The ''Liber sex principiorum'' (or ''Liber de sex principiis'') is an anonymous

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

work of philosophy from the late twelfth century. It aims to complement

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

's ''

Categories Category, plural categories, may refer to: Philosophy and general uses *Categorization, categories in cognitive science, information science and generally *Category of being *Categories (Aristotle), ''Categories'' (Aristotle) *Category (Kant) ...

'' by providing justifications for the six categories neglected by Aristotle in his scheme of ten categories. The "six principles" (categories) of the title are place, time, position, possession, action and passion (on top of substance, quality, quantity and relation). The ''Liber'' became one of the standard works of the ''

logica vetus In the history of logic, the term ''logica nova'' (Latin, meaning "new logic") refers to a subdivision of the logical tradition of Western Europe, as it existed around the middle of the twelfth century. The ''Logica vetus'' ("old logic") referred ...

'' ('old logic') curriculum and by the mid-thirteenth century was erroneously ascribed to

Gilbert de la Porrée Gilbert de la Porrée (after 1085 – 4 September 1154), also known as Gilbert of Poitiers, Gilbertus Porretanus or Pictaviensis, was a scholastic logician and theologian and Bishop of Poitiers. Life He was born in Poitiers, and completed h ...

. It was widely commented upon by medieval philosophers, including

Robert Kilwardby Robert Kilwardby ( c. 1215 – 11 September 1279) was an Archbishop of Canterbury in England and a cardinal. Kilwardby was the first member of a mendicant order to attain a high ecclesiastical office in the English Church. Life Kilwardby s ...

, Nicholas of Paris,

Martin of Dacia Martin of Dacia (Martinus Dacus, Martinus de Dacia, Morten Mogensen, ca. 1240 - August 10, 1304) was a Danish scholar and theologian. He authored ''De Modi significandi '' (ca. 1270), an influential treatise on grammar. Biography Morten Mog ...

Radulphus Brito Radulphus Brito (c. 1270 – 1320) was an influential grammarian and philosopher, based in Paris. He is usually identified as Raoul le Breton, though this is disputed by some.Confusion is possible since the contemporary (1316–1382) is also somet ...

Peter of Auvergne Peter of Auvergne (died 1304) was a French philosopher and theologian. Life He was a canon of Paris; some biographers have thought that he was Bishop of Clermont, because a Bull of Boniface VIII of the year 1296 names as canon of Paris a certain P ...

and

Thomas of Erfurt The Modistae (Latin for Modists), also known as the speculative grammarians, were the members of a school of grammarian philosophy known as Modism or speculative grammar, active in northern Kingdom of France, France, Holy Roman Empire, Germany, Ki ...

. Nevertheless, the complete text does not survive, only fragments. There is a

critical edition Textual criticism is a branch of textual scholarship, philology, and of literary criticism that is concerned with the identification of textual variants, or different versions, of either manuscripts or of printed books. Such texts may range in da ...

in .

Notes

Bibliography

* *{{cite book , last=Patar , first=Benoît , title= Dictionnaire des philosophes médiévaux , publisher=Éditions Fides , year=2006 12th-century Latin books Medieval philosophical literature