Dedication 2, 1581-09-01, Gerhard Dorn to Reichard, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, Herzog von Pfalz-Simmern
| Author: | Gerhard Dorn |
| Recipient: | Reichard, Pfalzgraf bei Rhein, Herzog von Pfalz-Simmern |
| Type: | Dedication |
| Date: | 1 September 1581 |
| Place: | Frankfurt am Main |
| Pages: | 13 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=2030 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Gerhard Dorn, Congeries paracelsicae chemiae de transmutationibus metallorum, Frankfurt am Main: Andreas Wechel 1581, p. 3-15 [BP186]
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| CP: | Not in Kühlmann/Telle, Corpus Paracelsisticum |
| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
| Abstract: | The author defends alchemy and its use as a means to purify and regenerate creation, freeing man from corruption and aiding in the resistance of evil. The author argues that the power and wisdom of God should not be poorly received because it has few true disciples and may be proclaimed by impious or immoral men. The author also addresses criticisms of alchemy and claims that those who have not been able to attain this greatest part of philosophy become adversaries and persecute it. The author concludes by withdrawing from the darkness of adversaries and consulting the light of alchemy and the Genealogy of minerals through Paracelsus and others. (generated by Chat-GPT) |
| Back to Paratexts Back to Texts by Gerhard Dorn |
[p. 3] Illustrissimo et generosissimo Principi ac Domino, Domino Richardo, Dei gratia Comiti Palatino Rheni, Duci Bauariæ superioris & inferioris, Comiti in Spanheim, &c.
Nil mirum, Illustrissime Princeps, si Chemia totum ferè mundum inimicum habeat, cùm ipsa doceat potißimùm quo medio naturali sit illi resistendum. Siquidem eò maximè conatus eius omnis tendit, vt medicamentum repurgamentis, ac velut regenerationibus rerum naturales generationes imitantibus, procreet, [p. 4] eoq́ue repurgetur à mundi corruptelis terrenus Adam iste noster: ac deinceps non vsque adeò præpeditus, liberiùs vti suo talento valeat, quo donatus ab initio fuerat, ac iam redimitus, sapientia videlicet, firmiusq́ue seductori nequam reluctari. Quamquam hoc donum verè diuinum est, ac spirituale, nihilominus illud pariter à Dei dependet, quod suora diximus naturale supernaturaliter adeptum. Nam & qui creauit naturam, & qui Spiritum suum quomodocunque largitur quibus vult, idem est Dominus Deus omnipotens, eademq́ue virtus omnis ex eodem vno, pariter vna. Miserrimè decipiuntur quot- [p. 5] quot naturæ vires & proprietates, vti solis, syderum, totiusq́ue firmamenti referunt aliò, quàm vnde primùm ortæ sunt. Nec ideo media naturalia quibus decreuit vti, sperni vult altißimus, quòd his abuti vetuit ad superstitionem & idoloalatriam. Proinde Chemiæ non est abominandus neque detestandus vsus, præsertim cum Dei creaturas à tenebris Diaboli corruptas, virtute lucis in vniuersa natura positæ, huiusq́ue medijs repurgare & vindicare naturaliter nititur, vt eò faciliùs excitari queant supernaturaliter, ad beatam illam aßiduè meditandam resurrectionem, expergefieriq́ue torpentes ac dormientes in suis erro- [p. 6] ribus atque vitijs. Quisquis enim hoc vnicum vnitumq́ue medicamentum, propter quod Chemia solùm à Deo concessa fuit hominibus, assequitur, sincerum intellectum, non perturbartam mentem, sed memoriam integram per illud sibi (Deo dante) resuscitare poterit, ac ad hunc vtique disponi modum, in honestam Deoq́ue placentem vitam & conuersationem. Dixerit quispiam, vbi nam sint illi Chimici qui tale quid ex sua sibi medicina polliceri queant? Adhæc, vbinam ex schola manifestæ Physices vnicus hac tempestate dabitur Hippocrates, vel qui mentem eius probè intelligat: ex occultorum Physica per Chemiam for- [p. 7] tasse pro hoc vno, tres prodibunt in lucem Hermetis discipulis, Apollinis, Machaonis vel Podalirij. Non propterea malè debet audire Dei virtus & sapientia, quia paucos aut ferè nullos verè discipulos habeat, imò nec ideo quia quandoque per impium, aut malæ vitæ hominem annunciatur, modò purè. Cùm nullo vitio contaminari queat omne quod ex Deo est: solùm id quod reluctatur veritati, detrimentum pati potest. Haus secus in Chimicis euenire videmus, vt è millenis hanc artem profitentibus, vix vnus reperiatur, qui quidem in ea perfectè sapiat. Eapropter Chemia nulla, vel ex seipsa fallax e- [p. 8] rit iudicanda, vel quia per Paracelsum hominem seuerum (vt volunt eius aduersarij) libentiùs inter plebeios quàm literatos versatum, & id genus multa per istos in illum iacta conuitia, descripta sit? Absit: Visum est enim quinam Deus elatos Pseudodoctores legis eorumq́ue sapientiam, per idiotas & abiectæ conditionis viros piscatores euertere voluit. Mirum videbitur quæso, si per Heluetium, ac talem qualemcumque Paracelso similem, vel rusticum, infidelium sapientia mundana quandoque pudefiat? Ecquis Deo fuit à consilijs, qui referat cur ita visum est ei qui potest omnia? Non tam Paracelsi hac in re personam de- [p. 9] fendere quàm eius doctrinam volumus, quatenus vera videbitur, experimentis sanisq́ue rationibus innixa. Non ipse nos docet vitam imitari suam, at experimenta suæ scientiæ. Quid igitur de vita controuersia est, nisi quia deficiunt argumenta vera quibus refellatur eius sapientia ab aduersarijs non intellecta? Donum quod à Deo gratis, & non propter vitæ meritum habuit, inuidere, quid magis impium videri potest, præsertim à suæ nationis hominibus, qui potiùs patriæ suæ gratiam illatam à Domino congratualri debuerunt, si non personæ velint. Verùm nemo Propheta acceptus in patria sua, vt ait Dominus no- [p. 10] ster Iesus Christus de seipso, innuens & alijs idipsum ac peius futurum. Sed hîc in Physicis de Chemia solùm agitur & non de probitate vitæ, quam Philosophiæ mirali tractandam relinquimus. Quapropter ad occultorum Physicam, vel potiùs naturalem Anatomiam redeamus oportet, relictis conuitijs nullo philosopho dignis, tum maximè quòd per seipsa & nullo conatu reflectant acoleum in suos autores, quos manifest`produnt hoc ipso non esse philosophos, at eiusdem farinæ fermentiq́ue homines, quales alios conuitijs esse volunt. Nemo sanæ mentis igitur Chemiam reprehenderit, qui non istius negabit integritatem ex bo- [p. 11] na dispositione corporis conciliari. Altera nanque parte solum bene valere, quid aliud quàm ægrotare est? Vtraque verò mentis & corporis valetudo bona desideranda præ cunctis omnibus huius vitæ bonis: quemadmodum in Chemia pervnarium abiecto binario, simul ambæ facultates vna sunt adepta medicina vera: non propter opes, at solùm ad intellectum & sapientiam philosophis exoptanda. Qui hanc philosophiæ partem potißimam assequi non potuerunt ingenio, vel eam intelligere saltem ob lucis naturalis priuationem, inimici facti persequuntur, non sine maxima tamen sui ipsius ignominia. Siquidem ignorare Che- [p. 12] miam, aut negare, nihil aliud est præterquam spiritus & animæ naturæ nullam prorsus habere notitiam. Esto igitur, circa naturæ corpus solùm versentur veri contemptores, & in suo cadauere gaudeant quantum volent. Nos autem si gloriandum sit, in Deo solùm interea gloriemur, qui nobis integram suam creaturam palàm facere naturam dignatus est, vt introspicere æquè ac forinsecus intueri valeamus. Dicat rursum aduersarius, ostendatur nobis vnicus ex Chimicis, qui hanc integritatem habeat. Respondemus: Manifestorum intellectus occulta non percipit, etsi videat. Versatur enim ars spagirica Chimi- [p. 13] corum in inuisibilibus naturæ, spiritu & anima videlicet; quo fit vt à corporum cultoribus Physicis nullatenus percipi queat occultum sub manifesto centrum, nec interuallum, tantisper dum in superficie hæsitarit oculus eorum sub priuatione vel carentia lucis. Ecquis verus philosophus ignorare potest animam totius Physices, naturæ lucem existere, ac eius mortem esse tenebras per eiusmodi lucis priuationem introductas? Coniungitur ne forma suæ materiæ per vitam, aut fortè nobis persuadebunt isti per formæ corruptionem generationem fieri? Absit, cùm corruptio quæ generationis est initium, non sit formæ priuatio neque [p. 14] carentia, sed occultæ vitæ manifestatio. Non absurdiùs cæcutire videntur, qui mineralium occulta venena medicamentorum vidisse iudicasseq́ue volunt, tamen suæ theriacæ manifestißima non vident in serpentibus tyro, stinco, & similibus; nihilominus oculos in alios intentißimos habent, qui meritò pro cæcis atque cæcorum ducibus habendi sunt. Proinde à tenebris eorum pedem retrahentes, ad lucem non inconsultè confugimus, quam nobis Chemiæ congeries, & Genealogia mineralium ex Deo per Paracelsum, & alios faciunt; quámque, Princpes illustrißime, sub tua clientela protegendam, à tetricosis aduersario- [p. 15] rum suorum iniurijs, obnixè commendamus: Illustrißimæ tuæ Celsitati æternam beatitudinem, & in hac vita mentis & corporis optimam valetudinem imprecantes. Datum Francofurti ad Mœnum Calendis Septembris, à nato nostro Redemptore Iesu Christo millesimo quingentesimo octuagesimo primo.
Illustrissimæ C[elsitatis] T[uæ]
Seruulus humilimus
Gerardus Dorn.
English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT on 2 April 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 most illustrious and generous Prince and Lord, Lord Richard, by the grace of God, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Upper and Lower Bavaria, Count of Spanheim, etc.
It is not surprising, most illustrious Prince, that Alchemy has almost the entire world as its enemy, since it teaches how to resist it through natural means. For its every effort is directed towards producing a medicine for purging and regenerating things by imitating natural generations, and thus purging our earthly Adam from the corruption of the world, so that he may afterwards, being less hindered, freely use his talent, with which he was endowed from the beginning and now redeemed by wisdom, and may resist the wicked tempter more firmly. Although this gift is truly divine and spiritual, it nevertheless also depends on God in the way we have said, namely, that nature has supernaturally acquired it. For He who created nature and He who in His own way gives His Spirit to whom He wills is the same Lord God Almighty, and the same all-powerful virtue is from the same One and is equally one. Most wretchedly are those deceived who refer the powers and properties of nature, such as those of the sun, the stars, and the entire firmament, to anything other than where they first arose. Nor does the Most High wish natural means, which He decreed to be used, to be rejected because people have abused them for superstition and idolatry. Therefore, the use of Alchemy is not to be abhorred or detested, especially since it naturally seeks to purify and vindicate the creatures of God, corrupted by the darkness of the Devil, and placed by the power of light in the whole of nature and its means, so that they can more easily be supernaturally aroused to the constant meditation of that blessed resurrection, and those who are numb and asleep in their errors and vices can be awakened. For whoever attains this one and only medicine, which Alchemy alone was granted by God to men, will be able to revive in himself (with God's help) a sincere understanding, an undisturbed mind, and a complete memory, and will be disposed to this way of life and conversation that is honest and pleasing to God. Someone might ask, where are those Alchemists who can promise such a thing from their own medicine? Moreover, in what school of manifest Physics will there be given in this day and age a single Hippocrates or someone who truly understands his mind? Perhaps from the hidden Physics of Alchemy, three disciples of Hermes, Apollo, Machaon, or Podalirius will emerge for this one purpose. Therefore, the power and wisdom of God should not be poorly received because it has few or almost no true disciples, nor even because it is sometimes proclaimed by an impious or immoral man, as long as it is purely done. For everything that comes from God cannot be contaminated by any vice, only that which resists truth can suffer harm. We see it happening differently with Alchemists, as out of thousands who practice this art, hardly one can be found who truly understands it. Therefore, Alchemy should not be judged as deceptive in itself, nor because it has been described through many slanderous attacks by its adversaries, claiming that Paracelsus was a harsh man who preferred to mingle with common people rather than the educated ones, and many such insults were thrown at him. Far be it from us to defend the person of Paracelsus in this matter, but rather his doctrine, as long as it seems true and is based on sound experiments and reasoning. He himself teaches us to imitate the experiments of his science, not his way of life. So what is the controversy about his life, except that true arguments are lacking to refute his wisdom by his adversaries who do not understand it? What can be more impious than envying a gift that he received from God freely, and not because of his own merit? Especially from his own people who should have congratulated their country on having such a grace from the Lord, if they do not want to congratulate the person. But no prophet is accepted in his own country, as our Lord Jesus Christ said of himself, indicating that the same will happen to others, even worse. But here we are only talking about Alchemy in Physics, not about the honesty of life, which we leave to be handled marvelously by Philosophy. Therefore, we must return to the hidden Physics, or rather natural Anatomy, leaving behind the slanders unworthy of any philosopher, especially since they reflect nothing on their authors, who by this very fact reveal themselves not to be philosophers, but men of the same flour and ferment as those who want to slander others. Therefore, no one of sound mind will criticize Alchemy, who will not deny that its integrity is gained through good bodily disposition. For what else is it to be healthy on one part only, but to be sick? Both the health of the mind and the body are to be desired above all the goods of this life, just as in Alchemy the unity of the binary is achieved through the casting aside of the duality, so both faculties are obtained by one true medicine: not for the sake of riches, but only to be desired by philosophers for their intellect and wisdom. Those who have not been able to attain this greatest part of philosophy by their ingenuity, or at least understand it due to the deprivation of natural light, become adversaries and persecute it, but not without great dishonor to themselves. For to be ignorant of Alchemy or to deny it is nothing else but to have no knowledge at all of the spirit and nature of the soul. Let true contemners focus only on the body of nature and delight in their own corpse as much as they wish. But if there is anything to boast about, let us boast only in God for now, who has deigned to reveal to us his whole creation, so that we may be able to see inwardly as well as outwardly. Let the adversary say again, show us one Alchemist who has this integrity. We answer: the understanding of the hidden is not perceived by the understanding of the manifest, even if it is seen. For the spagyric art of Alchemists deals with the invisible aspects of nature, namely spirit and soul, so that it cannot be perceived at all by the bodily cultivators of Physics under the privation or lack of light as long as their eyes are stuck on the surface. Can any true philosopher ignore the soul of the whole of Physics, that the light of nature exists, and that its death is darkness introduced by such deprivation of light? Does the form of its matter connect through life, or perhaps they will persuade us that generation is made through the corruption of the form? Far from it, since corruption, which is the beginning of generation, is not the privation or lack of form, but the manifestation of hidden life. They seem no less absurdly blind who claim to have seen the hidden poisons of mineral medicines, but do not see the most manifest of their own theriac in tyro snakes, stink, and the like; nevertheless, they have the keenest eyes on others who are rightfully considered as blind and blind guides. Therefore, we withdraw our foot from their darkness and consult the light not without reason, which the collection of Alchemy and the Genealogy of minerals through Paracelsus and others make for us. We earnestly commend it to your protection, most illustrious Prince, from the unjust injuries of your gloomy adversaries. Wishing your most illustrious Highness eternal happiness and the best health of mind and body in this life. Given in Frankfurt on the Main on the first day of September, in the year of our Redeemer Jesus Christ, one thousand five hundred and eighty-one.
To Your most illustrious Highness,
Your humble servant,
Gerard Dorn.
