The Metaphysics of Aristotle

Among the prodigies of genius who have greatly benefited mankind by spreading philosophy, Aristotle holds a very distinguished rank. When we consider that he was not only well acquainted with every science—as his works abundantly show—but that he wrote on almost every subject comprehended within the circle of human knowledge with matchless accuracy and skill, we hardly know which to admire most: the penetration or the extent of his mind. Capacities must have been truly immense to embrace the vast orb of existence and leave nothing unexplored in the heavens or on the earth; and that genius must have been penetrating indeed to reach the luminous boundaries of human knowledge and make them accessible to others. With a bold, yet not impious hand, he appears to have withdrawn the awful veil of Nature herself, to have detected her most secret mysteries, and to have traveled through every part of her varied dominions. In short, he seems to have possessed and exercised the power of reasoning with the greatest perfection possible for a human being. Such of his works as have escaped the ravages of time will always be considered by the genuine lovers of science as treasures which, due to their singular excellence, are destined to perish only in a catastrophe as great as a deluge or a universal conflagration.