Talk:Paracelsus

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The addition that is not at all very helpful

...never settling for more than a year or two due to violent opposition precipitated by his characteristically extreme actions.

Were the words alcohol and zinc indeed coined by him? Aren't they of Arabic origin? Jorge Stolfi 20:38, 3 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Adding some notes on zinc now. Jamesday 15:22, 11 Apr 2004 (UTC)

Please see the etymology of alcohol and the discussion in Talk:alcohol. Alcohol was discovered by Islamic alchemists (possibly Geber or Al-Razi) in the 8th-9th century. I would think that both the substance and the word were introduced in Europe much earlier than Paracelsus, perhaps in the 12th or 13th centuries when the Islamic works began to be translated into Latin.
Jorge Stolfi 04:41, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

I have independently arrived at the same conclusion, and having checked this talk page and found a confirmation I'm removing the reference. --Tony Sidaway|Talk 21:13, 27 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] "Höhenheim"

I deleted nonsense about his name. Google reveals he didn't have an umlaut "ö". Only four hits use it, all of them in English. Over 5000 hits in German show his name as "Hohenheim". Martg76 23:24, 28 Sep 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Wundarzney

The word literally means "medicine of wounds." It is possible that the contemporary translation of that would have been "surgery," but could someone confirm that? For one thing, I think Germans at the time would have used the Greek derived word "chirurgie" if they actually meant surgery. Hmoulding 19:36, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Fullmetal Alchemist

I haven't seen the whole series, but when does it state that Paracelus, or in this case Hohenheim, became immortal? I don't think the reference should be there, considering that although Hohenheim may be based off Paracelsus, there is no conection between the two.

Around the end of the series, it is revealed that he has been transferring his soul from body to body to stay alive long after he would have died, on the order of 400 years, as has the woman Dante. Vanyel 22:47, 25 November 2005 (UTC)

I know this is a bit old, but for those interested: Arakawa (the mangaka) may have just been slightly inspired by Paracelsus in choosing Hohenheim's name, but BONES (who produced the anime and rewrote the second half of the storyline) clearly worked off of this allusion in creating Hohenheim's past. I think it's pretty clear that Hohenheim is supposed to be the other world's Paracelsus (since it's made clear he never went through the Gate and saw our world until Dante sends him there at the end of the series). But they both lived at the same time, albeit in different realities, in the anime (the manga is of course a different story).

[edit] Para = superior to?

You guys sure about this? My rudimentary Greek skills tell me "para" means "along side of" or thereabouts. Isn't "exo" superior? Peter1968 08:37, 20 March 2006 (UTC)

The Read text says that "...[H]e assumed the cognomen of Paracelsus, applicable to one who has surpassed the learning of the celebrated Roman physician, Celsus...." (p. 97).

The wikidictonary states that the para- prefix means "beside, near, alongside, beyond". Acewolf359 17:06, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Superior to Celsus?

Is there a source for the idea that it means "superior to Celcus"? One might think that it was derived from Paraclete Hackwrench 05:19, 14 June 2006 (UTC)


According to Encyclopedia Britannica "para-Celsus" means above or beyond Celsus, a 1st-century Roman physician.

[edit] Removing Flamel remark

An anonymous contributor left this in the page:

In particular, Paracelsus rejected the magic theories of Agrippa and Flamel (N.B. This assertion regarding Flamel is problematic, since a.) no works by Flamel were in circulation prior to Paracelsus' death and b.) Flamel's theories are specifically alchemical and not magical)

If anyone can evaluate its veracity, please make the appropriate alteration -- the statement doesn't belong in the article, however. --Ogdred 04:42, 11 August 2006 (UTC)

I don't know about "doesn't belong in the article." Isn't it a valid point that Paracelsus can't reject a theory that wasn't formalized while he was alive? If anything, it might be more accurate to suggest that Flamel's alchemy ignored Paracelsus's theory. Perhaps the article's sentence should be changed to "Paracelsus rejected the (magic? alchemical?) theories of Agrippa." Hmoulding 19:29, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Origin of the word "bombastic"

The association of "bombastic" with Paracelsus appears to be taken as fact in many places. In particular, I found a reference to this in a very old medical text that belonged to my grandfather. Unfortunately, I haven't the foggiest idea where it is now. Googling for "bombastus bombastic" shows a lot of statements attesting to this as well. I found an entry at dictionary.com with the claim that it comes from an obsolete word for cotton padding. This too makes sense (ie puffing up one's words). Here are some what appear to be credible claims to a link to Paracelsus:

Here's a reference from "Sorcerer's Stone: A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy" by Dennis William Hauck. "Paracelsus was so confrontational in discussing his ideas that his middle name (Bombastus) became synonymous with the loud and self-reverent speaking style of "bombastic" people.".

So then, why if "bombastic" had its origins solely in an old word for cotton padding, does it show up much more often relating to Paracelsus?

Frotz661 22:50, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Citing a quotation to him that he didn't say?

"The dose makes the poison." (A popular short version.)

The original quote is:

Appeared in the article. Adding the short "version" of a quotation adds nothing to the article, and only increases the chance that a casual reader will become misinformed, it has been removed.Acewolf359 17:19, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

I think the quote should remain, though, after the original quote and with a caveat. There are plenty of sources that cite the short version. Frotz661 21:38, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

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