DiotimosReading Desk

Downward distillation and lute

per descensum; descensum; luto; lutum; agglutinata; Per descensum

Per descensum names the downward direction of distillation, while lute is the clay or compound used to seal the apparatus.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Per descensum names the downward direction of distillation, while lute is the clay or compound used to seal the apparatus. Both occur in the passage on restoring several named materials into living Mercury. The direction differs from the ascending movement emphasized in sublimation. These concrete details distinguish apparatus roles; they are not synonymous names for the substance being transformed.

Places to read

  1. Book 6 · Resuscitation · Passage 8Latin“luto agglutinata, atque distilla per descensum”