5 - Vince te ipsum Towards the twilight: from 1569 to 1588

Summary

Abstract

In his later years, Wier's professional practice as a physician continued successfully, as attested by the numerous consultations he gave, including, amongst others, the consultations provided to the poet Philip Sidney, who was fatally injured by the Spanish. In this period, marked by the invasion of Spanish troops and the damage they wrought, Wier published the Observationes medicae, the De ira morbo, a philosophical treatise, and the De lamiis, an abridged version of the De praestigiis. His adversary in this debate was the Croatian philosopher Paulus Scalichius.

Key words: Medicine, Scalichius Paulus, Sidney Philip

The twilight

Wier's dedication to his scholarly works did not, however, distract him from continuing his professional activity within the court. In 1566 he successfully cured Duke William following a stroke. To show his gratitude, William gave him several properties, to which Wier refers when they were destroyed in 1582 during the passage of the Spanish troops.

Over the previous 20 years, Wier had further confirmation of the success of the De praestigiis, and published a further two new editions (in 1577 and 1583); however, this had been a difficult time marked by losses in both his public and private life. In 1568 Wier's close friend Oporinus (his publisher in Basel) died, and in the same period the political situation in the area surrounding the Duchy became increasingly critical, a development for which Wier himself was soon to pay the price. In addition, in 1572, Wier suffered the death of his wife Judith, a worthy and insightful collaborator, and, despite remarrying the equally collaborative and efficient Henrietta Holt 2 years later, Wier retained, as he notes in the De praestigiis, the memory of his beloved first wife undiminished over time, so much so that he pays homage to her in his De ira morbo.

Wier's loyalty and deep family bonds to his original family and his affectionate devotion to Cornelius Agrippa are also present in the way Wier preserves the memory of his own family. In his work, he repeatedly made mention of the five children he had with Judith: Dietrich, a jurist and ambassador in the Court of the Prince-Elector Palatine; Heinrich, a physician; Galenus, who later took his father's place in the court of the Duke; Johannes, Archipraefectus; and Sophia.