Heraclitus, fr. 94 Mch. (22 B 119 DK), and some aspects of ancient demonology

Abstract

The work is devoted to the analysis of one of the most important, despite the brevity, fragments of Heraclitus of Ephesus (fr. 94 Mch. = 22 B 119 DK). Particular attention is paid to the consideration of the historical and conceptual meanings of the term daimôn. The article traces the relationship of the philosophical teachings of Socrates and Heraclitus in the light of their extraordinary identification of the spheres of ethical issues and a specially interpreted demonology. In particular, it is noted that in the fate and thinking of both Heraclitus and Socrates, one can consistently observe the clash of popular religion and generally accepted ethics with a new experience of an inner inalienable life, conditioned by the requirements of self-knowledge, personal morality and personal responsibility. It is suggested that the meaning of the ethical statement of Heraclitus, with some reservations, corresponds to a number of the most significant provisions of the so-called “New ethics”, in the style of the teachings of E. Neumann. To fill in the missing or unobvious links in the chain of Heraclitean reasoning about human morals, this work for the first time uses a text that has not previously attracted the attention of specialists, namely: Cornelii Nepotis Vita Attici, 11, 6 & 19, 1.