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gwit's review
3.0
Enjoyed the perspectives introduced by this translation, but not so sure I liked all of the actual translation.
E.g.
‘One’s bearing
shapes one’s fate.’
lacks the punch of
‘Character is fate. ‘
or
'A man's character is his fate.'
E.g.
‘One’s bearing
shapes one’s fate.’
lacks the punch of
‘Character is fate. ‘
or
'A man's character is his fate.'
lyrabuttonn's review
‘time is a game played beautifully by children’
heraclitus feels profoundly modern these epithets literally had me laughing out loud and smiling at the utter wit- he slayed super hard and was so readable i can see why nietzsche had such a fondness for him he is for sure my fav preplatonic philosopher
heraclitus feels profoundly modern these epithets literally had me laughing out loud and smiling at the utter wit- he slayed super hard and was so readable i can see why nietzsche had such a fondness for him he is for sure my fav preplatonic philosopher
sarahdenn27's review
5.0
What use are these people’s wits,
who let themselves be led
by speechmakers, in crowds,
without considering
how many fools and thieves
they are among, and how few
choose the good?
The best choose progress
toward one thing, a name
forever honored by the gods,
while others eat their way
toward sleep like nameless oxen.
who let themselves be led
by speechmakers, in crowds,
without considering
how many fools and thieves
they are among, and how few
choose the good?
The best choose progress
toward one thing, a name
forever honored by the gods,
while others eat their way
toward sleep like nameless oxen.
benrogerswpg's review against another edition
4.0
I particularly enjoyes this book.
It was a great stoic philosophy book.
I was particularly drawn to the book's great writings on change
4.7/5
It was a great stoic philosophy book.
I was particularly drawn to the book's great writings on change
4.7/5
dannymason_1's review
2.0
I want to be clear that this rating is not for Heraclitus. I don't want beef with Heraclitus. That man has bars. The rating is for this specific edition of his fragments.
I'm glad that other reviews highlight how dodgy the translation is, but even without them I could tell there was something fishy going on from the opening essays. We get treated to the idea that Heraclitus was basically a postmodernist and also that he essentially came up with Einstein's theory of relativity. Deeply silly stuff.
Some of the interesting stuff from Heraclitus still shines through but I'd avoid this edition.
I'm glad that other reviews highlight how dodgy the translation is, but even without them I could tell there was something fishy going on from the opening essays. We get treated to the idea that Heraclitus was basically a postmodernist and also that he essentially came up with Einstein's theory of relativity. Deeply silly stuff.
Some of the interesting stuff from Heraclitus still shines through but I'd avoid this edition.
borumi's review
3.0
The original book probably had the fragments nicely pieced together to form a coherent flow but the kindle edition had the latin, greek and English tranlation scattered all over and was a bit frustrating to read. The translation was good although it sometimes misses out on the pun and double-talk aspect of Heraclitus. Being a poet himeself, Brooks Haxton's simple yet subtle free verse translation is just the way Heraclitus would have chosen to engage the readers (or the listeners) to get actively involved in the dialectic and strive for wisdom (or logos) instead of sleeping and turning 'aside, each into a darkness of his own'. I don’t care so much for the introduction though.