Clearchus, On Lives

Clearchus of Soli belongs among the early Peripatetics. He studied under Aristotle, the founder of the Peripatos, and most likely outlived Theophrastus, who succeeded Aristotle as head of the School. According to Josephus, Clearchus was “second to none of the Peripatetic philosophers” (Against Apion 1.22 = 6A). That appears to be overstatement; at least, the surviving evidence suggests a more modest assessment. Regrettably, Diogenes Laertius never wrote a life of Clearchus. Had he done so and included a catalogue of Clearchus’ writings as he does for Aristotle, Theophrastus, Strato and Demetrius of Phalerum, ¹ then we might be able to make a more informed judgment concerning his place among the early Peripatetics. The same would be true, were the number of fragments (quotations and reports) in later authors greater. Nevertheless, it is a fair guess that Clearchus was not a copious/encyclopedic author. Only sixteen different titles are mentioned in our sources, and their range is limited. Schneider recognizes four groups of writings: those referring to Plato, and those dealing with Psychology, 436Ethics and Natural Science. ² Writings on logic, metaphysics, rhetoric and poetics are not attested. One title, On Lives or simply Lives, stands out in that it is attested more often than the other fifteen titles, and the material conveyed by the fragments is greater than that attributed to other works. In what follows, I shall discuss 1) the Clearchan title, indicating my preference for the longer form On (Types of) Lives, 2) earlier and contemporary discussions of types of lives, 3) the Clearchan work, and 4) the relevant portion of a later epitome/résumé of Peripatetic ethics commonly attributed to Arius Didymus.