Corpus Aristotelicum
Encyclopedia
The Corpus Aristotelicum is the collection of Aristotle
's works that have survived from antiquity through Medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's lost works, are technical philosophical treatises from within Aristotle's school. Reference to them is made according to the organization of Immanuel Bekker's nineteenth-century edition, which in turn is based on ancient classifications of these works.
and Strato of Lampsacus
. Still others acquired Aristotle's name through similarities in doctrine or content, such as the De Plantis, possibly by Nicolaus of Damascus
. A final category, omitted here, includes medieval palmistries, astrological and magical texts whose connection to Aristotle is purely fanciful and self-promotional.
In several of the treatises, there are references to other works in the corpus. Based on such references, some scholars have suggested a possible chronological order for a number of Aristotle's writings. W.D. Ross, for instance, suggested the following broad chronology (which of course leaves out much): Categories, Topics, Sophistici Elenchi, Analytics, Metaphysics Δ, the physical works, the Ethics, and the rest of the Metaphysics. Many modern scholars, however, based simply on lack of evidence, are skeptical of such attempts to determine the chronological order of Aristotle's writings.
Bekker numbers, the standard form of reference to works in the Corpus Aristotelicum, are based on the page numbers used in the Prussian Academy of Sciences edition of the complete works of Aristotle
(Aristotelis Opera edidit Academia Regia Borussica, Berlin, 1831-1870). They take their name from the editor of that edition, the classical philologist
August Immanuel Bekker
(1785-1871).
Bekker numbers take the format of up to four digits, a letter for column 'a' or 'b', then the line number. For example, the beginning of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
is 1094a1, which corresponds to page 1094 of Bekker's edition of the Greek text of Aristotle's works, first column, line 1.
All modern editions or translations of Aristotle intended for scholarly readers use Bekker numbers, in addition to or instead of page numbers. Contemporary scholars writing on Aristotle use the Bekker number so that the author's citations can be checked by readers without having to use the same edition or translation that the author used.
While Bekker numbers are the dominant method used to refer to the works of Aristotle, Catholic
or Thomist scholars often use the medieval method of reference by book, chapter, and sentence, albeit generally in addition to Bekker numbers.
Stephanus pagination
is the comparable system for referring to the works of Plato.
Logic (Organon
(or Athenaiōn Politeia) was not included in Bekker's edition, because it was first edited in 1891 from papyrus rolls acquired in 1890 by the British Museum
. The standard reference to it is by section (and subsection) numbers.
. These are not cited by Bekker numbers, however, but according to fragment numbers. Rose's first edition of the fragments of Aristotle
was Aristoteles Pseudepigraphus (1863). As the title suggests, Rose considered these all to be spurious. The numeration of the fragments in a revised edition by Rose, published in the Teubner series, Aristotelis qui ferebantur librorum fragmenta, Leipzig, 1886, is still commonly used (indicated by R3), although there is a more current edition with a different numeration by Olof Gigon (published in 1987 as a new vol. 3 in Walter de Gruyter
's reprint of the Bekker edition), and a new de Gruyter edition by Eckart Schütrumpf
is in preparation.
For a selection of the fragments in English translation, see W.D. Ross, Select Fragments (Oxford 1952), and Jonathan Barnes
(ed.), The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, vol. 2, Princeton 1984, pp. 2384-2465.
The works surviving only in fragments include the dialogues On Philosophy (or On the Good), Eudemus (or On the Soul), Protrepticus
, On Justice, and On Good Birth. For the dialogues, see also the editions of Richard Rudolf Walzer
, Aristotelis Dialogorum fragmenta, in usum scholarum (Florence 1934), and Renato Laurenti, Aristotele: I frammenti dei dialoghi (2 vols.), Naples: Luigi Loffredo, 1987.
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...
's works that have survived from antiquity through Medieval manuscript transmission. These texts, as opposed to Aristotle's lost works, are technical philosophical treatises from within Aristotle's school. Reference to them is made according to the organization of Immanuel Bekker's nineteenth-century edition, which in turn is based on ancient classifications of these works.
Overview of the extant works
The extant works of Aristotle are broken down according to the five categories in the Corpus Aristotelicum. Not all of these works are considered genuine, but differ with respect to their connection to Aristotle, his associates and his views. Some are regarded by most scholars as products of Aristotle's "school" and compiled under his direction or supervision. (The Constitution of Athens, the only major modern addition to the Corpus Aristotelicum, has also been so regarded.) Other works, such as On Colors may have been products of Aristotle's successors at the Lyceum, e.g., TheophrastusTheophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
and Strato of Lampsacus
Strato of Lampsacus
Strato of Lampsacus was a Peripatetic philosopher, and the third director of the Lyceum after the death of Theophrastus...
. Still others acquired Aristotle's name through similarities in doctrine or content, such as the De Plantis, possibly by Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus
Nicolaus of Damascus was a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan age of the Roman Empire. His name is derived from that of his birthplace, Damascus. He was born around 64 BC....
. A final category, omitted here, includes medieval palmistries, astrological and magical texts whose connection to Aristotle is purely fanciful and self-promotional.
In several of the treatises, there are references to other works in the corpus. Based on such references, some scholars have suggested a possible chronological order for a number of Aristotle's writings. W.D. Ross, for instance, suggested the following broad chronology (which of course leaves out much): Categories, Topics, Sophistici Elenchi, Analytics, Metaphysics Δ, the physical works, the Ethics, and the rest of the Metaphysics. Many modern scholars, however, based simply on lack of evidence, are skeptical of such attempts to determine the chronological order of Aristotle's writings.
Bekker numbers
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...
(Aristotelis Opera edidit Academia Regia Borussica, Berlin, 1831-1870). They take their name from the editor of that edition, the classical philologist
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
August Immanuel Bekker
August Immanuel Bekker
August Immanuel Bekker was a German philologist and critic.-Biography:Born in Berlin, Bekker completed his classical education at the University of Halle under Friedrich August Wolf, who considered him as his most promising pupil. In 1810 he was appointed professor of philosophy in the University...
(1785-1871).
Bekker numbers take the format of up to four digits, a letter for column 'a' or 'b', then the line number. For example, the beginning of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
Nicomachean Ethics
The Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
is 1094a1, which corresponds to page 1094 of Bekker's edition of the Greek text of Aristotle's works, first column, line 1.
All modern editions or translations of Aristotle intended for scholarly readers use Bekker numbers, in addition to or instead of page numbers. Contemporary scholars writing on Aristotle use the Bekker number so that the author's citations can be checked by readers without having to use the same edition or translation that the author used.
While Bekker numbers are the dominant method used to refer to the works of Aristotle, Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
or Thomist scholars often use the medieval method of reference by book, chapter, and sentence, albeit generally in addition to Bekker numbers.
Stephanus pagination
Stephanus pagination
Stephanus pagination is the system of reference and organization used in modern editions and translations of Plato . Plato's works are divided into numbers, and each number will be divided into equal sections a, b, c, d and e...
is the comparable system for referring to the works of Plato.
Aristotle's works by Bekker numbers
The following list is complete. The titles are given in accordance with the standard set by the Revised Oxford Translation. Latin titles, still often used by scholars, are also given. Disputed works are marked by *, and ** marks a work generally agreed to be spurious.Logic (OrganonOrganonThe Organon is the name given by Aristotle's followers, the Peripatetics, to the standard collection of his six works on logic:* Categories* On Interpretation* Prior Analytics* Posterior Analytics...
)
- (1a) CategoriesCategories (Aristotle)The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
(or Categoriae) - (16a) De Interpretatione ("On Interpretation")
- (24a) Prior AnalyticsPrior AnalyticsThe Prior Analytics is Aristotle's work on deductive reasoning, specifically the syllogism. It is also part of his Organon, which is the instrument or manual of logical and scientific methods....
(or Analytica Priora) - (71a) Posterior AnalyticsPosterior AnalyticsThe Posterior Analytics is a text from Aristotle's Organon that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished as a syllogism productive of scientific knowledge, while the definition marked as the statement of a thing's nature, .....
(or Analytica Posteriora) - (100a) TopicsTopics (Aristotle)The Topics is the name given to one of Aristotle's six works on logic collectively known as the Organon. The other five are:*Categories*De Interpretatione*Prior Analytics*Posterior Analytics*On Sophistical Refutations...
(or Topica) - (164a) Sophistical Refutations (or De Sophisticis Elenchis)
Physics (the study of nature)
- (184a) PhysicsPhysics (Aristotle)The Physics of Aristotle is one of the foundational books of Western science and philosophy...
(or Physica) - (268a) On the HeavensOn the HeavensOn the Heavens is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings of the terrestrial world...
(or De Caelo) - (314a) On Generation and CorruptionOn Generation and CorruptionOn Generation and Corruption , , also known as On Coming to Be and Passing Away) is a treatise by Aristotle. Like many of his texts, it is both scientific and philosophic...
(or De Generatione et Corruptione) - (338a) MeteorologyMeteorology (Aristotle)Meteorology is a treatise by Aristotle which contains his theories about the earth sciences. These include early accounts of water evaporation, weather phenomena, and earthquakes....
(or Meteorologica) - (391a) On the Universe** (or De Mundo)
- (402a) On the SoulOn the SoulOn the Soul is a major treatise by Aristotle on the nature of living things. His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different operations...
(or De Anima) - The Parva NaturaliaParva NaturaliaThe Parva Naturalia are a collection of seven works by Aristotle, which discuss natural phenomena involving the body and the soul:* Sense and Sensibilia * On Memory...
("Little Physical Treatises"):- (436a) Sense and Sensibilia (or De Sensu et Sensibilibus)
- (449b) On Memory (or De Memoria et Reminiscentia)
- (453b) On Sleep (or De Somno et Vigilia)
- (458a) On DreamsOn DreamsOn Dreams is one of the short treatises that make up Aristotle's Parva Naturalia.-External links:*, translated by J. I. Beare*HTML Greek text: ,...
(or De Insomniis) - (462b) On Divination in Sleep (or De Divinatione per Somnum)
- (464b) On Length and Shortness of Life (or De Longitudine et Brevitate Vitae)
- (467b) On Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and RespirationOn Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and RespirationOn Youth, Old Age, Life and Death, and Respiration is one of the short treatises that make up Aristotle's Parva Naturalia.-Place in the Parva Naturalia:...
(or De Juventute et Senectute, De Vita et Morte, De Respiratione)
- (481a) On BreathOn BreathOn Breath is a philosophical treatise included in the Corpus Aristotelicum but usually regarded as spurious...
** (or De Spiritu) - (486a) History of AnimalsHistory of AnimalsHistory of Animals is a zoological natural history text by Aristotle.-Arabic translation:The Arabic translation of Historia Animalium comprises treatises 1-10 of the Kitāb al-Hayawān .-See also:...
(or Historia Animalium) - (639a) Parts of Animals (or De Partibus Animalium)
- (698a) Movement of Animals (or De Motu Animalium)
- (704a) Progression of Animals (or De Incessu Animalium)
- (715a) Generation of AnimalsGeneration of AnimalsThe Generation of Animals is a text by Aristotle.-Arabic translation:...
(or De Generatione Animalium) - Minor works:
- (791a) On ColorsOn ColorsOn Colors is a treatise attributed to Aristotle but sometimes ascribed to Theophrastus or Strato. The work outlines the theory that all colors are derived from mixtures of black and white...
** (or De Coloribus) - (800a) On Things HeardOn Things HeardOn Things Heard is a work which was formerly attributed to Aristotle, but is now generally believed to be the work of Strato of Lampsacus. Our extant version of On Things Heard is made up of long extracts included in Porphyry's Commentary on Ptolemy's Harmonics, and is thus partial. The extracts...
** (or De audibilibus) - (805a) Physiognomonics** (or Physiognomonica)
- (815a) On PlantsOn PlantsOn Plants is a work, sometimes attributed to Aristotle, but generally believed to have been written by Nicolaus of Damascus, which deals with a number of plant related topics.The work is divided in two parts...
** (or De Plantis) - (830a) On Marvellous Things HeardOn Marvellous Things HeardOn Marvellous Things Heard is a collection of thematically arranged anecdotes traditionally attributed to Aristotle. The material included in the collection mainly deals with the natural world...
** (or De mirabilibus auscultationibus) - (847a) Mechanics** (or Mechanica)
- (859a) ProblemsProblems (Aristotle)The Problems is an Aristotelian or possibly pseudo-Aristotelian collection of problems written in a question and answer format as its authenticity has been under questioning. The collection, gradually assembled by the peripatetic school, reached its final form anywhere between the third century BC...
* (or Problemata) - Minor works:
- (968a) On Indivisible LinesOn Indivisible LinesOn Indivisible Lines is a short treatise attributed to Aristotle, but likely written by a member of the Peripatetic school some time before the 2nd century BC....
** (or De Lineis Insecabilibus) - (973a) The Situations and Names of WindsThe Situations and Names of WindsThe Situations and Names of Winds is a spurious work sometimes attributed to Aristotle. The text lists winds blowing from twelve different directions and their alternative names used in different places...
** (or Ventorum Situs) - (974a) On Melissus, Xenophanes, and GorgiasOn Melissus, Xenophanes, and GorgiasOn Melissus, Xenophanes, and Gorgias is a short work falsely attributed to Aristotle. The work was likely written during the 1st century AD. or later by a member of the peripatetic school.-References:...
**
Metaphysics
- (980a) MetaphysicsMetaphysics (Aristotle)Metaphysics is one of the principal works of Aristotle and the first major work of the branch of philosophy with the same name. The principal subject is "being qua being", or being understood as being. It examines what can be asserted about anything that exists just because of its existence and...
(or Metaphysica)
Ethics and politics
- (1094a) Nicomachean EthicsNicomachean EthicsThe Nicomachean Ethics is the name normally given to Aristotle's best known work on ethics. The English version of the title derives from Greek Ἠθικὰ Νικομάχεια, transliterated Ethika Nikomacheia, which is sometimes also given in the genitive form as Ἠθικῶν Νικομαχείων, Ethikōn Nikomacheiōn...
(or Ethica Nicomachea) - (1181a) Magna MoraliaMagna MoraliaThe Magna Moralia is a treatise on ethics traditionally attributed to Aristotle, though the consensus now is that it represents an epitome of his ethical thought by a later, if sympathetic, writer. Several scholars have disagreed with this, taking the Magna Moralia to be an authentic work by...
* ("Great Ethics") - (1214a) Eudemian EthicsEudemian EthicsThe Eudemian Ethics is a work of philosophy by Aristotle. Its primary focus is on Ethics, making it one of the primary sources available for study of Aristotelian Ethics. It is named for Eudemus of Rhodes, a pupil of Aristotle who may also have had a hand in editing the final work...
(or Ethica Eudemia) - (1249a) On Virtues and VicesOn Virtues and VicesOn Virtues and Vices is the shortest of the four ethical treatises attributed to Aristotle. The work is now regarded as spurious by scholars and its true origins are uncertain though it was probably created by a member of the peripatetic school.-References:* Zeller, Eduard. A history of...
** (or De Virtutibus et Vitiis Libellus) - (1252a) PoliticsPolitics (Aristotle)Aristotle's Politics is a work of political philosophy. The end of the Nicomachean Ethics declared that the inquiry into ethics necessarily follows into politics, and the two works are frequently considered to be parts of a larger treatise, or perhaps connected lectures, dealing with the...
(or Politica) - (1343a) EconomicsEconomics (Aristotle)The Economics is a work that has been ascribed to Aristotle. It is usually attributed, by modern scholars, to a student of Aristotle, or to a student of his successor Theophrastus....
* (or Oeconomica)
Rhetoric and poetics
- (1354a) RhetoricRhetoric (Aristotle)Aristotle's Rhetoric is an ancient Greek treatise on the art of persuasion, dating from the 4th century BC. In Greek, it is titled ΤΕΧΝΗ ΡΗΤΟΡΙΚΗ, in Latin Ars Rhetorica. In English, its title varies: typically it is titled Rhetoric, the Art of Rhetoric, or a Treatise on...
(or Ars Rhetorica) - (1420a) Rhetoric to AlexanderRhetoric to AlexanderThe Rhetoric to Alexander is a treatise traditionally attributed to Aristotle. It is now generally believed to be the work of Anaximenes of Lampsacus.-Authorship:...
** (or Rhetorica ad Alexandrum) - (1447a) Poetics (or Ars Poetica)
The Constitution of the Athenians
The Constitution of the AtheniansConstitution of the Athenians
The Constitution of the Athenians is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity, one probably by Aristotle or a student of his, the other attributed to Xenophon, but not by him....
(or Athenaiōn Politeia) was not included in Bekker's edition, because it was first edited in 1891 from papyrus rolls acquired in 1890 by the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
. The standard reference to it is by section (and subsection) numbers.
Fragments
Surviving fragments of the many lost works of Aristotle were included in the third volume of Bekker's edition, edited by Valentin RoseValentin Rose (classicist)
Valentin Rose was a German classicist and textual critic.-Personal life:Valentin Rose was the son of mineralogist Gustav Rose , and a nephew to famed mineralogist Heinrich Rose and to the pharmacist Wilhelm Rose , of whom he published a brief remembrance...
. These are not cited by Bekker numbers, however, but according to fragment numbers. Rose's first edition of the fragments of Aristotle
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...
was Aristoteles Pseudepigraphus (1863). As the title suggests, Rose considered these all to be spurious. The numeration of the fragments in a revised edition by Rose, published in the Teubner series, Aristotelis qui ferebantur librorum fragmenta, Leipzig, 1886, is still commonly used (indicated by R3), although there is a more current edition with a different numeration by Olof Gigon (published in 1987 as a new vol. 3 in Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter
Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG is a scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. Its origins date back to 1749 when it was given the right to print books by King Frederick II of Prussia. -De Gruyter Mouton:...
's reprint of the Bekker edition), and a new de Gruyter edition by Eckart Schütrumpf
Eckart Schütrumpf
Eckart Schütrumpf is a professor of classics at the University of Colorado at Boulder known for his work on political, ethical, rhetorical and poetic issues in Aristotle, Plato, Cicero, and other ancient writers. In 2005 he won a prestigious research prize from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation...
is in preparation.
For a selection of the fragments in English translation, see W.D. Ross, Select Fragments (Oxford 1952), and Jonathan Barnes
Jonathan Barnes
Jonathan Barnes is a British philosopher, translator and historian of ancient philosophy.-Education and career:He was educated at the City of London School and Balliol College, Oxford University....
(ed.), The Complete Works of Aristotle: The Revised Oxford Translation, vol. 2, Princeton 1984, pp. 2384-2465.
The works surviving only in fragments include the dialogues On Philosophy (or On the Good), Eudemus (or On the Soul), Protrepticus
Protrepticus (Aristotle)
Protrepticus is the title of a work by Aristotle that survives only in fragments. Since the 19th century, when inquiry was initiated by Jakob Bernays , several scholars have attempted to reconstruct the work...
, On Justice, and On Good Birth. For the dialogues, see also the editions of Richard Rudolf Walzer
Richard Rudolf Walzer
Richard Rudolf Walzer was a German-born British expert on Greek philosophy.Education: Werner-Siemens-Realgymnasium, Berlin-Schöneberg; Frederick William University of Berlin.-Career:...
, Aristotelis Dialogorum fragmenta, in usum scholarum (Florence 1934), and Renato Laurenti, Aristotele: I frammenti dei dialoghi (2 vols.), Naples: Luigi Loffredo, 1987.
External links
- The Ancient Catalogues of Aristotle's Writings. A Survey of Current Research
- The Peripatos after Aristotle's and the Origin of the Corpus Aristotelicum with an annotated bibliography
- Bekker's Prussian Academy of Sciences edition of the complete works of Aristotle at Archive.org: volume 1, volume 2, volume 3, volume 4, volume 5
- Oxford Translation of The Works of Aristotle at Archive.org (contents by volume): vol. 1, vol. 2, vol. 3, vol. 4, vol. 5, vol. 6, vol. 7, vol. 8, vol. 9, vol. 10, vol. 11, vol. 12