Original subtitles

The murnau foundation presents

Bavaria filmkunst presents

A film to remember the great German physician, scientist, and philosopher

theophrastus bombastus Von hohenheim,

who has become immortal under the name paracelsus.

He freed the medical arts of his time from an antiquated tradition.

He juxtaposed its rigid formulas with his own vivid experience.

Based on his insights and the principles derived, modern medical science emerged.

Screenplay:

Music:

Cinematography: Production design:

Cast:

Directed by:

Alms. Spare some alms, please.

Christ's will, kind masters.

Have pity on us.

Look at my afflictions.

I am not deceiving you.

Alms, please.

Just a small piece of bread, rich and mighty master pfefferkorn.

The plague to you!

The constable may get you.

Dear master, the constable won't cure us.

Neither from suffering nor injustice.

It is your duty to protect us from this, magister.

You are in charge of public health.

This kind of riffraff belongs in the infirmary, not in the square.

The infirmary is filled with idle mouths to feed.

We cannot collect enough alms.

Are you saying I am not doing enough for the poor?

Do not quarrel. Be kind and get along.

Yes, yes. Who knows? We may all be dead tomorrow.

The black death is near.

I received a letter from my brother-in-law in sterzing.

- The plague. - We are all in god's hands.

Let us think about what we shall do to protect our citizens.

With all due respect, dear mayor, it is very drafty here.

- Let us go to city hall then. - Immediately?

I am expecting a visitor from innsbruck, the imperial court.

I have to go see my patients.

Froben sent for me.

The book printer? Is he still not well?

So be it. But I'll see you tonight after the curfew.

Until then I wish you a healthy...

- Bless you, dear mayor! - Live long!

Good day, dear mayor.

Johannes.

Famulus!

Won't you carry my instruments?

Most certainly.

- Where to? - Where to, where to?

To froben's, of course.

If only I could sleep for once.

It is like this every day, master froben.

You will die if you don't listen to me.

Stop going on about that quack healer of yours.

He has an elixir that cures all illness.

Magic and superstition! Don't you talk about this paracelsus.

Can't you be a little gentler?

Don't be so squeamish.

It feels like you are sawing off my leg!

And you call me squeamish.

Chase him away already, this magister!

How can you talk this way about a scholar?

He's a buffoon! With all his Latin!

How is your master?

See for yourself.

You have a rude maid, master froben.

Did you leave the bandages on as I told you?

Four days. It burns like poison.

If you hadn't come, I would have ripped it off.

Patience, Patience.

Patience?

I do everything you say.

I let you bandage me, let you take my blood,

I let you burn me... for seven months!

And you call me impatient?

Dear magister, I cannot stand it any longer!

Are you doubting my skill?

Dearest doctor, I want to believe you. But please help me.

Well then.

- I will help you. - Indeed?

- Serratura. - You want to cut off my leg? No!

Stop acting like a child, dear froben.

You see, it is slowly decaying.

Secretly aiming for your heart.

Therefore, the limb must be chopped off.

Lies! Deceit!

If you think you can make a fool out of me, I will show you!

I am healthy and will prove to you...

That I am well.

Please, upon my soul! Call for paracelsus.

Who?

I am fine with anything.

Go ahead, call him, you foolish woman.

Strasbourg's two days away. I won't wait that long.

He is here.

- Here? - Yes.

Sit down, folks. It will be a while.

Theophrastus bombastus Von hohenheim wrote all night long.

The light was burning until cockcrow.

He wrote? As if!

What do you think he did in the middle of the night?

Don't you know?

He is speaking to spirits, brewing potions.

I am scared. I'm leaving.

Just stay, silly Susan.

Paracelsus is as wild as he is mild.

They tell many stories about him in Germany,

about his hand's blessings.

Nothing will come of paracelsus!

Famulus, get the surgeon and his servant.

What are you waiting for?

And you, to the kitchen! Hot water. Fill all the pots.

Go already!

Master scholarus!

Master scholarus, listen.

- Do you have a heart? - I think so.

Then please don't go so fast.

Take your time, just a little. I beg you.

- I will hurry like a snail. - Thank you.

You called, father?

Yes, right. Go to the bridge to fisherman egli.

Get the best salmon. We have a high visitor.

The imperial ambassador, count Von hohenried.

Johannes! Hey!

Look at our overachiever.

Are you skipping class too?

Where's your grumpy master?

He wants to chop froben's leg off.

Long live science!

Science is a harlot.

Seriously, Johannes, what is going on with you?

Our dear Johannes is in love!

What does she look like?

- I am sure she is a hunchback. - With a wart on the nose.

How can I describe her to you?

Thieves! Robbers!

Just let them. They are students.

Such pranksters!

I beg you, dear studios, these are bad jokes.

If you don't stop, I will jump out.

At your service, damsel!

I don't want your services. You unruly, boisterous boys.

Am I without honor that you treat me this way?

Dear lady, in our great respect

we couldn't stand that such rude fellows were carrying you.

So you don't think of yourselves as rude fellows?

We are students at the university.

These are my friends guido, lothar and fridolin.

Now give us our orders.

You will do anything I tell you?

Well then. These three shall carry me to my father's house.

What about me? You?

You carry the fish.

I have to see the surgeon anyway.

Inconceivable.

The boy is slow.

And the maid. Where is the maid?

- Where's paracelsus? - We are all waiting for him.

I cannot wait. If I wait, then... he is...

Paracelsus!

- Don't be so loud! - Just let her!

Paracelsus!

Wait your turn, old lady.

Paracelsus, for god's sake!

Upon my soul!

Jakob!

Didn't I tell you not to let anyone in?

Don't be sad.

Nature will help you.

But we will help nature.

I will write you a prescription. Get dressed.

By the time it's my turn,

those torturers will have cut my master's leg off!

Torturers? What kind of torturers?

The physicians, the magister, the surgeon! God forgive me for calling them that.

Learned men, you say. Doctors and professors.

I do not want to mess with them.

I treat my sick, they can treat theirs.

Your sick, their sick? Are there two kinds of sick?

Who is your master?

Froben.

- Froben? The book printer? - Yes, him.

Froben the printer, who published the writings of ulrich Von hutten?

And those of erasmus of Rotterdam?

Paracelsus, you ask so many questions. It is an emergency.

The right questions are half the cure.

I beg you, please hurry. Or it may be too late.

Jakob, my sword.

Bring that to the pharmacist.

Tell him it's from paracelsus.

Or else they mix nothing but dog filth. Mixed with toads, these quacks.

Huh? Is there anything else?

I see.

Give that to her.

She should buy medicine though, not Brandy.

Hurry, please. They may already be doing their bloody business.

Jakob, join me!

Here we are.

It was quite the wait, master chirurgus.

Nonsense, magister! Nobody has to wait!

When there is work, I am faster than a sparrow after horse droppings.

Well, froben.

Short pain is better than long affliction.

Our chirurgus is a master in his field and very skilled.

No, I don't want to.

They all say that.

My leg doesn't hurt anymore. Let me be.

It's not so bad.

Hot water.

Johannes, make sure that all windows are closed.

Put the bucket here.

Mercy, please have mercy!

I cannot take it! I will not take it.

- Johannes, that makes me wonder. - Yes, that makes you wonder.

I know, but we need some kind of wonder. A miracle.

He is bewitched.

The boy is afraid of blood.

Do not touch froben until paracelsus decides if he can be saved.

- Yes, wait. - Now I see what is going on.

- You are no longer my famulus. - Thank god.

I will expel you cum infamia.

Yes, go on. I am fed up with your scholarliness.

We have wasted enough time. Shut the boy up.

No, no! Please help! Help!

That's him.

Let us have a look, master bonesaw.

Do not be afraid.

- Does this hurt? - Yes.

- Here too? - Yes.

This is inconceivable. I won't stand for it.

You are not invited to the concilium.

The patient called for me. Isn't that right, master froben?

Yes.

Just as I thought. Useless, cruel and stupid.

You dare to belittle my medical craft?

Your medical craft is botchery, magister. The illness is not rooted in the leg.

Of course it is. Where else would it come from?

From where?

Iliness has four roots, connected to the elements.

This one's of saturn. In his sign sidereal fires burn.

It must therefore be treated with a sulfuric substance.

Yes, well done, Jakob.

You're a quack who picked up his knowledge from some gypsies!

Yes, I'm proud of that.

I studied on the country roads.

At carnivals, in camps, in graveyards and at the gallows.

Nature is a better teacher than your... Than your universities.

What do you say to that? Say something.

- I say are we cutting it off or not? - No.

I will heal this man.

You have no permission to heal the sick.

I will report you and have you chased out of town.

Go ahead, report me. But please stop interrupting me now.

I have to take care of froben and fix what you messed up, dear colleague.

Colleague?

Me, your colleague?

Come, I need you as my witness.

The faculty will think I am a liar when I tell them what happened here.

Me, the colleague of a paracelsus!

Who is paying my fee?

You saved me, paracelsus.

Do you trust me?

Oh, how can I thank you?

I know how you can thank me.

You are a book printer?

And I have a bag full of manuscripts.

I'll be happy to print them if you heal me.

Salmon of the rhine.

I always miss it at the kaiser's court in innsbruck.

My daughter remembered that it is your favorite, count Von hohenried.

Indeed?

Yes, I praised the fish, but that was almost five years ago.

And now I have to call you milady.

A lady shouldn't remain silent when a high lord compliments her.

I thank you, count Von hohenried.

And I should not talk business in the presence of a lady.

No, no, let's talk about it. It is important.

Renata may know that even the kaiser owes her father money.

I am sure you are not here to pay me back, count Von hohenried.

The empire has many enemies and war costs money.

Milady, I am sure you would give it to the kaiser if he asked you.

One has to, right?

Seems you can get all you want from Renata.

Careful, you clumsy fool. And the kaiser can have anything from me.

Which is why I don't understand why the kaiser is not fulfilling my wishes.

The high interest you receive should be enough.

I don't want interest. I want the monopoly on Mercury!

His highness thinks you would drive up the price so much

that the poor can no longer afford it.

However, the kaiser has a different proposal.

Do you know of a wood called guaiac?

It hails from the newly discovered countries across the sea.

It miraculously heals every sickness, even the plague and morbus gallicus.

The kaiser wants to give you the monopoly.

What is it called? Guaiac?

It healed ulrich Von hutten.

Well, well. But will you allow the faculty to investigate it first?

Go ahead, but do not wait too long.

No, no, tonight at the council.

He will sleep now.

When he awakes, give him the rest.

If he is hungry, prepare a stew of raw liver and leek.

I will be back tonight.

Excuse me, master...

What is froben's actual sickness and what is the cure?

- Not just out of simple curiosity... - I know.

The name of the ailment is apoplexia.

And the name of the cure is sigillum sulfuris.

Are you wiser now?

- But my magister said that... - Sulfur is a poison.

- Yes. - Tell him that paracelsus is a poisoner.

I am not going back to him.

Let me be your student, paracelsus.

What do you think, Jakob?

He has a honest face.

Please take me.

I want to be a real physician like you.

Do you know what you're doing?

You will never rest, by day or night.

You will find an abyss of wounds and decay,

of poverty and suffering.

You will feel the cold of death and the contempt of your friends.

Nobody will thank you if you join me.

So give it some thought.

Test the vanity of your heart.

Is it willing to forsake glamour and fame? Ask yourself.

And if you still want to join me, you will be welcome.

Upon my soul, if only you had been there!

I demand a rigorosum!

But dear magister, it is not that important.

Not important! Inconceivable!

- Be reasonable! - Leave me alone with your reason!

I demand paracelsus be deported!

Out of the question.

Please be seated, gentlemen.

This vagabond brings upheaval and immorality to the city.

And immorality causes the plague.

So what do you propose?

Prohibition of gambling and dancing.

Damn, if that is all your wisdom, then bury yourself with your dead!

Good evening.

Excuse me. I had business with the kaiser's envoy.

- He wants to ban gambling and dancing. - That seems helpful.

Helpful? Next month is Peter and Paul, the great mass.

A mass without dancing and gambling is like ash Wednesday.

Who visits the city to shop?

You did not think of that.

There is no cure for the black death.

And guaiac? What about guaiac?

That new wood from America?

Ulrich Von hutten calls it a miracle cure.

Von hutten is an experimenter and troublemaker.

I have been offered two shiploads.

I want to know if I should buy it.

Galen and avicenna don't mention guaiac.

For god's sake!

Galen and avicenna have been dead for a thousand years!

America was only discovered 30 years ago.

How could they have possibly known about the guaiac?

The man who called you incompetent was right.

What was his name again?

Paracelsus.

My god, then I wish this paracelsus would be town physician!

Paracelsus? Go ahead and try him.

Challenge him in a disputation.

Call me a buffoon if he only knows one word of Latin.

Do you want to hear my opinion, even though I am only visiting your city?

You should follow the advice of the magister.

My advice? What advice?

Did you not want to challenge paracelsus in a disputation?

That is not what I said, erasmus.

Why so coy?

If paracelsus is as ignorant as you believe, you are free to gloat.

But if you are wrong, the city will gain a good physician,

and in these times, there cannot be enough of them.

And you will be called a buffoon!

The spirit of insurgency is in the city!

I thought about it. I've changed my mind.

- Are you afraid? - Of course not.

Today I found out there are more important things than love and serenade.

- Now I am curious. - Not me. A deal is a deal.

Go ahead, lift him up!

Check.

Check.

Check.

And checkmate.

You play very well.

I think you may have let me win.

- No, no. - No?

And if it would be so?

That would prove you don't respect me.

I respect you very much.

If I were a pawn in your game...

No, Renata. Listen to me...

What is that?

Like walther Von der vogelweide

I wrote a little song for you

and sing it full of sadness

but also full of joy

in the night of your dreams

just like the nightingale

in the rosebush, in the moonlight

I am a troubadour, a vassal of the court

full of sadness, full of joy

but I cannot stand fish

should we go inside?

Strange is the Fisherman's element

my element is fire

while my heart burns in longing

in sadness, in joy

I am yours forever

- I don't know... - I assume the serenade was for me.

We will see him in a minute.

Good day, councilmen.

By your merciful word and with your permission, I will finally report

what I have learned for the benefit of the sick in the entire country.

But most of all, good day to you, students of medicine,

who have come to hear the new teachings.

Do not reject my teachings because I am new,

nor because I am German or alone.

And finally, good day to you, my enemies, who will make way for me

as the old makes way for the new,

and stupidity, cowardice and suspicion surrender to truth's sharp sword.

So you shall hear me.

Didn't you challenge me to a disputation?

Yes, but in Latin, not in German.

Why not in German? Aren't we in Germany?

Not in babel or Rome.

We are in the realm of the university.

Don't you know that Latin is the language of all scholars?

Is that supposed to mean that a German cannot be a scholar?

German is the language of the peasants.

The farmer may philosophize in German with his cattle.

They don't understand Latin.

May even be proud of it.

In German: I have known many asses that understood and even spoke Latin.

No worse than you, magister!

Shut up, you wicked boys.

That was proper German.

But he does speak Latin. That has been proven.

It has not been proven that he is a physician.

- How do you want me to prove that? - In the disputation.

- I won't dispute with you! - See? He is afraid to debate with me.

Master.

There is your proof.

Can that be? It's froben!

He is able to walk again.

Paracelsus won!

He is a man! He shall teach us. There is no one like him.

But one. “Who?

Ulrich Von hutten fights against the obscurantists in politics.

Just like paracelsus in medicine.

It is true. You healed froben.

And you wanted to chop his leg off.

Sure, of course. But that does not prove anything.

Still, paracelsus acted unscientifically.

Healed unscientifically.

Luck, foolish luck!

That doesn't give you the right to call yourself a physician.

Well, if you care so much about a degree, read this.

- A doctor's degree! - In both disciplines!

By leoniceno, ferrara.

Why didn't you say that you are a certified doctor?

He who is one's own master should serve nobody.

But you will serve us, won't you?

On behalf of the council, I offer you the city's medical office.

Paracelsus!

Long live our new magister!

Impossible. This is not customary.

Without asking us!

The council as the university's donor has the right to do it.

Against the will of the faculty?

That has never happened before!

The disputation is not finished yet.

We have yet to present our doctrines.

I will say it with galen: Sickness is a corruption of the four bodily fluids.

- Phlegm, blood, yellow and black bile. - No, contested.

Man is more than phlegm and blood.

He is a whole, and so are his illnesses.

And they can only be cured based on this knowledge.

Healing only has one principle.

Catharsis.

Natural cleaning and bloodletting.

Contested.

So what are you healing with?

With insight.

Insight! Do you know of a medicine called insight?

Insight!

Insight is invisible.

You cannot make pills from insight.

Yes, you can.

The creator in his benevolence planted herbs in our country

and metals in our mountains to help those who are suffering.

To find it, to prepare and use it, one needs insight.

But alchemy is only one of four pillars of healing's temple!

The others are: Philosophy, proper thinking from the ground up.

Astronomy, the knowledge of the great laws us little humans must obey.

For where there is dissonance between man and his law, sickness arises.

And the fourth pillar?

Maybe it is not a temple, but the three-legged oracle of pythia?

The fourth pillar of healing is virtue.

Listen up, young men.

I will tell you what medical virtue is.

The physician grows from the heart, he walks from god.

He is of natural light!

The highest ground of medicine is love.

To be able to teach! Young people who believe in me.

That has always been my dream.

Will I finally be at home in this city?

Let me congratulate you as well.

You slaughtered the magister like a squealing pig.

I will never forget it.

But now tell us, master paracelsus, what you will do against the plague.

First only one thing... close off the city.

- What does that mean? - The council shall close the city gates,

so that no creature may enter, punishable by life and property.

You cannot be serious. Close the gates? That would be the end of all trade!

There is no trade with death.

And my goods? I expect flax from brabant, tin and spices!

That will have to wait.

And the guaiac? How is that supposed to get here? We need it!

Oh, hans pfefferkorn. That would be something for the pranksters.

Let the sickness in so the medicine does not remain outside.

You are wrong. The biggest prank was that I gave you this office.

Excuse me. Not you alone.

You put a nice scorpion under your vest.

Now he is mad.

Should we maybe...

The life of the citizens is now in my custody. Yours too.

I insist that the city gates be closed.

We kept our word. With eight wagons.

Relief at midnight.

Fresh pretzels!

How much?

- No one may pass! Gates closed. - Watch out! I will burn you with the pan.

Master bader, scherer and rosshaar, you are special to me.

You are not just dear fellows, you also teach some forgotten things.

You didn't crawl out from under some rock.

Your wisdom does not come from some scroll,

but rather from the book of nature.

What's the use of all this talk when the pancake is getting cold?

She is right! Wisdom is of no use for her, only love.

Love is the key. You are made like the earth, to bear fruit.

She's carrying two already. Let's see if they're ripe!

Leave them alone. They are not for some old fool.

It must be someone who knows how to pick.

Wow, hans, you are turning red like a beet.

I have other things on my mind.

Another woman. I can tell.

What do you think I'm eating? Pancakes?

No, I am eating entia.

- Entia? - Yes, entia.

An ens is the mysterium Magnum.

Look, Johannes. What's this food made of?

Eggs, bacon, flour, milk, salt.

But flour is a grain.

And grain grows from soil, rain, light.

Thus, my food comes from the elements.

That is transformation, because I build my body with it.

And with the body, my mind. Therefore: Ens.

If you could distill it, the elixir would have been found.

The adepts searched for it thousands of years.

The elixir?

It ought to be found. Everlasting health!

What an achievement, a victory it would be!

To grab his throat and beat him, so he'd lose his gruesome power!

Oh, I hate him.

Every physician must hate him.

Who are you talking about?

Death, of course.

Doctor! Doctor!

- What is it, brother Jakob? - Quick! At the gate, at midnight.

What?

They want to open the gate, let goods in.

Let the plague in!

You see, Johannes, he is already throwing down the gauntlet.

Come with me, and you as well.

I knew a fight was coming tonight. Like hutten says: It's a delight to fight.

Stop!

Damn it, they got us.

Stop. I got one.

Mercy! I am choking!

Let him go, or I'll have to mend him. Get up!

It was not my fault.

Mercy! Have pity!

Lock him up. “Where are the others?

- Any others? - Here, the Carters.

- We got you! - Put them inside!

Whose goods are these?

Johannes, have a look.

Who do they belong to?

Spit it out, you rotten devil! Or I'll put you in another headlock.

Jakob!

These fools have no idea what they have done.

But the instigator! Who paid you?

- Where is he from? - He is a fugger, from augsburg.

Augsburg?

- Many sick of the plague? - Thanks to Saint roch, I got away.

- What kind of goods do you have? - Precious goods, very precious.

Silk, fabric, specialties, incense, ginger and other spices.

Nettle is your load, not silk!

Nettle and thistles, death cherries and scorpions.

Carter, the toll for your goods is awfully high.

And nobody knows when we have to pay.

- Whose cargo is it? - I don't know.

- You are lying! - No.

We were told someone was waiting at the gate.

Why are you all looking at me?

It wasn't Mel!

- If nobody claims it, the goods will burn. - No!

Do you know the saying about the small fry who...

Go run to your master! Tell him I'm coming!

I'm sure he is not in bed yet.

I am back!

Fliegenbein is back!

Here's a better feast for you.

Say, fliegenbein, how did you get into the city?

Walked for seven years.

Rode for seven days.

Rode on a white horse.

When the horse was worn out, on a fox with a horn.

When the horn was worn out, then came roch, the bird.

Picked me up and ate me, then shat me out just above your chimney.

Here I am!

You betrayed me, Judas!

No! I don't even understand what happened.

It was such a fine plan.

Fine like a noose!

To burn it!

The silk alone is worth 3,300 guilders. And the rest all in all 10,000.

Sodom and gomorrah! My goods, my money, my sweat!

This lunatic, this quack! And I'm a fool for giving him the power! I should have...

I have to talk to you, hans pfefferkorn.

An unusual hour, an unusual reason.

- I believe your clerk told you? - Yes.

Are these your goods burning?

You are mistaken. The goods weren't mine.

Not your goods. See, I thought so. Opening the doors, no!

You care way too much about the city and the lives of your fellow citizens.

You really think you can keep away the plague by locking it out?

I hope so.

We live in a besieged city. Death is the enemy.

- Woe to the betrayer who clears his way. - Are you threatening me?

Why are you getting upset? It wasn't you.

But your clerk, I will take him.

He shall be questioned and tortured.

- Get over here, you little rascal! - You will not turn me in, will you?

You brought it all on yourself. I have nothing to do with it.

How is that possible?

You know that I am innocent!

It was him! Him! He made me do it!

- Don't believe a word he says! - Enough of this.

I wanted to see how far you would go, pfefferkorn.

So it is true what they write about the rich.

They're cruel and corrupt, ready to sell their brother anytime.

I heard voices.

Go upstairs, Renata. I have business.

- Who was that? - My daughter.

Beauty,

how you move the heart.

When we behold you, we feel how god meant man to be.

The perfect body of a perfect mind.

Because the greatness of man... is man.

For her sake I will let it go, pfefferkorn.

You are already hurting where it hurts you most: In your wallet.

Have we come to the madhouse?

Come.

One, two, three...

No!

The Saint vitus' dance?

Crazier than I have seen it in echternach. They have the dancing procession.

The prankster is to blame. Fliegenbein.

He drives people crazy with his jumps.

Wanted to do it like him.

- Fliegenbein? - Yes, the juggler.

Fliegenbein. Will you have a drink with us?

Always willing.

We know each other.

Possible. We are of the same trade... Tramps and vagabonds.

- One meets often. - If I only knew where I met you.

Now I know.

In sterzing. Where the great dying took place.

And then in altdorf.

Then in augsburg.

On the road of the plague!

My little man, what have you done?

I am not sick!

But you are carrying it with you!

Stop! Stop!

Don't touch him!

He's got the plague.

The plague!

Out! I already feel it! Out!

The plague!

I got you again, my friend.

Don't stare. Help me instead!

Carry him to my room.

Will you save him?

We will do what we can.

Jesus Christ

he was hung

he was hung on a cross

the cross was his death

who are these terrible people?

Flagellants. They believe they can redeem this sinful world with their scourges.

Come.

Listen. The new day is coming.

Johannes. We have overcome the plague.

You are a mighty magician.

- You have performed a miracle. - Nonsense.

Don't call me a magician. It's all natural.

I know what I know.

Master, may I go back out on the street?

Yes, the streets are clear, the gates are open.

Bring that to froben. I want him to print it soon.

Healing may be great, but teaching is even greater.

The letter shall spread the seed of my teachings,

for it to grow and be a blessing to all sick.

Will your daughter agree?

Please, a count and imperial ambassador. How could she not?

To call you son-in-law is a dream come true.

Oil and balm to certain wounds I had to suffer recently.

If I were you I would make peace with him.

The people sense certain things.

A public hero will soon be more powerful than emperor and pope.

No, he is a quack! He is always getting in my way.

He even dismissed the guaiac for which you granted me a monopoly.

I am sorry.

Even though I have proof it works miracles.

- From hutten? - Yes. He wrote me from meinau.

It is not far. You can go there and ask him.

"I have to admit to you that the miracle wood guaiac

completely cured me from morbus gallicus."

There had been no cure for this.

Who will you believe? A noble German knight or this would-be adept?

Your daughter!

Renata! There you are.

Come up. I have wonderful news that will make you very happy.

I am already very happy.

Come on up! What is the matter?

No, just stay. I will tell you right away.

A great fortune has been bestowed upon our house.

You will be countess! Countess hohenried!

But what... what is with you?

Please wake up, child.

Wake up, child.

Just say one word.

You don't have to be so scared, milady.

Am I so...

Could it be...

The plague?

Finally! How is she?

- Is it the plague? - Absolutely not.

What is it then?

- A disharmony of the fluids. - No, it is the bile!

The spleen!

Avicenna does not describe any of her symptoms.

It must be a very new kind of sickness.

I want to know if she woke up!

You dimwits!

Wake up, child.

Don't do this to me!

You shall have everything you wish for.

Renata.

Renata!

It is a complicated case of spasmus cynicus.

- Originatum... - The heck with your Latin!

If you cannot heal my child, you are worth less than asswipers!

You are not cursing us, you are cursing science!

You twits, half-wits...

Master pfefferkorn, dear master pfefferkorn!

I am not your dear pfefferkorn!

Get out of my house, or I will kick you out!

I will complain to the council!

Ruffian! Disgrace and shame! Enough is enough.

Just wait. I know who is to blame.

Paracelsus. Always paracelsus.

I only care about her.

Bury your hate. Only he can help us.

Make peace with him.

And he with me?

You will print my work in German so that everyone understands, not only bullheads.

In German? That is not customary.

Let us break with the customs. Clean up, remove the fluff from the brain.

You will not let me down?

No, of course not. I know I owe you.

But what you are asking for is not so simple.

I don't have the German letters. I have to cast them first.

That takes some time.

Go ahead, cast them. A few weeks don't matter.

I have time. I have all of eternity.

Pfefferkorn?

- You? In my house? - I did not come for you.

I am looking for paracelsus.

His servant sent me here.

Something happened... I want to ask his advice.

Without much ado...

A person of my household has fallen sick and you must help.

There are plenty of great physicians. They can help.

- Sure, if you don't want to... - I beg you, dear master...

How does this concern you, young man?

We cannot refuse our help if someone is in need.

Your famulus is right. 100 guilders if you heal her.

Her?

Why didn't you say it was your daughter?

Since yesterday she has been lying there like this.

Please tell me that she will not die. I beg you.

You can have the 100 guilders and whatever else you want.

Your child must have suffered a severe shock. Do you know anything about it?

- No, I don't. - But I do!

- What do you know, young man? - The flagellants!

I ran into her on the street. Luckily. I was able to provide her with a service.

What kind of service?

Please, would you leave us for a moment? You too, dear women.

Do you have any hope?

The master cannot do much, but the famulus...

Never mind.

Me?

Why don't you come, dear colleague?

What is your opinion?

My opinion?

Yes, dear colleague.

Because I have to admit that I am at a loss.

So I faithfully give this case to you.

I think it is stupa animae.

Bravo. Well done.

I can tell you are on the right track.

Master, you are not leaving me alone with her?

There's nothing for me here.

Work your art, doctor.

But gently. Very gently.

- What is going on? - Be quiet.

You might disturb them.

You know what you are? A shameful matchmaker!

Wait.

Don't you want your child to be healthy? Healthy and happy?

Weren't you offering whatever it takes?

I won't pay 100 guilders!

- Oh, you are refusing to pay my fee? - Not refusing.

Stop railing against the guaiac, and I'll pay the 100 guilders.

- And if I don't comply? - Then only six guilders.

Too early, master peppercorn. You wouldn't buy a pig in a poke.

We don't even know yet if...

Seems like the awakening was a success.

That's...

Maybe you should pay the six guilders to my famulus.

You will regret this, paracelsus. What?

That your daughter is cured?

Oh! Don't make me laugh.

Thanks for your hospitality.

What, you want to leave already? So sudden?

- I don't know why I should stay. - Because of our arrangement!

Renata is healthy, and I will set her head straight.

We can prepare everything.

Your daughter does not love me.

Hey there!

No spying.

I will twist your neck, little boy. That will cure you of your curiosity.

- I just wanted... - "I just wanted..." Anyone can say that.

You are not a boy, you are...

Not anyone can just walk into the vault of paracelsus.

You are his servant?

Then please take these 100 guilders. My father owes it to paracelsus.

- I am supposed to drop them off. - But I don't know...

Stop! Don't go!

What is going on?

The lady is bringing you 100 guilders.

My father sent me to bring it.

Put that back where it came from.

Your jewelry box.

I take money from the rich, not the poor or the young.

The garb suits you.

Just like a little bachelor.

Look at that.

As if you came to learn chemistry here.

If it were customary, I would gladly learn from you.

Well then, come.

Is it true you are looking for an elixir that helps against all sickness,

providing eternal health?

Who told you that?

- Johannes. - Nonsense!

There are no miracles.

It is all in nature.

What I am looking for, quinta essentia...

You don't know what that is.

I call it the virtue of things.

Because... hellebore doesn't heal, but something inside it does.

Not Mercury heals, but something in it.

Evaporate the essences, get to its healing power in its pure form, you see?

I think so.

And because it is pure, you call it the virtue of things.

Very good. You understand me better than my famulus.

He sees magic everywhere.

He is full of superstition, like fleas on a dog.

I see. Scholars will soon wear women's skirts.

Don't brag about the elixir, little hans.

I have to go see my patients.

Don't talk to him about the elixir, Renata.

Could you hide a thought from him?

True. He has great power over things and people.

Almost too much.

It is not always easy to be close to him.

But I always want to be close to you.

Do you hear me?

Not here. Please, hans.

Come, show me the laboratory.

- Oh, nothing to see. Just tar and sulfur! - But, hans!

What are you talking about?

I always thought science and alchemy was your world.

Oh, no, this is the alchemy I yearn for.

But I want you to become a great physician too.

Like him.

Him again! Do you love paracelsus or do you love me?

A physician who is famous beyond our times.

Do you believe I can be one, Renata?

Do you believe in me?

You don't even know what you are capable of.

I do feel the strength inside of me.

- If I could only prove it! - You will one day.

Don't be so impatient.

But I am impatient!

Where have you been?

- I am sorry, father. - I want to know where you were.

Ask urias. He followed me.

You roam around like a stray cat!

Did you forget who we are and what we owe?

- I did not forget what we owe. - What do you mean?

I went to bring paracelsus his 100 guilders.

That you promised him.

- You went to paracelsus? - Yes, but he did not accept the money.

So you see what a fool he is!

Give me the money.

You better watch out!

The money for which you have such contempt is more powerful than your paracelsus.

I don't think so.

We'll sing the song of ulrich Von hutten.

The drum, drum, drum, and drum

lords, your time has come and gone

you could not last any longer

the tyranny of the rulers passed

of the moneybags, the farmer's fright

the screaming of obscurantists

they now make way for the farmer

the drum, drum, drum, and drum

lords, your time has come and gone

the drum, drum, drum, and drum

lords, your time has come and gone

I drink to ulrich Von hutten.

And I drink to the German empire.

To everything that can fly!

Sparrow hawks, nightingales, butterflies, bats!

Higher, higher.

May your wings never weaken.

You, who with a sweeping flap

floats above us, born from dust.

To this I drink.

What did he mean by that?

Drum, drum, drum, and drum

lords, your time has come and gone

Let's start our day's work.

Day's work. “What?

Better call it night's work.

Yes, yes, days and nights are too short.

One should live a hundred lives. Or one of a thousand years.

- Go on, write. - I can't.

You have to. A real physician knows no sleep.

Physician? Am I a physician?

You make me write and serve, do this, do that, come and go.

I know you are looking for the elixir.

You said yourself, the arcanum against death.

But you search in secret and lock yourself up.

Why don't you trust me?

Master, please tell me. I am longing for it.

Hans, you cannot fly before you have feathers.

So write.

Nature compounded the arcana immensely.

Look to learn where its pharmacy is.

It gives you good medicine, good help, good advice.

Paracelsus won't make a fool of himself any longer. No more waiting.

Why so contentious? No time. I'm riding to the book fair in Frankfurt.

Ride? To the book fair? But froben...

The master told you you may die if you strain yourself.

My dear young friend... you look pale.

A real young scholar.

L... 1 did not expect to see you here.

You are surprised, are you?

There will be more surprises.

Froben has not been doing well.

Almost as if the old sickness were still there.

It may not have been rooted out altogether.

It's me, Jakob.

A stranger is here.

- He says it is urgent. - Not now.

You know my time is limited.

Time is what we suffer from.

Death measures it by cubit. Help me fight death, paracelsus.

Who are you?

I know you.

Like one spirit knows another. Brotherly in time's flow.

I am a German knight and come to you without a name

to receive your verdict.

I am not a judge.

But my fortune is in your hands.

The white or the black.

You are in distress.

I thought I was healed by a miracle cure.

I sang, I cheered, I believed in the gift of a new life.

But the sickness is like a fire smoldering under the ashes,

and now my whole body burns.

Burns... and burns...

Morbus gallicus.

Can you save me, paracelsus?

Why don't you speak?

Say it. I have no fear.

When did it start?

Two years ago, in a field camp in burgundy.

- They advised guaiac. - Yes.

You thought you were cured.

But guaiac just pushed the sickness into you.

It concealed its danger.

And now it is too late.

Final?

Irrevocable.

How much longer?

Maybe until the fruits ripen.

Well then.

I can prepare.

I still have some work to do.

A lot to tell the Germans.

Will pain cripple my hand and paralyze my mind?

Against the pain I'll give you something.

Paracelsus, they are saying...

That you have an elixir.

- Who says so? - The people.

People talk a lot.

But I hoped for it anyway.

It's true. I tried.

If anyone finds it, then me.

But it's not good yet, see.

Maybe I'm on the wrong track. Sometimes I have doubts...

When I see the pain and suffering, I just have to take the path of the adepts.

The quest, the research... It's rooted in me.

- Is he here? - You cannot go to him now.

If you'd come earlier, ulrich Von hutten.

It's you, right?

Yes.

Had you only mistrusted the guaiac.

I may have been able to help you.

With mercurio.

- You mean Mercury? - Yes, Mercury.

It is a bad poison, dangerous in unskilled hands.

It has to be sublimated finely before putting it in the veins.

Else it's like fire, replacing one evil by another.

But if it's sublimated... then it's weak, too weak to help you. No...

I mustn't risk it.

They would call me a murderer.

Thank you for telling me the truth.

I have to thank you.

I have learned a lot in this hour.

What can a philosopher learn from a soldier?

Courage.

To what are you bowing, paracelsus?

Your immortality.

There's only one immortality.

To live on in the memory of one's people.

Let me escort you.

We'll meet again... on the other side.

Master?

You? Here?

I waited for you here, because... Because...

Froben refuses to print. He says they prohibited it.

Prohibited? By whom?

The council.

We will see about that.

- They all hate you. - Oh, yes.

Truth brings hate.

We'll have to deal with that, Johannes.

Do you have sparrows in your hats?

Oh, I forgot.

The faculty of medicine made a decision.

The scholars may attend paracelsus' lectures for edification.

But you cannot earn a degree from him.

His students cannot expect doctorate, position and livelihood.

Say something. Laugh.

You cannot let him fool you!

This "magister"!

Easy for you to say. No position, no pay.

You are cowards! Sissies!

What are you doing, Jakob? You can't.

I can't? If the master knew about this!

None of your business.

Hanging around? What's that?

Let's learn!

Because of all the scandal, the faculty hereby decrees

that paracelsus is not allowed to award degrees to his students.

My boys have left me.

You have to understand us, master.

They are afraid they won't make a living.

I came to you full of harvest.

With the fruits of my journeys, and you don't want them.

We want them.

But they won't let us.

What can we do?

Everything is the fault of this damn magister.

He should burn!

Paracelsus! Paracelsus!

Is anybody here?

- What is happening? - Get him.

- Is it froben? - He is dying.

- Where's paracelsus? - Not here.

- Where is he? - He didn't say.

- Move! Do something! - Let's look for him.

Don't! I'll go. You?

Yes. I will save froben's life.

Don't touch it! It's not good.

Let me. You don't know about it.

I know more than you think.

Why is nobody coming?

Soon. I called for him.

There he is.

Oh, it's you.

We heard about the accident at city hall.

Your friends won't stand back. They are worried.

- Is he that way? - It wasn't the fall. He had a fit.

What? I knew it! It's not my fault.

Now you see who was right, me or paracelsus!

Please, it is a matter of life and death.

I shall fix what he did wrong?

Where is the genius princeps medicorum?

When push comes to shove, he hides.

- Don't run away! - You are...

I will not do you any harm.

Please call the young lady. I have to talk to her.

Here. The elixir. I will cure him.

Johannes thinks he can do the same as the master.

Be a great physician himself.

Stop him, before it's too late.

Me? Why me?

Because only you can stop him. He will listen to you.

He loves you.

And I don't know where the master is.

Anyway, we have to find him.

So this is the elixir.

Do you act in the name of paracelsus? Or in your own name?

We have to know.

In the name of paracelsus.

No!

The boy can't do this to me!

It is like I am telling you.

Come.

But if it is harmful after all?

Be calm, master froben.

The elixir will give you strength and health.

You feel nothing yet?

That's what I call art! A potion of life!

I feel it running through my limbs like a fountain of youth.

Truly, Johannes, you are a physician! Like the world has never seen.

Better than your master! If you knew how I feel.

It's like eating manna.

Never before have I felt such a wonderful well-being.

Even down to the tips of my toes!

No!

Froben!

Johannes!

Wait! Wait! Froben!

Johannes, did you...

You didn't...

This was the printer froben.

What did you give him?

The elixir.

I prepared it based on your formula.

- Poisoner! - That's not poison.

Froben did not die from this. He died of apoplexy.

- It is my fault, only mine! - Those are just excuses!

- Don't scream in a dead man's home. - Well done, paracelsus.

- You murdered froben. - It is over, paracelsus!

You're a murderer, you know?

No! You should be called murderers.

Murderers of every new thought.

But also torturers and destroyers, bringers of sorrow.

Because you don't care about the sick, as long as you have gold.

As long as you have your posts!

- If you were as stupid as the cattle... - Cattle?

You try to hide your stupidity, and you destroy the work of paracelsus!

Scum! You broke and befouled it with your drivel!

But I will not give up...

I'm glad that the rogues are enemies,

because truth has no enemies but lies.

Down the stairs!

I did not mean to.

You can murder me, but not kill me. Because I am eternal.

I'll judge you after I'm dead.

Just remember: Theophrast will fight you without a body.

The time has come.

Get the police to arrest and deal with him.

Renata.

Just a word.

One word.

Please listen.

I was vain. Stupid, rotten.

But... I am not a bad man, am I?

It was all for you.

I did it out of love.

I wanted to be great physician by healing froben.

I will make it up to you.

Make it up to me?

How would you do that?

Johannes?

- You must flee, master. - Flee?

Quick, before they close the city gates.

Let's go! They're coming!

But...

My manuscripts, my medicine, my pharmacy!

I'll stay and take care of it. Save yourself!

Damn, they are coming from all sides.

Good day, merry folks!

- Fliegenbein, you are here! - Just at the right time.

Let's perform a charade and call it "the gratitude of the Jester."

Pass!

Why are you digging like moles?

If you are looking for your dirty shirts, I don't have them.

- And my time is precious. - Quiet, churl! You know nothing.

The city's at stake! We are looking for a sinner who got away.

Oh, you are talking about paracelsus?

Search my hay as long as you like.

But I tell you one thing: Everyone of us would help him.

With joy and gratitude.

That's it! He's a rebel.

Stop.

Yes! I am back.

Look what I'm doing! It's very special.

I am back!

- Fliegenbein! - Fliegenbein!

Gold, who wants gold?

Fliegenbein craps guilders!

It's mine.

Mine!

Give it to me! Or I'll twist your bowels.

Stop, I cannot breathe.

What a shame for our city.

Where did he get the money? Guards, arrest them.

The purse of my daughter?

Yes.

I gave it to him. You?

You taught me how powerful money is.

- It was a good use of the 100 guilders. - Used for what?

For paracelsus.

We will go and look for him.

Where will we find him?

Everywhere where people are suffering.

We searched for you, paracelsus.

In colmar, nuremberg, beratzhausen and St. gallen.

In sundgau and swabia, but we only found your traces,

the faithful love of your patients and the hate of your colleagues.

But your travels shall come to an end.

It is the kaiser's will.

He heard, not only from me, of your miraculous deeds and healings.

They are not miracles.

The kaiser wants to bestow upon you well-deserved honor, glory, and power.

Honor, glory, and power.

How I longed for it.

The kaiser wishes and orders you to immediately leave

to join his court in innsbruck.

He wants me to go to innsbruck?

To the court?

You refuse?

I see it in your face.

The people need me.

They call for me.

Not the kaiser. The people I must serve.

The end

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