23.01.26: Comenius CVI; the Celestial Sphere [1]; text

https://www.esa.int/Science_Exploration/Space_Science/How_many_stars_are_there_in_the_Universe

According to the European Space Agency: “… there are something like 10¹¹ to 10¹² stars in our galaxy, and there are perhaps something like 10¹¹ or 10¹² galaxies.” Therefore, in my completely non-mathematical mind, those equations = a lot! Apart from the vocabulary that this text provides, it’s interesting to go back to 1658 to find out how many stars they thought there were. The text also contains my favourite phrase in Latin: stēllae errantēs │ ‘wandering stars’ i.e. planets.

And, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, you can look up on a clear night and see what Comenius, and Galileo, and the Romans, and the Egyptians saw.

Below is the entire text (which is lengthy). Vocabulary and notes will be given in a series of posts afterwards. Following this, there will be more advanced (Level 3) texts from different authors who use the vocabulary discussed.

The Celestial Sphere │ Sphera cælestis

[1] Astronomy considereth the motion of the stars, astrology the effects of them. │ Astronomia cōnsīderat mōtūs astrōrum, astrologia eōrum effectūs.

[2] The globe of heaven is turned about upon an axle-tree, about the globe of the earth, in the space of XXIV hours. │ Globus cælī volvitur super axem, circā globum terræ, spaciō XXIV hōrārum.

[3] The Pole-stars, or Pole, the Arctick, the Antarctick, conclude the axle-tree at both ends. │ Stēllæ polārēs, Arcticus, Antarcticus, fīniunt Axem utrinque.

[4] The Heaven is full of stars every where. │ Cælum est stēllātum undique.

[5] There are reckoned above a thousand fixed stars; but of constellations towards the North: XXI, towards the South: XVI │ Stēllārum fīxārum numerantur plūs mīlle; sīderum vērō Septentriōnārium: XXI, Merīdiōnālium: XVI.

[6] Add (to these) the XII signs of the Zodiaque, every one XXX degrees … │ Adde Signa XII Zōdiacī, quodlibet graduum XXX …… whose names are … │ … quōrum nōmina sunt …

♈ Aries, ♉ Taurus, ♊ Gemini,  ♋ Cancer, ♌ Leo, ♍ Virgo, ♎ Libra, ♏ Scorpius (Scorpio), ♐ Sagittarius, ♑ Capricorn(us), ♒ Aquarius, ♓ Pisces.

[7] Under this move the seven wandring-stars which they call planets, whose way is a circle in the middle of the Zodiack, called the ecliptick │ Sub hōc cursitant stēllæ errantēs VII quās vocant planētās, quōrum via est circulus, in mediō zōdiacī, dictus eclīptica.

[8] Other Circles are the Horizon, │ Aliī Circulī sunt Horīzōn

the Meridian, │ Meridiānus (see previous post)

the Æquator, │ Æquātor,

the two Colures, │ duo Colūrī,

the one of the Equinocts, │ alter Æquinoxiōrum,

(of the Spring │ (Vernī,
when the ☉ entreth into ♈; │ quando ☉ ingreditur ♈;
Autumnal │ Autumnālis,
when it entreth in ♎) │ quando ingreditur ♎)

the other of the Solstices, │ alter Solsticiōrum (solstitiōrum)
(of the Summer, │ (Æstīvī,
when the ☉ entreth into ♋ │quando ☉ ingreditur ♋
of the Winter │ Hybernī (hībernī),
when it entreth into ♑) │ quando ingreditur ♑)

the Tropicks, │ duo Tropicī
the Tropick of Cancer, │ Tr. Cancrī,
the Tropick of Capricorn, │ Tr. Capricornī,
and the two │ & duo
Polar Circles, │ Polārēs