The origin of modern astronomical theories of tides : Chrisogono, de Dominis and their sources / Federico Bonelli and Lucio Russo.
Abstract:
'In this paper we suggest that a close examination of certain 16th- and 17th-century works on the nature of tides (particularly the works of Federico Chrisogono, Marco Antonio de Dominis and John Wallis) leads to two conclusions. First, the widespread opinion which holds the theory of gravitation developed by Newton as the sole source of scientific basis for the study of tides must be abandoned; on the contrary, the astronomical theories of tides established in the 16th and 17th centuries comprised just one of the elements which allowed Newton to achieve his synthesis. Second, these theories were not based on new observations but were themselves attempts to recover knowledge from Hellenistic science.'
British journal for the history of science Vol. 29 (1996), p. 385-401