5
:brows Thanks again James!
Out of interest,in which way do they differ? :???:
I need the book as a study aid & should have purchased years ago.
SG
Enjoy what you learn,as it keeps the mind youthful!!

6
sg - over the course of some conversations here at skyscript with a few different knowledgeable posters, i was encouraged to get the robbins translation..i had read the ashmand translation previously which was partly based on a comment from a particular bookseller that specializes in astrology books. if you were to believe that guy, your money will go into his pocket more quickly then into the hands of the seller of the best book.

7
This is actually a tricky question. A lot of people swear by Robbins, which is definitely based on a much better source text. But Robert Schmidt and Robert Hand have pointed out quite a few flaws in the translation itself, some of which can radically alter the meaning of the text. At the same time the Ashmand text is based off of a paraphrase and can also be quite deviant. Which leads to the problem of having two competing and flawed translations!

Robert Schmidt of Project Hindsight has made provisional translations of book I, III and IV, which run $45 (US Dollars) apiece from his site. For contrast, Ben Dykes' excellent translation of various works by Sahl and Masha'allah costs $40 on Amazon for a single 622 page volume. The sad reality is that a reliable, affordable and complete version of Ptolemy doesn't yet exist, at least in my opinion.

A pretty gloomy conclusion, isn't it? For now, I think the best course of action is to cross reference both the Robbins an Ashmand translation found here and hope for the best.

9
:D Thank you James & Eric,
your help is much appreciated! I shall stick with the Robbins translation & check out the link posted.
Wishes SG :'
Enjoy what you learn,as it keeps the mind youthful!!

10
If you had to choose between those two then you should go with Robbins.

Robbins' translation is based on his own critical edition of manuscripts of Ptolemy's original text. That is to say, it represents Robbins' attempt to recreate what he thinks that Ptolemy's original text looked like based on a comparison of a few different manuscripts that survived of it.

The Ashmand translation on the other hand is based on the so-called Proclus paraphrase of Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos, which is, as the title implies, a paraphrase of Ptolemy's work rather than the original thing. So, when you read the Ashmand version you are not necessarily reading the original Tetrabiblos, but kind of a condensed version of it in a sense.

From that perspective the choice is clear: Robbin's provides the superior version if you are wanting to read what Ptolemy original wrote.

I go into all of this in a little more detail in the critical editions and translations section of my article on Ptolemy:

http://www.hellenisticastrology.com/ast ... s-ptolemy/

12
I don't know if it helps, but there is a free version of J.M.Ashmand's translation here: http://www.sacred-texts.com/astro/ptb/index.htm

The issue is I am not sure if it is the same as the one that people sell in stores.

I have only briefly read both the free Ashmand translation and Robbins's translation, but I find that in some places, Robbins's is easier to understand.
Interested in Hellenistic astrology? Visit my blog.

The appearance changes, but the essence remains.