70 THE GREEK SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY. 



which we are indebted to the Aristotelian School. 

 Real truths, when once established, remain to the 

 end of time a part of the mental treasure of man, 

 and may be discerned through all the additions of 

 later days. But we can point out no physical doc- 

 trine now received, of which we trace the anticipa- 

 tion in Aristotle, in the way in which we see the 

 Copernican system anticipated by Aristarchus, the 

 resolution of the heavenly appearances into circular 

 motions suggested by Plato, and the numerical rela- 

 tions of musical intervals ascribed to Pythagoras. 

 But it may be worth while to look at this matter 

 more closely. 



Among the works of Aristotle, are thirty-eight 

 chapters of " Problems," which may serve to exem- 

 plify the progress he had really made in the reduc- 

 tion of phenomena to laws and causes. Of these 

 Problems, a large proportion are physiological, and 

 these I here pass by, as not illustrative of the state of 

 physical knowledge. But those which are properly 

 physical are, for the most part, questions concerning 

 such facts and difficulties as it is the peculiar busi- 

 ness of theory to explain. Now it may be truly said, 

 that in scarcely any one instance are the answers, 

 which Aristotle gives to his questions, of any value. 

 For the most part, indeed, he propounds his answer 

 with a degree of hesitation or vacillation, which of 

 itself shows the absence of all scientific distinctness 

 of thought ; and the opinions so offered never appear 

 to involve any settled or general principle. 



