Me: Oh really, very nice. What were some of your philosophies?

Paracelsus: Well I believe much in Astrology. It helped shape my interpretation of medicine. Also I believe medicine rests upon four pillars- philosophy, astronomy, alchemy, and ethics. The first pillar is philosophical knowledge of earth and water; the second, astronomy, supplies its full understanding of that which is fiery and airy nature; third is an adequate explanation of the properties of all the four elements- that is to say of the whole cosmos- and an introduction into the art of transformations; and finally, the fourth shows the physician those virtues which must stay with him up until his death, and it should support and complete the other three pillars (Snell, pg 1).

Me: That is very interesting and enlightening. Did you stay at the University of Basel very long?

Paracelsus: Oh no. I was studying under a man named Sigismund Fugger but had to leave the city because some of the authorities had a problem with my studies in necromancy.

Me: What is necromancy?

Paracelsus: Well a broad definition of it is a form of divination where the practitioner seeks to summon spirits for different reasons such as spiritual protection or wisdom. Anyway, after I was kicked out of there I had to support myself by performing astrological predictions for people and other occult practices.

Me: So where did you go from there?

Paracelsus: I traveled to many places from Germany and France to the Netherlands and Sweden.Then I traveled to Russia where sadly I was taken prisoner by the Tartars where surprisingly I became well liked by the courts there. After all of this I returned to Europe and that is where I became an army surgeon and developed many cures. I then went back to Germany and became a professor of physics, medicine and surgery. This is where many people began not to like me. My lectures contained a lot of negativity toward Galen and his views. And since Galen's views were so revered at this time people did not respect me for this. To top it off I burnt the works of Galen and other people of whom I did not agree in a brass pan with sulfur and nitrite. This probably didn't help my case. But I did what I believed to be right. Because of my ideas and beliefs I once again was asked to leave.

Me:Well at least you were strong in staying rooted in what you believed. Where did you go next?

Paracelsus: I went to Colmar and Nuremberg at one point. And although the doctors still did not like me there they couldn't ignore the wonderful things I was doing with medicine. I treated several bad cases of elephantiasis followed by many other cures. And now I am here, still in exile. I am older now and just spend my days looking back on all of my accomplishments, although not everyone would agree.

Me: Well its certainly sounds like to me you had a huge impact on medicine and alchemy along with other disciplines. I can definitely relate with you on that fact that you can't always worry about what everyone else thinks. You have to stick to what you believe.

Paracelsus: You are quite correct there ma'am. You sound like you are well on your way to your future in medicine or whatever it may be you want to do. Good luck with all you do.

Me: Thank you so much, and thank you for your time.

Well I certainly learned a lot on my trip back in time. Now to get this paper wrote up!

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