ABSTRACT
I OFFER here remarks on (a) the authenticity of the whole or part of some of his fragments (Part I), and (b) the historical relation of his thought to that of those who influenced him most directly, Anaximander and Anaximenes (Part II). The immediate stimulus for these reflections I owe to the study of G. S. Kirk's recent book, Heraclitus: The Cosmic Fragments. 1 A work as serious and thorough as this compels one to reconsider many things one has previously taken for granted, to ask new questions, look afresh at the texts, and push through to a finish some hitherto half-finished trains of thought. For this I must express my sincere thanks to Kirk and also the hope that he will see in my many criticisms of his views a mark of esteem, not the reverse. Only a fundamental work is worthy of extensive criticism. And if I have said little on matters in which I agree with him, it is because I could not hope to improve on his own treatment of them.
