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Theophrastus · Fragments §27.1

The Twofold Criterion of Sensation and Intellect and the Evident

Passage 17 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Explains that the Peripatetics recognized a twofold criterion of sensation and intellection corresponding to the twofold nature of sensible and intelligible things, and accepted "the evident" as a common criterion for both, as Theophrastus stated.

§27.1Fr. 27 Οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἀριστοτέλη καὶ Θεόφραστον καὶ ὅλως οἱ Περιπατητικοὶ διττῆς οὔσης κατὰ τὸ ἀνωτάτω τῆς τῶν πραγμάτων φύσεως, ἐπεὶ τὰ μὲν καθῶς προεῖπον αἰσθητά ἐστι, τὰ δὲ νοητὰ, διττὸν καὶ αὐτοὶ τὸ κριτήριον ἀπολείπουσιν, αἴσθησιν μὲν τῶν αἰσθητῶν, νόησιν δὲ τῶν νοητῶν, κοινὸν δὲ ἀμφοτέρων, ὡς ἔλεγεν ὁ Θ. τὸ ἐναργές.
Fr. 27 The followers of Aristotle and Theophrastus, and in general the Peripatetics, since the nature of things is twofold at the highest level—since, as I said before, some things are sensible and others intelligible—they themselves also leave a twofold criterion: sensation for sensible things, and intellection for intelligible things, and, as Theophrastus used to say, the evident as common to both.

Notes

  1. §27.1διττῆς οὔσης — Genitive absolute construction expressing the cause or reason for the main clause.
  2. §27.1καθῶς προεῖπον — The verb προεῖπον is best interpreted as the first-person singular aorist ("as I said before"), referring to the author's own previous statement. While grammatically possible to construe as third-person plural ("as they said before"), it is less likely in this context.
  3. §27.1κοινὸν δὲ ἀμφοτέρων — κοινὸν is a predicative modifier or appositive to the noun τὸ ἐναργές. It functions as the object of the carried-over verb ἀπολείπουσιν, forming the construction "leaving the evident (τὸ ἐναργές) as common to both (κοινὸν ἀμφοτέρων)."

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §27.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:27.1

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