Author Topic: Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.  (Read 667 times)

BeckyM

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Hi There,

Hoping I can get some help getting this quote by Plato translated to Ancient Greek for a tattoo I will be getting. I believe he would have written it in "Attic" so if that translation would be possible that would be fantastic!

Thanks very much :)


billberg23

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Τί δέ τις; Τί δ' οὔ τις; Σκιᾶς ὄναρ ἄνθρωπος. — Πίνδαρος

BeckyM

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Thanks for the info - I actually know that quote can't be found in any of Plato's writings, that's why I couldn't find a translation myself in the records of his books. I think one of the main reasons people believe it is by Plato is because of all of the sources such as "Wordsworth Dictionary of Musical Quotations" that attribute this quote to Plato even though none of them cite which book the quotation is from. And also like you said, Plato’s Republic shows an obvious love for music, however censored he believed it should be. I have read a few articles on the subject, some believe this quote is from him but was not published in a public book and might have been in his personal writings, while others believe it was not from him at all but by another philosopher of that time such as Aristotle. Any how I just thought it was a beautiful quote from that time period and would look even more beautiful in Attic, I guess I shouldn't have added the "Plato" to the end though since there seems to be confusion on who it is actually from. Thanks very much anyways though for your time and information :)


billberg23

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others believe it was not from him at all but by another philosopher of that time such as Aristotle. Any how I just thought it was a beautiful quote from that time period
The quotation actually reflects a very modern sentiment.  It's not representative of Plato's thought (as I tried to indicate in my note), nor do I think it would have occurred to any ancient author, Greek or Roman.
Do read, however, what Plato or other ancient authors actually have to say about music, and we'll be happy to give you the original Greek for whatever you pick as your favorite quotations!

BeckyM

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Yes those articles were just by individual's expressing their personal believes - no solid evidence.There are actually a few quotes by ancient Greek authors I love so I might just take you up on that in the future. Thanks again so much for the quick responses and informative answers! You have been of great help.