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.

Explore the Lexicon

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica PhilosophorumMagnesia Catholica Philosophorum · Printed Page 16

Swipe or use the arrow keys.

Facing Pages · Branch 23 of 215

Book Mode

Early New High German

p. 16

auch noch dieses zu erinnern hoch von nöten / das / nemlich / etliche sich selbst sehr gescheide bedunckende / der Natur aber vnuerstendige laboranten / zwar vnphilosophisch genug / dennoch mit hefftigem eiuer vnd ernst fürgeben / Als sey in ALCHYMIA nicht nur VNIVERSALE VNVM, EIN VNIVERSAL der Philosophen / zu verstehen / LAPIS Philosophorum CATHOLICVS VNVS, EIN CATHOLISCHER^* oder ALGEMEINER STEIN der Weisen / sondern es wehren vielmehr^* VNIVERSALIA / dann Eins; Vnd also schließlich auch aus mehr dann nur aus Einerley dinge zu wege zubringen; Sintemal erstlich ALLE materialische Dinge aus MATERIA PRIMA CATHOLICA erstmals geworden; Auch zum andern / SPIRITVS MVNDI SECRETISSI-

Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum: Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum

p. 16

to put you in mind of this also: namely, that certain laborants — who think themselves very shrewd, but have no understanding of Nature — give out, unphilosophically enough, yet with vehement zeal and earnestness, that in ALCHYMIA there is not only VNIVERSALE VNVM, ONE VNIVERSAL of the Philosophers, to be understood, LAPIS Philosophorum CATHOLICVS VNVS, ONE CATHOLIC or UNIVERSAL STONE of the Wise, but that there would rather be VNIVERSALIA, more than One; ^*and so, finally, to be brought about out of more than one single kind of thing — since, first, ALL material things first came to be out of MATERIA PRIMA CATHOLICA; and secondly, SPIRITVS MVNDI SECRETISSI-

34.Marginal gloss: ‘The cry of the laborants: He has a Vniuersale. Likewise: Among all universals none is better than this one or that one.’ ^*The first word is damaged in this copy; the letter-forms favour Hinc, ‘hence’, and the reading is adopted as probable rather than certain. — vielmehr at line 16 is Khunrath’s own correction (errata, the leaf following p. 187) for the printed mehr; adopted. The phrase then carries both ‘rather’ and ‘more’, and the English is built to keep both.

35.^*1599: CATHOLISHER, wanting the c; corrected here. The error is not in Khunrath’s errata. — The two clauses beginning since, first and secondly are the laborants’ argument, not Khunrath’s, and he will answer them from p. 17. The German keeps them in indirect speech throughout; the English does the same, and no quotation marks are supplied.

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