ι′ περὶ σημείου.

[97] Τῶν πραγμάτων τοίνυν κατὰ τούς δογματικοὺς
τὰ μέν ἐστι πρόδηλα, τὰ δὲ ἄδηλα, καὶ τῶν ἀδήλων ¹² 79 τὰ μὲν καθάπαξ ἄδηλα, τὰ δὲ πρὸς καιρὸν ἄδηλα, τὰ δὲ φύσει ἄδηλα. καὶ πρόδηλα μὲν εἷναί φασι τὰ ἐξ
ἑαυτῶν εἰς γνῶσιν ἡμῖν ἐρχόμενα, οἷόν ἐστι τὸ ἡμέραν εἶναι, καθάπαξ δὲ ἄδηλα, ἃ μὴ πέφυκεν εἰς τὴν ἡμετέραν πίπτειν κατάληψιν, ὧς τὸ ἀρτίους εἶναι τοὺς ἀστέρας,

[98] πρὸς καιρὸν δὲ ἄδηλα ἅπερ τὴν φύσιν ἔχοντα ἐναργῆ παρὰ τινας ἔξωθεν περιστάσεις ³ κατὰ καιρὸν ἡμῖν ἀδηλεῖται, ὧς ἐμοὶ νῦν ἡ
τῶν Ἀθηναίων πόλις, φύσει δὲ ἄδηλα τὰ μὴ φύσιν ὑπὸ τὴν ἡμετέραν πίπτειν ἐνάργειαν, ὧς οἱ νοητοὶ πόροι· οὗτοι γὰρ οὐδέποτε ἐξ ἑαυτῶν φαίνονται, ἀλλ’ εἰ ἄρα, ἐξ ἑτέρων καταλαμβάνεσθαι ἂν νομισθεῖεν, οἶον τῶν ἱδρώτων ἤ τινος παραπλησίου.

[99] ⁴ τὰ μὲν οὖν πρόδηλα μὴ δεῖσθαι σημείου
φασίν· ἐξ ἑαυτῶν γὰρ αὐτὰ καταλαμβάνεσθαι. ἀλλ’ οὐδὲ τὰ καθάπαξ ἄδηλα ἅτε δὴ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν καταλαμβανόμενα. τὰ δὲ πρὸς καιρὸν ἄδηλα καὶ τὰ φύσει ἄδηλα διὰ σημείων μὲν καταλαμβάνεσθαι, οὐ μὴν διὰ τῶν αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν ⁵ πρὸς καιρὸν ἄδηλα διὰ τῶν ὑπομνηστικῶν, τὰ δὲ
φύσει ἄδηλα διὰ τῶν ἐνδεικτικῶν.

[100] τῶν οὖν σημείων τὰ μέν ἐστιν ὑπομνηστικὰ κατ’ αὐτοὺς, τὰ δ’ ἐνδεικτικά. καὶ ὑπομνηστικὸν μὲν σημεῖον καλοῦσιν ὃ συμπαρατηρηθὲν τῷ σημειωτῷ δι’ ἐναργείας ἅμα τῷ ὑποπεσεῖν, ἐκείνου ἀδηλουμένου, ἄγει ἡμᾶς εἰς ὑπόμνησιν
τοῦ συμπαρατηρηθέντος αὐτῷ καὶ νῦν ἐναργῶς μὴ ὑποπίπτοντος, ὡς ἔχει ἐπὶ τοῦ καπνοῦ καὶ τοῦ πυρός.

[101] ἐνδεικτικὸν δέ ἐστι σημεῖον, ὥς φασιν, ὃ μὴ συμπαρατηρηθὲν τῷ σημειωτῷ δι’ ἐναργείας, ἀλλ’ ἐκ τῆς ἰδίας φύσεως καὶ κατασκευῆς ⁶ σημαίνει τὸ οὗ ἐστι σημεῖον, ὡσπεροῦν αἱ περὶ τὸ
σῶμα κινήσεις σημεῖά εἰσι τῆς ψυχῆς. ὅθεν καὶ ὁρίζονται
αἰτίους EAB 9 παρά Gen. dubitanter: περί GT (circa) 9a καιρούς Τ (per tempora) cf. p. 319,3 Ih καταλαμβάνεται Τ (apprehenduntur) 23 σημειωτῷ Bekk.: σημείω rw MLT (in signo quod est): σημαινομένω tw EAB 25/20 ἐναργῶς LT (manifeste): ἐναργοῦς MEAB 28 σημειωτῷ Τ (significato): σημείω τῶ G 29 καὶ om L 79 τοῦτο τὸ σημεῖον οὕτως ῾σημεῖόν ἐστιν ἐνδεικτικὸν ἀξίωμα ἐν ὑγιεῖ συνημμένῳ προκαθηγούμενον, ἐκκαλυπτικὸν τοῦ λήγοντος.᾿

[102] διττῆς οὖν οὔσης τῶν σημείων διαφορᾶς, ὡς ἔφαμεν, οὐ πρὸς πᾶν σημεῖον ἀντιλέγομεν,
ἀλλὰ πρὸς μόνον τὸ ἐνδεικτικὸν ὡς ὑπὸ τῶν δογματικῶν πεπλάσθαι δοκοῦν. τὸ γὰρ ὑπομνηστικὸν πεπίστευται ὑπὸ τοῦ βίου, ἐπεὶ καπνὸν ἰδών τις σημειοῦται πῦρ καὶ οὐλὴν θεασάμενος τραῦμα γεγενῆσθαι λέγει. ὅθεν
οὐ μόνον οὐ μαχόμεθα τῷ βίῳ ἀλλὰ καὶ συναγωνιζόμεθα, τῷ μὲν ὐπ᾿ αὐτοῦ πεπιστευμένῳ ἀδοξάστως συγκατατιθέμενοι, τοῖς δ᾿ ὑπὸ τῶν δογματικῶν ἰδίως ἀναπλαττομένοις ἀνθιστάμενοι.

[103] Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ἥρμοζεν ἴσως προειπεῖν ὑπὲρ τῆς σαφηνείας
τοῦ ζητουμένου· λοιπὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἀντίρρησιν χωρῶμεν, οὐκ ἀνύπαρκτον δεῖξαι τὸ ἐνδεικτικὸν σημεῖον πάντως ἐσπουδακότες, ἀλλὰ τὴν φαινομένην ἰσοσθένειαν τῶν φερομένων λόγων πρός τε τὴν ὕπαρξιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τὴν ἀνυπαρξίαν ὑπομιμνῄσκοντες.

Chapter X.—Concerning Sign

[97] Of objects, then, some, according to the Dogmatists,¹ are pre-evident, some non-evident; and of the non-evident, some are altogether non-evident, some occasionally non-evident, some naturally non-evident. Pre-evident are, as they assert, those which come to our knowledge of themselves,² as for example the fact that it is day-time; altogether non-evident are those which are not of a nature to fall within our apprehension, as that the stars³ are even in number; occasionally non-evident are those which,

[98] though patent in their nature, are occasionally rendered non- evident to us owing to certain external circumstances,⁴ as the city of Athens is now to me; naturally non- evident are those which are not of such a nature⁵ as to fall within our clear perception, like the intelligible pores; for these never appear of themselves but may be thought to be apprehended, if at all, owing to other things, such as perspirations or something of the sort.

[99] Now the pre-evident objects, they say, do not require a sign, for they are apprehended of themselves. And neither do the altogether non-evident, since of course they are not even apprehended at all. But such objects as are occasionally or naturally non-evident are apprehended by means of signs— not of course by the same signs, but by ‟suggestive” signs in the case of the occasionally non-evident and by ‟indicative” signs in the case of the naturally non-evident.

[100] Of the signs, then, according to them, some are suggestive, some indicative.⁶ They term a sign ‟suggestive” when, being mentally associated with the thing signified, it by its clearness at the time of its perception, though the thing signified remains non-evident, suggests to us the thing associated with it, which is not clearly perceived at the moment— as for instance in the case of smoke and fire.

[101] An ‟indicative” sign, they say, is that which is not clearly associated with the thing signified, but signifies that whereof it is a sign by its own particular nature and constitution, just as, for instance, the bodily motions are signs of the soul. Hence, too, they define this sign as follows: ‟An indicative sign is an antecedent judgement, in a sound hypothetical syllogism,⁷ which serves to reveal the consequent.”

[102] Seeing, then, that there are, as we have said, two different kinds of sign, we do not argue against every sign but only against the indicative kind as it seems to be invented by the Dogmatists. For the suggestive sign is relied on by living experience, since when a man sees smoke fire is signified, and when he beholds a scar he says that there has been a wound. Hence, not only do we not fight against living experience, but we even lend it our support by assenting undogmatically to what it relies on, while opposing the private inventions of the Dogmatists.

[103] These prefatory remarks it was, perhaps, fitting to make for the sake of elucidating the object of our inquiry. It remains for us to proceed to our refutation, not in any anxiety to show that the indicative sign is wholly unreal, but reminding ourselves of the apparent equivalence of the arguments adduced for its reality and for its unreality.

Sextus Empiricus Pyrrhoniae Hypotyposes 2.10

ed. Hermann Mutschmann

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Chapter X.—Concerning Sign

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