Wise ancient sage

[rasnaragath]

Before the kingdom of Hyrule took shape asage decided to cross the desert colossus in search for answers, there he met with the gerudo who took him to a great fortress, a powerful sorceress spoke to him: "If you say sometihg true to me you shall die by my fire, if you say a lie to me you shall die by mi ice, after a while the sage was allowed to go, the great sorceress had no choice, for the answer was a short phrase filled with great widom. It is unknown what the sage said to the sorceress that day....do you know the answer?

[kamakaziplumber]

Was it "I always lie"?

[Darth Wyndisis]

He didn't say anything.  

[kamakaziplumber]

But if he didn't say anything, then it couldn't have been a "short phrase full of wisdom".

I'm still sticking with "I always lie", as it contradicts itself, and so the sorceress wouldn't be able to decide whether he was telling the truth or lying.

[Darth Wyndisis]

Dammit!  

I have ADD and short term memory loss, so by the time I wrote that post I completly forgot about the part about that wise phrase.

[rasnaragath]

Mmhh, the phrase: "I always lie" could be the answer indeed, but think, the sorceress could simply say:
"Liar!"....don't you think?, he would die by ice then.

[kamakaziplumber]

Yes, that's true. So how about, "This statement is a lie"? That way, if it were a lie, that would mean that it would be true, and vice versa. It would be a never-ending cycle.

[rasnaragath]

Do you mean: "I always lie, this statement is a lie" or just: "This statement in a lie"?
The first one is actually  a double phrase, and the second one would be meaningless, and both unwise.

The phrase was short and filled with wisdom if you remember. The phrase : "I always lie" was very, very close to what the sage said to the sorceress, I think.

[kamakaziplumber]

Well then, could it be "I always lie, trust me"? Or do you consider that two phrases?

[rasnaragath]

"Trust me" is irrelevant to the phrase, is not a fact is only an expression, don't you think?, could it be:  "you can trust I always lie" which remains as a lie....or...truth?.....ohh I'm so confused!!!
Anyway, none of the answers posted before is the correct one.
And...why hasn't anyone posted in the Links of knowledge lately?, is it getting boring?,  I had to rewrite the question I wrote the last time because I thought it was too hard or something.

[kamakaziplumber]

Well, I guess. So....hmmm....this is harder than I thought. Perhaps the answer is Epimenides' Liar Paradox:

"As a Cretan, it is fair for me to say that all Cretans are liars."

Of course, this is pretty long, but it is one phrase. I don't know if you'll accept it, but I might as well try.

[LtCmd.Lore]

The answer is in the punishment itself, He must say "You are going to kill me with Ice." If he is killed by ice the statement is true and he should have been burnt, but he is killed by fire then he lied and should have been killed with ice, so no matter what the sorcerress did, she would be in the wrong, and therefore had no option but to let him go.

[Jack]

And...why hasn't anyone posted in the Links of knowledge lately?, is it getting boring?,  I had to rewrite the question I wrote the last time because I thought it was too hard or something.

Definitely not boring, but the question is a toughie.

[rasnaragath]

Correct!!! LtCmd.Lore, that's the right answer, I was hoping this post to last longer but Kamakaziplumber, shadowlink13 and LtCmd.Lore are too smart for me, the answers posted by kamakaziplumber can be considered as correct answers but, they should be discussed, the answer by LtCmd.Lore is a lot easier to comprehend, shorter and wiser.
Mmmmh, I wont give up, I'll search for a very, very hard question to post in the future, trust me, it will make a couple of wise greek men to rise from their graves, eager to answer Bwa ha ha ha!!!

[HelenJames]

I think we all get a little bit distracted from the main topicstarter's theme