16th century Swiss alchemist, physician, astrologer and occultist, Paracelsus. Best known as a medical radical, Paracelsus attacked what he saw as outdated Classical medicine. Paracelsus was also fascinated with alchemy, a medieval pseudo-science and philosophy focused on the transmutation of base metals into gold, a universal cure for disease, and a means of indefinitely prolonging life. The Swiss alchemist is usually depicted with his sword, which many believed stored the elixir of life in the pommel. This illustration is from the 1598 text 'Aurei velleris oder der Guldin Schatz und Kunstkammer.'