He wrote about biology, ethics, logic, physics, rhetoric, politics, and countless other subjects.

他曾寫過關於生物學、倫理學、邏輯、物理學、修辭學、政治學與其他無數的主題。

In sum, Aristotle’s work comprised the first SYSTEMATIC form of Western Philosophy.

總而言之，亞里斯多德的著作形成了西洋哲學史上第一套有組織架構的系統。

Aristotle is also considered the first genuine scientist in history.

亞里斯多德也被認為是歷史上第一個真正的科學家。

Aristotle was born in Stagira, in northern Greece, around 384 BC.

亞里斯多德於西元前 384 年誕生於希臘北方的斯塔基拉。

His father was Nicomachus, the court physician in Macedonia under King Amyntas III.

他的父親名叫尼各馬可，是馬其頓國王阿明塔斯三世的宮廷御醫。

Aristotle’s parents died when he was young. He was cared for by his older sister and her husband.

亞里斯多德的雙親在他年幼時就已經過世了。他由他的姐姐和姐夫一手帶大。

Not much is known about Aristotle’s early education, although it is thought he studied medicine like his father.

我們對亞里斯多德的早期受教情況知道的不多，但大多認為他和他父親一樣是學醫的。

In 367 BC, when Aristotle was 17, he was sent to Athens to pursue higher education.

西元前 367 年，亞里斯多德 17 歲時，他被送到雅典去接受更高等的教育。

Athens at this time was the best place in the world to be educated.

當時的雅典是全世界最適合受教育的地方。

Aristotle enrolled in The Academy, the school founded by Plato.

亞里斯多德進入了由柏拉圖創辦的學院就讀。

He was a star pupil at the Academy, and stayed on at the school as an instructor. He remained at the Academy for 20 years.

他在學院裡是個明星學生，同時也在學校擔任講師。他一直在學院裡待了 20 年。

Although Aristotle was a valued member of the Academy, he was not seen as Plato’s successor.

儘管亞里斯多德在學院裡是備受崇敬的成員，他並不被認為是柏拉圖的接班人。

This was because of some fundamental differences between their philosophies.

這是因為在他們兩人的哲學理論中，存在著一些根本的差異。

Plato believed that true knowledge could only be achieved through Reason, while Aristotle favored experimentation with real objects.

柏拉圖認為，真正的知識只能藉由理性來獲得，但亞里斯多德卻傾向對實體的觀察與分析。

When Plato died, Aristotle did not take over the Academy as some imagined he might, but instead went back to Macedonia.

在柏拉圖死後，亞里斯多德並沒有如預期地接管學院，反之，他回到了馬其頓。

Aristotle was welcomed back into the Royal fold in Macedonia.

亞里斯多德受到馬其頓皇室熱烈的歡迎。

He became a tutor to King Philip II’s teenage son, Alexander (whom we know as Alexander The Great).

他成為腓力國王正值青春期的兒子亞歷山大（也就是我們熟知的亞歷山大大帝）的家庭教師。

At the age of 20, Alexander succeeded to his father’s throne.

20 歲時，亞歷山大繼承了他父親的王位。

He unified the Greek city-states, and began a military campaign of conquest.

他統一了希臘的城邦，並且開始了一連串的軍事征服行動。

Before long he was known as “King of Babylon, King of Asia, King of the Four Quarters of the World.”

不久之後，他就以「巴比倫之王、亞洲之王、四方之王」而為人周知。

Meanwhile, Aristotle returned to Athens (which was now under Macedonian rule),

同時，亞里斯多德也回到了當時被馬其頓統治的雅典，

and in 335 BC founded his own school, called the Lyceum.

並且在西元前 335 年時，他創辦了自己的學校，名叫呂刻昂。

Aristotle taught while strolling the grounds, his students following him on these walks.

亞里斯多德教學時也一邊漫步，而他的學生們就跟隨著他。

They came to be known as “The Peripatetics” from the Greek for “walking around.”

他們也以「逍遙學派」為人所知，在希臘文中便是「四處走動」的意思。

During his time at the Lyceum, Aristotle studied almost every topic.

亞里斯多德待在呂刻昂的這段期間，他幾乎什麼主題都有涉略。

He was one of the early pioneers in the field of Biology.

他是生物學領域的先驅之一。

His notes are full of observations about various life forms, including the embryology of the chick and the chambered stomach of ruminants.

他的筆記滿滿都是對各種生物型態的觀察，包括小雞的胚胎與反芻動物的胃室。

Aristotle is thought to have dissected marine animals including the octopus and other invertebrates, since his observations were so accurate.

因為他的觀察太過精確，因此普遍認為亞里斯多德曾經解剖過章魚或其他無脊椎動物。

He attempted a classification of animals based on shared characteristics,

他曾嘗試根據一些共同的特徵來對動物進行分類，

including where they lived: in the air, in the water, or on land;

包含他們所居住的地點是在空中、在水中，或是在陸地上，

and whether they had red blood or not (which is not too different from our distinction between vertebrates and invertebrates).

或是他們是否有紅色的血液，而這些其實和現在我們區分脊椎與無脊椎動物的方式相去不遠。

Aristotle’s system of classification continued to be used for over a thousand years.

亞里斯多德的分類系統持續被使用了一千多年。

Aristotle was also very interested in Earth Science.

亞里斯多德對地球科學也相當有興趣。

In his work “Meteorology,” he described the water cycle:

在他的作品《天象論》中，他對水循環有以下的描述：

“Now the sun, moving as it does, sets up processes of change and becoming and decay,

「太陽如常的起落，啟動了生滅的循環，

and by its agency the finest and sweetest water is every day carried up and is dissolved into vapor and rises to the upper region,

藉著它的力量，那些最好最甜美的水每天都被轉化、融入水氣中，並且上升到上層大氣；

where it is condensed again by the cold and so returns to the earth.”

在那裡，水氣又因冷氣而凝結，並再度回到地表。」

Aristotle’s writings include discussions of all sorts of natural phenomena: thunder, lightning, rainbows, meteors, and comets.

亞里斯多德的寫作涵蓋許多對自然現象的討論，諸如閃電、打雷、彩虹、流星與彗星等。

He described the wind and earthquakes, which he thought were caused by winds trapped underground.

他描述了風與地震，他認為後者是由被困在地底的風所導致。

He had a remarkable sense for the geologic time scale.

他也對地質年代也有相當卓越的觀察。

He wrote: “...the whole vital process of the earth takes place so gradually

他寫道：「地質的變化是如此的緩慢，

and in periods of time which are so immense compared with the length of our life, that these changes are not observed,

而這樣的變化和我們的一生相比，費時又是如此的漫長，以至於我們並無法親眼觀察到這些改變，

and before their course can be recorded from beginning to end whole nations perish and are destroyed.”

在來得及從頭到尾記錄這個歷程之前，我們的肉身早已隳壞毀滅。」

Although Aristotle was clearly a dedicated scientist, he is probably best known for his philosophical treatises.

亞里斯多德無疑是個專注的科學家，但他最為知名的還是他的哲學論文。

These included discussions on rhetoric and the importance of logic, metaphysics including the distinction between matter and form,

這些論文包含對修辭學的討論、邏輯學的重要性、形上學中對於質料與形式的區分，

and Ethics, including a code of conduct for “good living.”

以及倫理學，其中包含如何過得幸福的行為準則。

Aristotle’s tenure at the Lyceum came abruptly to an end when Alexander the Great died in 323 BC.

亞歷山大大帝於西元前 323 年崩殂時，亞里斯多德在呂刻昂的快樂時光也戛然而止。

The government was overthrown, and Aristotle (seen as a Macedonian sympathizer) was charged with impiety.

政府被推翻，而被視為親馬其頓政府的亞里斯多德被控瀆神。

Fearing he would come to the same end as Socrates (who had been sentenced to death on similarly trumped-up charges),

由於害怕自己會和蘇格拉底（因莫須有的罪名而被判處死刑）遭受相同的命運，

Aristotle fled to Chalcis on the island of Euboea, where he died soon after in 322 BC.

亞里斯多德逃到尤比亞島上的加爾西斯，不久之後，也於西元前 322 年逝世於此。

He was 62 years old.

他享年 62 歲。

Aristotle is thought to have written about 200 documents during his lifetime, but only 31 still exist.

一般認為亞里斯多德在他有生之年寫作了兩百多餘份文件，但其中只有 31 份流傳至今。

Reportedly these writings were kept safe by Aristotle’s student Theophrastus, who took over from Aristotle at the Lyceum.

據傳這些文件都由亞里斯多德的學生，也就是在他之後掌管呂刻昂的狄奧弗拉斯圖，妥善的保管著。

Although many of Aristotle’s ideas were considered controversial during his lifetime,

儘管在亞里斯多德的時代，他的很多想法被視為相當有爭議，

they were rediscovered and championed during the Middle Ages.

但他們在中世紀時被重新發現，並且被奉為圭臬。

In an odd turn of events, the medieval devotees of Aristotle were so taken with his work

世事難料，中世紀這群熱衷於研究亞里斯多德的人是如此著迷於他的作品，

that it became the official philosophy of the Roman Catholic Church.

以至於他成為了羅馬天主教會的官方哲學。

This meant trouble for any scientific discoveries that contradicted Aristotle’s writings, such as Copernicus’s and Galileo’s heliocentric model of the Solar System.

但這對那些與亞里斯多德的作品相牴觸的科學研究而言，例如哥白尼與伽利略的「日心說」，卻無疑的是一場災難。

It’s a sad irony that Aristotle’s work, considered the first work of an observational scientist,

這對亞里斯多德，這位史上第一位觀察型科學家來說，真是個悲哀的反諷，

would one day impede the acceptance of new scientific discoveries.

因為他怎麼也沒料到，自己的作品竟會阻礙新的科學發現。