Beruflich Dokumente
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LIBRARY of the
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
by
PROKS330H R. F. KcIiAE
ITorsan ct liaec olitn tncmmisse juvabit . * *
The Aesthetic Motif from
Thales to Plato
The Aesthetic Motif from
Thales to Plato
By
SISTER M. BASILINE, B. V. M.
(Josephine A. Bates)
A DISSERTATION
submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School
of the University of Colorado in partial fulfill
ment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Philosophy, College of Arts
and Sciences
1921
NEW YORK
SCHWARTZ, KIRWIN & FAUSS
Jltfjil
ARTHUR J. SCANLAN, S.T.D.
Censor Librorum
imprimatur
* PATRICK J. HAYES,
July 18, IQ2I Archbishop of New York
fcH
/O*
COPYRIGHT, 1921, BY
SISTER M. BASILINE, B.V.M.
(Josephine A. Bates)
To
FULTON HENRY ANDERSON
PREFACE
Plato may be read to discover his meth
odology or his account of reality embodied
in things as the standard of truth, and in
action as the norm of conduct. In either
case there is much literature. These are
his aims, they are easily designated, if in
parts, hardly understood.
There is, however, a "motif," a deter
minant of method which is not so easily
discovered, nor so readily articulated.
For example, Plato is a rationalist, so
is Comte. Here the similarity is only that
of language. For the philosophy of the lat
ter is built on the ideal of a purely mathe
matical intellectualism as in
Descartes;
the former rates mathematics important as
it is placed fourth in the scale. Platonism is
ever the opponent of that positivism which
regards the world as irresponsive to human
sentiment.
At times, Plato seems to be scarcely a
"Greek." This is because he does not take
the Greek for granted. His days in Greece
are those of transition and scepticism; there
must be norms of conduct beyond sophistic
"enlightenment." His very iciness burns
with excessive ardor. He never degenerates
to pseudo-classicism. He never substitutes
example for type, or the imitating of Greek
NASCENT SCIENCE 1
"SOCRATIC IDEALISM" 15
THE IDEA 26
THE TIMAEUS 42
THE GOOD 58
EDUCATION 64
THE AESTHETIC Motif
FROM THALES TO PLATO
Nascent Science
Every judgment is aesthetic, in that it
Natural Philosophy
The balances of a x6a^o<; are more im
portant than the elements; this is evident
as early as Anaximander, and is the contri
bution of this philosopher beyond Thales
who posited some qualified substrate. The
4 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
position ,
because it is the same distance from
all things and again,. Infinite
. .
"; f"
the . . .
is .. . .
(frag. i).
(frag. 97); . . .
... is poured
out as the sea measures
. .
the same
.
of equivalence.
in the accordance
Opposites are adjusted
is
of harmony "Hidden harmony (which)
of the are
In Stoicism the two essential characteristics X6fo<;
n. 3, this statement
at all in the early days." In ed. 2, p. 146,
is modified as follows, "The Stoic interpretation given
is not an epistemological
relativity, but one
built upon the doctrine of opposites in the
cosmic adjustment through proportions.
The sea can be both the purest and foulest
water" drinkable and healthful for fishes;
but for men it is and hurtful"
unfit to drink
(frag. 52). By same this
relative value, a
man, the wisest of men, may appear even
as an ape before God.
(frag. 105).
Zeno. In Zeno, there is an attempt to
disprove change through order by a certain
type of order.
Heretofore, the only type of order was
that of a proportion which retained an
equivalence throughout the process of TUUX-
VGxnq (condensation) or pidvwaci; or apa(a)<jc<;
(rarefaction) .
philosophy of Orphism.
The Greek possessed a Theogony of
Homer and Hesiod, which was evolved from
the story of the king and the hero. In this
early development of Pan-Hellenic polythe
ism, there was some notion that the Osoi
regulated law and order, but there was
slight differentiation in respect to a norm
of
conduct.
Republic 530.
x6qjio<;.
"Socratic Idealism"
tlbid.
For the permanence of Pythagoreanism in Greek Phil
osophy, vide J. Burnet, Early Greek Philosophy, Lon
don, 1908.
*Charmides 153.
16 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
The
picture in the f Protagoras, of Soc
rates charmed by the precision and rhythm
of the movements of the train of listeners
who follow Protagoras as he walks in the
portico teaching, presents the collective
ideal.
There
is also a third, a social, or for the
tProtagoras 315.
*Gorgias 470.
THE QUEST 17
t Protagoras 322.
l8 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
ance of parts of unity. Unity was sup
posed to preserve and hold together the
natural elements. It is unity a god sends to
preserve and hold together the social ele
ments. Fearing the extermination of the
race and their cities, he (Zeus) sent Hermes
to them bearing reverence a;nd justice.
These two functioning, represent the full
ness of the law, for reverence and justice
are to be "the ordering principles of cities
and the bonds of friendship and concilia
tion."
tlbid.
THE QUEST 19
Symposium 176.
20 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
fMemo 81.
JProtagoras 326.
THE "SOCRATIC METHOD" 21
Justice bears a re
. . .
*Protagoras 331.
24 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
The
third stage of the "Socratic Method"
consists in arriving at refined
definition.
The jGorgias affords an illustration of
this. Under cover of Rhetoric, the themes
of falsehood, and evil are examined.
good,
After an extended analysis for a definition
of the Good, its final determination
is predi
cated as "order," "system,"
"organism."
In arguing with Collides, Socrates asks
... Is not the virtue of each thing de-
*Gorgias 474.
*Gorgias 506-7.
26 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
Yes, I
pendent on order or arrangement?
say. And that which
makes a thing good is
the proper order inhering in each thing?
That is my view. And is not the soul
which has an order of her own better than
that which has no order of her own? Cer
tainly. And the soul which has order
orderly? Of course. And that which is
is temperate? Assuredly.
And the
orderly
temperate soul is good? No other answer
can I give. . . .".
The Idea
in Plato has three stages of de
The Idea
velopment:
(a) An aesthetic projection,
(b) A metaphysical fixity,
An ideal or artistic standard or
meas
(c)
urement .
Symposium 210.
28 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
form only and from that create fair
thoughts
and so soon he will himself
". . .
per
ceive that the beauty of one form is
truly
related to the beauty of another; and then
if
beauty in general is his pursuit, how fool
ish would he be not to recognize that the
beauty in every form is one and the same."
ot
real nature or essence
Aglimpse of the
essences is prenatally experienced
above the
r heaven . .
knowledge dwel
justice,temperance, and
celestial
in company with other
As the world revolves,
1
"
forms
sees and knows them
soul-HxM *a6 6irf)v
eternal forms in 1
as they exist in their
world above. When the soul comes t
forms-beauty, justic
earth, she finds the
temperance,
and knowledge embodied
no
then she recognizes them, -
particulars;
as in the "heaven
above the heavens
*a6 Mv but .through the
"
. .
ccOTY) f
of sense."
clearest aperture
*Vide Phaedo.
tPhaedrus 247.
THE IDEA 31
flbid. 596.
*Republic 597.
32 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
"measurement."
The
apprehends the xocva by the
<lfuxf)
measurement is conversant."
Now, "...
art of measurement" has two parts, "...
one which has to do with relative size" and
. another without which production
. .
of "the more or
unlimited," until
"the less,"
*Philebus 27-8.
38 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
Cle. Yes.
Ath. And can he who does not know
what the exact object is which
imitated, is
*Laws 668.
THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
42
The Timaeus
most
In the Timaeus, we find Plato
s
doctrines. He
pronounced metaphysical
of the T of
attempts an account
ve<jiq
to harmonize
xoc^oc; and undertakes
He is not
ator, things, and knowledge.
the *creation of all
attempting to describe
a
that is, but rather a logical feve^,
fusion of TOTrepaqandToaxeipov
IxeO^iq, the
of the Philebus.
It is scarcely proper to
contrast
of the prin
of the Good as the embodiment
ciples
and the creation of
of value,
natural laws,
Timaeus as the embodiment of
for the Idea of the Good represents
subtle of a wise man, who knows
judgments
and can lool
knowledge in all its relations
and
down through the different approaches
order and
see all things in their proper
and the world of the Timaeus
proportions;
to hold to the
is said to be a living thing;
one would
view of natural laws consistently,
x of conside
have to include an unknown
a radiant vitality. How-
able importance
Vide Politictis 273.
THE TIMAEUS 43
physical" treatise, as an
account of the kind
of world in which the individual as a being
with rational faculties is to attain ideal
citizenship .
Man
created the fairest possible with
is
brought order."
*Timaeus 30.
46 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
second .
participants ^
whole
4>iXoao<A(a
too i
the data this gift supplies,
ever
derived, than which no greater good
I"
to mortal
was or will be given by the gods
man."
of the Creator m
The ultimate purpose
the
a benefit, accords with
disposing such
controls all creation.
aesthetic unity which
invented and gave sight
t"God
courses
end that we might behold the
.
of intelligence in
the heavens" and thus
intelligence "which
the perturbed"; thus learn
unperturbed to
tlbid.
tlbid.
Ibid.
THE TIMAEUS 53
The body,
as is the universe, is a fourfold
proportionate compaction of earth and fire
and water and air; health
the permanence
is
of these four elements in
their natural
order, f"
the unnatural excess and
defects ... or change of any one of them
from their own place into another, or again
*Timaeus 47.
fTimaeus 82.
54 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
the assumption on the part of these diverse
natures of fire and the like of that which
is not suitable to them . . .
produces dis
eases and disorders."
flbid.
THE TIMAEUS
S5
and sound"; cataclysm is attendant
upon
the variation of these
proportions.
the diviner
eised against
this end
be ltny and
well ***
Plato argues that^he ^^ ^ g
should practice
od.
truly fair
and tndy
the
88 .
^Timaeus
Timaeus 88.
THE TIMAEUS 57
The Good
The stage of apTT) as
initial e!Bo<; appears
in the Gorgias as the concept "order."
ing, as distinguished
from the unreal and
changing, that the ethical
has its genesis;
the basis of morality is in the knowledge
and choice of the Good.
This explains why fCallicles cannot leave
the word of "unrefuted." Rec
3>iXoao4>fa
that inheres
ognizing the order and beauty
*Gorgias 506.
jGorgias 482 .
THE GOOD 59
?)
?)
it must contain no
preponderance of ele
ments to the production of discord.
The philosopher is he who has the "well-
proportioned and gracious mind," who per
ceives that which is "known but not seen,"
"who has music in his soul," "who is most in
. .
.," finally . . .
pure
pleasures of the soul ..."
It is the
moderating measurement which
is due control in all actions, which enables
one to live elegantly and judge wisely *"
. . .
*Philebus 66.
Laws 668.
THE GOOD 63
subject . .
.";
it is the activity of wisdom
which cannot be explained for it is beyond
rules, beyond science and dialectic;
it is
Education
In his development of an ideal state,
Plato applies the aesthetic principle to
three of its phases, wisdom in a philosopher,
the fundamentals of a good society, and the
ideal ruler as the product of education.
*"
. . . Wisdom and true and fixed opin
ions" the results of education, bring not
for
"
.he
only happiness but perfection;
. .
*Laws 653.
tlbid.
EDUCATION 65
in the dance
pointed to be our partners
they stir us into life and
we
(and) . . .
question
*
Shall we begin with the ac
first given
knowledgment that education is
and to
through Apollo and the Muses?"
assent."
this, Cleinias responds
"I
at sea . .
.";
moving them about day and
night will cultivate therhythmic impulsion.
In the treatment of educational theory in
the Protagoras, strong emphasis is placed
upon the same aesthetic elements. Here,
:U
also, Education and admonition com
mence in the first years of childhood, and
last to the very end of life." As soon as
the child has learned his letters, he is en
trusted to teachers of the lyre, (who)
"the
*Protagoras 326.
70 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
there
Both in mathematics and astronomy
but these details are
are ostensible details,
current mathematics
the developments of
to
and astronomy rather than the uses
1
in developing
which they may be put
ideal citizen.
to tru
to pass from generation
he (must) rise
"
Republic 525-
EDUCATION 73
""And
may we
not say," Adeimantus is
asked, "that great crimes and the spirit of
evil spring out of a fullness of nature ruined
In treating of
philosophic germ, the
analogy with a plant may be followed; the
germ having proper nourishment, f"
. . .
*Republic 491.
t Republic 492.
^Republic 490.
74 THE AESTHETIC Motif FROM THALES TO PLATO
"
unjust or . . .
*Republic 486.
EDUCATION 77
dhwipov, Tb, 2, 32, 33, 37, 42. X 6qio;, 1, 3, 8, 15, 42, 43.
, 32.
<rrcop(a, 21.
dpoc((i>ac<;, 5, 10.
M
frfveoK;, 42, 77.
tiiivtiXJK;, 5, 10.
E fo, 27, 42.
t"8T), 27, 30, 37. lov, Tb, 9, 36.
c, 22.
X6yoi, 22. N
CTjiiT), 32, 33, 58, 66. v^cx;, 9.
ipdJTwv, 22. vou<;, 45, 49.
e
666?, 31. oiafa, 77.
6e6t, 11.
n
^eata, 12.
, 4. xapouafac, 25.
;, Tb, 32, 37, 42.
79
8o INDEX
icveiJ(jLa T&, 5.
z, 21.
5X7)>
;, 5.
2 9avraafa, 33.
, 22. _,
, tb, 34.
, 27.
INDEX
INDEX
articulation, 43, 63, 70.
assumption, 24, 54.
articulating, 23.
Astronomy, 72.
artisans, 29.
asymmetrical, 4.
artist, 31, 37.
Athenian, the, 38, 65, 68.
artistic, 46, 49, 63, 64.
Athens, 15, 21, 43.
artists, 31.
artistry, 38.
attainment, 12, 54.
II
Idea, 26, 32, 35, 38, 42, 46, impulse, 67, 71.
61,63,64,66,77. impulsion, 69.
Ideal, 15, 16, 20, 26, 29, 31, inability, 17.
35, 37, 38, 43, 45, 47, 60, inadequacy, 43.
63,64,66,72, 74. inadequate, 63.
Idealism, 15, 19, 20, 43, 62. incense, 6.
identification, 9, 32. imcomprehensible, 47.
Ideas, 34, 35, 36, 60, 74, 77. incorporate, 74.
ignorance, 22, 56, 75, 76. indissoluble, 48.
illustration, 25. individual, I, 15, 16, 19, 20,
image, 50, 74, 75. 32, 43, 44, 65, 66, 70,
imitation, 38, 39. 75-
immanence, 34, 47. individuals, i, 74.
immanent, 38, 47. induction, 22.
immortals, 7. infancy, 69.
immortal, 57. infants, 69.
immortality, 57. inferiority, 73.
imperfect, 46, 50. infinite, 5, 46.
K
keen, 74. kindred, 74.
key, 14. king, n, 16, 17.
kind, 10, 43. knowledge, 22, 23, 27, 30,
kinds, 16, 29, 31. 32, 33, 36, 37, 42, 50, 57,
kindling, 6. 58, 63, 64, 72, 73, 74, 75.
letters, 69.
INDEX
M
macrocosmic, 3, 6, 45. means, 47.
magnitude, n. meaning, 20, 35, 38, 40.
magnitudes, II. meanings, 60.
maintenance, 55. measure, 6, 37, 51, 53, 62.
majority, 66. measured, the, 62.
maker, 29. measures, 36.
man, 7, 17, 18, 19, 20, 24, 44, measurement, 26, 32, 36, 47,
49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 56, 48, 49, 62.
67, 60, 6l, 64, 66, 67, 71, measurements, 37.
75,76,78. mechanism, 43.
mankind, 53, 58, 66, 74. melody, 15.
manner, 21, 45, 54. men, 7, 9, 21, 22, 43, 60,
Many, the, 28, 46. 68, 75-
master, 70. merchants, 72.
matiere, 73. mensuration, 62.
material, 55. metaphysical, 3, 42, 43.
mathematical, 72. Metaphysics, 13.
mathematics, 62, 71, 72. Method, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25,
matter, 17, 27. 35-
maxims, 61, 63. microcosmic, 45.
mean, 36, 37, 47, 48- military, 72.
INDEX
mind, 18, 27, 33, 49, 55, 58, motion, 6, 10, 15, 50, 51, 56,
61,62,63, 70, 73, 74. 57, 60.
mirror, 31. motions, 15, 51, 56, 57.
mixture, 63. movement, 7, 34.
model, 28, 29, 31. movements, 16, 67, 70.
moderation, 19, 44, 70. mud, 12.
modesty, 22. multiplicity, 34, 74.
moist, 54. Muses, 53, 68.
months, 52. music, 13, 39, 41, 56, 61,
morals, 2, 13. 70, 71.
morality, I, 58, 61, 76. musical, 53.
mortal, 49, 52. mystery, 4, 6, 14.
mortals, 7. mysteries, 27.
N
[
U
ultimate, 52, 65. 22, 26, 27, 32, 34, 45, 46,
understanding, 7, 76. 48,50,52,63,64,76.
uneducated, 69. unities, 27.
W
waking, 7. whole, the, 10, 52, 57, 77-
war, 6, 70. winter, 6.
warm, 54. Wisdom, 13, 19, 24, 43, 44,
warp, 28. 45, 49, 56, 57, 62, 64.
water, 3, 9, 12, 48, 53.
wise, 42, 44, 59, 60, 61, 63,
Way, 13.
76.
ways, 6, 53.
workman, 37.
web, 28.
wonder, 14, 54.
weights, 36.
wonders, 52.
weeds, 73.
weaver, 29. woof, 28.
weaving, 28. word, 59.
well-being, 76. words, 37, 51.
INDEX 99
X
Xenophanes, 2, 10. note, a.
BH Basiline, Mary
108 The aesthetic motif from
B3 Thales to Plato