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Porphyry, De Abstinentia I 7–12.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

M. J. Boyd
Affiliation:
Queen's University, Belfast

Extract

In the de Abstinentia book I chapters 7–12 Porphyry gives an account of the views of Hermarchus, the Epicurean, on abstinence from animal food. This account, which is presumably derived from Hermarchus' work on Empedocles, would seem to preserve his actual words, for in chapter 9 (p. 91, 22) the word γωγε is used where it must refer to Hermarchus. It would be exceedingly careless of Porphyry, if he were merely summarizing or paraphrasing, to leave this word as it stands. (On the view here maintained see the Additional Note at the end.)

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1936

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References

page 188 note 1 Bernays, v., Theophrastos' Schrift ütber Frömmigkeit, 8 ffGoogle Scholar. Hermarchus' work on Empedocles is mentioned in Diog. Laert. X. 25: 'ɛπιοστολικ⋯ περ⋯ 'ɛμπεδοκλ⋯ους ε⋯κοσι κα⋯ δὑο.

page 188 note 2 The pagination is that of Nauck's edition, Teubner, 1886.

page 188 note 3 There is a slight anacolouthon here in the Greek, due to the length of the sentence (from διαμνημονεὑοντες p. 92. 18 to εἰρημ⋯νων p. 93, 7, broken up by the parenthesis οὑ μ⋯νον δ⋯ …παραγιγομ⋯νους). I have retained this anacolouthon in the paraphrase.

page 189 note 1 Cf. also c. 9, p. 91, 22 ff.

page 189 note 2 γενεαλογ⋯α means, of coarse, the ‘tracing of a pedigree’ and so the mere fact that the ‘pedigree’ extended over a long period of time does not give us a γενεαλογ⋯α μακρ⋯.

page 190 note 1 It is not an objection against our text that we first change from the indirect to the direct narrative with an explanatory sentence introduced by γ⋯ρ: exactly the same thing occurs, if we keep the traditional text. In either text Porphyry begins to quote Hermarchus in the direct speech at the earliest possible moment: he could not easily begin with the οὐ μ⋯… sentence, for this is strictly parallel to the τ⋯χα μ⋯… clause, which must inevitably be in indirect speech, if we are to begin with indirect speech at all.