Paracelsus

NPC Description

Type: Craft

Beyond Atlantica, history and legend:

Paracelsus (November 11 or December 17, 1493 – 24 September, 1541) was a Swiss alchemist, physician, astrologer, and philosopher. Born Theophrastus Philippus Aureolus Bombastus von Hohenheim, he took the name Paracelsus later in life, meaning "beside or similar to Celsus," an early Roman physician. During his travels in Egypt, Arabia, and the Holy Land, he observed the methods of physicians, chemists, and spiritual healers there, and applied this experience to his own research. Rejecting the theories of Galen, which had been the foundation for European medicine during the Middle Ages, Paracelsus taught instead that health depended on the harmony between man and nature, and on the balances of certain chemicals within the body. He regarded Nature as the One, a living organism, and believed in the natural healing power present in Nature and the human body. A physician, he said, must have wisdom and certain spiritual qualities in order to be able to cure his patients, being “endowed with no less compassion and love than God extends toward man." All knowledge could be discovered by intuition, searching within the human mind, because man was a microcosm of the Universe, and the principles operating within the Universe operated in a corresponding way within man.

Paracelsus’ aggressive manner of teaching and his outspoken criticism of traditional medical theory made him unwelcome in medieval universities, and only recently have his contributions to medicine been recognized. He pioneered the use of chemistry in medicine, developed the use of mercury to cure syphilis, recognized the role of minerals in certain illnesses, coined the word “alcohol,” and named the element zinc.
[...]
Paracelsus recognized the value of mineral waters, especially the Pfäffer water. He coined the word "alcohol," and in 1526 he used the name "zink" for the element zinc, based on the sharp-pointed appearance of its crystals after smelting and the old German word "zinke" for pointed. The London Pharmacopoeia later adopted his method for naming new chemical compounds based on their components.

Source: New World Encyclopedia