CEVA, Tommaso.

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De natura gravium libri duo. First editions. The first work introduced Newton's theory of gravitation to Italy and contributed to its dissemination among continental intellectual circles. The second work, Opuscula mathematica, compiles Ceva's most influential mathematical treatises, with a particular focus on the complex problem of angle trisection. The folding plates are designed so that the diagrams remain visible to the readers as they move through the text.We have traced no copies of either work in modern auction records.De natura gravium (On the Nature of Heavy Bodies) discusses gravity from a philosophical and theological point of view. In the text, Ceva accepts and reports Newton's ideas on the subject. Under pressure from the Catholic Church, he ultimately distanced himself from Newtonian mechanics.Opuscula mathematica comprises a series of treatises, some of which were also published separately in the same year. Ceva addresses topics including gravity, arithmetic, geometry, and harmonic means, higher-order conic sections and curves. He treats angle trisection at pages 18-34, presenting cycloidal methods as a potential solution (see the curve "cycloidas anomalas", no. 18 on plate II), and describes an instrument of his own invention for dividing a right angle into equal parts. Tommaso Ceva (1648-1737) was a Jesuit poet, mathematician, and professor at the college of Brera in Milan. His brother Giovanni was also a mathematician, best known for the theorem on triangles

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