Jacob Anatoli
Encyclopedia
Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Simson Anatoli (c. 1194 – 1256) was a translator of Arabic
texts to Hebrew
. He was invited to Naples
by Frederick II
. Under this royal patronage
, and in association with Michael Scot
, Anatoli made Arabic learning accessible to Western readers. Among his most important works were translations of texts by Averroes
.
, Anatoli's literary activity was stimulated early by his learned associates and relations at Narbonne
and Béziers
. In fact, he distinguished himself so notably that the emperor Frederick II., the most genial and enlightened monarch of the time, invited him to come to Naples
, and, under the emperor's auspices, to devote himself to his studies, particularly to the rendition of scientific Arabic literature into the more accessible Hebrew language
. Thus it was at Naples that Anatoli passed his most fertile period of literary production, and from that city were issued the numerous translations bearing his name.
. Moses b. Samuel ibn Tibbon frequently refers to Anatoli as his uncle, which makes it likely that Samuel married Anatoli's sister, while Anatoli afterward married Samuel's daughter. Owing to this intimate connection with the ibn Tibbon
s, Anatoli was introduced to the philosophy of Maimonides, the study of which was such a great revelation to him that he, in later days, referred to it as the beginning of his intelligent and true comprehension of the Scriptures, while he frequently alluded to Ibn Tibbon as one of the two masters who had instructed and inspired him. His esteem for Maimonides knew no bounds: he placed him next to the Prophets, and he exhibited little patience with Maimonides' critics and detractors.
He accordingly interprets the Bible
and the Haggadah in a truly Maimonistic spirit, rationalizing the miracles and investing every possible passage in the ancient literature with philosophic and allegoric significance. As an allegorist who could read into the ancient documents the particular philosophical idiosyncrasies of his day, Anatoli deserves a place beside other allegoric and philosophical commentators, from Philo
down; indeed, he may be regarded as a pioneer in the application of the Maimonistic manner to purposes of popular instruction. This work he began while still in his native land, on occasions of private and public festivities, such as weddings and other assemblies. Afterward he delivered Sabbath-afternoon sermons, in which he advocated the allegoric and philosophic method of Scriptural exegesis. This evoked the opposition of the anti-Maimonists, whose number was large in southern France; and probably Anatoli's departure for Sicily
was hastened by the antagonism he encountered. But even at Naples Anatoli's views aroused the opposition of his Orthodox coreligionists. This treatment, together with several other unpleasant experiences at the royal court, seems to have caused him to entertain thoughts of suicide. He soon, however, recovered and wrote, for the benefit of his two sons, his Malmad ha-Talmidim, a name which, involving a play on words, was intended to be both a Teacher of the Disciples and a Goad to the Students.
The Malmad, which was completed when its author was fifty-five years old, but was first published by the Meḳiẓe Nirdamim Society at Lyck in the year 1866, is really nothing but a volume of sermons, by which the author intended to stimulate study and to dispel intellectual blindness. As a curious specimen of his method, it may be mentioned that he regards the three stories of Noah's ark
as symbolic of the three sciences mathematics
, physics
, and metaphysics
. As such, the work is of some importance in the history of Jewish culture. Anatoli's ethical admonitions and spiritual meditations have value as portraying both the circumstances of the age and the character of the reforms he aimed at.
, Aristotle
, Averroes
, and the Vulgate
, as well as with a large number of Christian institutions, some of which he ventures to criticize, such as celibacy and monastic castigation, as well as certain heretics (compare 15a, 98a, 115a); and he repeatedly appeals to his readers for a broader cultivation of the classic languages and the profane branches of learning. He indignantly repudiates the fanatical view of some coreligionists that all non-Jews have no souls —a belief reciprocated by the Gentiles of the time. To Anatoli all men are, in truth, formed in the image of God, though the Jews stand under a particular obligation to further the true cognition of God simply by reason of their election—"the Greeks had chosen wisdom as their pursuit; the Romans, power; and the Jews, religiousness" (l.c. 103b). If, however, a non-Jew devotes himself to serious search after divine truth, his merit is so much the more signal; and whatever suggestion he may have to offer, no Jew dares refuse with levity.
, who, like Anatoli, devoted himself to scientific work at the court of Frederick. Graetz even goes to the length of regarding Anatoli as identical with the Jew Andreas, who, according to Roger Bacon
, assisted Michael Scot in his philosophic translations from the Arabic, seeing that Andreas might be a corruption of Anatoli. But Steinschneider will not admit the possibility of this conjecture, while Renan scarcely strengthens it by regarding "Andreas" as a possible northern corruption of "En Duran," which, he says, may have been the Provençal surname of Anatoli, since Anatoli, in reality, was but the name of his great-grandfather.
Anatoli's example of broad-minded study of Christian literature and intercourse with Christian scholars found many followers, as, for example, Moses ben Solomon of Salerno
; and his work was an important factor in bringing the Jews of Italy into close contact with their Christian fellow students.
into Hebrew, thus opening a new era in the history of Aristotelian philosophy. Prior to translating Averroes' commentaries, Anatoli had occupied himself with the translation of astronomical treatises by the same writer and others; but at the instance of friends he turned his attention to logic and the speculative works, realizing and recommending theimportance of logic, in particular, in view of the contemporary religious controversies. Thenceforth, his program was twofold, as he devoted himself to his work in astronomy in the mornings, and to logic in the evenings.
His principal translation embraced the first five books of Averroes' "intermediate" commentary on Aristotle's Logic
, consisting of the Introduction of Porphyry
and the four books of Aristotle on the Categories
, Interpretation, Syllogism
, and Demonstration
. Anatoli probably commenced his work on the commentary while in Provence
, though he must have finished the fifth book at Naples about 1231 or 1232. The conclusion of the commentary was never reached. Upon the ending of the first division he desired to go over the ground again, to acquire greater proficiency, and, for some reason unknown, he never resumed his task, which was completed by another after a lapse of eighty years.
Besides this, Anatoli translated, between the years 1231 and 1235, the following works: (1) The Almagest
of Ptolemy
, from the Arabic, though probably the Greek or Latin title of this treatise was also familiar to him. Its Hebrew title is Ḥibbur ha-Gadol ha-Niḳra al-Magesti (The Great Composition Called Almagest). (2) A Compendium of Astronomy, by Averroes, a book which was unknown to the Christians of the Middle Ages, and of which neither a manuscript of the original nor a Latin translation has come down. Its Hebrew title is Ḳiẓẓur al-Magesti (Compendium of the Almagest). (3) The Elements of Astronomy, by Al-Fargani (Alfraganus); possibly translated from a Latin version. It was afterward rendered into Latin by Jacob Christmann (Frankfort, 1590) under the title of Elementa Astronomica, which, in its turn, may have given rise to the Hebrew title of the treatise Yesodot ha-Teḳunah, which is undoubtedly recent. (4) A treatise on the Syllogism, by Al-Farabi
, from the Arabic. Its Hebrew title is Sefer Heḳesh Ḳaẓar (A Brief Treatise on the Syllogism).
Graetz also suggests the possibility that Anatoli, in conjunction with Michael Scot, may have translated Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed
into Latin; but this suggestion has not yet been sufficiently proved (compare Steinschneider, "Hebr. Uebers." i. 433). Similarly, the anonymous commentary on the Guide, called Ruaḥ Ḥen, though sometimes attributed to Anatoli, can not definitely be established as his. Still, it is on an allusion in this work that Zunz, followed by Steinschneider, partly bases the hypothesis of Marseille having been Anatoli's original home (compare Zunz, "Zur Gesch." p. 482; Renan-Neubauer, "Les Rabbins Français," p. 588; Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl." col. 1180, and "Hebr. Bibl." xvii. 124).
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
texts to Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. He was invited to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
by Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
. Under this royal patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
, and in association with Michael Scot
Michael Scot
Michael Scot was a medieval mathematician and scholar.- Early life and education :He was born in Scotland, and studied first at the cathedral school of Durham and then at Oxford and Paris, devoting himself to philosophy, mathematics, and astrology...
, Anatoli made Arabic learning accessible to Western readers. Among his most important works were translations of texts by Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
.
Early life and invitation to Naples
Born in southern France, perhaps in MarseilleMarseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Anatoli's literary activity was stimulated early by his learned associates and relations at Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
. In fact, he distinguished himself so notably that the emperor Frederick II., the most genial and enlightened monarch of the time, invited him to come to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, and, under the emperor's auspices, to devote himself to his studies, particularly to the rendition of scientific Arabic literature into the more accessible Hebrew language
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
. Thus it was at Naples that Anatoli passed his most fertile period of literary production, and from that city were issued the numerous translations bearing his name.
Opposed by Anti-Maimonists
Anatoli was the son-in-law (and possibly also the brother-in-law) of Samuel ibn Tibbon, the well known translator of MaimonidesMaimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
. Moses b. Samuel ibn Tibbon frequently refers to Anatoli as his uncle, which makes it likely that Samuel married Anatoli's sister, while Anatoli afterward married Samuel's daughter. Owing to this intimate connection with the ibn Tibbon
Ibn Tibbon
Ibn Tibbon , is a family of Jewish rabbis and translators that lived principally in Provence in the 12th and 13th centuries.- Prominent family members :Prominent members of the family include:...
s, Anatoli was introduced to the philosophy of Maimonides, the study of which was such a great revelation to him that he, in later days, referred to it as the beginning of his intelligent and true comprehension of the Scriptures, while he frequently alluded to Ibn Tibbon as one of the two masters who had instructed and inspired him. His esteem for Maimonides knew no bounds: he placed him next to the Prophets, and he exhibited little patience with Maimonides' critics and detractors.
He accordingly interprets the Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
and the Haggadah in a truly Maimonistic spirit, rationalizing the miracles and investing every possible passage in the ancient literature with philosophic and allegoric significance. As an allegorist who could read into the ancient documents the particular philosophical idiosyncrasies of his day, Anatoli deserves a place beside other allegoric and philosophical commentators, from Philo
Philo
Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
down; indeed, he may be regarded as a pioneer in the application of the Maimonistic manner to purposes of popular instruction. This work he began while still in his native land, on occasions of private and public festivities, such as weddings and other assemblies. Afterward he delivered Sabbath-afternoon sermons, in which he advocated the allegoric and philosophic method of Scriptural exegesis. This evoked the opposition of the anti-Maimonists, whose number was large in southern France; and probably Anatoli's departure for Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
was hastened by the antagonism he encountered. But even at Naples Anatoli's views aroused the opposition of his Orthodox coreligionists. This treatment, together with several other unpleasant experiences at the royal court, seems to have caused him to entertain thoughts of suicide. He soon, however, recovered and wrote, for the benefit of his two sons, his Malmad ha-Talmidim, a name which, involving a play on words, was intended to be both a Teacher of the Disciples and a Goad to the Students.
The Malmad, which was completed when its author was fifty-five years old, but was first published by the Meḳiẓe Nirdamim Society at Lyck in the year 1866, is really nothing but a volume of sermons, by which the author intended to stimulate study and to dispel intellectual blindness. As a curious specimen of his method, it may be mentioned that he regards the three stories of Noah's ark
Noah's Ark
Noah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
as symbolic of the three sciences mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, and metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
. As such, the work is of some importance in the history of Jewish culture. Anatoli's ethical admonitions and spiritual meditations have value as portraying both the circumstances of the age and the character of the reforms he aimed at.
Moral Fervor
Anatoli is quite plain-spoken in the manner in which he states and defends his views, as well as in his criticisms of contemporary failings. For instance, he does not hesitate to reproach the rabbis of his day for their general neglect not only of the thorough study, but even of the obligatory perusal, of the Bible, charging them with a preference for Talmudic dialectics. He, likewise, deplores the contemporary degeneracy in the home life and the religious practises of his people, a circumstance which he thinks due largely to the imitation of surrounding manners. Scientific investigation he insists upon as an absolute necessity for the true comprehension of religion, despite the fact that his contemporaries regarded all the hours which he was accustomed to spend with his father-in-law, Samuel ibn Tibbon, in mathematical and philosophic study as mere waste of time.The Malmad
The Malmad is divided into brief chapters, according to the weekly Scriptural portions. In it Anatoli manifests a wide acquaintance not only with the classic Jewish exegetes, but also with PlatoPlato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
, Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, Averroes
Averroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
, and the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
, as well as with a large number of Christian institutions, some of which he ventures to criticize, such as celibacy and monastic castigation, as well as certain heretics (compare 15a, 98a, 115a); and he repeatedly appeals to his readers for a broader cultivation of the classic languages and the profane branches of learning. He indignantly repudiates the fanatical view of some coreligionists that all non-Jews have no souls —a belief reciprocated by the Gentiles of the time. To Anatoli all men are, in truth, formed in the image of God, though the Jews stand under a particular obligation to further the true cognition of God simply by reason of their election—"the Greeks had chosen wisdom as their pursuit; the Romans, power; and the Jews, religiousness" (l.c. 103b). If, however, a non-Jew devotes himself to serious search after divine truth, his merit is so much the more signal; and whatever suggestion he may have to offer, no Jew dares refuse with levity.
Anatoli and Michael Scot
An example of such intellectual catholicity was set by Anatoli himself; for, in the course of his "Malmad," he not only cites incidentally allegoric suggestions made to him by Frederick II., but several times—Güdemann has counted seventeen—he offers the exegetic remarks of a certain Christian savant of whose association he speaks most reverently, and whom, furthermore, he names as his second master besides Samuel ibn Tibbon. This Christian savant was identified by Senior Sachs as Michael ScotMichael Scot
Michael Scot was a medieval mathematician and scholar.- Early life and education :He was born in Scotland, and studied first at the cathedral school of Durham and then at Oxford and Paris, devoting himself to philosophy, mathematics, and astrology...
, who, like Anatoli, devoted himself to scientific work at the court of Frederick. Graetz even goes to the length of regarding Anatoli as identical with the Jew Andreas, who, according to Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon
Roger Bacon, O.F.M. , also known as Doctor Mirabilis , was an English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed considerable emphasis on the study of nature through empirical methods...
, assisted Michael Scot in his philosophic translations from the Arabic, seeing that Andreas might be a corruption of Anatoli. But Steinschneider will not admit the possibility of this conjecture, while Renan scarcely strengthens it by regarding "Andreas" as a possible northern corruption of "En Duran," which, he says, may have been the Provençal surname of Anatoli, since Anatoli, in reality, was but the name of his great-grandfather.
Anatoli's example of broad-minded study of Christian literature and intercourse with Christian scholars found many followers, as, for example, Moses ben Solomon of Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
; and his work was an important factor in bringing the Jews of Italy into close contact with their Christian fellow students.
Anatoli as translator
The "Malmad," owing to its deep ethical vein, became, despite its Maimonistic heresies, a very popular book. It is rather as a translator that Anatoli deserves a distinguished place in the scientific realm; for it is he and Michael Scot who together, under the influence of Frederick II, opened to the western world the treasure-house of Arabic learning. Anatoli, in fact, was the first man to translate the commentaries of AverroesAverroes
' , better known just as Ibn Rushd , and in European literature as Averroes , was a Muslim polymath; a master of Aristotelian philosophy, Islamic philosophy, Islamic theology, Maliki law and jurisprudence, logic, psychology, politics, Arabic music theory, and the sciences of medicine, astronomy,...
into Hebrew, thus opening a new era in the history of Aristotelian philosophy. Prior to translating Averroes' commentaries, Anatoli had occupied himself with the translation of astronomical treatises by the same writer and others; but at the instance of friends he turned his attention to logic and the speculative works, realizing and recommending theimportance of logic, in particular, in view of the contemporary religious controversies. Thenceforth, his program was twofold, as he devoted himself to his work in astronomy in the mornings, and to logic in the evenings.
His principal translation embraced the first five books of Averroes' "intermediate" commentary on Aristotle's Logic
Organon
The Organon is the name given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics, to the standard collection of his six works on logic:* Categories* On Interpretation* Prior Analytics* Posterior Analytics...
, consisting of the Introduction of Porphyry
Porphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
and the four books of Aristotle on the Categories
Categories (Aristotle)
The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
, Interpretation, Syllogism
Prior Analytics
The Prior Analytics is Aristotle's work on deductive reasoning, specifically the syllogism. It is also part of his Organon, which is the instrument or manual of logical and scientific methods....
, and Demonstration
Posterior Analytics
The Posterior Analytics is a text from Aristotle's Organon that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished as a syllogism productive of scientific knowledge, while the definition marked as the statement of a thing's nature, .....
. Anatoli probably commenced his work on the commentary while in Provence
Hachmei Provence
The term Hachmei Provence refers to the Jewish rabbis of Provence, a province in southern France, which was a great Torah center in the times of the Tosafists...
, though he must have finished the fifth book at Naples about 1231 or 1232. The conclusion of the commentary was never reached. Upon the ending of the first division he desired to go over the ground again, to acquire greater proficiency, and, for some reason unknown, he never resumed his task, which was completed by another after a lapse of eighty years.
Besides this, Anatoli translated, between the years 1231 and 1235, the following works: (1) The Almagest
Almagest
The Almagest is a 2nd-century mathematical and astronomical treatise on the apparent motions of the stars and planetary paths. Written in Greek by Claudius Ptolemy, a Roman era scholar of Egypt,...
of Ptolemy
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy , was a Roman citizen of Egypt who wrote in Greek. He was a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in Egypt under Roman rule, and is believed to have been born in the town of Ptolemais Hermiou in the...
, from the Arabic, though probably the Greek or Latin title of this treatise was also familiar to him. Its Hebrew title is Ḥibbur ha-Gadol ha-Niḳra al-Magesti (The Great Composition Called Almagest). (2) A Compendium of Astronomy, by Averroes, a book which was unknown to the Christians of the Middle Ages, and of which neither a manuscript of the original nor a Latin translation has come down. Its Hebrew title is Ḳiẓẓur al-Magesti (Compendium of the Almagest). (3) The Elements of Astronomy, by Al-Fargani (Alfraganus); possibly translated from a Latin version. It was afterward rendered into Latin by Jacob Christmann (Frankfort, 1590) under the title of Elementa Astronomica, which, in its turn, may have given rise to the Hebrew title of the treatise Yesodot ha-Teḳunah, which is undoubtedly recent. (4) A treatise on the Syllogism, by Al-Farabi
Al-Farabi
' known in the West as Alpharabius , was a scientist and philosopher of the Islamic world...
, from the Arabic. Its Hebrew title is Sefer Heḳesh Ḳaẓar (A Brief Treatise on the Syllogism).
Graetz also suggests the possibility that Anatoli, in conjunction with Michael Scot, may have translated Maimonides' Guide for the Perplexed
Guide for the Perplexed
The Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
into Latin; but this suggestion has not yet been sufficiently proved (compare Steinschneider, "Hebr. Uebers." i. 433). Similarly, the anonymous commentary on the Guide, called Ruaḥ Ḥen, though sometimes attributed to Anatoli, can not definitely be established as his. Still, it is on an allusion in this work that Zunz, followed by Steinschneider, partly bases the hypothesis of Marseille having been Anatoli's original home (compare Zunz, "Zur Gesch." p. 482; Renan-Neubauer, "Les Rabbins Français," p. 588; Steinschneider, "Cat. Bodl." col. 1180, and "Hebr. Bibl." xvii. 124).
Jewish Encyclopedia bibliography
The Malmad ha-Talmidim yields a great deal of information concerning the life and the time of its author. Consult particularly the preface, which is freely drawn upon in this article.Further resources
- Abba Mari, Minḥat Ḳenaot, Letter 68;
- Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, ii. 149;
- Zunz, Zur Gesch. und Lit. Berlin, 1845, p. 482;
- Senior Sachs, in Ha-Yonah, 1851, viii. 31, note;
- Neubauer, in Geiger's Jüd. Zeitschrift, x. 225;
- Giulio BartolocciGiulio BartolocciGiulio Bartolocci was an Italian Cistercian Hebrew scholar and author of the four volume Bibliotheca Magna Rabbinica.-Life:...
, Bibliotheca Magna Rabbinica, i. 5, iii. 867; - De Rossi, Dizionario Storico, German trans., p. 44;
- Grätz, Gesch. d. Juden, 2d ed., vii. 95;
- Renan-Neubauer, Les Rabbins Français, in Histoire littéraire de la FranceHistoire littéraire de la FranceHistoire littéraire de la France is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivest and the Benedictines of St. Maur but it was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII...
, xxvii. 580-589, and Les Écrivains Juifs Français, ib., xxxi., index; - Güdemann, Gesch. des Erziehungswesens und der Cultur der Abendländischen Juden, ii. 161, 226 et seq.;
- Vogelstein and Rieger, Gesch. d. Juden in Rom, i. 398;
- Perles, R. Salomo b. Abraham b. Adereth, pp. 68 et seq.;
- Berliner, Persönliche Beziehungen zwischen Juden und Christen, p. 10;
- Steinschneider, Hebr. Bibl. vii. 63, xvii. 124;
- Cat. Bodl. col. 1180 et seq.;
- Die Hebr. Uebers. des Mittelalters, pp. 47, 51, 58, 523, 547, 555, and (for a complete bibliography of the subject) 990.H. G. E.