The Age of Pious Erudition: Kircher's Critics in Context

Author:

Stolzenberg, Daniel

Format:

Journal Article

Year:

2022

Journal Title:

Revue de l'histoire des religions

Volume:

239

Issue:

2

Language:

English

Abstract:

This essay argues that Kircher and his critics can best be understood in the context of a distinct epoch, “the age of pious erudition”, defined by the alliance of historical criticism and sacred history. It began at the turn of the seventeenth century when Joseph Scaliger and Isaac Casaubon applied the historicizing methods of classical philology to the study of ancient Judaism and the early Church, and it gave way a century later, when historical criticism belatedly revealed itself as a threat rather than a boon to Christian apologetics. Eventually, pious erudition brought about its own demise, but that was a cumulative process that unfolded over a century, rather than a dramatic rupture.

Who (Jesuits):

Kircher, Athanasius, 1602–1680

What (Subjects):

Biography -- Intellectual

Sciences -- Writings

Iconography

When (Centuries):

17th century

18th century

Worldcat URL:

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9567585714

Publisher URL:

https://journals.openedition.org/rhr/11934

https://journals.openedition.org/rhr/11893

Page Range:

297-324

ISSN:

0035-1423

DOI:

10.4000/rhr.11934

Comment:

Special Issue: L’Égypte ancienne du jésuite Kircher (1602-1680) : écriture des savoirs, iconographie, contextes épistémiques

Special Issue: The Ancient Egypt of Kircher the Jesuit (1602-1680): the writing of knowledge, iconography, epistemic contexts