SOCRATES. 23 



detailed and refuted by Lucretius, i. 830.) He considered that 

 everything was of a mixed nature except mind, which animated and 

 moved the universe. Anaxagoras himself was called Noi/c, " Mind," 

 probably from this dogma. It appears, however, that he supposed 

 certain revolutions (frivoi) of the world, or of parts of the universe, 

 which were quite independent of this mind. Moreover, he attributed 

 mind to animals of every kind, which he designated by the same 

 appellation as that which he applied to the supreme intelligence. 



It being agreed on all hands that Anaxagoras supposed the chaotic 

 mass of particles to have been reduced into order by the divine intelli- 

 gence, it may appear strange that Irena?iis should have branded 

 him with the imputation of atheism. The following passage of that 

 father is quoted by Bayle (art. Anaxagoras, p. 212) : "Anaxa- 

 goras autem, qui et Atheus cognominatus est, dogmatizavit facta 

 animalia decidentibus e ccelo in terram seminibus, quod et hi ipsi in 

 matris suag transtulerunt semina, etesse hoc semen seipsos statim con- 

 fitentes apud eos qui sensum habent, et ipsos esse quae sunt Anaxa- 

 goriae irreligiosi semina." 



The fact seems to be that Irenasus confounded Anaxagoras the 

 Clazomenian with Diagoras the Melian, who was called, by way of 

 distinction, the Atheist. 



Anaxagoras was sensible of the difficulties which embarrass all the 

 speculations of human reason upon the final causes of things ; he 

 complained that all things w r ere surrounded with darkness. In the 

 mathematical sciences he found a greater degree of certainty, although His mathe- 

 even in this department of knowledge he seems to have indulged in Stromlmicai 

 speculations upon abstruse points. He is said to have treated of the speculations, 

 quadrature of the circle, of the nature of comets, of the milky way, 

 earthquakes, winds, thunder, eclipses, and the annual overflowing of 

 the Nile : a constant source of perplexity to the ancient naturalists. 

 He is related to have foretold the fall of a stone from the sun, which 

 did actually fall into the Goat's River in Thrace, and was there 

 venerated as having come from heaven. This is a curious incident. 

 Of course it is impossible that Anaxagoras should have predicted the 

 fall of the stone : the fact probably is, that having heard of the circum- 

 stance, he said that the stone had fallen from the sun, agreeably to his 

 own hypothesis of the sun's being an ignited mass of stone. This, we 

 believe, is the first distinct mention of an aerolite, or meteorolite, which 

 occurs in ancient history; 1 and the account given by Anaxagoras 

 of the stone in question, is pretty nearly as probable as the theory of 

 La Place, who supposes these meteorolites to be projected from a 

 volcano in the moon, and having passed the sphere of lunar gravita- 

 tion, to pursue their course to the earth's surface. 



Amongst the opinions of Anaxagoras on points of natural history, His opinions 

 the most remarkable are these : ' 



1 We ought, perhaps, to except the S/osrsrej a.yot\pas, of the Tauric Diana, and the 

 , or ancile of Numa ; both of which were probably aerolites. 



