Abstract

While various interpretations are allowable, questions do arise as to what treatments are legitimate, and what criteria of legitimacy may be invoked. Surely one can demand that an interpreter state his intentions clearly, that he respect the texts, and that--if he possibly can--he heed the spirit in which they were written. Spirit is hard to capture, but the consensus of informed opinion about the texts and their setting should be some help. An introductory account of Aristotle involves the difficult feat of meeting these requirements while remaining fairly simple and presenting its subject in a favorable light.