Item Number: 112084 Title: A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, ‘Germanus Incredibilis’ - With a Selection of his Unpublished Correspondence and an Annotated Translation of his Autobiography Author: Fletcher, John Edward Price: Not Available ISBN: 9789004207127 Description: edited for publication by Elizabeth Fletcher. Leiden: Brill, 2011. 25cm., hardcover, 607pp. illus. Summary: Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit in 17th-century Rome, was an enigma. Intensely pious and a prolific author, he was also a polymath fascinated with everything from Egyptian hieroglyphs to the tiny creatures in his microscope. His correspondence with popes, princes and priests was a window into the restless energy of the period. It showed first-hand the seventeenth-century’s struggle for knowledge in astronomy, microscopy, geology, chemistry, musicology, Egyptology, horology… The list goes on. Kircher’s books reflect the mind-set of 17th-century scholars - endless curiosity and a … read moresubstantial larding of naiveté: Kircher scorned alchemy as the wishful thinking of charlatans, yet believed in dragons. His life and correspondence provide a key to the transition from the Middle Ages to a new scientific age. This book, though unpublished, has been long quoted and referred to. Awaited by scholars and specialists of Kircher, it is finally available with this edition. (Aries Book Series, 12) We regret to inform you that this title is no longer available. P.O. Box 3904, Kingston, New York 12402 US Phone: 845-331-8519 Fax: 845-331-0852 Email: michael@artbooks.com |
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