Public domain The work and displayed translations are recorded as public domain or from an open transcription.

Sextus Empiricus

Against the Professors, Books I-VI of Against the Learned Section 31

Section 31 of 757

Canonical reference 1.31

Ancient Greek

Hermann Mutschmann and Jürgen Mau, editors · adversus-grc

Περὶ τοῦ διδάσκοντος καὶ μανθάνοντος Εἰ γὰρ ἔστι τις τούτων, ἤτοι ὁ ἄτεχνος τὸν ὁμοίως ἄτεχνον διδάξει ἢ ὁ τεχνίτης τὸν ὁμοίως τεχνίτην ἢ ὁ ἄτεχνος τὸν τεχνίτην ἢ ἀνάπαλιν. οὔτε δέ ὁ ἄτεχνος τὸν ἄτεχνον δύναται διδάσκειν, ὡς οὐδὲ ὁ τυφλὸς τὸν τυφλὸν ὁδηγεῖν, οὔτε ὁ τεχνίτης τὸν ὁμοίως τεχνίτην οὐδέτερος γὰρ αὐτῶν ἐδεῖτο μαθήσεως, καὶ οὐ μιᾶλλον οὗτος ἐκείνου ἢ ἐκεῖνος τούτου χρείαν ἔχει πρὸς τὸ μανθάνειν, τοῖς ἴσοις περιουσιαζόμενοι.

English AI-generated translation, non-official

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

Concerning the Teacher and the Learner

If either of these exists, either the unskilled person will teach one who is likewise unskilled, or the expert one who is likewise expert, or the unskilled person the expert, or conversely. But the unskilled person cannot teach the unskilled, any more than one blind person can guide another. Nor can the expert teach one who is likewise expert, since neither of them needs learning, and the one has no more need of the other for learning than the other has of him, both possessing equal resources.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

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

De l’enseignant et de l’apprenant

Si l’un d’eux existe, ou bien l’homme sans art enseignera à un homme pareillement sans art, ou l’homme de l’art à un homme pareillement versé dans l’art, ou l’homme sans art à l’homme de l’art, ou l’inverse. Mais l’homme sans art ne peut enseigner à l’homme sans art, pas plus qu’un aveugle ne peut guider un aveugle. L’homme de l’art ne peut non plus enseigner à un homme pareillement versé dans l’art, car aucun des deux n’a besoin d’apprendre et l’un n’a pas plus besoin de l’autre que l’autre de lui pour apprendre, puisqu’ils disposent des mêmes ressources.

Concepts in this passage

Before reading

What you will learn

Open the full record