Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus

Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus, pseudonym of Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim (1493?-1541), Swiss physician and chemist. Quarrelsome and vitriolic, Paracelsus defied the medical tenets of his time, asserting that diseases were caused by agents that were external to the body and that they could be countered by chemical substances.

Born in Einsiedeln (now in Switzerland), Paracelsus received a degree in medicine, possibly from Vienna University, and traveled widely in search of alchemical knowledge, especially of mineralogy. He sharply criticized the cherished belief of the Scholastics, derived from the writings of the Greek physician Galen, that diseases were caused by an imbalance of bodily “humors” or fluids, and that they would be cured by bloodletting and purging. Believing instead that disease attacks from without, Paracelsus devised mineral remedies with which he thought the body could defend itself. He identified the characteristics of numerous diseases, such as goiter and syphilis, and used ingredients such as sulfur and mercury compounds to counter them. Many of his remedies were based on the belief that “like cures like,” and in this respect he was a precursor of homeopathy. Although the writings of Paracelsus contained elements of magic, his revolt against ancient medical precepts freed medical thinking, enabling it to take a more scientific course.