Editing Simplicius of Cilicia (section)

==== Western and Central Europe ====
In the 12th century [[Gerhard of Cremona]] translated the Euclid commentary of [[al-Nayrizi]] into Latin. As a result, the Simplicius quotations contained therein became known in the West. Gerhard rendered the philosopher's name as ''Sambelichius''.<ref>Critical edition of the Latin text of Gerhard's translation: Paul M.&nbsp;J.&nbsp;E. Tummers (ed.): ''The Latin translation of Anaritius' Commentary on Euclid's Elements of Geometry Books I-IV.'' Nijmegen 1994 (Book I: pp. 1–72).</ref> Around the middle 13th century, [[Albert Magnus]] used Gerhard's translation for his own Euclid Commentary, also adopting material from Simplicius.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lo Bello |first1=Anthony |title=The Commentary of Albertus Magnus on Book I of Euclid's Elements of Geometry |date=1 October 2021 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-45363-0 |pages=xiv-xxiii |url=https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/8327?language=en |access-date=4 May 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

The Latin-speaking [[Late Middle Ages|Late Medieval]] scholars of Western and Central Europe only had two writings by Simplicius: the commentaries on the ''Categories'' and on ''On the Heavens,'' which [[William of Moerbeke]] had translated into Latin. Moerbeke finished the translation of the ''Categories'' commentary in March 1266, that of the commentary on ''On the Heavens'' in June 1271. Earlier – in the period 1235–1253 – [[Robert Grosseteste]] had made a partial translation of the Commentary on ''On the Heavens''<ref>Fernand Bossier: ''Traductions latines et influences du commentaire In De caelo en Occident (XIIIe–XIVe s.)''. In: Ilsetraut Hadot (ed.): '' Simplicius. Sa vie, son œuvre, sa survie.'' Berlin 1987, pp. 289–325, here: 289–293</ref> which had a strong influence on philosophers including [[Thomas Aquinas]], [[Henry of Ghent]], [[Aegidius Romanus]] and [[Duns Scotus]]. Aquinas followed Simplicius' harmonizing interpretation of the relationship between Plato and Aristotle, and made extensive use of Simplicius' commentary on Aristotle's Categories.{{sfn|Baltussen|2013|p=3}}<ref>Michael Chase: ''The Medieval Posterity of Simplicius' Commentary on the Categories: Thomas Aquinas and al-Fārābī''. In: Lloyd A. Newton: ''Medieval Commentaries on Aristotle's Categories.'' Leiden 2008, pp. 9–29, here: 11, 13–17; Adriaan Pattin (ed.): '' Simplicius: Commentaire sur les Catégories d'Aristote. Traduction de Guillaume de Moerbeke.'' Volume 1, Louvain 1971, pp. XVIII-XXIII.</ref> [[Petrus de Alvernia]] used in his commentary on ''Über den Himmel'' a wealth of material from the relevant work of his ancient predecessor, and [[Heinrich von Mechelen|Heinrich Bate]] in his great handbook ''Speculum Divinorum et Quorundam Naturalium'' partly agreeing, partly disagreeing with the theses put forward by Simplicius in his commentary on ''On the Heavens''<ref>Fernand Bossier: ''Traductions latines et influences du commentaire In De caelo en Occident (XIIIe –XIVe&nbsp;s.)''. In: Ilsetraut Hadot (ed.): '' Simplicius. Sa vie, son œuvre, sa survie.'' Berlin 1987, pp. 289–325, here: 308–320</ref> rather than relying on the authority of Simplicius. From this it can be seen that Simplicius' commentary on Aristotle enjoyed an extraordinary reputation.<ref>Adriaan Pattin (ed.): '' Simplicius: Commentaire sur les Catégories d'Aristote. Traduction de Guillaume de Moerbeke.'' Volume 1, Louvain 1971, p. XXI.</ref>