Universidade de Leuven - Universidade de Coimbra

4 downloads 342 Views 4MB Size Report
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