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 4 PHILOSOPHICAL AND OTHER ESSAYS Was Herakleitos a Mystic ? Herr Pfleiderer wishes us to look upon Herakleitos in the light of the idea of the mysteries: "im Lichte der Mysterien-idee. The opinion is entirely groundless. Herr Pfleiderer does not seem to have noticed the severe attack that Herakleitos made against all people who took part in mysteries. He calls them night-walkers, wizards, bacchanals, revellers, mystery-mongers- νυκτιπόλοι, μάγοι, βάκχοι, λῆναι, μύσται—a worse terminology of abuse could scarcely be invented; for what are called mysteries among men they celebrate in an unholy way : τὰ γὰρ νομιζόμενα κατ᾿ ἀνθρώπους μυστήρια ἀνιερωστὶ μυεῦνται. In the light of such utterances of Herakleitos, it would be sheer madness to consider Herakleitos in any sense a mystic. Among the two traditions discussed by Mr. Cornford in his book "From Religion to Philosophy," we may safely refer Herakleitos to the scientific tradi- tion, and not to the mystical tradition. The only claim of Herakleitos to a niche in the mystic shrine is his aphoristic, epigrammatic, and cryptic style. But mere aphorism is not mysticism, and we may safely regard. Herakleitos as even an anti-mystic, remembering what importance Herakleitos attached to the dry light of reason: the dry soul, said Herakleitos, is wisest and best: αὖη ψυχὴ σοφωτάτη καὶ ἀρίστη, Relation to Parmenides We are now prepared to discuss the relation of Herakleitos to Parmenides. We have already seen above that Herakleitos refers to Xenophanes, while we can undoubtedly say that Parmenides refers to Herakleitos so that Herakleitos may be safely put down as having flourished between Xenophanes and Parmenides. Zeller,