A Chymical Dictionary

Chymia

Operations instruments and practitioners · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. An art defined through separation and the production of essences.

In the book. Alchymia gives the closely related separation formula, while Spagiria names the art in common usage and Spagirus describes its practitioner.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343.

Historical Definition

Chymia is the art of separating pure from impure and making essences.

Meaning

The definition combines an operation with a kind of result. Separation distinguishes pure from impure; making essences describes a further aim of the art. Both clauses matter. A summary concerned only with metallic transmutation would omit the purposes explicitly stated here.

The entry leaves purity and essence to be specified by particular works. A reader should ask what is removed, what is retained and what the author calls the essence obtained. These questions make the definition useful across different materials without converting it into one universal recipe.

Use in the Book

Alchymia gives the closely related separation formula, while Spagiria names the art in common usage and Spagirus describes its practitioner. Essentia quinta and Quintessentia offer further routes into essence vocabulary. Together they connect the art’s names with its actions and desired products.

Places to Read

Alchymia. Alchemy defined as a work of separating impurity.

Spagiria. A name commonly used for alchemy.

Spagirus. The alchemical practitioner defined through discrimination and separation.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Chymia ; compare Alchymia, Spagiria, Spagirus, Essentia quinta, Quintessentia

See also. Alchymia; Spagiria; Spagirus; Essentia quinta; Quintessentia