Part V.

ARC ESI L
215
Hfe was very ingenious in impofingapt names. ■>'He faid of an ill Poet that his Verfes were full of Moths *, and of Theophrajius^ that his Thefes were written in a Shell.
He wrote a Treatile concerning Grief, which was generally much admired, as Cicero and haertius
He died before Folemo and Crates of the Droply^^
ARCESILAUS.
CHAP. I.
f/7x Country, Parents, Teachers.
K
Eicefilaus (whom Ctcero calls Acefilas) wash Yitanean of JEolh j his Father, according to Apollodorus^ in the third _ of his Chronologicks , named Seu- thus^ or as others Scythus. He was the young- eft of four Brethren, two by the fame Father, only the other by the fame Mother the el- • deft was named Fylades : Of thofe who had
the fame Father, the eldeft was Mareas^ Guar¬ dian to his Brother Arcefilaus.
» AlMrandi- He was bom by computation from his death tins his edicion (which was in the fourth year of the ^ hundred reads the 130.. and fourth Olympiad, the feventy fifth
of his AgeJ in thefirft Year of the hundred and fiKteenth Olympiad.
He firft heard Autolychus the Mathematici¬ an, his Country- man, before became to Athens^ with whom he travelled to Sardis.
Next he heard Xanthus an Athenian^ a Ma fter of Miifick.
He heard alfo Htpponicus the Geometrician , who,excepting his Skill in that Art, was other- wile a gaping dull Fellow, for which Arcefila- vs deriding him, faid. Geometry flew into his Month as he gaped. Oi' Hipponicus falling mad, he took fo great care that he brought him to his own Houfe, and kept him there until he was quite cured.
He likewife, by the compulfion of his Bro¬ ther, ftudied Rhetorick, and being by Nature vehement in Difcourfe, and of indefatigable Induftry , he addifted himfelf likewife to Poe¬ try. There is an Epigram of his extant upon At talus to this efleft ; *
¥or drms and Horfes oft hath been the Name O/Pergamus through F'Xafpread by Fame :
But , now Jhall ( if a mortal mav divine)
To future times with greater Glory Jhine.
There is a)iother Epigram of his upon Meno- dorus^ Son of Euaemus.
Far hence is Thyatire, far Phrygian Earth, Whence Menodore thou didji derive thy Birth, But down to Acheron unpier cd by Day,
From any place thou knew’Ji the ready way.
> To thee this Tomb Eudemus dedicates.
Whom Lave hath wealthy madeyhd* poor the Fates.
Although his Brother Mere as Would have had him profefled Rhetorick, yet was he na¬ turally more enclihed to Philolbphy •, to which end, he firft became a hearer o^Theophrafius, in which time Crantor being much taken with him, fpoke that Verfe df Euripides to him, out of his Andromeda :
Maid, if I fave thee, wilt thou thankful
He anfwered in the following Vcrle,
Stranger, for Wife or Slave accept of me.
From thence forward they lived in intiiflate Friendfliip, whereat Theophrajius troubled, faid. He had loft a Touth of extraordinary Wit, and (puicknefs of Apprehenfion.
He emulated Tyrrho, as foms affirm, and ftudied Dialeftick, and the Eretriack Philolb- phy, whence Arifio faid of him,
Pyrrho beyond, Plato before.
And in the middle Diodore. , ,
And Timon,
Next leaden Menedemus he purfues.
And Pyrrho doth, or Diodorus choofe.
And loon after raaketh hina lay thus;
17/ fwim to Pyrrho, and crooTdd Diodore.
He was a great admirer of Tlato, whole Books he had.
CHAP. II.
Upon what occajion he conflituted the middle Academy.
ArcefJm! took- upon Wm the Government of the School, which t was yielded to him by Socrat ides. pol?'
fefledof that place, he altej^the Doarine and manner of Teaching , Which had been obferved by Flato and his Succeflbrs, up i this occalion.
1 6
AB.'GESALAV S.
Part-V
■fAcad. quaSi.
lib. I.
* Cic. Acad, quAl. 4.
t Pltit. cent. Colof,
* Cic, Acad,
I.
P/^/o ant^.Ms followers- down to to Arcejiln- ^('r^ held, (a’s was' laid ) ' That thfereare two kinds of things, feme perceptible by. Senfe, others perceptible, only by f Intelled : That from the latter arifeth Science., from the former Opinion : T^^//the only feeth that which always is fimple, and in th'6 fame manner, and fuch as it is, that is. Ideas. But that the Senfes are all dull and ilow,neithercan they perceive thofe things which leeha. fubjefted to S'enfe, becaufe either they are ■lo little, that they cannot fall beneath Senfe, or lb moveable and tranfient, that not one of' them is conftant or the lame j but, all are in continual Laple and Fluxion. Hence they called all this part of things Opinionable., affirming tliat Science is no where, but, in the Notions and Reafons of the Mind.
Yet, did they profefs againft tbofe, who faid,the Academy took aw^ay all Senfe •, for they affirmed not, that there was no fuch thing as colour, or ta|te,or lapor, or found ^ but, only maintained, there was no. proper mark of true and certain in-theSenfoSj theje being no fuch a ny where. ,
. .f Hence they allowed,, that, we, make ufe of the Senles.in, A£i:ions, from the reafon that ap- peareth out of them ^ but, to truft them as ab- Iblutely true and infallible, they allowed not.
Thus held the. Acadmicks down to Tolemo., ^ of whom Arcefilaus and Zeno were conftant Auditors ♦, but Zeno being older than Arcejilaus., and a very fubtle Dilputant , endeavoured to Gorrefl his Do^rine, not that, as Theophrafius faith, he did enervate Vertue 5 but on the con¬ trary, he placed all things that are reckoned among the good, in Verthe only : And this he called as being fimple, foie, one good.*
Of the reft, though neither good nor evil, he held that fbme, were according to Nature., o- thers contrary to Nature., Others mediate : Thole which are according to Nature, he held to be worthy EJiimation the contrary contrary-., the Neuter he left betwixt both, in which he placed no value. Of thofe which are Eligible, fome were of more Eftimation , Ibme of lefs-, thofe which were of more he called thole
oflefs rejeded. And as in thele, he did not change fo much the things themlelves as the words, lb betwixt a Rdiitude ^xA a Stn, an Office and a, Tyetcr-nffice : He placed Ibme things mediate, holding that ReHitudes confift- ed only in good A£tions, Sins in Evil ^ but,Offices either performed or omitted, he conceived me¬ diate things. And whereas the Philofophers of xho- old Academy did not hold all Vertue to confift in Reafon, but fome Vertues to be per- feQed by Nature or Cuftom -, Zeno on the contrary placed all Vertue in Reafon -, and whereas the Academicks held, as we laid in the Life of Tlatof\ That all thofe Vertues may beleparated, Zeno maintained that could not be, averring, that not only the ule of Vertue (as the Academicks hddi) but the Habit thereof Was excellent in it felf^ neither had any one Vertue , who did not always make ufe of' it. And whereas the Academicks took not away Palfion from Man, affirming that we are fubjeft to Companion, defire, fear, and joy, by Na¬ ture i but, ^ only contra£fed them, "and reduced them within narrower limits j Zeno affirmed ,
that from all thele, as from fo many Difeafes, aj' wife Man muft be free. And whereas they held, that all Paflions were natural and irratf onal, and placed in one part of the Soul, Con- cupilcence, in the other Reafon .* Neither did Zeno herein agree with them, for he aflerted, that Paflions are voluntary, that Opinions arc taken up by Judgment, that immoderate In¬ temperance is the Mother of all Paflion. Thus much fbr Ethicks.
t As fbr Fhyjick, he did notallow that fifth! c’/r./fcV. Nature befides the four Elements, of which the Academicks held Senfe and Mind to be ef f'e£fed fbr he aflerted Fire t9 be that Nature which begetteth every thing, both Mind and Senfe. &likewife diflented from in that he held, nothing can be made by a thing which hath no Body, (of which Nature, Xenocrates., and the old Academicks thought the Soul to be) and that wliatfbever made any thing, or was it fe]f made, muft of neceflTity be a Body. » . . . .
He likewife aflerted many things in the third part of Fhilofophy wherein he aflerted fbme things new off he Senfes themfelves, which he conceived to be joined by a certain extrinfecal impulfion, which he called Fhantafie. To thefe Phantafies received by the Senfes, He added Ajfent of the Mind, which he held to be pla¬ ced in us, and voluntary. He did not allow all Phantafies to be faithful and worthy Credit ; but, only thofe which have a proper Declaration of thofe things which they feem, which Phanta- fie when it isfeen, is called comprehenJibleyAi^n • received and approved, he calleth it comprehen- Jion. That which was comprehended by Senfe, he calleth Senfe^zvA., if it were fo comprehend¬ ed, that it could not be pulled away by realbn.
Science if otherwife. Ignorance-, of which kind was Opinion, infirm arid common to falfe or un¬ known things. Betwixt Science and Ignorance he placed that comprehenfion we mentioned, not reckoning it among the good nor the bad ; but affirming that only was to be credited^ whence ! he likewife attributed Faith to the Senfes, for as ' much as he conceived the comprehenfion made by the Senfes to be true and faithful, not that it comprehended all things that are in being -, but that it omits nothing that can fall beneath it, as alfb, becaufe Nature hath given it as a rule of Science and principle of it felj^ whence notions are afterwards imprinted in the Mind, from which not only Principles, but certain larger ways towards the invention of Reafon,aije f bund out. Errour,timerity,ignorance, opination, fulpicion, and in a word, wharfoever isjiotof firm and conftant aflTent, he rook a- way from Vertue and Wifdom. In thefe things confifteth almoft all the change and diflention of Zeno from the old Academicks.
Zeno thus maintaining many things contrary to Tlato, as that the Soul is Mortal, and that - there, is no other World but this, which is fiib- jeO: to Senfe. Arcefilaus perceiving this Do0:rine to Ipread and take much, prudently concealed the Doctrine of the Academy, left the myfte- ries of Tlato being divulged and made too com¬ mon, Ihould become delpicable and therefore faith t St. Augujiine) he thought it fitter to un-f Contra Acad, teach the Man that was not well taught, than to teach thofe, wham by Experience be found not to be docile enough. fHere-
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