a history of science-1-第19章

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XENOPHANES　AND　PARMENIDES　There　is　a　whimsical　tale　about　Pythagoras；　according　to　which　the　philosopher　was　wont　to　declare　that　in　an　earlier　state　he　had　visited　Hades；　and　had　there　seen　Homer　and　Hesiod　tortured　because　of　the　absurd　things　they　had　said　about　the　gods。　Apocrypbal　or　otherwise；　the　tale　suggests　that　Pythagoras　was　an　agnostic　as　regards　the　current　Greek　religion　of　his　time。　The　same　thing　is　perhaps　true　of　most　of　the　great　thinkers　of　this　earliest　period。　But　one　among　them　was　remembered　in　later　times　as　having　had　a　peculiar　aversion　to　the　anthropomorphic　conceptions　of　his　fellows。　This　was　Xenophanes；　who　was　born　at　Colophon　probably　about　the　year　580　B。C。；　and　who；　after　a　life　of　wandering；　settled　finally　in　Italy　and　became　the　founder　of　the　so…called　Eleatic　School。　A　few　fragments　of　the　philosophical　poem　in　which　Xenophanes　expressed　his　views　have　come　down　to　us；　and　these　fragments　include　a　tolerably　definite　avowal　of　his　faith。　〃God　is　one　supreme　among　gods　and　men；　and　not　like　mortals　in　body　or　in　mind；〃　says　Xenophanes。　Again　he　asserts　that　〃mortals　suppose　that　the　gods　are　born　（as　they　themselves　are）；　that　they　wear　man's　clothing　and　have　human　voice　and　body；　but；〃　he　continues；　〃if　cattle　or　lions　had　hands　so　as　to　paint　with　their　hands　and　produce　works　of　art　as　men　do；　they　would　paint　their　gods　and　give　them　bodies　in　form　like　their　ownhorses　like　horses；　cattle　like　cattle。〃　Elsewhere　he　says；　with　great　acumen：　〃There　has　not　been　a　man；　nor　will　there　be；　who　knows　distinctly　what　I　say　about　the　gods　or　in　regard　to　all　things。　For　even　if　one　chance　for　the　most　part　to　say　what　is　true；　still　he　would　not　know；　but　every　one　thinks　that　he　knows。〃＇6＇　In　the　same　spirit　Xenophanes　speaks　of　the　battles　of　Titans；　of　giants；　and　of　centaurs　as　〃fictions　of　former　ages。〃　All　this　tells　of　the　questioning　spirit　which　distinguishes　the　scientific　investigator。　Precisely　whither　this　spirit　led　him　we　do　not　know；　but　the　writers　of　a　later　time　have　preserved　a　tradition　regarding　a　belief　of　Xenophanes　that　perhaps　entitles　him　to　be　considered　the　father　of　geology。　Thus　Hippolytus　records　that　Xenophanes　studied　the　fossils　to　be　found　in　quarries；　and　drew　from　their　observation　remarkable　conclusions。　His　words　are　as　follows：　〃Xenophanes　believes　that　once　the　earth　was　mingled　with　the　sea；　but　in　the　course　of　time　it　became　freed　from　moisture；　and　his　proofs　are　such　as　these：　that　shells　are　found　in　the　midst　of　the　land　and　among　the　mountains；　that　in　the　quarries　of　Syracuse　the　imprints　of　a　fish　and　of　seals　had　been　found；　and　in　Paros　the　imprint　of　an　anchovy　at　some　depth　in　the　stone；　and　in　Melite　shallow　impressions　of　all　sorts　of　sea　products。　He　says　that　these　imprints　were　made　when　everything　long　ago　was　covered　with　mud；　and　then　the　imprint　dried　in　the　mud。　Further；　he　says　that　all　men　will　be　destroyed　when　the　earth　sinks　into　the　sea　and　becomes　mud；　and　that　the　race　will　begin　anew　from　the　beginning；　and　this　transformation　takes　place　for　all　worlds。〃＇7＇　Here；　then；　we　see　this　earliest　of　paleontologists　studying　the　fossil…bearing　strata　of　the　earth；　and　drawing　from　his　observations　a　marvellously　scientific　induction。　Almost　two　thousand　years　later　another　famous　citizen　of　Italy；　Leonardo　da　Vinci；　was　independently　to　think　out　similar　conclusions　from　like　observations。　But　not　until　the　nineteenth　century　of　our　era；　some　twenty…four　hundred　years　after　the　time　of　Xenophanes；　was　the　old　Greek's　doctrine　to　be　accepted　by　the　scientific　world。　The　ideas　of　Xenophanes　were　known　to　his　contemporaries　and；　as　we　see；　quoted　for　a　few　centuries　by　his　successors；　then　they　were　ignored　or　quite　forgotten；　and　if　any　philosopher　of　an　ensuing　age　before　the　time　of　Leonardo　championed　a　like　rational　explanation　of　the　fossils；　we　have　no　record　of　the　fact。　The　geological　doctrine　of　Xenophanes；　then；　must　be　listed　among　those　remarkable　Greek　anticipations　of　nineteenth　…century　science　which　suffered　almost　total　eclipse　in　the　intervening　centuries。　Among　the　pupils　of　Xenophanes　was　Parmenides；　the　thinker　who　was　destined　to　carry　on　the　work　of　his　master　along　the　same　scientific　lines；　though　at　the　same　time　mingling　his　scientific　conceptions　with　the　mysticism　of　the　poet。　We　have　already　had　occasion　to　mention　that　Parmenides　championed　the　idea　that　the　earth　is　round；　noting　also　that　doubts　exist　as　to　whether　he　or　Pythagoras　originated　this　doctrine。　No　explicit　answer　to　this　question　can　possibly　be　hoped　for。　It　seems　clear；　however；　that　for　a　long　time　the　Italic　School；　to　which　both　these　philosophers　belonged；　had　a　monopoly　of　the　belief　in　question。　Parmenides；　like　Pythagoras；　is　credited　with　having　believed　in　the　motion　of　the　earth；　though　the　evidence　furnished　by　the　writings　of　the　philosopher　himself　is　not　as　demonstrative　as　one　could　wish。　Unfortunately；　the　copyists　of　a　later　age　were　more　concerned　with　metaphysical　speculations　than　with　more　tangible　things。　But　as　far　as　the　fragmentary　references　to　the　ideas　of　Parmenides　may　be　accepted；　they　do　not　support　the　idea　of　the　earth's　motion。　Indeed；　Parmenides　is　made　to　say　explicitly；　in　preserved　fragments；　that　〃the　world　is　immovable；　limited；　and　spheroidal　in　form。〃＇8＇　Nevertheless；　some　modern　interpreters　have　found　an　opposite　meaning　in　Parmenides。　Thus　Ritter　interprets　him　as　supposing　〃that　the　earth　is　in　the　centre　spherical；　and　maintained　in　rotary　motion　by　its　equiponderance；　around　it　lie　certain　rings；　the　highest　composed　of　the　rare　element　fire；　the　next　lower　a　compound　of　light　and　darkness；　and　lowest　of　all　one　wholly　of　night；　which　probably　indicated　to　his　mind　the　surface　of　the　earth；　the　centre　of　which　again　he　probably　considered　to　be　fire。〃＇9＇　But　this；　like　too　many　interpretations　of　ancient　thought；　appears　to　read　into　the　fragments　ideas　which　the　words　themselves　do　not　warrant。　There　seems　no　reason　to　doubt；　however；　that　Parmenides　actually　held　the　doctrine　of　the　earth's　sphericity。　Another　glimpse　of　his　astronomical　doctrines　is　furnished　us　by　a　fragment　which　tells　us　that　he　conceived　the　morning　and　the　evening　stars　to　be　the　same；　a　doctrine　which；　as　we　have　seen；　was　ascribed　also　to　Pythagoras。　Indeed；　we　may　repeat　that　it　is　quite　impossible　to　distinguish　between　the　astronomical　doctrines　of　these　two　philosophers。　The　poem　of　Parmenides　in　which　the　cosmogonic　speculations　occur　treats　also　of　the　origin　of　man。　The　author　seems　to　have　had　a　clear　conception　that　intelligence　depends　on　bodily　organism；　and　that　the　more　elaborately　developed　the　organism　the　higher　the　intelligence。　But　in　the　interpretation　of　this　thought　we　are　hampered　by　the　characteristic　vagueness　of　expression；　which　may　best　be　evidenced　by　putting　before　the　reader　two　English　translations　of　the　same　stanza。　Here　is　Ritter's　rendering；　as　made　into　English　by　his　translator；　Morrison：　　〃For　exactly　as　each　has　the　state　of　his　limbs　many…jointed；　　So　invariably　stands　it　with　men　in　their　mind　and　their　　　　　　reason；　　For　the　system　of　limbs　is　that　which　thinketh　in　mankind　　Alike　in　all　and　in　each：　for　thought　is　the　fulness。〃＇10＇　The　same　stanza　is　given　thus　by　George　Henry　Lewes：　　〃Such　as　to　each　man　is　the　nature　of　his　many…jointed　limbs；　　Such　also　is　the　intelligence　of　each　man；　for　it　is　　The　nature　of　limbs　（organization）　which　thinketh　in　men；　　Both　in　one　and　in　all；　for　the　highest　degree　of　organization　　　　　　gives　the　highest　degree　of　thought。〃＇11＇

Here　it　will　be　observed　that　there　is　virtual　agreement　between　the　translators　except　as　to　the　last　clause；　but　that　clause　is　most　essential。　The　Greek　phrase　is　。　Ritter；　it　will　be　observed；　renders　this；　〃for　thought　is　the　fulness。〃　Lewes　paraphrases　it；　〃for　the　highest　degree　of　organization　gives　the　highest　degree　of　thought。〃　The　difference　is　intentional；　since　Lewes　himself　criticises　the　translation　of　Ritter。　Ritter's　translation　is　certainly　the　more　literal；　but　the　fact　that　such　diversity　is　possible　suggests　one　of　the　chief　elements　of　uncertainty　that　hamper　our　interpretation　of　the　thought　of　antiquity。　Unfortunately；　the　mind　of　the　commentator　has　usually　been　directed　towards　such　subtleties；　rather　than　towards　the　expression　of　precise　knowledge。　Hence　it　is　that　the　philosophers　of　Greece　are　usually　thought　of　as　mere　dreamers；　and　that　their　true　status　as　scientific　discoverers　is　so　often　overlooked。　With　these　intangibilities　we　have　no　present　concern　beyond　this　bare　mention；　for　us　it　suffices　to　gain　as　clear　an　idea　as　we　may　of　the　really　scientific　conceptions　of　these　thinkers；　leaving　the　subtleties　of　their　deductive　reasoning　for　the　most　part　untouched。

EMPEDOCLES　The　latest　of　the　important　pre…Socratic　philosophers　of　the　Italic　school　was　Empedocles；　who　was　born　about　494　B。C。　and　lived　to　the　age　of　sixty。　These　dates　make　Empedocles　strictly　contemporary　with　Anaxagoras；　a　fact　which　we　shall　do　well　to　bear　in　mind　when　we　come　to　consider　the　latter's　philosophy　in　the　succeeding　chapter。　Like　Pythagoras；　Empedocles　is　an　imposing　figure。　Indeed；　there　is　much　of　similarity　between　the　personalities；　as　between　the　doctrines；　of　the　two　men。　Empedocles；　like　Pythagoras；　was　a　physician；　like　him　also　he　was　the　founder　of　a　cult。　As　statesman；　prophet；　physicist；　physician；　reformer；　and　poet　he　showed　a　versatility　that；　coupled　with　profundity；　marks　the　highest　genius。　In　point　of　versatility　we　shall　perhaps　hardly　find　his　equal　at　a　later　dayunless；　indeed；　an　exception　be　made　of　Eratosthenes。　The　myths　that　have　grown　about　the　name　of　Empedocles　show　that　he　was　a　remarkable　personality。　He　is　said　to　have　been　an　awe…inspiring　figure；　clothing　himself　in　Oriental　splendor　and　moving　among　mankind　as　a　superior　being。　Tradition　has　it　that　he　threw　himself　into　the　crater　of　a　volcano　that　his　otherwise　unexplained　disappearance　might　lead　his　disciples　to　believe　that　he　had　been　miraculously　translated；　but　tradition　goes　on　to　say　that　one　of　the　brazen　slippers　of　the　philosopher　was　thrown　up　by　the　volcano；　thus　revealing　his　subterfuge。　Another　tradition　of　far　more　credible　aspect　asserts　that　Empedocles　retreated　from　Italy；　returning　to　the　home　of　his　fathers　in　Peloponnesus　to　die　there　obscurely。　It　seems　odd　that　the　facts　regarding　the　death　of　so　great　a　man；　at　so　comparatively　late　a　period；　should　be　obscure；　but　this；　perhaps；　is　in　keeping　with　the　personality　of　the　man　himself。　His　disciples　would　hesitate　to　ascribe　a　merely　natural　death　to　so　inspired　a　prophet。　Empedocles　appears　to　have　been　at　once　an　observer　and　a　dreamer。　He　is　credited　with　noting　that　the　pressure　of　air　will　sustain　the　weight　of　water　in　an　inverted　tube；　with　divining；　without　the　possibility　of　proof；　that　light　has　actual　motion　in　space；　and　with　asserting　that　centrifugal　motion　must　keep　the　heavens　from　falling。　He　is　credited　with　a　great　sanitary　feat　in　the　draining　of　a　marsh；　and　his　knowledge　of　medicine　was　held　to　be　supernatural。　Fortunately；　some　fragments　of　the　writings　of　Empedocles　have　come　down　to