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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 DictionaryMarcasita

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English Edition · Branch 138 of 740

Marcasita

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 138

Marcasita

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A varied category of metallic matter understood as unripe.

In the book. Kachimia similarly concerns the first, unripe state of metallic ore.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 32; facsimile PDF page 360.

Historical Definition

Marcasita is an unripe matter of metals, with as many kinds as there are metals.

Meaning

The dictionary does not give one fixed mineral identity. It defines a category by its relation to metallic development and expressly multiplies its kinds according to the metals. Unripe therefore does explanatory work: the matter is discussed in relation to a condition it has not yet attained.

Use in the Book

Kachimia similarly concerns the first, unripe state of metallic ore. Magnesia is commonly used for a marcasite, but its artificial sense is separately described as a white, brittle mixture. Those links give both a near parallel and a reminder that one name may cover different accounts.

Places to Read

Kachimia. Metallic ore described as unripe and at its beginning.

Magnesia. One name with a common mineral use and a distinct artificial preparation.

In This Edition

A later restricted mineral use of marcasite is not substituted for the compiler’s plural and developmental definition.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 32; facsimile PDF page 360 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 360, Marcasita

See also. Kachimia; Magnesia

138

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.