historical lectures and essays(查尔斯金斯利历史讲座)






hundred。       He  spoke   his   mind   fiercely  to   them。      I   believe;   according   to 

one   story;   he   drew  his   long   sword on   the   Canon。       His best   friends   told 

him  he   must   leave   the   place;   and   within   two   years;   seemingly;   after   his 

first triumph at Basle; he fled from it a wanderer and a beggar。 

     The rest of his life is a blank。           He is said to have remenced his 

old wanderings about Europe; studying the diseases of every country; and 

writing his books; which were none of them published till after his death。 

His enemies joyfully trampled on the fallen man。                  He was a 〃dull rustic; a 

monster; an atheist; a quack; a maker of gold; a magician。〃                    When he was 

drunk; one Wetter; his  servant; told   Erastus (one   of his   enemies) that   he 

used to offer to call up legions of devils to prove his skill; while Wetter; in 

abject terror of his spells; entreated him to leave the fiends alonethat he 

had sent his book by a fiend to the spirit of Galen in hell; and challenged 

him to say which was the better system; his or Paracelsus’; and what not? 

     His   books   were   forbidden   to   be   printed。      He   himself   was   refused   a 

hearing; and it was not till after ten years of wandering that he found rest 

and protection in a little village of Carinthia。 

     Three   years   afterwards   he       died   in   the   hospital   of   St。   Sebastian   at 

Salzburg;      in   the  Tyrol。     His    death    was    the   signal   for   empirics     and 

visionaries   to   foist   on   the   public   book   after   book   on   occult   philosophy; 

written in   his nameof   which   you   may  see   ten   folios   not   more   than   a 

quarter; I believe; genuine。         And these foolish books; as much as anything; 

have helped to keep up the popular prejudice against one who; in spite of 

all his   faults   was   a  true   pioneer  of   science。  {15}      I   believe   (with   those 

moderns who have tried to do him justice) that under all his verbiage and 

confusion   there   was   a   vein      of   sound    scientific;   experimental   mon 

sense。 

     When he talks of astronomy as necessary to be known by a physician; 

it seems to me that he laughs at astrology; properly so called; that is; that 

the stars influence the character and destiny of man。 Mars; he says; did not 



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make Nero cruel。        There would have been long… lived men in the world if 

Saturn had never ascended the skies; and Helen would have been a wanton; 

though     Venus    had   never    been   created。    But   he  does    believe   that  the 

heavenly bodies; and the whole skies; have a physical influence on climate; 

and on the health of men。 

     He   talks   of   alchemy;   but   he   means   by   it;   I   think;   only   that   sound 

science which we call chemistry; and at which he worked; wandering; he 

says; among mines and forges; as a practical metallurgist。 

     He    tells  uswhat    sounds    startling   enoughthat     magic    is  the  only 

preceptor which can teach the art of healing; but he means; it seems to me; 

only an understanding of the invisible processes of nature; in which sense 

an electrician or a biologist; a Faraday or a Darwin; would be a magician; 

and when he pares medical magic to the Cabalistic science; of which I 

spoke just now (and in which he seems to have believed); he only means; I 

think; that as the Cabala discovers hidden meaning and virtues in the text 

of   Scripture;   so   ought   the   man   of   science   to   find   them   in   the   book   of 

nature。    But this kind of talk; wrapt up too in the most confused style; or 

rather no style at all; is quite enough to account for ignorant and envious 

people     accusing     him    of  magic;    saying    that   he   had   discovered     the 

philosopher’s stone; and the secret of Hermes Trismegistus; that he must 

make gold; because; though he squandered all his money; he had always 

money in hand; and that he kept a 〃devil’s…bird;〃 a familiar spirit; in the 

pommel of that famous long sword of his; which he was only too ready to 

lug   out   on   provocationthe   said   spirit; Agoth   by   name;   being   probably 

only the laudanum bottle with which he worked so many wondrous cures; 

and of which; to judge from his writings; he took only too freely himself。 

     But the charm of Paracelsus is in his humour; his mother…wit。                He was 

blamed for consorting with boors in pot…houses; blamed for writing in racy 

German; instead of bad school…Latin:              but you can hardly read a chapter; 

either of his German or his dog…Latin; without finding many a good thing… 

…witty and weighty; though often not a little coarse。             He talks in parables。 

He draws illustrations; like Socrates of old; from the monest and the 



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oddest      matters      to   enforce     the    weightiest      truths。      〃Fortune       and 

misfortune;〃   he says;   for   instance   nobly  enough;   〃are not   like   snow   and 

wind;     they   must    be   deduced      and   known      from    the   secrets   of   nature。 

Therefore misfortune is ignorance; fortune is knowledge。                      The man who 

walks out in the rain is not unfortunate if he gets a ducking。〃 

     〃Nature;〃 he says again; 〃makes the text; and the medical man adds the 

gloss;   but   the   two   fit   each   other   no   better   than   a  dog   does   a   bath;〃   and 

again; when he is arguing against the doctors who hated chemistry〃Who 

hates   a thing   which   has hurt   nobody?          Will   you   plain of   a   dog   for 

biting you; if you lay hold of his tail?            Does the emperor send the thief to 

the    gallows;    or   the   thing   which     he   has   stolen?     The     thief;  I  think。 

Therefore science should not be despised on account of some who know 

nothing      about   it。〃  You     will   say   the   reasoning    is  not   very   clear;   and 

indeed   the   passage;   like   too   many   more;   smacks   strongly   of   wine   and 

laudanum。        But   such   is   his   quaint   racy   style。  As   humorous   a   man;   it 

seems to me; as you shall meet with for many a day; and where there is 

humour   there   is   pretty   sure   to   be   imagination;   tenderness;   and   depth   of 

heart。 

     As for his notions of what a man of science should be; the servant of 

God; and of Naturewhich is the work of Godusing his powers not for 

money; not for ambition; but in love and charity; as he says; for the good 

of his fellow…manon that matter Paracelsus is always noble。                     All that Mr。 

Browning has conceived on that point; all the noble speeches which he has 

put   into   Paracelsus’s   mouth;   are   true   to   his   writings。   How   can   they   be 

otherwise;      if  Mr。   Browning       set  them    fortha    genius    as  accurate     and 

penetrating as he is wise and pure? 

     But was Paracelsus a drunkard after all? 

     Gentlemen; what concern is that of yours or mine?                     I have gone into 

the question; as Mr。 Browning did; cannot say; and don’t care to say。 

     Oporinus;   who   slandered   him   so   cruelly;   recanted   when   Paracelsus 

was     dead;   and    sang   his  praisestoo     late。   But    I  do   not   read   that  he 

recanted the charge of drunkenness。               His defenders allow it; only saying 



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that it was the fault not of him alone; but of all Germans。 But if so; why 

was he specially blamed for what certainly others did likewise?                     I cannot 

but fear from his writings; as well as from mon report; that there was 

something       wrong    with    the  man。    I   say   only   something。      Against     his 

purity there never was a breath of suspicion。              He was said to care nothing 

for   women;   and   even   that   was   made   the   subject   of brutal   jests   and   lies。 

But   it   may   have   been   that;   worn   out   with   toil   and   poverty;   he   found 

fort in that laudanum which he believed to be the arcanumthe very 

elixir   of   life;   that   he   got   more   and   more   into   the   habit   of   exciting   his 

imagination       with   the   narcotic;   and    then;   it  may   be;   when    the   fit  of 

depression followed; he strung his nerves up again by wine。                    It may have 

been so。      We have had; in the last generation; an exac