4 parts in 1 volume. Lacks supplement. [16], 148, [2], 149 - 523, [3], 525- 680, [40], [2] pp. Engraved title page in red and black; small portrait on leaf ):(2; large printer's device on part titles. (Folio) 33x20.5 cm (13x8"), period full limp vellum, yapp edges. First Zentner Edition.

First Zetzner Edition of the Surgical works. "Paracelsus was one of the most controversial and dazzling figures on the threshold between the Middle Ages to Modern Times. Trained as a physician and surgeon, he tried to overcome certain medical and philosophical concepts common at his time. He replaced them with a natural philosophy comprising a peculiar mixture of Neoplatonic lore and Christian thought based on the Biblical word. Deeply influenced by the ideas of medieval alchemy, both theoretical and practical, he believed in the importance of experience in contrast to mere speculative theories. Following alchemical guidelines, he introduced a number of new medicinal preparations which would become influential for centuries. His attempt to explain bodily processes as alchemical operations smoothed the way for a new insight into the physiological functioning of the human body. Disappointed by the lack of approval by his colleagues, Paracelsus at times resorted to theology, wandering about as a lay-preacher, philosophically interpreting the Bible and writing religious tracts. During his lifetime only a very few of his writings appeared in print, the bulk to be edited after his death, between 1560 and 1600. Surpassed in Early-Modern times only by Martin Luther, Paracelsus as a German language writer produced a multiplicity of treatises, the medical and natural philosophical tracts equalling the theological ones in number." [Urs Leo Gantenbein, The Zurich Paracelsus Project]. Sudhoff 257; Bruning 855; Wellcome I, 4811; Krivatsy/NLM 8562; Hirsch/Hub. IV, 497.