From the book
Heinrich Khunrath’s Magnesia Catholica Philosophorum
Heinrich Khunrath · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordBacon on the trap is Khunrath's surprisingly frank explanation of why philosophers speak so much about transmutation.
- In KhunrathThe objection begins on p. 151: if the higher recognitions matter most, why do the books promise silver and gold?
- In this editionDo not soften bacon and trap into a neutral “attraction.”
- A reading distinctionThe sentence spans pp. 152–1532.
Meaning
Bacon on the trap is Khunrath's surprisingly frank explanation of why philosophers speak so much about transmutation. It attracts wealthy people who otherwise avoid the difficult and expensive search into Nature's hidden good arts. The p. 152 margin gives the gentler parallel of children lured to school with sweets and fruit.
Use in the book
The objection begins on p. 151: if the higher recognitions matter most, why do the books promise silver and gold? Khunrath accepts the observation and defends the inducement as answerable before God because it draws support towards divine honour and benefit to oneself and neighbour. The long sentence completes those ends on p. 153.
The image preserves a tension rather than resolving it. An alluring lower reward is used to bring people towards a higher purpose, while the ensuing address condemns Mammon's servants. Khunrath thinks the pedagogical end justifies the bait, but the phrase does not authorize the lexicon to endorse deception or to infer that all the promised transformations are knowingly false.
Places to read
- 1599 p. 151The objection points to the philosophers’ extensive transmutation claims
- 1599 p. 152Bacon on a trap explains the inducement of wealthy supporters
- 1599 p. 152 · marginChildren’s sweets and fruit make the pedagogical analogy explicit
- 1599 p. 153God’s honour and neighbourly benefit complete the stated purpose
Translation in this edition
Do not soften bacon and trap into a neutral “attraction.” Their bluntness is part of the admission. The fruit here is pedagogical bait, distinct from the technical apple-and-seed analogy.
Source note
The sentence spans pp. 152–1532. Its purpose clauses must be read before deciding what work the inducement is meant to support.