History of Monsters. 117

...then spit it out into a silken cloth, tie it up, and throw it toward the wild beast; through this experiment, the animal will immediately stop in its tracks. It is further added in those same commentaries that, by another experiment, the singing of birds can be understood: as long as a man places a bit of mandrake root in both ears, then adorns the ring finger of his left hand with an iron ring featuring pitch in place of a gemstone, carries a pine leaf in his mouth, and holds an iron rod tipped with gold in his right hand to prick the pine leaf—then the voices of birds will be understood. Again, in the same passage, one reads that a person seized by the "falling sickness" [epilepsy] can be freed without medicine if someone digs into the ground with three nails at the spot where the epileptic first touched the earth when falling; by burying the nails and speaking the patient's name aloud, a perfect return to health is promised. Hundreds of such wonders are recounted, which seem to rescue men from the brink of death. For this reason, we might rightly sing:

Atropos, Lachesis, and Clotho are now but a myth,

For now, man is the fabricator of his own Fates.

However, it must be noted here that these experiments of Artephius, recounted in the commentaries of Paracelsus, contain parabolic meanings. Because they pertain to and are directed toward the chemical art, they are not to be interpreted according to their literal sense; in that way, they would be celebrated not only as incredible but even as ridiculous.

Furthermore, a devout Christian must not only be imbued with the aforementioned virtues but must also be unstained by any inward filth, acquiring divine virtues for himself. According to Saint Augustine, God seeks nothing other than a good will, and according to Solomon, he who is upright shall draw grace from the Lord. This sentiment conforms to the following couplet:

He who flees from vice and seeks to learn of virtue

Shall surely find nothing more pleasing to God.

First, a man distinguished by the prerogatives described is armed with the greatest love toward God and others; as Christ said in the Gospel: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." Next, he stands in awe of the venerable power of the Divine Majesty; for the Psalmist and Solomon have handed down that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

He is a bringer of justice, while noble justice resides in his mind; for we find in Solomon: "The tongue of the just considers what is pleasing, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse." He loves chastity, following the opinion of Isidore, who declares that those who persevere in chastity become equal to the angels of God. He delights in silence, because Solomon points out that in much speaking, sin is not lacking. He embraces faith; since, according to Isidore, he is blessed who lives well by believing rightly, and who guards the right faith by living well. He is fortified by hope: indeed, the Apostle writing to the Romans declared that we are saved by hope—for despair, according to Isidore, increases sin. He never abandons charity; as it is read in John: "God is charity, and he who remains in charity remains in God, and God in him." The ancients valued this so highly that the Athenians did not wish for parricides or thieves to be the subjects of the public execration they practiced annually, but only those who refused to show the way to a traveler, or to light a lamp, or to give water from a well.

A man endowed with genuine goodness does not shrink from patience: for it is read in Luke: "In your patience, you shall possess your souls." He is humble according to the precept of Christ in Matthew: "Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls."

He may be occupied by anguish and sorrow, for Christ asserted: "You shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy." He does not withdraw from prayer, as Solomon says: "The Lord is far from the wicked, and he will hear the prayers of the righteous." He exercises himself in confession, according to the assertion of Paul: "With the mouth, confession is made unto salvation." He rejoices in penance, as Christ uttered these words in Matthew: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Abstinence is a concern to him: for Saint Augustine wrote these words: "If food is tempered and the earth of our body is irrigated, it will not sprout the thorns of lust." He is mild-mannered, mindful of the Lord’s assertion in Matthew, where it is read: "Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the earth." He is merciful, because it is held in the same place: "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Beyond this, he who is affected by grief upon seeing the necessity of another, according to Grego-