was immediately released by a band of
criminals after being kidnapped.
Known throughout Italy, Ariosto’s
poem found an even larger audience when
it was published in its final form in 1532.
Ariosto’s other works include satires and
stage comedies, includingLa Cassariaand
Il Suppositi, modeled on the works of the
ancient Romans Plautus and Terrence. The
latter work was borrowed by William
Shakespeare for his playThe Taming of the
Shrew.
SEEALSO: Ferrara; Tasso, Torquato
Aristotelianism ...................................
Aristotelianism is the philosophy inspired
by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, who
was born in Stagira, a town of the Chal-
cidice region of northern Greece, in 384
B.C. A student of Plato, he founded the Ly-
ceum, a school modeled after Platos’ Acad-
emy in Athens. At the Lyceum, Aristotle
instructed students in science, rhetoric,
and natural philosophy. His most famous
pupil was Alexander of Macedon, who es-
tablished Greek lyceums in the many cities
of Asia, the Middle East, and Africa that
he conquered or founded. Medieval schol-
ars began studying Aristotle’s system of
thought in the twelfth century, when his
works were translated into Latin. Modern
translations and the newfound interest in
classical authors made the Aristotelian sys-
tem a major branch of scholarship during
the Renaissance.
Most of the writings of Aristotle that
survived into the Middle Ages, and to
modern times, were composed of teaching
notes. They were written on scrolls that
survived centuries of war, political chaos,
and neglect to be preserved in European
monasteries, where they were then tran-
scribed and collected into editions, includ-
ingNicomachean Ethics, Physics, Politics,
andPoetics. Aristotle’s teachings were also
preserved and studied by Islamic scholars,
including Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Aver-
roes, whose commentaries spurred a re-
vival of Aristotelian studies in Europe.
Aristotle attempted to encompass the
entire natural world and all phenomena in
his philosophy known as Aristotelianism,
which included the studies of logic, rheto-
ric, poetics, natural science, politics, math-
ematics, and ethics. He classified all knowl-
edge into a threefold system of science
(episteme), conduct (praxis), and created
works (poesis). Logic was the most impor-
tant discipline as it provided a means of
understanding science and the analytical
processes through inductive reasoning.
Renaissance scholars throughout Eu-
rope presented Aristotle’s theories as a
foundation for studying the natural world
and human conduct through the theoreti-
cal, practical, and productive sciences.
Theoretical science (theoria) combined
natural philosophy, or things that can be
seen and are made up of matter, with the
study of theology, mathematics, astronomy,
and thought processes. Practical sciences
analyzed ethics, politics, and human con-
duct. The practical sciences attempted to
advance the cause of moral virtues, such
as courage and moderation, by instilling
such virtues in the young through educa-
tion and then carrying them out through
a well-reasoned system of laws and justice.
According to Aristotle’s teachings, the
proper conduct and exercise of virtues will
bring true happiness to society as well as
the individual. The productive sciences in-
cluded poetics, rhetoric, architecture, and
medicine.
Aristotelianism further spread after the
fall of Constantinople in 1453, when Greek
exiles began arriving in western Europe.Aristotelianism