Aspasius

Who was Aspasius?

Aspasius was a Peripatetic philosopher. Boethius, who frequently refers to his works, says that Aspasius wrote commentaries on most of the works of Aristotle. The following commentaries are expressly mentioned: on De Interpretatione, the Physica, Metaphysica, Categoriae, and the Nicomachean Ethics. A portion of the commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics is extant. The Greek text of this commentary has been published as Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca vol. 19.1, and David Konstan has published an English translation. It is notable as the earliest extant commentary on any of Aristotle's works. From Porphyry, who also states that Aspasius wrote commentaries on Plato, we learn that his commentaries on Aristotle were used in the school of Plotinus.

Albert the Great, in his commentary on Aristotle's Politics also refers to a monograph on natural affections, as written by Aspasius.