De praedestinatione et libera voluntate

From Theatrum Paracelsicum
I. Basic information


Printing History, Manuscripts. Three manuscripts. Not printed before Goldammer.

Editions. Edited by Goldammer in Paracelsus, Sämtliche Werke, II/2: 109–118.

Relationship between different versions. The text of the Munich manuscript is part of a compilated commentary on Matthew; it slightly differs from the text of the other two manuscripts and has some additional paragraphs.

Structure, genre/form, perspective, style.

Relationship to other texts.

Authenticity, authorship. Goldammer had “slight doubts” (“leise Zweifel”) with regard to the authenticity of De praedestinatione et libera voluntate, but due to the “originality of this little text that may have suffered from some textual corruptions” he regarded it as probably authentic. De praedestinatione et libera voluntate treats “higher” and “lower gods”, which for an authentic text seems strange to Goldammer, who sees a parallel in De fundamento scientiarum sapientiaeque (§ ‎5.4), however.

Time of writing.

II. Sources


Manuscripts:

  • Fulda, Hochschul- und Landesbibliothek: Cod. 22a (2), 2°, f. 185v–189v
  • Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek: Voss. Chym. F.24, f. 418v–421v
  • München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek: cgm 949, 111–123

First printed: Not printed before Goldammer (1965).

III. Bibliography


Essential bibliography: Sudhoff, Paracelsus-Handschriften, 381–382, 497, 784 n° 25; Goldammer, “Einleitung,” in Paracelsus, Sämtliche Werke, II/2: XXVI, XXVIII, XXXVII–XXXVIII

Further bibliographical references:

Kurt Goldammer, “Humor bei Paracelsus”, Nova Acta Paracelsica, 9 (1977), 44–68, on 67; reprinted in Goldammer, Paracelsus in neuen Horizonten. Gesammelte Aufsätze (Vienna, 1986) (Salzburger Beiträge zur Paracelsusforschung, 24), 376–394, on 394.

Jean-Pierre Brach, “Quelques aspects de la doctrine de la prédestination chez Paracelse”, in Paracelse et les siens (Paris, 1995), 20–25

Hartmut Rudolph, “Prädestination und ‘seliges Leben’. Ein Beitrag zur Verhältnisbestimmung von Weltbild und Theologie bei Paracelsus”, in Volker Zimmermann, ed., Paracelsus. Das Werk – die Rezeption (Stuttgart, 1995), 85–98, on 95

Maximiliam Bergengruen, Nachfolge Christi – Nachahmung der Natur. Himmlische und natürliche Magie bei Paracelsus, im Paracelsismus und in der Barockliteratur (Scheffler, Zesen, Grimmelshausen) (Hamburg, 2007), 79