From the book
Empedocles’ The Testimonia, Volume II
Empedocles of Acragas · Diotimos Editions · 2026
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At a Glance
- The wordLogoklopia is theft of discourse or argument; the compound marks an accusation rather than a neutral account of intellectual borrowing.
- In this workTimaeus’ reported version says Empedocles was barred from sharing Pythagorean discourses after being convicted of stealing them, with Plato offered as a parallel.
- In this edition“Stealing discourses” should not silently become plagiarism in the modern legal or academic sense.
- A place to readUses the accusation of discourse-theft to explain exclusion.
Meaning
Logoklopia is theft of discourse or argument; the compound marks an accusation rather than a neutral account of intellectual borrowing. Edēmosiōsen means made public. The prohibited recipient, epopoiōi, is an epic poet.
Use in the book
Timaeus’ reported version says Empedocles was barred from sharing Pythagorean discourses after being convicted of stealing them, with Plato offered as a parallel. Neanthes describes a different causal sequence: the Pythagoreans shared their teachings until Empedocles publicized them through poetry, after which they forbade imparting them to an epic poet. The first version concerns an offender and a sanction; the second explains a community rule by a transformative act of publication. Neither is a surviving record of the rule itself. Their common interest is the boundary between a restricted teaching community and public poetic circulation. The repeated Plato parallel further suggests retrospective organization of famous philosophers into a story about access and exclusion. These passages are particularly useful for the reception of philosophical poetry as disclosure, but less secure as minutes of an actual Pythagorean disciplinary procedure.
Places to read
- A 1 §§ 53–55 (biography)2Diogenes Laertius VIII 54, reporting Timaeus. Uses the accusation of discourse-theft to explain exclusion.
- A 1 §§ 53–55 (biography)2Diogenes Laertius VIII 55, reporting Neanthes. Connects poetic publication with a prohibition on teaching epic poets.
Translation in this edition
“Stealing discourses” should not silently become plagiarism in the modern legal or academic sense. The sources do not specify ownership rules, textual copying, or the exact material allegedly disclosed.