This is what air looks like according to Paracelsus, a 16th century Swiss physician, astrologer, and alchemist. From the Anatomy of Melancholy:
The air is not so full of flies in summer, as it is at all times of invisible devils.
Yes, I am still stuck in Pt. I, Sec. 2, Mem. I, Subsect. 2: A Digression of the Nature of Spirits, Bad Angels, or Devils, and how they cause Melancholy, because devils are fun.I made it to page 186 this week, good for me.
On second thought – a longer quote – because it’s a good one:
The air is not so full of flies in summer, as it is at all times of invisible devils: this Paracelsus stiffly maintains, and that they have every one their several chaos, others will have infinite worlds, and each world his peculiar spirits, gods, angels, and devils to govern and punish it.
“Singula [1168]nonnulli credunt quoque sidera posse
Dici orbes, terramque appellant sidus opacum,
Cui minimus divum praesit.”——
“Some persons believe each star to be a world, and this earth an
opaque star, over which the least of the gods presides.”
Well shoot, now I probably have to draw like three more illustrations. That’s all really good stuff. Infinite drawings for infinite worlds.
This post is part of a long, tedious, and very illustrated read-along of Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy. More info here and follow along on Facebook here. Illustrations posted via devon_isadevon on Instagram.