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Fragments

by Heraclitus, Brooks Haxton (Translator), James Hillman (contributor)

4.22 of 5 stars 4.22 · rating details · 1,127 ratings · 49 reviews

In the sixth century b.c.-twenty-five hundred years before Einstein-Heraclitus of Ephesus declared that energy is the essence of matter, that everything becomes energy in flux, in relativity. His great book, On Nature, the world's first coherent philosophical treatise and touchstone for Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius, has long been lost to history-but its surviving...more

Paperback, 128 pages

Published October 28th 2003 by Penguin Classics (first published 1903)

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Sep 15, 2012 Beluosus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: français, ἑλληνιστί

C'est un bon livre et très utile. Chaque fragment est précédé par le nom de l'auteur auquel nos devons la survie du texte, et l'oeuvre dans lequel il a été cité, ce qui fournit plus de sens des plus fragmentaire et montre les interprétations d'Héraclite en l'antiquité. Les explications — si je suis en accord avec elles ou non — précisent le texte et parfois révèlent les menus détails dont je serais autrement ignorant. L'éditeur traverse les fragments phrase par phrase, clausule par clausule, sou...more C'est un bon livre et très utile. Chaque fragment est précédé par le nom de l'auteur auquel nos devons la survie du texte, et l'oeuvre dans lequel il a été cité, ce qui fournit plus de sens des plus fragmentaire et montre les interprétations d'Héraclite en l'antiquité. Les explications — si je suis en accord avec elles ou non — précisent le texte et parfois révèlent les menus détails dont je serais autrement ignorant. L'éditeur traverse les fragments phrase par phrase, clausule par clausule, souvent mot par mot. C'est une excellente aide d'apprendre les termes de la philosophie pré-socratique, et aussi les mots et formes propres au dialecte ionien.

Mais je me rappelle pourquoi j'evite de lire les sources secondaires. Pourvu que je n'ai lu que 5 fragments (54 pages), il me semble que l'éditeur a une conception d'Héraclite comme un peu égoïste. Il écrit, par example : « ἄλλοι, les autres, s'oppose à ἐγώ : les hommes autre que moi, Héraclite — tous les autres hommes. » Pourquoi pas interpréter ἄλλοι comme les autres opposés aux σοφοί, les sages, ceux qui entendent et comprendent le λόγος du philosophe ?

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Je suis impressioné de la capacité de M. Conche d'écrire presque trois pages sur un fragment qui ne comprise qu'un seul mot. Et en somme c'est vraiment un grand travail intellectual.

Mais, il me semble qu'il divague du sens des fragments et développe ses propres idées, peut-être au détriment de la vrai pensée héraclitienne. Ma critique du prétendu égoïsme d'Héraclite ci-dessus peut servir en example. Il y en a trop des interprétations que je ne vois pas, que je ne retirerais pas de ce qu j'ai lu. Je sais maintenant ce que M. conche pense d'Héraclite, mais ma propre compréhension en reste un peu obscurcie.

Je mettrai le livre de côté et quelque semaines après je relirai les fragments -- rien que les fragments -- afin de les entendre seul. En tous cas, βιβλίον οὐκ ἔστιν ἀναγνῶναι δὶς τὸ αὐτό.

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Jul 02, 2011 Wayne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who enjoys thinking about it all

Recommended to Wayne by: a gift from Alfonso

Shelves: philosophy, european-favourites

A MESSAGE FROM HERACLITUS

Never twice,
so hardly thrice,
will you step
into the cooling waters
and find the stream
the same.

Pass on
with gladness,
not looking back
expecting permanence.
Sink,
immerse yourself
in the ever-flux.
Swim,
when you must,
with the tide.
Do not fight
what you cannot change-
the Changeless Everchanging.

9th March,1985.

THE BECOMING
The mightiest rock is withering away;
A tiny mound growing to a famous hill.
Becoming and becoming shapes the world.
Becoming and becoming...more

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Mar 25, 2012 Mohammed rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Interesting, but not enlightening. Good points about change, skepticism, open-mindedness, rising above petty worldliness and not being too deferential to authority are embedded in this book.

However, I feel these points are only to be found there because the reader is forced to find some content to justify the worth of these fragments.

Many of these ideas will already be known or familiar in more developed forms to any reasonably versed reader of those philosophers and writers who followed Heracl...more

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Dec 04, 2010 Charlotte Sofia rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, the-list

I bought this book for a class on Nietzsche, a class I eventually dropped out of (which I blame on circumstances, not a dislike of Nietzsche, though I certainly did dislike him at the time). We were meant to read this book before the quarter started, but I didn't know this. I don't remember any class discussions about it so I've had little interest and haven't touched it since. I decided I should finally read the thing, short as it is, and add to my scant knowledge of Pre-Socratic philosophy (al...more I bought this book for a class on Nietzsche, a class I eventually dropped out of (which I blame on circumstances, not a dislike of Nietzsche, though I certainly did dislike him at the time). We were meant to read this book before the quarter started, but I didn't know this. I don't remember any class discussions about it so I've had little interest and haven't touched it since. I decided I should finally read the thing, short as it is, and add to my scant knowledge of Pre-Socratic philosophy (also: philosophy in general).

Unfortunately, I don't think this was good introduction into the work of Heraclitus. I finished the book feeling rather annoyed. I was already questioning the translation when Haxton admitted he chose to write: "Fire penetrates the lump / of myrrh, until the joining / bodies die and rise again / in smoke called incense," for a passage that "says literally that fire mixed with various spices assumes various names." He claims that he's "simplifying" it (is that really necessary?) but I get two very different meanings from the distinct translations. The "literal" version fits better within the rest of the selection, and ultimately, makes more sense as a metaphor. In fact, it strikes me as more "simple" because it's more straightforward and unmuddied with specifics.

I began to search for more translations online, just to view some comparisons. Though Haxton suggests "those misled by [his] approach" can turn elsewhere, he fails to provide the numbering most commonly used, making research using his translation far more difficult than necessary. This is a neglect I find frustrating. As I searched about online, I was surprised by the vast differences. Though I don't know Greek, in some places, it was easy to see his superfluity -- which strikes me as funny considering Heraclitus's declaration that a "true prophet signifies" without "needless explanation". Why then, all the needless explanation?

I'm not confident in my understanding of Heraclitus's writings because I don't trust the translation. However, I also found the foreword a great disappointment. I dislike Hillman's interpretation of the text. His naming of Heraclitus's opposites as "puzzling juxtapositions" puzzled me. It seems obvious that Heraclitus is referring to the impermanence of states, the ability of one thing to fall into its opposite ... ultimately, very unpuzzling. He categorized 28 (DK 64) as "tough-minded" though it struck me as another statement on inter-connectedness. I simply feel Hillman didn't understand the work. Not only this, but the foreword seemed poorly written in places, aphorisms thrown out after a vague attempt to categorize and define without any much explanation -- if you cannot justify your claim, perhaps you should not be making it.

Finally, I have trouble thinking I can fully understand Heraclitus because of the fact that all we have are fragments. Out-of-context, pre-interpreted, fallible fragments. I kept thinking how humorous it'd be if we recovered the original work and discovered all these quotes we have were Heraclitus stating the opposite of what he believed -- unlikely, I know, considering he was written about by people who did read his work. But the point behind the thought is that I don't believe we have a fair understanding of Heraclitus's philosophy, but this book is put together as if we do. Perhaps I'll grow to appreciate these fragments more as I do more research on both Heraclitus and the work itself, but for now, I'm skeptical that I can obtain much insight.

That being said, though the idea of everything being in flux isn't new to me, it's been stuck in my mind and altering my worldview ever since reading this book. There is a never a point when things are "good" forever, or "bad" forever. Heraclitus appears not to believe in progress in anything except for wisdom -- wisdom is something you can work towards, even if you never reach it.

Though I'm in no way an authority, and have much learning to do, I would not recommend this translation to anyone. Reading various free translations online will get the job done as an introduction, and from there, I'm sure there's much better editions can be stumbled upon.(less)

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May 13, 2009 Bob Nichols rated it 2 of 5 stars

I have seen many references to Heraclitus whose worldview was focused on change, motion, lack of permanence, etc. This was a quick read because, as the title said, it's a collection of "fragments," largely aphoristic statements that hint at a worldview premised on change, but perhaps not. Despite its reputation, it's not so easy to say that this collection of miscellaneous thoughts, collectively, amounts to a sophisticated worldview. It may, but I am not sure that there's enough here to make thi...more

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Sep 15, 2012 Yann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: antiquité, grece, philosophie

Quand je pense à Héraclite d'Ephèse, il me vient immédiatement à l'esprit l'image d'un homme profondément malheureux, qui pleure du spectacle de la folie des hommes. Tout l'inverse de la folie d'un Démocrite d'Abdère, véritable misanthrope, riant de la même cause. Philosophe du tout début du cinquième siècle avant notre ère, Héraclite serait l'auteur d'un ouvrage hélas aujourd'hui perdu, mais qui fut assez célèbre pour être cité en continu depuis Platon et Aristote, jusqu'aux auteurs patristique...more Quand je pense à Héraclite d'Ephèse, il me vient immédiatement à l'esprit l'image d'un homme profondément malheureux, qui pleure du spectacle de la folie des hommes. Tout l'inverse de la folie d'un Démocrite d'Abdère, véritable misanthrope, riant de la même cause. Philosophe du tout début du cinquième siècle avant notre ère, Héraclite serait l'auteur d'un ouvrage hélas aujourd'hui perdu, mais qui fut assez célèbre pour être cité en continu depuis Platon et Aristote, jusqu'aux auteurs patristiques du début du troisième siècle de notre ère comme Clément d'Alexandrie ou Hippolyte de Rome. Ces citations éparses ne nous permettent pas vraiment de nous faire une idée précise de ce que fut l'ouvrage d'ensemble: d'une part, les citations peuvent tordre le sens original, et on ne peut deviner si Héraclite ne faisait pas d'ironie. Combien de palinodies chez Platon? Réputé pour son obscurité, et son goût pour parler par énigme ou images, ses aphorismes sont parfaitement adaptées pour être employés comme des adages, l'ancienneté de l'auteur comme la renommée de ses premiers commentateurs et détracteurs étant gage d'autorité.

Les thèmes abordés sont la physique, l'étude de l'esprit, la théorie de la connaissance, la politique, bref, le panorama complet des questions qui ont agité Aristote et Platon, qui se sont beaucoup positionnés par rapport à ses assertions. La palme du nombre de citations revient sans conteste aux Stromates de Clément, qui a fait un large usage de cet auteur pour montrer l'ancienneté de l'intuition du christianisme chez les païens et compatriotes grecs. Il semblerait qu'Héraclite ait été astronome, et qu'il aurait eu des sentiments plutôt aristocratiques, ce qui explique qu'il ait vécu à l'écart de ses compatriotes démocratiques.

J'ai bien aimé la composition de cette édition: après une introduction vraiment lumineuse, suivent l'ensemble des fragments non pas bruts, mais insérés dans les passages dont ils ont été extraits, avec le nom de l'œuvre, de l'auteur, et même un petit résumé du sujet du passage. En notes sont renvoyés le texte grec, la glose et les interprétations et commentaire de l'auteur qui sont d'une abondance remarquable pour de si petits extraits. Leur rareté et leur obscurité a comme excité l'industrieuse érudition de nos savants. Cette idée de remettre les citations dans leur contexte est très éclairante.

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Jul 24, 2007 liza rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: politics

such clear thinking from such an ancient time makes me wonder why basic political structures didn't develop along more reasonable lines much much earlier than they did.

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Nov 17, 2008 Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy

"Even sleepers are workers and collaborators on what goes on in the universe."

"Opposition brings concord. Out of discord comes the fairest harmony."

And a real personal favorite:

"We are most nearly ourselves when we achieve the seriousness of the child at play."

"Unlike most other early philosophers, Heraclitus is usually seen as independent of the several schools and movements later students (somewhat anachronistically) assigned to the ancients, and he himself implies that he is self-taught (B101...more

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Aug 09, 2007 Christopher rated it 1 of 5 stars

Heraclitus' FRAGMENTS come here in the original with a facing-page translation by Brooks Haxton that tries to do to the pre-Socratic philosopher what no earlier translator has done, make him a New-Ageish wisdom poet in tune with our modern needs. It is a disastrous experiment, and I cannot recommend it either to students of Greek or readers interested in the pre-Socratics.

The problems here are legion. For one, Haxton doesn't use Diels' numbering scheme, favouring Bywater's dinosaur-era numbers,...more Heraclitus' FRAGMENTS come here in the original with a facing-page translation by Brooks Haxton that tries to do to the pre-Socratic philosopher what no earlier translator has done, make him a New-Ageish wisdom poet in tune with our modern needs. It is a disastrous experiment, and I cannot recommend it either to students of Greek or readers interested in the pre-Socratics.

The problems here are legion. For one, Haxton doesn't use Diels' numbering scheme, favouring Bywater's dinosaur-era numbers, which means this work is out of touch with most collections of Heraclitus. The Greek typeface used is very idiosyncratic and not conformant to classical norms. But the translation itself is horrid.

A lot of what the reader is getting here simply isn't Heraclitus. Instead of providing a footnote with his opinion on what the fragment may mean in context, as reputable scholars would do, Haxton simply adds content to the translation. Unless he were to look at the translation notes in the back, the average reader would be unaware that much of what he was reading wasn't actual said by the philosopher, but is just one modern translator's opinion. Take, for example, Haxton's rendition of the fragment "Nyktipoloi, magoi, bakchoi, lenai, mustai", which is literally translated "Night-walkers, mages, bacchants, lenai, and the initiated", but which Haxton inexplicably expands to "Nightwalker [sic:], magus, and their entourage, bacchants and mystics of the wine press, with stained faces, and damp wits". One that really takes the cake is 89: "Ex homine in tricennio potest avus haberi," which simply means "A man could be a grandfather in thirty years." Haxton somehow comes up with "Look: the baby born under the new moon under the old moon holds her grandchild in her arms".

This translation is a crime. If you are interested in Heraclitus' thought, try getting a reputable scholarly translation. Dennis Sweet's HERACLITUS: Translation and Analysis (University Press of America, 1995) is quite easily readable and entertaining. Stay far away from Haxton's kookish work. (less)

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Apr 09, 2013 Ken Baumann rated it 5 of 5 stars

Read this while driving through Big Sur—appropriate setting for a book as prescient and brilliant and elemental as this. I was marking it up, dotting each aphorism that I felt stunned by, which is ridiculous, because I should've just dotted the aphorisms that WEREN'T beautiful. Could've saved some ink. The philosophy and poetry are so charred together in this text, it's little wonder that it's lasted for thousands of years.

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Apr 10, 2011 Steve rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: greeks, philosophy

Very mysterious. Hard to pin him down on any given system; he gives hints of pantheism, which he contradicts with a kind of proto-Platonic-Christianity (all the Logos stuff and Wisdom stuff), which he contradicts with explicit references to pagan gods, which he contradicts with explicit mockeries of pagan religion (animal sacrifices).

But the mystery is what is so appealing about him; what makes you keep turning pages.

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Jun 01, 2010 Gabriel rated it 2 of 5 stars

I don't know Greek (unfortunately), but the translator seems to have taken a LOT of liberties with his interpretations. My edition has the Greek text in parallel, and things just don't seem to line up-- 4 lines of Greek text turns into 2 lines of English, for instance. I don't feel like I've come even close to having read what Heraclitus wrote-- I just don't trust this translation.

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Jun 06, 2010 Ty rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Guillermo wrote this guy's name on our pizza box and said I had to read his book. I guess some people think the beginning of the gospel of John is based on the first few of these fragments, which could be true, whatever, but John's version seems a little stranger and more beautiful and more coherent to me. Think I found some Silver Jews lyrics in here though.

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Mar 09, 2013 Shahzeb rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best amongst the greek era. A father figure for existentialism for sure. Intelligently written and can only be intelligently understood. A strong

recommendation for those who believe that philosophy was only from Socrates to aristotle and nothing more.

The first thinker to use intuition.

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Jan 10, 2009 Brittany rated it 1 of 5 stars

Even if you only know a little Greek, it is obvious this translation is *terrible*. He uses "word" for logos which was not translated that way until around the time of Caesar, and often ignores all grammatical structure.

Get another translation, because Heraclitus is amazing.

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Jan 12, 2013 Reed rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-ethics-politics

Fun, witty, and short. If you can spare a few minutes, read Fragments.

"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."

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Jul 25, 2010 Architeacher rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is almost always at my bedside, ready for moments of sleeplessness (the bane of the moderately depressed). Bruce Haxton's translation is poetic in and of itself. And Heraclitus, of course, makes me want to learn ancient Greek.

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Feb 06, 2013 Philip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Quick read as much of Heraclitus has been lost. Organized vaguely by subject in an aphoristic manner. Pretty thought provoking though. "Just as the river where I step is not the same, and is, so I am as I am not."

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Oct 23, 2010 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Heraclitus' fragments are central to pre-socratic philosophical thought, and they had an impact on Philosophers as diverse as Aristotle and Lucretius. He is perhaps the first materialist philosopher, drawing ethical and spiritual significance from his investigations into nature.

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Feb 28, 2013 William Lee added it

New translation, some fragments better translated than others. Some incomprehensible. For example "The ape apes find most beautiful looks apish to non-apes." Still worth the fresh perspective, though.

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Jul 06, 2010 Charles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: philosophy-ancient

Tantalizing...like a sunken ship. A meditation, a Rorschach. A work that makes it clear how much on brings of oneself to a book. The fifth star's absence is a fault of history, not of Heraclitus himself.

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Mar 06, 2012 Laurence Thompson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Heraclitus knew the Tao before Taoists did. What tragedy that we possess only fragments... or is it a blessing, that a mind this talented should be so hidden from our post-Platonic minds?

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Jun 06, 2012 Mike Jensen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This, alas, is all that we have of Heraclitus's writings. There is not enough here to sample his greatness, if he indeed was great, but on the other hand it is all we have.

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Jun 19, 2012 Billy Dean rated it 1 of 5 stars

One star for Heraclitus?

The low rating has nothing to do with Heraclitus himself and everything to do with this translation. Laughable.

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Oct 24, 2011 اویس rated it 3 of 5 stars

Immortals are mortal, mortals immortal, living in their death and dying in their life.

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Jun 21, 2011 Michael Lipford rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

An overwhelming theme of balance and basically things being zero sum. It was ok.

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May 07, 2009 Anthony rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: philosophy-etc

"...if everything were turned to smoke, the nose would be the seat of judgment..."

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May 08, 2013 Jay Eckard rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The translator takes fat too many liberties with the original. Not recommended.

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Jan 27, 2013 Darla marked it as to-read

Read these in another format a long time ago. Need to re-read.

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Aug 16, 2012 B.e. rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Hellenistic Tao Te Ching. I don't think I need to say more.

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About Heraclitus

A Greek philosopher of Ephesus (near modern Kuşadası, Turkey) who was active around 500 BCE, Heraclitus propounded a distinctive theory which he expressed in oracular language. He is best known for his doctrines that things are constantly changing (universal flux), that opposites coincide (unity of opposites), and that fire is the basic material of the world. The exact interpretation of these doct...more

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Books by Heraclitus

The Art and Thought of Heraclitus: An Edition of the Fragments with Translation and Commentary

Heraclitus: Homeric Problems (Writings from the Greco-Roman World) (Writings from the Greco-Roman World)

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“Even a soul submerged in sleep
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make something of the world.” — 195 people liked it

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