Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Commentarii in universam Aristotelis Phisicam

Authors

• Russo, Michael Angelus
• Bonicorus, D. Iosephus

Call number

Ms. Codex 1167
(Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Rare Book & Manuscript Library)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 4303172
• http://hdl.library.upenn.edu/1017/d/medren/4303172

Publisher

The University of Pennsylvania Libraries

Language

Latin, with some Greek words (for example, f. 9r, 151r, 161r)

Origin

Date

between 1611 and 1699

Place

Italy

Summary

Scientific work of natural philosophy, first treating general topics like first, second, and final causality, then moving on to specific investigations, such as heaviness and lightness, magnetism, heavenly bodies, and the rainbow. Russo frequently criticizes Aristotle and his scholastic followers, preferring René Descartes and Pierre Gassendi. He chides Christian philosophers for rejecting the scientific reasonings of Epicurus (f. 200r), whose atomic theory he accepts. The more scientific sections of this book include frequent diagrams. According to the author, the text was composed at age 17, when he was taught by D. Iosephus Bonicorus (f. 96r). The author recognizes that bodies of different mass fall at the same rate, a 17th-century concept, and mentions the telescope, which was not invented until 1608 nor named until 1611. Moreover, his principal guides, Descartes and Gassendi, both published in the first half of the 17th century. A table of contents follows the work.

Notes

• Ms. codex.
   
• Title from title page (f. 2r).
   

Watermark

Unidentifiable mark depicting three circles arranged vertically, each containing a different variation on the fleur de lis, with a crown on top.

Extent

288 leaves : 210 x 152 (161 x 98) mm. bound to 220 x 166 mm

Collation

Paper, 288; 1²( -1) 2¹⁴ 3-5¹² 6¹⁴( -3) 7¹⁶( -16) 8¹⁴( -13, 14) 9¹⁶( -6,7) 10⁸ 11-19¹² 20¹⁰ 21¹² 22⁸ 23-25¹² 26²( -2); [ii], 1-2, 4-78, [79-284], [iv], contemporary foliation in ink, upper right recto, with the same number often written on the upper left verso; [1-288], modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto. References in this record are to modern foliation.

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary vellum (Zacour-Hirsch).

Layout

Written in approximately 20 long lines, with catchwords at the bottom of almost every recto and verso.

Decoration

Numerous detailed mathematical and scientific diagrams (for example, f. 159v, 275r); elaborate pen flourishes on title pages, forming the shapes of birds (f. 97r, 198r) and floral or leafy designs (f. 2r, 3r, 4r, 52r); red coloring in a picture of a candle flame (f. 258r).

Script

Written in a cursive script.

Subjects topical

• Physics--Early works to 1800
• Physical sciences--Early works to 1800

Genres

• Codices
• Commentaries
• Treatises
• Manuscripts, Latin--17th century
• Manuscripts, European

Licenses

• Text

  This description is ©2016 University of Pennsylvania Libraries. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

• Text

  All referenced images and their content are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Decorations

• fol. 2r — Decorated initial, Initial C, f. 2r
• fol. 4r — Decorated initial, Initial L, f. 4r
• fol. 28v — Decorated initial, Initial D, f. 28v
• fol. 32v — Decorated initial, Initial D, f. 32v
• fol. 58v — Drawing, Circle with alphabet, f. 58v
• fol. 67v — Diagram, f. 67v
• fol. 71v — Diagram, f. 70v
• fol. 87r — Diagram, f. 87r
• fol. 88v — Diagram, f. 88v
• fol. 89r — Diagram, f. 89r
• fol. 97r — Zoomorphic initial, Initial L, Bird, f. 97r
• fol. 105r — Diagram, f. 105r
• fol. 106r — Diagram, f. 106r
• fol. 106v — Diagram, f. 106v
• fol. 107r — Diagram, f. 107r
• fol. 107v — Diagram, f. 107v
• fol. 108v — Diagram, f. 108v
• fol. 110r — Diagram, f. 110r
• fol. 111r — Diagram, f. 111r
• fol. 112r — Diagram, f. 112r
• fol. 114r — Diagram, f. 114r
• fol. 115v — Diagram, f. 115v
• fol. 127r — Diagram, f. 127r
• fol. 136r — Diagram, f. 136r
• fol. 136v — Diagram, f. 136v
• fol. 141v — Diagram, f. 141v
• fol. 159r — Diagram, f. 159r
• fol. 159v — Diagram, f. 159v
• fol. 178r — Diagram, f. 178r
• fol. 178v — Diagram, f. 178v
• fol. 197r — Drawing, Foliate design, f. 197r
• fol. 198r — Zoomorphic initial, Initial L, Bird, f. 198r
• fol. 229v — Diagram, f. 229v
• fol. 231r — Diagram, f. 231r
• fol. 232r — Diagram, f. 232r
• fol. 233v — Diagram, f. 233v
• fol. 236r — Diagram, f. 236r
• fol. 249r — Diagram, f. 249r
• fol. 256r — Diagram, f. 256r
• fol. 258r — Diagram, f. 258r
• fol. 266v — Diagram, f. 266v
• fol. 268v — Diagram, f. 268v
• fol. 275r — Diagram, f. 275r
• fol. 279r — Diagram, f. 279r