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

«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