Translation Roadmap
Prioritized Latin works for translation. Less than 3% of Renaissance Latin literature has ever been translated into English. These are the gaps that matter most.
The Foundation: Ficino
Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499) translated the Renaissance into being. His translations of Plato, Plotinus, and the Hermetic corpus shaped European thought for centuries - but most of his own commentaries and original works remain untranslated.
- Ficino, Commentaries on Plato's DialoguesFlorence: Lorenzo de'Medici / Laurentius de Alopa, 1484Only Symposium commentary translated (Jayne). Phaedrus, Republic, Timaeus, Parmenides, Laws commentaries unavailable.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Commentary on Plotinus's EnneadsFlorence: Antonio Miscomini, 1492Shaped how Europe understood Neoplatonism for centuries. Completely untranslated.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, De mysteriis Aegyptiorum (on Iamblichus)Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1497Ficino's interpretive summary of Iamblichus on theurgy - not just a translation. He gave the work its famous title.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Theologia PlatonicaFlorence: Antonio Miscomini, 1482His masterwork on the immortality of the soul. I Tatti translation exists (Allen/Hankins) but expensive. Open-access needed.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, De vita libri tresFlorence: Antonio Miscomini, 1489Three Books on Life - astral magic and medicine. Kaske/Clark translation exists but scholarly apparatus dated.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, De Christiana religioneFlorence: Niccolò di Lorenzo della Magna, 1474On the Christian Religion. His defense of Christianity through Platonic philosophy. Completely untranslated.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Consiglio contro la pestilenziaFlorence: Bartolomeo de' Libri, 1481Advice against the Plague. Medical treatise combining Platonic philosophy with practical medicine. Latin ed. Augsburg 1518.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Epistolae (Letters)Venice: Matteo Capcasa, 149512 books of letters - philosophical correspondence with all of Europe. Only selections translated.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Opera OmniaBasel: Henricus Petrina, 1576Complete works in 2 folio volumes. The standard edition for all Ficino scholarship.View on Internet Archive →
Famous Figures: The Gaps
Major untranslated works by well-known Renaissance thinkers. High name recognition, strong interest.
- Pico della Mirandola, Disputationes adversus astrologiam divinatricemBologna: Benedictus Hectoris (posthumous), 1496His longest work (12 books). Influenced Kepler. Completely untranslated.View on Internet Archive →
- Pico della Mirandola, Conclusiones DCCCC (900 Theses)Rome: Eucharius Silber, 1486Farmer translation (1998) expensive. Needs open-access edition.View on Internet Archive →
- Giordano Bruno, De immenso et innumerabilibusFrankfurt: Johann Wechel & Peter Fischer, 1591655 pages on infinite universe. Written before his execution.View on Internet Archive →
- Giordano Bruno, De monade, numero et figuraFrankfurt: Johann Wechel & Peter Fischer, 1591Pythagorean number mysticism. ~150 pages. More feasible.View on Internet Archive →
- Agrippa, De incertitudine et vanitate scientiarumAntwerp: Johannes Grapheus, 1530MORE popular than Occult Philosophy in his lifetime. 1569 English archaic.View on Internet Archive →
- Agrippa, De nobilitate et praecellentia foeminei sexusAntwerp: Michael Hillenius, 1529Proto-feminist treatise. Short, accessible.View on Internet Archive →
- Robert Fludd, Tractatus ApologeticusLeiden: Godefridus Basson, 1617Defense of Rosicrucians. 196 pages. Good starting point.View on Internet Archive →
- Robert Fludd, Utriusque Cosmi HistoriaOppenheim: Johann Theodore de Bry, 1617-21Famous De Bry engravings. 2000+ pages - needs selections.View on Internet Archive →
- Kircher, ArithmologiaRome: Varesii, 1665Number mysticism. 301 pages. Feasible Kircher.View on Internet Archive →
- Kircher, Iter Exstaticum CoelesteRome: Vitalis Mascardi, 1656Cosmic voyage through heavens. Dialogue format.View on Internet Archive →
Renaissance Curiosities
Fascinating illustrated works with crossover appeal - monsters, machines, unicorns, witchcraft, and wonders.
- Lycosthenes, Prodigiorum ac ostentorum chroniconBasel: Henricus Petri, 1557~1,500 woodcutsChronicle of prodigies from Creation to 1557.View on Internet Archive →
- Aldrovandi, Monstrorum historiaBologna: Nicolò Tebaldini (posthumous), 1642~450 woodcutsDragons, mythical races. Founder of natural history.View on Internet Archive →
- Veranzio, Machinae novaeVenice: s.n., 161549 platesFirst printed parachute ('Homo Volans'). SHORT.View on Internet Archive →
- Besson, Theatrum instrumentorum et machinarumLyon: Barthélemy Vincent, 157860 engraved platesWar machines, instruments. Du Cerceau engravings.View on Internet Archive →
- Bartholin, De unicornu observationes novaeAmsterdam: Henricus Wetstein, 167820+ engravingsComprehensive unicorn treatise by Romeyn de Hooghe.View on Internet Archive →
- Trithemius, SteganographiaFrankfurt: Johann Berner, 1606Appears to be angel magic, actually cryptography. On Index 1609-1900.View on Internet Archive →
- Guazzo, Compendium maleficarumMilan: Collegium Ambrosianum, 160833 woodcutsMost illustrated witchcraft manual. Sabbath scenes.View on Internet Archive →
- Kircher, Ars Magna Lucis et UmbraeRome: Lodovico Grignani, 164638 platesFirst magic lantern description. Foundational for cinema.View on Internet Archive →
- Apian, Astronomicum CaesareumIngolstadt: Peter Apian, 154021 volvelles, 58 woodcutsPaper computers. Dragon diagrams. Spectacular.View on Internet Archive →
- Barozzi, Il nobilissimo giuoco de RithmomachiaVenice: Gratioso Perchacino, 1572The Philosopher's Game - medieval mathematical board game.
- Horapollo, HieroglyphicaVenice: Aldus Manutius, 1505195 woodcuts (1543 ed.)Wrong about hieroglyphics but hugely influential.View on Internet Archive →
Natural Philosophy & Early Science
Where Renaissance magic meets emerging science. Illustrated treatises on optics, magnetism, and nature.
- Della Porta, Magiae naturalis libri XXNaples: Horatius Salvianus, 1589Most influential natural magic text. 1658 English outdated.View on Internet Archive →
- Della Porta, De humana physiognomoniaVico Equense: Joseph Cacchius, 1586Famous human-animal comparison woodcuts.View on Internet Archive →
- Cardano, De subtilitate rerumNuremberg: Johann Petreius, 155021 books on nature. Major gap in history of science.View on Internet Archive →
- Gilbert, De MagneteLondon: Peter Short, 1600First scientific study of magnetism. Terrella diagrams.View on Internet Archive →
- Libavius, AlchemiaFrankfurt: Johann Saur, 1597First systematic chemistry textbook.View on Internet Archive →
- Severinus, Idea medicinae philosophicaeBasel: Sixtus Henricpetri, 1571THE systematization of Paracelsus. Completely untranslated.View on Internet Archive →
- Vesalius, De humani corporis fabricaBasel: Johannes Oporinus, 1543200+ woodcutsRichardson/Carman translation expensive. Open-access needed.View on Internet Archive →
- Tycho Brahe, Astronomiae instauratae mechanicaWandesburg: Levinus Hulsius, 159821 hand-coloredInstrument illustrations. Only 60-100 copies made.View on Internet Archive →
Hermetica & Kabbalah
The esoteric tradition - Hermetic philosophy, Christian Kabbalah, and prisca theologia.
- Patrizi, Nova de universis philosophiaFerrara: Benedictus Mammarellus, 1591Major Hermetic cosmology. Hermes, Zoroaster, Orpheus.View on Internet Archive →
- Steuco, De perenni philosophia libri XLyon: Sébastien Gryphe, 1540Coined 'philosophia perennis' - later Leibniz, Huxley.View on Internet Archive →
- Reuchlin, De verbo mirificoBasel: Johann Amerbach, 1494First Christian Kabbalistic work. Wonder-working word.View on Internet Archive →
- Giorgi, De harmonia mundi totiusVenice: Bernardino de Vitali, 1525Pythagorean harmony + Kabbalah. Influenced Dee, Fludd.View on Internet Archive →
- Khunrath, Amphitheatrum Sapientiae AeternaeHamburg: s.n. (expanded ed. 1609), 1595Famous Laboratory-Oratory engravings. Difficult Latin.View on Internet Archive →
- Maier, Atalanta fugiensOppenheim: Johann Theodore de Bry, 161750 emblems + fuguesAlchemical emblem book with music.View on Internet Archive →
Alchemy & Rosicruciana
The chemical philosophy and Rosicrucian movement.
- Schweighardt, Speculum Sophicum Rhodo-Stauroticums.l.: s.n., 1618Key Rosicrucian text. Famous 'Collegium' engraving. SHORT.View on Internet Archive →
- Fludd, Philosophia MoysaicaGouda: Petrus Rammazenius, 1638Mosaic philosophy. More feasible than Utriusque Cosmi.View on Internet Archive →
- Sennert, De chymicorum consensu ac dissensuWittenberg: Zacharias Schurer, 1619Reconciling Paracelsus with Aristotle. Influenced Boyle.View on Internet Archive →
Mind, Memory & Machines
Precursors to artificial intelligence - combinatorics, automata, artificial memory, universal languages, and early cognitive science.
- Ramon Llull, Ars MagnaRome: [various early eds.], 1305 (printed 1480)The foundation of combinatorial logic. Rotating discs generate all concept combinations. Leibniz cited as inspiration for calculus ratiocinator.View on Internet Archive →
- Giordano Bruno, De umbris idearumParis: Aegidius Gorbinus, 1582Artificial memory through combinatorial image generation. Mechanical method for producing mental representations.View on Internet Archive →
- Giordano Bruno, De imaginum, signorum et idearum compositioneFrankfurt: Johann Wechel, 1591His most elaborate memory system. Combination of images and signs for artificial cognition.View on Internet Archive →
- Kircher, Polygraphia nova et universalisRome: Varesii, 1663Universal language with combinatorial rules. Pasigraphy - writing understood by all nations.View on Internet Archive →
- Kircher, Musurgia universalisRome: Francesco Corbelletti, 1650Contains the ARCA MUSARITHMICA - a mechanical device for automatic musical composition. First algorithmic composition.View on Internet Archive →
- Leibniz, Dissertatio de arte combinatoriaLeipzig: Johann Simon Fick, 1666Explicitly builds on Llull. Outlines the 'calculus ratiocinator' - a universal reasoning machine. Foundation of computer science.View on Internet Archive →
- Vives, De anima et vita libri tresBasel: Robert Winter, 1538First empirical psychology. Studies cognition, memory, emotions. Major influence on Descartes.View on Internet Archive →
- Ramus, Dialecticae libri duoParis: Andreas Wechel, 1556Reformed logic and method. Dichotomous classification trees - precursor to decision trees.View on Internet Archive →
- Albertus Magnus, De mineralibusCologne: Johann Birckmann, c.1260 (printed 1518)Contains the legend of his TALKING HEAD - an automaton that could answer questions. Medieval AI folklore.View on Internet Archive →
- Hero of Alexandria, Spiritalia (Pneumatica)Urbino: Federico Commandino (trans.), 1st c. CE (Latin 1575)Ancient automata - self-opening doors, mechanical birds, coin-operated machines. Renaissance engineers studied this.View on Internet Archive →
- Agrippa, De occulta philosophia (Book III)Cologne: Johann Soter, 1533Book III on ceremonial magic includes theory of 'artificial spirits' and animated statues.View on Internet Archive →
- Plotinus, Enneads (Ficino trans.)Florence: Antonio Miscomini, 1492First Latin Plotinus. Theory of NOUS (divine intellect), emanation, levels of consciousness. Foundation of Renaissance psychology.View on Internet Archive →
- Proclus, Institutio TheologicaFlorence: Antonio Miscomini, 1482 (Ficino trans.)Elements of Theology. Henads, divine intellect, chain of being. Hierarchical model of mind and reality.View on Internet Archive →
- Iamblichus, De mysteriis AegyptiorumVenice: Aldus Manutius, 1497 (Ficino trans.)THEURGIC ANIMATION OF STATUES. How divine spirit can be invoked into material objects. Artificial ensoulment.View on Internet Archive →
- Ficino, Theologia PlatonicaFlorence: Antonio Miscomini, 148218 books on immortality of soul. Levels of consciousness from matter to God. Renaissance psychology's masterwork.View on Internet Archive →
- Cusanus, De docta ignorantiaStrasbourg: Martin Flach, 1440 (printed 1488)LEARNED IGNORANCE - limits of human cognition. Infinite mind, coincidentia oppositorum. Proto-epistemology.View on Internet Archive →
- Porphyry, Isagoge (with Aristotle's Organon)Venice: Aldus Manutius, 1495-98Introduction to categories. The TREE OF PORPHYRY - first hierarchical classification. Precursor to taxonomies and ontologies.View on Internet Archive →
- Hermes Trismegistus, AsclepiusTreviso: Gerardus de Lisa, 1471 (Ficino trans.)ANIMATED STATUES - 'gods made by man'. Artificial ensoulment through theurgy. Most explicit ancient text on creating artificial beings.View on Internet Archive →
- Turba Philosophorum, Auriferae artis (Turba)Basel: Petrus Perna, 1572Council of ancient philosophers debating alchemy. Transmutation of matter AND mind. Arabic-Latin compilation.View on Internet Archive →
- Paracelsus, Archidoxis magicaeBasel: Petrus Perna, 1570Contains recipe for HOMUNCULUS - artificial human created in alchemical vessel. Most famous artificial life text.View on Internet Archive →
- Michael Maier, Atalanta FugiensOppenheim: Johann Theodor de Bry, 161750 alchemical EMBLEMS with music. Multimedia alchemy - image, text, fugue. Transformation of matter and consciousness.View on Internet Archive →
- Sefer Yetzirah, Book of FormationParis: Gulielmus Postellus (trans.), c.200 CE (Latin 1552)COMBINATORIAL CREATION through Hebrew letters. 22 letters + 10 sefirot = 32 paths. Foundation of Golem legend.View on Internet Archive →
- Reuchlin, De arte cabalisticaHagenau: Thomas Anshelm, 1517Christian Kabbalah. Divine names, letter permutation, mystical computation. Influenced Leibniz.View on Internet Archive →
- Pico della Mirandola, Conclusiones nongentaeRome: Eucharius Silber, 1486900 THESES including 47 Kabbalistic. 'Nothing proves divinity of Christ more than Kabbalah.' Syncretism of all traditions.View on Internet Archive →
- Gikatilla, Portae Lucis (Sha'arei Orah)Augsburg: Johann Miller, 1516 (Latin)Gates of Light. Sefirot as divine attributes. Paulus Ricius translation brought Kabbalah to Christians.View on Internet Archive →
- Avicenna, De anima (Liber sextus naturalium)Venice: Octavianus Scotus, 1508ACTIVE INTELLECT illuminates human minds. 'Flying man' thought experiment. Most influential medieval psychology.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Farabi, De intellectu et intellectoVenice: Octavianus Scotus, 1508 (with Avicenna)Hierarchy of intellects from God to humans. EMANATION of mind from divine source.View on Internet Archive →
- Averroes, Commentarium magnum in De animaVenice: Giunta, 1550UNITY OF INTELLECT - all humans share one Active Intellect. Scandalous thesis debated for centuries.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Kindi, De intellectu[Medieval translations], c.850 (Latin 12th c.)First Arabic philosopher. Four intellects: potential, actual, acquired, Agent. Foundation of Islamic psychology.
- Aquinas, Summa Theologica (Prima Pars, QQ. 50-64)Rome: various early eds., 1265-74DO ANGELS THINK? Questions on angelic knowledge, intellection without bodies, species of understanding.View on Internet Archive →
- Aquinas, De ente et essentiaVenice: Baptista de Tortis, c.1256 (printed 1485)On Being and Essence. How immaterial beings exist and know. Key text on non-physical intelligence.View on Internet Archive →
- Duns Scotus, Quaestiones super libris De animaLyon: Laurentius Durand, 1625Subtle Doctor on soul and cognition. Haecceity - 'thisness' of individual minds. Alternative to Thomism.View on Internet Archive →
- William of Ockham, Quaestiones in libros PhysicorumVenice: Lazzaro de Soardi, c.1324 (printed 1491)Ockham's Razor applied to mind. Nominalism - only particulars exist. Stripped psychology to essentials.
- Pistis Sophia, Codex AskewianusBerlin: Schwetschke (Petermann ed.), 3rd c. CE (Latin 1851)Gnostic cosmology. DEMIURGE as ignorant craftsman. Levels of consciousness, ascent of soul.View on Internet Archive →
- Nag Hammadi, Apocryphon of John[Coptic, Latin excerpts in heresiologies], 2nd c. CESecret Book of John. Yaldabaoth creates material world. Divine spark trapped in matter.View on Internet Archive →
- Valentinus, [Fragments in Clement, Irenaeus][In Church Fathers' refutations], 2nd c. CESophia's fall creates material cosmos. Aeons as divine thoughts. Most sophisticated Gnostic psychology.
- Psellus, De operatione daemonumParis: Guillaume Morel, 11th c. (Latin 1577)Byzantine dialogue on DEMONIC OPERATIONS. How demons think, perceive, communicate. Taxonomy of spirit types.View on Internet Archive →
- Nider, FormicariusCologne: Johann Guldenschaff, c.1437 (printed 1480)The Ant-Hill. Early witch-trial manual. Demons grant knowledge and power. Pre-Malleus demonology.View on Internet Archive →
- Kramer & Sprenger, Malleus MaleficarumSpeyer: Peter Drach, 1486HAMMER OF WITCHES. Most infamous demonology. Demonic pacts, possession, illusions. How to detect and prosecute.View on Internet Archive →
- Bodin, De la démonomanie des sorciersParis: Jacques du Puys, 1580Demonolatry of Sorcerers. Political philosopher on demons. Systematic demonology from Aristotelian perspective.View on Internet Archive →
- Nicolas Remy, DaemonolatreiaLyon: Vincentius, 1595Based on 900 WITCH TRIALS he conducted. Empirical demonology. How demons communicate, transport, transform.View on Internet Archive →
- Guazzo, Compendium maleficarumMilan: Collegio Ambrosiano, 1608Compendium of Witches. Famous ILLUSTRATIONS of demonic activity. Sabbaths, transformations, pacts.View on Internet Archive →
- Weyer, De praestigiis daemonumBasel: Johannes Oporinus, 1563On Demonic Illusions. SKEPTICAL demonology. Witches are deluded, not powerful. Early psychiatry. Influenced Freud.View on Internet Archive →
- Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of WitchcraftLondon: William Brome, 1584DEBUNKING witch-beliefs. Demons can't do what's claimed. Magic tricks exposed. King James ordered it burned.View on Internet Archive →
- King James I, DaemonologieEdinburgh: Robert Waldegrave, 1597King's treatise on demons. Dialogue form. Defends reality of witchcraft against Scot. Written before he became King of England.View on Internet Archive →
- Glanvill, Sadducismus triumphatusLondon: James Collins, 1681Triumph over Sadducees (who denied spirits). EMPIRICAL evidence for demons. Royal Society member defending spirits scientifically.View on Internet Archive →
- Sinistrari, De DaemonialitateParis: Isidore Liseux, c.1680 (printed 1875)On Demoniality. Incubi and succubi as RATIONAL CREATURES distinct from humans. Non-human intelligences with bodies.View on Internet Archive →
- Trithemius, SteganographiaFrankfurt: Johann Berner, 1499 (printed 1606)Appears to be demon-summoning manual. Actually CRYPTOGRAPHY disguised as magic. Angels = ciphers. Spirits = codes.View on Internet Archive →
- Philolaus, Fragments (in Stobaeus, Diogenes)[Collected in Diels-Kranz], 5th c. BCEFirst written Pythagorean doctrines. HARMONY holds cosmos together. Number is the bond of eternal being. Central fire cosmology.
- Archytas of Tarentum, Fragments[In Porphyry, Iamblichus], 4th c. BCEPythagorean mathematician-philosopher. Built MECHANICAL DOVE (first recorded automaton). Mathematics of music, ratios, means.View on Internet Archive →
- Pythagorean Golden Verses, Chrysa Epe[Various Renaissance eds.], c.300 BCE (Latin medieval)Ethical catechism of Pythagoreanism. Daily self-examination. 'What have I done? What left undone?' Foundation of examined life.View on Internet Archive →
- Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Philosophers (Book VIII)Rome: Giorgio Lauer, 3rd c. CE (Latin 1472)Most complete ancient biography of PYTHAGORAS. Metempsychosis, mathematical discoveries, secret doctrines, vegetarianism.View on Internet Archive →
- Iamblichus, De vita PythagoricaHeidelberg: Commelinus, c.300 CE (Latin 1598)Most elaborate ancient Life of Pythagoras. Secret teachings, miracles, mathematical mysticism, political theory.View on Internet Archive →
- Porphyry, Vita Pythagorae[In Opera, 1580], c.270 CENeoplatonist biography. Pythagoras as divine sage. Soul's descent and ascent. Vegetarianism as spiritual practice.View on Internet Archive →
- Hierocles, Commentary on Golden VersesLondon: John Wolfe, 5th c. CE (Latin 1583)Late Neoplatonist ethics. Daily practice, self-examination, cosmic harmony. Virtue as attunement.View on Internet Archive →
- Pseudo-Iamblichus, Theologoumena arithmeticaeParis: Christian Wechel, c.300 CE (printed 1543)THEOLOGY OF NUMBER. Sacred meanings of 1-10. Monad, Dyad, Triad... Decade. Each number a divine principle.View on Internet Archive →
- Nicomachus, Introductio arithmeticaAugsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, 1488, c.100 CE (Boethius Latin)NUMBER as basis of reality and mind. Pythagorean mathematics. 'All is number' - precursor to digital ontology.View on Internet Archive →
- Theon of Smyrna, Mathematics Useful for Understanding PlatoParis: Adrian Turnèbe, c.130 CE (Latin 1644)Arithmetic, music, astronomy, geometry - all for philosophy. NUMBER ratios explain reality. Platonic-Pythagorean synthesis.View on Internet Archive →
- Boethius, De institutione arithmeticaAugsburg: Erhard Ratdolt, c.500 CE (printed 1488)Transmitted Pythagorean number theory to Middle Ages. Quadrivium foundation. Mathematics as mental discipline.View on Internet Archive →
- Boethius, De institutione musicaVenice: Giovanni & Gregorio de' Gregorii, c.500 CE (printed 1491)MUSIC OF THE SPHERES codified. Three kinds: cosmic, human, instrumental. Ratios govern all harmony.View on Internet Archive →
- Calcidius, Timaeus (Latin trans. + Commentary)[Medieval MSS, printed 1520], 4th c. CEOnly Plato available in medieval West. DEMIURGE as cosmic craftsman. World Soul. Foundation of cosmological psychology.View on Internet Archive →
- Macrobius, Commentarii in Somnium ScipionisVenice: Nicolas Jenson, c.400 CE (printed 1472)Dream of Scipio commentary. WORLD SOUL, cosmic music, descent of souls. Neoplatonist psychology transmitted to Middle Ages.View on Internet Archive →
- Martianus Capella, De nuptiis Philologiae et MercuriiVicenza: Henricus de Sancto Ursio, 5th c. CE (printed 1499)Wedding of Mercury and Philology. Seven liberal arts personified. QUADRIVIUM curriculum established.View on Internet Archive →
- Ptolemy, HarmonicaVenice: [in Opera], 2nd c. CE (Latin 1562)Mathematical music theory. Tuning systems, ratios, scales. COSMIC HARMONY demonstrated in sound.View on Internet Archive →
- Gaffurio, Theorica musiceMilan: Filippo Mantegazza, 1492Renaissance music theory. Pythagorean proportions. Famous woodcuts of cosmic harmony, Orpheus, Pythagoras.
- Zarlino, Le istitutioni harmonicheVenice: [Author], 1558Foundation of modern music theory. Extended Pythagorean ratios. Major/minor triads. Harmony as mathematics.View on Internet Archive →
- Euclid, Elementa (Campanus ed.)Venice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1482FIRST PRINTED MATHEMATICS BOOK. Books VII-IX on number theory are Pythagorean. Perfect numbers, primes, ratios.View on Internet Archive →
- Proclus, In primum Euclidis ElementorumBasel: Johann Hervagius, 5th c. CE (Latin 1533)Philosophy of mathematics. Numbers as divine thoughts. Geometry as access to eternal forms. MATHEMATICS = THEOLOGY.View on Internet Archive →
- Francesco Giorgi, De harmonia mundi totiusVenice: Bernardino de Vitali, 1525COSMIC HARMONY synthesized. Kabbalistic Pythagoreanism. Musical proportions in architecture (influenced Palladio).View on Internet Archive →
- John Dee, Monas HieroglyphicaAntwerp: Willem Silvius, 1564Mathematical GLYPH containing all knowledge. Point, line, circle, cross = cosmos encoded. Pythagorean-Hermetic synthesis.View on Internet Archive →
- Robert Fludd, Utriusque cosmi historiaOppenheim: Johann Theodore de Bry, 1617-21Macrocosm and Microcosm. MUSIC OF SPHERES illustrated. Divine monochord. Most elaborate Pythagorean cosmology since antiquity.View on Internet Archive →
- Kepler, Mysterium cosmographicumTübingen: Georg Gruppenbach, 1596PLATONIC SOLIDS nested in planetary orbits. Pythagorean geometry = cosmic structure. Divine mathematics in astronomy.View on Internet Archive →
- Kepler, Harmonices mundiLinz: Johann Planck, 1619HARMONY OF THE WORLD. Planetary motions produce music. Third law of motion discovered here. Climax of Pythagorean astronomy.View on Internet Archive →
- Zabarella, In tres Aristotelis libros de Anima commentarijFrankfurt: Lazarus Zetzner, 1605Paduan Aristotelian on soul and cognition. Most influential late scholastic De anima commentary. Taught Galileo.View on Internet Archive →
- Cesalpino, Daemonum investigatio peripateticaFlorence: Giunta, 1593PERIPATETIC INVESTIGATION OF DEMONS. Can demons think? Aristotelian demonology. Also discovered blood circulation.View on Internet Archive →
- Matteolo Perusino, Tractatus de MemoriaBologna: Bazalerius de Bazaleriis, 1490Obscure but influential MEMORY treatise. Pre-dates Romberch. Medical approach to memory enhancement.View on Internet Archive →
- Giulio Camillo, L'idea del theatroFlorence: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1550The MEMORY THEATER - physical structure encoding all knowledge. Seven grades, seven planets. Influenced Bruno.View on Internet Archive →
- Cardano, De subtilitate libri XXINuremberg: Johann Petreius, 155021 books on EVERYTHING - cosmology, elements, metals, stones, plants, animals, man, soul, angels, God. Renaissance encyclopedia.View on Internet Archive →
- Scaliger, Exotericarum exercitationum liber XV de SubtilitateParis: Michel de Vascosan, 1557377 EXERCITATIONES attacking Cardano. Massive polemic. Scaliger vs Cardano = intellectual warfare of the century.View on Internet Archive →
- Van Helmont, Ortus medicinaeAmsterdam: Ludovicus Elzevir, 1648Birth of Medicine. Coined 'GAS'. Archeus as vital principle. Iatrochemistry. Anti-Galenic revolution.View on Internet Archive →
- Kenelm Digby, Discourse on the Powder of SympathyLondon: R. Lownes, 1658WEAPON SALVE heals wounds at a distance. Action at a distance theory. Magnetism, sympathy, occult causation.View on Internet Archive →
- Glisson, Anatomia hepatisLondon: Octavian Pulleyn, 1654Anatomy of the liver. Coined IRRITABILITY - tissues respond to stimuli. Foundation of neurophysiology.View on Internet Archive →
- Biringuccio, De la PirotechniaVenice: Venturino Roffinello, 1540First printed book on METALLURGY and fire arts. Smelting, casting, gunpowder, fireworks. Artisan knowledge codified.View on Internet Archive →
- Agricola, De re metallicaBasel: Hieronymus Froben, 1556Mining and metallurgy encyclopedia. 292 WOODCUTS of machines. Hoover (future US president) translated it.View on Internet Archive →
- Robert Recorde, The Whetstone of WitteLondon: John Kingston, 1557INVENTED THE EQUALS SIGN (=). 'To avoide the tediouse repetition of these woordes: is equalle to.' English algebra.View on Internet Archive →
- Bombelli, L'AlgebraBologna: Giovanni Rossi, 1572Introduced COMPLEX NUMBERS (√-1). Solved cubic equations. 'Sophistic' quantities become respectable.View on Internet Archive →
- Commandino, Liber de centro gravitatis solidorumBologna: Alessandro Benacci, 1565CENTER OF GRAVITY of solids. Revived Archimedes. Foundation of statics. Influenced Galileo.View on Internet Archive →
- Maurolico, Opuscula mathematicaVenice: Francesco Franceschi, 1575Mathematical optics, conic sections. Sicilian polymath. Principle of MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION first stated.View on Internet Archive →
- Salomon de Caus, Les raisons des forces mouvantesFrankfurt: Jan Norton, 1615Garden automata, mechanical birds, grottoes with moving figures. Influenced European court gardens.View on Internet Archive →
- Caspar Schott, Magia universalis naturae et artisWürzburg: Heinrich Pigrin, 1657-59Kircher's student. 4 vols on optics, acoustics, mathematics, physics. Automata and mechanical devices.View on Internet Archive →
- Drebbel, Tractatus von Natur der ElementenFrankfurt: Lucas Jennis, 1608 (in 1624 ed.)Dutch inventor. Built FIRST FEEDBACK CONTROL SYSTEM - thermostat for incubator. Also submarine, perpetual motion clock. Proto-cybernetics.View on Internet Archive →
- Huygens, Horologium oscillatoriumParis: F. Muguet, 1673PENDULUM CLOCK theory. Isochronous oscillation. Foundation of precision timekeeping and CONTROL THEORY.View on Internet Archive →
- Wiener, CyberneticsNew York: Wiley, 1948CYBERNETICS founded. 'Control and communication in the animal and the machine.' Feedback loops, homeostasis, information.View on Internet Archive →
- Banu Musa, Kitab al-Hiyal (Book of Ingenious Devices)[Medieval Latin translations], c.850 CE (Latin excerpts)Three brothers in Baghdad. 100 MECHANICAL DEVICES - automata, trick vessels, self-trimming lamps. Arabic engineering brilliance.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Khwarizmi, Kitab al-Jabr wa'l-Muqabala[Robert of Chester trans.], c.820 CE (Latin c.1145)Gave us 'ALGEBRA' and 'ALGORITHM'. Systematic equation-solving. Foundation of computational thinking.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Tufayl, Hayy ibn YaqzanOxford: Edward Pococke, c.1160 (Latin 1671)SELF-TAUGHT PHILOSOPHER - child raised by gazelle discovers truth through reason alone. Influenced Locke's tabula rasa.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Kitab al-Shifa (Healing)[Medieval translations], c.1027 (Latin selections)Encyclopedia of philosophy. FLYING MAN thought experiment - know yourself without body. Proof of immaterial soul.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Tahafut al-TahafutVenice: [medieval trans.], 1180 (Latin 1328)Incoherence of the Incoherence. Defense of reason against al-Ghazali. UNITY OF INTELLECT - all minds share one divine reason.View on Internet Archive →
- Panini, Ashtadhyayi[Sanskrit, studied via commentaries], c.400 BCEFIRST FORMAL GRAMMAR - 4,000 rules generating all Sanskrit. Recursive, generative. Influenced Chomsky. 'Most rigorous grammar ever written.'View on Internet Archive →
- Gautama, Nyaya Sutra[Sanskrit with bhasyas], c.200 BCEIndian LOGIC. 16 categories of reasoning. Syllogism, inference, analogy. Debated by Buddhists and Hindus for millennia.View on Internet Archive →
- Dignaga, Pramanasamuccaya[Tibetan/Sanskrit], c.480 CEBuddhist EPISTEMOLOGY. Two valid sources: perception and inference. Apoha theory - meaning through exclusion. Logic as path to liberation.View on Internet Archive →
- Dharmakirti, Pramanavarttika[Tibetan/Sanskrit], c.650 CERefinement of Dignaga. MOMENTARINESS of perception. No permanent self. Buddhist logic's pinnacle.View on Internet Archive →
- Vaisheshika Sutra, Kanada's Atomic Theory[Sanskrit philosophical texts], c.200 BCEATOMIC THEORY of matter. Paramanu (atoms) combine to form reality. Categories of existence. Indian natural philosophy.
- Patanjali, Yoga Sutras[Sanskrit with commentaries], c.200 BCESTATES OF CONSCIOUSNESS systematized. Chitta-vritti-nirodha - stilling mental fluctuations. Attention, concentration, samadhi.View on Internet Archive →
- Mohist Canon, Mo Jing[Chinese, Latin excerpts rare], c.300 BCEChinese LOGIC and optics. Definitions, paradoxes, causation. Camera obscura. Rival to Aristotle in rigor. Mohism lost to Confucianism.View on Internet Archive →
- Gongsun Long, White Horse Dialogue[School of Names], c.300 BCE'WHITE HORSE IS NOT HORSE' - semantic paradoxes. Chinese sophistry. Universals vs particulars. Logic through paradox.View on Internet Archive →
- Liezi, Liezi (Book of Lieh-tzu)[Chinese, Latin 17th c.], c.300 BCEContains AUTOMATON STORY - Yan Shi presents mechanical man to King Mu. Earliest robot fiction. 'Made of leather, wood, glue.'View on Internet Archive →
- Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi[Chinese classics], c.300 BCEDREAM ARGUMENT - am I a man dreaming of a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming of being a man? Relativism of consciousness.View on Internet Archive →
- Xunzi, Xunzi (chapters on language)[Chinese philosophical texts], c.250 BCERECTIFICATION OF NAMES - correct naming enables correct thinking. Language shapes cognition. Chinese philosophy of language.View on Internet Archive →
- Yi Jing, I Ching (Book of Changes)[Latin 1687 via Jesuits], c.1000 BCEBINARY SYSTEM of yin/yang lines. 64 hexagrams. Leibniz saw it and developed binary arithmetic. Ancient Chinese 'bits'.View on Internet Archive →
- Descartes, De homine (Traité de l'homme)Leiden: Moyardus & Leffen (posthumous), 1662The body as machine. Mechanistic physiology - nerves as pipes, brain as hydraulic system.View on Internet Archive →
- Pomponazzi, De immortalitate animaeBologna: Giustiniano da Rubiera, 1516Denied immortality of soul on Aristotelian grounds. Caused scandal. Proto-materialist.View on Internet Archive →
- Telesio, De rerum natura iuxta propria principiaNaples: Horatius Salvianus, 1586Anti-Aristotelian naturalism. Nature explained by heat/cold, not forms. Influenced Bacon.View on Internet Archive →
- Wilkins, Essay towards a Real CharacterLondon: Royal Society, 1668Universal philosophical language. Systematic classification of all concepts. Influenced Leibniz.View on Internet Archive →
- Romberch, Congestorium artificiosae memoriaeVenice: Melchior Sessa, 1520Memory palace technique systematized. Visual encoding of information. Precursor to data structures.View on Internet Archive →
- Publicius, Ars memorativaVenice: Erhard Ratdolt, 1482First PRINTED memory treatise. Woodcut diagrams of memory systems.View on Internet Archive →
- Napier, RabdologiaeEdinburgh: Andrew Hart, 1617Napier's Bones - calculating rods for multiplication. First practical calculating device. Also describes 'local arithmetic' (binary!).View on Internet Archive →
- Ramelli, Le diverse et artificiose machineParis: Author, 1588195 engraved platesFamous machine book. Reading wheel (bookwheel), pumps, cranes. Influenced all later machine treatises.View on Internet Archive →
- Zonca, Novo teatro di machine et edificiiPadua: Pietro Bertelli, 160742 platesItalian machine theater. Mills, presses, hydraulics.View on Internet Archive →
- Gómez Pereira, Antoniana MargaritaMedina del Campo: Guillermo de Millis, 1554ARGUED ANIMALS ARE AUTOMATA - 90 years before Descartes! Spanish physician's radical mechanicism.View on Internet Archive →
- Della Porta, De furtivis literarum notisNaples: Johannes Maria Scotus, 1563First modern book on CRYPTOGRAPHY. Substitution ciphers, polyalphabetic systems.View on Internet Archive →
- Witelo, PerspectivaNuremberg: Johannes Petreius, c.1275 (printed 1535)Medieval optics synthesizing Alhazen. Theory of vision and perception. 10 books.View on Internet Archive →
- Bacon, Novum OrganumLondon: John Bill, 1620New method of scientific induction. Tables and exclusions - precursor to data analysis.View on Internet Archive →
- Boole, Laws of ThoughtLondon: Walton & Maberly, 1854Boolean algebra - foundation of digital computing. 'An Investigation of the Laws of Thought'.View on Internet Archive →
- Hobbes, De CorporeLondon: Andrew Crooke, 1655Mechanistic philosophy. 'Reasoning is but reckoning' - computation as thought.View on Internet Archive →
- La Mettrie, L'Homme MachineLeiden: Elie Luzac, 1747Man a Machine - radical materialist treatise. Extends Descartes to humans.View on Internet Archive →
- Leibniz, Explication de l'Arithmétique BinaireParis: Mémoires de l'Académie Royale, 1703BINARY ARITHMETIC explained. Connected to I Ching. Foundation of digital computing.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Jazari, Kitab fi ma'rifat al-hiyal al-handasiyya[Book of Ingenious Devices], 1206Islamic AUTOMATA - water clocks, musical robots, hand-washing peacock. Programmable mechanisms.View on Internet Archive →
- Frege, BegriffsschriftHalle: Louis Nebert, 1879First formal logic system. Predicate calculus - foundation of programming languages and AI.View on Internet Archive →
- Babbage, On the Economy of Machinery and ManufacturesLondon: Charles Knight, 1832Division of labor applied to calculation. Led to Analytical Engine concept.View on Internet Archive →
- Jevons, On the Mechanical Performance of Logical InferenceLondon: Royal Society, 1870The LOGIC PIANO - first machine to perform logical operations. Predecessor to logic gates.View on Internet Archive →
- Peirce, On the Algebra of LogicAmerican Journal of Mathematics, 1885Extended Boolean algebra. Invented truth tables. Foundational for computing.View on Internet Archive →
- Condorcet, Esquisse d'un tableau historiqueParis: Agasse (posthumous), 1795Progress through reason. Probability applied to social science. Early data science thinking.View on Internet Archive →
- Jacquard, [Punched Card System]Lyon: [patents], 1804Punched cards controlling looms. Babbage adopted for Analytical Engine. First 'programming'.
- Locke, An Essay Concerning Human UnderstandingLondon: Thomas Bassett, 1689TABULA RASA - mind as blank slate. Ideas from sensation. Foundation of empiricist psychology.View on Internet Archive →
- Hume, A Treatise of Human NatureLondon: John Noon, 1739Bundle theory of self - no continuous 'I'. Radical skepticism about personal identity.View on Internet Archive →
- Berkeley, A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human KnowledgeDublin: Aaron Rhames, 1710Esse est percipi - to be is to be perceived. Idealism about mind and world.View on Internet Archive →
- Spinoza, Ethica ordine geometrico demonstrataAmsterdam: Jan Rieuwertsz (posthumous), 1677Mind and body as ONE substance. Parallelism. Emotions as confused ideas.View on Internet Archive →
- Descartes, Les Passions de l'ÂmeParis: Henry Le Gras, 1649Mind-body interaction via pineal gland. Classification of emotions. Dualism's last defense.View on Internet Archive →
- Melanchthon, Liber de animaWittenberg: Joseph Klug, 1540Protestant psychology. Soul's faculties. Most-used textbook on mind in 16th century.View on Internet Archive →
- Wolff, Psychologia empiricaFrankfurt: Renger, 1732COINED 'psychology' as a science. Empirical vs rational psychology distinction.View on Internet Archive →
- Condillac, Traité des sensationsParis: De Bure, 1754The STATUE thought experiment - consciousness built from pure sensation. Radical sensationalism.View on Internet Archive →
- Hartley, Observations on ManLondon: Samuel Richardson, 1749ASSOCIATIONISM - all mental life from association of ideas. Vibrations in nerves. Proto-neuroscience.View on Internet Archive →
- Wundt, Grundzüge der physiologischen PsychologieLeipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, 1874Founded EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY. First psychology laboratory (1879). Scientific study of consciousness.View on Internet Archive →
Sanskrit Logic & Philosophy of Mind
India produced 30+ million manuscripts - 100x more than Greek and Latin combined. Less than 1% translated. These texts on logic, language, and consciousness anticipate modern AI by millennia.
- Bhartṛhari, Vākyapadīya[Sanskrit manuscripts], 5th c. CESPHOṬA THEORY - meaning isn't in sounds but in the 'burst' of whole word/sentence. Anticipates holistic semantics, Gestalt, compositionality debates in NLP.View on Internet Archive →
- Bhartṛhari, Vākyapadīya Kāṇḍa I (Subramania Iyer ed.)Deccan College, Poona, 5th c. CE (1966 ed.)Critical edition with English translation. BRAHMAN IS WORD - language as foundation of reality.View on Internet Archive →
- Mallisena Sūri, Syādvāda-mañjarīMotilal Banarsidass (F.W. Thomas trans. 1968), 13th c. CESEVEN-VALUED LOGIC (Saptabhaṅgī) - 2000 years before Łukasiewicz! Maybe is, maybe isn't, maybe both, maybe indescribable... English trans. available but rare.View on Internet Archive →
- Samantabhadra, Āptamīmāṃsā[Sanskrit with English], 2nd c. CEANEKĀNTAVĀDA - non-one-sidedness. Reality has multiple aspects no single predicate captures. Partial knowledge, multi-perspective reasoning.View on Internet Archive →
- Gaṅgeśa, Tattvacintāmaṇi (Pratyakṣa Khaṇḍa)Asiatic Society, Calcutta (1888), 13th c. CEJEWEL OF THOUGHT - founded Navya-Nyāya. 850 pages on perception. Technical metalanguage for inference.View on Internet Archive →
- Gaṅgeśa, Tattvacintāmaṇi (Anumāna Khaṇḍa)Bloomsbury (Stephen Phillips, 2024), 13th c. CEINFERENCE section - vyāpti (pervasion), how to establish universal rules. NOW FULLY TRANSLATED (3-vol Phillips edition).View on Internet Archive →
- Raghunātha Śiromaṇi, Tattvacintāmaṇi-Dīdhiti[Various Sanskrit eds.], 16th c. CETHE CORE OF NAVYA-NYĀYA. Developed formal metalanguage. India's 'Principia Mathematica'. UNTRANSLATED.View on Internet Archive →
- Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakośa-bhāṣya[Sanskrit + Yasomitra commentary], 4th c. CETAXONOMY OF 75 MENTAL FACTORS - attention, intention, perception, memory, reasoning. Closest to cognitive architecture in ancient thought.View on Internet Archive →
- Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakośa (Poussin translation)Paris: Paul Geuthner, 4th c. CE (French 1923)French translation of the 'Treasury of Higher Knowledge'. Buddhist psychology systematized.View on Internet Archive →
- Dignāga, PramāṇasamuccayaUniversity of Mysore, c. 480 CECOMPENDIUM OF VALID COGNITION. Two sources: perception and inference. Foundation of Buddhist logic.View on Internet Archive →
- Dharmakīrti, PramāṇavārttikaBauddha Bharati (1968), c. 650 CEAPOHA THEORY - meaning through exclusion. 'Cow' = 'not non-cow'. Anticipates contrastive learning. 771MB scan.View on Internet Archive →
- Dharmakīrti, Pramāṇavārttika Parts I-II (Yogindranand)[Sanskrit critical ed.], c. 650 CEHigh-resolution (600 PPI) Sanskrit text. Only chapters 1 & 4 have partial trans. (Nagatomi, Tillemans). NO COMPLETE English.View on Internet Archive →
- Gautama, Nyāya Sūtra with Vātsyāyana BhāṣyaPanini Office (1913), c. 200 BCE / 450 CEFOUNDATION OF INDIAN LOGIC. 528 aphorisms on inference, perception, debate. 1913 translation exists but archaic.View on Internet Archive →
- Jayanta Bhaṭṭa, Nyāya-mañjarīMLBD, 9th c. CECOMPENDIUM OF SPECULATIVE LOGIC. Synthesizes Nyāya on valid knowledge, inference patterns, debate fallacies.View on Internet Archive →
- Annambhaṭṭa, Tarkasaṅgraha[Various], 17th c. CE15-PAGE PRIMER covering all Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika basics. 7 categories, 4 knowledge sources, inference structure. Perfect starting point.View on Internet Archive →
- Udayana, Nyāya-kusumāñjaliChowkhamba (1957), 10th c. CE9 LOGICAL PROOFS FOR GOD. Rigorous inference patterns on causation, design, infinite regress.View on Internet Archive →
- Jaimini / Śabara, Mīmāṃsā Sūtra with Śabara BhāṣyaMohan Lal Sandal (1923), c. 200 BCE / 100 CEPHILOSOPHY OF MEANING - how words refer, sentence vs word meaning, injunctive force. Foundation of Indian semantics.View on Internet Archive →
- Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, Ślokavārttika[Sanskrit], 7th c. CEDefense of Vedic authority through LINGUISTIC ANALYSIS. Word-meaning relations, eternality of language.View on Internet Archive →
- Kaṇāda, Vaiśeṣika SūtraNandalal Sinha (1911), c. 200 BCEATOMIC THEORY OF MATTER. Paramāṇu (atoms) combine to form reality. 7 categories of existence.View on Internet Archive →
- Praśastapāda, Padārthadharmasaṅgraha with NyāyakandalīGanganatha Jha (Chowkambha), c. 550 CE / 991 CESystematic VAIŚEṢIKA with Śrīdhara's commentary. Categories, qualities, relations.View on Internet Archive →
- Udayana, KiraṇāvalīGaekwad's Oriental Series (Jetly ed.), 11th c. CEGARLAND OF RAYS on substances. Major Nyāya-Vaiśeṣika synthesis. PARTIAL trans. (Hirano's samavāya chapter).View on Internet Archive →
- Patañjali / Vyāsa, Yoga Sūtra with Vyāsa Bhāṣya[Sanskrit critical ed.], c. 200 BCE / 400 CESYSTEMATIC CONSCIOUSNESS - 5 mental modifications (vṛtti), attention mechanisms, memory (saṃskāra), samādhi states.View on Internet Archive →
- Patañjali, Yoga Sūtra with 3 Commentaries[Sanskrit], c. 200 BCEVyāsa, Vācaspati Miśra, and Bhoja commentaries. Multiple interpretive traditions on consciousness.View on Internet Archive →
- Baudhāyana et al., Śulba Sūtras[Critical study], c. 800-500 BCEALGORITHMIC GEOMETRY - Pythagorean theorem (before Pythagoras), square root algorithms, geometric constructions with rope/stakes.View on Internet Archive →
- Pāṇini, Aṣṭādhyāyī (6-vol critical ed.)Rama Nath Sharma, c. 400 BCE4,000 RULES GENERATING ALL SANSKRIT. Recursive, generative. 'Most rigorous grammar ever written.' Influenced Chomsky.View on Internet Archive →
- Ganguly, A Bibliography of Nyāya PhilosophyNational Library, Calcutta, 19932,358 DOCUMENTS catalogued - 1,030 manuscripts. Navya-Nyāya: 1,020 docs. Essential reference for prioritizing translations.View on Internet Archive →
Arabic Logic, Automata & Algorithms
The Islamic Golden Age (750-1258 CE) preserved Greek philosophy and created new sciences. Arabic gave us 'algorithm' and 'algebra'. These texts on logic, automata, and the mind shaped both medieval Europe and modern computing.
- al-Khwārizmī, Kitāb al-Jabr wa'l-Muqābala[Arabic manuscript], c. 820 CEGave us ALGEBRA and ALGORITHM (from his name). Systematic equation-solving. Foundation of computational thinking.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Khwārizmī, Algebra (Rosen translation, 1831)London: Oriental Translation Fund, c. 820 CE (trans. 1831)First English translation. Arabic text with English. 'Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing.'View on Internet Archive →
- Robert of Chester, Latin Translation of al-Khwārizmī's Algebra[Medieval Latin], c. 1145 CEHow ALGORITHM entered Europe. Latin translation that shaped medieval mathematics.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Jazarī, Kitāb fī ma'rifat al-ḥiyal al-handasiyya[Arabic + Donald Hill trans.], 1206 CEBOOK OF INGENIOUS DEVICES - 100 mechanical devices. Programmable automata, water clocks, musical robots. 'Climax of Muslim achievement.'View on Internet Archive →
- Banū Mūsā, Kitāb al-Ḥiyal (Modern Turkish)[Turkish interpretation], c. 850 CE100 MECHANICAL DEVICES - self-trimming lamps, trick vessels, automata. First programmable flute player. 'Well beyond Hero of Alexandria.'View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), al-Shifā': al-Qiyās (Propositional Logic)D. Reidel (1973), c. 1027 CEPROPOSITIONAL LOGIC from The Healing. Parallel Arabic-English. Foundation of Islamic logic tradition.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), al-Shifā': Physics (Parallel Text)BYU/KFAS, c. 1027 CEFirst complete English translation of Avicenna's PHYSICS. Natural philosophy, causation, motion.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Fārābī, Kitāb al-Ḥurūf (Book of Letters)Zaytuna (Butterworth trans. 2024), c. 900 CEPHILOSOPHY OF LANGUAGE - relation of logic to grammar. How Arabic maps to universal thought. FIRST COMPLETE English trans. 2024!View on Internet Archive →
- al-Fārābī, Risālah fī al-'Aql (Epistle on the Intellect)[Arabic/French], c. 900 CETHEORY OF INTELLECT - active intellect, potential intellect. How mind acquires knowledge.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Fārābī, Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle[English trans.], c. 900 CEHow to read the Greeks. Classification of sciences. 'Second Teacher' after Aristotle.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Abharī, Īsāghūjī fī al-manṭiq[Arabic with trans.], 13th c. CELOGIC PRIMER - 'for beginners in any of the sciences.' Introduction to categories, propositions, syllogisms.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Taymiyya, al-Radd 'alā al-Manṭiqiyyīn[Arabic/English], 1309 CEREFUTATION OF LOGIC - critique of Aristotelian logic from Islamic perspective. Alternative epistemology.View on Internet Archive →
- [Various], Collection of Books on Manṭiq[Arabic/Persian/Urdu], VariousMultiple logic textbooks - 'Summary of Logic', 'Basic Concepts', primers. Islamic logic curriculum.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Ṭufayl, Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān[Arabic + English], c. 1160 CESELF-TAUGHT PHILOSOPHER - child raised alone discovers truth through pure reason. Influenced Locke's tabula rasa, Robinson Crusoe.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Ṭufayl, Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān (Arabic, 1992)Faruk Saad edition, c. 1160 CEArabic critical edition. Thought experiment: can mind know reality without society or revelation?View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Tahāfut al-Tahāfut[Arabic/English], 1180 CEINCOHERENCE OF THE INCOHERENCE - defense of reason against al-Ghazālī. UNITY OF INTELLECT - all minds share one active reason.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics[English trans.], 12th c. CEHow Europe recovered Aristotle. 'The Commentator.' Most scholarly interpreter of Greek philosophy.View on Internet Archive →
- Ibn Rushd (Averroes), Kitāb Faṣl al-Maqāl[Arabic], 12th c. CEDECISIVE TREATISE - can philosophy and religion coexist? Harmony of reason and revelation.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Ghazālī, Tahāfut al-Falāsifa[Arabic/English], 1095 CEINCOHERENCE OF THE PHILOSOPHERS - 20 critiques of Aristotelian philosophy. Sparked Ibn Rushd's response.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb al-Qānūn al-Mas'ūdī[Arabic], c. 1030 CECANON MASUDICUS - encyclopedia of astronomical sciences. 'Masterpiece of Eastern science.' Unpublished for 1000 years.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Bīrūnī, Book of Instruction on Astrology[Arabic + English], c. 1029 CEAstronomical algorithms, calendar calculations, spherical trigonometry. Practical computation.View on Internet Archive →
- al-Bīrūnī, Kitāb fī Taḥqīq mā li'l-Hind[Arabic], c. 1030 CEIndia's philosophy, astronomy, mathematics documented by Arabic scholar. Cross-cultural transmission.View on Internet Archive →
- Walbridge, God and Logic in Islam[English], 2011History of manṭiq (logic) in Islamic thought. How Greeks were received, transformed, debated.View on Internet Archive →
- Abed, Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in al-FārābīSUNY Press, 1991How Arabic grammar shaped logical categories. Language and thought in Islamic philosophy.View on Internet Archive →
- [Various], Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology[English], 2007Translations from al-Kindī, al-Fārābī, Ibn Sīnā, Ibn Rushd. Logic, natural philosophy, metaphysics, ethics.View on Internet Archive →
Not on This List
Already well-served: Cicero, Ovid, Virgil (Loeb); Augustine (multiple series); Erasmus major works (CWE); Thomas Aquinas.
Ongoing projects elsewhere: Johann Gerhard (Concordia, 17 vols); Melanchthon (Newcomb 2022+); Vives (Brill series).
Too large for solo work: Bartolus complete commentaries; Calov Systema (12 vols); complete systematic theologies.