880. Philosophus Atheniensis. Mos erat apud Athenas quod qui voluit haberi pro philosopho, bene verberaretur et, si patienter se haberet, pro philosopho haberetur. Quidam autem bene verberabatur et, antequam iudicatum esset quod philosophus haberetur, statim post verbera exclamavit dicens, “Bene sum dignus vocari philosophus.” Et respondit ei quidam, “Frater, si tacuisses, philosophus esses.”
M0880 = Perry623. Source: Odo, Fable 70. This is Perry 623. This story about the philosopher remaining silent derives from a passage in Boethius’s Consolation of Philosophy, where the test of a philosopher is whether he can endure being insulted with equanimity. Compare the story of the philosophical pig, see #333.
