K I R 
teen miles north-weft of Dingelfingen, and twelve north 
of Landfliut. 
KIRCH'BERG, a town of the duchy of Wurzburg: 
two miles north ofVolkach. 
KIRCH'BERG, a town of Germany, in the principa¬ 
lity of Hohelilohe, on the Jaxt: twenty miles eaftof Oh- 
ringen, and twenty-eight welt of Anfpach. 
KIRCH'BERG, a town of Saxony, in the circle of 
Erzgebirg: fix miles fouth of Zwickau. 
KIRCH'BERG, a town of Auftria: two miles fouth- 
fouth-eaft of PulzeinftorfF. 
KIRCH'BERG, a town of the principality of Naffau 
Dietz, capital of a bailiwic : five miles fouth-eaft of Dietz, 
and fix north-eaft of Catzenelnbogen. 
KIRCH'BERG, or Kirch'perg, a town of Auftria: 
eleven miles fouth of St. Polten. 
KIRCH'BORCHEN, a town of Weltphalia, in the bi- 
Ihopric of Paderborn : five miles fouth of Paderborn. 
KIR'CHEN LAI'BACH, a town of Germany, in the 
principality of Bayreuth : ten miles fouth-eaft of Bay¬ 
reuth. 
KIR'CHER (Athanafius), a celebrated and very learned 
German mathematician, philofopher, and antiquary, was 
born at Fulda in the year 1601. In 1618 he commenced 
his noviciate in the fociety of the Jefuits; among whom 
he dillinguilhed himfelf by his extraordinary proficiency 
in literature and fcience. After he had taken the habit, 
and completed his regular courfe of ftudies, he was feleCted 
by his fuperiors to fill the chair of profeffor, and taught 
philofophy, mathematics, and the Hebrew and Syriac lan¬ 
guages, in the univeriity of Wurzburg, in Franconia, 
with great fuccefs and applaufe, till the year 1631. At 
that time, the confufion and ravages attendant on the war 
between the emperor Ferdinaqd II. and Guftavus Adol¬ 
phus king of Sweden, rendering his fituation in Franco¬ 
nia infecure, he withdrew to France, and refided for fome 
time in the Jefuits’ college at Avignon. Afterwards he 
was called to Rome, where, for fix years, he filled the 
poll of mathematical profeffor in the Roman college; and 
then undertook the profefforfhip of Hebrew. He died in 
that city in 1680, when in his eightieth year. 
Father Kircher was a man of very extenfive erudition, 
and of indefatigable induftry; but the fubjeCts of his ftu- 
dious labours were more frequently curious than ufeful, 
and a vifionary fancy, rather than cool judgment and ac¬ 
curate inquiry, too often guided his pen. Whatever 
wore the ftamp of antiquity fafeinated his attention, and 
he had a particular pafiion for deciphering hieroglyphical 
characters, of which, if he could not dilcover the true 
meaning, he was always prepared to give what he con¬ 
ceived to be a plaufible one. Of this pafiion advantage 
'was taken by humourifts, on mpre than one occafion, to 
practife impofitions on him, for the fake of diverting 
themfelves at his expence ; but, as they refemble fimilar 
tricks by which antiquarians have been duped in our own 
time and country, fuch as the difcovery of pretended 
Saxon inferiptions, See. an account of them is not deferv- 
ing of being recorded. His works were fo numerous, 
amounting to twenty-two volumes -in folio, eleven in 
quarto, and three in oCtavo, that the mere tranfeription 
of them mult have employed no inconfiderable part of his 
life. They confift of the following articles, which were 
chiefly publifhed at Rome : 1. Praeluiiones Magneticse, 
1654, folio. 2. Ars magna Lucis et Umbrae, 1646, 2 
vols. folio. 3. Primitiae Gnomonicas Catoptricas, 4to. 
4. Mufurgia Univerfalis, 1650, 2 vols. folio. 5. Obelif- 
cus Pampliilius, 1650, folio. 6. Obelifcus Higyptiacus, 
folio. 7. CEdipus rEgyptiacus ; 1652, 4 vols. folio. 8. 
Iter extaticum Caelelte, 1656, 4to. 9. Iter extaticum 
Terreftre, 1657, 4to. 10. Mundus fubterraneus, 1678, 
2 vols. folio. 11. China illuftrata, 1667, folio, which the 
Jefuit mifiionaries into that country accufe of numerous 
grofs errors, and fanciful inventions. 12. Area Noe, 
folio. 13. Tunis Babel, 1679, folio. 14. Phonurgia 
Nova, 1673, folio. 15, Ars magna feiendi, 1669, folio. 
K I R 7 55 
16. Polygraphia, feu Artificum Linguarum, &c. 1663, 
folio. 17. Latiurn ; id eft, nova et parallela Latii, turn 
veteris, turn novi, Defcriptio, 1671, folio, See. Kircher 
had colledted a rich cabinet of antiquities, curiofities, me¬ 
dals, mathematical inltruments, rare animals, minerals. 
See. for the mufeum of the Roman college; the arrange¬ 
ment of which was begun by himfelf, and finilhed by fa¬ 
ther Philip Bonanni, who publifhed a defeription of it at 
Rome, in 1709, in a large folio volume, entitled Mufeum 
Kerchcrianum, illultrated with numerous engravings. Mo- 
reri. Nouv. Did. Hijl. Hutton's Math. Did. 
KIR'CHER (Conrad), a German proteftant divine, 
who flourifhed in the feventeenth century, concerning 
whofe perfonal hiltory we have not met with any other 
notice, than that he was fettled at Augfburg. He ac¬ 
quired celebrity, however, among his contemporaries, 
and deferves to have his name handed down with refpeCt 
to pofterify, as the author of a learned and laborious 
work of confiderable ule, illuftrating the genuine lenle of 
the facred feriptures. It is entitled “ Concordantia Vete¬ 
ris Teltamenti Grascse, Ebrteis vocibus refpondentes wo- 
hvxgriroi. Simul enim et Lexicon Ebraicolatinum, Ebrai- 
cograjcum, Graecoebraicum, Sec." Frankfort, 1607, 2 vols. 
4to. This work is at once a Hebrew dictionary and a 
concordance; for all the Hebrew words in the Old Tef- 
tament are introduced, in alphabetical order, and under¬ 
neath the Greek verlion of them from the Septuagint, 
followed by a collection of all the paffages of feripture iu 
which thole words are differently interpreted. Father Si¬ 
mon ftrongly recommends it, when treating of the beft 
methods to be adopted in undertaking any new tranflation 
of the feriptures. The chief fault in this work, according 
tol’Advocat, is the author’s preference of the Compluten- 
fian edition ofthe SeptuaginttothatofRome. By thegreater 
part of the learned world, the Concordanceof Trommius is 
preferred, which contains the Greek words of the Septua¬ 
gint in alphabetical order, and under them the words of 
the Hebrew original. We cannot, however, fubferibe to 
the opinion, that this valuable work, of which that of 
Kircher was the prototype, has fuperfeded the ufe of the 
latter; but we think, that the biblical ftudent may moft 
advantageoufly make ufe of them both in conjunction, 
in afcertaining the true meaning of the Hebrew original. 
Simon's Crit. Hi/}. Moreri. Gen. Biog. 
KIRCH'HAMB, a town of Carinthia, on the borders of 
the Tyrol: fixteen miles weft-north-welt of Greiffenburg. 
KIRCH'HAYN, a town of Hefl’e Caflel, on the Wohra, 
containing above 400 houfes: five miles ealt of Marburg, 
thirty-five miles fouth-fouth-weft of Caffel. 
KIRCH'HAYN, a town of Lufatia, on the Little El- 
fter : fourteen miles fouth-weft of Luckau, and five weft 
of Finfterwalda. Lat. 51. 36. N. Ion. 13. 35. E. 
KIRCH'HEIM, a town of Wurtemberg, formerly im¬ 
perial : two miles fouth-fouth-weft of LaufFein. 
KIRCH'HEIM, or Kirch'haim, a town of Germany, 
the capital of a lordlhip belonging to the family of Fug- 
ger: eighteen miles fouth-weft of Augfburg, and twenty- 
five eaft-fouth-eait of Ulm. 
KIRCH'HEIM PO'LAND, a town of France, in.the 
department of Mont Tonnerre : fixteen miles weft of 
Worms, and twenty-eight north-weft of Manheim. Lat. 
49.39.N. Ion. 7. 59. E. 
KIRCH'HEIM SOUS TECIC, a town of Wurtem- 
burg, on the Lauter, furrounded with walls in the year 
1270 : lixteen miles fouth-eaft of Stuttgart, and twenty- 
four north-weft of Ulm. 
KIRCIi'LAMITZ, a town of Germany, in the prin¬ 
cipality of Bayreuth : eight miles north of Wunliedel. 
KIRCHLAU'TERN, a town of the duchy of Wurz¬ 
burg : eight miles north-weft of Bamberg, and twenty- 
one eafl of Schweinfurt. 
KIRCHLE'IS, a town of Germany, in the principality 
of Culmbach : four miles north-norfh-weft of Culmbach. 
KIRCH'PACII, a town of Auftria : ten miles weft- 
north-weft of Horn. 
3 
KIRCH'PERG 
