Chapter XVII, Section 1a

CHAPTER XVII. How by Enmity and Friendship the Virtues of Things Are to be Tried and Found Out . In the next place it is requisite that we consider that all things have a friendliness and enmity amongst themselves, and every thing hath something that it fears and dreads, that is an enemy and destructive to it; and, on the contrary, something that it rejoiceth and delighteth in and is strengthened by. So in the Elements, Fire is an enemy to Water, and Air to Earth, but yet they agree amongst themselves. And, again, in Celestial bodies, Mercury, Jupiter, the Sun and Moon are friends to Saturn; Mars and Venus enemies to him. All the planets besides Mars are friends to Jupiter, also all besides Venus hate Mars; Jupiter and Venus love the Sun, Mars, Mercury and the Moon are enemies to him. All besides Saturn love Venus. Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are friends to Mercury; the Sun, Moon and Mars his enemies. Jupiter, Venus and Saturn are friends to the Moon; Mars and Mercury her enemies. There is another kind of enmity amongst the stars, viz., when they have opposite houses, as Saturn to the Sun and Moon, Jupiter to Mercury, and Mars to Venus. And their enmity is stronger whose exaltations are opposite, as of Saturn and the Sun, of Jupiter and Mars, and of Venus and Mercury. But their friendship is the strongest who agree in nature, quality, substance and power, as Mars with the Sun, as Venus with the Moon, and as Jupiter with Venus; as also their friendship whose exaltation is in the house of another, as that of Saturn with Venus, of Jupiter with the Moon, of Mars with Saturn, of the Sun with Mars, of Venus with Jupiter, and of the Moon with Venus. And of what sort the friendships and enmities of the superiors be, such are the inclinations of things subjected to them in those inferior. These dispositions, therefore, of friendship and enmity are nothing else but certain inclinations of things of the one to another, desiring such-and-such a thing if it be absent, and to move towards it unless it be hindered; and to acquiesce in it when it is obtained, shunning the contrary and dreading the approach of it, and not resting in or being contented with it. Heraclitus, therefore, being guided by this opinion, professed that all things were made by enmity and friendship. Now the inclinations of Friendship are such in all Vegetables and Minerals, as is that attractive virtue or inclination which the loadstone hath upon iron, and the emerald upon riches and favor, the jasper upon the birth of any thing, and the stone achates upon eloquence. In like manner there is a kind of bituminous clay that draws fire, and leaps into it, wheresoever it sees it. Even so doth the root of the herb aproxis draw fire from afar off. Also the same inclination there is betwixt the male palm-tree and female; whereof, when the bough of one shall touch the bough of the other, they fold themselves into mutual embraces; neither doth the female palm-tree bring forth fruit without the male. And the almond tree, when she is alone is less fruitful. The vines love the elm, and the olive-tree and myrtle love one the other; also the olive-tree and fig-tree. Now, in Birds and Animals, there is amity betwixt the blackbird and thrush, betwixt the crow and heron, betwixt peacocks and pigeons, turtles and parrots.