Gadfly, the Wisest Man: Part 1 Exordinate
Exordinate
XENOPHON
O Athenians, I will tell you a great story.
About the wisest and happiest man who ever lived.
It is a sorrow that he is dead
And even more so than through injustice, his time has come.
But here is where his great work shines,
For he did that which no man ever did.
Although he never left us anything in writing,
For his admirable and graceful work,
Like his soul, he lodges onto our memories.
He was the happiest in spite of everything he suffered alive,
Not because inside he lacked torment,
But because of its perennial strength and strive,
For neither fear nor insults defeated him.
The happy man is not happy because he shows joy.
The happy man is happy for everything he transforms.
The happy to suffering, pain, and setback takes,
And he engenders love, humanity and wisdom.
The happy man does not stop in his quarrel,
And with his struggle he ignites and enlightens others,
Even with pain inside, the other one is comforted by him.
Let it be told, then, what this man was worth,
Actions, rather than words, have more hierarchy.
So, without further ado, let’s go down in history
About his exhausting and difficult last days,
About the man who not only shook men,
But even the gods themselves he stirred up.
I will never know of someone with such wisdom,
And with so much happiness there will never be a man.
Let us then move joyfully into this life,
To the legend of the father of philosophy
That with his beautiful words, thousands of hearts burned,
That although he harbored perpetual melancholy,
He imposed himself without giving in to show his nobility.
So I demand attention and courtesy,
So they can see why he became famous,
And that he even became infamous.
This was the happiest, wisest and most enormous man.
The one that made gods look like men.
This, then, is the anecdote of Socrates,
The wisest gadfly and midwife of men.
Previous part:
Next part:
