The 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of the Library of Sir Thomas Browne highlights the erudition of the physician, philosopher and

encyclopedist An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

, Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682). It also illustrates the proliferation, distribution and availability of books printed throughout 17th century Europe which were purchased by the intelligentsia, aristocracy, priestly, physician or educated merchant-class.

Biography

Browne graduated from the

University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

in 1633 having previously studied at the Universities of Montpellier and

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

for his medical degree. Upon his establishment in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

as a physician he was able to begin a lifetime's bibliophilia, building a private library, acquiring and reading an estimated 1,500 titles. He was adept in five contemporary languages: French, Italian, Spanish,

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

; these languages as well as

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

and the predominant written form of the Renaissance, namely

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, are all represented in his Library.

The catalogue

The ''1711 Sales Auction Catalogue'' reflects the wide scope of Browne's interests. It includes many of the sources of his encyclopaedia ''

Pseudodoxia Epidemica ''Pseudodoxia Epidemica or Enquiries into very many received tenents and commonly presumed truths'', also known simply as ''Pseudodoxia Epidemica'' or ''Vulgar Errors'', is a work by Thomas Browne challenging and refuting the "vulgar" or common ...

'' which went through six editions (1646 to 1672); and established him as one of the leading intellects of 17th-century Europe. Browne's erudite learning is reflected by the Classics of antiquity as well as history,

geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

philology Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

, philosophy,

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

, theology,

cartography Cartography (; from grc, χάρτης , "papyrus, sheet of paper, map"; and , "write") is the study and practice of making and using maps. Combining science, aesthetics and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality (or an i ...

embryology Embryology (from Greek ἔμβρυον, ''embryon'', "the unborn, embryo"; and -λογία, ''-logia'') is the branch of animal biology that studies the prenatal development of gametes (sex cells), fertilization, and development of embryos ...

, medicine,

cosmography The term cosmography has two distinct meanings: traditionally it has been the protoscience of mapping the general features of the cosmos, heaven and Earth; more recently, it has been used to describe the ongoing effort to determine the large-sca ...

ornithology Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

, mineralogy,

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

, travel, law, mathematics,

geometry Geometry (; ) is, with arithmetic, one of the oldest branches of mathematics. It is concerned with properties of space such as the distance, shape, size, and relative position of figures. A mathematician who works in the field of geometry is ...

, literature, both Continental and English, the latest advances in scientific thinking in

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

, chemistry as well as esoteric topics such as

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

alchemy Alchemy (from Arabic: ''al-kīmiyā''; from Ancient Greek: χυμεία, ''khumeía'') is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, ...

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...

and the

Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "receiver"). The defin ...

are all represented in the ''Catalogue'' of his library contents. It was however not until 1986 that the ''Catalogue'' was first made widely available. The American scholar Jeremiah Stanton Finch, Dean Emeritus at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

took on the task of indexing Browne's work during his retirement, completing the indexing of the books of Sir Thomas and his son Edward Browne's libraries, "after many years in many libraries". Finch noted that the ''Catalogue'' advertised books of sculpture and painting, which somehow were never delivered to the

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

house. In the event, the auction held upon 8–10 January 1711 was attended by

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...

and buyers working on behalf of Sir

Hans Sloane Sir Hans Sloane, 1st Baronet (16 April 1660 – 11 January 1753), was an Irish physician, naturalist, and collector, with a collection of 71,000 items which he bequeathed to the British nation, thus providing the foundation of the British Mu ...

. Thus an unknown percentage of books auctioned from the Library of Sir Thomas Browne subsequently formed the foundation for the future

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

.''A Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch'' (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986) Page 7 The ''1711 Sales Auction Catalogue'' records the omnivorous reading and bibliophilia which Browne engaged upon for roughly sixty years, it also exemplifies the observation: :''to the student of the history of ideas in its modern sense of the inter-relationship between science, art and philosophy, Browne is of great importance''.'' The Strategy for Truth – Leonard Nathanson Chicago University Press 1967''

Greek literature

Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...

Sophocles Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

ed.

Johannes Meursius Johannes Meursius (van Meurs) (9 February 1579 – 20 September 1639) was a Dutch classical scholar and antiquary. Biography Meursius was born Johannes van Meurs at Loosduinen, near The Hague. He was extremely precocious, and at the age of s ...

Leiden 1612 * Archimedes, ''Opera'' 1615 *

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

''Opera'', 1615 ** ''Rhetorica'', 1619 ** ''De Mundo'', 1591 ** ''Problemata'', 1632 (The edition of ''Problemata'' that did service for Browne is the great folio volume of Ludovico Settala, with Greek text and Settala's Latin translation and commentary) *

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

Comedies XI, Leiden 1624 Athenaeus Deipnosophists edited by Isaac Casaubon

* Arrian, ''Ponti Euxini'', Geneva 1577 ** ''de Venatione'', Paris 1644 *

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

Argonautica The ''Argonautica'' ( el, Ἀργοναυτικά , translit=Argonautika) is a Greek epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BC. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the ''Argonautica'' tells the myth of the voyage of Jason ...

'' 2 vols. Leiden 1641 *

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, Deipnosophistae or ''Banquet of the learned'' ed.

Isaac Casaubon Isaac Casaubon (; ; 18 February 1559 – 1 July 1614) was a classical scholar and philologist, first in France and then later in England. His son Méric Casaubon was also a classical scholar. Life Early life He was born in Geneva to two Fr ...

1612 * Epicurus Philosophy of, ed.

Pierre Gassendi Pierre Gassendi (; also Pierre Gassend, Petrus Gassendi; 22 January 1592 – 24 October 1655) was a French philosopher, Catholic priest, astronomer, and mathematician. While he held a church position in south-east France, he also spent much t ...

2 vols. Leiden 1649 *

Euclid Euclid (; grc-gre, Εὐκλείδης; BC) was an ancient Greek mathematician active as a geometer and logician. Considered the "father of geometry", he is chiefly known for the '' Elements'' treatise, which established the foundations of ...

''Elementorum Libri 6. priores'', London 1620 *

Tragedies, 1562 *

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

''Opera'', Basle 1612 *

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society ...

''Historia'' Frankfurt 1608 * Iamblichus, ''Life of

Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos ( grc, Πυθαγόρας ὁ Σάμιος, Pythagóras ho Sámios, Pythagoras the Samian, or simply ; in Ionian Greek; ) was an ancient Ionian Greek philosopher and the eponymous founder of Pythagoreanism. His politi ...

'' **''The Mysteries of Egyptians and Chaldeans'', Leyden 1670 * Lucian, ''Opera'', 1546 ** ''Dialogi Selectiores'', Paris 1572 *

Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...

''Opera'', Cologne 1613 *

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

''Chalcidii

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

'', Leiden 1617 (ed.

) *''

Sibyl The sibyls (, singular ) were prophetesses or oracles in Ancient Greece. The sibyls prophesied at holy sites. A sibyl at Delphi has been dated to as early as the eleventh century BC by PausaniasPausanias 10.12.1 when he described local tradi ...

lina Oracula'', 1607 *

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...

Characters, notes by

, Leyden 1638 *

Xenophon Xenophon of Athens (; grc, Ξενοφῶν ; – probably 355 or 354 BC) was a Greek military leader, philosopher, and historian, born in Athens. At the age of 30, Xenophon was elected commander of one of the biggest Greek mercenary armies o ...

Cyropaedia The ''Cyropaedia'', sometimes spelled ''Cyropedia'', is a partly fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, the founder of Persia's Achaemenid Empire. It was written around 370 BC by Xenophon, the Athenian-born soldier, historian, and student of Soc ...

Gk & Lat London 1674

Roman literature

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

, ''

Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a philosophical work by the Roman statesman Boethius. Written in 523 while he ...

'', 1653 *

Censorinus Censorinus was a Roman grammarian and miscellaneous writer from the 3rd century AD. Biography He was the author of a lost work ''De Accentibus'' and of an extant treatise ''De Die Natali'', written in 238, and dedicated to his patron Quintus ...

, ''De die natali'' Leiden 1593 *

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, ''

Dream of Scipio A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' ** ''Opera'' 2 vols. 1527 ** ''

Epistulae ad Familiares ''Epistulae ad Familiares'' (''Letters to Friends'') is a collection of letters between Roman politician and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero and various public and private figures. The letters in this collection, together with Cicero's other letter ...

'' 1550 * Florus, ''Historia'', Leiden 1655 *

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammati ...

, ''Fabulae'' Paris 1578 * Isidore of Seville, ''Originum'' 20 Books *

Martianus Capella Martianus Minneus Felix Capella (fl. c. 410–420) was a jurist, polymath and Latin prose writer of late antiquity, one of the earliest developers of the system of the seven liberal arts that structured early medieval education. He was a nati ...

, ''de nuptiis Philologiae et Mercurii'', 1577 *

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ), was a Roman poet active in the late first and early second century CE. He is the author of the collection of satirical poems known as the '' Satires''. The details of Juvenal's life ...

, ''Satyrae'', Leyden 1523 * Macrobius, ''Somnium Scipionis'' (

) 1556 *

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

, notes by

Meric Casaubon Meric or Méric or Meriç may refer to: Méric * Méric Casaubon (1599–1671), French-English classical scholar Meriç Places and geography * Meriç (river), Turkish name for the Maritsa which runs through the Balkans * Meriç, the Turkish name ...

, London 1643 *

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

, ''Opera'', London 1656 * Petronius,

Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petr ...

, 1654 *

Plautus Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the ...

, Comedies, with notes by Denis Lambin 1581 *

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, ''

Naturalis Historia The ''Natural History'' ( la, Naturalis historia) is a work by Pliny the Elder. The largest single work to have survived from the Roman Empire to the modern day, the ''Natural History'' compiles information gleaned from other ancient authors. ...

'', Brussels 1496 * Propertius, ''cum Notis Varior.'' ''Traj.'' 1658 * Quintilian, '' Institutio Oratoria'' 1575 *

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, ''Tragedies'', Leiden 1651 * Suetonius, ''Lives of the 12 Caesars'', trans.

Philemon Holland Philemon Holland (1552 – 9 February 1637) was an English schoolmaster, physician and translator. He is known for the first English translations of several works by Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch, and also for translating William Camden's ...

1659 *

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

, ''Comedies'', 1625 *

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, with notes, Leiden 1651 *

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

, ''Opera'', Amsterdam 1654 *

Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...

, ''L'Architetturra di Vitruvio, tradotta & commentata da

Daniele Barbaro Daniele Matteo Alvise Barbaro (also Barbarus) (8 February 1514 – 13 April 1570) was an Italian cleric and diplomat. He was also an architect, writer on architecture, and translator of, and commentator on, Vitruvius. Barbaro's fame is chief ...

'' Venice 1641

Arabic

* Alhazen ''Opticae Thesaurus'' Libri X, Basle 1572 *

'Ali ibn al-'Abbas al-Majusi 'Ali ibn al-'Abbas al-Majusi ( fa, علی بن عباس مجوسی; died between 982 and 994), also known as Masoudi, or Latinized as Haly Abbas, was a Persian physician and psychologist from the Islamic Golden Age, most famous for the ''Kitab ...

''Liber Totius Medicine'' Venice 1523

Contemporary science

* François d'Aguilon, ''Opticorum Libri 6'', Antwerp 1613 *

Petrus Apianus Petrus Apianus (April 16, 1495 – April 21, 1552), also known as Peter Apian, Peter Bennewitz, and Peter Bienewitz, was a German humanist, known for his works in mathematics, astronomy and cartography. His work on "cosmography", the field that de ...

, ''Cosmographia'', Antwerp 1545 * Mario Bettini, ''Beehives of Universal Philosophical Mathematics'' 1656 * Isaac Barrow,

's Elements, London 1660 * Antonio Bosio, ''Roma Subterranea cum. fig. 3 Tomi in 1 vol.'' Cologne 1659 *

Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...

, Usefulness of Experimental Philosophy, London 1671 *

Henry Briggs Henry Briggs may refer to: *Henry Briggs (mathematician) (1561–1630), English mathematician *Henry Perronet Briggs (1793–1844), English painter *Henry George Briggs (1824–1872), English merchant, traveller, and orientalist *Henry Shaw Briggs ...

, ''Arithemica Logarithmica'', London 1644 Galileos Dialogue Title Page

Alessandro Piccolomini Alessandro Piccolomini (13 June 1508 – 12 March 1579) was an Italian humanist, astronomer and philosopher from Siena, who promoted the popularization in the vernacular of Latin and Greek scientific and philosophical treatises. His early works ...

, ''De Sphaera'', Basle 1565 *

Thomas Digges Thomas Digges (; c. 1546 – 24 August 1595) was an English mathematician and astronomer. He was the first to expound the Copernican system in English but discarded the notion of a fixed shell of immoveable stars to postulate infinitely many s ...

, ''Alae seu Scalae Mathematicae'', London 1573 *

Thomas Fincke Thomas Fincke (6 January 1561 – 24 April 1656) was a Danish mathematician and physicist, and a professor at the University of Copenhagen for more than 60 years. Biography Thomas Jacobsen Fincke was born in Flensburg in Schleswig. Fincke was ...

, ''Geometria Rotundi'', Basle 1583 * Galileo, ''

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems The ''Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'' (''Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo'') is a 1632 Italian-language book by Galileo Galilei comparing the Copernican system with the traditional Ptolemaic system. It was tran ...

'', Trent 1635 ** ''

Sidereus Nuncius ''Sidereus Nuncius'' (usually ''Sidereal Messenger'', also ''Starry Messenger'' or ''Sidereal Message'') is a short Astronomy, astronomical treatise (or ''pamphlet'') published in New Latin by Galileo Galilei on March 13, 1610. It was the first ...

'', London 1653 ** Two World Systems Englished by T. Sainsbury, 1661 * William Gilbert. '' De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure'' 1600 *

Sir Matthew Hale Sir Matthew Hale (1 November 1609 – 25 December 1676) was an influential English barrister, judge and jurist most noted for his treatise ''Historia Placitorum Coronæ'', or ''The History of the Pleas of the Crown''. Born to a barrister and ...

's ''Observat. touch. the Torricelli Experiment'' 1674 *

Jean-Baptiste du Hamel Jean-Baptiste Du Hamel, Duhamel or du Hamel (11 June 1624 – 6 August 1706) was a French cleric and natural philosopher of the late seventeenth century, and the first secretary of the Academie Royale des Sciences. As its first secretary, he in ...

, ''de

meteor A meteoroid () is a small rocky or metallic body in outer space. Meteoroids are defined as objects significantly smaller than asteroids, ranging in size from grains to objects up to a meter wide. Objects smaller than this are classified as mi ...

is &

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

bus'', Paris 1660 ** ''de consensu Vet. & Novae Philosophiae'' Paris 1663 ** Paris 1670 * Robert Hooke, Lectures, London 1678 * Christiaan Huygens, ''Systema Saturnium'', The Hague 1659 * Johannes Kepler, ''

Mysterium Cosmographicum ''Mysterium Cosmographicum'' (lit. ''The Cosmographic Mystery'', alternately translated as ''Cosmic Mystery'', ''The Secret of the World'', or some variation) is an astronomy book by the German astronomer Johannes Kepler, published at Tübingen i ...

'', Tübingen 1596 ** ''de Stella nova in pede Serpentis'', Prague 1606 ** ''ad Vitellionem Paralipomena'', Frankfurt 1604 *

Fortunio Liceti Fortunio Liceti (Latin: ''Fortunius Licetus''; October 3, 1577 – May 17, 1657), was an Italian physician and philosopher. Life and career He was born prematurely at Rapallo, near Genoa to Giuseppe Liceti and Maria Fini, while the family was m ...

''De lucernis antiquorum reconditis'', Udine 1652 ** '' Antiqua Schemata Gemmar. Anular. cum fig.'', 1653 ** ''De spontaneo viventium ortu libri quatuor'', Vicenza 1618 ** ''De his, qui diu vivunt sine alimento'', Padua 1612 **'' De quaesitis per epistolas a claris viris responsa'', Bologna 1640 ** ''De Terra & de Lucidis in Sublimi'', Udine 1640 ** ''De lapide Bononiensi & Qualitis'', Udine 1640 ** ''De regulari motu minimaque parallaxi cometarum coelestium disputationes'', Udine 1640 *

Jan Marek Marci Jan Marek Marci (german: Johannes Marcus Marci de Cronland; June 13, 1595April 10, 1667), or Johannes Marcus Marci, was a Bohemian doctor and scientist, rector of the University of Prague, and official physician to the Holy Roman Emperors. The ...

'' Idearum Operatricum Idea'' Hannover 1635 *

William Oughtred William Oughtred ( ; 5 March 1574 – 30 June 1660), also Owtred, Uhtred, etc., was an English mathematician and Anglican clergyman.'Oughtred (William)', in P. Bayle, translated and revised by J.P. Bernard, T. Birch and J. Lockman, ''A General ...

, ''Clavis Mathematica'' London 1648 * Georg Purbach, ''Theoricae novae Planetarum'', Basle 1568 *

Regiomontanus Johannes Müller von Königsberg (6 June 1436 – 6 July 1476), better known as Regiomontanus (), was a mathematician, astrologer and astronomer of the German Renaissance, active in Vienna, Buda and Nuremberg. His contributions were instrument ...

, ''Tabulae Directionum & Prosectionum'', 1551 *

Robert Recorde Robert Recorde () was an Anglo-Welsh physician and mathematician. He invented the equals sign (=) and also introduced the pre-existing plus sign (+) to English speakers in 1557. Biography Born around 1512, Robert Recorde was the second and las ...

, Whetstone of Witte, 1557 *

Christoph Scheiner Christoph Scheiner SJ (25 July 1573 (or 1575) – 18 June 1650) was a Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer in Ingolstadt. Biography Augsburg/Dillingen: 1591–1605 Scheiner was born in Markt Wald near Mindelheim in Swabia, earlier markgrav ...

, ''Rosa Ursina sive Sol'' Bracciano, 1630 *

Gaspar Schott Gaspar Schott (German: ''Kaspar'' (or ''Caspar'') ''Schott''; Latin: ''Gaspar Schottus''; 5 February 1608 – 22 May 1666) was a German Jesuit and scientist, specializing in the fields of physics, mathematics and natural philosophy, and known fo ...

, ''Magia Universalis Natura Artis'' 4 vols.Würtzburg 1657 * John Speed, History of Great Britain, 2nd ed. 1627 *

Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia Niccolò Fontana Tartaglia (; 1499/1500 – 13 December 1557) was an Italian mathematician, engineer (designing fortifications), a surveyor (of topography, seeking the best means of defense or offense) and a bookkeeper from the then Republi ...

, ''Euclide rassettato & alla Integrità ridotto'' 1543 * Godefroy Wendelin ''Of the cause of purple rain in Brussels'', Brussels 1647

Philosophy

Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...

, ''Advancement of Learning'', 1628 ** ''Natural History'', 1628 ** ''Opuscula Philosophica'', 1658 * Bellarmine, ''Apologia pro Jure Princip.'', 1611 * Charles de Bovelles '' Liber de intellectu. Liber de sensibus. Liber de generatione. Libellus de nihilo. Ars oppositorum. Liber de sapiente. Liber de duodecim numeris. Philosophicae epistulae. Liber de perfectis numeris. Libellus de mathematicis rosis. Liber de mathematicis corporibus. Libellus de mathematicis supplementis'' Paris 1510 *

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Ma ...

, ''

Discourse on Method ''Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One's Reason and of Seeking Truth in the Sciences'' (french: Discours de la Méthode Pour bien conduire sa raison, et chercher la vérité dans les sciences) is a philosophical and autobiographical ...

'', 1637, 1st edition ** ''Méditations'', 1644 ** ''Meditationes de prima Philosophia'', Amsterdam 1644 ** ''Principia Philosophia'', Amsterdam 1656 ** ''Lettres'', Paris 1657 ** ''de la Lumière &c.'', Paris 1664 ** ''les Passions de l'âme'', Amsterdam 1650 ** ''Compendium of Musick'', London 1653 ** ''Of a Method for the well-guiding of Reason'', London 1649 *

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influ ...

, ''Elementorum Philosophiae Sectio Secunda de Homine'', 1658 ** ''Elementa Philosophica de Cive'' 2nd edit., Amsterdam 1647 *

Justus Lipsius Justus Lipsius (Joest Lips or Joost Lips; 18 October 1547 – 23 March 1606) was a Flemish Catholic philologist, philosopher, and humanist. Lipsius wrote a series of works designed to revive ancient Stoicism in a form that would be compatible w ...

, ''Opera'', 4 Tomi in 3 vol., Antwerp 1637 * Jan Gruter, ''Inscriptiones antiquae totius orbis Romani'', 2 vols. Heidelberg 1603 * Machiavelli, ''History of Florence'', Strasbourg 1610 * Blaise Pascal, ''

Pensées The ''Pensées'' ("Thoughts") is a collection of fragments written by the French 17th-century philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal. Pascal's religious conversion led him into a life of asceticism, and the ''Pensées'' was in many ways h ...

'' 1670 ** ''Discours sur les mêmes Pensées'', 1672 *

Francis Osborne Francis Osborne (26 September 1593 – 4 February 1659) was an English essayist, known for his '' Advice to a Son'', which became a very popular book soon after the English Restoration. Life He was born, according to his epitaph, on 26 Sept. 1 ...

''Collected Works'' 1675

Theology

* Augustine of Hippo, '' City of God'', 1620 *

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wit ...

, '' Summa Theologiae'', Paris 1638 *

Richard Baxter Richard Baxter (12 November 1615 – 8 December 1691) was an English Puritan church leader, poet, hymnodist, theologian, and controversialist. Dean Stanley called him "the chief of English Protestant Schoolmen". After some false starts, he ...

, ''Reasons of the Christian Religion'' 1667 *

Samuel Bochart Samuel Bochart (30 May 1599 – 16 May 1667) was a French Protestant biblical scholar, a student of Thomas Erpenius and the teacher of Pierre Daniel Huet. His two-volume '' Geographia Sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan'' (Caen 1646) exerted a profound in ...

, ''Geographica sacra seu Phaleg et Canaan, cum. Tabul Geograph.'' Caen 1642 *

Jean Bodin Jean Bodin (; c. 1530 – 1596) was a French jurist and political philosopher, member of the Parlement of Paris and professor of law in Toulouse. He is known for his theory of sovereignty. He was also an influential writer on demonology. Bodi ...

, ''Demonomania'', Basle 1581 *

Johannes Buxtorf Johannes Buxtorf ( la, Johannes Buxtorfius) (December 25, 1564September 13, 1629) was a celebrated Hebraist, member of a family of Orientalists; professor of Hebrew for thirty-nine years at Basel and was known by the title, "Master of the Rabbis" ...

, ''Lexicon Chaldaic.Talmudic & Rabbinic'' Basle 1639 ** ''Epitome Grammaticae, Hebraea'' London 1653 ** ''Lexicon Hebraic.& Chaldaic'' London 1646 ** ''Epitome Grammaticae Hebraea'' Basle 1629 *

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen an ...

, ''Opera'', Paris 1629 *

Ralph Cudworth Ralph Cudworth ( ; 1617 – 26 June 1688) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian Hebraist, classicist, theologian and philosopher, and a leading figure among the Cambridge Platonists who became 11th Regius Professor of Hebrew ...

, ''On the true Notion of the Lord's Supper'', London 1642 *

Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite (or Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) was a Greek author, Christian theologian and Neoplatonic philosopher of the late 5th to early 6th century, who wrote a set of works known as the ''Corpus Areopagiticum'' o ...

, ''Opera'', Basle 1571 *

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (; ; English: Erasmus of Rotterdam or Erasmus;''Erasmus'' was his baptismal name, given after St. Erasmus of Formiae. ''Desiderius'' was an adopted additional name, which he used from 1496. The ''Roterodamus'' w ...

, ''Preparations for death'', Basle 1532 * Joseph Hall, ''Works'', vol. 1st and 3rd London 1647,1662 *

Justin Martyr Justin Martyr ( el, Ἰουστῖνος ὁ μάρτυς, Ioustinos ho martys; c. AD 100 – c. AD 165), also known as Justin the Philosopher, was an early Christian apologist and philosopher. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and ...

''Opera'' Paris 1636 *

Jerome Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...

''Opera 9 Tomi, in 4 vol'' Paris 1643 *

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation and the namesake of Lutherani ...

, ''Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians'', 2nd edit. 1577 * Marin Mersenne, ''Questions in Genesis'', Paris 1623 *

Benito Arias Montano Benito Arias Montano (or Benedictus Arias Montanus; 1527–1598) was a Spanish orientalist and polymath that was active mostly in Spain. He was also editor of the '' Antwerp Polyglot''. He reached the high rank of Royal Chaplain to King Philip II ...

, New Testament, Greek & Latin Geneva 1619 *

Sebastian Münster Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...

, ''Opus Grammat.'' (Hebrew), Basle 1542 * ''Grammatica Chaldaica'', Basle 1527 * ''Rabbi Abrahami Sphaera Mundi'' (Hebrew), Latinized 1546 *

Alexander Nowell Alexander Nowell (13 February 1602, aka Alexander Noel) was an Anglican priest and theologian. He served as Dean of St Paul's during much of Elizabeth I's reign, and is now remembered for his catechisms. Early life He was the eldest son of John ...

'' Catechism'' 1575 *

Origen Origen of Alexandria, ''Ōrigénēs''; Origen's Greek name ''Ōrigénēs'' () probably means "child of Horus" (from , "Horus", and , "born"). ( 185 – 253), also known as Origen Adamantius, was an early Christian scholar, ascetic, and theo ...

, ''Opera'', Basle 1571 * James Usher , London 1652 * George Wither ''Discourse of the Nature of Man, and his State after Death'' 1650

Medical

* Avicenna ''Opera'', 2 vols. 1608 Venice *

Thomas Bartholin Thomas Bartholin (; Latinized as ''Thomas Bartholinus''; 20 October 1616 – 4 December 1680) was a Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian. He is best known for his work in the discovery of the lymphatic system in humans and for hi ...

''Anatomia Reformata'', Leyden 1651 **''de Medicina Danorun Domestica'', Hannover 1666 ** ''de Luce Animalium'', Leyden 1647 ** ''Historiar. Anatomic. rarior. Cent. VI'', 3 vol. Hannover 1654 ** ''de Pulmonum Substantia et Motu'', Hannover 1663 ** ''de Lacteis Thoracicis'', London 1652 ** ''de Ovariis Mulierum & Generat. Historia'', 1678 *

Gerolamo Cardano Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...

''Opera'', 10 vol. Leyden 1663 *

Aulus Cornelius Celsus Aulus Cornelius Celsus ( 25 BC 50 AD) was a Roman encyclopaedist, known for his extant medical work, ''De Medicina'', which is believed to be the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia. The ''De Medicina'' is a primary source on ...

De Medicina ''De Medicina'' is a 1st-century medical treatise by Aulus Cornelius Celsus, a Roman encyclopedist and possibly (but not likely) a practicing physician. It is the only surviving section of a much larger encyclopedia; only small parts still survive ...

'' 8 Libri Basle 1592 *

Realdo Colombo Matteo Realdo Colombo (c. 1515 – 1559) was an Italian professor of anatomy and a surgeon at the University of Padua between 1544 and 1559. Early life and education Matteo Realdo Colombo or Realdus Columbus, was born in Cremona, Lombardy, th ...

'' De Re Anatomica'' Libri XV Venice 1559 *

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides ( grc-gre, Πεδάνιος Διοσκουρίδης, ; 40–90 AD), “the father of pharmacognosy”, was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of '' De materia medica'' (, On Medical Material) —a 5-vo ...

''Opera'', 1598 ** ''Parabilia'', 1598 *

Charles Estienne Charles Estienne (; 1504–1564), known as Carolus Stephanus in Latin and Charles Stephens in English, was an early exponent of the science of anatomy in France. Charles was a younger brother of Robert Estienne I, the famous printer, and son to ...

''De dissectione Corporis humani'', 1545 *

Hieronymus Fabricius Girolamo Fabrici d'Acquapendente, also known as Girolamo Fabrizio or Hieronymus Fabricius (20 May 1533 – 21 May 1619), was a pioneering anatomist and surgeon known in medical science as "The Father of Embryology." Life and accomplishments ...

''Opera Anatomica'', Paris 1625 ** ''De Visione, Voce & Auditu'', Venice 1600 ** ''Ab Aquapendente Opera Chirurgica'', Venice 1619 * Fallopius, ''Opera'', Frankfurt 1600 *

Jean Fernel Jean François Fernel ( Latinized as Ioannes Fernelius; 1497 – 26 April 1558) was a French physician who introduced the term "physiology" to describe the study of the body's function. He was the first person to describe the spinal canal. The l ...

, ''Cosmotheoria'', 1528 * Leonhart Fuchs, ''de humani Corporis fabrica'' Leiden 1551 ** ''Paradoxor. Medicinae Libri 3'' Venice 1547 *

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

, ''Opera'', 5 books in 3 vols. Basle 1538 *

, ''Vita Epicuri'', Leiden 1647 ** ''de apparente magnitudine solis humilis et sublimis'', Paris 1642 ** ''Instit. Astronomia item Galileo et Kepler'', 1683 ** ''Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus'', 1648 *

Francis Glisson Francis Glisson (1597 – 14 October 1677Guido Giglioni'Glisson, Francis (1599?–1677)' ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 2006, accessed 31 December 2008) was a British physicia ...

, ''De ventriculo & Intestinis'', London 1677 ** '' de Rachitide'', London 1650 *

Jonathan Goddard Jonathan Goddard (1617–1675) was an English physician, known both as army surgeon to the forces of Oliver Cromwell, and as an active member of the Royal Society. Life The son of a wealthy shipbuilder, Goddard was a student at the Magdalen H ...

''Unhappy condition of Practice of Physick in London'', 1670 * Johannes Goropius Becanus ''Origines Antwerpianae'' 1569 *

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and propert ...

, '' De Generatione'', London 1651 **''

Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus ''Exercitatio Anatomica de Motu Cordis et Sanguinis in Animalibus'' (Latin, 'An Anatomical Exercise on the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Living Beings'), commonly called ''De Motu Cordis'', is the best-known work of the physician William Harv ...

'' *

Hippocrates Hippocrates of Kos (; grc-gre, Ἱπποκράτης ὁ Κῷος, Hippokrátēs ho Kôios; ), also known as Hippocrates II, was a Greek physician of the classical period who is considered one of the most outstanding figures in the history o ...

''Opera'' 1624 **''Aphorismi & Prognost'' in Greek and Latin, ed. Jo. Butino 1625 **''Coacae Praenotiones'', notes by John Johnson, Amsterdam 1660 **''de Morbis Mulierum'', Paris 1585 **''Praenotiones'', Paris 1585 *

Marcello Malpighi Marcello Malpighi (10 March 1628 – 30 November 1694) was an Italian biologist and physician, who is referred to as the "Founder of microscopical anatomy, histology & Father of physiology and embryology". Malpighi's name is borne by several ph ...

''De viscerum structura'', London 1669 **''de formatione Pulli in Ovo'', London 1673 **''de Viscerum Structura'', London 1669 *

Adrian von Mynsicht Adrian von Mynsicht (1603–1638) was a German alchemist. He is best known for the allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interprete ...

''Thesaurus et Armamentarium Medico-Chymicum'' 1631 *

Jan Swammerdam Jan Swammerdam (February 12, 1637 – February 17, 1680) was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect— egg, larva, pupa, and adult—are different forms of the ...

, ''Uteri Muliebris Fabrica'', London 1680 ** ''of Respiration'', Leiden 1667 *

Thomas Sydenham Thomas Sydenham (10 September 1624 – 29 December 1689) was an English physician. He was the author of ''Observationes Medicae'' which became a standard textbook of medicine for two centuries so that he became known as 'The English Hippocrate ...

, ''Observationes Medical.'', London 1676 ** ''de Podagra & Hydrope'', London 1683 ** ''Schedula Monitoria de nova Febris Ingressu'', London 1686 ** ''Epist. duae de Morbis Epidem. & de Lue Venera'', London 1680 * ''Dissertatio Epistolaris'', London 1682 *

Walter Charleton Walter Charleton (2 February 1619 – 24 April 1707) was a natural philosopher and English writer. According to Jon Parkin, he was "the main conduit for the transmission of Epicurean ideas to England".Jon Parkin, ''Science, Religion and Politics ...

, Enquiries into Human Nature, 1680 ** Darkness of Atheism dispelled by Nature's Light, 1652 *

George Ent George Ent (6 November 1604 – 13 October 1689) was an English scientist in the seventeenth century. Biography Ent was born on 6 November 1604 in Sandwich, Kent. He was the son of a Belgian immigrant, Josias Ent (sometimes called John Ent) ...

, ''Apolog. pro Circulatione Sanguinis adv. et Parisanum'', London 1641 * Franz de la Boe a.k.a. Franciscus Sylvius *

Thomas Willis Thomas Willis FRS (27 January 1621 – 11 November 1675) was an English doctor who played an important part in the history of anatomy, neurology and psychiatry, and was a founding member of the Royal Society. Life Willis was born on his pare ...

, ''Opera varia'', 5 vols. London 1664 ** ''Cerebri Anatome cum fig.'', London 1664 * Richard Lower, ''De Corde: item de motu & colore sanguinis'', London 1670 *

Julius Caesar Scaliger Julius Caesar Scaliger (; April 23, 1484 – October 21, 1558), or Giulio Cesare della Scala, was an Italian scholar and physician, who spent a major part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism ...

, On Insomnia, Geneva 1610 *

Vesalius Andreas Vesalius (Latinized from Andries van Wezel) () was a 16th-century anatomist, physician, and author of one of the most influential books on human anatomy, ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (''On the fabric of the human body'' '' ...

, ''

De humani corporis fabrica ''De Humani Corporis Fabrica Libri Septem'' (Latin, lit. "On the fabric of the human body in seven books") is a set of books on human anatomy written by Andreas Vesalius (1514–1564) and published in 1543. It was a major advance in the history ...

'' 8 Books 1555 *

Jacques Dubois Jacques Dubois ( Latinised as Jacobus Sylvius; 1478 – 14 January 1555) was a French anatomist. Dubois was the first to describe venous valves, although their function was later discovered by William Harvey. He was the brother of Franciscus Sy ...

aka Jacobus Sylvius Paris 1630

Esoteric

Elias Ashmole Elias Ashmole (; 23 May 1617 – 18 May 1692) was an English antiquary, politician, officer of arms, astrologer and student of alchemy. Ashmole supported the royalist side during the English Civil War, and at the restoration of Charles II he ...

ed., ''

Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum ''Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum'' first published in 1652, is an extensively annotated compilation of English alchemical literature selected by Elias Ashmole. The book preserved and made available many works that had previously existed only in pr ...

'', 1652

* J.J. Becher ''Physica subterranea'' Frankfurt 1669 *

Guido Bonatti Guido Bonatti (died between 1296 and 1300) was an Italian mathematician, astronomer and astrologer, who was the most celebrated astrologer of the 13th century. Bonatti was advisor of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, Ezzelino da Romano III, Gu ...

''de Astronomica Tract'' Basel 1550 *

Tommaso Campanella Tommaso Campanella (; 5 September 1568 – 21 May 1639), baptized Giovanni Domenico Campanella, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, theologian, astrologer, and poet. He was prosecuted by the Roman Inquisition for heresy in 1594 an ...

, ''7 Astrological books'', Frankfurt 1630 *

Jerome Cardan Gerolamo Cardano (; also Girolamo or Geronimo; french: link=no, Jérôme Cardan; la, Hieronymus Cardanus; 24 September 1501– 21 September 1576) was an Italian polymath, whose interests and proficiencies ranged through those of mathematician, ...

''Opera omnia'' 10 vols. Leiden 1663 *

Arthur Dee Arthur Dee (13 July 1579 – September or October 1651) was a physician and alchemist. He became a physician successively to Tsar Michael I of Russia and to King Charles I of England. Youth Dee was the eldest son of John Dee by his third wife, J ...

, ''

Fasciculus Chemicus ''Fasciculus Chemicus'' or ''Chymical Collections. Expressing the Ingress, Progress, and Egress, of the Secret Hermetick Science out of the choicest and most famous authors'' is an anthology of alchemical writings compiled by Arthur Dee (1579– ...

'' * Marsilio Ficino, ''Theologia Platonica de Immortalitate Animorum'', Paris 1559 * Jacques Gaffarel, ''Unheard-of Curiosities'', Paris 1650 * Francesco Giorgi, '' De harmonia mundi'', Venice 1525 *

Johann Glauber Johann Rudolf Glauber (10 March 1604 – 16 March 1670) was a German-Dutch alchemy, alchemist and chemist. Some historians of science have described him as one of the first chemical engineers. His discovery of sodium sulfate in 1625 led to t ...

, ''de natura Salium'', Amsterdam 1658 * Lucas Gauricus, ''super Dieb. Decretoriis sive Criticis Axiomata'' Rome 1546 * Helvetius, ''Miraculo transmutandi Metallica'', Antwerp 1667 *

Athanasius Kircher Athanasius Kircher (2 May 1602 – 27 November 1680) was a German Jesuit scholar and polymath who published around 40 major works, most notably in the fields of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fe ...

, ''

Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae ''Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae'' ("The Great Art of Light and Shadow") is a 1646 work by the Jesuit scholar Athanasius Kircher. It was dedicated to Ferdinand IV, King of the Romans and published in Rome by Lodovico Grignani. A second edition was pu ...

'', Rome 1646 ** '' Obeliscus Pamphilius'', Rome 1650 ** '' Oedipus Aegyptiacus'', Rome 1652 ** '' Magnes sive de Arte Magnetica'', Rome 1654 ** '' Mundus Subterraneus'', 2 Vols. Amsterdam 1665 * Heinrich Khunrath ''Medulla Distillatoria & Medica''. Hamburg 1638 * Raymund Lull, ''Vademecum, quo sontes Alchemica Art'', 1572 Theatrum Chemicum Vol I page 1

Pierio Valeriano Bolzani Pierio Valeriano (1477–1558), born Giovanni Pietro dalle Fosse, was a prominent Italian Renaissance humanist, specializing in the early study of Egyptian hieroglyphs. His most famous works were ''On the Ill Fortune of Learned Men (De litterator ...

''Hieroglyphica sive de sacris Aegyptiorum litteris'' 1631 * Pico della Mirandola ''Cabalistarum Selectiora Obscurioraque Dogmata'', Venice 1569 * Jean-Baptiste Morin ''Astrologica Gallica'' 1661 * Paracelsus, ''Opera Medico-Chimica'', Frankfurt 1603 * Petrae, ''Nosologia Harmonica Dogmatica et Hermetica'', 1615 *

Giambattista della Porta Giambattista della Porta (; 1535 – 4 February 1615), also known as Giovanni Battista Della Porta, was an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright who lived in Naples at the time of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution and Reformation. Giamb ...

Natural Magic Natural magic in the context of Renaissance magic is that part of the occult which deals with natural forces directly, as opposed to ceremonial magic which deals with the summoning of spirits. Natural magic sometimes makes use of physical substa ...

, 1644 ** ''Villa'', 12 Books Frankfurt 1592 **''Phytognomica'', Naples 1588 **''Coelestis Physiogranonia'', Naples 1603 **''de Miracoli & Maravigliosi Effetti dalla Natura prodotti'', Venice 1665 *

William Ramsay Sir William Ramsay (; 2 October 1852 – 23 July 1916) was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous element ...

, Judicial Astrology vindicated 1651 * Henry Ranzovus, ''Astrologia Scientiae Certitudo'', 1585 * Martin Ruland, Dictionary of alchemy, 1612 * Sendivogius, The true secret Philosophy, Castile 1651 * Oswald Schreckenfuchs ''Commentaries on George Peurbach'' Basle 1569 * Theatrum Chemicum, 5 vols inc. vol. 1 Gerhard Dorn Strasbourg 1613 * Johannes Trithemius, ''Polygraphiae'' Libri 6., Cologne 1571 *

Basil Valentine Basil Valentine is the Anglicised version of the name Basilius Valentinus, ostensibly a 15th-century alchemist, possibly Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Saint Peter in Erfurt, Germany but more likely a pseudonym used by one or several 16th-c ...

, ''Currus Triumphalis'', with fig., Amsterdam 1671 * Thomas Vaughan, ''A Hermeticall Banquet drest by a Spagyrical Cook'', 1652 *

Blaise de Vigenère Blaise de Vigenère (5 April 1523 – 19 February 1596) () was a French diplomat, cryptographer, translator and alchemist. Biography Vigenère was born into a respectable family in the village of Saint-Pourçain. His mother, Jean, arrang ...

, ''Tract du Feu & du Sel'', Rouen 1642 *

Vossius Vossius may refer to: * Gerardus Vossius (1577–1649), a Dutch humanist * Dionysius Vossius (1612–1633), a Dutch translator, son of Gerardus Vossius * Isaac Vossius (1618–1689), a Dutch scholar, son of Gerardus Vossius * Vossius Gymnasium ...

, De Idolatria (1642) * Johann Weyer, ''Opera'', Amsterdam 1660

Natural history

Georg Agricola Georgius Agricola (; born Georg Pawer or Georg Bauer; 24 March 1494 – 21 November 1555) was a German Humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist. Born in the small town of Glauchau, in the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Emp ...

, ''de Re Metallica'', Basle 1621 ** ''de Ortu & Causis Subterraneor'', Basle 1558 *

Ulisse Aldrovandi Ulisse Aldrovandi (11 September 1522 – 4 May 1605) was an Italian naturalist, the moving force behind Bologna's botanical garden, one of the first in Europe. Carl Linnaeus and the comte de Buffon reckoned him the father of natural history st ...

, ''Museum Metallicum cum fig'', Bologna 1648 **'' Serpentium and Draconum historia cum fig.'', Bologna 1640 **'' Ornithtologia sive de Avibus Historia, cum fig.'', Frankfurt 1610 AldrovandiOrnithology

**''Quadrupedum Bisulcorum Historia, cum fig'' Bologna 1642 **''de Quadrupedib. Digitatis Viviparis & Oviparis'' 1637 **''de Quadupedib. Animalibus & Piscibus'' Frankfurt 1610 ** ''Monstror. Historia, cum fig.'' Bologna 1642 *

Prospero Alpini Prospero Alpini (also known as Prosper Alpinus, Prospero Alpinio and Latinized as Prosperus Alpinus) (23 November 15536 February 1617) was a Venetian physician and botanist. He travelled around Egypt and served as the fourth prefect in charge of ...

, ''de Medicina Medicae'', Patav. 1611 ** ''de Plantis Egypti'', Patav. 1640 ** ''de Medicina Egypti'', 1646 ** ''de praesagienda Vita & Morte Aegrotantium'', Venice 1601 * J.

Bauhin Bauhin — a family of physicians and scientists. *Jean Bauhin (1511–1582): a French physician, who moved with his family to Basel after conversion to Protestantism. *Two of his three sons: **Gaspard Bauhin, or Caspar Bauhin (1560– ...

, ''Historica Plant.'', 3 Vols. 1650 **''Hist. Fontis & Balnei Bollenis'', Montpellier 1598 * C.

, ''Prodomus Theatri Botanici'', Frankfurt 1620 ** ''Pinax Theatri Botanici'', Basle 1623 ** ''de Hermaphroditor. Natura'', 1614 * J.J. Becher, ''Physica Subterranea'', Frankfurt 1669 *

Pierre Belon Pierre Belon (1517–1564) was a French traveller, naturalist, writer and diplomat. Like many others of the Renaissance period, he studied and wrote on a range of topics including ichthyology, ornithology, botany, comparative anatomy, architectur ...

, ''Histoire de la Nature des Oiseaux avec leurs Descriptions & naises traits retirez du Naturel'', Paris 1555 *

Carolus Clusius Charles de l'Écluse, L'Escluse, or Carolus Clusius (19 February 1526 – 4 April 1609), seigneur de Watènes, was an Artois doctor and pioneering botanist, perhaps the most influential of all 16th-century scientific horticulturists. Life Clu ...

Exoticorum libri decem Leiden 1605 Carolus Clusius02

** Leiden 1611 *

Conrad Gessner Conrad Gessner (; la, Conradus Gesnerus 26 March 1516 – 13 December 1565) was a Swiss physician, naturalist, bibliographer, and philologist. Born into a poor family in Zürich, Switzerland, his father and teachers quickly realised his tale ...

, ''Opera'', 4 vols. Zurich 1551 **'' de Avibus'', cum fig. illuminatus ** ''Epistolae Medicinales'' Zurich 1577 *

Thomas Muffet Thomas Muffet (also Moufet, Mouffet, or Moffet) (1553 – 5 June 1604) was an English naturalist and physician. He is best known his study of insects and arthropods in regard to medicine (particularly spiders), his support of the Paracelsian sy ...

, ''De Insect cum fig'', London 1634 * ''Nosomantica Hippocratea'', Frankfurt 1588 * John Ray, ''Catalogus Plantar. Angliae'', London 1670 ** ''Historia Plantarum'', London 1670 *

Guillaume Rondelet Guillaume Rondelet (27 September 150730 July 1566), also known as Rondeletus/Rondeletius, was Regius professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier in southern France and Chancellor of the University between 1556 and his death in 1566. He ...

''De Piscibus Marinis'' 1554 *

Nicolas Steno Niels Steensen ( da, Niels Steensen; Latinized to ''Nicolaus Steno'' or ''Nicolaus Stenonius''; 1 January 1638 – 25 November 1686Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, la, Franciscus Willughbeius) FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithologist and ichthyologist, and an early student of linguistics and games. He was born and raised at ...

, ''Ornithologia, cum fig.'' London 1676 * Olaus Wormius, ''Museum Wormianum'', Leyden 1655

Literature

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

, ''La Terza Rima'' The Faerie Queene frontispiece

George Herbert George Herbert (3 April 1593 – 1 March 1633) was an English poet, orator, and priest of the Church of England. His poetry is associated with the writings of the metaphysical poets, and he is recognised as "one of the foremost British devoti ...

, ''The Temple'', sacred poems, Cambridge 1641 * Milton, Paradise Lost, 1674 **

Paradise Regained ''Paradise Regained'' is a poem by English poet John Milton, first published in 1671. The volume in which it appeared also contained the poet's closet drama ''Samson Agonistes''. ''Paradise Regained'' is connected by name to his earlier and ...

, with

Samson Agonistes ''Samson Agonistes'' (from Greek Σαμσών ἀγωνιστής, "Samson the champion") is a tragic closet drama by John Milton. It appeared with the publication of Milton's '' Paradise Regained'' in 1671, as the title page of that volume ...

, 1671 *

Abraham Cowley Abraham Cowley (; 161828 July 1667) was an English poet and essayist born in the City of London late in 1618. He was one of the leading English poets of the 17th century, with 14 printings of his ''Works'' published between 1668 and 1721. Early ...

, Poems, with his Davideis 1656 * Edmund Spenser Works, 1679 **

The Faerie Queene ''The Faerie Queene'' is an English epic poem by Edmund Spenser. Books IIII were first published in 1590, then republished in 1596 together with books IVVI. ''The Faerie Queene'' is notable for its form: at over 36,000 lines and over 4,000 sta ...

in 12 books, 1609 *

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

, Works, 2 Vols. 1616/1640 *

Edmund Gayton Edmund Gayton (1608–1666) was an English academic, physician and author, now considered a hack writer. Life The son of George Gayton of Little Britain, London, he was born there 30 November 1608. In 1623 he entered Merchant Taylors' School, a ...

's Pleasant notes upon

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...

1654

Geography and history

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

, A Pisgah-Sight of Palestine with maps, 1650 *

John Greaves John Greaves (1602 – 8 October 1652) was an English mathematician, astronomer and antiquarian. Educated at Balliol College, Oxford, he was elected a Fellow of Merton College in 1624. He studied Persian and Arabic, acquired a number of old ...

, A description of the Grand Signiors Seraglio 1650 ** Pyramidographia, or a Description of the Pyramids in Egypt 1646 OrteliusWorldMap1570

Saxo Grammaticus Saxo Grammaticus (c. 1150 – c. 1220), also known as Saxo cognomine Longus, was a Danish historian, theologian and author. He is thought to have been a clerk or secretary to Absalon, Archbishop of Lund, the main advisor to Valdemar I of Denmark ...

, ''

Gesta Danorum ''Gesta Danorum'' ("Deeds of the Danes") is a patriotic work of Danish history, by the 12th-century author Saxo Grammaticus ("Saxo the Literate", literally "the Grammarian"). It is the most ambitious literary undertaking of medieval Denmark an ...

''Paris, 1514 * James Howell, Of the Precedency of Kings, 1664 *

, ''

China Illustrata ''China Illustrata'' is the 1667 published book written by the Jesuit Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680) that compiles the 17th-century European knowledge on the Chinese Empire and its neighboring countries. The original Latin title is ''Athanasii ...

'', Amsterdam 1667 *

Gerardus Mercator Gerardus Mercator (; 5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a 16th-century geographer, cosmographer and Cartography, cartographer from the County of Flanders. He is most renowned for creating the Mercator 1569 world map, 1569 world map based on ...

, ''Atlas sive Cosmographicae Meditationes de Fabrica Mundi et Fabricati Figura'', Amsterdam 1613 *

Claude Mydorge Claude Mydorge (1585 – July 1647) was a French mathematician. His primary contributions were in geometry and physics. Mydorge served on a scientific committee (whose members included Pierre Hérigone and Étienne Pascal) set up to determine ...

, ''Examen du Livre des recreations Mathematiques'', Paris 1639 *

Abraham Ortelius Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terra ...

, ''

Theatrum Orbis Terrarum ''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (, "Theatre of the Orb of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consi ...

'' Antwerp 1574 ** ''Thesaurus Geographic. recognit. & auctus'' 1611 ** ''Itinerar. per Galliae Belgicae partes'' Plant. 1584 * Strabo ''Geographia'' 17 Books Commentary

Paris 1620 ** Of the Kingdom of Naples, 1654 ** Of the Signorie of Venice, 1651 ** Of Hungary and Transylvania, 1664 ** Instructions for Foreign Travels, 1642

Miscellaneous

* Sebastián de Covarrubias ''Emblems Morales'' Madrid 1610 *

Thomas Morley Thomas Morley (1557 – early October 1602) was an English composer, theorist, singer and organist of the Renaissance. He was one of the foremost members of the English Madrigal School. Referring to the strong Italian influence on the Engl ...

, ''A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musicke'' London 1597 *

Valentin Schindler Valentin Schindler (14 February 1543 – 11 June 1604) was a Lutheran Hebraist and professor of the University of Wittenberg, where he was an important teacher of the Hebrew language. He moved by 1594 to Helmstedt. He is known for his dictionary ...

, ''Lexicon Pentaglotton'' Hebraic., Chaldic., Syrian., Arabic., 1612 * ''Artificia Hominum, Miranda Naturae, in Sina & Europa'', 1655 * Ethiopian Dictionary 1674

Source

*''A Facsimile of the 1711 Sales Auction Catalogue of Sir Thomas Browne and his son Edward's Libraries. Introduction, notes and index by J.S. Finch'' (E.J. Brill: Leiden, 1986)

References

External links

Aquarium of Vulcan:Library of Sir Thomas Browne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Library Of Sir Thomas Browne Defunct libraries

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Literature

Geography and history

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See also

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