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Attributed to Aristotle

«“Amicus Plato, sed magis amica veritas” (“Plato is a friend, but truth is a greater friend”).»

Misattributed

Verdict

It is not in Aristotle's work

The idea is in Nicomachean Ethics I 6, 1096a16, but the Latin formula is not his. An ancient Life of Aristotle attributed to Ammonius transmits it as “Socrates is a friend, but truth is a greater friend”; Roger Bacon uses it with Socrates, Newton writes “amicus Plato, amicus Aristoteles, magis amica veritas”, and the version with Plato appears in Don Quixote.

Source: Wikiquote en inglés, «Aristotle», secciones «Disputed» y «Misattributed» (atribuciones dudosas y falsas, con sus fuentes).

What they did say

Verified words of Aristotle

  • «“All men by nature desire to know.”»

    Metafísica I (A) 1, 980a21. Inglés: trad. de W. D. Ross (Oxford, 1908); español: trad. propia del griego.

  • «“For it is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize.”»

    Metafísica I (A) 2, 982b12–13. Inglés: trad. de W. D. Ross (1908); español: trad. propia.

  • «“And indeed the question which was raised of old and is raised now and always, and is always the subject of doubt, viz. what being is, is just the question, what is substance?”»

    Metafísica VII (Z) 1, 1028b2–4. Inglés: trad. de W. D. Ross (1908); español: trad. propia.

All verified quotes