“Then came Paracelsus (b. 1493 d. 1541) who is generally accredited with instituting a new era in the study. He demonstrated that alchemy, which flourished in his day, and of which he was a zealous student, could be made of value to the physician. He originated the famous concoction ”Elixir Proprietatis” made of saffron, aloes, and myrrh, claiming that whoever used it would “live as long as Methuselah”; then he died in his 47th year.”
Felter/Lloyd (King’s American Dispensary, 1898)