Part XL

CHAP. I.
His Countrjj^ Father^ and the occa^on upon which he fiudied Vhtlofophy.
Lasrt. was 2iti Ahderite^ Son of ^r/ewcw f
X7 or as Apollodorm and Dinen, of Maandrim j but Eufolis faith, he was a Teian.
He was firft a Porter, as Epicurus relates, and by that occafion came into favour with Demo¬ critus : Being young, faith AgelUus, he was con- ftrained, for his fuftenance, to take upon him the Office of a Porter ; and, from fome places adjoining , carried burthens of Wood to Abdera, of which City he was. Democritasy who was alfo of the fame City, a perfon eminent for his Virtue and Philofophy, going abroad into the fields, fa w him coming nimbly along loaden with one of his ufual burthens ; and when he came near him, obfeiving that the Wood was neatly placed, and liandfomly bound up, fpoke to him to reft himfelf a little ; which he did, and De¬ mocritus, in the mean time, took great notice cf the bundle, that it was tyed up as it were Geo¬ metrically. He asked him, who put his Wood in that order? and heanfwering, that it was he himfelf had done it ; Democritus defired him to unty it, and put it into the fame order again ; which he did. Democritus admiring the inge¬ nuity of a perfon wholly void of Learning ; Young man, jaitb be, feeing you have the wit to know how to do well, there are better and greater things which you may do with me, and immediately carrying him home, kept and maintained him, and made him that which afterwards he was.
CHAP. II.
0
• His Opinions, and Writings.
_ •
lasrt. faid, That every thing hath two rea-
ITj, fons or arguments, one contrary to the other which way of arguing, he firft ufed.
He began one of his Books thus; Man is ■m.v'lav (s-iTfov, the meafurc of all things : of beings as they are ; 0/ not beings, as they are not. By pLiTfov he me.ans the critery, by pgnudrav, ‘u^.y^dTav, of things; which is as much as to fay, Man is the Critery of all things , of Beings as they are, of not Beings as they are not. Hereupon he aflerts the Phoetiomena’s to be particular to every one. * He faith, that Matter is fluid, and being in perpetual fluxion, appofitions are made inftead of fubfiraeftions ; and the fenfes are tranfmuta- ■ ted and changed, according to the feveral ages and conftitutions of the body.
He faith alfo, the reafon ( or powers ) of all Phenomena’s are fubjeefted in Matter ; fo that Matter in it fclf, is all things which it appears unto all. But men at different times pfreeive
things different, by reafon of their different ha¬ bits. He whofe Conftitution is found, of the ^
things which are ip Matter , perceiveth thofe which are capable of appearing to fuch perfons 5 They who are otherwife difpofed, perceive the things which are capable of appearing to perfons of a contrary Conftitution. The fame reafon there is in the difference of ages, in fleeping and waking, and in all kinds of habits. Man therefore is the Critery of things that are ; for' all things, which appear to men, are ; thofe which appear not to any man, are not.
He held, that the Soul is nothing more than the fenfes, as Tlato in his affirms ; and
that all things are true.
Another of his Books he began thus ^ Of the Gods 1 know nothing, neither that they are, nor that j?j
they are not ; for there are many thmgs which bin- \
der us from this knowledge, the blindnefs and jhort- ■■
nefs of human life. For the beginning of this Book he was banifh’d by the Athenians, and his Books burnt in the open Market-place. After -t
that they had been diligently exaded of all that had any of them, by the publick Cryer.
He was the firft that took a hundred Minx [
for a gratuity. He, and Vrodicus the Teiany%ot Money by reciting Orations in publick.
He firft defined the parts of time, and ex¬ plained the power of opportunity, and inftitu- ted difputations by way of conteft ; and propo- fed fophifms to the difputants, flipping befides the fenfe and playing upon the word, intro¬ ducing the light , fuperficial , eriftick way, whence Tirmn faith of him,
Protagoras, well in contention riad. ■
He firft abrogated the Socratick way of dif- putation, and firft examined the argument of ^
Antijihenes, whereby he endeavours to demon- ftrate, that it could not be contradiifted, as Plato faith in his Euthydemusy and firft produced Epi- cheirems againft Pofitions. ‘
He firft divided an Oration into four parts,
Requeft , Interrogation, Anfwer, Command :
Some fay into feven ; Narration, Interrogation,
Anfwer , Command , Enuntiation , Requeft , . Appellation; which parts he called the founda¬ tions 6f Orations. But, as Aladamas, four ; 1
Affirmation, Negation, Interrogation, Appel¬ lation. *
He firft recited his difeourfe concerning the 1 Gods C the beginning whereof we formerly mentioned ) at Athens, in tlie Houfe of Euripi¬ des, or, as fome fay, of Megadides: Others (ay, in the Lyceum, and that Archagoras, his Difciple,
Son of Tbeodotm fpoke it for him. He was ac- cufed by Fythodorus, Son of Polyz,elus, one of the 400 Senators; but ArifiotJe faith, tiiar Ev.nhhss accufed him.
. His
fi Pa
RT XL
AN AX ARC HU S.
4^9
His Writings wJiich are now extant, faith Lar ertiusy are thefe j ‘
Laert.
y
h -C
f
■£
\
4
The Erifiick Art. -
of JVrefHtng. ^
Of Matbernaticks.
Of Toliticks. , ^ ■
Of Ambition, of Fertues.
of Settlement of Government, of the things in the Infer i.
Of the. things that are done amifs by men. Freceptory.
Jtidgment upon re'ward,
Anttlogichs. 2.
Thefe were His Books^ Vlatb wrote a Dia loguc, and intituled'it by his. Name.
C H A P. m.
His Death.
PHihchortfs relates, that, as he was failing to Lmt.
Siciljy the Ship wherein he v/ent was call away ; aind thfe, he faith, is confirmed by Euri¬ pides in his Ixioh. Others relate, that he dyed by the way, having attained to ninety years ; ApoUodorus faith , to 70. and that he had been a Sophift forty years ; and that he flourifh’d a- bout the 74th Olympi.ad. Laertists hath this Epigram upon him.
**' I
And Protagoras, flying, they fay.
From Athens, death did feiz.e on by the way ; flhoa mighFfi efcape from Pallas and her Fown,
But Pluto wotdd not lofe what was his own.
ANaxatchs/s was an Abderite; he heard Di- omenes of Smyrna j or , as others, Mftrt- dorus of Chios, who faid he did not know fb much as this, that he knew nothing, Metrodo- rus, as fome fay, heard Neflus a Chian ; as others, Democritus. Anaxarchus lived with Alexander, and flourifh’d about the noth Olympiad, and was a great Enemy to Nicocreon King of Cyprus ; infomuch that Alexander at a Feaft demanding what he thought of the entertainment? he An- fwered. All things, great King, are very Mag¬ nificent ; only there is wanting the head of fome S^trapa, refledling upon Ntcocrcon. After the King’s death, Nicocreon bearing this Injury in mind, laid hold of Anaxarchus, fwhoagainlt his will was call upon the fhore of Cyprus) and caufed him fo be put into a Mortar, and poun¬ ded witl> Iron Peftles: whilft he, defpifing the pain , often repeated this' celebrious Speech'; Found the cafe of Anaxarchus, Anaxarchus binh f elf you hurt not. Hereupon the Tyrant com¬ manding them to cut out his Tongue, he bit it off, and fpit it in his Face.
H4 , f{?oai his Apathy and the Tranquillity of his lif^- had the attribute oi fortunate bellow’d on hifli/ He likewife had an excellent faculty in redding 6thers to Moderation ; as he reform¬ ed Adexandef, who would conceit himfelf a God, by pointing to his finger M/hen it bled, and fay- ingi'Thisis/JBlood, and not — -~iThe juft0.. that from immortal Gods doth flow.
'Vet Flutd'rcb relate^ that Alexander himfelf faid this to his friends.
Another;, time, Anaxarchus drinking to him, pcdnted to the Cup, faying, y v A mortal hand one of the Gods jhall wound.
A Alexander Babylon, thcChal- ,
ye^VidilTwaded him |rom entring the City, af- firi|uinjg, that if he did, it would be fatal to him ; fWh^^^pon he jjalfed by; and went to Burfra, a rCity on the other fide -of Euphrates. But Anax¬ archus' and other Greeks perfwadcd him by Phi- lofophical reafons to contemn the predidiions of the, Magi as falfe and uncertain; whofe advice hefcHibwing, brpught back his Army to Babylon, whpr^he died. ] \
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T H E
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470 Part XII.
HISTORY of TOIL OSOPHY.
Cl^e Ctoelftl^
Containing the SCEPTIGK SeU.
pyuiu-to.
c H A P. I
;
’r-.
1 1
a L/rirf.
i/sf Country^ Parentagej Tme^ Mafitfs,
OU T of Elia there (prung another Sed, no lefs Eminent than the former , its Author was ( « ) Pyrrho j an Elian. His Father, as Diodes affirms, was named Pltjharchus, of ob-
fcureand mean Quality, for fuch (h) jintigo- b Lttrt\ . nus relates Pyrrho himfelf at firft to have been: 1
his Sifter Phtlifia^ a Midwife.
Sufdof
I'
P T K K H 0.
47*