KIRCHER, A. d'Onder-aardse weereld in haar goddelijk maaksel en wonderbare uitwerkselen aller dingen; in XII boeken nauwkeurig beschreven. Waar van dit eerste handeld van het wiskundig werkstuk des aardkloots in 't heel-al. (...) het tweede deel; daar in de wonderbare kracht der werksame natuur in de voortbrenging der menigerlei schepselen, en der selver gedurige op en ondergang (...) de waare en valsche goudsoekerye (...) de nuttigheid der destilleerkunde en veel vermogende stofscheidinge, glasblasen en allerhande konst en handgrepen (...). Amst., d'Erfg. van (...) J.J. v. Waesberge, 1682. 2 in 1 vol. (20), 425, (11); (8), 415, (13) pp. W. engr. ti., ti-vign., dedic. headpiece, 14 double-p./fold. maps & views, 4 tables & hundreds of woodcuts & engr. in the text (some full-p., 2 movables). Fol. Fine cont. cf. w. raised bands, richly dec. gilt back, brown label & red edges. (Joints split at the top, bottom of spine slightly chipped, 1 fold. plate w. small rep. on v°, upper margin of 2nd vol. faintly stained, else a very fine and clean copy).
B.L. Merrill, Athanasius Kircher, no. 17: "The Mundus subterraneous, perhaps the most popular of Kircher's works in his day and the best known in ours, is cited in letters and works of such contemporaries as M. Lister (…), R. Moray (…), J. Locke (…), B. Spinoza (…). The basis and impetus for the Mundus subterraneous was Kircher's visit to Sicily in 1637-38, where he witnessed an eruption of Aetna and Stromboli. He prefaced the work with his own narrative of the trip, including his spectacular descent into Vesuvius upon his return to Italy. His observations of these volcanoes led him to conclude that the center of the earth is a massive internal fire for which the volcanoes are mere safety valves. But the work is not solely geologic. Kircher continues with fantastic speculations about the interior of the earth, its hidden lakes, its rivers of fire, and its strange inhabitants. Major topics include gravity, the moon, the sun, eclipses, ocean currents, subterranean waters and fires, meteorology, rivers and lakes, hydraulics, minerals and fossils, subterranean giants, beasts and demons, poisons, (etc. etc.)". - First Dutch edition. Caillet II, 363 ("Le plus curieux des nombreux ouvrages de ce savant"); Sabin 37968; Nissen ZBI, 2197; Ferguson I, 467; Wellcome III, 395; De Backer & Sommervogel IV, 1060.€ 2400
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