Transmission of the Greek Classics

[1] Interest in Greek texts and their availability was scarce in the Latin West during the Early Middle Ages, but as traffic to the East increased, so did Western scholarship.

However, being once and even twice removed from the original Greek, these Arabic versions were later supplanted by improved, direct translations by Moerbeke and others in the 13th century and after.

[3] The fragile nature of papyrus as a writing medium meant that older texts not copied onto expensive parchment would eventually crumble and be lost.

After the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) and the Sack of Constantinople (1204), scholars such as William of Moerbeke gained access to the original Greek texts of scientists and philosophers, including Aristotle, Archimedes, Hero of Alexandria and Proclus, that had been preserved in the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire, and translated them directly into Latin.

Translation into Latin of the full range of Greek classics ensued, including the historians, poets, playwrights and non-Aristotelian philosophers.

In the 4th century, the Roman grammarian Marius Victorinus translated two of Aristotle's books, about logic, into Latin: the Categories and On Interpretation (De Interpretatione).

James's translatio vetus was then revised by William of Moerbeke in 1266–7, and became known as the "recensio nova" (new recension), which was the most widely read version.

[14] On the Soul ended up becoming a component of the core curriculum of philosophical study in most medieval universities, giving birth to a very rich tradition of commentaries, especially c.

[7] In the Middle Ages, the only book of Plato in general circulation was the first part of the dialogue Timaeus (to 53c), as a translation, with commentary, by Calcidius (or Chalcidius).

Finally, about 200 years after the rediscovery of Aristotle, in the wider Renaissance, Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) translated and commented on Plato's complete works.

Boethius intended to pass on the great Greco-Roman culture to future generations by writing manuals on music and astronomy, geometry, and arithmetic.

[23] William of Moerbeke was one of the most prolific and influential translators of Greek philosophical texts in the middle half of the thirteenth century.

[32] The Caliph al-Mansur was the patron who did most to attract the Nestorian physicians to the city of Baghdad which he had founded, and he was also a prince who did much to encourage those who set themselves to prepare Arabic translations of Greek, Syriac, and Persian works.

Still more important was the patronage given by the Caliph al-Ma'mun, who in A.H. 217 (= A.D. 832) founded a school at Baghdad, suggested no doubt by the Nestorians and Zoroastrian schools already existing, and this he called the Bayt al-Hikma or "House of Wisdom", and this he placed under the guidance of Yahya ibn Masawaih (d. A.H. 243 = A.D. 857), who was an author both in Syriac and Arabic, and learned also in the use of Greek.

The most important work of the academy however was done by Yahya's pupils and successors, especially Abu Zayd Hunayn ibn Ishaq al-Ibadi (d. 263 A.H. = A.D. 876), the Nestorian physician to whom we have already referred as translating into Syriac the chief medical authorities as well as parts of Aristotle's Organon.

After studying at Baghdad under Yahya he visited Alexandria and returned, not only with the training given at what was then the first medical school, but with a good knowledge of Greek which he employed in making translations in Syriac and Arabic.

[34][35] Most scholars agree that during this period rhetoric, poetry, histories, and dramas were not translated into Arabic, since they were viewed as serving political ends which were not to be sought after in the Islamic states.

[36] Al-Kindi (Alkindus), a famous logician and prominent figure in the House of Wisdom, is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy".

[37] Decades after Al-Farabi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna) compiled the ideas of many Muslim philosophers of the previous centuries and established a new school which is known as Avicennism.

By 1200, when philosophy was again revived in the Islamic world, Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi were no longer remembered, while Ibn Sina's compilation work still was.

[38] Ibn Sina, otherwise known as Avicenna, would later heavily influence European philosophical, theological and scientific thought, becoming known as “the most famous scientist of Islam” to many Western historians.

[38] One of the rulers of Al-Andalus, Al-Hakam II, made an effort to gather books from all over the Middle East, creating a library which would later become a center for translation into Latin.

He even used the Qur'an to back up his arguments in favor of Greek philosophy and logic, especially the passage: "It is He, [O Muhammad] who has revealed the Book to you...some of its verses are unambiguous...and the others are ambiguous...only God and those confirmed in knowledge know its interpretation."

"[43] While Muslims were translating and adding their own interpretations to Greek philosophies, the Latin West was still suspicious of pagan ideas.

[44] Further west, several key figures in European history who came after Boethius had strengthened the overwhelming shift away from Hellenistic ideas.

[51] After the Reconquista of the 12th century, however, Spain opened even further for Christian scholars, who were now able to work in "friendly" religious territory.

[49] Foreigners came to Spain to translate from all over Europe,[52] and Toledo became a center for such travelers, since so many of its citizens wrote daily in both Arabic and Latin-based languages.

Although there was a huge amount of work being accomplished in Spain, there was no central school for translating and no real organized effort, as there had been at times among the Muslims.

[53][52][56] Powerful Norman kings gathered men of high knowledge from Italy, and other areas, into their courts, as signs of prestige.

Meanwhile, Thomas Aquinas (c.1225–1274), at the end of that time period, was able to reconcile the viewpoints of Aristotelianism and Christianity, primarily in his work Summa Theologica (1265–1274).