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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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English Edition · Branch 122 of 740

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 122

Gravus

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A stone identified through a name and a use in cold dissolution.

In the book. Deliquium names cold dissolution of coagulated bodies.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 24; facsimile PDF page 352.

Historical Definition

Gravus is the stone Porphyrites, used like marble for dissolving things in the cold.

Meaning

The entry gives both a material name and a practical comparison. The stone is Porphyrites, and its use is said to be like that of marble in dissolving things in the cold. The gloss does not describe the subject being dissolved or the arrangement of the work.

Use in the Book

Deliquium names cold dissolution of coagulated bodies. Grilla describes vitriol dissolving of its own accord into water. These comparisons help explain the operation language without identifying the stone as an active reagent or supplying a procedure that the dictionary does not give.

Places to Read

Deliquium. Dissolution of a coagulated body in a cold setting.

Grilla. Vitriol described in a spontaneously dissolved condition.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 24; facsimile PDF page 352 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Gravus

See also. Deliquium; Grilla

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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.