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 art defined through separation and the production of essences.
- In the bookAlchymia gives the closely related separation formula, while Spagiria names the art in common usage and Spagirus describes its practitioner.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343.
Historical definition
Chymia is the art of separating pure from impure and making essences.
Meaning
The definition combines an operation with a kind of result. Separation distinguishes pure from impure; making essences describes a further aim of the art. Both clauses matter. A summary concerned only with metallic transmutation would omit the purposes explicitly stated here.
The entry leaves purity and essence to be specified by particular works. A reader should ask what is removed, what is retained and what the author calls the essence obtained. These questions make the definition useful across different materials without converting it into one universal recipe.
Use in the book
Alchymia gives the closely related separation formula, while Spagiria names the art in common usage and Spagirus describes its practitioner. Essentia quinta and Quintessentia offer further routes into essence vocabulary. Together they connect the art’s names with its actions and desired products.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 15; facsimile PDF page 343 — Facsimile