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 life-related term identified with radical moisture.
- In the bookIliaster primus includes the life itself or balsam of life in a person.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 25; facsimile PDF page 353.
Historical definition
Humor vitæ is the radical moisture.
Meaning
The definition gives an internal naming relation and no account of a particular visible liquid. “Radical” is retained because it qualifies the moisture in a way the short entry does not independently explain. The phrase should not be replaced by a modern bodily fluid from the headword alone.
Use in the book
Iliaster primus includes the life itself or balsam of life in a person. Balsamum is associated with preservation from putrefaction. These connections provide a vocabulary of life, moisture and preservation, while leaving the precise subject of radical moisture to the author’s wider account.
Places to read
- Humor vitæRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- BalsamumA preservative substance described in both bodily and external forms.
- Iliaster primusThe first human Iliaster described through life and its balsam.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 25; facsimile PDF page 353 — Facsimile