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The Influence of Folk Meteorology in the Anaximander FragmentAuthor(s): Cameron ShelleySource: Journal of the History of Ideas, Vol. 61, No. 1 (Jan., 2000), pp. 1-17Published by: University of Pennsylvania PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3654039 .
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T h e
Influence o
o l k
eteorology
n
t h
naximander
ragment
Cameron
Shelley
Introduction
No
scholars
doubt hat
he
pre-Socratic
hilosophers,
specially
he
Milesians,
were
concernedwith
meteorology.
Their
works abound
with
accountsof
wind,
rain,
hunder,
ightning,
meteorites,
waterspouts,
whirlwinds,
ndso
on.
Through
examinationof
the
fragments
of
the
pre-Socratics,
we can
trace
this interest
n
meteorology
from
each
philosopher
to
his
predecessors
right
back
to
Anaxi-
mander.I
Thales
might
at
first
seem
to
be
the most
obvious
candidate
as
the man
who introducedmeteorology ntophilosophy,butKirket al. arguepersuasively
thatThales
was more
nterested
n
near-eastern
mythology.2
Thus,
we must
take
Anaximander,
Thales's
protege,
o be the
philosopher
who
made
meteorology
a
topic
of
philosophical
nterest.
This
situation
eaves us with an
obvious
question:
where
did
Anaximander
come
by
his
interestand ideas
about
meteorology
if
not from Thales? Moder
scholarship
unanimouslypoints
to
the Greek
mythological
tradition
of
Anaxi-
mander's ime
as
recorded
primarilyby
Homer
and
Hesiod.
Gilbert
confidently
asserts hat
any
inquiry
nto the
origin
of Greek
meteorology
must
begin
with
the
storiesrecordedby thesepoets, andmodem scholarsgenerallyecho this opin-
ion.3
Kahn
notes that in
classical Athens the
Milesian-style,non-mythological
accountsof
meteorology
were treatedas direct
challenges
to
the
Olympic
reli-
Thanks o
Thomas
A.
Blackson for comments on earlier
drafts
of
this
paper.
This
research
is
supported
by
the Social
Sciences and
Humanities
Research
Council of
Canada.
1
C.
H.
Kahn,
Anaximander
and
the
Origins of
Greek
Cosmology
(New
York,
1960),
98-
109.
2
G.
S.
Kirk,
J. E.
Raven,
and
M.
Schofield,
The
Presocratic
Philosophers:
A Critical
History
with a
Selection
of
Texts
Cambridge,
19832),
91ff.
3
Gilbert,Die
meteorologischen
Theoriendes GriechischenAltertums
Leipzig,
1907), 17-
18.
1
Copyright
000
by
Journalf the
History
f
Ideas,
nc.
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8/11/2019 The Influence of Folk Metereology in Anaximander's Fragment
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Cameron
Shelley
gion,
as
demonstrated
y
Aristophanes
n
The Clouds.4
But to
conclude
on
this
basis that
Anaximander
himself saw his
project
as
the construction
of
theories
by
the
removal
of
deities
from
myths
is to
mistakethe result
for the
cause.
Kirk
et
al.
simply
point
to
Kahn's
accountand
speculate
hat
Anaximander
was
influ-
enced
by
Greek
egends
about
Phaethon
and
Deucalion.5
None of
these scholars
consider
alternative
ossible
sources
ofAnaximander's
meteorological
deas,
so
that
support
or
mythology
as
the source derives
argely
from
the lack
of
a rival.
But there
s an
alternative,
namely,folk
meteorology.
Folk
meteorologymay
be
describedas the
body
of
folk wisdom
concerning
the nature
and
prediction
of
weather
patterns.
t
typically
comes
in
the
form
of
pithy
statements
rjingles
such
as
Red
sky
at
night,
shepherd's
delight;
red
sky
in
morning, hepherd's
warning. 6
olk
meteorology
has been
almost
completely
neglected
even
by
folklore
scholars,
so it is not
surprising
hat
t has
escaped
the
attention
of
philosophers
and
classical
scholars
as well.
However,
an
examina-
tion of folk
beliefs about
meteorology
reveals
significant
similarities
withsome
of the
philosophical
beliefs
attributed o
Anaximander,
most
notably,
and
sur-
prisingly,
regarding
he
concept
of
justice
(dike) implicit
in Anaximander's
a-
mous
fragment.
The
purpose
of this
paper
s to
constructand defend a case
for the influence
of folk
meteorology
on
Anaximander,
particularly
n the
concept
of
justice
in
the
Anaximander
ragment.
The case
begins
on familiar
ground,
with
the
frag-
ment itself
and
argumentsagainstattempts
o trace influences
on
it
to non-me-
teorological
sources,
and
continues with
some
evidence of
the
universality
of
folk
meteorology
across
culturesand
the
character
f
balance
as
a
folk-meteo-
rologicalconcept,
which
is then
applied
o the Anaximander
ragment
s
a means
of
explicating
what
Anaximandermeant
here
byjustice.
The
suitability
of bal-
ance for
this
purpose
s taken
as evidence thatAnaximander
was influenced
by
folk
meteorology.
Thus,
this
inquiry
identifies a
plausible
origin
of
one of
Anaximander's entral
philosophical
deas,
an
origin
which has
so farremained
completelyunexplored
by
scholarsof
ancient
Greek
philosophy.
The
Fragment
of
Anaximander
Anaximander s famous
among
Greekscholars
for the central
role he
gave
to
the
conceptofjustice
(dike)
n his
natural
philosophy.
The one
fragment
f his
writings,
quotedby Simplicius
n his
Commentary
n Aristotle
Physics
(24.18-
21),
records
Anaximander's
iew
on
the effect of
justice
in the
physical
world:
4
Kahn, 108-9.
5Kirk,
137-40.
6
P. J.
Marriott,
Red
Sky
at
Night,
Shepherd's
Delight?
(Oxford,
1981),
309.
2
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Folk
Meteorology
The
things
that are
perish
into the
things
out
of which
they
come
to
be,
according
o
necessity,
or
they pay
penalty
andretribution
o each other
for
their
injustice
[adikias]
in accordance
with the
ordering
of time
[chronou],
as
[Anaximander]
ays
in
rather
poetical
language.7
In
this
passage
Anaximander laims that he
processes
by
which
physical
things
perish
or
come-to-be tend to balance
each
other out
because such
a
balance is
imposed
by
time
in
the interest
ofjustice.
More
specifically,
Anaximander
ap-
pears
to
draw
a
parallel
between
physics
and the
functioning
of
a
judge:
just
as
a
Greek
udge
recommends
penalties
and retributions
o
settle
those
disputes
brought
before
him,8
o time
imposes
order
on the
conflicting
processes
of
per-
ishing
and
coming-to-be
where
one has
committed
some
injustice
against
the
other.9
A
number
of
issues arise
in
clarifying
Anaximander's
expression.
First,
is
Anaximander
eing
literal?
Simplicius
comments
hat
he finds
the
expression
o
be
non-literal,
hat
is,
phrased
n
poetical
language.
Most
modem scholars
fol-
low
Simplicius
n this
respect
and
take Anaximander
o
be
speaking
metaphori-
cally.
Kirk et
al.,
for
example,
take
the
parallel
between
physical
and
legal
do-
mains
to mean
that
Anaximander s
personifying
time
(chronou)
as a
kind
of
judge.10
Thus,
they
translate he
final
phrase
of
the
quotation
as the
ordering
of
Time,
where
Time refersto a
judge
who sentences
Things
to
penalties
for their
Crimes
committed
n
perishing
and
coming-to-be.
This
interpretationppears
compelling
at
first;
certainly,
no modem scholar
would
take the use
of
legal
terms
such as
injustice iterally
n
the
context
of
physical
processes.
But modem
standards
may
be
misleading
n
this
case.
English
expressions
such as
the
aw
of
gravity
might appear
o
be
legal
metaphors
by
this
standard,
ven
though
they
are
merely
historical
artifacts.
Similarly,
Anaximander's
use of
a
legal
ex-
pression
might
merely
be
a
historical
artifactof a
time when
legal
and
physical
ideaswere not
distinguished
s
they
have been
since
his
time. 1
hus,
t
is
impor-
tant to
consider
any plausible,
literal
interpretations
f
the
fragment.
Perhaps
Anaximanderwas employingtheconceptofjustice
in a
non-moder way.
The
second
question
becomes this:
if
Anaximander
was
employing
a literal
conceptofjustice, just
what
does that
concept
mean
to
him?
On
the one
hand,
n
the
metaphorical
nterpretation,
he
parallel
between
physical
and
egal
domains
suggests
that
Anaximander's
meaning
mustbe
sought
n
his views
on
legal
mat-
7
H.
Diels,
Die
Fragmente
der Vorsokratiker
Berlin,
19345),
translation
from
R. D.
McKirahan,
Philosophy
Before
Socrates:
An Introduction
with
Textsand
Commentary
India-
napolis, 1994),
43.
8
M.
Gagarin,
Early
GreekLaw
(Berkeley,
1986).
9
Kirk,
120-21.
'1
Ibid.,
118.
M
McKirahan,
45.
3
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Cameron
Shelley
ters.
No scholar
has
pursued
his
avenueof
inquiry
very
far.12
On
the other
hand,
in
the literal
nterpretation,
he
avenueof
inquiry
eads
further
ntoAnaximander's
ideas
on
physics
as such.
Thus,
we must
look
to Anaximander's
atural
philoso-
phy
for
the
meaning
ofjustice.'3
The
third ssue is of
coursewhereto
look
in
Anaximander's
atural
philoso-
phy
for
his
concept
of
justice.
Unfortunately,
he
fragment
s the
only
known
quotation
ofAnaximander'sown
words,
andthe
term
njustice
adikias)
used in
the
fragment
s
not
explainedby any
other
source,
at
least not
specifically
with
reference
o
Anaximander. incethere s
no further
nformation
n Anaximander's
concept
of
justice
itself,
it
is
reasonable o
turn
to
the
potential
sources
of
this
concept.
Three such sources have
been
proposed:
n his
general
outlook
on the
world,
in
his
cosmogony,
and
n his
meteorology.
The first
possible
source is
characterizedmost
clearly by
Classen,
who de-
scribes
Anaximander's
xpression
as a
typically
Greek
agonistic
conception :
Perishing
and
coming-to-be
are
coupled
together
and
remain interre-
lated
insofar
as
they-in
a
typically
Greek
agonistic
conception-per-
sist
in
mutual
conflict which
justice
balances
in
favor
now of one and
then
of the
other.'4
In
other
words
the
Greeks
tended to see
justice
in the
balance
of
conflict
in
all
things,
and
thereforeAnaximander
aw it
in
the
specific
instance
of
physics.
While
there is
undoubtedly
some
truth
to this
claim,
it
does
little
more than
confirm
a
stereotype.
The
second
possible
source
ofAnaximander's
concept ofjustice
is
his
cos-
mogony.
On this
reading ustice
in
physics
is
understood
as
a condition
per-
ceived from the
manner
n
which the
cosmos
originated.
The
most immediate
ground
or this
view is the
fact
that
the
fragment
which
Simplicius quotes
fol-
lows
directly
after
his discussion of
the
apeiron
as
the
arche or
generative
prin-
ciple
of the
cosmos
in
Anaximander's
natural
philosophy.
This textualrelation-
ship suggests
that
Anaximander's
tatement
on
justice
in
conflict and balance
follows
from the
natureof
the
apeiron
as
it
participated
n
the formation
of
the
12
Holscher,
Anaximander
nd
the
Beginnings
of
Greek
Philosophy,
Hermes,
81
(1953),
297-300,
has
gone
the furthest n
this
direction
by linking
Anaximander's
dea of
justice
with
the
Greek
idea of
moral
hubris.
He
reads
Anaximanderas
claiming
that each basic material
element
is
engaged
in
trying
to
eliminate
all
others and thus
usurp
he
apeiron
as
the
unlimited,
immortal
element
of
the cosmos.
But
this
suggestion
rests on the untenable
dea that the
injus-
tice
mentioned
by
Anaximander s
committed
by
the
elements
against
the
apeiron
rather
han
against
each other as
the text of
the
fragment
ndicates;
see
Kahn,
37-39,
and
Kirk,
129-30.
13
Strictly
speaking, nothing
is
known
of
Anaximander's
views
on
legal
matters,
so the
move back to discussion of his ideas of physics is forced on pragmaticgrounds.HereI argue
that
this
move
is
forced
on
logical
grounds.
14
C.
J.
Classen,
Anaximandros,
aulys
Realencyclopddie
der
Classischen
Altertums-
wissenschaft,
ed.
G.
Wissowa,
Supplementband
XII
(Stuttgart,
1970),
57.
4
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Folk
Meteorology
cosmos.15
ut this
view
ignores
he
comment
hat
Simplicius
makes
mmediately
afterhis
quotation
rom
Anaximander:16
It
is clear
that,
having
observed
he
change
of
the fourelements
nto one
another,
Anaximander]
did not think
fit to
make
any
one of
these the
material
ubstratum,
ut
something
else besides these.
In
other
words,
according
o
Simplicius,
Anaximander
ook the
present
state
of
affairs
nvolving
conflict
and
balance
among
the
four
elements as
evidence that
none of
those
elements
could
be
the
arche
of the cosmos.
It is
cosmogony,
then,
that
is
inferred rom
observationof the
present,
rather han the
present
that
is
deduced from
speculation
about
cosmogony.17
f
Simplicius
is
correct,
then
Anaximander
id not
derive
his
concept
ofjustice
from
his
metaphysical
pecu-
lations.
This situation
directs
us to the third
possible
source
of
Anaximander's
concept ofjustice
in
physics,
namely,
meteorology.
If it
is
not
attributableo his
general
outlook
or
his
cosmogony,
henwe must
likely
conclude
that
Anaximander
aw
justice
as
a
quality
nherent
n
everyday
meteorology.
This
justice
is
evident
in
a
balance
imposed
on the
perishing
and
coming-to-be
of the four
elements
mentioned
by
Simplicius,
a balance
consti-
tuted
by penalties
and
retributions.The
four
elements
in
question
are
probably
hot,
cold,
wet,
and
dry,18
hich
implies
thatwhatAnaximander
ad
in mind was
the
balance
n the
alternation
f
seasons,
fromthe
heat
of summer
o
the
cold
of
winterand
back,
withthe
concomitant lternation
f
wet rainfall nd
drydrought.19
Summer,
or
instance,
occurs in
order o
balance
out
winter,
and
rain occurs
in
order
o
balance
out
drought.
n
other
words,
n the
fragment
uotedby
Simplicius,
Anaximanderwas
expressing
a
concept
ofjustice
derived
from
his understand-
ing
of
meteorology.
Folk
Meteorology
If there
s a literal
nterpretation
f
the
fragment
n
general
and the
concept
ofjustice
n
particular,
hen
we
must ook
for
them
n
the
sources
ofAnaximander's
meteorological
deas.The
problem
s thatwe do
not
possess
those sources.
Schol-
l5
C.J.
Classen,
Anaximander nd
Anaximenes:
The EarliestGreek
Theories
of
Change?
Phronesis,
22
(1977),
92-93.
16
Translation
rom
Kahn,
156.
17
W.
K.
C.
Guthrie,
A
History
of
Greek
Philosophy:
The Earlier
Presocratics and
the
Pythagoreans
(6
vols.;
Cambridge,1962),
I,
81.
18
Actually,
the
doctrine
of four
elements
is most
likely
an anachronism
on the
part
of
Simplicius,
but
hot, cold,
wet,
and
dry
are
nevertheless
representative
of
what
Anaximander
likely hadin mind and will be used here without further omment.See Kahn,119-63,Guthrie,
78-83,
and
Kirk,
119-20.
19
See
Gilbert, 28-29,
Kahn, 184,
Guthrie,
80,
101,
and
Kirk,
119-21,
and
references
therein.
5
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ars have
assumed that Greek
myths
supplied
Anaximander
with
his ideas
on
meteorology,
but
this
assumption
has
escaped questioning
simply
due
to a lack
of
competition.
In
this section folk
meteorology
is
advanced
as a
competing
source,
specifically
as the
source of the
concept
ofjustice.
Folk
meteorology
s a
poorly
definedand
understood
ffair,
ittleresearched
even
among
those
scholars who
might
be
expected
to
have an interest
n
the
subject.20
Thus,
any
current
discussion
of it must deal
immediately
with two
difficulties.First
s the
problem
of
specifying
what is
covered
by
folkmeteorol-
ogy.
Second is the related
problem
of the
scarcity
of critical
sources,
ancient
or
modem,
on folk
beliefs
about
he weather.
For
present purposes,
it
is
enough
to
say
about
folk
meteorology
that its
domain s
generally
the
explanation
of
large-scale,
natural
phenomena
such as
the weather.
Widdowsonnotes that
n
folk
meteorology
weather
s
explained
n
two
ways:
as a
patterned
and
self-sufficient
set of
phenomena
ike the
cycle
of
seasons and
alterationof
day
and
night ( pseudo-scientific ),
and divine
inter-
ventions ike
unheralded tormsand
natural isasters
pseudo-mythological ).21
The first kind of
explanation
often
seems
to reflect
sincerely
held beliefs
about
how the weather
works.The second
kind
s oftenused
to entertain
ndto
frighten
children.
It
is the first
kind
that
s examinedhere.
Unfortunately,
cholarship
on folk
meteorology
is scarce
and
singularly
nonanalytic.
Mostmodem
sourceson this
subject
onsist
of collections
of
weather
lore with
nothing
or next to
nothing
in
the
way
of
analysis
or comment.
In the
English
literature
nly
Marriott
provides any
remarks
on the
role of balance
in
weather
ore,
andthese
commentsareoften unelaborated.22
n
the case
of ancient
Greek
iterature,
he situation s
even more
limited-only Theophrastus's
work
Concerning
Weather
Signs
is both available and relevant.
To be
sure,
Homer
andHesiod also
provide
explanations
f
weather,
but
only
of the
literary
ariety.
Consider Hesiod's
explanation
of the
origin
of
strong,
baleful
winds
in
the
Theogony
869-80),
in
a
passage
describing
he aftermath
f
Zeus's banishment
of the
monster
Typhoeus
o
Tartarus:
And from
Typhoeus
come
the
fierce,
rain-blowing
winds-not
Boreas
or Notos or
bright
Zephyros,
for these come
from the
gods,
and
they
refreshmankind-but
others,
reckless
gusts,
blow on
the
sea;
some
fall
upon
the
misty
sea
and
bring
calamity
o
men;
as evil storms
hey rage;
each blows
in
season,
scattering ships
and
killing
sailors.
Men
who
meet with them at
sea have no
defense
against
their
power.
And some-
20
J.
D. A.
Widdowson,
Form
and Function
n
Traditional
Explanations
of
WeatherPhe-
nomena,
Folklore Studies in Honour
of
Herbert
Halpert:
A
Festschrift,
ed. K. S.
Goldstein
and
N. V.
Rosenberg
(St.
John's,
1980).
21
Ibid.,
374.
22
Op. cit.
6 Cameron
Shelley
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Folk
Meteorology
times
over
the
vast
and
blooming
earth
they
blast
the
lovely
fields of
earthbor
men and
fill
the land with dust and
dreadfulnoise.23
Gilbert
contends that
Hesiod
faithfully
records
folk
meteorological
beliefs in
passages
like this
one,24
ut he
simply
fails to consider
he fact
thatHesiod
(and
Homer)
do
not
display
much
interest
n
meteorologybeyond
using
it
to demon-
strate
the
power
and
moral
nature
(good
or
bad)
of
mythological
beings.25
n
contrast
Theophrastus's
work
Concerning
Weather
Signs provides
a view
of
non-literary
weather ore that
s
probablyvery
similar
o thatcommon
in
sixth-
century
Miletus.
Indeed,
t
is
quite
similar
o
weather
ore recorded
all over
the
world
at
widely
different
imes.
Consider
he
following
famous
piece
of weather
lore
as
it
appears
n
different
sources,
characteristically
ncoded
in the form
of
an
aphorism
or wise
saying:
Red
sky
at
night,
Shepherd's
delight;
Red
sky
in
morning,
Shepherd's
warning.26
(Jesus)
answered
them,
When it is
evening, you say,
'It
will be
fair
weather;
for the
sky
is red.' And
in
the
morning,
'It will
be
stormy
today,
for
the
sky
is red
and
threatening.'
You
know how to
interpret
he
appearance
f the
sky,
but
you
cannot
nterpret
he
signs
of
the
times. 27
Now
the
signs
of rain
appear
o be as follows:
most unmistakable
s
that
which
occurs
at
dawn
when
the
sky
has
a reddish
appearance
before
sunrise,
for this
usually
indicates rain within
three
days,
if
not on
that
very
day.
Other
signs
point
the
same
way:
thus
a
red
sky
at sunset
indi-
cates
rain
within
three
days,
if
not
before,
though
less
certainly
han
a
red
sky
at
dawn.28
Besides
its
subject
matter,
weather ore around
he world
displays
great
similar-
ity
in the
underlyingconcepts
used. This
similarity
ndicates
that the
concepts
involved
in
the weather
ore of
Anaximander's
ime
may
be
explored
through
23
Translation rom D.
Wender,
Hesiod
and
Theognis
(Harmondsworth, 973),
51.
24
Op.
cit.,
17-18.
25
To be
fair, Gilbert,
17,
does comment
that
the
Homeric
poems primarily
reflect
the
views
of an
elite,
warrior
class;
he
simply
fails to act
on
this comment.
26
Marriott,
309.
27
Matthew
16:2-3,
RSV.
28
Theophrastus,
10.
All
translations
rom this work
presented
n
this
paper
are taken
from
A.
Hort,
Theophrastus:
Enquiry
into Plants and Minor
Works n Odours
and Weather
Signs
(London, 1916).
7
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Cameron
Shelley
such
collections and
scholarship
as exist
today. Inquiry
need not be
limited
to
ancient sources
such as
Theophrastus,
which has
attractedno
scholarly
analy-
sis.
For
present
purposes
he most
important
oncept
common
n
world weather
lore is
balance,
which
describes
a
compensatory
elationship
hat
holds
between
two
weather
patterns
based on
some
significant
relationship
f time and
quality.
In
otherwords t
is
widely
believed thatnotableweather
patterns
f one
kindwill
be
balancedout at
another
ime
by
weather
patterns qually
notablebut
opposite
in
kind.29
Although
he
concept
has
not been
systematically
tudied
n
the
exist-
ing
literature,
useful
overview of the
role
of balance
n
folk
meteorologymay
be achieved
by briefly
surveying
he
kinds
of weather ore
in
which
that
concept
participates.Roughly
speaking,
balance
occurs
in
weather ore under
the
cat-
egories
of
temporal
balance,
qualitative
balance,
faunal
and
floral
balance,
and
metaphorical
balance.
Each
category
ndicates
an attribute f
weather
patterns
to which
the
concept
of
balance
s
applied.
Temporal
balance
concerns
compensation
of weather
occurring
at one time
of
year by
weather
occurring
at a
later,
corresponding
ime
of
year.
If
February
ives
much
snow,
A
fine
summer
t
doth
foreshow.30
There are three
aspects
of this
adage
to note: it is
expressed
as a
hypothetical
statement, .e.,
an
if-then
construction;
t
relates
weather
patterns
f convention-
ally opposite
types,
i.e.,
cold andwarm
weather;
and
t
indicatesa direct
propor-
tion
between the
magnitudes
of
cold
and
warm
weather,
where
a certain
hresh-
old
( much
snow )
s
exceeded.
Finally,
t
establishes
his
hypothetical
elation
between two
specific
periods
of
time,
apparentlyclaiming
that the month
of
Februaryby
itself
may
correspond
o
the
whole summer
season.
This
adage
is
similar
n
these
respects
o the
well-known
piece
of weather ore:
April
howers
bring
forth
May
flowers. 31Of
course there are
many
variationson this
basic
theme,
As much
dew in
March,so much fog rises
in
August. 32The most
obvious
difference
between this
saying
andthe last is
that
this one concerns
not
opposite
conditions
such
as cold
and
warm,
but
opposite processes,
i.e.,
water
falling
(dew)
and
water
rising (fog).
As Marriottalso
points
out,
this
saying
shows the
preference
or
selecting corresponding
imes
that are
already
some-
how connected.33
n
this
case the
times are
roughly
six months
apart,
which
in
a
sense
makes them as
mutually
distinct as
possible
from
a calendrical
point
of
29
Marriott,
1.
30
Marriott, 15.
31
Ibid.,
38.
32
Ibid.,
30-31.
33
Ibid.,
31.
8
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Folk
Meteorology
view. This
preference
s
shown
even more
explicitly
in
adages
that
concern
holi-
days,
such as
Christmas
n
snow,
Easter
n
mud.
Easter
n
snow,
Christmas
n
mud.34
Clearly,
the
reason
Christmasand
Easter
appear
here is due to their
mutual
religious
connection
in
the
Christian
alendar.Some
such
opposition
between
calendrical
imes is common
to
all
weather ore
of this
type.
Qualitative
balance
concerns
compensation
f
weather
based
on
its intrinsic
nature,
ather
han he
calendar
dateof
its
occurrence.
Here
s a
typical
example:
If
the
spring
s cold and
wet,
then
the autumn
will be hot and
dry.35
(Cf.
If
the
winter is
wet,
the
spring
will be
dry;
f
the winter
is
dry,
the
spring
will
be fair...
If
the
spring
and
summer
are
cold,
the late summer
and autumn
will be
stifling
hot and
windless.)36
In
structure nd
meaning
this
maxim is
much
the
same as the
temporal
weather
lore discussed
above,
except
that
t
identifies
corresponding
imes
by
the
seasons
instead of
times as
given
by
the calendar.
In
other
words
it
is a
hypothetical
statement hat
relates
oppositetypes
of
weather
hat
are
thought
o
correspond
across
complementary
easons. Most
qualitative
weather ore follows
this
pat-
tern,
although
ome
adages
dentify
weather
directlyby
intrinsic
quality,
uch
as
A
warm
and serene
day,
which we
say
is too
fine for
the
season,
beto-
kens
a
speedy
reverse.37
This maxim
expresses
he
belief that
especially good
weather
at
any
time
of
year
createsa
situation
n
which
badweather
s due
to
follow.
It
is
interesting
hat he
antecedent
f
this
adage
concerns
goodweatheronly
anddoes
not
imply
that
bad
weather
creates
a
situation n
which
good
weather
becomes due.
There
s a
defi-
nite
tendency
in
weather
lore
to take
bad
weather over
good
weather
as
the
ultimatecause
of weather
patterns.
t
may
be that
weather ore
shareswith
gos-
sip
the human
endency
o
regard
badnews
as more
significant
or attractive
han
good
news,
or it
may
be that
he
concept
of
opposition
tself
( a
speedy
reverse )
is
asymmetric
and
places
emphasis
on
the
negative
side of a
reversal
cold
and
34
Ibid.,
96-97.
35
Ibid.,
106.
36
Theophrastus,
4.
37
Marriott,
126.
9
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Cameron
Shelley
turbulent )
bove the
positive
side
( warm
and
serene ).Although
both
factors
may
well be
involved,
other
adages
of
qualitative
weather
ore seem
to
suggest
that
the latter
option
is
true, i.e.,
that there is
an
asymmetry
n the
concept
of
opposition.
Consider he
following
maxim:
Winter
hunder,
A
summer'swonder.38
Marriott
xplains
that
extracting
winterthunder
out of the June
and
July
sum-
mer
is
supposed
to
help
towards a warm
sunny
summer
or abundant
crop.
Note
the
emphasis
on
thunder,
turbulent ormof
weather,
as the item
extracted
from one
season to the other. In
this case
at
least,
warm
summer
weather
is
conceived
mostly
as the
absence of thunderstorms.
t
appears,
then,
that
the
concept
of
opposition
as
it
exists
in
folk
meteorology
akes
bad weather
as defi-
nite
entity
and
good
weather
argely
as its
absence.
Balance
n
faunaland floral
weather ore concerns
he
relationship
between
the weather and
various animals
and
plants.
Weather
ore
of this
kind is
rarer
than
the others
and
appears
o
represent
he instantiation
n
weather
lore of
a
more
general
concept
of an
ongoing sympathy
between
nature
as a whole
and
certain
animalsand
plants
in
particular.
Consider
he
following
maxim:
When
the hawthornhas
too
many
haws
We shall
have
many
snaws.39
(Cf.
Whenthe
kermes-oak
ruits
exceedingly
well,
it
generally
ndicates
a
severe
winter,
and
sometimes
they
say
that this
sign
is followed
by
droughts.)40
This
adage
relatesa
high yield
of
berrieson
hawthorn rees
in
summer
o a
high
numberof
snowstorms
n
the
following
winter.
Marriott
xplains
that
country
folk
believe
nature
provides
abundanthaws as food
for the
hungry
birds
in a
forthcoming
evere winter.
This belief seems to reveal
something
urther
n the
concept
of
balance
in
weather
lore: not
only
do
opposed
weather
patterns
at
different
imes exist
in
a
kind of
correspondence,
ut each
pattern
ontains
as
it
were the
seeds of the other.In
this
case,
for
instance,
t
appears
hat some
of the
very fecundity
of
the summer
season is a manifestation
of the
severity
of
the
coming
winter,
exerting
an
influence
on
the
present
rom
ts
coming
occurrence
in
the future. In
folk
meteorology,
then,
time is
a more
complex
attribute
of
38
Ibid.,
116.
39
Ibid.,
303.
40
Theophrastus,
49.
10
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An
unusually
fine
day
in
winter
is
known as
a borrowed
ay,
to
be
repaid
with
interest later
in
the
season,
known
also as a weather-
breeder ;
nd
by
sailors as
a
fox. 47
The
terms
weather-breeder nd fox
suggest
that fair
days
are
not so much
personified
as
zooified-that
is,
regardedmetaphorically
s animals
that
breed
later weather
patterns
as
part
of a
natural
compulsion
rather han
through
hu-
man
cultural
mechanisms
such
as
inheritance
or
obligation.
In
these
cases
me-
teorological
events are
regarded
not
as
passive
material tems but
as animate
entities
involved in
a
self-perpetuating ycle
of
life anddeath.
The
concept
of a
borrowed
ay
as well as
the
concept
of debt
used
in
the
fifth
and sixth
maxims
above
clearlypresents
weather
patterns
n
terms
of
finan-
cial or
moral
obligations. Dry
and
wet weather
are
given
as
personifications
incurring
debt
to one
another.
However,
the
way
in
which the debt
is incurred
and
repaid
s left
obscure.In
light
of the discussion
above
it
is
possible
that
wet
or
dry
weather hat
occurs
in
abundanceor exceeds
a certain hreshold
of
mag-
nitude
s
what
createsa
debt.
Presumably,
uch
an
abundance hreatens
o over-
turn
the
standing
balance of
elements and therefore
places
one element
in
the
wrong
to
that
extent.
Such a debtmust
be
repaid
n kind
by
allowing
the
opposite
element
an
abundant
manifestationof
equal
magnitude.
Theophrastus
eems
to
have this
concept
of
debt
in
mind
when he
says,
When here
s severe
heat,
generally
here s
compensationantapodid6si]
and
a
severe
winter
ollows.
If
there s much
rain
n
spring,
t is followed
by
severe heat in
low-lying
districts
and
valleys;
so that one
should
markhow the
season
begins.
If
the autumn
s
exceedingly
fine,
gener-
ally
the
spring
s cold:
if
the
spring
s late and
cold,
the summer
goes
on
late and the
autumn
s
usually
scorching
hot.48
Here
the
opposed
weather
patterns
ompensating
or
paying
each other
back
are
severe,exceedingly ine,
or late.
Also,
to
judge
from
Marriott's
orpus
of
weather
lore,
such debtscannot
be canceled
by
means other
han
repayment,
.g.,
remis-
sion
or the
intervention
of a third
party,
unlike
debts between humans. Once
incited,
the
compensating
weather
must occur.
In view of these
facts,
it
is clear
that
he
concept
of
debt as
applied
n
the
meteorological
domain
appears
o be of
a
limited and
self-correcting
ort,
rather han the selfsame
concept
of debt em-
ployed
in
human
affairs.
The
concept
of
balance
n
weather
ore, then,
comprises
he
following
condi-
tions: it is a
hypothetical
relationship
hat
predicates
weather
patterns
of con-
47
Ibid.,
115. See
also R.
Inwards,
WeatherLore
(London, 19504),
34.
48
Op.
cit.,
48.
12
Cameron
Shelley
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Folk
Meteorology
ventionallyopposite
kinds in
direct
proportion
s
some
thresholdof
abundance
is
exceeded
by
the antecedent
meteorological
event.
This
concept
of balance
s
asymmetric
n
that he
adverseweather s
typically
emphasized
above
the
favor-
able weather.
Some
aspects
of the
concept
of
balance
are
capturedby
various
metaphors
oncerning
he
cultural ransmission
f articlesand
the moral
obliga-
tions
of
debt
and
repayment,
and also
the
natural
process
of
breeding.
But the
diversity
and
limitations of these
metaphors
also indicates
that none of
them
entirely
captures
he relevant
concept
of balance.
Rather,
he
hypothetical
rela-
tionship
betweenweather
patterns
esults
rom he notion
hat
hey
are
not
strictly
mutually
exclusive
in
time but that each
is,
as
it
were,
pregnant
with
the other.
This
non-exclusivity
s
especially
notable
n
temporal
balancemaxims
n
which
two otherwise
arbitrary
imes of
year may
be
brought
nto
correspondence.
The
Fragment
Reconsidered
The
concept
of
balance
in
folk
meteorology
as
evidenced
in weather lore
closely
approaches
he
conceptofjustice
or
equalization
o which
Anaximander
refers
in the
fragment.
The most immediate
similarity
s
in the
resemblance
of
the
fragment
o a maxim of
weather
ore,
especially
bearing
n mind that
what
Anaximander
escribes
as the
hings
thatare and
the
hings
out of
which
they
come
to
be
mostly likely
refer o
the
elements
hot, cold, wet,
and
dry.
Indeed,
n
his
comments on this
fragment,Heidegger
refers
to
it as a
Spruch,
a maxim.49
Compare
he
fragment-with
the names
of
the elements
substituted
or Anaxi-
mander's
general description-with
one
of
the
metaphorical
weather
maxims
discussed
above
(section 3):
Hot,
cold,
wet,
and
dry
perish
into and come
to
be from one
another
according
o
necessity,
or
they
pay
penalty
andretribution
o each
other
for
their
njustice
n
accordance
with the
ordering
of
time.
Be
it
dry
or
be
it
wet,
The
weather'll
always
pay
its debt.
Despite
the
simplicity
and
telegraphic
briefness
of
the weather
ingle,
the two
texts are
remarkably
imilar n
content.
Each
speaks
of basic elements
ncurring
penalties
against
hemselves with
respect
to the
otherelements and
the fact that
such
debts are
always repaid
n
due course.
This
similarity
goes beyond
superfi-
cialities into
the ideas themselves
that
are
being
expressed
n each.
49
See G.
Shapiro,
Debts Due and Overdue:
Beginnings
of
Philosophy
in
Nietzsche,
Heidegger,
and
Anaximander,
Nietzsche,
Genealogy,
Morality:
Essays
on
Nietzsche
s Geneal-
ogy
of
Morals,
ed.
R.
Schacht
(Berkeley,
1994),
362.
13
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8/11/2019 The Influence of Folk Metereology in Anaximander's Fragment
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Cameron
Shelley
The
concept
of
justice
evident
in
the
fragment
may
be
systematically
com-
pared
o the
concept
of
balance
n
folk
meteorology
as discussed
above
(section
3).
First,
the
fragment
s
stated
in
roughly hypothetical
erms
with
the
phrase
translatedas
according
o
necessity, signifying
the
sort of
hypothetical
rela-
tion more
colloquially
rendered n
English
as
whenneeded.
n
otherwords
the
fragmentonly
states that
if
injustice
is
done,
then
penalty
and retributionare
meted out to
maintain
a
balance;
he
fragment
does not
state
that this
situation
need
ever
actually
occur.That
ssue is addressed
n Anaximander's
osmogony.
Second,
as
pointed
out
in
section
2,
Anaximander's
ragment
appears
o
be
primarily
oncerned
with
the
natureand
workings
of the
elements
hot,
cold,
wet,
and
dry
as
theyproduce
he observable lterations
n
seasons,
ertility,
nd
weather
patterns.
In
particular
here is a
shared concern
for the
relations between
the
elements
considered o
be each other's
opposites.
The
origin
of
the
tendency
to
think
of
weather
patterns
n
terms of
opposites
in the first
place
is obscure
(if
understandable),
ut it
does
suggest
thatAnaximander's
mphasis
on
opposites
was
not,
as
Classen
proposes,
a result of
Greek
fondness
for conflict
but rather
a
tendency
already
ixed
in
his source
material,
as
it
is
fixed
in folk
meteorology
everywhere.
Third,
Anaximander
eems to
imply
a
direct
proportion
etween
each
injus-
tice
and
its
matchingpenalty
or
retribution.
Kirk et al.
take this
proportion
o
mean an
equality
n
quantity
of the
elements,
but
it is not
clear that
this
reading
is correct.50
or
one
thing,
this
reading
would
mean that the
two
conflicting
elements
would
be
equal
n
quantity
after he
penalty
hadbeen
imposed, eaving
it
unclear
how
future mbalances
and
meteorologicalcycles
would continueto
occur.
Kirk
et al. addthat
he
penalty
must
really
be
a little
more than
equal,
which
itself
constitutesan
injustice
hat
must
eventually
be
redressed.5l
However,
his
reading
turns
the
penalty imposed
by
Time from an
example
of
justice
to an
example
of
injustice,
thereby
obscuring
the distinction
between
the two con-
cepts.
There is
no evidence that
Anaximander aw
justice
and
injustice
in
this
self-contradictory
r
ambiguousway.Indeed,
Heraclitus
may
have
been
disput-
ing
Anaximander
on this
point
when he asserted
that
justice
is
strife,
thus
opposing
Anaximander n
conflating
the
two
concepts.52
n view of
the
discus-
sion of
the
concept
of
time above
it
is more
likely
that
Anaximander
imply
had
in
mind a
more fluid notion
of time than the modem one.
In
other words he
probably
aw the
injustices
and
retributions f the elements
against
one another
as
interpenetrating
n
linear ime
andnot therefore
occurring
n
strictsuccession.
Because
according
o this
concept
of time each such event
is
pregnant
ith its
50
Op.
cit.,
120.
51
Ibid.,
120.
52
Heraclitus,
Fr. 80. See
Kirk,
193-94.
14
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Folk
Meteorology
opposite,
the
cycle
of
events
would continue
without
requiring
a
contradictory
conceptofjustice
or a
precise
way
of
measuring quality
or the
lack
of
it
among
the
elements.
Of
course,
the folk
meteorological
concept
of
balance
does
require
some
notionof
weather
measurement.More
exactly,
it
requires
a
way
of
saying
that
some
weather
pattern
has
exceeded
some threshold.
n
some
cases the
threshold
might
be
one of
normalcy,
as
when
a
drought
or flood ruins
harvests
and
im-
poses
noticeable,
personal
discomfort.
Rarity,
such as
raging
thunderstorms
r
blinding
blizzards,
might
also
be an
appropriate
hresholdwhich weather
pat-
terns
might
exceed
andthus
bring
aboutsome
meteorological
retribution.
Also,
extremeduration
or
occurrence
during
a
significant
calendar
day might
marka
meteorological
event
as one
needing
to
be balanced
out.
An
abundance
f fertil-
ity,
such as
hawthorn
berries,
might
also
be
deemed
suitably significant.
Of
course,
balance
n
some
precise
quantityappeals
o the moder mind
more
than
such
a
diverse collection of
subjective
hresholds,
but
there
s no reason
othink
that
Anaximanderhad
anything
more
definite
in
mind.53
Finally,
he
Anaximander
ragmentdisplays
an
asymmetry
etween
he
posi-
tive
and
negative aspects
of
the
processes
involved.
In
weather
lore there
is a
tendency
to conceive
of
good
weather
simply
as the absence
of bad
weather,
which makes the
bad weather
seem more concrete
or
fundamental.
n the
frag-
ment
Anaximander
hooses to
emphasize
he
process
of
perishing
over
coming-
to-be,
and
he
speaks
about
the
injustice
of one
element
against
another
rather
than
the
justice
of
the
resulting udgment against
the offender.
In
other words
Anaximander eems
to take
injustice
as
the more
concrete
dea,
the one
to
men-
tion
explicitly
in
his
account,
and to take
justice simply
as
any
action
taken
in
response
o
injustice.
Anaximander's
expression
in
the
fragment
s similar
in
essential
ways
to
expressions
of
folk
meteorology.
It is
presented
n
a similar
manner
and,
more
importantly, resents
a
concept
of balance almost
identical to
that which
per-
vades weather ore.
The
redressing
of
injustice
hrough
the
ordering
of
time of
which Anaximander
peaks
is
systematicallycomparable
o the
concept
of bal-
ance over
time
which
is
commonly hought
o condition
patterns
f
meteorologi-
cal events. It
appears,
herefore,
hatthe
concept
of balance
n
folk
meteorology
may
well have
influenced
Anaximander's
philosophy
as it
is
recorded
or
us
by
Simplicius.
53
Of
course,
Anaximanderwas
interested
n
the
properties
of the
apeiron,
the indefinite.
The
meteorological
reading
of the Anaximander
ragment
suggests
that
part
of the indefinite
quality
of the
apeiron
was the
diversity
of
material elements
and
processes
to
which
it
gave
rise,
but
an
exploration
of this
reading
is outside the
scope
of
this
article.
15
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Cameron
Shelley
Conclusions
The
examinationof folk
meteorology
undertaken bove
presents
us
with a
plausible
source
for the
concept
of
justice employed by
Anaximander
n
the
fragment.
The
concept
of
balance
n
folk
meteorology
answers o the
possibility
of
a literal
nterpretation
f
the
fragment
called for
in
section
1. This
concept
is
unlike
any
such
concept
studied
by
modem
scholars,
but
it
may
be
found
in-
formingexpressions
of
weather
ore the world
over.
Balance
n
folk
meteorology
expresses
a
concept
hat:
1)
states
a
hypotheti-
cal
relationship
hat
(2)
predicates
meteorological patterns
of
conventionally
opposite
kinds
(3)
in
direct
proportion
s
(4)
a
threshold
possibly
subjective)
of
abundance s exceeded
by
an
antecedent
meteorological
event.
The situation
described n
Anaximander's
ragment
meets all of these conditions.
The
concept
of
balance
s also
asymmetric
nd
emphasizes
dverseweather
ver
good
weather.
Anaximander's
ragment peaks
about
njustice,penalties,
andretributions.
he
distinction
between
good
and
bad weather s not
one
of mutual
exclusivity
but
ratherone of
interpenetration.
his
interpenetration
f
hot, cold,
wet,
and
dry
makesbetter ense of the
concept
ofjustice implicit
n
the
fragment
handoes
the
contradictory,
metaphorical
nterpretation dopted
by
Kirk
et
al. It also
gives
us
a
differentview of
Anaximander's
philosophical project
than that
posited
by
Kahn
and
Kirk
et
al.
Insteadof
viewing
Anaximander
s
constructing
his
physi-
cal
theoryby
rationalizing
myths,
we
may
view
him
as
constructing
his
theory
by
extending
non-mythological
concepts
contained
n the folk
meteorology
of
his
native
city.
The Greek folk
meteorology
treated
by Theophrastus
s much
like that of
today
and
probably
much
like that
known
in
the Miletus ofAnaximander's
ime
as well. We have
no direct
proof
that
Anaximander tudiedor
thought
about
olk
meteorology,
but it
would
be
consistent
with his
well-known
interest
n
meteo-
rology
in
general.
However,
Cicerodoes creditAnaximander
with
predicting
an
earthquake
during
a
stay
in
Sparta,
when he
warned
the
Spartans
o
spend
the
night
outsideand
therefore avedmanyof their ives (DK 12A5a).54 he truthof
Cicero's
story
is
debated,
but
if
true,
it
may signify
thatAnaximander
applied
his
knowledge
of the
folkloreof
earthquakes,
hich
ypically uggests
hat
ground-
dwelling
animals eave
their lairs
shortly
before an
earthquake
egins.55
Com-
pare
this with
the weather
ore
concerning
the abundant
growth
of hawberries
before a harsh
winter.
fAnaximanderwas
familiar
with
whatwe
might
call folk
seismology,
then
it
is not
hard o believe thathe was also familiar
with what we
call folk
meteorology.
The two
systems
employ very
similar
concepts
for their
explanations
of
natural
phenomena.
54
See
Kahn, 68,
103-4.
55
McKirahan,
33.
16
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Folk
Meteorology
17
Modem
scholarsdo
not
doubt hat
Anaximander,
ike
the
other
pre-Socratics,
was
interested
n
meteorology.
What
hey
do not
know
is where
he
came
by
that
interestand
how
it
influencedhis natural
philosophy
as
expressed
in the
frag-
ment. It has
always
been assumed hatHomer
and Hesiod
would
have
supplied
the
materialneeded
by
Anaximander,
ut this
literary
material s
not addressed
primarily
o
meteorology
per
se and
provides
explanations
n
terms
of divine
rather han self-sufficient
action.
The above examination
suggests
thatAnaxi-
mander
may
have
been influenced
by
the
concept
of
balance contained
n folk
meteorology.
t
suggests
that,
contrary
o common
belief,
Anaximander
may
not
have used
a
legal metaphor
n
the
fragment
but
may
well have
expressed
himself
literally.
He
may
have
simply employed
a
concept
of
balance which
has until
now
escapedscholarly
notice.
University
of
Waterloo.
Recommended