The Academic Questions, Treatise De Finibus, and Tusculan Disputations, of M.T. Cicero, With a Sketch of the Greek Philosophers Mentioned by CiceroCicero, Marcus Tullius
Philosophy
The Academic Questions, Treatise De Finibus, and Tusculan Disputations, of M.T. Cicero, With a Sketch of the Greek Philosophers Mentioned by Cicero
Cicero, Marcus Tullius
Ethics -- Early works to 1800; Happiness -- Early works to 1800
VII. To be sure we will, said Atticus. Moreover, you may even use Greek
words when you wish, if by chance you should be at a loss for Latin ones.
You are very kind; but I will endeavour to express myself in Latin, except
in the case of such words as these—_philosophia_, _rhetorica_, _physica_,
or _dialectica_, which, like many others, fashion already sanctions, as if
they were Latin. I therefore have called those things _qualitates_
(qualities), which the Greeks call ποιότητες—a word which, even among the
Greeks, is not one in ordinary use, but is confined to philosophers. And
the same rule applies to many other expressions. As for the Dialecticians,
they have no terms in common use: they use technical terms entirely. And
the case is the same with nearly every art; for men must either invent new
names for new things, or else borrow them from other subjects. And if the
Greeks do this, who have now been engaged in such matters for so many
ages, how much more ought this licence to be allowed to us, who are now
endeavouring to deal with these subjects for the first time? But, said I,
O Varro, it appears to me that you will deserve well of your
fellow-countrymen, if you enrich them, not only with an abundance of new
things, as you have done, but also of words. We will venture, then, said
he, to employ new terms, if it be necessary, armed with your authority and
sanction.
Of these qualities, then, said he, some are principal ones, and others
arise out of them. The principal ones are of one character and simple; but
those which arise out of them are various, and, as it were, multiform.
Therefore, air (we use the Greek word ἀὴρ as Latin), fire, water, and
earth are principal ones; and out of them there arise the forms of living
creatures, and of those things which are produced out of the earth.
Therefore, those first are called principles and (to translate the Greek
word) elements: from which air and fire have the power of movement and
efficiency: the other divisions—I mean, water and the earth—have the power
of receiving, and, as it were, of suffering. The fifth class, from which
the stars and winds were formed, Aristotle considered to be a separate
essence, and different from those four which I have mentioned above.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account