Heraclitus on First (and Further) Hearings

Abstract

Abstract The words τὸ πρῶτον in Heraclitus B1 have been subjected to competing construals, yet this dilemma, and its stakes, are almost never discussed. We argue that the common translation of ἀκούσαντες τὸ πρῶτον, ‘when once they have heard it’, faces insurmountable philosophical, stylistic, and linguistic objections. We make a new case for the alternative construal, ‘after they have heard it for the first time’. This yields a linguistically better account of the Greek, and a philosophically more satisfying one in the broader context of B1 and Heraclitus’ thought. Finally, we examine the larger programmatic implications of the small phrase τὸ πρῶτον for Heraclitus’ book.