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The Book of My Life
A bright star of the Italian Renaissance, Girolamo Cardano was an internationally-sought-after astrologer, physician, and natural philosopher, a creator of modern algebra, and the inventor of the universal joint. Condemned by the Inquisition to house arrest in his old age, Cardano wrote The Book of My Life , an unvarnished and often outrageous account of his character and conduct. Whether discussing his sex life or his diet, the plots of academic rivals or meetings with supernatural beings, or his deep sorrow when his beloved son was executed for murder, Cardano displays the same unbounded curiosity that made him a scientific pioneer. At once picaresque adventure and campus comedy, curriculum vitae, and last will, The Book of My Life is an extraordinary Renaissance self-portrait—a book to set beside Montaigne's Essays and Benvenuto Cellini's Autobiography .
320 pages, Paperback
First published October 31, 1570
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 23, 2016
Girolamo Cardano was a 16th-century Pavian polymath who gained most notoriety during his lifetime for his mathematical, medical and astrological knowledge. He traveled Europe to treat a variety of Early Modern bigwigs, he cast horoscopes (his own, seemingly obsessively), taught, wrote copiously and, it seems, pissed a good number of people off.
The Book of My Life is a peculiar collection of Cardano's personal recollections and meditations on his life, given as a set of discrete essays on a variety of topics: descriptions of his appearance; of his habits past and present (he wrote the work while in his 70s); of his family; of his professional and financial troubles; a list of all of his published works and of notable people who mentioned him in their works; and an account of the great grief of his life, the execution for murder of his favorite son.
Cardano's Book is so strange, so highly idiosyncratic; it is simultaneously self-promoting and self-denigrating. He comes across as a little whiny but also disarmingly blunt, and frequently astute. His thoughts and attitudes were odd enough in his own time that one commentator noted that, had Cardano lived any longer, he may have been executed for a heretic. He is easy to find a little ridiculous, but I found it impossible not to like him.
Providing additional interest to me is the fact that he was one of those paradigm straddlers we like not to discuss very often in our modern age, where it is more convenient to pretend there is a clear line between religion and science. Cardano was an early scientist, but he was also a devout Catholic, and an astrologer who saw omens everywhere. Like Newton, like Descartes, like many thinkers claimed as grandfathers to science, Cardano recognized no such distinctions. He wrote mathematical treatises, but also claimed to have a guardian angel. In general, The Book of My Life is a captivating peek inside this worldview, which it is increasingly difficult, I think, for people alive today to seriously contemplate: how can one (educated and reflexive) mind, hold both of these attitudes in one? And yet highly religious minds attuned to a world of signs and significance are what birthed the practice of science. I think they must be related, primordially, in some regard.
The Book of My Life is a peculiar collection of Cardano's personal recollections and meditations on his life, given as a set of discrete essays on a variety of topics: descriptions of his appearance; of his habits past and present (he wrote the work while in his 70s); of his family; of his professional and financial troubles; a list of all of his published works and of notable people who mentioned him in their works; and an account of the great grief of his life, the execution for murder of his favorite son.
Cardano's Book is so strange, so highly idiosyncratic; it is simultaneously self-promoting and self-denigrating. He comes across as a little whiny but also disarmingly blunt, and frequently astute. His thoughts and attitudes were odd enough in his own time that one commentator noted that, had Cardano lived any longer, he may have been executed for a heretic. He is easy to find a little ridiculous, but I found it impossible not to like him.
Providing additional interest to me is the fact that he was one of those paradigm straddlers we like not to discuss very often in our modern age, where it is more convenient to pretend there is a clear line between religion and science. Cardano was an early scientist, but he was also a devout Catholic, and an astrologer who saw omens everywhere. Like Newton, like Descartes, like many thinkers claimed as grandfathers to science, Cardano recognized no such distinctions. He wrote mathematical treatises, but also claimed to have a guardian angel. In general, The Book of My Life is a captivating peek inside this worldview, which it is increasingly difficult, I think, for people alive today to seriously contemplate: how can one (educated and reflexive) mind, hold both of these attitudes in one? And yet highly religious minds attuned to a world of signs and significance are what birthed the practice of science. I think they must be related, primordially, in some regard.
March 31, 2021
A truly strange and fascinating autobiography by a man of the Renaissance, both literally and figuratively. Cardano was a highly prolific writer of books of varying subjects, a professor, a father and a man that it seemed many did not like much at all. He was highly superstitious and believed deeply in astrology, but adhered greatly to the logical tenets of mathematics and science. I enjoyed this book immensely, but its appeal is really for that of an Italian history lover. It's a fantastic read to get a sense of the culture and ideals of the time.
August 24, 2019
Its pretty cool that not only does he have chapters for things he eats or dislikes but also for his comebacks
August 17, 2008
wish all biographies were like this-- cranky and detailed!
really enjoyed this.
really enjoyed this.
August 31, 2022
This is an odd book to read and more so to find on a Goodreads list, but since I read it (for a seminar series that I developed around it actually) I figured I might as well include it. This version is a 1930s translation of a sixteenth century autobiography of a strange and fascinating character, a true Renaissance man named Girolamo Cardano, a polymath whose scientific interests and expertise included mathematics, medicine and astrology. I've read it before (usually in bits and pieces) and probably will again, most likely in the context of a class rather than for pleasure. It is a bit of work to read, not because it's difficult but because of its style, an almost "innocent" or naive narration of his memories of life and medical practice, a crying out for a vindication of his life. My lower star rating (3.5 really not 4) is a reflection of this simplicity in part, but more because some of his writing and motivations seem uncomfortably close to some of mine in my blog posts (although the more frank ones I've kept private) about the trials and tribulations of my career and the people who've been unfair and malicious to me. I've kept the names of those people out for the most part... I don't want to be tried for libel for one.. and don't want to give them extra publicity for another though some I have used nicknames for. Anyway if you're in the mood for a different type of trip, consider reading this book.
May 4, 2010
A relentless barrage of regrets and grievances, Cardano's book includes long dull stretches alongside choice passages like this:
"my appetite was so reduced that in the morning I was satisfied with a baked apple or with fifteen dried Cretan grapes, without wine, often without water, or at least very little of one or the other. Lately I have adopted a taste which is pleasing and I hope wholesome - the "white broth" of Galen with bread simply dipped therein, and nothing else besides. My supper is somewhat richer." (247)
"my appetite was so reduced that in the morning I was satisfied with a baked apple or with fifteen dried Cretan grapes, without wine, often without water, or at least very little of one or the other. Lately I have adopted a taste which is pleasing and I hope wholesome - the "white broth" of Galen with bread simply dipped therein, and nothing else besides. My supper is somewhat richer." (247)
August 31, 2009
Cardano: mathematician, lecturer, physician, astrologer -- what a guy. This is a fascinating glimpse into the life of someone who defines the term "Renaissance Man". Oh yeah -- and "completely nuts"!
January 18, 2022
A smattering of memoir-esque sketches written by Girolamo Cardano (physician, astrologer, inventor of the combination lock and the binomial coefficient, etc.) while under house arrest during the last year of his life.
Cardano flops between being quite personable and almost mad, always retaining a certain eccentricity.
Several sections are dedicated to visions (spectral chains floating in varied shapes around his bed), omens (loud bangs, mysterious animal noises), and other oddities (amnesia-inducing jewelry) which are variously treated according to Cardano's mood; others are dedicated to disparaging Cardano's professional rivals, clearing his own good name, and bemoaning his son's missteps. Cardano boasts of his spectacular feats of memory and rhetoric; describes each book he has written, each skill he has mastered, and each patient he has cured; lists each time another person has mentioned him in one of their books (lists are provided for positive and for negative mentions); and describes each time he has managed to avoid falling pieces of masonry through a strange unconscious foresight. And he always makes sure to inject some humanist proverb or aphorism into his treatment of a subject (with about as good a hit rate as Sancho Panza).
Cardano flops between being quite personable and almost mad, always retaining a certain eccentricity.
Several sections are dedicated to visions (spectral chains floating in varied shapes around his bed), omens (loud bangs, mysterious animal noises), and other oddities (amnesia-inducing jewelry) which are variously treated according to Cardano's mood; others are dedicated to disparaging Cardano's professional rivals, clearing his own good name, and bemoaning his son's missteps. Cardano boasts of his spectacular feats of memory and rhetoric; describes each book he has written, each skill he has mastered, and each patient he has cured; lists each time another person has mentioned him in one of their books (lists are provided for positive and for negative mentions); and describes each time he has managed to avoid falling pieces of masonry through a strange unconscious foresight. And he always makes sure to inject some humanist proverb or aphorism into his treatment of a subject (with about as good a hit rate as Sancho Panza).
January 14, 2019
Full of fascinating information about Cardano and his Italy, but arranged by subject rather than chronologically, which makes for harder reading. I'd say dip into this rather than reading it from cover to cover.
February 19, 2018
Amazingly entertaining autobiography of a Renaissance man in every sense of the word.
December 7, 2018
Total waste of paper.
October 30, 2019
Great reading! covers any topic you can think of. Such frankness!
November 29, 2019
it is good
November 23, 2020
Somewhat interesting read, yet I'm still struck by the fact that the author's son was executed. Shouldn't this give us pause and time to reflect on the author's condition, despair unaddressed.
May 16, 2022
Highly enlightening!
June 27, 2022
Bello bello, fa sentire pigri e ignoranti
July 20, 2019
Easy to read. The chapters are short or very short. Each had it's own theme; youth, family, diet, patients &c. By doing so, the author permits is to skip whatever is not interesting to us.
I enjoy collecting little bits of trivia (one medicine was ground pearls and gemstones!) and imagining his adventures to Scotland in the fifteenth century (was the pit in the shop a trap?). He doesn't say much about his familiar spirit. There were no nocturnal visitations by some winged being carrying bizarre messages during his trek through lands unknown.
I enjoy collecting little bits of trivia (one medicine was ground pearls and gemstones!) and imagining his adventures to Scotland in the fifteenth century (was the pit in the shop a trap?). He doesn't say much about his familiar spirit. There were no nocturnal visitations by some winged being carrying bizarre messages during his trek through lands unknown.
June 10, 2011
one of my favorite books ever
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews