A history of Greek mathematics - Wilbourhall.org

232 SUCCESSORS OF THE GREAT GEOMETERS
of Pontus] coming forward and saying that, even on the
assumption that the earth moves in a certain ivay, while
the sun is in a certain way at rest, the apparent irregularity
with reference to the sun may be saved! Philological considerations
as well as the other notices which we possess
about Heraclides make it practically certain that ' Heraclides
of Pontus ' is an interpolation and that Geminus said tl?
simply, ' a certain person ', without any name, though he
doubtless meant Aristarchus of Samos. 1
Simplicius says that Alexander quoted this extract from
the epitome of the egijyrjo-is by Geminus. As the original
work was apparently made the subject of an abridgement, we
gather that it must have been of considerable scope. It is
'
a question whether egrjyrjcris means commentary ' or ex-
'
position ' ; I am inclined to think that the latter interpretation
is
the correct one, and that Geminus reproduced Posidonius's
work in its entirety with elucidations and comments ; this
seems to me to be suggested by the words added by Simplicius
immediately after the extract ' this is the account given by
Geminus, or Posidonius in Geminus, of the difference between
physics and astronomy', which seems to imply that Geminus
in our passage reproduced Posidonius textually.
' '
Introduction to the Phaenomena attributed to Geminus.
There remains the treatise, purporting to be by Geminus,
which has come down to us under the title Teyiivov elaaycoyr)
els ra ouv6neva. 2 What, if any, is the relation of this work
to the exposition of Posidonius's Meteorologica or the epitome
of it just mentioned? One view is that the original Isagoge
of Geminus and the e^rjyrjo-Ls of Posidonius were one and the
same work, though the Isagoge as we have it is not by
Geminus, but„by an unknown compiler. The objections to
this are, first, that it does not contain the extract given by
Simplicius, which would have come in usefully at the beginning
of an Introduction to Astrononi}^ nor the other extract
given by Alexander from Geminus and relating to the rainbow
which seems likewise to have come from the egijyrjo-Ls 3 ;
1
Cf. Aristarchus of Samos, pp. 275-83.
2
Edited by Manitius (Teubner, 1898).
3
Alex. Aphr. on Aristotle's Meteorologica, iii. 4, 9 (Ideler. ii, p. 128;
p. 152. 10, Hayduck).