Centiloquium
Encyclopedia
The Centiloquium also called Ptolemy's Centiloquium, is a collection of one hundred aphorism
s about astrology
and astrological rules. It is first recorded at the start of the tenth century CE, when a commentary was written on it by the Egyptian mathematician Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Misri (later sometimes confounded with his namesake Ali ibn Ridwan ibn Ali ibn Ja'far al-Misri, or in Latin "Haly ibn Rodoan", who lived a century later and wrote a commentary on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblios).
's astrological treatise the Tetrabiblos
("Four books"). Ptolemy was indeed accepted as its author by medieval Arabic, Hebrew and Latin scholars, and the book was widely taken up and quoted. In Arabic it was known as the Kitab al-Tamara ("Book of the Fruit"), the name supposedly a translation of the Greek καρπος
meaning "fruit", the book's aphorisms being seen as standing as the fruit or summation of the earlier treatise. It was translated at least four times into Latin, in which it was also known as the Liber Fructus, including by John of Seville
in Toledo in 1136 and by Plato of Tivoli in Barcelona in 1138 (printed in Venice in 1493). In Hebrew it was translated at the same time by Tivoli's collaborator Abraham bar Hiyya, and again in 1314 by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus
, as the Sefer ha-Peri ("Book of the fruit") or Sefer ha-Ilan ("Book of the tree").
Regardless of its authorship, the text has been described as "one of the most influential texts in astrology's history". It was, for example, a standard set text for medical students at the University of Bologna
in the fifteenth century.
However, as even the original commentary on the book noted, the Centiloquium contains quite substantial differences in focus from the Tetrabiblos: for example, it is very concerned with "Interrogations", the asking of astrological questions about forthcoming plans and events, which is not treated at all in the earlier work. In the 1550s the Italian scholar Cardano considered this, and pronounced the work to be pseudoepigraphic – not by Ptolemy at all. This has also tended to be the view of subsequent centuries. For example, aphorism 63 discusses implications of a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; but this is a doctrine developed by Arabic astrologers, not known to the Greeks. The author of the book is therefore now generally referred to as Pseudo-Ptolemy.
One influential view, argued by Lemay (1978) and others, is that the original author of the work was in fact Ahmad ibn Yusuf himself, reckoning that presenting his views as a commentary on an unknown work by the great Ptolemy would make them far more influential and sought-after than merely issuing such a compilation under his own name. Others however still see the Centiloquium as potentially containing a core of genuinely Hellenistic material, which may then have suffered adaptation and partial substitution in the chain of transmission and translation.
, compiled by Stephen of Messina at a date between 1258 and 1266 for Manfred, King of Sicily, supposedly either from a variety of Arabic sources or from an unknown Arabic original.
(1089–1164).
Aphorism
An aphorism is an original thought, spoken or written in a laconic and memorable form.The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates...
s about astrology
Astrology
Astrology consists of a number of belief systems which hold that there is a relationship between astronomical phenomena and events in the human world...
and astrological rules. It is first recorded at the start of the tenth century CE, when a commentary was written on it by the Egyptian mathematician Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Misri (later sometimes confounded with his namesake Ali ibn Ridwan ibn Ali ibn Ja'far al-Misri, or in Latin "Haly ibn Rodoan", who lived a century later and wrote a commentary on Ptolemy's Tetrabiblios).
Influence and authorship
The Centiloquium opens with a dedication to Syrus, like the classical astronomer PtolemyPtolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
's astrological treatise the Tetrabiblos
Tetrabiblos
The Tetrabiblos , also known under the Latin title Quadripartitum , is a text on the philosophy and practice of astrology, written in the second century AD by the Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy ....
("Four books"). Ptolemy was indeed accepted as its author by medieval Arabic, Hebrew and Latin scholars, and the book was widely taken up and quoted. In Arabic it was known as the Kitab al-Tamara ("Book of the Fruit"), the name supposedly a translation of the Greek καρπος
Karpos
This article is about the Greek mythological character, for the unit within the city of Skopje, go to Karpoš Municipality.In Greek mythology, Karpos , was a youth renowned for his beauty...
meaning "fruit", the book's aphorisms being seen as standing as the fruit or summation of the earlier treatise. It was translated at least four times into Latin, in which it was also known as the Liber Fructus, including by John of Seville
John of Seville
John of Seville was the main translator from Arabic into Castilian together with Dominicus Gundissalinus during the early days of the Toledo School of Translators....
in Toledo in 1136 and by Plato of Tivoli in Barcelona in 1138 (printed in Venice in 1493). In Hebrew it was translated at the same time by Tivoli's collaborator Abraham bar Hiyya, and again in 1314 by Kalonymus ben Kalonymus
Kalonymus ben Kalonymus
Kalonymus ben Kalonymus ben Meir was a Provençal Jewish philosopher and translator. He studied philosophy and rabbinical literature at Salonica, under the direction of Senior Astruc de Noves and Moses ben Solomon of Beaucaire...
, as the Sefer ha-Peri ("Book of the fruit") or Sefer ha-Ilan ("Book of the tree").
Regardless of its authorship, the text has been described as "one of the most influential texts in astrology's history". It was, for example, a standard set text for medical students at the University of Bologna
University of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
in the fifteenth century.
However, as even the original commentary on the book noted, the Centiloquium contains quite substantial differences in focus from the Tetrabiblos: for example, it is very concerned with "Interrogations", the asking of astrological questions about forthcoming plans and events, which is not treated at all in the earlier work. In the 1550s the Italian scholar Cardano considered this, and pronounced the work to be pseudoepigraphic – not by Ptolemy at all. This has also tended to be the view of subsequent centuries. For example, aphorism 63 discusses implications of a conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn; but this is a doctrine developed by Arabic astrologers, not known to the Greeks. The author of the book is therefore now generally referred to as Pseudo-Ptolemy.
One influential view, argued by Lemay (1978) and others, is that the original author of the work was in fact Ahmad ibn Yusuf himself, reckoning that presenting his views as a commentary on an unknown work by the great Ptolemy would make them far more influential and sought-after than merely issuing such a compilation under his own name. Others however still see the Centiloquium as potentially containing a core of genuinely Hellenistic material, which may then have suffered adaptation and partial substitution in the chain of transmission and translation.
Centiloquium of Hermes Trismegistus
A Latin text containing one hundred propositions, again about astrology rather than HermeticismHermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, compiled by Stephen of Messina at a date between 1258 and 1266 for Manfred, King of Sicily, supposedly either from a variety of Arabic sources or from an unknown Arabic original.
Bethem's Centiloquium
One hundred astrological propositions ascribed to Muhammad ibn Jabir al-Battani (c.858–929), also known as Albategnius, or in astrology as Bethem. The text also exists in many manuscripts as De consuetudinibus ("According to the customs"), ascribed to Abraham ibn EzraAbraham ibn Ezra
Rabbi Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra was born at Tudela, Navarre in 1089, and died c. 1167, apparently in Calahorra....
(1089–1164).
Further reading
- Richard Lemay (1978), "Origin and Success of the Kitab Thamara of Abu Jafar ibn Yusuf ibn Ibrahim: From the Tenth to the Seventeenth Century in the World of Islam and the Latin West", in Proceedings of the First International Symposium for the History of Arabic Science, April 5–12, 1976 (Aleppo: Aleppo University), Vol. 2, pp. 91–107.
External links
- Deborah Houlding, Ptolemy's Centiloquium, skyscript.co.uk; with a translation by Henry Coley (1676).