Demetrius Phalereus, that "Men having often abandoned what was visible for the sake of what was uncertain, have not got what they expected, and have lost what they had,—being unfortunate by an enigmatical sort of calamity."" - Meaning and context.">
VI, 23, referring to mining operations.
“

It was a saying of Demetrius Phalereus, that "Men having often abandoned what was visible for the sake of what was uncertain, have not got what they expected, and have lost what they had,—being unfortunate by an enigmatical sort of calamity."

— Athenaeus

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "It was a saying of Demetrius Phalereus, that "Men having often abandoned what was visible for the sake of what was uncertain, have not got what they expected, and have lost what they had,—being unfortunate by an enigmatical sort of calamity."" in the context of "VI, 23, referring to mining operations." to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Athenaeus" (Quotes, Deipnosophistae (2nd century)) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Athenaeus

About Athenaeus

Athenaeus (Ancient Greek: Ἀθήναιος Nαυκράτιος, Athếnaios Naukratios; Latin: Athenaeus Naucratita), of Naucratis in Egypt, Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourished about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century A.D. Suidas only tells us that he lived in the times of Marcus; but the contempt with which he speaks of Commodus (died 192) shows that he survived that emperor.