Introduction.

condition yet never quite leaves, began after a long period of the darkest barbarism to enlighten a few minds The original German uses the word Köpfe (heads) to refer to intellectual leaders or thinkers. once again. Through their discoveries in all branches of the sciences, these individuals enlightened human understanding anew and spread more accurate knowledge and Enlightenment The German Aufklärung refers to the philosophical movement of the 18th century that championed reason as the primary source of authority. everywhere. Kepler, Newton, Leibniz, Galileo, and others discovered through the strength of their intellect the laws of motion, the course of the stars, and the nature of the earth; by doing so, they suddenly toppled the phantom of astrology—the strongest and most prominent pillar of ancient magic.

Following them, others stepped onto the path that had been cleared and gradually expanded the domain of human knowledge through their discoveries. Superstition was challenged with the weapons of reason and the aid of experience; many a "sacred darkness" and many a "miraculous work" vanished back into nothingness. Because of a more refined natural science Natural Science: Naturlehre in German; the study of the physical world and its laws, which at this time was evolving from "natural philosophy" into modern physics and biology. and chemistry Original: Chymie. This spelling reflects the era when the mystical traditions of alchemy were being transformed into the modern science of chemistry., people were now able to explain in a perfectly natural way things that had previously been considered supernatural. But just as light is always accompanied by shadow,