Examining in detail Aristotle's treatment of physical, cosmological, chemical, and meteorological questions, this learned study compares his arguments and conclusions with those of his precursors in order to assess his debt to them and at the same time to show clearly the nature of his own new contributions to the body of scientific thought. It also examines the interrelations of the major topics included in Aristotle's scientific work and the relations between his theology and his science. Describing his work as (...) "a study in continuity and transformation," Friedrich Solmsen writes, "The scientific endeavors of the Presocratics have a sequel.... Aristotle did not discover the subjects with which he deals in his physical treatises. In the questions which he takes up he is neither as free nor as arbitrary as some students of his thought appear to believe, and in the answers which he provides he is not as invariably original as he himself in the course of his arguments may lead us to think." With constant reference to its historical antecedents, Aristotle's system of movement is analyzed and studied, as are his doctrines regarding time, place, matter, and the infinite. In connection with his concept of cosmic order, special consideration is given to the relation between the lower (sublunary) and the upper (celestial) Cosmos in his scheme. Solmsen's mastery of the relevant texts (not only Aristotelian, but also Platonic, Presocratic, and Epicurean) is evident on every page. (shrink)

Οκον τν μέλλοντα τέχνην ητορικν μετιέναι πρτον μέν δε τατα δ διρσθαι, κα εληέναι τιν χαρακτρα κατέρου το εδουδ, ν ᾧ τε νγκη τ πλθος πλανσθαι Kα ν ᾧ μή . To the best of my knowledge the soundness of the first six words of this sentence has never been questioned, yet to accept them as they are in the manuscripts means to close one's eyes to the direction of the argument. At 260d5–9 rhetoric personified and allowed to plead its (...) case makes the ‘big’ statement that anyone learning how to speak would do well to know the truth about his subject but that even if he knows it he would not be able νεν μο, i.e. without the aid of rhetoric, πείθειν τέχν. From that point on the issues are whether rhetoric justly claims to be a τέχν, what territory it covers and how the procedure of someone practising it τέχν may differ from that of one for whom it is an τεχνος τριβή . Even if rhetoric engages in πάτη and proves e.g. one and the same thing to be both just and unjust , success will be with τέχν τοτο δρν ; witness Zeno of Elea, a master in such arguments λέγοντα τέχν when he makes the same things appear like and unlike or one and many . To judge shrewdly what kind of subjects deceive people more easily the rhetorician himself must have a firm grasp of the truth: λόγων ρα τέχνην, ταρε, τν λήθειαν μ εδώς, δόξας δ τεθηρευκώς, γελοίαν τινά, ς οικε, κα τεχνον παρέξεται. (shrink)

According to the apparatus which accompanies the fragment in Diels-Kranz, the reading χλωρ Καί ναιμα is found in the scholia and in the MSS. of class II, whereas class I has χλωρ Καί ναιμα . We are also referred to Demetrius, Eloc.

Generally known for its advanced, often radical suggestions of reform in politics, religion, morality, and human behavior, the Greek Enlightenment has long been studied in terms of its doctrines and theories. To understand the environment in which the new ideas flourished and their impact, Friedrich Solmsen explores the novel intellectual methods that developed during the period. A variety of new modes of thought was introduced at this time or, if known before, was applied with delight in experimentation. Among (...) those that Friedrich Solmsen examines are new methods of argumentation: persuasion aimed at the control of man's emotions; Utopian speculation; experiments with language; and the emergence of a secular psychology and its use in the reconstruction of human motives and historical events. Concentrating on the work of nonphilosophical authors such as the historian Thucydides and the tragedian Euripides, the author presents a portrait of a restless and spirited age engaged in an adventure of reason. Originally published in 1975. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905. (shrink)