"ἀλλ᾽ εἰ χεῖρας ἔχον βόες <ἵπποι τ᾽> ἠὲ λέοντες ἢ γράψαι χείρεσσι καὶ ἔργα τελεῖν ἅπερ ἄνδρες, ἵπποι μέν θ᾽ ἵπποισι βόες δέ τε βουσὶν ὁμοίας καί <κε> θεῶν ἰδέας ἔγραφον καὶ σώματ᾽ ἐποίουν τοιαῦθ᾽ οἷόν περ καὐτοὶ δέμας εἶχον <ἕκαστοι>."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
But if cattle and horses and lions had hands or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do, horses like horses and cattle like cattle also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies of such a sort as the form they themselves have. — Fragment 15 (D-K)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Xenophanes
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Xenophanes
Xenophanes of Colophon (Greek Ξενοφάνης ὁ Κολοφώνιος, Xenophánes; 570 – 480 BC) was a Greek philosopher, poet, and social and religious critic. Our knowledge of his views comes from his surviving poetry, all of which are fragments passed down as quotations by later Greek writers.
5 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Xenophanes →
Related Quotes
"ἀλλ᾽οἱ βροτοὶ δοκέουσι γεννᾶσθαι θεοὺς, τὴν σφετέρην δ᾽ἐσθῆτα ἔχειν φωνήν τε δέμας τε."
"Αἰθίοπές τε <θεοὺς σφετέρους> σιμοὺς μέλανάς τε Θρῇκἐς τε γλαυκοὺς καὶ πυρρούς <φασι πέλεσθαι>."
"There is one god, greatest among gods and men, similar to mortals neither in shape nor in thought."
"For all things are from the earth and to the earth all things come in the end."
"Ἄνθρωπ’, ἀπολεῖς με. τῶν γὰρ ἐκ τῆς ποικίλης στοᾶς λογαρίων ἀναπεπλησμένος νοσεῖς· "ἀλλότριόν ἐσθ’ ὁ πλοῦτος ἀνθρώπῳ,…"
"Ὁ Πανταλέων μὲν αὐτὸς αὐτοὺς τοὺς ξένους τούς τ᾿ ἀγνοοῦντας αὐτὸν ἐπλάνα, καὶ σχεδὸν ἀπεκραιπάλα τὰ πλεῖστα τοῦ γελάσ…"
"Ἐπαρίστερ´ ἔμαθες, ὦ πόνηρε, γράμματα· ἀνέστροφέν σου τὸν βίον τὰ βιβλία· πεφιλοσόφηκας γῇ τε κοὐρανῷ λαλῶν, οἷς οὐθέ…"
"Καὶ τόδε Δημοδόκου· Χῖοι κακοί· οὐχ ὁ μέν, ὃς δ᾽ οὔ· πάντες, πλὴν Προκλέους· καὶ Προκλέης δὲ Χίος."
"Καππαδόκην ποτ᾽ ἔχιδνα κακὴ δάκεν· ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτὴ κάτθανε, γευσαμένη αἵματος ἰοβόλου."
"Μιλήσιοι ἀξύνετοι μὲν οὔκ εἰσιν, δρῶσιν δ᾿ οἷά περ ἀξύνετοι."