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Lilly the translator.

I suspect many of the arguments about what a certain Renaissance astrology author is saying comes from they not being exactly concise translators.

But that’s for another day.

I want to point out that when he said (Christian Astrology, volume II, page 268) that “I have endeavoured to English the Iatromathematicks of Hermes, much esteemed in all Ages, and here to insert them, as being necessary to the Judgments of this house”, he wasn’t kidding.

He’s a bit liberal with the Latin source, and changes the organization a bit, but, as far as I can see, it’s all there: the entire Iatromathematica, attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, the Three Times Great, Many Times Exaggerated, mythical character.

The text was written in Greek and translated into Latin several times.

I found on Google Books an edition with David Hoeschel’s and Johannes Stadius’s translations along with the Greek source.

After careful examining the original, I came to no conclusion about anything whatsoever because I know absolutely nothing of Greek.

But comparing both Latin versions — a language that I also can’t really read, but which I ignore a great deal less than Greek — he seems to have used Stadius (or, at least, between them, he did not use Hoeschel).

For example, right before the list of medicines that cool the body, Lilly writes:

“Continued feavers, frenzies, exculceration and inflammation of the lungs and lights, and such like diseases, draw their originall from from Saturn and Mercury; against such diseases, medicines that refrigerate are most proper; of which sort are these:”

In Hoerschel’s Latin text, we have:

“Astringentes autem febres, morbus lateris, et pulmonis, et quotquot sunt huiusmodi morbi, sub Saturno atque Mercurio fiunt. His igitus contrarie refrigerantia”

Stadius versions states:

“Continuae vero febres, pleuritides, et pulmonis exulcerationes, sive inflammationes, similesque a Saturno et Mercurio originem trahunt. Atque his morbis refrigerantia adversantur, utpote:”

And this is not the only instance. Whenever there’s a difference in Latin, Lilly seems to be closer to Stadius.

Note: yes. Both lists (the refrigerating medicines, right after this sentence, and the calefactive ones which follow) are weird. I wrote a very detailed identification of all of them, discussing the sources that he used, as a note to an edition of the second volume of Christian Astrology… which I have never published. One day, one day.

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Dante and C. S. Lewis.

I wrote in the previous newsletter about Dante. He mixes astrological symbolism everywhere in his poem, and does that wonderfully. It is informative and a delight.

C.S Lewis tried to fashion each of the books in his “Chronicles of Narnia” after the symbolism of the planets, with less wonderful results.

I can’t even remember the “correct” correspondence between the books and the planets.

It is very easy to explain this difference by comparing both authors’ literary relevance, but there is more.

Dante lived in a time in which most people believed the Cosmos was a hierarchical and concentrical set of spheres. He studied and discussed astrology as a living thing.

Lewis was an academic. He saw this body of knowledge as a “subject”; something for PhDs to write about and discuss upon; the ancient remains of a bygone age.

It was artificial for him, so it’s artificial for the readers.

The funny thing is: when he was not trying that hard to sound smart, he did some nice symbolic work. Each of the four children are clearly associated with an element (the brave King of Kings, and his well-spoken — and easily seduced by the well-spoken White Queen — brother are fire and air; the sisters, one stable and reliable, the other changeable, inconstant, but sensible and lovable, are earth and water).

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…and Tolkien.

Tolkien’s work seems much more alive and less like a University presentation — at least as long as symbolism is concerned — because he seemed to be more interested in telling a good story.

His treatment of number is masterfully coherent. Whenever there’s a three (Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas — the Taoists would have no problem in seeing Man, Earth, and Heaven here), it works differently from a four (the four hobbits).

His rhythm is also symbolic — the beginning of the Lord of The Rings (from the first chapter up to Moria) seems to be a journey around the houses — down to Tom Bombadil, a clear fifth-house event, being inserted between the bottom of the chart (the tree that drags them down) and the sixth house (the barrow-wights).

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Pluto and changes.

Pluto is about to change sign. No, I’m not doing any kind of prediction about it here, but it seems well-worth investigating. It is not the most important body in the Sky, but it is so slow that these things take forever to happen.

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… And Saturn.

Since Saturn entered Pisces, the weather has been really weird. Most days are sunny and hot, with heavy rains late at night.

That’s it for now. See you soon.

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I have an Instagram profile, although I have really been struggling to post there recently. It’s Here.

There’s a nice (at least, I loved having written it) series of stories about Tolkien in the Highlight section.

You can talk to me also on Twitter (@mvsmonteiro) or by email ([email protected]).