Book 1, Chapter 9

“I shall oblige you and explain what you wish as well as I can. Yet I shall not speak like the Pythian Apollo, as though my words were certain and unalterable, but as one small human being among many, following probabilities by conjecture. I have no means of going beyond what seems likely to be true. Let those proclaim certainties who say that certainty can be grasped and profess themselves wise.”

“Speak as you think best; we are ready to listen.”

18 “First, then, we must consider what death itself is, though it seems so familiar a thing. Some think death is the soul’s departure from the body; others believe no departure occurs, but that soul and body perish together, and the soul is extinguished in the body. Among those who think the soul departs, some hold that it is dispersed at once, some that it endures a long time, others that it lasts forever. Again, there is great disagreement about what the soul itself is, where it is, and where it comes from. To some the heart itself seems to be the soul: hence Latin uses words derived from ‘heart’ for people who are senseless, deranged, or of one mind; hence too the wise Nasica, twice consul, was called Corculum, ‘Little Heart,’ and we have the line, ‘A man of outstanding heart and wisdom, shrewd Sextus Aelius.’ Empedocles thinks the soul is the blood that bathes the heart. Others have thought that a certain part of the brain holds sovereignty over the soul. Others accept neither the heart itself nor a particular part of the brain as the soul,

19 “but have said that the soul has its seat and dwelling in the heart, or else in the brain. Others identify the soul with breath, as our own people generally do. The language shows it: we speak of drawing one’s last breath and breathing it out, of spirited people and well-disposed souls, and of acting according to one’s soul’s desire; the very word for soul is derived from the word for breath. To Zeno the Stoic, the soul seems to be fire.”

“I’ll do as you like and explain what you want as well as I can. But I’m not Apollo at Delphi, laying down things that are certain and fixed. I’m just one ordinary little person among many, using guesses to follow what’s plausible. Seeing what’s likely is as far as I can get. Leave certainty to people who say these things can be known for certain and who claim to be wise themselves.”

“Take whatever approach you think best. We’re ready to listen.”

18 “First we need to look at what death itself is, although it seems so familiar. Some people think death is the soul’s departure from the body. Others think there’s no departure: soul and body die together, and the soul goes out inside the body. Among those who think the soul leaves, some say it scatters at once, some that it lasts a long time, and some that it lasts forever. There’s also great disagreement about what the soul itself is, where it is, or where it comes from. Some think the heart itself is the soul. That’s why our words for ‘brainless,’ ‘crazy,’ and ‘in agreement’ refer to the heart; why that shrewd Nasica, twice consul, was called ‘Corculum,’ or ‘Little Heart’; and why we have the line ‘Sextus Aelius, a man of outstanding heart and sense.’ Empedocles thinks the soul is the blood that flows around the heart. Others have thought that a particular part of the brain controls the soul. Still others don’t accept that either the heart itself or a part of the brain is the soul,

19 “but say the soul has its place and home in the heart, or alternatively in the brain. Others say the soul is breath, as our people generally do. The language makes it clear. We speak of ‘drawing one’s last breath’ and ‘breathing out one’s life,’ of ‘spirited’ people, ‘well-disposed’ people, and acting ‘according to one’s heart.’ The word for soul, animus, itself comes from anima, breath. Zeno the Stoic thinks the soul is fire.”