Astronomica

...to set out, which was still being sought among the Greeks.

There remain the Mathematical sciences, in which the Barbarians In this context, "Barbarians" refers to non-Greek civilizations like the Egyptians and Babylonians. can claim some right: which is true only to the extent that we do not deny that Thales or Pythagoras received certain geometric figures from the Egyptians. However, we are prevented from believing that they learned Geometry itself from them by the brilliant demonstrations original: "Epichiremata," referring to logical proofs or constructions. of Pythagoras; for if he had learned these from the Egyptians, he would not have sacrificed a hecatomb A grand sacrifice of one hundred oxen, traditionally offered by Pythagoras in celebration of discovering his famous theorem. in celebration.

There is also the evidence of Eudemus, an ancient author who composed a history of Mathematics, in which he diligently noted which of the Greeks discovered what, step by step, in the mathematical arts from the very cradle of the discipline down to his own age. This was truly an arduous work, and one which was of such importance to literature that its loss is a great misfortune.

In Astrology In the 17th century, "Astrologia" often encompassed both astronomy and astrology. indeed, the claim that the Greeks used Chaldean or Egyptian teachers must be understood in this way: that they cultivated it late, being invited to the study partly by Eudoxus—whom the Egyptians taught that the planets move in opposition to the motion of the heavens—and partly by the eclipse observations of the Chaldeans. These observations showed only a moderate antiquity, as they were traced back to the beginning of the reign of Nabonassar The Era of Nabonassar, beginning in 747 BCE, used by Ptolemy and other ancient astronomers., which is later than the first Olympiad.

But to say they learned Geometry from the Egyptians because they received shapes from them, or Astrology because the Chaldeans shared their recorded annals of eclipses with the Greeks, is just as if someone believed they had learned eloquence from the person who taught them the mere rudiments of Grammar; or...