“There is not any thing more difficult to be retrieved out of the Ruins of Antiquity than the Learning of the Eastern Nations, and particularly that of the Chaldaeans.”

He acknowledges the formidable difficulty of reconstructing knowledge from fragmentary ancient sources. · The History of the Chaldaick Philosophy, 1662

• Discovery
• History
• Knowledge

“It is manifest that the original of the Greek Philosophy is to be deriv'd from Thales, who travelling into the East, first brought Natural learning, Geometry, and Astrology thence into Greece.”

He presents philosophy as a tradition transmitted across cultures rather than arising in isolation. · Preface, The History of Philosophy, 1656

• History
• Knowledge
• Philosophy

“Although some Grecians have challenged to their Nation the Original of Philosophy, yet the more learned of them have acknowledged it derived from the East.”

Stanley challenges a purely Greek account of the origins of philosophy. · Preface, The History of Philosophy, 1656

• History
• Knowledge
• Philosophy