HEIDEL. — OX FRAGMKNTS OF THE I'UE-SOC'RATICS. 719 



TtKix-qpia. Thus we sec tliat the (lialectic of PariiuMiidt's, which 

 e\ ontuiited in the Aristotelian lo^ie, employed the t'onns and termi- 

 nology of forensic rhetoric, though with an evident ed'ort to reduce 

 argumentation to the exactitude of demonstration; and Trto-ns oK-qOris is 

 just tiiis demonstration of truth. When, therefore, Parmenides oltjects 

 to the ^poTuiv bb^ai, it is because they do not carry the force of logical 

 or dialectic evidence, or that such evidence is against them. 



V2 115, 19. Fr. 1, ;]7, 



lJibvo% 8' en dvfxos ooolo 

 XetTTcrai. 



V2 118, 38. Fr. S, 1, 



IXOVVOS 8' tTL IJLVdoS 68010 



XetTrerat, cbs ecxTLv. 



It appears to be geherally conceded that Ov/jlos and /jlvBos are cor- 

 ruptions of one and the same word; dv/uds, at any rate, is unintelligible. 

 Of the numerous emendations proposed Piatt's olfxas is doubtless the 

 best, though Diels seems to prefer pu^/os; but pv/ios does not so well 

 explain the corruption as of/xos. I am al^out to propose a correction, 

 which seems to me all but certain. The stress on /jlovos and XetTrerat 

 suggests that we are reduced to a way that barely remains. Similarly 

 Plato, Symp. 18i B, fxia 8e XeiTrerat rw rifxeTepcx) v6p.io 68bs, reinforced by 

 184 E, ^ovaxov evravda . . . aWodi 8e ov8aiJ.ov, like the Aristotelian 

 dictum, TO a/jLaprdveLv TroXXaxcos ecrt, to KaTopdovv ixovax^^y calls to 

 mind the Gospel saying, aTtvi] 17 ttuXtj /cat TedXLixjjikvr} 17 686% r] uTayovaa 

 eis Trjv ^oor}v. I take it for granted that Parmenides regarded and 

 characterized the way of Ti'uth as a strait and narrow path, just as, 

 fr. 6, 2 sq., he ol)viously thinks of the way of Error as broad, since 

 "mortals, knowing nought, stagger (TrXdrroirat) along it with un- 

 steady minds." I can think of nothing so suitable for his purpose, 

 or so likely to give rise to the corruptions ^u/xos and nvdos, as the 

 ■vvord iadp.6s. Plato, Tim. 69 E, uses it of the human neck, Emped. 

 fr. 100, 19, of the narrow orifice of the clepsydra, and Horn., a iiOO, 

 uses 'iadixiov of a necklace. The Homeric scholiast says that the throat 

 is called i(jdp.6s, airo tov datkvai ttjv Tpocpiju 8l' avTov. The correspond- 

 ing use of avxrjv (Herod. 7. 223) and of fauces in Latin in speaking 

 of a narrow defile or 'isthmus' is sufficiently well known. Now it 

 happens that in Emped. fr. 100, 19, lad/jLos has become corrupted in 

 a part of the MS. tradition, and in Sophocl., fr. 145, 



