A History of Magic and Experimental Science, Volume 1 (of 2) by Lynn Thorndike
8. Daimon and Hero, with Excursus on Ritual Forms preserved in Greek
904 words | Chapter 77
tragedy; 9. Daimon to Olympian; 10. The Olympians; 11. Themis.”
[90] F. M. Cornford, _Origin of Attic Comedy_, 1914, see especially pp.
10, 13, 55, 157, 202, 233.
[91] A. B. Cook, _Zeus_, Cambridge, 1914, pp. 134-5, 12-14, 66-76.
[92] Rendel Harris, _Picus who is also Zeus_, 1916; _The Ascent of
Olympus_, 1917.
[93] Farnell, _Greece and Babylon_, pp. 292, 178-9.
[94] See Ernest Riess, _Superstitions and Popular Beliefs in Greek
Tragedy_, in _Transactions of the American Philological Association_,
vol. 27 (1896), pp. 5-34; and _On Ancient superstition_, _ibid._ 26
(1895), 40-55. Also J. G. Frazer, _Some Popular Superstitions of the
Ancients_, in _Folk-lore_, 1890, and E. H. Klatsche, _The Supernatural
in the Tragedies of Euripides_, in _University of Nebraska Studies_,
1919.
[95] See Zeller, _Pre-Socratic Philosophy_, II (1881), 119-20, for
further boasts by Empedocles himself and other marvels attributed to
him by later authors.
[96] _Laws_, XI, 933 (Steph.).
[97] _Timaeus_, p. 71 (Steph.).
[98] _Symposium_, p. 188 (Steph.); in Jowett’s translation, I, 558.
[99] _Timaeus_, p. 40 (Steph.); Jowett, III, 459.
[100] _Ibid._, pp. 41-42 (Steph.).
[101] _Timaeus_, p. 39 (Steph.); Jowett, III, 458.
[102] W. Windelband, _History of Philosophy_, English translation by J.
H. Tufts, 1898, p. 147.
[103] Windelband, _History of Ancient Philosophy_, English translation
by H. E. Cushman, 1899.
[104] For a number of examples, which might be considerably multiplied
if books VII-X are not rejected as spurious, see Thorndike (1905),
pp. 62-3. T. E. Lones, _Aristotle’s Researches in Natural Science_,
London, 1912, 274 pp., discusses “Aristotle’s method of investigating
the natural sciences,” and a large number of Aristotle’s specific
statements showing whether they were correct or incorrect. The best
translation of the _History of Animals_ is by D’Arcy W. Thompson,
Oxford 1910, with valuable notes.
[105] See the edition of the _History of Animals_ by Dittmeyer (1907),
p. vii, where various monographs will be found mentioned.
[106] Perhaps pure literature was over-emphasized in the Museum at
Alexandria, and magic texts in the library of Assurbanipal.
[107] A list of magic papyri and of publications up to about 1900
dealing with the same is given in Hubert’s article on _Magia_ in
Daremberg-Saglio, pp. 1503-4. See also Sir Herbert Thompson and F. L.
Griffith, _The Magical Demotic Papyrus of London and Leiden_, 3 vols.,
1909-1921; _Catalogue of Demotic Papyri in the John Rylands Library,
Manchester, with facsimiles and complete translations_, 1909, 3 vols.
Grenfell (1921), p. 159, says, “A corpus of the magical papyri was
projected in Germany by K. Preisendanz before the war, and a Czech
scholar, Dr. Hopfner, is engaged upon the difficult task of elucidating
them.”
[108] W. C. Battle, _Magical Curses Written on Lead Tablets_, in
_Transactions of the American Philological Association_, XXVI (1895),
pp. liv-lviii, a synopsis of a Harvard dissertation. Audollent,
_Defixionum tabulae_, etc., Paris, 1904, 568 pp. R. Wünsch, _Defixionum
Tabellae Atticae_, 1897, and _Sethianische Verfluchungstafeln aus Rom_
(390-420 A. D.), Leipzig, 1898.
[109] Since 1898 various volumes and parts have appeared under the
editorship of Cumont, Kroll, Boll, Olivieri, Bassi, and others. Much of
the material noted is of course post-classical and Byzantine, and of
Christian authorship or Arabic origin.
[110] For example, see R. Wünsch, _Antikes Zaubergerät aus Pergamon_,
in _Jahrb. d. kaiserl. deutsch. archæol. Instit., suppl._ VI (1905), p.
19.
[111] T. L. Heath, _The Works of Archimedes_, Cambridge, 1897, pp.
xxxix-xl.
[112] On “Aristotle as a Biologist” see the Herbert Spencer lecture by
D’Arcy W. Thompson, Oxford, 1913, 31 pp. Also T. E. Lones, _Aristotle’s
Researches in Natural Science_, London, 1912. Professor W. A. Locy,
author of _Biology and Its Makers_, writes me (May 9, 1921) that
in his opinion G. H. Lewes, _Aristotle; a Chapter from the History
of Science_, London, 1864, “dwells too much on Aristotle’s errors
and imperfections, and in several instances omits the quotation of
important positive observations, occurring in the chapters from which
he makes his quotations of errors.” Professor Locy also disagrees with
Lewes’ estimate of _De generatione_ as Aristotle’s masterpiece and
thinks that “naturalists will get more satisfaction out of reading
the _Historia animalium_” than either the _De generatione_ or _De
partibus_. Thompson (1913), p. 14, calls Aristotle “a very great
naturalist.”
[113] This quotation is from Professor Locy’s letter of May 9, 1921.
[114] The quotations are from a note by Professor D’Arcy W. Thompson on
his translation of the _Historia animalium_, III, 3. The note gives so
good a glimpse of both the merits and defects of the Aristotelian text
as it has reached us that I will quote it here more fully:
“The Aristotelian account of the vascular system is remarkable for its
wealth of details, for its great accuracy in many particulars, and for
its extreme obscurity in others. It is so far true to nature that it
is clear evidence of minute inquiry, but here and there so remote from
fact as to suggest that things once seen have been half forgotten,
or that superstition was in conflict with the result of observation.
The account of the vessels connecting the left arm with the liver
and the right with the spleen ... is a surviving example of mystical
or superstitious belief. It is possible that the ascription of three
chambers to the heart was also influenced by tradition or mysticism,
much in the same way as Plato’s notion of the three corporeal
faculties.”
[115] Professor Locy called my attention to it in a letter of May 17,
Reading Tips
Use arrow keys to navigate
Press 'N' for next chapter
Press 'P' for previous chapter