Sunday, March 02, 2025
Who First Sneezed?
Julian, Orations 7.205 C (tr. Wilmer Cave Wright):
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Now one could no more discover where myth was originally invented and who was the first to compose fiction in a plausible manner for the benefit or entertainment of his hearers, than if one were to try to find out who was the first man that sneezed or the first horse that neighed.
ὁ πρῶτος ἐπιχειρήσας τὸ ψεῦδος πιθανῶς συνθεῖναι πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ἢ ψυχαγωγίαν τῶν ἀκροωμένων, οὐ μᾶλλον εὔροι τις ἂν ἢ εἴ τις ἐπιχειρήσεις τὸν πρῶτον πταρόντα ἢ χρεμψάμενον ἀναζητεῖν.
