- 453 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
"A vibrant, original portrait of a man of contradictions," the Renaissance-era Swiss father of modern medicine (
Publishers Weekly, starred review).
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, who called himself Paracelsus, stands at the cusp of medieval and modern times. A contemporary of Luther, an enemy of the medical establishment, a scourge of the universities, an alchemist, an army surgeon, and a radical theologian, he attracted myths even before he died. His fantastic journeys across Europe and beyond were said to be made on a magical white horse, and he was rumored to carry the elixir of life in the pommel of his great broadsword. His name was linked with Faust, who bargained with the devil.
Who was the man behind these stories? Some have accused him of being a charlatan, a windbag who filled his books with wild speculations and invented words. Others claim him to be the father of modern medicine. Philip Ball exposes a more complex truth in The Devil's Doctor—one that emerges only by entering Paracelsus's time. He explores the intellectual, political, and religious undercurrents of the sixteenth century and looks at how doctors really practiced, at how people traveled, and at how wars were fought. For Paracelsus was a product of an age of change and strife, of renaissance and reformation. And yet by uniting the diverse disciplines of medicine, biology, and alchemy, he assisted, almost despite himself, in the birth of science and the emergence of the age of rationalism.
Praise for The Devil's Doctor
"An enlivening portrait that will spark interest in [Paracelsus's] role in the rise of science." — Booklist
"A true iconoclast, [Paraclesus] inhabited an ideological landscape somewhere between the medieval and the modern. Ball effectively places Paracelsus in the larger context of Renaissance magic and philosophy, and of a turbulent period. . . . Worth the effort." — Kirkus Reviews
Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombast von Hohenheim, who called himself Paracelsus, stands at the cusp of medieval and modern times. A contemporary of Luther, an enemy of the medical establishment, a scourge of the universities, an alchemist, an army surgeon, and a radical theologian, he attracted myths even before he died. His fantastic journeys across Europe and beyond were said to be made on a magical white horse, and he was rumored to carry the elixir of life in the pommel of his great broadsword. His name was linked with Faust, who bargained with the devil.
Who was the man behind these stories? Some have accused him of being a charlatan, a windbag who filled his books with wild speculations and invented words. Others claim him to be the father of modern medicine. Philip Ball exposes a more complex truth in The Devil's Doctor—one that emerges only by entering Paracelsus's time. He explores the intellectual, political, and religious undercurrents of the sixteenth century and looks at how doctors really practiced, at how people traveled, and at how wars were fought. For Paracelsus was a product of an age of change and strife, of renaissance and reformation. And yet by uniting the diverse disciplines of medicine, biology, and alchemy, he assisted, almost despite himself, in the birth of science and the emergence of the age of rationalism.
Praise for The Devil's Doctor
"An enlivening portrait that will spark interest in [Paracelsus's] role in the rise of science." — Booklist
"A true iconoclast, [Paraclesus] inhabited an ideological landscape somewhere between the medieval and the modern. Ball effectively places Paracelsus in the larger context of Renaissance magic and philosophy, and of a turbulent period. . . . Worth the effort." — Kirkus Reviews
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Yes, you can access The Devil's Doctor by Philip Ball in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Historical Biographies. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
Table of contents
- Title Page
- Table of Contents
- INTRODUCTION - Fool’s Quest
- CHAPTER ONE - Black Madonna
- CHAPTER TWO - The Metal Makers
- CHAPTER THREE - The Universal Scholar
- CHAPTER FOUR - The Staff and the Snake
- CHAPTER FIVE - Intellectual Vagabonds
- CHAPTER SIX - A New Religion
- CHAPTER SEVEN - Revolution Under the Sign of the Shoe
- CHAPTER EIGHT - Transmutation at Ingolstadt
- CHAPTER NINE - Elixir and Quintessence
- CHAPTER TEN - Bitter Medicine
- CHAPTER ELEVEN - The Battle of Basle
- CHAPTER TWELVE - Against the Grain
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN - The Alchemist Inside
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN - Beyond Wonders
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN - Star and Ascendant
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN - Demons of the Mind
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - The Little Man
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - The White Horse
- CHAPTER NINETEEN - Work with Fire
- CHAPTER TWENTY - Philosopher’s Gold
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ALSO BY PHILIP BALL
- NOTES
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- INDEX
- ILLUSTRATION CREDITS
- Notes
- Copyright Page