Aristocles' refutations of Pyrrhonism (Eus.PE14.18.1–10)

Abstract

It has been generally agreed for some time that the best piece of extant evidence for Pyrrho's thought is contained in a section of Eusebius' Praeparatio evangelica (14.18.1–4 = T53 Decleva Caizzi) where Eusebius cites Aristocles of Messene's πεϱὶ ϕιλοσοϕίας book eight, where Aristocles in turn cites Timon on Pyrrho. But there the agreement stops. The wealth of recent writing on this very short passage provides evidence of its difficulty. Ausland, Bett, Brennan, Brunschwig, and Stopper have all within the last ten years or so offered their own various interpretations of these dozen lines of Greek text.