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 bodily stone described by hardness and a spongy structure.
- In the bookMarmoreus tartarus uses marble as its comparison of hardness.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 31; facsimile PDF page 359.
Historical definition
Magneticus tartarus is a stone in a human being, as hard as a lodestone and spongy.
Meaning
The comparison with a lodestone concerns hardness in the sentence actually supplied. The entry does not expressly say that the bodily stone attracts iron. Its additional sponginess describes structure, so the two features must be read together rather than allowing the magnetic name to determine every property.
Use in the book
Marmoreus tartarus uses marble as its comparison of hardness. Tartarum gives a broader range including bodily stones and gravel. These are differentiated descriptions of material within the body, rather than statements that the body contains ordinary pieces of the compared rocks.
Places to read
- Magneticus tartarusRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Marmoreus tartarusA bodily stone distinguished through a comparison with marble.
- TartarumA wine-vessel deposit whose name also serves for bodily stones or gravel.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 31; facsimile PDF page 359 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 359, Magneticus tartarus