Dedication, no date (1595), Raymund Minderer to Wilhelm Graf von Oettingen-Wallerstein

Illvstri ac generoso domino, Domino Gvilielmo, Comito ab Ottingen, Domino in Wallerstein, Sac[rae] Cæs[areae] Maiest[atis] & Archid[ucis] Austriæ Ferd[inandi] Consiliario, nec non in bello contra Christiani nominis hostem constituto Archistratego, Domino ac Mæcenati suo clementissimo.

Sanitatem esse præ cæteris rebus omnibus in hac vita expetendam, Illustris Comes, Vel id imprimis declarat, quòd siue ad aliquem scribamus, siue cum aliquo sermones conferamus, eum quocum aliquid horum agimus, ante omnia, primùm saluere, mox, post absoluta omnia, valere iubeamus. Hanc vt præsentem tueri, absentem vero recuperare valeamus, etsi magni sint momenti, aër, motus, cibus, potus, & aliæ res, quæ à medicis salubres appellantur; nihil tamen est ex his omnibus, quod maiorem vim habet, ad vtrumq́ue hoc præstandum & perficiendum, quam medicamentum. Testis huius rei locupletißimus est Herophilus Paraxagoræ discipulus quem ex antiquißimis & grauißimis ac peritißimis medicis, vnumnonnullis in locis fuisse, Galenus commemorat, qui medicamenta, ob miram quæ ipsis inest vim ac potentiam; deorum manus quàm rectißimè appellauit. Inter medicamenta autem, vt antiquitate, ita fortasse etiam dignitate ac præstantia, primas tenerè ea, [sig. A2v] quæ simplicia vocantur, hinc partim colligimus, quòd sexcentis post Romam conditam annis, composita medicamenta in vsu non fuerint: partim inde cognoscimus, quòd Cato sola Braßica, absque vllis medicamentis alijs, se, coniugem, filium, nec non libertos, & amicos suos, ad longæuam senectutem incolumes perduxisse feratur. Quæ cum ita sint (Domine ac Mæcenas clementissime) tum operæ pretium fore iudicaui, vt post positum iam in medicinæ studio annum vnum aut alterum, sub clarißimi viri, domini Edmundi Hollyngi, Angli, Professoris in alma & Catholica Academia Ingolstadiana, ac præceptoris mei semper honorandi præsidio, theses aliquas, de simplicis medicamenti actione, oratione etiam simplici publicè examinandas proponerem. Eas igitur, Illustrißimæ Dominationi Vestræ cui omnia quæ habeo accepta ferre debeo, dico, ac consecro: atque oro, vt Illust[rissima] Dom[inatio] Vestra, eas tanquam studiorum in arte Medica meorum primitias boni consulat, acceptura (volente Deo) ex me fructum vberiorem, vbi, post meliorem culturam, animi mei agellus fæcundior euaserit. Interea, Ill[ustrissima] D[ominatio] V[estra] Deo optimo maximo, à quo salus omnis profluit, me vero Ill[ustrissimae] D[ominatione] V[estra] quam humillimè committo & commendo.

Illust[rissimae] Dom[inationis] Vestræ

Humillimus Cliens

Raymvndvs Minderer.

translation

Here is a translation of the Latin text into modern English prose:

To the illustrious and noble Lord, Lord Wilhelm, Count of Oettingen, Lord of Wallerstein, Counselor to His Imperial Majesty and Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, and General in the war against the enemies of the Christian faith, his most gracious Lord and Patron.

Health, above all other things, is to be sought in this life, illustrious Count. This is made clear by the fact that, whether we write to someone or engage in conversation with someone, the first thing we do is wish them well, and the last thing, after everything is concluded, is to bid them farewell in health. Though factors such as air, movement, food, drink, and other things deemed beneficial by physicians are important for maintaining or recovering health, none of these things are as powerful in achieving this as medicine.

The most trustworthy witness to this fact is Herophilus, the disciple of Praxagoras, who, as Galen mentions, was one of the most ancient, serious, and skilled physicians. Herophilus called medicines "the hands of the gods" because of their remarkable power and effectiveness. Among medicines, those called “simple” (i.e., composed of one substance) may hold the highest place, both due to their antiquity and perhaps even their dignity and excellence. We partly infer this from the fact that for six hundred years after the founding of Rome, compounded medicines were not in use. We also know this because Cato is said to have cured himself, his wife, his son, his freedmen, and his friends, bringing them all to a long old age, solely using cabbage, without any other medicines.

Since this is the case, my most gracious Patron, I have considered it worthwhile, after spending a year or two studying medicine under the guidance of the most illustrious Edmund Hollyng, an Englishman and professor at the renowned and Catholic University of Ingolstadt, and my ever-honorable teacher, to publicly propose some theses on the action of simple medicines, in a simple discourse. Therefore, I dedicate and consecrate these theses to your most illustrious Lordship, to whom I owe all that I possess. I ask that your Lordship graciously receive them as the first fruits of my studies in the art of medicine, promising (with God's will) even greater results from me, once the field of my mind has been more fully cultivated. Meanwhile, I humbly entrust myself to your Lordship, and to Almighty God, from whom all health flows.

Your Lordship’s most humble servant,

Raymundus Minderer.