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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 DictionaryLabor Sophiæ

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English Edition · Branch 40 of 740

Labor Sophiæ

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 40

Labor Sophiæ

Elements principles and the natural world · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A phrase directed towards paradise or another world.

In the book. Microcosmus explicitly names man as a little world, while Mysterium magnum names universal first matter.

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

Historical Definition

Labor Sophiæ is paradise, or another world.

Meaning

The Latin phrase names a labour of wisdom, but the dictionary’s actual equivalent is a place or condition: paradise, alternatively another world. It gives neither a manual operation nor a material recipe. The two equivalents leave the expression’s precise application dependent on the passage in which it occurs.

Use in the Book

Microcosmus explicitly names man as a little world, while Mysterium magnum names universal first matter. These show different uses of world-language. Their proximity of theme does not authorise substituting either definition for Labor Sophiæ.

Places to Read

Microcosmus. The human being named as a little world.

Mysterium magnum. A universal first matter, rather than one particular prepared subject.

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

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 357, Labor Sophiæ

See also. Microcosmus; Mysterium magnum

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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.