Theophrastus
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{{Infobox Philosopher
| region = Western Philosophy
| era = [[Ancient philosophy]]
| color = #B0C4DE
| image_name = Theophrastus2.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| image_caption = Bust of Theophrastus
| name = Theophrastus
| birth = c. [[371 BC]], [[Eressos]]
| death = c. [[287 BC]], [[Athens]]
| school_tradition = [[Peripatetic school]]
| main_interests = [[Botany]], [[Ethics]], [[Grammar]], [[History]], [[Logic]], [[Metaphysics]], [[Natural History]], [[Physics]]
| notable_ideas = Developed the philosophy of [[Aristotle]]
| influences = [[Aristotle]], [[Plato]]
| influenced = [[Strato of Lampsacus]], [[Alexander of Aphrodisias]], and the entire [[Peripatetic school]]
| signature =
}}
'''Theophrastus''' ([[Greek language|Greek]]: '''{{polytonic|Θεόφραστος}}'''; [[371 BC|371]] – c. [[287 BC]]), a native of [[Eressos]] in [[Lesbos Island|Lesbos]],<ref>Strabo, xiii.; Diogenes Laërtius, v. 36, etc.</ref> was the successor of [[Aristotle]] in the [[Peripatetic]] school. His interests were wide-ranging, extending from [[biology]] and [[physics]] to [[ethics]] and [[metaphysics]]. His two surviving [[botanical]] works, ''Enquiry into Plants'' and ''On the Causes of Plants'', were an important influence on [[medieval]] [[science]]. There are also surviving works ''On Moral Characters'', ''On Sensation'', ''On Stones'', and 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 a necessary consequence of all activity. In [[ethics]], he regarded [[happiness]] as depending on external influences as well as on [[virtue]], and famously said that "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom." He succeeded [[Aristotle]] at the [[Lyceum]].
==Life==
All the biographical information we have of him was provided by [[Diogenes Laërtius]]' ''Lives of the Philosophers'', written four hundred years after Theophrastus' time, though "there is no intrinsic improbability in most of what Diogenes records."<ref>Sir Arthur Hort, Introduction to ''Enquiry into Plants''.</ref> His given name was '''Tyrtamus''' ({{lang-el|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 (ancient Greek: Θεός = God and φραστος = to phrase i.e divine expression).<ref>Strabo, xiii.; Diogenes Laërtius, v. 38</ref>
According to some sources, Theophrastus' father was named Messapus, and was married to a woman named Argiope and was the father of Cercyon -- but, this is not certain.
After receiving his first introduction to [[philosophy]] in Lesbos from one Leucippus or Alcippus, he proceeded to [[Athens]], and became a member of the Platonist circle.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 36</ref> After [[Plato]]'s death he attached himself to [[Aristotle]], and in all probability accompanied him to [[Stagira]]. The intimate friendship of Theophrastus with [[Callisthenes]],<ref name="diog44">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 44.</ref> the fellow-pupil of [[Alexander the Great]], the mention made in his will of an estate belonging to him at Stagira,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 52</ref> and the repeated notices of the town and its museum in the nine books of his ''Enquiry into plants'' and his six books of ''Causes of Plants'' point to this conclusion.
Aristotle in his will made him guardian of his children, of whom [[Nicomachus (son of Aristotle)|Nicomachus]] also became his [[eromenos]].<ref>Giovanni dall'Orto (quoting Pico della Mirandoola) in Kent Gerard, Gert
Hekma, Eds. ''The Pursuit of Sodomy: Male Homosexuality in Renaissance and Enlightenment Europe,'' p.44</ref> Aristotle likewise bequeathed to him his library and the originals of his works,<ref>"It may we be that we owe to Theophrastus the publication of some at least of his master's voluminous works." (Hort).</ref> and designated him as his successor at the [[Lyceum]] on his own removal to [[Chalcis]].<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 36; comp. Aulus Gellius, xiii. 5</ref> [[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 thirty-five years,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 36, 58</ref> and died at the age of eighty-five according to Diogenes.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 40; "He is made indeed to say in the probably spurious Preface to the ''Characters'' that he is writing in his ninety-ninth year; while St. [[Jerome]]'s Chronicle asserts that he lived to the age of 107" (Hort).</ref> He is said to have remarked "we die just when we are beginning to live".<ref>Cicero, ''Tusculanae Quaestiones'', iii. 28 ; Hieronymous, ''Epist. ad Nepotian''; Diogenes Laërtius, v. 41.</ref>
Under his guidance the school flourished greatly— there were at one period more than 2000 students, Diogenes affirms,<ref name="diog3637">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 36, 37.</ref> 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.<ref name="diog3637"/> His popularity was shown in the regard paid to him by [[Philip II of Macedon|Philip]], [[Cassander]] and [[Ptolemy I of Egypt|Ptolemy]], and by the complete failure of a charge of impiety brought against him.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 37; comp. Aelian, ''Varia Historia'', iv. 19</ref> He was honoured with a public funeral, and "the whole population of Athens, honouring him greatly, followed him to the grave."<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 41</ref> He was succeeded as head of the [[Lyceum]] by [[Strato of Lampsacus]].
==Writings==
From the lists of [[Diogenes Laërtius]], 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 the same themes, though supplementary in details. Like Aristotle, most of his writings are [[lost work]]s.
Thus Theophrastus, like Aristotle, had composed a first and second ''Analytic''.<ref name="diog42">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42</ref> He had also written books on ''Topics'';<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 45, 50</ref> on the ''refutation of fallacies'';<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, 42, 45</ref> as well as books on the ''Principles of Natural Philosophy'' (''Physica Auscultatio''), on ''Heaven'', and on ''Meteorological Phenomena''.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 50, 47.</ref> The work of Theophrastus ''On Affirmation and Denial'' seems to have corresponded to that of Aristotle's ''On Judgment''.
[[Image:161Theophrastus 161 frontespizio.jpg|right|200px||thumb|Frontispiece to the illustrated 1644 edition of the ''Enquiry into Plants'' (''Historia Plantarum'')]]
In addition, he wrote on the ''Warm and the Cold'',<ref name="diog44"/> on ''Water'', ''Fire'',<ref name="diog45">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 45</ref> ''the Sea'',<ref name="diog45"/> on ''Coagulation and Melting'', on various phenomena of organic and spiritual life,<ref name="diog45"/> and on the ''Soul'' and ''Sensuous Perception''.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 46</ref> Likewise we find mention of monographs of Theophrastus on the early Greek philosophers [[Anaximenes]], [[Anaxagoras]], [[Empedocles]], [[Archelaus]],<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 43</ref> [[Diogenes of Apollonia]], [[Democritus]],<ref name="diog43">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 43</ref> which were made use of by [[Simplicius of Cilicia|Simplicius]]; and also on [[Xenocrates]],<ref name="diog47">Diogenes Laërtius, v. 47</ref> against the [[Platonism|Academics]],<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 49</ref> and a sketch of the political doctrine of [[Plato]].<ref name="diog43"/> That he studied general history, as we see from the quotations in [[Plutarch]]'s lives of [[Lycurgus]], [[Solon]], [[Aristides]], [[Pericles]], [[Nicias]], [[Alcibiades]], [[Lysander]], [[Agesilaus]], and [[Demosthenes]], which were probably borrowed from the work on ''Lives''.<ref name="diog42"/> But his main efforts were to continue the labours of Aristotle in [[Natural History]]. This is testified 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'', 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'', we find quoted various treatises on ''Education'',<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 50</ref> on ''Royalty'',<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 47, 45</ref> on the ''Best State'', on ''Political Morals'', and particularly his works on the ''Laws'', one of which, containing a recapitulation of the laws of various [[barbarian]] as well as [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] states,<ref name="diog44"/> was intended to be a companion to Aristotle's outline of ''Politics'', and must have been similar to it.<ref>Cicero, ''de Finibus'', v. 4.</ref> He also wrote on [[oratory]] and [[poetry]].<ref>Cicero, ''de Invent.'' i. 35.</ref> Theophrastus, without doubt, departed further from Aristotle in his [[ethical]] writings,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 43, 44, 45, 47, 49, 50</ref> as also in his [[metaphysical]] investigations respecting [[motion]], the [[soul]], and [[God]].<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 47, 48.</ref>
Besides these writings, Theophrastus was the author of several collections of problems, out of which some things at least have passed into the ''Problems'' which have come down to us under the name of Aristotle,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 45, 47,48; comp. Pliny, H. N. xxviii. 6; Aristotle, Probl. xxxiii. 12</ref> and commentaries,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 48, 49; comp. 43</ref> partly [[dialogues]],<ref>Basil. Magn. Epist. 167</ref> to which probably belonged the ''Erotikos'',<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v.43; Athenaeus, xii. 2, xiii. 2</ref> ''Megacles'',<ref name="diog47"/> ''Callisthenes'',<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 44; Cicero, ''Tusculanae Quaestiones'', iii. 10; Alexander of Aphrodisius, ''de Anima'', ii.</ref> and ''Megarikos'',<ref name="diog44"/> and letters,<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 46, 50</ref> partly books on [[mathematical]] sciences and their history.<ref>Diogenes Laërtius, v. 42, 46, 48, 50</ref>
Many of his works which we do have, exist only in fragmentary form. "The style of these works, as of 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 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 the well-known story of the fate of the books of Aristotle and Theophrastus (see [[Apellicon]]) might very well be true.
===On Plants===
[[Image:CottonPlant.JPG|thumb|200px|Cotton ready for harvest]]
[[Image:Ficus macrophylla011.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Banyan tree]]
The most important of his books are two large botanical treatises, ''[[Historia Plantarum|Enquiry into Plants]]'', and ''On the Causes of Plants'', which constitute 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 call him the "father of [[Taxonomy]]".
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 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 which produce edible seeds; and the ninth book deals with plants which produce useful juices, [[natural gum|gums]], [[resins]], etc.
[[Image:Koeh-182.jpg|right|thumb|150px|''Cinnamomum verum'', from Koehler's ''Medicinal-Plants'' (1887)]]
[[Image:Balsamodendron ehrenbergianum00.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Myrrh]]
''On 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]], [[manure|manuring]] it, and the use of [[tools]]; of the [[Odor|smells]], [[Taste|tastes]], and properties of many types of plants. The work deals mainly with the [[economical]] uses of plants rather than their [[medicinal]] uses, although the latter is sometimes mentioned.
Although these works contain many absurd and fabulous statements, as a whole they have many valuable observations concerning the functions and properties of plants. Theophrastus detected the process of [[germination]] and realized the importance of [[climate]] and [[soil]] to plants. Much of the information on 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|cotton-plant]], [[banyan]], [[Black pepper|pepper]], [[cinnamon]], [[myrrh]] and [[frankincense]]." (Hort).
[[Image:Oman Dhofar Frankincense.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Frankincense trees in [[Dhufar]]]]
Theophrastus' ''Enquiry into Plants'' was first published in a Latin translation by [[Theodore Gaza]], at Treviso, 1483;<ref>Theodore Gaza, a refugee from [[Thessalonika]], was working from a lost Greek manuscript that was different from any others. (Hort).</ref> 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.<ref>It was carefully copied in a printing at [[Basel]], 1541.</ref> Wimmer identified two manuscripts of first quality, 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]].
===The Characters===
His book ''The Characters'', if it is indeed his, deserves a separate mention. The work contains thirty brief, vigorous and trenchant outlines of moral types, which form a most valuable picture of the life of his time, and in fact of human nature in general. They are the first recorded attempt at systematic [[stock character|character writing]]. The book has been regarded by some as an independent work; others incline to 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|Hall]] (1608), [[Sir Thomas Overbury]] (1614–16), [[John Earle|Bishop Earle]] (1628) and [[Jean de La Bruyère]] (1688), who also translated the ''Characters''. [[George Eliot]] also took inspiration from Theophrastus' 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.
===On Sensation===
A treatise on sensuous perception and its objects is important for a knowledge of the doctrines of the more ancient Greek philosophers regarding the subject. 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''.
===Physics===
We also possess in fragments a ''History of Physics''. To this class of work belong the still extant sections on ''Fire'', on the ''Winds'', and on the signs of ''Waters'', ''Winds'', and ''Storms''.<ref>Probably out of the fourth book of the ''Meteorology'' of Theophrastus: see Plutarch, ''Quaest. Gr,'' vii.</ref> Theophrastus released the first recorded [[message in a bottle]] in order to show that the [[Mediterranean Sea]] was formed by the inflowing [[Atlantic Ocean]].
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''.
===On Stones===
[[Image:Beryl emeralds cut XH.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Cut emeralds]]
[[Image:Insects in baltic amber.jpg|thumb|right|200px|[[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] amber necklace ]]
We possess a treatise ''On Stones'', in which Theophrastus classified rocks based on their behavior when heated, further grouping minerals by common properties, such as [[amber]] and [[magnetite]] which both have the power of attraction. He also comments on the effect of heat on minerals, and their different [[hardness]]es.
He describes different [[marble|marbles]]; mentions [[coal]], which he says is used for heating by metal-workers; describes the various [[ore|metal ores]]; and knew that [[pumice|pumice-stones]] had a [[volcanic]] origin. He also deals with precious stones, [[emeralds]], [[amethysts]], [[onyx]], [[jasper]], etc., and describes a variety of "sapphire" which was blue with veins of gold, and thus was presumably [[lapis-lazuli]].
[[Image:Small lapis.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Lapis lazuli.]]
He knew that [[pearls]] came from [[shell-fish]], that [[coral]] came from [[India]] and speaks of the [[fossilized]] remains of organic [[life]]. Theophrastus made the first known reference to the phenomenon of [[pyroelectricity]], noting that the mineral [[tourmaline]] becomes charged when heated. He also considers the practical uses of various stones, such as 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]]. He discusses the use of the [[touchstone]] for [[assaying]] [[gold]] and gold alloys, an important property which would require the genius of [[Archimedes]] to resolve in quantitative detail when he was asked to investigate the suspected debasement of a crown a few years later.
[[image:tourmaline.xtal.750pix.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Bi-colored tourmaline crystal.]]
Many of the rarer minerals were found in mines, and he mentions the famous [[copper]] mines of [[Cyprus]] and the even more famous [[silver mine]]s, presumably of [[Laurium]] near [[Athens]], and upon which the wealth of the city was based, as well as referring to [[gold mines]]. The Laurium silver mines, which were the property of the state, were usually leased for a fixed sum and a percentage on the working. Towards the end of the 5th century the output fell, partly owing to the [[Spartan]] occupation of [[Decelea]]. But the mines continued to be worked, though [[Strabo]] records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, and [[Pausanias]] speaks of 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'',<ref name="diog44"/> 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 the subject is more extensive, Theophrastus is more systematic and his work is comparatively free from fable and magic.<ref>John F. Healy, (1999) ''Pliny the Elder on Science and Technology'', pages 176-7. Oxford University Press</ref> From both these early texts was to emerge the science of [[mineralogy]], and ultimately [[geology]]. Pliny is especially observant on [[crystal habit]] and mineral [[hardness]] for example.
==Philosophy==
How far Theophrastus attached himself to Aristotle's doctrines, how he defined them more accurately, or conceived them in a different form, and what additional structures of thought he placed upon them, can be determined only partially due to the scantiness of available statements.
===Logic===
Theophrastus seems to have carried out still further the [[grammatical]] foundation of [[logic]] and [[rhetoric]], since in his book on the elements of [[speech]], respecting what others had written, he distinguished the main parts of speech from the subordinate parts, and also direct expressions (''kuria lexis'') from metaphorical expressions, and dealt with the emotions (''pathe'') of speech.<ref>Simplicius, ''in Categ.'' 8</ref> He further distinguished a twofold reference of speech (''schisis'') to things (''pragmata'') and to the hearers, and referred [[poetry]] and rhetoric to the latter.<ref>Ammonius, ''de Interpr.'' 53; Schol. ''in Arist.'' p. 108, 27</ref>
Concerning [[judgment]], he wrote at length on its unity,<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Anal. Pr.'' f. 128, 124; Schol. ''in Arist.'' p. 184. 24. 183, b. 2; Boethius, ''de Interpr.''</ref> on the different kinds of negation,<ref>Ammonius, ''in Arist. de Interpr.'' 128; Schol. ''in Arist.'' p. 121. 18</ref> and on the difference between unconditional and conditional necessity.<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Anal. Pr.'' f. 12. 6; Schol. ''in Arist.'' p. 149. 44</ref> 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,<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Anal. Pr.'' 14, 72, 73, 82. 22, b, 35; Boethius, ''de Syll. categ.'' ii. 594. 5, f. 603, 615</ref> partly in the proof of them,<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Anal. Pr.'' 39, b</ref> partly in the doctrine of mixture, i.e. of the influence of the modality of the premises upon the modality of the conclusion.<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, 'in Anal. Pr.'' 39, b. etc. 40, 42, 56, b. 82, 64, b. 51; Joh. Phil. xxxii, b. etc.</ref> Then in two separate works he dealt with the reduction of arguments to the syllogistic form and on the resolution of them;<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Anal. Pr.'' 115</ref> and further, with hypothetical conclusions.<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Arist. Anal.'' Pr. 109, b. etc. 131, b.; Joh. Phil. lx. etc. lxxv.; Boethius, ''de Syll. hypoth.''</ref> For the doctrine of [[proof]], [[Galen]] quotes the second ''Analytic'' of Theophrastus, in conjunction with that of Aristotle, as the best treatises on that doctrine.<ref>Galen, ''de Hippocr. et Plat. Dogm.'' ii. 2.</ref> 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.<ref>Simplicius, ''in Categ.'' f. 5; Schol. p. 89. 15; comp. Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Metaph.'' p. 342. 30</ref> For the rest, some minor deviations from the Aristotelian definitions are quoted from the ''Topica'' of Theophrastus.<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Top.'' 5, 68, 72, 25, 31.</ref> Closely connected with this treatise was that upon ambiguous words or ideas,<ref>Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''in Top.'' 83, 189</ref> which, without doubt, corresponded to book E of Aristotle's ''Metaphysics''.
===Physics and Metaphysics===
There are nine short chapters which appear to be fragments of a larger treatise on [[Metaphysics]]. There is no reason for assigning this work to some other author because it is not noticed in [[Hermippus of Smyrna|Hermippus]] and [[Andronicus of Rhodes|Andronicus]], especially as [[Nicolaus of Damascus]] had already mentioned it.
Theophrastus introduced his Physics with the proof that all natural existence, being corporeal and composite, requires ''principles'',<ref>Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' f. 1, 6</ref> and first and foremost, [[motion]], as the basis of all [[change]].<ref>Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' f. 5, 6</ref> Denying the substance of [[space]], he seems to have regarded it, in opposition to Aristotle, as the mere arrangement and position (''taxis'' and ''thesis'') of bodies.<ref>Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' 149, b. 141</ref> [[Time]] he called an accident of motion, without, it seems, viewing it, with Aristotle, as the numerical determinant of motion.<ref>Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' f. 87, b; John Phil. 213. 4.</ref>
[[Image:Aristoteles Louvre.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Aristotle]]
He departed more widely from Aristotle in his doctrine of motion, since on the one hand he extended it over all [[categories]], and did not limit it to those laid down by Aristotle;<ref>Simplicius, ''in Categ.''; comp. Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' 94, 201, 202, 1.</ref> and on the other hand, while he viewed motion, with Aristotle, as an activity, not carrying its own goal in itself (''ateles''), of that which only potentially exists,<ref>Simplicius, l. c. and f. 94, 1.</ref> and therefore could not allow that the activity expended itself in motion, he also recognised no activity without motion,<ref>Simplicius, ''in Categ.''</ref> and so referred all activities of the [[soul]] to motion: the [[desires]] and [[emotions]] to corporeal motion, [[judgment]] (''kriseis'') and [[contemplation]] to spiritual motion.<ref>Simplicius, ''in Phys.'' 225</ref> The idea of 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.<ref>Themistius, ''in Arist. de An.'' 89, b. 91, b.</ref> Other Peripatetics, like [[Dicaearchus]], [[Aristoxenus]], and especially [[Strato of Lampsacus|Strato]], developed further this [[sensualism]] in the Aristotelian doctrine.
Theophrastus seems, generally speaking, where the investigation overstepped the limits of experience, to have shown more acuteness in the development of difficulties than in the solution of them, as is especially apparent in the fragment of his ''Metaphysics''. In a penetrating and unbiased conception of phenomena, in acuteness of reflection and combination respecting them and within their limits, in compass and certainty of experimental knowledge, he may have stood near Aristotle, if he did not come quite up to him: the incessant endeavour of his great master to refer phenomena to their ultimate foundations, his greater insight in unfolding the internal connections between the latter, and between them and phenomena, were not possessed by Theophrastus. Hence even 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 (''pnemua'').<ref>Clement of Alexandria, ''Protrept.''; Cicero, ''de Natura Deorum'', i. 13</ref>
===Ethics===
Theophrastus did not allow a [[happiness]] resting merely upon [[virtue]],<ref>Cicero, ''Academica'', i. 10, ''Tusculanae Quaestiones'', v. 9</ref> or, consequently, to hold fast by the unconditional value of [[morality]], and had subordinated moral requirements to the advantage at least of a [[friend]],<ref>Aulus Gellius, i. 3. § 23</ref> 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," ({{lang-la|vitam regit fortuna non sapientia}}).<ref>Cicero, ''Tusculanae Quaestiones'', iii. 10; comp. Alexander of Aphrodisias, ''de Anima'', ii.</ref> That in 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;<ref name="diog44"/> and although, like his teacher, he preferred contemplative (theoretical), to active (practical) life,<ref>Cicero, ''ad Atticus'', ii. 16</ref> he was at the same time disposed to set the latter free from the restraints of family life, etc. in a manner of which Aristotle would not have approved.<ref>Jerome, ''Adversus Jovinianum'', i, 189</ref>
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.<ref name=Taylor35>[[Angus Taylor|Taylor, Angus]]. ''Animals and Ethics''. Broadview Press, p. 35.</ref> In this he was strongly opposed to [[Aristotle]]'s argument that non-human animals ranked far below humans in the [[Great Chain of Being]], and that they had no interests of their own.
==Notes==
{{Reflist|2}}
==References==
*{{1911|article=Theophrastus|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Theophrastus}}
*Sir Arthur F. Hort, ''Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants'' [[Loeb Classical Library]], 2 vols. 1916 etc.
*{{SmithDGRBM}}
==Further reading==
*Theophrastus, (1916), ''Enquiry into Plants: Books 1-5.'' Translated by A.F. Hort. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99077-3
*Theophrastus, (1916), ''Enquiry into Plants: Books 6-9; Treatise on Odours; Concerning Weather Signs.'' Translated by A. Hort. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99088-9
*Theophrastus, (1989), ''De Causis Plantarum: Books 1-2.'' Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99519-8
*Theophrastus, (1990), ''De Causis Plantarum: Books 3-4.'' Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99523-6
*Theophrastus, (1990), ''De Causis Plantarum, Books 5-6.'' Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99524-4
*Theophrastus, (2003), ''Characters.'' Translated by J. Rusten. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99603-8
*Theophrastus, (2002), ''On Sweat, On Dizziness and On Fatigue.'' Translated by W. Fortenbaugh, R. Sharples, M. Sollenberger. Brill. ISBN 9004128905
==External links==
*[http://www.farlang.com/gemstones/theophrastus-on-stones/page_002 Theophrastus work "On Stones"] full text + annotation
*[http://www.eudaemonist.com/biblion/characters/ Theophrastus work "The Characters"] English translation
*Diogenes Laërtius, [http://www.classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dltheophrastus.htm ''Life of Theophrastus'']
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