A Study of the Life and Works of Athanasius Kircher, 'Germanus Incredibilis': With a Selection of His Unpublished Correspondence and an Annotated Translation of His Autobiography (Aries Book, 12)

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 substantial 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 This book, though unpublished, has been long quoted and referred to.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. Athanasius Kircher, a German Jesuit in 17th-century Rome, was an extraordinary polymath. His fascinating correspondence with popes, princes and priests was a key to the mind-set of the period, and the transition from medieval to modern scientific thinking. By John Edward Fletcher ; Edited For Publication By Elizabeth Fletcher ; Editorial Adjustment For The Aries Book Series By Garry Trompf. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.