the iĄaculty oÍ' Graduate Ątudies April, L96[ - MSpace at the ...

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too smart for bhe cunni-ng and craft¡' i,vorld, )ret rrot piou-s
enough for heaven.
T'he I'inal allu-slon fo be considered is thai of a
baltad rvhich apÐeared in Jena in L93L (see appendix D).
The tale begins r,¡ith Paracelsus, 'Ûhe most famou-s of
nhi¡.qi ei airs_ rc+".--i-^. I"^. pIIJ пU!Alrü, ¿ \= tJt/-l Il¿11ì'ì !¿Vlllç^
frOni a Celebral,iOn Sínging
hie ¿¡! u sônÉ' vvr¿tì i-,hst ihere are creatures beneath the spheres
r^¡ith vrhom he is in intimate communion. The devil aropears
at raid-night, and a raucous, boisterou-s duel talces place
betu¡een -uhem ainidst the chacs of broken reLorts, gla-ss,
black snoke and- l;iix-C_urenåes1;anlt" Fioi+¡ever flie cievil is
re;oulsed- and is forced to scurry off irrto the nig;ht
f otlowed- by a screarni-ng hoarcl of horse-f lies. Paracelsus
thanks the four elernen'bs - earth, air, fire, and itlaier
and continues his song:
rrHoho, viel lì'reund-e un.ber der Sphär,
ìilicl:t tìrensch, nicht TeufeI, doch goitesher'11
One can conclude frorn these brief representations
of folk literature that ihe popula-r irnagination alt"rays
saw in the figu-re of Paracelsu-s the unusual, the sirange,
end even the uncanny and sinister" Yei it is significant
that this attitude roas never couchect in bitterness.
r¡i1;h the realisa¡i-on that the warring opposices of
goocÌ and evil, God. and the devil are very nuch aoart of
the ï'aracelsu.s-Irausius õrad-ition it is necessary co find-