In fact the term ‘translation’ is somewhat misleading. Although the Arabic Plotinus does translate Plotinus’ Greek, it is often a free paraphrase. Also there are frequent interpolations, with passages (sometimes as long as a whole paragraph) appearing in the midst of the text with no direct basis in the Greek. These interpolations, and in many cases the way the Greek original is translated or paraphrased, bring new philosophical ideas and concerns into the text (see below, §4). Thus the Arabic Plotinus is an interpretation or reworking of Plotinus, and not just a translation. The interest of the texts lies in this philosophical reworking, which needs to be borne in mind when assessing the historical influence exercised by Plotinus in his Arabic guise (see below, §5).