The life and work of theophrastus paracelsus. The Legend of Dr. Paracelsus (Interesting to Know)

Paracelsus (Paracelsus) (real name Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, von Hohenheim) (December 17, 1493, Einsiedeln, Canton Schwyz - September 24, 1541, Salzburg), renowned physician, naturalist, natural philosopher and alchemist of the Renaissance, one of the founders of the iatrochem.
Born into the family of a doctor who came from an old but impoverished noble family. The first teacher of Paracelsus was his father, who introduced him to the basics of medical art. One of Paracelsus's mentors was Johannes Trithemius, known for his advocacy of "natural magic." Paracelsus received his university education in the Italian city of Ferrara, where he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine.
Since 1517, Paracelsus undertook numerous travels, visited various universities in Europe, participated as a physician in military campaigns, visited the imperial lands, France, England, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Scandinavian countries.

He visited Poland, Lithuania, Prussia, Hungary, Transylvania, Wallachia, the states of the Apennine Peninsula (there were rumors that he visited North Africa, Palestine, Constantinople, Muscovy and Tatar captivity). In 1526, Paracelsus acquired the right of burgher in Strasbourg, and in 1527, under the patronage of the famous book publisher Johann Froben, became the city doctor of Basel. At the University of Basel, he lectured in German, not traditional Latin, which was then unheard of insolence. His lectures attracted many listeners and became widely known; at the same time, Paracelsus acquired many enemies among doctors and pharmacists, since in his lectures he sharply opposed scholastic medicine and blind respect for the authority of Galen; publicly burned a textbook of medicine written on the basis of the views of ancient scientists. In 1528, as a result of a conflict with the city authorities, Paracelsus moved to Colmar.

In subsequent years, Paracelsus wandered a lot through the cities and lands of the Holy Roman Empire and Switzerland, wrote, preached, healed, researched, set up alchemical experiments, and conducted astrological observations. In 1530, at the Beratzhausen castle, he completed work on the Paragranum (1565). After a short stay in Augsburg and Regensburg, he moved to St. Gallen and at the beginning of 1531 finished here a long-term work on the origin and course of diseases - the treatise "Paramirum" (1562). In 1533 he stayed in the city of his childhood, Villach, where he wrote The Labyrinth of Errant Physicians (1553) and The Chronicle of Carinthia (1575).

In the last years of his life, the treatises "Philosophy" (1564), "Hidden Philosophy" (the first edition was translated into the Flemish language, 1553), "Great Astronomy" (1571) and a number of small natural-philosophical works, including the "Book about nymphs, sylphs, pygmies, salamanders, giants and other spirits "(1566). In 1541, Paracelsus settled in Salzburg, finding a patron in the person of the archbishop; here he soon died.
Bringing chemistry and medicine closer together, Paracelsus viewed the functioning of a living organism as a chemical process, and found the alchemist's vocation not in the extraction of gold and silver, but in the manufacture of medicines that give people healing. He taught that living organisms are composed of the same substances - mercury, sulfur, salt - that form all other bodies of nature; when a person is healthy, these substances are in equilibrium with each other; disease means the predominance or, conversely, the lack of one of them.

Paracelsus proceeded from the idea of ​​the unity of the universe, close connection and kinship between man and the world, man and God. He called man not only the "microcosm", the small world, which contains the properties and nature of all things, but also the "quintessence", or the fifth, the true essence of the world. According to Paracelsus, a person is produced by God from the “extract” of the whole world, as if in a grandiose alchemical laboratory, and carries the image of the Creator. There is no knowledge forbidden for a person, he is capable and, according to Paracelsus, even obliged to explore all the essences that exist not only in nature, but also outside of it. He should not be stopped or confused by their unusualness, for nothing is impossible for God, and these entities are evidence of his omnipotence, like nymphs, sylphs, gnomes, salamanders, sirens, giants, dwarfs and other creatures inhabiting the four elements.

Literature
Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
Encyclopedic Dictionary. Brockhaus F.A., Efron I.A.

Physician, philosopher, naturalist, alchemist and magician Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, best known as Paracelsus, criticized the former foundations and made a significant impetus in the development of medicine. He took the name Paracelsus from the great ancient Roman physician Celsus (1st century BC), adding the Greek prefix "pair", What means - "like"... Although Paracelsus was called "Luther of medicine" However, this did not save him from the persecution and persecution of the "powerful of this world", preventing his robot from publishing.

Paracelsus was born in the winter of 1493. Its roots come from an old, once wealthy noble family. His father, a doctor by training, became his first teacher. As Paracelsus himself recalled, his father taught him to read and write, the basics of healing and alchemy.

While Paracelsus was a student, chemistry was not taught as a separate discipline. It was a theoretical addition to the course in philosophy, in which only the assumptions about the emergence and disappearance of substances were touched upon. Only pharmacists and alchemists were seriously involved in chemistry, and there were quite a few of them. Alchemists carried out experiments on the "transmutation" of metals, discovered new methods of making various substances, and also continued the development of natural philosophical teachings such famous philosophers like Aristotle, Empedocles, Democritus and others.

At 22, after graduating from the University, Paracelsus was awarded the degree of Doctor of Medicine. But, he did not find satisfaction in the knowledge gained. Seeing how often doctors are unable to help a patient, Paracelsus, criticizing their work, which has changed little since antiquity, decided to improve medicine, to introduce into it a new understanding of diseases and methods of treating patients.

The young doctor traveled a lot, collecting his medical knowledge at major universities, medical schools in Paris, Spain, Italy, Hungary, England, Poland, Lithuania and other countries. He carefully searched, learned and memorized all the secrets of the medical craft, not only for medical practitioners, but also for healers who healed the wounded; acquired from barbers (engaged in minor surgery), gypsies and even executioners healing recipes that university scientists did not know. Only after that, he became a real doctor.

Paracelsus was taught by the great magician and alchemist Solomon Trismozin, initiated into the Teachings of Hermes and who knew the technology of transmutation of metals. Paracelsus was also taught by one of his most famous contemporaries - an adept of magic, alchemy and astrology, the abbot of the monastery of St. James, Johann Trithemius of Shpangheim, who spoke in defense of "natural magic".

Starting in 1517, Paracelsus traveled extensively, worked as a doctor in military campaigns. In 1527, with the help of the then well-known book publisher Johann Froben, he got a job as a doctor in the Swiss city of Basel. At the university of the city, he began to teach a course in medicine in German, which was a challenge to the established university tradition, according to which the teacher was obliged to give lectures only in Latin. As a result, there was a conflict with the city authorities, and Paracelsus had to move to France.

And finally, in the city of Colmar, they began to talk about Paracelsus as a talented doctor. He cured patients who were refused by other doctors, who considered them hopelessly ill. Then he was already able to cure diseases such as leprosy, cholera, cancer, etc. By his deeds fame grew. But, despite all the achievements, his independence, impudent statements about other doctors of the old system, unwillingness to blindly bow before the authorities caused discontent from outside; in addition, he also practiced alchemy, comprehended the fruits of the work of magicians and mystics of the East. This activity did not appeal to local Catholics, who made sure that no one came up with considerations that went against established ideas. Paracelsus found himself in a position in which they could deal with him, accusing him of heresy. And he had to change his job again and leave the country.

In 1529, Paracelsus moved to Germany, where he earned the fame of a doctor who treated hopelessly sick people for free who did not receive help from other doctors. At that time, a skilled doctor wrote many books. He was a man of extraordinary capacity for work. There is a mention of how he often sat at his desk, working for several days without knowing rest and sleep. In Nuremberg, Paracelsus published 4 of his books at once. But, after that, the city magistrate suddenly banned the publication of any of his works. The latter happened not without the diligent help of doctors and professors of the medical faculty, outraged by his innovation.

Paracelsus used his new ideas to create a chemical theory of the functioning of a living organism. According to her, the functions of the body are a chemical process. When this process is going well, i.e. is in balance - the person is well, otherwise the disturbed chemical process becomes the cause of any disease. Therefore, only those drugs that are chemically prepared will be most useful in treatment. Thus, he strove to bring chemistry closer to medicine.

Paracelsus sought the Philosopher's Stone not to turn base metals into gold, but to prepare healing potions. In addition, he introduced a new understanding of the dose of the medicine: “Everything is poison, and nothing takes away the poisonousness. The dose alone makes the poison invisible. " In other words, the question of the harm of a substance does not depend on its consumption as such, but on the accepted amount of it, which exceeds the permissible norm. Paracelsus also said that there is not a single universal cure for all diseases, i.e. each disease must be treated with specific remedies.

When Paracelsus found out that a plague epidemic had spread in an Italian town, he went to work there. Working with patients, he investigated the causes of the plague, looked for prescriptions and prepared medicines. In the end, he found a method similar to vaccination, thanks to which he helped stop the spread of the plague.

However, even after the victory over the epidemic, Paracelsus had to wander again, changing one haven for another: even where the authorities did not interfere with him, the Catholic clergy protested. But he did not despair, and in Ulm, and then in Augsburg, his work was published "Big surgery"(2 volumes, 1536). After that, Paracelsus was lucky. He was finally recognized as an outstanding physician, they began to receive him in the best houses, and wealthy nobles began to use his services. And after that he was already treating the royal marshal of Bohemia - Johann von Leipnik. And in Vienna he was honored with attention by King Ferdinand himself.

The city of Salzburg became his last place of residence. Here he healed quietly, without fear of any attacks or persecution, he took up medical practice and writing books. According to one version, Paracelsus died of a fatal disease that overtook him in the fall of 1541. Another version indicates that he was killed by order of his enemies - envious pharmacists and doctors.

They say that in 1830, when the plague threatened Salzburg, people went to the tombstone of Paracelsus to pray to him to ward off the trouble. And he helped - the epidemic did not enter the city.

Paracelsus was convinced that there is nothing beyond the control of the human mind. He said:

In the universe, everything is one, everything is in close connection: man and the world, man and God. Man is not only a part of the great whole, but he himself is a "microcosm", a small world that contains the properties and nature of all things; moreover, a person is "the quintessence", i.e. - the fifth, the true essence of the world. God created man, as if in a grandiose alchemical laboratory, like a homunculus from the "extract" of the whole world. A person is similar to his Creator, therefore there is no forbidden knowledge, a person not only can - he is obliged to explore and cognize all essences that exist not only in nature, but also outside of it.

Many years before the advent of genetic engineering, artificial insemination and cloning, Paracelsus declared that it was possible to make a "human from a test tube" or a homunculus. It was he who first described the creation of the "alchemical man". He wrote about this in detail in his treatise "On the Nature of Things":

He can be raised and trained like any other child until he grows up and can take care of himself.

He added innovation to drug descriptions; also began to use chemical medicines, isolated and applied herbal medicines in the form of elixirs, tinctures and extracts. For centuries, the opium tincture invented by Paracelsus has been used as a pain reliever. He also created the doctrine "signature" - the doctrine of the signs of nature, according to which, the similarity of the appearance of plants and human organs can cure, for example, heart diseases (plants with heart-shaped leaves heals the heart). Nature, as understood by Paracelsus, indicates to man how to use her gifts.

Paracelsus in today's vision of homeopaths is one of the founders of homeopathy. Paracelsus was the first to understand and apply the principle of similarity, which is at the heart of homeopathy. His developments in psychiatry proved that insanity is not an obsession with the devil, but a disease.

Undoubtedly, Paracelsus was both the great magician and physician of his time. He had a great influence on European philosophy and medicine, shaping the worldview of many scientists.

Paracelsus (Paracelsus) (real name Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim) (1493-1541), physician and naturalist, one of the founders of iatrochemistry. Subjected to a critical revision of the idea of ​​ancient medicine. He contributed to the introduction of chemicals into medicine. He wrote and taught not in Latin, but in German.

PARACELS, real name - Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (1493-1541) - medic and alchemist. Swiss by birth. He wandered almost all over Europe as a medical practitioner, communicating with the people, studying healing springs, herbs and minerals. P. wrote his works not in Latin, but in colorful German. The historical significance of P.'s work lay in the convergence of medicine and chemistry, in the tendency to overcome alchemy from the inside. P. himself introduced into practice a number of chemical medicines.

Philosophical dictionary / author-comp. S. Ya. Podoprigora, A. S. Podoprigora. - Ed. 2nd, erased. - Rostov n / a: Phoenix, 2013, p. 307-308.

Paracelsus (Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim) (1493-1541) - physician and naturalist of the Renaissance, originally from Switzerland. According to Paracelsus, the world based on the primordial matter created by God is a self-developing integrity. Man (microcosm) as a part of nature (macrocosm), in principle, is able to cognize it. Paracelsus was one of the first to proclaim the idea of ​​experimental knowledge as the basis of all scientific knowledge. Believing in the power of reason, Paracelsus urged doctors and scientists to study not "holy books", but nature itself, sharply criticized medieval authorities, scholasticism, religion. Bound by the antiscientific concepts prevailing at that time, Paracelsus in explaining the world remained on the positions of anthropocentrism and panpsychism, believed that everything in the world is imbued with a mysterious "archee" (spirit). While striving to turn medicine and chemistry into science, he at the same time believed in the power of alchemy and magic.

Philosophical Dictionary. Ed. I.T. Frolov. M., 1991, p. 332-333.

He is Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim

Paracelsus (lat. Paracelsus - "greater than Celsus") Aureol Theophrastus, real name - Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (1493-1541) - Swiss philosopher, naturalist, physician, who was called Luther in medicine during his lifetime ". One of the most complete and systematized expositions of the so-called "occult pneumatology" (the direction of mystical philosophy focused on comprehending the nature of spiritual substances) was carried out by P. Major works: "Occult Philosophy", "Interpretation of 30 Magic Figures", etc. He was repeatedly persecuted for ideological reasons. P. is the author of the understanding of nature as a living whole, permeated by the "star soul" ("astral bodies", which make it possible to use mystical objects of nature through the secret tools of initiates). Nature, according to P., consists of earth, water, air and heavenly fire as the first principles, which, in turn, are constituted of a subtle gaseous element and a gross bodily substance. The general term "elements" P. considered it legitimate to designate the physical, lower hypostases of the four original principles, the concept of "elemental essences" (elemental essenses) P. called their invisible spiritual components.

To the same extent as visible Nature is inhabited by countless living individuals, to the same extent its spiritual analogue (formed by the rarefied components of the visible world) is filled with hosts of "ethereal" "natural spirits" ("elements"), including "gnomes, undine , sylphs and salamanders ". All of them are incomprehensible and unknown to people due to the primitive organization of the senses of the latter. Elemental spirits, according to P., are not just spirits, because they have flesh, blood and bones, they live and produce offspring, they eat and talk, sleep and stay awake, etc., and, therefore, cannot to be called simply spirits. They occupy an intermediate place between people and spirits, reminding men and women in organization and form, and spirits - by the speed of their movements. He formulated an understanding of medicine as a universal science, synthesizing the achievements of physics, chemistry, physiology, coupled with reliance on the values ​​and attitudes of theology and philosophy. ("... The number of diseases that originate from some unknown cause exceeds by far those that originate from medical causes ... The best doctors are those who do the least evil ... There are doctors in whom a great deal of scholarship supplants any common sense ... The doctor must be a servant of Nature, not her enemy. He must lead and guide her in the struggle for life and not put obstacles on the way to recovery ... ") P. sought to cure diseases in all 7 ways known the "hermetic therapy" of the time: the evocation of spirits; "vibration" - color therapy, music, singing and spells; with the help of talismans, amulets and enchantments; herbs; prayer; diet and proper lifestyle; bloodletting and various methods of cleansing the body. P. is the author of a dynamic-functional interpretation of life processes. Knowledge of humanity in all its forms, according to P., is the result of the process of self-revelation. A person's potential is determined by the nature of his relationship with nature - the creation of God's providence: "... the one who wants to know the ways of Nature must proceed with their own feet. What is written in the book of Nature is written in letters. But the sheets of this book are different earth. And if these are the Laws of Nature, then it is necessary to turn these sheets. " The scientist has the right to search for truth in all lands and among all people.

Man ("microcosm") - has a divine soul - the source of knowledge, morality and bliss. The enemy of the soul, according to P., are vampires - astral bodies, as a rule, of dead people. In an effort to prolong their own existence in the physical plane, vampires take vital energy from living people and use it for their own purposes. According to P., "a healthy and clean person cannot be possessed by them ... they can only act on people who have a room in their minds for them. A healthy mind is a lock that cannot be taken if there is no desire for the owner; but if they are allowed to burst in, they excite the passions of men and women, arouse desires in them, encourage them to think badly, have a destructive effect on the brain; they sharpen the animal mind and stifle moral feeling.Devil spirits take possession only of those people in whom the animal nature is dominant . Minds, enlightened by the spirit of truth, cannot be possessed ... ". Treatment of the patient, therefore, should be carried out, according to P., in the unity of three levels - bodily, mental and spiritual.

A.A. Gritsanov

The latest philosophical dictionary. Compiled by A.A. Gritsanov Minsk, 1998.

Paracelsus Theophrastus

Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, nicknamed Paracelsus, was born on November 10, 1493 near the village of Einsiedeln (canton Schwyz, Switzerland). Following the example of his father, Paracelsus began to study medicine quite early on in Germany, France and Italy.

Already during the years of study, Paracelsus became interested in chemistry. At that time, chemistry as a separate specialty was not taught at universities. Theoretical concepts of chemical phenomena were considered in the course of philosophy. Pharmacists and alchemists were involved in experimental work in the field of chemistry.

In 1515, Theophrastus received his doctorate in medicine in Florence.

According to him, he attended lectures by medical luminaries at major universities, medical schools in Paris and Montpellier, visited Italy and Spain. Was in Lisbon, then went to England, changed course to Lithuania, ended up in Poland, Hungary, Wallachia, Croatia. And everywhere he asked and memorized the secrets of the art of healing. Not only from doctors, but also from barbers, bathhouse attendants, healers. Then Paracelsus practiced, trying out what he had learned during his quest. For some time he served as a doctor in the army of the Danish king Christian, participated in his campaigns, worked as a paramedic in the Dutch army. Army practice gave him a wealth of material.

The scientist spent 1526 in Strasbourg, and in next year he was invited to the post of city doctor in the large Swiss commercial city of Basel. He was invited to take the chair of medicine at the University of Basel. At the very first lecture, he burned the works of Galen and Avicenna in front of the students' eyes and stated that even the strings of his shoes knew more than these ancient phlegm.

The philosophical views of Paracelsus, set out by him in many works, boiled down to the following: there should be harmony between nature and man. A necessary condition for the creation of a reasonable social system is the joint work of people and their equal participation in the use of material benefits. In 1528, Paracelsus had to secretly leave Basel, where he was threatened with trial for freethinking.

In Colmar, he was able to raise patients who were considered hopeless by other doctors. His popularity grew. However, not everyone liked his independent behavior, harsh judgments about fellow workers. In addition, Paracelsus was engaged in alchemy, diligently studied the works of Eastern magicians and mystics. Rumors began to spread that Paracelsus had entered into intercourse with the devil. At any moment, Paracelsus could be charged with heresy and inflicted reprisals on him.

In Nuremberg he managed to publish four books. But then followed the decision of the city magistrate to prohibit further printing of his works. The reason for this was the demand of the professors of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Leipzig, who were outraged by the writings of Paracelsus.

Having learned that there is a plague epidemic in Sterzing, Paracelsus goes to this city. But when the epidemic ended, Paracelsus was not needed in Sterzing either. He was forced to wander the roads again, changing city after city.

In Ulm, and then in Augsburg, his work "Big Surgery" was published. And this book did what Paracelsus had been striving for for many years. She made people talk about him as an outstanding physician.

Man, Paracelsus believed, is formed by spirit, soul and body. Disruption of the mutual balance of the main elements leads to illness. The doctor's task is to find out the relationship between the main elements in the patient's body and restore their balance.

Therefore, this imbalance can be restored with the help of certain chemicals. Therefore, the primary task of chemistry, Paracelsus considered the search for substances that could be used as medicines. To this end, he tested the effect on people of various compounds of copper, lead, mercury, antimony, arsenic. Paracelsus gained particular fame, successfully using mercury preparations for the treatment of syphilis, which was widespread at that time.

After the publication of the book, the position of Dr. Paracelsus changed. He is received in the best houses, noble nobles turn to him.

His last refuge is Salzburg. Here he is engaged in medical practice. On September 24, 1541, Paracelsus died.

Reprinted from the site http://100top.ru/encyclopedia/

Medical alchemist

PARACELS (Paracelsus) (a pseudonym meaning - above Celsus, the ancient Roman encyclopedist and connoisseur of medicine of the 1st century BC), real name Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim (1493, Einsiedeln, canton Schwyz - September 24, 1541, Salzburg) - a doctor and philosopher, a medical alchemist, or iatrochemist (from the Greek ἰατρός - doctor), studied medicine in Germany, Italy and France. From 1526 a surgeon in Strasbourg, professor of medicine in Basel, was forced to leave Basel two years later and wander for a long time. German natural philosophy originates from Paracelsus. The teachings of Paracelsus are rooted in the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition and in Hermeticism. This is primarily an understanding of nature as a living whole, with an invisible “star soul” (astral body), which is a synonym for the world soul (spiritus mundi), the active principle of nature, close to the Aristotelian ether and quintessence in the alchemical tradition. Due to the parallelism of the microcosm and the macrocosm, a person who owns "arcana" (secret means) is able to magically influence nature. Self-knowledge is congenial to natural science, helping to pacify the forces of nature and subdue them to man. Imagination, according to the teachings of Paracelsus, magically materializes thought as the will of the soul. But the main thing in his activity is medico-alchemical (iatrochemical) research associated with new ideas about the main task of healing - to restore harmonious order in a sick organism, disturbed by the invasion of a healthy organism by alien spirits. In a healthy state, this order is provided by the archaeus - the supreme life spirit. A physician is at the same time a healer of body, soul and spirit.

Man, according to Paracelsus, just like metals, is composed of sulfur, mercury and salt. Under the influence of medico-medicinal practice, the alchemical triad is modified into a "five": Paracelsus speaks of five basic substances, or "closest and natural principles": sulfur, mercury, salt, phlegm and a dead head. Phlegm and a dead head are gross substances of low spirituality. Hence, another definition of alchemy, as the art of separating the pure from the impure by dissolving mixtures. Paracelsus mixes, without dividing, Aristotle's elements-elements with elements-qualities, adding to them the fifth essence - the quintessence that determines healthy substances (= bodies). Making healing "arcanums" of specific medicinal substances correlated with body parts is the main technological pathos of his chemistry, while planetary-zodiacal fluids spiritualize the material world of "arcanums". In this connection, the idea of ​​"sympathetic affinity" of substances is being developed; an organochemical system is constructed, which provides for the effect on the affected parts of the body with the help of chemical agents. As an iatrochemist, Paracelsus develops a "chemical" theory of the functions of a living organism - in contrast to Galen, who treated with plant juices. The quintessence is to be found in Paracelsus as a miracle cure extracted from plants or mineral antimony, arsenic and mercury preparations. The transmutation of metals is relegated to the background.

Subsequently, the influence of the ideas of Paracelsus can be traced among the natural philosophers of the 17th and 18th centuries. (Ya.B. van Helmont, O. Takheniya and others), J. Boehme, German romantics (Schelling, Novalis).

V.L. Rabinovich

New Philosophical Encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol. III, N - S, p. 200.

Paracelsus (Paracelsus) (pseud.; Real name and surname. Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Gauguin-heim, von Hohenheim) (1493, Einsiedeln, canton Schwyz, - 24.9.1541, Salzburg), philosopher, naturalist, physician. The teachings of Paracelsus can be characterized as a kind of theosophical naturalism, formed under the influence of the Platonic-Pythagorean tradition and hermeticism. In the center of it is the concept of nature as a living whole, permeated by a single world soul (Gestirn - "star soul", the so-called astral body in occultism, not visible and not associated with any specific space, capable of influencing any other astral body, i.e. i.e. the magic principle of the soul). This concept of the world soul (spiritus mundi), acting as a universal agent in nature, merges with the concept of ether, or "the fifth essence" coming from Aristotle (see Quintessence), as well as the neo-Platonic concept of space - an intermediary between mind (cous) and matter. The parallelism of the microcosm and the macrocosm creates, according to Paracelsus, the possibility magical influence man to nature by secret means. A person's cognition of his soul is the way to comprehend nature and master its powers. Imagination, in contrast to fantasy, is the magical creation of an image as a real body of our thought, which Paracelsus understands precisely as a practically-volitional aspiration of the soul (in this he anticipates German idealism of the late 18th-19th centuries).

The main elements that make up the cosmic body for Paracelsus are earth, water, air and sky; besides them, Paracelsus recognized three principles: mercury (mercury), sulfur and salt - not as empirical substances, but as a special mode of action of bodies. Thus, mercury is an unchanging spirit (spiritus vitalis), which ensures the variability of all living things; sulfur produces the growth of all living things and, rather, corresponds to the concept of the soul; salt gives bodies strength, it is the basis of corporeality.

Since the whole nature of Paracelsus is inhabited by spirits and demons, the task of medicine is to restore the order disturbed by the invasion of an alien spirit, which in a healthy state is provided by Archaeus - the supreme vital spirit of every being; thus, the physician must heal the patient's body, soul, and spirit.

Paracelsus had a strong influence on J. Boehme, V. Weigel (1533-1588), physician, chemist and natural philosopher J. V. Helmont (senior) (1579-1644), F.M. Helmont (junior) (1614-1699) probably influenced Leibniz with his doctrine of monads ("spirits of life"). Some of the motives of the teachings of Paracelsus were developed by German romanticism (Schelling, Novalis), as well as by the philosophy of life (Klages).

Philosophical Encyclopedic Dictionary. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. Ch. edition: L. F. Ilyichev, P. N. Fedoseev, S. M. Kovalev, V. G. Panov. 1983.

Works: Sämtliche Werke, Bd 1-14, Munch. - B., 1922-36; Sämt-Ae Werke, Bd 1-4, Jena, 1926-32.

Literature: Proskuryakov V., P., M., 1935; Leven VG, The problem of matter in Theophrastus P., "FN", 1959, no. 3; Gundolf F., Paracelsus, B. 19282; Sudhoff K., Paracelsus, Lpz., 1936; V o g t Α., Th. Paracelsus als Arzt und Philosoph, Stuttg., 1956; Sudhoff K., Bibliographie Paracelslca, Gras, 1958; Weimann K.-H., Paracelsus-Bibliographie 1932-1960, Wiesbaden, 1960.

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Compositions:

The hermetic and alchemical writings, v. 1. Hermetic chemistry. L., 1894, in Russian. per: On occult philosophy. - In the book: Hermeticism. Magic. Natural philosophy in European culture of the 13-19th centuries. M., 1999, p. 130-167.

Literature:

Proskuryakov V. Paracelsus. M., 1935;

Rabinovich V.L. Alchemy as a Phenomenon of Medieval Culture. M., 1979;

Koire A. Mystics, spiritualists, alchemists of Germany in the 16th century. M., 1994;

Spunda F. Das Weltbild des Paracelsus. Wien, 1941.

His full name sounded like this - Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim Paracelsus. The nickname Aureol, which means "golden", and the name that went down in history - Paracelsus, that is, equal to Celsus, he invented himself. It was said about him that he could grow precious stones and pearls in retorts, make gold and the elixir of youth, travel through the air on a flying horse. It was said that an evil spirit was imprisoned in the hilt of his sword. Admirers called Paracelsus "a teacher whom God placed in an invisible school built in heaven", enemies called "a monstrous sorcerer, superstitious blasphemer, vile deceiver, drunkard and monster." He himself called himself a "holy doctor."

In the Swiss town of Einsiedeln on November 10, 1493, a boy was born in a modest house near the Devil's Bridge, owned by the von Hohenheim couple. Seeing her offspring, the child's mother was horrified: he was a hunchback, with a huge head and a tiny body. The baby was born at the hour when the sun stood in the sign of Scorpio, which means that, according to the horoscope, he was destined to become a doctor or alchemist. Therefore, the appropriate name was chosen for him - Theophrastus in honor of the famous disciple of Aristotle, the physician Theophrastus.

Theo's first trials

Theophrastus' father Wilhelm was the illegitimate son of a noble but impoverished family of von Hohenheims, known since the time of the Staufens. Their ancestral knight's castle was once located near Stuttgart, but was sold for debts. After moving to Einsiedeln, Wilhelm von Hohenheim married a local girl, Eliza Ochsner, who served in the church. Unlike her husband, a licentiate of medicine, the only doctor with an academic education in the entire district, a refined and melancholic person, she was a true Swiss - illiterate, rude and eccentric.

From his mother, Theo inherited a rather quarrelsome character and unbreakable stubbornness, from his father - unsociability. “I am not the kind of person who tells people only what they like,” wrote Paracelsus. - As a child, I was not given honey, dates and soft wheat bread were not fed. I drank milk and ate cheese and coarse bread. I am a rough person, born in a rough country, I grew up in pine forests and may have inherited their needles. "

... One morning, the six-year-old son of Dr. Hohenheim, as usual, went to graze geese. Wilhelm, sitting at the table, was surprised to hear his steps in the hallway, because Theo was only supposed to return in the evening. The boy, pale as chalk, staggered into the room with a staggering gait and immediately collapsed to the floor. Theo's clothes were splattered with blood. When he was undressed, his parents saw in horror that the boy had been castrated. Wilhelm managed to stop the bleeding. Many days later, when the fever finally subsided, the son told his parents that he had been mutilated by a drunken deserter passing by.

"Such a freak like you does not need it!" These words sounded in the boy's ears at night, and he woke up in a cold sweat ... When Theo was ten years old, his mother died and he and his father moved to the city of Villach in the Archduchy of Carinthia. Here the boy was to learn the basics of the art of healing. Dr. Hohenheim's extensive library, most of which consisted of treatises on medicine, and his harsh parenting methods have borne fruit. Subsequently, Theophrastus spoke with gratitude about his father, who had hammered into his son the basics of surgery, therapy and alchemy with a belt.

In search of a "sweetheart"

When the young man was 16 years old, Wilhelm was forced to admit that he could no longer teach his son, and Theophrastus got ready for the trip. He was overwhelmed by vain intentions: he would pay off his father's debts, glorify his name and conquer the world.

Taking the most precious thing: a huge sword, the family coat of arms of the Hohenheims, on which three black balls on a silver ray were depicted in a row and a motto, invented by him "May he not belong to anyone who can belong to himself", the young knight of the Lancet and Pill in 1509 year left Villach.

“It is known that a lover can go a long way to see the woman he adores. How much stronger is the craving of the lover for wisdom, which makes him wander in search of his divine beloved! " - he wrote.

His dream quest led him to the University of Ferrara. But when the defense of his doctoral dissertation was already close, the young man began to understand more and more clearly that he had found not what he was looking for. Despite the excruciating confusion in his soul, he still received his M.D. degree. The duty to his father was fulfilled, and the capricious "beloved" more and more persistently reminded of herself. So, we must go on the road again.

The first stop was at the famous Sigmund Fugger's silver mines laboratory in Tyrol. Fugger was known as an experienced alchemist - this is how people explained the origin of his unprecedented wealth. Whether the rich man told his student the secret of the philosopher's stone is unknown, but he could well reveal to the ward many secrets concerning metals and minerals.

From Tyrol, Theo goes to German universities. Then he migrates to France to visit the famous medical schools in Paris and Montpellier. From France, he went to the Iberian Peninsula - to Spain, from Spain to England, and then to the Netherlands, without stopping anywhere for a long time. His own record was two years spent in one place - in the city of Basel, where he taught medicine at a local university and at the same time served as a city doctor.

Theophrastus also participated in the Italian wars as a field doctor. But what he saw made him a convinced pacifist: in 1519 he deserted. Of course, he did not receive money for his service, but a sip of freedom is worth a lot! True, in 1520 Theophrastus was forced to join the army of the Danish king Christian II, who fought against Sweden. Together with his army, he traveled from the capital of Denmark to Stockholm, where he solemnly entered together with the victors. Then he continued his journey through the north of Germany to Lithuania, then Poland, visited Wallachia and Dalmatia, Italy.

Legend has it that from Poland he probably could have gone to Moscow. This may well be true, for there was no distance for him. “Knowledge is not limited to the limits of our own country,” he wrote, “it will not run after us. Those who stay at home live calmer and richer than those who wander. But I do not want either peace or wealth. Happiness is better than wealth, and happy is the one who travels without having anything to care for. " According to the records of his admirers, Paracelsus even traveled to the East. After leaving Moscow, he was allegedly captured by the Tatars and taken to the khan, who gave the wise prisoner life. Moreover, the khan entrusted Theophrastus to accompany his son to Istanbul. Here the Eastern adepts of the secret sciences revealed their teachings to him. It was rumored that in Turkey in 1521 he received the Philosopher's Stone under the guidance of a certain Solomon Trismozin. Some of Paracelsus's contemporaries claimed that he was carried even to Asia and Africa ...

War declared on ignorance

During the years of his wanderings, Paracelsus built his own philosophy. He firmly believed that a true doctor is not made by books and not stuffy lectures, but only by practical experience. The principles developed by Galen, Hippocrates and Avicenna, these three pillars of the medical art, are hopelessly outdated. Doctors do not know of any other remedies for the treatment of diseases, except for bloodletting and klystyra, with which they torture their patients. The art of medicine has become a senseless juggling of Latin words. “The best of our most famous doctors are the ones who do the least harm,” Paracelsus said. "These ignorant healers are the servants of hell, sent by the devil to mock the sick." It is clear that the words of a stranger could not get away with him. In addition, in the heat of discussions, Theophrastus began to get personal and call his opponents “pop-eyed rams”, “donkeys” and “cork oaks”, causing hostile rage in them. “I was expelled from Lithuania, then from Prussia and, finally, from Poland. I did not awaken sympathy for myself in the Netherlands, did not come to the court at the universities, no one liked me except my patients, ”Theophrastus recalled. On the way, he did not hesitate to talk with barbers, midwives, executioners, healers, astrologers - everyone who helped him find his "divine beloved." It was said that for five years he even roamed with the gypsies, wanting to learn the secrets of their medicinal plants.

This time Theophrastus decides to go to Strasbourg. On the way, he looked into Wildbad and Baden-Baden, becoming interested in the famous healing springs. (Later he will write a treatise about them.) In Baden-Baden, he cured Margrave Philip I of dysentery, who, having recovered, did not pay him a penny. This injustice infuriated Paracelsus. And he, hot on the trail of insult, even wrote his medical oath: "I swear never to heal noble nobles in their castles, as well as monks and nuns in their cells, if they do not pay me in advance." But if Theophrastus was chasing money, he would "sit behind the stove" in Villach, and not wander around the world.

Paracelsus made his first attempt to settle in Strasbourg, where in December 1526 he bought citizenship and entered the city medical workshop "Lantern", hoping to get a place at the university. Philip's treatment did not bring him money, but he added fame. There was no man on the Upper Rhine who had not heard of the wandering doctor who managed to cure the dying Margrave. The glory of Paracelsus reached the city of Basel. Therefore, he was invited to the local bookseller Froben, one of the most influential people in the city, who had long suffered from terrible pain in his leg. He was already being prepared for amputation when someone told him about the wonderful doctor, and Froben immediately sent a messenger to Strasbourg. Theophrastus put the bookseller on his feet in the shortest possible time. This time the grateful patient generously endowed Paracelsus.

Meanwhile, the hope for a professorship in Strasbourg remained hope. But then Paracelsus unexpectedly received an invitation from Basel to the post of city doctor and professor - Froben used all his influence to reward the savior at its true worth. The eternally persecuted wanderer could not even dream of such a gift. Without waiting for his entry into the rights of burghers, he left for Basel, where the best and most bitter days of his life passed.

Before leaving, he wrote: “I know that the monarchy of reason will belong to me, that the glory will be mine! I do not exalt myself, nature exalts me, for I follow her. Follow me, oh you, Avicenna, Galen and others! You follow me, not I follow you, because the monarchy belongs to me! "

But the professors of the University of Basel, unlike Froben, did not at all show kind feelings towards the miracle doctor. He was considered a charlatan, treating his patients with a mysterious medicine called Zenexton, the main ingredient of which was dried toad powder. These tablets with the imprint of a snake on one side and a scorpion on the other, he kept in the hilt of his sword.

However, the attacks of envious people did not prevent Paracelsus from easily passing the exams at the faculty, which gave the right to practice medicine. After that, Erasmus of Rotterdam himself, living in Basel, took him under his patronage. The great humanist sent a letter to Paracelsus, wishing to express gratitude for the healing of his close friend Froben, and at the same time to receive advice - Erasmus had long been tormented by a sick liver. Theophrastus saw his patient only once, but this was enough to make the correct diagnosis and make recommendations for treatment.

Meanwhile, time passed, and he was not allowed to lecture. The professors spread gossip about Theophrastus and told all sorts of horrors to his patients, hoping thereby to interfere with his practice. Theophrastus filed a complaint with the magistrate and, armed with patience, waited. “Anyone who thinks that all fruits ripen at the same time as strawberries know nothing about grapes,” he used to say.

Expectations were not in vain. In June 1527, he joined the lecturer department. The students were shocked - instead of the usual Latin, the doctor suddenly spoke in "the language of servants and maids", that is, in German! Another rumor immediately spread through the city: Paracelsus does not know Latin! This was followed by a new scandal. This time because of a certain midwife, Helen, whom Dr. Paracelsus referred to in one of his lectures. Avicenna, Galen, Hippocrates, you see, are not good enough for him to quote them, but the midwife is just right!

“Some books haven’t made anyone a doctor yet,” he broadcast from the height of the pulpit. - Medicine is an art that requires practice. Is it possible to become a great military leader by reading Libya? Starting to study my art, I imagined that there is not a single teacher in the world who can teach me, and that I must comprehend everything myself. I entered the temple of knowledge not through the front door, but through the door of nature. Its light, and not a pharmaceutical lantern, illuminated my path. " He told the audience that he would not allow them to sit in his pants in the lecture hall, and began to take students to hospitals. Together with them, he took walks out of town, where he talked about the medicinal properties of plants and minerals. The enemies of Paracelsus decided to persuade the students to boycott his lectures, but this plan failed - after hearing that Paracelsus was in Basel, schoolchildren and students from German universities began to flock to the city in droves. So the lecture hall was always full. Finally, he had listeners, assistants and a stable income. It would seem that the time has come to calm down and rest on our laurels. But that same summer, Paracelsus again made the whole city talk about himself. On the night of Ivan Kupala, when fires were traditionally lit everywhere to get rid of evil spirits, Paracelsus made a fire in the courtyard of the university, in which he burned the works of Galen and Avicenna. It was already an open challenge.

Roads without end

The star of success and fortune of Paracelsus, which brought him to Basel, went out very quickly. Misfortune fell on his head as soon as Froben died. The magistrate began to get bored with this quarrelsome person. All the city pharmacists took up arms against the doctor: Paracelsus, as the chief city doctor, proposed a reform of the pharmaceutical business, which consists in the fact that "no pharmacist should communicate with doctors, receive gifts from them and do not share with them."

He soon lost his friend and beloved student Johann Oporin. This was the only person for whom Theophrastus felt a feeling similar to sympathy. However, this did not prevent him from cruelly treating the young man. In addition, Paracelsus was very reluctant to share his secrets with anyone, even with like-minded people.

The last straw was the scandal with Canon Cornelius von Lichtenfels. The canon hated the upstart doctor, but, seriously ill, called him to his bed - the fear of death overpowered hatred. He tearfully begged Theophrastus to save him, promising to fabulously thank him. Paracelsus quickly put the canon on his feet. And he paid him ... only 6 guilders. This was already outright mockery. Paracelsus sued Lichtenfels, but his claim was denied. In anger, Theophrastus wrote a letter to the members of the city council, in which in the most obscene terms he accused them of all mortal sins. But, realizing that he had gone too far, he threw away the letter and composed another letter, where he asked for justice and begged to initiate proceedings against the greedy canon. Oporin found the teacher's first letter and decided to take revenge on him for undeserved insults.

The magistrate, having received a compromising document, signed papers for the arrest of Theophrastus von Hohenheim. Warned in time by people sympathetic to him, Paracelsus fled from Basel without belongings and manuscripts. He had no choice but to write a letter to Oporin, demanding to bring him his belongings, which he did. One can only guess what their meeting was like. Subsequently, Oporin repented of what he had done. “I didn’t understand that he was such a learned man,” he said. After Oporin's betrayal, Paracelsus had many more students, but with all of them he was equally cold and taciturn.

… Paracelsus is again called by the road. He is followed by a crowd of students - a rather motley company. Among them were barbers and bathhouse attendants, fugitive monks and people persecuted by law. Most of them joined Paracelsus, driven by the desire to find out from him the secret of zenexton and the philosopher's stone. When they realized that Theophrastus was not going to reveal his secrets, they immediately disappeared without a trace, not having time to learn anything from him. Then - they declared themselves followers of Paracelsus and fooled the unfortunate patients, thereby denigrating the name of the doctor.

After the Basel history, Paracelsus lived in Colmar for about six months, trying to recover. Here he resumed his practice and soon became famous in the town and its surroundings. In the second half of 1528, he, suddenly feeling lonely, which had never happened to him before, moved to Esslingen, where his relatives lived. Here, in one of the rooms of their house, Theophrastus set up a laboratory and disappeared there all day, not allowing anyone there. The gullible burghers imagined that he was making gold there, that he was fabulously rich and that his stay in Esslingen could enrich the inhabitants of the town. They began to find out from their relatives information about Theophrastus' studies. But as soon as it became clear that in the laboratory he was not at all engaged in the manufacture of gold, but in some "senseless" experiments, the whole city immediately declared a boycott to him. In the end, even his relatives turned their backs on Theophrastus, and he was forced to move further along Swabia and Franconia.

He is not allowed to engage in scientific research, he is forbidden to speak from the pulpit! Do not take knowledge to the grave. And he decides to publish his works. Paracelsus writes a lot: on the edge of a table in a tavern or in a haystack by the road. Carried away, he does not undress for weeks and does not take off his traveling boots. He could sleep for three to four hours and pick up the pen again.

At Nuremberg, he submitted the manuscripts for the approval of the censorship board and received permission to publish his works. The first were two books on the treatment of syphilis. In them, the author did not engage in useless moralizing, did not reproach patients with debauchery, like most doctors, but gave recommendations on how to alleviate suffering. And all would be fine if at the end of the treatise Paracelsus had not called all the doctors who recommend to their patients the newfangled treatment with the guaiac tree, "cork oaks." And he had reasons for that. He carried out a number of experiments and realized that putting pieces of this exotic tree on abscesses and chancres is like smearing them with butter.

Inspired by his successes, Theophrastus left Nuremberg. However, he was soon overtaken by a notice from the Nuremberg magistrate about the termination of the publication of his works. Suppliers of guaiac wood felt their welfare was at stake and pressured the city government. Theophrastus, not wanting to give up, sent a letter to Nuremberg asking for the cancellation of the decision. The answer was silence. This means that he has nothing left but medical practice.

Belated recognition

The beginning of 1531 finds him in St. Gallen. The burgomaster of the city of Studer had been bedridden with a serious illness for a long time. Theophrastus was his last hope. In the house of the burgomaster, Paracelsus was initially treated with distrust, he did not at all look like important doctors. Moreover, the eccentric doctor was extremely untidy, he never washed his clothes, preferring to just buy a new one when the old one became completely unusable. And so this tramp settled in the house of the Studers. And the burgomaster quickly recovered. The homely atmosphere of the burgomaster's family had a positive effect on Paracelsus as well.

Theophrastus stayed in St. Gallen for 27 weeks. Inspiration returned to him again, and he wrote for hours in the room allotted to him. We can say that it is to the Studer family that the world owes the birth of two treatises: "Paramirum" on stone-forming diseases and "On invisible diseases" (on mental ailments). In St. Gallen, Paracelsus became friends with Studer's son-in-law, Bartolome Shovinger, which was rather strange: fearing betrayal, he found it difficult to get along with people, and it was not possible to get him to talk at all. But Shovinger found the key to him. He was a great admirer of the secret sciences and collected a whole library on this topic. After Paracelsus left the city, the burgomaster's son-in-law suddenly became fabulously rich - it was rumored that the doctor had revealed to him the "recipe" for the philosopher's stone.

In 1532-1534 the doctor lives in Appenzell and unexpectedly falls into deep depression: he is already forty-one years old, and he still wanders around the cities and villages. “I felt like I was chained, I could hardly bear the pressure and sorrow,” - this is how he recalled this period of his life. Where did the "divine beloved" take him? Disappointed in life, Theophrastus decided to leave the world. He wanted to become a preacher and go to mountain villages to instruct the peasants on the right path. In the spring of 1534, all ragged and tanned by his daughter, he appeared in Innsbruck. He did not become a preacher, and the "hermit of Appenzels" returned to the world again. What the doctor gave to his flock was not even enough for food. And he decided to resume his practice. But the burgomaster forbade Theophrastus to stay in the city. “He saw doctors in silk dresses, not rags. In a word, I was not well-dressed enough in this neat little town, ”he recalled bitterly.

In a fit of despair, he went to Sterzing, seized by the plague. For many days, at the risk of getting sick, he fought with the "toothless old woman", pulling the sick from the other world, but even here he did not deserve gratitude.

In 1536, the stars in the firmament apparently changed their position, and the circle of failures of Dr. Paracelsus finally opened. The Nuremberg ban on his publications ended. In the same year, in Augsburg, a book was published called "Big Surgery".

When messengers arrived from Johann von Leipnik, Marshal of Bohemia, he was living in Eferdingen. Like many of the patients Paracelsus brought back to life, von Laipnik had been ill for a long time. Doctors can no longer help the half-paralyzed, dropsy marshal. Sometimes they give him opium to numb the pain. In the castle of Marisch-Kromau, Paracelsus lived until the marshal began to get out of bed. He spent all his free time with pen and paper.

After the release of "Big Surgery" and the successful treatment of von Laypnik, the conspiracy of silence that had formed around the wandering doctor many years ago was overcome. He was given a gala reception at the knight's castle, which was attended by the entire top of the city of Pressburg. In Vienna, King Ferdinand of Austria honors him twice.

From 1539 to 1541 he was constantly on the road. Artists paint his portraits. The doctor, as a winner, travels around the cities of Germany - Munich, Breslav, Gretz, Salzburg ... But his health is irreparably undermined. Years of wandering, long sleepless nights and the experiments that Paracelsus often conducted on himself, did their job.

On September 25, 1541, the city notary and seven witnesses were summoned to the White Horse Hotel in Salzburg, which stood on the embankment - Paracelsus wanted to declare his last will ... Three days later, the great doctor departed into another world as a good Christian. Before his death, he asked to celebrate a funeral mass for him and to distribute money to the poor. The doctor met his end without fear or regret. "Death is nothing more than just the end of the day's work, the disappearance of air, the weathering of the balm, the extinguishing of the light," he wrote shortly before his death.

With all appropriate pomp, the body of the doctor was interred in the Salzburg cemetery of St. Sebastian.

And in 1831, Doctor Theophrastus became a saint! At this time, a powerful wave of cholera swept across Europe. People from all over the area flocked to Salzburg, to his grave and prayed for a miracle. And, surprisingly, cholera did not touch Salzburg, Carinthia and Tyrol.

After the death of Paracelsus, his books began to be published in huge editions. In 1941, in the homeland of the doctor in Einsiedeln, the Swiss Society of Paracelsus was founded, in the creation of which Carl Gustav Jung also took part. And in Villach the "Ring of Paracelsus" is still considered the highest award for a scientist.

The name of the Swiss healer, alchemist, philosopher and naturalist is known to many. But not everyone knows who Paracelsus is and what exactly he became famous for. In this article, we will tell you about the biography of this doctor, what exactly he won worldwide fame.

Paracelsus in his youth

The famous scientist was born on September 21, 1493 near Zurich in the small village of Einsiedeln. His full name was Philip Avreol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim in honor of Theophastus, who was a pupil of Aristotle. The alchemist's mother worked as a nurse, and his father was a practicing physician. Phillip's family was of noble origin, but the financial and material situation left much to be desired.

From an early age, Father Wilhelm instilled in the boy to science and medicine. It was Wilhelm who had a strong influence on the formation of the future alchemist, teaching his son medical sciences, including surgery, chemistry, biology, and philosophy.

Since there was a fairly rich library with many useful books in the house, by the age of 16, Philip had mastered all the necessary basics of anatomy and therapy, after which he entered the University of Basel.

Healer's studies and education

After studying at the university, while in Würzburg, Paracelsus studied and studied alchemy, the basics of astrology under the guidance of Abbot I. Tretemy. Accumulating more and more new knowledge, comprehending all the subtleties of physics and chemistry, von Hohenheim graduated from the University of Ferrara in Italy in 1515, and then he received a doctorate in medical sciences. But in the opinion of the doctor himself, all the knowledge already available at that time was not enough for him, and already in 1517 the doctor began a journey through a number of countries. The purpose of such a journey was a deep study and improvement of skills and knowledge of magic, physics and anatomy.

More than ten years have passed since the beginning of the wanderings of Doctor Paracelsus, as he managed to visit almost all corners of European countries and their most famous universities, and also took part in hostilities as a field medic.

In addition to higher educational institutions, as well as scientists and doctors, communication with healers, gypsies, folk healers, as well as executioners became a very significant and significant contribution to enriching knowledge for the doctor. He also did not hesitate to meet with witches or witches. This allowed the scientist to create and collect a unique collection of recipes, since other doctors did not resort to such methods of knowledge as the alchemist.

One such example was a book that collected the description and treatment of diseases in women. It was thanks to witches and witches that the scientist managed to find out all the secrets and secrets of the female body. Since at that time other doctors and doctors did not practice communication with healers, the book of Paracelsus was unique. But despite this, many critics spoke negatively about Philip, considering his connections with sorcerers not a serious approach to the study of medical business.

Doctor's medical practice

Wandering around the world ended only in 1526, when Paracelsus returned to Strasbourg and continued his career as a doctor. A year later, after he moved to Basel, they started talking about him as an experienced good doctor, because he put several seriously ill people on their feet. After that, he began his teaching activities at the university.

After receiving the position of professor, the alchemist began to innovate the practice of teaching. He began to teach classes in German, and in lectures he taught students everything that he had comprehended and studied on his own, adding to the theoretical material his knowledge collected during his wanderings.

Such zeal for the educational process and innovation greatly annoyed colleagues and the leadership of the scientist. Constant conflicts have led to the fact that the doctor once again goes around the world - to Colmar. Due to sharp contradictions in the field of anatomy and biology, the professor could not always find a common language with colleagues, so he rarely lingered in places along the way of his wanderings.

Despite the constant travels, practicing medicine, he always found time for self-development, wrote articles and books on philosophy, alchemy, botany, astrology, and was engaged in pharmacological research. He undertook the treatment of the most serious diseases, when others shrugged their shoulders, to the wonder of everyone, the scientist cured the sick. This very often angered local doctors, which led to further relocations of the famous alchemist.

More than once the Inquisition hunted him, considering his remedies to be unacceptable from a religious point of view.

After many years of diligence and diligence, the book "Big Surgery" was finally published, which quickly spread among doctors and scientists. Many doctors began to respect von Hohenheim, perceiving him not as a wanderer, but as an experienced practitioner.

Recent years: how did Paracelsus die?

Only in the late 1530s, the doctor settled on the outskirts of Salzburg, as a place of permanent residence. Fortunately, the city archbishop constantly stood up for the professor, not letting evil rumors about him spread throughout the city. Dr. Paracelsus immersed himself in scientific work, engaged in research, experiments, and also the treatment of patients.

During his wanderings across the continents, the alchemist's health deteriorated noticeably. The exact disease and diagnosis could not be established. Self-medication did not give positive results and on September 24, 1541, the doctor died. But still there are legends about possible murder great guru.

Video with opinion about Dr. Paracelsus

In this video, the eccentric Russian businessman German Sterligov will express his opinion about the healer Paracelsus: