Epistles of the Brethren of Purity — On Music: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistle 5

«(Being the fifth epistle from the first section of the Epistles ofthe Brethren ofPurity, on the Propaedeutical and Mathematical Sciences» — encabezado de la Epístola: se anuncia como quinta pieza de la primera sección del corpus, la de las ciencias propedéuticas y matemáticas; el *(fol. 39a)* y el *[po 183]* que la edición imprime alrededor son el folio del manuscrito Atif Efendi y la paginación de la edición de Beirut

«Now that we have completed our account of the spiritual disciplines that are the various fields ofspeculative knowledge and ofthe practical, physical disciplines that are the various arts and crafts, and now that 2 we have explained in two of our epistles the essentials of each, the number of types they contain, and the aims sought for in them» — capítulo 1: la Epístola se sitúa detrás de las epístolas sobre las artes especulativas y las prácticas, y declara lo que ya dio por tratado

«Rather, we are concerned with knowledge ofproportion[al relationship]s and the modalities of [harmonious] composition, through a command of which one attains skill in all the arts» — capítulo 1: la Epístola declara el alcance que se atribuye, el dominio de la proporción y de la composición como llave de pericia en todas las artes

«You should know, dear brother, may God aid you and us with a spirit ofHis, that in every manual craft the matter [hayula] dealt with consists of naturally occurring material, and that all its products are physical forms» — capítulo 1: la Epístola se dirige al hermano lector y sienta la premisa, que en todo oficio manual la materia es material natural y los productos son formas físicas

«The exception is music, for the 'matter' it deals with consists entirely ofspiritual substances UawahirJ, namely, the souls ofthose who listen to it» — y de ahí saca la excepción que es la tesis del tratado: la materia de la música son sustancias espirituales, las almas de quienes la escuchan

«melodies, consisting of rhythms [a~wat] and tones [naghamat]/ have effects on the soul analogous to the effects ofthe art ofthose who work with the particular material associated with their crafts» — capítulo 1, continuación de la frase anterior al otro lado del cambio de plana y de una nota de Wright: los efectos de la música sobre el alma son análogos a los que cada artesano obra sobre su material

«These [p. 184] tones and rhythmic sounds have the power to inspire peoples to undertake hard labour and strenuous activities, to encourage them, and to strengthen their determination to perform difficult and physically draining acts demanding the sacrifice oftheir lifeblood and their accumulated wealth» — capítulo 1: la Epístola atribuye a los tonos y sonidos rítmicos poder para mover a los pueblos al trabajo duro y al sacrificio de su sangre y su riqueza; el *[p. 184]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut que la edición inserta

«Specifically, these are the stirring melodies that are used in war and when fighting in the heat ofbattle, especially when sung to metrical verse describing warfare and praising brave warriors» — y nombra el caso: las melodías que se usan en la guerra, sobre todo cantadas con verso métrico que describe la batalla y alaba a los valientes

«I swear that were I in my tribal land, Sa'd would suffer no wrong as a [protected] neighbourll of my people. But I am a exiled in a place where, when the wolf attacks, it ravages my sheep. So, Sa'd, do not be deceived - go away, for the people you are now with are dead to [the rights of their] neighbours» — capítulo 1: los versos de al-Basus que la Epístola cita como ejemplo de poesía capaz de mover a la acción; van maquetados en verso y el tramo conserva los corchetes de suplencia de los traductores

«These and kindred verses,12 we are told, helped incite» — capítulo 1: la Epístola atribuye a esos versos y a los de su especie haber incitado a pueblos enteros, y lo dice en forma de testimonio recibido

«peoples to war, 13 and to a conflict between two Arab tribes that lasted continuously for years» — continuación de la frase al otro lado del cambio de plana y de las notas de Wright: la Epístola remite a un conflicto entre dos tribus árabes que duró años

«There are also metrical verses that stir up covert rancour and move the placid to action, inflaming them with anger, such as 'Remember the deaths of al-l:iusayn and Zayd, and the one slain beside al-Mihras» — capítulo 1: la Epístola cita el verso que aviva el rencor por los muertos, con los nombres tal como los imprime el escaneo

«These and other similar verses have stirred up hatred - the hatred of a [whole] people, arousing their souls to action, inflaming them with anger, and urging them on until they actually killed their cousins, kinsfolk, and fellow tribesmen for the crimes oftheir fathers (fo1. 40a) and the sins of their grandfathers, sparing no one» — y describe el efecto que les atribuye: mover a un pueblo a matar a sus propios primos y parientes por los crímenes de sus padres y los pecados de sus abuelos; el *(fo1. 40a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«There are also rhythms [anuln] and melodies [naghamdt] which calm the vehemence of rage, dissolve enmity, bring about peace, and create amicable friendliness» — capítulo 1, el reverso de lo anterior: hay ritmos y melodías que calman la vehemencia de la ira, disuelven la enemistad y traen la paz

«As an example ofthis, it is related that at a drinking party two men met who were angry with each other and between whom there was long-standing enmity and concealed rancour, and when drink got the better of them their enmity was aroused, inflaming them with anger, [po 185] so that each one was intent on killing the other» — y el relato con que lo ilustra: dos hombres enemistados en una reunión de bebida, a los que el vino saca la vieja enemistad; el *[po 185]* es la paginación de Beirut

«When the musician [musiqdr],15 who was skilful in his art, realized how things stood between them, he altered the tuning ofhis instrumene6 and let them hear a melody in a soft rhythm l ? that he played [(iarab] to calm their anger» — el gesto del músico en el relato: cambia la afinación del instrumento y toca una melodía de ritmo suave

«calmed the vehemence of their rage) and they stood up) embraced) and made peace» — y el desenlace al otro lado del cambio de plana: los dos se levantan, se abrazan y hacen las paces

«Then there are rhythms and melodies that transport people from one state to another and change their outlook from one pole to its opposite» — capítulo 1: tercera clase de efectos que la Epístola distingue, la de los ritmos que llevan de un estado a otro y cambian el ánimo al polo contrario

«One example is what is related concerning a group of practitioners ofthis art who) having come together at the invitation of a great man) were ordered by rank at his assembly according to their expertise in their art. Suddenly) there entered a man in a dishevilled state) wearing the garments ofan ascetic) but the lord of the assembly set him above them all» — y el relato del asceta: convocados los músicos por rango en la asamblea de un gran señor, entra un hombre desgreñado con ropa de asceta y el señor lo pone por encima de todos

«As their expressions showed displeasure) the host wished to demonstrate his excellence and dissipate their anger) and so asked him to let them hear something of his art) whereupon the man took out some pieces of wood he was carrying) assembled [rakkab] them, stretched [madd] strings over them, and set them in motion [barrak] in such a way that he made everyone in the assembly laugh from the feelings of well-being, delight, joy, and pleasure that» — el asceta arma su instrumento con unas maderas y unas cuerdas y hace reír a toda la asamblea; los corchetes con los verbos árabes son del aparato de la edición

«had entered their souls. Then he changed them about,18 and set them in motion in a different way which made them all weep at the tenderness ofthe melody [naghma] and the sadness in their hearts. 19 Then he changed them about again and set them in motion in a way which sent them all to sleep. He got up and left, and nothing more has been heard of him» — capítulo 1, cierre del relato del asceta: cambia dos veces el arreglo del instrumento, hace llorar primero y dormir después a toda la asamblea, y se va sin que se sepa más de él

«It is clear from what we have expounded that the art of music has differing effects on the souls of the listeners) parallel to the differing effects of the arts of craftsmen on the materials used in their craft» — capítulo 1: la Epístola saca su conclusión de los tres relatos, que la música obra sobre las almas como cada oficio sobre su material

«Because of this, all nations of humankind make use of it, as do many animals also» — y la universaliza: todas las naciones la usan, y muchos animales también

«A demonstration that it has effects on the soul is that people sometimes use it when there is rejoicing and pleasure at weddings» — la prueba que la Epístola ofrece de su efecto sobre el alma es el inventario de ocasiones en que se la usa, que empieza en las bodas

«feasts, and invitations, sometimes when there is sadness, grief, and tribulation, and on occasions ofmourning [ma'iitim] ,20 sometimes in houses ofworship and on feastdays, sometimes in the marketplace, at home, when travelling and when settled down,21 at times of ease and at times of weariness, in the assemblies of kings and the dwellings of commoners. It is used by men and women alike, by young and old, by the learned and the ignorant, by artisans and merchants, and by all classes of people» — continuación de ese inventario al otro lado del cambio de plana: del duelo al mercado, de la asamblea de los reyes a la casa del común, y usada por hombres y mujeres, sabios e ignorantes

«that all the arts were created by the sages through their wisdom, and then people learned these from them and [subsequently] from each other. They became an inheritance handed down from the wise to the common people, from the learned (fol. 40b) to the learners, from teachers to their pupils» — capítulo 2: la Epístola declara el origen de todas las artes en la sabiduría de los sabios y su transmisión como herencia del sabio al común y del maestro al discípulo

«The art of music, then, was created by the sages through their wisdom, and people learned it from them and used it like the other arts in their activities and general conduct according to their various purposes» — y aplica ese origen a la música en particular; el *(fol. 40b)* del tramo anterior es el folio del manuscrito Atif Efendi

«With regard to the use of music by the custodians of divine ordinances in temples and places of worship, when reciting [qinfa] during ritual prayer [~aliih],22 at sacrifices, when praying [du(ii'], supplicating, and lamenting, as the prophet David used to do when reciting his psalms, and as the Christians now do in their churches and the Muslims in their mosques, with sweetness of tone [naghma] and a melodic form» — capítulo 2: la Epístola inventaría el uso litúrgico de la música, del salterio del profeta David a las iglesias de los cristianos y las mezquitas de los musulmanes

«all that is used for hearts to be softened and souls to be humble, submissive, and obedient to the commands and prohibitions of God Almighty» — y declara para qué sirve ahí: para ablandar los corazones y volver las almas sumisas y obedientes a los mandatos y prohibiciones divinas

«that one of the reasons that impelled the sages to institute ordinances and follow their usage is their realization of what the stars decree with regard to good and ill fortune at the beginning of conjunctions [qininat],24 and of the revolutions of the years25 with regard to the rise and fall of prices, to dearth and plenty, to drought, pestilence and plague, to the coming to power of the wicked and tyrannical, and similar vicissitudes of time and blows of fate» — capítulo 2: la Epístola deriva la institución misma de las ordenanzas divinas del saber astrológico de los sabios, que leyeron en las conjunciones y en las revoluciones de los años la carestía, la peste y el ascenso de los tiranos

«When they realized this, they sought a stratagem which might rescue them from what was predicted ifit was bad and grant them a larger share if it was good, and they found no strategem offering surer deliverance, and nothing more effective, than adherence to the practice ofthe divine laws, namely, fasting, ritual prayers, and sacrifices» — y el remedio que hallaron: ninguna estratagema más segura que la observancia de las leyes divinas, el ayuno, la oración ritual y los sacrificios

«They had no doubt that when they prayed to God, exalted be His name, with true intentions, sincerity, modesty, tears, supplication, penitence, and repentance, He would spare them what they feared, release them from what was afflicting them, and mercifully grant them His forgiveness, answer their prayer and respond to their entreaty» — con la confianza que la Epístola les atribuye: que la súplica sincera aparta lo que las estrellas habían determinado; el *[po 187]* del tramo anterior es la paginación de Beirut

«While praying, praising God, and reciting, they would use a type of melody27 termed 'sorrowful'.28 These are the ones which, when heard, soften hearts, cause eyes to weep, and instil in souls remorse for past sins, inner sincerity, and a cleansing of conscience» — capítulo 2, primera de las seis clases de melodía que la Epístola instituye: la sorrowful, que ablanda los corazones, hace llorar y despierta remordimiento

«This is one of the reasons why the sages created the art ofmusic and used it in temples, at sacrifices, and for invocations and ritual prayers» — y con ella la Epístola declara una de las razones por las que los sabios crearon el arte de la música

«They also created another type ofmelody called 'emboldening', used by army commanders on campaign and in the heat of battle, which instils courage and bravery» — segunda clase: la que usan los jefes del ejército en campaña y en el calor de la batalla

«They also created another type of melody that they used around dawn in hospitals. It alleviates the pain patients suffer from illness (fol. 41a) and disease, reduces their severity, and [actually] cures many diseases and sicknesses» — tercera clase, la de los hospitales al amanecer, a la que la Epístola atribuye no solo alivio del dolor sino curación de muchas enfermedades; el *(fol. 41a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«They also created another type ofmelody, used at times ofaffliction, sadness, suffering and care, and at funerals, which offers solace, alleviates the suffering caused by misfortune, consoles feelings ofloss, and soothes away sadness» — cuarta clase, la de los funerales y las aflicciones, que consuela la pérdida

«They also created another type ofmelody that is used during heavy labour and tiring work, like that used by porters, builders, sailors, and boat-builders [maddddii'1-zawdriq]29 to alleviate both exhaustion of body and weariness of soul» — quinta clase, la del trabajo pesado de porteadores, albañiles, marinos y constructores de barcas, contra el cansancio del cuerpo y del alma

«They also created another type ofmelody used at times ofrejoicing, delight, and pleasure, and at weddings and feasts. This is the type that is well known and widely used in our day» — capítulo 2, sexta y última clase de melodía: la de las bodas y las fiestas, que la Epístola señala como la más usada en su tiempo

«This art may also [p. 188] be used in dealing with animals, as with the cameleees song U,uda)] used while travelling and during night-time to spur on the camels' progress and to lighten the weight oftheir burdens» — capítulo 2: la Epístola extiende el arte a los animales, empezando por el canto del camellero que apura la marcha y aligera la carga; el *[p. 188]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«It is also used by herdsmen, who whistle when their flocks or cattle or horses come down to water, to encourage their desire to drink. They also use other melodies when the animals are on heat [to encourage them] to mount and copulate, and yet others when milking them, to obtain a copious flow» — y sigue el inventario pastoril: el silbo del pastor en el abrevadero, las melodías del celo y las del ordeño

«Hunters of gazelles and onagers and hunters31 offrancolins, sand-grouse, and other birds use melodies in the darkness of night to make them stay so sti1l32 that they can be caught by hand. Women use melodies with their children to stop them crying and to send them to sleep» — cierra el inventario con los cazadores que inmovilizan a las aves en la oscuridad y con las mujeres que duermen a sus niños

«We may now say that musfqf is music [ghina J ], the musfqar is the musician [mughannf],33 and the muszqan is the musical instrument» — capítulo 2: la Epístola fija sus tres términos, la música, el músico y el instrumento, con las grafías que devuelve el escaneo

«melodies [allJan mu'talifa] and a melody ofsuccessive notes [naghamat mutawatira]; that notes are vibrating, sustained sounds [a$wat mutarannima],35 and sound is an impact [qar] occurring in the air from the collision ofbodies against each other» — y encadena las definiciones hasta la física, al otro lado del cambio de plana y de las notas de Wright: notas como sonidos vibrantes sostenidos y sonido como impacto en el aire por choque de cuerpos

«We have explained this in the epistle on sense perception and percepts [al-lJass wa'lmalJsus, Le., Epistle 24], but it is necessary for us to mention aspects of it in this epistle too» — con la remisión interna al corpus: la Epístola 24 sobre la sensación y lo sensible, que la edición identifica entre corchetes El impreso parte *wa'l-malJsus* en el fin de renglón y `span()` lo unió en *wa'lmalJsus*; léase *wa'l-malJsus* (declarado en la auditoría del 2026-09-12).

«It is clear from what we have expounded that the art of music is used by all peoples and is enjoyed by all animals that possess the sense of hearing, and that musical tones [naghamat] have a spiritual effect on souls, just as the other arts have physical effects on bodies» — capítulo 2: la Epístola repite su tesis con el alcance ampliado, que el arte lo usan todos los pueblos y lo disfrutan todos los animales que oyen, y que los tonos obran sobre el alma como las demás artes sobre los cuerpos

«that sounds are of two categories, one animate in origin, the other not. The latter also falls into two categories, natural and artificia1,37 the natural ones being those such as the sound of rock, iron, wood, thunder, wind) and all lifeless inert bodies» — capítulo 3, titulado en la edición On the Way in which the Faculty of Hearing Perceives Sounds: la Epístola parte los sonidos en animados e inanimados, y estos en naturales y artificiales, con el trueno y el viento entre los naturales

«while the artificial ones are those such as the sound ofdrums [tabl], trumpets [buq], reed [zamr] and string instruments [awtar],39 and the like» — y el otro lado de esa partición: los sonidos de tambores, trompetas, instrumentos de lengüeta y de cuerda, con los términos árabes entre corchetes de la edición

«The animate, too, is of two categories: one is utterance [mantiqi], the other not, this latter consisting of [po 189] the sounds made by all the animals not endowed with (fol. 41b) rational speech [ghayr natiq]. Utterances are thus those produced by man and are of two categories, one meaningful [dall], the other not. The latter consist ofsuch things as laughing, crying, and shouting, in short, every wordless sound, whereas meaningful sounds are speech and utterances consisting of words» — capítulo 3: la Epístola subdivide lo animado en articulado y no articulado, y el articulado en significativo y no significativo, dejando la risa y el llanto del lado del sonido sin palabra; el *[po 189]* y el *(fol. 41b)* son la paginación de Beirut y el folio del manuscrito

«All these sounds result from an impact [qar(] occurring in the air caused by the collision [ta$adum] of bodies. That is, because of its extremely attenuated nature, the lightness of its substance, and the swiftness of the motion of its molecules,41 air permeates all the space between bodies, so that when one body strikes another, that air rapidly slips out from between them, eddies forth, and proceeds in waves in all» — capítulo 3: la física del sonido según la Epístola, el aire que permea el espacio entre los cuerpos y sale disparado en ondas cuando uno choca con otro

«directions, taking in its motion a spherical form, widening like the bottle on which the glass-blower works, and the more the shape is enlarged, the more its wave-like motion weakens until it fades into stillness» — y el símil con que la Epístola describe la propagación, la botella que el vidriero sopla, cuya onda se debilita al ensancharse hasta apagarse

«With its wave-like motion the air enters the hearing ofwhatever people and animals endowed with ears are present near that place, and reaches the channels of the ear [$imakhan]42 in the posterior region of the brain. The air there oscillates, whereupon the faculty ofhearing discerns this movement and alteration» — capítulo 3: el aire ondulado llega a los canales del oído y a la región posterior del cerebro, y ahí la facultad auditiva discierne el movimiento

«You should know that every sound has a unique quality, character,43 and pneumatic [rubani]44 form, and that because of the refinement45 ofits substance and the delicacy ofits element, air can transmit every sound, preserving it in its own form and shape so that it is not confused with others, and thus preventing their forms being distorted before it conveys them to their final goal and ultimate aim at the faculty of» — capítulo 3: la Epístola atribuye a cada sonido una forma pneumática propia y al aire la capacidad de transmitirlas sin confundirlas; *rubani* es la grafía que el escaneo da al término árabe que los traductores vierten como pneumático

«faculty, which resides in the fore part of the brain, as determined by the wise Almighty, who endowed you with hearing, sight and hearts - how seldom you are grateful» — capítulo 3, cierre: la Epístola remata la fisiología de la audición con una cita coránica sobre el oído, la vista y los corazones que Dios dio, según la nota de Wright del Corán 23:78

«We may say that if any two given bodies impact on each other softly and gently, no sound is heard because the air escapes from between them little by little [po 190] without causing a sound, whereas sound is caused when the impact of the bodies is quick and forceful, because the air is then impelled suddenly, moving swiftly in waves in all six directions [i.e., up, down, left, right, forwards, and backwards]. Accordingly, a sound occurs, and is heard as we have explained in the previous chapter» — capítulo 4: la Epístola fija la condición del sonido, que el choque sea rápido y fuerte, porque el aire que sale poco a poco no suena; los corchetes con las seis direcciones son suplencia de los traductores y el *[po 190]* la paginación de Beirut

«When large bodies collide they produce a louder sound because the oscillation of the air is greater. Whenever there are two bodies of the same substance, volume, and shape, the sounds they make on being struck [nuqira] together once will be equal, but ifone ofthem is hollow, its sound will be greater because it agitates a large amount of air (fol. 42a) both internally and externally» — capítulo 4: reglas de intensidad que la Epístola enuncia, el tamaño del cuerpo y la cavidad que agita más aire por dentro y por fuera

«The sounds produced by smooth bodies are smooth because the common surfaces between them and the air are smooth;48 and the sounds produced by rough bodies are rough because the common surfaces between them and the air are rough» — y la regla de la cualidad: lo liso suena liso y lo áspero áspero, por la superficie común con el aire

«When hard, hollow bodies such as bowls, draining vessels,49 and jars are struck [nuqiraJ, they resonate [tanna] for a long time because the air within the concavity vibrates back and forth, striking» — capítulo 4: la explicación de la resonancia en cuencos y jarras, el aire que vibra dentro de la concavidad y golpea una y otra vez; los corchetes con los verbos árabes son del aparato de la edición

«The sounds oflong trumpets [buqat] are particularly loud because the air oscillating [mutamawwij] within them strikes against them over a long stretch during its passage. Animals with large lungs, long throats, and wide nostrils and mouths make loud sounds because they breathe in large amounts of air and expel it with powerful force» — capítulo 4: la Epístola explica la potencia de las trompetas largas por el trayecto del aire que oscila dentro, y la de los animales de pulmón grande por el volumen que expelen

«It is evident from what we have expounded that the reason for the volume ofsounds is related to the size ofthe sound-producing bodies, the force ofthe impact, and the magnitude of the oscillation of air [as it proceeds] in [all] directions from them» — y reduce todo ello a tres causas del volumen: el tamaño del cuerpo sonoro, la fuerza del impacto y la magnitud de la oscilación del aire

«We may now state that the loudest sound is the sound ofthunder. (We have already explained the cause of its occurrence in the epistle on meteorology [al-athar al-(ulwiyya, i.e., Epistle 18], but we shall go over what is necessary here» — capítulo 4: la Epístola nombra el trueno como el sonido más fuerte y remite a su Epístola 18 sobre los fenómenos atmosféricos, identificada entre corchetes por la edición

«The reason for its occurrence is that when the vapour that ascends into the atmosphere from the sea and [the vapour] that [ascends] from the land rise high into the air [po 191] and commingle, and the wet vapour encloses the dry, that is, smoke, and the cold of the icy celestial layer [zamharfr] 50 encloses both the wet and the dry vapour and constricts them, the dry vapour is compressed within the wet vapour, ignites, and seeks to escape» — y da la explicación del trueno: el vapor seco queda comprimido dentro del húmedo por el frío de la capa helada y se enciende; *zamharir* es el estrato glacial sublunar que la nota de Wright sitúa entre el temperado y el ígneo

«It pushes at the wet vapour and splits it; the wet vapour cracks open from the heat of the dry smoke, just as wet objects when surrounded by the heat offire will suddenly crack open. There results a crash in the air, which bursts out in all directions, and from the outrush ofthat dry smoke from the inside ofthe cloud there is ignited a flash called lightning» — y la continuación del mismo periodo: al rajarse el vapor húmedo estalla el estruendo y el humo seco que sale enciende el relámpago

«Sometimes the cloud just splits open all ofa sudden and the wind rushes out, making a tremendous sound called a thunderbolt. (fo1. 42b) This is the cause of the sound of thunder and the manner of its production» — capítulo 4: la Epístola distingue el rayo del trueno por el modo en que la nube se abre; el *(fo1. 42b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«With regard to the sounds made by the winds, the cause of their occurrence is that the winds are nothing but the oscillation ofair to the east, west, north and south, and up and down, so that when it strikes mountains and walls or trees and plants with its moving currents and passes between them, there results a variety of sounds, echoes, and different forms of reverberation, all according to the large or small size ofthe bodies impacted, their shapes, and [their degrees of] hollowness, a full account of which would be excessive» — capítulo 4: los sonidos del viento se explican por el choque de la oscilación del aire con montes, muros, árboles y plantas, según su tamaño, forma y hueco

«With regard to the sounds produced by the waters in their flowing and undulation and by their impact upon bodies, because of the attenuated substance of air and the fluid nature of its element, it can pass between all of them, so that the incidence and range of these sounds correspond to the [various] causes that we have expounded in relation to the winds» — y los del agua se remiten a las mismas causas, porque el aire pasa por entre todos los cuerpos

«With regard t<;> the sounds produced by animals without lungs, such as wasps, locusts, crickets, and the like, they set the air in motion with light, swift movements ofa pair ofwings from which different sounds result, just as happens with the vibration [tabrik] of the lute strings, and their variety and differences in kind are according to the thinness, thickness, shortness, length, and speed of motion of their wings» — capítulo 4: la Epístola explica el sonido de avispas, langostas y grillos por el batir de las alas, y lo compara con la vibración de las cuerdas del laúd; el escaneo imprime *t<;>* por to y el *[po 192]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut

«With regard to dumb animals such as fish, crabs, turtles, and others, they are dumb because they have neither lungs nor wings and so produce no sounds» — y el caso negativo: los animales mudos lo son por no tener ni pulmones ni alas

«With regard to the various sounds made by mineral and vegetable substances, such as wood, iron, copper, glass, stone, and the like, the differences between them are according to their degrees ofdryness and hardness, the extent to which they are large, small, long, short, thin, or thick, the variety oftheir shapes with respect to being more or less concave or convex, the force of the impact, and the causes involved. We shall clarify this in due course» — capítulo 4: los sonidos de maderas, metales, vidrio y piedra dependen de sequedad, dureza, tamaño, forma y fuerza del golpe

«With regard to the various sounds of instruments designed to produce them, such as drums [tubal], trumpets [baqat], kettledrums [dabadibJ, frame drums [dufufJ, flutes [nayat], reed instruments [sarani wa-mazamir] ,56 lutes [(idan] ,and the like, they differ depending on their shapes and the materials from which they are made; whether they are large, small, long, or short; their interior dimensions, the bore oftheir holes, and whether their strings are thick or thin; and on the variety of techniques players use on them» — capítulo 4: el catálogo de instrumentos de la Epístola, con sus términos árabes entre corchetes, y las causas de su diferencia de sonido

«We shall need to expound part of this since one of the purposes of this epistle is to clarify the nature of music» — y la Epístola declara ahí uno de sus propósitos, aclarar la naturaleza de la música; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana porque debajo entran las notas de Wright

«mu'talifa] and metrically regulated notes [naghamiit muttazina], and is called song» — continuación de esa definición en la plana siguiente: melodías armónicas y notas métricamente reguladas, a lo que la Epístola llama canto

«Now that our exposition has clarified that music consists of harmonious melodies, (fo1. 43a) that a melody consists of metrically regulated notes, and that metrically regulated notes only occur as a result ofconsecutive attacks [barakiit mutawiitira] between which there are successive pauses [sukuniit mutatiiliya], we need to explain, first, the concepts of motion» — capítulo 4: la Epístola encadena su definición hasta el par movimiento y reposo, que es la base rítmica; el *(fo1. 43a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«We may state that motion is the transfer of an object from its initial position to a second position at a second [moment in] time» — y define movimiento y reposo como traslado y permanencia entre dos momentos, con los corchetes de suplencia de los traductores

«Motion is of two kinds, fast and slow, fast motion being the one in which the moving object traverses a long distance in a short time, while the slow is the one in which the moving object traverses a shorter distance in the same time» — capítulo 4: la Epístola distingue movimiento rápido y lento por la distancia recorrida en el mismo tiempo

«other, for example, the sounds of drums one against the other. Thus, when the sounds of parade drums [tubitl al-mawakib) are compared with the drums played by mukhannath musicians61 they are great, but ifthey are compared with the sounds ofthe kits they are small, and the sounds ofthe kits are small when compared with the sound ofthunder and thunderbolts (the kits being a huge drum played in the marches of Khurasan when people go forth to battle, the sound of which can be heard from some leagues away). In this way, great and small sounds are discriminated by comparing one with another» — capítulo 4: la Epístola gradúa lo grande y lo pequeño por comparación, del tambor de desfile al kus de las marchas de Jurasán y de este al trueno

«With regard to [discriminating) fast and slow sounds by comparing one with another, the former are the ones where the duration of the» — capítulo 4: la Epístola pasa al par rápido y lento, que se mide por la duración de las pausas entre los ataques; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana

«pauses between the attacks62 is short in comparison with others. Examples are the sounds ofthe fullers' beaters and the blacksmiths' hammers, which are quick in comparison with the sounds ofthe pestles ofthose who grind rice or gypsum. These are slow relative to them, but quick in comparison with the oars ofboatmen. In this way, the [relative] speed or slowness of sounds is discriminated by comparing one with another» — y los ejemplos con que lo ilustra al otro lado del cambio de plana: los mazos de los bataneros y los martillos del herrero contra los pilones del que muele arroz, y estos contra los remos de los barqueros; el *62* pegado a *attacks* es la llamada de nota

«With regard to [discriminating] high and low [po 194] sounds by comparing one with another, examples are the notes produced by plucking [naqarat] the highest lute string [zir] in comparison with the notes of the second string [mathna], and the notes ofthe second string in comparison with the third [mathlath],63 and the third with the lowest [bamm], which [in each case] are [relatively] high» — capítulo 4: el par agudo y grave, medido de cuerda a cuerda del laúd; el *[po 194]* es la paginación de Beirut

«Another instance is provided by the sound ofeach open [mutlaq] string, which is low in comparison with any note produced by stopping it [mazmum]. Accordingly, whether a note is high or low is judged by comparison with another» — y el segundo ejemplo: la cuerda al aire suena grave frente a cualquier nota pisada; el *(fol. 42b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito, que el escaneo repite aquí

«Sounds may be divided quantitatively into two categories, continuous and discontinuous,65 the latter being those where there is a perceptible pause between attacks» — capítulo 4: la Epístola parte los sonidos en continuos y discontinuos según haya o no pausa perceptible entre ataques

«Continuous sounds are divided into two types, high and low, and those reed-pipes [nayat] and shawms [mazamir] with a wider bore [tajwif] and wider holes [thaqb] produce a lower sound, those with a narrower bore and narrower holes a higher sound. In addition, the holes which are nearer the mouthpiece [maw(it al-nafkh] produce higher notes, and those further away lower notes» — capítulo 5: la Epístola liga la altura del sonido a la anchura del tubo y del agujero y a su distancia de la embocadura; los términos árabes entre corchetes son del aparato de la edición

«You should know, dear brother, that when strings that are identical in thickness [ghila?,], length [tul], and tension [bazqFl are plucked in the same way,72 their sounds are identical» — capítulo 5: la Epístola abre la serie de reglas de las cuerdas por el caso de la identidad, con el grosor, la longitud y la tensión iguales; la numeración de capítulos es inserción editorial y el *[p. 195]* la paginación de Beirut

«identical in length but different in thickness) the sounds ofthe thicker ones will be lower [aghla?:] and the sounds ofthe thinner ones higher [ahadd]; if they are identical in length and thickness but different in tension) the sounds ofthe tenser [muhazzaqF3 ones will be higher and the sounds ofthe slacker [mustarkhl] ones lower; ifthey are identical in thickness, length) and tension but differently plucked [naqr]) the one plucked with greater force will have the louder» — y las tres variaciones que siguen al otro lado del cambio de plana: más grueso da más grave, más tenso da más agudo, y más fuerza al pulsar da más volumen

«You should know that high and low sounds are opposed to each other) but when they stand in a consonant [ta)lifl] relationship) they accord with each other [italafa], conjoin [imtazaja], and unite [ittahada] to form a measured melody74 which pleases the ear) and which spirits delight in and souls enjoy» — capítulo 5: la Epístola sostiene que lo agudo y lo grave se oponen y que en relación consonante se acuerdan, se conjugan y se unen en melodía medida que deleita a los espíritus; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota

«But when they stand in some other relationship) they are dissonant [tanafara] and clash [tabayana], they do not accord with each other and the ear does not enjoy them; rather) it shuns them: souls feel revulsion at them and spirits detest them» — y el reverso inmediato: en otra relación disuenan y chocan, y las almas sienten repulsión

«You should know that high sounds are hot) warming a [too-]heavy mixture of the combination ofhumours76 and moderating them; low sounds are cold and wet» — capítulo 5: la Epístola asigna cualidades elementales a los registros —lo agudo caliente, lo grave frío y húmedo— para explicar cómo moderan la mezcla de los humores

«combination of humours; and sounds that are median between high and low keep the balanced mixture ofthe combination ofhumours as it is, so as to prevent it from losing its equilibrium» — capítulo 6, continuación al otro lado del cambio de plana: los sonidos medios mantienen la mezcla de humores en equilibrio

«When great and awesome sounds that lack any harmonious inner relationship [ghayr mutanasib] strike the ear all ofa sudden, they disturb the temperaments [mizaj) and destroy their equilibrium, sometimes even causing sudden death» — capítulo 6: la Epístola atribuye a los sonidos grandes sin proporción interna el poder de romper el temperamento y hasta de matar de golpe

«There is a mechanical contrivance to produce such sounds called the organ [urghun],77 which the Greeks used (fol. 44a) in warfare to terrorize the enemy, stopping up the ears of those who manned the bellows» — y nombra el artefacto: el órgano, que según la Epístola usaban los griegos en la guerra para aterrorizar al enemigo, tapando los oídos de quienes movían los fuelles; el *(fol. 44a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«Well-balanced and well-measured sounds that stand in proportionate relationships [mutanasib] help restore equilibrium to the blend ofthe humours. They please the natural disposition [tiba C ]: spirits enjoy them and souls are delighted by them» — y el reverso: los sonidos bien medidos y en relación proporcionada restauran el equilibrio de los humores

«that bodies have temperaments ofmany kinds, and that animals have natures ofmany types, and that each temperament and nature has a melody which corresponds to it and a rhythm which matches it» — capítulo 6: la Epístola postula que a cada temperamento y a cada naturaleza le corresponde una melodía y un ritmo; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota y el *[po 196]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut

«The demonstration of the truth of what we have said and the accuracy of what we have described is that you will find, on reflection, that each people has rhythms and melodies which it enjoys and takes delight in, while others do not enjoy them, and only they take delight in them» — y la prueba que ofrece: cada pueblo goza de ritmos y melodías que otros no gozan; la lista de pueblos que sigue queda fuera del tramo porque debajo entran las notas de Wright

«Similarly) you will also find within any single one of these nations groups of people who enjoy particular rhythms and melodies which delight their souls while others neither enjoy them nor take delight in them. Again) you may also sometimes find an individual who at a certain moment will delight in a song and take pleasure in it, but at another will not and may indeed sometimes dislike it and suffer upon hearing it» — capítulo 7: la Epístola baja la misma diferencia al grupo dentro de un pueblo y al individuo en dos momentos distintos

«You will find people similarly disposed with regard to food, drink) scents) clothes) and other matters ofpleasure, adornment) and beauty, all according to changes of temperament) differences of nature and bodily constitution) and conditions of place and time, as we have partially explained in the epistle on the humours» — y la generaliza a la comida, la bebida, los perfumes y la ropa, según el temperamento, el lugar y el tiempo, con remisión a otra epístola del corpus

«that each people possesses its own musical idiom, with its own rhythmic and melodic articulation)84 which does not resemble those of» — capítulo 7: la Epístola declara que cada pueblo tiene su propio idioma musical; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entra una nota larga de Wright sobre lo difícil de traducir la frase árabe

«others. They are uncountable, except to God Almighty, who created these peoples, formed them, and gave them their natures with all their differences ofhabit, language, and colour» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente: esas diferencias de hábito, lengua y color son obra de Dios, que formó a los pueblos

«[Here,] however, we wish to expound the basic elements of music [usul al-ghimf] and the rhythmic principles [qawanin al-alban]85 from which everything is compounded. Thus music is made up [murakkab] ofmelodies [a/ban]; a melody, ofnotes [naghamat]; [po 197] while notes result from attacks which are rhythmically ordered» — capítulo 7: la Epístola declara el plan del capítulo y encadena la composición de la música, de las melodías a las notas y de estas a los ataques ordenados rítmicamente; el *[po 197]* es la paginación de Beirut

«Basic to all of them is temporal organization,87 just as lines of poetry are made up from hemistichs; hemistichs, from prosodic feet; and prosodic feet, from set sequences of short and long syllables» — y traza el paralelo que sostiene todo el análisis rítmico: la música se compone como el verso, del hemistiquio al pie y del pie a la secuencia de sílabas

«which are based, in turn, on consonants with or without a following vowel, as has been explained in manuals of prosody» — continuación al otro lado del cambio de plana: hasta la consonante con vocal o sin ella, como lo explican los manuales de prosodia

«Similarly, all utterances are made up of words; words, of nouns, verbs, and auxiliary elements;89 and all of these are made up of consonants with or without a following vowel, as has been demonstrated in works on language» — capítulo 7: la Epístola repite la misma descomposición para el habla, de la palabra al nombre, el verbo y la partícula

«To sum up, (fo1. 44b) he who wishes to delve into this science must first become sufficiently well versed in grammar, prosody, and [the analysis of] language. In our analytical epistles on language [(i rasifilina al-mantiqiyyat]9° we have dealt with what is required by learners and beginners, and here we need to expound the fundamental rules of prosody, for the rules of music are analogous to those of prosody» — y saca la consecuencia pedagógica: quien quiera entrar en esta ciencia debe saber antes gramática, prosodia y análisis del lenguaje, porque las reglas de la música son análogas a las de la prosodia; el *(fo1. 44b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«We may say, then, that prosody is the means ofmeasuring verse by which one distinguishes the correct from the lax» — capítulo 7: la definición de prosodia que la Epístola da antes de trasladarla a la música

«In Arabic poetry, there are eight prosodic feet, namely» — y el número que va a gobernar el resto del tratado: ocho pies prosódicos en la poesía árabe

«These eight are compounded from three basic elements: 93 The first of these consists of a long syllable (CVC),94 as in the words hal, bal, man, and the like» — capítulo 7: la Epístola reduce los ocho pies a tres elementos básicos y ejemplifica el primero con palabras árabes; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota

«In the rules of music [ghinii)] and rhythmic cycles [alban] there are also the same three fundamental sequences of long [po 198] and short durations. 98 The first consists of an attack [naqra] followed by a pause [sukunJ, as in tan tan tan repeated over and over again» — capítulo 7: la Epístola traslada las tres secuencias prosódicas a la música, y la primera es ataque más pausa; el *[po 198]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«The second consists of two attacks followed by a pause, as in tanan tanan tanan repeated over and over again. The third consists of three attacks followed by a pause, as in tananan tananan tananan repeated over and over again. These three are the basis that regulates all note combinations» — y las otras dos, con sus mnemotecnias silábicas, declaradas base de toda combinación de notas

«all combinations ofnotes in rhythmic cycles, and the resulting combinations of these in songs, in whatever language» — continuación al otro lado del cambio de plana: esas tres bases rigen los ciclos rítmicos y las canciones en cualquier lengua

«When you combine these three elements in pairs, there result nine duple note combinations, as follows: 1 attack + 2 attacks, as in a recurrent tan tanan lOl 1 attack + 3 attacks, as in a recurrent tan tananan 2 attacks + 2 attacks, as in a recurrent tanan tanan 2 attacks + 3 attacks, as in a recurrent tanan tananan 3 attacks + 3 attacks, as in a recurrent tananan tananan 3 attacks + 2 attacks, as in a recurrent tananan tanan 3 attacks + 1 attack, as in a recurrent tananan tan 2 attacks + 1 attack, as in a recurrent tanan tan 1 attack + 1 attack (which is the fundamental basis [a[-a~[ wa'[ (amud]), as in a recurrent tan tan tan tan. 102 These are all the duple [sets of] notes» — capítulo 7: la Epístola despliega las nueve combinaciones dobles de esos tres elementos, con la última declarada fundamento de todas; el tramo conserva la maquetación de lista y las llamadas de nota, y se extrajo con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una tabla releída entera en el crudo

«These are all the types of rhythmic patterns [lqa(] compounded from [the three sets of] attacks: three ofthem are single, nine duple, and ten triple, making twenty-two combinations in all. [ p. 199] From these, the following eight types are compounded in Arab music» — capítulo 7: la Epístola cierra la cuenta —tres simples, nueve dobles y diez triples, veintidós en total— y de ahí saca los ocho tipos de la música árabe; el *[ p. 199]* es la paginación de Beirut

«These eight genera [ajnas] are the fundamentals [U$ul] from which the remaining types [anwa(] ofrhythmic cycles104 are derived and to which» — y declara esos ocho géneros fundamento del que se derivan los demás ciclos; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright, y arrastra la llamada de nota pegada al término

«they are related, just as all the prosodic metres 105 are derived from the eight prosodic feet» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente: igual que todos los metros prosódicos se derivan de los ocho pies

«H is clear from what we have expounded that in each of the propaedeutic disciplines there are four fundamentals from which the remainder is compounded, and that these four are based upon one single principle» — capítulo 7: la Epístola enuncia su tesis de fondo, que en cada disciplina propedéutica hay cuatro fundamentos y que los cuatro se apoyan en un solo principio; el escaneo imprime *H* por It

«in the epistle on arithmetic [Epistle 1], we have demonstrated the manner ofcombining numbers from the unit 1, which is prior to 2» — y recorre las epístolas del propio corpus que lo demuestran, empezando por la aritmética y la unidad anterior al dos

«in the epistle on geometry [Epistle 2], we have shown that the point in the science of geometry1°? is comparable to 1 in the science of numbers» — el punto de la geometría como equivalente del uno en los números

«in the epistle on astronomy [Epistle 3], we have demonstrated that the sun) given its position108 amongst the heavenly bodies, is like the 1 amongst numbers and the point in geometry» — y el sol entre los cuerpos celestes como equivalente del uno y del punto; los corchetes con el número de epístola son identificación de la edición

«in the epistle on numerical proportions [Epistle 6], we have demonstrated that the equation is the fundamental rule in the science ofproportions, like 1 in the science» — y la ecuación como regla fundamental de la ciencia de las proporciones, con el mismo lugar que el uno entre los números

«All [durations of] notes [, both at the level] ofthe rhythmic cycles and [at that of] songs[,]1 11 are compounded from these, just as all numbers, whether units, tens, hundreds, or thousands, are compounded from 4, 3,2, and 1;112 in the epistle on logic» — capítulo 7: la Epístola equipara sus cuatro figuras rítmicas con los números uno a cuatro, y sostiene que todo número se compone de esos cuatro, como toda duración de esas cuatro figuras

«we have also demonstrated that substance Uawhar] is like 1, and the nine other categories [maquliU] are like the nine units. Four of them take precedence over the others: substance, quantity, quality, and relationship, the others being compounds ofthese» — y extiende la serie a las categorías aristotélicas: la sustancia como el uno y las otras nueve como las nueve unidades, con cuatro de ellas por delante

«in the epistle on principles [Epistle 32], we have demonstrated that the relationship ofthe Creator, exalted be His name, to existing things is like the relationship of 1 to the numbers» — capítulo 7, el eslabón teológico de la serie: la relación del Creador con lo existente es como la del uno con los números

«intellect ['aql] is like 2, the soul [nafs] like 3, and matter [hayula] like 4;117 and all creatures are compounded from matter and form» — y la escala de emanación que la continúa al otro lado del cambio de plana: el intelecto como dos, el alma como tres y la materia como cuatro

«Our purpose throughout these epistles has been to demonstrate to the practitioners of each art the oneness of the sublime Creator in relation to that art» — capítulo 7: la Epístola declara el propósito del corpus entero, mostrar a los practicantes de cada arte la unicidad del Creador desde dentro de su propio arte; el *[po 200]* es la paginación de Beirut

«so that they may understand more readily and be provided with clearer arguments and more cogent (fo1. 45b) proofs (just as we have done in all the other epistles), and also to show the manner in which existing things come into being one from another, with the permission ofthe Creator, exalted be His name, and through his perfect care, supreme wisdom, and subtle artifice. Praise be to God, Lord ofthe worlds, the best ofcreators, most merciful ofthe merciful, and most generous of the generous» — y el resto de ese propósito, con la doxología que cierra el capítulo; el *(fo1. 45b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«Let us now return to our [main] topic. We may say that every two attacks made by striking the lute strings or by percussions with sticks must be separated by a pause [zaman sukun], whether long or short, and when the attacks on the lute strings or the percussions made with sticks follow one another successively [tawatar], there will also follow successive pauses between them» — capítulo 7: vuelto al asunto, la Epístola enuncia que entre dos ataques hay siempre una pausa, larga o corta

«Further, the durations ofthese pauses must be equal to or longer than the durations associated with these attacks, but cannot be shorter» — y la regla que de ahí saca: la pausa iguala o excede la duración del ataque, nunca es menor

«If the length of the pauses is such that it is possible to intercalate one other attack, these notes are termed the second fundamental and the 'second light' [al-khafif al-thanl]. If the length of the pauses is longer than these) such that it is possible to intercalate two attacks) these notes are termed the 'first heavy' [al-thaqil al-awwal]. And ifthe durations are longer than these) such that it is possible to intercalate three attacks, these notes are termed the 'second heavy'» — capítulo 7: la Epístola define las cuatro bandas de tempo por cuántos ataques caben intercalados en la pausa, del segundo ligero al segundo pesado, con los términos árabes entre corchetes de la edición

«This is what we have enunciated and described according to the dictates of analogy and rule» — y marca el estatuto de esa definición, que es la que dictan la analogía y la regla

«and instrumentalists understand by 'light' and 'heavy' is different, and will be discussed after this chapter» — con la reserva que la propia Epístola añade de inmediato: los cantores e instrumentistas de su tiempo entienden otra cosa por ligero y pesado; el tramo empieza en la plana 136 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior

«that if the durations ofthe pauses between the attacks [po 201] or percussions exceed this length, they fall outside the fundamental structure, violating the norm and [what] analogy [permits], that is,I23 they cannot be perceived and distinguished by the sense of hearing» — capítulo 7: la Epístola fija el límite perceptivo, pasado el cual la pausa deja de percibirse y se sale de la estructura; el *[po 201]* es la paginación de Beirut

«The reason for this is that sounds do not endure in the air for a long time; rather, by the time that one's ears have taken in their resonance, they (fol. 46a) are [already] fading from the air that bears them and conveys them to one's hearing, as we have demonstrated in a preceding chapter» — y la razón física que da: el sonido no dura en el aire, se desvanece mientras el oído lo recibe; el *(fol. 46a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«In the same way, the resonance of sounds does not remain in one's hearing for a long time; rather, by the time that the imaginative faculty has formed [mental] pictures of them, these vibrations are [already] fading from hearing» — y la razón psicológica paralela: la resonancia tampoco permanece en el oído mientras la facultad imaginativa forma sus imágenes

«Thus, when the durations of the intervals between attacks or percussions are so long that they exceed the above-mentioned limit, the first note and its vibrations fade from the hearing before the arrival ofthe next note, so that the cognitive faculty is unable to recognize and determine the amount oftime separating them and thereby recognize the relationship that subsists between them» — de donde la Epístola concluye que, pasado el límite, la primera nota se ha ido antes de que llegue la segunda y la facultad cognitiva no puede medir su relación

«for fine discrimination in hearing is recognition ofthe extent ofthe durations between notes,127 and ofthe magnitude of the durations of the pauses and the durations of the attacks, and the relationship between them» — y define en qué consiste la fina discriminación auditiva: reconocer la extensión de las duraciones entre notas y la relación entre pausas y ataques

«The other sensibilia, and the sensory capacity to perceive them, function in the same way; the faculty of sight is similarly only able to recognize the magnitude of the distances between visible objects when they are proximate in space» — capítulo 7: la Epístola traslada la misma ley a la vista, que solo mide distancias entre objetos próximos

«When the spatial distances between them are as great as the [excessive] temporal distances between things heard, that faculty is only able to perceive them [as related] and to distinguish the distance between them by using the measuring units [alat] ofsurveying,128 such as the inch, foot, cubit, ell, and perch,I29 as we have explained in the epistle on geometry [Epistle 2]» — y la salida que propone para lo que excede el alcance del sentido: las unidades de medida de la agrimensura, con remisión a la epístola sobre geometría

«observational tools such as float timers,131 water-clocks,132 astrolabes,133 and the like. But when they are [po 202] close together, the ear can» — capítulo 7: la Epístola nombra los instrumentos de medida del tiempo a los que hay que recurrir cuando el oído no alcanza, flotadores, clepsidras y astrolabios; el *[po 202]* es la paginación de Beirut

«perceive them and has the sensitivity to discriminate between them, as is well known in prosody» — y la continuación al otro lado del cambio de plana: cuando las duraciones están cerca, el oído sí discrimina, como se sabe en prosodia

«There is also another reason [for this], namely, that when a single note comes to the faculty of hearing, its image, before it fades, only remains for the amount of the duration of three other similar attacks, between each one of which is the duration of a single pause, so that in all they come to eight time units organized in the following way» — capítulo 8: la Epístola da su segunda razón del límite y la cifra en ocho unidades de tiempo, que es el número que gobierna el resto del tratado

«Having thus completed our account ofthe magnitude ofthe durations of the attacks and pauses, and of the distance and the relationship between them, we wish to discuss some sound-producing instruments and the nature of their construction and set-up, and which ofthem is complete and perfect» — capítulo 8: la Epístola anuncia el paso a los instrumentos y a cuál de ellos es completo y perfecto

«that the sages constructed many instruments [alat] and devices» — capítulo 8: la Epístola atribuye a los sabios la construcción de los instrumentos y despliega su catálogo con los nombres árabes entre corchetes de la edición; el *(fol. 46b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«However, the most perfect instrument devised by the sages) and the best of their creations, is the instrument called the lute» — capítulo 8: la Epístola elige el laúd como el instrumento más perfecto de cuantos idearon los sabios

«This will be a kind of introduction or prolegomenon to inform the minds of students of the branches of philosophy and» — y declara para qué lo describe, como prolegómeno para los estudiantes de la filosofía; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«and to make dear to them the finer points ofwisdom and the secrets ofthe arts [$anaYJ, 142 all of which are revelatory of the wise artificer who is the Creator, praised and exalted be He, [po 203] God who created the artists and inspired them with their crafts, with wisdom, knowledge, and insight - blessed be God, the best of creators and the wisest ofjudges» — la continuación en la plana siguiente: aclararles los puntos finos de la sabiduría y los secretos de las artes, todos reveladores del artífice sabio que es el Creador; el escaneo imprime *dear* por clear y el *[po 203]* es la paginación de Beirut

«But let us first begin by mentioning what the practitioners ofthis art say, for, as the proverb has it, 'In every craft seek help from those who practise it» — capítulo 8: la Epístola apela al proverbio para justificar que empiece por lo que dicen los practicantes del arte

«the instrument called the lute should be made with a body Uism] the length, breadth, and depth ofwhich are in perfect proportion, that is, the length should be one and a halftimes the breadth; the depth, halfthe breadth; and the neck [Cunq]ofthe lute, a quarter ofthe [entire] length» — y da las proporciones del cuerpo del laúd: largo una vez y media el ancho, hondo la mitad del ancho y mástil un cuarto del largo

«Its strips [alwabJ should be thin, taken from a hard, light wood that rings when struck, and the table [wajh J should similarly be thin, hard, and light» — capítulo 8: los materiales que la Epístola prescribe, madera dura y ligera que suene al golpearla, y tapa del mismo carácter

«One then takes four strings [awtar], each thicker than the next, according to the ideal proportion; that is, the thickness of the [fourth and] lowest string [bamm] should be one and a third ofthat ofthe third string [mathlath], the thickness of the third string should be one and a third of that of the second string» — y la razón que gobierna los grosores de las cuatro cuerdas, cada una un tercio más gruesa que la siguiente

«the thickness ofthe second string should be one and a third of that of the highest string [zlr]; that is) the lowest string should be sixty-four threads l44 of silk; the third) forty-eight threads; the second) thirty-six threads; and the highest) twenty-seven threads» — capítulo 8: la Epístola convierte la razón 4:3 en cifras de hilos de seda, sesenta y cuatro, cuarenta y ocho, treinta y seis y veintisiete

«These four strings are then stretched over the table ofthe lute, the bottom ends being attached to the bridge [musht] and the top ends to the pegs [malawI] [situated] above the neck of the lute. When this is done) their lengths will be equal but their thicknesses different, according to the ratio 64:48:36:27» — y el montaje: cuerdas iguales en largo y distintas en grosor, en esa proporción

«The length of an aliquot string is then divided into four equal sections) and the little finger fret [dastan al-khin$ir] is attached at the three-quarter point towards the neck ofthe lute» — capítulo 8: la Epístola coloca el traste del meñique dividiendo la cuerda en cuatro

«The length of the string is then divided into nine equal parts from the top) and the first finger [sabbabaJ fret is attached at the ninth nearest [the top end of] the neck of the lute; then that part of the string from the first finger fret to the bridge is divided into nine equal parts) and the ring finger [bin$ir] fret is attached at the ninth) its position being below the little finger fret towards the first finger» — y sigue el trasteado por divisiones en novenos, que es el trasteado pitagórico que la nota de Wright identifica con el de al-Kindi

«then that part of the string from the little finger fret to the bridge is divided into eight parts, and a further similar part is added (fo1. 47a) on what remains of the string above; and it is here [po 204] that the middle finger [wusfa] fret is attached, its position being between the first finger and the ring finger. This is the way the lute is set up) the relationship between its strings) and the positioning of its frets» — el último traste, el del dedo medio, por división en ocho partes; el *(fo1. 47a)* y el *[po 204]* son el folio del manuscrito y la paginación de Beirut

«With regard to the manner of establishing [i$laJ;] the pitches [nagham] and understanding the relationships between them,147 [one proceeds] as follows: the highest string is attached and tightened as much as it will bear without breaking; then the second string is attached next to148 the highest string and tensioned. It is then stopped [yuzamm] with the little finger and sounded [yunqar] together with the open highest string, and if the notes they produce are heard to be identical [mutasawi] , the two are in tune» — capítulo 8: arranque del procedimiento de afinación que la Epístola prescribe, con la cuerda aguda tensada hasta donde aguante y la segunda igualada contra ella

«Then the third string is attached and stopped with the little finger and sounded together with the open second string, and tightened further or loosened until they are in tune and their two notes are heard as a unison. Then the lowest string is attached and stopped with the little finger and sounded together with the open third string, and ifthe notes they produce are heard to be identical, as if they were a single note, these two [strings] are in tune» — y la misma operación aplicada a la tercera y a la cuarta cuerda hasta el unísono

«If [all] these strings are properly tuned as described, then each open string, compared to the note produced [on it] by stopping with the little finger, will be one and one third (4:3), both in thickness» — capítulo 8: la Epístola saca del procedimiento la razón 4:3 entre cuerda al aire y cuerda pisada con el meñique, en grosor y en altura

«and the note of each open string will also be found to give a note equivalent to one and one eighth (9:8) ofthe note produced by stopping with the first finger» — y la razón 9:8 del tono entero entre la cuerda al aire y el traste del índice

«All together, none ofthese strings and frets produces notes that are not in proportion to one another, except that some of them are ideal and perfect and others less so. For a proportion to be ideal, either the notes should be in unison with one another or the lower note should stand in the relationship 4:3, 3:2, 5:4, or 9:8 with the higher» — capítulo 8: la Epístola declara cuáles son las proporciones ideales entre notas, el unísono y las razones 4:3, 3:2, 5:4 y 9:8; el *[po 205]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut

«If the strings are tuned so as to produce these ideal proportions, and are agitated [burrika] to produce successive proportional motions, there then result from them successive proportional notes, quick high ones and slow low ones» — y el resultado de afinar en esas proporciones: notas proporcionales sucesivas, las agudas rápidas y las graves lentas

«the slow low notes will stand in relation to the quick high notes like bodies, and the latter to» — capítulo 8: la Epístola pone las notas graves como cuerpos frente a las agudas; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«the former like spirits, the two being united with each other, mingling together to form rhythmic melodies and song» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente: las agudas como espíritus, unidas y mezcladas con las graves en melodía rítmica y canto

«The attacks on these strings then have the status of pens; the ensuing high notes,156 that of letters; the rhythmic melodies, that ofwords; song, that ofutterances; and the air (fol. 47b) conveying them, that of parchment» — y la alegoría de la escritura con que la Epístola ordena los elementos musicales: los ataques son plumas, las notas letras, las melodías palabras, el canto el discurso y el aire el pergamino; el *(fol. 47b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«The ideas contained in these notes and measured melodies have the status ofthe spirits lodged in bodies, so when these melodies are brought to the ears ofthese souls, their natures take delight in them, the spirits enjoy them, and the souls are pleased by them» — capítulo 8: la Epístola declara que las ideas contenidas en las melodías están en ellas como los espíritus en los cuerpos

«because the onset of these notes and the pauses that occur between them become a measure and a yardstick for time, and an imitation ofthe movements [barakat] 157 of the individual celestial bodies, just as the proportional successive movements of the heavenly bodies and the celestial spheres are also a measure and yardstick for whole ages» — y da la razón de fondo: los ataques y las pausas miden el tiempo e imitan los movimientos de los cuerpos celestes, que miden las edades enteras

«so when time is measured out by them in a regular, equally proportioned way, their notes are similar to the notes emitted by the movements of the celestial spheres and the heavenly bodies, and correspond to them» — de donde la Epístola concluye que las notas de la música se corresponden con las que emiten los movimientos de las esferas

«The individual souls in the world of generation and corruption then recall the joys of the world ofthe celestial spheres and the delights ofthe souls that are there, and they realize clearly that they are in the best possible state, enjoying the sweetest delights and the most enduring pleasures» — capítulo 8: el efecto que la Epístola atribuye a esa correspondencia, que las almas del mundo de la generación y la corrupción recuerdan los gozos del mundo de las esferas

«because those notes are purer and those melodies sweeter, because those bodies are better coordinated, more finely structured, [po 206] purer in substance, and their movements are better regulated and their relationships more excellently organized» — y la razón de esa superioridad: allá los cuerpos están mejor coordinados y sus relaciones mejor organizadas; el *[po 206]* es la paginación de Beirut

«So when the individual souls in the world of generation and corruption understand the state of the world of the» — capítulo 8: arranque de la conclusión de la doctrina; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«celestial spheres and become convinced of the truth ofwhat we have described, they then yearn to ascend there and join their fellow souls, saved long ago from amongst the people ofyore» — y su desenlace en la plana siguiente: convencidas, las almas anhelan ascender y juntarse con las almas hermanas salvadas hace mucho entre la gente de antaño

«If it is objected that the celestial spheres are of a different nature [tabfa khamisa] ,159 so that their bodies cannot emit sounds and notes, the objector should understand that even ifthe celestial spheres are a quintessence, there is nothing in this that would deny any attributes to these bodies» — capítulo 9: la Epístola se plantea a sí misma la objeción de que las esferas, siendo quintaesencia, no podrían emitir sonido, y responde que ser quintaesencia no les quita atributos

«Thus, among them there are those that are radiant like fire, and these are the heavenly bodies, and among them are those that are translucent like crystal, and these are the celestial spheres, and among them is one which is polished like the surface of a mirror, and this is the body ofthe moon, and among them are those which are receptive to light and dark like the air, and these are the celestial spheres ofthe moon and Mercury» — y el inventario de atributos que les reconoce: cuerpos radiantes como el fuego, esferas traslúcidas como el cristal, la luna pulida como un espejo y esferas receptivas a la luz y a la sombra como el aire

«That is, they are neither hot nor cold nor wet, but they are dry, and ofan extreme solidity, greater than that ofsapphire, and they are purer than air, more translucent than crystal and more polished than the surface ofa mirror» — capítulo 9: la Epístola describe la sustancia de las esferas, seca, de solidez mayor que el zafiro, más pura que el aire y más pulida que un espejo

«They touch one another, knock together and create friction, and resonate like ringing iron and copper. Their notes are proportional to one another and consonant, (fol. 48a) and their melodies are rhythmically measured, just as we have shown with respect to the notes of the strings ofthe lute and their correspondences» — y la mecánica del sonido celeste: las esferas se tocan, chocan y rozan, y resuenan como hierro y cobre, con notas consonantes y melodías medidas como las del laúd; el *(fol. 48a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«emit sounds and notes, there would be no point to their inhabitants possessing the power of hearing that they have, and if they lacked hearing they would then be deaf, dumb, and blind,160 which is the condition of lifeless, inert, inanimate objects [po 207] at the lowest [level] ofbeing» — capítulo 9: el argumento con que la Epístola abre el capítulo, que si los cuerpos celestes no sonaran el oído de sus habitantes no tendría objeto y estos serían sordos, mudos y ciegos como los objetos inertes; el tramo empieza en la plana 147 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior y el *[po 207]* es la paginación de Beirut

«It has been conclusively demonstrated and proved by means of philosophical logic that the people of the heavens and the inhabitants of the celestial spheres are God's angels and the most devoted of his servants, who hear, see, reason, know, recite, and they glorify Him tirelessly night and day» — capítulo 9: la Epístola identifica a los habitantes de las esferas con los ángeles de Dios, que oyen, ven, razonan y lo glorifican sin descanso

«and their praise is [in the form of] melodies sweeter than David's recitation of the psalms at the prayer niche,163 and tones more pleasing than those of true-soundingl64 lute strings in the high-vaulted [palace] alcoves» — y compara su alabanza con melodías más dulces que los salmos de David y tonos más gratos que los de las cuerdas del laúd en las alcobas abovedadas del palacio

«Ifsomeone objects that they must also have the senses ofsmell, taste, and touch, this person should know that smell, taste, and touch were given to creatures that eat and drink so that they could use them to distinguish what is beneficial from what is harmful and to guard their bodies against excessive heat and cold, both of which are lethal» — capítulo 9: la Epístola se plantea otra objeción, la de los demás sentidos, y responde que olfato, gusto y tacto se dieron a quienes comen y beben

«people of the heavens and the inhabitants of the celestial spheres, on the other hand, have been spared these things and have no need to eat and drink; their nourishment is praising, their drink is acclamation, and their fruit is thought, reflection, knowledge, insight, sentiment, feeling, delight, joy, pleasure, and repose» — y describe la dieta de los habitantes celestes: su alimento es la alabanza, su bebida la aclamación y su fruto el pensamiento y el conocimiento; el tramo empieza en la plana 148 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior

«It has therefore been demonstrated through what we have expounded that the movements ofthe heavenly bodies and the stars produce tones and melodies that are sweet, delightful, and joyful to the souls oftheir inhabitants, and that these tones and melodies remind the simple166 souls that are there of the joy of the world of the spirits above the celestial realm» — capítulo 9: la Epístola concluye que los movimientos de los astros producen tonos que recuerdan a las almas de allá el gozo del mundo de los espíritus, por encima del reino celeste

«whose substances are more noble than those of the world of the celestial spheres, which is the world of the souls and that eternal 167 abode whose blessing is all rest, ease and a Garden ofBliss as mentioned by God on high in the Qur'an» — y jerarquiza los dos mundos, con el de los espíritus por encima del de las esferas y su morada eterna nombrada en el Corán

«the joy ofthe world ofthe celestial spheres, just as the tones produced by the movements of the celestial spheres and the heavenly bodies remind the souls that are there of the joy of the world of the spirits» — capítulo 9: la Epístola cierra el paralelo en escalera, los tonos del músico recuerdan a las almas de acá el gozo de las esferas como los tonos de las esferas recuerdan a las de allá el gozo del mundo de los espíritus; el tramo empieza a media frase porque el periodo arranca al pie de la plana anterior

«This is the conclusion derived from the premises associated with them by the sages, that is, their assertion that the states ofsecondary, caused entities imitate those of the primary entities that cause them» — y declara la premisa de la que todo ello se deriva, atribuida a los sabios: que los entes segundos y causados imitan a los primeros que los causan; el *[po 208]* es la paginación de Beirut

«An example of this is provided by the movements of children at play, for they imitate the movements of their parents. Similarly, in their actions and deeds pupils and students imitate the actions and states of their teachers and masters» — capítulo 9: los ejemplos con que la Epístola hace plausible esa imitación, los niños que imitan a sus padres y los discípulos a sus maestros; el *(fol. 48b)* anterior es el folio del manuscrito

«Most of the wise know that the individual celestial bodies and their regular movements are existentially prior to the creatures of the sublunary sphere and their movements, and the world of souls is existentially prior to the world of bodies» — y la prioridad que sostiene: los cuerpos celestes y sus movimientos son existencialmente anteriores a las criaturas sublunares, y el mundo de las almas al de los cuerpos

«just as one finds in the nature ofchildren a yearning towards the condition ofthe parents; in the nature ofpupils and students, a yearning towards the condition of their teachers; in the nature ofthe common people, a yearning towards the condition ofkings; in the nature ofkings, a yearning towards [the condition of] the intellectuals and the learned; and in the nature ofthe intellectuals and the learned, a yearning towards the condition of the angels and towards becoming like them, just as it has been stated in a definition of philosophy that it consists of an approximation to the divine as far as human potential allows» — capítulo 9: la escala de anhelos que la Epístola traza, del niño al padre y del rey al sabio y de este a los ángeles, rematada con la definición de la filosofía como aproximación a lo divino

«It is said that because of the purity of the substance of his soul and the intelligence ofhis heart, Pythagoras the sage was able to hear the tones of the movements of the celestial spheres and the heavenly bodies, and through the outstanding quality ofhis thought was able to derive the basic principles ofmusic and the tones ofmelodies» — capítulo 9: la Epístola atribuye a Pitágoras haber oído los tonos de los movimientos celestes por la pureza de su alma, y de ahí haber derivado los principios de la música

«He is the first of the sages to have spoken about this science and to have given instruction concerning this secret, and after him came Nicomachus, Ptolemy, Euclid, and other sages» — y le da el primer lugar en el linaje del saber, seguido por Nicómaco, Ptolomeo y Euclides

«This was one aim of their use ofmusical melodies and ofthe notes ofthe strings at sacrifices in temples and places of worship, according» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara el fin del uso ritual de la música; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entra una nota de Wright

«to divinely ordained practice, and especially ofsad melodies that soften hard hearts and provide a reminder to distracted souls and heedless spirits forgetful ofthe joys oftheir spiritual world, their radiant dwelling and abiding home» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente: las melodías tristes ablandan el corazón duro y recuerdan al alma distraída su morada luminosa

«Accompanied by strokes on these strings, they would intone metrically structured words and verses [po 209] composed to express this idea, in which the blessed state of the world ofthe spirits and the pleasure and joys of its inhabitants are described, in the same way that, when they go forth to battle, Muslim warriors recite verses of the Qur'an revealed concerning the same idea» — y la comparación con el guerrero musulmán que recita versos coránicos al salir a la batalla; el *[po 209]* es la paginación de Beirut

«In battle and when attacking in war, Muslim warriors also recite verses (fo1. 49a) describing the houris and the blessings ofparadise in order to make souls long to go there, and also to encourage them to charge and attack. These are in Arabic and Persian» — capítulo 9: la Epístola consigna la recitación de versos sobre las huríes y las bendiciones del paraíso en la carga; el *(fo1. 49a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«I am obliged by my virtue and obliged by my valour, by the gainful praise I can win, By thrusting myself forward against what is hateful, and striking at the head of a brave foe, And saying to myself, whenever hectic and agitated, 'Be calm, praise or repose will be yours [soon enough]', To champion pious deeds and ever protect an honour that is true» — los versos árabes que la Epístola cita ahí, sobre la virtud y el valor; la nota de Wright señala que no están en dos de los manuscritos más antiguos y que no hablan del paraíso sino del honor

«Come, let us entrust our hearts and souls to God. Let us have neither the worry of wealth nor the cares that money brings. Let us sell our souls for the sake of faith and spend this mortal life in battle» — y los versos persas que siguen, sobre entregar el alma por la fe

«As for the poetry and verse the divine sages used to intone when they made use of music in temples and houses of worship to soften hard hearts and to awaken heedless souls from neglectful sleep and spirits idling in ignorant slumber, in order to make their spiritual world, their radiant domain, and their abiding home enticing to them, and to free them from the world ofgeneration and corruption [po 210], save them from drowning in the sea of materiality, and rescue them from the trammels of nature, their sense is as follows» — capítulo 9: la Epístola anuncia el contenido de los versos de los sabios divinos, hechos para despertar al alma dormida y sacarla del mar de la materialidad; el *[po 210]* es la paginación de Beirut

«o soul plunged into the body's gloomy depths, o spirits submerged in the darkness of dense matter, l72 forgetting to recall the life to come,173 diverted from the ways of righteousness» — capítulo 9: arranque de la exhortación en prosa rimada que la Epístola pone en boca de los sabios divinos, dirigida al alma hundida en la materia densa; la maquetación en verso es de la edición

«remember the promise of the covenant, when God said to you 'Am I not your Lord?' and you replied 'Yes, we bear witness.' So you cannot say on the Day ofResurrection, 'We were not aware ofthis, 'or, 'It was our bodilyforefathers who, before us, ascribed partners to God, and we are only the physical descendants who came after them '174 in the world of deception and the oppression of the grave» — y su núcleo, la evocación del pacto primordial con la cita coránica del Alastu, que la nota de Wright señala alterada respecto del texto del Corán

«and your radiant domain, and long to be with your spiritual fathers, mothers, and brethren who are in the highest heaven, who are free ofphysical taint and innocent of contact with natural bodies» — capítulo 9: la exhortación llama al alma a anhelar a sus padres y hermanos espirituales del cielo más alto, libres de contacto con los cuerpos naturales; el tramo empieza en la plana 152 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior

«Prepare and equip yourselves and set forth from the world that will be obliterated to the one that is eternal before you are suddenly and forcibly dispatched there, unprepared, regretful, and doomed» — y su remate: partir del mundo que se borra al eterno antes de ser despachado allá de golpe, sin preparación y perdido

«With such descriptions and on themes [ma(anf] ofthis nature, the sages would intone [labbana] [texts], accompanied by an instrumentalist's notes [maCa naghamat al-musiqar], in temples and houses ofworship» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara cómo se ejecutaba eso, el sabio entonando acompañado por las notas del instrumentista

«What we have outlined clarifies some of the aims of the sages in their use ofmusic and in their invention ofthe rhythmic principles of its melodies and the combination ofits notes» — y cierra el argumento declarando aclarados algunos de los fines de los sabios al inventar los principios rítmicos de las melodías

«The reason why music has been proscribed in some of the prophetic laws is that people have made use ofit in a way different to that ofthe sages, in fact, for idle entertainment» — capítulo 9: la Epístola explica la proscripción de la música en algunas leyes proféticas por el uso distinto que le dio la gente; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entra una nota de Wright

«pleasures of this world and its deceptive desires. The verses that have been recited with this kind of theme are those such as: Take your share of ease and delight, for everything, however long it lasts, will come to an end. Or, No one has come back to tell us that he has been in paradise or in hellfire since he died» — y los versos que cita como ejemplo de ese uso, sobre gozar mientras dure y sobre que nadie ha vuelto a contar del paraíso ni del infierno

«that when most people hear such verses they are deluded into thinking (fo1. 49b) that delight, felicity, pleasure, and joy are only to be found in what they perceive through their senses, and that the messages the prophets have conveyed about the blessings ofparadise and the delight of its inhabitants and the messages the sages have conveyed about the joy, virtue, and nobility ofthe world ofthe spirits are lies and deception, devoid of truth» — capítulo 9: la Epístola atribuye a esos versos el efecto de persuadir a la gente de que solo hay gozo en lo sensible y de que los mensajes de los profetas y de los sabios son mentira; el *(fo1. 49b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«that if you do not believe in what the prophets have conveyed to you about the blessings ofparadise, and do not give credence to what the sages have informed you about the joy of the world of the spirits, but accept the false imaginings and corrupt views that have been fed to you, you will remain perplexed, doubting, mired in error, and liable to lead others into error» — y la advertencia que de ahí saca, dirigida al hermano lector: quien no dé crédito a los profetas ni a los sabios quedará perplejo y en error, y llevará a otros a él

«common purpose is to set right both religious and worldly matters. Their ultimate aim, then, is to free souls from the travail ofthis world and the suffering of its inhabitants, and to enable them to attain the happiness of the next world and the blessed state ofits inhabitants» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara común el propósito de profetas y sabios, enderezar lo religioso y lo mundano y liberar a las almas para la felicidad del otro mundo; la nota de Wright distingue las dos legislaciones, la shari'a de los profetas y los nawamis de los sabios

«To return to our previous topic, we may say that when the meanings conveyed by melody and rhythm reach the mind [ajkar al-nufus]180 via hearing, so that an image is formed there of the ideas that were contained within those rhythms and melodies, their existence [as vibrations] in the air can be dispensed with, just as writing on tablets can be dispensed with once the ideas written on them are understood and memorized» — capítulo 9: la Epístola sostiene que, formada en la mente la imagen de las ideas que el ritmo traía, la vibración en el aire se vuelve prescindible, como la tablilla una vez memorizado lo escrito

«Such is the case with individual souls when they grow to complete maturity and fully achieve their purpose within the body, at which point the bodies perish, either through natural or accidental death or through sacrifice in holy war, and the souls are extracted from the bodies just as a pearl is extracted from the oyster shell, the foetus from the womb, the seed from the calyx, or the fruit from the rind» — y la analogía que la Epístola extiende al alma: madurada dentro del cuerpo, se extrae de él como la perla de la concha, el feto del vientre o el fruto de la cáscara

«They then begin a new life, just as the pearl begins a new life when it is taken out of the discarded shell. Similar is what happens to fruit and grain when they mature and ripen [po 212], for it consists of harvesting and gathering: the husks and stalks are thrown aside to reach the core, which then begins another life» — capítulo 9: la Epístola sostiene que de ahí empieza una vida nueva, como la de la perla sacada de la concha y la del grano cosechado; el *[po 212]* es la paginación de Beirut

«Similar also is the fate of the souls of animals after slaughter, for you must not suppose, dear brother, that the purpose of those who set down ordinances allowing the slaughter of beasts in temples on days» — capítulo 9: la Epístola empieza a reinterpretar el sacrificio de animales en los templos; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«of sacrifice is just the consumption of meat; their purpose, rather, is to free their souls from the defilement of the hell that is the world of generation and corruption,182 (fol. SOa) as we have explained in the epistle on the providential nature» — y su continuación en la plana siguiente: el fin del sacrificio no es la carne sino liberar las almas del infierno que es el mundo de la generación y la corrupción; el *(fol. SOa)* es el folio del manuscrito, con la O mayúscula que el escaneo pone por cero

«Now take heed, dear brother, may God aid you, consider, and understand that your body is an oyster shell and your soul a precious pearl that should not be neglected, for it is ofgreat value to its Creator. It has already reached the last door in [the] hell [of the world of generation and corruption],184 so if you take heart, make ready, and hasten to come out ofthis door which patently leads to torment, and go in through the door wherein is concealed divine mercy,185 prostrated, having taken on angelic form,186 you will have succeeded, achieved your goal and been saved» — capítulo 9: la exhortación central de la Epístola al lector, con el cuerpo por concha y el alma por perla, y las dos puertas del infierno, la que lleva al tormento y la que esconde la misericordia

«that angelic form is the one your soul will be provided with when it departs the body, as God, exalted be He, mentioned when He said: Say, 'The Angel ofDeath put in charge ofyou will reclaim you, and then you will be brought back to your Lord» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara que el alma toma forma angélica al salir del cuerpo, con la cita coránica del ángel de la muerte

«that the angel of death is the one who receives spirits and is the midwife ofsouls, just as the midwife of bodies is the one who receives the new-born» — y la figura con que lo dice: el ángel de la muerte es la partera de las almas como la partera lo es de los cuerpos

«that the souls of all the believers have parents in the world of the spirits, just as bodies have parents in the physical world» — capítulo 9: la Epístola atribuye a las almas de los creyentes padres en el mundo de los espíritus, como los cuerpos los tienen en el físico; el *[po 213)* es la paginación de Beirut, con el paréntesis que el escaneo pone por corchete

«Let us return to our previous topic. We may say that the musician sages restricted the number oflute strings to four, no more, no less, so that what they produced should correspond to natural phenomena in the sublunary world, thereby following the model ofthe wise Creator, exalted be He, as we have explained in the epistle on arithmetic [Epistle 1]» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara que los sabios músicos fijaron en cuatro las cuerdas del laúd para que correspondieran a los fenómenos naturales del mundo sublunar, siguiendo el modelo del Creador

«the highest string [zfr] resembles the element of fire, and its note corresponds to its heat and fierceness [hidda];189 the second string [mathna] resembles the element of air, and its note corresponds to the wetness and softness of air; the third string [mathlath] resembles the element ofwater, and its note corresponds to the wetness and cold of water» — capítulo 9: la Epístola empareja cada cuerda del laúd con un elemento y con sus cualidades, del fuego al agua

«These characteristics that they have are according to the correspondences between them and according to the effects of their notes on the mixture ofthe temperaments of those listening to them» — y declara el criterio de esos emparejamientos, la correspondencia entre las cuerdas y el efecto de sus notas sobre la mezcla de los temperamentos del oyente

«the note of the highest string strengthens the humour of yellow bile, increasing its power and effect, and opposes the humour of phlegm, attenuating it; the note of the second string strengthens the humour of blood, increasing its power and effect, and opposes the humour ofblack bile, softening it; the note of the third string strengthens the humour of phlegm, increasing its power and effect, and opposes the humour of yellow bile, reducing its intensity; the note ofthe lowest string strengthens the humour ofblack bile, increasing its power and effect, and opposes the humour of blood, calming its passion» — capítulo 9: la tabla doble de los humores según la Epístola, en la que cada cuerda fortalece un humor y debilita otro; la nota de Wright señala que las relaciones positivas ya están en al-Kindi y las negativas no

«When these notes are combined in rhythmic melodies [alban] corresponding [mushakila] to them, and these melodies191 are then used at the times ofday or night whose nature is counter to that ofthe prevailing illnesses and sicknesses occurring, they will alleviate them, reduce (fo1. SOb) their severity, and ease the pain they inflict on the sick» — capítulo 9: la prescripción terapéutica de la Epístola, combinar esas notas en melodías correspondientes y usarlas en la hora del día o de la noche contraria a la enfermedad; el *(fo1. SOb)* es el folio del manuscrito

«because when things that correspond in their characteristics are multiplied and combined, their effects become more powerful and» — y el principio general que la sostiene; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«their influence prevails, overcoming their opposites - just as people realize during wars and disputes» — y su continuación en la plana siguiente: lo que corresponde prevalece sobre su contrario, como se ve en las guerras y las disputas

«From what we have outlined above, something will have become clear ofthe wisdom ofthe musical sages who made use ofthem in hospitals at times contrary to the nature ofthe illnesses and maladies, and why they confined themselves to four strings, no more, no less» — capítulo 9: la Epístola recapitula la sabiduría de los sabios músicos en los hospitales y el porqué de las cuatro cuerdas; el *[po 214J* es la paginación de Beirut, con la J que el escaneo pone por corchete

«The reason why they made the thickness of each string one third greater than the next higher-pitched onel92 is also because they imitated the wisdom of the Creator, exalted be His name, following the marks of His creation in natural phenomena» — y la razón de la proporción de un tercio entre grosores: imitar la sabiduría del Creador siguiendo las marcas de su creación en los fenómenos naturales

«Specifically, scholars ofthe natural sciences [/:tukamif tabl'iyyunJ have pronounced that the diameters of each of the spheres [ukar] of the four elements of fire, air, water, and earth is one third greater than that of the next lower one with regard to its quality [kayfiyya], that is, thinness and thickness» — capítulo 9: la Epístola apela a los estudiosos de las ciencias naturales para la misma razón de un tercio entre los diámetros de las esferas de los cuatro elementos

«They have stated that the diameter ofthe sphere ofether [athfr] - that is, firewhich lies immediately beneath the celestial sphere ofthe moon is one third greater than the diameter ofthe sphere ofbitter cold» — y el primer eslabón de esa serie de diámetros, del éter ígneo bajo la esfera lunar al estrato glacial El impreso parte *fire-which* en el fin de renglón y `span()` lo unió en *firewhich*; léase *fire-which* (declarado en la auditoría del 2026-09-12).

«This [set of] relationship[s] means that, [expressed] in [terms of relative] thinness, the substance offire is one third more than air» — capítulo 9: la Epístola traduce esa serie de diámetros a una serie de delgadez de las sustancias; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«substance of air is one third more than water; the substance of water is one third more than earth» — y su continuación en la plana siguiente, hasta la tierra

«As for the reasons why they attached194 the highest string, which corresponds to the element of fire while its note corresponds to the heat and intensity of fire, above all the others; and why they attached the lowest string, which corresponds to the element of earth, below them all; and the second string, next to the highest string; and the third string, next to the lowest - there are two ofthese. One [reason] is that the note ofthe zir string is high [flddd], light, and moves upwards, while the note of the lowest string is thick, heavy, and moves downwards» — capítulo 9: la Epístola da la primera de las dos razones del orden en que se atan las cuerdas, que la nota aguda es ligera y sube y la grave es gruesa y baja

«The other is that the relationship of the thickness ofthe highest string to that ofthe second string, ofthat of the second string to that ofthe third, and ofthat ofthe third to that of the lowest is like the relationship ofthe diameter ofearth to that ofthe sphere ofair, that ofthe sphere ofair to the sphere ofbitter cold, and that ofthe sphere ofbitter cold to that ofthe sphere ofether. 196 This is why they attached them in this [po 215] arrangement» — y la segunda razón: la proporción entre los grosores de las cuerdas repite la que hay entre los diámetros de la tierra, del aire, del estrato glacial y del éter; el *[po 215]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«With regard to their use ofthe relationship ofthe eighth197 for the notes on the strings, rather than that of the fifth, sixth, or seventh» — capítulo 9: la Epístola plantea por qué prefirió la razón 9:8 a las demás; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«and their preference for it, this is because it is derived from 8, and 8 is the first cube number» — y la razón en la plana siguiente: porque deriva del ocho, que es el primer número cubo

«Further, given that 6 is the first perfect [tamm] number,l99 the cube is the supreme [aJt;ial] hexahedron, being set above the others because of the equality [tasawf] [of its proportionsJ, as we have demonstrated in the epistle on geometry [Epistle 2]» — y sitúa el cubo como el hexaedro supremo por la igualdad de sus proporciones, con remisión a la epístola sobre geometría

«This is because the length, breadth, and depth of this figure are all equal; it has six (fo1. Sla) square sides all ofwhich are equal; it has eight threedimensional [mujassam] corners [zawayaJ, all ofwhich are equal; it has twelve parallel and equal sides; it has twenty-four equal right angles, which are the product of3 x 8» — capítulo 9: el inventario de igualdades del cubo que la Epístola despliega, seis caras, ocho esquinas, doce aristas y veinticuatro ángulos rectos; el *(fo1. Sla)* es el folio del manuscrito, con la S que el escaneo pone por 5 El impreso parte *three-dimensional* en el fin de renglón y `span()` lo unió en *threedimensional*; léase *three-dimensional* (declarado en la auditoría del 2026-09-12).

«and we have previously stated that any entity [ma$nu C ] in which there is a greater degree ofequality is superior, and after the form ofthe sphere there is no form with a higher degree of equality than the cube» — y el principio que de ahí se sigue: a mayor igualdad, mayor superioridad, y después de la esfera ninguna forma iguala al cubo

«It is for this reason that, in the last section ofhis book, Euclid said that the form ofthe earth bore a strong resemblance to the cube, and the form ofthe celestial spheres to the dodecahedron» — capítulo 9: la Epístola atribuye a Euclides, en la última sección de su libro, la semejanza de la tierra con el cubo y de las esferas celestes con el dodecaedro

«Concerning the superiority of [the number] 8, we may add the statement ofthe wise mathematicians that between the diameters ofthe celestial spheres and that of the earth and the air202 there is a musical proportion» — capítulo 9: la Epístola atribuye a los matemáticos sabios la tesis de que entre los diámetros de las esferas celestes y el de la tierra hay proporción musical

«the diameter ofthe sphere ofthe moon is 12; the diameter of the sphere of Mercury is 13; the diameter of the sphere of Venus is 16; the diameter ofthe sphere of the sun is 18; the diameter of the sphere ofMars is 21 'l2; the diameter of the sphere of Jupiter is 24; [the diameter of the sphere of] Saturn is 27Y9;204 and the diameter of the sphere of the fixed stars is 32» — capítulo 9: la tabla de diámetros de las esferas que la Epístola da, de la luna a las estrellas fijas, con las cifras tal como las imprime el escaneo; extraído con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una tabla releída entera en el crudo

«the relationship of the diameter of [the sphere of] the moon to that of [the sphere of] the earth is 3:2, and to that ofthe air 4:3; the relationship of the diameter of Venus to that of the earth is 2:1, and to that of the moon 4:3; the relationship of the diameter of the sun to that of the air [po 216] is 2:1, to that of the earth 21.4:1, and to that of the moon 3:2; the relationship ofthe diameter ofJupiter to that ofthe moon is 2:1, and to that of the earth 3:1, and to Venus 3:2; the relationship of the diameter of the fIXed stars to that of Jupiter is 5:4,205 to Venus 2:1, to the sun 1%:1,206 to the moon 2%:1,207 and to the earth 4:1» — y las razones musicales que la Epístola saca de esas cifras, del 3:2 entre la luna y la tierra al 4:1 entre las estrellas fijas y la tierra; la nota de Wright marca dos de esas proporciones como incorrectas y los manuscritos unánimes; el *[po 216]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut, y se extrajo con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una tabla releída entera

«Mercury, Mars, and Saturn have different relationships, for which reason they are said to be of ill omen» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara de mal agüero a Mercurio, Marte y Saturno porque sus relaciones quedan fuera de esa serie de proporciones

«These sages have also said that between the relative sizes of these heavenly bodies, there are relationships ofvarious orders, arithmetical, geometrical, or musical, and, similarly, such relationships also subsist between them and the body ofthe earth, some being noble and perfect [sharifa fadila] , others less so, this being a matter too long to explain» — y remite a los mismos sabios la existencia de relaciones aritméticas, geométricas y musicales entre los tamaños de los cuerpos celestes, unas nobles y perfectas y otras menos

«Given what we have said, we have clarified that the sum total of the physical world - with all its celestial spheres and individual heavenly bodies, its four elements, and the way the whole is internally arranged208 - is organized, combined, and [its parts] placed in relation to one another according to the above-mentioned proportions; and that the whole physical world functions like a single organism Uzayawan] or human being or city, and that He who organized, formed, arranged, composed, instigated, and created it (fo1. 51b) is One and unique» — capítulo 9: la conclusión cosmológica de la Epístola, que el mundo físico entero está ordenado según esas proporciones, funciona como un solo organismo y remite a un ordenador único; el *(fo1. 51b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«A further noble property [fadila] of 8, dear brother, may God aid you and us, is that when you consider and peruse the things that exist, you will find that many of them are eightfold, like the natures of the four elements, [which, with their combinations,] hot and dry, hot and wet, cold and dry, cold and wet, make eight. These are the bases of whatever exists in nature and the origin [(un~ur] of living things subject to corruption» — capítulo 9: la Epístola abre la serie de propiedades nobles del ocho con las cuatro naturalezas de los elementos y sus combinaciones, que suman ocho

«It is also a noble property of8 that you will find the complementary positions [muna?arat] ofthe heavenly bodies at eight specific locations in the heavenly sphere, to the exclusion ofothers» — y la segunda propiedad: las ocho posiciones complementarias de los cuerpos celestes en la esfera; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«trine, quartile, and sextile aspectsYo [po 217] These eight are also one of the causes [asbab] of [astrological influence upon]211 living things subject to decay in the sublunary sphere» — y su continuación en la plana siguiente, con los aspectos que la nota de Wright traduce en grados y su alcance astrológico sobre los vivientes corruptibles; el *[po 217]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«When you consider and reflect further, you will find that the [names ofthe] twenty-eight letters ofArabic, which correspond to the twenty-eight mansions ofthe moon,212 are spelt with [the aid of] the eight letters a, I,f, y, rn, n, d, and W;213 the prosodic feet found in Arabic poetry are eight in number;214 and the [rhythmic] types [ajnasF1S ofArab song are also eight in number, as we shall also make clear in another chapter» — capítulo 9: la Epístola alinea tres octetos, las veintiocho letras árabes que corresponden a las veintiocho mansiones lunares y se escriben con ocho letras, los ocho pies prosódicos y los ocho tipos rítmicos del canto árabe

«It is said that paradise has eight levels and the fires [of hell] seven gates,216 and we have explained the truth of this in the epistle on the resurrection and the day ofjudgement [Epistle 38]» — y añade los ocho niveles del paraíso frente a las siete puertas del infierno, con remisión a la Epístola 38; la nota de Wright señala que esa epístola no habla de las siete puertas

«Ifyou consider existing things in this way, dear brother, may He aid you, and examine the conditions ofliving beings, you will find many things that are twofold, threefold, fourfold, fivefold, sixfold, sevenfold, eightfold, ninefold, tenfold, and so on. By mentioning eightfold things we wished to arouse you from the slumber offorgetfulness» — capítulo 9: la Epístola acota su propio argumento numérico, reconoce que hay conjuntos de todos los tamaños y declara que insistió en el ocho para despertar al lector del sueño del olvido

«You should know who the Seveners are, obsessed with expatiating on sevenfold» — y nombra a los Seveners por su obsesión con lo séptuple; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright

«things, setting them above [all] others; their views are partial and their pronouncements incomplete. Similarly with the dualists as regard twofold things, the Christians with their trinitarianism, the scholars ofthe natural sciences [tabi'iyyun] with sets offour, the Khurramiyya218 with sets offive, and the Hindus and the Kayyaliyya219 with their sets of nine» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente: la objeción de parcialidad que la Epístola extiende a dualistas, cristianos trinitarios, naturalistas cuaternarios, jurramíes y a hindúes y kayyalíes

«But this is not the way of our noble brethren, may God aid them and us with a spirit ofHis, wherever they may be; on the contrary, their views are rounded, their researches comprehensive, their knowledge encyclopaedic, and their insight all-embracing» — capítulo 9: la Epístola declara lo que distingue a los propios Ikhwan de esas escuelas, que sus miras son redondas y su conocimiento enciclopédico

«Let us return to our topic, and state that we have clarified, through what we have expounded, aspects of the construction of the lute, the number of its strings, the relationship between their respective thicknesses and thinnesses, the number of their frets, the method of mounting [shadd]220 them and the [intervallic] relationship between them,221 according [to the principle] that the best-made artefacts, the most perfect combinations [rnurakkabat], and outstanding compositions [rnu)allafat] , are those in which the arrangement [ta)lifJ ofthe parts and the organization ofthe structure [tarkib] are perfectly proportioned» — capítulo 9: la Epístola recapitula lo dicho del laúd y enuncia el principio que lo gobierna, que la mejor obra es aquella en que la disposición de las partes está perfectamente proporcionada

«It is because ofthis that most listeners come to enjoy them and most people ofintelligence approve their creation [po 218] and use, and [it is because of this that] they are sung in the assemblies of kings and rulers» — y la consecuencia que de ahí saca sobre el gusto: por eso agradan a la mayoría y se cantan en las asambleas de los reyes; el *[po 218]* es la paginación de Beirut

«Another perfect, well-structured product is the art of language and speech. That is, the best utterance is that which is clear and effective (fo1. 52a), and the most perfectly effective is that which is eloquent, and the supremely eloquent is that which has metre and rhyme; the most enjoyable metred verse is that which is regular and without prosodic variations,222 and the verse without prosodic variations is that in which the long and short syllables follow a regularly recurring pattern» — capítulo 10: la Epístola traslada el mismo principio al lenguaje, con una escala que va de lo claro a lo elocuente y de ahí al verso con metro y rima; el *(fo1. 52a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«Examples ofsuch [patterns] are the metres tawil, madid, and basit, each of which is compounded from eight prosodic feet, namely» — y los tres metros con que la Epístola ejemplifica, cada uno compuesto de ocho pies prosódicos

«eight short + long syllable pairs [watid]. 225 In alt they are made up of forty-eight letters, twenty ofwhich are syllable-final, and twenty-eight syllable-initial» — capítulo 10: la Epístola descompone esos ocho pies hasta las cuarenta y ocho letras, veinte finales de sílaba y veintiocho iniciales; el tramo empieza en la plana 166 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior

«Each hemistich is made up oftwenty-four letters, ten syllable-final and fourteen syllable-initial. The half hemistich, or quarter line, is made up oftwelve letters, five syllable-final and seven syllable-initial. The relationship of the five to the seven in the quarter line is like the relationship ofthe ten to the fourteen in the hemistich and the twenty to the twenty-eight in the whole line» — y muestra que la proporción se conserva de la cuarta parte del verso al hemistiquio y al verso entero

«The relationship ofsyllable-final letters to syllable-initial letters in one third ofthe line [6:8] is like the relationship of syllable-final to syllable-initial letters in a hemistich and like the relationship of syllable-final to syllable-initial letters in a whole line. This is an example ofthe structural principle that applies in every line» — capítulo 10: la Epístola repite el cálculo para los metros wafir y kamil y declara ese reparto principio estructural de todo verso

«We have also demonstrated through this example that the bestformed products and the most perfect combinations are those in which the conjunction of the parts and the structural basis both accord with the proportional ideal» — capítulo 10: la Epístola repite su principio tras el diagrama circular del metro, que lo mejor formado es aquello cuya conjunción de partes se ajusta al ideal proporcional; el *[po 219]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut El impreso parte *best-formed* en el fin de renglón y `span()` lo unió en *bestformed*; léase *best-formed* (declarado en la auditoría del 2026-09-12).

«Another example of this is provided by calligraphy, the most noble of the arts, that in which, with its many forms and varied styles, ministers, scribes, and cultured courtiers all take pride. This is because every people has a script which differs from those of the others - for example, Arabic, Persian, Syriac, Hebrew, Latin, Greek, Indian,230 etc., the total being known only to God, who created them with their varied tongues, colours, natures, characters, arts, sciences, and fields of knowledge - all this by His extensive knowledge, His effective will, and His perfect (fo1. 52b) wisdom, glory and praise be unto Him» — capítulo 10: la Epístola pasa a la caligrafía, que llama la más noble de las artes, y atribuye a Dios la variedad de escrituras, lenguas y colores; el *(fo1. 52b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«In this chapter we wish to mention the fundamental structure of letters, the way their [elements] are combined, the measure of their dimensions, and the ideal proportions oftheir shapes» — capítulo 10: la Epístola anuncia el asunto del capítulo, la estructura fundamental de las letras y las proporciones ideales de sus formas

«We may state that the foundation ofthe letters ofscripts, for whichever language they have been devised, to whichever nation they belong, with whichever form of pen they have been written or with whichever kind ofengraving they have been formed, and however many they may be, is based in every case on the straight line which is the diameter ofa circle and the curved line which is its circumference. All letters, then, are compounded from these two and composed in the way we have elucidated in the epistle on geometry, which introduces this science» — y su tesis caligráfica: toda letra de toda escritura se funda en la recta que es el diámetro de un círculo y la curva que es su circunferencia

«With regard to what we have stated, let us give an explanatory example taken from the letters of the Arabic script, to provide proof of the veracity of our claim and of the truth of our characterization of the letters as being all derived from straight and curved lines, one being the diameter of a circle and the other its circumference» — y anuncia la demostración por el alfabeto árabe

«Now that we have demonstrated with the above that all letters and scripts are derived from a straight line which is the diameter of a circle and a curved line which is its circumference, we wish, further, to demonstrate that the most excellent ofscripts, the soundest style of writing, and the best composed is that in which the measurement of the letters relative to each other stands in the most perfect proportion» — capítulo 10: la Epístola pasa de la forma de la letra a su medida, y declara mejor la escritura en que las letras guardan entre sí la proporción más perfecta

«Let us first quote the practitioners of this craft, that is, the craft of penmanship, in order to give a stronger justification [for this] and a clearer demonstration, leading to a more secure analogical rule» — y vuelve a apelar a los practicantes del oficio, aquí los calígrafos, como antes a los músicos

«The skilful scribe and geometer236 has said that he who wishes to have an excellent hand and a correct style should give it a basic measure [a~l], according to which his letters are constructed, and a standard [qanun], to which his strokes are correlated» — capítulo 10: la Epístola cita al escriba y geómetra hábil, que pide una medida básica y un canon para construir las letras

«An example ofthis in the Arabic script would be first to assign an arbitrary unit ofmeasurement to the letter \, making its width in the proportion ofone eighth of its length, then to make \the diameter of a circle» — y el ejemplo concreto: la primera letra con anchura de un octavo de su longitud, y su trazo tomado por diámetro del círculo

«What we have enunciated about the proportions ofthe letters and the measures oftheir dimensions relative to one another is determined by the laws of geometry and ideal proportions» — capítulo 10: la Epístola declara que las proporciones de las letras que acaba de enunciar se determinan por las leyes de la geometría y las proporciones ideales

«However, what is generally acknowledged by people and approved by scribes is not congruent with the measures and proportions we have enunciated because, according to function, they have selective preferences,241 as determined by long experience and force of habit» — y admite de inmediato el desacuerdo con la práctica: lo que los escribas aprueban no coincide con esas medidas, por preferencias de uso y costumbre

«Now that the measures of the letters and the magnitude of their lengths have become clear, given what we have stated about the essence of noble proportions, we wish to add something about the nature of their forms, the drawing oftheir shapes, and the manner in which they are conjoined, according to the requirements of analogy and rule, in geometric fashion» — capítulo 10: la Epístola anuncia el paso de la medida a la forma del trazo

«that the forms of the letters (fo1. 53b) of scripts are multifarious and ofdifferent kinds, as has been mentioned above, and they accord with the functions and selections agreed on by master scribes, for reasons that it would take too long to explain» — capítulo 10: la Epístola reconoce la variedad de formas de letra y la remite al acuerdo de los maestros escribas; el *[po 222]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut y el *(fo1. 53b)* el folio del manuscrito

«However, we may make an abbreviated statement in three propositions, based upon the laws of geometry and the analogical method of philosophy, as stipulated by the skilful scribe and geometer, who has said that the forms ofall letters, to whichever community242 they belong, in whichever language they are expressed, and with whichever type of pen they are drawn, must follow the norms of curvature and inclination - except for the \in the Arabic script; the thickness ofthe letters must follow the norms of rotation;243 and when they are put together, the changes of direction must all follow the norms ofbeing angled or rounded» — y resume en tres proposiciones la norma del escriba y geómetra: curvatura e inclinación, grosor por rotación y cambios de dirección angulosos o redondeados

«of the head, proportionate to the size ofthe body; the circumference245 of the face, proportionate to the width of the chest; the shape of the eyes, proportionate to the shape» — capítulo 10: arranque del catálogo de proporciones del cuerpo humano que la Epístola despliega, de la cabeza al bazo; el tramo empieza a media frase porque el periodo arranca al pie de la plana anterior y el *[po 223]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«of the stomach;246 the width of the throat, proportionate to the size of the lung; the length and thickness ofthe limbs, proportionate to the size of the bones; the length and curvature of the ribs proportionate to the rib-cage;247 and the length and width of the veins proportionate to the distance between the sections ofthe body» — y la continuación de ese catálogo en la plana siguiente, de la garganta a las venas

«In this way, when every part of the human body is carefully considered, it will be found to be in a certain proportion to the body as a whole and to have another proportion in relation to each individual part, (fo1. 54a) knowledge ofthe true nature ofwhich belongs solely to God Almighty, who created it and gave it form as and how He wished» — capítulo 11: la Epístola declara que cada parte del cuerpo guarda proporción con el todo y con cada otra parte, y reserva a Dios el conocimiento de su naturaleza verdadera; el *(fo1. 54a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«As God, majestic is His bounty, has stated, We create man in thefinest state,z48 and, further, He createdyou, shaped you, proportioned you, in whateverform He chose» — y lo respalda con dos citas coránicas sobre la hechura y la proporción del hombre, con las palabras unidas tal como las imprime el escaneo

«that when the sperm in the womb is unaffected by the harm that may come to it there from defects of the humours, alterations of temperament [mizaj], or inauspicious astrological conjunctions, both at the moment of conception and month by month during the early stages [of pregnancy], and when the body is completely developed and reaches its final form, as we have explained in an[other] epistle of ours [Epistle 25],250 the child emerges from the womb physically sound and perfectly formed» — capítulo 11: la Epístola condiciona la forma ideal del cuerpo a que el semen en el vientre no sufra daño de los humores, del temperamento ni de conjunciones astrológicas desfavorables

«It will have a height of eight of its hand-spans [shibr]; two hand-spans from its knee-caps to the soles ofits feet; two hand-spans from its knees to its groin; two hand-spans from its groin to the top of the heart; two hand-spans from the top of the heart to the parting» — y da la medida canónica del recién nacido, ocho palmos de altura repartidos de dos en dos

«When it opens its hands and stretches [its arms] right and left like a bird stretching its wings, the distance from the finger-tips ofthe right hand to those ofthe left will be found to be eight hand-spans, [po 224] the half-way point being reached at the clavicle,251 and the quarter, at the elbow» — capítulo 11: la Epístola iguala la envergadura de los brazos abiertos con la altura, ocho palmos; el *[po 224]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«When it stretches its hand out above its head, and a pair ofcompasses with one point on its navel is extended to its fingertips, and a circle is described to the tips of its toes, the distance between them will be equal to ten hand-spans - a quarter more than its height» — y el círculo centrado en el ombligo que da diez palmos, la figura que Wright compara con el hombre vitruviano de Leonardo da Vinci

«The length ofits face from the point of its chin to the onset ofhair above its forehead will be found to be a hand-span and an eighth; the distance between its ears will be found to be a hand-span and a quarter; the length ofits nose will be found to be a quarter ofa hand-span; the length ofeach ofthe apertures ofits eyes will be found to be an eighth of a hand-span; and the length ofits forehead, a third of the length of its face; the length of the aperture of the mouth and each lip will be found to be equal to the length ofthe nose; the length ofeach foot will be found to be a hand-span and a quarter; and the length ofthe hand from the base ofthe wrist to the tip ofthe middle finger, a hand-span; the length of its thumb and little finger will be found to be equal; the tip of the ring finger is one eighth of a hand-span longer than that of the little finger; the same difference occurs between the middle and the ring finger and also [between the middle finger and] the first finger; the width of its chest will be found to be a hand-span and a half; the distance between its nipples, a hand-span; the distance from its navel to its genitals, a hand-span; and from the top of its heart to its clavicle, a hand-span; and the distance between its shoulders will be found to be two hand-spans» — capítulo 11: el detalle de las proporciones faciales y de los miembros que la Epístola enumera, de la cara y la nariz a los dedos y los hombros; extraído con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una lista larga releída entera en el crudo

«According to this model, and by analogy, the anatomical structure [binya] of all animals will be found to be proportionate; the parts of every form of every species [naw(] [are proportionate] to its body as a whole and [also] proportionate to each other, either quantitively, qualitatively, or both, being in no way deficient if they are unaffected by the harm that may come to them at conception and during gestation» — capítulo 12: la Epístola extiende la proporción a la estructura anatómica de todos los animales, con la misma reserva de los daños de la concepción y la gestación; el *(fol. 54b)* es el folio del manuscrito

«And it is according to the same analogy and model that skilled artists produce their artefacts, whether shaped, sculpted, or painted, so as to be proportionate to one another in construction, composition, and arrangement, in all these respects emulating the work of the Creator, exalted be His name, and imitating His wisdom, just as it has been stated in defining philosophy that it is an imitation of the deity to the extent that human faculties allow» — y de ahí pasa al arte humano: el artista proporciona sus obras imitando la obra del Creador, con la definición de la filosofía como imitación de la deidad hasta donde alcanza el hombre; el *[po 225]* anterior es la paginación de Beirut

«through considering the examples mentioned above in these chapters which demonstrate that the best-made artefact, the most masterly construction, and the most beautiful composition is that in which perfect proportion determines the form of its structure and, likewise, the composition ofits parts, that they provide an analogy and a demonstration to every reflective, intelligent thinker that the structure of the celestial spheres and their heavenly bodies, the dimensions of their parts, the measures of the elements, and what is derived from them are also placed in relation to each other according to the most perfect proportion» — capítulo 12: la Epístola convierte los ejemplos anteriores en analogía cosmológica, que las esferas, los cuerpos celestes y los elementos están puestos en relación según la proporción más perfecta

«and that these corresponding motions engender delightful, pleasing» — y su corolario, que esos movimientos correspondientes engendran tonos deleitosos; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana

«harmonious253 tones, as we have explained in relation to the motions and tones ofthe strings ofthe lute» — y la continuación en la plana siguiente, que remite esos tonos a lo explicado sobre las cuerdas del laúd

«Ifa person ofintelligence ponders and considers [the matter] it will thereupon become clear to him and he will know that they have a creator who has made them and a skilled artificer who has constructed them and a benign composer who has organized them» — capítulo 12: la Epístola declara que al inteligente que pondera esto se le hará claro que hay un creador, un artífice y un componedor benigno detrás

«He will be convinced of this, and there will be an end to the deluded suspicions which beset the erring mind of many a sceptic; doubts will be allayed and the truth will be evident» — y el efecto que le atribuye: acabar con las sospechas del escéptico y disipar las dudas

«and he will also know and see clearly that from the movements ofthese bodies and the tones they produce, their inhabitants experience pleasure and delight, just as the inhabitants of this world experience pleasure and delight from the tones of the lute strings, whereupon their souls yearn to ascend [to the world above] in order to listen to these [harmonies] and to gaze upon these [movements]» — capítulo 12: la Epístola cierra la cadena con el anhelo del alma de ascender para oír esas armonías y ver esos movimientos

«just as the soul ofHermes [po 226] Trismegistus ascended and saw - he who is Idris the prophet, peace be upon him, referred to in His words We raised him to a high position» — capítulo 12: la Epístola pone por caso el ascenso del alma de Hermes Trismegisto, a quien identifica con el profeta Idris, con la cita coránica de su elevación; el *[po 226]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«and just as the soul of the sage Pythagoras heard, after it had been purified of its base physical desires and refined by spiritual thought and arithmetical, geometrical, and musical mathematics» — y el segundo caso, el de Pitágoras, cuya alma oyó después de purificarse de los apetitos físicos y refinarse en la aritmética, la geometría y la música

«So strive, dear brother, may God aid you and us with a spirit of His, to purify your soul and free it from the sea of matter, the fetters of nature, and the enslavement of physical appetites; (fol. 55a) do as the wise have done, for the substance of your soul partakes of the substances of theirs, and act according to the prescriptions ofthe books of the prophets» — capítulo 12: la exhortación práctica de la Epístola, purificar el alma y librarla del mar de la materia y de las cadenas de la naturaleza; el *(fol. 55a)* es el folio del manuscrito

«Purify your soul of that which is morally bad, of corrupt ideas, of accumulated folly, and evil acts, for it is such characteristics that prevent it from ascending there after death, as God, exalted be He, has enunciated: The gates ofheaven will not be open to them; even ifa thick rope were to pass through the eye of a needle they would not enter the Garden» — y lo que hay que quitarle, con la cita coránica de las puertas del cielo y la cuerda por el ojo de la aguja

«You should know that the substance of your soul comes from the celestial sphere; it descended at the time of conception, as we have explained in one of our epistles [Epistle 25], and it will return there after death, which marks its separation from the body, just as the body is of dust and will return to dust after death» — capítulo 12: la Epístola declara el origen celeste del alma, su descenso en la concepción y su retorno tras la muerte, frente al cuerpo que vuelve al polvo

«that this terrestrial life, for the souls that are incarnated until the moment ofseparation that is death, is comparable to the time the foetus spends in the womb from the moment of conception until birth» — y la analogía con que lo cierra: la vida terrestre es al alma lo que el vientre al feto

«You should know that death is nothing other than the sours departure from the body, just as birth is nothing other than the foetus' departure from the womb, as Jesus, peace be upon him, said, 'whoever is not born twice shall not ascend to the kingdom ofheaven» — capítulo 12: la Epístola define la muerte como salida del alma del cuerpo, paralela al nacimiento, y la respalda con una sentencia que atribuye a Jesús sobre el nacer dos veces; el escaneo imprime *sours* por soul's

«and as God, praised be He, has said, concerning the attributes ofthe inhabitants of paradise, After the one death they will taste death no more,257 which is the departure ofthe soul [po 227] from the body a single time according to the above-mentioned condition» — y la cita coránica de los que no volverán a probar la muerte, leída como la salida del alma una sola vez; el *[po 227]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«As for the damned, they are those who desire to return to this world and to cleave to their bodies once more; but they will taste death once more, as God, exalted be He, has stated, quoting them, They will say, 'Our Lord, twice You have caused us to be lifeless and twice You have brought us to life. Now we recognize our sins. Is there any way out» — capítulo 12: los condenados según la Epístola son los que quieren volver a este mundo y pegarse otra vez al cuerpo, con la cita coránica de las dos muertes

«Let us return to the rules of the Arab rhythms [aNuln]261 that we had promised to discuss. We can state that Arab song and its rhythms have eight fundamental structures [qawanin] that are like its species [ajnas]; everything is derived [yatafarra'] from them, and the remaining [manifestations] are traced back [yunsab] to them, in the same way that in poetry there are eight feet [maqati'J - all the prosodic cycles [dawa'ir] and the metres [anwtf] they contain are compounded [yatarakkab] from them, and the remaining [manifestations] are traced back to them, being assessed by analogy [yuqas] with them,262 as is stated in treatises on prosody and commentaries on them» — capítulo 13: la Epístola repite el marco del análisis rítmico, ocho estructuras fundamentales de las que todo se deriva, igual que los ocho pies de la prosodia

«Of the eight which are the fundamentals [qawanin] ofArab song, the first is the first heavy [thaqil awwal]; then the light ofthe heavy [khafif al-thaqil]; then the second heavy [thaqil thani]; then its [corresponding] light [khafifuh]; then ramal; then the light oframal [khafifal-ramal]; then the light of the light [khafifal-khafif]; then hazaj» — y nombra los ocho por su nombre árabe, del primer pesado al hazaj; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota

«These eight are like species [ajnas], and the remainder are like (fo1. 55b) subtypes [anwa'] that branch off from them and are subsumed by them» — declarándolos géneros de los que los demás se ramifican; el *(fo1. 55b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«one heavy isolated [mufrad] one followed by a pause [sakin]) 266 then five attacks following one which is suppressed [wa/:lida matwiyya fi awwaliha]. 267 It is like uttering mafculun mafmafacilun maf, that is, tan tan tan tan tanan tan tan tan» — capítulo 13: la definición del primer pesado, con su cuenta de ataques, su fórmula prosódica y su mnemotecnia silábica; es la primera de las ocho del capítulo, todas construidas igual, y el tramo empieza en la plana 179 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior

«Then the pattern (iq,f] returns and is constantly repeated until the musician [musiqar] falls silent» — y la regla de repetición: el patrón vuelve una y otra vez hasta que el músico calla

«The second heavy consists ofeleven attacks: three consecutive ones, then a pause [naqra sakina], [then another attack,J269 then one heavy one) then six attacks following a suppressed one lfi awwaliha tayy]. It is like uttering mafculun mafcu mafitilun mafu, or tan tan tan tan tan tanan tan tan tan tan» — capítulo 13: la definición del segundo pesado, segunda de las ocho, con la misma estructura de cuenta, fórmula y mnemotecnia

«matrices [a$l wa-qawanin] ofall Arab song. The songs and rhythms of non-Arab [musics], such as Persian, Byzantine, and Greek,281 have other matrices that differ from these, but despite their multiplicity ofgenera [ajnas] and variety oftypes [funun anwaciha], none ofthem dispenses with the basic principles that we have mentioned before this chapter» — capítulo 14, cierre: la Epístola acota el alcance de sus ocho ciclos al canto árabe y reconoce que persas, bizantinos y griegos tienen matrices distintas, aunque ninguna prescinde de los principios básicos; el *[po 229]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«has made both the natural phenomena that are subject to being and decay and the causes and reasons that occasion their existence to be mostly fourfold. Some are in opposition to each other [mutat;iadd], others concordant [mutashakil], according to the precision of their creation and the perfection of [the divine] wisdom [that underlies them],282 knowledge of the essence ofwhich none ofHis creatures can» — capítulo 14: la Epístola declara cuaternaria la hechura de los fenómenos naturales y de sus causas, unos opuestos y otros concordantes; el tramo empieza en la plana 182 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior, donde está el *(fol. 56a)*

«We wish to enumerate some ofthese opposed and concordant tetrads in order to alert those heedless spirits that have failed to consider them, to urge them to reflect and learn from them, and to aid those spirits searching for knowledge of their causes and seeking [to fathom] the wisdom they embody» — y declara el propósito del catálogo de cuaternas que sigue: despertar a los espíritus distraídos y ayudar a los que buscan

«Among the most evident and obvious of tetrads are the four seasons into which the year is divided: spring, summer, autumn, and winter» — y abre la serie por la cuaterna más evidente, las cuatro estaciones

«Corresponding to spring, we have: of the zodiac, the section from the beginning of Aries to the end of Gemini; of the quarters of the celestial sphere, the eastern quarter that ascends [the ecliptic from the vernal equinox] to the turning point of the summer solstice [watid al-samif];284 of the month, the first quarter: seven days from the beginning ofthe month; ofthe applications [itti~alat] ofthe heavenly bodies, [the movement through] the left quadrantL from east to north];285 of the elements, air; of the natures, heat and wetness; of the cardinal points, south;286 of the winds, the south» — capítulo 14: arranque del bloque de la primavera, del signo zodiacal y el cuadrante celeste al elemento, la naturaleza y el viento; el tramo se corta al pie de la plana, donde entran las notas de Wright, y los otros tres bloques se construyen igual

«of the day, the first six hours of the day-time; of the humours, blood; of the four ages of man, childhood; of the natural faculties [quwa tabi'iyya], the digestive [hat;iima];287 of the mental faculties [quwa bayawaniyya],288 the imaginative [mutakhayyila]; of manifestations in action [afCal -?,ahira], joy, pleasure, and delight; of moral qualities [akhlaq], generosity, nobility, and justice. [po 230] The sensibilia [mabsusat] that also correspond to them include such things as the g string [mathna] and its notes; and of rhythms, the zir-bamm;289 of speech and poetry, panegyric; of tastes, sweet things; of colours, the moderately tinted, like the wall-flower; of scents, a perfume of musk and ambergris, violets, marjoram, and similar warm, gentle scents» — y la continuación del bloque de la primavera en la plana siguiente, del humor y la edad a la cuerda del laúd, el ritmo, el género poético, el sabor, el color y el perfume; el *[po 230]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut; extraído con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una lista larga releída entera en el crudo

«Corresponding to summer-time, we have: of the quarters of the celestial sphere, the quarter that descends from the turning point of the summer solstice to that ofthe autumn equinox [watid al-maghrib]; of the zodiac, from the beginning of Cancer to the end of Virgo; of the quarters of the month, the second quarter, seven days; of the applications, that which goes beyond the left quadrant to the position opposite [muqabala] [the starting point]; of the elements, fire; ofthe natures, heat and dryness; ofthe cardinal points, east» — capítulo 14: el bloque del verano dentro de la serie de cuaternas, del cuadrante celeste y el signo zodiacal al elemento, la naturaleza y el punto cardinal; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota, que es de Wright

«of the mental faculties (fol. 56b), the cogitative [mufakkira]; ofmoral qualities, bravery and liberality;292 of manifestations in action, swiftness of movement, strength, and endurance» — y lo que el verano le toca del lado del hombre: la facultad cogitativa, la valentía y la liberalidad, la rapidez del movimiento y la resistencia; el *(fol. 56b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«The sensibilia that correspond293 to them include such things as, the notes of the c' string [zzr]; and of rhythms, makhurl and the like; of speech and poetry, corresponding panegyrics of warriors and citations of the brave;294 of tastes, spicy things [birrifiit]; of colours, yellow and red» — y el lado sensible del mismo bloque: la cuerda *zir*, el ritmo *makhuri*, el panegírico del guerrero, lo picante, el amarillo y el rojo; el 293 pegado al verbo es la llamada de nota de Wright

«Corresponding to autumn-time, we have: of the quarters of the celestial sphere, the quarter that descends from the turning point of the autumn equinox to that of the winter solstice [watid al-an;i]; of the zodiac, from the beginning of Libra to the end of Sagittarius; [po 231] ofthe quarters ofthe month, the third quarter: the seven days after the mid-point; of the applications, from the opposite point to the right quadrant; of the elements, earth; of the natures, cold and dryness; ofthe cardinal points, west; of the winds, the west wind;295 of the quarters of the day, the six hours from nightfall to midnight; of the humours, black bile; ofthe four ages of man, maturity [kuhula]» — capítulo 14: el bloque del otoño, del cuadrante que desciende del equinoccio a solsticio al humor de la bilis negra y a la edad madura; el *[po 231]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«Corresponding to winter-time we have: ofthe quarters ofthe celestial sphere, the quarter that ascends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox [ufuq al-mashriq];297 of the zodiac, from the beginning of Capricorn to the end of Pisces; of the quarters of the month, the last quarter: seven days; of the applications, the right quadrant; of the elements, water; of the natures, cold and wetness; of the cardinal points, north; of the winds, the north wind;298 of the quarters of the day, the second halfof the night; ofthe humours, phlegm» — capítulo 14: el bloque del invierno, con el agua por elemento, el frío y la humedad por naturaleza, el norte por punto cardinal y la flema por humor

«The sensibilia that correspond to them include such things as the notes of the A string [bamm]; and ofrhythms, hazaj and ramal; of [po 232] speech and poetry, that which praises liberality, nobility, justice, and good character; of tastes, rich and sweet dishes; ofcolours, green [to brown]; ofscents, the scent of narcissus, gillyflower, water lily, and suchlike» — y su lado sensible: la cuerda *bamm*, los ritmos *hazaj* y *ramal*, la poesía que alaba la liberalidad y la justicia, los platos ricos, el verde y el aroma del narciso; el *[po 232]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«By (fol. 57a) analogy with this model, dear brother, ifyou scrutinize the conditions of things occuring [mawjud] in nature and consider the attributes ofexisting [ka'in] sensibilia,302 you will find that they all fall into these four divisions» — capítulo 14: la Epístola pide al hermano lector extender el modelo y sostiene que todo lo que ocurre en la naturaleza cae en esas cuatro divisiones; el *(fol. 57a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«as specified by God Almighty when He said, and We created pairs ofall things,303 and when He said, He created all the pairs of things that the earth produces, as well as themselves and other things they do not know about» — y respalda la división en pares con dos citas coránicas sobre las parejas creadas; los números pegados al texto son las llamadas de nota con que Wright localiza las aleyas

«that when these concordant things are joined together in a harmonious relationship [nisba ta'lifiyya], they combine [i'talafa], doubling their potency; their effects become manifest, they overcome their opposites, and subdue that which is contrary to them» — capítulo 14: la Epístola enuncia la regla que gobierna el catálogo, que lo concordante unido en relación armoniosa duplica su potencia y vence a lo opuesto

«Through knowledge of them, doctors have been able to create medicines that successfully treat illnesses and cure sicknesses» — y de esa regla deriva la medicina: por el conocimiento de las correspondencias los médicos componen remedios que tratan la enfermedad

«A similar approach is adopted by the makers oftalismans in preparing [na$ab] them on the basis oftheir knowledge ofthe nature and properties ofthings, their correspondences, how they are structured, and the relationships underlying their composition» — capítulo 14: la Epístola pone al talismanista junto al médico como el otro que trabaja por conocimiento de las correspondencias, y describe su preparación como oficio de estructuras y relaciones

«An example ofthis is the [magic] nine-slot square which eases childbirth when the nine numbers are entered in the ninth month ofpregnancy at the ninth hour oflabour» — y da el ejemplo con que lo ilustra: el cuadrado de nueve casillas que facilita el parto si los nueve números se inscriben en el noveno mes y a la novena hora; el corchete de *[magic]* es suplencia del traductor

«The lord ofthe ascendant will be in the ninth [house], or the lord ofthe ninth [house] will be in the ascendant, or the moon will be in the ninth [house], or in aspect with [mutta$il] a heavenly body in the ninth [house] from it, and similarly with other ninefold things» — y la condición astrológica que le pone: el señor del ascendente en la novena casa, o su señor en el ascendente, o la luna allí, y lo mismo con las demás cosas novenarias

«that for every class ofobject Uinsp07 in existence, God, majestic is His bounty, by the dictates of His wisdom, has established a particular» — capítulo 15: la Epístola abre declarando que Dios dispuso para cada clase de objeto un sentido propio; el *Uinsp07* del tramo es lo que el escaneo hace del término árabe *jins* con su llamada de nota

«sense that can perceive them, and a specific faculty in the soul by which it can grasp them and understand them in a way that no other would be capable of» — continuación de esa frase al otro lado del cambio de plana: a cada clase de objeto le toca un sentido que la percibe y una facultad del alma que la comprende como ninguna otra podría

«Further, He has made it part ofthe natural disposition of every perceptive sense or cognitive faculty to take delight in its perception of the sensibilia related to it and to long for them when it is deprived ofthem, but to become bored with them when it dwells on them too long» — capítulo 15: la Epístola atribuye a la disposición natural de cada sentido tanto el deleite y el anhelo de lo suyo como el hartazgo cuando se demora demasiado en ello; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota

«Accordingly, the skilful musician is the one who, when he realizes that the listeners have become bored with a particular rhythmic-melodic combination [labn],309 will sing to them in a different one, whether contrastive or similar» — y de ahí saca la regla práctica del oficio: el músico hábil es el que cambia de combinación rítmico-melódica en cuanto advierte el hartazgo del que escucha

«You should know, dear brother, that leaving [khuruj] one such combination and moving [intiqal] from it to another can only be done in one of two ways: either he stops completely, pauses to adjust [yu$lib] the frets and the strings, increasing or decreasing the tension, and then begins again, resuming with another mode» — capítulo 15: la Epístola nombra en árabe la salida y el paso de una combinación a otra, y da la primera de las dos vías, detenerse a retocar trastes y cuerdas antes de recomenzar

«or he leaves things as they are, and goes from the first rhythm to another which is related to it and resembles it» — y la segunda vía: dejar el instrumento como está y pasar a un ritmo emparentado con el primero

«This is done by changing from a heavy cycle to the corresponding light one, or from a light cycle to the corresponding heavy one or to a similar one [ma qaraba dhalik]» — y la regla con que se hace: del ciclo pesado a su ligero correspondiente, o del ligero a su pesado, o a uno cercano

«For example, if one wishes to change from heavy ramal to makhuri, one stops at the last two percussions ofheavy ramal,311 then continues with a single percussion, makes a brief pause, and then commences» — y el ejemplo con la maniobra contada golpe a golpe, del *ramal* pesado al *makhuri*; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota con que Wright discute la lectura de los manuscritos

«arouse pleasure in rhythms that correspond to them, such as ramal and hazaj; and those that (fol. 57b) eulogize topoi ofglory, generosity, and nobility he will clothe in rhythms that correspond to them, [po 234] such as the first heavy and the second heavy; and those that eulogize topoi of bravery, valour, vigour, and impetuous action he will clothe in rhythms such as makhuri) the light, and suchlike» — capítulo 15: la Epístola reparte los ritmos por el asunto del poema que visten, el elogio de la gloria y la generosidad a los pesados y el de la bravura al *makhuri*; el *(fol. 57b)* es el folio del manuscrito y el *[po 234]* la paginación de Beirut

«It is also part ofthe musician's skill to use the rhythms corresponding to [various] moments [azman] according to the [different] moods (abwal] that correspond to them,313 that is) to begin at social invitations, feasts) and drinking parties with rhythms that reinforce the moral qualities of generosity, nobility, and liberality, such as the first heavy and the like, and then afterwards to perform joyful, gay rhythms such as hazaj and ramal, and when there is dancing [raq~] and ensembledancing [dastband],314 makhuri and the like» — y los reparte también por el momento de la reunión, de la invitación al baile; el escaneo parte *ensemble-dancing* al fin de renglón y la herramienta lo devuelve unido

«At the end ofthe session, if he is afraid that those who are drunk might be noisy, rowdy, and quarrelsome, he should use slow) calm, and sad rhythms that quieten people down and send them to sleep» — y cierra el capítulo con el remedio para el final de la sesión: ritmos lentos y tristes que apaciguan a los borrachos y los duermen

«It is related that one ofthe Greek kings held a feast) to which he invited a number of learned men) and he instructed that all the wise things they uttered should be recorded» — capítulo 16, el de las sentencias de los filósofos: la Epístola enmarca el florilegio en un banquete de un rey griego que mandó anotar lo que dijeran los sabios

«One ofthem said: Music [ghina'] has a quality that speech cannot render, and words cannot express. The soul manifests it as a rhythmical melody [labn mawzunJ,317 so that when nature hears it, it takes delight) pleasure) and enjoyment in it» — primera sentencia del florilegio: el canto tiene una cualidad que el habla no alcanza a verter, y el alma la manifiesta como melodía medida en que la naturaleza se deleita

«and intimates, and do not let nature and reflection upon its beauty deceive yoU» — cierre de esa misma sentencia al otro lado del cambio de plana: manda escuchar lo que el alma relata y no dejarse engañar por la belleza de la naturaleza; el escaneo imprime *yoU* por you

«Another said: When you listen to music [musiqi], beware its arousal of animal desires in your soul for the beauty of nature, which might seduce you from the practice of right conduct and divert you from the higher sours intimations» — segunda sentencia: advierte contra el deseo animal que la música puede despertar por la belleza de la naturaleza, y que aparta de la conducta recta; el escaneo imprime *sours* por soul's

«Another said to the musician [musiqar]: Inspire the soul towards its noble capacities of forebearance, generosity, bravery, justice, and nobility, [po 235] and do not let nature arouse its animal desires» — tercera sentencia, dirigida al músico: que inspire al alma sus capacidades nobles y no deje que la naturaleza le despierte los deseos animales; el *[po 235]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«Another said: Ifthe musician is skilled in his art, he will inspire souls towards virtuous things and banish base things from them» — cuarta sentencia: al músico diestro le atribuye inspirar a las almas lo virtuoso y desterrarles lo bajo

«Another said: It is related that a philosopher heard the sound ofa lyre» — arranque de la quinta sentencia, el relato del filósofo que oyó sonar una lira; el instrumento queda en disputa y Wright lo discute en su nota

«and said to his pupil, (Let us go towards this musician [musiqar]; he may be able to inspire us with a noble idea» — capítulo 16, quinta sentencia, al otro lado del cambio de plana: el filósofo propone a su discípulo acercarse al músico por si les inspira una idea noble; el paréntesis de apertura es lo que el escaneo hace de la comilla simple

«But when he approached, he heard that the rhythm [la~m] was irregular [ghayr mawzun] and the melody [naghma] unpleasant,321 and he said to his pupil, 'The soothsayers claim that the sound of the owl presages someone's death. If what they say is true, the voice of this musician presages the death of the owl» — y el remate del relato: oído el ritmo irregular y la melodía desagradable, el filósofo le da la vuelta al agüero del búho y dice que esa voz presagia la muerte del búho

«Another said: Although an instrument is inanimate,322 it gives clear expression, revealing the secrets of souls and the innermost recesses ofthe heart, but it is as ifwhat it says is in a foreign tongue that needs an interpreter, for its utterances lie deeper than words» — sexta sentencia: al instrumento inanimado le atribuye expresión clara de los secretos del alma, dicha como en lengua extranjera que pide intérprete porque sus enunciados calan más hondo que las palabras

«The following Persian verses were then recited, indicating the veracity ofwhat the philosopher had said» — capítulo 16: la Epístola introduce unos versos persas como respaldo de lo que el filósofo dijo

«The nocturnal lament of the lute string325 is sweeter to my ear than [the cry of] 'God is great!'» — primer dístico de esos versos: al lamento nocturno de la cuerda lo pone por encima del grito de la profesión de fe; el 325 pegado a *string* es la llamada de nota de Wright, que discute qué cuerda es el *zir*

«Although bereft of a tongue, its eloquence can interpret the lovers' story, Now making the madman sane, now casting the sane under its spell» — y el dístico final: sin lengua, la cuerda interpreta la historia de los amantes, devuelve la cordura al loco y hechiza al cuerdo

«Another said: An instrument is the musician's326 interpreter, speaking for him. If he is good at expressing ideas,327 it will convey the souls' secrets, and it will sometimes reveal what is deep in the heart. Ifit does not, though, the deficiency will be in him» — séptima sentencia: el instrumento es intérprete del músico y hablará por él, y si no llega a decir lo hondo del corazón la falta queda del lado del músico

«Another said: Even if the sounds [a$wat] and tones [naghamat] of the instrument are simple, lacking words,329 the soul is still strongly attracted to them and is (fol. 58a) quickly receptive to them because of the correspondence between the two» — octava sentencia: aunque los sonidos y tonos del instrumento sean simples y sin palabras, el alma los recibe deprisa por la correspondencia entre los dos; el *(fol. 58a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«This is because souls are also simple, non-composite spiritual substances, and so, too, are the notes ofan instrument; and things are most strongly attracted to those that are akin to them» — y la razón que da esa misma sentencia, cortada aquí porque la llamada de nota parte la frase: las almas son sustancias espirituales simples y no compuestas, como las notas, y lo semejante atrae a lo semejante

«Another said: The meanings of the notes ofan instrument and its subtle expression ofthe heart's secrets can only be understood by noble souls, unsullied by natural deficiencies, innocent of animal desires» — novena sentencia: reserva la comprensión del sentido de las notas a las almas nobles, limpias de deficiencias naturales y de deseos animales

«Another said: When the Glorious Creator conjoined individual souls with animal bodies, He combined in their nature love of bodily desires, and enabled them to partake ofphysical pleasure during youth. But He then deprived them of it in old age and made them abstain from it, in order to direct them towards the delights and joys that exist in their spiritual world and to give them a longing for them» — décima sentencia: al Creador le atribuye haber puesto en el alma el amor a los deseos del cuerpo y habérselo retirado en la vejez para volverla hacia los goces de su mundo espiritual

«you hear the tones ofan instrument, ponder on its intimations ofthe transcendental» — y el cierre de esa misma sentencia al otro lado del cambio de plana: manda ponderar, al oír los tonos del instrumento, lo que insinúan de lo trascendente

«Another said: When rational [natiq] souls are free of the filth of bodily desires, abstain from natural pleasures, and are untarnished by materiality, they intone (tarannam] sad songs, recalling their exalted and noble spiritual world and yearning for it. But if [their animal] nature hears that [same] melody, it will reveal itselfto the soul in the beauty ofits forms and the splendour of its colours, in order to draw it back. Therefore, beware the cunning of nature; do not fall into its snares» — undécima sentencia: a las almas racionales limpias de lo corporal les atribuye entonar cantos tristes de nostalgia de su mundo, y advierte que la naturaleza responde a esa misma melodía mostrando la belleza de sus formas para atraerlas de vuelta

«Another said: Hearing and sight are the best and most noble of the five senses that the Creator - sacred be His name - granted all animals. But, in my opinion, sight is superior because sight is like the day and hearing is like the night» — duodécima sentencia: pone al oído y a la vista por encima de los cinco sentidos y, en opinión de quien habla, da la primacía a la vista, que es como el día frente al oído que es como la noche

«Another said: On the contrary, hearing is better than sight because sight goes forth to seek its percepts, serving them like slaves in order to reach them, whereas the percepts of hearing are brought to it in order to serve it as kings [are served]» — decimotercera sentencia, que objeta a la anterior: el oído es mejor porque la vista sale a servir a sus perceptos como esclava y al oído se los traen como a un rey

«Another said: Sight only takes cognizance of its percepts in linear fashion, whereas hearing does so in the round» — decimocuarta sentencia: la vista conoce en línea recta y el oído en redondo

«Another said: Most ofthe percepts ofsight are physical, but all the percepts ofhearing are spiritual» — decimoquinta sentencia: los perceptos de la vista son en su mayoría físicos y los del oído, todos espirituales

«Another said: Through hearing the soul attains knowledge ofthose who are distant from it in space and time, but through sight it only attains what is temporally immediate» — decimosexta sentencia: por el oído el alma alcanza a los que están lejos en espacio y tiempo, y por la vista solo lo inmediato

«Another said: Hearing makes more acute differentiations than sight, for it can distinguish with sure taste metrically organized [mawzun] speech and proportionately related [mutanasib] tones; it can discriminate what is [metrically] correct from what is aberrant [munzabif] and deviation [khuruj] from the rhythmic cycle and the proper structure» — decimoséptima sentencia: al oído le atribuye discriminaciones más finas que a la vista, de la medida del verso a la desviación del ciclo rítmico; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota

«But sight is fallible in most ofits perceptions, for it frequently sees what is [po 237] large as small and what is small as large, what is near as far and what is far as near, what is mobile as immobile and what is immobile as mobile, what is straight as bent and what is bent as straight» — y el reverso de esa misma sentencia, la serie de engaños de la vista: lo grande por pequeño, lo cercano por lejano, lo móvil por inmóvil, lo recto por torcido; el *[po 237]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«Another said: Given the affinity and resemblance between the substance of the Soul and harmonic numbers [al-aCdad al-ta'lifiyya], (fo1. 58b) when the tones ofthe musician's melodies [albiin] are tied to a rhythm [mawzun], and the durations ofthe attacks and ofthe pauses separating them338 are proportionate [mutanasib], [people's] natures [tabaT] take enjoyment from them, [their] spirits are delighted by them» — decimoctava sentencia: pone la afinidad entre la sustancia del Alma y los números armónicos como razón de que las naturalezas gocen de las melodías medidas y proporcionadas; el *(fo1. 58b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«and [their] souls take pleasure in them because of the resemblance, proportion, and affinity between them. Similar considerations apply to evaluating the beauty offaces and the splendour ofnatural phenomena because the beauties of things existing in nature result from the harmony [tanasub] oftheir colours and the judicious ordering [busn al-taJLif] of their constituent parts» — capítulo 16, cierre de la decimoctava sentencia al otro lado del cambio de plana: extiende la misma razón a la belleza de los rostros y de lo natural, que atribuye a la armonía de los colores y al buen orden de las partes

«Another said: The gaze of onlookers only fixes itself on faces that are beautiful because they reveal traces of the world of the Soul, and because most visible things in this world are not beautiful, having been affected by deleterious and distorting defects, either at the original stage oftheir composition [tarkib] or later» — decimonovena sentencia: si la mirada se detiene en los rostros bellos es porque revelan rastros del mundo del Alma, y lo visible de este mundo no suele serlo por defectos de composición o posteriores

«A demonstration ofthat is the fact that newly born young are more finely structured and elegant in form and appearance because of their proximity in time to the completion of the Creator's work on them; and similarly with the beauty and splendour ofplants in the earliest phase of their existence, before they are affected by the ravages of age, decrepitude, and corruption» — y lo que aduce la misma sentencia: los recién nacidos y las plantas en su primera fase son más bellos por su cercanía a la obra del Creador, antes de los estragos de la edad

«Another said: The gaze of individual UuzJi) souls only fixes itself longingly upon beautiful things because of the affinity between them resulting from the fact that the beauties of this world contain traces of the perfect [kulli] celestial souls» — vigésima sentencia: la mirada del alma individual se detiene con anhelo en lo bello por afinidad, porque las bellezas de este mundo llevan rastros de las almas celestes perfectas; el *UuzJi)* es lo que el escaneo hace del término árabe *juz'i*

«Another said: The measure [wazn] ofthe musician's strokes [naqarat] and the proportions between them, and the delightful nature of their tones, inform individual souls that the movements of the celestial spheres and the heavenly bodies produce proportionate, harmonious, delightful tones» — vigesimoprimera sentencia: la medida de los golpes del músico y sus proporciones informan al alma individual de que los movimientos de las esferas y los astros producen tonos proporcionados y armoniosos

«Another said: When images of beautiful percepts are inscribed [~uwwira] on individual souls, they become analogous to and correspond to the perfect [kulli) Soul and are filled with longing for it and the desire to be conjoined with it» — vigesimosegunda sentencia: las imágenes de lo bello inscritas en el alma individual la vuelven análoga al Alma perfecta y la llenan del deseo de unirse con ella

«ascend to the heavenly realm and are united with the [po 238] highest host [aI-mala' al-acla], and thereupon they become sure of eternity, are safe from annihilation, and experience the pleasure ofexistence in [a state of] purity» — y el remate de esa sentencia al otro lado del cambio de plana: al dejar la cáscara corporal las almas suben y se unen a la hueste altísima; el *[po 238]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«There ensued the following exchange with another speaker: 'What is "the highest host"?' 'Those who dwell in the heavens, and the inhabitants ofthe celestial spheres.' 'So how can they see and hear» — vigesimotercera sentencia, escrita como diálogo: preguntan qué es la hueste altísima, responden que los que habitan los cielos y las esferas, y repreguntan cómo pueden ver y oír

«If there were no one in the world of the celestial spheres and the expanse ofthe heavens who could see those regular movements, look at those virtuous beings, and hear those delightful well-measured [mawzun] tones, Divine Wisdom would then have created something pointless, and it is an accepted principle amongst the wise that nature has not created anything that is pointless and has no use» — y la respuesta con que se cierra el diálogo: si nadie hubiera allí para ver los movimientos regulares y oír los tonos medidos, la Sabiduría divina habría creado algo sin objeto, contra el principio de que la naturaleza nada hace en vano

«Another said: If there are no beings and inhabitants in the vast space ofthe celestial spheres and the expanse of the heavens, they will be desolate and empty, and how could the wisdom ofthe Creator allow the vast space ofthese celestial spheres to remain, despite the nobility of their substance, empty, void, and desolate, without any beings there» — vigesimocuarta sentencia: pregunta cómo permitiría el Creador que el espacio de las esferas quedara vacío y desolado pese a la nobleza de su sustancia

«when he did not leave the dark, bitter, salty bottom of the seas empty, but, rather, created in their depths a variety of creatures, so many kinds offish, whales, (fo1. 59a) and others that only God, exalted be His name, who created, formed, and shaped them could count the number of their species and kinds» — y el argumento por analogía con que lo sostiene: no dejó vacío el fondo oscuro y salado del mar sino que lo pobló de peces y ballenas; el *(fo1. 59a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«and when He did not leave the delicate air empty, but, rather, created for it various kinds ofbirds that 'swim' in it just as the fish and whales swim in the waters; and when He did not leave the dry land, the desolate places and the towering mountains [empty], but, rather, created in them various animals and wild beasts» — y la serie sigue por el aire con sus aves, que nadan en él como los peces en el agua, y por la tierra seca y las montañas con sus animales

«Another said: The animal species that inhabit this world are only representations [ashbab] and likenesses [mithalat] of those forms [~uwar] and beings that inhabit the world of the celestial spheres and the expanse ofthe heavens, just as the pictures and images [~uwar] on the surface ofwalls and ceilings are representations and likenesses ofthe forms of these flesh and blood animals» — vigesimoquinta sentencia: las especies animales de este mundo son representaciones y semejanzas de las formas del mundo de las esferas, como las pinturas de los muros lo son de los animales de carne y hueso

«Another said: Ifthere are creatures there that are devoid ofhearing, sight, [po 239] intellect, comprehension, speech, and discrimination, they will be deaf, dumb and blind» — vigesimosexta sentencia: si allí hubiera criaturas sin oído, vista, intelecto ni habla, serían sordas, mudas y ciegas; el *[po 239]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«Another said: Ifthey have hearing and sight, but there are no sounds to be heard and no tones to occasion delight, their hearing and sight are pointless and useless;345 but ifthey have powers ofhearing, these will be ofa nobler and better kind than those we have because their substances are purer, more radiant, finer, and more complete and perfect» — vigesimoséptima sentencia: sin sonidos que oír, el oído y la vista de allá serían inútiles, y si oyen, su oído es de especie más noble que el nuestro porque su sustancia es más pura

«Another said: The musical rhythms [alban] that exist here have actually been created by the wise to be analogous [mumathil] to what exists there [in the other world], just as instruments of observation such as the astrolabe, water gauges,346 and annular devices have been constructed to be analogous to what is there» — vigesimoctava sentencia: a los sabios les atribuye haber creado los ritmos musicales de aquí como análogos de lo de allá, igual que el astrolabio, los medidores de agua y los instrumentos de anillos

«Another said: If the sensibilia that are there are not nobler and better than what is here. and souls have no access to them, then the philosophers' encouragement of the yearning to return to the world of the spirits, and the prophets', peace be upon them, arousal of the desire for the blessings of paradise are false, fraudulent deceptions, and God forbid that this should be so» — vigesimonovena sentencia: si lo sensible de allá no fuera mejor y el alma no tuviera acceso, la exhortación de los filósofos y la de los profetas serían engaño, y lo rechaza

«If someone should foolishly imagine. erroneously think, or vainly claim that paradise lies beyond the celestial spheres and outside the expanse of the heavens, ask him how, in that case, he can aspire to reach it if he does not first ascend to the heavenly realm and [then] pass beyond the furthest extent of the celestial spheres» — y la objeción que pone a quien sitúe el paraíso más allá de las esferas: le pregunta cómo aspira a llegar sin ascender antes al reino celeste

«It is said that when the dawn breezes of paradise blow, its trees sway, their branches tremble. their leaves rustle, their fruit scatters, their flowers shimmer, their scents waft forth, and one can hear from them» — capítulo 16: la Epístola trae como dicho recibido la descripción del paraíso en que la brisa del alba hace sonar los árboles

«so that if the people of this world were to hear just one ofthem. or were to catch just one glimpse and breathe in their scent, they would find no joy in this life, nor would they ever after take any advantage from their existence (fo1. 59b) in this world. It is for such ends that people should strive and compete; let them rejoice: these are better than all they accumulate» — y lo que atribuye a ese sonido: quien lo oyera una sola vez no hallaría ya alegría en esta vida; el *(fo1. 59b)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito y la última frase es cita coránica

«The philosophers, dear brother, call paradise the world of the spirits» — y cierra el capítulo con la equivalencia que atribuye a los filósofos: paraíso es el mundo de los espíritus

«that the effects ofthe musician's349 tones [naghamiit] on the listeners' souls are ofvarious kinds. The joy and pleasure the souls take in them provide manifold differing delights» — capítulo 17: la Epístola abre declarando de varias clases los efectos de los tonos del músico sobre el alma de quien escucha

«This is all on account of their [varying] degrees ofenlightenment350 and the kinds ofbeauty familiar to them that they love; when each soul hears sounds corresponding to what it loves, and notes consonant [yulii>im] with what is dear to it, it experiences joy, delight, pleasure, and ecstasy351 commensurate with the images [rusum] it has formed [ta$awwar] ofwhat it loves, and with what it believes concerning what is dear to it, to the extent that the disapproval of others may sometimes be aroused when they are unfamiliar with both the [spiritual] direction and the ultimate goal» — y da la razón de esa variedad: el grado de conocimiento de cada alma y las imágenes que se ha formado de lo que ama, hasta el punto de que otros desaprueben lo que no reconocen como dirección ni como meta

«An example ofthis is what is related about a certain Sufi who heard someone recite You, soul at peace: return to your Lord well pleased and wellpleasing» — capítulo 17: la Epístola cuenta el caso de un sufí que oyó recitar la aleya del alma en paz; el tramo se corta antes de la llamada de nota, que es donde Wright consigna que al-Ghazali repite el ejemplo

«He asked the reciter to repeat the passage over and over, and began to say (How often do I tell it to return, but it doesn't'. He then passed into a state of ecstasy [tawiijad], shouted out, collapsed, and his soul left him» — y lo que le atribuye: pedir la repetición, replicar cuántas veces le manda volver al alma sin que vuelva, entrar en éxtasis y morir; el paréntesis de apertura es lo que el escaneo hace de la comilla simple

«Another one heard someone recite (And ifwefind that you are lying, what penalty shall we apply to you?> and they answered» — capítulo 17, segundo caso: otro oyó recitar la aleya del castigo del ladrón en la historia de José; el tramo se corta en el límite de chunk del troceo, que parte la frase, y los signos de mayor son lo que el escaneo hace de las comillas

«will be [the enslavement of] the person in whose bag the cup isfound» — continuación de esa misma aleya al otro lado del corte de chunk: el castigo recae en aquel en cuyo saco aparezca la copa

«He asked for it to be repeated over and over, collapsed, and his soul left him» — y lo que le atribuye a este segundo: pedir la repetición hasta desplomarse y morir

«Those who experience states ofecstasy said that he took the meaning of His words The penalty will be the person in whose bag it is found to be that the beloved was the requital of the lover because it is he who is present in his bag, meaning that the image [~ura] of the beloved is depicted [mu~awwara] in the soul of the lover, and representations of his form are inscribed upon his heart, and that is his recompense» — capítulo 17: la Epístola atribuye a los que viven estados de éxtasis la lectura que da vuelta a la aleya, que el amado es la retribución del amante porque su imagen va inscrita en el alma

«Can you not see, dear brother, how he fitted the text to his spiritual path and his goal, despite the well-known surface meaning of the verse» — y la pregunta con que la Epístola señala el procedimiento al hermano lector: cómo ajustó el texto a su vía y a su meta por encima del sentido literal

«Another one heard a reciter singing this verse: The messenger said, (He will visit tomorrow' I said (Do you know what you are saying» — capítulo 17, tercer caso: otro oyó cantar el verso del mensajero que anuncia la visita de mañana; los paréntesis de apertura son lo que el escaneo hace de las comillas simples

«and was carried away by both the words and the music [labn]. He experienced a state ofecstasy, and began to repeat the line, substituting (w' for [the initial] (h', so that he kept on reciting, 'We will visit tomorrow', until he lost consciousness, so intense was his joy, pleasure, and delight» — y lo que le atribuye: arrebatado por la letra y por la melodía, cambia una letra del verso para decir que seremos nosotros los que visitemos, y pierde el sentido

«When [po 241] he recovered consciousness, he was asked about the cause of his ecstasy and replied that he remembered the saYing ofthe Prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, 'The inhabitants of paradise will visit their Lord once every Friday» — y la explicación que da al volver en sí: recordaba el dicho del Profeta sobre la visita semanal de los del paraíso a su Señor; el *[po 241]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«inhabitants ofparadise and the sweetest tone they hear is their intimate communication with the Creator, majestic is His bounty, according to His statement: their greeting on the day they encounter Him will be <Peace' and the last part of their prayer [will be] <Praise be to God, Lord ofthe Worlds» — capítulo 17, al otro lado del cambio de plana: el tono más dulce que oyen los del paraíso es su trato íntimo con el Creador, sostenido con una cita coránica del saludo y la última parte de la plegaria

«It is said that when Moses, peace be upon him, heard his Lord speak to him, he was affected by such delight, pleasure, and joy that he could not contain himself, (fol. 60a) and he sang358 in ecstasy. After that, he found all notes [naghamat], rhythms [alban], and melodies [a$Wat] trivial» — capítulo 17: la Epístola trae como dicho recibido que Moisés, al oír hablar a su Señor, cantó de éxtasis y después halló triviales todas las notas, ritmos y melodías; el *(fol. 60a)* dentro del tramo es el folio del manuscrito

«May God enable you, 0 dear virtuous and compassionate brother, to understand the meaning ofthese subtle allusions and hidden secrets, and may He convery their import to you, to us, and to all our brethren, wherever they may be; He is generous and open-handed. Here ends the epistle on music» — cierre de la Epístola: la súplica por que el hermano entienda el sentido de estas alusiones sutiles y secretos escondidos, y la fórmula de fin; el escaneo imprime *0* donde el impreso lleva la O vocativa

«the curvature downwards, half of the circumference of the circle to the diameter of which I is equal» — capítulo 10: dentro de la geometría de las letras, la regla de la curva descendente como media circunferencia del círculo cuyo diámetro es el trazo recto; en toda esta plana las letras árabes salen del escaneo como signos sueltos y no se restituyen

«Its circle and those of J, J, i' and 0 are all equivalent to one third of \ turned into a circle; and the downward extent of J is made equal to half the circumference of the circle» — y otra de esas reglas: los círculos de un grupo de letras equivalen al tercio del trazo recto vuelto círculo; los caracteres que aparecen entre las palabras son lo que el escaneo hace de las letras árabes

«The light [counterpart] of the first heavy consists of seven attacks: [po 228] two consecutive ones between which there is no time for an[other] attack) then a heavy isolated one) then four attacks following a suppressed one» — capítulo 13: la definición del ligero del primer pesado, con su cuenta de siete ataques; el *[po 228]* dentro del tramo es la paginación de Beirut

«It is like the call of the ring-dove: kuku kuku kukuku kuku» — y la mnemotecnia con que la Epístola lo fija, el arrullo de la tórtola; el tramo se corta antes por la llamada de nota pegada al nombre del ritmo

«Ramal is the reverse [Caks] ofmakhurl) that is) it likewise consists of seven attacks but begins with an isolated heavy one) followed by two consecutive ones between which there is no time for an[other] attack) then four attacks, each two ofwhich are consecutive, with no time for an[other] attack between them» — capítulo 13: define el *ramal* como el reverso del *makhuri*, con los mismos siete ataques pero empezando por el pesado aislado

«like the call ofthe francolin: kay kakay kakay kakay» — y su mnemotecnia al otro lado del cambio de plana, el canto del francolín

«The light [counterpart] of the light consists of two consecutive attacks between which there is no time for an[other] attack, but between each successive pair there is the time of an attack. It is like uttering mufacilun mufacilun, or tanan tanan tanan tanan» — capítulo 13: la definición del ligero del ligero, con su fórmula prosódica y su mnemotecnia silábica

«HazaF79 consists ofa soft attack [naqra musakkanaJ280 and another [even] lighter [akhaff) one, with[out] the time of an attack between» — capítulo 13: arranque de la definición del *hazaj*, el último de los ocho ciclos; el escaneo pega la llamada de nota al nombre y lo imprime *HazaF79*

«The Institute ofIsmaili Studies was established in 1977 with the object ofpromoting scholarship and learning on Islam, in historical as well as contemporary contexts, and a better understanding ofits relationship with other societies and faiths» — la presentación institucional que la serie imprime en sus preliminares declara el año de fundación del Institute of Ismaili Studies y su objeto; el escaneo une las preposiciones a la palabra siguiente

«Within the Islamic tradition, the Institute's programmes seek to promote research on those areas which have, to date, received relatively little attention from scholars» — y declara el criterio de selección de sus programas: las áreas que hasta la fecha han recibido poca atención académica

«These include the intellectual and literary expressions of Shi'ism in general, and Ismailism in particular» — con el foco nombrado: la expresión intelectual y literaria del chiismo en general y del ismailismo en particular

«While every effort is made to ensure that the publications are of a high academic standard, there is naturally bound to be a diversity ofviews, ideas and interpretations» — la presentación admite de antemano la pluralidad de lecturas dentro de su propio catálogo

«As such, the opinions expressed in these publications must be understood as belonging to their authors alone» — y la deslinda: las opiniones de cada libro son de sus autores, no del instituto que lo patrocina

«His research interests focus on the textual sources for the history ofmusic in the Middle East, and his latest publications include the following titles» — y el campo que declara: las fuentes textuales para la historia de la música en el Medio Oriente

«Owen Wright would like to record his gratitude to Anna Contadini, for a critical reading ofthe Introduction, and to Stefan Sperl, for the time he generously gave in reading through the whole work, and especially for the helpful comments arising from his meticulous scrutiny ofboth text and translation» — los Acknowledgements nombran a quienes leyeron el trabajo: Anna Contadini la introducción y Stefan Sperl el conjunto, texto y traducción

«Editorial Board Nader EI-Bizri (General Editor) The Institute of Ismaili Studies Hermann Landolt McGill University and the Institute of Ismaili Studies Wilferd Madelung University of Oxford and the Institute of Ismaili Studies Ismail K. Poonawala» — el consejo editorial de la serie, con El-Bizri como editor general; el escaneo imprime *EI-Bizri* con I mayúscula

«This book falls into category three listed above» — la propia serie clasifica este volumen dentro de su tercera categoría, la de ediciones o traducciones de textos primarios o secundarios

«Previously published Nader EI-Bizri, ed., The Ikhwan al-Safa' and their 'Rasa)il': An Introduction (2008). Ikhwan al-Safa), The Case ofthe Animals versus Man Before the King ofthe ]inn: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation of Epistle 22, ed. and tr. Lenn E. Goodman and Richard McGregor, Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (2009). Ikhwan al-Safa), On Logic: An Arabic Critical Edition and English Translation ofEpistles 10-14) ed. and tr. Carmela Baffioni, Epistles of the Brethren of Purity (2010)» — lista bibliográfica de los volúmenes anteriores de la serie, extraída con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser bibliografía; entre ellos el de El-Bizri sobre los Ikhwan y sus Rasa'il, el de Goodman y McGregor sobre la Epístola 22 y el de Baffioni sobre las Epístolas 10 a 14

«Risala 5 (Arabic Text & Variants) Arabic Index xv xvii 73 177 181 [Arabic pagination 3-188] [Arabic pagination 189-380]» — el Contents declara que el volumen lleva dos bloques de paginación árabe propia, uno para el texto y variantes de la Risala 5 y otro para el índice árabe; los folios sueltos que el tramo arrastra son los de las secciones inglesas, tal como el escaneo los deja apilados al pie de la plana

«Some situate the historic activities ofthis brotherhood at the eve ofthe Fatimid conquest ofEgypt (ca. 358/969), while others identify the organization with an earlier period that is set chronologically around the founding of the Fatimid dynasty in North Africa (ca. 297/909)» — El-Bizri consigna las dos dataciones que circulan para la actividad de la fraternidad —víspera de la conquista fatimí de Egipto o fundación de la dinastía en el norte de África— sin decidir entre ellas

«The most common account regarding the presumed identity ofthe Ikhwan is usually related on the authority ofthe famed litterateur Abu l:Iayyan al-Tawbidi (ca. 320-414/930-1023), who noted in his Book ofPleasure and Conviviality (Kitab al-Imta C wa'l-muJanasa) that these adepts were obscure <men of letters'» — El-Bizri remite la identificación corriente de los miembros a al-Tawhidi, que en su Book of Pleasure and Conviviality los llamó hombres de letras oscuros; el nombre y el título van con la grafía que imprime el escaneo

«Even though this story was reaffirmed by several classical historiographers in Islamic civilization, it is not fully accepted by scholars in terms of its authenticity» — y acota de inmediato el alcance de ese testimonio: los historiógrafos clásicos lo repitieron, pero la academia no lo acepta del todo

«Furthermore, some Ismaili missionaries (du'at) historically attributed the compiling ofthe Epistles to the early Ismaili Imams Ab-mad b. 'Abd Allah (al-Taql [al-Mastur]) or his father, (Abd Allah (Wafi Ab-mad), while also suggesting that the Rasa'il compendium was secretly disseminated in mosques during the reign of the (Abba.sid caliph al-Ma'miin» — El-Bizri registra la atribución rival, la de los misioneros ismailíes, que da la compilación a los imanes Ahmad b. 'Abd Allah o a su padre y la hace circular en secreto por las mezquitas

«Encountering 'veracity in every religion', and grasping knowledge as 'pure nourishment for the soul', the Ikhwan associated soteriological hope and the attainment ofhappiness with the scrupulous development ofrational pursuits and intellectual quests» — El-Bizri resume la posición religiosa que atribuye a los Ikhwan: verdad en toda religión y esperanza de salvación ligada al cultivo de la razón

«Besides the filial observance of the teachings ofthe Qur'an and hadith, the Brethren also reverently appealed to the Torah of Judaism and to the Gospels of Christianity» — y el arco de fuentes religiosas que les atribuye: Corán y hadiz, pero también la Torá y los Evangelios

«Moreover, they heeded the legacies of the Stoics and of Pythagoras, Hermes Trismegistus, Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plotinus, Nicomachus of Gerasa, Euclid, Ptolemy, Galen, Proclus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus» — la lista de legados griegos que El-Bizri pone detrás de los Ikhwan; varios de esos nombres reaparecen citados dentro de la Epístola sobre la música

«Their eschatological outlook was articulated by way of an intricate cyclical view of'sacred' history that is replete with symbolisms and oriented by an uncanny hermeneutic interpretation of the microcosm and macrocosm analogy: believing that the human being is a microcosmos, and that the universe is a 'macroanthropos'» — El-Bizri describe la clave hermenéutica del corpus: el ser humano como microcosmos y el universo como macroántropos

«The multiplicity ofthe voices that were expressed in their Epistles reflects a genuine quest for wisdom driven by an impetus that is not reducible to mere eclecticism; indeed, their sYncretism grounded their aspiration to establish a spiritual refuge that would transcend the sectarian divisions troubling their era» — y lee su sincretismo no como eclecticismo sino como búsqueda de un refugio espiritual por encima de las divisiones sectarias de su tiempo

«In general, fifty-two epistles are enumerated as belonging to the Rasifil Ikhwan al-$afa J , and these are divided into the following four parts: Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Sciences of the Soul and Intellect, and Theology» — El-Bizri fija el recuento y la partición del corpus con que se orienta el volumen

«The first part consists of fourteen epistles, and it deals with 'the mathematical sciences', treating a variety of topics in arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, and music» — y sitúa la primera parte, donde cae esta epístola, entre las ciencias matemáticas, con la música al final de la enumeración

«The fourth and last part ofthe Ras(fil deals with 'the nomic or legal and theological sciences' in eleven epistles. These address the differences between the varieties of religious opinions and sects, as well as delineating the 'Pathway to God', the virtues of the Ikhwan's fellowship, the characteristics of genuine believers, the nature of the divine nomos, the call to God, the actions ofspiritualists, ofjinn, angels, and recalcitrant demons, the species ofpolitics, the cosmic hierarchy, and, finally, the essence ofmagic and talismanic incantations» — El-Bizri enumera el contenido de la cuarta parte del corpus, la que cierra con la epístola sobre la magia que este proyecto editó aparte

«Besides the fifty-two tracts that constitute the Rasifil Ikhwan al-Safa}, this compendium was accompanied by a treatise entitled al-RisaIa al-jamfa (The Comprehensive Epistle), which acted as the summa summarum for the whole corpus and was itselfsupplemented by a further abridged appendage known as the Risalat jamfat al-jamra (The Condensed Comprehensive Epistle)» — y añade los dos apéndices del corpus, la Risala al-jami'a como suma de todo y su compendio abreviado

«In spite oftheir erudition and resourcefulness, it is doubtful whether the Brethren ofPurity can be impartially ranked amongst the authorities of their age in the realms of science and philosophy» — El-Bizri pone en duda que los Ikhwan puedan contarse entre las autoridades científicas y filosóficas de su tiempo

«into mathematics, logic, and the natural sciences were recorded in the Epistles in a synoptic and diluted fashion, sporadically infused with gnostic, symbolic, and occult directives» — y describe cómo consignaron esas ciencias: de forma sinóptica y diluida, con directivas gnósticas, simbólicas y ocultas intercaladas

«Nonetheless, their accounts of religiosity, as well as their syncretic approach, together with their praiseworthy efforts to collate the sciences, and to compose a pioneering 'encyclopaedia', all bear signs of commendable originality» — aunque de inmediato les reconoce originalidad por el intento de reunir las ciencias en una enciclopedia pionera

«Moreover, the sciences were not treated with the same level of expertise across the RasiiJil. Consequently) this opus ought to be judged by differential criteria as regards the relative merits of each of its epistles» — de donde El-Bizri saca su criterio de lectura: juzgar la obra epístola por epístola y no en bloque, porque las ciencias no reciben el mismo trato en todas

«The composition of this text displays impressive lexical versatility, which encompasses the technical idioms of mathematics and logic, the heuristics of natural philosophy, and the diction of religious pronouncements and occult invocations» — El-Bizri describe el registro lingüístico del corpus, que mezcla el idioma técnico de las matemáticas y la lógica con la dicción de las invocaciones ocultas

«The academic rediscovery ofthe Rasa)il in modern times emerged through the monumental editorial and translation efforts ofthe German scholar Friedrich Dieterici between the years 1861 and 1872» — El-Bizri data el redescubrimiento académico del corpus en la labor de Friedrich Dieterici

«Several printed editions aiming to reconstruct the original Arabic have also been established, starting with the editio princeps in Calcutta in 1812, which was reprinted in 1846, then a complete edition in Bombay between 1887 and 1889, followed by the Cairo edition of 1928, and the Beirut editions of 1957, 1983, 1995, and their reprints» — y enumera las ediciones impresas que intentaron reconstruir el árabe, desde la editio princeps de Calcuta de 1812; extraído con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser una enumeración bibliográfica

«Although the scholarly contribution of these Arabic editions of the Rasa)il is laudable, as they valuably sustained research on the topic, they are uncritical in character, and they do not reveal their manuscript sources» — y declara el defecto que justifica el proyecto: esas ediciones son acríticas y no revelan sus manuscritos

«Given this state ofaffairs, the Institute ofIsmaili Studies (lIS) in London has undertaken the publication (in association with Oxford University Press) of a multi-authored, multi-volume Arabic critical edition and annotated English translation ofthe fifty-two epistles» — razón por la que, según El-Bizri, el Institute of Ismaili Studies emprendió con Oxford University Press la edición crítica y la traducción anotada de las cincuenta y dos epístolas

«for the critical edition, reproductions of nineteen manuscripts were acquired by the lIS, and their particulars can be summarized as follows, with the corresponding Arabic sigla» — El-Bizri declara la base material del proyecto de serie: diecinueve reproducciones de manuscritos reunidas por el instituto, cuyo censo por bibliotecas viene a continuación

«Within both the English and the Arabic text, the beginning of each folio of the Ati~ Efendi [t.l manuscript is indicated, starting at recto folio 39, (fol. 39a)/(1 r,,), and verso folio 39, (fol. 39b)/(y r,,). The pagination of the first volume of the Beirut (Dar Sadir) printed edition is also indicated, using square brackets, for example» — nota 4 de El-Bizri con la convención de referencias del volumen: dentro del texto se marca el comienzo de cada folio del manuscrito Atif Efendi desde el recto del folio 39, y entre corchetes la paginación del primer volumen de la edición de Beirut; es la clave para leer el aparato que después aparece dentro de las citas de la Epístola

«This present volume, prepared by Professor Owen Wright, consists of the Arabic critical edition and annotated English translation of Epistle 5: 'On Music', from the first part of the Raslfil that focuses on the propaedeutic and mathematical sciences» — El-Bizri sitúa el volumen dentro de la serie: la Epístola 5 pertenece a la primera parte del corpus, la de las ciencias propedéuticas y matemáticas

«Most special thanks go to Ms Tara Woolnough for her dedicated copy-editing wo rk and thoughtful editorial care, to Mr Saleh al-Achmar for checking the Arabic text, and to Ms Samantha Earl for the diagrams included in this volume» — el foreword acredita el trabajo material del volumen: la corrección de estilo de Tara Woolnough, la revisión del texto árabe de Saleh al-Achmar y los diagramas de Samantha Earl

«to the late Professor Yves Marquet, for his foundational studies on the Brethren of Purity's oeuvre, and for the honour and privilege he accorded to us in supporting this series as an eminent member of its Advisory Board» — El-Bizri cierra el foreword con un homenaje póstumo a Yves Marquet por sus estudios sobre la obra de los Ikhwan; el tramo empieza en la plana 27 porque el periodo arranca al pie de la anterior y span() se corta en el cambio de plana

«(General Editor, Epistles ofthe Brethren ofPurity) London, May 2010» — la firma del foreword, con su cargo y su fecha; el volumen hermano sobre la magia se firma un año después, en julio de 2011

«A general outline ofthe character and contents ofthis epistle has been provided in the music chapter in the introductory volume ofessays that accompanies the present series ofthe Rastfil» — Wright abre su introducción remitiendo al volumen de ensayos de la serie y declarando que aquí no repetirá el panorama general

«The former concerns the approach adopted in editing the text and in translating the resulting version, the latter matters ofcontent, principally musicological, that present particular interpretative problems or call for further clarification» — y reparte su introducción en dos: el método de edición y traducción por un lado, y por otro los asuntos musicológicos que presentan problemas de interpretación

«But the differences these seven manuscripts exhibit are not readily explicable as the result ofaccumulated deviations from a single original; to judge by the evidence, this risala may have circulated in slightly different versions from a very early stage» — Wright objeta que las diferencias entre los siete manuscritos se expliquen como desviaciones acumuladas de un original único, y propone que la risala circuló en versiones algo distintas desde muy temprano

«The degree ofcoincidence between the seven manuscripts is quite variable: there are passages where they are completely or virtually identicaL others where there are considerable differences. Setting aside the question of material present in some and absent in others, one may take the following passageS as indicative of how much they can diverge» — y mide esa variación: pasajes idénticos junto a otros con diferencias considerables

«Manuscripts i, t, and j (group A) have material in common not shared by the others» — primera deducción de Wright sobre la familia de testigos: el grupo A comparte material que los demás no traen; las siglas son las árabes que el escaneo devuelve como letras latinas

«This division into two main groups is confirmed elsewhere. To take a very clear example, Bcontains a Persian poem that A does not» — Wright sostiene la partición en dos grupos con un caso neto: el grupo B trae un poema persa que el grupo A no

«But it would fallacious to conclude that its absence from three of the four or five earliest manuscripts demonstrates that it constitutes a later addition to a hypothetical original, for its prior existence is assumed in two ofthe three A manuscripts, which include a phrase introducing the poem, and one even leaves space for it» — y se abstiene de la conclusión fácil: la ausencia del poema en los manuscritos más antiguos no lo vuelve añadido tardío, porque dos del grupo A suponen su existencia y uno hasta le deja el hueco; el escaneo imprime *would fallacious* sin el verbo

«Its absence does, though, serve to confirm that none of the B group could derive directly from any ofthe A group» — lo que sí saca de esa ausencia es un límite de filiación: ningún manuscrito del grupo B deriva directamente de uno del grupo A

«It is consequently apparent that the relations between the seven manuscripts upon which this edition is principally based are difficult to determine with precision» — Wright declara el resultado del cotejo como una indeterminación, no como un árbol resuelto

«Indeed, because ofthe various lines ofcleavage between the manuscripts, and the conclusion that the earliest ones result from different lines of transmission that cannot readily be shown to derive from one single original version, the very concept of an Urtext is questionable; they could, rather, represent points in the evolution ofa text that was from the beginning, to a certain degree, malleable» — y de ahí pasa a poner en duda la noción misma de un Urtext para esta epístola: el texto le resulta maleable hasta cierto punto

«It would certainly be possible to demonstrate the earliest extant stage of the text by basing the edition on t, which is quite reliable in general, but, as it differs in significant respects from the others, to do so would involve sacrificing adequate representation of the manuscript tradition as a whole» — Wright dice qué sacrificó al no editar sobre el testigo más antiguo: la fidelidad a uno solo habría costado la representación del conjunto de la tradición

«It does not seek to give precedence to anyone line oftransmission but is, rather, deliberately synthetic, which means that editorial decisions inevitably, and quite frequently, involve having to opt for one reading over another equally good one, and although the tendency has been to prefer the version in t (frequently supported by J) over those in i and .k (which are preserved in the apparatus» — y enuncia el principio de su edición: no dar precedencia a ninguna versión cuando varias lecturas son igual de buenas, dejando constancia en el aparato

«But such amplifications do not necessarily appear only in the later manuscripts: in this particular case, they occur in t., but not in i or J, so that the notion ofa simple process ofgradual accretion through time should be discarded» — Wright niega el modelo de acumulación gradual: las ampliaciones no aparecen solo en los manuscritos tardíos

«In such cases, the general approach adopted has been to include material that helps to clarify the argument, even if it is demonstrably a later amplification» — y declara su criterio práctico: admitir material que aclare el argumento aunque sea demostrablemente una ampliación posterior

«Despite this rather elastic approach, certain passages remain problematic» — con su límite dicho en la misma página: el método elástico no resuelve todos los pasajes

«In consequence, selective pruning has been done (the drawback being that it is no longer possible, on the basis of the apparatus, to reconstitute the text ofeach manuscript exactly» — Wright declara la poda selectiva del aparato y por qué: reconstituir exactamente el texto de cada manuscrito queda fuera de alcance

«When found in only one manuscript, such peculiarities might be of interest with regard to the stemma but not otherwise; therefore they will frequently remain unrecorded» — y admite la consecuencia: las peculiaridades de un solo manuscrito quedan a menudo sin registrar

«One, despite the wish to demonstrate some degree ofstylistic independence, in addition to offering alternatives where the new edition ofthe source text requires) is to consult his version too frequently and as a result end up with a highly derivative act ofhomage» — Wright plantea el dilema de traducir después de Shiloah: consultarlo llevaría a un homenaje derivativo

«The other is deliberately to avoid it) thereby gaining independence at the price of a potential reduction in the standard of scholarship and a consequent loss of accuracy and insight» — y la otra salida tiene su costo: evitarlo deliberadamente arriesga precisión y penetración

«The approach adopted here is closer to the second option but, at the same time, the translator is happy to acknowledge his indebtedness to the scholarship displayed by Shiloah in (and around) his translation» — declara cuál de las dos tomó y reconoce a la vez la deuda intelectual

«What this means in practice is that a deliberate attempt not to be influenced in terms of style was made by the simple expedient of not consulting Shiloah's work at all during the course of producing the first draft; this) then, was not only different where the text proposed did not coincide with the Beirut edition on which Shiloah relied, but was wholly independent» — y qué significó en la práctica: una traducción hecha con independencia de la anterior

«Shiloah later produced an English translation, The Epistle on Music ofthe Ikhwan al-Safa', Documentation and Studies 3, (Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv: 1978), repr. in A. Shiloah, The Dimension ofMusic in Islamic and Jewish Culture (Aldershot: Ashgate Variorum, 1993); however, the French is to be preferred, especially because much of the annotation was stripped out for the English version» — Wright prefiere la versión francesa de Shiloah a la inglesa porque en esta se perdió la anotación

«Which is not to claim that it is better: any student of the risala will need to take account ofShiloah's translations as well as ofhis researches, and the present version is manifestly indebted to both» — y acota su propia posición frente a las dos: no reclama superioridad, y se declara deudor

«The major musicological topics concern pitch relationships, rhythm, and instruments, but consideration ofthese may usefully be prefaced by a rather more detailed account than that» — Wright enumera los asuntos musicológicos que su introducción tratará con detalle

«There is no need to expatiate yet again on the fundamentally cosmological orientation of this risala; enough has already been said on its general thematic range and approach» — Wright da por sentada la orientación cosmológica de la epístola y anuncia que solo añadirá un inventario de sus ramificaciones

«From a musicological perspective, those of greatest interest concern, on the one hand, number, especially in the form of proportions manifest as interval ratios expressed both locally, on the lute, and cosmically, producing the harmony of the spheres, and, on the other hand, sets of relationships, related to the strings of the lute, that trawl through a wide range of fourfold phenomena but give particular prominence to the theory of the humours and thence to the therapeutic potential ofmusic» — y nombra los dos ejes que le interesan: el número como proporción, local en el laúd y cósmica en la armonía de las esferas, y los juegos de correspondencias cuaternarias que llevan a la teoría de los humores y a la terapia musical

«To begin with the four strings ofthe lute, it may first be recalled that their number is regarded not as arbitrary, but as resulting from a deliberate decision on the part ofthe inventor sages to make them match other phenomena grouped in fours» — Wright señala que las cuatro cuerdas del laúd no son un número arbitrario para la epístola sino decisión deliberada de los sabios inventores, para que casen con los demás fenómenos agrupados de cuatro en cuatro

«The corresponding set with the humours lays out the negative as well as the positive associations and effects, the notes ofeach string being regarded as capable of strengthening one humour and weakening another» — y describe la doble tabla de humores que la epístola despliega: cada cuerda fortalece un humor y debilita otro

«The positive relationships are the same as those given by al-Kindi,18 who does not, however, mention the negative ones, although it could be argued that they are implied by the disposition given» — Wright coteja esas asociaciones con las de al-Kindi: las positivas coinciden, las negativas al-Kindi no las menciona, aunque sostiene que quedan implicadas si se dispone el esquema en círculo

«Thus a heavy combination ofhumours is moderated by high sounds, which are characterized as hot, while low sounds, cOI1sidered to be cold and wet, counteract a combination of humours deemed too hot and dry» — Wright explica el mecanismo alopático que la epístola atribuye a los registros: lo agudo es caliente y modera la mezcla pesada, lo grave es frío y húmedo y contrarresta la demasiado caliente y seca

«It follows from all this that an expert physician is able, depending on the diagnosis of the ailment, to add a suitable allopathic ingredient of music therapy, a further element of which is the selection of the appropriate period of day or night for performing the relevant melodies» — y saca la consecuencia práctica que la epístola sostiene: un médico experto puede añadir música como ingrediente alopático, eligiendo además el momento del día o de la noche

«The above are treated as separate topics, but the strings, elements, and humours are also included within a grand scheme of fourfold things (murabba Ciit).20 This is arranged in four blocks, each one headed by one of the four seasons21 (beginning with spring) and containing further time-based sets that likewise progress straightforwardly from beginning to end» — Wright describe el gran esquema de cuaternas de la epístola, ordenado en cuatro bloques encabezados por las estaciones

«But not everything follows the same linear (or circular) progression, for we unexpectedly encounter a zigzag arrangement for the cardinal points and the winds, which go from south to east to west to north» — y señala la irregularidad que rompe la progresión: los puntos cardinales y los vientos van en zigzag

«The reason why mathlath and bamm are not reversed along with the others is not immediately clear, and is certainly not explained, but the manuscripts are unanimous» — Wright consigna una anomalía del orden de las cuerdas que no se explica en el texto y que los manuscritos traen unánime, sin proponer enmienda

«That the Ikhwan should have chosen to present the division ofthe year into four seasons as a set so self-evident as to serve as exemplary is attributable to intellectual tradition rather than observation of the climate in Iraq» — nota de Wright sobre el origen del cuaternario estacional en la epístola: lo atribuye a la tradición intelectual y no a la observación del clima de Irak

«The most basic set of associations in which numerical expression comes to the fore is that relating the 4:3 ratio of the difference in the thickness of the strings to the elements, but the presentation is a little confusing» — Wright localiza el juego de asociaciones numéricas más básico de la epístola —la razón 4:3 entre los grosores de las cuerdas puesta en correspondencia con los elementos— y declara confusa su exposición

«The elements are then presented as (concentric) spheres of decreasing size, in the order fire, air, water, and earth, which could suggest a correlation of bamm with fire, and so on, whereas in fact the opposite order is intended, for later it is made clear that fire is the thinnest element and earth the thickest» — y deshace la confusión leyendo el propio texto: aunque el orden sugiere una correspondencia, la epístola aclara después que el fuego es el elemento más delgado y la tierra el más grueso

«Further, the text in effect superimposes the concept of the elements as spheres upon the standard cosmological spheres ofthe earth and the sublunary strata, nasim, zamharir, and athir, so that, in all, we have the following» — Wright señala la superposición que la epístola opera: los elementos como esferas montados sobre las esferas cosmológicas de la tierra y los estratos sublunares nasim, zamharir y athir

«Taking the 9:8 ratio ofthe whole tone as a springboard, more extensive treatment is then accorded to the number 8 and, assigning this to the diameter of the earth) to the relative diameters of the other celestial spheres and the relationships between them expressed as musical proportions» — y describe el salto del tono entero al número 8, que la epístola asigna al diámetro de la tierra para sacar de ahí los diámetros de las demás esferas como proporciones musicales

«This particular set ofrelationships, it may be observed, is quite independent ofthat implied above) for there, ifthe diameter ofthe earth is 8) that ofthe sphere ofair should be 10%, and that ofthe moon almost 19, whereas here the sphere ofair is 9 and that ofthe moon 12» — Wright consigna que las dos series de cifras de la epístola no concuerdan entre sí, y deja la discrepancia sin armonizar

«It will be seen that these ratios combine to produce a conjunct Greater Perfect System) as follows (with the earth being assigned an arbitrary C» — y lee el resultado del conjunto: las razones combinadas producen un Greater Perfect System conjunto

«Those planets standing outside the system, Mercury, Mars, and Saturn) produce dissonant intervals with all the others and are consequently deemed to be of ill omen» — Wright lee la consecuencia astrológica del sistema de intervalos de la epístola: los planetas que quedan fuera producen intervalos disonantes con todos los demás y por eso se los tiene por de mal agüero

«The ideal proportions embodied by these ratios are held to be manifest not only through their actualization in sound, whether human or celestiaL but also in non-musical domains. Two in particular are singled out for extensive treatment: calligraphy and physiology» — Wright señala que la epístola extiende esas proporciones ideales fuera del sonido, a la caligrafía y a la fisiología

«The calligraphic essentials are the two geometric fundamentals of line and circle, and all letter shapes, in whatever script, are deemed to be derivable from these» — y resume la tesis caligráfica: línea y círculo son los dos fundamentos geométricos de los que se deriva toda forma de letra en cualquier escritura

«There is confirmatory citation ofother scripts (Hebrew, Indian numerals, Syriac, if largely garbled in the extant manuscripts), but detailed exemplification is naturally confined to the Arabic letters, with a description of the nature and proportions ofthe elements ofeach» — con el límite de la ejemplificación y el estado de los testigos: la epístola cita otras escrituras, pero los manuscritos las traen en buena parte corrompidas, y el detalle se queda en el alfabeto árabe

«Here the number 8 reappears as a significant element, the width ofthe first letter ofthe alphabet, I, being specified as one eighth of its length. The line of I then provides the diameter ofa circle, segments ofwhich combine with it to form the remaining letters» — Wright sigue el papel del número ocho en la caligrafía de la epístola: la anchura de la primera letra es un octavo de su longitud, y su trazo da el diámetro del círculo del que salen las demás

«When we turn to physiology, we find a general catalogue ofbody parts, including internal organs, held to be proportionate to one another, and a more specific set of detailed measurements held to be valid for the ideal human form, that of the newborn infant unaffected by any of the ills to come» — y describe el catálogo fisiológico: las medidas ideales se toman de la forma humana del recién nacido, aún sin las dolencias por venir

«The comparison with Leonardo da Vinci's drawing ofVitruvian man is inescapable, and is not just an unavoidable consequence of a common anatomy: there is a direct echo of Vitruvius' circle, centred upon the navel, that touches the outstretched fingers and toes» — Wright compara el círculo centrado en el ombligo de la epístola con el hombre vitruviano dibujado por Leonardo da Vinci y con el propio Vitruvio

«However, there is otherwise little resemblance between the Ikhwan's measurements and those ofVitruvius,24 and the Ikhwan go on to offer a far longer list of items, some subdivisions of those given in Fig. 4, but the majority additional, including numerous facial proportions» — y acota de inmediato el parecido: fuera de ese círculo y ese cuadrado, las medidas de los Ikhwan se parecen poco a las de Vitruvio y son bastante más numerosas

«They often measure different things, and where there are common items the measurement may not coincide: from elbow to finger tip is one fifth ofheight for Vitruvius, one quarter for the Ikhwan» — nota de Wright con el caso concreto de la divergencia: del codo a la punta del dedo es un quinto de la altura en Vitruvio y un cuarto en los Ikhwan

«Texts earlier than the risala contain incidental references to a number ofinstrument names, but some appear to have fallen out of use by the ninth century,25 and few occur in contexts that satisfactorily define them beyond allowing us, at best, to assign them to the general classes of struck, plucked, or blown» — Wright declara el límite documental para identificar los instrumentos que la epístola nombra: los textos anteriores rara vez los definen más allá de percutido, pulsado o soplado

«Mention is made by al-Kind! ofa number of chordophones, but few are named, and, apart from his detailed account ofthe lute, his interest, cosmologically driven, is specifically in the number of strings» — y sitúa el interés de al-Kindi por los cordófonos como cosmológico, centrado en el número de cuerdas; el escaneo imprime *al-Kind!* por al-Kindi

«In fact, we encounter four in all: the standard general term ala (pI. alat), 'instrument' (of any kind) coupled with which in one passage is the rather more abstract adawat ('devices', 'implements'), the equally standard malahi, and miisiqan (a derivation from miisiqi), peculiar to the Ikhwc3.n and used especially in the chapter on wise sayings on music, the learned flavour of which is well suited to its ancient Greek atmosphere» — Wright censa los cuatro términos genéricos para instrumento que la epístola usa, y señala que *musiqar* es propio de los Ikhwan y se reserva al capítulo de los dichos de los sabios, de aire griego

«Given these concerns, it is not surprising to find that these authorities ignore unpitched instruments; in contrast, it is interesting to see the Ikhwan give percussion its due, even if only a few instruments are specified» — Wright contrasta a los Ikhwan con las autoridades musicales anteriores: aquellas ignoran los instrumentos sin altura definida y la epístola sí da su lugar a la percusión

«One, the kas, is defined in terms of volume, context of use, and geography: presumably a very large kettle drum, it could be heard at a considerable distance, and was used in the border regions ofKhurasan, where it accompanied (and presumably also helped summon) warriors going forth to battle» — el kas según la epístola, definido por volumen, uso y geografía: un timbal grande de las regiones fronterizas de Jurasán que acompañaba a los guerreros

«There is, further, a reference to the drums played by the mukhannathun, effeminate musicians of unsavoury reputation. Other sources allow us to name this drum, possibly a slim, waisted, single-headed type, as kuba. 32 We thus have references to membranophones across the social spectrum, from those associated with military campaigns to those used in celebrations to those associated with purely entertainment contexts» — Wright lee el arco social de los membranófonos que la epístola nombra, de la campaña militar a la fiesta y al puro entretenimiento

«It should be noted, however, as a foretaste ofproblems to come, that although this seems the more likely identification here, $anj may also designate a harp» — y deja abierta una identificación: el *sanj* parece aquí los címbalos pequeños, pero el mismo nombre puede designar un arpa

«Finally, in the treatment ofrhythm mention is also made ofa beater or wand, the qa(iib (pI. qucjban). Although instances are recorded during the (Abbasid period, the reference is fundamentally a textual relic of an earlier stage ofmusical practice, before accompaniment of the voice by the IUfe became the norm, when a light stick or switch had been used to tap out the rhythm» — Wright lee la mención del *qadib* como reliquia textual de una práctica anterior, cuando el ritmo se marcaba con una varilla y no se acompañaba la voz con el laúd

«The problem here is not so much which instrument names belong in this category, but which particular types they designate» — y plantea el problema de los aerófonos: no qué nombres pertenecen a la clase, sino qué tipo concreto designa cada nombre

«Although there will later emerge a clear divide between nay, designating an obliquely held end-blown bamboo flute, and surnay, designating a double-reed shawm, at this stage there may have been no hard and fast distinction» — con la consecuencia histórica: la distinción entre *nay* y *surnay* que después se vuelve neta aún no lo era en esta etapa

«The one instrument that may be identified with greater confidence as having a reed is the mizmar (together with the etymological1y related zamr and zummara), but among reed instruments it is by no means clear that a consistent differentiation was maintained between single and double reeds» — Wright fija el único instrumento de lengüeta identificable con alguna confianza y deja sin resolver si se distinguía lengüeta simple de doble

«It should be noted that the principal list of instrument names contains no trumpets or horns. The key term buq (pI. buqat) does, however, appear elsewhere, alongside drums, placing it therefore in the military and ceremonial band» — Wright registra una ausencia en la lista principal de la epístola —no hay trompetas ni cuernos— y dónde reaparece el término *buq*, junto a los tambores

«The question concerns, rather, the uses to which it was put: given that it is absent from the Kitab al-Aghanl as well as from al-Farabi's Kitab al-Muslql al-kablr, the likelihood is that, although it must have been restricted to the court, on account of cost, it remained essentially a curiosity, an impressive display ofengineering skill to go alongside whistling mechanical birds on artificial trees, but one remarkable for volume rather than finesse» — Wright sitúa el órgano hidráulico que la epístola nombra como curiosidad de corte, notable por su volumen más que por su finura, junto a los pájaros mecánicos de los árboles artificiales

«It has been confidently identified as panpipes,42 but this appears to be a leap of faith unsupported by lexical evidence: armunlql is unknown to classical Greek (in which the standard term for panpipes is syrinx), while in later Arabic sources we encounter, rather, shu'aybiyya and muslqal» — y objeta la identificación corriente del *armuniqi* con la siringa: la considera un salto de fe sin apoyo léxico, porque el término no existe en griego clásico y el árabe posterior usa otros

«There is, nevertheless, insufficient good evidence to support or refute either identification» — Wright deja sin resolver la identificación de uno de los instrumentos de la epístola y lo dice como abstención, no como resultado

«Although associated by the Sasanians with the royal court,49 the harp does not appear to have been prominent during the Umayyad and early (Abbasid periods» — Wright sitúa el arpa en la corte sasánida y niega que haya sido prominente en los periodos omeya y abasí temprano

«The tunbur appears to have overcome the same kind of morally dubious reputation that was attached to the kuba, homosexuality being the element common to both» — nota de Wright sobre la reputación moralmente dudosa que compartieron el *tunbur* y la *kuba*, los dos instrumentos que la epístola nombra al pasar

«But the Ikhwan al-Safa' cannot be adduced as authorities for 'the use of the bow' with respect to this instrument,60 and although not decisive as evidence, it may be observed that, unlike the rabab, the shawshak is not included among the instruments capable ofproducing continuous sounds» — Wright niega que los Ikhwan puedan aducirse como testimonio sobre el uso del arco, leyendo lo que su propia lista deja fuera

«In short, the identification does not inspire confidence: a definition ofghizhak as a spike-fiddle only occurs much later,61 and the sound-shifts required appear suspect; however, given the number of lexical variants that are attested,62 a path could probably be found with a modicum of» — y declara el estado de esa identificación sin cerrarla

«Given that over the centuries, from aI-Kind! on, the lute was the standard tool of theorists for the demonstration oftunings and frettings and the definition of scalar and modal structures, it is no surprise to find the Ikhwan singling it out for particular attention» — Wright sitúa la atención particular que la epístola presta al laúd dentro de una línea que viene de al-Kindi

«For example, they strike a realistic note in the practical injunction to choose for the strips ofthe body a hard, light wood that rings when struck» — y señala como nota realista de la epístola la recomendación de madera dura y ligera que suene al golpearla

«The dimensions are articulated not as measurements but as proportions: the relationship ofbreadth to depth is stated to be 2:L that oflength to breadth 3:2, and that oftotal length to total length less neck 4:3» — Wright destaca que la epístola da las dimensiones del laúd como proporciones y no como medidas

«The ratio 4:3, that of the perfect fourth, is then said to govern the relative thickness of the strings, specified as being made successively of sixty-four, forty-eight, thirty-six, and twenty-seven threads of silk» — y sigue la razón 4:3 del cuarto justo desde las dimensiones del instrumento hasta el número de hilos de seda de cada cuerda

«To take into consideration the irrational ratios associated with neutral intervals, even though they were clearly well established in practice, would have meant completely undermining the cosmological inferences of this scheme» — Wright explica por qué la epístola excluye los intervalos neutros: tomarlos en cuenta socavaría las inferencias cosmológicas del esquema

«Finally) the temporal dimension ofthe melody is an imitation of the cosmological rhythms inscribed by the movements of the heavenly bodies, and it thereby serves as a reminder of the felicity the soul may attain in the celestial realm» — y resume la tesis que la epístola saca de todo ello: la dimensión temporal de la melodía imita los ritmos cosmológicos y recuerda al alma la felicidad del reino celeste

«the organ, as noted above, was of interest for its mechanical complexity, and embodied not so much a significant musical resource as a prolongation of the classical heritage, being usually considered to have originated as a Greek battlefield device designed to inspire awe and terror» — Wright recoge el origen que la epístola asigna al órgano: un artefacto griego de guerra hecho para inspirar pavor

«As has been suggested in the introductory volume, the treatment of rhythm is quite complex and in some respects problematic» — Wright declara de antemano que el tratamiento del ritmo en la epístola es complejo y en algunos aspectos problemático

«From this derives the concept of a minimum indivisible time unit, expressed negatively as 'that into which another attack cannot be put',72 with longer durations being analysed as multiples thereof» — y fija el concepto que sostiene el sistema: una unidad mínima de tiempo de la que todo lo demás es múltiplo

«The appeal here is to culturally familiar phenomena, the particular example cited being the pounding ofthe pestles ofgypsum grinders (y) as compared with the strokes ofoars (z) and the blows ofblacksmiths' hammers» — señala que la epístola define los tempos por fenómenos familiares —entre ellos los golpes del martillo del herrero— y no por medida abstracta

«Beyond this limit, it is argued, the mental image of the first attack would fade before the impact ofthe second is registered» — y reconstruye el argumento perceptivo de la epístola: pasado cierto límite, la imagen mental del primer ataque se desvanece antes de que llegue el segundo

«The basic approach to the description of patterns of attacks and intervening durations is to co-opt prosodic terms and methods of analysis, themselves reflecting features of the Arabic script which determine an approach governed by the concept of the letter rather than the syllable» — Wright identifica el modelo del que la epístola toma su descripción del ritmo: la prosodia árabe, con la letra por unidad

«In exactly the same way, the Ikhwan posit a long rhythmic cell, the duration ofwhich is twice that ofthe short» — y el traslado: la célula rítmica larga dura el doble que la corta, como la sílaba larga respecto de la breve

«The long and short syllables combine to form three basic prosodic elements; from various arrangements of these the prosodic feet are formed; and the feet in turn combine to form the poetic metres» — Wright sigue el paralelo hasta el final: como las sílabas forman los pies y los pies los metros, las células forman los ciclos rítmicos

«Even much later, in the thirteenth century, when a common modal system appears to have prevailed, the point is still being made that Arabs and Persians had divergent rhythmic preferences» — Wright consigna que árabes y persas mantuvieron preferencias rítmicas divergentes mucho después

«The total number ofrhythmic cycles (alban) is stated to be eight, and an equivalence is then suggested between them and the eight prosodic feet» — el número ocho como bisagra: la epístola empareja los ocho ciclos rítmicos con los ocho pies prosódicos

«Rather more significant is the related statement, echoing al-Kindi,79 that the eight are fundamental structures definable as species (ajnas), that is, they are in some sense logically prior to other structures that may be viewed as dependent upon them or, to cite the particular metaphor used, as branching off» — y lo que Wright juzga más significativo: la epístola declara esos ocho estructuras fundamentales de las que las demás se ramifican

«It thus seems likely that we have here a tacit admission that practice was not quite as neat as theory would wish) and that the first presentation was an over-tidy abstraction which) it may be conjectured, distorted matters in the case ofhazaj by proposing a light counterpart for what was already a light rhythm» — Wright propone que la práctica no era tan ordenada como el esquema teórico que la epístola presenta

«The 4 + 4 arrangement, accordingly, would have been a systematization that was imposed on what in practice appears to have been, rather, a combination of three slower cycles and five faster ones - and there is, further) the suggestion that there may have also been conventional» — y lee la disposición de cuatro más cuatro como sistematización impuesta

«Moreover, it is significant to note that for al-Farabi: there are seven rather than eight cycles, and that only seven are listed by al-Khwarizm» — Wright contrasta el recuento de ciclos de la epístola con el de al-Khwarizmi, que enumera solo siete, y deja la discrepancia a la vista

«We seem, in short, to be faced with an artificial 4 + 4 arrangement cobbled together to provide a counterpart to the 4 + 4 categorization of modal phenomena that had recently been established» — y califica la disposición de artificial

«Unfortunately, the relationship is obscure, as although it would be reasonable to hypothesize that the patterns of these metres, both of which are made up ofrepetitions ofa single foot,j(filatun (- v - - ) in the case oframal and maja'ilun (v - - - ) in the case ofhazaj,84 could have generated rhythmically regular patterns of text setting that then established themselves as autonomous rhythmic cycles, the particular manifestations described by the Ikhwan cannot readily be derived from» — Wright declara oscura la relación entre los metros poéticos y los ciclos rítmicos, en vez de darla por establecida

«Given all these possible differences ofidentity, origin, and association, it might well be that, rather than forming a coherent and balanced set, the eight cycles described by the Ikhwan represent a collection ofstructures that in certain cases sat uncomfortably together and possibly overlapped» — y su conclusión sobre el conjunto de los ocho ciclos: una colección que convive con incomodidad y probablemente se solapa

«Thus the first group, suitable for projecting seriousness and setting verse on the connected themes ofglory, generosity, and nobility, consists ofthe two heavy cycles, while the second, characterized as joyful and suitable for setting poems that arouse pleasure, consists of hazaj and ramal» — Wright expone el reparto de los ciclos por efecto que la epístola propone, del que proyecta seriedad al que alegra

«Associated with this trajectory, not surprisingly, is a shift from heavy rhythms at the beginning to lighter ones later,86 with the added injunction to revert to more sedate rhythms at the end if the inebriated become rowdy» — y el consejo práctico que lo acompaña: volver a ritmos más sosegados si los bebedores se alborotan

«More surprising still is the entry provided for the fourth set (in fact, the first in order ofpresentation, that ofspring), for here we find zfr-bamm» — Wright señala la entrada inesperada de la cuarta categoría, donde aparece un par de cuerdas en lugar de un ciclo rítmico

«It is interesting to note, however, that because ofits disreputable implications, the derivation rniikhur ~ miikhurf is avoided by al-Farabi in favour ofa metaphorical connection with makhkhara 'to cleave the waves' (said of the prow of a ship» — y consigna que al-Farabi evita la derivación del nombre por sus connotaciones y la sustituye por una metáfora náutica

«Although any interpretation must perforce be hypothetical, there are one or two scraps ofinformation that may have a bearing on this curious entry» — Wright marca como hipotética su propia lectura de ese pasaje

«There is sufficient agreement among the manuscripts to ward offany suspicion that the text might be corrupt,88 and, in any case, to decant one or more ofthe rhythmic cycles into this set would undermine the previous tripartite division» — y desecha una salida textual porque rompería la división tripartita que la epístola acaba de establecer

«but above all al-Kindi, because it is evidently from him that much of the material in the risala is derived» — Wright adjudica a al-Kindi la fuente de la que deriva la mayor parte del material rítmico de la epístola

«The mnemonic definitions) mafa (i lun mafa (i lun ta nan tanan ta nan tanan) present this structure four times over) although why they should do so is neither explained nor immediately clear» — Wright deja sin explicar por qué la definición mnemotécnica de un ciclo se repite, y lo dice así en vez de resolverlo

«Unusual is the fact that the verbal definition of this cycle specifies that the attacks are 'moving' (mutabarrik), a qualification made for no other cycle» — y registra una particularidad de la epístola: llamar *movientes* a los ataques de un solo ciclo y de ningún otro

«Since every attack is automatically followed by a duration (baraka), the inclusion of this specification is either otiose or carries some further implication» — Wright plantea que ese calificativo puede ser ocioso o llevar alguna implicación más, y deja abiertas las dos lecturas; la misma frase vuelve palabra por palabra en una nota al pie de la plana 181, y el locator corresponde a la primera aparición

«A possible solution to this difficulty is sketched below in 5.5, where it is suggested that both mutafa and (ilatun might be interpreted as representing Ix x x I» — Wright propone una solución de notación para una definición que no encaja, presentándola como posible y no como resuelta

«so far - heavy (thaqil). Unfortunately, the placing of the third in relation to the first two is again not defined, and neither are we told how many time units separate the third from the beginning of the next cycle, so that the structure could be stated formally as Ix x p x qI, where both p and q are unknown» — y declara desconocidos dos valores de su propia reconstrucción; el tramo arranca a media línea porque el periodo cruza el cambio de plana

«Would this were all, but, unfortunately, the definition the Ikhwan give complicates matters by going on to mention a further four attacks» — Wright consigna que la definición de la epístola añade cuatro ataques más de los que el esquema admite

«The Ikhwan nowhere discuss such a phenomenon, but it is explored extensively by al-Farabi, who terms it mukhalafa ('contrast, differentiation')» — y marca una ausencia en la epístola: el fenómeno que al-Farabi llama *mukhalafa* no se discute allí

«Since the regularity ofthis excess can hardly result from chance, it may be concluded that we are dealing neither with error on the part of the Ikhwan nor irresponsibility on the part of the copyists, but with a systematic difference for which there should be a discernible cause, and the obvious area to consider is the adequacy of the method of representation for the purpose in question» — Wright lee la regularidad del exceso como rasgo sistemático y no como error de copistas

«Thus, both Ix x 0 I and Ix 0 0 I appear as tanan, Ix x x 0 I and Ix x 0 0 I as tananan. But, as they could certainly provide the correct totals for each cycle, it may be suggested that the reason they do not is that they are parasitic upon the prosodic representation not only with regard to the divisions into feet, but also with regard to the total time-unit count - in other words, the reason for the discrepancy is to be sought in constraints upon the prosodic representation that render it incapable of such accuracy» — y atribuye la discrepancia al límite de la representación prosódica, que no da para tanta precisión

«But, whilst it seems perverse to suspect these when they do reinforce what the verbal definitions US To make the definition accord with al-Kindi's, the phrase 'between the two is the time ofone attack' (baynahuma zaman naqra) would have to be considered an erroneous scribal addition» — Wright se resiste a la enmienda fácil por vía de sospechar al copista, y lo dice antes de proponer nada

«as they are offered as generic types (ajnas), is that for four ofthe cycles the Ikhwan present two forms» — el rasgo más notable del pasaje según Wright: para cuatro de los ciclos la epístola trae dos formas distintas; el tramo arranca a media frase porque el periodo empieza al pie de la plana anterior

«It is) in any case) worth noting that if the interpretations proposed are valid, all four result from applying a similar process of transformation, that is, the deletion of one of the attacks in the basic form and the addition of one or (usually) more attacks to fill the latter part of the cycle» — y describe el proceso común a las cuatro: quitar un ataque de la forma básica y añadir otros para llenar la parte final del ciclo

«The Ikhwan present these examples without comment) almost as if wishing to slip in, alongside definitions ofthe generic forms, surreptitious examples of how others can be derived from them» — Wright lee el gesto de la epístola: pone los ejemplos sin comentario, como deslizando entre las definiciones genéricas la manera de derivar otras

«But whatever the motivation, by including them in a text not otherwise concerned with the minutiae ofpractice, they underline the central importance ofthe processes of transformation that make the rhythmic cycles so much more flexible and alive than the bald outlines ofthe generic forms might suggest, and give a glimpse into a world of rhythmic variation that, as al-Farabi reveals, was one of considerable complexity» — y cierra su análisis rítmico con lo que esos ejemplos dejan ver: un mundo de variación rítmica de considerable complejidad

«The four faculties derive from the Galenic medical tradition; the digestive corresponds to Galen's retentive, one of the examples adduced being, precisely, the stomach, which retains food until digested» — nota de Wright a la cuaterna de las facultades naturales: las deriva de la tradición médica galénica y empareja la digestiva con la retentiva de Galeno

«but the contrast with the previous entry is clear: aI-Kind! expresses them as 'in the body' and 'in the head' repectively; see Mu'allafat al-Kindi al-musiqiyya, p. 101. Shehadi offers a literal 'animal powers'; see Fadlou Shehadi, Philosophies of Music in Medieval Islam (Leiden: Brill, 1997), p. 42. Shiloah, more appropriately, gives 'les facultes de l'ame'» — nota de Wright sobre el término *hayawani*: señala que al-Kindi opone las facultades del cuerpo a las de la cabeza, que Shehadi las vierte literalmente y que prefiere la solución francesa de Shiloah

«Despite the fact that this startling juxtaposition of two of the string names is not recognized anywhere else as a rhythmiC feature, the manuscripts are in general agreement (and none mentions a rhythmic cycle instead), and given that the tripartite division of the cycles established elsewhere is maintained by distributing them, at least by implication, over the other three blocks, there seems to be no pressing need for emendation» — nota de Wright sobre el ritmo *zir-bamm* de la lista: aunque la yuxtaposición de dos nombres de cuerda no se reconoce en ninguna otra parte como rasgo rítmico, declara que los manuscritos concuerdan y que no ve necesidad apremiante de enmendar

«'Correspond' is an emendation by analogy with the remaining three seasons, all of which have mushakila. Here, however, we encounter in virtually all manuscripts muqawwiya ('reinforcing'), which, if not original, must be a very early scribal slip, in either case presumably being influenced by the preceding» — nota de Wright que declara propia la lectura del verbo: la toma por analogía con las otras tres estaciones y consigna que casi todos los manuscritos traen *muqawwiya*, que lee como desliz de copista muy temprano

«This corresponds even more directly than the previous 'digestive' to the Galenic retentive; the duplication is possibly to be explained by a degree ofcarelessness in filling a gap left by al-Kindi, who has no comparable entry in this set» — nota de Wright sobre la facultad retentiva: atribuye la duplicación a cierto descuido al llenar un hueco que al-Kindi dejó sin entrada

«Although absent from all manuscripts, logic requires the addition here of old age, shaykhukha. It is included by al-Kindi» — nota de Wright que declara suya la adición de la vejez en la cuaterna del invierno: falta en todos los manuscritos y la sostiene por la lógica de la serie y por al-Kindi

«The distinction between the closely related terms dhiikira in the autumn list and mutadhakkira is by no means clear, but the latter has a slightly more ruminative feel to it, representing memory at work» — nota de Wright sobre los dos términos de memoria del otoño y el invierno: declara que la distinción no es clara y propone para el segundo un matiz más rumiante

«A case of rhetorically charged parallelism, so that mawjud and kii'in can be taken straightforwardly as synonymous» — nota de Wright que lee como paralelismo retórico los dos términos de existencia que la Epístola opone, y los da por sinónimos

«That such correspondences should not be taken too literally is suggested by the disjunction between the pairings offered here and those given above in the catalogues for the four seasons. Spring, for example, associates generosity and nobility not with the first and second heavy but with the puzzling 'zir-bamm', while autumn associates heavy rhythms with reason, judgement, and virtue. Likewise, winter associates ramal and hazaj not with pleasure but, variously, with forbearance, nobility, and justice. Only with summer do we have agreement, makhuri and other light rhythms being associated in both cases with dashing martial qualities» — nota de Wright que consigna el desacuerdo interno de la epístola: los ritmos que este capítulo empareja con cada cualidad moral no coinciden con los de los catálogos de las cuatro estaciones, y solo el verano concuerda en las dos listas

«At this point, however, the text has become somewhat confused in most manuscripts. It is possible that either azman ('times') or a/:zwal ('states') is a later addition; i has only the latter, t. only the former. As stages and states are inextricably linked in what follows, either reading would be acceptable. It may be noted that although al-KindI expresses the notion that certain cycles are appropriate for certain times of day, this is not taken up by the Ikhwan» — nota de Wright sobre el estado del texto: lo declara confuso en casi todos los manuscritos, deja abierta cuál de las dos palabras es añadido posterior, y marca que los Ikhwan no recogen la idea de al-Kindi de que ciertos ciclos convienen a ciertas horas

«The generic term for dancing, which could be solo or collective, is raq$. The precise sense of dastband is not clear. A likely implication is of a group dance involving hand-holding, but as dastband also means a bracelet it is possible that it refers more particularly to a circular formation, although line-dancing cannot be excluded» — nota de Wright sobre los dos términos de baile: declara no claro el sentido de *dastband* y ofrece tres lecturas posibles sin elegir

«Models for the material that follows are provided by al-Kindi and I:Iunayn ibn Isbaq, the latter fully referenced by Shiloah, who notes the presence offour common items» — nota de Wright a la apertura del florilegio: nombra a al-Kindi y a Hunayn ibn Ishaq como modelos del material que sigue y remite a Shiloah para el cotejo

«However, given the thematic links that both provide a very clear structure to this section and emphasize some of the main concerns of the risiiIa, it is likely that some ofthe material, as well as the organization of it, is unique to the Ikhwan» — y de esa misma nota, lo que Wright atribuye a los propios Ikhwan: por los enlaces temáticos que estructuran la sección, juzga probable que parte del material y su organización sean suyos

«The numbering of the various dicta is an editorial addition» — nota de Wright que declara suya la numeración de las sentencias del florilegio: no está en el texto

«The philosophers have asserted that music [nagham] is a remainder [fadl] left over after speech [mantiqJ, which language [Iisiin] cannot bring forth, so nature brings it forth through melodies [al~iin]» — pasaje del *Iqd al-farid* que Wright transcribe en nota como versión paralela de la primera sentencia: la música como resto que queda de la palabra y que la naturaleza saca en melodías; la voz es la de esa antología, no la de la Epístola ni la de Wright

«although, as the following discussion suggests, the individual soul is perhaps more likely. Matters are not helped by the argument, the logic of which is at first sight obscure. It appears reasonable that nature should take delight in something occasioned by the soul, but wherein, then, lies the potential deception» — nota de Wright sobre el alma de la primera sentencia: deja sin resolver si es el alma universal o la individual, se inclina por la individual y declara obscura a primera vista la lógica del argumento

«But it is important to note that nature is not equated with gross carnality; it is, rather, a vehicle oftemptation because ofits beauty, even if ofa lower order than spiritual beauty» — y en la misma nota acota la lectura moral: la naturaleza no queda igualada a la carnalidad grosera, sino que es vehículo de tentación por su belleza, de orden menor que la espiritual

«If understood as a lyre, qitara would emphasize the setting in the world of classical Greece, since lyres were not used by CAbbasid court musicians» — nota de Wright sobre el instrumento de la quinta sentencia: si se lee lira, el escenario queda en la Grecia clásica, porque los músicos de corte abasíes no la usaban

«al-Khwarizml defines the qithara (although the reading ofthis word is conjectural) as a Greek instrument resembling a tunbur (ala lahum [= al-yunan] tushbih al-tunbur). See Mafatib al-culum, pp. 236-237. The Beirut edition of the risala has the reading» — y la otra lectura posible de la misma nota: la definición que al-Khwarizmi da de la *qithara* como instrumento griego parecido al *tunbur*, con la advertencia de que la lectura de la palabra es conjetural

«This renders 'yufidunii $ura sharifa', taking $ura, here, in the sense ofa Platonic idea, presumably conveyed through the mathematical relationships that the music, if properly crafted, should embody» — nota de Wright a la quinta sentencia: declara que traduce el término árabe en el sentido de idea platónica, transmitida por las relaciones matemáticas que la música bien hecha encarnaría

«In the prefatory statement to this chapter, the context evidently requires the sense 'musician' rather than 'instrument' and, accordingly, musiqiin in t. is to be rejected in favour of musiqiir» — nota de Wright sobre los dos términos que designan al músico y al instrumento: en la apertura del capítulo rechaza la lectura de un manuscrito en favor de la de los demás, y dice que el contexto decide

«It seems incontrovertible that it is an instrument that is being referred to here, although musiqiin appears only in .1, all the others having musiqiir, as does the Beirut edition. (To avoid the absurdity of an inanimate musician, Shiloah. emends the text to musiqi» — nota de Wright a la sexta sentencia: sostiene que ahí se habla del instrumento aunque casi todos los manuscritos y la edición de Beirut traigan la otra palabra, y consigna que Shiloah enmienda para evitar el absurdo de un músico inanimado

«The last phrase is difficult to render, and the version offered correspondingly distant. The literal meaning is, 'because its utterances are simple, lacking dotted letters» — nota de Wright que declara distante su propia versión de la frase final de esa sentencia y da la lectura literal: que los enunciados del instrumento son simples, sin letras punteadas

«I am grateful to Abbas Hamdani, who kindly volunteered to send me a paper in which these verses are identified as by RiidakI (d. 940)» — nota de Wright sobre los versos persas: agradece a Abbas Hamdani el trabajo que los identifica como de Rudaki y da la fecha de muerte del poeta

«Although benefitting greatly from Abbas Hamdani's translation, I have, with some trepidation, preferred to attempt my own» — y en la misma nota declara suya la traducción de los versos, hecha con reservas y por encima de la de Hamdani

«The zir is properly the top string; here, it could also have the general sense of a soft or high-pitched sound, but in context it is best understood in relation to instrumental sound» — nota de Wright sobre el *zir* del primer dístico: la da por la cuerda aguda y admite el sentido general de sonido suave o agudo, pero prefiere leerla como sonido de instrumento

«The same confusion of terminology continues: t has milsiqiin followed by musiqiir, which makes perfect sense, but the others begin with musiqiir, and then grope for a contrasting term, one coming up with the nonsensical musiqiit (probably a Simple misreading of the original musiqiir), while others opt for milsiqi. The Beirut edition follows this reading, as does Shiloah's translation» — nota de Wright a la séptima sentencia: consigna cómo los manuscritos se enredan con los términos del músico y del instrumento, y qué lectura siguen la edición de Beirut y Shiloah

«The entries musiqan, musiqiir, and musiqiit in al-Faruqi, An Annotated Glossary, need to be considered in the light of this material» — y el corolario que saca para la lexicografía: las entradas del glosario de al-Faruqi piden revisarse a la luz de este material

«The sequence of statements from 6 to 12 all pursue the theme of a profound empathy between musical sound and the soul that can transcend, or does not require, the intermediary of verbal expression» — nota de Wright que lee las sentencias 6 a 12 como una serie: todas sostienen una empatía honda entre el sonido musical y el alma que no necesita la mediación de la palabra

«This begins another theme which continues from statements 12 to 17. As the stress, not unexpectedly, is on the superiority ofhearing, 12 is the exception that is speedily brushed aside» — nota de Wright sobre la serie siguiente: las sentencias 12 a 17 argumentan la superioridad del oído, y la 12, que da la primacía a la vista, queda como excepción despachada de inmediato

«Another passage in which it is not wholly clear whether properties of pitch as well as duration are being referred to, although the latter clearly predominate» — nota de Wright a la sentencia decimoséptima: deja sin resolver si los términos técnicos remiten a la altura o a la duración, y se inclina por la duración

«In any event, as such properties could only be identified through a temporal sequence ofevents, the distinction is hardly of crucial importance» — y cierra esa nota restando peso a la cuestión: como esas propiedades solo se identifican en una secuencia temporal, la distinción no le parece decisiva

«The terminology here, 'ta'lifajza'iha', is suggestive of atomism» — nota de Wright a la sentencia sobre la belleza natural: señala que el vocabulario de la composición de las partes sugiere atomismo

«The soul of an individual human being is defined as 'partial, incomplete' (juz'i), while the celestial (jalakt) souls, in contrast, are defined as 'complete' (kulll) and thus perfect» — nota de Wright que fija los dos términos del par: el alma del hombre individual queda definida como parcial e incompleta y las almas celestes como completas

«Whereas earlier nature is often viewed as in opposition to the spiritual, as a site of seduction, here it is seen as a creative force, aligned syntactically in parallel with Divine Wisdom, and it might almost be seen, fancifully, as a precursor of Spinoza's natura naturans» — nota de Wright sobre el giro que da la palabra naturaleza en este pasaje: de sitio de seducción pasa a fuerza creadora puesta en paralelo con la Sabiduría divina, y aventura, declarándolo fantasioso, un precursor de la *natura naturans* de Spinoza

«This is a perfect encapsulation of the Platonic view of mimesis; see Republic X.596-598» — nota de Wright a la sentencia de las semejanzas: la lee como formulación acabada de la mímesis platónica y remite al libro X de la República

«This is an abbreviated rerun of the argument in Chapter 8 above. There is, evidently, a lack of parallelism in that the instruments mentioned are not analogous to celestial phenomena in the same way that rhythms or melodies are thought to be; there is no hint that human rhythm was conceived as a means of measurement» — nota de Wright a la sentencia de los instrumentos análogos: la da por repetición abreviada de un argumento anterior y marca la falta de paralelismo, porque nada indica que el ritmo humano se concibiera como medida

«Two ofthe manuscripts add a fourth term, kura ('globe'), but none has the wholly eccentric rabab which has found its way into the Beirut edition» — y el cotejo de esa misma nota: dos manuscritos añaden un cuarto término y ninguno trae el que la edición de Beirut imprime, que Wright llama excéntrico

«The word ma'arifimplies here, as the following passages make clear, degrees of knowledge on the Sufi path» — nota de Wright al arranque del capítulo 17: lee los grados de conocimiento del pasaje como grados en la vía sufí

«To the standard three verbs the Ikhwan here add tariba, which in this context points to the ecstasy of the Sufi which figures in the following narrative» — y en la misma serie de notas marca el verbo que los Ikhwan añaden a los tres habituales, que remite al éxtasis del sufí del relato que sigue

«Given the previous material, it might be suspected that here, too, instrument (muslqan) rather than musician (muslqar) was intended. But the specific references to recitation that follow make this unlikely» — nota de Wright al arranque del capítulo 17: descarta la lectura que pondría instrumento en lugar de músico, porque los relatos que siguen hablan de recitación

«This example is repeated by al-Ghazali; see [bya' 'ulum al-dln, vol. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, n.d.), p. 273), tr. in D. B. Macdonald, 'Emotional Religion in Islam as Affected by Music and Singing» — nota de Wright al primer relato del sufí: consigna que al-Ghazali lo repite en su obra y remite a la traducción de Macdonald

«The key term is jazd', which can be either positive or negative: it is obviously negative in the Qur'anic account of Joseph and his brothers, where it refers to a punishment, but it is given a positive interpretation by the Sufi, for whom it has the sense of 'recompense, reward'» — nota de Wright sobre el término que el relato da vuelta: en la historia coránica de José es castigo, y el sufí lo toma en el sentido de recompensa

«This example is also repeated by al-Ghazali in l/:lya' 'ulum aI-din, vo!. 2 (Beirut: Dar al-Qalam, n.d.), pp. 263-264. In this edition, the reading 'tazur' (and hence 'makan al-ta") is preferred. MacDonald translates as here, with 'he'» — nota de Wright al tercer relato: también lo repite al-Ghazali, cuya edición prefiere la otra lectura del verbo, y consigna que MacDonald traduce como aquí

«The verb used here is tarannam, which has a general implication of vibration . (it would be used, for example, of the twanging of a bowstring), as if not just his voice but his whole being was set in sympathetic motion, the intensity of the experience accounting for his later, negative reactions» — nota de Wright al canto de Moisés: el verbo implica vibración, como la de la cuerda del arco, y lo lee como si el ser entero quedara puesto en movimiento simpático

«Select Bibliography Primary Sources The Qur)an: aNew Translation, tr. Muhammad Abdel-Haleem. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004» — encabezado de la bibliografía selecta y su primera entrada, que declara de qué traducción inglesa salen las citas coránicas del volumen; extraído con la guarda anticosido apagada por ser entrada de bibliografía con años entre paréntesis

«al-Khwarizmi, Mubammad ibn Musa. Mafiiti/:l al-'ulum, ed. G. van Vloten. Leiden: Brill, 1895» — la edición de al-Khwarizmi que Wright cita en sus notas para las definiciones de instrumentos; entrada de bibliografía, extraída con la guarda apagada

«al-KindI, Abu YusufYa'qub ibn Ishaq. Mu'allafiU al-Kindf al-musfqiyya, ed. Zakariyya Yusuf. Baghdad: Matba'at Shafiq, 1962» — la edición de los escritos musicales de al-Kindi, que es el cotejo constante de la introducción y de las notas; entrada de bibliografía, extraída con la guarda apagada

«Marquet, Yves. La philosophie des Ibwan al-Safa'. Algiers: Societe Nationale d'Edition et Diffusion, 1973» — la obra de Yves Marquet sobre la filosofía de los Ikhwan, el estudioso a quien el foreword del volumen dedica su recuerdo; entrada de bibliografía, extraída con la guarda apagada

«tr. 'L'Epitre sur la musique des Ikhwan al-Safa". Revue des Etudes Islamiques, 32 (1965), pp. 125-162, and 34 (1967), pp. 159-193» — la traducción francesa de la misma Epístola por Amnon Shiloah, publicada en dos entregas, que la introducción declara como antecedente del que este volumen depende; entrada de bibliografía, extraída con la guarda apagada

«Wright, Owen. 'Music and Musicology in the RasaJil Ikhwan al-$afa n , in The Ikhwan aI-$afa' and their 'Rasa'il': An Introduction, ed. N. EI-Bizri (New York and London: Oxford University Press in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2008), pp. 214-247» — el capítulo propio de Wright sobre música y musicología en el corpus, publicado dos años antes en el volumen introductorio de la misma serie que edita El-Bizri; entrada de bibliografía, extraída con la guarda apagada

«This description is best understood not to relate, as with the other letters, to a final/independent form similar to the later Naskh, in this case' !.I', but to the Kufic equivalent. The kisra ('fragment, broken off piece') would then designate the upper part, which is written with a second, separate stroke. The first stroke would be the lower rotated V-shape, with the two horizontal sides parallel, like D, and it is to the gap between them that the term 'aperture' (jut/:ta) relates» — nota de Wright a la geometría de las letras: sostiene que la descripción no corresponde a la forma tardía de esa letra sino a su equivalente cúfico, y explica a qué trazo remite cada término del texto

«The name relates this rhythm to the wine-tavern (ma-khur). It is discussed in the Introduction, 5.4.4» — nota de Wright sobre el nombre del ritmo *makhuri*: lo liga a la taberna y remite a su propio análisis en la introducción

«Whereas the previous cycle names are peculiar to music, ramal is also the name of a poetic metre. But whatever might be conjectured about earlier links, by the ninth century, if not before, no structural overlap can be detected» — nota de Wright sobre el *ramal*: a diferencia de los nombres de ciclo anteriores, este es también nombre de un metro poético, y declara que para el siglo IX no se detecta ya solapamiento estructural entre los dos

«Evidence has already been given of links between various areas of this diagram) so that arriving at a stemma is by no means easy) even if no account is taken of the further problems that would arise from attempting to include any later manuscripts» — Wright, al pie de sus dos figuras de filiación: declara que llegar a un stemma no es fácil por los enlaces entre zonas del diagrama, y deja fuera los manuscritos tardíos

«Also to be noted are the unrecorded variations in the presence or absence ofchapter divisions. The preference has been inclusion rather than exclusion, simply to provide more reference tools» — Wright declara una intervención editorial que no consta en el aparato: las divisiones de capítulo se incluyen o no según los manuscritos, y él opta por incluirlas para dar más puntos de referencia

«In relative clauses, there are instances of the resumptive suffix pronoun being omitted in one manuscript whilst included in another» — Wright inventaria las divergencias sintácticas entre manuscritos que su aparato no recoge, como el pronombre de reenvío de las oraciones de relativo

«It has been suggested that the most promising candidate among them is salbaq, because ofthe not unreasonable idea that it may be derived from the Greek sambyke» — Wright recoge la conjetura etimológica que liga uno de los nombres de instrumento del texto con la *sambyke* griega

«but this runs up against the unfortunate fact that such harps had disappeared from Persian representations at least 1,000 years earlier, and were not to be attested again» — y la objeción que le pone: el arpa arqueada que esa etimología supondría había desaparecido de la iconografía persa mil años antes y no vuelve a atestiguarse

«For Farmer, the fretting defined by both al-Kindi and the Ikhwan demonstrates the abandonment ofneutral intervals» — Wright atribuye a Farmer la lectura de que el trasteado que definen al-Kindi y los Ikhwan implica el abandono de los intervalos neutros; en la misma plana la objeta y la llama una visión bastante perversa de la evolución del sistema de escala

«Although this is not made explicit, the other and more extensive list approaches more closely an organological classification, and it is of interest to note that it again begins with percussion instruments, which as a category tend to be ignored by other theorists» — Wright lee la segunda lista de instrumentos de la epístola como clasificación organológica no declarada, y marca que empieza por la percusión, categoría que los demás teóricos suelen ignorar

«But even if nothing emerges beyond the pointless observation that the first line is palindromic, it is still clear that there is a broad classificatory principle at work» — y el límite que le pone a su propio análisis: aun si de ahí no sale más que la observación ociosa de que la primera línea es palindrómica, sostiene que opera un principio clasificatorio amplio

«What is clear is that the combinations do not correspond to the prosodic feet, ofwhich there are only eight,!7 and given that the prosodic feet are empirically derived from the range ofsequences exhibited by the metres, it might reasonably be conjectured that correspondence should be sought not in the result but in the corpus from which it is derived» — Wright sobre las combinaciones de los tres elementos prosódicos: señala que no se corresponden con los ocho pies de la prosodia y conjetura que la correspondencia habría que buscarla en el corpus del que los pies se derivan

«However, Ibn Zayla reports a different definition on the authority of al-KindI, Ix x 0 1,95 and that the cyclic identity could be - or indeed normally was - ensured by omitting the third attack is confirmed by al-Farabi and al-KhwarizmI, who give the same basic pattern» — Wright coteja los testimonios sobre un ciclo: Ibn Zayla atribuye a al-Kindi otra definición, y al-Farabi y al-Khwarizmi coinciden en el patrón básico; las rayas dentro del tramo son un inciso del propio Wright

«The answer is provided by the one authority to define this term, al-Farabi, for whom it is a feature of variant forms, which consists of the omission ofan attack from the generic form but without the loss of the related time unit» — Wright resuelve qué significa el término técnico de la supresión acudiendo a al-Farabi, la única autoridad que lo define: omisión de un ataque sin pérdida de la unidad de tiempo

«If the light cycles lie, in all probability, within the three to five time unit range, one might expect the heavy equivalents, perceived to be significantly slower, to be statable as cycles of six to ten time units» — Wright enuncia como expectativa, no como dato, el rango de unidades de tiempo que cabría esperar de los ciclos pesados si los ligeros van de tres a cinco

«The supposition that we are dealing with two cycles suggests that the distribution ofthe final set offive attacks should resemble that proposed for (4)» — Wright declara supuesto propio que se trate de dos ciclos y de ahí deriva la distribución de los cinco ataques finales

«The verbal definition begins predictably by echoing al-KindI but then deviates in a way that suggests the text is defective» — Wright declara defectuoso el texto de una definición: empieza repitiendo a al-Kindi y luego se desvía

«This should help us interpret the rather opaque description offered by al-Kindi,105 which speaks of a separate attack (naqra munfarida) followed by two consecutive attacks and then, in the same vein» — Wright llama opaca la descripción que al-Kindi da del ciclo y la coteja con la de al-Farabi para leerla

«The distribution ofattacks in the variant cycle is, though, unusuaL for it is to be expected in a fundamentally triple structure that, apart from time unit 1, time unit 3 is the one most likely to be marked by an attack» — Wright señala como inusual la distribución de ataques del ciclo variante que reconstruye, contra lo esperable en una estructura ternaria

«This cycle is, for those recognizing a total ofseven cycles, the odd one out, having no light counterpart» — Wright sobre el *hazaj*: para quienes cuentan siete ciclos queda como el impar, sin contrapartida ligera

«they have differed from them sufficiently frequently to make untrustworthy witnesses, and they therefore fail to provide cogent reasons for not reconsidering the adequacy of the verbal definition in the light ofwhat other authorities tell us» — Wright retira confianza a las mnemotecnias de los manuscritos como testigos, y con eso justifica volver a examinar la definición verbal a la luz de las otras autoridades

«we may appeal to its broader (if rare) sense of'calm), 'relaxed/soft), qualifying the intensity ofthe attack» — Wright propone para un término del texto su sentido amplio y raro, referido a la intensidad del ataque, y lo declara como propuesta

«There is one immediately obvious limitation on their effectiveness» — Wright abre el balance de las representaciones prosódicas señalando su límite antes de exponerlas

«The representation of the second heavy derives directly from the above) simply adding a further long syllable in each cycle to cater for the extra length» — Wright deriva la representación del segundo pesado de la anterior por añadido de una sílaba larga por ciclo

«An equally straightforward case is that ofthe version proposed for hazaj, where to two cycles of Ix x 00 I corresponds Jii'ilun fa'ilun' (echoed exactly by 'tan tanan tan tanan» — Wright da por directa la correspondencia entre la fórmula prosódica y la mnemotecnia silábica en el caso del *hazaj*

«It would be tempting to follow the alluring call of the bird song, discard the majority version for the prosodic representation of the second cycle, and adopt the reading of J, majifilu(n). But this simply» — Wright nombra la tentación de seguir la mnemotecnia del canto del pájaro y descartar la lectura mayoritaria de los manuscritos, y la frena; el tramo se corta en el cambio de plana

«These imply an aesthetic preference for smooth transitions between structures perceived to be similar, and the instances mentioned are changing from a heavy cycle to the corresponding light one or from a light cycle to the corresponding heavy one or another similar» — Wright lee el pasaje de los cambios de ciclo como preferencia estética por las transiciones suaves entre estructuras parecidas

«A considerable degree of variation may be observed here, and while more orthodox forms have been preferred, no attempt has been made to impose uniformity, with the result that there are cases where standard expectations are not met» — Wright declara su criterio para la concordancia en la edición: prefiere las formas más ortodoxas pero no impone uniformidad, y admite que quedan casos que no cumplen lo esperable; el resto de la plana son variantes en alfabeto árabe, que no se citan

«fixed stars 32 ------ Saturn 27% 4:3 2:1 ----- Jupiter 24» — arranque de la Figura 3 de Wright, el diagrama de los diámetros de las esferas y de las razones entre ellas que la epístola declara; se cita tal cual imprime el troceo, con las rayas y las razones entre los rótulos, porque la plana entera es la figura

«Mercury 13 2:1 ------ }3 moon 12 3:2 ~ 3:2 2:1 3:1 earth 8» — y el tramo inferior de esa misma figura, de Mercurio a la tierra con sus razones; el *}3* y el *~* son lo que el escaneo hace de las llaves y de las líneas del dibujo

Microcosmos (el hombre-mundo) — La Epístola mide el cuerpo humano parte por parte y lo declara proporcionado al todo; con la mano extendida sobre la cabeza y el compás apoyado en el ombligo describe un círculo hasta los dedos de los pies, y Wright coteja el pasaje con el hombre vitruviano de Leonardo.

Anima mundi (alma del mundo) — El Alma perfecta a la que las almas individuales se vuelven análogas y con la que anhelan unirse; de ella llevan rastros las bellezas de este mundo, y a los cuerpos celestes la Epístola les adjudica almas y habitantes.

Cuatro elementos (fuego, aire, agua, tierra) — Las cuatro cuerdas del laúd corresponden a los cuatro elementos y sus notas a los cuatro humores; la misma cuaterna organiza el catálogo de las estaciones del capítulo 14.

Talismán (imagen astrológica) — La Epístola pone al fabricante de talismanes junto al médico como quien opera por conocimiento de las correspondencias, y da por ejemplo el cuadrado de nueve casillas que facilita el parto bajo condición astrológica.

Geometría (la quinta arte liberal, fundamento del oficio) — Todas las letras y escrituras se derivan, según la Epístola, de la línea recta que es el diámetro de un círculo y de la curva que es su circunferencia; y las medidas del laúd se dictan como proporciones, no como cifras.

Cadena de transmisión (quién tomó de quién) — La Epístola declara que todas las artes fueron creadas por los sabios y que pasaron como herencia del sabio al común, del docto al que aprende y del maestro al discípulo.

Secreto (lo que se jura no fijar por escrito) — La Epístola cierra pidiendo que el hermano lector entienda el sentido de las alusiones sutiles y los secretos escondidos que dice haber puesto en ella.

Crítica de fuentes (criterios de inclusión y descarte) — Wright declara su base manuscrita y sus criterios, marca como propias las enmiendas y las adiciones, consigna las divergencias entre testimonios sin arbitrarlas y deja fuera del aparato las variantes que no recoge.