Peder Soerensen - Severinus and Paracelsianism

Severinus and Paracelsianism

Severinus very early in his career was drawn to the teachings and writing of the German medical reformer Theophrastus Paracelsus (1493-1541). Severinus’ Idea medicinæ philosophicae (1571) is his most important written work, which interprets the teachings of Paracelsus. Although Paracelsus’ writings are difficult to discern, his primary contribution to the study of medicine rests on his assertions that medicine could only be learned and improved through a study of nature grounded in Christian principles. Paracelsus also stressed a reliance on chemistry to prepare certain formularies for the treatment of disorders.

While a medical student, Severinus began to hear of the success of certain Paracelsian medicines and began to read Paracelsus’ writings. While these writings were rather obscure, Severinus persisted in understanding the concepts through his own empirical experiments and by applying the teachings of ancient Greeks in matters of theory and observation. Severinus increasingly found traditional Aristotelian and Galenic medical methods unsatisfactory and likewise began to embrace chemistry and the teachings of Paracelsus to create efficacious drugs. The compounds most often relied on were those with “strong manifest qualities” such as smell, which were believed to be an indication of their effectiveness. The toxicity of certain compounds would be addressed by applying chemical principles to negate the toxic qualities. The controversy with such a method, however, was that it was not always known whether a compound was toxic until it was ingested.