From the book
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Quicksilver is alleged to make metals unmalleable and brittle, and the iron rod is compared with glass in breaking. Tin’s mixture later produces unmalleable, hard and unserviceable metals. These adjectives describe lost working qualities rather than merely altered colour. They illustrate why the preservation account includes force and usefulness as well as substance: a material can remain visibly present yet fail in the work expected of it.
Places to read
- Book 3 · Preservation · Passage 6Latin“immalleabilia, fragilia reddit”