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Diotimos Library · Esotericism & Spirituality Collection · English Edition

Gerhard Dorn and John French

A Chymical Dictionary

An Expanded Diotimos Lexicon of Paracelsian and Alchemical Language

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A Chymical DictionaryAurum vitæ

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English Edition · Branch 77 of 740

Aurum vitæ

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A Chymical Dictionary

p. 77

Aurum vitæ

Metals minerals and metallic preparations · A Chymical Dictionary

At a Glance

The word. A gold preparation identified through precipitation, heating and intense redness.

In the book. Azoth and Aquila Philosophorum are helpful comparisons for the idea of Mercury associated with a particular body or metal.

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

Historical Definition

Aurum vitæ is gold precipitated and reverberated to the highest degree of redness, like ground cinnabar. The best is made and precipitated with its own proper Mercury.

Meaning

The definition presents preparation and appearance together. Precipitation and reverberation are the actions; extreme redness and ground cinnabar provide the visual characterization. The comparison does not say the product is cinnabar. Preserving “like” prevents a resemblance from becoming an identification.

The final sentence ranks a form of the product as best when made with its own proper Mercury. That qualification is part of a historical account in which a substance can be related to a Mercury proper to it. The entry offers neither a complete procedure nor evidence for a unique modern compound.

Use in the Book

Azoth and Aquila Philosophorum are helpful comparisons for the idea of Mercury associated with a particular body or metal. Their related vocabulary can clarify the claim without converting all prepared gold names into synonyms.

Places to Read

Azoth. A body’s extracted Mercury, with a further universal-medicine sense.

Aquila Philosophorum. The philosophers’ eagle explained as metallic first matter.

Reverberatorium. A furnace defined by flame calcination.

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

Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aurum vitæ ; compare Azoth, Aquila Philosophorum, Reverberatorium, Aurum potabile

See also. Azoth; Aquila Philosophorum; Reverberatorium; Aurum potabile

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About This Reading Edition

The complete 706 historical definitions of the 1650 English dictionary, modernised and accompanied by expanded Diotimos commentary, reading routes, 15 textual notes and complete linked indexes.

Historical Text

A Chymicall Dictionary, London 1650, English version associated with John French, based on Gerhard Dorn’s Dictionarium Theophrasti Paracelsi. The containing volume also prints Sendivogius and Paracelsus; neither neighboring work changes this dictionary’s attribution.

About This Edition

Complete 706 definition paragraphs with new introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes; Diotimos Editions, 2026.

Rights

The historical 1650 English text is in the public domain. New introduction, commentary, reading guides and indexes are © 2026 Diotimos Editions and published with the site owner’s authorization.