“Why does pouring oil on the sea make it clear and calm? Is it for that the winds, slipping the smooth oil, have no force, nor cause any waves?”

— Plutarch

Symposiacs, book viii. Question IX
Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919)

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Plutarch 251

ancient Greek historian and philosopher 46–127

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“Why does pouring oil on the sea make it clear and calm? Is it for that the winds, slipping the smooth oil, have no force, nor cause any waves?”

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Plutarch 251

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