The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. No quotation from it should be published in any form, including Electronic and the Internet, without the author's prior written consent. All information derived from this thesis must be acknowledged appropriately. Pansophia and Perfection The Nature of Utopia in the Early Seventeenth Century Michael James Macaulay A Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Durham Department of Politics 2001 'C- - 8 MAR 2002 Abstract My thesis argues that the pansophist utopia is a more coherent model of the ideal society than has previously been recognised. it investigates the ideal societies of Tomasso Campanella (1568-1639), Johann Valentin Andreae (1586- 165k), Johann Amos Comenius (1592-1670) and Francis Bacon (1561-1626). It argues that despite appearances, Bacon's utopia is not to be considered as part of the pansophist canon. The model of the pansophist utopia rests on four foundations: a perfect political system, a universalist view of human nature, a belief in universal knowledge and an acceptance of magic. In each of these key areas Bacon provides a qualitatively different approach. Chapter one offers an overview of the many ways in which utopia has been defined. It also outlines the desire for reform in the early seventeenth century, and explains why utopia was suited to the pansophist vision. Chapter two explains why utopia was the political theory of pansophism. Chapter three looks at the utopian vision of man as a universal creature. Chapter four identifies the ways in which knowledge was incorporated into the ideal society. Chapter five deals with the magical theoj ies of pansophia. My thesis will address important historical questions, such as the role of the Rosicrucians in the pansophist movement, as well as key issues in utopian theory, for example the role of human nature in the ideal society. By revealing the coherence of Campanella, Andreae and Comenius, my thesis will provide insights into the nature of both the pansophist movement and the utopian ideal. Table of Contents Title . Abstract......................................................................................ii Tableof Contents..........................................................................iii Statementof Copyright..................................................................viii Declaration.................................................................................ix Acknowledgements.........................................................................x Abbreviations..............................................................................xi Dedication.................................................................................xiii Introduction .............................................................................p. 1 i. Who Were The Pansophists?..............................................p. 1 ii. The Utopian Works .........................................................p. 4 iii. The Movement of Pansophist Ideas....................................p. 12 iv. The Utopian Heritage.....................................................p. 19 v. Pillars of the Pansophist Utopia..........................................p. 22 ChapterI: Pansophjsm and Utopia ................................................p. 27 1) The Pansophist Project .................................................p. 27 i. Origins and Influences.....................................................p. 28 ii. Elements of Pansophist Knowledge....................................p.36 iii. Universality and Unity...................................................p.38 2) Discovering Utopia ......................................................p. 40 i. Rejecting Meaning.........................................................p. 42 ii. Formal and Functional Definitions.....................................p. 47 iii. The State of Utopia......................................................p 54 111 3) Pansophia and Utopia . p. 57 i. Refining Utopia............................................................p. 58 ii. The Pansophists as Utopians.............................................p. 61 Conclusion .....................................................................p. 64 ChapterH: The Politics of Pansophia ...........................................p. 65 1) More's Perfect World? ................................................ p. 65 2) Campanella's Political Metaphysics .................................p. 69 i. Perfection and the Primalities............................................p. 70 ii. The Primalities in Civitas Soils.......................................... p. 73 iii. The Primalities in Practice..............................................p. 75 3) Andreae: Totality or Totalitarianism9 ..............................p. 79 i. Perfection and Self-Sufficiency..........................................p. 80 ii. The State and Institutionalised Religion................................p. 84 iii. Access to Christianopoiis............................................... p. 86 4) Comenius' Utopian Reform ............................................p. 89 i. The Elements of Perfection...............................................p. 89 ii. Utopian Politics............................................................p. 91 5) Bacon's Incomplete Utopia ............................................p. 96 i. Bacon the Utopian.........................................................p. 98 ii. The Independent Class..................................................p. 101 Conclusion ...................................................................p. 106 Chapter ifi: Pansophist Man ....................................................p. 108 1) Theories of Human Nature ..........................................p. 108 2) Man and the Five Worlds ............................................. p. 116 i. Man in the Universal Hierarchy........................................p. 117 lv ii. Civitas Solis and Original Sin . p. 120 3) Andreae's Christian Barriers to Perfection ........................p. 124 j. Andreae's Christocentrism..............................................p. 125 ii. Andreae's Christian Reform...........................................p. 127 iii. Man's Universal Nature................................................p. 130 4) Man's Role Within Panorthosia ...................................... p. 133 i. The Labyrinth of the World and the Rejection of Man..............p. 134 ii. Man and Hierarchy......................................................p. 137 iii. Soul's Eternal Quest....................................................p. 139 5) Bacon and the Limits of Man ........................................p. 142 i. Man'sReturntoParadise?..............................................p. 144 ii. Bacon and the Fall.......................................................p. 147. Conclusion ...................................................................p. 152 ChapterIV: The Quest for Knowledge .........................................p. 156 1) Pansensism and Pansophia ...........................................p. 156 i. The Structure of Knowledge............................................p. 158 ii. Knowledge in CivitasSolis............................................. p. 161 2) Andreae's Christian Knowledge ....................................p. 166 i. Christianopolis' Store of Wisdom......................................p. 167 ii. The Christian Synthesis................................................p. 172 3) Comenius' Pansophist Vision ........................................p. 174 i. The Boundaries of Pansophia..........................................p. 175 ii. Christian Philosophy....................................................p. 179 4) Bacon the Pansophist9 ................................................ p. 184 i. The Rejection of Syncretism.............................................p. 186 V ii, Religion and Baconian Science . p. 190 Conclusion ...................................................................p. 195 ChapterV: Pansophia and the Rosie Crosse ..................................p. 198 1) Pansophia and the Magical Tradition ..............................p. 198 i. Yates' Rosicrucian Enlightenment....................................p. 199 ii. Forms of Renaissance Mysticism.....................................p. 202 iii. Fama and Confessio....................................................p. 210 iv. Foundations of the Fraternity..........................................p. 215 2) Civitas Solis and Renaissance Magic ...............................p. 218 i. Astrology in Utopia......................................................p. 219 ii. Sources of Solarian Magic.............................................p. 222 3) Andreae: Rosicrucian or Reformer ..................................p. 227 i. The Chymical Wedding of Christian Rosenkreutz....................p. 227 ii. The Tessera of Antilia...................................................p. 230 iii. ARosicrucian Utopia?.................................................p.237 iv. Astrology and Kabbalah in Christian opolis.........................p. 242 4) The Moravian Prophet ................................................p. 244 i. The Rejection of the Rosicrucians.....................................p. 245 ii. Christian Mysticism.....................................................p. 249 5) Bacon's Theory of Magic .............................................p. 252 i. Magic and Science.......................................................p.