''On Breath'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Περὶ πνεύματος;

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: ''De spiritu'') is a philosophical treatise included in the Corpus Aristotelicum but usually regarded as spurious. Its opening sentence raises the question: "What is the mode of growth, and the mode of maintenance, of the natural (or 'connate': ''emphutos'') vital spirit (''

pneuma ''Pneuma'' () is an ancient Greek word for "breath", and in a religious context for " spirit" or "soul". It has various technical meanings for medical writers and philosophers of classical antiquity, particularly in regard to physiology, and is ...

'')?"

Authorship

Among the ancient catalogues of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ph ...

's works, a work ''On Breath'' (but in three books, not one) is listed only by

Ptolemy-el-Garib Ptolemy-el-Garib (Arabic, more correctly ''al-gharīb'', "Ptolemy the foreigner," explained as meaning "Ptolemy the unknown") (fl. c. 300 AD) was a Hellenistic pinacographer, probably of the Peripatetic school, who wrote a ''Life of Aristotle'' no ...

, and

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

('' N.H.'' XI.220) and

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus ( el, Κλαύδιος Γαληνός; September 129 – c. AD 216), often Anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Greek physician, surgeon and philosopher in the Roman Empire. Considered to be one ...

(''De simpl. med. temp. et fac.'' V.9) are the first authors who appear to make reference to the treatise we possess. In modern times, its authenticity has been virtually unanimously rejected, although most or all of it has been acknowledged to be an early work of the

Peripatetic school The Peripatetic school was a school of philosophy in Ancient Greece. Its teachings derived from its founder, Aristotle (384–322 BC), and ''peripatetic'' is an adjective ascribed to his followers. The school dates from around 335 BC when Aristo ...

, possibly connected with

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; grc-gre, Θεόφραστος ; c. 371c. 287 BC), a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.Gavin Hardy and Laurence Totelin, ''Ancient Botany'', Routle ...

Strato of Lampsacus Strato of Lampsacus (; grc-gre, Στράτων ὁ Λαμψακηνός, Strátōn ho Lampsakēnós, – ) was a Peripatetic philosopher, and the third director (scholarch) of the Lyceum after the death of Theophrastus. He devoted himself especia ...

, or

Erasistratus Erasistratus (; grc-gre, Ἐρασίστρατος; c. 304 – c. 250 BC) was a Greek anatomist and royal physician under Seleucus I Nicator of Syria. Along with fellow physician Herophilus, he founded a school of anatomy in Alexandria, where th ...

, and shedding light on

Hellenistic medicine Ancient Greek medicine was a compilation of theories and practices that were constantly expanding through new ideologies and trials. Many components were considered in ancient Greek medicine, intertwining the spiritual with the physical. Specifi ...

. In 2008, however, Bos and Ferwerda published a commentary in which they maintain that ''On Breath'' is a genuine work of Aristotle whose doctrines respond to those of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

's ''

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

'' and constitute an important part of Aristotle's philosophy of nature. They list a number of positions that ''On Breath'' defends such as that fish don't breathe because there is no air in water that Aristotle is known to have held. They also consider the position on the soul to be that of Aristotle.Aristotle, on the life bearing Spirit (De Spiritu) p18-19

Notes

References

;Commentaries * Daniel Furlanus, ''Theophrasti Eresii, Peripateticorum post Aristotelem principis pleraque...'' (Greek text with Latin translation and commentary), Hanover, 1605
available online
. * Amneris Roselli, '' ristotele De spiritu'' (Greek text with Italian translation and commentary), Pisa: ETS Editrice, 1992. * Abraham P. Bos and Rein Ferwerda, ''Aristotle, On the Life-Bearing Spirit'' (De Spiritu)'': A Discussion with Plato and his Predecessors on'' Pneuma ''as the Instrumental Body of the Soul'' (with English translation and commentary), Leiden: Brill, 2008.

External links

* English translation: J. F. Dobson's 1914 Oxford translation bound wit
''De Mundo''
pp
"32"
ff. (archive.org) * Greek text:

Werner Jaeger Werner Wilhelm Jaeger (30 July 1888 – 19 October 1961) was a German-American classicist. Life Werner Wilhelm Jaeger was born in Lobberich, Rhenish Prussia in the German Empire. He attended school in Lobberich and at the Gymnasium Thomaeum i ...

's 1913

Teubner The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collection published of ancient (and some medieval) ...

text available in HTML format vi
Greco interattivo''De Spiritu'', translated by J. F. Dobson (Sharper Scan of 1931 Edition)
* Works by Aristotle {{Philo-book-stub

Authorship

See also

Notes

References

External links