Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §47.1

Refutation of Anaxagoras on Neither Least nor Greatest

Passage 37 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Based on Anaxagoras' claim that there is neither a least nor a greatest, and Theophrastus' citation of it, it is shown that Aristotle refutes this doctrine.

§47.1Fr. 47 Εἰπόντος τοῦ Ἀναξαγόρου ὅτι οὔτε τοῦ σμικροῦ ἐστὶ τοὐλάχιστον ἀλλὰ τὸ ἔλασσον ἀεὶ, οὔτε τὸ μέγιαε στον, ὡς καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ λέξις τοῦ Ἀναξαγόρου δηλοῖ, καὶ μέντοι Θ. ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἀναξαγόρου δευτέρῳ τάδε γράφων· "ἔπειτα τὸ διὰ τοῦτο λέγειν πάντα ἐν παντὶ, διότι καὶ ἐν μεγέθει καὶ ἐν σμικρότητι ἄπειρα, καὶ οὔτε τὸ ἐλάχιστον οὔτε τὸ μέγιστον ἔστι λαβεῖν, οὐχ ἱκανὸν πρὸς πίστιν," ἅμα μὲν ἀναιρεῖ τοῦτο ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης κ. τ. λ.
Fr. 47 Since Anaxagoras said that of the small there is no least, but there is always a smaller, nor is there a greatest—as the very wording of Anaxagoras shows—and indeed, Theophrastus writing as follows in the second book of his *On Anaxagoras*: "Next, to say that all things are in all things for this reason, because they are infinite both in greatness and in smallness, and it is not possible to grasp either the least or the greatest, is not sufficient for conviction," Aristotle at the same time refutes this, etc.

Notes

  1. §47.1Εἰπόντος τοῦ Ἀναξαγόρου — Genitive absolute, introducing the premise or cause for the main verb of the whole sentence, `ἀναιρεῖ` (refutes).
  2. §47.1τοῦ σμικροῦ — Genitive case, functioning either as a genitive of reference ("with respect to the small") or as a partitive genitive ("among the small").
  3. §47.1γράφων — Nominative present participle agreeing with Theophrastus (`Θ.`). However, there is no main finite verb for this subject, creating an anacoluthon. It functions alongside the genitive absolute `Εἰπόντος` to describe the circumstances leading to Aristotle's refutation.
  4. §47.1μέγιαε στον — A scribal error or typographical error for the superlative `μέγιστον` ("the greatest").

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §47.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:47.1

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