R. Gergely (ed.): Microcard catalogue of the rare hebrew codices, manuscripts and anciens prints in the Kaufmann Collection reproduced on microcards

Prof. Ignácz Goldziher's lecture

founded on an original — perhaps the author's autograph — of this date. This work is one of the oldest literary decuments of Mu'tazilite philosophy which had a decisive influence on the development of Islamic dogmatics. With the exception of a few fragments at St. Petersburg — now Leningrad — by means of our manuscript this work is a unicum of the library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. It is an indispensable authority for the knowledge of the doctrine of the Mu'taziliyya. Considering its importance, it has several times been asked for by scholars from abroad. I am now having several chapters of it elaborated by my pupils for doctoral dissertations

; so far two such theses were written on the basis of the manuscript, one of them having appeared in 1905, the other being in print, while a third is in preparation.

4 Another unicum worthy of special emphasis in our collection is the commentary of Yüsuf ibn 'Aknin (died in 1226 at Aleppo) on the Mishnah-tract Pirke Äböth. The author who was the pupil of alMaiműní and a friend of al-Qiff, the Arab historiographer of the exact sciences, who was notable, among others, for his vivid description of an orthodox Muslim bookburning, to which he was an eye-witness. His commentary on the Pirke Äböth is one of his many works. It has no other copy extant than the manuscript on parchment Nr. 130 of our collection. I could also avail myself of it in one of my works now printing, in which I publish a number of passages from the manuscript. I think the value and importance of our library is enhanced in the outside world also by its possession of such valuable unica.

5 In this respect I rank among the pearls of the manuscript material of the collection Codex Nr. 50, which is the critically screened text of the complete Mishnah with vowel and accent marks, due to the diligence of a Jewish scholar from South Arabia. Should anybody want to publish the critical edition of this work, so highly important in world literature also, he would be compelled to have recourse to this rare treasure of our library. It was with great difficulties that 4[For the enumeration of several published chapters see A. Scheiber in Seventy Years, Budapest 1948, p. 23. Professor George Vajda of Paris is planning the publication of the full text.] »[Edited by W. Bacher, Sepher Musar, Berlin 1910.] 15