Placidus de Titis
Placidus de Titis (also de Titus, Latinization of Placido de Titi, pseudonym Didacus Prittus Pelusiensis; 1603–1668) was an Olivetan monk and professor of mathematics, physics and astronomy at the University of Pavia from 1657 until his death. Placidus popularized the system of astrological houses now known as the "Placidian system", current in modern astrology. He did not invent the method; it is acknowledged by the 12th century Hebrew astrologer Abraham Ibn Ezra as the system employed by Ptolemy, an attribution that was accepted by Placidus.
Placidus de Titis | |
|---|---|
 Physiomathematica, sive Coelestis philosophia naturalibus hucusque desideratis ostensa principijs, 1650 | |
| Born | 25 December 1603 |
| Died | 1668 (aged 64–65) |
| Occupation | Monk, mathematician, astronomer, astrologer |
| Known for | Placidian system |
Biography
Placidus was born in Perugia, into the Titi noble family. His father died early, and he was looked after by his mother Cecilia. He studied at the University of Padua where his uncle Girolamo de Titi was professor of theology. The Duchy of Milan at the time was owned by Habsburg Spain, administered by Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria. The Archduke showed strong interest in science, especially occult sciences of alchemy and astrology, and Placidus dedicated his astrological house tables to him. He died in Pavia.
Works
- De motibus directionum coelestium mobilium (1641)
- Physiomathematica sive coelestis philosophia (1650), Placidus' magnum opus, first published as Quaestionum physiomathematicarum libri tres, under the pseudonym of Didacus Prittus Pelusiensis, second edition by C. Francobacci und A. Scirota (pseudonyms of two of Placidus' students, F. Brunacci and F. M. Onorati)
- Physiomathematica, sive Coelestis philosophia naturalibus hucusque desideratis ostensa principijs (in Latin). Milano: Giovanni Battista Malatesta. 1650.
- Nuncius astronomicus (1654)
- Il corriere astronomico (1656)
- Tabulae primi mobilis cum thesibus et canonibus (1657)
- Commentaria in Ptolemaeum de siderum judiciis (1658)
- De siderum judiciis, 2 vols. (1660, 1665)
- Ephemeridum caelestium motuum (in Latin). Pavia: Giovanni Ghidini. 1661.
- De diebus decretoriis et aegrorum decubitu, 2 vols. (1661, 1665)
- Ephemerides coelestium motuum (1661-1665)
- Tocco di paragone (in Italian). Pavia: Giovanni Andrea Magri. 1665.
- Tocco di paragone onde evidentemente appare che l’astrologia nelle parti concesse da S. Chiesa è vera scienza, naturale, nobile, et utile quanto la filosofia (1666), in defense of astrology as a natural science.
- Ephemeridum caelestium motuum (in Latin). Pavia: Giovanni Ghidini. 1666.
Further reading
- Baldini, Ugo (2019). "TITI, Placido". Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Volume 95: Taranto–Togni (in Italian). Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- Bezza, Giuseppe (2006). ""Astra non esse signa rerum, quarum non sunt causae": la causalità astrologica in Placido Titi". Bruniana & Campanelliana. 12 (2): 633–639. JSTOR 24335278.