Bonet de Lattes
Encyclopedia
Bonet de Lattes was a Jewish physician and astrologer. He is known chiefly as the inventor of an astronomical ring-dial by means of which solar and stellar altitudes can be measured and the time determined with great precision by night as well as by day. He lived in the latter part of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the sixteenth.
Originally from Provence
, and belonging to a family that had its origin in Lattes
near Montpellier
, he was forced to leave Provence when the Jews were expelled from that land and settled in Carpentras
. From there, he went to Rome, where he became physician to Pope Alexander VI
, and later to Pope Leo X
.
At this time he became rabbi
of the Jewish community, to which he was able to render much assistance. He married the daughter of the physician Comprat Mossé of Aix.
Bonet described the use of his instrument in a treatise written in Carpentras, the full title of which is: Boneti de Latis, Medici Provenzalis, Annuli per eum Composti Super Astrologiæ Utilitate. It appeared as a supplement to the Calculatio Composta in Rima de Juliano de Dati, Rome, 1493, and was dedicated to Pope Alexander VI. At the end, Bonet craves pardon for his bad Latin, on the score of being a Hebrew. The treatise was republished by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
, together with his own commentary on John Sacrobosco's De Sphæra Mundi and Euclid
's Geometry, Paris, 1500. Editions were also published in 1507, 1521, and 1534. Two editions appeared later at Marburg, in 1537 and 1557. In bad Latin, Bonet wrote a treatise entitled Prognosticum, published at Rome in 1498, and dedicated to Cardinal Valentiniani and Cardinal de Borgia, in which he predicted the coming of the Messiah
in the year 1505. A full account of the book is to be found in Abraham Farrisol's manuscript, "Magen Abraham," or "Wikuaḥ ha-Dat."
A pupil of the above-mentioned Jacob Faber, Charles Bovillus (1470–1553), relates in the preface to his Dialogi de Trinitate that he met Bonet de Lates in the Roman ghetto in 1507, and went to his house in order to see the ring that he had invented. The top part of the house was a synagogue containing the ark, hidden by a curtain, and books, lamps, and praying-scarfs. Here, also, Bonet's thirty-two-year-old son was discovered deeply immersed in the study of philosophy. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, in dredging the River Tiber, a long marble slab was found with an inscription, which had probably been affixed to this house of Bonet's. Bovillus refers, also, to a lengthy theological argument that he had with Bonet, and he seems to imply that the son was in the end convinced of the truth of the Christian faith.
It is evidence of the position held by Bonet at the papal court that on 13 October 1513, Reuchlin begged him to use his influence in order that the examination of the Augenspiegel should not be given into the hands of a commission made up of strangers, at all events not of Dominicans
. Further, Bonet's intercession seems to have been successful.
Bonet is known to have had two sons. One, Joseph, continued to remain in the papal favor; the other, Immanuel, was also in the service of the pope, from whom he received a regular salary.
Originally from Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, and belonging to a family that had its origin in Lattes
Lattes, Hérault
Lattes is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France.-References:...
near Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
, he was forced to leave Provence when the Jews were expelled from that land and settled in Carpentras
Carpentras
Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It stands on the banks of the Auzon...
. From there, he went to Rome, where he became physician to Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI , born Roderic Llançol i Borja was Pope from 1492 until his death on 18 August 1503. He is one of the most controversial of the Renaissance popes, and his Italianized surname—Borgia—became a byword for the debased standards of the Papacy of that era, most notoriously the Banquet...
, and later to Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
.
At this time he became rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
of the Jewish community, to which he was able to render much assistance. He married the daughter of the physician Comprat Mossé of Aix.
Bonet described the use of his instrument in a treatise written in Carpentras, the full title of which is: Boneti de Latis, Medici Provenzalis, Annuli per eum Composti Super Astrologiæ Utilitate. It appeared as a supplement to the Calculatio Composta in Rima de Juliano de Dati, Rome, 1493, and was dedicated to Pope Alexander VI. At the end, Bonet craves pardon for his bad Latin, on the score of being a Hebrew. The treatise was republished by Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples
Jacques Lefèvre d’Étaples or Jacob Faber Stapulensis was a French theologian and humanist. He was a precursor of the Protestant movement in France. The "d’Étaples" was not part of his name as such, but used to distinguish him from Jacques Lefèvre of Deventer, a less significant contemporary, a...
, together with his own commentary on John Sacrobosco's De Sphæra Mundi and Euclid
Euclid
Euclid , fl. 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematician, often referred to as the "Father of Geometry". He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I...
's Geometry, Paris, 1500. Editions were also published in 1507, 1521, and 1534. Two editions appeared later at Marburg, in 1537 and 1557. In bad Latin, Bonet wrote a treatise entitled Prognosticum, published at Rome in 1498, and dedicated to Cardinal Valentiniani and Cardinal de Borgia, in which he predicted the coming of the Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
in the year 1505. A full account of the book is to be found in Abraham Farrisol's manuscript, "Magen Abraham," or "Wikuaḥ ha-Dat."
A pupil of the above-mentioned Jacob Faber, Charles Bovillus (1470–1553), relates in the preface to his Dialogi de Trinitate that he met Bonet de Lates in the Roman ghetto in 1507, and went to his house in order to see the ring that he had invented. The top part of the house was a synagogue containing the ark, hidden by a curtain, and books, lamps, and praying-scarfs. Here, also, Bonet's thirty-two-year-old son was discovered deeply immersed in the study of philosophy. Toward the end of the nineteenth century, in dredging the River Tiber, a long marble slab was found with an inscription, which had probably been affixed to this house of Bonet's. Bovillus refers, also, to a lengthy theological argument that he had with Bonet, and he seems to imply that the son was in the end convinced of the truth of the Christian faith.
It is evidence of the position held by Bonet at the papal court that on 13 October 1513, Reuchlin begged him to use his influence in order that the examination of the Augenspiegel should not be given into the hands of a commission made up of strangers, at all events not of Dominicans
Dominican Order
The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...
. Further, Bonet's intercession seems to have been successful.
Bonet is known to have had two sons. One, Joseph, continued to remain in the papal favor; the other, Immanuel, was also in the service of the pope, from whom he received a regular salary.