Text.BP190.C8v

Bernard Gilles Penot

Notice to the Reader

no date [1582]

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Source: Paracelsus, Centum quindecim curationes experimentaque, ed. Bernard Gilles Penot, Lyon: Jean Lertout, 1582 [BP190]

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Summary: Penot's address to Hermetic enthusiasts critiques the complex and misleading nature of texts on Hermetic medicine, likening them to a labyrinth filled with deceitful paths that few manage to navigate successfully. He portrays the journey through these philosophical writings as fraught with apparent shortcuts that only lead to confusion and entrapment, emphasizing the difficulty of finding true knowledge amidst the myriad of false leads. Penot warns of the dangers posed by false alchemists who promise great wealth but deliver deceit. In a compassionate effort to guide the earnest seeker, he offers a set of principles based on truth and the physical laws of nature, designed to illuminate the art clearly and prevent misdirection. He advises careful examination and understanding of these principles to avoid the pitfalls of gullibility and to engage in the practice of Hermetic arts with discernment and thoughtful consideration. (generated by ChatGPT)

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Text

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[p. 48] Hermeticarvm mvsarvm cvltoribvs salvtem.

Libri Philosophorum omnes (candide lector) quicumque de abstrusa illa Hermetica medicina loquuntur, nihil aliud sunt quàm spagyricus labyrinthus, in quo plerique artis discipuli in varia ambages & viarum fraudes incidunt, ita vt ad hunc vsque diem, aut nulli, aut paucißimi, exitum verum inuenerint. Si enim via quædam facilis in hoc labyrintho sese aperit errantibus, quæ videtur rectà ad fores extremas deducere, mox occurrerunt irremeabiles anguli, qui perpetuis carceribus deuios includunt. Sic si in philosophorum scriptis offerunt sese interdum & faciles, & manifestæ viæ, quæ prima fronte intuentibus secundum literam planæ videntur, mox incauti operatores, apertis philosophorum verbis decepti, innumeris dolis implicantur. Accedit ad hæc, quòd multi pseudochymistæ, multos suis fraudibus & sophismatibus decipiunt, vendentes & spargentes mendaces, chymicas operationes & chartas, quibus nimium [p. 49] credulis, aureos promittunt montes & lollium seminantes, triticum expectare iubent. Quare ego tactus commiseratione, hasce regulas plenas veritatis & rationum physicarum tibi offero: in quibus integram artem perspicuè, tanquam in tabella depictam habebis. Has examina, perpende, & firmis argumentis animi tui opinione muni, sic errare non poteris. Qui enim omnibus sophismatibus absque iudicio credit, volens decipitur. Vera ars multis inuolucris tecta est, quibus facilè incauti intricantur. Ergo antequam operari incipias, causas rerum naturales prudenti consolio perpende: aut noli rem aggredi: satius est tempus solerti iudicio, & meditationi tribuere, quàm temeritatis & stultæ inconsiderantiæ pœnas luere. Vale.

B. D. P.

Modern English Raw Translation

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Generated by ChatGPT on 22 February 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.

To the devotees of the Hermetic muses, greetings. All the books of the Philosophers, dear reader, whoever speaks of that abstruse Hermetic medicine, are nothing but a spagyric labyrinth, in which most students of the art fall into various twists and turns and deceptive paths, so that to this very day, either none or very few have found the true exit. For if by chance an easy path in this labyrinth opens up to the wanderers, which seems to lead straight to the final doors, soon inescapable corners are encountered, which enclose the strayed in perpetual prisons. Thus, if in the writings of the philosophers, sometimes easy and clear paths present themselves, which at first glance seem straightforward to those looking at the letter, soon the unwary operators, deceived by the open words of the philosophers, are entangled in countless tricks. In addition to this, many pseudo-chemists deceive many with their frauds and sophistries, selling and spreading false chemical operations and documents, promising mountains of gold to the overly credulous and instructing them to expect wheat while sowing tares. Therefore, moved by compassion, I offer you these rules full of truth and physical reasons: in which you will have the entire art clearly depicted, as if on a tablet. Examine these, weigh them, and fortify the opinion of your mind with strong arguments, so you cannot err. For he who believes all sophistries without judgment is willingly deceived. The true art is covered with many veils, by which the unwary are easily entangled. Therefore, before you begin to operate, weigh the natural causes with prudent counsel: or do not undertake the matter: it is better to devote time to careful judgment and meditation, than to pay the penalties of rashness and foolish inconsideration. Farewell.