 |
Imaginary Hierarchies: Theory and the Representation of Difference
| |
| | Unformatted Document Text:
17
But such maxims were not only inscribed on temple entrances, nor only meant to be
recited and heard.
26
As Arnaldo Momigliano observes, “collections of sayings of philosophers
and wise men had undoubtedly circulated in the fifth century...[and] sayings of the Seven Wise
Men were known before Socrates. Herodotus quotes some of them and knows that there were
variants in the tradition (1.27).”
27
Indeed, the “book” (biblia) of Anaxagoras that Socrates says
(Apology 26d8-e2) one could buy in the orchestra in the agora, and whose “ideas” (logoi)
Socrates could not claim as his own, except at the cost of great laughing, was almost certainly
such a “document” containing sayings or maxims. Thus, the style of the hortatory aphorism,
maxim, or proverb was firmly established in the 5
th
and 4
th
centuries.
28
Yet the power and
decisiveness of its form derive not from stylistic considerations alone, nor from the advent of
literacy, but rather from the important social role that kings, seers, prophets, and wise men of all
kinds had once occupied, both formally and informally, and which had once given their
pronouncements a very specific weight that changed over time as their own social position and
26
There is now a subfield on poetics in philosophy. See Glenn W. Most, “The poetics of
early Greek philosophy,” pp. 332-62, in The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy, edited by A. A. Long (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), and the bibliography on pp. 397-98.
27
Momigliano, The Development of Greek Biography. Expanded Edition, p. 53. See also
p. 27.
28
Havelock, Preface to Plato, pp. 55-56n16, relying on the translation of biblios by E. G.
Turner as “document,” speculates that such “books” were actually folded sheets or pamphlets that were collections of “extracts,” or “anthologies,” which probably contained “definitions, summary statements...telling paragraphs and aphorisms, which summed up the author’s position or main points.” At the same time, he suggests (p. 297) that Hesiod, in Works and Days, was able to provide “with some degree of coherence a picture of Greek moral directives and approved habits, a semi-abstract “proto-morality” in the form of rules and precepts, which, however, keeps breaking down into concrete storied and illustrations.
|
| | Authors: Goldman, Harvey. |
|
| |
|
|
17
But such maxims were not only inscribed on temple entrances, nor only meant to be
recited and heard.
26
As Arnaldo Momigliano observes, “collections of sayings of philosophers
and wise men had undoubtedly circulated in the fifth century...[and] sayings of the Seven Wise
Men were known before Socrates. Herodotus quotes some of them and knows that there were
variants in the tradition (1.27).”
27
Indeed, the “book” (biblia) of Anaxagoras that Socrates says
(Apology 26d8-e2) one could buy in the orchestra in the agora, and whose “ideas” (logoi)
Socrates could not claim as his own, except at the cost of great laughing, was almost certainly
such a “document” containing sayings or maxims. Thus, the style of the hortatory aphorism,
maxim, or proverb was firmly established in the 5
th
and 4
th
centuries.
28
Yet the power and
decisiveness of its form derive not from stylistic considerations alone, nor from the advent of
literacy, but rather from the important social role that kings, seers, prophets, and wise men of all
kinds had once occupied, both formally and informally, and which had once given their
pronouncements a very specific weight that changed over time as their own social position and
26
There is now a subfield on poetics in philosophy. See Glenn W. Most, “The poetics of
early Greek philosophy,” pp. 332-62, in The Cambridge Companion to Early Greek Philosophy,
edited by A. A. Long (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999), and the bibliography on
pp. 397-98.
27
Momigliano, The Development of Greek Biography. Expanded Edition, p. 53. See also
p. 27.
28
Havelock, Preface to Plato, pp. 55-56n16, relying on the translation of biblios by E. G.
Turner as “document,” speculates that such “books” were actually folded sheets or pamphlets
that were collections of “extracts,” or “anthologies,” which probably contained “definitions,
summary statements...telling paragraphs and aphorisms, which summed up the author’s position
or main points.” At the same time, he suggests (p. 297) that Hesiod, in Works and Days, was
able to provide “with some degree of coherence a picture of Greek moral directives and approved
habits, a semi-abstract “proto-morality” in the form of rules and precepts, which, however, keeps
breaking down into concrete storied and illustrations.
|
|
 Convention | | All Academic Convention makes running your annual conference simple and cost effective. It is your online solution for abstract management, peer review, and scheduling for your annual meeting or convention. | | Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. | | Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! | | Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! | | Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. | | Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! | | Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! | | Click here for more information. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
