nor could it accomplish anything, nor could anything come from not-being. And he declares that sensations are deceptive, and together with them he does away with the authority of reason itself. And he declares that the earth is constantly sinking little by little into the sea. He says that the sun is composed of numerous fiery particles massed together. And with regard to the gods he declares that there is no rule of one god over another, for it is impious that any of the gods should be ruled; and none of the gods have need of anything at all, for a god hears and sees in all his parts and not in some particular organs.' He declares that the earth is infinite and is not surrounded on every side by air; and all things arise from earth; and he says that the sun and the stars arise from clouds. Xenophanes of Galen, Hist. Phil. 3; Dox. 601. Kolophon is said to be the chief of this school, which is ordinarily considered aporetic (skeptical) rather than dogmatic. 7; Dox. 604. To the class holding eclectic views belongs Xenophanes, who has his doubts as to all things, except that he holds this one dogma: that all things are one, and that this is god, who is limited, endowed with reason, and immovable. Aet. Plac. i. 3; Dox. 284. Xenophanes held that the first principle of all things is earth, for he wrote in his book on nature: All things come from earth, and all things end by becoming earth.” Aet. ii. 4; Dox. 332. Xenophanes et al.: The world is without beginning, eternal, imperishable. 13; 343. The stars are formed of burning cloud; these are extinguished each day, but they are kindled again at night, like coals; for their risings and settings are 1 Zeller, Vorsokr. Phil. p. 526, n. 4; Arch. f. d. Gesch. d. Phil. ii. 1889, pp. 1-5. really kindlings and extinguishings. 18; 347. The objects which appear to those on vessels like stars, and which some call Dioscuri, are little clouds which have become luminous by a certain kind of motion. 20; 548. The sun is composed of fiery particles collected from the moist exhalation and massed together, or of burning clouds. 24; 354. Eclipses occur by extinction of the sun; and the sun is born anew at its risings. Xenophanes recorded an eclipse of the sun for a whole month, and another eclipse so complete that the day seemed as night. 24; 355. Xenophanes held that there are many suns and moons according to the different regions and sections and zones of the earth; and that at some fitting time the disk of the sun comes into a region of the earth not inhabited by us, and so it suffers eclipse as though it had gone into a hole; he adds that the sun goes on for an infinite distance, but it seems to turn around by reason of the great distance. 25; 356. The moon is a compressed cloud. 28; 358. It shines by its own light. 29; 360. The moon disappears each month because it is extinguished. 30; 362. The sun serves a purpose in the generation of the world and of the animals on it, as well as in sustaining them, and it drags the moon after it. Aet. iii. 2; 367. Comets are groups or motions of burning clouds. 3; 368. Lightnings take place when clouds shine in motion. 4; 371. The phenomena of the heavens come from the warmth of the sun as the principal cause. For when the moisture is drawn up from the sea, the sweet water separated by reason of its lightness becomes mist and passes into clouds, and falls as rain when compressed, and the winds scatter it; for he writes expressly (Frag. 11): The sea is the source of water.' Aet. iv. 9; 396. Sensations are deceptive. Aet. v. 1; 415. Xenophanes and Epikouros abolished the prophetic art. VI. THE ELEATIC SCHOOL: PARMENIDES. PARMENIDES, the son of Pyres (or Pyrrhes), of Elea, was born about 515 B.C.; his family was of noble rank and rich, but Parmenides devoted himself to philosophy. He was associated with members of the Pythagorean society, and is himself called a Pythagorean by later writers. In the formation of his philosophic system however he was most influenced by his aged fellow-townsman, Xenophanes; the doctrines of Xenophanes he developed into a system which was embodied in a poetic work 'On Nature.' The statement that he made laws for the citizens may have reference to some connection with the Pythagorean society. Literature: The fragments of Parmenides have been collected by Peyron, Leipzig 1810; Karsten, Amsterdam 1830; Brandis, Comm. Eleat. Altona 1813; Vatke, Berlin 1864; Stein, Symb. philol. Bonn. Leipzig 1867; V. Revue Phil. 1883, 5: 1884, 9. Berger, Die Zonenlehre d. Parm. München, 1895. (a) FRAGMENTS OF PARMENIDES. Ιπποι ταί με φέρουσιν, ὅσον τ' ἐπὶ θυμὸς ἱκάνοι, πέμπον, ἐπεί μ' ἐς ὁδὸν βῆσαν πολύφημον ἄγουσαι δαίμονος ἢ κατὰ πάντ' αὐτὴ φέρει εἰδότα φῶτα. τῇ φερόμην· τῇ γάρ με πολύφραστοι φέρον ἵπποι 5 ἅρμα τιταίνουσαι· κοῦραι δ ̓ ὁδὸν ἡγεμόνευον. ἄξων δ' ἐν χνοιῇσιν < ἴει> σύριγγος αυτὴν αἰθόμενος (δοιοῖς γὰρ ἐπείγετο δινωτοῖσιν Sources and Critical Notes. 1-30. (Followed without break by 53-58) Sext. Emp. Math. vii. 111. Cf. Porphyrius, de antro nymph. ch. 22. 28-32. Simpl. de coelo 557, 25. 28-30. Laer. Diog. ix. 22. 29-30. Plut. adv. Colot. 1114 D. Prokl. Tim. p. 105 в; Clem. Al. Strom. v. p. 682. Vv. 6-8 Karsten transfers to a position after v. 10 (order: 5, 9, 10, 6, 7, 8, 11), comma at end of v. 5 and period at end of v. 8. Stein transfers vv. 4-8 to a position after v. 21, and changes daimovos of v. 3 to daíμoves in apposition with Ηλιάδες κουραι. Order: 3, 9, 10 ... 20, 21, 4, 5... 7, 8, where a break occurs, and v. 22 begins a new section. V. 2: SV ζησαν. V. 3: MSS. πάντα τη φέρει, Karst. πάντ ̓ ἀδα φ., Hermann καὶ πάντ ̓ αὐτὴ, Stein πάντα μάθη. Diels compares v. 32 and Verg. Aen. vi. 565. V. 4: С pepoμévny, G pépoμai. V. 6: Karsten inserts e. V. 7: G aiolóμevos, Stein axeóuevos : GR ἐπήγετο, C ἐπήγετος V. 10: MSS. KратEр@v, except G V. κратЄраîs, corr. Karsten. V. 12: MSS. κal σpas. V. 14: TRANSLATION. (Prooemium) The horses which bear me conducted me as far as desire may go, when they had brought me speeding along to the far-famed road of a divinity who herself bears onward through all 5 things the man of understanding. Along this road I was borne, along this the horses, wise indeed, bore me hastening the chariot on, and maidens guided my course. The axle in its box, enkindled by the heat, uttered the sound of a pipe (for it was driven on by the rolling wheels on either side), when the maiden daughters of Helios hastened to conduct me 10 εἰς φάος, ὠσάμεναι κρατῶν ἄπο χερσὶ καλύπτρας. ἔνθα πύλαι νυκτός τε καὶ ἤματός εἰσι κελεύθων, καί σφας ὑπέρθυρον ἀμφὶς ἔχει καὶ λάινος οὐδός, αὐταὶ δ' αἰθέριαι πλῆνται μεγάλοισι θυρέτροις. τῶν δὲ Δίκη πολύποινος ἔχει κληῖδας ἀμοιβούς. 15 τὴν δὴ παρφάμεναι κοῦραι μαλακοῖσι λόγοισιν πεῖσαν ἐπιφραδέως, ὥς σφιν βαλανωτὸν ὀχῆα ἀπτερέως ὤσειε πυλέων ἄπο. ταὶ δὲ θυρέτρων χάσμ' ἀχανὲς ποίησαν ἀναπτάμεναι, πολυχάλκους ἄξονας ἐν σύριγξιν ἀμοιβαδὸν εἱλίξασαι, 20 γόμφοις καὶ περόνῃσιν ἀρηρότε· τῇ ῥα δι' αὐτῶν ἰθὺς ἔχον κοῦραι καθ ̓ ἁμαξιτὸν ἅρμα καὶ ἵππους. καί με θεὰ πρόφρων ὑπεδέξατο, χεῖρα δὲ χειρὶ δεξιτερὴν ἕλεν, ὧδε δ' ἔπος φάτο καί με προσηύδα· ὦ κοῦρ ̓ ἀθανάτοισι συνήορος ἡνιόχοισιν, 25 ἵπποις ταί σε φέρουσιν ἱκάνων ἡμέτερον δῶ, χαῖρ ̓, ἐπεὶ οὔτι σε μοῖρα κακὴ προύπεμπε νέεσθαι τήνδ' ὁδόν· ἡ γὰρ ἀπ ̓ ἀνθρώπων ἐκτὸς πάτου ἐστίν· ἀλλὰ θέμις τε δίκη τε. χρέω δέ σε πάντα πυθέσθαι, ἠμὲν ἀληθείης εὐπειθέος ἀτρεμὲς ἦτορ, 30 ἠδὲ βρότων δόξας τῇς οὐκ ἔνι πίστις ἀληθής. ἀλλ' ἔμπης καὶ ταῦτα μαθήσεαι, ὡς τὰ δοκοῦντα χρὴ δοκίμως κρῖναι· διὰ παντὸς πάντα περῶντα. τὰ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν. εἴ δ' ἄγ', ἐγὼν ἐρέω, κόμισαι δὲ σὺ μῦθον ἀκούσας, αἵπερ ὁδοὶ μοῦναι διζήσιός εἰσι νοῆσαι. 35 ἡ μὲν ὅπως ἔστιν τε καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἔστι μὴ εἶναι 33-40. Prokl. Tim. 105 B. Plot. Ennead. v. 1, 8, p. 489; V. 33: MSS. ἄγε τῶν, 35-40. Simpl. Phys. 25 r 116, 28. 40b. Clem. Al. Strom. 749. corr. Karsten. V. 34: MSS. μοῦσαι, corr. Brandis. V. 38: Prokl. δ' ἤτοι: Simpl. παναπευθέα, Stein παναπειθῆ, text follows Prokl. V. 39 Prokl. ἐφικτόν, text follows Simpl. Stein compares Simpl. D 109, 24; 111, 25. |