Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    1/9

    ;2k-THE TERRA 1'H11sOI}-(ORt59

    THETURBA PHILOSOPHORUMAP:ijiRi .- FORT ON THREE CAMBRIDGE MSSBv M. PLESSNER*

    ALMOST 30 years have passcd since J . Ruska editcd the Turba Philosophorurn.1The book had but littie impact on contemporary researcheven taking intoconsideration the small tuimber of scholars interested in the history of alchemyand the reviews do flot show that anv serious attention vas paid to theresuits 0f his pioncering efforts. E. J . Holmyarcl is practicallv the only writerto have cited Ruska 's theses other than by reference 2 ; and there lias neyer beenany adequate criticism of Ruska's treatment of the text and the translation.3As Ruska's former assistant at the Berlin Forsc/iungs-Inslitutfuer Geschichleder Naurwissenschaflen, which lie had established, I was entrusted to reviewthe book immechiately after its publication. A first fleeting glance at thecontents revealed that it would be nece.ssary for me to undertake a very con-siderable amount of work before being able to make a competent criticism.This I was flot in a position to do up to 1933, whcn I was forced to leave theUniversity of Frankfort-on-Main. Two years later, after I had settled downin Palestine, I was able to study the book, but it took yet another two vearsbefore I finished a comprehensive review 10 1937. The editor of Der Islam,having originally asked me for the review, feit compelled to desist from itspublication after November, 1938. Following this, 1 proceeded to revise thewh ole review and to rem ake it into an independent paper which I sent to GeorgeSarton for publication in Osiris. By then, World War II had broken out, andthe British Censor returned the manuscript.For the moment, I had to leave it at that. I presented the main resuits0f my examinationsint the annual meeting cf the Jerusalem 1-IebrewUniversity in me;nor-iam L. Bilhig, the late Lecturer in Arabic, and this papervas published in a Hebrew version 4 . In 1950, 1 rcad a paper on the advancedresuits of my investigations, to the 6th international Congress for the Historyof Science, which took place in Amsterdam. Wlicn G. Sarton came to Israelin 1953 to attend the 7th Congress in Jerusalem, lie was prepared to recomm end

    * The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel.J Ruska: Turbcs Philosoplzoru.rn. Ein Beitrag zur Geschiche der Aichemie.. Berlin,1931.'ISIS, XX. pp. 302-305; cf. also his Alchesny. Penguin Books, 1957, p -8o ff.'G. G oldschmiclt, Deutsche Litera!urzetung, 1933, 1478-82, extols Ruska's treatmcntof the text, in words which prove that he was flot sufficiently verscd with the problem ofthe textual history of the book.Com,nentali,nes I-udaico-Hellenishcae in Memoriam oha,,nis Lewy, 1949, pp. 125-38.

    1 1 1 1 1 1 I I I I I I I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10000005595297

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    2/9

    16oi . FLE SSN IRthe paper for publication in ISIS, and there it was published in the followingyear. At that tirne, the main resuits of my investigations could be seen in thedating of the text, a staternent on its presurnable author, and the comnientarvon the nine cosniological sermones as an aichemical interpretation of thedoctrines of nine pre-Socratic philosophers; the identity 0f three of them hadstifi been open for discussion.There were two main points which, so long as no M SS . were available, causeme a certain scientific uneasiness. MN,oubts were oniy too reasonahiparticulariy in regard to Ruska's estimate of the MSS. that lie used; and lie wacertainlv incorrect to have renounced the use of ail the other MSS. known to,and described by, him. There is also the fact that Ruska's text of the Turbaends abruptly, and at the saine point as the printed editions, without a properconclusion, obviously leaving sernw 72 unfinished. I expresscd my uncasines'in my book Pre-SocraUc Philosophy and Greek Alcheniy in Arabo-LaUn Tradition,which w ill shortly be published, not know ing that before its publication I w ouldhave an opportunity to examine some of the nianuscripts which Ruska haddisregarded.In 1954, 1 attended the 23rd International Congress of Orientalists atCambridge. 0f the MSS. that Ruska iisted, but neglected, there are no lessthan three 6 in three Cambridge libraries. I took advantage of my stay atCambridge and examined them 7 . The findings were highly surprising: ailthe three MSS. were found to offer the continuation of sermo 72 which I hadhelieved incomplete. A number of additional Turba-speeches followed and,moreover, the latter were identical in ail the three manuscripts. This wasespecialiy significant, since each of the three MSS. were independent of eachother. It was only after I had surveveci them that I became aware of the tactthat flot ail the MSS. used by Ruska terminate where his edited text breaks off,but that the oid prints of version "A" influenced his conclusion.At the present state of affairs, it is too early to edit the new texts: beforedoing this, it would be necessary to make a further examination of ail theknown manuscripts, without regard as tu whethcr Ruska ever saw or usedthem. In that wav a reliahie text of the new passages could be gained. Thefollowing remarks are inteiided to provide a preliminary survey of the extent,the contents, and the character of the new texts.That the printed version "A" was not arbitrarily shortencd by the editorof that time, is proved by anothcr MS. (Oxford, Corpus Christi College xz),

    'ISIS, XLV, 1954, pp. 331-338.' c f . Ruska, op, ci!., pp. Sa-Si.' I wish to record herc my gratef ut thanks ta the Librarian of St. John's, for kindlyallowing me ta examine the MS. entrusted ta his custody, though the library was closed atthat time.

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    3/9

    THE IU RHA I'HILOSOPHORUM61which Ruska haci known as well 8 , and which I had also examined in 1954. Thisrnanuscript does, in tact, end at the very point where version "A" breaks off.

    The three Cambridge MSS. are: i. St. John's College, No. 182 of the printedcatalogue, press-mark G.14, dated 10December, 1479; 2. Trinity Coilege,No. 1122 of the printed catalogue, press-mark 0. 2. 18, undated, and believedhy the cataloguer to be of the 14th or I5th century; 3. University Library, No.1255 o f the printed catalogue, press-mark H. IV.12 , 13, dated 16 January, 1529.Ruska devoted one and a hait pages of lis book to a discussion of the St.John's manuscript. The major part of the discussion consists of a print oftue Incipit and the Explicit of the manuscript. Apparently lie only usedphotographs of the beginning and the end of the text, and neither saw the M S.itself, nor inqiaired after it, but reiied on the printed catalogue. However,the MS. was folioed twice, and Ruska obviously used one kind of paging forthe Incipit and the other one for the Explicit. Hence lie came to the con-clusion that the MS. consisted of no more thari 25 small folios comprising butthirteen sermones at the utmost, i.e. slightly more than one sixth of the wholebook. The text of the Turba, as presented by this MS., actually fills no lessthan 121 foliosfive times as much as Ruska had believed. And since thebeginning and the end of both the Cher Cambridge manuscripts are identicalwith the beginning and the end of the one and only manuscriptMS. St.J ohn'sthat Ruska examined more closely, lie concluded that the formermanuscripts were just as fragrnentary, and left them unexamined. TheTrinity College MS. lias, in fact, i folios in a very small script, and the Univer-sity Library MS. lias almost 70 folios'.

    Since the rnanuscripts originated in between the 14th and 16th centuries,and are considerably longer than the printed version and Ruska's edition, itbecomes necessary to collate them in order to flnd out in what manner theyoffer new or better readings than Ruska's edited text. I would, however,suggest that ail tue MSS., whether used, or Ieft unused by Ruska 1 0 , should becollated, in view of the fact that, in numerous instances, Ruska's readings aredisputable. In order to corne to this conclusion, one lias but to look up theArabic original, or to reconstruct it where not extant. Even Ruska's readingof the text of the manuscripts, upon which he based his edition, is not fullyincontestable, as can be seen from the facsimile page of M S . Berlin in his book."None of the ahove remarks are, however, meant to depreciate Ruska's extra-ordinarily courageous and fertile endeavours; they merely serve to remove the

    $ Ruska, 0f'. Cit., P.75 f.As early as 1857, the author of the printed catalogue rcmarks: "This Liber Turbecorresponds very nearly with that printed by Mangetus, and with that in the TheatrumChemicum, AS FAR AS THE yco, BUT IS LONGER HY 9 CHAPTERS; and the concluding chapterin the edition "Philosophus inquit" IS SHORTER THAN IN THE PRESENT MS."Cf. the chapter 'D ie handschriftliche Ueberlieferung" in his book, pp . 69-94.' For particulars, sec my forthcoming study.

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    4/9

    16 2. PLESSNE Rerroneous conception that the phiological work on tliis text has beencornpleted.On the whole, there are seven or eight 1 2 new Turba-speeches which providea total of 79 sermones. Whether ail of them are part of the original Turba, ismore than doubtful. Sermo 72 of the "Philosopher" is followed by that ofPictagoras (ioiv.the numbers refer to the St. John's MS.); then conicsernw 74 of Arisleus (I03r.), the same person who was ordered by Pythagor,to cali flue a.ssembl y of philosophers; Arisleus's is followed by N o. 75, the serof Leucippus (107r.), and lue is foilowed by Democrites, serino 76 (1r4'(.).The sequence of orators with Greek names then ends. They are followcdby two o rators with Arabie naines, i .e. N o. 77, Albemazar (ii), and No. 77a,Abebecar (ri6v.). I refer to tue speech of Ahebecar as No. 77a, because in

    the MSS. it does flot form the beginning of a new paragraph; nor does hispicture appear in the margin of St. John's, which dcpicts ail the other orators.It is uncertain wiietlier Fie is quoted hy his predecessor, Albemazar, or whetherlie is an orator in bis own right at the assembiy. In any case, lus sermon bearsa number like those of ail the other orators, and the number appears in themargin of the MS .The last two orators are flot even Arahs; number 78 1S the sermo of MarcusRex Grecorum (ii8r.), and number 79 is that of Arthurus (I2or), i.e. KingArthur.To what extent the new sermons are part and parcel of the originalArabie text of the Turba, is, as vet, not clear. Since the edited text containsnone but classical narnes, Democrites is likely to have been the last of theorators whose speeches formed a part of the original Arabie version. 1f 50,the foliowing three or four sermons were certainly aclded hy the Latin trans-lator, or even aftcr his time; however, this cannot he verified until the text isthoroughly examined with a view to the elucidation 0f its contents, and thestyle in which it is written.The sermon of the Ph ilosopher, after the end of the text in Ruska's edition13,continues as foliows: "Hoc scitote quod omnis lapis apparet rnortuus, ignetamen factus est viscosus

    It appears that the character of Pictagoras' sermon does not differ at ailfrom that of the aichemical Turba-speeches. At the end, lie asks Arisleus toexpiain his doctrines to the assemhly in an easily understandahle manner.Arisieus now procecds with Fis sermon, which is also preserved outside theframework of the Turba, and is separately edited by Ruska in the iast part of1 2 The author of the catalogue of the U niversity L ibrary, Cambridge, in m entioning g.overlooks the fact that the speeches in the MS., from the beginning, are counted differentlyto Manget's and reach as far as N o. Si and that, on the other hand, the Philosopher's speechhas the nimber 73 , and flot 72.P- 170.

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    5/9

    iuti.t vl1t ilritin iunicww

    1T1I 1011 1 11 A ut.qVtl'ti Ct' tiC1lL 141lYllit.CL C\'O[ t i

    tiL i'ttnb; . t4 i-wt t'tl t(l, CVt3lldth

    t1%I:tIY1ttitiTqIi.inirII(L 4P t tt1' - r-LhL;JLlIL 3fl1) 1t ni 11it1itntit''e vrvilli It(_-utt\1--rini1i3i L't%: L ' 4 .ltf't t}f'1TD fl1t I tl11i! 1311i'-tii I1 titttt 11 %tfuFtL . 1ltt 2 L ) /"ttttc irnhi LL44IlI1t.IlLt, 1.(_j)I(dLIc:d\'Iiii -iici:ridg-l-,

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    6/9

    I 1 ! LJN

    1\tt-LLtunt, F : .t1li .jitq'U1 ! '1h11VrUt :fftttit \7tt%tt qilu i 111fhv 1 fin . . nef 1iifl tTtltt h % L U tt t% 1 1 % ?ttt:t 1 %ttii71l'31uilii(ii :itit%'ltFzLiIt i.

    1 1 1 1 1 m r , f i l ,

    1t . CVL' LLTt'JIqL,d'tt - 1ttnt.\'uibtttf t t r ,1tntT-?L%'fls-fli---

    Ttc,t)Xt%t1Ii tVt %itl,tititflt

    ltu%: i,1ttrstLIit.-Ir. - ,-1IIj. _.T'.t.I I I.

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    7/9

    r -.

    iM 1 4 1 k ' Iicjzrt 't*iIfut)+tntfflf * c1niI11ADiiit-oiii

    c -jn, nio4tQ1 tfioiit93lrnti7%ni cfiI1nc6f14rf lDlU6' njatOc44*1&1IJflIGistm C a,jIfi4tiiu''i,'n7il, rp j1 l niftit( tsi ,4'c 4tci-'t4ctmis

    Ti?1ti-Jo$rn'd fh(acs j'hiC1fl e,,.1t,h1 $lir 1t?t4'$2JtJ4' -c

    tfri1 4 f4,t4t!1 n tvtx,t*u4,tfttno4, I D , , c 1* . ' iibftcc'mniLq 4pfille iiftt g ncwfclhafrtlf'IIIL.vcm1Y%%4tt . .n,ttftfrS-*tTctq4ijgi;iwi-W1'Ic-1tt ? IPiiii i,tntO'411siiwiI.r1f;j PSc r -ts

    t r&1 1 1 11t(enIO4Ilt5tti*n.t' flt;r- i jiEtt.'ict 1 , 4 enow iblit itoit ni nC-in'pi& 4iift -- t1t 1 icC?tfl-.j ti4(Itfc 1 1 0 1 4 iI +t

    ilcre

    % i1 ii ,- cQttt l4c-c-cttitit ji i gtttU'-ICq v-tijt pfl&1t ri,Jt'uiofl'fl 1 tC 1k cni I 16"VI* 'IL ifl1 it fltwcc ' M6'nioi.Rlt1w.inqhfl4t*.t4tt-V1 r''i1t&t3iktt.i+iii iitth,'i mt'qt.J7-ItilteoItcbi)ii,tii'4c p't .; ..tPlat- III.I-)t&ItICtcl bv cuuiteivTtillity ( 1 1 e , - e (tiiltrkIge. froiii M S . O. 2. 1 8 ,1 1 - 1 -r.

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    8/9

    perfl3zfiac-pfl, ? e7aT

    c cp1aonn&oprokigy1.pouiinqp ftiiYbe n-dOccocOo&pM opn. . -p o r n 'co o /l3e7- \9ero \ 9 lcrbiCt1?lSPqf&1

    -/aLtc-Wlov-1 s7 : r2 5-rp

    1

    -fto- n

    osc T f i f lq iI'Iate 1\cprocluccd i)v jt'v (t t nivcrsitv Lihi (IV, Laiiibr1iv. froiji '.Ib. Fi. iv. 12.

    fol. 1S 4 1- .

  • 7/29/2019 Plessner the Turba Philosophorum

    9/9

    IHE TURBA Pli ILOSOPHOI1UM03lis book'-'lie had published a German edition at an earlier date". That thesermon appears in the three Cambridge MSS., not as an independent text, butwithin the sequence of Turba-spccches, gives risc to the question as to whetherit forms an annex, as Ruska helieved, or whether it is an integrate part of theJ'urba text, in the saine mariner as the Tabula Smaragdina was originally anintegrate part of Apollonius' "Book on the Causes" 6 . It is truly remarkablethat the sermon suddenly exchanges the style of a theoretical discussion forthat of an autobiographical narrativeclearly discernible in Ruska's printedtext and his translation. For this narrative style is continued by the succeed-ing orators, I.cucippus and Democrites.Special attention should be paid to Democrites' mention of medicos egip-ciacos et alexandrinos (fol. IIIv.), The last three or four sermons delivered bynon-Greeks drop the narrative style; they were obviously copied by the Latinauthor from undoub tcdly genuine Turba-speeches.W hom M arcus, the King of the G rceks, impersonatesp rovided the name isnot mutilatedis a point yet ta he cleared up. There ha.s ne yer been aByzantine Emperor of that name; and, with the exception of Marcus Aurclius,no such ruler is indexed in William L. Langers Encyclopcedia 0f World Hislory.0f particular interest is the fact that Ring Arthur, by attending an assembly ofalchemists, plays a sirnilar part to that of the Emperor Heraclius. It is leftfor a rnediacvaiist to prove to what extent King Arthur's role as an alchemistcan he hased o n the legendary tradition of K ing Artus.

    The conclusion of ail the three M S S . is more or icss the same, as Ruska hadalready discovcred. The Trinity College and University Library MSS. differonly negligibly from the St. John's MS., in regard to the sermons' numbers.Pictures of the orators are only to be found in the St. John's MS.; facsimiles[Sec Plates 1-IV] are added ta give a proof of the script of ail the three manu-scripts, and of the pictures in St. John's17.Thanks ta the munificence of the Warburg Institute in London, I am inpossession of microfilms of the new Turba-passages, whicli, I am confident, willenabie me to submit a readabic text within a reasonabie time.'4 pp. 323-328. In two of the MSS. forming the basis of Ruska's edition, the Visiocornes in betwecn sermons 71 and 72. Cf. P. 169.HisIorsche Siudien und Skizzen zr Xalur.und Hcilwissnschaf, Festgabe fu.er GeorgSticker, Berlin, 1 93 0 ,P . 22 if. (1 have been unable ta examine this book).J . Ruska: Tabula Srnaragdina, 1926; Paul Kraus: Jbir Tbn Hayyri, II, Le Caire.1942, pp. 270-303. Cf. also M. P lcssner: Neue Malerialen zur Geschiclie der Tabula Smarag-dine, in Der Islam, XV I, pp. 77-113.This articlew hich I have fl1UC11 pleasure in dedicating to Dr. H. E. Stapleton on theoccasion of his 8ist birthdayis hased on a paper that I read on 26 February. 1959, to theJerusalem Branch of the Israel Soc iety for the History of Med icine and Science.I w ish also ta express my gratcful thanks to D r. Stapicton for the kindIy and helpfulinterest that hc has aiways extended ta me in my studies.L am indebted to the Librarians of University Library and Trinity Collcgc, Cambridge,

    and to the M aster and Feliows of S t. John's College, Cambridge, for permission tu reproducefacsimilcs of the relevant M SS . dcpictcd in this article.