Dedicatory Preface, 1608-01-01, Henning Scheunemann to Esaias Wulf

Author:	Henning Scheunemann
Recipient:	Esaias Wulf
Type:	Dedicatory Preface
Date:	1 January 1608
Place:	Bamberg
Pages:	4
Language:	Latin

Quote as:

https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=5852

Editor:	Edited by Julian Paulus
Source:	Henning Scheunemann, Paracelsia de morbo mercuriali contagioso, quem pestem vulgus nominat, Bamberg: Anton Horitz 1608, sig. A2r-A3v [BP.Scheunemann.1608-01]

Translation:

Raw translation see below

Abstract:

Scheuneman acknowledges the physical and emotional pain Wulfius is experiencing, as mentioned in Wulfius's letter dated the 1st of December. He expresses relief that a remedy involving Tartar has alleviated Wulfius's hypochondriacal pains. Scheuneman advises Wulfius to continue his treatment, suggesting further refinement and sublimation of the remedy. He describes a process involving drying, mixing a new menstruum, distillation, and sublimation, likening the final product to camphor and hoping it serves as an effective cure (Αλεξίκακος). Additionally, Scheuneman touches upon the topic of the plague, which has become a concern both in Wulfius's vicinity and in his own area. He reflects on the uncertainty and danger posed by the plague, acknowledging that while common antidotes exist, their effectiveness is often uncertain. He emphasizes that any healing should be attributed to God, as salvation comes from Him. Scheuneman also delves into theological and biblical references, discussing how God uses natural remedies to heal, as illustrated in the stories of Tobias, Hezekiah, and Naaman. These references underscore his belief in the interplay between divine intervention and natural medicine. The letter concludes with Scheuneman offering a token of hospitality, love, and charity. He invokes a blessing for protection against various dangers and for God's perpetual guardianship over Wulfius, his sister, and their entire family. (generated by Chat-GPT)

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[sig. A2r] Clarissimo doctissimoqve viro Esaiae VVulfio, Ivreconsvlto, Civi Semipolitano, Affini suo. S[alutem] P[lurimam].

Vester dolor meus est dolor, & cùm litteras (dilectissime Affinis.) Cal[endris] Decemb[ris] ad me datas, quibus corpora totius ferè nostræ prosapiæ neutra commemoras, lego, cruciatus vestros, imminentesq́ue morbos videre mihi videor. Tartari arcanum dolores tuos hypochondriacos sustulisse lætor, teq́ue adhortor, nè laboris te pæniteat, ut idem ad maiorem perfectionis gradum sublimatione eleves; quandò omne suum humidum ebibit, optimè rursùm exsicca, novum menstruum ei admisce, destilla aliquoties, ut unum fiat corpus siccum, pone hoc in sublimatorium vitreum, [sig. A2v] sublimabitur camphuræ instar. Faxit Devs, ut sit tibi Αλεξίκακος. Rogo tamen, nè ea prorsus despicias, quibus atrabiliarios succos, vel si mavis ⟨sulphurem⟩ coagulatum præparare priùs seu dissolvere soleam, antequàm Matthioli Elleborismum ægris potandum præcipiam.

Quòd pestis apud vos in vicinia ceperit grassari, idem & nobis hîc evenit, ut nondùm in portu navigemus securi, easdemq́ue maris procellas sustinere insimul cogamur: insuper ea, quibus utimur, sæpè spem fallere apparent. Nec inficias eo, in Dei & naturæ arcanis singulare & ἀλεξιφάρμακον pestis communicare. Sed ut reor, id solius Dei maiestati esse cognitum reser- [sig. A3r] vatumq́ue nobis incognitum. Ac si quis communibus his antidotis restituitur & sanatur, soli Deo acceptum referat: quia á domino, ut Regius propheta ait, salus venit. Nec est in civitate malum, quod non fecerit Dominus. Nam qui delinquit in conspectu eius qui fecit illum, incidet in manus Medici. Ob id in omnibus adversis casibus ad religiosam divini numinis invocationem & cultum piè nobis est confugiendum; ita tamen ut quæ nobis sagax Musa & Alstoos tribuit medica, nunquàm sint despectui; cùm ipse Deus salutem (miseratus nostri) largiendo, causis utatur secundis.

Nònne Thobiam excæcavit hirundinum stercore, & sanavit callionymi piscis felle? Ezechiam admoto ex massâ caricarum cata- [sig. A3v] plasmata, pristinæ sanitati restitutum, quis in sacris adeò hospes est ut nesciat? Naaman militiæ Syriæ principem, iussu Elisæi, septies in Iordanelotum, leprâ mundatum quis dubitat? Xenij quarè loco, hoc charitatis ac dilectionis μνημόσυνον suscipe. Altissimus Iehovah te cum sorore meâ ac totâ familiâ à timore noctis, à sagittâ quæ volaverit per diem, à morte ac morsu, qui vastat meridie, tueatur ac perpetuò custodiat. Datum Bambergæ Calend[is] Ianuarij Anno M. DC. IIX.

Henningus Scheuneman S[emipolitanus] S[axo] Philosophiæ ac Medicinæ Doctor.

Apparatus

Marginalia

To the most illustrious and learned man, Isaiah Wulfius, Jurist, Citizen of Zemun, his relative. Greetings.

Your pain is my pain, and when I read your letter (most beloved relative) dated on the Calends of December, in which you mention the ailments of almost our entire family, I seem to see your torments and impending illnesses. I am glad to hear that the secret of Tartar has lifted your hypochondriacal pains, and I encourage you not to regret the effort, but to elevate it to a higher degree of perfection through sublimation; when it has absorbed all its moisture, dry it well again, mix in a new menstruum, distill several times, so that it becomes one dry body, place this in a glass sublimation vessel, it will sublime like camphor. May God grant that it be Αλεξίκακος for you. However, I ask you not to completely despise those things with which I usually prepare or dissolve the coagulated sulfur or black bile juices before I prescribe Matthioli's Hellebore for the sick to drink.

As for the plague beginning to rage in your vicinity, the same has happened here, so we are not yet sailing in a safe harbor, and we are forced to endure the same storms at sea together; moreover, the things we use often seem to betray hope. I do not deny that in the mysteries of God and nature there is a unique and ἀλεξιφάρμακον for the plague. But as I think, it is known only to the majesty of God and remains unknown to us. And if anyone is restored and healed by these common antidotes, let him give thanks to God alone

for salvation comes from the Lord, as the Royal prophet says. There is no evil in the city that the Lord has not done. For he who sins in the sight of Him who made him, will fall into the hands of the Physician. Therefore, in all adverse cases, we must piously turn to the religious invocation and worship of the divine numen; yet, we should never despise what the wise Muse and Alstoos bestow upon us in medicine, since God Himself, in His mercy, uses secondary causes to grant salvation.

Did He not blind Tobias with the dung of swallows and heal him with the gall of the fish callionymus? Who is so unfamiliar with the sacred texts as not to know that Hezekiah was restored to his former health with a poultice made from a lump of figs? Who doubts that Naaman, the commander of the Syrian army, was cleansed of leprosy by bathing seven times in the Jordan at the command of Elisha? As a token of hospitality, accept this memorial of charity and love. May the Most High Jehovah protect you, my sister, and your entire family from the fear of the night, from the arrow that flies by day, from death and the pestilence that ravages at noon, and may He guard you forever. Given in Bamberg on the Calends of January in the year 1608.

Henningus Scheuneman of Halberstadt, Saxon, Doctor of Philosophy and Medicine.

English Raw Translation

Generated by ChatGPT-4 on 13 January 2024. 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.