A Consul of the Philosophers, On what is given and what is not in the Cosmos

Abstract

A Byzantine text, ascribed to a “consul of the philosophers”, applies the “language of the givens” to the main circles on the celestial sphere, showing which of them are “given”, and in what sense. This text is here presented, edited, translated, and compared with its source. A discussion about the author of the text is also provided.

Keywords

• Byzantine astronomy
• Byzantine mathematics
• Consul of the philosophers
• Language of the givens