TluUes — Anaxi mander-—Heraclitus. 43 



time when Thales went to study in Egypt, the priests of that 

 country had akeady forgotten in a great degree the metaphy- 

 sical doctrines, which in former times were kept up in their col- 

 leges. At that time the experimental method being entirely 

 unknown, the philosophers of the Ionian school devoted their 

 attention to the discovery of a principle, — that is to say, a thing 

 pre-existent to every thing. Thales thought he had found it 

 in water. This was an idea which, without doubt, he had bor- 

 rowed from the Egyptians, but which he so modified as to suit 

 his views.' According to him, water is the original matter 

 from which the world was formed. But this water could exist 

 in different states of density, and in every one of these states it 

 formed a secondary principle, an element. These elements com- 

 bining with one another in different proportions, gave rise to 

 all bodies, Thales gave a soul to the world, to animals, to 

 plants ; but by this word soul he means nothing more tlian an 

 internal cause of motion. 



Anaximander considered water only as a second principle; 

 the first, in his system, was infinite/. It is not easy in our day 

 to know precisely what he meant by that term. Did he mean 

 to say, that infinite space was pre-existent to matter ? That is 

 scarcely probable, since the ancient philosophers have, all of 

 them, regarded matter as eternal. Be it as it may, Anaximan- 

 der, having placed his second principle in water, maintained, 

 that, originally, men were fish, and that they had arrived at 

 their last state only by a series of transformations. This singular 

 idea was many times revived, and has been so even in our days. 



Anaximenes, a disciple, it is thought, of Anaximander, placed 

 his principle in air, wliich, by different degrees of condensation, 

 and by means of various combinations, gave rise to all beings, 

 and even to the gods. 



Finally, Heraclitus, who may be regarded as belonging also 

 to the Ionian school, placed his principle in fire ; but perhaps 

 he considered it rather as the source of animation and motion, 

 than as forming the real matter of bodies. There is a pcrcep* 

 tible resemblance between his system and that of the physio- 

 logists, who have placed their principle of life, in all animals, in 

 the heat produced by the act of respiration. 



