Ancient Fragments

Against philosophers (2nd/3rd century)
"...[W]hat could be whiter than silver? Yet still Thrasyalces says that silver is black. So, when even the whiteness of silver is on the doubtful side, what wonder that men differ when they consult about peace and war, about alliance and revenue and expenditure and things like that?"—Anonymous

Probably the work of a philistine or a rival philosopher, this fragment further illustrates the assimilation of Greek life into ancient Oxyrhynchus as well as its prevalence through the Roman-Egyptian period. The writer goes on to say that madmen locked in a house would behave more peaceably than a group of philosophers confined in their place.

back to Ancient Fragments | scienceNOW homepage