 [this web page last updated 17 June 2005]
Aristotle's
Metaphysics
Translated by Joe Sachs
7" x 10", 365 pages, bibliography, index.
Publication date 1999. 2nd Ed. 2002.
Joe Sachs has followed up his success with his translation of Aristotle's
Physics, published by Rutgers University Press, with a new translation
of Metaphysics. Sachs's translations bring distinguished new light
onto Aristotle's works, which are foundational to history of science.
Sachs translates Aristotle with an authenticity that was lost when Aristotle
was translated into Latin and abstract Latin words came to stand for concepts
Aristotle expressed with phrases in everyday Greek language. When
the works began being translated into English, those abstract Latin words
or their cognates were used, thus suggesting a level of jargon and abstraction,
and in some cases misleading interpretation, which was not Aristotle's
language or style. These important new translations open up Aristotle's
original thought to readers.
"By avoiding the standard Latinized terminology, Sachs translates the Metaphysics
into very concrete words and phrases whose meanings are often immediately
recognizable. The result is a translation that is direct and provocative,
a translation that helps readers wrestle with Aristotle's philosophical
issues rather than [with] an alien vocabulary. Highly recommended."
---Edward Halper, Professor of Philosophy, University of Georgia |
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From the Green Lion's Preface
"... In addition to offering a groundbreaking new translation and
these introductory materials, we have designed this book to be easy to
read, study, teach with, and use as a basis for discussion. Having
ourselves
read, studied, taught, and discussed this text with students and colleagues
over many years, we know what we as users needed and wanted in presentation
and layout, and we have taken pains to provide those things. ..."
Link to sample
of Aristotle text as typeset in this edition in PDF format.
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) (Click
here to download Acrobat PDF reader.)
From Joe Sachs's Introduction:
One ought at least to try to meet Aristotle on his own ground. It
would be important to learn whether his arguments have a power that is
not limited by history and language. ... This translation and account of
Aristotle's Metaphysics is addressed to all those who are willing
to refrain from judging the enterprise in advance, and want to follow where
Aristotle leads. This requires a willingness, above all, to recognize
and acknowledge that we do not know the limits of what can be. It requires
also, in particular, a refraining from the habit of resorting to some vague
notion of "concepts" to explain everything that we encounter by thinking.
From the review of Sachs's translation of Aristotle's
Metaphysics
"...the flow of ideas from Aristotle himself begins to take hold quite well.
The book contains an excellent introduction, Greek and English glossaries,
very useful notes. Recommended for general readers, students, and scholars
of Aristotle."
---P.A. Streeler
CHOICE, January 2000
Comments from reviews of Sachs's translation of Aristotle's
Physics
"It is dangerous to encounter Aristotle for the first time through the
thick lens of Latin tradition...If possible, let the student first meet
Aristotle directly, in the Greek original or in a translation such as Joe
Sachs's."
David H. Carey, Teaching Philosophy
"Sachs shares with the translators of the Physics volumes in
the Clarendon Aristotle series the aim of avoiding jargon; but his
translation,
intended for a quite different audience, makes more sense of the text.
"Though brief, Sachs's introduction and many of his notes are
excellent...These
lessons are probably more important for undergraduates than the close
parsing
of particular arguments. Indeed, despite their lack of the usual scholarly
accoutrements, the notes have much to teach those of us who are more
advanced
students."
Edward Halper, Review of Metaphysics
"In Sachs's translation...Aristotle's view of the natural world becomes
clear and vibrant."
Cait Anthony, Science News
Sewn softcover, ISBN 1-888009-03-9, List price $24.95.
10% discount for online orders.
For domestic orders we add a flat shipping charge of $7 regardless of
the number of items. For international shipping we add a flat shipping charge
of $14. International shipments of this book go by air when possible (depends
on country).
Clothbound with Dust Jacket, ISBN 1-888009-02-0, List price
$45.00.
10% discount for online orders.
For domestic orders we add a flat shipping charge of $7 regardless of
the number of items. For international shipping we add a flat shipping charge
of $14. International shipments of this book go by air when possible (depends
on country).
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