FROM PARACELSUS TO HARVEY 



the physicians were constantly searching for seme object 

 of corresponding shape to an organ of the body. The 

 most natural application of this doctrine would be the 

 use of the organs of the lower animals for the treat- 

 ment of the corresponding diseased organs in man. 

 Thus diseases of the heart were to be treated with the 

 hearts of animals, liver disorders with livers, and so on. 

 But this apparently simple form of treatment had end- 

 less modifications and restrictions, for not all animals 

 were useful. For example, it was useless to give the 

 stomach of an ox in gastric diseases when the indica- 

 tion in such cases was really for the stomach of a rat. 

 Nor were the organs of animals the only " signatures" 

 in nature. Plants also played a very important role, 

 and the herb-doctors devoted endless labor to search- 

 ing for such plants. Thus the blood-root, with its red 

 juice, was supposed to be useful in blood diseases, in 

 stopping hemorrhage, or in subduing the redness of an 

 inflammation. 



Paracelsus 's system of signatures, however, was so 

 complicated by his theories of astronomy and alchemy 

 that it is practically beyond comprehension. It is 

 possible that he himself may have understood it, but 

 it is improbable that any one else did as shown by 

 the endless discussions that have taken place about it. 

 But with all the vagaries of his theories he was still 

 rational in his applications, and he attacked to good 

 purpose the complicated " shot-gun" prescriptions of 

 his contemporaries, advocating more simple methods 

 of treatment. 



The ever-fascinating subject of electricity, or, more 

 specifically, "magnetism," found great favor with 



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