<span class="mw-page-title-main">Theophrastus</span>

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Theophrastus

<p><b>Theophrastus</b> (<span class="rt-commentedText nowrap"><span class="IPA nopopups noexcerpt"><a href="/en/Help:IPA/English" title="Help:IPA/English" class="wl">/<span style="border-bottom:1px dotted"><span>θ</span><span>iː</span><span>ə</span><span>ˈ</span><span>f</span><span>r</span><span>æ</span><span>s</span><span>t</span><span>ə</span><span>s</span></span>/</a></span></span>; <a href="/en/Greek_language" title="Greek language" class="wl">Greek</a><span>: </span><span><span>Θεόφραστος</span></span> <span><i lang="grc-Latn">Theόphrastos</i></span>; c. 371<span>&nbsp;</span><span>–</span><span> </span>c. 287 BC<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTEDorandi199952–53_3-0"><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEDorandi199952–53-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[3]</span></a></span>) was a Greek philosopher and the successor to <a href="/en/Aristotle" title="Aristotle" class="wl">Aristotle</a> in the <a href="/en/Peripatetic_school" title="Peripatetic school" class="wl">Peripatetic school</a>. He was a native of <a href="/en/Eresos" title="Eresos" class="wl">Eresos</a> in <a href="/en/Lesbos_Island" title="Lesbos Island" class="mw-redirect wl">Lesbos</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Ancient_Botany_p8_4-0"><a href="#cite_note-Ancient_Botany_p8-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span> His given name was Tyrtamus (<span><span>Τύρταμος</span></span>); his nickname <span><span>Θεόφραστος</span></span> (or 'godly phrased') was given by Aristotle, his teacher, for his "divine style of expression".</p>

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">Greek philosopher (c. 371 – c. 287 BC)</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn"><b>Quick facts: Theophrastus, Born, Died, Era, Region...</b> <span class='arrow'>▼</span></header> <table class="infobox biography vcard mobile-collapse-element"><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-above" style="font-size:125%;"><div class="fn" style="display:inline">Theophrastus</div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-image"><span class="mw-default-size"><a href="/en/File:Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg" class="mw-file-description image media-thumb" data-hash="File:Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg"><img loading="lazy"alt="A statue of Theophrastus wearing a robe and unfurling a scroll" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg/220px-Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg" decoding="async" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="1200" data-file-type="bitmap" height="293" width="220" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg/330px-Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg/440px-Teofrasto_Orto_botanico_detail.jpg 2x"></a></span><div class="infobox-caption">Statue of Theophrastus, <a href="/en/Orto_botanico_di_Palermo" title="Orto botanico di Palermo" class="wl">Palermo Botanical Garden</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Born</th><td class="infobox-data">c. 371 BC<br><div style="display:inline" class="birthplace"><a href="/en/Eresos" title="Eresos" class="wl">Eresos</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Died</th><td class="infobox-data">c. 287 BC (aged 83 or 84)<br><div style="display:inline" class="deathplace"><a href="/en/Athens" title="Athens" class="wl">Athens</a></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Era</th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Ancient_philosophy" title="Ancient philosophy" class="wl">Ancient philosophy</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label">Region</th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Western_philosophy" title="Western philosophy" class="wl">Western philosophy</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><a href="/en/List_of_schools_of_philosophy" title="List of schools of philosophy" class="wl">School</a></th><td class="infobox-data category"><a href="/en/Peripatetic_school" title="Peripatetic school" class="wl">Peripatetic school</a></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Main interests</div></th><td class="infobox-data"><a href="/en/Ethics" title="Ethics" class="wl">Ethics</a>, <a href="/en/Grammar" title="Grammar" class="wl">grammar</a>, <a href="/en/History" title="History" class="wl">history</a>, <a href="/en/Logic" title="Logic" class="wl">logic</a>, <a href="/en/Metaphysics" title="Metaphysics" class="wl">metaphysics</a>, <a href="/en/Natural_history" title="Natural history" class="wl">natural history</a>, <a href="/en/Physics" title="Physics" class="wl">physics</a>, <a href="/en/Botany" title="Botany" class="wl">botany</a></td></tr><tr class="note"><th scope="row" class="infobox-label"><div style="display: inline-block; line-height: 1.2em; padding: .1em 0;">Notable ideas</div></th><td class="infobox-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1126788409" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul{line-height:inherit;list-style:none;margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .plainlist ol li,.mw-parser-output .plainlist ul li{margin-bottom:0}</style><div class="plainlist ">
<ul><li><a href="/en/Prosleptic_syllogism" title="Prosleptic syllogism" class="wl">Prosleptic</a> and <a href="/en/Hypothetical_syllogism" title="Hypothetical syllogism" class="wl">hypothetical syllogisms</a><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-1"><a href="#cite_note-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[1]</span></a></span></li>
<li><i><a href="/en/Modus_ponens" title="Modus ponens" class="wl">Modus ponens</a></i> and <i><a href="/en/Modus_tollens" title="Modus tollens" class="wl">modus tollens</a></i><span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-2"><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[2]</span></a></span></li></ul>

</div></td></tr><tr class="note"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div>Influences</div></div>
<ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;"><a href="/en/Aristotle" title="Aristotle" class="wl">Aristotle</a>, <a href="/en/Plato" title="Plato" class="wl">Plato</a></div></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr class="note"><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><div class="collapsible-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align: left;">
<div style="line-height: 1.6em; font-weight: bold;"><div>Influenced</div></div>
<ul class="mw-collapsible-content" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; line-height: inherit; list-style: none; margin-left: 0;"><li style="line-height: inherit; margin: 0"><div class="center" style="width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;"><a href="/en/Strato_of_Lampsacus" title="Strato of Lampsacus" class="wl">Strato of Lampsacus</a>, <a href="/en/Alexander_of_Aphrodisias" title="Alexander of Aphrodisias" class="wl">Alexander of Aphrodisias</a>, and the entire <a href="/en/Peripatetic_school" title="Peripatetic school" class="wl">Peripatetic school</a></div></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr style="display:none"><td colspan="2">
</td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'><b>Close</b> <span class='arrow'>▲</span></footer></div>

<p>He came to <a href="/en/Athens" title="Athens" class="wl">Athens</a> at a young age and initially studied in <a href="/en/Platonic_Academy" title="Platonic Academy" class="wl">Plato's school</a>. After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle who took to Theophrastus in his writings. When Aristotle fled Athens, Theophrastus took over as head of the <a href="/en/Lyceum_(classical)" title="Lyceum (classical)" class="wl">Lyceum</a>.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-Ancient_Botany_p8_4-1"><a href="#cite_note-Ancient_Botany_p8-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[4]</span></a></span> Theophrastus presided over the Peripatetic school for thirty-six years, during which time the school flourished greatly. He is often considered the father of <a href="/en/Botany" title="Botany" class="wl">botany</a> for his works on plants.<span class="mw-ref reference" id="cite_ref-5"><a href="#cite_note-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;"><span class="mw-reflink-text">[5]</span></a></span> After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was <a href="/en/Strato_of_Lampsacus" title="Strato of Lampsacus" class="wl">Strato of Lampsacus</a>.</p>

<p>The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, including <a href="/en/Biology" title="Biology" class="wl">biology</a>, <a href="/en/Physics" title="Physics" class="wl">physics</a>, <a href="/en/Ethics" title="Ethics" class="wl">ethics</a> and <a href="/en/Metaphysics" title="Metaphysics" class="wl">metaphysics</a>. His two surviving botanical works, <i><a href="/en/Historia_Plantarum_(Theophrastus_book)" title="Historia Plantarum (Theophrastus book)" class="wl">Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum)</a></i> and <i>On the Causes of Plants</i>, were an important influence on <a href="/en/Renaissance_science" title="Renaissance science" class="mw-redirect wl">Renaissance science</a>. There are also surviving works <i>On Moral Characters</i>, <i>On Sense Perception</i>, and <i>On Stones</i>, as well as fragments on <i>Physics</i> and <i>Metaphysics</i>. In philosophy, he studied <a href="/en/Grammar" title="Grammar" class="wl">grammar</a> and <a href="/en/Language" title="Language" class="wl">language</a> and continued Aristotle's work on <a href="/en/Logic" title="Logic" class="wl">logic</a>. He also regarded <a href="/en/Space" title="Space" class="wl">space</a> as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, <a href="/en/Time" title="Time" class="wl">time</a> as an accident of motion, and <a href="/en/Motion_(physics)" title="Motion (physics)" class="mw-redirect wl">motion</a> as a necessary consequence of all activity.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/en/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed" class="wl"><span>citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> In <a href="/en/Ethics" title="Ethics" class="wl">ethics</a>, he regarded <a href="/en/Happiness" title="Happiness" class="wl">happiness</a> as depending on external influences as well as on <a href="/en/Virtue" title="Virtue" class="wl">virtue</a>.</p>



Theophrastus was a Greek philosopher and the successor to Aristotle in the Peripatetic school. He was a native of Eresos in Lesbos. His given name was Tyrtamus ; his nickname Θεόφραστος was given by Aristotle, his teacher, for his "divine style of expression". He came to Athens at a young age and initially studied in Plato's school. After Plato's death, he attached himself to Aristotle who took to Theophrastus in his writings. When Aristotle fled Athens, Theophrastus took over as head of the Lyceum. After his death, the Athenians honoured him with a public funeral. His successor as head of the school was Strato of Lampsacus. The interests of Theophrastus were wide ranging, including biology, physics, ethics and metaphysics. His two surviving botanical works, Enquiry into Plants and On the Causes of Plants, were an important influence on Renaissance science. There are also surviving works On Moral Characters, On Sense Perception, and On Stones, as well as fragments on Physics and Metaphysics. In philosophy, he studied grammar and language and continued Aristotle's work on logic. He also regarded space as the mere arrangement and position of bodies, time as an accident of motion, and motion as a necessary consequence of all activity. In ethics, he regarded happiness as depending on external influences as well as on virtue. 