Take a look at the meaning of the word "orbis" (and in particular the phrase orbis terrarum or orbis terrae) to make sure you are ready for this passage "de orbe" (de orbe terrarum, de orbe terrae).
| Orbis a rotunditate circuli dictus, quia sicut rota est, unde breuis etiam rotella orbiculus appellatur. |
orbis...dictus [est] = orbis sic nominatur [orbis] rota est |
| Hrabanus now moves on to orbis, and he begin by showing that an orbis is a rota, just as a rotella (diminutive of rota) is the same as an orbiculus (diminutive of orbis). | |
| Vndique enim circumfluens Oceanus eius in circuitu ambit fines. |
Oceanus ambit in circuitu fines eius |
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the world is an orbis: what flows around the perimeter of the orbis? |
| Significat ergo aut totum mundum iuxta historiam aut iuxta allegoriam uniuersalem aecclesiam, |
[orbis] significat totum mundum
parallel structure: [orbis significat] universalem aecclesiam aecclesiam = ecclesiam [hypercorrection] |
| Hrabanus wants to give two different interpretations of the orbis: one interpretation is "historical" and the other interpretation is "allegorical." what are these two different meanings of orbis? | |
| aut in contrariam partem impios qui frequenter terrae appellatione declarantur. |
parallel structure: [orbis significat] impios [in contrariam partem = the same allegorical style as "in malum"] |
| in addition to these two meanings, Hrabanus reminds us that there is an interpretation in contrariam partem (in malum), in which the world symbolizes sinners; we saw this in the passage you read about terra | |
| De quibus Psalmista ait: "Iudicabit orbem terrae in iustitia et populos in aequitate." [...] |
[dominus] iudicabit orbem terrae [see Psalm 97 (98); also Psalm 9 and Psalm 95 (96)] |
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here Hrabanus shows the phrase "orbis terrae" being used in the Bible as a symbol of sinners: what is God going to do to the orbem terrae = impios...? |
| Iterumque centesimus sextus Psalmus quatuor cardinibus terrae spatia conprehendit dicens: "A solis ortu et occasu, ab aquilone et mari." |
cardinibus: s.v. cardo solis: s.v. sol [the verse is from Psalm 106 (107)] |
 a solis ortu |
at the same time that Hrabanus found the phrase "orbis terrae" in the Bible, he also finds the description of the earth as a place with four corners or cardinal points: what are the four cardinal points? |
| cuius rei euidentissimum quoque euangelii extat exemplum, ubi dicit: "Emittet angelos suos cum tuba et uoce magna et congregabit a quatuor angulis terrae." |
cuius: relative pronoun at "beginning" of sentence [= huius rei] parallel structure: congregabit [angelos suos] a quatuor angulis [passage is Matthew 24] |
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Hrabanus also finds the same image of a square, with four angles, in the Gospels: this is a big problem! how can an orbis have four anguli? |
| Vnde merito estimo perquirendum, quemadmodum terra possit et quadratio et circulus conuenire, dum scemata ipsa (sicut geometrici dicunt) uideantur esse diuersa. |
merito: s.v. meritum schemata: Greek plural (schema, schemata) |
| on whose authority does Hrabanus say that a circulus and a quadratio are not the same thing? | |
| Formam terrae ideo scriptura orbem uocat eo quod respicientibus extremitatem eius circulus semper appareat, quem circulum Greci orizonta uocant. |
scriptura vocat formam terrae "orbem" [see passage from Psalms
cited above]
orizonta = horizonta (Greek plural: horizon, horizonta) semper appareat [esse] circulus |
| Hrabanus returns to the idea of the earth as an orbis, a circulus: Hrabanus says that you can see the curvature of the earth by looking at the horizon. where does the word horizon come from? | |
| Quattuor autem cardinibus eam formari dicit, quia quattuor cardines quattuor angulos quadrati significant, qui intra praedictum terrae circulum continentur. |
[scriptura] dicit eam formari: indirect statement quadrati: genitive singular of quadratus |
| Hrabanus now proposes a way to reconcile the square and the circle. how is it possible for a square and a circle to coexist? | |
| Nam si ab orientis cardine in austrum et in aquilonem singulas rectas lineas ducas, |
orientis: s.v. oriens |
| Hrabanus now describes, step by step, how you can inscribe a square inside a circle. what is the first thing that you do? | |
| similiter quoque et si ab occidentis cardine ad praedictos cardines, id est austrum et aquilonem singulas rectas lineas tendas, facis quadratum terrae intra orbem praedictum, |
occidentis: s.v. occidens |
| what lines to you add to this drawing in order to come up with a square inscribed in the circle? | |
| sed quomodo quadratus iste demonstratiuus
intra circulum scribi debeat, Eoclides in quarto libro Elementorum euidenter insinuat; |
scribi: present passive infinitive quomodo...debeat: indirect question Eoclides = Euclid (see a demonstration of Proposition 6) |
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where does Hrabanus find the geometrical proof for the procedure of inscribing a circle inside a square? |
| quapropter recte scriptura sancta faciem terrae et orbem uocat, et quattuor eam dicit cardinibus contineri. |
faciem: s.v. facies dicit... eam contineri: indirect statement |
| what does Hrabanus conclude about the fact that, according to the Bible, the world is both an orbis and a square with quattuor cardines? |
