Aqua Vitae - João Azevedo Fernandes

[Paul Ferguson]

"Linked to alchemy and hermetical knowledge, distillation was seen as a method for improving metals and other mineral substances, within a paradigm that asserted that minerals were gestated in the soil and grew and developed as if they were living beings. Despite this mystical base, ancient alchemists had practical concerns, among which was the production of elaborate dyes manufactured by distilling sulfur, thus obtaining golden pigments that were then used in decoration and metallurgy. With the advent of Christianity, this ancient form of alchemy was gradually left behind and perceived as heretical, although some ancient alchemy texts describing distillation were preserved in Constantinople."

https://sk.sagepub.com/ency/edvol/the-sa...aqua-vitae