Synderesis their opposites as evils to be avoided. Synderesis is the capacity not only to apprehend the first principles, but also to judge every step of the practical discourse in the light of those principles. But, as an intellectual disposition concerned with knowledge of the first principles of action, synderesis provides only the universal premise of the practical syllogism. Every human "action", however, is singular, contingent and takes place in particular circumstances. To complete the practical discourse and reach a conclusion regarding what has to be done "hic et nunc" [here and now] and what means are to be used, other
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" is a Latin phrase from "Aeneid" (II, 49), written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC. It has been paraphrased in English as the proverb "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts". Its literal meaning is "I fear the Danaans [Greeks], even those bearing gifts" or "even when they bear gifts". Most printed versions of the text have the variant "ferentis" instead of "ferentes". As related in the "Aeneid", after a nine-year war on the beaches of Troy between the Danaans (Greeks from the mainland) and the Trojans, the Greek seer Calchas