ABSTRACT
It is not infrequently true of ancient philosophical treatises on apparently neutral topics that they turn out, on closer inspection, to have a polemical purpose, overt or covert. Theophrastus’ little treatise Τά μετά φνσικά is no exception to this rule. 1 On the surface, his purpose is simply to define the chief characteristics of enquiry into first principles (τὰ πρὤτα), as opposed to enquiry into nature, a thoroughly harmless and public-spirited activity. He loses no time, however, about making clear what he is really up to, and who he has in his sights.
