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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 DictionaryMensis Philosophicus

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English Edition · Branch 717 of 740

Mensis Philosophicus

Book Mode

A Chymical Dictionary

p. 717

Mensis Philosophicus

Language number and measures · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A philosophical month measured as forty days of digestion.

In the book. Digestio supplies a separate explanation of the operation.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361.

Historical Definition

Mensis Philosophicus is the full period of digestion, namely forty days.

Meaning

The compiler defines the month by the completion of an operation and then gives its duration. Forty days is therefore part of the stated meaning, rather than a calendar month silently assumed by a modern reader. The entry does not describe what is digested or the conditions under which that span applies.

Use in the Book

Digestio supplies a separate explanation of the operation. Keeping the operation and its named full period together makes the technical use of month more precise than a general statement that all philosophical time is symbolic.

Places to Read

Digestio. Preparation understood through digestion and the separation of pure from impure.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 33; facsimile PDF page 361 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 361, Mensis Philosophicus

See also. Digestio

717

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.