Pseudo-Aristotle: De Mundo (On the Cosmos) : A Commentary

De mundo is a protreptic to philosophy in the form of a letter to Alexander the Great and is traditionally ascribed to Aristotle.It offers a unique view of the cosmos, God and their relationship, which was inspired by Aristotle but written by a later author.The author provides an outline of cosmology, geography and meteorology, only to argue that a full understanding of the cosmos cannot be achieved without a proper grasp of God as its ultimate cause.To ensure such a grasp, the author provides a series of twelve carefully chosen interlocking analogies, building a complex picture in the reader's mind.The work develops a distinctly Aristotelian picture of God and the cosmos while paying tribute to pre-Aristotelian philosophers and avoiding open criticism of rival schools of philosophy.De mundo exercised considerable influence in late antiquity and then in the Renaissance and Early Modern times.