w^^

7?

IQIO

COPYRIGHT,

ALL

RIGHTS

IQl8,

AND

BOOK

HERBERT

THE

INCLUDING

RESERVED,
THIS

BY

OR

THEREOF

PARTS

"E"c fttoeraibe
CAMBRIDGE
PRINTED

MASSACHUSETTS
IN

THE

U.S.A.

TO

RIGHT

IN

$"**

CUSHMAN

ERNEST

ANY

FORM

REPRODUCE

TO

3EORGE

HERBERT

ALFORD

PROFESSOR

IN

WHO

PHILOSOPHY

OF

UNIVERSITY

HARVARD

LIFE

INTERPRETED

HAS

YOUNG

MANY

BY

MEN

PHILOSOPHY

SUBJECT

LL.D"

Lrrr.D.,

PALMER,

TO

LIVING

THEM

MAKING

TO

PREFACE

in

courses

of

the

history

rather

student

the

philosophy

interpretation
technical
far

as

My

language

the

on

I have

space

book

is

intended

for

the

teacher, it makes

the

teacher

into

it puts

inspiring
making

for

of

of

use

the

the

that

own

of

is

of

the
the

necessary

more

and

outline

an

time

for

interpretations.
contemporary
is
of

litera

merely utilizing

information

furnished

In

when

he

with

begins

philosophy.

many

of

years

philosophy

students

limita

for

class-room

book

stock

as

Since
than

student

maps,

the

college student

good

history

his

reasons

the

the

politicalhistory, this

and

history
A

with

geographical

pedagogical

which

teacher

the

student

the

of the

in

between

the

case

rather

all

and

avoided

choice.

my

student

hands

the

hands

the

ture,

have

as

only

criticism

choose

to

which

determined

of

presented

been

had

technicality,in

the

to

explanations

other, have

possible. Sometimes

sum

prominence

and

hand,

one

helps

as

personal

own

tions

into

of

and

employs

is

into

bring

to

as

the

on

interpretation and

for

it

generalizations

other

doctrines.

leading

the

for

history

geography

sketch-courses

possible, so

as

sketch-

is written
It is

philosophical teaching

The

simply

of

background

for

maries, tables, and

memory.

It

teacher.

the

for

text-book

philosophy.
for

the

text-book

of

than

upon

as

politicalhistory.

literary and
As

intended

is

book

THIS

come

to

to

experience

beginners

the

subject

have
with

in

teaching
convinced

four

classes

the
me

of

PREFACE

vi

correlate philosophicdoc
they can
historical
trines: good geographicalknowledge, some
undefined
and some
knowledge, and many
literary
per
sonal philosophical
opinions.Of course, their personal
opinionsform the most important group,
philosophical
but more
as
something to be clarified by the civilizing
influence of the subjectthan as an approach to the sub

ideas,with

which

only "memory-hooks" upon which the

teacher
expect to hang philosophicdoctrines are
may
the student's ideas of history,
literature,and geography.
If the historyof philosophyis treated only as a series
of doctrines,the student beginning the subjectfeels not
only that the land is strange, but that he is a stranger
doc
in it. Besides,to isolate the historical philosophical
historical perspec
trines is to give the student a wrong
tive,since philosophic
thought and contemporary events
two
are
inseparableaspects of history.Each interprets
understood
with
be correctly
the other, and neither can
If the historyof philosophyis to have
out the other.
be shown
for the beginner,it must
to
any significance
give a meaning to history.
So far as the materials that form any historyof phi
losophy are concerned, I have merely tried to arrange
and
and organize them
with reference
to the student
with reference to the history
of which
they form an in
tegralpart. I am therefore overwhelmingly indebted to
I have had access, but in
to whom
every good authority
the main I have followed the inspiringdirection of the
great Windelband.
Many willing friends have read
parts of the manuscript and offered suggestionsand
criticisms. I am
indebted
C.
to Professors
particularly
P. Parker, Ephraim Emerton, A. O. Norton, and J. H.
Ropes,and Dr. B. A. G. Fuller of Harvard
University;
jectitself.

The

PREFACE

Professor

to

for

and

at

to

of

Wellesley College ;

D.

L.

Maulsby

and

of

the

preparation, I

in

of lists of books

the

of

find

chapters

references

in

the

helpful books.

many

attention

to

This

is

made

by

This

late

to

nate

be

to

Oxford

selection

of

in

or

sarilyhave
rather

than

the
as

their

their

of
ter

the

aim

English
I

which

was

to

dis

fortu

once

Such
their

defined

either

definitions
usefulness

must

the

to

THE

REVISED

which

this volume

philosophies of

the

is in
the

reader

the

earlier

HERBERT

NEWTON,

in the
neces

student,

EDITION

will

form

of

find

February,

1918.

in the

presentation

cosmologists (Chap-

II).

WEST

readers.

June, 1910.

TO

of

Plato

completeness.

only change

revision

Plato.

of

accustomed

was

been

have

footnotes.

PREFACE

THE

student's

from

passages

of

pages

discussion

for

will

member.

COLLEGE,

TUFTS

exact

call the

to

Jowett
Jowett

Philosophicalterms
text

like

class,of

reading,placed

the

to

the

Professor

many

book, the student

to

Professor

his

the

should

been

responsible.

footnotes
I

complete

selection

tribute

of

or

However,

has

for collateral

appendix

an

the

alone

am

Instead
end

book, which

to

Col

of Tufts

Cushman.

B.

wife, Abby

my

faults

all the

years

Calkins

C. S. Wade

Professors

lege ;

W.

Mary

vii

E.

CUSHMAN.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
OF

HISTORY

THE

THE

THREE

THE

"

PERIODS

PHILOSOPHY

OF

COMPARATIVE

GENERAL

LENGTHS

OF

1
THREE

THE

GENERAL

PERIODS
THE

1
DIFFERENCES

REAL

OF

THREE

THE

PE

GENERAL

RIODS

TABLE

OF

SUBDIVISIONS

THE

OF

GENERAL

THREE

THE

PERIODS

I.

BOOK

ANCIENT

(625
CHAPTER

I.

THE

PHILOSOPHY

C.-476

B.

D.)

A.

GREEK

EARLY

IN

ANCIENT

PHI
5

LOSOPHY

THE

DIVISIONS

OF

ANCIENT

THE

LITERARY

SOURCES

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

OF

PHILOSOPHY

6
.

THE

THE

ENVIRONMENT

OF

1.

His

Geographical

2.

His

Political

(1)

In

the

Reflections
est

THE

in

7
7

Environment
OF

7
THE

Development
upon

of

EARLY
his

Physical Events,

GREEK,

AS

SEEN

in

Religion, (2)
and

(3)

his

in his Inter

Conduct

Human

THREE

GREEK

Environment

TENDENCIES

NATIVE

EARLY

THE

PERIODS

9-11

GREEK

OF

PHILOSOPHY

12
....

CHAPTER

II.

PHILOSOPHY
THE

PERSIA

THE
AND

IN

THE
15

GREEK

THE

POLITICAL

SITUATION

CARTHAGE

AND

PERIL

PERIOD

NATURE

OF

PERIL

COSMOLOGICAL

THE

IN

PYTHAGORAS

THE

NEW

15
RELIGION

THE

MYSTERIES

16

CONTENTS

TABLE

18

COSMOLOGISTS

THE

OF

CHARACTERISTICS

20

COSMOLOGISTS

OF

QUESTION

PHILOSOPHICAL

How

THE

MAP

SHOWING

ClTIES

THE

20

AROSE

....

COSMOLOGISTS

THE

WHERE

91
LIVED

COMPARISON

SUMMARY

22

PHILOSOPHIES

MONISTIC

THE

OF

1. THE

MILESIAN

SCHOOL

24

THE

MILESIAN

PHILOSOPHY

25

2. XENOPHANES,
PHILOSOPHY

THE
3.

27

MISANTHROPIST"

"THE

"THE

AND

28

"

OBSCURE

and

Absolute

of

Doctrine

Heracleitus'

a.

...

XENOPHANES

OF

HERACLEITUS,

26

PHILOSOPHER

RELIGIOUS

THE

Universal
28

Change
b. Fire
c.

d.

Definite

The

Practical

have
b.

Substance

33

Being

the Cosmic

than

Substance

(Being)
34

Existence

Real

no

is

35

ZENO
THE

PHILOSOPHY

RESULTS

OF

AND

PARMENIDES

CHAPTER

III.

EFFORTS

SUMMARY
THEORIES

39

RECONCILIATION

"

CHANGE

OF
OF

THE

INTRODUCTION

CIENT

39

PLURALISM

CONCEPTION

PLURALISTS

HERACLEITUS

BETWEEN

37

CONCEPTION

NEW

36

ZENO

OF

CONFLICT

THE

TOWARD

NEW

THE

32

Tbiugs

(2)Other

THE

32

Cosmic

(1)The

THE

....

PARMENIDES

a.

THE

31

of Heracleitus

Philosophy
SCHOOL

ELEATIC

4. THE

30

of Fire

Changes

The

29

Substance

Cosmic

is the

THE

OF

40

PLURALISTS

THE

UNCHANGING

OF

THE

40

ELEMENT
OF

THE

CONCEPTION

OF

EFFI

THE

41

CAUSE
SIMILARITIES

OF
OF

THE

AND

DIFFERENCES

IN

THE

41

RECONCILERS
.

CONTENTS
PHILOSOPHERS

PLURALISTIC

THE

LEUCIPPUS,

GORAS,

xi

AND

LATER

THE

ANAXA-

EMPEDOCLES,

PYTHAGOREANS

42
.

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF

EMPEDOCLES

44

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF

ANAXAGORAS

45

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF

SCHOOL

THE

THE

LEUCIPPUS

"

AND

ABDERA

AT

47

PYTHAGOREANS

LATER

48

Pythagorean Conception of Being

1. The

Pythagorean Dualistic

2.

The

3.

Pythagorean Astronomy

49
....

World

51
52

RETROSPECT

HISTORICAL

CHAPTER

IV.

THE

PHILOSOPHY

53

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

THE

PERIOD:

MAN

OP

HISTORICAL

AN

ATOMISTS

THE

55

SUMMARY

OF

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

THE

PERIOD

55

THE

PERSIAN

THE

GREEK

WARS

AND

Impulse

The

Practical

3. The

SIGNIFICANCE

THE

PROMINENT

THE

PHILOSOPHY

2.

THE

The

for

Learning

Need

OF

of

THE

58

Knowledge

59

of Mind

61

SOPHISTS

64

SOPHISTS
OF

Nihilism
OF

of
of

SOPHISTS

68

Protagoras

69

Gorgias

SOPHISTS.

THE

CRITICAL

67

THE

Relativism

ETHICS

THEIR

56
...

58

Critical Attitude

THE

1. The

ATHENS

OF

ENLIGHTENMENT

1. The
2.

RISE

THE

THEORY

70
THE

APPLICATION

POLITICAL

LIFE

"

TO

OF

71

...

SUMMARY

CHAPTER

V.

SOCRATES
THE

AND

SOCRATES

74

ARISTOPHANES

74

PERSONALITY

SOCRATES
THE

73

AND

AND
THE

UNSYSTEMATIC

LIFE

OF

SOCRATES

75

SOPHISTS

CHARACTER

80
OF

THE

SOCRATIC

PHI
82

LOSOPHY

THE

IDEAL

OF

SOCRATES

83
,

CONTENTS

xii

WHAT

STEPS

Two

THE

SOCRATES

SOCRATES

OF

85

INVOLVES

METHOD

THE

SOCRATES

OF

88

...

ATHENS

AND

91

EXPEDIENTS

LOGICAL

THE

IDEAL

SOCRATIC

THE

LESSER

THE

AND

SOCRATES

OF

92

SOCRATICS

93

SCHOOL

THE

CYNIC

THE

CYRENAIC

SCHOOL

VI.

CHAPTER

95

96

SYSTEMATIC

THE

PERIOD

98

....

THE

WANING

OF

PLACE

THE

OF

GREEK

IN

THE

NATIONAL

GREEK

THE

SPIRIT

98

...

THREE

THE

PHILOSOPHERS

SYSTEMATIC

HISTORY

98

FUNDAMENTAL

PRINCIPLE

OF

SYSTEMATIC

THE

PERIOD
A

100

SUMMARY

GREEK

PHILOSOPHY

DEMOCRITUS

PHILOSOPHY

GREEK

OF

102

(OBJECTIVE)
PLATO

AND

THEIR

"

103

SIMILARITIES

AND

DIF

104

FERENCES

THE

LIFE

THE

COMPREHENSIVENESS

DEMOCRITUS

OF

106
OF

AIM

THE

DEMOCRI

OF

108

TUS

THE

ENRICHED

MATERIALISTIC

DEMOCRITUS'

THE

OF

THE

OF

OF

KNOWLEDGE

DEMOCRITUS
.

THE

"

Ill
.

WORLD
114

THEORY

VII.

ABDERA

PSYCHOLOGY

REALITY

ETHICAL

CHAPTER

THE

HYLOZOISM

"

109

THEORY

TWOFOLD

OF

DEMOCRITUS

OF

MATERIALISM

BECOMES

THE

PHYSICS

OF

DEMOCRITUS

116

PLATO

119

ATHENS

AND

DIFFICULTIES

119

UNDERSTANDING

IN

TEACHING

THE

PLATO
LIFE

120

WRITINGS

AND

1. Plato's

Student

Plato

as

Traveler

3. Plato

as

Teacher

2.

CONCERNING

THE

OF

PLATO

121

Life

121
122

of the

DIALOGUES

Academy
OF

PLATO

124
.

126

CONTENTS
FACTORS

THE

CONSTRUCTION

THE

IN

liii
DOC

PLATO'S

OF

128

TRINE

DIVISIONS

THE

SUMMARY

OF

132

METAPHYSICS

IDEAS

PLATO'S

OF

COMPARISON

BRIEF

PLATO'S

OF

DEVELOPMENT

132
METAPHYSICS

PLATO'S

OF

DEVELOPMENT

THE

131

DOCTRINE

PLATO'S

OF

130

PHILOSOPHY

PLATO'S

OF

FORMATION

THE

128

PhilosophicalSources

His

2.

Tendencies

Inherited

1. His

IN

DRAFTS

DRAFTS

Two

THE

Two

THE

THE

"

OF

136

THE

137

IDEAS

COMPARISON

OF

DRAFTS

Two

THE

IDEAS

OF

MORE

IN

DETAIL

137

Number

1. The

Drafts

The

Earlier

the

Later

and

137

of the Ideas

Two

in the
3.

in

compared

Relation

2. The

Ideas

of

Relation

the World

and

Drafts

compared

among

the

of Nature
138

Ideas

in the

Drafts

Two

140

compared
PLATO'S

CONCEPTION

OF

GOD

PLATO'S

CONCEPTION

OF

PHYSICAL

OF

MAN

PLATO'S

CONCEPTION

PLATO'S

DOCTRINE

141

NATURE

142
....

144

IMMORTALITY

OF

146

1. The

Immortality

of Pre-Existence

146

The

Immortality

of Post-Existence

149

2.

THE

Two

TENDENCIES

PLATONIC

150

LOVE

PLATO'S
1.

PLATO

IN

151

THEORY

ETHICS

OF

Development
Four

2.

The

3.

Plato's

APPENDIX
PLATO

CHAPTER
ARISTOTLE

BIOGRAPHY

of Plato's

Cardinal

Theory

VIII.
IN
OF

THE

of the

Good

Virtues

SELECTION

ENGLISH

FOR

Theory

of Political

JOWETT'S

"

153

154

Society
OF

PASSAGES

155
FROM

READERS

15"

ARISTOTLE

166

ACADEMY

ARISTOTLE

153

AND

....

LYCEUM

166
168
.

CONTENTS

xiv

SKETCH

CHRONOLOGICAL

BRIEF

BIOGRAPHY

ARISTOTLE'S

Period

1.

First

2.

Second

Period

3. Third

THE

WRITINGS

169

Collector
.

of the

Administrator

"

Lyceum

.172
.

173

Popular Writings, publishedby Aristotle

1. The

.171

ARISTOTLE

OF

him
174

self
The

2.

Didactic

Writings

175

STARTING-POINT

ARISTOTLE'S
THE

175

Compilations

3. The

176

PRINCIPLE

FUNDAMENTAL

ARISTOTLE'S

IN

PHILO
177

SOPHY

ARISTOTLE'S

LOGIC

ARISTOTLE'S

METAPHYSICS

1.

Development

2. Aristotle's

180
"

is

185

Purposeful

Two

Different

185

Conceptions

of

Pur
187

pose
3. Aristotle's

Conception of

God

190

4. Aristotle's

Conception of

Matter

191

5. Aristotle's

Conception

of Nature

192

THE

MECHANICAL

SERIES,

THEORY

ARISTOTLE'S

"

OF

PHYSICS

THE

194

TELEOLOGICAL

SERIES

THE

QUALITATIVE

CHANGES

PHENOMENA

OF

196

1. The

Psychology of

2. The

Ethics

THE

Practical

(6) The

Dianoetic

POLITICAL

CHAPTER

Aristotle

THE

199

Virtues

200

Virtues

PHILOSOPHY

IX.

196

of Aristotle

The

(a)

OF

201
ARISTOTLE

HELLENIC-ROMAN

202

PERIOD
.

ITS

TIME

THE

OF

OF
OF

204
.

LENGTH

FALL

ENCE

MAP

168
169

and

Traveler

"

Influences

Early

Period

LIFE

DETAIL

IN

"

ARISTOTLE'S

OF

EXTENSION

GREEK

THE

NATION

AND

THE

PERSIST

CIVILIZATION

ITS
THE

204

EMPIRE
OF

OF

204

ALEXANDER,

SHOWING

THE

205

HELLENISM
.

CONTENTS
THE

PARTS

Two

OF

208
.

208

The

Ethical

2.

The

ReligiousPeriod

Period

UNDERCURRENT

208

SKEPTICISM

OF

HELLENIC-

THE

IN

209

PERIOD

ROMAN
THE

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

1.

THE

XT

PROBLEM

FUNDAMENTAL

OF

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

211

PERIOD
THE

CENTRES

213

HELLENISM

OF

213

1. Athens

215

Alexandria

2.

CHARACTERISTICS

GENERAL
1.

The

Abandonment

2.

The

Growth

THE

SCHOOLS

MAP

OF

of

of

became

3. Ethics

OF

PERIOD

ETHICAL

THE

MetaphysicalSpeculation

Central

Interest

217
218

ATHENS,

SHOWING

LOCATION

THE

OF

FOUR

THE

SCHOOLS
THE

219

OLD

SCHOOLS

"

THE

ACADEMY

LY

THE

AND

220

CEUM

1. The

Academy

220

2. The

Lyceum

221

THE
A

NEW

SCHOOLS

SUMMARY
OF

THE

OF

X.

THE

LIFE

THE

EPICUREANS

AND

THE

EPICUREANS

AGREEMENTS

AND
AND

THE

STOICS

222

DIFFERENCES

EPICUREANS

225

EPICUREANISM

227

EPICURUS

OF

TYPES

"

THE

STOICS

CHAPTER

SOME

216
216

Science
the

215

OF

227
228

HEDONISM,"

ARISTIPPUS, EPICURUS,

AND

ROUSSEAU
.

THE

EPICUREAN

THE

PLACE

THE

EPICUREAN

WISE

MAN

THE

EPICUREAN

WISE

MAN

THE

GREAT

OBSTACLES

TO

EPICURUS'

QUALIFIED

IDEAL

OF

VIRTUE

CONCEPTION

228
230

IN

OF

EPICUREANISM

233
234

IN

SOCIETY

235

HAPPINESS
THE

236

PHYSICAL

WORLD.

"

ATOMISM

238
,

CONTENTS

xvi

THE

STOICISM

XI.

CHAPTER
POSITION

STOICISM

OF

ANTIQUITY

IN

"

"

241
.

241

THE

PERIODS

THREE

THE

STOIC

LEADERS

THE

STOIC

WRITINGS

THE

STOICS

THE

Two

THE

CONCEPTION

THE

THE

242
243

-"".-.

CONCEPTIONS

PERSONALITY

OF

2. The

Highest Good

CONCEPTION

"

247
.

""

251

...

is

an

All-pervading World-Being

2. Nature

is

an

All-compellingLaw

3. Nature

is Matter

CONCEPTIONS

250

"...

NATURE.

OF

253
.

253
254

NATURE

OF

AND

PERSONALITY

SUP

OTHER

256

SOCIETY

257

RESPONSIBILITY

259

EACH
AND

PROBLEM

EVIL

OF

AND

THE

PROBLEM

FREE

OF

260

DOM

THE

MODIFICATIONS
FIRST

THE

CHAPTER
THE

THE

AFTER

PERIOD

261

SKEPTICISM

APPEARANCES
THREE

First

AND

PHILOSOPHIC

OF

PHASES

The

DOCTRINE

STOIC

THE

OF

XII.

1.

SKEPTICISM

265
.

of

2. The

The
3. The

Second

PhilosophicSkepticism

is called
265

Period

Skepticism
Third

Period

Sensationalistic
LAST

PERIOD.

264
264

SKEPTICISM

PHILOSOPHIC

OF

Phase

ECLECTICISM

Pyrrhonism

THE

248
248

1. Nature

AND

Psychology

Stoic

STOIC

246

"

246

-.

STOIC

243

1. The

DUTY
THE

...

.242

"

PROMINENT

PLEMENT

THE

CYNICS

AND

Stoicism

of Roman

3. Period

Doctrine.

Stoicism

of Modified

Period

242

........

of the

of Formulation

1. Period
2.

STOICISM

OF

CENTURY

AND

of

of the
of

PhilosophicSkepticism

"

266

Academy
Philosophic Skepticism
"

Skepticism
A

HALF

268
OF

THE

ETHICAL

ECLECTICISM

269
.

CONTENTS
PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

273
....

Two

THE

THE

XIII.

CHAPTER

xvu

CAUSES

OF

RISE

THE

FEEL

RELIGIOUS

OF

273

ING

THE

NEED

THE

RISE

OF

REVIVAL

THE

DIVISIONS

THE

HELLENIC

AUTHORITY

CONCEPTION

THE

THE

THE

SPIRITUAL

OF

275

SPIRITUALITY

OF

277

PLATONISM

OF
OF

279

RELIGIOUS

THE

RELIGIOUS

THE

280

PHILOSOPHIES

282

PERIOD

OF

HELLENIC

TURNING

TO

THE

INTRODUCTORY

PHILOSOPHY.

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

PAST

SPIRIT

FOR

AUTHORITY

UAL

2.

THE

Greek-Jewish

The

1.

282

Philosophy of

Philo

282
....

285

Neo-Pythagoreanism
PERIOD

DEVELOPMENT
THE

PHILOSOPHY.
SPIRITUAL

HELLENIC

OF

TURNING

AUTHORITY.

TO

RELIGIOUS
PRESENT

THE

PLATONISM

FOR

NEO-PLATO

AND

287

NISM

NEO-PLATONISM

AND

Two

THE

INTRODUCTORY

PHILO
288

SOPHIES

NEO-PLATONISM

AND

THE

PERIODS

THE

ALEXANDRIAN

CHRISTIANITY

NEO-PLATONISM

OF

290

THE

SCHOOL.
THE

NEO-PLATONISM.

OF

288

SCIENTIFIC

LIFE

AND

THEORY

WRITINGS

OF

PLOTINUS
THE

2"
CHARACTER

GENERAL

OF

THE

TEACHING

OF

PLO
291

TINUS
^

THE

MYSTIC

GOD

292

1. The

Supra-Consciousnessof

God

2. The

Conception of Dynamic

Pantheism

THE

Two

THE

WORLD

PROBLEM
THE

PROBLEMS

293

....

PLOTINUS

EMANATIONS.

OF
OF

OF

292

"

293

METAPHYSICAL

THE

PLOTINUS

294

SPIRIT
^

THE

SOUL

295

.*295

MATTER
THE

294

RETURN

PROBLEM

OF
OF

THE

PLOTINUS

SOUL

TO

GOD.

"

THE

ETHICAL
.

297

CONTENTS

XVI.

CHAPTER

PERIOD

EARLY

OF

MID-

THE

AGES

DLE

THE

334

CHARACTER

GENERAL

I^THE
THE

^JHE
C-THE
THE
OF

THE

OF

POSITION

HISTORICAL

SECULAR

PERIOD

EARLY

THE

334
.

MAP

GEOGRAPHICAL

MEDIEVAL

EARLY

AN

THE

xix

335
....

AUGUSTINE

OF

335

SCIENCE

339

AUGUSTINE

339

LIFE

OF

Two

ELEMENTS

ELEMENT

NEO-PLATONIC

TEACHING

AUGUSTINE'S

IN

341

CONSCIOUSNESS
AUTHORITY

340

CERTAINTIES

INNER

THE

OF

CHURCH

THE

ACCORDING

AUGUS

TO

345

TINE

THE

DARK

THE

REVIVAL

JOHN
THE

THE

ERIGENA

LAST

CENTURY

CHAPTER

TEACHING

AND

ERIGENA

WHICH

350
.

FORMULATED

352

OF

THE

XVII.

PERIOD

EARLY

THE

353
....

PERIOD

TRANSITIONAL

354
.

THE

GENERAL

WHAT
ANSELM

CHARACTER

ANSELM'S

LIFE

THE

AND

FOR
AND

MEDIAEVAL

IN

PHILOSOPHY

EXISTENCE

THE

359

GOD

OF

361
.

361

TEACHING

362

STRESS

AND

LIFE

354
355

POSITION

LIFE

PERIOD

TRANSITIONAL

THE

ARGUMENTS

ROSCELLINUS
STORM

OF

SCHOLASTICISM

is

AGES

MIDDLE

THE

LIFE

PRINCIPLE

GREEK

349

CHARLEMAGNE

OF

SCOTUS

FOR

347

AGES

363

ABELARD

OF

CONCEPTUALISM.

ABELARD'S

UNIVERSALS

IN

EXIST

THE

364

PARTICULARS
ABELARD'S

REASON

RATIONALISM.
AND

CHAPTER

THE

"

RELATION

BETWEEN

36"

DOGMA

XVIII.

THE

PERIOD

OF

CLASSIC

SCHO
368

LASTICISM

THE

THE

GENERAL
Two

CHARACTER

CIVILIZATIONS

OF

THIS

LAST

PERIOD

368
.

369

CONTENTS
xx

MAP

CONTACT

FIRST
CONFLICT

THE

CIVIL

MOHAMMEDAN

OF

370

AGES

MIDDLE

THE

IN

IZATION

THE

GROWTH

THE

SHOWING

372
.

CIVILIZATIONS.

Two

THE

BETWEEN

CIVILIZATIONS

Two

THE

OF

"

374

CRUSADES

THE

REVIVAL

THE
DIAGRAM

CONCEPTION

POETIC

DANTE'S

OF

375

LEARNING

OF

OF

UNI

THE

376

VERSE

STRENGTH

THE

BURDEN

AND

ARISTOTLE

OF

TO

THE

378

CHURCH
The

1.

Aristotle

Church

the

to

378
....

Burden

The

2.

of

Strength

Aristotle

of

to

Church

the

.379
.

PREDECESSORS

THE

LIFE

THE

THOMAS

TWOFOLD

THE

LIFE

"

THE

INSCRUTABLE

THE

PROBLEM

AFTER

OF

THE

RELATION

"

OF

383
OR

INTELLECT

THE

385
.

FOUNDER

OF

OF

WILL

OF

SCIENCE

386

TWOFOLD

THE

AND

TRUTH.

RELIGION

387
.

OF

POSITION
.

CONCEPTION

TRA

FRANCISCAN

THE

PHILOSOPHICAL

AND

OF

DUNS

WILLIAM
AFTER

WILL

SEPARATION

THE

"

381

THE

THE

SCOTUS'S

DUNS

"

OF

SCOTUS,

DITION

DOCTRINE

THOMAS'S

OF

UNIVERSALS

AND

PRIMACY

DUNS

OF

380

INDIVIDUALITY

OF

PARTICULARS
THE

FOUNDER

"

TRUTH

PROBLEM

THE

THE

AQUINAS.

PRINCIPLE

CENTRAL

THE

379

TRADITION

DOMINICAN

THE

AQUINAS

OF

OF

GOD

388

INDIVIDUALITY

389

SCOTUS
OCKAM

390
:

LIFE

AND

TEACHING

391

OCKAM

393

INDEX

395
,

ILLUSTRATIONS

Frontispiece

SOCRATES

MAP

SHOWING

WHERE

COSMOLOGISTS

THE

21

LIVED.
...

THE

EMPIRE

MAP

OF

205

ALEXANDER

OF

ATHENS

SHOWING

THE

LOCATION

OF

FOUR

THE

SCHOOLS

219

COSMOGRAPHY

PTOLEMAIC

UNIVERSE

SHOWING

OF

SHOWING

EPICYCLIC

THE

MOVE

PLANETS

THE

325

THE

GEOGRAPHY.

MEDIAEVAL

THE

323

COSMOGRAPHY

MENTS

OF

SPHERES

INTO

PTOLEMAIC

DIVISION

THE

COSMAS

MAP,

A.D.

547

335
.

GROWTH

MOHAMMEDANISM

OF

SHOWING

DIAGRAM

ITS

OF

DURING

CONTACT

WITH

POETIC

DANTE'S

THE

CHRISTIAN

CONCEPTION

MIDDLE

AGES,

CIVILIZATION

OF

THE

370

UNI

37(?

VERSE
.

OF

HISTORY

BEGINNER'S

PHILOSOPHY

INTRODUCTION

THE

PERIODS

GENERAL

THREE

HISTORY

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF

of

Lengths

Comparative

The

OF

the

Three

General

Periods:
Ancient

Philosophy,

Medieval

Philosophy,

Modern

Philosophy,

These

625

three

the

are

C.-476

B.

476

A.

1453

D.-1453

general periods

into

The

two

historyof philosophy naturallyfalls.

form

the

dividing lines

476,

the

fall

old

of

between

Rome,

Rome

(Constantinople). From

1000

years

the

of

450

Whatever

other.

intellectual
tant

products

note

to

It is 2500

Europe.
times.

In

the
years

Only
other

since
450

is known

as

The

The

Real

two

fifth to

be

these

years

the

their

modern

between

that

the

on

respective
is

impor

time-lengths.

belong

European

fifths of his life

new

seen

periods,it

in

of

times

upon

civilization,two

Differences

differences

three

that

philosophicalreflection

of

ancient

one

these

dates

antiquityon

modern

put

words, after the

manhood,

only

be

great difference

reflective

and

of

may

the

fall

the

1453,

which

periods are

this it will

of

years

value

three

life lie between

mediaeval

and

side

one

these

and

D.

A.

present time.

D.-the

A.

D.

A.

modern

to
man

to

to

grew

belong

fifths

in

began

to

what

mediaeval,

civilization.

of the

Three

these

three

General

Periods.

periods of

the

re-

INTRODUCTION

European have been very real. They

shift ings
to be explained by merely political
not
are
economic
are
they fullyexpressed as
or
changes ; nor
artistic productions. Their
in literaryor
differences
differences lie deeper,for they are
differences
of mental
attitude. The
profound,
historyof philosophy is more
than any other history,
human
and more
more
difficult,
of human
it is the record
because
points of view. A
if
good deal of sympathetic appreciation is demanded
flective life of the

takes

the student

One

times.

mediaeval

the attitude

on

cannot

appreciation until

such

has

be

to

expect

one

of ancient

of mind

possessed of
the

traversed

and

history

thought through its entire length.

The historyof philosophyis an
organicdevelopment
from
an
objectiveto a subjectiveview of life,with a
traditional
middle
subjective and
period in which
objectivemingle. Ancient
thought is properly called
the modiieval
traditional,the modern
ubjectire,
subject
ive. Can we
brieflysuggest what these abstract terms
? By the objectivity
mean
of ancient thoughtis meant
that the ancient~in
life,
making nis reflections
upon
of

from

starts

the

universe

point of view he tries

tween
things. Nature
part of

Man's

nature.

as

to

is

reality
;

mental

of things. Even
totality
independent individual,but
When
mind
in

the
and

of

to

matter

mind

antithesis in

appearances

and

and

the

think
the

as

matter

gods

as

be

part

is not
of

member

are

are

even

man
ethically

ar

state,

distinctions between

make

to

came

matter, he did not

antithesis

thought
The

ancient

and

men

processes

of the

this outer

interconnections

the

see

From

whole.

of

man

as

the knower

object known,
parts of

ancient

thought

essence,

between

one

is rather

but

he

cosmos.

between

non-realities

and

INTRODUCTION

differingemphasis. The ancient attempts

his world, but it is always
to reconstruct
speculatively
from the point of view of the world.
of mediaeval thought is meant
By the traditionalism
controlled
in their thinking by a set of
that men
are
realities with

doctrines

authoritative

from

past. In the Middle

period is called,the independent
the

Ages, as the mediaeval

thinkingof antiquityhad ceased. Men reflected and re
constrained
flected deeply,but they were
by a set of
traditions.
Authority was
placed above them
religious
their thinking.The
censored
and
objectiveChristian
and its authoritytook the place of the object
church
ive Greek

dogma,
clarified

On
is

That

cosmos.

hand, when

the other

refer to

intellectual

world, but

found

as

only in

universe

is the

it

as

thought

is set

creation

modern

man

his servant, the standard

and

far

change in the centre

is not
the
starting-point

The

individual.

in himself

so

infallible

entire

an

(dualism), or
against mind
the
(idealism).In any case
the universe

certain

say that modern

we

gravity. The

the

had

allowed

thinking was
dogma.

and

we
subjective,

of

church

of

over

of

mind

looks

upon

truth

to

be

in

something external. The

is now
subjectas knower
placed in antithesis to the ob
jectas known, and the objectis not independent of the
human
rather than the
thinkingprocess. Realityis man
The
is justifiable
state
cosmos.
so
political
long as it
enforces the rightsof the individual ; religious
authority
is the expressionof the individual conscience
; physical
*
'jsa human
nature
interpretation.
*

Read

(Blackwood
10

not

Knight, Life and Teaching of Hume,

Series); Falckenberg, Hist. Modern

Zeller,Pre-Socratic

Phil,

vol.

i,pp. 161

f
.

pp.

102

f.

Phil., p.

BOOK

The
of

EARLY

GREEK

Divisions

of

ancient

Ancient
falls

naturally

philosophy

philosophy (or Greek

philosophy

The

pure

date, 322

the

line

of

stones

323
and

The

Alexander

tions

as

and

throws

into

them.

Before

Greek

contrast

Aristotle

product entirely of
ancient
"

of

tal

culture
Greek

and

the
the

was

and

Roman

Greek

their

love

Alexander,

before

of

ulterior

for

knowledge
ends

great

makers

work

in

of

the

questions.

either

had
city-states

its

after

service

Aristotle

arisen

to

them

factors
Orien

many

Aristotle

by

sake, by freedom

own

sciences

the

was

of many

or

and
and

of

use

became

after

to

Alexander,
;

after

from
these

attenuated

enslaved

politicalpower

it

after

characterized

was

history, culture

special

Before

of

culture

rela

and

spirit;

complex product

in

Aristotle

culture

civilizations, and

ancient

died

lives, but

religions,including Christianity. Before

and

mile

intimate

Alexander

pure

the

of

their

civilization

marks

had

deaths

pupil during

di

world).

of

one

Great

the

only suggests

not

teacher

of

Roman

in the

the

coincidence

large

two

Hellenic-Roman

and

periods, is

two

Alexander

history.

c.

B.

these

between

into

history

Aristotle, which

of

death

c., the

B.

The

Philosophy.

Greek

visions

D.)

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

IN

philosophy

A.

CHAPTER

THE

C.-476

B.

(625

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

to

practical

the

Greek

Aristotle

HISTORY

Greece

Alexander,

and

declined

into the Koman

absorbed

PHILOSOPHY

OF

and
politically

was

empire.

Philosophy.*The lit
of ancient
philosophyare three : (1) the
erary sources
primary sources, or originalwritings; (2) the secondary
or
reports of the originalwriters obtained indi
sources,
rectly,or through other writers ; (3) the interpreta
of Ancient

Literary Sources

The

tions of reliable

modern

historians

in philosophywill,of
specialist
two

for his information.

sources

The

modern

accurate

many

student

should

of

course,

Other

philosophy.The
go

students

histories of ancient

have

at hand

histories of Zeller,Windelband,

to

the first
will find

philosophy.

the translations

Weber, Eucken,

of the

Ueber-

Englishmen, Burnet and Fairbanks ;

of the Americans, Kogers and Turner.
The writingsof the earlyGreek
of the
philosophers
pre-Socraticperiod exist now
only in fragments. The
completeworks of Plato are still extant ; so also are the
most
important works of Aristotle,and certain others
which belong to the Stoic,Epicurean,Skeptic,and neoweg

those

of the

"

Platonic

schools.

We

the

principalworks of
of the philosophers
most
of the Christian period in suf
ficient completeness."1 The
include
secondary sources
earlier philosophers
quotations and comments
upon
found
in the writings of Plato, Aristotle,the Stoics,
and the so-called doxographers.
Skeptics,neo-Platonists,
the commentating upon
and collating
of
Doxography
possess

"

the

works

of former

times

Alexandria, Pergamos,
*

Read

Fairbanks,

"

and

First

developed enormously in
Rhodes
justafter Aristotle,

Philosophers of Greece, pp.

the re'sume'.
ff.,especially

Ueberweg,

Hist,

of Phil.,vol. i,p. 7.

263

The

GREEK

founder

of this work

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

IN

EARLY

Theophrastus,who was a
in the Lyceum.
successor

was

discipleof Aristotle and his

Among the importantdoxographers were

Plutarch, Sto-

Aetios.

baeus, and

gist seeks

to

The

Early Greek.

of the

Environment

The

So if

and

inherited

instincts.

environment

and

inherited

instincts of the

shall be able to understand

better

its

by

explain a livingcreature

environment

we

biolo

previous

know

we

the

earlyGreek,
firstly,
why Euro

some

and
not with
philosophybegan with the Greeks
other people ; and secondly,
why Greek philosophy

took

certain

pean

lines that it did take.

Greece
The
Geographical Environment.
much
into which
larger than
philosophywas born was
Greece
consisted
of all
of to-day.Ancient
the Greece
washed
and islands which were
the coasts
by the Medi
southern
Asia Minor
to Sicilyand
Sea from
terranean
Italy,and from Gyrene to Thrace. The motherland,
the peninsulaof Greece, at first played an insignificant
of the Ionian s,
in the hands
role. The
leadershipwas
His

(1).

who

colonized

had

the

century

appears,

these lonians

among

the

three

B.

established

they

had

their colonies.

iest of these colonies

Its wealth

Over

and

Miletus
the

leisure to

afforded

its

of the

their

of

trade

Greek

people

en

and

the wealth

became

cradle

the

commerce

the coasts

extended

In

philosophy

the world's

commanded

continents.

tire Mediterranean

Minor.

Asia

the first Greek

C., when

seventh

of

coasts

and

science.
therefore

opportunityfor reflection.
An
understand
(2). His Political Environment.
world, in which its first philo
ing of the Greek political
sophy appeared, requiresan historical explanationof

the

its rise. It takes

us

back

four

centuries

to

the

age

of

the

Epic (1000-750

centuries

of the

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

age

c.). During

B.

of the

Epic

two

than

more

changes

Greek

two

occurred

civilization

(1)
had supplanted the ancient patri
The oligarchywhich
archal
firmly established ; and (2)
monarchy became
The
formed.
the Epic was
importance of the Epic of
which

were

influence

to

lies not

Homer

so

much

future

in the fact

constructed, as that it

was

was

the

that

great poem

formulation

of

the

polytheism.Its
writingindicates that the earlier unorganized,primitive,
of religionhad
forms
and
given way, among
savage
a3sthetic polytheism,
the ruling classes at least, to an
fixed by the Epic itself.
in a generalway
which
was
Greek

religion,the

Greek

aBsthetic

than a century, from 750 to 625

period of more
Greek
the age of the Epic and
B. c., lying between
disturb
philosophy,may be called an age of political
The oligarchyhad become
ances.
oppressiveto the rich
had
and poor alike. There
up in Greece, espe
grown
The

ciallyin the colonies,a class of citizens who had be

The
result of the
come
wealthy through commerce.
that (1) migra
misgovernment by the oligarchywas
revolutions
occurred.
tions took
place,and (2) many
of the colonies where
This
the
true
was
particularly
full of ad
was
proletariat
powerful and the cities were
and
venturers.
Plutocracywas at war with aristocracy,
These
this was
the opportunityfor bold men.
political
troubles
took form from
650 B. C. on, and the history
of the Greek

cities consists

of the endeavor

to establish

popular government. About the time of the first Greek

there arose
here and there from the ruins
philosophers
of these civil strugglesthe so-called tyrants, of whom
Thrasybulus at Miletus,Pittacus at Lesbos, Periander
at Corinth, and
Pisistratus at Athens
are
examples.

The

IN

EARLY

GREEK

courts

of these

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

tyrants became

of intellect

centres

They patronized poets, writers, and artists.

The universalism of the Epic had vanished, and in its
of the lyricand the satire.
the individualism
place came
into gloomy retire
In many
placesthe aristocrat went
poetry, science, and philo
ment, and often cultivated
life.

ual

sophy.
The

of the

Tendencies

Native

Early Greek.

Why
Europe?

philosophersof
Their
geographicalsurroundings of sea and land had
something to do with it. The passionateparty strife
between
the old, rulingfamiles of nobles and the newly
took place during the seventh
which
rich trading-class,
century B. c., no doubt cultivated an earlyindependence
of opinion and
strength of personality.But, after all,
the

were

Greeks

that the true

the

cause

virile

of the
not

was

Aryan

nal inhabitants

first

blood

in the

genius was
of

the

in the

invaders

? Whatever

with
may

and

race,

who

of the

mixing
that
be

of

the

can

the

say
blood

aborigi
to

answer

in the seventh century B. c.

the Greek race
question,
about the world of nature.
an
extraordinarycuriosity
loved
loved

the

it,and

pressionto
tistic nature

fact

concrete

it loved
the concrete
that

was

to

as

other

no

give a

clear and

fact that it
hostile

to

race

saw.

of

the

that
had
It
time

articulate

ex

It had

ar

all confusion.

an

Let

us

in
even
point out three ways in which the Greek was
this early time
organizing his experiences,reflecting
the workings of social and
nature
forces,and
upon
thus preparing the way
for consideration
of the more
ultimate
questionsof philosophy.
be seen
first in the development of
(1) This can
first step in the organizationof his
his religion.
The
religionwe have already seen, for the Homeric
epic

HISTORY

10

OF

PHILOSOPHY

expressionof a well-defined,poetic,and
polytheism developed out of a primitivesavage

aesthetic

the

was

ism.

Greek's

The

of

sense

and

measure

natural

shown

was

in the

placed as a part of the

He
could
of nature.
world
accomplish this the more
freelybecause he had no hierarchyof priestsand no
his imagination.The
Greek
dogma of belief to cramp
priestsdid not penetrate into the privatelife nor teach
not
religion. They were
theologiansbut sacristans
In the fiftyyears
functionaries."
and liturgical
before
scientific
philosophy appeared, this tendency toward
the beginning of another
religious
organizing showed
Monistic
advance.
belief,of which signsmay be found
in the earlier Greek
to the surface.
came
even
writings,
This monism
was
expressedor impliedby the Gnomic
sen
poets, wise poets,"so called,because they made
of morality.
tentious utterances
the principles
upon
(2) The earlygenius of the Greek is shown in his
reflections upon
physicalevents. The Greek had been
kinds of informa
accumulating for a long time many
tion,but, what is more
important,he had been reflect
The Ionian was
a
sea-faring
ing upon this information.
He had had much
man.
practicalexperienceand had
about the things he had
made
true observations
many
both

way

gods

men

were

"

"

In

seen.

his travels

Orientals

and

the

tific conceptions
were
1

Monism^

is the

belief

implication

as

of monism,

in which

like

the

active

theism,

the

is upon
nature

on

the

ay

to

the

that

with

in contact

come

realityis
of

definite

some

principle in
hand,

other

had

the

Egyptians,and although his scien

probably in the main his own, his

character

all-inclusive
two

he

that

kind

character

aspects
inseparable

or

without

oneness

the

is ascribed

of

of

cause

of monism
of

any

Monatheism

oneness.

character

the world
is

in which

reality.In

reality.

necessary
is

kind

tcTtlie
oneness,
the

world.
the

pantheism

Pan

emphasis
God

and

GREEK

EARLY

knowledge

undoubtedly

was

In the seventh

century

PHILOSOPHY

ANCIENT

IN

B.

increased

It

his

by

c., the Greeks

11

had

travels.

respect

mostly inorganic
science,however,
astronomy, geography, and meteor
knowledge of organic pheno
ology. The earlyGreek
and
was
mena
as, for example, medical
very meagre,
knowledge. They also showed little genu
physiological
ine research in the field of mathematics, although they
information
here
and
had
picked up mathematical
scientists.
there. Many of the first philosopherswere
able

of

body

physical science.

was

"

(3)

Not

system

out

he

only did

chaos

of the

also

but

into scientific
physicalinformation
earlydid he show an especialinterest
This

conduct.

in human

of his

earlybring a religious
naturalism, not only did

his

earlythrow

form

the Greek

can

be

first in

seen

Homer

in Hesiod
developed form
with still deeper reflection in the
B.
poets. Although the Iliad is a descriptive
For example,
in ethical observations.
it abounds
is to fight for one's
The
best omen
says,

(800
(700

C.), in
c.), and

B.

Gnomic
poem,
Hector

more

"

country

"

the

without

and

in

Nestor

tie of

kin,

council

lawless

says,

man

"

without

wretch
a

home,

delightsin civil strife." The poem by He

and
siod ( Works
Days) is intended to teach morals.
It is distinctly
didactic poem.
Hesiod
stands at the
a
beginning of a long line of Greek ethical teachers. His
moral observations
expressed.
are, however, incoherently
but are
They are not wide generalizations,
only com
ments
singleexperiences.The Gnomic
poets ap
upon
peared at the end of the seventh century B. c., as the
moral
reformers
in the age of political
disturbances.
This period was
called by the Greeks
the age of the
is he

Seven

who

Wise

Men

; for

among

the

men

who

were

then

GREEK

EARLY

1.
of
a

T/ie

Greek
nominal

This

does

IN

ANCIENT

PHILOSOPHY

13

begins with the birth

Cosmological Period
philosophicalreflection (625 B. c.) and has
(480 B. c.).
ending with the Persian wars
not

mean

that

the

interest

of the Greeks

in

no
cosmology stopped in 480 B. c., but that it was
longertheir prominent interest. Cosmology is the study
of the physical universe
of the reality
(the cosmos).
The
particularcosmologicalquestion occupying the
be stated thus :
in this period may
of the Greeks
minds
What, amid the changes of the physicalworld, is per
? This will be seen
to be a philosophical
manent
ques
tion and not the same
as
a
questionin natural science.
the colonies
The
theatre of philosophical
activitywas
Two
and not the motherland.
important aspects of this
period must be considered besides the philosophical,
situation and the religious
the political
mysteries.
2. The Anthropological Period
begins in the mo
before
therland
the cosmologicalmovement
ended
in
the colonies. It starts with a great social impulse just
after the victories of the Persian
wars
(480 B. c.) and
ends with the death of Socrates (399 B. c.). Athens
is
This
the centre.
productive
period includes the most
intellectual epoch of Greece
a
as
whole, although not
"

its greatest philosophers.

Socrates

is the most

striking

the L perjpjLTha .periodis called anthro

persjmality_in
because itsjnterest
pological,
js in the studv^of maiLand

physical universe. The word anthropology

the study of man.
means
3. The
/SystematicPeriod
begins with the death o"
Socrates (399 B. c.) and ends with the death of Aristotle (322 B. c.)" Alexander
the Great died 323 B. c.
The
period is called systematicbecause it contains the
three great organizersor systematizers
of Greek
philo-

not

of

the

HISTORY

14

sophy.
The

These

spread
the

through
tance

Period,

for

the
which

Democritus,

were

of

PHILOSOPHY

OF

Greek

culture
of

conquests

history
follows

of

thought
this

period.

its

beyond

Alexander

is
in

the

Aristotle.

and

Plato,

of

own

great

Hellenic-Roman

limits

impor

II

CHAPTER

OF

'NATURE

one

hundred

PHILOSOPHY

WHEN
of

enter

we

Period,

Cosmological

with

about

been

brought

ical

environment
On

genius.

partly by

the

aggravated
Carthage

the

on

the

Greek

and

by

Greek

Greek

life.
The

All

in

It must

civil

out

the

the

democracy

into

period

there

critical

external

of

Greece

one

for

We

to

the

added

was

The
In

end

of

sixth
both

the

Greek

poli
Greek

safety.
:

always

were

already pointed
the

oligarchy
These

Greek

history.

east

was

and

the
a

the

In

this

troubles

internal

threatened

and

internal,/

land.

century

Persia
Greek

the

that

They

these

which

philo

Situation

have

the

to

situation

its

between

throughout

itself.

Greece.

nation.

in

peril to

remembered

disturbances

continued

be

to

Political

be

interest

period

that

mysticism,

to

constant

themselves.

among

this

through

Greek

the

united

never

troubles

increasing

religion were

Carthage.

fighting

but

turn

find

we

of

and

east

hand,

sudden

half,

increasingly
the

on

other

the

philosophy proved

Peril

cities

took

slow

sophical questions.
tics and

On

west.

religion

its side

inherited
and

became

Persia

of

growth

the

by

has

geograph

his

partly by

Greeks

of the

politicaltroubles

the

confronted

hand, during this century

one

called

are

politicaland

the

Greek,

of the

which

situation, which

extremely interesting social

an

THE

fiftyyears

ourselves

find

we

C.)

and

Greece,

of

philosophical beginnings

the

and

the

upon

B.

(625-180

PERIOD

COSMOLOGICAL

THE

existence

momentous
west

there

OF

HISTORY

16

PHILOSOPHY

to wipe out
its
mighty empires that threatened
The
civilization.
expansion of the Persian
power
(on the one hand) had suspended a stone of Tantalus
Hellas, and it seemed
over
likelythat Greek civiliza
Oriental monarchy." 1
tion might be submerged in an
Cyrus had laid the foundation of Persia by taking Media
in 550 B. a, Lydia in 546 B. c., Babylonia in 538 B. c.;
added
by Carnbyses in 528 B. c. ; and
Egypt was
Darius
organizedthe great Persian possessions in his
arose

"

long reign from 528 to 486 B. c. On the west, Car

and at
thage was threateningthe Greek cities of Sicily,
the close of this period was
acting in conjunctionwith
of the Mediterranean.
Persia to obtain possession
The

the

Peril in

Religion : The

New

Pythagoras. Already in
litical
of the

the seventh

Mysteries

century

B.

societyof Greece felt that it was under

unatoned
guilt.
gods because of some

is full of

"

ills,of ills the

sea," sang

the poet.

c.

and

the po

the wrath
The

earth

Keligious

Dissatisfied with the old

universal.
depressionbecame
as
expressed in the theogony of
polytheism,especially
in the sixth century B. c. began to
Hesiod, the Greek
interpretit accordingto his present need. Among the
there appeared the craving for immortality
and
masses
for personal knowledge of the supernatural. The desire
uni
to solve the mystery of life by a short road became
from
looked
the
versal. Men
to rites to purify them
guiltof the world and for gaining personal contact with
of shades.
This
the world
new
religionbecame
panHellenic. It is called the Mysteries or the Orgia. By
societies founded
occult
on
Mysteries is not meant
some
intellectual

belief,as

Mysterieswere

based
1

the
on

name

cult

might suggest. The

(ceremony), and not on

Bury, History of Greece,p.

311.

17

NATURE

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

those of initiation
dogma. The specialceremonies were
and purification.
supposed to purifythe par
They were
The soul
of mind.
frame
ticipantand put him in a new
to
the malicious
spirits
would
then be protectedfrom
are
it was
which
constantlyexposed. The ceremonies
than
reportedto have been attended sometimes by more
people.They consisted of processions,
thirtythousand
The most impor
dramatic
spectacles.
songs, dances, and
the Orphic and the Eleutant of the Mysteries were
sinian.
The

Mysteries were

basis

the

of

of Samos
thagoreans.Pythagoras,
who went
to Italyand settled
man,

the

was

at

societyof Py
remarkable

Crotona.

His

sect

importance to us because in later times it

and astro
developed a philosophyon its mathematical
sides. Pythagoras and his immediate
nomical
following
the later Pythagoreans.
be distinguishedfrom
must
Pythagoras and the earlyPythagoreans were not philo
sophers,but a sect like the Orphic societyof Myster
is of double

ies,yet the

sect

in its scope.

It

much
more
Pythagoreans embraced
tried to control the public and
private
of

and

life of its members

education.1

Pythagoras

to

evolve

was

an

method

common

exiled

of

aristocrat,and

religiousbody in reaction
The
excesses.
only doctrine
against the democratic
which
Pythagoras placed any emphasis was that
upon
of immortalityin the form of metempsychosis (trans
bodily form into an
migration of the soul from one
dispersed as a religiousbody
other). The sect was
his

sect

was

about

450

school

of

aristocratic

an

B.

C.

The

philosophy at

Burnet, Early Greek

scattered
Thebes

members
until

about

formed
350

B.

Philosophers,
p. 104, for injunctionsupon

private life of the early Pythagoreans.

C.

thj

OF

HISTORY

18

PHILOSOPHY

philosophicalPythagoreans and their

number
theory,we shall speak in the proper place.
At the time of the dispersionof the Pythagoreans
there existed no longerany perilfrom the new
religion.
of the new
The craze
was
During
passingaway.
religion
the sixth century B. c. it was
a
great perilto the future
Had
it then gained a little
intellectual life of Greece.
it would
more
probably have been admitted by
power
the priesthoodto the temples. In the exercise of such
the priestswould
have en
sacerdotal power,
enormous
and
the priest
mind
to superstition,
slaved the Greek
Of

these

hood
There

later

in turn

would

would

then

become

have
have

been

no

an

easy

tool for tyrants.

Socrates,no

Plato, and

reaction
toward
a
Mysteries were
salvation from the political
asceticism as a religious
peril,
but they were,
however, equally as great a peril to
Greece. The medium
course
along the line of a rational
the
Greek
genius actually took,
philosophy,which
proved its salvation.
no

Aristotle.

The

Characteristics
tain characteristics
be noted

at the

of the

Cosmologists. There

of this

are

earlyphilosophythat

cer

should

beginning.
physical scientists,
(1) All the Cosmologistswere
and with few exceptionstheir scientific views were
note
worthy. Aristotle calls them physicistsin distinction
from
their predecessors,whom
he calls theologians.
togetherin schools. Tradi
(2) They often worked
tion has been common
since Bacon
that philosophycen
tres in individuals
historyshows that frequently
; but
the Greeks
in corporate bodies. These
worked
philo
sophicalscientists worked in schools ; justas the Homeridae developed the epic; the Dsedalida?,a group
of the
of art ; the Mysteries,relithe secret
earliest artists,
"

THE

PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy now
the time
speaks

gion.

NATURE

OF

is in the

and
cloister,

the intellect

public life.
school was
While
the Milesian
undisturbed, owing to
the long peace that Miletus
enjoyed,we shall find that
of the philosophersof the Cosmological period
most
of political
account
in retirement
on
persecution.
were
school
is not necessa
remember
that by
We
must
in
of pupilsunder
the established
a
rilymeant
group
A school at this earlyperiod is
struction of a teacher.
the same
of learned men
at work
on
a
problems.
group
of the group
shall find that one
Later on in historywe
in the positionof
learned
than the others stands
more
teacher : for example, Plato in the Academy.
The ety
hylozoists.
(3) All the Cosmologistswere
matter
mologicalmeaning of hylozoismis its true one
of

from

its retreat

19

from

"

"

"

is alive. This

characteristic

is the fundamental

of these

down
to
Anaxagoras, al
pre-Socraticsfrom Thales
authorities contend
that those from
the
though some
The
not
time of Empedocles were
hylozoists.
meaning
of hylozoism is simple enough, but the conceptionis a
mind
for the modern
difficult one
are
ac
; for to-daywe
customed
under
to think of an
me
impersonal nature
chanical laws. To the Greek of the Cosmologicalperiod
constitution
of the universe
is imper
the substantial
it is impersonal dead
sonal
living matter ; to us
matter.

Both

these

religiousbelief

views
involved

to

are

in

be

Greek

contrasted

witL

polytheism,in
is conceived
the cosmos
which
to be
livingpersonal
polytheismis again to be con
spirits
; this Homeric
of the tribal period,
trasted with the animism
in that it
had organized into an
aesthetic unity the early savage
animism.
These
hylozoistic
philosophersdid not, how
gods, but they treated their
ever, give up the Homeric

the

of

excitement

NATURE

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

religiousrevival

would

refuge from the troubles of the

troubles
periencein the political
the questionas to the permanence
less,its

tellectual

way.

theogoniesthey

MAP
(None
of
map

the

of

the

losophers

as

cities

which

they

found

110

except

the

later
this

activity during
were

the

centres

Their

time.
had

made

to

to

own

a
ex

paramount

things.Neverthe

of

turned

appeal as

not

in nature

answer

THE

WHERE

Cosmologists,

Philosophical

shows

When

SHOWING

Greece.

found

be

must

answer

21

in

and

traditional

the

their

in

an

question,for

COSMOLOGISTS
lived
Pythagoreans,
period took
place in
and
the
of philosophy

LIVED
in the
the

motherland
The

colonies.

homes

of

the

phi

indicated.)

only a mythical chronicle of a succession of

The questionof the
gods beginning with the unknown.
the original
not, therefore, what was
Cosmologistswas
form
is fundamental
of this changing world, but what
in the world
always. The time factor is no longer im
portant. Not the temporal prius but the real prius is
what
they seek. The idea of a temporal originof things
givesplace to that of eternal being,and the question
there

was

finallyemerges,

What

stitutes the universe

is

the real

substance

that

con

OF

HISTORY

22

The

classification

our

20,

page

on

back

Philosophies.Turning

Monistic

Greek

PHILOSOPHY

we

that

see

the

to

earliest

philosophersemphasized the monistic tendency,

had become
so
prominent in Greek religion.This
of monists was
composed of the Milesians, Xenoph-

Greek
which
group

School, and Heracleitus.

Eleatic

the

anes,

course

earlythinkers is naivelysimple,
like all naive
and
thought,it contains such contradic
is likelyto become
reader
im
tions that the modern
patientwith it. The value of the study of the philos
ophy of these early Greeks is entirelyhistorical. Its
of

reasoningof

The

these

historical value, however, is very

elation

of

the

throws

light on

Aristotle,and

great, for it is

culture

of

the

Greece

many

of

the

teachings of

of all it contains

most

the

nai've solutions

The

in
as

universe

which
itself,

of mod

philos

is the constitution
? Their

have

to

the substance

singlecosmic

the germs

and

answers

are

metaphysical"riddle."
the earliest philosophical

form

self-evident about
is

Plato

it

historical

to the

European history,seem

There

(1)

the

Milesians, who

school
facts

of

substance

time,

first Greek

metaphysicalproblems. These
ophers raised the question,What
ern

of

of that

rev

two

of the universe

substance

is the basis of all the

assumed

identical

changes in nature

with
;

(2)

life. The Milesians were

Moving matter is the same
as
con
quiteunconscious that these two assumptionswere
but the contradiction
tradictory,
impressed their succes

Xenophanes, Heracleitus,and the Eleatics ; and

divided them
in their development of philosophy.MatIX'ter which keeps identical with itself is the Unchanging *
sors

"

Note

lem,

the

further

substance
*'

that

technical

Becoming

that
"

in future

word

remains
is used

"

philosophical

Being"

forever

for the

is used

like

changing

for

the

itself, and
processes

of

discussions

this prob

Unchanging
the

technical

of Nature.

or

the

-word

PHILOSOPHY

THE

and
or

is

esses

23

oppositionwith Life,the Changingt

The questionfor Xenophanes,
moves.

which

the Eleatics

Heracleitus,and
ture

NATURE

into

brought

matter

OF

philosophy was : How

of life be explainedby

and

"

an

for

all fu

the

changing proc
unchanging substance ?
of a religious
reformer

can

"

indeed

who
more
was
XejiopLajifiS,
absorbed
than a philosopher,
was
so
assumptionsthat he developed it for

in the firstof these

his purpose

in his

social reformation
to the entire neglectof the
practical
second
assumption. The Eleatics,however, to whose
cityXenophanes had come, could not leave his doctrine
in its one-sided and undeveloped form.
They accepted
his teachingof the divine Unchangingness of the uni
thinkers
to
verse, but this compelled these profounder
offer some
explanation of the natural processes of
reallyexist. Heraclei
change. Change to them cannot
impressed with the aspect
tus, on the other hand, was
of life that is expressed in the second
assumption of
is moving matter.
the Milesians
He
living matter
in direct opposition
therefore maintained
to the Eleatics,
alone are
that the changing,livingprocesses of nature
real. The
two
contradictoryassumptions that lay so
doctrine
thus be
mutually indifferent in the Milesian
the basis of a sharp metaphysicalcontroversy be
came
"

tween

Heracleitus

the world

is

Eleatics.

The

and

the Eleatics.

permanent, change is
substance

an

of the world

The

substance

"f

said
illusion,

the

changes, perma
Either
said Heracleitus.
all things
is an illusion,
nence
are
permanent or all thingschange. These earlyphilos
of
ophers had no wealth of empiricalknowledge nor
psychologicalreflection upon which to draw, and it is
not
positions
strange that they should take extreme
and be blind to their practical
consequences.

OF

HISTORY

24

The

I.

in the
and

most

and

was

alone

century

was

able

B.

It

prosperous.
situated

Of

School.

Milesian

sixth

PHILOSOPHY

was

the

on

Miletus

c.

to preserve

one

coast

its

Greek

all the
was

cities

the wealthiest

of the Ionian
of Asia

autonomy

colonies

Minor,
as

and

it

neighbor

empires. Not until the battle

it captured and destroyed (494 B. c.).
of Lade
was
From
two
generationsof philosophershistoryhas pre
served three names,
Thales, Anaximander, and AnThe school is called indifferently
aximenes.
the Milesian
the Ionic school. The proximityof Miletus to Epheor
(as a glanceat the map
sus, Colophon, and Clazomenae
will show) explainsthe influence of the Milesian
school
of Heracleitus,Xenophanes, and
the doctrines
upon
Anaxagoras. Undoubtedly the contact of the Milesians
with the Orient and Egypt had brought to them knowl
edge and correct scientific observations of many sorts,
astronomical.
especially
of one
of the
Jhales (b. 640 B. c.) was a member
leadingfamilies of Miletus, and lived during the flour
ishingperiodof the cityunder the tyranny of Thrasybulus. He is counted
the seven
Wise
Men, and
among
class. He
belonged to the rich commercial
probably
and traveled in Egypt. He was
engaged in commerce
versed in the current
learning,predicted an eclipse,
and was
in mathematics
acute
and physics.Probably
committed
he never
anything to writing.Aristotle'?
the only data about him.
comments
are
Anaximander
(611-545 B. c. ?) was an astronomer
and geographer; he made
astronomical
an
globe,a sun
dial,and a geographicalmap. He was an intimate dis
cipleof Thales and wrote
Concerning Nature, which
is referred to as the first Greek
treatise.
philosophical
Nothing is known of his life.
warring

of the

eastern

"

"

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

(560-500

es

One

Anaximander.

B.

NATURE

25

the discipleof
?) was
is preserved of his writ

c.

sentence

i
ings,

Philosophy.

Milesian

The

the seacoast, and

tual

itself and

with

identical

22.) They

p.

the

changes
deeply impressed them.
to find the cosmic
curiosity

have

Milesians

The

of the

They
matter

at the

matter

composition of matter,
most
moving and therefore

said

was

that

it

water

was

mander, the Apeiron, or

tive choices

Anaximenes,
the

determined

were

had

what

intellec

which

remained

moved.

but

(See

to discover
to

find what

alive. Thales

most

air

Unlimited-

by

air must

an

not, therefore,interested

were

chemical

the

and

sea

time

same

lived upon

and

Their

seemed

Anaxi
respec

to possess

Thalea
mobilityand the greatest inner vitality.
is always
thought water possessedthis quality.Water
moving. Thales saw it moving. It therefore has life in
felt that no
itself. Anaximander
object in our percep
tual experiencewould
fullyexplainthe ceaseless mobil
the most

ity

of

nature, and

he

called

it the Unlimited

or

the

Apeiron. It is a mixture in which

end
lost. The
all qualities
are
are
changes in nature
substance, from
less,and therefore the singlecosmic
be endless as well, for "from
which
they come, must
whatever
source
things come, in that they have their
for Anax
end."
learn that this is just the reason
We
imenes choosing the air for the singleunderlyingcosmic
substance.
The air is the most
changeablething and is
Indeterminate

"

the

Unlimited.1
Both
ditional
1

"

Just

encompass

Thales

and

Anaximenes

polytheism of
as

our

the Greek

soul, being air,holds

the whole

world."

still held

us

Epic.

to

the

tra

Anaximander

together, so do breath and ail

HISTORY

26

rises

above

in this

them

Unlimited,

the

to

OF

which

PHILOSOPHY

respect. This

conceptionof

his scientific search

led him, is
"

regarded by him as Deity. He calls it the divine

(TO OCLOV); althoughhe speaks of it in the neuter gender
\t is,nevertheless,the first European philosophical
con
ception of God. It is the first attempt to conceive of
God
as
purely physical and yet without any mythical
"

In

dress.

Anaximander

the Milesian

monism

has

reli

gious aspect.
Xenophanes,

2.

the

Religious Philosopher

(570

of Anaximander
after
was
c.). The scientific monism
all onlyexpressiveof that religious
first
dissatisfaction,
voiced by the Wise
Men, againstthe Hesiod cosmogony
and the immoralityof the Homeric
myths. Now for the
conflict between
first time a positive
religionand phi
losophy arose
through Xenophanes, the rhapsodistof
Miletus, was
Colophon. Colophon, an Ionian citynear
B.

noted

for its obscene

and

cruel

and
religiouspractices,
his native citycapitulatedto the Persians, Xe
when
nophanes charged its feebleness to its immoral
religion.
He went toMagna Gra3cia,and, disguisedas a musician,
he

wandered

about

for

sixty-sevenyears through its

length and breadth declaiming in song against the
anthropomorphism, the mystic ecstasies,and the gen
He finally
settled
eral social practicesof the Greeks.
in Elea, southern
Italy (see map), and on this ac
he is sometimes

count

called the founder

of the Eleatic

school.

Xenophanes' influence upon the thought of Greece

threefold : (1) He
was
preached the Milesian philosoph
ical monism
to the peopleof Greece in the form of a reli
carried this doctrine from east
gious monism
; (2) He
"

ern

Greece

(Asia Minor)

to

Western

Greece

(Magna

PHILOSOPHY

THE

Graecia); (3)
and

Milesian

He

Milesian
remains

between

connectinglink
followingEleatic school.
the

was

the

Based

Philosophy of Xenophanes.

The

27

NATURE

OF

of the

one

on

the

assumptions,viz.,a_^in^le_cojniic_siihstan
identical with itself in nature, Xenophanes felt

l;hat "he had

right to

set

down

two

about
principles

qature.

substance
sin^lejprhnordial

1. The
of nature

The

is God.

conceived

to

substance

without

be

below
reality

nature

Anaximander

water,

name,

to

Anaximenes

God.

the

below

changes

which

unlimited

be
to

Thales

be

air,was

The

important point
here is that Xenophanes has not
given the Greeks a
conception of God; but that he has posi
spiritualistic
tivelystated that the su^s^c_e_^Ohe^universe is an
He
sub
devotion.
calls the cosmic
objectof religious
instead of callingit water, Apeiron, or air.
God
stance
It is a material
thing,and yet it is an objectof rever
He ascribes to this God a spherical
ence.
forjm,and yet
said

by Xenophanes

also

mental

all

"

power

to

of

and
(ei/KO.I irav),

be

God

omniscience.

yet he is

is

"

one

and

god, the greatest

gods and men, neither in form and thought like
among
mortals."
The positiveconceptionof God
unto
hangs
confused
in the mind
is scarcelya
of Xenophanes. He
who
monotheist,nor yet a pantheist.He is a hylozoist,
conceives
the underlying cosmic
substance
to be an
reverence.
objectof religious
2. The singlecosmic
substance
belp_w_the_"hanges of
nature
is ^changeable. To
the Milesians
the more
alive is it. Life and activ
moving is matter, the more
ity are the same
thing. To Xenophanes this is not
the case, but, on the contrary, the oppositeis true.
He
"

one

conceiYfia_Iio4_tobea definite sher

PHILOSOPHY

THE

It is

the

doctrine

to

too

29

realityis essen"
universalize
change by
has

permanent

was

NATURE

affirm that

thingto

one

it is another

tiallychange ;
affirmingthat
Milesian

OF

to

naive

no

existence.

The

go

as

far

that.

as

Heracleitus

pilesup figuresof speech to show that there

All existingthings are
whatever.
is no
permanence
passing-awaythings.Being is
only becoming "-things,
The
only unchanging
always becoming, about-to-be.
"

You

"

for fresh

waters

are

step into the

cannot

flowingin

ever

rivers,

same

you."

upon

"

God

is

and peace,
war
day and night,winter and summer,
satietyand hunger." All things flow
(?ravTapet).
"

"

What

motion

thing, but
"". Fire
a

deserves

and

abides

Cosmic

as

of the confusion

doctrine

abstraction

an

could

by

oj_ajl

But,

The

Fire

of

is the cosmic

material

He

he

localized

hearth

fire in

fire which

Heracleitus

not

mean

he

does

by fire
not

mean,

an

To

on

material.

the

up

by
meant

essence

with

Heracleitus

hand,

mean

that

For
itself.

darting,ever

ever

like the law

other

us

he

most_mobile.
is thinking

identical

sum

he does

tells

But

the hearth.

on

is

abstraction

remaining like_Jj^elf;
transforming

Heracleitus

means

substance

It is the

it is the

ever

evidently

Anaximenes

the fire

is

sense

transforming material.

and

substance.

thing,like

He

probably means

thing as

things bp^qiise

to

come

change.

stops

is fire,and

sort

same

is not

Heracleitus

cosmic

of

process

after all,the fire of which

is not
the

substance

just the

air.

the

as

"

mind.

own

we

of

conceivingthe

be wholly abstract.

not

the cosmic
fire

in his

toward

long way

goes

Here

Substance.

in explainingthe
difficulty

because

of Deity

name

Becoming.

"

is the

the

does

of change

material

ever

material, but

acute

some

of Fire.

Changes

Definite

The

c.

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

30

about

observations

the

changing fire. The Milesians

observe
atmosphericchanges and
the

rarefaction

and

tion

of

remains

to

been

content

to

condensa

name

of

of

cosmic

change.

emphasizes definite rela

of changes always
succession
change. The
Their definite relation is the only
the same.

Heracleitus
tions

makes

characteristics

had

forms

the

as

Heracleitus

goes

and

farther

permanence

in the world, and

foreshadows

the

modern

.Heracleitus' conception

conception

of the

uniformity(

changes are (1) fateful, (2)

rational,and (3) just. They show that the world is a
destiny,a reason, and a justice.This identification of
with the physical
ethical and logical
betraysthe
qualities
Undeveloped condition of the thought of Heracleitus.
The

of the law of nature.

In

general,there

are

two

characteristics to be noted

conceptionof a definite
of changes : (IX^Ilfi-cbangesjire
succession
always_a
(2) ancMjhe changes are in a
harmony of opposites_;
of change is not a flow in
closed circuit. The
process
with

one

reference

direction

to

like

Heracleitus'

river

over

its bed, but it is

move

oppositedirections.
not
means
only a passing into something else
into the opposite.Everything is the union of
passing
and everythingis the transition
point of opopposite*,
positesabout to separate. The flux of things is thus
is
of things,and this war
conceived
a war
as
poetically
"the father of all things."This unityof oppositeshas
an
equilibriumthat illudes us into thinking it is per
The universe is an invisible harmony, divided
manent.
into itself and again united.
Investigatelife and there
second
is life. The
antitheses
are
everywhere. War
generalcharacteristic of the succession of changes is
ment

in two

their closed circuit. Fire

NATURE

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

changes into

31

all

and
things,

thingsare changingback into fire. These two move"

called the "Upward Way" and the "Down
ments
are
ward Way." Downward, fire changes through air and
into earth. Upward, earth changesback to water,
water
air, and fire. With
every change,there is counterdo
change,action is accompaniedby a reaction. "Men
direc
in opposite
is drawn
how that which
not know
all

tions harmonizes

harmonious

with itself. The

structure

like that of
tension,
dependsupon opposite
the bow and the lyre."
Herad. The Practical Philosophy of Heracleitus.
of a metaphysicianthan
a
cleitus was
more
phys

of the world

and
icist,

his chief

was

concern

of
application
practical

the

looked upon

as

man

his

in the formation

and

theoryof change. He

bit of cosmic

fire struck off and

imprisonedin a body of earth,water, and air. After

in the
soul is released and absorbed
death this fiery
cosmic

fire. In his

istence

present state man

the life of the soul,or the

the life of the

and

senses

of the

has

divided

fire of the

ex

reason

imprisoning
body. The

the illusions of sense, and sees in its

the sensations are.
aristocratic isolation how
illusory
retires from

reason

For

th"j"ejtt3ejjjbejl^^
to the
while the reason
sees
through this deception,
of the world. Thus the beginning is made
changingness
by

Heracleitus

the

from

reason

in

sensations. Truth

because
Wise

he

Man

because he

reflections

of

is for the first time

againstopinion.The reason
Man
resignshimself to whatever happens
knows that it is fateful,
wise, and just.The
that all is change,and he is happy
recognizes
in the vicissitudes of his own
sees
providence

set
systematically

able Wise

distinguishing the

over

U^r^

life. Thus

in

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

32

hate, which

aristocratic

the

Heracleitus

againstdemocracies, he makes conformityto law

of Wise
Men,
only way to happiness. The reason

holds
the
and

the

not

of the

senses

be the true

multitude, must

guide of society.
Heracleitus

foreshadowed

theory
physical

His

in the
reappear
of the Stoics.

conquered by

been

Castellamare

now

brated

as

the

Parmenides
as

and

He

character.

cal power
He

Asia

Minor,

which

had

Zeno,

who

school.

c.).

470

influential

and

and

B.

c.

man,

He
with

is
a

strong influence
Democritus, and

represented
high moral
such

upon
was

politi

in the
not

was

which

wanderings had
refugeesfrom Pho-

Parmenides

B.

about

Plato

to

(543 B. c.). Elea is

of Italy.It is cele
coast

the west

exercised

philosophersas

Elea

Persians

the

(b. 515
wrote

serious

th^riim

his

the Ionian

birthplaceof

Parmenides

a.

on

of

of

course

the so-called Eleatic

founded

the modern

town

city in

great maritime

The

School.

in the
Xenophanes came
been recentlysettled by
caea,

theorist.

his practical
theories
relativity;
psychologyof Protagorasand the ethics

Eleatic

The

4.

and

of

and

law

of natural

observer

profound

was

cityof Elea, of which he was a native.

stranger to the Pythagoreans.The large

ex
fragment of his poem is the most ancient monument
of metaphysicalspeculation
the Greeks.
tant
among
Parmenides
takes the doctrine
of Xenophanes with
and what Xenophanes says about the
great seriousness,
all things.Xenoph
Godhead, Parmenides
says about
anes' religious
of an
unchanging cosmic sub
weapon

stance

becomes

doctrine

in the hands

of science

and

of Parmenides

the basis of

an

academic

logical
controversy.

NATURE

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

33

conception of Xenophanes in his

great didactic poem, The Way of Truth and the Way
of refutingthe
of Opinion, with the evident purpose
re
theory of Heracleitus. The fragment of the poem
the

used

Parmenides

dressed

veals the driest abstractions

a

period. Zeno was

(1) The Cosmic
sumption in the
that
singlematter
was

to

tempt

the friend

Milesian

prove

important in this
pupil of Parmenides.

and
is

Being.

doctrine

remains

identical

to

Parmenides

that

it,as

assumes

The

that

"

ever

it. He

poetry. As

most

Substance

self-evident

so

is the

Parmenides

thinker

in rich

if it

as

is

there

with

he

first

itself

"

does

not

were

cogent

at

by
everybody. However, he explainswhat he means
is
what
: Not-Being,or
Being in a negative statement
be thought. Being and thought are
cor
so
not, cannot
the same.
related that they are
Thinking always has
Being as its content, and there is no Being that is not
thought. Being = Thought. This explanation of Par
of thought and
identification
menides'
Being may be
put in this logicalform :
to

"

thinking refers to something thought,and there

fore has Being for its content
;
Thinking that refers to nothing, and is therefore
be;
contentless,cannot
less
be thought, much
Therefore,not-Being cannot
All

it be.

can

These
believe

propositionslook very abstract,and make us

to plunge immediatelyinto a kind
that we
are

of German

doubt

idealism.
is

But
of

Parmenides

leaves

the

us

in

no

hylozoistsof his time.

Being is indeed thought,but Being is also matter. We
our
equationto Being
Thought
may therefore amend
that

he

one

HISTORY

34

PHILOSOPHY

OF

Being is what fills space, and all Being has

this and only this property. All Being is therefore ex
actlyalike,and there is only one, single Being. There
distinctions in Being. By not-Being Parmenides
no
are
=

Matter.

empty space

means

that

Parmenides'

substance

is not

material.

So

assumption of Being as the cosmic

this : all that exists,
includingthought,

means

and

fills space;

that which

or

all that

does

exist

not

does

not

fill

space.

Being, the cosmic substance,is one, eternal,imper

material.
ishable, homogeneous, unchangeable, and
When
the world as it reallyis,when
men
see
they see
its cosmic
continuous
substance, they see it to be one
material

block.

intervals

of

The

world

nothing

is not

between

made

up

of

parts with

them, but it is

solid,

homogeneous whole. The cosmic Being is a timeless,

spacelessBeing with no distinctions. The form of Be
ing is spherical.It is cosmic-bodyand cosmic-thought.
This is the assumption of Parmenides, which
is so selfevident
to

and

so

but

prove

cogent

to him

number

has

no

not

attempt

only to explain it.

(2) Other Things than the

ing) have no Real Existence.
is filled,not-Being is empty
space

that he does

existence.

But

Cosmic
If

Being

space.
the

(Be

Substance
is space

However,

existence

of

that

empty
a

plural

of

thingsdepends upon the existence of empty

them. Furthermore, the motion of things
spaces between
and the change of thingsdepend upon
the existence of
in

which

and
move
change.
they can
Since empty space
is not-Being and
has no
existence,
the plurality
of thingsand the motion
and
change of
things have also no existence. They are illusions. The
and variety
nature-world,with its richness of qualities

empty

spaces

the

of motions, before

like the Arabs

its tents

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

Milesian
result.

The

plainby

the cosmic

But

up

of the aspects of the

one

cosmic

has

matter

curious

Xenophanes

sought to ex
nature
changes.

the many

substance

of Parmenides

in the hands

when

of

and

Milesians

35

"folds
logic of Parmenides
steals away."
and silently

logicaldrawing out
conceptionof the

This

NATURE

the

sub

cosmic

then there is no
realityto
reality,
changes. Consequently the concept formed for the
of change Jias_.sa_daYeiepei__as
.to deny
pla.naijnn
is all of

stance

the
ex-

the

change,.The cosmic substance excludes all

originationand decay, all space and time differences,
There
is only
and movement.
all divisibility,
diversity,
of

existence

real, all else is illusion.

one

But
as

what

we

can

it appears

to

us

say

Do

of the
we

varied

see,

world

of

hear, and

things and motions ? In Part II

takes
the question,Suppose man
he explain it ?
real how
must
as

touch

of his poem
the world
He

nature

answers

he

many
raises

of

change
by using
changes of

But these
explanationof Heracleitus.
ear
belong to the world of sense, and Par
eye and
I of his poem,
is talking,in Part
menides
about
the
to thought. Parmenides
real world or that world known
that the reason
insists as stronglyas did Heracleitus
shall be our
and not
the sense
guide to what is real.
from
Yet he arrives at exactlythe opposite conclusion
the

Heracleitus
senses

reason
nence

6.

as

to

what

the

reason

sees

as

real.

The

and
the changing. The
only the many
shows
us
nothing of the sort, but only perma
and unchangingness.
B. a).
Zeno
(b. 490-430

Zeno

show

was

those who

us

born

tried to

in

Elea.

reconcile

He

was

the two

contemporary
sides

with

of the meta-

PHILOSOPHY

THE

tivityof

motion.

Achilles

and

the

of

Results

The

flyingarrow

Conflict

the

One

1.

Parmenides.

and

he

proposed

of

rest, and

at

classic.*

are

corn

which

dilemmas

the tortoise,the

of

bushel

The

37

NATURE

OF

result

important
inconsistent

final conflict between

the

Milesian

that

teachingwas

Heracleitus

between

reason

of
in

motives
contrasted

was

this
the
with

experience. The more

fullythe
their
philosophersdeveloped their doctrines,the more
contrasted
with the opinionsof unre
doctrines became
appeared in this
people. At first the contrast
flecting
form : that what
naive
right,and
they thought was
what others
thought must be wrong, if others differed
from

with

reflection

sense,

Then

them.

reflection

givesthe

reflection

of

The

reason,

and

true

in this form

came

sensations

that

assert

to

has

he

that

that it gained

philosopherbegan
to

the false. Thus

such conclusiveness

to have

came

independence.
premacy

the contrast

feel

the

su

truth, to call

and

of
opinion."
by the opprobriousname
of Heracleitus
is curiouslyillustrated in the case
Parmenides.
Their opposing conceptions
of the cos-\

mic

substance

unreasoned
This

while

belief

each

to

calls the other's

monistic

study of

claimed

are

2. Another
the

"

be

theory

result

was

that

theory

was

found

result

the
"

in

opinion."
Greek

the
to

of reason,/

be

useless

thought
in

the

earlymonistic views led up as

but they were
not in them
steps to pluralism,
necessary
selves serviceable.
The
imperfection in the Milesian
teachingappeared in the impassablegulf between Hera
nature.

cleitus and

Parmenides.

Cosmologiststo
*

Read

These

see

if,on

It

the

Windelband, Hist,

Zeller,Greek

now

Philosophy, pp.

remained
basis

of

of Ancient
63 ff.

for

the

last

pluralism,they
Phil., pp. 67 ff.;

could

reconcile

not

obtain

time

Eleatics

in

was

satisfactory
result

was

of

that

the

at

same

nature.

between

controversy
the

averted,

was

but

time,

year's

interest,
crushed,

Greek

planted,

and

peril

the

from

the

immediately?

not
"

of

future

the

Heracleitus

in
but

had

when

supernatural.

the

after

sharp

subdued.

topic
time

many

Greek

The

established.

not

views

metaphysics
of

Mysteries

became

object

PHILOSOPHY

preceding

the

third
and

Orphic
nor

The

3.

the

OF

HISTORY

38

reason

for

came,

its

its

had

now

scientific
The

Philosophy

years.

issue.
mental

reflection
emotional

an

Mystery
life

of

which

interest

the

sup
in

III

CHAPTER

PLURALISM

cleitus

Parmenides

and

sian

school

their

modified

to

The

later

"We

not

but

only

thinkers

have

any

menides'

more

only

when

of

solution, when

he

to

had
if

of

to

look

turned

river

thought
in

draw.
now

away

riper

to

from

was

form

merely
a

course,

could

and

of

Par

of

or

Of

to

were

the

problem
It

come

had

Many.

become

twice,

therefore

permanence,

this

mad.

gone

change

the

that

preceding philoso

whether

about

which

philosopher

perceived

change

same

the

universal

life had

upon

the

time

of universal

human

of

as

particular changes.

monism

satisfactorysolution

experiences
Greek

The

Monism,

problem

Being

Heracleitus

All

from

Heracleitus

hand,

the

were

it once."

doctrine

produced

conceived

other

in

which

up

less distant

so

step into

usefulness.

the

the

abandon

doctrine

aside

to reveal

these

universality

the

monists.
to

Heracleitus'

had

reality left

do

been

for

set

On

cannot

and

logical,were

Heracleitans

had

phers

in

Mile

the

changing phenomena

of nature.

cannot

we

and

as

spring

to

theories

so

of

existence

little

was

far

so

of Hera-

of

motives

two

Eleatics

emphasized

so

there

not

The

of life.

world

in the
had

while

the

deny

fantastic

began

now

metaphysical

which

facts

the

part

developed

been

theories

the

results

theories

inconsistencies.

inherent

Physical

the

were

had

that

in

were

They

part abstract.

The

Reconciliation.

toward

Efforts

come

had

natural

more

for the

pluralism

for

his

monism.

At

the

outset

pluralism

which

the Milesian

tried

the two

to reconcile

motifshad gone. Its

doctrine of Protagoraswas

in the

ment

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

40

extremes

later

to

develop

extreme

as

as

that of the monists.

New

The

of

Conception

Change

of the Pluralists. Fac

change has to be explainedand cannot

to be not
be denied, change is conceived
by the pluralists
It is an alteration
but a transposition.
a transformation
of the parts of a mass.
in position
Birth,growth, death,
are
Empedocles, to
only such changes of transposition.
is attributed,says,
whom
the origin of the doctrine
There
is no coming into Being of aught that perishes,
death, but only a min
nor
any end for it in baneful
glingand a separationof what has been mingled. Just
when
as
paintersare elaborating
temple offerings,
they,when they have taken the pigments of many colors
in a harmony,
them
in their hands, mix
let not
so
that there is any other
the error
prevailin thy mind
that appear
of all the perishablecreatures
in
source
All origination,
numbers."
countless
then, is a new
combination, and every destruction
only a separation
of the original
Heraparts. The Pluralists thus make
cleitus' conceptionuseful in the explanationof nature.
ing the

fact that

"

"

"

The

New

Pluralists

The

"

in order

manence

be conceived

the world

Being
block.

is

consists in
So

to

be

that there

themselves
ever

the

the

But

Element.

by assuming

that in

units

of

Conception

there

same

This

are

many
change. The

there

is

elements, and

many

be

must

change.

that there

do not

of

Unchanging

the
per

only
original

can

mass

of
'

creation.

new

no

not

in

single

Empedoclesn
_

the

of th
the^onception
pnOTity^oFtormmg

which

has

occupied

anTmportantplace

in

science.

PLURALISM

41

by the Pluralists as unoriginated,imperishable,and unchanging. It has all the

attributed to his singleBeing,
that Parmenides
qualities
only the elements may change their place and suffer
The

is conceived

element

mechanical

Eleatic

Introduction
The

Cause.

Eleatics

less. How

they

can

selves.

They are
pedocles is made
the

move?

this does
in

not

sidered

be

to

in this

appear

How

cause.

in concep

form.

Pluralism

can

Authorities

hylozoism?

in Em-

importance

early time

undefined

efficient cause,

concept shows

of great

get

them

move

Here

efficient

or

to

change

are

cannot

without.

from

and
mythical-poetic

this differentiated

Efficient

qualityof mo
reintroducingit,

elements

They

concept of the moving

tual but

this

The

differentiation

nature.

separate force in order

moved

the

the

detached

into their universe.

movement

of the

Conception

Pluralists, in
it

make

thus

explanationof

in the

had

Being. The
obligedto make

ever,

Pluralists

of the

from

were

"

The

conceptionuseful

The

tion

division.

differ.

With
be

con

Certainly

the

beginning of the breaking

of
up of hylozoism and the beginning of the formation
a mechanistic
conceptionof the universe. But probably
the Pluralists were
much
as
hylozoistsas their prede
new

the monists.

cessors,

like

the

elements, and

nitelydescribed.
the material
tion.

Their

We

They

which

has

keep

must

except the Eleatics

Summary
Theories
The

efficient

they

in

are
a

in mind

believed

Similarities

of the

Reconcilers.

that

an

"

indefi
as

originatingmo

all the

movement

material

conceived

case

to

Cosmologists
be life.

Differences

characteristics

common

of the Reconcilers

every

and

are

poeticallyand

livelyor

of

general

are

causes

of

the

in

the

theories

1. A

of
plurality

2. An

efficient

the elements.
of
explainsthe shifting
causing the origin,growth, and
which

cause

in

the elements

decay of the world

generaldifferences

The

Reconcilers

and

2. In the number

and

Pluralistic

between

theories

the

the Pluralists

qualityof
qualityof

of the

the elements.
the

causes.

Philosophers : Empedocles,
and

Leucippus,

goras,

of nature.

"

1. In the number

The

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

42

the

Later

AnaxaWith

Pythagoreans.

completelyout of the sixth cen

Pluralists span the
tury B. C. The lives of the hylozoistic
fifth century, and
cosmologicalinterest extends later.
Even

we

the Eleatic

pedocleslived
500

pass

to 425

later.

B.

from
c.,

When

Zeno

the

in the Grecian

between

colonies,and

The

the

beginning

the

end

Magna
was
were
was

of

and

Gra3cia.

the

had

many

of

begun

Wars

the

it had

old

motherland,

the

dividing line
they denote
Athens, not

in

c.

B.

scientific ideas

contemporaneousness
with

in
Asia

Contemporaneous with
Age of Pericles,when
the

Minor

the
the

there

was

Pluralists

Sophists

the liveliest

of the Pluralists

similarities in their

and

people and Socrates

market-place.By the

throughoutGreek

the Athenian

an

in the

are

movement

reached

Abdera, the

movement

new

of the fifth century

and

Em

c.

B.

c.,

before

even

to
carrying education
teaching in the Athenian

another

in

of

the

interchangeof

430

periods,but only because

the brilliant

middle

B.

Democritus

Persian

two

the

to

Anaxagoras from
and the Pythagoreans and
Leucippus
stillvirile
was
cosmologicalmovement

systematicform in
movement
thropological
Athens.

490

to 430

490

its

in

lived from

society,
with

philosophersshows
doctrines

and

in

one

this

many

PLURALISM

43

polemicalreferences. There are four schools of Recon*

cilers,of which
Empedocles, Anaxagoras, Leucippus,
the representatives.
and the later Pythagoreans are
Empedocles* (490 to 430 B. c.) was the first Dorian
a
partisanof the democracy, and belonged
philosopher,
He
dis
became
rich family of Agrigentum.
to
a
a
tinguishedstatesman, but he later fell from popular
favor. Then, in the garb of a magician,he traveled as
physicianand priestthrough Magna Graecia. His po
prevent his direct connection

litical affiliations would

with

Pythagoreans,but

the

goreans

influenced

of

of

that

him, and

his

He

Pythagoras.

showed

he

career

that the
is

Pytha

imitation

an

acquainted with

was

the

Parmenides
theory of Heracleitus, and he knew
per
of the first rhetoricians,and was
sonally.He was one
with a largeliterary
circle. He is
probably connected
most
the first and
imperfect representativeof the re
The
conciliation.
story of his suicide by leapinginto
is supposed to be a myth.
Mt. JStna
of wealthy
Anaxagoras (500-425 B. c.), a man

antecedents,
in

mense

was

much

esteemed,

circle rich

in

Ionian

was

born

in

culture,but

Clazoiso

was

life. He declared
the heaven
to
practical
fatherland
and the study of the heavenly bodies

lated from
his

be his life's task.

he formed

where
ture.

He

went

of

one

lived in Athens

icles,but in 434
was

He

intimate

B.

with

and

such

Athens

men

was
as

the

Read

Matthew

450
men

B,

to

c.,

of cul

patronage of Per

expelled. In Athens he
Euripides,Thucydides,

Protagoras. He represents the

philosophyin Athens.
The life of Leucippus is almost
*

about

circle of notable
under

he

C.

to

be

first appearance

unknown.

He

Arnold, Empedocles (a poem).

of

was

PLURALISM

as

of

the author

the

45

aphorism,

"

Like

Like.'*

attracts

example, he conceives the physicalworld as con

tinuouslyrepeating itself through four cosmic stages,
therefore
in
centuries
each
long. The world moves
cyclicalevolution, in which Love is bringing like ele
ments
together only to be followed by stages of the
endless
an
separationof the like elements by Hate,
cosmic procession.
But
only a
Empedocles' interest in cosmology was
part of his dominating interest in the organic world.
For

"

He

evolution theories. His special

interesting
interest in human
physiologyled him to frame the first
is composed of the four ele
theory of perception.Man
held

ments,
because
The

some

and

he

Like

earth

in him

forms

air is the vital

contains

know

can

our

the

universe

Like

attracts

in the external

solid parts, water

breath, and

the

rier of life. If

world.

liquidparts,

fire is the soul. The

elements, and is therefore

the four

himself

around

blood

the real

car

perceiveanything,it is because we
have qualitiessimilar to that thing. The
element
in
outside. He
the like element
attracts
us
fancifullyex
plainedhow parts of each element pressedupon parts
of like elements
how

we

"

earth

upon

earth, air upon

air

and

clung togetheruntil sundered by Hate. The

of elements, while the
have only a partialnumber
senses
all ; therefore
has them
reason
sense
knowledge is par
tial when
compared with rational knowledge.
con
The
Philosophy of Anaxagoras. The pluralistic
ceptionof the nature-substance, that was originatedby
Empedocles in this crude form, got a more
complete
character
in the hands of Anaxagoras. For Anaxagoras
took exceptionto the arbitraryassumption of Empedo
cles that the elements
How
were
only four in number.
these

HISTORY

46

could

OF

PHILOSOPHY

varietybe derived from only

four elements ? We
must
postulateas many elements as
if by merely shufflingthem
there are
qualities,
by
various combinings and separatings
of them
their in
finite number
is to be explained. There, are
a plural
number
distinct. Every per
of elements qualitatively
ceptualthing is composed of these heterogeneousparts
But how
elements.
do you know
ele
or
or
an
qualities
when
? Always by the fact that when
ment
you find one
you divide it,its parts are homogeneous. The elements
this world

of infinite

"

"

are,

therefore,those

that

are

of nature

like
can

one

substances

another

be divided

another.

that

while

the

divide

into

parts

perceptualobjects

into parts that

are

unlike

one

"

seeds
They are called
by Anaxagoras, and
homoiomeriai
designatedas
by Aristotle and later
be remembered,
philosophy. This was a time, it must
when
chemical
analysishad not developed,and when
division and change of temperature were
mechanical
the
of investigation.
Form, color, and taste were
only means
"

"

"

the characteristics
axagoras
as

was

that differentiated

content

to

name

bones, muscles,flesh,marrow,

less elements

or

fire contains

an

elements.

elements

as

such

metals, etc. The

So An

things
count

divided
are
qualities
present in a finely
state throughout the universe.
Every perceptualobject
has present in it all elements, even
oppositeelements.
It is,however, known
and
named
by the element that
prevailsin it at any particularinstant. For example,
element

of cold

but

the

fire element

prevails.Oppositesattract, and the qualitative

change
in a thing consists in the predominance of some
other
qualityalready present in it.
For the efficient cause
of the combining and separat
ing of the elements Anaxagoras selected one of the

PLURALISM

He

elements.

called

47

Greek

it the Nous, the

word

for

Many historians have therefore con

of an
idealistic
cluded
that Anaxagoras is the author
'Aristotle says of Anaxagoras that he
stood
philosophy.
mind

reason.

or

"

out

like

sober

man

talkers that had

the random

among

preceded him." But both Plato * and Aristotle are dis

appointed with the way in which Anaxagoras handles
of fact,the
the conception of Nous
and, as a matter
it, is not less hylozoistic
Nous, as Anaxagoras uses
of Empedocles. In the Nous
and Hate
than the Love
threw out a thought that was
too big for
the breaking up
him.
Its introduction,however, marks
of pre-Socratic
hylozoism. Anaxagoras wrote down the
with matter.
the contrast
word, Nous, from which comes
He
strippedthe mythical dress from the efficient cause
of Empedocles and substituted Nous, because he wished
The Nous
to emphasize the unityof the cosmic
process.
of the elements
it is a
is one
thought-stuff,"
; it is
It differs from
all the other ele
corporealsubstance.

/Anaxagoras

"

in that it is the

ments

the

power

motion

is

motion

as

self-motion.

of

life,here

order

The

is

The

of the

the

Instead

rehabilitation
Nous

is the

mobile, and

most

If among

find

we

alive.

most

hylozoism,this
perfect form.
and

finest,the

new

of
of
cause

has

the

early schools
conceptionof selfa
departure from
hylozoism in more
of the harmony

cosmos.

Philosophy

of

the

Atomists

"

Leucippus

and

Only circumstantial evidence is

left to testify
to the earlybeginnings of the school of
About
450 B. c., owing to the rise
atomists at Abdera.
of Athens
of Cimon
the Per
and the great victory
over
sians,the Ionian civilization on the coasts of Asia Minor
the

School

Abdera.

at

Read

Plato, Phaedo, 97,

B.

had

lease of life,and

new

in
activity

entific

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

48

there

was

the cities. The

renewal

influence

of sci"

of the Mile

appeared and Anaxagoras' doctrine,which had

been
widely disseminated, began to have great vigor.
Among the philosophersof this section was one about
sians

whom

we

know

very

little,
except

and

that

he

Leucippus
Miletus
Elea

ing

native

his

father

in

name

of

place,and

in Abdera

settled

he

was

atomism.
after visit

Thrace.

We

know
^

pqlemic of

that the

atomism

porary

of

probably his

was

the

was

that

Zeno

and

know

we

the

Leucippus,of Protagoras,and
of atomism

the doctrine
ory of

Leucippus was

directed

was

against contemtheories of the pupils

of

Democritus, in whom

culminated.

"'

"

Probably the the

that the cosmic

substance

is

com

number
of elements quantitatively
infinite
distinct,in oppositionto Empedocles' theory of a four
fold division as well as
againstAnaxagoras' theory of
Atomism
of qualities.
infinite number
in this early
an
form
of the ways
that Greek
thought
represents one
claims of Heracleitus
took in reconciling
the conflicting

posed of

and

The

Parmenides.

sented

fullyin

The
band
not

an

Later

its

Crotona

its greatest

and

would

Had

Pythagoreans.
what

the

The

will be pre

Democritus.
representative,

members

probablyhave for the

importance of a local band

reformers.

of atomism

Pythagorean
designed it,had it
the

Pythagoras had
crushed
political
aspirations

remained
had

doctrine

scattered
historian
of

at

far

the

battle of

and

wide, it

of

to-dayonly the
and
political
religious

adversityat Crotona was, however, a

in disguise
for the Pythagoreans and for Greece,
blessing
for it turned
the Pythagoreans from religious
politics
to science and metaphysics.In the first
place,they be
the authors of an importantmetaphysicaltheory.
came

49

PLURALISM

This

in the

Ages,

Jews

place,the
branches

of

tem

theory had

modifications

totle,and

astronomy,

it

was

This

astronomy.

magic
second

the

especially
these

times.

two

Their

extraordinaryhistory.
preservedby Plato and Aris
most

the basis of

later became

of the

the

in

and

"

in ancient

very celebrated

became

astronomical
With

To-day

"

and

during

the doctrines

In
superstitions.
persistin our
Pythagoreans turned to science,

mathematics

to

with

the Cabala.

is called

in what

numbers

Period, flourished

united

and

Plato,

in Alexan

vigorousschool

Hellenic-Roman

Middle

the

of

influenced

which

numbers

the foundation

became
dria

theoryof

the

was

system

the

Ptolemaic

the

was

sys

scientifically

it was
accepted system for fifteen hundred
years, when
theory. It is a most sin
supplanted by the Newtonian
gularfact that the cosmologicalbackground of the Epics
Dante

of

Milton

and

is the astronomical

system of the

Pythagoreans as expressedin the Ptolemaic

system.
The
Reconcil
Pythagoreans,be it remarked, were
The originalethical motive
ers," but they were
more.
of Pythagoras jnfl mi n*(\_$\Gm_sui scientists. They did
"

not

to

attempt

ethical
and

motive

formulate
was

always

science
back

of

ethics,but

of their

the

mathematics

astronomy.
i.

The

Pythagorean

Conception

of

Being.

The

Py

is the most
advanced
thagorean conceptionjrf^reality
of any cosmological
theory in this period.The Pythago
but
the nearest
to
reans
were
hylozoists,
they come
transcendingthe hylozoismof their time. The influence
of the later Pythagoreans, whom
Plato met
in Italy,
upon

Plato

link between

shows

that

forms
Pythagoreanphilosophy

cosmology oJLthe- colonies

followingcomprehensive systems of thought.

the

and

the

HISTORY

50

PHILOSOPHY

OF

in the evolution
of Greek
important position,
thought occupied by the Pythagoreans depends upon
all
their conception of that Being that abides
amid
The

the
Change. Pythagoreanism is usuallyspoken of as
number
theory." This is,however, only a suggestionof
its import. For numbers
not to the Pythagoreans
are
"

the different

what

of cosmic

kinds

matter

the

to

were

to the
early monists, or what the several elements were
pluralists, Empedocles, Anaxagoras,and the atomists.
Neither are theyabstractions merely,such as we use in sci
entific reckoning. ThePythagoreans were
and
pluralists
whose pluraTnumbers
look beyond hylozoism.
hylozoists
There" are
kinds
in the Pythagorean
two
of_reality
teaching: (1) numbers, and (2) unlimited space. The
essential nature
of things,the Being that abides,con
sists in the shaping of this unlimited
space into mathe
"

matical

forms.

The

numbers

the forms

or

the

are

lim

ited aspect of

Being; space is the unlimited

aspect of
Being. Actual Being consists in the union of the two
aspects. Being therefore has two roots, each being ne
later Pythagoreans, indeed,
cessary to the other. The
called attention
the

same

the

other

ioned.

forms

of

were

of

of which

the

matter

out

the world

stuff

of

out

arisen, but

to

not

be fash

which

the

rather

are

Numbers
the patterns or
are
nature-objects.
things; things are the copiesor imitations

of numbers.

result is

not

are

nature-objectshave

of

numbers

kinds

their numbers

Cosmologistsconceived

Numbers
of

fact that

the different

as

world

models

to the

Unlimited
mathematical

or
a

material

of Plato's doctrine
totle of Form

and

furnishes
space
forms
furnish

thing. Here
of

we

Ideas,and

matter.

If

the

material

the mould

find the

were

to

the

earlybasis

the correlation
we

draw

in Aris
an

ana-

51

PLURALISM

and

Pythagorean conceptionof numbers

the precedingcosmological
teaching,we
and the
between
the numbers
similarity

the

logy between

part of

any

should

find

earlier

efficient

and

the

For

the elements.

have

function

four

like the

and

causes

more

elements

example, Pythagorean numbers

nearly like Love and Hate than
in Empedocles'teaching.On the

hand, Pythagorean unlimited

other
to the

carried

analogous

their

out

The

World.1

Dualistic

Pythagorean

goreans

is

space

elements.

Empedoclean
The

2.

numbers

the

between

not

Pytha

this twofold

conception of

studies and in their

realityboth in their mathematical
conceptionsof natural objects.It was from such inves
impressed by the dualism in
tigationsthat they were
everything and so reached their principle.They ob
in mathematics

served

of alternate

and

odd

limited

are

that

and

unlimited

even

divided). They explained

mined
forms:
by mathematical
be

tetrahedron

dualism

further

odd, with

the

unlimited
and

and

identified

Some

and
and

Dualism

pendent

and

table

the

male

belief

coexistent

that

form

of

air,of the octohedron

an

additional

They

the

fifth ele

carried
form
;

the

even,

this
with

while

the

imperfect,

Pythagoreans even

in the

unlimited
left

with

of the

they originateda

right

and

deter

as

the

by identifyingthe limited
and with the good
perfect,

this dualism

out

limited

the

was

the bad.

trace

numbers

elements

a3ther,of the dodecahedron.

the

ment,

icosahedron

odd

fire has
;

consists

(becausethey could

the

earth, of the cube

water, "of the

The

numbers.

even

the

number-series

the

odd
and

sought to
realms of experience,
many
of ten pairs of opposites
:
and

female

the world

principles.

even

;
;

is to be

one

rest

and
and

explained by

many

motion
two

mde*

53

PLURALISM

portions.The periphery or outer rim ia

Olympus, where all is perfectionand where the gods
is Cosmos,
Between
dwell.
Olympus and the moon
in circles.
all movements
are
all is orderlyand
where
and
the central fire is the region
the moon
Between
the move
all is disorderlyand
called Uranus, where
concentric

ments

are

and

up

disorder,and

section of

number

around

tachord, with

orbits

the

the

of

the

central

fire.

perfectnum
a
heavenly hep
planets as the

is the

is conceived

world-all

The

ber, ten.

lower

this

transparent globular

heavenly bodies

of the

is in

earth
in

moves

celestial bodies

shell like the

The

The

down.

as

seven

founded
the
sounding strings.Upon this notion was
harmony of the spheres,which harmony is not heard
In modifying this astro
it is constant.
because
by man
nomical
theoryand then acceptingit,the most impor
the
made
to conceive
tant change that Aristotle
was
earth

the

at

as

revolving about
Ptolemaic

of

centre

it. This

the
was

world-all

with

the

in

received

astronomers

form

the

sua

which

the

it.

searchingsof
the
the Cosmologists for a realityamid
changes of
for the Cosnature, what result can be found significant
and
valuable
as
a
mological Period
bequest for the
followingperiods? Are these crude scientific specula
of
tions of the early Greeks
to be looked
out
as
upon
Retrospect. In

Historical

connection
The
the

with

their

own

these

many

and

age

philosophyhad
Cosmological
firstplace,with reference to

its

the intellectual world

slavery of

W^hen
mystio.rfiliginn.

Thales
two

in

625

perils.One

B.
was

C.,

we

saw

to

come

century and

own

ol_Qieece

Greece

and
political,

age

definite results. In

two

half,it saved
a

the

we

from

started

confronted

consisted

the
with
with

of internecine

its warlike

from

danger

of

and

troubles

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

54

neighbors.

perilgrew still greater, until at the very end of

the battle of Salamis.
at
averted
the period it was
this political
banished
Greek arms
peril.But the other
This

therefore

and
subjective

perilwas

the Onhio
mysteries_flf

menacing.

more

have

religionwould

The

qnp.Tio.Tipd

its rational

the Greek

genius had

the Greek

intellectual life

not

philosophygiven
conceptions.In the next

new

place,itJap^uejit^_J"^^
well-drawn

contrast

6rder~an3Ta

world

an

into
was

of

in Mature

order

in

clearness
obtained

between

of

world

intellectual

z"f \
disorder. T"TEeTh6ugIit

sensuous

was
irTconformityTo^aw
the CosmologicalPeriod.

from

the

developed/
The

studies

astronomical

of

order

these

Reasoningfrom the order that they saw, to an

Anaxagoras and the Pythagoreans
orderingprinciple,
a teleological
almost,but not quite,gave to that principle
that these nature
meaning. The principleof permanence
found
in the great and simple re
scientists sought was
lations of the stars,whose
revolutions are the expression
with
of order and constancy. Impregnated as they were
their elemental hylozoism,
the Greek Cosmologists
were
in
as
yet not quite able to find an orderly permanence
the terrestrial world with its manifold
and intersecting
Yet Greek
motions.
thoughtwas looking forward. The
Cosmologist had alreadycontrasted the terrestrial asu
the imperfectwith the celestial as the perfectpeace and]
scientists.

permanence.
contrast

into
form

of

the

step

two

unity. Thus

a
a

was

realms

and

and

but

assthetical

but
Aristotle,

to the

in this

distinction of value

ing ethical
Plato

The

short

effort to

and

obtained

that

not
significance,

modern

the

bring them

astronomical
was

upon

from

one

concrete

had

only

thought.

last
upon

IV

CHAPTER

THE

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

PERIOD
PHILOSOPHY

Historical

An

The

riod.
Persian

Wars,

490

there

knowledge

all

Greece

over

mathematics,

been

unorganized
divided

sharply
that

they

movement

in

the

The

of

Marathon

battle
of

end

the

interest

beginning

in Athens

The

of

study

of

But

what

motherland

and
but

is

of the

human

relations.
mark

the

it marks

the
of

waning
rather

Anthropological

the

became

therefore

not

movement

the

and

the
and

does

of

this

to

up

sciences.

medi

particular importance

man

in science

Cosmological

had

special

Cosmological

Greeks'

the

which

the

starting-pointin

the

are

biology,

undifferentiated, now

Wars

Persian

the

makes

investigations

and

into

of

toward

impulse

astronomy,

physics. Science,

cine, history,and

the

battle

the

detailed

and

After

distinct

with

begins

C.

B.

Pe

Anthropological

Period

up

THE

C.):

MAN

the

480

and

sprang

in

begun

time

of

Anthropological

Marathon

were

OF

Summary

B.

(490-399

the

movement.

Anthropological

Periods

overlap.
The
three

epochs

affairs

The

Period

Anthropological

from

the

point

of

view

Wars,

490

and

480

of

itself into

its

political

"

1.

The

Persian

2.

The

Age

3.

The

Peloponnesian

first

cadence

easily divides

of

Pericles,

epoch

is the

of pure

Greek

467-428

Wars,

birth

and

B.

B.

c.

432-403
the

B.

last

civilization,while

c.

c.

epoch

the

the

de

thirty-nin*

OF

HISTORY

66

of

years

PHILOSOPHY

of Pericles cover
supremacy
life. In this connection
Greek

the

the

periodof

ripest

it is well

to

Hegel's thought that nations do not ripen in

until they begin to decay politically
(" The
tellectually
its flightuntil the
does not start upon
owl of Minerva
evening twilighthas begun to fall "). Plato and Aris
Greek
until after this period,when
totle do not come
life had begun to wane.
political
The
followingtable is a partiallist of the notable
of the period,with the date of their birth :
men
JEschylus,525
Anaxagoras,500.
(dramatistbefore Pericles). Empedocles,495.
Sophocles,495
Protagoras,480.
(dramatistduringAge of Peri- Democritus, 470. y
Sophists(many),
cles).
450-350.
Phidias, 490.
Socrates,469.
Euripides,480
of the Sophistic
and
Antisthenes,440,
(dramatist
the new
Aristippus,435.
learning).
Plato,427.
Herodotus, 475.
Thucydides, 471.
Xenophon, 430 ?
444.
Aristophanes,
mention

"

The

Persian

blow

that had

sixth

century had

the Persian
ful and

been

Wars

the

threatened

Asia

Minor

for

been
of 490

the
so

pont into Greece

pointedout1
1

Rise

of

struck, but
B.

and

c.
"

had
480

barbaric

civilization of the

many
and

years, had

swept

had

turned

been

that the Persian

Wars

Wheeler, Historyof Alexander

during the

been
B.

Tho

Athens.

Greece

impending over

splendidlyorganized

had

been

and

Wars

c.

averted
The

in

power

neighbor,"who
Greek
over

cities of
the Helles

back.
were

the Great.

It has

only one

of

57

Occidental

and

Oriental

series of conflicts between

MAN

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

along
strip of Asia Minor
has always been a disputed border
the Mediterranean
the
irreconcilable hemispheres. First was
land between
mythical invasion of Troy; then the Persian Wars;
of Alexander
the arms
then came
conquering Persia ;

civilizations ; and

of Tours

conflicts

these
more

sian

and

important in its issues for the

For
Wars.
*J1"U"[LJJIP^

Europe,
world

to

come

nnit.pfl

"

Greece

fundamental

to

the Persian

Wars.

Wars

and

to

shifted

was

Athens, from

entirelythe historyof Athens.

the largecities of Greece,
Corinth, ^Egina,Sparta,
where
Athens
was
Thebes,
naturallythe locality

classic Greece

Of

world

from

Indeed, the historyof

motherland.

to the

the colonies

born

was

"

Miletus

from

became

thought

the Greek

gravityof

after the Persian

whose

civilization

western

of

centre

Greece

the

"

of the world.

if not

niomentjof Greece^
ioHS.

The

did

before

instincts*. TheJlfi^cautui^UBL^^

inherited

Classic

first

greatness of her

the

strmigtfr,

the Per

Greece

Neyej
ofjiejrself..

consciousness

was

none

than

did

wflTS

of

each

While

us.

for

momentous

was

still have

to-daywe

question with

Eastern

eternal

the

the Crusades

then

walls

to the very

of the Mohammedans

the invasion

then

the

that

is almost

"

"

Grecian

civilization would

and

maritime

had

been

versatile.

centre

colonies fell. The

Ionian

mixed

race,

the Persian

Wars

settled,was
Before

when

the commercial
race,

and

by

it had

by

whom

nature

been

it
very

under

took the first steps

^Pislstratna^gko
In the
jof.^n__Aih"maj^jejn^ire.
toward_tlie_jfoundiijg

the wise tyranny of

periodbetween
Athenian

the two

fleet and

wars,

Themis

therebymade

tocles had

Athens

built the

the great mari-

OF

HISTORY

58

time and naval

of Greece.

centre

Athens

reason

why

should

become

and

the

PHILOSOPHY

not

indeed,every

was,

Grecian

other

some

centre

new

There

classic Greece.

of

city
The

and
stern, unintellectual,
oligarchical,
held
offensive to strangers ; the people of Thebes
were
the people of
strict aristocratic government,
under
a
and stagnant ; but
luxurious,
Thessalywere aristocratic,
the Athenians
were
democratic,social to strangers, lit
frugal,and alert. After the Persian Wars
erary, liberal,

Spartans

were

Delian

of the

and
confederacybecame more
the
centralized in the cityof Athens.
more
Controlling
for her own
fleet of the Confederacy
defense and using
for her own
the rich treasuryof the Confederacy
munici
pal improvements, Athens under the brilliant rule of
who
all
artists from
scholars and
summoned
Pericles,
Greece, was the only cityof Greece where the Renais
the power

sance

of Greece

possible. Athens

was

had

become

the

of the Greek
description
following
in regard to her.
Renaissance is especially
significant
The
Greek
Enlightenment. Followingthe Persian
Wars
there arose
throughout Greece a great national

eye of

Greece,and

the

The

intellectual movement.

naissance,the Age
Greek

of

mark

years

and
Pericles,

masterpieces in literature

the

the Greek

Re

time

the

when

and

plasticart were
produced. Perhaps the greatest Greek productionwas
cultural influence was
Athens
whose
itself,
personified
Pericles.
scholar-politician,
1. The
Impulse for Learning. In the first place
for edu
there was
a general impulse throughout Greece
cation.
Everybody seemed to want to know what the
science.
schools of Cosmologistshad
had
to say about
The Greeks
had wealth and therefore leisure ; they
now
had
into contact
with the Oriental peoples and
come
in the

PHILOSOPHY

THE

therefore
which
a

they

had

few

had

confined

been

in

scholars

their

in

place.Learning

market

59

curiosityexcited. Learning,
in the CosmologicalPeriod
to

schools,now

the

MAN

OF

the

forth

came

fifth

century

into the
B.

c.

was

Whereas

publicity.The objectsof
and
the learning of the
had
greatlywidened
began to filter into the generalconsciousness.
in the sixth century philosophywas
matter
a

between

learned

the schools

from

drawn
interest

scholars

into

in the fifth

men,

century

Soc

find

we

would
listen.
Sophiststeachingwhosoever
curi
2. TJie Practical Need of Knowledge. But mere
intellectual
osity will not entirelyexplain the Greek
There
had grown
movement.
up an imperativepractical
and other Greek
cities
need for knowledge. In Athens
the democracy of the fifth century B. c. had supplanted
the tyranny of the sixth century. Duty and inclination
in
togetherforced the citizen into active participation
cities family tradi
public affairs. In these democratic
tion and character were
no
longersufficient for success
;
but it became
generallyrecognizedthat the most useful
rates

and

and

the

successful

man

the

was

educated

plex relations existingbetween

citizens
sary

in the

for

the

education
was

after

more

need

the
the

changed
science

states

one

Wars

education

the

of power
from

and

the

in Athens

social
the

com

between

the

absolutelyneces

was

In

The

very

need
;

an

nowhere

short

positionof
inner

of

time

science

character

of

study of nature to the study

of ethical and
political
problems. Scientists became
of eloquence,for the citizen now
teachers
needed
to be
rhetorician.
and
orator
Statesmen
and generals
an
a
know
how
of law were
must
to persuade. Courts
pubchanged

the

and

states

Nowhere
politician.
imperative than
more
easilyfilled.

Persian
to

made

man.

PHILOSOPHY

THE

OF

MAN

61

gives rise to exigen

duties
that requirethe dialectic. In the conflicting
done by the wrong
of the wrong
in the justification
lament,

refute, accuse,
cies
and

skill is called

suffered,dialectical

weigh
does

ethical

the

link

for

manner

of

the drama

Thus

Euripides was

cles,and

in

motives

demand.

not

This

etc.

in the drama

to

the

epic
Sopho
-ZEschylus,
that

the

between

lyricand

gnomic poetry of the sixth century B. c. and the dia

logue literature of Plato.*
im
The
most
3. The, Critical Attitude
of Mind.
portant characteristic of this period is neither the in
social needs.
the increased
tensified social curiosity
nor
It is rather ethical in its character.
individualistic

"

or

the

"

free
in

man

tury

B.

critical
If

one

"

attitude
"

cityfeeling
free state

"

It is the "critical"

of mind.

This

the consciousness

in the first half of

"

began

with

of the free
the fifth

cen

and
developed rapidlyinto individualism
skepticismtoward the end of that century.
in a singleword
the history
to compare
were

c., and

of Greece

before

Persian

Wars,

ditional

and

beginning of

he

the Persian
would

the latter

was

Wars

with

that after

the

tra
was
say that the former
critical. Nevertheless,at the

Period Greek
traditional
Cosinological
customs
were
being weakened
by attacks upon them.
threatened
Religious ideas were
by the Cosmologists.
The
subordination
of the gods to the cosmic substance
attack upon
the established
an
was
polytheism of the
direct in the hands
of
Epic, and the attack became
the divestiture of Nature
of its
Xenophanes. It was
a
gods by science." The Mysteries were
part of this
departure from the traditional religion.But the new
the

"

and

more

Read

critical scientific attitude

toward

traditional

Grote, History of Greece, vol. viii,pp. 334-347.

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

62

only incidental to the growing criticism of

selftwo
law. In the days of the oligarchythere were
evident political
assumptions: (1) that law has validity
to law is for one's
it is law ; (2) that obedience
because
disturbances
advantage. When, however, the political
developed among
began, a self-conscious individualism
was
religion

the

Gnomic

The

Greeks.

Poets

had

been

the

first to

of the people.
appeal to the individual consciousness
All through the sixth century B. c. Greece
had stern ex
periences,and the individual found himself questioning
and
of time-honored
laws.
the sanctityof tradition
There
was
no
longer a tacit acquiescencein established
no
order, and the claims of authoritywere
longer,as
in political
formerly,unchallenged.Confidence
assump
tions

began

to

and

waver,

critical attitude

taken

was

changed from year to year. The

everywhere of the tyrant, the vigorous per
appearance
sonalitywho could set up his will against the will of
traditional
a
aristocracy,
impressed the age with the
seat of authoritywas
of individual egoism. The
power
toward

laws

shifted

which

tradition

from

institutions
The

Wars

the traditional
Greek

great moral

Greek
ent

and
uplift,

nation.

when

But

The

time

criticism.

the

pointof

the

critical attitude

return

for

the tendencies

united
became

freedom

to

to the

since

begun

effort

of the

of

that

intellectual

movement.

intellectual movement,

insist

more

danger was past. The Persian

atmosphere of its pessimism and
the

were

time

changes long
in the

from
of the

Wars

Persian

the
a

transition

the
the

heat

were

institutions.

cleared

the

themselves

suspended for

were

to

all

and

reason,

individual

under

mark

attitude
In

mind.

traditional

brought

were

Persian

the individual

to

Then

Wars
had

had

given

later,in

individualism

PHILOSOPHY

THE

and

criticism

into

positiveskepticism.

fullest

to

came

MAN

OF

universal.

became

In

Doubt

fruitage.

In the last part of the fifth century

ticism

63

B.

grew

c., critical

skep
anthropomor

religionthe

Epic passes under ridicule. Critias declares

statecraft.
of shrewd
the invention
that the gods are
the gods interfere in
In literature the Epic, in which
all human
details,yields to the naturalistic descrip
and
tions of Herodotus
Thucydides, and to the per
of lyricand satirical poetry. More
sonal note
impor

phism

tant

of the

all

than

laws.

it.

upon

member

attitude

toward

the

vhtf
authority,
placed himself above it and sat in judgmenc
tribal conception of guilt,that when
The
a

of the

Instead

individual

change of
law having a

the

was

of

divine

tribe would

the whole

tribe sinned

suffer

gods, had given way at the time of

Wars
to that of personal responsibility
the Persian
It was
retribution.
noted
that laws change in
and
the same
state, that they differ in different states, and
have a great variety.All laws seem
that moral customs
therefore
to be made
by man, and the question then
Is there any law which
?
has universal
validity
arose,
Nature
In the
of laws?
Is there any real prius or
Anthropological Period, the important question was
Nature
of human
the real prius or
about
institu
just as in the Cosmological Period the question
tions,^
Nature
of the world
of
about the real prius or
was
physicalphenomena. Yet the questionof the Anthro
was
a
pologists
part of the Cosmologicalproblem. The
Nature
Cosmologists had called the real prius or
remains
like itself,
and it is
that which
ever
(""uVis),
at

of the

the hands

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

now

asked

ing and

if

"

eternal

Nature

"

in itself contains

law.
politico-moral

The

any

contrast

"

unchang
is thus

OP

HISTORY

64

drawn

for

legal institutions
and

often

appears
The

worked
same

moral

relations

It

natural

interest

cism

consciousness

of
of

man's

his

relations

his faculties ? Has

are

and

reality?Or

the

detect

cannot

of

nence

turned

to

he any
do

faculties

culture
a

from

that
his

among

criticism
and

positivesocial

used

so

of

his

moral

fellows

What

the

man

to

him

give

him
of

What

the

truth

that he

so

life ? What

and
disputation,
rise to

may

fellows ? The

how
emi

an

Greek

thus

and
knowing faculties,

demands

made

criti

is man?

sham

in

from

thought

his

that

relations.

such

all deceive

they

real

be trained

they to

are

the

mental

the

are

with

law

Sophocles.
of moralityand
subject of the

whole

turned

constitution.

own

of

The

human

and

to discern

logicalnecessitythat

review

the

law.

divine

law

Antigone

up

statute

period. Human
only makeshifts,

in the foundations

opened

and

this

divine

or

in the

out

of human

was

dominates

law

regarded as
contradictingthe

as

between

natural

were

even

conflict

power

between

all time

the distinction

law, and

PHILOSOPHY

such

the
criti

science took
well-being.Greek
a
logic,ethics,
strong anthropologicaldirection,and
psychology,rhetoric,etc., took the place of natural sci
ence
subjects.The Greek in the fifth century B. c. was
cism

interested
and

in

man

volitions.

his

to

necessary

Of

in his inner

"

his ideations
activities,

this critical and

individualistic

tude

Euripidesis the literary

exponent
and
political
personification
; Socrates
its philosophical
expression.
The

Significanceof

the direct

of

the

Pericles

the

is the

Sophistsare

The

Sophistswere
intellectual change

Sophists.

bringing this
into Greek
life. They were
of this
the bearers
the missionaries
Enlightenment,and they were
means

atti

Greek
that

PHILOSOPHY

THE

OF

MAN

65

of
spread its influence far and wide. This significance
under
the Sophiststo the culture of Greece
was
never
until Hegel set them
in their
stood by the historian
dark side of their character
has been
true light.The
Sophist
painted in blackest colors,so that the word
has carried
an
opprobrium with it. They were, how
"

"

the exponents

ever,

the

cause

and

of it.

of the Greek

They

its excellencies

share

therefore
and

any

illumination,and

not

all its weaknesses

judgment

upon

them

is

de
itself. The most
the time
accurate
judgment upon
the exponents of
is that they were
scriptionof them
that can
QlgejLCulture in the age of Perjcleg.
; the worst
the Greek
is that they stimulated
be said of them
spirit
in which

in directions
Their

true

work

was

it should
to carry

have

been

controlled.

gospel of Greek indi

fault lay in the fact that
with hypoc
individualism
the

everywhere ; their
too frequentlythey confused
risy,and led their hearers to believe that appearance
true knowledge.
as
knowledge is the same
The word
the
Sophist" had a development among
Greeks.
It first meant
man
a wise
(the Cosmologists,
from
Thales
to Anaxagoras, were
Sophists); then a
of wisdom
teacher
a
paid teacher of wisdom.
; then
the Sophiststhere is a difference be
Moreover, among
the earlySophists,
who were
tween
inspiredby a distinct
the later Sophists,who
desire to spread culture, and
vidualism

"

were

mercenary

teachers, and

had

on

that

account

de

quibblers.In general,the ground

of the contemporary hostility
the
to the Sophistswas
hatred
and
of the conservative
reactionaryparty, to
which
belonged Aristophanes the satirist,2Eschylus
the father of tragedy,"and
the exponent of institu
tional morals, and Xenophon, who stood for a complete

generated into

"

mere

HISTORY

66
return

to

OF

PHILOSOPHY

This

patriarchalstate.

party

very bit"
radical spirit

was

and
againstthe exponents of the new
springing up in Greece. All the philosophersof the
new
learning,includingSocrates,suffered at the hands
ter

of those who

would

ticular, the

accusations

conserve

the

old traditions.

In par

against the Sophists of this

cavilers ; they taught for pay ;
: they were
period were
of education
they represented the universalizing
against
the old aristocracy;
institutions.
they menaced
The
then primarilyand, on
the whole,
Sophistswere
the transmitters
to the people of the culture
of the
time. They were
the teachers of the humanities
to that
not
but were
technically
philosophers,
age. They were
interested

in

philosophicalquestions.Protagoras was
the only Sophist who
the author
of any fruitful
was
occasional
philosophicalconceptions.Gorgias made
into philosophy. But
besides
Protagoras and
essays
be classed as philoso
Gorgiasno other Sophists can
phers,except possiblyHippias and Prodicus.
The Sophists introduced
a
profusion of knowledge
the
in lan
people.They made
investigations
among
guage, logic,and the theory of cognition.They taught
the principles
of the dia
literature,
history,grammar,
the eristic,
and rhetoric
all subjects
concerned
lectic,
with the art of human
expression.They studied and
with human
taught the specialsubjectsconcerned
re
lations,like ethics,the theoryof knowledge, psychology,
and politics.
Anything that had a place in Greek cul
ture was
and skillfully
systematically
presentedby such
men
as
Protagoras, Gorgias, Hippias,and Prodicus,
who
of encyclopedicerudition.
The
were
men
Sophist
"

took

the

education

of the Greek

teen, after he had received

his

child at the age

of six

first
elementary training,

THE

PHILOSOPHY

then

at the

and

at home

OF

boy's education
parts : gymnastics for

two

soul.

Under

music

school.

at

naturallydivided

was

the

music

and

body

included

was

67

of the teacher

hands

Greek

The

MAN"

into

for

the

geometry, performance

the chorus
and
poetry, as
lyre,pronunciation,
tronomy, physics,and geography. At the age of sixteen
such as the
he got his instruction by meeting publicmen,
Sophists,in the street, in the Agora, and other public
places.It was at this period of his life that the Sophist
into those
took his education
higher branches which
in politics,
for his success
society,and
were
necessary
law. Thus
of the Sophist was
the instruction
usually
and thus rhetoric,dialectic,and
for a specific
purpose,
on

the

the mental

long

The

one.

teacher

of

publicvirtue

was,

He

was

of the number.

eminent

and

great demand.

He

mentions

Thrasymachus
the Sophistsas

conclude

that

according to Plato, Pro

also probably the most
was

were

Sophists is
Sophist and a

list of

first to call himself

tagoras of Abdera.
Polus

in

were

Sophists. The

Prominent

The
a

sciences

born
the last

about
and

in the past. So

that

480

B.

c.

Aristotle
we

may

band

hun
they existed only one
dred years (450-350 B. c.). Already at the beginning
of the fourth century (400 B. c.) their importance had
In this hundred
find some
greatlydiminished.
years we
fifteen prominent Sophists.There
fourteen
or
is,first,
Protagoras,whose theory of knowledge is not only in
itself a contribution
to thought,but also of importance
factor in forming the materialist atomistic doctrine
a
as
of the school of
Democritus

bassy T6~
imitated

as

Abdera,

"

the school of

Leucippusand

Gorgias of Leontini, the head of an em

of eloquence,whose
Athens, a man
stylewas
we
by Thucydides and whom
might have stud;

bilitypresent
tradictories

equallytrue,

as

world

MAN

69

Sophistsof taking two

itself to the

Greek

the whole

OF

PHILOSOPHY

THE

and

so

the faster did

much

lose faith in any

con-

valid truth

and

dogmatism of the Cosis thus

by the
naturally followed
inologicalPeriod
skepticismof the Anthropological.Beginning with the
cautious and enlightenedrelativism of Protagoras,there
of criticism,until the later Sophists
up a volume
grew
applied destructive doctrines to everything. The best
of the philosophical
aspect of the So
representatives
were
Protagoras and Gorgias.
phisticmovement
Relativism
of Protagoras. Although theo
The
i.
skepticismis the centre and logicalresult of
retically
the teaching of the greatest
the Sophisticmovement,
called skepti
be strictly
Sophist, Protagoras, cannot
cism. Philosophically,
skepticism is not the denial of
this or that particularbelief as true, but the denial of
the existence of any truth whatever.
Protagorasrefused
either in denial or
to make
any positivestatements
affirmation
about ultimate truth, because,as he said,
in any

The

knowledge.

certain

"

"

we

have

truth.

no

Our

phenomena

insightwhatever
knowledge is
relativism

modern

times

mental

principlebeneath

ledge is
The
:
ciples

borrowed

human

"

relativism
the

never

of

or

such

of

doctrine

is that know

based

universal
;

on

two

is,so

far

he

as

we

that

sense-perception
of knowledge. In

only kind
Heracleitus' doctrine change is universal,each term
series of changes passinginto another.
The senses
source

prin

change, which

the second
"

only

the

absolute, but always relative.

Heracleitus

and

and

teachingwould be called in
phenomenalism. The funda

know, originalwith Protagoras,

is the

motions

to

Protagoras was

first is that

from

confined

His

of motion.

of absolute

into the nature

of
are

OF

HISTORY

70

PHILOSOPHY

part of this flux,and since they are, accordingto Protag

the

oras,

of

only source

Reason

unreal.

eral and

knowledge,knowledge is ephem
is extended

and

continued

sen

organism stimulates
of the body and is met by a reactingmovement
an
organ
The result is perception.Perceptionbeing
of the organ.
of perceptionis
itself a process, each present moment
know
cannot
the only knowledge. We
things as they
in themselves
are
insightinto the Being of
; there is no
A

sation.

thingsover
realityis

and
not

above

our

only what

individual,but

is the result of

is

ment.

Each

moment

of his

has

next

different

the

vidual's life. Each

man

Metaphysical
to

prove

causes
2.

and
The

Man

"

sensational

is absolute

truth

is true, and

the

for

himself

content

there

at

mo

the

ultimate
Nihilism

Protagorasteaches
of Gorgias teaches

moments

is the

measure

for

as

there
in

an

are

indi

of the true,

thing that
or

is the

moment

truths

are

harmful

is

good

or

false to another.

vain, for the only reality

are

of

at that

many

good ;

be
may
discussions

is the

as

are

individual

and
beautiful,
one

words,

perception.It does not matter if another

if at the
perception.It does not matter
his perception differs. Each
perception

only perception.There
individuals,as many
as

to

theory of knowledge ?

except that of the present

sees

exists at the moment,

true

such

things." It

truth

no
man

moment

the

individual

at each

it well in his famous

of all

measure

There

ism.

it appears

also what

Protagorasexpresses
is the

perceptions.On the contrary,

for each
it perceptually
appears

perception.

momentary
What

to the

external

movement

the

present

moment.

All

impossibleto be known.
of Gorgias. As the philosophyof
that everythingis equallytrue, that
that everythingis equally false.
criteria

are

THE

PHILOSOPHY

OF

MAN

71

Gorgias declared that Being, knowledge, and the com

of knowledge are
munication
impossible.Startingfrom
the dialectic of the Eleatic, Zeno
(as Protagoras started
that of Heracleitus),
from
Gorgias maintained:
(1)
be thought ;
Nothing is ; (2) If anything is,it cannot
(3) Even if it can be thought,it cannot be communi
cated. The knowledge of the thing is different from the
thing ; the expressionof the thought in words is differ
the thought itself.
ent from
Ethics

The

of

Critical

their

politicallife
Greek.
it from

When
the

Theory

ical institutions.
the

society.Since
tent

of both

The

Sophists.
"

to

of

Political

Application of
The

Life.

ethical-

importance to the
the later Sophists began to scrutinize
point of view of the individual,their
was.

skepticism became
himself, and

the

direct

The
citizen

the time

moral

paramount

and

individual
set

of

became

himself
the

Greek

to

menace

up

Gnomic

laws
political

had

a
as

law

polit
unto

superiorto

poets the
become

con
more

subject of reflection ; and at the time of

the Sophiststhe whole foundation
of law was
called in
the individual
is declared
to be
man
question.When
of all things,all legaland moral
the measure
institu
All rules of conduct
tions hang in the balance.
and all
then
artificial and
laws
become
merely conventional
products; and just as there is no standard of truth or
in knowledge, so
there is no
standard
of good
error
is the prudent
or
citizenship
morality.The good man
successful
and
man
; the good citizen is the
powerful
man.
Might is right.
Thus
the Sophists came
to teach
such doctrines as
these : Laws
made
are
by the strongest,represent their
be obeyed if they cannot
be disobeyed
will,and must
;
and

more

OF

HISTORY

72

it takes

strong

PHILOSOPHY

to make

man

law, but

stronger

to

only conventions invented either

by the many to restrain the powerful few, or by the few
Even
devices of the
to enslave the many.
are
religions
craftyto enchain the people. Obedience to law is there
of personal interest. Happiness is the
fore a matter
break

it ; the laws

are

Some
important consideration of the individual.
times personalinterest conflicts with law and law does
not then
bring happiness,for criminals are often the
that brings
most
to law
happy. It is not obedience
calculation
of ends
happiness but (Polus) a shrewd
with no regard to right or law. The
Sophistsmade no
They ex
attempt to put their theories into execution.
pressed the sentiments of the Greek people,and Greek
public opinion then pointed to segregationand indi
vidualism.
Plato said that, after all,the Greek public
the great Sophist.
was
It was
between
thus that the distinction arose
positive
law and
law.
natural
the differences
Reflectingupon
most

the

constitutions

the

among

alterations

constant

Sophist concluded
of human

that

invention.

be contrasted

with

as

is

all

binding on

fore of greater

Law

to

that

the

the

these

and

states

constitutions,the
were

positivelaws

were

law, which

and
such

was

equally.Natural law
than
positivelaw, and
Henry Maine says in his

Greeks

did

upon

greater part of them

were

natural

Greek

men

worth

it. Sir

in

They

to

antithesis

of the

not

found

is there
is set in

Ancient

system

any

law

of

because
natural law was
jurisprudence,
always referred
in arguing any question.The
to by them
only way to
find natural
law is to strip it of the mass
of conven
tional laws.

tory one

The

word

of the most

"

nature

"

has

been

ambiguous of words;

in its his

and

Protag-

PHILOSOPHY

THE

feelings
The

is

the

human

and

of

and

nature,

antagonistic

detrimental

to

of

Sophists

natural

to

definition.

limited
in

the

ethical

primary

nature

much

so

73

satisfactory

human

aspects,

appear

and

the

to

MAN

consists

complete

theory

individual

laws

"

nature

"

hardly

more

to

that

teaching

eras'

OF

its

law

capricious
did

more

and

"

nature

"

statute

be

to

seem

it.

Summary.
1.
was

Although

matism

of

interests
The

principal

of

object

stood

individual

to

traditionalism

attention

the

turned

Sophists

pointing
of

the

as

the

over

Sophistry

criticism,

and

dog

Cosmologists.

the

Sophistry

2.

3.

advance

relative

and

skepticism

for

to

his

thought

by

inquiry.

freedom

consciousness

and

man

of
as

the

final

court

appeal.
4.

the

Although

teaching,

they

had

Sophists
a

differed

mutual

very

much

in

and

common

dependence

their

presuppositions.
5.

The

Sophists

phasized
6.

basis

the

The
of

differences

Sophists
a

disregarded

sensationalist

among
built

up

the

likenesses

and

em*

men.

their

psychology.

doctrines

upon

the

CHAPTER

SOCRATES

Socrates
in

which

the

meet

the

other

by

who

the

Socrates.

that

interest

He

He

he

would

wrote

His

in

connection.

in

the

accepted
into

which

time

do

in this
find

we

age

there

tory. The

exposition

biography.
of

sources

phon's
of
ent

is

He

wrote

his

life

no

in

lights upon

complete
cal, and
versation.

critical

his

and

those

Plato

in

doctrines

character,

side

of

are

and

met.

tried

he

cen

the

great

first

person

in

his

essentially a

and

the

found
in

literary
Xeno-

in
the

writings

throw

together give
the

more

is the

is

Socrates, caught

idealizes

and

For

They

records

the

read

he

Socrates

Aristotle.

picture. Xenophon
popular

but

Symposium,

of

especial

was

inquiry.

teaching

and

his

is of

picturesque figure

more

of

life with

movement

centred

move

represents

nothing himself,

Memorabilia

Plato, and

of

philosophy

ality,and

Greek

Sophists themselves,

extraordinary personality of

than

Sophistic

Socrates

The

figure

rather

Clouds,

its truth.

tral

best

upon

movement,

times.

old

good

the

find

nobleman

rich

the

Sophistic

Sophistic
the

the

the

satire, The

the

it than

by Aristophanes,

upon

satires

many

this

to

was

of

ways

society tried

destroy

in view.

way

deeply

pride

government

many.

end

other

with

have

led

was

two

were

Greek

in

Aristophanes

back

and

ment,

One

Sophists.

would

of

elements

B.C.).

There

Aristophanes.

other

looked

He

to

and

(469-399

differ

fairly

sober, practi
in

casual

Socrates, especially

in

con

his

SOCRATES

75

writings,and he reveals Socrates' character on its

dis
imaginativeand spiritualsides. Aristotle is more
criminatingand less sympathetic,but always reliable
*
he is a generationremoved.
because

later

Personality and

The

Socrates

described
of

Silenus

and

contained

apt, for Socrates

He

his head

with
*

set

student

The

bilia.

The

Xenophon.
For

the

short, stout, and

shoulders.

read

translations

His

within

thick-set,
were

eyes

the

referred

to

here

Jowett's

are

etc., translation, Whole

Cooper, Spelman,

and

the

following references
Xenophon's Symposium and Memora

dialogues and

Plato's

the

shape of
description

in

image. The
fine spiritual
nature

his

should

sold upon

carved

was

upon

Alcibiades

Socrates.

made

were

had

shell.
astonishing

an

of

like the little cases

as

Athens, which

streets

was

Life

in

Plato

Works

of

(1851.)
of

method

Socrates,read

Charmides, Lysis, and

Laches.
of Socrates,read Plato, Sym"
personalappearance
posium, pp. 586 ff. and Xenophon, Symposium, p. 615.
For the physicalendurance
of Socrates, read Plato, Sym*
posium, p. 591.
For

the

For

Socrates'

435,

dislike

of

nature, read

and

the

confinement

beginning and
For

end

of

of the

descriptionof

the

Phcedo, beginning and

For

of
description

pp.

125-126,

585

ff.

For
men,

the
read

pe

p. 521.

Xenophon, Memorabilia,
For the charges,defense, and trial
Apology, pp. 116 and 129.
For

Plato, Phcedrus,

and

Socrates

of

Socrates,read

Plato,

in

prison,read

Crito,

Socrates,read

Plato,

dialogue.
death

end

scene

of the

the daemoniacal

Xenophon,

oracle's statement

of

dialogue.
sign,read Plato,Apology

Memorabilia,

that

Plato, Apology, p. 114.

Socrates

pp.

531

is the wisest

ff.,
of

77

SOCRATES

saic. This

the result of it. He

or

refused

He

to

walk

for it is useless

useful.

flowers

could

suggestionsto him,
inspired.His unpoetic and

offered

if it is

even

and

trees

sensuous,

of the

in terms

because

out

nothing. Art

him

teach

beautiful

asceticism,

to the

indifferent

was

explained the

he

and

to his

incidental

been

have

may

no

perhaps not due so much to his lack

of taste as to his originalmind
overflowingwith ideas.
said that as
but reflective. He
He was
not
perceptive,
tronomy is a mystery, geometry is land measuring,which
and
is merely permissible,
can
do, arithmetic
any man
physicssomething to be neglected. Ye may judge how
differ
unprofitablethese studies are by seeinghow men
found
He
themselves."
once
dancing at
was
among
home
by himself when he was expected to be at a dance
is also revealed in
nature
with others, and his practical
reminded
of its utility.
the fact that at the feast he was
nature

prosy

was

"

The

him

upon

called

ting
an

of

influence

Socrates'

daemon

or

divine

voice

He
felt himself divinely
interesting.
daemon
(Apology, 29, 33 f.) to unremit
the moral
perfectingof societythrough

is very

by

his

labor

in

of

examination

himself

and

Socrates

fellows.

his

deep religiousfeelingin all that he

he designates
This
undertook.
divine
leading is what
the
the God
He speaks of it as
his daemon.
or
as
through the oracles.
gods which speaks to other men
This divine voice was
with him, but as to specific
ever
him
actions it only warned
ac
against the injudicious
action. Specifi
incited him
to the correct
tion, never
what
as
callyit did not tell him what to do so much
was

moved

by

"

"

"

"

not

to

do.

beforehand
daemon

When
that

he
he

about

was

should

and
interposed,

so

make
he

to

prepare
to

the

relied upon

defense

judges, his
the inspira*

HISTORY

78

tion of

As

rates,

must

one

portance

in

character

is

his

his

life.

only in

have
his

been

and

that

say

his

campaigns

with

intellectual

it formed
The

small

he

was

the daemon

father, who

uniqueness
to

was

great in

trainingof

factor

measure

He

environment.

would

of

one

the

of the weather.

the education

to

PHILOSOPHY

in communion

stand

to

day, unmindful

whole

from

On

the moment.

observed

by

OF

of

one

time.

any

be

of
of

less im

Socrates'

accounted

those
He

Soc

for
who

men

got but little

from his mother,

or
sculptor,
who
He
midwife.
not
educated
a
was
was
an
strictly
of an
Athe
although he had the earlyeducation
man,
nian youth, and of course
could grow
no
one
up a citi
in the time of Pericles without absorbing
of Athens
zen
its culture. His formal
education
probably consisted
of music and gymnastics,and he was
certainlyfamiliar
with
the preceding schools
of philosophy. Socrates
lived a long life of contented
poverty, and he dedicated
his life to the public. Two
inherited
instincts were
within

strong
career

(1)

his power
There

his

alone

from

as
originality,

for

the

shown

his
was

gods ; (2) his great

in his teachingand in

others.

over
are

will account

strong religious
persuasionthat he
mission

few

except his death.

He

him, which

acting under
intellectual

was

his

strikingevents
He

was

born

in

in

Socrates'

Athens

in

career,

469

B.

c.

of redeeming
divinelyappointed work
Athens
from the dangerous tendencies
of the Sophists
of the Peloponnesian War.
He
at the commencement
served in three campaigns as a soldier. He
also acted,
called upon,
when
as
prytanis,or lawgiver,although
he stood aloof from political
At the advanced
activity.
accused
of corruptingthe youth
age of seventy he was

began

SOCRATES

and

seemed

be

to

intellectual

in

it

his

life was,

His

self,although he could

although they could

have

have

Greek

and

the

particularaccusers
them
personal animosity. Behind
efforts

his

whom

Behind

hostile.

made

reform

at

all

against the Athenian

charges againstSocrates were

voice

The
sides
Yet

as

his

moral
death

reformer
was

he had

others

Athenian
movement.

in part true, and

been

by

irony had

of

culture

conservatism

uni-

is there

many

bitter

his

of

actuated

were

the

was

ideal

were

and

judges,

It represents

Its value

individualism.

him

to

to his

Greek

His

fore historic.

the Athe

due

not

was

escaped,nor
acquittedhim.

conflict between

the inevitable

his
what

shows

his death

death

have

brilliant

and

tragicepitome of

the

"

would

illuminates

death

heroic, because

situation.

social

versalism

But

monotony.

realityhis

nian

one

makes

life and

gods. His life thus far

of unimpeachable moral

the

denying

79

be

publicnuisance.

judicialmurder.

of
guiltyby his judges. To the sentence
Socrates
by Meletus, one of his accusers,

He

was

found

death

proposed
had the right
alternative sentence, and the judges must
to propose
an
Had
Socrates proposed a small
the two.
.choose between
fine,it would probably have been acceptedby the judges.
He
proposed, however, that Athens
provide for him
in his com
at the public expense,
arrogant as he was
of virtue. The
placentsense
judges then could do no
the sentence
of death.
This
thing else than pronounce
of the sacrifice at
was
delayed thirtydays on account
Delos.
from
drank

Even

then

jail.But

he

the hemlock

Professor
characterizes

G.

Socrates
refused
in

H.

to

May,

Palmer

the life and

could
do

399

have
the law

B.

wrong,

and

c.

points out
death

easilyescaped

the

of Socrates.

irony that
He

stands

OF

HISTORY

80

for

harmony of opposite qualities.He

to the good of Athens, and yet Athens

the

himself

In

to death.

His

the service of the eternal

personalityis

own

In

with

scarcelyout

of Athens

put him

he sacrificed,,

was

soul ; he

sensitive

most

moralist

serious

ways

yet the

devoted

of this irony.
exemplification
physicaluglinessis in con

Greek

beautiful

his

and

austere

an

his un-Greek

appearance

trast

PHILOSOPHY

of

the

was

men

he

most

was

and

yet always a jester; he

and

yet he

world's

was

al
was

man

philosopherand yet he had no system

of thought and left no writings.
and the Sophists. In his point of departure
Socrates
Socrates is in entire agreement with the Sophists.He is

he

the world's

was

of
philosopher.Criticism is the starting-point
philosophyas a whole, and he begins each particular

critical

his

afresh

argument

This

with

critical

examination

of

its

he, like the

turns
Sophists,
the final court
of appeal.
to the individual
as
reason
Like
them
he refused
to accept any traditional
dogma
critical inquiry into
a
unexamined, and he commenced
and
the Sophistsare
all kinds of conceptions.Socrates
Greek
in the spiritof the
illumination
in their
one
intellectual
critical attack
problems. Socrates'
upon
famous
virtue js_ knowledge
could
saying that
equallywell be put into the mouth of Protagoras; and
is the measure
the doctrine of Protagoras that
man
of all things could
be ascribed
to Socrates without
inconsistency.

grounds.

means

that

"

"

"

"

In
the

his conclusions

in

one

respect Socrates

arrives at

re
point as the Sophists, but in only one
as
_tp_the worthlessness
spect. He_agrees with them
^pfjhe results of naturaLscifiiLce. Natural science can
same

"

..

not

be

worth

while, because

it does

not

lead

to

moral

SOCRATES

excellence.. The

meagre

the worthlessness

81

Cosmologistsshow

results of the

of natural

science

to

respect Socrates' criticism leads him

Sophists,

the

"

to

skepticismof

In this

man.

to

one

skepticismlike
science.

natural

of human
Socrates
set himself
entirelyagainst the out
nature,
of
of the reflections of the Sophists,and indeed
come
his time. In the absorbinganthropological
topicsof his
But

Jiis conclusions

in

of

time, he laid the foundations

the value

to

as

constructive

In

human

matters

he maintained

Sophists.
there is a validity
knowledge. He
of

phy against the skepticalconclusions

that

philoso^

the

of absolute
possibility
obscurities in
admitted
with the Sophiststhat there are
human
thought,and that obviouslythe standard of truth
But while the Sophists
does not belong to any one
man.
emphasized these contradictions and reasoned therefore
that no valid truth existed,Socrates cut his way through
contradictions
and
such
obscurities,emphasized^Jbhe
that the truth is in all
identityin men, and maintained
men
together, in humanity. It exists as an ideal to
be striven for by men
Protagoras says
together.When
is the measure
that
of all things,"he means
man
by
to

and

truth

"

"

"

"

man

used

the

individual

man

while

Socrates,if

that

he

had

have
meant
expression,would
humanity."
And
Socrates means
by his principle virtue is know
ledge that the knowledge of that same
humanity (".e.
reason) is virtue ; while Protagoras,agreeingas
insight,
he did formally with the maxim
that
virtue is know
in
the
as
ledge,"would always define
knowledge
dividual feelings. The
individual
is the measure
man
of all things,"Protagoras would
Humanity is
say ;
the measure
of all things," Socrates
would
reply.
Virtue is knowledge gained by the feelings,"
Protag"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

HISTORY

82

would

PHILOSOPHY

OF

Virtue

is

knowledge gained by the

the changing
reason," Socrates would
reply. Beneath
the varietyof men,
Soc
capriciousindividual, beneath
that there was
rates believed
a common
humanity, one
who
contained
the ultimate
truth.
unchanging man,
There
but only
are
opinions,ideas, and feelings,
many
one
knowledge. This knowledge is rational ; and human
is a unity in the possessionof this knowledge.
nature
This is the principle
Socrates from
that distinguishes
oras

the other

say

leaders

imbued

was

his

time,

withheld
culture

"

of the Greek

with

Illumination.

the motives

curious

"

and

ness,

about

critical of
himself

all

from

illumination

of

its

the Greek

While

he

culture

of

results,feelingits useful

tradition,
"

he

nevertheless

its

runs

skepticalconclusions. Any
the danger of defeatingitself

and

This is what
becoming skepticalof its own
powers.
actuallyhappened in the Sophistic philosophy. But
Socrates
when
set himself
and
againstthis superficial
self-destructive

of

outcome

his age, he

became

in his

constructive

philosophythe clearest and most compre

hensive expressionof that age. Because
he grasped the
principleof the Greek
Enlightenment deeply and for
it constructively,
mulated
his intellectual reign became
The
established.
fundamental
historically
principleof
therefore the real prin
the philosophyof Socrates was
and
civilization,
cipleof classic Greek
by saving that
Greek
civilization for
modern
principle he saved
Europe.
The

Unsystematic

sophy. The
for what
ness

of

he had

casual

Character
reader

preciselySocrates

of the Socratic

is often

troubled

Philo
to

know

searching.The vague
the Socratic quest is partlydue to the fact that
no
groundwork for
system. Indeed, he had no
is

83

SOCRATES

psychology or theory of the

He
undefined.
mind
human
was
speaks of sensations
and
the
the feelings
but they,with
and
perceptions,
by him to be unimportant factors
will,are considered
system of thought. His

in

thought by
tions,and

importance

any

he

as

Socrates

older.

This

voice.

divine

or

grew

attached

Socrates

which

daemon

his

was

was

aggregationof conceptionsor
of these
the activity
concep

an

his mentor

to be

grew

be

to

whole, the mind

the

feelingscloud
the only feelingto

The

ideas.

him

On

life.

conscious

the

never

psychologicalanalysis.He began
amounted
to con
rather with three assumptions which
these : that only by acquiring con
victions. They were
ceptions is true knowledge to be found ; that virtue,
consists in acting according to conceptions;that the
world has been designed accordingto conceptions.Con
ceptionswere, so to speak, an obsession with Socrates.
his instruments, and his goal.
his postulates,
They were
The other factors of the mind
were
neglected by him.
The
The
Ideal of Socrates.
goalof the quest of Soc
of things had the
rates is an
ideal, and in the nature

made

scientific

heard

We
a

is the

What

have

of

comparison

understanding
In

which

conceive

an

perceive

sensation

object
a

Greek

was

on

perception

other

is the

in which

I turn

tree, when
t.

the

An

no

e.

do

my

actual
retina

my

head

not

touch,

particular and

hand, universal

or

general

will

be

necessary

the

for

an

Democritus, Plato, and

of

of

actually
and
hear

transient

no

the
the

anil permanent.

in

object

an

conception

is

see,

will involve

understanding- of

sensation

away

Protagoras.

theories

consciousness

it is present ;

of

tree, when

actually stimulated,
the

many

conception.

general,perception

of

with

of

to

? We

conception

doctrine

of the

perception and conception

the
doctrines,especially of

actual

some

sciousness
Thus

of

where

ideal has

an

and

perception

perceptionsin the

point

of

content

between

about

perception

between

Aristotle.

deal

reached

now

difference

difference

good

have

The

ideal.

of any

vagueness

is the

con

it is present.

stimulated
sense

tree.

organ

To

is
the

conception was,

SOCRATES

the

But

ledge

or

contrasted

sensations
that element

"

Love

had

with

"

that of

but

Socrates

to

"

Wisdom

"

Greek

is

civiliza

Christianity.

What

comes,

its aim

as

greatest thing in the

the world," and

does

wisdom
? In

"

question

the

now

excellence

to

not

greatestthing in

"

tion is thus

the

Socrates

To

world."

love is the

Christian

that

show

World, which

in the

Thing

Greatest

85

of

kind

mean

the

as

know

greatest

Sophists^jwho
contrasj^to_the
rejied^upon
turned
and impulses as wisdom, Socrates
which

had

been

the

decisive

factor

oi

insight.The great
acts according to his
is insight.He who
est excellence
feelingsis not sure of his knowledge, but he who acts
accordingto insighthas the greatest excellence in the
But Socrates restricts the meaning of knowledge
world.
still further. Not only is knowledge to Socrates insight,
but it is moral
insight. For the problems in which he
interested
the problems of human
life and
were
was
Thus
the problem of self-examination.
we
principally
the

of

culture

translate

can

the

This

time.

was

conventional

the

Socrates, viz.,Knowledge

is

formal

of

statement

virtue, into

this

rather

excellent
longer sentence, Moral
insight is the most
thing in the world. For the first time in the historyof
thought philosophyis founded upon a moral postulate.
What
examined
Socratic
concerns

the
the

Socratic

Ideal

meaning

of

ideal. A
what

further

that

1. In the first

involves.

the formal

AVe

have

of the

statement

questionalong this

now

same

line

ideal involves.

knowledge is to act
Knowledge
righteously.
righteousconduct. Socrates
does not mean
that knowledge is merelythe condition
of right conduct
that knowledge actually
means
; he
moral
conduct.
The
constitutes
development of the
place,to
=

possess

OF

HISTORY

86

PHILOSOPHY

is

the development of the

as
actuallythe same
will.
Knowledge is virtue and virtue is knowledge.
Vice
is ignorance and
ignorance is vice. To have an
insightinto the truth is the principleof living.Not
of evil,but it is itself
only is deficient insightthe cause
reason

greatest evil. Not

act wrongly be
only does a man
the good, but not
the
he does not know
to know
cause
that can
good is the greatest wrong
happen to him.
virtuous
2. Not
as
insight the same
only is moral
but this insightis always accompanied by hap
activity,
of the good, and
piness.The will follows the recognition
the appropriate action makes
man
happy. Happiness

the

is the
Man

necessary

knows

result of moral

what

is

good

for

him

excellence.
and

does

Wise

The

it ; thus

in

performance he becomes happy. Socrates would sub

Be good and you will be happy."
scribe to the proverb
the part of Socrates implies that he
Such teachingon
believed
two
by unremitting
things: (1) that man
of himself
others could gain
and
examination
earnest
such perfecthappiness ; and (2) that the world is under
expresslydenied
providential
guidance. Socrates never
the existence
of the Homeric
gods and never
expressly
He is,however, always
declared
monotheist.
himself
a
He had a personal
wisdom.
referringto one over-ruling
of immortality,but
he never
conviction
attempted its
proof. Although Socrates had littleconfidence in human
knowledge about the world of physicalnature, he was
in
animated
to a conviction
by a belief that amounted
In such a
the providential arrangement
of the world.
divinelyordered world the good must be happy. Only
that always
a
perfectwisdom
can, however, be certain
the results of his actions will gain happiness in the en
his

"

vironment

in which

he lives ; but

still man

can

be

sure

87

SOCRATES

happiness increases proportionatelywith know

ledge. Greek philosophy did go beyond this point in
ethics,and this is called,in technical language,eudcehedonism
Eudcemonism
and
monism.
are
pleasure
similar. Eudaemonism
is the theory
theories that are
that active well-beingis the highest good in life and
that that good is always accompanied by pleasure.In
hedonism
pleasure is the good to be aimed at. In his
has easily
degeneratedinto hedonism.
tory eudaemonism
moral
virtuous
3. Socrates makes
as
insightthe same
and he says that its inevitable accompaniment
activity,
moral insightthe same
is happiness.Does he also make
as
utility?According to Xenophon, Socrates regards
is most
useful. Indeed,
moral excellence as that which
of the Platonic
in some
to
dialogues Socrates seems
define insightas the art of measuring or prudence,and
it is pointed out that Socrates developed no virtue so
fullyas self-control. In the exigenciesof the argument
that

Socrates

also often

resorted

to

the useful

to

define the

is the good ? often resolves

question,What
itself into the other question,
What
is the thing good
for ? Indeed, the form
of the argument often assumes
the vicious circle : Why
is the act just? Because
it is
useful?
it is just.For the
Why is it useful? Because
of disputation,
in which
Socrates
was
purposes
always
shrewd
and not always scrupulous,
he so frequently
re
fers the good to what
is suitable to men's happinessand
to rise above
profitthat his philosophydoes not seem
the relativism
of the Sophists.But
it is certain that
Socrates strove
this relativism,
to transcend
although
not with full success
and althoughhis formulated
teach
ing does not always go beyond it. However, that he

good.

The

believed in

an

absolute

rather

than

relative

good

ap-

OF

HISTORY

88

in many

pears

ways

PHILOSOPHY

in his doctrine

do

it

in

that

it is better

to

his strict

conformityto
himself from death by breaking
law rather than to save
of life as rightthe law ; in his constant
interpretation
doing, ethical improvement, and participationin the
that is always in the background of
good. The utility
his thought is the usefulness
for the soul. We may con
for the
clude, therefore,that it was
only superficially
the use
of argumentation that Socrates made
purposes
ful an equivalentof moral
insight.
of Socrates
The
to teach
was, after all,not
purpose
than

suffer wrong

to

men

become

think

to

to become

correctlynor
and

happy

cultured
Moral

Athenians.

useful

but

to

excellence

Socratic

goal ; and knowledge, happiness,and

usefulness
are
only aspects of that goal. Knowledge is
the essential means,
happiness the essential result,and
It fol
the essential signof moral excellence.
usefulness
lows as
a
corollaryfrom Socrates' philosophicalideal
that he should also teach : (1) that virtue is teachable,
Virtue
is obviously
and (2) that the virtues are
one.
if it is knowledge. It follows also, although
teachable
that all the virtues are fundamentally
not so obviously,
is the

the

and

same,

thing without
ate

man

Two

ternal

form

Thinking
a

being

cannot

man

Steps

to him

an

inner

conversation, external

in

one

or

reallytemper
just.
The

of Socrates.

of Socrates

of the method
was

wise, and
Method

of the

be virtuous

in all. The

virtuous

is also courageous,

The

of

that

was

conversation.

internal,was

ex

conversation.
The

result

evolvement,

This was
quite
implicitin thought made explicit.
the
of the Sophists,which
was
opposed to the method
supplying of knowledge. Socrates did not propose to
from
of knowledge except the ideal to
start
any kind

"

the

SOCRATES

89

Startingwith the presuppositionthat

contained
man
knowledge, the end which Socrates at
was
a
practicalone.
tempted to reach by his method
striven

be

With

so

for.

much

in

first step that Socrates

attainingthis
Indeed, it is more,

in

part of the seeker

examine

the

necessary

for

us

two

of Socrates.

steps of the method

The

let

summary,

deems

ideal of moral
"

it is

man

is

excellence

negative.
complete abnegation on the

for truth.

One

must

confess

that he

to a realization that
nothing,and come
He
individual opinions are
not the truth.
his untested
must
approach the subject as a seeker and not as a
is the beginning of
of mind
attitude
This
teacher.
the Delphic oracle amazed
Plato relates how
wisdom.

himself

knows

Greeks.

the
by announcing that he was
the statement
In reflecting
upon

he

to agree

Socrates

came

with

the oracle

wisest
of the

because, as

he

of the
oracle

said,he

ignorant and he knew it,while the other Greeks

Socrates
it. Before
were
ignorant and did not know
he professedor
as
began to examine
any conception,
sumed
to profess absolute
ignorance of it. He is the
modest
inquirer.He is always described in the role of
and light.
the questionerwho
is seeking information
He
laid the same
requirement upon others that he
was

did upon

himself.

The

dialectic

conversation

could

not

carried on
unless his interlocutors
had
successfully
of self-ignorance, the same
the same
meas
recognition
The Sophistswith whom
he often
of self-knowledge.
ure
laid claim to knowledge on
carried 011 his discussions
subjectunder the Greek sun and were
ready
every known
to teach
anything to the Greek youth. To Socrates'
mind
impede his undertakings than
nothing could more
such an affectation of wisdom
; to the Sophistsnothing
be

"

HISTORY

90

could

be

OF

PHILOSOPHY

repugnant than

more

such

confession

which

always obliged them to make. Although pro

fessingto be only a seeker for knowledge, he tried first
by his questionsto scrutinize and to break down with
his exasperating
logicthe half -formed conceptionsof the
egotist.This clear-cut analysisfor purely destructive
purposes, which he used in preparationfor his later con
structive conversation, is called the Socratic irony. As
he proved himself superiorto any of his companions in
of the dialectic,
he could begin his conversations
the use
Socrates

the

in

destructive

most

fashion.

His

method

de

was

structive of all

prejudiceand preconceivedopinion that

in any way
would
stand
athwart
perfectlyfree inquiry
into the truth. His wish
with
to begin de novo
was
beliefs having been
that all traditional
one, so
every
given up and the investigators
having confessed their
ignorance,constructive
study of the concept in hand
could be begun.
The

step in Socrates' method

second

inquiryfollows
is in this

cessary

but

in

theory. The

condition
us

of any

Let

sift

and

all. It

surface
us

the initial destructive

upon

part of the conversation

constructive

our

of

is latent

opinion.Let

in
us

is not

the
rub

criticism.
find his

we

dialogueis,of

for the truth

varied

that

in

dialectical

me

and

our

minds

concepts, unfold

our

in

nor

mind

own

its

course,

not

on

It

ne

thee,
the

together.
real

selves,

light.Our ideas sup

and have
a
common
ground. In
tellectual intercourse
intellectual and a personal
is an
need, for it reveals common
sympathies and a oneness
of life. Common
love of knowledge makes
friends, and
this mutual
intellectual
helpfulnesshe calls by the
mythicalterm Eros. Inquiryis indefinite in duration ;
briug the unborn
plement one another

truth

to the

SOCRATES

the

gation

ideal.

the

Socrates

of

Thus

had

twofold

philosophy.On

the

invitation

his

to

for the universal

that

ledgment

acknow

countrymen
truth

failed

had

he

the

on

theoretical

the

constructive
to

Socrates

and

beginningsagain and again his

his fresh

reach

to

ure

is endless

quest of truth

ledgesby

91

self-abne

in
significance

hand, it

one

other, it was
attain

his

was

an

in his search

help him

to

fail

acknow

an

universal

that

truth.

ence

Socrates

had

rever
religious
mission
in the Athenian
for his own
community.
the "gad-flyof the Athenian
public ; he was
was
of the time ; he was
educator
divinelyappointed to

and

Socrates

Athens.

"

He
the

the Athenian

people. He

felt himself

so

to the

necessary

his trial he

proudly suggested
that instead of punishing him the State keep him at the
in the Prytaneum. But
the educator
public expense
and
creates
nothing ; he only awakens
develops the
Athe
human
of knowledge that lie latent. The
germs
is big with truth ; Socrates was
nian nature
divinelyap
pointed to bring it forth. He called his method, after
of midwifery of his mother, the maieutic
the profession
intellectual midwifery,and he was
It was
method.
the
of Athens.
intellectual midwife
Although he failed to
State that

Athenian

find any
any

of

form

concrete

doubt

at

the correctness

about

undertaking the problem

failure

was

cernment

is

clear,so

ultimate

due

to the

and

so

far

as

his method

He

believed

weakness

man's

far will

he

know

believed

in

man,

true

and
that

of
his

of human

discernment
the

had

never

of

afresh.

inherent

truth, he

dis

insight
of
significance
or

things.
Socrates
man

were

contained

all those

and

he

elements

believed

that

that make

up

in
a

SOCRATES

imperfectand
procedure,whatever

However
of

in the

and

collection

of

93

childlike

Socrates' method

was

lack of caution

in

material, however

generalization
hasty often

judgments, he nevertheless made the subordi

nation of the particular
to the universal
a
principleof
logicalprocedure.Xeriophon says that Socrates was
and define goodness
untiringin his efforts to examine
and wickedness, justiceand injustice,
wisdom
and folly,
times

his

and

courage

Socrates

cowardice, the
and

the

Lesser

state

and

the

citizen^
The

Socratics.

death

of

Socrates

His influence,
proved to be his transfiguration.
from his personality
more
widespreadand profound,came
than from
his formulated
revelator
a
theory. He was
without
An
the
true end of life,
a revelation.
absolutely
ideal to
an
Good, he firmlybelieved to exist ; but it was
be won
by each and all. After him, therefore,there was
of his doctrine,
opportunityfor various interpretations
and
His
several schools were
founded
by his disciples.
and most
truest
Plato, who is
discriminatingpupil was
in a class by himself
as
developing the philosophyof
Socrates to a systematicperfectness.
The philosophyof
Plato

stands

with

that of

Democritus

and

Aristotle

as

that Greek
civil
systematicphilosophies
ization produced. Besides
Plato there were
the Lesser
Socratics : Euclid (not the mathematician),Phsedo, ArisEach
of these was
tippus,and Antisthenes.
respectively
one

the

of the three

founder

schools

of

These

four

Lesser-Socratic

Megara founded
by Euclid, the
Elean-Eretrian
founded
by Phaedo, the Cynic founded
by Antisthenes,and the Cyrenaic founded by Aristippus.
The
influence of the Megarian and
Elean-Eretrian
schools was
unimportant. It may suffice to dismiss them
by sayingthat Phaedo was the favorite pupilof Socrates,
were

that

school.
at

HISTORY

04

and

Plato

that

for

short

ence

was

that

Lesser

of the

four

development of
well

since

have

the other

as

they place on
Socrates'

Cynic

and

formulated.

were

Socrates

to

to
to

schools

are

maintained

for its

be the true

and

these two,

two, differ in the accentuation

of the master's

in

Good

circle. The

content

The

is this
to

the

difference

being in
define

it,

of reach

universal

in order

eudsemonistic.
Good

the

is

contentless

is ideal
is

contentless
the

excellence

happiness.

two

This

ideal of

schools

good
;

Good

insightinto the
unambiguous answer

Goodness

between

and

is

one

otherwise

that

the Good

is to leave
the

that

affirm

to

question of Socrates, What

Good

that

doctrine.

of ideal excellence

individualistic

that

sake

own

affirm
go

All

it.

Both

They

will

Cyrenaic

complete,the Cynics and Cyrenaics tried to

and to show
to give it content
a practical
way
ing it. They attempted
that there is a
affirmatively
(1) to answer
validity
;
(2) to show in what it consists ;
himself
must
(3) to show how man
prepare
to reach

two

great types of ethical

pretended

teachingof

definition

own

two

existed

phase

some

The

important influ*

an

the

are

Socratics

the

school

later civilization and

schools

two

Megarian

Socrates.

of

had

and

These

here.

In these

schools.

theory

schools

contemporary

be mentioned

of the

after the death

time

upon

as

member

Lesser-Socratic

other

PHILOSOPHY

OF

and
is

to

the

or

the

gives a
Socrates.

consists in the

ethical way in which

this happiness may
be obtained.
It will appear,
therefore,that the Lesser Socratics
diametri
Sophisticthan Socratic. They were
of
callyopposed to Socrates' theory of the universality
were

more

SOCRATES

truth.
his

excellent

The

own

This

way.

Good

Civilization

humanity.

as

it satisfied individual

individualistic

schools,while the
it

were

be

must

is individualistic

of

of

95

sought by

virtue,and

valued

was

The

needs.

by

each
not

in

that

them

only
problem

common

happiness limited the efforts of both

results that they reached
in solving

quite different.

There

of

achieving happiness; one is

the desires,the other is by cuttingoff the
by satisfying
For
desires.
happiness is the perfect proportion of
is happy if his
desire and satisfaction. A livingcreature
desires

of

ways

whether
satisfied,

are

those

desires

be

few

or

theory of the Cyrenaic school, happiness

gained by increasingthe satisfactions ; in the theory
the Cynic school, happiness is gained by decreasing
In

many.

is

two

are

the

the desires.
The

Cynic

numbered
so

many

School

among
curious

Thebes, his wife

cles. Virtue

founded

was

its adherents
stories

by Antisthenes,and
Diogenes, about whom

have

been

Hipparchia,and

in the eudsemonistic

her
sense

told, Crates

of

brother, Metrois the

only end,

agreed with Socrates that this end is

to be attained
by knowledge. That is to say, virtue or
of gaininghappiness,and all
knowledge is only a means
the Cynics affected to despise.Virtue
other possessions
as
knowledge is therefore to be sought ; ignoranceis to
and

this

be shunned

school

all else is

matter

of indifference.

Riches,

and pain,and later

luxury,fame, honor, sense-pleasure
with logicalconsistencyall shame, convention, family,
and country were
objectsof contempt. Man must make
himself independent by cuttingoff the desires which he
cannot
satisfyor the desires that seem
superfluous.
He should keep alive only such desires as are necessary

OF

HISTORY

96

in

the

whom

to

contrast

himself

conceives

Cynic

the

stance

of

mass

Cynic is,therefore,the equal of

has independent lordshipand
in

him

to

Sophisticway

of the

midst

the Wise

men

are

Man,

fools. The
He

undesiringgods.

does

not

law

the

need

artifi

by

contrasted

was

in the

statutory law, and

return

founded

was

by Aristippus,
city of northern

Cyrene, a luxurious
of the world.
He
a
man
was
Aristippus was
Sophist and later a discipleof Socrates. After

lived

Africa.

to be

societyhe preached

of

School

Cyrenaic

who

first

refinements

with

circum.

of nature.

state

The

the

civilization. Natural

cialities of

all outward

independence of

In

existence.

to

PHILOSOPHY

in

he returned

death

Socrates'

included

his school, which

Cyrene. Here

to

three

he founded

generations of

his

own

of it were
Arete, his
family. The prominent members
daughter ; Aristippus,his grandson ; Theodorus, Hegesias,Anniceris, and Euhemerus, the author of so-called

taught that the gods were

In oppositionto the brutal
only great men.
the true
the Cynic school, the Cyrenaics saw
which

Euhemerism,

pleasuresof
tippus said that the
in the

be defined

sensations

elaborate

psychology of

doctrine.

It is

duration

the

of

own

than

of

intense

Man

The

him

The

has

in the choice

practicalproblem

and

can

developedan
its

summarizes

and
intensity
its value
than

(3) I can
they are

another's

determines

which

greater value

therefore

(4)

school

determines

sensations,and
;

The

(1)

sensation

Bodily pleasures are

cause
they are more

of

of life

end

always true

are

sensation

follows

as

bareness

Aris
FollowingProtagoras,

sense.

of motion.

in terms

originally

mental

know

not

(2)
be

only my

of greater value

reasonable

insightwhich

of his sensations.

of life for

this,as

it

was

for

97

SOCRATES

school,

Cynic

the

of

pendent

the

by

dependence
all

the

the

wishes

is

It
school

drew

If

fails

life

is

alone

of

of

be

to

is

is

man

The

trine
and

in

the

Athens
under

and
the

Cyrenaic
history

basis

Cyrenaic

Epicurean

school.

of
was

of

that

gain

Hellenic-Roman

schools

to

Yet

it.

is

man

pleasure,
The

body
that

highest

philosophy.
teaching

the

legitimate

years

great

of

schools

later, and
Period.

an

occupy

the

These

seventy-five
the

submit

have

The

plea

pleasures.

should

cannot

life

we

painlessness.

the

was

his

theory.

than

should

up

sufferer.

inevitable

an

Cynic

position

he

its

That

pain

maintained
he

peace.

failure.

never

pleasure-loving

more

give

While
that

serene

of

man

school

unhappy.

is

hope

can

than

the

constituted

so

it is

that

ground

and

consequence

has

that

rather

custom

bound
he

this

on

members

some

the

as

all, but

them

this

that

give enjoyment,

to

is

and

law

pessimism

reprehensible

It

sure.

fact

interesting

an

animal

appetites,

his

perfect

has

Man

Wise
from

uses

of

is lord

and

impossible,

He

in

Cynic's

the

to

thoroughly,

ecstasies.

He

himself.

forgets

never

life

inde

taught

Cyrenaic

The

of

spiritual

to

Cyrenaic

opposition

renunciation.

inde

individually

become
the

in

pleasures

satisfactions

to

But

world.

by enjoyment,

pendence

knows

how

was

Stoic

school,

predecessor

of

the

founded

were

will

doc

Cynic

The
the

important

be

discussed

in

VI

CHAPTER

THE

The
^

long

half

and
with

long

as

those

with

ends

The

period

Philip
In

c.

B.

this

thought

by

common

cause.

place, as
as

which

He

national

Greek

ideals.

the

of

The

Place

Greek
life

names

of

fruits
of

Decay

had

life. Greek

the

in two

the

in.

conquest

In

had

in

the

first
him

take

not

The

He

Greeks

second

c.

B.

years.

the

people

set

338

Chjeronea,

would

In

by

invasion

reasons.

The

waning.

the

Three

place, the
their

lost

at

was

worm

art, literature, and

and

Systematic

Nevertheless,

Democritus,

when

dissolution,
its

created

philosophy.

'of

two

Sparta,

of

the

reunite

the

among

began

Greeks

the

approaching

was

for

War

states

passed.

History.

richest
tems

Greek

had

manship

could

failed

was

glorious
root

he

representative.

spirit

of

accomplished

Macedonian

wars

then

Great

the
he

that

battle

begins

power.

supremacy

c.),

B.

the

and

Alexander

Orient,

the

ferocious

(371-362

of Macedon

It

Macedonian

of

the

years

Peloponnesian

the

came

Socrates

Anthropological

the

as

supremacy

First

The

only seventy-seven

after

filled with

was

Thebes

334

of

the

of

Cosmological Period.

days

C.)

Spirit.

death

the

length

the

as

cities.

of

then

It is

same

sorry

and

Grecian

from

extends

the

about

"

National

Greek

of Aristotle.

death

the

the

Period

Systematic
to

of

Waning

B.

C.-322

B.

(399

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

These

most

Greek

science

and

in

national

ripened

comprehensive
connected

are

Plato,

Philosophers

Aristotle.

with

its
sys
the

These

THE

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

great systems evidentlycannot

99

be accounted

for

the

by

years

Neither
the
they appear.
of the disruptedGreece of these
the demand
nor
be a sufficient cause
to explainthe appear
would

ance

of

social
need

conditions

Plato

in

or

which

The

Aristotle.

an

of the

interests

the interests of the

narrower
as
people became
The
Greek
broadly human.
philosophersbecame more
utilitarian
intellectual tendency of this short period was
The
interested
the
and
problems that now
practical.
the details of mechanics, physiology,
Athenians
were

Greek

rhetoric,and
the first time
a

"

The field of science was

politics.
systematizedto logic,ethics,and

classification

which,

centuries.

Sparta

many

we

and

shall

for

now

physics

find, will exist for

Macedonia,

not

Athens

Abdera, represent the spiritof the period.

do not
If then Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle

and

flect the time

bear
out

to

Greek

in which

they live,what
civilization?
They are

of all relation

to the

relation do
not

life of the Greek

re

they

isolated

and

people.
comprehensive and

On

the
they are the most
most
profound expressionof Greek life. One turns to
them
the most
as
perfectrepresentationof Greek cul
the intimate
ture.
expression of Greek
They are
thought,even if not of contemporaneous Greek thought.
of the two
They are the final statements
preceding
periods,projectedinto a time that had other interests.
the contrary,

to

close,was

its final

form. ~Plato did

-a,

jx^ression^and,
the

for

the

Anthropological
Period. In Aristotle the systematic cosmology of De
mocritus
and the systematicethics of Plato find a new
meaning, in a closer union, under a more
coordinating
Aristotle was the last possible
word of Greek
principle.
same

THE

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

tain,to present. He

was

101

dominated

not

by

the wish

to

things should be. To know and to under

stand, to explainby understanding the abiding reason
the fundamental
in things, to find out
principlein
things rather than to adjustit to the personaldesires
this was
the objective attitude
of mind
of the
how

show

"

Greeks.

an

saw

thought in form
rational analysis. The

ized
to

Greek

The

his

art

than

before

which

in criticism.

he

before

he reasoned

before
cosmos

stood

Human

in

he visual

he

subjectedthe form
a
was
harmony and
contemplationrather

elements

found

were

in

it

The
everywhere, but only as parts of that cosmos.
unity of the spiritualand the natural, which Greek
is the direct un
and
thought demands
presupposes,
broken
unity of the classic theory of the world." 1
the great theories of the System
By whatever names
atic Period
remember
that they
must
are
called,we
Greek point of view.
did not depart from this objective
At certain times the moorings of Greek
thought seem
about to be shifted, as when
Plato passes
beyond the
Greek
ancient
attitude and
anticipatesChristian mo
ralityby flightfrom the world of sense, and when Aris
totle elaborates his doctrine of a transcendent
god. But
the tie never
breaks, and the Systematicphilosophers
Greek
remain
and not
modern.
They have the Greek
The
inner consciousness
objectiveattitude of mind.
"

does

not

stand

with

its attestations

other

against all
philosophersnever

things.The greatest of these

bone of
thought of himself but as
"

of the flesh

"

classic Greek

religionhe
1

of the

world

over

the bone

surrounding him.

and

flesh

In art
"

the

obey but not surpass nature

; in
worshiped beings that were
only superior
"

could

Zeller,Pre-Socratic

Phil.,vol. i,p.

162.

OF

HISTORY

102

PHILOSOPHY

he was
of a social
a member,
beings; in politics
To
whole.
Pericles, Socrates, Protagoras,
-ZEschylus,
Aristophanes,Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle alike,

human

human

nature

part of the world

mind

Greek

The

is

and

interpretednature

not

vice

versa*

than

rather

re

it.

created

then, is the

development of Greek
thought,and in what respect does the Greek System
atic philosophydiffer from the philosophyof the Greek
Cosmologists? Greek philosophyin the Cosmological
Period
with
starts
a
conception of an objectivehar
of nature
and
spiritwhich is called hylozoism.
mony
Step by step in the Anthropological and Systematic
broken
Periods
into a dualism
that harmony becomes
The philosophyof this Systematic
of mind
and matter.
Period
of the parts of one
is a dualism
objectiveworld,
What,

nature

of the

of
The
antithesis.
realm
subjective-objective
spiritlies side by side with that of nature, and the sep
reached
the complete form
aration and alienation never
that it did in the Middle
Ages. The great Greek
Sysin part represent this dualistic tendency,in
tematizers
In spiteof
it.
part are a scientific effort to overcome
this tendency [to a dualism]the originalpresupposi
and spirit]
tion [aharmony between
asserts itself
nature
not

"

in decisive

traits

of its

and

incapacityto
lies in its
factorily

shall find that the

reconcile
refusal

to

these

true

contradictions

abandon

that

cause

satis

presupposi

[unity] is canceled, there remains

to it no
which, ac
possibleway of filling
up a chasm
standpoint,cannot exist."
cording to its own
of Greek
A Summary
Philosophy. At this point a
of Greek
objectivephilosophy will be helpsummary
tion.

When

we

that

Zeller,Pre-Socratic

Phil.,vol. i,p.

162.

THE

ful. The

SYSTEMATIC

PERIOD

philosophical
problem that
Thales

since

itself out

had

been

had

103

been

this: How

working
we

may

Being that abides amid the changes of phe

scrutinized physicalnature
? The Cosmologists
nomena
and
nature
and, without
differentiating
spirit,con
The An
ceived
abiding Being to be livingmatter.
thropologists
(except Socrates)doubted if there is any
abiding Being. Among the Systematic Philosophers
think

the

dualism

for

the

first time

Nature

appears.

and

but both remain

entirelyob
spiritare differentiated,
Democritus
regarded the material universe as
jective.
abidingBeing, but in so largea way as to be able to
it a psychologyand
ethics. Plato
construct
an
upon
in
found
abiding Being in the realm of the spirit,
a

of

group

moral

and

aesthetic entities. Aristotle

at

between
materialism
opposition
To him abidingBeing is neither physi
and Platonism.
the spiritapart from physicalnature.
cal nature
nor
nature.
m
Abiding Being to Aristotle is the spirit
Greek
Philosophy (objective).
1. The Cosmologists Hylozoism.
of
form
some
Abiding Being is livingnature
livingmatter.
2. The
Anthropologists Relativism
(except Soc
rates)
Being is not abiding,but consists of transitory
to

tempts

the

overcome

"

"

"

mental

by

the

This

states.

schoolmen

is

form

of what

Nominalism, and

was

summed

called
up

by

the

3.

phrase Unwersalia
post rem.
The SystematicPhilosophers.

Democritus

"

Materialism.

Being consists in
in so large a way
psychologyand an

material
as

to

atoms, but regarded

furnish

ethics.

basis

for

HISTORY

104

Plato

OF

PHILOSOPHY

ObjectiveIdealism.

"

consists of

Being

concepts
tonism

moral

permanent

types. In mediaeval

or

called

was

realism

and

aesthetic

philosophyPla-

and

summed

was

up

the

phrase Universalia ante rem.

Aristotle
Conceptualism.
The abiding Being does not consist of material
in spiritual
atoms
nor
types apart from matter,
but is an
This was
in matter.
unfoldingessence
usuallycalled conceptualismby the Schoolmen,
and was
summed
up by the phrase Universalia
Aristotle's conception was
in re.
difficult as it
as
by

"

important. He was
but sometimes
conceptualist,
of an
objectiverealist."
was

always clearlya
appeared in the role

not

"

Democritus

and
The

Differences.
idealism

Plato

of Plato

Their

"

materialism

Similarities

Democritus

of

and

and
the

opposed as was
possiblewithin
the realm of Greek
thought. We must not exaggerate
their similarities,
but they had
at least four
common
were

as

characteristics.

Their

Similarities.

1. Both

outspoken rationalism,1 which

the perceptiontheory of Pro
starts as a reaction from
tagoras. They agree with Protagoras that perception
cannot
yieldtruth, and so they turn away from percep
tion to the reason
to find true
knowledge.
2. Both
develop a world of twofold reality.Percep1

develop

Rationalism

knowledge
alism.
source

is obtained.

Rationalism
of

is the

Empiricism

sensationalism

refer

Rationalism

is to be

is the

knowledge

Sensationalism
tions.

and

an

and

belief

has

belief

is often

that

used

that

to

the

the

contrasted

all

our

is

reason

higher authority

than

knowledge

for sensationalism.

from

sources

with
an

which

sensation

independent

sense-perception.
originates in sensa*

SYSTEMATIC

THE

PERIOD

regarded by them
perceptionsare transitory.Both
and
of perceptions,
give to the
tions

are

not

105

illusions,
although

as

make

world

estimate

new

of

perceptionsa
therefore two kinds of reality
relative value. There
are
:
of the world of perceptionsand the
the relative reality
The result in
absolute
realityof the world of reason.
both is a broad
theory of knowledge.
of
3. In both, realityconsists in a plural number
Both
reach their conceptionof these
norms.
objective
The changing qualities
of things
in the same
norms
way.
are
strippedaway and the true realityis discovered be
Both designatethis true form
neath.
word,
by the same
idea (iSe'a).
To both, the forms
are
objectiveentities.
4. Both
the
are
scientifically
attempts to overcome
dualism
which
had emerged from the former hylozoism
of Greek
thought.
TJieir Differences
The Development of the Mean
1. But the forms
ideas are
or
so
ing of Idea.
vitally
different
in the doctrines
of these two
philosophers
that they have nothing in common
the name.
On
save
the one
took the word
idea
hand, Democritus
justas
he found
it in popular speech. It is the shape of a vis
ible thing, the geometrical form
of physical objects.
It gets no
in his hands, but is merely the
content
new
With
Plato, however, the word gets a
physical atom.
"

"

"

He

meaning.

new

The

content.

The

idea

fillsthe form

idea

as

becomes

an

logicalspeciesand
of Democritus
1

Teleology is

teleological
cause,
purpose

involved

are

the

an

quantitybecomes
Idea.

The

an

now

forms

of

ethical

quality.

Plato

are

while the forms

teleological
causes,
atom-complexes.1In both philoso-

doctrine

which
in

idea with

or

is the
action.

that

things
"

same

as

exist

final

It ia contrasted

for

some

cause

with

purpose.
"

"

or

end," is the

mechanical

or

efli-

HISTORY

106

PHILOSOPHY

OF

But while Democof reality.

pliersthey are the norms
the realities of physical
ritus still keeps his forms
as

objectivehuman
2. This

his forms

conceives

nature, Plato

realities of

be true

to

nature.

between

difference

vital

the

philoso

two

explanationfrom the difference in

phers may get some
of each. To be sure, they
inheritance
the philosophical
both
were
being born in the Anthro
contemporaries,
mature
both
and
doing their most
pologicalPeriod
in the Systematic Period.
work
ac
Both, too, were
quainted with the philosophy of the preceding time.
But the ethical teachingof Socrates dominated
Plato,
the legitimateperfecterof
and
through it he became
move
the Greek
enlightenmentand the anthropological
But

ment.

what

Democritus

It

have

to

seems

Socrates

of

influence

the

was

tions

the

ethical

upon

him

who

from

that

movement

of

member

ritus

of Democritus

Life

The

twenty

was

about

ten

years

tion older
Aristotle

than
was

was

therefore

cient

cause.

tricityis

A
the

years

mechanical

pose of the man

in his legs is the

is the

moving
of

cause

or

yet

been

isolated from

Democ

Abdera.

Socrates, and
outlived

and
the

efficient

by

Democritus

genera

Plato

of the

movement

of
cause

to

runs

man

his

died.

the intellectual

with

teleologicalcause

mechanical

at

when

man

is

has

men

Cosmologicalmovement.
(460-370 B. c.). Democ
than
Protagoras,
younger

contemporary

trolleycar

he

only influence
from
Protagoras,

came

than
younger
Plato. He was
young

when

The

school

the

ritus is the finisher of the

Abdera

at

Athens.

at

movement

was

stands

Democritus

able to say.

is

nothing. Why

been

absolutelysilent about Democritus

? No
other Greek
one
philosophers

Plato

upon

catch
car.

and
He

move-

it. Elec
The

pur

strength
running
running.

of his

; the

going

ment

While

not

Athens

before

going

phers

were

Plato

Athens.

to

of

The

Aristotle.

Greece, Egypt, and

He

Democritus

three

Orient.

school
in

was

directlyfrom

Pro

Atomistic

school

the

traveled

the

outside

The

Athens.

Systematicphiloso

travelers, Democritus

wide

and

less than

not

extensivelythrough
He

then

returned

to

He remained
began his scientific activity.
the greater part
to know
Egypt, and came

and

Abdera

member

in

the

been

have

to

seems

at
Anthropologicalmovement
at Abdera
of Leucippus was
; and
in the Sophisticdoctrine
structed
was

under

come

the

tagoras, who

centre.

as

acquainted with the

Sophists.Abdera, where

the

lived,is in Thrace, and

he

101

well

was

epistemologyof

destructive

with

to have

appear

Socrates, he

of

fluence

Greece,

in

on

does

he

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

THE

five years

in

of western

Asia.

He

to Abdera

returned

about

420

B.C.,

begin his teachingbefore he was

fortyyears old. The length of time that Democritus,
and
Plato, and Aristotle took for their apprenticeship,
the advanced
they began their mastership,
age before
did not

therefore

and

is remarkable.

Democritus

gator of

in

nature

The

ancients

the

loss

is

one

of

and
antiquity,

greatest investi

Aristotle

used

for

his

admired

the

writingsof Democritus,

the

fourth

them

of the

most

in

scientific

own

lamentable

that

has

of antiquity.His
literarydocuments
extraordinaryin number, and upon every
ject.

Democritus
The

was

the real

and

Christ

happened
works

sub

exponent of the Atomistic

the Cosmo-

belonged to
Protagoras,the Sophist,

Period,
Anthropological

and

to

were

known

founder, Leucippus,belongedto

Period
logical

writings.

century after

the

school.

much

work

Democritus'

of

the

was

had

great influence

the

in the

THE

how

shows

the

than

SYSTEMATIC

much

becomes

109

systematicscientist

he

was

Cosmologists.

Enriched

The

of

more

PERIOD

Physics of Democritus
There

Materialism.

elaboration

is

Hylozoism

"

great enrichment

so

in

and

in the physicaldoctrine
generalization
of Democritus
that of Leucippus that it amounts
over
to a change in principle.In all probability
Leucippus,
like other Cosmologists,
and
did not
was
a
hylozoist,
differentiate matter
and life. He
is to be grouped with
the Reconcilers, or even
with the Eleatics,rather than
with

Democritus.

Democritus_was[^ materialist. The

periodof fortyyears between himself and Leucippus had
been the rich period of the introduction
of psychologi
cal investigation
and of the discrimination
of psychical
from physicalprocesses.
Materialism
is
or
spiritualism
not possiblein the historical development of the human
mind until it passes through justsuch a period of differ
entiation as the SophisticEnlightenment. Before
such
is animism
and
a period there
hylozoism ; after such a
and
of various
periodthere is materialism
spiritualism
sorts.
one

Matter

of the

be

must

terms

can

discriminated
be reduced

to

hylozoistic
pluralismof Leucippus
of Democritus
The

realistic

reduction

of

from
the

became

spiritbefore
other.

So

the

in the hands

well.
materialism, pluralistic
as

all

to a
phenomena by Democritus
mechanics
enrichment
of
an
theoretically
of atoms was
physics,for it anticipatedthe underlying principleof
modern
of things and
physics.The apparent qualities
the qualitativechanges of things are
conceived
by
Democritus
to be in truth
only a quantitativerelation

of atoms.

He

in detail

how

mechanical

set

before

this
motion.

or

himself

that

The

the task

qualityconsists
mental

life of

of

explaining

of atoms

in

must

be

man

HISTORY

110

OF

PHILOSOPHY

So too, wherever
he could,
explainedin the same
way.
he emphasized more
sharply than his predecessorsthe
mechanical
of atoms.
Im
necessityof the movement
of the atoms
the cause
of
was
pact caused by contact
and
is to be ex
occurrence
change. No event
every

plained as the manifestation

to some
spiritual
agency.
event

every

mechanical

for the chasm

Aristotle,and

or
spirit,

some

Mechanical

cause

of Democritus

of the doctrine
reason

of

is the

between

the

is behind

cause

unifyingprinciple

mechanical

referred

is the

cause

philosophyof Plato,of

that of Democritus.

It is the reason,

too,

obscured
until mod
was
theory of Democritus
times. All teleological
ern
conceptionsand all hylozoistic and animistic ideas are
expelledfrom the theoryof
Democritus, on the assumption that spatialform and
motion
are
simpler and more
comprehensible terms of
for the first time
have
we
con
a
explanation.Thus
scious outspoken materialism, and
for the first time
the world is conceived
to be a universal
reign of me
the

why

chanical

law.

also yieldeda rich

physicaltheoryof Democritus
scientific explanationof the historical evolution
of the
The
universe.
universe, according to Democritus,
consists of two
followingthe teaching of Leucippus,
self-moving,qualitatively
similar
or
parts : the Plenum
The

"

"

atoms

atoms

the

Void

The

move.

Void
size

and

not-Being.The
they are infinite

infinite number

an

ceptiblysmall.
1

Atoms

form.

Plenum,

is
;

differ

The

empty

or

or

the

atoms,

differ

atoms

in number

of forms

space,

and

is

which

Being

only in

and
sizes

in

the
;

form

therefore

the
and

are

of

they are imper

do not belong
perceptiblequalities

primarilyin

form

(tSe'a)
; size

is referred

in

part

tc

THE

them, but

to

flightthrough
the atoms

when

which

vortex

causes

in

meet

is

irreducible

an

in

atom, lawless

each
An

space.

1H

Motion

to their motions.

of atoms, and

function

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

is in
itself,

aggregation of atoms
The
their cosmic flight.

draws

shock
itself.

into

atoms

more

arises

together,and the heavy atoms

innu
the periphery.Thus
press the fine fire-atoms to
worlds are formed, for any placeof the meeting
merable
world.
be the beginning of a new
of several atoms
can
Like

atoms

drawn

are

worlds

small

Sometimes

fatal collisions. The

in
and

in endless

like

atoms

ball

the

length than

large worlds

sometimes

largeworlds, and

worlds

rim

the

of

can

air. To

descriptionof cosmic
of mechanical
necessity
principle

and

"

easy

Materialistic

to understand
as

verse

theories

nature

the

materialist

materialistic

as

set

are

dynamic entity.It
such

developed a
the

the

upon

description

for
in

these

physicaluni
scientific

terms,

if

even

static atom

into

to
interesting

more

upon

the realm

we
a

follow

in his extension

Democritus

principleover

the

modern

our

Democritan

is rather

It is

of Democritus.

explanationof

motion

in

atoms

of

Psychology
an

transformed

have

further

modern.

is almost
The

space

compact

much

evolution

theoretical

in

of

Democritus

here

go

endless

swings

consists

the whole

is filled with

centre
we

whole

of

disintegrate

therefore

are

The

succession.

into the vortices

drawn

are

of the

of the

men

tal life.
In the first

place,Democritus
parcel of the world

part and

posed of

all kinds

water, and
atoms, which

air

of atoms.

atoms.

differ from

His

conceives
of

His

atoms.

body

mind

the others

is

consists of

is made
in

Man

up

be

to

man

com

earth,
of

fire

being the finest,

smoothest, and

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

112

mobile.

most

On

this

the fire

account

is
perfectof all. Psychical activity
of fire atoms.
the motion
They are scattered throughout
the universe,and wherever
they are, there is life. They
animals
well as in man.
in plants and
There
is
as
are
in man,
and
this shows
his
a largercollection of them
other livingthings.In man
there is a
over
superiority
atoms

the most

are

between

fire atom

other

two

every

atoms, and

the whole

togetherby breathing. The different forms of

are
simply different forms of atomic
activity

is held
mental
motion.

In

the

us.

can,

with

involves the

make-up

atomic

complexes,if we are to have

External
things must stimulate
psychicalactivity.
in action. They
But these external thingsare atoms
however, influence us only by coming into contact
bodies. Only by impact on
bodies
our
can
our
of other

presence
any

atomic

place,our

next

in

they set
through

motion

the

which

fire atoms

are

scattered

Every kind of knowledge or men

of the fire atoms
in us.
tal life involves the participation
involves two factors ; the fire atoms
Thus mental activity
within

us

How
as

bodies.

our

and

external

an

of atoms

explain the

did Democritus
of these

the resultant

group

two

without

varied

factors ? He

us.

mental

life

employed

the

theory of effluxes,belief in which he shared with his

is a purely physiological
time. This
assumption,origi
nated by such Cosmologists as Empedocles, that some
how

bodies

external

which

strike

world

influence

emission
emanations

upon
us

of these
to

that sends them

send

Most

bodies.

our

at

off emanations

distance

and

effluxes. Democritus

be little

copiesor

"

from

themselves

objects in
only through
conceived

eidola

"

of the

off. To illustrate Democritus'

the
the

these

thing

meaning

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

THE

113

by me because little trees, thrown off by

it,hit my eye? This theory retained its positionin phi
in the
It persists
circles until after Locke.
losophical
to-day. It is a general belief that a
popular mind
thought is a copy, photograph,or image of the thing.
words
The
imagination betray their
image and
that such copies
origin.It was believed by Democritus
and
the sense
set in motion
through them the
organs
The effluxes can, however, affect only those
fire atoms.
a

is

tree

seen

"

"

organs

of

similar

atomic

But

the

body

that

very

and

formation

similar

have

motions.

effluxes

vary

of their atomic

fineness
from

the

"

"

fine

to

very

in

the

There

are

much

very

structure.

Since

coarse.

the

degree

of

all sorts,

efflux

must

if that sense
is to be
correspond to a particularsense
affect the senses
affected by it,the effluxes that can
vary
to their fineness. Democritus
as
was
respectively
par
of sightand hear
interested in the sensations
ticularly
ing as examples of this. None of the effluxes affecting
the

senses

Unless
could

are

as

they

were

as

the

those

These

finest of all the

finest "eidola"

copiesof things,and the

thingstruly.Thought, on
atomic

that stimulate

affect the fine motions

not

reason.

fine

motion

upon

the

fine fire-atoms

other

hand, is atomic

effluxes

hand,

one

impact of

of the

motion

effluxes, they

are

therefore

reason

of the direct

reason.

of the fire atoms

or

the

the

soul.

from

the

alone
is

of the
true

knows

the
precisely

the finest effluxes

Sensation, on

the indirect

the

impact of

The
grades of effluxes upon the fire atoms.
knows
reason
reality
directly.Sensations are aroused in
effluxes setting
in motion
a roundabout
way by the coarse
the corresponding sense
which
in turn
sets in
organ,

the

coarser

motion

the fire atoms.

Thus

does

Democritus

make

the

HISTORY

114

distinction

between

sistencywith

his

Democritus'

one

have

thought

Theory

of

the

sensation

his

placeby

of

Knowledge

in

The

"

would

have

Cosmologists, and

great
had

and

Democritus

Reality.

materialism

PHILOSOPHY

quantita
does he reduce his psychologyto a con
metaphysicalprincipleof materialism.

Thus

tive terms.

Twofold

OF

he

the side of Plato

and

illuminated

other

World
been

of

only

would

not

Aristotle,if

his

subject than
physics.Indeed, it is doubtful if his physicswould have
been so grandly comprehensive and unqualified
had
it
not been
strengthenedby his discriminating
theory of
twofold
knowledge. He might have extended and sys
his materialism
tematized
that it explained to the
so
satisfaction of his time
both
physical and psychical
like Leuphenomena, and still have been a hylozoist,
school. The prob
cippus,the founder of the Atomistic
lem
of knowledge
the problem of estimating our
mental
states
as
was
incomprehensibleto Leucippus
ration
to the Eleatics.
a
Democritus, however, was
as
no

"

"

alist and

realist like

nized, as did they,that

mological values.

there

and
is

Aristotle.
a

difference

universalized

He
in

materialism

recog

epistedid

evaluatingour experiencesfrom
the same
general point of view as the leader of the
Academy and the Stagirite.He felt that a twofold
as
realityis as consistent with materialistic principles
idealism.
with
So he reduced
all qualities
to quan
and
classified
tities,and then as quantitiesre-valued
His
chief contribution
them.
to the
was
subject of
epistemology and not to physics,and that is why he
is treated
the
Greek
Systematizers and not
among
the Cosmologists.Probably his chief interest
among
lay where he did his chief work.
not

prevent him

His

Plato

from

THE

The

point

SYSTEMATIC

PERIOD

Hi

perceptiontheoryof Protagoraswas
of

both

it in order

Democritus

to transcend

it and

Democritus, upon

cance.

psychology,admitted
transitory
process, and

Plato.

and

the

make
basis

it

the

starting,
Both
adopted
of real signifi

of his materialistic

that

sense-perceptionis only a
its knowledge must
be as transi
tory. But he did not agree with Protagoras that all
does yield
knowledge is perceptual. Sense-perception_
only relative knowledge ; Hut there is another kind of
knowledge that is not relative but absolute. This is
Human
knowledge of the reason.
beings have reason
well as
is Democritus
as
a
sense-perception.Thus
rationalist,although a materialist.
The
contribution
of Democritus
to the
theory of
knowledge consists in just this turn which he gave to
of
Protagoras'doctrine of perception.The relativity
perceptionbecomes in the Democritan
theory a differ
what it was
in the doctrine of the great
ent thing from
Sophist. To Protagoras perceptual knowledge is rela
tive,and therefore of no value in determiningwhat is
real. To Democritus
perceptualknowledge is relative,
but

it has

value,

tive value from

absolute

"

relative value.

the fact that

the

reality.Perception is
and

also

in

It

reason

gets this rela

can

determine

the contributor

to

the

is illuminated

by the reason.
In the same
breath we
may
say that Protagoraswas
to the theory of Democritus, and in turn
a contributor
that the Protagorean relativism
illuminated
was
by

reason,

the

Democritan

turn

rationalism.

The

result

was

twofold

in the language of Democritus, genuine

knowledge
obscure
knowledge and
insight."
The
objectscorresponding to these two kinds of
knowledge must be of two kinds. On the one hand,
"

"

"

"

PERIOD

SYSTEMATIC

THE

117

principleof
be stated thus : As true knowledge is
Deraocritus
may
the ideal objectof the intellect,
so true
happiness is the
ethics of Democritus
The
conduct.
ideal object of our
intellectual

an

is

ethical

basal

The

basis.

eudaemonistic,like that of Socrates.

Pleasures

fire

of

those

the

of the intellect

atoms

but the atomic

those

of the senses,

differ from

senses

The

another.

one

small, and

are

in

are

motions

of the intellect differ from

motions

They

differences.

fundamental

the results of atomic

case

every

and

have

have

gentle,

are
peacefulmotion ; the atomic motions of the senses
effluxes of the
caused
and violent,
coarse
by the coarse
objectsthat excite them. Sense-pleasuresare relative,
like the perceptions.As
perceptionis obscure insight
and
and gains the appearance
not the true
so
reality,
the pleasuresof sense
uncertain, violent,
are
transitory,
and deceitful. Intellectual
pleasuresare, like the intel
lect,real, true, permanent, gentle,and peaceful.True
attends upon
that
happiness,the goal of human
activity,
rightinsight upon the gentle atomic motions of the
intellectual life. On the other hand, the coarse
atomic
"

motions

of

and

are

often

that

knowledge

the

the

violent

sessor

the

to

will

guard

it from

of

peace

which

like the

calm.

ocean

Democritus,

which

times

his mind's

before

intellectual

intellectual

the

calm,

believed
explosions.Democritus
atoms, as the true explanationof

of the

world, will give

mony,

disturb

senses

he

soul

and

measure

excitement

and

"

Two
did

to

his

use

ideals
not

seem

try

to

make

happy
to

it pos

simile

stand

reconcile.

har

"

is

before
Some

eye the ideal happinessis purely

and
asceticism.
points toward

Sometimes

pleasure
he speaks of happiness as

self-control

and

temperance. He

never

the life of

perfect
denies
positively

all

value

to

the

relative

ure

value

In

lectual

refinement,

lack

of
be

piness
with

it.

every

The

but

Wise

he

the

case

and

with
in

either

that

his

Men.

gives

gives

men

Wise

individual

the

them

senses

is

happiness
of

unhappiness

sensualists

are

Man,
life

sense-pleas

to

to

of

ground

of
the

he

ground
the

majority

contrasted

other

PHILOSOPHY

sense-pleasure,

selves.

to

OF

HISTORY

118

who

or

in

finds
his

intel
the

and
his

are

hap

friendship

CHAPTER

VII

PLATO

Abdera
tus

and

materialism

trine

in

"

It

during

the

Attic

school

of

its materials

and

about

ethical

coincides
death

nesian

War

death

of

Plato
most
was

of

and

form

one

and

into

the

Europe

was

con

and

in

to

the

B.

four
end

c., two

until

403

in

413

B.

c.

Pelopon-

the

the

birth

The

c.

during
B.

Athens

before

years

of

life

of

The

before

Athenians

expedition

The

C.).

B.

the

as

polarized

history

years

It drew

were

Socrates.

of

(429

431

not

materials

of

centre

sources

same

unhappy

Pericles

the
future.

the

to

principal

the

from

arose

the

the

and

it did

Sicilian

but

with

Pericles

disastrous
the

in

immaterialism,

teaching

began

and

doc

early ripening

an

was

pointed

Abdera,

of

the

materialistic

Greece

as

practically the

philosophy

after

Abdera

Democritus

of

system

far

thought,

from

the

So

Abdera

Epicureans,

the
as

Athenian

Greek

of

time

to

The

branch.

civilization

Plato

Its

brought

of

centre

death

the

time

Renaissance.

early dying

tendency

formulation.

isolated

the

of

Sophistic

the

systematic

reintroduced

of

of

it, and

Skeptics,

school

the

Democri-

it, widened

the

from

the

was

cerned, the

The

thought

quickly disappeared.

Stoics.

an

of

past. Upon

reappeared

another,

from

the

to

school

the

into

system

points only

of

influence

enriched

psychology only
Democritan

The

C.)

materialism

consummation

Period.

Cosmological

its

The

Athens.

natural

the

was

B.

(427-347

this

Athens

of

event
war

was

120

HISTORY

captured by

the

of

walls
Plato's
wars

Spartans in 403 B. c.,

city were
destroyed.The

the

life

contemporaneous

was

the

among

strong enough
left the hands

to

Greek

the

easilyremembered
rise of Sparta and
Difficulties

The
Plato.
and

one

in

theory of

The
of

the

the

most

and

the

of

In 359

the

great
of

remainder

there

balance

of the Athenians.
a

with

for
cities,

hold

began to loom up as
Plato, the formulator
be

PHILOSOPHY

OF

devastating
was
no
city
after

power
B.

c.

it

Macedon

The
life of
in the north.
power
of Athenian
immaterialism, may
as

covering that period between

the rise of Macedon.

Understanding
Plato

is

one

difficult to

the

of

Teaching

of the most

involved

understand

in

the

of inter
historyof philosophy.This difficulty
preting Plato as a philosopherdepends upon
many
of the dialogue
form
the artistic literary
factors : upon
the con
in which
his philosophy is presented; upon
of thought in Plato himself ; upon
tendencies
flicting
the fact that the compositionof his dialoguesextended
the con
than half a century ; upon
a periodof more
over
of
well as the form
stant
as
reshaping of the content
the uncertaintyof the chrono
his thought ; and
upon
logicalorder of his writings.This chronologicalorder
of Plato's dialoguesis an important factor in determin
ing his teaching.Since the beginningof the nineteenth
of literature has been published
century a vast amount
theories of the dialogue-chro
and many
the subject,
on
nology have been proposed. There are three principal
of theories : (1) those based upon
purely a pri
groups
ori hypotheses,as, for example, that of Hermann, that
whole

dialogue is a stage in the development of

thought ; or that of Schleiermacher,that Plato
systematicplan from the beginning; (2) those
each

Plato's
had
based

121

PLATO

empiricalstudyof the historical allusions in the

themselves
Windelband, et als.*);
(3)
(Zeller,
dialogues
the
test,"
those recent theories based upon
stylometric
of the style
of the peculiarities
i.e. by an examination
of
is a prominent representative
of Plato. Lutoslawski
an

upon

"

this method.

of

be

made,

on
bewildering,

in the

to the character

of Plato's

and

Life

The

events

rates, in 399

c., and

writings

in

Two

Plato.

the death

were

con

Plato's life. Our

in

respect

important

long life of eightyyears

periods.These
B.

the

by

theory itself.

Writings of

divide Plato's

and

fairlyorthodox

follow Windelband

therefore

choice

laid down

the order

periodsof

grouped
will
terpretation
will be

account

some

to the memory,

convenience

For

servative.

it is

since

But

shall follow

we

because

Windelband,1

events

is

differingconclusions.

the

must

student

result to the

The

into three

of his master, Soc

Plato's return

from

Sicilyin

387

under the influence of the

having there come
Pythagoreans. His first periodmay be called his student
and was
life,
twenty-eight
years long ; the second period
twelve years long ; the
that of the traveler,and was
was
that of teacher of the Academy, and
third periodwas
was
fortyyears long. The first half of his life therefore
and the second half covers
the first two periods,
covers
his period as teacher.
Probably he was engaged in the
compositionof the dialoguesduring all these periods,
B.

c., after

Cicero

and

to have

reports him

died

"

pen

in hand

"

(scribensest mortuus).
i.

Plato's

Student

closes with the death

(427-399 B.C.).This period

with
Socrates. His acquaintance

Life
of

began when he
lasted eightyears.

Socrates

fore

Windelband,

Hist,

was

twenty years old,and there*

of Ancient Phil.,pp.

183-189.

HISTORY

122

OF

dialogueswritten during this periodare presenta

The

tions of the doctrine

of Socrates

theory of

constructive
with

Socratic

were

written

Plato.

subjectsor
in

and

They

with

do not

Socrates

under

contain

concerned

are

part during Socrates'

rectlyafter his death.

(a) Dialogues written
rates

PHILOSOPHY

the

either

and
personally,
life,in part di

the influence

Soc

of

Lysis, concerning friendship

;
Laches, concerning courage ;
Charmides, concerning moderation.
5) Dialogueswritten in defense of Socrates :
to law ;
Crito, concerning Socrates' fidelity
Apology, a generaldefense of Socrates ;
Euthryphro, concerning Socrates' true piety.
Plato
Traveler
2.
(399-387 B. c.). During this
as
period Plato made one short and two long journeys,and
after each he returned
to Athens.
Upon the death of
former
Socrates he went
to Megara, where
a
pupil of
Socrates had a school. Upon this journey he was
accom
panied by other pupils of Socrates, who, as tradition
has

it,feared

their

master.

time, and
his return
was

away

soon

Plato

Athens

to

he went
about

after

the death

of

Megara but a short

Athens.
Immediately upon
to Cyrene and
Egypt, and
four years (until395 B. c.).

remained

returned

to Athens

from

to themselves

violence

in

The

Egyptian journey had little influence upon his

thought,but must have stimulated his imagination.He
four years (395-391 B. c.),
then remained
at Athens
and during this time he taught a small circle and wrote
his polemicsagainstthe Sophists.
In 391 B. c. Plato made
his first Italian journey
to
and southern
Sicily
Italy.This marks the second criti"

PLATO

point in

cal

(1)

he

his mental
under

came

123

For

development.

the influence

this time

at

of the Italian

Pythag

attempted and failed in connection

with Dion * and
Dionysius to erect his ideal state in
sold as
slave by Dionysius,re
a
Syracuse. He was
deemed
by a friend,and returned to Athens in 387 B. c.,
oreans,

and

having

been

It is

to

he

(2)

four

about

away

that Democritus

be noted

Both

time.

and

Democritus

Plato

and

difficulties of

travelers,consideringthe
the

years.

Democritus

and

Plato

wide

were

of

locomotion

went

spent several years in Asia

to

Minor

Egypt,
(see

107).
The
dialogues written during this period may be
of polemics against the
into (a) the group
divided
Sophists,and (6) the Meno.
(a) The polemics against the Sophists(writtenbe
from
his return
tween
Egypt in 395 B. c. and his first

p.

Italian

journey in

391

B.

C.).

They are an attempt to present a solid front against

the weakness
and to show
of the Sophistic.
the Sophists,
Doctrines.These polemicaldialoguesare :
Protagoras, a criticism of the Sophisticassumption
that assumption
that virtue is teachable, because
the Sophisticfundamental
is incompatiblewith
principle
;
the Sophisticrhet
Gorgias, showing how superficial
oric is when

compared

the foundation

with

culture,which

true

of real statecraft

is

Euthydemus, an expositionof the fallacies in the

Sophisticeristic ;
Cratylus,a criticism of the philological
attempts of
the Sophists;
*

Read

Wordsworth,

Dion.

PLATO

The

school

was

kind

of

125

brotherhood
religious

the worship of the Muses.

upon
Note
that Democritus, Plato,and
their education

at

an

age much

to be the limit in modern

before

men

before

he

himself

the

Academy.

Abdera
41

when

49

when

about

time.

his real

Democritus
his travels

from

he undertook

Plato

life work.
Athens

life task
40

was

in Asia

to act

finished

beyond what is supposed

They were, in fact,mature

they began their

began to teach in

set

Aristotle

based

as

and
in the

before
Minor.

tutor

40

of

was

before

32
he

founding of

he returned
Aristotle

to
was

Alexander, and

he

of the Lyceum.
began his administration
The
dialoguesof the third period of Plato's life con^
tain his constructive
theory,and are his masterpieceso"
art. The
topicswith which they deal show the advance
of his thought over
the dialoguesof his first period.
The
ethical discussions ;
purely Socratic dialogueswere
these are
ethical,metaphysical,and physical.
Phcedrus, Plato's deliveryof his programme
upon
his entrance
into active teachingin the Academy,
in 386

B.

c.

Symposium, an expositionof his entire doctrine in

love speeches."It is the most
artistic of his writ
ings,and represents the climax of his intellectual
(385 or 384 B. c.).
power
Republic (major portion). The compositionof the
over
a
long period. It is a
Republic extended
discussion : (1) concerningjustice(writtenin the
second
above) ; (2) concerning the
period, see
ideal state which
shall realize justice
; (3) concern
ing the Idea of the Good and in criticism of the
It is Plato's masterpiece
constitutions
of states.
"

and

his life work.

HISTORY

126

Parmenides

OF

PHILOSOPHY

and

Sophist,written to express the ol"

to the theory of Ideas, and to discuss such
jections
objections.(Windelband holds these dialogues
not written
member
were
by Plato, but by some
This

of his school.

is,however,

not

the

consensus

of

opinion.)
Politicus,a discussion
and

of action

for

of

the

in 361

shortlybefore
B.

It is his

c.

Good

Idea

of

Ideas

to it. It contains

rean

the

of

knowledge

statesman.

Phcedo, Plato's final will and

written

field

testament

his third

to the

school,

Sicilian

journey,
completed conception of the

and

of

the

relation

of

other

Anaxagorean and Pythago

elements.

of
Philebus, concerningthe ingredients

the

Idea

of

the Good.

Timceus, Plato's conception of physical nature,

ex

pressed in mythical form.

Laws,

the

work

of

Plato's

old age, his revision

of

the ideal State.

Dialogues1 of Plato. The early

philosophers presented their philosophy in metrical
form
as
concerning nature
; Socrates
poems
per
petuated his teachingsthrough conversations with men
j
Plato
made
dia
his influence
permanent by written
logues; Aristotle's philosophy,in the works that have
been preserved, stands
of treatises whose
in the form
sole purpose
is that of exposition.Plato's
dialogues
therefore have a twofold
place in the historyof literaConcerning

the

"

"

and

B. Jowett,

Dialogues of Plato, trans,

into

English

with

analyses

introductions,4 vols.

See

p. 158

lish readers.

for selections

from

the

dialogues made

by

Jowett

for

Eng

PLATO

ture.

On

the

hand,

one

in

127

history of

the

literature

them
as
standing
already mentioned
drama
in the development of Greek
Greek
the other hand, in the development of
dialectics ; on
the con
instruction
they stand between
philosophical
and
of Socrates
the scientific expositions
versations
have

proper we
after the

of Aristotle.
Plato

first child

the

was

of

Fortune,

and

the

com

remark
the most
plete preservationof his works was
the author
of at least
able proof of it. ^Eschylus was
7 are
70 writings,
of which
preserved; Euripides was
of which
18 are
of 95 writings,
the author
preserved;
Sophocles had 123 writings,aside from his lyricworks,
36 plays,
of which
7 are preserved.Shakespeare wrote
Plato
35
wrote
genuine. All of
dialogues that are
down
Plato's writingshave come
the
to us.
Why were
writingsof Plato preservedfrom the destroyinghand
of

time?

There

are

at

least

three

causes

of

their

intrinsic beauty ; (2) there

: (1) they had
preservation
public interest in them ; (3) the
was
contemporary
Plato's school kept close guard over
chief cause,
them.
By the dialogue Plato could employ the Socratio
effect,and idealize Socrates.
method, give dramatic
The Republic is his crowning literaryeffort,and the
of his mature
views.
most
political
complete statement
is the best
Perhaps the Philebus
expression of his
idea of goodness,and
complete or
presents his most
ganizationof the sciences. All Plato's dialogueshave
a transparent beauty and
a purity of diction ; and
they
may

be taken

logues
grows

save

less and

as

the

revelation

of

Apology, but

himself.
the

in

them, and

to

are

dia

dialogue element

less in his later works.

allythe spokesman

All

him

Socrates

is

usu

is usuallygiven

decidingword.

the

One

gument.
in many

thread
decision

no

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

128

Only
and

few

then

have

fixed
is

another
is reached

whatever

plan of ar
followed,and

for

the

dia

always be taken as artistic products in

logues must
idealized. Plato
which
philosophicalexperiences are
his ar
often employs myths or parables to illuminate
situations
the literary
and
adornments
guments. The
to

touch, and the conversation

the human

show

often

moves

close.

dramatic

theo
Republic Plato sought to formulate
certain political
retically
conceptionsof the ideal State
then in the air. It is interesting
to note
that were
that
the political
idealism of later
his conceptioninfluenced
time, as, for example, Cicero's De Rcpublica, August
ine's City of God, More's
Utopia, Campanella's State
Atlantis, Macchiavelli's 11
of the Sun, Bacon's New
Principe.
In

the

The
i.

Factors

in the Construction

Inherited

His

place Plato

was

by

of Plato's

(a)

Tendencies,
instinct

an

aristocrat.

Doctrine.

In

the

His

first

family

in Athens, and traced

distinguished
In making an esti
its descent from
Solon and Codrus.
take account
of the
of his philosophyone
must
mate
born.
His
he was
of societyin which
caste
metaphysi
in it he turns
and
cal theory of Ideas is aristocratic,
from
all that is of the earth earthy to what is above
the life of
opinion." His four cardinal virtues are
attitude
was
possibleonly to the few. His political
peculiar.He was hostile to the democracy, and yet his
idealism
political
diverged so far from the practical
of Athenian
that he completelyab
politics
aristocracy
stained from
public life. With Plato, philosophyonce

was

one

of the most

"

more

retires to

the

school.

Here

we

have

the

strange

129

PLATO

of Socrates, the teacher, who

juxtaposition
in

engaged
an

practicalreformation,

and

artisan

mother

whose

whose

midwife, and

had

been

father

was

Plato, his

interpreter, Plato, the

idealist, whose speculationis not like the Philistine,
life is spent in the market
whose
place or the work
world
is measured
by the narrow
shop, and whose
and

adoring pupil

truest

"

"

of

boundaries

the

native

retires

who

manor,

his

world, and

town

the distant

towards

his gaze

turns

of

mansion, after having

his

to

lord

it is the

the
seen

hori

disdainingthe noise of the cross-roads,he mingles

ele
only in the best society,where is heard the most
gant, the noblest, and the loftiest language that has
zon

been

ever

spoken

was

great

talent,and
Plato

opment
he

was

matic
small

of

He

was

endowed

real

from

man

character
was

his broad

be

ranked
"

his

with

the

among
Phidias

and

everything
of great beauty,a human
every physicaland mental

with

name

love

in his
great, even
artistic,but Plato

was

day,

represented in

his moral
His

purposes.

is to

instinctive

an

was

of the art of his

creators

Sophocles. He
ideallyGreek.
Apollo, a man

name

this. He

than

more

Greek

Periclean

Every

had

in this he

beautiful,and

for the

of the Muses."

home

place Plato

In the next

(b)
time.

in the

person

almost

was

Aristocles,and
frame.

The

ideal
he

in its

got his

artistic devel

appealed to him in his youth, and

early interested in the writingof epic and dra
the time

poetry. This

artistic instinct

only the

form

determined

of the

in

no

presentationof
his thought,but also the content
of the thought itself.
It determined
of conceivingthe Ideas, the
his principle
constitution of his State, his theory of pleasure,
and his
measure

not

Goethe.

130

HISTORY

OF

PHILOSOPHY

conceptionof the highest Good. The

the presentationof his writings was
him as the matter
presented.
His

2.
a

careful

the

that

scientific theories

nians.
were

The

elements

fundamental

to

the

the influence

earlier

received

familiar

with

all

that
philosophies,

mechanical
in

had

to

interest to the Athe

current

of the

recombined

inocritus,were
under

of

him

made

of

important

as

Plato

Philosophical Sources.
education

artistic form

atomism

different

of

De-

by Plato
principle.Even

of Socrates' ethical

way

Plato's

artistic ideals are

and
subordinate
to
political
his entire absorptionin the personality
and teachingof
Socrates.
Heracleitus, Protagoras, Parmenides, and,
the
later, Anaxagoras and
Pythagoreans, furnished
him
with his philosophical
materials.
We
point
may
three of the preceding philosophiesthat had
out
an
especially
powerful influence upon him: those of (1)
Socrates ; (2) Parmenides
(3) the Pythagoreans.
; and
His revered
Plato through
master, Socrates,furnished
out with the conceptualprinciple,
by which he worked
all his material
into his daring system. The
influ
over
ence

of Parmenides

speaks

of

him was
also very
upon
"
Eleatic
as
Parmenides, my

the

Plato

betook

upon

the

himself

death

of

to the

Eleatic

Socrates, and

school

this

great. He
father."
at

shows

Megara
that

he

already have been hospitableto the philosophy

which taught the conceptionof an absolute and eternal
of thingsknown
The in
essence
reason.
by the human
fluence of the Pythagoreans was
felt by Plato
his
on
first visit to Italy.This
influence
with
him, and
grew
must

seems

Laws.
block.

to

The
In

dominate
Eleatic
the

the

dialogueof

Oneness

Pythagorean

was

doctrine

his

old

age, the
single,immutable
of

numbers

he

PLATO

131

conceptualdivisions of that Oneness, and he

that such conceptionswould
also found
give a content
Indeed, the num
to Socrates' conceptionof the Good.
for which
seemed
the conceptual models
to be
bers
truths are inde
Socrates was
searching. Mathematical
pendent of perception. They are innate ideas. They
Forms.
the
and
immutable
eternal
They were
are
needed
against the Protagorean doctrine of
weapons
perception.While Plato agreed with Heracleitus that
Pro
is a changing world, and with
the visible world
of that world
can
sense-perceptions
tagoras that our
yieldonly relative truth, he developed his philosophy
its conceptual side ; and this is due
almost entirelyon
the

found

first of

the influence

to

of

third

and

the

The

had
and

half-centuryor

of the

Pythagoreans.

development of
clear

did

Parmenides,

Plato's

singlescience.
philosophyof

in his

history

Plato

Philosophy.
exact

an

himself

in

division

of

himself

science,

singledialogue to a
Aristotle,however, distinguishedin the

confine

not

over

concepts.

pure

conceptionof

completed

is in itself

and

more,

of Plato's

Divisions

no

of

the theory of Ideas.,worked

was
philosophy

mind

Socrates, second

his master

physics,

dialectic,ethics,and

of Plato's

teaching have been tra

adopted. The dialectic,as commonly used in 1
ditionally
the dialogueor conversation
his time, meant
employed )
I
It was
of scientific investigation."
transas
means
a
but metaphysical
not logical
formed
by Plato to mean
concerned
with the laws of Being
discussion. Plato was
the laws of logic,and, as Being to him
rather than

and

these

divisions

"

consisted

of

Ideas, his dialectic interest

experienceby
Plato's

division

dialectic

was

not

and

induction

to

was

to

some

reduce

unity.

but methodological,
logical
"

PLATO

133

of his

period he was called on to defend the

statement
againstthe Sophists.Plato's formation
own
theory begins at this point, at the point

where

his defense

ing

second

Plato's

second

"

time, for
but

that

theory that

untrue

never

was

From

keenest.

was

full half -century, Plato

in
principles

tic

of his master

this

developedthe Socrafar beyond Socrates,

went

him.

to

statingPlato's formation of his

doctrine is this : he acceptedthe Protagorean doc
own
of relative knowledge ; he
trine of a perceptualworld
placedit beside the Socratic theoryof conceptualreality
;
The

and

as

Both

of

simplestway

Being and Becoming

reality; there
ceptions that
never

but

never

one

is the

of the
The

are"

senses

the other

worlds

as

world

immutable
a

are,

of true

world

by

are

the

is the Heracleitan

"eality_is,

nature

separate ;

is the
is

other

pluralnumber

ppr-

realitybecomes,

other

One

on

true

compose

sjde^lbe changing

the
incorporeal,

is the

Plato

There
reality^.

of relative

the reason,

is

; one

presentedby

world

two

objectof

other

govThe

; the

is. These

first world

cepts

and

in

twofold.

be

to

concepts that

the

on

come

becomes

but

share

immutable

the
thejjnejside,

the world

conceived

result be

"

of

object*
corporeal.

the

Eleatics

of Socratic

""

con

flux

presented
knowledge, but

perceivablethings.There is true
be found
in
Protagorasis rightin sayingthat it cannot
It is knowledge
the perceptionof the material world.
of an
the world
incorporealworld, and that is precisely

as

of Socratic

concepts which

now

in Plato's hands

become

Ideas.
It

would, however,

Plato's

be

mistake

an
conceptionof the world was
ticism,obtained by putting two worlds
be sure, he never
able to bring them
was

to

suppose

that

artificial eclec
side

by

into

an

side. To

organic

HISTORY

134

unity, and
But

marked.

desk, each
the other.

gets

the

new

OF

dualism
do

PHILOSOPHY

between

them

lie like

is often

very

drawers

not
in a
two
they
having no vital influence on the character of
In the juxtaposition
of the two worlds
each
meaning, and the value of each becomes

greater.
In the first

value. The
place,
perception gets a new
that
logicof the Sophisticdoctrine of perceptionwas
perceptionsare the only form of knowledge, and even
perceptionshave no share of truthfulness.
Protagoras
himself
did not go so far as this absolute
skepticism,
but this is the logic of his position.
Perceptionscan
have
is a standard
each
to itself.
no
value, because
l

Plato

incorporatesthe perceptiontheory into his cwn,

and
value. Perceptionsdo I
immediately gives it a new
\
font thftyhavg
q
relative_jvalue.
They have a value for the practical\
world, althoughthe highestthey can giveis Right Opin
ion. When
remember
that the world of that day was
we
of its own
speculations
leadingto nihilism,it is
weary
remarkable
that Plato did not turn away
entirelyfrom
the doctrine of the Sophists.On
the contrary, he took
and gave to it a
up the Sophisticdoctrine into his own
value which
it had not possessedby itself.
In the second
value.
place,conception gets a new
What
was
conceptionto Socrates ? It was the common
of opinions and
the uni
content
perceptions; it was
versal that was
developedinductivelyout of many par
ticulars. Socrates brought many
particulars
togetherin
The
abode
order to reveal their common
of
qualities.
conceptionswas to Socrates the half -formed individual
opinionsand experiencesin which conceptionlay,as in
1

For

the

distinction between

perceptionand

conception,see

p. 83.

135

PLATO

envelope;

an

it forth.

The

the conversation

and

concept

to

was

Socrates

was

needed
the

bring
logical na
to

"

perceptions.But now since Plato admitted the

he was
of all perceptions,
relative reality
obligedto look
for conceptions.If the conceptions
elsewhere
to account
true
qualityin
are
reality,
they cannot be the common
of changing percep
opinions,nor the logical nature
in the
be contained
tions. The
true
conceptioncannot
perception.Accordingly the conceptionmust exist in an \
incorporealworld and possess an independent reality.
The concepts are
by Plato. They become
hypostasized
ture

"

of

"

"

Ideas.
Idea

Thus
and

the

concept became

under

as

immaterial*

Plato's

perceptualworld,

and

hands
this

the Platonic

T^tivfvnp.ftfrt.
TCdltJi-QUdJlt*

in
ti,vn.p.
foT tJin first.

\ty is conceived
grows

Socratic

to
was

The
be
his

conceptualworld
"other
first

than"

the

step beyond

The_ conceptual world

Jsjfcheperfectreality
in any material
thing nor in (
jhaj^annotj^contained
Ideas
immaterial
of all material things.The
the sum
the objectof thought,as nature
are
phenomena are the
objectsof perception.Ideas are not the abstractions of
for the process of thought is not an
ana
perceptions,
lysisnor an abstraction,but an intuition of realitypre
Ideas are the reality
instances.
of which
sented in single
Perceptionsdo
perceptionsare the copies or shadows.
the truth. They are
not contain
only the suggestionsor
promptings by which the soul bethinks itself of the
Ideas. Material
things merely hint to the soul of the
Socrates.

existence
It is

of the Ideas.

important in this connection to pointout that

Plato's conception of immateriality
is not to be taken
times by the spiritual
what we
in modern
as
or
mean
funo
psychical; for,accordingto Plato,our psychical

136

HISTORY

OF

tions

world

belong to the
tions of our
body
to it. Besides,even

PHILOSOPHY

of

Becoming, justas the funo.

and
other perceptualthings belong
the Ideas of sense
qualitieshave
mind
with
reality.Plato does not identifythe human
world of Ideas, nor
the incorporeal
does he make
the
dualistic

modern

The

matter.

world

division

of

immaterial

the world

world

is

"

into

other

mind
than

and
"

the

of

and bears the relation to the mate

perception,
of the unchanging to the changing,of the
rial world
simple to the manifold, of Being to Becoming.
The

of

Development

of Plato's

Development
twofold

world

Ideas

its

with

Plato's

Metaphysics

in the

evaluation

new

Two

"

Drafts.

of

The
The

Socratic

the

conceptionand of the Protagorean perceptionwas, after

all,only Plato's point of departure for his constructive
It was
his first and
work.
undeveloped apprehension
of a theory of Ideas. It appeared first in the Meno
in
his doctrine of recollection and immortality,which
was
written
in his second
period just after his series of
splendidpolemicsagainstthe Sophists.From this time
Plato
for a full half-century
developed the conception
of a twofold world into a Theory of Ideas.
In the course
of time
lems

the

(1)

How

relation
is the

Plato's

answers

these
ered
cance

as

Ideas

relation
to

his

confronted

Ideas

many

between

What

is known

himself

found

he

these

Theory

of

three

prob

there ?

is
(2) What
physicalthings? (3)

are

and
the

with

Ideas

to

one

another

three
of

what
questionscompose
Ideas. However, he answers

three
them
of

when
he first consid
questionsdifferently
than later,when
his grasp upon
the signifi
his problem became
Plato's
mature.
more
Ideas,therefore,may be said to have had a

Theory of
developmentin

two

stages. These

two

stagesare

called

PLATO

his

drafts"

"two
now

more

detail,his
drafts,and

two

to

of

(Windelband)

present, first

shall

137

in

form

summary

to these

answers

thereby show

three

how

Ideas.

the

his

and

We

then

in

questionsin the
theory developed

its final formulation.

of the

Comparison

Brief

Drafts

of the Ideas.

of Ideas.

Draft

Earlier

1. The

Two

of Ideas is infinite.
(a) The Number
(6) The Relation of Ideas to Physical Things is
their side are
The
Ideas on
spoken of as
similarity.
but never
in physicalthings,
having a
fully
presence
appearing in them ; the physicalphenomena on their
side are
participating in the Ideas.
spoken of as
logic
(c) The Ideas are Related to One Another
but they are onlyroughly clas
ally,as genera to species,
sified by Plato.
"

"

"

"

2.

The

Later

Draft

of

Ideas

Plato's

"

Final

State-

ment.

The

(")

Number

worth, mathematical
Plato

never

arrived

is limited

of Ideas

relations., and
at

any

to

those

of

but
nature-products,

definite selection.

of Ideas to Physical Things is

(5) The Relation
Ideas are the ideal or purposefulends
tejejplo^icaLjrhe
of physicalobjects,.
(c) The Ideas are Related to One Another teleologically.The Idea of the Good stands at the Lead, and
is the

of all the other

purposefulend

Comparison

Two

of the

Drafts

Ideas.
of Ideas

in

More

Detail.
i.

The

of

Number

Drafts

compared.

Theory

of Ideas

to

be

to

infinite. There

Ideas

When

in the
Plato

Earlier

first

himself, he conceived
are

Ideas

of

and

Later

presented the
their number

everythingthat

is

OF

HISTORY

138

There

thinkable.

are

as

PHILOSOPHY

there

as

many

class

are

con"

qualitiesof things in the universe,

in the language. But
there
common
nouns
are
as
it was
pointed out to Plato that he had only repro
and
duced
world
what
paralleledin the immaterial
cepts, as

there

exists in

the

are

material

world

solve,but only doubled

not

technical

that

such

theory

difficulties. Then

our

did

there

difficulties in the

conceptionof the Ideas

of things,qualities,
of everything
relations, good,
bad, and indifferent. But what probably appealed to
him most
the raillery
he found
to which
cogently was
his theory subjected(see Parmenides), that he as a
could think of ugly Ideas, like hair and filth,as
Greek
result was
real. The
that in the later draftingof his
of qualitiesworthy to be called
theory the number
were

"

"

Ideas

becomes

elimination

limited.

much

very
from
no

Plato

makes

the

avowed

principleexcept that of
Greek
it was
worth, because
a
as
absolutelyrepel
lent to him
real except worth.
to regard anything as
Consequently in his later dialogues he speaks of (1)
Ideas
having an inherent value, like the Good arid the
Beautiful,(2) Ideas correspondingto nature
products,
relations. Norms
of value
(3) Ideas of mathematical
thus take the place of class-concepts,
and in his selec
tion

by

of Ideas

their moral
2.

in

an

of

The

the

struct

of

his choice

and

more

more

worth.

Relation
Two

is determined

Drafts

his world

of Ideas

and

compared.

of Ideas

in

order

the World
Plato
to

of Nature

did

not

explain the

con

world

His originalpurpose
to find
physicalnature.
was
born out
objectfor knowledge ; and his Ideas were
his strivingto give a realityto the conceptionsof

Socrates.

In his evaluation

of

the doctrine

of his

mas-

PLATO

he had

ter

but

drawn

139

distinction

thought of explainingone by
but one
related and distinguished,

he had

not

They were
lightupon the
he speaks of

In

other.

relation

this

first draft

Plato's

the other.
threw

no

of the Ideas
The

imitation.

as

worlds,

the two

between

pheno

reality.The Ideas are the

and physicalobjectsare
copies. To state the
originals
relation in modern
terms, the laws of the growth of a
tree are
permanent, while the tree changes. The lower
to the higher world
world of Becoming has a similarity
conceived
of Being. As the Pythagoreans had
things!
imitations of numbers, Plato, stronglyinfluenced
by\
as
the Pythagoreans,thought that concrete
things corre
spond to their class concepts only in a degree. On the
hand, the individual thingpartakesof the universal
one
of the Idea, and this is called "participation"in the
Idea.

On
the

scribes
means

the
are

that

of

imitation

an

are

mena

the Idea

then

exists

is present
the

thing possesses
present and

Idea

the

way

word

hand, the

other

the

in

in the

qualityof

withdraw, and

the

"

"

presence

de

thing, which
thing so long as

the

Idea.

thus

the

The

Ideas

perception

changes.
In the second
conscious

of

the

draftingof
need

the

Ideas, Plato has become

of

explainingphysical nature
by the Ideas. He did not at first think of explain
ing the nature of the physicalworld by his metaphysi
and
cal reality. It was
out of
an
arose
afterthought,
the compulsion of having a systematic theory. Hi?
conceptionof the world of Ideas as the world of true
that the world
of physical
Being ultimatelydemanded
other than
but depend
should be not merely
nature
Ideas are
the Ideas.
The
ent
unchanging; the
upon
phenomena are changing. If the Ideas are the reality
"

"

PLATO

attentive

relations

the

to

141

and

coordination

of

subordi

of the divi
possibility
and
sion of class concepts into genera
species.The
the
that he sought was
logicalrelationship,
relationship
nation

the Ideas

among

in the

that the scientist seeks to find in the clas

relationship
result Plato
rocks.
Just what
sification of plants or
tried to reach
by such a logicalclassification of his

it is difficult
realities,
His

erect

to

attempt

conceptionswith
carried

to

say.

He

successful.

not

was

arranged pyramid
logically

the most

abstract

the apex

at

of

not

was

out.

draftingof the Ideas, Plato felt the

them,
logicalrelationship
inadequacy of a mere
among
His
related.
conceived
them
and
to be teleologically
of the number
of Ideas had naturallybrought
reduction
about
new
a
conception of their relationship.There
be some
must
principlefor their elimination, for the
That
and
the keeping of others.
rejectingof some
principlewas the principleof their ethical worth. That
In

is to

second

his

say,

Idea

the

of

the

Good,

which

had

been

the

eliminatingsome
concepts from the list
became
of Ideas and for retainingothers, now
for him
of the Ideas among
the principleof the relationship
Plato turned
themselves.
from
the logicalto the teleoThe
Idea
Ideas.
of the Good
logicalrelation among

standard

for

embraces

and

absolute
relation
of

means

becomes

end

formation
how

of

all the

other

It is therefore

the

Ideas, and

they bear the

to a general term, but;
to it,not of particulars
The
end.
to an
principlein their selection
the principleof their arrangement.

Plato's

shows

realizes all the others.

Conception of God.
and

development

difficult it would

The

above

of Plato's
be to frame

sketch

theory of
a

short

of the
Ideaa
defini-

OF

HISTORY

142

that would

tion of them
As

types

moral

all the

and

others

their value

by

of

them

and

indeed

their

Is this Idea

of the

Good

Good

calls the
ascribes

is not

the

is

the

is not
absolute

Plato
than

did

did

ethical

his

it,because

it

prehensiblething in
Plato's
structed

rough

God?

as

World

of

it

but

the

Idea

God,

and

Anaxagoras'

of

Idea

of the

It is

merely

the

world.

content, any
Plato

more

presupposed

simplestand

most

com

world.

the
of

sketch

purpose

Plato

Reason," and

the Christian

give

itself the

Conception

same
"

and

to

above

to

the influence

Socrates

in

stands

Nevertheless

as

end

master,

highest

(See p. 47.) The

a
spiritual
being.

attempt

was

the

same

or

person

not

the

and

here

is the

everythingelse
actuality.

of Nous.

name

onlyshowing
conceptionupon him.
Good

"

Deity

to it the

of the Good
Plato

"

and

arche
This

Ideas

the

adequate.

purpose.

Good, which

the

givesto

be

immaterial

moral

in

purpose

all,the Idea

of

time

same

them, they are

ideals,dominated

or

dominating
Idea

the

at

defined
finally

he

PHILOSOPHY

Physical Nature.

Plato

con

of the

philosophyof nature in
his later years,
in compliance with the needs
of his
School, and perhaps with the urging of his pupil,Aris
totle. In his earlier period,he would
have nothing of
in this respect quite in accord
with
physics,and was
the spirit of Socrates.
To
the
of his life he
end
maintained

that there

physicalworld
fore

be

can

for it is

true

no

world

all scientific conclusions

of

about

knowledge
change, and
it could

of the

be

there

only

he drew
in the Timceus
probable.In a mythical account
of the constitution of the world.
He conceived
a picture
to
a
exist, and he
Demiurge or world-forming God
thought that this God made the world out of not-Being

PLATO

143

regard to the Ideas." The world

is conceived
thus constructed
by Plato as a huge living
thing,composed of a visible body and an invisible soul.
The world-soul
sets the world-body in a circular motion,
which
motion was
considered
by antiquityto be the most
In sharp oppositionto the me
perfectof all motions.
the world
chanical theory of the world, Plato conceived
with knowledge, of which
the spherical
to be endowed
itself is the symbol. The world
in its return
motion
upon
is unitary and unique,the most
perfectand most beau
tiful world, and its origincan
be traced only to a reason
Plato's
ends.
working toward
physics,of which the
empty

or

is

above

with

"

space

abbreviated

an

little importance; but

it

will be

to be

seen

of

have
as
we
unfortunately,
doctrine
that was
emphasized in

said, this side of his

the

account,
was

Middle

This
dualism

Ages.
mythical account
in Plato's

izes itself in

shows, however, the inherent

The

doctrine.

Idea

Plato

corporealthings,and

fullyreal

never
was

called

on

of the evil and

explain the cause
imperfectionof
the physicalworld.
Moreover, the imperfectionof the
physicalworld got new
emphasis in the influence upon
him of the Pythagorean doctrine,which had set the
per
fect and imperfectworlds in opposition.What
prevent!
the Idea from fullyappearing in phenomena ? The more
to

Plato

conceived

the

kingdom

of pure

and

the

Ideas

as

the

cause

became, the

of

Ideas

worth, and
less could

as

the

he

The

be

that which

physicalworld as
not only in that which
participation,

Ideals

teleological
regard the Ideas

imperfectionin nature.
of perfection.The
essence
therefore

ethical

more

of

ing,and the
perfectionmust
whatsoever.

world

Ideas

are

of im

cause

has

Be

no

being

"becoming" has
has Being (Ideas),

OF

HISTORY

144

but

in that which

physicalworld

has

the union

from

factor, which

has

of

PHILOSOPHY

Being (empty space). The

It has sprung
a compositecharacter.
the Ideas and an
absolutely
negative

Plato

no

calls

empty

space.

This

eternal

negativeis formless and unfashioned, but it is capable

all possibleforms.
The
of taking on
physicaluniverse
Ideas
neither
is therefore
matter
simply, nor
simply,
This non-Being is not
but a compositionof the two.
like the

"unformed

matter,

stuff,"of Aristotle, from

which

all sensible

things are

made

which

Ideas

to

The

Ideas

into this

have

appear.

but

it is that

in

plunged

are

empty non-Being,which

they take on as a veil.

And
just this is the originof imperfection; non-Being
Ideas
from
withholds
the
perfect expression.NonBeing, or empty space, is an indispensableauxiliaryto
it no physicaluniverse would
be
the Ideas, for without
time it is the eternal foe and
possible.But at the same
obstruction
of the Ideas. Its cooperation
with the Ideas
is at

the

same

time

resistance

to

them.

It

is the

of
perpetualnegation of Being, and the primary cause
On
this account
imperfection,
change,and instability.
be like the Ideas, but it can
the universe
never
can

approximate them. The soul of the world, for example,

which was
regarded by Plato in Pythagorean fashion
number
is
as
subjectingchaotic space to harmony,
the most
perfectreproductionof the Idea of the Good.
The existence of matter
of
detracts from the perfection
the world, but it does not detract from
the majesty of
"

"

the

Ideas.
Plato's

Conception

of Man.

Plato

needed

psycho

logy of another sort from that developedby the Cosstands

mologists.His analysisof the mental life of man
falls with his metaphysical theory of Ideas, but it
or

145

PLATO

importance : it is the first attempt

within.
the psychicallife from

stand
The

lines in the
of

On

worlds.

both

in

appears

field of the life of

narrower

belongs to

man

worlds

of the two

dualism

sharp out
The

man.

the

under

to

this

has

soul

hand, it

one

belongs to the world of Becoming and partakesof that

world
desires,and their
through its sense-perceptions,
pleasures.In this lower world it is the principleof
life and

motion

it is that which

itself and

moves

other

things.On the other hand, it shares in the world of

or
knowledge. It
Being through its intuitive reason
and change of psychicalphe
in the instability
shares
the immutabilityof reality.
nomena
; it also possesses
its
opinions
Through its perceptionsit constructs
inferences of changing phenomena ; through its rea
or
it has true knowledge of the eternal Ideas. There
son
bear in itself traits that correspond
fore the soul must
"

"

the

to

rational and

tional nature
and

the

rational

the

conceives

nature

into two

nature

|
nature

part

rational

appetites.

sensuous

reason.

( Noble

( Irrational

irrational

part of
irrational part is the will,

is the
=

ir

an

the irra

he divides

part. The

the noble

( Rational

and

have

to

man

the noble

"

ignobleirrational part

Man

parts,

ignoble irrational

is the reason,

man

Plato

worlds.

two

will

Ignoble

sensuous

"

appe-

( tites.
This

is the celebrated

of the soul.
the soul ?
times
as

Are

Plato

speaksof
separablein

mortal

and

doctrine

of the

they three parts

clear

is not
them

as

such

the other

three
way

two

or

"

three

three

parts

functions

this

point. He
and treats
divisions,

as

that

parts

to

only the
are

reason

mortal.

"

of

some

them
is im

Again, he

HISTORY

146

speaks of

the

the three

parts

are

Doctrine

conception of

Plato

both

reasons

backward

to

existence,
"

Plato

its

PHILOSOPHY

three

natures

or

three

it in

meaning

different de

unitary soul.
Immortality. Beginning

of
the

dual

backward

its existence

of the human

nature

and

and
pre-existence,

Socrates

Platonized

In this latter

functions.

forward
forward

after death.

put into the mouth

has

carries with

unity,which

of the

of worth

Plato's
this

as

life all three

the next

grees

soul

OF

his final

of what

In

from

with

soul,
it:

to

its post-

the

JPhcedo,

has become

his

thought concerning the

of this

relation

present life to its past and its future. It

is plainlythe doctrine
of the transmigrationof souls,
which

got from

he

Pythagoreans. The soul has a

realitythat is imperishable,and the soul is rewarded
or
punished for its conduct in one existence by the kind
of existence into which
it is metamorphosed. In prison,
that fatal day when
he drank
the poison,Socrates
on
cheerful
so
explained to those around him why he was
Is not our
at the thought of death.
present existence a
kind
terred

of

death

from

? Is

the

not

the

soul in the

present life de

of the
knowledge by the trammels
bodily desires ? The true philosopheris he who turns
dies to them, and
from
his body's passions,
away
We
tries to live the reality
of the world of Ideas.
shall
full knowledge when
have
we
beyond the grave
pass
shall be rewarded, if we have striven truly.
and then we
But at present our
body hampers and misleads us with
its perceptionsof changing mortalityaround
us, and
with its transitory
desires. This life itself is the reward
or
punishment for our conduct in our preceding state.
What
The
proof
i.
Immortality of Pre-existence.
true

"

does

Plato

offer for

our

existence

before

this life ? The

147

PLATO

testimonies

Ideas, these

They

soul.

human

of

form
reality,

eternal, and

are

have

part of the

not

been

ere

Knowledge is not the originationof

truth, but is the recognitionof Ideas, whose
new
a
the mind
merely records. Greek psychology
presence
farther than this. The modern
psycho
never
got much
logicalconceptionof the soul as a dynamic something,
its own
which
creates
content, was
quiteforeignto the
ated

by

the

To

Greeks.

Greek

tion

that receives the

wax

all ideas

under

Ideas

are

impress of the seal.

this general limita

"

given to the soul. There

not
given by perception,be
of the changing ; if nevertheless
be

must

perception is

cause

Greeks, the soul is as

all other

to

as

psychology was

if the

fore

Plato,

the

passiveas
All

soul.

"

"

"

possessionof the Ideas on the

the
create
occasion of perception; if the soul did not
passive; the logi
Ideas, because the soul is by nature
is that the soul was
cal and only conclusion
already in
Prepossessionof the Ideas in a pre-existentstate.
of accounting for the fullis the only way
existence
to note
born knowledge of the soul,and it is interesting
state to the
how
imagi
important was the pre-existent
the

soul finds

of the ancient

nation
Plato
cence,

itself in

therefore

or

as

he

world.
advanced

called

the

doctrine

it,Anamnesis,

as

of

reminis

proof of

our

Ideas
Knowledge is recollection. The
pre-existence.
have
always been present in the mind, and when we
recognizethem we have knowledge. The Ideas have no
past or future, but they always exist. It is the mind
that
an
awakening to their
undergoes awakening
the objectsof
the mind
existence in itself. When
sees
in painfulastonishment
at
physicalnature, it awakens
"

the contrast

between

the

sense

world

and

the Ideas

of

PLATO

mathematical

cognized the
the

on

square

relationshipbetween
hypothenuse of a right triangleand

of the squares

sums

149

on

the other

two

sides.

"

The

the
the

igno

only have been recollecting,"

says Soc
Mathematical
rates.
knowledge is extracted from the
of the slave only because
the slave has
sense-perception
through such perceptionthe opportunityof recollecting
and
Ideas present in himself
not hitherto suspectedby
rant

slave

can

In Plato's

himself.

forms

system, mathematical

importantplace.They are the links by

into
the Idea shapes space teleologically
The

2.

of

Immortality

have

of which

means

the

an

sense

world.
Plato's

Post-Existence.

ground for belief in the existence of soul after death is

the same
that for its previous existence.
as
practically
Its destiny hereafter
how
far it has
depends upon
freed itself in this earthlylife from the sensuous
appe
tite. As proofs for future existence Plato mentions
the
soul's possession
of the Ideas, the simplicity
and unity
of the soul,the soul as the principleof life,and
t^he
Plato's
weak
goodness of God. However
arguments
be for the existence of future
immortality,his ab
may
solute belief in it is one
of the chief pointsin his teach
that the modern
to note
western
ing. It is interesting
world
the

seems

to

soul, but

have

no

through

in the

concern

the

influence

religionhas focused its attention upon

Oriental religions
contain
the doctrine
and
the transmigrationof souls,but
Plato.

In

Plato

the

previousstate
of

Christian

the

the future
of
not

soul possesses

of

life.

pre-existence
in the

same

identity
that persists.It has all the qualities
of the Ideas, but
is also an entitypossessingthese qualities.
It has nonorigination,
indestructibility,
unity,and changelessness.
The doctrine of the immortalityof post-existence
had
sense

as

an

HISTORY

150

the Greek

appeared in
that

we

The

student

found

have

it

will,of
he

PHILOSOPHY

OF

but
religion,
as

course,

this is the first time

part of philosophicteaching.
feel the difficulties in Plato's

presented it. For how

its individuality
soul preserve
a
as
unity,when
belongs in part to a world which is temporal?
conception as

The

the

Two

two

has

Tendencies

worlds

there

From

in Plato.

soul

the

the doctrine

distinct

two

are

the

can

tendencies

of

run

ning through the entire teaching of Plato. These are

(1) the tendency to glorifynature, and (2) the tendency
from nature
to turn
to ascetic contemplation.On
away
the one
hand, Plato felt within himself the lightheart
beat

of the

artist,and

strong within
realized

was

pleasurein

him.

of

the

rations

ledgeof
this

the

sensuous

skill,and

mathematical
for the

Hellenic

felt that the

in the world

even

tical artistic

He

the

of

in

an

ascetic

On

the

was

Good

the

Idea, in

was

prac

intelligent
understanding

other

tendency to

of

that there

of the

orderings.These
highest Good, which

the Ideas.

Idea

sense,

imitation

of life

love

be

at least

were

consisted

hand,

one

prepa

in know

finds

beside

repelledby nature,

and
negativeethics that would leave the world of sense
would
the life. The
Theaztetus sets up an
spiritualize
ideal of retirement
for the philosopher,
and
points out
that he should find refuge as soon
as
possiblefrom the
evils of the world

in the divine

presence.

The

Phcedo

picturesthe whole life of the philosopheras a dying,a

of the soul, an
existence
in prison,from
purification
which
is only by virtue and
knowledge. This
escape
ascetic tendency seems
; and
yet is it
very anti-Greek
life? In Greek
not
foreign to Greek
history do we
of
find, by the side of the Epic and the glorification
of the indi'
nature, the Mysteriesand the withdrawal

151

PLATO

vidual

the world

from
in

appear

Plato, and

stronglydrawn
the temporalityof

is

Platonic

tic

are

whole

historic tendencies
ascetic

the

contrasted

with

tendency-

the

nature

sense.

Described

Love.

in technical

terms, in both

and
(Eros) is the philosophic
didac
a
purelyintellectual impulse. Its rather more
of an
in Socrates
character
attempt to engender

Socrates
not

the

these

than

and

Heaven

of

Both

it. The dualism

they transfigure
the contrast
earth is emphasized,and
of the Ideas and
the reality
between

often

more

on

Ideas

is stronger. The
world

and

knowledge
largerway

Plato, Love

and

virtue in others

appears

in Plato

in

personaland practicalrealization of
to its simplestterms, Platonic Love
the truth. Reduced
is the longing of the human
being in his imperfectness
for perfectnessand
completeness.It is the innate de
as

the

immortality.
True
love, accordingto Plato, takes its beginning in
the astonishment
or
pain at the presentment of the
of
Ideas
through remembrance, and the starting-point
is the principlefundamental
in
individual
in an
Love
The
philosophicimpulse for the Ideas
pre-existence.
visible beauty has a
of Love, because
takes the form
specialbrightnessand makes a strong impressionon the
Love
mind.
belongsonly to mortal natures ; for they,
since they do not possess the divine unchangeableness,
have to propagate themselves
continually.Love may be
therefore as the propagativeimpulse. On the
described
from above,
side it may be viewed
as
an
one
inspiration
in
nature
springing from the higher,divinely-related
be viewed
it may
the other hand
an
man
as
aspira
; on
sire for

tion
On

from

below

this side it is

of the
a

sensuous

yearning and

and
not

human
a

in

man.

possession
; and

HISTORY

152

it presupposes
the middle

want.

between

term

the union

OF

PHILOSOPHY

Analyzed in
having and

higher and

of the

lower

this

is

having. It

not

in man,

natures

throughout the universe there stirs

eternal and imperishable.
What
is the objectof this Love,

Love

this way,

is

and

longing for

the

of this desire of the

"

finite to fill itself with the eternal and

to

generate

some

thing enduring? That object is the possessionof the

Good, which is happiness.The possessionof the Good
is

is the external

immortality.What

existence

? The

this Love

No; there

realization?
Love

Beauty ; for
form, corresponds to our

it. Does

awakens

is

various

as

jects.Love

rises

in

love

works

beautiful

There

for beautiful

this

the

In

is

"

this,man

for

the

pure,

Idea,which

the dialectical

reachingout

from
satisfaction,

his

alone, by

desire

of

and

as

beauty, and
beautiful

is realized in
for beautiful

ob

gradu
shapes,

souls, and

this appears
for
legislation
; Love

sciences,the seekingof beauty wherever

Love
finally
unchangeable
is preliminaryto

for

kind

is Love

art, education, and

and

all

kinds

many

degree and
step by step,and

Love

of

are

of Love's

first in its complete

appear

in

ated series of forms.

sexual

of

presence

its harmonious

condition

found;

eternal,and
shapeless,
is immortality.All else
knowledge of the Ideas.
from

his

to the

sense

of want

completed riches
bears him on
from height to height until,
of life. Love
in religion
and Love of the Good, man
gainshis immor
tality.In Platonic Love all kinds of Love have place
in pointing the soul onward
to the
divinelyperfect.
Yet this Love
for the divinelyperfect is the soul's as
pirationfrom the beginning,and all the preliminary
stages are only the uncertain attempts to seize the Idea
in the copies.Love, therefore,is this universal struggle
poverty

153

PLATO

itself with

of the finite to inform

in any

objectof beauty is
impulse.*

one

of this

Idea; and delight

the

stage in the development

Plato's Theory of Ideas is,

Theory of Ethics.
after all,fundamentallyonly an outspokenethical meta
Plato's

his Ethics

physics,and

Plato's ethical

ment.

fruitful

is his most

teachingis

accomplish
involved

therefore

in

point.An
understandingof his ethics includes an understanding
and growth of his dialectic,
of the formation
an
insight
tenden
into his physicaltheory,knowledge of the two
cies which run
an
through his teaching,and especially
of the
understandingof his doctrine of Love. If some
is repeated,it will be only to bring
praviousexposition
out more
fullyhis ethical teachingas a specialscience.
this general subWe
shall speak of three topicsunder
jactof his ethics: (1) his development of his theory of
the Good; (2) the four cardinal virtues; (3) his theory
of political
society.
all that

have

we

of Plato's

Development

i.

him

said about

up

this

to

Theory of the Good.

Plato

tendency in his first draftingof the

Ideas and, as we
have said,the double-world
theory is
of this. Only one
of the two
worlds
is real
the cause
Man.
The
soul belongsto
and will appeal to the Wise
the supersensible
world, and the knowledge, of which
betrayshis

ascetic

virtue

takes
consists,

Since

earthlylife

it and

turn

This

ence.

Phcedo
*

Read

ascetic

and

ond

in the House

the sensible world.

evil,the soul should

as

aspect of

possibleto the
moralityis set

in

Spenser, Hymn

Edmund

Celestial Love

soon

from

divine

die to
pres

forth in the

Thecetetus.

the

Emerson, Essay

away

is full of

as

away

man

Love,

on

also the poem

Bacon, Essay

Sill,The

Two

on

Honor
on

of Beauty

Initial,Daemonic,

Love

Aphrodites.

Patmore, Angel

HISTORY

154

In

OF

PHILOSOPHY

generaldevelopment of his metaphysicsin the

second
draftingof his Ideas, Plato's ethical theory de
veloped also. He not only went
beyond the abstract
of Socrates, but beyond his own
statement
original
When
asceticism.
he brought his two worlds into teleohe was
logicalrelationship,
compelled to aban
logically
don his conceptionof ascetic morals.
The physical
world
has now
relative reality,
and by the same
a
sign sensethe

life has

relative

conviction

that moral

this and

in

moral

another

value.

conduct
world.

It

makes

He

Plato's

was

firm

trulyblessed,

man

held, too, that this

still

blessedness, this complete perfectionof the soul, this

sharing in
Good.

the divine

Yet

he

happiness as
varieties of

now

world

to

came

steps toward

Goods,

Ideas,is the Highest

of the

recognize other

the

ideal

Good.

kinds
There

of
are

appeared in his doctrine of Love.

Besides
the intuition
of knowledge and
its pleasures,
there are physicalGoods and their pleasures.Intellectual
with pain,but there are
also
pleasuremay be unmixed
with pain. Here
is indeed
sensuous
pleasuresunmixed
Plato, the Greek, speaking; Plato, the Greek
artist,
impelledby the charm of the Greek world around him.
the Cyrenaic hedonism, and
Strongly as he combated
allied to Socrates,his Greek
nature
closelyas he was
gave

way

Good

before

as

the

manifestations

of

the Idea

in the

physicalworld. The pleasurein nature ob

educational
development, in the practicaland

jects,in
plasticarts, in
liness

of

life

mathematical
all these

"

sciences,and
became

for

him

in the ethical
stages in the full participation
to have

came

the

for him

relative

Philebus, Republic, and

2.

of the

The

Four

Cardinal

value, as

in the order

preliminary
Good.
They
expressedin

Symposium.

Virtues.

But

Plato

went

PLATO

farther, and

merely

content

not

was

155

the

point out

to

He
world.
in the twofold
de
conduct
place of human
He classified
velopedhis theory of ethics systematically.
the virtues

Naturally enough, in

soul.

division

the basis of his threefold

on

the

his first draft of his

theory,
singlevirtues

in

reducing the
to one,
viz., the virtue of knowledge. In his second
drafting,however, in the later dialogues,he assumed
their
their distinct independence,and he reflected upon
respectivespheres.A virtue correspondsto each part
which
is
of the soul. Each
perfection,
part has its own
Plato

Socrates

of

followed

of the

in

Moreover,

its virtue.

far

so

as

one

or

another

part

preponderatesin different men, so far

to developingthe correspondingvirtue.

soul

they suited

in

brain

f Noble

part

nature

are

( Wis

{Rational
dom)

Irrational

the above

rational
its

perfectionor

the

it will be observed

brain

the liver

irrational

nature

its virtue

in self-control

as

perfectionof the whole

relation of its single parts, so
fourth
nal

soul

can

that

the

and

reaches

that

the

ignoble

its organ,

and

reaches

Temperance. Finally,since
soul consists in the orderly

or

the

lated that the

its organ

as

in Wisdom

virtue
has

liver

"

scheme

has

nature

in heart

"

(CW^e)
1 Ignoblepart
in
(^ ( Temperance)

na-

ture

From

"

subordinated

its

reach

and

regu

the
highestperfection,

highest virtue is Justice. The four cardi

are
Temperance, Courage, Wisdom, and

and

virtues

Justice.
3.

Plato's

Justice,has
an

ethical

Theory

Society. The virtue,

individual
ethics,and as

of Political

little meaning

perfectioncan

in

only be

attained

in

society.

157

PLATO

of

such

at

tempts

the elder
the

society.The
Syracuse with the
and

tyranny

then
into

ideal

an

the

age

that his ideal scheme

the

Laws,

with

which

is

state.

never

revised

transform

attempts

of the

theory
model.

as

The

re

his old

succeeded, he

version

the

The

These

at

get first

to

disappointment of

had

Pythagorean number
Spartan state is his

Dion

of

Dionysius to

the younger

In
disastrously.

sulted

aid

several

made

author

ideal

an

wrote

Republic

basis.
Platonic

Re

public is aristocratic. There is paternal government in

everything,censorshipof everything.Each individual's
When
Greek
for him.
is marked
out
political
course
undergoing dissolution,Plato raised the ideal
of political
unityas necessary to individual happinessas
of segregation.
Yet even
in this
against the anarchism
institu
distrust of political
the current
he was
reflecting
tions. The
comparison of existingpolitcal conditions
his aristocratic
with his own
ideal reinforced
political
distrustful
of the
him
the more
leanings,and made
believed that
of a democracy. He
political
possibilities
of government
worked
out scheme
was
an
intelligently
and should be forced upon
people,if neces
practicable,
salvation possible.
other way
was
political
sary. In no
Since the State is the man
writ large,"it has three
parts, correspondingto the three parts of the human
is (1) the working or peasant class,which
soul. There
corresponds to the appetitivepart of man
; the only ob
jectof such a class is to furnish food for the State,and
The peas
the highestvirtue of this class is temperance.
ant can
only work, eat, and drink, and the highestpraise
of him is that he controls his appetites.
(2) The warrior
class guards the State within and without
its char
; and
acteristic virtue is courage.
The will must
show its highlife

was

"

OF

HISTORY

158

PHILOSOPHY

in guidance of
efficiency

the emotions.

(3) Highest
class of philosophersor
of all is the cultured
rulers,
determine
who
by their insightthe laws that should
rule the State. The virtue of this class is wisdom, for
is this class not the brain of the State ? The perfection
est

of the entire

State

their

distribution

proper

exist. The

duty

of

the three

exists when

the

of

Then

power.

rulers

classes
does

have

justice
the

to have

is therefore

of the warriors to be unflinch

highestwisdom
possible,
ing in their devotion to duty,of the peasants to exercise
Thus
Plato's Republic is an
self-control.
aristocracy
of the carefully
in the hands
cultured, which consists
of community of
classes. By means
of the two
upper

wives, the

exposure

education

of the

of

in favor

Thus

classes,a

upper
two

privateends

all

State.

the

two

made, the

be

can

renewed, and

be

can

the

of

children

selection

continuous

infants,and the State's

of deformed

upper

classes

be renounced

can

of

the sole end

commu

nity is moral education, and Plato arranges his ideal

two
community with reference to that. The
upper
this is intrusted.
classes are
a
great family,to whom
They have dedicated their lives to the furtheringof sci
ence

to its administration.

and

FOR

By
The

Professor

figures refer

Plato's

to

the

Dialogues;

the

READERS.

ENGLISH

Benjamin Jowett,

late

in the
pages
letters (A, B,

FIRST

PLATO

FROM

PASSAGES

OF

SELECTION

Principalof

margin

of

C, D, E)

to

Balliol

Professor
the

College,Oxford.

Jowett's

subdivisions

of

translation
of these

pages.

VOLUME.

CHABMIDBS.

Socrates
156

prescribes for Charmides'

D

-157

(.
C

'
.

(.

headache.

Such, Charmides, is the

.

'my

dear

nature

Charmides.')

of the

charm

'
.

.)

159

PLATO
LYSIS.

We

only

trust

206

who

those

know

to

appear

ourselvef.

than

more

.)
('Upon entering'
B ('He
assented.')
.

-210

LACHES.

(1)

The

art

182

-184

(2)

The

fightingin

of

('I
C

should

(.

-189

('I
B

his

of "words

and

deeds.

but

(.

'the difference

.)

matter.')

of the

have

feeling

one

the soldier.

to
'

maintain

to

opinion

harmony

188

like

not
'

is useless

armour

'

.)

of

ages.')

our

PROTAGORAS.

(1)

Sophists at the house

'
And
314 B (
now
rendered
-316
A (.

of Callias.

The

let

'

320

-322

(3)

The

('Once
D

-326

'
.

of

education

325

story of Prometheus

upon

(.

.)
inaudible.')

his words

tells the

(2) Protagoras

go'

us

('Education
E (.

time

plague

Greek

would

of the

state.')

child.
'

admonition

far

be

Epimetheua.

and

.)

and

'

'

.)

surprising.')

more

EOTHYDEMOS.
The

and
politician

doctrinaire

304

('Such
end

-to

the

was
'
.

and

the

true

philosopher.

discussion,Crito
of

be

'

.)

good cheer.')

CRATYLUS.
The

of the various
significations
426 B ('My first notions
and
C (.
-427
out
other signs.'
.)

letters.

'

'

.)

of

by imitation

them

compounding

PHAEDRUS.

study the nature

philosopher must
229 A ('Let us turn
.)
aside,'
lowlier
and
A (.
diviner
-230
a

(1) The

(2) The

230
-E

(3)

of the

banks
B

(
(.

'But

let

'in which
.

destiny ?'...)

Ilissus.
me

ask

...

man.

'

of

you

can

you,

friend,'

read

best.')

.)

figure and her transmigrations.

245 C ('The
soul through all her being '
.)
'
fool
the
world
leave
in
'257 A (.
below.')
you a

The

soul

in

(4) The

(.

-272

'

-275

275

(.

than

'

(.

of

art

true

-278

an

art

is not

easy.'J

is right in his view

writing-.
help feeling
to the

'

.)
letters.')

.)

of human

extent

utmost

about

happiness.')

composition.

('Until
D (.

277 B

of such

of the ancients

tradition

'

('I cannot
A

.)

that the Theban

better

-277
The

'

(6) Speech

Theuth.

and

heard

have

('I

yet the creation

and

tale of Thamus

The
274

(7)

Pericles'

('I conceive

PHILOSOPHY

orator.

true

269

(5)

OF

HISTORY

160

'
.

the

knows

man

poet

'

truth

speech-maker

or

.)

law-maker.')

or

ION.
The

inspirationof the poet.

533 C ('I perceive, Ion,'
.)
C (.
-536
not by art, but by
.

'

divine

inspiration.')

SYMPOSIUM.
Character of Socrates.

The

in the

fit of abstraction

(1) His

('He

174 A

-175

(2) His

that

said

(.

strange

porch.
Socrates'

met

'Socrates entered.'

he

and

appearance

.)

.)

marvellous

of

power

influencing

others.

215

('And

(3)

'

-216

my

now,

that I

so

boys,'

.)

at

am

wit's

my

end.')

and
bravery.
endurance, eccentricity,
this
'All
.)
E
219
(.
happened
'a good and honourable man.')
A (.
-222

His

'

VOLUME.

SECOND

MENO.

Learning

is

only Recollection (""dfa^vu)

Soul
81 A

proved

(.

'
.

APOLOGY,
The

whole.

The

whole.

PHAEDO,
in

(1) Socrates
57-60

OR

THE

OR

CRITO,

of the
Immortality

.)
why'
and inquisitive.' .)

you

active

The

of Pindar.

out

('I will tell

-E

DEFENCE

THE

OR

SOCRATES

LAST

DAY

OF

IN

SOCRATES

PRISON.

OF

SOCRATES'

to

succeed.')

prison.

(.

'
.

pleasure appears

LIFE.

161

PLATO

his

60

not

take

life.

own

this Cebes

('Upon
E (.

-69

willing to die,although he will

is

philosopher

the

(2) Why

said

well.')

it will be

.)

'

Descriptionof the Other Life.

friends,'
107 C ('But then, O my
after I am
-115
A (.
dead.')

(3) The

.)

'

of Socrates.

Death

(4) The
115

speaking

done

had

he

('When

.)

'
.

end.

-to

GORGIAS.

(1)

The

good
A

-513

(2)

The

527

own

.)

Dead.

of the

.)
of insult.')

'

of the Tale.

Moral

The

their

virtuous,life.

.)
perdition.'

('Listen, then,'
A
sort
(.
any

-527

(3)

(.

Judgment

523

long, but

('You always contrive'

511

desires,not

man

appear'

this may

('Perhaps

.)

end.

-to

[Appendix.]
I Alcibiades.
Alcibiades

humiliates

Socrates

Kings
('Why,
B (.

120 A
-124

ever

inferiorityto

.)

anything.')

desired

'

know

surely

you

his

of Persia.

and

of Lacedaemon

the

him

shewing

by

II Alcibiades.
The

Gods
148

of

approve
C

-150

simple worship.

too,'

Lacedaemonians,

('The

(.

'for

to

me

.)

oppose.')

Eryxias.
The

of money.

nature

399

400

('Then
E

(.

'
.

have

we

now

of

no

use

THIRD

to

to

consider

us

...

'
.

.)

True.')

VOLUME.
REPUBLIC.

Book
The

i.

327-331

Dialogue : Cephalus on Old Age.

is,in my opinion,the greatest.')

of the

commencement

(.

*
.

Book

OF

HISTORY

162

PHILOSOPHY

ii.

The

(1)

362

The

let

add

me

(.

'

by Gods

unseen

or

seen

.)
men.')
'

something1more

and

of God.

nature

'

('Come, then, and let

A ( Your
thoughts

us

pass

'

-383

Book

true

376

But

'

(.

-367

(2)

of Adeimantus.

argument

own.')

my

...

.)

iii.

(1)

Grace
400

and
D

('But
A

-402

there

(.

'
.

is

'

.)
difficulty
him
long familiar.')

no

made

education.

and

in art

beauty

good physician and the good judge.

408 C ('All that, Socrates,is excellent,'

The

(2)

-409
The

(3)

true

409

and

('You

gymnastic.
'

.)
quite right,Socrates.')
of medicine

sort

are

iv.

Virtue

the
C

443

-444

Book

is the

.)

also.')

in mine

of music

use

('This

-412

Book

('And

health,Vice the disease,of

has been
dream
our
('Then
E(' Assuredly.')

Soul.

the

realized'

.)

v.

(1)

The

right

469

shall

how

('Next,
C (.

-471

of enemies.

treatment

'like

soldiers

our

all

'
.

.)

previous enactments,

our

are

very

good.')

(2)

The

last

471

-473
Book

('But
E (.

Government

The

"

still I must
"
.

Parable

487

-489

.)

thing.')

low

The

Adeimantus

('Here
D

Pilot.

of the

('Precisely
so,

'

interposed
he said.')

in which

estimation

E(' You
recognize
ing ?'...)
well
-497 A (.
as
.

as

Philosophy
truth

the

"

The

hard

493

Book

Philosophers.

Socrates.'

say,

is indeed

of

vi.

(1) The

(2)

wave:

of

of

.)

is held

what

by

have

himself.')

vii.

Allegory
514 A-520

of the Cave.

(.

'
.

the World.

present rulers of the State.')

been

sav

PLATO
Book

viii.
Democratic

('Next

555

the

and

Democracy

-562

Book

'

(.

the

.)

man.')

democratic

ix.

Many-headed

( The

City
A

588

Monster.

of which
I

the

in Heaven.

is laid up
'

said, and

of the

end

Pattern

the

('Well,

-to

The

Man.

democracy'

comes

j The

Book

163

now

.)

book.

x.

of Er.

Vision

('Well, I said, I will tell

614

the

-to

end

;'...)

tale

you

book.

of the

TIMAEUS.

(1)

The

of Solon.

Tale
E

20

-26

(2) The

listen,Socrates'

('Then
(.

'
.

of Mind

Balance

87 C

('There

-90

(.

is
.

entire

present and

the

.)

Body.

and

CRITIAS, OB
The

.)

corresponding enquiry'

'

Athenians.'

ancient

these

ISLAND

THE

.)

future.')

the

ATLANTIS.

OF

Dialogue.

VOLUME.

FOURTH

PARMENIDES.

The

meeting

of Socrates

Parmenidea

and

Athens.

at

Criticism

of the

Ideas.
126

-136

('We
C

had

(.

'
.

from

come

and

the

see

'

home

our

real

.)

truth.')

THEAETETUS.
of

(1) Socrates, a midwife, and the son

148 E ('These
the pangs
of
are
E (.
-151
by the help of
(2) The

Lawyer

172 B
-177

(.
C

'
.

(.

God

the

Here
'

you

and

'

labour

'

midwife.

will be

SOPHIST.

The

Pre-Socratic Philosophers and

241

-246

('Will
D

(.

you
'

then
but

able to

Philosopher.
a
.)
new
question'
back
the
to
argument.')
us
go

arises

Let

.)

their

forgive

seekers

puzzles.

'

me

after

.)

truth.')

tell.')

166

PLATO

Book

vii.

good citizen must

will be
806 D ('What
C

-808

)S10

according

(.

to

come

.)

.)
end.')

time'

fair
'

'

law.')}

the

to

-812

'A

(.

state.')

day breaks

(.

young.

the

When
'

.)

'

of lif e

manner

whole

the

to

of the

-809

the

life.

inactive

an

'

(.

808

an

viii.
of licentiousness.

evils

The

835

-841

Book

(.

education

(2) The

Book

'

lead

not

The

(1)

'

(.

'

matter

.)

wrongly indulged.'),

'

(.

another

is, however,

There

x.

(1)

( The

I Advice
B

885

-888

(2) God

the

to

(.

'

is not

idle

an

-905

(3) God

-907

(1)

evils

The

-919
The

-932

(1)

matters.')

for

good.

our

For

that

I think

whatsoever'
.

gifts of

the

(.

the

discredit

'will not

('After
C

(.

the
'

practices

wicked.

lawgiver.')

of parents.
*

God,

nor

has

'to what

(.

man

been

now

.)

said.'
.

xii.
The

good

949

-951

(2) The
958

(.

Burial

('Thus
960 A (.

state

'

is

of the

man

'a
.

'
.

the

with

in its intercourse

state

('Now
C

.)

'

meanness.')

and

of them.

cure

of adulteration

shamelessness

('Neither
A

the

trade, and

of retail

.)

ill-conducted.')

Dead.
is born

'
.

.)

fittingpenalty.'
.

.)

sufficientlyproved

have

we

.)

the

propitiated by

'

him

address

to

are

we

now

tha

all,even

orders

; but

Universe

of the

honour

930

Book

.)

xi.

918

(2)

'

(.

of these

'any understanding

be

cannot

905

Book

(.

And

truth

ruler

things,
*

(.

already

smallest
899

the

'

said

have

we
'

(.

young.

For

of unbelievers.

classes

three

.)

world.

.)

'
.

.)

CHAPTER

VIII

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle
ble

of

in the

Academy

pupils gathered
than

more

succeeded
three

next

hundred

by

under

Speusippus
Academy;

known

It

is

sufficient

Plato

ing
ical

to

here

say

fact

from

passed

pupil

greatest

the

among

the

Aristotle

pupils

totle

too

was

leadership
left the
to

school.
like
walls

and

his

of

and

fourteen

founded

Lyceum

Academy.
Athens,

Upon

on

the

was

It
the

an

was

in

philosophy

died
as

and

dis

of

Plato

Aristotle.

Aris

"

the

death
later

to

inclosed

space

situated

just
of

the

the

of

Plato

he

returned

which

influential

bank

stood

most

subordinated

most

his

Plato

pupils

Lyceum,

right

succeed

research.

years

the

Period.

empirical

the

be

to

man

mastership

The

the

Speusippus.

Academy,

Athens

under

of

great

Acad

the

Socrates'

pupil,

preeminent

is

philosoph

it. Just

there

it

little to

Plato

as

the

C.,

B.

leaders

when

among

one

120

sceptre

criminating interpreter,so
was

as

the

Socrates

of

is

Academy

it is known

the

to

the

Academy

but

much

left

for

Hellenic-Roman

added

Academy

Speusippus,

history of

that

is that

mastership

Older

about
The

nota

and

the

the

then

the

Academy

important

is

his

Academy,

then,

part of

in the

later

Many

nephew,

the

It

speculation, although

The

during

Academy.

is, however,

emy

Plato

fifty years

and

New

the

as

Lyceum.

names.

and

C.)

and

of

and

various

B.

Plato's

years.

leader

as

called

Middle

around

forty

him

(384-322

he

became
Athenian

of

ground,

outside
Ilissus.

the
It

ARISTOTLE

dedicated

was

gardens,and
gymnasia of
is known

and

decorated

Apollo,
buildings,and
to

Athens.

It

was

with

contained

fountains,
of

one

the great

frequentedby philosophers,

been

to have

167

favorite

the

walk

of Aris

of
pupils,whence
they got their name
Theophrastus,the most eminent
Peripatetics.
pupil of
the grove
and be
Aristotle, bought a property near
foundation,
queathed it to the school. It was a religious
method
of choosing the schollike the Academy. The
archs varied at different times. The
name
Lyceum is
from the same
root
as
Lycian, and was given to Aris
totle

and

his

from

totle's school

fact

the

that

the

grove

was

dedi

Lycian Apollo.
Here, in the Lyceum, Greek philosophywas
brought
to its most
complete expression.Here all the threads
of Greek
cosmologicaland anthropologicalundertak
woven
ings were
finally
together.Here an adjustment
Aristotle's two great prede
was
accomplished between
cated

to the

cessors,

Plato

idealistic
The

ment.

final word

Democritus

and

realism

in
crystallized

great form
of

pure

custody of

the

Athenians, the

Greek

to the Macedonians.

man

the

of

Greece

the

that

historyhad
thought he

and

has

of those

Aristotle

at
civilization,

passed from
Spartans,the Thebans
was

the most

who

know."

peer.

the

time

when

hands

of

in succession

influential thinker

In his formative

scarcelya

and

theory of develop
rises to speak the

had

He
seen.

materialistic

power

Dante

In my

upon

hu

called him

opinion,"said
Cicero,"Aristotle stands almost alone in philosophy."
Eusebius
said of him,
Aristotle,nature's privatesec
remarked,
retary, dipped his pen in thought." Goethe
If now
in my
quietdays I had youthful faculties at
my command, I should devote myself to Greek, in spite
"

master

"

"

"

OF

HISTORY

168

difficulties I

all the

of

be

should

study. It
espied,saw,

man

Nature

know.

sole

my

that

what

PHILOSOPHY

Aristotle

and

is

beyond all conception

beheld, remarked, ob

served."
The

portraitthat
from

ferent

temper, the
of

who

man

scientist in

good

the clouds, but

tions.

His

the

at

was

of

of the

things in
have

we

facts,the
time

same

and

dif

deeply poetic
ideal unity
us

accurate
not

now

of

man

above

soar

has

extraordinaryfer
theoretical
explana

scientific

life filled with

an

is very

before

imagination does

historical

tilityin

vastness,

search

whose

sense,

all

sees

and

infiniteness

the

Instead

of Plato.

that

Aristotle

of

draw

we

the love of truth.

His

learningtook up into itself the entire range of human

knowledge in such a way as to include its earlier de
is more,
he showed
what
an
equal
velopment. And
interest in all departments. Aristotle was
of a
more
scientist than Plato, for the theoretical rather than the
ethical
the

interest

fundamental

was

personificationand

in

completion

his work.

He

of

Greek

pure

is

learning.
of

Biography
Brief

Aristotle,384-322

Chronological Sketch

First Period
384-347
Born

367

Entered

the

347

Left

Academy

Stagira in

the

347

Went
Asia

"

347-335

years.
to

the courts

Minor.

Life.
"

37

years.

Macedonia.

Academy.

Period

Second

of Aristotle's

c.

384

in

c.

Aristotle the Student

"

B.

B.

upon

Kemained
the death

Aristotle
B.

the

19

years.

of Plato.
Traveler

"

12

c.

at

Atarneus

and

Mytilene

in

ARISTOTLE

Returned

343

the

to

teach

the

Macedon

of

court

the

to

response

169

King

of

summons

Pella, in

at

Philip,to

prince Alexander.

young

Remained

4 years.

340

Went

Third

Period

ceum

the

Lyceum

Fled

to

322

Died

in Chalcis.

Aristotle
court

was

of

Biography

and

years.

B.C.

Early Influences.

"

in

and

except that

the

His
the

father

father

founder
of

King
a
long line of physicians(the
their origin to Ascletraced
of
about
the
early years

power

from
Philip. He came
caste, Asclepiad) who
pius. Little is known
Aristotle

Taught

c.

Stagirain Macedonia.
physician to King Amyntas,
born

Macedonian

the

Ly

in Detail.

Period, 384-347

was

12

of the

Chalcis.

Aristotle's
First

B.

Athens.

in

the school

323

Leader

the

335-322

years.

administered

in scientific

engage

5 years.
Aristotle

"

13

"

Founded

i.

Stagirato

to

Remained

work.

335

Pella

from

his

father

and

mother

died, leav

of Atarneus.
ing him in the guardianshipof Proxenus
(Atarneus is the state in Asia Minor which he later
that he was
des
visited.)It can
scarcelybe doubted
tined by his family to be a physician,and
that the
were
empiricalworks of Hippocrates and Democritus
of his early education.
the first elements
Aristotle
of Macedonia,
grew
up in this atmosphere of medicine
which explains his respect for the results of experience
and

his accuracy
in details, all of which
with the Attic philosophers.
"

He

was

sent

by

Proxenus

to the

Academy

contrasts

in 367

him

Be

C..

at

of

the age

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

170

he remained

eighteen,and

there

for nine

He
not
was
thirty-seven.
for
won
merely a pupil in the school, but his brilliancy
him
immediately a prominent positionthere. He be
teacher, an attractive writer, and champion of
came
a
the literary
a
spiritof the school. Even while he was
It
famous
of the Academy he became
member
man.
a
much
influence the Academy
is difficult to say justhow
scientific
the casting of his thought. His
had
upon
teen

inclinations
;

emy

he

until

or

years,

he

was

formed

were

before

got his immense

he went

the Acad

to

in Asia

scientific erudition

Stagiralater,after he left the Academy.

Probably the spiritof the Platonic school turned his
attention to ethical and metaphysicaltheories,and prob
ably it was due to his stay in the Academy that he be
interested in rhetorical and purelycultural studies.
came
Minor

At

and

the

very

in

time

same

his

been

have

must

in

he

was

to

scientific matters.

of his

influence

forming the policyof the Academy, and

probablyresponsiblefor its turning its attention

great

The

own

sources

from

which

philosophicalscience

Aristotle
were

drew

the material

therefore

(1)

his in

empiricalscience ; and
(2) the influence of the Academy in ethical, meta
physical,and cultural subjects.Both these factors ap
development of Aris
pear throughout the philosophical
totle. On
the other hand, it must
not be forgottenthat
probably Aristotle's influence upon the Academy was

herited

as

great

taste

as

for

that

medicine

of

the

Academy upon him. His own

line of empirical science shows
Atarneus, Mitylene,and on his

persistencealong the
itself in his period at
return
to
Stagira. Much
Estrangement between

and

has

Aristotle

been
and

his

said

about

an

teacher, Plato.

ARISTOTLE

This is
in

171

probablyidle gossip. Aristotle

great esteem,

he

as

his master

held

testifies in his Ethics.

himself

originalmind, and
in the school he would
point out defects
probably even
lead
his aged teacher would
in Plato's thought,when
Aristotle

his theories

pupil

mistaken

upon

the

the

Aristotle

bridle.

and

lines.

needed

Xenocrates

needed
the

independent

an

was

Plato

said

the

called

was

Aristotle

while

spur,

that his

brain

of

Academy.
Period, 347-335

Second

2.

Plato

When

B.

died, and

c.

Traveler

"

and

Col

his

nephew Speusippus
of the Academy, Aristotle,in com
scholarch
became
of Hermeias,
with Xenocrates, went
to the court
pany
and Mitylene. Hermeias
another
ruler of Atarneus
was
pupilof Plato at the Academy. Here Aristotle married
lector.

he

obeyed

Pella
this
more

he resided

here

twice, and

the

the tutor

capacityfor
fortunate

influence

upon

of

summons

become

and

four

than

for six years.

Alexander

343

King Philip to
of Alexander.
and

years,

Plato

In

as

instructor

was

very

of

been

king.

great.

in

acted

have

c.

to

come

He
to

seems

B.

His

Without

Aristotle seems
to
losinghimself in the impracticable,
ideals upon
the noble
have impressedhigh philosophical
Alexander
spiritof his kingly ward.
says of Aristotle,
To my father I owe
life,to Aristotle the knowmy
"

ledge how to live worthily." During the tedium of the

sent for the
protractedcampaign in Bactria,Alexander
and ^Eschylus. The
tragediesof Euripides,Sophocles,
Ethics of his teacher was
always with him. The ideals
in political
of statesmanship,the wide
con
purposes
trol,the greatness of the aims
as

and

well

as

his

of the

his
self-control,

and
petty things,

his sublime

conqueror,

young

aversion

to

moderation

meanness

were

due

ARISTOTLE

of

ness

"

in the orderliness
ical

of
universality

in the

Aristotle,

of its

cooperation.For

173

its

in method

administration, and

twelve

he

years
and

interests,

the

was

execu

inspirationof this
school
developinghis philosophy,accumulating ma
his pupils.The
enormous
terials,and instructing
pro
tive, teacher, administrator,
"

duct

of the school could

pair of

Nevertheless

hands.

ethical

collections,the

unity that
under

speaks

direction.

Athens
fled to
because

as

of

of

wished

to

of

one

that

had

them

began to rise
rule, Aristotle's positionin

the

Athenians

Alexander

spare

the

unsafe.

became

Chalcis,excusing himself, so
he

the work

writings,the immense
treatises,show
political
master-mind

one

When

friend

been

the

and

Macedonian

against the

have

not

the tradition

Athenians

He
goes,

second

againstphilosophy. He died in Chalcis the next

year (322 B. c.).
A comparison of these three periods of Aristotle's
life discloses the uniformityof that life,from beginning
He was, from the time he entered the Academy
to end.
Even
teacher.
to the founding of the Lyceum,
as
a
influencingthe
pupil of Plato his originalmind was
Platonic
teachinginto new channels. During his second
period he was a traveler,to be sure ; but he was more,
a
a collector and
king'stutor. He was always Aris
Hence
the periods of
teacher.
totle,the philosophical
his life cannot
be so sharply marked
Plato's,and
as
the lines that are
drawn
point only to phases of a life
His life is a regular
that had unity,like his doctrine.
in his first period,and with
development from sources
later deviatinginfluence.
no
crime

"

The

Writings of Aristotle.

dialoguesyou

meet

Plato

; in

On

every

page

Aristotle's

of Plato's

writings the

HISTORY

174

personalityof

OF

the author

PHILOSOPHY
to his

is subordinated

science.

writingstransmitted under the name

of Aristotle do not give even
an
approximately com
of the man.
They
activity
pletepictureof the immense
after the spuri
form, indeed, a statelymemorial, even
ous
writingshave been omitted,but their bulk is small
the product of his
compared with what we know was
literary
workshop. Forty treatises have been preserved.
A catalogue of the libraryof Alexandria
in 220 B. c.
includes
hundred
list of one
and
a
forty-sixothers,
The

of

collections

which

have

lost. Aristotle

since been

of the

turer, teacher,and the administrator

leadershipof

that

school, his careful

cooperators in research

writer, lec

Lyceum.

direction

of

His
his

study,was not only an in

impulsion to independent scientific

struction

but

study for

all time.

data

was

an

and

His

great collections

of

scientific

being the combined

efforts of
different forces,guided and
schooled
many
The world was
master.
by a common
ready to take an
the first encyclo
of stock, and
Aristotle was
account
pedic philosopher.
i.

explainedonly by

their

Popular Writings, published by

The

himself.
wider

be

can

These
than

his

were
own

intended
school.

for
No

one

Aristotle

circle of

readers

of these works

is

written by Aris
complete form. They were
dia
totle during his life in the Academy. They were
of
discussions
they were
logues in form ; in content
love,conduct,
wealth,wisdom, rhetoric,politics,
justice,
generosity,education, government, etc. They
prayer,
ori
but more
less artistic than Plato's dialogues,
were
full of happy inven
ginaland striking; and they were
tions and rich thought,expressedin florid diction. The
ancients spoke often of Aristotle's "golden flow of
extant

in

175

ARISTOTLE

thought,"but this cannot

these lost writings.

apply to
truthfully

save

any

excerpts from scien

historical,
tific works, collections of zoological,
literary,

Compilations. These

The

2.

were

antiquarian data, which

gathered together.Only

and
had

There

total remain.

few

upon

Plato's

of

extracts

his

fragments

critical notes

were

reports of

goreans,

and

Aristotle

pupils
of the

the

Pytha
dialogues,a

collec
descriptivebasis for zoology with illustrations,
tions of previous rhetorical theories and models, histo
and comedies, discussions about Homer,
ries of tragedies
other
Hesiod, Archilochus, Euripides, and
poets ;
there

ing
3.

Greek
fifty-eight

hundred

one

and

historical miscellanies

were

The

Didactic

reports

constitutions.

state

Writings. These

concern

in

have

part been

preserved,and they make up the collection of what we

have of Aristotle's writings.They have a consistently
developed terminology,but they are wanting in grace
and
beauty of presentation.The plan of the books is
the problem is preciselystated ;
:
generallythe same
then follows a criticism of various attempted solutions ;
of the salient points of the problem ;
then a discussion
then a marshaling of the facts ; and, finally,
an
attempt
to

get

conclusive

its scientific

procedure and
it must

striking.Yet

The

result.

not

the
be

method

that

in

Plato

with

contrast

inferred

is modern

these

is

books

haste,
are
orderly.There
repetitions,
unequal development of parts, and unfulfilled promises.
These books were
nothing else than the written note?

of

Aristotle

which

he

intended

are

made

had
to

Only parts
for text-book

form
of

the

the

basis of his lectures

into text-books

Logic

purposes.

seem

in

some

to have

and

future
been

had
time.

completed

OF

HISTORY

176

These
lows
1.
2.

3.

didactic

PHILOSOPHY

writingsare

simply arranged

as

fol

(Wallace) :
Logic called Or g anon.
SpeculativePhilosophy.
First Philosophy or Theology or Metaphysics.
Mathematics
(writingsnot extant).
Physics (includingthe historyof animals and the
psychology).
Practical Philosophy.
The

treatise

on

Ethics.
Economics.
Politics.
4.

Poetic

Philosophy.

Art.

Poetry.
Rhetoric.
Aristotle's

Starting-Point.The

two

in Aristotle's mental

earlyinfluences
an
explanation

development offer
influences
for his philosophical
point of view. These
his con
and
his empiricaltrainingin medicine
were
ceptual trainingin the moral ideals of the Academy.
Plato
true

had

convinced

science,it

must

him

that

be founded

if there
on

were

to

concepts

be
that

any
are

scientific training,however, re
unchanging. His own
him re
inforced by the influence of Democritus, made
the philo
spect the value of empiricalfacts. While
that for
as
sophicalproblem for Aristotle was the same
in the main
them
a
was
Plato, the difference between
of emphasis due
to their different
matter
starting-

points. Plato started with the refutation of the Protatheory of perception,and consequentlyhe em
gorean
phasizedthe value of the conceptualworld ; Aristotle,
the conhowever, felt that Plato had overestimated

177

ARISTOTLE

ceptual world, and he emphasized the importance of

of the Academy
empiricalfacts. Both when a member
and later, he stronglycontended
againstPlato's evalu
ation of the world of Ideas, because they so transcended
world that they neither explainednor
the sense
illumi
nated
it. Aristotle's
reaction
against Plato's theory
furthermore
notion
of what
correct
gives us a more
Plato
reallytaught. If conceptionsare to enter into
exist in the clouds
of ab
not
knowledge, they must
straction.

He

maintained

that Plato

had

increased

the

of the problem by adding a second world

of
difficulty
The
entities quite distinct from
the world of nature.
still exists unan
same
problem that Plato confronted
swered, said Aristotle. It is the problem of the two
fold world.
If Ideas are apart from things,
could not
we
know
should
that they existed,we
not be able to know
anything about them, nor should we be able to explain
It is true
the world through them.
that Plato, in his
later draft, had conceived
Ideas to be teleologically
re
lated to the physicalthings,but how
could this be if
they were
apart from things? Thus in his reaction from
Plato's theory of
the
Ideas, Aristotle reestablished
of
world of perceptualfact. This is the starting-point
Aristotle.
The
The

Fundamental

Principlein

Aristotle's

Philosophy.

did Aristotle reestab

question then is,How
lish the perceptualfact ? What
did he employ
means
to give the perceptualfact a reality?The
to
answer
this questionwill be the statement
of Aristotle's funda
mental
Plato
over
principle.It will show his advance
estimate
of the perceptualworld.
by showing his new
Plato acceptedthe Protagorean doctrine of perception,
but also
it a new
value by placing perceptions
gave
first

178

OF

HISTORY

PHILOSOPHY

conceptionsin the world of reality; Aristotle

developed Plato's teaching about perceptions by linking them inseparablywith conceptions. Aristotle felt

beside

that Plato's

difficulties

arose

from

the lack

of close

re-

conceptual Being and perceptuaf

is that linkage? What
binds abiding realfact. What
ity and changing phenomena so closely? The linkage
is development. Development is the relation between
prin
conceptionand perception. It is the fundamental
ciple in the philosophy of Aristotle throughout and
the value
estimate
of perception.
places a new
upon
Perceptual facts apart from conceptionshave no real
ab
ity; conceptionsapart from perceptionsare mere
stractions. In the world of reality
conceptual Being re
sides in the perceptual facts,and the perceptual facts
conceptions.They always exist together in a
express
linkage or relationshipthat is teleological,
purposeful
the linkage of development. An
abstract
statement
of this relationship
is, Aristotle felt the conceptualne
cessityof the empiricallyactual." Perhaps the clearest
of this fundamental
be made
statement
principlecan
It is this : true realityis the
of evolution.
in the terms
which
essence
unfolds in phenomena. Notice that this
has two parts equallyfreighted: realityis an
sentence
The
true
unfolding essence
; realityis in phenomena.
be thought as realizingitself through
universal
must
its development in particulars
true
; the
concept as
realizingitself through its development in percepts;
itself in its devel
the true abiding Being as realizing
through change. On the one hand, realityis
opment
has exist
of things; on
the essence
the other, reality
ence
only in things.
True
realityis the individual.
lationshipbetween

"

"

ARISTOTLE

The
ual

individual

consists

179

of two

aspects : (1) concept

being,and

(2) perceptualchange.
two
aspects always stand in a relationship.
is developingpurpose.
relationship
is the key to the teaching of Aristotle that

These
That
Here
to

seems

the doors

open

of

its many
In his
chambers.
individual
developing from

metaphysics realityis the

In physics individual
to actuality.
possibility
phenom
ena
get a realitythrough their development from lower
is
to higher types. In psychology the individual
person
the particulars,
real when
the physiological
and psycho
logicalstates, develop toward the soul, which is their
truth. So, too, in the great system of logic in which
Aristotle was
pioneer,he is simply trying to give the
particularjudgment a meaning by showing its linkage
to the universal
judgment. Everywhere the startingpoint of Aristotle is the perceptualfact. Everywhere
is to reestablish it by showing its relation
his purpose
to abidingconceptionin the individual.
It may
does

be

well

to

remark, however, that

Aristotle

altogethersucceed in constructinga consist

ent
theory. In spite of his criticism of Plato's tran
scendent
Ideas, in many
placesAristotle does not over
Plato's dualism.
come
Frequently he differs from Plato
than
in words
in meaning. We
shall observe
more
some
of his inconsistencies
in their place. We
shall see
that
not

Aristotle
totle
as

the

sophy
as

he

he

as

he

as
was.

meant

Aristotle

opponent of Plato's
from
was,

be

to
as

was

different

he meant

dualism

to be

from
"

Aris

Aristotle

developsa philo
a
singlefundamental
principle.Aristotle
critical points to Plato's
reverts
at many
"

dualism.
Aristotle's

principleof development may

appear

at

ARISTOTLE

fore

made

it should

181

logic a preliminaryand separate study,as

the preface to his scientific
be. It became

work.
it
because
brieflydiscuss Aristotle's logic,
is an exemplification
of his general philosophical
prin
ciple.Among the subjectsin the historyof philosophy,
logicis perhaps the only one that has had no internal
the pioneer in the subject.He
history.Aristotle was
left it so finished that scarcelyany changes of conse
could be made
in it. The external historyof the
quence
Aristotelian
logic has, however, been notable. A por
tion of the
Categoriesand De Interpretation was
influential in the history of the Middle
most
Ages.
The
and misapplied by
Logic had been misunderstood
Aristotle's own
it came
into the
School, so that when
hands
of the Schoolmen
it had acquired the reputation
formal
of being only an abstract
logic.As thus inter
and attacked
by
preted it was used by the Schoolmen
the philosophersof the Renaissance.
Such
view of
a
Aristotle's logic is unjust to the author.
He
had con-ceived
to
logicin its wholeness to be the true method
be used in investigating
practicalscientific problems.
The
Sophistshad proposed rules of practicalvalue
in the study of individual
tried to
cases
; Socrates had
fix upon
universal principle
the basis of know
as
some
ledge; Aristotle made a comprehensivestudy of the reg
ular forms of thought and the rules that govern
the ar
in right thinking. In true
of these forms
rangement
Platonic fashion he conceived
physicalevents in nature
universal cause.
to be due to some
If,therefore,logical
follow the ways
of na
ft must
procedure be scientific,
from some
deduce particular
ture : logicmust
perceptions
universal idea. The necessary thought-relations
in which
We

shall

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

182

particularstands will then appear. Deduction of

the universal
is the true scientific
the particularfrom
method, used in the explanationof nature-phenomena
deductive
so in proof the same
reasoningshould be used
In scientific study we are
trying to show the conceptual
necessityof an empiricalfact ; in proof we are showing
Whether
of the particular
term.
the conceptualnecessity
are
we
explainingan event or proving a conclusion,we
are
logicalprocess. Aristotle thus
employing the same
regarded his logicas the true scientific method for prac
in verbal
tical service,
not as a merely abstract discipline
hair-splitting.
to the study of
Socrates and Plato confined themselves
Aristotle
also studied
the
the concept or simple term.
the

concept. Indeed, he tried

fundamental

in

our

thinking,so

thought reduced

are

our

ten

of these

must

we

i.

e.

some

have

two

relation

farther

real
does

terms
must

terms.

concepts and
goes

concepts

fundamental

its lowest

to

fundamental

gories.But Aristotle
Plato, and makes his
A singleterm
ment.

what

to find out

that
He

they

names

calls them

cate

Socrates

than

are

and

point of departure the judg

not

express

connected
be

shown

truth.

by

For

the verb

between

them.

truth
"

is,'*
This

judgment. Reasoning is still more

complex. It is
the putting together or
showing the relation between
two
judgments. This process takes the form of the syl
logism. The first task of deduction is to present the laws
will then be the laws of scien
of the syllogism.These
tific investigation.
can
According to these, particulars
universal
be derived with certaintyfrom
propositions,
provided such universals are established. The syllogism
is in the form of two premises and a derived conclusion.
It contains three terms.
The problem is to infer,from
is

ARISTOTLE

that

the relation
other

of

one

is that

cipleemployed

bears

these terms
bear to each

the two

terms, what

183

The

other.

subordination

of

to the two

and

prin

the dif

syllogismcan be many, depending on

the qualityand quantityof the premisesand the distri
The working of the syllogism
term.
bution of the middle
in inference has a certainty
so
great that Aristotle called
of the

ferentiations

it-apodictic.
besides
syllogistic
the explanationof empirical
of proof or
the deduction
of the premises.All de
fact. This is the establishment
absolute
duction
premises. All deduction
presupposes
is grounded on
something not deduced ; all proof on
something not proved ; all explanation on something
that has not been explained.These
are
presuppositions
be known
that can
universal
only imme
propositions
diatelythrough intuitions. Aristotle is not altogether
But

clear

to

as

axioms

as

side

is another

there

law

the

the

intuitions

these

what

to

contradiction

of

and

such

names

the law

of the

specialpropositionswhich
sciences. Since the premises
apply only to particular
which
we
actuallyuse are not open to proof,but only
we
strengthenedas to the validityof their application,
excluded

must

use

them.

middle, and

He

are.

method

the

cannot

we

of

take

therefore

as

then
a

induction

data

accumulate

We

experiences,and
which

some

we

from
ascend

premise. The

be in themselves

in

search

our

for

opinions and varied

to a generalization
results
certain.

of induction
The

results

only probable,and can have the character of know

ledgeonly as they explainphenomena. Aristotle means
by induction something different from the present use
are

of the term.
of

Induction

proof ," Aristotle

means

in

modern
a

times

method

of

means

kind

discovery of

HISTORY

184

universal
relatively

There

there

terms

PHILOSOPHY

where

the

universal
absolutely

be obtained.

cannot

that

OF

is

an

ideal involved

in this

conceptionof logk
perfectlyintellectual society

interesting.In a
would
be a perfectscience

is

in which

all

particular
facts could be derived with absolute certainty
from pre
mises absolutelyknown.
Life and logicwould
be iden
tical. We
should
then
be certain not
only as to our
been
proof but as to our premises.Logic has sometimes
in this way.
When
used very effectively
the mediaeval
church
conceived
its dogmas to be the ultimate
pre
mises
of truth, it could deduce
from
them
complete
rules for living.To
mediaeval
the
mind
the perfect
science was
formulated
by deducing it from the dogma
of the church.
The dogmas were
the absolute premises.
The
Renaissance
the infallibility
did not doubt
of the
traditional dogmas so much
the logical
method, and
as
identified
Aristotle,who had been so long artificially
with the proof of ecclesiastical dogma, was
set aside.
showed
Aristotle,moreover,
great insight into the
The
present relation of thought and reality.
sequence
of facts in our
experience,he pointed out, is exactly
What
the reverse
of what
it is in reality.
is first in
last in our
realitycomes
experience,and what is first
in our
experienceis last in reality.To illustrate : the
mission of the Athenian
State in the eternityof things
did not appear
in its historyhad oc
until every event
A perfectbeing would
curred.
the universal ground
see
before the historical particulars
derived from
it,while
look from
the particulars
to their universal
we
causes.
Logic and metaphysics agree; but they stand in in
verted
parallelismto historical and psychological
pro
cesses.
Knowledge is a development from the senses

ARISTOTLE

into

Ideas, and

the

fails to

never

expressionof
beginning.
Aristotle's

yet,

remind

the

that

us

idea

an

on

185

which

this

has

hand, Aristotle

other

development

been

is the

present from

the

Metaphysics.

is Purposeful. The
conception of
Development
in Aris
relation
is, of course,
quite as fundamental
i.

theory of metaphysics as in his logic.In logic

knowledge of the particularis possiblethrough its
to the universal
relationship
; in metaphysics the rela
of development
the par
tionshipis the relationship
ticular has significance
and value through the universal
totle's

"

essence

that unfolds

from

within

it. If Aristotle

shows

Father
genius for abstract thinking by becoming the
of Logic," he shows
equal genius for abstract thinking
in his metaphysicalconceptionof development. He be
conditions
lieved that metaphysics appliesthe same
to
things that logic discovers in thought. But in meta
is not the abstract relationship
physicsthe relationship
"

that

Aristotle

saw

in

Plato, but

the

vital relation

of

development in the life and change of nature.

We
have already stated the fundamental
principlein
Aristotle's teachingas an unfolding essence
in phenom
The unfolding is the relationship
of development.
ena.
Eeality does not consist in the particularthings of
in something outside
nature, but in this
nature, nor
essential linkage of the perceptual and
conceptualin
As
is spread out before us, it pre
the world
nature.
sents objectsthat are
dynamic, however much they may
is in the process
appear to be static. Everywhere matter
of forming. The world is a forming, not a formed
nor
a

formless

any

world.

individual

So, also,if you

object in

the

undertook

world, you

to describe

would

have

to

HISTORY

186

it

define

as

OF

forming

PHILOSOPHY

developing thing. A tree, for

described
or
adequatelydenned

or

example, would not be

by enumerating its parts at any one moment
; but you
describe it as a unitaryorganism developingfrom
must
The realityof the world is the development of
a seed.
its meaning in its history; the same
is true of the reality
of any individual
thing in the world. The world and
the things therein have an
unfoldingessence.
The next
point to be observed about Aristotle's con
ceptionis that the relationshipof developmentis betiveen

two

there

must

terms.

The

be that out

individual
of which

have

must

two

aspects :

the

development is pass
it is passing.Aristotle calls
ing, and that into which
these two
Matter
aspects of development respectively
and Form.
Every objectof nature consists of Form and
have
Matter, and these two terms
passed into history.
To Aristotle everything is Matter
becoming Form, or,

in

realizingitself in Matter. The

which
tree has its Matter
is becoming Formed, and its
Form
into which
is growing. The
the Matter
principle
which unites the two is development,
of
the principle
the individual.
or
Matter, then, is the possibility
poten
of an
individual
it is the thing given
tiality
thing
is its actualityor
potentially
reality.If you
; Form
emphasize merely the stages in the development,you are
em
regardingmerely the occurrences
; if,however, you
phasizethe stages of development as aspects of a unity,
other

words, Form

"

"

you

see

The
thus

its

essence.

of development between
relationship

becomes

purpose.
in
sence

i.e. in

under

Aristotle's

hands

the

Aristotle calls this self-realization

phenomena by
oppositionto the

the

technical

earlier

word

two

terms

relation
of the

of
es

entelechy,
conceptionsof nature

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle conceived

187

teleologically.
Teleologyor

nature

using in his second draft of the

as
a
Ideas, but more
postulatethan as an efficient means
of explanation.Aristotle
uses
teleologyas his positive
fundamental
principleof nature.
Aristotle's

2.

Aristotle

pose.

Plato

found

we

purpose

Different

Two

illustrated

his

of

Conceptions

Pur

the pur

conception of

posefulrelation in nature from two very different types :

(1) the development of organisms ; (2) the develop
artisan moulds
that takes place when
ment
an
plastic
material.
Manifestly here are two different kinds of
activities. In organicgrowth the Form
that
teleological
in the organism ;
is immanent
realizes itself in Matter
the other hand, superimposes the Form
the artist,on
In the case
of organisms
the plasticmaterial.
upon
Matter
and Form
are
separableonlyby abstraction,and
are
only two aspects of a development which is identical
from
the beginning to the end ; in the case
of artistic
construction
the Matter
is first a possibility
existingby
and
itself,
it. In
causes,

the
"

of the artist is later added

the purpose
of

case

organisms

the material

artistic construction

he

and

Aristotle

the

formal

employs four

speaks
; in

causes,

"

the

unto

of

two

of

case

the mate

the formal, and the final. Aristotle did

rial,the efficient,

expresslyformulate these two different conceptions

of purpose,
but he completelyappliedthem
in practice.
On
hand
he regarded individual
the one
thingsas selfand on
the other he looked
them
as
realizing,
upon
realized in other things. This seemingly harmless
dif
ference is reallyvery fundamental, for it is the differ
not

ence
as

between
the

reverts

Aristotle

as

he

critic of

Plato's

to Plato's

teaching.We

meant

dualism

"

to

and

be

"

Aristotle

Aristotle

find therefore

two

who
Aris-

ARISTOTLE

phenomena strive.
beyond. Individual
relative to
the

fulfillment

The

of

only

things are

bud, the blossom, the fruit,have

themselves, but

tion in

the

lyingon

the timber

the

To

food

not

is

purpose,
of

scale

standard.

transcendent

some

189

values

illustrate

their realiza

again,the growing tree,

ground, the timber in the house,

as

completed house ; again,in

of the
matter
the world at large,the originalnebulous
worlds, the early years of
universe, the first-formed
their realization

have

in the

this

earth, the succeedingcenturies,the 20th

this

world,

are

only a

for

scale of values

century of

something

in

the future.

facing such facts,Aristotle had to depart from

of the world
standard
his originalconceptualistic
as
an
organicunity and of individual thingshaving their
and it
View
a
thing by itself,
meaning in themselves.
In

to

seems

be

realitywhich

self-contained

unfolds

for

thing with reference to other things,

is Aristotle
is in something else. Here
and its reality
He
to be, but as he reallywas.
no
longer as he meant
is to be regarded,
Plato's pupil. Each
is now
thing now
View

itself alone.

containingin itself the two aspects of Form and

of something and the ac
Matter, but as the possibility
tualityof something else. The blossom is the possibility
the Form
Matter
of the fruit and
or
or
actualityof

not

as

the

bud.

The

eighteenthand
has

opment
totle

Form

century is the Form

the Matter

of the twentieth.

limit above

below, in Matter
that is without

excludes
He

nineteenth

is

entire

from

Himself

and

But

devel

below, accordingto Aris

that is without
Matter.

of the

Pure

all Matter

or

Form

Form

is

above, in

God,

who

because
possibility,

perfect.Pure Matter is the lower limit,which is

exists only to be formed.
Here
and
possibility,

HISTORY

190

is

dualism

only
same

way

Aristotle

PHILOSOPHY

Plato's,which

as

but

overcome

which

that Plato

contrasted

contrasted

God

as

he

developed.

Ideas

pure

Aristotle not

and

In the

empty space,

Form

Matter

and

as

possibility.

pure
In
his

distinct

as

did not

OF

this

final dualistic

teaching,there

are

must

because

they

had

Aristotle

in which

left

three

doctrines which
the
specific
carefully.They are important

consider

student

form

great influence

in later orthodox

the

These
ology and in theories of nature.
specialdoctrines
are
(1) Aristotle's conceptionof God; (2) his concep
tion of matter
; (3) his conceptionof nature.
Aristotle's

3.

ian system
pure

Form

the
was

of

assumption

an

final term

upper

Matter

because

necessary,

In the Aristotel

of God.

Conception

as

the

of
pos

of
with
the power
potentialis not endowed
and generation.To Aristotle development is not
motion
with temporal beginning and ending,but is a
a process
kind of closed circuit. Since realityis in itself a devel
oping essence, motion is as eternal as reality.We should
When
did the world begin,and when
not ask, therefore,
will it end?
but we
is the.
can
ask, What
legitimately
of reality
that keeps motion
alive? When
nature
we
examine
individual
things,we find, according to Aris
totle's explanation,
that motion
is the result of the in
sible and

fluence

of

Form

Matter.

upon

There

is inherent

in

impulse to be formed, and there is inherent

in Form
But we may
active forming purpose.
search
an
individual
things in vain for the causal explanationof

matter

an

motion, since every

higherForm.
gibleif there
moved.

God

The

Form

chain

did not
as

is in turn
would

exist

the unmoved

be endless
pure
mover

Matter

the

and

Form,
is the

not

which
cause

for

intelli
is

un

of the

ARISTOTLE

world-motion, but God

from

sense

the

God

moved.

mechanical

but

cause

God

prime
As

Good.

as

as

is the
the

cause

upon

Form,

pure

is similar

Matter,
a

final

as

teleo-

or

God

that

sense

Idea

Plato's

it is eternal,unmovable,

to its form

not

actual, like God.

be
to

different

themselves

are

as

"

in the

cause

impulse to

mover

in

cause

which

physicalcauses,

excites in Matter
This

be the

must

operates

logicalcause.

191

of

the

unchange

and
incorporeal,
yet the
is the perfect
of all generationand change. God
cause
As to its con
is actuality.
all possibility
Being in whom
is pure thought. But in respect to his thought
tent God
God is not like human
thought,which is concerned with
external phenomena and changing things.God is thought
that has nothing else for its objectthan itself and its
God is
thought of thought."
own
unchanging content.
blessed life.
God's contemplationof himself is his own
in Aristotle is a momentous
Here
conceptionformed for
is
the first time in the historyof thought. Monotheism
and scientifically
for the first time conceptuallyframed
grounded.The monism of Aristotle's predecessors
passes
God
is not only immaterial
in the
into a theism.
over
the Ideas, but he is spiritual.
that Plato defined
sense
In Aristotle's transcendent
God, conceived as pure self-

able, wholly independent and

"

have

consciousness, we

the

ripestfruit

of Greek

philo

sophy.
4.

lower

Aristotle's

The

of Matter.

Conception

limit of Aristotle's dualism

is

Matter,

other
"

and

first Mat

ter,"as Aristotle called it. In itself it is wholly unformed

and

But
possibility.

mere

respect,
"

from
ter

it

never

Matter, but
never

exists

exists

it is unlike

pure
in itself. God

since Matter

apart

from

is

Form.

mere

Form

in this

exists

apart

Mat
possibility,

Matter

has

double

HISTORY

192

On

character.
an

sible;
and

on

the

it makes

hand

is that

the world
it is the

of

which

phenomena

as

pos

of the lawless

source

Through its seeking to be

presentationof the Idea possible,
deterrent
a
principleto the full

as

Form.

the

of

non

qua

Matter

nature.

the

yet it stands

presentationof
sine

makes

other

PHILOSOPHY

hand

one

purposelessin

formed
and

the

cause

accessory

OF

On

the

physical nature,

hand

one

shows

it is the

itself in

real

physicaleffects,and is the basis of mechanical causation,

motion, and impact. On the other hand it stands in the
of the Forms
actualizingthemselves
fully,and it
way
is
prevents the universe from perfectingitself as God
Matter
is not
indifferent
an
perfect. While
negative
(as in Plato's teaching),but the necessary substratum
of corporealthings,it is however
the indeterminate, and
the ground of the accidental
and purposelessin nature.
is the infinite and

Matter
unusual
Both

phenomena,

fate and

like

accident

unlimited, and is the

monstrosities
due

and

of

source

abortions.

retardinginfluence
of Matter, because
it obstructs
the successful working
out of Form.
Quite in accord with Greek thought,Aris
totle conceived
necessityand chance to be fundamen
of drawing lots
tallythe same, and the Greek custom
shows
of the notion.
the universality
Aristotle's

5.

fore to Aristotle
had

conceived

totle,
Nature

as

far

twofold

of Nature.

complex

more

it. Nature

and

has

double

conception

necessityare

world, and

tion did Aristotle

ever

Conception

to the

is composed of mechanical

Purpose
in the

his

are

much

reconcile

Plato

Aristotle concedes

world

than

character

of

is there

causation

Plato

to Aris

shows.

and

the two

in this twofold

Nature

causes.
teleological
principlesof motion
conception of causa

and

to the

Democritus.
Democritan

How
idea of

ARISTOTLE

193

it is evident that in his conception

necessity,
the principleof teleologypredominates over
of nature
The
the mechanical.
highest actualityis God, and he
all results of value
is a final or teleological
cause
; and
Final causes
in nature
come
are
through final causes.
causes
are
secondarycauses.
primary causes
; mechanical

mechanical

would

for the

highestfinal cause,
and

mover,

because
How

be

motion

There

matter

modern

our

under

nature

in the universe

whatever
God.

cannot

God

Yet

is the unmoved

itself. Motion

move

but

occurs

impulse to form itself like God.

this Aristotelian
conception of nature
scientific conceptionof an impersonal

feels the

matter

different

from

no

mechanical

causation

that

is universal!

The

teleological
conceptionof nature and natural events
in the human
mind during
was
very stronglyintrenched
the Middle
Ages, and was not dislodgedeasilyby mod
Nature
was
a
ern
investigation.
livingthing to Aris
totle. It was
at once
intrinsically
spontaneous, and selfIts spontaneitywas
determined
and uniform.
that of
not
that of purpose
capriciouschance. Its uniformity was
On

and

end.

tion

of nature

doctrine
lution.
a

is not

of created
The

limited

hand, the Aristotelian

the other

world

world

the

nature

same
or

of Aristotle

in space,

but

either the

as

concep

Christian

Darwin's

theory of
always existed

had
not

in time.

Also

evolu;

the

it is
di

always existed in it. Yet its evolution is not

a progressive
climbing sort, like the Darwinian, in which
new
speciesevolve. It means
only that there is a re
nature
lationshipof rank and value among
objects.
Nature is a unity. Teleological
within it.
change occurs
vine

reason

Nature

is therefore

beings in the process

Form, approximating

of
the

connected

system

of

living

development from Form

Deity and existingas

to

the

HISTORY

194

OF

PHILOSOPHY

of the Deity. There

is a graded scale of
potentiality
thingsof relative worth. But the double standard of es
timatingthe worth of nature-objects that of mechan
that of teleological
ical necessityand
makes
cause
series, which find their union only at the
two
different
From
in God.
end
our
foregoing descriptionof the
of God, it will be seen
that he has two essen
nature
"

"

tial characteristics
himself

and

ture

he is

remains

He

reason.

Being

like

therefore

himself

combines

series in their most

who

and

he

in himself

ideal character.

within

rests

ever

is

pure

the two

na

Nature-objects

in the series

of mechanical
necessityhave as their ideal
character
just that uniformity,regularity,and order
find in the abiding Being of God.
that we
The greater
the uniformity,the more
Naturenearly like God.
in the teleological
their ideal
series, have
as
objects,
characteristic
tional such
In

God.
from
lute

the

the

The

nearly ra
livingbeing is,the more
nearly is it like
line the series of phenomena ascends
one

the disorder

uniformityof
line

the other

of God.

the

reason

more

of the terrestrial universe

the stars,which
series

ascends

are

to the abso

close to God.

In

in

values
teleological
from
the mechanical
and
vegetativecharacteristics of
Both
series termi
organisms to their rational activity.
in God.
The
have
rational intelligence
nate
and
stars
the most
Aristotle conceived
uniform
motions.
Physics
the science

as

ond

that includes

series he conceived

Mechanical

Physics. The
time
world.

be

included

the

sec

by Psychology,

Aristotle's
Series,
Theory
general astronomical
assumptions of

determined
He

series,and

Politics.

Ethics, and
The

to

the first

"

Aristotle's

adopted the

old

of
the

theory of the physical

Pythagorean conceptionof

ARISTOTLE

the limited
centric

world-all

195

hollow

crystalline
spheres.In
he

goreans,

conceived

the

sphere made
oppositionto

earth

at

the

up

of

the

Pytha

con

It is

centre.

it the
sphericaland stationary.Around
crystalline
five planets,
spheres revolve, in which the moon,
sun,
fixed stars
and
fixed stars are
in
are
placed. The
of the great sphere,are
outside
the rim
all,and are
therefore to God, who
animates
all. God
it
nearest
as
holds

were

the world-all

in the hollow

whole, which

the

in

of his hand.

He

the

fifty-five
concentric
crystalsphereswithin. The principleof the
of fixed stars is that of the Deity, while the
movement
principleof the other spheres is that of the spirits
The
of the planets
which
reside in them.
movement
moves

have

influence

an

the

usual

and

the

had

so

upon

Pythagorean
terrestrial

moves

terrestrial life. Aristotle

division

parts of the

between

the

made

celestial

world-all, which

has

theology.The motion of
the world-all is most
perfect,being a circle ; its form is
most
perfect,being a sphere. The celestial part of this
the periphery,
world-all,which is the region lying near
is most

much

turn

influence

like God.

lar, and

it is the

increase

and

The

upon

motion

of

this heaven

is circu

and
place of uniformity,perfectness,
changeableness.The stars do not change nor pass away.
They are superhuman beings,who in their regularity
like the blessed gods. The
terrestrial part of the
are
world-all below
the moon
has motions
in straightlines.
This is the theatre of imperfectionand irregularity,
of

There

diminution.

interestingdiscussions by Aristotle
particularphysicalmatters, such as space, time,
upon
the elements.
His
conceptionof motion shows how the
are

many

series of uniform

nature-motions

lead

up

to the

second

ARISTOTLE

197

relationships,
teleological
the purpose
of the organism is explained
where
only by
of its soul. The
soul builds up its body as
the activity
a
system of organs, and as an organology the theory of
Nature
strives ever
Aristotle has great significance.
in the inorganic processes, through an
upward, even
in man.
series of creations to its highestForm
unbroken
is the realization of
Each
step in the upward progress
an
entelechy,or purpose, and constitutes for the mo
the goal of the impulse to strive. The whole world
ment
The lower ends,
is striving
to realize the perfectForm.
and vegetableand appetitive
Forms, are
the mechanical
utilized in the process ; for they are
lost but are
not
which
the Forms
the Matter
higher than them
upon
and Mat
is both Form
built. Every member
selves are
tional soul. Here

ter

in the whole

is a series of

series.

psychology has therefore two parts : (1) the

rich
souls, which
general theory of animal
possesses
suggestions;(2) the doctrine of the Nous as the dis
the empirical
These
tinctive characteristic of man.
are
sides to Aristotle's psychology.
and speculative
Man
is an
epitome of all the changes in the universe.
rational souls. Yet
and
He
has vegetative,
appetitive,
subser
souls are
for the lower
there is unity in man,
and
exist for it. The
vient to the reason
appetitive
of
of the vegetativesoul, the Matter
soul is the Form
the Rational soul,etc. Accordingly,Aristotle defines the
soul as the entelechyof the body, because bodilyhuman
is enlisted in the service of the reason.
Reality
activity
is an
in man
unfoldingpurpose, just as it is in nature.
The real self is this unfolding rational self,whose
pos
The
is pure reason.
is the body ; whose
actuality
sibility
mind.
mind
is actualized body, the body is potential
The

198

HISTORY

Aristotle
about

made

PHILOSOPHY

OF

contributions

many

psychology

to

the

originand value of the several sensations,

about the feelings
of pleasureand pain and the desires.
He
shows
his remarkable
genius in pointing to the
necessityof a unity of consciousness,which he calls
the
common-sensibility."His discussion of the Nous,
is of importance for two
be
or
reasons
: first,
reason,
"

it leads

cause

and

and

to

second, because

illuminates

it is

his

ethical

theory;

example of his deviation

from his originalconceptual position.The reason,
ac
cording to his first intention,is the unfoldingpurpose
of the body,
it is the immanent
of the body.
essence
As Aristotle finally
left his discussion of the Eeason, it
an

"

is

as

The

transcendent

Nous,

his

as

Reason,

God,

is not

as

or

any

Form

of

Idea

of Plato.

the

body, but
Form
of the soul. It is purely immaterial, simple,
a
unchangeable,and incapableof suffering.It does not
from
originatewith the body as a function. It comes
without
and
will remain
after
as
a
godlike activity,
the
Its fundamental
body passes away.
activityis
thought, and its object is those ultimate principles
of Being which
the ultimate
are
premises of logical
thinking.
Aristotle's theory of the Reason
is considerably
com
the ac
plicatedby his division of it into two parts,
tive and the passiveReason.
Within
the Reason
itself,
is to be distinguishedas Form
and Matter.
The pas
or

"

sive Reason
the active

By

the

the

Reason

Matter
is the

passive Reason

individual
can

is the

and

for

Form

the active

Reason,

and

for the

Aristotle

developing man.
alone persistafter death, but
Deity or not he does not

passiveReason.
the
evidentlymeans
The

active

whether
say.

Reason

absorbed

in

Immortalityto

199

ARISTOTLE

Aristotle

in

any

case

is not

perpetuationof

the

individuality.
Ethics

The

2.

phenomena

nature

of
are

Aristotle.
of two

We

have
those

classes,
"

that

seen

mechani

callyrelated,and those related as to their purposes or

with
ends.
the first class ; psy
Physics is concerned
in a
with the second
class. But
chology is concerned
specialway are ethics and politicssciences of the phe
of the second
class
sciences of ideologically
nomena
life is an
related phenomena. Moral
unfolding essence
and
an
having a possibility
actuality.The Possibility
Matter
of the ethical life is our
or
feelings,
tempera
impulses,and perceptions justthose
ment, disposition,
of
psychologicalfactors that make
up the endowment
The ultimate Form
the human
or
actuality
personality.
"

"

of

ethical

the

life is the

reason.

The

reason

as

the

Man
its character.
goal of the moral being determines
is the process of
rational being. Virtue
is distinctly
a
to its actuality
the ethical life from its possibilities
; it
is the
uous

essence

of mind

state

So much

of the ethical life. Virtue

that makes

for the factors

the natural

endowments

rational

that make
of

the

is that

contin

possible.
activity

the ethical situation

mind

are

its
of

material,

developing
is virtue.
the natural endowments
into rational activity
The
situation
would
be simple enough for us
as
each had only himself
moral beings if,in our
striving,
lives
and his own
development to consider. But man
in a world of men,
and his highest good is determined
somewhat
by riches,bodilycom
by his environment,
essentials but only acces
These
not
forts,success.
are
The
is only a limitation.
sories,and the lack of them
essential factor is the rational activity.
Nevertheless,

the

reason

is its

goal,while

the

"

means

HISTORY

200

these

modify

define

as
activity

life. For

the moral

in his notable

poses

end

or

Good

for

the

of what

we

when

mean

highestGood or Form
questionwhich Aristotle
the

of

treatise
of

good

supreme

PHILOSOPHY

definition

the

rational

OF

Ethics

human

is,What

action ?

we

of
pro

is the

The

highest
well-being
;

is

Happiness,or
but also the
that includes
not
only rational activity,
to such
activity.But what is
pleasuresthat accrue
and
not the means
happiness? It is an end in itself,
a

man

men

among

state
a
anything else ; it is the result of functioning,
of conscious
with
the law of excel
vitality
; it accords
lence of that functioning.Perfect
happinessis,there
individual
fore, partly the result of one's own
effort,
While
virtue is
partly dependent on circumstance.
of different pleasures,
the measure
of the worth
yet
pleasuresdo not always attend our acts in our present
society.The greatest Good is happiness,but since this
depends in part on external goods, the goal to which
should directly
the factor within our
attend
con^
we
is rational activity.
trol

to

"

"

There
kinds

classes

two

are

of rational

of virtues

based

on

the

two

virtues and the dipractical

virtues are those of conduct
anoetic virtues. The practical
based upon
control of the impulses; the
the rational
dianoetic virtues are
based
those of intellectual activity
the development of the perceptions.The perfect
upon
will consist (1) in
moral development of human
nature
the perfectdevelopment and true regulationof the feel
ingsand desires in moral excellence ; and (2) a perfect
development of the intellectual faculties for rational

life,
"

the

culture.

(a)
the

The

Practical

individual

to

Virtues.

The

essential

regard,therefore,is

the

thing for
trainingof

201

ARISTOTLE

by right rational insight.He should seek to

but
and
not
direct his impulses by reason,
only once
rational
times that the impulses will become
so
many
Aristotle means
is what
habits. This
by training in
It is continuityin rational
virtue.
activity; it is a
un
reason
; it is the
permanent development toward
foldingof the real Self. Aristotle had regard for the
he differed from
facts of life when
Socrates,who said
his will

knowledge. Aristotle did not conceive

the will as
independent of the
psychologicalpower
He doubted
if rational insightwas
more
reason.
power
the test comes.
ful than the impulses,when
Experience
know
what
is right,
that although we
often shows
may
an
impulse will often drive us into habits not guided
virtue

that

by

reason.

is

This

is free to choose

presupposes
among

for Aristotle

the desires

that

one

will

that

which

will

pointsout.
along the path that reason
rule for the acquire
It is impossibleto formulate
a
virtue must
be
of the particularvirtues. Each
ment
treated
by itself. The only principlefor guidance is
should
between
that the reason
always seek the mean
him

lead

two

extremes.

ardice

and

Thus
rashness

is the

courage
;

mean

temperance between

between

cow

intemperance

between
obsequiousness
insensibility
; friendliness
is the watchword
in
and brusqueness,etc. Moderation
virtues.
the cultivation of the practical
toward
Virtues
the means
Dianoetic
are
(6) The
for one's self. The dithe attainment
of pure rationality
anoetic virtues are
They un
higher than the practical.
of the Nous, and give the
fold the pure formal
activity
finds through
noble
and
most
perfect pleasure.Man
them
in the divine happiness.
his possibleparticipation
and

These

intellectual

virtues

may

be

either

theoretical

or

HISTORY

202

OF

PHILOSOPHY

practicalinsight; in the latter

knowledge of the right in art,

and

The

modern

is the nature

(2)

The

Aristotle

case,

meant

knowledge of jus
tice. But the purest is Wisdom
which is know
(0ewpiV),
sake. It is the knowledge that God
ledge for its own
Man
has of himself.
approximate this.
may
In Aristotle's ethical theory there appear
three fea
that are
Greek. (1) The leading ques
tures
distinctly
tion that he asks at the beginning of the Ethics, What
is the end or Supreme Good
of human
action ? is Greek.

of the

asks, What

writer

emphasis on
"

"

mean

the

"

"

mean

is Greek.

the fundamental

was

of

duty ?

The

principlein

idea

Greek

life,and

appeared in such literature as Gnomic

poetry
and Plato.
of individual ethical
(3) The subordination
conduct
to the conception of the state is Greek.
Aris
totle says that politics
will have
to settle the question
of the Supreme Good, for the Good
of the state and
that

of the individual

The

Political

real world
chief
est

Good,

him.

Philosophy

rational
of

concern

which

The

man.

the

the

of

ethical trainer.

present

attain if his environment

can

environment
political
The

In the

of Aristotle.

rather than happiness is the

activity
Happiness is,however, his high

he

be considered.
morals

identical.

are

should

state

is
be

individual,and

That

moral

the
should

favors
factor

to

fulfillment

of

also

be his

State is

its own
fulfilling
possi
bilities most
completely which
brings to the full its
natural
endowments.
Every Constitution is rightthat
has the weal of the people at heart, so that we find Aris
totle holding this extraordinarily
liberal position,
that

the

external

consequence

of

its

of

structure
as

people

that
and

the State

the State should

the

actualization

is not

so

much

of

be

the

educator

of

its

own

in-

ARISTOTLE

ideal

and

of

out

of

actuality

all

of

the
is

these
of

means

the

He

State.

Since

his

God's,

he

woman.

slavery

He
because

in
in

has

ancient

distinction.
and

is
The

so

reluctantly

consented

it

to

seemed

the

him

or

from

his

position
perfection

the

permanent

individual

in

absorbed,

not

wisdom

in

virtues.

approximates

family
elevated

and

Form

intellectual

to

ed

State.

the

man

Aristotle
the

times

the

rational

but

subordinated,

marriage
in

is

virtue

enjoyment

himself

philosopher

civic

participate

can

of

the

the

development.

is

own

supporter

like

geographical
;

es

necessity,

of

and

State

the

social

State

soil,

of

of
it

some

state,

life

utility,

an

out

self-realization

of
Form

the

of

offspring

of

blood,

Matter

the

Aristotle's

needs

construct

pointed

future

the

the

inner

the

Race,

savagery.

is

the

not

well-being
for

State

did

merely

the

providence
the

Although

He

to

necessary

ucation

arises

Plato.

like

state,

sentials

are

Aristotle

possibilities.

herent

203

was

stanch

relations.
the

the

position

institution

necessity.

No
of

of

and

aries

became

longer pure
Roman

the

of

death

Greece

its

world
Alexander

became

in

in

prey

323

to

the

B.

c.

the

revolutions

is

no

environment

of

With

the

motherland

of

Hellenism.

it becomes

"

It

remained.

culture

Greek

Greek, but

205

civilization. The

part of Roman

died

nation

Greek

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

for 200

battlegroundof foreignersand

years.

It

the

object
Its government
and
of their contentions.
population
sank into hopelessdecay. It was
incorporatedinto the
was

often

the

THE

EMPIRE
Of?
ALEXANDER

THE

(Showing

the

spread

of

OF

EMPIRE

ALEXANDER

eastward,

Hellenism

beginning

334

B.

c.

with

Alexander's

Campaign)

Roman

shared

in the

depressing
of the first century B. c. By
times of the Civil Wars
lost its uniqueness
Greece
becoming a part of Rome
but the world gained its culture as a common
heritage.
Its autonomy was
forever gone, but its people became
In political
the teachers
Greece
of mankind.
power
reached
its height with Alexander, in creative thought
with Aristotle ; then by its own
its civiliza
momentum
tion persisted
world.
as
a missionaryforce to the whole
empire

in 146

B.

c.

and

HISTORY

206

The

nations

to the

PHILOSOPHY

Greek

of

overflow

ward,

OF

civilization

of Asia.

first east

was

Alexander,

with

his mili

tary and administrative

genius,had only made a prelim

inary conquest of these Oriental peoples.The conquest
became
and
art, learning,
through Greek
permanent
institutions.

In

the

century after Alexander

and

of

the

East

customs

schools,theatres,and

had

baths

the East.

cityof

In

Hellenized.

been

to be

were

the habits

the East

found

Greek

in almost

and

Egypt an in
exhaustible
field was
opened for the founding of new
of culture.
In the kingdoms partitionedoff
centres
from
old Alexandrian
the
domain, the kings were
Greek
Greek, spoke Greek, adored
gods, and pre
Asiatics
served Greek
fashions. Amid
they sought to
every

Greek

maintain
and

cers,

be

Greek

courts, have

surrounded

with

colonists, soldiers, and

administrative

Greek

merchants

offi
Greek

scholars.

attracted

were

to

that
the
natives
kingdoms in such numbers
and even
the
adopted the costumes, religions,
manners,
The
Orient
ceased
be
to
language of the Greeks.
these

Asiatic

and

in the

first

spoke

Greek.

Hellenic.

became

century

B.

civilization

Greek

c.

The

peopleslike

began

to

ern

world

when, in the second

the

other

countries

sorbed

by

146

c.

B.

gave

morals

in Roman

lost in

this

fundamental
and

Latin.

The

overflow

there

Greeks

who

the west

upon

century, Greece
Mediterranean

conquest of Greece

great amalgamation shows

it

the

found

with

ab

was

by

all

Rome

in

Greek
to
art, letters, and
currency
life. That
civilization was
Greek
not

was.

The

remained

none

the

upon

The

Rome.

Romans

result

to
was

how

secondarynations
compete
the

with

the

deep and
disappeared
Greek

of
superiinposition

and

Greek

culture

society.At

Roman

upon

quest of Greece, Greek

and

numbers

Art
The

old

house

Roman

artists

Greek

The

got

Greek

living in

Greeks, too,

coarsest

con

in great

eloquence and

litera

Greece

Greek

Rome.

to

100

By

c.

B.

the

Oriental

or

Italyand

into

came

Statues

addition.

commissioned.

were

the

Rome

to

transportedfrom

were

great Romans

of

the time

went

of

207

youths went to Athens to studyr

into Rome
graduallyintroduced

were

paintingswere

and

schools

opened

science

and

scholars

the Roman

Later

ture.

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

style.
mingled
complete

Thus, with the

proletariat.
Latinizing of the peninsula of Italy in the second
in hand.
hand
went
century, an increasingHellenism
civilizations never
But
the two
completely united.
with

adoption of

Roman
a

Roman

the

Greek

veneer.

Roman

the

by
went

the frivolous

to

more

For

Roman

culture

and

art

except

the

on

Greek

as

than

more

never

learningwere
rarelystudied
parade and luxury. As time

resorted

less to

that when

quered by Rome,

the Romans

Roman

culture

the

products of

modern

be remembered

it must

was

classic and
the

Greece

Greeks.
was

con

still

only peasants,
soldiers,and merchants, without science,art, or philoso
children were
taught
phy. Before 150 B. c. the Roman
nothing higher than reading, writing,etc. But the
found

in

were

Greece

that

he liked and

kept his costume, languagerand political

letters,art, morals, and
laws, but he adopted Greek
incorporatedmany elements of the Greek religioninto
imitated.

his

own.

Two
culture
Greek

him

He

of Greek
superimposition
hand
the
Roman
society.On the one
upon
sought to create a philosophywhich would make
citizen of the world, since it was
no
longer an
results

came

from

this

HISTORY

208

honor

be

to

hand,

citizen

Roman

the

to

of

Roman
a

On

Roman

the whole

PHILOSOPHY

Greek

there

gain to
prudence, but
a

was

OF

city.On

came

other

mixed

literature

the

good. There
perhaps to juris

and

fatal loss to Roman

faith

and

morals.

vulgaritywas
only concealed by
Greek
Pauculture, except in such spiritsas Scipio,
culture was
lus, and the Gracchi, in whom
genuine.
The
he

Roman

felt the need

sought it

Greek

culture.

Greek

The

Orientalism.

with

often

and

The

intellectual
and

culture

but

life,and

the filth of
that

he

found

Hellenism, sometimes

It acted

as

poison

on

later

the

was

tinged
Roman

bitterly
opposed.

was

Two

rich

in the rich treasures

longer pure Greek,

no

of

Parts

of the

Hellenic-Roman

We

Period.

forget that, exceptingthe first 175 years of

this period,Rome
is the background upon
which all phi
of the time are to be traced. Upon
movements
losophical
this background two
are
generalmovements
prominent,
which divide the periodinto two parts : (1) the Ethical
Period, and (2) the ReligiousPeriod.
must

not

The

1.

Ethical

originin
Roman
and

of Athens;

Schools

and

and
2.

into

B.
was

epoch
four

the

Roman
of

D.,

its

had

superimposed upon

celebrated

society;
these

A.

is notable

introduction

the

c.-l

of
and

Schools

for

the rise

philosophical
the teachingof
the final merg
in Eclecticism

Skepticism.
The

Religious
of

out

Rome

before

and

that

reconciliation

arose

ified

culture

of

controversies

these

322

civilization. This

Schools

ing

the Greek

Period,

Oriental

100

B.

C.-476

A.

religionsthat swept
beginning of this era. They were

the
the

Period,

D.,

into
mod

environment, and intellectualized

by their Roman
systematizedby Hellenic culture. Neo-Pythagore-

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

theosophiesin

anism, the Alexandrian-Judaic

and
part, Christianity
of this

period,are

the

209

the

in the second

neo-Platonisin

first

part

re
important philosophical

most

sults.
Note

ing

three

these

800

The

movements.

Greek,
The

two

dur
life of Rome
things. (1) The spiritual
years has its origin in imported foreign
of

source

that of the
movements

the

ethical

is

movement

is Oriental. (2)
movement
religious
overlap.Indeed, each from its be

600
about
pre
ginning to its end covers
years. More
did not disappearuntil about
ciselythe ethical movement
movement
200 A. D. ; the religious
began about 200 B. C.
the first and religious
dominate
considerations
Ethical
"

period. (3) The century and a half

It
150 B. C. to 1 A. D. is a period of transition.
from
ethics to
the emphasis changes from
is the time when
religion.It is a period of unsettled conditions both
it is the time
and intellectually.
Politically
politically
and the formation
of the empire. In
of the Civil wars
of Eclecticism
and
it is the time
Skepti
tellectually

impulsesthe

second

cism.
The
Roman

Undercurrent
Period.

If

of
we

go

Skepticism
beneath

in

the

the

Hellenic-

surface

of

the

been
have
divisions of this period,which
chronological
in the un
given above, we shall find their significance
from
the begin
of Skepticism,which
dercurrent
runs
ning to the end of the period,and includes both its
ethical and religious
phases. Skepticism is a word
with a historyof its own,
but, as philosophically
used, it
of true knowledge.
the disbelief in the possibility
means
frame
of mind
that
Skepticism was the fundamental
graduallygrew to conscious expressionin the entire
ancient
world, although it was
entirelyat variance
"

"

HISTORY

210

OF

PHILOSOPHY

of the Greek
culture that had
been
spirit
su^
that world.
As
undercurrent
an
perimposed upon
a widespread feeling
Skepticismpervaded the whole
the

with

"

"

period,while
on
distinctly

different

times

the surface.

These

of confidence

in the power

of the human

at

and

places it appeared
800

were

years

of lack
but the

reason,

reallynegativecharacter of the time is often concealed

by dogmatic teachings of the philosophicalSchools.
Dogmatic Skepticism does not appear
except with
reference
to the positive
teachingsof the Schools, and
then it appears
conspicuously.The successive stages of
Skepticism can have their clear outline,therefore, only
after the positive
philosophical
teachings,
contemporary
with it and
This
opposed by it,have been understood.
is the reason
for treating the Skeptics after and
not
Schools.

The

of

the

before

the

whole

meaning

does

not

that

see

Ethical

in the

it is

Division

sion of its appearance,

will, however, lose the

reader

Hellenic-Roman

Period

if he

fundamentally Skeptical;
the

and

Schools

furnished

the

that
occa

that in the

ReligiousDivision
religiousfaith rose because Skepticismhad taken pos
session of the field of knowledge. The ethical Schools
stood as the last representatives
of the old Greek
ration
alism of the Systematic Period, but even
they yielded
of the time. Stoicism,Epicurean
to the Skepticalspirit
the with
ism, and Skepticism seek the same
end,
"

drawal
tion

of the individual
above

only so
cism

alone

ideals.
dent
At

far

The

when
the end

his

from

environment.

his exalta

the world

and

All

valued

three

science

it would

help ethical conduct. Skepti

was
avowedly antagonisticto intellectual
evi
strength of Skepticism appears more
look at its growth during this period.
we
as

of the Ethical Period

the

Schools

weakened

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

and

find

we

PERIOD

century and

half

(150

211

c.

B.

D.)

A.

then followed at
There
Skepticism and Eclecticism.
Man
the ReligiousPeriod.
the beginning of this era
because he was
to religion
then turned
profoundlyskep
of

of

tical

it

of

trustworthiness

the

untrustworthy as
him even
a true
theory of moral
The
Skepticalundercurrent
that

Period

so

was

of the Greek

Sophists.It

to

reason

he

"

be unable

felt

furnish

to

conduct.
of

Hellenic-Roman

the

negativeresults

of all the

the concentration

was

the

therefore

had

than

more

one

departure, the philosophiesof Protagoras,

of the Megarian, Cynic, and Cyrenaic Schools. This
fed popular thought during the
Sophisticundercurrent
days of Plato and Aristotle. It took its formal begin
ning contemporary with the rise of the Stoic and Epicu
in Athens, Alexandria, and Rome
Schools ; and
rean
of

point

"

problem of the possibility

of human
knowledge. Formally it modified its sweep
it came
in contact
with the pressing
when
ing negations,
of spiritualretirement, but it
needs
of moralityand
attitude of the time.
was
ever
present as the significant
of the Skepticalteachingstood in the
While
the nature
there

rose

surface

to the

of its formation

way

the

into

School,

nevertheless,developed into
torical
the

growth

and

first appearance

inaugurationof
The
Period.

Fundamental
The

was

therefore

doubted

the

of the

of

Problem

of

one.
practical
validityof the

had

itself,
its his

pointsout
in Greece

that
the

its reappearance

reason.

of the

attitude

fundamental
a

and

reason

age

fundamental

Skepticism,the

Weber

Skepticism marks

the age

the decline

marks

system and

culmination.
of

doctrine

the

Hellenic-Roman

of this

period being
problem presented to it
While

human

at heart
reason,

it

the
was

age
con-

THE

ilization. His

HELLENIC-ROMAN

PERIOD

213

enlarged,but his interests

His philosophywas
focused to one
circumscribed.
were
fundamental
problem, What, afterall,is the objectof
human
life,and what can give happiness to the indi
amid
the turmoil
vidual
Philosophic
of the time?
studies

were

narrowed

were

to

ethics,logic,and

bearing. How
practical

their

those

is the

the

this

time

then, the

problem
periodwe enter

than

that of

Aristotle!

and

fundamental

part of this

the second

physicsin

narrower,

of retired leisure,Plato

men

Nor

much

life of

of the intellectual

scope

of

relations

different

when

in

the great sweep

rise of

The

religiousideals
and the shift from
ethics to religionwas
only the pre
of the practicalproblem of living with
sentation
a
different emphasis. Man
in the dazzlingglory
was
now
of the empire, but that empire was
unable
to compen
for the loss of his political
sate the individual
impor
Rome
had
tance.
given to its conquered peoples an
organized legal unity,but no spiritualideal. It had
individual
to offer. The
the least important
none
was
factor in the organization.The
present life offered
little hope to the individual, except in the light of a
future
took

religiouscurrent.

life. Practical
of

account

would

the

became

thus

rewards

in the life

come

The

wisdom

and

that

which

punishments

that

beyond.

Hellenic-Roman

Period

is

and
kaleidoscopic

be

wilderingin its shif tings; but amid them all is this one
conscious
Show
the man
who
is sure
us
problem :
of
his happiness,whatever
the accidents of the world
may
bring to him."
"

The
I.

east

Centres
Athens.

and

west

of Hellenism.
With

the overflow

the active

historyof

of

Hellenism

Athens

had

to

the

ceased,

OF

HISTORY

214

but she became

became

venerated

hallowed

Greece

and

PHILOSOPHY

for what
Athens

imaginationsof

in the

she had
became

brutallyravished, she exercised

mind
for eight hundred
human
years
remained

Athens

the

intellectual

the

charm

Greece

shrine

Although

men.

was

been.

the

of

city
thft

over

after Alexander*

through the
the conservative
entire period. It became
university
town, where philosophyand rhetoric were
taught. It is
how
Oriental philosopherscame
remarkable
to
many
Athens
to teach, how many
youths from the whole world
rhetorical schools,such as that
to be taught. The
came
did much
of Isocrates,
toward
making Athens the centre
of culture,and they offered for many
years the highest
practicaltrainingto Greek, Roman, and Oriental. Be
dialectical
sides the rhetorical were
the philosophical
or
schools,which debated privately
questionsof speculative
metaphysics.These did not offer public training,but
of students were
taught in the grounds attached
groups
schools were
to gymnasia. Four
principalphilosophical
the Academy of Plato, the Lyceum of
thus formed,
of
of the Stoics,and the Gardens
Aristotle,the Porch
centre

"

Epicurus. In the first two we have had especialinterest

the Stoic
in the previousperiod.All four,and especially
attention in this
and Epicurean schools,will engage
our
in historyas
the Schools."
period. They are known
(See map for their location in Athens.) There were
"

many

minor

schools

in Athens

which

later became

reli

gious cults. These Schools lost their originalinterest

in speculative
inquiry,and in this period devoted them
selves to the exposition
of the teachingof their respective
ethical lines. The Universityof Athens
founders
on
was
Its chairs were
built upon the four Schools.
endowed
by
Hadrian

and

the Antonines

in the second

century A.

D.

It grew
ished

to have

Hellenism

organization.It

in 529

D.

A.

There

Alexandria.

2.

215

elaborate

an

Justinian

by

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

were

other

many

abol

was

of

centres

Rhodes,
learningat this time,
of
but none
Antioch, Alexandria, Pergamus, Tarsus,
and

of other

"

"

could

these
of

Some

men.

much

were

in the

active and

more

surpassed Athens

veneration

creative
and

than

all other

sciences in the Ethical

of the natural

the centre

as

Athens

rival

to

Alexandria

Athens.
cities

said

be

religionsin the ReligiousPeriod. Here,

the real
to be found
too, rather than at Athens, were
of Plato and Aristotle. Nothing in ancient
interpreters
of the museum
be compared to the wonders
times can
of
its university.Scholars
of Alexandria, which
was
entertained
here at the public ex
nation were
every
A vast botanical garden, a zoological
collection,
pense.
astronomical
anatomical
an
an
observatory,a
museum,
Period

of

and

libraryof
Euclid

Here

thousand

hundred

seven

(290

c.)

B.

his

wrote

volumes

here.

were

geometry, Eratosthe

and historical
pursued his astronomical,geographical,
labors, Apolloniuswrote his treatise on conic sections;
nes

and

here

covery
and
was

of the

of
precession

his school formulated

authoritative

Christian

translated

into

flourished.

Greek.

c.-l

A.

to

Characteristics

D.)

"

On

the

this

from

city
art, history,
phi

Hebrew

Bible

was

All

Buddhist, Jew, Greek, and

parativetheologyrose

Here

years.

and
The

Ptolemy

astronomy which

educated, and

Literature

sprang.

criticism

B.

equinoxes.Here

for fifteen hundred

lologyand

General

the

the system of

were
theologians

neo-Platonism

that led to the dis

the observations

made

were

welcomed.
religionswere
Egyptian mingled,and com

be

science.

of the

the death

Ethical

of Aristotle

Period
the

(322

hitherto

OF

HISTORY

216

PHILOSOPHY

compact "body of Greek

elements.

several
which
tems

had

been

Democritus, Plato, and Aristotle,became

of

The

rated.

so

into its
thought disintegrated
Theoretical and practical
knowledge,
fused
in the great sys
successfully

whole

tendencyof

the time

was

sepa

toward

segre

gation.
i.

Abandonment

The

of

Metaphysical Speculation*

philosophy,which had been

so
masters,
completed by the great Greek
successfully
and almost completelylost to
became
subordinated
now
view. Metaphysical speculationwas
neglected except
ethics
it threw
on
as
lighton the practicalsciences
sciences. Knowledge was
and
the natural
no
longer
The

theoretical

side

of

"

loved
2o

for its

upon

Growth

The

garded

as

the

sake.
of

Science.

Since

theory

was

re

completed, attention was

naturallyturned
and
the specializing
details of erudition
of

The

science.

own

natural

sciences

survived

the

systems of

philosophybecause of their usefulness. There was great

sci
in mathematics, natural
interest in investigations
philology,literaryhistoryand general
ence,
grammar,
history and all with very rich results. It was the time
collaboration
of
of the work
of commentaries, criticism,
the past and completion of the specialwork
begun by
of the so-called
the past. By far the greater number
"philosophers"of this time are connected with special
science and literature,and not with metaphysics.
It was
in the Greek Islands and Egypt (Alexandria)
be
that this advance
made.
Nevertheless,it must
was
in science was
said that the advance
a
good deal re
stricted. The
empiricalsciences are dependent on ob
servation and experiment,and these opportunities
were
wanting at this time. Good progress was, however, made
"

THE

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

in mathematics

and

217

the sciences

dependent on reason
ing. Reasoning alone is incapableof advancing a science
But
like physics,for physicsdepends on
investigation.
the prevalent skepticism of the time could
not
even
doubt
3.

the truths
Ethics

of mathematics.

became

the

Central

Interest.

For

the first

historyof European thought ethics was no

In the time of the autonomous
longer a part of politics.
Greek states ethics and politics
two sides of the same
were
questionboth in theoryand practice.Ethics and politics
not disjoinedeven
were
by the Sophists,who neverthe
Now
for
less paved the way for the divorce of the two.
become
such
that
the first time ethical questionshave
the individual
must
political
disregardthe iron-bound
situation and
them
answer
entirelywith reference to
The
decadent
state
himself.
Greek
no
was
longer a
could
the
moral
entityin the eyes of the people,nor
time

in the

concentration

of

government

in Rome

raise the state

to

dignity.Moreover, life had become cosmopolitan.

The nations were
the
meet
commingling. Ethics must
needs of men
human
as
beings,and not as Athenians,
Vices had become
Spartans,or Romans.
cosmopolitan
needs
be cosmopolitan also. But cos^
and virtues must
mopolitanism is in the last analysisonly individualism.
The
conceives
who
his duty so large that it em
man
world
is usuallycold to any special
braces the whole
moral

interests
afterwards

except his
the emperor

The

own.

were

the

Roman

dictators

and

of this
personification
the subjects
imitated

which
cosmopolitanindividualism
far as they could.
so
Thus
in danger of being swamped
the public life was
by privateinterests and mere
enjoyment, by gain and
the strugglefor existence. The old belief in the gods,

HISTORY

218

OF

PHILOSOPHY

activityfor great ends, the pleas

vigorouspolitical
in free scientific inquiryhad disappeared.The only
ure
within itself and the
refuge for the reflective mind was
moral problems. Yet for this a definite
study of its own
the

of ethics

science

was

necessary,

if the individual

to

was

be

systematically
independentof external things.Plato
and Aristotle had prepared the way for such retirement,
and
the tendency toward
ethical separationfrom
the
world of political
events
an
was
aspect of the cosmopoli
tanism of the time. Ethical individuality
and cosmopoli
tanism
development of the inner life
go together.The
belongsto those individuals who dwell togetherin spirit
ual community. The
same
cosmopolitanismwas
sought
by the skepticsof the period through the abandonment
of all knowledge.
The beginning of the Ethical Period is
Schools.
The
marked
by the rise of the Schools into prominence,the
end of that periodby the fusion of the Schools with one
another through either eclecticism or skepticism.At the
beginning of the period each School had its distinctive
doctrine

and

the end

at

isolated from
a

to

host
find

of
a

in open

their doctrines

School

rean

was

was

an

creative

were

Schools.

alike. The

much

exception,for

the other

notable

controversy with the others

it

While

always
each

it would
representatives,
thinker

among

Epicu

remained

School
be

had

difficult

them.

of the four Schools :

alreadygiven the names
the Gardens,
the Stoic or the Porch, the Epicurean or
the Aristotelian
(Peripatetic)or the Lyceum, the Pla
tonic or the Academy. The
Stoic and
Epicurean are
with
the Lyceum
called the New
Schools in contrast
and the Academy, which are called the Old Schools. The
Schools
New
of Asiatic rather than Greek
were
origin,
We

have

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

and the Old Schools

of their founders

departedvery
so

that

we

find

from

much
a

219

very

the

teaching-

different kind

of

philosophytaught in all four Schools from that taughtby

So
the great Greek
Systematizers.All the Schools were
rather than Socratic,and may be characterized
as
phistic
the revival
there

of

Greek

the group

was

MAP

OF

ATHENS,

of

Sophistry.Besides these Schools

which cannot
be properly
Skeptics,

SHOWING
FOUR

THE

LOCATION

three
of a mile
from
the
was
Academy
quarters
market
the Porch
the
was
a colonnade
on
city, while
of the Gardens
is not
but it was
the
on
precisely known,

(The

the

aide the

called

OF

THE

SCHOOLS

city, the
place
road

Lyceum

(Agora).
to

the

just outside
The

Academy,

location

ju"t in-

walls.)

School, for

from

the nature

of

its doctrine

it

organization.In influence upon the

period,the Stoics,Epicureans,and Skepticsare the most
important.They eclipsedthe Academy and Lyceum be
with partisanclearness they could formulate
the
cause
could

not

attitude

form

of the

an

age.

The

Stoic School

made

the

most

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

prominentleaders.

This

PERIOD

Academy

was

221

form

of

Skepti

cism.

120

from

c.

B.

Academy, lastingthree hundred

to 200
A.
D.
Among its leaders

Larissa, who

of

Philo

New

The

(c)

Ascalon,

of

Antiochus

and

in 79

at

was

78

who

Rome

in

Cicero

had

87

B.
a

as

years?
were

c., and

pupil

in

This

epoch of the Acad

to the dogmatism of Plato,
representeda return
emy
the contemporary eclectic tendency by its
but it shows
of Stoic and
neo-Platonic
teach
including elements
ings.
On
the whole, the several epochs of the Academyfailed to represent Plato's theory of the Ideas. The
Academy was at first a School of practicalethics,then
related to
a
Skepticism, then an eclecticism. It was
Athens

Plato
The

true

c.

lesser-Socratic

the

as

B.

developer of

schools

Plato

was

to

were

Aristotle

Socrates.
and

not

Academies.

the

The

2.

200

From

Lyceum.
the

Lyceum

the

death

of

Aristotle

to

representedby individuals.
The
pupils of Aristotle were
distinguishedfrom the
himself
in
master
Theobeing scientific specialists.
phrastus (370-287 B. c.), who followed Aristotle as
leader of the Lyceum, was
the most
complete repre
sentative of Aristotle,
and an
attempt to drive out the
A.

Schools

D.

in Athens

in

was

306

failed

solelyby reason
of the respect in which
he was
held.
His
significance
lay in natural science,and his two preserved botanical
works
of great importance. Eudemus
of Rhodes
are
studied history,
mathematics, and astronomy. Aristoxenes

studied

Dicaearchus

porary

B.

c.

music, ethics, psychology, and

showed

ethical

the

interest

first

history.

yielding to the contem

by writinghistoryon its practi'

HISTORY

222

Science

cal side.

OF

continued

was

the School

by

the Aristotelians

the Mediterranean

Sicily,Alexandria, and
Athens

PHILOSOPHY

interested

most

was

islands.
in

in
At

logic,dialec

eristics.

tics,and
The
the
the
who

similar to that of
historyof the Lyceum was
Academy. At first it was centred in Theophrastus,
brilliant disciple
of the founder,
administrator
an
knew
how
eminent
to give an
positionto the Ly
"

in the

ceum

intellectual

life of

Athens.

This

fol

was

lowed

by the naturalism and pantheism of Strato. The

absorbed
in
followinggenerationsof scholarchs were
empiricalinvestigations.Then, as in the Academy,
the reaction

came

founder

of

dronicus

were

several

the

to

Lyceum.

(about

School, and
totle

back

70

under

B.

him

the
This

of the

originalpurpose
occurred

An-

under

c.),the eleventh head of the

the originalteachingsof Aris

reproduced and defended.

centuries,until the School

This
was

went

on

merged

in

for
neo-

Platonism.
The

New

Schools

"

The

Epicureans

The

Stoics, Epicureans, and

born

mature

and

the Stoics.

Skeptics represent the

dogmatic side of this period more
truly than the Platonists and
for they give a radical ex
Aristotelians,
pressionto its social aspects. The Epicureans had less
their doctrine
had been
philosophical
originality
; but
in

their

founder, and

had

in consequence

unity and compactness. Stoicism,on the other hand,

eclecticism
an
was
composed of the successive philocenturies.
sophizingsof its champions through many
Stoicism
was
represented by many
independent and
notable
thinkers, while Epicureanism had only one
originalthinker, its founder, Epicurus. Stoicism de
while Epicureanism
velopedby changing its essentials,
a

"

the

223

Stoicism

its unessentials.

change only in

could

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

may

be

philosophyof this
created and developed

characteristic

said to have

been

period,from

the fact that it

was

of Attic philosophyby men

principles
of the East,
had
who
races
originatedin the mixed
and by the fact that it was
easilyaccepted and devel
of the
Consistent with the spirit
oped by the Romans.
eclecticism
Hellenic-Roman
an
Period, it was by nature
in Athens

the

on

became

that

eclectic

more

and

time

as

went

on

its

teachingapproached that of the Academy and Lyceum

(second century B. c.). Epicureanism,however, always
remained
Epicureanism. Both Stoicism and Epicure
centred
at Athens.
anism
were
Epicurus opened his
Zeno
in 307
School in the Gardens
B. c., and
began
in

his lectures

century

B.

C.,

in

into Rome

introduced

were

Porch

the

B.

Both

c.

in the middle

just before

or

294

the

end

schools

of the second
of

Ethical

the

Period.
in

Epicureanism
into

an

and

could

for the luxurious

excuse

since

Rome

it advocated

easily be perverted
tendencies

absolute

of the

government

time,

it voiced

of the Emperor and

Empire
the
a
philosophyit was opportune and pop
time easily
misunderstood.
It made
ular and at the same
On the other hand, Stoi
demands
no
upon its disciples.
and demanded
intellectual acumen
cism was
a discipline
culture was
Its insensibility
to art and
an
insuperablo
in Greece, but on
obstacle to its progress
this account

the

feelingof
people. As

the

new

"

it found

congenialsoil in

progress

among

We

are

noble

society.It

families,and

was

patricianreactionaries
regime of the Republic.
not
surprised to find that the

identified with
for the old

the

Roman

those

made

rapid
especially

who

Stoics

stood

and

HISTORY

224

OF

PHILOSOPHY

Epicureanswere

violently
opposed to each other. They
Schools and contestingthe same
the New
were
ground
in
aim and, with so much
for favor. They had the same
their differences were
naturallyaccentuated.
common,
Adam
In an age which
Smith has likened to the Thirty
in Germany, they sought as rivals to offer
Years' War
ideal the individual independent of his surroundan
as
of attainingthis
means
ings. The Stoic presented one
Both tried to substi
ideal and
the Epicurean another.
the
tute
a
philosophiccreed for the old religion.And
that still went
to the Academy and Lyceum, and
crowds
were
taught the old dogmatism, must have looked ask
at these new
ance
dogmatic Schools. Those crowds had
become
fewer
in

the

second-rate

The

New

Schools

had

at

first

deeper thinkers. The Greek pupils

Schools
listened to foreignersteaching
but

numbers,
New

men.

strange creeds in strange tongues. But

Not

these
but

new

rivals

Corinth,
Elis,Colophon,and Heraclea in Pontus the elegantPla
tonic stylewas
being superseded by the crude aphorisms
of Zeno.
of Epicurus and the clumsy arguments
It will be asked, How
far did these doctrines during
these eighthundred
years permeate the people? Did the
New
Schools reach the rank and file of the peopleto the
same
degree that the Sophisticteachings reached the
Are we
that Stoicism and Epicure
Greeks?
to suppose
? By no
anism
and
common
were
popular philosophies
their way.

made

These

means.

Roman

world

only at Athens,

the

philosophiesreached
no

farther than

Greek

at

people of

culture

the

permeated

taken
by
society.Stoicism was
consciously
up
the culti
largepatricianclass. The patricianswere

Roman
the

vated

Roman

Romans

gramtas

and
that

Stoicism

has

so

it formulated

much

in it like the

for the

patricians

225

PERIOD

HELLENIC-ROMAN

THE

Epicureanism, on
the other hand, in its pure form as Epicurus taught it,
later as Lucretius
or
expressed it,could find
poetically
But
less favor in Rome.
easilyper
Epicureanism was
of Rome
verted, and no doubt the educated voluptuaries
their attitude

for their

the

hopeless time.

find in the vitiated doctrine

would

in this

support and

excuse

excesses.

of the

Summary
and

Stoics

had

the

Agreements.
theory to practice.

subordinated

2. Both

of

Differences

Epicureans.
Their

1. Both

and

Agreements

same

in

purpose

their

practical

philosophy:
(a)
(5)

to
to

gain peace of mind for

gain independence of

the individual,
the

world

for

the

individual.
Their
The

Stoics.

1. Universal
preme.
2. Man
is

3.

The

is

law

The

su-

thinking

being.
Independence
tained

Differences.

by

is

ob-

suppress-

personal
ing the
feelings.
4. The

Stoics

were

re-

ligious,
yet both
5. The

world

order.

is

schools
a

moral

Man

Epicureans.

individual

is

is supreme.

feelingbeing.

Independence is obtained
by idealizingthe feel
ings through serenity,
The

Epicureans were

anti-

religious,
accepted the popular gods.
The

world
order.

is

mechanical

226

6.

HISTORY

The

OF

universal
mines

deter-

the

PHILOSOPHY

The

individ-

of

ual.

7.

The

universal
the

is

the

functioning

result
of

individual.
world

is

the

pression
manent

of

reason.

an

ex-

im-

The

world
tion

of

is
atoms,

the

combina*

the

CHAPTER

EPICUREANISM

The

in

teacher

claimed

He

dens.

did

ably

have

not

made

demands

few

disciples held

very

wide.

His

and

long

after

work

sonal
with

the

and

of his

amount

of

consisted

joined in
he

has

been

neither
*

Stoic

thirty-seven

bitter

attack

called

Socrate

polytheism
Walter

Read
and

Epicurus

Pater,

Epicurean,
;

p.

The

him, and

double

Teuffel, History

Marius

184,

the

was

d'un

the
for

influence

generation
He
in

On

of Roman

the

Nature,
Schools

other
modern

times

Voltaire.

Since

in

any

reason

Epicurean;
Golden

Maxims

Literature,

pp.

the

per

antiquity only

great work,

Christianity had

nor

it

personality

Maxims."*

in

the

spread

treatises, and

books.

upon

how

reverence,

from

on

Golden

"

His

did,

doctrine

supreme

exceeded

Stoic, Chrysippus.

the

by

passed

was

his

of

the

separate

writings

prob

it

great

Indeed,

was

called

were

hundred

three

wrote

formulas

His

sect.

in

image

them.

that

he

expressed

time,

the

him

the

with

Epicurus

of

generation

to

death

his

living influence

was

of

Gar

his

as

disciplesand

hedonism

delicate

and

refilled

He

and,

charm

its

upon

in

the

called

education.

c.

B.

Academy

self-taught,and

been

great personal

possess

ever,

307

the

to

thereafter

thorough

school

in

and

road

the

was

have

to

was

Philosophical School,

on

School

His

(see map).

He

Minor.

his

walls

the

c.). Epicurus

B.

Lampsacus,

and

Athens

in

within

garden

Asia

in

Mitylene

established

he

(341-270

Epicurus

Samos

in

born

was

of

Life

for

Hicks,
of

83-86.

229

EPICUREANISM

not
a
philosophy of
Epicureanism was
merely
pleasurefor people without ideals or who were
seekingindulgence.The question that Epicurus asked
this : What
was
enduring pleasureis possibleto a man
He
tried to give a rational
in these days of turmoil?
to live and enjoy.
to those of his day who wished
answer
in his
from
His aim
to free man
responsibility
was
and to provide for him a life
"share of the world's work
of serenity.The
pleasure theory of Aristippus,the
Cyrenaic,was very different. Aristippus,a voluptuary
in a luxurious
city,presented a pleasuretheory for the
than a grad
It is hardly more
few who have fortunes.

and

Rousseau.

"

pleasuresand the settingup of a criterion of

that. His
their selection. Epicurus goes deeper than
pleasuretheory is for the few, not because they are for
they are wise ; not because they
tunate, but because
because
fortunes
have
to gratify their passions,but
The
Cyrenaic
independent of all fortune.
they are
ing

of

was

of

man

world, but

the

world;

the

Epicurean

was

in the

""

of it.

not

the teach
between
resemblance
superficial
of Rousseau
to the
ing of Epicurus and the message
French
people of the eighteenthcentury. Both sought
discard the
ideal of enduring plea"ure.Both would
an
Rousseau
artificialities of society.But
a
was
political
reformer
and attempted to find his ideal in a newly
constructed
society.Epicurus, on the other hand, was
no
reformer, but would find his ideal in society
political
it existed. Rousseau
as
appealed to the primitivefeel
ings. He felt the call of the wild." Epicurus appealed
derivative
and
to the refined
feelings.He had no ag
There

is

"

gressivepropaganda.
His

ideal

was

peace,

He

and

aimed
not

at

no

the sword.

external

reform.

HISTORY

230

The

Epicurean

Epicurus

that

is

evil. In this he

proof of
He

was

not

unobservant

was

complex.

men

convinced

of
from

He

saw

principle of

central

good and pain an

agreement with Aristippus,and

in

was

that

The

pleasure

position he
this,but rested

conviction

PHILOSOPHY

Ideal.

this

from

is

receded.

never

He

offered

no

his central

principleupon the
pleasure and avoid pain.
pursue
he was
the biologicalfact. But
the subject
the beginning that
that

the individual

has

to

make

pleasureand often has to choose pain for

is the only
the sake of a greater pleasure.Pleasure
is pleasure?
good, but Epicurus asks further,What
to pleasureand
He finds that he must
give a content
evaluate the pleasures in the interests of pleasureit
but with
moral appraisal,
self. This was
to Epicurus no
reference to the ^pleasantest
possiblelife.
Of the two
qualitiesof pleasureEpicurus valued
a

OF

selection

its duration

naics,who
count

that

of

and
had
the

showed

his

advance

intensity.It
Epicureans disclaimed

valued

its

the

over

on

was

all

Cyre-

this

ac

relationship

difference
the earlier school. The
Cyrenaics,
between
them
radical one
is certainly
: to
Epicurus
a
true
pleasureis that which endures ; to Aristippus it
There
is most
is that which
intense, however
fleeting.
is this to be said of the Cyrenaic theory : it could be
Aristippus could tell exactly what
easilyunderstood.
of
he meant
by pleasure.It is this or that gratification
It includes
positivepleasure,and that
sense.
every
is intensest is best. One
which
always knows when he
from pleasureto pleasurehe
is enjoying,and in flitting
knows
when
he is intensely
enjoying.But the Cyrenaic
presentedno ideal. While the Epicurean theoryis more
with

the

difficult to

understand, it is

more

mature

and

more

pro-

EPICUREANISM

found

because

the farther

it presents

231

well-conceived

ideal. Indeed,

follow

Epicurus along this line of his

are
pursuitof the ideal of lastingpleasure,the more
to our
we
knowledge
impressed with his contribution
of pleasure.
of the nature
In this connection
Epicurus shows his comprehensive
the last
jrasp of the subjectin determining what are
materialist
he re
a
ing pleasures.Although he was
garded the pleasuresof the mind as superiorto those
inner pleasures,
the spiritual
of the body. The
joys,the
in
control of the mind
that it could enjoy without
so
these were
to Epicurus the enduring pleas
dulgence
The
ures.
are
primary, for, in the
pleasuresof sense
life is a combination
of sen
the mental
last analysis,
sations,and sensations are only material motions ; nev
ertheless the secondary and derivative pleasuresof the
mind
were
superior,
accordingto Epicurus,because they
This
of the superiority
estimate
of the
had duration.
mental
pleasureswas probably reinforced by two other
reasons
: such
possessed by Epicurus ;
pleasureswere
we

"

and

such

doctrine

was

in

accord

with

the

Greek

aes

thetic ideal of self-enjoyment of the refined

The
curus

most

permanent

independenceof the

emotionlessness, on

the

of mind

state

world

on

is
the

other.

These

are

egoist.
called by Epi
hand, and

one

the

positive
the
thing

and the same

negative sides of one
Epicurean ideal of pleasure.In ancient times the con
emotions
or
ceptionof the affections," passions,"
will in which
included
all states
of feelingand
man
is dependent on
world.
To
be emotionless
the outer
is
The
to be independent of the world.
Epicurean word
is gtaraxia^ which
is variouslytranslated
as
serenity,
Since man
has no conpeace, repose, imperturbability.

and

"

"

"

"

"

HISTORY

232

trol

the

over

In

world

without

himself.

effects within
desires

OF

which

by

are

mastering these

These

PHILOSOPHY

him,
effects

he

must

the

are

control ite
and
feelings

disturbances.
only mental
becomes
independent of the

nature

he

world.
If
to

one

will scrutinize

Epicurus,that

tal disturbances.
"

and

desires
want

his

his

he
life,

will

experiencesform

These

may

be divided

find,according
stream

into two

of

men

classes,

and
is

positivepleasures. Desires are wants

pain. Pain is therefore exciting.Positive
desire and want,

pleasurepresupposes

and

such

pleasure
the excitement
is also an excitement,
that accompanies
of want.
The
the removal
positivepleasures are not,
therefore, the goal of independence of the outer world.
kind of pleasure
There
is another
the pleasure
of re
therefore both the pleasureof
pose. Epicurusrecognizes
and the pleasureof repose, but they do not have
motion
the same
importance in his system. Repose is the goalof
all our
experiences.It is a neutral state, a state of free
excitement.
There
from bodilypain and mental
is
dom
nothing higher than such a neutral state. We cannot
advance
beyond it. If we seek new
pleasuresby grati
desires,we
are
only returning to the old
fying new
round
of want, desire,and the pleasurableexcitement
The
of removing the want.
pleasureof repose is the
only escape from this round of experiences.Emotion
lessness is the maximum
pleasure it is the repose in
independence of the world. Any deviation from it may
pleasure.
vary but it will not increase our
ideal of Epicurus looks
This
much
like the
very
of wants
as
Cynic doctrine of absence
constituting
virtue and
happiness.But Epicurus is far from re
nouncing pleasure.He is no ascetic. On the contrary,
"

"

"

233

EPICUREANISM

the repose

of the

portion to

the

Epicurean

compass

will be the

his needs

of

greater in

that

are

pro*

satisfied.

insightinto any given situation to tell him

what positive
pleasuresshould be encouraged. Epicuruf
and their attend*
three kinds of wants
thus distinguishes
ant positive
pleasures: (1)wants natural and indispensa
he needs

But

ble

without

"

the satisfaction of which

we

cannot

exist

which
ought always
(2)wants artificial and dispensable,
and dispensable
to be disregarded; (3)wantsnatural
"

the

great

of

mass

wants

which

lie between

the

two

Insightis necessary to decide about this

of necessity
third class. In case
they can be renounced,
Man
will seek
but since they give happiness,the Wise
far as possible.
them
to satisfy
as
There
three steps leading to Epicurean happi
are
desire or the pain of unsatisfied
ness
craving;
: (1) the
the pain of un
(2) the positivepleasure that removes
satisfied desire ; (3) ataraxia,the repose of the soul or
classes.

other

true

happiness.

The

Place

of

Virtue

in

Epicureanism.

Epicurus

moralists
that virtue
agreed with the strictest Greek
to tes
and happinessgo together.His opponents had
the
tifyto the beneficial effects of his teachingupon
Yet his conception of the
of his disciples.
character
place of virtue in life is in direct conflict with Stoicism.
He felt that the Stoic conceptionof virtue for its own
sake is an ideal so imaginary that it lacks all incentive to
action. Pleasure,on the other hand, seemed
to him to be
be given a definite con
and real object.It can
a concrete
Virtue
had for Epicurus a value only as a means
tent.
to happiness.Moreover, virtue by itself is not necessa
rilyaccompanied by happiness,but only when it is em
ployed as a condition to happiness.Thus wisdom
may

HISTORY

234

be

employed

the

to

fear of the

OF

PHILOSOPHY

the

gain
gods ;

pleasure of

self-control

order to get the maximum

The
could

Epicurean
this

Wise

of

To

ideal

be

may

employed

in

happiness.

Man.

Epicurean

from

liberation

what

appeal ?

classes of

Is it

people

ideal

an

pos

only to the favorites of fortune,wealth, and rank ?

conditioned
As presentedby Epicurus it was
not
by ex-

sible

kern al circumstances
scend

of any

all conditions.

sort

its aim

and

Nevertheless, it

to

was

tran

is obvious

that

restricted to those who

had
the desire
theory was
the whole, the unreflecting
to adopt it. On
common
of fact influenced
not as a matter
peopleof that time were
by the Epicurean philosophy.The proof of this is the
with which
it was
ease
degraded into a simple pleasure
theory without an ideaL Epicureanism as presentedby
the
its author was
for the voluptuary or
not an
excuse
prodigal,although it was
easilycorrupted into that.
It was,
however, a philosophyof the individual. The
individual
must
common
sense
as
relyupon his own
will give
the particularsatisfactions
to what
among
the

independence of the world.

attained by the satisfaction of all
him

satisfactions

are

few

are

sometimes

the wants

few.

are

all reflective souls.

"

the

When

"

meet

you

pleasureis
the keeper of

who

will set

and

is

repose

come," says Seneca, to the gardens where the words

inscribed : Friend, here it will be well for you to

abide

man

wants

because

pleasureis possibleto

True
you

needed

Sometimes

here

plenty of

entertained

quench it ; they do
they afford.
...

you

and

there will
highestgood ;
place,a hospitablekindly
dish of barleyporridge
a
"

the

before

water

? These

the

Have

say,

In

cause

this

not

been

well

provoke hunger, but

greater thirst by the drinks

gardens do
not

you

not

pleasureI

have

grown

old."

235

EPICUREANISM

Man

much, but he does

use

can

life itself under

is not

circumstances

extreme

Even

much.

need

not

necessary.

the permanent and

pleasures to be sought are
place Epicurus says with a somewhat
gentle.In one
The

sentiment

forced

in the

smile

Man

Wise

The

accepts

himself

commodates

Man, indifferent

He

be

can

inner

Man.

Wise

and

order

'

ac

like the Stoic Wise

is not

he

self

"

control

can

the world

over

himself.

upon

control

the world

within

or

if he
To

satisfac

many

of

is master

rest

unmoved

Epicurean ideal of the

Cyrenaichappiness,the

is the

that

In contrast

few

with

happy

cannot

He

himself.

within

him, for his vir

disturb

cannot

the effects of the world

in one's

sweet

but he is nevertheless
pleasures,
He is superior
to the world, a king

he is master

tions,and

will

How

established

the

to it. He

without, but

himself.

"

say,

rack

the

on

to all

independent of them.
and
a
god. Accidents
tuous
happinesslies
the world

and

of torture

midst

Man

Wise

that the

to

the

to the
passive; in contrast
Epicurean happinessseems
Stoic happinessit is satisfaction.
in Society. Nevertheless
Man
The
Epicurean Wise
He does
is only a spectator of the world.
Man
the Wise
not

the world's

enter

work

fightits moral battles.

givesa peculiarcharacter

to

does

nor

His

he enlist

individual

as

soldier

independence

to his social relations.

He

will

Moreover,
complications.
his inner world offers him no compensation for his loss
of social relationship,
except that the good within is
He looks upon
political
gov
strong and the evil weak.
ties

on

ernment

as

posed to

civic

have

no

government.
but

account

matter

life,and
He

of their

of selfish convenience.
therefore

refuses

the

accepts friendshipas the

He

is op

supporter of absolute

of marriage,
responsibility
onlyworthy social relation-

EPICUREANISM

In
""

death.
an

first

the

In

place,religioncarries

modern

times

consolation.

added

237

the idea of

In

time

the

with

it the

life after
of

fear
death

of
i"

Epicurus death

giving up of the present life for a dim, sun

the edge of
shades bordering on
less region of flitting
No philosophical
mind
be happy, accord
Tartarus.
can
ing to Epicurus, if it contains the religiousconception
conceives
of death and the future life. Again, religion
created and operatedby the gods.
the world of nature
as
It is forever explainingnature-phenomena as miraculous
and supernatural.The tranquilmind
believe in a
must
miraculous
inter
world
that is separated from
nature
vention, and freed from oversight.The world must be a
conceives of the gods
dependableworld. Lastly,religion
as
always busying themselves with the affairs of men.
Men
their wrath
their favor and avert
must
secure
by
his time
constant
wastes
offerings.The religiousman
and consumes
in the fear that the gods are
his peace
The Epicurean seeks to build up
not propitiated.
the
meant

the

life of the individual.

dependent of
fering gods
concern

that is in
tranquillity
everything.Religiousbelief with its inter

would

of the

He

seeks

his

thwart

Epicurean

was

ideal. Hence
to banish

from

the

chief

life every

conceptionof divine government. The gods exist,but

Their dwellingis in in
they live quiteapart from men.
ter-stellar space amid the numberless
worlds.
They have
nothing to do with the events of this world, but are
actualizations
of the philosophic
ideal of
only glorified
The more
the teleological
soul-satisfying
peace.
concep
tion of nature
became
the common
ground of the Acad
did the Epi
emy, the Lyceum, and the Porch, the more
isolate themselves
cureans
by opposing the conception.
The

other

obstacle

to the

of the
imperturbability

soul

HISTORY

238

is culture.
but

It

The

OF

PHILOSOPHY

Stoics subordinated

theory to practice^
deprecate all culture.

Epicurus went so far as to

the philosophical
was
protest of

Oriental

against
Greece
all for which
stood. All knowledge is su
had
perfluouswhich does not promote happiness.Know
ledge may indirectly
promote happiness,and that is the
best you can
despisedthe
say of it. Epicurus therefore
researches
of the grammarians, the lore of history,
the
science of mathematics, the theory of music, poetry,
rhetoric,oratory,logic.Although he set greater store by
the intellectual than the physicalpleasures,
he placedas
little value on knowledge for its own
sake as upon
virtue
for its own
sake. This teaching of Epicurus in Athens
Athenian
over
betraysthe change that had come
society.
cul
Plato, who had been the impersonationof Athenian
than thirtyyears.
ture, had been dead not more
Epicurus' Conception of
Qualified Atomism.

To

the

the
cursory

an

Physical World.
reader

the

of

"

science

to occupy
a largeplacein the philosophy
physicsseems
of Epicurus, and its presence
inconsistent
with
appears
his polemic againstculture. Upon further
reading one
finds that physics,
of the
too, should be merely a servant
need
happiness of the individual. We
knowledge of
will
physics because the knowledge of natural causes
free us from the fears attending religion.
Physics has
no
independent importance.
of indi
to support his doctrine
Epicurus undertook
vidualism
The
by the scientific theory of Democritus.
materialistic
to
seems
theory of the great Abderite
loom largein the exposition
of Epicurus. But Epicurus
in the science of physics
not interested
not even
was
in the physics of Democritus.
He
did not build his
theory on the teaching of Democritus, but on the con"

EPICUREANISM

trary he used

theory of

Democritan

the

moral

23*

conduct.

doctrine

Epicurus

support his

to

needed

well-au

of the influence of Lu
theory. On account
cretius' poem,
Epicurus has been called in modern times
the scientist of antiquity.But his only contribution
to
science was
of Democritus
that, finding the atomism
ready at hand although unpopular,he made it popular
by adjustingit to his own
purposes.
The
Democritan
conception that Being is matter
of innumerable
uncreated
and indestructible
consisting
furnished
atoms
Epicurus this support for his moral
He
atomism.
followed
Democritus
in his analysisof
and astronomical
psychological,
physiological,
phenom
thenticated

ena

"

all

scientific

in

atoms

are

insight and

But

combinations.
the

emasculated

in his hands.

principleof

Democritus'

Democritan
The

central and

he

lacked

doctrine

was

fundamental

the universal reign

theorywas
of law. This
the Stoics adopted and
this Epicurus
neglected.Epicurus was
impressed by the changes of
in the Democritan
the atoms
theory; the Stoics by the
law of such change.
This
in the teaching of Epicurus in two
appears
The
first example is in his explanationof the
ways.
Democritus
had
conceived
that
origin of the cosmos.
irregularmotion was an inherent qualityof the atoms
and that the universe was
produced by their combina
tions in a purely mechanical
Epicurus conceived
way.
that the originalmovement
of the atoms
in a
was
This he called the
straightline from above downwards.
"rain
of atoms."
To
explain their interminglinghe
conceived

them

be

endowed

with

volition

by which
deviated from the direct fall. Secondly,
they arbitrarily
this physicaltheoryof Epicuruswould
be unimportant
to

HISTORY

240

OF

except that it afforded him

individual
dom

of

as

PHILOSOPHY

possessingfree

the will had

been

basis for his

will. The

since

theory of

doctrine

Aristotle

the

of free

presupposi

indispensableto the doctrine of moral accounta

The
the Greeks.
Stoic doctrine
of fate
bilityamong
is an
was
exception.But determinism
opposed to Epi
curus' conceptionof the Wise
Man
as
an
independent
The human
individual.
will is self-determined,
and Epi
said that he preferred the illusions of re
even
curus
ligionto a belief in our
slavery to fate. He classed
and
freedom
chance
together as uncaused
occurrence,
built his conceptionof free
and out of the combination
is
dom. The uncaused
functioningof the will in man
tion

the
dom

same

as

the causeless

is the choice

between

deviation
different

of the atoms.

Free

and
possibilities

is

The
Stoics alone among
the
by no cause.
of the
philosophersof this time are the forerunners
study of physics.
the conception of volition of
Epicurus introduced
for the
the atoms
to account
origin of the cosmos.
the world
From
that point he conceived
to develop IR
mechanical
Teleology in the nature world was
a
way.
phys
repugnant to him. By modifying the Democritan
in establishing
the independence
ics,he thus succeeded
determined

of the individual

in the

social world

hand, removing the gods from

and,

on

the other

in the physical
interfering
This seemed
absolute
world.
to Epicurus to afford
an
The important pointsof
from superstition.
deliverance
these : (1) the
the physical theory of Epicurus are
in motion
freedom
of the atoms
yet their me
; (2) and
chanical development ; (3) the atomic
of the
character
of the soul at
gods ; (4) the scatteringof the atoms
death, which frees us from the fear of Hades.

XI

CHAPTER

STOICISM

The

Position

School
it

had

is

importance
it

which
critical

testing by

tics, and

in

shown

the

comprehensive

School

and

as

sonalities
rival

only
cism
of

of

the

of

upon

the

cated

the

ruins

it led
It

ideals.
solace
felt

of

was

vidual

sentatives

the
must

of

but

as

the

its

after

it. Stoi

the

problem

of

religion

"

philosophy
for

the

by reviving

into

the

the
at

early

time

life, for his

seem

subjective
it could
Roman
Roman

Stoics

Christian
the

order,
the

and

of

Yet
indi

itself ade

prove

society broke
Stoics

Stoic

nothing.

reflection

stood

classic

possession

as

not

edu

religion

invisible

that

raised

the

old

reform

The

per

history

to

In

the

most

brilliant

needs.

of

the

inner, spiritual move

harmonize

to

such

take

sect.

continued

solving

system

existence

structure
not

by

Period,

came

great

human

of

movement

Its

sides

doubt

importance

Particularly
of

to

most

which

retreat

earthly

motive

we

was

moral
a

emptiness

quate when
But

It

unrest.

eternity made
it

its

the

tried

became

amid

the

the

polytheism

the

all

Hellenic-Roman

toward

philosophic

new

centuries

In

of

humanity.

years

thought.

on

without

was

the

much

one

classes, who

with

of

time.

life, for it is

ments

It

its adherents

accomplished

of

subjected

was

neo-Platonism,

was

hundred

five

system

Stoic

Peripatetics, Epicureans, Skep

the

Academy.

numbered

for

attacks

the

It

honored.

was

and

dominating

the

The

Antiquity.

in

long history,

well-nigh

was

Stoicism

of

as

for

the
more

down.
repre

than

HISTORY

242

moral

OF

reflection. The

first three

leaders

great achievement
The

of the

that

cism

Stoics

moralitywith

was

foundation

the

an

had
a

Stoics made
elaborate

ethics

theoretical

an

the

scien
inde

system of morals

before

never

from

came

of givinga

the achievement

"

basis to morals.
tific
pendent science. Such
as

PHILOSOPHY

Stoi

existed.

foundation,and

the

imposing part of the edifice.

This
appeared in Roman
jurisprudence,and in later
times in Grotius,Descartes,Spinoza,the Calvinists and
Puritans, and in Kant and Fichte. The writingsof the
was

Stoics

individual

literature,and
itself

as

years
vided

Three

third

the

become

Stoic view

part of the

of

life has

Periods

The

of Stoicism.

of the

historyof the Stoic School

three periods.The
first is

into

long,in
is 200

have

1.

-206

which

years

the doctrine

long,when

200

was

years

was

about

formulated

the doctrine

long, when

was

Period

Stoicism.

of Formulation

c.), sometimes
This

called

the

90

years

the second

modified

it became

of the

usuallydi

are

philosophy.The first two periodswere

third was
practical.
B.

maintained

five hundred

moral
the

world's

and independent type.

dignified

The

most

; the

popular
theoretical,
a

(294 B. c.
period of Cynical

Doctrine

period contains the three great leaders :

Zeno
(340-265 B. c.), Clean thes, leader of the School
264 to 232 B. c., and Chrysippus (280-206 B. c.).
from
Zeno
of Tarsus, Diogenes of Seleucia,and Antipater of
Tarsus
other important representatives.
were
Period
of Modified
Stoicism
(206 B.c.-l A.D.).
2.
This period shows
This was
the period of transition.
a
modification
of the originalsevere
Cynical character
of the doctrine and also the spread of Stoicism to Rome.
This modification
shows
an
approach to Plato and Aris-

243

STOICISM

totle. The

of
importantrepresentative

most

this

period

(180-110 B. C.),who introduced the doctrine

into Rome
through his friendshipwith ScipioAfricanus.
and
Posidonius
Stoics of this periodwere
Other eminent

is Panaetius

Boethus

of Sidon.

Period

3.

(1-200 A. D.).During
a popular moral
philosophy.
the first two
periodswere

Stoicism

of Roman

periodStoicism became
theoretic teachings of
The
im
Stoics in an
translated
by the Roman
successfully
Furthermore,
pressiveway into practicalobservations.
Stoicism
was
being inspiredwith the risingreligious
feelingso that it expressedthe noblest moral sentiments
Seneca
chief representatives
of antiquity. The
were
(4-65 A. D.), Epictetus (living 90 A. D.) the philo
Aurelius
Marcus
(121"
sophic slave, and the emperor
L. Annaeus
180 A. D.). Other Stoics of this periodwere
Lucanus, Persius,and M. MusoCornutus, M. Annaaus
this

nius

Rufus.
Stoic

The
the

School

Stoic

One

Leaders.

strikingfeatures

its leaders

that

is

of the

not

were

of

pure

before the Christian

Nearly all the members
of Asia Minor
races
belong by birth to the mixed
the eastern
archipelago.Moreover, the later Stoics
mainly Romans, led by the Phrygian, Epictetus.

Greeks.
era

and
were

The
men.

Stoics who
The

thinkers

years

changes went
were

Stoic

Greeks

School

rather

Epicurean
from
on

Zeno
within

was

so

framed

fourth

or

many
once

rate

eminent
and

for

During the five hun

to Marcus
Aurelius, theoretic
the School, and
the changes

remained
mind.

not

third

doctrine.

modifications

mentally,Stoicism
ligiousattitude of

were

contained

that its doctrine

all,like the
dred

were

than
the

development. Funda
same,

for it

was

re

245

STOICISM

suicide,saying, I
"

do

coming, Earth, why

am

call

you

me?"

of

leader

the

of

account
a

School

is the

to-dayhe

flourish

did not

Stoicism

known

best

his

and
pugilist,

for

Hymn

of

by night in order
by day. He is said to

but

it

to

attend

have

had

and

the doctrine

introduced
Under

the

and

he saved

it from

He

treatises,three

the

lectures

Cleanthes

re

still

were

and
pantheistic,

B.

c.) Stoicism

extinction.

School

hundred

an

and

of which

re

was

Chrysippus was
its literary
repre

and

five hundred

wrote

as

tension."

"

Chrysippus(280-206

systematizerof

sentative.

of

the

Zeno, they

monistic

them

made

to work

heavy mind,
inspiredprophet

When

from

doctrines

Stoic

the

plastic.He

vived

of science.

thoughtfulman

ceived

of

on

originally

was

had

he

the mind

nevertheless

was

leaders

three

He

that

poor

water-carrier
of Zeno

these

Zeus.

to

so

was

(who was
thirty-twoyears), although
Cleanthes

under

and
were

five
on

separate

logicalsub

jects.He is said to have seldom let a day pass without

the moderating in
lines. He
was
writingfive hundred
and
fluence
of the School, mediating between
extremes
removing objections.He
his discourses

argument.

He

abound
was

restated

in curious
a

much

more

Zeno's

doctrines,but

subtleties

rather

man
scholarly

than

than

his

learned man
in
and passed for the most
predecessors,
antiquity. Give me doctrines," he said to Cleanthes,
His haughti
for them."
and
I will find arguments
created many
adversaries, both in the Academy
ness
and among
the Epicureans, and he had great contempt
He said, If I thought any philoso
for men
of rank.
pher excelled me, I would myself become his pupil." It
was
a common
saying in those days, No Chrysippus,
"

"

"

"

HISTORY

OF

In the hands

of

246

Stoa."

no

ing became

PHILOSOPHY

Chrysippusthe

well-rounded

Stoic teach

system.
all the

writingsof the
early Stoics have been lost. Only fragments have been
like Cicero,
preserved from the writingsof other men
Plutarch, Sextus Empiricus, and Diogenes Laertius,
between
do not always distinguish
and these men
early
of our
know
and later Stoicism. The principalsource
ledge of early Stoicism is Diogenes Laertius. The
of Cleanthes
is the most
to Zeus
Hymn
noteworthy
fragment extant of the earlyperiod. Of the later Stoics
of the Empire many
writings have been saved : the
ethical treatises and epistlesof Seneca, the Diatribes
the
of Epictetus, and
Medita
and
Encheiridion
The
later Stoic writings
Aurelius.
tions of Marcus
the teachingof the earlier leaders modified by
transmit
authorities
foreigninfluences. Such second-hand
many
Sextus
and
as
Cicero, Plutarch, Diogenes Laertius
give re
Empiricus, and the Aristotelian commentators
ports so vitiated that it is doubtful if they report any
element
belongingto the earlier teaching.The doctrine
of the Stoics,since the time of Chrysippus,
however, is
known
beyond peradventure.
The

Stoic

The

Stoics

up

the

tuous

Writings. Nearly

and

life of

Wise

the

Man,

Cynics.
soul
whose

Stoics

The

after

the

outlines

tried

pattern

of

build

to

the

vir

from
they borrowed
Socrates.
(Noack.)

and loftyform of
transfigured
ad
and
Their
teaching is not merely a refinement
the Cynic School as Epicureanism had been
over
vance
Stoicism and
to the Cyrenaic School.
Epicureanism

the

used

their

sources

The
ways.
the Epicurean,and the

in

different

than
give up more
of his teachingis therefore greater ;

but

Stoic

would

negativeside

in recompense

STOICISM

247

in the

shape of a comprehensive meta

physics.The Cyrenaic doctrine of pleasurebecame the
of Epicureanism. The
stone
corner
Cynic sensualistic
rigorismbecame in the Stoic teachinga negativeand
the Stoic dis
relatively
unimportant doctrine. While
in
tinction of virtue was
not
unproductive,the most
he offers

fluential
humane

Stoics

more

was
aspect of Stoicism
culture. Thus, in contrast

had

Stoic, less than

the

the world.

ual with

interest

deep

Cynic,

The

in

its dissemination
with

Cynics,the
theory. The

the

scientific

contrasted

Stoics have

of

the

individ

intelligent,
freer, and milder
morality.To the Cynics, external
things have no value ; to the Stoics,they have both a
positiveand a negativevalue. Beneath these differences
in virtue, the same
is the same
there
self-sufficiency
moral strengthof will,the
withdrawal
within, the same
antithesis between
same
good and evil. Stoicism was
but not enough so to mark
the beginning of a
original,
new
epoch.
The

Prominent

Two

Stoic

more

Conceptions.

There

are

Stoic

conceptionsthat rise prominently above all

the rest of their teaching.One is the conceptionof per
the other is the conceptionof Nature.
sonality,
Epicure
built up the conceptionof personality,
anism
but it had
need
of an
no
objectiveprincipleof Nature ; and in
deed the Epicurean conception of personality
to
seems
be only a clever adjustment and
avoidance
of the
an
problems of life,compared to the clear-cut,
heroic,and
vigorousStoic conception of personality.Thus in Epi
cureanism
there is one prominent conception,
in Stoicism
two

there

are

These
Stoic

two.
two

builds

Stoic
them

principlesstand
up together,even

side

by
though

side. The
he fails to

OF

HISTORY

248

make

entirelycompatible.All

them

all the

and

culties

PHILOSOPHY

excellencies

the

essential diffi

of Stoicism

lie in the

of the conceptionsof personality

and Na
juxtaposition
In early Stoicism
each conceptionis stated with
ture.
great vigor. In later Stoicism their harmony is approx
imated
by the modification of each. The result was an
and a metaphysicalmonism.
ethical dualism
The
Conception of Personality. Against Epicurean
ism the Stoic fought for the dignityof the soul. The
Man
is the central point
ideal personality
of the Wise
in Stoicism.

Even

more

than

Aristotle

did

Stoic

the

emphasize the unity and independenceof the individual

For the first
to its particular
states.
soul as contrasted
in
time in European thought does the soul become
an
dependent factor to be reckoned with. The Stoic picture
is of a life completelysundered
of the ideal personality
from
outward
conditions, free from earthlytrammels,
but

at the

time

same

temporariesasked

the

How

can

be

How

person
can

he

reconcile

the organ

of universal

Stoics,How

can

he live among
himself

to

human

Con

law.

such

his fellow
want

ideal

an

men

? After

settingforth this ideal during the 175 years of their

forced
first period,it is not strange that they were
finally
At this
demands.
to practical
to modify it in response
the originalportrayalof the
shall consider
point we
Wise
i.

Man.
The

Stoic

Psychology.

The

Stoic built

his

con

ceptionof personalityupon a deep psychological

analy
in the
sis. The
soul in the body is like the pneuma
world (see p. 255). Not only does the soul transform
the
into perceptions,
excitations of the several sense
organs
but
its distinguishing
of trans
faculty is its power
into acts of will.
forming the excitations of the feelings

249

STOICISM

by the Stoics the assent of the reason,

and is the distinguishing
feature of the Stoic concep
for the first time
tion of personality.It established
in historythe independence of the personalsoul. The
Stoic felt keenly the antagonism between
the reason
and the senses, and he also felt that by estimatingthe
This

senses

merely relative in value they would so much

feature
the fundamental
as
dignifythe reason
personality.While, therefore, all knowledge

as

the
of

called

was

more

the

from

comes

knowledge

the

senses,

exists

in

of the

assent

sations

Stoic maintained

the
the

is necessary

reason

transform

to

no

The

themselves.

by

senses

that

the

sen

is not an aggre
knowledge. The reason
gate of sensations,but an independent function of the
into percep
the sensations
personality.It transforms
is
tions,the perceptionsinto acts of will. The reason
kind
of consciousness
therefore
of generating power
a
and is free from
everything external. But in contrast
to

into true

this free rational

for the

is liable to suffer

reason

itself to

be

hurried

Then

causes.

mental
is not
tions

emotions

his assent.

passion.Man
may

Wise

Man

govern

as

may

be

the world

The

the

and

man

it allows
to

exciting
failures,

are

diseases.

cases

Man

againstthe excita
refuse to give the

refuse

can

in

assent

emotions

in chronic

emotions

is free from

in their absence.
the

give

to

arise,and

He

of

failure,when

always able to defend himself

of his environment, but he can

citations to become

He

along

disturbances, and

excitations

in

side is the irrational nature

to

to pour

the world

allow

the

forth
and

ex

his life

not

by controllinghimself.

of it.
The

emotions, and virtue consists

virtuous

that
proud consciousness
not a good and pain as not

is self-sufficient in

man

he
an

look upon
evil.

can

pleasure

HISTORY

250

What

OF

guide does

fusing its

ception the
tion lays hold
"

of the truth?
clearness
of

the

The

in the

mind

is the "irresistible

truth

have

reason

in

to its perceptions
from

assent

is the criterion

the

PHILOSOPHY

that

of the per

the

presenta

its assent.

extorts

the

presentation" or

re

? What

without

clearness

sense

and

granting or

"

The
appre

know
the truth ? The
can
hending presentation."Who
Wise
Man.
? By sensation
and
By what means
pre
what
conception.By
sign? By the signof its irresistible
The

power.

Wise

necessitated
constrains

Good
an

to

he

"

is

perfectlyfree and perfectly

gives assent except to what

never

assent.

Highest

The

2.

Man

happiness for
what
would
analysis,
or

be the true

What

Good.

ends

such
the

is then

the

Highest

? After
such
personality
Stoic be likelyto conceive
a

of life ? The

very

of the per

nature

gives the answer.

sonality
Personalityis fundamentally
rational activity
which
seeks to preserve
itself and to
The
nature.
gratifyits own
Highest Good is the law
of its own
and
virtue
consists in being
rationality,
rational. In reaching for the Highest Good
man
can
transcend
his particularfaculties in his free obedience
to

his

own

reason

and

the wholeness

depends upon the wholeness of

inner activity
whole, in contrast
activities.
and
are

finds

happy

Inwardness
the

depth

if the whole

of the world

reason

feelingsthat

make

cluded.

attains

Since the

of

his deed.
to

We

being goes
is

our

are

in

out
reason,

dependent
emotions
placea
us

the

his existence
Thus

is the

partial outer

complete independence

the soul.

which

of

on

the

free

and

we

contemplation
and

if all the

world

false value

on

whole effort and ceaseless

a
happinessdemands
We
must
but thought must
not merely theorize,

are

ex

things,
activity.
become

STOICISM

Thought-actionyieldshappiness.It

conduct.

whether

matter

acts

man

for external

objectsare

question is

whether

If the

not.

or

act

absolute
riches

and

good

such

does

not

is that
erned

of

The

good

all other

ends

does
Good

not.

does

or

thingsand
of

not

is not

Even

The

in

rule, and

life itself is

for this ideal Good

when

Highest
"

"

Stoic word

are

relative,but

be taken

may

reason.

if the

wealth, honor, and

as

that disposition
unity
singleprinciple.

inner
a

is evil

whole

passions

is

indifference.

the ends

serve

by

or

the

not

that,

or

The

bad.

nor

does

this

to

controls

relative matters

of the indifferent

one

good

reason

either

matters

are

end

reason

is either

reference

controls,the end

reason

The

different.

with

neither
the

passionscontrol,the
an

251

which

it

Good

is gov

is

apathy, justas
ataraxy or imperturbability.
virtue. Negatively defined, can

Epicurean word was

Positivelydefined, it is
This would
not be quite
we
passionlessness?
say it was
of all
absence
not
correct.
By apathy the Stoic means
feeling,but absence of control by the feelings. The
Stoic was
filled with joy,gratitude,
serene
confidence,
in regard to rational law.
and unwavering submission
but immovable
firmness.
Apathy is not dull insensibility,
the

It is absence

of

the

emotions

that

render

the

man

de

pendent on the world, but it is not absence of the reach

ing out of the soul for the divine. The Highest Good
or
Apathy is (1) intellectual resignationto the uni
(2) practicalinner harmony, and (3) self-con
verse,
is followingan
trol. In seeking to be rational,man
impulse, the impulse of self-preservation.
In comparison with
the
The
Conception of Nature.
Epicurean the positionof the Stoic was
peculiarlyin
volved. The ideal imperturbability
of the Epicureanwas
"

253

STOICISM

doctrine

like the

had

matter

of

In
distinguished.

been

not

Form

Heracleitus, for there

the

and

interven

separated,and
the Stoic sought to put them
togetheragain. In com
parisonwith the doctrine of the Old Schools, the Stoic
ing

Form

years

and

had

matter

been

(1) monistic, as against their dualism,

teaching was
as
againsttheir idealism,but (3) like
(2) materialistic,
them, it was
teleological.
is an
1. In the first place, Nature
all-pervading
live and
in whom
World- Be ing. It is God,
move
we
u

have

and

being." It

our

contains

in

itself all cosmic

phenomena, and processes, past,present, and future. It

and yet it is
is the World-ground and the World-mind,
formative
all-in-all. It is the productive and
power,
the vitalizing
principle.In general, it is the creative
it is Providence
and guiding reason
or
; in particular,
in
It is the
divine
unswerving whole
government.
which
the
of historytake place. To
the singleevents
Stoics

Reason

cosmic

the

was

so

apparent

in

Nature

appeared to them in everything.In their

hands
the great teleological
conception of Aristotle's
immanent
purposivenesssank to the petty purposivefor human
ness
beings and for the gods. Yet it is no
that
this conceptionof an
wonder
all-pervasive
deity
became
a
religionto the Stoics and raised their moral
The
world
is Fate
code to the region of the sublime.
that purpose

so

far

Nature

minutest

as

the

is

Providence

full of purpose.

are

without
2.

law.

In

movements
so

Nature

far

as

are

those

is in every

determined.
determinations

part perfectand

blemish.
the second

Nature

destiny,that

is

an

holds

place,Nature is an all-compelling
inviolable
inevitable
an
necessity,
all phenomena in complete causal

HISTOKY

254

Yet

connection.

had

this

PHILOSOPHY

destinyonly proves

of the whole.

purpose
tral

OF

The

Stoic

principleof Democritus,
overlooked,

of Democritus

"

the supremacy

"

seized
which
of law.

the
upon

the
"

complete
the

cen

Epicureans
The

doctrine

Epicureans only so
far as
it was
atomism
and mechanism
; with regard to
the deeper and more
valuable principle
of the universal
reign of law in Nature, his legacypassed to the Stoics."
There
is no such thing as
chance ; everythingis caused.
In Epicureanism one finds the doctrine of necessity,
but
the necessitycomes
from
the atoms
themselves.
In
Stoicism the necessity
resides in the livingactivity
of
I the whole. A livingactivity
! Herein
the Stoic concep
tion differs from the Democritan
teaching.The necessity
is a livingnecessity,
the destinya livingdestiny.
3. In the third place,Nature, is matter.
On the the
oretical side Stoicism agrees
with Epicureanism only at
materialistic. The
materialism
one
point, both were
of both these New
Schools got a disproportionate
pro
minence
because
it had
to be defended
against the at
tacks of the Academy and the Lyceum.
The material
ism of the Epicureans was
a
mere
adoptionof a theory;
the materialism
of the Stoics was
only one aspect of its
supplementary basis. Nevertheless,to the Stoic matter
passed over

to

the

"

alone

is real,because

it alone

acts

and

is acted

upon.

God
and
the
nature-objects,
the qualities,
soul,and even
forces,and relations between
Stoics regarded the presence
material bodies. The
and
of thingsas the appearance
interchangeof the qualities
and interminglingof bodies in these things.

Everything

There

Stoic

can

is matter,

be

no

"

doubt

about

teaching,although
i

Windelband,

both

Hist,

the materialism
material

of Phil.,p" 183.

and

of the

spiritual

255

STOICISM

attributes

ascribed

are

to

God

in

that

way

is start

conceptionof fire as the primary

God is fire"
substance
is the Stoic conceptionof God.
air,ether,and most commonly the atmospheric currents
which
pervade all things.But God is also the Worldsoul, the World-mind, the Cosmic-reason,the universal
He
is a perfect,
Law, Nature, Destiny, Providence.
these as
happy, and kind Being. In singlestatements
Heracleitan

ling.The

pects

Fiery

combined

often

are

Reason

Fire

Stoics

The

The

Reason

God

is described
Mind

world, the

the

Air-currents.

reasonable
Matter

of

and

Stoic
Fate

the

matter, the

equationis Nature
Providence

Heracleitus

followed

in

as

also

God.

in their concep

development of the present world from the

In all pointsof detail their views on
what
cosmic fire.
call physical science are
we
contemptible.They con
tained not one
iota of scientific thinking." They fol
lowed
Aristotle, however, in their descriptionof the
elements
and their teleological
arrangements.
inner
The
primitivesubstance
changes by its own
tion of the

"

rational

soul, the

law into force and

or

pneuma

things. Matter

warm

Force

matter.

breath, which

is the

World-

pervades

is the

all

and
World-body, and is water
earth. In cosmic
periods the primitivefire is destined
of varietyinto itself and
the world
then
to re-absorb
it in a universal catastrophe.
consume
The most
important feature in the Stoic materialism
is the conceptionof pneuma,
the force into which
the
or
originalsubstance is differentiated. This is the Worldsoul. Nature
is thus conceived
as
dynamical.The Stoic
word
for the World-soul
is translated by various ex
creative
as
reason," generativepowers,"
pressions,
"

Adarason,

"

The

Development of Greek Philosophy,p.

267.

256
44

OF

HISTORY

formative

thingsand dom
active principle.
Through it the uni
of parts. The pneuma
is the
plurality

their

as

is one,

verse

It penetrates all

fire-mind."

inates all

not

PHILOSOPHY

life of the universe.

Its motion

is

spontaneous

its devel

The pneuma
is an extraordinarily
teleological.
condensed
conception,containingas it does suggestions
Heracleitus'
from
Logos, Anaxagoras' Nous, Democritus' fire-atoms,and Aristotle's Energeia.
The human
being has a constitution analogous to the
is

opment

Man

universe.

The

| macrocosm.
'

holds

is the microcosm

his

are

Mental

pheric substance

the
The

reason,

each

ment

is identical
matter
two

with

the

about, by

thingsthat
of man,

returns

emotions

of the atmos

his

causes

activities,

is

pneuma

body, it

death, has

at

corpse

to the cosmic

pneuma

world.
and

Personality supple

it is

"

or

"

nature

of

reason

To

reason.
"

one.
essentially

are

the

fundamentally the personality

cosmos

reason

the

or

the

of Nature

Thus

other.

from

material,yet divine,

the human

and
immortality,
of the
conflagration

Conceptions

emanation

The

the

which

pneuma

thought and

"

Since

itself from

universe

is the tension

man's

limited

at

son

states

in his breast.

disconnects

it is an

the soul.

constitutes

is seated

of

the

is the

man

Virtue

air currents.

pneuma

of

and
body together,

divine pneuma.
"

soul

and

Stoic

the

He

the world

means

the

means

; to

the

turn

"

rea

live

ac

"

is to live accordingto the nature

of
cording to nature
The life
of the world.
man
or
according to the nature
Man
of the Wise
as
a
harmony with physical nature
is a harmony with
itself as
well. The
antithesis to
"

"

nature

speak

or

of

as

at all in the

"

the

"

reason

natural

is

sensuous

impulses were
Stoic teaching.

What

nature.
not

"

natural

we
"

STOICISM

"

"

Nature

universal

as

actingfor
rality.It

207

Coordination

ends.

cosmic

is the creative
with

power

this constitutes

mo

to eternal
necessity.
willingobedience
The
fool
acts
according to his sensations and im
pulses,and therefore against nature." But the Wise
inde
Man, by withdrawing within himself, is his own
because
he is actinguniversally. Na
pendent master
of the human
soul with
the
is the life-unity
ture
world
True
individual
reason.
morality is therefore
universal
ra
morality,complete humanity, universal
To obey
is to develop the essential
nature
tionality.

is

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

in one's self.
germ
Thus
these
two

obtained
of
points of view were
life-unity:a universe
rationallyguiding in all its
individual
changes ; the human
epitomizing this uni
in

verse

himself

as

rule

for

his

conduct

amid

divided

into

his

vicissitudes.

classes,

the

"

foolish
man

and

Stoic

The

and

wise
entirely

vicious.

possesses

he lacks

Society.

There

sound

this reason,

Men
and
is

reason,

he lacks

are

virtuous,or

the

entirely
ground. If a

no

middle

he

has all the

all. There

two

are

virtues

only a

if

few

of men
fools. The
Stoics were
Sages ; the mass
are
continuallylamenting with Pharisaical pessimism the
From
their sublime
great baseness of men.
heightthey
looked upon
the Wise
Man
as
incapable of sin, upon
the fool as
incapableof virtue. In thus denying the
ordinarydistinctions between good and evil,they were
Their
dangerous in politics.
political
perspectivewas
not
reliable. In general,they did not enter the politics
of the democracies
where
they lived. They were, how
ever,

often

removing

the advisers
them

(as

of

in the

tyrants,and often assisted in

case

of Julius

Cresar).

The

258

HISTORY

Stoic School

of Musonius

Rufus

protest againstNero

tan

disciplesand

PHILOSOPHY

OF

splendidPuri

Domitian, and

controlled

his
finally

the

empire for a cen"

Stoic
regarded his
tury (second century A. D.).1The
Man
Wise
as
independence that the
attainingthe same
He is lord and
Epicurean claimed for his Wise Man.
king. He is inferior to no other rational being,not even
to

friends

and

made

himself.

Zeus

Stoic differs from

The
toward

the

state.
political

the sufficient Wise

Man

teaches

that

Epicurean
in

inherent

the

human

The

needs

Schools

two

the state

societyis
The

nature.

in his attitude

Epicurean

but

little. The

natural

not

that

agree

and

not

Stoic, however, main

societyis a divine institution,which gives

individual
to man's
perfecting.
only occasionally

tained
way

Since
are

life

that

and

man

the cosmic

identical.
essentially
of reason,
they lead a

reason

When

identical,all

are

therefore

men

social life. This

lead
of

rea

gods, and
slaves. But the political
government is only secondary,
Stoic's
for the Stoic's ideal is a universal empire. The
weak
his ideal
interest in practicalpolitics
was
as
as
His teachingof
transcendent.
of a rational societywas
however, a forecasting
was,
justiceand love for man
of the coming religiousemancipation.
There
two
are
antagonistic tendencies
running
The
first is to seek societywith
through Stoicism.
love of men,
its virtues,
or
cos
sociability
justice,
second
dispenses with societyto
mopolitanism. The
Yet these two tendencies
often
gain an inner freedom.
son

includes

not

Romans

alone, but

realm

men

all men,

"

coincide.

They

may

be

presentedas
1

Professor

follows

C. P. Parker.

"

STOICISM

seek

To

and

dispense with society.

To

society.

1. Exaltation

259

justice

of

and

love.

happiness.

2. World

The

3.

Absolute

citizenship.
and degrees
Relations

Virtue
what

depends

mit

cosmic

into

bodies,

on

the other

law.

The

backbone

Stoics

The
responsibility.
the

were

As

ness.

for cosmic
as

the

formed

and

what

between

contrast

They

make

fate,

Stoic's

time

of

of

human

duty.

It

em

the

construction

of Stoicism

brought
is and

out

as

is

of the
of

sense

before

never

what

ought to be.
most
outspoken doctrinaires of antiquity,
school of character
buildingin stubborn
went
nature
on
they substituted human

nature, and

conscience.

law

the

law

identityor

hand, the Cynic's protest against

one

law, and

moral

inner

should

elevated

reason

strict,universal

the

on

external

Individual

sub-

Responsibility. The

and

conduct

is virtue,

alone

Knowledge

some-

should

and

human

abso-

fate.

to

Duty

and

virtue

conditions.

on

Individual

5.

Man.

Wise

lute vice.

of virtue.
4.

of inner freedom

Exaltation

The

then

accentuated

individual

could

human
then

nature

define

the

rightfor himself, and this sort of individualism was de

veloped with so much skill that it admitted great laxity
of morals.
some
Duty commands
things and forbids
others, but there

left

are

great

ethicallyindifferent. These
offered opportunityfor these men

indifferent

are

form

what

in

the

ample, Brutus).
allyforbidden.
Yet

it must

not

eyes

of

Baseness

be

others
is

of activities that

mass

matters

of conscience
were

only what

supposed that

crimes

to per

(for ex

is uncondition

the Stoics

generally

STOICISM

2G1

his position
conceptionof Nature, but he tried to justify
the ground that the individual
expressedthe law of
on
His

nature.

God

Man

stated

argument
is

ance

toward

formance

may

is

is free.
Man

the

It

is like
also

was

have

can

of

one

(1) his perform

compulsion ; (2) his per
understanding
intelligent

world-law

he is free. The

case

him

spiteof

is in

occurrence

of

occurrence

great difference

it makes

fateful,but

whether

man

the

law, in which

his act

Man

through blind
be through an

be

may

of the

thus

God

with

one

Man

be stated

grounds.
psychological

on

attitudes

two

may

the

to

with

or

is not an
acquiescence.The occurrence
intelligent
evil in itself ; for physicalevils are
no
evils,and things
evils are
that appear
to be moral
(1) subservient to the
good ; (2) merely relative to good ; or (3) show that
God's ways
not
are
our
My will is mine though
ways.
will is mine
though it be law. The soul
; my
necessary
is free when
it fulfills its own
destiny. God works
are
only ac
through man's will. Outer circumstances
his

causes,

cessory

will. At

the

logicof
only on the

the

ments

of

could

the

the

the main

but

Stoics did not

same

time

their

own

fatalism.

basis

of

determinism

future

gods

the

be

foreknow.

shrink

Chrysippus
could

Only

made.

of

is the assent

cause

Only

the

this

on

from

said

correct

the

that

judg
ground
can

necessary

be

known.
Modifications

The

First Period.

The

of

inherent

trine and

the attacks

sion

only further

that

ideal
ocre

was

and

to

Doctrine

make

after

the

difficulties in the Stoic doc

it gave

rise to

later

complicated it. (1)

therebythe
dangerous doctrine

man,

of the

lowered

upon

Stoic

the

set of

rules for

Stoics became
of

The

twofold

the

conces

moral

the medi

originators

morals.

HISTORY

262

PHILOSOPHY

OF

(2) By admitting any suppositioninstead of strict

into their theory they introduced
scientific deduction
! An
absolute
absolute
probabilism. An
personality
In order to make
Nature!
either practicalthe Stoics
In the course
of time, when
had
to modify both.
new
leaders represented
the School, there came
compromises
according to practicalexigencies.The teachingof the
Man
Wise
was
superseded by instruction how to be
come

wise.

The

the idea of progress

(3) The doctrine
the

Goods,

idealism

moral

esteemed

not

renounced

but

introduced.

was

of Goods
as

was

was

modified.

there
indifferent,

From

out

Goods

appear

thought to be Goods
in themselves, but were
only adapted to further the
Good
in itself. Such
for example, the physical
were,
Good
of health, enjoyment of the senses,
the
etc. On
side of its ideals Stoicism thus was
brought into touch
wfth practical
life.
made
concerning those who
(4) A distinction was
Men.
It was
not Wise
were
recognizedthat all fools
as

desirable.

Yet

these

were

never

"

are

not

the

distance

same

from

recognizedprogressivemen,
Apathy is thus modified
by
the Wise

Man

has in

common

virtue.
men

"

state

with

who

There
are

are

"

then

improving.

Even
progress.
others the affections
of

pain. The Stoic ethical aristocracy

became
humane.
more
Nevertheless,the Stoic never
yieldedthis point,viz.,that there is no gradual growth
in virtue. Virtue
attained through a transition.
is not
It is a sudden
turning about.
(5) During the empire Stoicism became merely a
it was
moral
in this form
an
philosophy,but even
impressive presentationof the noblest convictions of
antiquity.It prepared moral feelingfor Christianity.
of his senses,

such

as

263

STOICISM

The
the

element

Cynic

second

garbed
and

Stoicism

more

in

it

preachers,
morals.

who

moralizing,

mere

dominated

Cynicism

centuries

teaching

became

was

went

it.
revived
about

In

the

by
affecting

the
first

more

and

wandering,
beggary

CHAPTER

XII

SKEPTICISM

The

Appearances

have

traced

now

Division

cal

Period.

of

ning

until

529

But

the

half

they

were

the

Religious

the

ethical

of

Schools

150

about

that

and

character

dogmatic
in the

Schools, and

of

Ethical

the

Skepticism,

which

fundamental

frame

time.

It

with

contrast

last
was

the

contemporaneously

Schools

at

its

between

height

about

philosophy

turn,

greater triumphs

longer

virile

beginning

very

and

the

Schools

150

B.

as

in

in
no

of

c.

the

eight
side

What

out

Age

speculation ?

No

longer possessed

the

of

the

and

the

the

ap

New
con

reached
Did

result?

world

in

period

Pericles,
;

the

was

Skepticism

the

of

the

as

years

Skepticism
was

of

power

the

Period,

and

and

and

hundred

rise

fiftyyears

and

of

the
the

and

transitional

Philosophic
with

close

to

period. Skepticism
the

in

appeared

already pointed
of

not

positive

and

growth

negative

peared

troversy

the

Schools.

the

the

by

of mind
the

did

Eclecticism

character

entire

was

its

in

not

begin

said

"

hundred

one

the

century

c.

lost.

have

we

of

this

the

caused

was

undercurrent

of

been

Period

This

eclectic.

had

did

be

may

the

Justinian

by

even

B.

"

of

themselves

Period
era,

Division

after

abolished

this

its Ethi

movement

centuries

Ethical

dogmatic

through

the

two

the

beginning

before

of

and

era,

positive and

Period

into

least

at

disappear

at

far

until

D.

the

We

Skepticism.

Philosophic

history of

influence

this

A.

the

and

The

disappear

of

Hellenic-Roman

of the

aspect

ECLECTICISM

AND

back
was

creative

to
no

im-

pulse. On

ECLECTICISM

AND

SKEPTICISM

cism, and then later by

Skepticism

upon

itself first into eclecti

Schools, philosophydissolved

the

of

the attacks

of

account

265

the introduction

of

new

elements

supersededby religion.In the philo

sophicalsense, religionand eclecticism are both skepti
of the ability
of the reason
to
both have doubts
cal
shows its Skepticismby doubt
reach truth. Eclecticism
the East

from

was

"

ing any one dogmatic scheme, and therefore it constructs

faith in place of
a
compromise of all ; religioncrowns
reason.

PhilosophicSkepticism in
reference

except with

to

these times

did not

the doctrines

of

the

appear

Schools.

merely polemical and antagonisticto the

the Skepticism of antiquity
Schools' teaching. While
itself with
busied
the problem of knowledge, it was
Skepticism. Ancient
superficial
compared with modern
Skepticism did not doubt that the objectof knowledge
existed ; it did not doubt that the objectof knowledge is
material. It assumed
that thingsexist
external and even
which, to the modern
Skeptic,is the problem at issue.
We
of philosophic
shall look now
at the appearances
Skepticism,and the effect of this Skepticism upon the
Schools in their turning to eclecticism.
It

as

arose

The

Three

three

are

Phases

of

somewhat

looselyconnected

Skepticism,and are
largemeasure
by the
The

i.

called
was

the

determined
doctrines

These

appearances

in

their character

which

of
in

they attacked.

of

Philosophic Skepticism is
Pyrrhonism (from about 300 to 230 B. a). This
Skepticism directed against the assumptions of
First

Phase

philosophy of

will be

Philosophic Skepticism.

seen

the Stoic and

to

be

Aristotle.

From

contemporary

the
with

Epicurean Schools,at

the

dates

above

it

founding of
very beginning

the

HISTORY

266

period. The
(365-275 B. c.) of

of

PHILOSOPHY

OF

the

were
Pyrrho
representatives
Elis and his pupilTimori (320-230
When
Zeno
Phlius.
had
B. c.) of
begun to teach in
Porch
and Epicurus in the Gardens, when
the Painted
in the Lyceum
Theophrastus had succeeded his master
led the Academy, the Skeptic Pyrrho be
and Polenio
his personalinstruction in the cityof Elis. Pyrrho
gan
had
but little influence. He
left no
writings,and his
doctrine
became
known
the ancients
to
through his
the literary
pupil,Timon, who was
exponent of this
Skepticism. The teachingmay be stated in the three
We
know
: (1)
can
followingsentences
nothing of the
of things,but only of the states of feelinginto
nature
which
attitude of
they put us ; (2) The only correct
mind
is to withhold
all judgment and restrain all action ;
(3) The result of this suspense of judgment is ataraxia
The
or
imperturbability.
Skeptic therefore sought the
internal peace
for which
Stoic and
same
Epicurean
were
seeking,but he was
skepticalof the Aristotelian
to gain it. The
metaphysics as an instrument
opposite
of any conclusion
of
being equallyplausible,
suspense
judgment is the only peace of mind.
the age after Aristotle
that
Pyrrhonism reminded
the problem of the certitude of knowledge is fundamen
tal and must
be
be settled before any philosophycan
The
School was
short lived, and
constructed.
people
disposedto be skepticaljoined the Academy.
2.

The

Second

two

Period

of

Philosophic Skepticism

"

(280-129 B. c.). The

Middle
Academy and its Skepticism was directed par
ticularly
against the Stoic teaching that an
appre
hensive presentation guaranteed its own
truth by the
conviction of immediate
The two most
distincertainty.

The

Skepticism

of the

Academy

"

"

SKEPTICISM

ECLECTICISM

AND

2tt

of this Skepticalperiod of the

guished representatives
Arcesilaus
(315-241 B. c.) and CarneAcademy were
be mentioned
ades (214-129 B. c.). Carneades
must
particularlyas a genius and a philosopher of great
He
the greatest philosopher
was
personal influence.
of Greece
in the four centuries
from
Chrysippus to
Plotinus ; indeed, in abilityand
depth of thought he
for
the most
surpassed Chrysippus." Carneades was
"

midable

opponent

of the Stoics.

Stoic lecturers,had
futed
his

them

on

their

studied

their

grounds

own

He

had

listened

writings,and

to

had

the
re

in brilliant lectures of

own.

The
this
emy
two

Skepticism of the Academy

The rivalryof the Porch
way.
and

had

apace
grown
dogmatic Schools.

its ancient

had

somewhat

arose

the Older

and

been

battle

in
Acad

between

The

Academy was being worsted,

waning, and it had graduallyde

spiritwas
for ethics. Under
Arcesilaus
serted speculation
it was
life by the aggressivedogmatism of
provoked to new
which
the Stoics. Speculation,
it had
ignored,it now
began to antagonize openly. Arcesilaus, in directing
his attack against the doctrine of
apprehensive pre
of the
sentation
to
conclusions
but
Stoics, came
"

"

slightlydifferent

from

laid out for

Pyrrho. Carneades
himself a twofold
task : (1) to refute all existingdog
and
(2) to evolve a theory of probabilityas the
mas,
basis for practical
activity.He applied his Skepticism
not
only to speculation,like Arcesilaus,but also to
ethics and religion.*
1

Read

A. Hicks, Stoic and

Grote, Plato,

ing sophisticalproblems
under

vol.
of

Epicurean, pp.

322

iii,
pp. 482-490,
the

ff.

for the interest

Liar, the Person

Disguised
Veil, Electra,Sorites,Cornutus, and the Bald Mao-

AND

SKEPTICISM

ECLECTICISM

269

in philosophjr
the ten
as
knowledge. These are known
doubt.1
They were
tropes,"or ten ways of justifying
and reduced
to five by
badly arranged by JEnesidemus
Agrippa.2
"

The

Last

(150

B.

Ethical

c.-l

Century and a Half

A. D.). Eclecticism.

Period

became

of the

About

"

After

eclectic.
Schools

passionatecontroversy the

Period.

Ethical
150
150

B.

the

c.

of

years

compromise
their differences
and
fuse into one
another.
They no
longeremphasized their differences,but began to point
to their common
ground of unity. This tendency to fu
sion appliesonly to the Lyceum, the Academy, and the
Porch. The Epicurean School was
never
a
party to this
eclecticism
and
relatively
always remained
stationary.
The fusion occurred
only in the teachingof the Schools
in their organization.
and
not
Externallythe Schools
remained
separate bodies for six hundred
years longer.
In the

second

dowed

separate chairs

Athens.
A.

century Hadrian

They

were

not

for

began

and

them

abolished

to

the Anton

ines

en

Universityof

in

the

as

Schools

until

529

their independentgrowth
by Justinian. Internally
only during the two centuries down to the year

D.,

lasted

150

B.

been

completed. Their

At

c.

this

time

their

theoretic

mission

had

historyfrom 100 B. C.
of compromise and
to 529
A.
D.
was
one
adjustment.
The
150
is therefore
B.
c.
important. At this
year
time the records of the Schools stop,controversy abates,
Stoicism and
into Rome,
Epicureanism are introduced
and fusion of doctrines begins.
The
cism.

Stoic
Its

For

"

Ueberweg,

statement

Hist,

the

was

doctrine

own

School

internal

of these

was

first to
kind

tropes,

see

of Phil.,vol. i,p.

of fusion

Weber,
216.

incline

Hist, of

to

eclecti

of incoherPhil.,p.

153.

HISTORY

270

parts, and

ent

welcome

and

Pansetius

of

Platonic
ethical
the
the
the

time

of

death

turned

from

but

was

extended

of 79-78

Carneades

c.

For
the
that

There

two

were

rapid spread of
ing Skepticism that was
and

the other

Skepticism.

Both

Neither

tion, for both

the

C.

its

Lyceum
the

own

and

the

same

tradition,
with
of

fundamental

Ascalon

in the win

doctrine.
an

was

in

Hellenic

regard

spiritof

for the

bonds

way

easy

the grow

Hellenism,
culture

is,after all,only another

the

many

Aristotelianism

prepared
One

After

Academy

adulterated

eclecticism.
so

the

united

theism.

Platonic

to the

that

exhibit
has

own

B.

adoption of

Eclecticism

the Romans.

conviction.

the

was

129

Platonism

factors

for the

of

many

example, Antiochus
Academy at Athens

only different aspects of

were

of

in

Platonism

meagre

the lead

its scientific interests. At

of the Stoics to their

B.

c., under

B.

of
Peripatetics

the

foreign elements.
taught Cicero from
ter

150

easily

most

teachings,tempered

Skepticism back
a

it could

Posidonius, it adopted

and
rigorism,

pantheism

it

About

Aristotelian

and

same

Schools

the

among
doctrines.

new

PHILOSOPHY

OF

by

form

undecided
of

tradi

regard the individual superiorto every

tradition or system. Eclecticism,indeed, attempts to re
concile differing
systems ; but in doing this it casts a
doubt
all only to a lesser
the infallibility
of them
upon
degree than Skepticism.The spread of eclecticism was
Greece
from
of the skepti
therefore only an extension
world gave a
cal spirit
the world, and the Roman
upon
character
to such
a
glad welcome
spirit.The Roman
was
naturallyeclectic. After his first aversion the Ro
arid religions.
was
man
hospitableto all philosophies
In his practical
hair
by philosophical
way, undisturbed
he selected from
the different systems what
splittings,

SKEPTICISM

suited

was

tile

to his

ground

in Roman

notable

names

271

Eclecticism

needs.
practical

In the Schools
many

ECLECTICISM

AND

found

fer

civilization.

after the year 150 B. c. there appear

notable not because they contrib
"

philosophy,but for
In the Stoic School
other reason.
some
were
Panaetius,
Posidonius, and Boethus ; and later Seneca, Epictetus,
Aurelius.
Marcus
the Academicians
and
are
Among
Philo of Larissa and Antiochus
the Peripatet
; among
uted

to

the

ics of the

theoretic

same

were

ation
M.

Plutarch

all eclectics.

eclectics whom

we

and

the

among

is

to be named
especially
;
only one in this group of
time for a passingexamin

The

shall have

of is Cicero.
Tullius

Cicero

(106-43

philosophy in all the Schools

He read a good deal of Greek
much
philosophicalmaterial
not

of

century is Andronicus

eclectic Platonists
these

advance

show

much

discretion

c.) listened

B.

in

Athens

and

literature,so
at

in

rial,but he displayeda good deal of

tact

Rhodes.

that he had

his command.

his selection

Greek

to

He

of
in

did

his mate

using what
mind
spoke
as
though

people would receive. The Greek

to the Roman
through Cicero's voice almost
the Roman
were
speaking for himself. It must be ad
mitted
that Cicero's
acquaintance with Greek
philo
able to
sophy was on the whole superficial,
yet he was
philosophywith clearexpress certain aspects of Greek
the Roman

ness

for contemporary

erations

succeeding

Latin

readers
He

them.

and

for many

prided himself
questionwithout

gen
in

his

him
abilityto discuss both sides of a
after the manner
self arrivingat a decision
of the
Middle
Academy, of which he inscribed himself as a
His
books
member.
appeared in rather rapid succes
"

sion.

OF

HISTORY

272

therefore

does

not

philosopher so

much

Cicero

of

thought

to

the

bottom

is at

that

translating Greek

he

philosophical warfare,
he

in

in

ticism
mediate

pertain

scientific

of

morals

and

to

all

to

They

all

to

by

human

and

they

and

religious

are

God.

ported by

Cicero

shows

doctrine

of

of great

as

by

the

has

they
in
which

his
virtue

in

God's

eclecticism
:

virtue

Cicero's

importance

rests

ideas

of

is vita

the

is

Ethical

immediate

on

duty,

immortal

rests

man

and

beatissima.

sup
and
upon

immortality.

by moderating

in itself is vita

is

Providence

for

com

derived,

existence

freedom

student

been
in all.

are

Stoic

the

beata,

but

Unoriginal

philosophical position may

to

ideas

much

they

im
that

opinion.

innate

of

conviction

the

certain

there

high dignity of

The

Skep

inborn

are

universal

teleologicalargument

in

so

us

merely

matters

are

not

thus

belief

Our

plus happiness

eclectic

from

consciousness

government.
innate

this

tue

the

in all

implanted

confirmed

certainty. Man
ity, and

as

re

for

refute

to

refuge

have

nature

consciousness

mon

divine

These

and

than

more

took

or

manner,

unable

was

existing

ethical

upon

have

he

the

undecided

no

thought

metaphysical

religion. There

convictions

are

he

as

eclecticism

an

of

of

consciousness

men.

men

view

Yet

we

way,

certainty

common

taught

Since

evidence.

probable

in

spoke
felt that

he

realms

these

In

despaired

absolutely complete knowledge.

ligious questions

is

metaphysics

skepticism.

prominence

profound independence

own

His

his

owe

in

skill

people.

Koman

his

to

his

to

as

PHILOSOPHY

of Roman

vir

and

be, it is

history.

XIII

CHAPTER

THE

The

of

Causes

Two

There

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

two

were

its

interest

The

first

causes

ethical

philosophy

ligious

and

the

the

undercurrent

which

found

we

The
less
tain

insight

Period
of

culmination

and

of

that

stronger

inconsistent
not

which

Ethical

the

Period

the

supernatural superseded

As

and

im

became
Reli

the

the

authority

of

the

in the

authority

of

the

in

belief

virtue

the

Man

Wise

disappeared,

Belief

born.

man

promised.

strongly intrenched,

more

of

undepend-

man

had

Schools

the

be

to

as

ex

fundamental

intellect

vouchsafe

to

impeach

Schools

The

the

Ethical

the

was

the
cer

any

The

The

assumptions.

as

became

this

School.

of each

so

teaching,

happiness.

eclecticism, and

the

disciplesof

their

assure

virtue

was

the

in their

alike

grew

to

inconsistent

Period

of

Period.

rapidly

perturbable self-certaintyof
gious

re

rise

Ethical

is self-inconsistent

the

the

The

in

grew

shaken,

the

reason,

conviction

Skepticism

of

nature

validity of

inner

happiness

religion.

to

in the

dogmatic

and

the

Schools.

skepticism

their

so

ethics

from

of

amined

time

the

was

authority

able

of

turn

within

the

Feeling.

Religious

of

supernatural

into
in

the

of

able

ended

ment

the

cause

Schools

they

were

for

growing

the

more

Rise

D.)

A.

C.-476

practical

inner

an

was

the

individual

in

B.

(100

reason.

The

second

introduction

It

has

been

cause

of

many

common

be called

may

eastern
to

external, and

religions into

exaggerate

the

the
vices

was

the

empire.
of

the

OF

HISTORY

274

PHILOSOPHY

of the first Christian

Romans

centuries,and

to

point to

of the great rise

corruptionof the times as the cause
No doubt, in the cityof Rome
and other
of religions.*
and
large cities the populationswere
very licentious
with
the people in
not the case
corrupt. But this was
the country. The people
and
the small municipalities
the

united

were

in

under

peace

one

government.

There

prosperityand widespread travel.

Education
prospered.The religionof the Romans, how
an
objectof de
ever, long since decadent, had become
rision. All faith in it had been lost,and magicians and
had
romancers
a
large patronage. The inner life of
demanded
external
man
some
spiritualauthority to
satisfyit,and, findingit could not be satisfied in the
great commercial

was

realm

of

sense,

turned

to the

supersensuous.

It

was

an

reported miracles, and

superstitions,
the
multiplying of myths. In the realm of the reli
giousemotions everythingwas in flux. Even the Greek
philosophies the Stoic, the Platonic, the Cynic, and
show it in their emphasis upon
the neo-Pythagorean
life. In place of the Grecian
renunciation
in practical
love for earthlyexistence,a longing for the mysterious
was
growing into a feverish desire for strange and
movement
possessed
mysteriouscults. A great religious
into Roman
civilization
the nations of the empire, and
age

of

universal

"

"

of

the

first

century

A.

D.

there

streamed

many

new

From
the Mithra, Magna
the Orient came
religions.
Mater, Star Worship, Isis and Osiris,and many others.
These
and
their
religions,
mingled with the western
rivalrywas energeticfor the possessionof men's spirits.
The
Roman
and
hospitableto all religions,
people were
the inRome
became
a religious
battleground.With
*

Read

Dill,Roman

first three chapters.

Society,

turned

terest

earthlyto heavenly things,salvaseemed

to lie in the supernatural.

from

trouble

tion from

Need

The

275

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

Thus

Spiritual Authority.

of

placent Ethical Period

authorityin morals and

way

gave

the

to

the

cry for

com
some

longer
attain present happinessor his
confident that he could
soul's salvation
strength. He turned for
by his own
help both to the religioustradition of the past and to
in the present.
to him
the revelation that might come
the same
The
practically
; for
authorityin either was
of an
the past was
ever-present
only the crystallization
their credentials

the

of revelation

forms

demand

The

pression in

spirit
;

as

for

school

the

an

immedi

accepted both
of knowledge.

highestsource
supernaturalauthorityfound

curious

many

is

differ in

past is presentedin

the

Alexandrian

The

historic records.

no

was

present revelation

the

of

illumination

ate

Man

past revelations

present and

spirit.Yet

divine

science.

is notorious

It

ways.

ex

that

writings and oral traditions of the

The
philosophersof the
greatlyinterpolated.
past were
could get a
first century thought that they themselves
doctrines
into the
hearing only by insertingtheir own
at

time

this

the

writings of Plato, Aristotle, and other heroes of the

halo of
the neo-Pythagoreans invented
a
past. Thus
sect
for Pythagoras in order to give their own
wisdom
for authority culminated
demand
its credentials. The
in

the

time
and

to

some

historyhave

thought

was

were

heroes.

The

found

the

on

Hebrew

sages

the

entire

source.
religious

Gnostics

the

trace

to

attempt

canon

of

the

the

side,

Philo

other, found

on

that

one

Greek

and

origin.Greek
religious
The Greek
Oriental writings.

common

in the

placed by

civilization of

the
the

side

of

the

Christians

Old

Testament

is full of

cross-

consequentlyat

were

of

need

infallible

an

of

illumination

disadvantage,but they felt no

historical authorityor of histori

"vho

was

immediate

any

individual

The

man

of
Deity has possession
Although only few attain the truth,
the

with

in contact

comes

them

to

individual.

the

277

criticism. Revelation

cal

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

the divine

truth.

and

is nevertheless
there
only at rare moments,
determining what is fictitious and what is
in the conception of inspiration
difference

no

these
of

way

This

true.

portant
in the

to

note, for it marks

years. The
of historical

the

came

Ages

get revelation
sonal

from
with

contact

mysticism of

the

left the

neo-Platonism

any

the Middle

the
be

of the Middle

through
this

divine,and

the

on

revelation

this

individual

source

the next

revelation

scholasticism

the

difference

of

movements

authority,and

of

source

important

fixed

church

thousand

is im

Christians

the

an

greatestintellectual

two

basis

and

neo-Platonists

the

between

free to

man

his

own

per
the basis of

was

Ages.

We
have
Spirituality.
that out of the widespread cry for spiritual
help
seen
for spiritual
the demand
authority.There is also
came
another
result, the increased importance in historyof
Rise

The

of the

Conception

of

"

personality.The
spiritual

the

heroes, the

great

and

sanctified

men

past became

of the

men

surrounded

with

worship,the worship of
worship,ancestor
of the emperor
inaugurated by Augustus,
Disciplesbegan to have un
part of this movement.

myths. Hero
the genius
were

conditional
this
of

trust

worship

the

in their masters,

culminated

School.

This

and

in neo-Platonism

in veneration

movement

appears

historyin the impressionof

of Jesus Christ.
personality

est

form

in

for

the

leaders

in the

grand

the wonderful

HISTORY

278

The

OF

PHILOSOPHY

regard personalityas the reve

lation of the divine Logos. Personality
is the cosmic
Nature
and historyare
kinds of generalrevela
reason.
tions,but specialrevelations requiregreat personalities
scientists,and es
Moses, the prophets,the Greek
the Messiah, the Son of God.
peciallyJesus who was
next

step

to

was

"

The

that

these

exhibit must
be a
personalities
revelation,and not the working of the human
reason,
for the human
unaided
deals only with sensations,
reason
is incapableof gaining divine truth. The
and
reason
needs the divine to illuminate
it. The
great personali
ties are therefore the repositories
of powers
that make
them
different from
Their
revelations
ordinary men.
are
above, and sometimes
opposed to, the conclusions
of ordinary reason.
Thus
themselves
are
personalities
divided
by religiousdualism, and in them. the human
and
divine
far apart. Moreover, the more
are
great
the common
were
personalities
apotheosized,the more
of humanity was
run
depreciated.Then distinction was
made
between
At
first,when
au
great personalities.
thoritywas
sought everywhere,all great personalities
were
supposed to have divine revelation ; later,when
power

the lines

were

drawn

beliefs,
only the Christian
Christians

to

the Christian

between

leaders

be instruments

were

and

considered

other

by

the

of the divine.

This

laid the
of historical personalities
spiritualizing
before upon the dualism
in all
than ever
emphasis more
human
ensnared
in the world
of
are
beings. All men
and
attain knowledge of the higher
they can
sense,
world
of their higher
only through the illumination
natures.

clear

Aristotle

alone

among

the

but
conception of spirituality,
as
spirituality
appliedsolelyto God.

Greeks
he

He

had

had

had

had

conceived
not

con-

ceived God

to

and

reason

antithesis
marked

of

is

contrary

into itself and

withdrawn
The

gious dualism, the more

extended
sonalitywas
refined expressionwas
the

and

the

antithesis of
the Platonic
had

sensuous,

personalnature of man
over
against his sensuous

set

this ethical

more

and

to reason,

the inner

man

279

the Stoic

But

person.

the supersensuous

off in

nature.

be

what

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

dualism

became

as

reli

conceptionof spiritual
per
all human
beings. Its most
the Christian conceptionof

the
to

in

soul.
Revival

The

Academy

had

of
had

The

Platonism.
little influence

Platonism

in the Ethical

of

the

Period

barelykept alive. The Middle

and the New Academy eclec
Academy had been skeptical
tic. The
ReligiousPeriod, on the other hand, was thor
oughly Platonic, and Plato from this time until the
For
the ruling philosophical
became
Crusades
power.
had
his influence
been
three hundred
nothing;
years
and

its tradition had

for the next

twelve

been

hundred

he dominated

men's

minds,

times. When
religious
Man
vanished
from
the Wise
philosophy,and the ex
took its place,when
pectationof spiritualblessedness
from
ethics,first to eclecticism
Skepticism drove men
when
and then to theology,
philosophypassed to mysti
then did Platonism, with its antithesis between
cism
Of
to its own.
the sensible and the supersensible,
come
it could best amalgamate
all the historical philosophies
Platonism
all religions.
(1) absorbed Oriental religions,
(2) furnished a didactic form for Christianity,
(3) re
The worldcreated itself into the mystic neo-Platonism.
in
longing for the supernaturalfound its best medium
Platonism.
When
the Wise
Man
vanished, the mystic
priestappeared.
so

far

"

as

any

philosophercould

in

HISTORY

280

of

Divisions

The

OF

the

PHILOSOPHY

Religious

Period.

Out

of

the

seethingreligioustimes at the beginning of this era,

distinct currents
there emerged two
of thought that
extended
through the entire length of the Religious
Period, and carried down into the Middle
Ages all the
culture

that

the

in each

stands

medieval

possessed.The two move

ments
were
(1) the religiousphilosophiesof the still
and
persistentHellenic civilization,
(2) the new-born
which was
destined to determine
Christian religion,
the
future of the western
people. If we scrutinize these two
shall find that each has its introductory
movements
we
and its development stages,and at the point of division
a

great leader

who

was

instrumental

in

bringing about the transition. The great neo-Platonist,

Plotinus
the division
line in the
(204-269), marks
Hellenic
movement
; the Christian,Origen (185-254),
line in theologicalChristianity.
marks
the division
While
these men
were
contemporaries,we shall take,
for various

the Christian

of

date

of

division

stage of each

Period, and

the year

reasons,

movement,
of

the

movement

and

Hellenic
we

shall

as

the date of division

the

year

movement.

call its

250

as

The

the
first

Introductory

Development Period.
Periods the two movements
During their Introductory
tried to draw togetherunder the influence of the philo
sophical eclecticism which colors this time. In their
draw
Development Periods the two movements
apart,
The historical de
closed and mutually repellent.
become
from beginningto end
velopments of the two movements
are

very

the second

200

different.

The

its

tide of

Hellenism

floods with

and after him there

Plotinus, its greatest representative,
shows
gradual ebb. On the other hand, Christianity
continuous
and externally,
and
growth, both internally

is
a

THE

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

281

mighty Origen only pointsto the mightier Augus

movements
tine. Both
finallymerge in Augustine.
II. Christianity.
Hellenic
Religious Phi
losophy.
1. Introductory Period
1. Introductory Period
(100 B. C.-250A.D.).
(31 A. D. -200 A. D.).
(1) Period of simple
(1) Greek-Jewish phi
faith
(until the 2d
losophy of Alex
the

andria.

century

Philo

(25

50

D.).

A.

B.

D.).

A.

c.-

(2) Neo-Pythagoreauism (100 B. c.150 A. D.).

(2)

of Earlier

Period

Formulation

of

Doctrine.

Apologists

(2d

century).
Gnostics

(2d cen

tury).
Old Catholic The

2.

Period

Development

(250-476).
Neo-Platon
Plotinus

ism

2.

ologians(2d and
3d centuries).
Development Period
(200-476).
(1) Period of Actual
Formulation

(204-269).

Jamblichus

(d.

Doctrine.

330

The

about).
Proclus

of

School

Catechists.

(410-485).

gen

(2)

The

of

Ori

(185-254).
CEcumenical

Councils

and

the

establishment

of

dosmuL

HISTORY

282

The

Hellenic

Athens

not

PHILOSOPHY

OF

ReligiousPhilosophies. Alexandria

was

now

the intellectual

of

centre

and

Hellen

positionand historyof the city,as well as the

of its population,
favorable for the
most
character
were
mingling of religionsand philosophies.In the "uni
metropolisthe treas
versity of this great commercial
ism.

The

"

of Greek

ures

culture

concentrated

were

and

scholastic

vigorouslypursued. Here all philosophies

Ex
all religionsand
cults were
tolerated.
met, and
hausted
Greek
with
in contact
philosophyhere came
ideas which
those fresh Oriental
previously,at a dis
as
tance, had excited the imaginationof the Greeks
something mysterious.The result was a new
phase of
eclec
or
philosophy, theosophy,comparative religion,
ticism of philosophy and religion.
of these religious
In no
instance
the authors
were
a
philosophiesGreeks. The philosophy of Philo was
of a Jew.
Hellenism, but the Hellenism
Neo-Pythagohad representatives
from every
to have
reanism seems
work

was

"

of

country except the motherland

of neo-Platonism

was

in

born

Greece.

Egypt.

Of

The

the two

author
intro

Greek-Jewish

the

philosophy ac
Oriental
with
corded
life, neo-Pythagoreanism
more
life. Both
to the principlesthat
with Greek
go back
in the Pythagorean mysteries.
fundamental
were
ductory

The

movements,

Introductory Period

losophy (100
Past

for

I.

The

lived
them

Old

in
were

Religious Phi

D.). The Turning to the

SpiritualAuthority.
Greek- Jewish Philosophy of Philo. The Jews
of
in Alexandria, and
great numbers
many
B.

wealthy and

Testament

through

C.-250

of Hellenic

it the

had

Greeks

A.

In

influential.

been
had

translated

become

Alexandria
into

the

Greek, and

acquaintedwith

the

religionof

philosophyof

the

tained

Law

their

Testament

Plato.

was

their

Jews

found

them

used
;

and

peared as earlyas

to

con-

Alexandrian

greatlythe

admire

their admiration

was

be in their Law

They argued

Old

the

since

that

and

revelation,all the best Greek

phi

Alexan

The

Testament.

Old

in the

be

losophy must
drian

Plato

conceived

in

to

So great

the Greeks.

philosophyof
that they soon

Testament

Jews, these

the

in Alexandria

learned

had

Jews

283

the Old

While

Jews.

the

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

they
conceptions wherever
tendency toward eclecticism ap

Greek
this
160

c.

B.

in Aristobulus

Jews

and

Aris-

Greek

used

philosophy
and
Testament
in interpretingthe Old
employed the
This
eclectic
of interpretation."
method
"allegorical
brought to completionby Philo (25 B. c.
tendency was
notable
the most
-50 A. D.), who
philosopher of
was
this time. Philo was
guided in his eclecticism by some
is the highest
these:
rules as
such
(1) Revelation
At

teas.

time

that

these

possible authority and includes the best of Greek

thought; (2) Greek philosophy is derived from the
fundamental
; (3)
principlesof the Old Testament
Jewish revelation is expressedin symbols,while Greek

philosophyis expressedin concepts.

Philo's teaching contains, in unsymmetrical form,
the

and

Stoicism

both

seeds

of

Platonism, and

all that

philosophywas

ism to Christian

grew

up

in it

be

can

Christian

found

soil. His

bridge from the philosophyof Juda

theology.It has been called a buffer
"

"

philosophy.
God

is the ultimate

transcendent
terms.

This

later times

that

"

can

of the

world, but He

be described

of

is

so

only in negative

definingGod got
negativetheology."It was

method
of

He

cause

the

name

the

common

in

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

285

Neo-Pythagoreanism. The history of Pythagoreanism

is extremely varied. Its body of doctrine from
continuallychanging. The onlj
epoch to epoch was
its
its entire history was
characteristic common
to
tendency toward asceticism and its affiliation
practical
with the Mysteries.Let us review the historyof Pythatime
of neo-Pythagoreanism.
to the
goreanism down
In 510
B. c., at the battle of Crotona, the
early band
of Pythagoreans was
dispersed,and about 504 B. c.
2.

Pythagoras died.
school centringat
bers, and

His
Thebes

this school

scattered

around

lasted

formed

followers
the

philosophyof

until 350

B.

C.

In 350

num

B.

C.

longer existed as a school, for its

members
had either joinedthe Academy or formed
one
of the Mysteries. In 100
C. Pythagoreanism again
B.
and
of neo-Pythagoreanism,
emerged under the name
in the introductory
this is the body which
meet
we
Alexandria
its
was
stage of the Religious Period.
from every part of the
centre, but it drew its disciples
earth. Among them Apolloniusalone rises as a distinct
widely known, for he traveled every
figure.He was
teacher and wonder-worker.
Other
where
as
a religious
P. Nigidius Figulus, a friend
neo-Pythagoreans were

Pythagoreanism no

of

Cicero, Sotion,

of

Gades, and

Numenius

of

group,

allied

tioned

here.

friend

of the

in later times

Sextians, Moderatus

Nicomachus

of Gerasa

Apamea. Another, and rather

to the neo-Pythagoreans,should
These

were

the

of whom
ists,the representatives

so-called
were

numerous

Eclectic

Plutarch

and

be

men

Platon-

(50"125

(about 200 A. D.), the opponent of

Christianity.The only important difference between
the neo-Pythagoreans and
the Eclectic Platonists
was
that the former referred to Pythagorasas their religious
A.

D.), and

Celsus

HISTORY

286

model,

and

ascetic,and

OF

latter to

the

of

Plato.

Both

were

mystical,

eclectic.
first became

Neo-Pythagoreanism
first

PHILOSOPHY

century

B.

c.,

of

account

on

writingsappearing under

noticeable

the

the

in the

great number
of

Pythagoras
About
and
these there arose
Philolaus.
a
large neoPythagorean literature, about ninetytreatises by fifty
The
of Pythagoras
authors.
writingsunder the name
for many
of the misconcep
centuries,the cause
were,
tion of the true teaching of the originalPythagoras.
The advent of the neo-Pythagoreanliterature marks
the
to the older systems of thought,
return
at Alexandria
and is coincident with the learned literary
investigations
The particular
in the Universityof Alexandria.
revival
of Pythagoreanism in the form of neo-Pythagoreanism
names

"

time

came

at

the

form

of

poetry.

same

with

the renewal

of the Homeric

Neo-Pythagoreanism,as its historyshows, is the phi

sect with ascetic tendencies.
losophy of a half-religious
Its transcendental
better suited to a
philosophy was
people under an autocratic government, and ruled by
than was
the ethical teaching of the
Oriental traditions,
four
out

cry
the
who

The

Schools.

of the individual

of the needs
was

for

could

prayer,

absolute

an

individual

system of the ethical Schools

and

be

wisdom,

but

objectwhich

nature.

served

not

and

virtue.

The

demand

at

this time

transcends
was

by sacrifice,but
There

are

arose

many
of Philo and

for

the
both

god

by silent
pointsof
neo-Pytha

between
the doctrine
similarity
monotheistic,
goreanism. The neo-Pythagoreans were
their mono
but at the same
time they accepted within
theism the hierarchyof the gods. They held to the com
monly accepteddoctrines of their time, viz.,the trans-

THE

281

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

migration of the soul, the dualism of the mind and

body, the mediation of a graded series of celestial beings
God.
and
between
man
They interpretedGod in a
mind

be

to

conceived

they conceived the

Pythagorean numbers

the

(250-476

Philosophy
for

Present

Turning
final

forth

the Hellenic

tion of Plotinus

only to

asked, In what

be

is,It

answer

The

look

of the Periclean

contribu

form, and

the substitu

was

exaltation.
One
soaringspiritual
back to the art, science,and philosophy
Age to appreciatehow far this last sur
drifted from
its original
had
culture

Greek

is not
moorings. Nevertheless,neo-Platonism
in
distant from that powerfulascetic principle

mysterieswhich
himself.
this

weeps
to

ascetic side. Plotinus

a

regulatethe body,
speaking in

down
need

with

the

an

body; that
of the body
but

voice

the

age

that
of

the Greek

soul

of Plato

exaggeratedon
said that

the soul looks

;

that it is not

he

was

on

and

enough

the

consciousness

enormity

Neo-Platonism

conflict in the human

very far

be ex
body must
Hellenism, neo-Platonism

when
of the

sense

of salvation.

that the eternal

Platonism

was

at the sinf ulness

As

so

aspect of the doctrine

one

that he had

terminated.
is

is

Neo-Platonism

mystic and

ashamed

sets

ideal of

new

of

of

of

of the classic Greek

the destruction

was

Neo-

statement

feelingas mysticism.

its definiteness

ideal with

The

the

to

and

Platonism

is the

present Hellenism

did it

vival

The

SpiritualAuthority.

form

Religious

Hellenic

culture,and the questionmay

Hellenic

tion of

of

D.).

A.

Neo-Platonism

Platonism.

has

Period

Development

The

just as Philo
angels.

"

Testament

the Old

to be

them

God's

in

ideas

but

spiritualway,

is

of

matter

weighed

evil and

feels that

repeatedin

between
struggle

is

the

and

the

the

moral

universe;

spirit
goes

on

OF

HISTORY

288

in the

held

to

macrocosm

Greek

of
activity,

from

the other

faculties.

conceptionof

the supremacy

But

in

conceived

of

be absorbed

to

man

and

Neo-Platonism

the

the

personifica
derivation of happi
of the intellect

acceptingthe

of the subordination

doctrine

Plotinus

the microcosm.

as

of nature, of the

tion of the powers

ness

well

as

the ancient

PHILOSOPHY

to the

man

by

ancient

over

Greek

universe,he

the universe.

Introductory Philoso
phies. Neo-Platonism, therefore,shares in the mysti
cism

of the

three

the

conceive

istic ; all three

sought

teach

and

God
to

and

build

and

the existence
The

man.

eclectic

the

transcendence

metaphysicallymonistic

were

between

Philo

philosophiesof

All three

reans.

Two

neo-Pythagoof

God

all

dualethically

of intermediaries

introductoryphilosophies

doctrines,while

neo-Platonism

only in its last phases. Plotinus con

structed a positiveand originalphilosophy,and among
the three systems the teaching of Plotinus
is carefully
is by far the greatest
worked
out.
Indeed, Plotinus
of this religiousperiod. In the philosophyof
thinker
and God
Plotinus
the relations between
man
are
given
eclectic

became

aesthetic character, and

more

experience is more
greater importance than
teachingof Philo.
diate

Neo-Platonism

and

the doctrine

of

imme

carefullydiscussed and
in neo-Pythagoreanism
and

has
the

Christianity.Neo-Platonism

and

have one
Christianity
thing at least in common.
They
how
the uni
have the same
to spiritualize
problem,
Plotinus
This
the problem that both
and
verse.
was
the development
Origen attempted to work out. With
of spiritualpersonalityand
of the consciousness
the
"

need

of

revelation,the

correspondinglyfarther

Divine
away.

seemed

God

to

both

is unknown

to

be

and

THE

RELIGIOUS

PERIOD

289

and so pure
that He cannot
in
come
incomprehensible,
with earthlyexistence.
contact
What, then, is the bond
the heavenly and the earthly? From
between
the point
of view of cosmology and of ethics,neither succeeded
in
was
overcoming the dualism. The sensuous
regarded as
alien to God, and as a thing from which the spirit
must
free itself. Metaphysically their efforts to construct
a
monism
successful,but their efforts
were
more
spiritual
were
along different lines. The Christian conceived the
of God
and
universe
matter
to be bound
togetherby
the principleof love ; the neo-Platonist,by a series of
countless
grades of beings in diminishing perfections
from
Then
the All-perfect.
again, to the neo-Platonist
of man
the questionof the return
to God
was
a
ques
tion of the personalinner experienceof the individual;
the Christian
included
in the
to
theologian it was
largerproblem of the historical process by which the
is redeemed.
Thus
whole human
the metaphysical
race
solution of each works out differently
and with different
factors.
Both

neo-Platonic

and

Christian

theology tried to
that their respectivereligiousconvictions
were
prove
of salvation. Both originated
the only true source
in the
Alexandrian
School. Christian theology was
preceded
by the fantastic system of the Gnostics, as Plotinus
preceded by the Pythagoreansand Philo. In their
the two
development the differences between
appear.
was
Christianity
supported by a church organization
and a regulative
which
had an internal vitality
;
power
neo-Platonism
was
supported and regulatedby individ
who
had assimilated
uals, without organization,
every
founded
faith. Christian theology was
on
a faith that
had alreadyexpanded, while neo-Platonism
at the
was
was

HISTORY

290

PHILOSOPHY

OF

religionthat tried to develop an

later to assimilate other
faith and, incidentally,
extended
cults. Outwardly neo-Platonism, as the final stand of
itself from
world
to save
the pagan
destruction,was
erudite

beginningan

unsuccessful

it failed to

in that

perpetuate itself

as

an

Not
success.
organization.Really it achieved a marked
and fifty
only did it live a long life of two hundred
years, but it also lived in the development of its antag
For neo-Platonism, by the irony of
onist,Christianity.
of the important factors that entered into
one
fate,was
the buildingup and strengtheningof Christianity.
In
Hellenism
its lingeringdeath-struggle
was
creatingthe
conceptions that the Christian, Augustine, later em
ployed in shaping Christian theology for the Middle
Ages.
The

Periods

(1)

The

of Neo-Platonism.

Alexandrian

School

Neo-Platonism

(2)

(3)

The

The

The

about 310.
Syrian School
Attempt to Systematizeall Polytheisms.
Jamblichus
leader was
(d. about 330).

The

Athenian

The

Recapitulationof

The

leader

was

"

Ammonius

A.

School

School.
Life

The

Plotinus

D.).

received

with

sians,in order

the
to

was

emperor,
pursue

450.

Greek

Philosophy.
(410-485).

The

Scientific

and

Writings

was

born

his education

Saccas, who

paigned

about

"

Proclus

was

Alexandrian

(204-269
Egypt, and

was

presentedas a Scientific Theory.

Plotinus
(204-269).

leader

Neo-Platonism.

He

240.

The

The

about

"

in

in

of

of

Plotinus

Lycopolis in

Alexandria, under

Origen'steacher. He
Gordian, against the

scientific studies

interested
especially

Theory

in the Persian

in the

cam

Per

East.

religion.In

THE

Plotinus

this way
the

mysticism

Rome
the
most

as

of

first hand

acquaintedat
In

Orient.

the

291

244

received

was

he

with

appeared

at

great eclat by

with

people, and in the highest circles he gained the

reverent
recognition.His school contained repre
from

sentatives

and

all nations

almost

from

"

and

peror

and

Campania,

lived

Plotinus

empress.

country

em

an

estate

inducing the
philosophersin Campania.
succeeded

he almost

to found
a
emperor
It was
to be called

in

call

every

physicians,rhetoricians, poets, senators,

ing,
in

became

teacher, and

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

cityof
Platonopolisand,

public as a model, it was to

religiouscontemplation.The

be

in

with

Be-

cloister for

Hellenic

an

Plato's

literaryactivityof Plo
in his old age, and he wrote
tinus occurred
nothinguntil
consisted
of fifty-four
after he was
fifty.His works
into
Corpuscleswhich his pupil,Porphyry, combined
For

six Enneads.
school
the

became

the

of

centre

the

of the

centre

commentaries

of the many

General

The

was
on

Hellenic

movement

literature.

enormous,

the

years

on

his
"

The

account

philosophyof

Plato

circle.

the neo-Platonic

within

hundred

science, philosophy,and

of neo-Platonism

literature

three

next

Character

of the

Teaching

of Plotinus.

great division of opinion about the value of

his philosophy
the teaching of Plotinus, for he drew
There

is

only in

outlines,and

broadest

the

he made

no

attempt

general view of the world to exact

his philosophyis an ab
knowledge of it. Intellectually
in an intimate
straction ; and
yet emotionally,
way, it
touched
deeply an age weary with culture. Thus one
to

can

advance

see

how

small, but
was

very

from

how

the

actual

at

great. It

achievement

the

same

was

time

of

Plotinus

its force and

was

influence

religious
teachingwhich

rose

In his

finished.
perfectly

the second

This

ism.

create

not

is

the world

nor

is the world

His

nature.

sion of

the world

of

is not

and

God

of

the act of His

of

transference

is

the world

ordinarypantheism

substance

in His

dynamic panthe
peculiartype. God does

the result of

In

the

of

compared

God

conceived

in the terms

pantheism

as

the conscious.

to

placePlotinus

relation to the world

God

of the supra-con

the realm

the sub-conscious

scious and
2. In

conceptionof

added

world, Plotinus

to the

293

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

whole

the

will

part of
a

diffu

is static.

teachingof Plotinus ! God permeates the

and the world is dynamic through
world by His activity,
of God
must
this dynamic activity
and through. But
Not

in the

so

be conceived

not

as

historical

an

process is timeless. It is
The grades in the process
All

value.

are

within

of

process

of

or
significance
all-embracingunity of God

those

are

the

The
process.
worth.
essence
or

time

or

This is
particulardraws its life from Him.
used
the
Plotinus
called the theory of emanations.
figurewhich mystics have always employed in this con
and its rays of lightin
the figureof the sun
nection,
and

each

"

the darkness.

The

rays

with

the

increasingdistance

they

end

in

from

the

Godhead

darkness.

less and

become

The

from

in which

the

is

intense

Godhead,

the

process

less

an

Godhead

until

overflowing
remains

un

changed.
Startingwith this
a
as
dynamic coiitentless
conception of the Godhead
Being, Plotinus is bound to explainthe world of senseexplain
phenomena. His problem is twofold : he must
of phenomena from the Godhead, which is
the sequence
The

the

Two

Problems

of Plotinus.

metaphysicalproblem ;

ing in

the world

of

sense,

he must
can

explainhow

rise to communion

man,

liv
with

HISTORY

294

and

ethics

are

to

World

The

Plotinus

of

in

problem. Metaphysics
inverted parallelism.

Emanations.
The

of Plotinus.

Problem

PHILOSOPHY

is the ethical

which

Godhead,

the

OF

aim

The

"

Metaphysical

of Plotinus

in this is to

out of the dualistic

metaphysical monism
factors which had so long been present in Greek thought.
fundamental
The
two
principlesupon which he raised
his structure
were
(1) his dynamic series of emanations,
and (2) his conceptionof matter
as
entirelynegative.
The
of energy
or
highest Being, God, by an excess
goodness,has the natural impulse to create something
This creative impulse exists in each
similar to himself.
construct

in turn

creature

and

the

propagates itself.

movement

until the
Stage is added to stage in a descending series,
impulse dies out in non-Being as the limit. The ordinary
pantheism of co-existence of phenomena is transformed
into

harmony
are

of

succession

three

ceeds,
"

of

or

more

stages of values, and

less distinct

all make

copiesof
of

the process
steps in which
soul, and matter.
spirit,

God.

up a
There

emanation

pro

from
the
Spiritor Nous is the first emanation
It is the image of the One
One in pointof significance.
This
of energy.
forth by its overflow
sent
image in
its original,
the One, and
in
voluntarilyturns toward
Nous, or intellectual con
Spirit,
beholding it becomes
and recognizesitself as
It turns
sciousness.
to the One
the image of the One.
Thus, in the first degree away
and of the
from
God, the dualityof thinker as subject,
thing thought as object,appears. The unconsciousness
The

of the

One

is thus

the dual nature

of consciousness

for the first time

cal

contrasted

conceptionof

an

exact

with

is thus

formulation

consciousness

consciousness,and

is

brought out
of the

given.

and

psychologi

THE

Nous

The

Logos

is

RELIGIOUS

At

itself,as

within

unitaryfunction

Philo.

of

the

their

These

the final

causes

The

of darkness.

souls.

Soul

The

"

intellectual

or

is

the

to

the

arch-

theorems

of

potenciesand

souls

from

Nous

belongs

power

Individual

of the world.

for

as

the

to

boundaries

the One.
the Nous
world

of

of the world

image and therefore

higher or world-soul and
an

world-soul

the formative

forces,

Nous

or

thoughts,
their unity,

mere

degree removed

it consists of

"

not

contains

of nature.

juston the
the image of

It is

doubly dual,

sensible

The

Ideas

intellectual

pure

relation

same

it stands

lesser

are

is the second

in the

light,but

the

Ideas

Godhead.

the

to

unity exists

the Nous

are

The

of the world

Soul

It stands

Ideas

like the

One,

the

Platonic

existence.

own

however, just as
science.

These

295

of

time

same

content, the

types of individuals.
but have

PERIOD

is divided

of the world, and

into

two

the

body

divided

into the super

soul (the part that has pre-existare

and

undergoes metamorphosis), and the sensible

has built up the body as an
instrument
of
part which
The
soul is present in all parts
its working power.
individual
of its body. The
souls are
called plastic
ence

forces.
Matter
the One.

is the emanation
The

world-soul
souls

are

Nous

which

is the emanation

is the emanation
a

kind

of
matter

ual souls. That

is to say, the

are

native

to

from

matter

with

which

the

is the emanation

the

the

of the individ

matter

the world-soul

One,
from

world-soul,with

it, generates

from

Nous, individual

emanation

unitingitself through its forces with

the world of corporealthings. What
of

distant

of

the

intermediate

world-soul, and
that

is most

and

the forces

then, by

matter, produces
is the
forms

character

this union?

HISTORY

296

It

OF

PHILOSOPHY

conditions

Space

all

earthlyexistence. It
Plato's conceptionof the absolutely
is the same
as
nega
tive non-Being and the merely possible.
It is absolute
entirelyevil and devoid of good. Matter has
sterility,
dualistic independence of the One.
What
is the char
no
character
acter
of the nature world ? It has the same
and qualityas the formative
forces that unite with this
it is no more
and
less eternal.
no
negativematter
is space.

"

The

world

of nature

to

Plotinus

is

of

one

magic, and

He says that the heavens

merely teleological.
are
the union of a perfectsoul with matter
the
; the stars are
visible gods united with matter
of the air
; the powers
and sky are
mediate
between
the stars
daemons, which
not

and

the souls of men,

man

is the human

nature
matter.

is the

united

soul

lowest

Wherever

with

united

of

the

there

with

nature

parts of the universe.

is

entirelyruled

out

the

body of
inorganic

matter;

is matter

imperfectionand limitation
individual
is sympathetically
and
all

plasticforces

found

to

matter

united

with

(space), there
and

evil. Man

as

is
an

mysteriouslybound
Scientific investigation
of
by this neo-Platonic teach

could
be the instrument
for penetrating
ing. It never
Faith
and
a
magical universe.
superstitiontake the
to
place of science, and prophecy alone undertakes
solve nature's
The
sense

is

world
it is

riddle.
of nature

bad, ugly,and

is thus

broken

irrational.

In

in two.

In

another

sense

one

it

good,beautiful,and rational,because it is formed by

into it. In oppositionto the Gnos
the souls that enter
tics Plotinus
praised the harmony and beauty of the
world, and promulgated his metaphysicsof the beautiful
of Hellenic civilization. Beauty is not
as a last farewell
composite,but the simpleIdea of worth shiningthrough

THE

the world
the

of

the

reason

creates

does

is from

imitate

not

to

and

inner

the

defects

supplements the
Yet the
something new.
down

297

nature, but

it

tiful,because

by

Beauty

sense.

Art

inner.

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

expresses

is

deeps it

and

nature

is beau

of nature

world

the lowest

of

for

permeated

the divine.
The

lem

In

of Plotinus.

Plotinus

vine

life,and

They
task

is to

from

the

every
such

soul

The

sublimation

be free from
but

necessary,

the

knowledge alone.
of speculationby

templationthe
the God

from

of

soul will
it

whom

these
matter.

king
he

then

the mental
on

the

The

came.

but

in

little value

in

only bind the

The political
virtues

is not

of human

rise

away

the soul learns

which

reached

builds

his

workmen

and

genii
them

crown

of

by

tower

his

condition

wings

are

till he

summons

of adamant

the battlements

starry fire." Out

with

have

salvation

the hands

turn

intellectual

wizard

top story, and

the

fashion

"The

to

ethical

its abnormalities

The

goal of

the world.

Man's

and

worlds

two

sense.

in the di

share

sense.

closelyto the world of

only a preparationby

how

to

from

Men

Godhead.

independence of

is

practicalvirtues
of the soul,for

are

Prob

conduct

moral

the

nevertheless

themselves

virtues

reaches

from

material,not only in

more

to

goal

separate the

way.

of

Ethical

point oppositeto that of his

from the point of view of man

have

their

free

must

discussion

descended

in matter

The

"

the

looked

the series which

immersed

his

from

started

metaphysics. He
up

to God.

of the Soul

Return

of

con

ecstasy to

call of Plotinus

is to

life. The

development required is that of

spirituality.
EthicallyPlotinus' doctrine is dualistic,
because
of matter
evil. The
it requiresthe rejection
as

the

ascetic

return

is not

an

evolution

nor

an

innovation

in which

progress, but
things.But what

vidual
of

? What

this return

beautiful. The

has

incentive

his
his

reflection,but

innate

impulse

undertake

sleep?
love

Platonic

of

indi"

no

foundation

to

man

from

him

arouses

nor
3ense-perception

the

penetrationinto

is

There

is demanded.

of the old world

reform

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

298

Not

for

love

the

turns

Idea,
illuminating
lie who has an immediate
recognitionof the pure Idea
is in
is gaining the higher perfection.
Only when man
an
ecstasy which transcends every subjective
ecstasy
and union with God.
does he get completecontact
state
of consecration
In such a moment
he forgetshimself
the

soul

from

away

matter

to

the

"

"

God.

becomes

and

God

This

final

illuminates

himself

step

the soul

never

by

that it

can

God.

see

to those

souls,and

Syrian

The
theisms.

This
but

School.

speciallightso
comes
only to few
a

seldom.
"

Jamblichus.

"

final state

unless

comes

Systematizing

The
This

school

of

existed

Poly

about

generationafter the death of Plotinus. Its founder was

Por
Jamblichus
(d. about 330), whose teacher was
phyry, the pupilof Plotinus. Jamblichus was a Syrian,
who
got his instruction from Porphyry at Rome, and
then
self

went

back

school

enced

as

miracles.

to his native

country

of neo-Platonism.

He

set

to

up

became

soon

teacher, religiousreformer, and

He

wrote

commentaries

on

for him
rever

of

worker

Plato, Aristotle,

of the Orphics,Chaldeans,
works
theological
the crowd
of his enthu
and the Pythagoreans. Among
of the Emperor
the names
siastic disciples,
notes
one
Julian and Hypatia.*
and

the

The

neo-Platonism

point of
*

view.
Read

of Jamblichus

Metaphysicallyand
Charles

contained
his
ethically

Kingsley,Hypatia,

novel.

no

new

teach-

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

299

He
tried to
identical with
that of Plotinus.
ing was
by coordinatingall
complete the religiousmovement
into a unity. This was
an
cults, exceptingChristianity,
eclecticism
came
naturally,for
by which Jamblichus
Syria was a land where eclecticism thrived. It was here
free eclectic
had its stronghold.With
that Gnosticism
hand
Jamblichus
filled in all the intermediarygrades
between

Godhead

the

and

with

man

the multitude

of

In his system he placed 10 suprareligions.

terrestrial gods, 365 celestial beings,72 orders of subcelestial beings,and 42 orders of natural gods. To find
of
places for them all,he had to increase the number
intermediaries
to
systematizethis complex poly
; and
His
theism, he employed the Pythagorean numbers.
the Hellenic
civiliza
was
theory shows how persistent
of all

gods

tion.
The
The

Athenian

Syrian school

again

Recapitulation.

"

at

failed to restore

The

Athens.

sanctuary of Greek

Proclus.

"

neo-Platonism, after

find

we

School.

revivals

citythat

culture

the old

had

was

and
religions,

here
been

the last

and

there,

the

original
strongholdof

Hellenism.
The
and
and
was

Athenian

school made

about

410,

its

were
Plutarch,Syrianus,
leadingrepresentatives
Proclus. Proclus
(410-485), the pupilof Syrianus,
the most
of the Athenian
important representative

he may

school,and

be said to have

Born
dying Hellenism.
cian family,he received

of

and

its appearance

when

received
nected

he became
the

with

mentators,

at

uttered

of
Constantinople,

his education

leader

the last word

at

Ly-

Alexandria

of the school at

Athens, he

extravagant worship of his pupils. Con

the Athenian

Philoponus and

school

were

the

whose
Simplicius,

great
works

com
on

velopment
ally

going

philosophy,
being

an

polytheism

of

the

world

through

from

this

however,

shows
formal

ingenious
found

PERIOD

RELIGIOUS

THE

place.

the

triad

Godhead

system
no

301

of

originality

classification

continu

was

in

change.
other
which

His
than

every

CHAPTER

PATRIST1CS.-THE

The
the
this

entered

lists for

the

not

lower

science
but

class

and

Hellenism,

politanism,
God,

faith

Christ.

Conviction

reformation

moral

inating

aims

facts

following

tian

life

of

trinal

the

the

either
lieved

lations

which

(1)
that
to

too

there

God,

sample
is
that

one

for

seemingly
conceive
or

the

(2)

God,

belief

by

of

the

history has

proved by
Chris

with

wholly

moral
and

had

taken

dom

for

the

not
some

doc
sim

granted;

early Christians

as

ignorant. They

too

that

the

dealing

moral

Lord

Indeed,

were

is

in

with

communion

early Christians

were

danger is, to

spiritual cosmo

conduct

was

foes

political

in

Coming

almost

members

the

nor

communities

are

man

of

questions

united

documents

Still these

reasons.

ple doctrines,
and

the

time

that

discipline upon

and

moral

Christian

of the

the

early Christians.

of the
and

Chris

schools.

interest

no

Second

of the

it

which

early Christians

in immediate

and

of

sponta

world.

friends

society was

conduct

the

so

the

the

inspired

Christ,

in

determined

the

Christian
was

in the

Alexandrian

occupied

took

was

religions

the

it first,and

they

which

Orient

religion. It appealed

the

neither

and

The

theories.

but

did

than

were

The

other

of

conquest

received

They

GOSPEL

religiousfeeling, with

philosophy

little.

the

THE

Christianitylay

the

class

of

as

philosophy,

different

The

that

its pure

OF

Christianity.

of

power

of

tianity was
a

of

Gospel,

the

The

force

of

Situation

of

time.

neous

to

HELLENIZING

Early

source

XIV

has

dramatic

be

personal
course,

re

that

But

and

change

took

place

records

little room

150

full of doctrinal

are

towards
250

and

Christians.

the

among

left for

was

its attitude

Between

the State.

science

from

century Chris

second

the

obliged to change

tianitywas

mentary

of

the middle

about

303

absolutelydifferent
Judgment would surelycome.

that the Last

wrong,

GOSPEL

THE

and

command

God's

rightwas

OF

HELLENIZING

THE

recordingthe

both

great

The

docu

that
so
struggles,
strugglesfor moral

to belief,and the
purity.Morality became subordinated
intellectual side of Christianity
was
emphasized at the
Second
of the ethical. The
Coming of our
expense
either
doctrine
less emphasized. This
Lord
was
was
pushed into the background or its realization was looked

the

spread over

had

sect

of the Christians

ing
A.

statement

D.

in 30

its

D.

own

500,

follow
in 100

In the second

Christianitycould no
and
inner
the feelings

justifyitself

cultured

is the

30,000,000.

the basis of

upon

It must

convictions.
to

A.

of
self-justification

longer be put

come

them
given; among
A.
D.
they numbered

500,000, in 311

century the

and

are

into

posi
culture and with polit
the numerical
growth

statistics of

ical affairs. Various

had

and

circles of

with

both

tive relations

empire

Christian

the

Furthermore,

immediate.

not

as

upon

to

the

communicants

world
as

without,

well.

It

was

fur
being attacked by philosophy,and, unless its own
that it must
to be thwarted, it found
ther growth were
of power
of philosophy.Its increase
the weapons
use

antagonizedboth
ture, and

from

the Roman

150

to 300

state

the

and

Hellenistic

fightbetween

cul

Christian

ityand the old world of things was to the death. Chris

eventuallyconquered Rome and Hellenism ; but
tianity
maintained
been impossibleif it had
this would
have
its

attitude
original

of

indifference

to

culture.

Its

suo

HISTORY

304

cess

due

was

to

OF

PHILOSOPHY

the wisdom

that

it has

since

so

often

It

situation by taking
adapted itself to its new
the culture of the old world,
and making its own
over
and by fightingthe old world with that culture. Chris
constitution
into such
tianitythereby shaped its own
strengththat it could obtain possessionof the state with
From
in 300.
this impregnable political
Constantine
able to deal with its rivals on an entirely
it was
position,
different footing. When
old Rome
fell in 476, the
did not fall with it,but on the contrary it came
church
of the city.
into possession
But
this political
the result and not
the
success
was
of the growth of Christianity.
It could never
have
cause
a
conquered so intrenched
government as Rome, if it
shown.

had

first been

not

victorious

civilization of Greece.

by Hellenizingitself
for constructive

"

the

persistent
It made
itself inherently
strong
strong both for polemical and

purposes.

But

over

more

it is obvious

that

little

be expected during this

originality
philosophical
may
the church
fathers began to employ Hel
period. When
lenistic philosophy,they took it on
the whole
as
they
it only to suit their own
found
it. They varied
legiti
entered
the religious
mate
Christianity
con
purposes.
troversies of the time when
victorywould belong to the
civilization most
Greek
could use
sect which
effectively
of other reli
in defending itself against the hostility
gions,and in constantlyrenewing the confidence of its
devotees.
But

in the

adoptionof Hellenistic culture the church

created a new
danger to itself. It must
guard its own
Hel
conceptionslest they be smothered
by this same
lenism.
It must
beliefs in their
keep its fundamental
Greek
integrity.
philosophymust be a servant so con-

strained

bring

to

as

out

Christian

the fundamental

The

Hellenism.
doctrines

be

dogmatic system,

ture

325,

Hellenic

by

The

united

time

separatedfrom

needed

the church

Nica?a

in

that

graduallyfixed and,

more

and

fu

councils

After

direction.

this

became

time, this

to

its

forestall any

that could

efforts in

first council, dogma

into

wisdom

church

long series of O3cumenical

church, beginning with the Council of

were

from

them

The

innovations.

of the

305

of the first century and

for all time.

creed

GOSPEL

transmute

formulated

so

be stated

that it would

and

simple faith

must

THE

only the implicitmeaning of

doctrines.
Philosophy must

corrupt these doctrines

not

OF

HELLENIZING

THE

that

of

group

were

men

heretical.

as

philosophicalsecularizingof the
Gospel which accompanied the internal and external
development of the church body during the two or three
Patristics

after the year

centuries
The

The

is this

150

A.

D.

Philosophies influencing

Greek

philosophiesmost

velopment of

Christian

doctrine

Christian

influential

Thought.

upon

Stoicism

were

the
and

de
neo-

philosophyof Philo was also influential,

Ju
but it was
reallyonly a bridge from philosophical
both Stoicism
daism to Christian theology.It contained
in an
and Platonism
unsymmetrical form, and Philo's
the seeds of nearly all that after
writings "contain
soil."
Greek
wards
philosophi
grew
up on Christian
world
felt
cal influence upon
the earlyChristian
was
and
in two
practice; in the
ways : in ethical theory
of theology.During the fourth
construction
century
Stoic ethics of a Cynic type replacedthe earlyChris
tian ethics. The basis of Christian society
no
was
longer
Platonism.

The

the ethics of the

i

Sermon

on

the

Mount,

but

Hatch, Hibbert Lectures,1888, p. 182.

rather

that

HISTORY

306

book

that

This

Stoicism.

of Roman

morals

on

Bishop of

the Christian

doctrine

creation

the

is

fluence
these

of

had

mainly

the

on

need

no

borrow

to

unity of

the

But

by God.

the world
in the

seen

of

character

the

Officiis
Ministrorum) by
Milan
(340-397). In theology

conceptionof

the

by

is shown

(De

St. Ambrose,

Greeks

PHILOSOPHY

OF

doctrines

God

the

that of

or

Greek

the

in

subjectsallied

on

questionsof

from

the mode

of

to

creation

of God to the material world. In the

discussion of these questionsthe influence of the Stoic
monism, tending toward dualism, and the influence of
and

the relation

Platonic dualism,
of

tending toward
God, Matter, and Form, will

threefold

appear

in

conception
the examples

subsequentlyfollow.

which
The

most

ing this

time

formidable

it influenced

neo-Platonism

neo-Platonism,but

was

and

longseparated.Although
the hands of scholasticism,

not, however,

were
Christianity

neo-Platonism

dur
opponent of Christianity

its fate at

met

in

thousand

ways

both

orthodox

and

rivalryof these two bodies

the ending of the Hellenicand with it came
ended
Roman
period of philosophy in a complete and ori
ginal theology.This was the theologyof St. Augustine,
the end of antiquityand the beginningof
who marks
the Middle
Ages.
A. D.).
of Early Christianity(30 A. D. -476
The Periods
heretical

The
Christianity.

"

"

1.

IntroductoryPeriod,

(1)

Period

of

century

A.

trine and

30-200.
Faith

(during the
of
great simplicity

Primitive

D.).

With

ceremonies

the Christians

were

paring through faith and the practiceof

tue for the Second
Coming of our Lord.
(2)

Period

of

the Earlier

Formulation

and

1st
doc
pre
vir

De*

HELLENIZING

THE

century

307

(duringthe

Doctrine

Christian

of

fense

GOSPEL

THE

OF

D.).

A.

The

Apologists(2d century).
Gnostics
The
(2d century).
(c) The Old Catholic Theologians (2d
8d centuries).
2. Development Period (200-476).
(a)
(6)

Period

The

(1)

of Alexandria

Catechetical

The

of

(325-modern times) as
Nicaea

and

and

Doo

School

Origen (3d century).

of Dogma
the Establishment

"

Period

The

of

Formulation

Actual

of

(200-325).

trine

(2)

2d

councils.

ecumenical

other

of

in the Council

seen

It

was

dogma was developed

the basis of doctrine already established.
on
While
the originand
development of the Christian
is an interesting
church
only one aspect
story in itself,
is
to the historyof philosophy.That
of it is germane
a

theologyof

periodsbefore

had

from

our

of

Council
discussion
and

trine,that

is,the

(150-325), are
in historyby the
The
in Greek
the

Nicsea

Only

of

the

name

of the

doctrine.

The

period of

rallyto

of Doc

seventy-five
years
This

us.

new

the Earlier

Formulation

such Christians

philosophycould

be omitted

will

"

periodof

and

interest to

Apologists. Only

Christian

in 325

hundred

one

the Period

"

first

that of the Actual

Formulation

the

century, and the

well established,the time

become

here.

of

originand development of
beyond our field. Also the
the

during

periodafter dogma

formation

of Hellenism

the influence
Faith

Primitive

after the

The

the church.

the

upon

organizationlies

the church

of

church

Hellenism

of

influence

the

which

periodin

time

is known

Patristics.
as

were

trained

the first defense

faith was,

on

the

of
one

restricted

been

not

been

has

tion

to

has

but
truth

is the

never

Plato

and

Socrates

direct revelation

ing the

tion outside

of

continuous.

The

of

in

them,

the

and

unaided

reason.

part from

God's
read

prophets.But revela
not been
complete nor

has
Christianity
first perfect revelation

of God

their own,

from
part indirectly

in

in

for
inspiration,

man's

got their truth

Moses

is the Son

He

product

inspira
truth

been

not

divine

same

in

was

Jesus

Logos

com

Logos has become

the complete essence

the

is the first in whom

He
pletely.
man.

The

is the first to reveal the divine

He

Christ,for

to

of

works

in all mankind.

this

from

sprung

God's

Pythagoras has

Socrates, Plato,and

309

but
Christianity,

work

at

GOSPEL

THE

OF

HELLENIZING

THE

because

Deity is unfolded in Him.

inexpressible
and revelation.
The Apologiststhus identified reason
in revelation,
The Logos is the same
nature, or history.
Philo
had
The
Stoic conception of the Logos, which

of the

stripped of
Christ

with

could

had

looked

upon

of God.

carnation

as

in

natural

in

Apologistshad
neo-Platonists
of being

incarnated, and

Jesus

point to

regard as

Christ is the world-reason,in whom

the

advantage over

enormous

able to

Justin

has been

identified

character, was

revelation.

doctrines.

own

the divine
the

and

the Greeks

spiredwhat
their

its materialistic

The

as

the

and

the definite

historical in

Apologistscould

the

summon

prevailingPlatonic dualism of God and matter to their

aid in showing the need of such a revelation ; for mat
and goodness. Thus
without
ter is altogether
a
reason
of

summary
bad

and

their doctrine

needs

revelation

is

as

the

follows

been

their sin and

establish the

the world

is

Logos of God has al

has especially
appeared

but
present in history,
in order
in Jesus Christ, the man,

ways

to

kingdom

redeem

of God.

men

from

HISTORY

310

of

movement

is the

hostile reconstruction

instead

tradition

PHILOSOPHY

Gnosticism

Gnostics.

The

OF

of

applied to

name

Old

of

Testament

of
spiritualinterpretation
in the second and
movement
was
a great syncretic
in
centuries,which sought to form a world religion
should

men

be rated

the basis of what

on

uallyand

morally knew.

form

Christian

the

ledge that
show

how

would

The

faith

in

and

into

beginningto

was

development

of

such

The

be.

doctrine

know

among

conditions

Gnosticism

as

which

their efforts

strong the philosophicalinterest

Christians

third

tried to trans

large way

Christian

still be

it. It

they intellect

Gnostics
a

the

for the
were

everywhere present in the empire, yet two principal

centres
at Alexandria
and
the
are
pointed out : one
other in Syria. Gnosticism
fanciful mix
most
was
a
of Oriental

and

Occidental

cults

and

mythologies,
fantastic than either neo-Pythagoreanmore
very much
neo-Platonism.
It was
ism
or
a
philosophy in which
the essential Christian principles
lost under
the
were
weight of esoteric knowledge. The Gnostics themselves
were
steepedin Hellenic culture, and in many localities
formed
only bands of Mysteries.They finallylost all
classed as here
sympathy with the Christians,and were
ture

Saturniby the church. The leading Gnostics were

Carpocrates (about 130), Basilides,Valentinus
nus,
(about 160), and Bardesanes
(155-225). Only a few
fragments of their many writingsremain, and about all
tics

that
say

we

know

of

them.

Valentinus, the

is what
most

their

opponents

notable,was

born

born in
was
Cyprus. Bardesanes
lived at Alexandria
and was
Mesopotamia. Carpocrates
a
a
Syrian. The
contemporary of Basilides,who was
at

Rome

of their doctrines

records

and

died

of their

at

careers

are

very

meagre.

HELLENIZING

THE

The

THE

GOSPEL

311

philosophersof history.1
world
to make
a
Christianity
religion
They undertook
by conquering Hellenic culture for Christianityand
culture. The
for Hellenic
Christianity
only way they
could
do this was
by dislodgingChristianityfrom its
The Gnos
historical anchorage in the Old Testament.
in open
tics were
hostilityto Judaism.
They trans
formed
prob
every ethical problem into a cosmological
lem, they regarded human
historyas the continuation
of natural
history,they viewed the Redemption as the
This
drama.
shows
how
last act in the cosmic
closely
to that of Philo and Plotinus
related their teachingwas
with
the theoretic
consistent
and
how
spiritof the
time. Since the salvation of the world by Christ stands
their
the central point of their philosophyof history,
as
to
a
philosophy of
philosophy of history amounted
Christian history.
The
over
paganism and Ju
victoryof Christianity
conceived
daism was
allegorically
by the Gnostics as the
The
Redeemer
battle of the gods of these religions.
to appear
then conceived
at the psychological
mo
was
this appearance
of
and
to win the victory; and
ment
is not
Redeemer
Christ as
only the highestpoint in
the

Gnostics

OF

development of
in

nouement

therefore
the

the first

were

the

the

of

drama

conceived

gods and
good and

human

by

them

the strife to be
evil. The

but

race,

universe.

the
to

be

waged

it is the
Nature

de
was

battle-groundof

between

the

the forces

victoryby means
conceived
in the neo-Pybattle was
of Christ. The
thagorean form of the dualism of matter and spirit,
The
but was
heathen
expressed in mythical terms.
gods and the god of the Old Testament, who took the
of

Windelband,

good gets

Hist,

of Ancient

Phil.,p. 357.

HISTORY

312

OF

PHILOSOPHY

of the Platonic

in the

the powers
demiurge, were
had
world
which the highestGod
to overcome.
dualism
of good and
evil was
The
conceived
between
the same
as
spiritand matter, and was
form

in

rated

fashion

God

between

space

true

the Alexandrian

to

and

by a whole
ranged according to
filled in

matter

of

race

to be

elabo

school.

conceived

was

daemons

and

The
be

to

angels, ar

the

The
Pythagorean numbers.
far from the divine perfectness
lowest was
to be
so
as
in touch
with
matter, and he is the demiurge who
The
battle then
between
formed
the world.
was
good
and evil,lightand darkness, until the Logos,the Nous,
Christ, the most
perfect of the intermediarybeings,
and
released
down
from
matter
came
by incarnation
and
of the fallen
the imprisoned spiritsof men
even
angels,like the demiurge. This is,in brief,the Gnostic
explanationof history.
This dualism
was
quiteconsistent with contemporary

Christian
this

ethics, which

dualism

was

not

then

had

consistent

become

with

Stoic. But

monotheism,

the

principle.The internal danger

of
in Patristics
of
swamping the fundamentals
thus
Christianity
through Hellenizingthem
appears
early.The earlyChristian found at the beginning an
monotheistic meta
antagonism between his fundamental
physicsand Greek dualistic ethics.
Christian

fundamental

"

"

Reaction

The
Catholic

against

Theologians.

We

Gnosticism.
have

positionof the Christians was

both politics
and
philosophy;
in the
ployment of Hellenism
This

resulted

to transform

in

the extreme

into
Christianity

that

seen
one

The

"

of

original

indifference

that then
defense

the

Old

the

came

of

the

to
em

Gospel.

attempt of the Gnostics

a

factor

in

cosmic

the-

osophy. Gnosticism
ligionby force and
Hellenic

only

after

make

GOSPEL

it subserve

years

of

313

capture the

to

the

of
was

Gnosticism
had

earlychurch

left their mark

re

danger

controversy.
the

new

interests

philosophy.This

the Gnostics

meet, and

THE

tried

gravest danger that

the

was

had

Oriental

and

averted

OF

HELLENIZING

THE

the

upon

to

church,

re
although they were
expelled; for the church never
of doctrine. Gnosticism,
turned to its original
simplicity
reaction, for a time,
however, produced an extreme
against the use of philosophy,and was
representedby
the"Old
Catholic Theologians," Iremeus
(140-200),
Tertullian
(160-220), and Hippolytus. These theo
logians stood againstturning faith into a science and
tried to limit dogma to the articles of the baptismal
confession
interpretedas a rule of faith. Tatian (170)
"

in Hellenism

saw

ceived

the

unity in

work

of

the process

devil.

the
of

creation

Irenseus

con

and

redemp
creation
divine
method
of bringing hu
tion,
as
a
of redemption.
manity up into the church
by way
Tertullian
far as to affirm that the Gospel is
went
so
confirmed
by its being in a certain sense
contradictory
to reason.
Credo
By this he means,
quid dbsurdum.
that faith rests in things absurd, but that faith
not
far above
rests in things so
to make
reason
as
reason
This
absurd.
reaction was
againstGnosticism and not
used both philosophy
againstrationalism,for these men
a

"

and

tradition

The

to

support their arguments.

reaction

establish

againsta systematictheologyfailed to
for the need of Greek
itself,
philosophywas

found

be

to

positionwas
in
was

the

necessary.
taken

formulation

by

The
the

of the

result

help
dogma

stated by
scientifically

the

was

of
of

that

Greek
the

median

philosophy
church.

Alexandrian

This

School

of

OF

HISTORY

314

which

Catechists,of

PHILOSOPHY

Clement

and

and

School

Origen

the

were

leaders.

(185-254)

Origen

Origen,whose
in

teacher

much
to

Alexandria

flee from

He

spent his old age.

gian

of the

Like

Eastern

was

to

of his

Caesarea
the

was

early
been

had

Origen

endured

teaching,and
and Tyre, where

most

church, and

an

Plotinus,Origen

Saccas.

pupilof Ammonius
persecutionon account

been

Catechists.

Catechists,which

of

of Clement.

the direction

under
had

School

of

Adamantine,

was

surname

the

the

he

influential
the

was

had
he

theolo

father

of

Christian

science.
theological
In manner
of life Origen was
Christian; in his
a
the Christian Philo,
thought he was a Greek. He was
although he was a rival to the neo-Platonic philosophers.
His Christian theologycompeted with the philosophical

systems

of his time.

It

was

both

on

Testa

peculiarway toward a
end the theologyof both the Apologistsand the
practical
could
He
Gnostics.
that Christianity
convinced
was
of
be expressedonly as a science,and that any form
scientific expressionis not clear tc
without
Christianity
of
offended
itself. Although the church
at some
was
his philosophical
his doctrines,it made
principleand
In trying to state
his theory of development its own.
of intellectual knowledge, Origen
in terms
Christianity
did not
of burying its principles
make
the mistake
with
the case
under
philosophy or mythology, as was
ments,

it also united

and

the Gnostics.

The

Gnostics

in

founded

had

created

from
ity; Origen developed Christianity
He

was

an

orthodox

Christian

within

itself.

traditionalist,a strong Biblical

philosopher.He maintained
the Scripways of interpreting

theologianand

idealistic

that there

several

were

new

THE

HELLENIZING

OF

THE

GOSPEL

315

The
see
masses
only
interpretation).
(allegorical
the somatic
outward
or
meaning as it has been devel
oped in history.A deeper or moral interpretation
gives
a
psychicalmeaning to the Gospel truth. More
pro
found
still is the spiritual
which givesto
interpretation,
the Gospels a pneumatic or spiritually
esoteric meaning.
is superiorto all other religions
because
it
Christianity
for all classes,even
for the common
is a religion
man.
is the only religionwhich, without
Christianity
being
have its truth in mythical dress.
can
polytheistic,
The
less to show
how
the world
aim of Origen was
of God
in
to men
to be, than to justifythe ways
came
central principle
the world's creation and history.The
monotheism.
God is an un
in his teaching is spiritual
the author of all things,and He
tran
changing spirit,
Him
most
scends human
knowledge. What distinguishes
is the absolute
causalityof His will. He is essentially
is co-eternal with Him
creative,and this creative activity
have no dealingswith changing individ
self. God
can
since althoughcreative He is unchanging.
uals directly,
He has direct connection
only with the eternal revela
tion of His own
image, the Logos. The Logos is a per
the perfect likeness of God
son, a specialhypostasis,
He is not the God,
with nothing corporealabout him.
but still God, yet a second
God, with no sharing of
The
relation to
Holy Spiritbears the same
divinity.1
In his relation
the Logos as the Logos to the Father.
the Logos is the Idea of Ideas,the norm
to the world
accordingto which thingsare created.
Origen followed Philo in believingthat the original
consists of a world
creation
of beings that are
pure
and
that the cause
of creation is God'a
intelligences,
tures

Harnack,

Outlines

of the History of Dogma,

p. 159.

THE

OF

HELLENIZING

GOSPEL

THE

317

Origen reconciled the two antithetical princi

free-will
of Christian metaphysics: faith in divine omni
ples,
potence and

consciousness

of

sin.

important one
in the divine plan. For the fallen spirits
try to rise bj
to which
wills from the matter
their own
they are con
lose their divine
demned
for purification.
They never
rise
falL They cannot
low they may
however
essence,
are
alone, nor
they compelled to, but they always have
is always active within
the help of divine grace, which
and
has also been
man
perfectlyrevealed in Jesus
of the Apologists,Origen
the manner
Christ. After
of the Stoic and Platonic conceptions,
makes
for
use
the eternal Logos takes form in the divine-human
unity
of Jesus. Through His physicalsuffering
redemption is
made
possibleto all believers,and through His essence
illumination
has been
brought to those especiallyin
spired.There are different grades of redemption : faith,
The

function

of the

church

is thus

an

religious
understanding of the perceptualworld ;
knowledge of the Logos ; final absorptionin God. All
shall finally
forces of
be saved
through the combined
freedom
and Grace, and then shall all material existence
or

disappear.
The

controversies

within

the

church

during the suc

Origen are theo

the theory of
ceeding centuries over
and so our
rather than philosophical,
of
account
logical
in the
the relation of Greek
philosophyto Christianity
Hellenic-Roman
period closes here. Origen'sunder
a privateone,
approved at first in only lim
taking was
ited circles and on the whole disapprovedby the church.
In his scientific dogmaticsthe particular
changes which
he planned pertainespecially
to the conceptionof sal
vation and the placeof Christ in the universe.
In his

HISTORY

318

the

than

logical
fully

Christ

about

teaching

that

Christianity

and

insisted

next

period
again

whom
meet

in

revising

on

new

it

is

used

introduced

the

and

emphasized

of

Christian
richer

the
of

ideas

the

but

We

them.

by
and

own

find
than

ancient

"

shows

religious
that

the

Origen,
worlds

St.

combination,

was

philosophy

shall

greater
the

church

ancient
its

cosmo*

neither

early

with

them

the

more

aspect,

history

seized

before

principle

he

soteriological
The

developed.

PHILOSOPHY

OF

in

will

Augustine.

BOOK

II

CHAPTER

CHARACTERISTICS

XV

CONDITIONS

AND

Middle
remembered

Ages

approximately

as

fall of old

the

Middle

The

Ages.

Period

Hellenic-Roman

of the

1000

the

the

between

years

fall of

the

and

conveniently

be

can

476, and

in

Rome,

THE

OF

AGES

MIDDLE

Comparison

(476-1453)

AGES

MIDDLE

THE

Rome

new

Together these two period*

(Constantinople)in 1453.
make
unproductive stretch
a
long and a philosophically
of 1800

periodspossessed,differ
of

first half
There

few.
the

periods look

two

Aristotle's

with

ancient

the

of

had

riod, and
tive

thus

religionas
in

seeks

the

two

thought began
diaeval

to

had

he

the

pure

in freedom

thought begins

and
in

the

ended

tradition

brings

with

different.
in

him

few

was

satisfied
pe

perspec
Hellenic

tradition

and, borne

of

the other

preceding
The

use

Ages

starts

knowledge.

is therefore

need

finallymade

man

by

sake

own

Middle

the

medieval

regain

who

in

formulated

periods

youthful German,

to

its

way

started

had

formulating religion.On
The

reverse.

for

that

history of thought

the

exactly the
with

knowledge

conduct

in

two

very

in the

ancient

The

from

passed

knowledge only

hand,

in

interest

in ethical

knowledge

things.

at

the

were

difference

decided

materials

such

Ages

is, however,

which

little,although during the

but

Middle

the

materials

intellectual

The

years.

by

me

the

original

HISTORY

820

ideas,pushes

forward

PHILOSOPHY

toward

in mediaeval

discover

can

OF

freedom.

times

No

doubt

one

fresh transforma

many

tions of ancient

Latin
thought and a new
whole, all the problems of the
their solutions,
be found
can

terminology,
Middle
but, on the
Ages,
well as
in antiquity.
as
One may
find,too, the germs of modern
thought in the
Middle
from mediaeval
Ages, but they come
pupilsand
mediaeval
In the Middle
from
masters.
not
Ages hu
manity is again at school ; its problems appear in suc
cession,but they alwaysare expressedin the conceptions
of the ancients.
The

Mediaeval

Antiquityhad brought together

Man.

three civilizations, those

"

Greek
Christianity.
tellectual

Christian

Roman
a

cultural
trolling
societythat the

vasions, entered
Middle

of

Rome,

in the form

Hellenism, had

been

political
society.The

twofold

church

Greece,

civilization

culture,called

posed upon
societywith

of

had

stratum, and
grown

as

in such

of

and
an

of
in

superim

result

was

societythe
organizationof con

an

influence. It was
into this
political
German
barbarians,by a series of in
during the first three centuries of the

and

Ages.

Ages began and antiquityended when

broke down
tribes finally
these German
the barriers of
the Roman
a
new
empire. It was
period; for a new
itself the responsibility
had taken upon
of bearing
race
of the future of western
the burden
Europe. The Ger
unconscious
of course
of the magnitude of his
man
was
burden, for the German
was
self-imposed
young, vigor
by primitiveinstincts. He had leaped
ous, and moved
The

Middle

into the world's

a

fields

as

conqueror

he remained

as

laborer.
At

the

beginning the

German

seemed

likelyto

de"

of Greek

lighterforms
weak

it could

that

in

ment

That

church.

Nevertheless, there

strong that

so

grown

before

failed to achieve.

statecraft

was

its

was

one

so
con

ele

the

men

of

the

it,and religion
accomplishedthrough

philosophy,and
preaching of the Gos
these primitivepeople,

what

of the Germans

the emotions

he could

societythat did appeal to the

of the Christian
the spiritual
power
of
the power
the ruins of antiquity

amid

had

bowed

for the

societywas

him, who

educate

not

was

Alone

the church

ancient

for

ancient

that

German.

his first contact

Moreover

into its culture.

queror,

In

art.

neither.

understand

philosophythan

Greek

of

forms

the elaborate

the rich fruits of

had, indeed, less mind

civilization. He

that ancient

north

assimilate

quiteunprepared to

was

321

had bequeathed.
antiquity

stroy the entire product which

He

AGES

MIDDLE

THE

OF

CONDITIONS

The

art,

feelingsof
in fact,
and sometimes
in its pretensions,
for the church
unity. Moreover
political
representedthe old Koman
pel laid

the church

The

ideal of the

own

became
the

the

the

repositoryof what
church
expressed for

also the

was

science.

Greek
his

of

hold

personalinner
culture.

Europe

western
ment

tian church.
Eastern

In contrast

church, the Western

state.

the

church
The

in

Germans
this way

historyin
the develop
of the Chris

development of the
development of a state
the development of an

the

with
was

of

the influence

under

church, which

ecclesiastical

the record

is therefore

of the Germans

Mediaeval

left of

the German

life. The

supporters of the church, and

protectors of ancient

was

was

Western

church, and

not

the

of the Roman
the true
successor
empire, was
empire. Thus the earlybeginningsof the Middle Ages
rested with the church, but the later development of the
Middle
people.
Ages rested with the German

later

HISTORY

322

the Universe

How
The

mediaeval

world

had

him,

around

since his

his

of space

and

are

of the civilized man,

the

tainlydid
a

not
as

manner

to enable

mediaeval

modern
the

reach

times

for

peoplethen

the world

and

as

in which

this

Through
the earth

notions
The

discover

the

sometimes
mediaeval

who

tails to the

results
To

now.

Ages
so

vigorous
We

truths.

new

cer

between

was

of

the waters

of the world

water

of

his school

lived in the second

theory having

been

not

above

sometimes

rain.

These

appeared in the verse

scientific opinion was
and

did

ordinarymediaeval
what it appeared to
the sky was
mate
a

was

flat

showers

science

the

he lived

sky-floorthe

receives

theory of Ptolemy
nomers,

Middle

the

the mind

sharper distinction

be to his eye. The

earth
rial dome, which sustained
it.

in

conceptionsin
to

without

popular opinion and mediaeval scientific opin

should about popular and scientific opinion
we

ion than

man

him

it. He

it is said that relations

of

such

possess

the

lie in the

controlled

indistinct

man

Man.

ideas about

conclusions

with

never

furthermore, make

must,

of

spiritthat

Although

number

Mediaeval

interest did not

sciences

their demonstrations.

the

to

indistinct

very

in the

but

in

content

PHILOSOPHY

appeared

man

earthlyrealm,
was

OF

breaks

popular

of the time.
based

on

of Alexandrian

century
added

A.

by

D.,

the
astro

some

de

the Arabians.

Ptolemy says, The world is divided into two vast re

gions; the one ethereal,the other elementary.The ethe
real region begins with the first mover,
which
accom
plishesits journey from east to west in twenty-four
skies participatein this motion, and
hours ; ten
their
heaven, the fir
comprisesthe double crystalline
totality
and
the seven
mament
planets."(See diagram.) The
mediaeval
of science thought that,inasmuch
he
man
as
"

CONDITIONS

was

upon

the

OF

earth, he

THE

MIDDLE

therefore

was

of

things.Directlyabove
sky, ruled by the moon
; and

centre

the
the

four

elements,

region was

"

the realm

him

AGES

standing at the
the cavityof
was

below

the

were

moon

earth.

and

fire,air, water,
of

323

imperfection.But

This

above

the

COSMOGRAPHY

PTOLEMAIC
A

diagram

showing
(From

moon

the

the private

division
library of

the scientist

saw

of the
Profetaor

universe

R.

W.

into

Willion

series of

orderlyrevolution

the

ten

spheres

of Harrard

Unitenitj)

nine

other

of its own

or

and

heaven"

heavens,

beyond
therefore
all is God.
The
to Ptolemy a
universe
was
great but a limited sphere,consistingof ten spheres
inside another
one
(like the ringsof an onion). Each
each

with

an

CONDITIONS

Comedy

(see diagram, p. 376),*

least

at

1500

to

as

the

Milton.

of

Lost

For

conviction

"

thirteen
remained
as

appears
of

the

centuries
unshaken

an

325

AGES

and

cosmologicalbasis

system of astronomy

maic

MIDDLE

THE

OF

in

part

Paradise
200

from

"

Ptole

in the

adequate explanation

of the universe.

COSMOGRAPHY

PTOLEMAIC
(Showing

the

of

Epicyclic Movements
to the

The
twelfth
terests
*

Mediaeval
centuries
that

at School.

Man
there

deep

on

was

and

Rossetti, Shadow

Read

Essays

was

Saturn,

Dante, pp. 99 ff.

Jupiter, and

Mars

in respect

Earth)

In the eleventh

revival

broad, and
"

of Dante

in intellectual
the

",pp. 9-14

and
in

characteris;

Karl

Witte,

326

HISTORY

OF

tics of this revival

Transitional
aroused
what

upon

the

much

man

PHILOSOPHY

will be discussed

subsequently(see
Period, p. 329). Our curiosity,
however,is
into the Middle
entrance
our
Ages, as to
of the earlyMiddle
Ages studied and how

he learned.

We

remind

must

ourselves

at the out

of the

fact that, on the whole, in west

oft-repeated
of the
ern
Europe, for the first five hundred
years
Middle Ages, the only peoplewho had
any book-learning
the churchmen.
were
Furthermore, with them the learn
Their purpose
in study will show
ing was very meagre.
them
and ex
to enable
to understand
this,for it was
set

"

pound

the Canonical

the Fathers, and other

Scriptures,
ecclesiastical writings."The trainingwas
follows :
as
1. Theological.
Elementary instruction in the Psalms
and
church
music, but no systematictrainingin theo
logy, just enough training to enable the priest to
"

"

understand

the Bible

Fathers.

the Church

and

2. Secular
Liberal
and

training. Knowledge in the " Seven

Arts," i. e. the trivium,
rhetoric,
grammar,
"

dialectic

and

the

advanced

more

and

music, arithmetic, geometry,

names

are

of
suggestive

subjects.Astronomy
the time

of

and

known

Geometry

without

"

astronomy.

These

of

knowledge,
or
taught in these
were
employed to

amount

arithmetic

and

Easter.

positionsof Euclid
cluded
plain song

vast

little was

while,in truth, very

find

quadrivium,

included

demonstrations.

some

Music

pro
in

mystic doctrine of number.

More
the study of rhetoric from
made
of grammar,
was
Latin
classics,and dialectics. Dialectics was
logic in
the Middle
the
Ages, and its mysteries fascinated
But even
in logicthere were
mediaeval
man.
only some
of the Aristotelian
remnants
logicknown.
A Mediaeval
Library. Here again is an interesting
a

CONDITIONS

OF

question: What
But

did

most

the scholars

influential

upon

thought.

used

The

Psalms.

The

Grammar

The

Christian

are

use, and

would
as

most

be the

follows

"

of Donatus.

poets

Prudentius, Psycliomachia ; Ju-

Verse

Gospels in

vencus,

They

in instruction.

read?

books

might

These

read.

commonly

most

text-books

between

that

Books

1.

distinction

327

churchman

books

commonly read,
books

AGES

MIDDLE

this mediaeval

make

must

we

THE

Sedulius, Easter

Hymn.

DionysiusCato, Disticha de Moribus^ a collection

proverbs (moral maxims) in rhyming couplets.
Virgil,Ovid, and the rhetorical works of Cicero.
M sop'sFables
(inLatin).
Books

2.

to

say

the

what

had

any

libraries of
and

character

scholars

that the

might

of

It is difficult

use.

scholar actuallydid read,for

particular
differed enormously in the
monasteries
of their books

number

several hundred

books,

some

none

; some

at all.

monasteries

Some

libra

composed almost entirelyof works of the

Fathers ; some
possesseda good many works of ancient
classical writers. One
might expect to find any one or
in a scholar's library:
of the followingworks
more
Aristotle, De
Interpretationeand the Categoriesin
ries

were

"

translation.

Boethius'
This

the almost

Plato, the
This

attention

exclusive

known

was

but

cidius.

The

ists.

logicalproblems occupied
of the first schoolmen.

Timceus.

Greek,

were

the

explainswhy

on

to

the

the continent

only other

in the works

of

sources

Irish monks
in

of

perhaps in
translation by Chalknowledge of Plato

Augustine and

the neo-Platon-

328

HISTORY

OF

on

Aristotle,

Commentaries

phyry, in
some

De

into

Latin

commentaries

Isagoge by Forby Boethius,and

by Boethius himself
Interpretation and Categories.

Cicero, the rhetorical

the

The

"

translation

PHILOSOPHY

on

Aristotle's

dialectical treatises,
such

and

as

Topica, De

Seneca,

Officiis.
Beneficiis.

De

Lucretius, De

Rerum

Augustine'sworks

Natura.

and

writ
pseudo-Augustinian

some

ings.
The

of the Church

works

Fathers,Clement

of Alexan

Origen.

dria and
The

Pseudo-Dionysius,translated from the Greek by

Erigena.
The encyclopediccollections of some
of the last of the
scholars of antiquity,
like Cassiodorus, Capella,
Boe
thius, and the Etymologies of Isidore of Seville.
The

Books

time.

These

3.

the

influential

most
were

philosophicallyupon

necessarilythe books most

epoch-making books, so to speak.
not

widely read, but the

follows :
as
They were
Augustine, City of God.
Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy.
Aristotle,De Interpretationsand the Categoriesin
translation by Boethius.
Pseudo-Dionysius, translated by Erigena.
Porphyry, Isagoge translated by Boethius, an introduc
tion to Aristotle's Categories.
"

The

1.

Three

Periods

of the

Middle

Ages.

Early Period, 476-1000.

2. Transitional
3. Period

There

Period, 1000-1200.

of Classic

is one

Scholasticism,1200-1453.

great natural

division

line of the Middle

CONDITIONS

Ages, the

year

1200.

THE

At

this time

peoples eastward

western

MIDDLE

OF

AGES

the

surging of

Crusades

in the

329

the
its

at

was

height,and the works of Aristotle were coming into west

ern
Europe from the East. These events mark a change
and intellectual situation in Europe. But
in the political
in
this change did not take place suddenly. There
are
terveningtwo centuries that are indeed transitional,but
animated
time are
at the same
by a distinct and inde
These two centuries may
motive.
pendent philosophical
be set apart as a period,different from the earlier and
shall call these three periodsthe
the later periods.We
Period, and the Period
Early Period, the Transitional
of Classic Scholasticism.

Early Period

The

takes

us

the fall of old Eome

from

political
Europe (1000).
It is a periodof religiousfaith governed by the theo*
logy of Augustine. Mysticism has no independent fol
lowing,but on the contrary rules within the church.
The
Christian principleof individual
personalityand
Platonic
the Greek
conceptionof universal realities are
held without
not
fused, but they are
arousing contra
the birth

(476)

to

versy.

This

of modern

is because
does

it

the human

has

reason

yet feel the need

of

ard

code, nor

two

philosophers,
Augustine and Erigena,of
animated
by neo-Platonism.

are

The

Transitional

Period

extends

stand

no

The

one.

the

from, the

only
period

birth

of

Europe (1000) to the arrival of the works of

political
Aristotle (about 1200). This epoch is one
of logical
controversy, in which
tives
group

the Christian

and

the Greek

mo

conflict. This

controversy gives rise to the first

discuss
of great schoolmen, who
the reality
of

generalideas
still rules the

in their

to dogma. Mysticism
application
in a modified
form,
churchman, but now

330

HISTORY

Plato

has become

circles

and

OF

PHILOSOPHY

the standard

Aristotle

in

of the

those

inclined

yet only fragments of the works

as

The
1200

Period
the

of
end

Classic

in orthodox

reason

heresy,but

to

of either

Scholasticism

are

known.
from

extends

the Middle

of

Ages (1453). It is a
a
period when
theologicalmetaphysics arises by the
side of the logicalcontroversy and
predominates over
that controversy. The
the re
concerns
problem now
and faith. The
spectivescopes of the reason
period is
the
Aristotelian,and Aristotle's philosophy is made
to

standard

code for the churchman

for all time.

Mysticism

placeof authorityin the church, but has an

independence. The period contains the greatest school
has

men

now

no

of the Middle

of

Summary

the

Ages.
Political
the

I.
395

The

and
476

empire di-

of

Western

the

Disappearance
of municipal and imperialschools and rise
of episcopal

Koman

empire
power

entirelyin
barbarians.

and

the

525

almost

hands

monastic

schools.

Boethius

died,the

in

series of invasions.
600

476-1000.

476-800

barba-

overrun

Western

Man.

empires.

Northern

rians

of

Worlds

354-430)
(Augustine,

empire, the Eastern

empire lastingabout
1000
years longer.
375-600

Educational

Eastern

into

Western

Fall

Mediaeval

Early Period,

Koman

vided

and

of

529

notable

Roman

lar who

knew

last

scho-

Greek.

Closing of philosophi
cal Schools at Athens

622-732

331

founding of monastic
school by St. Benedict.

Mohammedans

Arabia,

conquer
Northern

AGES

MIDDLE

THE

OF

CONDITIOl^

Africa,and

Spain.
732

Mohammedans

pulsed

re

battle

the

at

of Tours.
Fusion

took

placeamong

German

600-800

and
800

Roman

Empire

Dark

476-800

Ages.

peoples.
of

Charle

Benedictine

800-1000

founded.
Civ
magne
ilization higher than

Age

lower

when

the

German,

than

the

only period in
stern
JZurope
:

We

education

in hands

entirely
of monks.

Roman.

The

school

ace

is

Pal

episcopal,

cathedral,and

monas

tery schools.

(Erigena, 810-88V,
the
forerunner of
Scholasticism.)
Empire
Charlemagne

of

900-1000

up.

by

decline

century
of learn

ing.

Danes

and

Northmen

the

north; Saracens

from

with

broken

Demoralization.

Invasions

Dark

900-1000

from

south

by sea;
Slavs, Hungarians,
Russians, and Poles
by land. The church
demoralized, Papacy

IN

THE

EARLY
THE

PERIOD
PLATO

PERIOD

AND

TRANSITIONAL
OP

LITTLE

WAS

KNOWN

CONDITIONS

Period

III.

of

Crusades

1200

Classic

1200

Commerce

1200-1453

with

Europe
to

grow

on

Asia

to

Mendicant

The

the

Estate

Mediter

feudal

Aquinas,

Scotus,

1270-

1308.)

Third

of

(William

Ockam,

1280-1349.)

in

1300-1453

The

well

prevail

governments

(Duns

national

strength,

Scholasticism*

1224-1274.)

large

grows

the

(T

be

coun

The

ranean.

over

1200-1453.

Classic

of

in

proportions
tries

333

Friars.

height.

gins

AGES

Scholasticism,

their

at

MIDDLE

THE

OF

period

supplied

schools.

system
.

1350-1453
of

Deterioration
Scholasticism,

is
with

CHAPTER

THE

EARLY

The

General

accident

Ages
and

made

the

world

of

ideals

and

the

had

and
of

nature

salvation
Period

the

God,
of

fragments

Plato

except

gether

without
of

Erigena,

the

first

seen.

made

of

the

Men
and

In

form

of

Plato,

The

monastery

and

of

as

became

of

age

moved
the

to

super
the

angels, the

except

But

held

them
had

in this

both

to

little inde

in the

doctrine
the

of

instructed

was

appears

whose

the

known

was

pupil

Mysticism

doctrine,

consequences

little

the

1000)

an

Aristotle

neo-Platonism.

controversy.
church

and

what

Transitional

the

of

known

was

the

upon

the

of

in

as

to

dwelt

rank

this,

logic;

and

age

spiritualitywas

his

year

the

had

what

and

man

no

heavenly

Both

things pointed

number

soul.

Aristotle

pendence

at

the

in the

period (before

inner

The

world.

pessimistic

ideal.
from

him,

All

following, little

both

been

transcendent.

the

some

in

this

de

had

things presented

that

away

offer

to

position.

natural

win

during

empire
in

have

taken

principleof

central

Hellenic-Ro

troubles

Roman

material

to

no

Middle

the

the

The

such.

interest

would

age

spiritualseemed

and

is

politicaldisturbances
from

the

their

means

world

The

of

of

years
the

It

Period.

through Augustine presented

the

material

period

of

people

kingdoms

and

faith.

hundred

(476-1000)

AGES

Early

inheritance

agony

Church

the

MIDDLE

of the

five

the

death

long

ideal

these

intellectual

period

prived

THE

Both
spiritualistic.

the

the

OF

Character

that

were

man

not

PERIOD

XVI

case
were

fundamental

of
not

EARLY

social

PERIOD

O*

MIDDLE

THE

AGES

335

social force.

Organ
ized ascetic life permitted an
absorbing contemplation
of heaven.
Prayer supersededthought ; faith prescribed
knowledge. The intellectual world was dominated
by neoPlatonic
idealism,and the all-important
topic in men's
minds
that of God's
was
Augustine stood at
grace.
the beginning of the period and
organized its concep
tion of grace for it. Erigena stood near
the end and stated
the neo-Platonism
of the period in extreme
form, pre
sentingthe issue for the scholasticism of the many years
organizationand

MEDLEVAL

(Cosmas
not

but

he

and

of
a

as

that

maps

Romans

men

down

Scriptures

Christian

to

records

laid

the

from

an

the

Arabs,

will

who

had

the

been

supplement
is flat. Then

earth

merchant
the

the low

state

of

D.

he

knowledge

and

Oreek

and

647

among

Cosmas
with
the

traveler.
Roman

adduced

piously

The
drawn
his view.
by
support
maps
have
survived.
Their crudeness,
compared

reveals

A.

of Gtograp\y

once

to

MAP,

to

are

the

He

plans,
evidence

the
maps

earliest
of the

Christians.)

of the doctrine of these two

presentation
therefore be the philosophical
exemplification

of the attitude

Ages

that

Evolution

travels

own

COSMAS

The

come.

The

his

fact

1.

KCMM'I

monk

Egyptian

was

use

THE

GEOGRAPHY.
from

did

the central

of the time.

Historical
were

of

Position

inauguratedby

Augustine.

mind

of the

The

Middle

highestorder,

HISTORY

336

OF

PHILOSOPHY

Augustine.* If one were to select the most influential

figuresin the historyof philosophy,Augustine might
be chosen
to stand with Plato,Aristotle,
Spinoza,and
In some
Kant.
to
respects Augustine stands nearer
1
For
than Hegel and
the church,
us
Schopenhauer."
less for the period,it was
but no
circum
a fortunate
that Augustine should
have
lived just as anti
stance
quity was closingand the medieval
period beginning.
Through him the various influences of the past were
for
gatheredup and presentedin a scientific statement
the Middle
Ages. The historyof pietyand of dogma
in the West
so
was
thoroughlydominated
by Augus
tine from the beginning of the fifth century to the era
" "

"

"

of the

Reformation, that

we

take

must

this whole

time

period."2
In his relation to antiquity
Augustinedrew especially
the fundamental
teachingsof St. Paul, the neoupon
of his
Platonists,and the Patristics for the presentation
as

forming one

doctrine.

own

He

was

familiar

with

great number

of

the medium
and was
of their
antiquity,
transmission
to the Middle
to
Ages. He does not seem
but the importance
the system of Aristotle,
have known
of
which he attached to the dialectic in the explanation
contributed a good deal to the use of the
the Scriptures
logicof Aristotle by the scholastics of the Middle Ages.
He had some
knowledge of the Pythagoreans,the Stoics,
the Epicureans through the writingsof Cicero.
and
influence upon
But the most
important philosophical

the doctrines

Read

of

Eucken,

232, 236, 245-248

Wulf

Hist,

of

Life,pp. 219-221,
ofPhilosophy, p. 226 ; De

Human

Turner, Hist,

of Mediceval

of Dogma,

Problem

Phil., pp. 90-98

Harnack, Hist,

vol. v, pp. 3"6.

1
2

Eucken, Problem

Harnack,

Hist,

of Human

of Dogma,

Life,p. 247.
vol. v, p. 3.

OF

PERIOD

EARLY

THE

AGES

MIDDLE

337

the neo-Platonic
teaching of Plotinus
Augustine was
and
Porphyry. Neo-Platonism, the Pauline theology,
the large factors in the doctrine
and
the Patristic are
of Augustine.
In his relation to the Middle
Ages, what in brief was
of neo-Platonism
the position
of Augustine ? By means
and
a
discriminatingpsychologicalanalysishe trans
formed the previous beliefin God as a judye into a

beliefin
That
and

the

personal

relations

is to say, he carried
in

doing

out

this the influence

between

God

monotheism

and

man.

spiritually,

of neo-Platonism

is very

Augustine made one of the centres of

He
his teachingthe livingrelation of the soul to God.
took religion
out of the sphere of cosmologicalscience,
where
it had been placed by Origen and the Gnostics,
it personal.Furthermore, he offered with this
and made
it
ideal a plan of salvation ; for Augustine made
new
his task to show
(1) what God is, and (2) what the
before Augus
salvation of the soul requires.Whereas
had presentedthe place
tine the only dogmatic scheme
of Christ in salvation,Augustine was
in
and function
Thus
in the place of man
in salvation.
he
terested
into spiritual
monotheism
and
elaborated
monotheism
delineated the inward
i. e.
processes of the Christian life,
This
of sin and
made
important advance
by
grace.
Augustine must be attributed to the influence of philo
neo-Platonism
him.
sophy
upon
But
it must
be supposed that the total teaching
not
of Augustine and
the total influence of his thought is
contained
in this singlechange in Christian piety,as
have
various
stated it. The
we
Pagan and Christian
elements,as they lie in his system, have little coherence;
and Augustine does not settle the rival claims between
strong in him.

"

"

OF

HISTORY

338

As

them.

the

teaching had

mediaeval
been

mere

PHILOSOPHY

period advanced, what

incoherence

became

in his
in the

positivediscord. He gave the church

but he left no
quality,
impulsesof the highestspiritual
capital.These impulsestoward spiritual
well-organized
been
lost,but the profusionof ideas
pietyhave never
and views in Augustine,unharmonized
by himself,were
also a permanent
bequest to posteritythat produced
of others

hands

both

vital movements

gal and

moral

and

violent controversies.

party of the church

resisted his

The

le

teaching

beginning,and in the sixth century, under the

influence of Gregory the Great, toned down
Augustine's
teachingin the direction of a conceptionof the church
a
as
organization.
juristic
line of
thus the beginnerof a new
Augustine was
of neo-Platonism
into
development by his incorporation
of the dialectic to
Christian doctrine and by his use
present,defend,and develop the doctrine of the church.
Although the years of his life fall in antiquity,
although
at

the

he is the collector of all the threads

Christian

of the neo-Platonic

he belongsin the Middle

religions,
Ages
the teacher of the Middle
as
Ages. His doctrine acted
German
authoritative spiritual
an
as
guide for the new
peoples.They took up the problems of antiquityfrom
and
the new
point of view of individual spirituality,
the philosophyof the future. But
created out of them
philosophically
Augustinewas far in advance of his age,
and in the intellectually
torpidtimes that followed him
littlephilosophical
development could be expected.Not
until after Charlemagnedoes philosophical
development
springingfrom Augustine appear. Later Luther and
modern
the Reformation
reverted to him, and our
phi
which he made cen
losophy is founded on the principle
tral in his conceptionof piety.
and

EARLY

MIDDLE

THE

At

Science.

Secular

The

OF

PERIOD

the

time

same

AGES

339

it must

not

supposed that the teachingof Augustine was by any

this first period of
from which
the only source
means
the Middle
Ages drew its materials of knowledge. A
glance at the list of books in a mediaeval library(see
Augustine
p. 327) will not confirm such a supposition.
be

does

include

not

the factors
Even

finallymade up
beginning there was

secular

science

ticeable

as

Secular
and

tried

of

at

science

the

in the

Cassiodorus,and

logicof

and

toward

Aristotle.

No

prominent later.
first to modify scholasticism,
independence for itself. The

at

not

contain

the germs

of sci

Ages had writings

inadequate compendiums of Capella,
Boethius, and in the fragments of the
the

start

of

Augustine

the
gustine,often called
in Thagaste, Numidia.
born
"

his mother
tributed

civilization.

tendency

all

"

Middle

Aristotle.
Life

The

it is

first it became

gain an
Augustine did

But

ence.

at

was

later to

doctrine

on

this

as

mediaeval

Plato

from

derived

science

then

massive

"

that

the

at

in his doctrine

Christian

chieflyto

and

it

was

the formation

his mother

who

of his character.

con

He

brilliant

educated
in the
gifts,and was
and Carthage. At Carthagehis life
schools of Madaura
which
full of dissipation,
he has described
in his
was
Confessions.He took up in succession all the scientific
and
religiousproblems of his time. He gave up the
teachingof rhetoric,which he had practicedin several
Minor
and
in Asia
towns
Italy,and began to study
troubled
doubts
and
by his religious
theology.He was
tried to find relief first in Manichasism, then in the
was

boy

of

(354-430). Aurelius Au
Plato of Christianity,"
was
His father was
a
Pagan,

skepticismof

the

Academy,

and

then

in neo-Platonism.

PERIOD

EARLY

ness

which

"

he

OF

made

the

originalpower.

Through

and

himself

time

became

Ages up to him.
Augustine did

basis

this he
a

of

AGES

341

philosophy of

transcended

his

own

modern, leadingthe Middle

define

not

MIDDLE

THE

accuratelythe spheres of

theology. He did not show whether

did
revelation had the higher authority.He
and
decide between
the intelligout credam
the respective
intelligam,that is, between

philosophyand
reason

not

or

try

credo

to

ut

authorities

of

and

reason

faith. That

became, in

conse

philosophical
problem for the school
Nevertheless,the great inheritance which Augus
men.
line of
tine left the world was
along the philosophical
ut credam
intelligo
(of knowledge as the basis of faith
instead of faith as the basis of knowledge).
quence,

The

central

Neo-Platonic

Element

the

Inner

Certainties

in making
Augustine was not original
of his philosophythe inner certainties
the starting-point
That was
the pointof view of his time,
of consciousness.
and the starting-point
of the ascetic tendency both of
dissatisfied
and of neo-Platonism.
He was
Christianity
from it to the
with the world without, and turned away
of Consciousness.

world

within

to

find

ing tendency ever

lies in
originality
certainties.

He

reality.But

since the time

his

is the

this had

been

grow

of Plato.

Augustine's
of these
description
psychological
master

of

self-observation

and

He can
describe inner experiences
well
as
introspection.
as
analyzethem. He puts his philosophy upon a solid
basis by developinga psychology of the
anthropological
In doing this he placedthe
certainties of consciousness.
inner experiencein the central position
of control. Thus
well-defined positionof
he reached
a
internality for
which
the Stoics,Epicureans,
neo-Platonists,and the
"

"

HISTORY

542

OF

PHILOSOPHY

precedingChristian theologianshad been groping; thus

Descartes
and modern
he anticipated
philosophy.
Man
clingsto life in spiteof all its evils. This shows
for the soul. The material
that there is a reality
world
but the realityof soul-life is assured.
may
pass away,
Man's
inner life is ever
be imagin
present and cannot
ary. The fact that there is such a thing as probability
shall I look
implies the existence of certainty.Where
for certainty
? In myself. Certainty
is there as a fact of
observation.

inner
my

There

inner

my

sensations,feelings,
etc., whose

doubted

if the

even

they correspond is
own

consciousness
is to

ence

that

world

existence
doubted.
that

at

assert

I will

former

The

are

live

remember,

ideas.

The

am

"

temporary

To

for doubt

existence

strated,and

the material

of
so

man

is driven

world
inward

which

doubt

my

also

exist

implies

these
upon
of the material

rests

character

only strengthensthe realityof

be

also of my

certain

doubt

"

cannot

objectsto

To

moment.

states

existence

of the

existence.

my

mental

this inner

world.

be demon

cannot
to find

basis for

reality.Thus by a deep insight,although without

much
logicalreasoning,Augustine transcends Aristotle,
and anticipates
modern
thought by finding realityin

its

whose
existence
is an
inner
unitary personality^
certainty.
But Augustine is driven farther inward
; for the cer
taintyof the existence of God is involved in this inner
certainty.My doubt about the character of the world
of material
things impliesthat their truth exists and
that I have the capacityfor measuring it. Such truths
universal.
are
They transcend the individual conscious
the

ness,

and

beings in

their
a

common

mutual

agreement

standard.

On

unites
the other

all rational

hand,

this

EARLY

OF

PERIOD

MIDDLE

THE

AGES

343

implies the existence of God. Truths

the Ideas (Platonic)in God's mind.1
are
in this life,
is denied to man
Full knowledge of God
but, nevertheless,all moralityconsists in love for God ;
all science is only an interest in the working of God in
around
nature
us
pointsto
; all the beauty in the world
the harmonious
ordering of God ; the historyof the
world is only the free act of God.
Thus, in brief,does
unity of

truths

of inner spirituality
Augustine centralize the principle
Thus
does he put into control the
of
internality."
certaintyof consciousness.
the
This
to
was
Augustine's great contribution
world
both in the sphere of philosophy and
religion.
shall see
how important this principleis in our
We
philosophy.Its importance upon the
tracingof modern
"

"

of

growth
it

pass

by

religionwas

so

remark.

without

great that

very

Augustine

"

cannot

we

the

was

re

piety." In the midst of religionhe

heart
discovered
religion.He looked into the human
it to be the lower good ; he looked
to God
and found
the higher good. In love for
Him
to be
and found
exalted
becomes
to another
God, man
being. This is
and
birth." By this personalreligion
nature
the
new
are
separated, but morality and religion are
grace
to be independent by liv
united.
Sin is the disposition
of Christian

former

"

ing

in

state

fear.

lust and
man

"

tinian
i

There

All is sin

sum

^he two

in

the

apart from

heart

God.

of

The

the

pre-Augus-

Augustine's positionand
of the
is a refutation
sum
Augustine's Quod sifallor,

is this

difference

is

Academy,

positive,

thinkers.

between

"

subtle

not

but

demonstration
an

important

of

natural

religionof morality and baptism,animated

probability of the

ergo

Sin is a state

in the desires.

unrest

in the heart

Descartes.
of

of

; Descartes'

difference

by
that

of

doctrine

Cogito,
between

HISTORY

344

OF

PHILOSOPHY

supplantedby him with the concep

tion of the desire to be happy by sharing in the bliss
of God.
Augustine passed from Christian pessimism to
in pardoning grace.
Christian optimism,to a confidence
By faith and love God calls us back to himself and the
soul acquireswhat
God
requires.Religion is personal
and a thing of the heart.
Love, unfeigned humility,
the world, these are
and strengthto overcome
the ele
hope

fear,was

and

"

religionand its blessedness ; they spring from

This message
the actual possessionof the loving God.
of his time and
Augustine preached to the Christianity
of

ments

of all times."

breaks
with his own
Augustine philosophically
Platonism
at one
point,and finds not in the intellect,
but in the will,the primary characteristic of this con
will is the inmost
sciousness
of inner certainty.The
mental
formed
states
of our
are
core
being. All our
But

under

the

direction

strikingexceptionto

of the

this is the

only passive.Revelation
but it
the finite activity,
is

the will

truths

divine

sults from
man

of

the

of the human

the

so

higher

which
of the

passive.Knowledge
and

not

into faith,and

blessedness
of

that

The

man.

yet

be

can

before

re

will of
then

even

an

will is present, although passive,

the

intimatelyrelated

as

Hist,

Harnack,

the

production of

appropriationof the truth is an

Thus, in regard to this difficult subjectof
to be
of the will,
there are two observations
and
Augustine conceives the will,memory,

for

will. The

the mind

of grace

act

an

Is the

reason

the will of God

is transformed

element

and

expectant

be

cannot

is

the

cognitionof

of which

truth, in the presence

divine

of

purposes

not

to

be faculties

of Dogma,

vol. v, p. 337.

act

of

will.

the nature
made

(1)

intellect
of

the

ag

per-

EARLY

PERIOD

an

(2)

The

THE

AGES

MIDDLE

345

propertiesof a substance. They rather

of the soul.
indissoluble unity of the substance
will is theoretically
free,and Augustine is one

sonalitylike
form

OF

of the most

the

forcible defenders

of free-will because

he is

and the justice

responsibility
the will is a force existingabove
of God.
Theoretically
the capacityof
and formallypossesses
nature
sensuous
followingor resistinginclination. Actually it is never
free to choose, but it has the higher function of being
determined
by the Good. Only the good will is free.1
The
according to Augus
Authority of the Church
also

defender

tine. With

the

of ethical

fall of

ancient

the

Rome,

church

was

into the
peopleswho came
Catholic na
church
Arian
and
the only German
were
of vigor,
the Franks.
tion was
a man
Augustine was
but he seemed
of forcingthe
to lack the peculiarpower
he stood.
church
to adopt as dogma the truths for which
He
himself
absolutelyto the tradi
always submitted
tion of the church, and yet in a general way he accom
plishedtwo things for the church at large: (1) He
law of the
established
tradition
the authorityand
as
offered the church
church
a scientifically
con
; (2) He
structed plan of salvation.
in
There
now
Augustine's teaching the
appears
which
of his thought
around
the masses
second centre
This is his conceptionof the church
group themselves.
is the principle
of uni
in its authorityand law. Here
versality and historical universality and it runs
individualism
of spiritual
which
to the principle
counter
his psychological
analysishad built up. Augustineis
justas vigorousa champion of the idea of the church
the means
to salvation as he is champion of the indias
hard

pressed,for

the young

"

"

Harnack,

Hist,

of Dogma,

vol. v, p.

112, n.

4.

HISTORY

346

vidual

certaintyof

tions lie

We

dogma.
about

have

man

his mind.

the

now

antithetical

two

proposi

Asa

he was
an
pietist,
a
a
priest,he was
loyal subject to
discussed
his teaching as it centred

as

The

truth.

togetherin

individualist

PHILOSOPHY

OF

discussion

God

about

centres

as

representedby His church. In practicallife the will of

is important,but in the eternal life the central in
man
is the grace

fluence

the grace of God

and

there

by Augustine,and

more

doctrine

seems

between

the
Evil

men.

the

now

alone

to his

could

man

no

of Adam's

great

is

by

his sin

of
His

founded
universal

man

of

means

God's

would

men

of God.

this

The

be

can

and

is saved
were

damned

God-man

God

love

church.

worthiness.
man

Adam,

the

of

first

Adam

but

has

Universal

save.

Belief

with
and

sent

divine
Thus
;

and

all damned.

grace
it is
no

On

brought
love.

divine
end

His

of salva

Son

and

died, and

man

in

it not

were

death

by

Christ

salvation,yet belief in Christ

grace,

human

void

nature

that of the whole

was

replenish empty humanity

love is the beginning,middle,

Out

flow

stream

in the actual world

sin.

to

of

evil world

the

to

power
Divine

men

and

now
originalto all men
personallydeserves salvation,how
his conduct.
Moreover, as the result

sin, all

for the grace

to

the contrast

possessed freedom

sinned, and

meritorious

that

he beholds

is free,but

have

is felt the

God-centred

as

and

man

necessityof

him

will of

This

chasm.

Humanity

senses

the

Sin is therefore

race.

living,and

tion.

God

to

appears

in his freedom

ever

the

perfectnessof

he is chained

human

is

greater, when

ing through the world.

God.
man
Theoretically
man,

Between

God.

of

is not

comes

is

only
the only
only by

conditioned

only by grace even

injusticewould be
the other hand,

on
now

done
divine

EARLY

PERIOD

justicedemands
cluded

from

for Adam's

sin be

decree

of His

that

ones

MIDDLE
at

men

in

order

AGES

of God.

These

are

while

the

347

least should

that

the

permanently maintained.
depends entirelyupon

loving grace,

damned

THE

some

salvation

of the favored
able

OF

elected
others

as

be

punishment
The

choice

the unsearch
monuments

elected

are

ex

to

be

of His

justice.The apparent
calamity to the majority of mankind
only shows the
For, in the first place,evil is
goodness of God the more.
like the good. It is only negativeand prim
not positive
itive
the absence of the good. The condemnation
of the
as

monuments

"

wicked

is therefore

In

second

for

the
the

in

this theocratic

system.

place,the wicked
salvation of only a few

love, which
the

defect

no

testifies to God's

integrityof

the

only receive justice,

is a gratuitousact of
But, after all,it is
mercy.

whole

spiritualimperial govern
of God
that is the important thing to consider.
ment
The
King is law and goodness,and all His subjects
testimonies
of His magnificentpower.
are
Dark
The
Ages (476-800). The traditional estimate
of the Middle
has been re
Ages as altogether dark
scholars. The
vised by modern
called the
period now
Dark
Ages has been restricted to the three hundred
the fall of old Rome
(476) and the
years between
founding of the empire by Charlemagne (800). More
in that period the
thought that even
over, it is now
better in Italythan north
intellectual conditions
were
of the Alps. In northern
Italythe lay teacher seems
to have
always to have existed ; and education never
fallen entirely
into the hands of the monastery as it did
in northern
800 and 1000.
After 800
Europe between
"

the content
seems

to

of
have

education
been

north

different.

and

"

south

of

Everywhere,to

the

Alps

be sure,

EARLY

hundred

between

years

mediaeval

OF

PERIOD

education

THE

800

the year

and

entirelyin

was

AGES

MIDDLE

519

1000

the year

the

hands

of

the

monks.
Revival

The

by

the somewhat

Connected

abortive

with

this revival

Erigena (810-880).
dred

there

years

Augustine
dred

(800-900). The darkof the Middle

Ages is broken
renaissance
of Charlemagne.

Charlemagne

Early Period

of the

ness

of

that

of John

name

during

Scotus

these five hun

only two notable philosophers,

Erigena. Note that a span of four hun

and

years

Note

is the

are

lies between

Also

them.

note

that

the first

Roman
and
the second,
a
philosopher,Augustine, was
Erigena,was an Irishman.
Thereby hangs a tale. Dur
ing all those long centuries of the Dark
Ages after
Augustine and until Charlemagne, the lightof science
shone
Europe. In the whole
scarcelyin northwestern
western
hemisphere there were
only three placeswhere
the
learningprospered: one was in the far east, among
Arabians
third
at Constantinople
was
; another
; the
in the far west, in Britain.

was

Charlemagne

that

Clement,
it

from

was

the

Britain, too,

During
successors,

monastery

teachingwas

to call his

it was

soon

the Franks

his

successor,

Irishman, Erigena, for

the

the renaissance
Irish
and

called

of

scholars

cathedral
the

"

Britain

the
could

in
Irish

and
;

and

Charles
the

same

great Charles
be

found

in

the

empire. The
learning."Still it

that the renaissance

at the
qualification
of Charlemagne was
childish attempt to
court
a rather
unite antiquity
with theology.Excepting in the case
of
Scotus Erigena,the revival was
very feeble. It consisted
of a new
effort to understand
Augustine,to master the
must

be said in

that

from

educators, Alcuin

promote learning among

Bald, called

purpose.
and
his
every

to

had

Thus

350

HISTORY

simplestrules
Benedictine
of

of

the

Benedictine
Irish

the

given by

cathedral

and

PHILOSOPHY

and to think out dogma by means

logic,
The period from 800 to 1000
is called the
Age, because learning was entirelyin the

of Hellenism.

hands

OF

From

monks.

scholars

schools

monastic

of

schools

York, Rhabanus

Rheims.

But

these

among

losophicalimportance is
When

phy

his

John

monastic

those
at

of

Gerbert

and

only one
Erigena.

Life

From

of Alcuin

the

Scotus

Tours,

Paris.

names

Fulda,

scholars

contemporarieswere

his immediate

and

of

Erigena (810-880):

Scotus

John

the

emerge

Maurus

impulse

celebrated

many

like
originated,
Fulda, Rheims, Chartres,and the school
the many

the

and

of

at

phi

Teaching.

only lispingat philoso

successors

absorbed

were

in dis

connected

connected
out
a
problems,Erigena worked
system. Like Augustine, Erigena stood far in advance
of his age. He was
not
only the one
great thinker of
the revival of Charlemagne,but he was
of the most
one
remarkable
of the Middle
personalities
Ages. Born in

Ireland, he
schools
have
was

of

had
that

obtained
called

begun by

after his death

(1209)

education

an

in

the

learning,which he could
continent
of Europe. In 853

the

Charles

Alcuin

of

of

centre
on

by

benefit

the

Bald

the

under

carry

Charlemagne.

the church
of

to

condemned

he

the work

on

Three
him

not

as

centuries
a

heretic

his

writingson predestination
His learningwas
and tr an substantiation.
so
great that
he has been called
the Origen of the North."
He read
Greek, and this was a rare accomplishment in those days,
Alcuin
for even
scarcelyknew the Greek alphabet.His
notable
most
Naturae,
originalwork is De Divisione
on

account

"

which

was

influential

neo-Platonism

work

was

in

Christian

his translation

of

dress.
the

His

most

pseudo-Dio

EARLY

MIDDLE

THE

OF

PERIOD

AGES

351

nysius,the Areopagite.It proved,in fact,to be one of

in
influential books
of this period,and
was
the most
of its largecirculation in propa
strumental
account
on
in the Middle
Ages.
gatingneo-Platonism
dialectical
scholastic nor
neither
a
a
Erigena was
defended
church
theologian.He neither assailed nor
He calmly pushed neo-Platonism
to the bor
doctrine.
Irishman
with a Greek
ders of pantheism. He was
an
mind,

under

neo-Platonist

the

veil of

Christian

so
ever
expressedneo-Platonism
mystic. No churchman
frankly. The writingsfrom which Erigena got his doc
called the Pseudo-Dionysius writingsbecause
trine are
the authorship was
falselyattributed to a companion
of St. Paul, Dionysiusthe Areopagite.They were, how
probably written in the fifth century, for they
ever,
and border
neo-Platonic
on
pantheism.
are
essentially

Erigena

translated

them

at

the

request of Charles

the

produced great astonishment

in Europe (858-860). Erigena's own
work, De Diviof
extreme
sione Naturae, is an
pantheisticstatement
the doctrine in the Pseudo-Dionysius. Brieflystated
Erigena'steaching is as follows. God is an incompre
be described
hensible
only in negative
being and can
terms
(negative theology). (See chapter on Philo.)
is the same
God
as
Being or Nature, and He unfolds
fourfold
series. These
Himself
are:
God, the
a
as
outside
world
in God, the world
God, God after the
Bald, and their appearance

world

has

returned

to

Him.

God

contains

in Himself

primordial types of things

formed
Creation is the logicalunfold
before creation.
from the universal.
Immortalitycon
ing of particulars
In
sists in the particularsagain becoming universal.
is creatingHimself, and they
the types of things God

through

the

Logos

all the

OF

HISTORY

PHILOSOPHY

graded from God down to concrete objects.But all

to God, and Erigena thought he found
will finally
return
analogiesof this return everywhere in nature.
for
The
Greek
Principlewhich Erigena formulated
details of the teaching of
the Middle
Ages. These
Erigena are unimportant except as they throw light
that Greek
underlyingprinciplewhich he formu
upon
lated for the Middle Ages. The Heal is the Universal.
are

Tlie

the

fore

thingis, the more

perfectit is. If we have

universal

more

more

versal, that

idea

God

of

existence

has

universal

The

versal.

is

exists. The

idea of the

world

universal

as

the idea of

God,

existent.

But

than

the idea of

from

this

time

Erigena it is a

of

tree.

there

idea of

an

because

and

the

universal,but

therefore not
has

world

Mediaeval

uni

it is uni

universal,therefore
is

so

more

God
not

so

surely
reality

philosophybecomes

of
logical theism. In the case
logicalpantheism. The world is a logical
dependence is logicaldependence, and
on

mosaic.

Keal

what

in modern

we

idea

the

real and

times

call the

causes

and

effects be

objectsare regarded by the Middle Ages

as
explainedif put in logicalarrangement.
sufficiently
This is the core
of medieval
thinking,and the student
natural

tween

fail to

will

understand

unless

Ages
But

he grasps

the

civilization of the

Middle

this central

principle.
logicaluniversal is Greek

realizingof the
and betraysthe fundamentallyGreek
character of me
dieval
church
has
civilization. The objectivespiritual
Mediaeval
nature.
merely taken the place of objective
Greek
and
universalism
historyis a conflict between
the
the
nance.

this

Christian

conceptionof the individual. In Erigena

Greek
element
appeared in overwhelming domi
Erigena is a smaller Augustine
Augustine
"

PERIOD

EARLY

MIDDLE

THE

OF

AGES

353

of thought and uninspired

by great masses
ideals of buildingup the church.
Erigena
by practical
is a
belated Gnostic."
Why was it that his nee-Pla
tonic pantheism did not overcome
entirelythe individ
ualistic element
in Christian dogma ? Why, on the con
trary, did it bring out far-reachingissues of conflict
of his teaching
when
a
century later the significance
understood ? Because
inherentlyand fundamentally
was
of the German
in the nature
peoples,as appearing in
and lawss was
the conviction of the rights
their customs
In the teaching of the
of the individual
personality.
of the spiritual
Christian fathers the element
personal
The Ger
nature.
ity found a deep echo in the German
the later
live under
could tolerate and did actually
man

uncontrolled

"

of

doctrine

church

calm

gena

deprived the

It

apple of
Ages.

the

century followingErigena

tion.

All

learningdeclined

from

the

north, east, and

was

broken

appeared. There
tians at
near.

ksted

This has been

Eri

ideals.

century

Erigena's

of the scholastics.
discord

was

one

the

among

(900-1000).
of demoraliza

the renewed

invasions

The

periodof

west.

believed

the end
be

proved to

that there

until 1300.

the next

meas

empire of Charle
up and the Papacy temporarilydis
tradition that the Chris
is a persistent

this time

lies the truth

with

the issue in

over

Century of the Early Period

Last

magne

aroused

the forerunner

of the Middle

thinkers
The

hot

tossed

he who

was

The

Erigena was

the

but

all his inherited

of

was
activity

later,the conflict became

doctrine.

conceptionof
pantheistic

German

intellectual

when

realism

moderate

the Greek

ured

Thus

of

With

was

of

to

be

legend,but back of it
fresh rise of pietywhich
a

this movement

the Middle

the world

Ages.

we

enter

upon

CHAPTER

THE

The

The

TRANSITIONAL

General

from

accompanied
took

pietism
thirteenth

its

meaning
in the

world

pened

then."

its old

garment

the
fic

church."

the

through

It

"

of

the

this

These

mediaeval

of

growth.

this

in

controversy.

controversy

the

elaborated

Christian
had

Early

The
go

as

is

period

the

Period

the

name

held
;

pent-up

passing

were

when

of the

together

neo-

of

into

individual.

without

con

they develop

now

evolved

scholasticism.

Harnack,

Glaber, Hist., lib, III, 4.

vi, p. 7.

of

speci

by Erigena, came

vol.

the

time

philosophical theories
by

the

wars

life

conception

been

aside

cast

v;1 ite robe

All

the

carried

were

had

Crusades

of the

previous

motives

two

troversy

the

in

gives

souls, it hap-

world

itself

have

to

Period

over

religious revival.

rapid period

with

if the

as

ardor

mysticism,

conflict

dominion

clothed

The

Philosophically
Platonic

was

seemed

ideals

ever

was

in the

and

Transitional

"If

Europe
spirit of

"

system

The

im

be

of

The

its

in

politicalorder

inquiry.

mediaeval

dif

as

can

birth

new

of

as

all institutions

gained

and

of

energies

of

form.

and

expression

for

Crusades.

the

to

the

was

Period

Early
tone

beginning

possession

perfect

Period

the

of

passion

century

reached

out

the

by

of

Period.

Transitional

emotional

century

when

century

and

the

was

the

Transitional

century

attitude

It

agined.

of

the

last

the

intellectual

"

of

(1000-1200)

PERIOD

Character

first century

ferent

XVII

by

into
this

While

THE

TRANSITIONAL

studies

secular
theoretically
carded

ancient

and

temptationof
to find

of

Platonism, and
realism

different
next

centuries.
from

that

period.The

whom

the refutation

of

the

The

The

is

of

the

in

or

spiritof

There

of heresies.

neo-

Platonic

schoolmen

of

this group
is
schoolmen
of the

schoolmen

of this

detail are,

some

the

antiquityas

of
group
problem before

scholastics

Anselm,

surprised

dialectic,and

the

presented to

shall consider

we

be the

to

classics,of dialectic,of

Augustine.

prevailed among

two

of

use

be dis

to

considered

was

of the materials

and

knowledge

these

skill in the

of many

of culture

means

supposed

were

literature

355

one
devil,yet practically

trained

employment
was

the

PERIOD

period

"

1033-1109.

Roscellinus,d.

1100

about.

Abelard, 1079-1142.
In

scholas
general sense
the term
ticism is philosophicthought,but historically
is usuallyrestricted to the philosophicthinking of the
It has been
Middle
pointed out that scholastic
Agr
philosophydoes not differ from any other philosophy.
its dependence on
It had its prejudices,
authority,its
What

is Scholasticism?

like
employment of deduction, its use of observation
of this time, however,
all philosophy.The scholasticism
is distinguished
by its generalreference to church dogma
as
authorityand its imperfect use of experience.The
of the Middle
scholasticism
Ages may therefore be de
of dialectic or
fined as the application
logicalmethods
of theological
the
the discussion
to
problems. It was
"

attempt

to

present the doctrine of the church

in

scien

such an attempt
philosophy.Sometimes
the result was
resulted in heresy when
a
changing of
not
so
dogma. Generally,however, the scholastic was
tific system of

THE

val had

TRANSITIONAL

materials,no
scanty literary

PERIOD

opportunityof

357
test

by empirical observations, and his

scholasticism
In the Early Period
untrained.
mind
was
in logic.It con
of a mental
had the character
game
sisted,on the whole, in the subtle spinningout of logical
questionswith the few fragments of Aristotle as a guide.
ing

his discussions

dangerous to faith,but the church could not

diversion open
the only mental
to
prevent it,for it was
monks
of the schools of Charlemagne. The
arguments
often reveal great mental
acuteness, although they have
The
schools of the ninth
of triviality.
the appearance
to barren
formalism, and this
given over
century were
threatened
to submerge the vigorousmovement
inaugu
Can
rated by Erigena.
a
a
virgin
prostitutebecome
a
mouse
again through divine omnipotence?" "Does
"How
that eats the sacrament
eat the body of God?"
stand
the point of a needle?"
on
angels can
many
These
are
examples of the prevailingverbal gymnastics
in
be found
such problems can
of that time, and
even
of Peter
the works
Lombard, Thomas
Aquinas, and
This

was

"

Duns

Scotus.

Logicallystated the problem is that of the relation

It is usuallycalled the prob
of particulars
to universals.
of general ideas. The questionwas
lem
of the reality
used text-book
in that universally
started by a passage
the Isagoge of Porphyry, which
of the time
was
an
introduction
to Aristotle's
Categories. (See p. 102.)
Porphyry divides the problem into three parts: (1)
Do genera
and speciesexist in nature, or do they exist
mere
as
products of the intellect? (2) If they are
thingsapart from the mind, are they corporealor incor
poreal things? (3) Do they exist outside the individ
ual things of sense, or are
they realized in the latter ?
"

HISTORY

358

OF

PHILOSOPHY

problem involved here the thinkers of the

divided into three schools,
Middle Ages were
realists,
The realist maintained
and nominalists.1
conceptualists,
while
the particular
that the general idea had reality,
was
only a defective imitation of it. The nominalist, on
is only a name
the contrary, held that the universal
the

Upon

"

(nomen) or an abstraction derived from the real par

ticular thing. The
be
conceptualisttried to mediate
the two by showing that reality
exists only in the
tween
particular.To use the mediaeval phrases,realism is universalia

ante

rem

nominalism

is universalia

post

rem

conceptualismis universalia in re. (See p. 103 for table

of comparison with
Protagoras,Plato, and Aristotle.)
The questionwas
of great practical
importance to the
church.
its

Is

the universal

church

dogma authoritative,or
authoritative

? This

churchman

of that

who

primacy

of

Rome

to show

among

the

are

real and

day

real and

was

all

particularchurches
to

the

establish

the

vital matter

trying to

was

the

therefore

separate churches.

Fur

humanity was less real than the

human
beings would destroythe church doc
particular
trine of sin and redemption,for these dogmas depended
the assumption of the solidarity
of the human
on
race.
thermore,

The

church

that

universal

and

its universal

not
dogma were
that is why the ortho
to the schoolmen, and
mere
names
dox
churchmen
were
nearly always realists. Religious
were
universals,while particulars
principleswere
secu
lar. Dogma
had become
fixed,with which traditional!]
the church
had
become
identified. To emphasize par
ticular experienceswould
the continual
mean
correcting
of tradition and a substitution
of privatejudgment for
1

and

In

this

called

period the conceptualists were

nominalists.

confused

with

nominalist!

PERIOD

TRANSITIONAL

THE

359
.

church

found

out, it will be

is completelyworked

nominalism

When

decrees.

conflict with

to

church

dogma

at

skepticism.Still the church

that there is great danger also in a thor
later saw
man
ough-going realism like that of Erigena's.It became
were
danger
pantheism. Both realism and nominalism
driven to their
if they were
doctrines for the church
ous
point. The

every

result is

logicalconclusions.
Anselm
(1033-1109):
aeval

Philosophy.

revival

which

had

and

Life

lived

Anselm

in Medi

Position

during

monastic

the

century. He was
teachers,for during his

in the tenth

begun

in fact the last of the monastic

decliningyears occurred the first of the Crusades, and

of
the transference
the epoch following him witnessed
He
to the universities.
learning from the monasteries
born of a noble
family in Aosta, Lornbardy, and
was
he
entered in early life the monastery of Bee. Here
Lanfranc
succeeded
abbot, and again he succeeded
as
of Canterbury. He was
in the archbishopric
Lanfranc
a
of genuine piety,of speculative
bent, and of un
man
swerving faith in the dogma of the church. As primate
of England he resisted with much
sagacitythe encroach
ments
a

treatise

ment,

His
power.
the doctrine of the

the secular

of

on

and

of

one

was

the most

Cur

Deus

Homo

redemption and
important books

was

atone

of the

Middle

Ages.
Anselm
brought about a great change in theological
teaching.Berengar of Tours had but recentlymade an
upon

in the

Eucharist, and

"

storm

lowed.
defended

and

of the real presence

the doctrine

attack

stress

Anselm's

"

was

period

teacher

the doctrine.

the immediate

and

The

of

cause

scholasticism

of Christ
of

fol

that

Lanfranc,
predecessor,
doctrine

had

not

yet

the

had

been

HISTORY

360

settled,and
Anselm

side

each

claimed

therefore

was

PHILOSOPHY

OF

From

lectual diversion.
the first to

was

of

and

he

was

to add

the desire

was

dialectics with
His

the first to

to

use

defending dogma.
no
longer an intel
the monastic
teachers,

last of

believer.

attempt

of

purpose

the

employ

the
instructing

by

the

new

entire life

was

to faith

by

knowledge

purpose

animated
the

means

philosophy.

of

scholasticism

Anselm's
Patristic
is

He,

.authority.

the first

dialectics

on,

of

of

the serious

time

this

basis

witness

apply philosophyto dogma,

dialectics with

the

that

been

he has

and

"

to

centre

and

circulates

about

the

and method
spirit
that of Augustine and
the Apologists,
justlycalled "the second Augustine"

theologyas

similar

so

therefore

the last of the Fathers."

his

Beside

the safe and

tra

centralized teaching of Anselm, the imagina

ditionally
like a body that had
tive pantheism of Erigena seems
from
its natural
been
loosened
place and was
floating
were
beyond control. Both Erigena and Anselm
away
1200
that until the year
inspired by the Platonism
realists.
dominated
the Middle
Ages. That is,both were
The realism of Erigena, however, expressed in full the
It destroyedall grades of
mystic element of Platonism.
the church
realitybelow God, and made
unnecessary
and

its offices.

Erigena was

was

consistent

with

basis of

the
saved

him

thodox
of
and

intellectual

and

became

scholastics.

universal
the

the attitude

realist. The

moderate

extreme

an

The

credo

world

pliedphilosophy,not

as

the

ut

being
intelligam(faithas

to Anselm

anchor

which

all future
is

or

hierarchy

sacraments, the church,

dogmas of the
because
they needed

such

in

of the church

the
belief)was
the safeguard of

reals,such

Trinity.To

realist ; Anselm

church

he ap

support, but

TRANSITIONAL

THE

PERIOD

361
.

in order

Anselm's
so-called

"

Anselmic

in the eyes

the

"

status

of

for

the

Existence

parts of Anselm's

known

best

the

are

Arguments

of the churchman

place his

finished

To

science."

The

of God.

for the Existence

Arguments

"

and

by analysis.Philosophy

only clarifydogma.

shall

God

clear

them

make

to

of

teaching,
theodicyin

get their cogency

underlyingthought of mediaeval
real it
universal a thing is,the more
realism ; the more
it exists and the more
is
the more
perfectit is. (See
the so-called
p. 352.) In his Monologium he developed
cosmologlcal argument : A singleperfect and univer
of all lesser
be assumed
ths cause
sal being must
as
involve his existence.
must
Every
beings. God's essence
be thought as coming into existence
other
being can
must

we

remember

the

"

from
the

some

external

necessityof

his

God

while

cause,

In his

nature.

own

alone

exists from

Proslogium

he

ontologicalargument: Man
involves
has the idea of a perfectbeing; Perfection
that of existence,otherwise
other qualities
we
among
could think of a more
perfectbeing or one who did pos
elaborated

his

existence

sess

more

famous

Therefore

God

exists.

(d. 1100

about): Life and Teaching.

the first scholas
of Compiegne, was
Roscellinus,a canon
tic to attempt to modify dogma by the dialectic, not
that there had not occurred
throughout the historyot
the church
theologicalcontroversies. Before thk
many
Roscellinus

"

time

such

doctrines

controversies
that had

not

had

on

yet become

the

whole

dogma.

arisen

over

The

particu
the dogma

objectof the attack of Roscellinus was

of the Trinity,and
the base of his attack was
none
other than philosophy.Roscellinus
completelyfailed in
gettingthe church to modify this particulardoctrine,
lar

HISTORY

862

lie succeeded

but

imagined. He
between

and

tion thereafter
and

in

into

out

rights of divine
supplieda powerful shock to

faith

schools

of

son

to

the

before

seemed

was

defense

of

different
This

the

nominalist, and

point of view of
change the dogma

and

ques
rea

Roscellinus
awakened

the

questions which
merely logicalproblems.

consequences
to be

Roscellinus

issue

human

the

revelation.

the

the

fundamental

rightsof

the

to

as

was

distinctness
The

revelation.

he ,could have

than

largerway

brought

reason

PHILOSOPHY

OF

nominalism
of the

doctrine

that

the

from

was

the

he

Trinity.He
that

it

had

attempted to
made
a
life-long

Godhead

three

was

substances, agreeingonly in certain

qualities.
was
only

Trinity.But this
the most
of the gen
strikingexample of his application
In general,universals are
eral principle
of nominalism.
and
existence only in the human
have
an
only names
is tritheism

Universalia

mind.

The

tion, or

the

mental

not

post

formed

groups

are

and

out

parts of

an

affairs and

Individuals

rem.

of

no

opposed by Anselm, condemned

obliged to recant. He fled to
France, and again preached his
Storm
head

tury
The
and
"

by

and

Stress.

the nominalism

of

formed

by addi
by division,

reality.Roscellinus
by the church,
England, returned

was

and
to

doctrine.

the issue

was

brought

Roscellinus,the twelfth

to

cen

of generalideas.
reality
the one
hand, tried to grade universals
on
realists,
related to particulars
how
universals
to show
are
was

torn

in battle

After

exist.

individuals

many

individual
have

alone

all of which

versals,such

Anselm
as

the sacraments,

explanationswere

over

had

the

left to faith.

How

do

uni

Trinity,the church,
universal God?
Grotesque
offered,like the imaginativework of

the persons
exist in one

in the

TRANSITIONAL

THE

PERIOD

363
.

Bernard
of

the

brother, Theodoric.

his

of

theism.

Nothing

uals

accidental

are

theism

reduced

Abelard, almost

teacher

was

exists but

in

inherent

so

realism

universal

the

modifications

always appearing here

was

symbolic number
theory
William
of Champeaux, a

and

of Chartres

pan

all individ

of the universal.
blood

the

to

and

of realism

Pan
that

it

there.

deductions
pantheistic
by the realists brought
in spiteof the repression
in opposition,
nominalism

Such
out

of nominalism

authorities

the

by

of the

The

church.

most

sought protectionand authorityunder the

doctrine was
of Aristotle,for his conceptualist
not
The few writingsof Aristotle then
at this time.
imperfectlyinterpreted.One of the
were
very
ironical situations in the history of the Middle

Ages

is that, up

nominalists
name

known
known

cism, Plato

Period

authorityof

the

was

the

to

of

Classic

the orthodox

Scholasti
and

Aris

totle of the heterodox.

Life

The

of

Roscellinus

both

(1079-1142). Abelard
William
of Champeaux as

had

Abelard
and

teach

quarreledwith them both and set up a rival

He taught in various placesand was,
school of his own.
1108
in Paris
from
with some
to 1136
interruptions,
The
university did not exist until a generationafter
its true
founder, for he inaugurated
him, but he was
the earlyuniversities sprang.
out of which
the movement
transferred
from philosophyto theology
His method
was
ers.

He

and

thence

drawing

to

all studies.
after

conclusions

It
an

was

talent
was

as

teacher

impatient of

and
all

didactic

method

empiricalenumeration
was
acquainted with

Abelard
and
cons.
pros
Greek
writingsexcept in Latin

the

his keen

translations.
French

restraint,made

of
of
no

His

great
that
intellect,

him, however,

the

TRANSITIONAL

THE

problem was

solved indeed, but

not

in

liminary stop

this

statement

ante
equal significance,

in nature,

post

to

came

mind

have

God,

of

pre
an

in

re

knowledge.

in human

rem

it

365

universals

"

in the

rem

Rationalism.

AbelarcTs

PERIOD

Relation

The

"

between

The

proud, self-reliant,self-con
could be nothing else than a rationalist.
scious Abelard
He
He was
the type of the controversial metaphysician.
intolerant of restraint,
the fightingdialectician,
was
devoid
of respect for authority,seeking the prize of
victory at any cost. Erigena, as a mystic,harmonized
and
reason
dogma because they are equal; Anselm, as
and

Reason

Dogma.

"

an

scholastic,harmonized

orthodox

is subordinate
as

to

rationalist,harmonized

is subordinate

dogma

To"Anselm

dogma before the

dogma's advocate.
until it proves

of the

bar
We

in his Sic et Non,

Fathers

of the

reason

may

method

of his

upon
in

Trinity,and

of the

tian

Theology

led him

over

appears

trine

the fourth

decide

book

he

cites

answers

to advocate

the

reason.

; to

Abelard

for

reason."

Abelard

and

reason

For

its innocence.

and
investigation,
truth." A good example

views

dogma

to

then

calls
acts

as

try all dogma in court, and,

must

to

come

pears

conforms

we
legalpractice,

modern

to

contrary

the

clarifies

because

dogma

substitute
only a provisional
never
questionsdogma, while

Anselm

the

and

reason

reason

Abelard,

to it ;

is

"dogma

we

to

because

and

reason

merely

reason

conforms

and

dogma

them

doubt

must

through doubt
to
through investigation
"

it is

of Abelard's

attitude

treatise in which

againstone
the truth.

the

third

Another

book

ap

he sets the

another

his examination
in

it

so

that

example

of the doo
of

Chris

in
twenty-threeobjections
and^
This rationalizing
them.
spirit
doctrine of free-will,
to placethe

HISTORY

366

OF

PHILOSOPHY

of moral
conduct
and
theoretical
belief
responsibility
the individual,to regard Christianity
the con
as
upon
of all religions
and
the presentation
summation
not
as
of anything new.
If

discussions

these

in

he

was

brilliant

more

than

questions without
profound, if he wrote
upon
many
solvingany, if the weight of his personalitycould not
because
the science
prevail in his controversies,it was
of the twelfth century offered him little empiricalsup
of the church
and
the
port against the actual power
mighty inward
strengthof faith of the people. What
had Abelard
that rational
to support his position
means
science should determine
faith ? Nothing but the hollow
of scholastic logic and
the traditions
methods
of the
rebel
church
he was
the very things against which
set for himself
a
ling.Abelard
problem, but he lacked
the means
of its solution. It was, however, a problem
"

that has

vanished

never

from

of the Euro

the memory

peoples.

pean

teaching is representative
of the last century of this period,which
he brought to a
close. There
was
growing a general revolt from the un
fruitful methods
of the scholastic dialectic,
coupled with
feverish desire for knowledge. There
the one
on
was,
hand, a great reaction toward mysticism with the Victoand Bernard
of Tours, and
of Clairvaux
rines,Bernard
of Salisbury and
Peter
toward
eclecticism with John
The

unrest

the Lombard.

ing growth
interests
For

On
in

Jerusalem

mind, had

the other

hand, there

empirical science.
but

were

earthlyform

in Abelard's

eddies

But

these

in the great current

the

Holy Land,

the

of all the

ideals sacred

to

and

fallen

into

an

was

the

hands

of

the

interest

theoretical
of events.

memorials
the

in

mediae va]

infidel ! The

world

western

Crusades
the

Platonic

the

first

mere

stroyed

periods

two

earthly
?

to

idealism

symbols

Middle

Abelard

on

of

the
that

brings

idealism

the
of

expression

Ages.

theoretic

and

rescue,

spectacular

367

frenzied

the

the

that

coincidence
of

and
of

idealism

dominance
when

last

the

for

preparing

was

the

were

PERIOD

TRANSITIONAL

THE

Is

climax.

to

side

were

bring

They

close

at

the

being

it
the
time
de

XVIII

CHAPTER

THE

OF

PERIOD

General

The
first

golden

and

Scholasticism

At

the

church,

and

the

which

Orders.

the

stimulus
the

eral

culture

intense

from

position against

the

versities, and
the

forces

new

but

merely completed

new

Aristotle, as

epistemology,
as

against

Roscellinus.

the

and

it

was

The

Mendicants

was

(3)

East

William
on

the

the

Mendi
their

Orders,
was

the

uni

possible

nothing really new,

scheme

way

gen-

of

achieved

triumph

old

old

that

Constanti

in

and

they

the

The

the

development

the

understood,

opposition of

Aristotle

Mendicants,
inner

politicsin

Mendi

papacy,

contributed
the

the

and

an

teachers.

theology

church

of the

hostilityof

the

for

forces, and

new

of

true

Spain. Aristotle

and

dogma

conditions

with

contact

the

were

the

of

the

"

piety

favorable

from

derived

of

triumph

piety

nople, Palestine,

because

the

(1)

and

cants

The

Period

period appeared

dogma,

with

Transi

the

its life and

this

wave

Classic

of

Jews, heretics,

else,and
In

Acquaintance

were

(2)

church

all

the

stimulus.

needed

from

the

was

hundred

one

period

Mohammedans,

its life and

by

period

Transitional

the

The

Period.

remaining
The

of

while.
to

floated

was

cant

of

worth

theology, adequate

this

growth

end

the

spite

most

of

decline.

classics, outshone

the

were

in

Last

the

natural

was

Period.

tional

of

period

this

fiftyyears

of scholasticism

age

was

years

of

Character

hundred

one

(1200-1453)

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

of

things.

The

taught metaphysics,
to

of
their

vindicate

dogma

Champeaux

and

part vindicated

PERIOD

THE

all
and

dogma by blending it
with

reason

with

faith

one

hand,

Period

was

the

on

369

the other.

on

scholasticism

The

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

Transitional

the

of

predominantlycontroversial,while the character of

and
entering,is synthetic
period,which we are now
The

structive.

of fresh blood

infusion

only the logicalbut

not

resulted
in

the

in the renewal
construction

the

physicalworks

con

culture,from
of

Aristotle,

in the dialectic and

of interest

of

into

this

systems of

metaphysics

and

the re
concerns
problem now
and faith,and to its solution
spectivescopes of reason
logicand psychology are applied.A complete solution
seemed
to be made
Aquinas, which had its
by Thomas
the introduction
literaryexpressionin Dante. Without
of any new
principlethe world of nature,
philosophical
as
interpretedby Aristotle,was apparentlybrought by
Thomas
into theoretical harmony with the Augustinian
did
conception of the world of grace. But no sooner
scholastic philosophy
Thomas
to have formulated
seem

psychology. The

for

all

central

time, than

controversy

mysticism gained
pantheistic
of Thomas's

one

Duns

own

brother

broke

its

out

independence through

Dominicans, Eckhart

Scotus, a Franciscan, drew

For

afresh.

up

then

metaphysicalpro

Augustinian theoryof the will,

direction
further
to philosophy; and
and
gave a new
nominalism
more
great upon Aristotle's logicand
grew
the new
empiricalpsychology.For the churchman, phi
Aquinas.
losophy reached its completenessin Thomas
The later tendencies
are
as
regardedby the churchman
modern
deteriorations,and even
philosophyis looked
the classic system of
but temporizingwith
as
upon
gramme

based

upon

the

Thomas.
The

Two

Civilizations.

This

is

one

of the

periodsof

370

HISTORY

OF

PHILOSOPHY

PERIOD

THE

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

371

thought resultingfrom the shif tingsof distinct civiliza

have alreadynoted the influence of the strug
tions. We
and

the Orient

glesof

the Occident

in the Persian

campaigns of Alexander
epoch ushered
entirelynew

in the

and

an

seen

before

us,

ethnic

new

had

medan

in

ourselves

find

we

in

grown

the

confronted
of

epoch

new

with

mighty strengthin

lately

the invasions

by

civilization

situation. The

have

we

With

tribes into Rome.

of the northern

and

wars

another
Moham

the
the

East, had

possesseditself of Asia Minor, northern Africa, and

facingEurope from the east, west,
Spain,and was now
of the Middle
and south. All through the First Period
civilizations had
Ages the Christian and Mohammedan
been contestants for supremacy.
Only as late as 732 the
claim upon
Mohammedan
Europe had been defeated at
Mohammed
the battle of Tours.
(570-632) converted
of Arabia
to Islam
the whole
during the ten years
His succes
his death.
his Hegira (622) and
between
took Palestine (637), Syria (638), Egypt (647),
sors
Persia
(by 707), invaded
(710), all north Africa
repulsed at Tours (732). All
Spain (711), and were
century, and

this occurred

within

hundred

(800-1000) the

and

Rome
two

years

the islands

during
Middle

the cultures

the first centuries

other

when

darkness, the schools

Kuf a, and

of the

little. In

but

Ages,

on

other

next

those

of

cities were

In

harassed

the

stand

With

Middle

in the way

civilizations

Ages

first centuries

Arabs

the

point of fact,be

of the two

Europe

western

two

the Mediterranean,

could

cultural influence.

of fanaticism

cause

the

of the Mediterranean.

fanaticism
religious

of their mutual

for

Mohammedans

civilizations facingeach other

only mutual

each

was

touched
of

shrouded

the
in

Bagdad, Basra,
enjoyinga splendidintellectat

PERIOD

THE

form, and

the

1150.

1125

In

Organon

ethics

was

Aristotle's

of Chartres

by the school
physics,and

whole

as

of

some

in 1200

in this

until

known

not

physicswas known
all the physics,
meta

in translations

known

were

373

appeared in Europe

Or g anon,

the

ings,except

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

the

from

were

accompanied by Ara
Aristotle as if he
commentaries, which interpreted
church
There were
a neo-Platonic
pantheist.
many

men

interested

Latin
bian

of Toledo.

Frederick

and

translation,as, for

of

Raymond

and

II

Roger
(d. 1250) had

ex-

II of
their

Frederick
had
philosophers.
translations made
and presentedto the Universi
of Oxford, Paris, and Bologna.

Thus

the influence

tian culture

Ages

was

Arabian
acted

Arabian

filled with

courts

ties

were

work

in the

ample, Gerbert,
Sicily(d. 1154)
many

These

Hebrew.

and

before

of

the

the

culture

merely as

"

it

was

But

mainly

transmitter

upon

Period

Classic

inconsiderable.

not

Arabian

the Chris

of the

this must

borrowed.

of the materials

Middle

be said of
Arabia

of know

ledge from the Greeks and Hindoos ; and so far as

concerned, the Arab was
returning to
philosophywas
Europe, in a pervertedform, the Aristotle which had
been depositedwith him centuries before. The Moham
medans
the world's carriers of a considerable
were
body
of science and of many
new
agricultural
products; and
which
of the amount
they introduced into Europe only
At the end of the twelfth
their own.
a small portionwas
century the Christian

at

Rome

and

York

was

richer

of discovery,but poorer in the amount

principles
traditional learning and
of scientific wealth, than
Cordova.
Mohammedan
at Bagdad and

the

Read

on

this

zation, pp. 117

f.

pointSeignobos,Hist, of Mediceval

in
of
the

Civil*

HISTORY

374

OF

Conflict between

The

The

Crusades.*
became

Up

to

into

bians

were

from

the

north

in

Civilizations.
the

eleventh

the

century these Ara

tribes of Turks
These

leaders

Mongolians

or

became

converted

but

they had no love for

placesin Palestine,which

the Christian

and

the year

Mohammedan

the

The

"

civilizations

two

conflict about

open

Asia.

of

for the

reverence

Two

1000

conquered by

Mohammedanism,
alike to

an

the year

Arabians, but

were

the

rivalrybetween

intensified

1100.

PHILOSOPHY

the Arab.

culture

nor

sacred

were

From

to

the fourth

twelfth

the

century the pilgrimages of the Chris

in multitudes,largely
or
tians,individually
increased,but

to

in the eleventh
Turks

made

century the
the

They began

new

Jerusalem

to

access

of Mohammedan

race

difficult.

more

subjectthe pilgrimsto cruelties,so that

the Christian was
beginning to find the door of his Holy
closed to him.
Then
Land
did Platonic
Christianity
of those sacred
rush to the rescue
placesthat symbol
ized its ideals. This onslaughtupon
the Mohammedans
in a series of surges, traditionally
came
spoken of as
The
Crusades
the eight Crusades.1
resulted
quitecon
of the church, for the Crusad*
trary to the expectations
*

Read

Adams,

to

Mediaeval

Emerton,
Civilization

First
Second
Third

"

Fourth

"

be

thirty years

noted
of

of Jerusalem

the

pp. 258-278.

Ages,
Minor

Fifth

1189-1192

1202-1204

Crusades

Crusade,

1216-1220

Sixth

"

1228-1229

Seventh

"

1248-1254

Eighth

"

1270-1272

1212
that
year

and

five
1200.

the

of

these

The

founding

directlyor indirectlyconcerned
that kingdom.
were

358-397

pp.

CRUSADES

1147-1149

"

Children's

ture

THE

Major Crusades
Crusade, 1096-1099
"

It will

the Middle

during
1

Europe,

nine

Crusade

First
of

Crusades

kingdom.

with

the

occurred

resulted
The

defense

in

other
or

within
the

cap-

Crusadea

recapture ol

PERIOD

THE

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

375

But
permanently recapturing Jerusalem,
the Crusades
they
accomplishedthe unexpected thing
awakened
Europe. The effect of the Crusades
upon
the Orient. The
re
far greater than upon
Europe was
failed

ers

in

"

be enumerated

sults may

dormant

1. The

with the

contact

follows

as

European

"

by
Europeans had previ
to be their superiors.

intellect
the

heathen, whom

shaken

was

up

they found
aroused
the
national
2. A
new
rivalrywas
among
Christian soldiers. This national spirit
was
helped nega
but
ouslydespised,

tivelyby

given

activitywas

social class

new

the

and

German, French,

the

also

prosperous
4. The

commercial

Trade

was

and

luxuries

new

secondaryway

became

English towns,

centres.

of the Latin

power

allied itself

lords.

Venice, Pisa, and Genoa, and in

needs.

im

immense

an

formed, which

was

kings against the feudal

opened with the East, revealingnew
with

lords.

the feudal

the losses among

3. Commercial

pulse. A

whom

church

extended.

was

introduced
in tra?isof Aristotle were
In the fourth
lations direct from the original Greek.
Crusade
Constantinoplewas captured by the Crusaders
of the Greeks
(1204), and in this way the treasures
The
scholars.
were
complete
opened to the western
introduced
into western
works
of Aristotle were
Europe
Aristotle was
at a time when
being interpretedas a
5.

The

works

pantheistby
The

had

the Arabian

Revival

felt in

been

satisfied. The
natural
These

1150

of

came

and

Learning. The
the

entire

science

commentators.

gave

twelfth

logicof
the

new

need

that
learning,
now
being
century, was

Aristotle
materials

of

and
for

his

knowledge.

Europe within the century

1250, (1) through translations from
into

entire

between
the Ara"

HISTORY

876

bic,and
Greek.
science

OF

then

(2) directly
through translations from the
Aristotle's logicrevived
scholasticism
and
hia
the foundation
of metaphysics.Medisebecame
THE

THB

DIAGRAM

OF

DANTE'S

its divisions

The

evident

of Hell

UNIVERSE

ANOECTC

POETIC
From

(Showing

PHILOSOPHY

CONCEPTION

Eossetti's

(at centre

plan beneath

of the
this

OF

THE

UNIVERSE

of Dante

Shadow

and the
earth), Purgatory,
Ptolemaic
cosmography)

nine

heavens^

is the

a
com*
ready for this and there was
thought was
plete readjustment without the introduction of a new
philosophical
principle.The side of Augustine'steach*

val

THE

ing

PERIOD

OF

CLASSIC

that

emphasized the
gained by being confirmed
of Aristotle.

ualism

Bollstaedt

of

Thomas

Aquinas

The

centres

new

tinople.The
Salerno

had

by

the

377

than

systematic

founder

of

this

the

will,

intellectAlbert

was

organizer and literarycodifier wati

the poetic expression was
Dante.
Paris and
Constan
learningwere
of teaching were
transferred
from

of

centres

the monasteries

intellect rather

The

the

SCHOLASTICISM

to the

Universities

new

(1100-1300).

its

beginnings in the latter part of the

eleventh
century. Bologna in law, Oxford in general
culture
and
studies,show
theology,Paris in the same
of generalorganization
traces
1160
between
and 1200.
There
established
were
seventy-nine of these universi
ties between
1150
and 1500. They were
not
founded,'*
"

but

grew

up

part of this movement.*

as

Nevertheless,the struggle was

before
of

official

Aristotle

many

years,

recognitionof

had
on

been

Aristotle

associated
of

account

full century

with

name

pantheism

Arabian

the

The

came.

long

versions

for

of his

neo-Platonic
doctrine
of emanations,
teaching. The
with
its pantheism in the Arabian
versions, was
a
tendency of which the church had been shy since the
days of Erigena. Until the theistic character of Aris
totle's

teaching

translations
reaction
church

from

became
the

against the
had

condemned

assured

Greek,

whole

of

the

by
there

the

new

Physics

the
was

direct

powerful
learning. The
a

in 1209

and

Metaphysics in 1215. But in 1254 Aristotle was

ciallyrecognized,and fiftyyears later he became
could contradict
no
one
guide of the church, whom
out
being accused of heresy.
*

Read

102-103.

Norton, Readings in

the

Hist,

Latin

the
offi
the
with

of Education,

pp,

HISTORY

378

Catholic

The

OF

church

PHILOSOPHY

showed

never

greater advantage than

in

its

abilityto

its

dealingswith the new

problems of this period.The people of a purely reli
of Aristotelianism.
into possession
came
giousepoch now
For centuries the intellect had been starvingon formal
Here
imminent.
logic.An intellectual revolution was
in Aristotle was
presented a rich theory of nature that
the church
Aristotle
Friars

had
would

been

have

the Dominicans

"

Yet

considered.

never

it is doubtful

accepted,had

Mendicant

the

Franciscans

and

if

not

"

suc

Universityof Paris.
These
did not love philosophyin itself. They
monks
be able to defend
however, that philosophymust
saw,
of phi
itself againstinfidel philosophyby the weapons
losophy. But curiouslyenough, Aristotelianism,which
ceeded

in

in the

chairs
establishing

spring of this renaissance,became, by its incor

porationinto the church, the great obstacle to the real
Renaissance
hundred
and fifty
two
years later.
the

was

Strength and

The
i.

The

Aristotle
ness,
a

the

conception of
the

mysticism. (2)
Aristotle

church

of

great clear

God.

transcendent

This

against neo-Platonism
gave

to

the

church

it

was

under

the control

the Middle

was

and

theory
(3)
grace.

supplemented its theory of

established
a
philosophicalstandard
things. This proved of great value

because

(1)

Church:

the

church, with

the

church

Aristotle

to

that

of nature

truth

Aristotle

for

elaborated

for

weapon

of

Strength

Church.

to the

of Aristotle

Burden

for the
to

the

of the church.

Ages philosophi
it was
cal thought had a relative independence because
without
a
philosophycould
recognized standard ; now
of Aristotle. For
be controlled by the standard
exam
certain
ple,with the coming of Aristotle there came
In the

first

two

periodsof

PERIOD

THE

definitions

standard

of

Burden

The

Aristotle
At

act.

Aristotle

of

encouraged a

Aristotle

(2)

and

in this direction

only a questionof

was

church

for the

became

science

influence

small, but its growth

very

(1)
analysis.

Church:

the

to

for

taste

Aristotelian

first the

379

nature, acci

substance, person,

dent, mode, potency, and

2.

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

time.

standard.

second

was

double
became
a
now
problem for the churchman
one
: (a) Is my
teachingconsistent with church dogma ?
(i) Is my teaching consistent with Aristotle ? My
the reply to a youth who
son," was
thought he had dis
The

"

covered
times

spots
I

and

him."

assure

Dogma,

fallible. The

you

not

reason

the

need

not

Aristotle

read

have

nothing of the
only standard, is
follow dogma, but

there

now

Revelation

standard.

"I

the sun,

on

kind

is

became

not

its

in
in

own

mystery which

of

realm

many

pointed. A
doctrine
that it might
thus might be of such a nature
not
be philosophically
true.
true, but theologically
distinguished
of Aquinas. Many
Predecessors
The

the

stand

names

and

could

reason

the

ency

of

beginning of
this

of

of

science.
The

Albert

church

of the twelfth

Lombard

was

thought

the

Alexander

was

to

Vincent

of

form

anticipatedby

century, of which
the

of the thresh

of Hales

of the

teacher

model.

The

express

tend

Abelard, the

like

influence

attempt of Thomas

for the

of the

Period

These

(d.1264),
of

Bollstaedt,called Albertus

the
was

it

Transitional

the

Aubergne (d. 1249),

(d. 1246), Albert

(d. 1280), show

which

to

Classic Period.

They show,

rationalism.

toward

William

the

character

time.

of

close

the

at

the transitional
old

reach, but

not

new

Beauvais

Magnus

Aristotelian

Thomas

Aquinas.
theologicalsystem
the

so-called

the work
four

of

books

Sums

Peter
of

the

Sums

PERIOD

THE

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

381

ciliatingtheology.Certainlyhis predecessorsand

eclipsedby

temporariesstand
demand

mediaeval

for order

church

tion in the

although he

age,

He

movement.

and

stood

rise above

not

head

expression of scholasticism,and
regarded as doctor angellcusand

he

his

its intellectual

of

contrary, the

the

on

was,

did

the

at

preventeddeteriora

he

He

doctrine.

satisfied the

He

him.

con

was

again

perfect
affectionatelymost

as

doctor

uni-

sails.

ver

Central

The

Twofold

Truth.

Principleof Thomas's
The
life-purposeof

into
bring Christianity

closer

Doctrine
Thomas

relation

with

The

"

to

was

civilization

sought to give all departments of

time to protect
knowledge their rightsand at the same
This was
the same
the ascendency of religion.
to him
as
bringing Christianityand Aristotle together,for
Aristotle
the entire product of ancient
meant
to him
and

He

science.

civilization.
a

world

the mediaeval

world

of grace

he added

fullydominated
by the mediae
order, he unfolded so comprehensive a view
all its problems. He felt that
he included

of nature, and,

val love

of

life that

of

To

the natural

and

the revealed

must

become

not

contra

diction.

accomplish this

To

through
Aristotle

Thomas

ture
a

of

own

more

that
and

was,

there

great

will allow.

was

reserve

system of grades. This

in this form:

Yet

in Aristotle
on

became

Nature

it

his

was

essence

to

questions.Na
unfolding in

the central
is

evident

great interest in

ultimate

according to Aristotle,an

Aquinas

Aristotle

of

the facts

than

nature

nature

his

in

things. Looking at Aristotle

in
neo-Platonism, he naturallyfound
of the inner and
religiousestimate oi

estimate

ideal

own

found

Thomas

principle

sketch in outline

HISTORY

382

the, world

OF

PHILOSOPHY

the eye of the religious

grace. Before
mind
these two truths should appear : (1) the world of
of nature
faith and the world
two
are
properlydistinct

of

worlds

(2)

the world

of nature.

world
nature

The

of faith is
world

continuation

of grace

and

of the

the world

of

grades of the whole of existence. Nature

stage of development,and the point of con

two

are

is the lower
tact

of

between

it and

the world

of grace

is the soul of

man.

Keligionand philosophythus have different spheres,but

they are not contradictory.Grace does not destroy,
Nature
but it perfectsnature.
is subordinate
to grace
is subordinate
to the Christian,the state to the
man
as
church, the Emperor to the Pope.1
The
difference
between
philosophy and theology is
of God
and divine truths, and
not that theologytreats
philosophydoes not. Philosophy discusses divine truths.
But the difference lies here, that theologyviews truths
in the lightof revelation,while philosophyviews them
Yet there are truths that belong
in the lightof reason.
truths that belong to theology,
and truths
to philosophy,
that belong to both. The problems of the existence of
God, the immortalityof the soul,and the relation of the
world to God
are
theological
problems,yet they can also
of philosophy; but the
be demonstrated
by the reason
mysteriesof the Trinity,the Incarnation,and the tem
and
poral creation are beyond the scope of the reason
belong to theology.Philosophyand theologyare distinct,
in harmony. Theology supplements philo
yet they are
sophy with faith ; philosophysupplements theologyby
1

the

state

lies in
for
are

in De

Dante
to

the

the
race,

earthly and
powers

Monarchia
church.
but

the

did

Both

not

Dante

share
and

Thomas

great poet regarded

heavenly happiness. To

of like

in Thomas's

authority.

Dante

subordination

believed
man

the

as

that

destined

church

and

of

destiny
equally

the

state

PERIOD

THE

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

383

(1) establishingpreliminary motives, (2) supplying

analogies,(3) answering objections.Thomas
accepts
his predecessors
both propositions
which
divided
had
:
credo ut intelligamand intelligo
ut credam.
historical revelation there is something even
Above
it not
higher,which could be called another realm, were
Its appear
of a hope than a possessionof man.
more
in

ance

Plato

the doctrine

upon

vidual

with

of

him.

It is the immediate

God

in

careful

was

gained except through the

be

individual

efforts,but the
terious
The

of the

Problem

of

and

"

Period, of the

For
problem of individuality.
obligedto define the individual and

the

of

pantheism

is the

constitutes

the

to

was

standing of

difference

be

the

between

whole

edifice of Thomas
theological
mystic unity,the immortalityof the
and

the offices of the church

Thomas

Dante

showed

follows

and
practical,

goal

of human

in

the

Thomas

pointing1to

attainment.

would

positivenature
in

placing the
the

the mys

the

his

successors

schoolman

is Dante's

was

place in his
successful
against

fix his

What

individual?

What
The

individuals?
would

collapsein

soul would

be lost

be nullified,unless
of the

individual.

intellectual virtues

intellectual

Beatrice

of

Relation

Aristotelianism.

the Arabian

and

nature

form

The

and

for Thomas

world, if he

unaided

own

all-absorbing
question
relation of particulars

The

the

Aristotelian

The

life.
religious

Individuality

universals,became

and

not

offices of the church.

through his

Universals.

of the Transitional

Thomas

heavenly glory could

of the church

sacraments

background

Particulars

God

reach

cannot

of

is the dome

has built. But

Thomas

insist that this

to

of the indi

union

mystic ecstasy.1 It

temple that
religious

the

of

the influence

shows

Thomas

intuition

of

above
God

as

the
the

expressionof this ideal.

In this connection
the Middle

problem

the

of

mind

post

relation

universals

post rem) in the human

universal

must

of

as

mind

real existence.

no

the whole

on

analysisof the
and
particulars:

of universals

ways,
in man's
mind

or

that

remember

exist in three

the

they have

PHILOSOPHY

accepted Abelard's

had

rem

Thomas

must

we

Ages

the universals

To

OF

HISTORY

384

ante

rein

in

re

abstractions
be

cannot

To

have

in God's

or
or

in nature.

(imiversalia

for
individuals,

real existence

exist in re, in the many,

the
as
abstraction
beside the many.
as

the

essence

things; not
The
Thomas
therefore
to
question of individuality
concerns
properlyonly objectsin re, or objectsin the
corporealworld.1 These are objectsof Form and Mat
the Form
the matter
ter. The
or
question is,whether
of its individuality.
of corporealthingsis the principle
is this principle, not inde
Thomas
says that matter
with quantitative deter
terminate
matter, but matter
The difference between
minations.
earthlyindividuals
"

is numerical

"

difference

of time

and

space

relations.

of nature

accord
objectschange continually
ing to their material conditions,but these conditions do
the quantitativedetermina
not
change. Nevertheless
not the cause, but the condition,
tions of individuals
are
The

Forms

of their existence.

question about the status of beings in the

difficult
world, separate Forms," is a more
spiritual
This is the problem about
for Thomas.
God, the
one
They are evidentlynot
angels,and the souls of men.
What
is the principlethat
individualized
by matter.
from one
another?
them
They are Forms
distinguishes
and
without
matter
through
they are individualized
themselves, since they have no need of material deterBut

the

"

De

Wulf

Hist,
,

of Mediceval Phil,

p. 323.

PERIOD

THE

else

Form

pure

as

absolute

the

souls of

soul

for each

love for

of the

Primacy

been

of the faculties

was

in full force.

pears

the

is upon

angel is

What
God

angels?

is
is

an

relative genus, i. e. it is
of
is the condition
what

But

the

also

so

they all alike or do they have a

distinction?
Yes, they are distinguishable,
separationfrom its body carries with
upon
it
its former
body, and that distinguishes

there had

time

and

Bat

merge.

souls.

other

The

God

is

Are

men

principleof

everything
the unique

themselves.

through

its kind.

of

only one

from

all differences

the

actuality.He

pure

between

genus

the

or

385

distinguishedfrom

angels actualized

the

the difference

it

is

in whom

individual
are

God

Thus

minations.

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

Will

to this

Up

Intellect.

the

psychological
disputeas to which
Now
the questionap
fundamental.
Much
of the literature of this period
no

questionof

intellect,and

or

it appears

the

primacy

to be almost

will

of the
the

or

the

leadingmotive

Augustine had placed the will in the fore

dis
had
never
ground of his teaching. His successors
puted the subject,but had been engaged in discussing
the particulars
what productsof the intellect are real

of the time.

"

or

the universals.

of Aristotle,there

lectualism

of

defenders
too

ualism
as

Augustine.

the

with

him

Dominican

of

the

immediately arose
Aristotelianism

them

intel-

Aristotle

was

uncondition

the German

the central

becomes
"

stand

To

almost

follows

Thomas

rationalistic.

ally,and

the introduction

With

mystics. Intellectprincipleof what is known

tradition."

Duns

Scotus

was

Fran,

primacy of the
of the "Fran
the central principle
will,and this became
this point the nominalists
On
ciscan tradition."
were

ciscan

monk.

his allies.

He

took

up

arms

for

the

The

PHILOSOPHY

OF

HISTORY

386

of the will

problem

reference

first with

arose

to

againstDuns Scois free so far as he follows his knowledge

tus that man
intellect is therefore primal,for it de
of the good. The
the will by showing the will what the good is.
termines
The questionnext
of the fac
to the priority
as
arose
will. Thomas

the human

ulties in God.
His

God's

Does

knows

Thomas

Dominican

Thomas

long

intellect

God

With
The

The

is the best

point
good

by
Why

determines
the

truth

same

is God

possibleworld, for

truth

should

in the

the truth
the

Scotus.

Franciscan

itself.

to

for

is determined

world

is 'determined
the

(Conquers

and

.senses,

so

not

way
himself.

God

has willed

ciscan
Thus

the Middle
A

is often
Thomas

refused

of

to

out.

grace

The

New

and

of

attempts

the world

the

minds

the middle
were

standstill with

after
who

of nature.

than

succeeded
which

course

made

him

he

to relate the

One

was

(d. 1372). The

Augustinians againstthe

ticism, represented by Eckhart

the reaction

to

existed

leading

follow

of the Fran

Founder

come

movement

greater

thought.

mapped

did not

Ages

sense

Philosophical Position.

and

Life

the

of sin.

cause

(1270-1308),the
"

will

man's

will,there is sin. The

the

the will,are

not

Tradition

Thomas.

by goodness and
goodness. When

by the same
morally determined

Scotus

Duns

was

or

of himself.

it out

world

by

this freedom

world

lhad

vital

was

is determined

the intellect is true

as

the

and

will be determined

the

intellect

that the intellect of God

maintained

will. The

His

This

will?

His

Augustinian theodicy.Does God will the

good, or does His will act accordingto what He
lies the point at issue between
to be good ? Here

be

the

will dominate

His

intellect dominate

in the
to

contended

mys

other
intel-

PERIOD

THE

OF

of the

lectualism
Thomas.

The

he

ford, which

Franciscan
that

at

in Ireland

born

was

Scotus.

Duns

was

representedby

as

The

seat

Oxford.1

was

Scotus

joinedthe

in this

leader

of this movement
Duns

Aristotelianism

new

387

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

He

order.

time

and

at

earlyage

an

anti-Thomistic.

was

Ox

graduated from
He

then

taught theologyand philosophyat Oxford for ten years.

His lectures were
largelyattended and his fame spread
over
Europe. He went to Paris in 1304, where he taught
He
then
transferred
for four years.
to Cologne,
was
he died.

where

Scotus

the Kant

was

construction

of

of

scholasticism.

scholasticism

had

The

time

passed,and

of

the time

Scotus was
the in
analysishad come.
refused to accept any the
tellectual knight-errantwho
the acutsubjectingit to criticism. He was
ory without
of the Middle
est mind
Ages and was called the doctor
of criticism

and

subtilis.
Scotus's

Duns

The
tion

of the Twofold

Conception

Truth.

"

Separation of Science and Religion. The distinc

between
revelation,theology,and philosophy,that
this

period of Classic Scholasticism,was

sharply drawn by Scotus. In Thomas's
conceptionof a
graded world of development the distinction between
theologyand philosophywas not emphasized.Philosophy
in the hands
of Scotus becomes
now
science,having the
of exactness
marks
that compel belief,but is,however,
restricted to its own
realm.
By philosophyScotus means
in

appears

Roger

Scotus.
one

other
turn

Bacon

He

was

field. He
science
from

universal

(1214-1292) lived
so

versatile

believed
on

the

authority

religion.

that
reason.

to

that

he

theology
He

at

Oxford

was
was

influenced

not

two

able

based
both

experience.Morality was

generations

before

dogmatize

in any

to

the

on

Scotus
to

him

will of
and
the

God,

all

Ockam

to

content

of

PERIOD

THE

cord

good

the

with

if God

created

so

maintained

God

and
dispensation,

determined

so

wills

would

not

nature

of its

causes,

one

be different
Scotus

possibleworld.

the best

He

therefore, grant

can,

If God's

there

will

have

exist,He

even

He

what

create

to

the church.

can

pendence, He
or

have

not

Pie would
intellect,

His

by

than

to Thomas,
opposition

does

He

389

reason

good might

that this is not

what

creates

other

no

The

it. In

God

that

create, and

does

Scotus, for

command.

that it is God's

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

OF

could

were

inde

no

would

be

be

evil

no

only
nor

supersede the moral law by a new

law by the Gospel.
law, justas He supersededthe Mosaic
Individuality,revelation, salvation,and all objectsof
faith have their existence only in the groundlessand in
He

accident.

will of God.

scrutable

rational
This

can

this

there

reason

be

can

no

theology.
founder

of the

Franciscan

"

meritorious

piety and

cal

For

could

action

"

tradition

of

have

not

practi
other

central

principle.
An Augustinianhe refused,however, to follow Augustine
in centralizing
freedom
The objectof faith is
in God.
the will of God, the subjectof faith is the will of man.
in cooperationwith
Human
consists
divine
freedom
than

freedom

the

grace.

Man

of

help in

can

partlyformal

is

material:

ground

he
to

termined

The

determine

agrees

with

of God.

the

or

favorite

Thomas

is

will, and

human

freedom

no

partly

ulterior
this unde

for merit, provided the

the divine.

one
as

His

will. It is

There

B.

ground

with

not

or

of Individuality. The

Problem
was

will
A

is the

his

as

the work

can

will

can

freedom

dividuation

the

he

will coincides

human

tus

will

the

to

universal, the individual

with

problem

Scotus.

the threefold
and

not

While

of inSco

existence

of

the universal

is

OF

HISTORY

390

the

fact. The

ultimate

from

the

nor
universal,

individual

The

ualizes.

ducible,and

an

Duns

Scotus
son,

he

matter, individ

form,
The

Thus
has

The

Scotus.

will. His

than to

inquiryinto
meaning.

failed

church

doctrine

can

be made

for

individual

individual

the
no

"

thisness

"

is irre

though he claimed to be
taught the dangerous doctrine

the

individual

explanationcan

Principium indimduationis
After

not

fact.

individual.

the quan

by

alreadyindivid

fact. The

actual

further

no

that it is

ultimate

deduced

It is

Form,

definite individual

is the
(hazcceitas),
only be verified as

say

of matter.

substantialized.

and

be

cannot

it be constituted

can

titative determinations
ualized

PHILOSOPHY

its

to

canonize
faithful

most

of freedom

also marks

the

the

of the

beginning

of

of nature
and the decadence
empiricalinvestigation
of
of formal logic.Although a most
faithful follower
the church, he brought scholasticism
to the pointwhere
it no
ultralonger served the church. The result was
rationalism

"

revelation

no

not

Scotus

what

longer rests
exists by its

rational

upon

side

But

intended.

when
and

ground,

philosophicalscience
whose
basis is rational,it is only a question of time
for men.
When
revelation shall lose its authority
when
philosophypassed from Scotus to Ockam, Ockam's con
real and of
ceptionof the individual as the ultimately
of revelation gave him
the old name
the unrationality
when

there

of nominalist.

Ockam
cellinus.

is

This

is

quite different

The

misnomer,
from

temper of the

the
time

for the
nominalism
was

doctrine
of

of

Ros-

different from

days when Roscellinus followed upon Anselm, for

the superiorminds
were
now
turning away from ortho
be
Scotus were
and
doxy. Disciplesof both Thomas
coming nominalists. It was an epoch when scholasticism
those

THE

PERIOD

CLASSIC

OF

SCHOLASTICISM

391

when theology
being discredited by the universities,
less a study in the curricula,when
was
religionwas be
rival claim
ing superseded by magic, when there were
there was
strife between
for the Pope's chair,when
ants
and
the state. The
the church
spiritof the age was
was

nominalism

toward

1339,
works

shows

in

over

crowds

The

form.

every

Universityof Paris
how
powerful had
lifetime.

his

during
went

the

to

in

command,

to

not

use

become

in

Ockam's

his

following
and
Augustinians
This beginning of
European national

Dominicans
to nominalism.

betraysthe growth of
life,modern
languages,art, and the sciences. It shows
in all departments. The
the beginning of Protestantism
church
attempted to crush it in the way that it had
But this nominalism
crushed
Roscellinus.
had too deep
nominalism

root.

Ockam

Ockam,

(1280-1349)

of Ockam

William
was

Invincibilis.

called Doctor

England, and

Life and

studied

He

Oxford,

at

Teaching.
was

where

born
he

in

prob

ably had Scotus as a teacher. After teaching in Paris

(1320-1325), he left Paris and joinedthe opponents
of the Pope. He was
of the temporal power
imprisoned
at Avignon, but
escaped to the court of Louis of Ba
varia, where

promise,

"

he

If you

you with
first Protestant."

defend

The

died.

To

Louis

will defend

pen."

my

of

nominalism

Ockam

me

he made

his celebrated

with

your

has

been

He

sword, I will
called

"

the

complex than
that
of Roscellinus, and
tend
a
essentially
yet it was
by discardingall metaphysicsand
ency to simplification
Ockam's
the nick
razor
was
psychology as useless.
of his philosophy.He
name
regarded concepts as sub
of actual facts. Hence
his
terms
jectivesigns or
more

"

"

"

was

"

OF

HISTORY

392

also called

philosophywas
in it

PHILOSOPHY

tendency which

naturalistic

scientific studies

of

There

terminism.

the result of the

was

Aristotelian

the

Arabians.

logicaland naturalistic motives

Augustinian doctrine of the will. These
these

factors of

importance of the inner life as

of nature.
extended
investigation
It

is,moreover,

united

were

he

servative

of the monastic

belonged to

well

the

as

This

bodies.

of

was

the

of

need

an

conserv

Franciscans,the

the

the

the three

were

that Ockam

accident

no

ative,for

With

that felt the conviction

nominalism

also

was

most

con

nominalism

was

in order to strengthen
againstscholasticism,
felt that
supernatural character of dogma. Ockam

reaction

the

scholasticism

had

waxed

too

great

that

"

the

under

guise of servingreligionit had virtuallysubordinated

religion.The reactionaryFranciscans
proclaimed the
entire separationof religionand philosophyin order to
for faith. Faith could be purifiedonly by
make
room
renouncing scholasticism. The temporal power must be
given up by the church, the state and the church must
be separated. No new
knowledge about faith can be ob
left impregnable, even
be
The
tained.
dogma must
become
men
skeptics.
though scientifically
it for this movement
to
Consistent,therefore, was
disjoinentirelythe parts
had

almost

crowded

pleted the
theology is

work

buildingof

the

out

of

of the

natural

twofold

theology;

Scholasticism

Scotus.

Scotus

truth.
Ockam
or

com-

natural

rubbish-heapof hypotheses.The church

abandon
should
speculation and emphasize faith. It
should
to the
return
simplicityand holiness of the
devoted
to the true
was
Apostolicchurch. Ockam
up
Francis.

It

was

church
his

love

and
for

was

the

follower

church

that

of

St.

made

take

him

OF

PERIOD

THE

SCHOLASTICISM

CLASSIC

against her

sides

393

pretensionsto

temporal

power.

Ockam

the

was

John

countryman
school.

Individual

Forms,

for

As

is the

fellow-

his

English empirical
things have the realityof original
Our
ideas are
to us
intuitively.
This

them.

of

relation

is

the

relation

ideas

individual

things,so generalideas
This

of

precursor

and

Locke,

they come

only signsof
tention."

natural

related

are

related

are

the

to

first in

"

individual

to

individual

ideas.

intention."

second

"

the

of

The

individual
to an
generalidea referringthus indirectly
Real science
thing is therefore arbitraryand capricious.
observed
science
deals with thingsintuitively
; rational
ideas.
Nevertheless
only with the relations between
inner world, even
if its
real science deals only with an
Intuitions
is intuitively
known.
material
are
only re
less real
much
presentativesof the real world. How
must

the world

supposes

of rational

these inner

intuitions

versal,therefore,has
many

things,a

After
man.

term.

Ockam.

When

science

no

then

be, since it pre

reality.It is a name,
Only the individual is
of Ockam

William

his doctrine

The

of real science.

sign of

real.

the last school

was

of terminism

uni

was

united

with

forming
Augustine'spowerful doctrine of the will,
extreme
an
individualism, the glimmering of the dawn
"

"

of modern

times

appears.

The

movement

was

made

study of the historyof develop

kind of idealism
and it became
ment
a
psychologically,
of the inner
life. Already, too, there were
beginning
in natural science,based upon
investigations
empirical
at hand
was
study. Modern
subjectivism
; scholasticism
of the scholar
had run
its course.
The representatives
centuries
sixteenth
tic philosophyof the fifteenth and
still

stronger by the

HISTORY

3s/4

the

forgot

tion

to

to

belonged.
be

Cusanus
of

him

secular

only
therefore

we

the

shall

and

leaders

Their

of

verbal
The

understood.

mysticism

scholastic

and

of

bring

to

movement.

riod,

they

refined

Cusanus

olas
of

which

Schoolmen

Classic

the

commentators

too

were

of

principle

mere

came

PHILOSOPHY

OF

science

under

subsequently

hear.

of

the

to

tradi

subtleties

efforts

promoted
belongs

the

be*

the

Nic

system
modern
next

pe"

INDEX

INDEX

Abdera,
Abelard,
ism,

his

364;

Academy,
the

death

of

220,

G.

Adams,

Ages,

Adamson,

Albertus

Magnus.

Alcuin,

268.

school,

Bollstaedt.

Hales,

of

Alexandria,
in

ism,

Ages,
of

School

Alexandria*!

phy,

290,

his

Ancient

of, 4,

in

and

for

1;

of,

359-361;

and

reason

on

6.

12,

school,

God,

defined,

Greek

discussion

of,

of,

55.

229,

Sophists,

187;

purpose,

God,

270, 271.
of

the

191, 192

; his

his

Apollonius,

neo-Pythagorean,

Apologists,

the,

285.

his

ethics,

philosophy,
of

his

in

works,

of, to
Thomas

Astronomy,
52, 53;

43
the

Ptolemaic,

Middle

the

373;

ver

works
Eu

strength
church,

Aquinas,
of

196-

political

Western

the
the

Matthew,

phy

Arabic

372,
into

375-378;

burden

of

of

psychology,

199-202;

introduced

o*

conception

theory

202, 203;

his

conception

conception

332, 363, 368,369;

Arnold,

251.

his

192-194;

194-196;

185-

conceptions

187-190;
190,

logic,

185-194;

purposeful,

different

nature,

and

93, 95.

metaphysics,

matter,

rope,

Cynic

principle
; his

177-180

is

bio
writ-

starting-point,

; his

Ages,

his
the

169-173;

191

199; his

Academy

fundamental

two

of

the

chronological

his

ad

104;

finished

life, 168, 169;

his

of

history,

he
in

125;

philosophy,

his

Greek

in

detail,

the

180-185;

of,

13.

founder

307-309.

the

which

of, 173-176;

sions

Ascalon,

Stoic,

Cyrenaic

the

Epicurus,

166-168

his

in

his

sics,

365.

103.

Anthropology,
of

argu

of

summary

Anthropologists,

Antisthenes,

his

dogma,

13;

historical

mediae

of

period

philosophy,

Antiochus

in

existence

the

of

at

development

divi

2;

sources

position

Anthropological

Apathy,

of,

literary

philosophy,

ments

55-97;

of,

length

19.
life

Anselm,

of

176, 177;

character
5 ;

84.

place

Lyceum,

graphy

25.

Animism,

philoso

24, 25.

underlying
sions

val

his

life, 43;

Philosophy,

the

transla

conceptualist,

age

ings

Anaximenes,

his

sketch

45-47.

Anaximander,

and

372, 373.

and

education,

and

314.

147-149.

Anaxagoras,

372;

opposed

103;

vanced

neo-Platon-

his

Saccas,

Anamnesis,

of,

93, 96;

98-100,

282.

290-298.

Ammoniu*

371,

founder

Aristotle,

Hellenism,

of

Middle

will

74.

379.

centre

the

the

works,

Aristophanes,

349, 350.

Alexander

the

accord

230.

68.

Sophist,

princi

381-383;

267.

meaning

aperTj,

central

on

Greek

of

Aristippus,

268, 269.
See

385,

Arcesilaus,

255.

of
tra

386.

schools,

tions

Development

life

380;

Dominican
; the

to, 383-385;

Arabian,

379,

the

377;

individuality

of

intellect,

during

problem

369,

doctrine,

his

problem

ing

quoted,

Skeptic,

Alcidamus,

361

The

Skeptic,

Agrippa,

of,

of,
the

380, 381

of

ple

n.

Philosophy

jEnesidernus,

215;

374

Robert,

Greek

and

faith,

of

dition),

Aris

in, 270.

Civilization

B.,

Middle

predecessors
(founder

and

reason

the

on

and

365-367.

skepticism

the

221;

of

124; after

Middle,

Older,

; eclecticism

266-268

the

166

Plato,

169-171;

New,

it was,

what

Thomas,

Aquinas,

conceptual-

; his

363

rationalism,

the,

totle,

of

of,

life

Atomists.

See

107, 119.

and

378, 379;

380, 381.

n.

Pythagoreans,
322-325.

40-

INDEX
of Epicurus,
Ataraxia,
the
Skeptics, 266.
Athenian

of

school

233

231,

; of

neo-Platonism,

menides'

of, 57, 58 ; and

Abdera,

school,

Atomists,

the, philosophy

of, 47, 48.

the, 109-114,

117.

116,

historical

the

the

339, 340;

teaching,
of

life

elements

two

340,

element

tonic
ties

position
the

306, 318, 335-338;

the

neo-Pla-

the

inner

certain

Francis,

Essay

accord

Bacon,

Roger, 387 n.
Gnostic, 310.
Bardesanes,
Basilides, Gnostic, 310.
word
how
used,
Becoming,
ing
Being,

Plato,

to

word

menides'

under

which

Greek

it

in

22;

in

Par-

conceived

of,

philosophy,

cording

Plato,

to

Benedictine

Age,

Berengar

of

Boethius,

300.

Bollstaedt,

103, 104;
133, 136, 139.

ac

377, 379.

Albert,

University
Greek
Philoso
Burnet,
John, Early
phers cited, 17 n.
Bury, J. B., History of Greece
cited,
12 n. ; quoted, 16.

Catechists,
Catholic

the

310.

theologians,

old,

312-

314.

ical, and
cause,

efficient, 105

Efficient

cause.

Causes, Aristotle's,

187.

n.

314-318;

the

and

to
and

's and

to, 378, 379 ; and

Dante's
views

Aristotle,

167; his work,

of Aristotle

on

271, 272.
Christian

Civilizations,

369-372

374,

tween,
Classic

Mo

and

; the

the

of, 372, 373;

tact

first

conflict

con

be

375.

Scholasticism,

period of, 333,

368-394.

Cleanthes,

242, 244-246.
314.

of

Conceptualism,
the

Middle

inner

mechan

See

Final

104 ; in
365.

formulation

psychological
the

Aristotle,

Ages, 358, 364,

Consciousness,

Cosmas

teleological, final,

theolo
and

Origen

371-375.
Mohammedanism,
245.
242, 244,
Chrysippus,
Church,
authority of, according
345-347; strength
Augustine,

tre, 372

of, 314-318.
the

early
philoso
; early,
Apolo

the

Catholic

Catechists,

conception

certainties

to Augustine,
Constantinople,

School

the

totle, 177-179.

of, 377.

Carneades, 267.
Carpocrates, Gnostic,
Carthage, 15, 16.

of, 279,

and
Conception,
perception, 83 n. ;
of, to Socrates, 83 ; ac
importance
cording to Plato, 134, 135; in Aris

359.

Bologna,

Cause,

of

Clement,

the, 350.

Tours,

old

(the

gians), 312-314;

hammedan,

33-35; Pythago
of, 49-51 ; aspects

was

rise

of, 382.

129.

22;

of

conception

phies influencing, 305, 306

the
periods of, 306, 307; the
310Gnostics,
gists, 307-309; the
312; the reaction
against Gnosti

Cicero,

doctrine,

conception

rean

in

133, 136,
used,

how

their

state, Aquinas

29; accord

doctrine,

Heracleitus's

of, 349, 350.

of, 302-305;

burden

n.

con

neo-Platonism,

of, 302-318;

Hellenizing

School

Love,

on

revival

and

as

Par-

of
its history, 281;
280; summary
and
neo-Platonism,
288-290; the

cism

the

341-345;

of
the
church
authority
345-347.
ing to,
243, 246.
Aurelius, Marcus,

153

his

341;

consciousness,

Bacon,

of,

in

the

in

situation

Augustine,
of,

Charlemagne,
Christianity,

inspiration, 276, 277;

the, 107.

Democritus,

34, 35 ;
Pluralists, 40.

by the

difference

Atomistic

of

of

the, 238-240.

Epicurus,

of

Atoms

Socrates,
centre

213-215.

Hellenism,
Atomism

119;

in

existence

no

of,

doctrine

philosophy,

ceived

rise
and

91;

has

28, 29;

290, 299-301.
Athens,

Heracleitus's

Change,

of

the

of, 294;

of, according

341-345.
an

intellectual

cen

n.

map,

the, 335.

period of Greek
phi
Cosmological
losophy, 12, 13; treated, 15-54.
of the,
Cosmologists, characteristics
table
their
of, 20;
18-20;
philoso
phical question, 20, 21 ; where
they
lived, 21 ; results of their philoso
phy, 53, 54.

INDEX

Crates

Thebes,

of

Crusades,

among

61-64; of Socrates,

Greeks,

the

mind,

of

80.

the, 374, 375.

394.

Nicolas,

Cusanus,
Cynic school, the, 93-97.
Stoics, 246, 247.
Cynics and
Cyrenaic school, the, 93-97.
teaching, and
Cyrenaics, their

Efficient

ception

of, by

defined,

105

Ptole

Aristotle, 167; used

on

and

Milesian

the

connecting

school,

Xenophanes

382

the

placed

n.

above

tues

Dark

Socrates

his

Democritus,

of

one

first

the

in

place

his

Greek

Plato, their
tory, 98-100, 103; and
104and
similarities
differences,
life

106;

of, 106-108;
of

siveness

his

aim, 108; the

of, 109-111 ; the

en

physics
of
111-114;
psychology
of
114-116;
knowledge,
theory
ethical
theory of, 116-118; a

riched

terialistic
his
the

advanced

123;

finished

he

at which

ma

traveler,

wide

his

age

education,

according

Development,

to

tle, 178, 179, 185-187.

De Wulf
of Mediaeval
History

Aristo

losophy,

Phi

Dialectic,

384.

n.,

defined,

60,

See

Mysteries.

the

world

153

R.

n.

cited,

Celestial

374

element,

nas

the

68.

the

Aqui

of, 380, 381 ; intelprinciple in,

central

385.

Doxography,
Drama,
Dualism,
gorenn,

period

6.

the

60, 61.

Greek,

defined,
51, 52;
of

of

Greek

the

Pythathe
Systematic
philosophy, 102,

51 n.;

103.

Dynamic

pantheism

Mediaeval

of

of
the
the

life, 43;

his

of, 44, 45.

n.

105

defined,

doctrine

41;

cause,

philosophy
104
Empiricism,

n.

186.

Greek,

of

importance

Epictetus, 243,
Epicureanism,

the,

8-

246.

of Plotinus, 293.

of

one

of

the

and

222-225;

summary

and

agreements

225, 226;

and

229;
of

the
ideal

virtue

of, 234-236.

New

Stoicism,
dif

teaching
of, 230-

in, 233; the

See

Epicurus.
the, 228.
Epicureans,
Aris
Epicurus, life of, 227, 228 ; and
tippus, 229; his ideal, 230-233; his
conception of the physical world,
See Epicureanism.
238-240.
Democritus'
contri
Epistemology,
"Wise

Reason.

founder

lectualism

his

Aristippus,
233; the place
Thomas

n.

conception
of
conception

of

tradition,

Dominican

his
his

the

Epic,

and

n.

40;

efficient

Love,

on

Daemonic,

Ephraim,

Empedocles,
change, 40;

End,

the

of, according

Essay

153

Love,

Emerton,

ferences,

n.

Diogenes, 95.
Dionysiodorus,
See
Dogma.

W.,

Initial,

by

294-297.

Plotinus,

Schools,

131.

Society

Roman

Dill, Samuel,

conceived

as

40, 41.

Emanations,
to

be

10.

336

conflict

Eleusinian.

Entelechy,

125.

274

the,

Europe,

comprehen

Heraclei

37, 38.

tween,
Element,

Emerson,

92.

correctly,

it

use

347-349.

of,
Mile

f.; the

22

the

of

results

tus,

the

; and

of, 33-37

Pluralists,

n.

182.

Definition,
to

vir

383

practical,

Ages, the,

church,

the

intellectual

the

the

Deduction,

and

state

of

that

Heracleitus,

and

philosophy

link

teaching

32, 35;
with

compared

school,

Parmenides

of

lives

26;

Zeno,

sians

of

the, 93.

school,

Eleatic

maic

view

41;

concep

of, 187.

324, 325

of
the
universe,
conception
of his poetic con
; diagram
376; his
ception of the universe,

Pluralists,

the

Aristotle's

n.;

Elean-Eretrian

and

Dante,

of con

introduction

cause,

between,

229, 230.

cureanism,

264, 265, 269-272.

Eclecticism,

tion

Epi

the, 285.

Platonists,

Eclectic

95.

attitude

Critical

369, 386.

Eckhart,

13.

defined,

Cosmology,

bution

Man

to,

il4-116.

Scotus, 349, 350; life

Erigena,
and
teaching of, 350-352 ; the Greek
he formulated
for
principle which
the Middle
Ages, 352, 353.
John

INDEX

400

Gospel, the

Eristic, defined, 60.

man

Greek

toward,

tendency

Ethics,

So

the

11,
early Greeks,
316phists, 71-73; of Democritus,
Plato's
theory of, 153-158; of
118;
Aristotle, 199-202; of Plotinus, 297,

Life, 336

at Me-

school

the

of

Eusebius,

Aristotle,

on

of, according

problem

to

Philoso
First
Arthur,
Fairbanks,
6
n.
Greece,
of
phers
of
History
Richard,
Falckenberg,
3
n.
Modern
Philosophy,
; accord

n.

187.

Aristotle,

of, 30-32.

doctrine

Heracleitus's
and

105

denned,

cause,

Form

Matter,

192, 197-199; in

186-

Aristotle,
Thomas
Aquinas,
in

persistence

cause,

187.

tradition,

Franciscan

the,

385-387.

of, accord

the

problem
240; according
ing to Epicurus,
to
to Stoicism, 260, 261; according
Au
to
Origen, 316,317; according

Freedom,

gustine,
Scotus,

fall

the
of

its

Philo,
288.

of, and

the

civilization,

204-

208.

of, 98.
spirit,waning
periods
philosophy, three
of,

national

of, 102, 103.

; summary

Greek

thought,

objective, 2, 100,

was

philosophies, 22 f.
16-18; monistic
History
of Greece,
George,
61 n. ; Plato, 267 n.

Happiness, according to Socrates, 86;

the
to the
Cynics and
according
to
94-97;
according
Cyrenaics,
to
117, 118; according
Democritus,
to
Epi
Aristotle,
200; according
233-238.

curus,

of the His

Outlines

Adolf,

Harnack,

quoted, 308, 336, 344,

tory of Dogma

354; cited, 315 n., 345 n.

Hibbert
Hatch,
Edwin,

384.
Formal

of

neo-Platonism,

Grote,

260, 261.

Stoicism,

to

philosophy

; and

57-64.

tendencies
of, 8, 9, 15, 16; native
of,
religion,
9-12; perils to, in the new

167.

68.

Euthydemus,

Final

Wars,

the, 58-64, 82.

environ
Greeks, early, geographical
ment
of, 7; political environment

87.
96.

Euhemerisin,

the

Persian

101.

93.

gara,

the

nation,

12-14

n.

Eudsemonism,

ing
Fire,

Greek

Greek

of Human

Rudolf, Problem

Euclid,founder

Evil,

281-284

Greek

298.

Eucken,

after

Enlightenment,

Greek-Jewish

among

; of

12

Greece,

charac

208; general
of, 215-218.

teristics

Hellenizing of, 302-318.

Christianity.

See

Hellenic-Ro

the

of

period
period,

Ethical

345; according

to

Duns

quoted,

eudaemonism,

of, 228,

types

Hellenic-Roman

87;

229.
204-318

period,
the

its

time

length,

Greek

and
nation
the persistence
civilization, 204-208 ; the two

of

389.

and

Hedonism,
some

Lectures

305.

its

204;

fall

of

the

of, 208,209; the undercurrent

skepticism in, 209-211; the fun

parts

Gerbert,

of

350.

Gnomic

damental

354.

quoted,

Glaber,

Greek,

poets,

Hellenism,

10-12.

the
reaction
310-312;
Gnosticism,
312-314.
against,
of, 141, 142;
God, Plato's
conception
of, 190, 191 ,
Aristotle's
conception
His

will

and

His

intellect, 386, 388,

Goethe,
Good,

quoted,
Plato's

Idea

of

the,

140-142,

sians

and

Hesiod,
Hicks,
227

250, 251.

Gorgias,
71.

66, 67; the

nihilism

of, 70,

of,

centres

of

Gospel,

life, 28;
that

his
of

302-318.

teaching
the

Mile

Eleatics, 22, 23; his phi

28-31; and
Parmenides,
the conflict
between, 37,

38; practical

144; Plato's

the

with

compared

ment

theory of the, develop

of, 153, 154; the, of the Stoics,

205-208;
of

Hellenizing
Heracleitus,

results

129, 167.

of, 211-213.
the

213-215.

losophy,

389.

problem

philosophy of,

31.

11.
R.

n.;

and

D., Stoic
cited,

Hipparchia,

95.

Hippias, 66,

68.

267

n.

Epicurean"

401

INDEX

313.

set

value

nature,

Human

by

upon,

81.

Socrates,

of
preup
41; the breaking
materialism
Socratic, 47; becomes
109-111.
with
Democritus,

ism,

Cosmologists

the

Hylozoists,

of

298.

of

ment

of, in the

brief

comparison

two

the

of
the

the

doc

of,

doctrine

146-150.

of, ac
problem
383Aquinas,
Scoof, in Duns

Individuality, the
cording to Thomas
385; the problem

or

primacy
Ionic

Irenaeus,

the

becomes,
hylozoism
Materialism,
with
103, 109-111;
Democritus,
Stoic, 254, 255.

learning, the,
Irony, Socratic, 90.

Irish

Aristotle,

186296.

and

201,

of,

202.

series

Mechanical

of

geography,

Mediaeval

library,

Mediaeval

Man,

194-

Aristotle,
335.

a, 326-328.

the
the, 320, 321 ; how
appeared to, 322-325; at

325, 326;

of

summary

the

worlds

educational

and

political

349.

of, 330-333.

Sophists,"
H., article
68 n.
Britannica,
Encyclopaedia
"

Jackson,

in

298, 299.

(Greek-) philosophy of Philo,

neo-Platonism, 288.
281-284; and

Jewish

Julian,

in

Form,

philosophy, length

Mediaeval

Justin

Demo

192, 197-199, 384 ; of Plotinus,295,

doctrine
Mean,
the, Aristotle's

Matter,

school,

313.

Jamblichus,

of

psychology

Materialistic

universe

school.

Milesian

See

187.

cause,

Mediaeval

will, the question of

of, 385, 386, 388, 389.

School.

Material

196.

tus, 389, 390.

Induction,
1)2,183.
Intellect

Man,

cited, 72.
Henry,
of, 13, 55-97;
philosophy
144-146.
of,
conception

critus, 111-114.

147, 148.

Plato's

Immortality,

drafts

two

; in

137-141

anamnesis,

of

trine

of

comparison

of,

drafts

develop

the

in, 270.
68.

Sir
the

Plato's

drafts, 136, 137;

two

fuller

ob

100;

Greeks,

jective, 104.
Ideas, of Plato, 133, 135;

of, 137;

of, 44.

Maine,

the

of

Idealism,

doc

Empedocles'

Hate,

it

85-88.

involves,

and

Lycophron,

105.

Plato),
the, 83-85; what

Socrates,

of

Love

eclecticism

meaning

the

and

(Democritus

Ideal

Logic, Aristotle's, 180-185.

Love, Platonic, 151-153.

Lucretius, 228.
in, 166, 167,
the, Aristotle
Lyceum,
Aristotle, 220-222;
172, 173; after

development

Idea,

107.

school,

Atomistic

trine

were,

19.

Hypatia,

his life, 43, 44; his philo

Leucippus,
of
sophy, 47, 48, 109, 110; founder
the

Plural

19; and

denned,

Hylozoism,

of,

375-378.

46.

JJomoiomeriai,

among

Revival

58, 59; the

Greeks,

the

for,

impulse

the

Learning,

68.

Hippodamus,
Hippolytus,

of, 1 ;
divi

of, 4 ; treated, 319-394.

school, 93.
Megarian
sions

the, 368.

Mendicants,

Metaphysical

the,

problem,

early

23.

formulation

298.
Emperor,
308.
Martyr,

of, 3;

character

underlying

Metaphysics,

of, 22,
Plato's, the

formation

develop
of, 132-136; Plato's,
ment
of, 136-141; Aristotle's, 185the

Hypatia,
A., Life and

Charles,

Kingsley,
Knight,William
ing

of Hume,

Teach

n.

to

ideal, 83-86,

the

theory of,

Democritus'

n.

Cynics,
114-116.

95;

Law,

natural, 72.

of

Hellenic-

Plotinus,

294-297.
95.

Metrocles,
Middle

son

and

characteristics

Ages,

of,

Hellenic-Roman

359.

positive and

in
,

period, 216;

conditions

Lanfranc,

of

194; abandonment
Roman

in Socrates'

Knowledge,
88; according

298

of, 319, 320

and

319-333;

period,
; the

the

compari

mediaeval

man,

402

INDEX

320,
325

how

321;

peared

mediaeval

; the

328 ; the

three

cational

the

of
the

330-333;

man,

periods of, 328-330

political and edu

worlds

330-332,

of
,

scholasticism,

period
333, 368-

394.

Milesian

school,

24; the

24, 25;
the

the
of, 25, 26;
philosophy
with
of, compared
teaching

that

of

Heracleitus

ics, 22, 23.

Milton, John,

and

Eleat-

length

of, 1;
of, 3; divi

with

conflict

with

Monism,

of, dur
growth
Ages, 370-372; first
Christianity, 372, 373;
Christianity, 374,375.

of,

nastic
Moral

first

defined, 10 n.
conceptually

; for

the

of,

conception
294.

Pythagorean

conception

William
of

of

Greek

philo

104.
104.

of, 387 n., 390; the

after, 393,

philosophy

Order,

into
of, developed
thought
by Cosmologists, 54.

clearness

founding

Cassino,
school

of

postulate, philosophy
time

the

mo

at, 348.
founded

for

upon,

85;

the

85-88.

according

to

Origen,
Orphic.
Oxford,

280, 281, 314-318.

Palmer,

G.

See

Mysteries.

University of,

Aristotle, 195,

Panaetius,

H.,

and
Orphic
Eleusinian,
38
16-18,
Orphic,
of,
dangers
;
averted
by Cosmologists, 54.
in neo-Platonism,
287.
Mysticism,

defined,

of

Plotinus,

Physics.

the

philosophy of 15-38; the

word
as used
by the Sophists, 72, 73 ;
a logical, Socrates'
to find,
attempt
Plato's
92; physical,
conception of,
142-144; Aristotle's
conception of,
of, 251192-194; Stoic
conception
,

257.

353

; of

the

difference

doctrine

and
in

their

Christianity,
of
conception

10
of

293;

n.
; dynamic,
Erigena, 351-

realists, 363.

life, 32;
of

develops
32 f
Xenophanes,

philosophy,
tween,

37,

Particulars

ing

to

Pater,
Patmore,
House.

of

the

and

Universals,

Elentic

Aquinas,
Marius

; his

conflict

See

Thomas

the

Heraclei

38.

Walter,
227

and

33-35;

results

tus,

rean,

Reo-Platonism,

79.

Paris, University
of, 377.
Parker, C. P., cited, 258 n.

Parmenides,
See

Socrates,

on

270, 271.

Pantheism,

Science.

377.

of

Mysteries,

Nature,

the

n.

394.

framed,

196.

Natural

in

49-51.

course

Socrates,
Motion,

O., Readings
377
of Education,

Ockam,

191.

Monte

Christian

Arthur

Objective character
sophy, 2, 100, 101.
Objective Idealism,
Objective Realism,

22-38.

first

neo-

periods of, 290;

(scientific
life and
neo-Platonism,

Numbers,

10 n.; of the
early
displaced by pluralism
in Greekjphilosophy,
39.
Monists, list of "early Cosmologists
who
of the,
20; discussion
were,

time

the

the

school

47; of Plotinus,

10 ;

Monotheism,

288 ; and

History
NOILS, Anaxagoras'

defined,

Greeks,

and

the

Alexandrian

Norton,

of, 4.

contact

Philo

392.

philosophy,
character
underlying

Mohammedanism,
ing the Middle

287, 288; and

of

Christianity, 306.
Neo-Pythagoreanism,
281, 285-287;
and
288.
neo-Platonism,
Nominalism,
103, 358, 362-365, 391,

325.

Modern

sions

the

of, 279,
history, 281;

school
298, 299 ; the Athenian
(Proon
clus), 290, 299-301; its influence

of,

members

; rise

its

theory of
writings of Plotinus), 290-298 ; the
Syrian school
(the systematizing
of
polytheism,
Jamblichus),
290,

transitional
the

philosophies
Pythagoreans,
ity, 288-290;
the

of,

early period

332, 354-367;

classic

mediaeval

the

the

334-353;

period

326-

norary,

277

of

280; summary
and
Platonism,

school,

at

man

inspiration, 276,

ap
322-

man,

mediaeval

of

summary

universe

mediaeval

325, 326;

of

the

the

to

be

School.
accord
383-385.

the

Epicu

n.

Coventry,
153

n.

Angel

in

the

INDEX
Patristics,

caption

302-318.

conception,

and

Perception,
according

83 n.;
Aristo

134 ; in

Plato,

to

of
philosophy, the three
philosophy,
general, 1-4; of Greek

Periods,

Persia,

15, 16.

Persian

Wars,

Lyceum.

See

their

importance,

55-

Personality, spiritual,increased
result

of

of

Philosophic

skepticism.

toward

dency

ten
early Greek
scientific explana

of, 10, 11.

Physics, Socrates'
tion

of, 80; en
Democritus,

view

of, 142109-111; Plato's conception

144; Aristotle's theory of, 194-196;

75

of works

parts

; his

n.

place

to be

Greek

in

read

history

Democri
93, 98-100, 103, 104; and
differ
and
similarities
tus, their

ences,104-106
119, 120; the
the
standing

of his

period

; the

difficulties

of

in

life

under

of, 120, 121

teaching

chronology

the

dialogues

his

of
119, 120 ; the life and writings
life, 121, 122
121, 126; his student
ol
as
traveler, 122-124; as teacher

his

124-126; concerning
Academy,
dialogues, 126-128 ; the factors

in

the

the

trine,

construction

128-131;

dencies,

of
of

philosophy,
his

inherited

ten

philosophica
divisions

131, 132

doctrine,

his

^the

doc

128-130; his

of

his

development
two
drafts),

ception

of

God,

of

God

of, 292,

of,

the

Pluralism,

136-141

141, 142

in

ideas
; his

his

tried

tion

hylozoism,

school,

of

of

the

introduction

unchanging,
of conception

of, 41, 42; their

century,

lives

con

40, 41 ;
of

span

effi

philosophy

the

Empedo-

See

42.

cles, etc.
neo-Platonist,
Plutarch,
Political

new

of
by,
; summary
in the
and differences

similarities
ories

concep

new

41

cause

fifth

Cosmologists

40; their

change,

ex

39, 40;

41.

20; their

were,

cient

ethical

the

reconcile

to

Pluralists, list of later

who

mys

prob

two

metaphysical

the

Milesian

of

299.

of

Aristotle,

202, 203.
Plato's

theory

of,

19.
Polytheism, Homeric,
Polytheisms, the systematizing

of,

Political

society,

155-158.

291, 298, 357.

Porphyry,
Posidonius,

270, 271.

Primary

qualities,

secondary

and

in

Stoicism,

262.

299-301.

Proclus,
Prodicus,

metaphysics
his

the

of, 297, 298.

Probabilism

formatioi

132-136;

293

293 ; the

of, 294-297;

problem

and

writ

character

116.

; summan

132 ; the

metaphysics,

development
the

his

See

298, 299.

his

of

130, 131; the

sources,

his

ings of, 290,

general
his teaching, 291, 292 ;

ception

238-240.

Epicurus,

Plato, 104

and

280, 287, 288; life and

tremes

of, under

richment

279

230-233.

Epicurus,

of

problem
universe,

of,

331,

287, 288.
Eclectic, 285.

291 ;

lems

Skep

ticism.

Physical

readers,

Ages,

of

288.

See

Middle

neo-Platonism,

tic

299.

English

for
the

Happiness.

philosophy of,

neo-Platonism,

and

tendencies

337, 338, 360, 363.

revival
the
Platonism,

Plotinus,

Philoponus,

of

in

Pleasure,

Elean-Ere-

the

school, 93.
Greek-Jewish

281-284;

of Cyre-

theory
379, 380.

founder

144-

man,

immortality,

of

two

from,

sages

Platonists,

naics, 97.
the Lombard,

Peter

Phsedo,

im

of, in history, 277-279.

portance
Pessimism,

Philo,

the

158-165;

57, 62.

trian

doctrine

142-

virtues,
153, 154 ; the four cardinal
154, 155 ; his theory of political so
of
ciety, 155-158; a selection
pas

12-14.

Peripatetics.

conception

of

in,
love,
151-153; hia
150, 151; Platonic
theory of ethics, 153-158 ; develop
of his
of
the
ment
Good,
theory
146-150

58.

physical nature,

of

; his
; his

144
146

tle, 177-179.

Pericles,

403

G6, 68.

Protagoras,

relativism

66, 67 ; the

con

69, 70; his

point

con-

with

of Socrates,

that

of

view

of,

compared
81.

405

INDEX

involves,
his

; what

of, 83-86

Ideal

tbe

the

85-88;

logical expedients

and

the

and

Lesser,

the

Ul;

of, 71-73;

of, 68-71; the-ethics

of

mary

work,

their

Socrates

by

ways

74 ; and

phanes,
cording

to

in

met

and

Aristo
80-82.
ac

196, 197; of

in Honor
Spenser, Edmund,
Hymn
of Beauty, 153 n.
Spiritual authority, the need of, 275the
to
277; the
present
turning

for, 287, 288.

of

the

church,

Views

of, 155-158;

doctrine

Plato's

and

Aquinas's

Dante's

school, the, 222-225; inclines

and

Stoicism,
of

mary

to

Epicureanism,

agreements

position

conceptions

differ

of, in

an

of, 247, 248;

the

conception of personality, 248 ; the

psychology of, 248-250 ; the highest
of
good, 250, 251; the
conception
of
251-256
na
nature,
; conceptions
and
ture
personality supplement
each
other, 256, 257; and
society,
257-259; duty and
responsibility,
259, 260
the

the

problem

modifications

of

problem
of

freedom,

of,

after

evil

and

Stress, 362,

and

260, 261 ;
the

period, 261-263; its influence

Christianity, 305.
and
Stoics
Cynics, 246, 247.
Storm

first
on

of Peter

the

n.

25.
of

series

Aristotle, 196-

68.

Thrasymachus,
Timon,

266.

Middle

of

period

Ages,

332, 354-357.

William,

Turner,

336

phy,
Twofold

History

of

Philoso

n.

reality, world
of, Democri114-116.
of,
theory
of

History
Ueberweg,
quoted, 6; cited,
the,
Unchanging,
Pluralists,

Universalia

Philosophy,

269

n.

as

conceived

by

40, 41.

ante

104, 358, 362-

rem,

379, 380.

in

re,

104, 358, 364, 365,

384.

Universalia

365,

post

103, 358,

rem,

362-

384.

particulars, accord
Aquinas, 383-385.
ing to Thomas
of
Dante's
con
Universe,
diagram
ception of, 376.
the
establishment
Universities,
of,
and

Universals

377.

the, according

Useful,

Socrates,

to

87,88.

Gnostic,

Valentinus,

Beauvais,

of

Vincent

meaning

Virtue,

310.
379.

of, 84; according

to

to the
according
Cynics, 95; according to Aristotle,
199-202; place of, in Epicureanism,

84-88;

Socrates,

233.

Virtues,

363.

Lombard,
Syllogism, the, 182.
of neo-Platonism,290,
Syrian school
Sums,

227

Universalia

sum

and

tiquity, 241, 242; the three periods

of, 243-246;
Of, 242, 243; leaders
writings of, 246 ; the two
promi
nent

of Roman

S., History

365, 384.

269, 270.

225, 226;

ences,

313.

W.

Thales, 24,
Theological

the

of, 382.

eclecticism,

n.

392.

Tertullian,
Teuffel,

105

defined,

conception

Of, 277-279.

Stoic

313.

Teleology,

tus'

Spirituality,rise

fun

principle of, 100-102.

damental

Transitional

295, 297, 298.

Plotinus,

place

the

202.

of, 145-150;

Aristotle,

their

history, 98-100;

Literature,

sum

73;

Socrates,

doctrine

Soul, Plato's

and

Greek

Terminism,

Sophists, significance of, 64-67; the

67, 68; the philosophy
prominent,

State,

in

Tatian,

93-95.

Socrates,

93-95.

two

philosophers of,

three

of, 9'2,93;

Soeratics,

Lesser

Socratics,

Athens,

; and

88-Ul

method,

of

steps

two

the

ideal

his

the

four

cardinal, in Plato,

154, 155.

"Weber, History

of Philosophy

cited,

298, 299.

Syrianus, 299.
Systematic
period of Greek
philo
sophy, 12-14; treated, 98-203; the

Wheeler,
the
172.

B.

Great,

I., Life
cited,

of
66

Alexander

n.;

quoted,

INDEX

406

Will,
Will

freedom

of.

or

385,

William

of

Aubergne,

William

of

Champeaux,

Windelband,

n.

37

religious

philosopher,
27

of,

philosophy

on

quoted,

75

379.

of

148.

n.

works

Socrates,

on

76,

121

Dante,
Dion,

of

Immortal

325
123

Zeno,

n.

n.

losophy,

n.,

102;
on

Edward,

Zeller,

Ancient

cited,

n.;

Essays

Intimations

of

parts

to

be

read,

93.

363.

William,

Wordsworth,

Xenophon,

254.

quoted,

Karl,

Witte,

ity

26

the

389.

388,

38G,

History

Philosophy,

Ode

of

question

of,

primacy

311

Xenophanes,

Freedom.

See
the

intellect,

Greek

Pre-Socratic

n.,

100

n.;

Philosophy,
his

Eleatic,

philosophy,

36,

37

life,

Stoic,

242,

244,

35
See

37.

school.

Zeno,

Phi

quoted,

246.

101,
n.

f.;
Eleatic

his