Chapter 4 Towards a Better Text of Ps.Plutarch’s Placita Philosophorum: Fresh Evidence from the Historia philosopha of Ps.Galen
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Abstract
A closer examination of the tradition of ps.Galen’s Historia philosopha reveals that Diels underestimated the significance of Nicolaus of Rhegium’s Latin translation of the Historia philosopha for the task of editing the text. This translation preserves readings that are superior to those of the extant Greek manuscripts. From this it can be inferred that the lost Greek manuscript used by Nicolaus must be independent of the extant Greek manuscripts, because the readings preserved in the translation match readings transmitted in the manuscript tradition of the Placita philosophorum such as in the Arabic translation by Qusṭā ibn Lūqā or in Eusebius’ Praeparatio Evangelica. I will also present some key results from a comparison of a chapter of the Historia philosopha with the Arabic translation of the Placita philosophorum, the first of its kind. In particular, I shall highlight passages where the Historia philosopha and the Arabic translation have readings in common, but which differ from those of the extant Byzantine manuscripts of the Placita philosophorum.