From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAn assimilable humour described through its becoming flesh and blood.
- In the bookLiquor salis is described through preservation from putrefaction, and Liquor Mercurii through healing power.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358.
Historical definition
Liquor essentialis is the humour that is converted into flesh and blood.
Meaning
Essentialis does not here mean a fragrant essential oil. The liquid is defined by what happens to it in the living body: it becomes flesh and blood. The entry therefore concerns the material of nourishment and bodily formation, rather than a general label for any highly purified extract.
Use in the book
Liquor salis is described through preservation from putrefaction, and Liquor Mercurii through healing power. Those qualifications distinguish different roles within the book’s accounts of the living body.
Places to read
- Liquor essentialisRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Liquor MercuriiA mercurial liquor defined as the seat of healing power.
- Liquor salisA saline liquor understood through its preservative action.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 30; facsimile PDF page 358 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 358, Liquor essentialis