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+ WHETHER FIRE OR WATER IS MORE USEFUL (AQUANE AN IGNIS UTILIOR) +
+ + INTRODUCTION +

+ There seems to be no reason to discuss this little work + in detail, since F. H. Sandbach + Class. Quart. xxxiii (1939), pp. 198-202. G. Kowolski, De Plut. scriptorum iuvenilium colore rhetorico, Cracow, 1918, pp. 258 ff., also denied the authenticity. has shown conclusively that it cannot be genuine. Still more might + be added to his proofs, sound and thorough as they + are; but this is not the place to slay the slain. It is + the more to be regretted that Ziegler, in the article + on Plutarch in Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie, has + not had access to Sandbach’s work,This is very puzzling since Ziegler later (936) cites the same article as authoritative on rhythmical matters. though he does + refer to Xylander’s athetesis, only to reject it, and + might have mentioned Meziriacus’ as well. +

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+ Sandbach well observes: To write an exercise + on the comparative utility of fire and water may + seem so difficult to us moderns who do not have such + tasks as part of our education, that we do not recognize how badly the topic is here handled... While + it is possible that Plutarch wrote this work as a parody, + or when a schoolboy, or under some strange circumstances, yet... the most probable view is that a + miserable sophistical exercise on the subject Whether + fire or water is more useful was fathered on the author + of a diversion entitled Whether land- or water-animals + are more intelligent, just as the Consolatio ad Apollonium + + + + was ascribed to the author of a consolation addressed + to his wife, or the Lives of the Ten Orators to the author + of some more famous biographies. +

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+ The text is extremely bad, as may be seen by + examining Wegehaupt’s topheavyWegehaupt collated some 34 mss. for his edition, all of which he cites separately. apparatus in + <foreign xml:lang="grc">Χάριτες </foreign> + <foreign xml:lang="deu">für Friedrich Leo</foreign> (Berlin, Weidmann, 1911)? + pp. 158-169- It is possible, to be sure, that part at + least of the difficulty of the text is due to the author. + Less emendation than that admitted here might not + seriously damage what is irreparable nonsense in any + case. Some attempt has been made to reproduce the + childish style of the original. +

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+ The work is no. 206 in the catalogue of Lamprias.The new Teubner edition of this and the following essays appeared while this volume was in proof, so that only the most necessary changes and corrections could be made. In this essay (since Wegehaupt’s edition was already available) they have not been so plentiful as in the subsequent ones, for which Hubert has now provided the first truly critical edition that these works have ever had. + +

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+ Water is best, but gold is a flaming fire, + says Pindar. + Olympians, i. 1. He, therefore, bluntly assigns the + second place to fire; and Hesiod + Theogony, 116. agrees with him + in the words + And first of all came Chaos into being; + for most people believe that this is his name for water + because it flows (chysis).Etymologizing (as in Mor. 948 e-f supra) chaos from chysis, diffusion of liquid. + Yet the balance of witnesses on both sides seems to be equal. There are, + in fact, someThe Stoics; cf., e.g., von Arnim, S.V.F. i, p. 27 (Zeno, frag. 98); cf. Mor. 1053 a-b; 1067 a; 1077 b. who state that fire is the first principle + of the universe and, like a seed, creates everything out + of itself and receives all things into itself when the + conflagration occurs.On the Universal Conflagration of the Stoics see von Arnim, op. cit. ii, pp. 183 ff.; on that of Heraclitus, Cherniss, Aristotle’s Criticism of the Presocratics, p. 29, n. 108. Ignoring the authors, let us + examine the arguments on both sides and see where + they will lead us. +

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Is not that element the more useful of which + most of all, everywhere, invariably, we stand in need + as a household tool and, I swear, a friend, ready to + help us at any time, in any emergency? Yet fire is + + + + not always useful; sometimes, indeed, we find it too + much and interrupt our use of it. But water is used + both winter and summer, sick and well, night and + day: there is no time when a man does not need it. + That, of course, is the reason why the dead are called + alibantes, meaning that they are without libas, moisture, + + Cf. Mor. 736 a; Galen, De Temperament. i. 3 (i, p. 522 K.). and for lack of that deprived of life. Man + has often existed without fire, but without water + never. Besides, that which, from the beginning, + was coincidental with the inception of man is more + useful than that which was discovered later; for it + is obvious that Nature bestowed the one as vitally + necessary, while the other was brought to light by + luck or contrivance for a superfluous use. Now, none + may tell of a time when water was unknown to man, + nor is any god or hero said to be its discoverer; it + was, in fact, at hand instantly when man appeared + and was itself the cause of his appearance. But the + use of fire, they say,As, e.g., Aeschylus, Prometheus, 254. The following words in lozenge brackets are conjecturally supplied. was discovered only a day or + twro ago by Prometheus; (consequently all our preceding life was deprived of) fire, though it was not + without water. And that this is no poetic fiction is + proved by present modes of living; for there are + certain races of man who live without fire, with no + house or hearth, under the open sky. And DiogenesThis anecdote is told with rather more point and relevance in 995 c-d infra. + the Cynic reduced the use of fire to a minimum, so + that he even swallowed a squid raw, remarking, + Thus, gentlemen, do I risk my life for you. But + + + + without water no one ever thought it good, or even + possible, to live. +

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And why do I split hairs by discussing merely + human nature? For though there are many, or + rather countless, sorts of creatures, man is practically + the only one that knows the use of fire, while all the + others live and feed without it: they subsist, whether + they range abroad or fly or crawl, upon roots or produce or flesh, all without fire; but without water no + creature of the sea or land or air ever existed. For + even flesh-eating animals, some of which Aristotle + Historia Animal. viii. 3 (601 b). + says do not drink, nevertheless keep alive by using + the fluids in the flesh. That element, therefore, + without which no living nature can subsist or endure + is the more useful. +

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Let us pass from the people who use fire to the + things that we use, namely plants and produce, + This must be one of the most remarkable transitions in literature (Sandbach, op. cit. p. 200). of + which some are completely devoid of heat, while + others have an infinitesimal and uncertain amount. + Moisture, however, is the element in nature that + makes them all burgeon, growing and bearing fruit. + And why should I enumerate honey and wine and + oil and all the rest that come to us from the vintage, + the milking of herds, or taking off of honey - and it + is obvious where they belongThat is, they must be classed as liquids. - when even wheat + itself, though it is classed as a dry food, moves into + the category of liquids by alteration, fermentation, + and deliquescence? + Cf. 968 a infra; here, however, the author seems to be talking about beer. +

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Moreover, what is never detrimental is more + + + + useful. Now fire, when it forms a stream, is most + destructive; but the nature of water is never harmful. + Then again, of two elements that is more beneficial + which is cheaper and provides its help without any + preparation. Now the use of fire requires a supply + of fuel, for which reason rich people have more of + it than poor, and kings than private persons; but + water has another merit in service to man, that of + equality, with no discrimination. For it needs no + tools or implements, being a self-sufficient, self-fulfilling good. +

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Then too, that which by multiplication destroys + its own contribution is the less useful. Such a thing + is fire which, like an all-devouring beast, consumes + everything near, so that it is useful rather by skilful + handling and craft and moderation in use than by + its own nature; but water is never dangerous. + Further, of two things the one which may be joined + with its fellow is more useful. Now fire does not admit + moisture and is of no use when in conjunction with + it; but water is of service when combined with fire, + for hot water is healing and well adapted to medicinal + purposes. A watery fire you will never see; but + water is as useful to mankind when hot as when cold. +

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Furthermore, though there are but four elements, + Cf. Mor. 948 d above; in 729 b the sea is called the naturally hostile element. + water provides from itself a fifth, so to say, + the sea, one no less beneficial than the others, especially for commerce among other things. This element, + therefore, when our life was savage and unsociable, + linked it together and made it complete, redressing + defects by mutual assistance and exchange and so + + + + bringing about co-operation and friendship. Now + HeraclitusDiels-Kranz, Frag. der Vorsok. i. 173, frag. B 99. In Mor. 98 c a fuller and more appropriate version is given; but see now H. Fränkel, Wege und Formen, p. 270 and n. 1. declares, If there were no sun, it would + be perpetual night; in the same way we may say + that if there were no sea, man would be the most + savage and destitute of all creatures. But as it is, + the sea brought the Greeks the vine from India, from + Greece transmitted the use of grain across the sea, + from Phoenicia imported letters as a memorial + against forgetfulness, + Cf. Euripides, frag. 578 (p. 542 Nauck). thus preventing the greater + part of mankind from being wineless, grainless, and + unlettered. How, then, should water not be more + useful when it has the advantage over fire of one more + element?For this delightful absurdity see Sandbach, op. cit. p. 199, n. 4. +

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What could anyone find to say on the other side + from this point on? This, that God, the master workman, had as material four elements from which to + construct the universe. Among these, again, there + is a simple mutual distinction, namely, that earth + and water are a foundation at the bottom of the + universe, being, like raw material, the substance of + which things are constructed and moulded, having + just so much form and organization, and indeed of + capacity for growth and procreation, as is imparted + to them by the other elements, air and fire, which + are makers and artisans and rouse them, lying lifeless + as they were until then, to the act of creation. Between these two, again, fire and air, there is the distinction that fire assumes the rule and leadership. + This is clear by inductionPossibly; but the argument hardly demonstrates this. The text is corrupt and a different solution than that adopted here is proposed by M. Adler (Wien. Stud. xxxi. 308).: earth without warmth + + + + is barren and unfruitful, but fire, when it takes + possession and inflames, causes it to swell to the + point of generation; and it is impossible to find anyother reason why rocks and the bare bones of mountains are barren except that they have either no part + at all, or very little share, in fire. +

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And, in general, water is so far from being selfsufficient for the preservation or generation of other + things that the want of fire is water’s destruction. + For heat maintains everything in its proper being and + keeps it in its proper substance, water itself as well + as everything else. When fire withdraws and fails, + water putrefies: the dearth of heat is the death and + destruction of water. It is, of course, marsh waters + and such as are stagnant, some too that have drained + into depressions with no outlet, that are badThat is, salt, as, for example, the Dead Sea. and + finally putrefy + Cf. Mor. 1129 d, 725 d; Athenaeus, 46 b-c. because they have very little motion, + which preserves everything by stirring up its heat. + This is the reason why we commonly say that those + waters are living which have most motion and + the strongest current; the heat is maintained by + their motion. How, then, should that not be the more + useful of two things which has provided what is + necessary for the other’s existence, as fire does for + water? And surely that is the more useful, the lack + of which, if it be entirely taken away, causes the + living creature to die. For it is obvious that anything + without which a creature cannot live must have been + a necessary cause of its existence, while it did exist. + Now even corpses have moisture which does not + entirely vanish; otherwise dead bodies would not + + + + putrefy, since putrefaction is not a change from dry + to moist, but rather a corruption of the moisture in + flesh. Death, then, is nothing but the total disappearance of heat and so dead men are extremely cold; + if you attack them with a razor-blade, you will blunt + the edge of it through excess of cold. In the living + creature itself, too, the parts that have the least heat + are the least sensitive, like bones and hair and the + parts that are a long way from the heart. And, in + general, the presence of fire makes a greater differenceOr adopting Schultz’s (Hermes, xlvi. 632) emendation: the difference between living and non-living comes from the presence of fire; but the text is hopelessly corrupt. than that of moisture; for it is not mere + moisture that produces plants and fruits, but warm + moisture; cold water, of course, is either less productive or not productive at all. Yet if by its own + nature water were fruitful, it would always bear fruit + by itself b; but on the contrary it is even harmful. +

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To begin again: for the use of fire as fire we + do not need water; on the contrary, it would be in + our way since it extinguishes and destroys it. But + in most circumstances it is impossible to use water + without fire. When water is heated, it is more useful; + otherwise it is harmful. And it is heat which has + made the sea more beneficial, its waters being warmer, + since it differs from other waters in no other respect.This sentence was transferred here from the following chapter by Wegehaupt. + So that of two things, that is better which of itself + lends us its use without need of the other. Besides, + + + + water is solely beneficial to the touch, when you wash + or bathe in it; but fire is profitable to all the senses. + It can, in fact, both be touched and seen from a + distance, so that in addition to its other uses, there + is also its variegated character. +

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+ The order of the sentences in this chapter, in addition to its many other corruptions, has been badly disturbed. For to say that man ever exists without fire + is absurd, nor can he exist at all without it; but + there are differences in kind as in other things. As + for men who have no need of fire from without, they + have this experience not because they do not need it, + but because their own heat more than suffices. This + must be predicated also of other animals which do + not need fire.This clause was transferred here by the editor from 958 c infra at the end of the paragraph. So that in this respect, too, the use + of fire is probably superior. Water is never in such + a condition as to need no external support, but fire + is self-sufficient because of its great excellence. As, + then, a general is better who manages the affairs of + his city so that it needs no allies from without, so + also an element is superior which does not often need + external assistance. +

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+ Yet, to take the opposite point of view, that is more + useful which we alone make great use of, since by + the powers of our reason we are able to choose what + is better. For what is more useful and more profitable + to man than reason? But brute beasts do not have + it. What then? Is what has been discovered by the + foresight of our better part for this reason less useful? + + + +

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And since we have arrived at this point in our + argument: What is more profitable to life than Art? + And it was fire that discovered and still preserves all + the arts. That is why they make Hephaestus the + first of artificers. Man has been granted but a little + time to live and, as AristonVon Arnim, S.V.F. i. p. 90, frag. 403; cf. Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, i. 13. 12 (1102 b 7). says, sleep, like a taxcollector, takes away half of that. But I would rather + say that it is a question of darkness; for although + a man might stay awake all night, yet no good would + come of his wakefulness if fire did not give him the + benefits of day and remove the difference between + day and night.A very corrupt passage. Adler’s reconstruction (Wien. Stud. xxxi. 308), with additions by Post, has been followed. If, then, there is nothing more + advantageous to man than life and life is many times + increased by fire, how should fire not be the most + useful of all things? +

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And, to be sure, will not that be the most + advantageous of which each of the senses has the + greatest proportion? Do you not perceive, then, + that there is no one of the senses which uses moisture + by itself without an admixture of air or fire; and that + every sense partakes of fire inasmuch as it supplies + the vital energy; and especially that sight, the + keenest of the physical senses, + Cf. Plato, Phaedrus, 250 d; cf. Mor. 654 d-e, 681 e. is an ignited mass + of fire + Cf. von Arnim, S.V.F. ii, pp. 196, 199; but Post believes the words may mean a chain of fire linking the eye with its object. and is that which has made us believeIt is the visible heavens and their fire that make us believe by declaring the glory of the celestial gods. See A. S. Pease, Caeli Enarrant, + Harvard Theological Review, xxxiv (1941), pp. 163-200. in the + gods? And further, through sight, as Plato + Timaeus, 47 a-b. says, + we are able to conform our souls to the movements + of the celestial bodies. + +

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