The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers
do; but do you yourselves consider what line of conduct to adopt.” And
when he had said this, as report goes, he expired. And the Athenians
accompanied him to the grave, on foot, with the whole population of the
city, as it is related, honouring the man greatly.
XII. But Phavorinus says, that when he was very old he used to go about
in a litter; and that Hermippus states this, quoting Arcesilaus, the
Pitanæan, and the account which he sent to Lacydes of Cyrene.
XIII. He also left behind him a very great number of works, of which I
have thought it proper to give a list on account of their being full of
every sort of excellence. They are as follows:—
Three books of the First Analytics; seven of the Second Analytics; one
book of the Analysis of Syllogisms; one book, an Epitome of Analytics;
two books, Topics for referring things to First Principles; one book,
an Examination of Speculative Questions about Discussions; one on
Sensations; one addressed to Anaxagoras; one on the Doctrines of
Anaxagoras; one on the Doctrines of Anaximenes; one on the Doctrines of
Archelaus; one on Salt, Nitre, and Alum; two on Petrifactions; one on
Indivisible Lines; two on Hearing; one on Words; one on the Differences
between Virtues; one on Kingly Power; one on the Education of a King;
three on Lives; one on Old Age; one on the Astronomical System of
Democritus; one on Meteorology; one on Images or Phantoms; one on
Juices, Complexions, and Flesh; one on the Description of the World; one
on Men; one, a Collection of the Sayings of Diogenes; three books of
Definitions; one treatise on Love; another treatise on Love; one book
on Happiness; two books on Species; on Epilepsy, one; on Enthusiasm,
one; on Empedocles, one; eighteen books of Epicheiremes; three books of
Objections; one book on the Voluntary; two books, being an Abridgment of
Plato’s Polity; one on the Difference of the Voices of Similar Animals;
one on Sudden Appearances; one on Animals which Bite or Sting; one on
such Animals as are said to be Jealous; one on those which live on Dry
Land; one on those which Change their Colour; one on those which live
in Holes; seven on Animals in General; one on Pleasure according to
the Definition of Aristotle; seventy-four books of Propositions; one
treatise on Hot and Cold; one essay on Giddiness and Vertigo and Sudden
Dimness of Sight; one on Perspiration; one on Affirmation and Denial; the
Callisthenes, or an essay on Mourning, one; on Labours, one; on Motion,
three; on Stones, one; on Pestilences, one; on Fainting Fits, one; the
Megaric Philosopher, one; on Melancholy, one; on Mines, two; on Honey,
one; a collection of the Doctrines of Metrodorus, one; two books on
those Philosophers who have treated of Meteorology; on Drunkenness, one;
twenty-four books of Laws, in alphabetical order; ten books, being an
Abridgment of Laws; one on Definitions; one on Smells; one on Wine and
Oil; eighteen books of Primary Propositions; three books on Lawgivers;
six books of Political Disquisitions; a treatise on Politicals, with
reference to occasions as they arise, four books; four books of Political
Customs; on the best Constitution, one; five books of a Collection of
Problems; on Proverbs, one; on Concretion and Liquefaction, one; on
Fire, two; on Spirits, one; on Paralysis, one; on Suffocation, one;
on Aberration of Intellect, one; on the Passions, one; on Signs, one;
two books of Sophisms; one on the Solution of Syllogisms; two books of
Topics; two on Punishment; one on Hair; one on Tyranny; three on Water;
one on Sleep and Dreams; three on Friendship; two on Liberality; three
on Nature; eighteen on Questions of Natural Philosophy; two books,
being an Abridgment of Natural Philosophy; eight more books on Natural
Philosophy; one treatise addressed to Natural Philosophers; two books
on the History of Plants; eight books on the Causes of Plants; five on
Juices; one on Mistaken Pleasures; one, Investigation of a proposition
concerning the Soul; one on Unskilfully Adduced Proofs; one on Simple
Doubts; one on Harmonics; one on Virtue; one entitled Occasions or
Contradictions; one on Denial; one on Opinion; one on the Ridiculous;
two called Soirees; two books of Divisions; one on Differences; one on
Acts of Injustice; one on Calumny; one on Praise; one on Skill; three
books of Epistles; one on Self-produced Animals; one on Selection; one
entitled the Praises of the Gods; one on Festivals; one on Good Fortune;
one on Enthymemes; one on Inventions; one on Moral Schools; one book of
Moral Characters; one treatise on Tumult; one on History; one on the
Judgment Concerning Syllogisms; one on Flattery; one on the Sea; one
essay, addressed to Cassander, Concerning Kingly Power; one on Comedy;
one on Meteors; one on Style; one book called a Collection of Sayings;
one book of Solutions; three books on Music; one on Metres; the Megades,
one; on Laws, one; on Violations of Law, one; a collection of the Sayings
and Doctrines of Xenocrates, one; one book of Conversations; on an Oath,
one; one of Oratorical Precepts; one on Riches; one on Poetry; one being
a collection of Political, Ethical, Physical, and amatory Problems; one
book of Proverbs; one book, being a Collection of General Problems; one
on Problems in Natural Philosophy; one on Example; one on Proposition
and Exposition; a second treatise on Poetry; one on the Wise Men; one
on Counsel; one on Solecisms; one on Rhetorical Art, a collection of
sixty-one figures of Oratorical Art; one book on Hypocrisy; six books of
a Commentary of Aristotle or Theophrastus; sixteen books of Opinions on
Natural Philosophy; one book, being an Abridgment of Opinions on Natural
Philosophy; one on Gratitude; one called Moral Characters; one on Truth
and Falsehood; six on the History of Divine Things; three on the Gods;
four on the History of Geometry; six books, being an Abridgment of the
work of Aristotle on Animals; two books of Epicheiremes; three books of
Propositions; two on Kingly Power; one on Causes; one on Democritus;
one on Calumny; one on Generation; one on the Intellect and Moral
Character of Animals; two on Motion; four on Sight; two on Definitions;
one on being given in Marriage; one on the Greater and the Less; one on
Music; one on Divine Happiness; one addressed to the Philosophers of
the Academy; one Exhortatory Treatise; one discussing how a City may be
best Governed; one called Commentaries; one on the Crater of Mount Etna
in Sicily; one on Admitted Facts; one on Problems in Natural History;
one, What are the Different Manners of Acquiring Knowledge; three on
Telling Lies; one book, which is a preface to the Topics; one addressed
to Æschylus; six books of a History of Astronomy; one book of the History
of Arithmetic relating to Increasing Numbers; one called the Acicharus;
one on Judicial Discourses; one on Calumny; one volume of Letters to
Astycreon, Phanias, and Nicanor; one book on Piety; one called the Evias;
one on Circumstances; one volume entitled Familiar Conversations; one on
the Education of Children; another on the same subject, discussed in a
different manner; one on Education, called also, a treatise on Virtue, or
on Temperance; one book of Exhortations; one on Numbers; one consisting
of Definitions referring to the Enunciation of Syllogisms; one on Heaven;
two on Politics; two on Nature, on Fruits, and on Animals. And these
works contain in all two hundred and thirty-two thousand nine hundred and
eight lines.
These, then, are the books which Theophrastus composed.
XIV. I have also found his will, which is drawn up in the following
terms:—
May things turn out well, but if anything should happen to me, I make the
following disposition of my property. I give everything that I have in my
house to Melantes and Pancreon, the sons of Leon. And those things which
have been given to me by Hipparchus, I wish to be disposed of in the
following manner:—First of all, I wish everything about the Museum[49]
and the statue of the goddesses to be made perfect, and to be adorned in
a still more beautiful manner than at present, wherein there is room for
improvement. Then I desire the statue of Aristotle to be placed in the
temple, and all the other offerings which were in the temple before. Then
I desire the colonnade which used to be near the Museum to be rebuilt in
a manner not inferior to the previous one. I also enjoin my executors
to put up the tablets on which the maps of the earth are drawn, in the
lower colonnade, and to take care that an altar is finished in such a
manner that nothing may be wanting to its perfectness or its beauty. I
also direct a statue of Nicomachus, of equal size, to be erected at the
same time; and the price for making the statue has been already paid to
Praxiteles; and he is to contribute what is wanting for the expense.
And I desire that it shall be placed wherever it shall seem best to
those who have the charge of providing for the execution of the other
injunctions contained in this will. And these are my orders respecting
the temple and the offerings. The estate which I have at Stagira, I
give to Callinus, and all my books I bequeath to Neleus. My garden, and
my promenade, and my houses which join the garden, I give all of them
to any of the friends whose names I set down below, who choose to hold
a school in them and to devote themselves to the study of philosophy,
since it is not possible for any one to be always travelling, but I give
them on condition that they are not to alienate them, and that no one is
to claim them as his own private property; but they are to use them in
common as if they were sacred ground, sharing them with one another in
a kindred and friendly spirit, as is reasonable and just. And those who
are to have this joint property in them are Hipparchus, Neleus, Strato,
Callinus, Demotimus, Demaratus, Callisthenes, Melantes, Pancreon, and
Nicippus. And Aristotle, the son of Metrodorus and Pythias, shall also be
entitled to a share in this property, if he like to join these men in the
study of philosophy. And I beg the older men to pay great attention to
his education that he may be led on to philosophy as much as possible. I
also desire my executors to bury me in whatever part of the garden shall
appear most suitable, incurring no superfluous expense about my funeral
or monument. And, as has been said before, after the proper honours have
been paid to me, and after provision has been made for the execution
of my will as far as relates to the temple, and the monument, and the
garden, and the promenade, then I enjoin that Pamphylus, who dwells in
the garden, shall keep it and everything else in the condition as it has
been in hitherto. And those who are in possession of these things are to
take care of his interests. I further bequeath to Pamphylus and Threptes,
who have been some time emancipated, and who have been of great service
to me, besides all that they have previously received from me, and all
that they may have earned for themselves, and all that I have provided
for being given them by Hipparchus, two thousand drachmas, and I enjoin
that they should have them in firm and secure possession, as I have
often said to them, and to Melantes and Pancreon, and they have agreed
to provide for this my will taking effect. I also give them the little
handmaid Somatale; and of my slaves, I ratify the emancipation of Molon,
and Cimon, and Parmenon which I have already given them. And I hereby
give their liberty to Manes and Callias, who have remained four years in
the garden, and have worked in it, and have conducted themselves in an
unimpeachable manner. And I direct that my executors shall give Pamphylus
as much of my household furniture as may seem to them to be proper, and