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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · English Edition

Gerhard Dorn and John French

A Chymical Dictionary

An Expanded Diotimos Lexicon of Paracelsian and Alchemical Language

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A Chymical DictionaryLac Virginis

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English Edition · Branch 247 of 740

Lac Virginis

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 247

Lac Virginis

Salts solvents and liquid preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Virgin’s milk as a name for mercurial water.

In the book. Acetum Philosophorum gives mercurial water and virgin’s milk together, and associates the liquid with the dissolution of metals.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357.

Historical Definition

Lac Virginis is mercurial water.

Meaning

The milky name does not require an animal source. The compiler identifies the referent as mercurial water, placing it within the language of prepared or philosophical materials. That phrase itself is broader than a declaration that ordinary liquid mercury is intended.

Use in the Book

Acetum Philosophorum gives mercurial water and virgin’s milk together, and associates the liquid with the dissolution of metals. Aqua celestina also leads to mercurial water. These explicit connections provide a reading route through the changing names.

Places to Read

Acetum Philosophorum. A philosophical solvent described as a mercurial water and Virgin’s Milk.

Aqua celestina. A water identified through Mercury.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 357, Lac Virginis

See also. Acetum Philosophorum; Aqua celestina

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About This Reading Edition

The complete 706 historical definitions of the 1650 English dictionary, modernised and accompanied by expanded Diotimos commentary, reading routes, 15 textual notes and complete linked indexes.

Historical Text

A Chymicall Dictionary, London 1650, English version associated with John French, based on Gerhard Dorn’s Dictionarium Theophrasti Paracelsi. The containing volume also prints Sendivogius and Paracelsus; neither neighboring work changes this dictionary’s attribution.

About This Edition

Complete 706 definition paragraphs with new introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes; Diotimos Editions, 2026.

Rights

The historical 1650 English text is in the public domain. New introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and published with the site owner’s authorization.