THIS TREATISE BY WILLIAM GILBERT, OF COLCHESTER, PHYSICIAN OF LONDON, ON THE MAGNET, WAS FIRST PUBLISHT IN THE LATIN TONGUE IN LONDON IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD M.D.C.; THIS ENGLISH TRANSLATION, WHICH WAS COMPLETED IN THE YEAR M.C.M., IS PRINTED FOR THE GILBERT CLUB, TO THE NUMBER OF TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY COPIES, BY CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND COMPANY, AT THE CHISWICK PRESS, TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
Lion and Anchor.
ON THE
OF
Serpent and Staff.
"For out of olde feldes, as men seith,Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere;And out of olde bokes, in good feith,Cometh al this newe science that men lere."—Chaucer.
"For out of olde feldes, as men seith,Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere;And out of olde bokes, in good feith,Cometh al this newe science that men lere."—Chaucer.
"For out of olde feldes, as men seith,
Cometh al this newe corn fro yeer to yere;
And out of olde bokes, in good feith,
Cometh al this newe science that men lere."
—Chaucer.
"I finde that you have vsed in this your trāslation greate art, knowledge, and discretion. For walking as it were in golden fetters (as al Translators doe) you notwithstanding so warilie follow your Auctor, that where he trippeth you hold him vp, and where he goeth out of the way, you better direct his foote. You haue not only with the Bee sucked out the best iuyce from so sweete a flower, but with the Silke-worme as it were wouen out of your owne bowels, the finest silke; & that which is more, not rude & raw silke, but finely died with the fresh colour of your owne Art, Invention, and Practise. If these Adamantes draw you not to effect this which you haue so happilie begunne: then let these spurres driue you forward: viz. Your owne promise, the expectation of your friends, the losse of some credit if you should steppe backe, the profit which your labours may yeeld to many, the earnest desire which you yourselfe haue to reviue this Arte, and the vndoubted acceptation of your paines, if you performe the same."—(Prefatory epistle of John Case, D. of Physicke, printed in R. Haydocke's translation ofThe Artes of Curious Painting, of Lomatius, Oxford, 1598.)
"I finde that you have vsed in this your trāslation greate art, knowledge, and discretion. For walking as it were in golden fetters (as al Translators doe) you notwithstanding so warilie follow your Auctor, that where he trippeth you hold him vp, and where he goeth out of the way, you better direct his foote. You haue not only with the Bee sucked out the best iuyce from so sweete a flower, but with the Silke-worme as it were wouen out of your owne bowels, the finest silke; & that which is more, not rude & raw silke, but finely died with the fresh colour of your owne Art, Invention, and Practise. If these Adamantes draw you not to effect this which you haue so happilie begunne: then let these spurres driue you forward: viz. Your owne promise, the expectation of your friends, the losse of some credit if you should steppe backe, the profit which your labours may yeeld to many, the earnest desire which you yourselfe haue to reviue this Arte, and the vndoubted acceptation of your paines, if you performe the same."—(Prefatory epistle of John Case, D. of Physicke, printed in R. Haydocke's translation ofThe Artes of Curious Painting, of Lomatius, Oxford, 1598.)
"This booke is not for every rude and unconnynge man to see, but for clerkys and very gentylmen that understand gentylness and scyence."—Caxton.
"This booke is not for every rude and unconnynge man to see, but for clerkys and very gentylmen that understand gentylness and scyence."—Caxton.
CHISWICK PRESS: CHARLES WHITTINGHAM AND CO.TOOKS COURT, CHANCERY LANE, LONDON.
Decoration.
I.(The London Folio of 1600.)Fol. *j. titleGVILIELMI GIL| berti colcestren | sis, medici londi- | nensis, |DE MAGNETE,MAGNETI-| cisqve corporibvs, et de mag- | no magnete tellure; Physiologia noua, | plurimis & argumentis, & expe- | rimentis demonstrata. |Printer's Mark| Londini | excudebat Petrvs Short anno |MDC.||*j versoGilbert's coat of arms. ||*ijAd Lectorem ||*iij versoAd gravissimvm doctissimvmqve ... ||*vjVerborum quorundam interpretatio. ||*vj versoIndex capitum. || p. 1.GVILIELMI GILBERTI|DE MAGNETE, LIB. I.|| p. 240.FINIS. | Errata. Without any colophon, printer's Mark, or date at end.Folio. 8 ll. of preliminary matter.ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTV,all ternions, making 120 numbered leaves. One blank leaf at front and one at end. Page 114 at end of Liber II. blank. A folded woodcut plate inserted between p. 200 and p. 201. Woodcut initials, headlines and diagrams. All known copies except one have ink corrections in several pages, particularly pp. 11, 22, 47.
II.(The Stettin Quarto of 1628.)Four preliminary unnumbered leaves, viz.(1)Bastard titleGULIELMI GILBERTI| Tractatus |DE MAGNETE||versoblank; (2)Engraved title.TRACTATVS| Siue |PHYSIOLOGIA NOVA|DE MAGNETE,|MAGNETICISQVE CORPO-|RIBVS ET MAGNO MAGNETE| tellure Sex libris comprehensus | ã | Guilielmo Gilberto Colcestrensi, | Medico Londinensi | ... Omnia nunc diligenter recognita & emen- | datius quam ante in lucem edita, aucta & figu- | ris illustrata operâ & studio | WolfgangiLochmansI.U.D. | & Mathemati: | Ad calcem libri adjunctus est Index Capi- | tum Rerum et Verborum locupletissimus |EXCVSVS SEDINI| Typis Gotzianis Sumptibus |Ioh: Hallervordij.| AnnoMDC.XXVIII||versoblank; (3) Præfatio; (4) Amicorum Acclamationes (verses) ||versoblank.Sig.A Ad Lectorem Candidum.Sig.A2versoAd Gravissimum DoctissimumqVirum.Sig.B2 Verborum quorundam interpretatio.Versoblank, followed by twelve engraved plates numbered I. to XII.Sig.B3 is numbered as p. 1, and beginsGVILIELMI GILBERTI|DE MAGNETE.|LIBER I.Sig.Cbegins as p. 5;Sig.D as p. 13; and so forth. The collation therefore is: 4 ll. unnumbered, ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTVXYZAaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiKkLlMm,all fours. Pagination ends onp. 232,which has Sig.H3in error forHh3,being the end of the text. Verso ofHh3blank. Index capitumbegins fol.[Hh4]andwith Index Verborumcontinues to verso ofMm3.Last leaf[Mm4]contains Errata, and instructions to binder to place plates: versoblank.Quarto. Woodcut initials and diagrams. Without any colophon, printer's Mark, or date at end.In some copies the engraved title differs, having the wordsIoh: Hallervordij.replaced by the wordAuthoris.
III.(The Stettin Quarto of 1633.)Four preliminary unnumbered leaves, viz., (1)title.Tractatus, sive Physiologia Nova | de |magnete, | Magneticisq; corporibus & magno | Magnate tellure, sex libris comprehensus, | aguilielmo gilbertoColce- | strensi, Medico Londinensi. | ... Omnia nunc diligenter recognita, & emendatius quam ante | in lucem edita, aucta & figuris illustrata, opera & studio D. |wolfgangi lochmans, I.U.D. | & Mathematici. | Ad calcem libri adiunctus est Index capitum, Rerum & Verborum | locupletissimus, qui in priore æditione desiderabatur |Sedini, | TypisGotzianis. |Anno m.dc. xxxii.||versoblank; (2) Præfatio; (3) Amicorum acclamationes (verses) ||versoClaudianus de Magnete (verses); (4)ibid.Sig.A Ad Lectorem Candidum.Sig.A2versoAd Gravissimum Doctissimumq. Virum.Sig.B2 Verborum quorundam interpretatio;versoblank.Sig.B3 is numbered as p. 1, and beginsGVILIELMI GILBERTI|DE MAGNETE.|LIBER I.Sig.C begins as p. 5;Sig.D as p. 13; and so forth. The Collation therefore is: 4ll.unnumbered, AtoMm,all fours. Paginationends on p. 232, which bears Sig.H3in error forHh3.Verso of Sig.Hh3. Errata. Index capitumbeginsHh4,and withIndex Verborumextends to versoof Mm3.The last leaf[Mm4]bears the Instructions to binder, with versoblank.There is no colophon, printer's Mark, or date at end. Quarto. Woodcut initials, and diagrams. Twelve etched plates of various sizes inserted.
With the exception of the preliminary matter and the Instructions to binder, the pagination is the same as in the edition of 1628, the pages in the body of the work being reprinted word for word; though with exceptions. For example, p. 18 in Ed. 1633 is one line shorter than in Ed. 1628. The etched plates are entirely different. It has been thought from the pagination being alike that these two editions were really the same with different plates, titles, and preliminary matter. But they are really different. The spacing of the words, letters and lines is different throughout, and there are different misprints. The watermarks of the paper also differ.
IV. (The Berlin "facsimile" Folio of 1892.) This is a photozincograph reproduction of the London folio of 1600. It lacks the ink emendations on pages 11, 22, 47, &c., found in the original, and is wanting also in some of the asterisks in the margins.
V. (The American translation of 1893.) Frontispiece portrait ||p. i. titlewilliam gilbert|of colchester, | physician of London, | on the | Loadstone and Magnetic Bodies, | and on | the great magnet the earth. | A new Physiology, | demonstrated with many arguments and experiments. | A translation by | P. Fleury Mottelay, | ... | New York: | John Wiley & Sons, | 53 East Tenth Street | 1893. ||p. iibears imprint of Ferris Bros.Printers, 326 Pearl Street, New York. ||p. iii.reduced reproduction of title of 1600 edition ||versothe Gilbert arms ||p. v.Translator's Preface ||p. ix.Biographical Memoir ||p. xxxi.Contents ||p. xxxvii.Address of Edward Wright ||p. xlvii.Author's Preface. ||p. liii.Explanation of some terms. || pp. 1-358 text of the work. || p. 359 reduced reproduction of title of 1628 edition. || p. 360dittoof 1633 edition. || p. 361dittoof Gilbert'sDe Mundo Nostroof 1651. || pp. 363 to 368 General Index. || Pagesxxx,xlvi,lii, and 362 are blanks. There are no signatures. Octavo. Diagrams reduced from woodcuts of the folio of 1600. Some copies bear on title the imprint | London: | Bernard Quaritch, | 15 Piccadilly. ||
Decoration.
During the work of revising and editing the English translation ofDe Magnete, many points came up for discussion, requiring critical consideration, and the examination of the writings of contemporary or earlier authorities. Discrepancies between the texts of the three known editions—the London folio of 1600, and the two Stettin quartos of 1628 and 1633 respectively—demanded investigation. Passages relating to astrology, to pharmacy, to alchemy, to geography, and to navigation, required to be referred to persons acquainted with the early literature of those branches. Phrases of non-classical Latin, presenting some obscurity, needed explanation by scholars of mediæval writings. Descriptions of magnetical experiments needed to be interpreted by persons whose knowledge of magnetism enabled them to infer the correct meaning to be assigned to the words in the text. In this wise a large amount of miscellaneous criticism has been brought to bear, and forms the basis for the following notes. To make them available to all students of Gilbert, the references are given to page and line both of the Latin folio of 1600 and of the English edition of 1900. S. P. T.