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Difference between revisions of "Athanasius Kircher"
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Kircher's interest in Egyptology began in 1628 when he became intrigued by a collection of hieroglyphs in the library at Speyer. He learned Coptic in 1633 and published the first grammar of that language in 1636, the ''Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus''. Kircher then broke with Horapollon's interpretation of the language of the hieroglyphs with his ''Lingua aegyptiaca restituta''. Kircher argued that Coptic preserved the last development of ancient Egyptian. For this Kircher has been considered the true "founder of Egyptology", because his work was conducted "before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone rendered Egyptian hieroglyphics comprehensible to scholars." He also recognized the relationship between hieratic and hieroglyphic scripts. | Kircher's interest in Egyptology began in 1628 when he became intrigued by a collection of hieroglyphs in the library at Speyer. He learned Coptic in 1633 and published the first grammar of that language in 1636, the ''Prodromus coptus sive aegyptiacus''. Kircher then broke with Horapollon's interpretation of the language of the hieroglyphs with his ''Lingua aegyptiaca restituta''. Kircher argued that Coptic preserved the last development of ancient Egyptian. For this Kircher has been considered the true "founder of Egyptology", because his work was conducted "before the discovery of the Rosetta Stone rendered Egyptian hieroglyphics comprehensible to scholars." He also recognized the relationship between hieratic and hieroglyphic scripts. | ||
Between 1650 and 1654, Kircher published four volumes of "translations" of hieroglyphs in the context of his Coptic studies. However, according to Steven Frimmer, "none of them even remotely fitted the original texts". In ''[[Oedipus Aegyptiacus]]'', Kircher argued under the impression of the ''Hieroglyphica'' that ancient Egyptian was the language spoken by Adam and Eve, that [[Hermes Trismegistus]] was Moses, and that hieroglyphs were [[occult]] symbols which "cannot be translated by words, but expressed only by marks, characters and figures." This led him to translate simple hieroglyphic texts now known to read as ''ḏd Wsr'' ("[[Osiris]] says") as "The treachery of Typhon ends at the throne of Isis; the moisture of nature is guarded by the vigilance of [[Anubis]]." | ===''Oedipus Aegyptiacus''=== | ||
Between 1650 and 1654, Kircher published four volumes of "translations" of hieroglyphs in the context of his Coptic studies. However, according to Steven Frimmer, "none of them even remotely fitted the original texts". In ''[[Oedipus Aegyptiacus]]'', Kircher argued under the impression of the ''Hieroglyphica'' that ancient Egyptian was the language spoken by Adam and Eve, that [[Hermes Trismegistus]] was Moses, and that hieroglyphs were [[occult]] symbols which "cannot be translated by words, but expressed only by marks, characters and figures." This led him to translate simple hieroglyphic texts now known to read as ''ḏd Wsr'' ("[[Osiris]] says") as "The treachery of Typhon ends at the throne of [[Isis]]; the moisture of nature is guarded by the vigilance of [[Anubis]]." | |||
==Legacy== | ==Legacy== | ||
A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the rationalism of René Descartes and others. In the late 20th century, however, the aesthetic qualities of his work again began to be appreciated. One modern scholar, Alan Cutler, described Kircher as "a giant among seventeenth-century scholars," and "one of the last thinkers who could rightfully claim all knowledge as his domain." Another scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, referred to Kircher as "the last Renaissance man." In ''A Man of Misconceptions'', his 2012 book about Kircher, John Glassie writes that while "many of Kircher's actual ideas today seem wildly off-base, if not simply bizarre," he was "a champion of wonder, a man of awe-inspiring erudition and inventiveness," whose work was read "by the smartest minds of the time." | A scientific star in his day, towards the end of his life he was eclipsed by the rationalism of René Descartes and others. In the late 20th century, however, the aesthetic qualities of his work again began to be appreciated. One modern scholar, Alan Cutler, described Kircher as "a giant among seventeenth-century scholars," and "one of the last thinkers who could rightfully claim all knowledge as his domain." Another scholar, Edward W. Schmidt, referred to Kircher as "the last Renaissance man." | ||
In ''A Man of Misconceptions'', his 2012 book about Kircher, John Glassie writes that while "many of Kircher's actual ideas today seem wildly off-base, if not simply bizarre," he was "a champion of wonder, a man of awe-inspiring erudition and inventiveness," whose work was read "by the smartest minds of the time." | |||
[[Category:People]] | [[Category:People]] | ||
[[Category:Authors]] | [[Category:Authors]] | ||