Some general remarks on Aristotle's Phys. I

The first book of the Physics is a well-constructed logos but it is not an easy read. Like a well-marked mountain path, it is long and complex, contains some challenging passages, and seems at times to wander in ways that are difficult to understand. But when we arrive from the ascending section of chapters I 2–6 to the wide plateau of chapter I 7, the progression becomes a little easier and the point of arrival now seems worth the fatigue.