Die philosophischen Abhandlungen des al-Kindi

simply, as I find most likely, it is to be read as ashya’ things 1 — it should surely refer to the named object. Cf. shima nature. Then the Latin title "de quinque essentiis" on the five essences is immediately explained if one compares it with the passage of the text: "Res autem quae sunt in omnibus substantiis, sunt quinque" The things, however, which are in all substances, are five. So much for the title. 2

Another circumstance also deserves attention: the position of the above title in the Arabic catalogs. It is found immediately before: 3

Kitab risalatuhu fi sama‘ al-kayan

"Treatise on physical hearing (physike akroasis natural hearing/physics)." Now we will see later that the treatise "de quinque essentiis" indeed contains mainly excerpts from this work. Therefore, I combine both titles 32 and 33 into a single one, in which the heading and content of the treatise are indicated.

Immediately before the titles just discussed, another one stands in the list of Al-Kindi's works: 4

Kitab risalatuhu bi-ijaz wa-khtisar fi al-burhan al-mantiqi

"Short and summary treatise on the logical proof" — the books on proof are known to be the analytika analytics

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1) Compare the ashya’ khamsa five things of the Ikhwan al-Safa, p. 27, and of Al-Ya‘qubi (Houtsma, Chronicle of Ibn Wadih al-Ya‘qubi, Leiden, 1883, p. 148).

2) The title no. 89 Kitab risalatuhu fima nasaba al-qudama kull wahid min al-mujassamat al-khamsa ila al-‘anasir "Treatise on what the ancients attributed from each of the five solid bodies to the primary substances" — must not mislead. The word mujassamat, plural of mujassam, is a technical term for geometric solids. Freytag, T. I, p. 278 col. 2: "solidus" solid, "terna constante dimensione" three constant dimensions. Dozy, Supplément, T. I, p. 195: "in relief... T. de Mathém.: solide, corps à trois dimensions" in relief... Math. term: solid, body with three dimensions. In the preface of Hypsicles to the XV book of Euclid, the "quinque corpora" five bodies (al-mujassamat al-khamsa) are named as tetrahedron, cube, etc. (in Cod. Bodl. 279 in 4°. Nicoll p. 259 col. 2).

3) Sulle opere etc. p. 9 no. 34 (Fihrist no. 30, Qifṭī no. 24, Uṣaibi‘a no. 32, Flügel no. 33, Hammer no. 31).

4) Ibid. no. 32 (Fihrist no. 28, Qifṭī no. 22, Uṣaibi‘a no. 30, Flügel no. 31, Hammer no. 29).