Quintessence (alchemy)
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
In alchemy, among the classical elements, quintessence (meaning "fifth element", along with earth, air, fire, and water) was another term for aether; it is the substance of which the heavenly bodies were supposed to be composed.
More loosely, quintessence is the purest form of a particular substance. This is seen in the Hamlet soliloquy: "The beauty of the world, the paragon of animals and yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?"
The Creed of Witches says, "Mysterious Water and Fire, The Earth and the wide-ranging Air, By hidden quintessence we Know them And Will and keep Silent and Dare."
| Classical Elements
Western Chinese |
