“What is the wisest? Time, for it discovers all things.”
— Thales of MiletusReported in Diogenes Laertius 1.35; approximate English rendering
Commentary
This saying, attributed to Thales in the collection of the Seven Sages' sayings, presents time as the great discoverer, the force through which truth is revealed. The view that time brings hidden things to light was common in Greek moral and poetic writing, and the attribution to Thales places the proverb within the early wisdom tradition. A. A. Long notes that this kind of definition served to illustrate ideal knowledge and virtue, and that its authorship is traditional. G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield observe that the saying is more characteristic of the proverbial literature of the sixth and fifth centuries than of Milesian natural philosophy. Charles Kahn argues that the link between time and cosmic order is consistent with Milesian ideas, though the saying itself does not develop them. Jonathan Barnes treats the attribution as doubtful, since the sayings were compiled and reattributed over time. W. K. C. Guthrie notes the continuing appeal of the idea in Greek thought. The English is approximate, and the Greek should be consulted before quotation.
Commentary
This saying, attributed to Thales in the collection of the Seven Sages' sayings, presents time as the great discoverer, the force through which truth is revealed. The view that time brings hidden things to light was common in Greek moral and poetic writing, and the attribution to Thales places the proverb within the early wisdom tradition. A. A. Long notes that this kind of definition served to illustrate ideal knowledge and virtue, and that its authorship is traditional. G. S. Kirk, J. E. Raven, and M. Schofield observe that the saying is more characteristic of the proverbial literature of the sixth and fifth centuries than of Milesian natural philosophy. Charles Kahn argues that the link between time and cosmic order is consistent with Milesian ideas, though the saying itself does not develop them. Jonathan Barnes treats the attribution as doubtful, since the sayings were compiled and reattributed over time. W. K. C. Guthrie notes the continuing appeal of the idea in Greek thought. The English is approximate, and the Greek should be consulted before quotation.