Eight Books of Mechanics, in Which the Powers of the Lever Are Explained Physically and Demonstrated Geometrically by One and the Same Principle, and a Method of Composing Machines of Every Kind Is Proposed

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Original title: Mechanicorum libri octo, in quibus uno eodemque principio vectis vires physicè explicantur & geometricè demonstrantur, atque machinarum omnis generis componendarum methodus proponitur An illustrated Latin treatise of some eight hundred pages ([16], 799 pp.) on the science of machines by the Jesuit mathematician Paolo Casati of Piacenza. It was printed at Lyon by the Anissons, Jean Posuel and Claude Rigaud, with a dedication to Louis XIV dated at Parma in May 1683. According to the preface, it develops material Casati first taught at the Collegio Romano in 1654. Its eight books treat the centre of gravity, the causes of machine motion, the balance, the lever, the axle-in-wheel, the pulley, the wedge with percussion, and the screw. The title promises to explain all mechanical powers by the principle of the lever, but the text argues that a machine creates no force. Instead, a machine accommodates a resistance to a power by apportioning velocities, spaces and times, preserving a 'perpetual justice' among them. It pairs physical explanation with geometrical demonstration and discusses gravity and positive levity, impetus, percussion, elastic force, fraudulent balances, and friction. Its applied material includes oars, masts, pulleys, mills, counting devices, clockwork, bells and lunar-phase gearing. 👉 Read our introductory primer, full report, and finding guide here 📜 View the original source file This text was transcribed and translated as part of the ExLatinis project—an effort by Leo to make English translations of every published text in Latin in early modern Europe (between 1450 and 1750) available to the public for free online.

• Read our introductory primer, full report, and finding guide here
• View the original source file

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