Paracelsus

Paracelsus (Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) (1493–1541)

Paracelsus (pseudonym of Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim) was an itinerant Swiss surgeon and physician who formulated a new philosophy of medicine based on a combination of chemistry, Neoplatonism and the occult, all within a Christian framework. His works, usually in German rather than Latin, were mostly published after his death. His importance for medical practice lay in his insistence on observation and experiment, and his use of chemical methods for preparing drugs. He rejected Galen’s explanation of disease as an imbalance of humours, along with the traditional doctrine of the four elements. He saw the human being as a microcosm that reflected the structure and elements of the macrocosm, thus presenting a unified view of human beings and a universe in which everything was interconnected and full of vital powers. Paracelsian chemical medicine was very popular in the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, largely due to its presentation as part of a general theory.

1 Life and works

Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (sometimes given the additional names Philippus Aureolus) was born in Einsiedeln, a small Swiss town near Zürich. His pseudonym, Paracelsus, first recorded in 1529, may mean ‘greater than Celsus’ (a Roman medical writer). When his father, a medical doctor interested in alchemy, moved to Villach in Austria in 1502, Paracelsus came into contact with mining technology and the study of metals. He worked as an apprentice in the mines near Schwaz, but otherwise little is known of his education. He may have studied with Johannes Trithemius (1462–1516), author of many works on magic. He probably studied medicine at the University of Ferrara (1513–16), though there is no documentary evidence that he received a degree. Although medical training had a practical component, the focus was academic, involving study of standard Latin translations of Hippocrates (see Hippocratic medicine), Galen and Avicenna (see Galen; Ibn Sina). He then worked as an army surgeon during his travels across Europe from 1517 to 1524. Surgery was primarily a practical discipline, and much of the surgical literature was in the vernacular. The relationship between academically trained physicians and surgeons was an uneasy one, and Paracelsus persistently complained that he was recognized as a surgeon, not as a physician. From 1524 to 1525 Paracelsus was in Salzburg, but had to leave in a hurry, possibly because of involvement in a peasant rebellion. Subsequently he visited a number of spas, and developed an interest in the minerals found in spa waters. In 1526 he was in Strasbourg where he made some useful contacts leading to his appointment (March 1527) as municipal physician in Basle. This post carried with it the right to lecture, and led to a major clash with the university, which had not been consulted. Paracelsus announced that he was not going to teach the works of Hippocrates and Galen, and he burned the Canon of Avicenna in public. Furthermore, he gave his lectures in Swiss-German, not Latin. After verbally attacking a magistrate for not giving him full support in a case he brought for non-payment of fees (a frequent problem), he was forced to flee from Basle early in 1528. He now began a second set of journeys in Switzerland, Austria, Bohemia and Southern Germany, which are much better documented than his earlier journeys. In 1529, he visited Nuremberg where he studied and wrote on syphilis. He gave a very accurate description of the disease, but his recommendations for treatment were highly controversial. In 1533 he spent time in the mining areas of Appenzell, studying the diseases of miners, and giving the first written account of an occupational disease. He also continued his studies of spa waters. He claimed that he effected many marvellous medical cures, but seems never to have had much financial success. He was invited to Salzburg by the bishop, but died there in 1541, leaving few possessions.

Paracelsus was a prolific writer, though few of his works were published during his lifetime. Those that were, tended to be about prophecy and astrological forecasts. A few works require special mention. In his Paragranum (1529–30), he argued that medicine should be based on the four pillars of natural philosophy, astronomy, alchemy and virtue, by which he meant the individual powers of doctors, patients, herbs and metals. In his Volumen medicinae paramirum (c.1520) and his Opus paramirum (1531) he discussed basic medical doctrines. His main work on surgery, Grosse Wundarznei, was written in 1536 and printed immediately. His greatest and most comprehensive work, Astronomia Magna, was written 1537–8 and published in 1571. The first collected edition of his works dates from 1589–91, and was followed by other editions and by Latin translations. His works were widely diffused during the seventeenth century.

2 Microcosm and macrocosm

Paracelsus attacked medical orthodoxy in the name of Christian philosophy. He set out to find a new basis for medicine, and indeed for the study of the whole human being, by reverting to the ancient wisdom of Neoplatonism, enriched by elements from Hermeticism (or Hermetism), alchemy, astrology and magic. His favourite contemporary source was Marsilio Ficino (§2). He presented the resulting mixture in a biblical framework, emphasizing the necessity of Christian faith for those who sought the power of controlling natural forces, especially in healing the sick. He also emphasized the old doctrine of the two Books, the Book of Nature and the Book of Revelation (namely, the Bible), from both of which humans must learn to read.

Paracelsus’ central doctrine concerned the relationship between the greater world, the macrocosm, and the lesser world, the microcosm, or human being. The elements making up the human being are those found in the macrocosm, and their structural relations are the same. In particular, the human reflects physical reality through the corporeal body which is perishable, living or spiritual reality through the astral body which gives life but is also perishable, and purely spiritual reality through the immortal soul which will take on an eternal body. Conversely, just as the human being is alive, so the macrocosm is permeated by life, and even metals grow. Furthermore, the entire universe is characterized by an elaborate series of correspondences. Plants and minerals contain powers or virtues which capture those of celestial bodies, and these powers in turn relate to states of the human body.

These doctrines have both epistemological and practical implications. Because the human being reflects the macrocosm, knowledge of external objects can be reached through knowledge of internal states and relations, particularly those involving the astral body. Knowledge is also bound up with power. Although human beings are endowed with wisdom, and hence are not governed by the stars, knowledge of the stars is particularly important in practice. Astrology enables us to know the powers, relations and influences of celestial bodies, and natural magic shows us how to control them.

Paracelsus’ natural philosophy included a new doctrine of elements. He rejected the traditional four elements of earth, air, fire and water, accepting them only as visible composites. In their place he proposed sulphur and mercury, both found in Arabic alchemical sources, and salt, which he added himself. These elements should not be confused with the composites we normally call sulphur, salt and mercury. As an element, sulphur represents a principle of organization, mercury a principle of activity, and salt a principle directing matter towards a solid state. Nor should they be thought of as basic particles, for they have different qualities in different objects.

3 Medicine and chemistry

Paracelsus’ rejection of the traditional four elements had a direct effect on his medical theory. Traditional medicine explained illness in terms of the four humours or bodily fluids to which the four elements gave rise: blood, phlegm, choler (or red or yellow bile) and black bile (or melancholy). Illness was taken to be a lack of balance between the four humours, a balance restored through diet and herbal medicine. Emotions, too, were linked to the four humours, and people were sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric or melancholic according to which humour predominated. These internal, mechanistic explanations were dismissed by Paracelsus. For him, diseases are distinct from one another, and are often related to chemical imbalances in specific organs that result from an interaction with external agents. These agents could be minerals, or they could be ‘astral poisons’ transmitted by the air. Astral influences were particularly important in explaining mental illness. Diseases are combated through the plants and metals whose ‘signatures’ show them to have the appropriate virtues or powers. There is always a precise correspondence between a disease and its antidote (see Medicine, philosophy of; Hippocratic medicine).

Paracelsus brought his practical experience to bear on the problem of treating diseases. Through his studies of alchemy and mining he had learned much about metals, and metallurgical techniques. He developed new laboratory methods, such as the concentration of alcohol by freezing. He used chemical techniques to derive extracts from traditional herbs, but more importantly he employed such substances as mercury, arsenic and antinomy in his treatments. Unfortunately, while his observations of diseases were remarkably exact, it is unlikely that his ability to cure them surpassed that of traditional practitioners.

Paracelsus’ real achievement was his unified approach to chemistry which brought together alchemical, metallurgical and pharmaceutical techniques. Indeed, he came to see the whole world and its creation in terms of chemical transformation and separation.

4 Influence

From the 1550s onwards, as his works were edited and translated, Paracelsus’ reputation began to grow. Paracelsian doctors were appointed to various European courts. Van Helmont was influenced by him, and Newton possessed a major edition of his works. At the same time, his philosophy was attacked by such figures as Mersenne and Gassendi, and there were disputes, often complex and bitter, between Galenists and Paracelsians in faculties of medicine.

Paracelsianism is particularly significant for the history of modern science. In the words of Charles Webster, ‘the first major confrontation of the Scientific Revolution was between Paracelsus and Galen, rather than between Copernicus and Ptolemy’ (1982: 3–4). The reasons for Paracelsus’ popularity had to do with his presentation of a mystical, vitalistic philosophy of nature within a Christian framework. The continued attention paid to Paracelsus, and to Neoplatonism and the occult in general, show that a non-mechanistic, non-quantitative, non-mathematical approach still made sense, even to those who, like Newton, were responsible for advances in the new science.