The Tufts Perseus site transliterates this as “gêraskô d' aiei polla didaskomenos” so there is an additional word (maybe “many”). Gerasko has something to do with geriatric and didasko sounds likes didactic so that it is like learning. Menos is person. One translation gives “but I grow old ever learning many things”. (This may come from Theodor Bergk’s reference article in Harry Thurston Peck, “Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities” -1898). Is this "older but wiser?"
Apparently every modern Greek child learns this quotation. I have heard attributions to Plato, Socrates, Solon, and others. Rapidis below notes that Greek high school texts have been somewhat simplified and expurgated. He has found many instances where Plato (in particular) has had somewhat risque or erotic passages removed.
Parenthetically, this has relevance to the question of potential SETI message content. Here is something from 2000 years ago where we have a message in an archaic form, probably not meant to be ageless. Unlike some ancient texts (linear A?) we can translate it. But can we understand nuance, etc? Do we understand the context of the phrase and the context of Greek life enough to be sure we have a fairly clear picture of what this means? Unlike SETI, where we worry about a Trojan horse, we do not anticipate a hidden motivation and hidden embedded messages (Steganography).
My sources are Petros Rapidis (rapidis@fnal.gov), Adrian Melissinos (meliss@pas.rochester.edu), Vasilly Papavassiliou (pvs@nmsu.edu), and Ralph Bohn (ralphbohn@connectnc.net).
Decimal Time
Unlike the
metric system of
measurements, decimal time did not survive the French Revolution. But
is dividing the day a
possibility for the future?
"
La Convention, pour rendre complet le système de numération décimale, a décrete, en conséquence, que le jour serait divisé
en dix parties, chaque partie en
dix autres, et ainsi de suite, jusqu'à la
plus petite portion commensurable de la durée…”
(from J. Guillaume, ed.
1890-1907. Proces-verbaux du Comite
d'Instruction Publique de la Convention Nationale 2:882.)
Excellent
examples of Revolutionary
decimal watches and clocks exist at the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers (Paris). The
Good set of links Note particularly
the working clock at LARGE
And for interesting dials