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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 DictionaryInfluentia

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English Edition · Branch 630 of 740

Influentia

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 630

Influentia

Spirits celestial influences and signs · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. The causal action of superior bodies upon inferior bodies.

In the book. The entries on Microcosmus and Olympicus spiritus show why such vocabulary matters in accounts of the human being.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 28; facsimile PDF page 356.

Historical Definition

Influentia is the action of higher bodies upon lower ones.

Meaning

Influence here is an action passing through a hierarchy of bodies. Higher and lower are relational terms: the definition requires an acting body and a body acted upon. It does not merely describe the transmission of an opinion or the prestige of one person over another. Nor does it restrict this action to a single named star.

Use in the Book

The entries on Microcosmus and Olympicus spiritus show why such vocabulary matters in accounts of the human being. A person can be considered a little world containing powers discussed through celestial language; Influentia supplies a general name for the downward action invoked in those accounts.

Places to Read

Microcosmus. The human being named as a little world.

Olympicus spiritus. An inward star associated with a person’s shadow.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 28; facsimile PDF page 356 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 356, Influentia

See also. Microcosmus; Olympicus spiritus

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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.