Sidney H. Griffith. Yahya ibn cAdi: The Reformation of Morals, A Parallel Arabic-English Text, Translated and Introduced by Sidney H. Griffith, Eastern Christian Texts, Volume 1. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
John C.
Lamoreaux
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
George A. Kiraz
James E. Walters
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Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute
2004
Vol. 7, No. 2
For this publication, a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
license has been granted by the author(s), who retain full
copyright.
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/article/hv7n2prlamoreaux
John C. Lamoreaux
Sidney H. Griffith. Yahya ibn cAdi: The Reformation of Morals, A Parallel Arabic-English Text, Translated and Introduced by Sidney H. Griffith, Eastern Christian Texts, Volume 1. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Press, 2002.
https://hugoye.bethmardutho.org/pdf/vol7/HV7N2PRLamoreaux.pdf
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies
Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute,
vol 7
issue 2
Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies is an electronic journal dedicated to the study
of the Syriac tradition, published semi-annually (in January and July) by Beth
Mardutho: The Syriac Institute. Published since 1998, Hugoye seeks to offer the
best scholarship available in the field of Syriac studies.
Syriac Studies
Sidney Griffith
Yahya
ibn `Adi
Morals
Ethics
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[1] The
volume at hand inaugurates an exciting new series. Entitled
Eastern Christian Texts, this series is published by the
Middle Eastern Texts Initiative (METI) of Brigham Young
University. Like its counterpart, the well-received Islamic
Translation Series, likewise published by METI, this series
offers English translations of seminal works, accompanied on
facing page by texts in their original language. In terms of
scope, Eastern Christian Texts is to include works from
all of the diverse eastern Christian communities. In terms of
audience, it is aimed both at specialists and non-specialists.
Accompanying this new series is another, The Library of the
Christian East, also published by METI. This second series
will offer extensive introductions to important authors, with
selections of their writings in translation, as well as surveys
of important themes in the history of eastern Christianity. For
an overview of these series, a presentation of their
international advisory boards, and prospectives for future
volumes, the reader may wish to consult METI's website
(http://meti.byu.edu/).
[2] The
present volume is the first translation into English of Yahya
ibn ʿAdi's (d. 974) Tahdhib
al-akhlaq. This work is a multifarious ethical
compendium. In part, it is concerned with philosophical issues:
the nature of human moral qualities; the character of the
tripartite soul; the cataloguing and definition of virtues and
vices; and how the baser parts of the soul might be made
subject to its rational part. In part, it is a mirror for
princes, offering a description of the perfect ruler and gentle
advice for those less than perfect—not least among their
neglected duties being the support of scholars. In part, it is
a hortative discourse, aiming at the "instruction of
prospective students and future leaders ... be they Muslim or
Christian, in order to inculcate in them the requisite moral
attitude for the practice of the philosophical way of life"
(xlii), that they might become as "the perfect man"
(al-insan al-kamil).
[3] There
can be no doubt that Yahya's work merits its place at the head
of a series designed to present seminal works of the eastern
Christian tradition. Its author was one of the most famous and
most prolific of Christian Arab philosophers. A member of the
Syrian Orthodox Church, he was a student of al-Farabi and of
al-Farabi's own teacher, Abu Bishr Matta ibn Yunus, and was
himself the teacher of many who would go on to renown of their
own. He is a figure perhaps best known for his contributions to
the formation of the Aristotelian school of Baghdad. Moreover,
of Yahya's many works, the present is one of his most popular,
a fact well illustrated by the number of manuscripts in which
it survives (more than twenty) and by the number of times it
has been edited (to date, twenty). The most recent and best of
these editions was prepared by Samir Khalil, published as
Yahya ibn ʿAdi (893-974): Tahdhib
al-ahlaq (Beirut: CEDRAC, 1994). It is this text, sans
apparatus, that has been taken as the basis of the present
translation and printed on the facing page, with full
vocalization.
[4] Griffith
opens his volume with an introduction to the life of Yahya, the
context within which he lived and wrote, a presentation of
Yahya's Reformation of Morals, and a placing of it in
its social and literary context. As Griffith argues, Yahya's is
a singular work. It shares much with earlier discussions of
ethics in the Hellenic, pre-Islamic, and Persianate traditions.
There are superficially similar works in the Muslim
philosophical tradition. Even so, Yahya's work is unique. While
he drew on sources many and diverse, Yahya crafted from those
sources his own vision of the philosophical life. And
strikingly, this vision is absent religious reference. Its
conceptual framework is the human being and the pursuit of
happiness through humane ideals. This is not to say that the
work is opposed to the monotheisms of the early medieval Near
East. Indeed, as Griffith argues, it offers an understanding of
the philosophical life, such that it might be pursued by
adherents of any of the faith traditions, having as its ideal
perfect humanity (insaniyah), "that is to say, humane
behavior in the social sphere ... a prerequisite for the
well-being of both philosophy and religion in society" (p.
xliii).
[5] As to
manner of translation, Griffith's goal was "accurately to
express the thought of Yahya ibn ʿAdi in a
literal rendering of the Arabic, consistent with the
requirements of intelligible English expression" (p. xlvi).
That he achieved that goal is evident throughout. Indeed, he
has achieved far more. Yahya's cannot have been an easy work to
translate. Modern English frequently lacks words, clearly
defined in semantic range, with which to express the sorts of
ethical states, virtues, and vices discussed by Yahya. And what
words there are often exist only in religious discourse.
Yahya's translator carefully avoids English terms that bear
overly religious significance, and has remained faithful to
Yahya's own vision of "perfect humanity." Furthermore,
Yahya's text is composed in a form of ornamental, rhythmic
prose, in which style at times takes precedence over the
ordered presentation of ideas. Rather than Yahya's normal,
syllogistic manner of presentation, in this text each
rhetorical period is meant to be savored in for itself. The
work is, as it were, a collection of beautifully ornate
proverbs and bons mots, delicately interwoven. Yahya's
translator captures a sense of the gossamer beauty of his
Arabic original, and has enabled Yahya's graceful prose to
shine through, even in English guise.