Enteʹleʹchy

The kingdom of Queen Quintessence in the famous satirical romance of Rabelais called the History of Garganʹtua and Pantagruelʹ. Pantagruel and his companions went thither in search of the Holy Bottle. It may be called the city of speculative science.

⁂ The word is used to express the realisation of a beau ideal. Lovers have preconceived notions of human perfections, and imagine that they see the realities in the person beloved, who is the entelechy of their beau ideal.

“O lumiere! enrichie

Dʹun feu divin, qui mʹard si vivement,

Pour me donner lʹetre et le movement,

Rtes-vous j as ma seul entelechie.”

Ronsard: sonnet 68 (1524–85).

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Entry taken from Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, edited by the Rev. E. Cobham Brewer, LL.D. and revised in 1895.