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No man ever steps in the same river twice.

Heraclitus, via Plato's Cratylus

Philosophy

The story behind the card

Heraclitus of Ephesus, on the Aegean coast of today's Turkey, wrote around 500 BC; his book is lost, and only short fragments survive in later authors. Plato's Cratylus (402a) reports him as saying that everything flows and you cannot step into the same river twice. A fragment quoted directly is subtler: on those who step into the same rivers, ever different waters flow. Many scholars read it as a point about identity: a river stays the same river because its water is always new.

Türkçe oku
Hiç kimse aynı ırmağa iki kez giremez.
Herakleitos, Platon'un Kratylos diyaloğundan

Efesli Herakleitos MÖ 500 dolaylarında yazdı; kitabı kayboldu, bugün elimizde yalnızca sonraki yazarların aktardığı kısa parçalar var. Platon, Kratylos diyaloğunda (402a) onun her şeyin aktığını ve aynı ırmağa iki kez girilemeyeceğini söylediğini yazar. Doğrudan aktarılan bir parça daha inceliklidir: Aynı ırmaklara girenlerin üzerinden hep başka başka sular akar. Pek çok araştırmacı bunu kimlik üzerine bir düşünce olarak okur: Irmak, suyu durmadan yenilendiği için aynı ırmak olarak kalır. Türkçede bu söz çoğu zaman “Aynı nehirde iki kez yıkanılmaz” diye bilinir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Heraclitus
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