Dissertation on Loathing and Hatred

Demosthenes The famous Greek orator (384–322 BCE)., as Caelius Rhodiginus Lodovico Ricchieri (1469–1525), a scholar known for his "Ancient Lessons," a massive compilation of classical knowledge. noted, and Empress Leonora, the wife of the Roman Emperor Frederick III, as Aeneas Sylvius The secular name of Pope Pius II (1405–1464), who was a noted historian and diplomat before his papacy. left recorded, possessed a natural abhorrence for wine.

Indeed, there was a bookseller of Erfurt named Michael Prembs, who lived within the memory of our fathers and who may be known to some among you, my Auditors This indicates the text was likely delivered as an academic lecture or "disputation" at a university.. He possessed an innate loathing for wine and beer from his mother's womb; for that reason, he was scarcely able to receive the symbols of the most Holy EUCHARIST because of the wine. He did not, however, loathe the smell; rather, when sitting with others who were drinking, he became intoxicated by the scent alone more quickly than they, even though he himself swallowed nothing but water.

Thus we see, not infrequently, those sitting with us at the table turning away from Cheese and Butter as if they were the head of LIBER PATER original: Liber Pater, an ancient Italian god of fertility and wine, later identified with Bacchus. The author suggests these people recoil from common foods with the same dread one might have for a terrifying deity or the intoxicating power of wine.. From whence, then, comes such loathing? From whence such hatred? What is the cause of such a violent aversion, even in those who are unaware of it? What is its origin?

If we go to the ASTROLOGERS, my listeners, for an answer and a decision, they will tell us of their horrific alignments in the heavens, their houses, and their horoscopes. They will fight for the stars and constellations as fiercely as Ajax fought for the ships A reference to the Iliad, where Ajax defends the Greek fleet from Hector's assault.. Indeed, they will boldly and without hesitation original: ἀνεμπλήκτως (anemplēktōs) claim—and, as travelers original: περατικοὶ (peratikoi) using empty effort, they will assert and defend—that everything in the microcosm The "small world," a term used to describe the human body as a reflection of the greater universe (the macrocosm). is governed by the stars; that the planets are the "world-rulers" original: κοσμοκράτορας (kosmokratōras), "counseling gods" original: θεοὺς βουλαίους (theous boulaious), and "interpreters" original: ἑρμηνεῖς (hermēneis)—the princes of the world, the divine advisors, and the explainers.

But if we turn to PARACELSUS The Swiss physician and alchemist (1493–1541) who rejected traditional medical authorities in favor of chemical and spiritual observations.: he, in his zeal for novelty, will show us his own SMITHS and his VULCANS Metaphorical terms used by Paracelsus for the transformative powers or "inner chemists" within the body that process substances.; he will point to the ARCHAEUS In Paracelsian medicine, the vital force or "internal alchemist" that directs the body's growth and health.; he will teach us from his own inventions about the FATE assigned to every man by divine decree. And if we go further, if we press on, [let us seek] the physical reason and of experience...