Descriere & specificații

The third book of Speculum Lapidum was first published in Venice in 1502 by the astrologer and doctor Camillo Leonardi, a native of Pesaro with a doctorate from the famous University of Padua. As a courtier of Costanzo Sforza when the city of Pesaro passed to Borgia, Leonardi tried to win their favor by dedicating his work to the Duke of Valentinois, Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. In three books, the treatise describes the nature of stones and represents a synthesis of ancient and medieval knowledge on the topic. The first two books examine the origin and classification of stones and gems; in the third book Leonardi examines their magical virtues and powers in detail. These powers are not inherent in stones, but derive directly from the sky, planets, constellations, and fixed stars. Every object, animal, herb, stone resonates with the same energy it receives from stars, and for those who are familiar with the chain of correspondences between macrocosm and microcosm, anything is possible. The book summarized the most important and well-known medieval lapidaries of its time, and thus it experienced immense good fortune. It was reprinted several times, translated into Italian, and published in 1565 by Lodovico Dolce in 1565), partly in English (in 1750), and French (Claude Lecouteux, 2002). However, the third book, owing likely to its overtly magical nature, has never been translated into English before. The third book is comprised of 19 chapters. The first chapters (1