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The 'Sentence' of Anaximander

  • Glenn W. Most
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Voices and Echoes of Early Greek Philosophy
This chapter is in the book Voices and Echoes of Early Greek Philosophy

Abstract

The words of Anaximander that seem certain to have been cited literally by Simplicius are the earliest direct quotations from early Greek philosophy and have always enjoyed a deservedly prominent role in histories of Western thought. André Laks and I edited this passage in our Early Greek Philosophy in 2016 and some readers might well wish us to explain why we made certain choices at variance with other editions. Moreover, I myself have reflected further on it in the following years and would now propose a somewhat different text. My contribution focuses more on editorial problems but does not altogether omit consideration of the contents of this passage.

Abstract

The words of Anaximander that seem certain to have been cited literally by Simplicius are the earliest direct quotations from early Greek philosophy and have always enjoyed a deservedly prominent role in histories of Western thought. André Laks and I edited this passage in our Early Greek Philosophy in 2016 and some readers might well wish us to explain why we made certain choices at variance with other editions. Moreover, I myself have reflected further on it in the following years and would now propose a somewhat different text. My contribution focuses more on editorial problems but does not altogether omit consideration of the contents of this passage.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Voices and Echoes of Early Greek Philosophy 1
  4. Part I: Archaic Voices: Reconstructing and Interpreting Ancient Greek Thought
  5. The 'Sentence' of Anaximander 11
  6. La supposta identificazione di un Nilo2 33
  7. Phérécyde astronome 45
  8. La prose de Phérécyde de Syros comme pratique signifiante 77
  9. Héraclite et la satire de ses prédécesseurs : le cas de Pythagore 99
  10. Vérité et référence 125
  11. ‘Paying heed to the deceitful order of words’ 141
  12. Les limites du politique selon Les Sept contre Thèbes d’Eschyle 173
  13. Verso una rivalutazione di Diogene di Apollonia, filosofo e fisiologo monista 199
  14. Part II: Altered Echoes : Archaic Greek Thought in Different Times and Lands
  15. Aristotle on Parmenides’ Changeless Being and the Foundations of Physics 225
  16. L’usage de la théorie de l’intellect d’Anaxagore dans le commentaire de Simplicius à la Physique 261
  17. Revisiting the Greek Origins of Islamic Atomism 275
  18. A puzzle of motivation: Greco-Roman echoes in Sahagún’s Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España 303
  19. The Deficit of Balance between Power and Justice since Plato 327
  20. Les paroles de la pensée 337
  21. Orphée juif lisant sa main 355
  22. Cavafy antiquisant 369
  23. Index Auctorum Recentiorum 377
  24. Index Fontium 383
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783111561448-002

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter I
  2. Contents VII
  3. Voices and Echoes of Early Greek Philosophy 1
  4. Part I: Archaic Voices: Reconstructing and Interpreting Ancient Greek Thought
  5. The 'Sentence' of Anaximander 11
  6. La supposta identificazione di un Nilo2 33
  7. Phérécyde astronome 45
  8. La prose de Phérécyde de Syros comme pratique signifiante 77
  9. Héraclite et la satire de ses prédécesseurs : le cas de Pythagore 99
  10. Vérité et référence 125
  11. ‘Paying heed to the deceitful order of words’ 141
  12. Les limites du politique selon Les Sept contre Thèbes d’Eschyle 173
  13. Verso una rivalutazione di Diogene di Apollonia, filosofo e fisiologo monista 199
  14. Part II: Altered Echoes : Archaic Greek Thought in Different Times and Lands
  15. Aristotle on Parmenides’ Changeless Being and the Foundations of Physics 225
  16. L’usage de la théorie de l’intellect d’Anaxagore dans le commentaire de Simplicius à la Physique 261
  17. Revisiting the Greek Origins of Islamic Atomism 275
  18. A puzzle of motivation: Greco-Roman echoes in Sahagún’s Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España 303
  19. The Deficit of Balance between Power and Justice since Plato 327
  20. Les paroles de la pensée 337
  21. Orphée juif lisant sa main 355
  22. Cavafy antiquisant 369
  23. Index Auctorum Recentiorum 377
  24. Index Fontium 383
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