From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordThe philosophers’ heaven explained through quintessence and universal medicine.
- In the bookCompare Cœlum Spagiricum, which names a part of a vessel, and Cœli planetarum, which concerns planetary orbs.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344.
Historical definition
Cœlum Philosophorum is any quintessence or universal medicine, especially the philosophers’ stone.
Meaning
The entry moves heaven-language into a philosophical and medicinal field. It expressly includes any quintessence or universal medicine, then gives special prominence to the philosophers’ stone. The emphasis does not cancel the broader opening category. A reader should preserve both the range and the preferred example.
The definition does not make the subject an ordinary region of the sky. Nor does it identify a complete preparation. Quintessence and universal medicine are explanatory terms within the historical account, carrying claims that need to be read in the particular work where they occur.
Use in the book
Compare Cœlum Spagiricum, which names a part of a vessel, and Cœli planetarum, which concerns planetary orbs. The three entries show how similar heaven vocabulary can operate in different settings. Lapis Philosophorum and Quintessentia provide the most direct further reading for this entry’s material and philosophical senses.
Places to read
- Cœlum PhilosophorumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- QuintessentiaA purified spiritual matter obtained from living things.
- Lapis PhilosophorumThe philosophers’ stone defined through supreme terrestrial power and its imparting of tincture.
- Cœlum SpagiricumThe upper region of a vessel named as a spagyrical heaven.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 16; facsimile PDF page 344 — Facsimile