MEMOIR.OF-AEtSTOTLE. 



THERE are few names in the annals of antiquity, 

 or in the wide circle of classic literature, more cele- 

 brated than that of Aristotle. In an age which 

 could boast of Demosthenes, Socrates, and Plato, 

 and in a country distinguished beyond all others for 

 the cultivation of knowledge, he bore away the palm 

 of genius from every competitor ; and although there 

 are many departments of science wherein his labours 

 have been surpassed by those of modern philoso- 

 phers, there are others in which his profound eru- 

 dition, and his amazing intellectual exertions, remain 

 hitherto unrivalled. His comprehensive mind em- 

 braced every subject which then formed a part of 

 scholastic study, or fell within the range of human 

 contemplation. Accordingly, of all the ancient 

 Greek writers, he is at once the most voluminous, 

 diversified, and obscure. His works, like those of 

 many other classic authors, have descended to us in 

 a corrupted and mutilated shape ; and though now 

 rather admired than read or understood, they still 

 maintain the reputation of being an encyclopaedia of 



