Margarita Philosophica

This is the first “modern” encyclopedia, published in 1503 and followed by numerous editions throughout the 16th century. In addition to covering topics such as geography, arithmetic, music, geometry, astronomy, and optics, the work is noteworthy for the popularization of the theory of ventricular localization of perception, cognition, and memory in the brain. The illustrations are by the Swiss artist Urs Graf, and this particular image of brain function was often reproduced and imitated. The ventricular view of perception remained the dominant theory until the 18th century. Perception is also the topic of another image in this book, the earliest illustration of the structure of the eye.