Plate 11. Ne quid nimis. A will-o'-the-wisp, will-o'-wisp or ignis fatuus is an atmospheric ghost light seen by travellers at night, especially over bogs, swamps or marshes. It resembles a flickering lamp and is said to recede if approached, drawing travellers from the safe paths. The phenomenon is known by a variety of names, including jack-o'-lantern, friar's lantern, hinkypunk, hobby lantern, bog light, marsh light, and swamp light. Franz Reinzer (1661-1708) was an Austrian Jesuit professor of rhetoric, philosophy, and theology. His Meteorologia philosophico-politica, in duodecim dissertationes per quaestiones meteorologicas & conclusiones politicas divisa, appositisque was first published in 1697. Meteorologia philosophico-politica is a meteorological, astrological, and political compendium. Illustrations in the 1709 edition were done by Wolffgangus Josephus Kadoriza. |