Page:Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus Vol I (IA cu31924092287121).djvu/201

 This is what astronomers hitherto have not observed with sufficient accuracy. The signator's business is not always to look at the manners and actions, but rather at other bodily signs which are fixed, and cannot by any artifice be counterfeited or changed. For if red hair, motion of the forehead and eyebrows, frequent agitation of the mouth, strong and deliberate step, and light spirits, indicate of necessity a generous, active man, or soldier, such as any one could easily shew himself by his own activity, and so stand better when put to the proof, and command higher pay, so, likewise, must judgment be passed on other manners which betoken wisdom, folly, truth, falsehood, fortune, victory, and the rest.

Concerning the signs of chiromancy it should be held that they arise from the higher stars of the seven planets, and all of them ought to be learnt and judged from the seven planets. Now, Chiromancy is a science which not only inspects the hands of men, and from their lines and wrinkles makes its judgment, but, moreover, it also considers all herbs, woods, flints, earths, and rivers—in a word, whatever has lines, veins, and wrinkles. But neither is this science free from its errors, which astronomers have alleged against it. For they have assigned the fingers of both hands to the planets and the principal stars, when, notwithstanding, there are on one hand only five fingers but on both hands ten, while the planets are only seven in number. How can these things be made to agree? Now, if there were seven fingers on each hand, then it might be possible to assign a finger to each of the planets. It happens, indeed, very often that a man only has seven fingers on his two hands, the others being lost by some accident. But still the stumps exist, and, moreover, the persons were not born in this way, so this matter has no relevance here. Besides, if it did so happen that a man was born with seven fingers either on one hand or on both, that would be a monstrous birth, not according to Nature, and therefore not to be assigned to the stars. So here, again, no comparison can be instituted. It would have been better, then, that the planets should cast lots and see which two ought to retire. This, however, could not be done, because the planets had neither dice nor lots up in the firmament; so one wonders who took it upon him to allot the planets by name, giving the thumb to Venus, the index finger to Jupiter, the middle

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