Digital version of key Iamblichus manuscript available online

The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana is digitizing many of the manuscripts from its Plutei collection. Among those that have already been digitized and made available online is Plut.86.03, the most important manuscript of Iamblichus' work De Pythagorica secta (usually referred to in apparati critici as "F"). The manuscript includes: De vita pythagorica, Protrepticus, De communi mathematica scientia, and part of the Introduction to Arithmetic of Nicomachus of Geresa, and some other things. It dates from 1300-1400.

Doug and I have twice traveled to Florence in order to inspect the manuscript, with the assistance of the very helpful Laurenziana librarians and invigilators. We have also worked off of microfilm and printed out copies. But this high-resolution, color version (which can be enlarged) makes this work much easier. Check it out! (Thanks to Stephen Menn for the pointer.)

To the first folio of the whole manuscript:
http://teca.bmlonline.it/ImageViewer/servlet/ImageViewer?idr=TECA0001001287&keyworks=iamblichus

To the first page of the Protrepticus:
http://teca.bmlonline.it/ImageViewer/servlet/ImageViewer?idr=TECA0001001287#page/104/mode/1up

To the eighteenth century catalogue entry:
http://teca.bmlonline.it/ImageViewer/servlet/ImageViewer?idr=TECA0000004361#page/172/mode/1up

To the English instructions for searching the whole database:
http://teca.bmlonline.it/TecaRicerca/index_ENG.html

Ettore Bignone (1879-1953)

Ettore Bignone is another titan of 20th century research on Aristotle's early works, and their relationship to Hellenistic Philosophy (especially Epicurus). See our bibliography for references to his publications on the Protrepticus specifically. The source of the above photograph and signature is the frontispiece of:

Epicurea in memoriam HECTORIS BIGNONE: Miscellanea philologica. Università di Genova facoltà di lettere: Instuto di filologia classica, 1959.

Earlier we featured Ingemar Düring.

Notre Dame Workshop on Ancient Philosophy