Illustrated manuscript on Astronomy and Astrology - 1630-1680

SCIENTIFIC MANUSCRIPT OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHY AND ASTRONOMY

(with Ptolemaic, Cartesian and Copernican figures)
Europe, 17th century (prob. 1630–1680)
In folio – Scientific manuscript illustrated in brown ink

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I. Identification and nature of the work

The manuscript is a comprehensive treatise on natural philosophy, theoretical physics, and mathematical astronomy, written by a scholar in the second half of the 17th century, accompanied by an apparatus of astronomical tables, geometric diagrams, and extensive cosmological elaborations.

The recurring title in the internal documents, with variants, clearly indicates the structure:

“Libellus Primus Physicae Experimentalis, Rationalis et Experimentalis, Physicae Compendium Tractatus”

The division of physics into Libellus I, II and III follows, according to the Aristotelian-scholastic scheme, but integrated — as we will see — by Cartesian, Galilean and even Copernican notions.
The codex ends with the Pars Tertia Philosophiae, defined as “Physica — Preaum?”, probably Praeam[bulum] or Praeambulum.

The internal card found inside the volume confirms this structure.

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II. Content: A synthesis of natural philosophy between Tradition and Modernity

The manuscript addresses the entire spectrum of questions of Aristotelian-Peripatetic natural philosophy, integrating them with the new theories of the seventeenth century.

1. Libellus I – De Corpore Naturali

Chapters:
• De materia seu corpore
• De primis Principiis Corporum
• De Principiis secundum Peripateticos
• Marginal note: “Metaphysica accommodatur”

This first book constitutes the metaphysical framework of the work, reflecting the Aristotelian tradition still dominant in European schools, but already traversed by reformist tensions.

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2. Libellus II – De Physica Mechanica et Cartesianis

A section of extreme importance, also highlighted in the sheet:
“Chapter 4 of the principles of mechanics and of the principles of Democrites and Descartes”

Here they appear:
• the theories of the void,
• the Democritean atoms,
• Cartesian vortices,
• and numerous geometric diagrams (figs. 1–4).

It is one of the rarest and most interesting features of the work: a manuscript that places Aristotle, Descartes and Democritus in dialogue fully represents the epistemological transition of the seventeenth century.

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3. Libellus III – De Physica Elementorum

Chapters:
• De secundariis corporum naturalium principalis et de mixtione elementorum
• De chimicarum elementis
(The card says: “5 figures f. 20v”)
• De naturalibus corporis affectionibus… divisibilitas materiae

The reference to chemistry signals the influence of post-Paracelsian chemical philosophy.

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4. Pars Tertia Philosophiae – Physica Generalis

Indicated in the card as:
• Codex primus de parte tertia philosophiae
• “Ovulum (?) (26)”

Probably a final module dedicated to general physics, perhaps a self-contained final compendium.

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III. Tables and diagrams: an exceptional scientific apparatus

The manuscript features an iconographic cycle of rare breadth: astronomical, cosmological, geometric and optical diagrams, executed in brown ink with a steady hand and mathematical training.

Among the most important figures, we recognize:

1. Ptolemaic System

A table with the central Earth surrounded by 8–9 concentric spheres, with the fixed stars outside and the Empyrean:
“Ptolemaean Figure”

2. Copernican System

A large annotated table “Figura systematis Copernicani”, with the Sun at the centre and the orbits of the planets, probably with alchemical/astronomical symbols.

This fact is extraordinary: Copernican diagrams in 17th-century school manuscripts are rare and indicate erudite circles up-to-date on the new cosmologies.

3. Cartesian diagrams

Vortical orbitals, circular motions, representations of light scattering and fluid motion:
The plates dedicated to the “Principiis Cartesii” are among the most sought-after materials in scientific manuscripts of the period.

4. Eclipses

There are geometric tables showing:
• the projection of the Earth's shadow,
• the twilight,
• the Sun-Earth-Moon alignment.

5. The lunar phases

A complete, full-page table of the twelve lunar phases, geometrically constructed, of almost treatise-like quality.

The entire iconographic apparatus is coherent, professional and the result of authentic astronomical-mathematical expertise.

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Historical and Cultural Context

This manuscript belongs to a crucial period in the history of scientific thought:
• Galileo is already active with the Sidereus Nuncius (1610).
• Descartes publishes Le Monde (posthumously, 1664) and the Principia Philosophiae (1644).
• Gassendi, Hobbes, Boyle, Kircher spread new physical models.
• Universities, however, continue to teach Aristotle.

The manuscript is therefore one of those hybrid and precious texts that document the transition from the Peripatetic world to modern science, a didactic or private document probably intended for:
• a professor of natural philosophy,
• a mathematician,
• an advanced college student,
• or a religious college with a chair of “Physica”.

The presence of the Copernican system indicates an open and up-to-date environment, not rigidly anchored to orthodoxy.

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V. Historical-scientific importance

The manuscript is of very high value because:
1. Document the reception of new sciences in the school context.
2. It presents Aristotle, Democritus, Descartes and Copernicus together: a unique compendium of its kind.
3. Includes original diagrams, not copies of printed books, but constructed by the copyist with an expert hand.
4. It shows the teaching of physics before the definitive affirmation of Newtonian science.
5. It is a primary source for the history of scientific teaching in the seventeenth century.

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VI. Codicological aspects
• In-folio, thick quality paper, sometimes with visible laid preparation.
• Brown ink, uniform and well preserved.
• Full-page diagrams, often annotated at the top with Latin titles.
• Marginalia and indication of figures (“Fig. X”) which refer to a very complex textual project.
• Internal order confirmed by the narrative card found inside, valuable for reconstructing the content.

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VII. Conclusion – A rare witness to the scientific revolution

This manuscript represents a very rare witness to the transformation of European scientific knowledge between the 16th and 17th centuries.
The coexistence of:
• Aristotelian cosmology,
• Renaissance atomism,
• Cartesian mechanics,
• Ptolemaic and Copernican astronomy,
• elaborate geometric diagrams,
• philosophical chemistry sections,

This makes it a document of extraordinary historical and collectible value, worthy of a university library, a private collection of ancient physics, or a science museum.

It is one of those manuscripts that not only documents, but embodies the tension of the seventeenth century:
the last splendor of scholasticism and the first rise of modern scientific thought.

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