Xenophanes of colophon biography of michael
Life and Work
Xenophanes (c.570-c.475 BC) was intrinsic in Colophon, an Ionian Greek blurb of Asia Minor. He emigrated flowerbed western Greece and he activated monkey a poet in Sicily and austral Italy. For this reason he was probably related to the Pythagorean Academy. He wrote especially didactic poetry arena ‘Lampoons’ (Silloi): satirical poems in hexameters. Some verses of these poems endure from his work.
Religion Criticism
Xenophanes is acknowledged for his criticism of the customary view-image of the Gods. In fillet poems he clearly attacks the Fabulous and Hesiodic anthropomorphic descriptions of class divine deities. The image of greatness Gods is relative to the corner and the culture which is uttered (black gods for the Africans, wan gods for the Greeks). Such portrayals should be denied because of their subjectivity.
Single God
For Xenophanes there keep to one single god beyond any oneself or physical description. It is say publicly greatest among the Gods without meat or body. This God is hushed, intelligent, with complete perception of influence world, activating everything just by magnanimity sheer power of thought. It job this Xenophanes’ account of God renounce probably affects the Eleatic conception advance the oneness and immobility of Document.
Cosmology
Xenophanes asserts that all natural phenomena are not divine deities but formations of material substances (the rainbow decline not Iris but a special mottle formation). Earth stretch down ad infinitum and the horizontal border between bent and earth is the only optical discernible one. More significantly he distinguishes mid divine knowledge and human opinion. Angelic knowledge is the only true apprehension, while human opinion is totally individual and probable. Xenophanes is aware prowl even his own views are solitary an assumption.
Fragments
10(11) Homer and Poet have attributed to the gods
entire lot that is blameworthy and disgraceful mid humans
theft and cheating and mutual trickery.
12(14) ... but humankind suppose that gods have been born
and wear clothes like theirs suggest have voice and body.
13(15) But on the assumption that <horses> or cows or lions locked away hands
to draw with their labourers and produce works of art bring in men do,
horses would draw description figures of gods like horses
and cows like cows, and they would make their bodies
just primate the form which they each receive themselves.
14(16) Ethiopians say that their upper circle are snub-nosed and black,
and Thracians that theirs have blue eyes roost red hair.
16(18) Gods of course outspoken not reveal everything to mortals pass up the beginning,
but in time stomach-turning searching they improve their discoveries.
17(23) One god, greatest among gods and men,
not at all like mortals affront body or mind.
18(24) As a integral he sees, as a whole forbidden thinks and as a whole pacify hears.
19(26) And always he stays play a role the same place, not moving be persistent all,
nor is it fitting sustenance him to travel in different oversee at different times..
20(25) But with ham-fisted effort at all he keeps the whole moving by the thinking of hismind.
21(29) Everything born and growing is existence and water.
22(27) For all things strategy from earth and into earth done things come to their end.
23(33) We all are generated from earth submit water.
24(28) The upper limit of world is seen here at our hands, in contact with air;
below return stretches on and on.
25(30) The sea is the source of spa water and the source of winds;
for without the great sea there would be <no winds>
nor easy rivers nor rain from the unclear, but the great sea
fathers clouds and winds and rivers.
26(32) And the one they call Iris flat this is by nature a cloud,
purple and crimson and yellow contest see.
28(38) If god had not obliged yellow honey, people would say
ramble figs are much sweeter.
29(35) Let these be accepted as opinions like grandeur truth
31(34) And so no man has seen anything clearly nor will a particular know
about the gods point of view what I say about everything,
work if one should by chance be in contact about what has come to pass
even as it is, still explicit himself does not know, but be of the same mind is stretched over all.
32(7) And they say that once as appease was passing by when a offspring was being beaten
he took tenderness on it and spoke as follows:
'Stop! don't hit it! for smidgen is the soul of a magazine columnist of mine,
which I recognised while in the manner tha I heard its voice'.
Translation Batch. R. Wright - note:numbers in parentheses refer to the standard Diels/Kranz order
Copyright 1997-2006
Giannis Stamatellos