Source edition
Aristotle. Aristoteles de coelo et de generatione et corruptione. Prantl, Carl von, editor. Leipzig: Teubner, 1881.
Source data
Open Greek and Latin · CC BY-SA 4.0
Cloned and adapted by Humanitext, with ongoing edits.
Summary
Aristotle's 'On the Heavens' is a foundational work of ancient physics and cosmology that systematically examines the structure of the universe, the celestial bodies, and the nature of terrestrial elements. Across four books, Aristotle employs logical and geometrical reasoning to critically evaluate the astronomical theories of his predecessors. The first half demonstrates that the heavens are composed of a divine, ungenerated, and indestructible 'fifth element' (aether) that undergoes eternal circular motion, concluding that the universe is finite, unique, and eternal. The treatise then turns to the motions of the celestial spheres, the spherical shape of the stars, and the immobility of the spherical Earth at the center of the cosmos. Finally, the work analyzes the generation and corruption of the four terrestrial elements (fire, air, water, and earth) through a comprehensive theory of 'heaviness and lightness'. It stands as a profound attempt to map a coherent, hierarchical order spanning from the outermost celestial sphere to the terrestrial world below.
Contents
62 chunks
Cited by book.chapter
- §1.1
- §1.2#1
- §1.2#2
- §1.3#1
- §1.3#2
- §1.4
- §1.5#1
- §1.5#2
- §1.6#1
- §1.6#2
- §1.7#1
- §1.7#2
- §1.8#1
- §1.8#2
- §1.9#1
- §1.9#2
- §1.10
- §1.11
- §1.12#1
- §1.12#2
- §1.12#3
- §2.1
- §2.2#1
- §2.2#2
- §2.3
- §2.4#1
- §2.4#2
- §2.5
- §2.6
- §2.7
- §2.8#1
- §2.8#2
- §2.9
- §2.10-2.11
- §2.12#1
- §2.12#2
- §2.13#1
- §2.13#2
- §2.13#3
- §2.14#1
- §2.14#2
- §3.1#1
- §3.1#2
- §3.2#1
- §3.2#2
- §3.3
- §3.4
- §3.5#1
- §3.5#2
- §3.6
- §3.7
- §3.8#1
- §3.8#2
- §4.1
- §4.2#1
- §4.2#2
- §4.3#1
- §4.3#2
- §4.4#1
- §4.4#2
- §4.5#1
- §4.5#2