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Theophrastus · Fragments §86e.1

Beneficence, Honor, and Punishment Sustaining Life

Passage 92 of 196 · Greek

Summary

Theophrastus states that beneficence, honor, and punishment are the three elements that hold human life together.

§86e.1Fr. 86e Θ. ἐρωτηθεὶς ὑπό τινος, τί συνέχει τὸν ἀνθρώπων βίον, ἔφη, εὐεργεσία καὶ τιμὴ καὶ τιμωρία.
Theophrastus, being asked by someone what holds human life together, said: "Beneficence, honor, and punishment."

Notes

  1. Fr. 86eΘ. — An abbreviation by initial for the philosopher Theophrastus (Θεόφραστος). It is clear from the context and the surrounding fragments that it refers to him.
  2. Fr. 86eσυνέχει — The third-person singular present indicative of the verb συνέχω (to hold together, preserve, maintain). Here it is used in the sense of 'maintaining' or 'sustaining' the communal life and social order of humans, rather than individual biological life.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §86e.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:86e.1

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