Theophrastos, Fr. 6 ; Alexander Metaph. p. 24, 5 Bon.; Dox. 482. And succeeding him Parmenides, son of Pyres, the Eleatic—Theophrastos adds the name of Xenophanes—followed both ways. For in declaring that the all is eternal, and in attempting to explain the genesis of things, he expresses different opinions accord- ing to the two standpoints:—from the standpoint of truth he supposes the all‘to be one and not generated and spheroidal in form, while from the standpoint of popular opinion, in order to explain generation of phenomena, he uses two first principles, fire and earth, the one as matter, the other as cause and agent.
Theophrastos, Fr. 6a; Laer. Diog. ix. 21, 22; Doz.
482. Parmenides, son of Pyres, the Eleatic, was a pupil
of Xenophanes, yet he did not accept his doctrines. .. .
He was the first to declare that the earth is spheroidal
and situated in the middle of the universe. He said that
there are two elements, fire and earth; the one has the
office of demiurge, the other that of matter. Men first
arose from mud; heat and cold are the elements of
which all things are composed. He holds that intelligence
and life are the same, as Theophrastos records in his
book on physics, where he put down the opinions of
almost everybody. He said that philosophy has a two-
fold office, to understand both the truth and also what
The Eleatic School: Parmenides 107
men believe. Accordingly he says: (Vv. 28-80), ‘ Tis
necessary for thee to learn all things, both the abiding
essence of persuasive truth, and men’s opinions in which
rests no true belief.’
Theoph. Fr. 17; Diog. Laer. viii. 48; Dox. 492.
Theophrastos says that Parmenides was the first to call
the heavens a universe and the earth spheroidal.
Theoph. de Sens. 8; Doz. 499. Parmenides does not make any definite statements as to sensation, except that knowledge is in proportion to the excess of one of the two elements. Intelligence varies as the heat or the cold is. in excess, and it 16 better and purer by reason of heat ; but nevertheless it has need of a certain symmetry. (Vv. 146-149) ‘For,’ he says, ‘as at any time is the blending of very complex members in a man, so 18 the mind in men constituted; for that which thinks is the same in all men and in every man, viz., the essence of the members of the body; and the element that is in excess is thought.’ He says that perceiving and thinking are the same thing, and that remembering and forgetting come from these' as the result of mixture, but he does not say definitely whether, if they enter into the mixture in equal quantities, thought will arise or not, nor what the disposition should be. But it is evident that he believes sensation to take place by the presence of some quality in contrast with its opposite, where he says that a corpse does not perceive light and heat and sound by reason of the absence of fire, but that it per- ceives cold and silence and the similar contrasted qualities, and in general that being as a whole has a certain knowledge. So in his statements he seems to do away with what is difficult by leaving it out.
Theophr. Fr. 7 ; Simpl. Phys. 25r115; Doz. 488. In
‘ Karsten understands ‘heat and cold,’ Diels ‘perceiving and think- ing.’
108 the First Philosophers of Greece
the first book of his physics Theophrastos gives as the
opinion of Parmenides: That which is outside of being
is not-being, not-being is nothing, accordingly being is
one.
Hipp. Phil. 11; Dox. 564. Parmenides supposes that
the all is one and eternal, and without beginning and
spheroidal in form; but even he does not escape the
- Opinion of the many, for he speaks of fire and earth as
first principles of the all, of earth as matter, and of
fire as agent and cause, and he says that the earth will
come to an end, but in what way he does not say. He
says that the all is eternal, and not generated, and
spherical, and homogeneous, not having place in itself,
and unmoved, and limited.?
Plut. Strom. 5; Doz. 580. Parmenides the Eleatic,
the companion of Xenophanes, both laid claim to his
opinions, and at the same time took the opposite stand-
point. For he declared the all to be eternal and immov-
able according to the real state of the case; for it is
alone, existing alone, immovable and without beginning
(v. 60); but there is a generation of the things that
seem to be according to false opinion, and he excepts
sense perceptions from the truth. He says that if any-
thing exists besides being, this is not-being, but not-
being does not exist at all. So there is left the being
that has no beginning; and he says that the earth was
formed by the precipitation of dense air.
Epiph. adv. Haer. iti. 10; Dox. 590. Parmenides,
the son of Pyres, himself also of the Eleatic school, said
that the first principle of all things is the infinite.
Cic. de Nat. Deor.i.11; Dox.534. For Parmenides
devised a sort of contrivance like a crown (he applied
to it the word στεφάνη), an orb of light with con-
tinuous heat, which arched the sky, and this he called
1 Ῥ. Herm. Irr. Gen. Phil. 6; Doz. 652.
- - -- θ---ἶωωι a es ή αμα Ow -—— =, *.
The Eleatic School: Parmenides 109
god, but in it no one could suspect a divine form or a divine sentiment, and he made many monstrosities of this sort; moreover, he raised to the rank of gods War, Discord, Desire, and many other things which disease or sleep or forgetfulness or old age destroys ; and similarly with reference to the stars he expresses opinions which have been criticised elsewhere and are omitted here. Aet. i. 8; Dox. 284. Parmenides, the Eleatic, son of Pyrrhes, was a companion of Xenophanes, and in his first book the doctrines agree with those of his master ; for here that verse occurs: (v. 60), Universal, existing alone, immovable and without beginning. He said that the cause of all things is not earth alone, as his master said, but also fire. 7; 803. The world is immovable and limited, and spheroidal in form. 24; 820. Parmenides and Melissos did away with generation and destruction, because they thought that the all is unmoved. 25; 321. All things are controlled by necessity ; this is fated, it is justice and forethought, and the producer of the world. Aet. ll. 1; Doz. 827. The world isone. 4; 992. It is without beginning and eternal and indestructible. 7; 885. Parmenides taught that there were crowns encircling one another in close succession,!' one of rare- fied matter, another of dense, and between these other mixed crowns of light and darkness; and that which surrounded all was solid like a wall, and under this was a crown of fire; and the centre of all the crowns was solid, and around it was a circle of fire; and of the mixed crowns the one nearest the centre was the source of motion and generation for all, and this ‘the goddess who directs the helm and holds the keys,’? he calls ‘justice and necessity.. The air is that which is separated from the earth, heing evaporated by the
' Cf. vv. 123-131. 2 V. Simpl. Phys. 8: 34, 14.
110 the First Philosophers of Greece
forcible pressure of the earth; the sun and the circle of the milky way are the exhalation of fire, and the moon is the mixture of both, namely of air and fire. The aether stands highest of all and surrounding all, and beneath this is ranged the fiery element which we call the heavens, and beneath this are the things of earth. 11; 389. The revolving vault highest above the earth is the heavens. 840. The heavens are of a fiery nature. 19; 942. The stars are masses of fire. 15; 845. He ranks the morning star, which he considers the same as the evening star, first in the aether; and after this the sun, and beneath this the stars in the fiery vault which he calls the heavens. 17; 346. Stars are fed from the exhalations of the earth. 20; 849. Thesun is of a fiery nature. The sun and the moon are separated from the milky way, the one from the thinner mixture, which is hot, the other from the denser, which is cold. 25; 966. The moon is of a fiery nature. 26; 357. The moon is of the same size as the sun, and derives its light from it. 80; 961. (The moon appears dark) because darkness is mingled with its fiery nature, whence he calls it the star that shines with a false light.
Aet. iii. 1; 865. The mixture of dense and thin gives its milk-like appearance to the milky way. 11; 877. Parmenides first defined the inhabited parts of the earth by the two tropical zones. 15; 880. Because the earth is equally distant on all sides from other bodies, and so rests in an equilibrium, not having any reason for sway- ing one way rather than another ; on this account it only shakes and does not move from its place.
Aet. iv. 8; 888. The soul is of a fiery nature.
5; 891. The reason is in the whole breast. 892. Life
and intelligence are the same thing, nor could there be
any living being entirely without reason. 9; 897. Sen-
sations arise part by part according to the symmetry of
The Eleatic School: Parmenides 1ἱ
the pores, each particular object of sense being adapted
to each sense (organ). 398. Desire is produced by lack
of nourishment.
Aet. v. 7; 419. Parmenides holds the opposite opinion ; males are produced in the northern part, for this shares the greater density; and females in the southern part by reason of its rarefied state. 420. Some descend from the right side to the right parts of the womb, others from the left to the left parts of the womb; but if they cross in the descent females are born. 11; 422. When the child comes from the right side of the womb, it resembles the father ; when it comes from the left side, the mother. 80; 448. Old age attends the failure of heat. |
112 the First Philosophers of Greece
ΥΠ. THE ELEATIC SCHOOL: ZENO.
Zeno of Elea, son of Teleutagoras, was born early in
the fifth century B.c. He was the pupil of Parmenides,
and his relations with him were so intimate that Plato
calls him Parmenides’s son (Soph. 241 p). Strabo (vi.
1, 1) applies to him as well as to his master the name
Pythagorean, and gives him the credit of advancing the
cause of law and order in Elea. Several writers say that
he taught in Athens for a while. There are numerous
accounts of his capture as party to a conspiracy ; these
accounts differ widely from each other, and the only
point of agreement between them has reference to his
determination in shielding his fellow conspirators. We
find reference to one book which he wrote in prose (Plato,
Parm. 127 c), each section of which showed the absurdity
of some element in the popular belief.
Literature : Lohse, MHalis 1794; Gerling, de
Zenonts Paralogismis, Marburg 1825; Wellmann,
Zenos Bewetse, G.-Pr. Frkf. a. O. 1870; Raab, d.
Zenonische Beweise, Schweinf. 1880; Schneider,
Philol. xxxv. 1876; Tannery, Rev. Philos. Oct.
1885; Dunan, Les arguments de Zénon, Paris
1884; Brochard, Les arguments de Zénon, Paris
1888; Frontera, Htude sur les arguments de
Zénon, Paris 1891.
τηε Eleatic School: Zeno 113
(a) FRaGMENTS oF ZENO, FROM SIMPLICIUS ON THE Puysics.
1. Simpl. Phys. 901 189, 11. εὖ γὰρ ἄλλῳ ὄντι προσ-
γένοιτο, οὐδὲν ἂν μεῖζον ποιήσειεν. μεγέθους γὰρ μηδενὸς
4” ϕ XN 2Ο / 9 9
ὄντος, προσγενοµένου δὲ οὐδὲν οἷόν τε cis µέγεθοο ἐπι-
δοῦναι. καὶ οὕτως ἂν ἤδη τὸ προσηγινόµενον οὐδὲν εἴη.
ei δὲ ἀπογινομένου τὸ ἕτερον μηδὲν ἔλαττόν ἐστι, μηδὲ aD
προσηινοµένου αὐξήσεται, δῆλον ὅτι τὸ προσηενόµενον
οὐδὲν ἦν οὐδὲ τὸ ἀπογενόμενον.
2. Simpl. Phys. 30 r 140, 29. εἰ πολλά ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη
τοσαῦτα εἶναι ὅσα ἐστὶ καὶ οὔτε πλείονα αὐτῶν οὔτε
9 Ud 3 Ν a / 6 /
ἐλάττονα. εἰ δὲ τοσαῦτά ἐστιν ὅσα ἐστύ πεπερασμένα
A ¥ 9 , 9 \ Ww / 4 ΔΝ
ἂν ein. εἰ πολλά ἐστιν, ἄπειρα τὰ ὄντα ἐστίν. ἀεὶ γὰρ
ο 4 “ 4 / \ 4 9 / 6
ἕτερα μεταξὺ τῶν ὄντων ἐστί, καὶ πάλιν ἐκείνων ἕτερα
µεταξύ. καὶ οὕτως ἄπειρα τὰ ὄντα ἐστί.
3. Simpl. Phys. 30v 141, 1. εἰ μὴ ἔχοι µέγεθος τὸ ὂν
> δ) Fy ¥ 9 δὲ ” > + ο / θό ”
οὐδ ἂν ein, st δὲ ἔστιν, ἀνάγκη ἕκαστον μέγεθός τι ἔχειν
καὶ πάχος καὶ ἀπέχειν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἕτερον ἀπὸ τοῦ ἑτέρου.
καὶ περὶ τοῦ προύχοντος ὁ αὐτὸς λόγος. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνο
ἕξει μέγεθος καὶ προέξει αὐτοῦ τι. ὅμοιον δὴ τοῦτο ἅπαξ
> a) 9 4 IAN \ 3 aA a
τε εὐπεῖν καὶ ἀεὶ λέγειν οὐδὲν γὰρ αὐτοῦ τοιοῦτον
ἔσχατον ἔσται οὔτε ἕτερον πρὸς ἕτερον οὐκ ἔσταυι. οὕτωφ
> / 9 Α΄ 3 \ A 9 4
εὖ πολλά ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη αὐτὰ pixpa τε εἶναι καὶ peyara,
\ \ σ \ oo θ / ds 6 /
μικρὰ μὲν ὥστε μὴ ἔχειν μέγεθος, μεγάλα δὲ ὥστε ἄπειρα
εἶναι.
4. Simpl. Phys. 190 v 562, 4. ef ἔστιν ὁ τόπον,
ο ” fa) a 9 ΔΝ Ν 4 4
ἔν τινι ἔσται' πᾶν γὰρ ov ἕν τινι' τὸ δὲ ἔν τινι καὶ ἐν
τόπῳ. ἔσται apa καὶ ὁ τόπος ἐν τόπῳ καὶ τοῦτο ἐπ᾽
ἄπειρον' οὐκ apa ἔστιν ὁ τόπος.