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 philosophical fountain name referred to a bath term.
- In the bookThe link is a useful reminder that an apparently evocative name can lead to apparatus vocabulary.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 23; facsimile PDF page 351.
Historical definition
Fons philosophorum is Balneum Maris.
Meaning
The definition points to another named entry rather than describing a literal spring. Balneum Mariæ includes Maris as a form used by many writers and describes a furnace arrangement containing water. That cross-reference supplies the stated interpretive route.
Use in the book
The link is a useful reminder that an apparently evocative name can lead to apparatus vocabulary. It should not be expanded into an independent philosophical solvent or natural water source merely from the word fountain. Follow the explicit bath identification before deciding what a passage intends.
Places to read
- Fons philosophorumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Balneum MariæA water bath used to warm vessels for several kinds of work.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 23; facsimile PDF page 351 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary 1650, s.v. Fons philosophorum