David F. Larder - The editions of Cardano's De rerum varietate

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The Editions of Cardanus' De rerum varietateAuthor(s): David F. Larder

Reviewed work(s):Source: Isis, Vol. 59, No. 1 (Spring, 1968), pp. 74-77Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science Society

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CARDANUS'

DE

RERUM VARIETATE

the

De

subtilitate and De

rerum

varietate were on

the

Spanish

Index

in

1559,

and

Cardanus

was

personally

in

trouble

with the

Inquisition

in

1570 and 1571.14

There

is some

confusion

in

the

chemical literature as to

the number of

editions

and the variation of content of the De rerum varietate. Thus, Partington refers to

four

editions-1557

(two),

1558,

and

158115-indicating

that

the

two

latter

are

revised

and

enlarged

editions. 16

Examination of

the

copies

in

the

library

at

the

University

of

Aberdeen

produced

an edition

of

1580,

listed

only by

Wightman,17

which

was the

same

as

the

editions of

1557

and

1558,

also

listed

by

him.

It is

now

found

that seven

editions have

been

quoted

as follows:

References:

A

(1557)

Basileae

folio

pp.

707

1st

ed.

15,

18,

19,

20,

21

B

(1557)

Basileae

8?

pp.

1194

15, 17,

19,

20

C

(1558)

Avinione 8?

pp.

883

15, 17,

19, 20,

21

D (1580) Lugduni 8? pp. 883 17

E

(1581)

Basileae

8?

pp.

1171

15,

20

F

(1581)

Basileae

folio

21

G

(1581)

Basileae

folio

2nd

ed.

21

Examination of the

copies

in

the

University

of

Aberdeen and the British

Museum,

A-E,

indicates

that

there

are

no

expanded

editions

amongst

them,22

as indicated

by

Partington.

Edition

E

has

both

chapter

headings

and an

index

at the

beginning,

not

in

B,

while

A

includes

an

additional

Appendix

quorundum

capitum

eiusdem

Cardani on

pages

691-707.

The title

page

of

D is as

follows:

Hieronymi

/

Cardani Me-

/

diolanensis,

Medici

/

De

Rerum Varietate

/

Libri

XVII.

/Post

alias omnes

editiones,

nunc

recogniti, /

castigati, infinitisque

mendis

/

repurgati.

/

Accessit

Capitum, Rerum,

ae

Sententiarum notatu

dignissimarum.

Index

/

amplissimus,

Lugduni,

Apud

BartholomaeumHonoratum M.D.LXXX.

De rerum

varietate is

reprinted

in

Cardanus'

Opera

omnia23

and,

according

to

Ferguson,24

is

from the 1557

folio

edition.

Ferguson

has also

noted a German

trans-

lation of

1591,

which,

according

to

Haller,

was

printed

in

Basel

in

1559, 1593,

and

1597.25

In the

various

editions,

Cardanus

gives

a

comparative

table26

of titles of the books

(in

100

chapters)

of

the De rerum

varietate

with

those of

the De

subtilitate:

14Thorndike,

op.

cit.,

Vol. VI

(1941),

p.

148; Partington,

op.

cit., p.

10.

15

Partington,

op. cit.,

p.

10.

16

Ibid.,

p.

10

note.

17

W. P.

D.

Wightman,

Science

and the

Renaissance,

Vol. II

(Edinburgh/London:

Oliver and

Boyd, 1962),

p.

53.

18

J.

Ferguson,

Bibliotheca

chemica,

Vol.

I

(Glasgow:

Maclehose, 1906),

p.

141.

19

D. I.

Duveen,

Bibliotheca

alchemica

et

chemica

(London:

E.

Weil,

1949),

p.

117.

20

British

Museum

Catalogue of

Printed

Books,

Vol. 33. Edition

B

is

incomplete,

con-

taining

the

first

eight

books

only,

and

in

C

the

place

of

imprint

has been

erased.

21A.

J.

J.

Van de

Velde,

Hieronymus

Cardanus

(1501-1576)

herdacht

vier

en half

eeuwen na

zijn

geboorte,

Mededelingen

van

de

Koninklijke

Vlaamse

Academie

voor

Wet-

enschappen,

1951,

9:15,

17.

He

indicates that

F

is

a

reprint

of A

and

that

G

is the second

edition.

22

Editions have

been

compared

by

the

ap-

proximate

number of

words

per page

and

the number

of

pages,

and

by

random

exact

comparisons

of

passages.

There

are

minor

differences

in

indices.

23

J.

Cardan,

Opera

omnia,

10

vols.,

folio

(Lugduni,

1663),

Vol.

III,

pp.

1-315:

Hier-

onymi

Cardani

Mediolanensis

Philosophi

ae

medici

celeberrimi

operum

Tomus

tertius

quo

continentur

physica

. .

.

Lugduni,

..

.MDCL-

XIII

....

24

Ferguson, op.

cit., p.

141.

25

Ibid., p.

142.

26

Hieronymi

Cardani,

De rerum

varietate

75







DAVID

F. LARDER

De subtilitate

(21

books)

1.

De

principiis

2. De elementis

3. De coelo

4. De luce

& lumine

5. De metallicis

6.

De

metallis

7. De

lapidibus

8. De plantis

9.

De

animalibus

imperfectis

10.

De

animalibus

perfectis

11. De hominis

necessitate

12. De

hominis natura

13. De sensibus

14.

De anima

&

intellectu

15.

De

inutilibus subtilitatibus

16. De scientiis

17.

De artibus

18.

19.

De

mirabilibus

De daemonibus

20.

De

intelligentiis

21.

De Deo

&

universo

De rerum

varietate

(17

books)

De

universo

& elementis

De

mundi

partibus

divinioribus

De

mixtis

De

metallis

De

lapidibus

De

plantis

De

animalibus

De homine

De motibus

De

ignis

artificiis

De artificiis communibus

De

artificiis

subtilioribus

De

artificiis

humilioribus

De divinatione

occultiore

De divinatione

artificiosa

De rebus

praeter

naturam

De

rebus

dignis

His own assessment

of

his natural

philosophy

is that

he

withdrew

fire

from

the

number

of

the elements

and showed

that

all

things

were

essentially

cold;

that the

elements

were not

reciprocally

changed;

and I

upheld

the

doctrine

of

palingenisis.

I demonstrated

that

there

were

only

two

true

qualities-heat

and moisture.

I

set

forth

the

essential

qualities

of salt and

oil.

.

..27

His

rejection

of

the

element of

fire,28

which

he

considered

a form

of

motion,

is

followed

later

by

van

Helmont,

who

additionally rejected

earth;

but

Magnenus,

while also

maintaining

a

three-element

theory,29

rejected

the element air.

Cardanus

maintained that sunt . . . omnia elementa natura frigida, 30

and

saw the need

for

only

two

qualities

of

heat

and

moisture,

dryness

being

the absence of moisture.31

In

considering

the

properties

of

compounds

he discusses

the

causes

of

tastes

and

odors32

and

seven

primary

colors.33

The

tenth

book

is

particularly

of interest

to

chemists,

since he

again

discusses

the

three

elements

along

with colored

flames,34

libri

XVII

(Avinione,

1558), p.

883;

this

is

the

edition

cited

below

as

De rerum

varietate.

27

Cardanus,

De

propria

vita

liber,

op.

cit.,

cap.

44,

p.

167;

trans.

in

Stoner,

op. cit.,

p.

216.

28De rerum varietate, Lib. I, cap. II (Ele-

mentorum

natura),

p.

16:

Esse

autem

tria,

perspicuum

est:

terram

solidissimam,

aerem

tenuissimum, aquam

inter

haec

mediam.

29J.

C.

Magnenus,

Democritus

reviviscens

sive de

atomis

(Papiae,

1646), pp. 65,

105 f.

30

De rerum

varietate,

Lib.

I,

cap. II, p.

17.

31

Ibid., cap.

I

(Universam,

cometae,

ven-

torum

ratio),

p.

5: Sunt autem

qualitates

primae,

ut alias

dictum

est,

dua

tantum,

calor

&

humidum

.

.

.

siccum

igitur

&

frigidum,

sunt

privationes,

non

qualitates.

Cf.

also De

subtilitate,

Lib.

II

(de

elementis).

32De rerum

varietate,

Lib.

III,

cap.

14

(mixtorum proprietate),

pp.

98-107.

33

Ibid.,

pp.

108-115.

34

Ibid.,

Lib.

X, cap.

49

(Ignis

vires &

alimenta).

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

76







DARWIN AND MENDELARWIN AND MENDEL

in

addition to

chapters

on distillation35and

chemistry

(chymica)36

including

trans-

mutation.

Cardanus,

contemporary

of

Paracelsus,

Niphus,

and

Scaliger,

lived in a

period

when chemistry was beginning to break away from the traditional confines of

Aristotelianism and Scholasticism.

This

changing

emphasis

in the

sixteenth

century

shows

in

his

work,

although

he

is

not

primarily

a chemist. The

transition,

however,

is

less

complete

than that

apparent

in

the

writings

of

Basso,

for

example,

at the

beginning

of

the next

century.37

in

addition to

chapters

on distillation35and

chemistry

(chymica)36

including

trans-

mutation.

Cardanus,

contemporary

of

Paracelsus,

Niphus,

and

Scaliger,

lived in a

period

when chemistry was beginning to break away from the traditional confines of

Aristotelianism and Scholasticism.

This

changing

emphasis

in the

sixteenth

century

shows

in

his

work,

although

he

is

not

primarily

a chemist. The

transition,

however,

is

less

complete

than that

apparent

in

the

writings

of

Basso,

for

example,

at the

beginning

of

the next

century.37

35

Ibid.,

cap.

50

(Distillationes).

Cf.

also

De

subtilitate,

Lib.

XVII.

36

De

rerum

varietate,

Lib.

X, cap.

51

(Chymica).

Cf.

also De

subtilitate,

Lib.

VI,

XVII.

35

Ibid.,

cap.

50

(Distillationes).

Cf.

also

De

subtilitate,

Lib.

XVII.

36

De

rerum

varietate,

Lib.

X, cap.

51

(Chymica).

Cf.

also De

subtilitate,

Lib.

VI,

XVII.

37

S.

Basso, Philosophia

naturalis adversus

Aristotelem

libri XII

(Geneva,

1621),

Lib.

II,

Intentio

III,

Art.

I,

pp.

26

f.

37

S.

Basso, Philosophia

naturalis adversus

Aristotelem

libri XII

(Geneva,

1621),

Lib.

II,

Intentio

III,

Art.

I,

pp.

26

f.

DARWIN AND MENDEL:

THE

HISTORICAL

CONNECTION

By

Peter

J.

Vorzimmer*

DARWIN AND MENDEL:

THE

HISTORICAL

CONNECTION

By

Peter

J.

Vorzimmer*

It

is

always

with some

degree

of sad-

ness that

historians of science

point

out

that the work of

Gregor

Mendel was not

known to Charles Darwin. It

seems

tragic

irony

that not

only

were the

two

men

contemporaries,

but

that Darwin

was

searching

for the

laws

governing

inheritance

in

the

very year

that Mendel

was

announcing

his

discovery

of those

same laws.

Whereas Darwin

had

intro-

duced

to

the

world of

biology

the

mecha-

nism

by

which

organic

evolution could

be causally understood, it was Mendel

who

had

the

key

to

the

operative

basis

of

Darwin's

theory

of

natural

selection.

Yet the

understanding

provided

by

Mendel's work

had to

await

the

redis-

covery

of this

missing

key

at

the

open-

ing

of

the

present

century.

Between

January

1863

and

May

1865

the

greatest

part

of Darwin's

work

was

dedicated

to

the

elucidation of

the

basis

of

inheritance.

He

had

been

at work on

The Variation of Plants and Animals

under Domestication

(1868)

since

Jan-

uary

1860.

It

was

during

the

first

three

years

of

this research

that

his mind

gradually

turned

away

from

the

empir-

It

is

always

with some

degree

of sad-

ness that

historians of science

point

out

that the work of

Gregor

Mendel was not

known to Charles Darwin. It

seems

tragic

irony

that not

only

were the

two

men

contemporaries,

but

that Darwin

was

searching

for the

laws

governing

inheritance

in

the

very year

that Mendel

was

announcing

his

discovery

of those

same laws.

Whereas Darwin

had

intro-

duced

to

the

world of

biology

the

mecha-

nism

by

which

organic

evolution could

be causally understood, it was Mendel

who

had

the

key

to

the

operative

basis

of

Darwin's

theory

of

natural

selection.

Yet the

understanding

provided

by

Mendel's work

had to

await

the

redis-

covery

of this

missing

key

at

the

open-

ing

of

the

present

century.

Between

January

1863

and

May

1865

the

greatest

part

of Darwin's

work

was

dedicated

to

the

elucidation of

the

basis

of

inheritance.

He

had

been

at work on

The Variation of Plants and Animals

under Domestication

(1868)

since

Jan-

uary

1860.

It

was

during

the

first

three

years

of

this research

that

his mind

gradually

turned

away

from

the

empir-

ical

world of

the

variations

themselves

to

the

means

by

which

they

were

pro-

duced. Thereafter he

began

to

gather

material on the

laws

governing

inheri-

tance.

His

dissatisfaction with

existing

theories,

together

with

his

own work

and

observation,

culminated

in

his Pro-

visional

Hypothesis

of

Pangenesis, l

a

manuscript

copy

of which he

dispatched

to his

friend and

colleague

Thomas

Henry Huxley

(1825-1895),

at the end

of

May

1865.2

1

To form

the nucleus of what was

to be-

come

Ch.

XXVII

in

Vol.

II

of

The Varia-

tion

of

Plants

and

Animals

under

Domestica-

tion

(London: John

Murray, 1868).

2

Francis

Darwin,

ed.,

The

Life

and Let-

ters

of

Charles

Darwin,

2 vols.

(New

York:

D.

Appleton, 1898),

Vol.

II, p.

227.

Darwin

to

Huxley,

27

May

1865.

A

letter

of thanks

to

Huxley

dated

12

July

1865 indicates

that

approximate

date

of the

manuscript's

return.

This

short

manuscript

version,

however,

was

considerably

enlarged during

the fall of that

year-to

the size

in

which

it

appeared

in

the

Variation. Darwin's

journal

records the

con-

clusion

of

his work

on

pangenesis

on

21

Nov.

1865.

For

detailed

information

see

R. C.

Olby's

Darwin's

Manuscript

of

Pangenesis,

ical

world of

the

variations

themselves

to

the

means

by

which

they

were

pro-

duced. Thereafter he

began

to

gather

material on the

laws

governing

inheri-

tance.

His

dissatisfaction with

existing

theories,

together

with

his

own work

and

observation,

culminated

in

his Pro-

visional

Hypothesis

of

Pangenesis, l

a

manuscript

copy

of which he

dispatched

to his

friend and

colleague

Thomas

Henry Huxley

(1825-1895),

at the end

of

May

1865.2

1

To form

the nucleus of what was

to be-

come

Ch.

XXVII

in

Vol.

II

of

The Varia-

tion

of

Plants

and

Animals

under

Domestica-

tion

(London: John

Murray, 1868).

2

Francis

Darwin,

ed.,

The

Life

and Let-

ters

of

Charles

Darwin,

2 vols.

(New

York:

D.

Appleton, 1898),

Vol.

II, p.

227.

Darwin

to

Huxley,

27

May

1865.

A

letter

of thanks

to

Huxley

dated

12

July

1865 indicates

that

approximate

date

of the

manuscript's

return.

This

short

manuscript

version,

however,

was

considerably

enlarged during

the fall of that

year-to

the size

in

which

it

appeared

in

the

Variation. Darwin's

journal

records the

con-

clusion

of

his work

on

pangenesis

on

21

Nov.

1865.

For

detailed

information

see

R. C.

Olby's

Darwin's

Manuscript

of

Pangenesis,

777





David F. Larder - The editions of Cardano's De rerum varietate

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