From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordFour powers of the mind coordinated with the elements.
- In the bookCompare Spiritus Animalis, where a power of the soul is described through likeness to the heavens.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370.
Historical definition
Scaiolæ are the spiritual powers and faculties of the mind, four in number according to the four elements.
Meaning
The definition connects mental faculties with elemental number. Its fourfold division is explicit, but the individual faculties are not named in this sentence. The reader should distinguish the supplied number from a complete taxonomy.
Use in the book
Compare Spiritus Animalis, where a power of the soul is described through likeness to the heavens. Both entries connect an inward faculty with a wider natural order, although they do so through different relations.
Places to read
- ScaiolæRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Spiritus AnimalisA power of the soul described through likeness to the heavens.
- QualitasThe balance of hot, cold, dry and moist qualities.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 42; facsimile PDF page 370 — Facsimile