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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Early New High German Page · Branch 17 of 215

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Early New High German

p. 10

ne Person / Zeit vnd Stelle dahin sparende: Nicht ein meit achtende / des argChymisten vnd anderer hönischen spöttischen Vögel / gifftigen gewöhnlichen lesterpfeile; Sintemal Ich die vnüberwindliche Warheit zur starcken rückhalterin habe. Viel feinde der Warheit halben / viel Ehre / bey verstendigen leuten; ist ein alt Teudsch sprichwort.

Zu dieses meines intenti desto krefftiger behaubtung / dienet sehr wol / was BERNHARDVS der GRAFF in dem andern theil seines buchs / von Hermetischen STEIN / aus dem Codice TVRBAE VERITATIS, allegiret, da er also spricht: Frustra quæritur in eo, in quo quod quæsitum est, non continetur, Vergebens suchet man in einem dinge / in welchem das jenige / so man gesuchet / nicht ist.

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum: Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum

p. 10

person, time and place: not heeding by a mite the poisonous and habitual slander-arrows of the arrant Chymist and of other scornful, mocking birds; since I have the unconquerable Truth for my strong backer. ‘Many enemies for truth’s sake, much honour among understanding people’ is an old German proverb.

For the yet more forcible maintaining of this my intentum there serves very well what BERNHARDVS the COUNT, in the second part of his book on the Hermetic STONE, cites out of the Codex TVRBAE VERITATIS, where he speaks thus: Frustra quæritur in eo, in quo quod quæsitum est, non continetur — In vain does one seek in a thing that in which what one seeks is not.

16.nicht ein meit achtende: meit is a small copper coin, from Middle Low German mite, cognate with English mite in the sense of Luke xxi. 2, and nicht ein meit is standard sixteenth-century for ‘not in the least’ (Frühneuhochdeutsches Wörterbuch, s.v.). R renders it im geringsten nicht achten, confirming the sense. — argChymist is Khunrath’s formation, on arg, wicked or arrant, not on Erz-, arch-; R keeps Argchymist. Rendered arrant Chymist, which carries the pejorative without importing an ‘arch-’ that is probably not there.

17.Marginal gloss: ‘The German book has it thus: TVRBA and GEBER; To seek in a thing what is not in it — this is foolishly proposed.’ Bernardus Trevisanus, De Chemico Miraculo. The maxim carries the argument of the whole treatise: the desired effect cannot be drawn out of a subject in which its principle is absent — which is why the identification of the Materia, and not the manipulation of it, is the first secret.

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