Heraclitus' Fragment B 52 DK Re-examined

Abstract

This paper (re-) examines two sources of information about Heraclitus' fragment 22 B 52 DK, which are at the same time the sources of confusion when it comes to its interpretation: the meanings of the lexical elements that constitute the saying and the ancient testimonies that refer to it. The relevant ancient sources commonly recognise the importance of the theme of the unity of opposites in the fragment and the analysis of the fragment's wording yields the same conclusion. It renders the saying as an original take on the popular subject of the unpredictability of human existence: the central paradox of the pi epsilon sigma sigma epsilon iota alpha-playing child illustrates the essential uniformity behind the apparent changeability of the course of human life. Thus, the fragment may be seen as yet another expression of the universal rule of law and regularity characteristic of Heraclitus' philosophy.