298 APPENDIX 



nature, but comes from God, and being a part of God, it 

 is necessarily immortal " (Bt Lunaticis). 



The Elixir of Life^ 



Paracelsus, as well as his predecessors, such as Galen, 

 Arnold, De Villanova, Eaimund Lullius, &c., laboured 

 studiously to discover a remedy for the prolongation of 

 life. He did not believe in the possibility of rendering 

 the physical body immortal, but he considered it the 

 duty of every physician to attempt to prolong human 

 life as long as it could be prolonged, because it is only 

 during life upon the earth that man can acquire know- 

 ledge and improve his character ; after death he acquires 

 nothing new, biit enjoys his possessions. Paracelsus, 

 like Koger Bacon, Verulam, and others, maintained that 

 the human body could be rejuvenated to a certain extent 

 by a fresh supply of vitality, and it was his aim to find 

 means by which such a supply could be obtained. He 

 says : — 



" If we could extract the fire of life from the heart 

 without destroying the heart, and draw the quintessence 

 out of inanimate things, and use it for our purpose, we 

 might live for ever in the enjoyment of health, and with- 

 out experiencing any disease. But this is not possible 

 in our present condition. We cannot reverse the laws 

 of Nature, and whatever dies a natural death cannot be 

 resuscitated by man. But man may mend that which 

 he himself has broken, and break that which he himself 

 has made. All things have a certain time during which 

 they exist upon the earth. The saints have a certain 

 time during which they exist, and also the wicked. If 

 a man's time to stay is over, he will have to leave. But 



^ The writings attributed to Paracelsus in regard to this subject that 

 are known at present are partly spurious, partly fragmentary, and the 

 translations incorrect. The extracts given below of his writings on the 

 Elixir of Life are taken from an original MS. in private possession. 



