MONTE Guidobaldo Marchese del In duos Archimedes Aequeponderantium Libros. Paraphrasis. Scholiis illustrata.

DSB IX, p. 487-489 (“Monte was Galileo’s patron and friend and was possibly the greatest single influence on the mechanics of Galileo”) ; Riccardi I, 179, 5 ; STC Italian, I, 37 (under Archimedes) ; Adams, II, p. 297, 6 (under Ubaldo).

First edition of this important mathematical work, developing Archimedean ideas from “the Equilibrium of Planes” (geometry applied to hydrostatics and law of the lever). Monte developed in Paraphrasis aspects of his first publication, Liber mechanicorum. The most fruitful section of the Liber mechanicorum deals with pulleys, reducing them to the lever. This analysis – which is far superior to that of Benedetti – was adopted by Galileo. In two subsequent mechanical work Guidobaldi developed other ideas of his first book. These works were the Paraphrase of Archimedes : Equilibrium pf Planes (1588), a copy of which was sent to Galileo, and the posthumous De cochlea (1615)” (DSB).

“Guidobaldo regarded his Paraphrasis as the final restoration of the foundations of mechanics” (Rose, Italian Renaissance of Mathematics, p. 234).

Monte (1545-1607), one of the most prominent figures in the renaissance of the mathematical sciences and a student of Federico Commandino later became Galileo’s friend and patron for 20 years. He was determined to return mathematics and statics to the classical Archimedean models of rigorous mathematical proof. In the introduction to this work,

Monte reiterates the importance of On the Equilibrium of Planes for mechanics: “So fertile is this book of Archimedes that I do not hesitate to affirm that there is no theorem nor any problem in mechanics which is not founded on the ideas in this work”.

Fine copy albeit small wormholes in the white margins of the first 5 leaves.