Before the Sun Goes Down

Preface

Before the Sun Goes Down is my fourth book of poetry, the third solo publication. Its goal is to encourage the reader to understand the world s/he lives in, as well as himself. When they asked Thales, the Greek philosopher of the seventh century BC, what the most difficult thing was for a man, he replied: "To know one's self!"

When Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher of the sixth century BC, was asked, how he achieved wisdom while he never had a teacher, he replied: "I searched within myself!" As we see, both of these two wise men point to the Self, for they know that the self is the microcosm of the cosmic order; thus, they believed the Self to be the door through which Man has to pass in order to understand himself, the Cosmos, and God.

Both philosophers were influenced by the maxim of Apollo, the son of the mighty God Zeus, and the God of fine arts, medicine, music, eloquence, prophecy, and poetry. Apollo's maxim, "Know Thyself" appears to be the way to understand, know, and attain wisdom. Plato (428/427 - 348/347 BC) asserted that our understanding of the world depends on the amount of our experiences and the degree of our knowledge.

This collection of poems represents my experience and my knowledge of the world that I have gained during almost eight decades on this planet. My only wish is to offer this humble book to my fellow humans who aspire to know themselves, understand the world, and get a glimpse of the Divine!

Demetrios Trifiatis