De natura libri V
From noscemus
| Author | Biese, Nicolas |
|---|---|
| Full title | Nicolai Biesii Gandavensis De natura libri V |
| Year | 1573 |
| Place | Antwerp |
| Publisher/Printer | Nuyts |
| Era | 16th century |
| Form/Genre | Encyclopedic work |
| Discipline/Content | Physics, Astronomy/Astrology/Cosmography, Meteorology/Earth sciences, Medicine |
| Digital copies | |
| Original | De natura libri V (MDZ) |
| Digital sourcebook | 608625 |
| Description | The De natura libri V is the central natural philosophical text in prose by Antwerp physician Nicolas Biese published posthumously in 1573. It summarises and somehow crowns his approach to the study of nature first developed in the poetic masterpiece, the De universitate of 1556 and strongly inspired by Lucretius and the atomic tradition. The treatise consists of five books, which metaphorically illustrates the descent from the highest spheres to the lowest ones: with the first books dealing with the structure of the universe, the celestial spheres and similar topics, the fifth book is devoted to the study of the human body, human senses etc. As he did so in the De universitate, Biese presents a very detailed analysis of all possible approaches to the scientia naturalis and seeks to put together the Aristotelian, Platonic and Lucretian systems considered to be equally important for a better and fuller understanding of nature. Given the complexity of the subject, and following the example of the De universitate, Biese provides the reader with several tools in order to facilitate the orientation: these include the table of contents, the index rerum and numerous notes on the margins of respective chapters, which usually summarise the essence of what he states about different natural philosophical issues. Overall, in its richness, philosophical multiformity and importance in terms of the promotion of the Lucretian tradition, the De natura is a groundbreaking treatise; interestingly enough, despite these features, the figure of its author still remains in the shadows and has not attracted any particular attention in modern scholarship.
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| Cited in | |
| How to cite this entry | Biese, Nicolas: De natura libri V, in: Noscemus Wiki, URL: http://wiki.uibk.ac.at/noscemus/De_natura_libri_V (last revision: 17.11.2021). |
| Internal notes | |
| Internal notes | |
| Of interest to | OA |
| Transkribus text available | Yes |
| Written by | OA |
