Very well written biographical narration that reads like an aethyr's breath. Up to this day I had an image of Paracelsus as a godly, mystical drunk, misogine, chased from place to place, giving lectures here and there, as well as a second-sighter trafficking with spirits, that last one depending not on any particular trait of 'divine' character but an inborn gift of a genius or a soul that has its specific daimon to guide through the labyrinth of elements. It struck me how the author dealt with this personality with decorum and gentle admiration, honestly I got infected with the Mr. Moran's vision and it served me well! The scene was magnificently prepared - with parallel stories and historical background, with tastes and gamuts of the time, tricks of the trade and introduction to Renaissance understandings for more light to be shed on Paracelsus' life. That's how history should be done! In the past, I've read Paracelsus "On Nymphs, Gnomes, Sylphs and Salamander's" in my native, polish language (translation, sic!) mainly due to my own gift of ethereal second sight in order to see how I'd fair in different times. Many, yet few possess the gift of the second sight. Still, I've read this work on Paracelsus to "sieve what is useful and discard the nonsense embedded in socio-historical unknowledge of the time". In other words, to find what is wise, curious, interesting, acknowledging yet discarding the detritus of age that does not further understanding or quests for truth. Paracelsus is a magnanimously rich character and Moran's text exploits it wonderfully in a handful of pages sketching a very fine portrait! (I've read biography of Agrippa that was a rather large volume). Given the time, his passions reminded me that of Giordano Bruno, an enemy to Aristotelianism in the European "ex cathedra", who was burned at the stake in 1600 for his book "Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast", mainly. There are major topics that I would agree with - his holistic treatment of medicine, there are many interesting paradigms hidden behind the veils of history that were never fully exploited after they collapsed out of lack of - hm - doctors Divine and physicians. The book has its own charm, I would recommend it to anyone, even slightly interested in this topic.

Thank you ( )