MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 67 



the original. By these means was Aristotle at length 

 not merely exalted to the throne of philosophy, but 

 enshrined as it were the inspired and presiding ge- 

 nius of science. Never was papal despotism over 

 the consciences of men more absolute, than was the 

 authority of the Stagirite over their minds and opi- 

 nions. The power of the greatest monarchs on earth 

 must appear fleeting and precarious, when compared 

 with his long and solitary reign in the schools of the 

 middle ages. 



From this summary of the life and character of 

 Aristotle, we must now turn to give a condensed 

 survey of his voluminous works. According to the 

 most credible accounts, he composed about 400 dif- 

 ferent treatises on the various subjects which then 

 formed the curriculum of scholastic study, including 

 Logic, Rhetoric, Ethics, Politics, Physics, Meta- 

 physics, Mathematics, Optics, Astronomy, Music, 

 Mechanics, Medicine, Philology, Physiology, Natu- 

 ral History, Epistles, and many other topics, which 

 it would be tedious to enumerate. It appeal's that 

 neither he nor Theophrastus were at pains to secure 

 the publication of their works during their lifetime ; 

 and the cause of their negligence or nonperformance 

 of this important task, has been the theme of much 

 conjecture. The solution of the question may de- 

 pend on collateral circumstances with which we are 

 altogether unacquainted : but the current persuasion 

 was, that it arose either from an excess of modesty 

 or prudence ; or, from a diffidence of success in com- 



