τῷ κατανοουμένῳ τὸ κατανοοῦν ἐξομοιῶσαι

[RockNote]

I have trouble deciding which is "the part that thinks" and which is "the object of its thought" in the phrase below:

τῷ κατανοουμένῳ τὸ κατανοοῦν ἐξομοιῶσαι

[90d] are the intellections and revolutions of the Universe. These each one of us should follow, rectifying the revolutions within our head, which were distorted at our birth, by learning the harmonies and revolutions of the Universe, and thereby making the part that thinks like unto the object of its thought [τῷ κατανοουμένῳ τὸ κατανοοῦν ἐξομοιῶσαι], in accordance with its original nature, and having achieved this likeness attain finally to that goal of life which is set before men by the gods as the most good both for the present and for the time to come.

[90δ] καὶ περιφοραί: ταύταις δὴ συνεπόμενον ἕκαστον δεῖ, τὰς περὶ τὴν γένεσιν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ διεφθαρμένας ἡμῶν περιόδους ἐξορθοῦντα διὰ τὸ καταμανθάνειν τὰς τοῦ παντὸς ἁρμονίας τε καὶ περιφοράς, τῷ κατανοουμένῳ τὸ κατανοοῦν ἐξομοιῶσαι κατὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φύσιν, ὁμοιώσαντα δὲ τέλος ἔχειν τοῦ προτεθέντος ἀνθρώποις ὑπὸ θεῶν ἀρίστου βίου πρός τε τὸν παρόντα καὶ τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον.

Source: Plato, Timaeus, section 90d

 

[bearded]

Hello

τὸ κατανοοῦν = 'what thinks' (active participle)
τῷ κατανοουμένῳ = (to) 'what is thought' (passive participle in dative case)

 

[RockNote]

Thank you very much, Mr Bearded! It makes sense to me what you write. But just to make sure I understand correctly, would you say this translation does justice to the grammar of the original Greek?

'to equalize' (ἐξομοιῶσαι) 'what thinks' (τὸ κατανοοῦν) 'with what is thought' (τῷ κατανοουμένῳ).

 

[bearded]

this translation does justice to the grammar of the original Greek?

I think it does, but Plato's philosophy is too complicated for me, and I am no expert in that field.
However, I remember the more modern motto 'Anything real is also rational' - so maybe in the end the thing and the thought have the same nature...?

 

[RockNote]

Great! Thank you so much for your confirmation. You're quite right about the real and the rational. More specifically, Plato's thought at this juncture concerns the revolution of the heavenly bodies. These spheres go round in a circle, which is a model for reason, and so the stars and the planets of the universe become man's teachers, "rectifying the revolutions within our head, which were distorted at our birth."

I love Plato! ❤️