Le commentaire par al-Kindī de l'Optiqued'euclide: un traité jusqu'ici inconnu

Abstract

After he wrote his well-knownDe aspectus, al-Kindī wrote a substantial critical commentary on Euclid'sOptics: the “Rectification of error and difficulties due to Euclid's book: theOptics.” This previously ignored work enriches our knowledge of the optics not only of the geometers of the mid-9th century, but also of late antiquity. This is the first known commentary on Euclid's treatise, and it raises again the questions of its textual traditions, their multiplicity, and the role of Theon of Alexandria; it also poses the problem of the survival of al-Kindī's thought through his successors, such as Ahmad b. 'Īsā. The article examines these and related issues.