The Birth of Hedonism by Lampe Kurt

Author:Lampe, Kurt
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2014-03-21T16:00:00+00:00

7.6. Autonomy and Cologne Papyrus 205

It is not coincidental that Aristotle names Socrates among those who, like Hegesias, exemplify magnanimity through their indifference to good or bad fortune. The example of Socrates will help us to explain the second way in which indifference fits into a meaningful project for life: being able to perceive the indifference of most things empowers the sage to remain faithful to his own inclinations and deliberations. In order to demonstrate this I will examine a hitherto under-utilized source for Hegesiac thinking, Cologne Papyrus 205. I will argue that Hegesias or a Hegesiac is the most likely author of the fragmentary dialogue preserved on this papyrus. Although this attribution cannot be considered certain, my arguments in the rest of the section do not rest on it: even if the dialogue is not Hegesiac, it still provides a concrete scenario for considering the sorts of things a Hegesiac would say in a situation where a philosopher might be tempted to compromise his autonomy.

Papyrus 205 from Cologne (PKöln 205 = SSR 1c.550) consists of eight fragments, substantial parts of the first and second of which are legible, from a Socratic dialogue used to wrap a mummy in Ptolemaic Egypt.48 Since this dialogue has never—to the best of my knowledge—been translated into English, I provide a complete translation here. Where the papyrus is badly damaged and either the lettering or the meaning is uncertain, I have put my translation in italics. Note that the division of the text between speakers is not marked in the papyrus.49

(column I)

[papyrus illegible for 13 lines50]

“… we have digressed to this topic of inquiry…

“… to the wise man…”

[illegible for 7.5 lines]

“… for life… because… life…”

[illegible for 3 lines]

“… who’s going to die won’t be disturbed, if he’s leaving a life that’s both pleasant and upright. Or don’t you remember (col. II) that it was because of this that we digressed to this topic of inquiry?”

“Certainly I remember. I know it perfectly well.”

“So up until now we haven’t in any part of our discussion been able to find that the life of a sensible person is more pleasant [approximately eight characters missing] than distressing?”

“Well, certainly not, by Zeus!”

“So then the sensible person wouldn’t be grieved to leave these not-so-pleasant things behind, if he were going to die?”

“It seems not, I tell you.”

“And he certainly won’t shrink from dying in order to avoid anything disagreeable happening next in Hades. I think we’ve shown in the foregoing that it’s not possible for anything disagreeable to happen to anyone in Hades.”

“I certainly think that you’ve adequately shown this as well.”

(col. III) [5 lines mostly illegible]

“… why I offered no defense to the Athenians about the death penalty?”

“No, by Zeus! Ι don’t think so anymore! To you and me, Socrates, and to anyone who thinks that pleasure is the best end of life, and distress the worst, you would appear to have defended yourself well in all these matters, because you offered no defense regarding the death penalty.”

“[one or

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