A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

'392 tHERACLEITUS. HERACLEODORUS.
The philosophical system of Heracleitus was water; and the soul of man, though dwelling- ii:contained in a work which received various titles the lower earthly region, must be considered a
from the ancients, of which the most common is On migrated portion of fire in its pure state, and thereNature (7repl qv'rewr). Some fragments of it re- fore an exception to the general rule; according to
main, and have been collected and explained by which, fire by descending loses its etherial purity..Schleiermacher, in Wolf and Buttmann's Museum And this, as Ritter remarks, appears an almost
der Alterthmnswissenschajt. (vol. i. part 3.). From solitary instance of Heracleitus condescending to
the obscurity of his style, Heracleitus gained the mould his theory in any respect according to the
title'of -coreLzvs, and, with his predilection for dictates of sense and experience. The only posthis method of writing, was probably connected his sible repose which'Heracleitus allowed the universe
aristocratical pride and hauteur (whence he was was the harmony occasionally resulting from the fact,
called dXxAoXAoopos), his tenacious adherence to that the downward motion of some part of fire will
his own views, which, according to Aristotle, had sometimes encounter the upward motion of another
as much weight with him as science. itself (Eth. part (for the living fire, after manifesting itself in
Nic. vii. 5), his contempt for the opinions of pre- the lower earthly phenomena, begins to return to
vious writers, and the well-known melancholy of the heaven from which it descended), and so must,his disposition, from which he is represented in produce for some time a kind of rest. Only we
various old traditions as the contrast to Democritus, must remember that this encounter is not accidental,
weeping over the follies and frailties at which the but the result of law and order. Ultimately, all
other laughed. (See Juv. x. 34.) With regard, things will return into the fire from which they
however, to his obscurity, we must also take into proceeded and received their life. The view that
account the cause assigned for it by Ritter, that the all things are arranged by law and order is also the
oldest philosophical prose must have been rude and foundation of his moral theory, for he considered
loose in its structure; and, since it had grown out the summum bonum to be contentment (siUapeo'tr7of a poetical style, would naturally have recourse ars), i.e. acquiescence in the decrees of the supreme
to figurative language. He starts from the point of law. The close connection of his physical and
view common to all the Ionian philosophers, that moral theories is further shown by the fact that he
there must be some physical principle, which is not accounted for a drunkard's incapacity by supposing
only the ground of all phenomena, but is also a him to have a wet soul (Stob. Serrn. v. 120), and
living unity, actually pervading and inherent in he even pushed this so far as to maintain that the
them all, and that it is the object of philosophy to soul is wisest where the land and climate is driest,
discover this principle. He declared it to be fire, but which would account for the mental greatness of
-by this expression he meant only to describe a clear the Greeks. (Euseb. Praep. Evans. viii. 14.)
light fluid, " self-kindled and self-extinguished," There is not to be found in Heracleitus any diaand therefore not differing materially from the lectical exposition of the sources of our knowledge..air of Anaximenes. Thus then the world is formed, He held man's soul to be a portion of the: divine
" not made by God or man," but simply evolved fire, though, degraded by its migration to earth.
by a natural operation from fire, which also is the Hence he seems to have argued that we must
human life and soul, and therefore a rational in- follow that which is commonly maintained by the
telligence, guiding the whole universe. While, general reason of mankind, since the ignorant
however, the other Ionian philosophers assumed the opinions of individuals are the origin of error, and
real existence of individual things, and from their lead men to act as if they had an intelligence of
properties attempted to discover the original from their own, instead of a portion of the Divine inwhich they sprang, whether it were water or air, telligence.' Vain man," he said, "learns from
or any other such principle, Heracleitus paid no God as the boy from the man " (Orig. c. Cels. vi.
regard to these separate individuals, but fixed his 283), and therefore we must trust this source of
attention solely on the one living force and sub- knowledge rather than our own senses, which are
stance, which alone he held to be true and per- generally (though not invariably) deceitful. IIe
manent, revealing itself indeed in various pheno- considered the eyes more trustworthy than the
mena, and yet not permitting them to have any ears, probably as revealing to us the knowledge of
permanence, but keeping them in a state of con- fire. The connection of pantheism and atheism is
tinual flux, so that all things are incessantly well illustrated by the system of Heracleitus; nor
moving and changing. In the primary fire, accord- is it difficult to see.how the doctrine of an all-pering to Heracleitus, there is inherent a certain longing vading essence, revealing itself in various phenoto manifest itself in different forms, to gratify which mena, might serve possibly for the origin, and,it constantly changes itself into a new phenomenon, certainly for an attempt at a philosophical explan-.
though it feels no desire to maintain itself in that ation of a polytheistic religion. The Greek letters
for any period, but is ever passing into a new one, bearing the name of Heracleitus, published in the
so that "'the Creator amuses himself by making Aldine collection of Greek Epistles, Rome, 1499,
worlds" is an expression attributed to Heracleitus. and Geneva, 1606, and also in the edition of En(Procl. ad Tim. p. 101.) With this theory was napins, by Boissonade, p. 425, a-re the invention of
connected one of space and motion. The living some later writer. (Schleiermacher, 1..; Ritter,
and rational fire in its perfectly pure state is in Gesch. der Philosoolie, vol. i. p. 267, &c.; Brandis,
heaven (the highest conceivable region), whence, in Ilandbuch d. Gesch. der Griech. Rote. Philosophie,
pursuance of its wish to be manifested, it descends, vol. i. p. 148, &c.) [G. E. L. C.]
losing as it goes the rapidity of its motion, and HERA'CLEO, FLA'VIUS, the commander of
finally settling in the earth, which is the furthest the Roman soldiers in Mesopotamia in the reign of
possible limit of descent. The earth, however, is Alexander Severus, was slain by his own troops.
not to be considered immovable, but only the slow- (Dion Cass. lxxx. 4.)
est of motions. Previous, however, to assuming HERACLEODO'RIJ S ('HpaKAcXe8wpoY), a disthe formnn of earth, fire passes through the shape of ciple of Plato, who, after being for some time under