From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAerial spirits with a reported identification as the human dead.
- In the bookNenufareni also dwell in air.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 29; facsimile PDF page 357.
Historical definition
Lemures are spirits of the element of air, which pagans think to be the ghosts of departed human beings.
Meaning
Two voices are preserved in the definition. The compiler identifies elemental spirits, then reports an interpretation attributed to pagans: that these are ghosts of people who have died. The second statement is not simply repeated as the compiler’s own unqualified account of their origin.
Use in the book
Nenufareni also dwell in air. Nymphæ are associated with water, and Penates with fire. These comparisons reveal elemental classification while the report about departed humans supplies an additional, explicitly attributed interpretation.
Places to read
- LemuresRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- NenufareniSpirits identified by their aerial dwelling.
- NymphæEmbodied spirits or spiritual persons associated with water.
- PenatesFire-element spirits described as familiars.
In this edition
Heathen is modernised as pagans in this historical attribution. The distinction between what the entry states and what it says others believe remains intact.
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, Lemures