Dedication, 1581-09-01, Thomas Erastus to Lazarus von Schwendi
| Author: | Thomas Erastus |
| Recipient: | Lazarus von Schwendi |
| Type: | Dedication |
| Date: | 1 September 1581 |
| Place: | Basel |
| Pages: | 4 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=3024 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Thomas Erastus, Comitis Montani ... quinque librorum de Morbis nuper editorum viva anatome, Basel: Pietro Perna 1581, sig. ()2r–()3v [BP.Erastus.1581-01]
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| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
| Abstract: | Erastus critiques Comes Montanus, a physician from Vicenza, for his harsh criticisms of contemporary physicians in his recent publications. Erastus argues that while no one is without fault, it's unjust to dismiss works containing valuable knowledge due to a few errors. He emphasizes the importance of addressing controversies based on foundational principles of the discipline to avoid endless disputes. Erastus praises Schwendi for his kindness and admiration, expressing gratitude for the support he received. He also notes Schwendi's love for medicine and his appreciation for scholarly discussions. Erastus acknowledges Schwendi's renowned virtues, both in times of peace and war, recognized not only in Germany but also by the Turks and other nations. He humbly suggests that his own praises might not do justice to Schwendi's illustrious character, which might be better celebrated by great poets like Homer or Virgil. (generated by Chat-GPT) |
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[sig. ()2r] Illvstri ac generoso heroi Domino Lazaro à Schuendi, Baroni in Hohenlandsberg &c: Domino suo summa obseruantia Colendo.
Comes Montanus, Medicus Vicentinus, anno superiore libros quinque de morbis edidit, Illustris Generose D[omine] Baro, in quibus ætatis nostræ clarißimos omnes Medicos, præsertim verò illos, qui extra Italiam vixerunt inhumaniter sanè ac duriter accipit: nec aliter eos tractat, ac si de consensu Doctorum Iudex ac Censor omnium, qui hoc seculo de rebus Medicis scripserunt, constituts fuisset. Hunc librum cum fortuna magis, quem consilio nactus fuißem, & in eo præstantißimos huius ætatis viros asperè admodum tractari, adeoq́ue condemnari obiter vidißem, omninò mihi persuasi, summam & recondiatm quandam eruditionem in eo latere. Cum deinde me quoque inter illos viros, qui ætate nostra doctißimi iudicati sunt numerari, ac taxari obseruanuißem, labascere mox ac debilitari animus cœpit, varieq́ue affici. Vehementer nihilominus perlegere cupiui, vt si nil aliud ex eo discerem, illud saltem cognoscerem, qua in re cum illis ego conferendus viderer, & in quibus errauißem perspicerem. Et cum non videretur vsque quaque absurdè facere Montanus, si me hactenus cum summis viris numeraret, quatenus in eisdem cum ipsis erroribus irretitus tenerer, non potui non magna mihi de eo polliceri: quod neminem nis doctißimum & exercitatißimum arbitrarer hoc in se munus re- [sig. ()2v] cepturum, vt Arbitrum & Censorem se constitueret eorum, qui artem Medicam nostro tempore pro viribus instaurare et illustrare tentarunt. Quocirca spe maxima plenus ad eius libri lectionem, priusquam ex morbo, quo correptus fortè fueram, me plenè recolligissem, acceßi. Postquam legere cœpi, & me præter & contra expectationem omnem spe frustratum mox animaduerti, summos viros, deq́ue arte nostra optimè promereri cupientes, indignè adeo deformari, perspexi, grauiter equidem, vt debui, tuli. Noxios errores modestè indicare, grauiterq́ue refellere, causas eorum exponere, alios, vt ab eis caueant, præmonere, laudabile semper fuit existimatum. At eosdem vbi opus non est, amplificare & exaggerare, latentes in scenam producere, sepultos in lucem reuocare, ex omnibus angulis conquirere, authoresq́ue eorum insolenter & rusticè reprehendere, pro bestijs et asinis traducere, mente ac sensibus spoliare, nullus vnquam bonus laudauit. Quis ergo id æquo animo in Montano ferat, qui illa quoque aptè confutare non didicit, quæ rectè confutari non tantum facilè possunt, sed etiam meritò debent? Multa profectò reprehendere ac damnare aggreßus est, quæ laudare ac probare debebat. Et quæ refelli meritò poterant, ita plerunque refutat, vt vel magis confirmet, vel in eorum locum absurdiora substituat. In authores autem propter leuißimos lapsus ita debachatur, ac si vita indigni forent. Itáne viros doctos, qui pro virili sua parte sedulo studuerunt artem Medicam declarare, exornare, illustrare, augere, locupletare, excipi oportui, vt bardi, stupidi, rudes asini, appellarentur? An eorum errores indicari & refutari non possunt, nisi cum his illa etiam, quæ rectè vtiliterq́ue docuerunt, eliminentur? Ego aliter censeo. Cum enim sine crimine viuat nemo, propter errores non multos, abijciendos non iudico libros mul- [sig. ()3r] ta bona continentes. Vtilem ergo præstant operam Reipub[licae] qui errores aperiunt, reliqua autem suo loco manere sinunt. Si aliter faciendum iudicat Montanus, sua sententia partum suum primum tolli oportebit: cum in eo plus ferè errorum, quàm veri contineatur. Cur porrò & qua occasione hunc eius librum examninandum mihi sumserim, apertè satis indicatum est initio nostræ Anatomes: vt pluribus hic non sit opus. Vnum hoc adijcere hic libet, me eò libentius laborem istum sucepiße, quod adolescentes videantur mihi exemplum habituri, quomodo controuersas res in arte qualibet ex eiusdem artis principijs conueniat declarare, probare, confutare. Nisi enim ad ea reuicentur omnia, nunquam reperietur rixarum finis & modus. Vehementer ob id velim, vt primam partem libri Galeni, quem de Optima secta ad Thrasibulum scripsit, adolescentes omnes, cuiuscunque artis studiosi, diligenter legant ac intelligere studeant, quò consentanea à dißentaneis aptius distinguere discant. Sed de hac re nunc dicendi locus ac tempus non est. Illud potius exponendum videut, cur tibi, Illustris ac Generose Baro, hanc Anatomen consecrare, subq́ue nominis tui auspicio in publicum exire voluerim. In causa est, quòd animum meum aliter quietum & tranquillum reddere non potui. Ita namque humaniter & benignè nuper me excepisti, itaq́ue in virtutum tuarum admirationem pertraxisti, & per eum modum tibi me obstrinxisti, vt ab eo tempore subinde occasionem mihi dari vehementer expetiuerim, qua animi mei gratitudinem non tibi solum, verum etiam alijs, testatam facere. Accedit ad hanc illa etiam, quod te φιλίατρον eße, deq́ue rebus medicis disserentes cum voluptate ac iudicio audire comperi. Quòd enim in omni liberali eruditione, ac literatura ab adolescentia te oblectaris, literatosq́ue viros eximiè colueris, [sig. ()3v] omnibus notum est. Quia ergo & placituras tibi has disputationes mihi persuasi, & testes meæ in te obseruantiæ gratitudinisq́ue futuras putaui, dedicare tibi eas volui. Cæteras tuas virtutes, quas tum in pace, tum in bello, summas in te esse non Germania solum nouit, sed & Turcus est expertus, & aliæ nationes fama acceperunt, recensere ob id hîc nolui, quod illustriores sunt & splendidiores, quàm vt ab oratione mea lucem accipere poßint. Ab Homero fortaße, & Virgilio aliquo dignè laudari ac prædicari poßent, non ab Erasto: cui vnum hoc est propositum ostendere, non immemorem eum eße beneficiorum abs te acceptorum. Vale felicis[sime] Baro generosißime. Basileæ sexto Kal[endis] Septemb[ris] Anno salut[is] 1581.
Tuæ amplutid[inis] Oberseruantiss[imus] Thomas Erastus Medicus.
English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT-4 on 18 August 2023. Attention: This translation is a machine translation by artificial intelligence. The translation has not been checked and should not be cited without additional human verification.
To the illustrious and noble hero, Lazarus von Schwendi, Baron of Hohenlandsberg &c, my lord most reverently esteemed,
Count Montanus, a physician from Vicenza, last year published five books on diseases, Illustrious and Noble Lord Baron, in which he harshly and severely criticizes all the most renowned physicians of our age, especially those who lived outside Italy. He treats them as if he had been appointed the judge and censor of all who have written on medical matters in this century. When I happened upon this book more by chance than by design, and saw in it the most eminent men of this age being harshly treated and casually condemned, I was fully convinced that it must contain profound and hidden learning. But when I noticed that I too was counted and criticized among those men who are considered the most learned of our age, my spirit began to waver and was variously affected. Nevertheless, I was very eager to read it thoroughly, so that if I learned nothing else from it, I would at least understand in what respect I seemed comparable to them and where I might have gone wrong. And since Montanus did not seem entirely unreasonable in counting me among the greatest men, insofar as I was ensnared in the same errors as they, I could not help but have high expectations of him. I believed that no one would take on this task unless they were very learned and experienced, to set themselves up as the judge and critic of those who tried to restore and illuminate the art of medicine in our time. Therefore, full of great hope, I approached the reading of his book before I had fully recovered from an illness I had recently contracted. But as soon as I began to read and realized, contrary to all my expectations, that I was disappointed, and saw that the most eminent men, who wished to greatly advance our art, were so unjustly maligned, I was deeply, and rightly, aggrieved. It has always been considered commendable to modestly point out harmful errors, to refute them strongly, to explain their causes, and to warn others to avoid them. But to amplify and exaggerate them where it is not necessary, to bring hidden ones to the stage, to recall buried ones to light, to search for them from every corner, and to rudely and insolently criticize their authors, to portray them as beasts and asses, to rob them of their mind and senses, no good person has ever praised. Who then would tolerate this in Montanus, who has not even learned to aptly refute those things which can not only easily but also rightly be refuted? He has indeed attempted to criticize and condemn many things that he should have praised and approved. And those things that could rightly be refuted, he often refutes in such a way that he either strengthens them or replaces them with even more absurd things. And he rages against authors for the slightest mistakes as if they were unworthy of life. Should learned men, who have diligently strived to explain, adorn, illuminate, increase, and enrich the art of medicine, be treated in such a way that they are called fools, stupid, and ignorant asses? Can their errors not be pointed out and refuted without also eliminating those things which they taught correctly and usefully? I think differently. For since no one lives without fault, I do not judge books containing much good to be discarded because of a few errors. Therefore, those who reveal errors but allow the rest to remain in their place provide a valuable service to the Republic. If Montanus thinks otherwise, by his own judgment, his first work should be discarded, as it contains more errors than truth. The reason and occasion for which I undertook to examine his book has been clearly indicated at the beginning of our Anatomy, so there is no need for further elaboration here. I would like to add this: I undertook this task more willingly because young people seem to me to have an example of how to clarify, prove, and refute controversial matters in any art based on the principles of that art. Unless everything is referred back to these principles, there will never be an end or limit to disputes. For this reason, I strongly wish that all young people, students of any art, read and strive to understand the first part of Galen's book, which he wrote on the Best Sect to Thrasibulus, so that they may learn to distinguish more aptly what is consistent from what is inconsistent. But now is not the time or place to speak of this matter. Rather, I should explain why I wanted to dedicate this Anatomy to you, Illustrious and Noble Baron, and why I wished it to be published under the auspices of your name. The reason is that I could not find peace and tranquility in my mind otherwise. For you recently received me so kindly and warmly, drew me into admiration of your virtues, and bound me to you in such a way that since then, I have eagerly sought an opportunity to express my gratitude not only to you but also to others. Added to this is the fact that I found you to be a lover of medicine and that you listen to discussions on medical matters with pleasure and judgment. For it is well known to all that from your youth, you have delighted in all liberal education and literature, and have held learned men in high esteem. Therefore, because I believed these discussions would please you and would serve as witnesses to my respect and gratitude towards you, I wanted to dedicate them to you. As for your other virtues, which are supreme in you both in peace and in war, not only Germany knows of them, but the Turk has experienced them, and other nations have heard of them by reputation. I did not wish to enumerate them here because they are more illustrious and splendid than to receive light from my speech. Perhaps they could be praised and proclaimed worthily by Homer or Virgil, but not by Erastus. My sole intention is to show that I am not forgetful of the favors I have received from you. Farewell, most fortunate and most generous Baron. Basel, the sixth day before the Kalends of September, in the year of salvation 1581.
Your most obedient servant, Thomas Erastus, Physician.
