"Alterius not sit, qui suus esse potest."

"Who can be himself, shall not belong to someone else."

This was the motto of Theophrastus Bombast of Hohenheim (1493-1541), generally known as Paracelsus. This pen name might refer to someone exceeding the Roman physician Celsus, or is simply a Latinization of the family name "Hohenheim", the one living at a high place.

His life as a physician and radical reformed theologian was one of restless wanderings, never staying at the same place for a long time. Nevertheless and almost unbelievably, in this constant state of inquietude, Paracelsus found time to produce a vast written work, summing up to thirty volumes after its complete edition.

In this way, Paracelsus belongs to the most active German language writers in the early modern period, second only to Martin Luther in extensiveness. His writings cover a wide range including medicine, surgery, natural philosophy, alchemy, astrology, reformed theology and even prophecy and magic.