Skyscript Astrology Forum

Ab? Ma?shar al-Balkh?,
Liber intoductorii maioris ad scientiam judiciorum astrorum,
ed. Richard Lemay, 9 vols.,
Naples: Istituto Universitario Orientale, 1995-96.

Does anybody knows where in the world can I buy this book - or collection, if you prefer?

Thanks

Rodolfo.

1) www.herder.it: http://www.herder.it/docu_htm/islam.htm.
Herder Bookstore in Italy. This was the only source I knew of a few years ago when I bought the first six volumes. I didn't yet bother with 7 and 8 which are connected with the Hermann of Carinth translation, since the John of Seville translation (Vols. 4-6) is generally regarded as superior though unlike that of Hermann it was unpublished. And Volume 9 is simply a massive index to the contents of the other 8. Thus for my purposes Volumes 1-6 were more than adequate.

2) http://www.unilibro.it/find_buy/Scheda/ ... vol_1_.htm
- Volume 1 only, but the others are also sold through the same site. The price is confusingly displayed in two parts: 25.82 Euros plus a hidden 5 Euro surcharge; but it still seems to work out slightly cheaper than Herder prices, and the ordering process may be more automated and thus convenient.

Good luck!

PS: Don't expect fantastic bindings: they are workmanlike softcovers, the covers being connected at the spine just by glue, and one of the volumes I bought came unglued very quickly.

thanks a lot!

Philip Graves wrote: This was the only source I knew of a few years ago when I bought the first six volumes. I didn't yet bother with 7 and 8 which are connected with the Hermann of Carinth translation, since the John of Seville translation (Vols. 4-6) is generally regarded as superior though unlike that of Hermann it was unpublished. And Volume 9 is simply a massive index to the contents of the other 8. Thus for my purposes Volumes 1-6 were more than adequate.

Still Lemay loves Hermann, and always repeats how Hermann knows classical tradition more than John of Seville. I don't know if this is true, anyway.
But Hermann version was more influential, for example Fendulus version of Albumasar comes from Hermann....

PS: Don't expect fantastic bindings: they are workmanlike softcovers, the covers being connected at the spine just by glue, and one of the volumes I bought came unglued very quickly.

It is because the book was published not by a publishing house, but by an university, Istituto Orientale di Napoli if I well remember.

steven wrote:
One of the most blatantly guilty of deliberate revisions in his Latin translations was Hermann! I have several suspicions about what may have occured and why these Latin translators made these revisions.
It is my suspicion that translators like Hermann were using a body of Astrological doctrine already extant at the time of his own translations

I gave a look to a part of Great Introduction in his two latin translations.
I think that part of problem is that both translators could not understand what Albumasar was talking about, that's all, so just they jumped words.

Hermann's one is the most abridged, true, but the most important and well known, even through IbnEzra, Abano, Fendulus.
And the same fact that Albumasar was read as a Christian prophet too (in a German church he is painted together other prophets with the Virgin) is because of Hermann reading of Albumasar.

In Middle Ages and Renaissance Albumasar was seen as Hermann saw him, no matters if John was more true to the original text.

Thanks for the comments. I hope the great introduction translated by Burnett would be ready soon.

I agree with the fact that translations made by scholars doesnt has the danger of misconceptions, so I can wait...

Rodd wrote: I agree with the fact that translations made by scholars doesnt has the danger of misconceptions, so I can wait...

Still I'm not sure this is the point.
In 1903 a famous Orientalist, Karl Dyroff, translated in German from Arab version a part of Liber VI of Great Introduction, and still there are many unclear points in the text.

And the same is for Richard Lemay, even if he added a lot of notes to Albumasar text.

I think the problem is we don't know Albumasar sources, they are lost to us, moreover because often he had not in the original version, but he had in translation too.