Νῦν εὐπλόηκα ὅτε νεναυάγηκα
now I made a good voyage when I suffered shipwreck
Translated by David Whitehead3 Oct 2001Vetting: high4 revisions
Translation
[sc. A proverbial saying] in reference to those having unexpected good fortune. For when Zeno of Citium1 abandoned his previous teachers and became an associate of the philosopher Krates,2 this is what he said: he suffered [losses] in a shipwreck and declared "Fortune does well, driving me to philosophy" - thus [they say] he was turned towards philosophy.
Greek original · Adler’s text
Νῦν εὐπλόηκα, ὅτε νεναυάγηκα· ἐπὶ τῶν παρ' ἐλπίδα εὐτυχησάντων. Ζήνων γὰρ ὁ Κιτιεὺς καταλιπὼν τοὺς πρὶν διδασκάλους καὶ Κράτητος τοῦ φιλοσόφου φοιτητὴς γενόμενος τοῦτο εἴρηκε, ναυαγίῳ περιπεσὼν καὶ εἰπών· εὖ γε ποιεῖ ἡ τύχη προσελαύνουσα ἡμᾶς φιλοσοφίᾳ, οὕτω τραπῆναι πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν.
Betacode
*nu=n eu)plo/hka, o(/te nenaua/ghka: e)pi\ tw=n par' e)lpi/da eu)tuxhsa/ntwn. *zh/nwn ga\r o( *kitieu\s katalipw\n tou\s pri\n didaska/lous kai\ *kra/thtos tou= filoso/fou foithth\s geno/menos tou=to ei)/rhke, nauagi/w| peripesw\n kai\ ei)pw/n: eu)= ge poiei= h( tu/xh proselau/nousa h(ma=s filosofi/a|, ou(/tw traph=nai pro\s filosofi/an.
Notes (2)
- A rather too brisk summary of Diogenes Laertius 7.4-5, where two explanations of the phrase are given: either a literal shipwreck or a figurative one (the initially disruptive but ultimately beneficial effects of changing teachers).
Later proverbial: Mantissa Proverbiorum 2.33. - 1The founder of Stoicism: see generally zeta 79. ↩
- 2See generally kappa 2341. ↩
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Revision history4 revisions · last 30 Dec 2014
- coding — Catharine Roth
- Revised — David Whitehead
- cosmetics — David Whitehead
- set status — Catharine Roth
- Translated — David Whitehead