"Paracelsus" translated from Latin means "super-noble". This “pseudonym” was taken by the famous medieval physician Philip Aureol Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim. After all, he was not just a physician, but was engaged in the occult sciences - in particular, Kabbalah and alchemy, considering them, on a par with medicine, as part of the philosophical knowledge about man.
The future scientist was born on October 24, 1493 in the Swiss town of Einsiedeln. His father was also a doctor and dreamed that his son would follow in his footsteps. Having received in 1515 in the Italian city of Ferrara the degree of doctor of medicine, Philip started wandering around Europe, studying, in addition to his main profession, the study of alchemy.
In 1526, Paracelsus was promoted to university professor as well as city doctor in Basel. He quickly gained fame, even a somewhat scandalous character, since, firstly, he lectured not in traditional Latin, but in German, and secondly, he sharply opposed scholastic medicine, and even burned publicly a medical textbook written on the basis of ancient representations.
This led to the fact that in 1528 Paracelsus had to leave Basel, where he was threatened with trial for freethinking. The last years of his life he spent in constant wanderings in the cities of Switzerland, Bavaria and Alsace, as well as Prussia, Poland and Lithuania. Finally, the scientist settled in Salzburg, where he took advantage of the patronage of the Archbishop and Count Palatine of the Rhine.
Studying the healing effect of various chemical elements and compounds, Paracelsus introduced into medical use drugs of copper, mercury, antimony and arsenic, as well as treatment with water from mineral springs; made up herbal tinctures, extracts and elixirs; for the first time in the history of medicine he introduced the concept of drug dosage. “Everything is poison and everything is medicine; both are determined by the dose”- this phrase of the scientist became winged.
At the same time, the scientific ideas of Paracelsus were closely associated with the occult-mystical principle. So, he believed that the vital activity of the whole organism is regulated by the highest spiritual principle - "archaeus", was fond of astrology, believed in the existence of such fantastic creatures as nymphs, sylphs and gnomes, talked about making a philosopher's stone …
The search for the philosopher's stone in alchemical practice was closely related to the search for the elixir of life - a secret means that gives a person eternal youth, heals any disease, contributes to the growth and fertility of all living things. Both substances, according to alchemical treatises, were based on a certain "Tinctura Phyrica" (according to Paracelsus' definition), which was the power of life itself.
In many of his recipes, Paracelsus suggests resorting to the help of the mysterious virgula mercurials for the preparation of this or that drug. They say that it was nothing more than a real "magic wand"! It has been mentioned more than once in medieval sources on occultism, but the nature of this artifact, which is apparently capable of producing magical actions, remains unknown. It is possible, modern researchers believe, that the magic wand, so familiar to us from fairy tales, was some kind of device. But where did he get it from Paracelsus?
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Paracelsus also cited in his writings a detailed recipe for the preparation of an artificial human - a homunculus: “Put a male seed in a retort and keep it at 40'C for forty days. The figurine that appears there must be fed with human blood for 40 weeks … after which it gains the ability to recognize and convey the most intimate things."
The death of Paracelsus in 1541 is shrouded in mystery: according to some reports, he was killed by a certain doctor, whose name remained unknown. Perhaps his colleague was inflamed with professional envy, or perhaps he was annoyed by the scientific principles professed by Paracelsus. One way or another, he lived in the world for only 48 years. However, at that time this age was already considered quite old …
Paracelsus is also credited with the ability to foresight. Thus, it is believed that in his treatise "Oracles" he predicted the change in France of the Valois dynasty by the Bourbons and the fall of the latter 200 years after the seizure of power; the coming to power of Napoleon; the formation of a state on the other side of the ocean (USA) and many other events.
Paracelsus predicts the rise of Muscovy (Russia), whose inhabitants he calls "Hyperboreans." 500 years after his death, "the divine light will shine from the mountain of the country of Hyperboreans, and all inhabitants of the Earth will see it," writes the mystic. It turns out that the prophecy should be fulfilled in 2041. Then the golden age will come, which will last 50 years (that is, until 2091). After that, a terrible danger will hang over the world. True, how many of us will live to see this date?
TRINITY MARGARITA