gence in wine; and his apologist asks, whether in the writings said to have been composed in this state of inebriation, we can discover any proofs which justify such a serious accusation. The answer is, that direct testimony in regard to a fact is of more weight than any presumptive reasoning about its possibility; and Oporinus, a man of great natural talent, who lived with him for a long time as his secretary or famulus, and distinguished himself, after leaving Paracelsus, by his acquirements in Greek, says, in a letter preserved by Brucker, that during two years Paracelsus was drunk every day, never undressed himself, and went to bed with his famous sword by his side, which he used occasionally to draw and flourish about the room, to the infinite alarm of the much-enduring Oporinus.' This sword, which caused so much dismay to his poor secretary, became the popular attribute of Paracelsus, and is thus described in Hudibras:: "Bombastes kept a devil's bird, Shut in the pummel of his sword, The reason of his final departure from Basle was not, however, the empty class-room, but a circumstance highly characteristic of the man and his times. There was a certain ecclesiastical dignitary, Cornelius von Lichtenfels, who was a martyr to the gout. In his agony and despair he sent for Paracelsus, and agreed to give him 100 florins if he eased him of his sufferings. Paracelsus administered three pills of his laudanum, and as the canon soon felt himself well and comfortable, the doctor claimed his stipulated fee; but― "When the devil was ill, the devil a saint would be ; When the devil got well, the devil a saint was he ;" and the churchman refused to pay more than the usual sum for a doctor's visit. Upon this, Paracelsus took him 1 Vita Oporini. Argent. 1569. into court; but the judge decided against the professor, who, losing command of his temper, expressed his indignation and astonishment in such violent abuse of the legal functionary, that the matter had to be taken up by the town council, and ended in the expulsion of Paracelsus from Basle.' This incident reveals the ignoble side of the character of Paracelsus. He may have been a man of great genius; he may have really possessed invaluable specifics; but from this anecdote, which is not denied by his warmest admirers, we must pronounce him a quack. It is against both law and usage to bargain with a patient suffering pain, or in fear of death, as to the remuneration the physician is to receive in the event of giving relief or of saving life. The transaction establishes, beyond a doubt, that it was the habit of Paracelsus to pursue this illegal and disreputable course; otherwise, while holding a position of so much importance and respectability as a Professorship in the University of Basle, he would not have incurred the odium of so disreputable a compact. We again repeat that Paracelsus was a quack. Once more let loose upon the world, he recommenced his wanderings, which were brought to a premature termination in 1541. Wherever he went, he excited the regular faculty to a state of violent hatred by his real or pretended cures, and his unmitigated contempt of the doctors and their systems-not wholly undeserved. At Salzburg, he had given offence in his usual way; and the result was, that "he was pitched out of a window at an inn by the doctor's servants, and had his neck broken by the fall." In confirmation of this story of his melancholy end, we know that the great anatomist, Soemmering, found a fracture, which must have taken place before his death, extending through the base of Paracelsus' skull. 1 Sprengel, Vol. III., s. 445. Superintendent of the hospital attached to the convent of Einsedelm. In the year 1493, they had a son, whom they called Philip Aureolus Theophrastus. He was their only child, and received from his father, at home, the rudiments of Latin, and whatever else he could teach. It seems doubtful if he ever attended any regular school or university; and, perhaps, considering the instruction then given at such places, he did not incur a great loss. Certain it is that he soon took to roaming over the world; that he visited Italy, Germany, and Sweden, where he served in the army;' nay, that after exhausting Europe, he pursued his travels into Asia and Egypt. How he maintained himself during this vagabond pilgrimage is a matter of conjecture—probably by necromancy, and performing quack cures—that is, by proclaiming that he had discovered certain specifics, and making a bargain with those who employed him as to the amount he was to receive if he divulged his secret, or effected a cure. He was also a diligent chemist, investigating at the various mines the processes of the preparation of the metals, and making numerous experiments in regard to their medicinal virtues, as well as in order to discover the grand secret-the philosopher's stone. It was as a chemist that he lived with Sigismond Fugger, a member of a most influential and wealthy family of that name, which was celebrated in Germany almost as the Medici in Italy, for its patronage of art and of such science, as there was. His cures, real or pretended, became noised abroad, and he was sent for, from far and near, to prescribe for all the great men of his day; among his patients was Erasmus, who addresses him, Paracelsus Eremitus or of Eremus. We read in one of his works, that at the age of thirty-three he could boast of having cured thirteen princes, whose cases had been declared hope Vorrede zum Spittalbuch. 2 Ersch and Grüber's Encyclopædia. Art. Fugger. into court; but the judge decided against the professor, who, losing command of his temper, expressed his indignation and astonishment in such violent abuse of the legal functionary, that the matter had to be taken up by the town council, and ended in the expulsion of Paracelsus from Basle.1 This incident reveals the ignoble side of the character of Paracelsus. He may have been a man of great genius; he may have really possessed invaluable specifics; but from this anecdote, which is not denied by his warmest admirers, we must pronounce him a quack. It is against both law and usage to bargain with a patient suffering pain, or in fear of death, as to the remuneration the physician is to receive in the event of giving relief or of saving life. The transaction establishes, beyond a doubt, that it was the habit of Paracelsus to pursue this illegal and disreputable course; otherwise, while holding a position of so much importance and respectability as a Professorship in the University of Basle, he would not have incurred the odium of so disreputable a compact. repeat that Paracelsus was a quack. We again Once more let loose upon the world, he recommenced his wanderings, which were brought to a premature termination in 1541. Wherever he went, he excited the regular faculty to a state of violent hatred by his real or pretended cures, and his unmitigated contempt of the doctors and their systems-not wholly undeserved. At Salzburg, he had given offence in his usual way; and the result was, that "he was pitched out of a window at an inn by the doctor's servants, and had his neck broken by the fall." In confirmation of this story of his melancholy end, we know that the great anatomist, Soemmering, found a fracture, which must have taken place before his death, extending through the base of Paracelsus' skull. 1 Sprengel, Vol. III., s. 445. gence in wine; and his apologist asks, whether in the writings said to have been composed in this state of inebriation, we can discover any proofs which justify such a serious accusation. The answer is, that direct testimony in regard to a fact is of more weight than any presumptive reasoning about its possibility; and Oporinus, a man of great natural talent, who lived with him for a long time as his secretary or famulus, and distinguished himself, after leaving Paracelsus, by his acquirements in Greek, says, in a letter preserved by Brucker, that during two years Paracelsus was drunk every day, never undressed himself, and went to bed with his famous sword by his side, which he used occasionally to draw and flourish about the room, to the infinite alarm of the much-enduring Oporinus.' This sword, which caused so much dismay to his poor secretary, became the popular attribute of Paracelsus, and is thus described in Hudibras : "Bombastes kept a devil's bird, Shut in the pummel of his sword, The reason of his final departure from Basle was not, however, the empty class-room, but a circumstance highly characteristic of the man and his times. There was a certain ecclesiastical dignitary, Cornelius von Lichtenfels, who was a martyr to the gout. In his agony and despair he sent for Paracelsus, and agreed to give him 100 florins if he eased him of his sufferings. Paracelsus administered three pills of his laudanum, and as the canon soon felt himself well and comfortable, the doctor claimed his stipulated fee ; but "When the devil was ill, the devil a saint would be ; and the churchman refused to pay more than the usual sum for a doctor's visit. Upon this, Paracelsus took him 1 Vita Oporini. Argent. 1569. |