Diogenes of Babylon: A Stoic on Music and Ethics Linda Helen Woodward UCL Submitted for the degree of Master of Philosophy in Classics 1 Diogenes of Babylon: A Stoic on Music and Ethics I, Linda Helen Woodward, confirm that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Where information has been derived from other sources, I confirm that this has been indicated in the thesis. 2 ABSTRACT The aim of this thesis is to analyse Diogenes of Babylon's musico-ethical theories, to place them into their historical context, and to examine the possible influences on his thought. Earlier treatments of this Stoic's work have been hampered by the lacunose state of Philodemus' surviving text, the major source, and in some cases an opponent's views have been mistakenly attributed to Diogenes. Conversely, the state of the text together with erroneous column numbering, have resulted in part of Diogenes' philosophy being ascribed to his Epicurean opponent. Taking Professor Delattre's recently reconstructed edition of Philodemus’ De musica as my starting point, I attempt to more fully analyse Diogenes' theory of music and ethics. Following a short introductory chapter, I briefly examine Diogenes' other interests, analyse his psychology compared with that of earlier Stoics, and examine how that fits into Diogenes' view on music in education. I outline Diogenes' general view on music, and compare the musical writings of Plato, Aristotle and the early Peripatetics with those of Diogenes, particularly in relation to education, and outline areas that might have influenced the Stoic. I also look at later writings where they can be seen as evidence for Diogenes' work. An examination of views on poetry as reported by Philodemus elucidates Diogenes' claim that the mousikoi of music were analogous to the kritikoi for poetry. In the thesis as a whole, I argue that far from having a radical musical theory, Diogenes fitted easily into the traditional musico-historical context, but developed a more technical approach than those before him. In addition to arguing for Diogenes' orthodoxy, I suggest that Philodemus had two motives in writing this polemical work. In refuting the Stoic's claims regarding music, he also vigorously defends the Epicurean school against accusations of ignorance. 3 CONTENTS 1 Introduction 5 Intention of thesis 5 Arrangement of chapters 6 Notes on the text 8 2 Philodemus’ De Musica (1) 10 (i) Introduction 10 (ii) Diogenes of Babylon: his life and work 12 (iii) Stoic psychology 16 (iv) Oikeiōsis 27 (v) Natural perception vs. ‘knowing’ perception 36 Appendix: Speusippus and his influence on Diogenes’ theory at column 34 (T2.v.1) 50 3 Philodemus’ De Musica (2) 55 (i) Diogenes’ views on the use of music generally 57 (ii) Diogenes’ theology in the De Musica 88 Appendix: [Plutarch]’s De Musica 94 4 The relevance of Platonic thought 102 5 The relevance of Aristotelian and Peripatetic thought 134 (i) Aristotle 134 (ii) Archestratus 154 (iii) Heraclides of Pontus 156 (iv) Theophrastus 165 (v) Aristoxenus 173 6 Stoics versus Epicureans on poetry 190 (i) The use of Homeric tales 197 (ii) Philodemus’ On Poems and Diogenes of Babylon on the kritikoi 206 7 Conclusions 219 Bibliography 224 4 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Intention of thesis In this thesis, I analyse the musico-ethical theories of the Stoic Diogenes of Babylon and attempt to place them into their historical context. In my MA thesis, I enquired into Plato’s philosophical views of music, and in particular the role of music as an educational tool, and in the course of my research it became apparent to me that there was an active debate about the effect music could have upon the soul, and upon human behaviour. This debate about the ethical nature of music was taken up by Aristotle and his school, and it continued into the Hellenistic period; indeed it is still ongoing today. From Professor Delattre’s newly reconstructed edition of Philodemus of Gadara’s De Musica, in which Diogenes’ musical theories are preserved, it is clear that Diogenes of Babylon was aware of, and himself entered into, the debate. Earlier treatments of Philodemus’ writing have been hampered by the lacunose state in which the text survived, and in some cases it has been almost impossible to ascertain which views should be attributed to which philosopher. With the advantage of new, improved methods of reading the papyri,1 it has now been possible to more accurately analyse Diogenes’ views on music and ethics, which, in turn, are harshly criticised by Diogenes’ Epicurean opponent, Philodemus of Gadara. In the course of this thesis, I examine the writings of Plato, Aristotle and other Peripatetics where they can be seen as possible influences upon Diogenes’ writing. I also discuss some of the later musical writings, and in particular those of Pseudo-Plutarch and Aristides Quintilianus, where they might be further evidence of Diogenes’ views, or where their own writings help to elucidate those of Diogenes. I also look briefly into the Stoic and Epicurean views on poetry, closely linked to music, and indeed in Platonic thought, and historically prior to Plato, almost inseparable from music. Until the fifth and fourth centuries BC, 1 On which, see the Introduction to chapter 2. 5 music was provided merely to accompany the words of the poetry, and hence it was of secondary importance. From the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC, however, music began to be performed without words, and players of instruments advertised their expertise, and were recognised as professional musicians in their own right, rather than as mere accompanists to the singers or poets. Pausanias, in the second century AD, writes in his Description of Greece, of the celebrated flute-player named Pronomos ‘who utterly charmed audiences with his mere stage presence’,2 and of whom a statue was erected in Thebes. Pseudo-Plutarch also writes of the musical ‘innovators’ who turned aulos-playing ‘from a simpler to a more intricate art’.3 When writers spoke about music, therefore, it became less clear whether they were referring to mousikē in the standard inclusive Greek way, as defined in Liddell and Scott,4 or whether they were referring to instrumental music alone, written for its own worth, not to accompany words, and not intended to have words written to accompany it. This differentiaion is important, as will become clear in my discussion. This separation of music and poetry, and the innovations that came with it, caused concern to Plato in particular, and as I will show, to Diogenes as well. I will therefore also briefly discuss what is in modern times referred to as the ‘New Music’ of the fourth century BC, and outline some of the arguments against this style raised by both Plato and Diogenes. Arrangement of chapters In order to gain an understanding of the arguments presented, and the issues and influences involved, I commence chapter 2 with a very short overview of 2 Book IX, ‘Boiotia’, trans. Levi 1971. 3 [Plutarch] De Musica 1141c. For more on the [Plutarchian] work, see below, chapter 3, passim and Appendix. 4 Liddell, H. G. and Scott, R., revised H. S. Jones (1996) A Greek–English Lexicon. Oxford: ‘(i) [A]ny art over which the Muses presided, especially poetry sung to music; (ii) [G]enerally art, letters, accomplishment. Mousikē, grammata, gymnastikē as three branches of education.’ . 6 Diogenes’ life and work, and list his main interests, such as these are evidenced in later writers. I discuss Stoic psychology; how the Stoics regarded the soul, and ask whether Diogenes would have had to depart from conventional Stoic theory to hold his views on music’s effects on the soul. Did he follow his teacher Chrysippus, or were his views more allied, perhaps, to the later Stoics such as Posidonius (c. 135–51 BC), whose views on psychology were suggested by Galen to have been developed along Platonic rather than traditional Stoic lines? The Stoic theory of oikeiōsis will also be very relevant to this discussion. I ask the questions: ‘Does Diogenes discuss music without words, or only music with words, as did his predecessors?’ and does Philodemus discuss music on the same basis, i.e., what terms do they use – mousikē, harmonie, melos, for example, and do they use them in the same way? The latest editor of Philodemus’ De Musica, Professor Daniel Delattre, suggests that Diogenes speaks of music only in the ‘traditional’ way, that is, as ‘music and words’, while Philodemus speaks of music in the ‘new way’, that is, instrumental music. However, I will argue that this is simply one of Philodemus’ ‘tools’ to refute his opponent, and whilst Diogenes only rarely speaks of instrumental music, he nonetheless does, and far from confusing music and poetry, as Philodemus claims,5 Diogenes more often discusses the two together in his theory. This will be examined more fully below. In chapter 3 I look at Diogenes’ view on music generally, his beliefs on its public and private use, and his quasi-historical analysis, and discuss how, for him, it fitted into every part of Greek life. In this respect, Diogenes will be shown not to have deviated in his views from earlier writers on the subject. I also investigate the possibility that Diogenes could have seen music as a kind of medicine or therapy, contrasting his claims with other discussions of therapy and medical treatment, and the De Musica of Aristides Quintilianus where relevant. In chapter 4 I compare Plato’s musical theory with that of Diogenes’ particularly in the realm of education and suggest that Diogenes must not only have had good access to Plato’s writings, in particular the Republic and the Laws, but that he must have studied them closely.