Those who try to sketch out predictions in general terms, like the Arabs, Firmicus, Pontano, and like others more recently do, act like that man who, willing to build a house, places all the beams in one place, all the tables in another place, all the lime in yet another place, and in another place again he puts the sand, in another the stones, in another place the iron grips, and in another place he puts all the tiles. He thinks he did a good job, he observed the right order, however he did nothing to build any house. This is not different from what those who say “Saturn here means this, and Jupiter there means that” do. This approach is useless and doesn’t profit any prediction. Briefly, it is necessary to know how to connect the single meanings. For example: Saturn in Aries, at the ascendant, sometimes means the body, sometimes morality, sometimes it indicates the life span, other times it indicates the possessions, but it can even mean friendships, or the wife’s condition, or dignity, or sons, or the quality of death, travels, etc. And if someone said: “I’ve put in order the tables, the nails, the bats and all the rest, but the house is not built; so the art of building a house is of no value!” wouldn’t the constructor, but everyone else too, laugh about him? In the same way, if you said: “Astrology books lie when they say that, when Saturn and Jupiter are in a sign, in a given house, with a given symmetry, then, some given things will happen. But truly, sometimes they happen, and other times they don’t, and because of this all the astrological predictions are in vain!”, then you’d be worth the same laughters as that other man from above.
Now, you could say: “But in this way it’s really difficult!” But what are you surprised of, my dear friend? This is the book of God, optimum and maximum, this is the sky. And it’s like a book written in minute prints. Some people can read something out of it, like Ptolemy, or like us, who have indeed interpreted Ptolemy in full extent, without leaving a single syllable out. Other people can read less out of it, and others can read very little, and some others instead can read nothing out of it, be it because they are carried away by desires or hunger, or because they’re not versed for philosophy, or because they lack a real discernment, or because they don’t know about the principles of the theoretical astrology, the motions, magnitudes, positions, etc., or again, they don’t apply themselves on this Book as much as they should, or they lack faith and are deceived by a false nativity, or because, having instead a correct nativity, not everything happens as we predicted. Because, as Averroes already stated, in every art there are incredible things, especially when you lack the experience of a long practice on the tiniest, peculiar things of your own region. Notice here, that in the Book it is reported only what is generally common to all the regions. But ‘perseus’, for example, is a poison in its country, while in Egypt it is a delicious fruit and you can eat it without danger. In the same way, a wandering star that rises in Milan will have its own notable effect, that wouldn't happen similarly if it had to rise in Germany. Ultimately, another impediment to the reading of the sky is given because we can’t measure with the due precision, or we use the wrong instruments. All these things are necessary and no one of these should be missing.
Gerolamo Cardano, Opera Omnia, 1663
I've just translated this into english. Hope you like and correct it if something is poorly rephrased.
Now, you could say: “But in this way it’s really difficult!” But what are you surprised of, my dear friend? This is the book of God, optimum and maximum, this is the sky. And it’s like a book written in minute prints. Some people can read something out of it, like Ptolemy, or like us, who have indeed interpreted Ptolemy in full extent, without leaving a single syllable out. Other people can read less out of it, and others can read very little, and some others instead can read nothing out of it, be it because they are carried away by desires or hunger, or because they’re not versed for philosophy, or because they lack a real discernment, or because they don’t know about the principles of the theoretical astrology, the motions, magnitudes, positions, etc., or again, they don’t apply themselves on this Book as much as they should, or they lack faith and are deceived by a false nativity, or because, having instead a correct nativity, not everything happens as we predicted. Because, as Averroes already stated, in every art there are incredible things, especially when you lack the experience of a long practice on the tiniest, peculiar things of your own region. Notice here, that in the Book it is reported only what is generally common to all the regions. But ‘perseus’, for example, is a poison in its country, while in Egypt it is a delicious fruit and you can eat it without danger. In the same way, a wandering star that rises in Milan will have its own notable effect, that wouldn't happen similarly if it had to rise in Germany. Ultimately, another impediment to the reading of the sky is given because we can’t measure with the due precision, or we use the wrong instruments. All these things are necessary and no one of these should be missing.
Gerolamo Cardano, Opera Omnia, 1663
I've just translated this into english. Hope you like and correct it if something is poorly rephrased.
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