[17]
HEBREW TRANSLATIONOF AVERROES' PROOEMIUM
71
PROOEMIUM
The aim of thistreatiseis to commentupon the book of Aristotle entitledthe Physics since no complete commentary,word for on thisbook has reachedus.' word,by any of the commentators has us As forwhat reached of the commentary of Alexander[of the second, Aphrodisias]on thisbook, part of the first[treatise], the fifth, the sixth,the seventh,and partof the eighth the fourth, Before[we begin]we shouldmenare notthewordsofAlexander.2 the commentators, some of the the custom of tion, following matterswith which they begin [their commentarieson] his Averroes on thePosterior similarly beginshis Long Commentary Analytthathis aim in thatbook is to commentuponthePosterior ics byexplaining of it fromanyofthosewhointerpreted since"no longcommentary Analytics Averroes' MiddleComit has comedownto us." See CharlesE. Butterworth, and De Interpretatione Princementaries on Aristotle's (Princeton: Categories ton University Press,1983),pp. 4-5. 2 Averroes'meaningis not clear.He seemsto be sayingthatmostof the is spurious. Yet whichhas comedownin thenameofAlexander commentary to as well)refers in thesecondtreatise treatises he himself (and in following Alexander'sversionof the Physics(see above, n. 16) and also citesAlexf. 83b). According to the ander'sinterpretation (see,e.g.,Long Commentary, therewas indeeda commentary medievalArabicbibliographers, (tafsir)by thatthecommentary was extantin full Ibn Abi Usaibi'areported Alexander. al-atibba' al-anba' I, [Cairo, 1882], pp. 69-70). Ibn fi tabaqat (see 'Uyun the al-Nadimand al-Qiftiafterhim reportedthatpartof the firsttreatise, and a very thefifth, second,partofthefourth, partof thesixth,theseventh, smallpartof theeighthwereextant(see Fihrist[Leipzig,1871],p. 250, and comTa'rikhal-hukama'[Leipzig,1903],p. 38). Ibn Bajjah citesAlexander's In addition, in thefourth ofhis owncommentary. and sixthtreatises mentary in theunique are preserved fromAlexander's severalstatements commentary of thePhysics.Theseoccurin TreatisesII, IV, V, MS of Ishaq'stranslation see the printededition,vol. II, p. 957. See and VII. For page references, is not excommentary Arabus,p. 34. Alexander's further, Peters,Aristoteles tanttodayin any language,althoughit is oftencitedby Simpliciusin his commentary.