Medieval Manuscripts in Cambridge Libraries

A catalogue of Western manuscripts and papyri at Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and selected Cambridge colleges

Cambridge, Trinity College, MS B.9.6

Diktyon no.: Diktyon 11933

Contents

Introduction: This manuscript, probably copied in the first two-thirds of the 16th century, contains most of the surviving works of Philo of Alexandria, also known as Philo Judaeus. The author was a Jewish philosopher who worked in Alexandria in the 1st century CE and who sought to synthesise Jewish doctrine with Greek philosophy. The texts found here include writings on the persecution of the Jews in the reign of Caligula, including an account of an embassy from the Jewish community of Alexandria to the emperor in which the author took part, as well as scriptural commentaries and more purely philosophical treatises. Some of these works are presented here divided into sections, which do not always appear consecutively. The manuscript also contains a single text by Eusebios of Caesarea, an oration in praise of the Emperor Constantine I. Peculiarly, a single stray folio, f. 64, is inserted between another stray folio, f. 63, which belongs to the text De specialibus legibus, and quires containing the latter part of that text. The inserted folio contains a fragment of another text of Philo, the De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini, which appears in full later in the manuscript (ff. 90r-100r). At the end of f. 64v the text comes to an end, although this is not the usual end of the work. It is followed at the foot of the page by a heading for the De specialibus legibus, whose beginning is missing, as is the end of the work which precedes it, the De vita contemplativa. It is unclear why the text of the De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini should have been terminated early, although if this was an error it could explain why the same text was copied again in full later in the manuscript. Dr Christopher Wright

Language(s): Greek

1. ff. 1r-20v
Philo of Alexandria, De opificio mundi

TLG 0018.001

ff. 21r-23v are blank

2. ff. 24r-33v
Philo of Alexandria, De Decalogo

TLG 0018.023

3. ff. 33v-35r
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legis

Book 4, sections 55-78 (De iudice)

TLG 0018.024

4. ff. 35r-43v
Philo of Alexandria, De virtutibus

Sections 51-174 (De humanitate), 175-180 (De poenitentia)

TLG 0018.025

5. ff. 43v-48v
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legibus

Book 4, sections 151-238 (De constitutione principum)

TLG 0018.024

6. ff. 48v-57a recto
Philo of Alexandria, Quod omnis probus liber sit

TLG 0018.027

7. ff. 57a recto-62v
Philo of Alexandria, De vita contemplativa

Defective at the end: ends at section 89

TLG 0018.028

8. ff. 63r-63v, 65r-72v
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legibus

Book 3, sections 1-209

Defective at the beginning: begins at Book 3, section 58

TLG 0018.024

9. f. 64r-64v
Philo of Alexandria, De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini

Defective at the beginning and end: begins at section 26, ends at section 33

TLG 0018.004

Followed by a heading for the preceding item, the text into which this folio is inserted

10. ff. 73r-89r
Philo of Alexandria, De Iosepho

TLG 0018.021

f. 89v is blank apart from a heading for the following text

11. ff. 90r-100r
Philo of Alexandria, De sacrificiis Abelis et Caini

TLG 0018.004

12. ff. 100v-109v
Philo of Alexandria, De cherubim

TLG 0018.003

13. ff. 110r-121r
Philo of Alexandria, De agricultura

TLG 0018.009

14. ff. 121r-125r
Philo of Alexandria, De gigantibus

TLG 0018.007

15. ff. 125r-135v
Philo of Alexandria, Quod Deus sit immutabilis

TLG 0018.008

f. 136r-136v is blank

16. ff. 137-151r
Philo of Alexandria, De migratione Abrahami

TLG 0018.014

17. ff. 151v-161v
Philo of Alexandria, De congressu eruditionis gratia

TLG 0018.016

18. ff. 162r-177v
Philo of Alexandria, De Abrahamo

TLG 0018.020

19. ff. 178r-197r
Philo of Alexandria, Quis rerum diuinarum heres sit

TLG 0018.015

20. ff. 197r-212v
Philo of Alexandria, De somniis

Book 1

TLG 0018.019

21. ff. 213r-221r
Philo of Alexandria, De praemiis et poenis

TLG 0018.026

22. ff. 221r-224v
Philo of Alexandria, De exsecrationibus

TLG 0018.026

23. ff. 225r-229r
Philo of Alexandria, De virtutibus

Sections 1-50 (De fortitudine)

TLG 0018.025

24. ff. 229v-240r
Philo of Alexandria, In Flaccum

TLG 0018.030

f. 240v is blank

25. ff. 241r-263v
Philo of Alexandria, Legatio ad Gaium

TLG 0018.031

f. 264r-264v is blank

26. ff. 265r-303r
Eusebios of Caesarea (d. c. 340), De laudibus Constantini

TLG 2018.022

CPG 3498

BHG 361z

ff. 303v-304v are blank

27. ff. 305r-331v, 334r-349v
Philo of Alexandria, De vita Mosis

TLG 0018.022

ff. 332r-332v and 333v are blank; f. 333r is blank apart from an incomplete headpiece

28. ff. 350r-352v
Philo of Alexandria, De virtutibus

Sections 187-227 (De nobilitate)

TLG 0018.025

29. ff. 353r-366v
Philo of Alexandria, De fuga et inventione

TLG 0018.017

30. ff. 366v-378r
Philo of Alexandria, De plantatione

TLG 0018.010

31. ff. 378r-382v
Philo of Alexandria, De sobrietate

TLG 0018.012

32. ff. 383r-396v
Philo of Alexandria, De confusione linguarum

TLG 0018.013

33. ff. 397r-408v
Philo of Alexandria, De aeternitate mundi

TLG 0018.029

34. ff. 409r-423r
Philo of Alexandria, Quod deterius potiori insidiari soleat

TLG 0018.005

35. ff. 423r-431v
Philo of Alexandria, De ebrietate

TLG 0018.011

36. ff. 432r-432v
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legis

Book 1, sections 1-12 (De circumcisione)

TLG 0018.024

37. ff. 432v-441r
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legis

Book 1, sections 13-130 (De monarchia)

TLG 0018.024

f. 436v is blank

38. ff. 441r-443v
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legis

Book 1, sections 130-161 (De sacerdotum honoribus)

TLG 0018.024

39. ff. 443v-455r
Philo of Alexandria, De specialibus legis

Book 1, sections 162-345 (De Victimis)

TLG 0018.024

40. ff. 455r-476r, 496v-517r
Philo of Alexandria, Legum allegoriarum I-III

TLG 0018.002

ff. 477r-477v and 506r-506v are blank

41. ff. 478r-496r
Philo of Alexandria, De mutatione nominum

TLG 0018.018

42. ff. 517r-539v
Philo of Alexandria, De somniis

Book 2

TLG 0018.019

43. f. 540r-540v
Contents list

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support: ff. 1-498 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Mountains ( c. 76 × 38 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, similar to Briquet 11912. This example is dated to 1515-1546. ff. 499-539 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: No main motif, countermark only ( c. 33 × 25 mm. ) in the centre of the folio. f. 540 Western paper, folded in quarto. Watermark: Foolscap ( 105 × 65 mm. ) in the centre of the folio, which is bound perpendicular to normal folio orientation, similar to Likhachev 3451 (main motif). This example is dated to 1604.
Extent: Codex: i + 541 + i leaves. 347 × 245 mm.
Foliation: The manuscript is foliated with the numbers [i] + 1-57, 57a, 58-540 + [ii], in Arabic numerals, in black ink, recto, upper right.

Collation

The manuscript consists of 68 quires, of which one is a single folio, one is a binion, four are quinia and the rest are quaternia.

  • Quire 18-1 ff. 1-7 The first folio has been cancelled, without loss of text.
  • Quires 2-88 ff. 8-57, 57a, 58-62
  • Quire 98+2 ff. 63-72 The second folio is an insertion which does not belong at this point in the text; the first, which is discontinuous from those that follow, is probably also a stray folio inserted at this point.
  • Quires 10-338 ff. 73-264
  • Quires 34-3710 ff. 265-304
  • Quires 38-408 ff. 305-328
  • Quire 414 ff. 329-332
  • Quires 42-618 ff. 333-492
  • Quire 626 ff. 493-498
  • Quires 63-678 ff. 499-538
  • Quire 682 ff. 539-540

There is a trace of a quire signature in Greek numerals, in brown ink, on the first folio of Quire 37, recto, lower right (f. 295r). There are quire signatures in Arabic numerals, in pencil, on the first folio of each quire, recto, lower right, beginning from f. 305r with the number 38. They appear thereafter on all quires (38-68) Catchwords appear at the end of most quires until f. 498v.

Condition

A few folios were imperfectly trimmed, leaving protruding ragged edges at the foredge (e.g. ff. 13, 29. There are occasional small areas of dirt.

Layout

A single column of 33 lines. 234 × 145 mm.

Hand(s)

ff. 1r-539v were copied by Hand A in mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink, with little variation in letter size.

Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear throughout the line. Breathings are round and mute iota is absent. There is accentuation of all nomina sacra . Accents are sometimes joined to nomina sacra strokes.

The modern nu, loop epsilon and sigma telikon are present.

Punctuation used includes the middle and upper points, lower and middle commas, question mark and full stop.

Headings are written in the same style in red ink.

ff. 540r-540v were copied by Hand B in mixed minuscule script, slanting to the right, in brown ink, with little variation in letter size.

Breathings are round.

The modern nu and sigma telikon are present.

Decoration

The beginning of the text on f. 1r is preceded by a rectangular headpiece in red ink, surmounted by vegetative ornament and a cross. Some other texts are preceded by thin bands of ornament in red ink (e.g f. 24r).

Each text begins with a decorated initial in red ink.

The headings of some texts are accompanied by line-fillers in red or red and brown ink (e.g. ff. 33v, 43v).

Additions

There are marginal annotations in Greek by various hands. Texts lacking their heading have had notes of content in Greek and Latin added at the beginning of the surviving text (e.g. f. 63r). A note on f. 540v identifies the works of Philo included in the Paris edition of 1640 which are not present in this manuscript. Page numbers have been added in the margins, marking the point where pages of this edition begin.

Binding

18th-century full leather binding over couched-laminate boards, with plain pastedowns. The edges have been painted red. There is decorative gold tooling on the spine, and the author's name ‘Philo Iudeos MSS’ tooled in gold on a red label.

368 × 242 × 115 mm.

Accompanying Material

A bookplate recording the donation of the manuscript by Thomas Nevile is pasted to f. 1r: ‘Ex dono ornatissimi viri Thomae Nevile Decani Cantuarinesis, et Collegii Trinitatis Praefecti’.

Two sheets of paper with notes on the manuscript by J. H. Colson are inserted loose at the left-hand end.

History

Origin: The manuscript was probably copied in the first two-thirds of the 16th century, as indicated by the watermarks. This is consistent with the style of script.

Provenance and Acquisition

Donated to the college by Thomas Nevile (d. 1615) , Dean of Canterbury and Master of Trinity.

Additional Information

Availability

Visitors to Trinity College who wish to consult Special Collections material are required to apply to the Library in advance of their visit. For information on eligibility and admission procedures see: Trinity College: Information for Readers.

Bibliography

    Philonis Alexandrini libellus De opificio mundi, Cohn, Leopold (Wrocław, G. Koebner, 1889) The western manuscripts in the library of Trinity College: a descriptive catalogue, James, M. R. (Cambridge, 1, Cambridge University Press, 1900)

Funding of Cataloguing

The Polonsky Foundation

Digital Images

Cambridge Digital Library

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

Study at Cambridge

About the University

Research at Cambridge