Read Book 1 of the Taliaferro translation online.

THE MOST SALIENT EXCERPTS
(if you don’t want to tackle the whole)

Ptolemy
The Almagest
translated by R. Catesby Taliaferro

FROM BOOK I.

(5) 1. …Aristotle quite properly divides also the theoretical into three immediate genera: the physical, the mathematical, and the theological….[I]f one should seek out in its simplicity the first cause of the first movement of the universe, he would find God invisible and unchanging. And the kind of science which seeks after him is the theological; for such an act can only be thought as high above somewhere near the loftiest things of the universe and is absolutely apart from sensible things. But the kind of science which traces through the material and ever moving quality, and has to do with the white, the hot, the sweet, the soft, and such things, would be called physical; and such an essence…is to be found in corruptible things and below the lunar sphere. And the kind of science which shows up quality with respect to forms and local motions, seeking figure, number, and magnitude, and also place, time, and similar things, would be defined as mathematical. For such an essence falls, as it were, between the other two, not only because it can be conceived both through the senses and without the senses, but also because it is an accident in absolutely all beings both mortal and immortal, changing with those things that ever change, according to their inseparable form, and preserving unchangeable the changelessness of form in things eternal and of an ethereal nature….

(6) 2. ON THE ORDER OF THE THEOREMS

(7) …[I]n general, we have to state that the heavens are spherical and move spherically; that the earth, in figure, is sensibly spherical also when taken as a whole; in position, lies right in the middle of the heavens, like a geometrical centre; in magnitude and distance, has the ratio of a point with respect to the sphere of the fixed stars, having itself no local motion at all. And we shall go through each of these points briefly to bring them to mind.

3. THAT THE HEAVENS MOVE SPHERICALLY

It is probable that the first notions of these things came to the ancients from some such observation as this. For they kept seeing the sun and moon and other stars always moving from rising to setting in parallel circles, beginning to move upward from below as if out of the earth itself, rising little by little to the top, and then coming around again and going down in the same way until at last they would disappear as if falling into the earth. And then again they would see them, after remaining some time invisible, rising and setting as if from another beginning; and they saw that the times and also the places of rising and setting generally corresponded in an ordered and regular way.

But most of all the observed circular orbit of those stars which are always visible, and their revolution about one and the same centre, led them to this spherical notion. For necessarily this point became the pole of the heavenly sphere; and the stars nearer to it were those that spun around in smaller circles, and those farther away made greater circles in their revolutions in proportion to the distance, until a sufficient distance brought one to the disappearing stars. And then they saw that those near the always-visible stars disappeared for a short time, and those farther away for a longer time proportionately. And for these reasons alone it was sufficient for them to assume this notion as a principle, and forthwith to think through also the other things consequent upon these same appearances, in accordance with the development of the science….

(8) 4. THAT ALSO THE EARTH, TAKEN AS A WHOLE, IS SENSIBLY SPHERICAL

Now, that also the earth taken as a whole is sensibly spherical, we could most likely think out in this way. For again it is possible to see that the sun and moon and the other stars do not rise and set at the same time for every observer on the earth, but always earlier for those living towards the orient and later for those living towards the occident. For we find that the phenomena of eclipses taking place at the same time, especially those of the moon, are not recorded at the same hours for everyoneÑthat is, relatively to equal intervals of time from noon; but we always find later hours recorded for observers towards the orient than for those towards the occident. And since the differences in the hours is found to be proportional to the distances between the places, one would reasonably suppose the surface of the earth spherical, with the result that the general uniformity of curvature would assure every part’s covering those following it proportionately. But this would not happen if the figure were any other, as can be seen from the following considerations.

For, if it were concave, the rising stars would appear first to people towards the occident; and if it were flat, the stars would rise and set for all people together and at the same time; and if it were a pyramid, a cube, or any other polygonal figure, they would again appear at the same time for all observers on the same straight line. But none of these things appears to happen. It is further clear that it could not be cylindrical with the curved surface turned to the risings and settings and the plane bases to the poles of the universe, which some think more plausible. For then never would any of the stars be always visible to any of the inhabitants of the curved surface, but either all the stars would both rise and set for observers or the same stars for an equal distance from either of the poles would always be invisible to all observers. Yet the more we advance towards the north pole, the more the southern stars are hidden and the northern stars appear. So it is clear that here the curvature of the earth covering parts uniformly in oblique directions proves its spherical form on every side. Again, whenever we sail towards mountains or any high places from whatever angle and in whatever direction, we see their bulk little by little increasing as if they were arising from the sea, whereas before they seemed submerged because of the curvature of the water’s surface.

5. THAT THE EARTH IS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HEAVENS
Now with this done, if one should next take up the question of the earth’s position, the observed appearances with respect to it could only be understood if we put it in the middle of the heavens as the centre of the sphere. If this were not so, then the earth would either have to be off the axis but equidistant from the poles, or on the axis but farther advanced towards one of the poles, or neither on the axis nor equidistant from the poles.

The following considerations are opposed to the first of these three positions– namely, that if the earth were conceived as placed off the axis either above or below in respect to certain parts of the earth, those parts, in the right sphere, would never have any equinox since the section above the earth and the section below the earth would always be cut unequally by the horizon. Again, if the sphere were inclined with respect to these parts, either they would have no equinox or else the equinox would not take place midway between the summer and winter solstices. The distances would be unequal because the equator which is the greatest of those parallel circles described about the poles would not be cut in half by the horizon; but one of the circles parallel to it, either to the north or to the south, would be so cut in half. It is absolutely agreed by all, however, that these distances are everywhere equal because the increase from the equinox to the longest day at the summer tropic are equal to the decreases to the least days at the winter tropic. And if the deviation for certain parts of the earth were supposed either towards the orient or the occident, it would result that for these parts neither the sizes and angular distances of the stars would appear equal and the same at the eastern and western horizons, nor would the time from rising to the meridian be equal to the time from the meridian to setting. But these things evidently are altogether contrary to the appearances

As to the second position where the earth would be on the axis but farther advanced towards one of the poles, one could again object that, if this were so, the (10) plane of the horizon in each latitude would always cut into uneven parts the sections of the heavens below the earth and above, different with respect to each other and to themselves for each different deviation. And the horizon could cut into two even parts only in the right sphere. But in the case of the inclined sphere with the nearer pole ever visible, the horizon would always make the part above the earth less and the part below the earth greater with the result that also the great circle through the centre of the signs of the zodiac [ecliptic] would be cut unequally by the plane of the horizon. But this has never been seen, for six of the twelve parts are always and everywhere visible above the earth, and the other six invisible; and again when all these last six are all at once visible, the others are at the same time invisible. And so–from the fact that the same semicircles are cut off entirely, now above the earth, now below–it is evident that the sections of the zodiac are cut in half by the horizon….

In brief, all the observed order of the increases and decreases of day and night would be thrown into utter confusion if the earth were not in the middle. And there would be added the fact that the eclipses of the moon could not take place for all parts of the heavens by a diametrical opposition to the sun, for the earth would often not be interposed between them in their diametrical oppositions, but at distances less than a semicircle….

7. THAT THE EARTH DOES NOT IN ANY WAY MOVE LOCALLY

…[T]he earth can neither move in any one of the aforesaid oblique directions, nor ever change at (11) all from its place at the centre….[I]t also seems to me superfluous to look for the causes of the motion to the centre when it is once for all clear from the very appearances that the earth is in the middle of the world and all weights move towards it. And the easiest and only way to understand this is to see that, once the earth has been proved spherical considered as a whole and in the middle of the universe as we have said, then the tendencies and movements of heavy bodies (I mean their proper movements) are everywhere and always at right angles to the tangent plane drawn through the falling body’s point of contact with the earth’s surface. For because of this it is clear that, if they were not stopped by the earth’s surface, they too would go all the way to the centre itself, since the straight line drawn to the centre of a sphere is always perpendicular to the plane tangent to the sphere’s surface at the intersection of that line….

[T]here is no “above” and “below” in the universe with respect to the earth, just as none would be conceived of in a sphere. And of the compound bodies in the universe, to the extent of their proper and natural motion, the light and subtle ones are scattered in flames to the outside and to the circumference, and they seem to rush in the upward direction relative to each one because we too call “up” from above our heads to the enveloping surface of the universe; but the heavy and coarse bodies move to the middle and centre and they eseem to fall downward because again we all call “down” the direction from our feet to the earth’s centre. And they properly subside about the middle under the everywhere-equal and like resistance and impact against each other. Therefore the solid body of the earth is reasonably considered as being the largest relative to those moving against it and as remaining unmoved in any direction by the force of the very small weights, and as it were absorbing their fall. And if it had some one common movement, the same as that of the other weights, it would clearly leave them all behind because of its much greater magnitude. And the animals and other weights would be left hanging in the air, and the earth would very quickly fall out of the heavens. Merely to conceive such things makes them appear ridiculous.

Now some people, although they have nothing to oppose to these arguments, agree on something, as they think, more plausible. And it seems to them there is nothing against their supposing, for instance, the heavens immobile and the earth as turning on the same axis from west to east very nearly one revolution a day; or that they both should move to some extent, but only on the same axis as we said, and conformably to the overtaking of the one by the other.

But it has escaped their notice that, indeed, as far as the appearances of the stars are concerned, nothing would perhaps keep things from being in accordance with this simpler conjecture, but that in the light of what happens around us in the air such a notion would seem altogether absurd. For in order for us to grant them what is unnatural in itself, that the lightest and subtlest bodies either do not move at all or no differently from those of contrary nature, while those less light and less subtle bodies in the air are clearly more rapid than all the-more terrestrial ones; and to grant that the heaviest and most compact bodies have their proper swift and regular motion, while again these terrestrial bodies are certainly at times not easily moved by anything elseÑfor us to grant these things, they would have to admit that the earth’s turning is the swiftest of absolutely all the movements about it because of its making so great a revolution in a short time, so that all those things that were not at rest on the earth would seem to have a movement contrary to it, and never would a cloud be seen to move toward the east nor anything else that flew or was thrown into the air. For the earth would always outstrip them in its eastward motion, so that all other bodies would seem to be left behind and to move towards the west.

For if they should say that the air is also carried around with the earth in the same direction and at the same speed, none the less the bodies contained in it would always seem to be outstripped by the movement of both. Or if they should be carried around as if one with the air, neither the one nor the other would appear as outstripping, or being outstripped by, the other. But these bodies would always remain in the same relative position and there would be no movement or change either in the case of flying bodies or projectiles. And yet we shall clearly see all such things taking place as if their slowness or swiftness did not follow at all from the earth’s movement.

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