Phonurgia Nova

Truly, there were great signs of wrath and signs sounding of deadly war,
    But they were silent, and devoid of any meaningful marks. The poet suggests that natural sounds like thunder are "mute" because they lack articulate meaning until Kircher’s science decodes or replicates them.
This is my task: to weave another form,
    Through which you might thunder and seem to speak at the same time.
May you give back fire-breathing voices and thundering words;
    May you bring forth winds from the mouth, and rivers through the voice.
I do not seek your bellows, Vulcan The Roman god of fire and the forge., nor the arms of Steropes One of the Cyclopes who forged lightning bolts for Jupiter; representing brute, noisy labor.,
    Nor do I seek your whirlwind noises, Eurus The Greek name for the East Wind..
This is the work of the Muses, for the Muses can do all things;
    Indeed, they teach how such wonders are to be bound by rhythmic measures.
From here, it seemed right to visit the seats of the Muses and the caves of Apollo The god of music, poetry, and light.,
    And to stir up unusual melodies with the voice.
While he Kircher drinks in all the melody here with his mouth and unlocks the fountain,
    He is now inspired by the closer divine power of the God.
Finally, Musurgia original: "Musurgia"; referencing Kircher’s 1650 work Musurgia Universalis, it refers to the "art of making music" or the universal science of harmony. inspires his divine breast,
    And a spirit within nourishes a sound that is not mortal.
Here, one might be delighted by the modulations of sweet song,
    Or by sounds made with compressed air, or by the hand. A reference to various instruments, including organs (compressed air) and stringed instruments (the hand).
He reveals here what Orpheus The mythical musician who could charm trees and animals. can do in the woods, and what Arion A Greek poet saved by a dolphin charmed by his singing.
    Can do among the waters, and what you, Philomela A mythological figure transformed into a nightingale; here representing the beauty of birdsong., are capable of.
Nor is it enough to flex human voices in the throat in this way,
    But he teaches how to animate words with a massive sound.
And here he recounts the trumpet Referring to the "tuba stentorophonica" or speaking trumpet, one of Kircher's most famous acoustic inventions. by which he can carry words through the breezes,
    And let speech travel along distant paths.
No longer does a slow delay terrify absent friends,
    Nor is a letter sent, written with a doubtful hand. The poet suggests that Kircher’s inventions for long-distance sound transmission might replace the need for slow, uncertain written correspondence.