The History of a Genuine Fake Philosophical Treatise (Ḥatatā Zar’a Yā‘eqob and Ḥatatā Walda Ḥeywat). Introduction: Investigating an Investigation

Certainly fooling a scholar is in itself legitimate and even praiseworthy, since it makes him feel for a time the sweetest, smoothest emotions, at the prospect of a great discovery. The illusion not only compensates for the disappointment, but even surpasses it. So what would it take to fool an entire academy? The following study focuses on one text, the Treatise of Zar'a Yā'eqob or Ḥatatā Zar'a Yā'eqob, and its appendix, the Ḥatatā Walda Heywat. For the sake of simplicity and as a first step...