Σοφίαν
wisdom
Translated by Marisa Divenosa14 Jan 2000Vetting: high10 revisions
Translation
In a general sense [wisdom is] the act of learning everything, and skill [te/xnh ],1 and practical wisdom [fro/nhsis ],2 and knowledge, intellect.
On one occasion Homer used "wisdom" not as [we do] now [meaning] the equipping of one's character through speech and deeds, but the craft of carpentry.3 "He [an expert carpenter] knows his wisdom well".4
On one occasion Homer used "wisdom" not as [we do] now [meaning] the equipping of one's character through speech and deeds, but the craft of carpentry.3 "He [an expert carpenter] knows his wisdom well".4
Greek original · Adler’s text
Σοφίαν· κοινῶς ἁπάντων μάθησιν, καὶ τὴν τέχνην, τὴν φρόνησιν, καὶ ἐπιστήμην, τὸν νοῦν. ἅπαξ ἐχρήσατο Ὅμηρος σοφίᾳ, οὐ καθάπερ νῦν τὴν διὰ λόγου καὶ πραγμάτων ἐπισκευὴν τοῦ ἤθους, ἀλλὰ τὴν τεκτονικὴν τέχνην. εὖ εἰδῇ σοφίης.
Betacode
*sofi/an: koinw=s a(pa/ntwn ma/qhsin, kai\ th\n te/xnhn, th\n fro/nhsin, kai\ e)pisth/mhn, to\n nou=n. a(/pac e)xrh/sato *(/omhros sofi/a|, ou) kaqa/per nu=n th\n dia\ lo/gou kai\ pragma/twn e)piskeuh\n tou= h)/qous, a)lla\ th\n tektonikh\n te/xnhn. eu)= ei)dh=| sofi/hs.
Notes (4)
- The headword is in the accusative case, evidently quoted from somewhere, and the initial glossing is the same or similar in other lexica; references at Photius sigma423 Theodoridis.
See also sigma 806, sigma 807, sigma 808, sigma 809. - 1For the interpretation of
te/xnh assofi/a ande)pisth/mh , see P. Woodruff, "Plato's Early Theory of Knowledge," in H. Benson (ed.), Essays on the Philosophy of Socrates, Oxford, OUP, 1992. ↩ - 2cf. phi 726;
sofi/a andfro/nhsis are often identified withe)pisth/mh (Cf. Plato, Euthydemus 281D-ff., Theaitetus 169D); they are recognized as different (Sophocles, Antigone 351ff), but both have the common meaning of understanding or knowledge and wisdom. ↩ - 3Adler reports that mss GM add
le/gwn 'when speaking of', for clarity. ↩ - 4Homer, Iliad 15.412. (Neither
sofi/h nor any of its cognates appears again in Homer.) ↩
References
W.K.C. Guthrie, The History of Greek Philosophy, Vols. III and IV, Cambridge, CUP, 1969
Linked from2 entries
- σ806Σοφίαwisdom["It was quickly given the name 'wisdom'], and the person who makes profession of it a 'wise man', the one who might be accurately versed in the excellence of the soul, while he who delighted in wisdom was a…
- σ807ΣοφίανwisdomPlato considers [wisdom] in the most specific way as the science of things which are intelligible and really existing [o)/ntws o)/ntwn]; he says that such a science is concerned with god and with the soul separated from…
Neighbouring entries
Revision history10 revisions · last 19 Mar 2022
- tweaked translation — Catharine Roth
- more notes; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
- another keyword — David Whitehead
- added keyword; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- one more restoration — Catharine Roth
- translated Platonic references — Catharine Roth
- improved betacoded Greek — Ross Scaife ✝
- restorative and other cosmetics, additional keywords — Catharine Roth
- Minor alterations. Set status. — Marcelo Boeri
- Revised — Svetla Slaveva
- Translated — Marisa Divenosa