Small 8vo. 352 pp., Latin & Arabic text within borders, spine cloth with marbled boards, rubbed, title gilt in Arabic on spine, index, weak spine, some browning, Ex Typographia Catholica Sumptibus Rezcalla Micaelis Khadra, Beryti [Beirut], 1871.

Synopsis

Yusuf al-Dibs (1833-1907) was a leading scholar and priest in the 19th century Lebanon. He is famous for his works History of Syria in eight volumes (1893-1905), and the History of the Maronites (1905). At the age of twenty he translated a book by Saint Alphonse Liqori from Italian into Arabic and it was published at the Tamish monastery press in 1854.
He continued his career as a translator and translated into Arabic several articles written by the Jesuit priest Yuhann Biruni. He also translated books from Latin covering religious matters, logic, and philosophy.
Dibs always defended the doctrine of the Maronites. In this book Summa Confutationum known in Arabic as Ruh al-Rudud fi tafnid za’im al-khuri Dawud al-Siryani, he refuted the allegations against the Maronites, the dialogue between him and the Syriac priest Yusuf Dawud continued and both published their arguments in Arabic and French. This text was translated into Latin by Nu’mtallah al-Dahdah.