Dedication, 1626-07-16, Joachim Morsius to Gerhard Culemann

Author:	Joachim Morsius
Recipient:	Gerhard Culemann
Type:	Dedication
Date:	16 July 1626
Place:	no place
Pages:	5
Language:	Latin

Quote as:

https://www.theatrum-paracelsicum.com/index.php?curid=1119

Editor:	Edited by Julian Paulus
Source:	Nuncius Olympicus, ed. Joachim Morsius, ‘Philadelphia’ 1629, sig. A2r-A4r [BP.Morsius.1626-02]

CP:	Not in Kühlmann/Telle, Corpus Paracelsisticum

Translation:

Raw translation see below

Abstract:

Morsius informs Culemann about the publication of a Catalog of Manuscripts, which Culemann had previously shown interest in during Morsius's visit to Rensburg. The catalog has been printed to facilitate its distribution among advisors and booksellers of Christian Kings and Princes, hoping to inspire generous patrons and diligent printers to publish such esteemed and valuable works. Morsius expresses a wish that rulers would redirect their resources from supporting aggressive and destructive military forces to fostering the pursuit of Theosophy, which battles against ignorance and impiety in the world. He contrasts two types of soldiers: those serving worldly kings through physical warfare and those engaged in spiritual warfare under divine guidance. The former are driven by various passions and desires, while the latter have renounced vices and live virtuously. Worldly soldiers seek personal glory and material gain, whereas spiritual soldiers aspire for eternal rewards and serve the common good. The text further elaborates on the characteristics of these two types of soldiers, emphasizing the inner stability and righteousness of spiritual warriors, regardless of external circumstances. Morsius highlights the importance of rulers who, guided by divine wisdom, can govern justly and equitably. He prays for the prosperity and well-being of the Danish and Holstein families and asks Culemann to commend his studies and endeavors to God. (generated by Chat-GPT)

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[sig. A2r] Reverendo, Clarißimo, variâq́ue doctrinâ & virtute præstantißimo viro, Gerhardo Culemanno, Præposito Ecclesiæ Rensburgensis laudatissimo, amico suo plusquàm fraterno amore ætatèm prosequendo, Anastasius Philaretus Cosmopolita, Salutem corporis & animæ perennem.

Reverende & Clarißime Culemanne, amice fraterrime, En tibi Catalogum Manuscriptorum Codicum, quem apud me vidisti, dum mensibus aliquot retrò Rensburgum transii, & virum nobilißimum avidè expetere affirmas! Curavi aliquot ejus exemplaria typis vulgari, ut eo commodius inter quosdam Christianorum Regum ac Principum Consiliarios & Bibliopolas distribui, liberalesq́ue & munifici patroni ac industrii typographi, ad editionem tam egregiis & pretiosissimis operibus excitari possent. Tu suadâ tuâ aureâ in Serenissimi & Magnanimi Regis Daniæ Aula: ac in vicinâ Potentißimi & Pacifici Holsatiæ Ducus, per Illustres & Generosos Heroes, Dn. Olighe- [sig. A2v] rum Rosæcrantzium, Dn. Georgium ab Alefeld, Dn. Otthonem à Povvisch, Dn. Henricum à Qualen, Dn. Henricum Blumium. aliosq́ue magni veri in Naturâ ac scripturâ absconditi, indagatores lectißimos, causam communis boni strenuè age. Nunquam suffragantibus superis me pænitebit consilii, te suscepti Christiani obsequii.

Utinam multi Reges & Principes sumptus quos prodigaliter in milites feroces & truculentos grassatores ac publicos homicidas impendunt, dum ditiones suas evertunt non gubernant, dißipant non custodiunt, subditosq́ue devorant non pascunt, et materiam seditionibus, incrementa miseriis, causam fletibus ubiq́ue suppeditant, militibus in Theosophiæ castris adversus mundum & triumphantem in eô inscitiam ac impietatem indefesso studio militantes impenderent, felicius res humanæ & maiore cum ipsorum gloriâ, gubernarentur.

Duplex enim est milita (ut pulcherrimè Ferrandus Diaconus in Parænetico suo, qualis esse debeat Dux religiosus in actibus militaribus ad Reginum Comitem, scribit:) & duo genera militum sunt. Alios militia corporalis laborare cum mundo, secundum volun- [sig. A3r] tatem terreni Regis astringit. alios milita spiritualis ad cœlestia castra, per gratuitam gratiam cœlestis Imperatoris, adducit. Milites sæculi passionibus & desideriis variis tenentur obnoxii, milites Dei carnem suam crucifixerunt cum vitiis & concupiscentiis. Illi dapibus nutriuntur, isti virtutibus. illi rapere aliena conantur, isti etiam propria vel perdere, vel misericorditer erogare. illi quærunt undè falsis laudibus extollantur, isti quærunt undè sempiternis præmiis honorentur. illis tribuit imaginem lætitiæ vanitas, istis vera confert gaudia veritas. illi suis utilitatibus consulunt, isti communibus: illi perituram patriam, perituri salvare festinant, isti nunquam perituram nè in æternùm pereant, possidere desiderant. illis vivere labor est & mori supplicium, istis vivere Christus est, & mori lucrum. illi præliantur contrà visibiles, isti contra invisibiles inimicos. illos avaritia curdeles, istos misericordia benignos. illos invidia contentiosos, istos facit mansuetudo pacificos. illi per superbiam pro suis honoribus litigant, isti per humilitatem alter alterum existimant superiorem sibi. Per illos Babylonia regitur, per istos & in istis à Domino Hierusalem cælestis administratur. Et plerumque contingit ut corporibus adunati, quamvis mentibus separati, simul milites Dei & milites sæculi prosperitates & adversitates sentiant temporales. Sed milites [sig. A3v] sæculi porsperitas extollit, adversitas dejicit. milites autem Dei sive in prosperitate, sive in adversitate immobiles perseverant. quia gloria eorum testimonium est conscientiæ. Ubi requiscunt, quando tribulationes patitur mundus: uti timent hostem continentiæ perpeti, quando suppetit abundantia voluptatum. Nam de radice temporalis felicitatis germinant spinæ carnalis cupiditatis. milites Dei libenter audiunt Beatum Johannem commilitonibus propriis, tubâ fortiore clamantem: Nolite diligere mundum, neque ea quæ in mundo sunt, quæ si quis diligit non est charitas patrus in eo. Quoniam omne quod in mundo est, concupiscentia carnis est, & concupiscentia oculorum, & ambitio sæculi, quæ non est ex patre, sed ex mundo est, & mundus transit & concipiscentia eius, qui autem facit voluntatem Dei, manet in æternum. Quibus audientibus atque obedientibus huic saluberrimæ admonitioni, quoties occulta dispensatio piissimi Redemptoris potestatem judicandi ac disponendi terrenam Rempublicam tribuit, tunc ex parte milita sæculi, non est gravioribus referta peccatis, tunc facilè corropiuntur inquieti, consulantu pusillanimes, suscipiuntur infirmi, licentia scelerum demitur improbis, & benè agendi sortitur innocentia libertatem. Rogemus [sig. A4r] ergo precibus assiduis eum, qui disponit orbem terræ in æquitate, faciens universa secundum consilium voluntatis suæ quoniam de ipso Psalmista veraciter: Omnia quæcunq́ue voluit fecit in cælo & in terrâ, in mari & in omnibus abyßis, ut milites suos sub habitu militiæ sæcularis latentes, promovere dignetur ad maximas dignitates, regens eos intus, & regendis aliis scientiam tribuens. Voveo ego ut quos dedit, diu florentes & incolumes nobis conservet, & ut supra cognatam utramque familiam Danicam & Holsaticam augustissimam, Spiritus timoris Domini, pietatis, scientiæ, fortitudinis, consilii, intellectus, sapientiæ, perpetuò requiescat. Vale mi Reverende & eruditissime Culemanne, meque & mea studia Ecclesiæ & literis solidè devota, in meditationibus & soliloquiis tuis sacris sedulò Deo T[er] O[ptimo] M[aximo] Commenda. Dabam volante calamo XVI Julij, Anno Christi M. DC. XXVI. Philadelphiæ.

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Generated by ChatGPT-4o on 12 August 2024. 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.

To the Reverend, Most Distinguished, and Most Excellent Man in Diverse Learning and Virtue, Gerhard Culemann, Most Laudable Prelate of the Church of Rendsburg, his friend with more than fraternal love throughout his life, Anastasius Philaretus Cosmopolita wishes perpetual health of body and soul.

Reverend and Most Distinguished Culemann, dearest friend, here is the Catalog of Manuscript Codices, which you saw with me when I was in Rendsburg several months ago, and which you affirmed a most noble man eagerly desires! I have taken care to publish some copies in print, so that they may be more conveniently distributed among certain counselors and booksellers of Christian kings and princes, and so that generous and munificent patrons and industrious printers might be inspired to publish such excellent and precious works. With your golden persuasion in the court of the Most Serene and Magnanimous Christian IV, King of Denmark, and in the neighboring court of the Most Powerful and Peaceful Frederick III, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, through illustrious and noble heroes like Holger Rosenkrantz, Georg von Ahlefeldt, Otto Pogwisch, Heinrich von Qualen, Heinrich Blum, and other esteemed seekers of truth hidden in nature and scripture, diligently pursue the cause of the common good. With divine support, I shall never regret my decision or the Christian service I undertook for you.

If only many kings and princes would spend the resources they lavishly expend on fierce and violent soldiers—robbers and public murderers who overthrow, not govern, their domains, who destroy, not protect, and who devour, not nourish, their subjects, thereby providing fuel for seditions, increasing miseries, and giving rise to tears everywhere—on soldiers fighting in the camps of Theosophy against the world and the ignorance and impiety that triumph in it, with tireless zeal, then human affairs would be governed more successfully and with greater glory to themselves.

For there are two kinds of military service, as Fulgentius Ferrandus, the deacon, most beautifully writes in his "Paraenetic" about what a religious leader should be in military affairs to Count Reginus, and there are two types of soldiers. Some are compelled to labor in worldly military service under the earthly king, according to his will, while others are brought to heavenly camps by spiritual military service, through the free grace of the heavenly Emperor. Secular soldiers are bound by passions and various desires, while God's soldiers have crucified their flesh with its vices and desires. The former are nourished by feasts, the latter by virtues. The former try to seize what is not theirs, while the latter either lose their own possessions or give them away mercifully. The former seek to be exalted by false praises, while the latter seek to be honored with eternal rewards. The former are granted the appearance of joy by vanity, while the latter are granted true joy by truth. The former seek their own benefits, the latter seek the common good: the former hasten to save a perishing homeland, while the latter wish to possess an imperishable one, lest they themselves perish forever. For the former, living is toil and dying is punishment, while for the latter, living is Christ, and dying is gain. The former fight against visible enemies, the latter against invisible ones. The former are cruel with greed, while the latter are kind with mercy. The former are contentious with envy, while the latter are peaceful with meekness. The former, through pride, contend for their honors, while the latter, through humility, consider each other superior. Babylon is ruled through the former, but through the latter, and within them, the heavenly Jerusalem is governed by the Lord. And it often happens that although united in body, even if separated in mind, the soldiers of God and the secular soldiers together experience temporal prosperity and adversity. But secular soldiers are exalted by prosperity and cast down by adversity, while soldiers of God persevere immovably in both prosperity and adversity, for their glory is the testimony of their conscience. They rest when the world suffers tribulations, and they fear to suffer the enemy of temperance when the abundance of pleasures abounds. For from the root of temporal happiness sprout the thorns of carnal desire. God's soldiers gladly listen to Blessed John, who calls out to his fellow soldiers with a stronger trumpet: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, which is not from the Father but from the world, and the world is passing away, along with its desires. But he who does the will of God abides forever." To those who hear and obey this most salutary admonition, whenever the hidden dispensation of the most merciful Redeemer grants them the power to judge and dispose of earthly government, then the military of the world is not burdened with more grievous sins, then the restless are easily pacified, the faint-hearted are advised, the weak are supported, the license of crimes is removed from the wicked, and the innocence of good deeds obtains the liberty of doing well. Let us, therefore, pray with constant supplication to Him who governs the world with equity, doing all things according to the counsel of His will, as the Psalmist truly says: "Whatever He willed, He did in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths," that He may deign to promote His soldiers, hidden under the guise of secular military service, to the greatest dignities, guiding them inwardly and granting them knowledge to govern others. I vow that He may preserve those whom He has given to us, flourishing and safe for a long time, and that the Spirit of the fear of the Lord, of piety, of knowledge, of fortitude, of counsel, of understanding, and of wisdom may perpetually rest upon the entire noble Danish and Holstein family. Farewell, my Reverend and most learned Culemann, and in your sacred meditations and soliloquies, diligently commend me and my studies, truly devoted to the Church and literature, to God, the Thrice Great and Good. Given with a swift pen on July 16, in the year of Christ 1626, in Philadelphia.