Anaximander

, an ancient philosopher, was the first who taught philosophy in a public school, and is therefore often spoken of as the founder of the Ionic sect. He was born in the third year of the 42d olympiad, or B. C. 610. Cicero calls him the friend and companion of Thales; whence it is probable, that he was a native of Miletus. That he was employed in instructing youth, may be inferred from an anecdote related concerning him; that, being laughed at for singing (that is, probably, reciting his verses) ill, he said, “We must endeavour to sing better, for the sake of the boys.” Anaximander was the first who laid aside the defective method of oral tradition, and committed the principles of natural science to writing. It is related of him, which, however, is totally improbable, that he predicted an earthquake. He lived sixty-four years.

The general doctrine of Anaximander, concerning nature and the origin of things, was, that infinity is the first principle of all things; that the universe, though variable in its parts, as one whole is immutable; and that all things are produced from infinity, and terminate in it. What this philosopher meant by infinity, has been a subject of a | dispute productive of many ingenious conjectures, which are, however, too feebly supported to merit particular notice. The most material question is, whether Anaximander understood by infinity the material subject, or the efficient cause, of nature. Plutarch asserts, the infinity of Anaximander to be nothing but matter. Aristotle explains it in the same manner, and several modern writers adopt the same idea. But neither Aristotle nor Plutarch could have any better ground for their opinion than conjecture. It is more probable, that Anaximander, who was a disciple of Thales, would attempt to improve, than that he would entirely reject, the doctrine of his master. If, therefore, the explanation, given above, of the system of Thales be admitted, there will appear some ground for supposing, that Anaximander made use of the term infinity to denote the humid mass of Thales, whence all things arose, together with the divine principle by which he supposed it to be animated. This opinion is supported by the authority of Hermias, who asserts, that Anaximander supposed an eternal mover or first cause of motion, prior to the humid mass of Thales. And Aristotle himself speaks of the infinity of Anaximander as comprehending and directing all things. After all, nothing can be determined, with certainty, upon this subject.

There can be little doubt, that mathematics and astronomy were indebted to Anaximander. He framed a connected series of geometrical truths, and wrote a summary of his doctrine. He was the first who undertook to delineate the surface of the earth, and mark the divisions of land and water, upon an artificial globe. The invention of the sun-dial is ascribed to him; but it is not likely that mankind had remained, till this time, unacquainted with so useful an instrument, especially considering how much attention had, in many countries, been paid to astronomy, and how early we read of the division of time into hours. Herodotus, with much greater probability, ascribes this invention to the Babylonians. Perhaps he made use of a gnomon in ascertaining, more correctly than Thales had done, the meridian line, and the points of the solstices. Pliny says, that he first observed the obliquity of the ecliptic; but this cannot be true, if Thales was acquainted with the method of predicting eclipses, which supposes the knowledge of this obliquity.

Other opinions ascribed to Anaximander are, that the | stars are globular collections of air and fire, borne about in the spheres in which they are placed; that they are gods, that is, inhabited and animated by portions of the divinity; that the sun has the highest place in the heavens, the moon the next, and the planets and fixed stars the lowest; that the earth is a globe placed in the middle of the universe, and remains in its place; and that the sun is twenty-eight times larger than the earth. ¹