The Arabic Origin of Liber de Compositione Alchimiae

7/27/2019 The Arabic Origin of Liber de Compositione Alchimiae

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The Arabic Origin of Liber de compositione alchimiae

The Arabic Origin ofLiber de compositione alchimiae

The Epistle of Maryanus, the Hermit and Philosopher, to Prince Khalid ibn Yazid.

Liber de compositione alchimiae or the The Book of the Composition of Alchemyis

believed to have been the first book on alchemy that was translated from Arabic into

Latin. The translator was the Englishman Robert of Chester who was one of the

earliest translators to flock to Spain to learn Arabic and to translate some of the

Arabic works. He completed his translation on 11 February, 1144.

With the translation of this book, Europe was acquainted to alchemy for the first

time. Thus Robert writes in his preface to the translation: Since what Alchymia is,

and what its composition is, your Latin world does not yet know, I will explain in the

present book.[1]

Alchemy remained something rather new to Europe until more than a century later.

Thus in 1267 Roger Bacon writes in his Opus tertium (explaining to the pope the

rightful role of the sciences in the university curriculum and the interdependence of

all disciplines): But there is another science which is about the generation of things

from the elements, and from all inanimate things, of which we have nothing in the

booksof Aristotle; nor do natural philosophers know of these things, nor the whole

Latin crowd of Latin writers. And since this science is not known to the generality of

students, it necessarily follows that they are ignorant of all natural things that follow

there from. And this science is called theoretical alchemy,which theorizes about all

inanimate things and about the generation of things from the elements.[2]

Liber de compositione alchimiae acquired a prominent place in the Latin alchemical

literature. The names of Morienus (Maryanus) and Khalid became well known to all

alchemists in Europe. Their importance matched that of al-Razi, Ibn Sina and Jabir.

A large number of Latin manuscripts have survived. These were classified into several

categories.[3] Five contain the original Latin text that was not altered by later

editors. Two of these un-edted manuscripts go back to the thirteenth century. They
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are the Glasgow Hunterian Library MS 253, 46r-53v, and the Paris Bibliotheque

Nationale MS Lat. 7156, 197-201v. They contain the story, as told by Ghalib the

mawla (client)of Khalid, of how Khalid and Morienus came to meet each other. This

is followed by the dialogue between the two.

All the other numerous manuscripts contain a revised dialogue. Some contain a

preface by Robert of Chester, and some have an additional speech by Morienus. The

various parts were printed for the first time in 1559 in Paris. The printed edition

contains the preface of Robert of Chester, the speech of Morienus, the revised

account of Ghalib, and the revised dialogue. The Latin title translates as: Booklet of

Morienus Romanus, of old the Hermit of Jerusalem, on the Transfiguration of the

Metals and the Whole of the Ancient Philosophers Occult Arts, Never Before

Published.[4] The same publisher issued a second edition in 1564. The text was

printed in 1572 in a larger collection of alchemical texts published in Basel.[5] The

Latin printed edition was translated into English, German and French.

The first English translation was done in the seventeenth century and is contained in a

manuscript in the British Library, MS Sloane 3697. This is a translation of the Paris

Latin edition of 1564. This translation was first published by Holmyard in 1925 [6] . A

recent edition in current English was published by Adam McLean in 2002. [7]

In 1974 an English translation based on the oldest unrevised Latin manuscripts was

undertaken by Lee Stavenhagen who published the Latin text on opposite pages to his

translation.[8]

As is customary with most historians of alchemy of the nineteenth and twentieth

centuries, such as Berthelot and Ruska, doubts were cast on the old establishedknowledge about the translated Arabic works into Latin. Thus the Latin works of Jabir

were considered to be authored by a Latin Pseudo-Geber. The Morienus-Khalid

dialogue did not escape a similar kind of judgment. Ruska who was a master in the art

of considering most works to be written by pseudo authors, cast doubts about Robert

of Chesters translation and on Khalid, Morienus and their dialogue, and he came out

with the conclusion that the whole Latin work was a compilation of an Italian

Christian cleric possibly as late as the fourteenth century. Other scholars followedRuska in this assumption.[9]
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known Arabic manuscripts from the libraries of Istanbul, and he was fortunate to

receive help.[16] These are Fatih 3227 (fol. 8b-18b) and ehit Ali Pasha 1749 (fol.

61a-74b). The arrival of the copies made this work possible. The writer was able also

to secure copies of several Arabic manuscripts that gave citations from the Maryanus-

Khalid dialogue. Appendix 1 gives a list of the Arabic sources that were available for

this study, and a list of the manuscripts that were not available. It is believed that

more Arabic sources may appear in future.

The Arabic texts of Fatih and ehit Ali Pasha are similar to each other with minor

differences. Fatih was taken as a base, and an edited text is now ready. There

remains a review of the citations in the various other works. The largest citation is

the in Kitab al-shawahid fi al-Hajar al-wahid, in BL MS add 23418. It was found that

the text in this MS has been revised so that it deviates to some extent from that in

Fatih and ehit Ali Pasha.

The texts in Fatih, ehit and BL were compared with the two English translations

mentioned earlier. It was found that the translation of Stavenhagen corresponds very

well with the Arabic text of Fatih and ehit. This result seems understandable

because Stavenhagen opted to translate the oldest un-revised Latin text, whereas the

seventeenth century English translation published by McLean is based on the revised

Latin text that was printed in Paris in 1564.

The English translation of Stavehagen and the Arabic text start with Ghalibs account

and contain the dialogue. The Speech of Morienus is not part of the Arabic text nor of

the earliest un-revised Latin text that was translated by Stavenhagen.

The last pages of the English translation are not found in the Fatih and ehitmanuscripts. Search will continue to find the possible Arabic texts that correspond

with these.

The account or prologue of Ghalib is reproduced at the end of this article. It shows

the correlation between the Arabic text and the English translation. The page

numbers of the Stavenhagen translation are given so the reader can consult also the

Latin text that faces the English one. The important deviations between the Arabicand the English are indicated. The endnotes show the distortion of the Arabic names.

There must have been errors in the Latin translation due to some ambiguity in the
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Arabic text or of lack of understanding it. There is also in some places a purposeful

editing while the translator was undertaking his work. These will become apparent to

the reader.

The writer did not deem it necessary at this stage to make a new translation of the

Arabic text, but the reader who knows Arabic will be able to see how closely and

remarkably the English translation correlates with the Arabic original.

A Testament of Alchemy ]

17[

In the name of the Lord, holyand compassionate[18]

this is the story of how Khalidibn YazId ibn Mu'awiyya[19]came into possession of thespiritual riches handed downfromStephanos of Alexandria

to Morienus, the aged recluse,as is written in the book ofGhalib, bondsman of YazId ibnMu'awiyya.

Now Ghalib was YazId'sfaithful (servant)[20],entrusted with all his master'spossessions, and in time, it issaid, became faithful servantlikewise to Yazid's son Khalid.

Ghalib relates as follows howKhalid ibn YazId ibn Mu'awiyyasought out Morienus the Greek,[21]who lived as a recluse in themountains of Jerusalem. Oneday, Khalid (went abroad to aplace called Dirmanam)[22].He was assiduous in his quest

forthe Major Work[23],continually inquiring after anyand all whom he supposed tobe privy to this operation,

()

)< >

(]24[

< >
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and on this occasion a certain

man came to him and desiredto speak with him. Hearing ofthis, Khalid bid the man comebefore him. He saluted Khalid,and Khalid returned hisgreeting.

The fellow then spoke thus toKhalid: "I dwell in themountains of Jerusalem, and Ihave come to you, O king[25],

with delightful news. Neverhas anyone before me givenany king such cause torejoice."

p. 5"And what is this news?" askedKhalid.

He replied: "I have heard manysay that it is you whocontinually seek after theoperation which thephilosophers call the MajorWork. I will bring you to theknowledge of it through acertain Romaean, who lives as

a recluse in the mountains ofJerusalem, but whose dwellingplace I well know. He sendslarge amounts of gold toJerusalem every year." < >

Khalid said to him: "If I findthat you have told the truth, Iwill reward you with whatever

you may ask. But if you havelied, you may expect theworst."

.


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"Well," the fellow replied, "sobe it."

Then Khalid rejoiced greatlyand commanded that the manbe rewarded with gifts andraiment and much else, as he

had promised him.

< >

.

And the king commanded mealong with many other of hisservants to go with him.

And so we set out. Afterwasting much time going from

one place to another, in hopesof chancing upon the recluse,we did indeed find him. Hewas tall of stature, thoughaged, and although lean, sonoble of countenance andvisage that he was a marvel tobehold. Yet he wore a hairshirt, the marks of which wereborne on his skin.

We rejoiced to have found himand spoke kindly to him, atlast persuading him withsweet words to relent, andbrought him with us back toour own country, therepresenting him to King Khalid.Never before had we seen theking so pleased by anything.

At last he turned to me andasked what had befallen us ingoing and coming, and toldhim the story from beginningto end. .

Then the king regarded the

aged man we had brought andwished to know by what namehe was called. The elderreplied: "I am called Morienus


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the Greek."

And Khalid asked: "How long isit now that you have dwelt asa recluse in these mountains?"

He replied: "1 began myretreat four years after thedeath of King Herakleios."[26]

Then the king bade Morienusbe seated, and himself arose

to give Morienus a place ofhonor beside him, muchpleased with his reserve,modesty, and elegance.

.

The king said to him: "OMorienus, recluse though yoube, would it not be better that

you live in the congregation ofothers, rather than alone inthe mountains?"

.

He said: "Perhaps, O king. Butthe virtues 1 look for are inGod and in his hand, who willdo as he will. And while 1grant that, as you have said,

life might be easier for methan in the mountains, stillonly he who sows shall reap,and he must reap that whichhe has sown. Now 1 trust that1 have gained some littlevirtue of my own. A mancannot attain repose exceptthrough labors of the spirit."

.

Then the king said: "Thesethings are true, if said from


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him. Khalid inquiredrepeatedly about the customsboth royal and common of theGreeks, and about their timesand histories. "Never at a lossfor a reply, Morienus retoldthe marvels of their deeds anddiscoursed expertly on theirsciences, all matters such asthe king had never beforeheard. Nor had anyone beforeever held such a firm place inthe king's affection asMorienus soon came to hold.

.

Eventually Khalid addressedhim: "O Morienus, know that Ihave long , sought theSuperior Work, but found noneto counsel me in this matter.Therefore I earnestly requestthat you prepare for me someportion of your magistery. You

shall have from me thenwhatever you may ask, and Iwill see to it that you returnto your own land, God willing.Nor need you thenceforthhave any fear of me."

.

Morienus said to him: "O king,may God enrich you. Now Iunderstand that you have sent

for me only out of great need.But I disregard the kindassurance you added, namelythat I should not fear you,inasmuch as I have no need tofear anyone save God alone.You have approached me as anequal in spirit, and now I seeby your affection, excellence,and discrimination that onesuch as I should have no

reason to keep from youanything of that which youseek, for you are indeed aman of good intentions as well

< >


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as deeds and most virtuous.Very well, you have attainedto your initiation andinstruction simply and withthe greatest ease. May theCreator be praised!"

At this, King Khalid smiled,and then said: "The crudenessof haste ensnares any man,unless he be ruled bypatience. I am of the house ofMu'awiyya, and there is no strengthsave in great God most high."

p.11

Morienus then said: "O king,may God enrich you. Nowattend to the examination ofthis operation, and you willknow it well and understand.Consider it thoroughly frombeginning to end, and you willknow all things that pertain toit, God willing. No one will beable to perform or accomplishthis thing which you have solong sought or attain it bymeans of any knowledgeunless it be through affectionand gentle humility, a perfectand true love. For this issomething which God givesinto the sure keeping of hiselected servants until such

time as he may prepare one towhom it may be handed onfrom among his secrets. Thusit is only the gift of God, whochooses among his humble andobedient servants those towhom he reveals it."

< >

> .


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Then King Khalid said to me:"O Ghalib, quickly now, sitdown and write all that wehave said."

.

Thereupon Morienuscontinued: .Almighty God inhis power created powerlessservants who can neither undowhat he has done nor advancewhat he holds back, nor canthey even know anythingexcept what he reveals tothem or accomplish anythingexcept what he grants tothem. Nor are they able evento possess anything except bythe strength that same Godhas conferred upon them, noreven govern their own spiritsexcept insofar and so long ashe has ordained for them. Andfrom among his servants, hechose to select certain ones toseek after the knowledge he

had established that rescueshim who masters it from thewretchedness of this worldand assures him riches tocome, God willing. Whilethose so chosen used to handdown this knowledge to theirown heirs, it was at last lostand its masters dispossessed ofit when none could be foundany more who knew it. But of

the books which set forth thematter correctly thereremained a few by the ancientseers who went before us.They left their knowledge as alegacy to their successors,whom God had chosen tobecome adepts according tothe methods that had beenexplained truthfully andforthrightly by theirpredecessors. The ancients,however, did not refer to thematters pertaining to this

]28[
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science by their proper names,speaking instead, as we trulyp. 13know, in circumlocutions, inorder to confute fools in theirevil intentions. This they didby formulating their

convictions and true sayingsalways in parables, so thatonly those of great wisdomand resource would be able touncover their true meaning.Since the ancients thusdisguised this knowledge,those who would learn it mustunderstand their maxims. Normay they draw back from this,but must fix their faith in Godand persist to the end that hebring them to this knowledge,improve; their estate, andgive them direct, unerringaccess to the methods thescience.

.

King Khalid then said: "Nowwell taught and well spoken, OMorienus, nor do I hold these

precepts strange, coming asthey do from a teacher of suchwisdom and years as yourself,who is willing that I shouldlearn this science. Thereforeexplain to me clearly thatwhich I ask of you, sparing meneedless labor over thismatter which I seek from you.Tell me whether thisoperation is accomplished only

by a single principle or byseveral." .]29[

Appendix I

Arabic texts of the Maryanus Khalid dialogue
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I- Available

a- Complete manuscrpts

1- MS Fatih 3227 (fol. 8b-18b)

2- ehit Ali Pasha 1749 (fol. 61a-74b)

b- Large ctaton

3-Brtsh Lbrary MS add 23418, al-Shawahid fi al-hajar al-wahid(fol. 123a-125b)

c-Fragments

4-al-Ìraqi al-Simawi, al-ìlm al-muktasab, BL MS add 24016, (fol. 27; 28,; 48)

5-al-Gildaki, Nihayat al-talab II, Berlin, MS 4184, (fol. 183)

6 Manuscript of Abdallah Yurki Hallaq,Aleppo, (p.180).

7-NLM (National Library of Medicine), Wahington, MS A-70 (fol. 53b-57b)

II- Existing but not available at the time of writing this paper

8- Khanji , Cairo, according to Kraus,Jabir, vol. I, pp. 182. Sezgin, p. 126, (Seems to

be a complete one)

9- Haidarabad, Asafiya , according to Stapleton. See Sezgin, p.111.

10-Teheran, Khaniqah-i- Ni'matallah 145 (a fragment, 18b) Sezgin, p. 126.

11-Leningrad University, MS Or. 1192, Sezgin, p.126

12 as-Sifr al-mubajjal, s. Siggel KataI. Gotha p. 65. , see Ullman, p. 193, note 2.

13-al-Iraqi al-Simawi, K. al-Aqalim al-sabà, s. Siggel Katal. Gotha p. 25; see Ullman,

p. 193, note 2.

14- Chester Beatty MS 5002, (fol. 55a). see Ullmans Catalog, p. 172

15-Personal Collection- see Kraus I, p.187.

[1] McLean, Adam, The Book of the Composition of Alchemy.Glasgow, 2002. p.5

[2] Roger Bacon, quoted by John Maxson Stillman, The Story of Alchemy and Early Chemistry, Dover,1960. pp. 262-263

[3] Stavenhagen, Lee,A Testament of Alchemy, The University Press of New England,Hanover, New Hampshire, 1974, pp. 53-54, and appendix 1.
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[4]Morieni Romani, Quondam Eremitae Hierosolymitani, de transfiguratione metallorum etocculta, summaque antiquorum philosophorum medicina, Libellus, nusquam hactenus inlucem editus. Paris, apud Gulielmum Guillard, in via Iacobaea, sub diuae Barbarae signo.1559.

[5] Pernam, Petrus (ed),Auriferae artis, quam chemia vocant, antiquissimi authores, sive

Turba Philosophorum, Basilea, 1572, 2 vols.

[6] Holmyard, Eric,, A Romance of Chemistry, a series of articles that appeared inChemistry and Industry, Part I, Jan. 23, 1925, pp.75-77; Part II, Jan. 30, pp.106-108; part III,March 13, 1925, pp.272-276; Part IV, March 20, 1925, pp. 300-301; Part V (printed IV byerror), March 27, 1925, pp.327-328. In this series of articles Holmyard published the full textof the seventeenth century English translation of Ye Booke of Alchimye, (Sloane MS. 3697),

[7] McLean, op.cit.

[8] Stavenhagen, op. cit.

[9]McLean,op. cit. p. 3; .Ruska, Julius, Arabische Alchemisten, Wiesbaden, reprint, 1967,p.48.

[10] Holmyard, E. J., Abu 'l-qasim Muhammad Ibn AhmadAI-'Iraqi. Kitab al-'ilm al- muktasabfi zira'at adh-dhahab; book of knowledge acquired concerning the cultivation of gold; theArabic text edited with a translation by E. J. Holmyard. Paris: Geuthner, 1923..

[11] Stapleton and Husain, Three Arabic Treatisies on Alchemy by Muhammad Bin Umail,Texts edited by M. Turab, Asiatic Society of Bengal. Calcutta 1933, pp. 54, 84.

[12] Sezgin, Fuat, Geschichte des arabischen Schriffums,Vol. IV, Brill, 1971,. pp. 120-125

[13] Mukhtarat Jabir ibn Hayyan, edited by Paul Kraus, Cairo, 1935, p. 529.

[14] Sezgin, op. cit.,, pp. 111 and 126, and the Arabic updated version, Jeddah, 1986, pp. 163and 188.

[15] Ullmann, Manfred, Die Natur und Geheimwissenshaften im Islam, Leiden, 1972, pp. 192-193

[16] . Professor Fuat Sezgin came up to help without delay and the present work is indebtedto his unfailing support. He sent me copies were on CD-ROM which was an invaluable help inediting the Arabic text. After Professor Sezgins quick support, IRCICA in Istanbul sent lateranother copy on microfilm.

[17] The title of the Arabic treatise is: The Epistle of Maryanus the Hermit the Philosopher toPrince Khalid ibn Yazid.

[18] This is a translation of the Muslim verse that precedes the start of any text.The word Lord is the cleric word for God.

[19] The names of Khalid, Yezid and Mu`awiya were distorted in the various Latinmanuscripts. See Lee Stavenhagen, p. 2, footnotes 1 and 2.

[20] Ghalib was a mawla and not a servant. A Mawla is a non-Arab Muslim. In the early days of
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the Arab conquests a Mawla chose sometimes to associate himself with an Arab dignitary andto become one of his followers..

[21] Arabic Rumi, is not Greek from Greece, it denoted a person from Asia Minor or Anatolia.When Anatolia became Muslim the word Rumi became a surname of a Muslim from thatcountry ( e.g. Ibn al-Rumi).During the Umayyads Asia Minor was still Byzantine and so

Morienus was a Christian Byzantine from Asia Minor..

[22] Dirmanam is a distortion of Dayr Murran, see note below

[23] Major work is al-san`a in Arabic In the later Latin revised versions the wordMagistery was used.

[24] Dayr Burran is most probably Dayr Murran in Damascus. It was on the lower slopes ofJabal Qasyun, overlooking the orchards of the Ghuta. It was a large monastery, and around itwas built a village and, one presumes, a residence in which the caliphs could both entertainthemselves and keep watch over their capital. Dayr Murran often figured in poems of thetime. The caliph Yazid I (father of Khalid) was staying there sometimes. Other caliphs andtheir representatives visited or lived there on various occasions. (Soudrel, E.I. under DayrMurran). Khalid, according to this text, used to stay sometimes at Dayr Murran as well.

[25] Khalid was not a king because he did not become a caliph after his father Yazid. In theArabic text he is called amiror prince.

[26] The Arabic name is Hiraql, hence the various Latin ditorsions.

[27] The Arabic text says: God help us in dealing with him because he is a wily man despite

his old age. The Latin translator edited this Arabic sentence.

[28] The Arabic text makes Maryanus call Khalid by his name Khalid without any formality,whereas in the Latin text Morienus is addressing Khalid as O, King

[29] This is the first question of the Morienus-Khalid dialoge.
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Documents

The Arabic Origin of Liber de Compositione Alchimiae