The enigmatic sixteenth-century Swiss physician and natural philosopher Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim, called Paracelsus, is known for the almost superhuman energy with which he produced his innumerable writings, for his remarkable achievements in the development of science, and for his reputation as a visionary (not to mention sorcerer) and alchemist. Little is known of his biography beyond his legendary achievements, and the details of his life have been filled in over the centuries by his admirers.

This richly illustrated anthology presents in modernized language a selection of the moral thought of a man who was not only a self-willed genius charged with the dynamism of an impetuous and turbulent age but also in many ways a humble seeker after truth, who deeply influenced C. G. Jung and his followers. "The importance of Paracelsus lies in the link which he provides between medieval and scientific thought. Believing in and practicing alchemy, magic, astrology and various divinatory techniques, he was also 'the first modern scientist, ' and the 'precursor of micro-chemistry, antisepsis, modern wound surgery, homeopathy and a number of ultra-modern achievements.' In this readable anthology a full picture of the man and his thought is presented. . . in the form of a cleverly constructed mosaic of direct quotations from the fifteen volumes of his collected works."
-The Times Literary Supplement

Paracelsus (1493-1541), born Theophrastus von Hohenheim (full name Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim), was a Swiss physician, alchemist, astrologer, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.

He was a pioneer in several aspects of the "medical revolution" of the Renaissance, emphasizing the value of observation in combination with received wisdom. Paracelsus pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine.  While credited now as the father of toxicology, during his career he was viewed by many physicians as a radical, who became his adversaries seeking to have him expelled.

Paracelsus also had a substantial impact as a prophet or diviner, his "Prognostications" being studied by Rosicrucians in the 1600s.

Jolande Jacobi (1890-1973), was an analytical psychologist and the author of Complex/Archetype/Symbol in the Psychology of C. G. Jung (Bollingen Series, Princeton).