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Section XVIII. I see fit to add at the end of this chapter a demonstration of the mixing of sensory objects with one another, as a further model and analogy for the mixing of character traits we established.
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I say: it is known that sensory objects are of five kinds — tastes, sights, sounds, smells, and touches.
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Set aside two of these: touch, which produces pleasure only through one path — softness; and taste, whose composition is well known (as ḥalwā is compounded from starch, sugar, honey, saffron, and similar), and similarly all varieties of foods and dishes.
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I turn to the remaining three. I say: a single color — white, red, yellow, or black — tends to weaken the eye if stared at: the gaze is dazzled by snow, the eye harmed by red, the visual faculty weakened by black.
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And alone they produce little joy or pleasure; but when they are mixed with each other, kinds of delight arise and many soul-powers are set in motion.
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I say: red mixed with yellow moves the bile-power and its traits — there appears in the soul the power of pride. Yellow mixed with black moves the phlegm-power — there appears in the soul the power of abasement.
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And when black, red, yellow, and white are combined, they stir the blood-powers, and from the soul there appears
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— the power of kingship and dominion.
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And when green is combined with yellow, the melancholic power is stirred, and from the soul there appears the power of cowardice and sorrow.
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Likewise, if these color mixtures are increased or decreased, the soul experiences movement of its powers accordingly.
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Similarly, a single tone, note, or melody moves only one of the soul's character-traits — and often harms it. But their mixture balances what appears of the soul's traits and powers.
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One must know their individual effects so the compound can be made accordingly. I say now: the melodic modes are eight, each with defined rhythmic measures from the scale.
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The first mode: three consecutive notes and one resting. The second: three consecutive notes, one resting, and one moving. These two modes together stir the blood-power and the character of kings and rulers.
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The third mode: two consecutive notes with no interval between them, one resting, and a low-high-low pattern spanning one note's duration. This alone stirs the bile and the powers of courage and boldness and their like.
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The fourth mode: three consecutive notes with no interval between them, and one note's duration between each group of three. This alone stirs phlegm — from the soul there appears the power of abasement, submissiveness, cowardice, and their like.
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The fifth mode: one single note then two differing notes with no interval between them, and one note's duration between high and low. The sixth: three moving notes. The seventh: two consecutive notes with no interval, and one note's duration between each pair.
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The eighth mode: two consecutive notes with no interval, and two notes' duration between each pair. These four [modes five through eight] all stir
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— the melancholic humor, and the soul displays divided traits — sometimes toward joy, sometimes toward grief.
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And it is the custom of kings to mix some of these with others until they are balanced — so that what is stirred in their traits when they hear is measured to suit their souls to govern the kingdom: not inclining them to excess mercy or harshness, or excess courage or cowardice, or excess or deficiency in joy and happiness.
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Similarly is the case of a single fragrance — each has its own particular power — and when they are mixed with each other, a compound state arises in proportion to the degree of mixing.
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Among these: musk is hot and dry; camphor is cold and subtle; saffron is hot and dry; sandalwood is cold and moist; ambergris is hot and moderate; rosewater is cold and subtle. When any one is mixed with another, their properties blend and become beneficial for people.