Socrates famously said that the unexamined life is not worth living. For over two millennia this statement has
provided thinkers a rationale for their queries. These words have inspired those wanting
to reflect upon their life and be deliberative in their actions. What most people don’t realize is that the Athenian
philosopher stole this line from the fifth-century orator, Perspicadius of
Corinth, and pulled it out of context. Historians
of ancient Greece had only recently discovered the Corinthian’s original words
buried in a Carolingian codex on the discarded shelf of a French monastery. Posterity is more familiar with Perspicadius’s
oft-cited line: “All Athenians are assholes.”
(Harsh for pious ears, a medieval scribe amended the phrase to “All Cretans are
Liars” and attributed it to Epimenides of Knossos.) Here are the words of Perspicadius: “The
unexamined life is not worth living, but it is even more worthwhile to live
your life without any thought at all.
Consider the beasts of the field.
Do they not live without introspection? Do they not care about their purpose or the
meaning to life and yet they seem to be content? Why should man be different?” As it turns out, historians think the randy Socrates
plagiarized the first statement in order to entice Athenian teens wanting to study
philosophy under the master. For the younger
boys, Socrates used candy. The historical damage has been done. Socrates lives on in the memories of future generations, while the deeper truths of Perspicadius
remain in obscurity.
