5

EXEGETICAL CULTURES 1

ARISTOTELIANISM

Above all the Greeks is the wise Porphyry held in honour,

the master of all sciences, after the likeness of the godhead.

In all fields of knowledge did the great Plato too shine out,

and likewise subtle Democritus and the glorious Socrates,

the astute Epicurus and Pythagoras the wise

so too Hippocrates the great, and the wise Galen.

But exalted above these all is Aristotle,

surpassing all in his knowledge, both predecessors and successors:

entire wisdom did he contain in his books and writings,

making philosophy a single body, perfect and complete.

What was written concerning the wise Solomon found its fulfillment in him:

“none in any age was wise like he.”

—David bar Paulos (later eighth century) (tr. S. Brock^1 )

He bestrode antiquity like an intellectual colossus. No one before him had con-

tributed so much to learning. No man after him might aspire to rival his

achievements.

—J. Barnes, Aristotle (2000) 1

So far I have argued, rather theoretically, for the conceptual dimension of
human experience as motivating our study of history; and I suggested this
entails longer periodizations, especially in the case of the crucial millennium
that saw the maturation of Greek philosophical thought and the emergence
of rabbinic Judaism, Christianity and Islam. What is now needed is practical
demonstration of how such a culturalist, ideas- oriented approach can help
articulate our grasp of historical time. History is not just about ideas; it con-
cerns polities and economies and social struggles and every aspect of human

1 S. Brock, Syriac perspectives on late Antiquity (London 1984) V.25.