4 ideas
5959 | Some philosophers say the soul is light [Plutarch] |
Full Idea: Some philosophers hold that the soul is in its essence light. | |
From: Plutarch (75: Is 'Live Unknown' a Wise Precept? [c.85], §6) | |
A reaction: A nice idea, to rival the stoic view that the soul is fire. It is understandable to propose that the soul is some sort of lightweight and fast moving matter. How else could thought be achieved physically? Nowadays, parallel processing is our only model. |
13304 | Learned men gain more in one day than others do in a lifetime [Posidonius] |
Full Idea: In a single day there lies open to men of learning more than there ever does to the unenlightened in the longest of lifetimes. | |
From: Posidonius (fragments/reports [c.95 BCE]), quoted by Seneca the Younger - Letters from a Stoic 078 | |
A reaction: These remarks endorsing the infinite superiority of the educated to the uneducated seem to have been popular in late antiquity. It tends to be the religions which discourage great learning, especially in their emphasis on a single book. |
20820 | Time is an interval of motion, or the measure of speed [Posidonius, by Stobaeus] |
Full Idea: Posidonius defined time thus: it is an interval of motion, or the measure of speed and slowness. | |
From: report of Posidonius (fragments/reports [c.95 BCE]) by John Stobaeus - Anthology 1.08.42 | |
A reaction: Hm. Can we define motion or speed without alluding to time? Looks like we have to define them as a conjoined pair, which means we cannot fully understand either of them. |
7489 | Joshua said, Sun, stand thou still [Anon (Josh)] |
Full Idea: Then Joshua spake to the Lord, and he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and the Sun stood still. | |
From: Anon (Josh) (06: Book of Joshua [c.540 BCE], 10.12) | |
A reaction: This verse became highly significant during the controversies from Copernicus to Galileo about the heliocentric universe. |