ARISTOTELES

Edited and with commentary by Julius Caesar Scaliger, 1484-1558. First edition thus. The text is in Greek and Latin; commentary in Latin. Scaliger intended to be judged primarily as a philosopher and a man of science and regarded classical studies as a means of relaxation. His scientific writings are all in the form of commentaries. He was a great prevaricator: it was not until he was seventy that he felt that any of them were ready for publication. In 1556 he printed his dialogue on the 'De plantis' attributed to Aristotle; his commentaries on Aristotle's 'History of Animals', he left in a more or less unfinished state, and they were not printed until after his death