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THETRADITIONALVITAEARISTOTELIS 67
(on the Island of Euboea) 1). Therehe died (2), and his remainswere brought to Stagira (3), where a (meeting)place was named
after him (Aristoteleion)4).This was followedby Aristotle s last will and testament (5) ;a reference to his children (6); and an enumeration of hisdisciples7). He was a benefactorand friend of individuals (8) ; of
(1) VM41 ; VV 19 ; VL43 ; II VA 21-22; IV VA 7-9.Al-Mubashir andUsaibiaapparentlyconfoundChalcis andChalcidice.
(2) VM43 ; VL46, and ibid, at 19 ; II VS7 (watchingthe ebb and flowof the Euripus); II VA 22-23(watchingthe ebband flowof the Euripus) ;IV VA 11. The Arabic sources andII VS8 make Aristotle68 yearsold atthe time of his death; I VA 15, 66 years.SeealsoJustin Martyr, Cohortatioad Graecos34 ; Gregoryof Nazianzus,OratioIV. 72 ; Procopius,Historyofthe WarsVIII. 6. 20.
(3) VM17-18; VL 19 ; I VS10 ; II VA 29 ; IVVA 13, and ibid, at 30.(4) VM 18 ; VV17 ; VL 19 ; I VS10 ; II VA 29-30; IV VA 13, and ibid.
at 30-31.Al-Mubashir(II VA 30),who is alsoquotedby Usaibia(IVVA 31),reports : They [scil.,the citizensof Stagira]soughtcomfortat the placeofhis tomb, and peaceand tranquillitywherehis bonesrested. Whensomethingin the domainof philosophyor learning seemedto them too difficult, they wentto that placeand sat down to deliberate. Theytalked there with oneanotherabout the matter, until that whichpreviouslywasobscurebecameclear, anduntil they werecertainaboutthat whichhad been an objectof dispute.For theybelievedthat their comingto the placewhere Aristotle sremainswereburiedwouldpurifytheir minds,improvetheir judgment, andincreasetheir understanding f things. They wentthere, too, inorder to pay their respect to him afterhis death, to showtheir mourningfor his departure,and to manifest their griefoverthe misfortunethey hadsustainedby the lossof the sourceof wisdomthathe had beento them . Thisreport indicatesthat a visit to Aristotle slastresting place,asidefrom beingan act of homageto the memoryof Stagira sbenefactorand greatest son, not only gave wisdomto the visitor, but alsopurifiedhis mind definitelya Neo-Platonictwist. In brief, Aristotle s tombbecamea sacred shrine.See alsoibid,at 32.
(5) VM43 ; VL46 ; I VA 17 ; II VA 33-34; III VA IV VA 34. HealsoappointedTheophrastusas his successorto the scholarchate.I VA 16 ; II VA32 ; IV VA 34. VM43 and VL46 indicatethat the abridgementmade useof Andronicus aswellas Ptolemy.
(6) VM44 ; VL 47 ; I VS 11 ; II VA 33 ; IVVA 36.(7) VM44 ; VL 47 ; II VS 6 ; II VA 31 ; III VA IV VA 33.(8) VM15-16,and ibid, at 46 ; VV15-16; VL 15-16; I VA 12 ; II VA 26 :
[Aristotle...began to devotehimself] to supporting the feeble; to gettingmaidensmarried; to protectingorphans; to assistingthosewho wereanxiousto learn and acquirean education, whoeverthey might be and whateverschoolingthey mightdesire,and to obtaining scholarships for that purpose;to collectingalmsfor the poor...IVVA 24, whichpractically repeatsII VA 26verbatim.SeealsoIII VA.
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68 A.-H. CHROUST
cities (I) ; of Athens and the Athenians in particular (2) ; andof the whole of mankind 3). Probably here were inserted some
remarks about Aristotle s personaltraits and about his characterin general 4). After Plato he was the greatest philosopheramongthe Greeks 5). For his many nobledeeds and achievementshe wasesteemedand honoredby King Philip (6) ; by kings and princesingeneral (7); and by citiesand communities8).
(1) At Aristotle s request King Philip rebuilt Stagira. VM 17; VV 17;VL 17 ; I VA 13 ; II VA 27 ; IV VA 25. Aristotledeviseda codeof laws(or, a constitution)for rebuilt Stagira. I VS 7 ; II VA 27 ; IV VA 14. AtAristotle srequestPhilipspared Eressus.VM19 ; VV17 ; VL18. Thestorythat he persuadedPhilipto rebuildStagira andthat he drew up a codeof lawsfor that city, is alsotold in DiogenesLaertiusV. 4, and, hence, mightgobackto Hermippus.
(2) VM20 ; VL20 ; IV VA 17, and ibid, at 18. Usaibia(IVVA 18)mentions that Aristotle had intervened [on behalfof the Athenians]with KingPhilip, and hadsucceededin persuadingthe King that they shouldbe welltreated.... Thispassagemight actuallybe a summary(andUsaibia sversion)of the content of an inscription honoring Aristotle.
(3) VM21 (seealsoibid, at 22); VL21 ; I VA 12 ; II VA 25-26; IV VA 16,and ibid, at 24. VM 21 and VV 21 specificallycite Aristotle swork OnKingshipas one of his significantcontributionsto the welfareof mankind.VV 22merelymentionsthis work. Asa matter of fact, throughoutthesesourcesthe impressionis beingcreatedthat his writingsweredeathlessgifts to mankind.
Al-Mubashir(II VA 25) statesthat he devotedhimself to workingfor thecommonweal. SimilarlyVM15. Usaibia(IVVA 16)maintainsthat he stroveto serve well his fellowmen and that by negotiationshe promotedtheiraffairs and provedto be of great serviceto them .
(4) VM15-16,and ibid, at 31-32 and46 ; VV 15-16; VL15, and ibid, at 17and33-35;I VA , and ibid,at 12 ; II VA 6, and ibid,at 28 ; III VA; VVA 15,and ibid, at 24and 26.Thestory, told in I VS9, that a swarmof beeswasfound aroundthe urn containinghis ashes impliesthat he wasa most righteous man. SeePorphyry, De Antro Nijmpharum19, where we are informedthat the bee is a symbolof the soulof a righteousman.
(5) I VA 7. An-Nadim(I VA 7) in fact states : He [soil.,Aristotle]wasthemost eloquentamongthe Greeks, and their most eminentwriter of learnedworks, the most distinguishedof their philosophersafter Plato, and the one
who attained the highestreachesof philosophy. See alsoIII VA.Plutarch,Alexander9 : He sent for Aristotle, the most learnedand most celebratedphilosopherof his time.
(6) VM15, and ibid, at 46 ; VV 15 ; VL 15, and ibid, at 49. VM15 andVL 15 alsocontainthe informationthat Philiperecteda statue in Aristotle shonor. A statue erected in honor of Aristotleby Philip (or Alexander)inStagirais mentionedby Pausanias,Descriptionof GreeceVI.4. 8.
(7) VM23, and ibid, at 49 ; VV21 ; VL49 ; I VA 8 ; II VA 28 ; IVVA 15.(8) VM 17-18,and ibid, at 20 ; VV17 ; VL17, and ibid, at 19-20; I VS10 ;
II VA 29-30;III VA IV VA 13, and i6id. at17-18,21, and 30-31.For
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The whole report concluded with a list or catalogue ofhis writings (1), and possiblywith a cursory and probably not too
accurate) summaryof his philosophicteachings 2). Thereprobablywas also a general chronologyof Aristotle slife.In the light of the surviving Vitae Aristotelis,which seem to be
dependent or, at least, to a large extent dependent on Ptolemy sVila Aristotelisor on some abridgementof Ptolemy s Vila, this isabout all that might safely be said about Ptolemy s original b iography. Ours is not a reconstruction or, perhaps,a collectionoffragmentsor quotations in the traditionalsense of the term, but atbest a kind of tentative and,in all likelihood,disorderly table ofprobable main contents of Ptolemy s Vila, frequently based onoptimisticconjecturelackingprecisionand ultimateconfirmation.Needless to say, such a tentative table of probable contentsmust limit itself to somefairly vague statements.For at this pointwe cannot possiblyknow the exact wordingof Ptolemy s Vita orthe particularorder in which he originallypresentedhis materials.
MediaevalInstitute Anton-Hermann Chroust.of the Universityof Notre Dame,
Indiana.
his meritoriousdeedsthe peopleof Stagiracelebratedin his honor an annualfestival, calledthe Aristoteleia,and namedone month of the year Slageirites.VM17 ; VV 17 ; VL 17. They alsoerectedan altar anda monument(VL19),and nameda placeAristoteleion,in his memory. IV YA 13. Thestory thatthe Athenianserected a statue with a laudatory inscription in Aristotle shonor (IVVA 17-21) is probablyspurious.But they erectedone in honorofKingPhilip, and later voted a decreeof proxeniain honor of AlexanderandAntipater.Thesehonors apparentlywere transferred to Aristotleby someofhis admiring biographers.There also exists an inscription dedicated toAristotle, expressingthe gratitude of the AmphictyonicLeagueat Delphiforhis servicesto the League.SeeW. Dittenberger,Syll. Inseript. Graec.(3rdedit.),no. 275.
(1) VM 45 ; II VA 35 ; IndexLibrorumin I VA 18 ; II VA III VA andIV VA.For additionaldetail see P. Moraux,op. cil. supranote 5 (on p. 56),passim.
(2) VM29-40,and ibid, at 47-49; VV24-29; YL35-42; II VA 6-9, and ibid.at 37 ; II VA IV VA 27.
