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78-518: The first Pseudo-Aristotelian works were produced by the members of the Peripatetic school , which was founded by Aristotle. However, many more works were written much later, during the Middle Ages . Because Aristotle had produced so many works on such a variety of subjects, it was possible for writers in many different contexts—notably medieval Europeans , North Africans and Arabs —to write

156-416: A volcanic origin. He also deals with precious stones, emeralds , amethysts , onyx , jasper , etc., and describes a variety of "sapphire" that was blue with veins of gold, and thus was presumably lapis lazuli . He knew that pearls came from shellfish , that coral came from India, and speaks of the fossilized remains of organic life. He also considers the practical uses of various stones, such as

234-426: A different form, and what additional structures of thought he placed upon them, can only be partially determined because of the loss of so many of his writings. Many of his opinions have to be reconstructed from the works of later writers such as Alexander of Aphrodisias and Simplicius . Theophrastus seems to have carried out still further the grammatical foundation of logic and rhetoric , since in his book on

312-494: A happiness resting merely upon virtue, or, consequently, to hold fast by the unconditional value of morality . He subordinated moral requirements to the advantage at least of a friend, and had allowed in prosperity the existence of an influence injurious to them. In later times, fault was found with his expression in the Callisthenes , "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom" ( vitam regit fortuna non sapientia ). That in

390-432: A manner of which Aristotle would not have approved. Theophrastus was opposed to eating meat on the grounds that it robbed animals of life and was therefore unjust. Non-human animals, he said, can reason, sense, and feel just as human beings do. The marble herm figure with the bearded head of philosopher type, bearing the explicit inscription, must be taken as purely conventional. Unidentified portrait heads did not find

468-455: A necessary consequence of all activity. In ethics , he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue . Most of the biographical information about Theophrastus was provided by Diogenes Laërtius ' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers , written more than four hundred years after Theophrastus's time. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos . His given name

546-783: A ready market in post-Renaissance Rome. This bust was formerly in the collection of marchese Pietro Massimi at Palazzo Massimi and belonged to marchese L. Massimi at the time the engraving was made. It is now in the Villa Albani , Rome (inv. 1034). The inscribed bust has often been illustrated in engravings and photographs: a photograph of it forms the frontispiece to the Loeb Classical Library Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants vol. I, 1916. André Thevet illustrated in his iconographic compendium, Les vraies Pourtrats et vies des Hommes Illustres (Paris, 1584), an alleged portrait plagiarized from

624-512: A source for other lapidaries until at least the Renaissance , Theophrastus classified rocks and gems based on their behavior when heated, further grouping minerals by common properties, such as amber and magnetite , which both have the power of attraction. Theophrastus describes different marbles ; mentions coal , which he says is used for heating by metal-workers; describes the various metal ores ; and knew that pumice stones had

702-485: A spirit entirely independent of organic activity, must therefore have appeared to him very doubtful; yet he appears to have contented himself with developing his doubts and difficulties on the point, without positively rejecting it. Other Peripatetics, like Dicaearchus , Aristoxenus , and especially Strato , developed further this naturalism in Aristotelian doctrine. Theophrastus seems, generally speaking, where

780-519: A work and ascribe it to Aristotle. Attaching his name to such a work guaranteed it a certain amount of respect and acceptance, since Aristotle was regarded as one of the most authoritative ancient writers for the learned men of both Christian Europe and the Muslim Arab lands . It is generally not clear whether the attribution to Aristotle of a later work was done by its own author or by others who sought to popularize such works by using his name. In

858-419: Is considerable uncertainty over the issue, and Andronicus' pupil Boethus of Sidon is also described as the eleventh scholarch. It is quite possible that Andronicus set up a new school where he taught Boethus. Whereas the earlier Peripatetics had sought to extend and develop Aristotle's works, from the time of Andronicus the school concentrated on preserving and defending his work. The most important figure in

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936-630: Is known only from a passing reference by Athenaeus . Other important Peripatetic philosophers who lived during these centuries include Eudemus of Rhodes , Aristoxenus , Dicaearchus , and Clearchus of Soli . In 86 BC, Athens was sacked by the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla ; all the schools of philosophy in Athens were badly disrupted, and the Lyceum ceased to exist as a functioning institution. Ironically, this event seems to have brought new life to

1014-725: Is testified to not only by a number of treatises on individual subjects of zoology , of which, besides the titles, only fragments remain, but also by his books On Stones , his Enquiry into Plants , and On the Causes of Plants (see below), which have come down to us entire. In politics, also, he seems to have trodden in the footsteps of Aristotle. Besides his books on the State ( Πολιτικῶν and Πολιτικοῦ ), we find quoted various treatises on Education ( Περὶ παιδείας βασιλέως and Περὶ παιδείας ), on Royalty ( Περὶ βασιλείας , Περὶ παιδείας βασιλέως and Πρὸς Κάσανδρον περὶ βασιλείας ), on

1092-639: Is usually stated to be ... we must set certain limits to purposiveness and to the effort after the best, and not assert it to exist in all cases without qualification. He did not follow the incessant attempts by Aristotle to refer phenomena to their ultimate foundations, or his attempts to unfold the internal connections between the latter, and between them and phenomena. In antiquity, it was a subject of complaint that Theophrastus had not expressed himself with precision and consistency respecting God , and had understood it at one time as Heaven , at another an (enlivening) breath ( pneuma ). Theophrastus did not allow

1170-512: Is very likely that he did so at the urging of Theophrastus. It seems that it was on Lesbos that Aristotle and Theophrastus began their research into natural science , with Aristotle studying animals and Theophrastus studying plants. Theophrastus probably accompanied Aristotle to Macedonia when Aristotle was appointed tutor to Alexander the Great in 343/2. Around 335 BC, Theophrastus moved with Aristotle to Athens, where Aristotle began teaching in

1248-468: The Academics , and a sketch of the political doctrine of Plato . He studied general history, as we know from Plutarch 's lives of Lycurgus , Solon , Aristides , Pericles , Nicias , Alcibiades , Lysander , Agesilaus , and Demosthenes , which were probably borrowed from the work on Lives ( Περὶ βίων ). But his main efforts were to continue the labours of Aristotle in natural history . This

1326-702: The Best State ( Περὶ τῆς ἀρίστης πολιτείας ), on Political Morals ( Πολιτικῶν ἐθῶν ), and particularly his works on the Laws ( Νόμων κατὰ στοιχεῖον , Νόμων ἐπιτομῆς and Περὶ νόμων ), one of which, containing a recapitulation of the laws of various barbarian as well as Greek states, was intended to be a companion to Aristotle's outline of Politics , and must have been similar to it. He also wrote on oratory and poetry . Theophrastus, without doubt, departed further from Aristotle in his ethical writings, as also in his metaphysical investigations of motion ,

1404-554: The Characters . George Eliot also took inspiration from Theophrastus's Characters , most notably in her book of caricatures, Impressions of Theophrastus Such . Writing the "character sketch" as a scholastic exercise also originated in Theophrastus's typology. A treatise On Sense Perception ( Περὶ αἰσθήσεων ) and its objects is important for a knowledge of the doctrines of the more ancient Greek philosophers regarding

1482-728: The Codex Urbinas in the Vatican Library , which was not made known to J. G. Schneider , who made the first modern critical edition, 1818–21, and the excerpts in the Codex Parisiensis in the Bibliothèque nationale de France . His book Characters ( Ἠθικοὶ χαρακτῆρες ) contains thirty brief outlines of moral types. They are the first recorded attempt at systematic character writing . The book has been regarded by some as an independent work; others incline to

1560-580: The Lyceum . Some modern scholars argue that the school did not become formally institutionalized until Theophrastus took it over, at which time there was private property associated with the school. Originally at least, the Peripatetic gatherings were probably conducted less formally than the term "school" suggests: there was likely no set curriculum or requirements for students or even fees for membership. Aristotle did teach and lecture there, but there

1638-417: The Lyceum . When, after the death of Alexander, anti-Macedonian feeling forced Aristotle to leave Athens, Theophrastus remained behind as head ( scholarch ) of the Peripatetic school , a position he continued to hold after Aristotle's death in 322/1. Aristotle in his will made him guardian of his children, including Nicomachus , with whom he was close. Aristotle likewise bequeathed to him his library and

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1716-641: The Middle Ages , more than a hundred Pseudo-Aristotelian works were in circulation. These can be separated into three groups based on the original language used for the work, namely Latin , Greek or Arabic . The category of Latin works is the smallest, while the Arabic works are most numerous. Many Arabic works were translated to Latin in the Middle Ages. The majority of these cover occult subjects, such as alchemy , astrology , chiromancy and physiognomy . Others treated Greek philosophical subjects, more often

1794-708: The Natural Philosophy ( Περὶ φύσεως , Περὶ φυσικῶν , Φυσικῶν and others), on Heaven ( Περὶ οὐρανοῦ ), and on Meteorological Phenomena ( Τῆς μεταρσιολεσχίας and Μεταρσιολογικῶν ). In addition, Theophrastus wrote on the Warm and the Cold ( Περὶ θερμοῦ καὶ ψυχροῦ ), on Water ( Περὶ ὕδατος ), Fire ( Περὶ πυρóς ), the Sea ( Περὶ θαλάττης ), on Coagulation and Melting ( Περὶ πήξεων καὶ τήξεων ), on various phenomena of organic and spiritual life, and on

1872-552: The Platonic and neoplatonic schools rather than the thought of Aristotle. The Arabic Secretum Secretorum was by far the most popular Pseudo-Aristotelian work and was even more widely diffused than any of the authentic works of Aristotle. The release of Pseudo-Aristotelian works continued for long after the Middle Ages. Aristotle's Masterpiece was a sex manual which published first in 1684 and became very popular in England . It

1950-608: The Roman era is Alexander of Aphrodisias (c. 200 AD) who wrote commentaries on Aristotle's writings . With the rise of Neoplatonism (and Christianity ) in the 3rd century, Peripateticism as an independent philosophy came to an end, but the Neoplatonists sought to incorporate Aristotle's philosophy within their own system, and produced many commentaries on Aristotle's works. The last philosophers in classical antiquity to comment on Aristotle were Simplicius and Boethius in

2028-504: The Soul ( Περὶ ψυχῆς ), on Experience ( Περὶ ἐμπειρίας ) and On Sense Perception (also known as On the Senses ; Περὶ αἰσθήσεων ). Likewise, we find mention of monographs of Theophrastus on the early Greek philosophers Anaximenes , Anaxagoras , Empedocles , Archelaus , Diogenes of Apollonia , Democritus , which were made use of by Simplicius ; and also on Xenocrates , against

2106-530: The Topica of Theophrastus. Closely connected with this treatise was that upon ambiguous words or ideas, which, without doubt, corresponded to book Ε of Aristotle's Metaphysics . Theophrastus introduced his Physics with the proof that all natural existence, being corporeal and composite, requires principles , and first and foremost, motion , as the basis of all change. Denying the substance of space , he seems to have regarded it, in opposition to Aristotle, as

2184-520: The Winds , and on the signs of Waters , Winds , and Storms . Various smaller scientific fragments have been collected in the editions of Johann Gottlob Schneider (1818–21) and Friedrich Wimmer (1842–62) and in Hermann Usener 's Analecta Theophrastea . The Metaphysics (anachronistic Greek title: Θεοφράστου τῶν μετὰ τὰ φυσικά ), in nine chapters (also known as On First Principles ),

2262-407: The peripatoi ("walkways", some covered or with colonnades) of the Lyceum where the members met. The legend that the name came from Aristotle's alleged habit of walking while lecturing may have started with Hermippus of Smyrna . Unlike Plato (428/7–348/7 BC), Aristotle (384–322 BC) was not a citizen of Athens and so could not own property; he and his colleagues therefore used the grounds of

2340-694: The soul , and God . Besides these writings, Theophrastus wrote several collections of problems, out of which some things at least have passed into the Problems that have come down to us under the name of Aristotle, and commentaries, partly dialogue , to which probably belonged the Erotikos ( Ἐρωτικός ), Megacles ( Μεγακλῆς ), Callisthenes ( Καλλισθένης ), and Megarikos ( Μεγαρικός ), and letters, partly books on mathematical sciences and their history. Many of his surviving works exist only in fragmentary form. "The style of these works, as of

2418-414: The "father of botany" for his groundbreaking works " Enquiry into Plants " ( Ancient Greek : Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία , romanized :  Peri phytōn historia ) and "On the Causes of Plants," ( Ancient Greek : Περὶ αἰτιῶν φυτικῶν , romanized :  Peri aitiōn phytikōn ) Theophrastus established the foundations of botanical science . His given name was Tyrtamos ( Ancient Greek : Τύρταμος );

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2496-467: The 12th century ), and Scholastic philosophy gradually developed under such names as Thomas Aquinas , taking its tone and complexion from the writings of Aristotle, the commentaries of Averroes, and The Book of Healing of Avicenna. Theophrastus Theophrastus ( / ˌ θ iː . ə ˈ f r æ s t ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Θεόφραστος , romanized :  Theophrastos , lit.   'godly phrased'; c. 371 – c. 287 BC)

2574-525: The 6th century AD. After this, although his works were mostly lost to the west, they were maintained in the east where they were incorporated into early Islamic philosophy . Some of the greatest Peripatetic philosophers in the Islamic philosophical tradition were Al-Kindi (Alkindus), Al-Farabi (Alpharabius), Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd). By the 12th century, Aristotle's works began being translated into Latin (see Latin translations of

2652-427: The Causes of Plants was originally eight books, of which six survive. It concerns the growth of plants; the influences on their fecundity; the proper times they should be sown and reaped; the methods of preparing the soil, manuring it, and the use of tools; and of the smells, tastes, and properties of many types of plants. The work deals mainly with the economical uses of plants rather than their medicinal uses, although

2730-439: The Causes of Plants , were an important influence on Renaissance science . There are also surviving works On Moral Characters , On Sense Perception , and On Stones , as well as fragments on Physics and Metaphysics . In philosophy, he studied grammar and language and continued Aristotle's work on logic . He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as

2808-530: The Greek plants may have come from his own observations, as he is known to have travelled throughout Greece, and to have had a botanical garden of his own; but the works also profit from the reports on plants of Asia brought back from those who followed Alexander the Great : to the reports of Alexander's followers he owed his accounts of such plants as the cotton-plant , banyan , pepper , cinnamon , myrrh , and frankincense . Theophrastus's Enquiry into Plants

2886-425: The Lyceum as a gathering place, just as it had been used by earlier philosophers such as Socrates . Aristotle and his colleagues first began to use the Lyceum in this way about 335 BC, after which Aristotle left Plato's Academy and Athens, and then returned to Athens from his travels about a dozen years later. Because of the school's association with the gymnasium , the school also came to be referred to simply as

2964-491: The Peripatetic philosophers in this period seem to have contributed anything original to philosophy. The reasons for the decline of the Peripatetic school are unclear. Stoicism and Epicureanism provided many answers for those people looking for dogmatic and comprehensive philosophical systems, and the scepticism of the Middle Academy may have seemed preferable to anyone who rejected dogmatism. Later tradition linked

3042-551: The Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly. He is often considered the father of botany for his works on plants. After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus . The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, including biology , physics , ethics and metaphysics . His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum) and On

3120-538: The Peripatetic school. Sulla brought the writings of Aristotle and Theophrastus back to Rome , where they became the basis of a new collection of Aristotle's writings compiled by Andronicus of Rhodes which forms the basis of the Corpus Aristotelicum which exists today. Later Neoplatonist writers describe Andronicus, who lived around 50 BC, as the eleventh scholarch of the Peripatetic school, which would imply that he had two unnamed predecessors. There

3198-447: The approximate dates they headed the school is as follows (all dates BC): There are some uncertainties in this list. It is not certain whether Aristo of Ceos was the head of the school, but since he was a close pupil of Lyco and the most important Peripatetic philosopher in the time when he lived, it is generally assumed that he was. It is not known if Critolaus directly succeeded Aristo, or if there were any leaders between them. Erymneus

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3276-413: The best treatises on that doctrine. In different monographs he seems to have tried to expand it into a general theory of science . To this, too, may have belonged the proposition quoted from his Topics , that the principles of opposites are themselves opposed, and cannot be deduced from one and the same higher genus. For the rest, some minor deviations from the Aristotelian definitions are quoted from

3354-408: The botanical books, suggests that, as in the case of Aristotle, what we possess consists of notes for lectures or notes taken of lectures," his translator Arthur F. Hort remarks. "There is no literary charm; the sentences are mostly compressed and highly elliptical, to the point sometimes of obscurity". The text of these fragments and extracts is often so corrupt that there is a certain plausibility to

3432-528: The bust, supporting his fraud with the invented tale that he had obtained it from the library of a Greek in Cyprus and that he had seen a confirming bust in the ruins of Antioch. A world is named Theophrastus in the 2014 Firefly graphic novel Serenity: Leaves on the Wind . Theodor Geisel used the name "Theophrastus" as the given name of his pen-name alter ego, Dr. Seuss . A board game named Theophrastus

3510-477: The complete failure of a charge of impiety brought against him. He was honored with a public funeral, and "the whole population of Athens, honouring him greatly, followed him to the grave." He was succeeded as head of the Lyceum by Strato of Lampsacus . From the lists of Diogenes, giving 227 titles, it appears that the activity of Theophrastus extended over the whole field of contemporary knowledge. His writing probably differed little from Aristotle's treatment of

3588-410: The definition of pleasure, likewise, he did not coincide with Aristotle, seems to be indicated by the titles of two of his writings, one of which dealt with pleasure generally, the other with pleasure as Aristotle had defined it. Although, like his teacher, he preferred contemplative (theoretical), to active (practical) life, he preferred to set the latter free from the restraints of family life, etc. in

3666-423: The elements of speech , he distinguished the main parts of speech from the subordinate parts, and also direct expressions ( κυρία λέξις kuria lexis ) from metaphorical expressions, and dealt with the emotions ( πάθη pathe ) of speech. He further distinguished a twofold reference of speech ( σχίσις schisis ) to things ( πράγματα pragmata ) and to the hearers, and referred poetry and rhetoric to

3744-513: The first record of pyroelectricity. The misconception arose soon after the discovery of the pyroelectric properties of tourmaline , which made mineralogists of the time associate the lyngurium with it. Lyngurium is described in the work of Theophrastus as being similar to amber , capable of attracting "straws and bits of wood", but without specifying any pyroelectric properties. The extent to which Theophrastus followed Aristotle's doctrines, or defined them more accurately, or conceived them in

3822-418: The investigation overstepped the limits of experience, to have preferred to develop the difficulties rather than solve them, as is especially apparent in his Metaphysics . He was doubtful of Aristotle's teleology and recommended that such ideas be used with caution: With regard to the view that all things are for the sake of an end and nothing is in vain, the assignation of ends is in general not easy, as it

3900-711: The junior members generally serving as pupils or assistants to the senior members who directed research and lectured. The aim of the school, at least in Aristotle's time, was not to further a specific doctrine, but rather to explore philosophical and scientific theories; those who ran the school worked as equal partners. Some time shortly after the death of Alexander the Great in June 323 BC, Aristotle left Athens to avoid persecution by anti-Macedonian factions in Athens, due to his ties to Macedonia . After Aristotle's death in 322 BC, his colleague Theophrastus succeeded him as head of

3978-413: The latter is sometimes mentioned. A book on wines and a book on plant smells may have once been part of the complete work. Although these works contain many absurd and fabulous statements, they include valuable observations concerning the functions and properties of plants. Theophrastus observed the process of germination and recognized the significance of climate to plants. Much of the information on

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4056-400: The latter. He wrote at length on the unity of judgment , on the different kinds of negation, and on the difference between unconditional and conditional necessity. In his doctrine of syllogisms he brought forward the proof for the conversion of universal affirmative judgments, differed from Aristotle here and there in the laying down and arranging the modi of the syllogisms, partly in

4134-458: The life in animals does not need explanation or is to be explained only in this way, may it not be the case that in the heavens too, and in the heavenly bodies, movement does not need explanation or is to be explained in a special way? He recognised no activity without motion, and so referred all activities of the soul to motion: the desires and emotions to corporeal motion, judgment ( kriseis ) and contemplation to spiritual motion. The idea of

4212-497: The mere arrangement and position ( taxis and thesis ) of bodies. Time he called an accident of motion, without, it seems, viewing it, with Aristotle, as the numerical determinant of motion. He attacked the doctrine of the four classical elements and challenged whether fire could be called a primary element when it appears to be compound, requiring, as it does, another material for its own nutriment. He departed more widely from Aristotle in his doctrine of motion, since on

4290-549: The middle of the 3rd century BC, the school fell into decline, and it was not until the Roman Empire that there was a revival. The term peripatetic is a transliteration of the ancient Greek word περιπατητικός ( peripatētikós ), which means "of walking" or "given to walking about". The Peripatetic school, founded by Aristotle, was actually known simply as the Peripatos . Aristotle's school came to be so named because of

4368-464: The minerals necessary for the manufacture of glass; for the production of various pigments of paint such as ochre ; and for the manufacture of plaster . Many of the rarer minerals were found in mines, and Theophrastus mentions the famous copper mines of Cyprus and the even more famous silver mines , presumably of Laurium near Athens – the basis of the wealth of the city – as well as referring to gold mines . The Laurium silver mines, which were

4446-552: The mines as a thing of the past. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore, and washing tables for extracting the metal, may still be seen. Theophrastus wrote a separate work On Mining , which – like most of his writings – is a lost work . Pliny the Elder makes clear references to his use of On Stones in his Naturalis Historia of 77 AD, while updating and making much new information available on minerals himself. Although Pliny's treatment of

4524-547: The most important contribution to botanical science during antiquity and the Middle Ages, the first systemization of the botanical world; on the strength of these works some, following Linnaeus , call him the "father of botany ". The Enquiry into Plants was originally ten books, of which nine survive. The work is arranged into a system whereby plants are classified according to their modes of generation, their localities, their sizes, and according to their practical uses such as foods, juices, herbs, etc. The first book deals with

4602-453: The nickname Theophrastus ("divine speaker") was reputedly given to him by Aristotle in recognition of his eloquent style. He came to Athens at a young age and initially studied in Plato's school . After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle who took to Theophrastus in his writings. When Aristotle fled Athens, Theophrastus took over as head of the Lyceum . Theophrastus presided over

4680-446: The one hand he extended it over all categories, and did not limit it to those laid down by Aristotle. He viewed motion, with Aristotle, as an activity, not carrying its own goal in itself ( ateles ), of that which only potentially exists, but he opposed Aristotle's view that motion required a special explanation, and he regarded it as something proper both to nature in general and the celestial system in particular: Surely, then, if

4758-412: The originals of his works, and designated him as his successor at the Lyceum. Eudemus of Rhodes also had some claims to this position, and Aristoxenus is said to have resented Aristotle's choice. Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for 35 years, and died at age 85, according to Diogenes. He is said to have remarked, "We die just when we are beginning to live". Under his guidance,

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4836-469: The parts of plants; the second book with the reproduction of plants and the times and manner of sowing; the third, fourth, and fifth books are devoted to trees, their types, their locations, and their practical applications; the sixth book deals with shrubs and spiny plants; the seventh book deals with herbs; the eighth book deals with plants that produce edible seeds; and the ninth book deals with plants that produce useful juices, gums , resins , etc. On

4914-442: The proof of them, partly in the doctrine of mixture, i.e. of the influence of the modality of the premises upon the modality of the conclusion. Then, in two separate works, he dealt with the reduction of arguments to the syllogistic form and on the resolution of them; and further, with hypothetical conclusions. For the doctrine of proof , Galen quotes the second Analytic of Theophrastus, in conjunction with that of Aristotle, as

4992-523: The property of the state, were usually leased for a fixed sum and a percentage on the working. Towards the end of the fifth century BCE the output fell, partly owing to the Spartan occupation of Decelea from c.  413 BCE. But the mines continued to be worked, though Strabo ( c.  64 BCE to c.  24 CE) records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, and Pausanias ( c.  110 to c.  180 ) speaks of

5070-596: The same themes, though supplementary in details. Like Aristotle, most of his writings are lost works . Thus Theophrastus, like Aristotle, had composed a first and second Analytic ( Ἀναλυτικῶν προτέρων and Ἀναλυτικῶν ὑστέρων ). He had also written books on Topics ( Ἀνηγμένων τόπων , Τοπικῶν and Τὰ πρὸ τῶν τόπων ); on the Analysis of Syllogisms ( Περὶ ἀναλύσεως συλλογισμῶν and Περὶ συλλογισμῶν λύσεως ), on Sophisms ( Σοφισμάτων ) and on Affirmation and Denial ( Περὶ καταφάσεως καὶ ἀποφάσεως ) as well as on

5148-415: The school flourished greatly—there were at one period more than 2,000 students, Diogenes affirms —and at his death, according to the terms of his will preserved by Diogenes, he bequeathed to it his garden with house and colonnades as a permanent seat of instruction. The comic poet Menander was among his pupils. His popularity was shown in the regard paid to him by Philip , Cassander , and Ptolemy , and by

5226-427: The school's decline to Neleus of Scepsis and his descendants hiding the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus in a cellar until their rediscovery in the 1st century BC, and even though this story may be doubted, it is possible that Aristotle's works were not widely read. The names of the first seven or eight scholarchs (leaders) of the Peripatetic school are known with varying levels of certainty. A list of names with

5304-437: The school. The most prominent member of the school after Theophrastus was Strato of Lampsacus , who increased the naturalistic elements of Aristotle's philosophy and embraced a form of atheism . After the time of Strato, the Peripatetic school fell into a decline. Lyco was famous more for his oratory than his philosophical skills, and Aristo for his biographical studies. Although Critolaus was more philosophically active, none of

5382-406: The subject is more extensive, Theophrastus is more systematic and his work is comparatively free from fable and magic, although he did describe lyngurium , a gemstone supposedly formed of the solidified urine of the lynx (the best ones coming from wild males), which featured in many lapidaries until it gradually disappeared from view in the 17th century. It is mistakenly attributed to Theophrastus

5460-408: The subject. A paraphrase and commentary on this work was written by Priscian of Lydia in the sixth century. With this type of work we may connect the fragments on Smells , on Fatigue , on Dizziness , on Sweat , on Swooning , on Palsy , and on Honey . Fragments of a History of Physics ( Περὶ φυσικῶν ἱστοριῶν ) are extant. To this class of work belong the still extant sections on Fire , on

5538-437: The view that the sketches were written from time to time by Theophrastus, and collected and edited after his death; others, again, regard the Characters as part of a larger systematic work, but the style of the book is against this. Theophrastus has found many imitators in this kind of writing, notably Joseph Hall (1608), Sir Thomas Overbury (1614–16), Bishop Earle (1628), and Jean de La Bruyère (1688), who also translated

5616-428: The well-known story that the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus were allowed to languish in the cellar of Neleus of Scepsis and his descendants. The most important of his books are two large botanical treatises, Enquiry into Plants ( Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία , generally known as Historia Plantarum ), and On the Causes of Plants ( Greek : Περὶ αἰτιῶν φυτικῶν , Latin : De causis plantarum ), which constitute

5694-596: Was Tyrtamus ( Τύρταμος ), but he later became known by the nickname "Theophrastus", given to him, it is said, by Aristotle to indicate the grace of his conversation (from Ancient Greek Θεός 'god' and φράζειν 'to phrase', i.e. divine expression). After receiving instruction in philosophy on Lesbos from one Alcippus, he moved to Athens , where he may have studied under Plato . He became friends with Aristotle, and when Plato died (348/7 BC) Theophrastus may have joined Aristotle in his self-imposed exile from Athens. When Aristotle moved to Mytilene on Lesbos in 345/4, it

5772-472: Was also philosophical and scientific research done in partnership with other members of the school. It seems likely that many of the writings that have come down to us in Aristotle's name were based on lectures he gave at the school. Among the members of the school in Aristotle's time were Theophrastus , Phanias of Eresus , Eudemus of Rhodes , Aristoxenus , and Dicaearchus . Much like Plato's Academy, there were in Aristotle's school junior and senior members,

5850-550: Was an ancient Greek philosopher and naturalist . A native of Eresos in Lesbos , he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum , the Peripatetic school of philosophy in Athens . Theophrastus wrote numerous treatises across all areas of philosophy, working to support, improve, expand, and develop the Aristotelian system . He made significant contributions to various fields, including ethics , metaphysics , botany , and natural history . Often considered

5928-591: Was considered a fragment of a larger work by Usener in his edition (Theophrastos, Metaphysica , Bonn, 1890), but according to Ross and Fobes in their edition (Theophrastus, Metaphysica , Oxford, 1929), the treatise is complete (p. X) and this opinion is now widely accepted. There is no reason for assigning this work to some other author because it is not noticed in Hermippus and Andronicus , especially as Nicolaus of Damascus had already mentioned it. In his treatise On Stones ( Περὶ λίθων ), which would become

6006-414: Was first published in a Latin translation by Theodore Gaza , at Treviso, 1483; in its original Greek it first appeared from the press of Aldus Manutius at Venice, 1495–98, from a third-rate manuscript, which, like the majority of the manuscripts that were sent to printers' workshops in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, has disappeared. Christian Wimmer identified two manuscripts of first quality,

6084-491: Was still being sold in the early twentieth century and was probably the most widely reprinted book on a medical subject in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Peripatetic school The Peripatetic school ( Ancient Greek : Περίπατος lit.   ' walkway ' ) was a philosophical school founded in 335 BC by Aristotle in the Lyceum in ancient Athens . It was an informal institution whose members conducted philosophical and scientific inquiries. After

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