St John's College : Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Republic

Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Republic (Cambridge, St John's College, MS F.15)

This manuscript is an early sixteenth-century copy of Proclus' Commentary on Plato's Republic. The commentary consists of a series of independent essays, and the manuscript contains those that match Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Plut. 80.9, and the first volume of W. Kroll's edition (1899). The text is contained in the first 82 folios, the rest is blank, except for some scribbles and a probable note of possession on the last folio (therefore ff. [84]r-[101]v are not imaged). By comparing the watermarks, it is likely that the blank quires are not a later addition. The binding is noteworthy: it is a Greek style binding with decorative motifs on the boards and the spine.

It was donated to the St John's College by Thomas, Earl of Southampton in 1635.

Dr Matteo Di Franco

Information about this document

Physical Location: St John's College Library
Classmark: Cambridge, St John's College, MS F.15
Alternative Identifier(s): Diktyon 11898
Subject(s): Plato
Date of Creation: in the early 16th century
Language(s): Greek
Former Owner(s): Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of, 1573-1624; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626; Southampton, Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of, 1607-1667
Extent: Codex108 Leaf height: 286 mm, width: 200 mm.
Collation: The manuscript consists of one ternion, 12 quaternions and two binions:
- Quire 1⁶ left cover, inner and ff. [i-v]
- Quires 2-11⁸ ff. 1r-80v
- Quire 12⁴ ff. 81r-[84]v
- Quires 13-14⁸ ff. [85]r-[100]v
- Quire 15⁴ ff. [101]r-[103]v and right cover, inner
Horizontal catchwords by the scribe on the versos of first half of quires and on the last verso.
Material: ff. [i] recto - [103]v, Paper, folded in quarto. Watermarks: Pot ( Watermark height: 50 mm, width: 15 mm. ) on the gutter comparable, but not identical, to Briquet 12593, dated 1515-1520.
Format: Codex
Condition:
In good condition. A stain on f. 22r and wormholes are present.
Binding:
Binding alla greca with full brown tanned skin covering over wooden boards; the wood is partially exposed on board corners. The same decorative pattern, a series of concentric rectangles, is embossed on the front and back cover: a rectangular frame enclosing a floral motifs and vases surmounted by three human heads, a smaller rectangle containing a lozenge pattern, a second smaller rectangle with the same motifs as the bigger one, and a plain rectangle with four hedera leaves. The spine is engraved with flowers in a lozenge pattern.
The head-, tail- and fore-edge of the boards are grooved. There are two sets of three holes on the front board, along with two corresponding holes on the fore-edge of the backboard for a fastening. A fragment of a strap with the classmark ("15") is preserved on the fore-edge of front board. Both pastedown are made of leaves of the first and the last quires, sewn through a little parchment stub to the board.
Binding height: 294 mm, width: 207 mm, depth: 46 mm.
Script:
The manuscript is written in a mixed minuscule vertical or slightly slanted to the right, with modest variation in letter size.
Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear within the lines, mute iota is present but without consistency. Breathings are courved and joined to accents.
The handwriting is characterized by the gamma inclined almost horizontally.
The scribe changes ink three times (ff. 1r-42r, 42v-55v, 56r-82r) and the handwriting is more spacious in the final leaves of the text (ff. 80r-82r).
Punctuation used includes the middle and upper point, lower comma and full stop.
Foliation:
[i-v] + 1-82 + [83-103].
Early modern foliation in brown ink in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right corner (in use in this description), in all likelihood by the same hand of ff. [ii] recto - [iii] recto.
A modern foliation in pencil in Arabic numerals is present on the first recto of quires 2-4, from f. 1r (foliated as 5) to f. 17r (foliated as 21), and on ff. 34r (foliated as 38) and 82r (as 86).
Layout: ff. 1r-82r: written space Written height: 205-210 mm, width: 120 mm. 40-46 lines per page
Additions:
On pastedown: classmark and initials of donor: "Tho. C. S."; f. [i] recto: title "Proclus graece in platonem de repubblicam", price (40^s) and "μηδὲν ἄνευ Θεοῦ"; f. [103]v: scribbles and possession note (?): "Ἰωάννης Τασιερίηρος τοῦτον τὸν βιβλιων ... τῶ μὲν αυτῶ καὶ τωσαυτῶ και καλα"
Provenance: The manuscript was owned by Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), who probably purchased the manuscript from William Crashaw (1572-1626). The Earl of Southampton promised in 1615 to donate a large portion of his manuscript collection to St John's College (cf. James 1913, p. vi-viii).
Origin: The style of script and the watermark suggest that the manuscript was copied in in the early 16th century.
Acquisition: The manuscript was eventually received in 1635, after the Old Library was built in 1624, from Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton (1607-1667), son of the former owner.
Funding: The Polonsky Foundation
Data Source(s): Description (2020) draws on M.R. James, A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1913, p. 185.
Author(s) of the Record: Matteo Di Franco
Bibliography:
James, M. R., A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge (Cambridge: University Press, 1913).

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Index of Proclus' essays on Plato's Republic (image 5, page [ii] recto) Commentary on Plato's Republic (ed. Kroll 1899, vol. 1) (image 13, page 1r)

Information about this document

Physical Location: St John's College Library
Classmark: Cambridge, St John's College, MS F.15
Alternative Identifier(s): Diktyon 11898
Subject(s): Plato
Date of Creation: in the early 16th century
Language(s): Greek
Former Owner(s): Southampton, Henry Wriothesley, Earl of, 1573-1624; Crashaw, William, 1572-1626; Southampton, Thomas Wriothesley, Earl of, 1607-1667
Extent: Codex108 Leaf height: 286 mm, width: 200 mm.
Collation: The manuscript consists of one ternion, 12 quaternions and two binions:
- Quire 1⁶ left cover, inner and ff. [i-v]
- Quires 2-11⁸ ff. 1r-80v
- Quire 12⁴ ff. 81r-[84]v
- Quires 13-14⁸ ff. [85]r-[100]v
- Quire 15⁴ ff. [101]r-[103]v and right cover, inner
Horizontal catchwords by the scribe on the versos of first half of quires and on the last verso.
Material: ff. [i] recto - [103]v, Paper, folded in quarto. Watermarks: Pot ( Watermark height: 50 mm, width: 15 mm. ) on the gutter comparable, but not identical, to Briquet 12593, dated 1515-1520.
Format: Codex
Condition:
In good condition. A stain on f. 22r and wormholes are present.
Binding:
Binding alla greca with full brown tanned skin covering over wooden boards; the wood is partially exposed on board corners. The same decorative pattern, a series of concentric rectangles, is embossed on the front and back cover: a rectangular frame enclosing a floral motifs and vases surmounted by three human heads, a smaller rectangle containing a lozenge pattern, a second smaller rectangle with the same motifs as the bigger one, and a plain rectangle with four hedera leaves. The spine is engraved with flowers in a lozenge pattern.
The head-, tail- and fore-edge of the boards are grooved. There are two sets of three holes on the front board, along with two corresponding holes on the fore-edge of the backboard for a fastening. A fragment of a strap with the classmark ("15") is preserved on the fore-edge of front board. Both pastedown are made of leaves of the first and the last quires, sewn through a little parchment stub to the board.
Binding height: 294 mm, width: 207 mm, depth: 46 mm.
Script:
The manuscript is written in a mixed minuscule vertical or slightly slanted to the right, with modest variation in letter size.
Syllabic abbreviations and superscript word endings appear within the lines, mute iota is present but without consistency. Breathings are courved and joined to accents.
The handwriting is characterized by the gamma inclined almost horizontally.
The scribe changes ink three times (ff. 1r-42r, 42v-55v, 56r-82r) and the handwriting is more spacious in the final leaves of the text (ff. 80r-82r).
Punctuation used includes the middle and upper point, lower comma and full stop.
Foliation:
[i-v] + 1-82 + [83-103].
Early modern foliation in brown ink in Arabic numerals, recto, upper right corner (in use in this description), in all likelihood by the same hand of ff. [ii] recto - [iii] recto.
A modern foliation in pencil in Arabic numerals is present on the first recto of quires 2-4, from f. 1r (foliated as 5) to f. 17r (foliated as 21), and on ff. 34r (foliated as 38) and 82r (as 86).
Layout: ff. 1r-82r: written space Written height: 205-210 mm, width: 120 mm. 40-46 lines per page
Additions:
On pastedown: classmark and initials of donor: "Tho. C. S."; f. [i] recto: title "Proclus graece in platonem de repubblicam", price (40^s) and "μηδὲν ἄνευ Θεοῦ"; f. [103]v: scribbles and possession note (?): "Ἰωάννης Τασιερίηρος τοῦτον τὸν βιβλιων ... τῶ μὲν αυτῶ καὶ τωσαυτῶ και καλα"
Provenance: The manuscript was owned by Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton (1573-1624), who probably purchased the manuscript from William Crashaw (1572-1626). The Earl of Southampton promised in 1615 to donate a large portion of his manuscript collection to St John's College (cf. James 1913, p. vi-viii).
Origin: The style of script and the watermark suggest that the manuscript was copied in in the early 16th century.
Acquisition: The manuscript was eventually received in 1635, after the Old Library was built in 1624, from Thomas Wriothesley, 4th Earl of Southampton (1607-1667), son of the former owner.
Funding: The Polonsky Foundation
Data Source(s): Description (2020) draws on M.R. James, A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1913, p. 185.
Author(s) of the Record: Matteo Di Franco
Bibliography:
James, M. R., A descriptive catalogue of the manuscripts in the library of St. John's College, Cambridge (Cambridge: University Press, 1913).

Section shown in images 5 to 7

Title: Index of Proclus' essays on Plato's Republic
Note(s): TLG 4036.001
Excerpts:
Rubric: f. [ii] recto Τάδε ἔνεστιν ἐν τῷδε τῷ βίβλῳ
Incipit: f. [ii] recto πρόκλου λυκίου πλατωνικοῦ διαδόχου περὶ τοῦ τίνα χρὴ καὶ πόσα πρὸ τῆς συναναγνώσεως τῆς πολιτείας πλάτωνος κεφάλαια διορθῶσαι τοὺς ἐξηγουμένους αὐτὴν Charta 1
Explicit: f. [iii] recto τοῦ αὐτοῦ, περὶ τοῦ ἐν τῷ ἑβδόμῳ τῆς πολιτείας σπηλαίου C. 79

Section shown in images 13 to 175

Title: Commentary on Plato's Republic (ed. Kroll 1899, vol. 1)
Alternative Title(s): In Platonis rem publicam commentarii
Author(s): Proclus, approximately 410-485
Note(s): TLG 4036.001; ff. 6v-8r blank; ff. 82v-[102v] blank
Excerpts:
Rubric: f. 1r πρόκλου λυκίου πλατωνικοῦ διαδόχου περὶ τοῦ τίνα χρὴ καὶ πόσα πρὸ τῆς συναναγνώσεως τῆς πολιτείας πλάτωνος κεφάλαια διορθῶσαι τοὺς ἐξηγουμένους αὐτὴν
Incipit: f. 1rΤοὺς προλόγους τῶν πλατωνικῶν διαλόγων ὅπως χρὴ διατιθέναι τὸν μὴ παρέργως αὐτῶν ἁπτόμενον δηλῶσαι βουλόμενος
Explicit: f. 82r κἀκεῖνο πολλῶ πρότερον αἴτιον καὶ εἰ τῆς οὐσίας ἐστὶ τοῖς νοητοῖς αἴτιον, καὶ ὧν ταῦτα αἴτια μειζόνως αἴτιον ἂν ὑμνοῖτο
Final Rubric: f. 82r τῷ Θεῷ χάριτες