Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/350

 3H ARISTOTLE. viour [cj. Upon the death of Plato, he quitted Athene, and retired to Atarnya, a little city of Myfia, where hi:; old fn:nd Hermias reigned. Here he married Pythias, the lifter of this P" nce wnorn ne is fe'd to have loved fo paffionately, that he Jib. xv. p. 2. offered facrifice to her. Some time after, Hermias having been taken prifoner by Meranon, the king of Perfia's gene- ral, Ariftotle went to Mitylene. the capital of Lefboa ; where he remained till Philip, king of Macedon, having heard of his great reputation, fent for him to be tutor to his fon Alex- ander, then about fourteen years of age. Ariftotle accepted the offer ; and in eight years taught him rhetoric, natural philofophy, ethics, politics, and a certain fort of philo- lophy, according to Plutarch, which he taught nobody elfe. Philip creeled ftatues in honour of Ariftotle ; and for his iake rebuilt Stagyra, which had been almoft ruined by the wars. Ariftotle, having loft the favour of Alexander by adhering to Califthenes, his kinfman, who was accufed of a confpiracy againft Alexander's life, removed to Athens, where he fet up his new fchool. The rruigiftrates received him very kindly, and gave him the Lycaeum, fo famous afterwards for the conconrfe of hisdifciples : and here it was, according to ibme authors, that he composed his principal works. Plu- tarch, however, tells us, that he had already written his books of " Phyfics, Morals, Metaphyfics, and Rhetoric." The fame author fays, that Ariftotle being piqued at Alexander, becaufe of the prefento he had fent to Xenocrates, was moved with fo much refentment, that he entered into Antipater's confpiricy againft: this prince. The advocates for Ariilotle ? however, maintain this charge to have been without founda- tion ; that at leaft it made no impreffion on Alexander, fmce about the fame time he ordered him to apply hi mfelf to the ftudy of animals ; and fent him, to defray his expences, eight hun- dred talents, befides a great number of fifhers and huntfmtn fc] Diogenes Liertins relates, (Vir. from his matter, fpurned at him with .ArifToc.) that i'iato finding Arittotie " his heels, and opened a fchool in had broke oft" from him, ufed to fay, " oppofition to l j ]>to." Helladius " HL has kicked againft us, as colts are varies the image a little: J t>if?ih>i; " wont to do againft their dam." o T srjf.'Tra'iy Trj-^-aTnc IJTTD Tl Lilian explains at large thi? expreflion ITTB-- tnta o^.a'^;. |viv1ia>9o-i ^x of Plato ; " The colt," fays he, (Var. SiJaa-xaXai' xo; yu.t o .''-TT- T:V Hiir. lib. iv. cap. 9.) " kicks al his iAat' irali:* Ja'jcvuv. " Ariftotle, the dam, after being filled with her ' prince or the l-'eripatet'c fchool, was
 * in like manner, Ariflotie, " called a horfe by Plato, becaufe he fet

'.fter he had imbibed from Plato the " up in cppofition to his mafler; for milk and nourifliment of philofophy, " the horfe takes a pleafure in biting fndinjr himfclf well fattened with " his own father." Ajud Bhotium, ' the exccllen: fcod he had received Bibi.oth. p. 15^9. 10