The Magnetic Art

valued at two hundred and fifty thousand gold pieces; nor, finally, any admirable mass of rocky cliff gifted by subjects to David, Emperor of the Abyssinians, as Couellanius a scholar of Ethiopian studies testifies, in which the differences of more than a thousand gems and precious stones were represented so that they seemed not to be inserted by some monstrous birth of nature, but carved with singular care, industry, and the greatest artifice by a Phidian hand. I do not offer, I say, prodigies of such inestimable gems, but the Magnet. Even if it perhaps yields in price to others, yet in its most efficacious virtues, its prodigious effects, and finally its utility flowing like a river into every use of human life, spreading itself far and wide, I believe it is second to none. This one alone contains whatever all the rest provide; it excels as an Amethyst for those with headaches, a Lyncurium for the nephritic, a Sarcophagus for the arthritic, a Carbuncle for those with fevers or heart troubles, a Turquoise for the unfortunate, a Hyacinth for the sleepless, a Taraxippus for the maniac, and an Agate for conciliating the most pleasant favors. This Magnet, I say, I have judged worthy to be offered to you; that truly impenetrable abyss of nature, the whetstone of wits, a work inscrutable to Divine Wisdom, a true offspring of the terrestrial world, an ape imitator of the celestial orbit, an index of the poles of the world, a light for ships, a comfort for Navigators, a guide and Mercury, and finally the sole phosphorus light-bringer of the entire Ocean. Added to these stupendous gifts of the Magnet is a certain Sympathetic affection, I know not what, of magnet for magnet, by which I am drawn to offer it. For that a magnet is pulled by a magnet is so proven by frequent uses and long-taught experience that no one, unless perhaps an idiot and unlearned original: "ἀδίδακτος", could doubt it. That a Prince, too, is an animate Magnet, Plato taught many centuries ago in the Cratylus. That you are also a Magnet is testified by your supreme gentleness, and also your humanity, mixed with a certain most mature gravity of keen-sightedness original: "ἀγχινοίας", so that you seem to entice all the hearts of men, even those of iron, by that singular manner of acting and custom. That you are a Magnet is shown by the souls of the subjects previously entrusted to your faith, attracted by your singular affability, so that they seem to grieve at nothing more than being orphaned of such a Lord, and to rejoice at nothing more than the highest pinnacle of dignity to which you have been elevated by the merit of your virtues. Finally, that you are a Magnet is shown by that unanimous, venerable consent and harmonious conspiracy of the Cathedral College to assume you as the supreme Prelate and Head of the Würzburg original: "Herbipolensis" Church (I do not doubt that they were attracted by your supreme prudence and dexterity in managing affairs). Drawn by this, I am also attracted to you, even against my will if that were possible; for nothing of those things observed in the Magnet seems to be desired in you. The Magnet has a pole toward which all the rays of attractive virtue unite, gathering as a line drawn from the circumference to the center, by which nothing else is indicated but the concurrence of your aforesaid virtues, and a Symphony capturing and changing all hearts. The magnet looks irrevocably