250 JEROME CARDAN 



in the cerebellum, and thence would be diffused along 

 the spine. The one thing of which he was fully conscious, 

 was that he had passed out of himself. The second 

 property was that, when he would, he could conjure up 

 any images he liked before his eyes, real e?8&>Aa, and not 

 at all to be compared with the blurred processions of 

 phantoms which he was wont to see when he was a child. 

 At the time when he wrote, perhaps by reason of his 

 busy life, he no longer saw them whensoever he would, 

 nor so perfectly expressed, nor for so long at a time. 

 These images constantly gave place one to another, and 

 he would behold groves, and animals, and orbs, and 

 whatever he was fain to see. This property he at- 

 tributed to the force of his imaginative power, and his 

 clearness of vision. The third property was that he 

 never failed to be warned in dreams of things about to 

 happen to him ; and the fourth was that premonitory 

 signs of coming events would display themselves in the 

 form of spots on his nails. The signs of evil were black 

 or livid, and appeared on the middle finger ; white spots 

 on the same nail portending good fortune. Honours 

 were indicated on the thumb, riches on the fore-finger, 

 matters relating to his studies and of grave import on 

 the third finger, and minor affairs on the little finger. 



In putting together the record of his life, Cardan 

 eschewed the narrative form and followed a method of 

 his own. He collected the details of his qualities, habits, 

 and adventures in separate chapters ; his birth and 

 lineage, his physical stature, his diet, his rule of life, his 

 imperfections, his poverty, the misfortunes of his sons, 

 his masters and pupils, his travels, his experiences of 

 things beyond nature, his cures, the persecutions of his 

 foes, and divers other categories being grouped together 

 to make up the De Vita Propria, which, though it is 



