“Fragments” by Heraclitus (translated by Brooks Haxton)

Heraclitus was the heir to the throne of Ephesus in the sixth century B.C. His treatise, described as the first book of philosophy, has been lost to history. What remains are these “fragments,” aphorisms that are often cryptic jewels of wisdom. He writes on knowledge, “Many fail to grasp what they have seen, and cannot judge what they have learned, although they tell themselves they know.” And on the unknown, “Whoever cannot seek/ the unforeseen sees nothing, for the known way/ is an impasse.” Sometimes it is hard to tell if he is speaking in metaphor, “Men dig tons of earth/ to find an ounce of gold.”

Heraclitus uses fire as one metaphor for the ever-changing elements of human life. “That which always was, and is, and will be everliving fire, the same for all, the cosmos, made neither by god nor man, replenishes in measure/ as it burns away.” Also, “As all things change to fire, and fire exhausted/ falls back into things, the crops are sold/ for money spent on food.” Change is another recurring theme. “What was cold soon warms, and warmth soon cools. So moisture dries, and dry things drown.” Perhaps his most famous fragment describes the aspects of a river, “The river/ where you set/ your foot just now/ is gone—/ those waters/ giving way to this, now this.” Some of his fragments sound almost like zen koans, “Under the comb/ the tangle and the straight path/ are the same.” The metaphor of the river recurs, “Just as the river where I step/ is not the same, and is, so I am as I am not.”

Heraclitus’ idea of sleep and the dream world is original in its radical subjectivity, “The waking have one world/ in common. Sleepers/ meanwhile turn aside, each/ into a darkness of his own.” He speaks about the gods with a casual reverence, which is hard to tell if it is feigned, “To a god the wisdom/ of the wisest man/ sounds apish. Beauty/ in a human face/ looks apish too. In everything/ we have attained/ the excellence of apes.” However, his reverence for custom, culture, and institutions appear sincere, “People ought to fight/ to keep their law/ as to defend the city’s walls.” However, he was not a fan of democratic mediocrity, “As for the Ephesians, I would have them youths, elders, and all those between, go hang themselves, leaving the city/ in the abler hands of children. With banishment of Hermodoros/ they say, No man should be/ worthier than average. Thus, my fellow citizens declare, whoever would seek/ excellence can find it/ elsewhere among others.”