The present paper undertakes a hermeneutic analysis of the hitherto little investigated preface of Theodore Metochites᾽ Paraphrase of the natural scientific works of Aristotle. Based on a problematic quotation at the very beginning of the proem, the article shows that paraphrase does not only mean, for Metochites, the language-specific clarification of the obscure Aristotelian texts but mainly the elucidation and simplification of the relationship of physics to the rest of the philosophical curriculum, as well as of the interconnection between Aristotle‘s separate treatises of natural sciences. The preface proves to be an indirect, i.e. encoded testimony for the exegetical competition of Theodore Metochites with his coeval George Pachymeres and the most prominent ancient paraphraser of Aristotle, namely Themistius (4th century CE).

中文翻译：

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物理学的寓言与赞美：Theodoros Metochites 对亚里士多德科学著作的释义的溢价

本文对迄今为止鲜为人知的 Theodore Metochites 序言进行了诠释学分析，该序言是对亚里士多德自然科学著作的释义。基于论文一开始有问题的引文，文章表明，对于 Metochites 来说，意译不仅意味着对晦涩的亚里士多德文本进行特定语言的澄清，而且主要是阐明和简化物理学与其余部分的关系哲学课程，以及亚里士多德的自然科学论文之间的相互联系。序言被证明是间接的，即为 Theodore Metochites 与他同时代的 George Pachymeres 和最着名的亚里士多德古代释义者 Themistius（公元 4 世纪）的解释竞争的编码证词。