Previously Unpublished Works of Roger Bacon, Fascicle 11: Questions on Aristotle's Metaphysics and On Plants

(Clemens Baeumker on his 70th Birthday, Munster, 1923, p. 89) — they show considerable divergences between themselves.

The two manuscripts here printed are at Avranches (no. 232), designated as A, and Oxford (Bodl. Selden supra 24), designated as S. The Avranches manuscript was formerly in the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel and bears the inscription original: "hic liber est de Monte sancti Michaelis Abrincensis diocesis" "This book belongs to Mont Saint-Michel in the diocese of Avranches," and in a much later hand original: "Iste liber est Abbacie Montis sancti Michaelis in periculo maris ordinis sancti Benedicti" "This book belongs to the Abbey of Mont Saint-Michel 'in peril of the sea,' of the Order of Saint Benedict" (the word "John" before "Abbey" is crossed through). There is no title to any of the books, though places are left for large initials, except a note in plummet A lead stylus used for marking or writing before the common use of graphite pencils. "2nd book of the Metaphysics" original: "2 liber Methaphysice" in S. The second manuscript was written at St. Albans, and has the inscription original: "Hic est liber sancti Albani, quem qui ei abstulerit aut titulum deleverit Anathema sit. Amen." "This is the book of Saint Alban; whoever takes it from him or erases the title, let him be Anathema A formal curse; in medieval manuscripts, these "book curses" were common deterrents against theft.. Amen." A third fragment (L) is in the National Library original: "Bibliothèque Nationale" at Paris (Latin collection 12953). It dates from the second half of the thirteenth century and contains the text from p. 256, line 3, to p. 260, line 17. It follows A as against S, but its variants are of no value. S is the only manuscript to preserve any number of Greek words in the text. The writer of A after three attempts—he forms his letters well—gives it up and writes "G G" wherever any Greek occurs.

The text, as here printed, is a word-for-word version of a Greek manuscript of the Metaphysics of the E type A classification of Greek manuscripts of Aristotle, specifically the "Vaticanus" family, known for a particular lineage of textual transmission., where all the particles are translated and the order of the original preserved. It is remarkably accurate; the emendations proposed in the notes are almost entirely corrections of obvious scribal misreadings. In respect of the order of words, peculiarly liable to change in conformity with Latin usage, S is a better manuscript than A. S inverts the order eight times where A is right, and A inverts the order thirty times where S is right. In the choice of variants the Greek text has been taken as a guide, but except for the order of words all differences between the two manuscripts are recorded at the foot of the page. To avoid complexity the numerous variants in spelling have not been recorded as they occur; they are collected here.¹

¹ A. Pythagoreans, with the Pythagoreans, Pythagoreans, Xenophanes, ethics, Hesiod original: "Phytagorici, Phitagoricis, Phythagorici, Xenophanis, ethyca, Esiodus." These are various medieval Latin misspellings of Greek names and terms.