Aristotle Quotes in Alexander (2004)

Young Nearchus: Master? Master?

Aristotle: Yes?

Young Nearchus: Master?

Aristotle: Yes, out with it, out with it.

Young Nearchus: Why are the Persians so cruel?

Aristotle: That is not the subject for today Nearchus. But it is true, the Oriental races are known for their barbarity and slavish devotion to their senses. Excess in all things is the undoing of men. That is why we Greeks are superior, we practice control of our senses. Moderation.

[laughs]

Aristotle: We hope.

Aristotle: Although an inferior race, the Persians control at least four fifths of the known world. But, is it possible that the source of Egypt's mighty river Nile could rise in these distant mountains of the outer Earth? If so, an experienced navigator could find his way here, by this river, east, down into the great plains of India, out into the eastern ocean and end of the world, and by this route, up the Nile, back to Egypt, into the Middle Sea and home to Greece.

Young Alexander: It is, it has always been, our Greek dream to go east. My father long wants it.

Aristotle: The east has a way of swallowing men and their dreams.

Young Hephaistion: Can a man love a woman equally, Master?

Aristotle: A woman? Of course not. A woman is a slave to her passions, Hephaistion. Though, naturally, there are exceptions, and we must honor them. Such as Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war. But never forget, she was sprung not from the loins of Zeus, but from his mind.

Aristotle: I can only hope that you continue what you began as the boy I knew at twelve. Be that man always, Alexander, and you will not slip. And perhaps you will prove this old materialist, as you always thought me, a dreamer after all.

Aristotle: The East has a way of swallowing men and their dreams, but still to think it's these myths that lead us toward the greatest glory... Why is it wrong to act on them? I can only warn you, not teach you. Beware of what you dream - for the gods have a way of punishing such pride.

Cassander: Would you say the love between Achilles and Patroclus is a corrupting one?

Aristotle: When men lie together in lust, it is a surrender to the passions and does nothing for the excellence in us. Nor does any other excess, Cassander, jealousy among them.But when men lie together, and knowledge and virtue are passed between them that is pure and excellent. When they compete to bring out the good, the best in each other this is the love between men that can build a city-state and lift us from our frog pond.

Aristotle: To love excellence is truly to love the gods

Aristotle: I can only warn you, not teach you. Beware of what you dream for.The gods have a way of punishing such pride.

Aristotle: Wonders are many, but none is more wonderful than man himself.

Aristotle: Do you know how vast the Persian Empire is?

Alexander: From the Nile, to the Indus... from Samarkand, to Babylon.

Aristotle: And beyond. Do you know how many different people live there?

Alexander: By heart. Carians, Armenians, Jews, Parthians, Egyptians... I know their customs and their gods.

Aristotle: Yes. But this is more than an empire, this is colossus. To rule it would take a man as great as *you can be*... That is why I say, "Patience".

Alexander: Patience? My time is short.

Aristotle: Short?

Alexander: When the great god Zeus, father of Achilles, gave him his choice of a long life of obscurity and a short life filled with glory, he chose glory. So did I. Achilles died young...

Aristotle: We Greeks are the chosen - the elect. Our culture is the best - our civilization, the best; our men, the best. All others are barbarians! And it is our moral duty to conquer them, enslave them, and if necessary destroy them!

Aristotle: [speaking before Alexander and his friends ] Wonders are many - but none is more wonderful than Man himself. The Persian way of life has the seed of death, and fear, in it. That of the Greek - of life, and courage.

Aristotle: The gods of the Greeks are made in the image of Men - not men with birds' heads, or bulls with lions' heads, but Men, who can be understood... and felt.

Philip of Macedonia: There's work to do. Farewell, Aristotle.

Aristotle: Farewell - and take these words with you and use them for what they are worth: Alexander is many things. He is logic, and he is dreams. He is warrior, and he is poet. He is man, and he is spirit. He is your son, but he's also *hers*... and he believes himself to be a god.

Gus: The greeks invented hockey.

Costa: Yes. Because what do you play hockey on? Ice.

Aristotle: What is the greek word for ice? Pago.

Costa: Pago, puck. There you go.

Aristotle: There you go.

Gus: There you go.