From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAn external elemental balsam explained through Mercury, Mumia and firmamental essence.
- In the bookMumia Elementorum and Balsamum provide the most direct comparisons.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338.
Historical definition
Balsamum Elementorum externum is a liquor of external Mercury: that is, the Mumia of external elements, one of the three principles, the firmamental essence of things.
Meaning
The definition supplies a chain of related descriptions rather than a familiar everyday ingredient. Liquor, external Mercury, elemental Mumia, a principle and firmamental essence are used to characterize the subject. Each phrase belongs to the historical account and should be preserved, even where the relations remain compressed.
The qualifier external is especially important beside the internal balsam of a human body. It keeps this entry in the account of external nature. Yet the word does not by itself identify a modern liquid or prove that the “essence” has been isolated. A reader needs the surrounding author’s explanation of elements and principles to narrow the sense.
Use in the book
Mumia Elementorum and Balsamum provide the most direct comparisons. Archeius places the three principles within a larger account of generation. These links clarify the vocabulary’s conceptual setting without supplying an invented preparation.
Places to read
- Balsamum Elementorum externumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- BalsamumA preservative substance described in both bodily and external forms.
- Mumia ElementorumMumia-language applied to a balm of external elements.
- ArcheiusA generative agency distinguished from universal matter and from the agency of individual formation.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 10; facsimile PDF page 338 — Facsimile