70. Mêtrodôrus of Chios

Ancilla to the Pre-Socratic Philosophers, by Kathleen Freeman, [1948], at sacred-texts.com

70. MÊTRODÔRUS OF CHIOS

Mêtrodôrus of Chios lived at some time during the fourth century B.C. He wrote a book On Natural Science; and perhaps works on The History of Ionia and The Trojan War.

1. None of us knows anything, not even whether we know or do not know, nor do we know whether not knowing and knowing exist, nor in general whether there is anything or not.

p. 121

2. Everything exists which anyone perceives.

3-5. (From a work on 'The Trojan War').

3. (Marsyas discovered the reed pipe among the Celaenae).

4. (Divine visitants command that an acropolis shall be built for the Spartan king, in which he is to live).

5. (Grammatical comment on Homer, ascribed to 'Metrodorus', who may be Metrodorus of Lampsacus).

6. (History of Ionia: the people of Smyrna, who are Aeolians by origin, sacrifice a black bull to Boubrôstis: they cut it up and burn it, hide and all).