From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordA term linking heavenly gifts, Christian sacraments and life-preserving celestial influence.
- In the bookAniaday, Aniadum and Aniadus form a nearby group but are not interchangeable.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 4; facsimile PDF page 332.
Historical definition
Aniada are the fruits and virtues of paradise and heaven, and also the sacraments of Christians. In natural philosophy the term means the astral and celestial virtues insofar as their influence contributes to long life.
Meaning
The definition deliberately spans more than one field. Its first meanings concern paradise, heaven and Christian sacraments. Its expressly philosophical meaning concerns astral or celestial virtues considered in relation to longevity. The transition is important: the entry records related senses without reducing the sacramental vocabulary to a single material preparation.
Here “virtues” concerns attributed powers or effective qualities. Reading it only as ethical goodness would obscure the natural-philosophical sentence. Equally, reducing the word to a modern measurable force would replace the historical explanation with another system. The dictionary describes an influence believed to contribute to long life; it does not demonstrate that effect.
Use in the book
Aniaday, Aniadum and Aniadus form a nearby group but are not interchangeable. Aniaday names an eternal spring or coming paradise; Aniadum concerns a regenerated spiritual person; Aniadus names efficacy. The group helps readers see the shared associations while keeping each grammatical and conceptual function distinct.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 4; facsimile PDF page 332 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aniada ; compare Aniaday, Aniadum, Aniadus, Annus Aniadin