The Arabic “De mundo”: An Edition with Translation and CommentarySyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/TTEMPDMP/tei
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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.David AlanBrafmanThe Arabic “De mundo”: An Edition with Translation and Commentaryhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/TTEMPDMPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/TTEMPDMPhttps://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/TTEMPDMP1985The original Greek Treatise, On the Cosmos, of uncertain date and origin, was written probably in the early first century and became attributed to Aristotle at some point during its transmission. It is an excellent representative of the ‘cosmic religion’ which became so popular in the late Hellenistic period--a world-view in which science had become a form of spirituality, a vehicle for knowing an unknowable God. There are three different Arabic versions of De Mundo, represented by four manuscripts: the siblings Fatih 5323 (716 A.H./A.D. 1316-7-Suleymaniyya Library, Istanbul) and Aya Sofia 4260 (714 A.H./A.D. 1314-5 Aya Sofia Library, Istanbul), Koprulu 1608 (17th century - Koprulu Library, Istanbul), and Yahuda 308 (677 A.H./A.D. 1278-9, Princeton University Library). None of the texts seem to be translated directly from the Greek but rather from recensions of a Syriac version translated by Sergius of Resh ‘Ayna (sixth century). This dissertation contains editions of the three Arabic texts with a two-chapter introduction, translation of the Fatih recension, commentary and Greek-Arabic index. The two versions of the Arabic De Mundo contained in the three Istanbul manuscripts are entitled ‘Aristotle’s Letter of the Golden House.’ At some point in its transmission the work had been manipulated into a reply to a passage from the Alexander-Romance of pseudo-Callisthenes in which Alexander writes to Aristotle about his campaign in India and includes a splendid description of a golden temple he has seen in that land. In our texts Aristotle admonishes him to spiritually reject material splendor and turn his eyes to the natural wonders of the cosmos. The Arabic translation of De Mundo ensues. The hagiographic figure of the world-conquering Alexander was represented as a bringer of enlightenment against the dark forces of faithlessness, that is, a martial prophet on earth foreshadowing Muhammad and the Islamic Empire. The emphasis placed upon the importance of the cosmographer and his role in navigational exploration demonstrates the impact of popular works such as De Mundo on the European explorers who set out to prove its hypothesis (392b23ff.) that ‘far away from this (inhabited world), on the opposite side of the intervening seas, there are probably many other inhabited worlds.’
Brafman, David Alan. “The Arabic ‘De Mundo’: An Edition with Translation and Commentary.” Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University, 1985.
David Alan Brafman, The Arabic ‘De Mundo’: An Edition with Translation and Commentary (Ph.D. dissertation, Duke University, 1985).Arab ChristiansAristotleGreek philosophyMuslim-Christian relationsSergius of ReshainaVII-XVIII CEcosmologyprimary sources [Arabic] + English translationtranslations from Syriactranslations into Arabic