|
954 |
Cf.
also pp. 267 ff., below. |
955 |
"Hair" is added in C and D. |
956 |
Cf.
p. 268, below. |
957 |
Tasid and taqtir are
differentiated by the material subjected to the chemical
process. Cf. al-Khuwarizmi, Mafatih al-'ulum,
p. 149. |
958 |
Al-iksir, from Greek xhrion. |
959 |
Literally, "thrown," corresponding to Greek
epiballein. |
960 |
Cf. P. Kraus, Jabir Ibn
Hayyan, I, 41 ff. Cf. p. 157,
above, and p. 269, below. |
961 |
Or
rather: "He thought"? |
962 |
Cf.
Bombaci, p. 461. |
963 |
Al-Hasan
(al-Husayn) b. 'Ali, ca. 453 [1061] to 515 [i 121]. Cf. GAL, I,
247 f.; Suppl.,
I, 439 f. |
964 |
Cf.
Ibn Khaldun's opinion below, p. 246. |
965 |
Cf.
p. 246, below. |
966 |
He
is mentioned again as al-Mughayribi, p. 269, below. A Mughayribi
family is mentioned, in the fifteenth century, in as-Sakhawi,
ad-Daw' al-lami' (Cairo, 1353-55/1934-36), VIII, 164, but in
spite of the rarity of the name, there is no information to
connect the above-mentioned author with the later family. |
967 |
Cf.
the list of titles in GAL, I, 426;
Suppl., I, 755 f. The
MS. Nuru Osmaniye, 3634, in Istanbul, also contains two short
works on the elixir, ascribed to al-Ghazzali, one without a
title, and the other entitled at-Taqrib
fi ma'rifat at-tarkib. |
968 |
The
legendary first Muslim scientist and translator of Greek
literature into Arabic, who is said to have died between 84 and
90 [703 and 708/91. Cf. GAL, 1, 67; Suppl., I, 106; Ibn
an-Nadim, Fihrist, pp.
242, 354 (ed. Flugel); pp.
338, 497 (Cairo, 1348/1929-30); al-Bukhari,
Ta'rikh, III,
166; Ibn Hajar, Tahdhib,
III, 128 f. The historical Khalid
aspired to the caliphate for a short time. Marwan married his
mother, Yazid's wife, for political reasons. |
969 |
Ibn Bishrun's lifetime is fixed at
ca. A.D. 1000 through
his relationship to Maslamah and Ibn as-Samb. Cf. pp. 126
f., above. On the title page of the Rutbah in the
Istanbul MS. Ragib Pasa, 963, fol. 90a, there is a
biography of Maslamah which mentions Abu Bakr Ibn Bishrun among
his pupils and as authority for the statement that an
estrangement had taken place between Ibn as-Samh and Maslamah.
It may be mentioned that there is no information
that Ibn as-Samh wrote works on alchemy, nor is the historical
Maslamah considered an author on alchemy or magic. Thus, Ibn
Bishrun's treatise may be pseudepigraphical. Hajji Khalifah,
Kashf az-zunun, III,
595 f., refers to a work on alchemy,
Sirr al-kimiya', by a certain Ibn Bishrun al-Maghribi,
who may be identical with our Ibn Bishrun. Identification with
the Sicilian poet 'Uthman b.'Abdar-Rahim b. Bashrim, implied by
E. Griffini in Centenario delta nascita di M. Amari
(Palermo, 1910), I, 445, is almost certainly wrong.
*A different but related work by Ibn Bishrun in MS. Beshir Agha
505, 86a-91b (Fuat Sezgin). |
970 |
The
MSS read adhhabu (the vocalization is indicated in C).
Bulaq corrects to dhahaba, which would mean "his
attitude." At first glance this might appear the more natural
idea, but the text as transmitted cannot be understood that way,
since a reading udhhiba is not possible. |
971 |
Lit., "luncheon and dinner." |
972 |
Referring to the statement that body and soul can be separated
but not reunited after separation? |
973 |
For
"pulse" in alchemical literature, cf. P. Kraus, Jabir Ibn
Hayyan, textes choisis (Paris & Cairo, 1354/1935), pp. 51
ff., and Jabir Ibn Hayyan, II, 236. |
974 |
That
is, the transformation of the alchemical operation, or of the
stone. |
975 |
That
is, the operation, or the stone. |
975a |
Hawa'iyah? The MSS have
hw'yh. The meaning is doubtful. Perhaps, huwiyah is
meant: "a substance similar to fire." |
976 |
Bulaq has a simpler, perhaps correct text: "when they notice the
approach of fire." |
977 |
"Through fire" belongs here, rather than after the second
"annihilated." |
978 |
The
suffix used in Arabic seems to refer to "treatment," but one
would expect it to refer to "the mixtures." Cf. below. This,
however, would require too much of a correction. Is the suffix
meant to refer to "substance"? |
979 |
The
complete text as translated, to the end of the paragraph, is
found in Bulaq, and not in A, B, C, or D. |
980 |
Leg.: hallan <mithla hadha l-halli wa-> hadha. |
981 |
Taghusu, as in C and D, which would be
intransitive, or perhaps, rather, transitive
tughawwisu. Cf.
p. 241, 1. 7, below. |
982 |
"Through itself" (min dhatihi) is
the correct addition of Bulaq. |
983 |
I.e., its own tendency toward destruction and the destructive
action of fire. |
984 |
Cf.
p. 231, above. |
985 |
None
of the many Harranis of the ninth and tenth centuries is known
as an outstanding authority on alchemy. He might possibly be
Silim, the "Syrian" alchemical authority from liarran, mentioned
by ar-Razi. Cf. J. Ruska in Der Islam,
XXII (1935), 289. *
MS. Beshir Agha, 505, 149b. |
986 |
From
Greek bafh. |
987 |
Used
for the preparation of alkali. |
988 |
As
it stands, the Arabic suffix has no antecedent except "animals." |
989 |
I.e.,
the pure essence of earth. The text must be corrected in this
sense. As it stands, the Arabic
suffix can refer only to "plants." |
990 |
Here
the reading nafs, and not nafas
"breath," is indicated. |
991 |
Mustajinnah, as in Bulaq and the MSS. |
992 |
This
seems the most likely meaning of tamshiyah in this
context, although the word is not known to me as a technical
term of alchemy. It might have a meaning close to "digestion,"
which is always associated with putrefaction. |
993 |
Ikhtilat usually means "mixture," but
this meaning would not seem to make sense in the context. Bulaq
corrects to ikhtilat "disagreement." |
994 |
One
would expect, rather, "annihilation, nonbeing" (al farad'),
and possibly the text should be corrected in this sense. |
995 |
Ajza'uha. |
996 |
On the "egg" of the alchemists, originally
intended to be an alloy of copper, lead, iron, and tin, but also
considered as the alchemical "stone," cf., esp., M. Berthelot
and C. E. Ruelle, Collection des anciens alchimistes grecs
(Paris, 1888), pp. 18 ff. (text), pp. 18 ff. (tr.).
What follows is a characteristic device of
esoteric literature, namely, the pupil asking the teacher for an
explanation. Cf., for instance, P. Kraus, Jabir Ibn Hayyan,
testes choisis, p. 79; Jabir Ibn Hayyan, I, xxxvi (n.
6). |
997 |
In
our letters, EGFH. The plane of the "egg" EGFH is
said to be similar to the plane of the "stone AJBD (in
our letters, ACBD), and, therefore, the "stone" is
called "egg." |
998 |
Leg. taba'i`, as in Bulaq, or,
perhaps, al-taba'i'
< fi>. |
999 |
The
MSS seem to have AHJ, but apparently the sides AJ
and AD of the plane AJBD are meant. |
1000 |
Or "breath"? |
1001 |
For
"Holy Land" as a cover name for mercury, cf. A. Siggel,
Decknamen in der arabischen alchemistischen
Literatur (Berlin, 1951), p. 34. |
1002 |
Bulaq: nukhasiyan "like copper." |
1003 |
The "Magnesia" of the alchemists is some
undetermined kind of alloy. Cf. E. 0. von Lippmann,
Entstehung and Ausbreitung der Akhemie
(Berlin, 1919), Index, s.v. "Magnesia." |
1004 |
According to the vocalization indicated in D, one would have to
translate, "he has turned all the expressions into secret hints
. . ." |
1005 |
Cf.
p. 167, above. |
1006 |
Cf.
p. 157, above. |
1007 |
Cf.
p. 168, above. |
1008 |
Cf.
pp. 161 f., above. |
1009 |
Cf.
pp. 267 ff., below. |
1010 |
Qur'an 66.3 (3). |
|
|