Paracelsus

Paracelsus or Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493
- 1541) was an alchemist.

Paracelsus was born at Einsiedeln of a Swabian father and a Swiss mother. He
was brought up in Austria and then travelled through Europe, never settling
for more than a year or two in any one place. He was an alchemist who
reformed the art by rejecting the occultism that had accumulated over the
years and calling for new observations and experiments.

Paracelsus rejected Gnostic traditions, but kept much of the Hermetic,
neoplatonic, and Pythagorean philosophies; however, Hermetical science had
so much Aristotelian theory that his rejection of Gnosticism was practically
meaningless. In particular, Paracelsus rejected the magic theories of
Agrippa and Flamel; Paracelsus did not think of himself as a magician and
scorned those who did.

Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. He
coined the words "alcohol" and "zinc" and used experimentation in learning
about the human body. His hermetical views were that sickness and health in
the body relied on the harmony of man the microcosm and Nature the
macrocosm. He took an approach different from those before him, using this
analogy not in the manner of soul-purification but in the manner that humans
must have certain balances of minerals in their bodies, and that certain
illnesses of the body had chemical remedies that could cure them. (Debus &
Multhauf, p.6-12) He summarized his own views: "Many have said of Alchemy,
that it is for the making of gold and silver. For me such is not the aim,
but to consider only what virtue and power may lie in medicines."

Indeed, the remnants of alchemical traditions can still be seen in modern
medicine. For instance, the Caduceus (the staff of Hermes), has been adopted
as the prime symbol of western medicine.

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