Σχολαστικὸς κολυμβῶν παρὰ μικρὸν ἐπνίγη· ὤμοσε δὲ εἰς ὕδωρ μὴ εἰσελθεῖν, ἐὰν μὴ μάθῃ πρῶτον καλῶς κολυμβᾶν.
(Philogelos 2a)
A student dunce went swimming and almost drowned. So now he swears he’ll never get into water until he’s really learned to swim. (tr. William Berg)
Νεβρὸν ὑπὲξ ἐλάφοιο λέων ὣς ἀλκὶ πεποιθὼς
ποσσὶ καταμάρψας αἵματος οὐκ ἔπιον·
τειχέων δ’ ὑψηλῶν ἐπιβὰς πόλιν οὐκ ἀλάπαξα·
ζευξάμενος δ’ ἵππους ἅρματος οὐκ ἐπέβην·
πρήξας δ’ οὐκ ἔπρηξα, καὶ οὐκ ἐτέλεσσα τελέσσας,
δρήσας δ’ οὐκ ἔδρησ’, ἤνυσα δ’ οὐκ ἀνύσας.
(Theognis, Eleg. 949-954)
Like a lion trusting in its might, I snatched a fawn from the doe with my claws, and did not drink its blood; I scaled the city’s high walls, and did not sack it; I yoked a team, and did not mount the chariot; I have done, and not done; completed, and not completed; performed, and not performed; accomplished, and not accomplished. (tr. Douglas E. Gerber)
Martius hic primum ter vomere fusus ab ipso
clangor et ex omni sonuerunt cornua sulco;
bellatrix tunc gleba quati pariterque creari
armarique phalanx totisque insurgere campis.
(Valerius Flaccus, Arg. 7.610-613)
Then thrice from the very ploughshare issued the trump of Mars and from every furrow blared the horns; then was the warlike soil shaken, and the phalanx took life and arms together, and sprang up all over the plain. (tr. John Henry Mozley)
Οὐδενὸς χρὴ πράγματος
τὸν εὖ φρονοῦνθ’ ὅλως ἀπογνῶναί ποτε.
ἁλωτὰ γίνετ’ ἐπιμελείᾳ καὶ πόνῳ
ἅπαντ’. ἐγὼ τούτου παράδειγμα νῦν φέρω.
(Menander, Dyskolos 860-863)
A smart man need never entirely despair
Of any undertaking. With care and work
You can have it all. I’m living proof.
(tr. Alan H. Sommerstein)
Neque enim temere praeter mercatores illo adit quisquam, neque eis ipsis quidquam praeter oram maritimam atque eas regiones quae sunt contra Gallias notum est. itaque vocatis ad se undique mercatoribus neque quanta esset insulae magnitudo, neque quae aut quantae nationes incolerent, neque quem usum belli haberent aut quibus institutis uterentur, neque qui essent ad maiorum navium multitudinem idonei portus, reperire poterat.
(Caesar, De Bello Gallico 4.20)
In fact, nobody except traders journey thither without good cause; and even traders know nothing except the sea-coast and the districts opposite Gaul. Therefore, although he summoned to his quarters traders from all part, he could discover neither the size of the island, nor the number or the strength of the tribes inhabiting it, nor their manner of warfare, nor the ordinances they observed, nor the harbours suitable for a number of large ships. (tr. Henry John Edwards)
Ἐπεγέγραπτο ἔμπροσθεν τῆς διατριβῆς τοῦ Πλάτωνος ὅτι ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω· ἀντὶ τοῦ ἄνισος καὶ ἄδικος. ἡ γὰρ γεωμετρία τὴν ἰσότητα καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην τηρεῖ. (Scholia in Aelii Aristidis Πρὸς Πλάτωνα ὑπὲρ τῶν τεττάρων 125.14)
In front of Plato’s school had been inscribed, “Let noone enter un-geometried” rather than “unequal” or “unjust,” for geometry maintains equality and justness. (tr. Dennis McHenry)
Διὰ τούτων μὲν οὖν καὶ διὰ πλειόνων ἑτέρων δῆλον ὅτι ἄλλα τινὰ ᾐνίττοντο ἐκεῖνοι. εἰ γὰρ μάλιστα πάντων τῆς τῶν μαθημάτων γνώσεως ἐπεμελοῦντο οἱ Πυθαγόρειοι (Πυθαγόρειος δὲ ὁ Πλάτων, οὗ καὶ πρὸ τῆς διατριβῆς ἐπεγέγραπτο ‘ἀγεωμέτρητος μὴ εἰσίτω’) οὐδεὶς δ’ οὐδ’ ἄκρῳ δακτύλῳ γεωμετρήσας τοιοῦτό τι λέγειν ἀνέξεται, τίς οὕτως ἠλίθιος ὡς οἴεσθαι τὸν Πλάτωνα ταῦτα οὕτω κατὰ τὸ φαινόμενον λέγειν; ἴσως δὲ οὐκ ἄκομψον ἐπὶ ὀλίγων συντόμως τῶν συμβόλων τὴν διάνοιαν δηλῶσαι.
(Joannes Philoponus, In Aristotelis De Anima 1.3 (Arist. p. 406b25))
For these reasons therefore, and for many others, it is clear that they [Timaeus, Plato and the Pythagoreans] hinted at other things. Indeed, given that nobody was more concerned about (acquiring) the knowledge of mathematics than the Pythagoreans (and Plato was a Pythagorean: in front of his school he had inscribed: “let no one enter un-geometried”), and that nobody who has practised geometry with more than the tip of his finger would tolerate such a manner of speaking, who would be so foolish as to think that what Plato says here is limited to the visible? (tr. David Bauwens)
Οἱ δὲ τὴν φυσιολογικὴν λέγοντες προηγήσασθαι φασιν ὅτι δεῖ ἀπὸ τῶν φυσικῶν ἄρξασθαι, ἐπειδὴ ταῦτα σύντροφα ἡμῖν ἐστι καὶ συνήθη. οἱ δὲ λέγοντες τὴν μαθηματικὴν ἔφασαν διὰ τοῦτο δεῖν προηγήσασθαι τὰ μαθηματικὰ διὰ τὸ ἐπιγεγράφθαι ἐν τῷ τοῦ Πλάτωνος μουσείῳ ‘ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω.’ (Olympiodorus, Prolegomena et in Categorias commentarium 8v (Comm. in Arist. Gr. vol. 12.1 (Busse) 8.37-9.1)
Those who say the study of nature comes first, say that one has to start from the natural elements, because these are innate and familiar to us. But those who say that the study of mathematics takes precedence, say that this needs to be of primary importance, because in Plato’s school the words “Let no one unversed in geometry enter” were inscribed. (tr. David Bauwens)
Ὁ μὲν οὖν Πλάτων εἰς φυσιολογικὸν καὶ θεολογικὸν αὐτὸ διαιρεῖ· τὸ γὰρ μαθηματικὸν οὐκ ἠβούλετο εἶναι μέρος τῆς φιλοσοφίας, ἀλλὰ προγύμνασμά τι ὥσπερ ἡ γραμματικὴ καὶ ἡ ῥητορική· ὅθεν καὶ πρὸ τοῦ ἀκροατηρίου τοῦ οἰκείου ἐπέγραψεν ‘ἀγεωμέτρητος μηδεὶς εἰσίτω’. τοῦτο δὲ ὁ Πλάτων ἐπέγραφεν, ἐπειδὴ εἰς τὰ πολλὰ θεολογεῖ καὶ περὶ θεολογίαν καταγίνεται· συμβάλλεται δὲ εἰς εἴδησιν τῆς θεολογίας τὸ μαθηματικόν, οὗτινός ἐστιν ἡ γεωμετρία.
(Pseudo-Galen, De partibus philosophiae 6.2-7 (Wellmann))
Plato divided [theoretical philosophy] into physiology and theology. In fact, he did not want mathematics to be a part of philosophy, but a sort of progymnasma like grammar and rhetoric. That’s why, before his private lecture-room, he inscribed “Let no one enter un-geometried.” He inscribed this since he discoursed on theology in all matters and dwelt on theology, and included mathematics, of which geometry is a part, into theology’s forms of knowledge. (tr. Dennis McHenry)
Πρὸ τῶν προθύρων τῶν αὑτοῦ γράψας ὑπῆρχε Πλάτων· “Μηδεὶς ἀγεωμέτρητος εἰσίτω μου τὴν στέγην.” (Joannes Tzetzes, Chil. 8.972-973)
Over his front doors Plato wrote: “Let no one unversed in geometry come under my roof.” (tr. Ivor Thomas)
Suave, mari magno turbantibus aequora ventis,
e terra magnum alterius spectare laborem;
non quia vexari quemquamst iucunda voluptas,
sed quibus ipse malis careas quia cernere suave est.
suave etiam belli certamina magna tueri
per campos instructa tua sine parte pericli.
sed nil duclius est bene quam munita tenere
edita doctrina sapientum templa serena,
despicere unde queas alios passimque videre
errare atque viam palantis quaerere vitae,
certare ingenio, contendere nobilitate,
noctes atque dies niti praestante labore
ad summas emergere opes rerumque potiri.
o miseras hominum mentes, o pectora caeca!
qualibus in tenebris vitae quantisque periclis
degitur hoc aevi quodcumquest! nonne videre
nil aliud sibi naturam latrare, nisi utqui
corpore seiunctus dolor absit, mensque fruatur
iucundo sensu cura semota metuque?
(Lucretius, De Rerum Natura 2.1-19)
It is comforting, when winds are whipping up the waters of the vast sea, to watch from land the severe trials of another person: not that anyone’s distress is a cause of agreeable pleasure; but it is comforting to see from what troubles you yourself are exempt. It is comforting also to witness mighty clashes of warriors embattled on the plains, when you have no share in the danger. But nothing is more blissful than to occupy the heights effectively fortified by the teaching of the wise, tranquil sanctuaries from which you can look down upon others and see them wandering everywhere in their random search for the way of life, competing for intellectual eminence, disputing about rank, and striving night and day with prodigious effort to scale the summit of wealth and to secure power. O minds of mortals, blighted by your blindness! Amid what deep darkness and daunting dangers life’s little day is passed! To think that you should fail to see that nature importunately demands only that the body may be rid of pain, and that the mind, divorced from anxiety and fear, may enjoy a feeling of contentment! (tr. Martin Ferguson Smith)
[ΑΝΔΡΟΜΑΧΗ]
Ὦ φίλτατ’, ὦ περισσὰ τιμηθεὶς τέκνον,
θανεῖ πρὸς ἐχθρῶν μητέρ’ ἀθλίαν λιπών.
ἡ τοῦ πατρὸς δέ σ’ εὐγένει’ ἀπώλεσεν,
ἣ τοῖσιν ἄλλοις γίγνεται σωτηρία,
τὸ δ’ ἐσθλὸν οὐκ εἰς καιρὸν ἦλθε σοὶ πατρός.
ὦ λέκτρα τἀμὰ δυστυχῆ τε καὶ γάμοι,
οἷς ἦλθον ἐς μέλαθρον Ἕκτορός ποτε,
οὐ σφάγιον υἱὸν Δαναΐδαις τέξουσ’ ἐμόν,
ἀλλ’ ὡς τύραννον Ἀσιάδος πολυσπόρου.
ὦ παῖ, δακρύεις; αἰσθάνει κακῶν σέθεν;
τί μου δέδραξαι χερσὶ κἀντέχει πέπλων,
νεοσσὸς ὡσεὶ πτέρυγας εἰσπίτνων ἐμάς;
οὐκ εἶσιν Ἕκτωρ κλεινὸν ἁρπάσας δόρυ,
γῆς ἐξανελθὼν, σοὶ φέρων σωτηρίαν,
οὐ συγγένεια πατρός, οὐκ ἰσχὺς Φρυγῶν·
λυγρὸν δὲ πήδημ’ εἰς τράχηλον ὑψόθεν
πεσὼν ἀνοίκτως, πνεῦμ’ ἀπορρήξεις σέθεν.
ὦ νέον ὑπαγκάλισμα μητρὶ φίλτατον,
ὦ χρωτὸς ἡδὺ πνεῦμα· διὰ κενῆς ἄρα
ἐν σπαργάνοις σε μαστὸς ἐξέθρεψ’ ὅδε,
μάτην δ’ ἐμόχθουν καὶ κατεξάνθην πόνοις.
νῦν, οὔποτ’ αὖθις, μητέρ’ ἀσπάζου σέθεν,
πρόσπιτνε τὴν τεκοῦσαν, ἀμφὶ δ’ ὠλένας
ἕλισσ’ ἐμοῖς νώτοισι καὶ στόμ’ ἅρμοσον.
ὦ βάρβαρ’ ἐξευρόντες Ἕλληνες κακά,
τί τόνδε παῖδα κτείνετ’ οὐδὲν αἴτιον;
(Euripides, Troades 740-765)
[ANDROMACHE]
O my sweet child, too loved, too doted on,
Now you will be killed by enemies, leaving
Your mother bereft. What ought to have been your haven,
Your father’s high birth, only brings you death,
His courage your undoing. When I came
To Hector’s house, I never thought those vows,
That marriage bed, would lead to misery.
I thought I had given birth to a king over all
Of fertile Asia’s wealth. I never thought
I bore you to be slaughtered by the Greeks.
Is that why you cry, too, child? Do you see
What’s soon to happen, what they’re about to do?
Why hold tight to me, clinging to my dress
Like a young bird burrowing for safety
Under my wings? No one can save you; Hector
Can’t rise from his grave, his famous spear in hand,
Nor any of his kin, nor any strong-armed
Soldier from the Trojan ranks. No one will come
To stop them or even pity you when they hurl you
From that great height, and your thin neck shatters,
Snuffing your life out. O my little one,
So precious to your mother, O the unbearable
Sweet scent of your skin! So it was all for nothing
That I suckled you at this breast and swaddled you
And fussed and worried, wearing myself out.
Now kiss your mother one last time, come hug her
Who gave you life, one final time your arms
Around my neck, your lips on mine. O Greeks,
Not even a barbarian could invent
Atrocities like this – why kill this child,
What has he done to you? Whom has he ever harmed?
(tr. Alan Shapiro)
Ἆρ’ οὖν σοι δοκεῖ ἔτι τοῦδε προσδεῖσθαι ὁ φυλακικὸς ἐσόμενος, πρὸς τῷ θυμοειδεῖ ἔτι προσγενέσθαι φιλόσοφος τὴν φύσιν; – Πῶς δή; ἔφη· οὐ γὰρ ἐννοῶ. – Καὶ τοῦτο, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ἐν τοῖς κυσὶ κατόψει, ὃ καὶ ἄξιον θαυμάσαι τοῦ θηρίου. – Τὸ ποῖον; – Ὃν μὲν ἂν ἴδῃ ἀγνῶτα, χαλεπαίνει, οὐδὲν δὲ κακὸν προπεπονθώς· ὃν δ’ ἂν γνώριμον, ἀσπάζεται, κἂν μηδὲν πώποτε ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ ἀγαθὸν πεπόνθῃ. ἢ οὔπω τοῦτο ἐθαύμασας; – Οὐ πάνυ, ἔφη, μέχρι τούτου προσέσχον τὸν νοῦν· ὅτι δέ που δρᾷ ταῦτα, δῆλον. – Ἀλλὰ μὴν κομψόν γε φαίνεται τὸ πάθος αὐτοῦ τῆς φύσεως καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς φιλόσοφον. – Πῇ δή; – Ἧι, ἦν δ’ ἐγώ, ὄψιν οὐδενὶ ἄλλῳ φίλην καὶ ἐχθρὰν διακρίνει, ἢ τῷ τὴν μὲν καταμαθεῖν, τὴν δὲ ἀγνοῆσαι· καίτοι πῶς οὐκ ἂν φιλομαθὲς εἴη, συνέσει τε καὶ ἀγνοίᾳ ὁριζόμενον τό τε οἰκεῖον καὶ τὸ ἀλλότριον; – Οὐδαμῶς, ἦ δ’ ὅς, ὅπως οὔ.
(Plato, Politeia 375e-376b)
‘Would not he who is fitted to be a guardian, besides the spirited nature, need to have the qualities of a philosopher?’ – ‘I do not apprehend your meaning.’ – ‘The trait of which I am speaking,’ I replied, ‘may be also seen in the dog, and is remarkable in the animal.’ – ‘What trait?’ – ‘Why, a dog, whenever he sees a stranger, is angry; when an acquaintance, he welcomes him, although the one has never done him any harm, nor the other any good. Did this never strike you as curious?’ – ‘The matter never struck me before; but I quite recognise the truth of your remark.’ – ‘And surely this instinct of the dog is very charming; – your dog is a true philosopher.’ – ‘Why?’ – ‘Why, because he distinguishes the face of a friend and of an enemy only by the criterion of knowing and not knowing. And must not an animal be a lover of learning who determines what he likes and dislikes by the test of knowledge and ignorance?’ – ‘Most assuredly.’ (tr. Benjamin Jowett)
Οὐδεὶς γὰρ οὕτως οὔτε μάρτυς ἐστὶ φοβερὸς οὔτε κατήγορος δεινὸς ὡς ἡ σύνεσις ἡ κατοικοῦσ’ ἐν ταῖς ἑκάστων ψυχαῖς.
(Polybius, Hist. 18.43.13)
For no one is such a terrible witness or such a dread accuser as the conscience that dwells in all our hearts. (tr. William Roger Paton)
Crambe Repetita 