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Article ID: CBB983986033

Quintessence and the Prolongation of Life in the Works of Paracelsus (2018)

Kahn, Didier (Author)

Micrologus: Nature, Sciences and Medieval Societies
Volume: 26
Pages: 183-226

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Aging Alchemy Natural philosophy Death Renaissance 16th century Europe Paracelsus, Theophrast von Hohenheim

In many aspects, Paracelsus (1493/94-1541) can be clearly considered a heir and successor of the medieval tradition of alchemical medicine. However, it seems that he was only temporarily interested in the problematics of the prolongation of life. Only four of his treatises are devoted to this question: the "Archidoxis," "De renovatione et restauratione," "Vom langen Leben," and "De vita longa," all written around 1526/1528. But neither in these treatises, nor in his other works did Paracelsus use the means for prolonging life available in the alchemical medieval tradition, namely the Rupescissan quintessence and the alchemical notion of a universal medicine.The very notion of a universal remedy was quite alien to his thinking, although he occasionnally used it. This probably explains why some Paracelsians tried in several ways to reintegrate the Rupescissan quintessence into the Paracelsian corpus.

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