Theophrastus · Fragments §49.1

Critique of Seeking the Causes of First Principles

Passage 39 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus criticizes Plato for seeking the principle of a principle and the generation of self-subsisting things, warning that such inquiries lead to an infinite regress and destroy the basis of knowledge. He further argues that asking 'why' for basic natural phenomena is unnecessary and ridiculous.

§49.1Fr. 49 Καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν τινὲς ἐπέπληξαν τῷ Πλάτωνι λέγοντες ὡς οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἀρχὴν ἀρχῆς ἐπιζητεῖ καὶ γένεσιν ἀγεννήτου πράγματος·

And some of the ancients censured Plato, saying that he does not correctly seek the principle of a principle and the generation of an ungenerated thing.

εἰ γὰρ καὶ τῶν πρώτων τὰ αἴτια ζητήσομεν καὶ τῶν αὐθυποστάτων γενέσεις ἐπινοήσομεν, εἰς ἄπειρον προιόντες λησόμεθα καὶ τέλος οὐδὲν ἔχον τῆς θεωρίας·

For if we are to seek the causes even of the first things and devise generations of self-subsistent things, we will, without realizing it, proceed into an infinity that has no end of contemplation.

ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ πάντα ἀποδεικτὰ νενομικὼς αὐτὴν μάλιστα τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἀναιρεῖ, τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον καὶ ὁ πάντων αἰτίας ἐπιζητῶν ἄρδην ἀνατρέπει τὰ ὄντα πάντα καὶ τὴν τάξιν αὐτῶν τὴν ἀπό τινος ὡρισμένης ἀρχῆς προϊοῦσαν.

For just as the one who has deemed everything demonstrable destroys the very demonstration itself, in this way also the one who seeks the causes of everything completely overturns all existing things and their order that proceeds from some definite principle.

Τοιαῦτα μὲν ὁ Θ. ἐπιτιμᾷ τῷ Πλάτωνι περὶ τῆσδε τῆς ψυχογονίας οὐδὲ ἐπὶ τῶν φυσικῶν πάντων λέγων δεῖν ἡμᾶς ἐπιζητεῖν τὸ διὰ τί· γελοῖον γάρ φησιν ἀπορεῖν διὰ τί καίει τὸ πῦρ καὶ διὰ τί πῦρ καὶ διὰ τί ψύχει ἡ χιών.

In such a way indeed does Theophrastus censure Plato concerning this generation of the soul, saying also that we must not seek the 'why' in the case of all natural things; for he says it is ridiculous to wonder why fire burns, why it is fire, and why snow cools.

Notes

Fr. 49λησόμεθα — First-person plural future middle of λανθάνω (to escape notice). It is used with the supplementary participle προιόντες (nominative plural masculine of the present active participle of πρόειμι), forming the meaning 'we will, without realizing it, proceed.' The subsequent neuter singular participle ἔχον (present active participle of ἔχω) modifies ἄπειρον (functioning as a neuter noun), meaning 'an infinity having no end of contemplation.'
Fr. 49οὐδὲ ... λέγων δεῖν — The coordinating conjunction οὐδέ negates the entire content of the participle λέγων (specifically δεῖν 'to be necessary'), yielding the meaning 'saying also that we must not.' The accusative ἡμᾶς serves as the subject of the infinitive δεῖν (from the impersonal verb δεῖ), which in turn takes the complementary infinitive ἐπιζητεῖν.
Fr. 49τὸ διὰ τί — The prepositional phrase διὰ τί (why, for what reason) is substantivized by the neuter singular article τὸ, functioning as a noun phrase meaning 'the why' or 'the cause,' which serves as the direct object of the infinitive ἐπιζητεῖν.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §49.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:49.1

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