On the Universe (Ancient Greek:Περὶ Κόσμου,romanized: Perì Kósmou;Latin:De Mundo) is a theological and scientific treatise included in theCorpus Aristotelicum but usually regarded asspurious. It was likely published between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE. The work discussescosmological,geological, andmeteorological subjects, alongside a consideration of the role an independent god plays in maintaining the universe.

According to Johan C. Thom,De Mundo "attempts to provide an explanation of the role of god in preserving and maintaining the cosmos while at the same time upholding the notion of his transcendence and independence."^[1] While the work is mostly in thePeripatetic style established by Aristotle,^[1] elements ofPlatonic,Stoic, andNeopythagorean philosophy permeates it (which Thom argues is indicative of its post-Aristotlean authorship).^[2] Alongside its theological considerations, it also discussescosmological,geological, andmeteorological subjects.^[3]

Doubts about the authorship ofDe Mundo were already expressed in antiquity: whenProclus mentioned the work in one of his commentaries he added "if the bookDe Mundo is by him."^[4] In the Middle Ages, it was widely believed thatDe Mundo was a genuine product ofAristotle.^[1] The notable exception was the 12th-century philosopherMaimonides who rejected it outright.^[4] Doubts were expressed again in the 15th and 16th centuries,^[5] and it became common to reject the work in the 17th century.^[6] General agreement to deny Aristotle's authorship was reached in the 19th century, with only a few voices dissenting since then.^[7]

The main reasons to reject the work are:^[8]

1. Differences in language and style, including the use of words unrecorded until the 3rd-century BCE
2. Many minor points of philosophical doctrine which differ from Aristotle (such as the idea that air is moist and cold in book 2)
3. A theological position which diverges in certain respects from that of Aristotle — in particular an emphasis on a trascendent god, who, although outside of the universe, is nevertheless present and active everywhere in it.

Attempts have sometimes been made to identify the author of the work. In the 19th century, when the Stoic philosopherPosidonius was thought to be in the background of many treatises on natural philosophy, it was common to regard the book as based on his writings, and the work itself was sometimes ascribed to him.^[9] As late as 1905Wilhelm Capelle [de] (Neue Jahrbücher, 1905), traced most of the doctrines to Posidonius.^[10] Another name occasionally proposed as author but now rejected wasNicolaus of Damascus.^[9] Today the general position is simply to assume it was written by an anonymous eclectic philosopher,^[9] and as such the author is referred to now as Pseudo-Aristotle.^[11] The writer "knew a great deal about philosophy, yet cherished Aristotelian philosophy above all others", but there are "no grounds even to speculate" who the author was.^[12]

As for the date of the treatise, the earliest possible dates (terminus post quem) are set by:^[13]

• The account of the British Isles^[14] which draws on the discoveries byPytheas, who probably published them shortly after Aristotle's death.
• The idea that theHyrcanian (Caspian) Sea is connected to the ocean which probably descends from a misleading report byPatrocles (early 3rd-century BCE).

It is commonly thought that the work was written in the 1st centuries BCE/CE,^[9] but the range of possible dates extend from the 3rd century BCE to the 2nd century CE.^[11][12][15]

After its original publication inGreek, the work was translated toLatin byApuleius, intoSyriac bySergius of Reshaina and three distinctArabic versions.^[16]

• Hypostasis (philosophy and religion)
• Meteorology

• Kraye, Jill (2014). "Disputes over the authorship of De Mundo". In Thom, Johan C. (ed.).Cosmic Order and Divine Power: Pseudo-Aristotle, On the Cosmos. Mohr Siebeck.ISBN 978-3161528095.
• Pajón Leyra, Irene; Bartoš, Hynek (2020). "Geography (Chapter 3, 393a9–394a6)". In Gregorić, Pavel; Karamanlis, George (eds.).Pseudo-Aristotle: De Mundo (On the Cosmos). A commentary. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1108834780.
• Gregorić, Pavel; Karamanlis, George (2020). "Introduction".Pseudo-Aristotle: De Mundo (On the Cosmos). A commentary. Cambridge University Press.ISBN 978-1108834780.
• Furley, D. J (1955).Pseudo Aristotle: De Mundo (in Ancient Greek). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univserity Press.

• De Mundo, translated by E. S. Forster
• On the Universe public domain audiobook atLibriVox

• Philosophy books
• Works by Aristotle
• Works of unknown authorship

• Articles with short description
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• Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text
• Articles containing Latin-language text
• CS1 foreign language sources (ISO 639-2)
• Articles with LibriVox links