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 water described through the three principles and natural medicinal waters.
- In the bookArcheius describes the threefold division into sulphur, Mercury and salt within a larger account of generation.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333.
Historical definition
Aqua Saturnia retains within itself the nature of the three principles, as do bath waters, which are naturally medicinal.
Meaning
The definition’s explanatory clause is more informative than a literal reading of its name. Although Saturn terminology elsewhere points to lead, this sentence speaks of the three principles and gives bath waters as its comparison. A reader should therefore follow that account before assuming a lead preparation.
The author attributes medicinal character to such natural waters. This is a historical claim about their virtues, not an analysis of every spring or a modern recommendation. The entry’s purpose is to locate the water within a three-principle account of nature. It gives no recipe, named spring or measured composition.
Use in the book
Archeius describes the threefold division into sulphur, Mercury and salt within a larger account of generation. That related passage helps explain what the dictionary can mean by principles without making every instance of Saturn vocabulary identical.
Places to read
- Aqua SaturniaRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- ArcheiusA generative agency distinguished from universal matter and from the agency of individual formation.
- ElementumThe elemental domain described through corruption, transience and change.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aqua Saturnia ; compare Archeius, Elementum