A Chymical Dictionary

Spiritus Animalis

Mind soul and inward powers · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A power of the soul described through likeness to the heavens.

In the book. Scaiolæ offers a parallel coordination of inward powers with the wider natural order: the faculties of the mind are numbered according to the four elements.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371.

Historical Definition

Spiritus Animalis is a power of the soul by which it becomes like the heavens.

Meaning

The definition treats spiritus animalis as a power or faculty, and explains it through a relation of likeness. The soul is said to become like the heavens by this power. Animalis should therefore be read within the complete expression; the gloss is not a reference simply to a nonhuman animal.

Use in the Book

Scaiolæ offers a parallel coordination of inward powers with the wider natural order: the faculties of the mind are numbered according to the four elements. Sol in homine gives a different relation, an invisible fire flowing from the celestial sun that preserves and nourishes natural fire in a person. These articles connect inward life with the cosmos without making the connections identical.

The distinction between likeness and influence is especially useful. Spiritus Animalis does not specify the same flowing movement that Sol in homine describes. Nor does it list four faculties as Scaiolæ does. Comparing the actual predicates keeps the reader close to what each definition says.

Places to Read

Scaiolæ. Four powers of the mind coordinated with the elements.

Sol in homine. An inward solar fire related to the celestial sun.

In This Edition

The English animal spirit can be retained as a finding phrase, with the historical Latin heading beside it. The explanation does not identify the power with a modern nerve signal, a chemical substance or a psychological trait; none of those identifications is supplied by this definition.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Spiritus Animalis; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 371; compare Scaiolæ, Sol in homine

See also. Scaiolæ; Sol in homine