L'Epistola degli Ihwan al-Safa.

• Author: Pessagno, J. Meric

This is the first part of a proposed Italian translation of the corpus of the Ikhwan al-Safa. The translation is accurate and reads gracefully. Naturally, I find certain passages where I would have chosen other words, but that choice does not affect either the sense or the grammar of the passages involved. I see no necessity to note them. Every translator has his own style.

I must say, though, that I find some problems in the conceptual framework within which and through which Professor Baffioni reads the work. Neo-Platonism is nowhere mentioned. Instead she suggests the existence of what she calls la logica orientale and stresses throughout the introductory chapters the Oriental vs. Occidental use of philosophy. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. What she is really talking about is the normal adaptation which occurs when one...