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Tag Archives: Thales

Advice on Happiness and Life from an Ancient Greek Philosopher

30 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Diogenes Laetrius, Greek, Greek Translation, Philosophy, Thesis, Uncategorized

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Advice, Diogenes Laertius, Good Life, Greek Translation, Happiness, Philosophy, Thales, Thesis

Thales, ca. 582 B.C.

He said, “There’s no difference between Death and Life.” “So,” someone said, “Why don’t you just die?” “Because,” he said, “there’s no difference!”
To the question, “What came first, night or day?” “Night,” he said, “by one day.”
Someone asked him if it would be possible to hide evil from the gods. He said, “Not even in your thoughts.”
To the adulterer who wanted to know if he should swear he didn’t commit adultery, he said, “Adultery’s not worse than perjury.”
Being asked, “What’s difficult?” He said, “To know oneself.”

“What’s easy?” He said, “To tell someone else what to do.”
“What’s pleasant?” “To get the goal.”
“What’s divine?” “That which has neither beginning nor end.”
“What would surprise you?” “An old tyrant.”
“How might one bear really bad luck?” “To see your enemy doing even worse.”
“What is the best, most righteous way to live?” “Don’t do that which we condemn in others.”
“What’s happiness?” “A sound body, together with a rich soul and a well-taught life.”
He always remembered to tell his friend, whether present or absent, that beauty did not come from one’s appearance but by doing that which is beautiful.
“Don’t do evil to get money,” he said, “and don’t let a single word throw away those with whom you have shared your trust.”
“Whatever you have done for your parents is what you should expect from your children.”

Greek Text and Notes:

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The Apophthegms of Thales

18 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Greek Translation, Philosophy, Thesis, Uncategorized

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Diogenes Laertius, Greek Translation, Philosophy, Thales, Thesis

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These are the apophthegms which bear his name:

The eldest of all being is God for God is not created.
The best, the Cosmos: for it is God’s workmanship.
The greatest,space: for it holds everything.
The fastest, mind: for it runs through everything.
The wisest, time: for it searches all.

Greek Text and Notes: Continue reading →

Thales’ Song: Don’t Suppose that Many Word

16 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Diogenes Laetrius, Greek Translation, Hebrew, Philosophy, Thesis, Uncategorized

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Greek, Greek Translation, Philosophy, Thales, Thesis, Wisdom

thumb_Gossip, 1905 (5)_1024

More concerning Thales (circa 585 B.C.), from Diogenes Laertius, The Lives of Eminent Philosophers. Today, a song:

Of the songs about him is this:

Don’t suppose that many words
Will prove the thoughtful heart
Search for that wisdom
Seek for that good
For that will tie the endless, prating tongues of men

Greek Text and Notes:

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Thales: The Beginning of Reality is Water

09 Wednesday Dec 2015

Posted by memoirandremains in Greek, Greek Translation, Thesis

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Greek, Greek Translation, soul, Thales, Thesis, Water

 

I used the B&W ND110 10 stop filter on this image.

The beginning of all reality is water, and the world is in-souled and filled with spirits.

Ἀρχὴν δὲ τῶν πάντων ὕδωρ ὑπεστήσατο, καὶ τὸν κόσμον ἔμψυχον καὶ δαιμόνων πλήρη.

Thales, circa 585 B.C.

Notes on Translation:

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Thales Looking at the Stars

09 Friday Oct 2015

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Diogenes Laertius, Thales

This composite image from Chandra X-ray data (colored blue) and optical light data from the Hubble (red, green and yellow) shows a divided neighborhood where some 200 hot, young, massive stars reside. Bubbles in the cooler gas and dust have been generated by powerful stellar winds, which are then filled with hot, X-ray emitting gas. Scientists find the amount of hot gas detected in the bubbles on the right side corresponds to the amount entirely powered by winds from the 200 hot massive stars. The situation is different on the left side where the amount of X-ray gas cannot explain the brightness of the X-ray emission. The bubbles on this left side appear to be much older and were likely created and powered by young stars and supernovas in the past.

It is said that once, when he was taken out of doors by an old woman in order that he might observe the stars, he fell into a ditch, and his cry for help drew from the old woman the retort, “How can you expect to know all about the heavens, Thales, when you cannot even see what is just before your feet?”

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, ed. R. D. Hicks (Kansas City Missouri: Harvard University Press, November 1, 2005), 35.

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