The phrase "οὐ τῷ ἀσθενεστάτῳ σοφιστῇ" directly translates to "not the weakest sophist,"(Hdt. 4, p. 297, §95.3) and in the context of ancient Greek literature, this phrasing can be used to imply that the subject is quite the opposite: someone of considerable strength or significance. Burnet (1920), p. 97 This rhetorical technique is known as litotes, a form of understatement that uses a negative to emphasize a positive quality. Hence this sentence was translated as "one of the greatest Greek teachers, Pythagoras" by A. D. Godley to avoid confusion. ——— (1920) [c. 430 BC]. "Book IV". The Persian Wars. Vol. II. Translated by Godley, A. D. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99131-6. OCLC966656315 – via Perseus Digital Library (perseus.tufts.edu). ——— (1920) [c. 525 BC]. "Science and Religion". Early Greek Philosophy. Translated by Burnet, John (3rd ed.). London: A. & C. Black, Ltd. p. 118. OCLC3610194 – via Internet Archive.. [An English translation of DK 21B7.]
Cfr. Cicero, De Re Publica, pp. 137–139, §2.15.28–§2.15.30 Cicero (1928) [c. 52 BC]. "De Re Publica". On the Republic. On the Laws (De Re Publica. De Legibus). Vol. XVI. Translated by Keyes, Clinton W. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99235-1. OCLC298443420 – via Internet Archive.
Plutarch, de Esu Carn, pp. 540–545, 557–571, §993, §996, §997. ——— (1957) [c. 100 AD]. "On the Eating of Flesh (Du Esu Carnium)". Plutarch's Moralia. Vol. XII. Translated by Helmbold, William C.; Cherniss, Harold. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd – via Internet Archive.
Bregman (2002), p. 186. Bregman, Jay (2002). "Neoplatonism and American Aesthetics". In Alexandrakis, Aphrodite; Moulafakis, Nicholas J. (eds.). Neoplatonism and Western Aesthetics. Studies in Neoplatonism: Ancient and Modern. Vol. 12. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN978-0-7914-5280-6.
The phrase "οὐ τῷ ἀσθενεστάτῳ σοφιστῇ" directly translates to "not the weakest sophist,"(Hdt. 4, p. 297, §95.3) and in the context of ancient Greek literature, this phrasing can be used to imply that the subject is quite the opposite: someone of considerable strength or significance. Burnet (1920), p. 97 This rhetorical technique is known as litotes, a form of understatement that uses a negative to emphasize a positive quality. Hence this sentence was translated as "one of the greatest Greek teachers, Pythagoras" by A. D. Godley to avoid confusion. ——— (1920) [c. 430 BC]. "Book IV". The Persian Wars. Vol. II. Translated by Godley, A. D. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99131-6. OCLC966656315 – via Perseus Digital Library (perseus.tufts.edu). ——— (1920) [c. 525 BC]. "Science and Religion". Early Greek Philosophy. Translated by Burnet, John (3rd ed.). London: A. & C. Black, Ltd. p. 118. OCLC3610194 – via Internet Archive.. [An English translation of DK 21B7.]
Xenophanes' Poem (or Elegies) on Pythagorus is provided below, which was preserved in Diog VIII, §1.36:
Greek: περὶ δὲ τοῦ ἄλλοτε ἄλλον γεγενῆσθαι (Pythagoras) Ζενοφάνης ἐν ἐλεγείαι προσμαρτυρεῖ, ἧς ἀρχή 'νῦν... κέλενθον'. ὃ δὲ περὶ αὐτοῦ (Pythagoras) φησιν, οὕτως ἔχει καί... αἰών'. νῦν αὖτ' ἄλλον ἔπειμι λόγον, δείξω δὲ κέλευθον. καί ποτέ μιν στυφελιζομένου σκύλακος παριόντα φασὶν ἐποικτῖραι καὶ τόδε φάσθαι ἔπος "παῦσαι μηδὲ ῥάπιζε, ἐπεὶ ἡ φίλου ἀνέρος ἐστὶν ψυχή, τὴν ἔγνων φθεγξαμένης αὐδῆς." ——— (1925) [c. 200 AD]. "Book VIII". Lives of the Eminent Philosophers. Vol. II. Translated by Hicks, Robert Drew. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99204-7. OCLC758307224 – via Wikisource.
The phrase "οὐ τῷ ἀσθενεστάτῳ σοφιστῇ" directly translates to "not the weakest sophist,"(Hdt. 4, p. 297, §95.3) and in the context of ancient Greek literature, this phrasing can be used to imply that the subject is quite the opposite: someone of considerable strength or significance. Burnet (1920), p. 97 This rhetorical technique is known as litotes, a form of understatement that uses a negative to emphasize a positive quality. Hence this sentence was translated as "one of the greatest Greek teachers, Pythagoras" by A. D. Godley to avoid confusion. ——— (1920) [c. 430 BC]. "Book IV". The Persian Wars. Vol. II. Translated by Godley, A. D. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99131-6. OCLC966656315 – via Perseus Digital Library (perseus.tufts.edu). ——— (1920) [c. 525 BC]. "Science and Religion". Early Greek Philosophy. Translated by Burnet, John (3rd ed.). London: A. & C. Black, Ltd. p. 118. OCLC3610194 – via Internet Archive.. [An English translation of DK 21B7.]
De Vogel (1966), pp. 21ff. De Vogel, Cornelia J. (1966). Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism: An Interpretation of Neglected Evidence on the Philosopher Pythagoras. Assen: Van Gorcum. OCLC513833.
Cfr. Cicero, De Re Publica, pp. 137–139, §2.15.28–§2.15.30 Cicero (1928) [c. 52 BC]. "De Re Publica". On the Republic. On the Laws (De Re Publica. De Legibus). Vol. XVI. Translated by Keyes, Clinton W. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts and London: Harvard University Press and William Heinemann Ltd. ISBN978-0-674-99235-1. OCLC298443420 – via Internet Archive.
De Vogel (1966), pp. 148–150. De Vogel, Cornelia J. (1966). Pythagoras and Early Pythagoreanism: An Interpretation of Neglected Evidence on the Philosopher Pythagoras. Assen: Van Gorcum. OCLC513833.
Russo (2004), pp. 5–87, especially 51–53. Russo, Attilio (2004). "Costantino Lascaris tra fama e oblio nel Cinquecento messinese". Archivio Storico Messinese. LXXXIV–LXXXV: 5–87, especially 51–53. ISSN0392-0240.