Variants (Lectiones variantes)
Richard Rufus' commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics, Scriptum in Metaphysicam Aristotelis, survives in whole or in part in two redactions and six manuscripts.
The Redactio brevior is found in
E: Erfurt, UB, Collectio Amplonia (CA), Quarto 290, folios 1-40.
P: Prague, Archív Pražského Hradu, Fond Knihovna metropolitni kapituly, M.80, fol. 1-32.
The Redactio longior survives in
C: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Lat. misc. C71, fol. 1.
N: Oxford, New College Library 285, fol. 194-251.
S: Salamanca, Bibl. Univ., B. General Historica 2322, fol. 72-132.
V: Vatican, Bibl. Apost. Vat. Lat. 4538, fol. 1-102.
The principal difference between the two redactions is in coverage; exposition and division are rarely found in the Redactio brevior, which concentrates on questions. But even where the two redactions overlap, there are differences. Some are adjustments to the different contents of the two redactions – for example, the questions are often introduced differently. Also, references to the text of Aristotle in the Redactio brevior correspond to citations of the exposition in the Redactio longior.
Since E is the best manuscript of the Redactio brevior, we have generally adopted its readings, rather than P's. For E and P we also note scribal corrections and doubtful readings. Occasionally we have emended the text; most frequently such emendations were supplied from the longer redaction of the same work.
Variants to the Redactio brevior posted here are color-coded and float near the text when you mouse over them.
Red is a serious warning. It often marks readings that are not actually in Redactio brevior manuscripts, emendations. We have not noted unclear or illegible marks. We have added readings that do not appear in E but seem to be required.
Yellow suggests caution. Variants highlighted in yellow include repetitions, possible alternative readings, sometimes more common expansions of abbreviations than the readings we have adopted, editorial exclamations, and editorial suggestions.
Green is for variants that are probably safe to ignore, including doubtful readings about which the editors have no further suggestions. Green variants often include indications that the manuscript has been expunged or corrected in some way; most often they indicate that a reading appears above the line or in the margin. Additions or omissions of ‘est’ and ‘et’ appear here, as do substitutions of ‘igitur’ for ‘ergo’, addition or omission of ‘etc.’ and other differences that do not affect the sense of the text. We have also noted in green possible variants with closely related meanings – chiefly, such readings as ‘ille’ for ‘iste’ where the abbreviation is ambiguous and would often be expanded as ‘ille’, but does not exclude ‘iste’.
Lilac-coded variants provide indications of deliberate redactional revisions.
Blue is for textual differences between the redactions that may or may not have been deliberately introduced, but do not represent adjustments to the difference in content between the two redactions.
In addition to the sigla for the manuscripts, we employ several abbreviations in the variants and observe the following conventions:
Square brackets [...] enclose words added by the editors,
(includunt verba ab editoribus addita)
| add. | add/s | addit, addunt |
| antic. | anticipate/s | anticipat, anticipiant |
| canc. | cancel/s | cancellat, cancellant |
| del. | delete/s | delet, delent |
| exp. | expunge/s | expungit, expungunt |
| mg. | marginal | marginalis |
| om. | omit/s | omittit, omittunt |
| praem. | preface/s | praemittit, praemittunt |
| rep. | repeat/s | repetit, repetunt |
| s. lin. | above the line | supra lineam |
| hom. | homoeoteleuton | |
| lac. | lacuna |