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 power of the soul described through likeness to the heavens.
- In the bookScaiolæ offers a parallel coordination of inward powers with the wider natural order: the faculties of the mind are numbered according to the four elements.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371.
Historical definition
Spiritus Animalis is a power of the soul by which it becomes like the heavens.
Meaning
The definition treats spiritus animalis as a power or faculty, and explains it through a relation of likeness. The soul is said to become like the heavens by this power. Animalis should therefore be read within the complete expression; the gloss is not a reference simply to a nonhuman animal.
Use in the book
Scaiolæ offers a parallel coordination of inward powers with the wider natural order: the faculties of the mind are numbered according to the four elements. Sol in homine gives a different relation, an invisible fire flowing from the celestial sun that preserves and nourishes natural fire in a person. These articles connect inward life with the cosmos without making the connections identical.
The distinction between likeness and influence is especially useful. Spiritus Animalis does not specify the same flowing movement that Sol in homine describes. Nor does it list four faculties as Scaiolæ does. Comparing the actual predicates keeps the reader close to what each definition says.
Places to read
- Spiritus AnimalisRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- ScaiolæFour powers of the mind coordinated with the elements.
- Sol in homineAn inward solar fire related to the celestial sun.
In this edition
The English animal spirit can be retained as a finding phrase, with the historical Latin heading beside it. The explanation does not identify the power with a modern nerve signal, a chemical substance or a psychological trait; none of those identifications is supplied by this definition.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 43; facsimile PDF page 371 — Facsimile