A grapheme is the smallest semantically distinguishing unit in a written language, analogous to the phonemes of spoken languages. A grapheme may or may not carry meaning by itself, and may or may not correspond to a single phoneme. Graphemes include alphabetic letters, typographic ligatures, Chinese characters, numerical digits, punctuation marks, and other individual symbols of any of the world's writing systems.

The word grapheme is derived from Greek γράφω gráphō ("write"), and the suffix -eme, by analogy with phoneme and other names of emic units. The study of graphemes is called graphemics.

Notation[link]

Graphemes are often notated within angle brackets, as ⟨a⟩, ⟨B⟩, etc.^[1] This is analogous to the slash notation (/a/, /b/) used for phonemes, and the square bracket notation used for phonetic transcriptions ([a], [b]).

Glyphs and allographs[link]

In the same way that the surface forms of phonemes are speech sounds or phones (and different phones representing the same phoneme are called allophones), the surface forms of graphemes are glyphs (sometimes "graphs"), namely concrete written representations of symbols, and different glyphs representing the same grapheme are called allographs. Hence a grapheme can be regarded as an abstraction of a collection of glyphs that are all semantically equivalent.

For example, in written English (or other languages using the Latin alphabet), there are many different physical representations of the lowercase letter "a", such as a, ɑ, etc. But because the substitution of any of these for any other cannot change the meaning of a word, they are considered to be allographs of the same grapheme, which can be written ⟨a⟩.

Types of graphemes[link]

The principal types of graphemes are logograms, which represent words or morphemes (for example, Chinese characters, or the ampersand & representing the English word and; also Arabic numerals); syllabic characters, representing syllables (as in Japanese kana); and alphabetic letters, corresponding roughly to phonemes (see next section). Graphemes also include additional symbols used in writing, such as marks of punctuation.

For a full discussion of the different types, see Writing system: Functional classification of writing systems.

Correspondence between graphemes and phonemes[link]

As mentioned in the previous section, in languages that use alphabetic writing systems, the graphemes stand in principle for the phonemes (significant sounds) of the language. In practice, however, the orthographies of such languages entail at least a certain amount of deviation from the ideal of exact grapheme–phoneme correspondence. A phoneme may be represented by a multigraph (sequence of more than one grapheme), as the digraph sh represents a single sound in English (and sometimes a single grapheme may represent more than one phoneme, as with the Russian letter я). Some graphemes may not represent any sound at all (like the b in English debt), and often the rules of correspondence between graphemes and phonemes become complex or irregular, particularly as a result of historical sound changes that are not necessarily reflected in spelling. "Shallow" orthographies such as those of standard Spanish and Finnish have relatively regular (though not always one-to-one) correspondence between graphemes and phonemes, while those of French and English have much less regular correspondence, and are known as deep orthographies.

Multigraphs representing a single phoneme are normally treated as combinations of separate letters, not as graphemes in their own right. However in some languages a multigraph may be treated as a single unit for the purposes of collation; for example, in a Czech dictionary, the section for words that start with ⟨ch⟩ comes after that for ⟨h⟩.^[2] For more examples, see Alphabetical order: Language-specific conventions.

References[link]

1. ^ The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, second edition, Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 196
2. ^ Zeman, Dan. "Czech Alphabet, Code Page, Keyboard, and Sorting Order". http://old-site.clsp.jhu.edu/ws98/projects/nlp/doc/czech_env/czech-info.html. Retrieved 31 March 2012. 

See also[link]

• Character (computing)
• Grapheme–color synesthesia
• Sign (semiotics)

This article includes a list of references, related reading or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (February 2011)

Ben Neill (b. Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1957) is a composer and trumpeter who has studied with La Monte Young. His music has been recorded on the Thirsty Ear, Astralwerks, Verve, Six Degrees and Ramseur labels. Neill spent seven years as the music curator for The Kitchen in New York. He has collaborated with DJ Spooky, David Wojnarowicz. Page Hamilton, Mimi Goese and Nicolas Collins, and performed on albums by David Behrman, John Cale, Rhys Chatham, and DJ Spooky.

Neill invented the mutantrumpet, which is a trumpet equipped with extra bells and valves, and electrical modifications that allow him to control computer variables with his playing. The first mutantrumpet had three bells, six valves, a trombone slide and an analog processing system. At the Steim Studios in Amsterdam he then developed a MIDI-capable mutantrumpet, which contained more switches, knobs, and pressure-sensitive pads so as to allow greater control over the sound and visuals of his sound installations. Robert Moog designed its original electronic processing system and David Behrman designed a computer program to facilitate live performance. In 2008 Neill completed a new version of his instrument during another residency at Steim.

In 2010 his music theater work Persephone, a collaboration with Mimi Goese, Warren Leight and Ridge Theater featuring Julia Stiles, was presented at the Brooklyn Academy of Music Next Wave Festival. The music from the production was released under the title Songs for Persephone on Ramseur Records in 2011.

He has performed his music extensively in a wide variety of international settings including the Cite de la Musique France, Berlin Love Parade Germany, Spoleto Festival Italy, Umbria Jazz Italy, NIME Festival 2006 Paris, Bang On A Can Festival New York, ICA London, Istanbul Jazz Festival Turkey and the Edinburgh Festival UK. The Sci-Fi Lounge, his collaboration with DJ Spooky and Emergency Broadcast Network, toured America and Europe in 1997.

In 2005 Neill premiered a collaboration with visual artist Bill Jones titled Palladio, an interactive movie based on Jonathan Dee’s 1998 novel of the same name. Palladio was premiered at the New Territories Festival in Glasgow, Scotland, and at the Thalia Theater/Symphony Space in New York City.

In 1996, Neill contributed to the AIDS benefit album Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip produced by the Red Hot Organization.

Neill is also active as a sound and installation artist. His collaborative works with Bill Jones have been exhibited in museums and galleries including Sandra Gering Gallery New York, Exit Art New York, Wellcome Gallery London and the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Neill’s installation/performance Green Machine was shown at Paula Cooper Gallery in 1994. ITSOFOMO, his major collaborative piece with the late artist David Wojnarowicz, has been exhibited in venues such as The New Museum New York and PPOW Gallery New York, and was featured in the PBS documentary Imagining America.

He began his teaching career in 2007 as a professor of Music Technology at NJIT and as of 2008 he is currently a professor of Music Industry and Production at Ramapo College of NJ.

External links[link]

• BenNeill.com
• TheKitchen.org
• MELAFoundation.org:

Listening[link]

• featuring audio and video for the Automotive ads
• Ben Neill interview - small WORLD Podcast 2006

Theophrastus

Statue of Theophrastus, Orto botanico di Palermo
Born	c. 371 BC Eresos
Died	c. 287 BC Athens
Era	Ancient philosophy
Region	Western Philosophy
School	Peripatetic school
Main interests	Botany, Ethics, Grammar, History, Logic, Metaphysics, Natural History, Physics
Notable ideas	Developed the philosophy of Aristotle
Influenced by Aristotle, Plato
Influenced Strato of Lampsacus, Alexander of Aphrodisias, and the entire Peripatetic school

Theophrastus (Greek: Θεόφραστος; c. 371 – c. 287 BC^[1]), a Greek native of Eresos in Lesbos, was the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He came to Athens at a young age, and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death he attached himself to Aristotle. Aristotle bequeathed to Theophrastus his writings, and designated him as his successor at the Lyceum. Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly. After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus.

The interests of Theophrastus were wide-ranging, extending from biology and physics to ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants^[2] and On the Causes of Plants, were an important influence on medieval science. There are also surviving works On Moral Characters, On Sensation, On Stones, and fragments on Physics and Metaphysics all written in Greek. In philosophy, he studied grammar and language, and continued Aristotle's work on logic. He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as a necessary consequence of all activity. In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue, and famously said that "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom."

Life[link]

Most of the biographical information we have of Theophrastus was provided by Diogenes Laërtius' Lives of the Philosophers, written more than four hundred years after Theophrastus' time.^[2] He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos.^[3] His given name was Tyrtamus (Greek: Τύρταμος), but he later became known by the nickname "Theophrastus," given to him, it is said, by Aristotle to indicate the grace of his conversation (ancient Greek: Θεός = God and φράζειν = to phrase i.e. divine expression).^[4]

Aristotle, Theophrastus, and Strato of Lampsacus. Part of a fresco in the National University of Athens

After receiving instruction in philosophy in Lesbos from one Alcippus, he moved to Athens, where he may have studied under Plato.^[5] He became friends with Aristotle, and when Plato died (348/7 BC) Theophrastus may have joined Aristotle in his self-imposed exile from Athens. When Aristotle moved to Mytilene on Lesbos in 345/4, it is very likely that he did so at the urging of Theophrastus.^[6] It seems that it was on Lesbos that Aristotle and Theophrastus began their research into natural science, with Aristotle studying animals and Theophrastus studying plants.^[7] Theophrastus probably accompanied Aristotle to Macedonia when Aristotle was appointed tutor to Alexander the Great in 343/2.^[6] Around 335 BC, Theophrastus moved with Aristotle to Athens where Aristotle began teaching in the Lyceum. When, after the death of Alexander, anti-Macedonian feeling forced Aristotle to leave Athens, Theophrastus remained behind as head (scholarch) of the peripatetic school,^[6] a position he continued to hold after Aristotle's death in 322/1.

Aristotle in his will made him guardian of his children, including Nicomachus with whom he was close.^[8] Aristotle likewise bequeathed to him his library and the originals of his works,^[9] and designated him as his successor at the Lyceum.^[10] Eudemus of Rhodes also had some claims to this position, and Aristoxenus is said to have resented Aristotle's choice.^[11]

Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-five years,^[12] and died at the age of eighty-five according to Diogenes.^[13] He is said to have remarked "we die just when we are beginning to live".^[14]

Under his guidance the school flourished greatly — there were at one period more than 2000 students, Diogenes affirms,^[15] and at his death, according to the terms of his will preserved by Diogenes, he bequeathed to it his garden with house and colonnades as a permanent seat of instruction. The comic poet Menander was among his pupils.^[15] His popularity was shown in the regard paid to him by Philip, Cassander, and Ptolemy, and by the complete failure of a charge of impiety brought against him.^[16] He was honored with a public funeral, and "the whole population of Athens, honouring him greatly, followed him to the grave."^[17] He was succeeded as head of the Lyceum by Strato of Lampsacus.

Writings[link]

From the lists of Diogenes Laërtius, giving 227 titles, it appears that the activity of Theophrastus extended over the whole field of contemporary knowledge.^[11] His writing probably differed little from Aristotle's treatment of the same themes, though supplementary in details. Like Aristotle, most of his writings are lost works.^[11]

Thus Theophrastus, like Aristotle, had composed a first and second Analytic.^[18] He had also written books on Topics;^[19] on the refutation of fallacies;^[20] as well as books on the Principles of Natural Philosophy (Physica Auscultatio), on Heaven, and on Meteorological Phenomena.^[21] The work of Theophrastus On Affirmation and Denial seems to have corresponded to that of Aristotle's On Judgment.

Frontispiece to the illustrated 1644 edition of the Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum)

In addition, he wrote on the Warm and the Cold,^[22] on Water, Fire,^[23] the Sea,^[23] on Coagulation and Melting, on various phenomena of organic and spiritual life,^[23] and on the Soul and Sensuous Perception.^[24] Likewise we find mention of monographs of Theophrastus on the early Greek philosophers Anaximenes, Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Archelaus,^[25] Diogenes of Apollonia, Democritus,^[26] which were made use of by Simplicius; and also on Xenocrates,^[27] against the Academics,^[28] and a sketch of the political doctrine of Plato.^[26] That he studied general history, as we see from the quotations in Plutarch's lives of Lycurgus, Solon, Aristides, Pericles, Nicias, Alcibiades, Lysander, Agesilaus, and Demosthenes, which were probably borrowed from the work on Lives.^[18] But his main efforts were to continue the labours of Aristotle in natural history. This is testified to not only by a number of treatises on individual subjects of zoology, of which, besides the titles, only fragments remain, but also by his books on Stones, his Enquiry into Plants, and On the Causes of Plants, which have come down to us entire. In politics, also, he seems to have trodden in the footsteps of Aristotle. Besides his books on the State, we find quoted various treatises on Education,^[29] on Royalty,^[30] on the Best State, on Political Morals, and particularly his works on the Laws, one of which, containing a recapitulation of the laws of various barbarian as well as Greek states,^[22] was intended to be a companion to Aristotle's outline of Politics, and must have been similar to it.^[31] He also wrote on oratory and poetry.^[32] Theophrastus, without doubt, departed further from Aristotle in his ethical writings,^[33] as also in his metaphysical investigations respecting motion, the soul, and God.^[34]

Besides these writings, Theophrastus was the author of several collections of problems, out of which some things at least have passed into the Problems that have come down to us under the name of Aristotle,^[35] and commentaries,^[36] partly dialogues,^[37] to which probably belonged the Erotikos,^[38] Megacles,^[27] Callisthenes,^[39] and Megarikos,^[22] and letters,^[40] partly books on mathematical sciences and their history.^[41]

Many of his works that we do have exist only in fragmentary form. "The style of these works, as of the botanical books, suggests that, as in the case of Aristotle, what we possess consists of notes for lectures or notes taken of lectures," his translator Arthur Hort remarks.^[2] "There is no literary charm; the sentences are mostly compressed and highly elliptical, to the point sometimes of obscurity.^[2] The text of these fragments and extracts is often so corrupt that there is a certain plausibility to the well-known story that the works of Aristotle and Theophrastus were allowed to languish in the cellar of Neleus of Scepsis and his descendents.^[42]

On Plants[link]

Cotton ready for harvest

Banyan tree

The most important of his books are two large botanical treatises, Enquiry into Plants, and On the Causes of Plants, which constitute the most important contribution to botanical science during antiquity and the Middle Ages,^[11] the first systemization of the botanical world; on the strength of these works some call him the "father of botany."^[7]

The Enquiry into Plants was originally ten books, of which nine survive. The work is arranged into a system whereby plants are classified according to their modes of generation, their localities, their sizes, and according to their practical uses such as foods, juices, herbs, etc.^[43] The first book deals with the parts of plants; the second book with the reproduction of plants and the times and manner of sowing; the third, fourth, and fifth books are devoted to trees, their types, their locations, and their practical applications; the sixth book deals with shrubs and spiny plants; the seventh book deals with herbs; the eighth book deals with plants that produce edible seeds; and the ninth book deals with plants that produce useful juices, gums, resins, etc.^[43]

Cinnamomum verum, from Köhler's Medicinal Plants, (1887)

Myrrh

On the Causes of Plants was originally eight books, of which six survive. It concerns the growth of plants; the influences on their fecundity; the proper times they should be sown and reaped; the methods of preparing the soil, manuring it, and the use of tools; and of the smells, tastes, and properties of many types of plants.^[43] The work deals mainly with the economical uses of plants rather than their medicinal uses, although the latter is sometimes mentioned.^[43]

Although these works contain many absurd and fabulous statements, as a whole they have many valuable observations concerning the functions and properties of plants.^[43] Theophrastus detected the process of germination and realized the importance of climate and soil to plants. Much of the information on the Greek plants may have come from his own observations, as he is known to have travelled throughout Greece, and to have had a botanical garden of his own; but the works also profit from the reports on plants of Asia brought back from those who followed Alexander the Great:

to the reports of Alexander's followers he owed his accounts of such plants as the cotton-plant, banyan, pepper, cinnamon, myrrh, and frankincense.^[2]

Frankincense trees in Dhufar

Theophrastus' Enquiry into Plants was first published in a Latin translation by Theodore Gaza, at Treviso, 1483;^[44] in its original Greek it first appeared from the press of Aldus Manutius at Venice, 1495–98, from a third-rate manuscript, which, like the majority of the manuscripts that were sent to printers' workshops in the fifteenth and sixteenth century, has disappeared.^[45] Wimmer identified two manuscripts of first quality, the Codex Urbinas in the Vatican Library, which was not made known to J. G. Schneider, who made the first modern critical edition, 1818–21, and the excerpts in the Codex Parisiensis in the Bibliothèque nationale de France.

The Characters[link]

His book The Characters, if it is indeed his, deserves a separate mention. The work contains thirty brief, vigorous, and trenchant outlines of moral types, which form a most valuable picture of the life of his time, and in fact of human nature in general.^[11] They are the first recorded attempt at systematic character writing. The book has been regarded by some as an independent work; others incline to the view that the sketches were written from time to time by Theophrastus, and collected and edited after his death; others, again, regard the Characters as part of a larger systematic work, but the style of the book is against this.^[11] Theophrastus has found many imitators in this kind of writing, notably Joseph Hall (1608), Sir Thomas Overbury (1614–16), Bishop Earle (1628), and Jean de La Bruyère (1688), who also translated the Characters.^[11] George Eliot also took inspiration from Theophrastus' Characters, most notably in her book of caricatures, Impressions of Theophrastus Such. Writing the "character sketch" as a scholastic exercise also originated in Theophrastus's typology.

On Sensation[link]

A treatise On Sense Perception and its objects is important for a knowledge of the doctrines of the more ancient Greek philosophers regarding the subject. A paraphrase and commentary on this work was written by Priscian of Lydia in the sixth century.^[43] With this type of work we may connect the fragments on Smells, on Fatigue, on Dizziness, on Sweat, on Swooning, on Palsy, and on Honey.^[42]

Physics[link]

We also possess in fragments a History of Physics. To this class of work belong the still extant sections on Fire, on the Winds, and on the signs of Waters, Winds, and Storms.^[46] Various smaller scientific fragments have been collected in the editions of Johann Gottlob Schneider (1818–21) and Friedrich Wimmer (1842—62) and in Hermann Usener's Analecta Theophrastea.

Metaphysics[link]

The Metaphysics (nine chapters) was considered a fragment of a larger work by Usener in his edition (Theophrastos Metaphysica, Bonn, 1890), but according to Ross and Fobes in their edition (Theophrastus Metaphysica, Oxford, 1929), the treatise is complete (p. X) and this opinion is now widely accepted. There is no reason for assigning this work to some other author because it is not noticed in Hermippus and Andronicus, especially as Nicolaus of Damascus had already mentioned it.^[42]

On Stones[link]

Cut emeralds

Baltic amber necklace

We possess a treatise On Stones, in which Theophrastus classified rocks based on their behavior when heated, further grouping minerals by common properties, such as amber and magnetite, which both have the power of attraction.^[47] He also comments on the effect of heat on minerals and their different hardnesses.

He describes different marbles; mentions coal, which he says is used for heating by metal-workers; describes the various metal ores; and knew that pumice-stones had a volcanic origin. He also deals with precious stones, emeralds, amethysts, onyx, jasper, etc., and describes a variety of "sapphire" that was blue with veins of gold, and thus was presumably lapis-lazuli.^[47]

He knew that pearls came from shell-fish, that coral came from India, and speaks of the fossilized remains of organic life.^[47] Theophrastus made the first known reference to the phenomenon of pyroelectricity, noting that the mineral tourmaline becomes charged when heated. He also considers the practical uses of various stones, such as the minerals necessary for the manufacture of glass; for the production of various pigments of paint such as ochre; and for the manufacture of plaster.^[47] He discusses the use of the touchstone for assaying gold and gold alloys, an important property which would require the genius of Archimedes to resolve in quantitative detail when he was asked to investigate the suspected debasement of a crown a few years later.

Bi-colored tourmaline crystal.

Many of the rarer minerals were found in mines, and he mentions the famous copper mines of Cyprus and the even more famous silver mines, presumably of Laurium near Athens, and upon which the wealth of the city was based, as well as referring to gold mines. The Laurium silver mines, which were the property of the state, were usually leased for a fixed sum and a percentage on the working. Towards the end of the fifth century the output fell, partly owing to the Spartan occupation of Decelea. But the mines continued to be worked, though Strabo records that in his time the tailings were being worked over, and Pausanias speaks of the mines as a thing of the past. The ancient workings, consisting of shafts and galleries for excavating the ore, and washing tables for extracting the metal, may still be seen. Theophrastus wrote a separate work On Mining,^[22] which like most of his writings is a lost work.

Pliny the Elder makes clear references to his use of On Stones in his Naturalis Historia of 77 AD, while updating and making much new information available on minerals himself. Although Pliny's treatment of the subject is more extensive, Theophrastus is more systematic and his work is comparatively free from fable and magic.^[48] From both of these early texts was to emerge the science of mineralogy, and ultimately geology. Pliny is especially observant on crystal habit and mineral hardness, for example.

Philosophy[link]

Theophrastus, depicted as a medieval scholar in the Nuremberg Chronicle

The extent to which Theophrastus followed Aristotle's doctrines, or defined them more accurately, or conceived them in a different form, and what additional structures of thought he placed upon them, can only be partially determined because of the loss of so many of his writings.^[42] Many of his opinions have to be reconstructed from the works of later writers such as Alexander of Aphrodisias and Simplicius.

Logic[link]

Theophrastus seems to have carried out still further the grammatical foundation of logic and rhetoric, since in his book on the elements of speech, he distinguished the main parts of speech from the subordinate parts, and also direct expressions (kuria lexis) from metaphorical expressions, and dealt with the emotions (pathe) of speech.^[49] He further distinguished a twofold reference of speech (schisis) to things (pragmata) and to the hearers, and referred poetry and rhetoric to the latter.^[50]

He wrote at length on the unity of judgment,^[51] on the different kinds of negation,^[52] and on the difference between unconditional and conditional necessity.^[53] In his doctrine of syllogisms he brought forward the proof for the conversion of universal affirmative judgments, differed from Aristotle here and there in the laying down and arranging the modi of the syllogisms,^[54] partly in the proof of them,^[55] partly in the doctrine of mixture, i.e. of the influence of the modality of the premises upon the modality of the conclusion.^[56] Then in two separate works he dealt with the reduction of arguments to the syllogistic form and on the resolution of them;^[57] and further, with hypothetical conclusions.^[58] For the doctrine of proof, Galen quotes the second Analytic of Theophrastus, in conjunction with that of Aristotle, as the best treatises on that doctrine.^[59] In different monographs he seems to have tried to expand it into a general theory of science. To this too may have belonged the proposition quoted from his Topics, that the principles of opposites are themselves opposed, and cannot be deduced from one and the same higher genus.^[60] For the rest, some minor deviations from the Aristotelian definitions are quoted from the Topica of Theophrastus.^[61] Closely connected with this treatise was that upon ambiguous words or ideas,^[62] which, without doubt, corresponded to book E of Aristotle's Metaphysics.^[42]

Physics and metaphysics[link]

Theophrastus introduced his Physics with the proof that all natural existence, being corporeal and composite, requires principles,^[63] and first and foremost, motion, as the basis of all change.^[64] Denying the substance of space, he seems to have regarded it, in opposition to Aristotle, as the mere arrangement and position (taxis and thesis) of bodies.^[65] Time he called an accident of motion, without, it seems, viewing it, with Aristotle, as the numerical determinant of motion.^[66] He attacked the doctrine of the four classical elements and challenged whether fire could be called a primary element when it appears to be compound, requiring, as it does, another material for its own nutriment.^[67]

Aristotle

He departed more widely from Aristotle in his doctrine of motion, since on the one hand he extended it over all categories, and did not limit it to those laid down by Aristotle.^[68] He viewed motion, with Aristotle, as an activity, not carrying its own goal in itself (ateles), of that which only potentially exists,^[69] but he opposed Aristotle's view that motion required a special explanation, and he regarded it as something proper both to nature in general and the celestial system in particular:

Surely, then, if the life in animals does not need explanation or is to be explained only in this way, may it not be the case that in the heavens too, and in the heavenly bodies, movement does not need explanation or is to be explained in a special way?

—Theophrastus, Metaphysics, 10a.16-29

He recognised no activity without motion,^[70] and so referred all activities of the soul to motion: the desires and emotions to corporeal motion, judgment (kriseis) and contemplation to spiritual motion.^[71] The idea of a spirit entirely independent of organic activity, must therefore have appeared to him very doubtful; yet he appears to have contented himself with developing his doubts and difficulties on the point, without positively rejecting it.^[72] Other Peripatetics, like Dicaearchus, Aristoxenus, and especially Strato, developed further this naturalism in Aristotelian doctrine.

Theophrastus seems, generally speaking, where the investigation overstepped the limits of experience, to have preferred to develop the difficulties rather than solve them, as is especially apparent in his Metaphysics.^[42] He was doubtful of Aristotle's teleology and recommended that such ideas be used with caution:

With regard to the view that all things are for the sake of an end and nothing is in vain, the assignation of ends is in general not easy, as it is usually stated to be ... we must set certain limits to purposiveness and to the effort after the best, and not assert it to exist in all cases without qualification.

—Theophrastus, Metaphysics, 10a.22-24, 11a.1-3

He did not follow the incessant attempts by Aristotle to refer phenomena to their ultimate foundations, or his attempts to unfold the internal connections between the latter, and between them and phenomena.^[42] In antiquity, it was a subject of complaint that Theophrastus had not expressed himself with precision and consistency respecting God, and had understood it at one time as Heaven, at another an (enlivening) breath (pneuma).^[73]

Ethics[link]

Theophrastus did not allow a happiness resting merely upon virtue,^[74] or, consequently, to hold fast by the unconditional value of morality. He subordinated moral requirements to the advantage at least of a friend,^[75] and had allowed in prosperity the existence of an influence injurious to them. In later times, fault was found with his expression in the Callisthenes, "life is ruled by fortune, not wisdom," (Latin: vitam regit fortuna non sapientia).^[76] That in the definition of pleasure, likewise, he did not coincide with Aristotle, seems to be indicated by the titles of two of his writings, one of which dealt with pleasure generally, the other with pleasure as Aristotle had defined it.^[22] Although, like his teacher, he preferred contemplative (theoretical), to active (practical) life,^[77] he preferred to set the latter free from the restraints of family life, etc. in a manner of which Aristotle would not have approved.^[78]

The bust inscribed "Theophrastos Melanta Eresios"

Theophrastus was opposed to eating meat on the grounds that it robbed animals of life and was therefore unjust. Non-human animals, he said, can reason, sense, and feel just as human beings do.^[79]

The "portrait" of Theophrastus[link]

The marble herm figure with the bearded head of philosopher type, bearing the explicit inscription, must be taken as purely conventional. Unidentified portrait heads did not find a ready market in post-Renaissance Rome.^[80] This bust was formerly in the collection of marchese Pietro Massimi at Palazzo Massimi and belonged to marchese L. Massimi at the time the engraving was made. It is now in the Villa Albani, Rome (inv. 1034). The inscribed bust has often been illustrated in engravings^[81] and photographs: a photograph of it forms the frontispiece to the Loeb Classical Library Theophrastus: Enquiry into Plants vol. I, 1916. André Thevet illustrated^[82] in his iconographic compendium, Les vraies Pourtrats et vies des Hommes Illustres (Paris, 1584), an alleged portrait plagiarized from the bust, supporting his fraud with the invented tale that he had obtained it from the library of a Greek in Cyprus and that he had seen a confirming bust in the ruins of Antioch.^[83]

Notes[link]

References[link]

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Theophrastus". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Theophrastus. 
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1867). "^{article name needed}". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 
• "Theophrastus" entry in the Penny cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, edited by George Long, (1842), Volume 24, pages 332-4
• Georges Cuvier, "Lecture Ninth - Theophrastus" in Baron Cuvier's Lectures on the Natural Sciences, Edinburgh new philosophical journal, (1830), Volume 18, pages 76–83

Further reading[link]

• Theophrastus of Eresus. Sources for his life, writings, thought and influence. I. Life, writings, various reports, logic, physics, metaphysics, theology, mathematics. Edited by Fortenbaugh William W. et al. Leiden: Brill 1992.
• Theophrastus of Eresus. Sources for his life, writings, thought and influence. II. Psychology, human physiology, living creatures, botany, ethics, religion, politics, rhetoric and poetics, music, miscellanea. Edited by Fortenbaugh William W. et al. Leiden: Brill 1992.
• Theophrastus of Eresus. Sources for his life, writings, thought and influence. Commentary, 9 volumes planned; published volumes:
  • 2. Logic, by Pamela Huby; with contributions on the Arabic material by Dimitri Gutas.
  • 3/1. Sources on physics (texts 137-223), by R. W. Sharples.
  • 4. Psychology (texts 265-327), by Pamela Huby; with contributions on the Arabic material by Dimitri Gutas.
  • 5. Sources on biology (human physiology, living creatures, botany: texts 328-435), by R. W. Sharples.
  • 8. Sources on rhetoric and poetics (texts 666-713), by William W. Fortenbaugh.
• Theophrastus, (1993), Metaphysics. With an Introduction, Translation and Commentary by M. van Raalte, Leiden: Brill
• Theophrastus, (1916), Enquiry into Plants: Books 1-5. Translated by A.F. Hort. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99077-3
• Theophrastus, (1916), Enquiry into Plants: Books 6-9; Treatise on Odours; Concerning Weather Signs. Translated by A. Hort. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99088-9
• Theophrastus, (1989), De Causis Plantarum: Books 1-2. Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99519-8
• Theophrastus, (1990), De Causis Plantarum: Books 3-4. Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99523-6
• Theophrastus, (1990), De Causis Plantarum, Books 5-6. Translated by B. Einarson and G. Link. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99524-4
• Theophrastus, (2003), Characters. Translated by J. Rusten. Loeb Classical Library. ISBN 0-674-99603-8
• Theophrastus, (2002), On Sweat, On Dizziness and On Fatigue. Translated by W. Fortenbaugh, R. Sharples, M. Sollenberger. Brill. ISBN 90-04-12890-5
• Theophrastus, (2007), On weather signs. Edited by Sider David and Brunschön Carl Wolfram. Leiden: Brill 2007
• Theophrastus, (2010), On First Principles (known as his Metaphysics). Edited and translated by Dimitri Gutas Leiden: Brill 2010.

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Theophrastus

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Theophrastus

• Enquiry into plants and minor works on odours and weather signs, translated by Sir Arthur Hort, (1916), Volume 1, Volume 2, at the Internet Archive.
• Theophrastus work "On Stones" full text + annotation
• Theophrastus of Eresus on winds and on weather signs, (1894), by J. G. Wood, G. J. Symons, at the Internet Archive.
• Theophrastus and the Greek physiological psychology before Aristotle, by George Malcolm Stratton, (1917), at the Internet Archive. Contains a translation of On the Senses by Theophrastus.
• Theophrastus work "The Characters" English translation
• The Characters of Theophrastus, translated by J. M. Edmonds, (1929), at the Internet Archive.
• Diogenes Laërtius, Life of Theophrastus, translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925).
• Peripatetic Logic: The Work of Eudemus of Rhodes and Theophrastus of Eresus
• The Oblivion of Being after Aristotle: Theophrastus' Metaphysics
• International Vegetarian Union: Theophrastus
• Online Galleries, History of Science Collections, University of Oklahoma Libraries High resolution images of works by Theophrastus in .jpg and .tiff format.