Empedocles' Oral Style

Jackson P. Hershbell

The Classical Journal, Vol. 63, No. 8. (May, 1968), pp. 351-357.

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EMPEDOCLES' ORAL STYLE

M focused on the philosophical

OST STUDIESEMPEDOCLES
OF have
problems
Parmenides' poems, maintained that "it is
convenient that such writings should be
found in the fragments of his p0ems.l As both compact and easily committed to
a result of this preoccupation with Emped- m e m ~ r y . " I~n short, the works were "first
ocles the philosopher, little attention has learnt by heart."5
been given to the style and manner in I t is generally agreed that verse can be
which h i s poems were composed and orig- more readily memorized than prose, but if
inally presented. This is especially curious Empedocles' poems were written, what
since hexameters are not well suited for an need was there for memorizing them? Why
easy use of Greek, and many words, were his writings not kept readily avail-
because of their scansion, are e ~ c l u d e d . ~able? Cornford never really answered these
Poetic form, moreover, is not the usual questions other than by vague reference to
medium of philosophical discourse, and the "time necessary for assimilation," and
Empedocles was the last significant Greek the gradual emergence of "hidden mean-
thinker to use it.3 At least two important i n g ~ . " ~
questions have not been answered satis- Much more recently W. K. C. Guthrie
factorily. First, why did Empedocles com- has explained Empedocles' use of hex-
pose in the epic tradition, retaining epic ameter simply as "a medium that comes
meter and language? And second, how naturally to him as the best vehicle for
can the frequent repetition of lines, part his t h o ~ g h t . " ~But why does verse come
lines, and even single words in the poems naturally to Empedocles, and why is it the
be explained? In view of these considera-
best vehicle for his thought? Guthrie
tions, the attempt to account for Emped-
leaves these questions unanswered.
ocles' style is a serious one. In defense of Guthrie, it could be argued
F. M. Cornford, while examining the
that Empedocles wrote in verse because he
"esoteric" character of Empedocles' and was brought up in the epic tradition. The

1 Three of the most detailed over-all studies of Emped-

argument implies, however, that the epic
ocles are: C. E. Millerd, On the interpretation of Emped- tradition was either a written one or that
ocles (Chicago 1908); E. Bignone, Empedocle (Turin
1916); and W. K. C. Guthrie, A history o f Greek philos-
ophy, vo1.2 (Cambridge 1965). Each gives some pre- 4 F. M. Cornford, From religion to philosophy (repr.
liminary and general attention to Empedocles' style. Their New York 1957) 225. Italics mine.
main concern, however, is with philosophical interpretation. 5 Zbid.
* A s Bowra notes, this has led to speculation that the Zbid. Cornford's explanation of Empedocles' use of
Greeks adopted hexametric verse from some other language, verse is based on Aristotle's account in the Nicomachean
such as Minoan or Hittite. See M. Bowra, "Metre," in ethics (7.3:1147a): "For they being in states of drunken-
A companion t o Homer, ed. A. J . B. Wace and F. H. ness repeat the arguments (dao6ei&ts) and verses of
Stubbings (London 1962), 23. Empedocles; and having just learned them, they reel
This was pointed out by Burnet and later reaffirmed them off. But they do not yet understand, since i t takes
by Millerd. See J. Burnet, Early Greek philosophy (repr. time for these verses to become part of their thinking."
New York 1957) 203, and Millerd, Interpretation, 43 n.5. 7 Guthrie, History 2:135.
352
if originally oral, Empedocles was influ-
enced by it only to the extent that he wrote
in verse. This defense is weakened, how-
ever, by the fact that Empedocles' poems
are characterized by a large number of
seemingly unnecessary repetitions, a direct-
ness of address which seems odd to modern
readers, and a lack of clarity or consist-
ency, to the extent that Guthrie agrees
with Millerd's assertion that "the impor-
tant thing in understanding him is to stop
thinking at the right m ~ m e n t . " ~Was
Empedocles then writing in a deliberately
obscure and repetitive style? Or was he
somehow incapable of expressing himself
clearly and economically in verse? But
then why not write in prose? Was he
unable to write in prose? The difficulty
of writing in prose tends, in fact, to be
underestimated in a literate society. One
cannot write prose merely by conveying
the spoken word to the page. Verse, on
the other hand, can easily be composed
without the aid of writing, especially in
societies where literacy is not widespread,
e.g. as with the Balkan oral epics. If, then,
Empedocles was an oral poet who made
little or no use of writing, his use of
repetition and lack of clarity can be better
understood, and attributed not so much to
his mind but to his style. I n fact, his men-
tal processes may well have been controlled
by his medium o f expression. For a writer
of prose can be held responsible for failure
to treat his subject concisely and system-
a t i ~ a l l y but
; ~ a poet in an oral tradition,
8 Ibid. The observation that Empedocles' directness of
address seems strange to modern readers is made by
lIillerd, Interpretation 22. T h e inconsistency of Emped-
ocles' thought has been noted by Aristotle, Gomperz,
Jlillerd, and Guthrie. See, for example, lIillerd, Inter-
pretation 16. Hazel E. Barnes, "Unity in the thought of
Empedocles," C I 63 (1967) 18-23, has recently argued
that Empedocles' thought is consistent. According to
Barnes, the problem of consistency mainly concerns the
apparent dichotomy between On nature and Purifications;
in particular, "the problem of the relation of deity to the
cosmic cycle and second that of mortal to deity," see p.18.
Although the compatibility of the two poems is well
argued, her somewhat restrictive notion of "consistency"
seems to overlook other problems, e.g. Empedocles' ap-
parent denial of empty space and his doctrine of pores
and effluences, or the number and relationship of the
cosmic cycles.
0 By conciseness I mean the absence of superfluous
expressions. Owing to repetition, the fragments of Emped-
JACKSON P. HERSHBELL
composing from memory in verse, a dif-
ficult medium for philosophical expression,
cannot be judged by the same standards.
Much has been written about Milman
Parry's contributions to Homeric scholar-
ship.1° Apart from seeing the relevance of
modern oral Yugoslavian poetry, he demon-
strated that Homer was an oral poet, de-
pending on a gradually evolved store of
fixed phrases or formulae.ll This formulaic
character of Homeric language, and the
nature of oral communication, have been
examined in detail elsewhere.12 What im-
portance, if any, do these findings have for
understanding the style of Empedocles?
That they are not without relevance is my
hypothesis: Empedocles was an oral poet.
Now, the true oral poet composes and
transmits poetry without the aid of writing.
He does not work from a fixed text, though
the phrases and lines of his poetry are more
or less constant. His poems are delivered
orally to an audience. Hence poet and
audience rely exclusively on memory for
the preservation of the composition. Pres-
ervation in the memory can be guaranteed
only, however, by rhythmic words orga-
nized in verbal and metrical patterns hav-
ocles' poems can hardly be described as concise. Granted,
of course, that conciseness is not impossible in oral poetry,
there is more reason to expect it in written prose. I t is
easier to edit a written than a spoken work, and hence
achieve a greater degree of thoroughness and methodical-
ness. I n short, writing and speech are not identical, and
the rules or standards governing the one do not always
apply to the other.
' 0 See, for example, D. Page, History and the Homeric
Iliad (Berkeley 1959) 218ff.; A. B. Lord, "Homer and
other epic poetry," in Wace and Stubbings, A companion
to Homer, 179-211: G. S. Kirk, T h e songs of Homer
(Cambridge 1962) 271ff.
'1See 31. Parry, L'e'pithdte traditionelle dans H o m b e
(Paris 1928) and Rf. Parry, "Studies in the epic technique
of oral verse-makinn." HSCP 41 (1930) 73ff. and 43
(1932) Iff.
12 For a treatment of the formulaic character of Homeric
language, see the studies of Parry (note 11 above) and
31. Bowra, "Style," in Wace and Stubbings, A companion
to Homer, 2811. According to Parry, L'dpithdte, 16, a
'formula' is "une expression qui est reguli6rement employee,
dans les mdmes conditions metriques, pour exprimer une
certaine idbe essentielle." T h e nature of oral communica-
tion has been analyzed by A. B. Lord, A singer of tales
(Cambridge, Rfass. 1960) and E . A. Havelock, Preface t o
Plato (Cambridge, Rfass. 1963). For an interesting but
general and nontechnical treatment of oral communication,
see H. A. Innis, T h e bias of communicatioir (repr. Toronto
1964) 311.
ing a degree of regularity.13 Other ingre-
dients of oral composition are a somewhat
restricted and standardized vocabulary,
and frequent repetition of phrases extend-
ing in length from a word or two to several
complete lines, as in the formulae of
Homeric epic. Metrical regularity and
repetition, then, are essential for learning
and composing long oral poems.
That ancient Greece had an oral culture
is unquestionable, though there seems no
unanimous agreement upon when literacy
became widespread.14 Havelock asserted
that Homer's "poet successors were writ-
ers.l113 But he also set out to prove that
the culture of Plato's time was predomi-
nantly oral.l"mpedocles (492-432 B.c.)
was part of Greek oral culture as described
by Havelock.li His poetry should thus
display characteristics of Greek oral cul-
ture.
Since it has been disputed that Homer
himself was a true oral poet who made no
use of writing,lx the hypothesis that Em-
pedocles was an oral poet does not rule out
the possibility that his poems were com-
posed with some aid from writing; that is,
he may not have been a true oral poet.
Empedocles' poems, however, have metrical
regularity and repetitions, two essential
characteristics of oral poetry.''
13 For a discussion of memorization and its role in oral
communication, see Havelock, Preface 145ff.
14 This question is examined in some detail by Havelock,
especially 49-56.
' 5 Ibid 46.
' 0 Havelock, Preface 38, writes: "It is fair to conclude
that the cultural situation described by Plato is one in
which oral communication still dominates all the important
relationships and valid transactions of life. Books of course
there were, and the alphabet had been in use for over
three centuries, hut the question is: used by how many?
and used for what purposes? Up to this point its introduc-
tion had made little practical difference to the educational
system or to the intellectual life of adults. This is a hard
conclusion to accept, not least in the eyes of scholars of
the written word."
On Empedocles' dates, see Guthrie, History 2:128.
1s For a well-balanced discussion of this problem, see
Kirk, Songs 98ff. Kirk believes that the hypothesis of
some kind of written text of the Homeric epics is unneces-
sary.
19 Parmenides' poem is also characterized by metrical
regularity and what seems to be the repetition of ideas.
I n the extant fragments, however, there is no repetition
of identical or very similar lines, and Parmenides does not
address his audience directly. On the contrary, it is he
who is addressed by a goddess. Nonetheless, the possibility
exists that he, too, was an oral poet.
The evidence that Empedocles' poems
were a t least delivered orally is found in
the remaining fragments. For example, the
first fragment of the Diels-Kranz arrange-
ment indicates that Empedocles' poems
were designed for listening and recita-
t i ~ n "Pausanias,
: ~ ~ you must listen, son of
wise Anchites! " The imperative Kh981
('hear' or 'listen') is used in two other
lines of the fragments, B17,14 and B62,3;
in B112,ll the infinitive occurs.21 The
imperative ~ K O U('hear')
~ also appears twice,
B6,l and B17,26. Other forms of & K O ~ C L V ,
the infinitive and the aorist participle, are
used in B3,4 and B23,ll respectively. I n
addition to these verbs suggesting auditory
response from an audience, there are verbs
indicating that Empedocles first made his
poems known by reciting them. For ex-
ample, the Homeric formula, dhho 6C 701
ipCw, in B 8 , l ; the repeated 6kh' ipCw of
B17,l and B17,16; ei 6' dye TOL hllw in
B38,l; and iy; i6eplw in B114,2.
Throughout the fragments, then, verbs
occur which strongly suggest that Emped-
ocles' poems, if not composed orally, were
a t least intended for recitation. But apart
from this, there is other evidence of oral
performance. I n B3,l-2 the poet invokes
the gods: "But, ye gods, avert from my
tongue their madness, and guide forth a
pure stream (of speech) from reverent
lips!" Granted that even in written prose
the gods can be addressed directly, this
passage still makes little sense if it was
intended to be read; and to argue that it
is in some sense merely decorative or
figurative would violate the obvious mean-
ing of the language: the poet is addressing
20 H . S. Long, "On the unity of Empedocles," A I P 70
(1949) 142-58, points out that the arrangement of frag-
ments by modern editors has been, to some extent, their
own reconstruction. Specifically, the assignment of frag-
ments either to On nature or to the Purifications has been
somewhat arbitrary. For the purpose of this study, how-
ever, I have accepted the Diels-Kranz arrangement. I n
the remaining notes D K = H . Diels and W. Kranz,
Fragmente der Vorsokratike$ (Berlin 1952).
Guthrie is correct in pointing out that B1 ("Pausanias,
you must listen . . . ") with its address by name to a
single person, puts the poem On nature in the tradition
of admonitory poetry. But this does not fully explain the
use of terms suggesting an oral situation! Guthrie, Ilistory
2:137.
3 54
or about to speak to an audience ("guide
forth a pure stream [of speech] from
reverent lips"). The somewhat enigmatic
injunction of B5, crrcy&uai + p e v 6 ~ i h h o ~ o
c l a w , might simply command the response
of a listener: remember what you are
told !
I n the fragments considered thus far,
Empedocles seems always to assume a
listener-poet relationship. His presentation
is essentially oral, not written; and it is
made to an audience, not to readers.
Does the character of his language also
indicate oral composition? T h e evidence
is somewhat more involved. I t could be
argued, of course, that if the Homeric epic
is oral poetry-and this can be demon-
strated by the formulaic character of its
language-then, since a similar formulaic
character is evident in Empedocles' lan-
guage, his poetry, too, must be oral. The
argument, however, cannot be presented
so simply, for how can we be certain that
the oral characteristics of Empedocles'
poems were not, in fact, merely borrowings
or imitations of the Homeric style? Now
a hypothesis by its very nature cannot be
proved conclusively; it is simply designed
to account satisfactorily for certain phe-
nomena. Hence we cannot be sure that
Empedocles was not imitating Homer. On
the other hand, if the oral characteristics
are borrowings, it is necessary to account
for their presence. Was Empedocles merely
imitating Homer for the sake of imitation?
What purpose would he have had for doing
this? Did he perhaps admire Homer?
There is no evidence. Or was his imitation
functional, that is, necessary for composing
in a predominantly oral situation? Even
if his poems were recited from a written
text, it is difficult to show that their orig-
inal composition was not oral. For in
order to do this, it is necessary to deter-
mine how writing could have helped
Empedocles, especially since his poems are
~ ' E A X o ? r o s can be either nominative or genitive. I n
either case, the one addressed is asked to keep silent. See
D K , 311, note 13. 2 ~ e y d a a rprobably means 'to hold' or
'to retain.'
JACKSON P. HERSHBELL
not so long that their composition would
be beyond the powers of an oral poet. I n
short, the contention for a written text
~seems gratuitous, and does not account for
Empedocles' formulaic repetitive style.
Since only 450 of about 5,000 lines of
Empedocles' poems are it is dif-
ficult to know how r~ervasivehis use of
repetition was. Moreover, because of the
relatively small number of extant frag-
ments, it is not easy to determine what is
formulaic except when a given set of words
recurs. Nonetheless. about one tenth of
the extant fragments consist of lines re-
peated. Now the repetitive nature of
Empedocles' style has been noted by
others, such as Bignone and G ~ t h r i e . ~In '
fact, several of the poet's sayings, notably
B25, "for what is right may well be told
twice," have usually been interpreted as
showing the poet's awareness of his device
of repetition. Commenting on the long
B17, where the repetition is obvious, Guth-
rie remarks that "it is an unusually clever
and effective method of impressing upon
a reader the unity and interdependence of
all parts of the cosmic scheme."25 Guthrie
seems, therefore, to assume a writer-reader
relationship. The repetition, however, does
not always seem to emphasize the unity of
Empedocles' cosmology. For example, the
expression Oeoi ~ t p i j l +~ i I P appears
~ ~ three
~ ~ ~
times with some variation, in B21,12, B23,
8, and B 146,3. The line Z+aipoq ~ v ~ h o r e ~ ~ s
~ O V m~ P i~r I LY d ~y a l w v appears in both B27
and B28. In none of these examples is it
clear that the unity of Empedocles' thought
is especially emphasized. Moreover, what
need was there for repetition a t all? Why
was the coherence of the system, assuming
there was one, not otherwise impressed,
e.g. in a carefully written treatise?
23 See Guthrie, History 2 : 135. Diogenes Laertius esti-
mated that the poem amounted to 5,000 lines. Guthrie
thinks the number was probably smaller.
24See Bignone, Empedocle 220-21, 602-3, especially
notes 3 and 4, where Bignone gives examples of repetitions.
H e does not discuss them in any detail, and his examples
are whole-line repetitions. See also Guthrie, History 2:137.
S G u t h r i e , History 2:155. Italics mine.
 Other fragments, especially in view of
the repetitive character of the poems, fur-
ther suggest Empedocles' awareness of his
use of oral techniques. For example, B24:
"Fitting the heads of my tale into one
another, not to traverse a sole and single
path."26 I n other words, his treatment will
be disconnected. I s this sheer perversity
because the poet does not want to write a
coherent treatise? Or is it his awareness
that in oral presentation and composition
(for example, the academic lecture) a sub-
ject cannot always be treated in a well-
ordered, closely connected fashion? Also
the opening lines of B21, "Come now,
observe this witness to my previous songs
(dcipwv), lest anything in them be lacking
in form . . . " make more sense if the poet
presented his thoughts orally. The term
o"apoi, for example, used once in the The-
ogony, suggests verbal communication, and
if the "songs" were orally presented, there
is likelihood that something could be miss-
ing or accidentally omitted.27
If Empedocles' poems were composed
orally, then they could be preserved and
transmitted only insofar as they could be
memorized. Hence repetition was neces-
sary for the retention bf the poems in the
minds both of the ~ o e andt of his audience.
The repetitions are largely formulaic in
character; that is, they often have the
same metrical value, express the same
ideas, and can readily replace one an-
other.2s Most of these formulae seem to
originate with Empedocles, though several
are traditional or inherited from the Ho-
meric epic. For example, vrlhr& ijpap in
B139,l is found in 11. 11.484; aCp &t677hov
in B 109,2 in 11. 2.455 ; d u ~ k ah c v ~ kin B96,3
in Od. 1.161 et passim. The phrase ai6Cpa
" Guthrie's translation: ibid. 136.
'25'Hes. T h . 205: lrapOevlous r ' 66pous per8fifia~ar'
t [ a l r d ~ a s T E . The verb 6api(erv seems to mean 'to con-
verse' or 'to chat.' See 11. 6.516.
2s J, B. Hainsworth, "Structure and content in epic
formulae: the question of the unique expression,"
14 (1964) 155-64, cites several definitions of "formul:.Q
H e himself maintains that the "essence of a formula is its
repetition; hut the repetition can be in form (as in
mathematics) or in content (as in ceremonial language)."
See p.155.
6;ov in B109,2 is reminiscent of ai8Cpo~i~
8 l r l ~ in 11. 16.365. T h e recurrent
a r p i a h o p b o i o X p 6 of~ B17,29
~ ~ ~ and B 110,8
(with variants in B26,l and B30,2) are
more generalized or abstract versions of
aepiirhopE'vov 6' i v i a v ~ o iin Od. 11.248 (see
also irepi~hoplvwv iviavrSv in Od. 1.16 and
Hes. T h . 184). The use of &~;popoi to
describe mortals in B2,4 may be intended
to recall the epithet applied to Achilleus in
the Iliad, or to the suitors of Penelope in
the Odyssey. The use of the Homeric
formula dhho 6C TOL ipCw has also been
noted.29
In addition to these formulae inherited
from the epic tradition, Empedocles uses
what seem to be the formulae of Par-
menides; for example, & X X d ~ ~ i o+& v in
B45 is taken directly from Parmenides'
B14, which, in turn, is a playful imitation
of 11. 5.214.30 The phrase 6adurll. ~ 6 ~ i 0u ~s l
vorjuai in B3,12 recalls Parmenides' 6601 . . .
clui vo?juai of B2,2. Empedocles' B28,1,
&AX ii y r aclv~o6cv Iuos (ioi) ~ a a&,uaav i
&aclpwv, is similar to Parmenides' B8,49,
oE y&p aciv~o6rvEuov, dpCs iv aclpaui ~ L p r i .
Though often taken as attacks on Par-
menidesj31 it is possible that these reminis-
cences are functional. They recall the work
of Parmenides, and a t the same time enable
Empedocles to compose his own poetry.
I n general, the repetitions could fall into
four classifications: ( 1) repetition of nouns
plus adjectives (similar to the noun-epithet
formulae of the Homeric epics) ; ( 2 ) rep-
etition of part-lines; (3) repetition of
whole lines, singly or in blocks; ( 4 ) rep-
etition of theme or concepts, i.e, when the
ideas are similar, though expressed in dif-
ferent language. These classifications are
artificial since there are also examples of
noun-adjective repetitions within passages
where lines are
28 Diels noted that lihho 86 T O [ Qpdw was 'homerisch':
DK 312, note 7.
Solbid. 243: "dAA6rprov $fis spielende Imitation von
Hom. E 214, aufgenommen v. Emped. B45."
Q See, for example, Burnet, Greek philosophy 227 and
G. S. Kirk and J. E . Raven, T h e Presocratic philosophers
(Cambridge 1957) 325.
Sa For example, B21,lO-12 and B23,6-8.
 JACKSON P. HERSHBELL

( 1 ) Most of the noun-adjective repeti-
tions seem purely functional, and add little
or no meaning to a line or passage. For
example, fish are twice described as
irSa~o0~~ppovrs, in B21,ll and B23,7 in the
nominative and accusative respectively. I n
B20,6 fish are .j8poPlha8po~,and in B117,2
the fish is i'[ahos i'hXo~o~.If the complete
lines containing these noun-adjectives are
later use does not establish the claim that
Empedocles, too, was a writer of verse.
(2) Examples of part-line repetition
show somewhat more variation than the
noun-adjective type, and usually involve
the change of a word or two to fit the
metrical line. For example, G~ahXd[av~a
~rhc680vs in B35,15, but pr~ahhdauov~a
K E ~ E ~ ~ O in V S B 1 15,8 ; dhXcluuov~a81ap?r~~is

also considered, it is obvious how similar, oiGay& X?jyr~in B17,6, but G~ahXduuovra
if not formulaic, they are in character: G ~ a p a a p i s oCGap& X?jyr~ i n B 1 7 , 1 2 ;
B20,6: (5s 6' au"rws Bdyvocur ~ a l i~ B 6 u r v uvvappou8~v~' ' A + ~ O ~ in
/ TB~ 7L1, but ~ ~ O L W -
JGpoyeh~Bpors ~ L2,s ; dhX' ;I yc ~dvro8rv
O ~ V T ' ' A + ~ O ~ LinTB2
B117,2: Bayvos 7' oiwv6s r e ~ a %[ahos
i Ehho~os Iuos (ioi) in B28,1, but ~ a (~clv~o0cv) l Euos
ixB6s i a v ~ hin~ B29,3 ; cis b ;I?rav~ain B17,7 and
B21,ll: O?jpCs r' oiwvoi r e ~ a JGaro6'pkyyoves
i
B20,2, but cis Zva K~U,I.LOV in B26,S. Some
ixBiis
part-lines are also identical repetitions.
B21,ll is repeated with slight variation in For example, T' dp~h6vovu~ycplyvas in
B23,7 (this being accusative). These B2,2 and B110,7; 61' dhhrjhwv 82 0Cov~ain
whole-line repetitions occur also in blocks B17,34, B21,13, and B26,3. Again the
of almost identical lines, namely, B2 1,lO-12 nature of these part-line repetitions is
and B23,6-8: "And trees sprang up, and formulaic, which is suggestive of an oral
men and women, beasts and birds and style.
water-nurtured fish, and even the long- (3) Most numerous are the repetitions
lived gods highest in honor." ( I n B23,6-8 of identical or very similar whole lines,
these nouns are the objects of KT~[OVT€.) either singly or in groups. Examples of
B21,lO-12 occurs in a context where the these are i v G i p l PK~~ ~~T ~ O V TU ~L ~ L T ~ ~ ~ ~ V O L O
harmonious influence of Love is described. X p d in~ B17,29 ~ ~ ~(with the variant K ~ K ~ O L O
B23,6-9 is used in a simile: the harmony for X p d in~ B26,l). ~ ~ ~ B29,l-2 is repeated
resulting from the influence of Love is like in B134,2-3, where d ~ is d to be read instead
the result when painters have mixed their of and 'shaggy' (haXv?jrvra) is a
pigments harmoniously. In B 100,15 and variant for 'reproductive' (yrvvljrv~a): "For
21 the noun-adjective aZu~pov5Gwp occurs two limbs do not shoot forth from his
in lines describing the egress and regress back; no feet, no nimble knees, no re-
of air in a water-catcher. " E ~ T C ~ai&v O Sis productive organs." B17,l-2 is repeated in
used twice, in B17,ll and B26,10, again B 17,16-17, and is obviously formulaic,
in identical verbal contexts. Once ai&v is since in oral presentation it would serve
qualified by dusr~osin B16,2. Trees are the purpose both of emphasizing a previous
twice qualified with the adjective pa~pcl,in point, and of introducing a new one.
B72 and B79; also ~ v ~ d p o ~inu ~B127. v The somewhat long passage B17,7-13 is
Beasts are &ypd~cpo~ and 6pr~hr~lrs in B9,2 repeated in B26,S-13 though line B26,7,
and B20,7. ciud~rv2v uvp+dv~aT; ?r&v h?r~vcP8~ Y ~ V ~ ~ T ~ L ,
The previous examples of noun-adjective is not found in the passage from B17. Also
combinations are suggestive of a poet's hhhciuoov~a in B26,ll is a variant for
formulaic language; their use enables him 6~ahhdauov~a in B 17,12.
to compose orally without interrupting the (4) Empedocles uses lines which, though
presentation of his thought. To be sure, not verbally identical, express similar ideas
similar repetitions appear in later written or themes. Cornford notices one of these
poetry, such as that of Theocritus. But a "cross-references," the oath set for banish-
ment from the realm of the blessed.33 The
former occurs in B30,3 of On nature:
"which (time) is fixed in turn for them
by a firm-based oath"; mention of the
same oath occurs in B 115 of the Purifica-
tions: "sealed with firm-based oaths."
Other examples of repetition of thought,
reminiscent of Parmenides, are:
B13: Neither is there any part of the all
( r o c r a v ~ 6 s )empty nor overfull.
B14: Xothing of the all is empty; whence
could anything enter into i t ?
B17,32-3: And what could increase the all?
And whence could it come? And
how could it perish since nothing is
empty of these?
From the examples of the repetitions or
formulae presented above, it cannot be
concluded with certainty that Empedocles
composed orally, that he made no use of
a written text, and that each performance
of his poems was a somewhat new com-
position. The possibility remains that he
and his students simply memorized a
manuscript. But that some oral techniques
played a role in the composition and
preservation of the poems cannot be easily
denied.
* Cornford, Religion to philosophy 237.
The hypothesis that Empedocles was an
oral poet accounts reasonably well for his
use of verse (he was the last important
Greek thinker to use it) and his contin-
uance in the epic tradition. Evidence of
oral delivery is found in the poet's use of
verbs for hearing and speaking. His poems
seem designed for recitation, and his lan-
guage has a formulaic character not unlike
that of the Homeric epics, a strong indica-
tion of oral composition. The lack of
conciseness and clarity in Empedocles'
thought can also be attributed to an oral
style. The hypothesis that Empedocles had
an oral style does not mean that his ideas
must have been presented without fore-
thought before an audience. He seems to
have made some use of inherited formulae,
a procedure not inconsistent with tech-
niques of oral verse-making. In view of
the repetitiousness, direct address, and lack
of clarity of the fragments, there is less
justification for the belief of the literate
scholar that Empedocles' poems were
originally written.
JACKSON P. HERSHBELL
University of North Dakota
http://www.jstor.org

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Empedocles' Oral Style
Jackson P. Hershbell
The Classical Journal, Vol. 63, No. 8. (May, 1968), pp. 351-357.
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[Footnotes]

8
Unity in the Thought of Empedocles
Hazel E. Barnes
The Classical Journal, Vol. 63, No. 1. (Oct., 1967), pp. 18-23.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-8353%28196710%2963%3A1%3C18%3AUITTOE%3E2.0.CO%3B2-M

11
Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making. I. Homer and Homeric Style
Milman Parry
Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, Vol. 41. (1930), pp. 73-147.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0073-0688%281930%2941%3C73%3ASITETO%3E2.0.CO%3B2-G

20
The Unity of Empedocles' Thought
Herbert S. Long
The American Journal of Philology, Vol. 70, No. 2. (1949), pp. 142-158.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0002-9475%281949%2970%3A2%3C142%3ATUOET%3E2.0.CO%3B2-1

28
Structure and Content in Epic Formulae: The Question of the Unique Expression
J. B. Hainsworth
The Classical Quarterly, New Series, Vol. 14, No. 2. (Nov., 1964), pp. 155-164.
Stable URL:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0009-8388%28196411%292%3A14%3A2%3C155%3ASACIEF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-8

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