Xenophanes
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| + | "But if cattle and horses and lions had hands [[But if cattle and horses and lions had hands|[...]]]" --Xenophanes | ||
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| - | A '''practical joke''' or '''prank''' is a situation set up usually to produce what the perpetrator imagines to be a humorous outcome at the expense of the target. Practical jokes are distinct from [[slapstick comedy]] or knockabout, in which the goal is to make physical events appear miscalculated, inept, or stupid. The term ''practical'' refers to the fact that the joke consists of someone doing something (a 'practice'), rather than a verbal or written joke. | + | '''Xenophanes of [[Colophon (city)|Colophon]]''' ([[6th-century BC]]) was a [[Greece|Greek]] [[philosopher]], [[theologian]], [[poet]], and social and religious [[critic]]. Xenophanes lived a life of travel, having left Ionia at the age of 25 and continuing to travel throughout the Greek world for another 67 years. Some scholars say he lived in exile in Siciliy. Knowledge of his views comes from fragments of his poetry, surviving as quotations by later Greek writers. To judge from these, his [[elegiac]] and [[Iamb (foot)|iambic]] poetry criticized and [[satire|satirized]] a wide range of ideas, including [[Homer]] and [[Hesiod]], the belief in the [[pantheon (gods)|pantheon]] of [[anthropomorphic gods]] and the Greeks' veneration of [[athleticism]]. He is the earliest Greek poet who claims explicitly to be writing for future generations, creating "''fame that will reach all of Greece, and never die while the Greek kind of songs survives.''" |
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| - | Since the set-up or deception is generally eventually revealed to the victim, the butt of the joke is thereby made to feel foolish or victimized. Therefore there is an inherent strain of [[cruelty]] in most practical jokes. There is no clean-cut boundary between practical jokes and [[hooliganism]], [[vandalism]], or [[sadism]]. | + | |
| - | Well-known practical jokers include the illustrator [[Hugh Troy]] and the publicist [[Jim Moran (publicist)|Jim Moran]]. | + | ==Theology== |
| + | Xenophanes' surviving writings display a skepticism that became more commonly expressed during the fourth century. He satirized traditional religious views of his time as human [[Psychological projection|projections]], and for this he is often regarded as the "[[Ludwig Feuerbach|Feuerbach]] of Antiquity," who did the same for [[Christianity]]. He aimed his critique at the polytheistic religious views of earlier Greek poets and of his own contemporaries: "Homer and Hesiod." One fragment states, "have attributed to the gods all sorts of things that are matters of reproach and censure among men: theft, adultery, and mutual deception." [[Sextus Empiricus]] reported that such observations were appreciated by [[Christian apologists]]. Xenophanes is quoted, memorably, in [[Clement of Alexandria]], arguing against the conception of [[gods as fundamentally anthropomorphic]]: | ||
| + | <blockquote>But if cattle and horses and lions had hands<br>or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,<br>horses like horses and cattle like cattle<br>also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies<br>of such a sort as the form they themselves have.<br>...<br>[[Ethiopians]] say that their gods are snub–nosed [σιμούς] and black<br>[[Thracians]] that they are pale and red-haired. | ||
| + | </blockquote> | ||
| + | Other passages quoted by Clement of Alexandria that argue against the traditional Greek conception of gods include: | ||
| + | # "One god, greatest among gods and humans,<br>like mortals neither in form nor in thought." | ||
| + | # "But mortals think that the gods are born<br>and have the mortals' own clothes and voice and form." | ||
| + | Regarding Xenophanes' theology five key concepts about God can be formed. God is: beyond human morality, does not resemble human form, cannot die or be born (God is divine thus eternal), no divine hierarchy exists, and God does not intervene in human affairs. While Xenophanes is rejecting Homeric theology, he is not questioning the presence of a divine entity, rather his philosophy is a critique on Ancient Greek writers and their conception of divinity There is also the concept of God being whole with the universe, essentially controlling it, while at the same time being physically unconnected. | ||
| - | The ''Trapezium'' of [[Xenophanes]] was cited by [[Aristotle]] as a notable compendium of practical jokes, but only a few fragments of this work have survived. | + | Xenophanes espoused a belief that "[[God]] is one, supreme among gods and men, and not like mortals in body or in mind." He maintained there was one greatest God. God is one eternal being, spherical in form, comprehending all things within himself, is intelligent, and moves all things, but bears no resemblance to human nature either in body or mind. He is considered by some to be a precursor to [[Parmenides]] and [[Baruch Spinoza|Spinoza]]. Because of his development of the concept of a "one [[god]] greatest among gods and men" that is abstract, universal, unchanging, immobile and always present, Xenophanes is often seen as one of the first [[Monotheism|monotheists]], in the [[Western world|Western]] philosophy of [[religion]], although the quotation that seems to point to Xenophanes's monotheism also refers to multiple "gods" who the supreme God is greater than. |
| - | The American humorist [[H. Allen Smith]] wrote a 320-page book in 1953 called ''The Compleat Practical Joker'' that contains many examples of practical jokes. A typical one, recalled as his favorite by the [[playwright]] [[Charles MacArthur]], concerns the American painter and [[Bohemianism|bohemian]] character [[Waldo Peirce]]. Peirce was living in [[Paris]] in the 1920s and made a gift of a very small turtle to the woman who was the [[concierge]] of his building. The woman doted on the turtle and lavished it with care and affection. A few days later Peirce substituted a somewhat larger turtle for the original one. This continued for some time, with larger and larger turtles being surreptitiously introduced into the woman's apartment. The concierge was beside herself with happiness and displayed her miraculous turtle to the entire neighborhood. Peirce then began to sneak in and replace the turtle with smaller and smaller ones, to her bewildered distress. This was the storyline behind ''[[Esio Trot]]'', by [[Roald Dahl]]. | ||
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"But if cattle and horses and lions had hands [...]" --Xenophanes |
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Xenophanes of Colophon (6th-century BC) was a Greek philosopher, theologian, poet, and social and religious critic. Xenophanes lived a life of travel, having left Ionia at the age of 25 and continuing to travel throughout the Greek world for another 67 years. Some scholars say he lived in exile in Siciliy. Knowledge of his views comes from fragments of his poetry, surviving as quotations by later Greek writers. To judge from these, his elegiac and iambic poetry criticized and satirized a wide range of ideas, including Homer and Hesiod, the belief in the pantheon of anthropomorphic gods and the Greeks' veneration of athleticism. He is the earliest Greek poet who claims explicitly to be writing for future generations, creating "fame that will reach all of Greece, and never die while the Greek kind of songs survives."
Theology
Xenophanes' surviving writings display a skepticism that became more commonly expressed during the fourth century. He satirized traditional religious views of his time as human projections, and for this he is often regarded as the "Feuerbach of Antiquity," who did the same for Christianity. He aimed his critique at the polytheistic religious views of earlier Greek poets and of his own contemporaries: "Homer and Hesiod." One fragment states, "have attributed to the gods all sorts of things that are matters of reproach and censure among men: theft, adultery, and mutual deception." Sextus Empiricus reported that such observations were appreciated by Christian apologists. Xenophanes is quoted, memorably, in Clement of Alexandria, arguing against the conception of gods as fundamentally anthropomorphic:
But if cattle and horses and lions had hands
or could paint with their hands and create works such as men do,
horses like horses and cattle like cattle
also would depict the gods' shapes and make their bodies
of such a sort as the form they themselves have.
...
Ethiopians say that their gods are snub–nosed [σιμούς] and black
Thracians that they are pale and red-haired.
Other passages quoted by Clement of Alexandria that argue against the traditional Greek conception of gods include:
- "One god, greatest among gods and humans,
like mortals neither in form nor in thought." - "But mortals think that the gods are born
and have the mortals' own clothes and voice and form."
Regarding Xenophanes' theology five key concepts about God can be formed. God is: beyond human morality, does not resemble human form, cannot die or be born (God is divine thus eternal), no divine hierarchy exists, and God does not intervene in human affairs. While Xenophanes is rejecting Homeric theology, he is not questioning the presence of a divine entity, rather his philosophy is a critique on Ancient Greek writers and their conception of divinity There is also the concept of God being whole with the universe, essentially controlling it, while at the same time being physically unconnected.
Xenophanes espoused a belief that "God is one, supreme among gods and men, and not like mortals in body or in mind." He maintained there was one greatest God. God is one eternal being, spherical in form, comprehending all things within himself, is intelligent, and moves all things, but bears no resemblance to human nature either in body or mind. He is considered by some to be a precursor to Parmenides and Spinoza. Because of his development of the concept of a "one god greatest among gods and men" that is abstract, universal, unchanging, immobile and always present, Xenophanes is often seen as one of the first monotheists, in the Western philosophy of religion, although the quotation that seems to point to Xenophanes's monotheism also refers to multiple "gods" who the supreme God is greater than.
