Friday, November 14, 2025

Comenius CVI: the Celestial Sphere [2]; text and vocabulary [1]

The Celestial Sphere │ Sphera cælestis

[i] caelestis, -e: heavenly < caelum, -ī [2/n]: sky; heaven

alternative spellings: coelestis, -e; coelum, -ī [2/n]

caelestia, -ium [3/n/pl]: heavenly bodies

[ii] Note the spelling shift of CL sphaera > post-Classical / Mediaeval: sphera > Engl. deriv. sphere; this is a regular shift

[1] Astronomy considereth the motion of the stars, astrology the effects of them. │ Astronomia cōnsīderat mōtūs astrōrumastrologia eōrum effectūs.

[i]

astrum, -ī [2/n]: star

astronomia, -ae [1/f]: astronomy

astrologia, -ae [1/f]: astrology

“These terms were at first synonymous expressions among the ancients, both signifying ‘the science of the stars.’ But afterwards astrology came to mean that part of the science which deals with the supposed influence of the stars on the destinies of men.”

https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:entry=astronomia-harpers

[ii] mōtus, -ūs [4/m]: motion

effectus, -ūs [4/m]: effect

Many 4th declension nouns are formed from perfect passive participles:

moveō, -ēre, mōvī, mōtus [2]: move > mōtus, -ūs [4/m]: movement; motion

efficiō, -ere, effēcī, effectus [3-iō]: accomplish > effectus, -ūs [4/m]: accomplishment; effect

Similarly:

audiō, -īre, audīvī, audītus [3]: hear > audītus, -ūs [4/m]: (the sense of) hearing

olfaciō, -ere, olfēcī, olfactus [3-iō]: smell > olfactus, -ūs [4/m]: (the sense of) smell

tangō, -ere, tetigī, tāctus [3]: touch > tāctus, -ūs [4/m]: (the sense of) touch

videō, -ēre, vīdī, vīsus [2]: see > vīsus, -ūs [4/m]: (the sense of) sight