BORRI, Christoforo Collecta astronomica, ex doctrina ... De tribus caelis, aereo, sydereo, empyreo... Lisbon, Matthias Rodrigues, [1629-]1631
4to (196 x 141 mm), pp [xii] 44 [4, including blank leaf] 470, with additional engraved frontispiece, and numerous woodcut diagrams in the text, some full-page; small paper flaw on E5, affecting a few letters, a fine copy in contemporary blindstamped calf, slightly rubbed. £22,000
First edition of BorriÕs astronomical works,. Published the year before GalileoÕs Dialogo appeared in print, the Collecta astronomica is remarkable for its extensive discussion of modern, including Copernican, astronomical theory, the inclusion of recent telescopic observations, and frequent mention of Galileo, Kepler, et al and their theories. As an astronomical publication from seventeenth-century Portugal, BorriÕs work is very rare.
ÔBetween 1606 and 1609 [Borri] taught mathematics at the Jesuit college of Mondov“, then at the Collegio di Brera at Milan. These were the years of great Galilean discoveries and the young Borri, drawn by enthusiasm and attracted by the Copernican theory, distinguished himself as one of the most ardent opponents to Ptolemaic theory. This resulted in a public rebuke by [the Jesuit] General Claudio Acquaviva, and BorriÕs removal from the Milanese chairÕ (translated from Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani 13, p 3).
Borri requested leave to join the Jesuit missions, and as a result travelled to Macao and Vietnam. He there observed the comet of 1618, predicted the lunar eclipse of December 9, 1620, and the solar eclipse of May 22 of the following year. Spending a further year at Goa, Borri left for Portugal in February 1624. ÔIn Portugal, he was appointed to teach mathematics and astronomy at Coimbra University, a position he held for three years, possibly the most fruitful of his life. In his teachings he accepted the Tychonic theory, which he introduced to Portugal, renovating scientific study. He thus became a true defender of the new science, advocating the experimental method and, above all, the use of the telescopeÕ (ibid, p 4).
Published during his stay in Portugal, the Collecta astronomica presents BorriÕs liberal and pro-experimental views. The first part is on classical, the second on modern astronomy. The larger, modern section is a fascinating survey of astronomical theory coupled with recent observational data. Included are descriptions of the Copernican and Tychonic systems (with diagrams), a description of TychoÕs comet of 1577 (with a discussion of whether comets are sublunar phenomena), followed by a separate chapter on the working principles of a telescope (with two diagrams), its construction, several notes regarding its invention, and telescopic observation. The observations are of the lunar surface, sunspots, Venus and Mercury, the satellites of Jupiter and the ÔprotuberancesÕ of Saturn, i.e. SaturnÕs rings which telescopes at the time could not resolve clearly. There is a fine depiction of the moon as seen through the telescope on July 18 1627.
The remaining parts are physical questions regarding the heavens, discussing the shape of stars, the material stars and comets are made of, and questions regarding the creation of the heavens. Borri notes that the telescope reveals the Milky Way to be composed of thousands of stars.
Borri discusses the Copernican system at length, and although he inclines to a modified Tychonic system he declares that the Copernican system should not be declared as false and has many things to recommend it.
Provenance: inscription on title ÔDomus Professorae Soc[ieta]tis Jesu Antverp. 1644Õ
Carli and Favaro 122; Houzeau and Lancaster 3055; Lalande p 197; Sommervogel I 1821-22; not in NUC; OCLC records two locations, Harvard and Brigham Young
£22000
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