Diotimos Library · Renaissance Collection · Bilingual Edition
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
The 1599 German text with a new English translation, introduction, glossary, and notes.
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English Introduction · Branch 207 of 215
Glossary of Key Terms · Part 6
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum: Glossary of Key Terms
p. 207Loß-sophi
Retained, and untranslatable. Khunrath’s marginal coinage against Philosophi: loß is loose, empty, worthless. The 1599 separates the halves with a raised dot and sets the whole — pun and target alike — in Fraktur. p. 168 m.
LÖWE
the lion, retained as a stage of the work. The author of the Rosarium had seen the Philosophical Work no further than the Lion, which is Khunrath’s point: he wrote authoritatively without having finished it. p. 134.
Magnesia, Magnesia Catholica
Retained, and not the modern mineral. The margin of p. 9 says flatly MAGNESIA ist der Name sein — it is a Philosophical Name for the one universal first matter, and the book never gives the common one. The subject of the whole treatise. pp. 9 m, 52, 64, 111.
Magnes-Iah
Retained with Khunrath’s hyphen, tight and unspaced as printed. He divides the name so as to disclose iah, the short form of the divine Name, within it; the hyphen carries the whole etymological claim. p. 52.
Materia Prima
Retained. Catholica or Vniuersalis when it is the first matter of all metals; specificata when narrowed to one. Created out of nothing at the beginning of the world, and — this is Khunrath’s claim — still standing, above the earth, uncommitted. pp. 47–52, 60–128.
Mercurius Philosophorum crudus / coagulatus
the crude / the coagulated mercury of the philosophers; retained. The two states, marked by Khunrath’s two facing margins: crudus is Magnesia as Nature has so far worked it, quem NATVRA paullulum operata est; coagulatus is what the command solve is addressed to. Distinct from Mercurius duplex, and from the Mercurius currens corporeus he everywhere refuses. pp. 53, 65–66 (and m), 80, 97.
Mercurius duplex / Rebis
Retained. Mercury with its own sulphur; res bis, the twofold thing. Khunrath glosses it himself at p. 54. pp. 54, 77 m, 121.
Microcosmus macrocosmicus
Retained. A little world made out of the great world — emphatically not the human microcosm, and the margin of p. 50 rules out the misreading in advance: MICROCOSMVS Chymicorum non humanus sed macrocosmicus. pp. 50 (and m), 143, 167.
Minera Artis
mine of the art. Not ‘ore’: the word names the place the Art digs in, not the stuff dug. pp. 52, 64, 65, 112 (and m), 157, 177.
Socrates
Reading Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum · Glossary of Key Terms · Glossary of Key Terms · Part 6
Ask about a concept, passage, contradiction, or connection.
Socrates will begin with this book and its sources.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.