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Aquila
Salts solvents and liquid preparations · A Chymical Dictionary
At a Glance
The word. An eagle-name with more than one stated material meaning.
In the book. Anotasier supplies direct sal ammoniac aliases, while Aquila Philosophorum has its own explanation concerning metallic first matter.
A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333.
Historical Definition
Aquila is the queen of birds, and the name is used for sal ammoniac because of its lightness in sublimation. But in many places Paracelsus intends it to mean Mercury precipitated with gold.
Meaning
The dictionary explains the first association through behaviour: the material’s lightness during sublimation motivates a bird name. It then records a different use attributed to Paracelsus, where the referent is Mercury precipitated with gold. Both meanings must be retained. An image of an eagle cannot, by itself, decide between them.
This is a particularly useful example of operation-sensitive reading. Sublimation directs attention to one explanation; precipitation with gold directs attention to another. The surrounding action can therefore be more informative than the image. It also prevents an interpretive shortcut in which every bird is read as the same volatile substance.
Use in the Book
Anotasier supplies direct sal ammoniac aliases, while Aquila Philosophorum has its own explanation concerning metallic first matter. These entries belong in a connected reading network, but their qualifications still matter. “Eagle,” “eagle of the philosophers,” and a named Paracelsian preparation need not collapse into one definition.
Places to Read
Anotasier. Three historical names for sal ammoniac.
Aquila Philosophorum. The philosophers’ eagle explained as metallic first matter.
Sublimatio. An operation defined by the upward movement of heated dry matter.
Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333 — Facsimile
See also. Anotasier; Aquila Philosophorum; Sublimatio; Mercurius metallorum præcipitatus