Athanasius Kircher Underworld. Kircher, Athanasius. An excerpt characterizing Kircher, Athanasius

Undoubtedly, Athanasius Kircher is one of the most amazing phenomena of the 17th century. He was a scientist, thinker, collector, inventor, experimenter, illustrator and writer. He was distinguished by extraordinary versatility and fruitfulness. Lichtenberg wrote: "When Athanasius Kircher took up the pen, he got a whole folio." Elenchus librorum a P is listed. Athanasio Kirchero e societate Jesu editorum, attached to his monumental work China illustrata (1667), lists 33 works of which he was the author and which were published at some time (mainly in quarto and in folio). His total heritage is 44 volumes, letters are printed in 114 volumes. The titles of all his books are listed in Bibliothèque des écrivains de la Compagnie de Jesus, T. I, p. 422-433 and T. IV, 1046-1077). There is also an autobiography (in facisulus epistolarum Ath. Kircheri, Augustae Vindelicorum 1684).

Kircher worked in Rome, the center of spiritual life in Italy and where the headquarters of the Jesuit Order was located. He could completely devote himself to his scientific interests, using the rich book treasures of the Order's library. The Jesuits brought at his disposal reports from all over the world, and the Emperor assisted in the publication of his works in the form of luxurious folios. He himself traveled.

Therefore, it is not surprising that none other than this native of Thuringia was the first to introduce the learned public of Europe to the Indian Devanagari script, which the Brahmins carefully concealed from European newcomers, as they considered them "unclean". Kircher revealed this secret in his aforementioned China Illustrata, a 237-page folio containing numerous illustrations, maps, and tables, written in Latin. This book is mainly devoted to China, the Chinese and Chinese culture, but between pages 162 and 163 there are five tables illustrating Indian writing. One might wonder why a book on China also contains information about India. But it should be taken into account that in those days no sharp distinction was made between India and China with ethnographic and geographic point vision. In addition, Kircher was simultaneously supplied with materials by two people, one of whom was engaged in China, and the other in India.

Kircher himself had never been to India. But he was lucky to be a friend of a connoisseur of this country and its inhabitants. This friend introduced Kircher to Indian mythology, customs, and "letters of the Brahmins." It was Pater Heinrich Roth, a Jesuit missionary and one of the oldest Sanskrit scholars. He was from Bavaria. Born December 18, 1620 in Dillingen. Therefore, in Latin sources it is called Pater Henricus Roth (ius) Dilinganus. He was educated first in his native city, and then in Innsbruck. On October 25, 1639, he entered the Jesuit Order and on May 29, 1649, he was ordained a priest. In 1650, at his own request and with the blessing of the Jesuit General, he was sent to India, where he traveled via Smyrna and Isfahan. Roth traveled all over India from south to north, from Goa to the kingdom of the Moghuls on the Deccan, namely to Bijapur, then crossed the Western Ghats and arrived in Golconda. From there, through Bengal and Delhi, he reached Agra.

Roth had been firmly established in Agra since 1654. There he became rector of the Jesuit College, founded in that city in 1620.

Roth's name is often mentioned in this book. Roth's own texts are also cited, for example, on pp. 156-162 the note De alia fabulosa doctrina Brachmanum, id est, de decem Incarnationibus Dei, quas Gentiles Indiani extra et intra Gangem credunt. Roth also owns the text on the "letters of the Brahmins" and the five accompanying tables on pp. 162 et seq.

Heinrich Roth knew Persian, Hindustani and Sanskrit. He was not the first European to study Sanskrit. It is known that the Florentine merchant and traveler Filippo Sassetti, who lived in Goa in 1583-1588, drew attention to the sacred language of the Hindus and discovered peculiar genealogical links between it and European languages ​​(deva =dio, sapta =sette, sarpa =serpe, etc. .). The Italian missionary Roberto de Nobili, born in 1577, who went to India in 1606 and died in 1656 in Mylapur, had a thorough knowledge of Sanskrit and the Brahmin script.

However, Roth was the first European who studied this language on a scientific basis and mastered it to such an extent that he could debate it with the Brahmins. Kircher writes that in six years Roth mastered Sanskrit to such an extent that he even compiled its grammar, which, unfortunately, was not published. It is probable that Roth had learned Sanskrit thoroughly by 1664, since in that year Kircher obtained permission from the Jesuit General to print his China Illustrata. Roth died at Agra on June 20, 1668.

Full title of Kircher's main ledger:

Athanasii Kircheri e Soc. Jesu China Monumentis qua Sacris qua Profanis, nec non variis Naturae & Artis Spectaculis, Aliarumque rerum memorabilium Argumentis Illustrata, Auspiciis Leopoldi Primi Roman. Empire. Semper Augusti Munificentissimi Mecaenatis. Apud Joaannem Janssonium a Waesberge & Elizeum Weyerstraet, Anno MD. C. LXVII. Cum Privileges.

The title plate is preceded by a picture depicting two people in oriental clothes. They are holding a map of China and India. In the upper part is placed the sign of the Order of the Jesuits:

This is a Latinized transliteration of the Greek ΙΗΣΟΥΣ.

On title page this monogram is repeated with the addition of the image of the heart (cult of the Heart of Jesus). Inscription:

A Solis Ortu usque ad Occasum laudabile Nomen Domini.

Kircher reports the following about Indian writing on p. 162f.:

Utuntur Brachmanes nonnullis literis, quas arcanas vocant, nullique tradere solent, nisi quos ex sua Secta indicant esse ad eas discendas aptiores: Verùm uti suprà dixi, cum P. Henricus Roth iis ad veram Salutis semitam deducendis totus intentus sine lingua & literatura eorum id velutiἀ δύνατον videret, per quendam Brachmanem summâ benevolentiâ sibi devinctum, & jam ad Christi jidem suscipiendam inclinatum, totam & linguae & literaturae, philosophandique rationem literis hisce conditam, sex annorum impenso studio, consecutus est. Verùm nè quicquam curiosarum rerum omisisse videar, hîc elementa eorum, manu Patris Rothii eleganter descripta adnectam.The Brahmins use certain letters, which they call secret, and which they generally do not reveal to anyone except those of their sect whom they consider most capable of learning these letters. However, as I mentioned above, when Pater Heinrich Roth, having a resolute intention to turn them to the true path to Salvation, found that this was, as it were, impossible without [knowledge of] language and literature, he managed to master the knowledge of language, literature and philosophy, hidden in these letters, after six years of persistent study, with the help of a certain Brahmin whom he managed to attract by his benevolence and who already had a tendency to convert to the Christian faith. However, lest I seem to have omitted any of these curious things, I will add here some of them carefully transcribed by the hand of Father Roth.

Sunt hujusmodi Characteres in tanta apud dictos Brachmanes veneratione, ut eos non ab hominibus inventos, sed à Divinioris alicujus Numinis magisterio institutos dictatosque arbitrentur, tanto studio propagatos; ut quod sanè mirum est, vel ipsos Sinas ad Deorum suorum simulacra iis veluti mysticis, & nescio quid Divinum sub se continentibus notis, adornanda impulerint, uti in Sinensium Idolorum descriptione patuit: Egò verò eorundem anatomiâ factâ, nil sivè apicum rationem, in sive unam literam contractionis strueturam spectes, quod aut ingenio polleat, aut mysticum quidpiam tibi promittat, nihil unquam indagare potui; Undè semper credidi, eos ab Hebraeis & Saracenis instructos (quos grandia sub eorum literis ex Cabala deductis mysteria effutire audierant) eadem deindè & suis characteribus ad altiores superstitionis radices in animis suae doctrinae Sectatorum fundandas attribuisse. Vix enim monumentum reperias, quod suis hisce fanaticis Characteribus non defoedent. Scripsit olim ad me P. Antonius Ceschius Tridentinus, eximius in Mogorica Christi vinea multorum annorum Operarius, in Bazaino Indiae urbe montem se reperisse, quem Pagodes Bazaini vocant, cujus rupes paenè tota hujusmodi Characteribus incisis exornabatur, quorum & copiam mihi sua manu decerptam ad ejus interpretationem eruendam transmisit; Verùm cum nec literarum inusitatos ductus, neque linguam nossem, eos in suochao relinquendos consultius duxi, quam vano labore iis enodandis, magno temporis dispendio oleum operamque perdere. Atque haec de Indorum dogmatis dixisse sufficiat.

The Brahmins so revere this kind of letters that they believe that they were not invented by people, but dictated and established by the command of a certain Deity, and also so diligently disseminated, that one should only ask oneself with surprise whether they perhaps pushed the Chinese themselves decorating the idols of their Gods with these, as it were, mystical and containing something Divine signs, as can be seen from the description of Chinese idols. But I, having analyzed their structure, whether it be the principle of the arrangement of tops, or the principle of combining letters into one ligature, could never find anything that could either have any meaning of witty fiction, or promise you something mystical. Therefore, I have always believed that they, having been taught by the Jews and Arabs (who they have heard extract the great mysteries [lurking] under their letters, with the help of the Kabbalah), attribute the same to their letters on the basis of a deeper-rooted superstition in the nature of his sectarian doctrine. For it is difficult to find a monument that these fanatics would not mutilate with their signs. Once a letter was written to me by Pater Anthony Tseskhy Tridentin, who has been working for many years in the Mughal vineyard of Christ [Mogoricameans "Mughal", i.e. belonging to the Mughal Empire ]. According to him, in the Indian city of Basin [ near Bombay, where from 1549 there was CollegiumJesuit societies ] there is a mountain called the Pagodas of Bazaina, the spurs of which are almost completely decorated with carved letters of this kind, of which he sent me a copy in his own hand for interpretation. However, since I knew neither the unusual letters nor the language, I decided that it would be better to leave them in their original chaos than to waste time in wasting labor, wasting both oil [for the lamp] and effort. This is sufficient for the presentation of Indian dogmas.

Father Roth, of course, was not a calligrapher and engraver. He only carefully rewrote (describere = transfer to paper, rewrite) his materials, which the Dutch calligrapher and engraver W . vander Laegh transferred to copper plates. At the bottom of each table there is his signature: W. vander Laegh scripsit et sculp (sit). But this signature is only in the first edition.

Detailed description tables is not part of my task. Those interested can refer to the original scanned by Google.

It should only be noted that all erroneous spellings are entirely on the conscience of the engraver, who is not familiar with the subject. Father Roth himself was not in a position to supervise the printing of the book, and Father Kircher was by no means an expert in Sanskrit and Devanagari. In addition, the correction of engravings is much more expensive than the correction of typed text. It is unlikely that printers would agree to re-engraving.

Conclusion

Umberto Eco writes in detail about Father Athanasius Kircher and his work in his book In Search of a Perfect Language, p. 161f.

Athanasius Kircher(German Athanasius Kircher, May 2, 1602, Gaisa (Rhön), near Fulda - November 27, 1680, Rome) - German scientist and inventor. One of the most learned people of his time, the author of many treatises on a wide variety of subjects (physics, natural sciences, linguistics, antiquities, theology, mathematics), where, along with accurate information, dubious from a modern point of view were reported. Known for his works on Egyptology with an attempt to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs, as well as archaeological research and the founding of an art museum in Rome, which bore his name - Kircherianum (1651-1773).

Compiled the "Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Chinese Empire" (1667). Many researchers are considered the inventor of a device for static projection - a magic lantern (Latin laterna magica).

Biography

At the age of sixteen he entered the Jesuit order (1618). Later he taught philosophy and oriental languages ​​in Würzburg. His student and friend was his brother Caspar Schott (1608-1666).

During thirty years war(1618-1648) was forced to move to Avignon. In 1636, Kircher traveled through Sicily in the retinue of Landgrave Frederick of Hesse and, among other things, visited Syracuse. During a trip to Sicily, Kircher drew attention to mirages (lat. Fata morgana), quite frequent in the Strait of Messina, and found an explanation for them that was satisfactory, in his opinion.

From 1637 he settled in Rome, where he taught mathematics. In Rome, in the Collegio Romano, Kircher's collection of objects of natural history, antiquities, physical and mathematical instruments, described by Buonnani (1709) and Lattara (1773) in the book Museo Kircheriano, is still kept.

Kircher's books were in the libraries of many enlightened Europeans of the 17th century, such as the writer Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682).

Editions

Chronological list

• 1631 - lat. "Ars Magnesia"
• 1634 - "Magnes sive de arte magnetica" (2nd ed. 1641)
• 1635 - "Primitiae gnomoniciae catroptricae"
• 1636 - "Prodromus Coptus sive gyptiacus"
• 1637 - "Specula Melitensis encyclica, hoc est syntagma novum instrumentorum physico-mathematicorum"
• 1643 - "Lingua gyptiaca restituta"
• 1645-1646 - "Ars Magna Lucis et umbrae in mundo"
• 1650 - "Obeliscus Pamphilius"
• 1650 - "Musurgia universalis, sive ars magna consoni et dissoni"
• 1652-1655 - "dipus gyptiacus"
• 1656 - "Itinerarium extaticum s. opificium coeleste"
• 1657 - "Iter extaticum secundum, mundi subterranei prodromus"
• 1658 - "Scrutinium Physico-Medicum Contagiosae Luis, quae dicitur Pestis"
• 1660 - "Pantometrum Kircherianum ... explicatum a G. Schotto"
• 1660 - "Iter extaticum coeleste"
• 1661 - "Diatribe de prodigiosis crucibus"
• 1663 - "Polygraphia, seu artificium linguarium quo cum omnibus mundi populis poterit quis respondere"
• 1664-1678 - "Mundus subterraneus, quo universae denique naturae divitiae" / "Underworld"
• 1665 - "Historia Eustachio Mariana"
• 1665 - "Arithmologia sive de abditis Numerorum mysteriis"
• 1666 - "Obelisci Aegyptiaci ... interpretatio hieroglyphica"
• 1667 - "China monumentis ... illustrata" (Full title "China monumentis: qua sacris qu profanis, nec non variis naturae et artis spectaculis, aliarumque rerum memorabilium argumentis illustrata")
• 1667 - "Magneticum naturae regnum sive disceptatio physiologica"
• 1668 - "Organum mathematicum"
• 1669 - "Principis Cristiani archetypon politicum"
• 1669 - Latium
• 1669 - "Ars magna sciendi sive combinatorica"
• 1671 - "Ars magna lucis et umbrae"
• 1673 - "Phonurgia nova, sive conjugium mechanico-physicum artis et natvrae paranympha phonosophia concinnatum"
• 1675 - "Arca Noae" / "Noah's Ark"
• 1676 - Sphinx mystagoga
• 1679 - "Musaeum Collegii Romani Societatis Jesu"
• 1679 - "Turris Babel, Sive Archontologia"
• 1679 - Tariffa Kircheriana sive mensa Pathagorica expansa
• 1680 - "Physiologia Kircheriana experimentalis"

Athanasius Kircher (1602 - 1680), "learned Jesuit", " last person, who knew everything", "Jorge Luis Borges of the 17th century", "scientific charlatan" and "learned ignoramus" was one of the most famous intellectuals of his time; his beautifully illustrated books were read by all of Europe (not excluding pre-Petrine Russia), his erudition was marveled by fellow Catholics, opponents of the Protestants, followers and critics. Kircher's area of ​​interest included topics that now belong to such diverse disciplines as theology, ancient history, archeology, religious studies, egyptology, sinology, geology, hydraulics, optics, chemistry, physics, seismology, astrology, mathematics, hebraistics, arabistics, history of art and architecture. The main mission of the entire life of the encyclopedic Jesuit was to compile a huge compendium of knowledge, ancient and modern, that would exhaustively describe the world and God, subordinating this description to orthodox Catholic dogma, as it developed by his, Kircher's, time. Kircher saw the source of human knowledge in ancient Egypt, which was the passion of his whole life: Kircher's most famous work to this day is the huge Oedipus of Egypt (1652-1654), an interpretation of the "philosophy of the Egyptians" based on the author's reading of hieroglyphs (having nothing in common with their true meaning). During the Age of Enlightenment, Kircher was ridiculed to his heart's content by new European scientists: practically none of his significant scientific conclusions was recognized as true by subsequent generations. At the same time, Kircher had a huge impact on culture, being the first professional research writer (he largely supported himself by selling his writings and their regular reprints) and, to a certain extent, embodying the ideal of the baroque multimedia "encyclopedia of everything", in which the image played no less important than the text.
In the history of Western esotericism, Kircher remained as the author of the "sum" of magic, Kabbalah, astrology and Hermeticism of the Renaissance. The names of Marsilio Ficino, Pico della Mirandola, Giambatista Porta, as well as references to the hermetic corpus, the Chaldean oracles, the Orphic hymns, the Zohar and the Sefer Yetzirah do not descend from its pages. Since a significant part of Kircher's legacy is devoted to the study of pagan antiquity and the explanation of ancient religions, he is also significant for the (pre)history of modern paganism. The translated chapter is an exposition of Kircher's theory of pagan theology - which influenced such important scholars of religion as Jacob Bryant (1715 - 1804) and Charles-Francois Dupuis (1742 - 1809). Although it cannot be said that Kircher was original in his theory (he himself constantly refers to the authority of Macrobius and Porphyry with their "monistic" interpretation of pagan pantheons), his systematic approach to disparate (and often incomplete and incorrect) data on ancient cults is largely degree reminiscent of the classification of the new paganism - from George Gemistus Plethon to the present day. From the Wiccan point of view, the attempt to reduce the entire pantheon to the "deployment" of the primary divine couple - the Sun and the Moon - is more than remarkable. All this, despite the complete inconsistency of Kircher's own historical data and his Catholic-tendentious explanation of ancient religions, makes his text very interesting.

Literature: Athanasius Kircher: The Last Man Who Knew Everything / ed. P. Findlen. N.Y., L.: Routeledge, 2004.

AFANASIY KIRCHER

Obeliscus Pamphilius, i.e., New Explanation, and never before attempted, of the Hieroglyphic obelisk, which was recently moved from the old hippodrome of Caesar Antoninus Caracalla to the Forum Agonale, restoring it in integrity and decorating with it the Eternal City, INNOCENT TENTH, Pontifex Maximus. On what obelisk, the theology of the ancients, embodied in hieroglyphic symbols, according to various testimonies of Egyptian, Chaldean, Jewish, Greek antiquity and learning, sacred and profane, is here brought to light.
(Kircher A. Obeliscus Pamphilius ... Romae: Typis Ludovici Grignani, 1650).

Book III. Mystagogia Aegyptiaca.

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Chapter ΧΙΙΙ.

All gods are reduced to the sun, and all goddesses are reduced to the moon

This is how it works human nature that, rejecting everything that is hateful to the senses, it strives with all its might for those objects that are desirable, useful and favorable. It seemed to many that it was extremely painful to know God only by the intellect, without resorting to the help of sight. Therefore, since they did not see anything more beautiful and more useful than the Sun, they considered it to be God. Moreover, the Sun, although it does not occupy all space with its huge body, brings life and health to the earth and plants, and gives light to other stars, and makes the vault of heaven itself visible. Minucius Felix gracefully speaks of this in Octavia: “Pay attention again to the sun, established in the sky: it pours its rays into all countries: it is present everywhere, makes itself felt by everything, and its lordship never changes.” And even Pliny himself, who
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mocked the fable about the gods, said: "Will someone say that we need to look for another God besides the Sun?". There are those who say that the [Greek word] ἥλιος (Sun) comes from the Hebrew אל, which means "God." First of all, Macrobius, by numerous arguments, seeks to convince us that all the gods are reduced to the Sun, and it alone is the Deity, which is revered, under numerous names, by all peoples. However, in order to understand this, we need to look deeper into our question. In the first ages after the Flood, when people were struggling to comprehend the supreme Lord of the whole universe, φῶς ὀικοῦιτα ἀπρόσιτον [dwelling in impregnable light], they noticed the influence of heavenly bodies on all those things that are necessary for life, as discussed above. Not discerning what is pure in nature and characteristic of the highest, these wicked, depicting the Deity as their shocked sense saw it, did not recognize another God, except that which determines the alternation of light and darkness, movement and rest, nights, days and years. , weathers and storms, moved by the natural mind, and led astray, as we read in the Scriptures, which we consider holy. For this reason, the Chaldeans, already in the early days after the Flood, when the cult of the true God was abandoned, adopted such a philosophy as is narrated in books 1 and 2. The above citations of the Rambam speak of this in detail. The Chaldeans regarded the Sun as the greatest of gods (which the Phoenician theologians also call μόνον ὀυρανοῦ Θεὸν, [the only god of heaven]). The planets and other celestial bodies, which seem to obey the commands of the Sun, the first [sages] of the Egyptians called δωδεκαμόρια, standard-bearers and Θεοὶ βουλαῖοι, gods-advisers, while the planets were ῥαβδοφόροι, that is, lictors, guardians, always abiding in the consistory of the Sun. I believe that this ungodly delusion took possession of people not immediately after the flood, but the original generations absorbed it not so many centuries later: this is how I understand the words of Moses in the 4th chapter of the Book of Genesis: “then began אז הוחל לקרא בשׁם יהוה profane the name of Jehovah by calling upon him.” After all, the verb חלל means both “to begin” and “to profane”, “to defile” - in the latter sense it is used in the Book of Leviticus, ch. 19: לא חללת שם אלהיך . "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." In Hebrew, these words have the same sound. “Then the invocation of the name of Jehovah was defiled,” as Onkelos explains it, and another Chaldean interpreter, the son of Uziel, hiding under the name of Jonathan, Radak and others, who understood this place of Moses in such a way that it speaks of the introduction of new deities. To desecrate the name of Jehovah by invocation means, in other words, to apply this most holy name, which designates the creator and Lord of the entire universe, impiously to created things. Flavius ​​Josephus speaks wonderfully about this when he writes that the first 7 generations after the flood of the One God, the Best and the Greatest, considered δεσπότην εἰναι τῶν ὅλων [the lord of Everything], and after that they apostatized they began to worship created things, or heavenly bodies.
From this comes the first principle applicable to the fictitious gods of the Egyptians: they all come down to the figures of Osiris and Isis, that is, the Sun and the Moon. It is their qualities that mystically symbolize different kinds sacred animals, like a kite - the fiery power of the Sun or the Moon, a goat - fertility,
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moisture - the crocodile, ibis - the power to absorb everything harmful, bulls - the power of ripening fruits, and so on, as more is said about this in various parts of this work. For the same reason, the main symbol of the Chaldeans was fire, the Persians - Mithra, the Babylonians - Bel, the Jews - Tammuz, the Phoenicians - Adonis, etc. The latter, the Phoenicians, who adopted the first kind of theology that we are talking about, considered ἀποῤῥὼξ, the viceroy or even the “banner” of the Sun, the king of heaven. Since, due to the remoteness of the heavenly bodies from the earth, it was difficult for them to offer sacrifices directly, people reasoned that it was reasonable for them to dedicate symbols that would correspond to the nature of each of them. The Philistine dragon, whose figure is composed of parts of a man and sea animals, is wrong to consider as someone other than Neptune, Amphitrite, Salakia, Oceanus or Thetis, or all of them together, that is, the sea itself (each of the gods could be characterized as both sexes, as we will show in many other places), as the symbol of the great deity in the sacred assembly of the leaders of nature, characteristic of the early rude age. After all, the mystery of the figure of Dagon does not allow us to assume that this is only a monument to the deceased; the same goes for the fish, which were said to be sacred to Dagon; they were worshiped as if they were symbols of the sea, in the same way as the heifers of the Egyptians, because of the milk they gave, were first venerated as symbols of the Earth, the nursing mother, then also Isis or the Moon (for they recognized that all sustenance comes from from the beneficent forces of the Earth and the Moon), as well as the symbols of the Sun, signified through the celestial sign Taurus. All this was honored with the highest honors that belonged to something divine. In the first centuries, only the beneficent forces of nature were revered in this way, but then, when the cult of demons appeared, reverence spread to everything superstitious liked, and to demons who figured under the names of dead people, and to the Sun and Moon, and all the rest, most celestial bodies distinguished by their lordship, on the sea and on the earth, and on all other active parts of nature. They were all performed rituals in front of the statues and columns dedicated to them, in such a way that, moving along the path of delusion, the wicked could no longer catch the difference either between dead people and demons, or between both and the natural properties of the universal machine, or even between those names. which they gave to those, others and thirds. Therefore, the Moon, Venus, Earth - all merge in the figure of Astarte, the Moon, Venus and the Sea - in the form of Dagon, and all of them together - in Isis; Sun, Jupiter, Saturn - in Baal, Moloch and Osiris; all the idols, whether they portrayed a hero or a demon, from frequent appeal to him, which gave rise to innumerable ravings in reality, hopelessly mixed with each other. From this originated the household gods and innumerable geniuses, of which we will speak below; from here equally numerous Moons, Venuses, Suns, Jupiters, Saturns; hence the innumerable statues of all peoples, erected to anciently invented gods, differing from each other only in different names that sounded on different languages. The rites of the pagans were just as similar to each other. And so among the ancients, from the diverse cult of a single deity, arose πολυθεεία [polytheism], which is discussed below. The Greeks, following the Egyptians, Hebrews, Chaldeans, Babylonians, Phoenicians, added innumerable genealogies of gods to their pantheons; which are all rooted in the sun and moon alone. Thus, according to Macrobius and other authors quoted above, Saturn, Jupiter,
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Pluto, Apollo, Bacchus, Mercury, Hercules, Aesculapius, Neptune, Vulcan, Mars, Pan, Aeolus, were nothing but various properties of the Sun.
Since the sun measures times and years by its movement, it is called Saturn. Since it is the lord of all heavenly bodies and the whole world, it is called Jupiter. Since it penetrates everywhere with its rays and illuminates everything, it is Apollo. The sun is called Mercury because it produces meteors that trace their path across the sky. It is Neptune because it rules over the sea and rivers. It is Pluto as it governs the underground regions. It is Bacchus, since it rules over the wine substance and other liquids, without which nothing can ripen. Since the Sun has a strengthening power, it is called Hercules. The sun takes the name of Vulcan from its fiery nature, and Mars from the heat that awakens in the living: hence come skin diseases, madness, wars, homicides, and similar deeds of Mars. The sun is called Aesculapius because of the healing it gives to bodies and souls, Pan because of the fertility that it communicates to everything. The sun is Aeolus, because, drawing to one place large quantities air, it causes winds and storms. When these various properties were found in other planets, which, under the influence sunlight, caused similar effects, these divine names were also attributed to them. If the Sun, one in nature, diverse in properties, was called the active principle of all things, then the Moon, also a single, but diverse force, was depicted as the passive principle of things and the wife of the Sun. She was called the great Mother of the Gods, so that each of the goddesses could be reduced to her. At first, the Moon was called Rhea, since it is subject to the expiration of the Sun, like a wife to her husband, and is, as it were, the mother of the generation itself. She is called Ceres, because she rules over the fruits, Lucina, because, waving the darkness of the night, she fertilizes the soil, this underside of the world with beneficent light, Venus, because of the fertile seed life and the desire to generate things, and since it consists in liquid, she herself is depicted born from sea foam. She is Juno, in Greek ἤρα, from the air (aer), over which she rules, being called, from the seeds of the earth and plants that she produces (proserpere facit), Proserpina, and from flowers (floribus) and buds - Flora. She is Diana, because of the moisturizing power of the Moon, which brings forth many things in wooded and fertile areas. She was given the name Minerva because of the lunar heat, which, as we said above, contributes to the development of talents. She is called Hekate of the lower and underworld because of the hundreds of kinds of things that she generates in the underworld, Thetis - as the ruler of the seas and streams, and Bellona - from the heat that excess bile produces in bodies. Lest it appear that we are defending only our own claims, I thought it appropriate to confirm the above with the mere testimony of Eusebius. He's writing:

“Pay attention to this diligently: they call the power of fire Vulcan and erect statues of it in human form, with a blue cap on their heads, symbolizing the vault of heaven, where there is an integral and pure fire. After all, the fire that fell from heaven to earth was weaker than heavenly, and needs fuel, and therefore Vulcan is depicted as lame. The same property found in the Sun,
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they call Apollo, apparently from the movement of his rays, for in Greek πάλλειν means "to move." Apollo, according to the singers, is surrounded by nine muses, that is, 7 planetary orbits, the eighth sphere, and the last one, which is the Moon. Laurel is dedicated to him, because this tree is fiery in nature, which is why it is hated by demons, and also because, when burned, it emits a loud crack, which distinguishes it as a tree of divination. The same deity, since it heals the sick and drives away diseases, is called Hercules, attributing to him twelve labors, for the sun passes through the twelve signs of the Zodiac. Hercules is endowed with the skin of a lion and a mace: the mace means the unequal movement of the Sun, the skin is a sign in which the Sun most of all shows its strength. The healing power of the Sun is signified by Aesculapius, whose staff is said to sustain the sick. This staff is wrapped around snakes, a symbol of mental and bodily health. For those versed in natural things say that, although the rest of the reptiles are of the most rude and earthly nature, the snake is distinguished by amazing properties: after all, it heals the ill health of the body, and is itself reputed to be a connoisseur of medicines. It was the snakes who discovered a plant that improves eyesight, and they even say that they know a certain herb that can rejuvenate. The fiery property of the Sun, due to which the fruits ripen, is called Dionysus. In the completion of his yearly cycle, he is called Horus. Since the force that gives us fruit, thereby multiplies wealth, it is called Pluto. Since corruption is hidden in this property, Pluto is said to dwell with Serapis. Kerberos is depicted as three-headed because the Sun has three main positions in the upper part of the heavens: sunrise, sunset and noon. The moon is also called Diana, who, although she is a virgin, is nevertheless the obstetrician of Lucina, for the new moon does not in a small way contribute to childbirth. What Apollo is to the Sun, Minerva is to the Moon, signifying prudence. The moon is henceforth called Hekate because of the difference in forms which it heavenly body takes, depending on its distance from the Sun. Its properties are tripartite. The properties of the new moon are depicted by the white and gold robes of the goddess and the torch she carries. The basket, which is depicted at the middle body of Hekate, means that with the increase in the light of the moon, the fruits ripen. The strength of the full Moon is represented by a fruitful color, for a golden branch is given to her in her hand, since she herself is ignited by the Sun, and the poppy is dedicated to Hekate because of its fertility and the many seed-souls that dwell in it, as in a city. The poppy is the symbol of the city. Diana carries a bow, because the pain of childbirth is very acute. It is said that the fruitful power, which is called Ceres, lives with the Moon, which increases it; for Bona Dea, the Good Goddess, is possessed by the power of the moon. The moon also takes Dionysus for herself, partly because he is the horned god of fertility, partly because he symbolizes the region of clouds that extends directly under the moon. The properties of Saturn are slowness, coldness; they were attributed to Saturn as time, depicting him as an old man, for time makes everything old. Of the four seasons, those which are said to open the gates of the air we have assigned to the Sun, and others to Ceres. The baskets carried by the deities of these seasons are filled with flowers (carried by Spring) or ears of corn (carried by Summer). The property of Mars, because it is fiery and associated with blood, they placed the head over wars. Of Venus they said that to her belongs the quality of generation and the cause of seed and desire; she is depicted coming out of the sea, since this is a wet and hot element, and with her frequent movement she generates foam, which is a symbol of the seed. The power of speech and interpretation was called Mercury, who was depicted as elongated and standing upright because of the intensity of speech, although the seed is also depicted here.
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the power of the word, spreading everywhere. But when it was required to depict a compound speech, part of it was depicted by the Sun, and was called Mercury, part - by the Moon, which was called Hekate, part - by the universe with the name Hermopanes, for he is the seed force of everything.

So Eusebius conveys the words of Porfiry. To make it easier for the reader to perceive what was said above, it is appropriate to discuss the diverse forces of the Sun and Moon, which, as we have shown, are the pagan gods and goddesses, to be presented in the form of symbolic diagrams.

Explanation of the following figure or diagram on p. 252.

In the diagram below, two figures are relied upon, the first is the Sun, the second is the Moon. Each one shines with 12 rays, which are like 12 fingers, with which various natural actions are performed; they are the various natural properties through which the Sun and Moon, the Rulers of the whole world, govern everything. The ancients understood them as the names of various gods, whose names, according to the custom of various peoples, are placed around the circumference of the figures.

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It clearly follows from these schemes that all these gods and goddesses, invented by mythologists, are nothing more than the multiple properties of the single Sun and Moon, which, if combined, can be traced to the center along their rays, for all these rays divide a single general nature. By these two natures everything that contains the sensible world lives and is nourished. They measure years, months and other periods of time. The life of all plants and animals depends on them. All pagan theology points to this Sun and its consort, the Moon, which, as we have repeatedly said, all peoples adopted from the Egyptians, who were the first of mortals to erect this huge pantheon, where all the gods were reduced to the Sun and the Moon, called Osiris and Isis. . The Egyptians were followed by the Chaldeans with their Saturn and Rhea, to whom, like those to Osiris and Isis, they attributed everything. The Jews imitated the Chaldeans, who established the cult of Baal and Astarte, as the Phoenicians - the cult of Adonis, or Tammuz and Venus, the Persians - Mithras and Annaites, the Canaanites - Moloch and the so-called Venus, the Moabites - Chemos and Baal-peor, the Philistines - Dagon and Atargatis.
So that the reader can understand the variety of cults of gods and goddesses in different peoples, here it seemed appropriate to place a table of their parallels, from which one could find out which of the above gods corresponded to each other among different peoples, and which differed, and how they differed. Although, as we have shown, all gods and goddesses are reduced to one and the same, that is, the Sun and the Moon, and, consequently, to a single material force of the Sun, since the various gods and goddesses are nothing but different properties and actions of the Sun, in in our intellect they are present formally in the form of separate concepts. Reason commands us not to confuse them, and in order to make it easier for the reader to follow this command of reason, we reduce all pagan deities of both sexes to the Egyptian ones, from which they descended, so that the meaning of our reasoning would be more clearly visible.
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- (Kircher) (1601 1680), German naturalist, philologist, musical theorist. Jesuit. Professor at the University of Würzburg (since 1628). From 1633 in Vienna, from 1635 in Rome. Expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Treatises on music, including ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (16011680), German naturalist, philologist, musical theorist. Jesuit. Professor at the University of Würzburg (since 1628). From 1633 in Vienna, from 1635 in Rome. Expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics. Treatises on music, including The Universal... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Kircher A.- KIRCHER (Kircher) Athanasius (160180), German. naturalist, philologist, musician theorist. Jesuit. Prof. University of Würzburg (since 1628). From 1633 in Vienna, from 1635 in Rome. Egyptian specialist. hieroglyphics. Treatises on music, including Universal ... ... Biographical Dictionary

KIRCHER- (Kircher), Athanasius, b. May 2, 1602 in Geise, d. Nov 28 1680 in Rome; learned Jesuit, professor of natural sciences. Sciences at the University of Würzburg, escaped the horrors of the 30-year war by fleeing to Avignon, and from 1637 settled in Rome. Of his many... Riemann's musical dictionary

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