9. Only an estimated one-third of Aristotle’s vast output of works have actually endured to the modern day
One of the most acclaimed and celebrated figures of the classical world, Aristotle – a student of Plato and later the teacher of Alexander the Great – stands as a giant of ancient philosophy and intellect. Producing a colossal body of work, spanning subjects from physical and natural sciences including zoology, biology, and physics, as well as cultural pursuits such as rhetoric, philosophy, and aesthetics, in addition to amassing a vast output on politics, philosophy, and economics, Aristotle exerted a unique degree of influence on virtually every form of knowledge throughout the world
Despite spending the preponderance of his life writing, residing for two decades at Plato’s Academy and later founding his own school as Lyceum, Aristotle did not actually intend any of his writings to ever reach publication, suggesting a humility far beyond the comprehension of most humans. In no small part a result of this modesty, only approximately one-third of Aristotle’s original output has survived to the modern day. Capable of transforming human understanding and knowledge for thousands of years, influencing both early Christianity and Islam as his works diffused across the world, one can only imagine the impact his full body of work might have achieved.