A STEP FORWARD IN GREECE 



reflected in the ideas of the thinkers following 

 those early natural philosophers, more especially 

 in those of Demokritos, Epicurus, and their re- 

 actionary opponents, Socrates, Plato, and Aris- 

 totle. 



In the ideas of Demokritos, the influence of the 

 early materialist philosophers is still plainly vis- 

 ible. According to him, nothing exists but atoms 

 and empty space. The atoms are infinite in num- 

 ber and in form. They are in constant motion, 

 falling through space the faster the larger they 

 are. In their fall, the larger atoms strike the 

 smaller ones. These are thrown aside by the 

 force of the contact and continue in their whirl- 

 ing motion, thus forming the beginning of the 

 first globes by gathering other atoms in their 

 revolutions. The atoms, according to Demokri- 

 tos, do not experience any internal changes. They 

 react upon one another only by pressure or shock. 

 The soul of man is composed of fine, smooth 

 atoms, similar to those of fire. These atoms pene- 

 trate the whole human body and produce the phe- 

 nomena of life. 



The theories of Demokritos contain in the germ 

 all the fundamental principles of modern mate- 

 rialism. And just as he represented the evolu- 

 tionary element in the society of Athens, so in 



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