Chemical Lexicon

...celsus, we may view his monument on the wall near St. Sebastian’s, in the hospital, erected by the Archbishop of Salzburg. It bears these words:

Here is buried Philippus Aureolus Paracelsus, Distinguished Doctor of Medicine, who, with miraculous art, removed those dreadful afflictions, Leprosy, Gout, Dropsy, original: Hydropisin. An old medical term for edema or swelling caused by fluid retention. and other incurable contagions of the body, and honored his legacy by distributing and allotting his goods to the poor. In the Year of Our Lord 1541, on the 24th day of September, he exchanged life for death.

But let these things concerning Paracelsus suffice for now. If Paracelsus is somewhat obscure, and his writings more intricate than those of meager talent are able to follow—as they are forced to admit—it must be attributed to their own ignorance; otherwise, they would not call his works obscure and unintelligible. Indeed, the criticism of things not understood might well be called blindness and stupidity. Nor should the doctrine of Paracelsus be rejected simply because it does not please the schools of the Greeks This refers to the traditional medical establishment based on the ancient Greek teachings of Galen and Hippocrates, which Paracelsus famously challenged. and the infidels. For we should no more agree with the fictions of the Greeks than with the sure Word of God, upon which alone Christians ought to lean. Rather, we should embrace the light of nature, supported by the Word of God, than the darkness of the Greeks...