Letter, 1526-11-10, Paracelsus to Christoph Clauser
| Author: | Paracelsus |
| Recipient: | Christoph Clauser |
| Type: | Letter |
| Date: | 10 November 1526 |
| Place: | Basel |
| Pages: | 5 |
| Language: | Latin |
| Quote as: | https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=2039 |
| Editor: | Edited by Julian Paulus |
| Source: | Paracelsus, De gradibus, de compositionibus et dosibus receptorum ac naturalium libri septem, ed. Adam von Bodenstein, Mülhausen: Peter Schmidt 1562, sig. A1r–A3r [BP043]
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| Translation: | Raw translation see below |
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[sig. A1r] Theophrastvs ex Hohenheim Haeremita, vtrivsqve medicinae doctor, physicvs et ordinarivs Basiliensis, clarissimo domino Christophoro Clavsero, doctori medicovm ac philosophorvm Tigvrinorvm ervditissimo svo salvtem.
Excellentissimum atque optimum cuiusque veri medici est, ut suum ipsius ac propriium mendalem medicum probè cognitum habeat, sciátque sui ne arcani potens sit an non, perinde ac tu Christophore Tigurinorum medicorum optime, nihil planè citra iudicium & exquisitam (quam mille testem haud immerito vocant) conscientiam in medica facultate vsurpas: Sed qua potestate in hac nostra monarchia ego me exerceam sic habe: Innata mihi mea est violentia medica ex patrio solo: Sicut enim Arabum medicus erat Auicenna, pergamensium Galenus. Ialorum vero Masilius me- [sig. A1v] dicorum optimus fuit, ita etiam ipsa me Germania fœlicissima in suum medicum necessarium delegit. Scis namque & tu ipse vniuscuiusque medici velut matrem esse ipsam experientiam, imo nostræ quoque totius monarchiæ. Præterea vero, & sui quoque iuris esse omnem patriam, insuper nullum peregrinum cum patritio patriæ probè vniri, neque contrarium, hoc est, alienum, cum alio sibi contrario, unquam bene comparari posse: Ex quo quidem obserua, vt ad me Hypocratem conferas, me vero ad Auerroen, Rasim autem cum nobis tribus compara simul, quemlibet nempe iuxta suam patriam.
Quandoquidem & Arabes & Græci vna cum Germanis non secus atque triplex marrubium in eodem consistunt æquilibrio. Et ambram Germaniæ græcamque cum storacæ & theribintho, balsamo & mumia parem faciunt: Neque enim clam te est, vnamquamque patriam sui elementi in se continere matrices, sibique ipsi id quod est necessarium exhibere: Est enim Arabia suæ patriæ ambra: Et licet fortè Chaldaicæ rosæ ad Arpinatem nulla [sig. A2r] sit comparatio, quid hoc ad ipsas attinet ægritudines? Rosa quippe semper suæ patriæ rosa, Eodem sane pacto quælibet natio suum sibi proprium ac percularem medicum producit, illumque nimirum ex suo Archæo. Omnis enim necessitas artific suo præstat industriam: Cæterum ipsa eadem necessitas medicinæ visque velut præceptor ac parens est: Quocirca excusare se possunt á Græcis Itali, & ab utrisque Germani, quilibet enim horum suam sibi ipsis habent necessitatem, eiusque necessitatis peculiarem item adiutorem, propriæ scilicet nationis naturæ, Atque ut Arabum aut Græcorum quis insomnia sectetur ac mores necessitas nulla est, patriæ autem error, peregrina uero arrogantia, Oscitanter siquidem hoc sit ac uelut per somnium citra omnem rationem incoactè preterquam, uel oportunitatem uel occasionem, ex quibus tamen rebus medicum gigni oportet. Cæterum, qui propter eiuscemodi oscitantiam ac somnium ex patriæ suæ necessitate in medicum excitatur, is demum nationis suæ perfectus [sig. A2v] medicus existit, ac planè eius soli Hippocrates, ipse Auicenna: ipse ac ipse denique Lullius: Quanquam hoc in loco non idcirco eos laudarim in hoc, quasi, qui ex necessitate sint prognati, cumquodde istis silentiò præteream, eorum errores sua ipsorum etiam patria sufferre nequeat, quid enim quæso Viennam Rasis iuuat? quid Friburgo prodest Sauonarola? quid Arnoldus Sueuis? quid Gentilis Iacobi de partibus & Trusiani commentarij Misneris conferunt medicis? quid his omnibus Auicenna? quandoquidem vel sola infirmo non consideranda est sanitas: Hæc igitur facultas ea est ex qua ego scribo quam ipsa mihi patria dedit, idque ipsum per necessitatem quam dixi ex qua prognatus ego sum: proinde & hoc quicquid est libelli tibi dedico, vt in Typis excudendo eum commendatum tibi habeas: persuasum vero mihi est, hisce meis, propediem ab aliquo fortassis imperitiore responsum iri, atque illi ipsi à me rursum, inde enim vtrinque manifestata fiet atque innotescet planè cuiusque medici necessitas [sig. A3r] ægrorumque sanitas. Cæterum ij, quos ego dilectissimos habeo, breuiter fortè aliquot obscuriorum in his locorum interpretationes dabunt, non autem ille ex meis uetustissimis vulpibus, Nempe distecta est quippe ac lacera mea medicorum turba, pars una linguæ fallacis, altera cordis & linguæ: Quid num velim nimirum intelligis, prximè ad te aliquot mittam descriptiones unà cum mea oleo colchotarini emendatione. Boni consule semperque amicum ut agas operam dato. Vale, Basileæ quarto Idus Nouembris. Anno XXVI.
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Generated by ChatGPT on 3 April 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.
Theophrastus von Hohenheim, hermit and doctor of both medicine and physics, as well as a professor at the University of Basel, greets his distinguished friend Christophorus Clauserus, the most learned doctor of medicine and philosophy in Zurich.
It is the duty of every true physician to have a thorough understanding of his own personal medical experience, and to know whether he possesses any secrets or not, just as you, Christophorus, the best physician among the doctors of Zurich, rightly use your judgment and your meticulous conscience in the practice of medicine. As for myself, I exercise my innate medical power from my homeland. Just as Avicenna was the Arab physician, Galen was the Pergamene, and Masilius was the best of the Jallian physicians, so too has fortunate Germany chosen me as its necessary physician. You yourself know that the experience of every physician is like a mother to him, and indeed to our entire country.
Moreover, it is every physician's right to have his own homeland, and no foreigner can be well united with a native of another country, nor can any foreigner be well compared to someone who is his opposite. Therefore, observe that if you compare me to Hippocrates, and then compare me to Averroes, and then compare Rasis to all three of us, each one according to his own country.
Since both the Arabs, Greeks, and Germans equally rely on triple Marrubium for their remedies, and the Germans and Greeks also consider amber, storax, theribinth, balsam, and mummy to be equally effective, it is not a secret that each country possesses its own natural remedies and knows how to produce what is necessary for its own use. Arabia has its own amber, and although Chaldaic roses cannot be compared to those grown in Arpinum, what does that have to do with actual illnesses? Each rose is always the rose of its own country, and in the same way, each nation produces its own unique and effective physician, born from its own Archæus.
Every necessity demands its own particular industry, and the same necessity and force that creates the need for medicine also serves as its teacher and parent. Thus, the Greeks, Italians, and Germans cannot excuse themselves, for each of them has its own unique necessity and its own particular helper, born from its own national character. There is no need to follow the habits and customs of the Arabs or Greeks, but rather to seek out the particular needs and peculiarities of one's own nation.
However, those who are awakened from their own necessity to become physicians are truly the perfect physicians of their own nation, such as Hippocrates, Avicenna, and Lullius. But I do not praise them for this, as their errors cannot even be tolerated in their own country. For what help is Rasis to Vienna, what benefit is Savonarola to Fribourg, what is Arnold of Swabia to the Swiss, and what do the commentaries of Gentilis Jacobi on the parts and physiology of Trusian contribute to the physicians? When health must not be considered in isolation from sickness.
This is the faculty from which I write, which my own country has given me, and from which I am born of necessity. Therefore, I dedicate this book to you, so that you may publish it under your own imprint. I am convinced that soon someone less experienced than me will respond to my work, but this will only further reveal and clarify the needs of physicians and the health of the sick.
Those whom I hold dear will perhaps provide some brief explanations of the more obscure passages in this book, but not the old foxes whom I have distanced myself from. I will soon send you some descriptions along with my emendation of colchotarin oil. Please take care of yourself and always be a good friend. Farewell, Basel, November 10th, in the 26th year.
