Aristarchus of Samos, the ancient Copernicus ; a history of Greek astronomy to Aristarchus, together with Aristarchus's Treatise on the sizes and distances of the sun and moon : a new Greek text with translation and notes

Of Samos Aristarchus, Thomas Little Heath, Gerstein - University Of Toronto

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• Publié par: nevog
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 32 Mo

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PURCHASED FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY FROM THE CANADA COUNCIL SPECIAL GRANT FOR HIST SCI '68ARISTARCHUS OF SAMOS THE ANCIENT COPERNICUS A HISTORY OF GREEK ASTRONOMY TO ARISTARCHUS TOGETHER WITH ARISTARCHUS'S TREATISE ON THE SIZES AND DISTANCES OF THE SUN AND MOON A NEW GREEK TEXT WITH TRANSLATION AND NOTES BY SIR THOMAS HEATH K.C.B., ScD., F.R.S. SOMETIME FELLOW OF TRINITY CAMBRIDGECOLLEGE, OXFORD AT THE CLARENDON PRESS J 9*3HENRY M.A.FROWDE, OF OXFORDPUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY NEW TORONTOLONDON, EDINBURGH, YORK, AND BOMBAYMELBOURNEPREFACE This work owes its to a desire to meinception expressed by old schoolfellow Professor H. H. Turner for a translation ofmy Aristarchus's extant work On the sizes and distances the Sun andof Moon. TurnerProfessor asked whetherIncidentally any light could be thrown on the excessive estimate 2of for thegrossly diameter of the sun and moon which is one of the funda-angular mental at the of the book. I rememberedassumptions beginning that Archimedes in his Psammites or Sand-reckonerdistinctly says that Aristarchus was the first to discover that the diameterapparent of the sun is about of the circle describedparti/720th complete the init in other that therotation, or, words,by daily angular a isdiameter about which is near the truth. The difference| , very that the treatise of Aristarchus which we wassuggested possess an work but it was still to search the of;early necessary history Greek for estimates astronomersolder thatastronomy any by be on with a Yiew to if therecord,target tracing, possible, origin - oi oflue 2.figure our treatise does not contain of butAgain, any suggestion any the view of usthe whereas Archimedes tellsuniverse,geocentric that Aristarchus wrote a book of one of which washypotheses, that the sun and the fixed stars remain unmoved and that the earth revolves round the sun in the circumference of a circle. Now Archimedes was a of Aristarchus ;younger contemporary he must have seen the book in and weof hypotheses question, could have no better evidence for to Aristarchus theattributing first of the The matterenunciation Copernican hypothesis. might have rested there but for the fact that in recent years (1898) an to be mentioned withSchiaparelli, authority profoundalways has maintained was not after all butthat itrespect, Aristarchus, Heraclides of who first forward the heliocentricPontus, putPREFACEIV two Lewhose omocentricheSchiaparelli, papers sferehypothesis. Idi di e di Aristotele and i di nicoEudosso, precursor CoperCallippo showed in the latter that HeraclidesnelV antichitd are classics, paper and revolve rounddiscovered that the Venus theMercuryplanets like as well as that the earth rotates about its ownsun, satellites, axis in hours. In his later ofabout 1898twenty-four paper {Origine del sistema eliocentrico i wentplanetario presso Greet) Schiaparelli further and that Heraclides must have arrived at thesuggested conclusion the as about Venus andsame about superior planets alland would therefore hold that alike revolved roundMercury, the while the sun with the in their orbitssun, planets moving about it revolved round the earth as centre in a ;bodily year in other to Heraclides waswords, according Schiaparelli, probably the inventor of the known as that of wasorsystem Tycho Brahe, it if it waswith it and invented someacquainted adopted by and not himself. So far it be admittedcontemporary by may that has made out a case but in theSchiaparelli plausible ; when, same he further and credits Heraclides withpaper, goes having the he takes much moreoriginated Copernican also,hypothesis up time it wasdoubtful At the same clear that hisground. argu- ments were entitled to the most careful andconsideration, fhis in the earlier ofnecessitated research Greekagain history astronomy with the view of in the towards thetracing every step progress true The first to substitute another centre forCopernican theory. the earth in the celestial were the who madesystem Pythagoreans, the like the and revolve round thesun, centralearth, moon, planets, fire when once of the had been carried; and, my study subject back so it seemed to me that the most introduction tofar, fitting Aristarchus would be a of the of Greeksketch whole history to his time. As the newest claim madeastronomy up regards by on behalf of Heraclides of I I haveSchiaparelli Pontus, hope shown that the case is not made isand that there still noout, reason to doubt the unanimous of thattestimony antiquity Aristarchus was the real of theoriginator Copernican hypothesis. In the no doubt was felt as tocentury following Copernicus