From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordStellar spirits described through a fourfold elemental transformation.
- In the bookScaiolæ likewise coordinates a division of powers with elemental number, though there the subject is the mind.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 45; facsimile PDF page 373.
Historical definition
Trigonum is a fourfold transmutation of the spirits of the stars, according to the number of the four elements.
Meaning
The definition specifies fourfold even though the headword can suggest another number to a reader. The actual gloss must govern. The relation to the four elements supplies the reason given for its fourfold division.
Use in the book
Scaiolæ likewise coordinates a division of powers with elemental number, though there the subject is the mind. The parallel concerns a way of organizing an account, not an identification of mental faculties with stellar spirits.
Places to read
In this edition
The numerical wording is retained without silently correcting it on the basis of the name. The sentence does not enumerate the four transformations.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 45; facsimile PDF page 373 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Trigonum; 1650 facsimile PDF p. 373; compare Scaiolæ