I.

Writers on the art of writing.

1. شوق المستهام في معرفة رموز الاقلام Shawq al-mustaham fi ma'rifat rumuz al-aqlam The yearning of the infatuated for the knowledge of the symbols of scripts by Ahmed bin Abi Bakr bin Wahshiyah. original: "Desiderium scientiae secretorum scripturarum expletum, autore Ahmed f. Ebibekr sub nomine Ben Waschye celebrati."

Regarding this very rare codex, which was donated to the Imperial Library by the illustrious Knight Carlo Rosetti de Rosenhügel, prefect of Austrian commerce in Egypt, it is superfluous to discuss more here, since it was translated into English by the author of this catalogue during his maritime journey from Alexandria to Britain, and later published in England under the care of the most famous Wilkens and at the expense of the magnificent Count Spencer under the title:

Ancient Alphabets and hieroglyphic characters explained, with an account of the egyptian priests, their classes, initiation and sacrifices in the arabic language by Ahmed Ben Ebibekr Ben Wahshie, and in english by Joseph Hammer Secretary to the Imperial Legation at Constantinople; London 1806 in 4to.

Although this book appeared six years ago, because of the state of the times and blocked routes, it has not yet reached the hands of the translator, and became known to him only through the mention by the famous Silv. de Sacy in the Magasin Encyclopédique of Nov. 1810. Although this prince of Oriental philologists of the present age correctly criticized many σφάλματα errors of both the Arabic writer and the English translator, we do not think one should agree with his opinion that this codex is apocryphal and perhaps not to be attributed to Ibn Wahshiyah. We ask permission to add only a few words here regarding how it came into our hands. Indeed, in 1801, when visiting Egypt, having experienced the hospitality of the aforementioned illustrious Knight (which all travelers have celebrated for half a century) and having inquired about Oriental codices, the knight himself confessed to us that nothing had been left to him after the fates of war except this most precious codex kept in some mosque. Since we did not have the means to purchase it when it was brought, he presented it as a gift to the Imperial Royal Library of Vienna.