the
change from this schematic manner of representation to the
particularising tendency of Durer's time which made it possible
to fuse the varieties of religious characters with the four temperaments 'in the persons of the apostles, thus combining veneration
for the bearers of the " divine word"U4 with veneration for the
variety of God's creatures.29S
How then are the four temperaments to be apportioned among
the four apostles? The order suggested by earlier writers (John
melancholy, Peter phlegmatic, Mark sanguine, and Paul choleric)lI96
derives from a specifically modem psychology not based on any
historical sources, and a sixteenth-century copy which gives each
figure its complexion is of no value because it mechanically follows
the order given in Neudorffer's account.2tl7 FortWlately, however,
we have numerous texts describing the four complexions according
to their physical and mental characteristics, and positively connecting.each of them with one of the four ages of man; and these
texts enable us to put the order on an historical basis.
Anyone regarding the Munich portraits must be struck by
the fact that the four apostles are shown as the most heterogeneous
types possib1e-as compared, for instance, with Giovanni Bellini's
four apostles (whose grouping Durer may perhaps have remembered),298 or even as ~mpared with DUrer's own series of engravings
of the apostles.l:~9 Each figure is as different as possible from the
others, not only in age and in physical and mental dic;position,300
but more especially, in colouring, which play~d so important a
.., Lon don, lk-it. )1u,. , Egerwn MS 2.512. fol. ,51.
m LF, N tltJrJau. p. 38z, 2 .
.... According to this St J ohn ~u tbe sa.ngu!nic. St Ptter the choleric. St Mark: the
ph l.. gmatie (l) amI St Paul t he IIwlancholie. Pro!' Mayc:r-&mberg kindl~ informed U! of
the ",Jlcrci\bollts of tbe pictu.e lueutioned by J. HE1.l.J!:k. Dtu Leb," " .. ~ Ill! Wtf/lt A.lbrecht
Dii.us. Lcip.ig 1IIZ7 (Sacristy of St James in &mberg). and obtained a pbotograph for lUI,
n . Tripty<:l~ 01 1488 in the Church of the Frari; cr. lU.ItL VOLL. in SiidJeu',,/I~ M,,"alsh~/u .
III ( l gOO), pp. 74 ~''1q . and C. PAULl. in Vllrli~~ tUr Bibli(1lhtll W..,.II~~. VOL. I (19 21 -
,'OL.
2.2). p. 67.
... Tile Apo;Ille~ in the engravings n18. 49 :lnd 50 are :Ipprax.imatcly nl the d ,.me age.
... Thus al"", H. DF-IIKIIN, io Lo, w.
VOL.
XIX (1930). p.
2~~.
altJiough be deniM
My
con-
2]
I.: :YOUTH
'("pinguis
f~ies" ,
pp. 3 ;
10; 1I.f
sqq. (tex.t).
lbus CoNSTANTItnJIl A:nuc.uro5, ThniNed Panlftffi (OpfrIJ, voL. II, lI:1.l1.. '539, p. "49).
1M I~~deublly R~beD5. 50 far a:!f eompari&nn with DUrljX', :ligures Is possible (Cor only two
?f t~C3e ~re cVl.ngellsls), followed th e same sequence of age or. il one likes. -of temperaments.
hilI_rj~ture of the four evangdists at Sanssouei {Kla.uik, ,, dtr Kuml,
St~~tgr 19z1, p. 68}. St John is represented as a 'YOllth (sattg uinie), St
ed, R . Olde.nbourg.
Mark as it. youtI!!i.,n
ma,ll (~91cric), St Luke as an ,older maD (melauebolic). and St MII.ttbew WJ . an . old man
(Pltl~lI.tic). Hen! we may alBO remuk that Steinmann 'S sun'estio of oqoating Mi~heJ
....gclo!s: How:s Of. ~ Dli:Y with the temperamenf$ can oll1y be malnwn.. d, IJ a t aU, by
fol1o ...'1~ the traditional literary eorrelatiOIl of the hours of the day with the four bumou(1
(see
p. 1I, note "'I)' Thul we could Il<It say: naw:n _ mclllneholy. Day _ c:holera.
In
"'Ve.
;':';
I
~.
'. -!
" ",
.,'
" ;~\"
370
[IV. II.
,,
.. ,
{j..
2J
37'
here as there: the " facies nigTa" and, standing out in strong
contrast to it, the glowing brilliance of the eyes. St Paul as u. type
is, so to speak, the me1ancholy type of the CeItes woodcut, but
shot through with the colouring of Melencolia I , 1502, 1~14
and 152~thcsc are three stages in the development of the notton
of me1ancholy, three stages in the development of Durer himse1f.
An attempt has been made elsewhere to prove that his portraits
of the four apostles, long su.c;pected of being the wings of an
lhe
uncompleted altarpiece,307 were in fact undertaken in I523.
wings of a triptych; that each of tilese panels was ongmally
intended to include only one figure; and that the pair originally
envisaged were not Paul and John, but Philip and (probably)
James. It was not until 1525, the year of his drawing of John,3CS
that Dilrer decided to make the .side-pieces independent, and
worked out the new, final scheme, in the execution of which
Philip, already complete, had to be changed into Pall I. The
lelt wing seems not to have been far enough advanced for there
to be any signs of the original idea remaining.30'J
It was therefore one and the same act of creative transformation
that gave birth to the idea of these four particular saints and of
the four complexions in Durer's mind. The ideas "Jolm, Peter,
Mark. and Paul", and "sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and
melancholic", must have formed an inseparable union in ~ mind,
finding expression the mom~t the p1an aro~ of ch~g the
original two figures into the present lour : Ul particular, t~e
moment Philip became Paul, he became also a melancholic.
In other words-not until the former Philip had become a
melancholic could he correspond to what Durer understood by
Paul. And from now on we have an answer to the problem of
DUrer's later attitude to the problem of melancholy.
The four apostles, as we see them to-day. express a creed,
and. as Heidrich's research has established beyond doubl , the
polemical side of this creed (which is none .th~ less a. cr~cd for
having been prompted by a mere historical comctde.nc:e) ~ dir~c:~ed
against the fanatics and Anabaptists, in whose nunds Chnsban
::s
..!:
,,'16
om M. THAll'IWO, Dfl"", VOL. 11, J...eipEir; ,R8,.. p. 218, and (with the mumil1:l.ti.llg l uggestion
that the cetl.trepicec W"U to bave beel1 a "Santa. Conver$l:Eion~" in the styl~ of th e drawinl
L36 3) G. PAtlLl. ill Vorl"", tin Ribliol"," W..n.II'" VOL. I (1\111 -22). p. 67.
I. L368.
... Foz- details d. E. P..."onKT, ill Afiiml_ Jalo.lHid 4N MJdno4n< Kumt. new sui...,.
VOL. VIa {uu I I. pp. I
~q.
[IV. II.
37'
freedom" seemed to have degenerated into unlimited sectarianism.
This rebuttal of fanaticism, however, as Heidrich has clearJy
proved, is based as a mat~er of cour~ on ~ acceptance of the
Rcfonnation. Diirer explains that he IS against Hans Denck and
the "three godless painters"; and for that very reason he need
not explain that he is in favour of Luther. ,Henc~ he had ~
certain since t 525 that of the four men beanng WltnesS for him,
two must occupy a dominant position: Paul, in whose doc~e
of justification by faith the whole structure of Protestant doctnne
was based, and John, Christ's beloved disciple, who was also
Luther's "beloved evangelist" ,310 And in the same way as these
two figures, grown to majestic size, occupy the do~ant positions
in the composition of the picture (and the relegation of Peter to
the background signifies something of an illustrative protest
against the " primatus Petri" so strongly defended by the
Catholics),au so, too, they are representative both of the most
profound. religious experience and of the most excellent temp~r.I.
metlts. Compared with John's quiet but unshakable devotion,
Peter's weary resignation represents a "too little", to use an
Aristotelian term; while, compared with Paul's steely ca1m,
Mark's fanaticism represents a " too much" ; and so, compared with
the other two complexions, the phlegmatic is inferior in power,
the choleric in nobility. Thc sanguine temperament, which the
whole of the Middle Ages had considered the noblest, indeed
the only worthy one,. and which of course even in ~Urcr'~ tim~ ~as
regarded as an enviably healthy and ~~U101U0U5 dis~slbon,
had been joined since the days of FIC1n1? and Agnppa of
Nettesheim by a disposition admittedly less happy, but spiritually
more sublime, the "complexio melancholica", the rehabilitation
of which was as much a work of the new hwnanism as th~ rediswvery of Pauline Christianity was a work of the Reformation,
Hence it is understandable, from several angles, that Diir.e r
thought the best way of characterising the tut~~ genius. of
Protestantism was to represent him as a melancholic. In making
the apostle of the new faith a representative of the new ideal
373
expreSsed by the notion of "melancholia gcnerosa", he not only
emphasised the asceticism so characteristic of the historical Paul,
but endowed Jilin with a noble sublimity denied to the other
tem~ents. In doing so, however, Diirer also affirmed that
for his own part melancholy still remained such as it had been
revealed to him through contact with the Neoplatonic doctrine
of genius, the mark of the true elect, the mark of those illuminated
by "higher influences". But the Durer of 152() no longer illustrated
this in.spiration by an allegorical figure of the Spirit of Art whose
power flows from the imagination, but by the holy person of a
"spiritual man"; he now painted the "furor" , not of the artist and
thinker, but of a hero of the faith, and thus expressed the fact
that his notion ot melancholy had, by this time, undergone a
profound change. Titis cbange might. to use Agrippa of Nettesheim's classification, be described as an advance from the painting
of 1."\1elencolia I to the painting of a Meknccl1a Ill, and was, in the
last resort, a change in DUrer himself. In his youth he had striven
?fter the heroic and erotic en~husiasm of classicising Italian art;
m the second decade of the sixteenth century he had found the
way to; the great symbolical fOIms of MdtnC(Jlia I and The Knight,
Deatll and the Devu : in tile last and greatest years of his life he
applied his gifts almost entirely to religious subjects. In the
years;when Cranach, Altdorier, Aldegrever, Vischer and Beham
were 4rawing strength from the classicism which DUrer had
brougJ# to Gennan art, and were never tired of "Judgements
of Pa,ris", "Labows of Hercules", and scenes of centaurs and
satyrs, in these very years the aged DUrer was employing all
. the force left to him by his theoretical work and his portrait
commi~ons, on holy subjects, and primarily on the Passion of
our I:oFd. And we can understand that for the late DUrer, who
~d l:>een deeply stirred by Luther's mission, and who, feeling
himself mortally sick, had seen himself as the suffering Christ
and had even dared to paint himself as Sucll31'-we can understand
that for the late Diirer even M elttu;olia I no longer seemed an
adequate expression of human grandeur .
,
, Lt
z]
::.
1',,,,
CHAPTER
III
h
u 5..",""J
See above. p-p. IlS sqq. (lAIxt). /u. late U f86t, for instance, a n &1,
appeared
in Parb, translated by C. Meaux St-Mare aad containing a poor lithograpb (P.! ~3I) of the
four fempersmetlH in the .balM of fout fg.abJonably dr'CMCd genUemell n;,ulld a \",blc. Karl
Arnold I'lubli,hed. 83 lato 1!p8. in the MtJlt""nM IllU$tnwl, Prns, (p . 133). e:.l. series of
t1u:l"Fonr D"'fleing Tc:m pe;r:k.-n..nta", ultlmatl:ly derived from t ...o old Cal$:lldM sehema of the
r sydlologica.lly ditJe:rentiattd OOUp IM .
t Fint in;tbe yd edn. of 162:8.
T hi$ engraving. by La Dloll. lho"" the variOGJ:ir!:l.in fonllt
of melaoclloly: tbe melaru:huly lovor, t.be hypochondriac. the miUliac. and (np..e.eOtiDK' the
"8I1pcntitlotus") th" monk . ""iting his ro,...ry. I.e Blon's engraving also cont";... a. portrait
of the I\ulhor at Dt:m OCl'llll ~ iunior. and hi, I'ncient pte(!ece:;sor. Demoeritll' Abdctite.;. '"
well aa two allegorical ligures of the eauses Or peculiarities 01 the melancholy temperamen t in
the bac~and ("Zclotypfa" - ellvy. and "Solihldo" _ 10nelillU$); a nd JiDally two ffiUedies,
bon,gll :.nd! bellehore, which are recommended at Imgtb. U a nUdol:e5 to mclanebol.y in the
Peutlngtt codex (Clm.. "Oil, fol. 231. Another e:u.mple f, tho titlepieu, mentioaod above
(p. 30), IIOtI:~1'). to J OHAlIWU Il'lIJI;YTAG'. Bendt ""It 4w l1d"~Ml1i1l H)'1x1t:AoNlrjA which, in
addition to tbe already descrihl:d group of mdancholy being worsted. by a doctor, sb ows
Asclcpiu wil:h~eoelr; a.nd book ("Co nforlat") an~ 3. pe~ni6ea.tlon of Truth with t~ And sun
("1I1ustn/.t ").
;,
375
Those essentially retaining the formula of their modelthat is, representing melancholy, either independently or
in connexion with a complexion-sequence, as a single, more
or less idealised female figure, sometimes even (when
Fnnee. "eneolllhr6e pu _ tradition" , to use Henri FoeiUon', words. seem. tt> have
esc.aped tho in1l.lIcace of Dllru't engraving almost onmpletel,. doring tbe sixteenth e.:ntury.
aud to bavo bean aifocted by it only ia tbe $evealeflllLh via lWiao buoque an (ef. Pr-.\.yr; 136.
and tut p. 390 sq.).
7 It would take a sepan.te sbldy .to colloet all th e represeDtationt in which thos eudless
wealth of motifs in the DQru ca!V&ving wu dnn upon for tbe (IcpictioD of otber tbcmC3,
especially the penoni1ic:atiOIUl oj "Coatellipla.tio", '''Meditatio'', "Pcniteatia", etc., tDd of
the Libcraland Mechanical Arts; Mpeeia U,. chlloractcristic of then i, Virgil Solis', ;trt.1 seiieS,
BI83-J89, and that of H . S. Beluun, Ih 2l-J27, A, the typM of both the meditating author,
etc.., and of the A..w: formed the basit of DUrer', engnV;DG:. it collid now iDJlu,ul:e the
development af both.
37 6
[IV, IIl"
I]
377
I,.,
['l ...h~ 117. Tha vzrl~t!oJll eOo.sbt~crelY in the Gl'f1elt verlion of the lcgcnd Uld In the
bowilleri?,tion 01 the mag ic aqUan!. I UOI'aphically. the de$ign i p;t.~h.... ork of thc
mDilt v~ motit.. The top put linlI: Jofela.Jehuly with the AmymO.lle ill B,I. the lo .... apart ebof."s the exploit of M. Curtius. ~' the left thcre is a portQlt of Fortitudo, on the rigbt
the " MiIc:$ duilUanu ... whom the
of duk:ucas .re .UemptinC to Wndcr in h~ uccnt
to
~l-'or the artist, d. H . n OfING.... 1Ht: FI'IJ'IIlrfu,ta B .."Mlolu#llIill I'Jo-l,550,
Stn$bolirg 1933, p. M .
God.;
powrs
(",,).
:;"
K.."I.
1_ ... l'
378
~ [lV. 1Il.
~n classical attire. but gives her no wings, and ~uces the S~bolic
Implements of her p~ofession still further, the only addition being
the . bellows, farmhar to us from Hans DOring's woo~cut
(PulE 107).11 The stump of a column seems to indicate that
Amman. made use of an engraving by Virgil Solis, as; well n.<I
of Durer's.
..
This engraving by Virgil Solis (BIB-I , PLAn: 122), in '~ntrast
to the pictures hitherto mentioned, is one of a set of tile four
temperaments, where it takes fourth place, with the ~ificant
alteration of the title to Melallcolicus. The same applics to a
sma11 set of drawings in Wo1fegg attributed to Jost ;Amman
(PLATES 124- 127). except that in this case the "melan'&'licus"
takes third pJace. Solis's engraving is considerably nearer in
essentials to Diirer, in SO far as he lets the chief. figure retain
the compasses, whereas the drawing in WoUegg exchanges them
for a roll of parchment, thereby generali<;.ing the specifically
mathematical idea in Diirer's engraving to a wider notion of
creative meditation. Both picture..~, however, have this much in
common with the ones previously mentioned that, although they
retain several of Dlirer's attributes, they replace the contempOrary
middle-class costume depicted in M dencolia I by one , ~hat is
idealised and classical; in the Wolfegg drawing, tbe attitude oJ.
the main figure also ~'Uggests the typical poslure of a classical
Muse. On the other hand, both pictures endeavour to compromise
with medieval tradition, not only by denying wings to the main
figure, but also, in more or less modern and humanistiC., form,
by returning to the use of beasts as symbols, such as we saw in
the 'Shepherds' Calendar and the Books of Hour~. In: Solis's
engraving, the sanguine temperament is represented by.! horse
and peacock, the choleric by lion and eagle, the phlegmatic by
owl and ass, and the melancholic by the gloomy elk (apparently
taken over from Diirer's engraving: Adam and Eve), .and by the
swan which, as the bird sacred to Apollo, may refer 'to the
"praesagium atque divinum" which is proper to the melancholic." .
In the Wolfegg drawings the monkey belongs to th~ sanguine,
the bear to the clloleric, the pig to the phlegmatic and the lamb
J
U There Ii a copy of Amman's woodcut oa the
Stein IUD RlIein.
'"ThOll. CntllLOVI'" (1904), p. 66.
thil corrclation.
,!
'
" '.
.~
~,
."
379
[IV. III.
I] ,PORTRAITS
"
into the conception of the older representations of the temperaments. The mind behind the classical drapery is at bottom
nearer lo the spirit of the fiIteenth century than to Dlirer's.16
Beham, Amman, Solis and similar 'masters present as little
difficulty to the purely factual exegesis of content, as does the
master "F.B." (now generally. identified as Franz Brun) in his
engraving, which. though reduced to a genre picture, h~ a certain
originality, and is quite impressive in its dungeonlikc gloom
(B78. PLATE II6)P Paintings are a very different ~atter. As
far as those by German mastcrs are concerned, we have so far
discovered only five, .the picture dated 1558, formerly in the Trau
collection in ViCIUla, which M. J. Friedlander has conjecturally
attributed to the painter Matthias GCTWlg from Lauingen,18 and
four paintings which emergcd in quick succ~ssion (1528, 1532,
J533. 1534) from Lucas Cranach's workshop.
Matthias Gerung's picture of 1558 (PLATE 123) shows in the
centre Melancholia winged, and seated, in a typical attitude of
"elbow on knee", but full face and without any attributes. Thc
compasses are not held by her, but by a man crouching at the
bottom 'of the picture, and apparently busy measuring a globe,
not unlike God the FaUler in the Bibles MOTaJ.ist~; we see in him
a cosmographer,tg a perfect example of the ' ~ssessor of the cast
,. !'iee a bo""" pp. 29S . qq. (ted) a nd p , 319, uote 117
" 'l'I,;~ 0.1$0 .. ppli .... W t.I.t~ 'portrait ot mebl'lchnly in the t>ernperalllent-leriu by Paul F1'nUt.
lUll, mention~d above, p . 343, tlot.. 203, which occupie9 a specia11lQllition in 50 faT as the foul'
c:olnVle..uooa are all fl!pre~nted by pntti, stylised" /1/, Sprnngu, "Saoguineus" p layiog th~ I~te,
"0I01l,:rlcu5" In armour, "PhJegmaticla" carving and "Me1a.ncIaDIi~" broodln, In the pudst
of the UI1I'&\ tool"
.. Daled IS60 and sbowing melancholy as n\lnlike ..-oman, the 11.l(TOliodinp stretching
enc.lleMIy "'''-.loy. complekly' empty. and. the (" .... attributes .arnI'l,ged ",ith .\>C1a ngularity and
!;eQlt1(' trieal order that it looks &II if they cooW never kave their places again. :~ da.rlt
s.bading o( walls and GCiling, ud the .bull contrast beh'eeo Iigbt aDd thade are partieululy
d ec lIve. wbile tbe pedantic execution of the cl~Yiew perspective a chieve. sreat power of
psyth<>IOC k al Cxprti:$$iOll.
" l\al_'''8 der Erj ",,.IN' Lfl,1t1l1.u /, I/.".,. 189], No. 173, reprodllco:d in O. DoSIlING and G.
VO!i$, M riSlen w rJu. d~r KIll'" II'., S",A,un ",I'd TJiiirillgefl, M&(debLlrK ILd., Plato 3.:1; d,
ILlIO t'. TlflS)lJ: and F. BJl:CKJ:R, ( 1). cit., lUll, p , "S8; auction cab.lotIue of the colk<:tor
J' . T ,..u, CilhQftr amI Ranscbbuq::. Vi~"ua, 26-30 April '937, No, SSI.
"C. H s ilmallll kiudly pointed out to u' tut a. ,em reproduced 10 C. PAU)(JI;ll'aG .aod
E . 5 ACLlO, Llidionlu,;y, du 1I1ItipiUs, " I, ParJa 18n, No, S8" _bow, .. vuy $imilaT fiGure.
althougb apVCariog io profile. If !.hi. typo 01 picture Is r!!$lly clUllical a quuUon on wweb VI'C
daTe not pronounce , tbe po.tr'.aito{ Cod the l' atller iD the DWlu lflQ"":iuII ~t IU$o be traced
back to this origIn; $0 that it o;la.as.ea1 typo of u twoome:r or OOIiJllO!1'&pber wu dei.ficd in the
Middle Ago , to bt:c:o.ne buman onco mote io the Renai, *anoe, 1bs ~e1 frJ! tb.o "<:n~
crapb ....... wbich Matthias GcrQOC copicu , 11IlOft cJCaetJy. has meitllwbilo ""'0 recog!llSed ID
Ct.mpaenw'. AJlroIclU' (HAlI'r1.AtIl, (Od ri"",is. plates 2r27). savo that ths latter II blU)'
meuuriIIJ the beavens and not tbe ca.rth,
or MELANCHOLY
AS A SINGLE
.
Th~ list of tbe rcipill8 pl....eta ~r the year S:rD' to vary considen.bly io the "leva nt
litcratUR. G, Ndlmann "'indly lnformed U$ o't two IRis for' th .. yt'V I SS8. giving rC5pc:ct,i~ly
Jda1'$ and Venus, and Mart:, S:l.turn and JII-piter. Man. therefore, 18 m8lltioned in both casu,
1. 1Ioa ~ Sol in N>itlwr. But in G . HeI1m.aw!', OplDic:lD a third 1IOUl"Ce qbt oquMly _II
lilt wi trio.
..
382
I]
. [IV. HI.
any
,
,-
op~osition
., ,
.. CM,u.nA.N SeB~cnA.oT. L~IU ey"d .i. J. 1.e1x" liPId IV..,..... VOl..- n. tii~zilJ 18",
1" 103 mentIons th" copy U being in the Ca mpe CoLlection. Nuro:mbert: ct. :nPw M. J.
F1I.~VIXJ.HOVR Ilnd J. ROIIEHllltltG-, DO. c.-iM "". 1...uJ C._-A, &TUn 19J'J .. No. n3.
whu;h also mc:ntlOM R ~ "in . tbe pot.MSSion of Dc- hul w.her or Jcna". SubfeqllO:IIUy
0""lK:d. by.Connl Jd""'~ 10 1A:ll'zlg. thl, copy was sold iu New York,. at the Park. Utn. et ..Ie
01 n Apnl. 19-48; Its pre.ent location i1IlI Dkoown to us.
Mr Moalt pointed ouf to UI tllu
In the EaTJ a! c.-.wfocd, picture Mcl.Ant.holy w .. not Yrin,leu. &J atilt.:<! inD(.nri MII..,,"oll. I.
~t that trace. ""n be seen of ...;n,_ whl/:h dkappearro almost completely wben pirt of th.e
plcto.e was cut 011. A furth..,. picture. III tbe lame IIIbJect (problbly nnly a . WQ,Ubop
P~ l"ct). knowlcdie of which we owe to M. 1. Frledlinde r. ia lI.ated t , 34 bllt re"erb In the
mam, to the ',28 oonceptioQ. Dut tile oIemeJ\ts (If ~ t.n! redoced to the 6d~bl'
~dpco:Un" ~hlle .t.ho ~n with ltome-try. c:mphas;.ed by Direr'1 ItWqua... is
.mmgv ~ln lIther In the Copen"-len or even in the HilglIe compn.ltioo . where. tho .plu,",
It \ackiog as well.
.
.. Dr C. E. Ib.I111"b kiAdly il\forn:ls US; that he believes that he ~as lOUDd the expl..,atton
lor the.,roo.p of plltti In Cn.n&cb', pictures, and perhaps flVCO lor tho t:bi ld scribbliog iu DDreT.
en~vll1ll". If\ a treatlte on llchemy lIat~d 1'30 and beautifully ilhllu.ted. ",.mely. Spl.Nd4r
SDiu. (:>rurcm~rc. Glf"nllnlsch" MlllOIum). wllero .. group of ebil(l ... n playing I"Cprutntli ~
Certain ~t.,ge In ~lcll~1 tnnslonnation, i.e. "COiI!r"latio". lI;allSO tJm ....irdet ill&elricbct
dem Spll d.f:!" K,ooer. dlleo ...y1e.n. dllS lin aben ,e\"8"n, li, t y etat IlnDdt.:D.." .n l putt!
IlCCOmpAllylD& ~dencholy .hould tM ... ill.'" bor IaterprO'lUd .. .,-mbnh ot .}chemy. , We mlKt
COIl~ that thll InterpretatloG CO<Ild oat, ccmvlnoa us If the all~tin; positiorw of .bove
ud .beltJwo, on wbleb the wbole compariM>o is baled ...,re tbowo ... IIne:(J.llivocatly as they
a~ III the Nur_~r, !\IS mioiillure. Tbit. llOwever. i. not the (/lie ,,,en in :CraMcR',
plct"r~. Id. a.Ion. Dilrer', en~vjng. when: the putta. solitllry ac.d ".ery much In CVlIl:lt. is
bu.y WIth hIS ,llta.
..
.~.
..
r
;
--
38 3
.. What Ippeatt to be
III.
boI.,.
[IV. m.
Even the third of these pictures (PLATE I30),28 dated I533 and
now in Dr Volz's collection in the Hague, retains these two motifs
apparently peculiar to Cranach. .For the rest, however, it departs
fund amentally from the two earlier works. The main figure is
squeezed right into a corner of the foreground, the view reduced
to a minimum, and all accessories, animate or inanimate. omitted,
save for the head of an old man (Saturn himself, or some other
spirit?) appearing in the sky, and no less than fifteen putti, most
of them dancing, some sleeping and two making music with pipe
and drwn. A new influence seems therefore to ha.ve been at
work on this latest picture, and it would be odd if it did not come
from Mantegna. There was his painting ahnost exactly similar
jn form, which had represented "Malancolia" with sixteen putti
dancing and making music, and which, as we have seen, may
have been not without significance for Durer's engraving.:9 But
whereas in the latter case the accord was only vague and general,
in the former. where the putti are present in almost as great a
number and engaged in the same aancing and musical activities,
it seems to go comparatively far; and since we know of no other
similar. picture, we are unlikely to be at fault in conriecting
Cranach's work with the now lost picture by Mantegna. Crana~
need not even have seen a copy or sketch of it, for news of it by,
word of mouth or by letter might have been enough to influence
his interpretation, original as it was in style and composition, in
Mantegua's directio9.
The fact that Cranach used only fifteen putti instead of sixteen
does not appear to be of any particular significance, and would
be very easily explicable by his not having seen his mode1.8
The exact number mattered little to the German master, whereas .
Mantegtia probably chose it for some good reason; for this master
who was 5<> interested in archaeology that he .0ccasiona'Ily even
signed his name in Greek, can certainly be credited with the
knowledge that one of the most famous works of antiquity, the
statue or t he N ile, had grouped the aUegoricai figure of .a man
with sixteen playing children.31
.. ct. 1IUW
~.
fo"aJ~DI.ANnEIl
and
ROSIINU~RO,
I]
.. Mureovet. as CoUIW Mo.I~ kindly point....! out. tWs picture. like that in tb.e JIIl$lIl'UitHI. 01
the Earl of Crawford. see ms to have been cut, lUlu Ills 1Iot improbable that, hete too, the
main figw-e WO\. oritli nally wUllled.
PLiny. Nat. ubf, xxxvr, 58: "Numquarn bit {$G. b:l$OU>il:ot.] malor npertus cat, quvn in
templo Paei5 a b ;"'perawre Vetpasia.no Au(Ufto dlClltu!' argumento Nil lfMeilfl 1i~~j5
d."" ;!vd.<:n.li~"'. " Yor repllcu of the grolll' (the Vatican copy, of Course, was not
d.swv;ered until Lea XlII', time),. cf. W. AIIxI.U,.G. Di. SIII<lp, ..".,. 4u V4l/i"."j,dt,.
M~~, Berlin 190). p. 130.. frit,sdrifl fir hiltlt,.4 Ku"d, VOL.
UX (192,5-6),
:;.;
i~
i:~
i '
!";
.~ ~ !
[IV. III.
-' >
NC!. L. VOLll:M"'~If. la W,fIk MII lYi.Am. Fnlsdrijl jfh K. tv. HluH>fUIl , Leipzir
'9 24. p- ~11. and Z'(bdrift fir biU.,.4 Kfl.rq/. VOl- LXUI (1929- JO). pp. 119 ~q . 'The
fn:xo which wu d e5troy*s darinc tbc traasrorma.tion o f Ihe "Sab. di Sawlno" Inlo Ole
"~a dl SlturDO" Ihowed the founflation of the eity "Satltrnu" , ,.bich. U (0. Vaari
My. In hb Rtlfli".""M . _
bWJt in. " lonely and mclanrJ,oly spat". Mclancboly ~lf
wu Iho,.-n "with cra fta~e " tool&, c:ompa-. qudrants &Ad meuuring roch ....
," Ct. L . VOt.ln'''"M. in Z,iUclrift fa. bi/u"dc KWfUt, VOL. nm (19a9-Jo). p.~ "9 MJq .
Wlth plates. Melanc:holy, u in DDrer'. orfJiIUl I, appears U L wi",ed femalc, .w'h"rut tb,
other three t emperament.. Iigni6cantly enough. !au wmp; her chin Is rutin; oA M r ril ht
haa~, aDd .MI " I$tdnl;' against a tal*!. oe foot raised, while in her rillht hand sh. it hold/III
pair of ~tes. At b feet a boy bI uouc:h inS wiOl a book. aAd on a projeetion, from Oftll of
the ....lis b . _ther book. 1.11 hour-Cl.... and an utTQI",be.
., A_ P. ))0)1 1 M ....i, v()t.. II. V8Diee ' 55'l, p. 87. The v"'- pnt In th' ~obttl. of tbl,
IDOIIrnlng woman .r, attuned to the 'legiac chuacter of th8 pictw,:
; ..l
;,
I J'
387
Doni'" WCIOdev.t, with i15 titJeal~..s la all MKtI of ways (..... to Sibylll> A'~) was leiSlued
in :& wbole Kriet of Veoetiau print.nd therefore heea.~ widely kno .... and !!:XtTeme ly
. iDflnential in Italy (we abo helow, toJd IIp. 389 sqq .l. A n ri". of fotty-two ",1>1 .,..,,,.
Indition.uly atbibllt.ed t o Con.clit MutyJ:, also conwned a copy in reverse o f J)()nl's ...'ODd.
ad; th" beadill( i , .. Mc1ancbolia.... tb8 captiOIl: "Hue C&Ve&J. moDeO, s.i alaet'em vis duc ....e
vitam", The other parta of th8 &ene. dMil with themel snell as ~ac:ia... Pu mllio'.
"l)ok)r", ..te. The iucluioD at Doni'. piclll.te 10 the aenel uplsJns why tl:e Italian woodcu t
alw inADClI(.Cd b.ter Dutch art.. For inatamce, a terDperament-leriu eagr.a..Vt=d by Corneli.
BIocmaert after Abraham Bloemaert (Pu.u ' J3). cootaias JUelucboly ",rueh. tho"Sh ill
most:respeets a lillo=.al de..ceodant ot DOrcr". enpving, 0 .... ber posture. a gentle Kolt'"post.
and ber elegiae elutac:ter unmi,takably 10 Dolli. The pm" c:&.o be said ot the " Di;o.l ec:tie"
in tbe famou, Turin a llegory of Th Li""aIAI'lJ IIwtltwri"l .during /1" "''''T b)' Flan, Flori .
For J, Bo..ckhorllJ: "Coometrl." (P'U.TII. 132), MII .hove. Po 328. 1l<Ite ISO.
.. See ahove, pp, 'lBJ . qq., 21l1l
(tutl.
, . It is DO c:o{ne!denc:c tloat Ripa. MaJiou;o"i4 {Fig. 51. discI/DOd above {pp. 136 r.qq.l.
.-..emblea the SeDeoally Mtab\WIed type of Melaacholy ICOII' th ... hi. penoni6uaons of
"Aocidia" and "Medltatione". and It ill very ulld.... talldabt. that the t!!:Xt should .... ke no
ftferenc:e to Diir..s cngav:int. Hc~alt b all tbe more remarkable that the Flemish edition
corrects tb8 omiuion (Amstudam 16+4. p. 500). For. pictvre by Abnbam JallSKlIS. which ,
foUowillg Rip contruted "Mali.ocooJa with "AUegu:lU." (J>u.TII 69). su .hove. p. 'l:,
(text).
388
[IV. Jil
I]
38cJ
~OWIl
(PuT~
o Copies in the l...Quvre, ill the Aecademia. Venice, and ;n the l'erdinandeullI, Innsuruck .
Wa ~~ nu ground for douhting. vdtb w61lllin. tbe cotlD6Xion between Feli and DUrer, in view
of the wide '&;rcuJaUOJl of DUn:,,s engr.l"joe:. and of the '~ce of so uIJ.ny sitOila:r o.tbiuuu..
(dog. eoRl.paI&c,. Iph~re. seNquue. hOU.f-l:laH. piaue); but of COIltIe F cti. too. mtat have
been Wnilia:r with !.he. more SCIlti mcntal Doni type. The objects lackins in Diiret'& tngravlq
(ao::uiptor, model and 3IIuobbe) arc PlC:lcnt, fOT instance, ill a~ etchl", of 'Vaoi~' by
JKoOb r.1atham. wbM:h, like 10 many D .. tch rep<'ntlltaboos of tbia type (d. JL WICBJUJlIf,
LtonUrl B ,.....m. Laipz.!g 19aJ. pp. 'IS sqq.). db"....,..,. with hulOlUl GlUt" a1\.ogethu. and it
CQIltcnt to contrut the ay mbo1a of sceulu art. and scleoces .... ith reUliou. s till. Ufe m:&de up
of ~ku ll. biblc, crue lfix :uu.l rosary.
"
.. In point 01 fact the Pari. copy of Feti. work was eataloctled. .. I. "Magdalene in the
...... en~.th century, and not until the fliIhtccnth century (when Itl connenou with DUrer
"'U l_h~P' recognile<l) was the namll Afllll..,lrt)/il gjve.n to it. (CL M. E~DAES-SoLT"'A~l'I.
D f11tt'ttiif1; F.m, diMCrtation. :r.ruwcb 1914. pp. 28 IIC]q.).
r
,
390
,. [IV. III .
.. For the InterpRbtiou of nrins !lee e.g. C. Rosuy, TM PitlNruq .... S ludi i ... POI'" of
VieuI.London &Dd New York 1927; K Cl.AltK. LoUst:41>e i~ Arl, London 19"9. '
.. It was
J. H...,.
(AI~I;..o
I]
391
ODe
inspir'd,
392
[IV.
m.
2]
393
,,
~
2.
,
"
her
.. Dn.wu.g ill Dn:3d... 1801: ~tut aIteI" It by th. artist', brother, c:bristUII. abolo.t
r818 ; d. W . KulUll. A_lido, B,ridaf, .... Uri j6roi&fl&Ute K ..ulUUfIUfIl..",m, VOL. X1XVl
(19' .....15). pp."21:9 "N' l'be poM of the 'rIa very much ,_mb!u thAt of the well-known
SI Tflllnl4 (Lo.ndoa), by Paolo Ver-o_ ....ho. III turn, tna4e eGa liden.bJe use of the cngraviog
J3.t60, jformez-Iy wrona1y ..ttributad to )(r.n:all tooOo ..110 pCIdIar- d erived from .. compositiaa
by ~Gia.a.lDo. nu. caqavil1l, with .aIDe modi.fieatiol!. 01 t.blI IIPpe.r put of the body,
ow..., also. used ...... ll1Odd for Batt.beI. 8eham'. M.oi'o,.,.It. B& (d. A. OIl~H KlDJI. Dt:T Ei"ft*'
l>1ur4nf()1;w R.inrOlldi, awJ Iti, "'cw4;uA, KW7I11 ria 16. J.~ .. PId#rlI. dinerta.tio.n. Hanlbllrg
1933, )?;p. 100, Ill. plato XLI ). whleh, .S.m. waa II '~ in Rlllnhl"alu.lt'. drawing H.d .G.lIn.
It is uibdonl an error ",he" J. L. A. A. M. V"-M ltJJeuvOJ""L, Re,.,~a"il m ' " Tr/ulifi.,
lwtterd~ 1932. pp. I I I sqq . unfamiliar wltb tbe Plcudo-Yareantonio IIDgravlng. treats
VerollF's $ ' HeI. ",,,, ... a lt o uiv!ng !ro m & hnIlL. A drawln!: by llai1olnmeo Passacotti in
the MQnd Collectioll, llUbUihcd by T. BOUN IUI and R . WllTKOWI\R. Cat.'ope o/ IM wflod;1/ft
0/ 4fa~;,g~ by 1M oU IlIeIlQ." /0,,,,14 '" So.- RuMrl Mond. Londo" 1937, p . .. ~ . pate 30. i.t
IISCI d;;?:ved f(olll this eIlgfavina:.
Tl},f drawiug
Oil",. IYtlIA"'U~'''''''': ,i", SI"d;, UW d'-, IP#i Stic1/., Rilla' TCHl .... 01 T,u/rl. M.dll",dol"
Lu Til$w. 4u BibliolAJqwi t4 Ff#fll#. VOL. U. P&rit 1929, p. 88, thoug b. the a1l.thor admitte<l
that "1U'jet et style ioDt plut6t a.IItmallUI I}lIe ff1lll~II.l ." The Gem1an origin oUbe draWio,.
of the 'male agan. ....herus tho Fn:nc.b ~Uc "On DU!IancoI..iClue ipkulaW" :rn.ust (!ate fronI.
later ~ of the o rawi.ng .
'Iff
.;
394
2)
395
FII:rOJl.2.
D,
UoRU .........,.
bit...
L'IlIII...li ....
Fruldun, rsst .
M The -'ru "fI, the a\do.emkll Iymbol of the eartb, deady pointt ttl the three corr.,espoudlllg
aymbobl (.c. -~, 'i/ - water, 6 _ air; d. G. C\IlIIONUll, SId/./o,", lJoridu d,Ua 'eMlftiell
, dell' A I,lIi.,.", i" lI/J/ill, noma 192.5, p. 2)). .AZJ IldditfOD&1 proof of iu beiog'.pUt of a
aequeDCe of iour i5 tbe preaenoe of tho three ~ lip', for whicb, however, ' 0 tllc
.. CI. CIOVANNI PiB"lO VU.IIRUHO, /,rollijui. Veniee 16lS, p. 256. with rcfl"!.n~Q to S t
Basil and Hesychlus of Jeru wem. Ripa .till lives the owl as a symbol of IUprtr~t'tlOlI.
foUowinr no\.e.
v.",," .
':
The tb.ird lod!AealqD lot' winter, Capricorn, hu"been repla.ced: by VilljO. but: iru. mlY
be due lI\t1'ely to ID aTOI', unlen, .. ill the engraved aeries after Heemsken:1c:. PLAn '''4.
which we ditcull OD p. '97 tq. i " the text, the comhiutiou of tl'Ie zodiaeal aip' fa ;cant to
Ilke into IlCCOWlt tho pAlhology 01 tllo humollr' as well.
.
.. Cf . P . D'A""1I'O" SIDoo",,. ",."u... added to ACTippa" ac-JllIl'lIihllo;lIiflo
p. S6t) "H..beat
opeq.m) VQ fictil. ftO ... om
pICl:nlm:'
r",
i,,,,
(L)'O'lt~tfoa.
;:.
a P. D'A""''''o, op. cit. p , 560: "Ot-inde lom.t hoe pentaculum [the iIIostr:atlool lS iiseD~al
with the Itti' in tlwo Paris dr.winc) aeillm . ill charta mem.bQnt boedi.~'
, .
::
Cf. GlovA~m PlZRIO VAJ.II,,'.nfO, 01" cit., VP. 3.. 2-3: the spider', web denutes "opera
.. Cf. E. PANO~. Hu, wl,.
/Jill
.. Ct. GIOYAlOIl FlltJl.lO V,o,UI"'AHO, ItrflfliJki, Ymiee 16z5, p. 104. The 1""\l':e~ d.notH
"Da.n ui the Ii saotono per rindupo. bceause 'qoesto aDimaJc: <l""'Ddo.l. !~m"'. J.""te 10
.n;molo del partOrire. ~ i1 venUe I. duole, dift'erilec, et iodugl. ~ putorul!: quanto p1h .pub;
<u:lde ."riene, ehe il suo parw K'D'p". pitt crescendo, m'xrior dolor'" poi ""I
Ie
,,""CIt.ro
arrec:a.. ..
39 6
(IV. III.
:bis
140, 14I).'~
: cr. p. 330.
3.
OR OF IUS CJllLDREN
T. IUJl.R1Cfl", .A C"'lIl(I, ,,, of fll~ prim, UllIich ,"WI bUll 4f1graued dftn' M. H ...rulinri.
C&m~ridS"e , 829, p . 98.
11
T. K __ IOlI. op. cit . PI" 98 ""1, Ur &11& Marienl kindly ~w Ollt a ttention to
... &:.
tf:
Fl(. " .
.. Cf . tI ... wi..Qdm.ill. in lb. piot" .. of lb .. """,I.. tile" ..... gui .. io:. the e.o"tJ. in nAm es Ja
tlat 01 the "fielY" choleric, the MUCape iD thll.t 01 the "watery" pblcematic..
., The q .... t rain benu tll It 15 .. vuia tiuu of lhfI SaJcmitan ~. th...., b eUmlJatJn& .11
the mel .. oclloUc. JOOIl qllalitieL Tho _ e appl_ to anothec ..qlle_ of umpenua>e.nta.
eugT. ved by J. Sadekr.stet- llarten tio, Vot. ilIo whiellldelancholy is tqlr-..uted. by an almost
this a~
t. The .igWl of the lodlae r.tCI t.b.ofc ia which . aecotdlO( to old Calo:nd.u Jon:. the 1Il10011.
must. 1>e if CU1IJ wilIhes to b leed IlIc_fu lly . melandtolie, .. ~uinic. etc. "Qu;wdo LuD ..
est in tba.w:o. In v trgW. et ill apric:onlo. tuae m1"lIbo valet mcla.acboUcb" . we read. for
insblH:e. in )l,UC" RuN M"Jl.T. Hor B . V. M"nu. Khchlt._m about 1490. q oaoted .. bove,
p. 297. ~te 56.
,
3gB
i [JV. In.
3]
"I'b~ eoar$tly hurnorou. metamorphosis of auell .. series. ,..hkh appanmUy O(i(.utnd about
the . be"nnl", of thtl IeVellteellth c:eutury ia the Netberb.nds, Qn be n en in .. lithotBph
d"lln, from IB4S This Ih c .., the e:fTec;q cf drunkenness on the four tU)pe!'lt.f1Iln ta. The
c:haracter't aT$ aIXOII)p&II)ed by the ir tra4itlonal beastt. the ungu;l\ie by a "'mb: tbe eholuic.
by a beu. and t~ ~mlltic by II. pi" except few the melanchDlie who is &iV'C.n an apCI because
,..he" drunk he IS cred,tC'd " 'it!! tl>e a bi lity to "invent .. thotdand t .-lo:k. ...
,,
I
"
choleric does not wie1d the modem swords or fireanns- they stand
or lie uselessly about him-but an ancient short-bladed sword.
and a round shield completely unserviceable in 1600; he is designed
to remind one of the warriors oC classical antiquity or even of
Mars himself. And the "piscis homo"15 in the portrait of the
phlegmatic, both in type and pose, reveals himself as a reincarnation of a classical sca- or river-goo, wll o~ urn, while retaining its
fonn and function, has been transformed into a. gigantic strawplait ed fisherman's ' basket (PLATE 142) .
I n these two pictures, as well as in that of the sanguine man,
it is rather a question of suggesting mythological associations
than of achieving a mythological identification. But in the
melancholic's portrait, which here again ocCupies a special place,
there is a real fusion of the "black bile" with the classical divinit y
guiding and protecting it (PLA1"l~ 143) , This heroic naked figure
of a thinker. with his veiled head, is none but the ancient Satnrn
himself, such as we know him from the statuette in the Museo
Gregoriano or from the (resco in the ('. .usa dei Dioscuri, save that,
with compass in ,hand and sphere on knee , closed eyes, and weary,
lined face, he takes a share in all the problems of the human
spirit that suffers from melancholy.7' And whereas the re pr~4
sentatives of the other three temperaments were placed In
landscapes which, though allusive and symbolic in character,
yet appeared temporal and unmys~erious. this melancholy Saturn
is seated on a g10bc poised in the universe beneath a starry hea ven.
In Heemskerck's melancholic, as in Jacob I de Gheyn 's, what
could only be inferred fro m Durer's Mc/c1lcolia. 1 was made fully
explicit: that is to say, the essential unity of Melancho]y, Saturn
and Mathematics. But while Heemskerck makes his point at t he
price of showing his melancholic in a scene of prosaic everyday life,
Gbeyn pushes the allegory even farther than Durer had done.
He not only represents the natufC of the mela.ncholic symbolically
but raises him to the stature of a semi-divine being. remote from
all con tact with the world of men, who yet carries his human
sorrow with him into the spaces of the heavens,
.. S" t hO! humOTouil formliia in the ""planatc.ty couplet <:aHI him.
...
"AtJ'a. animteque anitnique. lullS a tunlDa. bili,
Saepfl premit vires inl;en.U et , enii."
In point of flet. JacDb I d. Gbeyll.'. Satllm it III cloIely related in rtl'l tif tn the. M tltlHlOUq,..
spk.u.uif i.o the: Parlt peD-dra.wlng. PLAn 139. that OM: In~ht ;dm llSt ima:ule lhl Ihey
were based COl 0.. ..me model. Tiweh "OI lIriinal did emt, the .uc cestion pu t IlIt''''''" (ICJI'~
P. 395) that the barnl in the: pea-drawill, ...at .. modi fieat ioo 01 a i p):ere wou ld )::wC' Klme
,.apport.
APPENDIX I
ApPE NDIX
!
.,!
- ........... ..........-...... .
~
l
i
r
F1 0UJlE 3. Rp.<:onstmc:li()Jlol the polyh~df'O"
on Dilrtr'. cn6Taving.
FIGUIUt 4
401
'
'. '!
402
THE POLYHEDRON I N "MELENCOLlA J"
[APP. I.
his intenti~. when he had so much experienc~ in the cons~~ction
?f asymmet~cal ste.reometdc bodies. In any case, the polyhedron
In M~lcneolia I, as It now ~ppe.ars. seems both to the innocent eye
and to. ex~ct reconstructIon In perspective, to be a truncated
'. ~
..
ApPENDIX II
.'
:;
,
,,
.. ..
.,.,'
,.
I C. EPBllum ..41bn1 D1l,~ II us um?U, Paris 1882. P. 119; M. Tn,IoUSING. Dil,~, LcipziS
1884, p. 67; the .trongcrt ad.VOQte is G. GlIOl'fJ.I1, io. Dtlttdnt, VOL. 10 (I92J), pp. I $<II!..
KUunk.~,(k~
I F. KamollAUM. ill }IJIITbud 4,,, lUlff.f/hi$tori,u,." SammllUlKnI'II lVic", llt.<'f seriet, \01..
III (1929). pp. 241 ~q. The COMmoll..,;th MW..,l:l.Jll;elo of the Ew,u,I. r~nUy . ugcested
all a substituh!! (E. Tluza-Comut in BmJi'll11bn Magazine. LXVIII (1930), pp. 16] sqq.), is
ju.t all loose as that of the Loudoll Cupid.
'0. SeuHI'tl)). 1.11 Belvr4e", vot.. VlII (1929), pp. 334 tqq .
..,
[APF,
1.1.
this profile portrait was originally alone on the plate, and was
reduced in size later when the other four figures were added.
Now these (our figures (though we advance this theory with
reserve) could be connected with notions especially preoccupying
Durer in 1514 (the year of Melencotia 1 and the drawing L532)
-notions, that is to say, of the morbid states characteristic of
the four forms of "melancholia adusta".1 Anyone can sense the
gruesome abnormality informing these somehow sub-human
beings, and when we call in the aid of any of the universally
known medical texts describing the four species of "melancholia
adusta", the agreement with them seems too close for it to be
merely a strange coincidence, The vacantly !>miliug yout,h with
the cannikin in his hand, who is making an awkward attempt
at approaching the sleeping woman, and whose animal-shaped
leg shows him t o bc' a sort of satyr (though tbe head shows no
signs of it) . corresponds to descriptions of the sanguine melancholic
who, " ridicule laetans", endeavours to enjoy the pleasures of
Bacchus and Venus. "Has Venus ,et Bacchus delectat," "Et
placet ebrietas et male sanus arnor," say the usual rhymes, and
the sanguine man in the series of illustratio.ns De conservanda bona
valttudine mentioned above (p. 300, note 66) is also handing. his
lady a goblet.' In thc same way, t he "despairing man" tcaring
the wild, thick hair that covers his whole head,9 corresponds to the
clinical picture of the choleric melancholic who, "terribilis in
aspectu" , tonneutcd by terrifying " fu rorcs et maniae", "sc ct alios
percutit", "cum agitatione et laesione" as Avicenna says; and even
today this form of illness is described as "melancholia agitata" .
Thc staring head of the old man emerging in so ghostly and isolate~
a fashion from the background, could then be the " melancholicus
ex melancholia natiu:ali". characterised by "tristitia, mocror,
, plurima cogitatio, fuga hominum, corruptae imaginationcs".
Finally, the fat sleeping woman could be the phlegmatic melancholic, with her unhealthy blaatedness and equally unhealthy
desire far sleep; "qui fere perpetuo dormiebat", says Melanchthon,
for inst~ce . of a patient of this type, .There are also t wo good
'See above, pp.
Plt.tCILriUJ. Cuainen"
U3 ~
rcasohs for the fact that this t ype, and only this t ype, of mehncholy
madriess is exem.pJified by a woman. F irst, there was DUrer's
intention to provide an object for t he sanguine melancholic's
cha:r~teristic sexual excitement. The combination of a smiling
youth with a reclining woman is unmistakably reminiscent of the
famous group of a satyr with a sleeping nymph, as DUrer may
have .recognised in a copy of Marcantonio's engraving B319, or
in' th~ woodcut to Hypnerotomachia10 ; and this seems further
indicated by the goat-like leg, Secondly, there was the doctrine
held ~y all physicians and natural philosophers that woman was
by ~ature "cold and moist" and therefore phlegmatic.
"Calidissima mulier frigidior est Irigidissimo vito," says William
of Co~ches,ll and in J ohann von Neuhaus we read: "Phlegmaticus
est filgidus et humidus, sicut sunt oomes Dlulicres naturaliter. "12
\ ',:.
"
,"
AI
..
If
LiN
CoN
.;I.
l :,
,"
.-,
FJGU~ 5. Malioconi&,
From Cuase RIl?a'!ll~o1Wloli", Padu a, 1611
MelaoChthoo.
APPENDIX II
The ),aad i$ !>Qt, J...ow .....er. seen from behlod, &I Flcc.bsig think., but u t;O.B.vubively bent
forward aad ICen rgresbart8a.ed, irom tbe ~ do....-nWiU"ds.
.,,
'0 FoL E. J
p:
Dote rU.
Sec
It
1 0"
Index of Manuscripts
\
Library of the Monutery of SI P&oteleimOIl
6: p. '99 and n .l1; Pla tes 14, 11
ATKOS
r.
GoIHA Lalldesbibliothek
I 110 : p. lOot n.208
GOtTlHCIIN Univenit.ltsbibliothek
PhilO&. 63 (Kruer, Benifonis): p. 10J 0. 20.5 :
,,.
"',
188 : p. 198 n. 1I
BRBSt..\U U4 WR()(:LAW
BllusslII..I Diblioth~ue Uoyale
2291: p. JO I 11.10
2294: p. ) 01 11.70; P late 9 1
90".: p. 340 n .l 9O
IlIl"'SilIl UCK
des
T iroliscbeo
p. 311 1195
9}09: p. "f06 n39
BI1DAPUT MI.JY&r Tudominyos Akademia
(U" lIgerian Academy 01 Scientel and
9~':
Letters)
r>1atc
.'
Bibliotbek
Laodesmuseuml Ferdinandeum
16.0 .7 (Kyeser, Bellifortis): p. 2<)6
LoN DO"
Ij
Uriruh
Add. 15692: p .
Add. IS697 : p.
Add . ,154)4 : p .
MU$eum
)11 and D_O;: Pl,ue 10:
194 n .2 10
331 n . 18~
....
,.,
INDEX OF MANUSCRIPTS
) It 'SICII Bayeri5l:ht Staatsbibliothek
arab . ~ 64: p . %02: Plate 2,
gall. '" p . 3'" nn. <;I8. <;19: P late 10)
ger m. 31l: Pl ate ;9
8 rac<. . ,8;: p. 180 n .l )
Ja t )9-11 : p. 331 0 .1}9
)al ~ooS: p . 35. n .22{
lat . ~o : p. 278 n .3 ; p . 37-4 D.lI
lat . -1394. p. ,. i n.150. p. 118 D.I } I ; p. 2907 and n 56
lat 1544 : p. 337 and 00.18:-3 85
lat. :427': p. :lot; :107; 208 aDd n 45'
Plate 18
lat. dl600: p. 92 n.84
!'i"" YORK Pil!rp<ln t Morgan Lib.ary
332' p. 22.\ n.2i: PJat(6)
~JS. p . 2'4 and n.28: Plate 65
7": p . 1\6 n 148; p . 253 n35
795' p . 203 and n.28; Plate 24
78S: p . 202 n .2 ~: p. 204 and 0 3 4
.
);'-RE~\II"RG 13ibliothck des Genna.lll5l:hen
~"tional :-'luseums
);1.ftF.>IIlERG
Sudtbiblioth~ k
C~nt \59 p . 2Sl n.ll. Pla t e
iO
Index
Bibli(l~ue Sain~evihe
1028 : p. ) 40 n .l 90
ROME Bibliotec.a Casaoatense
1382: p. 2<;11 n .31
'40i: p. 21 411 .27
SAU.EURG Stud ienbiblioth~1r.
V 2 G 8,183 : p . 208 0 47
ST unG .. RT Wilrttembergisehe Laodesbibl ioth~k
Aeneas. ?I
Aescbylus. Eumeni<U.s. 135 and n .27
Aetius. i911.128. !ii. 91 n77. 99 11.98
Ages of Man. pictorial representations. ~92 .
29) and nO '1 3. 46. 29~ and 11.49. 295. 297.
303 ill W/ou 0/ L i/,. 295
.
Agricola. G . De ,' mettdliC4. )29 n. 151
Agrippaof Nettesheim, 95.1 89.326. 372.37)
adoptiJlg Heino 's view on Saturn and
melancholy. 278
Paracelsu s and, :167 and 0 .91
works;
De O&~.ula p"'losoploill. 32 n .6). ).50 n.218.
351-63 jHt.ssi.... 383; on the bat. 323
a nd nn. 132. 1)3 : plan~tary squares.
)27 n.I4?
A!'-riman. and the pl:mets. 156 11.99
A,OII. 196. 213; 0/. T ,me
Ajax. as mela.ncholic. 16. 17, 18. 39. i5. 89. 90
n7
Alanus ab Insulis. 157 n . 102, '5911. 105.354
D.239
Alt/iclaudianU$, 186
CtmlTlI. Juu~eticos. 265 n.78 (on page 266)
AlbertO! Magnus----.:on'.
and Problem XXX. '. 69
works:
De oSom ltO et vigilia. 68 o . I
Elloiu. 36 and D.s... )7. ~2 0.101. 69
Libe, d, IlllimaJibU$. 69. -,0 and nll .8. 10;
71 and nn. lI . n; 88 n.6 I . 119 and
n .153
Libe, s ..pe~ p ,obkmaJll (lost) . 68
Parvll. "al<lrtdia . )7
Philosoploia naturillis. Brescia and Venice
editions 1493 and li96. title woodcut
in. 339 n.I<)O (011 p age 340)
AlbohaJi. 5e~ A bO 'AII al-Khaiy!t
"Albricus". set. ullder anonymous works.
AldaMr' ploiUMOP'"
Alci&tu. A . Emhlemata. 309 n .9) (on page
310). 32) D..1)3 (on page 32i)
Akmaeon of Croton. 5. 7. 8 0 .15
AldegTevcr H., 373
Ale::<ander of Trallcs. ji. 5!i. 90 n7'
AlfODIIO. King. BOOR 0/ CMs.s. Description of
Saturn in. 287
Alfonso 1 of Femr.ra. Titian's painting lo r . 210
'Ali ibn Abhli.s. 91, 93 D..85
and Galen 's doctrine of crases. 99. 101
Liln, r~giw. 86 and n.52. 87
TAeonoa . '00 nn.I02. 103: 10 1 and nn. I O...
105: 101 n. l oS (on page 102)
'AU ibn abl-l- Rijll. set. Al>enra8el
AUego1ies and personiticatiOOll:
AboDdan~. 3H D..20? (on page H5J
Ac(c)ed ia. Sloth. 221 n .21, 22J n .26 ; and
Ceometry". 3)5; in Nuremberg Broadsheet. 30'. ).6; in Rip&. lcolt ologia. 387
0 .)9: in Somme I~ Rot . )00. )01
A1cymia. 329 n . 155 (on page 330)
Allegr~ua. Gaudium. Joy, 227 and D.J3.
387 n.3<;1;
beloUl' Mirth
Ani. 3100.95. 3' J. )44 n .~07 (on page 345).
373; and DGrer 's M~kncolill 1. 342. 343
aDd n.203. 344: Hendrik Golti;us's en_
graving. 343 n.20~
Avari<:e. 286 D.II
Concordia. 304 n.?8
Contemplatio. )75 n 7
Contemplation. 229
Death. 387. 388
DefftaJlce. 221. 22) n .26. 225 n .30. 229
Dejection, 219 n.38
."
0'.
~T,:l2 3
Desperatio (Deses~raoce, Desespoir. Despair). 2U. 223D.26. 225 n.30. 229. 2<;16 n 55
Discordia. 300. 302
Disegno. )44 0.207
Dolor. ) 86 n .37 (on page )87)
DureUl (Duritia). 300. 30:1
Elltend~ment, Reason. 22J 11.27. 224. 215
D..30. ) 10 D.95 (on page )11 )
INDEX
Alle,ories and peqonl llcaUcm_....,.
Eapb'ance, 22J and .26, 225 rt.lo
Fame {Famal.] ... a.nd ft.207 (OA pap 343)
}-orti~do (FortelZa). 22) "26, 242 .II,."
311 D9
u,
J oy,
n."
IU ~
)sa n'40
IU1HfI.
Optic&. 344
Peaec,229
Penitentia.)7) n.7
Pertiucla, )86 11.17 (on pace )811
Pi(:tu ra, 344
Science,
)1.11
n.Il'
Sculpture, described
n. 10a
Vlnitas (Va!!ity). ]87, ]88. ]89 .... d " .44 ;
Matblm. Jaeob.]88 '11.43 : Parmigianino.
etchin" 388 '\.40: SehGrlftldt. J. H ..
etch Ing. 391 n.49
Virtu es a!!d Vicel. eyeles. '97. ]01. loa. 30]
Voluplas. a99 n.6,. 300 ....67
Wearineu. ]03
Zelotypia.]14 D..1
", " Iso At:: of Man, AMus. Choleric,
Cbolerie emperament, 'E.!emub,IJbenJ
Arb, Medlanlc:al Arb. MdancbolIc.
Mclandloly. Moa.thl, Pblqm, Pblqmatie.
RiveR o f Pandile, Sanpino, Sa.rogulne
umpenm~nt. Seasonl. Tem perame nt.,
Wi nd.
All dorfer. A., 339 n.I88, '7]
Ambrose. St. 16] f . 168. 1609, 170. 178
Epislol/J lUI HWfIfI/i/lN"" on Hebdomad and
Trinity. 164 f. J.Dd n . 114
' 64 n. 1lI4 (on pace 163)
Amien,. c.thedn.l. eycle of virb u.. a.r.d vkeI,
]00 0.67
Amma!!. Ja.t:
E)'lntJlitb B,ull,Iib,,"l IIlIn SI4/Ul, 1"41
E ".. 319 " . 134: Woodeut In armorial of
1,98. M~\an(:holy. 377. ]18 n.lI. ]19.
]80. ]8a; 'I. Wolfea
Amymoa.~. 37? n9
/1,.__"",.
Anui..mes, )
ADdalus d~ Nip : on SatUlll I nd bis.ifta. ,,8
n .104: Saturn a!!d Philyra in MSS of. 103
AlIJ1us. pictorial reprelelltation of. in Zwl.
f"lteR Ma.nuseript. 179 D.9
Anonymous worb:
A d _, ' 0
lot ....
]l'
Anabaptista,
Anaxaforas. 3 D.86. 7l
Allecreua
INDEX
=
Commentary on Tbeophilus. Lit- u ..,i"b:
"' ,,1IIk,
Tbeofhilu,
C"""",,...dlU SIIN.tllli. " 'II"'1'1/J '/Jl~m"/J
(Comm~ntary 0 .. R.,i..u SIII"Ni/IlN_ .. ).
12 1 a nd n . I"
D, l'OJIUI'IIOI"dll
IItIhtwdi",. 190 n.]
19~ n .]9: woodcull in editiom: o f 153 1.
1'53. I,,. : ]00 D.66. ]35 and D..177. 40.
0. m.....t' 1'O",,' illlliflfl' 8] n. lb
0. ,II1II1_ .h"ori bNI, 104 n.119
Fioridi Virl". nl n .a l . n7 n .J3.
D."
G/wiu , ..p.r }I1IwaNNiti...... u, .....t.r i;t uGai n
bo".
'''Ito'''''''''.
,1MJlI_ ...
Galen. Comme.nt&ties
n~,..
<is
ftMl
..H,"",
_roa~
( ocol
nrr)
....
II"
."i_.
'"
",-
,.,
"
~6 n . 110. 47 J1fI. I1 I- 4
32. ,~ , 119n.15:. IH. l a8. ]2]. 337
Alberti and. ]6r 11.166
and Dati, Leon di Pi~tro. 1" n.] 1
F>cino and . 156. 1]8 and Q.,o. 1,59 and n .,].
Aretaeu'.
Aristot1~.
,"
311 D . 99
,,0,
..
"~'
D77
..
D.. 107
Wk. Nu.--u.. 34 n.n.69. 7'0 : n
n.73:]1 n n .86. 17: 39 n 9t : )31 and
~,
F rtqtton" ]9 1194
MIIp/J Mtwill u. n . 73
M,,.ploysiu. 37 Uld n.8,5: ]8 n.89
p",tiu . ]9 and 119.
P alitiu, 38 n.88. 6.t n1I7
PrtJbltmlllll X I . JB. <l,uoted by Albertul
l\.lagoUI, )6 n .82: Cited by Ficino. 159
n .,,: Fr ench translation of. itlUlt ...
tiona in. 196
Prabl,... XI. JB,]4 and n.7,.)]8 0. 186
hoOt".. XXX. r. I, fI .. 4 0. 44
'"
CoN".
-""
n.II 8
spurious .... orn:
0. ,pi.it"., ... i ..lI. 13 ... 113.16, n78
AurelianU. Cieliu!. U ' CaeHus AUlelianus
Auster. JU .... <fir Winds. p~l5onificati O"J
Averroel;
(Allitd A ..,""",s. 90, 91 and n79
Cq., ...... ,a.,. aN Aristollt' J MtI.p~y$"J 338
... 187 (on pag~ 339)
and Galen ', doc:tri .. ~ of crase" 99 n . Inl
and m~Lancholy. 90 ii.
A\'eJToists, 7a n. l ,5
lwicuPO; U. 87. 88. 4 0 ~ and n . j
in I'''icino. 36]
and G,len', doctrine.,. n;&)~" . ....
Gu..neriu. and 96
and ~~opbtonlcdoo:trme of~:r:anauon 1~1
D.h
and tb~ temperam~:lts. "'I
...ork.:
UW ""0"". 8S. So) and n 69. ",:0 n *:.
93 Ind n.S7. 101 and n.IOb
Ba.bylon. T~mpl~ of Bel. Bet~UI priest of. 140
Ba.bylonianl . pllnetary dOC:lnn~ of the. IJi:
It&t worsh ip of th~. 136
&cchul. ~67 n.8!. ~04
B1Cb. Karl Philipp Emmanuel. di~tat,on
Detweefl ""I~lancholic"s" .nd "SangulD'
cus". set to mUllC by. 2~8 n.J,5
Bacon. Roger. a6~ n7,5
Baltil. Aphrodite equated with. 136
Baine. !of/d,d" de compo,,,,. ))6 n ..\3
I
Ba.mber,. Sacristy of 5t Ja mes. Copy o.
Dli rer . "Four Apostles" . J6S 3lId n.297
Barban. Jacopo de'. and Dllrrt's al t . J6~
Ba:rberilli, Fr&neeICO, ~-4! n. ~
Bartholomeus AnShcu s {Bartholomeus de
Glanvillal. D. prop. i,'alib" . H.-u .... SS .. 61.
173 D. , ,2. 187
DuthOIOm~UI of "'u.;in a. trantLal:nll o! .\n l
totle 's P.ot.h ...
6S and n I
&rtholomc,,. St. ) 18
Bartolomto d, P1rma :9: ... ~:I -: ! :o~ . .ia
",o.
n , ' l6
INDEX
IXDEX
Bud, ':it J9j n 6 .
(la.,le . (ounci) of (1 4)3). ;Sieho las 01 eusa',
D. t"..".,.d""I,o r. J/IIHit. prepared for, 1 19
Bal5'" clle I ILI:-.llli c f, H. I'lire Hrother tbe
' J>
J. H .,
Ikcku
u.
Dfode.
anonymous t ...:t
".,
and H.klecard of
B~. 110
and Hu!:ueI de FO\IiUoi', 60euine 01 tem
work,
'01 n . 11 1
V, 1l,,'t Q'
'''"
. ..
I,S n . I O~
lltho,",~n. and "'t'lanella l)'.
2)81\.'9
&:11 ... :1\. Bart hel. .\l a d a M a, 39 3 1\.,5 6
In. J79.
J80
Bellilli.
CioviUlnl:
AfI,plU.
}06;
Fou.
Boeckbont,
n.,.
".,
_b"
Caelius Aurdiallus,ln
...:",0$ d d,o"j...
ril. 46 rm. I'!i. ,,6. 119 : 48 nn.II, 21: .so
10.1)1
Caesar. Julius, 3.17 n."'4
~pinll$, Caelius. 289 11.11
Calendars:
""tin'.
I"'''''"
p.:.,",.
."tidri.
D'=
CensoTinll$, DI do.. ".u.li. 46
B . II ,
V.'-:1.::'21
20,
1'1 . 1)
.uros ..,......,.....
"4,.68.
'-
'10. 1]2
and AriltoteUa.aAOtioaof mtla.ncholy. 4) f .
249 and 11..20. 1.50 11.27 (011 pace 1'1)
portrIlit 01. In Liberal Am cycles. )11
died in commentary 011 !be Rtf''''''' 5111""itA" ..... 121
....d Rhetoric, )12 D.99
on Satum .. _ of Caclus. 1;>6
works:
D, dilli"IIIw.." 41 D.\I9. 44 n .ln1. 140
D.47: )78 n.1I
D, ,,1II..rll .uon..... 1)7 nn.37. 38; IJ9
I'I.H 6. 1'1. 112
Tt4ICt4J."oI' di&pulolliOtlu. 33 and n.6.5.
42 D.\I9. 43 nn. 102, In,; 249 and 1'1.19
Qcantha!. 1391'1. 44
Oementlnu Clemeotius. LtlCflbrtJJW"cJ. 00
Mercury and black bit". 260 D.,6
CUmacn.. JohaJuIeI..
a;",..,..
CnIdu medical KhooI 0 44
Cobv.... Bible, Viriato of St J"''' in. )14 11.10,
CodIlaauI. J ohn. DO~. ton'espt.adtnce...;th
)64 11.'1]6
Cod..... Saturn _ of. 176
-1-
4'4
INDEX
0'
.,.
'''''''I'lIQ ..
INDEX
Cusa_ _ t .
worb:
D,_d4I ..1i1l ullIolo"(a , 1 ' 9 f. aDd II...I~
D. doda ;pwrlJ.uitJ, I j6 n .98, 112 n. l14
"-1
90 n.'0
Dorothe1.ls 1"","010,"'), on Saturn in oonjuneti= with Man, 141, 143 ..... d D.10
Dnsden., GemAldel&lerie. s.w.. ~ of /AI
Vi,.,;", attributed to Dilres-, 362 D.268
Dresden., Kupfentiebbbindt, Friedrich. eu.
par David. M.ta~lrol:y, drawing, 39) Uld
Drawings:
L 13, 370 11.)06
L 79, study 0 1 DtlreJ"'s wife (?), 289
.0.26
L 8l, p.,e from iUulltration to Pircl<
beimu I traa>mtion of tbe Horapollo,
3'3
Engravings:
B 10. 322 D.125
B 42, 362 n .266
B 46. 362 .0.268
B 18, A posllu, 366 and ft.299
B 49, Afioltlu, 368 and n'l99
B 50, A/I<>J1i1s, 368 and n.299, )70
D3 06
13 -,6, tlr, 010.-" D,ea .... ) 0 2
B 34, 322 nI2S
B go, 322 1l.f1$
Ad<:r ... and I;:w, 378
51 j t ro",&. 313 n .107, 320 n .T2O. 3,0
n .218, l6.f n. 276
K ..i, Id, D,a,lr, a..d IA. Dwil , 3,0 ". 2 , 3,
313
MadMI"lJ at 1M WaJl, l l 8
M,u,",,"a 1, 228 .0.36 (on page 2.29),
241.243, 184- l 73 pas.;"" 41>1; and
C&m pa.rnoJa'. engraving of Saturn.
212: descriptiOD of. by MelanclithoD.
319 D.1I7, 320 D.T2I, 321 n T23 ;
described by James Thom.an, 233
ft.49; and posterity 314 II.
Steel engnlVl.Dg B 70. '"TItI lX.pai,i,.,
Ma .. " , JOj n .U2, 349 n.217 (on
page )So). 403 if.
paintiDP:
All Sai.. I" 363 n .21'
Barbcrinl picture, )70 n.306
costume PIcture L 46~, )22 n.U.s
Four Apestl,., MUDlcli, 361 n .268,
366-373 ","riM
Hdl", AI"" . 370 n.306, 312 D31l
!Xlf-/XWtrll iJ, L 429, )63 and D.21l
Pr.aycr book o f Ma.s..im.ili..... I , Acedia in,
3 17 and n .114; St J ohn on Patmos in.
3'4.010,
woodcu ts:
B 3, )22 .125
B l8, l70 n .l06, 372 D311
DUrer_Oftl.
B 60,
B 10,
13 80,
B 84,
".
",J.
'95
.we.
I NDEX
I NDEX
Feue:l.>ach. ,>'rue!m. (phi,t~I(' awl Ta ~ ri . )9)
F.el1lO, '!~If,ho 56 11 ..10, 95. 97. ,Sq. ~ .u
l~~ iI.:ld
Commenl;l.rlu:
on PIUo, 26:. on Pla iD" Symposi um ,
i'torem:f'---('ot:l.
:>:eoplatoni!m at 96.
~73,
177. 28 1, 3.51. 36 1.
'"
",
:I ~ n . ~
,''so
CtmOmnoJ.ms:
I"HiPfHK.tIliup'thmill~,"
libtw . d 2.
90.70,.57 D. I ,58
on n.,oI
hB,.no... 42 ".' 01, ]1 f..
6 62 (table)
~lis f!/!""S' 1.5 n.42. 16 ".+4. $2 f.
+w.-
10 1 D. I08
n ....
n ....
ICptUIf_ .
13 n.)o .57
I,
ezcerpta.
D.43
TJX"'I ......poO:;.63 (table). 6.5 n. 17.5
S pulious worb:
Opo< u. . .p'.rol. 87 D..57
II ....
60, 61. 6l (table). 6 4 89
n69. 99 " .98
Caleni!ts. 65. 101
Gameo.3 61
Ganymede, Aquarius as. 203
GaunCU!. Lucas. Oralio d, llI ..dib .., 4$lrologilll.
2.56 n.~)
Gelliu! . Aul us. quoted by Asrip!?" 0 1 Nettes.heim. 3.57 n. 2$~; Noct~1 Athuu. 16 and
n.48. ~2 n .IOO
Geraldo d .. Solo. commentary on Rluuea. 98
and D.g6
.
Genlll8. Matthias. MtllI~/w/Y. pain~ fo~
merly V~nna. Trail CollectioD. 380 and n.
19.381 .381
,..~,
x,".....
3'.
lOS
....
Giorgio. Fra.neeseo (Frauciscus GIrSi ul ). H .., _ill m""di loIiou. 211, 278 0.2
GiOt"Sione, 209. 288 D. 2.5
Giovanni d ... Conoon-eggio. PFlIdiUJ _ . 88
and D.6 92 ....80. 93 and 0.8,
Giova.nni d'ArcoJe (Jobann... MculanuI),
PFut'"' 92 a8I, 90f D.89
Girolamo d& Sa.n.ta Croce. U1
GlKII5ticism. 0f"i8i.0. of doctrine of the fOUI'l
jOllllley, 1,56 and n.99. 1.57
Goat (zod';--.rip). 13B n '40, 203: ehildreD of
the. '44 a$ 7
God the Father. as arcbitectnf the world. )39
0.190, 380 and n .19
GoeI, Hugo van dCI'. "' Hu so van der Goes
Goethe. 232 0 .46.236; W".,Aer. 236 n..52
GoIt&illS, Hendrik. Engravint\: B I 11,.An and
U.ou, 304 0.79 (on page 30'). 34~ A.2.02
Gordoniul. B .. p,.ut;",. 1m..", _Il.ci,," ........
' ''fHIJlI, 88 and n. 62
Gotha, l'oI u!l(!um. broadsheet with ve.-- on
the temperaments. 1t8 D.I.5I . 297 D..56
Gowu. John. ConJ.$$'O lI111<1ntil. I g~ n. 18.5.
193 and n. 206. 194 D.207
Gray. El.ty, '136 and D.53
G regory of NllEianEus . St:
HtmOilies. 199. 200
Conlrll /u/illn .. m. 198
In SlJnd/J lumi ..... 160 D.110, ' 99 f.
Guainetio, Antonio: '1.5.5 a41. 266. 404 D.7
and rnelaneboly. 9.5 fl.
PFtUliell. 88 and .11.6.5. 92 A.BI. 92 D.84 (on
~ 93). 94 a88, 9.5 11.
Guanent o, frescoes in Padua. Eremitani, 103
and 11.30. 28, D.20
Guarino, Batlillta. PtUI", F;tk. and Satulll.
173 P . I O~
Guercino. NOlie. 390 and D.~8
GUfl:Uelmo de Corvi, su Gulllelmus Bri.x.iensi,
Gu.do !A>10Dlla. Hulorill r rf1jllllll. on Satunl,
1.50 n 78
Guillaume de DiguUevilte. Pilni/l#l' d". YU
HWl'Uliru.. 287
Guillau,me de Lorrit. IU R _ .. " III Rou
Guillelmus Bri.x.iensis (Guglielmo de CorviJ.
p,.tuliUJ .5.5 ... 1.50. 88 and ...63. 93 ...110
Guillemeao. J .. TlIblt, lIu"""ipu, title en
graving in. 388 n . ~2
Gyrald 9S. L G . lh driJ gin/iii"," lI4IM "
,"ullipleJ< lIiskJri ... 17,5 and n.I,5.5, ' 16, 178
Hades, '3<4; Satum east loto. '42 ; 'I. Tllrtarul
Haly Abbas. Me 'MI ibn Abbb
Hamlet. as tragic melaneholic. 235
Hannibal. 22S D.30
Hau.sbu,lI, children of the planets lo tbe. 397
H ecate. 267 D.81
Hector. as melancholic. 36 :0..82. 68 11.1, 7'
H eemskerck, Marten van:
&eqllen(:e of the planets. engraved by
Muller. 397
temperamentseries. 33.5 D.178. 397; melan
ebolie in, 399
Hellos. n, SIUI
Henriens de Gandavo:
92 D.83 , 337. 34$. 365
notion of melancholy of, 347. 348. 3.)0;
and DU~e1". 3~8
H enricul de Gandavo--<:ont.
quoted by Pioo della Mirandola. 347 and n .
'"
AIMu,288
Heccules (Hcraeles):
Ares (planet) equated 'lll'ith. 137
on ooin from TIi.asos. 378 n.,5
ehoiee nf, 2.] 1
at the Cro.roads. 246. 199 a 6.5. 300 D.6 7:
eteh.inc by Christofl Murer. 33$ D.l;06
at "Forleua". 2~2 D.'1.
Labour. 01. 11 373
melanebolic frenzy of, .6. 17, 18. 119. 90
D7
Herotannu l OaImata:
D,
184 D. I 81
tnntlation of Abu. Mabr. 128 nn . .5 a.nd 6
HermG!l. equated with Nebu (Babylonia.n).
136: Psyehopompus and Miehael, 3.5.5 n.
24.5; eJ. Mercury
H ermes Trismegii tul . '74,230.3;9 n .IS.5 (on
page 330)
H ermippu B. Anoooymi Clirillia"i Hmnippto& d,
os.l~olofj4 diowg .. s, 1.58 n. l o.5
Herodi cul of enidu 8
H eslad: 134 I.. 1.53,3.56 a.nd D.2 .53
Tluogo"y. ' 34 and n. 17. 13.5 and nn .z6. '1.8.
31 ; 1.50 D79
WOI'lI! am! D.ys. I3~ and II.tl.19. '10
H eapenu. 136
Heue. allanus:
editor o f D. UllUnoll.w.. bo_ 1I..uIw4i....
300 D.66. 33.5 and D.I77. 3')6
FIU1'~,..,. 11 8 n.I.5 I (on pafle U9)
H eayehiul 01 J eru$alem, 39.5 D.62
Hildeprd ot Bingen, St: 113, 1~3 n ..51. 267
n .8 1
c. ...... ., ~......, 79 ..,d D.3'1. 80 ....d n .33.
110 I. and 1111.133-$. 137, 138: 11 1
doctriDe 01 temperaments. 110 f .
and mela.oeboly, 78. 79. 81
Hi~teanl, l :t . 33 .5', 10 1
Ilippocn.l:es: 8~
"""';/.1.
CAwJ>tu Hipt-rtJIieN,".
13
lo Fiei.no. 262
cited by J erome. 76 D.22
and ." pb ysi.08"nomy", .5.5
works a.scnbed to:
Ap.ttwl.rtlfllhl . 1.5 D.~Z
EPi/te",Iu. 1.5 .1111.40. 41; 34 n .]4; Galen'l
oommcntary on. SN .. ..ur Galen
nfpl aI,...,.., VU..--. ~II"""', 12
n,...
a..-BptJ.tf04i. set 14M" Anony
mous wOt"u
Holoot. Robllrt. Mor41i/aUJ, 173
H Olderlin. F . 239
Holy Spi rit. giftsot the. and lhescven planets,
164. J(i5 66, 168. 178
Homer:
lo Arl, tOtlll, PFobl_ XXX. z. 19. 20
and Calliope. 309
on Krona., 13~ f .
lli#tl.. 134. 13.5, 13911.4)
all melancholic cited by Apippa. of Ncttes.
helm, ~.56 and D.2.53
quoted by Mela.nebthon. 90 a.nd D.]O
+.:.._
I NDEX
HoadillS, Hendrick, Pidoru... alifIUM uk_~f.J. enrrav.:d title page, 344
and nn.,z05. 11106
Honci.u ibn lahlq. lit I;hmain ibn bl,l.lq
Honorius of Al1tu n, 61 n.173, H'~ n .III, 14)
wi..... : . .
n 5~
""i.......
c.oe"
melancholy ilIne. o r
t""'" ...
Jamhlic.hus;
H. 169. 358
INDEX
l
l
Capell.., 17''''
Johannes
Trithemiu5,
s,e
Trithcmiu s.
J """""~
o .d
J upiter---uttt.
Capit olinu.. 1M
Cavaleaoti', ltar, 251 and 11,41
children 01, 190
and Kronos-myth, 139 o.H, 162, 16],
18111.173, 186
dual nature of, 2.51 n.]o (011 page 252)
aDd geometry, )33
gifts of, IS6, 151, , 66 n . 128, 167, 18j. 19J
n.20s
the god aDd the planet, I JJ
connected with the liver, I JO 0.9
magic square of, )25. 326, 327 and 0 .li8
as Marduk (Bahylonian), 136
name of day of the week (in Marti.'! of Bra_
can), 16J n .n o
nature of. 128 n.5, 132, 21io(
in Neoplatonillt. "series", 151
patron of men engaged in law. 260 0.S6
portraits o f, 20, ; bUlt. In Antea MSS. 198 ;
in oriental iIIurtratioo, 202
"ratio" aDd . 272, 317
and u..nguine temperament, 137, ,87, 397
and Saturn, 218
aod serious mu! le, 268 n .93
and tb e seVeD ages of man. 149 n.74
st, iJ1SI1 Zeul
Ju venal. 1.. 0 n.41, 172
'H.
"anti"" u,.,..
A.. E""',.
INDEX
INDEX
Libera l Aru---con l.
Celtes-woodcut. 279
TheoloB.a . 348
Ligonl, J Alk,O'>, 0/ AUII"'", 286 0. 11
Li lle. :'lum \Vicar, (.\I~ "an Leyden,
",el .y. d r ......;ng. 330 n.' S] .
GIO-
Jean d~
~-r",,~e.
3'. n . l o,5
33'
]7]
1"
...,.
au
...
n7
3"
".
Milton, 228 ft .
Ren' of ADIou."MelencoLie." 11 I ft. andnn,
daughter 0 Saturn Illd Vesta. 119
and "Tristesse". 2]1
Portraits 01: :1.87 f . 288, 288 n .2S (on page
:8g), 3~9 n.l"
A.C., Mu ter. engraving. 376, 3770 179
Amman, j Ollt. woodcut in Armorial of
1,589. ]17. 378 0.1'. 379, ]80. ]82
!leham. engraving. 329 n .I" , ]77. 379,
380
,onto
3"
",
a.,
INDEX
422
73
n . 08
Misul, U I M_hall
Mithnlc tombstones, 212
Mithridates, 22,5 n .]o
Mi.u.ldu l (:,{i~.u ld). Antoine. of MontluftOn,
Ct>mdolf"pMil, 324 n. 136: Pltnletdopll, 27'
11.1 00
children o f, )81
in Fidno. '53 n )4
gifh of. I S6. I S7. 166 n.n8. 193 n.~05
snd corresponding humour. 129 and n.8.
."
man.
D.51
vill""l fIIamel
Mythova,Phus H T.
1.ondimensb
III
"flld,r
AlbericD!I
wi/.,
391
II
INDEX
......,
n.10 4
IJer'
,od.
Orphics:
on Kronos, 138, 14), T54 and nn.91;
o..pJ." llymflls, 1)5 0.30
OrpJoit:Ol'14rf11frllpfllll"tlJ, I ) , n .30
Orphic tombstones, 212
Osiris. Zeus equated with, 136
Ovid: 12.1. '10. )56 n.~S3
Ibis. 140 D.41
Met.",rwploosO$. 214 n.l08
Ovide morali~, 173 and D.146; ilhlstn.tiou of
Saturn in, 208, 209 n.48
Louvre:
Chaperon. Nicholu, dn.winSs, 390, 391
and 11. 49
Langren6e, M,kJ"d~I)', 391 and n.,t
N~tre Oi.me. cycle of virtuCi and viees. )00
n .61
P:umenides, alld early Creek . tlII'.worshtp,
."
I,
eIUI.S"',
$Ot1i1ications
-"".,.
n . 19
Philodemu$. 138 D.39
Philolau.s, S, 9 n .20, 136 D.36, 1)8 n)9
Philostratus, Titiaa's uconstr\Iction of pte.
tures of. ~ I O
u,
5,,,,u,,,,,,
01'"'
...
&0/
C~,~ -
:~ 9
and :t . H
I NDEX
1'1"'1 0--'....11.
FiCUIO and , 260 D.)6, , 6:
oJ<xtrine 01 Ideu, ) 62 and 0.:110
Guaincno and , 96
bocos<;ope 01, lH and 0.49
doctrme of rccollectioll, 8 ..
a child 01 Sa tu rn . '73 and 1lIl, 105. 106
" H" ann,,::" nature of the melancholic, 115
'Il \Vilham 01 Conches, 18) &nd n .IS.
w(trk l.
Cra',du,. 13311,J9. 'n. 'S .. lUId 0119
Ep,,,,,,.,",,
1) 6
an d n.5 1, 46 n. 1I7.
IH n .9O. 3 39 11.1')0
n .II ).
1~5,
Libe ~
'99
u.
Produ~ .
I"
Ps),,"""""""'.
10", l S6 n.2 H
Lllu's, 154 n90
L t ll " IS3 n ,Ss
T""uw"
DH
INDEX
'"
aJQablsl, _ Aicabitiul
QuiDtilian, 121 and 11. 1,6
RabaD", Maums: 18 D.27, 8" 171
D. ""i""'$<), dexri ption of Saturn, 19B
D.I2: ilIusuation 01 Saturn , 198. 200,
20.; MS, Moot.. CousIoiuu, ::1"9 u.8g: MSS
01 the filteenth Ct:DtU f)', 208 n.47
RainaJd 01 Florence , Archbishop , Ficino's
ldte" to. 259 n .52, 261 n.,58, 27 1 D.I OO
Ramler. K. W., KII"I'/~su M)'flw~. 286
D.7. )2) a.nd n .130
Ranwvios. r , od(IJ\I.S uJ,~k1u, on Saturn
and night animals. ) 2) n .I )3 (QQ page 324)
Raphael: 396:
as melanc30lie. 232, 241, 161 n.266
mosaic in Sta Muia del Popolo, )8 1
Sd<IOl 0/ .Atlonu, Heraditvi in, 288
S)'bih in S. Maria ddla Pace. 316
Ra.ymond. 01 Marseille. De '''' $'' PUUUUlNf"',
184 D. 18,
a i-Rbi, "' Rhazea
RedliCh. Sebastian, 319 D.tl1. 320 n.12I, 321
n.12)
Reid. W . H amilton, 2 11 n.1
Reinhart, Marcus, of Kirehheim (Ptin ter).
H rJl'(u B. V. Marioe. 297 D. ~6. 397 D.72
Reisch. Gregor. M.'I.,iI. pll .lrnoplo~, "Ge0metry" in. )12 fl., 337 if. )32; poJ1::l'ait of
PtoJemy;", 328 D. 149: " typu. Arithmetica .... in, Jog n .91
Rembrandt: D ...,. Hermitag... 322 11.125;
dn. ... ing H.d.C. 8n. 393 n.,6
RemigillS o f AuxerTt!. Commentary on llartianus Ca.pe:lIa, '72 an.d n .144
Ren~
.,.
n. li
n.,
Richardul Salernitanul, 6g
Ri<iewall, JobJl 0 1.
JobJl Ridewall
Ripa, Cesare: 2421U. 391. 393, )94, 395 11.62
Com'Pkuilnli, an the melancholic, 374 11.4
ltonolu,w., )44 D.206, 374 alld n.4; 379 n.13
"Acci<iia" in. ~81 11.39
ori "Asnology' 288 ,11.35 (an page 2Sg)
blo,t U attribute of dusk, 320 n.119
"Malinconia" i ll. 226 f. and nn.31, 32:
228 n .)6 (OQ pago 229), 229. 286 and
D.9. 314 and 0.4,387 aDd n .)9
"Mlitationc" in, 387 D.39
"Me<iituionfl della Morte", )88 and n .40
peacock. meaninl of, 3 1) D.1 02
Rivers 01 Paradise. pcnonilieatlQJU o! thfl;
Rootoek. baptismal fo nt. 293 D.H; u:d the
lour temperlrm1l u, )67
Rivius. Vih''''''JU Tn.tsdI. 309 n .J9 (011 page
3 10), 328 D. 13
R(nII(J" tk /(J RIJJI, 184 11.. 185: allelories In, 221
and nn.21, 23; 222 : Saturn, '93
Rome:
Museo CartOlino, Salone. No.)(J, bast with
relief 0 Rhea. ud Saturn, 197 alld D.6,
u.
.~
'99
....
.".
u .."""' Michel-
.i_
~clui.
H ans, Gtspr6c1o
2.8 n .5
1"
e.,...
I NDEX
Sa~OOIt.
nature:
auspicious,
..,
repreaentations of:
206,287 f., )11. 38.
in ancient art, ' 96 fl.
Campagno!., Giulio, engraving, 2 10 ft.,
288 and nn.24. 25: 324 n . I~'
Carta.ri. V., ~ I",agilli d, I de; degli
,,"Iithi, ~14 n .6.!
00 Cheyn, 399 and n.76
Eastern types of, 20~
Florence, Campanile, relief, 209 n.48
Jull iength, stand mg, 1<)6 J.
as Indian, ~04
in Italian grapbk art, 201, 209
as King of Latium, 201
in MaDll$eripb:
Andalus de Ni8ro, ~o3
in A ,41tll MSS. 198
Atbos, Panteleimon. Cod. 6. 199 and
n .11
Augustine, St, D, tivilal, Del. FfeI\eh
translation of (Ci ll d, Di,OI). ,08
CallOlldar of .... 0.35 ... ' 98
Erlurt. 196 nH
8'l~illri
dA ...
o,.
..,
."
Pam.
I NDEX
"
$aturn--<:olli.
~ua, EremHanl, Jre8CO. 20). 287 0.20
Salone, tre.coe.. 20" ])2
ke:r'
'"
'"]0.
Scn.nus of Ephesul!
and melancholy. 44. 48, 50 D.I ]1
pseudo-Sorann.. on the Temperaments. 1I
n .24. 59 D.16], 60, 61 n .I"]O, 62 (table),
64,6, and n.176, 112 n. 142
Spee. F. von. T.OItnuuJill"t4ll. 219 n.9
StagiriUl, Chry_tom', letter to, u. u"dnChry_tom. John
Stahl, G. E., Neu-Wf'b,,,n-l, u/l" ,,<>to d~ ..
TPllp"ra"'~lIle ... 121 and 1).160
Stein am Rhein, Inn "Zum r otell OehselI",
copy of J O$4: Am man', woodcut Md.. III'looly.
378 n.1I
Steinle. Md4 ..doly. watcf-<:olour. Frank furt,
Stlldelsches KUDJtin stitut, ]92 and n.55
Sterne, L. , 2.J7
Stoic.:
Kronof...Satttrn myth. interpJ"etationof, 160
and Galen', aDatomy of the bra.iJI, 69 ft.5
aDd melancholy. 42, 4l f 49. So
"Moira" and astro1ogieal iatalism, 139 and
n ..,
."
Tasso, 23]
Temperament the ina" pictorial representa
tions of; a79, 288 and D.23. 191-)06 p/Uri",
in almanaes. ]74 and n . I
Bloemaert, Abraham and Comelis, )86
D.]7 (on page ~87)
De Gheyn. Hendrik, 335 n .178, 398,]99
Dilrer'l Fou. A~Jtll.l, 366-73 f>dsri ...
He.e.mskerck. Marten van. )35 n .I,8.397. 399
Mon.ndini. Fra.nceseo. Florence, Paluzo
Vecehio, J86 and n.]6
in Shepherds' Calendars and Books of
H Ollnl. with animalsyrnbols.378. ]79 and
n .13
VIIS. Marten de. 398: engraved by Gerard
d e J ode. 349 n.a I7 : by Pieter de J ode,
396 &lid nn.68, 69: by J. Sadder, J96 069
su ..J,o Choleric, Melancholic, Phlegmatie,
Sangume
Terenot. MSS o f, 208 D.47
Tertullian: 16]
A d ..41w..u. 161 and n .ln
.-4pologdit;. 1)5 n .3J. 160 and n .l08
D. idololri 1 )9 n. ,07
..,
Titian: 209, t il
D""".. Prado.]H n 115
Paintinp for Alfonso 1 o f F ,""3.ra , ~I 0
reconstTnc lion o! Philos tral1c r'Clllru ;10
/I " ....
. ChrYSO$lo m quoled HI ,
7 ~,
76 and n.2t
El'i."'I" ...", / tJ""/'lIm", lit .. c"'''' 3P n.n~
TraJan. Emperot. ~6
Tsehemi.ng. AndrelS. Vo,I.<lb dts SlImm,rs
d~" '$c/ln- Gdif Ai. (M t lll,,,Il<'ly
.p,,'/u
~" .
n.3l
,i,. ),
.\ : ,
ISDEX
\'lI.!~!oC"~ d~
n .8~
D~
"
."
JJ. 16 . 0. 112.333
...
r\o-
iloc:acclo. I; ~
.S,
;u
- hhun. 1)6
""d ;0)'\1101) mllm. ~63 11.9)
"kwu ", . 66
196 n.4
n.I,!
\"crLlIne, P .. t40
, ' eronete, J>aok). 51 11,"'111, )93 n .l6
VealiL.., A.. 69
Vesta, mo thu of Melancholy. n9
VcHiu. Valens: 13t, 19 1
A .. ,ItoWfiIJ ....'" Lib_i, on J,lcn;ury .. patton
o f Ceoomctry a nd PhilOlOphcn. 260 n.36;
on Sa tu rn. 14J a nd n.lo. 143. 144 n.l7,
145. 146. 147 a lld n.68, 148, 150
Vicn,
A!1egoricl; .. Ad PenooificatiOllJ
Victorinus 01 Pettau. TP"lUI/It.., " jUln.IJ
.." . ...i, 16 4 and n . 11I 1
Vlen, J oteph Marie. Do .." IoII1IJ..cIuJ/i,. 391
n 5 J
Vienna:
n., .
u,
Kunsth.lstorillChl'S MU8eu m:
Crall.eh. L . Pa,lOdiu , 383 n .2)
s,
" ,.
"'indicia", 1...61/" 111 P ",/4Idiou, II n.24, 48, $9
Vlnecnt,
Fran ~oil
And~.
M&,"Iwlu. 391
Vlodieian-<cm/.
and Hildq:.1.rd of Bi..n,en, 110
/lIId Hugues de Foullot', doctrine o f tern
pen.meats. r0 7, 108 aDd ... 1)' . fog
Uifluenor. OJ> popular doctrine Ui the Middle
Ages. 114, 118
in Jean de St Paul, Fluru .ifUl4''''.... II~ I,
Bel, 136
~d =
A u(U$tiDe. ,62;
Lact:a.utius, pil8I&(e OJ> SaWfIl bNecl OJ>
lina from .60 "' 108; qlKKed by Mean
eh tbon, 89. <)0, ft70
Euopa. 1180. 131 n .2$.
Virtues, ue Allqories and Penooikationa
Vlacher. 373
Vitellio, n.,. ~. Rotner', title _oodeut
in, 328 ... 130
Vos, MaiUn de: 398
Planetlents. eng~ved by G . de J ode altec-.
349 n 2!1, 374, 388 n411
Tempcn.menWeries. clI(f"&ved by P. de
Jode after, 329 "" 33, 396 aDd oD.68.
69; engraved by J. Sadeler alter. J96
."
\eqt"~.
I NDEX
n. I ~,
1 00. 1111
Zepb)'1'lLS-lI;I.npine. 279
Wine-llo_l (_sldWi.,.,,) . ' " Cn.1.er
Wolfrgg. T~mperameol-4eriet, dn._inp a ttributed to Jost Amman. )18. 379
,
,
ILLUSTRATIONS
,.
.., ..
."
"
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"
,,
'.~.
'<-
-\ . 1
,-~ ~
. .'
.,,'
'
I.
Berlin, KupfefStichkabinett
,. ,
, ' ,,""~'
,.
J.
J........~ .... \
Study I<"IT the doc:
Muste Iklnnat
6.
Dilrer's study for the compasses and the moulding plane. Dresden,
Lan llesbibliothek
"--- '--"
5.
Berlin, Kupferstichkahinett
7.
Dresden, Landesbihliothek
.
8.
DUrer,
~ ketch
fo r the t1uttO.
I t.
9.
10.
~tum.
Saturn.
Calendar of 3.54.
Biblioteca Vaticana
N~tune .
Rabanus :'<launlS.
Saturn. !.eiden,
Unilleraity Library
1,5.
16.
' 3.
'7
q .
Vatican
'9
18.
19-22.
"
"
Saturn's exaltation and de<:line,
25.
l).
Sa,turl'1'~
Oxford ,
26.
Chantilly,
24.
:\ Iu~
Conde
r
I
.,
17
.. ;';'
"I
19.
,0.
'itS .
s. tum .
Biblioteca ,'aticana
l unch
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r'
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,o-
"'-~;' . !.
It -," '
, ,I L
33
31-J]. Children of Saturn.
J4.
l':uill. Bihliflthl"<llIt'
,6.
J .~ .
\on""u" it~
of t he Faithfu l.
".",hem.
of the Planeu. \"ienna,
37 Inftuenee!l
::.: ationa ll>iNi" the1:
"
. :.
3<)
38.
Blockbook .
copper engraving
.:;
4 1.
40,
~'
' ,'
.14.
-f~.
I.ondon,
u.
t
,
,.
Bihliot hl:que
~ationa le
Paris,
,'.
-Ii
Ilresden.
, 9
Saturn .
,, - ,
Rimini . Tempio
'"
., z.
~larte n
51 .
F.ros as a carpenter.
Etnlsc:an
mirror
53.
54.
,6.
.~S .
Rh1! r god.
"'
.- , . ......_,._'
.. ...-." ---'~-
'~ r ~
~ ~-'~"' -
:is,
Formerly Strasbourg,
5 ~'
Amsterdam, '702
60.
61 .
\'ienna,
6:!.
Stutt~art.
63.
Landesbibliothek
Paris, 1489
6...
66.
,-
~e\\'
67,
,r _
-,.
,f
'-'-
6.<1.
Hip".
"'10(' :\ltL-.nchulic.
1",,01''1[;/1.
H'"I~ 1(103
~1elaneh<Hy
and
.,.-
H "-lin~
,,,
diagram.
,..
Healinlt h\' IICUurl:lll j(. I ~ .u.
l3iblil,llho...... ' ue !'1\tin nal e
F ra nkfurt .
1 ' .~ 7
,
-
~>ti
~~ ..:~ ~~
7!o.
Th~ ,\ J,teo;
78.
76.
London,
Zurich . Zentt'albibliothek
if).
T he \\heel .. f Ufe.
80.
"
"
"
'"
"
m
"
"
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"
Itl'
"
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8z.
_~_
=_
r. .
yUle
,":(1:;ro!'.:Ubttib
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-.
.
f
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..............
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8).
DOrer, l'hibiophia.
1502
4[Scmguinfu0'
([,'Cnr" conpl.,ion nnb '\lOn lufl ~i(.
1Z'l\tuml> rep ",it I)od}muaa on'3pl,
85.
86.
SlI. nj::uinic.".
LI1.'<uria.
creol.cicu.'
cr'Cnr.. compl.,ion itt It.twn r.u",
~cbl.". ~ii 11Ii.grn ifC ~n(<< .~nlriia:'
87.
Cholerics.
Augsburg Calendar
88.
Di:<eordia.
Amiens Cathedral
AugsbuT)1: ('.alendar
:\m;el1~
Cathedral
,
(".f1' Rmoticu6 1
~nrtr comple, ift mil ",orr.. met
Da,uiil ",i, (.bCiliheil nil miigrn Ion
""!lin
flo)
n.
I'hlCj:matic,.
A u~shur,l:
('a len(laT
d
go. a-d.
S tra shouT!t
I,
'llldcncolicu
C'Onf,rcompleJion ift...,n !I!n .. pcb
~.,iib fe;; ",i, fd)",annU'riskept glad)
89 b.
.\ leJancholiao.
AUglItml"g Calenclar
~ I'
Q:.'.
:\c('din,
H(\.~le.
]'i:upfer!<tichkabinett
94.
"J .
En vy anl1 Sloth .
T he Astronomer.
Venice. '494
I ~allx- ,\rt:;
')5.
Xuremberg. 1535
97.
.)6.
. ..
--'"r'"
~""""'F i:l"r
;;I
-Pictures of the
~ason~.
Raha"\l~
:\Iaufus.
Monte .Cassino
Library
00.
l'ea.<'l!1t.~.
SarC0 i'hat: I1 ~.
10 1.
Science. Art. Prudence. Entendement.
Sapience. The Hague. Museum Meermanno\ Vestreenianum
fOZ .
Geometry. London,
Britis h Museum
,,
103.
Deduccion loable.
;\Iunich, Staatshihliothek
I O~ .
Tht H a.nd o f
(~netry .
Stra...hrn.ITJ::. I;'iO~
G~'I(l
106.
London.
II I.
IU.
Oxfo m , 1638
l 1J .
' 58 1
IS.
MEL A N C H 0
L I A.
$r",d'.'IIfllltll5l1 ~1t(l'~Qjfstm'!r.:
11 8.
Melancholy.
Frankfurt,
1}8.)
".
" 9
,"
'"
11 9- IZ!.
\'iq~i!
123.
'"
"7
124-127.
Wo!fCIU:. Filrlltliche
Salllmhmgen
128.
Halca~
f30.
,
.!
f
,,
131.
.'.-Ielancholic )laiden.
\'enice, 155 2
' ,\~ .
Bonn, L..'l.n(leIlIlU!ieUm
I.
13.,
Paris,
~hl *
du Louvre
1 3~ ,
139.
llelanehnliell.
1,1 ,
'.1' ,
)l nrlen .1o:
\ 'f),
Phlc,.: ln:'l.tic!<
DO~r.
Bremen. Kun,.thal1e