Greek Lessons

by Han Kang

“In a manner of speaking, the Greek that Plato used was like a fully ripe fruit about to fall to earth. The sun rapidly set on the Middle Greek that was spoken by the generations that followed him. And, along with their language, the Greek states too fell into decay. And so Plato represents one who stood and watched the sun set not only on language but on everything that surrounded him.”

There is, inevitably, something tenuous and unsatisfactory in the way the logical demonstration works, sifting all humankind’s sufferings and regrets, attachments, sadness, and weaknesses through the loose net of truth and falsity to obtain a handful of premises like a handful of gold dust. Boldly casting fallacies aside and proceeding along the narrow balance beam one step at a time, we see silence rippling like a black body of water past the net of clear, coherent questions we’ve asked and answered ourselves. And still we go on asking and answering—even as our eyes remain immersed in the silence, in the menacing blue quiet that is constantly rising, like the black water.

She takes in a deep breath, and hears the distinct sound of her inhalation. Since losing speech, she gets the sense sometimes that her inhales and exhales resemble speech. They seem to stir the silence as boldly as the voice does.

χαλεπὰ τὰ καλά Chalepa ta kala. The beautiful is beautiful. The beautiful is noble. The beautiful is difficult. It was possible for all three translations to be correct, because beauty, difficulty and nobleness were, for the Ancient Greeks, concepts not yet split apart.

“The world is an illusion, and living is dreaming,”

This thing we call life mustn’t ever become something endured.

Dreaming of another world than this is a sin.