The sixteen essays in this volume consider the impact of the Greek philosophical tradition on Christianity in the Latin West (pt i, nos 1–7) and the Syriac-Arabic East (pt ii, nos 8–16). The first part focuses on early biblical commentaries, the second on the philosophical tradition and its later developments. Three essays stand somewhat in between the two parts: no. 7 (S. Ebbesen, on Boethius as a translator and Aristotelian commentator); no. 8 (E. Watts, on the ‘personal aspect’ of late Platonism in the commentary tradition, engaging literary and archaeological sources and reflecting on the question of audience); and no. 9 (D. Krausmüller, on Aristotelianism in three sixth-century Chalcedonian authors writing in Greek, Theodore of Raithou, Heraclianus of Chalcedon and the author of De sectis).

Following A. Fürst's foundational essay on Origen, the ‘inventor’ of biblical commentary (no. 1), the essays in part i discuss prologue topics and translation problems in Latin commentaries on Paul (S. Lunn-Rockliffe, no. 2); Ambrosiaster's place in the commentary tradition (M.-P. Bussières, no. 3); philosophical exegesis in Marius Victorinus' commentaries on Paul (S. Cooper, no. 4); Jerome's commentary on Galatians ‘between East and West’ (A. Cain, no. 5); and the Bible and Aristotle in the controversy between Augustine and Julian of Aeclanum (J. Lössl, no. 6).

The second part has as its starting point the Alexandrian commentary tradition associated with the names of Ammonius, Olympiodorus and Simplicius. The essays deal in various ways with questions of translation, reinterpretation and the rewriting of the Greek philosophical tradition in Syriac and, to a lesser extent, Arabic (for Boethius' work in Latin see no. 7). The main interpreters and transmitters of the tradition in Syriac include Sergius of Resh‛ayna, Probus and Paul the Persian. Two essays deal explicitly with Sergius: A. McCollum, no. 10 (Sergius' translation of De mundo) and E. Fiori, no. 11 (Sergius' ‘dialectically faithful’ translation of Pseudo-Dionysius), while Sergius is prominent in D. King's essay as well (no. 14, on the development of a logical lexicon in Syriac). Probus and the problems surrounding his identity are dealt with in S. Brock's contribution (no. 12). Paul the Persian's creative reading of Aristotle's Peri Hermeneias is discussed in H. Hugonnard-Roche's essay (no. 13). J. Watt (no. 15) shows how in the Syriac tradition Aristotelian logic is paired not with the Neoplatonic Plato, but with Pseudo-Dionysius as well as with the ascetic writings of Evagrius. Watt also makes the transition into the Arabic world, focusing on Abū Bishr Mattā, while Ph. Vallat's final essay (no. 16) analyses al-Fārābī's arguments for the eternity of the world, and brings us into the Islamic world.

The book abounds with illuminating comments on the translation and reception history of the Organon in Syriac, on the education system, on the multiple levels of interaction between Greek and Syriac etc. Two important limitations should be pointed out. First, with the focus of the Syriac essays on the sixth century, little attention beyond occasional references is given to the next generation of scholars and intellectuals, including Severus Sebokt, Athanasius of Balad, Jacob of Edessa and George of the Arabs, who have their own place in the chain of the tradition. Second, the specific genre of biblical commentary, so prominent in part i, is almost completely absent from part ii. One looks in vain for any of the great names of biblical commentators of either the West or East Syriac tradition. These limitations do not detract from the exceptional richness of each of the essays. The volume is rounded off with excellent bibliographies and indices.