From the book
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Paired operations
imbibitio; imbibitionibus; distillatio; distillationibus; distillando; distillationem; abstrahe; attrahit
Imbibitio names the wetting or imbibition of material; distillatio names distillation, which the text also applies to the sun’s drawing moisture upward.
Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordImbibitio names the wetting or imbibition of material; distillatio names distillation, which the text also applies to the sun’s drawing moisture upward.
- In the workBook 2 asks what rain is other than an imbibition of earth, and what solar warmth is other than the sun’s distillation as it draws moisture back up.
- In this editionThe edition retains the period reagent names and does not complete the passages into modern recipes.
- A place to read“pluvia quam imbibitio terrae”
Meaning
Imbibitio names the wetting or imbibition of material; distillatio names distillation, which the text also applies to the sun’s drawing moisture upward. These are deliberately coordinated terms in the comparison between weather and alchemical practice. Abstrahere describes drawing a liquid off in process language, but is not itself a complete definition of distillation. Attrahere, drawing toward, appears in the solar analogy as well as in other contexts of attraction. The recurring operations must be read with their materials, direction and proposed result, not treated as one universally effective procedure.
Use in the book
Book 2 asks what rain is other than an imbibition of earth, and what solar warmth is other than the sun’s distillation as it draws moisture back up. The comparison allows the practitioner’s repeated operations to appear as cooperation with a familiar natural cycle. Its structure is analogical: the ordinary weather example provides a model, while the claim that the alchemist can produce out-of-season fruit or mature ores extends that model.
Repeated drawing off and returning of liquid also organizes the metallic-tree and flint examples. The first claims a branching visible form from gold; the second claims enlargement and the imprint of a vessel’s shape. Their different results show why the operation name alone is inadequate as a definition of the whole process. The vessels, materials and proposed changes must remain visible.
Book 3 uses distillation in the preparation of the oil of sulphur praised for preservation. There the aim is not to imitate a season directly but to obtain a material credited with resisting decay. In particular, names of strong waters and degrees of fire do not supply verified modern formulations, temperatures or safety conditions.
Places to read
- Book 2 · Growth · Passage 1Latin“pluvia quam imbibitio terrae” Rain provides the model for wetting earth.
- Book 2 · Growth · Passage 1Latin“distillatio Solis” The sun’s withdrawal of moisture provides the paired model.
- Book 2 · Growth · Passage 4Latin“iterum distillando abstrahe” Repetition structures the metallic-tree account.
- Book 3 · Preservation · Passage 13Latin“abstrahe per distillationem” Distillation also enters the sulphur-oil preservation account.
Translation in this edition
The edition retains the period reagent names and does not complete the passages into modern recipes. Its “cooperation” translates the process relation without claiming that the analogy validates every extrapolated result.
From the book
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →The weather analogy
pluvia; pluviam; pluvia terram; Sol; Solis; sole
Rain moistening earth and sunshine drying it afterward provide Book 2’s familiar model of growth.
Meaning
Rain moistening earth and sunshine drying it afterward provide Book 2’s familiar model of growth. The argument then calls rain an imbibition and solar heat a distillation, transferring weather into the language of art. Sol here is the sun, whereas the same planetary name and its sign can denote Gold in metallic contexts. The subject matter of the sentence, not the name alone, determines the sense.
Places to read
- Book 2 · Growth · Passage 1Latin“ex pluvia & sole consequente”