Page - 21 - in The Priority of Locomotion in Aristotle’s Physics

2.2.1.3 References in Aristotle Simplicius also refers to Aristotle himself in order to show that his claim about the two parts of our Physics is correct. For this reason he cites three places in Physics VIII where Aristotle refers to sections belonging to Books II and III as part of the Physics (ἐν τοῖς Φυσικοῖς).24 In De Caelo Aristotle refers to two places in the work On Change, both from Book VI.25 The pas- sages to which Simplicius points here show the following: first, Aristotle would also say that the book which today we call the Physics consists of dif- ferent works or parts, one of them being a work which he here calls Τὰ φυσικά and another one that is titled Περὶ κινήσεως. Second, it shows that Books II and III are parts of the treatise which is called Physics and is separate from Book VIII. Thirdly, Book VI belongs to On Change. All of this fits well into Simplicius’ theory. However, it does not tell us anything about whether Aristotle thought Book V belongs to the treatise on Physics or to the one On Change. The same is true of the other cases where Aristo- tle refers to works or parts of works that are called Τὰ φυσικά or Τὰ περὶ φύσεως and that, as one might think, could support Simplicius’ division of the Physics; but as Ross points out correctly, none of them shows that Sim- plicius’ view is right.26 Hence, even the references made by Aristotle himself do not necessarily provide any further support for Simplicius’ view. 2.2.1.4 Eudemus The last piece of evidence that Simplicius presents for his division of the eight books into five books of Physics and three On Change is a passage from a lost biography of Eudemus, another important disciple of Aristotle, that was written by an unknown author named Damas.27 According to this biography Eudemus thought that the work On Nature (Περὶ φύσεως)— the name here is obviously being used in its intermediate or broad meaning —had a part that consisted of the three books On Change, which for Simpli- cius, following Andronicus, could only refer to Books VI, VII and VIII. Yet, without any further context this passage supports Simplicius’ claim only to a certain degree. This passage merely tells us that Eudemus thought that the 24 See In Phys. 6, 923, 16–924, 5. The sections from Phys. VIII are 251a8–10, 253b7–9, and 267b20–2; for Books II and III they are 202a7–8, 192b20–2/200b12–13, and 204a34– 206a8. 25 See In Phys. 6, 924, 5–12. The passages in Cael. are 272a28–31 and 275b21–3; those in Phys. VI are 233a31–4 and 266b25–7. 26 See Ross (1936), 3. 27 See In Phys. 6, 924, 12–14 (=Fr. 1 in Wehrli (1955)). On Damas see Wehrli (1955), 78. The arrangement of the Physics 21 ISBN Print: 9783525253069 — ISBN E-Book: 9783647253060 © 2014, Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht GmbH & Co. KG, Göttingen