Auctoritates Aristotelis
Encyclopedia
The Auctoritates Aristotelis (the authoritative passages of Aristotle
) were a popular florilegium
or anthology of brief extracts, composed around the end of the thirteenth century by the Franciscan
scholar Johannes de Fonte .
This large collection of sententiae or opinions derived from scholastic
texts was compiled around 1300 by de Fonte while he was a lector in theology at the Franciscan convent in Montpellier
. He says in the prologue that his work is intended to provide assistance “as much for preaching to the people as study of the arts.” The work enjoyed a wide circulation, providing a convenient way to access Aristotle’s philosophy, or to embellish a composition or sermon with quotations from his work.
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
) were a popular florilegium
Florilegium
In medieval Latin a florilegium was a compilation of excerpts from other writings. The word is formed the Latin flos and legere : literally a gathering of flowers, or collection of fine extracts from the body of a larger work. It was adapted from the Greek anthologia "anthology", with the same...
or anthology of brief extracts, composed around the end of the thirteenth century by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
scholar Johannes de Fonte .
This large collection of sententiae or opinions derived from scholastic
Scholasticism
Scholasticism is a method of critical thought which dominated teaching by the academics of medieval universities in Europe from about 1100–1500, and a program of employing that method in articulating and defending orthodoxy in an increasingly pluralistic context...
texts was compiled around 1300 by de Fonte while he was a lector in theology at the Franciscan convent in Montpellier
Montpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
. He says in the prologue that his work is intended to provide assistance “as much for preaching to the people as study of the arts.” The work enjoyed a wide circulation, providing a convenient way to access Aristotle’s philosophy, or to embellish a composition or sermon with quotations from his work.