Empedocles
Empedocles
Empedocleswas a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Akragas, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for originating the cosmogenic theory of the four Classical elements. He also proposed forces he called Love and Strife which would mix as well as separate the elements. These physical speculations were part of a history of the universe which also dealt with the origin and development of life. Influenced by the Pythagoreans, he supported the doctrine of reincarnation. Empedocles...
NationalityGreek
ProfessionPhilosopher
boys sea bird
For before this I was born once a boy, and a maiden, and a plant, and a bird, and a darting fish in the sea.
hate elements causes
There are forces in nature called Love and Hate. The force of Love causes elements to be attracted to each other and to be built up into some particular form or person, and the force of Hate causes the decomposition of things.
believe men volcanoes
Various accounts of Empedocle's death are given in ancient sources. His enemies said that his desire to be thought a god led him to throw himself into the crater of Mount Etna so that he might vanish from the world completely and thus lead men to believe he had achieved apotheosis. Unfortunately the volcano defeated his design by throwing out one of the philosopher's sandals.
men knowing disappear
Having glimpsed a small part of life, men rise up and disappear as smoke, knowing only what each one has learned.
may
What is right may properly be uttered even twice.
light air sky
What is lawful is not binding only on some and not binding on others. Lawfulness extends everywhere, through the wide-ruling air and the boundless light of the sky.