Greek Texts & Translations

Of the death of Democritus the account given by Hermippus is as follows. When he was now very old and near his end, his sister was vexed that he seemed likely to die during the festival of Thesmophoria and she would be prevented from paying the fitting worship to the goddess. He bade her be of good cheer and ordered hot loaves to be brought to him every day. By applying these to his nostrils he contrived to outlive the festival ; and as soon as the three festival days were passed he let his life go from him without pain, having then, according to Hipparchus, attained his one hundred and ninth year.

In my Pammetros I have a piece on him as follows ^note :

Pray who was so wise, who wrought so vast a work as the omniscient Democritus achieved ? When Death was near, for three days he kept him in his house and regaled him with the steam of hot loaves.

Such was the life of our philosopher.

His opinions are these. The first principles of the universe are atoms and empty space ; everything else is merely thought to exist. The worlds are unlimited ; they come into being and perish. Nothing can come into being from that which is not nor pass away into that which is not. Further, the atoms are unlimited in size and number, and they are borne along in the whole universe in a vortex, and therby generate all composite things - fire, water, air, earth ; for even these are conglomerations of given atoms. And it is because of their solidity that these atoms are impassive and unalterable. The sun and the moon have been composed of such smooth and spherical masses [i.e. atoms], and so also the soul, which is identical with reason. We see by virtue of the impact of images upon our eyes.

All things happen by virtue of necessity, the vortex being the cause of the creation of all things, and this he calls necessity. The end of action is tranquillity, which is not identical with pleasure, as some by a false interpretation have understood, but a state in which the soul continues calm and strong, undisturbed by any fear or superstition or any other emotion. This he calls well-being and many other names. The qualities of things exist merely by convention ; in nature there is nothing but atoms and void space. These, then, are his opinions.

Of his works Thrasylus has made an ordered catalogue, arranging them in fours, as he also arranged Plato's works.

The ethical works are the following :

I. Pythagoras.

Of the Disposition of the Wise Man.

Of those in Hades.

Tritogeneia (so called because three things, on which all mortal life depends, come from her).

II. Of Manly Excellence, or Of Virtue. Amalthea's Horn (the Horn of Plenty). Of Tranquillity.

Ethical Commentaries : the work on Wellbeing is not to be found.

So much for the ethical works.

The physical works are these :

III. The Great Diacosmos (which the school of Theophrastus attribute to Leucippus).

The Lesser Diacosmos.

Description of the World.

On the Planets.

IV. Of Nature, one book.

Of the Nature of Man, or Of Flesh, a second book on Nature.

Of Reason.

Of the Senses (some editors combine these two under the title Of the Soul).

V. Of Flavours.

Of Colours.

Of the Different Shapes (of Atoms).

Of Changes of Shape.

VI. Confirmations (summaries of the aforesaid works).

On Images, or On Foreknowledge of the Future.

On Logic, or Criterion of Thought, three books.

Problems.

So much for the physical works.

The following fall under no head :

Causes of Celestial Phenomena.

Causes of Phenomena in the Air.

Causes on the Earth's Surface.

Causes concerned with Fire and Things in Fire. Causes concerned with Sounds.

Causes concerned with Seeds, Plants and Fruits.

Causes concerned with Animals, three books.

Miscellaneous Causes.

Concerning the Magnet.

These works have not been arranged.

The mathematical works are these :

VII. On a Difference in an Angle, or On Contact with the Circle or the Sphere.

On Geometry.

Geometrica.

Numbers.

VIII. On Irrational Lines and Solids, two books.

Extensions ^note (Projections).

The Great Year, or Astronomy, Calendar.

Contention of the Water-clock [and the Heaven].

IX. Description of the Heaven.

Geography.

Description of the Pole.

Description of Rays of Light.

These are the mathematical works.

The literary and musical works are these :

X. On Rhythms and Harmony.

On Poetry.

On Beauty of Verses.

On Euphonious and Cacophonous Letters.

XI. Concerning Homer, or On Correct Epic Diction, and On Glosses.

Of Song.

On Words.

A Vocabulary.

So much for the works on literature and music.

The works on the arts are these :

XII. Prognostication.

Of Diet, or Diaetetics.

Medical Regimen.

Causes concerned with Things Seasonable and Unseasonable.

XIII. Of Agriculture, or Concerning Land Measurements.

Of Painting.

Treatise on Tactics, and

On Fighting in Armour.

So much for these works.