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 natural propensity described as a manifestation of power.
- In the bookFormæ rerum can mean the virtues of things, while Imaginatio is described through a star within a person.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355.
Historical definition
Inclinatio is a power of Nature manifested in a human being through a propensity towards one thing or another.
Meaning
The definition moves from an attributed power to its manifestation as a person’s tendency or propensity. The direction of the tendency is left open: this or that thing. The entry therefore concerns the relation between Nature and inclination, rather than a list of particular human dispositions.
“Power” is retained because the compiler treats inclination as an expression of efficacy, not merely as a neutral name for an observed preference. The definition gives no rule for judging a person’s character from a single tendency.
Use in the book
Formæ rerum can mean the virtues of things, while Imaginatio is described through a star within a person. Idea concerns a conceived figure or pattern. These comparisons place inclination within a broader vocabulary of human powers without declaring it identical with imagination or every other manifestation of Nature.
Places to read
- InclinatioRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Formæ rerumForms explained through received celestial influences or active virtues.
- IdeaA conceived figure understood as an enduring pattern.
- ImaginatioImagination described through human, celestial and supercelestial relations.
In this edition
The modernised definition clarifies the old phrase “prone to this or that” while preserving its open scope. It adds no deterministic account of personality or unmentioned astrological classification.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 27; facsimile PDF page 355 — Facsimile