Ancient Lives of Aristotle II: The Life of Hesychius. The Vita Vulgata. The Vita Latina.

Mesquita, António Pedro; Mota, Bernardo Machado

doi:10.14195/1984-249X_36_08pt2

Abstract

Abstract

This article presents an annotated translation of three biographies of Aristotle - the Vita Hesychii, the Vita Vulgata, and the Vita Latina. Together with Diogenes Laertius’ Life of Aristotle (Vita Laertiana), previously published in Archai, they constitute the complete Greek biographical tradition of Aristotle, both direct and indirect, with the exception of the severely incomplete Vita Marciana and the fragmentary, largely derivative,Vita Lascaris. The translations of all four biographies form part of the new edition of Aristotle’s works edited by C. D. C. Reeve for Hackett Publishing and are presented in Archai with minor changes and an expanded version of the original notes. For contextual information, the reader is referred to Archai (v.º 36, e03608pt1).

Keywords:
Aristotle; ancient biographies; Vita Hesychii; Vita Vulgata; Vita Latina

2. The Life of Aristotle according to Hesychius of Miletus (Vita Hesychii sive Menagiana)

[1]¹ Aristotle was the son of Nicomachus and Phaestis. Nicomachus was a physician of the family of the Asclepiads, descendant of Nicomachus, son of Machaon.² He was from Stagira, a city of Thrace,³ a philosopher, disciple of Plato, and he stammered.⁴[2] He had siblings, Arimnestus and Arimneste, and a daughter by Pythias, the daughter of Hermias, the eunuch, who fathered her while castrated. [3] The daughter of Aristotle married three times,⁵ had children and passed away before her father Aristotle.⁶[4] He also had a son, Nicomachus, by his concubine Herpyllis, whom, after Pythias, he received from Hermias, the eunuch, who was archon of Atarneus (a region of Troas) after he had been a slave to Eubulus, the Bithynian, and after Aristotle himself had become a favorite of this Hermias.⁷[5] For thirteen years, he was head of the school of philosophy called Peripatetic because he used to teach in a walkway’s garden⁸ after retiring from the Academy where Plato had taught. [6] He was born in the ninety-ninth Olympiad⁹ and died from drinking aconite in Chalcis, because he was indicted for writing a paean to Hermias, the eunuch.¹⁰[7] Others say that he died of disease at the age of seventy, or, according to others, sixty-three. [8] He composed up to 400 books.¹¹[9] The successors of his school were, in order, the following: Theophrastus, Strato, Praxiteles, Lyco, Ariston, Lykiskus, Praxiphanes, Hieronymus, Prytanis, Phormion, Critolaus.¹²

[10] These are his works:¹³
[1] On Justice, 4 books [DL1]
[2] On Poets, 3 books [DL2]
[3] On Philosophy, 4 books [DL3]
[4] On the Statesman, 1 book [DL4]
[5] On Politics, or Grylus,¹⁴ 3 books [DL5]
[6] Nerinthus, 1 book [DL6]
[7] On Wealth, 1 book [DL11]
[8] Sophist, 1 book [DL7]
[9] On Prayer [DL14]
[10] Menexenus, 1 book [DL8]
[11] On Good Birth, 1 book [DL15]
[12] On Love, 1 book [DL9]
[13] On the Soul, 1 book [DL13]
[14] Protrepticus, 1 book [DL12]
[15] On Pleasure, 1 book [DL16]
[16] On Kingship, 1 book [DL18]
[17] Economics,¹⁵ 1 book [DL23]
[18] On Education, or Concerning Education, 1 book [DL19]
[19] Syllogisms, 1 book [DL48]
[20] On the Good, 1 book [DL20]
[21] On Principles, or On Nature, 1 book [DL41]
[22] Alexander, or On Behalf of Colonies, 1 book [DL17]
[23] Excerpts from Plato’s Laws, 2 books [DL21]
[24] On Friendship, 3 books [DL24]
[25] On Sciences, 1 book [DL26]
[26] On Being Affected or Having Been Affected [DL25]
[27] On Eristic Arguments,¹⁶ 2 books [DL27]
[28] On Species, 1 book [DL31]
[29] Resolutions of Eristic Arguments, 1 book [DL28]
[30] On the Feeling of Anger, 1 book [DL37]
[31] Sophistical Divisions, 1 book [DL29]
[32] On Contraries, 1 book [DL30]
[33] Notes on Epicheirematic Arguments,¹⁷ 3 books [DL33]
[34] Propositions on Virtue, 2 books [DL34]
[35] On Elements, 3 books [DL39]
[36] Objections [DL35]
[37] On Things Said in Many Ways or by Addition, 1 book [DL36]
[38] Propositions, 1 book
[39] Ethics, 20 books [DL38]
[40] On Motion, 1 book¹⁸
[41] On Divisions, 17 books [DL42]
[42] On Divisions,¹⁹ 1 book [DL43]
[43] On Question and Answer, 1 book
[44] Eristic Propositions, 1 book [DL47]
[45] On the Idea, 1 book [DL54]
[46] Prior Analytics, 9 books [DL49]
[47] Posterior Analytics, 2 books [DL50]
[48] On Problems [DL51]
[49] Methodics [DL52]
[50] On the Better, 1 book [DL53]
[51] Definitions, 1 book [DL55a]
[52] Topics, 7 books [DL55b]
[53] Mathematics, 1 book [DL63]
[54] Syllogisms, 2 books [DL56]
[55] Syllogistic Definitions, 1 book [DL57]
[56] On the Desirable and the Accidental, 1 book [DL58]
[57] Introduction to the Commonplaces,²⁰ 1 book [DL59]
[58] On Voluntary Actions, 1 book [DL68]
[59] On Topics Concerning Definitions, 6 books [DL60]
[60] Affections, 1 book [DL61]
[61] Definitions in 13 books [DL64]
[62] On Epicheirematic Arguments, 2 books [DL65]
[63] On the Noble, 1 book [DL69]
[64] On Just Actions, 2 books [DL76]
[65] Epicheirematic Theses in 25 books [DL70]
[66] Theses on Love in 4 books [DL71]
[67] Theses on Friendship in 2 books [DL72]
[68] Theses on the Soul in 1 book [DL73]
[69] Theses on Politics, 2 books [DL74]
[70] Lectures on Politics, 8 books [DL75]
[71] Collection of Arts, 1 book [DL77]
[72] Art of Rhetoric, 3 books [DL78]
[73] Art, 1 book [DL79]
[74] Collection of the Art of Theodectes in 3 books [DL82]
[75] Art of Poetry, 2 books [DL83]
[76] Rhetorical Enthymemes,²¹ 1 book [DL84]
[77] On Magnitude, 1 book [DL85]
[78] Divisions of Enthymemes, 1 book [DL86]
[79] On Pure Style, 1 book [DL87]
[80] On Advice, 1 book [DL88]
[81] On Nature, 1 book [DL90]
[82] On Natural Things, 1 book [DL91]
[83] On the Philosophy of Archytas, 1 book [DL92]
[84] On the Philosophy of Speusippus and Xenocrates, 1 book [DL93]
[85] Excerpts from the Timaeus and from Archytas, 1 book [DL94]
[86] Against the Doctrines of Melissus, 1 book [DL95]
[87] Against the Doctrines of Alcmaeon, 1 book [DL96]
[88] Against the Pythagoreans, 1 book [DL97]
[89] Against the Doctrines of Gorgias,²² 1 book [DL98]
[90] On Sterility, 1 book [DL107]
[91] On Animals, 9 books [DL102]
[92] On Compound Animals, 1 book [DL105]
[93] On Dissections, 6 books [DL103]
[94] Selection of These [Dissections], 1 book [DL104]
[95] On Mythological Animals, 1 book [DL106]
[96] On Plants, 2 books [DL108]
[97] Physiognomics, 2 books [DL109]
[98] On Medicine, 2 books [DL110]
[99] Signs of Storms,²³ 1 book [DL112]
[100] On the Unit, 1 book [DL111]
[101] Astronomy, 1 book [DL113]
[102] On Motion , 1 book [DL115]
[103] Optics, 1 book [DL114]
[104] On Music, 1 book [DL116]
[105] Peplos²⁴
[106] Questions on Homer, 6 books [DL118]
[107] Questions on the Divine,²⁵ 1 book
[108] Concerning Poetry, 1 book [DL119]
[109] Mnemonic, 1 book [DL117]
[110] Physical Matters, 38 books (alphabetically ordered) [DL120]
[111] Metaphysics, 20 books
[112] On Examined Problems [DL121]
[113] General Problems,²⁶ 2 books [DL122]
[114] Mechanics, 1 book [DL123]
[115] Cycle on Poets, 3 books
[116] Democritean Problems,²⁷ 2 books [DL124]
[117] On the Magnet, 1 book [DL125]
[118] Conjunctions of Stars, 1 book [DL126]
[119] Miscellaneous Matters, 12 books [DL127]
[120] Claims of Cities, 1 book [DL129]
[121] Inquiries (ordered by kind), 14 books [DL128]
[122] Olympic Victors, 1 book [DL130]
[123] Pythian Victors, 1 book, with which he defeated Menaechmus²⁸
[124] On Music, 1 book²⁹
[125] Sophistical Refutations, or On Eristic Arguments
[126] Victors of the Cities Dionysia and Lenaia [DL134]
[127] On Preambles, 1 book³⁰
[128] On Tragedies, 1 book [DL135]
[129] On Didascalies, 1 book [DL136]
[130] On Rules for Gathering People, 1 book [DL138]
[131] Customs, 4 books [DL139]
[132] Categories, 1 book [DL140]
[133] On Interpretation [DL141]
[134] Prior Analytics, 2 books
[135] Constitutions of 158 Cities ordered by form³¹ (democratic, oligarchical, aristocratic, and tyrannical) [DL142]
[136] Problems Concerning Communal Messes, 3 books
[137] Letters, 20 books [DL143-152]
[138] An epic poem, beginning: “Holy one, most revered of the gods, far-shooting …” [DL153]
[139] An elegy, beginning: “Daughter of a mother of beautiful offspring …” [DL154]
[140] On the Wooden Tablets of Solon, 5 books³²
[141-142] On Blessedness, or Why Did Homer Invent the Cattle of the Sun?³³
[143] Questions on Hesiod in 1 book
[144] Questions on Archilochus, Euripides, and Choerilus in 3 books³⁴
[145] Poetical Questions, 1 book
[146] Poetical Explanations
[147] Homeric Problems, 10 books
[148] Lectures on Physics, 18 books
[149] On Coming to Be and Passing Away, 2 books
[150] On Meteors, 4 books, or Meteorology
[151] On Wealth, 1 book³⁵
[152] On the Soul³⁶
[153] On Rhetoric
[154] Metaphysics
[155] History of Animals, 10 books
[156] Motion of Animals, 3 books
[157] Parts of Animals, 3 books
[158] Generation of Animals, 3 books
[159] On the Rising of the Nile
[160] On Substance in Mathematics
[161] On the Common Mess, or on Symposia
[162] On Reputation
[163] On Virtue
[164] On Voice
[165] On the Married Life of Husband and Wife
[166] Rules for the Husband and Wife
[167] On Medicine, 7 books
[168] Miscellaneous Scientific Researches, as presented by Eukairos, his disciple³⁷
[169] Peplon (it comprises miscellaneous inquiries)³⁸
[170] On Time
[171] On Kingship
[172] On Education
[173] On Vision, 2 books
[174] Nicomachean Ethics
[175] Recommendations
[176-177] To Alexander, or On the Orator or the Statesman³⁹
[178] Art of Eulogy
[179] On Marvellous Things Heard⁴⁰
[180a] Eulogies or Hymns
[180b] On Differentiae⁴¹
[181] On Love, 6 books
[182] On Good Birth, 1 book
[183] On Human Nature
[184] On the Generation of the Cosmos
[185] Customs of the Romans
[186] Collection of Foreign Customs
And the following pseudepigrapha:
[187] Human Anatomy
[188] Defense of Impiety against Eurymedon⁴²
[189] Agricultural Matters
[190] Eulogy of Discourse
[191] Magicus
[192] On Temperance
[193] Recrimination of Alexander⁴³
[194] Eulogy of Wealth
[195] To Alexander⁴⁴
[196] On Method.

3. The Vita Vulgata

[1]⁴⁵ Aristotle was Macedonian by birth, from the city of Stagira.⁴⁶ He was the son of Nicomachus, physician to Amyntas, the king of the Macedonians;⁴⁷ for that reason, in memory of his father, he gave the name Nicomachus to his own son as well, in reference to whom he also wrote the Nicomachean Ethics. His mother was Phaestis. Both Nicomachus and Phaestis traced their descent from Asclepius.⁴⁸ The so-called epigram to Aristotle testifies to these facts. It runs as follows:

Phaestis was the mother and Nicomachus the father,

Both Asclepiads, of the divine Aristotle.

[2] After the death of Nicomachus and Phaestis, Aristotle was raised by a certain Proxenus of Atarneus. In memory of him and the upbringing he received, Aristotle not only raised his son Nicanor and secured him a complete education, but also adopted him as his own son; and when he was about to die, he ordered in his private will that his daughter Pythias be given in marriage to Nicanor.⁴⁹

[3] Aristotle received a liberal education while he was still young, as shown by his writings On Poets and On Poetics,⁵⁰ as well as the Homeric Problems and the Arts of Rhetoric.

[4] Having turned seventeen and the Pythia having ordered him to study philosophy, he left for Athens, where he joined Socrates and followed him for three years.⁵¹ When Socrates died, he joined Plato and followed him for twenty years. [5] And he worked with such diligence that Plato used to call the house of Aristotle the “house of the reader”.⁵² [6] For, while Plato was still alive, Aristotle did not found the Lyceum against him, as some suppose. Indeed, how could he, if Chabrias and Timotheus were high military officers at Athens by then and close relatives to Plato?⁵³

[7] In fact, some are at pains to maintain that Aristotle founded the Lyceum against Plato while he was still alive, on account of his contradicting Plato in many occasions. [8] Against them, it must be said that he did not unconditionally contradict Plato, but those who did not understand Plato’s doctrines. And even if he did contradict Plato, there is nothing strange about this, for even then he acknowledged Plato’s doctrines.⁵⁴ [9] Indeed, it is his the statement that one should care more about the truth than anything else.⁵⁵ At any rate, he said the following, word for word: “Socrates is a friend, but the truth is a greater friend”. And elsewhere: “One must take little heed of Socrates, but great heed of the truth”. [10] So, this is what Aristotle also did. Even if he overturned what Plato had said, the things he achieved were in agreement with him, for he did not wish to overlook the truth. [11] It is beyond doubt, therefore, that Aristotle had the utmost goodwill toward Plato. This is manifest from the fact that he consecrated an altar to Plato, in which he wrote this:

Aristotle consecrated this altar to Plato,

a man whom it is not right to hear about among the wicked. ⁵⁶

[12] Aristotle stayed with Plato for twenty years. [13] After the death of Plato, Speusippus, his nephew, took over his school (for he was the son of Potone, his sister). [14] Aristotle went to Pella, the Macedonian city, where he taught Alexander, the founder of cities.⁵⁷ [15] And he played a big part in that kingdom, for he exercised great influence over the king and used this influence, as he should, for good actions, both for the benefit of each private individual and for that of everyone collectively. [16] That he benefited many individuals is shown by the letters of reference and other letters sent by him to the king. [17] That he also benefited many people collectively is shown by the fact that he convinced Alexander to rebuild the city of Stagira, which had been destroyed, for which reason the Stagirites celebrate a festival dedicated to Aristotle, which they call Aristoteleia, and name the month in which the festival is celebrated the Stagirite. And he also prevented an injustice that was about to be committed by king Alexander against Eresus, the city of Theophrastus.⁵⁸

[18] After that, when Speusippus died, the Athenians sent for Aristotle, and both Aristotle and Xenocrates succeeded to Plato’s school.⁵⁹ And Xenocrates taught at the Academy, while Aristotle at the Lyceum.⁶⁰ [19] Afterwards, when an insurrection took place among the Athenians, Aristotle fled to Chalcis, saying to the Athenians: “I will not allow you to sin against philosophy a second time” (for the Athenians had already murdered Socrates). [20] He also let Antipater, the ruler,⁶¹ know that staying in Athens was dangerous. Further, he quoted this Homeric line, “pear upon pear becomes ripe and fig upon fig”,⁶² to allude, by means of these words, to the false accusations of the Athenians.⁶³

[21] Aristotle returned to Macedonia and exercised great influence on the rulers of that time - on Alexander and on his mother Olympias, as well as on Antipater and Philip. [22] He wrote for Alexander a book On Kingship in a single roll to teach him how to rule. [23] Doubtless, he also accompanied him to the region of the Brahmans, where he collected the two hundred and fifty-five Constitutions. He also accompanied him to Persia. There, after a war had taken place and Alexander had died, Aristotle returned to his fatherland.⁶⁴

[24] He was extremely moderate in his habits. [25] In philosophy, he surpassed human measure and did not neglect any of its fields of inquiry; on the contrary, he added a lot through his own acumen, managing to bring philosophy as a whole to a successful conclusion. [26] He contributed to logic by separating the rules from the things at issue and by creating the demonstrative method.⁶⁵ For the ancients knew how to demonstrate things, but did not know how to produce demonstrations, like those who cannot make sandals, but know how to wear them. [27] To physics he added the fifth substance.⁶⁶ [28] To theology, although he added nothing, he did not neglect any subject pertaining to it. [29] For he did not just look at the things that are in the world, as some suppose, but also at those that are beyond it, as he makes clear in the eighth book of the Physics, saying that the first cause moves neither by itself nor by accident, thus demonstrating that god is neither a body nor something susceptible to being affected .⁶⁷

[30] Aristotle lived sixty-three years in total. When he was seventeen years old, he joined Socrates and followed him for three years. Then, he followed Plato for twenty years. After the death of Plato, he lived for twenty-three years. The total time of his life added together was sixty-three years. Aristotle died in his sixty-third year.

This is what we have to say about Aristotle’s life.

4. The Vita Latina

[1]⁶⁸ Aristotle, the philosopher, was a Macedonian as to his people and a Stagirite as to his fatherland. Stagira is a city of Thrace close to Olynthus and to Methone. He was the son of Nicomachus and Phaestis, both descendants of Machaon, the Asclepiad, as the epigram that was dedicated to him states:

Phaestis was the mother and Nicomachus the father,

-Both descended from the Asclepiads-of the illustrious Aristotle. ⁶⁹

[2] Not only was Aristotle born to them, but also Arimnestus and Arimneste. Nicomachus was physician to Amyntas, the king of the Macedonians and father of Philip.⁷⁰ In memory of his own father, Aristotle gave the name Nicomachus to his son, to whom he also wrote the Nicomachean Ethics. And thus, he inherited an inclination to philosophy and medicine from his father and his earliest family. [3] After the death of his parents, Nicomachus and Phaestis, he was raised by a person named Proxenus, from Atarneus. In memory of his reputation and of the education secured from him, he raised, educated, and adopted his son Nicanor as his own; and on his deathbed he ordered in his will that his own daughter, named Pythias, born to him by Pythias, be given in marriage to that very same Nicanor.⁷¹

[4] Aristotle learned the doctrine of rhetoric while he was still young, as shown by the Homeric Questions written by him and the poem of the Iliad that he gave to Alexander, and the dialogue On Poets, and the treatises On Poetics and On Rhetoric.

[5] Having turned seventeen and the Pythia having ordered him to study philosophy, he was sent to Athens, where he joined Socrates and stayed with him for three years.⁷² When Socrates died, he joined Plato and stayed with him for twenty years, until the death of Plato himself, as he declares in a letter to Philip. [6] And he developed such a great love for Plato and such a zeal for the study of philosophy that Plato used to call the house of Aristotle the “house of the reader” and often said: “Off we go to the house of the reader”.⁷³ [7] And, when Aristotle was absent from the lecture, he proclaimed, “The Intellect⁷⁴ is absent, the audience is deaf”.

[8] He lived 23 years after the death of Plato, partly educating Alexander, the son of Philip, partly going around⁷⁵ many lands with him, partly composing books, and partly standing out as a professor.⁷⁶ [9] Therefore, Aristotle did not build the Lyceum against Plato while he was still alive, as Aristoxenus accused him of doing, and Aristides corroborated next.⁷⁷ On the contrary, he remained with Plato until his death. [10] Plato was born when Diotimus ruled over the Athenians;⁷⁸ he lived 82 years and ended his life under the archonship of Theophilus.⁷⁹ Aristotle was born under that of Diotrephes;⁸⁰ and he lived 63 years and died in the time of Philocles.⁸¹ Aristotle joined Plato in the time of Nausigenes;⁸² and from Theophilus, under whose archonship Plato died, to Philocles, 23 years went by, the number of years that Aristotle lived longer than Plato. [11] Therefore, it is not true, as they falsely alleged, that Aristotle stayed under Plato for 40 years, [having joined him] at the time of Eudoxus.⁸³ If, in fact, Aristotle lived for 63 years, only three years would have remained after the death of Plato -subtracted the 17 years during which he studied the trivium and the three years during which he studied with Socrates and the 40 years during which he studied with Plato, as they declare. In the remaining three years, however, it would not have been possible to compose, nor indeed easy to read, so many books.⁸⁴ [12] This is how Philochorus puts it.⁸⁵ Also, it is unseemly that Aristotle, being a foreigner,⁸⁶ could act against Plato, who was a citizen and enjoyed great power through Chabrias and Timotheus, leading figures in Athens and close relatives to Plato.⁸⁷

[13] After the death of Plato, Speusippus took over his school, for he was the son of Potone, Plato’s sister. [14] Aristotle was sent to Macedonia, where he taught Alexander, Philip’s son. [15] He was so esteemed by Philip and Olympias, Alexander’s mother, that they set up a statue to him along with themselves. He played a big part in that kingdom and labored much for the king; and, since he played such a big part, he used the influence of philosophy for good actions, both for the benefit of private individuals and of everyone collectively. [16] That he benefited many individuals is shown by the letters of reference and other letters sent by him to the king. [17] That he also benefited many people collectively is shown by the fact that he convinced king Alexander to rebuild his native city of Stagira, which had been previously destroyed by Philip, and to annex another region to it, for which reason the Stagirites used to celebrate a festival dedicated to Aristotle, which they called Aristoteleia,⁸⁸ and to name the month in which the festival was celebrated the Stagirite. [18] He also saved from destruction Eresus, the city of his pupils Theophrastus and Phanias,⁸⁹ which was meant to be destroyed. [19] The Stagirites brought the dead body of Aristotle from Chalcis to Stagira and consecrated an altar by his tomb, calling the place Aristoteleion, and there they used to gather in council. [20] He also benefited the Athenians in many things, as stated in Philip’s documents, so that the Athenians set up a statue to him on the Acropolis. [21] Additionally, to benefit the whole of mankind, he wrote a book On Kingship to Alexander to teach him how to rule. He moved Alexander’s soul toward beneficence so much, that he used to say: “Today, I did not rule, for I benefited no one”. [22] This is like someone suffering slightly from an ephemeral illness on account of having not performed, that day, the operations of those who are healthy.

[23] When Alexander was in his prime and fighting against the Persians, Aristotle went along, but not even then did he abstain from philosophy, for it was then that he collected the two hundred and fifty Constitutions. He accompanied him all the way to Persia; from there, as soon as the war was over, he returned to his fatherland.⁹⁰ And Antipater, who succeeded to Alexander’s kingship, did Aristotle no less honor than Alexander had done him.⁹¹

[24] When Speusippus, Plato’s nephew, died, Xenocrates and Aristotle, the wisest of men, took charge of his pupils. Aristotle was head in the Lyceum; Xenocrates, in the Academy, where Plato also used to work.⁹² [25] It is not true, then, as Aristoxenus and Aristides later declared,⁹³ that Aristotle built the Lyceum against Plato while he was still alive and teaching in the Academy. [26] And some are at pains to sustain this on account of his contradicting Plato in many occasions. [27] Against this, it must be said that he did not unconditionally contradict Plato but those who did not understand Plato’s doctrines. And even if he did contradict Plato, that is not inappropriate, for even then he acknowledged Plato’s doctrines. [28] From Plato himself there is the statement that one should care more about the truth than anything else; and elsewhere he said: “Socrates is a friend, but the truth is a greater friend”, and yet in another place: “One must certainly take little heed of Socrates, but great heed of the truth”. [29] So this is what Aristotle also did; he destroyed the things that Plato had said, while putting himself in agreement with them, because he refused to despise the truth.

[30] Aristotle had a great love for Plato. That this is true is manifest from the fact that he consecrated an altar to him, in which he wrote this:

Aristotle consecrated this altar to Plato,

A man whom it is inappropriate to praise among the wicked. ⁹⁴

[31] Perhaps he did not fight Plato’s doctrines but those who interpreted them wrongly, for example, that the heaven is ungenerated, in the book On the Heavens - some, in fact, understood that it was so according to time but not according to cause.⁹⁵ [32] Or Ideas, in the Metaphysics - some, in fact, placed them outside the intellect, while others considered them to be proper perceptibles,⁹⁶ as the immortal Human Being or Horse.⁹⁷ That he did not consider them altogether nonexistent is shown in the Ethics, where he says that there is a twofold order, one consisting in the general of an army and the other in the army itself, and that the former is the cause of the latter,⁹⁸ and in the book On the Soul, where he says that the intellect that is in accord with the soul is its objects.⁹⁹

[33] Aristotle was very moderate in his habits, which is why he says in the Categories that “one ought not to define promptly but rather to ponder many times”, and that “doubting everything is not useless”.¹⁰⁰ [33a] And in his book On the Good, he says: “one ought to remember that being human is not just about being happy but also about seeking knowledge”.¹⁰¹ [33b] And in the Nicomachean Ethics he says: “A certain man is dear, truth is dear; both being dear, it is sacred to honor truth first”.¹⁰² [34] And in the Meteorology, he says: “Of these things, some give us doubts, others we grasp in some way”;¹⁰³ and in the same treatise: “Not once or twice, but infinite times, the same opinions come to humans”,¹⁰⁴ so that we should not be too proud of our wisdom in the things that we seem to find.

[35] And such was the philosopher in his life. He added more to philosophy than¹⁰⁵ he took from it. [36] Indeed, in the Ethics he added that happiness does not rest in external goods, as Poliens says,¹⁰⁶ nor exclusively in the soul, as Plato used to say, but achieves its form in the soul¹⁰⁷ and is tainted and afflicted only by external misfortunes, using the words properly.¹⁰⁸ In fact, things that are tainted keep the same inner beauty, which is only hidden on the surface, and things that are afflicted keep the same size in truth.¹⁰⁹ [37] And to physics he added the fifth essence.¹¹⁰ [38] To mathematics, that the cone enclosed by the visual rays is acute-angled, because the visual ray goes further than the length covered by the sight (which is also why no object seen is seen as a whole simultaneously), and thus the axis becomes greater than its base and the cone becomes acute-angled.¹¹¹ [39] In theology, although he added nothing to it, still he left nothing undetermined. For he did not only look at the things that are in the world, as some suppose, but also at those that are beyond it, as he also declares in the eighth book of the Physics, when he says that the first cause moves neither by itself nor by accident, thus showing that the divine is neither a body nor something susceptible to being affected.¹¹²

[40] He also composed Medical Problems, Physical Problems extant in seventy books, Optical Problems, and Mechanical Problems. There is also Claims of the Greek Cities written by him, with which Philip resolved the disputes of the Greeks. History of the Constitutions was written by him afterward.

[41] In philosophy, he really surpassed human measure, leaving nothing to be determined about it, but, on the contrary, adding many things to it due to his acumen, and he organized philosophy as a whole.¹¹³ [42] He contributed to logic by separating the rules from the things at issue and by creating demonstrative science.¹¹⁴ For the ancients knew how to demonstrate, but they ignored how to build demonstrations, like those who can wear leather shoes, but cannot give the reason.¹¹⁵

[43] When the Athenians became hostile toward him,¹¹⁶ he fled to Chalcis, saying the following: “I will not concede that the Athenians sin twice against philosophy”. [44] And, in a letter sent to Antipater, he wrote: “It is dangerous to live among the Athenians”; and he cited that verse of Homer, “Since pear upon pear becomes ripe and fig upon fig”, enigmatically pointing to the succession of his accusors.¹¹⁷

[45] Aristotle lived 63 years. When he was 17 years old, he joined Socrates and stayed three years with him. He associated with Plato for 20 years. After the death of Plato, he lived 23 years. The total time of his life added together was 63 years.

[46] He died in Chalcis, leaving a written will, which is reported by Andronicus and Ptolemy with the list of his treatises.¹¹⁸ [47] He left a son, Nicomachus, and a daughter, Pythias, as well as his own pupils Theophrastus, Phanias, Eudemus, Clytus, Aristoxenus and Dicaearchus,¹¹⁹ [48] and one thousand treatises.¹²⁰ [49] He was capable of many things with the kings who lived in his time, Philip, Olympias, Alexander, and Antipater. He used philosophy as an instrument of power.

[50] It was distinctive of Aristotle’s philosophy not to depart from evidence, for even after the demonstrations he also gives the testimonies of the many.

[51] Here ends the account of the descent and life of the philosopher Aristotle.

[52] Aristotle also wrote a book On Prayer,¹²¹ whence Simplicius says: “Aristotle makes it clear at the end of the book On Prayer that he thought that there was something both beyond the intellect and beyond substance, when he plainly says that the god is intellect or something beyond the intellect.”¹²²

Bibliography

BETT, R. (2018). Sextus Empiricus. Against Those in the Disciplines Oxford, Oxford University Press.
DORANDI, T. (2006). La Vita Hesychii d’Aristote. Studi Classici e Orientali 52, p. 87-106.
DORANDI, T. (2013). Diogenes Laertius. Lives of Eminent Philosophers Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
DORANDI, T. (2016). The Ancient Biographical Tradition on Aristotle. Brill’s Companion to the Reception of Aristotle in Antiquity Leiden/Boston, Brill, p. 277-298.
DÜRING, I. (1957). Aristotle in the Ancient Biographical Tradition Göteborg, Institute of Classical Studies.
EDMONDS, J.M. (1964). Elegy and Iambus, Being the Remains of All the Greek Elegiac and Iambic Poets from Callines to Crates, Excepting the Choliambic Writers, with the Anacreonta London, W. Heinemann.
GIGON, O. (1962). Vita Aristotelis Marciana Berlin/Boston, De Gruyter.
GOULET, R. (2018). Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques I-VII. Paris, CNRS Éditions.
HENRY, P.; SCHWYZER, H.-R. (1951). Plotinus. Plotini opera, I. Paris, Desclée de Brouwer.
JACOBY, F. (1841). Fragmenta historicorum graecorum, I-IV. Paris, Ambroise Firmin-Didot.
MEIBOMIUS, M. (1692). Diogenis Laertii De vitis, dogmatibus et apophthegmatibus clarorum philosophorum libri X Amsterdam.
MESQUITA, A.P. (2006). Vida de Aristóteles Lisboa, Sílabo.
MESQUITA, A.P. (2019). La Vida de Aristóteles en el Libro V de Diógenes Laercio. Nunc est bacchandum Homenage a Alberto Bernabé Madrid, Escolar y Maio, p. 247-256.
MORAUX, P. (1951). Les listes anciennes des ouvrages d’Aristote Louvain, Éditions Universitaires.
NATALI, C. (2013). Aristotle: His Life and School Princeton, Princeton University Press.
RASHED, M. (2021). Ptolémée « Al-Gharib » : Épître à Gallus sur la vie, le testament et les écrits d’Aristote Paris, Les Belles Lettres.
ROBBE, L. (1861). Vita Aristotelis ex codice Marciano Graece nunc primum edita Leiden, Van Leeuwen.
ROSE, V., (1854). De Aristotelis librorum ordine et auctoritate commentatio Berlin, De Gruyter.
ROSE, V. (1870). Aristotelis qui ferebantur librorum fragmenta Aristotelis Opera V. Berlin, Bekker.
ROSE, V. (1886). Aristotelis qui ferebantur librorum fragmenta Stuttgart, B.G. Teubner.

¹

The numbers supplied in brackets refer to the sections in Dorandi’s edition. We are grateful to the president of Hackett Publishing Company, Deborah Wilkes, for her unreserved authorisation for this publication, and to the director of Archai, Gabriele Cornelli, for his interest in welcoming it into the pages of this journal. This work is financed by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P., within the scope of the project for the Annotated Translation of the Complete Works of Aristotle (6^th Phase) (PTDC/FER-FIL/0305/2021).

²

See DL, n. 13.

³

In classical times, Thrace was a neighboring territory to Greece inhabited by non-Greek tribes, while Stagira was a Greek city, though geographically close to that territory. The tenor and tone of Hesychius’ biographical note seems to show that his source was hostile to Aristotle. However, the same mistaken information occurs in VM 1 and VL 1.

⁴

See DL, n. 16.

⁵

Sextus Empiricus tells us to whom: “First to Nicanor of Stagira, who was close to Aristotle; second to Procleus, a descendant of the Spartan king Demaratus, who had two children with her, Procleus and Demaratus, who did philosophy with Theophrastus; and third Metrodorus the doctor, pupil of Chrysippus of Cnidus and teacher of Erasistratus, who had a son Aristotle.” (Adv. Math. I 258, translation Bett.)

⁶

As Düring (1957, p. 89) notes, this seems to be contradicted by the will in Diogenes Laertius.

⁷

On Herpyllis and Hermias, see DL, nn. 18 and 28, respectively.

⁸

Ἐν περιπάτῳ κήπῳ. Cf. DL, n. 23.

⁹

384/380 BCE. From DL 9, we learn that Aristotle was born in the first year of this Olympiad (384).

¹⁰

See DL, n. 39.

¹¹

Here too, as in DL 34 ad fin., the number of works attributed to Aristotle does not match the titles enumerated below.

¹²

This list is generally considered to be spurious. However, some of the names listed are indeed of actual scholarchs of the Lyceum, namely (at least) Theophrastus, Strato of Lampsacus (c. 335-269 BCE), Lyco of Troas (3^rd century BCE), Ariston of Ceos (3^rd century BCE), and Critolaus of Phaselis (2^nd century BCE). The relation of some of the other names with the Peripatos is also attested, namely those of Praxiphanes of Mytilene, who was a disciple of Theophrastus, Hieronymus of Rhodes, a contemporary and rival of Lyco, and Prytanis of Karystos, a legislator and philosopher of the 3^rd century BCE. Phormion of Ephesus might have been a member of the Peripatos under Critolaus.

¹³

We add an order number, in square brackets, before each new entry as it appears in Dorandi’s edition. Double or repeated numbers represent discrepancies between the manuscript tradition and this edition, as explained in the footnotes ad loc. The entries of the catalogue of Diogenes Laertius that find a match in the Vita Hesychii, regardless of any differences in the wording of the title or in the indication of the number of books, are provided in square brackets after each title.

¹⁴

Probably a mistake, instead of On Rhetoric, or Grylus, as in DL, entry 5. See Moraux (1951), p. 199.

¹⁵

See DL, n. 72.

¹⁶

On “eristic”, see DL, n. 73.

¹⁷

On “epicheiremata”, see DL, n. 75.

¹⁸

Titles 38 and 40 could correspond to entries 45-46 in DL.

¹⁹

See DL, n. 77.

²⁰

See DL, n. 81.

²¹

On enthymemes, see DL, n. 83.

²²

For the names in entries 83-89, see the notes to the equivalent entries in Diogenes Laertius.

²³

The manuscripts have: Συμμαχίας χειμῶνων, which gives the unlikely reading “Alliances of Storms”. The correction to Σημεῖα χειμῶνων was made by Moraux (1951, p. 199), following the entry 112 in DL, and welcomed by Düring and Dorandi.

²⁴

Moraux (1951, p. 196) describes this work as “a collection of prose narratives about Greek heroes, to which their epitaphs were added”.

²⁵

^Rose2 (p. 1467) conjectured that it should be read Ἡσιοδείων instead of θείων (hence “Questions on Hesiod”), which makes a much better sense in the context (on Hesiod, see below, n. 34).

²⁶

See DL, n. 92.

²⁷

On Democritus of Abdera, see DL, n. 93.

²⁸

Menaechmus of Sicyon (4^th century BCE) was a Greek historian who focused on Alexander the Great. Regarding the contest in which Aristotle would have defeated him, see Moraux (1951, p. 125-126 and 200-201).

²⁹

On these two titles (123-124), see entry 131 in DL and n. 94. Entry 123 may also correspond to 133 in DL.

³⁰

Or On Proverbs, reading παροιμιῶν instead of προοιμίων, as suggested by Düring. Cf. entry 137 in DL.

³¹

Reading κατ’ἰδίαν, instead of ἰδιωτικῶν, as suggested by Düring, following the correspondent entry in DL (142).

³²

The following set of titles is usually known as the “Hesychean appendix”. It is generally considered that Hesychius transcribed it from a source other than the one to which he owed the main catalogue. The reader will notice that it is possible to find in it a good part of the treatises of our modern Aristotelian corpus that are absent from both Diogenes’ catalogue and the first part of Hesychius’.

³³

In the manuscript tradition, these are two different titles. The combination of the two into a single title was suggested by Moraux (1951, p. 251-252) and adopted by Düring and Dorandi.

³⁴

This and the previous title refer to works dedicated to writers: Hesiod (8^th to 7^th century BCE), the founder of Greek didactic poetry; Archilochus, a lyric poet of the 7^th century BCE; and Euripides (5^th century BCE), the great Athenian tragedian. The last name may refer to the epic poet Choerilus of Samos (5^th century BCE), the tragediographer Choerilus of Athens (4^th century BCE), or, less likely, the epic poet Choerilus of Iasus (4^th to 3^rd century BCE).

³⁵

Περὶ πλούτου α’. Moraux (1951, p. 252) suggested that this was a corruption of Περἰ οὐρανοῦ δ’ (On the Heavens, 4 books), with the (convincing) argument that this would complete the succession of the great Aristotelian treatises on natural philosophy: Physics (148), On the Heavens (151), On Coming to Be and Passing Away (149), and Meteorology (150). However, the suggestion was not followed by later editors.

³⁶

The manuscripts read Περἰ τύχης, “On Chance”. The correction for Περἰ ψυχῆς, “On the Soul”, was proposed by Moraux (1951, p. 252) and adopted by Düring and Dorandi.

³⁷

Nothing is known about this disciple of Aristotle’s.

³⁸

See above, n. 24.

³⁹

The manuscript tradition separates the two titles: To Alexander and On the Orator or the Statesman. The suggestion to combine the two was put forward by Düring and was adopted by Dorandi. Moraux (1951, p. 258) added also the previous entry, thus forming the single title Recommendations to Alexander, or On the Orator or the Statesman.

⁴⁰

“On” (περί) was added by ^Rose3 (p. 17).

⁴¹

In the manuscript tradition, these last two titles appear linked as follows: Εγκώμια ἢ ὕμνους: διάφορα, with the sense of “Eulogies or Hymns: differences between them”. Moraux (1951, p. 261) defends this reading. Düring, on the other hand, advocates the independence of the two titles, but to do so he restores the latter as [Περὶ] διάφορα[ς], as corrected by ^Rose3 (p. 17), a lesson adopted by Dorandi. In support of this reading, it should be remembered that in the third ancient catalogue of Aristotle’s works, by Ptolemy al-Garib, a book corresponding to Περὶ διάφορας appears at number 13.

⁴²

See DL 5 and n. 35.

⁴³

The manuscripts have ἐκκλησία (“assembly”). Düring amended it to ἐγκλησία (“recrimination”), followed by Dorandi.

⁴⁴

Or Eulogy of Wealth, to Alexander, reading this and the previous title together, as suggested by Düring.

⁴⁵

The numbers in brackets refer to the sections in Düring’s edition.

⁴⁶

There is no basis for attributing Macedonian ancestry to Aristotle. The origin of the attribution may lie in the relationship between the philosopher’s family and the Macedonian court (see DL 1). On Stagira, see DL, n. 12.

⁴⁷

See DL, n. 15.

⁴⁸

See DL, n. 13.

⁴⁹

See Aristotle’s will in DL 12. On Proxenus and Nicanor, see DL, n. 57.

⁵⁰

Reading, with Düring, Περὶ ποιητικῆς instead of Πρὸς ποιητάς.

⁵¹

A bizarre piece of information, chronologically inconsistent (Aristotle was born fifteen years after Socrates died), common to VM (5) and VL (5). Solutions to this inconsistency have been proposed but have not reached a consensus (see Natali 2013, p. 156n32).

⁵²

Οἶκον ἀναγνώστου. The author of the biography clearly interprets this epithet in a complimentary sense. But it should be remembered that in ancient Greece, where people did not read books themselves but listened to them from a slave, ἀναγνώστης (“reader”) was precisely the term used for the slave in charge of reading aloud. Calling someone “a reader” could therefore also have the pejorative, or at least ironic, meaning of attributing to them a servile attitude, typical of a slave. For this reason, Düring (1957, p. 109) rightly asks whether this nickname should be interpreted as an expression “of approbation or as humorously critical”.

⁵³

Chabrias and Timotheus were two important Athenian generals and public figures of the 4^th century BCE.

⁵⁴

VM puts it more bluntly: ἤδη δὲ καὶ ἐν οἷς ἀντιλέγει Πλάτωνι πλατωνίζειν αὐτὸν φήσομεν (“even in the matters in which he contradicts Plato, we will say that he Platonises”: VM 28, 127-128 Gigon, Düring’s reconstruction).

⁵⁵

The referent of “his” (αὐτοῦ) is ambiguous. In this passage, it seems to be Aristotle, but in VL 28.1 it is explicitly stated that it is Plato, which fits the context best (see VV 9-10).

⁵⁶

See an alternative version of this epigram below, VL 30, n. 94.

⁵⁷

Pella was at that time the capital of the kingdom of Macedonia.

⁵⁸

VM 19, 90-91 Gigon, has Philip instead of Alexander. The equivalent passage in VL 18 does not mention the king’s name.

⁵⁹

VM adds a savory note, namely that the succession was made “in the most perfect agreement” between them (σωφρονέστατα: VM 24, 115 Gigon). On Speusippus and Xenocrates, see DL, nn. 85 and 21, respectively.

⁶⁰

This was a widespread tradition in antiquity, common to VM (24, 115-116 Gigon), VV (18) and VL (24), one clearly inspired by the desire to harmonize Plato with Aristotle, if not to turn the latter into an epigone of Platonism.

⁶¹

See DL, n. 56.

⁶²

Homer, Od. VII 120-121.

⁶³

The word συκοφαντίαι, “false accusations”, is phonetically, if not etymologically, related to σῦκον, “fig”.

⁶⁴

None of the data in VV 23 is historically accurate.

⁶⁵

Meaning: Aristotle developed a system of formal logic, where he demonstrated the valid deductive modes independently of any particular propositional content (in the Prior Analytics), as well as a theory of demonstrative science (in the Posterior Analytics).

⁶⁶

I.e., the aether. See DL, nn. 116-117.

⁶⁷

Cf. Ph. VIII 5.

⁶⁸

The numbers in brackets refer to the sections in Düring’s edition.

⁶⁹

For the data in VL 1, see VV, n. 46, and DL, n. 13.

⁷⁰

On Amyntas and Philip, see DL, nn. 15 and 20, respectively.

⁷¹

See Aristotle’s will in DL 12. On Proxenus and Nicanor, see DL, n. 57.

⁷²

See VV, n. 51.

⁷³

See VV, n. 52.

⁷⁴

Intellectus. In the equivalent passage of the Vita Marciana, the expression used is ὁ Νοῦς (VM 7, 44 Gigon).

⁷⁵

Reading circumdans as circumiens or circumitans, with Düring.

⁷⁶

Loco doctoris eminens, a convoluted translation of διδασκαλείου προεστώς in VM 8, 47 Gigon (“being head of the school”, “being the scholarch”), as pointed out by Düring (1957, p. 159).

⁷⁷

On Aristoxenus, see DL, n. 125. Aristoxenus’ alleged text has not survived and is only known indirectly through late sources. Aelius Aristides (2^nd century AD) was a Greek rhetorician belonging to the Second Sophistic. Aristides’ text (Or. 46, 249.10-21 Jebb = fr. 61a Düring) does not mention Aristotle by name, but states that some of Plato’s disciples rebelled against him during his third trip to Sicily (361 BCE).

⁷⁸

428/7 BCE.

⁷⁹

348/7 BCE.

⁸⁰

384/3 BCE.

⁸¹

322/1 BCE.

⁸²

368/7 BCE.

⁸³

The sentence as it stands, without the supplement, makes no sense. Eudoxus of Cnidus (4^th century BCE), one of the most prominent members of the Academy and a celebrated mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher, replaced Plato at the head of the school on the latter’s second visit to Syracuse, between 367 and 365 BCE. It was during this period, and more precisely in the first of those years, that Aristotle joined the Platonic school.

⁸⁴

This paragraph seems to result from a misunderstanding of the original text on the part of the Latin translator. The corresponding passage of the VM reeds thus: “Therefore, it is not true, as they falsely alleged, that Aristotle joined Plato when he was 40 years old, in the time of Eudoxus. If, in fact, Aristotle lived for 63 years, [there are only] three years [left from the death] of Plato, if one subtracts the 20 during which he studied with Plato; but in those three years it would not have been easy to write, or even to read, so much.” (VM 11, 58-64 Gigon.) The meaning here is clear: it is not true that Aristotle came to Plato at the age of 40, because otherwise, having lived 63 years and having stayed with Plato for 20, there would only have been three years left to compose the work that he actually composed. (Note that the author assumes that Aristotle’s work was all composed after leaving the Academy, an assumption that modern scholarship disputes). The Latin translator apparently did not understand the passage and thought that the point was that Aristotle had stayed with Plato for 40 years, not that he had arrived at Plato’s school at the age of 40. Hence the complicated calculations he does, different from the one we find in VM, to make sense of the text: considering his initial life span of 17 years, plus the three years he studied with Socrates, plus the 40 years he allegedly studied with Plato, there would only be three years left for etc.

⁸⁵

Philochorus of Athens (4^th to 3^rd century BCE) was an historian of Attica who introduced a dating method based on the lists of the Olympiads and the archons of Athens. He surely was one of Apollodorus’ most important sources for his Chronicles (see DL, n. 43).

⁸⁶

I.e., a metic in Athens.

⁸⁷

See VV, n. 53.

⁸⁸

Adopting the emendation suggested by Düring, Aristotelia.

⁸⁹

The text reads Theophrastus and Theophanius, which is certainly a mistake (see VM 17, 82Gigon, preserving the right lesson). Phanias of Eresus joined the Lyceum while Aristotle was still alive and was a prominent member of the school under his fellow countryman Theophrastus. He dedicated himself mainly to logic, botanic, history, and the commentary on Aristotle’s Organon.

⁹⁰

See VV 90 and n. 64.

⁹¹

On Antipater, see DL, n. 56.

⁹²

See VV, n. 60. On Speusippus and Xenocrates, see DL, nn. 85 and 21, respectively.

⁹³

See above, n. 77.

⁹⁴

The second verse is ambiguous and could read: “a man whom it is inappropriate for the wicked to praise”. VL is based on VM 26, 125 Gigon (ἀνδρὸς ὃν οὐδ’ αἰνεῖν τοῖσι κακοῖσι θέμις), which presents an alternative version to the text of VV 11.5 (ἀνδρὸς ὃν οὐ θέμις ἐν τοῖσι χαλεποῖσιν ἀκούειν).

⁹⁵

Cf. Cael. I 10-12. Apparently, what the author means here is that some have interpreted the ungenerated character of the world as referring to its not having a beginning in time, but not to its not having a cause, as postulated in Plato’s Timaeus, thus reconciling the positions of the two philosophers.

⁹⁶

Τhe Latin translator must have read ἴδια αἰσθητά, “proper perceptibles”, which makes no sense, instead of ἀΐδια αἰσθητά, “eternal perceptibles”, in the Greek original (and in VM 30, 140 Gigon).

⁹⁷

This may be a reference to the discussion of platonic ideas in Metaph. I 9 - but the suggestion is admittedly highly conjectural.

⁹⁸

Actually, the quotation is to be found in Metaph. XII 10, 1075a12-15, but its relation to the issue of the existence of ideas is intricate at best. (Note that some manuscripts have Metaphysics instead of Ethics.)

⁹⁹

Intellectum qui est secundum animam esse res. The equivalent passage in the VM reads: “the intellect in activity is its objects” (τὸν κατ’ ἐνέργειαν νοῦν εἶναι τὰ πράγματα: VM 30, 145 Gigon), which is an almost verbatim quotation of De an. III 7, 431b17.

¹⁰⁰

Probably a somewhat distant quotation of Cat. 7, 8b21-24.

¹⁰¹

This (and the equivalent passage from the VM, in Düring’s reconstruction) is the only testimony about this lost exoteric work with such content. Perhaps an aphorism summarizing EN X 7-8?

¹⁰²

Cf. EN I 6, 1096a14-17.

¹⁰³

Cf. Mete. I 1, 339a2-3.

¹⁰⁴

Cf. Mete. I 1, 339b27-30. This is a thought that Aristotle was obviously very fond of: see Cael. I 3, 270b19-20, and Pol. VII 9, 1329b25-27.

¹⁰⁵

Supplying quam in the text.

¹⁰⁶

Sicut Poliens (“as Poliens”) mistranslates ὡς ὁ πολὺς ἄνθρωπος (“as most people”): see VM 36, 162 Gigon.

¹⁰⁷

Sed habere quidem formam in anima. The Latin translator probably read τύπος for κῦρος. In fact, the equivalent passage in the VM has: ἀλλ’ ἔχειν γε τὸ κῦρος ἐν ψυχῇ, “but achieves its power in the soul” (VM 36, 163-164 Gigon).

¹⁰⁸

Cf. EN I 8, 1099a31-b8, and 10, 1100b22-1101a21.

¹⁰⁹

VM completes the idea: “which is smaller only in appearance” (ἐλάττω φαίνεται μόνον: VM 36, 168-169 Gigon).

¹¹⁰

See DL, nn. 116-117.

¹¹¹

Cf. Problems XV 6, 911b20-27 (loosely interpreted). See Euclides, Optics, definitions, and proposition 1.

¹¹²

Cf. Ph. VIII 5.

¹¹³

Compare this to VV 25.

¹¹⁴

See VV, n. 65.

¹¹⁵

The idea is more clearly set out in VV 26: “like those who cannot make sandals, but know how to wear them”. People who know how to demonstrate (maybe: who know how to reason) but do not know how to build demonstrations are like people who know how to wear shoes but do not have the technique to make them.

¹¹⁶

The original is stronger but makes little sense: insurgentibus autem ipsi Atheniensibus (“when the Athenians rose against him”). The same text in VM 41, 184 Gigon: Ἐπαναστάντων δ’ αὐτῷ τῶν Ἀθηναίων. VV 19 probably retained the best lesson: μετέπειτα ἀνταρσίας γενομένης ἐν τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις, ἦλθεν ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐν Χαλκίδι... (“afterwards, when an insurrection took place among the Athenians, Aristotle fled to Chalcis…”).

¹¹⁷

See VV, nn. 62-63.

¹¹⁸

Andronicus of Rhodes was a Peripatetic intellectual of the first century BCE, established in Rome, who is credited with drawing up a catalogue of the writings of Aristotle and Theophrastus in at least 5 books, as well as the first ancient edition of the Aristotelian corpus (this point remains controversial). Ptolemy, whom the Arabs called al-Garib (“the foreigner”), wrote a letter to a certain Gallus, which is only extant in Arabic, containing an epitome of Aristotle’s life, with his last will and a list of his works. His identity has been much debated. Rashed, in his recent edition of the letter, has argued, with strong arguments, that he was a Peripatetic philologist from Alexandria, “active in the first quarter of the third century AD” (Rashed 2021, p. CCXXXIV), who could be either the one referred to by Longinus, according to Porphyry in his Life of Plotinus (20.48-51Henry-Schwyzer), or the one mentioned by Sextus Empiricus in the Adversus Mathematicos I 60 and 72 (if they are not the same person).

¹¹⁹

On Theophrastus, Phanias, and Aristoxenus, see, respectively: DL, n. 58; VL, n. 89, above; DL, n. 125. Eudemus of Rhodes, Clytus of Miletus, and Dicaearchus of Messina were all disciples of Aristotle. Little is known about Clytus, but Eudemus distinguished himself as an historian of Greek mathematics and Dicaearchus as a geographer and historian.

¹²⁰

The same number of treatises is indicated in VM 45. Also Ptolemy, in Ad Gallum 4, states that “Andronicus listed in his book around 1,000 works”. The source from which the originals of VM and VV drew this piece of information must have been either this passage of Ptolemy’s letter or Andronicus’ own work, both of which, as VL 46 makes clear, were not unknown to their authors. It should be noted that, in Ptolemy’s passage, it is not clear whether the thousand titles were all from works by Aristotle or also by Theophrastus; in any case, they might include authentic, suspect, and spurious writings (unlike the “almost 400” referred to in DL 34, which explicitly comprehended “only those undisputedly by him”).

¹²¹

An exoteric work by Aristotle, also referred to by two of the ancient catalogues of Aristotle’s works (DL, entry 14, and VH, entry 9), of which the text quoted next is the only extant fragment.

¹²²

Cf. Simplicius, In Cael. 485.19-22 Heiberg.

Data availability

Not applicable.

MESQUITA, A.; MOTA, B. (2026). Ancient Lives of Aristotle II. The Life of Hesychius. The Vita Vulgata. The Vita Latina. Archai 36, e03608pt2.

i

apmesquita@campus.ul.pt

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bernardomota@edu.ulisboa.pt

Editors:

Gabriele Cornelli and Beatriz de Paoli

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
10 July 2026
Date of issue
2026

History

Received
15 Oct 2025
Accepted
16 Jan 2026

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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