ButhedidnotlongenjoytheesteemofthegoodcitizensofBasle。Itissaidthatheindulgedinwinesofreely，asnotunfrequentlytobeseeninthestreetsinastateofintoxication。
　　Thiswasruinousforaphysician，andhisgoodfamedecreasedrapidly。
　　Hisillfameincreasedinstillgreaterproportion，especiallywhenheassumedtheairsofasorcerer。Heboastedofthelegionsofspiritsathiscommand；andofoneespecially，whichhekeptimprisonedinthehiltofhissword。Wetterus，wholivedtwenty-sevenmonthsinhisservice，relatesthatheoftenthreatenedtoinvokeawholearmyofdemons，andshowhimthegreatauthoritywhichhecouldexerciseoverthem。Heletitbebelieved，thatthespiritinhisswordhadcustodyoftheelixiroflife，bymeansofwhichhecouldmakeanyonelivetobeasoldastheantediluvians。Healsoboastedthathehadaspiritathiscommand，called“Azoth，“whomhekeptimprisonedinajewel；
　　andinmanyoftheoldportraitsheisrepresentedwithajewel，inscribedwiththeword“Azoth，“inhishand。
　　Ifasoberprophethaslittlehonourinhisowncountry，adrunkenonehasstillless。ParacelsusfounditatlastconvenienttoquitBasle，andestablishhimselfatStrasbourg。Theimmediatecauseofthischangeofresidencewasasfollows:——Acitizenlayatthepointofdeath，andwasgivenoverbyallthephysiciansofthetown。AsalastresourceParacelsuswascalledin，towhomthesickmanpromisedamagnificentrecompence，ifbyhismeanshewerecured。Paracelsusgavehimtwosmallpills，whichthemantookandrapidlyrecovered。
　　Whenhewasquitewell，Paracelsussentforhisfee；butthecitizenhadnogreatopinionofthevalueofacurewhichhadbeensospeedilyeffected。Hehadnonotionofpayingahandfulofgoldfortwopills，althoughtheyhadsavedhislife，andherefusedtopaymorethantheusualfeeforasinglevisit。Paracelsusbroughtanactionagainsthim，andlostit。Thisresultsoexasperatedhim，thatheleftBasleinhighdudgeon。Heresumedhiswanderinglife，andtravelledinGermanyandHungary，supportinghimselfashewentonthecredulityandinfatuationofallclassesofsociety。Hecastnativities——toldfortunes——aidedthosewhohadmoneytothrowawayupontheexperiment，tofindthephilosopher’sstone——prescribedremediesforcowsandpigs，andaidedintherecoveryofstolengoods。AfterresidingsuccessivelyatNuremburg，Augsburg，Vienna，andMindelheim，heretiredintheyear1541toSaltzbourg，anddiedinastateofabjectpovertyinthehospitalofthattown。
　　Ifthisstrangecharlatanfoundhundredsofadmirersduringhislife，hefoundthousandsafterhisdeath。AsectofParacelsistssprangupinFranceandGermany，toperpetuatetheextravagantdoctrinesoftheirfounderuponallthesciences，anduponalchymyinparticular。ThechiefleaderswereBodensteinandDorneus。Thefollowingisasummaryofhisdoctrine，foundeduponsupposedexistenceofthephilosopher’sstone；itisworthpreservingfromitsveryabsurdity，andaltogetherunparalleledinthehistoryofphilosophy:——Firstofall，hemaintainedthatthecontemplationoftheperfectionoftheDeitysufficedtoprocureallwisdomandknowledge；
　　thattheBiblewasthekeytothetheoryofalldiseases，andthatitwasnecessarytosearchintotheApocalypsetoknowthesignificationofmagicmedicine。ThemanwhoblindlyobeyedthewillofGod，andwhosucceededinidentifyinghimselfwiththecelestialintelligences，possessedthephilosopher’sstone——hecouldcurealldiseases，andprolonglifetoasmanycenturiesashepleased；itbeingbytheverysamemeansthatAdamandtheantediluvianpatriarchsprolongedtheirs。
　　Lifewasanemanationfromthestars——thesungovernedtheheart，andthemoonthebrain。Jupitergovernedtheliver，Saturnthegall，Mercurythelungs，Marsthebile，andVenustheloins。Inthestomachofeveryhumanbeingtheredweltademon，orintelligence，thatwasasortofalchymistinhisway，andmixed，intheirdueproportions，inhiscrucible，thevariousalimentsthatweresentintothatgrandlaboratorythebelly。[Seethearticle“Paracelsus，“bythelearnedRenaudin，inthe“BiographieUniverselle。“]Hewasproudofthetitleofmagician，andboastedthathekeptuparegularcorrespondencewithGalenfromhell；andthatheoftensummonedAvicennafromthesameregionstodisputewithhimonthefalsenotionshehadpromulgatedrespectingalchymy，andespeciallyregardingpotablegoldandtheelixiroflife。Heimaginedthatgoldcouldcureossificationoftheheart，and，infact，alldiseases，ifitweregoldwhichhadbeentransmutedfromaninferiormetalbymeansofthephilosopher’sstone，andifitwereappliedundercertainconjunctionsoftheplanets。Themerelistoftheworksinwhichheadvancesthesefranticimaginings，whichhecalledadoctrine，wouldoccupyseveralpages。
　　ThisalchymistwasbornintheprovinceofMisnia，in1494。HisrealnamewasBauer，meaningahusbandman，which，inaccordancewiththecommonfashionofhisage，heLatinizedintoAgricola。Fromhisearlyyouth，hedelightedinthevisionsofthehermeticscience。Erehewassixteen，helongedforthegreatelixirwhichwastomakehimliveforsevenhundredyears，andforthestonewhichwastoprocurehimwealthtocheerhiminhismultiplicityofdays。HepublishedasmalltreatiseuponthesubjectatCologne，in1531，whichobtainedhimthepatronageofthecelebratedMaurice，DukeofSaxony。AfterpractisingforsomeyearsasaphysicianatJoachimsthal，inBohemia，hewasemployedbyMauriceassuperintendentofthesilverminesofChemnitz。Heledahappylifeamongtheminers，makingvariousexperimentsinalchymywhiledeepinthebowelsoftheearth。Heacquiredagreatknowledgeofmetals，andgraduallygotridofhisextravagantnotionsaboutthephilosopher’sstone。Theminershadnofaithinalchymy；andtheyconvertedhimtotheirwayofthinking，notonlyinthatbutinotherrespects。Fromtheirlegends，hebecamefirmlyconvincedthatthebowelsoftheearthwereinhabitedbygoodandevilspirits，andthatfiredampandotherexplosionssprangfromnoothercausesthanthemischievouspropensitiesofthelatter。Hediedintheyear1555，leavingbehindhimthereputationofaveryableandintelligentman。
　　Autobiography，writtenbyawisemanwhowasonceafool，isnotonlythemostinstructive，butthemostdelightfulofreading。DenisZachaire，analchymistofthesixteenthcentury，hasperformedthistask，andleftarecordofhisfollyandinfatuationinpursuitofthephilosopher’sstone，whichwellrepaysperusal。Hewasbornintheyear1510，ofanancientfamilyinGuienne，andwasearlysenttotheuniversityofBordeaux，underthecareofatutortodirecthisstudies。Unfortunately，histutorwasasearcherforthegrandelixir，andsoonrenderedhispupilasmadashimselfuponthesubject。Withthisintroduction，wewillallowDenisZachairetospeakforhimself，andcontinuehisnarrativeinhisownwords:——“Ireceivedfromhome，“sayshe，“thesumoftwohundredcrownsfortheexpensesofmyselfandmaster；butbeforetheendoftheyear，allourmoneywentawayinthesmokeofourfurnaces。Mymaster，atthesametime，diedofafever，broughtonbytheparchingheatofourlaboratory，fromwhichheseldomorneverstirred，andwhichwasscarcelylesshotthanthearsenalofVenice。Hisdeathwasthemoreunfortunateforme，asmyparentstooktheopportunityofreducingmyallowance，andsendingmeonlysufficientformyboardandlodging，insteadofthesumI
　　requiredtocontinuemyoperationsinalchymy。
　　“Tomeetthisdifficultyandgetoutofleading-strings，I
　　returnedhomeattheageoftwenty-five，andmortgagedpartofmypropertyforfourhundredcrowns。Thissumwasnecessarytoperformanoperationofthescience，whichhadbeencommunicatedtomebyanItalianatToulouse，andwho，ashesaid，hadproveditsefficacy。I
　　retainedthismaninmyservice，thatwemightseetheendoftheexperiment。Ithen，bymeansofstrongdistillations，triedtocalcinategoldandsilver；butallmylabourwasinvain。TheweightofthegoldIdrewoutofmyfurnacewasdiminishedbyone-halfsinceIputitin，andmyfourhundredcrownswereverysoonreducedtotwohundredandthirty。IgavetwentyofthesetomyItalian，inorderthathemighttraveltoMilan，wheretheauthorofthereceiptresided，andaskhimtheexplanationofsomepassageswhichwethoughtobscure。IremainedatToulouseallthewinter，inthehopeofhisreturn；butImighthaveremainedtheretillthisdayifIhadwaitedforhim，forIneversawhisfaceagain。
　　“Inthesucceedingsummertherewasagreatplague，whichforcedmetoquitthetown。Ididnot，however，losesightofmywork。IwenttoCahors，whereIremainedsixmonths，andmadetheacquaintanceofanoldman，whowascommonlyknowntothepeopleas’thePhilosopher；’
　　anamewhich，incountryplaces，isoftenbestoweduponpeoplewhoseonlymeritis，thattheyarelessignorantthantheirneighbours。I
　　showedhimmycollectionofalchymicalreceipts，andaskedhisopinionuponthem。Hepickedouttenortwelveofthem，merelysayingthattheywerebetterthantheothers。Whentheplagueceased，IreturnedtoToulouse，andrecommencedmyexperimentsinsearchofthestone。I
　　workedtosucheffectthatmyfourhundredcrownswerereducedtoonehundredandseventy。
　　“ThatImightcontinuemyworkonasafermethod，Imadeacquaintance，in1537，withacertainAbbe，whoresidedintheneighbourhood。Hewassmittenwiththesamemaniaasmyself，andtoldmethatoneofhisfriends，whohadfollowedtoRomeintheretinueoftheCardinald’Armagnac，hadsenthimfromthatcityanewreceipt，whichcouldnotfailtotransmuteironandcopper，butwhichwouldcosttwohundredcrowns。Iprovidedhalfthismoney，andtheAbbetherest；andwebegantooperateatourjointexpense。Aswerequiredspiritsofwineforourexperiment，IboughtatunofexcellentvindeGaillac。Iextractedthespirit，andrectifieditseveraltimes。Wetookaquantityofthis，intowhichweputfourmarksofsilver，andoneofgold，thathadbeenundergoingtheprocessofcalcinationforamonth。Weputthismixturecleverlyintoasortofhorn-shapedvessel，withanothertoserveasaretort；andplacedthewholeapparatusuponourfurnace，toproducecongelation。Thisexperimentlastedayear；but，nottoremainidle，weamusedourselveswithmanyotherlessimportantoperations。Wedrewquiteasmuchprofitfromtheseasfromourgreatwork。
　　Thewholeoftheyear1537passedoverwithoutproducinganychangewhatever:infact，wemighthavewaitedtilldoomsdayforthecongelationofourspiritsofwine。However，wemadeaprojectionwithituponsomeheatedquicksilver；butallwasinvain。Judgeofourchagrin，especiallyofthatoftheAbbe，whohadalreadyboastedtoallthemonksofhismonastery，thattheyhadonlytobringthelargepumpwhichstoodinacornerofthecloister，andhewouldconvertitintogold；butthisillluckdidnotpreventusfrompersevering。I
　　oncemoremortgagedmypaternallandsforfourhundredcrowns，thewholeofwhichIdeterminedtodevotetoarenewalofmysearchforthegreatsecret。TheAbbecontributedthesamesum；and，withtheseeighthundredcrowns，IproceededtoParis，acitymoreaboundingwithalchymiststhananyotherintheworld，resolvednevertoleaveituntilIhadeitherfoundthephilosopher’sstone，orspentallmymoney。Thisjourneygavethegreatestoffencetoallmyrelationsandfriends，who，imaginingthatIwasfittedtobeagreatlawyer，wereanxiousthatIshouldestablishmyselfinthatprofession。Forthesakeofquietness，Ipretended，atlast，thatsuchwasmyobject。