Aristotele, Mechanica (1982: provides the most detailed apparatus; however, Bottecchia also integrates
in her lemmata a MS of Book 12 of Geo ̄rgios Pachymeres’ Epitome of Aristotelian philosophy).
Th. Heath, Mathematics in Aristotle (1949; reprint: 1998) 227–254; István Bodnár, “The mechanical
principles of animal motion,” in: A. Laks and M. Rashed, edd., Aristote et le mouvement des animaux
(2004) 137–147.
István Bodnár
Aristotelian Corpus Physiognomy (320 – 280 BCE)
This text transmitted in the Corpus Aristotelicum was believed until the 17th c. to have
been written by Aristotle himself. Since then, his authorship has been rightly doubted, and it
is now assumed to have been composed shortly after Aristotle’s death and based on his own
interest in the subject, cf. Anal. Pr. 2.27 (70b7–38), a passage absorbed into the argument of
Phgn. 805b10–806a18, and the occasional passage especially in the biological works (Vogt
1999: 120–145).
The treatise consists of four parts: (1) a discourse on the theory and methods of the
subject (805a1–807a30); (2) a catalogue of 21 character types, listing their bodily signs
(807a31–808b10); (3) again, and slightly different from before, an introduction to the
subject, focusing on the prevalent distinction between the genders (808b11–810a13); (4)
another catalogue, this time in order of body traits and qualities, listing their correlations to
character types (810a12–814b9). The different focus in the two methodical parts has led to
the assumption of two separate treatises A (1 and 2) and B (3 and 4) by two different authors
(cf. Boys-Stone 64–75), but such strong separation is not necessary; the differences can be
explained by a more practical attitude in the second half.
The methodological considerations became the model for physiognomists for centuries,
adopted not only by L, P, the P L and A-
, but also by modern physiognomies that cared about the theory and method (e.g.
Gianbattista della Porta 1535–1615).
Ed.: I. Bekker, Aristotelis Opera Omnia I (1831) 805–814; R. Foerster, Scriptores Physiognomonici (1893)
1.2–90; G. Raina, Pseudo-Aristotele, Fisiognomica. Anonimo Latino, Il trattato di fisiognomica (1993).
M.M. Sassi, La scienza dell’uomo nella Grecia antica (1988); Sabine Vogt, Aristoteles, Physiognomonika. Aristoteles
Werke in deutscher Übersetzung 18.6 (1999); G. Boys-Stones, “Physiognomy and Ancient Psychological
Theory,” in Swain (2007) 19–124.
Sabine Vogt
Aristotelian Corpus Problems (ca 270 – 230 BCE)
The Proble ̄mata phusika is the third-largest work in the Aristotelian Corpus (859a1–967b27).
In 38 topical sections of different length, the text treats nearly 900 scientific problems (with
about 200 repetitions) in question-and-answer form. The questions are always introduced
by a characteristic “Why is it that.. .” (Dia ti); the causal explanation is usually given as a
rhetorical question “Is it because.. .” (e ̄ oti). In many cases, alternative answers are added.
Section 1 treats medical questions, 2–9 different human phenomena (sweat, wine and
drunkenness, sexual intercourse, fatigue, position, sympathy, frost and shivering, skin),
10 zoology, 11 voice, 12–13 odors, 14 mixtures, 15 mathematics, 16–17 animate and
inanimate things, 18 philology, 19 music, 20–22 botany, 23–26 waters, air and wind, 27– 30
ethics and mental faculties (including the influential discussion of melancholy: 30.1), 31– 35
ARISTOTELIAN CORPUS PROBLEMS