8/2/2019 Amorem, Artem, Magiam, Mathesim. Brunian Images and He Domestication of the Soul http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/amorem-artem-magiam-mathesim-brunian-images-and-he-domestication-of-the 1/11 v 98 t her e i s f ar mor e t o Renai ssance magi c t han Yat es s "Her met i c magus," and i t i s possi bl e that more nuanced understandi ngs of the magi cal tradi ti on may hel p us to re-assess Bruno's mnemotechni cs, not as a theory of knowl edge, a " true semi oti cs," or a pedagogi cal tool f or memor isi ng wor ds and obj ect s, but as an " ar t" w hose per fect ion lay in the hi ghest i magi nabl e f orms of human acti on. Bruno's art, as Ri ta St ur l ese her sel f once not ed, "opened t he w ay f or an ar t of t ransf or mi np nat ur e and oper at ing on the human mi nd," and as such mi ght wel l hav e been seen as "magi c" in Bruno's ow n under st andi ng of the term. IDS 108 R. STURLESE, Per un'interpretazione, cit., p. 968. VI Amorem, artem, magrarn, mathesim Bruni an I mages and t he D omest icat i on of t he Soul I n hi s f i rst extant mnemot echni cal w or k, t he De umbris idearum, published in Paris in 1582, B runo i nsi st ed t hat hi s t reat ment of t he art t ook t wo f orms. His art had a »double aspect«, he said, the subsidiary aspect was a straight- forward means of cultivating artificial memory (certum memoriae per artifici- um comparandae genus),' the primary aspect, was »higher and more general«, because i t was i nt ended f or »or der i ng al l t he operat ions of t he soul «, or be- cause it was »the centre of many methods«." In this paper I propose to consi- der how Bruno thought his art might contribute to »ordering the operations of the soul«, and to characterize his mnemonic works as a practice as well as a t heory of k now ledge. M y mai n f ocus w il l be on Br uno' s thi rd mnemoni c work, the Triginta sigillorum, published in England in 1583, and i ts rol e as an i nstr ument of ethi cal ref orm, but I want t o begi n w it h a br ief di scussi on of Bruno's De umbris, where he discusses the connections between the images used i n hi s art, and t he nat ure of t he af f ect ive and i nt e l l ect ual f acul ti es. Bruno starts his disquisition on the »shadows of ideas« with an allusion to t wo scri pt ural t exts f rom t he books of Sol omon. H e begi ns w it h t he Song of Songs (II, 3): »1 sat dow n under hi s shadow w ith gr eat del i ght and hi s f rui t was sweet t o my tast e«, as an image of t he »perfect ion of r nan«.' This is j ux taposed w it h t he f irst chapter of Ecclesiastes, wi th i ts descant on the incapacities of human knowledge.' The delightful shadow of the be loved's »apple t ree« i s t hen read as an epi st emol ogi cal par abl e. I t i s suf f i ci ent , he I Giordano Bruno, D e u mb ri s idearum ... A d i n ter na m sc ri pt ur a m, n on vulgares per m em or i am operationes explicatis (Paris 1582) ed. Rita Srurlese, De umbris idearum (Florence 1991), P: 24. 2. Ibid., P.2.3: »A rr em i st ar n sub dupl ici f or ma t racr ar nus, at que v ia: qua r um at ea est at i or et generais tum ad omnes animi operationes ordinandis, tum etiam est caput mulrarurn methode- rum, 3 I bi d., p. 25: »Horninis perfectionem, er meioris quod in hoc mundo haberi posst adeptionem insnuans Hebraeorum sapicntissrnus, amicam suam ita loquenrern introducit: -Sub umbra illius quem desderaveram sedi..« 4 !bid, p. 25: »Non enim est tanta haec nostra natura ur pro suacapicirare ipsum veriratis campum lllcolat; dictum est enim: -Vaniras homo vivens., -Universa vaniras..«