Aqua Celestis

Salts solvents and liquid preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. Rectified wine described through a heavenly comparison.

In the book. Alcool vini supplies the direct wine-spirit vocabulary.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333.

Historical Definition

Aqua Celestis is rectified wine, made in some measure like heaven through its subtlety and purity.

Meaning

The historical definition explains its own figurative name. The resemblance to heaven concerns subtlety and purity, not a statement that the liquid has fallen from the sky. The material is expressly wine in a rectified condition. This combination of identification and analogy helps the reader retain the author’s imagery without losing the preparation to which it points.

The qualification “in some measure” also deserves preservation. It marks a comparison rather than an unrestricted identity between the prepared liquid and heaven.

Use in the Book

Alcool vini supplies the direct wine-spirit vocabulary. Aqua celestina, despite its similar appearance, is defined instead as mercurial water. Consulting these entries together is a useful safeguard against grouping unlike waters solely because their names sound alike.

Places to Read

Alcool vini. The wine-qualified term for rectified spirit.

Aqua celestina. A water identified through Mercury.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aqua Celestis ; compare Alcool vini, Aqua celestina

See also. Alcool vini; Aqua celestina