Well, not much more. I have such an interesting short book by Edward Hussey entitled The Presocratics, 1972 (some time ago!). I just thought that anyone delving into these philosophers might enjoy this book, if not known to them. One of these days I will put up a post on the famous fragment by Anaximander (I think it is a fragment coming via a later philosopher) that was famously translated by Nietzsche (I’ve got the English translation of that!) and then translated in part by Heidegger (again, for me, all in English). Actually it would be great if someone more versed in this matter might some day address the topic.
If I write hesitatingly, it’s because I am uncertain about these things. Here is the translation of Anaximander’s fragment (translation of Nietzsche, I think):
Whence things have their origin, there they must also pass away according to necessity; for they must pay penalty and be judged for their injustice, according to the ordinance of time.
Why ‘necessity’ and why ‘penalty’ and why ‘injustice’ and why ‘ordinance of time.’
I would very much like to cover all that and then even trace out the ‘evolution’ of this thinking of Anaximander through to later philosophers. Some task but I will start!
One problem or another prevents me from properly putting up the fragment in the original Greek…
There are several ways to type Greek text. I use TypeGreek, which interprets Beta Code. Just do a search for “type greek” and you’ll find threads describing other methods.
Thank you, Bedwere. I will try that but it is laborious (it seems to me) to type out an entire text when I could hope just to copy and paste the text (but that didn’t work). So I will get to typing!
You could post an image hosted on another site.
Here is the fragment in Greek:
ἐξ ὧν δὲ ἡ γένεσίς ἐστι τοῖς οὖσι, καὶ τὴν φθορὰν εἰς ταῦτα γίνεσθαι κατὰ τὸ χρεών· διδόναι γὰρ αὐτὰ δίκην καὶ τίσιν ἀλλήλοις τῆς ἀδικίας κατὰ τὴν τοῦ χρόνου τάξιν,
And here again is the translation:
Whence things have their origin, there they must also pass away according to necessity; for they must pay penalty and be judged for their injustice, according to the ordinance of time.
I think I did learn that it was Simplicius, a much later philosopher, who ‘preserved’ the fragment. And from Wikipedia I learn it was part of a larger paragraph by Simplicius, hence some uncertainty as to where the Anaximander fragment begins and ends. Anyway, I got the paragraph entirely in Greek under footnote 35 of the Wiki entry on Anaximander. I hope some TextKit members will enjoy comparing the translation with the original. (I imagine it is not difficult but I still have to work at it to fully understand the translation).
My translation:
From those things the beings have origin, they also have dissolution according to necessity. For they give atonement also reciprocally of the wrongdoing according to the order of time.
I like very much your ‘reciprocally’ (for τίσιν ἀλλήλοις, I believe, but remember I am very much still a beginner; but it sure seems right!
Just for the curious; here is one translation of Heidegger’s translation of the fragment; it has me puzzled in places for sure):
Whence emergence is for what respectively presences also an eluding into this (as into the Same), emerges accordingly the compelling need; there is namely what presences itself (from itself), the fit, and each is respected (acknowledged) by the other, (all of this) from overcoming the unfit according to the allotment of temporalizing time.
I don’t know whether it’s Heidegger’s translation, or the translation of the translation, or my limitations, but it’s unintelligible to me.
I’ll reply here and then I think that has to do it for me! The Heidegger translation I gave has of course been translated into English (thus, from Greek to German to English). I’ll give the website of the text giving all these translations:
I am of course not trying to be flippant here. Indeed, I do at times in the Heidegger translation get a small sense of what he is getting at! I hope it is okay to give the website above.