Morhof 1688 Polyhistor

Texts on Paracelsus

Daniel Georg Morhof, Polyhistor sive de notitia auctorum et rerum commentarii 1688

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Text

[Lib. I, Cap. X. De libris mysticis et secretis.]

[p. 93] [S. 93] Christianorum jam à primis temporibus mystici qvidam in Theosophiâ libri fuerunt. Principem in his locum sibi vendicant decantata illa Dionysii Areopagitae opera de Hierarchia Ecclesiastica, de divinis nominibus, de Theologiâ mysticâ, qvem S. Pauli discipulum esse volunt, multoqve rationum conqvisitarum apparatu, ut genuinum, defendit Petr. Halloix in vitâ S. Dionysii, & qvaestionibus de vitâ & operibus ejus. Nos illam aliis litem dirimendam relinqvimus. Liber verò ille, à qvocunqve demum scriptus sit, rerum divinarum profundissimis meditationibus plenus est. Fuere omni tempore, qvi hujus generis libros scripsere; nullum verò eorum scriptorum feracius est, qvàm hoc & superius seculum. Inter illos numerari prae aliis debet Vir summi ingenii & maxi-

[p. 94] morum meritorum, Theophrastus Paracelsus, qvi & magnam rei medicae & Physicae facem praetulit. Nam uti plerumqve secretioris naturae & Theologiae conjunctae rationes istis scriptoribus fuere; ita clarâ occasione in Theologicas dissertationes dilabitur. Fuere verò post mortem pleraqve ejus ab aliis edita, qvae, si ipse vivus edidisset, fortasse alio habitu se exhibuissent. Qvare nec omnia illa, qvae è schedis ejus publicarunt alii, à morosis Censoribus ad vivum resecanda sunt. Plures etiam ab illo in Theologicis libri sunt postumi, qvam in medicis & Physicis editi sunt. Nam in Bibliotheca Isaaci Vossii penè in omnes Novi Foederis libros commentarios prolixos ab eo scriptos inveni. Similes generis scriptor nostrâ aetate Jacobus Bohmius fuit, Philosophus Teutonicus dictus. Mirabile profectô, viro huic, utut plebejo, ingenium fuit, & singulari animi impulsu agitatum. Ineptè suspiciosi sunt, qvi Pontificii cujusdam technas subfuisse scriptis ejus crediderunt. Ab uno homine & qvidem ab ipso profecta omnia, argunt idem styli tenor, eadem in omnibus rerum conformitas. Si exceperis nonnulla, qvae μυστικώτερα & intricatiora videntur, in plurimis Pythagoraea dogmata λείψανον χρυσοῦ γένους spirare videtur. Ejus Psychologiam in linguam latinam convertit, notisq´; illustravit Angelus Werdenhagen ICtus. Henricus qvoqve Morus judicium de illo mitius, qvam asperiores nonnulli Censores, tulit. Pietatem viri istius nemo hactenus in dubium vocavit. Scripta illa ab homine literarum omnium rudi adornari potuisse, penè prodigio similis res est.

Bibliography

Morhof, Daniel Georg (1639–1691): Polyhistor sive de notitia auctorum et rerum commentarii, Lübeck: Peter Böckmann, 1688, p. 94.
  — VD17 23:278494E.
  — View at Google Books here
 p. 94 with the reference to Paracelsus is erroneously numbered '64'..

Morhof, Daniel Georg: Polyhistor, in tres tomos ... divisus, ed. by Johann Moller, Lübeck: Peter Beckmann, 1707.
  — VD18 10868984.
  — View at SUB Göttingen here.

English Raw Translation

Generated by ChatGPT on 2 March 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.

Since the early days of Christianity, there have been some mystics who have written on Theosophy. The most celebrated of these works are the writings of Dionysius the Areopagite, including his books on the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, the Divine Names, and the Mystic Theology. Some claim that he was a disciple of Saint Paul, and there has been much debate over the authenticity of his works. Nonetheless, his writings are full of profound meditations on divine matters. Throughout history, many authors have written books of this genre, but none have been more prolific than the mystics of this and the preceding centuries. Among these authors, one of the most notable is Theophrastus Paracelsus, a man of great intellect and moral character who shed much light on the fields of medicine and physics. While many of these writers focused on esoteric theology and natural philosophy, Paracelsus often ventured into theological discussions as well. After his death, many of his works were published by others, and it is possible that these works would have been presented in a different manner had he published them himself. Therefore, it is not necessary to censor everything that has been published posthumously from his notes. Moreover, more of his books were published after his death in theological subjects than in medicine or physics. In Isaac Vossius's library, nearly all of the commentaries on the New Testament books were written by Paracelsus. In our time, Jacob Boehme, also known as the Teutonic Philosopher, was a writer of a similar genre. His mind was undoubtedly brilliant, and he was driven by a singular impulse. Some have unwisely suspected that there was some Jesuit influence in his writings. However, all of his works were the product of a single man, and they share the same style and conformity of thought. With a few exceptions, the majority of his doctrines seem to breathe the spirit of Pythagoreanism, and some of his ideas are quite mystical and complex. His psychology was translated into Latin and annotated by Angelus Werdenhagen. Henry More was among those who judged him more leniently than some harsher critics. No one has ever questioned the piety of this man. It is almost miraculous that such works could have been produced by a man who was uneducated in all other areas of knowledge.