MedCat

Darrera modificació: 2026-04-22
Bases de dades: Sciència.cat

Campopiano, Michele, "Secret knowledge for political and social harmony: the Secretum secretorum between the Middle East and Europe", dins: Kössinger, Norbert - Wittig, Claudia (eds.), «Prodesse et delectare»: Case Studies on Didactic Literature in the European Middle Ages = Fallstudien zur didaktischen Literatur des europäischen Mittelalters, Berlín - Boston, Walter de Gruyter (Das Mittelalter: Perspektiven mediävistischer Forschung, 11), 2019, pp. 39-56.

Resum

The Sirr al-Asrār, ‘Secret of Secrets', is a compilation of advice on politics, medicine and hermetic arts from the tenth century that was attributed to the philosopher Aristotle, who offers his counsel to Alexander the Great. In the Sirr al-Asrār Aristotle describes different methods to gain political harmony. The first is the Circle of Justice. This describes an equilibrium between royal power, the army, subjects and justice, which should bind these different groups. In 1232, the long version of this text was translated into Latin in the Holy Land by Philip of Tripoli, under the title Secretum secretorum. This translation was very successful in Western Europe and was frequently edited and commented on. This chapter discusses the transmission of the idea of power mediated by the Secretum secretorum between East and West, with particular reference to the concept of the Circle of Justice, and how it was adapted to new political circumstances. In doing so, it argues the case for expanding transcultural historical research, but also provides some caveats in undertaking this task.

Matèries

Filosofia moral - Política
Enciclopedisme

URL

https:/​/​doi.org/​10.1515/​9783110650068-003
https:/​/​www.academia.edu/​42537047/​Campopiano_M_Secr ...