Author
a certain priest Sākhīyūs resident at Nablus
Publication Date
Rabī‘ II 1097 (AH, Hijri)
Type
Book
Language
Arabic
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
Yes
Pages Count
1
Library
Qatar Digital Library
Library Asset ID
Add MS 7527, ff 2v-170r
Record ID
vdc_100065260447.0x000003
Library Location
British Library: Oriental Manuscripts
Date
Rabī‘ II 1097 (AH, Hijri)
Notes
Compendium of natural philosophy attributed to the Greek Pythagorean sage Apollonius of Tyana (Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς, here transliterated Pliny, fl. 1st century). The text is presented as a translation and commentary by a certain priest Sākhīyūs resident at Nablus (see f. 169v, lines 2-3) of a book by Apollonius called variously the
Book of Causes
(Book of Reasons), the
Compendium of [All] Things
(The collector of things) and the
Secret of Creation and Art of Nature
(The mystery of creation and the work of nature, see f. 169v, line 2 and
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 170r, lines 17-18). The work ends (ff. 169v, line 15-170r, line 15) with presentation without commentary of a text known independently as the
Emerald Tablet
(Tabula smaragdina, Tablet of Peridot) of Hermes Trismegistus.
This copy was completed on a Monday in Rabī‘ II 1097/February-March 1686 by Ibn Muḥammad Ja‘far ibn Muḥammad Shafī‘ al-Kirmānī (Ibn Muhammad Jaafar bin Muhammad Shafi’ al-Kirmani, see
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
, f. 170r, lines 20-23, transcribed below). It was used by Weisser in her edition of the text (see her description of the manuscript in pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana,
Sirr al-khalīqah wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabīʿah, Kitāb al-ʿilal. This is very important in the study and in nature [Buch in Ursachen]
, ed. by Ursula Weisser [Ḥalab: Maʿhad al-Turāth al-ʿIlmī al-ʿArabī, 1979], pp. 17-18).
Begins (f. 2v, lines 2-6):
I say this in my book and describe the wisdom that began
With it, listen to my wisdom so that it may penetrate your understandings and refine your natures
Whoever connects my words to his character and his nature is moved is of perfect character
Free from profane symptoms, pure from darkness
The obstacle between him and seeking wisdom...
Ends (f. 170r, lines 12-15):
...And it contains its highest and lowest power
Because with Him is the light of lights, therefore the darkness is dazzled by Him and the power of the powers overcomes all
Something nice goes into every tough thing. Know that the larger world is the stillness of the world
The smallest and the work on all this is nautical, so Hermes Triangle is called wisdom
Colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
(f. 170r, lines 16-24):
The book ended with praise and help from God, and prayers and peace be upon the best of His creation, Muhammad and his family
He agreed and the emptiness of its retouching is known as the University of Things in Secret
Creation and the workmanship of nature were created by the wise, virtuous, and perfect philosopher
Belinas, the priest, the owner of the talismans placed on the treasures
Monday of the month of Rabi’ al-Thani in the year ninety-seven
A thousand of the Prophet’s migration at the hands of the least and most needy servant
To the mercy of the eminent king, son of Muhammad, Jaafar bin Muhammad
Al-Kirmani’s intercessor, may God forgive him
For them and cover their faults
On either side of
colophon
Section at the end of a manuscript text.
:
The line looms on the paper forever
Its writer is buried in the dust
Erişim Koşulları
Unrestricted
Bulma Yardımcıları
Cureton, William and Charles Rieu,
Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum orientalium qui in Museo Britannico asservantur. Pars secunda, codices arabicos amplectens
(London: The British Museum, 1846-71), Item 424, pp. 203-04
Hamarneh, Sami,
Catalogue of Arabic Manuscripts on Medicine and Pharmacy at the British Library
(Cairo: Les Editions Universitaires d’Egypte 1975), Item 14, pp. 14-15
Seçilmiş kaynakça
Edition:
pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana,
Sirr al-khal
īqah wa-ṣanʿat al-ṭabīʿah, Kitāb al-ʿilal. Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung und die Darstellung der Natur (Buch der Ursachen)
, ed. by Ursula Weisser (Ḥalab: Maʿhad al-Turāth al-ʿIlmī al-ʿArabī, 1979)
German translation:
Pseudo-Apollonius of Tyana,
Das "Buch über das Geheimnis der Schöpfung"
, ed. and trans. by Ursula Weisser (Berlin-New York: W. de Gruyter, 1980)
Studies:
Steinschneider, Moritz,
Die arabischen Übersetzungen aus dem Griechischen
(Graz, Akademische Druck- U. Verlagsanstalt, 1960) p. 359 (235)
Ullmann, Manfred,
Die Natur- und Geheimwissenschaften im Islam
(Leiden: Brill, 1972), esp. pp. 171-73
