CHAPTER XI
THE PILGRIM COMES AMONG THE PHILOSOPHERS PUBLICLY
Then my interpreter said: "Now I will lead you among the philosophers, whose work it is to remedy the deficiencies of men, and to show wherein true wisdom consisteth." Then I said: "Here, at least I shall, thank God, learn something certain." He said: "Assuredly, for these are men who know the truth of everything; without their knowledge neither does heaven do anything nor the abyss conceal anything; they nobly guide the lives of men to virtue; they enlighten communities and lands. They have God for a friend, and by means of their wisdom penetrate His mysteries." "Let us go," I said; "let us go among them as soon as possible." But when he led me there, and I saw a large number of old men and their wondrous follies, I was amazed. There I beheld Bion sitting down quietly; there Anacharsis walked to and fro, Thales flew, Hesiod ploughed, Plato hunted in the skies for ideas, Homer sang, Aristotle disputed, Pythagoras was silent, Epimenides slept, Archimedes
