609, 610. _Venerien_, influenced by Venus; _Marcien_, influenced by Mars;
cf. ll. 611, 612.
613. _ascendent_, the sign in the ascendant (or just rising in the east) at
my birth. This sign was Taurus, which was also called 'the mansion of
Venus.' When Mars was seen in this sign when ascending, it shewed the
influence of Mars on Venus. Cf. the 'Compleint of Mars.'
In the margin of E. is a Latin note, referring us to 'Mansor Amphorison'
19'; followed by a quotation. The reference is to a treatise called
'Almansoris Propositiones,' which begins with the words:--'Aphorismorum
compendiolum, mi Rex, petiisti,' &c. Hence 'Amphorison' 19' is an error for
'Aphorismorum 19.' This treatise is printed in a small volume entitled
'Astrologia Aphoristica Ptolomaei, Hermetis, ... Almansoris, &c.; Ulmae,
1641.' In this edition, the section quoted (at p. 66) is not 19, but 14;
and runs thus:--'Cuicunque fuerint in ascendente infortunae, turpem notam
in facie patietur.' With 'infortunae,' we must supply 'planetae'; and the
object of this quotation is, clearly, to explain l. 619. Still more to the
point is a remark in sect. 74 of a treatise printed in the same volume,
entitled 'Cl. Ptolomaei Centum Dicta'; where we find--'Quicunque _Martem
ascendentem_ habet, omnino cicatricem in facie habebit.'
Immediately after the above, in the margin of E., is a second quotation,
with a reference in the words:--'Hec Hermes in libro fiducie; Amphoris^o.
24^o.' Here 'Amphoris_m_o' should be 'Aphorismo.' The quotation occurs in a
third treatise, printed in the same volume as the other two already
mentioned, with the title 'Hermetis centum Aphorismorum liber.' In this
printed edition, the section quoted is not the 24th, but the 25th; and runs
thus:--'In natiuitatibus mulierum, cum fuerit ascendens aliqua de domibus
Veneris, Marte existente in eis [vel e contrario][28], erit mulier
impudica. Idem erit, si Capricornum habuerit [307] in ascendente.' Here
'aliqua ... Veneris' means 'one of the mansions of Venus; her two mansions
being Taurus and Libra.' The former is expressly referred to in l. 613, and
is therefore intended.
In sect. 28 of the same treatise, we find:--'Cum fuerit interrogatio pro
muliere, simpliciter accipe significationem à Venere.' Hence Venus is the
planet that ruled over women.
'The woman that is born in this time [i. e. under Taurus] shall be
effectuall ... she shall have many husbands and many children; she shall be
in her best estate at xvi years, and she shall have a sign in the middest
of her body.'--Shepherdes Kalender, ed. 1656, sig. Q 5.