Aristotle on melancholy 141
seems to mean virtually the same asmanikos(‘mad’) ormainesthai(‘be
mad’).^12
In view of these issues it will be useful to clarify Aristotle’s own concept
of melancholy. This first of all requires an analysis of all occurrences of the
wordsmelancholikosandmelaina chol ̄e(sections 2 and 3 ) and an analysis of
the role Aristotle assigns to (black) bile in human physiology (section 4 ).
The results will enable us to gain a better insight into the relationship be-
tween Aristotle and the Hippocratic theory of humours. In the second part
of this chapter (sections 5 – 7 ) I will discuss the theory set out inPr. 30. 1
and its relation to Aristotle’s concept. This will also reveal the philosophical
significance of the issue of melancholy: for Aristotle seems to use melan-
cholics to illustrate the role played by the humanphusis, both in the sense
of ‘natural predisposition’ and of ‘physiological constitution’, in the moral,
sensitive and intellectual behaviour of man, namely what theProblemata
text calls the ‘character-affecting aspect’ (toethopoion ̄ )ofphusis.
2 melancholy in the parva naturaliaand
the eudemian ethics
In theParva naturalia,melancholics are mentioned a few times in relation to
disorders in certain psychophysical processes. At the end ofOn Memory and
Recollection(De memoria et reminiscentia, Mem. 453 a 14 ff.) Aristotle briefly
discusses the physiological aspect of recollection, saying that recollection
is ‘something physical’ (somatikon ti ̄ ). Proof of this is that certain people
are disturbed by the fact that if they are unable to recollect something,
despite making a strong effort, the process of recollecting continues even
after they stop making the effort.^13 According to Aristotle melancholics
are particularly prone to this disorder, ‘for they are particularly affected
by images’ (- 1
). The cause of this
disorder is that just as someone who throws something is unable to bring
the thrown object to a halt, the process of recollection causes a bodily
(^12) Muri ( ̈ 1953 ) 34 ; Flashar ( 1966 ) 37 – 8 ; Klibansky et al. ( 1964 ) 16. For the historical background to this
use of the term, as well as the origin of the notion ‘black bile’, see also Kudlien ( 1967 a) 75 – 88 and
( 1973 ) 53 – 8.
(^13) 3 0
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The ‘disturbance’K Ldoes not so much consist in the fact that these
people are unable to remember something in particular (for how could this be an indication that
memory is a physiological process?), but that they are unable to stop the process of recollection. The
analogy in 20 – 1 K(’’( 3
Lclearly shows this. See Sorabji ( 1972 a) 111 – 12.