Alexander of Aphrodisias c. 150 – c. 210
Alexander of Aphrodisias (c. 150 – c. 210) was a Greek philosopher of the Ancient era, associated with Peripatetic School and Hellenistic.
Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher of the late second and early third centuries AD, head of the Aristotelian school in Athens at the end of the second century, and the most influential ancient commentator on Aristotle. His commentaries on the Prior Analytics, the Topics, the Metaphysics, and the De anima, together with his independent treatises on the soul, on fate, and on mixture, fixed the technical vocabulary of later Greek, Arabic, and Latin Aristotelianism. The medieval Islamic and Christian traditions referred to him simply as the Commentator, a title that later passed to Averroes, and his interpretation of the active intellect shaped centuries of debate in psychology and philosophical theology.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Greek
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Peripatetic School, Hellenistic
Selected quotes
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Attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias:
“Aristotle is best read in the order he himself prescribed: from logic, through physics, to first philosophy.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias:
“The active intellect makes possible the act of thinking, as light makes possible the act of seeing.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias:
“Fate operates within the natural order; it does not abolish the contingency of action.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias:
“Soul is the form of a body equipped to live; nothing in the body is the soul, and nothing in the soul is bodily.”
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Attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias:
“A commentary is not a substitute for the master; it is a guide for the master's pupils.”
Alexander of Aphrodisias by topic
Frequently asked about Alexander of Aphrodisias
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- Alexander of Aphrodisias was born in c. 150 and died in c. 210.
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- Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Greek philosopher of the Ancient era.
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- Alexander of Aphrodisias was associated with Peripatetic School and Hellenistic.
- What was Alexander of Aphrodisias known for?
- Alexander of Aphrodisias was a Peripatetic philosopher of the late second and early third centuries AD, head of the Aristotelian school in Athens at the end of the second century, and the most influential ancient commentator on Aristotle.
- How many quotes are attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias?
- There are 14 attributed quotations from Alexander of Aphrodisias in the 1001Philosophers collection, organized by topic.
Quotes that are not actually from Alexander of Aphrodisias
These lines are widely circulated as Alexander of Aphrodisias, but they do not appear in Alexander of Aphrodisias's works. Each entry below identifies the actual source.
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“An army of sheep led by a lion is better than an army of lions led by a sheep.”
Attributed to Alexander, as quoted in The British Battle Fleet: Its Inception and Growth Throughout the Centuries to the Present Day (1915) by Frederick Thomas Jane, but many variants of similar statements exist which have been attributed to others, though in research done for Wikiquote definite citations of original documents have not yet been found for any of them: I should prefer an army of stags led by a lion, to an army of lions led by a stag. Attributed to Chabrias , who died around the time Alexander was born, thus his is the earliest life to whom such assertions have been attributed; as quoted in A Treatise on the Defence of Fortified Places (1814) by Lazare Carnot, p. 50 An army of… (Disputed.)
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“I should prefer an army of stags led by a lion, to an army of lions led by a stag.”
Attributed to Chabrias , who died around the time Alexander was born, thus his is the earliest life to whom such assertions have been attributed; as quoted in A Treatise on the Defence of Fortified Places (1814) by Lazare Carnot, p. 50 (Disputed.)
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“It is better to have sheep led by a lion than lions led by a sheep.”
Attributed to Polybius in Between Spenser and Swift: English Writing in Seventeenth Century Ireland (2005) by Deana Rankin, p. 124, citing A Contemporary History of Affairs in Ireland, from 1641 to 1652 (1880) by John Thomas Gilbert Vol. I, i, p. 153 - 157; but in The Histories, which does talk of Alexander the Great, there is only a single reference to lions, and this is largely attributed to Sosibius , even noting that the king (Alexander) wasn't involved in the discussion but only the party of Sosibius; and the idea is not much related to the quote, which is instead the lion and the flock could not safely share the same stall . Polybius, Histories. Book 5, Chapter 35. (Disputed.)
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“I am more afraid of one hundred sheep led by a lion than one hundred lions led by a sheep.”
Attributed to Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord (1754 – 1838) Variants: I am more afraid of an army of 100 sheep led by a lion than an army of 100 lions led by a sheep. I am not afraid of an army of one hundred lions led by a sheep. I am afraid of army of 100 sheeps led by a lion. (Disputed.)
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“As one lion overcomes many people and as one wolf scatters many sheep, so likewise will I, with one word, destroy the peoples who have come against me.”
This slightly similar statement is the only quote relating to lions in The History of Alexander the Great, Being the Syriac Version of the Pseudo-Callisthenes (1889) as translated by E. A. Wallis Budge , but it is attributed to Nectanebus (Nectanebo II) . (Disputed.)
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“There are no more worlds to conquer!”
A version of this phrasing is attested in English as early as the early 17th century. John Downame , in The Christian Warfare (1611), writes that Alexander's "great Soveraignty and Monarchy could not bring unto him so much joy and contentment as to restraine teares because there were no more worlds to conquer or as some have it because hearing there were many he had not yet conquered one." Some of the oldest accounts of this, as quoted by John Calvin state that on "hearing that there were other worlds, wept that he had not yet conquered one." This may originate from Plutarch 's essay On the Tranquility of Mind , part of the essays Moralia , with the opposite intended meaning: Alexander wept… (Disputed.)