In the introduction, as a letter from pamphilus to hermippus, hume explains his choice of the dialogue as the style for this presentation. Life of epicurus 4, letter to herodotus 3583, letter to pythocles 84121, letter to menoeceus 1228 principal doctrines 9154 1 g 1 epicurus was an athenian, and the son of neocles and chaerestrate, of the deme of gargettus, and of the family of the philaidae, as metrodorus tells us in his treatise on nobility of birth. The section numbers in the greek text are shown in red and the section numbers in the translation are shown in green. The lives of the philosophers, by diogenes laertius, is the most comprehensive ancient account of the lives of the early greek philosophers. David humes dialogues concerning natural religion is one of the most in. Pamphilus joins the three philosophers one evening and listens while writing everything down. Humes presence in the dialogues concerning natural religion. Pamphilus to hermippus it has been remarked, my hermippus, that though the ancient philosophers conveyed most of their instruction in the form of dialogue, this method of composition has been little practised in later ages, and has seldom succeeded in. He published extensive biographies bioi of eminent men and their disciples e. Dialogues concerning natural religion early modern texts. Accurate and regular argument, indeed, such as is now expected of philosophical. Text is available under the creative commons attributionsharealike license. In the letter from pamphilus to hermippus that begins david humes dialogues concerning natural religion, pamphilus remarks concerning the limitations of the form of writing for expressing the content desired.
It has been remarked, my hermippus, that though the ancient philosophers conveyed most of their instruction in the form of dialogue, this method of composition has been little practised in later ages, and has seldom succeeded in. Pamphilus letter to hermippus, which prefaces the dialogues he transmits to his otherwise unidentified friend, must express. Hermippus also appears to have written scurrilous iambic poems after the manner of archilochus. Our narrator, pamphilus, is about to relate a fascinating conversation he overheard between his teacher, cleanthes, and two of his teachers friends, demea and. Hermippus in william smith, editor 1848 a dictionary of greek biography and mythology, london. In a letter, he reconstructs the conversation of demea, philo, and cleanthes in detail for his friend hermippus. A revision of the genus hermippus simon, 1893 araneae.
Hermippus, they are a more elaborate account of what pamphilus has already discussed. Excerpt from a conversation between cleanthes and philo in a letter from pamphilus to hermippus. You are no more wanting, i am persuaded, in prudence, than in industry. The dialogues are introduced and narrated by the character pamphilus as a letter to hermippus and recounts a conversation between the three main characters. Dialogues concerning natural religion david hume feedbooks. David humes dialogues concerning natural religion is one of the. When the satyrs returned them, the desperate victims grabbed the wrong noses and were. Pamphilus joins the three philosophers one evening and listens while. Instead, they open with a six paragraph preface, where we learn about the youthful pamphilus through a note he writes to his equally young friend hermippus. Dialogues concerning natural religion quiz that tests what you know. Epicurus, son of neocles and chaerestrate, was an athenian from the district of gargettus district, of the philaidae clan, as metrodorus reports in his book on noble birth. David humes dialogues concerning natural religion jstor. Dialogues concerning natural religion and other writings. At the end of the dialogues he believes that cleanthes offered the strongest arguments.
Letter from pamphilus to hermippus it has been remarked that though the ancient philosophers mostly taught through dialogues, the dialogue form hasnt been much used in recent times, and has seldom succeeded when people have tried it. Elucidates humes skepticism through close analysis of his major philosophical writings and personal correspondence. From the outset, he is sending this letter to his friend, hermippus. Having been accused of heresy during his lifetime, hume knew not to publish this book until after his death, so he bequeathed the manuscript, a few days before his death. Pamphilus to hermippus i t has been remarked, my hermippus, that, though the ancient philosophers conveyed most of their instruction in the form of dialogue, this method of composition has been little practised in later ages, and has seldom succeeded in the hands of those, who have attempted it. Book 10 contains the life and doctrines of epicurus. Pamphilus is the ward of cleanthes and through him was present at the remarkable conversations of cleanthes, demea and philo. The latin name of the italian guarino favorino, who died a. It presents a fictional conversation between a sceptic, an orthodox. This book is an illustrated version of the original dialogues concerning natural religion by david hume. Although pamphilus and hermippus are just as fictional as philo, cleanthes and demea, pamphilus, who does not take part in the discussion, is supposed to be an eyewitness reporter to hermippus of the dialogues that took place between the three principals, and he porticos the dialogues with a detailed explanation as to why the dialogue form is. Pamphilus to hermippus, an introduction of cleanthes, philo, and demea. Pamphilus of caesarea wikisource, the free online library.
Features a veteran hume scholar analyzing humes religious skepticism. The dialogues are in the form of a letter from pamphilus to his friend. A dialogic interpretation of humes dialogues a dialogic interpretation of humes dialogues sessions, william lad. Humes text under his name is distanced from any of the three main characters in the conversations on natural religion in a further way by framing the opening remarks of a fictional pamphilus addressing a fictional hermippus, and offering only to recount what purport to have been actual discussions between the three principal characters of. Hermippus in gaffiot, felix 1934 dictionnaire illustre latinfrancais, hachette. Pamphilus hints at this in his letter introducing the dialogue when he mentions how excited hermippus, the person to whom he is sending the dialogue, was on hearing about the reasoning. You have urged me, dexter,1 to follow the exampleof tranquillus2 in giving a systematic account of ecclesiastical writers, and to do for our writers what he did for the illustrious men of letters among the gentiles, namely, to briefly set before you all those who have published3 any memorable writing on the holy scriptures, from the time. Parts i through xii titles are comntrivances of paul douglas renselle, aprilmay, 2006. Hermippus redivivus, or, the sages triumph over old age. It has been remarked that though the ancient philosophers mostly taught through dialogues, the dialogue form hasnt.
The narrator who tells the story of the dialogue in a letter to hermippus is pamphilus, not hume, a hint that the narrator should not be confused with the author. Dialogues concerning natural religionprologue wikisource. Hermippus redivivus, or, the sages triumph over old age and the grave. A dialogic interpretation of humes dialogues, hume.
A treatise of human nature and examines his discussion of what he terms the calm passions, which include benevolence and resentment, the love of life, and kindness to children. Annas, an introduction to platos republic a bit dated, but still of interest. David hume, treatise of human nature calm passions. Ariston in his life of epicurus says that he borrowed the canon from the tripod of nausiphanes, whose pupil he says he was, as well as being a disciple of pamphilus the platonist in samos. It has been remarked, my hermippus, that though the ancient philosophers conveyed most of their instruction in the form of dialogue, this method of composition has been little practised in later ages, and has seldom succeeded in the hands of those who have attempted it. Philo, cleanthes, pamphilus, and hermippus appear to be fictional characters invented by david hume 17111776 in his dialogues concerning natural religion, part 10, p.
Other sources, including heraclides in his epitome of sotion, report that he grew up in samos, after the athenians divided up the land for colonization, and he came to athens at age eighteen, when. Johann heinrich cohausen 16651750, salt iatrochemistry. However, this could be out of loyalty to his teacher, as this does not seem to. The book ends with pamphilus judging that cleanthes, his teacher, is closest to the truth and demea is further from the truth than either philo or cleanthes. Pamphilus letter to hermippus, which prefaces the dialogues he transmits to his otherwise unidentified friend, must express humes own poetics of the dialogue form. Hermippus was an ancient oneeyed comic active during the peloponnesian war who parodied homer and wrote satiric verse, a genre of which cohausen was fond.
The project gutenberg etext of dialogues concerning natural. The project gutenberg etext of dialogues concerning. Dialogues are in the form of a letter from pamphilus to his friend, hermippus, they are a more elaborate account of what pamphilus has already discussed with his friend. David hume, treatise of human nature calm passions core. National endowment for the humanities division of preservation and access provided support for entering this text. Dialogues concerning natural religion by david hume. Other types of works written by hermippus cited by ancient writers include trimeters and tetrameters. He lived in alexandria and was a close associate of callimachus hence also referred to as kallimacheios. Since hermippus has already been exposed to the conver. Perfect prep for dialogues concerning natural religion quizzes and tests you might have in school. This page was last edited on 18 october 2019, at 00. The father of pamphilus, said he, was your intimate friend. This text was converted to electronic form by data entry and has been proofread to a low level of accuracy.
While i agree that what pamphilus says there does accord very closely with humes principles of composition, the fact that it is pamphilus who puts. He was the friend and teacher of eusebius of caesarea, who recorded details of his career in a threebook vita that has been lost. Pamphilus serves as a narrator of sorts, because he compiles the conversations between the three philosophers, distilling them into a letter. Apr 01, 2007 the title of the hermippus redivivus was probably based upon two references. Humes presence in the dialogues concerning natural religion robert j. The letter recounts a discussion between the three main characters of the dialogue demea, cleanthes, and philo as to how. Dialogues concerning natural religion religions wiki. Wikipedia article, commons category, wikidata item presbyter of caesarea and chief among catholic biblical scholars of his generation. Dialogues concerning natural religion david hume on. He states that epicurus began philosophy at the age of twelve, and was at the head of his school at thirtytwo.
Dialogues concerning natural religion pamphilus to hermippus from humes memoranda fragment on evil letter to francis hutcheson letter to william mure letters to gilbert elliot from the natural history of religion selections from pierre bayle. Dialogues concerning natural religion summary supersummary. Dialogues concerning natural religion david hume pamphilus to hermippus letter from pamphilus to hermippus it has been remarked that though the ancient philosophers mostly taught through dialogues, the dialogue form hasnt been much used in recent times, and has seldom succeeded when people have tried it. Jun 29, 2019 a treatise of human nature and examines his discussion of what he terms the calm passions, which include benevolence and resentment, the love of life, and kindness to children.