Ilech crudum

Elements principles and the natural world · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A composition described through first matter and three principles.

In the book. Ilech primum receives the shorter gloss first principle.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 26; facsimile PDF page 354.

Historical Definition

Ilech crudum is a composition of the first matter of the three first principles.

Meaning

The phrase connects a composition with first matter and with three first principles. The entry does not name the principles in this sentence, but the dictionary’s Iliaster definition explicitly lists Sulphur, Mercury and Salt. That parallel supplies an internal guide to the terminology.

“Composition” should remain visible. The text is speaking about a relation of constituent principles, rather than simply using Ilech crudum as another unqualified name for any first matter.

Use in the Book

Ilech primum receives the shorter gloss first principle. Ilech magnum concerns a medicine’s ascendant or star, while Iliaster introduces a fourfold account alongside the three principles. Keeping these definitions distinct allows the reader to follow the change in scale and qualification across related names.

Places to Read

Ilech magnum. A medicine’s hidden star explained through a higher and lower correspondence.

Ilech primum. A term glossed as the first principle.

Iliaster. First matter organised through three principles, four elements and a further human fourfold account.

In This Edition

The modernised definition retains the compressed historical construction. It does not impose a modern list of chemical ingredients upon the three principles.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 26; facsimile PDF page 354 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Ilech crudum

See also. Ilech magnum; Ilech primum; Iliaster