Paracelsus: Speculative Theory and the Crisis of the Early Reformation (SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions) - Tapa dura

"This book treats as a unity the two sides of Paracelsus's thought--its speculative and theological aspects and its medical and scientific side, generally dealt with as separate and unrelated--and thus provides a convincing interpretation of his concerns that is plausibly developmental and fully historical. Thus, Paracelsus is made to cast further light on his times, and the times are made to illuminate him. This is an extremely solid and well-written work based on fully adequate scholarship and an impressively broad--and deep--understanding of the period." -- William J. Bouwsma, University of California, Berkeley

"This is a successful analysis of the life and writings of a seminal thinker of the sixteenth century, whose theories have had major influence on Western thought since his time. The author proceeds by discussing the salient features of difficult texts within the historical context. Weeks describes his task as a 'text-centered historicism.' I know of nothing recent in English that would rival this work." -- D.F. Durnbaugh, Juniata College