The greatest prose achievement of the 4th century was in philosophy.

There were many Greek philosophers, but three names tower above the rest: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. It is impossible to calculate the enormous influence these thinkers have had on Western society.

Socrates himself wrote nothing, but his thought (or a reasonable presentation of it) has been preserved in the `Dialogues' of Plato. Even in translation, Plato's style is one of matchless beauty.

All human experience is within its range. Best known of the `Dialogues' is the `Republic', a fairly long work. There are also many shorter books--such as the ` Apology', `Protagoras ', and `Gorgias'--that contain the penetratingly insightful conversations of Socrates and his friends on every matter relating to human behavior.

In the history of human thought, Aristotle is virtually without rivals. The first sentence of his `Metaphysics' reads: "All men by nature desire to know." He has, therefore, been called the "Father of those who know." His medieval disciple Thomas Aquinas referred to him simply as "the Philosopher."

Aristotle was a student at Plato's Academy, and it is known that--like his teacher--he wrote dialogues, or conversations. None of these exists today.

The body of writings that has come down to the present probably represents lectures that he delivered at his own school in Athens, the Lyceum. Even from these books the enormous range of his interests is evident.

He explored matters other than those that are today considered philosophical. The treatises that exist cover logic, the physical and biological sciences, ethics, politics, and constitutional government.

There are also treatises on `The Soul' and `Rhetoric'. His ` Poetics' has had an enormous influence on literary theory and served as an interpretation of tragedy for more than 2,000 years.

With the death of Aristotle in 322 BC, the classical era of Greek literature drew to a close.

In the successive centuries of Greek writing there was never again such a brilliant flowering of genius as appeared in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.

Later philosophical works were no match for Plato and Aristotle. Epictetus, who died about AD 135, was associated with the moral philosophy of the Stoics. His teachings were collected by his pupil Arrian in the `Discourses' and the `Encheiridion' (Manual of Study).

Diogenes Laertius, who lived in the 3rd century, wrote `Lives, Teachings, and Sayings of Famous Philosophers', a useful sourcebook. Another major philosopher was Plotinus.

He, too, lived in the 3rd century. He transformed Plato's philosophy into a school called Neoplatonism.

His `Enneads' had a wide-ranging influence on European thought until at least the 17th century.

ANCIENT GREECE

ANCIENT AND LOST CIVILIZATIONS INDEX

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ALL FILES

CRYSTALINKS MAIN PAGE