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Sextus Empiricus

Against the Logicians, Books VII-VIII of Against the Learned Section 129

Section 129 of 927

Canonical reference 7.129

Ancient Greek

Hermann Mutschmann and Jürgen Mau, editors · adversus-grc

τοῦτον οὖν τὸν θεῖον λόγον καθ’ Ἡράκλειτον δι’ ἀναπνοῆς σπάσαντες νοεροὶ γινόμεθα, καὶ ἐν μὲν ὕπνοις ληθαῖοι, κατὰ δὲ ἔγερσιν πάλιν ἔμφρονες. ἐν γὰρ τοῖς ὕπνοις μυσάντων τῶν αἰσθητικῶν πόρων χωρίζεται τῆς πρὸς τὸ περιέχον συμφυίας ὁ ἐν ἡμῖν νοῦς, μόνης τῆς κατὰ ἀναπνοὴν προσφύσεως σῳζομένης οἱονεί τινος ῥίζης, χωρισθείς τε ἀποβάλλει ἣν πρότερον εἶχε μνημονικὴν δύναμιν·

English AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

According to Heraclitus, by drawing in this divine reason through respiration we become intelligent, forgetful during sleep but rational again upon waking. For during sleep, when the sensory passages are closed, the mind within us is separated from its natural union with what surrounds us, only its attachment through respiration being preserved as a kind of root. Once separated, it loses the power of memory it previously possessed.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

Codex gpt-5.6-sol · Non-official working translation · 2026-09-11

Selon Héraclite, nous devenons intelligents en aspirant cette raison divine par la respiration; dans le sommeil, nous devenons oublieux, puis, au réveil, de nouveau raisonnables. Dans le sommeil, en effet, les conduits sensoriels étant fermés, l'intelligence qui est en nous se sépare de son union naturelle avec ce qui nous enveloppe; seule demeure l'adhérence produite par la respiration, comme une sorte de racine. Une fois séparée, elle perd la puissance de mémoire qu'elle possédait auparavant.

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