Heraclitus, fr.B52 DK

A mysterious fragment which Heidegger found especially interesting. As G.W. Most says, the sentence seems ‘to be performing a kind of verbal game’ with pieces of words being moved around ‘like checkers on a board’.

αἰὼν παῖς ἐστι παίζων, πεσσεύων· παιδὸς ἡ βασιληίη.

A lifetime is a child playing, moving pieces in a game; the kingly power is a child’s.

Heraclitus, fr. DK B13

ὕες βορβόρῳ ἥδονται μᾶλλον ἢ καθαρῷ ὕδατι.

Pigs take more pleasure in a mire than in clean water.