Author Description

English summary: Xenophanes of Colophon, poet and thinker of the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century, is an enigmatic character. Regarding his life, only a few witness accounts remain. He criticized Homer and Hesiod for the "lies" they told regarding the subject of the gods and contended the popular beliefs, the superstitions, the received ideas and the behaviors of his contemporaries, which left for his successors a memory of a bitter satirist and an austere moralizer. However, Xenophanes is also linked to the history of philosophy: disciple of philosophers of Milet (Anaximander or Archelaus), he took a stance against the theories of Thales and Pythagoras, became the author of a didactic poem (On Nature), and was the first to affirm the unity of divinity and being. Unfortunately, his works are not well preserved. The remaining fragments are written in verse, in a language that attempts to bring together poetic archaisms, philosophical precision, rigor of reasoning, and modern vocabulary. Provided here are the original Greek text and its translation, supplemented by notes that provide an overview of the different poetic and philosophical interpretations of ancient and modern commentators. French text. French description: Xenophane de Colophon, poete et penseur de la fin du VIe siecle et du debut du siecle suivant, est un personnage enigmatique, au coeur de nombreuses interrogations. Sur sa vie, il ne nous reste que tres peu de temoignages, tres peu de certitudes et quelques legendes qui ont suffi a lui forger une reputation. Critiquant severement Homere et Hesiode pour les mensonges qu'ils ont contes au sujet des dieux, attaquant les croyances populaires, les superstitions, les idees recues et les comportements de ses contemporains, il a laisse a ses successeurs, pour des siecles, le souvenir d'un satiriste acerbe et d'un austere moralisateur. Mais Xenophane est aussi lie a l'histoire de la philosophiea: disciple des p