The most recent excavations on the site
of Mieza – ‘the temple of the nymphs’ –
a town in ancient Macedonia,
a mountainous land of river valleys –
have uncovered three sheets of papyrus
preserved in a tube of bronze. Some scholars
believe the writing may be Aristotle’s.
The philosopher and polymath was engaged
by Philip II of Macedon
to tutor his oldest son – who was destined
to become Alexander the Great,
whose name is still bestowed on first born sons
throughout all of Central Asia.
The discovery appears to be
an unfinished treatise by Aristotle
in the form of a letter to his pupil,
Alexander. It is entitled:
On The Nature and Scope of the Universe –
Part One: Inanimate Objects. It begins
with a preamble, pointing out that
there are things we can learn to control –
for example, playing a flute, or treating
Greeks as friends and family but Barbarians
as beasts or as plants. It continues
by classifying three types of object
that are completely beyond our control:
first, the utterly predictable –
like the sun and moon; secondly,
the mostly predictable – like snow-melt
turning a river to torrents, or drought
drying its waters, killing its teeming fish;
lastly the utterly unpredictable:
stray stones a galloping horse lets fly
blinding a cavalry man for life;
a loose clay tile sliding from a roof
wounding the captain at the head of his troops
marching in the narrow street below;
a large slice of freshly baked zea bread,
young Alexander’s favourite breakfast,
falling honey-side down…
By David Selzer