From the book
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
Heinrich Khunrath · Diotimos Editions · 2026
Browse this book’s lexicon →Orientation
At a Glance
- The wordProximate matter is the immediately generative matter of all metals named in the p. 54 description of moist unctuous vapour.
- In KhunrathIt occurs at the end of the chain explaining the Philosophers' two: Mercury with philosophical sulphur, ensouled Mercury, unctuous humidity, sulphureous Mercury and moist unctuous vapour.
- In this edition“Proximate” is retained rather than replaced with “raw” or “primitive.”
- A reading distinctionThe universal genitive “of all metals” is part of the primary phrase; omitting “all” would weaken its distinction from a merely specified precursor.
Meaning
Proximate matter is the immediately generative matter of all metals named in the p. 54 description of moist unctuous vapour. The expression specifies a relation to the products rather than introducing another universal beginning alongside Magnesia.
Use in the book
It occurs at the end of the chain explaining the Philosophers' two: Mercury with philosophical sulphur, ensouled Mercury, unctuous humidity, sulphureous Mercury and moist unctuous vapour. The subsequent triad and four elements are then all gathered within one natural subject. The proximate matter consequently belongs to the same catholic constitution.
The phrase adds useful precision to “first matter.” First points to priority and universal origin; proximate points to the relation in which metals are generated. Khunrath does not here articulate a separate hierarchy of several intervening materials. The adjectives should be distinguished without turning their difference into an unsupported catalogue.
The later statement that Nature generates metals within the earth from the matter above it supplies the broader causal setting. The close generative relation is asserted for the chosen subject, not for any early-looking mineral or metallic embryo.
Places to read
- 1599 p. 54Unctuous moist vapour is expressly called the proximate matter of all metals.
- 1599 p. 67The above-earth subject is defined by Nature’s generation of metals from it within the earth.
Translation in this edition
“Proximate” is retained rather than replaced with “raw” or “primitive.” The source's one explicit occurrence supports a focused relational definition, not a separate substance identification.
Source note
The universal genitive “of all metals” is part of the primary phrase; omitting “all” would weaken its distinction from a merely specified precursor.