Vatican Saying 74
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Translation
Analysis
This Saying voices a beautifully noble sentiment: rather paradoxically, the person "defeated" in a philosophical conversation actually benefits the most, as he has learned in the process something more (or better) than what he knew before. (Inversely, and rather ironically, the person who "won" the argument has come off just about equally as he was to begin with.)
Editorial Note: The Greek term "philologos" literally means one who "loves logos", be that in the sense of what we currently call "Letters" (i.e. literature, poetry, etc.) or in the sense meaning logic, the rational explanation of things. A philologist, as the profession is currently understood, is a person who studies literary matters; it is, however, highly doubtful that Epicurus meant that sort of inquisitive conversation. What he did mean, in all likelihood, was an inquisitive argumentation, such as commonly held by philosophers, their students, their opponents, etc. in the ancient world. For this reason it was found most appropriate to call a philologos conversation a "philosophical" one.
