BMCR 2004.07.67, R.W. Sharples, Alexander of Aphrodisias

R.W. Sharples, Alexander of Aphrodisias. Supplement to On the Soul.
Ithaca:  Cornell University Press, 2004.  Pp. 313.  ISBN 0-8014-4213-3.
$62.50.

Reviewed by Richard Dufour (rdufour <at> online.fr)
Word count:  1237 words
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S. offers in this book the first complete translation in a modern
language of the "Mantissa" by Alexander of Aphrodisias. Hitherto only
half the chapters of the Mantissa had been translated and were
available to the public. Now this work receives full treatment with a
short introduction, an English translation, individual introductions to
each of the 26 chapters, numerous footnotes, detailed annotations to
the Greek text (which is not included in full), a bibliography and
various indices. This is a major work in the field of Alexandrian
studies. The translation is based on a new edition of the Greek text,
which takes into account all known Greek manuscripts of the Mantissa
and uses the evidence provided by the medieval Arabic and Latin
translations. The main purpose of this work is to provide a reliable
English translation with all the useful references to modern
scholarship and ancient literature. The reader should not expect any
complete discussion of the numerous difficulties raised by the
Mantissa, but S. gives all the relevant references to secondary
literature on each particular topic.

The first Greek edition of this work of Alexander was completed by I.
Bruns in 1887.[[1]] Although the manuscripts describe it as the second
book of the treatise On the Soul, Bruns decided to name it "Mantissa",
i.e. "makeweight", following the example set by J. Freudenthal.[[2]]