Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/950

Rh 932 DAMASCIUS. contains notes and emendations by A. Coray, Creuzer, Schweighauser, and others. [L. S.] DAMA'SCIUS {AafMCTKios), the Syrian (o 2v/)os), of Damascus, whence he derived his name, the last of the renowned teachers of the Neo-Pla- tonic philosophy at Athens, was bom towards the end of the fifth century of the Christian era. His national Syrian name is unknown. He repaired at an early period to Alexandria, where he first studied rhetoric under the rhetorician Theon, and mathematics and philosophy under Ammonius, the son of Hermeas [see p. 146, a.], and Isidorus. From Alexandria Damascius went to Athens, where Neo-Platonism existed in its setting glory under Marinus and Zenodotus, the successors of the celebrated Proclus. He became a disciple of both, and afterwards their successor ( whence his surname of 6 SidSoxos), and he was the Ijist who taught in the cathedra of Platonic philosophy at Athens; for in the year 529 the emperor Justinian closed the heathen schools of philosophy at Athens, and most of the philosophers, and among them Damascius, emigrated to king Chosroes of Persia, At a later time (533), how- ever, Damascius appears to have returned to the West, since Chosroes had stipulated in a treaty of peace that the religion and philosophy of the hea- then votaries of the Platonic philosophy should be tolerated by the Byzantine emperor. (Bnicker, Hid. PhUosoph. ii. p. 345 ; Agathias, Scholast. ii. p. 49, &C., p. 67, &c.) We have no fiirther parti- culars of the lite of Damascius ; we only know that he did not, after his return, found any school either at Athens or at any other place, and that thus the heathen philosophy ended with its ex- ternal existence. But the Neo-Platonic ideas from the school of Proclus were preserved in the Chris- tian church down to the Later times of the middle ages. Only one of Damascius's numerous writings has yet been printed, namely, "Doubts and Solutions of the first Principles, ('Airoptot koX Auo-f js v^pt t£v wpwTwu dpxwu), which was published (but not complete) by J. Kopp, Francof. 1828. 8vo. In this treatise Damascius inquires, as the title inti- mates, respecting the first principle of all things, which he finds to be an unfathomable and unspeak- able divine depth, being all in one, but undivided. The struggles which he makes in this treatise. to force into words that which is not susceptible of expression, have been blamed by many of the modem philosophers as barren subtilty and tedious tautology', but received the just admiration of others. This work is, moreover, of no small im- portance for the history of philosophy, in conse- quence of the great number of notices which it contains concerning the elder philosophers. The rest of Damascius's writings are for the most part commentaries on works of Aristotle and Plato ; of these the most important are : 1. 'Atto- piai Koi aeis ets tov Ila,TU)vos Fla/j^ei'tSTjv in a manuscript at Venice. 2. A continuation and completion of Proclus's commentary on Plato's Parmenides, printed in Cousin's edition of the works of Proclus, Paris, 1827, 8vo., vol. vi. p. 255, &c. We have references to some commentaries of Damascius on Plato's Timaeus, Alcibiades, and other dialogues, which seem to be lost. 3. Of the commentaries of Damascius on Aristotle's works we only know of the commentary on Aristotle's treatise " de Coelo," of which perhaps a fragment DAMASIPPUS. is extant in the treatise irepl tov yevvriTOv^ pub- lished by Iriarte {Catal. MSS. Bibl. Madrid^ i. p. 130) under the name of Damascius. Such a commentary of Damascius as extant in manuscript (Trap€K§oal, in Aristot. lib. i. de Coelo) is also mentioned by Labbeus (Bibl. Nov. MSS. pp. 112, 169). The writings of Damascius irepl /cti/TjVewy, irepl tSttov, and Trepl xpof^ov, cited by Simplicius in his commentary on Aristotle's Physica (fol. 189, b., 153, a., 183, b.), are perhaps only parts of his commentaries on the Aristotelian writings. Fabri- cius {Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. p. 294) attributes to him the composition of an epitome of the first four and the eighth book of Aristotle's Physica. 4. But of much greater importance is Damascius's biography of his preceptor Isidorus ('I(n5wpou )8ios, perhaps a part of the <pi(To^os laropla attributed to Da- mascius by Suidas, i. p. 506), of which Photius (Cod. 242, comp. 181) has preserved a considera- ble fragment, and gives at the same time some im- portant information respecting the life and studies of Damascius. This biography appears to have been reckoned by the ancients the most important of the works of Damascius. 5. Aoyoi TlapdSo^oi, in 4 books, of which Photius (Cod. 130) also gives an account and specifies the respective titles of the books. (Comp. Westermann, Rcrum MiraldL Scriptores, Proleg. p. xxix.) Photius praises the succinct, clear, and pleasing style of this work ; though, as a Christian, he in other respects vehe- mently attacks the heathen philosopher and the tendency of his writings. 6. Besides all these writings, there is lastly a fragment of a commcn- tar}' on Hippocrates's "Aphorisms" in a manuscript at Munich, which is ascribed to this philosopher. (See below.) There is also an epigram in the Greek Anthology (iii. 179, ed. Jacobs, comp. Jacobs, Cojii- ment. in Ajithol. xiii. p. 880) likewise ascribed to him. For further particulars, see Kopp's Preface to his edition of Damascius, Trepi trpcLTwv apxuVj and Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. iii. pp. 79, 83, 230. Among the disciples of Damascius the most im' portant are Simplicius, the celebrated commentator on Aristotle, and Eulamius. [A. S.] DAMA'SCIUS (Acjuao-zctos), the author of a short Greek commentary on the Aphorisms of Hip- pocrates, first published by F. R. Dietz in his Scholia in Hippocr. ct Gal.., Regim, Pruss, 1834, 8vo. This Damascius is perhaps the same as the celebrated Neo-Platonic philosopher mentioned above ; but the matter is quite uncertain. [W. A. G.] DAMASIPPUS (Ao^o-JTTTTos), a Macedonian, who after having assassinated the members of the synedrium of Phacus, a Macedonian town, fled with his wife and children from his country. When Ptolemy Physcon came to Greece and raised an array of mercenaries, Damasippus also engaged in his service, and accompanied him to Crete and Libya. (Polvb. xxxi. 25.) [L.S.I DAMASIPPUS, L. JU'NIUS BRUTUS. [Brutus, No. 19.] DAMASIPPUS, LICT'NIUS. 1. Licinius Damasippus, a Roman senator of the party of Pompey, who was with king Juba in B. c. A^. During Caesar's African war, in B. c. 47, we again meet him among the enemies of Caesar. Dama- sippus and some others of his partj' endeavoured with a few ships to reach the coast of Spain, but the' were t]iro% i back by a storm to Hippo, where the fleet of P. Sitius was stationed. The