More from Michael of Ephesus on dreams

Michael is again talking about his dreams.  Here, he comments on a passage from On prophesying by dreams. Aristotle says in this passage that dreams are more vivid when they involve things we are anxious or thinking about. Michael disagrees--dreams about our anxieties (or even our recent conscious thoughts) are not the only ones that can be extremely vivid. We can have dreams about things that are not on our minds, as well, that feel just as bright and real. As an example, he mentions a dream he had about a colleague who died when he was young, and whom he (curiously) distinguishes from his current, more famous, colleague and collaborator on ‘the discourses’. The names of both have been lost to time.

"And in fact [we have vivid dreams] even if something else should appear to us, [something] which we are not [currently] thinking about. Like the time I saw my colleague in a dream—not my famous [colleague], who is alive and working with me on the discourses (τοὺς λόγους), but another one who, because of the quick approach of death, wrote down only a few works in philosophy—anyway, I saw the one who died long ago in a dream; he was discussing things with me which I had not thought about during that whole month, or even the month before, [but which I] had thought about a lot in earlier times. For both my questions to him and his answers to me were about the soul."

καὶ γὰρ κἂν ἄλλο τι ἡμῖν φαίνηται, οὗπερ οὐ φροντίζομεν· ὥσπερ ἐμοὶ ἰδόντι τὸν ἐμὸν ἑταῖρον, οὐχὶ τὸν κλεινόν μοι τουτονί, ὅστις ἔτι μοι ζῶν συμπονεῖ περὶ τοὺς λόγους, ἀλλ' ἄλλον ὀλίγους ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ πόνους καταβεβληκότα διὰ τὴν τοῦ θανάτου σύντομον προσέλευσιν, ἐγὼ γοῦν ἐκεῖνον πάλαι θανόντα εἶδον καθ' ὕπνον διαλεγόμενόν μοι, περὶ ὧν ἐγὼ κατ' ἐκεῖνον ὅλον τὸν μῆνα καὶ ἔτι τὸν πρὸ ἐκείνου οὐκ ἐφρόντισα, πρότερον πολλὰ φροντίσας· ἦσαν γὰρ περὶ ψυχῆς αἱ ἐμαί τε πρὸς ἐκεῖνον ἐρωτήσεις κἀκείνου πρός με αἱ ἀποκρίσεις.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, CAG 22.1, 85,3-11 Wendland

Michael of Ephesus talks about his dreams

Michael of Ephesus uses Aristotle’s (somewhat skeptical) remarks about visions in dreams to talk about the kinds of things he and his friends dream about: the dead coming to life, finding books, white roses and scorpion-tailed melons.

“When my friend saw our most honoured ruler rise from the dead, since he was still sleeping, he thought he had had a vision that our master had risen up.”

ἰδὼν γὰρ ὁ ἐμὸς ἑταῖρος τὸν πάνσεπτον ἡμῶν καθηγεμόνα, ὅτι ἀνέστη ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, ἔτι κοιμώμενος ἐνενόει, ὅτι ὄναρ ὁρᾷ τὸν διδάσκαλον ἐγερθέντα.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, CAG II.1 62,3-5 Wendland

“I often have visions, and when I do I will bear in mind that what I am seeing is a vision. And my friend, when he saw that he discovered a book, he thought to say ‘it is a vision, but what I am seeing is not real.’”

πολλάκις γὰρ ἐγὼ εἶδον ὄναρ, καὶ ὁρῶν διενοούμην ὅτι τοῦθ' ὅπερ ὁρῶ ὄναρ ἐστίν. καὶ ὁ ἐμὸς ἑταῖρος ἰδὼν ὅτι εὗρε βιβλίον, ἐδόκει λέγειν ὅτι ὄναρ ἐστίν, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀληθὲς τὸ ὁρώμενον.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, 64,10-12

“Once I had a dream that I travelled through some filthy and stinky place, and a few days later I got sick.”

ἐγὼ γὰρ ἰδὼν ἐν ὕπνῳ ὤν, ὅτι διηρχόμην ἔν τινι τόπῳ βορβορώδει καὶ δυσώδει, μετ' ὀλίγας ἡμέρας νενόσηκα·

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, 79,18

“Often when I see white roses in a dream, the next day I receive gifts from people.”

καὶ ἐγὼ δὲ πολλάκις ἐν ὕπνῳ ῥόδα λευκὰ ἰδὼν μεθ' ἡμέραν ἔλαβον παρά τινων δῶρα.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, 80,23

“Either I happen to have dreams that are extremely clear, e.g. that a war is coming in Persia, and it turns out to be true; or [I have dreams] that are enigmatic. By ‘enigmatic’, I mean when from [having a dream about] one thing, something else turns out to be true. For example, my friend had a dream that a certain woman sent him slender, round melons that had scorpions’ tails. One day a little while later, he was hurt by this woman.”

ἀλλ' ὅμως συμβαίνει ἢ καθαρώτατα ἰδεῖν με, ὅτι γίνεται ἐν Περσίδι πόλεμος, καὶ ἀποβῆναι τοῦτο καὶ γενέσθαι, ἢ καὶ αἰνιγματωδῶς· λέγω δὲ αἰνιγματωδῶς, ὅταν ἀπ' ἄλλου ἄλλο ἀποβῇ, οἷόν τί φημι· ἐθεάσατο ὁ ἐμὸς ἑταῖρος ἐν ὕπνῳ, ὡς ἀπέστειλεν αὐτῷ γυνή τις μηλοπέπονας λεπτοὺς καὶ ἐπιμήκεις, ἔχοντας οὐρὰς σκορπίων· μετὰ δὲ ὀλίγας τινὰς ἡμέρας ἐλυπήθη ὑπ' ἐκείνης τῆς γυναικός.

Michael of Ephesus, In parva naturalia commentaria, 81,4-9

Michael of Ephesus on death and the decisions of Providence

Michael of Ephesus  (11/12 c. CE) was a Byzantine commentator and teacher of Aristotelian philosophy. He was probably one of the intellectuals who gathered around Anna Komnene after she gave up her attempt to claim her father’s throne. Komnene had asked this group to write commentaries on Aristotle’s works which had not been commented on before (see Browning, “An Unpublished Funeral Oration on Anna Comnena”, Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society, 8, pp 1-12). Michael took up the request, and he covered a pretty amazing range of topics: the never-before-commented-on animal works (PA, IA, MA, GA), the Parva Naturalia, Metaphysics Ζ-Ν, and Colours (In PN 148.21-149.15). We also have commentaries attributed to him on the Nicomachean Ethics (books 5 & 9-10) and the Sophistical Refutations.

In this passage from his De respiratione commentary (part of the Parva Naturalia commentary), Michael interrupts a discussion about the difference between natural and violent death to talk about Providence’s decision to take away his favourite teacher and his feelings about the people he was left to work with :

[Death is] natural whenever [the origin is] internal and the condition of the part is like what it was originally. (Aristotle, De respiratione 17, 478b27-8) 

“In other words, death is also natural if the condition of the lungs [leading to death] arises from a natural origin. For when the lungs have become dry due to old age, they cannot do their work. And since this kind of  condition—i.e., a dry one—has a natural origin and cause (for it is ‘from’ old age, i.e., due to old age), then death from it is natural. But whenever the condition comes from ‘some acquired affliction’, like when there is an inflammation of the lungs [sc. peripneumonia] (in these cases, because the lungs are filled with ichor and other such things, they cannot do their work), then this kind of death is violent.

Speaking of inflammation of the lungs, even my renowned and most revered teacher—what a brilliant mind—when he had been ruined by an inflammation of the lungs, he died. He left us lamenting and mourning and totally deprived of the ability to speak to and take care of those eager to learn. I don’t mean to sound divisive and contentious, and I don’t say this with any jealousy towards my colleagues—I swear on my teacher’s soul, which I esteem and worship second only to God. But honestly, speaking from my experience with the other teachers, some of them are completely dumb. They don’t understand at all the actual words written on the page, never mind their deeper meaning. Sure, some of them are slightly more clever and have sporadic thoughts, but they are a ways off from establishing the text correctly, and others just wander at random. I don’t need to get into these things, and besides, I respect them and I am fond of them. Anyway, since Providence thought it was a good idea, my teacher flew away to heaven, while we, with Providence as our guide and helper, ought to get back to the work that lies before us.”

«Κατὰ φύσιν δ' ὅταν [ἡ ἀρχὴ] ἐν αὐτῷ [ᾖ] καὶ ἡ τοῦ μορίου σύστασις ἐξ ἀρχῆς τοιαύτη»

Τουτέστι καὶ ὅταν ἡ τοῦ πνεύμονος σύστασις γένηται ἐκ φυσικῆς ἀρχῆς· ὅταν γὰρ ξηρανθεὶς διὰ γῆρας ὁ πνεύμων οὐ δύνηται τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον ποιεῖν, ἡ τοιαύτη σύστασις καὶ ξηρότης ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ αἰτίας οὖσα φυσικῆς (ἐκ γὰρ τοῦ γήρως καὶ διὰ τοῦ γήρως), τότε ὁ ἐκ τούτου θάνατος φύσει ἐστίν. ὅταν δὲ «ἐπίκτητόν τι πάθος» γένηται, ὥσπερ ἐν ταῖς περιπνευμονίαις (ἐν ταύταις γὰρ πληρούμενος ὑπὸ τῶν ἰχώρων καὶ ἄλλων τοιούτων ὁ πνεύμων οὐ δύναται τὸ ἑαυτοῦ ἔργον ποιεῖν), ὁ τοιοῦτος θάνατος βίαιος.

περιπνευμονίᾳ καὶ ὁ ἐμὸς κλεινότατος καὶ πανσέβαστος διδάσκαλος, αἲ αἴ, ὁ νοῦς ἐκεῖνος, νοῦς ὁ ἐνεργήσας, περιπνευμονίᾳ δὴ ἁλοὺς τὴν ζωὴν κατέλυσεν, καταλιπὼν ἡμᾶς στένοντας καὶ ὀλοφυρομένους καὶ ἐν ἐρημίᾳ παντελεῖ τῶν δυναμένων λέγειν καὶ ὠφελεῖν τοὺς φιλομαθοῦντας. ταῦτα δὲ λέγω οὐ διαφορᾷ ἢ φιλονεικίᾳ ἢ φθόνῳ τῷ πρὸς τοὺς καθ' ἡμᾶς, οὐ μὰ τὴν ἐκείνου ψυχήν, ἣν ἐγὼ μετὰ θεὸν σέβομαί τε καὶ προσκυνῶ, ἀλλ' ἀληθείᾳ καὶ πείρᾳ τῇ πρὸς τούτους μοι γεγονυίᾳ. οἱ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῶν παντελῶς εἰσιν ἄφωνοι μηδὲν ὅλως ἐννοοῦντες, τί ποτ' ἐστὶν ὅλως τὰ ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις γεγραμμένα καὶ τίς ὁ τούτων νοῦς, τινὲς δὲ τῶν χαριεστέρων τῆς μὲν διανοίας ἐφάπτονται σποράδην, τοῦ δὲ τὴν λέξιν καθιστάνειν πόρρω ποι ἀποπλανῶνται, ἄλλοι δ' ἄλλως· περὶ ὧν οὐ δεῖ με λέγειν. πλὴν καὶ τούτους τιμῶ καὶ ἀσπάζομαι, ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνος μέν, ὡς ἔδοξε τῇ προνοίᾳ, ἡμῶν ἀπέπτη, ἡμεῖς δ' ὑπὸ ταύτης χειραγωγούμενοι καὶ βοηθούμενοι ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν.

Michael of Ephesus, In Parva Naturalia commentaria, CAG 22.1, 141,31-142,18 Wendland