On Generation and Corruption
by Aristotle · Περὶ γενέσεως καὶ φθορᾶς
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- c. 350 BCE
- Form
- Treatise
- Language
- Greek
- Length
- Short · 60 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendThe Complete Works of Aristotle, Volume 1, translated by Jonathan Barnes (ed.)Princeton University Press, 1984The revised Oxford translation, with the rest of the natural works in the same volume.
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Two books on how things come into being and pass away in the region below the moon. Aristotle distinguishes generation proper from alteration and growth, criticises the atomists, and explains mixture, contact and action. Book II derives the four elements from pairs of the qualities hot, cold, wet and dry, shows how they change into one another, and traces the cycle of generation to the sun's movement along the ecliptic.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns On Generation and Corruption are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
