| Part of a series on |
| Aristotelianism |
|---|
 |
| Ideas |
| Related articles |
Pseudo-Aristotle is a general cognomen for authors of philosophical or medical treatises who attributed their work to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, or whose work was later attributed to him by others. Such falsely attributed works are known as pseudepigrapha. The term Corpus Aristotelicum covers both the authentic and spurious works of Aristotle.
The first Pseudo-Aristotelian works were produced by the members of the Peripatetic school, which was founded by Aristotle. However, many more works were written much later, during the Middle Ages. [1] Because Aristotle had produced so many works on such a variety of subjects, it was possible for writers in many different contexts—notably medieval Europeans, North Africans and Arabs—to write a work and ascribe it to Aristotle. Attaching his name to such a work guaranteed it a certain amount of respect and acceptance, since Aristotle was regarded as one of the most authoritative ancient writers for the learned men of both Christian Europe and the Muslim Arab lands. [2] It is generally not clear whether the attribution to Aristotle of a later work was done by its own author or by others who sought to popularize such works by using his name.
In the Middle Ages, more than a hundred Pseudo-Aristotelian works were in circulation. These can be separated into three groups based on the original language used for the work, namely Latin, Greek or Arabic. The category of Latin works is the smallest, [3] while the Arabic works are most numerous. Many Arabic works were translated to Latin in the Middle Ages. The majority of these cover occult subjects, such as alchemy, astrology, chiromancy and physiognomy. Others treated Greek philosophical subjects, more often the Platonic and neoplatonic schools rather than the thought of Aristotle. The Arabic Secretum Secretorum was by far the most popular Pseudo-Aristotelian work and was even more widely diffused than any of the authentic works of Aristotle. [1]
The release of Pseudo-Aristotelian works continued for long after the Middle Ages. Aristotle's Masterpiece was a sex manual which published first in 1684 and became very popular in England. It was still being sold in the early twentieth century and was probably the most widely reprinted book on a medical subject in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. [4]
The Emerald Tablet, the Smaragdine Table, or the Tabula Smaragdina is a compact and cryptic Hermetic text. It was a highly regarded foundational text for many Islamic and European alchemists. Though attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, the text of the Emerald Tablet first appears in a number of early medieval Arabic sources, the oldest of which dates to the late eighth or early ninth century. It was translated into Latin several times in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Numerous interpretations and commentaries followed.
The Secretum Secretorum or Secreta Secretorum, also known as the Sirr al-Asrar, is a treatise which purports to be a letter from Aristotle to his student Alexander the Great on an encyclopedic range of topics, including statecraft, ethics, physiognomy, astrology, alchemy, magic, and medicine. The earliest extant editions claim to be based on a 9th-century Arabic translation of a Syriac translation of the lost Greek original. It is a pseudo-Aristotelian work. Modern scholarship finds it likely to have been written in the 10th century in Arabic. Translated into Latin in the mid-12th century, it was influential among European intellectuals during the High Middle Ages.
The Secretum philosophorum was a popular Latin text originating in England c.1300–1350. Ostensibly a treatise on the Seven Liberal Arts, it merely uses them as a framework in which to describe and demystify practical tricks, ‘tricks of the trade’ and applied science.
The Kitāb al-Ḥayawān is an Arabic translation of treatises of Aristotle's:
The Categoriae decem, also known as the Paraphrasis Themistiana, is a Latin summary of Aristotle's Categories thought to date to the 4th century AD. Traditionally credited to St Augustine, it is now variously attributed to Themistius or Pseudo-Augustinus.
The Theology of Aristotle, also called Theologia Aristotelis is a paraphrase in Arabic of parts of Plotinus' Six Enneads along with Porphyry's commentary. It was traditionally attributed to Aristotle, but as this attribution is certainly untrue it is conventional to describe the author as "Pseudo-Aristotle". It had a significant effect on early Islamic philosophy, due to Islamic interest in Aristotle. Al-Kindi (Alkindus) and Avicenna, for example, were influenced by Plotinus' works as mediated through the Theology and similar works. The translator attempted to integrate Aristotle's ideas with those of Plotinus — while trying to make Plotinus compatible with Christianity and Islam, thus yielding a unique synthesis.
Ptolemy-el-Garib was a Hellenistic pinacographer, probably of the Peripatetic school, who wrote a Life of Aristotle notable for its catalog of Aristotle's works. This work survives in an Arabic manuscript in Istanbul. A critical edition, with French translation was published by Marwan Rashed.
Jofroi of Waterford was a French translator.
During the High Middle Ages, the Islamic world was at its cultural peak, supplying information and ideas to Europe, via Al-Andalus, Sicily and the Crusader kingdoms in the Levant. These included Latin translations of the Greek Classics and of Arabic texts in astronomy, mathematics, science, and medicine. Translation of Arabic philosophical texts into Latin "led to the transformation of almost all philosophical disciplines in the medieval Latin world", with a particularly strong influence of Muslim philosophers being felt in natural philosophy, psychology and metaphysics. Other contributions included technological and scientific innovations via the Silk Road, including Chinese inventions such as paper, compass and gunpowder.
Physiognomonics is a Ancient Greek pseudo-Aristotelian treatise on physiognomy attributed to Aristotle. It is a Peripatetic work, dated to the 4th/3rd century BC.
On Marvellous Things Heard, often called Mirabilia, is a collection of thematically arranged anecdotes formerly attributed to Aristotle. The material included in the collection mainly deals with the natural world. The work consists of 178 chapters and is an example of the paradoxography genre of literature.
The Liber de causis is a philosophical work composed in Arabic in the 9th century. It was once attributed to Aristotle and became popular in West during the Middle Ages, after it was translated into Latin by Gerard of Cremona between 1167 and 1187. The original title was كتاب الإيضاح لأرسطوطاليس في الخير المحض Kitāb al-Īḍāḥ li-Arisṭūṭālis fī l-khayr al-maḥd, "The book of Aristotle's explanation of the pure good". Its Latin title, Liber de causis, came into use following its translation. The work was also translated into Armenian and Hebrew. Many Latin commentaries on the work are extant.
Alchemy in the medieval Islamic world refers to both traditional alchemy and early practical chemistry by Muslim scholars in the medieval Islamic world. The word alchemy was derived from the Arabic word كيمياء or kīmiyāʾ and may ultimately derive from the ancient Egyptian word kemi, meaning black.
Robert Steele (1860–1944) was a British scholar, best known for editing between c. 1905 and 1941 the 16-volume Opera hactenus inedita Rogeri Bacon.
Pseudo-Augustine is the name given by scholars to the authors, collectively, of works falsely attributed to Augustine of Hippo. Augustine himself in his Retractiones lists many of his works, while his disciple Possidius tried to provide a complete list in his Indiculus. Despite this check, false attributions to Augustine abound.
Liber physiognomiae is a work by the Scottish mathematician, philosopher, and scholar Michael Scot concerning physiognomy; the work is also the final book of a trilogy known as the Liber introductorius. The Liber physiognomiae itself is divided into three sections, which deal with various concepts like procreation, generation, dream interpretation, and physiognomy proper.
The Elements of Theology is a work on Neoplatonic philosophy written by Proclus. Conceived of as a systematic summary of Neoplatonic metaphysics, it has often served as a general introduction to this subject.
Philip of Tripoli, sometimes Philippus Tripolitanus or Philip of Foligno, was an Italian Catholic priest and translator. Although he had a markedly successful clerical career, his most enduring legacy is his translation of the complete Pseudo-Aristotelian Secretum secretorum from Arabic into Latin around 1230.
Guyof Valence was a bishop of Tripoli whose episcopate probably fell in the period 1228–1237. He is an obscure figure, whose name is known only from the prologue of Philip of Tripoli's Latin translation of the Pseudo-Aristotelian Secretum secretorum, in which he dedicates the work "to his most excellent lord Guido, originally of Valence, glorious pontiff of the city of Tripoli, most strenuous in the cultivation of the Christian religion."
Those works which have been falsely attributed to Plato, whether through error or forgery, are collectively known as Pseudo-Platonica. There are two main groups of such works.
