Aristotle’s Metaphysics
Translated by Joe Sachs
7" x 10", 365 pages, bibliography, index.
Original publication date, 1999. 2nd Edition, 2002.
For pricing and ordering information, see the ordering section below.
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.
Features
- Revolutionary new translation of Aristotle's Greek text
- Expresses Aristotle's terms in concrete English words and phrases, avoiding the vestiges of scholasticism.
From the Reviews
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
... 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
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
Sample pages
Below are links to PDF versions of the Preface, selections from the Introduction, and a sample of Aristotle's text.
You may need to open these PDF documents in Adobe Reader or an equivalent program.
- Preface
- Introduction
- Sample text from Aristotle
