When I use a word . . . Medicines regulation—poisons

Paracelsus’s dictumThe Swiss-born physician and alchemist who called himself Paracelsus (1493–1541) was born Philippus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim. His self-adopted nickname was a pun. The name Hohenheim literally means “high home,” implying heaven, or at least somewhere nearby.The Greek prefix πᾰρά means beside or near, or in some instances over and above. And in Latin, celsus means high or lofty. The Roman encyclopaedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus (ca. 25 BC to ca. 50 AD) was revered as the author of De medicina, a major source of information about various aspects of medical practice in his time.1 Its several sections cover the history of medicine, pathology, descriptions of diseases, anatomy, pharmacology, surgery, and orthopaedics. “Para/celsus” is therefore not only a paraphrase of Hohenheim; it also means equal to or beyond Celsus.Paracelsus’s Septem Defensiones was published posthumously in 1564.2 In the third defence in that work Paracelsus spelt out his view that…
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