Paracelsianism
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| - | '''Paracelsus''' (11 November or 17 December [[1493]] in [[Einsiedeln, Switzerland]] – 24 September 1541 in [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]]) was a Medieval [[physician]], [[botanist]], [[alchemy|alchemist]], [[astrologer]], and general [[occultist]]. Born Phillip von [[Hohenheim]], he later took up the name '''Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim''', and still later took the title Paracelsus, meaning "equal to or greater than Celsus", a Roman encyclopedist, [[Aulus Cornelius Celsus]] from the first century known for his tract on medicine. | ||
| - | ==Biography== | ||
| - | Paracelsus was born and raised in the village of Maria [[Einsiedeln]] in [[Switzerland]]. His father, Wilhelm Bombast von [[Hohenheim]], was a Swabian chemist and physician; his mother was [[Switzerland|Swiss]]. As a youth he worked in nearby mines as an analyst. At the age of 16 he started studying medicine at the [[University of Basel]], later moving to Vienna. He gained his [[doctorate]] degree from the [[University of Ferrara]]. | + | '''Paracelsianism''' was a medical movement based on the theories and therapies of [[Paracelsus]]. It was prominent in late-16th and 17th century [[Europe]] and represented one of the most comprehensive alternatives to the traditional system of [[therapeutics]] derived from [[Galen]]ic [[physiology]]. Based around the principle of maintaining harmony between the [[Macrocosm and microcosm|microcosm]], Man; and [[Macrocosm and microcosm|macrocosm]], Nature; Paracelsianism fell rapidly into decline in the later 17th century, but left its mark on medical practices; it was responsible for the widespread introduction of [[mineral therapies]] and several other formerly [[esoteric]] techniques. |
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| - | His wanderings as an itinerant physician and sometime journeyman miner took him through [[Germany]], [[France]], [[Spain]], [[Hungary]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Denmark]], [[Sweden]] and [[Russia]]. | + | |
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| - | Paracelsus rejected [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] traditions, but kept much of the [[Hermeticism|Hermetic]], [[Neoplatonism|neoplatonic]], and [[Pythagoras|Pythagorean]] philosophies from [[Ficino]] and [[Pico della Mirandola]]; however, Hermetical science had so much [[Aristotle|Aristotelian]] theory that his rejection of Gnosticism was practically meaningless. In particular, Paracelsus rejected the [[magic (paranormal)|magic]] theories of [[Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa|Agrippa]] and [[Nicholas Flamel|Flamel]]; Paracelsus did not think of himself as a magician and scorned those who did, though he was a practicing [[astrologer]], as were most, if not all of the university-trained physicians working at this time in Europe. [[Astrology]] was a very important part of Paracelsus' medicine. In his ''Archidoxes of Magic'' Paracelsus devoted several sections to astrological talismans for curing disease, providing talismans for various maladies as well as talismans for each sign of the [[Zodiac]]. He also invented an alphabet called the [[Alphabet of the Magi]], for engraving angelic names upon [[talisman]]s. | + | |
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| - | Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in [[medicine]]. He used the name "zink" for the element [[zinc]] in about 1526, based on the sharp pointed appearance of its crystals after smelting and the old German word "zinke" for pointed. He used experimentation in learning about the [[human anatomy|human body]]. | + | |
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| - | Paracelsus gained a reputation for being arrogant, and soon garnered the anger of other physicians in Europe. He held the chair of medicine at the [[University of Basel]] for less than a year; while there his colleagues became angered by allegations that he had publicly burned traditional medical books. He was forced from the city after having legal trouble over a physician's fee he sued to collect. | + | |
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| - | He then wandered [[Europe]], [[Africa]] and [[Asia Minor]], in the pursuit of hidden knowledge. He revised old manuscripts and wrote new ones, but had trouble finding publishers. In 1536, his ''[[Die grosse Wundartznei]]'' (The Great Surgery Book) was published and enabled him to regain fame. | + | |
| - | Paracelsus' life is connected to the birth of Lutheranism, and his opinions on the nature of the universe are better understood within the context of the religious ideas circulating during his lifetime. | + | |
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| - | He died, aged 48, of natural causes and his remains were buried according to his wishes in the cemetery at the church of St Sebastian in Salzburg. His remains are now located in a tomb in the porch of the church. | + | |
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| - | After his death, the movement of [[Paracelsianism]] was seized upon by many wishing to subvert the traditional [[Galen]]ic physics, and thus did his therapies become more widely known and used. | + | |
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| - | His [[motto]] was "alterius non sit qui suus esse potest" which means "let no man that can belong to himself be of another" | + | |
| - | ==Works== | + | |
| - | Published during his lifetime | + | |
| - | * ''Die große Wundarzney'' Ulm, 1536 (Hans Varnier); Augsburg (Haynrich Stayner (=Steyner)), 1536; Frankfurt/ M. (Georg Raben/ Weygand Hanen), 1536. | + | |
| - | * ''Vom Holz Guaico'', 1529. | + | |
| - | * ''Vonn dem Bad Pfeffers in Oberschwytz gelegen, 1535. | + | |
| - | * ''Prognostications'', 1536. | + | |
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| - | Posthumous Publications | + | |
| - | * ''Wundt unnd Leibartznei''. Frankfurt/ M., 1549 ([[Christian Egenolff]]); 1555 (Christian Egenolff); 1561 (Chr. Egenolff Erben). | + | |
| - | * ''Von der Wundartzney: Ph. Theophrasti von Hohenheim, beyder Artzney Doctoris, 4 Bücher''. (Peter Perna), 1577. | + | |
| - | * ''Von den Krankheiten so die Vernunfft Berauben''. Basel, 1567. | + | |
| - | * ''Kleine Wundartzney''. Basel (Peter Perna), 1579. | + | |
| - | * ''Opus Chirurgicum, Bodenstein'', Basel, 1581. | + | |
| - | * Huser quart edition (medicinal and philosophical treatises), Basel, 1589. | + | |
| - | * Chirurgical works (Huser), Basel, 1591 und 1605 (Zetzner). | + | |
| - | * Straßburg edition (medicinal and philosophical treatises), 1603. | + | |
| - | * ''Kleine Wund-Artzney''. Straßburg (Ledertz) 1608. | + | |
| - | * ''Opera omnia medico-chemico-chirurgica'', Genevae, Vol3, 1658. | + | |
| - | * ''Philosophia magna, tractus aliquot'', Cöln, 1567. | + | |
| - | * ''Philosophiae et Medicinae utriusque compendium'', Basel, 1568. | + | |
| - | * ''Liber de Nymphis, sylphis, pygmaeis et salamandris et de caeteris spiritibus'' | + | |
| + | ==Sources== | ||
| + | * [[Allen G. Debus|Allen George Debus]]. ''The English Paracelsians''. University Of Chicago Press, 1968. (original publication 1965) | ||
| + | * [[Allen G. Debus|Allen George Debus]]. [http://books.google.com/books?id=F0WtayLoFtcC ''The French Paracelsians'']. Cambridge University Press, 2002. (original publication 1991) | ||
| + | * Didier Kahn, ''Alchimie et paracelsisme en France à la fin de la Renaissance (1567-1625) [Cahiers d’Humanisme et Renaissance 80].'' Geneva: Droz, 2007. | ||
| + | * Wilhelm Kühlmann and Joachim Telle, eds. ''Corpus Paracelsisticum: Dokumente frühneuzeitlicher Naturphilosophie in Deutschland.'' Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 2001-. | ||
| + | * Jole Shackelford. ''A Philosophical Path for Paracelsian Medicine: The Ideas, Intellectual Context, and Influence of Petrus Severinus (1540/2-1602).'' Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2004. | ||
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Paracelsianism was a medical movement based on the theories and therapies of Paracelsus. It was prominent in late-16th and 17th century Europe and represented one of the most comprehensive alternatives to the traditional system of therapeutics derived from Galenic physiology. Based around the principle of maintaining harmony between the microcosm, Man; and macrocosm, Nature; Paracelsianism fell rapidly into decline in the later 17th century, but left its mark on medical practices; it was responsible for the widespread introduction of mineral therapies and several other formerly esoteric techniques.
Sources
- Allen George Debus. The English Paracelsians. University Of Chicago Press, 1968. (original publication 1965)
- Allen George Debus. The French Paracelsians. Cambridge University Press, 2002. (original publication 1991)
- Didier Kahn, Alchimie et paracelsisme en France à la fin de la Renaissance (1567-1625) [Cahiers d’Humanisme et Renaissance 80]. Geneva: Droz, 2007.
- Wilhelm Kühlmann and Joachim Telle, eds. Corpus Paracelsisticum: Dokumente frühneuzeitlicher Naturphilosophie in Deutschland. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 2001-.
- Jole Shackelford. A Philosophical Path for Paracelsian Medicine: The Ideas, Intellectual Context, and Influence of Petrus Severinus (1540/2-1602). Copenhagen: Museum Tusculanum Press, 2004.
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