Friday, January 15, 2016

Heraclitus asks a question


Heraclitus went to the river,
pondering what he called
the logos. He dipped his toe
in the river, and withdrew it,
to wonder if the river he dipped
his toe into was the same as
the river before, and the river after,
or if, perhaps, his toe defined
what the river was. He argued
with himself for a lifetime,
not answering his own question,
never once asking if his toe
was wet.


Painting: Heraclitus of Ephesus, oil on canvas by Hendrick ter Brugghen (1628); Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

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