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c h a p t e r o n e Machines in the Field, in the Book, and in the Study We shall attempt . . . to reduce the screw to the lever and balance in order finally to gain a full understanding of it. Guidobaldo dal Monte 1.1 Between Classical Theory and Engineering Practice In the sixteenth century the major tradition in mechanics was associated with the science of machines, especially those known as the simple machines: the lever, balance, pulley, inclined plane, wedge, and screw. Theoretical concerns about simple machines often went hand in hand with practical considerations, as shown by the contents and publication history of two classics in the field, the pseudoAristotelian Quaestiones mechanicae and dal Monte’s Mechanicorum liber (Pesaro, 1577). In the latter the author stated, “Mechanics can no longer be called mechanics when it is abstracted and separated from machines.”1 Both works emphasized the theme of utility and attracted the attention of scholars in mathematics as well as architects and engineers, as witnessed by the translations they went through, mostly in Italian. Quaestiones mechanicae is largely devoted to problems related to the behavior of bodies, such as balances, levers, oars, rudders, wedges, and the like. It went through more than a dozen editions and translations with commentary between the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth. It appeared first in Greek in the Aldine edition of the works of Aristotle (Venice, 1497), which was often reprinted, and was translated into Latin by Vittore Fausto (Paris, 1517), Niccolò Leonico Tomeo (Venice, 1525; Paris, 1530 and later editions), and Alessandro Piccolomini (Rome, 1547; Venice, 1565). It was also translated into Italian by the engineers Antonio Guarino (Modena, 1573) and Oreste Vannoccio Biringucci (Rome, 1582). Several engineers were familiar with Quaestiones mechanicae , including Agostino Ramelli, the celebrated author of Le diverse et artifi- Machines in the Field, Book, and Study 19 ciose machine (Paris, 1588), in which he described a large number of impressive devices . Ramelli was familiar with dal Monte’s Mechanicorum liber too.2 The Marquis Guidobaldo dal Monte, later patron and correspondent of Galileo, was a military man from the Duchy of Urbino and a mathematician enamored of the Greeks. Recently Paolo Galluzzi has characterized Leonardo as the “artist of machines,” meaning that Leonardo used his drawings as a tool of representation and investigation in order to understand how machines—including the human body—are constructed and operate. By analogy, dal Monte may well be called the “mathematician of machines,” namely the scholar embodying the alliance between the Greek humanist tradition and the world of technicians and engineers who sought to understand the simple machines by means of geometric drawings. Four years after its original edition, Mechanicorum liber appeared in Venice as Le mechaniche, an Italian translation produced under dal Monte’s supervision by Filippo Pigafetta. Pigafetta dedicated the Italian translation to the individual who had commissioned it, Count Giulio Savorgnan, a military man at the service of the Venetian Republic in charge of fortifications. Savorgnan had been responsible for dozens of bastions across the Venetian domains, and his residence at Osoppo housed an armory and a collection of mechanical devices.3 The Italian translation of dal Monte’s work, much like the pseudo-Aristotle’s Quaestiones, is indicative of its perceived relevance not just to mathematicians but also to practical men. The title page of the Italian translation states that it had been carried out “to the bene fit of those who find pleasure in this most noble science, especially war captains, engineers, architects, and all sorts of artificers who intend to perform wonderful and almost supernatural works, by means of machines. And the most difficult terms and passages are explained.”4 Thus the title page highlights Pigafetta and dal Monte’s aim of establishing a rigorous mechanical terminology in Italian. The editio princeps was in folio, whereas the Italian translation was in quarto, suggesting a different and less wealthy audience. In 1615 the Latin and Italian versions were reprinted following the same criteria as to format. A German translation appeared in 1629.5 The theme of wonder at the almost supernatural works of machines appears in Quaestiones mechanicae and Mechanicorum liber too. The opening of Quaestiones mechanicae expresses wonder that “the less masters the greater, and things possessing little weight move heavy weights.” Dal Monte claimed that the tools helping smiths, architects, carriers, farmers, and sailors in opposition to the laws of nature...

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