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 inward solar fire related to the celestial sun.
- In the bookThis is a cosmological account of life.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition pages 42, 43; facsimile PDF pages 370, 371.
Historical definition
Sol in homine is the invisible fire flowing from the celestial sun, preserving and nourishing the natural fire in a human being.
Meaning
The expression distinguishes a celestial source from an invisible fire in a person. The relation between them is described through flowing, preservation and nourishment. Natural fire is already present in the human being and is sustained by the solar influence.
Use in the book
This is a cosmological account of life. It does not say that visible sunlight and ordinary flame are identical substances. The modifiers celestial, invisible and natural carry the distinctions within the sentence.
Compare Spiritus Animalis, which relates a power of the soul to the heavens, and Soladini, spirits dwelling in invisible fire. The recurrence of heavenly and invisible language makes comparison useful, but each entry assigns a different relation: nourishment, likeness or dwelling.
Places to read
- Sol in homineRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- SoladiniCorporeal spirits whose dwelling is invisible fire.
- Spiritus AnimalisA power of the soul described through likeness to the heavens.
- VulcanusA name directly equated with fire.
In this edition
The English phrase solar fire can orient the reader, while the full historical headword remains available for searching. The explanation preserves the text’s account of influence without converting it into a modern account of bodily energy.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition pages 42, 43; facsimile PDF pages 370, 371 — Facsimile