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The lesser elixir

Elixir proprietatis

Elixir Proprietatis; Cordial; all curable Distempers

Elixir proprietatis is the named “elixir of properties.”

From the book

Aphorismi Urbigerani

Baro Urbigerus · Diotimos Editions · 2026

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Orientation

At a Glance

  • The wordElixir proprietatis is the named “elixir of properties.” A cordial here is a strengthening medicine, not merely a drink.
  • In the bookThe vegetable menstruum is said to separate this elixir from a dead residue. Its efficacy is compared with the universal elixir and preferred to tinctures extracted from metals.
  • In this editionThe reading translates the Latin title but preserves the attribution to Paracelsus and the qualification “curable.” Neither is an editorial endorsement.
  • A place to readLesser XXII and XXIV (1690, pp. 75–77), where the medicine’s name, attribution, comparison and priority appear.

Meaning

Elixir proprietatis is a Latin technical name embedded in the original English prose. The modern reading renders it “elixir of properties.” The name belongs to a particular medicinal preparation in this passage, not to every use of the vegetable elixir or every occurrence of the word property. Urbigerus explicitly attributes the term to Paracelsus. This is evidence for what Urbigerus invokes as an authority; it does not, by itself, establish the precise history or authorship of the preparation beyond the supplied text.

Cordial belongs to the same medical register. Calling this elixir “a most excellent Cordial” credits it with strengthening power. The further words “Efficacy and Virtue” develop that claim: virtue is effective capacity, not moral goodness. The disease range, however expansive, remains qualified by “curable.”

Use in the book

The example follows the general account of plant extraction and the particular example of coral. XXII names myrrh, aloes and saffron as the plant materials and states that the elixir rises while its caput mortuum separates below. This is another illustration of the lesser menstruum’s asserted power to separate the valued product from dead residue. The plant materials are named, unlike the noble plant of V; the article should preserve that difference in specificity without turning the sentence into a modern recipe.

The comparison with the universal elixir is deliberately strong but not exact identity. The elixir of properties is said to be “almost” as efficacious and powerful in curing all curable illnesses. Both the comparison word and its domain matter. The passage does not say that the preparation commands every kingdom of nature in the same way as the grand elixir, nor that it has become the universal elixir itself. It claims near equality in a medicinal effect, within the author’s historical assertions.

XXIV returns to the preparation when assessing metallic tinctures. The vegetable menstruum can extract them, though it is not suited to separate all metallic principles. Their sulphurs are credited with balsamic effects, yet the author says the elixir of properties far surpasses those praeternatural preparations. This is a ranking of claimed medical value as well as a statement of the solvent’s limits. The apparently more exotic metallic product is not automatically the author’s preferred remedy.

The comparison also belongs to the companion address’s professed care for health while other philosophical aims are pursued. The book’s medicinal aspiration is not confined to the final grand elixir. Useful subordinate preparations are repeatedly praised, as the principal work also praises remedies obtained before its highest perfection. At the same time, the language of charity and confidence is not independent proof of safety or efficacy. A lexicon explains the historical promise and its qualifications; it does not convert the preparation into treatment advice.

Places to read

  1. Grand Elixir · Aphorism XXXIVOriginalThe principal work likewise praises a medicine subordinate to the great elixir.
  2. The Companion AddressOriginalThe companion is offered for present health as well as future happiness.
  3. Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism VOriginalThe noble plant remains unnamed, unlike the three materials explicitly named for the elixir of properties.
  4. Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXIOriginalThe preceding coral example likewise distinguishes the prized upper fraction from the residue below.
  5. Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXIIOriginalThe name, Paracelsian attribution, plant materials, dead residue and qualified comparison appear together.
  6. Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXIVOriginalThe elixir of properties is preferred to metallic preparations.

In this edition

The edition translates “Elixir Proprietatis” as “elixir of properties” and “Caput Mortuum” as “dead residue” at XXII. Note 103 explains both terms and the historical sense of cordial. “Almost” remains in the comparison with the universal elixir, and “curable” remains before “illnesses.” These small words prevent the modern reading from increasing the claim. The source’s invocation “as Paracelsus terms it” is retained as an attribution within the historical speaker’s sentence, not recast as a verified quotation from another work.

Historical forms and local uses:

Elixir Proprietatis [printed Latin technical name] — The elixir of properties extracted from named plant materials and credited with great medicinal efficacy. (Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXII; Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXIV)

Cordial [English printed form] — A strengthening medicine in the historical vocabulary. (Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXII)

all curable Distempers [printed English phrase] — The qualified range of illnesses for which efficacy is asserted. (Vegetable Elixir · Aphorism XXII)