Gessner to Occo III, published in Simmler (Zurich, 1566)

Translated from the Greek by Enrico Prodi, University College London (2022)

Truly the true philosophy, or rather wisdom, to the extent that it is available to a human being, is the one that reflects upon the end – both that of each other thing, and especially that which befalls us, I mean death – in such wise as, even when living, to prepare ourselves far in advance, ceaselessly parting our thought from our individual body and the world that is here, so as to follow gladly and cheerfully where nature, or rather the Providence that governs it, urges, by means of our blessed and godly faith and hope, which continuously cries out to the Maker of all and our own heavenly Father. So it came upon me to improvise these little verses on the subject of her:

Happy is, first, he who knows all of God’s wonders;
            Then, he who hopes for them; thirdly, whoever possesses them.
Thrice blessed is the third, but the first enjoys both things,
            Because he is blessed not without faithful hope.
From that point, the one who reflects upon more is more wretched:
            he is forever without faith, forever without hope.
Goodly hope is a sweet nurse for the elderly,
            And hope for their homeland nourishes the exiled.
Even on the edge of death hope alone cheers the heart,
            that remedy that comes from heaven to pious men,
Griefless and painless, making all ills forgotten,
            Sprinkled everywhere from the Holy Spirit.
Let us take heart, dear Adolphus: before long, for us, brothers

Who trust in Christ, there shall be the reality of our hope.

Conrad Gessner: Poem to Adolphus Occo III in Greek about Gessner's death, written in or before 1565, in Josias Simmler. Vita clarissimi philosophi et medici excellentissimi Conradi Gesneri Tigurini. Zurich: Froschauer, 1566, f. 18v-19r.

The digitized pages are from the following copy of the book: Zentralbibliothek Zürich, Shelf Mark: 5.224,3. Persistent Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.3931/e-rara-3212

Identifier in VD-16: VD16 S 6520

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