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 14

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Early New High German Page · Branch 21 of 215

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Early New High German

p. 14

mutation PARTICVLARIA, erfolgen mögen.

Wer MAGNESIAM Catholicam erkennet / der mag (wo ferne jhne sonstē^a allerhand vnbequemligkeiten / derer sehr sehr viel / auch wol wieder zuuersicht / vorfallen kömen / hieran nicht verhindern möchten) in GOTTES Namen jmmer anfangen zu laboriren / auff den Vniuersal STEin der Weisen. Er hat in diesem rechten anfange allbereit (wie aus vorgesetzten gnugsam erscheinet) die halbe Kunst.

Dimidium facti, qui benè cæpit, habet, guter anfang ist halbe arbeit / lautet das gemeine Sprichwort. GOTT der HERR wird dann hernacher / wo fern der Artist neben embsigem laboriren, vnd gutem vorsatz den gewünscheten STEIN der Weisen / heut oder morgen / Philoso-

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum: Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum

p. 14

-mutation PARTICVLARIA may follow.

Whoever recognizes MAGNESIA Catholica — he may (in so far as all manner of inconveniences besides,^a of which there are very, very many, and which may indeed well fall out contrary to confident expectation, do not hinder him in this) begin at any time, in GOD’S Name, to laborate toward the Vniuersal STONE of the Wise. In this right beginning he already has (as sufficiently appears from what has been set out above) half the Art.

Dimidium facti, qui benè cæpit, habet — a good beginning is half the work — so runs the common proverb. GOD the LORD will then afterwards — in so far as the Artist, alongside diligent laborating and good intent, the wished-for STONE of the Wise, today or tomorrow, Philoso-

26.‘Particular transmutations’. These are the lesser, metal-specific works; Khunrath admits them as a consequence of the universal Stone and never as a substitute for it. The Particularismus condemned in the margin of p. 6 is the pursuit of these on their own.

27.Marginal glosses: (i) ‘Unfailing recognition of the Magnesia Philosophorum Catholica is half the Art.’ (ii) Keyed to Khunrath’s own a: ‘A hundred sorts of such could well be recounted. Let each think it over for himself.’ — The second is the more revealing of the two: he declines to list the impediments and hands the reckoning to the reader, a device he uses whenever the matter is practical rather than doctrinal.

28.Horace, Epistles i. 2. 40, dimidium facti qui coepit habet; Khunrath’s benè — ‘who has begun well’ — is not in Horace, though the bene-form was already a commonplace by 1599 (Erasmus, Adagia); it is the whole point of his chapter either way.

29.The sentence runs over the page: its governing verb (anruffet) and the infinitive it depends on (zugebrauchen) both stand at the head of p. 15, and nothing is supplied here. ^*The marginal gloss opposite prints Vnfeilbare. Khunrath’s errata (the leaf following p. 187) direct vnfeilbare for vnfeilhare; readings of this copy differ as to whether the margin already carries the corrected form, as at p. 11. The corrected form is printed and the uncertainty recorded.

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