Almagest in the Manner of Euclid [Book Review]

Abstract

Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus (PAL) is among the most ambitious and important projects in the study of the history of science. The works of Ptolemy in the applied mathematical sciences were the foundation of astronomy, astrology, optics, harmonics, and cartography in the Mediterranean, Near East, and Europe for 1,500 years, until the early 17th century. The number of works in these subjects, whether commentaries or original, principally in Greek, Arabic, and Latin, based directly or indirectly upon Ptolemy is beyond counting, and it is the intention of Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus to publish editions, translations, studies, and facsimiles of manuscripts and early editions of these works, a project that is without limits. A great deal of bibliography is already on line in the PAL website in the form of listings and descriptions of manuscripts and editions, in some cases with facsimiles and transcriptions that provide scholars with access to works that have previously been available only in libraries holding the manuscripts and early editions, and the quality of the resolution and enlargement of the facsimiles makes them superior to studying the originals.

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