Nativity Chart for Philip Melancthon
Melancthon taught philosophy at Wittenberg University in the 16th century; he was a contemporary of Martin Luther, and in fact taught him the Greek language. He was one of the leaders of the early Protestant movement. [more...]
[$]Nativity of Christ [detail: star chart]
“The NATIVITY of our Blessed LORD and SAVIOUR, JESUS CHRIST. [more...]
[$]Nativity of Christ [detail: crib scene]
This engraved drawing of the Nativity, that is, of the birth of Jesus Christ, appears beneath the atrological star chart for Jesus. The nativity scene shows Mary and Joseph, with the new-born baby boy naked in Mary’s lap. Three “wise man” are offering gifts, one kneeling, one sitting and one prostrating himself. The famous star is shining a beam of light onto the boy. There is straw on the floor, and a barred window, but the wall is open, presumably as an artistic device, and [...] [more...]
[$]“I have subjoined a plate of the Armillary Sphere, which is an artificial contrivance, representing the several circles proper to the theory of the mundane world, put togeher in their natural order, to ease and assist the imagination in conceiving the constitution of the spheres, and the various phenomena of the celestial bodies. For this purpose the Earth is placed at the center, pierced by a line supposed to be its axis, the upper point of which is fixed in [...] [more...]
[$]Armillary Sphere, Scanned Version
I scanned the Armillary Sphere again (oops), and this time decided to publish the illustration moer or less as it came off the scanner, as a picture from an old book. [more...]
[$]“Such was the prime-eval happy state of Man. But departing from his innocency, by the secret insinuations infused into his mind by the fallen spirit Satan, he lusted after palpability in the flesh, turned his face to the elements, deserted [...]