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Chrysippus
SVF II: Chrysippus on Logic and Physics Page scan-026
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Ancient Greek
16 PROLEGOMENA PHILOSOPHIAE. ἠξίου τὴν φιλοσοφίαν, αἵματι μὲν καὶ σαρξὶ τὸ φυσικόν, ὀστέοις δὲ καὶ νεύ- ροις τὸ λογικόν, ψυχῇ δὲ τὸ ἠϑικόν). Diog. Laért. VII 40. εἰκάζουσι δὲ ξῴῳ τὴν φιλοσοφίαν, ὀστοῖς μὲν x«l νεύροις τὸ λογικὸν προσομοιοῦντες, τοῖς δὲ σαρκωδεστέροις τὸ ἦϑι- 5 κόν, τῇ δὲ ψυχῇ τὸ φυσικόν᾽ ἢ πάλιν ὠῷ᾽ τὰ μὲν “γὰρ ἐχτὸς εἶναι τὸ λογι- κόν, τὰ δὲ μετὰ ταῦτα τὸ ἠϑικόν, τὰ δ᾽ ἐσωτάτω τὸ φυσικόν" ἢ ἀγρῷ παμ- φόρῳ᾽ οὗ τὸν μὲν περιβεβλημένον φραγμὸν τὸ λογικόν, τὸν δὲ καρπὸν τὸ ἠϑικόν, τὴν δὲ γῆν ἢ τὰ δένδρα τὸ φυσικόν᾽ ἢ πόλει καλῶς τετειχισμένῃ καὶ κατὰ λόγον διοικουμένῃ. 10 99 Philo de agricultura 8 14 Vol II p. 97, 24 Wendl Τὸν γοῦν κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν λόγον τρίδυμον ὄντα τοὺς παλαιοὺς ἀγρῷ φασιν ἀπει- κάσαι, τὸ μὲν φυσικὸν αὐτοῦ δένδροις καὶ φυτοῖς παραβάλλοντας, τὸ δὲ ἠϑικὸν καρποῖς, ὧν ἕνεκα καὶ τὰ φυτά, τὸ δ᾽ αὖ λογικὸν φραγμῷ καὶ περι- βόλῳ -- - (quod ceteris partibus praesidio est) 8 16. τὰς γὰρ διπλᾶς is καὶ ἀμφιβόλους ὅταν ἐξαπλοῖ λέξεις xal τὰς διὰ τῶν σοφισμάτων πιϑανό- τητας imn καὶ viv εὐπαράγωγον ἀπάτην - - ἀναιρῇ, διὰ λόγων ἐμφαν- τικωτάτων καὶ ἀποδείξεων ἀνενδοιάστων, ὥσπερ κηρὸν λελειασμένον τὸν νοῦν ἀπεργάζεται, ἕτοιμον δέχεσϑαι τούς ve φυσιολογίας καὶ τοὺς ἠϑοποιΐας --- --- χαρακτῆρας. 20 40 Origenes comment. in Matthaeum Vol III p. 778 Delarue. καὶ ὅρα εἰ δυνάμεϑα τὴν μὲν κατὰ τὴν ϑείαν γραφὴν φυσιολογίαν τὸν ἀμπελῶνα εἰπεῖν᾽ τὸν δὲ ἀκόλουθον τῇ ἀληϑεῖ φυσιολογίᾳ βίον ἐν ἀρετῇ καὶ καλλίστοις ἤϑεσι »αρποφοροῦντα λέγειν εἶναι τὸν τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος καρπόν᾽ τὸν δὲ Aopi- κὸν τόπον (καὶ πᾶν τὸ γράμμα τῆς γραφῆς) τὸν φραγμὸν εἶναι τοῦ ἀμπε- 35 λῶνος περικείμενον ἔξωϑεν οἷο. 41 Diog. Laért. VII 40. καὶ o$9iv μέρος (ex tribus philosophiae. partibus) τοῦ £rígov προκεκρίσϑαι, καϑ᾽ ἅ τινες αὐτῶν φασιν, ἀλλὰ μεμῖχϑαι αὐτά. καὶ τὴν παράδοσιν μικτὴν ἐποίουν. 429 Plut. de Stoic. repugn. c. 9 p. 1035a. Ὃ Χρύειππος οἴεται 80 δεῖν τῶν λογικῶν πρῶτον ἀκροᾶςθαι τοὺς νέους, δεύτερον δὲ τῶν ἠθι- κῶν, μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τῶν φυεικῶν, ὡςεαύτως δὲ τούτοις τὸν περὶ θεῶν λόγον ἔεχατον παραλαμβάνειν. ἸΠολλάκις δὲ τούτων ὑπ᾽ αὐτοῦ λεγο- μένων, ἀρκέςει παραθέεθαι τὰ ἐν τῷ τετάρτῳ περὶ Βίων ἔχοντα κατὰ λέξιν οὕτω: Πρῶτον μὲν οὖν δοκεῖ μοι, κατὰ τὰ ὀρθῶς s; ὑπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων εἰρημένα, τρία γένη τῶν τοῦ φιλοςόφου θεωρημάτων εἶναι" τὰ μὲν λοτικά, τὰ δὲ ἠθικά, τὰ δὲ φυεικά᾽ εἶτα τούτων δεῖν τάττεεθαι πρῶτα μὲν τὰ λογικά, δεύτερα δὲ τὰ ἠθικά, τρίτα δὲ τὰ φυεικά᾽ τῶν δὲ φυεικῶν ἔεχατος 4 σαρκωδεστέροις BPF, σαρκώδεσι vulg. || vó ἠϑικόν BPF, τὸ φυσικόν Bake de Posid. n.40. ὅ τὸ φυσικόν ΒΡ, τὸ ἠϑικόν Bake l.l. | ἐκτὸς om. BP (suppl. P?) ἔξω F. 6 aliter Sextus VII 18; sed Diogenes videtur Chrysippi sententiam sequi. Cf. n. 42. - τὸ δ᾽ ἐσωτάτω F. 7 οὗ om. PF. | τὸν ἦϑι- xó» B. 19 παραβαλόντας GH. 16 ἐμφατικωτάτων M. 27 ἀναμεμίχϑαι (pro ἀλλὰ usu.) BPF, προκεκρίσϑαι et μεμῖχϑαν non poterant inter se opponi; scribendum: ἀποκεκρίσθαι.
English AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-13
16 PROLEGOMENA TO PHILOSOPHY.
He thought philosophy should be compared to a living being: the physical part to blood and flesh, the logical part to bones and sinews, and the ethical part to the soul.
Diogenes Laërtius VII 40. They compare philosophy to a living being, likening the logical part to bones and sinews, the ethical part to the fleshier portions, and the physical part to the soul; or again to an egg, its outer parts being the logical, what comes next the ethical, and what is innermost the physical; or to a field bearing every kind of crop, whose surrounding fence is the logical part, its fruit the ethical, and its soil or trees the physical; or to a well-walled city administered according to reason.
39 Philo, On Agriculture §§ 8, 14, Vol. II p. 97, 24 Wendland. The ancients are said to have compared philosophical discourse, which is threefold, to a field, comparing its physical part to trees and plants, its ethical part to the fruits, for whose sake the plants also exist, and its logical part to a fence and enclosure, which protects the other parts.
§ 16. For when it unfolds expressions that are double and ambiguous, and removes the persuasiveness produced by sophisms and their readily induced deception, by means of the most illuminating arguments and indubitable demonstrations it renders the mind like smoothed wax, ready to receive the imprints of natural philosophy and character formation.
40 Origen, Commentary on Matthew, Vol. III p. 778 Delarue. Consider whether we can call the natural philosophy according to divine Scripture the vineyard; the life in virtue and most excellent character that follows true natural philosophy the vineyard’s fruit; and the logical topic, together with the whole letter of Scripture, the fence surrounding the vineyard on the outside, as it were.
41 Diogenes Laërtius VII 40. And no part, according to what some of them say, was preferred before another among the three parts of philosophy; rather, they were intermingled. They also made their teaching mixed.
42 Plutarch, On Stoic Self-Contradictions, ch. 9, p. 1035a. Chrysippus thinks that the young should first hear the logical doctrines, second the ethical, and after these the physical; and that, among the physical doctrines, they should receive the account concerning the gods last. Since he says this many times, it will suffice to quote verbatim what is found in the fourth book On Lives: “First, then, it seems to me, in accordance with what was rightly said by the ancients, that there are three kinds of the philosopher’s objects of study: the logical, the ethical, and the physical. Next, among these, the logical must be placed first, the ethical second, and the physical third. Among the physical...”
4 BPF have “fleshier portions”; the common text has “fleshy portions.” BPF have “the ethical”; Bake, On Posidonius n. 40, has “the physical.” 5 BP have “the physical”; Bake, at the cited place, has “the ethical.” BP omit “outer” (supplied by P?); F has “outside.” 6 Differently in Sextus VII 18, but Diogenes seems to follow Chrysippus’ view. Compare n. 42. F has “what is innermost.” 7 PF omit “whose.” B has “the ethical.” 13 GH have “having compared.” 16 M has “most expressive.” 27 BPF have “to have been intermingled” instead of “but”; “preferred” and “intermingled” could not be opposed to one another. One should write “separated.”
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-13
16 PROLÉGOMÈNES À LA PHILOSOPHIE.
[...] il estimait que la philosophie devait être comparée à un animal: la physique au sang et aux chairs, la logique aux os et aux nerfs, l’éthique à l’âme.
Diogène Laërce, VII 40. Ils comparent la philosophie à un animal, assimilant la logique aux os et aux nerfs, l’éthique aux parties plus charnues et la physique à l’âme; ou encore à un œuf: ce qui est extérieur est la logique, ce qui vient ensuite l’éthique, et ce qui est tout à l’intérieur la physique; ou à un champ produisant toutes sortes de fruits: la clôture qui l’entoure est la logique, le fruit l’éthique, la terre ou les arbres la physique; ou à une ville bien fortifiée et administrée conformément à la raison.
39 Philon, De l’agriculture, 8, 14, vol. II, p. 97, 24 Wendland. Les anciens, dit-on, comparaient le discours philosophique, qui est triple, à un champ: ils assimilaient sa partie physique aux arbres et aux plantes, sa partie éthique aux fruits, en vue desquels existent aussi les plantes, et sa partie logique à la clôture et à l’enceinte [...] qui protège les autres parties. 8, 16. Car lorsqu’elle déploie les expressions à double sens et ambiguës, qu’elle détruit les vraisemblances produites par les sophismes et la tromperie dans laquelle on tombe aisément [...], au moyen de discours parfaitement expressifs et de démonstrations indubitables, elle rend l’intellect semblable à une cire polie, prête à recevoir les empreintes de la philosophie naturelle et de la formation morale [...].
40 Origène, Commentaire sur Matthieu, vol. III, p. 778 Delarue. Vois si nous pouvons appeler «vigne» la philosophie naturelle conforme à l’Écriture divine; appeler «fruit de la vigne» la vie conforme à la vraie philosophie naturelle, qui porte ses fruits dans la vertu et les plus belles dispositions morales; et appeler «clôture de la vigne» le lieu logique, ainsi que toute la lettre de l’Écriture, qui l’entoure extérieurement.
41 Diogène Laërce, VII 40. Selon certains d’entre eux, aucune des trois parties de la philosophie n’a la priorité sur une autre; elles sont au contraire mêlées. Ils en donnaient donc un enseignement mêlé.
42 Plutarque, Des contradictions des Stoïciens, chap. 9, p. 1035a. Chrysippe pense que les jeunes gens doivent d’abord écouter les enseignements logiques, en second lieu les enseignements éthiques, puis les enseignements physiques et, parmi ceux-ci, recevoir en dernier le discours relatif aux dieux. Comme il le dit souvent, il suffira de citer littéralement ce qui se trouve au quatrième livre Sur les vies: «En premier lieu, il me semble donc, conformément aux justes propos des anciens, qu’il existe trois genres de considérations propres au philosophe: les considérations logiques, éthiques et physiques. Parmi elles, il faut placer d’abord les logiques, en second les éthiques, en troisième les physiques. Parmi les physiques, vient en dernier [...]»
4 σαρκωδεστέροις BPF, σαρκώδεσι dans l’édition courante. τὸ ἠϑικόν BPF, τὸ φυσικόν Bake, De Posid., n. 40. 5 τὸ φυσικόν BP, τὸ ἠϑικόν Bake, loc. cit. ἐκτὸς omis par BP (ajouté par P?), ἔξω F. 6 Autre texte chez Sextus, VII 18; mais Diogène paraît suivre la pensée de Chrysippe. Voir n. 42. τὸ δ᾽ ἐσωτάτω F. 7 οὗ omis par PF. τὸν ἠϑικόν B. 12 παραβαλόντας GH. 16 ἐμφατικωτάτων M. 27 ἀναμεμίχϑαι, au lieu de ἀλλὰ, dans BPF; προκεκρίσϑαι et μεμῖχϑαι ne pouvaient être opposés l’un à l’autre; il faut écrire ἀποκεκρίσθαι.
Concepts in this passage
Care of the soul
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Cosmic reason
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Fate and responsibility
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Friendship
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Nature
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Propositional logic
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Reason
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Roles and relationships
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Virtue
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Wisdom
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