Aristotle. Gl 



have even advanced that, after putting Calllsthenes to death, he 

 reserved the same fate for Aristotle, but that Antipater, to whom 

 he sent the order, refused to execute it. 



Notwithstanding this coldness, Aristotle continued to enjoy 

 an appearance of protection which ensured his tranquillity ; 

 but scarcely was Alexander dead when the Athenians made 

 amends for the constraint which fear had imposed upon them. 

 The demagogues, Avho confounded in one common feeling ha- 

 tred to the king of Macedonia and to his preceptor ; the so- 

 phists, whose miserable quirks he had refuted, the platonists 

 whom he had deserted, and whose doctrines he had afterwards 

 combated ; all leagued against him, and excited a priest named 

 Eurymedon, who accused him of impiety. Aristotle, warned 

 by the example of Socrates, withdrew, wishing, he said, to spare 

 the Athenians a new attempt against philosophy. He retired 

 to Chalcis in Euboea, and there died very soon after, at the age 

 of 63, in the year 322 before Christ. 



Before speaking of the labours of Aristotle, it was necessary 

 for us to mention the principal events of his life, as it is cer- 

 tain that the position of this great man in society was wonder- 

 fully favourable to his genius. He had inspired his pupil with 

 a love of the natural sciences, and thus each victory of the con- 

 queror enlarged the field of observation to the philosopher. It 

 appears that, in the course of his expedition, Alexander sent to 

 Aristotle all the most remarkable productions of the countries 

 which he visked. He did not even confine himself to assisting 

 him in this manner, but, in order to facilitate the means of col- 

 lecting the materials of his History of Animals, gave him the 

 enormous sum of 800 talents. Pliny adds, that he placed at 

 his disposal more than a thousand persons for hunting, fishing, 

 and collecting the observations which he required. 



Such resources are no doubt immense, and yet the account 

 to which Aristotle turned them, is still infinitely above all that 

 could have been expected. Not only did he give to the natural 

 sciences a method which could alone ensure their advancement, 

 but he also, in a life which was not long, collected more particu- 

 lar observations, and deduced more general laws, than all his. 

 successors together did in the space of several centuries. Let it 

 be added, that wc can only yet judge imperfectly of the whole 



