13
Dante Alighieri
(Firenze 1265 - Ravenna 1321)
This florulent ac perutilis de duobus elementsis aquae & terrae tractans ... diligent & accurate correcta fuit per Ioannem Benedictum Moncettum, 1508
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€ 5.000 - 7.000
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€ 5.760
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Information
Venice, for Manfredum de Monteferrato [Manfredi Bonelli], 1508. In 4°. 12 leaves, 203 x 138 mm., two illustrations in the text, splendid example in modern antique-style binding, full leather with dry and gold impressions.
Specialist Notes
RARE EDITIO PRINCEPS OF THE QUAESTIO, in perfect copy.
Handed down from the editio princeps printed in Venice in 1508 and for this reason long questioned as to its authenticity, the Questio is the text of a dispute of an academic and scientific nature held by Dante in Verona on 20 January 1320: the writer takes up the content of a similar dispute held shortly before in Mantua and to which he had witnessed by chance, which concerned the relationship between the sphere of water and that of the earth (i.e. it was discussed whether in some point of the globe the water could be higher than the emerged land). Dante argues that this is impossible and does so above all to support the physical and astronomical scaffolding on which the poem is based, in which the structure of the Universe is modeled according to Aristotelian-Ptolemaic astronomy. The operetta is interesting not so much for the validity of the scientific theories supported, manifestly incorrect like the entire structure of the Comedy, but as a brilliant example of those academic disputes that took place very often in medieval universities. The Questio de aqua et terra is the only organic work by Dante Alighieri that exhibits a topical and chronic dating: Verona, church of Sant'Elena, 20 January 1320. The text is presented in the form of the classical disputata disputata in which a university magister exposes his thesis by responding and refuting from time to time the objections of his opponents: Dante addresses the theme of the emergence of the earth with respect to the sphere of water which, according to the Aristotelian physics widespread at the time of the poet, theoretically it should have covered them entirely.
Mambelli 913: "First edition of this little Dante treatise, of which every manuscript is missing...".
Handed down from the editio princeps printed in Venice in 1508 and for this reason long questioned as to its authenticity, the Questio is the text of a dispute of an academic and scientific nature held by Dante in Verona on 20 January 1320: the writer takes up the content of a similar dispute held shortly before in Mantua and to which he had witnessed by chance, which concerned the relationship between the sphere of water and that of the earth (i.e. it was discussed whether in some point of the globe the water could be higher than the emerged land). Dante argues that this is impossible and does so above all to support the physical and astronomical scaffolding on which the poem is based, in which the structure of the Universe is modeled according to Aristotelian-Ptolemaic astronomy. The operetta is interesting not so much for the validity of the scientific theories supported, manifestly incorrect like the entire structure of the Comedy, but as a brilliant example of those academic disputes that took place very often in medieval universities. The Questio de aqua et terra is the only organic work by Dante Alighieri that exhibits a topical and chronic dating: Verona, church of Sant'Elena, 20 January 1320. The text is presented in the form of the classical disputata disputata in which a university magister exposes his thesis by responding and refuting from time to time the objections of his opponents: Dante addresses the theme of the emergence of the earth with respect to the sphere of water which, according to the Aristotelian physics widespread at the time of the poet, theoretically it should have covered them entirely.
Mambelli 913: "First edition of this little Dante treatise, of which every manuscript is missing...".
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