In One Sense Easy, in Another Difficult: The Opening of Metaphysics α as a Topos in Medieval and Renaissance Literature

The opening line of Aristotle's Metaphysics α is “the examination of truth is in one sense difficult and in another easy.” Due to some transmission problems of Aristotle's Metaphysics into Arabic, this sentence was considered the opening line of the Metaphysics by Averroes and subsequent Hebrew translators. Mauro Zonta's important work on Averroes' Middle Commentary on Aristotle's Metaphysics highlights this transition and provides the exact wording of the line in its most popular form. In fact, the line itself is quoted rather broadly and a number of Hebrew philosophical sources that use this line as a literary topos, to imply a metaphysical connection to the topic under discussion. Such use can be found in Gersonides' Commentary on Song of Songs, Joseph Albo's opening of his Sefer Ha‘Iqqarim, Abraham Bibago's Way of Faith, and Don Isaac Abravanel's Commentary on 1 Kings 3, and Johanan Alemanno's Hesheq shelomo. In some cases, such as in Gersonides and Bibago, the line is used to direct the readers to explore how physics or philosophical inquiry in general leads to metaphysics. In other cases, the line is used to explain how the topic under discussion can be understood to replace metaphysics. Thus, Joseph Albo plays on Metaphysics α to suggest the study of the principles of faith is somehow like metaphysics. Abravanel and Alemanno use the line with reference to King Solomon's metaphysical achievements. But both thinkers also suggest that Solomon's greatness was going beyond metaphysics into the realm of politics (Abravanel) or else into mysticism (Alemanno). In these cases, the use of a line from metaphysics highlights the departure from metaphysics in studying the principles of faith, politics, or mysticism.