Pagel - Paracelsus | An Introduction to Philosophical Medicine in the Era of the Renaissance (Karger, 1984)

WALTER PAGEL

PARACELSUS An Introduction to Philosophical Medi('ine in the Era of the Renaissance 2nd, revised edition

PARACELSUS

WALTER P_AGEL

PARACELSUS An Introduction to Philosophical Medicine in the Era of the Renaissance 2nd, revised edition

Basel· Miinchen ·Paris· London· New York· Tokyo· Sydney· 1982

Table of Contents Preface . . . . . . . .

National Library of Medicine, Cataloging in Publication Pagel, Walter, 1898Paracelsns, an introduction to philosophical medicine in the era of the Renaissance/Walter Pagel. - 2nd, rev. ed. Basel; New York: Karger, 1982 1. Philosophy, Medical - biography 2. Paracelsns, 1493-1S41 WZ 100 P221PR ISBN 3-80SS-3Sl8-X

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Copyright 1982 by S. Karger AG, P.O. Box, CH-4009 Basel (Switzerland) Printed in Switzerland by Buchdruckerei Gasser & Cie Aktiengesellschaft, Basel ISBN 3-80SS-3Sl8-X

XI

General Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I

The individual "Savant" and his "World" as the focal point of the investigation . Paracelsus: Interdependence and fusion of the scientific and non-scientific elements

2 3

The Life of Paracelsus

S

Name, birth and family . . Formative years . . . . . Early journeys (1Sl7-IS24) Attempts at settling down. Reasons for frustration . Relationship between medicine and surgery (a) Salzburg. . . . . . . . . (b) Strassburg . . . . . . . . The reformers at Strassburg (c) Basie . . . . . . . . . . The second set of journeys. . . . . (a) Colmar, Esslingen, Nuremberg. The work on Syphilis (b) Beratzhausen and the "Paragranum" . . • . . . . (c) St. Gall and the "Opus Paramirum" . . . . . ; • (d) Appenzell, Innsbruck, Sterzing. "On the miners' disease" (e) Meran, St. Moritz, Pfiifers and the foundation of Balneology (f) Augsburg and the "Great Surgery" • . . . (g) Bavaria and Bohemia. "Philosophia Sagax:" . . . . . . (h) Pressburg and Vienna . . • • . . . . . . . . • . . . (i) Carinthia. The "Klimtner Trilogie". The End at Salzburg Johannes Oporinus and his pen portrait of Paracelsus . . . . . The Literary Remains. Short notes on the Bibliography of Paracelsus Paracelsus as a figure of the Renaissance and Humanism • . . . . . Paracelsus as a religious and social thinker and preacher. Paracelsus in the Era of the Reformation. Sebastian Franck and Paracelsus . . • . • . . . . • . . . . Paracelsus and popular criticism of Doctor and Patient in the Pre-Reformation Era. The "Narragonian" sermons . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

s 8 13 14 IS 17 18 18 19 22 23 24 2S 2S 26 26 27 27 27 29 31 3S

40 44

The Philosophy of Paracelsus

so

Paracelsus' general system of correspondences and the position of scientific elements therein. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . • . . . . . . . . . Paracelsns' approach to Nature. Empirical search for the divine seals in nature. God and Nature . . . . . . . . • . . • . . . The uncreated virtues and the created objects . . . • . . . . . . . . .

S3 S4 S4

so

VI

Table of Contents

The futility of snperstitious practices and the Devil . . . . . . . . . . . The."True Signs" as revealed to research into Nature . . . . . . . . . . Experience (" Erfahrung ") versus pseudo-knowledge based on reasoning (" Logica ") . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Censure of Aristotle and Avicenna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Theory of Knowledge. "Experientia" and "Scientia" through identification of the mind with the internal "knowledge" possessed by natural objects in attaining their specific aims. "Ablauschen" (overhearing) of this "knowledge" which is immanent in the objects of research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Union with the object as the ultimate aim of the naturalist ("philosopher") and physician . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Derived" as against "inborn" knowledge of the elements. Man and the "Sagani" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Magia Naturalis: Its religious background; its protoscientific significance; its purport in medicine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The analogies between Macrocosm and Microcosm and the role of the Stars: Astrology and" Astrosophy" Man as microcosm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Limitations of astral "powers". . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cosmis correspondences as against astral influx (inclination) as the power conferring specificity and destination . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correspondences between the astral firmament and parts of the hnman organism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correspondences between the Astrum and the Seat of Disease . . . . . . . Astral concordance is the power of remedies which it directs to the diseased organ . . . . . . . . . . . · · . · · · · · Celestial bodies and wounds . . . . . . . . . . Inconsistencies in the doctrine of correspondences Paracelsus' conception of Time . . . . . . . . . . The ancient conceptions of Time. "Empty" numerical (astronomical) time as against "qualified" time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus and the astronomical notion of Time.· I ts "qualification" . . . . Qualitative determination of Time. Time as determined by changing events and "Astra" as the vector of specificity Time, qualitatively determined, and Medicine . . Biological ideas in Paracelsus' conception of Time Biological time and the "Astra" . . . . . . Theological aspects of Time . . . . . . . . . . The "Elements" and the "Three Principles" (Sulphur, Salt and Mercury): General considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The "Elements" . . . . . . . . . . . . Earth and Water as "Mothers". Their offspring. Earth, the "Mother" of man. . . . . . . Water the matrix most productive of natural objects The role of water and earth in the composition of natural objects Water as the main substance ("flesh") of plants . . . . . . . . Water as the common virtue in the ground(" earth"), forming the raw material of objects - without accounting for specificity . . . The "Predestined Element" and "Quinta Essentia" . . . . . . . . . . . Sulphur, Salt and Mercury. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Macro-Microcosm theory in conflict with the concept of specificity. The astral origin of specificity. Archens and Iliaster . The Archeus. Vulcan. The Iliaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Table of Contents

SS S6 S6 58

S9

60 61 62

6S 6S 66 67 67 68 69 71 71

72 72 73 74 75 77

80 80 82 89 9S 96 96 97 97 97 98 100 104 lOS

VII 106 107 107 108

The Archens as the principle resident in the stomach . . . . . . . . . The role of the Archeus in disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Archeus as the individualising principle in the elemental "Matrix". Archeus and Monads. The Archei in organs . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archei in external objects and inside man. Their correspondence and Interaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . · . . . . . . . . The Physician himself an Archens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Archeus acting by "Imagination", "Magia" and astral forces lliaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prime, intermediate and ultimate matter The Cagastrum. . . . . . . ·; Generation and pntrefaction Life, soul, spirit, astral body and air The astral body . . . . . . . The Power of Imagination Imagination, semen and contagium

109 109 111 112 112 113 llS 117 120 121 123

Medicine

126

Introduction. Paracelsus' Fame as based on his development of chemical therapy. Ancient Medicine and Paracelsus opposition to it in general terms. . . . . . . . The "Elements", "Matrices" and the "Tria Prima" ("Salt", "Sulphur" and "Mercury") . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Iliadus. Diseases as "Fruits" of the human "Iliadns" . Motivation of Paracelsns' opposition to Hnmoralism . . . The action of Mercury, Sulphur and Salt in causing disease Man as a Mine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Localisation of Disease. Its local "Seats and Causes" . . . . . Chemical Considerations: The "Salia" and their "Anatomy" ( "Anatomia Elementata ") . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Microcosmic Theory and Organic Pathology . . . . . . . . · The "ontological" view of Disease (" Anatomia Essata ") The "Oportet" and Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aetiology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . The "seeds" of Disease. Air as the Vector of the Disease Agent. The M. M. (Mysterium Magnum). The role of Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "Ens Substantiae" - "Poison" - versus complexion (i.e. humours and qualities) as inducing Disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aetiological and Specific Therapy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The invention of remedies through a study of the cosmos . . . . . . . . . Specificity in the relationship between the organ (seat of disease), the disease and its remedy . . . . . . . . . . . The Principle of Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . "Poison" as a remedy - Mercury its prototype The homoeopathic principle . . . . . . . . . Minerals as "homoeopathic" agents cansing and curing the same disease The homoeopathic principle as a consequence of the "Anatomy" of the Arcanum . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . · . · · · · The Treatment of Wounds. Its golden precepts in close proximity to superstitions injunctions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The "Signatures" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disease and the Stars. The "Animal in man" and Lunacy. The Psychiatry of Paracelsus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

126 129 130 131 133 134 134 134 137 137 139 140 140 141 141 143 143 144 14S 146 147 147 148 148 150

VIII

Table of Contents

Special Pathological Theories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diseases due to "Tartar" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Localism and Specificity as based on Paracelsus' concept of digestion and "Tartarus" formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . Tartar of the various organs. I ts volatility (like "alcohol"). The nutritive centre of an organ; its "stomach". . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . Summary of the Pathology of Paracelsus as emanating from the concept of Tartar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix. New ideas in the physiology of gastric digestion and the excretion of albumen in the urine as associated with "Tartarus" . . . . . Van Belmont's criticism of the Doctrine of Tartar. . . . . . . • • . . Paracelsus' version of the ancient Doctrine of "Catarrh" and the Causes of Epilepsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Traces of catarrh theory in Paracelsus' chemical and symbolistic specu· lations on Epilepsy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Spirit of Life as the" ascendant" causing Epilepsy . . . . . . . . Survey of Paracelsus' Ideas on Epilepsy in the light of Ancient and XVII th Century Pathology (Localism versus Catarrh) . . . . . . . . . . . . "Obstruction" as a primary and local change causing Disease. Its divorce from" catarrh" and its role as a further germ cell of" Localism". . . . . Paracelsus on Plague. The Influence of Ficino. Traditional Plague Theories and Paracelsus' "Anthropocentric" Doctrine. Its further Development in Van Belmont's" Tomb of the Plague" . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . Traces of a suggested quantitative and chemical analysis of urine to replace mediaeval uroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mediaeval uroscopy . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . • . Paracelsus' demand for a chemical examination of urine. Chemical "uroscopy" and "dissection" ("Anatomy") of urine by Paracelsists. Assessment of the specific gravity of urine by Van Belmont. Thurneisser zum Thurn's "Probierung der Harnen" James Hart's criticism of chemical uroscopy . . . . . . . Van Belmont's criticism of chemical uroscopy . . . . . . . Progressive aspects of Paracelsus in Medicine and their limitations .

Table of Contents 153 153 154 155 157 158 161 165 167 168 168 170

172 189 189

190 195 196 198 200

The Sources of Paracelsus (Ancient, Mediaeval, Contemporary)

203

Paracelsus and the ancient, mediaeval and Renaissance sources . Paracelsus and Gnosticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Gnostic concept of microcosm . . . . . . . . . . Mediaeval sources of Gnostic speculation and Paracelsus. The Cabalah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus and Neoplatonism. The influence of Marsilio Ficino. Ficino's ideal of the "Magus" as Priest-Physician. Paracelsus and the Philosophy of Plotinus. . . . . Was Paracelsus really a Neoplatonist? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The "Prime Matter" of Paracelsus as foreshadowed by the philosophy of Salomo ibn Gebirol (Avicebron) and the "Popular Pantheism" of the Middle Ages. Giordano Bruno. The anonymous "Introduction to the Philosophy of Life" (1623). . . . . Ancient ideas as transmitted by Salomo ibn Gebirol . . . . . . . . . . . Gebirol's Prime Matter as fundamental to popular pantheism in the Middle Ages and Reformation . . . . . . . . . . . . • Giordano Bruno . . • • • . . . • . . • • . • . . • The "Introductio in Vitalem Philosophiam" (1623) .

203 204 204 210 213 218 226

227 229 230 232 232

The Microcosmic Pattern as reflected by the Womb and the Earth. Leonicenus, Cesalpino and Aristotle. . . . . . Paracelsus and Ramon Lull . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus and Arnald of Villanova . . . . . . . . . Independence of thought. Use of empirical remedies Naturalism and Empiricism . . . . . . . . . . . The quest for medical reform in a new age Religious ideas and motives in medical theory and practice Influence of the Stars . . . ·. . . . . . . . . . . . . Specificity of objects (including diseases) and the Stars . Arnald and Humoralism. . . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus and Alchemy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The New Precious Pearl on the Philosophers' Stone. Arnald of Villanova and John de Rupescissa Comment. General appraisal . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus' achievement in pure and medical Chemistry . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus' work in the chemical laboratory and its results in detail. Paracelsus' System of Chemistry. The "Archidoxis" . . . . . . . Detoxication and medicinal use of chemicals. . . . . . . . . . . Spiritus vitrioli and its narcotic action - a probable predecessor of ether, and an example of Paracelsus' advanced medical chemistry. Conclusion. . . . . . . . . . Paracelsus and Nicolaus Cusanus . . Paracelsus and Pico della Mirandola Pomponazzi and Paracelsus . . . . Paracelsus and Johannes Reuchlin . Agrippa ofNettesheym's "Occult Philosophy". The Occult Virtues, the World Soul, the Spirit (Quinta Essentia) and Sympathy Agrippa on Air . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Power of Imagination in Agrippa's Occult Philosophy . . . . . . . . . Middle XVIth Century opposition to Galen. Johannes Argenterius and Paulus Mazinus Arvernus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opposition to the traditional doctrine of the Elements in the middle of the XVI th century . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mazinus, Femel and Paracelsus . . . . . . . Paracelsus and the "Occult Qualities" ofFemel Erastus' Censure of Paracelsus . . . . . . . . . . The character, attainments and methods of Paracelsus Paracelsus' views of creation . . . . . Paracelsus as a restorer of Gnostic heresy Belief in Miracles. . . . . . . . . . The Power of Imagination. . . . . . . Fascination - Incantation - Contagion . Natural Magic - The Neoplatonic fallacy Nature and the Chemical Art Amulets and Augury . . . . . . . . . The "Power" of Words. . . . . . . . Magnetic action - the pattern of Natural Magic The Devil and Witchcraft . Matter and the Elements The Semina . . Quinta Essentia . . . .

IX 238 241 248 249 250 252 253 254 256 257 258 259 263 266 273 273 274 27 5 275 276 278 279 284 289 290 295 297 298 300 301 305 305 310 311 313 315 315 315 316 317 317 318 318 318 319 319 319 322 323

x

Table of Contents

Generation Microcosm Disease . . The Locus of Disease . The role of diet in Disease Therapy . . . . . . . . The cures of Paracelsus . · Epilepsy . . . . . . . Dropsy and Podagra . . Comment . . . . . . . Daniel Sennert's Critical Defence of Paracelsus The chequered Life and dubious character of Paracelsus. Criticism of the Microcosm theory . . . . . . . . . Sympathy and Antipathy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Criticism of Paracelsus' Methods . . . . . . . . . . . Prime Matter, Mysterium Magnum, Elements, Semina . On Life and the Three Principles (Salt, Sulphur and Mercury) On Generation . Pathology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

323 323 324 324 326 326 327 327 329 330 333 333 335 336 336 337 338 341 341

Final Assessment

344

Addenda and Errata

351

Collation ofloci quoted from Huser with the standard edition of Sudhoff List of Illustrations . General Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

375 378 380

Preface Who does not know Doctor Paracelsus, renowned reformer of medicine, chemist and naturalist, philosopher and theologian, lay preacher and protagonist of social justice, believer in natural magic and effusive diviner? Indeed, something is known everywhere of each of these aspects offered by what appears to us as an erratic block in a period of renascent progress. Little, however, if anything is known of the link which must have forged such disparate trends into the mould of a savant at once unified and unique in himself. To-day their unification in a single personality does not easily make sense - at a time of transition they were not incompatible. Their very synthesis had a share in the development of modern naturalism, science and medicine in the 16th and 17th centuries. In Paracelsus it was a consistent philosophia naturalis based on a medical view of man and world, in many ways archaic and in others surprisingly modern. Understanding it requires an effort to make oneself contemporary with him, an arduous task which of necessity will remain short of completion and full satisfaction. An attempt at achieving it as far as possible is the burden of the present hook. It was first published a quarter of a century ago. It met with unexpectedly wide approval and, unobtainable as it has been for some time, with persistent demand. No further monograph comparable in style and scope has come to light in the meantime, hut a large number of new facts and views have. The author's own continued research concerned Paracelsus' debt to occult tradition from neo-Platonic and Gnostic sources as perpetuated in mediaeval literature. Preliminary results are found in 'Das medizinische Welthild des Paracelsus, seine Zusammenhiinge mit Neuplatonismus und Gnosis' (Wiesbaden 1962); it opened as volume 1 the new series 'Kosmosophie', edited by Kurt Goldammer. This was followed by a number of papers in 'Amhix ', various historical-medical journals and more recently in the 'Salzhurger Beitriige zur Paracelsusforschung ', edited by Sepp Domandl. Little if any doubt remains about the great significance of the neo-Platonic and Gnostic pieces studied - they are organic components of genuine Paracelsian texts and doctrines; they are not merely quotations adduced from outside to embellish them or to show off his

XII

Preface

erudition. Other students of Paracelsus have contributed importantly in correcting traditionally repeated unrealistic data and views concerning uncharted areas in Paracelsus' life, the dating of his treatises, his journeys and religious ideologies, as revealed in first editions of his religious and social-political writings from manuscripts under the aegis of K. Goldammer. All this justifies re-publication of the book with correction of errors and amplification of contents bringing it up to the present standard of our knowlege and understanding of Paracelsus. This has now been provided in the form of a comprehensive appendix of' Addenda and Errata' referring to their appropriate places in the original text which thereby could be preserved in its entirety. It also offers a collation of all loci quoted from Huser with the standard edition of Sudhoff. The author remains indebted to the W ellcome Trust - ever since, under the auspices of the late Sir Henry Dale, O.M. F.R.S., it has supported his publications in various ways up to the present day. He gratefully remembers the help in all problems scientific and personal extended to him by the late Dr. F.N.L. Poynter, F.L.A., librarian, founder and director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine. He also provided most of the illustrations of the present book. Of his staff and his successor's, E. Freeman, the author enjoyed cooperation with Marianne Winder and Renate Burgess, as also bibliographical information given to him by John Symons. Unfailing personal support and encouragement he received from Dr. William F. Bynum. Dr. Bernard E.J. Pagel corrected and revised the text. As in the production of two books on Harvey (1967 and 1976) the author wishes to record special thanks to the publishers, Dr. Fritz Karger and Dr. h.c. Thomas Karger, for their courteous and highly efficient work in publishing the present edition of 'Paracelsus'. He cannot conclude without remembrance of Magda Pagel-Koll (M.D. Cologne, 26.6.1894 to 22.8.1980). She dedicated 57 years of her own life to indefatigable protection and maintenance of his life and literary activities taking more than a full share in these in addition to her own studies in mediaeval art and surgery. The present book with all its sequels is essentially indebted to her co-operation.

General Introduction Much of modern medicine developed in the XVIth and XVIIth centuries against a background of trends of thought that were not purely or mainly scientific. The main purpose of the present writer's historical enquiries since 1926 has been to place scientific and medical discoveries in the to us less comprehensible philosophical and religious setting in which they first appeared. The lion's share of the foundation of scientific medicine in the XVIIth century goes to Harvey (1578-1657). However, credit must be given to Van Helmont (1579-1644) for establishing the chemical outlook in biology and medicine. Both Harvey and Van Helmont combine mastery of quantitative scientific method with a philosophical insight which was strongly influenced by Aristotle in one case and religious mysticism in the other, and which helped to inspire some of their scientific discoveries. For Harvey can be seen as the life-long thinker on the mystery of circular phenomena: the circulation of the blood on the one hand and the cycle of generations on the other, both forming the microcosmic copy of a cosmological pattern. To Van Helmont each object of nature follows a specific plan of form and function infused into it by the Creator and contained in the material vector of specificity, a substance of finest corporality - this is his new concept of "Gas". Van Helmont is well known to have made a careful study of the work of Paracelsus (1493-1541) - some of whose ideas gave him profound inspiration while he completely rejected others. However, the detailed comparison between the ideas of Paracelsus and Van Helmont that would be required for a complete understanding of the thought and scientific discoveries of the latter has never been attempted; nor indeed does there exist a precise account of Paracelsus' own philosophy and medicine that could be used as a starting point for such a comparison. It is partly for this reason and partly in order to provide the Paracelsean background for medicine in general that the present book has been written. Our purpose here is rather different from that of the multitude of books and essays on Paracelsus that have appeared and that are mainly concerned

2

General Introduction

with biography, bibliography, literary criticism and the personal part played by Paracelsus in general and medical history. A turbulent and paradoxical figure in his life-time, Paracelsus has remained controversial ever since. Admired by many, despised by yet more, he has discouraged patient objective scholarship by the violence and inconsistency of his voluminous writings. He appeals to us in certain brilliant and progressive aphorisms, but so far no hope has been held out to us of understanding how they were arrived at and how they emerge from a unified pattern of thinking. Indeed, the very possibility of doing any such thing has been denied, not perhaps without reason. Nevertheless, without being able to do anything like justice to the vast Corpus of Paracelsus' work, it does seem possible to find certain basic concepts from which an appreciable and in our opinion characteristic portion can be presented as a coherent view of the universe from which some of the details follow.

The individual "Savant" and his "World" as the focal point of the investigation The approach attempted in the present work is based on an analysis of the savant as an individual person. He is taken as the centre of a world which he has built up, and this in tum is composed both of those views, doctrines and observations which died with the savant himself and of others which became the common property of humanity and thus have remained immortal. Taken as a whole, however, this world is not a sum of transient and permanent elements, but a world unique and peculiar to one man; it is without continuity - that is to say it has neither predecessors nor successors. It is this whole and the emergence from it of scientific and medical theories and facts which forms the subject of the present work. The present volume mainly contaj.ns an account of XVIth century philosophical medicine. Its centre is Paracelsus, and it falls into three main parts. In the first we discuss Paracelsus ·as a representative figure of the Renaissance and his general ideas, such as the position of man in the cosmos, and the access he has to truth and nature. The second part treats of Paracelsus' new Medicine, whilst the third is devoted to the ancient, mediaeval and contemporary sources of Paracelsus - concluding with a short account of the arguments of his antagonists. Clearly a monograph such as this cannot come anywhere near to being an exhaustive treatment; an attempt has merely been made to discuss

Paracelsus: Interdependence and fusion of the scientific and non-scientific elements

3

those features of Paracelsus' work that appear to the writer to be at the same time the most accessible and the most characteristic. It is hoped to discuss XVIIth century philosophical medicine and its Paracelsean background in a separate book.

Paracelsus: Interdependence and fusion of the scientific and non-scientific elements Among all the erratic figures of the Renaissance, Paracelsus is singled out for the restlessness of his life and for the inconsistency of his opinions and doctrines. In the study of his biography, fact has been gradually separated from fancy; but no agreement has been reached as to the nature and purport of his teaching. He is seen by many as a reformer of Medicine. Others praise his achievements in Chemistry and even regard him as the founder of "Biochemistry". He appears in the ranks of early XVIthcentury scientists and reformers such as Vesalius, Copernicus, Agricola, and thus is seen as a "modern". On the other hand, he has always enjoyed the "Aura" of a mystic and even the shady reputation of a magician. For centuries his work has been criticised as non-scientific, phantastic and bordering on insanity. Moreover, his originality has been questioned in the very field in which he had seemed to be a harbinger of light and progress, namely the introduction of chemical remedies. There is a further side to Paracelsus, to all appearances divorced from science and medicine. Many of his works are purely religious, social and ethical in character. As more of these works become accessible, they seem to reveal new and additional facets of this multicoloured personality. Hoefer's summing up of 1843 seems still to hold good: «Figurez-vous un homme qui, dans de certains moments, fait preuve d'une penetration admirable, et qui, dans d'autres, radote le plus pitoyablement du monde; un homme qui, tantot devoue au progres de la Science, proclame l'autorite absolue de !'experience ... et qui, tantot comme un aliene, semble converser avec les demons ... un homme enfin qui, a jeun le matin et ivre le soir, enregistre exactement toutes les idees dans l'ordre dans lequel elles se presentent a son esprit.»1 This aptly summarises the impression which Paracelsus' writings make on the average modern reader: the Faustian "two souls'', a mind split by 1

Histoire de la Chimie. Paris 1843, vol. II, p. 9.

4

General Introduction

tendencies and convictions which contradict each other. However, to explain an historical figure today in terms of the "two souls" of Doctor Faustus would be merely to resort to a well-worn cliche. What seems to be contradiction and inconsistency to the modern mind was not necessarily incomprehensible four hundred years ago. The historian must search more deeply. The attempt to interpret a savant in modern terms erects barriers to a true historical understanding of the hero as a unified personality and a unique figure. Our task is not to show that Paracelsus was either a magician or a scientist (actually he deserves neither of these designations). Nor will it suffice to present these different aspects side by side and be satisfied with their mere existence. Nor, finally, does the modern historian of science contribute to our knowledge of Paracelsus if he constructs a line of development in which Paracelsus is seen as a landmark on the highway leading from Magic into Science for there is n_o such thing in the life, work and ideas of Paracelsus himself. The problem which really does confront us is that of specifying the manner in which mystical, magical and scientific elements are all blended together into a single doctrine.

The Life of Paracelsus (1) Name, Birth and Family The large volume of extant books and papers on the life of Paracelsus is out of proportion to the scarcity of well documented facts. Even the few data which seemed solid enough to be transmitted from book to book for centuries have recently been challenged for good reasons. We are not even on safe ground when quoting the famous names: Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Paracelsus. The latter, by which he is commonly known, was a nickname giv~n to him at a later period of his life. That he used it himself at any time cannot be demonstrated. It first appears as a pseudonym for the -author- oCa -"Praciica" of political-astrological character, printed in 1529 at Niirnberg, where it may have been used to distinguish the astrological from the medical author who was simply called "Theophrastus of Hohenheim". Not until 1536/7 does the name: "Doctor Paracelsus" appear on a medical treatise, namely the "Grosse Wundarznei" - one of the few works printed before his death and at a time when he was widely known as "Paracelsus".2 None of the interpretations of the meaning of this name has been satisfactory. It is mostly taken as a translation of "Hohenheim" (the family estate in Swabia), or to signify "surpassing Celsus" (the Roman writer on medicine or possibly Celsus, the enemy of the Church). It has been convincingly suggested that the name was not invented by Paracelsus himself, who was averse to such humanistic practices as the latinization or graecification of names, but by his circle of "combibones" at Colmar (1528). 3 It was to convey (at the same time) .his superiority to Celsus and the paradoxical character of his writings and speeches. It does not seem to be accidental that later, on the title of his main works "Paramirum" and "Paragranum" the syllable "Para" was accorded a conspicuous place. 2

Bittel, K.: Para - und Paracelsus. Paracelsus-Museum, Stuttgart. Paracelsus-Dokumentation. Referat-Bllitter. A 44 Januar 1943, pp. 7-8. a Bittel: loc. cit.

(I) Name, Birth and Family

The Life of Paracelsus

6

However, a "paramiric" work had been promised by Paracelsus already in his earliest treatise of about 15204, and the "Volumen Medicinae Paramirum" ("Von den Fiinf Entien") is usually regarded as an early prelude to the Opus Paramirum of 1531, also written about 1520.5 From all this it is fair to say that the invention of the name, though probably not due to Paracelsus himself, was prompted by a verbal creation of his own. The name Theophrastus is not documented prior to his Strassburg period (1526)6 and the programme to his lectures at Basie in 1527 7 • He is first called Philipp on his tombstone. 8 His year of birth, normally given as 1493, is uncertain: 1494 has been suggested as correct and the first of May as the probable hirthday9 • His birth place - Einsiedeln - is uncontested. Nothing is known, however, about the house in which he was horn, and the romantic tradition surrounding the famous house at the "Devil's Bridge" over the Sihl near Einsiedeln is fictional. Paracelsus was the son of a physician, Wilhelm of Hohenheim, who was of the family of the Banhasts or Bombasts. The name Bomhastus of Hohenheim is the best documented designation of Paracelsus. "Bombast" has nothing to do with "bombastic" in the sense of "turgid language" or "tall talk"lO. It indicates descent from a very old and noble Swabian family which had their original seat at Hohenheim near Stuttgart.11 Etliche (Elf) Tractaten ...von der Wassersucht. Ed. Sudhoff, vol. I, pp. 5 and XXXVI. Sudhoff; correcting his former dating of this treatise at 1530 (Paracelsus-Forschungen, 1887, I, p. 67 as against his edition of 1929 where it appears in vol. I, p. 163. See Bittel: loc. cit. p. 1). 6 The Strassburg town register has the entry: "Theophrastus von Hohenheim, der Artzney Doctor" under December 5th, 1526 (R. H. Blaser: Neue Erkenntnisse zur Basler Zeit des Paracelsus. Nova Acta Paracels. 1953, VI [supplem.], p. 9). In the diary of Nicolaus Gerbelius, secretary to the chapter of Strassburg cathedral, Paracelsus appears as "Theophrastus" in several places (Blaser loc. cit., pp. 10 seq.). Bittel. Karl: Zur Genealogie der Bombaste von Hohenheim. Miinch. med. Wschr. 1942, lxxxix, 359. s Bittel, K.: Korrekturen zur Paracelsus-Biographie. Hippokrates 1943, xiv, pp. 30-32. 9 Bittel, K: Ist Paracelsus 1493 oder 1494 geboren? Med. Welt 1942, xvi, 1163. This was challenged by J. Strebel in his edition: Theophrastus von Hohenheim: Samtliche Werke, vol. I. St. Gallen 1944, p. 38. Sudhoff (Paracelsus. Ein deutsches Lebensbild aus den Tagen der Renaissance. Leipzig. Bibliographisches Institut 1936, p. 11) came to the conclusion that Paracelsus was born in the last third. of 1493. 10 See Sigerist, H. E.: The word "Bombastic". Bull. Hist. Med. 1941, x, 688. This term derives from the Greek Bombyx, silkworm, and designates its product silk and later cotton and cotton wadding. The first metaphorical use of the word ("the swelling bumbast of a ... blank verse") is documented for 1589. 11 Bittel, K.: Miinch. med. Wschr. 1942, .No. 16, published important material relating

7

Two traits stand out as characteristic in the life of Paracelsus: restlessness and aggressive criticism. Both these traits are recognisable in the life of his paternal grandfather George (J6rg) Bombast of Hohenheim. He is known as a Knight of the Order of St. John (1453-1496) and must have been a real knight-errant for he accompanied his sovereign Eberhard the Pious (or "in the Beard" - "Rauschehart") on an adventurous journey to Palestine (1468). In 1489 he had to tender a public and solemn apology for an irate speech in the Diet. Moreover, we know of at least one illegitimate child which he had produced - the father of Paracelsus. This was Wilhelm Bombast de Riett, so called because he was brought up at Riet in Wiirttemherg on the estate of his paternal uncle. It is tempting to correlate the temperament, "Wanderlust" and chequered career of Paracelsus with the character of his grandfather. In contrast to the latter, Paracelsus' father seems to have been a scholar of a quiet and retiring • disposition. He had studied at Tiihingen, matriculated as a pauper12 and must have been at a disadvantage because of his illegitimacy. Thus there was reason enough for him to leave his native country - which he significantly did shortly after his father's disgrace. He settled at Einsiedeln in Switzerland where he married. The identity of his wife has been the subject of controversy hut it can he assumed that Paracelsus' mother was a native of Einsiedeln.13 Here he

4

5

12

13

to the history of the Banbasts (Baumbasts, Bombasts) of Hohenheim (Hohenhain) one of the oldest families of the Swabian nobility. - On the genealogy of Paracelsus see Strebel, J.: Vererbungsstudien an Paracelsus. Schweiz. med. Wschr. 1943, p. 1582, and about "Hohenheim" - the family name and the fate of its estate: Strebel, J.: Historische Glossen zum Namen "Hohenheim". Praxis 1951, 1075. Hohenheim was situated near Plieningen on the highway from Stuttgart to Tiibingen. He appears in the roll of the students under the 11th January, 1481, aged 24, as a "pauper" who "dedit pedello unum solidum" (Strebel: loc. cit. 1943). He was penniless by statute, namely as the son of a knight of a Holy Order. She is said to have been a serf of the Benedictine monastery. That she was the daughter of Ruodi Ochsner and his wife Els has been largely inferred from the arms displayed in a picture supposed to be the portrait of Wilhelm of Hohenheim as a bridegroom. The authenticity of this portrait, however, is no longer tenable (see footnote later). It has been noted that the Paracelsus house on the "Kielwiesli im Wiesengrund" above what is today the "Krone" was in 1501 in the possession of the Griitzer family from which Paracelsus' mother possibly originated (B. Lienhardt, Medizingeschichtliches aus Einsiedeln 1941, p. 24, and Bittel: Korrekturen, loc. cit. 1943, p. 31). Of other families that of Wesener has also been mooted. All this is quite uncertain. From his iconographic studies Strebel concludes that Paracelsus' head showed characteristic Swiss traits. This, according to Strebel, applies in particular to the authentic and rightly famous portrait of 1538 by Augustin Hirschvogel and also to the Holbein portrait of 1526 of "a young man with slouch hat". This has been claimed to be a portrait of young Paracelsus, as it apparently formed the model for Wenzel Hollar's Paracelsus portrait which belongs to the early XVIlth century. All this is highly con-

8

The Life of Paracelsus

(2) Formative years

practised as doctor and student of chemistry until - in 1502 - the Swabian wars made him transfer to Villach. Here he lived and practised in undisturbed peace and with all civic honours for thirty-two yearsl