Text.Fedro.1611-01.!2r
Back to Authors | Back to Texts by Johann Georg Schenck
Source: Georg Fedro, Opuscula Iatro-Chemica quatuor, ed. Johann Andreas Schenck, Frankfurt am Main: Johann Wolff for Anton Humm, 1611, sig. *2r–*3v [BP.Fedro.1611-01]
Summary: Schenck shares his discovery of the autograph writings of Georg Fedro among his father's collection. Recognizing the value of these long-hidden manuscripts, Schenck decides to bring them to light, emphasizing the importance of applying and sharing knowledge for it to be truly beneficial. He reflects on the tendency of some to keep valuable insights to themselves, contrasting this with his father Georg Phaedron's intention to contribute to the welfare of others, especially the sick, through his work. Schenck has organized and translated these scattered writings into a coherent format, making them accessible to fellow medical professionals for the betterment of patient care. (generated by ChatGPT)
Text
Inter reliquas Paternæ Bibliothecæ reliquias, librosque Manuscriptos non vulgare, cum nuper in Iatrochemica Phædronis, Medici Celebris, scripta autographa incidissem, quæ multo ab hinc tempore tenebris dicata ta#nquam inutile terræ pondus latitabant, cogitaui artem qua#ntumcunque vtilem & eximiam, nisi reducatur in praxin & actum, mutilam esse & mancam. Eruere itaque & luci consecrare placuit. Quam enim parum prosint [sig. *2v] bona consilia intra pectus recondita, nisi indigenti communicentur, vna mecum norunt plurimi. Delituit itaque chartaceus hic Labor, ipse quidem vt decumbe#ntium salutem respiceret collectus, atqui imis conclusus latebris segniter citra dubium munere fungebatur suo. Sane Germanum Parentem, Virum industrium & doctum Georgivm Phædronem, quid aliud his suis laboribus expetiisse coniectandum, quam vt iis proximorum, ægrorumque consuleret commodo? quam vt, quod ipse propria experientia rerum#que cognitione, cito, tuto, & iuncunde [sig. *3r] iuuandis ægris, expertus esset, posteritati literis demandaret? Solent quidem nonnulli, si quod arcanum nacti sunt, id intime sibi solis reseruare, atque si in artem raram aliquam aut recens inue#ntam inciderint, eam perpetuo silentio damnant. Qui quam sinistre bono publico faueant, abunde patet. Hæc vero Viris Ascelpiadæis communicare animus est, vt simul cum cæteris ab ipso Authore publicatis magno ægrotantium commodo & auxilio inseruirent. Quod vt commodius expediretur, in vnum quasi corpus serpentia hinc inde membra construxi, frustillatim enim con- [sig. *3v] cepta, nec non promiscuo stylo scripta (aliaqua Latino. Germanico pleraque) vni linguæ donaui, & aliquo modo redegi in ordinem, ne lectori nauseam parerent. Quem meum laborem, quantumuis exiguum, bonis omnibus commendatum cupio obsecrans vt eundem serena fronte acceptent.
Ioannes Georgius Schenckius à Graffenberg, Medicinæ Doctor.Modern English Raw Translation
Among the remaining relics of my father's library, and the not-so-common manuscripts, I recently stumbled upon the autograph writings of Phaedron, the famous physician, in the field of Iatrochemistry. These writings, once consigned to darkness as if they were a useless weight upon the earth, had been hidden for a long time. I thought about how an art, no matter how useful and excellent, is incomplete and deficient unless it is put into practice and action. Therefore, it pleased me to unearth and dedicate them to the light. How little do good counsels hidden within one's breast benefit, unless they are shared with those in need, is something many know along with me. Thus, this paper labor lay hidden, indeed collected with the intention of looking after the health of the fallen, yet it was indolently fulfilling its purpose, undoubtedly locked away in the deepest recesses. Surely, my German father, the industrious and learned Georg Phaedron, what else could be conjectured that he sought with his labors, other than to consult the welfare of his neighbors and the sick? Than to entrust to posterity through letters what he himself had quickly, safely, and pleasantly experienced in aiding the sick, through his own experience and knowledge of things? Indeed, some, if they have obtained some secret, keep it closely to themselves alone, and if they come across some rare art or recent invention, they condemn it to perpetual silence. How adversely they favor the public good is quite evident. However, my intention is to share these with the men of Asclepius, so that together with the others published by the author himself, they might serve for the great benefit and aid of the sick. To facilitate this more conveniently, I constructed the wandering limbs here and there into one body, for the concepts, fragmented and written in a mixed style (some in Latin, most in German), I granted to one language and arranged them in some order, so that they do not cause nausea to the reader. This effort of mine, however modest, I wish to commend to all good people, beseeching that they accept it with a serene countenance.
Johannes Georgius Schenck von Grafenberg, Doctor of Medicine.