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 returning hidden virtue illustrated by seasonal movement into a root.
- In the bookArcanum provides broader hidden-virtue vocabulary, while Caleruth concerns a desire to return to first matter.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344.
Historical definition
Clissus is the hidden virtue of things returning to where they came from, as the virtue of an herb returns into its root in autumn.
Meaning
The definition explains a general relation through a plant example. A thing’s virtue is described as returning to its origin, and autumnal return into an herb’s root makes the idea concrete. The stated subject is the virtue, not necessarily the visible movement of the whole plant. This distinction helps a reader follow the account without imagining every material part returning in the same way.
The seasonal detail is meaningful. The example locates the return within a cycle, rather than describing an undifferentiated permanent state. A passage about gathering or preparing a plant may draw on such an account of where its virtue is thought to reside, though the dictionary sentence itself gives no harvesting instruction.
Use in the book
Arcanum provides broader hidden-virtue vocabulary, while Caleruth concerns a desire to return to first matter. The resemblance in return-language is useful, but the entries answer different questions. Clissus describes a returning virtue; Caleruth names a sign of inclination toward an origin. Keeping action, power and sign distinct improves interpretation.
Places to read
- ClissusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- ArcanumA hidden virtue in natural things, capable in this account of enhancement through art.
- CaleruthA sign interpreted as a thing’s inclination to return to its origin.
- LeffasAn unseen earthly vapour credited with the growth of plants.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Clissus ; compare Arcanum, Caleruth, Leffas