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Christianopolis: An Ideal State of the Seventeenth Century
Excerpt from Christianopolis: An Ideal State of the Seventeenth Century
It is my belief that Johann Valentin Andreae represents a very important step in the development of the principles of education and scientific investigation, and that his works, now very little known, deserve worthy recognition in the history of literature. It is the purpose of this investigation to show the value of his writings as those of a great teacher and reformer; and especially to establish his Utopia, Reipublicae Christianopolitanae Descriptio, in its proper place among the ideal states of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As the Latin original of this Utopia has become quite rare I have made an English translation of it, hoping that thereby the attention of students of literature, philosophy, pedagogy, and sociology may be attracted to this remarkable document. Recognizing the great value of Andreae's work Robert Boyle, as early as 1647, in a letter to Samuel Hartlib, expressed the wish that an English version of it might be made.
For my introduction to the subject, and for his assistance and direction in its development, I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to Professor Julius Goebel, my adviser and teacher. I also acknowledge my sincere thanks to other members of the department of German of the University of Illinois for their interest and helpful suggestions.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
It is my belief that Johann Valentin Andreae represents a very important step in the development of the principles of education and scientific investigation, and that his works, now very little known, deserve worthy recognition in the history of literature. It is the purpose of this investigation to show the value of his writings as those of a great teacher and reformer; and especially to establish his Utopia, Reipublicae Christianopolitanae Descriptio, in its proper place among the ideal states of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. As the Latin original of this Utopia has become quite rare I have made an English translation of it, hoping that thereby the attention of students of literature, philosophy, pedagogy, and sociology may be attracted to this remarkable document. Recognizing the great value of Andreae's work Robert Boyle, as early as 1647, in a letter to Samuel Hartlib, expressed the wish that an English version of it might be made.
For my introduction to the subject, and for his assistance and direction in its development, I wish to express my gratitude and appreciation to Professor Julius Goebel, my adviser and teacher. I also acknowledge my sincere thanks to other members of the department of German of the University of Illinois for their interest and helpful suggestions.
About the Publisher
Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com
This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
311 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1619
About the author
Johann Valentin Andreae
57 books13 followersJohannes Valentinus Andreae a.k.a. Johannes Valentinus Andreä or Johann Valentin Andreae, was a German theologian, who claimed to be the author of the Chymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosencreutz anno 1459 (1616, Strasbourg, the Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz), one of the three founding works of Rosicrucianism.
He studied theology and natural sciences in Tübingen,obtaining a degree in 1614. He became a priest in Calw. Here he reformed the school and social institutions, and established institutions for charity and other aids. To this end, he initiated the Christliche Gottliebende Gesellschaft ("Christian God-loving Society"). In 1628 he planned a "Unio Christiana".
In 1639, he became preacher at the court and councillor of the consistory (Konsistorialrat) in Stuttgart, where he advocated a fundamental church reform. He became also a spiritual adviser to a royal princess of Württemberg. In 1650, he assumed direction of the monasterial school Bebenhausen; in 1654, he became abbot of the evangelical monasterial school of Adelberg.
His role in the origin of the Rosicrucian legend is controversial. In his autobiography he indicated the Chymische Hochzeit as one of his works—as a "ludibrium", possibly meaning "lampoon". In his later works, alchemy is the object of ridicule and is placed with music, art, theatre and astrology in the category of less serious sciences.
He studied theology and natural sciences in Tübingen,obtaining a degree in 1614. He became a priest in Calw. Here he reformed the school and social institutions, and established institutions for charity and other aids. To this end, he initiated the Christliche Gottliebende Gesellschaft ("Christian God-loving Society"). In 1628 he planned a "Unio Christiana".
In 1639, he became preacher at the court and councillor of the consistory (Konsistorialrat) in Stuttgart, where he advocated a fundamental church reform. He became also a spiritual adviser to a royal princess of Württemberg. In 1650, he assumed direction of the monasterial school Bebenhausen; in 1654, he became abbot of the evangelical monasterial school of Adelberg.
His role in the origin of the Rosicrucian legend is controversial. In his autobiography he indicated the Chymische Hochzeit as one of his works—as a "ludibrium", possibly meaning "lampoon". In his later works, alchemy is the object of ridicule and is placed with music, art, theatre and astrology in the category of less serious sciences.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 23, 2025
Reads more like a text book than a novel. Big sections its speed read mode for me! The number of different jobs, occupations and fields of study presented in this city would better fit a town of 100k to a million. This city has a population of 400. Lots, and I mean a lot of Christian Theology. This reads more like a historic snapshot of academia of 17 century. Lets just say things have changed a lot since that time. In essence a hard read, more for research and study.
August 15, 2025
Pretty wild! A totally off the radar spin on More and Bacon that deserves more prominence than it has.
December 27, 2009
Like most UTOPIAs, it needs to be read twice. Gets somewhat dull at parts but an excellent book for discussion
March 24, 2015
Utopian civilization description, build around a god-awful (pardon the pun) monastery build like a fortress. Boring as hell (oops there i go again ;) ).
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews