archeus
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English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “original, ancient”).
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]archeus (plural archei)
- (alchemy) The vital principle or force believed by the Paracelsians to be responsible for alchemical reactions within living bodies, and hence for the growth and continuation of life.
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 68:
- " […] it must be the Modus of some other Substance latitant in the fluid Matter, and really distinguishable from it; which is either the Soul, or some seminal Form or Archeus, as the Chymist calls it […] "
- 2003, Roy Porter, Flesh in the Age of Reason, Penguin, published 2004, page 56:
- Willis rejected not just scholasticism's ‘substantial forms’ but Paracelsus's ‘archeus’ doctrine as well.
- 2006, Philip Ball, The Devil's Doctor, Arrow, published 2007, page 250:
- But Paracelsus' theory of the archeus and the alchemy of life inevitably led him into deeper waters.
- 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 68:
Translations
[edit]the vital principle or force responsible for life
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