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Chapter 2. EMPEDOCLES (484-424 B.C.)

[51] Empedocles was, according to Hippobotus, the son of Meton and grandson of Empedocles, and was a native of Agrigentum. This is confirmed by Timaeus in the fifteenth book of his Histories, and he adds that Empedocles, the poet’s grandfather, had been a man of distinction. Hermippus also agrees with Timaeus. So, too, Heraclides, in his treatise On Diseases,¹ says that he was of an illustrious family, his grandfather having kept racehorses. Eratosthenes also in his Olympic Victories records, on the authority of Aristotle, that the father of Meton was a victor in the 71st Olympiad.²

[52] The grammarian Apollodorus in his Chronology tells us that

He was the son of Meton, and Glaucus says he went to Thurii, just then founded.³

Then farther on he adds:

Those who relate that, being exiled from his home, he went to Syracuse and fought in their ranks against the Athenians seem, in my judgement at least, to be completely mistaken. For by that time either he was no longer living or in extreme old age, which is inconsistent with the story.

For Aristotle and Heraclides both affirm that he died at the age of sixty. The victor with the ridinghorse in the 71st Olympiad was

This man’s namesake and grandfather,

so that Apollodorus in one and the same passage indicates the date as well as the fact.

[53] But Satyrus in his Lives states that Empedocles was the son of Exaenetus and himself left a son named Exaenetus, and that in the same Olympiad Empedocles himself was victorious in the horse-race and his son in wrestling, or, as Heraclides⁴ in his Epitome has it, in the foot-race. I found⁵ in the Memorabilia of Favorinus a statement that Empedocles feasted the sacred envoys on a sacrificial ox made of honey and barley-meal, and that he had a brother named Callicratides. Telauges, the son of Pythagoras, in his letter to Philolaus calls Empedocles the son of Archinomus.

[54] That he belonged to Agrigentum in Sicily he himself testifies at the beginning of his Purifications⁶:

My friends, who dwell in the great city sloping down to yellow Acragas, hard by the citadel.

So much for his family.

Timaeus in the ninth book of his Histories says he was a pupil of Pythagoras, adding that, having been convicted at that time of stealing his discourses, he was, like Plato, excluded from taking part in the discussions of the school; and further, that Empedocles himself mentions Pythagoras in the lines⁷:

And there lived among them a man of superhuman knowledge, who verily possessed the greatest wealth of wisdom.

Others say that it is to Parmenides that he is here referring.

[55] Neanthes states that down to the time of Philolaus and Empedocles all Pythagoreans were admitted to the discussions. But when Empedocles himself made them public property by his poem, they made a law that they should not be imparted to any poet. He says the same thing also happened to Plato, for he too was excommunicated. But which of the Pythagoreans it was who had Empedocles for a pupil he did not say. For the epistle commonly attributed to Telauges and the statement that Empedocles was the pupil of both Hippasus and Brontinus he held to be unworthy of credence.

Theophrastus affirms that he was an admirer of Parmenides and imitated him in his verses, for Parmenides too had published his treatise On Nature in verse.

[56] But Hermippus’s account is that he was an admirer not so much of Parmenides as of Xenophanes, with whom in fact he lived and whose writing of poetry he imitated, and that his meeting with the Pythagoreans was subsequent. Alcidamas tells us in his treatise on Physics that Zeno and Empedocles were pupils of Parmenides about the same time, that afterwards they left him, and that, while Zeno framed his own system, Empedocles became the pupil of Anaxagoras and Pythagoras, emulating the latter in dignity of life and bearing, and the former in his physical investigations.

[57] Aristotle in his Sophist calls Empedocles the inventor of rhetoric as Zeno of dialectic. In his treatise On Poets he says that Empedocles was of Homer’s school and powerful in diction, being great in metaphors and in the use of all other poetical devices. He also says that he wrote other poems, in particular the invasion of Xerxes and a hymn to Apollo, which a sister of his (or, according to Hieronymus, his daughter) afterwards burnt. The hymn she destroyed unintentionally, but the poem on the Persian war deliberately, because it was unfinished.

[58] And in general terms he says he wrote both tragedies and political discourses. But Heraclides, the son of Sarapion, attributes the tragedies to a different author. Hieronymus declares that he had come across forty-three of these plays, while Neanthes tells us that Empedocles wrote these tragedies in his youth, and that he, Neanthes, was acquainted with seven of them.

Satyrus in his Lives says that he was also a physician and an excellent orator: at all events Gorgias of Leontini, a man pre-eminent in oratory and the author of a treatise on the art, had been his pupil. Of Gorgias Apollodorus says in his Chronology that he lived to be one hundred and nine.

[59] Satyrus quotes this same Gorgias as saying that he himself was present when Empedocles performed magical feats. Nay more: he contends that Empedocles in his poems lays claim to this power and to much besides when he says⁸:

And thou shalt learn all the drugs that are a defence to ward off ills and old age, since for thee alone shall I accomplish all this. Thou shalt arrest the violence of the unwearied winds that arise and sweep the earth, laying waste the cornfields with their blasts; and again, if thou so will, thou shalt call back winds in requital. Thou shalt make after the dark rain a seasonable drought for men, and again after the summer drought thou shalt cause tree-nourishing streams to pour from the sky. Thou shalt bring back from Hades a dead man’s strength.

[60] Timaeus also in the eighteenth ⁹book of his Histories remarks that Empedocles has been admired on many grounds. For instance, when the etesian winds once began to blow violently and to damage the crops, he ordered asses to be flayed and bags to be made of their skin. These he stretched out here and there on the hills and headlands to catch the wind and, because this checked the wind, he was called the wind-stayer. Heraclides in his book On Diseases¹⁰ says that he furnished Pausanias with the facts about the woman in a trance. This Pausanias, according to Aristippus and Satyrus, was his bosom-friend, to whom he dedicated his poem On Nature thus¹¹:

[61]

Give ear, Pausanias, thou son of Anchitus the wise!

Moreover he wrote an epigram upon him¹²:

The physician Pausanias, rightly so named, son of Anchitus, descendant of Asclepius, was born and bred at Gela. Many a wight pining in fell torments did he bring back from Persephone’s inmost shrine.

At all events Heraclides testifies that the case of the woman in a trance was such that for thirty days he kept her body without pulsation though she never breathed; and for that reason Heraclides called him not merely a physician but a diviner as well, deriving the titles from the following lines also¹³:

[62]

My friends, who dwell in the grcat city sloping down to yellow Acragas, hard by the citadel, busied with goodly works, all hail! I go about among you an immortal god, no more a mortal, so honoured of all, as is meet, crowned with fillets and flowery garlands. Straightway as soon as I enter with these, men and women, into flourishing towns, I am reverenced and tens of thousands follow, to learn where is the path which leads to welfare, some desirous of oracles, others suffering from all kinds of diseases, desiring to hear a message of healing.

[63] Timaeus explains that he called Agrigentum great, inasmuch as it had 800,000 inhabitants.¹⁴ Hence Empedocles, he continues, speaking of their luxury, said, The Agrigentines live delicately as if tomorrow they would die, but they build their houses well as if they thought they would live for ever.

It is said that Cleomenes the rhapsode recited this very poem, the Purifications, at Olympia¹⁵: so Favorinus in his Memorabilia. Aristotle too declares him to have been a champion of freedom and averse to rule of every kind, seeing that, as Xanthus relates in his account of him, he declined the kingship when it was offered to him, obviously because he preferred a frugal life.

[64] With this Timaeus agrees, at the same time giving the reason why Empedocles favoured democracy, namely, that, having been invited to dine with one of the magistrates, when the dinner had gone on some time and no wine was put on the table, though the other guests kept quiet, he, becoming indignant, ordered wine to be brought. Then the host confessed that he was waiting for the servant of the senate to appear. When he came he was made master of the revels, clearly by the arrangement of the host, whose design of making himself tyrant was but thinly veiled, for he ordered the guests either to drink wine or have it poured over their heads. For the time being Empedocles was reduced to silence; the next day he impeached both of them, the host and the master of the revels, and secured their condemnation and execution. This, then, was the beginning of his political career.

[65] Again, when Acron the physician asked the council for a site on which to build a monument to his father, who had been eminent among physicians, Empedocles came forward and forbade it in a speech where he enlarged upon equality and in particular put the following question: But what inscription shall we put upon it? Shall it be this?

Acron the eminent physician of Agrigentum, son of Acros, is buried beneath the steep eminence of his most eminent native city?¹⁶

Others give as the second line:

Is laid in an exalted tomb on a most exalted peak.

Some attribute this couplet to Simonides.

[66] Subsequently Empedocles broke up the assembly of the Thousand three years after it had been set up, which proves not only that he was wealthy but that he favoured the popular cause. At all events Timaeus in his eleventh and twelfth books (for he mentions him more than once) states that he seems to have held opposite views when in public life and when writing poetry.¹⁷ In some passages one may see that he is boastful and selfish. At any rate these are his words:¹⁸

All hail! I go about among you an immortal god, no more a mortal, etc.

At the time when he visited Olympia he demanded an excessive deference, so that never was anyone so talked about in gatherings of friends as Empedocles.

[67] Subsequently, however, when Agrigentum came to regret him, the descendants of his personal enemies opposed his return home; and this was why he went to Peloponnesus, where he died. Nor did Timon let even him alone, but fastens upon him in these words:¹⁹

Empedocles, too, mouthing tawdry verses; to all that had independent force, he gave a separate existence; and the principles he chose need others to explain them.

As to his death different accounts are given. Thus Heraclides,²⁰ after telling the story of the woman in a trance, how that Empedocles became famous because he had sent away the dead woman alive, goes on to say that he was offering a sacrifice close to the field of Peisianax. Some of his friends had been invited to the sacrifice, including Pausanias.

[68] Then, after the feast, the remainder of the company dispersed and retired to rest, some under the trees in the adjoining field, others wherever they chose, while Empedocles himself remained on the spot where he had reclined at table. At daybreak all got up, and he was the only one missing. A search was made, and they questioned the servants, who said they did not know where he was. Thereupon someone said that in the middle of the night he heard an exceedingly loud voice calling Empedocles. Then he got up and beheld a light in the heavens and a glitter of lamps, but nothing else. His hearers were amazed at what had occurred, and Pausanias came down and sent people to search for him. But later he bade them take no further trouble, for things beyond expectation had happened to him, and it was their duty to sacrifice to him since he was now a god.

[69] Hermippus tells us that Empedocles cured Panthea, a woman of Agrigentum, who had been given up by the physicians, and this was why he was offering sacrifice, and that those invited were about eighty in number. Hippobotus, again, asserts that, when he got up, he set out on his way to Etna; then, when he had reached it, he plunged into the fiery craters and disappeared, his intention being to confirm the report that he had become a god. Afterwards the truth was known, because one of his slippers was thrown up in the flames; it had been his custom to wear slippers of bronze. To this story Pausanias is made (by Heraclides) to take exception.²¹

[70] Diodorus of Ephesus, when writing of Anaximander, declares that Empedocles emulated him, displaying theatrical arrogance and wearing stately robes. We are told that the people of Selinus suffered from pestilence owing to the noisome smells from the river hard by, so that the citizens themselves perished and their women died in childbirth, that Empedocles conceived the plan of bringing two neighbouring rivers to the place at his own expense, and that by this admixture he sweetened the waters. When in this way the pestilence had been stayed and the Selinuntines were feasting on the river bank, Empedocles appeared; and the company rose up and worshipped and prayed to him as to a god. It was then to confirm this belief of theirs that he leapt into the fire.

[71] These stories are contradicted by Timaeus, who expressly says that he left Sicily for Peloponnesus and never returned at all; and this is the reason Timaeus gives for the fact that the manner of his death is unknown. He replies to Heraclides, whom he mentions by name, in his fourteenth book. Pisianax, he says, was a citizen of Syracuse and possessed no land at Agrigentum. Further, if such a story had been in circulation, Pausanias would have set up a monument to his friend, as to a god, in the form of a statue or shrine, for he was a wealthy man. How came he, adds Timaeus, to leap into the craters, which he had never once mentioned though they were not far off? He must then have died in Peloponnesus.

[72] It is not at all surprising that his tomb is not found; the same is true of many other men. After urging some such arguments Timaeus goes on to say, But Heraclides is everywhere just such a collector of absurdities, telling us, for instance, that a man dropped down to earth from the moon.

Hippobotus assures us that formerly there was in Agrigentum a statue of Empedocles with his head covered, and afterwards another with the head uncovered in front of the Senate House at Rome, which plainly the Romans had removed to that site. For portrait-statues with inscriptions are extant even now. Neanthes of Cyzicus, who tells about the Pythagoreans, relates that, after the death of Meton, the germs of a tyranny began to show themselves, that then it was Empedocles who persuaded the Agrigentines to put an end to their factions and cultivate equality in politics.

[73] Moreover, from his abundant means he bestowed dowries upon many of the maidens of the city who had no dowry. No doubt it was the same means that enabled him to don a purple robe and over it a golden girdle, as Favorinus relates in his Memorabilia, and again slippers of bronze and a Delphic laurel-wreath. He had thick hair, and a train of boy attendants. He himself was always grave, and kept this gravity of demeanour unshaken. In such sort would he appear in public; when the citizens met him, they recognized in this demeanour the stamp, as it were, of royalty. But afterwards, as he was going in a carriage to Messene to attend some festival, he fell and broke his thigh; this brought an illness which caused his death at the age of seventy-seven. Moreover, his tomb is in Megara.

[74] As to his age, Aristotle’s account is different, for he makes him to have been sixty when he died; while others make him one hundred and nine. He flourished in the 84th Olympiad.²² Demetrius of Troezen in his pamphlet Against the Sophists said of him, adapting the words of Homer²³:

He tied a noose that hung aloft from a tall cornel-tree and thrust his neck into it, and his soul went down to Hades.

In the short letter of Telauges which was mentioned above²⁴ it is stated that by reason of his age he slipped into the sea and was drowned. Thus and thus much of his death.

There is an epigram of my own on him in my Pammetros in a satirical vein, as follows²⁵:

[75]

Thou, Empedocles, didst cleanse thy body with nimble flame, fire didst thou drink from everlasting bowls.²⁶ I will not say that of thine own will thou didst hurl thyself into the stream of Etna; thou didst fall in against thy will when thou wouldst fain not have been found out.

And another²⁷:

Verily there is a tale about the death of Empedocles, how that once he fell from a carriage and broke his right thigh. But if he leapt into the bowls of fire and so took a draught of life, how was it that his tomb was shown still in Megara?

[76] His doctrines were as follows, that there are four elements, fire, water, earth and air, besides friendship by which these are united, and strife by which they are separated. These are his words²⁸:

Shining Zeus and life-bringing Hera, Aidoneus and Nestis, who lets flow from her tears the source of mortal life,

where by Zeus he means fire, by Hera earth, by Aidoneus air, and by Nestis water.

And their continuous change, he says, never ceases,²⁹ as if this ordering of things were eternal. At all events he goes on³⁰:

At one time all things uniting in one through Love, at another each carried in a different direction through the hatred born of strife.

[77] The sun he calls a vast collection of fire and larger than the moon; the moon, he says, is of the shape of a quoit, and the heaven itself crystalline. The soul, again, assumes all the various forms of animals and plants. At any rate he says³¹:

Before now I was born a boy and a maid, a bush and a bird, and a dumb fish leaping out of the sea.

His poems On Nature and Purifications run to 5000 lines, his Discourse on Medicine to 600. Of the tragedies we have spoken above.

Vitae philosophorum. Diogenes Laertius. R. D. Hicks (Translator). Cambridge, MA. 1925.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access.

Current edition Perseus

Lives of Eminent Philosophers (English) (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.)

Editions (1)

Βίοι καὶ γνῶμαι τῶν ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ εὐδοκιμησάντων Perseus (Diogenes Laertius. Hicks, R. D., editor. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1925.) — 8.2 focus

Κεφ. β′. ΕΜΠΕΔΟΚΛΗΣ

[51] Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, ὥς φησιν Ἱππόβοτος, Μέτωνος ἦν υἱὸς τοῦ Ἐμπεδοκλέους, Ἀκραγαντῖνος. τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ καὶ Τίμαιος ἐν τῇ πεντεκαιδεκάτῃ τῶν Ἱστοριῶν 〈λέγει προσιστορῶν〉 ἐπίσημον ἄνδρα γεγονέναι τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα τὸν πάππον τοῦ ποιητοῦ. ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἕρμιππος τὰ αὐτὰ τούτῳ φησίν. ὁμοίως καὶ Ἡρακλείδης ἐν τῷ Περὶ νόσων, ὅτι λαμπρᾶς ἦν οἰκίας ἱπποτροφηκότος τοῦ πάππου. λέγει δὲ καὶ Ἐρατοσθένης ἐν τοῖς Ὀλυμπιονίκαις τὴν πρώτην καὶ ἑβδομηκοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα νενικηκέναι τὸν τοῦ Μέτωνος πατέρα, μάρτυρι χρώμενος Ἀριστοτέλει.

[52] Ἀπολλόδωρος δʼ ὁ γραμματικὸς ἐν τοῖς Χρονικοῖς φησιν ὡς

ἦν μὲν Μέτωνος υἱός, εἰς δὲ Θουρίους

αὐτὸν νεωστὶ παντελῶς ἐκτισμένους

〈ὁ〉 Γλαῦκος ἐλθεῖν φησιν.

εἶθʼ ὑποβάς·

οἱ δʼ ἱστοροῦντες, ὡς πεφευγὼς οἴκοθεν

εἰς τὰς Συρακούσας μετʼ ἐκείνων ἐπολέμει

πρὸς Ἀθηνάους ἐμοί 〈γε〉 τελέως ἀγνοεῖν

δοκοῦσιν· ἢ γὰρ οὐκέτʼ ἦν ἢ παντελῶς

ὑπεργεγηρακώς, ὅπερ οὐχὶ φαίνεται.

Ἀριστοτέλης γὰρ αὐτόν, ἔτι τε Ἡρακλείδης, ἑξήκοντα ἐτῶν φησὶ τετελευτηκέναι. ὁ δὲ 〈τὴν〉 μίαν καὶ ἑβδομηκοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα νενικηκὼς

κέλητι τούτου πάππος ἦν ὁμώνυμος,

ὥσθʼ ἅμα καὶ τὸν χρόνον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀπολλοδώρου σημαίνεσθαι.

[53] Σάτυρος δʼ ἐν τοῖς Βίοις φησὶν ὅτι Ἐμπεδοκλῆς υἱὸς μὲν ἦν Ἐξαινέτου, κατέλιπε δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς υἱὸν Ἐξαίνετον· ἐπί τε τῆς αὐτῆς Ὀλυμπιάδος τὸν μὲν ἵππῳ κέλητι νενικηκέναι, τὸν δʼ υἱὸν αὐτοῦ πάλῃ ἤ, ὡς Ἡρακλείδης ἐν τῇ Ἐπιτομῇ, δρόμῳ. ἐγὼ δʼ εὗρον ἐν τοῖς Ὑπομνήμασι Φαβωρίνου ὅτι καὶ βοῦν ἔθυσε τοῖς θεωροῖς ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἐκ μέλιτος καὶ ἀλφίτων, καὶ ἀδελφὸν ἔσχε Καλλικρατίδην. Τηλαύγης δʼ ὁ Πυθαγόρου παῖς ἐν τῇ πρὸς Φιλόλαον ἐπιστολῇ φησι τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα Ἀρχινόμου εἶναι υἱόν.

[54] Ὅτι δʼ ἦν Ἀκραγαντῖνος ἐκ Σικελίας, αὐτὸς ἐναρχόμενος τῶν Καθαρμῶν φησιν·

ὦ φίλοι οἳ μέγα ἄστυ κατὰ ξανθοῦ Ἀκράγαντος ναίετʼ ἀνʼ ἄκρα πόλεος.

καὶ τὰ μὲν περὶ τοῦ γένους αὐτοῦ τάδε.

Ἀκοῦσαι δʼ αὐτὸν Πυθαγόρου Τίμαιος διὰ τῆς ἐνάτης ἱστορεῖ, λέγων ὅτι καταγνωσθεὶς ἐπὶ λογοκλοπίᾳ τότε, καθὰ καὶ Πλάτων, τῶν λόγων ἐκωλύθη μετέχειν. μεμνῆσθαι δὲ καὶ αὐτὸν Πυθαγόρου λέγοντα·

ἦν δέ τις ἐν κείνοισιν ἀνὴρ περιώσια εἰδώς,

ὃς δὴ μήκιστον πραπίδων ἐκτήσατο πλοῦτον.

οἱ δὲ τοῦτο εἰς Παρμενίδην αὐτὸν λέγειν ἀναφέροντα.

[55] Φησὶ δὲ Νεάνθης ὅτι μέχρι Φιλολάου καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλέους ἐκοινώνουν οἱ Πυθαγορικοὶ τῶν λόγων. ἐπεὶ δʼ αὐτὸς διὰ τῆς ποιήσεως ἐδημοσίωσεν αὐτά, νόμον ἔθεντο μηδενὶ μεταδώσειν ἐποποιῷ. τὸ δʼ αὐτὸ καὶ Πλάτωνα παθεῖν φησι· καὶ γὰρ τοῦτον κωλυθῆναι. τίνος μέντοι γε αὐτῶν ἤκουσεν ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς, οὐκ εἶπε· τὴν γὰρ περιφερομένην ὡς Τηλαύγους ἐπιστολὴν ὅτι τε μετέσχεν Ἱππάσου καὶ Βροντίνου, μὴ εἶναι ἀξιόπιστον.

Ὁ δὲ Θεόφραστος Παρμενίδου φησὶ ζηλωτὴν αὐτὸν γενέσθαι καὶ μιμητὴν ἐν τοῖς ποιήμασι· καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνον ἐν ἔπεσι τὸν Περὶ φύσεως ἐξενεγκεῖν λόγον.

[56] Ἕρμιππος δὲ οὐ Παρμενίδου, Ξενοφάνους δὲ γεγονέναι ζηλωτήν, ᾧ καὶ συνδιατρῖψαι καὶ μιμήσασθαι τὴν ἐποποιίαν· ὕστερον δὲ τοῖς Πυθαγορικοῖς ἐντυχεῖν. Ἀλκιδάμας δʼ ἐν τῷ Φυσικῷ φησι κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς χρόνους Ζήνωνα καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλέα ἀκοῦσαι Παρμενίδου, εἶθʼ ὕστερον ἀποχωρῆσαι, καὶ τὸν μὲν Ζήνωνα κατʼ ἰδίαν φιλοσοφῆσαι, τὸν δὲ Ἀναξαγόρου διακοῦσαι καὶ Πυθαγόρου· καὶ τοῦ μὲν τὴν σεμνότητα ζηλῶσαι τοῦ τε βίου καὶ τοῦ σχήματος, τοῦ δὲ τὴν φυσιολογίαν.

[57] Ἀριστοτέλης δʼ ἐν τῷ Σοφιστῇ φησι πρῶτον Ἐμπεδοκλέα ῥητορικὴν εὑρεῖν, Ζήνωνα δὲ διαλεκτικήν. ἐν δὲ τῷ Περὶ ποιητῶν φησιν ὅτι καὶ Ὁμηρικὸς ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς καὶ δεινὸς περὶ τὴν φράσιν γέγονεν, μεταφορητικός τε ὢν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς περὶ ποιητικὴν ἐπιτεύγμασι χρώμενος· καὶ διότι γράψαντος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἄλλα ποιήματα τήν τε τοῦ Ξέρξου διάβασιν καὶ προοίμιον εἰς Ἀπόλλωνα, ταῦθʼ ὔστερον κατέκαυσεν ἀδελφή τις αὐτοῦ (ἢ θυγάτηρ, ὥς φησιν Ἱερώνυμος), τὸ μὲν προοίμιον ἄκουσα, τὰ δὲ Περσικὰ βουληθεῖσα διὰ τὸ ἀτελείωτα εἶναι.

[58] καθόλου δέ φησι καὶ τραγῳδίας αὐτὸν γράψαι καὶ πολιτικούς· Ἡρακλείδης δʼ ὁ τοῦ Σαραπίωνος ἑτέρου φησὶν εἶναι τὰς τραγῳδίας. Ἱερώνυμος δὲ τρισὶ καὶ τετταράκοντά φησιν ἐντετυχηκέναι, Νεάνθης δὲ νέον ὄντα γεγραφέναι τὰς τραγῳδίας καὶ αὐτῶν ἑπτὰ¹ ἐντετυχηκέναι.

Φησὶ δὲ Σάτυρος ἐν τοῖς Βίοις ὅτι καὶ ἰατρὸς ἦν καὶ ῥήτωρ ἄριστος. Γοργίαν γοῦν τὸν Λεοντῖνον αὐτοῦ γενέσθαι μαθητήν, ἄνδρα ὑπερέχοντα ἐν ῥητορικῇ καὶ Τέχνην ἀπολελοιπότα· ὅν φησιν Ἀπολλόδωρος ἐν Χρονικοῖς ἐννέα πρὸς τοῖς ἑκατὸν ἔτη βιῶναι.

[59] τοῦτόν φησιν ὁ Σάτυρος λέγειν ὡς αὐτὸς παρείη τῷ Ἐμπεδοκλεῖ γοητεύοντι. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὸν διὰ τῶν ποιημάτων ἐπαγγέλλεσθαι τοῦτό τε καὶ ἄλλα πλείω, διʼ ὧν φησι· φάρμακα δʼ ὅσσα γεγᾶσι κακῶν καὶ γήραος ἄλκαρ πεύσῃ, ἐπεὶ μούνῳ σοὶ ἐγὼ κρανέω τάδε πάντα. παύσεις δʼ ἀκαμάτων ἀνέμων μένος, οἵ τʼ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ὀρνύμενοι πνοιαῖσι καταφθινύθουσιν ἄρουραν·² καὶ πάλιν, ἢν ἐθέλῃσθα, παλίντιτα πνεύματʼ ἐπάξεις· θήσεις δʼ ἐξ ὄμβροιο κελαινοῦ καίριον αὐχμὸν ἀνθρώποις, θήσεις δὲ καὶ ἐξ αὐχμοῖο θερείου ῥεύματα δενδρεόθρεπτα, τά τʼ αἰθέρι ναιήσονται, ἄξεις δʼ ἐξ Ἀΐδαο καταφθιμένου μένος ἀνδρός.

[60] Φησὶ δὲ καὶ Τίμαιος ἐν τῇ ὀκτωκαιδεκάτῃ κατὰ πολλοὺς τρόπους τεθαυμάσθαι τὸν ἄνδρα. καὶ γὰρ ἐτησίων ποτὲ σφοδρῶς πνευσάντων ὡς τοὺς καρποὺς λυμῆναι, κελεύσας ὄνους ἐκδαρῆναι καὶ ἀσκοὺς ποιῆσαι³ περὶ τοὺς λόφους καὶ τὰς ἀκρωρείας διέτεινε πρὸς τὸ συλλαβεῖν τὸ πνεῦμα· λήξαντος δὲ κωλυσανέμαν κληθῆναι. Ἡρακλείδης τε ἐν τῷ Περὶ νόσων φησὶ καὶ Παυσανίᾳ ὑφηγήσασθαι αὐτὸν τὰ περὶ τὴν ἄπνουν. ἦν δʼ ὁ Παυσανίας, ὥς φησιν Ἀρίστιππος καὶ Σάτυρος, ἐρώμενος αὐτοῦ, ᾧ δὴ καὶ τὰ Περὶ φύσεως προσπεφώνηκεν οὕτως·

[61]

Παυσανίη, σὺ δὲ κλῦθι, δαΐφρονος Ἀγχίτου υἰέ.

ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐπίγραμμα εἰς αὐτὸν ἐποίησε·

Παυσανίην ἰητρὸν ἐπώνυμον Ἀγχίτου υἱὸν

φῶτʼ Ἀσκληπιάδην πατρὶς ἔθρεψε Γέλα,

ὃς πολλοὺς μογεροῖσι μαραινομένους καμάτοισι

φῶτας ἀπέστρεψεν Φερσεφόνης ἀδύτων.

τὴν γοῦν ἄπνουν ὁ Ἡρακλείδης φησὶ τοιοῦτόν τι εἶναι, ὡς τριάκοντα ἡμέρας συντηρεῖν ἄπνουν καὶ ἄσφυκτον τὸ σῶμα· ὅθεν καὶ εἶπεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἰητρὸν καὶ μάντιν, λαμβάνων ἅμα καὶ ἀπὸ τούτων τῶν στίχων·

[62]

ὦ φίλοι, οἳ μέγα ἄστυ κατὰ ξανθοῦ Ἀκράγαντος

ναίετʼ ἀνʼ ἄκρα πόλεος, ἀγαθῶν μελεδήμονες ἔργων,

χαίρετʼ· ἐγὼ δʼ ὑμῖν θεὸς ἄμβροτος, οὐκέτι θνητὸς

πωλεῦμαι μετὰ πᾶσι τετιμένος, ὥσπερ ἔοικα,

ταινίαις τε περίστεπτος στέφεσίν τε θαλείοις·

τοῖσιν ἅμʼ 〈εὖτʼ〉 ἂν ἵκωμαι ἐς ἄστεα τηλεθάοντα,

ἀνδράσιν ἠδὲ γυναιξί, σεβίζομαι· οἱ δʼ ἅμʼ ἕπονται

μυρίοι, ἐξερέοντες ὅπῃ πρὸς κέρδος ἀταρπός·

οἱ μὲν μαντοσυνέων κεχρημένοι, οἱ δʼ ἐπὶ νούσων

παντοίων ἐπύθοντο κλύειν εὐηκέα βάξιν.

[63] Μέγαν δὲ τὸν Ἀκράγαντα εἰπεῖν φησιν⁴ ἐπεὶ μυριάδες αὐτὸν κατῴκουν ὀγδοήκοντα· ὅθεν τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα εἰπεῖν, τρυφώντων αὐτῶν, Ἀκραγαντῖνοι τρυφῶσι μὲν ὡς αὔριον ἀποθανούμενοι, οἰκίας δὲ κατασκευάζονται ὡς πάντα τὸν χρόνον βιωσόμενοι.

Αὐτοὺς δὲ τούτους τοὺς Καθαρμοὺς [ἐν] Ὀλυμπίασι ῥαψῳδῆσαι λέγεται Κλεομένη τὸν ῥαψῳδόν, ὡς καὶ Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Ἀπομνημονεύμασι. φησὶ δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης ἐλεύθερον γεγονέναι καὶ πάσης ἀρχῆς ἀλλότριον, εἴ γε τὴν βασιλείαν αὐτῷ διδομένην παρῃτήσατο, καθάπερ Ξάνθος ἐν τοῖς περὶ αὐτοῦ λέγει, τὴν λιτότητα δηλονότι πλέον ἀγαπήσας.

[64] τὰ δʼ αὐτὰ καὶ Τίμαιος εἴρηκε, τὴν αἰτίαν ἅμα παρατιθέμενος τοῦ δημοτικὸν εἶναι τὸν ἄνδρα. φησὶ γὰρ ὅτι κληθεὶς ὑπό τινος τῶν ἀρχόντων 〈ὡσ〉 προβαίνοντος τοῦ δείπνου τὸ ποτὸν οὐκ εἰσεφέρετο, τῶν ἄλλων⁵ ἡσυχαζόντων, μισοπονήρως διατεθεὶς ἐκέλευσεν εἰσφέρειν· ὁ δὲ κεκληκὼς ἀναμένειν ἔφη τὸν τῆς βουλῆς ὑπηρέτην. ὡς δὲ παρεγένετο, ἐγενήθη συμποσίαρχος, τοῦ κεκληκότος δηλονότι καταστήσαντος, ὃς ὑπεγράφετο τυραννίδος ἀρχήν· ἐκέλευσε γὰρ ἢ πίνειν ἢ καταχεῖσθαι τῆς κεφαλῆς. τότε μὲν οὖν ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἡσύχασε· τῇ δʼ ὑστεραίᾳ εἰσαγαγὼν εἰς δικαστήριον ἀπέκτεινε καταδικάσας ἀμφοτέρους, τόν τε κλήτορα καὶ τὸν συμποσίαρχον. ἀρχὴ μὲν οὖν αὐτῷ τῆς πολιτείας ἥδε.

[65] Πάλιν δʼ Ἄκρωνος τοῦ ἰατροῦ τόπον αἰτοῦντος παρὰ τῆς βουλῆς εἰς κατασκευὴν πατρῴου μνήματος διὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἀκρότητα παρελθὼν ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἐκώλυσε, τά τʼ ἄλλα περὶ ἰσότητος διαλεχθεὶς καί τι καὶ τοιοῦτον ἐρωτήσας· τί δʼ ἐπιγράψομεν ἐλεγεῖον; ἢ τοῦτο;

ἄκρον ἰατρὸν Ἄκρωνʼ Ἀκραγαντῖνον πατρὸς Ἄκρου

κρύπτει κρημνὸς ἄκρος πατρίδος ἀκροτάτης.

τινὲς δὲ τὸν δεύτερον στίχον οὕτω προφέρονται,

ἀκροτάτης κορυφῆς τύμβος ἄκρος κατέχει.

τοῦτό τινες Σιμωνίδου φασὶν εἶναι.

[66] Ὕστερον δʼ ὁ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς καὶ τὸ τῶν χιλίων ἄθροισμα κατέλυσε συνεστὸς ἐπὶ ἔτη τρία, ὥστε οὐ μόνον ἦν τῶν πλουσίων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τὰ δημοτικὰ φρονούντων. ὅ γέ τοι Τίμαιος ἐν τῇ ιαʼ καὶ ιβʼ, πολλάκις γὰρ αὐτοῦ μνημονεύει, φησὶν ἐναντίαν ἐσχηκέναι γνώμην αὐτὸν⁶ τῇ πολιτείᾳ φαίνεσθαι· 〈ἔστιν〉⁷ ὅπου δʼ ἀλαζόνα καὶ φίλαυτον ἐν τῇ ποιήσει [ἴδοι τις ἄν]· φησὶ γοῦν,

χαίρετʼ· ἐγὼ δʼ ὑμῖν θεὸς ἄμβροτος, οὐκέτι θνητὸς πωλεῦμαι,

καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. καθʼ ὃν δὲ χρόνον ἐπεδήμει Ὀλυμπίασιν, ἐπιστροφῆς ἠξιοῦτο πλείονος, ὥστε μηδενὸς ἑτέρου μνείαν γίνεσθαι ἐν ταῖς ὁμιλίαις τοσαύτην ὅσην Ἐμπεδοκλέους.

[67] Ὕστερον μέντοι τοῦ Ἀκράγαντος οἰκ〈τ〉ιζομένου,⁸ ἀντέστησαν αὐτοῦ τῇ καθόδῳ οἱ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀπόγονοι· διόπερ εἰς Πελοπόννησον ἀποχωρήσας ἐτελεύτησεν. οὐ παρῆκε δʼ οὐδὲ τοῦτον ὁ Τίμων, ἀλλʼ ὧδʼ αὐτοῦ καθάπτεται λέγων·

καὶ Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἀγοραίων

ληκητὴς ἐπέων· ὅσα δʼ ἔσθενε, τόσσα διεῖλεν,⁹

ἀρχῶν ὃς¹⁰ διέθηκʼ ἀρχὰς ἐπιδευέας ἄλλων.

Περὶ δὲ τοῦ θανάτου διάφορός ἐστιν αὐτοῦ λόγος. Ἡρακλείδης μὲν γὰρ τὰ περὶ τῆς ἄπνου διηγησάμενος, ὡς ἐδοξάσθη Ἐμπεδοκλῆς ἀποστείλας τὴν νεκρὰν ἄνθρωπον ζῶσαν, φησὶν ὅτι θυσίαν συνετέλει πρὸς τῷ Πεισιάνακτος ἀγρῷ. συνεκέκληντο δὲ τῶν φίλων τινές, ἐν οἷς καὶ Παυσανίας.

[68] εἶτα μετὰ τὴν εὐωχίαν οἱ μὲν ἄλλοι χωρισθέντες ἀνεπαύοντο, οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τοῖς δένδροις ὡς ἀγροῦ παρακειμένου, οἱ δʼ ὅπῃ βούλοιντο, αὐτὸς δʼ ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ τοῦ τόπου ἐφʼ οὗπερ κατεκέκλιτο. ὡς δʼ ἡμέρας γενηθείσης ἐξανέστησαν, οὐχ ηὑρέθη μόνος. ζητουμένου δὲ καὶ τῶν οἰκετῶν ἀνακρινομένων καὶ φασκόντων μὴ εἰδέναι, εἷς τις ἔφη μέσων νυκτῶν φωνῆς ὑπερμεγέθους ἀκοῦσαι προσκαλουμένης Ἐμπεδοκλέα, εἶτʼ ἐξαναστὰς ἑωρακέναι φῶς οὐράνιον καὶ λαμπάδων φέγγος, ἄλλο δὲ μηδέν· τῶν δʼ ἐπὶ τῷ γενομένῳ ἐκπλαγέντων, καταβὰς ὁ Παυσανίας ἔπεμψέ τινας ζητήσοντας. ὕστερον δὲ ἐκώλυε πολυπραγμονεῖν, φάσκων εὐχῆς ἄξια συμβεβηκέναι καὶ θύειν αὐτῷ δεῖν καθαπερεὶ γεγονότι θεῷ.

[69] Ἕρμιππος δέ φησι Πάνθειάν τινα Ἀκραγαντίνην ἀπηλπισμένην ὑπὸ τῶν ἰατρῶν θεραπεῦσαι αὐτὸν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὴν θυσίαν ἐπιτελεῖν· τοὺς δὲ κληθέντας εἶναι πρὸς τοὺς ὀγδοήκοντα. Ἱππόβοτος δέ φησιν ἐξαναστάντα αὐτὸν ὡδευκέναι ὡς ἐπὶ τὴν Αἴτνην, εἶτα παραγενόμενον ἐπὶ τοὺς κρατῆρας τοῦ πυρὸς ἐναλέσθαι καὶ ἀφανισθῆναι, βουλόμενον τὴν περὶ αὑτοῦ φήμην βεβαιῶσαι ὅτι γεγόνοι θεός, ὕστερον δὲ γνωσθῆναι, ἀναρριπισθείσης αὐτοῦ μιᾶς τῶν κρηπίδων· χαλκᾶς γὰρ εἴθιστο ὑποδεῖσθαι. πρὸς τοῦθʼ ὁ Παυσανίας ἀντέλεγε.

[70] Διόδωρος δʼ ὁ Ἐφέσιος περὶ Ἀναξιμάνδρου γράφων φησὶν ὅτι τοῦτον ἐζηλώκει, τραγικὸν ἀσκῶν τῦφον καὶ σεμνὴν ἀναλαβὼν ἐσθῆτα. τοῖς Σελινουντίοις ἐμπεσόντος λοιμοῦ διὰ τὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ παρακειμένου ποταμοῦ δυσωδίας, ὥστε καὶ αὐτοὺς φθείρεσθαι καὶ τὰς γυναῖκας δυστοκεῖν, ἐπινοῆσαι τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα καὶ δύο τινὰς ποταμοὺς τῶν σύνεγγυς ἐπαγαγεῖν ἰδίαις δαπάναις· καὶ καταμίξαντα γλυκῆναι τὰ ῥεύματα. οὕτω δὴ λήξαντος τοῦ λοιμοῦ καὶ τῶν Σελινουντίων εὐωχουμένων ποτὲ παρὰ τῷ ποταμῷ, ἐπιφανῆναι τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα· τοὺς δʼ ἐξαναστάντας προσκυνεῖν καὶ προσεύχεσθαι καθαπερεὶ θεῷ. ταύτην οὖν θέλοντα βεβαιῶσαι τὴν διάληψιν εἰς τὸ πῦρ ἐναλέσθαι.

[71] τούτοις δʼ ἐναντιοῦται Τίμαιος, ῥητῶς λέγων ὡς ἐξεχώρησεν εἰς Πελοπόννησον καὶ τὸ σύνολον οὐκ ἐπανῆλθεν· ὅθεν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν τελευτὴν ἄδηλον εἶναι. πρὸς δὲ τὸν Ἡρακλείδην καὶ ἐξ ὀνόματος ποιεῖται τὴν ἀντίρρησιν ἐν τῇ ιδʼ· Συρακόσιόν τε γὰρ εἶναι τὸν Πεισιάνακτα καὶ ἀγρὸν οὐκ ἔχειν ἐν Ἀκράγαντι· Παυσανίαν τε μνημεῖον 〈ἂν〉 πεποιηκέναι τοῦ φίλου, τοιούτου διαδοθέντος λόγου, ἢ ἀγαλμάτιόν τι ἢ σηκὸν οἷα θεοῦ· καὶ γὰρ πλούσιον εἶναι. πῶς οὖν, φησὶν, εἰς τοὺς κρατῆρας ἥλατο ὧν 〈ὡσ〉 σύνεγγυς ὄντων οὐδὲ μνείαν ποτὲ ἐπεποίητο; τετελεύτηκεν οὖν ἐν Πελοποννήσῳ.

[72] οὐδὲν δὲ παράδοξον τάφον αὐτοῦ μὴ φαίνεσθαι· μηδὲ γὰρ ἄλλων πολλῶν. τοιαῦτά τινα εἰπὼν ὁ Τίμαιος ἐπιφέρει· ἀλλὰ διὰ παντός ἐστιν Ἡρακλείδης τοιοῦτος παραδοξολόγος, καὶ ἐκ τῆς σελήνης πεπτωκέναι ἄνθρωπον λέγων.

Ἱππόβοτος δέ φησιν ὅτι ἀνδριὰς ἐγκεκαλυμμένος Ἐμπεδοκλέους ἔκειτο πρότερον μὲν ἐν Ἀκράγαντι, ὕστερον δὲ πρὸ τοῦ Ῥωμαίων βουλευτηρίου ἀκάλυφος δηλονότι μεταθέντων αὐτὸν ἐκεῖ Ῥωμαίων· γραπταὶ μὲν γὰρ εἰκόνες καὶ νῦν περιφέρονται. Νεάνθης δʼ ὁ Κυζικηνὸς ὁ καὶ περὶ τῶν Πυθαγορικῶν εἰπών φησι Μέτωνος τελευτήσαντος τυραννίδος ἀρχὴν ὑποφύεσθαι· εἶτα τὸν Ἐμπεδοκλέα πεῖσαι τοὺς Ἀκραγαντίνους παύσασθαι μὲν τῶν στάσεων, ἰσότητα δὲ πολιτικὴν ἀσκεῖν.

[73] Ἔτι τε πολλὰς τῶν πολιτίδων ἀπροίκους ὑπαρχούσας αὐτὸν προικίσαι διὰ τὸν παρόντα πλοῦτον· διὸ δὴ πορφύραν τε ἀναλαβεῖν αὐτὸν καὶ στρόφιον ἐπιθέσθαι χρυσοῦν, ὡς Φαβωρῖνος ἐν Ἀπομνημονεύμασιν· ἔτι τʼ ἐμβάδας χαλκᾶς καὶ στέμμα Δελφικόν. κόμη τε ἦν αὐτῷ βαθεῖα καὶ παῖδες ἀκόλουθοι· καὶ αὐτὸς ἀεὶ σκυθρωπὸς ἐφʼ ἑνὸς σχήματος ἦν. τοιοῦτος δὴ προῄει, τῶν πολιτῶν ἐντυχόντων καὶ τοῦτʼ ἀξιωσάντων οἱονεὶ βασιλείας τινὸς παράσημον. ὕστερον δὲ διά τινα πανήγυριν πορευόμενον ἐπʼ ἀμάξης ὡς εἰς Μεσσήνην πεσεῖν καὶ τὸν μηρὸν κλάσαι· νοσήσαντα δʼ ἐκ τούτου τελευτῆσαι ἐτῶν ἑπτὰ καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα. εἶναι δʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ τάφον ἐν Μεγάροις.

[74] Περὶ δὲ τῶν ἐτῶν Ἀριστοτέλης διαφέρεται· φησὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἑξήκοντʼ ἐτῶν αὐτὸν τελευτῆσαι· οἱ δὲ ἐννέα καὶ ἑκατόν. ἤκμαζε δὲ κατὰ τὴν τετάρτην καὶ ὀγδοηκοστὴν Ὀλυμπιάδα. Δημήτριος δʼ ὁ Τροιζήνιος ἐν τῷ Κατὰ σοφιστῶν βιβλίῳ φησὶν αὐτὸν καθʼ Ὅμηρον

ἁψάμενον βρόχον αἰπὺν ἀφʼ ὑψηλοῖο κρανείης

αὐχένʼ ἀποκρεμάσαι, ψυχὴν δʼ Ἄϊδόσδε κατελθεῖν.

Ἐν δὲ τῷ προειρημένῳ Τηλαύγους ἐπιστολίῳ λέγεται αὐτὸν εἰς θάλατταν ὑπὸ γήρως ὀλισθόντα τελευτῆσαι. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν περὶ τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοσαῦτα.

Φέρεται δὲ καὶ ἡμῶν εἰς αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ Παμμέτρῳ σκωπτικὸν μέν, τοῦτον δʼ ἔχον τὸν τρόπον·

[75]

καὶ σύ ποτʼ, Ἐμπεδόκλεις, διερῇ φλογὶ σῶμα καθήρας

πῦρ ἀπὸ κρητήρων ἔκπιες ἀθανάτων·

οὐκ ἐρέω δʼ ὅτι σαυτὸν ἑκὼν βάλες ἐς ῥόον Αἴτνης,

ἀλλὰ λαθεῖν ἐθέλων ἔμπεσες οὐκ ἐθέλων.

καὶ ἄλλο·

ναὶ μὴν Ἐμπεδοκλῆα θανεῖν λόγος ὥς ποτʼ ἀμάξης

ἔκπεσε καὶ μηρὸν κλάσσατο δεξιτερόν·

εἰ δὲ πυρὸς κρητῆρας ἐσήλατο καὶ πίε τὸ ζῆν,

πῶς ἂν ἔτʼ ἐν Μεγάροις δείκνυτο τοῦδε τάφος;

[76] Ἐδόκει δʼ αὐτῷ τάδε· στοιχεῖα μὲν εἶναι τέτταρα, πῦρ, ὕδωρ, γῆν, ἀέρα· Φιλίαν θʼ ᾗ συγκρίνεται καὶ Νεῖκος ᾧ διακρίνεται. φησὶ δʼ οὕτω·

Ζεὺς ἀργὴς Ἥρη τε φερέσβιος ἠδʼ Ἀϊδωνεὺς

Νῆστίς θʼ, ἣ δακρύοις τέγγει κρούνωμα βρότειον·

Δία μὲν τὸ πῦρ λέγων, Ἥρην δὲ τὴν γῆν, Ἀϊδωνέα δὲ τὸν ἀέρα, Νῆστιν δὲ τὸ ὕδωρ.

Καὶ ταῦτα, φησίν, ἀλλάττοντα διαμπερὲς οὐδαμὰ λήγει, ὡς ἂν ἀϊδίου τῆς τοιαύτης διακοσμήσεως οὔσης· ἐπιφέρει γοῦν·

ἄλλοτε μὲν Φιλότητι συνερχόμενʼ εἰς ἓν ἅπαντα,

ἄλλοτε δʼ αὖ δίχʼ ἕκαστα φορεύμενα Νείκεος ἔχθει.>

[77] Καὶ τὸν μὲν ἥλιόν φησι πυρὸς ἄθροισμα μέγα καὶ τῆς σελήνης μείζω· τὴν δὲ σελήνην δισκοειδῆ, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν οὐρανὸν κρυσταλλοειδῆ. καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν παντοῖα εἴδη ζῴων καὶ φυτῶν ἐνδύεσθαι· φησὶ γοῦν·

ἤδη γάρ ποτʼ ἐγὼ γενόμην κοῦρός τε κόρη τε

θάμνος τʼ οἰωνός τε καὶ ἔξαλος ἔμπυρος¹¹ ἰχθύς.

Τὰ μὲν οὖν Περὶ φύσεως αὐτῷ καὶ οἱ Καθαρμοὶ εἰς ἔπη τείνουσι πεντακισχίλια, ὁ δὲ Ἰατρικὸς λόγος εἰς ἔπη ἑξακόσια. περὶ δὲ τῶν τραγῳδιῶν προειρήκαμεν.

Notes on the current edition

Lives of Eminent Philosophers

1. v. 67.

2. 496 b.c.

3. 445-444 b.c.

4. i.e. Heraclides Lembus.

5. Cf. Introd. p. xiv.

6. Fr. 112 D.

7. Fr. 129 D.

8. Fr. 111 D.

9. According to Beloch this should be the twelfth book; cf. inf. § 66.

10. v. 67.

11. Fr. 1 D.

12. Fr. 156 D.

13. Fr. 112 D.

14. According to the vulgate, an unknown writer Potamilla is the authority cited by Diogenes. Diels, however ( Frag der Vorsokr. ii. 3 p. 196), prefers the reading of two mss. ποταμὸν ἄλλα (sc. ὑπομνήματα or ἀντίγραφα λέγει), regarding this as derived from a marginal note which was afterwards put in the text. In the Palatine ms. the gloss is ποταμὸν ἄλλοι. Apelt, however, suggests ποτ’ ἀμέλει, not as a scholium, but as part of the text.

15. Cf. Athenaeus xiv. 620 d, whence it appears that the ultimate authority is Dicaearchus; ἐν τῷ Ὀλυμπικῷ, F.H.G. ii. p. 249, fr. 47. Here again a citation from Favorinus seems to disturb the context.

16. Anth. Plan. v. 4.

17. This emphasis on the political leanings of Empedocles, backed by the authority of Timaeus, looks strange after the anecdote, also from Timaeus, of §§ 64, 65, nor is it clear that the attack on the close oligarchical corporation of the Thousand really took place at a later date ( ὕστερον). That D. L. is working in two passages of Timaeus, in the second of which the first is not pre-supposed, is an obvious suggestion.

18. Fr. 112. 4 D.

19. Fr. 42 D.

20. In the list of the writings of Heraclides of Pontus (see v. 86 sqq.) occurs Περὶ τῶν ἐν ᾄδου, a dialogue on a similar subject, if not actually identical, with Περὶ τῆς ἄπνου. In the latter Pausanias was one of the characters; see next note.

21. ἀντέλεγε. The imperfect tense is convincing proof that D. L. (or his source) is drawing upon the dialogue, and not narrating facts as a historian; D. L. must be giving a large extract from the dialogue Περὶ τῆς ἄπνου, beginning in the second paragraph of § 67. Only D. L. has inserted, in § 69, (1) a note from Hermippus and (2) a résumé from Hippobotus of the very passage in the dialogue Περὶ τῆς ἄπνου with which D. L. has been dealing in §§ 67-69.

22. 444-441 b.c.

23. Od. xi. 278.

24. viii. 35.

25. Anth. Pal. vii. 123.

26. i.e. the craters of Etna.

27. Anth. Pal. vii. 124.

28. Fr. 6 D.

29. Fr. 17. 6 D.

30. Fr. 17. 7 D.

31. Fr. 117 D.

Diogenes Laertius Vitae philosophorum 8.2

R. D. Hicks (Translator)

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Chapter 2. EMPEDOCLES (484-424 B.C.)

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