soul, still less can they give a true opinion
about the gods and the world.
And, truly, they have this much solidity, not to call it stolidity,
that, being unable to discover the nature of their own soul,
they seek to understand that of their gods,
and people who do not know the nature of their own body
labor over the nature of the world.
6
At any rate, they stand wholly at odds with one another
on what is the first principle of nature:
that mind is the cause and master of the universe,
that it provides order for what is disordered.
Whenever Anaxagoras10. accepts me as a pupil, I learn this:
“The first principle of all things is Mind,
providing motion for what is motionless,
separation for what is intermingled,
and beauty for what is ugly.”11.
When Anaxagoras makes these statements,
I cherish him and am persuaded by his teaching.
But Melissus12. and Parmenides13. take their stand against him.
And Parmenides heralds abroad with poetical verse:
“Being is one, eternal, infinite, immovable, and perfectly identical in itself.”14.
Here I am once again.
In this teaching I do not know how to change.
Parmenides has chased Anaxagoras out of my mind.
7
Then, when I think that I have an unshakeable doctrine,
Anaximene,15. interjecting, cries out in turn:
“But I tell you, the universe is air and this,
when it becomes thick and condensed,
becomes water and earth;
when it is rarefied and diffuse,
Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.
Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».
Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.
Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.
