Aqwāl al-aqdamīn fī al-kawnīyāt, [193-?].

Abstract

Careful copy of a collection of excerpts from ancient philosophy, including that of Socrates (سقراط), Plato (افلاطون), Pythagoras (فيثاغورث), Empedocles (ابندقلس), Plutarch (فلوطرخيس), Porphyry (فرفوريوس), etc., addressing cosmology.Shelfmark: Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, Special Collections Research Center, Isl. Ms. 987Origin: Lacks dated colophon ; likely copied in Egypt in the late 1930s and bound for James Heyworth-Dunne (d.1974).Former shelfmark: Mich. Isl. Ms. temp. no. 136Binding: Boards covered in dark green cloth with dark green leather over spine (quarter binding) ; pastedowns and flyleaves in wove paper printed with a floral vegetal pattern in green ; spine gold-stamped with title and decorative accents over raised bands "اقوال الاقدمين في الكونيات حكم سقراط | J.H.D." ; sewn in white thread over two recessed cords ; stuck-on endbands (blue and white stripe) ; overall in fairly good condition though with curvature in boards (negative draw in upper board, positive draw in lower board).Support: Wove paper of two types ; opening type (first gathering, through p.32), machine wove, lined / ruled in blue ; thereafter in a sturdy machine wove type, dark cream to beige in color.Decoration: Text executed entirely in red ink.Script: Ruqʻah ; quick, compact hand in a medium to bold line ; serifless and freely ligatured with effect of inclination to the left and of words descending to baseline, mainly closed counters, pointing somewhat careless and in strokes rather than distinct dots, final yāʼ usually unpointed.Layout: Written in 15 lines per page.Collation: i, 2 VIII (32), V (42), IV (50), i ; catchwords present ; pages left fully or partially blank between sections (each comprising a single gathering), some (corresponding to the opening recto of the gathering ) to serve as 'title pages' (see pp.33, 65, 85) ; pagination in pencil, Western numerals, supplied during digitization.Explicit: "فانه يفتضح بها على رؤوس الاشهاد يوم الدين"Incipit: "حكم سقباط الباري لم تزل هوية فقط وهو جوهر فقط وهو غير مدرك من جهة كنهه ووصفه الاخص لان الحقائق كلها من جهة جوهره ..."Title from inscription on opening 'title page' (p.1).Ms. codex.Careful copy of a collection of excerpts from ancient philosophy, including that of Socrates (سقراط), Plato (افلاطون), Pythagoras (فيثاغورث), Empedocles (ابندقلس), Plutarch (فلوطرخيس), Porphyry (فرفوريوس), etc., addressing cosmology.Mode of access: Internet.Acquired in the Fall of 1950.On upper pastedown, label with ex libris of James Heyworth-Dunne (d.1974), stamped with inventory number, "Ex Libris | J. Heyworth-Dunne | D. Lit. (London) | No. 7931" ; UM Library inscription on p.3 "Dunning | Heyworth-Dunne | 6-13-51 | 71955" ; possible former inventory mark "231/53" on verso of final leaf (p.100) ; occasional marginal glosses in pencil