The Paradox of the Court
A student agrees to pay for his lessons the day he wins his first case. He never takes a case. His teacher sues him for the money.
c. 420 BCE (traditional); earliest surviving account 2nd century CE20 min read
Greek sophistic movement
Protagoras of Abdera
490 BCE – 420 BCE
The first and most celebrated of the sophists, and by ancient report the first man to charge a fee for teaching. He is remembered for "man is the measure of all things", for professing agnosticism about the gods, and for training students to argue either side of any case — a skill that, in the Paradox of the Court, is turned against him by his own pupil.