The name ‘Paracelsus’ itself is a mystery. A Swiss-German chemist, born in 1493 had an unusually long name-Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. In 1507, he embarked on a journey to become a physician and in this process he rejected all the then available medical texts. By 1526, he had travelled across most parts of Europe in search of new knowledge. When he started writing his observations and philosophies, he chose a short name for himself. This pseudonym was Paracelsus, which means ‘beyond Celsus’. Celsus was a celebrated roman philosopher in 1st century AD. Fifteen centuries later, another philosopher had an audacity to name himself as “Paracelsus”. This audacity indeed had a basis.
Rejection of the old knowledge
Paracelsus was living in fascinating times. In 1440 Gutenberg had invented printing press, and as a result it became easier to transmit knowledge. By 1499 Christopher Columbus had discovered the new world, and Leonardo Da Vinci (1452–1519), Raffaello (1483–1520) and Michelangelo (1475–1564) invented new architecture, painting and sculpture styles. Against all odds, Martin Luther (1483-1546) was reforming the church. So in 1524, when Paracelsus expressed his frustration with the prevalent medical knowledge, he was heard. A period of reformation (or renascence) had begun.
He rejected the then available medical texts – Avicenna’s Cannon of Medicine, and various other ancient Greek and Roman medicines. To demonstrate his stance, and inspired by Martin Luther, he also publicly burned it’s copies. Further, he wrote his observations about healing, that were quite different from these traditional texts. While, he was famous, as his treatments were successful, yet he was not accepted by other physicians. As a result, he moved across various cities in Europe in his lifetime.
How did he acquire new knowledge
Paracelsus had his early informal training in chemistry. He closely observed and learned how metal-salts were transformed from one type to another. This field of “alchemy” helped him find some notable cures – such as use of mercury for syphillis. He was also the first to describe that miners-disease (that affects miners lungs), was because of silica dust. As he brought chemistry to medicine, he also used many new compounds such as antimony, zinc, opium tinctures etc to cure diseases.
He was also a wanderer. After completing his initial medical qualification in 1507, he wandered across Europe for next seventeen years. During this time, he closely worked with healthcare providers who were marginalised. His experiences grew from those of barber-surgeons, executioners, midwives, gypsies and fortune-tellers. In 1524, when he was 33 years of age, he started his medical practice. He earned fame through his miraculous cures. In the same year, he was appointed as a lecturer in University of Basel.
Fame follows after his death
While Paracelsus died in 1541, most of his texts, quotes and writings were published after his death. Given his extensive use and study of chemicals for health, we also know him as “father of toxicology”. His contributions to practice of medicine were quite different from others. It was almost like magic in medicine. His concept of one remedy for one disease, changed the way diseases were treated before him. History considers him and his writings as a beginning of new thought in medical sciences. Medical science also had its renascence. A famous medical quote, we often use comes from Paracelsus:
“Medicine is not only a science; it is also an art, It does not consist of compounding pills and plasters, it deals with the very processes of life, which must be understood before they may be guided.”
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