This book translated from the French offers a synthesis of modern research devoted to
Simplicius's life and to three of his five commentaries: On Epictetus' Handbook On Aristotle's
De anima On Aristotle's Categories. Its biographical part brings to light the historical role
played by this Neoplatonic philosopher. Born in Cilicia Asia Minor he studied in Alexandria
and Athens and apparently ended his life teaching in Syria on the frontier between the
Byzantine and Sassanide Empires. His role was that of a mediator between the Greco-Roman world
and philosophy and Syriac philosophy which would feed Arabic philosophy at its beginning. The
second part of the book devoted to doctrinal and authorship issues also deals with the
underlying pedagogical curriculum and methods proper to Neoplatonic commentaries which modern
interpretation all too often tends to neglect in studies on Simplicius and other Neoplatonists.
