Aurum potabile

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A purported gold liquor accompanied by a sharp criticism of its preparation.

In the book. Aqua corrodens provides the dictionary’s broad corrosive-liquid category.

A place to read. The historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337.

Historical Definition

Aurum potabile is a liquor of gold without any corrosive. Very few know it, even among those who daily prepare it, more to people’s destruction than their health.

Meaning

The historical definition combines an ideal description with a warning about practitioners. The liquor is said to be without corrosive, and genuine knowledge of it is described as rare. The final sentence then criticizes those who routinely make it, alleging harmful rather than healthful results. That judgement is part of the entry and must not be removed to make a smoother product description.

The name alone is consequently a poor guarantee of what a preparation contains or achieves. Even within the historical account, calling something potable gold does not establish that the maker understands the desired substance. This internal distinction between claim and competence is valuable evidence for reading promotional or therapeutic passages.

Use in the Book

Aqua corrodens provides the dictionary’s broad corrosive-liquid category. Comparing the entries makes the exclusion of corrosive explicit without supplying an unstated recipe for the gold liquor. Aurum vitæ describes a different prepared gold through precipitation and redness.

Places to Read

Aqua corrodens. A liquid category defined by corrosive action, including vinegar.

Aurum vitæ. A gold preparation identified through precipitation, heating and intense redness.

Chrysos. A direct name equivalence for gold.

Historical source: 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337 — Facsimile

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aurum potabile ; compare Aqua corrodens, Aurum vitæ, Chrysos

See also. Aqua corrodens; Aurum vitæ; Chrysos