From the book
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
Heinrich Khunrath · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordTwo related expressions must be distinguished.
- In KhunrathThe p. 135 argument answers the demand that no one may know the true matter before completing the Stone.
- In this edition“Enthusiastic” is affirmative in these occurrences: translating it as “fanatical” would confuse divine inspiration with the derided Schwärmer.
- A reading distinctionThe modern apparatus draws the receiving/received distinction between Cabala Enthusiastica and Sophia Enthusiastica.
Meaning
Two related expressions must be distinguished. Cabalâ Enthusiasticâ and Enthusiasticè label the first source of knowledge at p. 135, direct divine inspiration and good-spiritual revelation. Sophia Enthusiastica at p. 173 names the wisdom for which the practitioner prays. The former describes inspired receiving; the latter the wisdom received or sought.
Use in the book
The p. 135 argument answers the demand that no one may know the true matter before completing the Stone. Khunrath says that true philosophers knew, and then lists ways of knowing: special inspiration, secret visions and good-spiritual revelations; a well-knowing human schoolmaster; or enlightened study and observation of Nature. The two enthusiastic glosses belong beside the first way. They are not a contemptuous label attached to the opponents, nor a claim that the other routes are unnecessary.
The second occurrence is practical and prospective. The practitioner who has a sure subject must still invoke the Father of Lights in the oratory, asking to be enlightened by Sophia Enthusiastica, to see in the mirror of the mind or otherwise, and to be admonished in his reading. The sentence continues onto p. 174, where understanding the truth of preparation is joined to good promptings and right physico-chymical treatment in the laboratory. Inspired wisdom is not described as the mere possession of a vision detached from subsequent judgment and work.
“Mirror of the mind” specifies one possible mode, not an exclusive apparatus. The words “or otherwise” prevent turning the sentence into a fixed visionary technique. Likewise, Cabala here should not be made to supply a procedure of letter manipulation or a complete historical account of Jewish learning. The immediate text glosses its force through divine inspiration and revelation. The separate citation of cabalistic authorities beside Azazel concerns another issue and should not be used to merge the two passages into one undifferentiated doctrine.
Places to read
- 1599 p. 135 · marginCabala Enthusiastica and Enthusiasticè identify the first, inspired route of knowledge
- 1599 p. 135The inspired route is distinguished from human teaching and enlightened inquiry
- 1599 p. 136Reading, contemplation and observation complete the account of natural inquiry
- 1599 p. 173Sophia Enthusiastica is requested for mental vision and right reading
- 1599 p. 174The prayer continues into understanding and practising preparation
Translation in this edition
“Enthusiastic” is affirmative in these occurrences: translating it as “fanatical” would confuse divine inspiration with the derided Schwärmer. Retain Cabala where the source prints it, but explain its local function rather than letting a modern category decide the sense in advance.
Source note
The modern apparatus draws the receiving/received distinction between Cabala Enthusiastica and Sophia Enthusiastica. It is a useful editorial formulation grounded in the different grammar and contexts, not a definition quoted verbatim from Khunrath.