Outlines of Pyrrhonism

Page 3
A.ii.

Truly, what a tragedy! Nothing had been sweeter or more pleasant than the study of literature, yet after I began to be an actor in that play Estienne likely refers to a period of intense illness or mental exhaustion he suffered before this publication., I shrank from books so much that they not only brought me a sad and bitter sight, but if even the slightest thought of them occurred to me, it would gall my soul, like rubbing a scar that had just begun to heal.

When, I say, I was so poorly disposed toward letters—indeed, I hated them "worse than a dog or a snake" original: "cane peius & angue," a proverbial Latin expression for intense loathing—it happened that I entered my library one day. I held my hand over my eyes, lest the sight of the books stir up my bile. While I was idling about, turning over some old trifles and worthless scraps in my desk, I stumbled upon some of my notebooks which contained a rough, hurried interpretation of certain chapters of the Pyrrhonian sect The Pyrrhonists were an ancient school of Scepticism named after Pyrrho of Elis, who taught that peace of mind is found by suspending judgment on all things..

At the very first glance and at the first words, these notes forced a laugh out of me—the very medicine which the "sons of physicians" original: "ἰατρῶν παῖδες" (iatrōn paides), a Greek idiom for doctors cried out that I needed most. Those notes pleased me though I read them ten times over; those writings alone suited my palate. Finally, I said of these Sceptics: "They alone have the breath of life; the rest flit about like shadows" original: "Οἶοι πέπνυνται, τοὶ δὲ σκιαὶ ἀΐσσουσι" (Oioi pepnyntai, toi de skiai aïssousi); a quote from Homer’s Odyssey describing the prophet Teiresias, the only spirit in the underworld who retained his wisdom while others were mere ghosts..

Immediately, therefore, seizing those papers as if they were a "godsend" original: "ἔρμαιον" (hermaion), literally a "gift from Hermes," meaning a stroke of luck, I searched most diligently and eagerly for the Greek manuscript of Sextus Sextus Empiricus (c. 160–210 AD), the primary source for ancient Sceptical philosophy. from which I had translated those Pyrrhonian ideas. At last, I found it, filthy with much dust and almost covered in mold, for it had lain there utterly neglected by me.

To be brief: although I had cast this work aside when I was in firm health—partly deterred by the difficulty of the subject and partly weary of its paradoxical style original: "paradoxologian"; refers to the Sceptics' habit of arguing against common sense or established opinions to demonstrate that nothing can be known for certain.—I now returned to it with great eagerness, as if I had regained new strength and a new spirit. Fighting against all difficulties, I pressed on, and did not stop until I had put the finishing touches on it. Whether I have truly conquered those difficulties, let others be the judge. Certainly, if I could not overcome them all, I have an excuse on two counts...

An oval library stamp in blue ink appears at the bottom center, reading "KÖN. BIBLIOTHEK BERLIN" (Royal Library of Berlin).