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Sextus Empiricus
Against the Ethicists, Book XI of Against the Learned Section 227
Section 227 of 257
Canonical reference 11.227
Ancient Greek
Hermann Mutschmann and Jürgen Mau, editors · adversus-grc
καὶ εἰ αἰσθητὸν δὲ ὑπάρχοι, πάλιν ἀδίδακτον γενήσεται· τῶν γὰρ αἰσθητῶν οὐδὲν διδάσκεται, οἶον οὐδεὶς λευκὸν ὁρᾶν μανθάνει, οὐδὲ γλυκέος γεύεσθαι, οὐχ ὑπό τινος εὐωδιάζεσθαι ψύχεσθαι ἀλεαίνεσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἀδίδακτός ἐστιν ἡ πάντων τούτων ἀντίληψις. οὔτε τοίνυν αἰσθητόν ἐστι τὸ σῶμα, οὔτ’ εἶ αἰσθητὸν ὑπάρχοι, κατὰ τοῦτ᾿ ἔσται διδακτόν.
English AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
And even if it were perceptible, it would again be unteachable. For none of the perceptible things is taught: no one learns to see white, to taste sweetness, to smell a fragrance, to feel cold, or to feel warm; rather, the apprehension of all these things is unteachable. Therefore body is neither perceptible nor, if it were perceptible, would it for that reason be teachable.
French AI-generated translation, non-official
Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11
Et quand bien même il serait sensible, il serait encore inenseignable. Car aucune chose sensible n’est enseignée: personne n’apprend à voir le blanc, à goûter le doux, à sentir une bonne odeur sous l’action de quelque chose, à avoir froid ou chaud; l’appréhension de toutes ces choses est inenseignable. Le corps n’est donc pas sensible; et même s’il l’était, il ne serait pas pour autant enseignable.
Concepts in this passage
Care of the soul
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Equipollence
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Suspension of judgment
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Virtue
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