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 third human Iliaster associated with life through quintessence.
- In the bookEssentia quinta explains quintessence through extraction, purification and claimed incorruptibility.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355.
Historical definition
Iliaster tertius is the term of the balsam, or the life received through the quintessence of things.
Meaning
Quintessence distinguishes the third entry from the second. The source describes a term of balsam or life received through the quintessence of things, without identifying the things or explaining a practical preparation within this gloss.
The sequence therefore should not be read as a series of four ingredients. Its entries concern descriptions or sources of life and then a different relation of the soul or mind.
Use in the book
Essentia quinta explains quintessence through extraction, purification and claimed incorruptibility. Iliaster secundus concerns life through elements and elemented things, while magnus or quartus names the fourth human branch. These cross-references preserve the contrast actually stated rather than treating quintessence as another ordinary element.
Places to read
- Iliaster tertiusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Essentia quintaQuintessence described through extraction, purification and claimed incorruptibility.
- IliasterFirst matter organised through three principles, four elements and a further human fourfold account.
- Iliaster secundusThe second human Iliaster associated with elemental life.
In this edition
The modernised definition supplies the grammatical “is” omitted in the compressed original sentence. The substance of the historical claim remains unchanged.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355 — Facsimile