Letter, 1527-11-10, Paracelsus to the Students of Zurich
| Author: | Paracelsus |
| Recipient: | Students of Zurich |
| Type: | Letter |
| Date: | 10 November 1527 |
| Place: | Basel |
| Pages: | 2 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=2040 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Paracelsus, De gradibus, de compositionibus et dosibus receptorum ac naturalium libri septem, ed. Adam von Bodenstein, Mülhausen: Peter Schmidt 1562, sig. A4r–A4v [BP043]
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| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
| Back to Paratexts Back to Texts by Paracelsus |
[sig. A4r] Theophrastvs ex Hohenheim vtrivsqve medicinae doctor et physicvs Basiliensis, ornatissimo stvdiosorvm Tigvrinorvm coetvi salvtem.
Eheu quam misera mortalium est conditio: Nullum enim ferè gaudium est cui non statim plerumque luctus sequitur comes candidissima fautorum cohors, hactenus recitatam in me, non vnquam tam acuratè animaduerti quam in præsentia, non considerans viro sapienti, non ea solum quæ ante pedes sunt, sed &, quæ à tergo (instar Iani illius bicipitis) ac latere circumquaque eueniunt summo esse studio obseruanda: Ratio est quia suauis, syncerus ille vester conuictor quo nuper apud vos fruitus sum, cuius etiam adhuc cum summa gratiarum actione recordor, sic animum meum atque oculos delinierat & oblectauerat, ut futurorum planè immemor (nempe nihil sinistri præsagiente animo) rem omnem bene gestam atque adeo gaudium illud adparens citra comitem tristitiam transactum atque absolutum arbitrarer. Atque cum ea nunc demum videam quæ tum temporis præuidisse oprtuerat, qui? quæso à moerore ac luctu temperem? Nempe quod ille quem Basileæ charissimum habui amicum, nunc iam demotino lapsu quo etiam secundario antea decubuerat, post hac tamen per me cui à grauissimis vinculis, in quæ ab imperitis illis apud Italos natis Doctoribus coniectus fuerat, tum à morbo etiam ipso liberatus, cuius Erasmus ille Rotherodamus quoque testis est Epistola illa suapte manu conscripta: Præterea tota illius familia, postremo vero cum iam conualuisset etiam ipsemet, quem ita sanitati restitutum ac benê iam habentem hinc ad vos hilaris profectus, hic [sig. A4v] reliqui, interea dum sic apud vos genio indulgeo atque animum laxo, correptus illo quem dixi casu diem obijt ille, ille inquam, quem perinde ac oculos meos amaui, Iohannes Frobenius, omnium[c1] doctorum & bonorum (nimirum ipse quoque doctus & bonus) virorum parens ac tutor, omnigenæq́ue eruditionis diligentissimus propagator: Quamobrem eiusmodi quòque improuisus vitæ meæ ab eo qui illum rapuit, timendus mihi est obitus, quid meæ mihi animæ dico? imo suæ vniuersus: Quocirca moniti vigilate combibones optimi, & si quid fortè hic à nobis minus ex officio fiat, grauissimo illi quod nunc torqueor, & qui mei memor esse non sinit mœrori ascribite. Valete sodales suauissimi & Theophrastum uestrum amate. Basileæ ex musæo nostri IIII. idi[bus] Nouembris. Anno M.D.XXVII.
English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT-4 on 3 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.
Theophrastus of Hohenheim, doctor of both medicines and Basel physician, salutes the distinguished assembly of Zurich students.
Alas, how miserable is the condition of mortals: For there is hardly any joy that is not immediately followed, in most cases, by sorrow. You, the most loyal supporters, have so far cited this in me, but I have never observed it as closely as I do now. I did not consider that a wise man should not only observe what is before his feet but also what happens from behind (like that double-faced Janus) and on all sides with the utmost diligence. The reason is that your sweet, sincere companionship, which I recently enjoyed among you, and which I still remember with the greatest gratitude, had so captivated my mind and eyes that I was completely unaware of the future (with no sinister foreboding in my mind), and I thought that the entire well-managed affair and even that apparent joy would pass without sadness as a companion. And now that I finally see what I should have foreseen at that time, how, I ask, can I refrain from grief and sorrow? Indeed, he whom I held most dear in Basel, has now fallen for a second time, after having previously collapsed, but after that, through me, he was freed from the heaviest chains into which he had been cast by those ignorant Italian-born doctors, and from the disease itself, of which Erasmus of Rotterdam is also a witness in that letter written by his own hand. Furthermore, his entire family, and finally, when he had recovered, even he himself, whom I left here in good health and cheerful spirits, set out for you, while I indulge myself and relax my mind among you, was seized by that fate I mentioned, and he died - he, I say, whom I loved as much as my own eyes, Johannes Frobenius, the father and guardian of all learned and good men (being himself learned and good) and the most diligent promoter of all kinds of erudition. Therefore, I must also fear the unexpected end of my life from him who took him away, not just for my soul, but for the whole universe. Therefore, be watchful, my excellent friends, and if perhaps something here is done by us less dutifully, attribute it to the most severe grief that now torments me and does not allow me to forget myself. Farewell, my dearest companions, and love your Theophrastus. From our museum in Basel, on the fourth day before the Ides of November, in the year 1527.
