Manuscript – The Book of Euclid – Lithuania, 1780 – Foreword Differs from the Printed Version, Additional Reason ...

Manuscript – The Book of Euclid – Lithuania, 1780 – Foreword Differs from the Printed Version, Additional Reason for the Directive of the Gaon of Vilna to Translate Scientific Works into Hebrew
Manuscript, the Book of Euclid, fundamentals of geometry by the Greek mathematician Euclid, translated by R. Baruch Schick of Shklow upon the advice of the Gaon of Vilna. [Lithuania? 1780].
Neat cursive Ashkenazic script. Decorated title page. Lacking end (includes chapters I-III and part of chapter IV).
The chronogram on the title page indicates the same year this book was published by the author in The Hague. The foreword in this manuscript is somewhat different from the printed foreword. We were unable to establish a connection between this manuscript and the printed edition.
Several sentences in the manuscript do not appear in the printed version. Conversely, there is an entire section in the printed edition which is not present in this manuscript (this passage was added to the manuscript, after the foreword, by a different writer).
The Book of Euclid was translated to Hebrew by R. Baruch Schick of Shklow, a dayan in Minsk, upon the instruction of the Gaon of Vilna. In his foreword, R. Baruch Schick relates that when he was by the Gaon of Vilna in Tevet 1778, the latter stated that when a person lacks knowledge in sciences, he will lack a hundred times more in his knowledge of Torah, since Torah and sciences are inextricably linked. The Gaon of Vilna therefore asked him to translate scientific works into the Holy Tongue, so that Jews "should not need to study from non-Jews and associate with them" (most of the differences between the manuscript and the printed version are found in this part of the foreword).
The sentence "[so that Jews] should not need to study from non-Jews and associate with them" – a new explanation for the directive of the Gaon of Vilna to translate scientific works into Hebrew, does not appear in the printed foreword. Dr. Aryeh Morgenstern relates to this manuscript in his book Dochakei HaKetz and alleges that R. Baruch Schick intentionally censored the words of the Gaon of Vilna due to his affiliation with the Haskalah movement. He explains that, as opposed to the Gaon of Vilna, R. Schick believed that Jews must learn from non-Jews and should not abstain from associating with them, and this was in fact his objective in translating scientific works into Hebrew (see: Aryeh Morgenstern, Dochakei HaKetz, Jerusalem 2015, chapter VI, pp. 232-240).
Euclid is mentioned on the title page as being "one of the sages of Athens" (Tractate Bechorot 8b). This mention does not appear in the printed version.
[2], 21 leaves (lacking end). 20 cm. High-quality paper. Good condition. Stains. New binding with leather spine.
Provenance: The Yeshayahu Vinograd Collection, Jerusalem.