ATHANASIUS KIRCHER

OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS The Jesuits

NEW PHONURGIA

original: "Phonurgia Nova." Kircher coined this term from the Greek roots for "sound" and "work/production," effectively meaning "The New Science of Sound-Making."

A Mechano-Physical Marriage

OF ART & NATURE

WITH SOUND-WISDOM AS BRIDESMAID original: "Paranympha Phonosophia." Phonosophia is Kircher's personification of the wisdom or science of sound.

THE ENTIRE NATURE OF SOUNDS, THEIR PROPERTIES, AND POWERS,
and the Causes of their prodigious effects, are explained through a new and manifold
exhibition of experiments; the method and rationale of Acoustic Instruments
and Machines, to be adapted to the prototype of Nature—both for propagating
sounds to the most remote distances, and for conversing, whether secretly or
openly, within the hidden recesses of homes by means of devices of more
concealed ingenuity—is handed down; and finally, the singular
Use and practice of such Instruments in the tumults of
War is described through a new PhonologyIn this 17th-century context, the systematic study and classification of sounds.

An engraving set within an ornate, rectangular frame. The scene depicts a landscape view of a large monastic or academic complex with multiple courtyards, towers, and a prominent domed church (representing Kempten). In the sky above the city, a winged putto or angel flies to the right, holding a heraldic shield that displays a double-headed imperial eagle under a crown. To the left of the angel, a banner or plaque atop a building reads: IT RISES ABOVE THE HEAVENS original: "SVPER AETHERA TOLLIT".

KEMPTEN original: "Campidonae," the Latin name for the city of Kempten in Bavaria.