RMGYMss.
FRAGMENT OF A LEAF FROM A COPY OF ARISTOTLE'S "METAPHYSICA" Ref 553 verso
This is part of a leaf from a copy of Aristotle's "Metaphysica" in the Latin translation of William of Moerbeke. It was probably produced in Germany in the fourteenth century.
The text is from Book 3 of Aristotle's “Metaphysica” in the Latin translation of William of Moerbeke If this had been a complete leaf the text would probably have started in Chapter 1, Section 7 but as it is, the first part line is towards the beginning of Section 8 (“et tractandum). The text then continues through to Chapter 2 as far as Section 20 where it ends immediately before the catch words in the bottom margin of the verso (“sensus palma”).
Note: - At www.logicmuseum.com/wiki/Authors/Aristotle/metaphysics/l3 can be found this text in its original Greek, in the Latin translation and in an English translation.
There are 30 complete lines in two columns of text plus another 6 part lines. It is estimated that there are another 9 lines missing.
The maximum size of the fragment as presented is 272 x 223mm (10 7/10ins. x 8 8/10ins.).
It is possible to estimate what the size of the complete leaf would have been as follows: -
The existing 36 lines (=167mm) + an estimated 9 additional lines of text (= 40mm) + height of bottom margin (=101mm) + estimated height of top margin (half bottom margin = say 52mm).
This gives an estimated leaf size of 360mm x 223mm (14 2/10ins x 8 8/10ins.).
OVERALL CONDITION: -
There is no doubt that this item is somewhat of a wreck. A quarter of the original leaf has been lost and what remains has creases and areas that are darkened from its use as a book cover. The later addition to the bottom margin also does nothing to improve the look of the fragment.
GENERAL COMMENTS: -
Despite the condition issues, this is a superb addition to the collection. Most leaves that have Aristotle texts are from texts other than “Metaphysica” and from texts that are actually commentaries on Aristotle texts. Leaves like this one that are the Aristotle “Metaphysica” on its own are quite uncommon. A single leaf that was Bloomsbury Auctions, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 7th. December 2016, Lot 28 sold for £3,720 (including buyers premium). Also, a half leaf in a somewhat distressed condition that was Bloomsbury Auctions, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 10th. July 2018, Lot 37 sold for £868 (including buyers premium).
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC): -
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidiki, Greece. Along with Plato, he is considered the "Father of Western Philosophy". Aristotle provided a complex and harmonious synthesis of the various existing philosophies prior to him, including those of Socrates and Plato, and it was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its fundamental intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be central to the contemporary philosophical discussion.
The works of Aristotle were described by Cicero as “a river of gold”, but were almost entirely lost to the West with the fall of the Roman Empire. They were rediscovered in their original Greek as well as Arabic translations following the Crusades in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and Latin translations such as this one swept through European universities.
"METAPHYSICA": -
The “Metaphysics” is considered to be one of the greatest philosophical works. Its influence on the Greeks , the Muslim philosophers, the scholastic philosophers and even writers such as Dante, was immense. It is essentially a reconciliation of Plato's theory of Forms that Aristotle acquired at the Academy in Athens, with the view of the world given by common sense and the observations of the natural sciences. According to Plato, the real nature of things is eternal and unchangeable. However, the world we observe around us is constantly and perpetually changing. Aristotle’s genius was to reconcile these two apparently contradictory views of the world. The result is a synthesis of the naturalism of empirical science, and the rationalism of Plato, that informed the Western intellectual tradition for more than a thousand years.
At the heart of the book lie three questions. What is existence, and what sorts of things exist in the world? How can things continue to exist, and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world? And how can this world be understood?
WILLIAM OF MOERBEKE: -
William of Moerbeke, (215-35 – c.1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek language into Latin, enabled by the period of Latin rule of the Byzantine Empire. His translations were influential in his day, when few competing translations were available, and are still respected by modern scholars.
Probably at the request of Thomas Aquinas, he undertook a complete translation of the works of Aristotle directly from the Greek or, for some portions, a revision of existing translations. The reason for the request was that many of the copies of Aristotle in Latin then in circulation had originated in Spain from Arabic whose texts in turn had often passed through Syriac versions rather than being translated from the originals.
FRAGMENT OF A LEAF FROM A COPY OF ARISTOTLE'S "METAPHYSICA" Ref 553 verso
This is part of a leaf from a copy of Aristotle's "Metaphysica" in the Latin translation of William of Moerbeke. It was probably produced in Germany in the fourteenth century.
The text is from Book 3 of Aristotle's “Metaphysica” in the Latin translation of William of Moerbeke If this had been a complete leaf the text would probably have started in Chapter 1, Section 7 but as it is, the first part line is towards the beginning of Section 8 (“et tractandum). The text then continues through to Chapter 2 as far as Section 20 where it ends immediately before the catch words in the bottom margin of the verso (“sensus palma”).
Note: - At www.logicmuseum.com/wiki/Authors/Aristotle/metaphysics/l3 can be found this text in its original Greek, in the Latin translation and in an English translation.
There are 30 complete lines in two columns of text plus another 6 part lines. It is estimated that there are another 9 lines missing.
The maximum size of the fragment as presented is 272 x 223mm (10 7/10ins. x 8 8/10ins.).
It is possible to estimate what the size of the complete leaf would have been as follows: -
The existing 36 lines (=167mm) + an estimated 9 additional lines of text (= 40mm) + height of bottom margin (=101mm) + estimated height of top margin (half bottom margin = say 52mm).
This gives an estimated leaf size of 360mm x 223mm (14 2/10ins x 8 8/10ins.).
OVERALL CONDITION: -
There is no doubt that this item is somewhat of a wreck. A quarter of the original leaf has been lost and what remains has creases and areas that are darkened from its use as a book cover. The later addition to the bottom margin also does nothing to improve the look of the fragment.
GENERAL COMMENTS: -
Despite the condition issues, this is a superb addition to the collection. Most leaves that have Aristotle texts are from texts other than “Metaphysica” and from texts that are actually commentaries on Aristotle texts. Leaves like this one that are the Aristotle “Metaphysica” on its own are quite uncommon. A single leaf that was Bloomsbury Auctions, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 7th. December 2016, Lot 28 sold for £3,720 (including buyers premium). Also, a half leaf in a somewhat distressed condition that was Bloomsbury Auctions, Western and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 10th. July 2018, Lot 37 sold for £868 (including buyers premium).
ARISTOTLE (384-322 BC): -
Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher and scientist born in the city of Stagira, Chalkidiki, Greece. Along with Plato, he is considered the "Father of Western Philosophy". Aristotle provided a complex and harmonious synthesis of the various existing philosophies prior to him, including those of Socrates and Plato, and it was above all from his teachings that the West inherited its fundamental intellectual lexicon, as well as problems and methods of inquiry. As a result, his philosophy has exerted a unique influence on almost every form of knowledge in the West and it continues to be central to the contemporary philosophical discussion.
The works of Aristotle were described by Cicero as “a river of gold”, but were almost entirely lost to the West with the fall of the Roman Empire. They were rediscovered in their original Greek as well as Arabic translations following the Crusades in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and Latin translations such as this one swept through European universities.
"METAPHYSICA": -
The “Metaphysics” is considered to be one of the greatest philosophical works. Its influence on the Greeks , the Muslim philosophers, the scholastic philosophers and even writers such as Dante, was immense. It is essentially a reconciliation of Plato's theory of Forms that Aristotle acquired at the Academy in Athens, with the view of the world given by common sense and the observations of the natural sciences. According to Plato, the real nature of things is eternal and unchangeable. However, the world we observe around us is constantly and perpetually changing. Aristotle’s genius was to reconcile these two apparently contradictory views of the world. The result is a synthesis of the naturalism of empirical science, and the rationalism of Plato, that informed the Western intellectual tradition for more than a thousand years.
At the heart of the book lie three questions. What is existence, and what sorts of things exist in the world? How can things continue to exist, and yet undergo the change we see about us in the natural world? And how can this world be understood?
WILLIAM OF MOERBEKE: -
William of Moerbeke, (215-35 – c.1286), was a prolific medieval translator of philosophical, medical, and scientific texts from Greek language into Latin, enabled by the period of Latin rule of the Byzantine Empire. His translations were influential in his day, when few competing translations were available, and are still respected by modern scholars.
Probably at the request of Thomas Aquinas, he undertook a complete translation of the works of Aristotle directly from the Greek or, for some portions, a revision of existing translations. The reason for the request was that many of the copies of Aristotle in Latin then in circulation had originated in Spain from Arabic whose texts in turn had often passed through Syriac versions rather than being translated from the originals.