Lost Fragments Of Spitzer Manuscript

Author(s): Eli Franco
Publisher: Eli Franco

Page 1

Lost Fragments of the Spitzer Manuscript!
ELI FRANCO, Vienna
In summarizing previous scholarship on the so-called Spitzer Manuscript (=SHT 810) more than 30 years ago, Dieter SCHLINGLOFF rightly observed that part of the manu. script seems to have been lost during World War II. Indeed, two previous publications concerned with this manuscript by Heinrich LODERS' and Yosho MIYASAKA reproduce and transcribe fragments that cannot be found among the original fragments as previously preserved in the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin and recently transferred to the State Library, Berlin. However, in a "Korrektumachtrag" to his paper SCHLINGLOFF adds: "After extensive investigations, the whereabouts of Dr. Moritz SPITZER could be ascertained. Dr. SPITZER, who lives at present in Jerusalem, informed me to my great delight that he was able to save his transcriptions of the fragments so that the loss of part of the original caused by the war is alleviated."
SPITZER's transcriptions, prepared in late 1927 and early 1928, have been graciously put at my disposal by SPITZER's son, Amitai. They are found on some 65 unnumbered pages of various size and were kept in an old paper folder. There is no evidence to suggest that the order of all the pages in the folder as a whole is meaningful, but certain pages can be recognized as belonging together. Recently I was able to compare SporZER's transcriptions with the original fragments and found transcriptions of some forty(t) fragments of various size that are no longer extant. Furthermore, I could deter
'I would like to express my deep gratitude to Karin Preisendenz and Lambert Schmithausen for most valuable suggestions and to Anne MacDonald for correcting my English
ICE D. SCHLINGLOFT, "Fragmente einer Palmblatthandschrift philosophischen Inhalte aus Ostturkistan (Ms. Spitzer)." Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde Südasiens 12-13, 1967-68 - Fruwallner Festschrif], 323-328, on p. 324, n. 5.
POE HLODERS. "Das Zeichen für 70 in den Inschriften von Mathuri aus der Saks- und KusinaZeit." Acta Orientalia 10, 1932, 118-135.
". Y. MIYASAKA, "Kyūrybu no danpen" (Fragments of Sautrintika). Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 10, 1962, 673-679.
Cf. SCHLINGLOFF, ibid. p. 328: "Korrekturnachtrag: Der Verbleib von Dr. Moritz SPITZER konnte nach langeren Nachforschungen ermittelt werden. Herr Dr. SPITZER, der heute in Jerusalem lebt, teilte mir zu meiner grossen Freude mit, dass er seine Transkriptionen der Fragmente retten konnte, so dass der kriegsbedingte Verlust einen Teiles des Originals verschmerzt werden kann."
Festschrift Minoru Hara (2000), S. 77-110