Fragments

Introduction

Heraclitus wrote a single book, which is said to have been deposited in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. What survives are about 130 short sayings quoted by later authors such as Aristotle, Plutarch, Clement of Alexandria and Hippolytus, usually cited by their Diels–Kranz numbers (DK 22 B). Their order in the original is unknown, and some, such as the river saying, exist in several versions whose authenticity is debated. Central themes are the logos common to all, the unity of opposites (“the way up and the way down are one and the same”) and fire as the measure of change. Plato, the Stoics, Hegel and Heidegger all read Heraclitus in their own way.

Connections

Taken up in

• Meditationsc. 175 · Marcus Aurelius

Criticized in

• On Naturec. 475 BCE · Parmenides disputed