Ptolemy of Alexandria.—Your correspondent, "QUERY," wishes to be informed what works of Ptolemy have been translated. The following, as far as I can learn, is a list of them, viz.:—
"The Compost of Ptholomeus, Prynce of Astronomye, translated out of the Frenche into Englysshe." London, printed by Robert Wyer, no date, 12mo. There is also another edition of the same work, London, printed by T. Colwell, without date, 12mo.
"The Bounding of Greece-Land, according to Ptolomeus; Englished out of the Greek, by Thos. Wilson." London, 1570, 4to.
N.B. This is included in Wilson's translation of Demosthenes' Olynthiacs.
"The Geography of Ptolemy, so far as it relates to Britain; in Greek and English, with observations by J. Horsley." London, 1732, folio.
N.B. This forms a part of the Britannia Romana.
"Quadripartite; or Four Books concerning the Influence of the Stars, faithfully rendered into English, from Leo Allatius; with Notes, explaining the most difficult and obscure Passages, by John Whalley." London, 1701 and 1786, 12mo.
"Tetrabiblos, or Quadripartite; being Four Books, of the Influence of the Stars, newly translated from the Greek Paraphrase of Proclus; with a Preface, explanatory Notes, and an Appendix containing Extracts from the Almagest of Ptolemy, and the whole of his Colloquy, &c. by J.M. Ashmand." London, 1822, 8vo.
I am indebted to Watt's Bibliotheca Britannica for the titles of the first three of these works. The others I have in my possession.
W.J. BROWN.
Old Street.
There are several real or pretended translations of the astrological work—some certainly pretended—and Ptolemy's name is on many astrological titlepages which do not even pretend to translate. The Geography, as far as Britain is concerned, is said to be in Dr. Henry's History of Great Britain, 1788. Some works in harmonics appear in lists as translations or close imitations of Ptolemy, as John Keeble's, 1785, Francis Styles, Phil. Trans. vol. li. Various dissertations on minor pieces exist: but there is no English translation of the Almagest, &c., though it exists in French (see Smith's Biograph. Dict. art. PTOLEMY). If an English reader wants to know Ptolemy's astronomical methods and hypotheses, nothing will suit him better than Narrien's History of Astronomy.