Guardian of the guardian(s) of the gold

Posted by Ebony on January 11, 2004

In Reply to: Guardian of the guardian(s) of the gold posted by Fred on January 05, 2004

: : : : : Where does that expression come from? As in "Who is the guardian of the guardian(s) of the gold" or "Where is the guardian etc..."
: : : : : The griffin [gryphon" is the mythological creature who guards the gold , but , usually its own gold.] My "guardian" is the one who keeps the guardians of other peoples' gold honest. But I still don't know where the expression originated or was coined. Help, please.

: : : : I suspect this is a direct relative of the Lat*n expression (which I can't precisely remember!!) but which translates as 'Who is the custodian of the custodians?'. It is centuries old and, I believe, dates back to ancient Rome.

: : : Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

: : Who shaves the barber?

: Reminds me of Russell's paradox. Suppose there is a barber B who shaves
: those and only those who don't shave themselves. Does B shave himself?
: If he does he doesn't. If he doesn't he does.

Reminds me of that other paradox that centres around the outcome of a meeting between the irresistible force and the immovable object. Neither is worthy of the expenditure of even a femto second of thought.

• Paradox Lewis 12/January/04