PARACELSUS - PHYSICIAN, ALCHEMIST, HEALER (1493-1541)

Even in his time, Paracelsus would have been considered an uncommon man. His personality was shaped by the early loss of his mother, by his unfortunate physical appearance and by his restlessness. He wandered, he meditated, he taught, he preached, he lectured and he wrote. During his itinerant existence he collected extensive knowledge. He practised alchemy, but his true mission was not the pursuit of gold and silver, rather the basts of medical practice Although he was irritable, cantankerous and often provocative in his public life, in his relations with patients he was gentle and compassionate. His chemical experiments provided a new paradigm for pharmacology and chemotherapy. His insights into man's existence made him a trailblazer for psychological approaches in medical practice Paracelsus was an extraordinary Renaissance man.