From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordOiliness of things interpreted through their sulphur.
- In the bookSulphur rerum is often taken for their quintessence, and Lunaria is the sulphur of Nature.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 36; facsimile PDF page 364.
Historical definition
Oleitas rerum is the sulphur in all things.
Meaning
The definition gives oiliness a place in a general account of the constituents of things. It does not merely name an oil pressed from one plant or a visible grease on a surface. All things makes the statement broad, while sulphur is the constituent through which that breadth is expressed.
Use in the book
Sulphur rerum is often taken for their quintessence, and Lunaria is the sulphur of Nature. These qualified expressions show how sulphur-language extends beyond an isolated material-name. The precise formulation still matters: Oleitas rerum names sulphur present in things, rather than supplying a recipe for extracting every such constituent.
Places to read
- Oleitas rerumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Sulphur rerumThe sulphur of things used as a name for their quintessence.
- LunariaLunar naming applied to Nature’s sulphur.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 36; facsimile PDF page 364 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymical Dictionary 1650, 1650 dictionary, facsimile PDF page 364, Oleitas rerum