greek translations of quotes

[scom01]

hi there,

i was wondering if anyone knew where i might be able to find the literal (and fairly precise) greek versions of some of alexander's quotes, in particular, the quote "There is nothing impossible to him who will try".

thanks

steve

[jasonxx]

Hi With Regardsto Quotes.

My favourite quote with Alexander is probably not his.

I like the Richard Burton, Alexander Quote. To Philips new bride.


"What I am is on my face, And what I see is on my tongue"!

Probably not an Alexander quote but I think iot fits.

kenny

[marcus]

hi there,

i was wondering if anyone knew where i might be able to find the literal (and fairly precise) greek versions of some of alexander's quotes, in particular, the quote "There is nothing impossible to him who will try".

thanks

steve

All of Alexander's "quotes" were in Greek originally, of course. You need to go back to the Greek writers - Arrian, Diodorus and Plutarch, if you want the Greek words - but bear in mind, of course, that they were reporting his words well after his death, and we have no 100% accurate record of anything (or 100% positive identification of anything) that Alexander said (unless you count a couple of inscriptions - but he probably didn't actually tell the stonemason what to write).

ATB

[amyntoros]

I'll add my own question to this thread. Is "There is nothing impossible to him who will try" a known quote from the sources? It doesn't ring a bell with me, but then again it is a single sentence that probably wouldn't have resonated when reading any of Alexander's speeches. It may well be something Alexander said, but there are quite a few Alexander "quotes" out on the internet that are unfamiliar to me - this being one of them. Here's a full list from one of the Alexander the Great Quotes websites. As you can see, the above quote is the last one.

Heaven cannot brook two suns, nor earth two masters.

How great are the dangers I face to win a good name in Athens.

I am dying from the treatment of too many physicians.

I am dying with the help of too many physicians.

I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.

I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.

I had rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent, than in the extent of my power and dominion.

I would rather excel others in the knowledge of what is excellent than in the extent of my powers and dominion.

In faith and hope the world will disagree, But all mankind's concern is charity.

Remember upon the conduct of each depends the fate of all.

There is nothing impossible to him who will try.

Now, some of the above look vaguely familiar, but I'm not sure if Alexander actually said any of them! I can't give a single source reference anyway. Pothosians?

Best regards,

[sikander]

Greetings,

I suspect some of the "quotations" above are part confusion, part wishful thinking and *some* may be attributable but I have some doubts.

For example, the quote about "In faith and hope..." was awritten by Alexander *Pope* in his Essay on Man; it is also found in a slightly different version in the Corinthians of the Bible.

The quote about the army of sheep has also been attributed to Philip, Alexander's father.

For sourced quotes by Alexander the Great as well as a look at some quotes attributed to others but now credited to Alexander, see

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great

Also:
http://www.cybernation.com/quotationcen ... or&id=7187

Confusion results because on various quote collection sites, people are allowed to post without stating sources, so many quotes are attributed to "famous" persons inaccurately.

It would be interesting to take the oldest sources and pull Alexander quotes from them as a resource page.

Regards,
Sikander

[amyntoros]

For sourced quotes by Alexander the Great as well as a look at some quotes attributed to others but now credited to Alexander, see

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alexander_the_Great

Ah, but there's this on the wikiquote:

If it were not my purpose to combine barbarian things with things Hellenic, to traverse and civilize every continent, to search out the uttermost parts of land and sea, to push the bounds of Macedonia to the farthest Ocean, and to diseminate and shower the blessings of the Hellenic justice and peace over every nation, I should not be content to sit quietly in the luxury of idle power, but I should emulate the frugality of Diogenes. But as things are, forgive me Diogenes, that I imitate Herakles, and emulate Perseus, and follow in the footsteps of Dionysos, the divine author and progenitor of my family, and desire that victorius Hellenes should dance again in India and revive the memory of the Bacchic revels among the savage mountain tribes beyond the Kaukasos…
As quoted in "On the Fortune of Alexander" by Plutarch, 332 a-b

The person making the entry did not include the first part of the first sentence which reads:

But he said, "If I were not Alexander, I should be Diogenes"; that is to say:

In other words, the quote is Plutarch's lengthy interpretation of the one single line attributed to Alexander.

Best regards,

[Taphoi]

Curtius 7.11.10 has Alexander say:

Nihil tam alte natura constituit quo virtus non possit eniti.

Loosely, "Nature has placed nothing so high that it cannot be surmounted by valour."

However, I've got to admit that I'm at a loss regarding providing the original Greek

Best wishes,

Andrew

[Callisto]

hi there,

i was wondering if anyone knew where i might be able to find the literal (and fairly precise) greek versions of some of alexander's quotes, in particular, the quote "There is nothing impossible to him who will try".

thanks

steve

Hi,

This quote comes from the novel of Nikolaos Kazantzakis 'Alexander the great'.

http://www.amazon.com/Alexander-Great-N ... 0821406639

The actual quote of Kazantzakis's book was "Nothing is impossible for a man who wills it". I am inclined to believe most of these quotes are coming from this book and belong to the brilliant mind of Kazantzakis and not Alexander's.