Quicksilver
From Argentum vivum, meaning living silver or 'silver that moves about like a living thing', this was the term used by alchemists for the silvery liquid metal we know as mercury.
According to ancient alchemical traditions, all the metals began in the liquid state on our planet, but only mercury was able to remain true to its original innocence and resist taking on a final form.
Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature, and it is the heaviest natural liquid on Earth, being found in its natural state pooled inside caves and on rock formations.
Mercury has been known to the ancient Chinese and Hindu from before 2000 BC, and it has been found inside Egyptian tombs dating from around 1500 BC. It was first used to form alloys with other metals circa 500 BC.
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Sources: (1) Powell, Neil, Alchemy, the Ancient Science, Doubleday; (2) Alchemy: The Art of Knowing (Medieval Wisdom), Harper Collins Publishers; (3) Fernando, Diana, Alchemy: An Illustrated A to Z, Sterling Publications; (4) Walker, Charles, The Encyclopedia of the Occult, Random House Value; (5) Spence, Lewis, An Encyclopedia of Occultism, Carol Publishing Group.
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