Dedication, 1573-08-19, Pietro Perna to Pierre de Grantrye
| Author: | Pietro Perna |
| Recipient: | Pierre de Grantrye |
| Type: | Dedication |
| Date: | 19 August 1573 |
| Place: | Basel |
| Pages: | 3 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=2014 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Paracelsus, Chirurgia magna, t. 1, ed. Josquin Dalhem, [Basel: Pietro Perna] 1573, sig. )(2r–)(3r [BP146]
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| CP: | Not in Kühlmann/Telle, Corpus Paracelsisticum |
| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
| Back to Paratexts Back to Texts by Pietro Perna |
[sig. )(2r] Illvstri ac generoso Domino Petro de Grantrye, Domino in Besne, Eqviti & Galliarum Regis Consiliario, eiusdemq́ue ad Alpinos Rhætos Legato, Petrvs Perna typographvs S[alvtem] P[lvrimam] D[icit].
Magnam Magni illius Theophrasti Chirurgiam, quam dudum nostris typis publicam facere (edito officinæ nostræ Indice) pollicitus sum, Generose Domine, sub amplissimo nomine tuo iam tandem in Latinum linguam conuersam exteris quoque hominibus legendam exhibeo, multiplicem quod spero & apud illos, & apud te gratiam initurus. Quia enim etiam illi, qui nouam hanc, vt ipsi appelant, medicinæ hæresin, vel authoritate sua, vel editis scriptis acerrimè impugnant, eam laudem Paracelso nostro non inuiti concedunt, & magna ipsum chirurgicarum rerum peritia cum summa coniunctam felicitate exceluisse, & in externorum remediorum accuratiore per chemiam præparatione docenda, atque in vsum reuocanda, non inutilem operam posuiße, factum est, vt ab exteris hominibus plerisque omnibus non solùm auidißimè huius operis editio expectaretur, verumetiam nonnulli quasi iure quodam eam à me exigerent, duobus maximè aduersum me argumentis vtentes. Primò quòd alijs forsan minus vtilibus eius authoris scriptis excudendis inuigilarem: dein quòd datam fidem tardius redimendo spes suas nimis diu morarer. Persuasum enim plerisque est, ad lites illas medicas disceptandas huius libri vsu eruditos non sine reipublicæ incommodo destitui. Sed facilè cum istis rursus gratiam inibo (licet tardius tandem tamen ipsorum votis satisfaciens) si dilationis causam audierint, atque moram hanc quantulamcunque puriore (quam hucusque in Paracelsicis nonnullis sciptis habere licuit) translatione compensari viderint. Quanta etenim religione omnia Interpres hic noster reddiderit, ij iudicabunt, qui versionem hanc non cum Dornianis modò, sed cum ipsius etiam Oporini quorundam Paracelsicorum scriptorum versionibus conferre voluerit. Quinetiam et eo nomine gratiorem fore hanc operam nostram bonis omnibus confido, quòd tua autoritate, quam omnes meritò maximi faciunt confirmatam in publicum emitto. Ex eo etenim tempore, quo tu Paracelsicæ Philosophiæ & Medicinæ non tuendæ modo, sed etiam omnibus modis cogniscendæ ac excolendæ partes tibi sumpsisti, omnes libenter fatentur non dubijs argumentis se colligere, frequentiores quàm vnquam habuerit cultores adeptam eße, scilicet nemo est, qui prudentißimi viri generis nobilitate, regia gratia, consiliarij & legati regij authoritate præstantis iudicium non admiretur, suspiciat & imitandum putet. Ego certè quasi fato quodam ad te pertinere hinc nascituram [sig. )(2v] gloriam (nascetur autem sine dubio maxima) auguror, namque & antea tuo nomini destinatum fuit opus hoc, & iam inter plurimos tu vnicus es putatus, qui aduersus Zoilorum aculeos autoritatis & virium satis habiturus sis. Liceat autem hîc, quia hoc ad te quidem maximè pertinet, aliorum tamen etiam cognoscere nonnihil interest, commemorare causas non præstiti dudum officij. Iam biennium plus minus est, quòd Gerhardus Spina, homo, nequid peius dicam, spinosus & lubricæ fidei operis conuersionem pactus, mox siue laboris magnitudine deterritus: siue alicunde pinguiorem mercedem sperans, astu se à contractu liberare cœpit, namque nescio quibus argumentis librum sic suspectum nostratibus medicis reddidit, vt paucis post diebus ab ipso transferri, & à me excudi prohiberent consores. Itaque præter spem à cœpto tum opere desistere coactus omnino intermißurus fueram, ni& bibliopolarum indesinentibus flagitationibus, & doctorum quorundam literis, quibus vt editionem maturarem hortabantur, fatigatus, denùò animum induxissem consilium ineundi de excudendo libro & data fide liberanda, ea tamen moderatione, ne cuiusquam authoritati quidquam decederet. Mouebant me præter cætera quoque Celsitudinis tuæ literæ, quibus admonebas & petebas, de Dornio deesse vellem. Falsò enim T[uam] C[elsitudinem] persuaserat, me negotium trahere. Harum ego literarum quoties recordabar (recordabar autem sæpißime) quomodo illam de me conceptam opinionem amoliri poßem, cogitabam. Itaque nullum non mouere lapidem cœpi, quò quàm purißimam libri huius conuersionem nanciscerer: quod dum molior commodum narratur mihi integrum opus Latinum à Iosquino Dalhemio medico doctißimo asseruari, ab ipso in priuatorum hominum quorundam gratiam conuersum, quo cognito, nil prius habui, quàm vt inspiciendi operis copia mihi fieret, quam vix summis precibus consecutus, talem cernebam esse, vt iam Dornianam versionem non diserarem amplius, neque me pœniteret illam omisiße. Itaque hominem hortari ac rogare cœpi, vt quem in paucorum gratiam laborem suscepißet, typis à me multiplicatum pluribus vtilem fieri pateretur, sed tantum abfuit, vt persuaderem, vt etiam ille affirmare non dubitaret alio fine à se translationem factam non eße, quàm vt Gallos duos iuuenes Paracelsicæ medicinæ studio insanientes, genuinis Paracelsicis deliramentis (vt ipse loquebatur) propositis ad dogmaticam medicinam reuocaret: quo responso ipse quidem videbatur sibi significaße mihi, frustra me publicationem expectare. Verùm ego contrà eodem argumento vsus (ad hominis ingenium me accomodans) ostendi, vel ob id potißimum scriptum hoc suum publicandum esse, quòd sectæ vanitate proposita, dum plures cautiores redderet, quàm optimè de pluribus mereri posset. Ad hæc præstare aiebam, extare conuersionem, quæ (qualis sua eßet) vbi id res pateretur, notioribus & magis medicis appellationibus nonnulla exprimeret, quàm si forsan ex ipsius sectæ cultorib[us] laborem hunc suscipiens aliquis, omnia ipsorum modo appellans, plus tenebrarum quàm lucis scripto adferret. His ergo argumentis tandem, & vix tandem commotus, pollicitus est, vbi omnia reuidißet, ad me mittere, vt quod mihi videretur facerem. Itaque non ita multo pòst cum exemplari suo literas misit, quarum verba hæc ferè e- [sig. )(3r] rant. Chirurgiam[c1] Latinam hîc mitto, quam olim in duorum iuuenum gratiam conuerti, non quòd eam aliquando edendam cogitarem, sed vt ipsos nimium Paracelsisantes à proposito reuocarem: quam si excudere voles (quamuis mallem ἀνέκδοτον) caue sub meo nomine publices, sed anonymos prodeat: nolo enim deliramenta ista me approbare quisquam vt existimet. Cætera quod attinet, scire te volo, me paraphrasticè plerisque in locis sententias authoris reddidisse, loca inuenias, in quibus non quid dixerit, sed quid dixiße oportuerit, vel certè dicere voluiße visus est, expreßi (quid isthæc verba sibi velint, indicabunt vtriusque linguæ periti. Adhæc manuscripto exemplari, quod meo iudicio autographum non mentiebatur, adiutus, multa secus quàm vulgata editio habeat, transtuli. Denique si quando in carpendis ac ridendis aliorum erroribus prolixior videbatur (quod in proœmijs & epilogis illi solenne est) inutilia resecui. Hæc[c2] in suis literis ille. At dicat nunc quispiam, Quorsum hæc, an non malum nomen ista libro conciliabunt? minimè vero. Nam etsi is fuit interpretis animus, qualem ipsius literæ, & quæ antea diximus, ostendunt: tamen quantò præstet, talem nos habere versionem, quàm Dornianam, eruditi facilè iudicabunt. Discernet quoque C[elsitudo] T[ua] quantum præstent Erua Lupinis, quæ cùm tantopere huius operis legendi copiam sibi fieri concipiuit, vt tædium atque impuritatem Dorniani[c3] styli non dubitauerit deuorare, modò rem ipsam conseque ac intelligere posset, quàm hilari fronte hanc puriorem susceptura sit, iam mihi videre videor. Itaque tuam Celsit[udinem] etiam atque etiam oro, vt vnà cum libro & me humilem suæ Cel[situdinis] seruulum in suam clientelam denuò suscipere velit. Et si quid à me peccatum hucusque est (quamuis illius culpæ, cuius me reum facere ille voluit, liber sim) benignè condonet, & denique Iosquino nostro, cuius nomen vel inuito ipso operi præfixi, si forsan iniquius illud feret, me reconciliare, omni officiorum genere in illum collato, conetur. Vale Illustris & Generose Domine. Basileæ XIIII. Cal[endis] Sept[embris] anno 1573.
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English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT-4 on 26 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.
To the illustrious and noble Lord Peter of Grantrye, Lord of Besne, Knight and Counselor to the King of France, and also his Legate to the Alpine Rhaetians, Peter Perna, the printer, sends his warmest greetings.
I present to you and to foreign readers the great work of that great Theophrastus, the Surgery, which I have long promised to make public in our prints (upon the publication of our workshop's catalog), now finally translated into Latin under your most distinguished name, Noble Lord. I hope that this will gain much favor both with them and with you. For even those who vigorously oppose this new "heresy" of medicine, as they call it, either by their authority or by their published writings, begrudgingly concede to our Paracelsus the praise that he was outstanding in his knowledge of surgical matters, combined with great success, and that he applied his talents usefully to teach the more accurate preparation of external remedies through chemistry and to bring them back into use.
As a result, not only has the publication of this work been eagerly awaited by most foreign readers, but some have even demanded it from me as if by some right, using two main arguments against me. Firstly, they argue that I devoted my efforts to printing other, perhaps less useful writings by the same author; secondly, they argue that by taking too long to fulfill my promise, I have kept them waiting too long for their hopes to be realized. Many are convinced that the educated readers are being deprived of the use of this book for the purpose of settling medical disputes, and that this is to the detriment of the common good.
However, I will easily regain their favor (albeit later, but finally satisfying their wishes) if they hear the reason for the delay and see that this slight postponement has been compensated for with a purer translation than what has been available in some of Paracelsus' writings. Those who wish to compare this translation not only with Dornian but also with some of Oporinus' translations of Paracelsian works will judge how faithfully our translator has rendered everything.
Moreover, I am confident that this undertaking will be all the more welcome to all good people because I am releasing it to the public under your authority, which everyone rightly holds in the highest regard. Since the time you took up the cause of Paracelsian philosophy and medicine, not only to defend it but also to study and cultivate it in every way, everyone readily admits that it has gained more followers than ever, with clear evidence showing that no one can help but admire, respect, and emulate the judgment of such a wise man, distinguished by his noble birth, royal favor, and the authority of a counselor and royal legate.
I indeed foresee that the glory arising from this work, which will undoubtedly be great, will by some fate belong to you. For this work was previously destined to bear your name, and now among many, you alone are considered the one who will have enough authority and strength to withstand the sting of critics.
However, let me recount here the causes of the unfulfilled duty, since this concerns you most of all, and it is also somewhat important for others to know. It has been around two years since Gerhard Spina, a man, to say the least, prickly and of slippery faith, agreed to undertake the translation of the work. Soon, either deterred by the magnitude of the task, or hoping for a fatter reward elsewhere, he cunningly began to free himself from the agreement. For, with some unknown arguments, he made the book so suspicious to our local doctors that, after a few days, the consors prohibited the book to be translated by him and printed by me. So, contrary to my expectations, I was forced to abandon the work then and would have given up altogether if it had not been for the relentless demands of booksellers and the letters of some doctors who urged me to speed up the publication. Exhausted, I made up my mind once again to undertake the project of printing the book and fulfilling my promise, but with such restraint that no one's authority would be diminished.
In addition to other things, your Highness's letters also moved me, in which you reminded and asked me not to lack Dorn. For, falsely, your Highness had been persuaded that I was dragging out the business. Whenever I recalled these letters (which I did quite often), I wondered how I could remove the opinion formed about me. Therefore, I began to leave no stone unturned to obtain the purest translation of this book. While I was doing this, I was conveniently told that the entire Latin work was kept by the most learned doctor Josquin Dalhemio, who had translated it for the benefit of certain private individuals. Having learned this, my first priority was to obtain permission to inspect the work. After much pleading, I obtained permission, and I saw that it was such that I no longer desired the Dornian translation and did not regret having abandoned it.
Thus, I began to encourage and ask the man to allow the work he had undertaken for the benefit of a few to be multiplied by my printing and made useful to many. But far from being persuaded, he even did not hesitate to assert that the translation had not been made by him for any other purpose than to bring back two young Frenchmen, driven mad by the study of Paracelsian medicine, to dogmatic medicine with the genuine Paracelsian delusions (as he put it) presented. With this answer, he seemed to indicate to me that I should expect publication in vain. However, I, on the contrary, using the same argument (adapting myself to the man's disposition), showed that this writing of his should be published primarily for that very reason, so that by presenting the emptiness of the sect, it would make more people cautious, thus doing the best for many.
Moreover, I claimed that a translation was available, which (whatever its quality) would express some things with more familiar and medical terms when the situation allowed, rather than if someone from his sect took on this task and, using only their terminology, would bring more darkness than light to the writing. Finally, swayed by these arguments, and barely so, he promised that when he had reviewed everything, he would send it to me so that I could do as I saw fit.
And so, not much later, he sent his manuscript along with a letter, the words of which were roughly as follows: "I am sending the Latin surgery here, which I once translated for the benefit of two young men, not because I ever thought of publishing it, but to bring them back from their excessive devotion to Paracelsus. If you want to print it (although I would prefer it to remain unpublished), take care not to publish it under my name, but let it appear anonymously; for I do not want anyone to think that I approve of these delusions. As for the rest, I want you to know that in many places, I have rendered the author's thoughts paraphrastically, and you will find passages where I have not expressed what he said, but what he should have said or, at least, seemed to have intended to say (the meaning of these words will be explained by experts of both languages). Moreover, with the help of a manuscript copy, which in my judgment did not lie about being an autograph, I translated many things differently than the common edition. Finally, when he seemed too long-winded in criticizing and laughing at others' mistakes (which is his custom in prefaces and epilogues), I cut out the useless parts." These were his words in the letter.
But let someone now say, what is the point of all this? Will it not give the book a bad reputation? Not at all. For although the translator's intention was what his letter and what we said earlier show, learned people will easily judge how much better it is to have this translation rather than the Dornian one. Your Highness will also discern how much more preferable Erua Lupinis is, who, when she so eagerly desired to have access to the reading of this work, did not hesitate to swallow the tediousness and impurity of Dorn's style, just so she could grasp and understand the matter itself, than how cheerfully she would accept this purer one, which I now seem to see. And so, I beseech your Highness again and again to deign to take me, a humble servant of your Highness, into your patronage once more, along with the book. And if I have sinned so far (although I am free from the guilt he wanted to impute to me), please forgive me kindly, and finally, try to reconcile me with our Josquin, whose name I have prefixed to the work even against his will, if perhaps he will bear it unjustly, by conferring on him every kind of service. Farewell, Illustrious and Generous Lord. In Basel on the 14th day before the Calends of September in the year 1573.
