Translation of the First Book of the Treatise De plantis as Compiled in the Venetian Edition of Averroes’ Commentaries (1550-1562)
Abstract
This paper presents a translation of the first book of the Liber de Plantis or Book on Plants as found in the Giunta edition of the works of Aristotle and Averroes compiled in the 16th century in Venice. The choice of this text has been motivated firstly by the scarcity of bibliographical sources in the Spanish language related to this treatise as well as regarding botany as a theoretical discipline in the Middle Ages. Secondly, given the existence of multiple versions and translations of the Book on Plants, we have selected this edition because English translations of the initial Latin version of Alfred of Sareshel or Alfredus Anglicus are already available, and also due to its place in the Venetian corpus of Averroes’ commentaries. Moreover, given that this is the last retroversion of the Book on Plants that we know of, it is also our intention to contribute to the history of the reception of this treatise regarding the terminology it contains. A botanical glossary just as the plants are named in the text is attached, hoping researchers interested in both the History of Philosophy and History of Science will deem it useful.Downloads
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