Fazzo, S. - Folli, L. - Ghione, M. L’archetipo Π come origine del codice Ab della Metafisica di Aristotele

The article proposes a follow up contribution, possibly an almost final word, of our previous ones to the paleographical section of this journal – 2015 and 2022 especially but also 2018 – on the textual tradition of Aristotle’s Metaphysics. Based on Maas theory of Trennfehler, along the two latest decades, we collected and evaluated any possible counter arguments for the sake of a unified stemma codicum, topped by Π. We also add further details. As a result, Π is a fourth century AD parchment manuscript. This unified Π stemma stands as an alter native to the previous two branched stemmas topped by two disconnected α and β without a single archetype (by Bernardinello 1970 and by Harlfinger 1979). One is recalled that those stemmas were ultimately based on Jaeger’s 1912, 1957 theory of the two versions of the Metaphysics, one which does not carry conviction since decades. As an alternative, according to our exploration and research on all the fourteen books of the Metaphysics, Π has been found to be the source not only of J, of E and of other alpha manuscripts (via J or via E) but of all extant Greek manuscripts of the Metaphysics, including Ab and the other representative of the so called β branch. This, without being identical, fits remarkably well with Marwan Rashed findings concerning the Greek exemplar of the Arabic tradition: one can figure the size, the columns layout, the capital scriptio continua handwriting of that exemplar, based on the magnificent Vatican ms. B (Vet. gr. 1219) of the Bible – possibly the earliest extant Greek manuscript of all the books of the Ancient and of the New Testament. Both as a proof and as a possible means for independent counter arguments, Laura Folli and Marco Ghione make available here fresh collations for two central books of the Metaphysics, Zeta and Eta. Variant readings from Ab (β) are thus contrasted with Π’s manuscripts: J, E. Eb is also being added as an early representative of the important delta group. Based on Paul Maas’ theory of errors, we are now in condition to face the crucial issue: does not Ab depend on the former and, if so, to what extent? This helps to resolve any residual opacity or incertitude concerning the upper part of the stemma. As a consequence, manuscript sources for the text constitution of the Metaphysics are reduced to a very tight minimum: J, with its corrector J2; E’s first hand can be eventually taken into account. Other sources – including Ab and all so‐called β and δ manuscripts, are relevant, so far as our present knowledge goes, as sources for improvement and correction only..