WARM AND COLD AS MOTION AND REST

Our next entry must be completely unexpected, as we are introducing here a very minor philosopher who is so minor that it is hard to find a mention of him anywhere except in an explicitly hostile to him Testimonial by the early Christian writer Hippolytus, who uses him as an example of former philosophical heresies. We know that Archelaus lived in the fifth century BC and was a reputed teacher of Socrates (note the indefinite article a, as Socrates must surely have learned from many different teachers).

Once again we are breaking the chronological order, because it looks like Archelaus was mostly influenced by Anaxagoras, whom we have just discussed. The fact that we have chosen to mention Archelaus at all, is due to some originality which he displays in his development of Anaxagorian ideas. So, here is Hippolytus with his testimonial.

Archelaus, son of Apollodorus, was by birth an Athenian. He spoke about the mixture of matter in a similar way to Anaxagoras, and of the first principles likewise. He held, however, that there was a certain mixture immanent even in Nous. He also held that there were two efficient causes, which were separated off from one another, namely, the warm and the cold. The former was in motion, the latter at rest. When the water was liquefied, it flowed to the center, and there being burnt up, it turned to earth and air, the latter of which was carried upwards, while the former took up its position below. These then, are the reasons why the earth is at rest, and why it came into being. It lies in the center (geocentrism is, of course, a fallback from certain earlier revolutionary theories of the universe!) being practically no appreciable part of the universe. But the air rules over all things, produced by the burning of the fire,--- and from its original combustion comes the substance of the heavenly bodies. Of these the sun is the largest, and the moon second; the rest are of various sizes. He says that the heavens were inclined, and then, the sun made fight upon the earth, made the air transparent, and the earth-- dry; for it was originally a pond, being high at the circumference and hollow in the center. He adduces as proof of this hollowness that the sun does not rise and set at the same time for all peoples, as it ought to do, if the earth were level. As to animals, he says that when the earth was first being warm in the lower part where the warm and the cold were mingled together many living creatures appeared and especially people all having the same manner of life and deriving their sustenance from the slime; they did not live long, and later on, generation from one another began. And people were distinguished from the rest and set up leaders and laws and arts and cities, and so forth. And he also says that Nous is implanted in all animals alike; for each of the animals as well as humans makes use of Nous, but some quicker and some slower.

This is about all that can be said about Archelaus, so far. Probably the most significant part of this narrative is the theory of warm and cold as the two efficient causes, one associated with motion, the other, with rest. Yes it is fairly ingenuous and therefore must be treated with some respect: not because it is true but because it has some interesting general implications, from which the subsequent generations could profit, and which they could keep building on.