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Sextus Empiricus

Against the Professors, Books I-VI of Against the Learned Section 67

Section 756 of 757

Canonical reference 6.67

Ancient Greek

Hermann Mutschmann and Jürgen Mau, editors · adversus-grc

εἴπερ ἀμερές ἐστι τὸ ἐνεστὼς τοῦ χρόνου, οὔτε ἀρχὴν ἔχει ἀφʼ ἧς ἄρχεται, οὔτε πέρας ἐφʼ ὃ κατα- λήγει, διὰ δὲ τοῦτο οὐδὲ μέσον· καὶ οὕτως οὐκ ἔσται ὁ ἐνεστὼς χρόνος. εἰ δὲ μεριστός ἐστιν, εἰ μὲν εἰς τοὺς μὴ ὄντας χρόνους μερίζεται, οὐκ ἔσται χρόνος, εἰ δʼ εἰς τοὺς ὄντας χρόνους, οὐκ ἔσται ὅλος ὁ χρόνος, ἀλλὰ τῶν μερῶν αὐτοῦ τινὰ μὲν ἔσται τινὰ δὲ οὐκ ἔσται. τοίνυν οὐδέν ἐστι χρόνος, διὰ δὲ τοῦτο οὐδὲ πόδες, οὐδὲ ῥυθμοί, οὐδʼ ἡ περὶ τούς ῥυθμούς ἐπιστήμη.

English AI-generated translation, non-official

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

if the present part of time is without parts, it has neither a beginning from which it begins nor an end at which it terminates, and therefore no middle either. Thus present time will not exist. But if it is divisible, then if it is divided into times that do not exist, time will not exist; and if it is divided into times that do exist, time will not exist as a whole, but some of its parts will exist and others will not. Therefore time is nothing, and consequently neither are there feet, rhythms, or a science of rhythms.

French AI-generated translation, non-official

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

si le présent du temps est indivisible, il ne possède ni commencement à partir duquel il commence, ni terme auquel il aboutit, et, par conséquent, il ne possède pas non plus de milieu. Ainsi, le temps présent n’existera pas. S’il est divisible, ou bien il se divise en temps inexistants, et le temps n’existera pas, ou bien en temps existants, et le temps ne sera pas tout entier, mais certaines de ses parties existeront et d’autres n’existeront pas. Le temps n’est donc rien. Par conséquent, il n’existe ni pieds, ni rythmes, ni science portant sur les rythmes.

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