34 THE GREEK SCHOOL PHILOSOPHY. 



strongly for the opinion that their philosophy on 

 such subjects was the native growth of the Greek 

 mind, and owed nothing to the supposed lore of 

 Egypt and the East; an opinion which has been 

 adopted with regard to the Greek philosophy in 

 general by the most competent judges on a full 

 survey of the evidence 5 . Indeed, we have no evi- 

 dence whatever that, at any period, the African or 

 Asiatic nations, (with the exception perhaps of the 

 Indians,) ever felt this importunate curiosity with 

 regard to the definite application of the idea of 

 cause and effect to visible phenomena ; or drew so 

 strong a line between a fabulous legend and a reason 

 rendered; or attempted to ascend to a natural cause 

 by classing together phenomena of the same kind. 

 We may be well excused, therefore, for believing 

 that they could not impart to the Greeks what they 

 themselves did not possess ; and so far as our survey 

 goes, physical philosophy has its origin, apparently 

 spontaneous and independent, in the active and 

 acute intellect of Greece. 



Sect. 2. Primitive Mistake in Greek Physical 

 Philosophy. 



WE now proceed to examine with what success the 

 Greeks followed the track into which they had thus 

 struck. And here we are obliged to confess that 



5 Thirlwall, Hist. Gr., ii. 130; and, as there quoted, Ritter, 

 Geschichteder Philosophic^ i. 159173. 



