Better to Befriend a Philosopher Than A Wizard
Some Silly Philology
Philosophers are meant to be lovers of wisdom—at least that’s what the etymology of the word suggests: philo or philein = love + sophia = wisdom = love of wisdom. A philosophos or philosopher, then, is a lover of wisdom.
A wizard, on the other hand, is someone who is overly wise; someone who is so wise that it’s unsettling. They don’t just study the metaphysics like the philosophers, wizards actually know too much about the nature of reality. They don’t just opine about properties and natures and essences, they know how to transmogrify essences and maybe they’ll change you into a tiger salamander if you cross them.
Wizards don’t just play with words, they know the first language, that language that names things according to their natures and gives one command over them—not to mention all the perverse spells, incantations, and secret mudderings.
But why think all this about wizards? Because ‘wizard’ comes from the old English root ‘wys’ or ‘wis’, which means ‘wise’, and the suffix ‘-ard’, which is an intensifier. Consider a “drunk-ard”, they are excessively drunk; dullards are excessively dull; a coward is someone who is too easily cowed, who puts their tails between their legs and run away at the first sign of trouble. The same goes for the alternatively spelled ‘-art’ suffix in the word braggart, which picks out someone who brags too much.
So, at least etymologically, a wizard is someone who is over-wise, too wise, wise to excess.
Philosophers? We’re just lovers of wisdom. We’re not going to turn anyone into any sort of amphibian, though we may talk your ear off about a new neo-Aristotelian classification for amphibians.
A wizard may help you with your quest, but they may have orchestrated your quest for their own purposes unbeknownst to you. And then there’s always the possibility of them turning you into something… unnatural…
So, when faced with the choice to befriend a lover of wisdom or an excessively wise magus, pick the philosopher.
Totally love this take. If forced into a choice I think I would choose the philosopher too. If I could have both… Well it never hurts to have powerful friends.
Philosopher can talk, talk, talk, until somebody turns into amphibian, which is crossing the line between being wise and over-wise!