Martin Zemla

The basic aim of Marsilio Ficino is to unify Christianity with Platonic philosophy, while referring to the "ancient wisdom" present in both. However, for him, Platonic philosophy comes hand in hand with ancient gods. To make use of them, Ficino claims to write not as a theologian but as "poet". Most typically, the ancient gods are allegories of astral influences on human affairs. But according to Platonists, stars are ensouled beings, gods expressing their effective powers-not just natural forces. Here, Apollo/Phoebus, the solar god and allegory of the Sun, is of special importance: for Ficino, solar and light metaphysics is generally crucial. In his De vita, he demonstrates how the stars, i.e. the ancient gods in their mythological context, help cure human bodies, including the subtle-material body, i.e. the animating "spirits". This "magical" cure is made possible through hidden and ubiquitous sympathies between all the stars, metals, stones, animals, flowers, and sensual qualities in general, which are all interlinked with certain gods. Although Ficino emphasises that this system of natural magic is limited to "nature", it seems that, in fact, his "imitating of the stars", and thus of the ancient gods embodying them, can ultimately have a higher, theological relevance.

In this paper, I will argue how Paracelsus's concept of the universal ensoulment of nature may relate to his understanding of the selfhealing capacity of the body, as shown in his Grosse Wundartzney (1536). Here, his new approach to medicine is visible, focusing not on retaining or restoring the balance of bodily humours but on strengthening the inner "essence" of life (the so-called "balsam," "mummy," "astral spirit," etc.). This is possible by means of life-endowed essences of healing substances which can affect the body's vital principle by means of inner sympathies. Here, a link is established to medical alchemy as a way to produce more subtle medicines, the "essences" of things. Such an undertaking is possible only in the framework of the natural magic concept with its underlying microcosm-macrocosm analogy. It is my aim to show not only the principles of Paracelsus's new medicine, alchemy, and his worldview in general, but also how his theories may relate to his predecessors, including Marsilio Ficino, one of the few authors who escaped Paracelsus's harsh critique.

One of the central topics of Jakob
Böhme (1575–1624) is the problem
of evil. In contrast to the Neoplatonic
tradition, which has inspired much
of the Christian theology, he does not
believe that evil can be explained simply
as a deficiency of good. His innovative
notion of „Ungrund“ (the Divine
„Abyss“) has grown out of his strong
belief that both has to be maintained:
God is Good and evil is something
real. Now, his fundamental question
is: How is it possible that good and
omnipotent God created the world in
such a way that there can be evil in it?
In this paper, I follow up the ancient,
and more specifically, the Neoplatonic,
concepts of the first principle. I try to
understand why the divine being, the
One, could have been called „good“, and
what it meant for the concept of evil. In
this perspective, I analyze the innovative
approach to evil, as it was developed
by Böhme. Although his „Ungrund“ is
beyond good and evil, he explains that,
and in which way, the metaphysical
source of evil must be present already
there.

The Lutheran theologian and Paracelsian Valentin Weigel (1533–1588) is counted as one of the most influential German authors of the 16th century. In his theological and philosophical work, he was inspired by certain ideas and conceptions of a number of authors and sources, including the Bible, Boethius, Augustine, Hugh of St. Victor, medieval German Mysticism, Italian Renaissance Neo-Platonism, Nicolaus Cusa, Luther, Reformation heterodoxy, and Paracelsus. One of the recurring motifs in his work is the light and various images associated with it. It is the aim of the present study to analyze whether there is coherent and deliberately used metaphysics of light in Weigel‘s work – as it was found in his sources, particularly in the work of Marsilio Ficino, who at this point also influenced the Paracelsian tradition –, or whether he uses these images rather as metaphorical instruments. Based on a comparison of relevant passages and fragments found in various texts of Weigel (the only one consistently dealing with the subject being the brief treatise De luce et caligine divina), I come to a double answer: 1. Weigel works with metaphysics of the Neo-Platonic (Augustinian, Boethean, Ficinian) style which can be reconstructed from his texts. 2. Nevertheless, as a theologian, he uses the motives of light primarily in a symbolic and metaphorical sense to underpin and interpret his spiritual and mystical ideas.

The Astronomia Olympi novi and the Theologia Cabalistica were published as part of the
Philosophia Mystica (1618). This influential collection of Paracelsian and Weigelian texts
was among the first to include a publication of the theologica of Paracelsus. Both of
these short pseudo-Paracelsian works were written by Adam Haslmayr (1560-1630), the
propagator of the “Theophrastia Sancta,” a philosophical theology of Paracelsus mixed
with Weigelian and alchemical influences. These works, taken in the Philosophia
Mystica, are among the very few of his texts that appeared in print in his lifetime. In this
paper, the content of both pseudepigrapha is analyzed and related to ideas found in
both the authentic and the pseudepigraphic works of Paracelsus, as well as in relevant
works of some Paracelsians (Khunrath, Figulus, Weigel, Croll, Siebmacher and Mögling).
Specifically, the notions of the “Olympus novus” and the “cabalistic principles” are discussed
in a wider context.

This article analyses the content, context, and legacy of an influential collection of texts ascribed to Paracelsus (1493-1541) and Valentin Weigel (1533-1588). Published under the title Philosophia Mystica in 1618, it was one of the earliest printed publications of the theologica of Paracelsus. By combining Paracelsus and Weigel, the volume demonstrated their unified theological approach. Besides, it included two works by the promulgator of the "Theophrastia Sancta," Adam Haslmayr (1560-1630), as well as a treatise by the alchemist Johann Siebmacher, who might have also been the editor of the whole volume. By using these sources the book indicated that Paracelsianism and Weigelianism were, basically, aiming at universal reform which connected them with the ethos of the Rosicrucian manifestos.

As a Platonist, Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) was deeply interested in light  and its qualities. As a matter of fact, the metaphysics of light is so fundamental for him that it appears, treated more or less systematically, almost in all of his works. As a physician, he was naturally concerned with the human corporeality and with the relation of human body to the physical world, both terrestrial and astral. However, when discussing astronomical and optical phenomena (e.g. refraction of light in water, camera obscura, and concave mirrors), he sees them primarily not as physical realities but as starting points for his allegorical hermeneutics and analogical interpretations. Similarly, when Ficino situates the Sun in the centre of the universe, as its warming heart, ruling king and animating soul, he does so in the context of a metaphysical, rather than cosmological, heliocentrism. Indeed, physical astronomical “facts” seem generally irrelevant to him, being obscured by their spiritual m...

As a Platonist, Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) was deeply interested in light and its qualities. As a matter of fact, the metaphysics of light is so fundamental for him that it appears, treated more or less systematically, almost in all of his works. As a physician, he was naturally concerned with the human corporeality and with the relation of human body to the physical world, both terrestrial and astral. However, when discussing astronomical and optical phenomena (e.g. refraction of light in water, camera obscura, and concave mirrors), he sees them primarily not as physical realities but as starting points for his allegorical hermeneutics and analogical interpretations. Similarly, when Ficino situates the Sun in the centre of the universe, as its warming heart, ruling king and animating soul, he does so in the context of a metaphysical, rather than cosmological, heliocentrism. Indeed, physical astronomical " facts" seem generally irrelevant to him, being obscured by their spiritual meaning. Th is becomes especially conspicuous in the perspective that Copernicus arrived at his heliocentric theory most probably with the knowledge of Ficino's treatise On Sun (De Sole) and even quoting the same sources as Ficino.

Heinrich Khunrath (1560–1605) is often seen in the tradition of Early Modern alchemists and Paracelsians. However, his monumental Amphitheatrum sapientiae
aeternae is, formally, a theological commentary on 365 Biblical quotations. This article accentuates the theological substance of Khunrath’s thought which
is seen against the backdrop of Luther’s doctrine and the teachings of (or ascribed to) Valentin Weigel. For Khunrath, theology is deeply interconnected with other arts and sciences because all of them must investigate the “three Divine Books” to understand the Truth. For this, theory must meet practice, prayer must be accompanied by work in laboratory, visions and personal divine revelations must be induced. Putting all these aspects together is the only way to reform sciences as well as theology, and, finally, to renovate, or regenerate, man
in his incorrupt, prelapsarian state. Khunrath’s vision of the necessary reform, although very vague, found an important reception in the time of the early Rosicrucian
manifestos.

Even though other specific theoretical points of contact between Heinrich Khunrath and Marsilio Ficino may exist, the most fundamental and important link is, I believe, the metaphysics of light. I have argued that Khunrath knew and accepted Ficino’s concept of light as divine and of the Sun as radiating source of the divine animating light in this world. Furthermore, Khunrathʼs use of burning mirrors as sources of “living fire”, so important in his alchemy, must be seen and interpreted against this backdrop. Similarly, the specific notion of the “light of nature”, as used by Khunrath and other Paracelsians, becomes more understandable on the grounds of Ficino’s metaphysics and epistemology of light.

This paper outlines the life, work, and views of Adam Huber of Riesenpach (1545-1613). Huber was one of the personal physicians to Rudolf II in Prague, a pharmacist, translator, pedagogue, progressive academic and chancellor at Prague University, aiming to re-establish its medical faculty. Here, I will first appraise Huber as a distinguished translator of medical books published by the prominent Prague printer Daniel Adam of Veleslavín (1546-1599) and as a scholar who helped establish Czech medical terminology, most notably through his new translation of the great Herbal of Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501-1577), which he reworked and expanded. In the second part, the article focuses on a popular book on regimen, the De conservanda valetudine (1576) by the German humanist author and politician Heinrich Rantzau (1526-1598), translated into Czech by Huber in 1587. The text and its translation are analysed against the backdrop of the new, more specifically Paracelsian, approaches in medici...

This paper outlines the life, work, and views of Adam Huber of Riesenpach (1545-1613). Huber was one of the personal physicians of Rudolf II in Prague, a pharmacist, translator, pedagogue, progressive academic and chancellor at Prague University, aiming to re-establish its medical faculty. Here, I will first appraise Huber as a distinguished translator of medical books published by the prominent Prague printer Daniel Adam of Veleslavín (1546-1599) and as a scholar who helped
establish Czech medical terminology, most notably through his new translation of the great Herbal of Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501-1577), which he reworked and expanded. In the second part, the article
focuses on a popular book on regimen, the De conservanda valetudine (1576) by the German humanist author and politician Heinrich Rantzau (1526-1598), translated into Czech by Huber in 1587. The text and its translation are analysed against the backdrop of the new, more
specifically Paracelsian, approaches in medicine. The author’s views
are compared with Huber’s own ideas expressed in his foreword and in several of his other texts. His distinctive emphases and views are analysed, particularly in relation to Paracelsian medicine, Renaissance (and notably Piconian) concepts of man, and astrology.

The Saxon Lutheran pastor Valentin Weigel (1533–1588) was marked by modern scholars as a mystic, a theosopher, or a Paracelsian. Despite
the inspiration he drew from Paracelsus and his natural philosophy, nevertheless, his interests in nature were rather limited. He was no physician, no astronomer – and no alchemist. As the critical edition shows, the alchemical themes appear only marginally in his works. Obviously, he is interested in theological topics for the most part. However, his followers allegedly built him a tombstone with alchemical symbols, and some alchemical works were later published under his name. By the end of the 17th century, he is mentioned as one of the igures in the uninterrupted chain of German adepts who reaped the ‘golden harvest’, and even as late as 1869 the Histoire de la Chimie classifies his work as the symbolic and spiritual alchemy. Such a reputation could be established largely due to pseudonymous texts that together with Weigel’s authentic works began to spread in print editions after 1609, arousing considerable interest, both positive and negative. The image of Weigel as an alchemist was strengthened when his works appeared together with works of Paracelsus and other authors that used alchemical symbolism and natural-philosophical concepts (e.g. Philosophia Mystica, 1618). However, already his texts circulating in manuscript copies made a noticeable impression on alchemistic authors; Weigel was for example praised by two Paracelsian physicians and alchemists associated with the Imperial Court in Prague, Heinrich Khunrath and Oswald Croll. The latter also apparently procured Weigel’s manuscript Der güldene Grif, which has been preserved in the manuscript volume bound for the emperor Rudolf II, together with works on magic and practical alchemy. As a heir of the German Mysticism translated in the language of the Reformation, and a disseminator of some concepts of Paracelsus (esp. his concept of ‘two lights’ or man as microcosm), Weigel could create a general philosophical-theological and epistemological framework suitable also for alchemy. For some, he was a theosophist and alchemist, aiming not at the transmutation of metals, but at the transformation and rebirth of man. His critics connected his ideas with the Rosicrucianism, but he was also believed to have authored works on laboratory alchemy. His authority as an alchemist was such that his name appeared on an alchemical treatise as late as 1787.

An important part of the work of the Lutheran pastor, mystic, theosophist, and Paracelsian
Valentin Weigel (1533–1588) consists of interpretations of the opening chapters of the Book of
Genesis. The writings, which treat the theme systematically and in extenso, had already caught
the interest of modern scholars primarily from the historical and philological perspective, oriented towards determining their disputed authorship. Even now, however, after the publication
of the critical edition of Weigel’s four major commentaries on Genesis in 2007, these treatises
have been little examined from the point of view of their intellectual content, sources, and role
in his thought. These questions are addressed in this study. It deals with not only the four systematic commentaries but also with reflections on the same topic in other texts of the author.
Weigel, whose discussions in many points foreshadow the theosophy of Jacob Böhme, turns
critically against Luther and Melanchthon, and he tacitly draws on earlier interpretations (Origenes, Augustine, Hugh of St. Victor, Pico della Mirandola, Paracelsus). It is on the basis of the
commentaries on Genesis, which Weigel himself considered as fundamentally important from
the very beginnings – and, indeed, they have a crucial position within his work – that one can
assess not only his natural philosophical concepts but above all the relationship of the “natural”
knowledge to the mystical and religious knowledge that are inseparably conjoined in his work.
Their convergence does not include empirical examination of the world but rather the correct
understanding of the introductory passages of Genesis, which according to Weigel sum up the
whole Bible. For Weigel, the knowledge of nature is something essentially different from how it is
presented by Paracelsus – to whom Weigel otherwise refers so much. It is man who stands at the
centre of Weigel’s interests – more exactly man as capax Dei – and he subjects all his theosophical reflections on creation to this mystical perspective.

This study aims to provide a detailed intellectual analysis of Theologia Deutsch, an anonymous
work of ‘German mysticism’ dating to the turn of the 15 th century which had a fundamental impacted on the development of theological and philosophical thought in the German lands during
the 16th century. The author lays particular emphasis on the work’s neo-Platonic roots, outlines its
most important philosophical underpinnings, situates the work in its contemporary intellectual
context and fi nally establishes links to certain strands of 16th- and 17th-century thought evident
particularly in the works of Valentin Weigel (1533–1588), Sebastian Franck (1499–1542) and
Jacob Böhme (1575–1624).

Pico and Paracelus. A Sketch
(in Czech)

The difficulty of outlining Paracelsus relationship to Pico is obvious. Contrary to Ficino, the name of the great Italian synthetist is not mentioned in his work. In the scholarly literature, in fact, Pico is sometimes vaguely recalled in this context. This study is focused on four possible point of contact:
1. The Kabbalah. Even though Ficino’s concept of magia naturalis made a great impression on Paracelsus, his statements concerning the kabbalah show rather formal somewhat incongruent, and strange use of the term: his gabal generally points to the inner, „spiritual“ (pertaining to spiritus) dimension hidden behind the surface of things, and its uncovering.
2. The concept of freedom and the idea of microcosmos. Paracelsus’ notion of freedom is occasionally as radical as in the Oratio; his view of the creation of the microcosmos as composed of everything in the „great world“, the macrocosmos, can be seen as similar to Pico’s concept in Heptaplus.
3. The spiritus and the triadic anthropology. The notion of spiritus (Geist) as an intermediary between the immortal soul and the elemental body is clearly present in Theophrastos’ works. Paracelsus connects spiritus with astral body (speaking also about an „astral spirit“), thus binding together two different anthropological layers conceived by the Florentine neoplatonics.
4. Stars and thein relationshis to man. Among the followers of Paracelsus, the early conception of Volumen Paramirum became famous with its sharply critical tone, reminding us of Pico’s Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricem. Yet later in his Paragranum or Astronomia magna we find a peculiar theory of, so to speak, imitatio astrorum. According to this, stars are to be followed to fully realize the potenciality of one’s ens seminis, given in the moment of, astraly conditioned, conception. How strange this concept may seem, similar way of leasing can be found also in Pico, and in Ficino.
My suggestion is, generally, that Paracelsus has some knowledge and use of Pico’s Heptaplus. This influence is suspected also in the works of his follower Valentin Weigel (†1588) and, probably through Paracelsus and Weigel, in the seminal writings of Jacob Böhme (†1624).

Základní obrysy recepce Erasmova myšlení u významného německého reformačního myslitele Sebastiana Francka (1499–1543), řazeného k tzv. levému, radikálnímu či spiritualistickému křídlu reformace, jejž Wilhelm Dilthey nazval „vpravdě geniálním myslitelem a spisovatelem“, jehož „ideje proudí ve stovce potůčků vstříc modernímu světu“.

Separatio als das grösste Geheimnis der Welt im Werk Jacob Böhmes

In diesem Beitrag wird der Schöpfungsprozess nach Jacob Böhme (+1624) angedeutet, sowie auch dessen innerliche Kongruenz mit zwei Konzeptionen des Paracelsus (+1541) entworfen.
Zu Paracelsus weist der Beitragstitel: In der (pseudo-paracelsischen) Philosophia ad Athenienses wird im Kontext der Weltschöpfung gesagt: „Am Anfang aller Gebärung ist Gewesen die Gebiererin und Erzeugerin Separatio: Dann Separatio der Philosophien des größte Wunder ist.“ Die Schöpfung wird hier als Ordnen der ursprünglich chaotischen „prima materia mundi“, der „Mutter aller Dinge“, des „Mysterium Magnum“, das zugleich Mysterium increatum sei, beschrieben, in dem bisher „keine Erkenntnis ist“ und aus dem alles entsteht. Die Beschaffenheit des „Mysteriums“ im Verhältnis zur materiellen Welt und zu Gott bleibt jedoch unklar (vgl. dazu die verschiedenen Deutungen von K. Goldammer und W. Pagel).
Dem wird eine andere Konzeption beigefügt, die in einer theologischen Schrift des Paracelsus, Liber de Sancta Trinitate, steht: Gott war ursprünglich allein, kein Vater, kein Sohn, kein Heliger Geist – bisher „ihm gefiel“ sich zu „vermählen“, zu „vermehren“ und zu „offenbaren“; erst danach wird die Trinität in sich „erkannt“. Gott Vater macht sich aus sich selbst seine „Frau“, seine „Königin“, seine „Göttin“, die aus dem „ewigen Fleische“ besteht. Diese „jungfräuliche Königin“ ist die Gebärerin des Sohns-Logos und durch ihn eigentlich ganzer Schöpfung. Interessant ist, wie ihr Verhältnis zu Gott und zur Schöpfung konzipiert wird.
Diese zwei Schemas scheint Böhme gewissermassen in ein neues Ganzes zusammengefügt zu haben. Eine direkte Bekannschaft ist jedoch im ersten Falle nur schwierig erweisbar, im zweiten aber möglich. Böhme begreift neuerlich das Verhältnis zwischen dem weiblichen Element in Gott und dem Mysterium Magnum. Er beginnt dabei mit der Idee einer Separatio, die sich auch auf Gott erstreckt und für die Selbsterkenntnis Gottes notwendig ist, sowie auch für den urgründlichen Willen Gottes, der etwas haben muss, was gewollt und getan werden kann. Seine reife Auswickelung der vielschichtigen „Scheidung“ (Separatio), die vom göttlichen „Ungrund“ durch die Dreifaltigkeit und ewige Natur bis zur elementischen Welt führt, wird im Folgenden gezeigt. Hauptsächlich wird die Vorstellung der „Jungfrau Sofia“ als göttlicher Offenbarerin und Gebärerin, die ein „Spiegel der ewigen Weisheit“ ist, hervorgehoben und mit dem Böhmeschen Begriff des „Mysterium Magnum“ verglichen. Ob diese zwei zuletzt identisch sind und in welchem Sinne Sie zur „ewigen Natur“ gehören, wird gefragt. Der weitere wichtige Punkt ist dann das Verhältnis zwischen der „ewigen“ und der „elementischen“ Natur, wobei einige problematische Momente gezeigt werden, die bei Böhme, wie auch bei Paracelsus vorkommen.

"Himmlische Bilder und Falsches Licht"

Einführung zur tschechischen Übersetzung von: Heinrich Seuse, Büchlein der Wahrheit

In diesem Band wird zum ersten Mal eine tschechische Übersetzung des Büchleins der Wahrheit veröffentlicht. Die Fussnoten sowie
die umfassende Einleitung erläutern den komplexen Inhalt und
weisen auf die gedanklichen Zusammenhänge hin. Die Einführung
„Himmlische Bilder und falsches Licht“ stellt den Versuch einer
Erläuterung vom ureigenen Charakter und der Vielschichtigkeit
der Texte von Seuse dar. Die Haupthemen sind in vier Kapitel
158
gegliedert: „Bilder und Imagination“, „Seuses ,Sophiologie‘“
„Eckhart und die ,freien Geister‘“ und „Seuses Wirkung.“ Seuses
lebendige Vorstellungskraft manifestiert sich als sein wichtiges
Instrument: nicht nur im Sinne einer „allegorischen Theologie“,
die der damaligen Frauenmystik eigen war, sondern auch im Sinne
einer geistlichen Übung, einer bewusst mit (inneren, sowie auch
äusseren) Bildern arbeitenden „aktiven Imagination“. Die Sophiologie, jene allgegenwärtige und bestimmende Verehrung der „göttlichen Weisheit“, als deren „Diener“ sich Seuse versteht, wird im
historischen Kontext der biblischen und vor allem bernhardschen
Auslegungen präsentiert. Die Frage der Annäherung respektive
der Deckungsgleichheit von Weisheit/Sophia und Christus wird
im Zusammenhang mit diesem Werk von Seuse wird erörtert und
der spezifische Beitrag Seuses zu diesem Thema hervorgehoben
(im Sinne einer weiteren „Feminisierung von Christus“). Nach
einer Darstellung der historischen Entwicklung bezüglich der
Bewegung des „freien Geistes“ wird ihr gedanklicher Zusammenhang mit Meister Eckhart untersucht; vor allem mit seinen in der
Bulle In agro dominico verurteilten Thesen. Zudem widmet sich
dieses Kapitel eingehend der Verteidigung von Meister Eckhart,
was als wahrer Kern vom „Büchlein der Wahrheit“ verstanden
werden kann. Der letzte Teil der Einführung schildert den breiten
und tiefen Einfluss Seuses auf nachfolgende Generationen, wie
er später (im 16. Jahrhundert) vor allem in katholischen Kreisen
respektive unter den unorthodoxen (radikalen) Reformatoren zu
finden ist. Unter anderem wird der Einfluss der Texte von Heinrich Seuse auf Böhmen analysiert; es wird aufgezeigt, wie seine
Gedanken auch die Kreise vom frühen Hussitismus beeinflusst
haben. Zuletzt wird als Hypothese ein möglicher Zusammenhang
zwischen der Sophiologie Seuses und dem Thema der göttlichen
Sophia bei Jacob Böhme präsentiert und die Kompatibilität seiner
imaginativen Darlegungen mit der Rolle der Imagination in der
Renaissancephilosophie im allgemeinen akzentuiert.

"Mystique courtoise of Margerite Porete" in the Czech translation  of:
Marguerite Porete, The Mirror of Simple Souls

In the introductory essay, we try to follow up these topics in detail.
At first, general context of the Beguine movement is given. The fol-
lowing chapter deals with Marguerite Porete’s life and trial as well as
with her relation to Beguines. The presence of different literary genres
in Marguerite’s Mirror (dialogue, mirror, itinerary, love poetry, etc.)
is discussed later. A special attention is given to Marguerite’s reading
of poetry and romans of the Courtly Love tradition (Romance of the
Rose, especially). Next chapter analyzes the theological influences in
the Mirror: How much did Marguerite owe to Anselm of Canterbury
in her understanding of human’s debt against God? And, first of all,
how much did she appropriate the conceptions of the mystical union
with God as proposed by Bernard of Clairvaux, William of St. Thierry,
and Richard of St. Victor? Numerous citations used in this chapter not
only serve as a contextualisation of Marguerite’s teachings but they
also illustrate that it’s not only in Margurite’s Mirror where the „dar-
ing“ formulations of unio mystica can be found. It is difficult to decide
which one of these sources had the formost importance for Margue-
rite. It seems that mainly Bernard’s work, especially, but not exclusive-
ly, his De diligendo Deo, was indeed vital for her, while various points of
contacts can also be found with the other two theologians mentioned
above. Yet the most impressive link connects Marguerite’s work not
with these authors of the 12th century but with Meister Eckhart. In his
work, evident parallels to Marguerite Porete’s Mirror can be found, as
well as to the Beguine’s spirituality in general. This chapter compares
the most obvious and most important textual analogies and common
ideas in the Mirror of Simple Souls and in Eckhart’s German works,
thus establishing their interconnection (e.g. Eckhart’s famous ideas
of abegescheidenheit, giving birth of God in the soul, „nothingness“ of
created beings, unknowing as the way to know God, the conception
of God seing and loving himself in the soul, of the soul’s return to its primary being in God’s mind as the essence of unio mystica, etc.).
The following chapter deals with Mirror’s concept of unio mystica in
detail, while making use of previously established findings, especially
concerning Bernard’s and Eckhart’s attitude. It is shown that, in this
respect, the concept of Marguerite Porete is not straightforward, and
that sometimes her statements may even be contradicting. We may
apply, on the whole text of the Mirror, the more systematic approach,
explicating on occasion the seven degrees/beings/states of soul. It
seems, then, that the state of the Free Soul, which has left all virtues
and cannot sin any more, doesn’t pertain to a permanent state of the
soul during life, but, on the contrary, it must be attributed only to its
sixth degree, which is but higly impermanent, or to its seventh degree
in patria. Yet because the text of Marguerite Porete is a „mirror“, not
a logical treatise, such a global application of this pattern might be
misleading. Thus, we might rather take the „daring“ formulations,
apparently attributing the deepest, and permanent, unity with God
to the Free Soul in this life, as one of the views into this „mirror“.
Anyway, in this perspective, we find Marguerite’s view of the unity
with God to be more balanced and by far not so one-sided as often it
is claimed to be.
In the end, the introductory part of the volume gives a short over-
view of the continuing tradition of the work, showing its impact in
later centuries and highlighting again the importance of Eckhart in
this respect.
The following commented translation of the Mirror of Simple Souls is
the first publication of the text in Czech. The commentaries are to give
an explanation, if needed, or they supply with a context: they map the
work’s sources or illustrate its paralels with the „German Mysticism“
tradition, mainly with Eckhart. 
The epilogue, written by a prominent Czech literary critic Martin
C. Putna, adds another broad context of the Beguine movement in
showing the specifics of its origin, its later evolution, and, last but not
least, its reflection in literature.

The paper discusses the pseudo-Taulerian work Des gelüchten D. Johannis Tauleri goetliche leren, known also as "Institutiones", according to the later Latin translation, or "Medulla animae". From the middle of the 16th century until the 19th century, this important pseudonymous text was present in all major editions of John Tauler, an important follower of Eckhart and one of the greatest figures of the so called "German Mysticism". The work was even held as an essence of Tauler. The other part of the article presents a short translation of the text (chap. 12).

"Vaterunserauslegung ,Unser liebste Herr Jesus´. Mystik als Katechesis in einer spätmittelalterlichen Vaterunserauslegung"
Das 15. Jahrhundert ist eine Wandlungszeit der religiösen Literatur. Anstatt der Anweisunge zur persönlichen Erfahrung Gottes, die im 14. Jhdt. im Umkreis der Deutschen Mystik enstanden, werden vor allem Themen als Erlösung, Busse, jenseitiges Leben, Höllenangst, Fegefeuer und Heilssicherung bevorzugt. Die „Mystik“ wird popularisiert, d.h. das religiöse Leben wird „heilsam“ reglementiert. Trotz dieser Lage tauchen jedoch hin und wieder kleinere Texte auf, die die philosophisch gewurzelte Spiritualität weiterführen. Zu diesen gehört auch die vorliegende Paternoster-Auslegung aus der ersten Hälfte des 15.
Jhdts., deren Handschrift auch in der Prager Nationalbibliothek aufbewahrt wird. -- Der Artikel beinhaltet auch eine kurze Übersetzung aus dem betreffenden Text.

The Asclepius has been counted for the so called „philosophical
Hermetica“. Its Latin version was preserved among the works by Apuleius,
and under his name it was printed in 1469. In modern time,
it was claimed plausibly that Asclepius had been written by the Roman
Neoplatonist Marius Victorinus (4th Century CE). In contrast
to other Hermetic texts, the Asclepius exercised almost continuous
influence in the Latin West. After it had been discussed in Antiquity
in both positive and negative terms, it made its way through the
Middle Ages to the Renaissance and the Early Modern Period.
The first Czech commented translation of this important work is
supplemented with an introductory study. First, the nature and intellectual
position of the work among other Hermetic texts is sketched,
together with its relation to the Egyptian culture and religion,
which play an important role in the Asclepius. We try to identify the
most crucial ideas in the work and show their bearing on future authors.
The discussion of Church Fathers is outlined very briefly, especially
the opinions of (pseudo-)Augustine. In following chapters, it is
shown which authors were drawing on the Asclepius and which ideas
were most important for them. Thus, the „School of Chartres“ in the
12th Century, the „School of Albert“ in the 13th and 14th Centuries,
and the Renaisance of the 15th and 16th Centuries are described as
for their specific interest in the Latin Asclepius. Finally, the study presents
a selective outline of the possible influence of the Asclepius in
the 17th/18th Centuries, up to Henry More and Isaac Newton.

Epilogue to G. Fechner´s Little Book on Life traces the place of this literary work in Fechner´s scientific work. It compares the first and second edition of the work, and it also searches for points of contact with older philosophical thought.

The aim of this monograph is to present, for the first time in Czech,
a selection of the most important works of the heterodox Lutheran
pastor Valentin Weigel (1533–1588), along with an extensive study
of his life, work and influence.
The introductory study consists of three parts. The first part
describes the background of the Protestant Reformation and elaborates
the most important principles of Martin Luther’s teachings.
It presents the major Protestant controversies and specifies points
which “radical reformers”, or “spirituals”, differed on at a later
point. The first part also deals with the tradition of German Mysticism
in the 16th century and its influence with special attention
given to Theologia Germanica, an anonymous work first published
by Luther himself at the very beginnings of the Reformation. Two
figures, Paracelsus and Sebastian Franck, are presented in greater
detail with the aim of introducing the context for Weigel’s work. An
overview of Weigel’s life, studies and works is also provided here.
The second, analytical, part of the book is a comprehensive
analysis of the works of Valentin Weigel. It distinguishes between
the two main streams of thought which inspired Weigel: German
Mysticism including its adoption during the Reformation, and
the natural philosophy of Paracelsus along with the legacy of Florentian
Neoplatonism. The second part is divided into three sections
(thus corresponding to the division of Weigel’s oeuvre once
established by Winfried Zeller): 1. Early works influenced substantially
by German Mysticism, Boëthius and to a certain extent
also by Paracelsus. 2. Works in which the reception of Paracelsian
ideas become more apparent and typical, with a particular focus
on Weigel’s recently published commentaries on Genesis. 3. Late
works where criticism of Lutheran orthodoxy becomes predominant.
In each section, the primary works of the respective period
are analysed in detail separately and an account of their most
important topics and concepts is provided. With the aim of establishing
precisely the sources of Weigel’s thinking and demonstrating
their relevance, the analysis also points out the influence of
Augustine and Pico della Mirandola on Weigel’s interpretation of
the Genesis creation account. Finally, each section closes with a
partial summary of the relevant period of work in order to provide
insight into the evolution of Weigel’s thought: from the “mystical”
beginnings, yet always tinted with certain (theological as well as
philosophical) ideas of Paracelsus, through to the more specifically
“Paracelsian” and “theosophical” period back to his mystical
roots, although here on another level. It now involves a critical
overtone against Protestant orthodoxy and its religious practices,
with a new concept whereby the “heavenly body” of Christ – and,
consequently, of every newborn Christian – differs substantially
(wesentlich) from the natural body; with the conviction that there
is no remedy for the irreparably corrupt world with its established
outer church (Mauerkirche) and with a new emphasis not only on
religious tolerance, but on “freedom of the spirit”. Weigel thus
seems to have accepted a more gnostical position – the position of
the “free spirits”, criticised, among other things, by the anonymous
author of Theologia Germanica, or similarly by Luther preaching
against the Schwärmer.
The third part deals in extenso with Weigel’s influence – which
was beyond all doubt enormous. Although none of his work was
published during his lifetime (apart from an obituary), his ideas
were not completely unknown to others, as the examples of Oswald
Croll, Heinrich Khunrath, Johann Arndt, or even Rudolph II
demonstrate. Nevertheless, when Weigel’s work came into print
after 1609, it caused a genuine uproar and resulted in vehement
“anti-Weigelian” criticism from the Protestant orthodoxy. Weigel
was seen as an arch-heretic, and for almost a century every call
for tolerance or pacifism was labelled as “Weigelian”. The critics
typically viewed “Weigelianism” alongside “Paracelsianism” and
“Rosicrucianism”. In the present volume, the wave of criticism is
analysed in depth and the points of contacts with Paracelsus and
Rosicrucianism are examined. Separate chapters are dedicated to
the influence of Valentin Weigel on Jacob Böhme, J. V. Andreae,
and particularly J. A. Comenius whose Centrum securitatis is paid
special scrutiny.
The major part of the volume consists of a scholarly translation
of Weigel’s selected works. The aim was to cover the complexity
of his motifs, as well as provide an overview of the evolution of
his thought over time. Although the purpose of the translation is
a presentation of Weigel’s work in its complexity, there was nevertheless
the need to keep the book within reasonable limits. The
translation is therefore inevitably selective. Thanks to Weigel’s
repetitive style, however, numerous ideas from the omitted chapters
often also appear (sometimes literally) in the texts included in our
selection. The footnotes trace Weigel’s sources in order to place
his ideas within their historical context, serve as cross-references
or provide a brief commentary.

The once famous doctrine of the signatura rerum (“signature of things”) flourished in the Renaissance, especially in the context of medicine. Basically, this theory claims that the external forms and sensual qualities of things reveal their inner nature; they are the “signs” or “signatures” of their inner powers. Thus, they were the means to grasp the supposed relations between the parts of the human body and the shapes and perceptible qualities of plants (as well as animals and minerals), which were meant to cure the relevant parts of the body. This view was connected with astrological symbolism which served as the reference system which made it possible to interpret the existing links (horizontal as well as vertical) between various things and beings. This deeply interconnected ontological system was seen not as a product of mere chance or as an impersonal “natural law”. It was the work of God who, in this way, intended to lead man to the knowledge of His creation, in which one could find a cure for all ailments that afflict humankind. What is more, the theoretical and practical knowledge of nature and the resulting possibilities of treatment and healing are often interpreted as a prelude to the ultimate goal, which is the knowledge of the divine Creator and Physician.
Although, originally, it was rather an intuitive view than a sophisticated theory, this widely accepted teaching has its philosophical contexts. It is the aim of the first chapters of the book to show some of these historical contexts: 1. the Neoplatonic ontology, theory of sympathies and “series of things” (seirai) in the Neoplatonic theurgy as well as in the Renaissance thought of Marsilio Ficino; 2. the ancient “physiognomonics”; 3. the medieval teaching of the “footprints of God” in the world and the theory of the two (or later three) divine books (the Bible, nature, and man). The following chapters outline
the ideas of some of the most important proponents of the signatura
rerum theory in the early modern period.
The volume begins by presenting Paracelsus (1493—1541), one of the
most seminal propagators of the long-forgotten teaching of signatures.
His authentic as well as spurious works established a tradition in
which the idea of the signatures of things was essential. A specific
mélange of the Paracelsian ideas and the medieval theory of the
footprints of God and the divine books appeared in the work of
Valentin Weigel (1533—1588). Although the teaching of signatures was
of no explicit interest for him, his works were also influential among
the eminent proponents of this theory: Oswald Croll (c. 1563—1609)
and Heinrich Khunrath (c. 1560—1605). Croll not only praised Weigel
for his ideas but also cited him covertly in his work on signatures.
Weigel himself offered a syncretic but well thought-out ontological,
anthropological and epistemological system which had strong theological implication. Another line of thought, outside the Paracelsian
tradition, was presented by Giovanni Battista della Porta (1535—1615).
For him, practical aspects of the relationship between the outer forms
and inner powers were of highest importance. The presentation follows
with Petrus Severinus (1542—1602) and Joseph du Chesne (1544—1609) who developed the Paracelsian doctrine of signatures in new ways. The thoughts of another Paracelsian, the Czech physician, mathematician and astronomer Thaddaeus Hagecius ab Hayek (Tadeáš
Hájek z Hájku, 1525—1600), are discussed in the following chapter.
Finally, the momentous metaphysics of Jacob Böhme (1575—1624) is
analyzed with special attention to his notion of the signatures of
things – a topic to which he also dedicated a book. The concluding
chapter cursorily follows the motif of the signatures of things up to
the 20th century showing that although officially dead, this doctrine
has persisted in various more or less popular teachings.
The studies in the first part of the book are accompanied by an
anthology of texts documenting the tradition under scrutiny.
Although the selection of authors and themes is by no means
exhaustive, the book is (as far as we know) the first attempt to
present this important aspect of the Renaissance mentality in the
Czech language.

This volume contains Czech translations of two short, yet significant works by the Renaissance Platonist Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499), On Light (De lumine) and On the Sun (De sole), together with their Latin text and an introductory study on “Marsilio Ficino and His Metaphysics of Light”. The two intimately related writings were originally published
together in Florence in 1493. They were, in fact, reworked versions of earlier treatises: The Quid sit lumen (1476, published in an edition of the Theologia Platonica, Ficino’s chef-d’oeuvre) and
De comparatione solis ad Deum (1492). Both texts belong to Ficinoʼs
multifarious commentaries on Plato. The De lumine focuses on the
relationship between light and God and on Plotinusʼ metaphysics
of light; while the De sole builds upon Platoʼs parable of the Sun,
expanding on the analogy between seeing and understanding.
In De lumine, Ficino names God as an “immense light dwelling
in itself”. Light is for him “a visible godhead” referring us to God.
The De sole is a mature work of the Florentine Platonist in which
his philosophical and theological concepts are presented together
with allegorical hermeneutics as well as astrological elements. It is
not only in these two short treatises that Ficino demonstrates his
interest in the solar motif and the metaphysics of light; his Platonic
theology, for example, opens with reflections on the Sun and light,
and similar motives recur constantly throughout his writings.
Ficino did not intend to provide strictly logical metaphysics but
used comparisons of light and the Sun allegorically and poetically as a means of ascending from the visible to the invisible, from
the Sun and light to God. Also interesting are Ficino’s astrological
explanations. Although he is an advocate of the geocentric model
of the universe he gives the Sun an extraordinarily important role.
What he proposes is thus a “metaphysical heliocentrism”. However, he sometimes seems to transgress the limits of pure metaphysics, entering a new solar cosmology. Besides the motives mentioned above, the introduction presents an overview of Ficinoʼs cosmology and anthropology as well as his metaphysics and epistemology. As for the latter, the role of light is the main focus of attention. In this context, a brief history of the metaphysics of light before Ficino is given. The introduction also deals with the role of allegory in Ficinoʼs thought, explaining what sense philosophy actually had for him. It further analyzes his notion of Earth as a living being. Finally, some remarks are made on the influence of Ficino’s metaphysics of light and his treatises
De lumine and De sole, particularly on Copernicus, Patrizi and Paracelsian circles in Germany (esp. on Heinrich Khunrath).
The translation is based on the first edition of Ficino’s Opera omnia (Basel 1576) while taking the editio princeps into consideration when warranted. The Latin text reprinted here is that of 1576. Major divergences from the 1493 version are mentioned in footnotes.

Tis book is a new annotated edition of the early modern Czech translation of a popular health regimen De conservanda valetudine written by the German humanist and nobleman Heinrich Rantzau (1526–1598) and translated by Adam Huber of Riesenpach (1545–1613), the Czech physician and professor at Prague University. The aim of the present edition is to make the important evidence of the Early Modern medicine available to the modern reader while correcting omissions and faults of previous prints: the abridged version of the 18th century, and of the edition from the 1980’s which also eliminated some parts of the original texts. Our edition is the full transcription of the 16th century text, enhanced by explanatory and bibliographical references in footnotes as well as by the introductory essay and an auxiliary apparatus consisting of the table of ingredients used in the medical formulas, bibliography and general index. In the introductory essay, attention is paid to the historical context of the book and, primarily, to its author and its translator. First,
Adam Huber of Riesenpach, an important, yet now, almost forgotten personality of that time, is presented here. He was one of the personal physicians of Rudolf II in Prague, a pharmacist, translator, pedagogue, progressive academic and chancellor at Prague University, aiming to re-establish its medical faculty. He was a distinguished translator of medical books published by the prominent Prague printer Daniel Adam of Veleslavín (1546–1599) and also a scholar who helped establish Czech medical terminology, most notably through his new translation of the great Herbal by Pietro Andrea Mattioli (1501–1577), which he reworked and expanded. In the second part, the introduction focuses on the regimen translated into Czech by Huber in 1587 and its German humanist author Heinrich Rantzau. Te text and its translation are analysed against the backdrop of the new approaches in medicine. Rantzau’s views are compared with Huber’s own ideas expressed in his foreword to the regimen and in several of his other texts. His distinctive emphases and views are analysed, particularly in relation to Paracelsian
medicine, Renaissance (and notably Piconian) concepts of man, and
astrology.

Annotated Czech translation (by J. Hlaváček) of the Amphitheatre of Eternal Wisdom by Heinrich Khunrath (1560-1605), including three larger essays (in Czech, with English summary): "Heinrich Khunrath in the Mirror of his Theatre" (I. Purš), "Heinrich Khunrath: Theosopher between  Renaissance and Reformation" (M. Žemla), and "Alchemical and chemical aspects of the work by Heinrich Khunrath" (V. Karpenko). Publication and images retain the original scale.

Der zwölfte Band, eigentlich zwei Teilbände, der sämtlichen Schriften von Valentin Weigel (1533–1588) ist der neue Zuwachs der von Horst Pfefferl sorgfältig vorbereiteten Edition, die schon im Jahr 1996 mit Weigels bekannter Abhandlung Gnothi seauton begann. Man hat somit die Möglichkeit bekommen, Weigels im 17. Jahrhundert von seinen Kritikern wohl am meisten kritisierte Werk, seine Postille, in der kritischen Ausgabe zu studieren.