( "5 ) 
LETTER XIV. 
YOU are certainly right, I had forgotten 
that, in a former letter, I promifed to 
introduce you to the acquaintance of the 
,philofopher Ariftotle. I will now fulfil that 
promife, to the beft of my recollection. 
ARISTOTLE flourished about three hun- 
dred years prior to the Chriftian tera. He 
was born in a fmall town in Macedonia 
named Stagira, and thence he is often called 
the Stagirite. Plato, Demofthenes, and the 
great Alexander, were his cotemporaries. 
Of the firft he was the pupil, and the pre- 
ceptor of the laft. He is generally regarded 
as the founder of the Peripatetic feet of 
Philofophers ; though fome hiflorians teli 
us, that the denomination originated in 
Plato, who, it feems, was as fond of ambu- 
latory ftudies as myfelf: indeed thofe who 
ftudy Nature, will make no very rapid pro- 
grefs fub tetto. They were called Peripatetics 
from w^7ra6>, (imbuh) to diftinguifli them 
from the difciples of Xenocrates, who aflum- 
ed the name of Academics^ becaufe they af- 
fembled, at Athens, in the Academy \ whilft 
H the 
