Excerpt from On the Difficulty of Correct Description of Books

But now comes a difficulty. A preface, dated in February 1540, of a work published in 1 543, gives some presumption, not a very great one, of a previous edition in 1540 or 1 541; rather too much (8) to neg lect, though far from enough to pronounce upon. Lalande, relying again upon Weidler, affirms that this work of Maurolycus was first printed in 1 540;and Weidler makes the statement both [10] in his Hist ory and in his Bibliography. And, what is more, Ric cioli (in 16 5 1) makes the same assertion. It° matters little or nothing that the work of 1543 is not called a second edition, for it not unfrequently happens that a reprint shows no sign of that character. And though neither the Abbé Scina, in the life of Maurolycus, nor the compiler of the list of works presently mentioned, notes any edition earlier than 1 543, yet neither seems to have made much search, and both, to judge by their modes of description, would rest content with the earliest edition they happened to have seen. Thus, though inclined (9) to believe that the edition of 1 543 is really the first, and therefore that the remarks we have quoted are especially directed against Rheticus, we should not be at all surprised if an edition of 1 or 1 541 were to turn up.

It is known that there were among the ancients some who maintained the diurnal motion of the earth, and some who maintained the annual, at least as pos sible; Ptolemy alludes to them, and gives his reasons against them. Down to the time of Copernicus, we are not told of any (except Cardinal Cusa, (10)who is not worth alluding to on this point) who really thought anew on the subject, so as to produce fresh arguments either for or against. Nevertheless, it ap rs, though we cannot find it mentioned by any istorian, that Regiomontanus had seriously consid ered the subject. One of the greatest preservers of his writings was John Schoner, of Carlstadt (1477 In the collection of Schoner's works, first (1 1) published in 1551, Nuremberg, folio, is an O pusculum Geograpbicum, the first chapter of which is a disputatio of Regiomontanus on the subject of the earth's rest or motion. In this short discussion, while deciding the question against the earth's motion, on grounds resembling those of Ptolemy, he cites, as from the ancients, the com arison of the earth to meat roastin on a spit, and o the sun to the fire which cooks it; as also the argument that it is the business of the mutton, which wants heat, to turn round before the fire, and not of the fire to turn round the mutton. To what old writer he refers, we cannot tell, as we cannot find this simile in any of the passa es which have been quoted from classic authors. A'e men tion the discussion in which it occurs to point out that it would not be a very easy matter to ascertain whether Copernicus (who died in 1543) could or could not have seen it. [1 1] According to the preface, the date of composition of this Opuse. Geogr. Is 1533; from which Lalande says it was printed in 1533; but we can find no notice of any impression previous to that in the collected works of 1551. Weidler says this collection contains some things which had not been previously published: but this can only mean that he had not found them.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com