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Saturday, February 13, 2010

Grice's Eudæmon

There is a lovely 'caricature' in my book, (well, one that I treasure at TSPL, the swimming-pool library): "Love revealed". It was popular at Oxford at a time: Walter Pater had it at Balliol. It's a drawing by S. Solomon that depicts Socrates and his 'eudaimon', Alkebiades.

Grice writes


"much the most plausible conjecture"

[regarding what Greek 'eudaimonia'
means];

"namely, that "eudaemonia"
is to be understood as the name for that state
or condition

which one's good _daemon_ would
(if he could)
ensure for one.)

And my good _daemon_
is a being motivated, with respect to me, solely
by concern for my well-being or happiness."

(Gr01:RE)


Cfr. Liddell/Scott:


daimôn , onos, voc. daimôn S.OC1480 (lyr.), daimon Theoc.2.11 , ho, hê,

1. god, goddess, of individual gods or goddesses, Il.1.222, 3.420, etc.;
daimoni isos 5.438 ; emisgeto daimoni daimôn, of Philiê and Neikos, Emp.
59.1 :--but more freq. of the Divine power (while theos denotes a God in
person), the Deity, cf. Od.3.27; pros daimona against the Divine power,
Il.17.98; sun daimoni by its grace, 11.792; kata daimona, almost, = tuchêi,
by chance, Hdt.1.111; tuchai daimonos Pi.O.8.67 ; amachos [p. 366] d., i.
e. Destiny, B.15.23: in pl., hoti daimones thelôsin, what the Gods ordain,
Id.16.117; tauta d' en tôi d. S. OC1443 ; hê tuchê kai ho d. Lys. 13.63 ,
cf.Aeschin.3.111; kata daimona kai suntuchian Ar.Av.544 .

2. the power controlling the destiny of individuals: hence, one's lot or
forlune, dtugeros de hoi echrae d. Od.5.396 , cf. 10.64; daimonos aisa kakê
11.61 ; daimona dôsô I will deal thee fate, i.e. kill thee, I1.8.166; freq.
in Trag. of good or ill fortune, hotan ho d. euroêi A.Pers.601 ; d. asinês
Id.Ag.1342 (lyr.); koinos Id.Th.812 ; gennaios plên tou daimonos S.OC76 ;
daimonos sklêrotês Antipho 3.3.4 ; ton oiaka strephei d. hekastps
Anaxandr.4.6 ; personified as the good or evil genius of a family or
person, d. tôipleisthenidôn A.Ag.1569 , cf. S.OT1194 (lyr.); ho hekastou d.
Pl.Phd.107d , cf. PMag.Lond.121.505, Iamb.Myst.9.1; ho d. ho tên hêmeteran
moiran lelonchôs Lys.2.78 ; hapanti d. andri sumparistatai euthus genomenôi
mustagôgos tou biou Men.16.2 D.; d. alastores Id.8D. ; ho megas [tou
Kaisaros] d. Plu.Caes.69 ; ho sos d. kakos ibid.; ho basileôs d. Id.Art.15
; êthos anthrôpôi d. Heraclit.119 ; Xenokratês phêsi tên psuchên hekastou
einai d. Arist.Top.112a37 .

II. daimones, hoi, souls of men of the golden age, acting as tutelary
deities, Hes.Op. 122, Thgn.1348, Phoc.15, Emp.115.5, etc.; theôn, d.,
hêrôôn, tôn en Haidou Pl.R.392a : less freq. in sg., daimoni d' hoios
eêstha to ergazesthai ameinon Hes.Op.314 ; ton te d. Dareion ankaleisthe,
of the deified Darius, A.Pers.620; nun d' esti makaira d., of Alcestis,
E.Alc.1003 (lyr.), cf.IG12(5).305.5 (Paros): later, of departed souls,
Luc.Luct.24; daimosin eusebesin, = Dis Manibus, IG14.1683; so theoi d.,
ib.938, al.: also, ghost, Paus.6.6.8.

2. generally, spiritual or semi-divine being inferior to the Gods,
Plu.2.415a, al., Sallust.12, Dam.Pr.183, etc.; esp. evil spirit, demon,
Ev.Matt.8.31, J.AJ8.2.5; phauloi d. Alex.Aphr.Pr.2.46 ; daimonos esodos eis
ton anthrôpon, Aret.SD1.4; praxis ekballousa daimonas PMag.Par.1227 .
3. agathos d. the Good Genius to whom a toast was drunk after dinner,
Ar.V.525, Nicostr.Com.20, D.S.4.3, Plu.2.655e, Philonid. ap. Ath.15.675b,
Paus.9.39.5, IG12(3).436 (Thera), etc.; of Nero, a. d. tês oikoumenês
OGI666.3 ; of the Nile, a. d. potamos ib.672.7 (i A.D.); of the tutelary
genius of individuals (supr. 1), a. d. Poseidôniou SIG1044.9 (Halic.): pl.,
daimones a., = Lat. Di Manes, SIG1246 (Mylasa): Astrol., agathos, kakos d.,
names of celestial klêroi, Paul.Al.N.4, O.1, etc. (Less correctly written
Agathodaimôn, q.v.).
B. = daêmôn, knowing, d. machês skilled in fight, Archil.3.4. (Pl.
Cra.398b, suggests this as the orig. sense; while others would write
daêmones in Archil., and get rid of this sense altogether; cf. however
haimôn. More probably the Root of daimôn (deity) is daiô to distribute
destinies;; cf. Alcm.48.)

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