Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · Bilingual Edition
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Facing Pages · Branch 83 of 175
Discourse on the Universal · Passage 3
German
Da begehrte er zu wissen: ob ich mehr Bücher hätte denn dieses / hielte mir treflich Widerpart / drauff ließ ich ihm alles sehen / das er gantz curieux durchblätterte / fing an / und sagte: So ich ihm zusagte / wie einem Philosopho gebühret zu halten / wolte er mir die widerwärtigen Philosophen wol concordiren / daß ich ihre verborgene Reden wol verstehen solte / und weil er bey mir ein Büchlein fand / darin er länger als in den andern blätterte / fragte ich ihn / obs ihm gefiele oder nicht? Sagte er: Ja hertzlich wohl; Indessen ward unser Gespräch zertrennet / daß mein Weib mich herunter ruffte / damit ja / wo unser Herr GOtt eine Kirche bauet / die Capelle auch dabey fundiret werde / daß also diesen Tag nichts ferner / als was disputando geschah / tractiret wurde / den andern Tag tagete es mir früh / denn ich besorgte; Er möchte mir hinweg ziehen / und ich die Metten verschlaffen / als leider doch den andern Tag geschah / so kommt er / als er auch aufgestanden / beut mir die Hand und guten Morgen / wäscht sich / da ich ihm im mittelst einen Brandtewein lange und zu trincken nöthige / sagte er: Nein / diß wäre ihm kein Dienst / wolte ich ihm aber / was an dieser Stadt / an Kirchen und Schulen / und Saltzwerck zu sehen wäre / zeigen / (auch mit ihm vor das Thor vor Essen spatzieren gehen /) da thät ich ihm einen Gefallen / so wolte er mir gestriger Zusage nach / mein Begehren gewähren / drauf ich mit ihm etliche Stunden umbher gangen / zu foderst aber gedrungen; daß ich vor dem Thor / nach dem Felde werts mit ihm gehen wolte / denn er die Stadt / wie sie läge / und wo man sie übersehen könne / gerne wissen wolte / daß ich zwar ungern gethan / sonderlich weil es die Nacht gewittert und zumahl böse gehen / jedoch bin ich ihm zu Willen gewesen / sind zum Claus-Thor hinaus gangen / an der Wiesen übergefahren übers Wasser / und an Ockels Weinberge die Stadt zu übersehen gangen.
English
He asked whether I had more books than this one and argued vigorously against me. I therefore showed him everything. He leafed through them with great curiosity and said that if I promised to keep the matter as a philosopher ought, he would reconcile the contrary philosophers for me, so that I could understand their hidden sayings. He found one little book in my possession and spent longer turning its pages than those of the others. I asked whether he liked it. “Yes, very much indeed,” he replied. Meanwhile our conversation was interrupted when my wife called me downstairs—so that wherever our Lord God builds a church, a chapel must also be founded beside it. Nothing further was dealt with that day beyond our disputation. The next day I was awake early, fearing that he might leave while I slept through matins, as unfortunately did happen on the following day. When he too had risen, he came, gave me his hand, wished me good morning, and washed. Meanwhile I offered him some brandy and urged him to drink. He said no: that would do him no service. But if I would show him what there was to see in the town—churches, schools, and saltworks—and walk with him outside the gate before the meal, I would oblige him; then, as he had promised yesterday, he would grant my request. I walked about with him for several hours. Above all he pressed me to go outside the gate towards the fields, since he wanted to know how the town lay and where one could look down upon it. I did this reluctantly, especially because there had been a thunderstorm during the night and the going was very bad. Nevertheless I complied. We went out through the Claus Gate, crossed the water by the meadow, and went to Ockel’s vineyard to look over the town.
Socrates
Reading Centrum Naturae Concentratum · Discourse on the Universal · Discourse on the Universal · Passage 3
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.About This Reading Edition
The complete supplied German–English edition of the 1682 collection: the main treatise attributed to Ali Puli, Helbig’s preface, distinct companion discourses, the short potable-gold preparation and the anonymous Father’s Last Testament, with four historical figures, 103 annotations and the full Diotimos study apparatus.
Historical Text and Translation
The governing German witness is the complete 1682 collection in Badische Landesbibliothek Karlsruhe, shelfmark 87 B 76050, with an unnumbered title and printed pages 1–80. The historical title’s Arabic and Portuguese antecedents and its authorial persona are retained as claims, not authenticated originals. Johann Otto Helbig (Hellwig), Martin de Delle, J. J. F. and the anonymous testament retain their distinct historical roles.
About Diotimos Editions
This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.
Rights
The historical German source text and engraving are in the public domain. The English translation and editorial material were prepared with AI assistance for Diotimos Editions in 2026, with a supplied translation and sign commentary identified separately, and are published with the site owner’s authorization.