Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters

2nd cent Ptolemy

E. B. B. 1841 Knobel

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A Revision of the Almagest - Primary Source Edition

Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars

This book has been considered by academicians and scholars of great significance and value to literature. This forms a part of the knowledge base for future generations. So that the book is never forgotten we have represented this book in a print format as the same form as it was originally first published. Hence any marks or annotations seen are left intentionally to preserve its true nature.

A Revision of the Almagest

Edward Ball Knobel

An excerpt from the Preface: The examination of the manuscripts made it at once apparent that no preparation whatever had been made for publication. All the collations of manuscripts, notes, tables, and computations, were in very minute, close writing, and much of it in pencil, necessitating the copying out of most portions of the work for study, and in form for printer, involving much labor. Many notes were written in minute German script which have been troublesome and unduly expensive to translate. Among others are found several chapters from Books III, V, and VII of the Almagest, written in pencil in minute German script, being translations by Dr. Peters from the Greek into German, which have proved very difficult to decipher. No assistance towards the expense involved was obtainable in this country, and it seemed highly improbable that any society would undertake the publication of the work in the complete form which I considered indispensable. What to do under these circumstances has been a source of great anxiety. On June 6, 1899, I met Professor Simon Newcomb in London, when he at once said he wished to see me about Dr. Peters' manuscripts. We adjourned to my club and discussed the matter fully for over half an hour. I explained my difficulties about publication and proposed that the work should be published in the United States. Professor Newcomb, referring to the Arabic and Greek, expressed a doubt whether they had the necessary type. No suggestion, however, was made for carrying out my proposal. I need only add that many years ago I made provision in my will that, on my death, the whole of the manuscripts and researches should be sent to the National Academy at Washington. The present work is limited to the investigation of Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars, but Dr. Peters also took up the question of Ulugh Beg's Catalogue, and for that purpose he collated several Persian manuscripts. I have added to this by collating all the Persian manuscripts of Ulugh Beg and the Arabic manuscripts of Al Sufi to be found in this country. This it is hoped to publish in the future as a separate memoir. It has been my object to make this investigation as exhaustive as possible, but where so much material has had to be examined, analyzed, and checked, and where the whole work has had to be done single-handed, it is hardly possible to avoid some mistakes. The present investigation has shown how prone are all copyists to make mistakes; every care has been taken, and I can only hope that no very serious errors will be found.

Ptolemy's Catalogue of the Stars

2nd Cent Ptolemy

E B B 1841 Knobel

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Excerpt from Ptolemy's Catalogue of Stars: A Revision of the Almagest When Dr. Peters and myself met in Paris in April 1887, we had some long conversations on the subject. He told me he did not intend to visit England, and it was agreed that I Should investigate all the sources of information possessed in the libraries there, and I particularly undertook to examine the Greek Selden Alma gest at Oxford, and several Arabic manuscripts, and send him the results. In this and the following year many letters and discussions passed between us. In a letter dated August 14, 1888, received by Dr. Peters August 25, I asked what steps he had taken towards publication, and considering the contributions I had made from the manuscripts in this country, I asked How far he would like, and would think it right, that my name Should be associated with his as a joint author? But I assured him I was quite single-minded in the matter, and that my interest was removed from any idea of a personal character. This letter remained unanswered, probably because no Steps had been taken towards preparing any part of the work for publication. On July 18, 1890, Dr. Peters died. It is unnecessary here to give an account of his life, which has been so fully dealt with in the addresses delivered on that occasion by Dr. Isaac H. Hall and Professor Oren Root, and in the pages of the monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. On September 3, 1890, I addressed a letter to the executors of Dr. Peters, asking to be informed in what state his work on the Almagest remained with reference to publication and requesting that the manuscripts might be sent to me to complete, and on November 9, I891, all of his manuscripts and notes relating to this work, with some important exceptions, were sent to me. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Christian Heinrich Friedrich Peters

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