chapter 5
Aristotle on melancholy
1 introduction
In a number of his writings Aristotle discusses a type of people he calls ‘the
melancholics’ (hoi melancholikoi), without ever giving a definition of melan-
choly; indeed he does not even mention the termmelancholia.^1 He only
mentions, in passing, some typical features of a melancholic, sometimes
adding a short psychological or physiological explanation, yet without re-
lating these features to each other or to an underlying physiological theory.
There is just one chapter ( 30. 1 )oftheProblemata physica(Pr.), a collection
of knowledge attributed to Aristotle, that contains a rather extensive dis-
cussion of melancholy. However, it is unlikely that the form in which this
collection has come down to us dates back to Aristotle.^2 Recent scholar-
ship has attributed the theory in this chapter to Theophrastus rather than
Aristotle; according to Diogenes Laertius ( 5. 44 ), Theophrastus wrote a trea-
tise ‘On Melancholy’ (Peri melancholias) and the chapter in theProblemata
is thought to be a summary or a revised version of this (lost) text.^3
So far no attempt has been made to describe Aristotle’s concept of melan-
choly as based on his undisputed works, and to compare it to the theory
presented inPr. 30. 1.^4 Yet such an attempt could be useful, both because
This chapter was first published in German inMnemosyne 43 ( 1990 ) 33 – 72.(^1) Literature on Aristotle’s views on melancholy: Angelino & Salvaneschi ( 1982 ); Boyanc ́e( 1936 ) 185 – 94 ;
Croissant ( 1932 ); Flashar ( 1956 ) 43 ff.; Flashar ( 1962 ) 711 ff.; Flashar ( 1966 ) 60 – 72 ; Garc ́ıa Gual ( 1984 )
41 – 50 ; Gravel ( 1982 ) 1 , 129 – 45 ; S. W. Jackson ( 1986 ) 31 – 3 ; Klibansky, Panowsky and Saxl ( 1964 ) 15 – 40
[and ( 1990 ) 55 – 91 ]; Muri ( ̈ 1953 ) 21 – 38 ; Pigeaud ( 1978 ) 23 – 31 ; Pigeaud ( 1981 a) 122 – 38 ; Pigeaud ( 1984 )
501 – 10 ; Pigeaud ( 1988 a); Simon ( 1978 ) 228 – 37 ; Tellenbach ( 1961 ) 1 – 15 [and Rutten ( ̈ 1992 ); Roussel
( 1988 )].
(^2) See on this subject the pioneering work by Flashar ( 1962 ) 303 ff.; however, Marenghi ( 1966 ) [and Louis
( 1991 – 4 ) vol.iii] consider Aristotle to be the author of theProblemata.
(^3) Muri ( ̈ 1953 ) 31 ; Klibansky et al. ( 1964 ) 36 – 41 ; Flashar ( 1962 ) 711 – 14 ; Flashar ( 1966 ) 61 [and Sharples
( 1995 ) 5 – 6 ]; on the reasons for this attribution see n. 91 below.
(^4) Aristotle’s remarks are briefly discussed by Muri ( ̈ 1953 ) 38 ; Flashar ( 1966 ) 60 ; Flashar ( 1962 ) 712 – 13 ;
Klibansky et al. ( 1964 ) 33 – 6 ; Croissant ( 1932 ) 35 – 8. On the influence of the theory ofPr. 30. 1 see
Flashar ( 1962 ) 715 – 17 and Klibansky et al. ( 1964 ).
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