Commentary on the First Three Books of Aristotle's Physics

OVERVIEW OF MANUSCRIPT AND PRINTED BOOKS.

A COISLINIANUS 166 [Montfaucon p. 223 sq.], paper, 15th century, consisting of 492 folios, 29 cm high and 21 cm wide. In the first place, it contains Aristotle’s Physics with scholia written both in the margins and between the lines, partly Philoponean and partly Simplician, boldly contracted or interpolated. Included are excerpts from Philoponus' proemium, which we have stated is preserved in its entirety only in codex M. In books V–VIII, I believe there are no Philoponean elements; certainly those which the great man Montfaucon (p. 224) conjectured were owed to Philoponus, while intent on other matters, belong to Simplicius (f. 190r 34 Ald.). The codex was examined by H. Diels. I shall add a collation of the excerpts from the proemium, intending to provide other things when I speak of codex R.

p. 1, 3 according to Aristotle, of the om. || 4 and || 4. 5 Aristotle busied himself more with the theoretical || 6 being divided || 6. 7 the mathematical, the theological (om. and) he spent more time on the physical || 8 to our nature || 9 was (om. and before Aristotle) already worked out, but the physical || 10 the om. || 11. p. 2, 13 and divided together — treatise om. || p. 2, 13 book teaches (om. as has been said) concerning || 14 following || 15 the treatise itself and soon are || 16. p. 3, 1 and in — so much om. || p. 3, 1 in — the || and om. || 2 of the ancients || concerning — principles om. || 3. 7 of matter and form, but rather concerning matter, in the second concerning form and matter, but rather concerning form, in the third concerning motion and the infinite, in the fourth || 8 four || of all and om. || 9. 10 in it. Whence also he calls the whole treatise concerning motion, saying it has been said to us in the books concerning motion.

B NEAPOLITANUS III E 1 [Cyrill's Catalog II 431], paper, 14th century, consisting of 277 folios (not 276 or 287, for the person who numbered the individual folios in the bottom margin wrote 130 twice; and the person who numbered in the top margin made a slip of the pen, writing 222 instead of 212). It contains all eight books of Aristotle’s Physics, provided with very frequent scholia, the last of which refers to Arist. Θ 7 p. 261b 22. For books I–VII, the scholiast added most of Simplicius’ work, mixing in some of his own, except where he notes on f. 59r (ad Arist. p. 197a 1. Philop. p. 275, 13 sqq.): Philoponus reduces luck under things done by deliberation, but nature under the automatic, and f. 160r presents some things taken from Philop. p. 778, 22 sqq. Furthermore, when I examined this