Ἀκέραιον συνειδός
unblemished consciousness, sound conscience
Translated by Robert Dyer12 Jan 2002Vetting: high9 revisions
Translation
One pure and unalloyed. Damascius says: "for there is none of human qualities worth as much as an unblemished consciousness. For one must coexist with his fellows in proper fashion. Even if the true good were the opposite of the apparent good, one must never consider the latter as more important than the former or place more importance on anything other than the truth -- not the danger of incurring a struggle, or a painful task that deters through fear, or gain of unjust praise, or the intimacy of friendship, or the compulsion of some family relations."
Greek original · Adler’s text
Ἀκέραιον συνειδός· τὸ καθαρὸν καὶ εἰλικρινές. Δαμάσκιος φησίν· οὐδὲν γὰρ εἶναι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀκεραίου συνειδότος ἀντάξιον. δεῖ δὲ τὸν εὐσχήμονα τρόπον συνδιαιτᾶσθαι τοῖς πέλας· εἰ καὶ ἐναντίον εἴη τῷ φαινομένῳ τὸ ἀληθινὸν ἀγαθὸν, μηδέποτε ἐκεῖνο τούτου ἐπίπροσθεν ἄγειν μηδὲ ἄλλο ὁτιοῦν περὶ πλείονος ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἀληθείας, μήτε κίνδυνον ἀγῶνος ἐπιφερομένου μήτε ὄκνῳ ἀποστρεφόμενον ἔργον ἐπίπονον, μηδὲ κέρδος ἐπαίνου ἀδίκου, μηδὲ συνήθειαν φιλίας, μηδὲ συγγενείας τινὸς ἀνάγκην.
Betacode
*)ake/raion suneido/s: to\ kaqaro\n kai\ ei)likrine/s. *dama/skios fhsi/n: ou)de\n ga\r ei)=nai tw=n a)nqrwpi/nwn a)kerai/ou suneido/tos a)nta/cion. dei= de\ to\n eu)sxh/mona tro/pon sundiaita=sqai toi=s pe/las: ei) kai\ e)nanti/on ei)/h tw=| fainome/nw| to\ a)lhqino\n a)gaqo\n, mhde/pote e)kei=no tou/tou e)pi/prosqen a)/gein mhde\ a)/llo o(tiou=n peri\ plei/onos poiei=sqai th=s a)lhqei/as, mh/te ki/ndunon a)gw=nos e)piferome/nou mh/te o)/knw| a)postrefo/menon e)/rgon e)pi/ponon, mhde\ ke/rdos e)pai/nou a)di/kou, mhde\ sunh/qeian fili/as, mhde\ suggenei/as tino\s a)na/gkhn.
Notes
- Damascius, Life of Isidorus fr. 69 Zintzen (223 Asmus).
The neuter of the perfect participle ofsu/noida (lit. 'I know with'), used here as a noun, implies the conscious knowledge of what one is doing, and will become the Christian word for 'conscience', particularly in the writings of John Chrysostom. The adjective (for its meanings see alpha 833, and cf. also alpha 835, alpha 836) is important in Christian writers because of its use in the NT by Paul (Romans 16:19, Philippians 2:15) and in the words of Jesus at Matthew 10:16. It is translated inaccurately in KJV respectively 'harmless' and 'simple (as doves)'.
Linked from7 entries
- α833Ἀκέραιονunblemished[Meaning] free from evil, whole, pure. It indicates also the man without blemishes.
- α835ἈκέραιονuncorruptedFrom the writing of Marcus Antoninus: "even if you are going to live three thousand years and as many tens of thousands, remember nevertheless that no one loses a life other than the one that he lives, or lives one…
- α837ἈκεραιοσύνηunblemishednessBut [sc. also spelled] a)kerwsu/nh.
- α868Ἀκηράσιονunmixed[Meaning something] unadulterated. Deathless, uncorrupted. And Homer [writes]: "sweet [and] unmixed, a divine drink."
- α869Ἀκήρατοςunmixed[Meaning one who/which is] uncorrupted, unaffected, unadulterated. But a)kh/rwtos ["unwaxed"] [means] that which is without wax.
- α1172ἌληθεςtrulyMeaning really. They think it right to give the first [syllable] an acute accent, when what is said in a question means [something like] this, such as "really, truly." "Truly, o child of the rustic goddess?" Aeschylus…
- ει123Εἰλικρινέςunmixed[Meaning something] pure, and without mixture of something else.
Neighbouring entries
Revision history9 revisions · last 11 Oct 2014
- my typo — Catharine Roth
- coding — Catharine Roth
- tweaks — David Whitehead
- deleted defunct links — Catharine Roth
- more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- added keyword — Catharine Roth
- added x-refs; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Replaced letters truncated at end. — Robert Dyer
- Revised — Catharine Roth
- Translated — Robert Dyer