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Article ID: CBB000500666

Plato's Republic in Arabic A Newly Discovered Passage (2004)

Reisman, David C. (Author)

Arabic Sciences and Philosophy
Volume: 14
Pages: 263-300

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My aim here is to present an editio princeps of a newly discovered Arabic translation of a very important passage from Plato's Republic (Book VI, 506d3--509b10) found in the work entitled Kitab fi Masa'il al-umur al-ilahiyya (hereafter Masa'il), penned by the somewhat obscure Neoplatonist Abu Hamid al-Isfizari (fl. mid-fourth / tenth c.). While an edition of al-Isfizari's work has been published by Daniel Gimaret, the manuscript he used (Ragip Pasa 1463) lacked the literal translation of the Republic passage. The one other known exemplar of the work, MS Zahiriyya 4871, dated slightly later than the first, appears to be closer to the author's original unedited version; it contains the Republic passage. I am currently preparing a new edition of the work on the basis of the Zahiriyya manuscript, but it seemed worthwhile to bring the Republic passage to immediate attention. I do not attempt here a thorough evaluation of al-Isfizari's philosophy as presented in the Masa'il; this can be done successfully only upon completion of the edition. However, to place the work in its proper context, I do provide a brief overview of the transmission of Plato's Republic in Arabic; a discussion of new information on al-Isfizari's Nachlass, and a description of the two exemplars of his Masa'il. The edited text of the passage from the Republic is accompanied by a provisional translation.

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