Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
Text snippets containing the quad
|
ID |
Title |
Author |
Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication) |
STC |
Words |
Pages |
|
A61287
|
The history of philosophy, in eight parts by Thomas Stanley.
|
Stanley, Thomas, 1625-1678.
|
1656
(1656)
|
Wing S5238; ESTC R17292
|
629,655
|
827
|
Apollodorus who answer'd he would sooner take up the cup of poyson from the hand of Socrates then pledge him upon that condition Upon the death of Socrates Plato whose excessive grief upon that occasion is observed by Plutarch with others of his Disciples fearing the Tyranny of those persons who put their Master to death â—ed to Euclid at Megara who friendly entertained them till the storm was blown over Apuleius saith that before he came to Socrates he was initiated in the Sect of Heraclitus But more likely is that which is affirmed by Laertius that after Socrates's death he applyed himselfe to Craâ—ylus a follower of Heraclitus and to Hermogenes He conceived saith Saint Augustine that his own invention and Socrates ' s instructions came short of the true aime of Philosophy He considered with himselfe what course he should take to benefit himselfe most for this purpose he determined to travell to any place where report told him he might drink of the spring of Learning even to the farthest parts of the Earth saith Cicero First to Italy where he addicted himselfe to the discipline of Pythagoras which though he saw replenished with curious and high reason yet he chiefly affected to imitate the continence and chastity thereof though the Pythagoreans themselves affirme he had all his naturall Philosophy from thence Perceiving the knowledge of the Pythagoreans to be assisted with other disciplines he went to Cyrene to learn Geometry of Theodorus the Mathematician thence to Aegypt which was then under the Empire of Artaxerxes Mnemon under pretence of selling Oyle but the scope of his journey was to fetch Astrology from thence To learn Arithmetick and Celestiall Speculations of the Barbarians saith Cicero and to be instructed in the rites of the Prophets He travelled over the Country inâ—orming himselfe all the way by their Priests of the multiplicious proportions of Geometry and the observation of Celestiall motions At what time the young Students at Athens â—ere enquiring for Plato to instruct them he was busied in surveying the inexplicable banks of Nilus the vast extent of a barbarous Country and the winding compasse of their trenches a Disciple to the Aegyptian old men Having taken a full survey of all the Country he at last setled himselfe in the Province of Sais Learning of the Wise men there what they held concerning the Vniverse whether it had a beginning and whether it is moved at present wholly or in part according to Reason From these Pausanias affirmes he learn'd the Immortality of the Soul which that they held as likewise the transmigration thereof into severall bodies is affirmed by Herodotus Some say that Euripides followed him to Aegypt and falling sick was cured by the Priests with Sea-water whereupon he said The Sea doth wash away all ills of Man But this agrees not with the time of his death which was before that of Socrates viz. in the 93d Olympiad From Aegypt Plato returned to Tarentum in Italy at what time L. Camillus and P. Claudius were Consuls at Rome as Cicero affirmeth What Fasti he used I know not for in those which are now with us received as authentick there are no such Consuls during the whole life of Plato And indeed in those times Rome was for the most part govern'd by Tribunes Here he conversed with Eurytus of Tarentum the Elder Archytas the Elder at whose discourse concerning Pleasure he was present and with the rest of the Pythagoreans Echecrates Timaeus Acrio corruptly in Valerius Maximus Ario and Coetus Locrians Thus to the learning of Socrates he added that of Pythagoras and informed himselfe in those things which Socrates neglected He would have gone also to the Indians and to the Magi but that the Warres which at that time were in Asia hindred him CHAP. IV. What Authors he follow'd EUgubinus affirmes that Plato borrow'd the mystick part of his Philosophy from Hermes Trismegistus particularly that concerning the Divine Goodnesse which I suppose he rather asserts from his own conjecture in regard Plaâ—o had been long in Aegypt then from any good Authority He was induced thereunto by those Books which are now commonly but falsely vented under the name of Hermes Trismegistus whereas the learned Casaubon in his Exercitations upon Baronius hath sufficiently taught us the forgery of those Books which seem by some Impostor to have been compiled out of the works of Plato and the Divine Scripture That Plato received some light from Moses is affirmed with much greater Authorities of severall Nations and Religions Of Iewes by Aristobulus Plato saith he followed our Law in many things his various allegations evince him a curious observer thereof for the Volumes of Moses were translated before Alexander's time And Iosephus Plato chiefly followed our Law-giver Of Philosophers by Numenius what is Plato saith he but Moses speaking Greek Of Fathers by Iustine Martyr Clement Alexandrinus Eusebius Theodoret Saint Augustine c. When Plato went to Sicily he bought the Books of Philolaus a Pythagorean which were three of Nâ—turall Philosophy the first that ever were published out of that School Some say he had them of Dionysius's friends for four Alexandrian Minae Others that Dionysius had them of a young Man one of Philolaus's Disciples and gave them to Plato Others that he sent to Dion at Syracuse to buy them for him which he did for 100 Minae Agellius saith ten thousand Denaries For having received of Dionysius above eighty Talents he was very full of mony Out of these he is said as Agellius and Laertius affirm to have taken a great part of his Timaeus for which derided by Timon in Sillis thus You Plato with the same affections caught With a great Summ a little Treatise bought Where all the knowledge which you own was taught Alcimus in his four Books to Amintas affirmes that Plato borrow'd much from the writings of Epicharmus the Comick Poet in the first Book he hath these words In Sensibles saith Plato neither magnitude nor quality is permanent but in continuall fluxion and mutation as if we should substract number from them which are neither equall nor certain nor quantitative nor qualitative these are they where generation is alwaies their essence never To Insensibles nothing can be added nothing taken away This is the nature of Eternall Beings the like and same ever Thus Plato cited by Alcimus Indeed he teacheth this in many places particularly in Timaeo where he at large explaineth what is that which never is and never had beginning and that which hath beginning but no being He concludes the first comprehensible by the Intellect with Reason the other by sence and opinion But the citation of Alcimus seems to refer to Plato's Theaetetus the subject of which Dialogue is Science there he examines some Definitions of Science by the Antients amongst the rest the
adversary are Falsitie Paradox Soloecism and Tautologie Sophismes are solved either by distinction or negation Thus much may serve for a slight view of his Logick whereof we have but few Books left in respect of the many which he wrote upon that part of Philosophy THE SECOND PART CHAP. I. Of PHYSICK NOt to question the Method of Aristotle's Books of Physick much lesse their titles as some to make them better agree with Laertius's Catalogue have done and least of all their Authority with Patricius we shall take them in that order which is generally received according to which next Logick is placed Physick Physick is a science concerning that substance which hath the principle of motion and rest within it self The Physicall Books of Aristotle that are extant treat of these nine generall heads Of the principles of naturall things of the Common affections of naturall things of Heaven of Elements of the action and passion of Elements of Exhalation of Plants of Animals of the Soul CHAP. II. Of the Principles of Naturall Bodies THe Principles of naturall Bodies are not one as Parmenides and Melissus held nor Homoiomeria's as Anaxagoras nor Atomes as Leucippus and Democritus nor sensible Elements as Thales Anaximander Anaximenes Empedocles nor numbers or figures as the Pythagoreans nor Idaea's as Plato That the Principles of things are Contrary privately opposite was the joint opinion of the Ancients and is manifest in Reason For Principles are those which neither are mutually of one another nor of others but of them are all things Such are first contraries as being first they are not of any other as contrary not of another Hence it follows that being contrary they must be more then one but not infinite for then naturall things would not be comprensible by Reason yet more then two for of contraries only nothing would be produced but that they would rather destroy one another There are therefore three Principles of naturall bodies two contrary privation and form and one common subject of both Matter The constitutive Principles are matter and form of privation bodies consist not but accidentally as it is competent to Matter Things are made of that which is Ens potentially Materia prima not of that which is Ens actually nor of that which is non-ens potentially which is pure nothing Matter is neither generated nor corrupted It is the first insite subject of every thing whereof it is framed primarily in it self and not by accident and into which it at last resolveth To treat of forme in generall is proper to Metaphysicks CHAP. III. Of Nature and the Causes of Naturall bodies OF Beings some are by Nature as Plants others from other causes those have in themselves the principle of their motion these have not Nature is a Principle and Cause of the motion and rest of that thing wherein it is primarily by it self and not by accident Materiall substances have nature Natural properties are according to Nature Nature is twofold Matter and Form but Form is most Nature because it is in act Of Causes are four kinds the Material of which a thing is made the Formall by which a thing is made or reason of its essence The efficient whence is the first principle of its mutation or rest as a Father the Finall for which end it is made as health is to walking Causes are immediate or remote principall or accidentall actuall or potentiall particular or universall Fortune and Chance are Causes of many effects Fortune is an accidentall Cause in those things which are done by election for some end Chance is larger an accidentall cause in things which are done for some end at least that of Nature They are both efficient Nature acts for some end not temerariously or casually for those things which are done by nature are alwaies or for the most part done in the same manner yet somtimes she is frustrated of her end as in Monsters which she intends not Necessity is twofold absolute which is from Matter conditional which is from the end or form both kinds are in naturall things CHAP. IV. Of the affections of naturall Bodies Motion Place Time MOtion is of a thing which is not such but may be such the way or act by which it becommeth such as curing of a body which is not in health but may be in health is the way and act by which it is brought to health Neither is it absurd that the same thing should be both in act and power as to different respects for the thing moved as water in warming is in act as to the heat which it hath in power as to the greater heat which it is capable of Infinite is that which is pertransible without end such an infinite in act there is not not amongst simple bodies for the elements are confined to certain number and place neither amongst mixt bodies for they consist of the elements which are finite But there are things infinite potentially as in addition Number which may be augmented infinitely in division Magnitude which may be divided infinitely in time and continued succession of generation The properties of place are that it containes the thing placed that it is equall to and separable from the thing placed that the place and thing placed are together that it hath upwards or downwards and the like differences that every Physicall body tends naturally to its proper place and there resteth Place is the immediate immovable superficies of a continent body Those things which are contained by another body are in place but those which have not any other body above or beyond them are not properly in place Bodies rest in their naturall places because they tend thither as a part torn off from the whole Vacuum is place void of body such a vacuum there is not in nature for that would destroy all motion seeing that in vacuum there is neither upwards nor downwards backwards nor forwards Nor would there be any reason why motion should be to one part more then to another Moreover it would follow that it were impossible for one body to make another to recede if the triple dimension which bodies divide were vacuous Neither is the motion of rare bodies upwards caused by vacuity for that motion is as naturall to light bodies as to move downwards is to heavy Time is the number of motion by before and after Those two parts of time are conjoyned by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the present as the parts of a line are by a point Time is the measure of rest as well as of motion for the same measure which serves for the privation serves for the habit All motion and mutation is in time for in every motion there is a swiftnesse or slownesse which is defined by time The Heavens Earth Sea and other sensibles are in time for they are movable Time being a numerate number exists not without a numerant which