Natural philosophizing inside the late seventeenth-century Tuscan court

British Journal for the History of Science

Volumn 35, Issue 4, 2002, Pages 383-409

  Boschiero, Luciano ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES   (Australia)

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EID: 0042915867     PISSN: 00070874     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S000708740200479X     Document Type: Article

References (153)

1. The careers of Borelli, Viviani, Rinaldini and Marsili will be very briefly discussed in this introduction. For brief biographies of all of these academicians, as well as a comprehensive coverage of the Accademia's history, see W. E. K. Middleton, The Experimenters: A Study of the Accademia del Cimento, Baltimore, 1971.
2. This phrase is mentioned in the Preface to the Accademia's publication by their secretary Lorenzo Magalotti, Saggi di naturali esperienze fatte nell'Accademia del Cimento sotto la protezione del serenissimo principe Leopoldo di Toscana, Florence, 1667, 84. All references to the Saggi are from its re-publication in
3. G. Abetti and P. Pagnini (eds.), Le opere dei discepoli di Galileo Galilei. Edizione Nazionale. I. L'Accademia del Cimento. Parte Prima, Florence, 1942.
4. Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 85.
5. Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 84.
6. Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 84.
7. The best-known early modern institutions to have used a similar experimental rhetoric were of course the Royal Society of London and the Académie royale des sciences in Paris. The statutes drawn up for these institutions upon their foundations declared their intentions only to report experiments without stating any theoretical interpretations. M. Ornstein, The Role of Scientific Societies in the Seventeenth Century, Chicago, 1938, 109, 148.
8. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 92, se talora per far passaggio da una ad un'altra esperienza, o per qualunque altro rispetto, si sarà dato qualche minimo cenno di cosa specolativa, ciò si pigli pur sempre come concetto o senso particolare di accademici, ma non mai dell'Accademia; della quale unico istituto si è di sperimentare e narrare. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 86-7.
9. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 92, se talora per far passaggio da una ad un'altra esperienza, o per qualunque altro rispetto, si sarà dato qualche minimo cenno di cosa specolativa, ciò si pigli pur sempre come concetto o senso particolare di accademici, ma non mai dell'Accademia; della quale unico istituto si è di sperimentare e narrare. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 86-7.
10. J. Tribby, 'Dante's restaurant: the cultural work of experiment in early modern Tuscany', in The Consumption of Culture, 1600-1800 (ed. A. Bermingham and J. Brewer), London, 1991, 321; M. Biagioli, 'Scientific revolution, social bricolage, and etiquette', in The Scientific Revolution in National Context (ed. R. Porter and M. Teich), New York, 1992, 11-54; P. Findlen, 'Controlling the experiment: rhetoric, court patronage and the experimental method of Francesco Redi', History of Science (1993), 31, 39-40; M. Beretta, 'At the source of western science: the organisation of experimentalism at the Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667)', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London (2000), 54 (2), 131-51.
11. J. Tribby, 'Dante's restaurant: the cultural work of experiment in early modern Tuscany', in The Consumption of Culture, 1600-1800 (ed. A. Bermingham and J. Brewer), London, 1991, 321; M. Biagioli, 'Scientific revolution, social bricolage, and etiquette', in The Scientific Revolution in National Context (ed. R. Porter and M. Teich), New York, 1992, 11-54; P. Findlen, 'Controlling the experiment: rhetoric, court patronage and the experimental method of Francesco Redi', History of Science (1993), 31, 39-40; M. Beretta, 'At the source of western science: the organisation of experimentalism at the Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667)', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London (2000), 54 (2), 131-51.
12. J. Tribby, 'Dante's restaurant: the cultural work of experiment in early modern Tuscany', in The Consumption of Culture, 1600-1800 (ed. A. Bermingham and J. Brewer), London, 1991, 321; M. Biagioli, 'Scientific revolution, social bricolage, and etiquette', in The Scientific Revolution in National Context (ed. R. Porter and M. Teich), New York, 1992, 11-54; P. Findlen, 'Controlling the experiment: rhetoric, court patronage and the experimental method of Francesco Redi', History of Science (1993), 31, 39-40; M. Beretta, 'At the source of western science: the organisation of experimentalism at the Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667)', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London (2000), 54 (2), 131-51.
13. J. Tribby, 'Dante's restaurant: the cultural work of experiment in early modern Tuscany', in The Consumption of Culture, 1600-1800 (ed. A. Bermingham and J. Brewer), London, 1991, 321; M. Biagioli, 'Scientific revolution, social bricolage, and etiquette', in The Scientific Revolution in National Context (ed. R. Porter and M. Teich), New York, 1992, 11-54; P. Findlen, 'Controlling the experiment: rhetoric, court patronage and the experimental method of Francesco Redi', History of Science (1993), 31, 39-40; M. Beretta, 'At the source of western science: the organisation of experimentalism at the Accademia del Cimento (1657-1667)', Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London (2000), 54 (2), 131-51.
14. Shapin's and Schaffer's best-known works on this topic include S. Shapin and S. Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump, New Jersey, 1985; S. Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth- Century England, Chicago, 1994; S. Shapin, The Scientific Revolution, Chicago, 1996.
15. Shapin's and Schaffer's best-known works on this topic include S. Shapin and S. Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump, New Jersey, 1985; S. Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth-Century England, Chicago, 1994; S. Shapin, The Scientific Revolution, Chicago, 1996.
16. Shapin's and Schaffer's best-known works on this topic include S. Shapin and S. Schaffer, Leviathan and the Air-Pump, New Jersey, 1985; S. Shapin, A Social History of Truth: Civility and Science in Seventeenth- Century England, Chicago, 1994; S. Shapin, The Scientific Revolution, Chicago, 1996.
17. P. Galluzzi, 'L'Accademia del Cimento: "gusti" del principe, filosofia e ideologia dell'esperimento', Quaderni Storici (1981), 48, 805.
18. Details of Viviani's early life are recorded in some letters and manuscripts now held in the Galilean collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in folio Gal. 155. This includes a document written by Viviani's nephew recounting his uncle's life, and transcribed by historian Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli in 1758 (1r-4r), as well as an autobiographical letter written to Abate Marquis Salviati in 1697, also transcribed by Nelli (5r-23r), and published by A. Fabroni, Lettere inedite d'uomini illustri, 3 vols., 1775, ii, 6. In addition to this, Viviani wrote about his education under Galileo in his posthumously published Vita di Galileo (ed. L. Borsetto), Bergamo, 1992. But the best secondary sources to deal with Viviani's education under Galileo are A. Favaro, Amici e Corrispondenti di Galileo, 3 vols., Florence, ii, 1983, 1007-1163; and M. L. Bonelli, 'L'ultimo discepolo: Vincenzio Viviani', in Saggi su Galileo (ed. C. Maccagni), 3 vols., Florence, 1972, ii, 656-88; and G. Targioni-Tozzetti, Notizie degli aggrandamenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII raccolte dal dottor Gio. Targioni Tozzetti, 5 vols., Florence, 1780, i, 321.
19. Details of Viviani's early life are recorded in some letters and manuscripts now held in the Galilean collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in folio Gal. 155. This includes a document written by Viviani's nephew recounting his uncle's life, and transcribed by historian Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli in 1758 (1r-4r), as well as an autobiographical letter written to Abate Marquis Salviati in 1697, also transcribed by Nelli (5r-23r), and published by A. Fabroni, Lettere inedite d'uomini illustri, 3 vols., 1775, ii, 6. In addition to this, Viviani wrote about his education under Galileo in his posthumously published Vita di Galileo (ed. L. Borsetto), Bergamo, 1992. But the best secondary sources to deal with Viviani's education under Galileo are A. Favaro, Amici e Corrispondenti di Galileo, 3 vols., Florence, ii, 1983, 1007-1163; and M. L. Bonelli, 'L'ultimo discepolo: Vincenzio Viviani', in Saggi su Galileo (ed. C. Maccagni), 3 vols., Florence, 1972, ii, 656-88; and G. Targioni-Tozzetti, Notizie degli aggrandamenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII raccolte dal dottor Gio. Targioni Tozzetti, 5 vols., Florence, 1780, i, 321.
20. Details of Viviani's early life are recorded in some letters and manuscripts now held in the Galilean collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in folio Gal. 155. This includes a document written by Viviani's nephew recounting his uncle's life, and transcribed by historian Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli in 1758 (1r-4r), as well as an autobiographical letter written to Abate Marquis Salviati in 1697, also transcribed by Nelli (5r-23r), and published by A. Fabroni, Lettere inedite d'uomini illustri, 3 vols., 1775, ii, 6. In addition to this, Viviani wrote about his education under Galileo in his posthumously published Vita di Galileo (ed. L. Borsetto), Bergamo, 1992. But the best secondary sources to deal with Viviani's education under Galileo are A. Favaro, Amici e Corrispondenti di Galileo, 3 vols., Florence, ii, 1983, 1007-1163; and M. L. Bonelli, 'L'ultimo discepolo: Vincenzio Viviani', in Saggi su Galileo (ed. C. Maccagni), 3 vols., Florence, 1972, ii, 656-88; and G. Targioni-Tozzetti, Notizie degli aggrandamenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII raccolte dal dottor Gio. Targioni Tozzetti, 5 vols., Florence, 1780, i, 321.
21. Details of Viviani's early life are recorded in some letters and manuscripts now held in the Galilean collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in folio Gal. 155. This includes a document written by Viviani's nephew recounting his uncle's life, and transcribed by historian Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli in 1758 (1r-4r), as well as an autobiographical letter written to Abate Marquis Salviati in 1697, also transcribed by Nelli (5r-23r), and published by A. Fabroni, Lettere inedite d'uomini illustri, 3 vols., 1775, ii, 6. In addition to this, Viviani wrote about his education under Galileo in his posthumously published Vita di Galileo (ed. L. Borsetto), Bergamo, 1992. But the best secondary sources to deal with Viviani's education under Galileo are A. Favaro, Amici e Corrispondenti di Galileo, 3 vols., Florence, ii, 1983, 1007-1163; and M. L. Bonelli, 'L'ultimo discepolo: Vincenzio Viviani', in Saggi su Galileo (ed. C. Maccagni), 3 vols., Florence, 1972, ii, 656-88; and G. Targioni-Tozzetti, Notizie degli aggrandamenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII raccolte dal dottor Gio. Targioni Tozzetti, 5 vols., Florence, 1780, i, 321.
22. Details of Viviani's early life are recorded in some letters and manuscripts now held in the Galilean collection of the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in folio Gal. 155. This includes a document written by Viviani's nephew recounting his uncle's life, and transcribed by historian Giovanni Batista Clemente Nelli in 1758 (1r-4r), as well as an autobiographical letter written to Abate Marquis Salviati in 1697, also transcribed by Nelli (5r-23r), and published by A. Fabroni, Lettere inedite d'uomini illustri, 3 vols., 1775, ii, 6. In addition to this, Viviani wrote about his education under Galileo in his posthumously published Vita di Galileo (ed. L. Borsetto), Bergamo, 1992. But the best secondary sources to deal with Viviani's education under Galileo are A. Favaro, Amici e Corrispondenti di Galileo, 3 vols., Florence, ii, 1983, 1007-1163; and M. L. Bonelli, 'L'ultimo discepolo: Vincenzio Viviani', in Saggi su Galileo (ed. C. Maccagni), 3 vols., Florence, 1972, ii, 656-88; and G. Targioni-Tozzetti, Notizie degli aggrandamenti delle scienze fisiche accaduti in Toscana nel corso di anni LX del secolo XVII raccolte dal dottor Gio. Targioni Tozzetti, 5 vols., Florence, 1780, i, 321.
23. The best secondary sources covering Borelli's intellectual career include: U. Baldini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli e la rivoluzione scientifica', Physis (1974), 16, 97-128; G. Barbensi, Borelli, Trieste, 1947; T. Derenzini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Fisico', in Celebrazione della Accademia del Cimento nel Tricentenario della Fondazione, Pisa, 1957, 35-52; P. Galluzzi, 'G. A. Borelli dal Cimento agli Investiganti', in Galileo e Napoli (ed. F. Lomonaco and M. Torrini), Naples, 1987, 339-55; D. B. Meli, 'The Neoterics and political power in Spanish Italy: Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and his circle', History of Science (1996), 34, 57-90;
24. The best secondary sources covering Borelli's intellectual career include: U. Baldini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli e la rivoluzione scientifica', Physis (1974), 16, 97-128; G. Barbensi, Borelli, Trieste, 1947; T. Derenzini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Fisico', in Celebrazione della Accademia del Cimento nel Tricentenario della Fondazione, Pisa, 1957, 35-52; P. Galluzzi, 'G. A. Borelli dal Cimento agli Investiganti', in Galileo e Napoli (ed. F. Lomonaco and M. Torrini), Naples, 1987, 339-55; D. B. Meli, 'The Neoterics and political power in Spanish Italy: Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and his circle', History of Science (1996), 34, 57-90;
25. The best secondary sources covering Borelli's intellectual career include: U. Baldini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli e la rivoluzione scientifica', Physis (1974), 16, 97-128; G. Barbensi, Borelli, Trieste, 1947; T. Derenzini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Fisico', in Celebrazione della Accademia del Cimento nel Tricentenario della Fondazione, Pisa, 1957, 35-52; P. Galluzzi, 'G. A. Borelli dal Cimento agli Investiganti', in Galileo e Napoli (ed. F. Lomonaco and M. Torrini), Naples, 1987, 339-55; D. B. Meli, 'The Neoterics and political power in Spanish Italy: Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and his circle', History of Science (1996), 34, 57-90;
26. The best secondary sources covering Borelli's intellectual career include: U. Baldini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli e la rivoluzione scientifica', Physis (1974), 16, 97-128; G. Barbensi, Borelli, Trieste, 1947; T. Derenzini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Fisico', in Celebrazione della Accademia del Cimento nel Tricentenario della Fondazione, Pisa, 1957, 35-52; P. Galluzzi, 'G. A. Borelli dal Cimento agli Investiganti', in Galileo e Napoli (ed. F. Lomonaco and M. Torrini), Naples, 1987, 339-55; D. B. Meli, 'The Neoterics and political power in Spanish Italy: Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and his circle', History of Science (1996), 34, 57-90;
27. The best secondary sources covering Borelli's intellectual career include: U. Baldini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli e la rivoluzione scientifica', Physis (1974), 16, 97-128; G. Barbensi, Borelli, Trieste, 1947; T. Derenzini, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Fisico', in Celebrazione della Accademia del Cimento nel Tricentenario della Fondazione, Pisa, 1957, 35-52; P. Galluzzi, 'G. A. Borelli dal Cimento agli Investiganti', in Galileo e Napoli (ed. F. Lomonaco and M. Torrini), Naples, 1987, 339-55; D. B. Meli, 'The Neoterics and political power in Spanish Italy: Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and his circle', History of Science (1996), 34, 57-90;
28. T. B. Settle, 'Giovanni Alfonso Borelli', in Dictionary of Scientific Biography (ed. C. C. Gillispie), 16 vols., New York, ii, 1991, 306-14.
29. The academicians also performed experiments concerning the properties and effects of heat and cold, the magnet, amber and other substances with electric virtue, projectiles, astronomy, and the motion of sound. Despite their interests in many topics, most of their attention was directed towards air pressure, the vacuum, and heat and cold. In any case, I believe that an investigation into how they researched any of these topics will reveal much of the natural philosophical interests that will be outlined in this paper.
30. J. Schuster, 'The scientific revolution', in Companion to the History of Modern Science (ed. R. C. Olby, G. N. Cantor, J. R. R. Christie and M. J. S. Hodge), London, 1990, 225.
31. J. Schuster and G. Watchirs, 'Natural philosophy, experiment, and discourse: beyond the Kuhn/ Bachelard problematic', in Experimental Inquiries: Historical, Philosophical and Social Studies of Experimentation in Science (ed. H. E. LeGrand), Dordrecht, 1990, 14; J. Schuster and A. Taylor, 'Blind trust: the gentlemanly origins of experimental science', Social Studies of Science (1997), 27, 515.
32. J. Schuster and G. Watchirs, 'Natural philosophy, experiment, and discourse: beyond the Kuhn/ Bachelard problematic', in Experimental Inquiries: Historical, Philosophical and Social Studies of Experimentation in Science (ed. H. E. LeGrand), Dordrecht, 1990, 14; J. Schuster and A. Taylor, 'Blind trust: the gentlemanly origins of experimental science', Social Studies of Science (1997), 27, 515.
33. Schuster and Watchirs, op. cit. (15), 15.
34. J. Schuster and R. R. Yeo, 'Introduction', in The Politics and Rhetoric of Scientific Method (ed. J. Schuster and R. Yeo), Dordrecht, 1986, p. xii.
35. As Middleton notes, Gassendi was on the Accademia's reading list, and was mentioned several times in the Saggi. Middleton, op. cit. (1), 4.
36. One of the strongest indications that our early modern natural philosophers were beginning to invest quite a bit of interest in the ancient atomists is in the career of the seventeenth-century Tuscan poet and mathematician Alessandro Marchetti (1633-1712). During the Cimento's ten years in existence, Marchetti, also employed by the Medici court, was working on a translation of a poem by Lucretius, a Greek poet and atomistic philosopher in the first century BC. Lucretius' poem argued in accordance with the theories of Democritus and Epicurus that the universe is an infinite extent of empty space and consists of an infinite number of irreducible particles of matter differing only in shape, size and weight. Marchetti's translation was published posthumously, but his work still had an impact on the academicians, which is particularly reflected in his collaboration with Borelli. For a detailed account of Marchetti's life and work, see M. Saccenti, Lucrezio in Toscana, Firenze, 1966.
37. J. A. Bennett, 'The mechanics' philosophy and the mechanical philosophy', History of Science (1986), 24, 5.
38. P. Dear, Discipline and Experience: The Mathematical Way in the Scientific Revolution, Chicago and London, 1995, 170.
39. As Desmond Clarke states, primary qualities are the fundamental properties of nature which are not subject to biased judgements. D. Clarke, Occult Powers and Hypotheses: Cartesian Natural Philosophy under Louis XIV, Oxford, 1989, 71.
40. Clarke, op. cit. (22), 73-4.
41. Schuster and Watchirs, op. cit. (15), 20.
42. What is meant here by systematic mechanical philosophers is those who adopted a system of natural philosophy based purely on mechanical principles. Examples include Descartes's, Mersenne's or even Borelli's strict mechanistic explanations of the structure and movements of the universe.
43. A. Koyré, Metaphysics and Measurement, London, 1968;
44. M. Clavelin, The Natural Philosophy of Galileo: Essay on the Origins and Formation of Classical Mechanics (tr. A. J. Pomerans), Cambridge, 1974;
45. S. Drake, 'Introduction', in G. Galilei, Discourses and Mathematical Demonstrations Concerning Two New Sciences Pertaining to Mechanics and Local Motion (tr. S. Drake), Wisconsin and London, 1974;
46. S. Drake, 'Ptolemy, Galileo, and Scientific Method', Studies in the History of the Philosophy of Science (1978), 9, 101;
47. R. H. Naylor, 'Galileo's experimental discourse', in The Uses of Experiment: Studies in Natural Science (ed. D. Gooding, T. Pinch and S. Schaffer), London, 1990.
48. The best-known Galilean thought experiment would have to be the dropping of a cannonball from the mast of a ship. For this case, Koyré explains that Galileo 'was such a good physicist that he could predict the behaviour of the cannon-ball, a priori, without making any experiments '. A. Koyré, The Astronomical Revolution (tr. R. E. W. Maddison), London, 1980, 470;
49. Clavelin, op. cit. (26), 27.
50. Naylor, op. cit. (26), 124.
51. Dear, op. cit. (21), 124-6.
52. S. Gaukroger, Explanatory Structures: A Study of Concepts of Explanation in Early Physics and Philosophy, Sussex, 1978, 210-20.
53. This crucial point is argued particularly well in Schuster and Watchirs, op. cit. (15), 21; and Schuster and Taylor, op. cit. (15), 515.
54. This crucial point is argued particularly well in Schuster and Watchirs, op. cit. (15), 21; and Schuster and Taylor, op. cit. (15), 515.
55. W. E. K. Middleton, The History of the Barometer, Baltimore, 1964, 23.
56. E. Grant, Much Ado About Nothing: Theories of Space and Vacuum from the Middle Ages to the Scientific Revolution, Cambridge, 1991, 23. Mercury, being a heavier and denser liquid than water, was also a more suitable substance for Torricelli's experiment, since it was not necessary to use long tubes that were normally required for water barometers.
57. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 25.
58. C. B. Schmitt, 'Experimental evidence for and against a void: the sixteenth-century arguments', Isis (1967), 58, 363.
59. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 17.
60. Galileo talked about the 'resistance of the void' in a letter to Baliani on 6 August 1630. A. Favaro (ed.), Le Opere di Galileo Galilei, Edizione Nazionale, 20 vols., Florence, 1890, xiv, 127-30. He also expressed his support for the vacuum as early as in 1612 in his Venetian publication De phenomenis in orbe Lunae, published in ibid., iii, 350.
61. Galileo talked about the 'resistance of the void' in a letter to Baliani on 6 August 1630. A. Favaro (ed.), Le Opere di Galileo Galilei, Edizione Nazionale, 20 vols., Florence, 1890, xiv, 127-30. He also expressed his support for the vacuum as early as in 1612 in his Venetian publication De phenomenis in orbe Lunae, published in ibid., iii, 350.
62. E. J. Dijksterhuis, The Mechanization of the World Picture (tr. C. Dikshourn), Oxford, 1969, 420-4.
63. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 9.
64. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 6.
65. Dijksterhuis, op. cit. (38), 426.
66. M. Tamny, 'Atomism and the mechanical philosophy', in Companion to the History of Modern Science (ed. R. C. Olby, G. N. Cantor, J. R. R. Christie and M. J. S. Hodge), London, 1990, 508.
67. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (32), 23.
68. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 24.
69. According to Segre, this was Torricelli's principal aim: to design 'the barometer experiment to test previous theories rather than to generate new ones'; In the Wake of Galileo, New Jersey, 1991, 87.
70. As translated by Grant, op. cit. (33), 23.
71. Adding to this field of theoretical and natural philosophical contention entangled in the construction of the barometer, Middleton believes that Torricelli even acknowledged the Cartesian point of view. Despite his belief that he had confirmed his theory by making this instrument, Torricelli still seemed to note, in a sceptical tone, that it was possibile that the space in the tube only contained ' rarefied stuff', as was argued by Descartes and his followers. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 24.
72. The competing natural philosophies of these men and how those philosophies were used in their barometric studies will be discussed in the upcoming sections of this paper.
73. Shapin and Schaffer, op. cit. (9), 41-2.
74. Shapin and Schaffer, op. cit. (9), 49.
75. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 320-1; Biagioli, op. cit. (8), 30; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 39-41; Beretta, op. cit. (8), 136-7.
76. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 320-1; Biagioli, op. cit. (8), 30; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 39-41; Beretta, op. cit. (8), 136-7.
77. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 320-1; Biagioli, op. cit. (8), 30; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 39-41; Beretta, op. cit. (8), 136-7.
78. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 320-1; Biagioli, op. cit. (8), 30; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 39-41; Beretta, op. cit. (8), 136-7.
79. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 105, E' nota ormai per ogni parte d'Europa quella famosa esperienza dell'argentovivo, che l'anno 1643 si parò davanti al grande inteletto del Torricelli; e noto parimente è l'alto e maraviglioso pensiero che egli formò di essa, quand'ei ne prese a specular la ragione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 101. While Magalotti claims that the barometer was constructed in 1643, Middleton presents a very persuasive argument that it was actually almost certainly constructed in 1644. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 43.
80. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 105, E' nota ormai per ogni parte d'Europa quella famosa esperienza dell'argentovivo, che l'anno 1643 si parò davanti al grande inteletto del Torricelli; e noto parimente è l'alto e maraviglioso pensiero che egli formò di essa, quand'ei ne prese a specular la ragione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 101. While Magalotti claims that the barometer was constructed in 1643, Middleton presents a very persuasive argument that it was actually almost certainly constructed in 1644. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 43.
81. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 105, E' nota ormai per ogni parte d'Europa quella famosa esperienza dell'argentovivo, che l'anno 1643 si parò davanti al grande inteletto del Torricelli; e noto parimente è l'alto e maraviglioso pensiero che egli formò di essa, quand'ei ne prese a specular la ragione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 101. While Magalotti claims that the barometer was constructed in 1643, Middleton presents a very persuasive argument that it was actually almost certainly constructed in 1644. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 43.
82. These experiments were recorded in the Accademia's unpublished diary, held in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Firenze in the folio labelled Gal. 262.
83. Including placing animals inside the empty space of the barometer.
84. Although Boyle was not mentioned in the Saggi's first draft, he was regularly included in the subsequent versions written by Magalotti after Boyle's writings finally reached Italy. However, it is curious why the Cimento never used Boyle's air-pump, despite their praise of his work and their testing of his claims.
85. Including the climb of the Puy-de-Dôme, actually performed by Pascal's brother-in-law, to test the difference in the height the mercury reached at different altitudes and air pressures.
86. Including several experiments with Torricelli's barometer, to test the pressure of air.
87. This approach was, of course, consistent with the Cimento's motto.
88. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 136-7, Dalla serie delle narrate esperienze pareva oramai stabilito a bastanza il concetto del Torricelli, del premer dell'aria sopra le cose inferiori. Il che quantuque sia ardito e pieno di pericolo as asserire di quelle cose ove a' nostr 'occhi alcun lampo di Geometria non risplende, pure nè l'ardire è mai sì degno di scusa, nè 'l pericolo è più sicuro a chivarsi che allora che solamente per via di molte e tutte concordi esperienze cammina nostro intelletto al conseguimento del suo desiderio. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 131.
89. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 136-7, Dalla serie delle narrate esperienze pareva oramai stabilito a bastanza il concetto del Torricelli, del premer dell'aria sopra le cose inferiori. Il che quantuque sia ardito e pieno di pericolo as asserire di quelle cose ove a' nostr 'occhi alcun lampo di Geometria non risplende, pure nè l'ardire è mai sì degno di scusa, nè 'l pericolo è più sicuro a chivarsi che allora che solamente per via di molte e tutte concordi esperienze cammina nostro intelletto al conseguimento del suo desiderio. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 131.
90. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 109. 'Conciossiacosachè sia stato solamente nostro intento discorrere sopra lo spazio pieno d'argento, ed intendere la vera cagione del maraviglioso libramento di quel peso, con animo di non imprender mai briga con gl'impugnatori del voto.' Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 105.
91. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 109. 'Conciossiacosachè sia stato solamente nostro intento discorrere sopra lo spazio pieno d'argento, ed intendere la vera cagione del maraviglioso libramento di quel peso, con animo di non imprender mai briga con gl'impugnatori del voto.' Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 105.
92. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 105, Poichè i corpi solidi, come verbigrazia la ghiaia sarebbe, la rena e simiglievoli, o pure le macíe de'sassi maggiori, nel far forza per muovergli anzi s'incastrano e stivansi insieme, congegnandosi per sí fatto modo mercè della scabrosità e irregolarità delle lor parti, e sì serrandosi in tutta la massa loro, ch'e' s'attengono l'un l'altro e puntellansi, onde più duramente resistono alla forza ehe tenta smuovergli. Ma al contrario i liquori, forse per lo liscio sfuggevole o per la rotondità de'lor minimi corpicelli o per latra figura ch'e' s'abbaiano inchinevole al moto, la quai mal posi e stia'n bilico, via via che premuti sono, cedono per ogni verso e sparpagliansi. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 101.
93. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 105, Poichè i corpi solidi, come verbigrazia la ghiaia sarebbe, la rena e simiglievoli, o pure le macíe de'sassi maggiori, nel far forza per muovergli anzi s'incastrano e stivansi insieme, congegnandosi per sí fatto modo mercè della scabrosità e irregolarità delle lor parti, e sì serrandosi in tutta la massa loro, ch'e' s'attengono l'un l'altro e puntellansi, onde più duramente resistono alla forza ehe tenta smuovergli. Ma al contrario i liquori, forse per lo liscio sfuggevole o per la rotondità de'lor minimi corpicelli o per latra figura ch'e' s'abbaiano inchinevole al moto, la quai mal posi e stia'n bilico, via via che premuti sono, cedono per ogni verso e sparpagliansi. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 101.
94. The first draft of the Saggi does not contain this introductory section to the academicians' barometric studies. One may imagine that Rinaldini, an Aristotelian editor of the text and, along with Marsili, one of the two opposing voices in the Cimento to Borelli's and Viviani's mechanistic expressions, would have objected to this type of obvious reference to corpuscularianism. Indeed, as we shall soon see, these two certainly were not afraid to make their Aristotelian opinions known.
95. Gal. 262, 22v. The Cimento's diary was kept by Alessandro Segni until May 1660, when Lorenzo Magalotti replaced Segni as secretary.
96. This experiment was given the following title in the Saggi's first draft: ' Esperienza riferita dal Sig. Pecquet nel libro delle sue assertazioni anatomiche a favore della pressione dell'aria nei corpi inferiori, e riscontrata nella nostra accademia nella maniera ehe segue.' Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (3), 282.
97. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (32), 49. Although the academicians ascribe the experiment to Roberval, Pecquet suggests that it was Adrien Auzout's invention.
98. It must be noted how, in this section and in some of the following experiments, it is assumed that the vacuum exists, or at least that the space consists of extremely rarefied air. However, for the French thinkers, as well as our academicians, such assumptions, as we shall see later, still carried some very contentious natural philosophical arguments. In fact, the question of the vacuum became the main concern for these natural philosophers. According to Dear, the debate regarding the weight of the air was even of a 'secondary concern' to that of the vacuum. Dear, op. cit. (21), 189.
99. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 111, 'Apportato da alcuni contro alla pressione dell'aria'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 108. Although there is no direct indication of who Magalotti is referring to, we can confidently assume that 'some people' included Marsili and Rinaldini.
100. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 111, 'Apportato da alcuni contro alla pressione dell'aria'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 108. Although there is no direct indication of who Magalotti is referring to, we can confidently assume that 'some people' included Marsili and Rinaldini.
101. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 113, 'Ma quelli che aderivano alla pressione dell'aria, respondevano a questa esperienze con dire, che I narrati avvenimenti, anzi di contraria, favorivano mirabilmente la loro opinione
102. .' Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 110.
103. 2 August 1657: 'Si diede principio alle esperienze addotte dai Franzesi, ed altre aggiunte di nuovo nella questione della compressione dell'aria nei corpi inferiori.' Gal. 262, 22v.
104. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 6.
105. According to the scholastics, the rest of the instrument, the apparent empty space of the barometer, was of course said to be full of rarefied air. In contrast, mechanists argued that the vacuum too was possible because of the corpuscularian structure of air. Dear, op. cit. (21), 191.
106. As cited by Middleton, op. cit. (32), 51.
107. Dear, op. cit. (21), 193-4.
108. The Court departed on 24 September and left the Accademia officially in suspension until 3 October. Nevertheless, their activities during this period are reported briefly in the diary manuscript. Gal. 262, 34v-35v.
109. This tower was that of the Palazzo Vecchio. Gal. 262, 35r, 'una delle più alte torri di Firenze'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. Borelli narrated this experiment in a letter to Leopoldo on 26 September 1657. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), ii, 62. According to Targioni Tozzetti, Borelli performed this experiment under the request of the Grand Duke. Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11), i, 206.
110. This tower was that of the Palazzo Vecchio. Gal. 262, 35r, 'una delle più alte torri di Firenze'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. Borelli narrated this experiment in a letter to Leopoldo on 26 September 1657. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), ii, 62. According to Targioni Tozzetti, Borelli performed this experiment under the request of the Grand Duke. Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11), i, 206.
111. This tower was that of the Palazzo Vecchio. Gal. 262, 35r, 'una delle più alte torri di Firenze'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. Borelli narrated this experiment in a letter to Leopoldo on 26 September 1657. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), ii, 62. According to Targioni Tozzetti, Borelli performed this experiment under the request of the Grand Duke. Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11), i, 206.
112. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, 'che per la sola diversa temperie di caldo e di freddo accadevano '. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, Così fatta osservazione fece animo ad alcuni d'aversi a valere d'un tale strumento per misuratore esattissimo dello stato di compressione dell'aria, credendosi che le varie altezze del cilindro d'argento ... dovessero dimostrare senz'alcun fallo il deverso premere ch'ella fa sopra il livello stragnante ..., mercè delle diverse altezze che ell'à in sua regione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124.
113. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, 'che per la sola diversa temperie di caldo e di freddo accadevano '. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, Così fatta osservazione fece animo ad alcuni d'aversi a valere d'un tale strumento per misuratore esattissimo dello stato di compressione dell'aria, credendosi che le varie altezze del cilindro d'argento ... dovessero dimostrare senz'alcun fallo il deverso premere ch'ella fa sopra il livello stragnante ..., mercè delle diverse altezze che ell'à in sua regione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124.
114. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, 'che per la sola diversa temperie di caldo e di freddo accadevano '. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, Così fatta osservazione fece animo ad alcuni d'aversi a valere d'un tale strumento per misuratore esattissimo dello stato di compressione dell'aria, credendosi che le varie altezze del cilindro d'argento ... dovessero dimostrare senz'alcun fallo il deverso premere ch'ella fa sopra il livello stragnante ..., mercè delle diverse altezze che ell'à in sua regione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124.
115. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, 'che per la sola diversa temperie di caldo e di freddo accadevano '. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 130, Così fatta osservazione fece animo ad alcuni d'aversi a valere d'un tale strumento per misuratore esattissimo dello stato di compressione dell'aria, credendosi che le varie altezze del cilindro d'argento ... dovessero dimostrare senz'alcun fallo il deverso premere ch'ella fa sopra il livello stragnante ..., mercè delle diverse altezze che ell'à in sua regione. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 124.
116. In Borelli's description of this experiment in a letter written on 26 September 1657, he was quite certain that the barometer was providing such consistent readings that eventually they 'would be able to presume the ultimate height of the atmosphere of air'. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), ii, 62. In 1670, he provided a detailed account of his readings and the proportion of the liquid's movement with regard to the elevation. G. Borelli, De motionibus naturalibus, a gravitate pendentibus, Bologna, 1670, 238.
117. In Borelli's description of this experiment in a letter written on 26 September 1657, he was quite certain that the barometer was providing such consistent readings that eventually they 'would be able to presume the ultimate height of the atmosphere of air'. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), ii, 62. In 1670, he provided a detailed account of his readings and the proportion of the liquid's movement with regard to the elevation. G. Borelli, De motionibus naturalibus, a gravitate pendentibus, Bologna, 1670, 238.
118. See note 60.
119. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 109, 'Non si presume già d'escluderne o'l fuoco o la luce o l'etere o altre sottilissime sustanze le quali, o in parte con finissimo spargimento di minimi spazzi vacui, o in tutto quello spazio che si chiama voto impiendo, altri vi vogliono.' Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 105.
120. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 109, 'Non si presume già d'escluderne o'l fuoco o la luce o l'etere o altre sottilissime sustanze le quali, o in parte con finissimo spargimento di minimi spazzi vacui, o in tutto quello spazio che si chiama voto impiendo, altri vi vogliono.' Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 105.
121. Dear, op. cit. (21), 195; Middleton, op. cit. (32), 49.
122. Dear, op. cit. (21), 195; Middleton, op. cit. (32), 49.
123. Despite the struggles that Cartesian natural philosophers faced in gaining acceptance during the mid- to late seventeenth century, Descartes's mechanical philosophy was not forgotten. For his supporters, the vortex theory continued to provide reason for doubting the vacuity of the Torricellian space. Just like the Aristotelian view, it could not be denied convincingly by all the barometric experiments performed at that time. Shapin and Schaffer, op. cit. (9), 86. An example of how seriously Cartesian mechanism continued to be considered in Paris, and how such natural philosophical issues did not die down with the advent of Boylean experimental philosophy, was the work by Jacques Rohault who introduced Cartesian principles to those who attended his weekly meetings and then provided experimental evidence in support of those principles. Desmond Clarke provides an excellent account of how Rohault and others in late seventeenth-century Paris continued to disseminate Cartesian natural philosophy after his death. Clarke, op. cit. (22), 18.
124. Despite the struggles that Cartesian natural philosophers faced in gaining acceptance during the mid- to late seventeenth century, Descartes's mechanical philosophy was not forgotten. For his supporters, the vortex theory continued to provide reason for doubting the vacuity of the Torricellian space. Just like the Aristotelian view, it could not be denied convincingly by all the barometric experiments performed at that time. Shapin and Schaffer, op. cit. (9), 86. An example of how seriously Cartesian mechanism continued to be considered in Paris, and how such natural philosophical issues did not die down with the advent of Boylean experimental philosophy, was the work by Jacques Rohault who introduced Cartesian principles to those who attended his weekly meetings and then provided experimental evidence in support of those principles. Desmond Clarke provides an excellent account of how Rohault and others in late seventeenth-century Paris continued to disseminate Cartesian natural philosophy after his death. Clarke, op. cit. (22), 18.
125. Middleton, op. cit. (32), 25.
126. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), i, 88. Borelli was also quite critical of Cartesian natural philosophy throughout most of his career, despite adopting physiological theories actually quite similar to Descartes's. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 346.
127. Fabroni, op. cit. (11), i, 88. Borelli was also quite critical of Cartesian natural philosophy throughout most of his career, despite adopting physiological theories actually quite similar to Descartes's. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 346.
128. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 807-8.
129. My translation. Intorno alla nostra Accademia, che Ella chiama Liceo, vorrei che in essa avessero luogo le Leggi da VS immaginate; ma il male è che solamente vi si trovano I disordini; e questo dipende dalla troppa ambizione di alcuno degli Accademici, il quale essendo Peripatetcio marcio e muffo, vuol comparire con una toga tolta in prestito di Filosofo libero e sincero ... sto con grandissimo desiderio che passino presto questi pochi giorni d'Ottobre, per andermene a Pisa, e quivi occupare il tempo che mi avanzerà, in studi di mio gusto. As cited by Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11), ii, 440; Fabroni, op. cit. (11), i, 94.
130. My translation. Intorno alla nostra Accademia, che Ella chiama Liceo, vorrei che in essa avessero luogo le Leggi da VS immaginate; ma il male è che solamente vi si trovano I disordini; e questo dipende dalla troppa ambizione di alcuno degli Accademici, il quale essendo Peripatetcio marcio e muffo, vuol comparire con una toga tolta in prestito di Filosofo libero e sincero ... sto con grandissimo desiderio che passino presto questi pochi giorni d'Ottobre, per andermene a Pisa, e quivi occupare il tempo che mi avanzerà, in studi di mio gusto. As cited by Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11), ii, 440; Fabroni, op. cit. (11), i, 94.
131. My translation; 'negando la compressione dell'aria sopra l'argento vivo, cosa che a quest'hora dovrebbe essere ammessa da qualsivoglia ostinato cervello'. Gal. 283, 37r; Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 807.
132. My translation; 'non si può sperare frutto nessuno, ne possiamo mai camminare d'accordo nel corso delle speculazioni filosofiche quando siamo tanto contrari ne'princìpi stessi' Gal. 283, 27v; Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 807.
133. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 807.
134. Gal. 283, 41r. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 808.
135. Gal. 262, 104v-105r.
136. Aberti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 305-6.
137. Middleton, op. cit. (1), 266-7.
138. Gal. 262, 132r-v.
139. Middleton, op. cit. (1), 67.
140. Historians provide varying opinions about why Leopoldo preferred this atheoretical approach. Some exclude seventeenth-century concerns about religion. Galluzzi claims that Leopoldo simply had a choice between presenting the academicians' theories and simply reporting physical phenomena. According to Galluzzi, Leopoldo chose the latter because it meant performing a more Galilean task. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 802-3. Similarly, Segre suggests that rather than fear the Inquisition, the academicians simply wished to present their work as belonging to a controversy-free universal experimental philosophy. Segre, op. cit. (45), 140. Finally, Beretta curiously suggests that Leopoldo's choice to use an experimental rhetoric was simply ' fortunate intuition' rather than religious concern. Beretta, op. cit. (8), 137. In any case, I do not believe we can ignore the volatile religious climate of the Counter-Reformation, and the fact that Galileo's condemnation by the Catholic Church had only been thirty years before the academicians began their publication. It is also worth noting that one of the most controversial fields studied by the academicians, astronomy, was excluded from the Saggi.
141. Historians provide varying opinions about why Leopoldo preferred this atheoretical approach. Some exclude seventeenth-century concerns about religion. Galluzzi claims that Leopoldo simply had a choice between presenting the academicians' theories and simply reporting physical phenomena. According to Galluzzi, Leopoldo chose the latter because it meant performing a more Galilean task. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 802-3. Similarly, Segre suggests that rather than fear the Inquisition, the academicians simply wished to present their work as belonging to a controversy-free universal experimental philosophy. Segre, op. cit. (45), 140. Finally, Beretta curiously suggests that Leopoldo's choice to use an experimental rhetoric was simply ' fortunate intuition' rather than religious concern. Beretta, op. cit. (8), 137. In any case, I do not believe we can ignore the volatile religious climate of the Counter-Reformation, and the fact that Galileo's condemnation by the Catholic Church had only been thirty years before the academicians began their publication. It is also worth noting that one of the most controversial fields studied by the academicians, astronomy, was excluded from the Saggi.
142. Historians provide varying opinions about why Leopoldo preferred this atheoretical approach. Some exclude seventeenth-century concerns about religion. Galluzzi claims that Leopoldo simply had a choice between presenting the academicians' theories and simply reporting physical phenomena. According to Galluzzi, Leopoldo chose the latter because it meant performing a more Galilean task. Galluzzi, op. cit. (12), 802-3. Similarly, Segre suggests that rather than fear the Inquisition, the academicians simply wished to present their work as belonging to a controversy-free universal experimental philosophy. Segre, op. cit. (45), 140. Finally, Beretta curiously suggests that Leopoldo's choice to use an experimental rhetoric was simply ' fortunate intuition' rather than religious concern. Beretta, op. cit. (8), 137. In any case, I do not believe we can ignore the volatile religious climate of the Counter-Reformation, and the fact that Galileo's condemnation by the Catholic Church had only been thirty years before the academicians began their publication. It is also worth noting that one of the most controversial fields studied by the academicians, astronomy, was excluded from the Saggi.
143. The Saggi's draft and the editorial comments have been published by Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 272-347
144. My translation; 'non per difendere un'opinione o un'altra', Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 339.
145. My translation ; 'che mai credettero la natura essere in qualunque caso consentiente al voto, ma più tosto aver quello sempre in aborrimento.' Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 337.
146. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 131. 'Descrizione degli strumenti demostratori delle varie mutazioni che accaggiono nello stato di natural compressione dell'aria'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 125.
147. As translated by Middleton, op. cit. (1), 131. 'Descrizione degli strumenti demostratori delle varie mutazioni che accaggiono nello stato di natural compressione dell'aria'. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 125.
148. Magalotti, Saggi, op. cit. (2), 125-30.
149. My translation. 'So bene che a me è successa altrimenti, perciò che con simile strumento, avendo reiterato l'esperienza più volte diligentissimamente a piè et a cima del campanil di Pisa, non ho avuto fortuna di cavarne alcun frutto.' Abetti and Pagnini, op. cit. (2), 341.
150. G. B. C. Nelli, Saggio di storia letteraria fiorentina del secolo XVII, Lucca, 1759; Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11).
151. G. B. C. Nelli, Saggio di storia letteraria fiorentina del secolo XVII, Lucca, 1759; Targioni Tozzetti, op. cit. (11).
152. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 324; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 47.
153. Tribby, op. cit. (8), 324; Findlen, op. cit. (8), 47.