Simplicius of Cilicia
Encyclopedia
Simplicius of Cilicia
, was a disciple of Ammonius Hermiae
and Damascius
, and was one of the last of the Neoplatonists
. He was among the pagan
philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian
court, before being allowed back into the empire
. He wrote extensively on the works of Aristotle
. Although his writings are all commentaries on Aristotle
and other authors, rather than original compositions, his intelligent and prodigious learning makes him the last great philosopher of pagan antiquity. His works have preserved much information about earlier philosophers which would have otherwise been lost.
, and Damascius
, and was consequently one of the last members of the Neoplatonist school
. The school had its headquarters in Athens
. It became the centre of the last efforts to maintain Hellenistic religion
against the encroachments of Christianity
. Imperial edicts enacted in the 5th century against paganism gave legal protection to pagans against personal maltreatment,. In the year 528 the emperor Justinian ordered that pagans should be removed from government posts. Some were robbed of their property, some put to death. The order specified that if they did not within three months convert to Christianity, they were to be banished from the Empire
. In addition, it was forbidden any longer to teach philosophy and jurisprudence in Athens. Probably also the property of the Platonist school, which in the time of Proclus
was valued at more than 1000 gold pieces, was confiscated; at least, Justinian deprived the physicians and teachers of the liberal arts of the provision-money which had been assigned to them by previous emperors, and confiscated funds which the citizens had provided for spectacles and other civic purposes.
Seven philosophers, among whom were Simplicius, Eulamius
, Priscian
, and others, with Damascius
, the last president of the Platonist school in Athens at their head, resolved to seek protection at the court of the famous Persian
king Chosroes
, who had succeeded to the throne in 531. But they were disappointed in their hopes. Chosroes, in a peace treaty concluded with Justinian c. 533 stipulated that the philosophers should be allowed to return without risk and to practise their rites, after which they returned. Of the subsequent fortunes of the seven philosophers we learn nothing.
We know little about where Simplicius lived and taught. That he not only wrote, but taught, is proved by the address to his hearers in the commentary on the Physica Auscultatio of Aristotle
, as well as by the title of his commentary on the Categories. He had received his training partly in Alexandria
, under Ammonius
, partly in Athens
, as a disciple of Damascius
; and it was probably in one of these two cities that he subsequently took up his abode; for, with the exception of these cities and Constantinople
, it would have been difficult to find a town which possessed the collections of books he needed, and he is unlikely to have gone to Constantinople. As to his personal history, especially his migration to Persia
, no definite allusions are to be found in the writings of Simplicius. Only at the end of his explanation of the treatise of Epictetus
, Simplicius mentions, with gratitude, the consolation which he had found under tyrannical oppression in such ethical contemplations; which might suggest that it was composed during, or immediately after, the above-mentioned persecutions.
, Physica Auscultatio
, and Categories
, as well as a commentary upon the Enchiridion of Epictetus
. There is also a commentary on Aristotle's de Anima
under his name, but it is stylistically inferior and lacks the breadth of historical information usually used by Simplicius. It has been suggested that it was written by Priscian of Lydia
, but other scholars see it as authentic.
The commentary on de Caelo was written before that on the Physica Auscultatio, and probably not in Alexandria, since he mentions in it an astronomical observation made during his stay in that city by Ammonius. Simplicius wrote his commentary on the Physica Auscultatio after the death of Damascius, and therefore after his return from Persia. When it was that he wrote his explanations of the Categories, whether before or after those on the above-mentioned Aristotelian treatises, it is impossible to ascertain. Besides these commentaries of Simplicius which have been preserved, the de Anima commentary mentions explanations on the metaphysical books, and an epitome of the Physica of Theophrastus
.
Simplicius, as a Neoplatonist, endeavoured to show that Aristotle
agrees with Plato
even on those points which he controverts, so that he may lead the way to their deeper, hidden meaning. In his view not only Plotinus
, but also Syrianus
, Proclus
, and Ammonius
, are great philosophers, who have penetrated into the depths of the wisdom of Plato. Many of the more ancient Greek philosophers he also brings into a connection with Platonism. He is, however distinguished from his predecessors, whom he so admires, in making less frequent application of Orphic
, Hermetic
, Chaldean
, and other Theologumena of the East; partly in proceeding carefully and modestly in the explanation and criticism of particular points, and in striving with diligence to draw from the original sources a thorough knowledge of the older Greek philosophy. His commentaries can, therefore, be regarded as the richest in their contents of any that have come down to us concerning Aristotle. But for them, we should be without the most important fragments of the writings of the Eleatics
, of Empedocles
, Anaxagoras
, Diogenes of Apollonia, and others, which were at that time already very scarce, as well as without many extracts from the lost books of Aristotle, Theophrastus and Eudemus
: but for them we should hardly be able to unriddle the doctrine of the Categories, so important for the system of the Stoics. It is true he himself complains that in his time both the school and the writings of the followers of Zeno
had perished. But where he cannot draw immediately from the original sources, he looks round for guides whom he can depend upon, who had made use of those sources. In addition, we have to thank him for such copious quotations from the Greek commentaries from the time of Andronicus of Rhodes
down to Ammonius and Damascius, that, for the Categories and the Physics, the outlines of a history of the interpretation and criticism of those books may be composed. With a correct idea of their importance, Simplicius made the most diligent use of the commentaries of Alexander of Aphrodisias
and Porphyry
; and although he often enough combats the views of the former, he knew how to value, as it deserved, his (in the main) sound critical sense. He has also preserved for us intelligence of several more ancient readings, which now, in part, have vanished from the manuscripts without leaving any trace, and in the paraphrastic sections of his interpretations furnishes us with valuable contributions for correcting or settling the text of Aristotle. Not less valuable are the contributions towards a knowledge of the ancient astronomical systems for which we have to thank him in his commentary on the books de Caelo. We even find in his writings some traces of a disposition for the observation of nature.
Although averse to Christianity
he abstains from assailing Christian doctrines, even when he combats expressly the work of his contemporary, John Philoponus
, directed against the Aristotelian doctrine of the eternity of the universe. In Ethics
he seems to have abandoned the mystical pantheistic purification-theory of the Neoplatonists, and to have found full satisfaction in the ethical system of the later Stoics, however little he was disposed towards their logical and physical doctrines.
Simplicius coined the phrase Τα Πάντα ῥεῖ (ta panta rhei), meaning "everything flows", to characterize the concept in the philosophy of Heraclitus
.
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, was a disciple of Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher, and the son of the Neoplatonist philosophers Hermias and Aedesia. He was a pupil of Proclus in Athens, and taught at Alexandria for most of his life, writing commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers....
and Damascius
Damascius
Damascius , known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the School of Athens. He was one of the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into the empire...
, and was one of the last of the Neoplatonists
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
. He was among the pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
court, before being allowed back into the empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. He wrote extensively on the works of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
. Although his writings are all commentaries on Aristotle
Commentaries on Aristotle
Commentaries on Aristotle refers to the great mass of literature produced, especially in the ancient and medieval world, to explain and clarify the works of Aristotle. The pupils of Aristotle were the first to comment on his writings, a tradition which was continued by the Peripatetic school...
and other authors, rather than original compositions, his intelligent and prodigious learning makes him the last great philosopher of pagan antiquity. His works have preserved much information about earlier philosophers which would have otherwise been lost.
Life
Simplicius was a disciple of Ammonius HermiaeAmmonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher, and the son of the Neoplatonist philosophers Hermias and Aedesia. He was a pupil of Proclus in Athens, and taught at Alexandria for most of his life, writing commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers....
, and Damascius
Damascius
Damascius , known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the School of Athens. He was one of the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into the empire...
, and was consequently one of the last members of the Neoplatonist school
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
. The school had its headquarters in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. It became the centre of the last efforts to maintain Hellenistic religion
Greek religion
Greek religion can refer to several things, including*Ancient Greek religion**Greek hero cult**Eleusinian Mysteries**Hellenistic religion**Platonic idealism*Greek Orthodox Church*Religion in Greece*Hellenic Polytheistic Reconstructionism...
against the encroachments of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
. Imperial edicts enacted in the 5th century against paganism gave legal protection to pagans against personal maltreatment,. In the year 528 the emperor Justinian ordered that pagans should be removed from government posts. Some were robbed of their property, some put to death. The order specified that if they did not within three months convert to Christianity, they were to be banished from the Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In addition, it was forbidden any longer to teach philosophy and jurisprudence in Athens. Probably also the property of the Platonist school, which in the time of Proclus
Proclus
Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers . He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism...
was valued at more than 1000 gold pieces, was confiscated; at least, Justinian deprived the physicians and teachers of the liberal arts of the provision-money which had been assigned to them by previous emperors, and confiscated funds which the citizens had provided for spectacles and other civic purposes.
Seven philosophers, among whom were Simplicius, Eulamius
Eulamius
Eulamius , born in Phrygia, was, along with Damascius, one of Athenian philosophers who sought asylum at the court of Khosrau I of Persia in 532, when Justinian I closed down the last pagan philosophical schools in Athens....
, Priscian
Priscian of Lydia
Priscian of Lydia was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. Two works of his have survived.-Life:A contemporary of Simplicius of Cilicia, Priscian was born in Lydia, probably in the late 5th century. He was one of the last Neoplatonists to study at the Academy when Damascius was at its head...
, and others, with Damascius
Damascius
Damascius , known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the School of Athens. He was one of the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into the empire...
, the last president of the Platonist school in Athens at their head, resolved to seek protection at the court of the famous Persian
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
king Chosroes
Khosrau I
Khosrau I , also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just Khosrau I (also called Chosroes I in classical sources, most commonly known in Persian as Anushirvan or Anushirwan, Persian: انوشيروان meaning the immortal soul), also known as Anushiravan the Just or Anushirawan the Just...
, who had succeeded to the throne in 531. But they were disappointed in their hopes. Chosroes, in a peace treaty concluded with Justinian c. 533 stipulated that the philosophers should be allowed to return without risk and to practise their rites, after which they returned. Of the subsequent fortunes of the seven philosophers we learn nothing.
We know little about where Simplicius lived and taught. That he not only wrote, but taught, is proved by the address to his hearers in the commentary on the Physica Auscultatio of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
, as well as by the title of his commentary on the Categories. He had received his training partly in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, under Ammonius
Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher, and the son of the Neoplatonist philosophers Hermias and Aedesia. He was a pupil of Proclus in Athens, and taught at Alexandria for most of his life, writing commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers....
, partly in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
, as a disciple of Damascius
Damascius
Damascius , known as "the last of the Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the School of Athens. He was one of the pagan philosophers persecuted by Justinian in the early 6th century, and was forced for a time to seek refuge in the Persian court, before being allowed back into the empire...
; and it was probably in one of these two cities that he subsequently took up his abode; for, with the exception of these cities and Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, it would have been difficult to find a town which possessed the collections of books he needed, and he is unlikely to have gone to Constantinople. As to his personal history, especially his migration to Persia
Sassanid Empire
The Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
, no definite allusions are to be found in the writings of Simplicius. Only at the end of his explanation of the treatise of Epictetus
Epictetus
Epictetus was a Greek sage and Stoic philosopher. He was born a slave at Hierapolis, Phrygia , and lived in Rome until banishment when he went to Nicopolis in northwestern Greece where he lived the rest of his life. His teachings were noted down and published by his pupil Arrian in his Discourses...
, Simplicius mentions, with gratitude, the consolation which he had found under tyrannical oppression in such ethical contemplations; which might suggest that it was composed during, or immediately after, the above-mentioned persecutions.
Writings
The works which have survived are his commentaries upon Aristotle's de CaeloOn the Heavens
On the Heavens is Aristotle's chief cosmological treatise: it contains his astronomical theory and his ideas on the concrete workings of the terrestrial world...
, Physica Auscultatio
Physics (Aristotle)
The Physics of Aristotle is one of the foundational books of Western science and philosophy...
, and Categories
Categories (Aristotle)
The Categories is a text from Aristotle's Organon that enumerates all the possible kinds of thing that can be the subject or the predicate of a proposition...
, as well as a commentary upon the Enchiridion of Epictetus
Enchiridion of Epictetus
The Enchiridion, or Handbook of Epictetus, , often shortened to simply "The Handbook", is a short manual of Stoic ethical advice compiled by Arrian, who had been a pupil of Epictetus at the beginning of the 2nd century....
. There is also a commentary on Aristotle's de Anima
On the Soul
On the Soul is a major treatise by Aristotle on the nature of living things. His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different operations...
under his name, but it is stylistically inferior and lacks the breadth of historical information usually used by Simplicius. It has been suggested that it was written by Priscian of Lydia
Priscian of Lydia
Priscian of Lydia was one of the last of the Neoplatonists. Two works of his have survived.-Life:A contemporary of Simplicius of Cilicia, Priscian was born in Lydia, probably in the late 5th century. He was one of the last Neoplatonists to study at the Academy when Damascius was at its head...
, but other scholars see it as authentic.
The commentary on de Caelo was written before that on the Physica Auscultatio, and probably not in Alexandria, since he mentions in it an astronomical observation made during his stay in that city by Ammonius. Simplicius wrote his commentary on the Physica Auscultatio after the death of Damascius, and therefore after his return from Persia. When it was that he wrote his explanations of the Categories, whether before or after those on the above-mentioned Aristotelian treatises, it is impossible to ascertain. Besides these commentaries of Simplicius which have been preserved, the de Anima commentary mentions explanations on the metaphysical books, and an epitome of the Physica of Theophrastus
Theophrastus
Theophrastus , a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and...
.
Simplicius, as a Neoplatonist, endeavoured to show that Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
agrees with Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
even on those points which he controverts, so that he may lead the way to their deeper, hidden meaning. In his view not only Plotinus
Plotinus
Plotinus was a major philosopher of the ancient world. In his system of theory there are the three principles: the One, the Intellect, and the Soul. His teacher was Ammonius Saccas and he is of the Platonic tradition...
, but also Syrianus
Syrianus
Syrianus ; died c. 437) was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, and head of Plato's Academy in Athens, succeeding his teacher Plutarch of Athens in 431/432. He is important as the teacher of Proclus, and, like Plutarch and Proclus, as a commentator on Plato and Aristotle. His best-known extant work...
, Proclus
Proclus
Proclus Lycaeus , called "The Successor" or "Diadochos" , was a Greek Neoplatonist philosopher, one of the last major Classical philosophers . He set forth one of the most elaborate and fully developed systems of Neoplatonism...
, and Ammonius
Ammonius Hermiae
Ammonius Hermiae was a Greek philosopher, and the son of the Neoplatonist philosophers Hermias and Aedesia. He was a pupil of Proclus in Athens, and taught at Alexandria for most of his life, writing commentaries on Plato, Aristotle, and other philosophers....
, are great philosophers, who have penetrated into the depths of the wisdom of Plato. Many of the more ancient Greek philosophers he also brings into a connection with Platonism. He is, however distinguished from his predecessors, whom he so admires, in making less frequent application of Orphic
Orphism (religion)
Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices in the ancient Greek and the Hellenistic world, as well as by the Thracians, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into Hades and returned...
, Hermetic
Hermeticism
Hermeticism or the Western Hermetic Tradition is a set of philosophical and religious beliefs based primarily upon the pseudepigraphical writings attributed to Hermes Trismegistus...
, Chaldean
Chaldean Oracles
The Chaldean Oracles have survived as fragmentary texts from the 2nd century AD, and consist mainly of Hellenistic commentary on a single mystery-poem that was believed to have originated in Chaldea...
, and other Theologumena of the East; partly in proceeding carefully and modestly in the explanation and criticism of particular points, and in striving with diligence to draw from the original sources a thorough knowledge of the older Greek philosophy. His commentaries can, therefore, be regarded as the richest in their contents of any that have come down to us concerning Aristotle. But for them, we should be without the most important fragments of the writings of the Eleatics
Eleatics
The Eleatics were a school of pre-Socratic philosophers at Elea , a Greek colony in Campania, Italy. The group was founded in the early fifth century BCE by Parmenides. Other members of the school included Zeno of Elea and Melissus of Samos...
, of Empedocles
Empedocles
Empedocles was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for being the originator of the cosmogenic theory of the four Classical elements...
, Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras
Anaxagoras was a Pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. Born in Clazomenae in Asia Minor, Anaxagoras was the first philosopher to bring philosophy from Ionia to Athens. He attempted to give a scientific account of eclipses, meteors, rainbows, and the sun, which he described as a fiery mass larger than...
, Diogenes of Apollonia, and others, which were at that time already very scarce, as well as without many extracts from the lost books of Aristotle, Theophrastus and Eudemus
Eudemus of Rhodes
Eudemus of Rhodes was an ancient Greek philosopher, and first historian of science who lived from ca. 370 BC until ca. 300 BC. He was one of Aristotle's most important pupils, editing his teacher's work and making it more easily accessible...
: but for them we should hardly be able to unriddle the doctrine of the Categories, so important for the system of the Stoics. It is true he himself complains that in his time both the school and the writings of the followers of Zeno
Zeno of Citium
Zeno of Citium was a Greek philosopher from Citium . Zeno was the founder of the Stoic school of philosophy, which he taught in Athens from about 300 BC. Based on the moral ideas of the Cynics, Stoicism laid great emphasis on goodness and peace of mind gained from living a life of virtue in...
had perished. But where he cannot draw immediately from the original sources, he looks round for guides whom he can depend upon, who had made use of those sources. In addition, we have to thank him for such copious quotations from the Greek commentaries from the time of Andronicus of Rhodes
Andronicus of Rhodes
Andronicus of Rhodes was a Greek philosopher from Rhodes who was also the eleventh scholarch of the Peripatetic school.He was at the head of the Peripatetic school at Rome, about 58 BC, and was the teacher of Boethus of Sidon, with whom Strabo studied...
down to Ammonius and Damascius, that, for the Categories and the Physics, the outlines of a history of the interpretation and criticism of those books may be composed. With a correct idea of their importance, Simplicius made the most diligent use of the commentaries of Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias
Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher and the most celebrated of the Ancient Greek commentators on the writings of Aristotle. He was a native of Aphrodisias in Caria, and lived and taught in Athens at the beginning of the 3rd century, where he held a position as head of the...
and Porphyry
Porphyry (philosopher)
Porphyry of Tyre , Porphyrios, AD 234–c. 305) was a Neoplatonic philosopher who was born in Tyre. He edited and published the Enneads, the only collection of the work of his teacher Plotinus. He also wrote many works himself on a wide variety of topics...
; and although he often enough combats the views of the former, he knew how to value, as it deserved, his (in the main) sound critical sense. He has also preserved for us intelligence of several more ancient readings, which now, in part, have vanished from the manuscripts without leaving any trace, and in the paraphrastic sections of his interpretations furnishes us with valuable contributions for correcting or settling the text of Aristotle. Not less valuable are the contributions towards a knowledge of the ancient astronomical systems for which we have to thank him in his commentary on the books de Caelo. We even find in his writings some traces of a disposition for the observation of nature.
Although averse to Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
he abstains from assailing Christian doctrines, even when he combats expressly the work of his contemporary, John Philoponus
John Philoponus
John Philoponus , also known as John the Grammarian or John of Alexandria, was a Christian and Aristotelian commentator and the author of a considerable number of philosophical treatises and theological works...
, directed against the Aristotelian doctrine of the eternity of the universe. In Ethics
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
he seems to have abandoned the mystical pantheistic purification-theory of the Neoplatonists, and to have found full satisfaction in the ethical system of the later Stoics, however little he was disposed towards their logical and physical doctrines.
Simplicius coined the phrase Τα Πάντα ῥεῖ (ta panta rhei), meaning "everything flows", to characterize the concept in the philosophy of Heraclitus
Heraclitus
Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher, a native of the Greek city Ephesus, Ionia, on the coast of Asia Minor. He was of distinguished parentage. Little is known about his early life and education, but he regarded himself as self-taught and a pioneer of wisdom...
.
On Aristotle's Categories
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Categories 1-4, translated by Michael Chase (2003). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-4101-3, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3197-7
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Categories 5-6, translated by Frans A.J. de Haas and Barrie Fleet (2001). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3838-1, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3037-7
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Categories 7-8, translated by Barrie Fleet (2002). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3839-X, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3038-5
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Categories 9-15, translated by Richard Gaskin (2000). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3691-5, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2900-X
On Aristotle's On the Heavens
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 1.1-4, translated by Robert J. Hankinson (2001). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3907-8, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3070-9
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 1.3-4, translated by Ian Mueller (2011). Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-4063-1
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 1.5-9, translated by Robert J. Hankinson (2004). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-4212-5, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3231-0
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 1.10-12, translated by Robert J. Hankinson (2006). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-4216-8, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3232-9
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 2.1-9, translated by Ian Mueller (2004). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-4102-1, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3200-0
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 2.10-14, translated by Ian Mueller (2005). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-4415-2, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3342-2
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 3.1-7, translated by Ian Mueller (2009). Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3843-2
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Heavens 3.7-4.6, translated by Ian Mueller (2009). Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3844-0
On Aristotle's Physics
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 1.3-4, translated by Pamela M. Huby and C. C. W. Taylor (2011). Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3921-8
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 1.5-9, translated by Han Baltussen (2011). Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3857-2
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 2, translated by Barrie Fleet (1997). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3283-9, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2732-5
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 3, translated by James O. Urmson (2002). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3903-5, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3067-9
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 4.1-5, 10-14, translated by James O. Urmson (1992). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-2817-3, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2434-2
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 5, translated by James O. Urmson (1997). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3407-6, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2765-1
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 6, translated by David Konstan (1989). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-2238-8, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2217-X
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 7, translated by Charles Hagen (1994). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-2992-7, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2485-7
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, Physics 8.6-10, translated by Richard McKirahan (2001). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3787-3, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3039-3
On Aristotle's On the Soul
- Simplicius: On Aristotle, On the Soul 1.1-2.4, translated by James O. Urmson (1995). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3160-3, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2614-0
- Priscian: On Theophrastus on Sense-Perception, with "Simplicius": On Aristotle, On the Soul 2.5-12, translated by Carlos Steel (1997). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3282-0, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2752-X
- "Simplicius": On Aristotle, On the Soul 3.1-5, translated by Henry J. Blumenthal (2000). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3687-7, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2896-8
On Epictetus' Handbook
- Simplicius: On Epictetus, Handbook 1-26, translated by Tad Brennan and Charles Brittain (2002). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3904-3, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3068-7
- Simplicius: On Epictetus, Handbook 27-53, translated by Tad Brennan and Charles Brittain (2002). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3905-1, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-3069-5
Other works
- Simplicius: Corollaries on Place and Time, translated by James O. Urmson (1992). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-2713-4, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2252-8
- Philoponus: Corollaries on Place and Void, with Simplicius: Against Philoponus On the Eternity of the World, translated by David Furley and Christian Wildberg (1991). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-2634-0, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2250-1
- Philoponus: On Aristotle, Physics 5-8, with Simplicius: On Aristotle on the Void, translated by Paul Lettinck and J. O. Urmson (1994). Cornell University Press: ISBN 0-8014-3005-4, and Duckworth, London: ISBN 0-7156-2493-8
External links
- Simplicius, Commentary on the Enchiridion of Epictetus, translated by George StanhopeGeorge StanhopeGeorge Stanhope was a clergyman of the Church of England, rising to be Dean of Canterbury and a Royal Chaplain...
, 1722 - Extract from Taylor's translation of Aristotle's Physics with Simplicius' Commentary