Charles de Bovelles was born in Saint-Quentin around 1475 and died around 1567 in Ham, in the Somme. A mathematician and philosopher, he studied arithmetic under Lef\u00e8vre d\u2019Etaples at the Coll\u00e8ge du Cardinal-Lemoine before becoming a teacher himself at this renowned college. The Alsatian Beatus Rhenanus was notably among his pupils. The author of numerous philosophical, mathematical, theological and mystical treatises, he is regarded as one of the most remarkable French thinkers of his time.<\/p>\n
The printer of the works in this collection, Josse Bade (Jodocus Badius Ascensius, 1462\u20131535), was a Burgundian-French pioneer of printing, a grammarian and educator, born in Asse near Brussels. He founded his own printing house in Paris in 1503, which took the name Prelum Ascensianum<\/i>. With 775 editions to his credit, he was one of the most prolific publishers of the first three decades of the 16th century, specialising in classical Roman texts in Latin, often accompanied by his own commentaries aimed at the student market.<\/p>\n
Bade was closely associated with the humanist circle of Lef\u00e8vre d\u2019\u00c9taples and printed numerous works by Bouvelles.<\/p>\n
1. Physicorum elementorum decem. Paris, Josse Bade, 15 December 1512<\/i>. 4to (209 x 140 mm). 4 unn.ll., LXXIX num.ll. 1 un.l. Printer’s device of Jehan Petit on the title, 1 large initial, woodcut vignettes in the text, last leaf with a blazon of St Sebastian surrounded by 3 fleur de lis.<\/p>\n
Renouard, Bade, II, 221; DSB, II, 36; Moreau, II, 257.<\/i><\/p>\n
First edition of this seminal work of natural philosophy from the early 16th-century French Renaissance, which synthesises Aristotelian physics, the metaphysics of Nicholas of Cusa, and Pythagorean number theory.<\/span><\/p>\n The full title reveals the work\u2019s rigorous internal structure: Physicorum Elementorum libri decem denis capitibus distincti, quae capita denis sunt propositionibus exornata, unde libri sunt decem, capita centum, propositiones mille<\/i> \u2014 that is, Ten books on the elements of physics, each book divided into ten chapters, each chapter containing ten propositions, making a total of ten books, one hundred chapters and one thousand propositions<\/i>. This perfectly symmetrical decimal structure is in itself a philosophical statement, reflecting Bouvelles\u2019s deep conviction that number and mathematical order constitute the foundation of natural knowledge.<\/p>\n The Physicorum elementorum<\/i> belongs to Bouvelles\u2019 most productive period and lies at the heart of his natural philosophy. It is a work on physics in the classical sense \u2014 physica<\/i> as the study of nature (physis<\/i>), its elements, its principles and its order \u2014 and not an experimental science in the modern sense.<\/p>\n “In [this] work Bovelles applied this constructivist view of knowledge to mathematical physics. The Elementorum physicorum Libri (1512) introduces the main topics of Aristotelian physics that Beatus learned under the acronym of NaCaMILUT. Bovelles frames these topics, however, with an overt interest in mathematics. His typically playful approach to the metaphysics of numbers is already evident in the treatise\u2019s organization: it is composed of ten books, each with ten propositions. Far from being a strict axiomatic assembly, this schema gives Bovelles plenty of space to take excurses. At one point he offers an extended reflection on the \u2018order of teaching\u2019 (eruditionis ordo) as a movement from memory to memory. Knowledge moves from a teacher’s memory, through their voice, into the student\u2019s ear, where it becomes a concept in their mind, which the student then keeps in memory. Throughout the book Bovelles refers to the creative power of the mind, notably on the topic of vacuum. He first repeats the Aristotelian view that vacuum is impossible in nature \u2013 like a chimera it can only be imagined. But this raised the sceptical worry about how we can trust the mind\u2019s products\u201d (R.J. Osterhoff, in: Making Mathematical Culture, p. 210).<\/p>\n A very rare book, USTC locating only 3 institutional copies in European librairies : Emden (Germany), Staatsbibliothek (Munich), Madrid (Complutense). No institutional copy in the United States.<\/p>\n Small marginal waterstain to quires \u2018A-C\u2019.<\/p>\n 2. In hoc opere Caroli Bovilli Samarobrini contenta. Liber Cordis. Liber proprie rationis. Liber Substantialium propositionum. Liber naturalium sophismatum. Liber cubicarum mensularum. Paris, Josse Bade, Octobre 1523<\/i>. 4 unn.ll., LXXXVIII num.ll. Printer’s device on the title page, one full-page woodcut depicting a man, last leaf with an armilla sphere and the blazon of St Sebastian surrounded by 3 fleur de lis.<\/p>\n Renouard, Bade, II, 224; Moreau, III, 435.<\/i><\/p>\n First edition.<\/span><\/p>\n “In 1523 appeared another collection of treatises concerned primarily with dialectic and mathematics. The most important treatise in this group was Liber proriae rationis which dealt at length with the problem of universals and their importance for mystical theory. Also included in this collection were the Liber cordis, a medical treatise, and the Liber cubicarum mensularum, a mathematical work dealing with the construction and measurement of various cubes. The logical works in the collection were the Liber substantialium propositionum and the Liber Naturalium sophismatum. None of these treatises has yet been studied in detail by anyone concerned with the history of logic\u201d (Joseph M. Victor, in: Charles Bovelles, an intellectual biography, p. 24).<\/p>\n USTC locates 13 institutional copies of this book (3 in the United States : NLM, Houghton, Yale).<\/p>\n 3. Aetatum mundi septem supputatio. Paris, Josse Bade, 1520.<\/i> XLVIII num.ll. Woodcut printer’s device on the title page.<\/p>\n Moreau, III, 35; Renouard, Bade, II, 223.<\/i><\/p>\n First edition of this Latin treatise on the philosophy of history, in which Bovelles\u2014at the crossroads of mathematics, theology and mysticism\u2014proposes a division of universal time into seven ages, drawing on a long Augustinian tradition whilst incorporating the Neoplatonic thought of the Renaissance.<\/span><\/p>\n The title translates as: \u201cCalculation of the Seven Ages of the World\u201d.<\/i> It is a treatise on chronology and the philosophy of history, in which Bovelles divides the history of humanity into seven major eras based on scriptural and patristic sources.<\/p>\n The doctrine of the ages of the world (sex<\/i> or septem aetates mundi<\/i>) is a Christian historical periodisation first formulated by Saint Augustine around the year 400. It is based on the major events of sacred history, from the creation of Adam to the events of the Apocalypse. Bovelles takes up and develops this tradition by distinguishing seven ages (rather than six, as in Augustine), giving them a dimension that is at once arithmetic, cosmological and theological, characteristic of his thought.<\/p>\n 4. Responsiones ad novem quesita Nicolai Paxii Maioricenus seu Balearici in arte Lullistarum peritissimi. Paris, Josse Bade, March 1521.<\/i> VIII num.ll. Woodcut printer’s device on the title page.<\/p>\n Renouard, II, 224; Moreau, III, 36.<\/i><\/p>\n First edition of this scholastic treatise, structured as answers to nine philosophical or theological questions posed by a certain Nicolas Paxius.<\/span><\/p>\n “In 1521 Bovelles published a bipartite work, one part of which was entitled Aetatum mundi septem supputatio and dealt with the seven ages of the world and traditional themes revolving around that subject, but which nevertheless offered some penetrating insight into the nature of time and duration; the second part of this work was the Responsiones ad novem quaesita which had been composed in 1514\u201d (Joseph M. Victor, in: Charles Bovelles, an intellectual biography, p. 24).<\/p>\n USTC locates 11 institutional copies worldwide (including 5 in France) but none in the United-States.<\/p>\n Fine copy in its first binding, uniting four rare first editions by Bouelles.<\/p>\n Provenance : Jean Blondelet<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 4to (209 x 140 mm). 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