About Khunrath and his work

Heinrich Khunrath. Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae. [Hamburg: s.n., 1595].

Heinrich Khunrath's biography is as uncertain as his work is enigmatic. He was born in Germany, probably in Dresden or Leipzig, circa 1560. We know he matriculated at the University of Basel, Switzerland, in May 1588 and received his M.D. degree on 3 September of that year, after a defense of twenty-eight doctoral theses. [1] He possibly also enrolled at the University of Leipzig under the name of Henricus Conrad Lips in the winter of 1570. Khunrath practiced medicine in Hamburg in 1598 and in Dresden. [2] He may have been the brother of Conrad Khunrath, a contemporary whose work "represents a masterpiece of clear, practical prescriptions." [3] Evidently Heinrich Khunrath used a variety of names. [4]

Khunrath represents tensions typical of the late sixteenth century. He followed Paracelsian beliefs of divine initation into wisdom; he worked to develop Christianized natural magic; he sought to find the secret primary matter that would lead humankind into eternal wisdom. Yet he held experience and observation, to be the basis of his work, as would a natural philosopher.

This is not to say that Khunrath's vision was shared by most natural philosophers of his time. He believed himself to be an adept of spiritual alchemy; [5] as such, he expected the path to spiritual perfection to be a many-staged and intricate process. Certainly the language he used to describe the process sounds odd to modern ears.

Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae was condemned by the Sorbonne on 1 February 1625. However, it remained popular throughout the seventeenth century and has been republished in numerous editions even in the twentieth century. See the Bibliography .

Khunrath's motto, used in many of his works, was "Was helffn Fackeln, Liecht oder Brilln, Wann die Leute nicht sehen wölln?" (What good are torches, light, or spectacles, to those who will not see?) He viewed his work as a path to illumination; modern readers may impose different standards for reasonable "science."

About the artists for Amphitheatrum sapientiae aeternae.

References:

[2] - S.v. "Khunrath..., Conrad" and "Khunrath..., Heinrich," Dictionary of scientific biography (New York, Scribner [1970]-1990).

[3] - "Khunrath..., Conrad," ibid., p. 354.

[4] - Claude K. Deischer and Joseph L. Rabinowitz, "The owl of Heinrich Khunrath: Its origin and significance," in Chymia: Annual studies in the history of chemistry, 3 (1952). These authors also note a variety of names: "Khunrath, Kunrath, Kunraht, Cunrath, Cunrad or Conrad" (p. 243).

[5] - S.v. "Khunrath...., Heinrich," Dictionary of scientific biography, 353.