Paracelsus: The Man and his Reputation, his Ideas and their Transformation / edited by Ole Peter Grell.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Preface / Ole Peter Grell -- List of Contributors / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Introduction: The Enigma of Paracelsus / Ole Peter Grell -- Chapter One The Spagyric Art; Or, The Impossible Work of Separating Pure from Impure Paracelsianism: a historiographical analysis / Stephen Pumfrey -- Chapter Two Paracelsus Fat and Thin: Thoughts on Reputations and Realities / Andrew Cunningham -- Chapter Three Paracelsus as a Guiding Model -- Historians and their Object / Dietlinde Goltz -- Chapter Four The Paracelsians -- Nature and Character / Herbert Breger -- Chapter Five Paracelsianism made Political, 1600-1650 / Hugh Trevor-Roper -- Chapter Six Medicine, Alchemy, and the Control of Language: Andreas Libavius versus the Neoparacelsians / Bruce T. Moran -- Chapter Seven 'Theophrastia Sancta' -- Paracelsianism as a Religion in Conflict with the Established Churches / Carlos Gilly -- Chapter Eight Hohenheim's Anthropology in the Light of his Writings on the Eucharist / Hartmut Rudolph -- Chapter Nine On Paracelsus's Epistemology in His Early Theological Writings and in His Astronomia Magna / Ute Gause -- Chapter Ten Paracelsianism and the Diffusion of the Chemical Philosophy in Early Modern Europe / Allen G. Debus -- Chapter Eleven The Acceptable Face of Paracelsianism: The Legacy of Idea medicinae and the Introduction of Paracelsianism into Early Modern Denmark / Ole Peter Grell -- Chapter Twelve The Paracelsian Body / J.R.R. Christie -- Chapter Thirteen The Paracelsian Kitchen / Francis McKee -- Chapter Fourteen 'Invisible Diseases' -- Imagination and Magnetism: Paracelsus and the Consequences / Heinz Schott -- Consolidated List of Literature / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Index of Names / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Index of Places / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Index of Subjects / Editor: Ole Peter Grell -- Studies in the History of Christian Thought / Editor: Ole Peter Grell.

Despite his fame Paracelsus remains an illusive character. As this volume points out it is somewhat of a paradox that the fascination with Paracelsus and his ideas has remained so widespread when it is born in mind that it is far from clear what exactly he contributed to medicine and natural philosophy. But perhaps it is exactly this enigma which through the ages has made Paracelsus so attractive to such a variety of people who all want to claim him as an advocate for their particular ideas. The first section of this book deals with the historiography surrounding Paracelsus and Paracelsianism and points to the need of reclaiming the man and his ideas in their proper historical context. A further two sections are concerned with the different religious, social and political implications of Paracelsianism and its medical and natural philosophical significance respectively.

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