Mireille Crossley's article was first published in the Skyscript Newsletter, #11 Aug 23, pp.11-16.
Marcus Manilius’ five-volume Astronomica is the oldest comprehensive work on astrological theory extant. A beautifully constructed didactic poem, it holds our earliest description of house meanings, provides detailed instruction on how to calculate the ascendant and the major celestial circles, and presents the symbolism of the zodiac signs and constellations, as well as exploring the theory and use of aspects, profections, decans, and numerous related principles and techniques.
References within the text show that Manilius was a Roman citizen during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, so he wrote his work sometime around the turn of the first century (c. 14 CE). It is almost certainly the case that he was versifying passages from earlier authors, such as Aratus and Geminus, and that his work survived because of its artistic format. As to what is known of the man – a great deal of mystery surrounds the circumstances of his life, within which fascinating details emerge. Mireille Crossley’s excellently researched article explores this theme, offering an illuminating tour of the clues we must piece together to appreciate who Manilius was and how his work became rediscovered and transmitted.
A complete English translation of the Astronomica was made by the Classical Scholar George Patrick Goold in 1977, published as part of the Loeb Classical Library. Before this, English language translations started to appear in the late 17th century, and include:
The outline content of the five books is as follows:
Learn more about Manilius by reading, listening to or watching Mireille Crossley's biographical account of what is and is not known about the poet Manilius, which includes a focused, digestible timeline for his work’s rediscovery, transmission and reproduction. This pieces together a feasible biography with plausible details, allowing – for the first time – the figure of Manilius to emerge as a relatable, full-bodied character rather than a shady figure for which nothing is known other than a name and a handful of sketchy, generally awkward, self-contradictory potentials.
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The artistic elegance Manilius lent to his subject made the Astronomica one of the most influential astrology texts of the Renaissance. Nowhere do we come closer to appreciating the poetic skill and lyrical intent of the original design than in the versified translation of Book I, published by Sir Edward Sherburne in 1675 for the delight of King Charles II.
Sherburne’s Sphere is a majestic rendering of the first book of the Astronomica, a celestial journey that lays the ground for understanding the celestial framework of astrology. It starts the poet’s guidebook by explaining the construction, division and revolution of the sky (essential knowledge for an ancient astrologer since drawing up an astrological ‘chart’ requires knowledge of what is being charted). This book introduces and places the constellations, defines the celestial circles, explains how to find, monitor and measure the stars and planets, and offers a poet’s tour of awesome phenomena such as the Milky Way and the ominous lights of comets and fiery meteors.
This text is a delight for the way that it re-animates ancient history and sees the sky as a cultural projection screen throbbing with the influence of ancient gods and Homeric heroes. The poet’s narration draws out anecdotes, legends and myths, exploring classical philosophies while recounting great battles and strides of history, including the foundation of Rome, the conflicts of Troy, the conquests of Alexander, the Roman Civil Wars, and the emergence of the Roman Empire under Augustus which brought the Hellenistic period to a close as Egypt became yoked to Rome.
Sherburne’s versified translation is a work of art in itself, and his subject expertise is strikingly obvious in his overflowing marginalia, though much of this would have benefitted from the services of a staunch editor (with so much extra information, it is hard for a reader to know what is truly useful and what is drawing away from the work’s main focus).
Skyscript’s new publication of his work is the fruit of an ongoing Manilius Reading Group project with many dedicated collaborators. Beautifully set out and retaining the splendour of Sherburne’s poetic rendering of the Latin original, this includes a whole new set of helpful annotations and illustrations to aid understanding of complex astrological details or obscure historical points. The generous preview should illustrate why this publication deserves the attention of all astrologers, scholars, and history enthusiasts – and note that this is a fundraising project where all proceeds go towards Skyscript’s hosting and development costs.
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Modern scholars often overlook Garrod’s work on the Astronomica because he only undertook the translation of Book II, the longest and most challenging of the five books to translate with elegance. As the first modern English translation of any part of Manilius’ text, Garrod broke valuable new ground, and his work received a warm reception amongst academic and astrological societies at the time of publication because it is so carefully constructed and accompanied by copious commentary and scholarly apparatus. He said of it, “The Translation aims to give an accurate rendering of the Latin and makes little pretension to literary quality” (p.vi). The later translator, G. P. Goold, held it in high esteem and declared in his own Preface: “My indebtedness to Garrod’s translation of Book 2 and to other published selections will be obvious”.
Garrod’s Preface reveals a scholar who sometimes felt overwhelmed by much labour that brought little reward. He confessed, “not only is the second book hard, but the commentaries on it are hard too. No one commentary suffices” (p.v). Yet despite his grumbles on certain points he clearly had a huge respect for the text he was working on, saying of Manilius at the end of his Preface (xii):
[Bentley ...] went so far as to say that Manilius and Ovid, alone among the Latins, possessed ‘wit’. What exactly Bentley understood here by ‘wit’ I do not undertake to say. But I cannot take leave of Manilius without expressing the sense which I have of the fine poetical quality of much of his work. He possesses something more valuable to a poet than wit – personality. He is a clear soul in a turbid age, and a poet whose utterance is still genuine and fresh in a period of factitious speech. To one or two sentiments that are a permanent part of all reflection in confused and sceptical times he has given beautiful expression. No one among the ancients has drawn out more movingly the contrast between the disorder of human history and the calm and continuity of the workings of nature.
Book II is mainly concerned with features and classifications of the zodiac signs, the harmonious or hostile relationships formed between planets within them, principles of angularity and the 12 celestial houses. It is a particularly important source for these topics, being the oldest text we have that presents their significations in detail and being quite unusual in some of the particulars given, allowing us to see concepts that appear to have been dropped after the more substantial influence of Ptolemy’s Tetrabiblos.
The book begins (as all five books of the Astronomica do) with an introductory Proem – a poetic preamble which here explores the great precedents of hexameter poetry in antiquity. Hexameter poetry consists of lines of verses which measure six feet (a ‘foot’ in this sense is the pulse, or major accent, of words which in Greek or Latin verse describes various combinations of syllables). This consistency of pulse makes such poems easy to set to rhythmic sounds, and whereas we read them as poems today many, like the Astronomica, are internally described as being ‘songs’, with the expectation that they would be recited or sung by bards for public entertainment. This introductory homage to historical poets moves Manilius to a place where he can claim originality for being the first to introduce to this lyrical genre an opus dedicated to the topic of astrology. As the preamble continues it shifts its theme to glorifying astrology as a majestic topic, illustrating how the subject is underpinned by the loftier tenets of stoic philosophy and metaphysics, making it, in itself, a study of Divine Reason. Garrod summarises this section beautifully, in showing the motivation of Manilius is the pursuit of art over aquisition of adoration (p.61):
So high a theme is only for select souls. This poem is addressed only to the few. The stars will hear it and marvel. And so will a small band of men upon earth.
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Born in Wells, Somerset, England, Garrod studied classics at Oxford and started to receive recognition for his outstanding contributions around 1901, the year he was elected a Fellow of Merton College, Oxford. In 1918 he was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for the work he did with the Ministry of Munitions during the First World War. Garrod became the Oxford Professor of Poetry between 1923 and 1928, took up a Professorship of Poetry at Harvard University in 1929-1930, and was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA) for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies in 1931. His literary work involved several series of Oxford English Texts and numerous critical studies on historical poets, including Keats, Wordsworth, Byron and the 1st century CE Latin poets Manilius and Publius Statius. Garrod never married and died on Christmas Day 1960 at the age of 82.
© Skyscript: October 2024. Reproductions allowed for private, non-commercial use, but please respect the work of our contributors by acknowledging this page as the source for information gained from it. Skyscript resources may be downloaded for personal study but must not be circulated or distributed without permission; this web page is the only legitimate source of distribution for the publications hosted on this page. Page layout and images by D. Houlding, using the following components under the 'fair use' copyright policy: title image, page elements from Barterbooks.com auction listing for 'M Manilii. Astronomicon'; Sherburne portrait, captured from Invaluable.com auction listing for 'Portrait of Sir Edward Sherburne (1618-1702); Garrod portrait from Wikimedia.
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Mireille Crossley has been an astrological researcher and practitioner for over 30 years, obtaining the Diploma of the Faculty of Astrological Studies in 1994 (DFAstrolS), studying Olivia Barclay’s QHP course and in 2022 completing the STA Horary Practitioner course. Mireille runs the Skyscript Manilius Reading Group which is a monthly meeting held for Skyscript members where the details presented in Manilius' Astronomica are explored in detail. A French native, now based in Edinburgh, and a member of the British and Scottish Astrological Associations, Mireille can be contacted for enquiries on astrological consulations at [email protected]. |
Deborah Houlding, based in the UK, is the creator of this website (Skyscript) and has worked as an astrological consultant / researcher / lecturer / author since the late 1980s. Past editor of The Traditional Astrologer (1993 to 2000) and founder of the STA School of Traditional Astrology, she is best known as author of the STA Practitioners-Level Horary Course and the Wessex Astrologer book The Houses: Temples of the Sky. Besides numerous articles published in international journals, she is also the editor of a modern type, annotated edition of William Lilly's Christian Astrology, Anthony Griffin's Astrological Judgement Touching Theft, various other annotated historical works, and the co-author (with Oner Doser) of the Turkish language horary textbook Soru Astrolojisi: Horary Astrology (2015). Deborah's astrological work has been noted for outstanding achievement and excellence amongst her peers. In 2010 she was awarded the Charles Harvey Award by the Astrological Association of Great Britain "in recognition of exceptional service to astrology"; in 2011 she was made an Honorary Member of the Astrological Association of Romania for "acknowledged sustained contributions to the promotion of astrology". In 2012 she was honoured as the first recipient of the Jayavidya International Astrology Award instituted by the Cultural Association Jayavidya for "cultural contributions to the field of astrology", and in 2018 Deborah received the UAC Marion March Regulus Award for "advancing the theory and understanding of astrology". 
