MEMOIR OF ARISTOTLE. 
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 modem 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, lie 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 
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