Poems for the Consideration of Our Age

sius Christian Thomasius (1655–1728) was a foundational figure of the German Enlightenment, known for his work in law and philosophy, that bright mind to whom our century owes more than some believe, shares the contents of some of his referring to Johann Valentin Andreä’s writings quite extensively and with a sympathetic warmth that fully shows he felt their value; *) but it was still only an excerpt. Arnold Gottfried Arnold (1666–1714) was a historian of the church whose work often defended those previously labeled as heretics praised him in his own fashion and, in the article on the Rosicrucians a mystical secret society; Andreä was famously, though perhaps satirically, linked to its founding manifestos, utilized the information that Thomasius shared with him; **) but because of this, Andreä became even more suspicious. Fischlin Ludwig Melchior Fischlin (1672–1729), who compiled biographies of Wurttemberg theologians had buried him for a second time among a heap of other theologians, some of whom were very unlike him.

*) Summary Reports on Selected Books from the Thomasius Library. original: "Summarische Nachrichten von erlesenen Büchern der Thomassischen Bibliothek" Halle 1715. 1716.

**) Thomasius’s Precautions for a Student of Law original: "Cautelen für einen Studiosum iuris"; a "cautela" is a legal precaution or guideline p. 324.