Alexander of Aphrodisias Quotes on Knowledge
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. This page collects quotes attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias on the topic of knowledge, drawn from across the philosopher's works.
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:
“A commentary is not a substitute for the master; it is a guide for the master's pupils.”
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“Are you still to learn that the end and perfection of our victories is to avoid the vices and infirmities of those whom we subdue?”
As quoted in Lives by Plutarch , as translated by Arthur Hugh Clough -
“For my part, I assure you, I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.”
Quoted by Plutarch in Life of Alexander from Plutarch's Lives as translated by John Dryden (1683) -
“Know ye not that the end and object of conquest is to avoid doing the same thing as the conquered?”
As quoted in Lives by Plutarch , VII, "Demosthenes and Cicero. Alexander and Caesar" (40.2), as translated by Bernadotte Perrin