Customer Reviews (1)

Albert the Great - Man & Beasts: A Handy Companion...
As an Albertist for over ten years now, please do accept my judgement on this book where it may be found. As publisher of the only Complete Works of Albertus Magnus, I was delighted to read this translated summary from Albert's Opera Omnia. Amazon is offeringanother work, much fuller in scope on the De Animalibus of Albert, but Ihave not read it yet. Still, that is probably a very good offering as well(as Father Wallace O.P., the fine Dominican Scholar, guided Ken Kitchell,editing author of the newer work).

Scholastically yours, al pinto -Albertus Magnus Publishers ... Read more

Book Description
The Commentary of Albertus Magnus on Book I of Euclid's Elements of Geometry is the third in Lo Bello's series on the Elements. Lo Bello provides the first modern translation of a key Latin text of the Elements in the Middle Ages, the commentary of the Dominican scholastic philosopher Albertus Magnus (d. 1280), the teacher of Thomas Aquinas. The volume includes a translation, notes on the translation, and a critical examination of the mathematical content of the three commentaries on Euclid's Elements of Geometry thus far treated in this series. ... Read more

Book Description

Dating from the mid-thirteenth century, Albert the Great's monumental treatise on living things, their characteristics, and their place in the natural order stands as one of the most valuable contributions to the history of science, ranking in importance with the writings of Aristotle and Linnaeus. Yet until now--more than seven hundred years after his death--Albert's De Animalibus has never been completely translated from the original Latin.

Drawing on all available source materials, Kenneth F. Kitchell, Jr., and Irven Michael Resnick present the first complete, fully annotated English translation of this magisterial work. It is, as they explain, a summa in two senses of the word. First, it is a "summary,"a summation of all contemporary knowledge in a given field. Albert writes of human anatomy, reproductive theories, equine and canine veterinary medicine, folk remedies against household pests, cures for rabies and sterility, how to train a falcon, whether an ostrich will eat iron, and much, much more. At the same time, this work is a summa in that it is the epitome or highest expression of this sort of work. It represents the first passage to the Latin West of Aristotle's natural works. Yet it adds to the received text the vast knowledge Albert acquired in a lifetime of observing, testing, and recording. The result is unique, highly reflective of the period in which it was written, and remarkably forward looking.

The work is scholarly, to be sure, but it can also be highly entertaining, offering useful insights into medieval life not seen elsewhere. Whether Albert writes of his early experiences in falconry or relates what he learned in conversations with fisherman, soldiers, and craftsmen, we are drawn into a real, day-to-day world where the lure and lore of animals are of paramount importance. The subjects range from castrated, philandering priests who nonetheless manage to produce children to medical marvels and physiognomic trails. Do bats have legs and birds bladders? Can partridges really become impregnated via the wind? Why do children's teeth grow back, but those of adults do not? How do people pretend to wiggle their ears? Why are people occasionally produced with too many fingers, and what causes what today are called Siamese twins? Albert's interest in the world around him was truly universal and in this way, too, he is the Doctor Universalis.

Customer Reviews (1)

Its good for fishes!
I can only comment on the material pertaining to aquatic animals in this translation. And my comments are limited as those of an ichthyologist who knows only a little Latin. It is a cliche but Magnus was a candle in the darkness of the Middle Ages. As such he deserves a modern English translation. Furthermore this is a scholarly annoted edition. The species allocations for Magnus animals have been systematically considered and whilst there will be alternative interpretations, the evidence for Drs Reznick and Kitchell's positions is always sound. This is an essential tome for anyone interested in the development of biological (especially ichthyological) thought in Europe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Albertus Magnus and the Sciences - Real Albertism At Work...
Let me economize on words by saying that this book is a wonderful companion for the Albertist or any scholar concerned with Faith & Science. The editor was Father Weisheipl, an Albertist and Scholastic of first-rate credentials. You will do well to buy thisbook...

scholastically yours, al pinto - Albertus Magnus Publishers... ... Read more

Book Description
The attribution of the Speculum Astronomiae to AlbertusMagnus became a controversial issue only recently, when the greatneo-Thomist historian Pierre Mandonnet suggested -- without anyantecedents -- that the author was Roger Bacon rather than Albert.Mandonnet's theses were refuted by Lynn Thorndike and have since thenbeen the subject of widespread discussion.
The present historiographical case-study considers this debate in thelight of an analysis of texts by Albert himself, as well as otherimportant authors, such as Bacon, Bonaventura, Thomas Aquinas, Witelo,Campanus of Novara, and others, which shows how widespread the generalconcept of the influence of the stars and other astrological ideas tobe found in the Speculum were. Most of the scientific ideas ofthe Middle Ages were based on principles derived from the notion ofcelestial influence and its consequences. The Speculum drew thefundamental outlines of this discipline into a theoretical andbibliographical introduction -- no small achievement -- and wasconsequently greeted with great interest and used as a standardreference book for many centuries. Set against the background ofdiscussions taking place in the 1260s, within the Dominican Order aswell as in the Faculties of Arts, Zambelli removes all doubt that theSpeculum was written by Albert, possibly with somecollaboration.
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