Fire, , , and Alchemy: A Hybrid Close-Distant Reading of Paracelsus's Thought on Active Agents.

The Swiss physician and philosopher Theophrastus von Hohenheim, called Paracelsus (1493-1541) is known for his strong advocacy of medical alchemy. That his natural philosophy was tied to medical alchemy is perhaps uncontroversial, but just how it was so is less straightforward. This article provides an insight into the connection between the two by means of Paracelsus's concept of active agents, with an emphasis on fire, its master , and the associated term .

The Influence of Louvain Teaching on Jan Baptist Van Helmont's Adoption of Paracelsianism and Alchemy.

This article investigates the extent to which Louvain (Leuven) teaching could provide the foundations of a new learning and philosophy that included Paracelsianism and alchemy. The particular lens is through Van Helmont's studies in Louvain, taking place in the 1590s. It shows that teaching at Louvain had a profound impact on Van Helmont's thought.

Paracelsian medicine and theory of generation in 'exterior homo', a manuscript probably authored by Jan Baptist Van Helmont (1579-1644).

This article discusses a Latin manuscript that can be found in the Jan Baptist Van Helmont (1579-1644) archives in Mechelen (Malines), Belgium. The manuscript bears no author and no title, and begins with the words 'Exterior homo', hence being referred by this provisional title in the analysis. Ecclesiastical prosecutors investigating Van Helmont for heresy in 1634 considered that it was written by him, but this was vehemently denied by the Flemish physician.