Philosophy [IO Islamic 82]

Philosophy.

This manuscript is now IO Islamic 82 in the India Office collections.

[metadata: Otto Loth, A Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, (volume 1), no. 472 here with further notations and hyperlinks].

PHILOSOPHY.

472.

82. Size 81/2 in. by 43/4 in.; foll. 180. Twelve lines in a page.

A treatise on Natural Philosophy, ascribed to the sage BALÎNÛS (بلینوس or بلیناس,1 i.e. Apollonius of Tyana), who received it from Hermes Trismegistus. It was translated (into Syriac) by the priest SÂKHÎYÛS (i.e. Zachaeus, ساخنوس in this MS.), and is called کتاب العلل, or, originally, الجامع للاشیاء. See De Sacy in Notices et Extraits des Manuscrits de la Biblioth. Nation. iv. 107 sqq.; cf. Cat. Lugd. iii. 166; Mus. Brit. 203; Upsal. 226; and Leclerc in Journal Asiatique, 1869, p. 111 sqq.

This MS. Does not contain the introduction of the translator. It begins: عونک یا رب و توفیقک هذا ما بدأ به القسّ الذی ترجم کتاب العلل الذی بدی (لدی.r) هرمس فی البیت المظلم الذی علیه الطلسمات المستخرج بالحکمة ترجمت هذا الکتاب لینتفع به من یرید من الناس و هو کلام بلسوس (!) بعینه قال بلیوس (!) انا بلییوس (!) الحکیم صاحب العجائب اعظّم الصانع الذی صنعنی الخ.

Compare De Sacy, l.c., 138 sqq.

Neatly written in Nasta’liḳ. Richly ornamented and gilt.

One of the fly-leaves has the erroneous inscription هرمس المثلث الخ, which appears to be taken from the concluding words of the work.

[Hastings.]

1 The latter form of the name occurs in the epilogue.