Misplaced Pages

Tetrabiblos

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Zachariel (talk | contribs) at 22:08, 3 September 2011 (Moving 'influence' section up to act as an overview and introduction. Commenting out incorrect statement about Ptolemy being responsible for the introduction of the tropical zodiac - see talk. Will add a relevant comment about this in next section). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Revision as of 22:08, 3 September 2011 by Zachariel (talk | contribs) (Moving 'influence' section up to act as an overview and introduction. Commenting out incorrect statement about Ptolemy being responsible for the introduction of the tropical zodiac - see talk. Will add a relevant comment about this in next section)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)
Astrology
Background
Traditions
Branches
Astrological signs
Symbols
Further information: Ptolemy

The Tetrabiblos (Greek: Τετράβιβλος, 'four books') also known under the Latin title Quadripartitum 'four parts') is a text on the philosophy and practice of horoscopic astrology, written in the second century AD by the Alexandrian scholar Claudius Ptolemy.

Ptolemy's Almagest was considered an authoritative text on astronomy for more than a thousand years and the Tetrabiblos, its companion volume, was considered equally authoritative in astrology, the study of the 'outcome' or 'effects' of the astronomical cycles upon earthly matters. But whilst the Almagest as an astronomical authority was largely superseded by acceptance of the Copernican heliocentric model of the solar system, the Tetrabiblos remains an important and influential astrological text which continues to be considered an indispensible reference for serious students of western astrology.

Original title

The commonly known Greek and Latin titles (Tetrabiblos and Quadripartitum respectively) are considered to be traditional nick names for a text whose original formal title is now unknown. At least part of the title may have held the term found in some Greek manuscripts: Apotelesmatika, which roughly means 'Astrological Outcomes', 'Effects' or ‘Prognostics’; reflecting the theme of work, which is concerned with gaining foreknowledge of the effects of predictable astronomical cycles.

General overview and influence

Ptolemy has been referred to as “a pro-astrological authority of the highest magnitude” and as a source of reference his Tetrabiblos is an extensive and continually reprinted treatise on the ancient principles of astrology, said to have "enjoyed almost the authority of a Bible among the astrological writers of a thousand years or more".

The work's great popularity can be attributed partly to the influence of Ptolemy's own reputation as one of the greatest philosophers and scientists of the ancient world, and partly to the fact that the Tetrabiblos presents one of the oldest almost complete manuals of astrological principles and techniques. Ptolemy was concerned to defend astrology by defining its limits, compiling astronomical data that he believed was reliable and dismissing practices (such as considering the numerological significance of names) which lacked an obvious logical basis. He begins his treatise by offering a detailed explanation of the philosophical framework of astrology, which answered the arguments of critics who questioned its validity in scientific terms. Of this, Lynn Thorndike, in his History of Magic and Experimental Science, writes: "Only the opponents of astrology appear to have remained ignorant of the 'Tetrabiblos', continuing to make criticisms of the art which do not apply to Ptolemy's presentation of it or which had been specifically answered by him.

Ptolemy was not responsible for originating the astrological rules that he presented in the Tetrabiblos, but his contribution was to order the material in a systematic way, showing how the subject was based upon logical principles. Astrological influences are frequently, for example, referred to the meteorological effects of humoral shifts brought about by celestial cycles that bring correlated changes in the heating, cooling, moistening, and drying affects of the atmosphere. The book's historical importance can be witnessed by the "considerable" number of ancient, medieval and renaissance commentaries that have been published about it, as well as the various translations and paraphrashed editions that aim to reproduce its content in an accessible manner.


Book Contents

Book I

Ptolemy using a quadrant

Book I opens with a philosophical defense of astrology, asserting its legitimacy as a subject of study and that, though complex, astrological prediction can be effective. Ptolemy seeks to defend astrology from skeptics, observing that "the science demands the greatest study and a constant attention to a multitude of different points; and as all persons who are but imperfectly practised in it must necessarily commit frequent mistakes, it has been supposed that even such events as have been truly predicted have taken place by chance only, and not from any operative cause in nature. But it should be remembered that these mistakes arise, not from any deficiency or want of power in the science itself, but from the incompetency of unqualified persons who pretend to exercise it."

Ptolemy also seeks to defend astrology from those who assert that it leads to fatalism. Answering the claim that people with similar natal horoscopes ought to be predicted to lead similar lives, Ptolemy says that "for although, under the same disposition of the Ambient, the germs of the future creatures may be of one species, whether human or of the horse, the difference in situation, of the places in which they are generated, produces a dissimilarity in the body and spirit of one from the body and spirit of another: and in addition to this it must be considered that different modes of nurture, and the variety of ranks, manners, and customs, contribute to render the course of life of one individual greatly different from that of another; consequently, unless every one of these varieties be duly blended with the causes arising in the Ambient, the prejudgment of any event will doubtless be very incomplete."

The remainder of book 1 introduces the elements consulted by astrology: the "luminaries" (the Sun and Moon) and the "lights" {the several planets); the Zodiac, and the stars. Ptolemy also considers matters of horoscope interpretation such as astrological aspects here. All of these matters are related to the theory of the four elements and four humours and assigned values according to the underlying "hot - cold" and "moist - dry" dualities.

Book II

Book II considers mundane astrology, and contains a partially physical and partially astrological account, observing the effects of geography on the portions of the visible night sky and constellations. The prognostication of wars, epidemics, and other natural disasters is also dealt with in this book. Ptolemy here also discusses the nations and regions of the earth that are associated with the various signs; for example, the northwest portion of the world he knew was assigned to Aries; countries whose sign is Aries include Britain, Galatia, Germany, and Bastarnia. Ethnic stereotypes are discussed at length, and given astrological explanations.

Book III

The third book contains an account of natal astrology, including an account of the importance of the rising sign, and rules to judge life expectancy by the stars. It also includes a brief treatment of medical astrology. This section also considers the effects of comets and meteors.

Book IV

The fourth book deals with the judgment of life events, employment, and wealth according to the horoscope, with particular attention to the Part of Fortune. It also addresses the astrological prognostication of marriages, children, friends and enemies, and the manner of death.

The Centiloquium

Main article: Centiloquium

A collection of 100 aphorisms about astrological practice, commonly known by its Latin name as the Centiloquium, was also attributed to Ptolemy and frequently appended to the text of the Tetrabiblos. The Centiloquium deals largely with horary astrology; a commentary on it was written in the tenth century by Ahmad ibn Yusuf al-Misri. Some scholars have suggested that Ahmad ibn Yusuf was in fact its author, while others believe that the Centiloquium, though not Ptolemy's, may preserve authentic materials from Hellenistic astrology.

Editions and translations

The first printed edition of Ptolemy's Greek text was made by Joachim Camerarius in 1535.

The earliest reference to any identifiable astronomical event in the Almagest is for the year 127, and the last in the year 151; Ptolemy was moreover thought to have died around 178. The Tetrabiblos therefore must date to the second century AD.

At least eleven manuscripts of the Tetrabiblos in Greek are extant. Older than any existing Greek manuscript of Ptolemy's original text is a Greek manuscript of a very close paraphrase of the Tetrabiblos, attributed to Proclus. Manuscripts of the paraphrase are more common than those of the original. It was this paraphrase, rather than Ptolemy's original text, that became the basis of the Arabic translation, made in the ninth century by Hunayn ibn Ishaq. The paraphrase attributed to Proclus was first translated from Arabic into Latin by Plato of Tivoli (Tiburtinus) in 1138, while he was in Spain.

The first printed edition of the original Greek text in Europe was made by Joachim Camerarius at Nuremberg in 1535. Other early printed editions include a second by Johannes Oporinus at Basel in 1553. Junctinus printed the Greek text of the Tetrabiblos as part of his astrological anthology, the Speculum astrologiæ, at Leyden in 1581.

Leo Allatius printed what became a standard Latin version of the Tetrabiblos, again based on the Proclus paraphrase, at Leyden in 1635. This Latin version was the basis for two early English translations.


References

  1. Avelar and Ribeiro (2010) 'Annotated Bibliography', p.275: "This is an astrological classic and probably the most widely cited in the history of the art. It is one of the most important and influential works in the field of astrology ... without a doubt, indispensible for any serious student of astrology".
  2. Tetrabiblos (Robbins ed.), 'Translator's Introduction' p.x and Jones (2010) p.xii.
  3. Jones (2010) ‘The Use and Abuse of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos in Renaissance and Early Modern Europe’ by H. Darrel Rutkin, p. 135.
  4. Robbins, Ptolemy Tetrabiblos, 'Introduction' p. xii.
  5. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, translated by J. M. Ashmand. Publishers Introduction. ACA, 2005. ISBN 9781933303123
  6. Deborah Houlding, "The Life & Work of Ptolemy", Traditional Astrologer Magazine, Issue 1, June 1993, pp. 3-5.
  7. Nicholas Campion, A History of Western Astrology, vol 1: The Ancient World (Continuum, 2008; ISBN 978-1-84725-214-2)
  8. Thorndike, L., The History of Magic and Experimental Science, p.116; Columbia University Press
  9. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, book I, ch. 4
  10. Helena Avelar & Luis Ribeiro, On the Heavenly Spheres: A Treatise on Traditional Astrology (American Federation of Astrologers, 2010; ISBN 0-86690-609-6), ch. 2, pp. 10-17
  11. Robbins, xvi-xvii
  12. Ptolemy used the word 'the Ambient' to "describe the tenth sphere that by its compelling force moved all other spheres with it from the East across the heavens"; and, by extension, to the totality of astrological influences active at any given moment. See Nicholas DeVore, Encyclopedia of Astrology (Philosophical Library, 1940), sub. tit. "Ambient"
  13. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos book I, ss. 1
  14. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, book II, table
  15. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, book II, ss. 70
  16. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos, book III, ch. 17
  17. Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos book IV
  18. ^ Shlomo Sela (2003), Abraham ibn Ezra and the rise of medieval Hebrew science. Brill. ISBN 9004129731, p. 321
  19. See, for example, Deborah Houlding, Ptolemy's Centiloquium; or S. Jim Tester (1987), A history of western astrology, Boydell & Brewer. ISBN 0851154468, pp. 154–5
  20. Frank E. Robbins, Tetrabiblos (Loeb Classical Library: Harvard University Press, 1940), introduction
  21. Frank E. Robbins, Tetrabiblos (Loeb Classical Library: Harvard University Press, 1940), introduction
  22. FA Robbins, 1940; Thorndike 1923)
  23. Robbins, above

Bibliography

  • Avelar, Helena and Ribeiro, Luis, 2010. On the Heavenly Spheres: A Treatise on Traditional Astrology. Tempe, AZ: American Federation of Astrologers, 2010. ISBN 0866906096.
  • Houlding, Deborah (2003). "The Life & Work of Ptolemy". Skyscript.co. Retrieved 2008-11-24.
  • Jones, Alexander (ed.) 2010. Ptolemy in Perspective: Use and Criticism of his Work from Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. New York: Series: Archimedes, Vol. 23. ISBN 978-90-481-2787-0
  • Robbins, Frank E. (ed.) 1940. Ptolemy Tetrabiblos. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library). ISBN 0-674-99479-5.

External links

Categories: