"An engine to catch starres": Thomas Tomkis and Natural Philosophy (1) Ibumazar is a play filled with things, from mundane household goods to lists of ancient and contemporary alchemists and magi to the eponymous astrologer's collection of astrolabes, horoscopes, and almanacs. It is also the first play in English to feature a scene with a telescope onstage. (2) However, whether many of the things in Thomas Tomkis's (c. 1580-after 1615) science farce physically appeared onstage for its March 9, 1614 premiere at Cambridge's Trinity Hall is uncertain. The questionable material status of Tomkis's stage properties becomes significant when Albumazar is examined in a context of the history of science as well as the history of theatre. The original college production demonstrates the playwright's cultural awareness of the emergent disciplinary distinction of astronomy through the incorporation of its star technology: the telescope. (3) King James I (1566-1625)--witch-hunter, author of Daemonology (1597), and royal guest at Albumazar's premiere--likely held a derogatory opinion of the telescope because of its potential use as a tool in the occult craft of astrology. The space between the textual narrative and the telescope scene as it might have been embodied by actors in 1614 reveals the delicate balance that Tomkis achieved by referring to truthful elements of astronomy while poking fun at astrology. The manner in which the telescope was performed--as a physical prop or mimed as part of a dumb show--indicates the range of Tomkis's engagement with the tools and concepts of the "new science" in the only performance of the play recorded during his lifetime. The "new science" advanced the idea of experimentation and experience as a means of exploring the natural world. (4) This method prioritized embodied encounters and observations of natural phenomena (including things astronomical) over contemplation of Aristotelian causes thereof. The "new science" began to emerge with Galileo Galilei's (1564-1642) empirical observations and was developed in England most famously by Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), who preceded Tomkis at Trinity College, from 1573-1575. (5) Staged representations of the telescope throughout the seventeenth century evidence a gradual shift in popular opinions about the "new science" and those who adhered to its philosophy. Tomkis's use of the telescope in the play references a host of overlapping traditions of science, magic, education, and authority that were at odds with each other at the time of the play's premiere. In 1614, astrology and astronomy were not entirely distinct disciplines and neither was completely condoned, or forbidden, by religious and scholarly authorities. Astrology had historically been taught at European universities, but the church and university considered certain aspects of astrology less offensive than others. (6) Act 1 of Albumazar features a telescope (referred to throughout the play as aperspicill) and an otacousticon (a hearing aid). (7) These devices situate the play at a pivotal moment in the history of science as reports of new discoveries made through the use of "Galilean" tubes spread across Europe. (8) The traditional narrative of the telescope's invention goes that in 1608, Dutch spectacle-maker Hans Lipperhey (1570-1619) was granted a patent for his telescope design from the States General in Hague, Holland, and so the chapter of the telescope was added to a global history of astronomical technologies. (9) Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) announced his application of the telescope to the practice of astronomy in 1610 with the publication of Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger). (10) What followed was a European battle of philosophies over the veracity of the celestial objects made visible through the telescope's lenses waged throughout the seventeenth century. (11) At the time, knowledge gained through the use of telescopes was not universally accepted because discoveries of new stars and planets, as well as the ability to trace their movements with greater accuracy, challenged a Ptolemaic (geocentric) model of the universe that was still popular within the academy and the church. …

中文翻译：

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在行动、对象和想法之间：托马斯·汤姆基斯 (Thomas Tomkis) 相册中的望远镜

“捕捉明星的引擎”：Thomas Tomkis 和自然哲学 (1) Ibumazar 是一部充满事物的戏剧，从平凡的家居用品到古代和当代炼金术士和魔术师的名单，再到同名占星家的星盘、星座和年历收藏。这也是第一部在舞台上使用望远镜的英语戏剧。(2) 然而，托马斯·汤姆基斯（Thomas Tomkis）（约 1580 年至 1615 年之后）科学闹剧中的许多内容是否在 1614 年 3 月 9 日在剑桥三一音乐厅首演时出现在舞台上尚不确定。当在科学史和戏剧史的背景下考察 Albumazar 时，汤姆基斯舞台特性的可疑物质状态变得重要起来。原版大学制作展示了剧作家' 通过结合其恒星技术：望远镜，对天文学新兴学科区别的文化意识。(3) 詹姆士一世国王（1566-1625）——女巫猎人，《恶魔学》（1597）的作者，以及阿尔布马扎尔首映式上的皇室嘉宾——可能对望远镜持有贬损意见，因为它有可能在神秘的占星术。文字叙述和望远镜场景之间的空间，正如它可能在 1614 年由演员所体现的那样，揭示了汤姆基斯通过引用真实的天文学元素同时取笑占星术来实现的微妙平衡。望远镜的表演方式——作为物理道具或作为哑剧的一部分进行模仿——表明了汤姆基斯对“新科学”工具和概念的参与范围 在他有生之年录制的唯一一场演出。“新科学”将实验和体验作为探索自然世界的一种手段提出了理念。(4) 这种方法优先考虑自然现象（包括天文事物）的具身遭遇和观察，而不是对亚里士多德原因的思考。“新科学”随着伽利略·伽利莱（Galileo Galilei，1564-1642 年）的经验观察而开始出现，最著名的是弗朗西斯·培根爵士（Sir Francis Bacon，1561-1626 年）在英国发展起来，他于 1573 年至 1575 年在三一学院任教汤姆基斯。(5) 整个 17 世纪望远镜的分阶段展示证明了大众对“新科学”和坚持其哲学的看法的逐渐转变。汤基斯 在剧中使用望远镜参考了许多重叠的科学、魔法、教育和权威传统，这些传统在该剧首映时相互矛盾。在 1614 年，占星术和天文学并不是完全不同的学科，宗教和学术权威都没有完全纵容或禁止。欧洲大学历来教授占星术，但教会和大学认为占星术的某些方面没有其他方面那么令人反感。(6) Albumazar 的第一幕有一个望远镜（在整个剧中被称为 aperspicill）和一个 otacousticon（助听器）。(7) 随着通过使用“伽利略”管获得的新发现的报道传遍整个欧洲，这些设备将这场比赛置于科学史上的一个关键时刻。(8) 望远镜发明的传统说法是，1608 年，荷兰眼镜制造商 Hans Lipperhey (1570-1619) 获得了荷兰海牙国会议员的望远镜设计专利，因此望远镜的章节被添加到天文技术的全球历史中。(9) Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) 于 1610 年出版了 Sidereus Nuncius (The Starry Messenger)，宣布他将望远镜应用于天文学实践。(10) 随之而来的是一场欧洲哲学之战，争论的是整个 17 世纪通过望远镜镜头可见的天体的真实性。(11) 当时，通过使用望远镜获得的知识并未被普遍接受，因为新恒星和行星的发现，以及更准确地追踪他们运动的能力，挑战了在学院和教会中仍然流行的托勒密（地心说）宇宙模型。…