DiotimosReading Desk

One and the other as paired alternatives

unum; alterum; Unam; Alteram; una; altera; Unus; alter

The paired words organize contrasting outcomes in Book VI, especially calx versus ash and the two metallic restorations.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

The paired words organize contrasting outcomes in Book VI, especially calx versus ash and the two metallic restorations. The opening calx/ash pairs do not by themselves assign every property; the following sentences identify ash as volatile and calx as fixed. In the restoration paragraph the first alternative returns a metallic body and the second first matter. Reading beyond the pair prevents accidental reversal.

Places to read

  1. Book 6 · Resuscitation · Passage 3Latin“unum est volatile, alterum est fixum”