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Secretum Secretorum
Thank you for checking out this book by Theophania Publishing. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you soon. We have thousands of titles available, and we invite you to search for us by name, contact us via our website, or download our most recent catalogues. Secretum Secretorum of Pseudo-Aristotle The Secret of Secrets, or in Latin Secretum or Secreta Secretorum is a translation of the Arabic Kitab Sirr Al-Asrar, the Book of the Science of Government, on the Good Ordering of Statecraft. The origins of the treatise are uncertain. No Greek original exists, though there are claims in the Arabic treatise that it was translated from the Greek into Syriac and from Syriac into Arabic by a well-known 9th century translator, Yahya ibn al-Bitriq. It appears, however, that the treatise was actually composed originally in Arabic. The treatise also contains supposed letters from Aristotle to Alexander the Great, and this may be related to Alexander the Great in the Qur'an and the wider range of Middle Eastern Alexander romance literature. The Arabic version was translated into Persian (at least twice), Ottoman-Turkish (twice), Hebrew (and from Hebrew into Russian), Castilian and Latin. There are two Latin translations from the Arabic, the first one dating from around 1120 by John of Seville for the a Portuguese queen (preserved today in some 150 copies), the second one from circa 1232 by Philippus Tripolitanus (preserved in more than 350 copies), made in the Near East (Antiochia). It is this second Latin version that was translated into English by Robert Copland and printed in 1528.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 800
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Pseudo-Aristotle
34 books3 followers"Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as pseudepigrapha.
The first Pseudo-Aristotelian works were produced by the members of the Peripatetic school which was founded by Aristotle. However, many more works were written much later, during the Middle Ages. Because Aristotle had produced so many works on such a variety of subjects it was possible for writers in many different contexts—notably medieval Europeans, North Africans and Arabs—to write a work and ascribe it to Aristotle. Attaching his name to such a work guaranteed it a certain amount of respect and acceptance, since Aristotle was regarded as one of most authoritative ancient writers for the learned men of both Christian Europe and the Muslim Arab lands. It is generally not clear whether the attribution to Aristotle of a later work was done by its own author or by others who sought to popularize such works by using his name.
In the Middle Ages more than a hundred Pseudo-Aristotelian works were in circulation. These can be separated in three groups based on the original language used for the work, namely Latin, Greek or Arabic. The category of Latin works is the smallest while the Arabic works are most numerous. Many Arabic works were translated to Latin in the Middle Ages. The majority of these cover occult subjects such as alchemy, astrology, chiromancy and physiognomy. Others treated Greek philosophical subjects, more often the Platonic and Neoplatonic schools rather than the thought of Aristotle. The Arabic Secretum Secretorum was by far the most popular Pseudo-Aristotelian work and was even more widely diffused than any of the authentic works of Aristotle.
The release of Pseudo-Aristotelian works continued for long after the Middle Ages. Aristotle's Masterpiece was a sex manual which published first in 1684 and became very popular in England. It was still being sold in the early twentieth century and was probably the most widely reprinted book on a medical subject in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century."
-- Wikipedia
The first Pseudo-Aristotelian works were produced by the members of the Peripatetic school which was founded by Aristotle. However, many more works were written much later, during the Middle Ages. Because Aristotle had produced so many works on such a variety of subjects it was possible for writers in many different contexts—notably medieval Europeans, North Africans and Arabs—to write a work and ascribe it to Aristotle. Attaching his name to such a work guaranteed it a certain amount of respect and acceptance, since Aristotle was regarded as one of most authoritative ancient writers for the learned men of both Christian Europe and the Muslim Arab lands. It is generally not clear whether the attribution to Aristotle of a later work was done by its own author or by others who sought to popularize such works by using his name.
In the Middle Ages more than a hundred Pseudo-Aristotelian works were in circulation. These can be separated in three groups based on the original language used for the work, namely Latin, Greek or Arabic. The category of Latin works is the smallest while the Arabic works are most numerous. Many Arabic works were translated to Latin in the Middle Ages. The majority of these cover occult subjects such as alchemy, astrology, chiromancy and physiognomy. Others treated Greek philosophical subjects, more often the Platonic and Neoplatonic schools rather than the thought of Aristotle. The Arabic Secretum Secretorum was by far the most popular Pseudo-Aristotelian work and was even more widely diffused than any of the authentic works of Aristotle.
The release of Pseudo-Aristotelian works continued for long after the Middle Ages. Aristotle's Masterpiece was a sex manual which published first in 1684 and became very popular in England. It was still being sold in the early twentieth century and was probably the most widely reprinted book on a medical subject in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century."
-- Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 2, 2022
Це ду-у-уже дивний твір. Принаймні для людини XXI століття. У ньому Арістотель звертається до Александра Македонського з повчанням про все на світі – і про те, як воювати, і про те, як гадати.
Наскільки далеко це від істини, можна зрозуміти, дізнавшись історію рукопису. Насправді він має арабське першоджерело. Потім був переклад на іврит, а в XV-XVI ст. хтось переклав його на руську мову. Тільки от на яку?.. Я не експерт, тож покладаюся на думку знавців, які припускають, що рукопис переклав хтось із єврейської общини Києва. Принаймні в Московії не знали слів «ганьба» і «шкода».
Проте я не впевнений, яку саме версію я читав, тому що рукописи в ту добу переписувалися і підлаштовувалися під російську мову, і читав я взагалі не з рукопису, а з видання початку XX століття, тож вгадати важко.
Цікаво також те, що цей текст не збігається з жодним варіантом на іншій мові, тому що, крім напучувань Псевдо-Арістотеля, сюди додали переклад трактату Маймоніда про отруту, а також деякі інші уривки. Ба більше, є розділи, які напевно написав сам перекладач. Середньовіччя, одним словом.
Наскільки далеко це від істини, можна зрозуміти, дізнавшись історію рукопису. Насправді він має арабське першоджерело. Потім був переклад на іврит, а в XV-XVI ст. хтось переклав його на руську мову. Тільки от на яку?.. Я не експерт, тож покладаюся на думку знавців, які припускають, що рукопис переклав хтось із єврейської общини Києва. Принаймні в Московії не знали слів «ганьба» і «шкода».
Проте я не впевнений, яку саме версію я читав, тому що рукописи в ту добу переписувалися і підлаштовувалися під російську мову, і читав я взагалі не з рукопису, а з видання початку XX століття, тож вгадати важко.
Цікаво також те, що цей текст не збігається з жодним варіантом на іншій мові, тому що, крім напучувань Псевдо-Арістотеля, сюди додали переклад трактату Маймоніда про отруту, а також деякі інші уривки. Ба більше, є розділи, які напевно написав сам перекладач. Середньовіччя, одним словом.
December 3, 2019
I listened through the Dan Attrell Audiobook.
A very interesting menagerie of different topics.
I found that quite appealing.
However, it's clearly a text that lost a lot of its value in the High Middle Ages. Especially those parts on medicine.
A very interesting menagerie of different topics.
I found that quite appealing.
However, it's clearly a text that lost a lot of its value in the High Middle Ages. Especially those parts on medicine.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews