Abstract
To the fragments included in Wehrli's edition of Clearchus' On the Ways of Life, the most important work of the peripatetic philosopher, three additional fragments should be added. The order of the fragments, which is important for the reconstruction of the work, should also be modified. The form of the work was dialogic, following the model of Aristotelian dialogues. As for its content, the central notion was that of luxury, while the central exegetic model was: glut – hybris – catastrophe. It belongs to an entire tradition of works bearing the title Peri bion in which the Peripatos played an important role, and in the context of which it must be understood. Important to Clearchus' particular interest in that subject was Aristotle's teaching of ethos. It was to various collections of material by Aristotle and the Peripatetics that Clearchus also owed the varied material (historical, anecdotal, ethnographic etc.) that was included in the eight books of the work. The discussion ‘on the ways of life’ is related to the question about the ideal of philosophical life, that is to say the matter of vita contemplativa or activa, and constitutes a response to the central philosophical question of the Hellenistic period: “Which kind of life is the best one (i.e. leads to happiness)?”
© Akademie Verlag
