KIRCHER, Athanasius. (1602-1680). Latium. Id est, nova & parallela Latii tum veteris tum novi description. Amsterdam: Johannes Janssonius and the heirs of Elizei Weyerstraet, 1671. [Bound with:] Ars magna sciendi. Amsterdam: J. Jansson and the heirs of E. Weyerstraet, 1669. 2 works in one volume, 2° (375 x 245mm). First work with engraved additional title by Romeyn de Hooghe, portrait of the dedicatee Pope Clement X, 25 engraved plates, plans and maps of which 13 double-page and one folding, 20 illustrations. (Some browning.) Second work with engraved additional titles to each part, engraved portrait of the dedicatee Emperor Leopold I, engraved plate, 4 double-page tables of which 3 folding, and 21 engraved illustrations of which 2 with volvelles. (Some spotting.) Contemporary blind-stamped pigskin over wooden boards dated 1672, monogram 'H' to front cover and 'M' to back, original metal clasps, red edges (some light staining, corners lightly bumped). Provenance: Monastic Library of Saint Pantaleon (ownership inscription to first work dated 1679) -- Bibliotheca Kircheriana (book label). FIRST EDITIONS. Latium resulted from Kircher's curiosity about Rome and the surrounding region and is a compilation of his topographical impressions. Ars magna sciendi is an ambitious attempt to categorize all knowledge under nine ideal attributes of dignities of God. Inspired by the work of Raymond Lull, the 13th-century Majorcan philosopher, it is 'the 17th-century search for a universal language that would allow scientists and philosophers to describe and circumscribe all knowledge into a unified system' (Merill). Brunet III, 666 and 667; Caillet 5771 and 5777; Cicognara 3758; Olschki 17342; Merrill 22 and 23.