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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 DictionaryLocus vitæ

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English Edition · Branch 586 of 740

Locus vitæ

A Chymical Dictionary

p. 586

Locus vitæ

Mind soul and inward powers · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. The place of life understood as the mind’s or soul’s seat.

In the book. Microcosmus names man as a little world, while Liquor essentialis concerns material becoming flesh and blood.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358.

Historical Definition

Locus vitæ is the seat of the mind or soul.

Meaning

The definition locates life through the mind or soul without naming an anatomical organ. Seat marks a dwelling or position of activity, not necessarily a separate substance. A reader should therefore avoid replacing the expression automatically with the heart, brain or another bodily part.

Use in the Book

Microcosmus names man as a little world, while Liquor essentialis concerns material becoming flesh and blood. The different entries show that life can be discussed through an organising seat, the whole human being, or a process of bodily formation.

Places to Read

Liquor essentialis. An assimilable humour described through its becoming flesh and blood.

Microcosmus. The human being named as a little world.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 358, Locus vitæ

See also. Liquor essentialis; Microcosmus

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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.