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1vi PREFACE . is in many places so carelessly constructed that it does " not serve the purposes of the scholar. In the present work it has been my plan to prepare . for the student a Greek text of the fragments of these early philosophers which shall represent as accurately as possible the results of recent scholarship, and to add such critical notes as may be necessary to enable the scholar to see on what basis the text rests. From this text I have prepared a translation of the fragments into English, and along with this a translation of the important passages bearing on these early thinkers in Plato and Aristotle, and in the Greek doxographists as collected by Diels, in order that the student of early Greek thought might have before him in compact form practically all the materials on which the history of this thought is to be based. (τι has been difficult, especially in the case of Herakleitos and the Pythagoreans, to draw the line. between material to be inserted, and that to be omitted \put, in order to keep the volume within moderate limits,(my principle has been to insert only the passages from Plato and Aristotle and from the doxographists. The Greek text of Herakleitos is based on the edition of Bywater; that of Xenophanes on the edition of the Greek lyric poets by Hiller-Bergk ; that of Parmenides on the edition of Karsten; and that of Empedokles on the edition of Stein. I have not hesitated, however, to differ from these authorities in minor details, indicating in the notes the basis for the text which I have given. For a brief discussion of the relative value of the sources of these fragments the student is referred to the Appendix. | PREFACE Vil
2My thanks are due to several friends for their kind assistance, in particular to Professor C. L. Brownson and Professor G. D. Lord, who have read much of the book in proof, and have given me many valuable suggestions. Nor can I pass over without mention the debt which all workers in this field owe to Hermann Diels. It is my great regret that his edition of Parmenides’ Lehrgedicht failed to reach me until most of the present work was already printed. Nevertheless there is scarcely a page of the whole book which is not based on the foundation which he has laid. ARTHUR FAIRBANKS. Σαιε UNIVERSITY: November 1897. CONTENTS ae PAGE 1. IONIC SCHOOL: THALES . ‘ ; : : : : II. IONIC SCHOOL: ANAXIMANDROS . : | : i, xe 8 III. IONIC SCHOOL: ANAXIMENES . : : : : + we \ IV. HERAKLEITOS ‘ , . : : ; . . 2 \ V. ELEATIC SCHOOL: XENOPHANES ‘ ; : -> . 65 ντ, ELEATIC SCHOOL: PARMENIDES . ‘ : κο νο 86 ος ELEATIC SCHOOL: ZENO . ‘ : : : : . 112 VIII. KLEATIC SCHOOL: MELISSOS : . ; ‘ » »« 120 \ ΙΧ. PYTHAGORAS AND THE PYTHAGOREANS . ; ‘ . 182 Χ. EMPEDOKLES , : : ; ‘ : ‘ . . 157 XI. ANAXAGORAS . : . ; : : : : ~ 235 APPENDIX . , : : : ; : η . . 2638 INDEXES . : : . . . ace . . 289 ne δν LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Dox. = Diels, Doxographi Graecci, Berlin 1879. Aet. = Aetit de placitis religqmiae. Hipp. Phil. = Hippolyte philosophumena. Included in Epi. = Kpiphanit varia excerpta. Diels, Dow. Herm. = Hermiae irrisio gentilium philosophorum. Simp. Phys.= Simplicii in Aristotelis physicorum libros quattuor priores edidit H. Diels, Berlin 1882. Simp. Cael. = Simplicius, Commentary on Aristotle's De caelo. For other abbreviations, see list of authors in the Index of sources. ΤΗΕ FIRST PHILOSOPHERS OF GREECE ——_+———— I. THALES.
3Accorpine to Aristotle the founder of the Ionic physical philosophy, and therefore the founder of Greek philosophy, was Thales of Miletos. According to Diogenes Laertios, Thales was born in the first year of the thirtyfifth Olympiad (640 Ε.ο.), and his death occurred in the fifty-eighth Olympiad (548-545 B.c.). He attained note as a scientific thinker and was regarded as the founder of Greek philosophy because he discarded mythical explanations of things, and asserted that a physical element, water, was the first principle of all things. There are various stories of his travels, and in connection with accounts of his travels in Egypt he is credited with introducing into Greece the knowledge of geometry. Tradition also claims that he was a statesman, and as a practical thinker he is classed as one of the seven wise men. A work entitled ‘ Nautical Astronomy ’ was ascribed to him, but it was recognised as spurious even in antiquity. Literature : Ε'. Decker, De Thalete Milesio, Diss. Halle, 1865 ; Krische, Forsch. auf d. Gebiet d. alt. Phil. 1. pp. 84-42; V. also Acta Phil. iv. Lips. 1875, pp. 828-880; Revue Philos. Mar. 1880; Archiv f. d. Geschichte d. Phil. ii. 165, 515. vee 2 THE FIRST PHILO=-PHERS OF GREECE (a) PassaGES RELATING το Tales rN Pato anpD IN ARISTOTLE.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
1vi PREFACE . is in many places so carelessly constructed that it does " not serve the purposes of the scholar. In the present work it has been my plan to prepare . for the student a Greek text of the fragments of these early philosophers which shall represent as accurately as possible the results of recent scholarship, and to add such critical notes as may be necessary to enable the scholar to see on what basis the text rests. From this text I have prepared a translation of the fragments into English, and along with this a translation of the important passages bearing on these early thinkers in Plato and Aristotle, and in the Greek doxographists as collected by Diels, in order that the student of early Greek thought might have before him in compact form practically all the materials on which the history of this thought is to be based. (τι has been difficult, especially in the case of Herakleitos and the Pythagoreans, to draw the line. between material to be inserted, and that to be omitted \put, in order to keep the volume within moderate limits,(my principle has been to insert only the passages from Plato and Aristotle and from the doxographists. The Greek text of Herakleitos is based on the edition of Bywater; that of Xenophanes on the edition of the Greek lyric poets by Hiller-Bergk ; that of Parmenides on the edition of Karsten; and that of Empedokles on the edition of Stein. I have not hesitated, however, to differ from these authorities in minor details, indicating in the notes the basis for the text which I have given. For a brief discussion of the relative value of the sources of these fragments the student is referred to the Appendix. | PREFACE Vil
2My thanks are due to several friends for their kind assistance, in particular to Professor C. L. Brownson and Professor G. D. Lord, who have read much of the book in proof, and have given me many valuable suggestions. Nor can I pass over without mention the debt which all workers in this field owe to Hermann Diels. It is my great regret that his edition of Parmenides’ Lehrgedicht failed to reach me until most of the present work was already printed. Nevertheless there is scarcely a page of the whole book which is not based on the foundation which he has laid. ARTHUR FAIRBANKS. Σαιε UNIVERSITY: November 1897. CONTENTS ae PAGE 1. IONIC SCHOOL: THALES . ‘ ; : : : : II. IONIC SCHOOL: ANAXIMANDROS . : | : i, xe 8 III. IONIC SCHOOL: ANAXIMENES . : : : : + we \ IV. HERAKLEITOS ‘ , . : : ; . . 2 \ V. ELEATIC SCHOOL: XENOPHANES ‘ ; : -> . 65 ντ, ELEATIC SCHOOL: PARMENIDES . ‘ : κο νο 86 ος ELEATIC SCHOOL: ZENO . ‘ : : : : . 112 VIII. KLEATIC SCHOOL: MELISSOS : . ; ‘ » »« 120 \ ΙΧ. PYTHAGORAS AND THE PYTHAGOREANS . ; ‘ . 182 Χ. EMPEDOKLES , : : ; ‘ : ‘ . . 157 XI. ANAXAGORAS . : . ; : : : : ~ 235 APPENDIX . , : : : ; : η . . 2638 INDEXES . : : . . . ace . . 289 ne δν LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Dox. = Diels, Doxographi Graecci, Berlin 1879. Aet. = Aetit de placitis religqmiae. Hipp. Phil. = Hippolyte philosophumena. Included in Epi. = Kpiphanit varia excerpta. Diels, Dow. Herm. = Hermiae irrisio gentilium philosophorum. Simp. Phys.= Simplicii in Aristotelis physicorum libros quattuor priores edidit H. Diels, Berlin 1882. Simp. Cael. = Simplicius, Commentary on Aristotle's De caelo. For other abbreviations, see list of authors in the Index of sources. ΤΗΕ FIRST PHILOSOPHERS OF GREECE ——_+———— I. THALES.
3Accorpine to Aristotle the founder of the Ionic physical philosophy, and therefore the founder of Greek philosophy, was Thales of Miletos. According to Diogenes Laertios, Thales was born in the first year of the thirtyfifth Olympiad (640 Ε.ο.), and his death occurred in the fifty-eighth Olympiad (548-545 B.c.). He attained note as a scientific thinker and was regarded as the founder of Greek philosophy because he discarded mythical explanations of things, and asserted that a physical element, water, was the first principle of all things. There are various stories of his travels, and in connection with accounts of his travels in Egypt he is credited with introducing into Greece the knowledge of geometry. Tradition also claims that he was a statesman, and as a practical thinker he is classed as one of the seven wise men. A work entitled ‘ Nautical Astronomy ’ was ascribed to him, but it was recognised as spurious even in antiquity. Literature : Ε'. Decker, De Thalete Milesio, Diss. Halle, 1865 ; Krische, Forsch. auf d. Gebiet d. alt. Phil. 1. pp. 84-42; V. also Acta Phil. iv. Lips. 1875, pp. 828-880; Revue Philos. Mar. 1880; Archiv f. d. Geschichte d. Phil. ii. 165, 515. vee 2 THE FIRST PHILO=-PHERS OF GREECE (a) PassaGES RELATING το Tales rN Pato anpD IN ARISTOTLE.
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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