Text.Crollius.1609-01.!4r
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Source: Oswald Crollius, Basilica chymica, Frankfurt am Main: Claude de Marne and Johann Aubry (heirs), 1609, sig. ()4r [BP.Crollius.1609-01]
Summary: Melissus highlights Crollius's mastery and innovative contributions to the field of chemistry, particularly in the distillation of herbal essences. Melissus marvels at the process of distillation, where the unique properties of herbs are refined by fire into three distinct substances: salt, oil, and spirit, each with its own layer within the glass and identifiable by color. He admires the foundational work of Paracelsus, whose discoveries and intellectual prowess paved the way for new chemical arts and methods of healing. Paracelsus is credited with teaching chemists to cure the sick with simple, yet effective, remedies. Melissus then turns his admiration to Crollius, considering him fortunate for his role in preserving and utilizing such knowledge for the benefit of humanity. (generated by ChatGPT)
Text
Adspice naturæ succorum propria, Crolli.
Senserit herbarum cum distillatio flammam
Horas per certas, artis non inscia doctæ;
Sal petit ima, oleum medio nat, spiritus alto.
Hæc tria sic inclusa vitro, distincta colore,
Singula quæ possis oculo internoscere claro.
Quis non aureoli Paracelsi dia reperta,
Ingeniumque sagax, & mirum prædicet ignem;
Quo præeunte artes chymici didicere novellas,
Quo monstrante ægri curantur simplice guttâ?
At te felicem quis non miretur, in usûs
Humanos promus condus qui talia servas?
Modern English Raw Translation
Behold the unique juices of nature, Croll, when the distillation of herbs feels the flame, through certain hours, not ignorant of learned art; salt seeks the bottom, oil floats in the middle, spirit rises to the top. These three, thus enclosed in glass, separated by color, each can be distinguished by the clear eye. Who would not praise the divine discoveries of the golden Paracelsus, his keen intellect, and his wondrous fire; under whose guidance the chemists learned new arts, by whose demonstration the sick are healed with a simple drop? But who would not marvel at you, fortunate one, who stores such things for the use of mankind?
In the year 1593, at Heidelberg.
Melissus made this.