Generations ago, when Greeks held 90-percent of the wisdom on the face of the Earth (so they'd often brag)....you had these guys walking around who were Sage thinkers. They were different from philosophers.
Plato tried to explain the difference the two guys (sagists and philosophers). The sage people had what the philosophers were already seeking.....but then he kinda left this on the table.....never explaining what exactly the sage folks had in the first place.
In simple terms....sage folks weren't that interested or thrilled with knowledge, facts, or wisdom. In some ways, they figured that this kinda cluttered up the details part of a mess.
Plato went on to write up a piece on sages.....saying in Theaetetus, that sage folks were 'righteous, holy and wise'. The suggestion was....they were set to make good and sensible decisions. You were supposed to listen to them.
In this time period (going back 2,000 years) sages were typically the folks that you turned to in the village or city....to describe a serious problem going on, and then generally ask for advice. It really didn't mean that they were book-smart, successful businessmen, clever at math or science, or extremely moralistic. It's just that they could look at a problem.....ask a few questions, and then offer a middle-of-the road opinion about how to proceed.
Yes, they were a bit stoic in nature, susceptible to intense reasoning 'pains', and prone to offer up a blunt opinion about folks with the problems.
If you stand view things in modern society, we have an awful lot of fake sages. They'd like for you to believe their wit, and problem-solving abilities. Pretenders at all of the general sage abilities? Probably so, and they don't mind a bit of gossip about themselves, or their future.
Virtually every single night on some network, some sage guy is appearing and offering up his advice on such-and-such problem.
Your problem? In all of Greece, a thousand years ago....there might have been forty-odd sage guys. Today, just in the US? There might be 40,000 sage guys, and 99-percent of them are fakers.
So beware.
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