The Importance of Aristotle's Philosophical Works

Maimonidean philosophy became widely available to Hebrew-reading Jews in Christian Europe. Previously such texts could be read only in Arabic, either in Spain or elsewhere in the Islamic world. Some complained of Maimonides' project, seeing his work as an attempt to replace the tongue-wood by rearranging and systematizing its contents. But most gratefully accepted the towering achievement of Mishneh Torah and other legal works.