In citing works by Aristotle scholars traditionally use a number system developed especially for this known as Bekker Numbers. Below are some articles that describe Bekker Numbers and how to use them.
This is probably the best quick explanation
Note: While the page and column parts of the Bekker number are easy to arrive at (in fact, they are probably given in the left margin of the edition you are reading), determining line numbers from an English translation are not. Determining line numbers is tricky unless you have the Bekker edition (see below), know Greek, and want to refer directly to the Greek.
Greek and English differ enough that an intelligible translation won’t necessarily put the parts of a sentence in the same order they had in the Greek, nor will the phrases always be of comparable length. Add in the fact that editions and translations use various page dimensions and type sizes, and the result is that there’s usually some approximation when you say that a passage begins and ends on particular lines in your translation.
Thanks to Dr. Therese Bonin, Philosophy Dept., Duquesne University, for this explanation
Just in case you are a curious overachiever, directly below are links to each of the five volumes of the Bekker edition of Aristotle's Works. Of course, it is in Greek. If you can read it, you are probably already a scholar dealing with ancient texts and do not need this guide!
Bust of Aristotle. Photo by Eric Gaba. Wikimedia Commons
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