Fasciculus:Quadripartitium, Ptolemy.djvu

English: Pheludiensis Alexandrini Quadripartitum, by Ptolemy. Latin translation of the Arabic version by Plato of Tivoli in 1138. Printed in Basel in 1533 by Johannes Hervagius [Warburg FAH 750]. Original title: Tetrabiblos or Apotelesmatika. Notice by Charles Burnett.

This is the Classical text on astrology, which seeks to find rational explanations for astrological doctrine. In translations directly from Greek and indirectly from Arabic, and accompanied by an extensive commentary by 'All ibn Ridwan, translated into Latin in the late thirteenth century, it had wide influence in Europe. Plato’s translation survives in 9 manuscripts and five Renaissance printings. Contents: As the title indicates, it is divided into four books: the first on the defense of astrology and technical concepts, the second on influences on earth (including astrological geography and weather prediction), and the third and fourth on influences on individuals.

Bibliography: Claudius Ptolemaues, Apotelesmatika, ed. W. Hubner, Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1998; L. Minio-Paluello, ‘Plato of Tivoli’, in Dictionary of Scientific Biography, ed. C. C. Gillispie, New York, 1975, XI, pp. 31-33.

Inc.: ‘Rerum, lesure, in quibus est pronosticabilis scientiae^’

Expl.: ‘_hoc in loco huic libro finem imponere non incongruum existimamus.’