Preface to the New Secrets of Marvelous Virtue (Vineyard 1567)

The Secreti Nuovi di Maravigliosa virtù by Girolamo Ruscelli (Viterbo c. 1500 Venice 1566) were published in Venice in 1567, after the author's death, when the alleged secret of the identity of the mysterious Don Alessio Piemontese was by then dissolved. The collections of Secreti signed by Ruscelli under the pseudonym of Alessio Piemontese were, between the 16th and 17th centuries, probably the most widely distributed of all. Dozens of editions in Italian, Latin, German, English and French testify to the sure success of what more than one scholar has identified as the true prototype of those "books of secrets" that were so successful in this period.

Written by Girolamo Ruscelli,

FOREWORD BY MR. IERONIMO RUSCELLI

IN HIS WORK OF SECRETS



When I lived in the Kingdom of Naples, a few years before I came to Venice, in an illustrious city of that province, finding myself in the company of twenty-three particular people and with them the Prince and Lord of the land, a beginning was made to an honorable Philosophical Academy which, for many worthy respects, they wanted to be and to be called secret, which nevertheless went on happily proceeding from good to better with the orders and with the operations which will be briefly narrated here.

First of all we were XXIII particular companions, three Lords & our leaders, that is the Prince Lord of the Earth, a relative of his and a minister, who all together were the number of XXVII, a perfect number and of the highest mystery among the most excellent gentile Philosophers, but also among wise Theologians.

Of all the twenty-three men, seven were native citizens of their own city, seven from different places in Italy, seven from beyond the Alps from different provinces, a Slav, a Greek and a Jew from Salonika, an old man who had gone to Christianity from the Levant several times.

The seven citizens of the city were all people of Studies and of Philosophical letters, and all accommodated with goods of Fortune, so that between them all they had an income of nine thousand crowns. Five of them were without a wife and without children. The sixth had one, but sterile of twenty-seven years. And the seventh had only one daughter married to a very comfortable person and in keeping with her rank.

Of the fourteen foreigners, nine were also accommodated by the goods of Fortune to their homelands, and lived honorably on their own money which they had brought from home for the ministers, workers and servants and for every other thing which will be said hereafter.

The other three were without any income or wealth, although they engaged in some honorable earning operations, and our company did not fail to supply them with whatever was needed.

The seven citizens of the city had taxed themselves to contribute seven hundred crowns a year each, and of the seven others in Italy, two of them did not have enough to contribute to the common expenses.

The other four had voluntarily taxed themselves to contribute one hundred crowns each year, and five hundred of them all, the wealthy overseas citizens, wanted to contribute every year.

But the company, both because they were foreigners and because they and the Italians numbered seven, did not want them to put in more than three hundred crowns between them all together.

Our magnanimous Prince contributed a thousand crowns every year, and another thousand he had granted us on a Datio, which, being enchanted every year, whoever remained understood to be obliged to pay these thousand crowns in addition that came to our company. But because it was made secret, said thousand crowns were collected under another name by third hand.

His Excellency's minister and his relative contributed one hundred crowns each per year.

So in all our company had to spend about five thousand crowns each year, in addition to a few thousand that were earned in the way that will be described later.

We then had as ministers and servants two apothecaries, two goldsmiths, two perfumers, a painter, four herbalists and expert simplicists, all of whom, being needy people, were kept at the constant expense of the company and at suitable salaries, and were very happy being also people of good spirit and desirous of learning and acquiring virtue.

The fatigue workers were then assigned to two parts.

The first one was only concerned with the care of the house where they ate, taking care of the cooking, setting the tables, making the beds & all other things necessary for the living of all the ministers & workers of Philosophy & of themselves.

The companions ate and slept all in their own homes. And only on the first day of every month did they gather together to have fun in the morning and dine in the said house which was common to all.

The other part of the servants was entirely dedicated to the service and ministry of Philosophy, such as carrying water, pounding, grinding, building ovens and other such things, attending to the fires, wetting vases, making lutes, sifting ashes, making capitals, cleaning the vases and the rooms, and all the other laborious services necessary in such Philosophy. And all these were overseers, and the aforementioned apothecaries, goldsmiths, perfumers and painters commanded, according to the things that were being done. That is, if they were things of apothecaries, the apothecaries ordered them, if of perfumes, the perfumers, if of colors, the painters and so on with the others, the supervisors also not failing to put their hands happily and to work where necessary.

Our most benign Prince had generously imposed on himself the obligation of wanting to be present every first Sunday of the month at a general congregation that we held, where all the things that had been done in the entire previous month were narrated and shown. And up until then he had certainly never missed it in ten years except six times due to very just impediments. However, he had always wanted to make up for it by coming on one of the other Sundays or feasts that had followed.

His Excellency's relative and minister had a voluntary obligation to come to Philosophy (which is what we called our common house) once a week. But because they were gentlemen who enjoyed it, they came many times more than their obligations and were almost as constant as each of us. Who by will and by obligation never left a day that we did not go. It is true that there was no particular time set for our going, and we could go at whatever time we liked and stay there as long as we wanted, seeing and understanding from those above what had been done and what was being done, and arranging ourselves either by common consultation among all or among some of us, or even each of us what we particularly thought we wanted to try and put into practice. But since it is necessary to add here, for the satisfaction of the Readers, the orders and operations of our said company, it will be good to first narrate what was the intention of our most generous Prince and ourselves, in founding and continuing this most honest and happy company of ours.

Our intention had been first of all to study and learn ourselves, there being no study or other exercise that is truer than Natural Philosophy, than this of making a most diligent inquiry and as it were a true anatomy of things and of the operations of Nature in itself. And aided by art, one sees that Medicine and many other arts very important to Human life and to the adornment of the world have had their origin and growth. And together with this delight and utility of ours we had equally dear to do benefit to the world in general and in particular, by bringing to certainty and to true knowledge so many very useful and important secrets of every kind and for every quality of person, so rich and poor, learned and unlearned, and male and female, young or old that they may be.

And so first of all during all these years we continually tried to make experiments with all sorts of secrets that we could find in printed or pen-written books, both ancient and modern.

And in making such experiments we have kept and have kept an order and a method that perhaps cannot be found or imagined to be the best, as will be narrated later.

And of all those secrets and experiments which we have found to be true by making three experiments of each, in the manner which will be said below, we, by command of our Prince and Lord, have made a choice of one part, that is, of those which are easier for everyone to do, of less expense and more dear to every kind of person in general, and so I now bring them to light for the benefit and common delight of every fine mind that delights in them and is about to hold them dear.

Description of the house or worker called by us by its proper name PHILOSOPHY

Our most benign Prince from the very first day gave our company a piece of land where there were several different houses in one of the best places in his city, which is not entirely in the square and on the main street, nor yet very far from the square and from the palace of his Excellency.

This space of land is fifty ordinary arms long, that is, for that part that comes after the road where it is, like those for cloth or linen, which almost throughout Italy are the same or with little difference between them. In width it is twenty-eight, so that it comes to be one third longer than it is wide, and it is then on an island, that is, detached and distant from every other house, and on each side it has a road.

This space, completely demolishing the old houses that were there before, was built by us, with three-quarters of the expense or money of our Prince, and a quarter of our own, in this manner.

First of all, all these considerations and intentions were had.

The first, that the building be as beautiful inside and out as possible.

The second that it be most convenient for four kinds of people, that is, for those who continually serve Philosophy or work, for those who then serve said servants and themselves in eating and in other things. For the companions who come there to stay in cheerful and comfortable places both in winter and in summer. And for these companions or some other person and in good number who for days or weeks or months wanted to live in that house to be more continuous in the operations.

The third, that the worker should live in a part of the said house which was most suitable for all his needs, was cheerful, was healthy and above all was remote and quiet so that neither those who pass by on the streets, nor even those who come for pleasure or amusement in the garden and in the other rooms, nor anyone else could see or hear those who were working, except by their companions or by those only whom these companions and the Prince wanted to bring there,

And here it is declared, most gracious Readers, that although our company was called and held Secret, this was not done because neither our most prudent Prince nor any of us cared that it was not equally public. Rather, the intention of his Excellency and ours was that in a few years it should manifest itself and be published to everyone as something most virtuous and most honorable and worthy of moving to its most noble competition every true Lord or Prince in his State, and every beautiful and sublime genius.

But we wanted it to be kept secret for some time for some worthy reasons of ours, and also so that while it was being brought to perfection we could do it more quietly, without being disturbed and impeded or disturbed at every hour by this or that person who ran to want to see it. And above all it seemed to us a thing worthy of studious people to want the world to see and hear the fruits of our operations first, rather than the noises and extravagant promises that many do. In our company there was an order and an oath that no one could name it or mention it to any person without first having permission from the Company, where however we did not use ballots, which are only appropriate for Republics or Princes, but so that by word of mouth everyone pleasantly expressed their opinion, it was almost always concluded to be in accordance with the intention of the person who had proposed it. And this order of ours was so well observed with every peace of mind of each one, that our most clement Prince and Lord of the house in all those ten years did not want to bring there but three people only, among whom were his most illustrious Lady Consort and a most illustrious sister of his. And the other was a French gentleman of great learning and who greatly delighted in generously philosophizing. And to all was given the oath, not however in the name of God or of sacred things, but in the love and grace of our Prince and in the person whom they loved most, never to reveal to anyone this company of ours without first having permission by word of mouth or by letter from our Prince.

All the doctors in the city had heard of it, but neither they nor anyone else could ever come there unless they were taken there by some of our men, having first obtained permission from the entire company, as has been said. And they had the same oath on the love and grace of our Prince not to mention it to anyone without our permission, like all the others.

Now, the said house or our Philosophy, in order to have all the above-mentioned qualities and comforts, was built in this manner. First of all, on the front part which was on the widest street, and it has been said that it extends fifty feet, there were three doors. One in the middle was larger than the rest, and the two at the ends were smaller than the middle one but equal to each other, and they were all made with beautiful form and workmanship as is also made on the whole facade. All three of these doors had within them some vaults which formed the space of the inside entrance and were twenty braccia in height, in width, that is, on the left hand and on the right hand, fifteen braccia, and in length, that is, proceeding further according to the face of the one who enters and walks straight, it is the space of twelve braccia. And in each of them in the middle was the square spiral staircase, wide and very polished, which led to the rooms above. On the ground floor between the said doors were beautiful and well-made rooms for a most honorable and comfortable residence in the summer and also in the winter, which rooms have windows closed on the street and on the other side opposite those, that is, on their other side, which went out onto the open courtyard that we will mention later, and each of them had an entrance or exit through a door in the said open courtyard or cloister, and another door was in the passageway or space mentioned above that was under the arches of the doors of the house. And of these interior doors of the said rooms on the ground floor, one served three rooms, those of one then entering into the other by that street, but each having its own door that goes out into the aforementioned courtyard or cloister. And the attic above corresponded entirely to the one below in terms of having windows on two sides both those rooms and those below.

But because this upper floor exceeded the three spaces of the passages facing the three doors of the house, it was divided differently, having in the middle a very large Hall, and very well proportioned, and another smaller hall having at each end, however with fireplaces so that it could also serve as rooms at any time. And on the sides of these three staircases and between one and the other were then very beautiful rooms, large and excellently proportioned with every possible ornament and comfort.

And above this second roof there was a third, all corresponding to the second or middle one, except that it was somewhat lower.

So this first quarter of our house, besides being very beautiful, was also very comfortable and could accommodate the Prince and many people when needed, and likewise could accommodate in some part some foreign people that either the Prince or the Company wanted to honor, being however a person who delighted in Philosophy and was fond of the conversation of our Company for a few days. Besides that we had done it so that our Prince would have reason to come there sometimes to entertain us all and bring all those people who were in his Excellency's power, and also so that all of us, or the majority, could often have some philosophical recreations, and so that when our company and Philosophy were manifested, a room could be seen that would delight from every part and would be known as worthy of people of no mean intelligence.

This already said was therefore a just quarter of the entire space of our Philosophy drawn in length, that is, from the right and left hands of those who enter from the main facade.

The other fourth, just as long and wide as the entire aforementioned first palace, was given over to an open courtyard or cloister, where on one side were three well-placed staircases which also lead to the said palace, that is, to the middle roof, so that those who were in the said courtyard and those who were in the said roof could easily go up and down as they pleased.

In addition, those doors, through which one entered the halls from the stairs, gave them greater grace and beauty.

In this courtyard on the other side of the wall that was opposite or opposite to that of the palace, there were three doors, one larger and the other smaller, which directly answered to the three doors that the palace had on the street as has been said. But they were made in another way for variety, and they were also very beautiful since that wall had a very beautiful cornice, windows and other ornaments, so that even those who were in the street when the doors of the palace opened could see them. And between the doors of this second facade in the courtyard were low walls or wells and very beautiful stone seats, above which were made some small gardens of delicate herbs, and in the wall at certain suitable places there were birdcage windows with other very pretty things, and in the middle there was a marvelously beautiful marble table eight braccia long and three and a half wide.

And at the head and foot of the said courtyard were then two other tables with eight sides, one of walnut and the other of Ebeno, placed from the band with ivory and woods of different colors, and these were put back inside by the servants under cover so as not to let them be damaged by the water and the sun, and they were only put outside on certain solemn days among us, or when some person came who wanted to honor and give him pleasure and entertainment, and so there were continually seats for every kind of person. In this place therefore made in this way, we often gathered and proposing different things that were done daily, I collected all the following secrets and the previous ones too, that I published a few years ago of Donno Alessio Piemontese, which in truth were all collected in the aforementioned Academy, and tested and found by our happy Company. And because they have been tested and reprobed many times, I have always held them dear and greatly esteemed them, and especially since, seeing how curious the world is about these things, I have never wanted to release them unless I had first received permission from my Prince and from our companions, who are still continually producing new and marvelous things for the benefit of mortals who delight in the virtues that nature produces in minerals, herbs and stones.

And so that if anything else should happen to me in this cruel illness of mine which has robbed me of my strength and keeps me continually oppressed in bed, the present secrets will not go to waste and it will be known how they came into my hands, I wanted to tell how the matter passes entirely and without any fraud, so that if they ever come to light, the readers will be of good cheer that they will not find in this book anything that is not more true and proven many times. And the secrets are those written below.