Thomas More College of Liberal Arts is pleased to announce the acquisition of the Peripatetic Press. Founded in the mid-twentieth century, the Peripatetic Press was principally established in order to publish the Hippocrates G. Apostle translations of Aristotle’s major works. Between 1960 and 1990, Dr. Apostle accomplished the amazing feat of translating eight of these works (Metaphysics, Physics, De Anima, Politics, Ethics, Posterior Analytics, Categories and Propositions, and Poetics) as well as a collection of selected writings, which was published in collaboration with Lloyd Gerson.
Dr. Apostle was born in Tyrnavos, Greece, and came to the United States as a child. He was a student at Columbia University and the University of Chicago, where he began the study of Aristotle that would last the rest of his life.
The Apostle translations of Aristotle reflect years of consideration. In reading them, his desire for accuracy and clarity comes through to the reader. One particular advantage of having so many of Aristotle’s works translated by a single author is the resulting consistency of language and style. With one translator, the same words are rendered the same way, and because of this the translations are particularly friendly to students of the great Philosopher.
“Every serious student of Aristotle I know—whether novice or research scholar—acknowledges that Apostle’s accurate translations and illuminating commentaries are absolutely indispensable.”
—Rev. Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J., Boston College
Thomas More College is delighted to take on the responsibility of preserving these translations, which also include commentaries from the late Dr. Apostle. One of the reasons why the College was able to secure copyright of the translations was because of its commitment to truth and the love of learning. Karen Thuente, the previous owner of the Peripatetic Press, was a close friend of Dr. Apostle and was delighted to pass on the care of these translations into the College’s capable hands.
With the addition of the Apostle translations of Aristotle, Thomas More College Press now publishes fifteen books, with more being released every year. Established in 2016 to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the publication of St. Thomas More’s Utopia, the Press works to print new and newly rediscovered works “to assist those who still seek the true, the good, and the beautiful.”
Thomas More College Press holds up St. Thomas More as its patron—a scholar who was engaged in the vast debates of his civilization while remaining attentive to his own home. Like the Catholic humanists of the past, those involved in the Thomas More College Press see learning as nourished by both an affection for the local and an engagement with broader intellectual and cultural traditions.
These translations can be purchased at press.thomasmorecollege.edu or on amazon.com.
In Praise of the Apostle Translations
“The relation between logic and metaphysics is frequently obscure in translations and interpretations of Aristotle. Apostle’s method of translation—one English word for one Greek word—makes his English text a faithful replica of the Greek original. The reader of his translations of the Posterior Analytics and of the Metaphysics will find a clear presentation of the difference between the metaphysical foundation of the organization of the sciences relative to the kinds of substances in Book Lambda of the Metaphysics and the logical analysis of definition and demonstration relative to terms and propositions in Book Beta of the Posterior Analytics.”
—Richard McKeon, University of Chicago
“Translation is an exercise in compromise and this compromise [i.e., this translation of the Metaphysics] is the one I find easiest to work with; a close study of the text requires consistency and literalness…. The Apostle translations are excellent and deserve to be more widely promoted and used.”
—Joshua Hochschild, Wheaton College
“This is a really excellent translation of the two Aristotelian works [the Categories and Propositions]. The author respects English idiom and the traditional understanding of the terms in a way that is truly remarkable. For instance, the names of the categories keep in English the full force of the original Greek designations, without strain on the English words. I noted numerous instances of this happy faculty as I read the translation.”
—Joseph Owens, Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies
“Every serious student of Aristotle I know—whether novice or research scholar—acknowledges that Apostle’s accurate translations and illuminating commentaries are absolutely indispensable.”
—Rev. Ronald K. Tacelli, S.J., Boston College
For further reading:
Guardini’s Conversion of St. Augustine now available from TMC Press
