From the book
A Chymical Dictionary
Gerhard Dorn and John French · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordA “living gold” expression that can designate quicksilver.
- A place to readThe historical definition below, 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337.
Historical definition
Aurum vivum is sometimes taken to mean quicksilver.
Meaning
The qualification “sometimes” is the essential reading guide. The dictionary records one permitted identification rather than declaring that every instance of the phrase must mean quicksilver. A passage that specifies gold, Mercury or a particular transformation should retain its own distinctions.
The entry also demonstrates why the first word of a compound cannot always determine its material. Aurum planatum identifies worked gold, while this entry admits quicksilver. Reading the complete expression and its stated action is more reliable than translating every Aurum term simply as ordinary gold.
Places to read
- Aurum vivumRead the complete historical definition and its commentary.
- Aurum planatumGold identified by being beaten into a thin form.
- Mercurius CrudusMercury described before separation from its mineral source.
Source note
Historical source. 1650 dictionary, unnumbered definition page 9; facsimile PDF page 337 — Facsimile
Sources. A Chymicall Dictionary (1650), s.v. Aurum vivum ; compare Aurum planatum, Mercurius Crudus