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 phrase directed towards paradise or another world.
- In the bookMicrocosmus explicitly names man as a little world, while Mysterium magnum names universal first matter.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357.
Historical definition
Labor Sophiæ is paradise, or another world.
Meaning
The Latin phrase names a labour of wisdom, but the dictionary’s actual equivalent is a place or condition: paradise, alternatively another world. It gives neither a manual operation nor a material recipe. The two equivalents leave the expression’s precise application dependent on the passage in which it occurs.
Use in the book
Microcosmus explicitly names man as a little world, while Mysterium magnum names universal first matter. These show different uses of world-language. Their proximity of theme does not authorise substituting either definition for Labor Sophiæ.
Places to read
- Labor SophiæRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- MicrocosmusThe human being named as a little world.
- Mysterium magnumA universal first matter, rather than one particular prepared subject.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 357, Labor Sophiæ