''De ludo globi'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Game of Spheres'', ''The Ball Game'', or ''The Globe Game'') is a book by

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period. M ...

philosopher, theologian, and cardinal

Nicholas Cusanus Nicholas of Cusa (1401 – 11 August 1464), also referred to as Nicholas of Kues and Nicolaus Cusanus (), was a German Catholic cardinal, philosopher, theologian, jurist, mathematician, and astronomer. One of the first German proponents of Renai ...

. The text was written in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and completed in October 1463. It consists of two dialogues, the first between Cusanus and John IV, Duke of Bavaria and the second between Cusanus and John's brother

Albert IV, Duke of Bavaria Albert IV (15 December 1447 – 18 March 1508; german: Albrecht) was duke of Bavaria-Munich from 1467, and duke of the reunited Bavaria from 1503. Biography Albert was a son of Albert III, Duke of Bavaria and Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen-Ei ...

First Dialogue

This dialogue starts with Cusanus resting after having played a newly invented

ball game This is a list of ball games and ball sports that include a ball as a key element in the activity, usually for scoring points. Ball games Ball sports fall within many sport categories, some sports within multiple categories, including: *Bat-and- ...

. "No honest game is entirely lacking in the capacity to instruct," observes Cusanus. Having compared the motion of the misbalanced ball used in the game to the soul of man, set in motion by God, he moves on to discuss a game he had been toying with: :''I thought to invent a game of knowledge, I considered how it should be done. Next I defined it, making it as you see.''

References

1460s books 1463 books {{philo-book-stub