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 constitution of a part described through its qualities.
- In the bookQualitas supplies the complementary list hot, cold, dry and moist, tied to the predominance of an element.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 17; facsimile PDF page 345.
Historical definition
Complexio is the nature of any part, or its quality of heat, cold, and the like.
Meaning
“Complexion” here means a nature or constitution, rather than the everyday description of the colour of someone’s face. The entry applies it to any part and illustrates its qualities through heat and cold. It therefore gives the reader a way to discuss how something is constituted or acts within the book’s natural philosophy.
The phrase “and the like” leaves the list open. It should not be expanded into a detailed system beyond the qualities stated elsewhere in the dictionary. Nor do heat and cold become measured temperatures merely because the words remain familiar.
Use in the book
Qualitas supplies the complementary list hot, cold, dry and moist, tied to the predominance of an element. Temperatum describes a condition in which no quality exceeds its measure. Diameter Spagiricus gives temperament as another short classification. These entries explain one another through relations of balance, predominance and constitution.
Places to read
- ComplexioRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Diameter SpagiricusA spagyrical term glossed as temperament.
- QualitasThe balance of hot, cold, dry and moist qualities.
- TemperatumA balanced condition without excess in a quality.
In this edition
The modernised definition keeps both “nature” and “quality.” Choosing only one would flatten a deliberate pair in the historical explanation.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 17; facsimile PDF page 345 — Facsimile