Poem, no date (1567), by Balthasar Flöter (BP085)
| Author: | Philalethes [Balthasar Flöter] |
| Type: | Poem |
| Date: | no date [1567] |
| Pages: | 2 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=2061 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Paracelsus, Astronomica et astrologica, ed. Balthasar Flöter, Köln: Gerhard Virendunck for Arnold Birckmann (Erben) 1567, sig. [unsigned]1v–[unsigned]2r [BP085]
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| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
| Back to Paratexts Back to Texts by Balthasar Flöter |
[sig. [unsigned]1v] In Theo[phrasti] Paracelsi [sig. [unsigned]2r] Icona, carmen.
[sig. [unsigned]1v]Corpore talis erat Theophrastus, is alter Apollo:
Haud feret Apelles,[v1] pectore qualis erat.
Ipse Lepram, Phthisin, Podagram, Hydropem, abstulit:
Ceu Hermes, Dium fundere nouit Azoth:
Doctor Doctorum doctissimus, arte medendi, ipse.
Qualibet ac Sophia, quam Philotechne colis.
Hunc relege, & normas Paracelsi cum Paramiro
Disce, eris hoc omni tutus ab interitu.
Hunc cape per Canones Theophrastum cum Paragrano:
Erronum næuos non imitare tetros.
Hunc sequere, & nugas Galeni[v2] cum Microtehna[v3],
Et Labyrinthæis linque, relinque Libris.
Hunc Lyra mireris, Ptolemæe hunc, hunc Stagiritia,[v4]
Bartole siue legas, siue Auicenna legas.
Huic adpicta[v5] vides, nostro bene congrua Seclo,
Fatidico quondam quæ dedit hicce sono.
Ecce sinister ibi Doctorculus, orbus ocello est,
Gemmam, aurumq́ue gerens, hunc quoque vincla gerunt.
A dextris Medicos Rediuiue librosq́ue schedasq́ue
Tam laceras propter dogmata manca[v6] stupes.
Post Insigne notat tacito multa abdita sensu,
Per triplicem Mundi sphærulam, & octo Cruces.
Orbibus affixos Flores perpende sacratos,
Cur trifida in medio cælica gemma nitet.[v7]
Adlatus omne, pias cernis, dicta aurea, voces,
Perpetuò has viuens pectore & ore tulit.
[sig. [unsigned]2r] Hoc duce, Naturam atque Deum sectabimur vnos
Doctores, placitum non Cenotechne tuum.
A Ioue principium, medium, finem quòque duxit,
Commisso soli seq́ue, suisq́ue Deo.
Directam ipse suis Sacra Biblio fixit amussim
Scriptis, quæ mentis sint monimenta piæ:
Sub quorum æthereos perspexit cortice Fructus,
Qui Fructus oculos non latuêre suos.
Denique Naturæ penetralia nouit alumnæ,
Quod de Alazothe, Sale, & Sulphure cuncta creat.
Quatuor hinc docta bene condidit arte Columnas,
Omnibus has posuit, saxea fulcra, Sophis:
Singula quò scitu iucunda & commoda nobis,
Non dubia fierent obuia, plana, fide.
Pharmaca nulla fide, sed sensu vera probauit,
Et si Animæ constet Speq́ue, Fideq́ue salus.
Fidus enim à morbis Populosq́ue, Ducesq́ue Machaon
Ipse Machaonia sæpe leuauit ope.
Quid moror? hic doctus, verax, minimeq́ue superbus,
Pauperibus gratam ferre paratus opem:
Candidus & iustus, tum castis moribus, almæ
Integrum vitæ rite peregit iter.
Ergo vipereo Theophrastomastiges ore
Innocuum nocui non lacerate Virum.
Lumine pro tanto, Medico sit gratia summo,
Ingenio is[v8] similes det Theophraste tuo.
Philalethes[v9] f[ecit].
Apparatus
Variants
English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT-4 on 7 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.
A Poem on the Portrait of Theophrastus Paracelsus
Theophrastus was a figure, another Apollo; not even Apelles could capture the greatness of his heart. He himself cured leprosy, tuberculosis, gout, and edema; like Hermes, he knew how to distill divine Azoth. A most learned doctor of doctors, in the art of healing himself, possessing any wisdom and skill, he is cherished by those who love technology. Read him, and learn the principles of Paracelsus along with the "Paramirum", and you shall be safe from all destruction. Embrace Theophrastus and his "Paragranum" through the canons; do not imitate the terrible errors. Follow him, and leave behind the trifles of Galen and the Microtechne, and the labyrinthine books. Admire this Lyre, this Ptolemy, this Stagirite, whether you read Bartolus or Avicenna.
You see attached to him, well suited to our age, the prophecies once given by his prophetic voice. Behold, on the left is a small doctor, lacking an eye, carrying a gem and gold; chains bind him too. On the right, you marvel at the resurrected doctors, the books, the tattered documents, all because of the maimed dogmas. The emblem signifies many hidden meanings with a silent sense, through the triple sphere of the world and eight crosses. Ponder the sacred flowers affixed to the circles, and why the celestial gem shines thrice in the middle.
You see every side, the pious golden words spoken; he carried them in his heart and mouth while living. Guided by this leader, we shall pursue Nature and God as one, doctors, not your pleasing Cenotechne. He derived the beginning, middle, and end from Jupiter, entrusting the earth and his own God. He anchored his writings in the Sacred Bible, which are the monuments of a pious mind. Under their cover, he glimpsed the ethereal fruits, which did not hide from his eyes.
Finally, he knew the innermost secrets of Nature's offspring, creating all from Alazoth, salt, and sulfur. He skillfully built four columns, placing these stone supports for all the Sophists, so that each of their knowledge becomes pleasant, useful, undoubted, and clear to us. He tested medicines not by faith, but by true sense; the salvation of the soul depends on hope and faith. For he, a faithful Machaon, often relieved people and leaders from illnesses with his Machaonian aid.
Why do I delay? He was learned, truthful, and humble, ready to bring pleasant help to the poor. Candid and just, he completed the course of an honorable life with chaste morals. Thus, do not harm the innocent man, Theophrastus, with viperous words. May great gratitude be given to the physician for his immense light, and may he bestow upon others a genius like Theophrastus.
