Fragments

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher born in approximately 535 BC in the ancient city of Ephesus, then a part of the Persian Empire. While little is known of his early years, Heraclitus rejected his privileged upbringing and lived isolated and lonely. He was often plagued by periods of depression, earning him the moniker the “Weeping Philosopher”. He is most well-known for his philosophy of change and flux and is attributed with writing the phrase “No man ever steps in the same river twice”. Heraclitus believed in the harmony of the world and the unity of opposites, stating that “the path up and down are one and the same”. According to Diogenes, Heraclitus worked for many years on a single “continuous treatise On Nature”, which “was divided into three discourses, one on the universe, another on politics, and a third on theology”. Unfortunately, only fragments of this monumental work remain and many of the ideas believed to have originated with Heraclitus may only be found in the works of other authors. Those fragments are presented here in a translation and with critical commentary by G. T. W. Patrick. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Fragments of wisdom from the ancient world In the sixth century b.c.-twenty-five hundred years before Einstein--Heraclitus of Ephesus declared that energy is the essence of matter, that everything becomes energy in flux, in relativity. His great book, On Nature , the world's first coherent philosophical treatise and touchstone for Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius, has long been lost to history--but its surviving fragments have for thousands of years tantalized our greatest thinkers, from Montaigne to Nietzsche, Heidegger to Jung. Now, acclaimed poet Brooks Haxton presents a powerful free-verse translation of all 130 surviving fragments of the teachings of Heraclitus, with the ancient Greek originals beautifully reproduced en face . For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Heraclitus of Ephesus was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher born in approximately 535 BC in the ancient city of Ephesus, then a part of the Persian Empire. While little is known of his early years, Heraclitus rejected his privileged upbringing and lived isolated and lonely. He was often plagued by periods of depression, earning him the moniker the “Weeping Philosopher”. He is most well-known for his philosophy of change and flux and is attributed with writing the phrase “No man ever steps in the same river twice”. Heraclitus believed in the harmony of the world and the unity of opposites, stating that “the path up and down are one and the same”. According to Diogenes, Heraclitus worked for many years on a single “continuous treatise On Nature”, which “was divided into three discourses, one on the universe, another on politics, and a third on theology”. Unfortunately, only fragments of this monumental work remain and many of the ideas believed to have originated with Heraclitus may only be found in the works of other authors. Those fragments are presented here in a translation and with critical commentary by G. T. W. Patrick. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.

Ancient Athens’ most successful tragedian. Sophocles (497/6–406 BC), the second of the three great tragedians of Athens and by common consent one of the world’s greatest poets, wrote more than 120 plays. Only seven of these survive complete, but we have a wealth of fragments, from which much can be learned about Sophocles’ language and dramatic art. This volume presents a collection of all the major fragments, ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers . Prefatory notes provide frameworks for the fragments of known plays. Many of the Sophoclean fragments were preserved by quotation in other authors; others, some of considerable size, are known to us from papyri discovered during the past century. Among the lost plays of which we have large fragments, The Searchers shows the god Hermes, soon after his birth, playing an amusing trick on his brother Apollo; Inachus portrays Zeus coming to Argos to seduce Io, the daughter of its king; and Niobe tells how Apollo and his sister Artemis punish Niobe for a slight upon their mother by killing her twelve children. Throughout the volume, as in the extant plays, we see Sophocles drawing his subjects from heroic legend. This is the final volume of Lloyd-Jones’ Loeb Classical Library edition of Sophocles. In Volumes I and II he gives a faithful and very skillful translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains Oedipus Tyrannus, Ajax, and Electra. Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, and Philoctetes.

Ancient Athens’ most successful tragedian. Sophocles (497/6–406 BC), the second of the three great tragedians of Athens and by common consent one of the world’s greatest poets, wrote more than 120 plays. Only seven of these survive complete, but we have a wealth of fragments, from which much can be learned about Sophocles’ language and dramatic art. This volume presents a collection of all the major fragments, ranging in length from two lines to a very substantial portion of the satyr play The Searchers . Prefatory notes provide frameworks for the fragments of known plays. Many of the Sophoclean fragments were preserved by quotation in other authors; others, some of considerable size, are known to us from papyri discovered during the past century. Among the lost plays of which we have large fragments, The Searchers shows the god Hermes, soon after his birth, playing an amusing trick on his brother Apollo; Inachus portrays Zeus coming to Argos to seduce Io, the daughter of its king; and Niobe tells how Apollo and his sister Artemis punish Niobe for a slight upon their mother by killing her twelve children. Throughout the volume, as in the extant plays, we see Sophocles drawing his subjects from heroic legend. This is the final volume of Lloyd-Jones’ Loeb Classical Library edition of Sophocles. In Volumes I and II he gives a faithful and very skillful translation of the seven surviving plays. Volume I contains Oedipus Tyrannus, Ajax, and Electra. Volume II contains Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, The Women of Trachis, and Philoctetes.

Fragments is an event--an unforgettable book that will redefine one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century and that, nearly fifty years after her death, will definitively reveal Marilyn Monroe's humanity. Marilyn's image is so universal that we can't help but believe we know all there is to know of her. Every word and gesture made headlines and garnered controversy. Her serious gifts as an actor were sometimes eclipsed by her notoriety--and by the way the camera fell helplessly in love with her. Beyond the headlines--and the too-familiar stories of heartbreak and desolation--was a woman far more curious, searching, witty, and hopeful than the one the world got to know. Now, for the first time, readers can meet the private Marilyn and understand her in a way we never have before. Fragments is an unprecedented collection of written artifacts--notes to herself, letters, even poems--in Marilyn's own handwriting, never before published, along with rarely seen intimate photos. Jotted in notebooks, typed on paper, or written on hotel letterhead, these texts reveal a woman who loved deeply and strove to perfect her craft. They show a Marilyn Monroe unsparing in her analysis of her own life, but also playful, funny, and impossibly charming. The easy grace and deceptive lightness that made her performances indelible emerge on the page, as does the simmering tragedy that made her last appearances so affecting.

Fragments is an event--an unforgettable book that will redefine one of the greatest icons of the twentieth century and that, nearly fifty years after her death, will definitively reveal Marilyn Monroe's humanity. Marilyn's image is so universal that we can't help but believe we know all there is to know of her. Every word and gesture made headlines and garnered controversy. Her serious gifts as an actor were sometimes eclipsed by her notoriety--and by the way the camera fell helplessly in love with her. Beyond the headlines--and the too-familiar stories of heartbreak and desolation--was a woman far more curious, searching, witty, and hopeful than the one the world got to know. Now, for the first time, readers can meet the private Marilyn and understand her in a way we never have before. Fragments is an unprecedented collection of written artifacts--notes to herself, letters, even poems--in Marilyn's own handwriting, never before published, along with rarely seen intimate photos. Jotted in notebooks, typed on paper, or written on hotel letterhead, these texts reveal a woman who loved deeply and strove to perfect her craft. They show a Marilyn Monroe unsparing in her analysis of her own life, but also playful, funny, and impossibly charming. The easy grace and deceptive lightness that made her performances indelible emerge on the page, as does the simmering tragedy that made her last appearances so affecting.