Past, in La biogmphie antique, Entreticns sur lAnuquite classique, T. XLIV, par
W.W.Ehlers, ... 1 J. Pillion - Lahille, Le De Ira de Se'neque et la philosophic sto'
icienne des passions, Paris,. 1984, p. 8. A short ..... 25 Cf. Seneca, De Ira II, 35, 1-
2.
JtosAGwNNsraao
HUMANITASVOLLY
I MMII
dedurre che Plutarco avesse concepito questa serie di Vite come singole e tuttavia legate Γ una all'altra dal succedersi degli imperatori, insomnia come una diadoche, ottenendo il risultato di una narrazione storica continua ancorche scandita, ο piuttosto segmentata, dalla trasmissione del potere.
L. VAN DER STOCKT
Universidade de Leuven
Forse Plutarco intendeva in tal modo riprodurre nell'ambito della storia politico-militate uno schema biografico, quello a p p u n t o delle Diadochai, assai in voga soprattutto in epoca ellenistica ed ampiamente utilizzato nella storiografia filosofica; probabilmente alia scelta delPautore
PLUTARCH'S ANGER IN AULLUS CELLIUS, NOCTES ATTICAE, 1,26
non dovette essere estranea neppure la tradizione del collegamento cronologico fra opere storiche di autori diversi40.
INTRODUCTION
E ' e v i d e n t e , per la insufficienza delle t e s t i m o n i a n z e a nostra disposizione e per il loro diverse valore, che le ipotesi di ricostruzione cii
y j The question if man is violent and aggressive by nature divides
queste e delle altre Vite, qui brevemente discusse, non possono che essere
the scientists till this very day. Some sociobiologists, founding their
ispirate alia massima prudenza: questa sintetica rassegna ha voluto soprattutto
conclusions on experiments with animals and then extrapolating them,
mettere in evidenza i problemi ancora aperti, neila convinzione tuttavia che
would eagerly subscribe to the maxim "homo homini lupus": evolution
da tin loro approfondimento l'immagine di Plutarco biografo non potra
would have engraved into our genes the tendency towards violence and
che risultare piu ricca ed interessante.
rage. O n the other hand, some adherants of comparative psychology, studying human societies, would argue that circumstances are impelling aggression on a nature that is essentially peaceful. The question is not without importance, for, in function of the solution which one adheres to, that is in function of one's view of the human ήθη?, one will propose divergent projects as to its παιδεία, and one will try to influence the individual and society in different, if not opposing manners. If man is peaceful by nature, it suffices to create the circumstances in which this natural goodness will flourish. If he is aggressive by nature, repressive measures must be taken in order to secure society. In view of the importance and the implications of the question, it is not surprising that the Ancients occupied themselves with the question of
111
Su tutto cio cf. G.W. Bowersock, Vita Caesarum. Remembering and Forgetting the Past, in La biogmphie antique, Entreticns sur lAnuquite classique, T. XLIV, par W.W.Ehlers, Vandoeuvres-Geneve 1997, 193-215, che contiene ampi riferimenti alia bibliografia precedente. Sul genere delie Diadochai come biografia di filosofi cf. W.von Kienie, Die Berichte iiber die Sukzessionen derPhilosophen in derhellenistiscben und spdtantiken Litcratur, Berlin 1961; J. Mejer, Diogenes Laertius and his hellenistic Background, Wiesbaden 1978; R.Giannattasio, J frammentt delle «Succcssioni dei filosofi», Napoli 1989.
142
aggression and rage, if only because — if one follows a recent study on Seneca1 — rage was so frequent and impressive in their Mediterranian region!
1
J. Pillion - Lahille, Le De Ira de Se'neque et la philosophic sto'icienne des passions, Paris, 1984, p. 8. A short overview of the Ancients' reflection on anger can be found in the same volume (p. 17-28) and in R. Laurenti - G. Indelli, Plutarco. Sulcontrollo dell'ira. Introduzione,
LVANDERSTOOCT
PLUTARCH'S ANGER INAULLUS GELUUS, NOCTES ATTICAE, 1,26_
Be that as it may, the Ancients as well referred to the animals to
regarded as an eulogy on ττραόττ]ς('.
argue their case. They as well associated with their observations on animals different opinions on human nature 2 .
Now there is an interesting anecdote in Aullus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, I, 26, where Plutarch himself is described in the very act of punishing a
Stoics denied the animals any rationality: that is the privilege of
slave: Gellius remembers that Taurus once narrated that story. The passage
man. Man's παιδεία therefore consists in cultivating this rationality as the
naturally invites for a comparsion of Plutarch's 'theory', as expounded in
only road to virtue and — according to Chrysippus — as the sole means to
De cohibenda ira and elsewhere, and his praxis.
get rid of the passions, like rage, passions which, for that matter, are but false judgements.
Before this problem can be tackled, some chronology must be brought up. Aullus Gellius was born between 125 and 130 A.D. He visited Greece
Concerning the evaluation of anger, the Stoics thus disagreed with
in 147/8 , being between 17 and 22 years old. There is the origin of the
Plato, Rep. 41 lb, who had required a certain amount of θυμό? as a condition
scholarship Gellius will exhibit in his Noctes Atticae, a work started in Ath
for bravery .
ens but finished (in its present state) towards 158 A.D.' Among his teach
The Peripatetics on the other hand, regarded passions as the necessary
ers in Athens was Lucius Caivenus Taurus, a Platonist -whose floruit is placed
basis for virtues, which are (but) excellent μ ε σ ό τ η τ ε ? of the passions. In
by Eusebius in 145 A.D . Nov/ in the passage of Gellius, Taurus calls
this case, human culture consists in exercising the passions, like rage, and
Plutarch ^Plutarcbus noster. Whether this 'noster is undetstood as pointing
to bring them to 'excellence'.
to some degree of familiarity between Taurus and Plutarch , or rather as pointing to a relation of master-pupil , Taurus, if born ca. 100 A.D., can
[2] Plutarch of Chaeronea was well acquainted with the Classical and
have known Plutarch when he himself was about 20 and Plutarch about 80
Hellenistic philosophical literature on anger. He used it extensively when,
to 85, that is: at about 120 A.D. In other words: from a chronological
after 92/93 , he wrote his dialogue Tie pi
5
άοργησίας• (and an essay TTepl
anecdote impossible: Taurus can have been an eyewitness at about 120
that dialogue, the main character, viz. Fundanus, narrates how he healed
A.D.; he can have told the story to Gellius in 147.
himself of the passion of anger, and notably (in § 11) how he became able
The question, however, if things actually took place as implied in
to punish his slaves without being angry. In general, the dialogue can be
Gellius' report — and thus: if Taurus' story about Plutarch is historically
testo critico, traduzione e commento (CorpusPlutarchiMoralium), 2
Napoli, 1988, p. 7-18.
O n e should, however, keep in mind that "the idea of innate aggressiveness is very rare
in ancient texts": M . C . Nussbaum, The Therapy of Desire. Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, Princeton, 1994, p. 4 1 1 , n. 19. 3
Cf. T. Duff, Plutarch's Lives, Exploring Virtue and Vice, Oxford, 1999, p. 2 1 1 .
4
See C.p. Jones, "Towards a Chronology of Plutarch's Works", JRS 56 (1966), p. 6 1 .
5
Source critcism of De cohibenda ira: M. Pohlenz, "Uber Plutarchs Schrift ΠΕΡΙ
Α Ο Ρ Γ Η Σ Ι Α Σ " , Hermes 31 (1896), p. 321-338; A. Schlemm, " U b e r die Q u e l l e n der Plutarchischen Schrift ΠΕΡΙ
ΑΟΡΓΗΣΙ ΑΣ", Hermes 38 (1903), p. 587-607; Η. Ringeltaube,
Quaestionesadveterumphilosophorum
deaffectibusdoctrinampertinentes,
Diss, inaug. Gottingae,
1913; P. Rabbow, Antike Schrifien uber Seelenheilungund' Seelenleitung auflhre Quellen untersucht. I. Die Therapie des Zorns. Leipzig-Berlin, 1914.
144
point of view, there is no reason to consider the implied transmission of the
όργης [Lamprias catalogue n° 93], of which only a fragment survives). In
true — , is another matter. But my question will not be so much about a eyev€ro
but: οία
αν
-γένοιτο:
is the story about Plutarch plausible?
'']. deRomilly, La douceur dans lapensiegrecque,
Paris, 1979 p. 296, and cf. L. Van der
Stockt, "Odysseus in Rome. O n Plutarch's introduction to De cohibenda ira", in Ploutarchos (forthcoming). 7
H. Krasser, "Gellius. 5" in DNP 4, Stuttgart - Weimar, 1998, col. 896.
s
Cf. R. Marache, Aulu-Gelle. Les Nuits Attiques. Livre I-IV'{Collection des Universites de
France), Paris, 1967, p. XII. 9
J. Dillon, The Middle Platanists. A Study ofPlatonism
80 B.C. to A.D. 220, London,
1977, p. 237. '" Cf. J. Dillon, o.c, p. 237. " As in the translation of Rolfe, see n. 12.
145
JLVANDERSTOCKT
PLUTARCH'S ANGER IN AULLUS GELUUS, N O C T E S Α τ ί κ α ϊ ,
2. P L U T A R C H I N A C T I O N : AULLUS G E L U U S , NOCTES
ATTICAE,
I,
1,26
(D) Now the sum andsubstance of Taurus'whole disquisition was this: he did
26
not believe that ά ο ρ γ η σ ί α or "freedom from anger", and α ν α λ γ η σ ί α , or "lack of Aullus Geilius, Noctes Atticae, as follows
I, 2 6 (the subdivisions are m i n e ) r u n s
:
sensibility" were identical; but that a mind not prone to anger was one thing, a spirit α ν ά λ γ η τ ο ? Λ ^ ά ν α ί σ θ η τ ο ? , that is, callous and unfeeling, quite another. For as of
(A) "I once asked Taurus in his lecture-room tvhethera wise man got angry. For
all the rest of the emotions which the Latin philosophers