Threadsnarrative readings of the Moreh Nevukhim

My purpose in this Treatise is to enlighten a religious man who has been trained to believe in the truth of our holy Law, who conscientiously fulfils his moral and religious duties, and at the same time has been successful in his philosophical studies. Human reason has attracted him to abide within its sphere; and he finds it difficult to accept as correct the teaching based on the literal interpretation of the Law. Maimonides, Introduction to the Guide, c. 1190

Six threads through the Guide. None tries to summarise it. Each follows one of its arguments, in order, with quotation and gloss, and leaves the other arguments standing nearby. Read in any order; click inside the prose to drift to a related passage.

• I · part one Via Negativa
  On what cannot be said of God. Why the predicate “wise,” when applied to Him, is not a description but a negation.
• II · part one Homonyms
  The hand, the foot, the face. Scripture speaks two languages at once; the literal reader hears only one.
• III · part two Aristotle in a Cave
  Where the philosopher is followed; where he is left behind. On the spheres, the active intellect, and the limits of demonstration.
• IV · part three The Storm and Its Voice
  Providence and the Book of Job. Four positions on suffering; the surprising one Maimonides chooses.
• V · part three Reasons for the Mitzvot
  The historical reading of the commandments. A philosopher’s account of why we still bring offerings.
• VI · across the parts The Unity That Is Not Number
  On divine simplicity. Why the One of theology is not the one of arithmetic, and what that costs.