In Sphaeram Ioannis de Sacro Bosco, Commentarius. Nunc quarto ab ipso Auctore recognitus, & plerisque in locis locupletatus.
4to (20.8 x 15.4 cm). [8], 551, [40] pp. (last p. blank). Title woodcut of armillary sphere; numerous geometrical woodcuts, diagrams and tables in text. Bound in contemporary vellum with ties (portion of one perished); old library paper classification label (“F111”) on lower spine. Light water staining on blank right margin of title continuing onto subsequent pages. Occasional spotting on scattered leaves. Sound copy; generally very fresh. Rare edition of this standard Jesuit textbook on astronomy, “the first to accuse Copernicus not only of having presented a physically absurd doctrine but also of having contradicted numerous scriptural passages” (DSB), written by Christoph Clavius, the “Euclid of the sixteenth century”. Using John de Sacro Bosco’s account of the Ptolemaic system of planetary motions as a foundation, it became customary for later scholars to transmit their knowledge of geocentric astronomy in the form of commentaries on his textbook. Clavius’ Commentary gives particularly good insight into the diverse cosmological systems competing with each other in the late sixteenth century, including that of Copernicus (which is condemned as physically impossible and contrary to Scripture). Indeed, Clavius perspicaciously captures the nature of contemporary astronomical thought by quoting Ptolemy: “for he says that natural philosophy and metaphysics, if we consider their mode of demonstrating, are rather to be called conjectures than sciences, on account of the multitude and discrepancy of opinions”. “Few texts are better qualified to bear witness to the context in which the literate public would have received the cosmological debates of that era.” says Lattis, noting that the work “must have been known to a significant fraction of persons educated from about 1570 to around 1615”. In his work, Clavius supplies numerous diagrams, calculations and lengthy tables, giving detailed instructions on how to make astronomical calculations using spherical geometry. He also adds several of his own observations including the only record of the solar eclipse of 9 April 1567, an account cited by contemporary astronomers to support the contention that the size of the Sun had shrunk over the last few centuries. Christoph Clavius (1537-1612), a prominent and eminent mathematician and astronomer, taught mathematics at the Collegium Romanum. He wrote an important book on Euclid, provided a proposal for the Gregorian calendar reform of 1582 (see page 297 of the present work), and was a frequent correspondent and supporter of Galileo until his death in 1612.
* DSB; J.M. Lattis, Between Copernicus and Galileo (Chicago, 1994).
Price: $1,850.00