From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordAn apparent vision whose object need not be real.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333.
Historical definition
Aquaster is a vision presenting something to our eyes, sometimes something that does not truly exist but exists only in appearance.
Meaning
The entry separates appearing from existing. A thing can be presented to sight without the author accepting that its object truly exists. The qualifier “sometimes” is important: the dictionary does not define every Aquaster as false. It leaves room for different cases while making deceptive appearance part of the term’s range.
For a reader, the useful question is what status the surrounding passage gives the vision. Is it reporting something seen, discussing whether it is real, or explaining the production of an appearance? Those are separate claims. The entry names an experience or presentation, not a material water despite the word’s opening letters.
Places to read
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 5; facsimile PDF page 333 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aquaster ; compare Visio, Imagines