ARISTOXENUS, the moſt ancient muſical writer, of whoſe works any tracts are come down to us. He was born at Tarentum, a city in that part of Italy called Magna Græcia, now Calabria. He was the ſon of a muſician, whom ſome call Mneſias, others Spintharus. He had his firſt education at Mantinea, a city of Arcadia, under his father, and Lampyrus of Erythræe; he next ſtudied under Xenophilus, the Pythagorean; and laſtly under Aristotle, in company with Theophratuſ. Suidas, from whom theſe particulars are tranſcribed, adds, that Ariſtoxenus, enraged at Ariſtotle having bequeathed his ſchool to Theophratuſ, traduced him ever after. But Ariſtoteles the Peripatetic in Euſebius, excuſates Ariſtoxenus in this particular, and aſſures us that he always ſpoke with great reſpect of his maſter Aristotle. From the preceding account it appears that Ariſtoxenus lived under Alexander the Great and his firſt ſucceſſors. His Harmo-
nics in three books, all that are come down to us, together with Ptolemy's Harmonics, were first published by Gogavinus, but not very correctly, at Venice, 1562, in 4to, with a Latin version. John Meursius next translated the three books of Aristoxenus into Latin, from the MS. of Jos. Scaliger; but according to Meibomius, very negligently. With these he printed at Leyden, 1616, 4to, Nicomachus and Alypius, two other Greek writers on music. After this, Meibomius collected these musical writers together; to which he added Euclid, Bacchius senior, Arifides Quintilianus; and published the whole, with a Latin version and notes, from the elegant press of Elzevir, Amst. 1652.
The learned editor dedicates these ancient musical treatises to Christina queen of Sweden. Aristoxenus is said by Suidas to have written 452 different works, among which those on music were the most esteemed; yet his writings on other subjects are very frequently quoted by ancient authors, notwithstanding Cicero and some others say that he was a bad philosopher, and had nothing in his head but music. The titles of several of the lost works of Aristoxenus, quoted by Athenæus and others, have been collected by Meursius in his notes upon this author, by Tonfius and Menage, all which Fabricius has digested into alphabetical order.