supply this defect. Vague conjectures about this "Apple" are made by Losius in his notes ; Fabricius in bis Bibliotkeca gives some more useful information. The Persian text has been re-collated with the MS. (which is almost entirely without diacritic points, and in a difficult hand) and the translation revised by Mr. J. T. Platts, teacher of Persian in the University of Oxford, who, however, is not responsible for any errors that may remain. The editor begs to tender him sincerest thanks for his kindness, and also to .the Council of the Royal Asiatic Society for allowing this work to appear in their Journal.
Remarks on the Arabic version of the Metaphysics of Theophrastus.
The MS. from which this text has been copied (Ouseley 95) bearing the title “Translations from Greek Philosophers,” among others, contains a variety of interesting matter, which has been catalogued by Dr. Ethé with his ordinary thoroughness.[1] Perhaps the only tract in the Miscellany which can properly be called a translation of a Greek philosophical work is No. xvi., consisting of four torn leaves which originally contained an Arabic translation of the fragment of Theophrastus ordinarily known as his Metaphysics. We learn from Wenrich's authorities that Yahya ibn Adi (ob. 363 a.h. = 973 a.d.) rendered this treatise into Arabic from Syriac; the present translation is probably by him, though it might seem to have come directly from the Greek. Although the MS. is perfect at the commencement — for the obverse page is blank — the copy from which it was made must have contained more; for the present MS. commences in the middle of a sentence, viz. at the word ἑκάτερα, p. 410, l. 15, ed. Didot, p. 308, §2, Brandis, p. iv, a. 12, Usener. The fragments — counting any line in which a word or more has been preserved as a whole line; owing to the pages having been torn obliquely, very few of the lines are
- ↑ Persian MSS. of the Bodleian Library, pp. 861-875.
