The Emperor's Astronomy

...o fail, it is as easy to say how much you both have aided these studies as it is difficult to detail because of the sheer abundance of evidence. Beginning with the Divine Albert II, that most powerful Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary—from whom your Imperial rule descends in a continuous line to our own times—one encounters, among other equally admirable pursuits, the Mathematical arts cultivated with such great devotion by the Austrian name. Did not your ancestors, the Dukes of Austria and most sacred Emperors Albert, Frederick, and Maximilian, support those incomparable mathematicians, no different from any of the ancients: John of Gmunden, Peuerbach, Johannes Regiomontanus, and Stabius? I shall remain silent for now regarding the Poets, Orators, Historians, Jurists, and Physicians, for truly no age has seen them in greater numbers or admired them as more learned. I would name some, were it not that they all prefer to be named; I would name them all, were it not that many might wish otherwise; therefore, while I pass over them, I leave them all to a posterity that is never silent.

But who could enumerate those whom you now, most Invincible Brothers, bring forth for this age and inspire daily? Truly, I say frankly, whoever attempts to recount them will do nothing other than try to count the sands of the Ister The ancient name for the Danube River. or the leaves of the Hercynian Forest. Yet this is the one reason why I especially desire the Emperors as my guardians: because I see this altar The "altar" of mathematical study. cultivated nowhere by more people, nor more safely, nor more enduringly. There is also another reason to seek the Austrian Dukes, since I know they have hitherto stood as the most beneficial anchor for excellent mathematicians. No less courage was added to me by the benevolence of the Kings of Spain, who have always been most inclined toward the study of Mathematics. This was abundantly proven in part by the work itself of King Alfonso of Castile Alfonso X "The Wise," patron of the Alfonsine Tables., most clement and an eminent mathematician; and in part by Alfonso, King of Aragon, of whom it is doubtful whether he was more learned or more powerful, as shown in the case of Giovanni Pontano A famous humanist scholar and astronomer., most skilled in mathematical science, who was most splendidly treated through the agency of Giulio Massanense.

The same hope was provided by Matthias, the most Christian King of Hungary (whose name one of you now bears, just as the other also holds the names of previous kings), who increased the honors and wealth of Johannes Regiomontanus Johannes Müller von Königsberg, a foundational figure in Renaissance astronomy. of Germany—a second Hipparchus The great Greek astronomer of the 2nd century BCE. of mathematics. Thus clearly Spain, Hungary, and Austria (all of which you, most August Emperors, represent) are alike in nourishing, cherishing, and honoring the interpreters of mathematics. To speak briefly of how grateful the teachers of these disciplines have been and are now to the Archdukes of Austria, the most celebrated Academy of Vienna—the mother of such men and metropolis of the Austrian Duchy—is witness. From there, no differently than from a certain Trojan horse or the Horn of Amalthea The Cornucopia, or horn of plenty., mathematicians are supplied to every nation and every region.

Therefore, when I saw that we too had performed such things in this art as no one before us, and we desired to benefit the world in this way, listening to Plato, we could not be led to believe that this could be done more rightly than with the Emperors as protectors. For since the West obeys one of you and the East the other, we easily hoped that under your protection, we would bring the greatest benefit to mankind. Furthermore, since we were treating astronomical matters throughout this work, and were thus constantly contemplating the western and eastern parts of the world, the Emperors could not help but be present very frequently before our eyes and mind. This last point, by god, provided no small opportunity for me, who had long been planning this gift for your Majesties.

Added to this is the fact that the Diet of Augsburg The Imperial assembly held in 1530. long ago devoted me entirely to your Majesties, to whom I confess I owe not only this work but my whole self. For the benefits bestowed upon me, unworthy as I am, for the small effort of the instrument Probably referring to Apian's earlier "Astronomicum" or an actual physical instrument presented to the Emperors. shown by me to your Majesties, have not yet slipped from my mind. In that moment, not only did your sublime favor toward studies shine forth, but a singular love of mathematics was recognized, so that I myself discovered it to be most true what is celebrated about the Archdukes of Austria: namely, that no one loves mathematicians more sincerely nor honors them more generously. This fact has compelled me to be grateful at present, whether "willing or unwilling," as the saying goes.

You have therefore, most Sacred Emperors, the purpose with which I both wrote and inscribed this book, and you will undoubtedly admit this client to your patronage without reluctance, defending this work of Apian as no less your own than his. There is no need for me to add anything about the order of the book, since everything is revealed most clearly in its place. Concerning its use and excellence, I will say one word: whatever crowd of mathematicians has done up to this day with unspeakable difficulties, labors, and tedium, through numbers, calculations, and speculations regarding the celestial motions, the true locations of the fixed stars, the longitudes and latitudes of the seven planets, the eclipses of the Sun and Moon—in short, in investigating all the utilities of the primum mobileThe "first moved" or outermost sphere in the geocentric model, which moves all the inner spheres.—all these things are handed down in this volume with such ease, without any calculation or contemplation, that I dare to assert that hardly anything more useful exists anywhere else for students of the science of the stars.

Among all these things, I consider it no small achievement that we have shown how the errors of histories Chronological errors in historical records. ought to be corrected—something never before stated or noticed by anyone. How much weight this matter carries will finally be seen by him who weighs what the order of history requires in human affairs. In this place, it would also not be beside the point to review certain other things, such as the evident knowledge of the equinox, never before related by anyone with such ease, and similarly the observations of comets, never before produced so certainly and sincerely for anyone before us, and more things which the progress of the work shows. But lest I seem to "sing my own praises" original: mea cantare or to be "carried through the streets like a Sybarite" An ancient proverb referring to excessive boasting or luxury. according to the adage, I prudently omit them. Finally, I pray to God, the Best and Greatest, that He may preserve your Majesties, the twin supports of the human world, for the public good for as long as possible.

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EPIGRAM BY CHRISTOPHER STATMION, DOCTOR OF MEDICINE, CONCERNING THE MOST INVINCIBLE BROTHERS, CHARLES AND FERDINAND, EMPERORS OF THE ROMAN WORLD.

Olympus itself rejoices under a kindred governance,
and the Earth rejoices in a related empire.
Since the fraternal lights The Sun and Moon. govern the stars and the nights,
each brother rules the Sunrise and the Sunset.
Both are of the Roman race; the weary Sun original: Phoebus shades this one,
while the dewy Moon sees that one with her wakeful orb.
Tell me then, what adorns heaven more than earth?
Heaven has the gods now, but Earth shall give them hereafter.

BY THE SAME AUTHOR, TO THE AUTHOR.

Hipparchus discovered it, Ptolemy illustrated it, but the fame
of each single deed honors them.
Now shall Apian be considered modest? He who surpasses both,
bringing us things both primary and manifest at once?
If the Greek boy Berosus A Babylonian priest/astronomer often cited in Greek sources. deserved statues for his art,
why does the German master not have temples?

THE ARGUMENT OF THE WORK BY THE SAME AUTHOR.

What courses the wandering stars The planets. perform, or what the
fixed stars; by what paths the Moon original: Phoebe withdraws her face.
What limit must be fixed in the unequal year,
so that the sacred letter The Dominical letter used to calculate the date of Easter. may count the feast days,
how the Greek historian varies, how the Latin is inconsistent,
and what times the critical days original: Crises - astronomical/medical turning points. bring.
You will see all these primary things in the two-part volume,
from which a thousand types and a thousand members flow.
The second part will add what use there has been since the world's beginning,
such as how a Comet carries its tail away from the Sun.
Then the innumerable fruits of the noble Torquetum A complex astronomical instrument for taking measurements in various coordinate systems.,
and its structure, each part shining with its own luster.

All things which you will behold, born of such great sharp wit,
which you could find nowhere if they had been done before.
Add that it is without numbers and without calculations,
a work that held back the ancients and delayed us.
Let the reader therefore estimate what he owes to the author,
and let a prudent posterity estimate this well.

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SEBASTIAN LINCK TO THE READER CONCERNING THE ASTRONOMICUM CAESAREUM OF P. APIAN.

The diligent antiquity, which often sought in vain,
the stars hidden from the priests of the linen-wearing choir. Refers to Egyptian priests/astronomers.
Which the sense of Marmaric Atlas The mythological giant who held up the sky. did not perceive,
he who sustained the bright stars on his shoulders.
Everything measured by its own numbers, which every calculation
of the sagacious wit of Euclid does not know.
He desired to know these things by rays and marked dust,
confounding the signs of the art with his own blood,
Which neither the compass, that monument of Daedalian art,
can curve in twisting circles or bends.
All these things the rare pledges of Apian Minerva Minerva here represents wisdom/science. teach you:
and in an easy way, friend reader.

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THE BOOK SPEAKS.

What shall I do? I am about to give myself into the mouths of the common
people of my own accord; would I not be safer hiding at home?
Certainly the latter would be better: but public utility compels
me more; what can you do against this?
In obeying this, I am prepared to bear anything,
nor do I complain about becoming a well-known story to the world.
Yet there is great hope that I shall enjoy a lucky star,
being not poorly sheltered by Imperial names.
For once accepted by these, once approved by them,
I care nothing for the judgment of the unstable commoners.
In whose power the standard of the certain and uncertain wavers,
judging just and unjust things with similar faith.