cynics:secundus_the_silent_philosopher
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| ===== Anonymous, Life of Secundus the Philosopher ===== | ===== Anonymous, Life of Secundus the Philosopher ===== | ||
| - | < | + | < |
| Then Hadrian said to him, " | Then Hadrian said to him, " | ||
| - | But in spite of this, Secundus kept still. And Hadrian said, " | + | But in spite of this, **Secundus** kept still. And Hadrian said, "**Secundus**, before I came to you it was a good thing for you to maintain silence, since you had no listener more distinguished than yourself, nor one who could converse with you on equal terms. But now I am here before you, and I demand it of you; speak out, bring forth your eloquence to the top level of its quality." |
| - | Still Secundus was not abashed, nor afraid of the emperor. Then Hadrian, losing all patience, said to one of his followers, a tribune, "Make the philosopher say a word to us." The tribune answered according to the truth by saying, "It is possible to persuade lions and leopards and other wild beasts to speak with human voices, but not a philosopher against his will." Then he summoned an executioner, | + | Still **Secundus** was not abashed, nor afraid of the emperor. Then Hadrian, losing all patience, said to one of his followers, a tribune, "Make the philosopher say a word to us." The tribune answered according to the truth by saying, "It is possible to persuade lions and leopards and other wild beasts to speak with human voices, but not a philosopher against his will." Then he summoned an executioner, |
| - | Secundus was led away in silence, and the executioner taking him in charge proceeded down to the Piraeus, for that was the place where men customarily were punished. And the executioner said to him, " | + | **Secundus** was led away in silence, and the executioner taking him in charge proceeded down to the Piraeus, for that was the place where men customarily were punished. And the executioner said to him, "**Secundus**, why do you die by persisting in silence? Speak, and you shall live. Grant yourself the gift of life by a word. Behold, the swan sings near the end of his life, and all the other winged creatures give forth sound with the voice that nature has given them. There is no living thing that does not have a voice. So reconsider, and change your purpose. The time that you will have gained thereby will be ample for your silence." |
| - | Thereupon the executioner took him and went back to Hadrian and said, "My lord Caesar, I have brought back Secundus to you the same as he was when you handed him over to me, silent unto death." | + | Thereupon the executioner took him and went back to Hadrian and said, "My lord Caesar, I have brought back **Secundus** to you the same as he was when you handed him over to me, silent unto death." |
| //"For my part, Hadrian, I shall not stand in fear of you on account of death. | //"For my part, Hadrian, I shall not stand in fear of you on account of death. | ||
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| What is the universe? | What is the universe? | ||
| - | Again Secundus wrote down his reply. | + | Again **Secundus** wrote down his reply. |
| //"The universe, Hadrian is the system of the heavens and the earth and all things in them, and of this I shall speak a little later on, if you pay heed to what is now being said. You, too, Hadrian, are a human being like all the rest of us, subject to every kind of accident, mere dust and corruption. The life of brute beasts is even such. Some are clothed with scales, others with shaggy hair; some are blind, some are adorned with beauty; all have the clothing and the means of protection with which they were born and which nature has given them. | //"The universe, Hadrian is the system of the heavens and the earth and all things in them, and of this I shall speak a little later on, if you pay heed to what is now being said. You, too, Hadrian, are a human being like all the rest of us, subject to every kind of accident, mere dust and corruption. The life of brute beasts is even such. Some are clothed with scales, others with shaggy hair; some are blind, some are adorned with beauty; all have the clothing and the means of protection with which they were born and which nature has given them. | ||
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| - | Thereupon Hadrian, after reading these things, and after learning the reason why he had made silence a philosophical practice, gave orders that his books should be deposited in the sacred library under the name of Secundus the Philosopher. | + | Thereupon Hadrian, after reading these things, and after learning the reason why he had made silence a philosophical practice, gave orders that his books should be deposited in the sacred library under the name of **Secundus the Philosopher**. |
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cynics/secundus_the_silent_philosopher.1335020948.txt.gz · Last modified: 2014/01/14 22:45 (external edit)