ABSTRACT
I offer this tribute to the life in ancient philosophy of my colleague Alex Mourelatos with great pleasure and not a little trepidation. Contributors were asked to restrict their thoughts to the Presocratics and the Sophists, the principal recipients of Alex’s scholarly attentions, and I am at best an amateur in such a field. And when I think of Alex’s own scholarship, the word that comes first to mind is ‘care,’ and in more than one sense. Alex’s work in Greek philosophy has always been characterized by a meticulous attention to philological detail, an attention deriving from his unswerving belief that only if we get the texts right can we begin to essay anything like an interpretation of them. Equally, his interpretations themselves are the products of careful and rigorous philosophical reflection, as he seeks to steer that most delicate and demanding of courses between philosophical depth and vigor on the one hand and philological responsibility on the other. But finally, and perhaps most importantly, Alex’s career has consistently exemplified the fact that he cares, deeply and fervently, about the proper practice of philosophy, about education, about his work, and no less about his students and colleagues.
