Andreae 1618 Menippus
[Johann Valentin Andreae],
Menippus 1618 |
Text (1618 edition)
| [p. 77]
42. Veterum dotes.
A. Si sic pergat progredi eruditio, ubi tandem terminabitur? B. Ignorantiâ. A. Absurde, quis credat posse nobis iterum literas interire, quae in plebem etiam diffunduntur, & vernaculae quasi fiunt. B. Mihi vero jamjam, ac incitatiore gradu interire videntur. A. Vides in omni re, quam nosse hominibus datum est, exactiores quotidie indagationes prodire, & quae arcana olim eruditissimorum fuere, primiscua fieri, & potes haec dicere? B. Equidem cum maiorem nostrorum eruditionem intueor, plane obstupesco; cum nostram, rideo, ac pudet. Ita illi plura occultarunt, quam monstrarunt, nos plura explicamus & distendimus, quam possidemus. A. At palam linguarum, artium, scientiarumque nostri temporis peritia te convincit, quod nostrum amplissimum patrimonium est. B. Confer aliquem mihi cum D. Lutheri lectione, quae antiquitatem omnem absorpsit; scriptione, quae vasta nobis volumina reliquit; actione, quae totius Europae commotionibus adfuit; eruditione, quae cum omnibus suae aetatis ingeniis depugnavit: & haec quatuor |
| [p. 78]
A. Nescio quid dicam, nam tantis nominibus terrefecisti me, vt disquirendis opponendisque nostri aevi luminibus valde laborem. Nam si maxime sint, quos cum laude producam, numero tamen, quod vereor, vincis. B. Id amplius metuendum tibi est, ne cum eruditionis & cognitionis titulo nimium liberales estis, & pro quovis literaturae superficiariae fuco venditis, homines producas creperos, comptos, auro obductos, non solidos, sumptuosos, non preciosos, ut titulis ac jactantia reperias similes multos, pondere & vera aestimatione veteribus pares paucissimos: quod |
| [p. 79]
A. Male mihi est, qui eruditos nomine, pro vere eruditis hactenus habui, & veneratus sum, credidique sine linguarum, historiarum, & Matheseos peritia literatum esse posse. B. At id soletur solide eruditos, vel mortuos etiam num vivere, hos viventes haberi posse pro mortuis. |
Text (1617 edition)
| [p. 75]
42. Veterum dotes.
A. Si sic pergat progredi eruditio, ubi tandem terminabitur? B. Ignorantia. A. Absurde, quis credat posse nobis iterum literas interire, quae in plebem etiam diffunduntur, & vernaculae quasi fiunt. B. Mihi vero iamiam, ac incitatiore gradu interire videntur. A. Vides in omni re, quam nosse hominibus datum est, exactiores quotidie indagationes prodire, & quae arcana olim eruditissimorum fuere, primiscua fieri, & potes haec dicere. B. Equidem cum maiorem nostrorum eruditionem intueor, plane obstupesco; cum nostram, rideo, ac pudet. Ita illi plura occultarunt, quam monstrarunt, nos plura explicamus & distendimus, quam possidemus. A. At palam linguarum, artium, scientiarum nostri temporis peritia te convincit, quod nostrum amplissimum patrimonium est. B. Confer aliquem mihi cum D. Lutheri lectione, quae antiquitatem omnem absorpsit; scriptione, quae vasta nobis volumina reliquit: actione, quae totius Europae commotionibus adfuit: eruditione, quae cum omnibus suae aetatis ingeniis depugnavit: & haec quatuor incomparabilia vnus homo possedit. Iam Erasmus eruditionis mare, Philippus omnium scientiarum vindex & Phoenix, Brentius, Lutheri in suevia aemulus, Flaccius infinitae lectionis & scriptionis heluo, Praetorius octodecim |
| [p. 76]
A. Nescio quid dicam, nam tantis nominibus terrefecisti me, vt disquirendis opponendisque nostri aevi luminibus valde laborem. Nam si maxime sint, quos cum laude producam, numero tamen quod vereor vincis. B. Id amplius metuendum tibi est, ne cum eruditionis & cognitionis titulo nimium liberales estis, & pro quovis literaturae superficiariae fuco venditis, homines producas creperos, comptos, inauratos, non solidos, preciosos, aureos, ut titulis ac forma reperias similes multos, pondere & vera aestimatione veteribus pares paucissimos, quod minime iniurium sit iis, qui non vulgi calculo, sed seria & felici aemulatione maiores suos assequuntur. A. Male mihi est qui eruditi nomine, pro vere eruditis hactenus habui, & veneratus sum. |
Bibliography
Paracelsus is not mentioned in the 1617 edition of the 'Menippus':
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English Raw Translation
Generated by ChatGPT on 2 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.
1618 edition
The qualities of the ancients.
A: If learning continues to progress like this, where will it finally end?
B: In ignorance.
A: Absurd! Who would believe that letters, which are now even spread among the common people and made vernacular, could be lost to us again?
B: To me, they seem to be disappearing even now, and at an accelerating pace.
A: You see how in every field of knowledge given to humans, more and more exact research emerges, and what used to be the secrets of the most learned are becoming common knowledge. And what do you say to this?
B: Indeed, when I consider the erudition of our predecessors, I am truly amazed, and when I consider our own, I laugh and feel ashamed. They concealed more than they revealed, while we explain and expand more than we possess.
A: But the open mastery of languages, arts, and sciences of our time convinces you that this is our greatest heritage.
B: Compare someone with the reading of Luther, which absorbed all antiquity, the writing, which left vast volumes to us, the action, which was present in all the upheavals of Europe, the erudition, which fought with all the talents of its time. And these four incomparable things were possessed by one man. Erasmus was the sea of erudition; Philippus, the vindicator and phoenix of all sciences; Brentius, Luther's rival in Swabia; Flaccius, the glutton of infinite reading and writing; Praetorius, the most perfect knower of eighteen languages; Zwingli, the noble actor on the human stage; Gesner, the admirable antagonist of forgetfulness; Copernicus, the successor of Atlantis; Paracelsus, the tamer of monsters; besides many others, who dare to compare themselves to them, who would rather admire their divine talents than obscure their own. Only Josephus Scaliger, the prince of erudition, attained in our age the distinction of possessing more languages than anyone in Europe and having his own museum of the entire apparatus of human learning in his own house and library, and is said to have made the last attempt and example of human genius.
A: I don't know what to say, for you have terrified me with such great names that I fear greatly the effort of investigating and opposing the lights of our age. For even if I were to produce those whom I can praise, I fear that you still surpass me in number.
B: You should fear even more that, with the title of erudition and knowledge, you are too liberal, and that you produce men who are flashy, adorned with gold, not solid and precious, but sumptuous. You may find many who resemble the ancients in titles and boasting, but who are few in weight and true value. This is no injustice to those who do not aspire to be measured by the standards of the masses, but rather seek to equal or surpass their predecessors through serious and successful emulation.
A: It is a great pain for me that I have so far considered as erudite and respected those who are not erudite, and believed that one can be literate without knowledge of languages, history, and mathematics.
B: But this consoles truly erudite people, or even the dead, that they can be considered alive while these living ones can be considered dead.
1617 edition
The qualities of the ancients.
A. If erudition continues to progress in this way, where will it eventually end?
B. In ignorance.
A. That's absurd. Who would believe that we could lose letters again, which are even being spread among the common people and becoming like vernacular?
B. But to me, they seem to be disappearing already, and at an accelerating pace.
A. You see in every field of knowledge, more and more precise investigations emerge, and what were once the secrets of the most learned are becoming commonplace. Can you deny this?
B. Indeed, when I consider the greater erudition of our predecessors, I am amazed. With our own erudition, I laugh and feel ashamed. They concealed more than they revealed, while we explain and exaggerate more than we possess.
A. But the public mastery of languages, arts, and sciences in our time confirms that it is our greatest heritage.
B. Compare someone to me who has read D. Luther, who absorbed all antiquity in his reading, left vast volumes in his writing, was present in all the commotions of Europe in his action, and fought with all the intellects of his time in his erudition. And all of these four incomparable qualities were possessed by one man. Erasmus was a sea of erudition; Philippus a vindicator and phoenix of all sciences; Brentius an emulator of Luther in Swabia; Flaccius a devourer of infinite reading and writing; Praetorius, a master of eighteen languages; Zwinglius, a noble actor on the human stage; Gesner, an admirable antagonist of oblivion; Copernicus, the successor of Atlantis; Paracelsus, a tamer of monsters; and many others. Those who dare to compare themselves have them, but they would do better to admire their divine genius than to obscure their own. Only Joseph Scaliger, the prince of erudition, achieved in our age what is said to be the possession of more languages by one person than anyone in Europe, and the possession of the entire museum of human erudition, the instrument of all knowledge, in his home and library. He is perhaps the last effort and specimen of human intellect.
A. I don't know what to say, for you have frightened me with such names, and I fear the great labor of researching and opposing the lights of our age. For even if I have many whom I can praise, I am afraid that in number, you surpass them.
B. You should be more afraid that, with the title of erudition and knowledge, you are too liberal and sell men dressed up in the guise of superficial literature, producing flashy, gilded, not solid or precious, but merely costly and showy things. You will find many similar in title and form, but few who truly match the weight and value of the ancients. This is not an injustice to those who do not aspire to the calculation of the common people, but rather to the serious and fortunate emulation of their forefathers.
A. I have been mistaken, for I have thus far considered those called erudite to be truly so, and have revered them, believing that they could be literate without knowledge of languages, histories, and mathematics.
B. But truly erudite men are often regarded as dead, even while they live, while those who are alive may be regarded as dead for lack of knowledge.
