chapter five
SUMMARY
Theophrastus, Aristotle’s pupil and second head of the Peripatetic School, wasapopularteacher.Heissaidtohavehadroughly,students (.). He was also a prolific writer. The catalogue of Theophrastus’ writ- ings preserved by Diogenes Laertius in his Life of Theophrastus lists c. titles (.–). His surviving works include two multi-book treatises on botany, eight scientific opuscula, a short work on first principles (the so-called Metaphysics), a doxographical work on sense-perception and the Characters. Aside from the last, none of Theophrastus’ writings on ethical topics has survived intact, so that we must turn to secondary sources in order to gain knowledge of Theophrastus’ teachings on ethics. These sources (those that are printed in the text-translation volumes as against those that are listed in the apparatus of parallel texts) number . Some belong to the Roman Republic, while others belong to the Empire and the Middle Ages. Some source authors wrote in Greek, but there are also Latin and Arabic sources; even one in Italian. Moreover and most important, the sources vary greatly in their reliability. Late collections of excerpts and sayings must always be approached with caution, but even earlier, respected authors like Cicero and Plutarch may write in ways that are misleading. Each source author needs to be evaluated not only in regard to general reliability but also in regard to particular assertions in particular contexts. Most likely Diogenes’ catalogue of Theophrastean writings derives from the work On Theophrastus byHermippusofSmyrna(ndhalfofthe rd cent. bc). The catalogue divides into five lists plus two addenda. The lists probably represent different purchases by the library in Alexandria. In the text-translation volumes, titles have been identified as ethical ( no. –, –), and two others have been referred to as especially relevant to ethics ( no. and no. ). But ethics is a field that relates closely to psychology, politics, rhetoric and poetics so that neat divisions are not possible. Omitted from Diogenes’ catalogue are On Dispositions and Ethics ( no. and ). One or both may reflect the work of Andronicus of Rhodes (nd half of the st cent. bc), who is said to have divided the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus into treatises, v. summary bringing together smaller, related works to create larger, collective ones. Also omitted from Diogenes’ catalogue is On Marriage ( no. ), to which only St. Jerome refers. Problematic is whether the titles occurring in Diogenes’ catalogue and in other source texts are Theophrastean in origin. An affirmative answer is encouraged by the fact that the assignation of titles appears to have begun in the fourth century, and the use of titles would have helped Theophrastus organize his library including that of Aristotle, which he inherited. A different concern is the occurrence of double and triple titles. Diogenes’ catalogue lists Callisthenes or On Grief,whileCicero and Alexander refer simply to Callisthenes ( no. ). The shorter title may focus on the person whose fate sets the work in motion, while the fuller title takes account of the subject of the work as a whole. Diogenes’ catalogue also lists On Education or On Virtue or On Temperance,while On Education and On Temperance occur elsewhere ( no. ). In this case, Diogenes’ title mentions the general subject first. The subject that is apt to have had pride of place within the work comes last. Theophrastus’ writings took different forms. There were esoteric works intended for use within the school. Often they will have been treatises that formed the basis for a course of lectures. There were also exoteric works that were intended for a wider audience. On the whole the latter were written in a popular style and in dialogue form. But this division of Theophrastus’ writings is an oversimplification. There were also collec- tionsofmaterialsthatmightbeintroducedintolecturesaswellasstudied before and after lecture. In addition, there were essays and addresses, like Exhortation (or Protrepticus no. ), which were written with a larger public in mind and were not dialogues. Some works were dualizers in that they could play a role both outside and inside the school. An example is the Characters ( no. ). It is a collection of thirty brief descriptions of unattractive behavioral regularities. Its humorous qualities suit the work for circulation outside the school, but it could also enliven Theophrastus’ lectures, especially when he was discussing character traits like loquacity and complaisance, which are not tied to any one goal. From the titles reported in our sources it is clear that Theophrastus covered a wide range of ethical topics including the emotions, π η.We read of a monograph entitled On Emotions ( no. ), and on the basis of various reports we can say with confidence that Theophrastus treats emotionverymuchinthewaythatAristotledoes.Inparticular,herec- ognizes that emotion is a complex phenomenon that involves thought or belief, bodily changes, and in many cases goal-directed behavior. E.g.,