Biography
In his childhood, Paracelsus received guidance from his father and other well-educated men, one of which was the philosopher Abbot Johannes Trithemius. Paracelsus’ mother died when he was young, and with the absence of a mother in his life, these intelligent male figures served as important role models to him. Paracelsus had a harsh upbringing, living in poverty and hunger, however he says that it shaped his personality today. He said it taught him how to work hard, because: "A man clings all his days to what he received din his youth; and my youth was coarse as compared to that of the subtle, pampered, and over-refined... I thank God that I was born a German, and praise Him for having made me suffer poverty and hunger in my youth, and I rejoice when the day's labor is over and I can rest." Paracelsus was named Philipp Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, but he made a nickname to demonstrate his superiority over other scholars. “He created the pseudonym Paracelsus by combining the Greek prefix para-, meaning ‘beside’ or ‘beyond,’ with the name of a great Roman physician, Aulus Aurelius Cornelius Celsus (25 B.C.-A.D. 50)” (Luft). Paracelsus rose in the medical world by showing people his medical techniques first-hand. When he moved to Basel to become a physician he, “scored a major success by effecting a cure on the wounded leg of the famed printer Johannes Froben. From this triumph, our physician became the toast of the town” (Williams, XI). From this, he gained followers and inspired many people to reevaluate the medical practices that they had always known. |