Cosmos de Giovanni Pontano

7/30/2019 Cosmos de Giovanni Pontano

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TheAstrologicalosmosndRhetoricalulturefGiovanni ioviano ontano*byCHARLES TRINKAUSRnaissanceumanism,t is generallygreed,mergednthefourteenthenturys anintellectual ovement evoted othestudy nd mitationfancient oetry ndrhetoric.t was alsodedi-cated ousing iteratureopromulgatethical aluesderived romvarietyfclassical chools andblendedwithChristianeachingsnmoreor less convincingways. Scholastic hilosophyn its three

branches fmetaphysics, atural hilosophy nd logicwas eitheravoidedbyand argebyhumanistsr wassubjectedo anassortmentofcriticisms-especiallyialecticnd physics. etrarch nd Salutatiare salient xamples.Therecanthusbe little round odayfor on-fusing umanismndscholasticism,tendency aulOskar Kristel-lerhasso valiantlyndpersistentlyombatted.As a direct onsequence ftheir onstantndeavors o compareand nterrelatencient nd ate-medievalhristianettersndmoral-ity, hehumanists eveloped consciousnessfhistoricalariationandchange nd a commitmento anhistoricalision f earning,ul-ture, nd truth. hiscommitmenttood ncontrasto themedievalimpulse obase earningndscience neternal,niversal,ndnaturalconceptionsfrealityndtoconstructhristian octrine nd theol-ogyso astoagreewith ystematizationsfknowledge lreadystab-lished yhuman eason.Grantedhat ertainrendsn ate-medievalscholasticism eremovingtowardgreatermpiricismndsepara-tion frevealed ndnaturalearning,t sobvious,nevertheless,hathumanisticulturewas rhetoricalndhistorical hereas cholasticculture asmetaphysicalnddialectical.Inevitably heconcerns f thescholastics, articularlyheologyandnatural hilosophyas well as themoreusualdialectic),ame tointeresthehumanists.nturn, hehumanists'oncern or extualu-thenticitynd effectivexpressionwas gradually nnexedby themore raditionalniversityisciplines.With strikinguickness,hehumanists ought to transformheological tudy and writing o

*Thispaper was originallydelivered as theJosephineWatersBennettLecture t theannualmeetingof The RenaissanceSocietyofAmerica,March 20, i984, inChicago.[ 446 ]

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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 447somethingmoreresponsive o the ensibilityf ordinary hristiansand theyproceeded o utilize hemethods nd tools of their wnstudies or hispurpose-a processwhichbeganwithPetrarch ndculminated ithLorenzoValla's Collatio ovi estamentind the ex-tual nd exegeticalchievementsfErasmus.Just s urgentwas theconcern f thehumanists or hephysicalcosmos.Wishing o bridge he raditionaleparation f therealm fthehumanities rom he study nd understandingf the corporealand cosmic nvironmentf human ction ndculture, nd, ikethescholasticsince heCondemnation f 277, sensitiveo thedangerofa blatant ontradictionetween heChristianeligious ision ndtheAristoteliannd Ptolemaicystems fcomprehendingature, u-manists lsobeganto involve hemselvesn these uestions egard-ing physical ature.1nitially, he nvolvement as negative, s inthe aseofPetrarch'sffortso free he tudia umanitatisnd religiousexperiencerom henaturalisticimits hat e charged ad originatedwithAverroes. ater t was morecareful ndsystematic,s in thecase ofSalutati's efatoetfortunand De nobilitateegumtmedicinae.The medicalprofession, ith ts strong ommitmento astrology,was amajor argetfboth.Althoughhe oncreteesults ftheir o-lemics imply stablishedhe egitimacyf thehumanities,believethat he ntellectualubversivenessftheir ritique f cholastic atu-ralphilosophy asnotyetbeen ufficientlyppreciated.2NeitherPetrarch or Salutatirejected hegeocentric lementalcosmos fAristotlendPtolemy, ut heywished o circumscribetsrole s a limitation ra determinantnregard o providentialctionand the freedom fthehumanwill. OtherhumanistsndRenais-sance thinkersound t easier to embrace heastrologicalworld-view, namelyMatteo Palmierin hisCittadi vita,GeorgeofTrebi-zond, GiovanniCaldiera and mostemphaticallyMarsilioFicino,whosecomplex ositionnDe vita oelitusomparandaillnotbe dis-

'For the influenceof the Condemnations on late medieval physicssee EdwardGrant,"The Condemnations of I277, God's Absolute Power, and PhysicalThoughtintheLateMiddle Ages," Viator,0 (I979), 2I I-44; JohnF. Wippel, "The Condemna-tionsof I270 and I277 at Paris,"Journal fMedievaland Renaissance tudies, (I977),I69-20 I.2For Petrarch's,Salutati's and Lorenzo Valla's critiquesof natural philosophyseemy"Humanism and Science:HumanistCritiquesof Natural Philosophy, inmy TheScopeofRenaissance umanism Ann Arbor, Michigan, i983), pp. I40-68.



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448 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYcussedhere.3 n theother ide,therewereextensive ritiques fas-trology uch s Salutati's nd that f Giovanni ico dellaMirandola,which sbetter nown.The work ofFrances ates andmoreespe-cially hat f herWarburg olleague,D. P. Walker, ave aroused n-tense nterestnFicino nd Pico. EugenioGarin's o zodiaco ella ita,now translatednto English, hould arouseeven more.4 f Garin sright,nd ifShakespeares read atallperceptively,hen t mustbeadmittedhat heRenaissancewas an age n which nterestn thepos-sible nfluencef thecosmos on human ife nd thehistory f man-kindwasevengreaterhan urcontemporaryascination ith paceand tspossible owers nd nhabitants.Giovanni ioviano ontanoI429-I503) wasborn nUmbriafouryearsbefore icino nd died nNaplesfouryears fter icino's

3Matteo Palmieri,Libro del poemachiamatoittd i vita,ed. MargaretRooke, SmithCollegeStudiesn Modern anguage,VIII (I926/27), IX (I927/ 28), Northampton,Mas-sachusetts.ForGeorge of Trebizond's astrologicalworks,seeJohn Monfasani,Georgeof Trebizond,A Biographynd A Study fHis Rhetoricnd Logic Leiden, I976), Index,pp. 4I0-II forscatteredreferences.Monfasani does not include a bibliographyofGeorge's works,buthas edited severalofthem nhis CollectaneaTrapezuntiana, exts,Documents,ndBibliographiesfGeorge fTrebizond, he RenaissanceSocietyof Amer-ica RenaissanceText Series, 8 (Binghamton, i984). Giovanni Caldiera, Libercanonumastrologiaec totius rbisdescriptiod Alphonsum . . RegemAragonum,Venice, Bibl.Marciana, cod Lat. VIII, 72 (3273). Listedbut not discussedbyMargaretL. King, Ve-netian deology nd theReconstructionfKnowledge unpublishedPh.D. diss., StanfordUniversity, 972), p. 642. Marsilio Ficino, De vitacoelitusomparanda,n Opera omnia(anastaticreprint fBasel, I 5 2 edition,Turin, I 98 3), I, 530-72. A fundamentalworkon humanismand astrology s Benedetto Soldati, La poesiaastrologicael Quattrocento(Florence, 906). More recent nterpretationsfPontano's astrology n relation o hishumanistic hought, ach with differingmphases thanmineand bothvery lluminat-ing, are: Giuseppe Toffanin,GiovanniPontano:fra 'uomo e la naturaBologna, I938);FrancescoTateo, Astrologia moralitdn GiovanniPontano Bari, i960).4Salutati's ritiqueof astrology s in hisDefato, fortunatcasu,Lib. III, Defortuna,cap. i, "Et primo qualitercapiunteam astrologiet ipsorumvanitasquanta sit," Flor-ence,Bibl. Laur., cod. Strozzi 74, fols.3 I4-384; cod. Conv. Soppr. 452, fols.46r-5 rGiovanniPico dellaMirandola, Disputationesdversusstrologiamivinatricem,d. Euge-nioGarin, OperediG. PicodellaMirandola, ols. II and III (Florence, 946, I952). Ficinoalso wrote but did not publish a Disputatiocontra udiciumstrologorum,onstructedpartly rom ectionsofhis Theologiaplatonicand otherwritings ndpartly romnewlywritten ections.Published in P. 0. Kristeller, upplementumicinianum,I (Florence,I93 7), pp. I I-76. Cf. Frances Yates, GiordanoBruno nd theHermetic raditionChi-cago, i964), chaps. i-5; D. P. Walker, Spiritual ndDemonicMagicfrom icinotoCam-panella (London, i958), chaps. I-3; Eugenio Garin, Lo zodiaco della vita Rome andBari, I976); Garin,Astrologyn theRenaissance, heZodiacofLife,trans.byC. JacksonandJ. Allen, revisedby C. Robertson (London, i983), but noteMichaelJ. B. Allen'scritical eviewof this translationnRenaissance uarterly,6 (i983), 577-80.



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 449death.5 nAristotelian/Ciceronianoral hilosopher,philologicaltheorist,highlysteemed eolatin cholar s well s author fLatinand talian oems,a valued nd nfluentialecretarynd ambassadorof theAragonese ulers f Naples,Pontanowas also an astrologer.Of thefour rofessionalealms hat ealtwith he ivesofhumansntheRenaissance-naturalhilosophynd medicine,aw andpolitics,learningnd culture, nd religiousworship nd salvation-Pontanowas an adept n all but the ast. But it is importanto notethat l-though ewasneither medicaldoctornora lawyer, s a humanisthe did playa majorrole ntheroyal dministration.oreover,weshall eethat ebrought is humanistic hetoricalultureo bearonthe ask fexplainingstrology.The present aperwillconcentraten Pontano'smajor strologi-calwork,hisDe rebus oelestibus.his work,first raftedn 475-76,wascompletelyevised fter495 inthefinal ears fhis ife,6 henhe composedextensive ntroductionsorthe variousbooks. Eachbookwas dedicated oa friend,nmost ases well-knownontem-porarycholar r writer. heseproems re ntended o explain ndjustifystrology, ot to set forthhedetails f ts teachings. shallfocus nselectedspects fthese xplanatorytatements,atherhanattempt o set forth he fairlywell-known cientificr pseudo-scientificontent f thework.My treatmenthouldnot be consid-ered s belonging o thehistory f science.As I shall howfrom isdialogueAegidius, ontanowas concerned o reconcile strologywiththe Christian eligion; e did not believethat strologyeri-ously imited reewill.7 But since Pontano had alreadywrittenquiteorthodox oem,De mundireatione,dAntoniumanhormitam,before eccadellidied n I47I,8 Benedetto oldati'shypothesishathisfirstraftf De rebus asAverroisticnRenan's ense eemsun-likely. he earliermanuscriptsre ost, ndSoldati,writingn 906,

5See thecareful hort profileby Liliana Monti Sabia in Poeti atinidel Quattrocento,eds. FrancescoArnaldi,Lucia Gualdo Rosa and Liliana Monti Sabia (Milan and Na-ples, i964), pp. 307-I4.6I have used the first dition,publishedat Naples, I5I2, by SigismundMayr. Forthe datingssee Mauro de Nichilo, Ipoemi astrologicii GiovanniPontano Bari, I975),pp. I 8-22, revising oldati, La poesiaastrologica,. 23 8.7See Giovanni Pontano, Idialoghi,ed. Carmelo Previtera Florence, 943), pp. 24I-84.8In oannis ovianiPontani armina, d. BenedettoSoldati, (Florence, 902), II, 227-3'.



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450 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYsimplys speculating.9 e shallthus ssumethatwhateveronsist-encymaybe found etween ontano's strology nd his humanismnecessarily ustbe based upon theworks fhis ateryears nd mustcorrespondo hisviewsat that ime.ForPontano, strology as the tudy fthe nfluencesfthe upe-riorheavenlymatters pon the nferiorarthly nes. As we shall eemorefully, nowledge f these henomena ests n consuetudoon-firmed y observatio.hereknowledgewas based on observation,measurementnd numerical alculation,ntheparthe called stron-omy, t could be construeds a science.However,the arger art fastrology,ollowing oth he ecentndthe ncientradition,endedto be conjectural.0Pontano laims o be following tolemy'sTetra-biblosrTractatusuadripartitusnd alsoJulius irmicusMaternus,heRomanastrological oet.The latterwas no doubtadmired ecausePontanowas himself he uthor fa longastrological oem,Urania,which he first omposed n the 470s, but laterrevised nd aug-mentednthe urviving ersions.11 lthough ontano'soutlook sfundamentallyristotelianndphysical ather hanPtolemaic ndmathematical,incehe cannot et strologicaletails romAristotle,hemust urn oPtolemy ndtomedical ources uch s Galenforhissectionsn the tiology nd avoidance f disease.2Inmyjudgment,hemostnotable spect fPontano's strologicaltreatises hisconstant se of analogies rawnfrom is or "our" ter-restrialxperience. onsequently,f vision f the osmosemergesfrom iswritings,t s a highly nthropomorphicne. For nstance,beginningn hisproemtoBook I with declaration romAristotleregardinghe uperioritynd originatingowerofthe ternal, eav-enlybeings nregard o the nferioremporal arthly nes,he sug-gests, peakingoosely,two analogies hat re fundamentalo histhinking. irst,he likensthe relation f the superior eterminingrealm o the nferioreterminedne to "thatbetweenmales nd fe-males n thevery ct of the generationf mankind."Certainlyhedistinctionetween heperfectnd the mperfectsevident ere, or

9Soldati,La poesiaastrologicalp. 249-52.'0De reb. oel.,Lib. II, sig. D7v."De reb. oel.,Lib. I, sig. D6. Urania n Soldati, ed., Carmina, , 3-177.'2For the differencesn thehistory f astronomy nd astrologybetween thePtole-maic and theAristotelian pproaches, see PierreDuhem, To Save thePhenomena:AnEssay on the dea of PhysicalTheory romPlato to Galileo, trans. E. Doland and C.Maschler Chicago, I969).



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 451naturemustreconcilemale and female fgenerations to takeplace.The male s recognizedn the ct of generationo be moreexcellentand of greater uthority,ecausehe is theone who moves, so thatreason s presentnhim, and by his motion nd by reasonform sconferredn thefoetus einggenerated. incethefemale assivelycontributesnlythesupplyof generativematter, ll authorityndform esidenthemale. Aristotle'smetaphysicsf theunity fformandmatter asbeencombined erewith his heory f exualgenera-tion. The results a renewal f the Hesiodic visionof UranosandGaiageneratingife nd theworld. 3

The other nalogy hat ontano ntroducess also of Hellenic ri-gin. Reasonandform n themind f the hipwright ho is buildingships r n themind fthepotterwho s modellingnamphora om-binewithmatteror heproductionfthefinishedbject.Aristotle'shylomorphism,s iswellknown,rests n this ort fanalogy.Whatis significants Pontano's xtension f the nalogy. Therefore," esays, "what is present n the artist n creatingstatues, . . . and inmalesgeneratingffspring, ill thisnot be present lso in theheav-ensfromwhichmostcertainlyheorigin fthegenerationfthingsisdrawn orth?f ndeed heheavensmove through hemselves,heymove all otherthings.For from hem will flow thateverlastingpower of acting nd procreating; rom hemthe heat tself hat sseated n animals nd in theseeds,from hisheat thefecundityfthingsnd thatwhichmaypleasinglyecalledprolificationprolifica-tio] s derived; nd from heheavens ome the rousal fthe piritsandthe ause nd origin fevery motion fanimals.14

13De reb.coel., Lib. I, sig. A2: "hac in parteuti liceat, quantum mares inter st acfoeminas n ipso hominumgenere,quos natura psa sexu quoque suo discreverit....Rursuseos ita simul in generatione d procreandumconciliat,ut ex illorumconcilia-tioneet copula generatiopassimsubstituatur.Qua in conciliatione t coitumas eo ap-paret gnosciturquepraestantior uctoritatisquemagis perspectae,quod ei utmoventiratio nest et cum rationesimul forma. Secus autem usuvenit n foemina,cui materieunius inditaest tantumsuppeditatio. Siquidem motus ipsius principium,omnisqueauctoritaspenes marem existit,cui ut auctori (quod dictum est) ratioinest ac forma,cuius psemoveaturgratia." Cf. AristotleDegen. animal., , 2(76 a); I, 21, 1-20 (729b).14De reb.coel.,Lib. I, sig. A2r-v:"Quod igitur nestartificin effigiandistatuis, nconsuendisvestibus, ngenerandaprolemaribus,an non inerit t coelo, a quo (utcer-tum est) generationis erumducanturprimordia? iquidem coelum perse ipsummov-etur,coeteraque movet omnia. Inde nanque defluit empiterna lla quidem agendi acprocreandifacultas; inde calor ipse animalibus insitus ac seminibus, a quo rerumfoecunditaset ea quam prolificationem ppellare placet proveniunt; nde suscitatiospirituum mnisque animalis commotionisexistit ausa atque origo."



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452 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYIt s no accident hat n introducinghese wometaphors, hichwerewidely mployednclassical houghts a basisfor osmologyand metaphysics,ontanowasspeaking s a poet.This becomes b-viousfrom is ubsequentomparisons. he use ofanalogical hink-ing,which s arguablyust as endemic o therhetoricalulture ftheRenaissances ithad beenamong the ncients, uggests ow astrol-ogy (that s, thenotionofcelestial omination ver theterrestrial)could be integrated itheveryday xperiencen this culture ndmadeto seemnaturalnd convincing.Pontano's nalogy f sexualitynd reproductionuggests lsothe

closeconnectionfastrology ithmedicinen theRenaissance. hisconnectioneadshimto a furtheriological nalogy, ne thats cen-tral ohisconceptionftheheavens.The commandingndfosteringroleoftheheart ndtheflowof thebloodin thehuman ndanimalorganisms used to illuminateherole of the un nrelation o themoonandtheother odies ntheheavens, nd throughhem otheearth nd tscreatures. s he concludes: Thus the un tselfs as itwerethe nciternd sourceofheat o as to be the uthor nd estab-lisher flife tself."15pplying nce again the metaphor f sexualgeneration,ontano eesthe ction f the unonearth s likethat fthegenerative owerofmale semenon female loodin thewomb.Indeed,hethinks ehasput t mosteffectively:if should aythatthis arth itting n the waters s thewomb of the entireworld nwhich,ustas intheuterus fawoman,thedischargesfgenerationfittinglyometogether.16Pontanowassurelywareofthe lassicalprovenance fthismyth egarding he exual generationf earthlyexistence, orhe doesnot fail o attributehetraditionalowersofGreek ndRomandeities o theplanets amed fter hem.This dual notion f form ndmatternd of action ndpassivity,whichPontanoknewbothfromAristotlend also from lato'sTi-maeus,tands pposedto theChristian octrinef creationxnihilo,a doctrine hichmedieval nd Renaissance hinkersouldhardlyg-nore. nrelatinghe reationf the arth nd ofman n hisastrologi-cal poem, Urania, ontanofollowsthe orderofGenesis , and he

15Dereb.coel.,Lib. I, sig. A2v: "Sic sol ipse quidam quasi fomesac fonsest caloris,utvitaequidem ipsiet auctoretconstitutor."'6Dereb. oel., ib. I, sigs. A2v-3: "Ut mihiquidem iuremaximo dixisse videar,sidixeroterramhanc aquis obsitammundi totiusuterum sse, inquam veluti nmulierisuterum xcrementagenerationi ccommodata conveniant....



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 453even aysofJupiterfter he reationf vegetation:IpseDeus laetospectatuamunera ultu" "God Himselfookedupon hisgiftswithjoyful ace").ButPontano bandons heBiblical equence ncemanhasbeen reated ubsequento the ther orms f ife. nstead, efol-lows in Urania he classicalhumanistmyth, ound n Plato's Prota-goras nd Cicero'sDe inventione,f thefounding f the rts, ndtherisefrom hem f cities ndpoliticalnstitutions.e endshis earlierHymn:De mundireatione:Quodque decet ona cuncta eoiustum-que piumque/Ascribis, ostrae edmala nequitiae." "It is properthatyou ascribe llgoods, ustice ndpiety o God, but evilstoourown wickedness.1)17Later, ndealingwiththe composition fthebody nBook IX ofDe rebusereports owtheorgans f sense, o-ordinatednd affectedy the tars, eadon to reason, andoncerea-sonhasenteredhe oul, t so ennoblest that hererenow,as thereonce were, hosewho dare osaythatman s a creationfGod. Andwe who areChristianserseverenthinkinghat hiswastheway tactually appened. 18There s a certain mbiguityn thesewritings,orPontano eemstoargue hat hroughhe enses he un ndtheplanetsffectven hemindand thought fman,while elsewheren thistreatisend inotherwritings,19esaysthat strology ealsonlywith he orporealandthat hemind ndsoulare ndependentf tellarnfluences.erehe says:"In thiswaythesun,that s, theheatflowing rom t,be-comesa certainncitementf the enses f the oul and ofthemindbothfor hinkingnd for ontemplating.husallthese itillationsfthe enses nd the pirits riginate romheat, nd they resubordi-nate othe oul and tpenthepath o t and tothose hingsalled hepropertiesfthe ntellect. encethe enses rejustlyalled y Cicerothe atellitesfthe oul. 20

17Urania, I, I063 (Soldati, armina, , 33); De mundi reatione,I I-I2 (Soldati, ar-mina, I,23 I)."8De reb. oel.,Lib. IX, sig. Ps: . . quam ingressaratio nimam psamsicnobilitatuthominem tandemdei ipsiusopificium intqui dicereausi etolimfuerint, tnuncquiChristiani umus, hoc ipsum ita vere factum sse pertendamus.""TDereb. oel.,Lib. XII, sig.V6, e.g. and nAegidius, ee below pp.464ff.21'De eb. oel.,Lib. IV, sig. G6v:". . . utSol, id estcalorab eo defluens it quoddamquasi sensuum animae mentisque concitabulumetiam ad cogitandumatque ad con-templandum.Siquidem titillationesllae sensuum ac spirituum caloreproficiscunturomnes,eaeque animae subserviunt, iamque illi aperiunt d ea quae intellectus ropriaessedicuntur, ndenon immerito Cicerone animi psi satellites ocantur."



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454 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYAnothermajor analogy s employedby Pontano n this onnec-tion.The sun s the ommander fan army fheavenly odies, ndthehuman enses, longwith heveins nd nerves, re theirweap-ons. The whole lengthy assage s a dithyrambo the sun, whosegoldencolor s the ameas ripenedwheat nd as themostbeautifuland desiredmetal.Thesun, ike nemperor, ommands ll theotherbodieswhich nter nto hegenerative rocess: Indeedwhatusuallyhappens n generationeems the same to me as whathappens n awell-constitutedepublic."The one magistratendmoderator oessome things artly y himself, artlyhe indicates o otherswhat

actions re to be undertaken,nd hepermits hese ctions o be exe-cutedby the others.WhilePontano sketches ut the metaphornlengthy etail,he also seemstomean t iterally. orthis tarvindi-cates o tself heprefecturesfprovinces nd themagistraciesf cit-ies, ncluding oththe mperial ndthe acerdotal ind fhonor nddomination. hus all external oods come from he sun. But alsorightly,ince one's understandings kindled rom eat, hepowerofunderstandingnd what was called ntelligenceintelligentia)ythe ancients. he goods of the soul should also be ascribed o thepower nd bounty f the un.21Pontano's strological ystem s farmorecomplex han hispas-sage would suggest. t also takes nto considerationhesupposedqualitiesfthemoon andtheplanets, aryingntheir eat ndfrigid-ity, heir umiditynd dryness. e insists, owever, hat heplanetsmoveontheirwn willandpower,notby the un'sheat rmagnet-ism. "Indeed, thetortoises removed by their wn will by usingtheir our egs,theserpents y coiling, hefishby swimming ndsliding,hebirds y flying,ndmenby alternatelyxtendingfoot.The cattle o so by their our eet, nd where hey o they eturny

21De reb. oel.,Lib. IV, sig. G7r-v:"Ac mihi quidem videri llud idem ingenerationesolet quod in bene constituta epublica, ut magistratus nus temperatorque ei totiusquaedem partim gat ipse per se, partimfaciunda nnuataliisque peragendapermittat,quaedam et gerat pse et aliorum simul in gerendare utaturopera; alia vero nunc de-cernat b his aut illis administranda,nunc mperetquibus sit obtemperandum, c nuncpraescribat,nunc geri ex officio uiusque rem atque ex usu annuat; pse tandem unusille ac solus sit ad quem omnia referantur t cuius nutu administrenturuncta. ...Cumque idem ipse sit fons caloris, ac de calore ingenium foveatur, ureetiam intelli-gendi vis, quaeque intelligentia priscisdictaest,animique ipsius bona Solis potestatibeneficioque scribenda sunt...."



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 455their wn choice and standon their eet. . . Why shouldnot thestars,which or his eason recalledwandering,dvance, ecede ndmaintain heir lacesbytheir atural nd nnatemotion nd notanyforce upplied y the un,or byany xternal owerdriving hem?"22This self-movementf theplanets y their wn vis nsita as con-ceived yPontano s somethingloseto human olition, atherhanas the nertialmovement hatNewton denoted y the ameterm, isinsita.Accordingly, e sees an affinityetween ertain lanets ndcertainodiacal igns hat s analogous o similar ffinitiesxistingnhuman ociety. Therefore,his quidistancefparts, ndboththesameremotenessnd the amenearness rom he quinoctial oints,fromwhich he ikeness f ascents nd descents erives, nduces nagreementmongthem nd as I would say) a certain onsensusndfamiliar ffection,nd (as theGreeks all it) a sympathia.his alsohappensn civil ife. "23 There sthen orPontano civil ocietyinthe ky.By maintaininghisnotion f stellar reedom,ontano ejectshebelief hatthereweretransparentrystallinerbs thatmoved theplanets bout.Theseorbs move in epicycles ndeccentrics,s Pto-lemy onceivedt.But the nvention f these aths, aysPontano, ssimply brilliantid to understanding,nd these ines and circles(like he rbs)do not ctuallyxistntheheavens.Thus themeasure-ment fanymovement s saved ntellectually.Accordinglyhereare clocks and smallastrologicalmachines nd tables hatmaybejudged to be divinerather hanhuman contraptions. ut thatweshould hink he tars hemselvesre pushed n circles ndwheeledaboutas though n chariotss altogetherbsurd." ftheorbswerecompactedmatter,s the stars re,we shouldbe able to see them."Theyare nfact ot eenbecause hey renothingnd areconceived

22De reb. oel., Lib. III, sig. F6r "Atqui sponte sua moventurquadrupedandotes-tudines, rependo serpentes, natando ac lubricando pisces, aves volitando, pedes al-ternatim rotendendo homines, quadrupedatimpecudes, atque ubi progressaesuntsuopte arbitrio egrediuntur c pedern istunt.. .. cur non naturali nsitoque sibi motustellaequae ex hoc dictae sunt errantes, t procedantetretrocedant t stationesfaciantnulla a Sole vi illata?nullis externisviribus llascogentibus?"23De reb.coel., Lib. I, sig. C2: "Haec igiturpartium. equidistantiaeademque abaequinoctialibus punctis turnremotio turnpropinquitase quibus ascensionumac des-censionum similitudo manat convenientiam nter se quandam atque consensurnetfamiliaremut ita dixerim) affectionernngenerat tque (ut Graeci dicunt) Sympathian.Quod invita quoque civilicontingit...."



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456 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYonly nthought or he akeofteaching ndunderstanding."24gaina human nventions proposed s the ourceof a widespread stro-logical ndastronomicalmisconception.A central eaturefPontano's strologys hisconnectingelestialvariationwith the variations f humantemperaments,hysiques,psychologicalharacteristics,ndeven ones fvoice.25 ll these ar-iationsn humans ccur hrough hebalance fhumorswithwhichpersons endowed tbirth: hehumors hemselvesary nheat ndcoldness,humidity nd drynessn accordwiththepositions f theplanets nrelation o each other nd to the odiacalsigns.The signsthemselvesdd qualitiesderivedfrom heir oetical,metaphoricalnature: ibra, he scale, for nstance roviding alance.Pontano swonderfullymbiguousas to whether heirnamesderivedfromtheirnatures r their ttributes ere assigned ccording o theirnames.26egrettablyheres notime or etails ere. nmany magi-nativeways,he compares elestial nd humanvariety nd appeals oastralnfluencess anenvironmentalounter oheredity. e doessoinorder o account or heremarkable ays nwhich hildren ifferfrom heir arents.He givesas an example,his own literaryalentswhichweretotally acking n his parents nd grandparents.27or

24De eb. oel., ib. III, sig. F7: "Quemadmodum inhorologiisastrologicisque ma-chinulis c tabellisusuvenitutdivinahaec potiusquam humana sint nventa udicanda.Verum texistimemustellaspsas mpositasirculisctanquamurriculisuibusdamsuisvehi, mnino st bsurdissimum....Noncernunturutem uoniam e psanullisunt,edcogitationeantumoncipiunturocendi tque omprehendendiratia."25De eb. oel., ib. VIII, sig. P7: "Si vocis humanae, de qua orationostraprodit,varietaternonsiderabimus,quantaque hominiscuiusque in vocali sono differentian-sit,cum pervocem non minus quam per faciemalium ab alio internoscamus,mirariprofectodesinemus, tantametiam humorum misturis tque ex eo humanismoribusaffectionibusque iversitatemnesse, quae si moribusipsis inest,ut etiamhumoribusinsit,necesseest."26De eb. oel., ib. II, sigs. D6v - 7: "Quin etiam(quod Poetae faciunt, thomini-bus nominaaffixerintro illorumvirtutibus c vitiis) igna psa etstellas tiamsingulasdiversis ed suistamennominibusvocavere, atque illismaximenominibusquae quan-dampersimilitudinem utanimaliumautrerum, ignorum psorumproprietatesndi-carent,effectionesuandam per imaginemreferrent,t constituendishominum cor-poribus, et animorum applicationibus indicandis. Qua potissimum ratione et viaduodecim signorum zodiaci orbis coeterorum.que uae coelo reliquo distributa erun-tura primis llis observatoribus suo temporeprogressimquenotata suntnomina, accumipsis llis nominibusetiamsignificationes, otestates c decreta."27De eb. oel., ib. VI, sigs. M3v - 4: "Tanta itaque ac tamdiversa ngeniorumva-rietasminime a parentibusortumhabet, Quotus enimin tantamultitudine t civiumcopia invenitur ilius ui paternumparteab omni ingeniumreferat c mores?Quin in-



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 457Pontano, hecelestialworldwas,as it were, great ociety f nter-secting oices, greeingnddisagreeing ith achother nd arrivingat some momentaryquilibrium nlyto pass rapidlynto continu-ing danceof debate ndreconciliation. e compared t to theworldof humanculture,which also varied ccording o talents, eoples,geographic egions,ndhistory.28e draws marvellousmetaphor,comparing eavenly hings o thevariety roduced y thearts ndtrades, speciallyhose fpaintingnddyeing,n which uchrichlyvaried ffectsan be gainedfrom ifferent ixtures f thefewpri-mary olors: Such diligence an be seen n every rt."He especiallyseesthis o be the ase nhis ownart f poetry.And n his work s ahumanisticmoralist, e stresseshe variety f social behaviorpat-ternsnd motivationsxpressed hrough hevicesandso-called o-cialvirtues.29finitusene iliorumotius stnumerus ui diversas rtis, iversatudia, iversa tiama paternisnstitutaonsectentur,um saepenumeroota llis utdici olet)fronteintadversi; uae resexemplorumocupletioneminime ndiget."And forPontanohim-self: Nos quihaec cribimus ulla praeceptoreut d carmen omponendum,ut dphilosophiamndiscendam, ut ad coelisignificationesntelligendasnstitutiumus.Sola enimnaturansitaquenimi isac veterumcriptorumectio ssidua d haec psanos traxit, uorum t pater vuusque gnorantissimiuere,t mater atishabuitani-ficio c telae ntentasse. Ad coelum giturtellasque, uando b illis uidemmanant,iurehaecvidentureferenda"Lib. I, sig.E2v).28De eb. oel., ib. I, sig.C2r-v: "Quod in vita uoque civili ontingit,tannorumaequalitas etatisque c morum imilitudo enevolentiamt coniunctionemariat;pueri nimob aetatem ueris, enes enibus, ontinentesontinentibusonveniunt.Quod sianaturanest ominibus,nnoncoeli psius artibusnerit? quibusprofectoefficitur,t llishi, his lli, liis liitummagis, umminus atura b ipsa concilientur.Singulisnimhominibus aturalisuaedam ffectiotquepropensio,t uthodiedi-cunt) nclinationsita st.Quamobremnpronuntiandisententiistque potelesmati-bus oportetMathematicumartes asconsiderare,tquidex ipso partium onsensuatque equipollentiaieri ossit, nspicere.29De eb. oel., ib. VI, sig.Ms: "Vides gitur uid mistura aciat, uid felixnfe-lixve tellarumollocatio c positura? t ab illade qua diximus eneficientianimiquemagnitudineiatpermutatio d venenorumministeriamortesque retiosas.Haecautempsavarietas amdiversamorumngeniorumqueutcoelires d hominumrti-ficia uaestusque ransferamus)aximepparetnpictura,teaquaesuo nomine inc-tura icitur, iquidem x colorum psorum ermixtioneuncpluscula, uncminus-cula,nuncpusilla,nuncmediocrinfinitaenecolorumdiversitas ritur, uod inpannisum lana, um serico, tque ntabulis ictis ulgo um umma tiamdmira-tione ognoscitur.umtamen olorespsi qui simplices icuntur, equaquammultisint, uin potiuspauciadmodum, t quinque ut sic oquamur) igitis omprehensi.Itaque b ipsa commistione,roque ommistionisemperaturauncta aecprofiscun-tur, uod mathematicistnon secus ac medici, mni artediligentiaque erspicere.Cumetiamtie b ipsa pictura iscedamus)nmaximis uoque pictoribusideamus



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458 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYIn one lengthy ection f Book IX, Pontano ttemptso explainthevariabilityn thepositions fthe tars ndtheirnfluencesyre-ferringothewayinwhichwords changemeaning y our alteringthe pelling ndby our addingor subtractingrefixes ndsuffixes.He thenmoves on tocompare he motional eactionsroduced yrhetoric o those responses roduced n the humors nd tempera-ments f humanbeingsby the tars. Just s from he tructuref aspeechaidforthn a series y speakers heresproduced n the udi-tors nimpulse orhilarity,adness, everity,evity,mockery,ok-ing,tears,oy, vengeance, lemency, s well as for ther ffections,

so from he mixturesfstars nd signs ndfrom heir rradiationsanddiverse onfigurationshebodiesofmen rerenderedntovariedand differentppearances nd theirdispositions re manifestednsuchdiversityccordingo that ariety eflectedy thebodies hem-selves."930In aninterestingassagefoundntheunfinishedhirteenthook,he dwellson thechanging ffectsfnatural ubstances s they revariously sed,and he argues hat ut of the mixture f ways thathumans ctupon materials"third orce" rises, amely thatwhichisborn fter hemixturefthese hings nd whichn no way adheredpreviously n the matter. . ." So men use things n various ways,and new forces mergefromthe mixtures f stellar nfluences."From this o diverse nd multiple se of things,nd from heir ovariedmixturemong themselves, ur life tselfnd thesociety fmen sconstituted."n ikefashion, he rts, ivil ustoms, he ntireadministrationfpublicaffairsnd language tself realso derivedfrom hemixtures fthings.31alios excellere n effigiandisenum simulacris, lios in adolescentum,hos in variandispratis c silvis, llos in aviculisaut feris nimalibusexprimendis.Quod in Poetis etiamusuvenit,utquos natura psa forte xtulitHeroo incarmine,deprimatn ambico, quosin Elegiaco, eosdem Heroicis in numeris ordescereomninofaciat.Atque haec quidemneutique parentumseminio, cum maiores ipsorum neque pictores fuerint,nequepoetae, sed coelo ipsi stellisquetribuenda unt, earumquefermentationic misturis."31IDe eb. oel.,Lib. IX, sigs. P5v 6, cit. P6: "Atque ute dictionumstructurisuamin seriem redactarum, auditorum comparatur impulsio ad hilaritatem,tristitiam,severitatem,evitatem,risum, ocum, lacrimas, aetitiam,vindictam,clementiam t-que ad affectioneslias, sic ex stellarum c signorummisturis,rradiationibustemcon-figurationibusquediversisvarie differenterqueffigianturominum corpora prove-niuntque ngeniatamdiversapro ea varietate, uam corpora psa referunt."31Dereb. oel.,Lib. XIII, sig. Xi: "Tertiam voco vim illam scilicet, uae postrerumsimnulpsarumconflationem nascitur, uae neque priusomnino inerat n materia..



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 459Nothing ither rior rbetter han eason nd speech reconcededto us by nature or ur use; and these re gifts f God, Pontanode-clares.And he repeats hatby the mixingof letters, nd thenofwords, peechcan producemarvellous ffectsn others, nd it canalso indicatewhat s takingplace in the speakerhimself. ontanowishesby this ccount f theversatilityf mankindn thediscoveryandemploymentfmaterials,nthe nventionnd utilizationf an-guage, swellas nthe xperiencef iving ogethern an orderly utfree ociety, o claima familiar lexibilitynd set of powersfor heheavens. For f n the hingswhich reoftheheavens nd the tars

maybe permittedo use theexampleof our affairsnd to comparethemwith nferiorhings,specially hrough hismethodndbythisroad themixings ftheheavenly onfigurationsan be setforth orour nstructionndjudgment."32This conception fthe ocialrelations ftheheavensmaybe com-paredwith passagefrom heDe sermone, ritten loselyntime otheDe rebus oelestibusI499 withrevisionso 502), wherePontanosees peech sthe ement fhuman elations:Just s reason, erself,is theguideandmistress ordirectingvery ction, o speech s theadministratorfall thosethingswhich, onceivednthemind ndactivated y reasoning, re draggedforth nto the public world,since, s t ssaid,weareborn ociable nd must ivetogether.Wher-ever peechsgreaternd morefrequent,heresa richerupply f llthose hingsfwhich ifes nneed sinceneed sgiven oall men sacompanion t theirbirth).Through speech ife s made farmoreadaptable s well as morecapableofacquiring irtues nd attaininghappiness." ontanothus sserts rhetoricalonception fhumanculture hichwasbothfounded nthe anguage rts ndarticulatedbythevarietyfspeaking tyles.Menmanifestedhevarietyftheircharactersrmoralhabitsntheverbal trategiesmployedn socialintercourse,nd thesehe analyzedntheDe sermonend nhistrea-tises n the ocialvirtues. hese habitual hetoricalnd charactero-logicalmodesofbehavior ended o be oftwo sorts: ne whereino-Ex hoc itaque usU rerumtam diversoac multiplici t ear-umnter e commistionetamvaria vita psa nostrahominumque societasconstat. .."32Dereb. oel.,Lib. XIII, sig. XIV: "Quod si in uis uae coeli etstellarum unt,rerumnostrarum xemplis uti eaque componere cum inferioribus is licuerit,hoc maximemodo hacque etiamvia coelestiumse se configurationum ommistioneshabent et adinformandumt ad decernendum."



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460 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYcial ifewas furtheredy prudential odesofwisdom ndthevirtuesof humor ndpleasantness,nd anotherwherein hedisruptivendself-enhancingicesbrought bout sufferingnd conflict.t s note-worthy hathe regards heserhetoricalmodes as employed n thedaily ntercoursef menwitheach other n domestic ndsocial ifeandnotas something mployedntheformal olitical ndepideicticoccasions ftheorator.33Thequestion hus riseswhether hehumanisticision fmanuti-lizingnature ndforging is own civilization, vision hat ontanocertainlyvows, clasheswith hecelestial eterminismfhis astrol-ogy.Therecanbeno doubtthat e firmly elievednotonly hat hestars xert physicalnfluencen manby fixing t hisbirthhe om-binationfhumorsn histemperamentingenium)ut lsothatman'sphysical nd emotionalcompositionwould in turn nfluence ismoral ndmental ctivity. ut how could Pontanobe sureof this?He goes nto he uestion fthevalidityfastrologicalnowledgentwoplaces,namely,ntheproem oBook II, which s addressed oJacopo annazzaro,nd n BookXII, which ontains direct eply oand seeming efutationfGiovanniPico dellaMirandola.Althoughthese iscussionsreofgreat mportanceor omprehendinghe he-oretical asisofPontano's strology, nly partial xpositionspos-siblehere.Consuetudond observatio,s I have alreadymentioned,re thebasesof celestial nowledge, rrivedt ages ago, many imes orgot-ten, hen ediscoveredndalwaysthe ame.ForPontano, hemostimportantctivitynthe riseof astrologywas givingnames to thevariousplanets, tars, ndconstellations.Is not the ameprocess,"

33G.G. Pontano, e sermoneibriex, d. S. Lupi andA. Riscato Lugano, 954), I,i, p. 3: "Ut autemratio psa duxest ac magistra d actiones uasque dirigendas,icoratio llorumministrastomnium uae mente oncepta atiocinandoquegitata e-promunturn medium, um sociabiles, tdictumst,nati imus itquevivendumnmultitudine;uae quomaior st c frequentior,o in llahuberiorst opiaeorum m-nium uibusvita ndigeat, uandonascentibusominibusnopiadata st omes; uaerevita psa onge ptior edditurtquehabilior um d assequendasirtutesum d feli-citatem omparandam." ontano onsiders he rhetoricf these ocialvirtuesndvices hroughouthefour ooksofDe sermone.ora discussionf someofthem, eemy "Themesfor Renaissance nthropology", he Scope fRenaissanceumanism,pp.365-68.Pontano's reatisesn socialvirtues avebeen dited yFrancesco ateo:Giovanni ontano,trattatielle irtu'ocialiRome,1965) and oannisoviani ontani emaqnanimitateFlorence,969). See also Tateo's Umanesimotico iGiovanni ontano(Lecce, 972). Moreamplediscussion fPontano's hetoricalulturemust e reservedfor nother ccasion.



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 461he asks,"usedbymen n mposing istinguishing arks nd callingindividual hings y their wn names?The human ommunity sesthese signs] nd without hemhuman ociety ould nnowayexist.... Thuspraises hould lsobe bestowed nthe nventorsfastrol-ogy, f heymade use ofthe ame practicewhenthey ave meaningtothemosthidden ignificationsfthesigns ndstars ythemostfittingamespossible."He points ut:"Indeed,by these onferringsofnames hepoetsbestowedmuchbeauty n thesendicatorsf thedegrees nd powers."34 here s, ofcourse, deep ambiguity ur-rounding hese emarks. id themeanings nd effectsttributedotheplanetsndsigns eflecthenamesbestowed pon them, r werethenames imply itted o an assumed eality?ince modern cien-tific ationalist ouldsaythat hepowerswerenotrealbut nventedandthen ttributed, hatseemsof mportance ere s thatPontanoand his predecessors ave fabricated poetic reduplication f theearthly orld ntheheavenly ne. Pontano'srhetoricalulture asbeenprojectednto he elestialworld, nd,ashebelieved, he eles-tialworld s mirrorednthehuman.We cango back asfar sHesiodandobserve hesameprocedures. ontano's ourceswere certainlythe ncient oets ndPtolemy.Although e wasAristotelian,asic-allyhefollowedAristotle nlyfor heunderlying etaphysicsndphysics n whichhe restshissystem. n fact, hepoetic lement fthisengthy ork s muchmoreprominenthan hephysical nd thealmostnonexistent athematicalspects f astrology.35 oreover,hisown highly eveloped ensitivityo the potency f wordsandmetaphornhuman hinkingnd acting, n whichhe claimshumansocietysbased, eemsmoreprominenthan he ttentionepaystothephysical nd the mathematical. is astrological oem, Urania,carries vertoandparallels isDe rebusoelestibus.

34De reb. oel., Lib. II, sig. D7: "An non idem quoque ab hominibus psis servatumest imponendis notis, appellandisque suo nomine rebus singulis? quibus hominumcoetus uteretur, c sine quibus constarehumana societas nulla ratione posset. . . . utlaudi quoque dandum sit astrologiae inventoribus, i hoc idem servarunt,dum oc-cultissimas ignorumac stellarum ignificationes ocibus insignivere erquamaccom-modatis...." And slightly arliern D7: "Quibus quidemnominumnditionibus,decretorumcpotestatumotis rnamentilurimumttulere oetae . "35In isfewpages n Pontano, uhem,pp. 54-56 nd8o, stressesthenumericallyexactdeterminationf the elestialmovements"p. 56) as Pontano's iewofthe ruegoal of astronomy. My own reading suggests that this is hardly true at all. LynnThorndike, A History f Magic andExperimental cience, V (New York, I934), 405,407, and 540 givesthreevery ncidentalreferences nd does not discussthiswork.



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462 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYPontanopresents careful escriptionfthe nductiveroceduresthat hemindfollows o arrive t science; hese roceduresre thoseofastronomy. e then ffersdefensef using nalogical easoningleading o conjecture, hich,he grants, lays largepart nastrol-ogy,certainlyn hisown. "Sincethemind tself eliesmuchonanal-ogies, . . andthese ikenessesre not onlyofqualities utalso ofmotions nd times, . . themindcompares hese ikenesseswitheachother tthe ame time.And from his omparison, henfromall directionstagrees n one,a general pprobationnd consensussbornwhichhas in itself marvellous owerbothfor onjecturing

anddiscovering. hereforehemind,following n thisgeneral p-proval ndmutual onsensus fthe imilitudesmongthemselves,representso the oul the omparisonsy which t showsthewaytoit,and,as though road, eadsnow to those hingswhichbelong oreasontself, ow to thosewhichbelong oconjecture.heseconjec-tures, lthoughhey renotentirelyertainndnecessary,everthe-less frequentlyurn ut [tobe true], nd thus hey re customarilyheld to be [true]."This statements interestingecausehe has ex-pounded heprobabilisticeasoning y analogy ssigned orhetoricbybothAristotlendCicero,and he losesno time n assigningttoastrology s well: "Therefore ll knowledgeof thethings f theheavens ndofthe tarss establishedartly yreason ndpartly yconjecture.What sestablishedyreasons called stronomy,ince tcarries ith tknowledge nd certaintyfmotions, imes nd num-bers."Astrology,n the ther and, spartly ational,nsofars it sbasedonnature, ut t s alsopartly onjectural hen tmakespre-dictionsoncerningventswhichnvolve hepossibilityfmencon-sentingr not consenting.36

36De reb. oel.,Lib. II, sig. D7v: "Cum autem mens psa plurimumnitatur imilibus,atque illis maxime quae aut sunt aut certevidentur adem, ipsaeque similitudines onqualitatum modo sint, verum etiam motuum ac temporum, his tanquam mediisquibusdam usa, similitudines as simulcomparat, quarum e comparationeubi omni eparteuna convenerint, nascitur omprobatio atque consensio lla, quae mirificam nsevim habet ed ad coniiciendum et ad decernendum. Mens igitur omprobationemhancsimilitudinumque nter e consensionemsecuta, ea repraesentat nimo per quae viamilli monstrat, t tanquam iter nsternit unc ad ea quae rationis psius sunt,nunc ad illaquae coniecturae, quae si non omnino certa ac necessaria sunt, plerumque tamenevenire, atque ita sese habere sunt solita. Omnis igitur rerum coeli, stellarumquecognitio partimratione onstat,partimconiectura:ratione uidem constat a quae As-tronomia dicitur, iquidem cognitionemac certitudinem ecum habetmotuum,tem-porum,numerorum. lla vero quae vocata est Astrologia partee quadam rationalis st,



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 463Pontano's eply o Pico's lengthyndcomplex ritique f astrol-ogy thus nvolves, irst f all,his defendingheneedfordisciplinesenablingman to grasp the operationalregularitiesn the ever-

changinglux fphenomena. ehind hange ndappearancereGodandnature s their ispensers.Without isciplines,the works ndcarefornvestigatingntirelybandoned, nd the ntelligencefthesoul, which s thedivinepart f us, neglected, e would transformourselves into the life and customs of the beasts. . . ." Astrologythereforeught obepreservedmongthe rts nd sciences.37One ofPico'smajor rguments as that heheavens ctas a gen-eral ausebut lleffectsanbebetter xplained yproximate,nferiorcauses.Pontano an only gree hat redictionsreunreliable:Cer-tainly eitherheheavensnor the tars uilt he hipsby which ar-goesaretransported,orthebattleaxes ywhichviciousmenstrikedown citizens, or do they n any way tend o thewool andlinenfromwhich loths rewoven,nordo they stablishenalties rpun-ishmentsby which convicts and criminalsare punished. . . . Menthemselvesstablishnstitutionsor ivingmore securelyndmoreabundantly.nd do they ot lso buildhomes ndtowns ndfor hispurpose stablish hedecrees nd aws and ceremoniesnd magistra-cies norder o live moreequitablynd less subject o accidentndnecessity?"38et thepowers of the stars emain, venthough hequoniam a natura rebusque naturalibusminime recedit.Cum enim a Mathematicopronuntiatur aturnumaut Martem pestilentiam nducturum, n aliud pronuntiaturquam motu suo humorescorporum, continentemque era corrupturum;ndeque in-fecturumsanguinem, universamque concretionem, qua ex infectionenecessitatequadam naturaepestis sit oboritura. Parte etiam e quadam coniecturalis,ut cum aMathematicopraedicitur elluma Marteportendi.Nam sec semper nferiores ae, hocesthumanaecausae coelestibuscum causis usque consentiunt, uippe cumpotentioresnon nunquam hae quam illae sint,hominumque quorum in manu estbellummoverevoluntates c consiliahincatque illincvarient."On probabilistic rgument eeAristo-tle,RhetoricadAlexandrum,; Cicero, De inventione,, xxix, 44-I, xxx, 50.37De reb.coel.,Lib. XII, sig. Vs: "Quo fietut relictapenitus nvestigandi pera etcura,neglectaque animae intelligentia, uae divina in nobis pars est, ad ferarumnosvitam moresque transferamus, urandis solum corporibus dediti, quae vel pessimequidem curabuntur, el curarinullo modo rectepoterunt,ubi rationalis lladivinaqueparsanimaeneglectadeseretur acebitque nculta."38De reb.coel.,Lib. XII, sig. V6r-v: "Nec coelum profecto,nec stellaenaves aedi-ficant, uibus mercestransportentur,ec secures quibus facinorosi ercutianturives,nec lanamomnino curantneclinume quibus panni textantur, ec itempoenas statuuntaut supplicia, quibus puniantur ontes ac maleficihominesnec regnaconstituunt utpraefecturas,uae quidem cunctahomines psiob vitaemaioremusumac commodita-



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464 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYpowersofmenare not always nferior. lthoughmencannot vertsome things, uch s oldage, they re ble to moderate heforce im-petus) f many hings omingfrom bove, or at east o soften heirfury.39In the closingyearsofhis life,Pontano seems to have focusedstronglyn thisunderlying uestion f the nterrelationshipf thedivine, he osmic nd thehumanpowers. nhisAegidius,is astdi-alogue,he not onlypresentsn imaginaryermon f Egidio da Vi-terbo, oon to becomeGeneral f theAugustinian ermits, uthealso speaks fhisownwonder t thephenomena fnature,ncludingcelestialhings,ndof thewaytheirctionsnkinshipwithmenaredivine ifts. Since theorder fnatural hingssmarvellous, ndweare ble to admire tmore han o understandtby anymental owerat all, havealwaysconsideredtas certain hat hedivine nd mostenormousgoodness,whichrevealed tselfn Christwithfatherlycharityo thehuman ace,opened tself omortalsnmanydifferentways.And because hese nferioreings, nd thosewhich recalled'natural' y theheavenly hysicists,re mingled n dueproportionbythesemovements,heres indeedno little inship etweenmenandthem.Through hiskinship hat reator,moderatornd ruler fallthings, amelyGod,signifiesndforetells any hings,speciallytogood men,butevensometimeso wickedmenfor he akeofre-moving heir aults."40tem publice ac privatim nitio sibi constituere t pro temporeetiam constituunt.Etquanquam multa saepe mutantur, undem tamen nunc sequunturtenoremvivendi etsecuriuset abundantius.Quin etiamdomos quoque aedificavere t oppida, ad haec etdecreta t leges et cerimoniasetmagistratus tatuere, uo aequabilius viverentminus-que obnoxii casibus ac necessitatibus."39De reb. oel., Lib. XII, sig. V8r-v:"Scias igitur t a motu stellarum t coeli excitarielementa, ab elementis vero tum vegetantem tum etiam sentientemvim foveri, agi,diversismodis affici,tiammutari,verti,ratione utem niisversari uae subiecta par-tim nobis ipsis sunt, partimnos illis. In iisque quae subiecta quidem sunt nobis, possenos illisadhibita rationeaut ubique praescribere, ut plerunque; at quibus ipsi subiici-mur, partimadversum ire nullo modo nos posse, ut senectuti,ne suo adveniat tem-pore, nisi forte nferrenobis manum voluerimus, natura nvita, partim eorum mo-derariimpetum atque ex parte minuere, aut si non penitus avertere, enire saltemfurorem, t in fame, n tempestatibus, n adversis casibus, in corporis denique perni-ciosisaffectibus."40Aegidiused. cit.), pp. 256-57: ". . . cum rerumnaturae ordo mirificus itmagis-que rirari illumpossimus quam ingenio omnino assequi, arbitratus um semper ac procompertoduxi divinam llam cumulatissimarnque onitatem,quae in Christo sese pa-ternacum caritate ostendithominum generi,multisquidem ac diversis modis seseaperire mortalibus; quodque res hae inferiores uaeque naturalesdicuntur physicis



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 465Human kinshipwith hecelestial odiesoccurs hroughhenatalinfluencesn thehumantemperament. od also speaksto men ndreams hroughssumed oicesor mouths ora); hese recalled or-acles." Pontano elateshat ehimself ad frequentlyeenwarnedndreams fdangers f whichhe had notknown.41 ut thecelestialpowers, hough sedby God, arenotthe ameasGod: "I prayyou,o bestofmen,when themorning unrises,does not ight tself,scatteredt this oint ftime,mmediatelyllumine he ntire eav-ens with ts rradiations?ut this ight omes from he un,and thesun tselfscorporeal, ecause he yes hemselves eelt. Can there-

fore he ightflowingfrom he sun in its own incomprehensibletransparencynd with hat wiftnesslluminatet thevery ame n-stant f time uch great astness fair, ea, and and, nd yet hoseministersf divinemajesty i.e. the ngels] annot t that ame mo-ment ly ut tous from hehighest ther, nd these ncorporeale-ingsnotbe castforth s light s castfrom hebody of the un?"42 ysuch nobliquerhetoric ontano nnounces is imultaneousdher-ence to the reality f divinemiraculous ctions nd to the naturalactions nd nfluencesfthe tars ndplanets.According o Pontano,God finds he elestial orcesompatiblewithhisown power nd hesometimes orks hrough hem.Pontano xplicitlyeclaresn theAegidiushat uman reewillcanfunction itherwithor against he power of thestars. n a longspeechwrittenorGiovanni ardo,Pontano ays: We comenow toaethereis b illis commotionibus temperentur, on exiguam quidem hominicum illisesse cognationem; quam per ipsam fabricator lle omnium moderatorque ac rectorDeus multa,bonis praesertim irisnec raroetiam perversis, mendandorum psorumgratia t significettportendat...."4"Aegidius,. 257: (passage in n. 40 continues)"praecipueautemhumanisquiescen-tibuscurisatque interdormiendum;ut aliquando dii ipsinobiscumperinde c humanoassumptoore loqui videanturunde oracula sunta prudentibus uibusdam dicta.Neveautemin enumerationeoraculorum psorumantiquitatisque estimoniis os occupemreferendis, e me utloquar, ego ipse ita saepe dormienscommonefactus um, ut quaepericulanec ante timuissemneque priusagitassemanimo, vigilans postea, tutus iber-que commonefactione x ea facilepraeterierim."42Aegidius,. 258: "Obsecro vos, virioptimi,mane oriente ole nonne statim uxipsa punctotemporisdispersacoelum hoc universum rradiatione ua illuminat?Atquilux a sole existit, ol vero ipse corporeusest, quod oculi ipsi sentiunt;potest giturasole profluens ux tenuitatesua incomprehensibilique illa celeritateeodem simulpunctotantam eris,maris,terrae astitatemllustrare, ec tamenpoterunt odem ipsomomentoministri llimaiestatisvel supremoex aethere d nos evolare,incorporei psineque ut solaris ux e corpore aculati?"



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466 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYthewills ofmen: ftheypermit hemselves obe dominated y thesenses,nothingsmorefleetingndfeeble, nd alsoaddexhaustedand tamable; fthecontrary,here s nothingmorenoble,strong,commanding hanthese, when we judge fornothing he sensesthemselves nd theirblandishments, nd put themunder theyoke.43Then,presentingeveral otorious xamples f thosewhogave nto theirusts, nd ofone man,"ourGioviano",whoresistedthe emptationobecomerich yworking or heFrench, ardoof-fersnanalysis fthe elationshipfthewilltoreason. To begin: llpraise nd blame sapplied ovoluntaryctions ndexists naccord-ance with hem."Man, guidedbynature, smoved to desire hosethingswhichcarry omeimageofgood before hem.The mind sarousedbythetitillationsfthe enses hat how these hings o it.But until hewill saroused hemindwillnotconfidenthose hingsbywhich t attains tsgoal. "The willbeginsto move forwardssomethingree ndsubject o tsown law." Itthen akes he ounselofreason, estrainstself,nd,having ccepted eason,guides tselfwithin rescribedimits ndchooseswhat shouldbe chosenfor tsowncapacities.thasno trouble ombattinghe enses t thispoint:"Does notthatwillseemfree o youwhichdescends ntobattlewiththe enses ndemerges hecomplete ictor, ather han f tallowsitself o becaptivatedytheirnsidious landishments?"44The will forPontano, s for ther hetoricallyrientedhinkers,was central o hisnotionof humanactivity. he latterwas to becalledforth ndpraised rblamedbytheorator, ut twas alsosub-

43Aegidius,. 275: "Veniamus nunc ad hominum voluntates,quibus, si sese ipsaesensibus dominandas permiserint, ihilest fluxius, mbellius,addam etiam nfractius,domabiliusque, contranihil quod sit illis generosius, robustius mperiosiusque,ubisensus psos eorumque illectamentanihilifecerimusmiserimusque ub iugum."44Aegidius,pp. 277-78: "Principio laus omnis vituperatioquevoluntariis ersatur nactionibusexistitqueab illis. Cum enimnatura duce moveamur ad ea cupienda quaeboni alicuius speciemprae se ferant aque sensibus repraesententur,e quorum titilla-tione animus sese excitat,non priustamen ad ea peragenda,quibus assecuturum eseilla confidat, nimus ipse expergiscitur uam voluntas quoque suscitetur; uae initioquidem ut libera ac sui iuris atius evagatur,post vero, adhibitasecum in consilio rati-one ac frenum ibi ipsa imponens, eo accepto, sese ipsam moderaturredigitque ntrapraescriptum;mox deliberandoeligitquae pro facultate c viribus uis eligenda videan-tur.... An non tibi voluntas psa videatur ibera, quae cum sensibus n certamendes-cendatquaeque victrix mnino evasura sit, praeterquam i illorum nsidiosisblanditiiscapi se patiatur?"



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 467jected to theudgments fone's ordinaryellow-citizenss partofthedaily ntercoursef ife.This involveswhat have calledPon-tano's"rhetoricalulture". ardo continues:If, then, hewill pro-ceedswith eason, ertainlyhese ctions ught o be praised.On thecontrary,heywillbe censuredwhere hewill, n choosingndmov-ing,deviates rom hepath f reason nd, oftened y thedelights fthe enses,followsdesire, ticks o itsvestiges, nd obeys tscom-mand." In a thought developed fromAristotle'sNicomachean thics,Pontano elates hefreedom f thewill tothedecision-makingro-cess of deliberation: Moreover,not only things hemselvesndactions, utalso thename tself f deliberating,'ive evidence hatthewill s freelibera). his sso because hewill sfree narrivingtthejudgments to whethert wishes oundertakend pursue ome-thing r,on thecontrary,o desist nd allow tself ofollow he d-viceofthe enses.45Pontanoeasilyreconciledhis strongconviction egarding hewill's freedom nd power with his positionon astrologywhichstressedhat he trengthf the emperamentfthehumors ffectedboth he haracternd thebehavior feachperson.Thewillwaspartof hemind, ut person's atural ispositioningenium)ad tsbasisinthebody. However,Pontanodoesmakea number f statementsin the course of De rebus oelestibushichsuggest hatthe stellarpowers anoperate hrough ne's natural ispositionndtherebyx-tendts nfluenceomental ctivities. he fact hat hewordhe nor-mallyusesfor emperaments ingenium,hich s frequentlyrans-lated though otalwayscorrectly)s "mind", uggests hat heresat east omeambiguity. ut in hisstatementn this opic nAegi-dius,voicedthrough hepersona fPardo, he is completely orth-right."Finally," ardosays, itseems hat hefollowinghouldbe con-sidered: lthoughhe enses rethemselvesorporealnd eachofthesensesusescorporeal nstruments,uch as theears forhearing, he

45Aegidius, p. 278: ". . . si cum rationeprogredietur, imirum psae laudabuntur;contra vituperabuntur bi et in eligendo et in progrediendode rationisdeerransviasensusque deliciisemollita cupiditatemsequeturducejn illiusque inhaerebitvestigiisparueritqucmperio.Non solum autemres psae actionesquevoluntatem iberamessetestantur, erumetiamnomen ipsum deliberandi, uod videlicet iberum ius sit nde-cernendo udicium, velitnesuscipereet prosequi, an contradesistere c sensuum ip-sorummonita abi sinere."



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468 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYeyesfor eeing, he nostrils or melling, hepalate nd tonguefortasting,nd either ands r another art f hebodyfor ouching, etthewillusesno part fthebody andnothingorporealwhen teitherdeliberatesr choosesand decides. Certainlyhen hatpowerandfaculty elongsonly to themind, nd, amongall animals, o manalone.Forthis eason thappens hatnthe ase of theother nimalstheres animpetus r an instinctnly.Thewill,however, s properandpeculiar o man. Therefore,fthe nfluencesf the tars re di-rected nlyon those nferiorodies and thingswhich re composedof the elements,nd theelements hemselvesre a kindof field nwhich he tars xercise heir owers, n whatway are humanwillssubjectedothe ctivitiesfthose tarswhose urisdictions limitedto theelements nd elementaryhings? ut in fact hemind tselfsboth ncorporealndentirelyree f ny lementaryuality rcondi-tion,and itsown will is indeeda very trong ower whicheitherhonorsby commendation he actionsfor which man is born ordamnsthemby opprobriumnd contempt. . Nevertheless,hecelestial onfigurationsan be an impedimento these ctions ndcanopposethemselveso themind tself hen tneeds orporealndexternal ids and favors.But where actionsbelong solelyto themind, ne then isputesn vainconcerninghe ctions ndpowers fthe tars, ince, s I havesaid,themind tselfs free ndchooses nddecidesby its own decision."46

46Aegidius,p. 278-79: "Postremo autem considerandumvidetur, um sensus cor-porei ipsi sint singulique corporeisutantur nstrumentis, t auribus ad audiendum,utoculis ad videndum,naribus tem ad inodorandum, palato linguaque ad degustandum,ac sive manibussive alia parte corporisad tangendum,voluntatemtamen psam nullapartecorporisuti nullaque re corporea cum aut deliberat ut eligit decernitque;quippecumvis ea potestasquetantum itanimi atque ex omnibus animalibushominis unius.Quo fitut coeterorum quidem sitsive impetus sive instinctus antummodo,hominisverovoluntaspropriaac peculiaris. gitur i stellarum ffectiones ersanturnferioribusincorporibusrebusque illis tantumquae ex elementis onstant, psaque elementacam-pus quasi quidam sit in quo stellae vires exerceant suas, quanam via voluntateshominum subiectae llarum int agitationibus, uarum iurisditio antum it n elemen-tisrebusqueelementaribus?Animus vero et ncorporeus pse sit et ab omniprorsus le-mentariqualitate ac conditione vacuus, cuius voluntas ipsa vis potissima quidem sitquae actionesad quas homo natusest vel commendationehonestetvel opprobriodam-net ac contemptu.. . . [Correcting ditor's punctuation. Possunt coelestestamencon-figurationesmpedimento llis tuncesse ac sese animo ipsi opponere cum corporeis at-que externis ndigeat auxiliis ac favoribus. Ubi vero actiones solius tantumfuerintanimi,frustra unc de stellarum ctionibusdisputatur c viribus, cum, ut dixi, animusipse liber sit ac suopte arbitratu ligatdecernatque."



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 469Therewere,certainly, anyunresolved ntinomiesnPontano'sdeclarationsoncerning od, the osmosand human ulture. s he,indeed, onfessed,hemind s not entirely naffectedy thebody,and to attempt o reconcile strological eterminism ithhumanfreedom fwillby confininghe atter o thepurelymental ealmmightwell be to restrictt drastically. here s an ambiguity erewhichhe does not seem to have resolved.There s no doubtthatPontanowas ferventlyersuadedbothof the powerof nature oshape hehuman emperamentnd ofthepowerofmanto direct isownaffairsffectivelynd these imultaneously. hat s missingn

thediscussionwe havepresentedre twoother spects f theprob-lemof therelationshipf God, naturend culture, amely: herela-tionship fgraceto freewill nman'ssalvation,ndman's combatwithfortune.ince Pontanoreckons henaturalworldas an instru-ment fthedivine,which analso at God's wishbe transcended,nemight uess hat e would eaveman's alvationn God'shands.Butit wouldperhaps e bettero leavesuchspeculations ithGiuseppeToffanin.47ontanomakes his pietyclearenough n innumerableasides n De rebus oelestibus,nd he certainlyffirmshepowerofgracen the ermon ecomposed n thenameofEgidio daViterbonhisdialogue, heAegidius.48s far s fortunes concerned, iscom-mentsnDe rebusoelestibuseem o minimizetby grantingarmoreinfluenceo thecelestialhaping f thehumors t birth. utthis s acomplex uestion, ne whichFrancesco ateo hasdonemuch oun-tangle, houghhe still tresses ow fearfulnd ndependentpowerfortuneeemed oPontano.49Pontano was not the onlyhumanist r Renaissance hinkerocompose treatise nastrology,uthewas theonlyoneto relate isastrologicalheories o theproblemsnd circumstancesfhumanifewithwhichas a humanist e was concerned. ertainlywarethatamonghis predecessors etrarchnd Salutatihad condemned hepractice fastrology ecauseof ts apparentontradictionf divineprovidencendhumanfreedom f thewill, Pontanowas carefulosetforth,oth nasides nDe rebusoelestibusnd head onintheAegi-dius,his conceptions f how thetwo contradictionsould be re-solved.Moreover,hesought omakeastrologymorecomprehensi-

47SeeToffanin, ra Puomo la natura, p. i02-05.48Aegidius,p. 249-52.49SeeTateo, Astrologia moralitd,p. 12 I-67.



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470 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYbleandacceptableoa humanistic eader, hough otgoing o far sto claim tas a studiumumanitatis.e attemptedhis y settingortha series f analogies hat ended o humanize hecelestialworld andits nfluencesverhuman xistence. heunderlyingnalogy,whichbuilt n theendemic cceptance f thedominance f themasculineover hefemininendon the orollaryonception fmaleness s ac-tiveand creative nd femalenesss passive and receptive,was thesimilarityf celestial haping f earthly ffairso the actof sexualgeneration. loselyrelatedo thiswas the nalogy fthe un n rela-tion othe ther lanets nd na dominating ay toward he nferiorearthlyhingss like hat fthephysiologicalominance ftheheartbytheflowof blood from t over theother rgansn man andotheranimals. Pontano'sthinking evealsnot onlyhow closely nter-twinedweregender-basedocial ttitudesnd physiologicaloncep-tions,but also how closely he metaphysicalndphysical oncep-tions ransmittedrom lassical houghtmirroredhe tructuresf tssocial ndbiological otions. ittinglythirdmajor nalogywas thatbetween hehierarchicalrganizationfthehumanpolityheknewand theroleofthe un as thekingof theplanets. learly hese om-parisonsweretraditionalndPontanowas following well-troddenpath.Pontano's olitical ision,however, s revealedn these ompari-sons modified strictmonarchical otionwith n emphasis n thecontributionsfsubordinate dvisory nd executive fficialso thefunctioningfthe commonwealth s a whole.Thiscorrespondsohis own role asa royal ecretary,nvoy nd confidentialdviser nhighmatters fstatewhichhe carried n as a humanistnthetradi-tion ftheAragonese ourt.His humanist oliticalndsocialvision,whichmodifies he hierarchicalentrality itha sensebothof thevalueof the expert ndtheneedformutualityn humanrelations,maybe seen n his characterizationf thecelestialworldas a greatharmoniousocietyntheheavens, nd n his nsistencehatndivid-ual astral odies werenot driven ut moved of their wn accord. fthese characterizationsad been strictly ppliedto his astrology,therewould have beena substantialmodificationf theusualcon-ception fthe ternal, nchangingegularity,ndthefatal ecessity,ofthemovements f thestars nd planets.Howevercarefully esought oprotecthephysicalnd mathematicalaws from hese i-sions, he attermust ertainlyeaccountedneffortohumanizeheseeming ast mpersonalitynd determinanceftheheavens.



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THE ASTROLOGICAL COSMOS 471Thismotive s alsoto be seen n hiscomparisonfthe hanges ndfluctuationsf theheavenly nfluences,ncluding hose f even veryminor lterationsnd movements f the bodies, to the shifts f

meanings single ettersre lteredn Latinnouns. t sto be seen tillmore nhis comparison f thecombined perationsf theheavens,and therapidly hifting ffects n the human temperamentsheygenerated,o the subtlynuanced rhetoricalnfluences n humanmoods and purposes rought boutby shiftsn style,mode and or-ganizationf anguage n thepracticef a skilled umanist riterrorator.Finallywe may refer o hiseffortso ustify strology s a validdiscipline,n answer o Pico's criticismsnd also generallynd fre-quently.As a disciplinet was systematicnd carried n a very n-cient raditionhat oPontanomusthavea valid basiseven thoughmuchof thad alwaysbeen conjectural. his conjectural ature fastrology, hichhe admits an essen he ertaintyf he strologer'spredictions,eemsneverthelessorthy fdefending,or t coincideswith o manypoetic nsights erived rom he ncient haracteriza-tions f theHellenic nd Roman and Chaldean)deities fterwhomtheplanetsnd constellationsad beennamed. nsomeways lsothecelestial ystemsmade to seeman nstrumentftheChristian od,thoughPontano allows forprovidentialctions hatoccuroutsidethe stral ealm rdirectlyullifyt. He seems owelcome he oose-nessofa system asedon conjecture othbecause tpermits ivinecircumventionndevenmoremakes lear hewide range fpossibil-ity fhumanvoluntaryctions ndespite fthe stralnfluences.Rathermbiguously,ntheother and,Pontano oncedes heri-giditiesn humanbehavior hat pring rom he cquisitionfhabit-ualpatternsf reaction enerally onceived s thevirtuesndvices.Thesepatternsnd theirmanydependentmodeshehad analyzednshrewd ndappreciativeubtlety. ut werethesehabitual igiditiesinduced ythe nborn ispositionsf ndividuals hichwerederivedfrom hestellar nfluencesn the balanceof humors t conceptionand birth? r werethey cquireddevelopmentallyn thecompli-catedgiveandtakeofthegrowth f a younghuman eing nfamilyand society? he stars,Pontanothinks, an give a certain ibertyfrom n individual's iological nd environmentaleredity. ut istheunderlyingmbiguitynhisthoughtny greaterhan urownconcerninghe nfluencesfnature nd nurture,houldnotwe ask?Butman,hesees,operates lso on nature, swellasbeingoperated



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472 RENAISSANCE QUARTERLYon, andcan,bymixing nd utilizing orvarying urposesvariousnaturalmaterials, ring ut from hem nsuspected ew naturesndpowers.Byhis ttempted arriagefhumanismnd astrologyon-tanodid not solve these mportantroblemswhichhavetroubledbothhiscontemporariesnd ourselves.Nevertheless,e has eft re-markablynsightfulecord fhis efforts a humanist o enter herealm fnatural hilosophy."NostroGioviano"was a rich nd resourcefulhinker hoturnedhis xceptionaliterarynergies otonly ohismarvellousoetry utalso to confrontinghe realities f the divine, elestial ndhumanworlds s theywere broadly onceptualizedy themen of his timeandculture. e didnotreconcilell ofthe ompetinglementsn thisworld view nor leave entirely onsistent tatements oncerningthem;ndeedhe saw conflictnd ncongruitiess an nescapable artofthe ealitieseknew.But he gave hiscontemporariesnd thegen-erations f the sixteenthenturywho read hisworksnot onlythebeauty f their xpression utpowerfulnsightsndsharply ividobservationsf themotivations nd modes ofaction f themenofthat ime.His astrology,ombinedwithhis sensitiveeading ftheproblems f ife f his own day ntotheAristotle e knew,gavehisoutlookboth norganic, iological,medical nd a social,moral,po-litical ision.Pontano's strology as notthe ccentricherishingfcosmological bscuritieshat ur modernworldfinds ifficulto be-lieveortoleraten a humanist f theRenaissance, ut twas a win-dow into he ife nd mind fthat ge.THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Cosmos de Giovanni Pontano

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