Veterum mathematicorum Athenaei, Bitonis, Apollodori, Heronis, Philonis et Aliorum Opera: nunc primum edita, ex manuscriptis codicibus Bibliothecae Regiae
[BOIVIN, Jean, LA HIRE, Philippe de & THÉVENOT, Melchisédech (eds.)]
Published by Typographia Regia, Paris, 1693
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SOPHIA RARE BOOKS, Koebenhavn V, Denmark
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DIBNER 84: ANCIENT GREEK TECHNOLOGY. First edition, the Stanhope copy, of this collection of early Greek writings on technology (especially military technology) and hydrostatics. It contains several treatises on the mechanics and siege operations, or poliorcetica, used in the Hellenistic period (the period between Alexander and Augustus), including the construction and management of their projectile engines. The first six works in the volume comprise the writings on the subject of military engines that were compiled by Athenaeus, Apollodorus, Biton, Heron and Philon. These works include the first edition, in both Greek and Latin, of Biton s Construction of War Machines and Artillery, of extant part of the Mechanike Syntaxis, attributed to Philon of Byzantium, and of the Poliorcetica of Apollodorus of Damascus. These are followed by the Greek and Latin texts of Hero of Alexandria s works on hydrostatics, the Pneumatica and Automata, which include what some regard as the first description of a steam-engine; this is the first printing of the Greek text of these works. Thévenot, the King s librarian to Louis XIV, prepared the present work from a rather defective secondary manuscript (Codex Parisinus 2435). After Thévenot s death in 1692, it was revised by the mathematician La Hire with insightful annotations by Boivin, an official in the King s library. It is one of three early publications of the French Academy of Sciences, grouped together as Dibner 84. "Printed at the royal press in small editions, they were intended as gifts for the King and Academy. In size, binding and beauty of the plates, they are among the most sumptuous books in science" (Dibner). This is a rare book on the market, only eight copies having appeared at auction in the last 40 years. The Evelyn copy was sold at Christie s in 1977. Provenance: Philip Stanhope, 2nd Earl Stanhope (1714-86) (bookplate on front paste-down). Stanhope was a Fellow of the Royal Society from 1735, and had a lifelong interest in mathematics. A student of Abraham de Moivre, Stanhope made significant contributions to probability theory. He was also a patron of various mathematicians, notably Thomas Bayes; Stanhope was responsible for Bayes s election to the Royal Society, and probably also for Bayes taking up the study of probability (Bellhouse, pp. 190 & 201). To gain access to the walls of a site under siege, a siege tower or ram was brought into position and used to launch an attack onto the walkway, aided by missile fire from the higher levels of the tower. Simultaneous attacks with scaling ladders took place. A siege tower is a specialized siege engine constructed to protect assailants and the ladders used when approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was usually rectangular, with four wheels and a height roughly equal to that of the wall; it was sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on the top and fire into the fortification. The tower was made chiefly of wood, but sometimes there were metal components as well. They were unwieldy to manoeuvre, and slow to assemble, and consequently were usually constructed at the siege site. Sometimes siege towers themselves incorporated other devices, including artillery, rams, and dropbridges. Two main types of artillery equipment were used in this period: bolt-throwers (ballistae: used for picking off prominent individuals), and stone-throwers (scorpiones, onagri). Stone throwers could cause structural damage, but were generally confined to firing at towers, gates or siege machinery. Artillery might use incendiary ammunition when firing at gates or equipment. In common with much Byzantine literature, poliorcetica draw heavily on earlier, classical material. Since these were composed before the development of heavy artillery, the poliorcetica are not so much concerned with large machines but rather with describing techniques for bringing men close to fortifications and then ways of undermining them. They also suggest v. Seller Inventory # 4930
Bibliographic Details
Title: Veterum mathematicorum Athenaei, Bitonis, ...
Publisher: Typographia Regia, Paris
Publication Date: 1693
Edition: First edition.
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Veterum mathematicorum Athenaei, Bitonis, Apollodori, Heronis, Philonis et Aliorum Opera: nunc primum edita, ex manuscriptis codicibus Bibliothecae Regiae
Published by
Typographia Regia, Paris, 1693
Used
First Edition
Seller: SOPHIA RARE BOOKS, Koebenhavn V, Denmark
Seller rating 5 out of 5 stars
First edition. DIBNER 84: ANCIENT GREEK TECHNOLOGY. First edition of this collection of early Greek writings on technology (especially military technology) and hydrostatics. It contains several treatises on the mechanics and siege operations, or poliorcetica, used in the Hellenistic period (the period between Alexander and Augustus), including the construction and management of their projectile engines. The first six works in the volume comprise the writings on the subject of military engines that were compiled by Athenaeus, Apollodorus, Biton, Heron and Philon. These works include the first edition, in both Greek and Latin, of Biton's Construction of War Machines and Artillery, of extant part of the Mechanike Syntaxis, attributed to Philon of Byzantium, and of the Poliorcetica of Apollodorus of Damascus. These are followed by the Greek and Latin texts of Hero of Alexandria's works on hydrostatics, the Pneumatica and Automata, which include what some regard as the first description of a steam-engine; this is the first printing of the Greek text of these works. Thévenot, the King's librarian to Louis XIV, prepared the present work from a rather defective secondary manuscript (Codex Parisinus 2435). After Thévenot's death in 1692, it was revised by the mathematician La Hire with insightful annotations by Boivin, an official in the King's library. It is one of three early publications of the French Academy of Sciences, grouped together as Dibner 84. "Printed at the royal press in small editions, they were intended as gifts for the King and Academy. In size, binding and beauty of the plates, they are among the most sumptuous books in science" (Dibner). This is a rare book on the market, only eight copies having appeared at auction in the last 40 years. The Evelyn copy was sold at Christie's in 1977. To gain access to the walls of a site under siege, a siege tower or ram was brought into position and used to launch an attack onto the walkway, aided by missile fire from the higher levels of the tower. Simultaneous attacks with scaling ladders took place. A siege tower is a specialized siege engine constructed to protect assailants and the ladders used when approaching the defensive walls of a fortification. The tower was usually rectangular, with four wheels and a height roughly equal to that of the wall; it was sometimes higher to allow archers to stand on the top and fire into the fortification. The tower was made chiefly of wood, but sometimes there were metal components as well. They were unwieldy to manoeuvre, and slow to assemble, and consequently were usually constructed at the siege site. Sometimes siege towers themselves incorporated other devices, including artillery, rams, and dropbridges. Two main types of artillery equipment were used in this period: bolt-throwers (ballistae: used for picking off prominent individuals), and stone-throwers (scorpiones, onagri). Stone throwers could cause structural damage, but were generally confined to firing at towers, gates or siege machinery. Artillery might use incendiary ammunition when firing at gates or equipment. In common with much Byzantine literature, poliorcetica draw heavily on earlier, classical material. Since these were composed before the development of heavy artillery, the poliorcetica are not so much concerned with large machines but rather with describing techniques for bringing men close to fortifications and then ways of undermining them. They also suggest various psychological tricks which might be used to outwit the enemy. Such ancient works on military machines were a source of fascination to the Italians of the late 15th and 16th centuries, not only because of their historic interest, but also as a source for modern inventions to be used in contemporary warfare, and several of these works were first published in Renaissance Italy. The present volume begins with the De Machinis of Athenaeus, a Cilician ex-statesman living in Rome in the 20s B.C., and a contemporary of the architect-engineer Vitruvius who, like Vitruvius, worked under the patronage of the Emperor Augustus (Vitruvius devoted Book 10 of his De Architectura to machines). In addition to describing individual siege engines and theorizing on tactics, Athenaeus draws on actual instances from history of the use of these machines in order to make various points and elucidate his text. The author of the next text is Apollodorus of Damascus, who was a Roman architect and engineer of the late 1st to early 2nd century A.D. As Emperor Trajan's architect and military engineer, he was responsible for Trajan's forum and possibly Trajan's column, and produced designs for new siege machines. In his treatise Poliorcetica, he describes a system of banks and ditches, andalso sheds that would be needed to protect the legionaries during undermining work or to carry battering rams against a tower, gate or wall. Next, he describes the construction of a siege tower, followed by a system of interlocking ladders. He concludes his treatise with a description of a battlemented raft for river assaults. Although some of the elaborations are considered somewhat unrealistic ? for example, the addition of a torsion-powered truncheon to the end of a battering ram ? and some of these are believed to have been added by a later editor, the core of Apollodorus' text is believed to be authentic and to accurately describe highly effective machinery. Apollodorus dedicated Poliorcetica to the Emperor Hadrian, perhaps an attempt to gain forgiveness for an earlier insult. On that occasion, Trajan was discussing with Apollodorus the buildings which the great architect had built in Rome. Hadrian's assessment only demonstrated his ignorance, which was bluntly pointed out by Apollodorus. Hadrian never forgot the insult and, when he came to power, banished Apollodorus, accused his of several crimes, and had him put to death. The third text in the volume is the Mechanike Syntaxis, attributed to Philon of Byzantium, who is b. Seller Inventory # 6467
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