From the book
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
Heinrich Khunrath · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordTartar appears through several differentiated preparations: volatile salt, pure fixed salt associated with a green stone and sanguine essence, oil, and rightly prepared reviving salt.
- In KhunrathPage 68 distinguishes volatile salt of tartar from the sanguine essence associated with the pure fixed salt’s green stone.
- In this editionRetain volatile, fixed, oil and salt as the source distinguishes them.
- A reading distinctionThe green-stone phrase contains an uncertain reading discussed by the supplied editor.
Meaning
Tartar appears through several differentiated preparations: volatile salt, pure fixed salt associated with a green stone and sanguine essence, oil, and rightly prepared reviving salt. These labels are not interchangeable. Khunrath names them in different laboratory relations without defining their complete material composition.
Use in the book
Page 68 distinguishes volatile salt of tartar from the sanguine essence associated with the pure fixed salt’s green stone. The margin remarks that the latter contains much wonder. That favourable comment concedes unusual properties; it does not identify the material as Magnesia, since the surrounding catalogue culminates in denial of first-matter status.
Page 69 uses oil of tartar in describing a particular gold preparation, while another margin calls rightly prepared tartar salt, together with sal ammoniac, good reviving salts. The oil and salt references therefore have separate grammatical and practical functions. The repeated gold-treatment catalogue on page 90 gives another occurrence of the oil expression.
The text’s discrimination among forms helps explain why a familiar base name is insufficient for interpretation. It is not enough to find “tartar” and assume that every associated preparation is the same thing, or that a favourable marginal remark reverses the main argument. The terms belong to a field of limited preparations whose possible usefulness Khunrath grants while withholding the universal status claimed by opponents.
None of these occurrences supplies a manufacturing recipe or establishes that a tartar preparation is a safe remedy. The historical medicinal concession on page 70 concerns the author’s judgement of the prepared products and must remain attributed to him.
Places to read
- 1599 p. 68Volatile and fixed tartar preparations are separately named.
- 1599 p. 68 · marginThe fixed green stone of tartar salt is said to contain much wonder.
- 1599 p. 69Oil of tartar occurs in the description of a particular gold preparation.
- 1599 p. 69 · marginRightly prepared tartar salt is included among reviving salts.
- 1599 p. 90The oil expression returns in the catalogue of prior metallic treatments.
Translation in this edition
Retain volatile, fixed, oil and salt as the source distinguishes them. Assigning one modern formula to the whole family would erase the textual differences and import an identification the book does not make.
Source note
The green-stone phrase contains an uncertain reading discussed by the supplied editor. Its uncertainty should not be used to collapse the securely printed distinction between volatile and fixed tartar preparations.