Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum

Name: Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
Author: Heinrich Khunrath

The 1599 German text with a new English translation, introduction, glossary, and notes.

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Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica PhilosophorumMagnesia Catholica Philosophorum · Printed Page 143

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Early New High German Page · Branch 150 of 215

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Early New High German

p. 143

er kein Fewerkünstner ist) Naturgemeßkünstlich zu lesen; Ja / viel schwerer zu Erkennen vnd zu wissen / WAS vor eine Dinte es sey / wo AVS die Natur dieselbe componiret / vnd wie wunderbarlich sie die gekochet habe / darmit sie erwehnte Wunder schöne vnnd vielseltige vnterschiedliche Buchstaben Naturlich selbst geschrieben / vnd dem Physico / Philosophisch^† vñ Chymisch zu lesen / in Macrocosmo sehr weißlich vorgestellet habe. Es ist fürwar ein recht Wunder - buch! Zu desto gründlicher Erkentnis vnd gewisserer Erweysung^‡ materiæ Metallorum primæ atq; MAGNESIAE pri-materialis Catholicæ hochbeförderlich. Aus diesem Buch habe ich / ohne fals / mehr Warheit studirt / als sonsten aus vielen Vn-Nutzgem^§ß geschrieben Büchern. Da bein^¶ euch mit alle ihr

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum: Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum

p. 143

– if he be no Fire-artist — to read them in a Nature-conforming and artful way; yea, far harder to Recognize and to know WHAT manner of Ink it is, out of WHAT Nature has composed the same, and how wonderfully she has decocted it, wherewith she has Naturally written of herself those Wonderful, beautiful, manifold and various Letters already spoken of, and has set them forth very wisely in the Macrocosm for the Physicist to read Philosophically^† and Chymically. It is in truth a right Wonder-book! Most conducive to a more thorough Recognition and a more certain Demonstration^‡ of the first matter of Metals and of pri-material Catholic MAGNESIA. Out of this Book have I, without falsehood, studied more Truth than otherwise out of many Un-Profit-conformably^§ written Books. There^¶ — to the whole pack of you, ye

204.Marginal gloss: ‘Since at p. 48 only Weight and Measure are spoken of, this is not contrary to that, nor that to this.’ — ^†Line 11 prints Phllosophisch; Khunrath’s errata (the leaf following p. 187) give Philosophisch. für Phllosophisch. / lin. 11. Corrected and marked. — ^‡The inner margin of this page is trimmed close, and the first sort of six consecutive lines is clipped — er-buch for der-buch, r Erkentnis for er Erkentnis, rimæ for primæ, naterialis for materialis. What survives of the first sort of line 17 is the right-hand part of a full-height bowl, which fits w and not r; with klerern Erweisunge at p. 144 in the same argument, Erweysung is read. The letter is reconstructed, not seen whole. — ^§The sorts give Nutzgem, a space of about one sort, then ß, then geschrieben: evidently Nutzgemeß, formed on Naturgemeß and negated by Vn-, with the e not inked. — ^¶bein is not a recorded form, and the clause as printed has no finite verb, what follows being a vocative that runs over to p. 144. beut, the old third singular of bieten, to offer or defy, would give sense, but the i is dotted and excludes it. Printed as set, and the English supplies no verb either. — The punctuation of lines 21–22 is blotted. Four editorial marks: this is the most heavily worn page in the block.

About This Reading Edition

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum argues that alchemy has one universal subject, that this subject cannot be extracted from the metals, and that nothing in the work can begin without recognizing it. This complete reader begins with the supplied seven-part introduction and orientation, then presents every printed page of the 1599 German treatise opposite its new English translation.

Historical Text and Translation

The German reading text is a fresh diplomatic transcription from 600 dpi images of the Magdeburg copy printed by Johann Bötcher in 1599. It preserves Khunrath’s capitalization, word division, authorial marginal keys, glosses, errata, and three unnumbered closing pages: the errata leaf, owl emblem, and colophon.

About Diotimos Editions

Diotimos Editions prepared the new English translation, introduction, notes, glossary, collation, and editorial apparatus. The translation follows Khunrath directly, retaining his technical vocabulary, changes of register, repetitions, rhetorical questions, and distinctions between German, Latin, and coined terms.

Rights

Heinrich Khunrath’s 1599 German work is in the public domain. The 2026 English translation, introduction, notes, glossary, editorial arrangement, and related matter are original to this edition and remain © 2026 Diotimos.

supplied-bilingual-editionSupplied complete German–English scholarly edition