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JERZYSTRZELCZYK
as“somysteriousthatthehumanheartisnotabletocomprehendit,”and
claimsthatsheistransferringitscontentontothelifelessparchmentonly
withgreatreluctance;shewouldrathertransferitorally.Coulditbease-
cretwinktothereader,aninvitationtopartakeinagreatmysteryandan
encouragementtoreadsomethingunavailabletoothers?
Indeed,intheallegedtreatiseofthegreatAristotlethemedievalreader
couldencountermanyelementsthatwerenewtoher,bizarre,wonderful,
andevenatoddswiththedoctrineoftheChurch.Itcouldbe,forexample,
anorientaltaleofabeautifulgirlsentbythequeenofIndiatoAlexan-
dertheGreatwithamissiontokillhim.Asababy,thegirlwasfed,not
withhermother’sbreastmilk,butwithsnake’svenom,whichgaveherthe
powertokillpeoplewithhereyes.OnevictimcouldhavebeenAlexander,
whofellinlovewithher,butAristotlenoticedthedangerjustintimeand
intervened.Alotofinformationmoreorlessfantasticfromourpoint
ofviewwasalsotobefoundinchaptersonmedicine,cosmologyand
astronomy,suchastheneoplatonic(andhenceundoubtedlycontrarytothe
Christiandoctrine)accountofthe“worldsoul,”whichwasthesourceof
thematterandallbeingsincludingman,andwhichwasdeterminedbythe
influenceofcelestialbodies(starsandplanets)andthefourelements.The
taskofthehumanbeingwastostriveafterperfectionand,atthemoment
ofdeath,toreturntotheworldsoul.Whilethiskindofcontentcouldbethe
sourceofmoraldistressforsomereaders,itwasbyandlargeabsentfrom
chaptersdevotedtopreventivemedicine,therecommendationsofbothal-
ternativeandconventionalmedicine.IntheMiddleAgestheconviction
thatcelestialbodiesexertedinfluenceonhumanbeingsconstitutedthecore
ofastrology;itwasalmostuniversallyacceptedandgenerallynotregarded
ascontrarytotheChristiandoctrine,inasimilarfashionasfortune-telling.
Asamatteroffact,theoccultandhermeticcontentofSecretumsecreto-
rum,easilynoticedintheArabicversions,lostitsimportanceinEuropean
receptionandwasabridgedoromitted.WhiletheLatinversionbyPhilip
ofTripolistillcontainedtheclearlyneoplatonic,magicalandalchemical
elements,theywereseverelyreducedorevenomittedintheunidentified
versionusedbyHiltgart.Generallythen,despitethefactthatthetreatise
wassurroundedbytheauraofmysticismskilfullyaugmentedandthatthe
magical,occultandhermeticlingeredinit,thevastmajorityofHiltgart’s
translationofSecretumsecretorumlieswithintherangeofknowledgetypi-
calofthe13th-centuryLatinateculture.
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