COSMOLOGY 55 



" I have reflected a great deal upon the magical 

 powers of the soul of man, and I have discovered a 

 great many secrets in Nature, and I will tell you that 

 he only can be a true physician who has acquired this 

 power. If our physicians did possess it, their books 

 might be burnt and their medicines be thrown into the 

 ocean, and the world would be all the more benefited by 

 it. Magic inventrix finds everywhere what is needed, 

 and more than will be required. The soul does not 

 perceive the external or internal physical construction of 

 herbs and roots, but it intuitively perceives their powers 

 and virtues, and recognises at once their signatum. 



" This signatum (or signature) is a certain organic 

 vital activity, giving to each natural object (in contra- 

 distinction to artificially made objects) a certain simi- 

 larity with a certain condition produced by disease, and 

 through which health may be restored in specific diseases 

 in the diseased part. This signatum is often expressed 

 even in the exterior form of things, and by observing 

 that form we may learn something in regard to their 

 interior qualities, even without using our interior sight. 

 We see that the internal character of a man is often 

 expressed in his exterior appearance, even in the manner 

 of his walking and in the sound of his voice. Likewise 

 the hidden character of things is to a certain extent 

 expressed in their outward forms. As long as man re- 

 mained in a natural state, he recognised the signatures 

 of things and knew their true character ; but the more 

 he diverged from the path of Nature, and the more his 

 mind became captivated by illusive external appearances, 

 the more this power became lost. 



" A man who wholly belongs to himself cannot belong 

 to anything else. Man has the power of self-control, 

 and no external influences can control him if he exercises 

 this power. The influences of the Macrocosm cannot so 

 easily impress their action upon a rational, wise, and 

 passionless man as they do upon animals, vegetables, and 



