Aristoters. ΑΡΙΣΤΟΤΕΛΗΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΨΥΧΗΣ ARISTOTLE'S PSYCHOLOGY IN GREEK AND ENGLISH, WITH INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY EDWIN WALLACE, M.A., FELLOW AND TUTOR OF WORCESTER COLLEGE, OXFORD. CAMBRIDGE: AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS 1882 THIS edition of Aristotle's Psychology will, it is hoped, make the work more easily accessible to English readers. Trendelenburg's Commentary, especially with Belger's additions, is an admirable book of its kind, and without it the present work would never have been possible. But its somewhat obscure Latin and its tedious extracts from Simplicius and others probably repel many students. It seemed desirable besides, to test the value of Torstrik's criticisms in regard to several portions of the text. Without denying the existence of repetition and disorder in much that Aristotle wrote, or rather left in notes, I have tried in several passages to maintain the general correctness of the ordinary text against Torstrik's objections and 'emendations.' Explanation however, rather than textual criticism, has been the end which I have set before myself. A few various readings have been given, but they are only a selection from the fuller list given in Trendelenburg and Torstrik. It seemed, in fact, useless to encumber the volume with lists of trifling variations— some of which (especially in S) are evidently nothing but stupid and careless blunders. But I trust I have managed to pick out the more important deviations. which the MSS. present. In annotating, my chief aim has been to trace the sequence of ideas in my author. Particularly I have tried to shew that some passages on which Torstrik supports his theory of a double recension of the text are not the mere duplicates he supposes. The Introduction is intended to bring out the real value of Aristotle's psychological investigations and to connect them with his other writings. The importance of these psychological results is probably too fully recognised to make it necessary to insist upon them here. I have tried especially to shew that Aristotle's theory of soul as the truth of body gets over in many ways the dualism of popular psychology, and that his theory of creative reason, as the faculty of the a priori conditions of experience, solves to some extent the contradictions of his philosophy. The translation seeks to be as literal as the Greek of Aristotle renders practicable. But in dealing with a writer whose works are of so fragmentary a nature as Aristotle's are, leave must be given to supply the links of thought by which his notes are to be connected and to expand at times a single particle into a sentence. I have appended a list of some of the chief recent works dealing with Aristotle's Psychology— most of which have helped me in some way or other in arriving at my conclusions. The list allows of abbreviated references in the Introduction and Notes, and may be useful to some readers. I am indebted to my friend, Mr J. Cook WILSON, Fellow and Tutor of Oriel College, for many valuable hints in connection with the Introduction; and to my brother, Mr WILLIAM WALLACE, Fellow and Tutor of Merton College, for various suggestions in the Translation. My special thanks are due to the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press for their liberality in undertaking the publication of the volume. Would that I could thank particularly a late member of their body-the Rev. W. M. GUNSON, of Christ's Collegefor the care he took in arranging preliminaries for me. His melancholy end made it impossible for me to consult him on some points where his shrewd insight would have been invaluable. Oxford, May, 1882. |