Lucian of Samosata, Vitarum auctio, Austin Morris Harmon (Translator), 21

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BUYER

Come here, my good fellow, and tell your buyer what you are like, and first of all whether you are not displeased with being sold and living in slavery?

STOIC

Not at all, for these things are not in our control, and all that is not in our control is immaterial.

BUYER

I don’t understand what you mean by this.

STOIC

What, you do not understand that of such things some are “approved,” and some, to the contrary, “disapproved”’?¹

BUYER

Even now I do not understand.

STOIC

Of course not, for you are not familiar with our vocabulary and have not the faculty of forming concepts; but a scholar who has mastered the science of logic knows not only this, but what predicaments and bye-predicaments are, and how they differ from each other.²

BUYER

In the name of wisdom, don’t begrudge telling me at least what predicaments and bye-predicaments are; for I am somehow impressed by the rhythm of the terms.

STOIC

Indeed, I do not begrudge it at all. If a man who is lame dashes his lame foot against a stone and receives an unlooked-for injury, he was already in a predicament, of course, with his lameness, and with his injury he gets into a bye-predicament too.

Vitarum auctio. Lucian of Samosata. Austin Morris Harmon (Translator). United States. Perseus 5.0.

Funding provided by National Endowment for the Humanities.

Current edition Perseus

Philosophies for Sale (English) (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.)

Editions (1)

Βίων Πρᾶσις Perseus (Lucian, Vol. 2. Harmon, Austin Morris, editor. London: William Heinemann, Ltd.; Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1915.) — 21 focus

Ἀγοράστης

ἐλθέ, ὦγαθέ, καὶ λέγε πρὸς τὸν ὠνητὴν ἐμὲ ποῖός τις εἶ, καὶ πρῶτον εἰ οὐκ ἄχθῃ πιπρασκόμενος καὶ δοῦλος ὤν.

Χρύσιππος

οὐδαμῶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἃ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ἀδιάφορα εἶναι συμβέβηκεν.

Ἀγοράστης

οὐ μανθάνω ᾗ καὶ λέγεις.

Χρύσιππος

τί φής; οὐ μανθάνεις ὅτι τῶν τοιούτων τὰ μέν ἐστι προηγμένα, τὰ δʼ ἀνάπαλιν ἀποπροηγμένα;

Ἀγοράστης

οὐδὲ νῦν μανθάνω.

Χρύσιππος

εἰκότως· οὐ γὰρ εἶ συνήθης τοῖς ἡμετέροις ὀνόμασιν οὐδὲ τὴν καταληπτικὴν φαντασίαν ἔχεις, ὁ δὲ σπουδαῖος ὁ τὴν λογικὴν θεωρίαν ἐκμαθὼν οὐ μόνον ταῦτα οἶδεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ σύμβαμα καὶ παρασύμβαμα ὁποῖα καὶ ὁπόσον ἀλλήλων διαφέρει.

Ἀγοράστης

πρὸς τῆς σοφίας, μὴ φθονήσῃς κἂν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, τί τὸ σύμβαμα καὶ τὸ παρασύμβαμα· καὶ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἐπλήγην ὑπὸ τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τῶν ὀνομάτων.

Χρύσιππος

ἀλλʼ οὐδεὶς φθόνος· ἢν γάρ τις χωλὸς ὢν αὐτῷ ἐκείνῳ τῷ χωλῷ ποδὶ προσπταίσας λίθῳ τραῦμα ἐξ ἀφανοῦς λάβῃ, ὁ τοιοῦτος εἶχε μὲν δήπου σύμβαμα τὴν χωλείαν, τὸ τραῦμα δὲ παρασύμβαμα προσέλαβεν.

Translations (2)

Sale of Creeds Perseus (The Works of Lucian of Samosata, Vol. 1. Fowler, Henry Watson and Fowler, Francis George, translators. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1905.) — 21 focus

Seventh Dealer

Regard me as your purchaser, good fellow, and tell me all about yourself. I dare say you think it rather hard to be sold for a slave?

Chrysippus

Not at all. These things are beyond our control. And what is beyond our control is indifferent.

Seventh Dealer

I don’t see how you make that out.

Chrysippus

What! Have you yet to learn that of indifferentia some are praepostta and others rejecta?

Seventh Dealer

Still I don’t quite see.

Chrysippus

No; how should you? You are not familiar with our terms. You lack the comprebensio vist. The earnest student of logic knows this and more than this. He understands the nature of subject, predicate, and contingent, and the distinctions between them.

Seventh Dealer

Now in Wisdom’s name, tell me, pray, what is a predicate? what is a contingent? ‘There is a ring about those words that takes my fancy.

Chrysippus

With all my heart. A man lame in one foot knocks that foot accidentally against a stone, and gets a cut. Now the man is subject to lameness; which is the predicate. And the cut is a contingency.

The Sale of Lives Perseus (Lucian. Selections from Lucian. Smith, Emily James, translator. New York: Harper Brothers, 1892.) — 21 focus

Buyer

Come, my friend, and tell me, your purchaser, what sort of person you are, and, to begin with, whether it is not an affliction to you to be sold and in slavery.

Chrysippos

Not at all; for those things are not under our control, and what is not under our control is therefore indifferent.

Buyer

I don't understand just what you mean.

Chrysippos

What, do you not understand that in such matters some things are preferred and some again rejected?

Buyer

I don't understand even yet.

Chrysippos

Naturally, for you are not accustomed to our terminology, nor have you the perceptive imagination. But the virtuous man, he who has mastered logical theory, knows not only these things, but also the nature of an accident and a secondary accident, and how much difference there is between them.

Buyer

In the name of wisdom, kindly take the trouble to tell me this, too: what accidents and secondary accidents are. I am indescribably impressed by the roll of the words.

Chrysippos

No trouble at all. If a lame man, stumbling with that lame foot itself against a stone gets unexpectedly hurt, this man's lameness is evidently a primary accident to which he adds a secondary accident in the way of the wound.

Notes on the current edition

Philosophies for Sale

1. Just as things "in our control” were divided into the good and the bad, so those "not in our control” were divided into the “approved” and the "disapproved,” according as they helped or hindered in the acquirement of virtue.

2. The hair-splitting Stoics distinguished four forms of predication according to the case of the (logical) subject and the logical completeness of the predicate: the direct, complete predicate, or σύμβαμα (predicament), i.e. Σωκράτης βαδίζει; the indirect, complete predicate, or παρασύμβαμα (bye-predicament), i.e. Σωκράτει μεταμέλει; the direct, incomplete predicate, e.g. Σωκράτης φιλεῖ, and the indirect, incomplete predicate, i.e. Σωκράτει μέλει.

Lucian of Samosata Vitarum auctio 21

Austin Morris Harmon (Translator)

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BUYER

Come here, my good fellow, and tell your buyer what you are like, and first of all whether you are not displeased with being sold and living in slavery?

STOIC

Not at all, for these things are not in our control, and all that is not in our control is immaterial.

BUYER

I don’t understand what you mean by this.

STOIC

What, you do not understand that of such things some are “approved,” and some, to the contrary, “disapproved”’?¹

BUYER

Even now I do not understand.

STOIC

Of course not, for you are not familiar with our vocabulary and have not the faculty of forming concepts; but a scholar who has mastered the science of logic knows not only this, but what predicaments and bye-predicaments are, and how they differ from each other.²

BUYER

In the name of wisdom, don’t begrudge telling me at least what predicaments and bye-predicaments are; for I am somehow impressed by the rhythm of the terms.

STOIC

Indeed, I do not begrudge it at all. If a man who is lame dashes his lame foot against a stone and receives an unlooked-for injury, he was already in a predicament, of course, with his lameness, and with his injury he gets into a bye-predicament too.

Current edition Perseus

Ἀγοράστης

ἐλθέ, ὦγαθέ, καὶ λέγε πρὸς τὸν ὠνητὴν ἐμὲ ποῖός τις εἶ, καὶ πρῶτον εἰ οὐκ ἄχθῃ πιπρασκόμενος καὶ δοῦλος ὤν.

Χρύσιππος

οὐδαμῶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἃ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ἀδιάφορα εἶναι συμβέβηκεν.

Ἀγοράστης

οὐ μανθάνω ᾗ καὶ λέγεις.

Χρύσιππος

τί φής; οὐ μανθάνεις ὅτι τῶν τοιούτων τὰ μέν ἐστι προηγμένα, τὰ δʼ ἀνάπαλιν ἀποπροηγμένα;

Ἀγοράστης

οὐδὲ νῦν μανθάνω.

Ἀγοράστης

πρὸς τῆς σοφίας, μὴ φθονήσῃς κἂν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, τί τὸ σύμβαμα καὶ τὸ παρασύμβαμα· καὶ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἐπλήγην ὑπὸ τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τῶν ὀνομάτων.

Seventh Dealer

Regard me as your purchaser, good fellow, and tell me all about yourself. I dare say you think it rather hard to be sold for a slave?

Chrysippus

Not at all. These things are beyond our control. And what is beyond our control is indifferent.

Seventh Dealer

I don’t see how you make that out.

Chrysippus

What! Have you yet to learn that of indifferentia some are praepostta and others rejecta?

Seventh Dealer

Still I don’t quite see.

Chrysippus

No; how should you? You are not familiar with our terms. You lack the comprebensio vist. The earnest student of logic knows this and more than this. He understands the nature of subject, predicate, and contingent, and the distinctions between them.

Seventh Dealer

Now in Wisdom’s name, tell me, pray, what is a predicate? what is a contingent? ‘There is a ring about those words that takes my fancy.

Chrysippus

With all my heart. A man lame in one foot knocks that foot accidentally against a stone, and gets a cut. Now the man is subject to lameness; which is the predicate. And the cut is a contingency.

Buyer

Come, my friend, and tell me, your purchaser, what sort of person you are, and, to begin with, whether it is not an affliction to you to be sold and in slavery.

Chrysippos

Not at all; for those things are not under our control, and what is not under our control is therefore indifferent.

Buyer

I don't understand just what you mean.

Chrysippos

What, do you not understand that in such matters some things are preferred and some again rejected?

Buyer

I don't understand even yet.

Buyer

In the name of wisdom, kindly take the trouble to tell me this, too: what accidents and secondary accidents are. I am indescribably impressed by the roll of the words.

Chrysippos

No trouble at all. If a lame man, stumbling with that lame foot itself against a stone gets unexpectedly hurt, this man's lameness is evidently a primary accident to which he adds a secondary accident in the way of the wound.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

Search the Perseus Catalog for:

BUYER Come here, my good fellow, and tell your buyer what you are like, and first of all whether you are not displeased with being sold and living in slavery?

STOIC Not at all, for these things are not in our control, and all that is not in our control is immaterial.

BUYER I don’t understand what you mean by this.

STOIC What, you do not understand that of such things some are “approved,” and some, to the contrary, “disapproved”’? 1

BUYER Even now I do not understand.

STOIC Of course not, for you are not familiar with our vocabulary and have not the faculty of forming concepts; but a scholar who has mastered the science of logic knows not only this, but what predicaments and bye-predicaments are, and how they differ from each other. 2

BUYER In the name of wisdom, don’t begrudge telling me at least what predicaments and bye-predicaments are; for I am somehow impressed by the rhythm of the terms.

STOIC Indeed, I do not begrudge it at all. If a man who is lame dashes his lame foot against a stone and receives an unlooked-for injury, he was already in a predicament, of course, with his lameness, and with his injury he gets into a bye-predicament too.

Current edition Perseus

Ἀγοράστης ἐλθέ, ὦγαθέ, καὶ λέγε πρὸς τὸν ὠνητὴν ἐμὲ ποῖός τις εἶ, καὶ πρῶτον εἰ οὐκ ἄχθῃ πιπρασκόμενος καὶ δοῦλος ὤν.

Χρύσιππος οὐδαμῶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἃ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ἀδιάφορα εἶναι συμβέβηκεν.

Ἀγοράστης οὐ μανθάνω ᾗ καὶ λέγεις.

Χρύσιππος τί φής; οὐ μανθάνεις ὅτι τῶν τοιούτων τὰ μέν ἐστι προηγμένα, τὰ δʼ ἀνάπαλιν ἀποπροηγμένα;

Ἀγοράστης οὐδὲ νῦν μανθάνω.

Ἀγοράστης πρὸς τῆς σοφίας, μὴ φθονήσῃς κἂν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, τί τὸ σύμβαμα καὶ τὸ παρασύμβαμα· καὶ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἐπλήγην ὑπὸ τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τῶν ὀνομάτων.

Seventh Dealer Regard me as your purchaser, good fellow, and tell me all about yourself. I dare say you think it rather hard to be sold for a slave?

Chrysippus Not at all. These things are beyond our control. And what is beyond our control is indifferent.

Seventh Dealer I don’t see how you make that out.

Chrysippus What! Have you yet to learn that of indifferentia some are praepostta and others rejecta?

Seventh Dealer Still I don’t quite see.

Chrysippus No; how should you? You are not familiar with our terms. You lack the comprebensio vist. The earnest student of logic knows this and more than this. He understands the nature of subject, predicate, and contingent, and the distinctions between them.

Seventh Dealer Now in Wisdom’s name, tell me, pray, what is a predicate? what is a contingent? ‘There is a ring about those words that takes my fancy.

Chrysippus With all my heart. A man lame in one foot knocks that foot accidentally against a stone, and gets a cut. Now the man is subject to lameness; which is the predicate. And the cut is a contingency.

Buyer Come, my friend, and tell me, your purchaser, what sort of person you are, and, to begin with, whether it is not an affliction to you to be sold and in slavery.

Chrysippos Not at all; for those things are not under our control, and what is not under our control is therefore indifferent.

Buyer I don't understand just what you mean.

Chrysippos What, do you not understand that in such matters some things are preferred and some again rejected?

Buyer I don't understand even yet.

Buyer In the name of wisdom, kindly take the trouble to tell me this, too: what accidents and secondary accidents are. I am indescribably impressed by the roll of the words.

Chrysippos No trouble at all. If a lame man, stumbling with that lame foot itself against a stone gets unexpectedly hurt, this man's lameness is evidently a primary accident to which he adds a secondary accident in the way of the wound.

Notes on the current edition

Stable identifiers

BUYER

Come here, my good fellow, and tell your buyer what you are like, and first of all whether you are not displeased with being sold and living in slavery?

STOIC

Not at all, for these things are not in our control, and all that is not in our control is immaterial.

BUYER

I don’t understand what you mean by this.

STOIC

What, you do not understand that of such things some are “approved,” and some, to the contrary, “disapproved”’?¹

BUYER

Even now I do not understand.

STOIC

Of course not, for you are not familiar with our vocabulary and have not the faculty of forming concepts; but a scholar who has mastered the science of logic knows not only this, but what predicaments and bye-predicaments are, and how they differ from each other.²

BUYER

In the name of wisdom, don’t begrudge telling me at least what predicaments and bye-predicaments are; for I am somehow impressed by the rhythm of the terms.

STOIC

Indeed, I do not begrudge it at all. If a man who is lame dashes his lame foot against a stone and receives an unlooked-for injury, he was already in a predicament, of course, with his lameness, and with his injury he gets into a bye-predicament too.

Ἀγοράστης

ἐλθέ, ὦγαθέ, καὶ λέγε πρὸς τὸν ὠνητὴν ἐμὲ ποῖός τις εἶ, καὶ πρῶτον εἰ οὐκ ἄχθῃ πιπρασκόμενος καὶ δοῦλος ὤν.

Χρύσιππος

οὐδαμῶς· οὐ γὰρ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ταῦτά ἐστιν. ἃ δὲ οὐκ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ἀδιάφορα εἶναι συμβέβηκεν.

Ἀγοράστης

οὐ μανθάνω ᾗ καὶ λέγεις.

Χρύσιππος

τί φής; οὐ μανθάνεις ὅτι τῶν τοιούτων τὰ μέν ἐστι προηγμένα, τὰ δʼ ἀνάπαλιν ἀποπροηγμένα;

Ἀγοράστης

οὐδὲ νῦν μανθάνω.

Ἀγοράστης

πρὸς τῆς σοφίας, μὴ φθονήσῃς κἂν τοῦτο εἰπεῖν, τί τὸ σύμβαμα καὶ τὸ παρασύμβαμα· καὶ γὰρ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως ἐπλήγην ὑπὸ τοῦ ῥυθμοῦ τῶν ὀνομάτων.

Seventh Dealer

Regard me as your purchaser, good fellow, and tell me all about yourself. I dare say you think it rather hard to be sold for a slave?

Chrysippus

Not at all. These things are beyond our control. And what is beyond our control is indifferent.

Seventh Dealer

I don’t see how you make that out.

Chrysippus

What! Have you yet to learn that of indifferentia some are praepostta and others rejecta?

Seventh Dealer

Still I don’t quite see.

Chrysippus

No; how should you? You are not familiar with our terms. You lack the comprebensio vist. The earnest student of logic knows this and more than this. He understands the nature of subject, predicate, and contingent, and the distinctions between them.

Seventh Dealer

Now in Wisdom’s name, tell me, pray, what is a predicate? what is a contingent? ‘There is a ring about those words that takes my fancy.

Chrysippus

With all my heart. A man lame in one foot knocks that foot accidentally against a stone, and gets a cut. Now the man is subject to lameness; which is the predicate. And the cut is a contingency.

Buyer

Come, my friend, and tell me, your purchaser, what sort of person you are, and, to begin with, whether it is not an affliction to you to be sold and in slavery.

Chrysippos

Not at all; for those things are not under our control, and what is not under our control is therefore indifferent.

Buyer

I don't understand just what you mean.

Chrysippos

What, do you not understand that in such matters some things are preferred and some again rejected?

Buyer

I don't understand even yet.

Buyer

In the name of wisdom, kindly take the trouble to tell me this, too: what accidents and secondary accidents are. I am indescribably impressed by the roll of the words.

Chrysippos

No trouble at all. If a lame man, stumbling with that lame foot itself against a stone gets unexpectedly hurt, this man's lameness is evidently a primary accident to which he adds a secondary accident in the way of the wound.