From the book
Nine Books on the Nature of Things
Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Meaning
Resins are judged through their ability to yield excellent varnish and retain shine. When they no longer do so, the text calls them dead. Book V also calls conversion of resins into oil or varnish their mortification. The juxtaposition shows that usefulness and preservation of the original material form are not identical; varnish production can belong to a transformation of a formerly living material.
Places to read
- Book 4 · Life · Passage 13Latin“vernicem non amplius praebent, & nitorem suum amittunt”