Note 39 — GOMES EANNES DE AZURARA; (continued 2)

(p. 22). Phidias ("Fadyas") ... the philosopher ... chapter on wisdom.—Here Santarem has the following notes:—

[α. The "height" of which Azurara speaks is the Parthenon, or Temple of Minerva, in Athens. The famous statue of that goddess, in gold and ivory, was made by that famous sculptor (Phidias), and placed by the Athenians in that magnificent temple]. Cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist., Bk. xxxiv, ch. xix.

[β. The philosopher is Aristotle. It is not unworthy of note that our author cites Aristotle in this place, and prefers his authority to that of Pausanias. This preference, which may also be frequently observed in the Leal Conselheiro of King D. Duarte, proves the great esteem in which the works of the Stagyrite philosopher were held among our ancestors (as well as in other nations) during the Middle Ages. Our learned men followed him in preference to Pausanias, even when treating of the antiquities of Greece].