Tree of Science

Among the most creative ideas to emerge from the mind of the Catalan philosopher and logician Ramon Llull was the "tree of science". Llull, who was born about 1232, wrote this mature work in Rome between 1295 and 1296. The Tree of Science (Arbre de la ciència, Arbor Scientiae) explores the generality of science, ars magna, for the non-university reader.

Llull's trees are not true networks but simply rely on a teaching analogy that had become popular in the preceding 13th century: the comparison with an organism, in which each science is represented by a tree with roots, trunk, branches, leaves and fruits. It is perhaps not a surprise that the comparison mixes with the idea of Christ's cross as a tree. Here is a drawing on fol 266r:

The roots represent the basic principles of each science; the trunk is the structure; the branches, the genres; the leaves, the species; and the fruits, the individual, his/her acts and his/her finalities (Wikipedia). The 16 trees in the work have been described as an "encyclopaedic grove".

The Vatican Library's copy dates from 1428 and is bound in two volumes. The first has been online for a while, and the second part came online last week and opens with the incipit, In desolatione et fletibus stans Raymundus sub quadam arbore.  The electronic Thorndike and Kibre (eTK) adds that the title first appeared in print at Barcelona in 1482.

Last week's digitizations also include several items in Beneventan script and a selection of law texts:

1. Barb.lat.3808,
2. Chig.R.VIII.62,
3. Ross.9,
4. Vat.gr.1298.pt.1 (Upgraded to HQ),
5. Vat.ind.20,
6. Vat.ind.43 (Upgraded to HQ),
7. Vat.ind.44 (Upgraded to HQ),
8. Vat.ind.46 (Upgraded to HQ),
9. Vat.lat.2136 (Upgraded to HQ),
10. Vat.lat.2267,
11. Vat.lat.2280 (Upgraded to HQ),  Huguccio, Summa Decreti (1ra- 248rb; 256ra-370vb); Johannes de Deo, Continuatio Summae Huguccionis [Cause 23-26] (371ra-388rb)
12. Vat.lat.2291, Baldus, Lectura in Codicem [I] (1ra-118rb)
13. Vat.lat.2292, Baldus, Lectura in Codicem [VI] (1ra-335vb)
14. Vat.lat.2294,
15. Vat.lat.2317 (Upgraded to HQ),
16. Vat.lat.2500,
17. Vat.lat.2556, Panormitanus, Apparatus on the Decretales [X 3]
18. Vat.lat.2675,
19. Vat.lat.2720,
20. Vat.lat.2920 (Upgraded to HQ),
21. Vat.lat.2927,
22. Vat.lat.2958,
23. Vat.lat.2977,

    Another copy of Aristotle's logical works in the newest list of @DigitaVaticana by @JBPiggin. Initial with teacher and students coming out of a knight's mouth...https://t.co/b6b4220D3g pic.twitter.com/2rWloLZBwt

    — Pieter Beullens (@LatinAristotle) July 25, 2018

24. Vat.lat.3183,
25. Vat.lat.3353 (Upgraded to HQ),

    Angelo Colocci, Renaissance humanist, collector of antiquities, friend of Raphael, was born #OnThisDay in 1474. The Vatican Library houses a lot of manuscripts that had once belonged to him. Vat. lat. 3388 e Vat. lat. 3353 are now among the #LatestDigitizedManuscripts👓🔎📚🏛️📜 pic.twitter.com/SvWhgS1pA0

    — Digita Vaticana (@DigitaVaticana) July 24, 2018

26. Vat.lat.3380,
27. Vat.lat.3388 (Upgraded to HQ), Angelo Colocci, see @DigitaVatican tweet above
28. Vat.lat.3402 (Upgraded to HQ),
29. Vat.lat.3406,
30. Vat.lat.3428,
31. Vat.lat.3444,
32. Vat.lat.3453 (Upgraded to HQ),
33. Vat.lat.3457.pt.1,
34. Vat.lat.3468.pt.2, Llull (above)
35. Vat.lat.3471,
36. Vat.lat.3472,
37. Vat.lat.3480,
38. Vat.lat.3484,
39. Vat.lat.3487,
40. Vat.lat.3489,
41. Vat.lat.3490,
42. Vat.lat.3494,
43. Vat.lat.3495,
44. Vat.lat.3496,
45. Vat.lat.3502,
46. Vat.lat.3505,
47. Vat.lat.3507,
48. Vat.lat.3512,
49. Vat.lat.3539, a late 11th century Beneventan script item noticed by Lowe: Sulpicius Severus, Vita S. Martini; Caesarius, Homiliae; Basilius, Regula, etc.
    
50. Vat.lat.3542,
51. Vat.lat.3544,
52. Vat.lat.3549, another late 11th century Beneventan script item noticed by Lowe: Cassianus, Collationes.
53. Vat.lat.3563,
54. Vat.lat.3567 (Upgraded to HQ),
55. Vat.lat.3569,
56. Vat.lat.3585,
57. Vat.lat.3589,
58. Vat.lat.3590,
59. Vat.lat.3605,
60. Vat.lat.3607,
61. Vat.lat.3609 (Upgraded to HQ),
62. Vat.lat.3623,
63. Vat.lat.3628,
64. Vat.lat.3629,
65. Vat.lat.3643,
66. Vat.lat.3644,
67. Vat.lat.3650,
68. Vat.lat.3652,
69. Vat.lat.3662,
70. Vat.lat.3691,

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 170. Thanks to @gundormr for harvesting. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.