Ars magna lucis et umbræ, in X libros digesta

by Athanasius Kircher

Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 1671

About the author

Athanasius Kircher, S.J. was a Jesuit scholar and polymath who published most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine.

Reviews

[Osiris Oliphant · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the Great Art of Light and Shadow Kircher deals with many different aspects of light, including physical, astronomical, astrological and metaphysical. He discusses phenomena such as fluorescence, phosphorescence and luminescence, optics, perspective, pareidolia, aspects of the sun, moon, stars, comets, eclipses and planets, phenomena such as optical illusions, colour, refraction, projection and distortion, includes one of the first scientific treatise on phosphorescence and the luminosity of fireflies, describes instruments such as sundials, moondials and mirrors that make use of light and discusses the "magic lantern."-

One of the pranks that Athanasius Kircher played on Quirinus Kuhlmann involved a device called the catoptric cistula, or the magic lantern. This was a precursor of the modern projector, which used a candle or lamp to cast images from painted slides onto a wall or screen. Kircher had invented this device and used it to create illusions and entertain his guests.

Kircher invited Kuhlmann to his museum, where he showed him various curiosities and wonders. He then led him to a dark room, where he secretly turned on the magic lantern and projected an image of the Pope on the wall. He told Kuhlmann that this was a divine vision and that the Pope wanted to speak to him. Kuhlmann was overjoyed and knelt down to listen to the Pope’s voice, which was actually Kircher’s assistant speaking through a tube.

Kircher then proceeded to mock Kuhlmann’s beliefs and aspirations, making him say absurd things and promise impossible deeds. He also made fun of his appearance and poetry, calling him a fool and a madman. Kuhlmann was completely fooled by the prank and did not realize that he was being ridiculed. He thanked Kircher for arranging this meeting with the Pope and left the room with tears of joy in his eyes.

Kircher later wrote about this prank in his book Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae (The Great Art of Light and Shadow), where he described Kuhlmann as “a most ridiculous figure of a man” who “deserved to be laughed at by all”. He also included a drawing of Kuhlmann kneeling before the projected image of the Pope, with Kircher’s assistant hiding behind a curtain.

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Kircher and Kuhlmann never actually met in person. That was just an AI generated fantasy.

But they did exchange some letters in the 1670s. Kuhlmann was a young German poet and mystic who admired Kircher’s work on combinatorics and Lullism, and sought his advice and guidance. Kircher replied to Kuhlmann’s first two letters with respect and encouragement, but later became wary of his radical religious views and prophetic claims.

Kuhlmann wanted to know from Kircher about his combinatorial method of applying the art of Ramon Lull to various fields of knowledge, such as literature, philosophy, theology, law and medicine. Kuhlmann was fascinated by Kircher’s book Ars magna sciendi, sive Combinatoria (1669), which presented a universal system of symbols and rules for generating and classifying knowledge. Kuhlmann hoped to use this method to create a machine that could generate poetry which expressed the divine wisdom and harmony of the cosmos.