DiotimosReading Desk

Vein directions and the rejected preference

oriente; occidentem; occasu; ortum; meridie; septentrionem; Oriens; occidens

Some miners are reported to prefer veins directed east to west, but the author’s conclusion rejects preferring one direction on that basis because experience finds abundance in other directions too.

From the book

Nine Books on the Nature of Things

Attributed to Paracelsus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Meaning

Some miners are reported to prefer veins directed east to west, but the author’s conclusion rejects preferring one direction on that basis because experience finds abundance in other directions too. The report and conclusion must be distinguished. These directional terms describe courses of veins, not by themselves an endorsed universal rule for locating ore.

Places to read

  1. Book 9 · Signature · Passage 45Latin“ab oriente in occidentem”