I leave the eels, and return to vipers and the other snakes, about which countless tales meriting laughter have been recorded by writers; amongst others, Pliny, followed with admirable simplicity by Mercuriale, Mattiolo, and Castor Durante(184), states from experience that snakes have a public and private aversion to the ash, and to its shade, to the extent that, making a circle of ash, and having placed a snake inside it, along with a heap of lit embers, that animal flings itself more readily into the fire, than into the branches of the loathsome tree(185). The same Pliny, and Castor Durante, copying from Pliny, together with Scaliger(186), relate that if a snake places itself in the middle of a circle made from foliage of betony, it will be seen to get into a rabid rage, and lash itself to death with its tail(187). Andrea Lacuna(188) believes that if a viper is touched with a beech branch, it remains stupefied and motionless, as though it had heard something frightful, but in my opinion, futile and deceitful murmurs of the chanting Marsi. Constantino, in 'Geoponica'(189), asserts that snakes, which happen to have foliage of oak thrown on them, die(190). Aetius, and the author of the 'Liber de simplicibus medicamentis ad Paternianum', in company with many modern writers, say that inula(191), because of its sharp odour, puts vipers and other snakes to flight. Yet I find, from experiments performed many times, that the foliage of ash, betony, beech, oak, inula, dittany, catmint, and other scented and foetid herbs mentioned by Nicandro, are not only not avoided by snakes, but among their fronds, dry and fresh, all snakes willingly seek shelter, and will rest in them with the greatest of pleasure.
Now, however, that we are amongst fables, I do not wish to omit the reduction in mind of those love affairs of the viper with the moray eel(192), and the refined devotions and tender comportments of this enamoured little serpent with its denoted lover. Then, when the more fervid rays of the sun make everything attractive and all is placed in splendour, he betakes himself along the banks of the sea, and with amorous hisses calls out and invites her to let him be the object of desire. Meanwhile, as she lifts her head above from the waves and approaches the shore, he, with becoming discretion, vomits on a stone, and leaves deposited there all that might be venomous contained within the mouth, so as not to embitter with it the much-desired union. Finally, after the consummation, and having returned to where the venom was discharged, if, by ill chance, he does not find it there, he immediately rushes about so pitilessly that, desperate, he dies in the briefest of interludes. Listen to how a Greek versifier, called Manuel File(193), in some of his verses ordered according to his whim, and dedicated by him to Michael, Emperor of Constantinople(194), under the title 'Delle proprietà degli animali (Of the peculiarities of animals)', describes all of this, and in a manner so candid and so certain, that it seems as though he almost relates the truth to us:
Ἕχις δὲ καὶ μύραινα συνδιαζέτην.
Ὁ μέν πρὸς* αὐτῆν τῆς ὀπῆς ἐξερπύσας
Ἠ δὲ πρὸς* αὐτὸν ἐκ ροῆς ἀνηγμένη.
Καὶ πρὶν δε, Βασιλεῦ, συνδραμεῖν εἰς τὸν γάμον,
Ἐμεῖ τὸν ἰὸν ὠς γλυκὺς ὁ νύμφιος,
Καὶ τοῦ συριγμοῦ ταῖς ἲυγξιν αὐτίκα
Παρακαλεῖ πρὸς γε λέκτρα τῆν ἐρωμένην.
Καὶ τοῦ πὰρ ἀμφοῖν συντελερθέντος γάμου,
Ὀ μὲν τὸν ἰὸν αὖθις ἀνιμήσατο,
Ἠ δὲ μετὰ τῆς γῆς** θάττον ερπύσας ἕδυ,
Ἠ δὲ πρὸς* ὑγρὰς ἁπενήξατο τρίβους.(195)
(* rendered 'ουρὸς' in a newer edition; ** Ἠ δὲ κατα τῆς γῆς in older versions.)
All the same, more profusely, and with greater gallantry than him, Oppian(196), in that part dealing with fishing, wrote to the emperor, Antonius Caracalla(197), although it appears that he did not restrict himself solely to vipers, but speaks of snakes generally:
Ἀμφὶ δὲ μυραίνης φάτις ἕρχεται οὔκ ἀΐδηλος,
Ὡς μιν ὄφις γαμέει τὲ, καὶ ἐξ ἁλὸς ἕρχεται αὐτὴ
Πρόφρων, ἱμείρουσα παρ ἱμείροντα γάμοιο.
Ἤτοι ό μὲν φλογέη τεθοωμένος ἕνδοθι λύσσῃ
Μαίνεται εἰς φιλότητα, καὶ ἕγγυθι σύρεται ἀκτῆς
Πικρὸς ὄφις* : τάχα δὲ γλαφυρὴν ἐσκέψατο πέτρην,
Τῆ δ'ἕνι λοίγιον ἰὸν ἀπήμεσε, πάντα δ'ὀδόντων
Ἔπτυσε πευκεδανὸν, ζαμενῆ χόλον, ὄλβον ὀλέθρου
Ὄφρα γάμῳ πρηΰς τε καὶ ἔυδιος ἀντήσειε.
Στὰς δ'ἄρ ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνος ἑὸν νόμον ἐῤῥοίζησε
Κικλήσκων φιλότητα : Θοῶς δ' ἐσάκουσε κελαινὴ
Ἰϋγγὴν μύραινα, καὶ ἕσσυτο θᾶσσον οἰστοῦ.
Ἡ μὲν ἄῤ ἐκ πόντοιο τιταίνεται, αὐτὰρ ὁ πόντου
Ἐκ γαίης πολιοῖσιν ἐπεμβαίνει ῥοθίοισιν.
Ἄμφω δ'ἀλλήλοισιν ὁμιλῆσαι μεμαῶτε
Συμπεσέτην : ἕχιος δὲ κάρη κατέδεκτο χανοῦσα
Νύμφη φυσιοόυσα : γάμω δ'ἐπιγηθήσαντες,
Ἠ μὲν ἁλὸς πάλιν εῖσι μετ' ἤθεα, τόν δ'ἐπι χέρσον
Ὁλκὸς ἂγει, κρυερὸν δὲ πάλιν μεταχεύεται ἰὸν
Λάπτων, ὃν πάρος ἧκε καὶ ἑξήφυσσεν ὀδόντων.
Ἤν δ'ἄρα μὴ τι κίχῃ κεῖνον χόλον, ὅνπερ ὁδίτης,
Ἀτρεκέως ἐσιδών μιν, ἀπέκλυσεν ῦδατι λάβρῳ.
Αὐτὰρ ὅγ' ἁσχαλόων ῥίπτει δέμας, εἰσόκε μοῖραν
Λευγαλέοιο λάβῃσιν ἀνωΐστου θανάτοιο,
Αἰδόμενος, ὅτ' ἄναλκις ὅπλων γένεθ', οἷς ἐπεποίθει
Ἔμμεν? ὅφις, πέτρῃ δὲ συνώλεσε καὶ δέμας ἰῷ.(198)
(*ἔχις in Schneider.The text above has been modified slightly with the help of the edition made by J.G.Schneider in 'Oppianou Kynēgētika kai Halieutika',1813)
I pass on to good study under silence other tales about coition, and on the part of vipers, such as those already eruditely refuted by many writers, in particular, by Marc'Aurelio Severino and, before him, by Francesco Fernandes of Cordova(199), in the twelfth chapter of his book, 'Didascalia'. However, I do not wish to remain silent about that recounted by Porta(200), that the sound of the strings made from the guts of this little beast is a reason for pregnant women to evacuate themselves, and for the product to be wasted(201), or that other, narrated by Aristotle, that when the tails of grass snakes are cut short, new ones germinate and grow again, and that the eyes also spring forth again, if they are gouged out of them.(202) Rhazes, who amongst the Arabs was a doctor of high and noble repute, related that at the mere sight of a good emerald the eyes of a viper immediately liquefied, and spurted out from the front.(203) Good Lord! In almost any profession, there are solemn writers who wish to adjure on all conventions that these pratings are true, having been expressed by the revered authority of the ancients, and grant them that faith, that can be given to any truth more obvious. They will believe all that which from the area of Bengodi and the heliotrope stone was fabled one day by Maso del Saggio with the simple and credulous Calandrino.(204) If they found it published that belfries, almost novel Daedali(205) of our times, could unfold in the air and fly, they would have it as true. However, the world has ever been of one kind, and at the close of the time of Pythagoras such a cast of simple men were to be found, impoverished in mind, and malleable to every kind of credulity, the spirits of which, as writes Plato at the end of 'Timaeus'(206), after the death of the body, were relocated to lodge inside birds. Therefore, it is no surprise that such men, even today, as a joke, are commonly referred to in Tuscany as bird-brained.
"Non ragionar di lor, ma guarda e passa."(207)
I willingly desist from speaking of it, because I know too well how they arouse anger in you, Signor Lorenzo, and contrariwise, everyone knows how much you, wisely, are cautious and prudent in not believing at first sight all that is found written in books of philosophy, and if it is not led to by geometrical demonstration, force of strong argument, or repeated, ripe, experiment, they do not persuade you. I hope, then, that the story imposed here, of the compilation of those natural experiments that for so many long years constituted in this way the noble and glorious passage of time at the philosophical 'Accademia del Cimento' of the Tuscan court, shall receive every applause from all those who, for the good, are lovers of the truth. This, therefore, is the conclusion of such a long and tedious letter, not wishing to cause you any more annoyance by similar trifles, or to make you lose yet more time:
"Ché 'l perder tempo, a chi più sa, più spiace."(208)
END.
[In February, 1663, before publication of the letter, it was scrutinised and signed by the 'Vicario General', and other legists and clerics, to ensure that nothing in it was contrary or repugnant to the Catholic faith, the original signatories of which are appended here.(209)
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Notes:
184. Castore Durante, (1529 -1590), was born in Umbria, and graduated in medicine at Perugia. His mastery of lyric writing made him famous for his herbal, which was reissued several times, and exerted great influence all over Europe. It was used by Linnaeus as a source-book, and apart from being written in verse, contained 874 woodcuts in one edition. He also wrote a book titled 'Il tesoro della sanitą§¬ devoted to matters of health.
185. "tantaque est vis, ut ne matutinas quidem occidentesve umbras, cum sunt longissimae, serpens arboris eius adtingat, adeo ipsam procul fugiat. experti prodimus, si fronde ea circumcludantur ignis et serpens, in ignes potius quam in fraxinum fugere serpentem." - Lib. XVI; 'Naturalis Historia': ed. by Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff.
["So great, too, are the virtues of this tree, that no serpent will ever lie in the shadow thrown by it, either in the morning or the evening, be it ever so long; indeed, they will always keep at the greatest possible distance from it. We state the fact from ocular demonstration, that if a serpent and a lighted fire are placed within a circle formed of the leaves of the ash, the reptile will rather throw itself into the fire than encounter the leaves of the tree." - 'The Natural History': ed. by John Bostock, and H.T.Riley.]
186. Julius Caesar Scaliger, (1484 -1558), was a humanist, a scholar, and a fearsome critic, who as a boy of twelve was made a page, reputedly by his kinsman, Emperor Maximilian. His arrogation of a noble birth was met with many views to the contrary. He entered medicine late in life, and for most of his life he was at Agen, in France. In 1528, when he was forty-five, he married an orphan girl who was thirteen years old. The 'Dialogue on the De plantis, attributed to Aristotle' appeared in print in 1556. He also published 'Exercitationes' on the 'De Subtilitate', by Jerome Cardan, but many other works were published posthumously, including a commentary on Aristotle's 'History of Animals'.
187. "vettonica ... cui vis tanta perhibetur, ut inclusae circulo eius serpentes ipsae sese interimant flagellando." - Lib. XXV; 'Naturalis Historia': ed. by Karl Friedrich Theodor Mayhoff.
["betony ... the virtues of which are so extraordinary, it is said, that if a circle of it is traced around a serpent, it will lash itself to death with its tail." - 'The Natural History': ed. by John Bostock, and H.T.Riley.]
188. Andrea Lacuna, (1510 -1560), was a talented Spaniard who studied medicine and the arts. During the course of his travels in many European countries, he joined the Flemish army for a period, and was recognised by Charles V, at Metz. He eventually returned to his birth place, Segovia, where he is buried. Included among his many works is the 'Annotationes in Dioscoridem Anarzabeum' (1554), the 'Acerca de la materia medicinal y de los venenos mortķ¦„ros' (1566), and an earlier, rarely quoted, translation of several volumes of the 'Geoponica'(1541), a work detailed below.
189. The 'Geoponica', a 20-volume work on very diverse agricultural themes, was compiled in the 10th century from earlier writings for the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, (905 - 959), the ultimate sources of which date back to ancient Greece, and before.
190. "Democritus says ... that (a serpent) dies when the leaves of the oak are thrown upon it" - Bk. 13; 'Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits', translated by Thomas Owen (1805 - 06).
191. "Conyza (Inula viscosa) est omnibus nota; cuius folia prae acrimonia sua, viperas, et serpentes fugant" - 'Galeno attributus liber de simplicibus medicamentis ad paternianum; vol. 13; 'Magni Hippocratis Coi et Claudii Galeni Pergameni ... Quae Extant Opera', ed. René Chartier, 1639.
192. The moray eel, or muraena, referred to here, is not easy to classify accurately for many reasons. Aristotle discourses on several eel-like fishes, including the eel, (M. anguilla), the myrus, (σμῦρος, M. myrus), the conger, (M. conger), the sea serpent, (M. serpens), and the muraena, (σμύραινα, M. helena), all of which Artedi, (1705 - 1735 ACE), subjoined into the one genus of Muraena, and which Cuvier, (1769 - 1832 ACE), grouped as the anguilliform malacopterygian apodes.
The notable omission here is of the lamprey, a species which acquired the name relatively recently, and which, as Cuvier remarks, "est singulier que l'on soit incertain du nom ancient d'un poisson estimé et commun dans la Méditerranée." In translations of classical authors, therefore, 'lamprey' is often used to translate 'muraena', and sometimes, it is translated as 'eel', or 'moray eel'.
The Romans, who cultivated fish-ponds, stocked some of them with muraena, and according to Pliny, Vedius Pollio, a friend of Augustus Caesar, found an outlet for his cruelty by throwing condemned slaves into these reservoirs, to be eaten to death by this creature ("invenit in hoc animali documenta saevitiae Vedius Pollio, eques romanus ex amicis Divi Augusti, vivariis earum inmergens damnata mancipia" - Plin. Nat Hist. IX). Pliny also quotes a commonly held belief that the muraena comes onshore, to dry land, to perform coitus with a snake ("in sicca litora elapsas vulgus coitu serpentium impleri putat" - Plin. Nat Hist. IX). This belief was reiterated by Isidore of Seville, (c. 560 - 636 ACE) in 'Etymologiarum sive originum', but with the added interpretation, perhaps, of the muraena as being the same as the lamprey, in an entry in Liber XII:
"Muraenam Graeci Muranian vocant, eo quod conplicet se in circulos. Hanc feminini tantum sexus esse tradunt et concipere a serpente." [Lamprey (muraena) the Greeks term μύραινα, because it coils itself in circles. They say that this fish is of the female sex only, and that it conceives from the serpent.] It is this belief of intercourse between the moray eel and the snake that Redi addresses, one that was followed by many earlier writers, including Oppian (see below), Ælian, and Nicander, and also by religious scholars, Ambrose, for example, or by Albertus Magnus, who mentions it to dismiss it.
193. Manuel Philes, [Μανουὴλ Φιλῆς, sometimes ὄ Φιλῆς in his work], (c.1275 - 1345 ACE), a largely unknown Byzantine poet from Ephesus, was by all accounts a sycophantic, if a rather well-travelled one. He moved to Constantinople at an early age, and wrote poetry on various themes, including the 'Περι Ζώων ιδιότητος', a didactic poem of 2,000 or so lines based on Aelian and Oppian, and dedicated to Michael VIII Palaeologus (see below). It was published by Arsenius, who had been archbishop of Monemvasia for two years, at Venice, in 1530.
194. Michael VIII Palaeologus, [Μιχαήλ Η΄ Παλαιολόγος], (1223 - 1282 ACE), reigning from 1259 to1282, established a dynasty which ruled the Byzantine empire until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.
195. I have tried to translate the passage, thus:
"The viper and moray eel, to join together,
The one creeping out from its native hole,
The other emerging from the crested wave,
Draw near. Yet, so sweet is the groom,
That before rushing into their union,
The kingly lord vomits out the poison.
And forthwith, with hisses and cries, straight
From onshore, invites the beloved to bed.
Both, then, their union consummated,
The one re-imbibing its venom, creeps
Swiftly back on land, and sinks in its hole;
The other, crossing watery paths, swims away."
196. Of the two works, 'On hunting', ['Cynegetica', 'Κυνηγετικά'], and 'On fishing', ['Halieutica', 'Αλιευτικά'], only the second, according to Schneider, belongs to the Greek poet called Oppian, [Ὀππιανός], of Corycus, or Anazarbus from Cilicia, now in the south coastal region of Turkey. He flourished in the time of Marcus Aurelius(121 -180 ACE), and would have been before the second Oppian, whose poem can be dated as later than 211ACE, as it was dedicated to the Roman emperor, Caracalla (186 - 217 ACE). Both were published for the first time in Florence, in 1515, and by Aldo Manuzio, in 1517, in Italy.
197. Caracalla, (188 - 217 ACE), was born in Lyons. When his father, Septimus Severus, confirmed himself as an adopted son of M. Aurelius, he had his son's name also altered to M. Aurelius Antoninus. According to Dio, and others, he acquired the nickname of Caracalla, because of a hooded, long, outer dress which he liked to wear. His reign as Roman Emperor, which lasted for six years, was notorious for the oppression of the people through taxation in order to support the ambit of his life, and for his wanton cruelty. He was assassinated while returning from a campaign in Mesopotamia by an army officer.
198. The passage is from Oppian's 'Αλιευτικά' (Halieutika), beginning at line 554. Once again, I have attempted a translation of the verses quoted myself, for which I beg the reader's indulgence, and hope that it will achieve the purpose of conveying the sense, at least, of the lines from Oppian.
"There is about the muraena, a not unknown report,
That it weds the snake, and also emerges from the sea,
Impelled by the desire to unite with the beloved.
Indeed, ardently inflamed by a rage within.
Driven mad by love, and drawn near to the shore
The bitter snake quickly looks around for a hollowed stone,
Wherein he might vomit the vile poison, wholly of teeth,
Spit out all destruction, the violent bile, and blissful ruin,
So that the wedlock might be gentle and also peaceful.
Upright, against the breakers, he whistles the usual song,
Calling out for the love-making. Quickly, the dark
Muraena hears the cries, and speeds, swift as an arrow.
Thus, she extends out from the sea, while off the land,
He enters the white, crested surf of sea.
Each to encounter the other, both fall in eagerly,
As the viper's head the bride swallows inside her
Tumefied, gaping mouth. Both then, their union fulfilled,
She, once more, by sea returns home, he leads his trail,
Making for land again, to swallow the awful poison,
Licking which, to be as before, and regrow his teeth.
If he finds not that venom, that some traveller, whoever,
Perceiving rightly, washed away in the seething water,
Then he, grief-stricken, hurls his body, until fate
Takes him unawares, by a miserable death;
Ashamed, because weakened in armour, on which he relied
For his snakehood, he kills himself against that very rock."
199. Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, (c.1565 - 1626 ACE), better known as Abad de Rute, was the third son of the principal magistrate of Toledo. Details of the life of this Spanish humanist, who was a friend of Góngora, and a prominent poet and Spanish historian, are obscure. His "Didascalia multiplex" was published in Lyon in 1615.
200. Giambattista della Porta, (ca.1535 - 1615), was a natural philosopher and a writer, who was born into a wealthy, distinguished Neapolitan family. He was interested in natural science from a very early age, especially in connection with the art of magic. This led him to study subjects such as cryptography, alchemy, physiognomy and optics, although he was initially acclaimed for his literary writing. For a part of his life, his published work was overshadowed by the censure of the Inquisition, although he devoted a lot of energy to helping out Jesuits in their labours. An early founder of secret learned societies (see also the note above on the Accademia dei Lincei), he was highly regarded by his contemporaries, and made very famous by his writings, including the early 'Magia Naturalis'(1558), to which Redi refers (see the note which follows).
201. "Of the Harp and many wonderful properties thereof."
"Women will miscarry, If Fiddle strings be made of Serpents, especially of Vipers, for being put on a Harp and played on, if women with child be present, they suffer Abortion, and Vipers are wont to do as much by meeting them, as many write." Excerpt taken from 'The Twentieth Book of Natural Magick' by Gianbattista della Porta, translated into English in 1658.
202. "Λέγουσι δέ τινες συμβαίνειν περὶ τοὺς ὅφεις τὸ αὺτὸ, ὅπερ καὶ περὶ τοὺσ νεττοὺς τῶν χελιδόνων · ἐὰν γάρ τις ἐκκεντήσῃ τὰ ὄμματα τῶν ὄφεων, φασὶ φύεσθαι πάλιν. Καὶ κέρκοι δὲ ἀποτεμνόμεναι τῶν τε σαυρῶν καὶ τῶν ὄφεων φύονται." - Περί τα ζώα ιστορίαι Β; Αριστοτέλης από τη Στάγειρο.
["Some affirm that the same phenomenon is observable with serpents as with swallow chicks; in other words, they say that if you prick out a serpent's eyes they will grow again. And further, the tails of saurians and of serpents, if they be cut off, will grow again." - Book II 'Historia Animalium': Aristotle, translated by D'Arcy Thompson, 1910.]
203. Rhazes, (see also note 7), an innovator in many branches of medicine, was a clinician of the first rank, and had a deep understanding of chemistry, having discovered both, sulphuric acid and ethanol. Well-read in Greek, Persian, and Indian medical writings, his medical works were encyclopaedic in size. The 'Al-Hawi' was first translated in 1279 by the Sicilian, Faraj ben-Sālim,
The Latin edition of the 'Continens' (Venice,1529), contains the statement, "et smaragdus facit emanare oculos vipere qū videbit eum." This assertion made by Rhazes on the power of the emerald over the snake, which Redi criticises, had already been subject to scepticism several centuries before by certain Arab scholars. The passage which follows is by the great scientist and intellectual, Abū Rayḥān Muḥammad ibn Ahmad al-Bīrūnī (973 / 326 -1048 / 440 ACE / AH),
"All story-tellers are unanimous in their version that serpents lose their eyesight as soon as they see the emerald. This has been mentioned even in scholarly works, and this belief is held by the commonalty of men. We find this belief pervading poetry as well ... But despite the consensus of the authorities, I found this claim to be wrong. I performed so many experiments upon this claim that it is impossible to go beyond them. I had emerald necklaces placed upon the necks of the snakes, made them walk upon emerald floors, and had emerald ropes swung before them. This I did for nine months, both in summer and winter. All that was not done was that the emerald was not ground into a collyrium and applied to their eyes. In the event, I did not see any adverse or harmful effect upon their eyes (through the emerald). For Allah is all sustenance and help". - From the 'Kitab al-Jamāhir fi Ma'arifat al-Jawāhir'[
One imagines Redi would have approved of him.
204. The reference is to a story recounted by Elissa in the third novella of the 'Ottava giornata' of the 'Decameron' (VIII, 3), by the talented Boccaccio. Maso del Saggio, in order to dupe a simpleton, Calandrino, convincingly speaks of various stones, including one, called a heliotrope, with the property of rendering the person invisible who has it on himself ("non è da alcuna altra persona veduto dove non è"), and which can be found in a country called Bengodi. The story goes on to depict Calandrino, with three painters, in a hunt for heliotropes, and Calandrino, believing himself to have found one and rendered invisible, as the object of several hilarious deceptions by his friends and others.
205. Daedalus (Δαίδαλος) has the Greek meaning of a skilled wright. In Ovid's Metamorphoses (VIII: 183-235), the story is related of how the legendary Daedalus who, shut in by the seas of the island of Crete with his son, Icarus, by Minos, the king for whom he had built a labyrinth so well that even Daedalus could scarcely find the way out, fashioned artificial wings of wax and feathers for both. In making their escape, however, as they flew in the sky Icarus came too close to the sun, and the rays of the sun melted the wax. The power of his wings lost, he dropped into the sea, and died. The word, 'dedalo', in Italian, has come to mean anything intricate or contrived, like the labyrinth, deriving the word from the constructor of the famous labyrinth of the Minotaur.
206. "τὸ δὲ τῶν ὀρνέων φῦλον μετερρυθμίζετο, ἀντὶ τριχῶν πτερὰ φύον, ἐκ τῶν ἀκάκων ἀνδρῶν, κούφων δέ, καὶ μετεωρολογικῶν μέν, ἡγουμένων δὲ δι' ὄψεως τὰς περὶ τούτων ἀποδείξεις βεβαιοτάτας εἶναι δι' εὐήθειαν". - Τίμαιος; Πλάτων.
["But the race of birds was created out of innocent light-minded men, who, although their minds were directed toward heaven, imagined, in their simplicity, that the clearest demonstration of the things above was to be obtained by sight; these were remodelled and transformed into birds, and they grew feathers instead of hair." - Timaeus III, translated by Benjamin Jowett.]
207. "Let us not speak of them, but look, and pass." - Canto III, Inferno; The Divine Comedy: Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
208. "For to lose time irks him most who most knows." - Canto III, Inferno; The Divine Comedy: Dante Alighieri, translated by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
209. Published by 'Sign of the Star, 1664. Under licence from the Authorities': In Florence.
["Il Signor Francesco Ridolfi si compiaccia di vedere, e riferire se nella presente opera sia niente, che ripugni alla Fede Cattolica, o a' buoni costumi 15. Febbraio 1663.
Vinc. Bardi Vic. Generale.
Per ordine di V. S. Illustriss. e Reuerendiss. ho letto diligentemente la presente opera, e in essa non solo non ho ritrouato cosa ripugnante alla S. Fede Cattolica, e a' buoni costumi; ma vtilissima la riconosco a quegli, che desiderano di peruenire alla cognizione della verità circa alla materia della quale in essa si tratta: che perciò la stimo degnissima di venire alla luce per mezzo delle stampe, e in fede ho scritto di propria mano, questo dì 16. Febbraio 1663.
Francesco Ridolfi mano prop.
Stampisi osseruati gli ordini. Vincenzio Bardi
Vicario Generale .
Die 19. Februarij 1663.
Admodum Reu. P. Magister Lelius Mela Seruita, Consultor Sancti Officij videat, & referat.
Fr. Ioannes Paulus Giulianetti Ć Fl. S. Officij
FlorentiƦ V. Cancell. & c.
Reuerendiss. Padre Inquisitore.
Per obbedire a' cenni di V. P. R. hò letto attentamente la presente opera, intitolata Osseruazioni intorno alle Vipere, fatte da Francesco Redi Gentiluomo Aretino: e non vi hò trouato cosa contraria alla nostra Santa Fede Cattolica, o à buoni costumi: e in fede ho scritto di mia propria mano questo di 20. Febbraio 1663. ab Incarnatione.
Fra Lelio Mela, de Serui Consultore del Santo
Offizio di Fiorenza.
Stante prædicta attestatione Imprimatur Florentiæ hac die 20. Februarij, 1663.
Fr. Dominicus Antonius Ranieri de Aquapendente
Canc. Sancti Officij Florentiæ de mand.
Gio: Federighi."]
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