Ptolemy; tr. Ashmand, J. M. ‘Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos, or Quadripartite: being Four Books of the Influence of the Stars. Newly Translated from the Greek Paraphrase of Proclus. With a Preface, Explanatory Notes, and an Appendix, containing Extracts from the Almagest of Ptolemy, and the whole of his Centiloquy; together with a short Notice of Mr. Ranger’s Zodiacal Planisphere, and an Explanatory Plate’ Printed and Published by Davis and Dickson, Dealers In Scientific Books, No. 17, St. Martin’s-le-Grand, Newgate Street, London, 1822. This copy with a large fold-out 19th century manuscript table of conversion of degrees longitude to right ascension, and two unidentified 19th century manuscript natal figures, one with additional speculum data, laid in.

Quarter ribbed cloth with paper-covered boards. Frontis. + [1 leaf] + xxviii + 242 pp

About this Book Scan

Carefully scanned in full colour from our complete original printing of the 1822 first edition.

James Ashmand’s translation of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos from the Greek paraphrase of Proclus was the second translation of the Tetrabiblos to appear in English after the early 18th century edition of Whalley, and is regarded as a great improvement on its predecessor in terms of both translation accuracy and quality of language.