,selected ,essays of ,plutarch ,,selected ,,essays ,,of ,,plutarch ,,vol4 ,,ii ,,translated ,,with ,,introduction ,,by ,a4 ,o4 ,,prickard #8,but the ,author in whom he delighted most was ,plutarch1 of whose works he was lucky enough to possess the worthier half2 if the other had perished ,plutarch would not have been a popular writer1 but he would have held a higher place in the estimation of the judicious4'--,,southey1 ,the ,doctor1 chapter vi1 p4 #a4 ,,oxford ,,at ,,the ,,clarendon ,,press #aiah ,,preface ,this volume covers about one-eighth part of the miscellaneous works of ,plutarch known as the ,moralia1 much the same quantity as is contained in ,professor ,tucker's volume of this series which appeared in #aiac4 ,all the pieces now offered are in the form of dialogue1 except the short treatise ,on ,superstition1 which seemed to justify its inclusion by a certain affinity of thought4 ,the text followed is that of ,wyttenbach1 issued by the ,clarendon ,press in #agie-ahjj1 or rather a text compounded of the ,greek text there printed1 his own critical notes and revision of the old ,latin version1 his commentary1 where one exists1 and his posthumous ,index of ,greek words used by ,plutarch 7#ahcj74 ,a few corrections by ,c4 ,f4 ,hermann1 ,emperius1 ,madvig1 and other scholars1 have been introduced1 for many of which ,i am indebted1 in the first place1 as ,i have acknowledged more particularly1 to ,m4 ,g4 ,n4 ,bernardakis1 the accomplished editor of the ,moralia in the ,teubner series 7#ahhh-if74 ,a very few fresh corrections1 mostly on obvious points1 have been admitted4 ,the notes at the foot of the page are intended to show all deviations from ,wyttenbach's text1 so constituted1 or to give references to the authors of passages quoted by ,plutarch2 there may be a few exceptions1 where an illustrative reference or an obvious explanation is given4 ,for the plays and fragments of the ,tragic ,poets reference is made to ,dindorf's ,poetae ,scenici2 for ,pindar and other lyric poets1 to ,bergk's ,poetae ,lyrici ,graeci 7ed4 #aijj72 for the fragments of ,heraclitus1 to ,bywater's ,heracliti ,ephesii reliquiae 7,oxford1 #ahgg72 those of other early philosophers will be found in their places in ,diels' ,vorsokratiker 7#aijc7 or other collections4 ,to four of the dialogues ,i have with some reluctance prefixed a short running analysis4 ,it is always a pity to anticipate what the author puts clearly before us2#a but there is here a real practical difficulty1 even for a careful reader1 in being sure who is the speaker for the time being2 and as he is often introduced by the pronouns #8,i' or #8he'1 no typographical device quite serves4 ,the other dialogues seem to explain themselves sufficiently4 ,there is no attempt to supply a commentary2 but it is hoped that the full index of proper names 7which are very numerous7 will enable a reader to distinguish those as to whom it is worth his while to inquire further from those who are only of passing interest4 ,i have given here a good many references to other works of ,plutarch1 but more may usefully be sought1 for instance in such an index as is appended to ,clough's edition of the ,lives4 ,i may perhaps be allowed to mention that the dialogue ,on the ,face which appears on the ,orb of the ,moon was translated by me1 and tentatively published in #aiaa1 with the hope of obtaining some helpful criticism4 ,having received several kind notices1 and in particular a very full one in ,hermathena by ,dr4 ,l4 ,g4 ,purser1 to which ,i am deeply indebted1 ,i have now ventured to reproduce this dialogue in somewhat fuller form than the others1 and to retain some of my original notes4 ,i should add that ,i have no competence to deal with any scientific matters as such4 ,i have added two longer notes on special points of interest4 ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 writing in #afha-b to his son ,edward who was by way of translating the ,lives of ,plutarch1 and in fact accomplished two of them1 assumes that he will in the main follow ,amyot's version1 which ,north had followed absolutely1 and suggests that1 with some corrections and the removal of obsolete words1 ,north's work might still serve #8especially with gentlemen1 who if the expression bee playne looke not into criticisme'4 #8,if you have the ,greek ,plutarke1' he writes1 #8have also the ,latin adjoyned unto it1 so you may consult either upon occasion1 though you apply yourself to translate out of ,french1 and the ,english translation may be sometimes helpful4' ,very likely an acceptable version of the ,moralia might now be produced out of ,amyot and ,philemon ,holland1 a racy and scholarly translator from the ,greek1 with the original and the old ,latin at hand for reference4 ,but ,dr4 ,edward ,browne was a physician1 of little leisure and of delicate health1 and it might hardly be respectful to ,plutarch to adopt this procedure now2 indeed it seems to recall that of #8the dog' in the proverb1 who #8drinks from the ,nile'1 running as he drinks1 always with an eye on the crocodiles4 ,however this may be1 some indulgence may fairly be claimed by a translator of an author1 who1 however straight-forward himself1 abounds in allusion and latent quotation1 and also in difficulties of text not of his own making1 and upon whom no commentary exists4 ,i will mention1 for the sake of clearness1 two instances as to which ,i have troubled myself and1 ,i fear1 others a good deal3 ,in the dialogue ,on the ,genius of ,socrates1 chap4 iii1 end 7#egg ,a71 the speaker says that his brother ,epaminondas is keeping out of the patriotic enterprise in hand1 on the ground that the more hot-headed members of the party will not stop short of a general massacre and the murder of many of the leading citizens4 ,i have followed the ,latin version in so rendering the words 4 ,but ,i have felt some doubt--needlessly1 ,i think--whether the ,greek participle would bear this meaning1 and also whether the sense so given is strong and suitable4 ,wyttenbach felt doubts too1 for in his posthumous ,index1 s4v4 1 the rendering given is #8hostes vel amici'1 i4e4 #8friends or foes'4 ,the sense is excellent1 but seems hardly to be in the ,greek2 probably it was a mere query or jotting4 ,the ,teubner editor prints 1 i4e4 #8those with whom they had private differences'1 giving ,cobet's name for the last two words4 ,i have not been able to trace the reference in ,cobet1 but in ,novae ,lectiones1 p4 #efe1 he examines instances where he thinks that should be supplied or suppressed1 as the case may be1 before compounds of 4 ,the sense seems good1 but too special to be introduced into a text without cogent evidence1 since1 once given currency1 it is difficult for a future critic to go back upon it4 ,meanwhile1 in ,wyttenbach's note on ii1 #ge ,a1 he collects many instances where is used by ,plutarch for #8the enemy'1 #8the other party'1 and may have grown out of with repeated4 ,i have thought it the more peaceable course to preserve the old rendering4 ,i only quote this instance1 which is of no great importance but is of some1 as one where a ,variorum editor would have stated at length and evaluated the possible alternatives4 ,that a translator should do so is perhaps a case of #8putting the cart before the horse'4 ,the other instance is one of real interest1 where the problem is perhaps insoluble upon our present knowledge4 ,in the long dialogue ,on the ,cessation of the ,oracles1 c4 #bj 7#dbj c471 where ,cleombrotus has been pressing a view that there may be daemons with a long1 but yet a limited1 term of existence1 against the ,epicureans1 whose own strange theory of ,eidola he derides1 ,ammonius replies in words which appear thus in the ,latin3 #8,recte1 inquit1 mihi pronunciare videtur ,theophrastus1 quid enim obstat quin sententiam gravissimam et philosophiae convenientissimam recipiamus dicentis3 opinionem de ,daemonibus1 si reiciatur1 multa eorum simul abolere quae fieri possunt demonstratione autem carent2 sin admittatur multa secum trahere impossibilia et quae non exstiterint4' ,amyot and others write #8,cleombrotus' for #8,theophrastus'1 a change which1 in view of ,plutarch's carelessness as to personal names1 seems not unlikely1 and helps a little4 ,no doubt ,theophrastus is quoted1 but his name need not have been mentioned1 and may have been brought into the text in the wrong place4 ,the absurdity of the words which ,i have given in italics seems evident1 and ,i have returned to a suggestion of ,xylander1#b by introducing a negative before 1 assuming that ,theophrastus is quoted1 not for any opinion about daemons1 but for a canon of what is logically #8probable'4 ,more subtle solutions are suggested1 which could not be discussed here properly3 the question seems too intricate to be settled by a translator as he goes on his way4 ,we really want to know what ,theophrastus said4 ,the remarks on the absence of a commentary do not apply to the dialogue on ,instances of ,delay in ,divine ,punishment1 fully annotated by ,wyttenbach in #aggb1 nor to the essay ,on ,superstition and the greater part of ,the ,e at ,delphi1 which are dealt with in his continuous commentary4 ,nor should ,i omit to mention the great help afforded by ,kepler's notes on the ,face in the ,moon and his scholarly translation4 ,the large number of poetical quotations in ,plutarch often stop a translator's hand4 ,wherever it is possible1 ,i have turned to standard versions3 for ,homer to that of ,worsley completed by ,conington1 for ,pindar's extant ,odes to that of ,bishop ,george ,moberly1 which it has been an especial pleasure to use2 for some lines of the ,cyclops of ,euripides ,i have been fortunate enough to draw upon ,shelley4 ,there remain a good many fragments1 some of them of real poetical quality1 and some jingling oracles and the like2 for the latter doggerel is the proper vehicle1 for the former the best attainable doggerel must serve4 ,the range of ,plutarch's poetical quotations seems strangely limited considering their number4 ,all are ,greek1 and most from the older poets2 indeed1 with the exception of a few from the ,new ,comedy1 nearly all might have been used by ,plato4 ,those from the ,tragedians are always to the point1 but he does not appear to care from which of the three he is borrowing4#c ,homer and ,hesiod always bring a welcome flavour of an older world4 ,perhaps ,pindar is the poet whom he quotes with most hearty appreciation4 ,though he has given us many new poetical fragments1 he introduces us to few1 if any1 new poets4 ,of ,bacchylides there are only two slight quotations in all ,plutarch's works4 ,a single reference to a passage of ,horace is all that shows a knowledge of the existence of ,roman poetry4 ,southey's comparison between the ,moralia and the ,lives need not be pressed2 it is the scholar's preference for the rare1 which is his by privilege1 over the popular4 ,but it is well to realize1 as it is easy to do with the help of indices1 that the author's hand is one in both4 ,it is agreed that the ,lives belong to ,plutarch's later years1 and were written at ,chaeroneia1 under the limitations of his own library2 the several books appeared at intervals1 of what length we cannot say4#d ,the few indications of date mentioned in the introductions to the dialogues now before us suggest the later part of ,vespasian's reign or the years nearly following it1 say from ,a4,d4 #hj on4 ,the dialogue on the ,instances of ,delay in ,divine ,punishment from its simpler psychology and demonology1 and perhaps from some crudity in style1 suggests a date earlier than that of some of the others4 ,dr4 ,max ,adler1 in his lucid and learned dissertation1 has established the close connexion between the ,face in the ,moon and the ,cessation of the ,oracles1 and thinks the former to have been the earlier1 and to have been utilized for the latter piece4#e ,montaigne1 who knew his ,plutarch up and down1 has said that he is one of the authors whom he likes to take after the manner of the ,danaids1#f which may be described as a method of #8dip and waste'4 ,you may dip anywhere1 as you may into the pages of ,the ,doctor1 and be sure of finding something which you would wish to remember2 but you may also find1 on re-reading the same passage1 that you have not remembered it at all1 so that the waste is continual4 ,the freshness need not be impaired by a little more system2 indeed it would be enhanced1 at least for the dialogues1 for this reason1 that they all represent real conversations between real persons1 and it is worth our while to put together our impressions about each4 ,the fullest materials for such an attempt will be found in the ,symposiacs or dialogues over wine4#g ,the ,symposiacs are arranged in nine books1 each of which contains ten conversations of unequal length1 but all short1 except the last which has fifteen4 ,on the other hand nine1 viz4 four of the fourth book and five of the last1 are missing1 only the titles being preserved4 ,all the books are dedicated to ,sossius ,senecio1 who was consul first in ,a4,d4 #ii2 and as there is no reference to the dignity1 we may perhaps infer that all were written before that year4#h ,there is not a single reference in all the nine books to any public or personal event which might help us to a date4 ,we hear of the #8year' of officials of the ,greek games1 of ,plutarch's return from a visit to ,alexandria1 and of a marriage in his family1 which ,sossius ,senecio attended1 but we cannot follow these clues4#i ,many of the discussions are about wine and wine-parties2 in others the range of subject is very wide1 from #8,what ,plato meant by saying1 if he did say1 that ,god geometrizes' to #8,whether the table should be cleared after dinner'1 or #8,why truffles grow after thunder'4 ,a good many are on medical subjects2 in one of them the promising problem1 #8,whether new diseases can arise1 and from what causes'1 is well argued4 ,the physicians present show a full knowledge of the ,natural ,history found in the works of ,aristotle and ,theophrastus1 and the laymen seem to argue with them on equal terms4 ,there is little or no pleasantry about professional habits1 the fees or the pedantry1 except that in one party a physician is host1 and sets on the table an inordinately good dinner1 while certain young men of severe habits put him to a great deal of trouble to produce some cheese to eat with their dry bread4#aj ,in the first dialogue of the ,first ,book the question is raised1 #8,whether philosophy may be discussed over wine'4 ,the answer appears to be #8,why not8' but probably none of the following dialogues would be called #8philosophical' by philosophers4 ,plutarch loved a vigorous set-to1 with no quarter given1 #8nothing for hate1 but all for honour'1 as much as did ,montaigne4#aa ,but he felt deeply about the matters at issue between ,stoics and ,epicureans1 the two schools which mattered4 ,believing himself in a ,providence1 kindly and particular1 associated by him with the ,apollo of ,delphi1 he disliked equally the ,epicurean who flouted a ,providence1 and the ,stoic who lowered it by his pedantry and contradictions4 ,he would not have a scene over the wine4 ,even in the daylight dialogues now before us1 the cynic #8,planetiades' is skilfully bowed out before there is trouble1 and #8,epicurus' takes himself off before the reported discussion begins1 leaving the company surprised rather than angry4 ,the titles of the five lost dialogues of the last book 7the others of that book being all on literary subjects7 are curious4 ,three are connected with music2 and ,i should have the permission of those who have kindly helped me here to say that there is about ,greek music a considerable region of dim penumbra4 ,another raises a question discussed in the ,de ,facie and answered there out of ,aristotle and ,posidonius1 as to the eclipses of sun and moon4 ,another is on the problem #8,whether the total number of the stars is more probably even than odd'4 ,the speakers 7for a fragment is preserved7 are quite aware that a game of odd-and-even on such a scale might seem childish4 ,it need not be so1 if the treatment were like that of the ,arenarius of ,archimedes 7all the better if in his ,doric72 it would then have contained some long numbers and some stiff reasoning4 ,of one thing we may be sure1 that if ,lamprias1 who is much to the fore in the ,ninth ,book1 took a part1 he was ready with a received view1 framed on the spot4 ,m4 ,bernardakis#ab 7who quotes a letter from ,m4 ,wessely7 tells us that in the ,paris ,e there is a blank space here of #b- leaves1 but that in the old ,vienna ,,ms41 no4 #adh 7which contains the ,symposiacs only71 three whole pages have been cut out1 leaving a gap between what remains of the sixth dialogue and the fragment of the twelfth4 ,former editions had printed continuously1 and our gratitude is due to ,m4 ,bernardakis for his restitution of the fragment to its proper place4 ,the inference appears to be that the ,vienna ,,ms4 is here the parent1 though why the fragment stops short where it does is not clear4 ,probably the scribe was daunted by the technical language1 and either left a blank space to be filled up by some one of greater experience1 or so spoilt his sheets by errors and erasures that it was better to cut them out4 ,some such cause has been conjectured for the many gaps left in ,e1 occurring where the subject-matter is difficult4 ,some ninety different persons are mentioned by name as taking part in the ,symposiac ,dialogues1 and if we allow for the lost pieces1 there must have been at least a hundred4 ,these may be arranged in groups3 ,plutarch and his family--his grandfather1 father1 brothers1 sons1 sons-in-law--the doctors 7#h71 the grammarians 7#e71 and so on4 ,many of these reappear in the dialogues now before us1 and much may be gained in distinctness of personality by following out the references given4#ac ,ammonius1 ,plutarch's teacher in the ,platonic philosophy1 comes out as a masterful person1 and a past-master in the art of tactful arrangement of a debate4 ,theon 7#8,our ,comrade'1 an appellation given to some half-dozen others71 to be distinguished from #8,theon the ,grammarian'1 is a close and much trusted family friend4 ,very few ,roman names appear1 but ,sossius ,senecio1 ,mestrius ,florus1 and one or two others1 must have been intimates4 ,none of the conversations in the ,symposiacs turn upon points which were ,plutarch's interest when he wrote the ,lives2 the study of character in stirring times1 of the reaction of circumstances upon character and of character upon circumstances1 of the insoluble problem which is always solving itself1 as to #8,virtue' on the one hand and #8,fortune' on the other1 determining success4 ,the elaborate introduction to the ,genius of ,socrates1 put side by side with that to the ,life of ,pericles1 shows that the author wished to turn from subjects which made good talk over wine in hours of leisure1 to others of a more virile stamp4 ,the most convenient hypothesis would be that the success of the ,symposiacs suggested to the author to try his hand on more elaborate dialogue1 and that1 still later on1 he settled to the ,lives in the spirit1 not of an historian1 but of an artist1 filling his canvas with themes inspired by that great art1 ,virtue4 ,the lost ,life of ,epaminondas1 his favourite hero1 would have told us a great deal about the artist himself4 ,it was not ,plutarch's habit to sum up in such brilliant character sketches as stand out in other historians3 this has been done for ,epaminondas1 on broad and generous lines1 by ,sir ,walter ,raleigh1 and before him1 not less generously1 by ,montaigne2 and much material will be found scattered among ,plutarch's other ,lives4 ,such an hypothesis can only be ventured in the broadest outline1 for no one date covers all the ,lives or all the ,dialogues1 and some of the facts are perplexing4 ,in the ,second ,pythian ,dialogue ,diogenianus appears as a very young man1 and is introduced as the son of a father known to the company2 and ,diogenianus of ,pergamum takes part in several of the ,symposiacs1 but there is no mention of a son old enough to be brought with him4 ,on the other hand1 ,boethus in the same dialogue is #8on his way to the camp of the ,epicureans'2 in one of the ,symposiacs he is #8an ,epicurean' simply4 ,in the last book of the ,symposiacs ,theon's sons come in1 but we do not hear of him elsewhere as a father of grown-up sons4 ,the dialogue ,on the ,face which appears on the ,orb of the ,moon is unique as showing the interest taken by men of good general education in scientific subjects in the first century of our era1 and as evidence of the point to which the natural sciences had then attained4 ,professional science may be said to have been almost limited to the province of the mathematician and his congeners4 ,natural ,history was part of the general outfit of the #8,philosophers'1 and there was no idea of the #8,conquest of ,nature' for the relief of man's estate1 unless by the engineer or the physician4 ,with these limitations1 the progress made may strike some modern readers as surprisingly great1 and a good example may be found in the very precise knowledge of ,hipparchus and ,ptolemy of the delicate phenomena of the moon's movements4 ,we are tempted to ask whether1 if ,greeks had not settled these problems1 which men of no other ancient race attacked scientifically1 they would have been settled to this day4 ,to come down to a humbler matter3 if the properties of the conic sections had not been discovered by ,apollonius and his predecessors1 would they stand in their place1 probably a modest one1 on a modern syllabus1 and1 meanwhile1 could the mechanical arts have progressed without them8 ,and the conic sections are simple things compared with the lines1 surfaces1 and solids determined once for all by ,archimedes4 ,archimedes was a mathematician by the grace of ,nature1 and an engineer by the order of a prince2 and the conic sections themselves were examined1 not from any practical interest in the cone1 but because they were found to furnish instances of the curves which might facilitate the line of inquiry1 suggested by ,plato with such amazing foresight1 as a half-way house towards a solution of ,apollo's problem4#ad ,of course this can only be stated as a question--not a rhetorical question--and must be left on the knees of the gods4 ,the general subject is discussed in ,d4 ,ruhnken's admirable ,de ,graecia artium ac doctrinarum inventrice1 an inaugural lecture delivered at ,leyden in #ageg 7just thirty years after ,newton's death74 ,a few lines about the scholar to whose prolonged labours upon ,plutarch we owe so much are only his due4 ,daniel ,wyttenbach was born at ,bern1 where his father was a divine of good ,swiss family1 in #agdf4 ,he studied at ,marburg and ,gttingen1 and passed to ,holland1 filling professorial chairs at ,amsterdam1 and1 from #agih1 at ,leyden4 ,in ,holland he was the colleague and intimate friend of ,valckenaer 7#agae-he7 and ,david ,ruhnken 7#agbc-ih71 himself by birth a ,german4 ,by their advice1 he turned from a meditated edition of the ,emperor ,julian's works to ,plutarch4 ,the two advisers were not quite at one1 and ,wyttenbach seemed to crouch between two burdens--,valckenaer wished him to produce a final edition of some one work1 ,ruhnken 7who would gladly have faced the task himself if he had been a younger man7 preferred that he should not stop short of all ,plutarch4 ,in #aggb he produced his learned and complete commentary on the ,de sera numinum ,vindicta4 ,about this time the ,delegates of the ,oxford ,press were anxious to produce a worthy edition of a great classic2 and in #aghh ,thomas ,burgess1 ,fellow of ,corpus ,christi ,college1 afterwards ,bishop of ,st4 ,davids and of ,salisbury1 visited ,holland and sought an introduction to ,wyttenbach1 with whom an arrangement was concluded in the autumn of that year4 ,the issue of the volumes of text1 with critical notes and revised ,latin version1 began in #agie and went on steadily till #agig2 but there was much delay and many searchings of heart over the last volume1 containing the fragments1 the dispatch of which was hindered by the state of war and the occupation of ,holland by foreign troops4 ,it was at last discovered in #ahjj in the port of ,hamburg1 and appears to have reached ,oxford in that year4 ,the first two volumes of the commentary1 to page #bdb ,c1 had preceded it in #agih1 and were also published in #ahjj4 ,the last volume must have proceeded slowly1 for it had only reached #cib ,d1 near the end of the ,e at ,delphi1 when1 on ,january #ab1 #ahjg1 it was interrupted by an explosion due to the careless use of fire on a barge loaded with gunpowder4 ,the effects of the conflagration which followed are visible in ,leyden to this day4 ,the disaster was ill-timed for us1 for the commentary stops just short of a passage of great interest 7see p4 #ge74 ,wyttenbach bore this trouble1 which he has graphically described in several letters1 and also those caused by ill health and narrowed means1 with much fortitude4 ,he died in #ahbj1 and the last volume of the commentary was sent to ,oxford and published in #ahba1 followed by the two volumes of the ,index ,graecitatis in #ahcj4 ,he was a most amiable man1 and the letters which passed between him and ,ruhnken have much charm of feeling and expression4 ,both wrote in admirable ,latin2 ,wyttenbach's style is always fluent and picturesque1 but has certain idiosyncrasies1 which may delay an ,english reader4#ae ,of older scholars who had dealt with ,plutarch1 by far the most important was ,turnebus#af 7#aeab-fe74 ,of ,xylander 7,w4 ,holzmann1 #aecb-gf71 who produced the ,latin translation1 the basis of his own commentary1 and a ,greek text1 ,wyttenbach writes with much respect and sympathy1 as he does also of ,reiske 7#agaf-gd71 his own contemporary1 who1 however1 was not quite adequately equipped1 in point of material or of critical judgement4 ,i should like to express my deep sense of the loss caused to classical scholarship by the lamented death of ,herbert ,richards4 ,i have more than once referred to his critical notes on the ,moralia1 which have been appearing lately in the ,classical ,review3 many of the finer points of ,greek idiom do not concern a translator1 but there are several most valuable suggestions and criticisms which ,i have felt confidence in adopting4 ,a still more personal loss1 which intimately concerns this volume1 is that of ,ingram ,bywater4 ,he had promised a revision of it in its passage through the press2 and his vigilance as a ,curator as well as his jealousy for the severer traditions of scholarship1 apart from his personal kindness1 would1 ,i know1 have made it a searching one4 ,he did not specially care for ,english translation1 and his own masterly version of the ,poetics of ,aristotle is prefaced by something like a protest4 ,nor did he feel much sympathy with what he would call the #8,realien'4 ,on the realities of life no one had a saner or better informed judgement4 ,for natural science and its representatives he cherished a genuine respect2 and perhaps none of the tributes to his memory would have touched him more than one which was paid in the pages of ,nature by an old colleague and friend of the ,exeter ,college days4 ,but he had a certain shyness of the intrusion of arguments based1 say1 upon geometry or music1 into problems of language already sufficiently perplexed4 ,how generously his noble library and his own stores of wisdom were thrown open to those who sought them is known to many1 as it is to myself4 ,yet another great loss to me has been that of the ,rev4 ,david ,thomas1 ,rector of ,garsington1 in ,oxfordshire1 a veteran mathematician1 my near neighbour and most kindly and helpful referee during many years4 ,i cannot send out even so small a volume without a word of gratitude for affectionate and lifelong help received from ,john ,wordsworth1 ,bishop of ,salisbury #ahhe-aiaa4 ,his own enduring contribution to secular scholarship was made in #ahgd1 and holds its place in the judgement of ,latin scholars4 ,he was always shouldering new burdens1 the last being the mastering1 for a definite purpose of friendship and public duty1 of the language and history of ,sweden4 ,but his great stores of books and of knowledge were always in order1 and always made available to others4 ,he would often preface any opinion of his own by #8,my father used to think highly' of such a book or such a person2 and it was always well to be reminded of that true scholar and most courteous gentleman of an older day4 ,i owe much1 for help and advice1 to living friends whom ,i should like to thank1 but may not4 ,but ,i must be allowed to acknowledge1 in no conventional spirit1 the great care bestowed on these pages by the ,reader for the ,delegates of the ,press1 who has entered into difficulties of matter as well as of language as few scholars can be expected to have the patience to do4#ag ,the style of ,plutarch has not received much favour with scholars4 ,he uses too many words1 and writes in cumbrous sentences1 and the words often seem ill-shapen4 ,but it has merits which are acknowledged by all those who have dwelt much upon him4 ,his style is a very honest one2 at the end of the longest sentence it is always found that he has said something worth saying1 and that no word can be retrenched as mere verbiage4 ,and he is so much in earnest that he often reaches an eloquence1 which burns1 perhaps1 with a dull glow1 but which cannot be quite lost in any translation4 ,indeed the modern languages have sometimes an advantage in the fact that they do not possess counterparts1 as long and as elaborate1 of the terms used in the original4 ,of the first1 and the best1 of ,plutarch's translators1 ,montaigne#ah has written an opinion1 to which it should be added that1 in the judgement of very capable persons1 ,amyot#ai was a scholar of real knowledge and penetration1 though he is sometimes content to paraphrase3 #8,ie donne avecque raison1 ce me semble1 la palme ,iacques ,amyot sur touts nos escrivains franois1 non seulement pour la nafvet et puret du langage1 en quoy il surpasse touts aultres1 ny pour la constance d'un si long travail1 ny pour la profondeur de son savoir1 ayant peu developper si heureusement un aucteur si espineux et ferr 7car on m'en dira ce qu'on vouldra1 ie n'entends rien au grec1 mais ie veois un sens si bien ioinct et entretenu partout en sa traduction1 que1 ou il a certainement entendu l'imagination vraye de l'aucteur1 ou ayant1 par longue conversation1 plant vifvement dans son ame une generale idee de celle de ,plutarque1 il ne luy a au moins rien prest qui le desmente ou qui le desdie72 mais1 sur tout1 ie luy sais bon gr d'avoir seu trier et choisir un livre si digne et si propos pour en faire present son pais4' ,since this ,preface was written1 early in #aiaf1 a study of ,plutarch1 which should be of great value to his readers1 has appeared in the ,de ,plutarcho scriptore et philosopho1 by ,professor ,j4 ,j4 ,hartman of ,leyden4 ,professor ,hartman is an enthusiast1 and his book covers all the works of ,plutarch1 the ,moralia and the ,lives1 their relations to one another and to the author's career4 ,he is of opinion that the ,lives were taken in hand after all1 or nearly all1 the writings included in the ,moralia were completed1 and then appeared in rapid succession of books4 ,he observes that many of the pieces of the ,moralia suggest the date ,a4,d4 #ajg2 the ,symposiacs he places somewhat later4 ,two conclusions1 of much importance as coming from so serious a student1 may be stated3 the ,christian teaching had never come into ,plutarch's hearing 7p4 #aad1 c471 and there is no suggestion of any tendency to ,oriental or ,neoplatonic thought2 ,plutarch was the best living authority on ,plato and his works1 and aimed at being the ,plato of his own day 7pp4 #chi1 #fhj1 c474 ,a large list of critical comments is appended to the general notice of each work4 ,professor ,hartman takes as his basis the ,teubner edition1 and pays a well-merited tribute to the care and skill of ,m4 ,bernardakis 7p4 #bcg1 c474 ,his usual complaint is that the editor has lacked the boldness to incorporate in the text ingenious emendations which he mentions in notes4 ,i had myself felt somewhat differently as to all unsupported emendations1 though ,i am glad to repeat my sense of the great usefulness of the edition1 my debt to which goes much beyond what ,i have expressly acknowledged4 ,footnote #a3 #8,tout abreg sur un bon livre est un sot abreg4'--,montaigne1 iii4 #h4 ,footnote #b3 ,xylander reads 1 but before seems simpler1 and makes better logic4 ,footnote #c3 ,see1 e4 g41 p4 #bff4 ,footnote #d3 ,on this point1 and on ,plutarch's life generally1 see the buoyant and chivalrous pages of the late ,mr4 ,george ,wyndham's introduction to ,north's ,lives in the ,tudor ,translations4 ,footnote #e3 ,see pp4 #ed1 #bec4 ,i have searched such numbers of the ,dissertations as appear to have reached this country from ,vienna since #aiaj1 without coming upon the continuation of ,dr4 ,adler's argument4 ,it will be of great interest when it comes to hand1 but could not adequately be discussed here4 ,footnote #f3 #8,o je puyse comme les ,danades1 remplissant et versant sans cesse4'--i4 #be4 ,footnote #g3 ,the ,symposiacs were specially favourite reading of ,archbishop ,trench1 whose bright little volume of ,lectures is perhaps the best introduction for ,english readers to the ,moralia4 ,footnote #h3 ,the same argument might perhaps be applied to the ,lives1 even as far as that of ,dion1 but there is no elaborate dedication there4 ,footnote #i3 ,dr4 ,mahaffy has acutely pointed out that the tract ,de ,tranquillitate animi must have been written before the accession of ,titus in ,a4 ,d4 #gi1 because it contains a remark 7#dfg ,e7 that no ,roman ,emperor had yet been succeeded by his son4 ,it is this sort of evidence of a date which we seek1 but do not find1 in the ,symposiacs4 ,footnote #aj3 ,some of ,plutarch's characters exemplify the #8sternness of the judgements of youth'1 as the younger ,diogenianus4--,see p4 #id4 ,footnote #aa3 ,see ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #be4 ,footnote #ab3 ,see his ,preface in ,vol4 ,i1 p4 xlii4 ,footnote #ac3 ,m4 ,chenevire's study mentioned on p4 #ec is very helpful but not easily accessible4 ,footnote #ad3 ,see p4 #ad2 see also ,apollonius of ,perga1 by ,sir ,thomas ,heath1 ,f4,r4,s41 ,introd41 p4 xxi4 ,footnote #ae3 #8,forte' is always used where we expect #8fortasse'1 and #8nisi' often for #8si non'4 ,footnote #af3 ,adrien ,turnbus 7i4 q4 ,toranebus87 was a native of ,les ,andelys 7,eure71 near ,rouen1 and the name is said to be of local origin4 ,montaigne1 who knew him personally1 always writes ,turnebus2 the later form ,turnbe seems to be due to false analogy4 ,footnote #ag3 ,i may now name ,mr4 ,walter ,sumner ,gibson1 ,m4,a4 of ,balliol ,college1 formerly an assistant-master at ,charterhouse1 who died on the #bjth ,january1 #aiah1 having in recent years acted as a ,reader to the ,clarendon ,press4 ,footnote #ah3 ii4 #d4 ,footnote #ai3 #aead-ic4 ,,contents ,on the ,genius of ,socrates #a ,three ,pythian ,dialogues #eb ,i4 ,on the #8,e' at ,delphi #eg ,,ii4 ,why the ,pythia does not now give #gi ,oracles in ,verse ,,iii4 ,on the ,cessation of the ,oracles #aab ,on the ,instances of ,delay in ,divine #aga ,punishment ,from the ,dialogue #8,on the ,soul' #bad ,on ,superstition #bai ,appendix3 ,a ,short ,discourse of #bcf ,superstition4 ,by ,john ,smith ,on the ,face which appears on the ,orb of #bdf the ,moon ,notes #cji ,note on the ,myths in ,plutarch #cac ,note on the ,plurality of ,worlds and the #cah ,five ,regular ,solids ,index #cba ,,on ,,the ,,genius ,,of ,,socrates ,,introduction ,the ,dialogue on ,the ,genius of ,socrates1 to follow the familiar ,latin title1 is in the main a detailed and spirited account of a gallant exploit1 the recovery of the ,cadmeia1 or citadel of ,thebes1 treacherously taken by the ,spartans1 with the aid of the ,theban oligarchs1 two years before4 ,the recovery was effected in the winter of #cgi-cgh ,b4,c4 by a party of ,theban patriots1 returning from exile in ,athens1 led by ,pelopidas4 ,the discussions as to the real meaning of the #8daemonic ,sign' of ,socrates form interludes which fill in the hours of waiting1 and serve to relieve the tension of the narrative4 ,it is as though ,ulysses were heard discoursing to ,menelaus within the ,wooden ,horse on the personality of ,pallas ,athene1 with ,helen prowling around outside4 ,there is nothing strained or dramatic1 in any disparaging sense1 in speculation thus rubbing shoulders with action4 ,the simplicity and good faith of the speakers1 and the attractive personality of ,epaminondas1 forbid any suspicion of affectation4 ,thus the ,dialogue serves a double purpose3 it redeems the character of the leading ,thebans1 and of ,pelopidas in particular1 from the habitual disparagement of ,xenophon and others2 and it redeems the intellectual character of the ,boeotians from the reproach against which the most brilliant of ,greek poets1 himself a son of ,thebes1 protests1 #8,swine of ,boeotia'4 ,for the chief speaker on the ,socratic question is ,simmias1 and ,cebes is present1 ,thebans whose names are for ever associated with the last hours of the ,athenian ,master2 and the story is brightened by glimpses into the home of ,epaminondas1 and by hallowed memories of the ,pythagorean brotherhood4 ,early in #chb ,b4,c4 the ,spartans had dispatched a force against ,olynthus1 the first division under ,eudamidas1 the second under his brother ,phoebidas4 ,the latter lingered under the walls of ,thebes2 and1 whether led by personal ambition1 or receiving secret orders from home1 allowed himself to intrigue with the oligarchical leaders1 who1 though their party was not in power1 were strong enough to be represented on the board of ,polemarchs by ,leontides1 another1 or the other1 being ,ismenias4 ,guided by ,leontides1 the ,spartans1 one hot summer day1 seized the ,cadmeia2 ,leontides arrested his colleague ,ismenias1 and caused ,archias to be made ,polemarch in his place4 ,the popular leaders1 some four hundred in number1 took refuge in ,athens4 ,the ,spartans disclaimed the action of ,phoebidas1 who was fined and superseded2 and appropriated its results1 strengthening the garrison of the ,cadmeia4 ,a commission of judges from the confederate states was appointed by ,sparta to try ,ismenias on a vague charge of ,medizing2 he was condemned and executed4 ,of the two ,polemarchs1 ,archias was a man of pleasure1 ,leontides one of severe private life1 but an unscrupulous party leader4 ,he caused the lives of the refugees in ,athens to be attempted1 successfully in at least one case1 that of ,androcleidas4 ,of the patriots1 ,pelopidas1 who had been formally exiled1 was the leading spirit2 ,epaminondas1 who remained at home1 held back for good reasons which are stated in the course of the ,dialogue 7p4 #i74 ,one of the most useful confederates was ,phyllidas2 he had himself1 when on a visit to ,athens1 suggested the enterprise1 but he managed to retain the confidence of the party now in possession of ,thebes1 and held the office of ,secretary to the ,polemarchs4 ,these facts are assumed to be familiar to his hearers by ,capheisias1 brother of ,epaminondas1 who had himself joined the liberators without any scruples1 and later on had been sent to ,athens on an embassy4 ,his story of the sequel is told to a mixed company of ,athenians and ,thebans4 ,it is a perfectly clear one1 and needs no comment4 ,the facts are again told by ,plutarch in his ,life of ,pelopidas4 ,the ,lives were the work of his later years2 and the present ,dialogue1 with its fuller detail and more varied colouring1 is an earlier attempt to draw an historical picture1 a work of art which will bear the close inspection of those who love to hear of virtue1 or valour1 in action4 ,the events are also narrated by ,xenophon1 who1 from his usual ,lacedaemonian and anti-,theban bias1 omits all mention of ,pelopidas4 ,thirlwall has preferred to base his account upon ,plutarch2 ,grote follows ,xenophon1 but with a strong protest against his narrowness4 ,the conduct of ,sparta justifies the allegation made by the ,athenians in #daf ,b4,c41 #8that in her political transactions she measured honour by inclination and justice by expediency' 7,thuc4 #e1 #aje74 ,the most scathing verdict upon it is delivered by ,xenophon himself1 who pauses in his narrative to point the moral1 that the fall and degradation of ,sparta began from this turning-point3 #8,it would be possible to mention many other instances1 from ,greek and foreign history1 proving that the ,gods do not fail to notice the authors of impious and wicked deeds2 at present ,i shall only mention the case before us4 ,the ,lacedaemonians1 who had sworn that they would leave the cities independent1 and then seized the ,acropolis of ,thebes1 were punished entirely by those whom they had wronged1 having previously been beaten by no man then living4 ,the ,theban citizens who had introduced them into the citadel1 and who wished the city to be subject to the ,lacedaemonians that they themselves might enjoy absolute power1 lost their supremacy1 which seven exiles were enough to overthrow4' ,these remarks are in the spirit of the ,greek ,tragedians1 who love to bring into strong light an act or situation of pride and insolence as the turning-point from prosperity to ruin4 ,thucydides1 as is pointed out by ,grote in the masterly pages which end his fifty-sixth chapter1 has brought the cynical injustice of the ,athenians towards ,melos into glaring prominence in order to prepare his readers for the disastrous sequel4 ,the problem of the true nature of the #8,divine ,sign' of ,socrates is one of great interest and some mystery4 ,the ,latin word #8,genius'1 the attendant spirit who makes each of us what he is1 in fact1 his self1 is familiar to us from ,horace3 ,the ,genius1 guardian of each child of earth1 ,born when we're born and dying when we die4 7,epist4 #b1 #b1 #ahg47 ,the conception is thoroughly ,greek1 and may be paralleled abundantly from ,plato as well as from ,plutarch himself and contemporary writers4 ,but it is really misapplied here1 and is in fact a mistranslation1 since the word used by ,plato and ,xenophon as well as by ,plutarch is invariably not the daemon1 but the neuter adjective1 #8the daemonic sc4 ,sign'4 ,the passages of ,plato and ,xenophon are collected in the late ,james ,riddell's edition of the ,apology of ,plato4#bj ,it is to be observed that in all the genuine works of ,plato the operation of the ,sign is negative and deterrent1 in ,xenophon it is sometimes positive and hortatory4 ,the reader should consult the articles on ,socrates by ,professor ,henry ,jackson in the ,encyclopaedia ,britannica4 ,professor ,jackson is inclined to think that the evidence points to some abnormal condition of the sense of hearing1 and there are expressions in this ,dialogue of ,plutarch which seem to bear out such a view4 ,apuleius' treatise ,on the ,god of ,socrates 7which ,st4 ,augustine tells us that he would have entitled ,on the daemon of ,socrates if he had dared7 tells us much which is of interest about the daemons1 but not very much about ,socrates4 ,he contributes1 however1 the pertinent remark that the ,sign1 according to ,socrates himself1 was not #8a voice'1 but #8a sort of voice'4 ,there is no indication of the date of composition of this ,dialogue4 ,not many points of topography arise4 ,the ,cadmeia stood on a low hill or plateau rising from north to south on the eastern side of the ,dirce stream and reaching a height of some #bjj feet1 now occupied by the modern town4 ,the market-place was north-east of this1 near the river ,ismenus4 ,of the seven famous gates the returning exiles may probably have entered by the ,electran1 the one assailed by ,capaneus in ,aeschylus' story 7,seven against ,thebes1 #dbc74 ,a ,,dialogue ,,held ,,at ,,athens ,sidenote3 #egc ,,containing ,,an ,,account ,,of ,,the ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,theban ,,exiles1 #cgi ,b4,c4 ,,speakers ,,capheisias1 a ,theban 7brother of ,epaminondas71 who tells the story of the return4 ,,timotheus41 ,athenian ,,archidamus41 ,athenian ,,the ,,sons ,,of ,,archinus41 ,athenian ,,lysitheides41 ,athenian ,,other ,,friends4 ,i4 ,archidamus4 ,i once heard a painter1 ,capheisias1 say a ,sidenote3 ,b striking thing about the different people who come to view pictures1 which he put as a simile4 ,spectators with no technical knowledge1 he said1 are like those who greet a large company in the mass2 others1 who possess fine taste and a love of art1 resemble those who have a personal word for all comers4 ,the former get only a general view of the works before them1 which is never accurate2 the latter discuss each piece critically and in detail1 and no point of execution1 good or bad1 escapes inspection and remark4 ,now ,i think that it is just the same with the ,sidenote3 ,c actions of real life4 ,duller minds are satisfied if they learn from history the summary account of what occurred and its outcome2 lovers of what is honourable and beautiful take keener delight in hearing all particulars of the performances inspired by that great ,art ,virtue4 ,to the actual result1 ,fortune has much to say2 but he who dwells on causes and particulars sees ,virtue at odds with circumstance1 acts of rational daring done in the face of danger1 and calculation meeting opportunity and passion4 ,take it that we belong to the second class4 ,begin at the beginning of the enterprise1 and give us all the incidents and ,sidenote3 ,d all the speeches which were no doubt delivered in your presence2 and believe that ,i would not have hesitated to go to ,thebes on purpose to hear the story1 but that the ,athenians are already beginning to think me too much of a ,boeotian4 ,capheisias4 ,indeed1 ,archidamus1 since you are so kind as to press for the whole story1 it would be my duty to make it1 as ,pindar#ba says1 #8a call before all business' to come here to tell it2 but as we are brought here on an embassy1 and have nothing to do until we receive the answers of the people1 ,i feel that any reluctance or embarrassment on my part towards so kind and good a friend might well wake up the old reproach against the ,boeotians that they hate discussion4 ,it was already fading ,sidenote3 ,e away1 thanks to your ,socrates2 but our own care for ,lysis1#bb of blessed memory1 showed us true enthusiasts4 ,but see whom we have present3 is it convenient to them to listen to so long a story and to so many speeches8 ,the narrative is not a short one1 since you yourself bid me include the speeches4 ,archidamus4 ,you do not know these friends1 ,capheisias8 ,no1 but you should2 sons of good fathers who were good friends to your people4 ,this is ,lysitheides1 nephew of ,thrasybulus2 ,sidenote3 ,f this is ,timotheus1 ,conon's son2 these are the sons of ,archinus2 the others are all of our brotherhood2 so your story finds a friendly and congenial audience4 ,capheisias4 ,that is well4 ,but what should you think a good point for me to start from1 in view of what you know already8 ,archidamus4 ,we know fairly well1 ,capheisias1 how things were at ,thebes before the return of the exiles4 ,we had heard at ,athens how ,archias and ,leontides persuaded ,phoebidas to ,sidenote3 #egf seize the ,cadmeia during a truce2 how they expelled some of the citizens and terrorized others1 and seized office for themselves in defiance of law4 ,we were the personal hosts here of ,melon and ,pelopidas1 and constantly in their company so long as they were in exile4 ,again1 we had heard how the ,lacedaemonians fined ,phoebidas for seizing the ,cadmeia1 removed him from the command against ,olynthus1 and then replaced him at ,thebes by ,lysanoridas and two others1 and kept a stronger garrison than before in the ,citadel4 ,we were aware1 too1 how ,ismenias met an unworthy death1 since1 immediately after his trial1 ,gorgidas wrote the whole account in a letter to the ,sidenote3 ,b exiles here4 ,thus it remains for you to tell us about the actual return of our friends and the capture of the tyrants4 ,,ii4 ,capheisias4 ,well then1 ,archidamus1 during those days1 all of us who were concerned in the movement were accustomed to meet for conference when necessary in the house of ,simmias1 who was recovering from a wound in the leg2 ostensibly passing the time in philosophical talk1 into which1 as a blind1 we often drew ,archias and ,leontides1 men not altogether strangers to ,sidenote3 ,c such discussion4 ,for ,simmias had spent much time abroad1 and wandered among men of other lands1 and had shortly before this returned to ,thebes full of all sorts of stories and outlandish accounts4 ,these stories ,archias used to enjoy when he chanced to have leisure1 taking his seat with the young men1 and liking us to pass the time in talk rather than attend to their proceedings4 ,on the day upon which the exiles were to reach the walls at dusk1 a man came in from here1 sent by ,pherenicus1 known to none of our party except ,charon2 he proceeded to explain that the younger exiles1 twelve in number1 had taken hounds to hunt the ,cithaeron country1 intending to reach ,thebes towards evening4 ,he had been sent1 he said1 in advance ,sidenote3 ,d to tell us this1 and to find out who was to provide the house for their concealment on arrival1 so that they might have notice and go straight to it4 ,while we were puzzling it over1 ,charon agreed to provide his own house4 ,so the man settled to return to the exiles as fast as he could4 ,,iii4 ,here the prophet ,theocritus pressed my hand hard1 and looking at ,charon1 who was walking in front1 said3 #8,this man is no philosopher1 ,capheisias2 he has received no extraordinary training1 as ,epaminondas your brother has2 yet you see how he is naturally drawn by the laws towards the nobler ,sidenote3 ,e course1 volunteering to encounter the greatest danger for our country's sake4 ,whereas ,epaminondas1 who claims to have been trained to virtue above all ,boeotians1 is dull and spiritless2#bc what better opportunity than this will he ever have to bring into play his fine gifts and training8' ,i said3 #8,not so fast1 ,sidenote3 ,f ,theocritus the eager6 ,we are carrying out what we ourselves resolved2 but ,epaminondas1 failing to persuade us to drop the plan1 as he thinks would be best1 naturally resists when invited to a course of action which he dislikes and disapproves4 ,suppose a physician undertook to cure a disease without the use of knife or fire3 you would not be using him fairly1 to my thinking1 if you compelled him to cut or burn4#bd ,very well2 my brother1 as you know1 will not have any citizen die without a trial1 yet is eager to work with those who wish to free the city from internal bloodshed and slaughter4 ,as1 however1 he fails to convince the majority1 and as we have embarked on this course1 he bids you let him stand out1 clear and guiltless of murder1 and free to watch opportunities2 when justice and expediency ,sidenote3 #egg meet1 he will strike in4 ,he feels that1 work once begun1 there will be no limitations2 perhaps ,pherenicus and ,pelopidas will turn their attack against the greatest criminals1 but ,eumolpidas and ,samidas1 men of fire and passion1 when night puts power in their hands1 will not sheathe their swords before they have filled the city with murder from end to end1 and dispatched many of our leading men4 ,,iv4 ,while ,i was thus conversing with ,theocritus1 ,galaxidorus kept trying to check us2#be ,archias was near1 and ,lysanoridas the ,spartan1 both walking quickly from the ,cadmeia1 ,sidenote3 ,b apparently towards the same point as ourselves4 ,so we broke off2 ,archias called ,theocritus1 and drew him towards ,lysanoridas2 then he talked a long time with them apart1 having changed his direction a little towards the ,amphion4 ,thus we were in an agony3 had some hint or information reached them1 upon which they were questioning ,theocritus8 ,in the meanwhile ,phyllidas1 whom you know1 ,archidamus1 and who was at that time acting as clerk to ,archias and the ,polemarchs1 and knew of the expected arrival of the exiles1#bf being privy to our scheme1 pressed my hand as it was his way to do1 and went on with bantering talk for every one's benefit1 about the gymnasia and the wrestling2 then1 having drawn me some distance from the others1 he began to ask me about the exiles1 and whether ,sidenote3 ,c they were keeping to their day4 ,when ,i said that they were1 he continued3 #8,then ,i have done right in preparing for to-day the party at which ,i mean to entertain ,archias1 and to deliver him into their hand in his cups4' #8,better than right1 ,phyllidas6' ,i said2 #8and do you try to collect all or as many as you can of our enemies to the same place4' #8,that is not easy2' said he1 #8indeed1 it is impossible2 for ,archias1 expecting that a certain lady of high rank will come there to meet him1 does not wish ,leontides to be present4 ,we must therefore mark ,sidenote3 ,d them down to separate houses4 ,if ,archias and ,leontides are once captured1 ,i think that the others will take themselves off1 or else will remain quiet1 glad to close with any offer of safety4' #8,we will do so1' ,i said1 #8but what can ,theocritus have to talk about with these people8' #8,i cannot answer clearly or from knowledge1' said ,phyllidas1 #8but ,i heard portents mentioned and prophecies disastrous to ,sparta4' #bg,meanwhile ,theocritus rejoined us1 and ,pheidolaus of ,haliartus came up and said1 #8,simmias wants you to wait hereabouts a little4 ,he is closeted with ,leontides1 interceding for ,amphitheus to get his sentence of death commuted1 if possible1 to exile4' ,v4 #8,the very man6' said ,theocritus4 #8,you might ,sidenote3 ,e have come on purpose1 for ,i was longing to hear what the discoveries were1 and about the general appearance of the tomb of ,alcmena in your country when it was opened1 if you were really present yourself when ,agesilaus sent and removed the remains to ,sparta4' ,pheidolaus answered3 #8,i was not present2 and vexed and indignant ,i was with my citizens for leaving me out4 ,however1 no vestige of a body was found1 only a bracelet of brass1 not a large one1 and two earthenware jars containing ,sidenote3 ,f earth which had become solid as stone4 ,above the tomb lay a brass plate1 with many letters wonderful for their great antiquity2 they afforded no intelligible sense1 though they came out clear to the eye when the brass was washed4 ,the characters were of a peculiar and barbaric type1 most closely resembling the ,egyptian2 and ,agesilaus accordingly1 as they said1 sent copies to the king of ,egypt1 asking him to show them to the priests1 on the chance of their understanding them4 ,however1 ,simmias may1 perhaps1 have something to tell you about all this1 as he was at that time in ,egypt1 and philosophy ,sidenote3 #egh brought him much into the society of the priests4 ,but the people of ,haliartus believe that the great scarcity of crops and the advance of the lake were not accidental1 but were an angry visitation because they allowed the tomb to be dug open4' ,after a short pause ,theocritus went on3 #8,nor yet are the ,lacedaemonians themselves clear of the wrath of heaven1 as is shown by the portents about which ,lysanoridas was lately conferring with us4 ,he is now off to ,haliartus to fill in the ,sidenote3 ,b tomb again and to offer libations to ,alcmena and ,aleus1 of course in accordance with some oracle1 not knowing who ,aleus was4 ,when he comes back from there he intends to investigate the tomb of ,dirce1 which is unknown to the ,thebans1 except those who have acted as ,hipparchs4 ,the outgoing magistrate takes his successor in office1 with no one else present1 and shows it him at night2 they perform certain fireless rites over the tomb1 carefully obliterate all traces1 and go off under cover of darkness by separate ways4 ,and much chance1 ,i think1 they will have of finding it1 ,pheidolaus6 ,for most of those who have served legally as ,hipparchs are now in exile2 ,i might say all1 except ,sidenote3 ,c ,gorgidas and ,plato1 whom they fear too much to examine4 ,but the present magistrates receive the spear and the seal in the ,cadmeia1 and know absolutely nothing4' ,,vi4 ,while ,theocritus was saying this1 ,leontides was going out with his friends4 ,we entered1 and began to pay our compliments to ,simmias1 who was sitting on the couch1 having been unsuccessful in his petition1 ,i think1 for he seemed wrapped in thought and much annoyed4 ,looking hard at us all1 #8,hercules6' ,sidenote3 ,d he said1 #8what savage barbarous manners6 ,how right1 and more than right1 old ,thales was1 when he came home from a long absence abroad1 and his friends asked what was his rarest discovery1 8,an aged tyrant01 he said6 ,for every one1 even if he have not been personally wronged1 is disgusted at mere oppression1 and harshness1 and so is an enemy to lawless irresponsible dynasties4 ,well1 the ,god will see to this1 perhaps2 now1 ,capheisias1 about your newcomer1 do you know who he is8' #8,i do not know'1 said ,i1 #8whom you mean4' #8,yet ,leontides tells us'1 he said1 #8that a man has been seen by the tomb of ,lysis1 rising to go when night was done4 ,his retinue and ,sidenote3 ,e equipment were stately4 ,he had bivouacked there on a rough bed1 for piles of agnus castus and tamarisk were visible1 and also remains of burnt sacrifices and libations of milk4 ,at dawn he asked those who met him whether he should find the sons of ,polymnis in the country4' #8,but who can the stranger be8' ,i said2 #8from what you tell us it must be some uncommon person1 one in no private station4' ,,vii4 #8,certainly not'1 said ,pheidolaus4 #8,however1 when he comes we will see to his reception4 ,now1 as to those characters1 ,simmias1 about which we were puzzling just now4 ,if you know more than we do1 tell us2 for it is said that the ,egyptian priests have made out the letters on the plate which ,agesilaus ,sidenote3 ,f took from us when he opened the tomb of ,alcmena4' ,simmias remembered at once4 #8,i know nothing of that plate1 ,pheidolaus2' he said1 #8but ,agenoridas the ,spartan brought a number of characters from ,agesilaus to ,memphis1 to ,chonuphis the prophet1 with whom ,plato and ,i and ,hellopion of ,peparethus were staying to enjoy ,philosophy together4 ,he had been sent by the king1 who desired ,chonuphis1 if he could make anything out of the inscription1 to interpret and return it quickly4 ,after spending three days in retirement1 reading up characters from all countries in ancient books1 he wrote his answer to the king4 ,sidenote3 #egi ,he explained to us that this inscription directs the holding of a competition in honour of the ,muses4 ,the characters belonged to the system of the reign of ,proteus1 the one learnt by ,hercules the son of ,amphitryon4 ,the ,god therein directs and charges the ,greeks to observe a time of peace and leisure1 spending it in continuous philosophical debate1 with the help of the ,muses and of ,reason1 for the decision of points relating to ,justice1 all arms being laid aside4 ,we thought at the time that what ,chonuphis said was good1 and we thought so still more when1 in our journey from ,egypt round ,caria1 we met certain ,delians ,sidenote3 ,b who begged ,plato1 as a geometrician1 to solve the problem propounded in a mysterious oracle of the ,god4 ,the oracle was this3 8,the ,delians and the other ,greeks shall have respite from their present ills when they have doubled the altar at ,delos40 ,the ,delians were unable to guess the meaning1 and1 moreover1 had brought themselves into a ludicrous difficulty about the construction of the altar4 ,they had doubled each of the four sides1#bh and so unconsciously produced a solid figure eight times greater than the original1 in ignorance of the factor which must be applied to the side1 in order to double the solid4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,so they appealed to ,plato for help in the difficulty4 ,plato1 remembering the ,egyptian1 said that the ,god was rallying the ,greeks on their neglect of liberal studies1 mocking our ignorance1 and commanding us to take up geometry in real earnest2 that it required no slight or dim-sighted intellect1 but a first-rate training in linear geometry1 to find two mean proportionals1 the only method by which a solid in the form of a cube can be doubled1 if all its dimensions are to be increased uniformly4 ,eudoxus of ,cnidos1 he said1 or ,helicon of ,cyzicus1 would work this out for them4#bi ,however1 in his opinion1 the ,god did not desire this2 he was enjoining all the ,greeks to cease from war ,sidenote3 ,d and trouble and devote themselves to the ,muses1 to soften their passions by discussions and ,mathematics1 and to associate profitably with one another4' ,,viii4 ,while ,simmias was speaking1 our father ,polymnis came in upon us4 ,he sat down by ,simmias and said3 #8,epaminondas invites you and all present1 if you have no more pressing engagement1 to wait hereabouts2 he wants to introduce to you the stranger1 a man noble himself1 and brought here by a noble and generous errand4 ,he comes from the ,pythagoreans of ,sidenote3 ,e ,italy1 to pour offerings on the tomb of old ,lysis1 in accordance1 as he says1 with certain dreams and clear visions4 ,he brings a large sum in gold1 thinking that ,epaminondas ought to be reimbursed for the care of ,lysis in his old age1 and on this he insists most keenly1 though we neither ask nor wish assistance for our poverty4' ,simmias was pleased3 #8,a really wonderful man1' he said1 #8and worthy of ,philosophy2 but what is the reason that he has not come straight to us8' #8,he passed the night1 ,i think1' said he1 #8near the tomb of ,lysis2 ,epaminondas ,sidenote3 ,f was to take him on to the ,ismenus to bathe1 and then they will come on to us here4 ,before he met us1 he had made his night's lodging near the tomb1 intending to take up the remains and convey them to ,italy1 unless prevented by some divine warning in the night4' ,having said this1 my father was silent4 ,,ix4 ,then ,galaxidorus spoke3 #8,hercules6 how hard it is to find a man quite free from vanity and superstition6 ,some are caught by these weaknesses against their will1 owing to want of experience or of strength4 ,others1 in order to appear singular and to be taken for friends of the ,gods1 bring the divine into all they do1 making dreams and portents and such stuff a pretext for anything that enters their head4 ,now1 to men in public ,sidenote3 #ehj stations1 who are compelled to adapt their lives to a self-willed and petulant multitude1 this may have its advantage2 superstition is a bit wherewith to check a populace1 and direct it to what is expedient4 ,but to ,philosophy such posturing is unbecoming in itself1 and1 moreover1 it contradicts her professions2 she undertakes to teach all that is good and expedient by the reason1 and then1 as though in despite of reason1 goes back upon the ,gods and away from the first principles of action2 and1 dishonouring demonstration1 in which her own excellence is supposed to lie1 turns to prophecies and visions seen in dreams1 ,sidenote3 ,b things in which the weakest often have as great success as the strongest4 ,this1 ,i think1 ,simmias1 is why your ,socrates embraced a system of intellectual training which bore a more philosophical stamp1 choosing that simple artless type as being liberal and most friendly to truth2 and casting to the winds for the sophists1 as a mere smoke from ,philosophy1 all pretentious nonsense4' ,theocritus broke in3 #8,what1 ,galaxidorus1 and has ,meletus persuaded even you too that ,socrates despised ,sidenote3 ,c what was divine1 for that was the charge which he actually brought before the ,athenians8' #8,what was divine--no2' he said1 #8but he received ,philosophy from ,pythagoras and ,empedocles full of visions and myths and superstitions1 and deeply dipped in mysteries2 and trained her to look at facts1 and be sensible1 and pursue truth in soberness of reason4' ,x4 #8,granted2' said ,theocritus1 #8but as to the ,divine ,sign of ,socrates1 good friend1 are we to call it a falsity or what8 ,to me1 nothing recorded about ,pythagoras seems to go so far towards the prophetic and divine4 ,for1 in plain words1 as ,homer has drawn ,athena to ,odysseus ,in all his toils a presence and a stay1#cj even so1 apparently1 did the spirit attach to ,socrates1 from the first1 a sort of vision to go before and guide his steps in life1 which alone ,passing before him shed a light around#ca ,sidenote3 ,d in matters of uncertainty1 too hard for the wit of man to solve2 upon these the spirit used often to converse with him1 adding a divine touch to his own resolutions4 ,for more1 and more important1 instances you must ask ,simmias and the other companions of ,socrates4 ,but ,i was myself present1 having come to stay with ,euthyphron the prophet1 when ,socrates1 as you remember1 ,simmias1 was going up to the ,symbolum and the house of ,andocides1 asking some question as he walked and playfully cross-examining ,euthyphron4 ,suddenly he stopped and closed his lips tightly#cb and was wrapt in thought for some time4 ,then he turned back and took the way through the ,sidenote3 ,e ,trunkmakers' ,street1 and tried to recall those of our friends who were already in advance1 saying that the ,sign was upon him4 ,most of them turned in a body1 amongst whom was ,i1 keeping close to ,euthyphron4 ,but some young members of the party1 no doubt to put the ,sign of ,socrates to the test1 held on1 and drew into their number ,charillus the flute-player1 who had come to ,athens with myself1 staying with ,cebes4 ,now as they were going through the street of the ,statuaries near the ,law ,courts1 they were met by a whole herd of swine loaded with mud and hustling one another by press of numbers4 ,there was no ,sidenote3 ,f getting out of the way2 on they charged1 upsetting some1 bespattering others4 ,at any rate1 ,charillus came home with his clothes full of mud and his legs too1 so that we always laugh when we remember ,socrates and his ,sign1 and wonder that this divine presence of his should never fail him or forget4' ,,xi4 ,then ,galaxidorus said3 #8,do you think then1 ,theocritus1 that the ,sign of ,socrates possessed a special and extraordinary power1 not that some fragment of the ready wit which we all share determined him by an empiric process1 turning the scale of his reasoning in cases which were uncertain and incalculable8 ,for as a single weight does not by itself incline the balance1 but1 if added to one scale when the weights are even1 sinks the whole of that one on its own side1 so ,sidenote3 #eha a cry1 or any such feather-weight sign1 will fit#cc a mind already weighted1 and draw it into action2 and when two trains of thought are in conflict1 it reinforces one1 and solves the difficulty by removing the equality1 so that there is a movement and an inclination4' ,my father broke in3 #8,well1 but ,i have myself heard1 ,galaxidorus1 from a certain ,megarian1 who had it from ,terpsion1 that the ,sign of ,socrates was a sneeze1 proceeding either from himself or from other persons2 if some one else sneezed on his ,sidenote3 ,b right1 whether behind or in front1 it encouraged him to the action2 if on the left1 it warned him off it4 ,of his own sneezings there was one kind which confirmed his purpose when he was still intending to act2 another stopped him when he was already acting and checked his impulse4 ,the wonder to me is that if he made use of a sneeze he did not so call it to his companions1 but was in the habit of saying that what checked or commanded him was a ,divine ,sign4 ,for that would be like vanity and idle boasting1 not like truth and simplicity1 in which lay1 as we suppose1 his greatness and his superiority to men in general1 to be disturbed by a sound from outside or a casual sneeze1 and so be diverted from acting1 and give up what he had resolved4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,now the impulses of ,socrates1 on the other hand1 show firmness and intensity in every direction1 as though issuing from a right and powerful judgement and principle4 ,thus for a man to remain in voluntary poverty all his life1 when he might have had plenty1 and the givers would have been pleased and thankful1 and never to swerve from ,philosophy in the face of all those hindrances2 and at last1 when the zeal and ingenuity of his friends had made his way easy to safety and retreat1 not to be bent by their entreaties1 nor yield to the near approach of ,sidenote3 ,d death--all this is not like a man whose judgement might be changed by random voices or sneezings2 it is like one led to what is noble by some greater and more sovereign authority4 ,i hear also that he foretold to some of his friends the disaster which befell the power of ,athens in ,sicily4 ,at a still earlier time1 ,pyrilampes1 the son of ,antiphon1 when taken prisoner in the pursuit near ,delium1 after having received from us a javelin wound1 as soon as he had heard from those who had arrived from ,athens to arrange the truce that ,socrates had returned home in safety by ,the ,gullies#cd with ,alcibiades and ,laches1 often called upon him by name1 and often on friends and comrades of ,sidenote3 ,e his own who had fled with him by way of ,parnes1 and been slain by our cavalry2 they had disobeyed the ,sign of ,socrates1 he said1 in turning from the battle by a different way instead of following his lead4 ,this1 ,i think1 ,simmias too must have heard4' #8,often1' said ,simmias1 #8and from many persons4 ,for there was no little noise at ,athens about the ,sign of ,socrates in consequence4' ,,xii4 #8,well1 then1 ,simmias1' said ,pheidolaus1 #8are we to allow ,galaxidorus in his jesting way to bring down this great fact of divination to sneezings and cries1 which plenty of common ,sidenote3 ,f ignorant persons apply to trifles in mere sport1 whereas1 when grave dangers overtake them1 or more serious business1 we may quote ,euripides3#ce ,these follies have a truce when steel is near#88 ,galaxidorus said3 #8,i am quite ready to listen to ,simmias on this subject1 ,pheidolaus1 if he has himself heard ,socrates speak about it1 and to join you in believing2 but as for all that you and ,polymnis have mentioned1 it is not hard to refute it4 ,for as in medicine a throb or a pimple is a small matter1 but is the indication of what is not small2 and as to a pilot the cry of a bird from the open sea1 or the scudding of a thin film of cloud1 ,sidenote3 #ehb signifies wind and rougher seas1 so to a prophetic soul a sneeze or a voice is nothing great in itself1 but is the sign of a great conjuncture4 ,there is no art in which it is thought contemptible to forecast great things by small1 many things through few4 ,suppose a man ignorant of the meaning of letters were to see a few insignificant-looking characters1 and to refuse to believe that one who knew grammar could1 by their help1 repeat the story of great wars between old-world peoples1 and foundings of cities1 and what kings did or suffered1 and then were to say ,sidenote3 ,b that a voice1 or something like a voice1 revealed and repeated each of these things to that historian1 a pleasant laugh would come over your face1 my friend1 at the ignorance of that man4 ,now1 consider1 may it not be so with us8 ,in our ignorance of the meaning of different things by which the prophetic art hits the coming event1 are we simple enough to rebel if a man of intellect uses them to reveal something not yet evident1 and says1 moreover1 that a ,divine ,sign1 not a sneeze or a voice1 directs him to the facts8 ,for now ,i turn to you1 ,polymnis1 who wonder that ,socrates1 a man who did so very much to make ,philosophy human by simplicity and absence of cant1 should ,sidenote3 ,c have named his ,sign1 not a sneeze or a voice1 but1 in full tragic phrase1 his ,divine ,sign4 ,i1 on the contrary1 should be surprised if a man so excellent in ,dialectic and mastery of terms had said that the sneeze and not the ,divine ,sign gave him the intimation4 ,as if a man were to say that he had been wounded 8by the javelin01 not 8by the thrower with his javelin01 or1 again1 that the weight had been measured 8by the balance01 not 8by the weigher with his balance04 ,for the work is not the work of the tool but of the owner of the tool which he uses for the work2 and the ,sign is a kind of tool used by the signifying power4 ,but1 as ,i said1 if ,simmias should have anything to tell us we must listen1 for his knowledge is more exact4' ,,xiii4 ,then ,theocritus said3 #8,yes1 but first let us see ,sidenote3 ,d who these persons are who are coming in2 or1 rather1 it is surely ,epaminondas bringing the stranger to us4' ,we looked towards the doors1 and saw ,epaminondas leading the way1 then ,ismenidorus1 ,bacchylidas1 and ,melissus the flute-player1 all of them our friends and confederates2 then the stranger followed1 a man of much nobility of mien1 but with a gentle and kindly character apparent beneath it1 and dressed in a grave fashion4 ,he took his seat by ,simmias1 my brother next to me1 and the rest as they found places4 ,then1 when there was silence1 ,simmias called on my brother3 #8,well1 ,epaminondas1 how are we to address our friend8 ,who and what is he1 and ,sidenote3 ,e whence8 ,that is the usual formula for beginning an introduction and an acquaintance4'#cf ,epaminondas replied3 #8,theanor is his name1 ,simmias1 and his family is of ,crotona1 where he belongs to the local school of ,philosophy and does no discredit to the great fame of ,pythagoras2 he has just taken the long journey from ,italy here1 to confirm noble doctrines by noble acts4' ,the stranger broke in3 #8,indeed1 ,epaminondas1 you are now hindering the noblest of all actions4 ,for if to confer a benefit on friends be noble1 it is no shame to receive ,sidenote3 ,f one from them4 ,a favour needs one to receive1 no less than one to bestow it2 both must join to ensure a noble result4 ,it is like a ball well delivered2 to allow it to drop idle to the ground is to shame it4 ,now what mark is there for a ball1 so agreeable for the thrower to hit and so distressing to miss1 as a man at whom one aims a favour when he well deserves it8 ,but in the one case the mark stands still1 and he who misses has himself to thank2 in the other1 he who excuses himself and swerves aside does a wrong to the favour which never reaches its goal4 ,you have yourself heard fully from me the reasons of my voyage here2 but ,i should like to go through the story ,sidenote3 #ehc as fully to those now present1 and let them be judges between us4 #8,when the ,pythagoreans had been overpowered by faction in the different cities1 and their brotherhoods expelled1 and when the party of ,cylon had piled up a fire round a house in ,metapontum in which those still settled there were holding a meeting1 and had dispatched all those in the place except ,philolaus and ,lysis1 who were still young1 and were strong enough and active enough to push through the fire1 ,philolaus escaped thence to ,lucania and joined in safety the rest of our friends1 who were by this time rallying and holding their own against the ,cylonians4 ,where ,lysis was1 no one knew for a long time2 however1 ,gorgias of ,leontini1 sailing back from ,sidenote3 ,b ,greece to ,sicily1 brought certain news to ,arcesus and his friends that he had met ,lysis1 who was staying near ,thebes4 ,arcesus longed to see the man1 and was eager to sail straight off himself2 but being quite disabled by age and infirmity1 gave orders to bring ,lysis alive to ,italy if possible1 or his remains if he should have died4 ,then came wars1 revolutions1 and periods of tyranny which made it impossible for the friends to perform the task in his lifetime4 ,but when the spirit of ,lysis1 now dead1 had shown us clearly of his end1 and well informed persons told us of all the care and entertainment which he had ,sidenote3 ,c received from your family1 ,polymnis2 how richly his age had been cared for in a poor house1 and how he had been adopted as father to your sons before his blessed end came1 ,i was sent out1 a young man and alone1 to represent many of my elders who have money and wish to offer it to those who have not1 in return for favour and friendship richly bestowed4 ,lysis lies where you have honourably laid him2 yet the honour of that tomb is greater when recompense is made for it to friends by friends dear and close4' ,,xiv4 ,while the stranger was speaking thus1 my father wept a long while over the memory of ,lysis1 but my brother ,sidenote3 ,d with his usual gentle smile said to me3 #8,what is it to be1 ,capheisias8 ,are we to surrender poverty to riches1 and to say nothing8' #8,no6 no6' said ,i1 #8the dear 8good nurse of young manhood0#cg--to her rescue6 it is your turn to speak4' #8,see1 father2' he said1 #8that was the only side on which ,i used to fear that our house might be captured by money4 ,i mean through ,capheisias and his person1 which needs beautiful clothes that he may make a brave show before all his admiring friends1 and needs food of the best1 and plenty of it1 that he may have strength for the gymnasia and wrestling matches4 ,now that he does not betray poverty1 or throw off our ancestral poverty like a coat of paint1 but1 boy though he is1 goes proudly ,sidenote3 ,e in thrift1 and is content with what we have1 to what possible use could we put money8 ,shall we plate our armour1 say1 with gold1 and make the shield gay with purple and gold together1 as ,nicias of ,athens did8#ch ,shall we buy you1 father1 a ,milesian cloak1 or a dress with a purple border for mother8 ,you know1 we are not likely to spend the present on our table1 or to feast ourselves more sumptuously1 as having admitted a guest of such importance as wealth4' #8,away with it1 boy6' said my father1 #8never may ,i see our life new-modelled like that6' ,sidenote3 ,f #8,no1' my brother went on1 #8nor will we sit idle at home and guard our wealth2 that would be a 8boonless boon0#ci indeed1 and a getting with no honour to it4' #8,of course'1 said our father4 #8,you know1' ,epaminondas went on1 #8when ,jason1 the ,thessalian ,tagus1 lately sent a large sum of money here to us and begged us to take it1 he thought me something of a boor when ,i answered that he was making the first move in wrong and robbery1 when a lover of monarchy like himself tempted with money a private citizen of a free self-governed state4 ,from you1 ,sir1 ,i accept your generous intention1 and admire it ,sidenote3 #ehd more than ,i can say2 it is beautiful and philosophical too2 but you are bringing medicines to friends who are not sick6 ,suppose that you had heard that we were attacked in war1 and had sailed with arms and ammunition to help us1 and on arrival had found that all was friendliness and peace2 you would not think it necessary to hand over the stores and leave them where they were not needed4 ,even so1 you have come to be our ally against poverty1 thinking that we were pinched by her1 but there is none so easy to be endured as she1 our dear fellow-lodger4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,so no need for money or arms against her who vexes us not4 ,take back this message to your brotherhood3 that they themselves use their wealth most nobly1 but that there are friends here who make noble use of poverty3 and that1 as to the entertainment of ,lysis and his burial1 ,lysis has paid the score in full for himself1 not least by teaching us not to fret at poverty4' ,,xv4 ,theanor broke in3 #8,then1 if it is ignoble to fret at poverty1 is it not eccentric to fear and shun wealth8' #8,eccentric it is if it is rejected on no rational grounds1 but in order to pose or because of insipid taste or affectation of some kind4' #8,but what rational grounds'1 he said1 #8could bar the getting of wealth by good and honest means1 ,epaminondas8 ,or rather--and surrender more gently than you did to the ,thessalian in ,sidenote3 ,c answering our questions about these matters--tell me whether you think that the giving of money may sometimes be right1 but the receiving never2 or that givers and receivers alike are in all cases wrong8' #8,no1 no6' said ,epaminondas1 #8,i hold that1 as with everything else1 so with wealth2 there is a giving and a getting which are ugly1 and a giving and a getting which are fine4' #8,then1' said ,theanor1 #8when a man gives readily and heartily what he owes1 is not that beautiful8' ,he assented4 #8,but when one receives what another beautifully gives1 is not the taking beautiful8 ,or could there be a fairer taking of ,sidenote3 ,d money than when it comes from one who gives fairly8' #8,there could not'1 he said4 #8,then of two friends1 ,epaminondas1' said he1 #8if one is to give1 it looks as if the other must take4 ,for in battles one must swerve away from a marksman in the enemy's ranks2 in the conflict of benefits it is not fair to avoid or thrust aside the friend who nobly gives4 ,for1 if poverty is no affliction1 yet wealth1 on its side1 is not a thing to be flouted and refused like that4' #8,it is not1' said ,epaminondas1 #8but there is a case where the gift which may be nobly offered remains more honoured and more noble if it is refused4 ,look at it with us in this way3 you will allow that there are many desires1 and desires of many things2 some inborn1 as we call them1 which grow up about the body and are directed towards its necessary pleasures2 others adventitious1 grounded on mere fancies1 but ,sidenote3 ,e gaining strength and power by time and use1 where there is vicious education1 and often dragging down the soul more forcibly than do those which are necessary4 ,now1 by habits and training1 men have before now succeeded in drawing off and subjecting to reason1 in great measure1 the innate affections4 ,but the whole force of discipline1 my friend1 must be brought to bear against those which are adventitious and extraordinary2 we must work them out1 and hack them off1 and use restraints and checks to school them to reason4 ,for if thirst and hunger are forced out by rational resistance in the matter of food and ,sidenote3 ,f drink1 far easier surely is it to stunt1 and in the end to annihilate1 love of wealth and love of glory by refusing and prohibiting the things at which they aim4 ,do you not agree8' ,the stranger assented4 #8,then1 do you see a distinction'1 ,epaminondas went on1 #8between training and the intended result of the training8 ,thus the result of athletic exercise would be the contest against a competitor for the crown2 training would be the preparation of the body for this contest of the gymnasia4 ,so with virtue1 do you allow that there are two things1 the result and the training8' ,the stranger assented4 #8,now then1' ,epaminondas resumed1 #8tell me first with respect to temperance2 do you take abstinence from base and lawless pleasures ,sidenote3 #ehe to be a training1 or rather a result and a proof of training8' #8,a result and a proof'1 he said4 #8,but it is a training or study in temperance--is it not8--which still draws all of you on when you go to the gymnasia and have stirred up your desires for food1 as though they were wild beasts1 and then stand for a long time over bright tables with a variety of dishes1 and at last pass the good cheer for your servants to enjoy1 offering to your own now chastened appetites only what is plain and simple1 since abstinence from pleasures in things allowed is a training for the soul against pleasures which are forbidden8' #8,no doubt'1 he said4 #8,then there is1 friend1 a way of training ourselves for ,sidenote3 ,b justice against the love of wealth and money2 ,i do not mean never to enter our neighbour's premises by night and steal his goods1 and never to take his clothes at the bath2 nor yet if a man does not betray country and friends for money is he training himself against covetousness 7since here1 perhaps1 the law comes in and fear1 to hinder greediness from doing acts of wrong74 ,no1 the man who often and voluntarily sets himself aloof from gains which are just and are allowed by law is training and habituating himself in advance to keep his distance from every gain which is unrighteous and forbidden4 ,for as1 when it encounters great pleasures which are also strange and hurtful1 the mind cannot avoid a flutter unless it has often despised ,sidenote3 ,c permitted enjoyments1 so to pass by vicious gains and great advancement when they come within reach is not easy1 unless from a great way off the love of gain has been fettered and chastened2 whereas1 if it has been brought up to gain1 and there has been no check on its license1 it makes a riotous growth towards all iniquity1 and only with the greatest effort is it withheld from grasping an advantage4 ,but if a man does not surrender himself to the favours of friends or to the bounties of kings1 but has said no even to an inheritance which ,fortune offers1 and has put far off that love of wealth which springs up to meet a treasure as it comes into sight1 he finds that covetousness rises up against him no longer1 nor tempts him to what is wrong1 nor disturbs his understanding4 ,he is gentle1 and possesses himself for noble uses2 he has great thoughts and ,sidenote3 ,d shares with his soul the noblest secrets4 ,we1 ,capheisias and ,i1 are lovers of such men1 dear ,simmias1 and we entreat the stranger to allow us so to train ourselves in poverty that we may reach virtue such as that4' ,,xvi4 ,my brother finished his argument1 and then ,simmias nodded his head two or three times4 #8,a great man1' he said1 #8a great man is ,epaminondas1 and thanks to ,polymnis here for that1 who procured for his sons from the first the best training in ,philosophy4 ,however1 with regard to this question1 ,sir1 do you and they settle it between you4 ,now about ,lysis1 if we ,sidenote3 ,e may be allowed to hear4 ,do you mean to move him from his tomb and to transfer him to ,italy2 or will you allow him to remain here with us1 where he shall find kind and friendly fellow-lodgers when our time comes8' ,theanor smiled on him3 #8,lysis appears1 ,simmias1 to love this country1 in which by the good offices of ,epaminondas he has wanted nothing that is honourable4 ,for there is a certain holy rite connected with our ,pythagorean burials1 which if we lack we do not seem to attain our full and blessed consummation4 ,so when we knew from dreams of the death of ,lysis 7we distinguish by a certain sign which is revealed in sleep whether an appearance belongs ,sidenote3 ,f to a dead person or a living71 this thought came over many of us3 so ,lysis has been buried in another land with strange rites2 he must be moved here to us1 that he may share in all that is customary4 ,coming with such an intention1 and guided straight to the tomb by people of the place1 ,i was pouring libations just at evening time1 and calling on the soul of ,lysis to return and declare solemnly how we ought to act4 ,the night went on and ,i saw nothing1 but thought ,i heard a voice3 8,stir not what is best unstirred2 the body of ,lysis has been buried with holy rites by friends2 his soul has already been parted from it and dismissed to another birth1 with another spirit for its partner40 ,accordingly1 when ,i met ,epaminondas at dawn ,sidenote3 #ehf and heard the manner in which he buried ,lysis1 ,i recognized that he had been well trained by that great teacher1 even to the rules which must not be spoken1 and had enjoyed the guidance in life from the same spirit as he1 unless ,i fail to guess the pilot aright from the course steered4 ,for 8wide are the tracks0#dj of our lives1 and few there are of them by which the spirits lead men4' ,when ,theanor had said this1 he looked closely at ,epaminondas1 as though scrutinizing him afresh without and within4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,,xvii4 ,in the meantime the surgeon came up and loosened ,simmias' bandage1 intending to dress the limb4 ,but ,phyllidas came in upon us with ,hippostheneidas1 and bidding me1 and also ,charon and ,theocritus1 rise and follow him1 led us to a corner of the colonnade1 his face showing great agitation4 ,to my question1 #8,any news1 ,phyllidas8' he answered1 #8,no news to me2 ,i knew and told you all the time how weak ,hippostheneidas was1 and implored you not to admit him as an associate of our enterprise4' ,we were dismayed at this1 and ,hippostheneidas said3 #8,in ,heaven's name1 ,phyllidas1 do not say that2 do not take rashness to be courage1 and thereby ruin us and the city too2 ,sidenote3 ,c but allow the men to make their own return in safety if it is so appointed4' ,phyllidas was nettled3 #8,tell me1 ,hippostheneidas1' he said1 #8how many do you think share the inner secrets of our plan8' #8,not less than thirty1 to my knowledge'1 he said4 #8,very well1' said ,phyllidas1 #8there is all that number1 and you have taken on your single self to annul and check the plan on which all had resolved1 you sent a mounted messenger to the men when already on their road1 bidding them turn back and not press on to-day1 when most of the arrangements for their return have settled themselves without us4' ,when ,phyllidas had said this we were all much disturbed1 but ,charon fastened ,sidenote3 ,d his eyes very severely on ,hippostheneidas3 #8,villain6' he said1 #8what have you done to us8' #8,nothing terrible1' answered ,hippostheneidas1 #8if you will drop your harsh tone and listen to the calculations of a man of your own age1 with grey hairs like yourself4 ,if we have resolved to give our countrymen an exhibition of a courage which loves danger1 and a spirit which makes little of life1 then there is much of the day still before us1 ,phyllidas2 let us not wait for the evening1 but march at once against the tyrants1 our swords in our hands--let us slay1 let us die1 let us never spare ourselves6 ,but say we find no difficulty in this1 whether of action or of endurance1 yet to rescue ,thebes ,sidenote3 ,e from an armed force1 when encompassed by so many enemies1 and to expel the ,spartan garrison at a cost of two or three lives1 is not easy2 for ,phyllidas has never prepared so much strong liquor for his parties and receptions that all the fifteen hundred men of ,archias' bodyguard will be made drunk2 yet1 even if we get rid of him1 ,herippidas is on for night duty and sober1 and ,arcesus too4 ,this being so1 why hurry to bring home friends and relatives to manifest destruction1 and that when the very fact of their return is not unknown to the enemy8 ,or why have ,sidenote3 ,f the ,thespians been ordered to be under arms for these two days past1 and ready whenever the ,spartan officers call8 ,again1 ,i hear that ,amphitheus is to be examined and put to death to-day1 whenever ,archias returns4 ,are not these strong signs that our action is not unmarked8 ,is it not best to pause1 not for a long time1 but long enough to make the auspices right8 ,for the prophets declare1 that in sacrificing the ox to ,demeter1 they found that the entrails prognosticated much commotion and public danger4 ,again1 and this needs the greatest caution on your part1 ,charon1 yesterday ,hypatodorus son of ,erianthes walked back with me from the farm1 quite a good and friendly ,sidenote3 #ehg person1 but certainly not in our secrets4 8,charon is your friend1 ,hippostheneidas10 he said1 8but ,i do not know him well2 tell him1 if you think good1 to be on his guard against a certain danger revealed in a very strange and disagreeable dream4 ,last night ,i thought that his house was in pangs as of labour1 and that he and the friends who shared his anxiety prayed and stood around it1 while it moaned and uttered inarticulate sounds4 ,at last the fire flared out strong and terrible from within1 so that most of the city was caught by the blaze1 but the ,cadmeia was only wrapped in smoke1 the fire not spreading ,sidenote3 ,b up to it40 ,the vision which the man described was something like this1 ,charon2 ,i was alarmed at the time1 and much more so when ,i heard to-day that the exiles are to be put up at your house2 ,i am now in an agony lest we may be bringing a load of troubles upon ourselves1 yet not doing any harm worth mentioning to the enemies1 but simply stirring them up4 ,for ,i reckon the city to be on our side1 the ,cadmeia with them1 as it certainly is4' ,,xviii4 ,theocritus broke in1 stopping ,charon who wanted to say something to ,hippostheneidas3 #8,well1 ,hippostheneidas1 ,sidenote3 ,c nothing has ever struck me as so encouraging for action 7although ,i have myself always found my sacrifices favourable for the exiles71 as this vision2 strong1 clear light over the city1 rising1 you tell us1 out of a friendly house2 the head-quarters of our enemies wrapped in black smoke1 which always imports1 at the best1 tears and confusion2 then inarticulate utterances proceeding from our side1 so that1 even if any one were to attempt to inform against us1 only an indistinct rumour and blind suspicion can attach to our enterprise1 which will have succeeded by the time it is evident4 ,that the priests should find sacrifices unfavourable is natural2 officials and victim belong to those in power1 not to the people4' ,while ,theocritus was still speaking1 ,i turned to ,hippostheneidas3 #8,what messenger did you send ,sidenote3 ,d out to them8 ,unless you have allowed a very long start we will give chase4' #8,i do not know1' he said1 #8for ,i must tell you the truth1 ,capheisias1 whether you could possibly overtake the man2 he has the best horse in ,thebes4 ,the man is known to you2 he is head groom in ,melon's chariot stables1 and through ,melon knows our enterprise from its beginning4' ,meanwhile ,i had espied the man1 and said1 #8,hippostheneidas1 do you not mean ,chlidon1 who won the single-horse race in last year's ,heraea8' #8,that is the man'1 he said4 #8,and who is that1' ,i said1 #8standing this long time at the outer gates1 and looking in at us8' ,then ,hippostheneidas turned3 #8,chlidon1' he ,sidenote3 ,e said1 #8yes1 by ,hercules1 ,i fear something has gone very wrong4' ,meanwhile1 the man saw that we were observing him1 and drew up quietly from the door4 ,hippostheneidas gave him a nod and bade him speak out to all present4 #8,i know these gentlemen1 ,hippostheneidas1 perfectly well2 and finding you neither at home nor in the market-place1 ,i guessed that you had come to them1 so ,i took the shortest way here1 that you may all know ,sidenote3 ,f everything which has happened4 ,when you ordered me to use all speed and meet the party in the hill country1 ,i went home to get my horse2 but when ,i asked for the bridle1 my wife could not give it me1 but stayed a long time in the store room4 ,she searched and turned out everything inside1 and after fooling me to her heart's content1 at last confessed that she had lent the bridle to our neighbour the evening before1 his wife having come in to ask for one4 ,i was angry and used strong words to her1 upon which she took to horrible imprecations--8,a bad journey ,sidenote3 #ehh and a bad return to you all60 ,may ,heaven throw it all back upon herself1 by ,zeus1 yes6 ,at last1 in my anger1 ,i got as far as blows2 then a crowd of neighbours and women ran up2 ,i have behaved shamefully and have been treated no better1 and have just managed to make my way to you1 that you may send some one else to the exiles1 for ,i am fairly off my head by this time and feel badly upset4' ,,xix4 ,we now experienced a strange revulsion of feeling4 ,a little before we were chafing at the check we had received2 now that the crisis was upon us short and sharp1 and no delay possible1 we found ourselves passing into an anguish of alarm4 ,however1 ,i said a word of greeting and encouragement to ,hippostheneidas1 to the effect that the very ,gods were calling us ,sidenote3 ,b on to action4 ,after this ,phyllidas went out to arrange for his party1 and to get ,archias plunged straight into his drink1 ,charon to see to his house1 while ,theocritus and ,i returned to ,simmias on the chance of getting a word with ,epaminondas4 ,,xx4 ,however1 they were far on in an inquiry of no mean import1 ,heaven knows1 but one which ,galaxidorus and ,pheidolaus had started a little earlier1 the problem of the real nature ,sidenote3 ,c and potency of the ,divine ,sign of ,socrates1 so called4 ,what ,simmias said in reply to the argument of ,galaxidorus we did not hear2 but he went on to say that he had himself once asked ,socrates on the subject1 and failed to get an answer1 and so had never asked again2 but that he had often been with him when he gave his opinion that those who claim intercourse with the divine by way of vision are impostors1 whereas he attended to those who professed to hear a voice1 and put serious questions to them4 ,hence it began to occur to us1 as we were discussing the matter among ourselves1 to suspect that the ,divine ,sign of ,socrates might possibly be no vision but a special sense for ,sidenote3 ,d sounds or words1 with which he had contact in some strange manner2 just as in sleep there is no voice heard1 but fancies and notions as to particular words reach the sleepers1 who then think that they hear people talking4 ,only sleepers receive such conceptions in a real dream because of the tranquillity and calm of the body in sleep1 whereas in waking moments the soul can hardly attend to greater powers1 being so choked by thronging emotions and distracting needs that they are unable to listen and to give their attention to clear revelations4 ,but the mind of ,socrates1 pure and passionless1 and intermingling itself but ,sidenote3 ,e little with the body for necessary purposes1 was fine and light of touch1 and quickly changed under any impression4 ,the impression we may conjecture to have been no voice1 but the utterance of a spirit1 which without vocal sound reached the perceiving mind by the revelation itself4 ,for voice is like a blow upon the soul1 which perforce admits its utterance by way of the ears1 whenever we converse with one another4 ,but the mind of a stronger being leads the gifted soul1 touching it with the thing thought1 and no blow is needed4 ,to such a being soul yields as it relaxes or tightens the impulses1 which are never ,sidenote3 ,f violent1 as when there are passions to resist1 but supple and pliant like reins which give4 ,there is nothing wonderful in this2 as we see great cargo-vessels turned about by little helms1 and1 again1 potters' wheels whirling round in even revolution at the light touch of a hand4 ,these are things without a soul no doubt1 yet so constructed as to run swiftly and smoothly1 and therefore to yield to a motive force when a touch is given4 ,but the soul of a man1 being strained by countless impulses1 as by cords1 is far the easiest of all machines to turn1 if it be touched rationally2 it accepts the touch of thought1 and moves as thought directs4 ,for here the passions and impulses are stretched towards the ,sidenote3 #ehi thinking principle and end in it2 if that principle be stirred they receive a pull1 and in turn draw and strain the man4 ,and thus we are allowed to learn how great is the power of a thought4 ,for bones1 which have no sensation1 and nerves and fleshy parts charged with humours1 and the whole resultant mass in its ponderous quiescence1 do yet1 as soon as the soul sets something a going in thought and directs its impulse towards it1 rise up1 alert and tense1 a whole which moves to action in all its members1 as though it had wings4 ,but it is hard1 nay1 perhaps1 altogether beyond our powers1 to take in at one glance the ,sidenote3 ,b system of excitation1 complex strain1 and divine prompting1 whereby the soul1 after conceiving a thought1 draws on the mass of the body by the impulses which it gives4#da ,yet whereas a word thus intellectually apprehended excites the soul1 while no sort of voice is heard and no action takes place1 even so we need not1 ,i think1 find it hard to believe that mind may be led by a stronger mind and a more divine soul external to itself1 having contact with it after its kind1 as word with word or light with reflection4 ,for in actual fact we recognize the thoughts of one another by groping as it were in darkness with the assistance of voice2 whereas the thoughts of spirits have light1 they shine upon men capable of receiving them1 they need not verbs ,sidenote3 ,c or nouns1 those symbols whereby men in their intercourse with men see resemblances and images of the things thought1 yet never apprehend the things themselves1 save only those upon whom1 as we have said1 there shines from within a peculiar and spiritual light4 ,and yet what we see happen in the case of the voice may partly reassure the incredulous4 ,the air is impressed with articulate sounds1 it becomes all word and voice1 and brings the meaning home to the soul of the hearer4 ,therefore we need not wonder if1 in regard to this special mode of thought also1 the air is sensitive to the touch of higher beings1 and is so modified as to convey to the mind of godlike and extraordinary men the thought of him who thought it4 ,for as the strokes of miners#db are caught on brazen shields because of the reverberation1 ,sidenote3 ,d when they rise from below ground and fall upon them1 whereas falling on any other surface they are indistinct and pass to nothing1 even so the words of spirits pass through all ,nature1 but only sound for those who possess the soul in untroubled calm1 holy and spiritual men as we emphatically call them4 ,the view of most people is that spiritual visitations come to men in sleep2 that they should be similarly stirred when awake and in their full faculties they think marvellous and beyond belief4 ,as though a musician were thought to use his lyre when the strings are let down1 and not to touch or use it when it is strung up and tuned6 ,they do not see the cause1 their ,sidenote3 ,e own inner tunelessness and discord1 from which ,socrates our friend had been set free1 as the oracle given to his father when he was yet a boy declared4 ,for it bade him allow his son to do whatever came into his mind2 not to force nor direct his goings1 but to let his impulse have free play1 only to pray for him to ,zeus ,agoraios and to the ,muses1 but for all else not to meddle with ,socrates2 meaning no doubt that he had within him a guide for ,sidenote3 ,f his life who was better than ten thousand teachers and directors4 ,,xxi4 ,this1 ,pheidolaus1 is what has occurred to me to think about the ,divine ,sign of ,socrates1 in his lifetime and since his death1 dismissing with contempt those who have suggested voices or sneezings or anything of that sort4 ,but what ,i have heard ,timarchus of ,chaeroneia relate on this head it may perhaps be better to pass over in silence1 as more like myth than history4 #8,not at all2' said ,theocritus1 #8let us have it all4 ,even myth touches truth1 not too closely1 perhaps1 but it does touch it at points4 ,but first1 who was this ,timarchus8 ,explain1 for ,i do not know him4' #8,naturally1 ,theocritus1' ,sidenote3 #eij said ,simmias1 #8for he died quite young1 having begged that he might be buried near ,lamprocles1 the son of ,socrates1 who had died a few days before1 his own friend and contemporary4 ,he then greatly wished to know what was really meant by the ,divine ,sign of ,socrates1 and so1 like a generous youth fresh to the taste of ,philosophy1 having taken no one but ,cebes and myself into his plan1 went down into the cave of ,trophonius1 after performing the usual rites of the oracle4 ,two nights and one day he remained below2 and when most people had given him up1 and his family was mourning for ,sidenote3 ,b him1 at early dawn he came up very radiant4 ,he knelt to the ,god1 then made his way at once through the crowd1 and related to us many wonderful things which he had seen and heard4 ,,xxii4 #8,he said that1 when he descended into the oracular chamber1 he first found himself in a great darkness2 then1 after a prayer1 lay a long while not very clearly conscious whether he was awake or dreaming2 only he fancied that his head received a blow1 while a dull noise fell on his ears1 and then the sutures parted and allowed his soul to issue forth4 ,as it passed upwards1 rejoicing to mingle with the pure transparent air1 it appeared ,sidenote3 ,c first to draw a long deep breath1 after its narrow compression1 and to become larger than before1 like a sail as it is filled out4 ,then he heard dimly a whirring noise overhead out of which came a sweet voice4 ,he looked up and saw land nowhere1 only islands shining with lambent fire1 from time to time changing colour with one another1 as though it were a coat of dye1 while the light became spangled in the transition4 ,they appeared to be countless in number and in size enormous1 not all equal but all alike circular4 ,he thought that as these moved around there was an answering hum of the air1 for the gentleness of ,sidenote3 ,d that voice which was harmonized out of all corresponded to the smoothness of the motion4 ,through the midst of the islands a sea or lake was interfused1 all shining with the colours as they were commingled over its grey surface4 ,some few islands floated in a straight course and were conveyed across the current2 many others were drawn on by the flood1 being almost submerged4 ,the sea was of great depth in some parts towards the south1 but northwards#dc there were very shallow reaches1 and it often swept over places and then left them dry1 having no strong ,sidenote3 ,e ebb4 ,the colour was in places pure as that of the open sea1 in others turbid and marsh-like4 ,as the islands passed through the surf they never came round to their starting-point again or described a circle1 but slightly varied the points of impact1 thus describing a continuous spiral as they went round4 ,the sea was inclined to the approximate middle and highest part of the encompassing firmament by a little less than eight-ninths of the whole1 as it appeared to him4 ,it had two openings which ,sidenote3 ,f received rivers of fire pouring in from opposite sides1 so that it was lashed into foam1 and its grey surface was turned to white4 ,this he saw1 delighted at the spectacle2 but as he turned his eyes downwards1 there appeared a chasm1 vast and round as though hewn out of a sphere2 it was strangely terrible and deep and full of utter darkness1 not in repose but often agitated and surging up2 from which were heard roarings innumerable and groanings of beasts1 and wailings of innumerable infants1 and with these mingled cries of men and women1 dim sounds of all sorts1 and turmoils sent up indistinctly from the distant depth1 ,sidenote3 #eia to his no small consternation4 ,time passed1 and an unseen person said to him1 8,timarchus1 what do you wish to learn80 8,everything10 he replied1 8for all is wonderful40 8,we01 the voice said1 8have little to do with the regions above1 they belong to other ,gods2 but the province of ,persephone which we administer1 being one of the four which ,styx bounds1 you may survey if you will40 ,to his question1 8,what is ,styx80 8,a way to ,hades10 was the reply1 8and it passes right opposite1 parting the light at its very vertex1 but reaching up1 as you see1 from ,hades below2 where it touches the light in its revolution ,sidenote3 ,b it marks off the remotest region of all4 ,now1 there are four first principles of all things1 the first of life1 the second of motion1 the third of birth1 the fourth of death4 ,the first is linked to the second by ,unity1 in the ,unseen3 the second to the third by ,mind1 in the sun3 the third to the fourth by ,nature1 in the moon4 ,over each of these combinations a ,fate1 daughter of ,necessity1 presides1 and holds the keys2 of the first ,atropus1 of the second1 ,clotho1 of the one belonging to the moon ,lachesis1 and the turning-point of birth is there4 ,for the other islands contain ,gods1 but the moon1 which belongs to ,sidenote3 ,c earthly spirits1 only avoids ,styx by a slight elevation1 and is caught once in one hundred and seventy-seven secondary measures#dd4 ,as ,styx moves upon her1 the souls cry aloud in terror2 for many slip from off her and are caught by ,hades4 ,others the moon bears upwards from below1 as they turn towards her2 and for these death coincides with the moment of birth1 those excepted which are guilty and impure1 and which are not allowed to approach her while she lightens and bellows fearfully2 mourning for their own fate they slip away and are borne downwards for another birth1 as you see40 8,but ,i see ,sidenote3 ,d nothing10 said ,timarchus1 8save many stars quivering around the gulf1 others sinking into it1 others1 again1 darting up from below40 8,then you see the spirits themselves10 the voice said1 8though you do not know it4 ,it is thus3 every soul partakes of mind1 there is none irrational or mindless2 but so much of soul as is mingled with flesh and with affections is altered and turned towards the irrational by its sense of pleasures and pains4 ,but the mode of mingling is not the same for every soul4 ,some are merged entirely into body1 and are disturbed by passions throughout their whole being during life4 ,others ,sidenote3 ,e are in part mixed up with it1 but leave outside their purest part1 which is not drawn in1 but is like a life-buoy which floats on the surface1 and touches the head of one who has sunk into the depth1 the soul clinging around it and being kept upright1 while so much of it is supported as obeys and is not overmastered by the affections4 ,the part which is borne below the surface within the body is called soul4 ,that which is left free from dissolution most persons call mind1 taking it to be something inside themselves1 resembling the reflected images in mirrors2 but those who are rightly informed know that it is outside themselves and address it as spirit4 ,the stars1 ,timarchus10 the voice went on1 8which you see extinguished1 you are to ,sidenote3 ,f think of as souls entirely merged in bodies2 those which give light again and shine from below upwards1 shaking off1 as though it were mud1 a sort of gloom and dimness1 are those which sail up again out of their bodies after death2 those which are parted upwards are spirits1 and belong to men who are said to have understanding4 ,try to see clearly in each the bond by which it coheres with soul40 ,hearing this1 he paid closer attention himself1 and saw the stars tossing about1 some less1 some more1 as we see the corks which mark out nets in the sea move over its surface2 but some1 like the shuttles used in ,sidenote3 #eib weaving1 in entangled and irregular figures1 not able to settle the motion into a straight line4 ,the voice said that those who kept a straight and orderly movement were men whose souls had been well broken in by fair nurture and training1 and did not allow their irrational part to be too harsh and rough4 ,those which often inclined upwards and downwards in an irregular and confused manner1 like horses plunging off from a halter1 were ,sidenote3 ,b fighting against the yoke with tempers disobedient and ill-trained for want of education2 sometimes getting the mastery and swerving round to the right2 again bent by passions and drawn on to share in sins1 then again resisting and putting force upon them4 ,the coupling bond1 like a curb set on the irrational part of the soul whenever it resists1 brings on repentance1 as we call it1 for sins1 and shame for all lawless and intemperate pleasures1 being really a pain and a stroke inflicted by it on the soul when it is bitted by that which masters and rules it1 until at length1 being thus punished1 it becomes obedient to the rein ,sidenote3 ,c and familiar with it1 and then1 like a tame creature1 without blow or pain1 understands the spirit quickly by signs and hints4 ,these then are led1 late in the day and by slow degrees1 to their duty4 ,out of those who are docile and obedient to their spirit from the first birth1 is formed the prophetic and inspired class1 to which belonged the soul of ,hermodorus#de of ,clazomenae1 of which you have surely heard2 how it would leave the body entirely and wander over a wide range by night and by day1 and ,sidenote3 ,d then come back again1 having been present where many things were said and done far off1 until the enemy found the body1 which his wife had betrayed1 left at home deserted by its soul1 and burnt it4 ,now this part is not true2 the soul used not to go out from the body2 but by always yielding to the spirit1 and slackening the coupling-band1 he gave it constant liberty to range around1 so that it saw and heard and reported many things from the world outside4 ,but those who destroyed the body while he was asleep are paying the penalty in ,tartarus unto ,sidenote3 ,e this day4 ,all this1 young man1 you shall know more clearly in the third month from this2 now begone60 ,when the voice ceased1 ,timarchus wished to turn round1 he said1 and see who the speaker was2 but his head again ached violently1 as though forcibly compressed1 and he could no longer hear or perceive anything passing about him2 afterwards1 however1 he came to ,sidenote3 ,f by degrees1 and saw that he was lying in the cave of ,trophonius1 near the entrance where he had originally sunk down4 ,,xxiii4 #8,such was the tale of ,timarchus4 ,when he died1 having returned to ,athens in the third month after hearing the voice1 and when1 in our wonder1 we told ,socrates of the story1 he blamed us for not reporting it while ,timarchus was still alive1 since he would gladly have heard it more clearly from himself1 and have questioned him further4 ,there1 ,theocritus1 you have all1 tale and theory both4 ,but perhaps we ought to invite the stranger to join our inquiry2 the subject comes nearly home to inspired men4' #8,well1 but'1 the stranger answered1 #8,epaminondas1 who puts out from the same port1 is not contributing his opinion4' ,our father smiled3 #8,that is just his character1 ,sir4 ,silent and cautious in speaking1 but a glutton for learning and listening4 ,that is why ,spintharus of ,tarentum1 after spending no little time with him here1 is always saying1 as you know1 that he never met ,sidenote3 #eic any man of his own standing who knew more or who spoke less4 ,so pray let us have all your own thoughts on the subject4' ,,xxiv4 #8,then1 for my part1' said ,theanor1 #8,i think that the story of ,timarchus ought to be dedicated to the ,god1 as holy and inviolable4 ,but it will be strange to me if any shall be found to discredit what ,simmias tells us about the matter2 thus1 while they designate swans1 serpents1 dogs and horses as sacred1 refusing to believe that men may be godlike and friends of ,god1 yet holding that ,god is not a friend of birds but a friend of man4 ,as1 then1 a man who loves horses does not care equally for all individuals which make the class1 but always picks out and separates ,sidenote3 ,b some excellent member of the class1 and trains him by himself and feeds him and loves him beyond others2 so it is with ourselves2 the higher powers extract1 if the word may pass1 the best out of the herd1 and deem them worthy of a very special training1 directing their course1 not by reins nor by halters1 but by reason1 through signs utterly incomprehensible to the general herd4 ,why1 most dogs do not understand the signals used in hunting1 nor most horses those used in the mange2 but those who have learned know at once from a whistle or a chirrup what they are required to do1 and easily take the right position4 ,homer clearly knows the distinction ,sidenote3 ,c to which ,i refer4 ,some of his prophets he calls 8readers of dreams0 and 8priests01 others understand the conversation of the ,gods themselves1 he thinks1 by sympathy1 and signify the future to us4 ,for instance3 ,thus they conferred3 but ,helenus1 ,priam's son1 ,that scheme1 which pleased them1 in his heart divined4#df ,and again3 ,so the everlasting voice ,i have heard and known4#dg ,the mind of kings and generals is made known to outsiders through the senses1 by special beacons or proclamation1 or calls on the trumpet2 and so the divine message reaches few of us in and ,sidenote3 ,d through itself1 and that rarely2 for ordinary men signals are employed and these are the groundwork of what we call divination4 ,the ,gods1 then1 regulate life only for a few1 for those whom they wish to make blessed in a single degree1 and truly divine2 but souls released from coming to the birth1 and now for ever at rest from a body1 and dismissed into freedom1 are spirits who care for men1 in ,hesiod's sense4 ,for as athletes1 when age has brought them an end of training1 do not wholly lose the spirit of competition or of care for the body1 but delight to see others in practice1 and cheer them on and run beside them1 so ,sidenote3 ,e those who have ceased from the struggles of life1 made spirits because of the excellence of their soul1 do not utterly despise our earthly affairs1 our discussions and our interests3 they have a kindly feeling for those training with the same end before them1 they share their eagerness for virtue1 encourage them1 and join them in their bursts1 whenever they see them running with hope near at hand and already within touch4 ,for the spirit does not help ,sidenote3 ,f all men as they come4 ,it is as with swimmers upon the sea2 spectators on the shore merely gaze in silence on those who are out in the open1 drifting far from land2 whereas they run along the beach towards those who are already nearing it1 they dash in to meet them1 and with hand1 and voice1 and endeavour1 hasten to the rescue4 ,such1 ,simmias1 is the way of a spirit2 while we are dipped beneath the tides of life1 changing body for body1 like relays on a road1 he allows us to struggle out for ourselves1 to be brave and patient1 to try by our own virtue to reach the harbour in safety4 ,but when any soul through a myriad of births has striven once and again a long-drawn strife well and stoutly1 and when1 with the cycle now wellnigh complete1 it ,sidenote3 #eid takes the risks1 and sets its hope high1 as it nears the landing-place1 and presses upwards with sweat and endeavour1 the ,god thinks it no wrong that its own spirit should go to the help of such a soul1 but lets zeal go free1 and the ,gods are zealous to encourage and to save1 one this soul and one that4 ,the soul hearkens because it is so near1 and it is saved2 but if it does not hearken the spirit leaves it1 and its happy chance is gone4' ,,xxv4 ,as he finished1 ,epaminondas looked at me4 #8,it is nearly your time1 ,capheisias1 to go to the gymnasium and not fail your comrades2 we will take care of ,theanor1 and break up ,sidenote3 ,b our conference whenever he likes4' #8,let us do so1' ,i said1 #8but ,i think ,theocritus here wants a few words with you while ,galaxidorus and ,i are present4' #8,by all means'1 said he2 he rose and led the way to the angle of the portico4 ,we stood round and tried to encourage him to join the scheme4 ,he answered that he perfectly well knew the day of the return of the exiles1 and had arranged with ,gorgidas as to all that was necessary for our friends1 but that he refused to take the life of any citizen without trial1 unless there were an urgent necessity2 also1 looking to the body of the ,thebans1 it was specially convenient that there should be some person with hands clean ,sidenote3 ,c and beyond suspicion1 when the time should come to advise the people for the best4 ,we agreed1 and he returned at once to ,simmias and his party4 ,we went down to the gymnasium and met our friends1 and1 pairing off for wrestling matches1 exchanged information and plans for action4 ,we saw also ,archias and ,philippus1 anointed and starting for the supper4 ,for ,phyllidas1 ,sidenote3 ,d fearing that they might put ,amphitheus to death first1 called on ,archias immediately after he had escorted ,lysanoridas1 and by suggesting hopes that the lady he desired to meet would come to the place1 persuaded him to turn his mind to having a good time with the usual companions of his revels4 ,,xxvi4 ,it was now getting late1 and the cold was intense1 as the wind had got up4 ,most people had therefore made for their homes more quickly than usual4 ,we had fallen in with ,damocleidas1 ,pelopidas1 and ,theopompus1 and were taking them with us1 as others took others of the exiles4 ,for the party had broken up immediately after crossing ,cithaeron2 and the bitter ,sidenote3 ,e weather allowed them to muffle up their faces and pass through the city in security4 ,some of them were met by a lightning flash on the right without thunder1 as they entered through the gates2 and the sign seemed favourable for safety and glory1 with a bright issue to follow and no danger4 ,,xxvii4 ,so when we were all inside1 two short of fifty1 while ,theocritus was sacrificing by himself in an outbuilding1 there was a loud knocking at the door2 and presently some one came in to say that two servants of ,archias1 sent on an urgent message to ,charon1 were knocking at the courtyard gate and calling for it to ,sidenote3 ,f be opened1 and were angry at the slowness of the response4 ,charon was much disturbed1 and gave orders to open to them at once1 while he himself went to meet them1 the crown on his head showing that he had sacrificed and was at his wine1 and asked the messengers what they wanted4 ,one of them replied3 #8,archias and ,philippus sent us1 you are to come to them as quickly as you can4' ,when ,charon asked1 #8,what is the reason of this hasty summons1 and is there anything new8' #8,we know nothing further1' answered the messenger1 #8but what shall we tell them8' #8,this1 by ,zeus1' said ,charon1 #8that as soon as ,i have put off this crown and got my cloak1 ,i will follow you4 ,for1 if ,i go straight off with you1 there will be an alarm2 people will think that ,i am in ,sidenote3 #eie custody4' #8,do so1' they said1 #8for we too have orders to convey from the magistrates to the guard of the lower city4' ,so they went off4 ,when ,charon came in and told us this1 we were all aghast1 thinking we had been betrayed4 ,most of us were inclined to suspect ,hippostheneidas2 he had tried to hinder the return by sending ,chlidon1 and when that failed and the dread moment was upon us1 he had used his plausible tongue to betray the scheme1 out of fear2 for he did not come with the rest into the house1 but the whole impression he gave us was of a coward and turncoat4 ,however1 we all thought that ,charon ought to go1 and obey the ,sidenote3 ,b summons of the magistrates4 ,he ordered his son to come in1 the handsomest boy in ,thebes1 ,archidamus1 and the most painstaking in his gymnastics2 barely fifteen1 but in strength and size far above others of his age4 #8,gentlemen1' he said1 #8he is my only one1 and1 as you know1 ,i love him dearly2 ,i place him in your hands1 and charge you in the name of the ,gods1 and in the name of the spirits1 if ,i should appear a traitor to your cause1 slay him1 and spare us not4 ,for the rest1 my gallant friends1 set yourselves to meet the event2 do not give in like shabby cowards1 or allow this scum to slay your bodies2 defend yourselves1 keep your souls ,sidenote3 ,c above defeat1 they are our country's6' ,as ,charon said this1 we were wondering at his spirit and noble heart1 though indignant at his idea of suspicion on our part1 and bade him take the boy away4 #8,more than that1 ,charon1' said ,pelopidas1 #8we think that you have not been well advised in that you have not already removed your son to another house4 ,what need for him to run our risks if taken with us8 ,you must send him away even now1 so that1 if anything happen to us1 one noble nursling may be left to be our avenger on the tyrants4' #8,not so2' said ,charon1 #8here he shall stay and share your risks2 for1 even in his interest1 it is not ,sidenote3 ,d good that he should fall into the enemy's hands4 ,but you1 my boy1 be daring beyond your years1 taste the struggles which must come1 take risks with our many brave countrymen in the cause of freedom and valour2 much hope still is left1 and ,i think that a ,god is surely watching over us in our contest for the right4' ,,xxviii4 ,tears came to many of us1 ,archidamus1 at the words of ,charon4 ,dry-eyed himself and unmoved1 he placed his son in the hands of ,pelopidas1 and made his way through the doors with a word of greeting and encouragement for each of us4 ,even more would you have admired the bright and fearless bearing of the boy himself in the peril4 ,like ,neoptolemus1#dh he showed no ,sidenote3 ,e paleness or alarm1 but drew the sword of ,pelopidas and seemed to study it4 ,in the meantime1 ,diotonus1 a friend of ,cephisodorus1 came in to us1 sword in hand1 and wearing a steel breastplate under his clothes2 and when we told him of ,charon being sent for by ,archias1 blamed us for losing time1 and implored us to go straight to the houses1 where we should be upon them before they were ready2 failing that1 it would be better1 he said1 to go out into the open and form our parties there out of the scattered and uncombined units1 rather than shut ourselves up in a chamber ,sidenote3 ,f and wait like a swarm of bees to be cut out by the enemy4 ,the prophet ,theocritus added his urgent appeal2 his victims showed a clear and good result1 and assured him of safety4 ,,xxix4 ,while we were arming and making arrangements1 ,charon reappeared1 his face radiant4 ,smiling as he looked at us1 he bade us take heart2 there was no danger and the business was moving on4 #8,archias'1 he said1 #8and ,philippus1 when they heard ,sidenote3 #eif that ,i had obeyed their summons1 were already heavy with drink1 sodden alike in body and mind2 it was all they could do to stand upon their feet and move out towards the door4 ,when ,archias said3 8,charon1 we hear that exiles have passed into the city and are being concealed01 ,i was not a little troubled4 8,where are they said to be80 ,i asked1 8and who are they80 8,we do not know10 replied ,archias1 8and therefore ordered you to come1 on the chance that you might have heard something more certain40 ,i took a moment to recover my senses1 as if after a blow1 and began to put things together4 ,the information given could be no substantial story2 the plot had not been betrayed by any of those privy to it2 for the tyrants could not be in ignorance as to ,sidenote3 ,b the house if their information came from any person with real knowledge2 it must be merely a suspicion or some indefinite rumour circulating in the city which had reached them4 ,so ,i answered3 8,i remember that in the lifetime of ,androcleidas there were often reports of the kind floating idly about and causing us annoyance4 ,but at the present time1 ,archias10 ,i went on1 8,i have heard nothing of the sort2 however1 ,i will inquire into the story1 if you so desire1 and1 if ,i hear anything worth attention1 you shall not fail to know40 8,by all means10 said ,phyllidas1 8look well into this matter and leave no stone unturned4 ,what is to prevent us8 ,we must think nothing beneath our notice1 but must take all precautions and pay attention4 ,forethought is good2 safety is good60 ,as he said ,sidenote3 ,c this1 he took ,archias by the arm and led him off into the house where they are drinking4 #8,now1 friends1' he went on1 #8no delay for us1 a prayer to the ,gods1 and forth we go6' ,when ,charon had said this1 we spent a while in prayer and mutual encouragement4 ,,xxx4 ,it was now the hour at which people are mostly at supper2 the wind was still rising and drove beneath it snow with drizzle1 so that the narrow streets were quite empty as we made our way through them4 ,the party told off against ,leontides and ,hypates1 who lived near one another1 went out cloaked and carrying no arms but a sword apiece 7among ,sidenote3 ,d these were ,pelopidas1 ,damocleidas1 and ,cephisodorus74 ,charon1 ,melon1 and the rest who were to attack ,archias1 wore half-cuirasses1 and thick wreaths1 some of firwood1 some of pine4 ,some were in women's tunics1 which gave the effect of a drinking procession with women4 ,but our ill-fortune1 ,archidamus1 which set all the weakness and ignorance of the enemy on a level with all our daring and preparation1 and chequered our action from the outset with perilous episodes like a stage play1 met us at ,sidenote3 ,e the moment of action1 and sharp and terrible was the crisis with its dramatic surprise4 ,charon1 having satisfied ,archias and ,philippus1 had returned home and was putting us through our parts1 when there came a letter from this city2 it was from ,archias the priest to ,archias of ,thebes1 an old friend and guest1 it would seem1 with full news of the return and plot of the exiles1 of the house ,sidenote3 ,f to which they had repaired1 and of those who were acting with them4 ,archias was by this time drenched with wine1 and excited about the expected arrival of the ladies2 he took the letter1 but when the bearer said that it was addressed to him about certain urgent business3 8,then urgent business to-morrow60 he said1 and thrust the letter under his head cushion2 then he asked for a cup1 kept calling for wine1 the whole time ordering ,phyllidas to go out to the door and see whether the women were near4 ,,xxxi4 ,as they had beguiled their drinking with this hope1 we joined the company1 and pushing our way through the servants to the banqueting hall stood a short time at the door looking ,sidenote3 #eig at each of the party4 ,our crowns and dress and make-up1 while apologizing for our presence1 caused a silence3 but as soon as ,melon rushed first up the hall1 his hand upon his sword-hilt1 ,cabirichus1 the appointed president1 plucked him by the arm as he passed1 and shouted out1 #8,phyllidas1 is not this ,melon8' ,melon shook off his grasp1 drawing his sword as he did so1 then1 rushing upon ,archias as with difficulty he found his feet1 struck and struck till he had killed him4 ,philippus received a neck wound from ,charon2 he tried to defend himself with the drinking-cups ,sidenote3 ,b which were near his hand1 but ,lysitheus threw him off the couch to the ground and slew him4 ,we tried to pacify ,cabirichus1 imploring him not to assist the tyrants1 but to join in our country's deliverance1 remembering that he was a holy person and consecrated to the ,gods for her sake4 ,as1 however1 from the wine he had taken1 it was not easy to carry his thoughts to the proper course1 while he stood excited and confused1 and kept presenting the point of his spear 7customarily worn by our magistrates at all times71 ,i myself seized it at the middle and swung it over his head1 crying to him to let go and save himself1 or he would be wounded4 ,but ,theopompus1 standing near him ,sidenote3 ,c on the right1 struck him with his sword1 and said3 #8,lie there with those whom thou hast been flattering2 never mayest thou wear a crown in a free ,thebes1 nor sacrifice any longer to the ,gods1 in whose names thou hast often called down curses on our country1 and prayers for her enemies6' ,when ,cabirichus was down1 ,theocritus1 who was with us1 snatched the sacred spear out of the wound2 and we slew a few of the servants who ventured on resistance1 while we shut up in the hall those who behaved quietly1 not wishing them to slip away and spread news of what had happened1 before we knew whether things had gone ,sidenote3 ,d well with our comrades also4 ,,xxxii4 ,their history was this4 ,pelopidas and his party quietly approached the courtyard door of ,leontides1 and told the servant who answered their knock that they had come from ,athens with letters for ,leontides from ,callistratus4 ,when he had given the message and received orders to open1 and had removed the bar and set the door a little ajar1 they burst in in a body1 upset the man1 and charged on through the court to the bedroom of ,leontides4 ,his suspicions carrying him at once to the truth he drew his dagger and rushed to defend himself2 an unjust and tyrannical man he was1 but of sturdy courage and a ,sidenote3 ,e powerful fighter4 ,however1 he did not make up his mind to throw down the torch and close with the attacking party in the dark2 but in the light1 and in their full view1 as soon as they began to open the door1 he smote ,cephisodorus on the groin1 and closed with ,pelopidas next1 shouting loudly all the time to call the attendants4 ,these were held in check by ,samidas' party1 not venturing to come to blows with some of the best known and bravest men in ,thebes4 ,pelopidas and ,leontides had to fight it ,sidenote3 ,f out2 it was a sword duel in the doorway of the chamber1 a narrow one1 in the middle of which lay ,cephisodorus1 fallen and dying1 so that the others could not come in to the rescue4 ,at last our man1 having received a slight wound in the head and having given many1 and thrown ,leontides down1 ran him through over the still warm body of ,cephisodorus4 ,the latter saw the enemy falling1 and placed his hand in that of ,pelopidas1 saluted the others1 and cheerfully breathed his last4 ,leaving them1 they turned against ,hypates1 and the door having been opened to them there1 in the same way1 they cut him down while trying to escape over a roof to the neighbours4 ,sidenote3 #eih ,,xxxiii4 ,thence they hastened towards us1 joining us outside1 near the ,polystyle4 ,after mutual greetings and talk1 we proceeded to the prison4 ,phyllidas called the head jailer out and said3 #8,archias and ,philippus order you to bring ,amphitheus to them at once4' ,he1 remarking the strangeness of the hour1 and that ,phyllidas did not seem composed as he spoke to him1 but hot from the struggle and excited1 saw through our artifice3 #8,when did the ,polemarchs send for a prisoner at such an hour1 ,sidenote3 ,b ,phyllidas1' he asked1 #8and when by you8 ,what password do you bring8' ,as he was speaking1 ,phyllidas1 who carried a cavalry lance1 drove it through his ribs and brought the scoundrel to the ground1 where he was trampled and spat upon the next day by a number of women4 ,we burst open the doors of the prison1 and called on the prisoners by name2 first ,amphitheus1 then our acquaintances among the others4 ,as they recognized the voices they leapt up from their pallet beds1 dragging their chains1 while those whose feet were fast in the stocks stretched out their hands1 shouting and imploring us not to leave them behind4 ,as these were being released1 many of those who lived near came up1 perceiving ,sidenote3 ,c what was going on and delighting in it4 ,the women1 as soon as each heard about her own relation1 dropped ,boeotian habits1 and ran out to one another1 asking questions from the men who met them4 ,those who found their own fathers or husbands followed1 and no one tried to hinder them1 for all who met them were deeply affected by pity for the men1 and by the tears and prayers of modest women4 ,,xxxiv4 ,while things were thus1 learning that ,epaminondas ,sidenote3 ,d and ,gorgidas were already forgathering with our friends near the temple of ,athena1 ,i took my way to join them4 ,many loyal citizens had already arrived1 and more kept pouring in4 ,when ,i had told them in detail the story of what had happened1 and while ,i was imploring them to rally to the market-place1 all agreed to summon the citizens at once #8,for ,liberty6' ,the crowds now forming up found arms to their hand in the warehouses full of spoils from all lands and in the factories of the swordmakers living near4 ,hippostheneidas had also arrived with friends and servants1 bringing the trumpeters1 who had1 as it happened1 been quartered in the town for the feast of ,hercules4 ,all at once they began to sound calls1 some in the market-place1 ,sidenote3 ,e others elsewhere1 from every direction1 to cause a panic among the other side1 and make them think that the rising was general4 ,some lighted smoky fires#di and so escaped to the ,cadmeia1 drawing with them also the aristocrats1 so called1 who were accustomed to pass the night on the low ground near the fortress4 ,those who were above1 seeing this disorderly and confused stream of incomers1 and ourselves about the market-place1 no quiet anywhere1 but indistinct noise and bustle rising up to them from all quarters1 never made up their minds to come down1 though there were some five thousand of them4 ,they ,sidenote3 ,f thoroughly lost their heads in the danger1 and ,lysanoridas was a mere excuse3 they professed to wait for his return1 which was due that day4 ,in consequence1 he was afterwards sentenced to a heavy fine by the ,lacedaemonian senate4 ,herippidas and ,arcesus were arrested at ,corinth later on and put to death4 ,the ,cadmeia was evacuated by them and surrendered to us under treaty1 and the garrison withdrawn4 ,footnote #bj3 ,see1 however1 an article by ,mr4 ,r4 ,f4 ,macnaghten in the ,classical ,review of ,september #aiad 7vol4 #bh1 p4 #ahe foll474 ,footnote #ba3 ,isthm4 #a1 #b4 ,footnote #bb3 ,so ,c4 ,f4 ,hermann 7ap4 ,ed4 ,teub47 for 4 ,footnote #bc3 ,here several words of the text have been lost4 ,footnote #bd3 ,many words have been lost 7three separate lacunae74 ,footnote #be3 ,reading for 4 ,footnote #bf3 ,supplying 1 as ,ed4 ,teub4 ,footnote #bg3 ,many words are here lost1 to the general effect of those in the brackets4 ,footnote #bh3 i4 e4 each of the four sides of each of the six faces4 ,the ,greek word for #8side' and #8face' is the same4 ,footnote #bi3 ,this problem 7mentioned by ,plutarch also in the ,e at ,delphi1 see p4 #fc7 was in fact solved by ,menaechmus1 a pupil of ,eudoxus1 through ,conic ,sections1 and also by ,archytas1 whose method is much more elaborate4 ,see ,preface1 p4 xiv4 ,footnote #cj3 ,il4 #aj1 #bgi2 ,od4 #ac1 #cjj-a4 ,footnote #ca3 ,il4 #bj1 #ie4 ,footnote #cb3 for the ,,mss4 reading 7,reiske74 ,footnote #cc3 7,ed4 ,teub471 for 1 is attractive1 but it seems better not to anticipate the word4 ,footnote #cd3 is ,k4 ,o4 ,mller's reading for of the ,,mss4 ,see ,wordsworth's ,athens and ,attica1 p4 #i4 ,footnote #ce3 ,fr4 #bhd 7the well-known fragment of the ,autolycus about ,athletes7 l4 #bb4 ,footnote #cf3 ,cp4 ,od4 #a1 #agj1 c4 ,footnote #cg3 ,od4 #a1 #bg4 ,footnote #ch3 ,see ,life of ,nicias1 c4 #c4 ,footnote #ci3 ,aeschylus1 ,prometheus1 #ede4 ,footnote #dj3 ,cp4 ,bacchylides1 ,fr4 #cg 7,life of ,numa1 c4 #d73 #8,broad is the road'1 i4 e4 #8there is room for divergent opinions4' ,footnote #da3 ,compare ,life of ,coriolanus1 c4 #cb1 p4 #bbi1 with this difficult passage4 ,footnote #db3 ,of the participle so translated only the termination remains4 ,reiske's well completes this fine image4 ,footnote #dc3 ,this word is not in the ,greek text4 ,footnote #dd3 ,see note on the ,myths of ,plutarch1 p4 #cae4 ,footnote #de3 ,lucian 7,musc4 ,encom4 c4 #g7 tells the same story of ,hermodorus4 ,plutarch has probably made a slip1 as elsewhere1 in names4 ,see p4 #ii4 ,footnote #df3 ,il4 #g1 #dd-e4 ,footnote #dg3 l4 #ec4 ,footnote #dh3 i4 e4 in the ,wooden ,horse1 ,od4 #aa1 #ebf-cb4 ,footnote #di3 ,perhaps rather #8the ,laconizing party'1 as the ,teubner editor suggests4 ,,three ,,pythian ,,dialogues ,,introduction ,the three ,dialogues of ,plutarch entitled3 ,i4 ,on the ,e at ,delphi1 ,,ii4 ,why the ,pythia does not now give her ,oracles in ,verse1 ,,iii4 ,on the cessation of the ,oracles1 may be conveniently treated as a group1 and assumed to be a collection of those #8,pythian ,dialogues' which the author sent to his friend ,serapion4 ,i and ,,ii certainly are so1 ,,iii has a separate dedication4 ,other ,dialogues1 e4 g4 that on ,delays in ,divine ,punishment1 are also records of conversations which took place at ,delphi2 but these three are concerned with questions suggested by the temple and prophetic office of ,apollo1 as to which they give much curious information4 ,if they leave us unsatisfied as to matters of still deeper interest1 and tell us nothing about the policy of ,delphi in the ,persian wars1 the counsel given to ,orestes1 which is fiercely controversial matter1 or the popular feeling towards the oracle represented in the ,ion of ,euripides1 this is only what we learn to put up with in reading ,greek books4 ,indeed it is of a piece with the purposes imputed to ,apollo himself1 who sets us problems but does not supply their solution4 #8,the king whose oracle is in ,delphi neither tells nor conceals1 but signifies4' ,we have few indications of date1 or of mutual relations between the three ,dialogues4 ,i is based upon the author's recollection of a conversation which took place #8a long time ago'1 about ,a4 ,d4 #ff1 the date of ,nero's visit to ,greece4 ,a principal speaker is ,ammonius the ,peripatetic philosopher of ,lamprae1 ,plutarch's instructor1 who also speaks1 with the same authority1 in ,,iii4 ,in ,,ii1 ,serapion1 the ,athenian poet1 to whom the collection is dedicated in ,i1 takes a leading part4 ,theon1 a literary friend1 who appears frequently in the ,symposiacs and in the ,face in the ,moon comes into ,i and ,,ii4 ,an interesting person is ,demetrius of ,tarsus1 another literary friend1 who1 in ,,iii1 has just returned from ,britain1 and who has been probably identified with #8,demetrius the ,scribe'1 named on two bronze tablets found at ,york1 and now in the ,york ,museum 7see ,hermes1 vol4 #df1 p4 #aef74 ,the year of ,callistratus at ,delphi1 which marks the date of ,,iii1 is conjecturally fixed as ,a4 ,d4 #hc-d 7see ,pontow in ,philologus for #ahie1 and cp4 ,sympos4 vii4 #e74 ,as ,agricola's term of office ended in ,a4 ,d4 #hd or #he1 ,demetrius may have served under him4 ,the general tranquillity of the world depicted in ,,iii hardly gives us much to build upon4 ,in ,i ,plutarch and his brother ,lamprias are both speakers4 ,lamprias appears in his usual character1 a good companion1 light-hearted and reckless2 ,plutarch speaks gravely and at length1 and the debate is closed by ,ammonius4 ,in ,,iii ,lamprias1 ,plutarch not being named1 speaks gravely throughout1 and1 on the suggestion of ,ammonius1 closes the debate4 ,in ,,ii1 neither brother is named1 and the last speaker is ,theon4 ,in the ,symposiac ,dialogues one or other brother is usually present1 sometimes both4 ,in the ,face in the ,moon ,lamprias alone takes part1 and he acts as moderator4 ,it is not easy to interpret these facts4 ,m4 ,grard concludes that ,lamprias died early4 ,if so1 was the name1 which was borne by the grandfather and by one of the sons1 transferred1 for literary purposes1 to ,plutarch himself8 ,m4 ,chenevire1 in his pleasant essay on ,plutarch's friends 7a ,latin prize dissertation7 suggests that1 under whatever name1 the leading speaker always conveys ,plutarch's own views4 ,certain topics recur in this series of ,dialogues4 ,thus the problem as to the meaning of the ,e at ,delphi1 which is the main subject of ,i1 is glanced at1 with some impatience1 by ,philippus the historian in ,,iii4 ,the identification of ,apollo with the sun1 dismissed at the end of ,i as a mere beautiful fancy1 is questioned again in ,,iii and allowed to stand over as unsettled4 ,it is touched upon in ,,ii1 c4 #ab4 ,the hypothesis of a plurality of worlds1 brought forward by ,plutarch in ,i4 c4 #aa1 with special reference to the views of ,plato in the ,timaeus1 reappears1 again in connexion with the five regular solids1 in ,,iii4 ,it may be noticed that ,plutarch was not1 at the date of the conversation narrated in ,i1 a priest of the temple 7see c4 #af74 ,much of the matter of ,,iii reappears1 with little variety of substance1 in the ,face in the ,moon1 the attack on ,aristotle's theory of the distribution of matter in the one corresponding to that upon the ,stoics in the other1 and the accounts of the imprisonment of ,cronus by his son 7or ,briareus7 being almost identical4 ,it is probable that in both ,plutarch has drawn immediately upon ,posidonius1 and through him from ,xenocrates and others4 ,the question is discussed with great thoroughness by ,dr4 ,max ,adler 7,dissertationes ,vindobonenses1 #aiaj74 ,the situation of ,delphi is one of extraordinary beauty1 as well as interest3 ,some few miles north-east of the ancient site of ,cirrha the mountainous range of ,parnassus shoots out two little spurs towards the sea1 thus locking on three sides an inclined valley1 as the tiers of an ancient circus embrace the arena below4 ,upon the fourth side a small river runs1 by name the ,pleistus1 which has forced its way between the eastern spur and ,mount ,cirphius1 directly south and opposite2 crosses laterally at the foot of the glen2 then1 sweeping round in a shining curve1 before many leagues unites its waters to the bay4 ,the descending slope that forms the amphitheatre is broken by ridges into three terraces1 such as the traveller is wont to see in hilly countries4 ,on the highest rose the sanctuary2 below was the town and the cultivated hollow which poets called the ,vale of ,delphi2 above all towered the ridges of ,parnassus itself1#ej sheer walls of rock1 rising inland towards the summit of the chain1 desolate1 grand1 and picturesque4 ,those who stood above the level of the temple1 and turned their gaze toward the south-west1 might perhaps have looked far over to the smiling gulf of ,corinth1 an unbroken prospect of well-watered fields4 ,upon their left was the famous plane-tree1 and the spring of ,castalia1 whose stream1 leaping down between two rocks1 out of a huge cleft that divided them1 lost itself in a dell below1 till it fell finally into the ,pleistus2 and mounting the rough ascent1 just beyond the little torrent1 might be seen the sacred way1 which1 issuing from the same gorge as the ,pleistus1 rounded the flank of the promontory of rock and climbed up its warm side4 ,few are the shadows that pass over the valley2 through the long day the southern sun beats down on it1 and the brilliancy of the sky is immortalized in the name which the inhabitants conferred upon the hills about1 of ,phaedriades1 or shining cliffs4 ,but the property of the temple was not bounded by the extent of the view4 ,above1 on the heights1 as far as ,ligorea and ,tithorea1 both ,doric villages--towards the west1 beyond the ,stadium1 and the hill on which it nestled1 to ,amphissa and the pasturages along its stream--all was part of the ,ager ,apollinis1 sacred to the god and to his priests for ever4 ,from the ,arnold ,prize ,essay for #ahei1 by ,charles 7afterwards ,lord7 ,bowen4 ,the topographical and archaeological facts to be gathered from authorities prior to modern excavations are collected by ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,middleton in the ,journal of ,hellenic ,studies for #ahhh4 ,the results of the subsequent work of the ,french excavators1 directed by ,m4 ,homolle1 may conveniently be studied in ,dr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer's ,commentary on ,pausanias1 ,book #aj1 where the history of the successive temples is followed out4 ,the dimensions of the temple itself1 which stood on a rocky plateau or terrace1 were about #aig feet by #gb feet4 ,the ,sacred ,way ran round the temple1 and close to it on its northern and western sides1 and was followed by the party described by ,plutarch in the second of the three ,dialogues 7c4 #ag7 in order to reach the southern steps4 ,footnote #ej3 #h1jjj feet above the sea4 ,the ,phaedriades rose to about #hjj feet4 ,i ,,on ,,the #8,e' ,,at ,,delphi 7,in the ,pronaos of the temple at ,delphi the visitor was confronted by certain inscriptions 773 #8,know thyself'--#8,nothing too much'--#8,go bail and woe is at hand'--all exhortations to wisdom or prudence 7,plato1 ,charmides1 #afc-d74 ,to these is to be added1 on the sole authority of ,plutarch's ,dialogue1 the letter ,e1 pronounced ,,ei47 ,,the ,,speakers ,,ammonius1 the ,platonist philosopher1 ,plutarch's teacher4 ,,lamprias1 ,plutarch's brother4 ,,plutarch4 ,,theon1 a literary friend4 ,,eustrophus1 an ,athenian4 ,,nicander1 a priest of the temple4 ,chap4 #a4 ,dedication to ,serapion at ,athens4 ,i am sending you1 as an instalment1 some of my ,pythian ,dialogues4 ,what is the problem put before us by ,apollo under the form of the letter ,e8 ,i had always avoided the question1 but here is a report of a conversation with some visitors1 of whom ,ammonius was one1 in1 or soon after1 the year ,a4 ,d4 #ff1 when ,nero came to ,greece4 #b4 ,,ammonius was arguing that ,apollo propounds subjects for philosophical inquiry in the ordinances and emblems of his temple1 not least in this letter ,e4 #c4 ,,lamprias quoted the traditional account1 that the ,wise ,men1 who were properly five1 not seven1 met here1 and1 after discussion1 set up the letter ,e1 as a numeral1 for a protest against the intrusion of a sixth and seventh into their company4 ,the ancient wooden ,e is still called that of the ,wise ,men4 #d4 ,,ammonius smiled1 knowing ,lamprias to be capable of improvising a #8traditional view'4 ,one of the company mentioned a ,chaldaean visitor1 who had lately talked much nonsense about the number seven4 ,the officials of the temple know no view except that the letter is significant as a word 7#8if' or #8whether'74 #e4 ,,nicander confirmed this4 #8,if' is used with us in the formula of questions put to the god1 or1 as #8if only'1 in prayers4 #f4 ,,theon puts in a plea for #8,dialectic'1 i4e4 ,logic4 #8,if' is the conjunction which holds together the conjunctive proposition or syllogism1 the special prerogative of human intellect4 ,hercules1 in his early days1 mocked at ,logic and the ,e1 and then removed the tripod by force4 #g4 ,,eustrophus3 #8,bravo1 ,theon1 a ,hercules1 all but the lion's skin6' ,he appeals to the devotees of ,mathematics to say a word for the arithmetical virtues of the number five 7a thrust at ,plutarch himself1 who had yet to learn ,academic moderation in his zeal for ,mathematics74 #h-af4 ,,plutarch loq43 #h4 ,yes1 five has virtues3 #e #b #c1 the first even added to the first odd4 ,it is called #8,marriage'4 ,after multiplication it reproduces itself1 and so symbolizes the #8,conflagration' and #8,renovation' of ,heraclitus 7and the ,stoics71 #i4 ,which relate to the legends of ,apollo and also of ,dionysus4 #aj4 ,five1 when multiplied1 gives alternately five itself and the perfect ten4 ,it is also essential in harmonies4 #aa4 ,plato holds that1 if there are more worlds than one1 there may be five1 and no more4 ,aristotle that there is one world composed of five elements1 the five regular solids4 #ab4 ,the five senses are related to the five elements and the five solids4 #ac4 ,we must not forget ,homer1 and his five-fold division of the universe4 ,but1 going back3 ,four dimensions 7point1 line1 plane1 solid7 are all very well4 ,but animate being requires a fifth4 #ad4 ,the true derivation is not #b #c #e but #a #d i4e41 unity 7which is itself really a square7 plus the first square4 #ae4 ,there are five modes of being 7see the ,sophist1 and ,philebus of ,plato74 ,some early inquirer saw this1 and set up two ,e's4 #af4 ,i ask the initiated whether five has not a special virtue in their mysteries4 7#8,yes1' from ,,nicander1 #8but it is a secret4'7 ,well ,i must wait till ,i become a priest myself4 #ag4 ,,ammonius1 though in sympathy with ,mathematics1 deprecates too much exactness4 ,there is much to be said for the number seven4 ,but the #8,e' is really something different from all the suggestions4 ,the ,god greets his visitors with #8,know ,thyself4' ,they answer1 ,,thou ,,art4 #ah4 ,we #8are' not at all1 but always change from state to state1 and so 7says ,heraclitus7 does all ,nature4 #ai4 ,in true being is no past1 present1 or future2 our common speech confesses to our not being4 #bj4 ,but ,god ,,is1 and is rightly addressed as #8,thou ,art' or #8,thou ,art ,one'4 #ba4 ,the identification of ,apollo with the sun is a beautiful attempt to grasp the spiritual through the sensible4 ,not so the stories of his change into fire1 and the like1 which are better ascribed to some daemon than to the ,god4 #8,know ,thyself' calls us back from these lofty speculations3 #8,man1 know thy nature and its limitations6' ,,on ,,the #8,e' ,,at ,,delphi ,i4 ,a day or two ago1 dear ,serapion1 ,i met with some ,sidenote3 #chd ,d rather good lines1 addressed1 ,dicaearchus thinks1 to ,archelaus by ,euripides3#ea ,no gifts1 my wealthy friend1 from humble me2 ,you'll think me fool1 or think ,i did but beg4 ,he who out of his narrow store offers trifles to men of great possessions1 confers no favour2 no one believes that he gives something for nothing1 and he gets credit for a jealous and ungenerous temper4 ,now surely as money presents fall far ,sidenote3 ,e below those of literature and learning1 so there is beauty in giving these1 and beauty in claiming a return in kind4 ,at any rate1 ,i am sending to you1 and so to my friends down there1 some of our ,pythian ,dialogues1 as a sort of first-fruits2 and1 in doing so1 confess that ,i expect others from you1 and more and better ones1 since you enjoy a great city and abundant leisure1 with many books and discussions of every sort4 ,well then1 our kind ,apollo1 in the oracles which he gives his consultants1 seems to ,sidenote3 ,f solve the problems of life and to find a remedy1 while problems of the intellect he actually suggests and propounds to the born love of wisdom in the soul1 thus implanting an appetite which leads to truth4 ,among many other instances1 this is made clear as to the consecration of the letter #8,e'4 ,we may well guess that it was not by chance1 or by lot1 that1 alone among ,sidenote3 #che the letters1 it received pre-eminence in the ,god's house1 and took rank as a sacred offering and a show object4 ,no1 the officials of the ,god in early times1 when they came to speculate1 either saw in it a special and extraordinary virtue1 or found it a symbol for something else of serious importance1 and so adopted it4 ,i had often myself avoided the question and quietly declined it when raised in the school4 ,however1 ,i was lately surprised by my sons in earnest discussion with certain strangers1 who were just starting from ,delphi2 it was not decent to put them off with excuses1 they were so anxious to receive some ,sidenote3 ,b account4 ,we sat down near the temple1 and ,i began to raise questions with myself1 and to put others to them2 and the place1 and what they said1 reminded me of a discussion which we heard a long time ago from ,ammonius and others1 at the time of ,nero's visit1 when the same problem had been started here in the same way4 ,,ii4 ,that the ,god is no less philosopher than he is prophet appeared to all to come out directly from the exposition which ,ammonius gave us of each of his names4 ,he is #8,pythian' 7,the ,inquirer7 to those who are beginning to learn and to inquire2 #8,delian' 7,the ,clear ,one7 and #8,phanaean' to those who are already getting something clear and a glimmering of ,sidenote3 ,c the truth2 #8,ismenian' 7,the ,knowing7 to those who possess the knowledge2 #8,leschenorian' 7,god of ,discourse7 when they are in active enjoyment of dialectical and philosophic intercourse4 #8,now since'1 he continued1 #8,philosophy embraces inquiry1 wonder1 and doubt1 it seems natural that most of the things relating to the ,god should have been hidden away in riddles1 and should require some account of their purpose1 and an explanation of cause4 ,for instance1 in the case of the undying fire1 why the only woods used here are pine for burning and laurel for fumigation2 again1 why two ,fates are here installed1 whereas their number is everywhere else taken as three2 why no woman is allowed to approach the place of the oracles2 questions about the tripod1 and the rest4 ,these problems1 ,sidenote3 ,d when suggested to persons not altogether wanting in reason and soul1 lure them on1 and challenge them to inquire1 to listen1 and to discuss4 ,look again at those inscriptions1 ,,know ,,thyself and ,,nothing ,,too ,,much2 how many philosophic inquiries have they provoked6 ,what a multitude of arguments has sprung up out of each1 as from a seed6 ,not one of them ,i think is more fruitful in this way than the subject of our present inquiry4' ,,iii4 ,when ,ammonius had said this1 my brother ,lamprias spoke3 #8,after all1 the account which we have heard of the matter is simple enough and quite short4 ,they say that the famous ,wise ,men1 also called by some 8,sophists01 were ,sidenote3 ,e properly only five1 ,chilon1 ,thales1 ,solon1 ,bias1 and ,pittacus4 ,but ,cleobulus1 tyrant of ,lindos1 and1 later on1 ,periander of ,corinth1 men with no wisdom or virtue in them1 but forcing public opinion by influence1 friends1 and favours1 thrust themselves into the list of the wise1 and disseminated through ,greece maxims and sayings resembling the utterances of the five4 ,then the five were vexed1 but did not choose to expose the imposture1 or to have an open quarrel on the matter of title1 and to fight it out with such powerful persons4 ,they met here ,sidenote3 ,f by themselves2 and after discussing the matter1 dedicated the letter which is fifth in the alphabet1 and also as a numeral signifies five1 thus making their own protest before the ,god1 that they were five1 discarding and rejecting the seventh and the sixth1 as having no part or lot with themselves4 ,that this account is not beside the mark may be recognized by any one who has heard the officials of the temple naming the golden 8,e0 as that of ,livia the wife of ,caesar1 the brazen one as that ,sidenote3 #chf of the ,athenians1 whereas the original and oldest letter1 which is of wood1 is to this day called that 8,of the ,wise ,men01 as having been the offering of all in common1 not of anyone of them4' ,,iv4 ,ammonius gave a quiet smile2 he had a suspicion that ,lamprias had been giving us a view of his own1 making up history and legend at discretion4 ,some one else said that it was like the nonsense which they had heard from the ,chaldaean stranger a day or so before2 that there were seven letters which were vowels1 seven stars that have an independent motion and ,sidenote3 ,b are unattached to the heavens2 moreover that #8,e' is the second vowel from the beginning1 and the sun the second planet1 after the moon1 and that all ,greeks1 or nearly all1 identify ,apollo with the sun4 #8,but all that'1 he said1 #8is pernicious nonsense4 ,lamprias1 however1 has1 probably without knowing it1 made a move#eb which stirs up all who have to do with the temple against his view4 ,what he told us was unknown to any of the ,delphians2 they used to give the regular guides' account1 that neither the appearance nor the sound of the letter has any significance1 but only the name4' ,sidenote3 ,c ,v4 #8,no1 the ,delphic ,officials'1 said ,nicander the priest1 speaking for them1 #8believe that it is a vehicle1 a form assumed by the petition addressed to the ,god2 it has a leading place in the questions of those who consult him1 and inquire1 ,if they shall conquer2 ,if they shall marry2 ,if it is advisable to sail2 ,if to farm2 ,if to travel4 ,the ,god in his wisdom would bow out the dialecticians when they think that nothing practical comes of the 8,if0 part with its clause attached2 he admits as practical1 in his sense of the word1 all questions so attached4 ,then1 since it is our personal concern to question him as prophet1 but ,sidenote3 ,d a general concern to pray to him as ,god1 they hold that the letter embraces the virtue of prayer no less than that of inquiry2 8,o1 ,if ,i might60 says every one who prays1 as ,archilochus1#ec ,if it might be mine1 prevailing1 ,neobule's hand to touch6 ,when ,if-so-be is used1 the latter part is dragged in 7compare ,sophron's 8,bereaved of children1 ,i trow01 or ,homer's 8,as ,i will break thy might1 ,i trow0#ed74 ,but ,if gives the sense of prayer sufficiently4' ,,vi4 ,when ,nicander had finished1 our friend ,theon1 whom ,i am sure you know1 asked ,ammonius whether ,dialectic might ,sidenote3 ,e speak freely1 after the insulting remarks to which she had been treated4 ,ammonius told him to speak out on her behalf4 #8,that the ,god is a master of ,dialectic1' ,theon said1 #8is shown clearly by most of his oracles2 for you will grant that the solution of puzzles belongs to the same person as their invention4 ,again1 as ,plato used to say1 when a response was given that the altar at ,delos should be doubled1#ee a matter requiring the most advanced geometry1 the ,god was not merely enjoining this1 but was also putting his strong command upon the ,greeks to practise geometry4 ,just so1 when the ,god puts out ambiguous ,sidenote3 ,f oracles1 he is exalting and establishing ,dialectic1 as essential to the right understanding of himself4 ,you will grant again1 that in ,dialectic this conjunctive particle has great force1 because it formulates the most logical of all sentences4 ,this is certainly the 8conjunctive01 seeing that the other animals know the existence of things1 but man alone has been gifted by nature with the power of observing and discerning their sequence4 ,that 8it is day0 and 8it is light0 we may take it that wolves and dogs and birds perceive4 ,but 8if it is day it is light01 is ,sidenote3 #chg intelligible only to man2 he alone can apprehend antecedent and consequent1 the enunciation of each and their connexion1 their mutual relation and difference1 and it is in these that all demonstration has its first and governing principle4 ,since then ,philosophy is concerned with truth1 and the light of truth is demonstration1 and the principle of demonstration is the conjunctive proposition1 the faculty which includes and produces this was rightly consecrated by the wise men to that ,sidenote3 ,b ,god who is above all things a lover of truth4 ,also1 the ,god is a prophet1 and prophetic art deals with that future which is to come out of things present or things past4 ,nothing comes into being without a cause1 nothing is known beforehand without a reason4 ,things which come into being follow things which have been1 things which are to be follow things which now are coming into being1 all bound in one continuous chain of evolution4 ,therefore he who knows how to link causes together into one1 and combine them into a natural process1 can also declare beforehand things ,which are1 which shall be1 and which were of old4#ef ,homer did well in putting the present first1 the future next1 and the past last4 ,inference starts with the present1 and works ,sidenote3 ,c by the force of the conjunction3 8,if this is1 that was its antecedent01 8,if this is1 that will be40 ,as we have said1 the technical and logical requirement is knowledge of consequence2 sense supplies the minor premiss4 ,hence1 though it may perhaps seem a petty thing to say1 ,i will not shrink from it2 the real tripod of truth is the logical process which assumes the relation of consequent to antecedent1 then introduces the fact1 and so establishes the conclusion4 ,if the ,pythian ,god really finds pleasure in music1 and in the voices of swans1 and the ,sidenote3 ,d tones of the lyre1 what wonder is it that as a friend to ,dialectic1 he should welcome and love that part of speech which he sees philosophers use more1 and more often1 than any other4 ,so ,hercules1 when he had not yet loosed ,prometheus1 nor yet conversed with the sophists ,chiron and ,atlas1 but was young and just a ,boeotian1 first abolished ,dialectic1 made a mock at the 8,if the first then the second0#eg1 and bethought him to remove the tripod by force1 and to try conclusions with the ,god for his art4 ,at any rate1 as time went on1 he also appears to ,sidenote3 ,e have become a great prophet and a great dialectician4' ,,vii4 ,when ,theon had done1 ,i think it was ,eustrophus of ,athens who addressed us3 #8,do you see with what a will ,theon backs ,dialectic8 ,he has only to put on the lion's skin6 ,now then for you who put down under number all things in one mass1 all natures and principles divine as well as human1 and take it to be leader and lord in all that is beautiful and honourable6 ,it is no time for you to keep quiet2 offer to the ,god a first-fruits of your dear ,mathematics1 if you think that 8,e0 rises above ,sidenote3 ,f the other letters1 not in its own right by power or shape1 or by its meaning as a word1 but as the honoured symbol of an absolutely great and sovereign number1 the 8,pempad01 from which the ,wise ,men took their verb 8to count04' ,eustrophus was not jesting when he said this to us2 he said it because ,i was at the time passionately devoted to ,mathematics1 though soon to find the value of the maxim1 #8,,nothing ,,too ,,much#81 having joined the ,academy4 ,,viii4 ,so ,i said that ,eustrophus' solution of the problem by number was excellent4 #8,for since1' ,i continued1 #8when all number is divided into even and odd1 unity alone is in its effect ,sidenote3 #chh common to both1 and therefore1 if added to an odd number makes it even1 and vice versa2 and since even numbers start with two1 odd numbers with three1 and five is produced by combination of these1 it has rightly received honour as the product of first principles1 and it has further been called 8,marriage01 because even resembles the female1 odd the male4 ,for when we divide the several numbers into equal segments1 the even parts asunder perfectly1 and leaves inside a sort of recipient principle or space2 if the odd is treated in the same way1 a middle part is always left ,sidenote3 ,b over1 which is generative4 ,hence the odd is the more generative1 and when brought into combination invariably prevails2 in no combination does it give an even result1 but in all cases an odd4 ,moreover1 when each is applied to itself and added1 the difference is shown4 ,even with even never gives odd1 or passes out of its proper nature2 it wants the strength to produce anything different4 ,odd numbers with odd yield even numbers in ,sidenote3 ,c plenty because of their unfailing fertility4 ,the other powers of numbers and their distinctions cannot be now pursued in detail4 ,however1 the ,pythagoreans called five 8,marriage01 as produced by the union of the first male number and the first female4 ,from another point of view it has been called 8,nature01 because when multiplied into itself it ends at last in itself4 ,for as ,nature takes a grain of wheat1 and in the intermediate stages of growth gives forms and shapes in abundance1 through which she brings her work to perfection1 and1 after them all1 shows us again a grain of wheat1 thus restoring the beginning in the end of the whole process1 so it is with numbers4 ,when other numbers are multiplied into themselves1 they end in different numbers after being squared2 only those formed ,sidenote3 ,d of five or of six recover and preserve themselves every time4 ,thus six times six gives thirty-six1 five times five twenty-five4 ,and again1 a number formed of six does this only once1 in the single case of being squared4 ,five has the same property in multiplication1 and also a special property of its own when added to itself2 it produces alternately itself or ten1 and that to infinity4 ,for this number mimics the principle which orders all things4 ,as ,heraclitus#eh tells us that ,nature successively produces the universe out of herself and herself out of the universe1 bartering 8fire for things and things for fire1 as goods for gold ,sidenote3 ,e and gold for goods01 even so it is with the ,pempad4 ,in union with itself1 it does not by its nature produce anything imperfect or foreign4 ,all its changes are defined2 it either produces itself or the ,decad1 either the homogeneous or the perfect4 ,,ix4 #8,then if any one ask 8,what is all this to ,apollo80#ei ,much1 we will answer1 not to ,apollo only but also to ,dionysus1 who has no less to do with ,delphi than has ,apollo4 ,now we ,sidenote3 ,f hear theologians saying or singing1 in poems or in plain prose1 that the ,god subsists indestructible and eternal1 and that1 by force of some appointed plan and method1 he passes through changes of his person2 at one time he sets fire to ,nature and so makes all like unto all1 at another passes through all phases of difference--shapes1 sufferings1 powers--at the present time1 for instance1 he becomes 8,cosmos01 and that is his most familiar name4 ,the wiser people disguise from the vulgar the change ,sidenote3 #chi into fire1 and call him 8,apollo#fj0 from his isolation1 8,phoebus#fa0 from his undefiled purity4 ,as for his passage and distribution into waves and water1 and earth1 and stars1 and nascent plants and animals1 they hint at the actual change undergone as a rending and dismemberment1 but name the ,god himself ,dionysus or ,zagreus or ,nyctelius or ,isodaites4 ,deaths too and vanishings do they construct1 passages out of life and new births1 all riddles and tales to match the changes mentioned4 ,so they sing to ,dionysus dithyrambic strains1 charged with sufferings and a change wherein are wanderings and dismemberment4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,in mingled cries 7says ,aeschylus7#fb the dithyramb should ring1 ,with ,dionysus revelling1 its ,king4 #8,but ,apollo has the ,paean1 a set and sober music4 ,apollo is ever ageless and young2 ,dionysus has many forms and many shapes as represented in paintings and sculpture1 which attribute to ,apollo smoothness and order and a gravity with no admixture1 to ,dionysus a blend of sport and sauciness with seriousness and frenzy3 ,god that sett'st maiden's blood ,dancing in frenzied mood1 ,blooming with pageantry6 ,evoe6 we cry4 #8,so do they summon him1 rightly catching the character of either change4 ,but since the periods of change are not equal1 that ,sidenote3 ,c called 8satiety0 being longer1 that of 8stint0 shorter1 they here preserve a proportion1 and use the ,paean with their sacrifice for the rest of the year1 but at the beginning of winter awake the dithyramb1 and stop the ,paean1 and invoke this ,god instead of the other1 supposing that this ratio of three to one is that of the 8,arrangement0 to the 8,conflagration04#fc ,x4 #8,but perhaps this has been drawn out at too great length for the present opportunity4 ,this much is clear1 that they do associate the ,pempad with the ,god1 as it now produces its own ,sidenote3 ,d self like fire1 and again produces the ,decad out of itself like the universe4 ,now take music1 which the ,god favours so highly1 are we not to suppose that this number has its share here8 #8,most of the science of harmonies1 to put it in a word1 is concerned with consonances4 ,that these are five and no more is proved by reason1 as against the man who is all for strings and holes1 and wants to explore these points irrationally by the senses2 they all have their origin in numerical ratios4 ,the ratio of the fourth is four to three1 of the fifth three to two1 of the octave two to one1 of the octave and fifth three to one1 of the double octave four to one4 ,the additional consonance which writers of ,sidenote3 ,e harmony introduce under the name of octave and fourth1 does not merit admission1 being extra-metrical2 to admit it would be to indulge the irrational side of our sense of hearing1 and to violate reason1 or law4 ,passing by then five arrangements of tetrachords1 and the first five 8tones01 or 8tropes01 or 8harmonies01 whichever name is right1 by variations of which1 made higher or lower1 the remaining scales1 high and low1 are produced1 is it not true that1 though intervals are many1 indeed infinite1 the principles of melody are five only1 quarter tone1 ,sidenote3 ,f half tone1 tone1 tone and a half1 double tone8 ,in sounds no other interval of high and low1 be it smaller or greater1 can be used for melody4 ,,xi4 #8,passing over many similar points1 ,i will'1 ,i said1 #8produce ,plato1#fd who1 in discussing the question of a single universe1 says that if there are others besides ours1 and it is not alone1 then the whole number of them is five and no more2 not but that1 if ours is the only universe in being1 as ,aristotle#fe also thinks1 even this one is in a fashion composite and formed out of five2 one of earth1 one of water1 a third of fire1 and a fourth of air1 ,sidenote3 #cij while the fifth is called heaven or light or air1 or by others 8fifth substance01 to which alone of all bodies circular motion is natural1 not due to force or other accidental cause4 ,therefore it is that ,plato1 observing the five perfect figures of ,nature--,pyramid1 ,cube1 ,octahedron1 ,eicosahedron1 and ,dodecahedron--assigned them to the elements1 each to each4 ,,xii4 #8,there are some who appropriate to the same elements our own senses1 also five in number4 ,touch1 as they see1 is ,sidenote3 ,b resistent and earthy4 ,taste takes in properties by moisture in the things tasted4 ,air when struck becomes audible voice or sound4 ,there remain two3 smell1 the object of our olfactory sense1 is an exhalation engendered by heat1 and so resembles fire2 sight is akin to air and light1 which give it a luminous passage1 so there is a commixture of both which is sympathetic4 ,besides these1 the animal has no other sense1 and the universe no other substance1 which is simple and not blended4 ,a marvellous ,sidenote3 ,c apportionment of the five to the five6' ,,xiii4 ,here1 ,i think1 ,i paused1 and after an interval ,i went on3 #8,what has happened to us1 ,eustrophus8 ,we have almost forgotten ,homer1#ff as if he had not been the first to divide the universe into five parts1 assigning the three in the middle to the three ,gods1 while he left common and unapportioned the two extremes1 ,olympus and earth1 one the limit of what is below1 the other of what is above4 8,we must cry back01 as ,euripides says4#fg ,now those who exalt the number four as the basis of the ,sidenote3 ,d genesis of every body1 make out a fairly good case4 ,for every solid body possesses length1 breadth1 and depth2 but length presupposes a point as an unit2 the line is called length without breadth1 and is length2 the movement of a line in breadth produces a plane surface1 and that is three2 add depth1 and we get to a solid with four factors4 ,any one can see that the number four carries ,nature up to this point1 that is1 to the formation of a complete body1 which may be touched1 weighed1 or struck2 there it has left her1 wanting in what is greatest4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,for that which has no soul is1 in plain terms1 orphaned and incomplete and fit for nothing1 unless it be employed by soul4 ,but the movement or disposition which sets soul therein--a change introducing a fifth factor--restores to ,nature her completeness1 its rational basis is as much more commanding than that of the ,tetrad as the animal is above the inanimate4 ,further1 the symmetry and potency of the whole five prevails1 so as not to allow the animate to form classes without limit1 but gives five types for all living things4 ,there are ,gods1 we know1 and ,sidenote3 ,f daemons1 and heroes1 and after these1 fourth in all1 the race of men3 fifth1 and last1 the irrational order of brutes4 ,again1 if you make a natural division of the soul itself1 the first and least distinct principle is that of growth2 second is that of sense1 then comes appetite1 then the spirited part2 when it has reached the power of reasoning and perfected its nature1 it stays at rest in the fifth stage as its upper limit4 ,,xiv4 #8,now as this number five has powers so many and so great1 its origin is also noble3 not the process already described1 out of the numbers two and three1 but that given by the combination of the first principle of number with the first square4 ,the first principle is unity1 the first square is four2 from these ,sidenote3 #cia as from idea and limited substance1 comes five4 ,or1 if it be really correct1 as some hold1 to reckon unity as a square1 being a power of itself and working out to itself1 then the ,pempad is formed out of the first two squares1 and so has not missed noble birth and that the highest4 ,,xv4 #8,my most important point'1 ,i went on1 #8may1 ,i fear1 bear hardly on ,plato1 just as he said that ,anaxagoras 8was hardly used by the name ,selene01 when he had wished to appropriate the theory of her illumination1 really a very old one4 ,are not ,sidenote3 ,b these ,plato's words1 in the ,cratylus8#8#fh #8,they certainly are1' said ,eustrophus1 #8but ,i fail to see the resemblance4' #8,very well then2 you know1 ,i suppose1 that in the 8,sophist0#fi he proves that the supreme principles are five3 being1 identity1 difference1 and after these1 as fourth and fifth1 movement and position4 ,but in the ,philebus#gj he divides on a different plan4 ,he distinguishes the unlimited and the limited1 from whose combination comes the origin of all being4 ,the cause of combination he takes to be a fourth4 ,the fifth1 whereby things so mingled are again parted and distinguished1 he has left to us to guess4 ,i ,sidenote3 ,c conjecture that those on the one list are figures of those on the other2 to being corresponds that which becomes1 to motion the unlimited2 to position the limited1 to identity the combining principle1 to difference that which distinguishes4 ,but if the two sets are different1 yet1 on one view as on the other1 there would be five classes1 and five modes of difference4 ,some early inquirer1 it will surely be said1 saw into this before ,plato1 and consecrated two 8,e's0 to the ,god1 as a manifestation and symbol of the number of all things4 ,but further1 having perceived that the good also takes shape under five heads1 firstly ,sidenote3 ,d moderation1 secondly symmetry1 thirdly mind1 fourthly the sciences and arts and true opinions which relate to soul1 fifthly every pleasure which is pure and unmingled with what causes pain1 he there leaves off1 merely suggesting the ,orphic verse1 ,in the sixth order let the strain be stayed6 ,,xvi4 #8,having said so much'1 ,i went on1 #8to you all1 ,i will sing one short stave to ,nicander and 8his cunning men04#ga #8,on the sixth day of the new moon1 when the ,pythia is introduced into the ,prytaneum by one person1 the first of your three castings of lot is a single one1 namely the five3 the three ,sidenote3 ,e against the two4' #8,it is so1' said ,nicander1 #8but the reason may not be disclosed to others4' #8,then1' ,i answered with a smile1 #8until such time as we become priests1 and the ,god allows us to know the truth1 this much and no more shall be added to what we have to say about the ,pempad4' ,such1 so far as ,i remember1 was the end of our account of the arithmetical or mathematical reasons for extolling the letter #8,e'4 ,,xvii4 ,ammonius1 as one who himself gave ,mathematics no mean place in ,philosophy1 was pleased at the course the conversation was taking1 and said3 #8,it is not worth our while to answer our young friends with too absolute accuracy on these points2 ,i will only observe that any one of the numbers will provide not a few points for those who choose to sing its praises4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,why speak about the others8 ,apollo's holy 8,seven0 will take up all one day before we have exhausted its powers4 ,are we then to show the ,seven ,wise ,men at odds with common usage1 and 8the time which runs0#gb1 and to suppose that they ousted the 8,seven0 from its pre-eminence before the ,god1 and consecrated the 8,five0 as perhaps more appropriate8 #8,my own view is that the letter signifies neither number1 nor ,sidenote3 #cib order1 nor conjunction1 nor any other omitted part of speech2 it is a complete and self-operating mode of addressing the ,god2 the word once spoken brings the speaker into apprehension of his power4 ,the ,god1 as it were1 addresses each of us1 as he enters1 with his 8,,know ,,thyself01 which is at least as good as 8,hail04 ,we answer the ,god back with 8,,ei0 7,thou ,art71 rendering to him the designation which is true and has no lie in it1 and alone belongs to him1 and to no other1 that of ,,being4 ,,xviii4 #8,for we have1 really1 no part in real being2 all mortal nature is in a middle state between becoming and perishing1 and presents but an appearance1 a faint unstable image1 of itself4 ,if you strain the intellect1 and wish to grasp this1 it ,sidenote3 ,b is as with water2 compress it too much and force it violently into one space as it tries to flow through1 and you destroy the enveloping substance2 even so when the reason tries to follow out too closely the clear truth about each particular thing in a world of phase and change1 it is foiled1 and rests either on the becoming of that thing or on its perishing2 it cannot apprehend anything which abides or really is4 8,it is impossible to go into the same river twice01 said ,heraclitus2#gc no more can you grasp mortal being twice1 so as to hold it4 ,so sharp and so swift is change2 it scatters and brings together again1 nay not again1 no nor afterwards2 even while it is being formed it fails1 ,sidenote3 ,c it approaches1 and it is gone4 ,hence becoming never ends in being1 for the process never leaves off1 or is stayed4 ,from seed it produces1 in its constant changes1 an embryo1 then an infant1 then a child2 in due order a boy1 a young man2 then a man1 an elderly man1 an old man2 it undoes the former becomings and the age which has been1 to make those which come after4 ,yet we fear 7how absurdly67 a single death1 we who have died so many deaths1 and yet are dying4 ,for it is not only that1 as ,heraclitus#gd would say1 8death of fire is birth of air01 and 8death of air is birth of water02 the thing is much clearer in ,sidenote3 ,d our own selves4 ,the man in his strength is destroyed when the old man comes into being1 the young man was destroyed for the man in his strength to be1 so the boy for the young man1 the babe for the boy4 ,he of yesterday has died into him of to-day2 he of to-day is dying into him of to-morrow4 ,no one abides1 no one is2 we that come into being are many1 while matter is driven around1 and then glides away1 about some one appearance and a common mould4 ,else how is it1 if we remain the same1 that the things in which we find pleasure now are different from those of a former time2 that we love1 hate1 admire1 and censure ,sidenote3 ,e different things2 that our words are different and our feelings2 that our look1 our bodily form1 our intellect are not the same now as then8 ,if a man does not change1 these various conditions are unnatural2 if he does change1 he is not the same man4 ,but if he is not the same man1 he is not at all2 his so-called being is simply change and new birth of man out of man4 ,in our ignorance of what being is1 sense falsely tells us that what appears is4 ,,xix4 #8,what then really is8 ,that which is eternal1 was never brought into being1 is never destroyed1 to which no time ever brings change4 ,time is a thing which moves and takes the fashion of moving matter1 which ever flows or is a sort of leaky vessel which holds destruction and becoming4 ,of time we use the words 8afterwards01 8before01 8shall be01 and ,sidenote3 ,f 8has been01 each on its face an avowal of not being4 ,for1 in this question of being1 to say of a thing which has not yet come into being1 or which has already ceased from being1 that 8it is01 is silly and absurd4 ,when we strain to the uttermost our apprehension of time1 and say 8it is at hand01 8it is here01 or 8now01 a rational development of the argument brings it all to nothing4 8,now0 is squeezed out into the future or into the past1 as though we should try to see a point1 which of necessity passes away to right or left4 ,but if the case be the ,sidenote3 #cic same with ,nature1 which is measured1 as with time which measures1 nothing in it abides or really is4 ,all things are coming into being1 or being destroyed1 even while we measure them by time4 ,hence it is not permissible1 even in speaking of that which is1 to say that 8it was01 or 8it shall be02 these all are inclinations1 transitions1 passages1 for of permanent being there is none in ,nature4 ,,xx4 #8,but the ,god ,,is1 we are bound to assert2 he is1 with reference to no time but to that age wherein is no movement1 or time1 or duration2 to which nothing is prior or subsequent2 no future1 no past1 no elder1 no younger1 which by one long 8now0 has made the 8always0 perfect4 ,only with reference to this that which really is1 is2 it has not come into being1 it is ,sidenote3 ,b not yet to be1 it did not begin1 it will not cease4 ,thus then we ought to hail him in worship1 and thus to address him as 8,thou ,art01 aye1 or in the very words of some of the old people1 8,ei ,hen01 8,thou art one thing04#ge ,for the ,divine is not many things1 in the sense in which each one of us is made up of ten thousand different and successive states1 a scrap-heap of units1 a mob of individuals4 ,no1 that which is must be one1 as that which is one is4 ,variety1 any difference in being1 passes to one side to produce that which is not4 ,therefore the first ,sidenote3 ,c of the names of the ,god is right1 and the second1 and the third4 8,apollo0 7,not-many7 denies plurality and excludes multitude4 ,ieus means one and one only2 ,phoebus1 we know1 is a word by which the ancients expressed that which is clean and pure1 even as to this day the ,thessalians1 when their priests pass their solemn days in strict seclusion outside the temple1 apply to them a verb formed from ,phoebus4 ,now ,the ,one is transparent and pure1 pollution comes by commixture of this with that1 just as ,homer1#gf you remember1 says of ivory dyed red that it is stained1 and dyers say of mingled pigments that they are ,sidenote3 ,d destroyed1 and call the process 8destruction04 ,therefore it is the property of that which is indestructible and pure to be one and without admixture4 ,,xxi4 #8,there are those who think that ,apollo and the sun are the same2 we hail them and love them for the fair name they give1 and it is fitting to do so2 for they associate their idea of the ,god with that which they honour and desire more than all other things which they know4 ,but now that we see them dreaming of the ,god in the fairest of nightly visions1 let us rise and encourage them to mount yet higher1 to contemplate him in a dream of the day1 and to see his own being4 ,let them pay honour also to the image of him and worship the principle of increase which is about it2 so far as what is of sense can lead to what is of mind1 a moving body to that which abides1 it allows presentments and appearances of his kind and blessed ,sidenote3 ,e self to shine through after a fashion4 ,but as to transitions and changes in himself1 that he now discharges fire1 and so is drawn up1 as they put it1 or again presses down and strains himself into earth and sea1 winds and animals1 and all the strange passages into animals and also plants1 piety forbids us so much as to hear them4 ,otherwise the ,god will be a greater trifler than the boy in ,homer1#gg for ever playing with the universe the game which the boy plays with a pile of sand1 which is heaped together and sucked away under his hand2 moulding the universe when there is none1 and again destroying it when it has come into being4 ,the opposite principle which we find in the ,sidenote3 ,f universe1 whatever its origin1 is that which binds being together and prevails over the corporeal weakness tending to destruction4 ,to my thinking the word 8,,ei0 is confronted with this false view1 and testifies to the ,god that ,,thou ,,art1 meaning that no shift or change has place in him1 but that such things belong ,sidenote3 #cid to some other ,god1 or rather to some ,spirit set over ,nature in its perishing and becoming1 whether to effect either process or to undergo it4 ,this appears from the names1 in themselves opposite and contradictory4 ,he is called ,apollo1 another is called ,pluto2 he is ,delius1 the other ,aidoneus2 he is ,phoebus1 the other 8,skotios02 by his side are the ,muses1 and ,memory1 with the other are ,oblivion and ,silence2 he is ,theorius and ,phanaeus1 the other is 8,king of dim ,night and ineffectual ,sleep04#gh ,the other is ,sidenote3 ,b ,of all the ,gods to men the direst foe4#gi ,whereas of him ,pindar#hj has pleasantly said3 ,well tried and mildest found1 to men who live and die4 so ,euripides#ha was right3 ,draughts to the dead out-poured1 ,songs which our bright-haired lord ,apollo hath abhorred4 ,and still earlier ,stesichorus3#hb ,jest and song ,apollo owns1 ,let ,hades keep his woes and groans4 ,sophocles again1#hc in his actual assignment of instruments to each1 is quite clear1 thus3 ,nor harp nor lyre to wailing strains is dear1 for it was quite late1 indeed only the other day1 that the flute ,sidenote3 ,c ventured to let itself speak 8on themes of joy02 in early times it trailed along in mourning1 nor was its service therein much esteemed or very cheerful2 then there came a general confusion4 ,it was specially by mingling things which were of ,gods with those which were of daemons that the distinction of the instruments was lost4 ,anyhow1 the phrase 8,,know ,,thyself0 seems to stand in a sort of antithesis to the letter 8,e01 and yet1 again1 to accord with it4 ,the letter is an appeal1 a cry raised in awe and worship to the ,god1 as being throughout all eternity2 the phrase is a reminder to mortal man of his own nature and of his weakness4' ,footnote #ea3 ,fr4 #ifj4 ,footnote #eb3 i4e4 at draughts1 with a play on words4 ,footnote #ec3 ,fr4 #ga4 ,footnote #ed3 ,il4 #ag1 #bi4 ,footnote #ee3 ,see p4 #ad4 ,footnote #ef3 ,il4 #a1 #gj4 ,footnote #eg3 ,so ,emperius1 whose reading is that of the ,paris ,,ms4 ,e4 7,see ,paton in loco47 ,footnote #eh3 ,fr4 #bb4 ,footnote #ei3 ,a reference to the complaint with which the first attempts of ,aeschylus and others to give literary form to the popular hymns in honour of ,dionysus were greeted4 ,footnote #fj3 i4e4 #8not many'4 ,footnote #fa3 ,see p4 #gf4 ,footnote #fb3 ,fr4 #cib4 ,footnote #fc3 ,terms used by ,heraclitus 7,fr4 #bd71 adapted by the ,stoics for the periodic conflagration and renewal of the universe4 ,footnote #fd3 ,timaeus1 #ca ,a and #ee ,e foll4 ,footnote #fe3 ,de ,caelo1 #a1 #h-i1 #bgf a #ah4 ,footnote #ff3 ,il4 #ae1 #aij4 ,footnote #fg3 ,see ,iph4 ,aul4 #hfe and ,herc4 ,fur4 #abba4 ,footnote #fh3 ,p4 #dji ,a4 ,footnote #fi3 ,pp4 #bee-f4 ,footnote #gj3 ,p4 #bc ,d and p4 #ff ,c4 ,footnote #ga3 ,cp4 ,pindar's3 ,all vocal to the hearing of the wise1 ,all voiceless to the herd4--,ol4 #b1 #aeb-c4 ,footnote #gb3 ,from ,simonides1 a favourite phrase with ,plutarch4 ,footnote #gc3 ,fr4 #da4 ,footnote #gd3 ,fr4 #be4 ,footnote #ge3 ,see on this remarkable passage ,e4 ,norden1 ,agnostos ,theos1 p4 #bca f41 and the view of ,h4 ,diels1 communicated to him4 ,i have followed ,norden in reading 1 7he suggests with hesitation 7 7and so ,paton and ,diels74 ,diels thinks that may cover later philosophers such as ,xenophanes4 ,footnote #gf3 ,il4 #d1 #ada4 ,footnote #gg3 ,il4 #ae1 #cfb4 ,footnote #gh3 ,pindar 7probably from a ,threnos74 ,footnote #gi3 ,il4 #i1 #aeh4 ,footnote #hj3 ,fr4 #adi4 ,footnote #ha3 ,suppl4 #ige4 ,footnote #hb3 ,fr4 #ej4 ,footnote #hc3 ,fr4 #gbh1 probably from the ,thamyras4 ,,ii ,,why ,,the ,,pythia ,,does ,,not ,,now ,,give ,,oracles ,,in ,,verse ,,the ,,speakers ,a4 ,introductory ,,basilocles1 a citizen of ,delphi4 ,,philinus1 a friend 7perhaps also of ,delphi74 ,b4 ,philinus narrates a ,conversation between ,,philinus4 ,,diogenianus1 a young visitor from ,pergamum1 son of a friend of the same name4 ,,theon1 a literary friend4 ,,serapion1 the ,athenian poet4 ,,boethus1 a geometrician1 almost a convinced ,epicurean4 ,,two ,,guides of the temple of ,delphi4 #a4 ,,philinus1 coming out of the temple1 explains to ,,basilocles why his party has been so long in making the round of the sights4 ,it included an intelligent and inquisitive visitor1 the younger ,diogenianus1 of ,pergamum4 ,he continues3-- #b4 ,,diogenianus raised a point about the tint of the ,corinthian bronze4 ,,theon interposed with a story3 #c4 ,and discussed the properties of olive oil1 which produces a crust on metals4 ,he refers to ,aristotle's view 7which cannot be traced in his extant works74 #d4 ,he suggested special properties in the air of ,delphi--density and rarity--and quotes ,homer for the combination of such opposites4 #e4 ,a verse inscription catching the eye of ,,diogenianus caused him to ask why the verses of oracles are so poor4 ,,serapion suggested that perhaps our standard ought to be revised by that of the ,god4 ,,boethus told a story about ,pauson the painter4 ,he added that there is no excuse in the subject-matter1 witness ,serapion1 who wrote excellent poetry on dry science6 #f4 ,,serapion agreed that our standards are wrong--they lack severity4 ,pleasure was cast out1 once for all1 from the seat of the ,sibyl4 #g4 ,,theon disclaimed the false theory of inspiration4 ,the verses are not the ,god's1 he only gives the impulse4 ,but there is no pleasing the ,epicureans1 whether the prophetess uses verse or prose4 ,,diogenianus protested against levity on a subject of profound interest to all ,greeks4 ,,theon asked that the question might be reserved1 and the round continued4 #h4 ,instances from ,hiero's statue1 and others1 of the jealous care of ,providence for human affairs4 ,,boethus thought ,chance1 or ,spontaneity1 sufficient to account for all1 and was answered by ,,philinus1 who continued1 #i4 ,and referred to the history of the first ,sibyl4 ,,boethus mocked1 and was met by ,,diogenianus with instances of prophecies verified1 #aj4 ,which ,,boethus would explain as successful guesses4 #aa4 ,,serapion called for a distinction to be made between prophecies made in general terms1 and those which go into details4 #ab4 ,,diogenianus asked the emblematic import of the frogs on the ,corinthian brazen bowl4 ,,serapion suggested a reference to the ,sun rising out of water4 ,,philinus here detected an intrusion of the ,stoic #8,conflagration' into the discussion4 ,a casual remark raised the question of the identity of the sun with ,phoebus4 #8,they are as different'1 said ,,diogenianus1 #8as the sun and the moon1 only the sun has permanently eclipsed the ,god1 the sensible1 the spiritual4' #ac4 ,,serapion asked a question which the guides had already answered3 #8,no wonder if they are bewildered by our high-flown talk4' #ad4 ,the statue of ,rhodope1 the courtesan1 called forth a stern protest from ,,diogenianus4 #ae4 ,,theon1 on an appeal from ,,serapion1 pointed out the greater scandal of offerings made by ,greeks for victories over ,greeks4 #af4 ,one of the ,,guides reminded the company of the story of ,croesus and the baker-woman4 #ag4 ,,diogenianus begged that1 instead of more anecdotes1 the original question might be discussed3 #8,why has the use of verse in oracular answers been discontinued8' ,the company seated itself in a new position1 and ,,boethus genially remarked on its appropriateness1 the place of origin of the heroic metre4 #ah4 ,,serapion congratulated him on his improved tone1 and ,,philinus agreed4 ,philosophers have dropped verse1 yet we do not infer that ,philosophy has died out4 ,,philinus agreed4 #ai-;end4 ,,theon spoke to the original question4 #ai4 ,he mentioned ancient oracles delivered in prose1 #bj4 ,and modern oracles given in verse4 #ba4 ,to sum up3 ,soul is the instrument of the ,god1 body of soul2 the result must partake in the infirmity of body4 ,the cases of reflecting mirrors1 and of the moon4 ,thus there are two separate emotions in the prophetess--inspiration and ,nature4 #bb4 ,homeric instances of the choice of human instruments--,story of ,battus4 #bc4 ,of the ancient oracles 7#a7 many were delivered in prose1 7#b7 the fashion of the times was for verse 7cp4 c4 #ah74 #bd4 ,it is better that oracles should be given in current coin1 not in the depreciated coin of verse4 ,history of poetical usage4 #be4 ,in old times obscurity was thought dignified1 now it provokes impatience2 and it has become vulgarized through charlatans4 #bf4 ,when cities and statesmen used to consult the oracle on questions of high policy1 circumlocution was necessary4 #bg4 ,again1 verse was a great help to memory1 when intricate advice was given1 as to ,battus4 #bh4 ,in these days of general rest1 only homely questions are asked1 and are best answered in homely prose4 #bi4 ,yet we fear lest the credit acquired in three thousand years by the straight concise answers of the oracle should be lost6 ,we gush out with wealth1 as the mythical ,galaesus with milk4 ,i am proud to have had some hand in this4 #cj4 ,people who regret the old obscurity and bombast are like children who admire a rainbow more than the sun which makes it4 ,in ,theon's long concluding speech 7c4 #ai1 p4 #djc ,a to the end7 he is no doubt expressing ,plutarch's own views4 ,but the literary references and the touch of levity are quite in ,theon's style2 #8my young friend'1 in c4 #bj1 recalls the same phrase in c4 #c4 ,later on1 ,plutarch is1 as ,wyttenbach has observed1 indicated by 4 ,professor ,hartman 7see ,preface1 p4 xx7 states his conviction that ,theon was an older friend of ,plutarch and his predecessor in the priesthood 7pp4 #aff and #fag74 ,in a ,dialogue in which the ,epicureans are attacked 7,non posse suaviter1 p4 #ajhh ,d7 a long speech clearly belonging to ,theon is introduced by the words #8,i 7,plutarch7 said'4 ,this slip is probably due to the author4 7,see1 on the general subject1 ,mr4 ,john ,oakesmith's note on p4 #adi of ,the ,religion of ,plutarch47 ,,why ,,the ,,pythia ,,does ,,not ,,now ,,give ,,oracles ,,in ,,verse ,sidenote3 #cid ,d ,basilocles4 ,the shades of evening1 ,philinus1 while you are conducting the stranger round the votive gifts6 ,here am ,i1 ,sidenote3 ,e fairly tired out in waiting for you4 ,philinus4 ,yes1 ,basilocles1 we made slow progress1 sowing arguments as we went and reaping them too2 battle and war were beneath them1 as they sprang and sprouted in our faces1 like the #8sown men' of old4 ,basilocles4 ,then shall ,i have to call in some one else of your ,sidenote3 ,f company1 or will you oblige us with the whole story8 ,what were the arguments1 and who were the speakers8 ,philinus4 ,i shall have to do that myself1 ,basilocles1 it seems1 for you will not easily meet with any of the others in the town2 ,i saw most of them going back to the ,corycium and the ,lycuria with the stranger4 ,basilocles4 ,a good sight-seer this stranger1 and a mighty good listener6 ,philinus4 ,say rather a good scholar and a good learner4 ,not that these are his most admirable points2 there is a gentleness ,sidenote3 #cie which is full of charm2 and then his readiness to do battle and to raise sensible points3 nothing captious or hard in his way of taking the answers4 ,after a very short time in his company you would have to say #8good father1 good child'1 for you know that ,diogenianus was one of the very best4 ,basilocles4 ,i never saw him myself1 but ,i have met many who spoke with warm approval of his talk and his character1 and in just the same terms about this young man4 ,but how did the argument begin1 and what started it8 ,,ii4 ,philinus4 ,the guides were going through their lectures1 as prepared1 showing no regard for our entreaties that they would cut short their periods and skip most of the inscriptions4 ,the stranger was but moderately interested in the form and workmanship of the different statues2 it appears that he has ,sidenote3 ,b seen many beautiful objects of art4 ,what he did admire was the lustre on the bronze1 unlike rust or deposit1 but rather resembling a coat of deep shining blue1 so much so1 that it rather well became the sea-captains1 with whom the round had begun1 standing up out of the deep so naively with the true sea tint4 #8,now was there'1 he asked1 #8some receipt of pharmacy known to the old artists in brass like that method of tempering swords of which we read8 ,it was forgotten in time1 and then bronze had a truce from works of war4 ,as to the ,corinthian bronze1 that came by its beautiful colour accidentally1 not through art4 ,a fire spread over a house in which were stored some gold and silver and a large quantity of bronze4 ,the whole was fused into one stream of metal1 which took its name ,sidenote3 ,c from the bronze1 as the largest ingredient4' ,theon broke in3 #8,we have heard a different story1 with a spice of mischief in it4 ,a ,corinthian bronze-worker found a chest containing much gold4 ,fearing discovery1 he chipped it off little by little1 and quietly mixed the bits with the bronze2 the result was a marvellous blend1 which he sold at a high price1 as people were delighted with the beauty of the colour4 ,however1 the one story is as mythical as the other2 what we may suppose is that some method was known of mixing and preparing1 much as now they mix gold with silver1 and get a peculiar and rare effect1 ,sidenote3 ,d which to me appears a sickly pallor and a loss of colour with no beauty in it4' ,,iii4 #8,what has been the cause1 then1' said ,diogenianus1 #8do you think1 of the colour of the bronze here8' #8,here is a case'1 said ,theon1 #8in which1 of the first and most natural elements which are or ever will be1 fire1 earth1 air1 water1 none approaches or touches the bronze1 save air only3 clearly then1 air is the agent2 from its constant presence and contact the bronze gets its exceptional quality1 or perhaps ,thus much you knew before ,theognis was1#hd as the comic poet has it2 but what you want to learn is the ,sidenote3 ,e nature of air1 and the property in virtue of which its repeated contact has coloured the bronze4' ,diogenianus said that it was4 #8,and ,i too1' ,theon continued1 #8my young friend1 let us follow the quest together2 and first1 if you will agree1 ask why olive oil produces a more copious rust on the metal than other liquids2 it does not1 of course1 actually make the deposit1 being pure and uncontaminated when it is applied4' #8,certainly not2' said the young man1 #8the real cause appears to me to be something different2 the oil is fine1 pure1 and transparent1 so the rust when it meets it is specially evident1 whereas with other liquids it becomes invisible4' #8,excellent1' said ,theon1 #8my ,sidenote3 ,f young friend1 that is prettily put4 ,but consider also1 if you please1 the cause given by ,aristotle4' #8,i do please'1 he said4 #8,aristotle says that the rust1 when it comes over other liquids1 passes invisibly through and is dispersed1 because the particles are irregular and fine1 whereas in the density of oil it is held up and permanently condensed4 ,if1 then1 we can frame some such hypothesis for ourselves1 we shall not be wholly at a loss for a spell to charm away this difficulty4' ,,iv4 ,we encouraged him and agreed1 so he 7,theon7 went ,sidenote3 #cif on to say that the air of ,delphi is thick and close of texture1 with a tenseness caused by reflection from the hills and their resistance1 but is also fine and biting1 as seems to be proved by the facts of digestion of food4 ,the tenuity allows it to enter the bronze1 and to scrape up from it much solid rust1 which rust again is held up and compressed1 because the density of the air does not allow it a passage through2 but the deposit breaks out1 because it is so copious1 and takes on a rich bright colour on the surface4 ,we applauded this1 but the stranger remarked that either hypothesis alone was sufficient for the argument4 #8,the fineness'1 ,sidenote3 ,b he went on1 #8will be found to be in contradiction to the density of which you speak1 but there is no necessity to assume it4 ,the bronze1 as it ages1 exhales or throws off the rust by its own inherent action2 the density holds together and solidifies the rust1 and makes it apparent because of its quantity4' ,theon broke in3 #8,what is to prevent1 ,sir1 the same thing being both fine and dense1 as silks or fine linen stuffs1 of which ,homer says ,and from the close-spun weft the trickling oil will fall1#he where he indicates the minute and delicate workmanship of the fabric by the fact that the oil would not remain1 but trickled ,sidenote3 ,c or glided off1 the fineness at once and the density refusing it a passage4 ,and1 again1 the scraping up of the rust is not the only purpose served by the tenuity of the air2 it also makes the colour itself pleasanter to the eye and brighter1 it mingles light and lustre with the blue4' ,v4 ,here there was an interval of silence2 the guides were again getting their speeches in hand4 ,a certain oracle given in verse was mentioned--,i think it was one about the reign of ,aegon the ,argive--when ,diogenianus observed that he had often been surprised at the badness and common quality of the verses in which the oracles are delivered4 ,yet the ,god is ,choirmaster of the ,muses1 and eloquent language is no less ,sidenote3 ,d his function than beauty of ode or tune1 and he should have a voice far above that of ,homer and ,hesiod in verse4 ,here we have most of the oracles saturated with bad taste and poverty of metre and diction4 ,then ,serapion1 the poet1 who was with us from ,athens1 said3 #8,then do we really believe that these verses are the ,god's1 yet venture to say that they fall behind ,homer and ,hesiod in beauty8 ,shall we not rather take them for all that is best and most beautiful in poetry1 and revise our judgement of them prejudiced by familiarity with a bad standard8' ,boethus1 the geometer--you know the man1 ,sidenote3 ,e already on his way to the camp of ,epicurus--broke in3 #8,have you ever heard the story of ,pauson the painter8' #8,not ,i'1 said ,serapion4 #8,well1 it is worth hearing4 ,it appears that he had contracted to paint a horse rolling1 and painted him galloping4 ,the owner was indignant2 so ,pauson laughed and turned the canvas upside down1 with the result that the lower parts became the upper1 and there was the horse rolling1 not galloping4 ,so ,sidenote3 ,f it is1 ,bion tells us1 with certain syllogisms when converted4 ,thus some will tell us not that the oracles are quite beautiful because they are the ,god's1 but that they are not the ,god's because they are bad6 ,that point may be left unsettled4 ,but that the verses used in the oracles are bad poetry1' he went on1 #8is made clear also in your judgement1 my dear ,serapion1 is it not so8 ,for you write poems which are philosophical and severe as to matter1 but in force and grace and diction more like the work of ,homer and ,hesiod than the utterances of the ,pythia4' ,,vi4 ,then ,serapion3 #8,yes1 we are sick1 ,boethus1 sick in ears and in eyes2 luxury and softness have accustomed us to think things beautiful as they are more sweet1 and to call them so4 ,soon we shall actually be finding fault with the ,pythia because ,sidenote3 #cig she does not speak with a more thrilling voice than ,glauce the singing-girl1 or use costly ointments1 or put on purple robes to go down into the sanctuary1 or burn on her censer cassia1 mastic1 and frankincense1 but only bay leaves and barley meal4 ,do you not see'1 he went on1 #8what grace the songs of ,sappho have1 how they charm and soothe the hearers1 while the ,sibyl 8with raving mouth01 as ,heraclitus says1 8utters words with no laughter1 no adornment1 no spices01#hf yet makes her voice carry to ten thousand years1 because of the ,god4 ,and ,pindar#hg tells us that ,cadmus heard from the ,god 8right music01 not ,sidenote3 ,b sweet music1 or delicate music1 or twittering music4 ,what is passionless and pure gives no admission to pleasure2 she was cast out in this very place1 together with pain1#hh and the most of her has dribbled away1 it seems1 into the ears of men4' ,,vii4 ,when ,serapion had done1 ,theon smiled4 #8,serapion'1 he said1 #8has paid his usual tribute to his own proclivities1 making capital out of the turn which the conversation had taken about pain and pleasure6 ,but for us1 ,boethus1 even if these verses are inferior to ,homer1 let us never suppose that the ,god has composed them2 he only gives the initial impulse according to the capacity of each prophetess4 ,why1 suppose the answers had ,sidenote3 ,c to be written1 not spoken4 ,i do not think we should suppose that the letters were made by the ,god1 and find fault with the calligraphy as below royal standard4 ,the strain is not the ,god's1 but the woman's1 and so with the voice and the phrasing and the metre2 he only provides the fantasies1 and puts light into her soul to illuminate the future2 for that is what inspiration is4 ,to put it plainly1 there is no escaping you prophets of ,epicurus--yes1 you too1 ,boethus1 are drifting that way--you blame those old prophetesses because they used bad poetry1 and you also blame those of to-day because they speak their answers in ,sidenote3 ,d prose1 and use the first words which come1 that they may not be overhauled by you for headless1 hollow1 crop-tailed lines4' ,then ,diogenianus3 #8,do not jest1 in ,heaven's name1 no6 but help us to solve the problem which is common to us all4 ,there is not a ,greek#hi living who is not in search of a rational account of the fact that the oracle has ceased to use verse1 epic or other4' ,theon interrupted3 #8,at the present moment1 my young friend1 we seem to be doing a shabby turn by the guides1 taking the bread out of their mouths4 ,suffer them first to do ,sidenote3 ,e their office1 afterwards you shall discuss in peace whatever you wish4' ,,viii4 ,our round had now brought us in front of the statue of ,hiero1 the tyrant4 ,most of the stories the stranger knew well1 but he good-naturedly lent his ear to them4 ,at last1 when he heard that a certain bronze pillar given by ,hiero1 which had been standing upright1 fell of its own accord on the very day when ,hiero died at ,syracuse1 he showed surprise4 ,i set myself to remember similar instances1 such as the notable one of ,hiero the ,spartan1 how before his death at ,leuctra the eyes fell out ,sidenote3 ,f of his statue1 and the gold stars disappeared which ,lysander had dedicated after the naval battle of ,aegospotami4 ,then the stone statue of ,lysander himself broke out into such a growth of weeds and grass that the face was hidden4 ,at the time of the ,athenian disaster at ,syracuse1 the golden berries kept dropping off from the palm trees1 and crows chipped the shield on the figure of ,pallas4 ,again1 the crown of the ,cnidians1 which ,philomelus1 tyrant of ,phocis1 had given to ,pharsalia the dancing ,sidenote3 #cih girl1 caused her death1 as she was playing near the temple of ,apollo in ,metapontum1 after she had removed from ,greece into ,italy4 ,the young men made a rush at the crown1 and in their struggle to get it from one another1 tore the woman to pieces4 ,now ,aristotle used to say that no one but ,homer made #8words which stir1 because of their energy'4#ij ,but ,i would say that there have been votive offerings sent here which have movement in a high degree1 and help the ,god's foreknowledge to signify things2 that none of them is void or without feeling1 but all are full of ,divinity4 #8,very good6' said ,boethus2 #8so it is not enough to shut the ,god into a mortal body once every month4 ,we will also knead him into every morsel of stone and brass1 to ,sidenote3 ,b show that we do not choose to hold ,fortune1 or ,spontaneity1 a sufficient author of such occurrences4' #8,then in your opinion'1 ,i said1 #8each of the occurrences looks like ,fortune or ,spontaneity2 and it seems probable to you that the atoms glided forth1 and were dispersed1 and swerved1 not sooner and not later1 but at the precise moment when each of the dedicators was to fare worse or better4 ,epicurus helps you now by what he said or wrote three hundred years ago2 but the ,god1 unless ,sidenote3 ,c he take and shut himself up in all things1 and be mingled with all1 could not1 you think1 initiate movement1 or cause change of condition in anything which is6' ,,ix4 ,such was my answer to ,boethus1 and to the same effect about the ,sibyl and her utterances4 ,for when we stood near the rock by the ,council ,chamber1 on which the first ,sibyl is said to have been seated on her arrival from ,helicon1 where she had been brought up by the ,muses 7though others say that she came from the ,maleans1 and was the daughter of ,lamia the daughter of ,poseidon71 ,serapion remembered the verses in which she hymned herself2 how she will never cease from ,sidenote3 ,d prophesying1 even after death1 but will herself go round in the moon1 being turned into what we call the #8bright face'1 while her breath is mingled with the air and borne about in rumours and voices for ever and ever2 and her body within the earth suffers change1 so that from it spring grass and weeds1 the pasture of sacred cattle1 which have all colour1 shapes1 and qualities in their inward parts whereby men obtain forecasts of future things4 ,here ,boethus made his derision still more evident4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,the stranger observed that1 although these things have a mythical appearance1 yet the prophecies are attested by many overturnings and removals of ,greek cities1 inroads of barbarian hordes1 and upsettings of dynasties4 #8,these still recent troubles at ,cumae and ,dicaearchia#ia1 were they not chanted long ago in the songs of the ,sibyl1 so that ,time was only discharging his debts in the fires which have burst out of the mountain1 the boiling seas1 the masses of burning rocks#ib tossed aloft by the winds1 the ruin of cities many and great1 so that if you visit them in broad daylight you cannot get a clear idea of the site1 the ground being covered with confused ruins8 ,it is ,sidenote3 ,f hard to believe that such things have happened1 much harder to predict them without divine power4' ,x4 #8,my good ,sir1' said ,boethus1 #8what does happen in ,nature which is not ,time paying his debts8 ,of all the strange unexpected things1 by land or sea1 among cities and men1 is there any which some one might not foretell1 and then1 after it has happened1 find himself right8 ,yet this is hardly foretelling at all2 it is telling1 rather it is tossing or scattering words into the infinite1 with no principle in them4 ,they wander about1 often ,fortune meets them and throws in with them1 but it is all spontaneous4 ,it is one thing1 ,i think1 when what has been foretold happens1 quite another when what will happen is foretold4 ,any statement made about things then non-existent contains intrinsic error1 it has no right to await the confirmation ,sidenote3 #cii which comes from spontaneous happening2 nor is it any true proof of having foretold with knowledge that the thing happened after it was foretold1 for ,infinity brings all things4 ,no1 the 8good guesser01 whom the proverb#ic has announced to be the best prophet1 is like a man who hunts on the trail of the future1 by the help of the plausible4 ,these ,sibyls and ,bacises threw into the sea1 that is1 into time1 without having any real clue1 nouns and verbs about troubles and occurrences of every description4 ,some of these prophecies came about1 but they were lies2 and what is now pronounced is a lie like them1 even if1 later on1 it should happen to turn out true4' ,sidenote3 ,b ,,xi4 ,when ,boethus had finished1 ,serapion spoke3 #8,the case is quite fairly put by ,boethus against prophecies so indefinitely worded as those he mentions1 with no basis of circumstance3 8,if victory has been foretold to a general1 he has conquered4 ,if the destruction of a city1 it is lost40 ,but where not only the thing which is to happen is stated1 but also the how1 the when1 after what event1 with whose help1 then it is not a guess at things which will perhaps be1 but a clear prediction of things which will certainly be4 ,here are the lines#id with reference to the lameness of ,agesilaus3 ,sidenote3 ,c ,sure though thy feet1 proud ,sparta1 have a care1 ,a lame king's reign may see thee trip--,beware6 ,troubles unlooked for long shall vex thy shore1 ,and rolling ,time his tide of carnage pour4 ,and then those about the island#ie which the sea cast up off ,thera and ,therasia1 and also about ,philip and his war with the ,romans3 ,when ,trojan race the victory shall win ,from ,punic foe1 lo6 wonders shall begin2 ,unearthly fires from out the sea shall flash1 ,whirlwinds toss stones aloft1 and thunders crash1 ,an isle unnamed1 unknown1 shall stand upright1 ,the worse shall beat the stronger in the fight4 ,what happened within a short time--that the ,romans mastered the ,carthaginians1 and brought the war with ,philip to a finish1 ,sidenote3 ,d that ,philip met the ,aetolians and ,romans in battle and was defeated1 and1 lastly1 that an island rose out of the depths of the sea1 with much fire and boiling waves--could not all be set down to chance and spontaneous occurrence4 ,why1 the order emphasizes the foreknowledge1 and so does the time predicted to the ,romans1 some five hundred years before the event1 as that in which they were to be at war with all the races at once1 which meant the war with the slaves after their revolt4 ,in all this nothing is unascertainable1 the story is not left in dim light to ,sidenote3 ,e be groped out with reference to ,fortune 8in ,infinity01 it gives many securities1 and is open to trial1 it points the road which the destined event is to tread4 ,for ,i do not think that any one will say that the agreement with the details as foretold was accidental4 ,otherwise1 what prevents some one else from saying that ,epicurus did not write his ,leading ,principles for our use1 ,boethus1 but that the letters fell together by chance and just spontaneously1 and so the book was finished off8' ,,xii4 ,while we were talking thus1 we were moving forward4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,in the store-house of the ,corinthians we were looking at the golden palm tree1 the only remnant of their offerings1 when the frogs and water-snakes embossed round the roots caused much surprise to ,diogenianus1 and1 for the matter of that1 to us4 ,for the palm tree is not1 like many others1 a marshy or water-loving plant1 nor have frogs anything specially to do with the ,corinthians4 ,thus they must be a symbolical or canting device of that city1 just as the men of ,selinus are said to have dedicated a golden plant of parsley 7selinon71 and those of ,tenedos the axe1 because of the crabs found round the place which they ,sidenote3 #djj call ,asterium1 the only ones1 it appears1 with the brand of an axe on the shell4 ,yet the ,god himself is supposed to have a partiality for crows and swans and wolves and hawks1 for anything rather than beasts like crabs4 ,serapion observed that the artist intended a veiled hint at the sun drawing his aliment and origin from exhalations out of moist places1 whether he had it from ,homer1 ,leaving the beauteous lake1 the great sun scaled ,the brazen sky1#if or whether he had seen the sun painted by the ,egyptians as a newly-born child seated on a lotus4 ,i laughed3 #8,where have you got to again1 my good ,sir1' ,i said1 #8thrusting the ,sidenote3 ,b ,porch in here1 and quietly slipping into our discussion their 8,conflagrations0 and 8,exhalations08 ,thessalian women fetch the sun and the moon down to us1 but you are assuming that they are first born and then watered out of earth and its waters4 ,plato#ig dubbed man 8a heavenly plant01 rearing himself up from a root on high1 namely1 his head2 but you laugh down ,empedocles when he tells us how the sun1 having been brought into being by reflection of heavenly light around the earth ,beams back upon ,olympus undismayed6 ,yet1 on your own showing1 the sun is a creature or plant of the marshes1 naturalized by you in the country of frogs or ,sidenote3 ,c water-snakes4 ,however1 all this may be reserved for the ,stoics and their tragedies2 here we have the incidental works of the artists1 and let us examine them incidentally4 ,in many respects they are clever people1 but they have not in all cases avoided coldness and elaboration4 ,just as the man who designed ,apollo with the cock in his hand meant to suggest the early morning hour when dawn is coming1 so here the frogs may be taken for a symbol of the spring season when the sun begins to have power over the air and to break up winter2 always supposing ,sidenote3 ,d that1 with you1 we are to reckon ,apollo and the sun one ,god1 not two4' #8,what8' said ,serapion1 #8do you not agree8 ,do you hold the sun to be different from ,apollo8' #8,as different as the moon from the sun2' ,i replied1 #8only she does not hide the sun often or from all the world1#ih whereas the sun has made1 we may almost say1 all the world ignorant of ,apollo1 diverting thought by sensation1 to the apparent from the real4' ,,xiii4 ,next ,serapion asked the guides the real reason why they call the chamber not after ,cypselus1 the ,dedicator1 but ,sidenote3 ,e after the ,corinthians4 ,when they were silent1 being1 as ,i privately believe1 at a loss for a reason1 ,i laughed1 and said3 #8,what can these men possibly know or remember1 utterly dazed as they must be by our high celestial talk8 ,why1 it was only just now that we heard them saying that1 after the tyranny was overthrown1 the ,corinthians wished to inscribe the golden statue at ,pisa1 and also this treasure-house1 with the name of the city4 ,so the ,delphians granted it as a right1 and agreed2 but the ,corinthians passed a vote to exclude the ,eleians1 who had shown jealousy of them1 from the ,isthmian meetings1 and from that time to ,sidenote3 ,f this there has been no competitor from ,elis4 ,the murder of the ,molionidae by ,hercules near ,cleonae has nothing to do with the exclusion of the ,eleians1 though some think that it has4 ,on the contrary1 it would have been for them to exclude the ,corinthians if that had been the cause of collision4' ,such were my remarks4 ,,xiv4 ,when we passed the chamber of the ,acanthians and ,brasidas1 the guide showed us a place where iron obelisks to ,rhodopis the courtesan once used to stand4 ,diogenianus showed annoyance3 #8,so it was left for the same state'1 he said1 ,sidenote3 #dja #8to find a place for ,rhodopis to deposit the tithes of her earnings1 and to put ,aesop1 her fellow servant1 to death6' #8,bless you1 friend1' said ,serapion1 #8why so vexed at that8 ,carry your eyes upwards1 and behold among the generals and kings the golden ,mnesarete1 which ,crates called a standing trophy of the lewdness of the ,greeks4' ,the young man looked3 #8,was it then about ,phryne that ,crates said that8' #8,yes1 it was1' said ,serapion1 #8her name was ,mnesarete1 but she took on that of ,phryne 7toad7 as a nickname because of her yellow skin4 ,many names1 it would seem1 are concealed by these nicknames4 ,there was ,polyxena1 mother of ,alexander1 afterwards said to have been called ,myrtale and ,olympias and ,stratonice4 ,then ,eumetis ,sidenote3 ,b of ,rhodes is to this day called by most people ,cleobuline1 after her father2 and ,herophile of ,erythrae1 when she showed a prophetic gift1 was addressed as ,sibylla4 ,you will hear the grammarians telling us that ,leda has been named ,mnesinoe1 and ,orestes ,achaeus4 ,but how do you propose'1 he went on1 looking hard at ,theon1 #8to get rid of the charge as to ,phryne8' ,,xv4 ,theon smiled quietly3 #8,in this way3' he said1 #8by a cross charge against you for raking up the pettiest of the ,sidenote3 ,c ,greek misdoings4 ,for as ,socrates1#ii when entertained in the house of ,callias1 makes war upon the ointment only1 but looks on at all the dancing and tumbling and kisses and buffoonery1 and holds his tongue1 so you1 it seems to me1 want to exclude from the temple a poor woman who made an unworthy use of her charms2 but when you see the ,god encompassed by first-fruits and tithes of murders1 wars1 and raids1 and his temple loaded with ,greek spoils and booty1 you show no disgust2 you have no pity for the ,greeks when you read on the beautiful offerings such deeply disgraceful inscriptions as 8,brasidas and the ,acanthians from the ,athenians01 8,athenians from ,sidenote3 ,d ,corinthians01 8,phocians from ,thessalians01 8,orneatans from ,sicyonians01 8,amphictyones from ,phocians04 ,so ,praxiteles1 it seems1 was the one person who offended ,crates by finding#ajj room for his mistress to stand here1 whereas ,crates ought to have commended him for placing beside those golden kings a golden courtesan1 a strong rebuke to wealth as having nothing wonderful or worshipful about it4 ,it would be good if kings ,sidenote3 ,e and rulers were to set up in the ,god's house offerings to ,justice ,temperance1 ,magnanimity1 not to golden and delicate ,abundance1 in which the very foulest lives have their share4' ,,xvi4 #8,you are forgetting to mention'1 said one or other of the guides1 #8how ,croesus had a golden figure of the baker-woman made1 and dedicated it here4' #8,yes1' said ,theon1 #8but that was not to flout the temple with his luxury of wealth1 but for a good and righteous cause4 ,the story is#aja that ,alyattes1 father of ,croesus1 married a second wife1 and brought up a fresh family4 ,this woman made a plot against ,croesus2 she gave poison to the baker and told her to knead a loaf with it and serve ,sidenote3 ,f to ,croesus4 ,the baker told ,croesus secretly1 and set the loaf before the wife's children4 ,and so1 when ,croesus became king1 he requited the baker-woman's service in a way which made the ,god a witness1 and moreover did a good turn to him4 ,hence'1 he said1 #8it is quite proper to honour and love any such offering from cities as that of the ,opuntians4 ,when the ,phocian tyrants had melted up many of the gold and silver offerings and struck coined money1 which they distributed among the cities1 the ,opuntians collected all the silver they could find1 and sent a large jar to be consecrated here to the ,god4 ,i commend the ,sidenote3 #djb ,myrinaeans also1 and the ,apollonians1 who sent hither sheaves of gold1 and even more highly the ,eretrians and ,magnesians1 who endowed the ,god with firstfruits of men1 as being the giver of crops and also ancestral1 racial1 humane4 ,whereas ,i blame the ,megarians1 because they were almost alone in setting up the ,god holding a lance2 this was after the battle in which they defeated and expelled the ,athenians when holding their city1 after the ,persian wars4 ,later on1 however1 they offered to him a golden harp-quill1 attaching it1 as it appears1 to ,scythinus1 ,sidenote3 ,b who says of the lyre3 which the son of ,zeus ,wears1 the comely ,god ,apollo1 gathering first and last in one1 ,and he holds a golden harp-quill flashing as the very sun4' ,,xvii4 ,serapion wanted to put ,in some further remark on this1 when the stranger said3 #8,it is delightful to listen to such speeches as we have heard1 but ,i feel myself obliged to claim fulfilment of the original promise1 that we should hear the cause which has made the ,pythia cease to prophesy in epic or other verse4 ,so1 if it be your pleasure1 let us leave to another time the remainder of the sights1 sit down where we are1 and hear about that4 ,for it is this more than anything else which militates against the credibility of the oracle2 it must be one of two things1 either the ,pythia does not get near the spot where the ,divinity is1 or the current is altogether exhausted1 and ,sidenote3 ,c the power has failed4' ,accordingly1 we went round and seated ourselves on the southern plinth of the temple1 in view of the temple of ,earth and the fountain1 which made ,boethus at once observe that the very place where the problem was raised lent itself to the stranger's case4 ,for here was a temple of the ,muses where the exhalation rises from the fountain2 from which they drew the water used for the lustrations1 as ,simonides#ajb has it3 ,whence is drawn for holy washings ,water of the ,muses bright4 ,and again1 in a rather more elaborate strain1 the same poet ,sidenote3 ,d addressing ,clio3 ,holy patron of our washings1 ,goddess sought with many a vow1 ,by no golden robe encumbered1 hear thy servants drawing now ,water1 fragrant and delightful1 from ambrosial depths below4 ,so ,eudoxus was wrong in believing those who have made out that this was called #8,water of ,styx'4 ,but they installed the ,muses as assessors in prophecy and guardians of the place1 by the fountain and the temple of ,earth where the oracle used to be1 because the responses were given in metre and in lyric strains4 ,and some say further that the heroic metre was heard for the ,sidenote3 ,e first time here3 ,bring in your feathers1 ye birds1 ye bees1 bring wax at his bidding4 ,the ,god was in need1 and dignity was waived6#ajc ,,xviii4 #8,more reasonable1 that1 ,boethus1' said ,serapion1 #8and more in tune with the ,muses4 ,for we ought not to fight against the ,god1 nor to remove1 along with his prophecy1 his ,providence and ,godhead also1 but rather to seek fresh solutions for apparent contradictions1 and never to surrender the reverent belief of our fathers4' #8,excellent ,serapion6' ,i said1 #8you are right4 ,we were not abandoning ,philosophy1 as cleared out of the way and done for1 because once upon a time philosophers ,sidenote3 ,f put out their dogmas and theories in verse1 as ,orpheus1 ,hesiod1 ,parmenides1 ,empedocles1 ,thales1 whereas later on they gave it up1 and have now all given it up--except you6 ,in your hands ,poetry is returning home to ,philosophy1 and clear and noble is the strain in which she rallies our young people4 ,astronomy again3 she was not lowered in the hands of ,aristarchus1 ,timocharis1 ,aristyllus1 ,hipparchus1 all writing in prose1 whereas ,eudoxus1 ,sidenote3 #djc ,hesiod1 and ,thales used metre1 if we assume that ,thales really wrote the ,astronomy attributed to him4 ,pindar actually expresses surprise at the neglect1 in his own day1 of a mode of melody4444#ajd ,there is nothing out of the way or absurd in seeking out the causes of such changes2 but to remove arts and faculties altogether1 whenever there is disturbance or variation in their details1 is not fair4' ,,xix4 #8,and yet'1 interposed ,theon1 #8those instances have involved really great variations and novelties1 whereas of the ,sidenote3 ,b oracles given here we know of many in prose even in old days1 and those on no trifling matters4 ,when the ,lacedaemonians1 as ,thucydides#aje has told us in his history1 consulted the ,god about their war with the ,athenians1 he promised them victory and mastery1 and that 8he himself will help them1 invited or uninvited40 ,and again1 that1 if they did not restore ,pleistoanax#ajf1 they shall plough with a silver share4#ajg ,when the ,athenians consulted him about their expedition in ,sicily1 he directed them to bring the priestess of ,erythrae to ,athens2 now the woman's name was ,peace4 ,when ,deinomenes the ,siceliot inquired about his sons1 the answer was that all three should ,sidenote3 ,c reign as tyrants4 8,and the worse for them1 ,o ,master ,apollo01 rejoined ,deinomenes4 8,that too01 added the ,god1 8to form part of the answer40 ,you know that ,gelo had the dropsy and ,hiero the stone1 while they reigned2 ,thrasybulus1 the third1 was involved in revolutions and wars and soon lost his throne4 ,then ,procles1 tyrant of ,epidaurus1 after putting many others to death in cruel and unlawful ways1 at last killed ,timarchus1 who had come to him from ,athens with money1 after receiving him with hospitality and kindness2 he thrust his body into a crate and flung it out to sea4 ,this he did by the hands of ,cleander of ,aegina1 no one else knew4 ,afterwards1 when ,sidenote3 ,d himself in trouble1 he sent his brother ,cleotimus1 to consult the oracle secretly about his own exile and retirement4 ,the ,god answered that he granted exile to ,procles1 and retirement either to the place where he had ordered his ,aeginetan friend to lodge the crate1 or where the stag sheds his horn4 ,the tyrant understood the ,god to bid him fling himself into the sea1 or bury himself underground 7for the stag buries his horn deep out of sight1 when it falls off74 ,he waited a short time1 then1 when his affairs became desperate1 went into exile4 ,but the friends of ,timarchus caught and slew him1 and cast out the corpse into the sea4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,now comes the strongest instance3 the statutes by which ,lycurgus regulated the ,lacedaemonian constitution were given to him in prose4 ,so ,alyrius1 ,herodotus1 ,philochorus1 and ,ister1 the men who most zealously set about collecting metrical prophecies1 have written down oracular responses which were not in metre1 and ,theopompus1 who was exceptionally interested ,sidenote3 ,f about the oracle1 has administered a vigorous rebuke to those who do not hold that the ,pythia prophesied in metre in those days2 yet1 when he wanted to prove the point1 he has found an exceedingly small number of such answers1 which shows that the others1 even at that early time1 were put forth in prose4 ,,xx4 #8,some oracles1 however1 still run into metres1 one of which has made 8necessary business0#ajh a household word4 ,there is in ,phocis a temple of 8,hercules ,woman-,hater01 where the practice is for the consecrated priest not to associate with a woman during his year4 ,so they appoint comparatively old men to the priesthood4 ,however1 not very long ago1 a young man of good character1 but ambitious1 who was in love with ,sidenote3 #djd a girl1 accepted the office4 ,at first he put constraint on himself and avoided her2 but one day1 when he was resting after wine and dancing1 she burst in1 and he yielded4 ,then1 in his fear and confusion1 he fled to the oracle1 and proceeded to ask the ,god about his offence1 and whether it admitted of excuse or expiation4 ,he received this reply3 ,all needful business doth the ,god allow4 ,all the same1 if it be granted that nothing is prophesied in our own day1 otherwise than in metre1 the difficulty will be so much greater about the ancients1 who sometimes employed metre for the responses1 sometimes not4 ,there is nothing strange1 my ,sidenote3 ,b young friend1 in either one or the other1 so long as we hold sound1 pure views about the ,god1 and do not suppose that it is himself who formerly used to compose the verses1 or who now suggests the answers to the ,pythia1 speaking as it were from under a mask4 ,,xxi4 #8,however1 it is worth our while to pursue this inquiry at greater length another time4 ,for the present1 let us remember our results1 which are briefly these3 ,body uses many instruments1 soul uses body and its parts1 soul has been brought into being as the instrument of ,god4 ,the excellence of an instrument is to imitate most closely the power which uses it1 with all its ,sidenote3 ,c own natural power1 and to reproduce the effect of his essential thought1 but to exhibit it1 not pure and passionless and free from error1 as it was in the creative artist1 but with a large admixture of foreign element4 ,for in itself it is invisible to us1 but appearing 8other0 and through another medium it is saturated with the nature of that medium4 ,i pass over wax and gold and silver and copper1 and all other varieties of moulded substance1 which take on one common form of impressed likeness1 but add to the copy1 each its own distinct speciality4 ,i pass over the myriad distortions of images and reflections from a single form in ,sidenote3 ,d mirrors1 plane1 hollow1 or convex4 ,for nothing seems better to reproduce the type1 no instrument more obediently to use its own nature1 than the moon4 ,yet taking from the sun his bright and fiery rays1 she does not transmit them so to us2 mingled with herself they change colour and also take on a different power2 the heat has wholly disappeared1 and the light fails from weakness before it reaches us4 ,i think you know the saying found in ,heraclitus1 that 8,the ,king whose seat is at ,sidenote3 ,e ,delphi1 speaks not1 nor conceals1 but signifies40#aji ,take and add then to what is here so well said1 the conception that the ,god of this place employs the ,pythia for the hearing as the sun employs the moon for the seeing4 ,he shows and reveals his own thoughts1 but shows them mingled in their passage through a mortal body1 and a soul which cannot remain at rest or present itself to the exciting power unexcited and inwardly composed1 but which boils and surges and is involved in the stirrings and troublesome passions from within4 ,as whirlpools do not keep ,sidenote3 ,f a steady hold on bodies borne round and round and also downwards1 since an outer force carries them round1 but they sink down of their own nature1 so that there is a compound spiral movement1 of a confused and distorted kind1 even so what we call inspiration seems to be a mixture of two impulses1 and the soul is stirred by two forces1 one of which it is a passive recipient1 one from its own nature4 ,we see that inanimate and stationary bodies cannot be used or forced contrary to their own nature1 that a cylinder cannot be moved as if it were a sphere or a cube1 that a lyre cannot be played like a flute or a trumpet like a harp1 but that the artistic use of a thing is no other than the natural use4 ,is it possible then that the animate and self-moving1 which has both impulse and reason1 can be treated in any other way than is agreeable to the habit1 force1 or natural condition which ,sidenote3 #dje is already existent within it8 ,can an unmusical mind be excited like a musical1 an unlettered mind by literature1 a mind untrained in reasoning1 whether speculative or disciplinary1 by logic8 ,it is not to be spoken of4 ,,xxii4 #8,again1 ,homer is my witness3 he assumes#aaj that nothing1 so to speak1 is brought about without a ,god2 he does not1 however1 describe the ,god as using all things for all ends1 but according to the art or faculty which each possesses4 ,for do you not see1 dear ,diogenianus1 that ,athena1 when she wants to persuade the ,achaeans1 calls in ,odysseus2#aaa when to wreck the truce1 she looks for ,pandarus2#aab when to rout the ,trojans1 she ,sidenote3 ,b approaches ,diomede8#aac ,why8 because ,diomede is a sturdy man and a fighter1 ,pandarus an archer and a fool1 ,odysseus a clever speaker and a sensible man4 ,for ,homer was not of the same mind as ,pindar#aad1 if ,pindar it was who wrote ,sail on a crate1 if ,god so choose #8twill swim4 ,he knew that different faculties and natural gifts are appointed for different ends2 each is moved in its own way1 even if the moving force be one for all4 ,as then the force cannot move that which walks so as to make it fly1 nor that which lisps to speak clearly1 nor the thin voice to be melodious--why1 ,battus himself was sent as colonist of ,libya to get his voice1 because he was a lisper1 with a thin voice1 but withal a kingly1 statesman-like1 ,sidenote3 ,c prudent man--1 even so it is impossible for one who has no letters and knows no verse to talk like a poet4 ,and so she who now serves the ,god has been born as respectably as any man here1 and has lived as good and orderly a life2 but having been reared in the house of small farmer folk1 she brings nothing with her from art or from any practice or faculty whatsoever1 as she goes down into the sanctuary4 ,as ,xenophon#aae thinks that the bride should step into her husband's home having seen as little as may be1 and heard as little1 so she1 ignorant and untried in almost all things1 and a true virgin in soul1 is associated with ,sidenote3 ,d the ,god4 ,yet we1 who think that the ,god1 when he 8signifies01 uses the cries of herons and wrens and ravens1 and never ask that they1 as the messengers and heralds of the ,god1 should put things into clear rational phrases1 do nevertheless ask that the ,pythia should use a voice and style as though from the ,thymele1 not unembellished and plain1 but with metre and elevation1 and trills1 and verbal metaphors1 and a flute accompaniment6 ,,xxiii4 #8,what shall we say then about her older predecessors8 ,not one thing1 ,i think1 but several4 ,in the first place1 ,sidenote3 ,e as has been already said1 they1 too1 for the most part1 used to give the responses in prose4 ,in the second place1 those times produced temperaments and natural conditions which offered an easy and convenient channel for the stream of poetry1 to which were at once superadded1 in one and another1 an eagerness1 an impulse1 a preparation of soul1 all resulting in a readiness which needed but a slight initial movement from without to give the imagination a turn4 ,so it was that not only were astronomers and philosophers drawn1 as ,philinus says1 in their several directions1 but also1 when men were mellow with wine and sentiment1 some undercurrent of pity or joy would come1 and they would ,sidenote3 ,f glide into a song-like voice2 drinking parties were filled with amorous strains and songs1 books with poems in writing4 ,when ,euripides wrote3#aaf ,love can teach1 he makes ,a poet of a stranger to the ,muse1 he did not mean that ,love implants a faculty for poetry or music2 the faculty is there already1 but ,love stirs and warms what was latent and idle4 ,or are we to say1 ,sir ,stranger1 that no one now loves1 that ,love has gone by the heels1 because there is none who1 to quote ,pindar1#aag ,scatters with easy grace ,the vocal shafts of love and joy4 ,sidenote3 #djf ,that is absurd4 ,loves there are and many of them1 and they master men2 but when they associate with souls which have no natural turn for music1 they drop the flute and the lyre1 yet are vocal still and fiery through and through1 as much as of old4 ,it is an unhallowed thing to say1 and an unfair1 that the ,academy was loveless1 or the choir of ,socrates and ,plato2 yet1 while we have their love dialogues to read1 they have left no poems4 ,why not declare at once that ,sappho was the only woman who ,sidenote3 ,b ever loved1 if you are to say that ,sibylla alone had the gift of prophecy1 or ,aristonica1 and the others who delivered themselves in verse8 ,wine1 as ,chaeremon#aah used to say1 ,is mingled with the moods of them that drink1 and the prophetic inspiration1 like that of love1 uses the faculty which is subjected to it1 and stirs its recipients according to the nature of each4 ,,xxiv4 #8,not but that1 if we look also into the subject of the ,god and his foreknowledge1 we shall see that the change has taken place for the better4 ,for the use of language is like exchange in coined money4 ,here also it is familiarity which gives currency1 the purchasing power varies with the times4 ,there was a day when metres1 tunes1 odes were the coins of language in use2 all ,history and ,philosophy1 in a word1 every ,sidenote3 ,c feeling and action which called for a more solemn utterance1 were drawn to poetry and music4 ,it is not only that now but few understand1 and they with effort1 whereas then all the world were listeners1 and all felt pleasure in what was sung1 who fats his flock1 ,who ploughs the soil1 who snares the wingd game1 as ,pindar#aai has it4 ,more than that1 there was an aptitude for poetry1 most men used the lyre and the ode to rebuke1 to encourage1 to frame myths and proverbs2 also hymns to the ,gods1 prayers1 thanksgivings1 were composed in metre and song1 as genius or practice enabled them to do4 ,and so it was with prophecy2 the ,god did not grudge it ornament and grace1 or drive from hence into disgrace the honoured ,muse of the tripod2 ,sidenote3 ,d he rather led her on1 awakening and welcoming poetic natures2 he gave them visions from himself1 he lent his aid to draw out pomp and eloquence as being fitting and admirable things4 ,then there was a change in human life1 affecting men both in fortune and in genius4 ,expediency banished what was superfluous1 top-knots of gold were dropped1 rich robes discarded2 probably too clustering curls were shorn off1 and the buskin discontinued4 ,it was not a bad training1 to set the beauty of ,sidenote3 ,e frugality against that of profusion1 to account what was plain and simple a better ornament than the pompous and elaborate4 ,so it was with language1 it changed with the times1 and shared the general break-up4 ,history got down from its coach1 and dropped metre4 ,truth was best sifted out from ,myth in prose2 ,philosophy welcomed clearness1 and found it better to instruct than to astonish1 so she pursued her inquiry in plain language4 ,the ,god made the ,pythia leave off calling her own fellow townsmen 8fire-burners01 the ,spartans 8serpent-eaters01 ,sidenote3 ,f men 8mountaineers01 rivers 8mountain-drainers04 ,he cleared the oracles of epic verses1 unusual words1 circumlocutions1 and vagueness1 and so prepared the way to converse with his consultants just as laws converse with states1 as kings address subjects1 as disciples hear their masters speak1 so framing language as to be intelligible and convincing4 ,,xxv4 #8,for it should be clearly understood that the ,god is1 in the words of ,sophocles1#abj ,unto the wise a riddling prophet aye1 ,to silly souls a teacher plain and brief4 ,sidenote3 #djg ,the same turn of things which brought clearness brought also a new standard of belief2 it shared the general change4 ,whereas of old that which was not familiar or common1 but1 in plain words1 contorted and over-phrased1 was ascribed by the many to an implied ,divinity1 and received with awe and reverence2 in later times men were content to learn things clearly and easily with no pomp or artifice2 they began to find fault with the poetical setting of the oracles1 not only as a hindrance to the perception of truth1 because it mingled indistinctness and ,sidenote3 ,b shadow with the meaning1 but also because by this time they were getting to mistrust metaphors1 riddles1 and ambiguities1 as so many holes or hiding-places provided for him who should trip in his prophecy1 that he might step into them and secure his retreat4 ,you might have heard it told by many1 how certain persons with a turn for poetry still sit about the place of oracles1 waiting to catch the utterances1 and then weaving verses1 metres1 rhythms1 according to occasion1 as a sort of vehicle4 ,as to your ,onomacrituses1 and ,herodotuses1 and ,cinaethons1#aba and the censures which they brought upon the oracles1 by importing tragedy and pomp where they were out of place1 ,i let the charge pass1 and do not admit it4 ,most1 ,sidenote3 ,c however1 of the discredit which attached so copiously to poetry came from the gang of soothsayers and scamps who strolled around the ceremonies of the ,great ,mother and of ,serapis1 with their mummeries and tricks1 turning verses out of their own heads1 or taking them at random from handbooks1 for servant boys and silly girls1 such as are best attracted by metre and a poetic cast of words2 from all which causes poetry seemed to put herself at the service of cheats1 and jugglers1 and lying prophets1 and was lost to truth and to the tripod4 ,,xxvi4 #8,thus ,i should not be surprised to find that the old people sometimes required a certain ambiguity1 circumlocution1 ,sidenote3 ,d indistinctness4 ,for it was not then a case of 8,a0 approaching the oracle with a question1 if you please1 about the purchase of a slave1 or 8,b0 about business2 powerful states1 haughty kings and tyrants1 would consult the ,god on public affairs1 men whom it did not answer the officials of his temple to vex and provoke by letting them hear what they did not wish to hear4 ,for the ,god does not obey ,euripides1#abb who sets up as a lawgiver with ,phoebus1 none but he1 ,may give men prophecies4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,he uses mortal men as ministers and prophets1 whom it is his duty to make his care1 and to protect1 lest they perish at the hands of the bad while serving him4 ,he does not then choose to conceal the truth2 what he used to do was to give a twist to its manifestation1 which1 like a beam of light1 is refracted more than once in its passage1 and is parted into many rays as it becomes poetry1 and so to remove whatever in it was harsh and hard4 ,tyrants might thus be left in ignorance1 and enemies not be forewarned4 ,for them he threw a veil in the innuendoes ,sidenote3 ,f and ambiguities which hid the meaning from others1 but did not elude the intelligence of the actual consultants who gave their whole mind to the answers4 ,hence1 now that things have changed1 it is sheer folly to criticize and find fault with the ,god1 because he thinks right to give his aid no longer in the same manner but in another4 ,,xxvii4 #8,another thing is this3 ,language receives no greater advantage from a poetical form than this1 that a meaning which is wrapped and bound in metre is more easily remembered and grasped4 ,now in those days much memory was required4 ,many things used to be explained orally2 local indications1 the times when things were to be done1 rites of ,gods across the seas1 secret burying-places of heroes1 hard to be discovered by those setting off for lands far from ,greece4 ,you know about ,chius ,sidenote3 #djh and ,cretinus1 and ,nesichus1 and ,phalanthus1 and many other leaders of expeditions1 how many clues they needed to find the proper place appointed to each for settlement1 while some of them missed the way1 as did ,battus4#abc ,he thought that he would be turned out1 not understanding what the place was to which he had been sent2 then he came a second time loudly complaining4 ,then the ,god answered3 ,thou that hast never been there1 if thou know'st ,libya the sheepland ,better than ,i that have been1 then wonderful wise is thy wisdom4 ,so he sent him out again4 ,then ,lysander entirely failed to make out the hill ,orchalides1#abd otherwise called ,alopecus1 and the river ,hoplites1 ,also the dragon1 earthborn1 in craftiness coming behind thee1 and was defeated in battle and slain in those very spots by ,sidenote3 ,b ,neochorus1 a man of ,haliartus1 who bore a shield with the device of a serpent4 ,there are many such answers given to the old people1 all hard to grasp and remember1 which ,i need not give you at length1 since you know them4 ,,xxviii4 #8,our present settled condition1 out of which the questions now put to the ,god arise1 ,i welcome and accept4 ,there is great peace and tranquillity1 war has been made to cease1 there are no wanderings in exile1 no revolutions1 no tyrannies1 no other plagues or ills in ,greece asking for potent and extraordinary remedies4 ,but when there is nothing complicated or mysterious1 or dangerous1 only questions on petty ,sidenote3 ,c popular matters1 like school themes1 8whether ,i should marry01 8whether ,i should sail01 8whether ,i should lend01 and the most serious responses given to states are concerning harvests and cattle-breeding and public health1 to clothe these in metre1 to devise circumlocutions1 to introduce strange words on questions calling for a plain1 concise answer1 is what an ambitious sophist might do1 bedizening the oracle for his own glory4 ,but the ,pythia is a lady in herself1 and when she descends thither and is in the presence of the ,god1 she cares for truth rather than for ,sidenote3 ,d glory1 or for the praise or blame of men4 ,,xxix4 #8,so perhaps ought we too to feel4 ,as it is1 in a sort of agony of fear1 lest the place should lose its reputation of three thousand years1 and a few persons should think lightly of it and cease to visit the oracle1 for all the world as if it were a sophist's school1 we apologize1 and make up reasons and theories about things which we neither know nor ought to know4 ,we smooth the critic down1 and try to persuade him1 whereas we ought to bid him be gone-- ,he shall first suffer in a loss not light--#abe ,sidenote3 ,e if that is the view which he takes of the ,god4 ,thus1 while you welcome and admire what the ,wise ,men of old have written up3 8,know thyself01 and 8,nothing too much01 not least because of the brevity which includes in a small compass a close hammer-beaten sense1 you blame the oracles because they mostly use concise1 plain1 direct phrases4 ,it is with sayings like those of the ,wise ,men as with streams compressed into a narrow channel2 there is no distinctness or transparency to the eye of the mind1 but if you look into what has been written or said about them by those who have wished to learn the full meaning of each1 you ,sidenote3 ,f will not easily find longer treatises elsewhere4 ,the language of the ,pythia illustrates what mathematicians mean by calling a straight line the shortest between the same points2 it makes no bending1 or curve1 or doubling or ambiguity2 it lies straight towards truth1 it takes risks1#abf its good faith is open to examination1 and it has never yet been found wrong2 it has filled the shrine ,sidenote3 #dji with offerings from ,barbarians and ,greeks1 and has beautified it with noble buildings and ,amphictyonic fittings4 ,why1 you see for yourselves many buildings added which were not here formerly1 many restored which were ruinous or destroyed4 ,as new trees spring up by the side of those in vigorous bearing1 so the ,pylaea flourishes together with ,delphi and is fed upon the same meat2 the plenty of the one causes the other to take on shapeliness and figure and a beauty of temples1 and halls of meeting and fountains of water1 such as it never had in the thousand years before4 ,now those who dwell about ,galaxius ,sidenote3 ,b in ,boeotia felt the manifest presence of the ,god in the abundance and more than abundance of milk3 ,from all the kine and every flock1 ,plenteous as water from the rock1 ,came welling1 gurgling on its way ,the milk that day4 ,hot foot they hied them to the task1 ,to fill the pail1 to fill the cask2 ,no beechen bowl or crock of clay1 ,no pot or pan had holiday2 ,wine-skin or flagon1 none might stay ,within1 that day4#abg ,but to us he gives tokens brighter and stronger and more evident than these1 in having1 after the days of drought1 of desertion and poverty1 brought us plenty1 splendour1 and reputation4 ,true1 ,i am well pleased with myself for anything which my own ,sidenote3 ,c zeal or service may have contributed to this result in support of ,polycrates and ,petraeus1 well pleased too with him who has been our leader in this policy1 to whose thought and planning most of the improvements are due2 but it is wholly impossible that so great1 so vast a change could have been effected in this short time by merely human care1 with no ,god present here or lending his ,divinity to the place of the oracle4 ,,xxx4 #8,but as in those days there were some who found fault with the responses for obliquity and want of clearness1 so now there are those who criticize them as too simple1 which is childishness indeed and rank stupidity6 ,for as children show more glee and satisfaction at the sight of rainbows or haloes or comets than in that of the sun or of the moon1 so do these ,sidenote3 ,d people regret the riddles1 allegories1 and metaphors which are so many modes of refraction of prophetic art in a mortal and fanciful medium4 ,and if they do not fully inquire into the cause of the change1 they go away having passed judgement against the ,god1 rather than against ourselves or themselves1 for having a power of thought which is too feeble to attain to his counsels4' ,footnote #hd3 ,again quoted by ,plutarch1 p4 #ggg ,c4 ,footnote #he3 ,od4 #g1 #ajg4 ,footnote #hf3 ,fr4 #g4 ,footnote #hg3 ,in a lost #8,hymn'1 ,fr4 #cb4 ,footnote #hh3 ,see ,h4 ,richards in ,classical ,review1 vol4 #bi1 p4 #bcc4 ,footnote #hi3 ,reading as ,ed4 ,teub4 fr4 ,stegmann4 ,footnote #ij3 ,rhet4 #c1 #aa4 ,footnote #ia3 ,puteoli4 ,footnote #ib3 7,j4 ,h4 ,w4 ,strijd in ,class4 ,rev4 vol4 #bh1 p4 #bah74 ,footnote #ic3 ,quoted by ,menander1 ,fr4 #bdc 7,meineke74 ,footnote #id3 ,quoted also in the ,life of ,agesilaus1 c4 #c1 p4 #eig4 ,footnote #ie3 ,palaea ,kaumene1 a volcanic island ejected in #aif ,b4 ,c4 ,see ,tozer's ,islands of the ,aegean1 p4 #ig foll4 ,footnote #if3 ,od4 #c1 #a4 ,footnote #ig3 ,tim4 #ij4 ,footnote #ih3 ,see p4 #bhc4 ,footnote #ii3 ,xen4 ,sympos4 c4 #b4 ,footnote #ajj3 ,reading for with ,emperius 7ap4 ,ed4 ,teub474 ,footnote #aja3 ,see ,herod4 #a1 #ea4 ,footnote #ajb3 ,fr4 #dd4 ,footnote #ajc3 ,here the text is defective4 ,footnote #ajd3 ,here the text is defective4 ,footnote #aje3 ,i1 #aah4 ,footnote #ajf3 ,,mss4 have #8,pausanias'4 ,footnote #ajg3 ,these words are supplied from the text of ,thucydides1 #e1 #aj4 ,footnote #ajh3 ,the word is suggested by the ,teubner ,editor4 ,footnote #aji3 ,fr4 #aa4 ,footnote #aaj3 ,od4 #b1 #cgb4 ,footnote #aaa3 ,il4 #b1 #afi foll4 ,footnote #aab3 ,il4 #d1 #hf foll4 ,footnote #aac3 ,il4 #e1 beg4 ,footnote #aad3 ,the ,,mss4 have #8,pandarus'1 but #8,pindar' is a likely correction4 ,yet ,plutarch cannot have supposed ,pindar to have written this iambic line4 ,it is quoted by ,aristophanes1 ,peace1 #fii1 in connexion with the stinginess of ,sophocles or ,simonides1 and the scholiast quotes from ,pindar a censure of that vice in a poet3 so some confusion is possible4 ,footnote #aae3 ,oeconom4 #g1 #d foll4 ,footnote #aaf3 ,in the ,stheneboea4 ,footnote #aag3 ,isthm4 #b1 #c4 ,footnote #aah3 ,fr4 #af 7,nauck74 ,footnote #aai3 ,isthm4 #a1 #fi4 ,footnote #abj3 ,fr4 #gjg4 ,footnote #aba3 ,so ,cobet 7for ,cinesons74 ,footnote #abb3 ,phoen4 #ieh4 ,footnote #abc3 ,see ,herod4 #d1 #aee foll4 and ,pind4 ,pyth4 #d4 ,there is something amiss with ,plutarch's text here4 ,footnote #abd3 ,see his ,life1 c4 #bi4 ,footnote #abe3 ,od4 #b1 #aij4 ,footnote #abf3 ,see additional note on p4 #cab4 ,footnote #abg3 ,fragm4 adespota1 #ij4 ,,iii ,,on ,,the ,,cessation ,,of ,,the ,,oracles ,a ,,dialogue ,,inscribed ,,to ,,terentius ,,priscus ,,the ,,speakers ,,lamprias1 ,plutarch's brother4 ,,cleombrotus1 of ,lacedaemon1 a scientific traveller1 and a theologian1 who had been up the ,red ,sea1 and1 lately1 to ,ammon4 ,,didymus1 a ,cynic philosopher4 ,,philippus1 an historian4 ,,demetrius1 a #8grammarian' of ,tarsus1 now returning from ,britain4 ,,ammonius1 the philosopher4 ,,heracleon1 of ,megara1 a young man4 ,,time3 ,a little before the ,pythian games of ,callistratus' year1 perhaps ,a4 ,d4 #hc-d4 #a and #b4 ,,cleombrotus mentions the undying lamp flame at ,ammon1 said to require less oil each year1 a proof that the years are growing shorter4 #c4 ,,demetrius thinks the cause inadequate and ,,cleombrotus mentions other instances of important phenomena due to insignificant causes4 #d4 ,,ammonius points out that all the heavenly bodies are involved in the hypothesis1 and suggests other causes1 as changes in temperature or in the quality of the oil4 #e4 ,,lamprias invites ,cleombrotus to tell the company about the oracle of ,ammon4 ,,demetrius suggests1 as a subject nearer home1 the failure of the oracles in ,boeotia 7except those in the neighbourhood of ,lebadeia74 #f4 ,we were passing out of the temple1 and were near the ,hall of the ,cnidians1 where ,,heracleon and our other friends were waiting for us1 in silence4 ,on a request from ,,demetrius they agree to join in our discussion4 #g4 ,,didymus the ,cynic 7#8,planetiades'7 makes an angry protest3 the wonder being that ,providence itself had not deserted this bad world long ago4 ,heracleon and ,,lamprias humour him1 and he leaves the place quietly4 #h4 ,,ammonius addresses ,lamprias3 #8,i too deprecate the tone of ,didymus4 ,still we may recognize other causes1 besides providential action1 for the cessation of the oracles1 e4g4 the depopulation of ,greece and specially of ,boeotia4' #i4 ,,lamprias3 #8,we may believe in ,gods1 yet hold that their works may be interrupted by specific causes4 ,it is not necessary that the ,god should personally operate in his oracles4' #aj4 ,,cleombrotus agreed1 but observed that the hypothesis was much relieved by assuming the existence of daemons1 a middle order between ,gods and men1 and not immortal1 #aa4 ,but long-lived--say #i1gbj years 7as ,hesiod7--#8,what8' interrupted ,,demetrius2 #8,hesiod was leading up to the ,stoic 8,conflagration06' #ab4 ,,cleombrotus refuses to split straws as to the duration of a daemon's life2 the point is that there are such things as daemons4 #ac4 ,the daemons have been compared 7by ,xenocrates7 to an isosceles triangle 7,gods to an equilateral1 men to a scalene74 ,or again to the moon1 which is half earth1 half star4 #ad4 ,instances of daemonic rites1 #ae4 ,and daemonic stories1 wrongly attributed to ,gods1 as that of ,delphi 7,,philippus shows surprise7 and the flight of ,apollo4 #af4 ,,heracleon 7first addressing ,,philippus7 allows that daemons1 not ,gods1 may be concerned with oracles1 but then they must be sinless beings--,,cleombrotus3 8,sinless daemons--if so1 they would no longer be daemons03 #ag4 ,and quotes stories to prove that daemons may be faulty1 and one as to the death of ,pan to prove that they may be mortal4 #ah4 ,,demetrius confirms this from his experiences in and about ,britain4 #ai4 ,,cleombrotus compares the ,stoic view of ,gods who are perishable with the ,epicurean #8,infinity'4 #bj4 ,,ammonius defends ,empedocles' view of faulty daemons against the ,epicureans1 who held that1 if faulty1 they must be short-lived4 ,as the ,epicureans are not represented1 he calls on ,cleombrotus to continue his argument for the migration of daemons4 #ba4 ,,cleombrotus1 first referring to ,plato1 has a story of an oriental recluse1 whom he had met about the ,red ,sea4 ,he knew all the ,delphi legend1 and referred it to the struggles of daemons1 who took on the names of the ,gods to whom they were severally attached4 #bb4 #8,but how does ,plato come in8' asked ,,heracleon4 #8,because'1 replied ,,cleombrotus1 #8,plato allowed a possibility of more worlds than one1 up to five2 the recluse asserted 7giving no proof7 that there were exactly one hundred and eighty-three worlds4' #bc4 #8,the impostor6' says ,,lamprias2 #8that view is purely ,greek1 and was put into a book by one ,petron of ,himera long ago4' ,,heracleon and ,,demetrius exchange remarks about ,plato's views on a plurality of worlds1 and agree to refer the matter to ,,lamprias1 who offers to give a cursory account1 the discussion then to revert to the original question4 #bd-;end4 ,lamprias is the speaker1 with an interposition by ,ammonius in c4 #cc and again in c4 #df1 and by ,demetrius1 who answers a question in c4 #de1 and some shorter ones4 #bd4 ,,lamprias loq43 ,it is a priori likely that this world is not a sole creation4 #be4 ,there need be no fear of interference from outside1 of world with world4 ,aristotle's view of the arrangement of matter stated1 #bf4 ,and considered4 #bg4 ,the idea of a middle point is applicable to each world severally1 not to the confederation of worlds4 #bh4 ,the case of the #8stone outside the world' 7the moon871 which some regard as no part of our earth1 and therefore not bound to move towards it4 ,the paradoxical views of ,chrysippus4 #bi4 ,the ,stoic difficulty as to ,zeus or ,providence in the plural met4 ,why not a choir of such powers1 free to range from part to part of the universe8 #cj4 ,such a view of deities sociable and free to communicate with each other is the grander one4 #ca4 7,,philippus asks to have the bearing of the number five and the five solid figures on ,plato's scheme explained47 #cb4 ,,lamprias3 ,the matter is thus explained by ,theodorus of ,soli3#abh ,there are five and no more solid figures having all the faces and all the solid angles in each equal4 ,these are-- 7a7 ,the ,pyramid 7,tetrahedron7 with four faces1 each an equilateral triangle1 and four solid angles1 7b7 ,the ,cube1 six faces1 each a square1 and eight solid angles1 7c7 ,the ,octahedron1 eight faces1 each an equilateral triangle1 and six solid angles1 7d7 ,the ,dodecahedron1 twelve faces1 each a regular pentagon1 and twenty solid angles1 7e7 ,the ,eicosahedron1 twenty faces1 each an equilateral triangle1 and twelve solid angles4 ,it follows that 7d7 having more1 and blunter1 solid angles than any1 most nearly approximates to the ,sphere4 7,and1 in fact1 if the content of the ,sphere be #ajj1 that of 7d7 is #ffe1 that of 7e7 only #fje1 that of 7c7 #cfge1 and so on74 ,plato 7,timaeus1 pp4 #ec-e1 where see ,archer-,hind7 shows that each equilateral triangle may easily be broken into six #8primary scalenes'1 i4 e4 triangles with angles #ij1 #fj1 #cj1 which again will reproduce themselves ad infinitum 7,euclid1 #f1 #h74 ,hence1 if a universe be constructed out of 7a7 or 7c7 or 7e7 or their plane faces1 or of all of these1 it can1 in case of dissolution1 be reconstructed4 ,this does not apply to the ,cube1 the faces of which1 however1 yield isosceles right-angled triangles1 also available as #8constituents' in infinite number1 nor yet to 7d7 which is therefore reserved for another purpose1 as to which see ,burnet 7,early ,greek ,philosophers1 c4 #g1 sect4 #adh74 ,the solid figures may be used to construct five different worlds1 or omitting 7d7 for the four #8elements' 7fire1 c474 #cc4 ,,ammonius criticizes2 he points out that the difficulty about the figure 7d7 has been ignored4 #cd4 ,,lamprias drops the subject for the present1 and turns to the five categories of being in the ,sophistes and ,philebus4 ,it is reasonable to assume that the physical universe may correspond4 #ce4 ,consider the ,pythagorean first principles of number and the origin of the number five out of the first odd and the first even4 #cf4 ,five senses1 five fingers1 five planets 7the sun with the two inner planets taken as one74 #cg4 ,the relation of the five solid figures to ,plato's theory of creation further considered4 ,but we are on slippery ground here4 #ch4 ,,lamprias is invited to return to the original question1 as to the oracles and the migration of daemons4 #ci4 ,,lamprias resumes3 ,why should the prophetic gift be associated with daemons1 i4e4 souls which have left the body1 rather than with those still in the flesh1 though it may be more energetic after death8 ,compare the processes of ,memory4 #dj4 ,divination touches on the future through bodily conditions assisted by emanations and the like4 #da4 ,the special virtues of certain vapours or streams1 as the ,cydnus at ,tarsus4 #db4 ,the story of the first discovery of the ,adytum of ,delphi by the shepherd ,coretas4 ,there must be sympathy of soul with prophecy1 as of the eye with light4 ,the identification of ,apollo with the sun4 #dc4 ,the local prophetic currents may shift their place about1 as rivers and lakes are known to do4 #dd4 ,physical commotions1 especially earthquakes1 may be expected to cause such shiftings4 #de4 ,,demetrius has been too long away from home to answer as to the ,cydnus1 but he tells a story about the oracle of ,mopsus1 which had convinced a sceptical magistrate4 #df4 ,,ammonius and ,,philippus have points to raise4 ,that of the latter is as to the identity of the sun with ,apollo1 and is allowed to stand over4 ,,ammonius protests against the ascription of all prophecy to material causes1 but wishes to hear the view of ,,lamprias4 #dg4 ,,lamprias observes that ,plato had made a similar protest against ,anaxagoras4 ,both sets of causes must be recognized4 #dh4 ,and so in the case of prophetic utterances4 #di4 ,the actual procedure of ,delphi1 and the tests applied to the victim1 justified4 #ej4 ,the influences to which the prophetess is subject4 #ea4 ,story of a prophetess who was wrongly pressed when the conditions were adverse4 ,the force of the exhalation affects different persons differently4 ,it is essentially daemonic1 but not exempt from change or decay4 #eb4 ,the subject is difficult1 and must remain open to discussion1 as also the question raised by ,philippus about ,apollo and the sun4 ,,on ,,the ,,cessation ,,of ,,the ,,oracles ,i4 ,there is a story1 ,terentius ,priscus1 that certain eagles ,sidenote3 #dji or swans1 in flight from the extremities of earth to its middle ,sidenote3 ,f point1 met at ,delphi near the ,navel1 as we call it2 that later on ,epimenides of ,phaestus came to examine into the story in the ,god's house1 and1 receiving an indistinct and ambiguous response1 wrote ,no central boss there is of land or sea1 ,the ,gods may know one1 but from man 'tis hid4 ,as for the inquirer1 he was properly punished by the ,god for putting an old story to the proof as though fingering a picture4 ,sidenote3 #daj ,,ii4 ,however1 shortly before the ,pythian games of ,callistratus' year1 it happened that two holy men1 travelling from opposite ends of the inhabited globe1 met at ,delphi2 ,demetrius the grammarian1 on his homeward voyage from ,britain to ,tarsus1 and ,cleombrotus the ,lacedaemonian1 who had wandered much in ,egypt and about the land of the ,troglodytes1 and had sailed far up the ,red ,sea1 not for commerce1 but because he loved sights and information4 ,possessing a competence1 and being indifferent to having more1 he would use his leisure ,sidenote3 ,b in such ways1 putting together facts as material for a ,philosophy which was to end in what he himself called ,theology4 ,having lately been at the temple of ,ammon1 he made it clear that he was far from admiring its general arrangements1 but he told us a story worthy of serious interest as related by the priests1 about the lamp which is never extinguished4 ,they say that it consumes less oil each successive year1 and claim this as a proof of an inequality in the years which makes each less in duration ,sidenote3 ,c than its predecessor4 ,of course1 the shorter the period the less the consumption4 ,,iii4 ,all present found this wonderful1 and ,demetrius observed that it was quite absurd to hunt out such great results from trifles2 not1 as ,alcaeus puts it1 to take the claw and paint the lion from it1 but with a wick and a lamp to shift the whole order of the heavens1 and make a clean sweep of ,mathematics4 #8,nothing of that sort will disturb those gentlemen2' said ,cleombrotus1 #8they will never give in to the mathematicians on the point of accuracy2 they would think it easier for them to be wrong in their time about movements and periods so ,sidenote3 ,d very remote1 than for themselves to be wrong in measuring the oil1 when they had their attention jealously fixed all the time on so strange a phenomenon4 ,besides1 ,demetrius1 not to allow small things as indications of great ones would be to stop the way against many arts2 many proofs will be put out of account1 and many predictions4 ,yet you grammarians prove a fact of no less importance than that the heroes of old shaved with the razor1 because you meet with the word 8razor0 in ,homer1#abi and again1 that they lent money at interest1 because he has ,since of a debt there owing ,i have need1 ,long-standing and not small1#acj where the word for 8to owe0 imports increase6 ,again1 when ,sidenote3 ,e he calls night 8swift01#aca you fasten lovingly on the word1 and actually say that it implies that the shadow is conical1 as thrown by a spherical body4 ,then ,medicine tells us that an abundance of spiders prognosticates a summer of pestilence1 and so does a crow's-foot on the fig leaves in spring4 ,who is going to allow this1 unless he grants that small things may be indications of great ones8 ,who will endure that the magnitude of the sun should be measured by 8half-gallon or half-pint01 or that the acute angle made on the sundial here by the gnomon with the surface should be a measure of the elevation of the ,sidenote3 ,f visible poles above the horizon8 ,such1 at any rate1 were the accounts to be heard from the prophets down there1 so that we must have some other answer to give if we wish to keep for the sun his constitutional order without deviation4' ,,iv4 #8,not for the sun only1' cried ,ammonius the philosopher1 who was present1 #8but for the whole heavens6 ,for his passage from solstice to solstice must of necessity be curtailed and not ,sidenote3 #daa cover so large a portion of the firmament as mathematicians say1 its southern parts constantly shrinking towards the more northerly4 ,our summer1 too1 must become shorter1 and its temperature colder1 as his course curves inwards1 and he covers wider parallels among the tropical constellations4 ,again1 the gnomons at ,syene must cease to throw no shadow at the summer solstice2 many fixed stars would be found to have closed in1 some of them touching others and being mingled with them as the interval disappeared4 ,if1 on the other hand1 they shall ,sidenote3 ,b assert that the other bodies remain as they are1 the sun alone being irregular in his movements1 they will be unable to state the cause which accelerates him alone out of so many bodies1 and will throw most of the phenomena into confusion1 those of the moon entirely1 so that there will be no need of measures of oil to prove the difference2 eclipses will prove it1 when the sun comes into contact with the moon more frequently1 and the moon with the earth's shadow4 ,the rest is clear1 and there is no need to unravel any further the imposture of the theory4' #8,for all that1' said ,cleombrotus1 #8,i saw the measures with my own eyes1 for they showed me several2 that of the current year ,sidenote3 ,c fell considerably short of the oldest4' ,ammonius rejoined3 #8,then it has escaped all the others who keep up unextinguished fires1 and preserve them for a number of years which we may call infinite4 ,assume1 however1 that what is said is true2 is it not better to take the cause to be atmospheric chills or moisture1 which might probably weaken the fire so that it would not consume or need so much fuel2 on the other hand1 times of dryness or heat8 ,before now ,i have heard it said of fire that it burns better and with more strength in winter1 being ,sidenote3 ,d contracted and condensed by the cold1 whereas in hot times it loses power1 and becomes attenuated and feeble2 again1 that in sunlight it is less efficient1 attacking the fuel sluggishly and consuming it more slowly4 ,most likely of all1 the true cause may be in the oil4 ,there is no improbability in thinking that it was in old days unsubstantial and watery1 being produced from a young plant1 but afterwards1 when well matured and condensed1 it had more force and better nutritive power in an equal quantity4 ,i am supposing that we are bound to save this hypothesis for the servants of ,ammon1 absurd and unnatural as it is4' ,sidenote3 ,e ,v4 ,when ,ammonius had done1 #8,rather'1 said ,i1 #8tell us all about the oracle1 ,cleombrotus2 for the old reputation of the divine power there was great1 nowadays it seems to be somewhat dwindling4' ,as ,cleombrotus was silent1 and cast his eyes downwards1 ,demetrius said3 #8,there is no need to raise questions about what is happening there1 when we see the growing enfeeblement of the oracles nearer home1 ,i might rather say the cessation of all save one or two2 the question is from what cause has their power thus passed away8 ,why mention others1 when ,boeotia1 in old times full of voices with her oracles1 has now been quite deserted1 as though by sources of ,sidenote3 ,f water1 and a great drought of prophecy has possessed the land8 ,nowhere1 except round ,lebadeia1 has ,boeotia anything to give to those who wish to draw water from prophetic art2 for the rest1 silence or utter desertion is the order4 ,yet in the times of the ,persian wars it was in no less repute than that of ,sidenote3 #dab ,amphiaraus1 and ,mys1 as it would seem1 tried both4#acb ,so the prophet of the ,ptoan ,oracle1 in former times accustomed to use ,aeolian1 uttered a response in the tongue of the ,barbarians1 which none of the local persons present understood1 but ,mys alone2 however1 the ,barbarian caught the inspiration1 and the injunction did not need to be translated into ,greek4 ,as to the slave sent to the shrine of ,amphiaraus1 he seemed to see in his sleep a minister of the ,god1 who first spoke to turn him out telling him that the ,god was not present1 then used his hands to push him1 and1 when he persisted1 took a great stone and smote him on the head4 ,this was all a ,sidenote3 ,b prediction in act of what was to come about2 for ,mardonius was defeated by the ,greeks under no king but a regent and a lieutenant of a king1 and he fell struck by a stone1#acc just as the ,lydian appeared in his sleep to be struck4 ,at that time the oracle at ,tegyrae was flourishing2 there they say that the ,god was born1 and of the streams which flow past it one1 as some tell1 is called the 8,palm01 the other the 8,olive0 to this day4 ,again1 in the ,persian wars1 when ,echecrates was prophet1 the ,god promised victory and might in war to ,sidenote3 ,c the ,greeks4 ,then in the ,peloponnesian war1 when the ,delians had been turned out of their island1 it is said that an oracle was brought from ,delphi1 ordering them to discover the place where ,apollo was born1 and to perform certain sacrifices there4 ,when they were in wonder and perplexity at the idea that the ,god had not been born among them but elsewhere1 the ,pythia added that a crow should reveal to them the spot4 ,they went away and reached ,chaeroneia1 where they heard the landlord of the inn conversing with certain strangers on their way to ,tegyrae about the oracle4 ,these strangers1 on leaving1 addressed the woman in saying farewell as ,corone 7,crow74 ,then they ,sidenote3 ,d understood the oracle1 and having sacrificed at ,tegyrae1 managed shortly to effect their return4 ,there have been more recent manifestations at these prophetic shrines1 but now they have failed2 so that it may well be worth while here1 in the home of the ,pythian1 to discuss the cause of the change4' ,,vi4 ,by this time we were away from the temple1 and had reached the doors of the ,hall of the ,cnidians4 ,passing inside1 we saw the friends for whom we were making1 seated and waiting for us4 ,there was a general stillness because of the hour2 people were anointing themselves or watching the athletes4 ,then ,demetrius1 with a quiet smile1 said3 #8,shall ,sidenote3 ,e ,i tell a story1 or shall ,i speak the truth8 ,my belief is that you have no problem in hand worth a thought2 ,i see you seated much at your ease1 with relaxation on your faces4#8 #8,oh yes2' broke in the ,megarian ,heracleon1 #8we are not inquiring whether the verb 8to throw0 loses a lambda in the future1 nor as to the positive forms of 8worse01 8better01 8worst01 ,sidenote3 ,f 8best04 ,those are the questions1 those and others like them1 which bring frowns and wrinkles6 ,all others we may examine like philosophers1 with brows steady1 and quietly1 not looking death and daggers at the company4' #8,then take us as we are1' said ,demetrius1 #8and with us the subject upon which we have actually fallen1 one which is proper to the place1 and concerns us all for the ,god's sake4 ,and mind6 no wrinkled eyebrows when you attack it6' ,,vii4 ,we mingled our companies and sate down in and out ,sidenote3 #dac of each other1 and ,demetrius had propounded the subject1 when up sprang the ,cynic ,didymus1 by nickname ,planetiades1 struck the ground two or three times and shouted out3 #8,oho6 ,oho6 a mighty difficult subject1 which needs much inquiry1 you have brought us6 ,a wonder indeed that1 with so much wickedness poured over the earth1 not only 8,modesty and ,sense of ,justice01 to quote ,hesiod1#acd have deserted human life1 but ,divine ,providence1 too1 has packed up its oracles and is gone from everywhere4 ,i throw out the opposite problem for you to discuss4 ,why have they not ceased long ago8 ,why has not ,hercules or some other ,god withdrawn the tripod1 ,sidenote3 ,b filled every day with foul ungodly questions1 propounded to the ,god by some as if he were a sophist whom they were to catch out1 by others to ask about treasures or inheritances or marriages which law forbids4 ,the result is that ,pythagoras is proved mighty wrong when he said that men are always at their best when they approach the ,gods4#ace ,accordingly1 things which it were decent to cloak and deny in the presence of an older man1 diseases and affections of the soul1 these they lay bare and open before the ,god6' ,he wanted to go on1 but ,heracleon plucked at his cloak1 and ,i1 almost his greatest ,sidenote3 ,c intimate present1 said3 #8,dear ,planetiades1 leave off provoking the ,god4 ,he is easy to be entreated and gentle3 ,mildest to mortal men pronounced to be1 as ,pindar#acf says4 ,and whether he be sun1 or lord and father of the sun1 lord and father beyond all that is visible1 it is not likely that he should deem us modern men unworthy of a voice from himself1 being to them the cause of birth and nurture and being and thinking4 ,it is not seemly1 either1 that ,providence1 our thoughtful kindly mother1 who produces and maintains all things for us1 should remember our misdeeds in one matter only--prophecy1 and should take away what she ,sidenote3 ,d originally gave4 ,as if in those old days there were not more bad men because men were more1 when oracles were set up in so many parts of the inhabited world6 ,come here1 and sit down again6 ,swear a ,pythian truce with wickedness1 whom you are chastising in word every day2 join us in seeking some other cause for the alleged failure of the oracles4' ,my words had some effect2 ,planetiades went away by the doors and in silence4 ,,viii4 ,there was a short interval of quiet1 then ,ammonius ,sidenote3 ,e addressed me4 #8,lamprias1' he said1 #8take care what we are doing1 and give your mind to the discussion1 lest we find ourselves making out that the ,god is no true cause4 ,he who thinks that the cessation of the oracles is due to something other than the will of a ,god1 suggests the thought that they come into being and exist1 not because of the ,god1 but in some other way4 ,for if prophecy be the work of a ,god1 there is no greater or stronger power to remove and abolish it4 ,now the argument of ,planetiades displeased me in many points1 especially as to the inconsistency which he makes out in the ,god1 at one time ,sidenote3 ,f turning away from vice and disowning it1 at another admitting it2 as though a king or tyrant were to shut out bad men at one door1 and admit them to interviews by another4 ,start with the operation most proper to the ,gods1 which is great1 yet never excessive1 always sufficient in itself2 and tell me that ,sidenote3 #dad ,hellas has had the largest share in the general depopulation caused by former revolutions and wars over the whole perhaps of the inhabited globe1 and could now scarcely provide all round three thousand hoplites1 the number which the single state of ,megara sent out to ,plataea4#acg ,why1 for the ,god to have left many places of his oracle would be merely to expose the desolation of ,greece4 ,then ,i will put myself in your hands for ingenuity4 ,for who would get the good if there were an oracle at ,tegyrae as there formerly was1 or near ,ptoum1 where it is a day's work to meet one man minding his flocks4 ,this very spot1 most venerable of all and most renowned 8for time and fame01 was for a long time made desert and unapproachable by a savage beast1 a female dragon as the story goes2 but this is to invert the facts of its lying idle2 the ,sidenote3 ,b wilderness invited the beast1 the beast did not make the wilderness4 ,but when1 in the good pleasure of the ,god1 ,hellas revived in her cities1 and the place had men in plenty1 two prophetesses were employed1 who were lowered in turn1 and a third was appointed to relieve4 ,now there is only one1 and we do not complain1 for she is enough for those who need her4 ,so we have no cause to blame the ,god2 the prophetic establishment now subsisting suffices for all1 and sends away all with what they want4 ,agamemnon used to employ seven heralds1 yet ,sidenote3 ,c scarcely could control the numerous assembly1 whereas in a few days you will see in the theatre here that a single voice reaches all present1 and even so it is with prophecy2 then it used more voices to reach more persons1 now we should fairly wonder at the ,god if he allowed his prophecy to flow to waste like water1 or like the rocks to find an echo for the voices of shepherds and their flocks4' ,,ix4 ,when ,ammonius had said this1 and ,i remained silent1 ,cleombrotus addressed me3 #8,have you now granted'1 he said1 ,sidenote3 ,d #8that the ,god makes and also destroys the oracles8' #8,by no means'1 ,i said4 #8,i maintain that no prophetic shrine or oracle is destroyed by the ,god's agency4 ,it is as with many other things which he makes or provides2 ,nature brings in destruction and negation2 or rather ,matter1 which is negation1 unweaves and breaks up that which is brought into being by the more powerful cause4 ,even so ,i think there are times of obscuration and withdrawal of prophetic forces4 ,the ,god gives many fair things to men1 but gives nothing immortal1 so that1 in the words of ,sophocles3#ach ,the works of ,gods may die1 but not the ,gods4 ,i say that their essence and their power must be sought in ,sidenote3 ,e ,nature and in ,matter1 the origin being rightly reserved to the ,god4 ,it would be simple and childish to suppose that the ,god himself creeps into the bodies of the prophets and speaks from there1 using as instruments their mouths and voices1 like those ventriloquists once called 8,eurycleis01 now 8,pythones04 ,he who mixes up the ,god with mortal needs does not spare ,sidenote3 ,f his majesty nor preserve the dignity and the greatness of his excellence4' ,x4 ,then ,cleombrotus3 #8,you are right4 ,yet it is hard to grasp and to define how1 and up to what point1 we may make use of ,providence2 and therefore those who make the ,god the cause of nothing at all1 and also those who make him the common cause of all1 go wide of moderation and decency4 ,it is well said1 on the one hand1 that ,plato1 in discovering the element which underlies created qualities1 now called 8,matter0 or 8,nature01 relieved philosophers from perplexities ,sidenote3 #dae many and great4 ,it seems to me1 on the other1 that those who have inserted the class of daemons between ,gods and men1 to draw and knit together the fellowship of the two orders after a fashion1 have cleared away more perplexities and greater2 whether the view belongs to ,zoroaster and the ,magi1 or comes from ,thrace and ,orpheus1 or from ,egypt1 or from ,phrygia1 as we conjecture from seeing in both those countries many elements of death and mourning in the rites celebrated there1 mingled with those of initiation4 ,among the ,greeks1 ,homer appears still to use both names indifferently1 and sometimes ,sidenote3 ,b to call the ,gods daemons4 ,hesiod first clearly and distinctly laid down four classes of reasonable beings1 ,gods1 then daemons1 then heroes1 last of all men2 and here he appears to admit transition1 the golden race of men passing into daemons many and great1 the demigods at last into heroes4#aci ,others make out a change for bodies and souls alike4 ,as water is seen to be produced out of earth1 air from water1 and fire from air1 and the substance is borne upwards1 even so the better souls receive their change from men into heroes1 from heroes into daemons4 ,from the daemons again1 a few in a long course of time1 upborne ,sidenote3 ,c through virtue1 become full partakers of divine nature4 ,to some it happens not to have control of themselves2 so they subside and again enter mortal bodies1 and endure a life as dim and unillumined as an exhalation4 ,,xi4 #8,hesiod thinks that in certain periods of time the daemons die4 ,speaking in the person of the ,nad he darkly indicates the time3 ,full ages nine of men that live their prime ,lives the hoarse crow1 four crows the stag outlives1 ,three stags the ancient raven1 ravens nine ,the phoenix1 but the phoenix1 ten times told1 ,we fair-haired nymphs1 daughters of ,zeus most dread4#adj ,sidenote3 ,d ,those who take the word 8age0 wrong bring this to a very large total2 it means a year1 so that the sum comes out nine thousand seven hundred and twenty for the years of life of the daemons4 ,most mathematicians think it to be less2 not even ,pindar#ada has called it greater1 when he tells us that the nymphs live ,their term appointed even as the trees1 and therefore names them ,hamadryads4' ,he was still ,sidenote3 ,e speaking when ,demetrius broke in3 #8,what was that1 ,cleombrotus8 ,the year called an 8age of man08 ,human life1 whether 8at its prime0 or1 as some#adb read 8in its old age0 is not of that length4 ,those who read 8at its prime01 follow ,heraclitus#adc in taking 8an age0 to be thirty years1 the time in which the parent sees his offspring a parent4 ,those who read 8in its old age0 instead of 8at its prime0 give a hundred and eight years to the 8age01 taking the middle term of human life to be fifty-four1 the number made up of unity1 the two first surfaces1 the two first squares and the two ,sidenote3 ,f first cubes1#add the number taken by ,plato#ade in his 8,generation of the ,soul04 ,hesiod's whole story seems to have been framed with a veiled reference to the 8,conflagration01 when all things moist will probably disappear and with them the ,nymphs1 ,who in fair glades their habitation have ,by river sources and in grassy meads4#8#adf ,,xii4 ,then ,cleombrotus3 #8,i hear of this from many1 and now ,i see the ,stoic 8,conflagration01 which already spreads over the verses of ,heraclitus and ,orpheus1 catching those of ,hesiod ,sidenote3 #daf too6 ,i have no patience with this 8,world-,conflagration01 and then the impossibility of the thing6 ,when one can remember the periods1 as it is easiest to do with the crow and the hind1 one sees how exaggeration passes in4 ,the year has within itself the beginning and the end ,of all things which the circling seasons bear1 ,and parent earth1#adg so there is nothing against usage in calling it an 8age of man04 ,you allow yourselves1 ,i believe1 that ,hesiod means human life by 8the age04 ,is it not so8' ,demetrius agreed4 #8,well1 ,sidenote3 ,b but this is also clear1' said ,cleombrotus1 #8that the same words are often used for the measure and the things measured1 as pint1 quart1 gallon1 bushel4 ,as then we call unity a number1 being the smallest measure of number and its origin1 so he has called our first measure of human life by the same word as the thing measured--8an age04 ,the numbers which the others invent have none of the clarity or distinctness usual in numbers4 ,as to the nine thousand seven hundred and twenty1 it has come about by taking the sum of the first four numbers1 starting with ,sidenote3 ,c unity1 and multiplying it by four1 or four by ten4#adh ,thus we get forty in either way1 which1 when five times multiplied triangle-wise#adi by three1 gave the number proposed4 ,but about these matters there need be no difference between us and ,demetrius4 ,whether the time be longer or shorter1 determinate or not1 in which the soul of a daemon shifts and the life of a demigod1 the point will have been proved1 before any judge he chooses1 on the evidence of wise and ancient witnesses1 that there are certain natures on the borderland between ,gods and men1 subject to mortal affections and enforced changes1 who may rightly receive our worship according to the custom of our fathers1 and be thought of as daemons and called so4 ,,xiii4 #8,xenocrates1 the companion of ,plato1 used triangles ,sidenote3 ,d in illustration of the doctrine2 he compared the equilateral to a divine nature1 the scalene to a mortal1 and the isosceles to a daemonic2 the first equal in all relations1 the second unequal in all1 the third equal in some1 unequal in others1 like the daemonic nature with its mortal passions and divine power4 ,nature has put forward images1 which our sense can perceive1 visible likenesses2 the sun and the stars standing for ,gods1 flashes and comets and meteors for mortal men1 an image which ,euripides#aej drew in the lines3 ,sidenote3 ,e ,in all his bloom1 like to a falling star ,his light was quenched1 his spirit passed1 to air4 ,but there is a being which is mixed1 and really an imitation of the daemons1 the moon4 ,men1 seeing her circumference so much in accord with that order of beings1 the manifest wanings and waxings and phases which she undergoes1 have called her1 some an earthlike star1 others an ,olympian earth1 others 8the portion of ,hecate01 who belongs at once to heaven and earth4 ,as1 then1 if one were to remove the lower air1 withdrawing all ,sidenote3 ,f between earth and moon1 an empty unconnected space would be left1 and the unity and continuity of the whole dissolved1 even so those who refuse to leave us the daemons break off all intercourse and mutual dealing between ,gods and men1 by removing that order in ,nature which could 8interpret01 in ,plato's#aea words1 and 8minister01 or else they compel us to mingle all things into one mass1 forcing the ,god into human passions and business1 and drawing him down to our needs1 ,sidenote3 #dag as ,thessalian witches are said to draw the moon4 ,only their imposture found credit with women1 when ,aglaonice the daughter of ,hegetor1 who knew her astronomy1 chose an eclipse of the moon1 and then pretended to do magic and draw her down4 ,but as for us1 let us never listen when we are told that there are prophecies with no divine agency1 or rites and orgiastic services which the ,gods do not heed2 nor on the other hand suppose that the ,god is in and out and present there1 taking part in the business4 ,let us leave all this to those ,sidenote3 ,b rightful ministers of the ,gods1 their ushers or clerks4 ,let us hold that there are daemons who watch the performance of rites1 and inspire the mysteries1 while others go about to avenge crimes of insolence and pride1 and to others ,hesiod#aeb has given a venerable name1 of wealth ,the saintly givers2 such their kingly trust4 ,observe that to do so is kingly4 ,for there are1 as among men1 so among daemons1 degrees of excellence1 and in some subsists still some slight1 faint1 almost excremental remnant of passion and absence of reason2 in others this is strong and hard to do away1 its traces and symbols being in many places preserved and sporadically found in sacrifices and rites and tales of wonder4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,,xiv4 #8,now as to the mystic rites1 in which the most evident and transparent indication may be had of the truth about daemons1 8peace be upon my lips01 as ,herodotus#aec says4 ,feasts and sacrifices1 days sinister and gloomy1 so to call them1 when are meals of raw flesh1 and rendings and fastings and beaten breasts1 and in many places unholy spells over the sacrifices3 ,whoopings wild1 and cries of frenzy1 necks together tossed in air1#aed all these1 ,i would say1 belong to no ,god1 but are modes of appeasement and soothing to avert bad daemons4 ,the human sacrifices which used to be performed were neither asked for nor accepted by ,gods1 we cannot believe it2 yet kings and ,sidenote3 ,d captains would not have endured to give up their own children by way of initiating the rites1 or to cut their throats1 without a purpose2 it was to soothe and satisfy the heavy displeasure of beings cruel and hard to be moved1 or in some cases their frantic low passions1 worthy of tyrants1 when bodily approach was impossible or not desired4 ,as ,hercules besieged the town of ,oechalia for the sake of a maiden1 so strong and violent daemons1 requiring in vain a human soul still enveloped in the body1 bring pestilences to cities and sterility of land1 and stir up wars and seditions1 until they succeed in getting that on which their affection is set4 ,some have fared otherwise2 ,sidenote3 ,e thus in a long stay in ,crete ,i came to know of an absurd festival observed there3 the headless form of a man is shown1 and you are told that this was ,molus1 father of ,meriones1 who assaulted a maiden and was found without a head4 ,,xv4 #8,now all the crimes of violence1 all the wanderings of ,gods1 all tales of hiding1 banishment1 servitude1 which are ,sidenote3 ,f said or sung in myth or hymn1 are adventures which happened not to ,gods but to daemons1 and are recorded to show their excellence or power2 ,aeschylus#aee was wrong when he wrote ,apollo pure1 the ,god exil'd from heav'n1 and so was the ,admetus in ,sophocles#aef wrong3 ,mine was the cock who called him to the mill4 ,widest of the truth of all are the theologians of ,delphi1 who1 thinking that a battle once took place here between the ,god and a serpent for the possession of the oracle1 allow poets and speech-writers contending in the theatres to tell these stories1 ,sidenote3 #dah expressly belying their own most sacred rites4' ,philippus1 the historian1 who chanced to be present1 here expressed surprise1 and asked3 #8,what rites such competitors belied8' #8,those relating to the oracle1' was the reply1 #8whereby the city1 admitting to initiation those from here to ,tempe has now banished all ,greeks dwelling beyond ,thermopylae4#aeg ,for the booth set up afresh every nine years near the court of the temple is not like any den or serpent's haunt1 but is an imitation of the dwelling of a tyrant or king4 ,and the assault made upon it in silence through what they call 8,dolon's ,way01 by ,sidenote3 ,b which the ,aeolidae bring the boy1 both of whose parents are living1 with lighted torches1 put fire to the booth1 overturn the table1 and then flee through the gates of the temple without turning back2 and lastly the wanderings of the boy and his servile offices1 and the purification rites at ,tempe1 all convey a suspicion of some great crime of shocking audacity4 ,for it is quite absurd1 my friend1 that ,apollo1 after killing a beast1 should flee to the extremities of ,greece in quest of purification1 and then should pour libations there and do all which men do to ,sidenote3 ,c appease and soften the wrath of daemons 7fiends and avengers as they are called1 because they pursue the memories of old unforgotten stains74 ,the story which ,i once heard about that flight and removal is strangely absurd and surprising2 but if there be any truth in it1 let us never believe that what passed about the oracle in these old times was any trifling or ordinary matter4 ,however1 fearing to seem to do what ,empedocles describes3 ,stringing sundry myths1 nor ever keeping to a single path1 ,i will ask you to allow me to affix the proper conclusion to my first tale1 for we have just reached it4 ,many have said it before ,sidenote3 ,d us2 let us dare to say it now4 ,when the daemons who have to do with oracles and prophecies fail1 all such things fail too1 and lose their force if the daemons flee or shift their place2 then1 if they return after an interval1 the things speak aloud1 like instruments of music when those who can play them are present to play4' ,,xvi4 ,when ,cleombrotus had finished1 ,heracleon spoke3 #8,there is no profane or uninitiated person present1 no one who holds views about the ,gods discordant with our own2 but let us keep jealous watch on ourselves1 ,philippus1 lest without our own knowledge we assume strange and even monstrous ,sidenote3 ,e hypotheses4' #8,well said1' answered ,philippus1 #8but what shocks you specially in what ,cleombrotus is advancing8' #8,that the oracles should be administered1' said ,heracleon1 #8not by ,gods1 who may well be quit of earthly concerns1 but by daemons1 assistants of the ,god1 seems to me a not unfair assumption2 but then to pluck1 ,i had almost said by the handful1 out of the verses of ,empedocles1 sins1 infatuations1 and ,god-inflicted wanderings1 and to fasten them upon these daemons1 and to suppose that in the end they die like men1 this ,i do think a somewhat bold and barbarian view4' ,here ,cleombrotus ,sidenote3 ,f asked ,philippus who and whence the young man was1 and1 after learning his name and city1 said3 #8,no1 ,heracleon1 it is by no means 8without our own knowledge0 that we have reached strange propositions2 but in discussing great matters it is not possible to attain what is probable in opinion without starting from great premisses4 ,but you1 though you do not know it yourself1 are taking back what you grant4 ,you allow that there are daemons2 but when you require that they should not be faulty ,sidenote3 #dai nor yet mortal1 it is no longer daemons that you retain4 ,for in what do they differ from ,gods if as to their being they are immortal1 and as to virtue are passionless and impeccable8' ,,xvii4 ,as ,heracleon remained silent and in deep thought1 he went on3 #8,faulty daemons come to us not from ,empedocles only1 but from ,plato and ,xenocrates and ,chrysippus2 yes1 and ,democritus1#aeh when he prays to meet 8fair-falling phantoms01 shows that he knew of others which were disagreeable1 with definitely vicious intentions and impulses4 ,as to death in such beings1 ,i have heard a story from a man who was no fool or ,sidenote3 ,b romancer4 ,some of you have heard ,aemilianus the orator2 ,epitherses was his father1 my fellow-townsman and teacher in grammar4 ,he said that he was once on a voyage to ,italy1 and embarked on board a ship carrying cargo and many passengers4 ,it was already evening when the breeze died down off the ,echinades ,islands2 and the ship drifted till it was near ,paxi4 ,most on board were awake1 and many still drinking after supper4 ,suddenly a voice was heard from the island of ,paxi2 some one was calling ,thamus in a loud voice1 so that they all wondered4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,thamus was an ,egyptian pilot1 not even known by name to many of the passengers4 ,twice he was called1 and remained silent2 the third time he paid attention to the caller1 who raised his voice and said3 8,when you reach the ,palodes1 tell them that ,great ,pan is dead40 ,hearing this1 ,epitherses said1 all were in consternation1 and began discussing with one another whether 8it were better to do as was ordered1 or to refuse to meddle and to let it be4 ,they decided in the end that1 if there were a breeze1 ,thamus should sail past quietly1 but if there should be calm about the place1 he should hail1 and report4 ,when he was off the ,palodes1 as there was neither wind nor wave1 ,sidenote3 ,d ,thamus at the helm looked to land and repeated the words he had heard3 8,great ,pan is dead40 ,he had no sooner done this than a great groaning was heard1 proceeding not from one but from many1 mingled with cries of wonder4 ,as there were many present1 the story was soon spread in ,rome1 and ,thamus was sent for by ,tiberius ,caesar1 who so entirely credited the story1 that he caused inquiry to be made about ,pan4 ,the scholars1 of whom there were many round him1 conjectured that he was the son born of ,hermes and ,penelope4'#aei 7,philippus ,sidenote3 ,e was able to produce several witnesses from the company who had heard the old ,aemilianus47 ,,xviii4 ,demetrius told us that1 among the islands near ,britain1 many were deserted and lay scattered 7,sporades71 some of them bearing the names of daemons and demigods4 ,he himself1 by the ,emperor's command1 made a voyage of inquiry and observation to the nearest of the deserted islands1 which had a few inhabitants1 all sacred persons and never molested by the ,britons4 ,just after his arrival1 there was a great confusion in the atmosphere1 many portents from the sky with gusts of wind and fiery blasts4 ,when these calmed ,sidenote3 ,f down1 the islanders said that #8one of the mightier ones has ceased to be4' ,for as a lamp when lighted1 so they explained1 has no unpleasant effect1 but when extinguished is disagreeable to many people1 so it is with great souls3 their kindling into life is easy and free from pain2 their extinction and death often breed winds and tempests1 #8such as you see now'1 and infect the air with pestilence and sickness4 ,they added that there is one island in particular where ,cronus is a prisoner1 being guarded in his sleep by ,briareus2 for sleep has been devised to be a chain to bind him1 and there are many daemons about him as satellites and attendants4#afj ,,xix4 ,cleombrotus spoke next3 #8,i have stories of the same ,sidenote3 #dbj kind which ,i might tell2 but it is enough for our hypothesis that there is nothing which actually contradicts it or makes such things impossible4 ,yet we know'1 he continued1 #8that the ,stoics not only hold the view which ,i am advancing with ,sidenote3 ,b reference to daemons1 but also recognize one out of the great multitude of ,gods who is eternal and immortal2 the others1 they think1 have come into being1 and will perish4 ,from the flouts and laughter of the ,epicureans1 which they venture to employ against ,providence also1 calling it a mere myth1 we have nothing to fear4 ,we maintain that their 8,infinity0 is a myth2 so many worlds1 not one of which is governed by divine reason1 all produced spontaneously1 and so subsisting4 ,if it be permissible to laugh in speaking of ,philosophy1 we may laugh at the dumb1 blind1 soulless images which they shepherd during countless cycles of years1 to reappear and anon return in all directions1 some issuing from bodies still living1 some ,sidenote3 ,c from those long ago burned or rotted4 ,thus they drag into physiology cyphers and shadows2 yet if one asserts that daemons exist not in physical nature only1 but as matter of theory1 able to remain in being for long periods of time1 they show irritation4' ,,xx4 ,when these views had been stated1 ,ammonius spoke3 #8,i think'1 he said1 #8the dictum of ,theophrastus was right4 ,for what prevents our accepting a view which is dignified and highly philosophical8 ,to disallow it is to reject many things possible but incapable of positive proof2 to allow it is not#afa necessarily to import many which are impossible and ,sidenote3 ,d baseless4 ,however1 the only argument which ,i have heard the ,epicureans employ against the daemons as introduced by ,empedocles1 that1 if they are faulty and liable to sins1 they cannot be blessed beings and long-lived1 because vice implies much blindness and a liability to destructive accidents1 is a foolish one4 ,for1 on this showing1 ,epicurus will be a worse man than ,gorgias the sophist1 and ,metrodorus than ,alexis the writer of comedies4 ,for ,alexis lived twice as long as ,metrodorus1 and ,gorgias more than a third as long again as ,epicurus4 ,it is in another sense that we call virtue strong and ,sidenote3 ,e vice weak1 not with regard to the duration or dissolution of body4 ,look at the lower animals3 many which are sluggish in limb and dull in spirit1 loose or disorderly in habits1 live longer terms than the sensible and ingenious4 ,hence the ,epicureans do wrong in ascribing the immortality of ,god to the caution and resistance which he opposes to destructive forces4 ,no1 the immunity from suffering and death should be laid in the nature of the blessed being1 and should imply no trouble on his part4 ,perhaps1 however1 it is inconsiderate to argue against persons not present4 ,it is now for ,cleombrotus to resume his ,sidenote3 ,f argument lately interrupted1 about the migration and exile of the daemons4' ,,xxi4 ,then ,cleombrotus3 #8,very well2 ,i shall be surprised1 however1 if it does not appear to you much stranger than what we have already said4 ,yet its basis lies in ,nature1 and ,plato struck the note1 not stating his view in plain terms1 but as an obscure theory1 cautiously throwing out a hint in enigmatical form2 for all which even he has been met with a great outcry ,sidenote3 #dba from the other philosophers4 ,now since we are here with a bowl in our midst of mingled myths and theories--and where should a man meet with kinder listeners before whom to try theories as foreign coins are tried8--,i do not hesitate to give you the benefit of the story of a certain outlandish man4 ,it was after many wanderings and after paying heavy search fees1 that ,i found him at last with difficulty1 and enjoyed his conversation and kindly welcome4 ,it was near the ,red ,sea1 where once every year he associated with men1 spending the rest of his time1 as he used to say1 with nomad nymphs and deities4 ,he was the handsomest man ,i ever saw1 and kept free from sickness ,sidenote3 ,b of any sort1 treating himself once a month with the medicinal and bitter fruit of a grass4 ,he was practised in the use of many tongues2 to me he would mostly use a ,doric1 which was very nearly a song4 ,while he was speaking1 there was a fragrance in all the place from the sweet breath passing out of his mouth4 ,his general learning and information were with him all the time2 but one day in every year he was inspired with prophecy1 and would then go down to the sea and foretell the future2 potentates and secretaries of kings would come to visit him and then go away4 ,he used to refer prophecy to daemons2 ,sidenote3 ,c he paid the greatest attention to ,delphi1 and there were none of the stories told of ,dionysus1 or of the rites performed here1 of which he had not heard4 ,but he would say that all those stories belonged to mighty sufferings of daemons1 and among them this of the ,python2 only that his slayer was not exiled for nine years nor to ,tempe1 but was turned out into another universe1 returning thence after nine revolutions of the ,great ,year1 purified and 8,phoebus0 indeed1 to resume possession of the oracle1 which had been guarded in the meanwhile by ,themis4 ,that the stories of the ,typhons and ,titans were ,sidenote3 ,d similar2 there had been battles of daemons against daemons1 followed by banishment of the defeated or expiation of offenders by a ,god1 for instance1 ,typhon is said to have sinned against ,osiris1 and ,cronus against ,uranus2 deities whose honours have become dim or been altogether forgotten since they were removed to another universe4 ,thus ,i hear that the ,solymi1 who dwell near the ,lycians1 hold ,cronus in special honour2 but when he had slain their princes1 ,arsalus1 ,dryus1 and ,trosobius1 he was banished and removed 7whither they cannot say74 ,so he passed out of account1 but ,arsalus and his fellows are called 8stern ,gods01 and the ,lycians publicly ,sidenote3 ,e and in private make execrations in their names4 ,many stories like these may be had out of theological collections4' #8,but if we call certain daemons by the recognized names of ,gods1' the stranger said1 #8it should be no wonder1 for to whatever ,god each has been assigned1 to share his power and honour1 after him he likes to be called2 even as among ourselves one is 8of ,zeus01 one 8of ,athena01 one 8of ,apollo10 one 8of ,dionysus01 one 8of ,hermes02 only some have by accident been rightly called1 most have received names quite inappropriate1 ,sidenote3 ,f misapplied names of ,gods4' ,,xxii4 ,here ,cleombrotus paused4 ,all present found his story a marvellous one1 but ,heracleon asked how it bore upon ,plato1 and in what sense he had given the note4 #8,you perfectly remember'1 said ,cleombrotus1 #8that he rejected1 on the face of it1 an infinity of worlds1 but felt a difficulty as to ,sidenote3 #dbb a limited number1 and was ready to go up to five1#afb thus conceding probability to those who assume one world for each element1 but himself keeping to one4 ,this appears to be peculiar to ,plato1 the other philosophers#afc regarding with horror any plurality1 because1 if you do not limit matter to one world1 when you pass outside unity you arrive at once at an unlimited and perplexing infinity4' #8,but did your stranger'1 ,i asked1 #8limit the number of worlds as ,plato does1 or did you neglect to find this out when you were with him8' #8,was it ,sidenote3 ,b likely1' said ,cleombrotus1 #8when he graciously put himself at my disposal8 ,on these points1 if on nothing else1 ,i was1 of course1 an attentive and eager listener4 ,what he said was that there is not an infinite number of worlds1 nor yet one1 nor yet five1 but one hundred and eighty-three1 arranged in a triangle with sixty worlds in each side4 ,of the three left over1 each is placed at one angle4 ,each world keeps a light touch on its neighbours while they revolve as in a dance4 ,the area inside the triangle is the common hearth of all1 and is called the 8,plain of ,truth01 and within it the formulae1 and ideas1 and patterns1 ,sidenote3 ,c of things which have been and things which are1 lie undisturbed4 ,eternity is around them1 and from it1 like a stream drawn off from it1 ,time passes to the worlds4 ,once in ten thousand years human souls1 if they have lived good lives1 are allowed to see and inspect this sight2 and the best of the initiations performed here are a dream of that review and that initiation4 ,in our philosophical discourses we are working on the memory of the fair things which are seen there1 or else our discourse is vain4 ,this'1 he said1 #8is the tale ,i heard from him2 he spoke as a man does in the mystery of an initiation1 and offered no demonstration or evidence4' ,,xxiii4 ,i turned to ,demetrius3 #8,how'1 ,i said1 #8do the ,sidenote3 ,d lines about the ,suitors run1 where they wondered to see ,ulysses handling the bow8' ,when he had remembered them1 #8,just'1 ,i said1 #8what it comes into my head to say about your stranger3 ,surely the rogue some pilfering expert is#afd in doctrines and theories from everywhere4 ,he had travelled widely in letters1 and he was no ,barbarian1 but a ,greek steeped deeply in ,greek learning4 ,the number of his worlds proves it against him1 for it is not ,egyptian nor yet ,indian1 but ,dorian of ,sicily1 and comes from a man of ,himera named ,petron4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,his own pamphlet ,i never read and ,i do not know whether it is extant2 but ,hippys of ,rhegium1 mentioned by ,phanias of ,eresus1 records it as his view or theory that there are one hundred and eighty-three worlds all in touch with one another 8by elements01 whatever that may mean2 he gives no further explanation or proof of any sort4' #8,what proof could there be'1 broke in ,demetrius1 #8in matters of that sort1 where ,plato1 without a word to make it reasonable or likely1 simply laid down his theory8' #8,and yet'1 said ,heracleon1 ,sidenote3 ,f #8we hear you grammarians referring the view to ,homer1#afe on the ground that he distributes the whole into five worlds1 ,heaven1 ,water1 ,air1 ,earth1 ,olympus4 ,two of these he leaves 8common01 namely1 ,earth with all the lower portion of the whole1 ,olympus with all the upper4 ,the three in the middle have been allotted to the three ,gods4 ,so also ,plato1#aff apparently assigning to the different aspects of the whole the bodily forms ,sidenote3 #dbc and figures which are the most beautiful and the first1 spoke of five worlds1 one each for earth1 water1 air1 fire1 but kept for last that which includes the others1 the world of the ,dodecahedron1 an expansible and versatile body1 and assigned to it the figure which suits the psychical periods and movements4' ,demetrius said3 #8,why not let sleeping ,homers lie for the present8 ,we have had enough of myths4 ,but as to ,plato1 he is very far from calling the five different aspects of the world five worlds2 and1 where he is combating those who assume an infinite number1 states his own opinion that this is the only one1 and is the sole creation of ,god and beloved by him1 brought into being ,sidenote3 ,b out of the corporeal whole1 entire1 complete1 and self-sufficing4 ,hence it may appear strange that he should himself state the truth1 yet supply to others the fundamental principle of a view which is improbable and irrational4 ,to give up the defence of a single world was in a sort to grant the assumption of the infinity of the whole4 ,to make the definite number of worlds five1 neither more nor less1 was quite against reason and removed from all probability4 ,unless'1 he added1 turning to me1 #8you have anything to say8' #8,it seems to me'1 ,i said1 #8to come to this1 that you have now dropped our discussion about oracles1 as concluded1 and are taking up a fresh one of equal ,sidenote3 ,c importance4' #8,we have not dropped the old one1' said ,demetrius1 #8only we do not decline the new when it fastens on us4 ,for we do not mean to linger upon it1 only to touch on it sufficiently to ask how far it is probable2 then we will return to the original subject4' ,,xxiv4 #8,in the first place then1' ,i said1 #8the reasons which prevent the making of an infinite number of worlds do not prevent the making of more worlds than one4 ,it is possible that both prophecy and a ,providence may find place in several worlds1 and that the intrusion of ,chance may be very small1 while most things1 and those the greatest1 observe order in ,sidenote3 ,d their origin and their transition1 none of which suppositions is consistent with ,infinity4 ,in the next place1 it is most consonant with reason that ,god should not have made the world a sole creation and left it to itself4 ,for1 being perfectly good1 he is lacking in no virtue1 least of all in the virtues of ,justice and ,friendliness1 for these are most beautiful and becoming ,gods4 ,now it is the nature of ,god to have nothing which is idle or without use4 ,therefore there are other ,gods and worlds outside1 towards which he exercises the social virtues2 for ,justice1 or ,gratitude1 or ,benevolence1 cannot be exercised towards himself or any part of himself1 it must be towards ,sidenote3 ,e others4 ,so it is not likely that this world should toss about in the infinite void without friends1 without neighbours1 without communication2 since we see ,nature herself wrapping up individuals in classes and species1 as though in jars or seed-vessels4 ,there is nothing in the whole list of things which has not some common formula1 nor can anything be called by a distinctive name which does not possess1 generically or individually1 certain qualities4#afg ,but the world is not spoken of as possessing generic qualities2 it has qualities then as an individual1 which distinguish it from others akin to and resembling itself4 ,for ,sidenote3 ,f if there is not in the world such a thing as one man1 one horse1 one star1 one ,god1 one daemon1 what is to prevent there being in ,nature not one world1 but several8 ,if any one says that ,nature has one earth and one sea1 he fails to see the obvious fact of similar parts4 ,for we divide earth into parts1 all with one common name1 and sea likewise4 ,but a part of the world is no longer a world2 it is composed of parts naturally different4 ,,xxv4 #8,again1 the chief fear which has led some to use ,sidenote3 #dbd up the whole of matter on our world1 that nothing may be left outside to disturb its coherence by resistance or thrusts1 is a needless one4 ,for suppose several worlds1 to each of which is apportioned its own being1 and matter definitely measured and limited1 then nothing will be left outside without place or formation1 like an extruded remnant1 to put pressure from without4 ,for the law which has control of the matter allotted to each world will not allow anything to be thrust out and wander to strike upon another world1 or anything from another to strike its own1 because ,nature admits neither quantity without limit1 nor movement without law and arrangement4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,or1 even if any stream be drawn off and pass from worlds to other worlds1 it must needs be homogeneous and kindly1 mingling itself mildly with all1 as the stars when they blend their rays4 ,and the worlds themselves must have delight1 as they gaze on one another in friendliness1 and must also provide for the ,gods in each1 who are many and good1 times of intercourse and common cheerfulness4 ,there is nothing impossible in all this1 no fairy tale and no paradox2 unless1 mark me1 the views of ,aristotle#afh are to bring it into suspicion on physical grounds4 ,for if each body has its own place1 as he says it has1 earth must necessarily move towards the centre ,sidenote3 ,c from every side1 and the water rest upon it1 underlying the lighter elements because of its weight4 ,if1 then1 there are many worlds1 the result will be that earth is in many places above fire and air1 and in many below them2 and the same with air and water too1 which will be here in natural places1 there in unnatural4 ,which being impossible1 as he thinks1 there must neither be two worlds nor more than two1 but this one only1 composed of all matter1 and established according to ,nature and to the several qualities of matter4 ,,xxvi4 #8,however1 all this is more plausible than true4 ,look at it in this way1' ,i went on1 #8dear ,demetrius3 when ,sidenote3 ,d he says that some bodies move downward towards the middle1 others upwards from the middle1 others around the middle1 with reference to what does he take the middle8 ,not to the void surely1 for on his view there is none4 ,but in the view of those who allow a void1 it has no middle1 just as it has no first or last1 for these are limits1 but the infinite has no limits4 ,or if a man were to force himself1 by sheer thinking1 to conceive any middle point in an infinite void1 what is the resulting difference in the movements of the different bodies towards it8 ,bodies have no force in the void1 nor yet have bodies any choice or impulse to make them aim at the middle and tend towards it from all sides4 ,besides1 where there are bodies with ,sidenote3 ,e no soul1 and a place which is incorporeal and without difference of parts1 it is as impossible to conceive of any movement towards it arising out of themselves1 as of any attraction upon them arising out of it4 ,it remains that the middle is spoken of not in a local sense but in a corporeal4 ,for granted that this world has unity of structure with many dissimilar elements1 the different parts have necessarily different movements towards different objects4 ,this is clear from the consideration ,sidenote3 ,f that different elements1 where their substance is transferred1 change their places at the same time2 rarefaction distributes in a circular movement the matter raised upwards from the middle2 consolidation and condensation press matter downward towards the middle and force it together4 ,,xxvii4 #8,on this subject more words are needless here4 ,whatever you assume to be the effective cause of these vicissitudes and changes1 it will hold each world together within itself4 ,each world has earth and sea1 each has a middle point ,sidenote3 #dbe of its own1 its own vicissitudes and changes of the bodies upon it1 and a nature and a force which preserve everything and keep it in its place4 ,as for what is outside1 whether it be nothing or an infinite void1 it presents no middle point1 as we have said2 while1 if there be many worlds1 each has a middle point of its own1 and therefore a special movement of bodies to or from or about that middle 7to follow the distinction made by these thinkers74 ,to insist that1 where there are many middle points1 weights press from all sides to one1 is as though we should insist that1 whereas there are many men1 the blood from all should flow together into a single vein1 and the brains of all be enveloped in a single pia mater2 and to make it a grievance ,sidenote3 ,b that all hard bodies in nature should not be together in one place1 and all rarefied bodies in another4 ,that would be preposterous1 and equally so to complain that wholes should have their parts disposed in their natural order within each of them4 ,it might be absurd to call that a world which has a moon low down#afi within it1 like a man with his brain lodged in his ankles or his heart in his temples4 ,but to make several independent worlds1 and then to differentiate the parts in sets to follow their wholes1 and so divide them1 is not absurd4 ,earth1 ,sidenote3 ,c sea1 and heaven will be in their natural and proper arrangement within each4 ,above1 below1 around1 middle have no relation to another world or to the outside1 each world has them all in and for itself4 ,,xxviii4 #8,as to the 8stone0 which some assume to be outside the world1 it is not easy to form a conception of it1 either as at rest or in motion4 ,for how is it either to remain at rest1 being weighty1 or to move towards the world1 like other heavy bodies1 being no part of it nor reckoned in with its substance8 ,earth embraced in another world1 and attached to it1 need cause ,sidenote3 ,d no difficulty1 when it does not part from the whole because of its weight1 and shift hitherwards1 since we see the natural strain by which each of the parts is held in its place4 ,for if we look1 not to the world but outside it1 to get our conception of 8below0 and 8above01 we shall find ourselves in the same difficulties as ,epicurus1 who made all his atoms move to places under our feet1 as though either the void had feet1 or infinite space permitted us to conceive of 8above0 or 8below0 within itself6 ,hence1 again1 we must feel surprise at ,chrysippus1 or indeed be quite at a loss as to what possessed him to say that the world has been settled 8in the middle01 and that its substance1 having occupied this middle place from all eternity1 ,sidenote3 ,e works therewith for permanence and in fact for indestructibility4 ,these are his words in the ,fourth ,book of his work on 8,things ,possible01 where he falsely dreams of a middle of the infinite1 and assigns1 still more preposterously1 to that non-existent middle the cause of the stability of the world2 and yet he had often said in other works1 that substance is controlled and maintained by the movements towards and away from its own middle point4 ,,xxix4 #8,then as to the other arguments of the ,stoics1 who can find them alarming8 ,they ask how we are to keep one ,destiny and one ,providence if there are many worlds1 and whether we shall not have many 8,dis0 and many 8,zens04 ,sidenote3 ,f ,in the first place1 if it is absurd that we should have ,zeus in the plural number1 surely their scheme will be far more absurd2 for they make1 in the revolutions of infinite worlds1 sun1 moon1 ,apollo1 ,artemis1 ,poseidon1 all multiplied to infinity4 ,then1 what makes it necessary that there should be many 8,dis01 if there are more worlds than one1 rather than one principal ,god the emperor of the whole1 possessing intelligence and reason1 sovereign in each world1 such a one as he who is called with us lord and father of all8 ,or what is to prevent all worlds ,sidenote3 #dbf from being subject to the ,destiny and ,providence of ,zeus1 and that he should overlook and control each in turn1 supplying to each the principles1 the seeds1 the formulae of all which is brought about8 ,it cannot be that here we often have a single body composed of diverse bodies1 as an assembly1 an army1 a choir1 each of whose component bodies has life1 thought1 apprehension 7and this is the view of ,chrysippus71 and yet that it should be impossible that in the ,whole there should be ten worlds or fifty1 or a hundred1 all based on a common ,sidenote3 ,b formula1 and ranged under a single principle4 ,nay1 such a disposition is altogether worthy of ,gods4 ,we have not to make them sovereigns of a hive out of which they never pass2 to guard1 nor to enclose or imprison them in matter1 which is what the ,stoics do when they make the ,gods atmospheric phases1 or powers of the waters or the fire1 infused therein1 brought into being with their world and again burnt up with it1 not leaving them unattached or free1 as charioteers or steersmen might be2 but rather1 as statues are nailed or soldered to their bases1 shut into the corporeal and clamped thereto1 to share with it till there come destruction and general dissolution and change4 ,,xxx4 #8,yet the other theory is loftier and more magnificent1 ,sidenote3 ,c that the ,gods are masterless and self-controlled1 as the ,tyndaridae when they help sailors in storm4 ,they visit them1 the waves they bind ,by soothing pow'r1 and tame the wind1 not going on board themselves to share the peril1 but appearing from above and delivering men2 even so the ,gods visit the worlds1 now one and now another2 drawn on by joy as they contemplate1 and steering each in its natural course4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,for the ,zeus of ,homer#agj had not very far to carry his eye from ,troy to the parts of ,thrace1 and the wandering tribes about the ,ister2 but the real ,zeus has beautiful passages and becoming to himself among worlds more than one1 not looking out upon an infinite void1 nor having his mind intent upon himself and nothing else 7as was the view of some71 but surveying many works of ,gods and men1 and movements and periodic orbits of stars4 ,the divine nature is no foe to changes1 but takes much delight in them1 if we may judge from the bodies which ,sidenote3 ,e appear in the heavens1 their changes and periods4 ,now ,infinity is altogether without feeling or reason2 it has no room to admit a ,god1 all goes by chance and spontaneously4 ,but the ,providence which cares for worlds defined and limited in number appears to me to involve nothing less dignified or more laborious than that which has entered a single body1 and attached itself thereto1 to refashion or shape it anew in infinite particulars4' ,,xxxi4 ,having said so much1 ,i paused4 ,philippus1 after a short interval1 went on3 #8,whether the truth about these ,sidenote3 ,f things be so1 or not1 ,i could not1 for my own part1 assert with confidence4 ,but if we are to force the ,god outside one world1 why make him the artificer of five worlds and no more2 and what is the bearing of that number on the plurality of worlds8 ,i would rather be informed on this point than as to the inner meaning of the consecration of the letter 8,e0 in this place4 ,that letter is neither triangle1 nor square1 nor 8perfect01 nor cubic1 nor has it any other apparent elegance for those who love and admire such things4 ,the process out of the elements1 at which the ,master obscurely hinted1 is hard to grasp ,sidenote3 #dbg in every respect1 and shows none of that probability which must have drawn him on to say that it is likely that out of five solid bodies having equal angles and equal faces and enclosed by figures of equal area1 when set into matter1 the same number of perfect worlds was at once produced4' ,,xxxii4 #8,yes1' said ,i1 #8yet ,theodorus of ,soli seems to treat the argument very fairly1 in expounding the ,mathematics of ,plato4 ,this is his method3 the ,pyramid1 the ,octahedron1 the ,eicosahedron and the ,dodecahedron1 the solid figures which ,plato ranks first1 are all beautiful because of the symmetry and equality of their formulae2 nothing better than these or equal to them has been left over for ,nature to compose ,sidenote3 ,b or to frame4 ,they have not1 however1 all been constructed on a single plan1 nor have all a similar origin4 ,the ,pyramid is the finest and smallest1 the largest and the one of most parts is the ,dodecahedron2 of the remaining two the ,eicosahedron is more than double the ,octahedron in number of triangles4#aga ,it follows that it is impossible for all to take their origin at once from one and the same matter4 ,for those which are fine and small1 and more simple in their structures1 must be the first to obey him who stirs and fashions the mass2 they must sooner cohere and be completed than those whose parts are abundant1 and the figures complex1 and their construction more laborious1 ,sidenote3 ,c as the ,dodecahedron4 ,it follows that the ,pyramid is the only primal body1 and that none of the others is so2 they are left behind by ,nature in the becoming4 ,for this strange result there is1 however1 a remedy1 the division and distribution of matter into five worlds4 ,here the ,pyramid 7for it first formed substance71 there the ,octahedron1 in a third world the ,eicosahedron4 ,but from the figure which first took substance in each the rest will take their origin1 all change arising by concretion or dissolution of parts1 as ,plato himself shows4#agb ,he goes thoroughly into nearly all the cases1 but for us a brief survey will suffice4 ,since air is formed when fire is extinguished1 and when rarefied ,sidenote3 ,d again yields fire out of itself1 we must observe what happens to the seeds of either element1 and the changes4 ,the seeds of fire#agc are the ,pyramid with its twenty-four primary triangles2 the seeds of air are the ,octahedron with its forty-eight4 ,therefore one element of air is formed by the commixture and coherence of two of fire2 and one of air is exchanged into two of ,sidenote3 ,e fire1 or by close pressure into itself passes away into the form of water4 ,thus1 universally1 that which is first formed readily allows the others to come into being by transmutation4 ,it is not the case that one is first2 different elements in different structures give the initial and prerogative movement into being1 yet the common name is kept throughout4' ,,xxxiii4 #8,bravo1 ,theodorus6' said ,ammonius2 #8he has worked out his task with spirit4 ,yet ,i shall be surprised if he is not found to be using assumptions which are mutually destructive4 ,he wants to have it that all five solids do not attain their structure together1 the finest and easiest of ,sidenote3 ,f composition always breaking first into being4 ,then1 as though following upon this1 and not conflicting with it1 he lays it down that it is not all matter which admits the finest and simplest element first1 but that sometimes the heavy and complex objects are the first to emerge out of matter4 ,but to pass over this1 whereas it is assumed that there are five primal bodies1 and therefore an equal number of worlds1 he makes out probability for four only2 he has discarded the ,cube as if playing at ,sidenote3 #dbh counters1 since ,nature does not adapt it to pass into the others or them into itself1 because the triangles are not of the same kind4 ,in the other cases the basis of formation is the semi-7equilateral7 triangle2 to the ,cube the right-angled isosceles is peculiar1 which is incapable of converging towards the others or joining with them to form one solid angle4 ,if then1 there are five bodies and five worlds1 and in each the primary belongs to some one1 then where the ,cube has been the first to come into being1 the rest will be nowhere1 for it is unable to change into any of them4 ,i pass by the fact that they make the element of the ,dodecahedron also a different thing from that scalene ,sidenote3 ,b out of which ,plato constructs the ,pyramid1 the ,octahedron1 and the ,eicosahedron4 ,and so'1 added ,ammonius1 with a laugh1 #8you must either resolve these difficulties1 or give us something of your own about the common problem4' ,,xxxiv4 #8,i have nothing more probable to offer1 at least at the moment2' ,i said1 #8yet perhaps it is better to show cause for one's own view than for that of others4 ,i say then1 going back to the beginning1 that if we assume two natures1 one sensible1 liable to changes of becoming and perishing1 and to various movements at different times1 the other essential1 intellectual1 always behaving alike under the same conditions1 it is strange1 friend1 that the intellectual should admit of distinction and division within itself1 while with regard to that which is bodily1 and subject to affections1 there should be trouble and ,sidenote3 ,c dissatisfaction if we refuse to leave it one1 self-coherent and self-convergent1 but separate and part it4 ,surely it is rather the permanent and divine which should hold together and shrink1 as far as may be1 from all dissection and analysis4 ,yet the force of 8the ,other0 has gripped them1 and has worked greater divergences than those of place in things intellectual1 ,i mean those made by ,reason and ,idea4 ,hence ,plato1#agd opposing those who make out the ,whole to be one1 tells us of ,being1 and the ,sidenote3 ,d ,same1 and the ,different1 and1 besides all these1 of ,movement and ,rest4 ,given then these five1 it would not be wonderful if these five corporeal elements have been made by ,nature copies and images of them severally1 none free from admixture or transparent1 but each element so far as it could best participate in each principle4 ,thus the ,cube is clearly a body congenial to ,rest1 because of the stability and firmness of its surfaces4 ,no one can fail to detect the fire-like1 active character of the ,pyramid in the fineness of its sides and the sharpness of its angles4 ,the nature of the ,dodecahedron1 which embraces ,sidenote3 ,e the other figures1 might well be taken for an image of ,being in relation to all that is corporeal4 ,of the remaining two1 the ,eicosahedron is found most to partake of the idea of the ,different1 the ,octahedron of that of the ,same4 ,therefore the latter represented air1 which holds all being in one constant form1 the former water1 which when mixed assumes new qualities the most numerous4 ,if then ,nature requires throughout equality before the law1 it is probable that worlds have been created neither more nor less in number than the patterns1 in order that each pattern in each world may hold that primacy and power which it has had in the composition of the elementary bodies4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,,xxxv4 #8,so much for that6 ,may it reassure any one who is surprised at our dividing the natural processes of becoming and mutation into so many classes6 ,now comes another point1 which ,i will ask you all to consider with me4 ,of the ultimate first principles1 by which ,i mean unity and the undelimited two1 the latter1 as the element of all shapelessness and disorder1 has been called ,infinity2 but unity by its nature limits and arrests what is void and irrational and undetermined in ,sidenote3 #dbi ,infinity1 and imparts shape1 and fits it to receive and endure that definition of things apprehended by the senses which is implied in counting4 ,these principles appear first in connexion with number2 but ,i would rather say1 universally1 that plurality is not number until unity supervenes1 as form upon matter1 and cuts off from undetermined ,infinity1 more on this side1 less on that4 ,for plurality in each case only becomes number when it is determined by unity4 ,again1 if unity be struck off1 the undetermined two throws all into a confusion without balance or limit or measure4 ,now since form is not a withdrawal ,sidenote3 ,b of underlying matter but is shape and order thereof1 both principles must necessarily be found in number1 and hence arises the first and greatest difference or dissimilarity4 ,the undetermined principle is the constructive cause of the even1 the better one of the odd4 ,two is the first of the even numbers1 three of the odd2 out of them comes five1 in its composition common to both lists1 in its effect1 odd4 ,for when the sensible and corporeal was to be divided into several parts1 in virtue of the inherent cogency of the ,other1 their number must not be the first even nor yet the first odd1 but the third1 that formed out of these1 so that it may take its origin from both ,sidenote3 ,c principles1 that which constructs the even and that which constructs the odd2 for neither could possibly be separated from the other2 each possesses the nature and power of a principle4 ,both principles then being paired1 the better one checked the indeterminate when it was dividing up the corporeal2 and prevailed2 when matter was being distributed between the two it set unity in the middle1 and did not allow an equal division of the whole4 ,so a plurality of worlds has been brought into being by the 8,other0 quality in the undetermined1 and by difference2 but that plurality is odd1 made so by the operation of 8the ,same0 and 8the ,determinate01 and odd in such a sense that ,nature was not allowed to advance beyond what was best4 ,for if the unity had been without admixture ,sidenote3 ,d and pure1 matter would have been exempt from any breaking up whatever2 but as it has been mingled with the discriminative power of the two1 separation and division were so far accepted2 but there it stopped1 the even overcome by the odd4 ,,xxxvi4 #8,hence again the ancients were accustomed to use the words 8to take fives0 for to count4 ,i think1 too1 that the word for 8all0 7panta7 has been logically formed as though from 8five0 7pente7 because the number five is composed of the first numbers4 ,for the others when multiplied by other numbers come out to a product different from themselves2 but five if taken an even number of times gives a perfect ten1 if an odd1 it reproduces itself4 ,i pass over the facts ,sidenote3 ,e that five is composed of the first two squares1 one and four1 and that its own square is equal to the sum of the two before it1 forming with them the most beautiful of right-angled triangles1 and that it is the first number to give sesquiplicate ratio4 ,for perhaps they are not germane to the subject before us4 ,this1 however1 is more germane1 that the number five has a divisory virtue1 and ,nature divides most things by five4 ,in ,sidenote3 ,f ourselves are five senses1 and there are five parts of the soul1 those of growth1 sense1 appetite1 passion1 reason4 ,we have five fingers on each hand2 seed is most fertile when it parts into five 7no instance has been recorded of a woman bearing more than five at a birth72 ,rhea is said in ,egyptian mythology to have given birth to five ,gods1#age a veiled reference to the production of the five worlds out of one matter4 ,turning to the universe1 the surface of earth is divided into five zones1 and the ,heavens are divided by five circles1 two ,arctic1 two ,sidenote3 #dcj ,tropic1 one in the middle1 the ,equinoctial4 ,five are the orbits of the planets1 if we take those of the sun and ,venus and ,mercury as one4 ,lastly1 the universe has been composed in the ,enharmonic ,scale1 just as our melody is made up of the arrangement of five ,tetrachords1 lowest1 middle1 conjunct1 disjunct1 highest4 ,and the intervals are five3 diesis1 semitone1 tone1 tone and a half1 double tone4 ,thus it seems that ,nature loves to make all things on the principle of five1 rather than1 as ,aristotle#agf used to say1 of the ,sphere4 ,,xxxvii4 #8,what is the real reason1 some one will ask1 why ,plato#agg referred the number of five for his worlds to the five solid figures1 saying that 8,god used the fifth formation on the universe to mark it out08 ,in the sequel1 when he raises the ,sidenote3 ,b problem of plurality of worlds1 whether we should properly speak of one or of five as naturally existing1 he shows clearly that the suggestion came from the solids4 ,if1 then1 we are to adjust what is actually probable to his conception1 let us consider that difference in movement must in each case follow difference in the solids and their shapes1 as ,plato#agh himself teaches1 when he ,sidenote3 ,c shows that what is rarefied or condensed suffers a change of place simultaneously with alteration of substance4 ,if from air fire be formed1 the ,octahedron being resolved and broken up into ,pyramids1 or again if air from fire1 when compressed and thrust into an ,octahedron1 it is impossible that either should remain where it was before2 they fly off rapidly to another place1 forcing a way out and battling with whatever resists and presses upon them4 ,the result is shown still more clearly by an illustration from grain 8tossed and winnowed by the fans and implements used for cleaning corn02 ,plato#agi says that ,sidenote3 ,d in like manner the elements toss matter about and are tossed by it2 like approaches like1 different objects take different places1 before the whole comes out finally marshalled4 ,thus then1 matter being what any universe must be from which ,god is absent1 the first five properties1 each with its own tendency1 at once began to move apart1 not being entirely or purely separated1 because1 when all things were mixed up together1 the vanquished particles always followed their conquerors1 in despite of ,nature4 ,hence they produced in the kinds of bodies1 as they were borne in different directions1 parts and divisions as many as themselves3 one not of pure fire but ,sidenote3 ,e resembling fire1 one not of unmixed air but resembling air1 one not of earth simple and absolute but resembling earth4 ,most general was the association of air with water1 because they passed out saturated with the many other classes4 ,for ,god did not separate nor disperse being2 but taking it up dispersed by its own operation and borne about in so many streams of disorder1 he ordered and disposed it in symmetry and proportion4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,then he set reason in each to be a governor and guardian1 and created as many worlds as there were kinds of primal bodies4 ,let so much then be inscribed to ,plato for ,ammonius' sake4 ,for myself1 ,i could never speak with confidence as to the number of worlds and affirm that there are so many3 but ,i think the view that there are more than one1 yet not an indefinite but a limited number1 as reasonable as either of the other views1 when ,i see how scattered and divided matter naturally is1 that it does not abide in one place1 nor yet ,sidenote3 #dca is suffered by reason to pass into ,infinity4 ,here1 if anywhere1 let us remember the ,academy rule1 and clear ourselves of excessive credulity1 and treading on this slippery ground when reasoning about ,infinity1 only make sure that we keep our footing4' ,,xxxviii4 ,when ,i had finished1 #8,lamprias gives us sound advice'1 said ,demetrius4 #8,the ,gods by many forms--not 8of sophistries01 as it is in ,euripides1#ahj but of things--deceive us1 when we dare to pronounce opinions about these ,sidenote3 ,b great matters as if we knew4 ,but 8we must cry back01 to quote the same authority1#aha to the assumption from which our argument started4 ,the statement that the oracles1 when the daemons move off and desert them1 lie idle and speechless1 like musical instruments with none to play on them1 raises another and a greater question as to the cause and power whereby they make the prophets and prophetesses subject to fits of inspiration and fancy4 ,for it is impossible to allege the desertion as a cause of the silence unless we are first satisfied in what sense they preside and by their presence make the oracle active and vocal4' #8,what8' rejoined ,ammonius1 #8do you suppose that the daemons are anything but souls which move around1 as ,hesiod#ahb says 8garmented in mist08 ,in my view1 as man differs from man when he plays tragedy or ,sidenote3 ,c plays comedy1 so soul differs from soul after it has fashioned for itself a body convenient to its present life4 ,it is not then irrational or even wonderful that souls meeting souls should create within them fancies of that which is to be1 just as we convey to one another1 not only through voice1 but often by written signs1 by a touch1 a glance1 many intimations of things past1 and forewarnings of things future4 ,or perhaps you have something different to tell us1 ,lamprias8 ,for a rumour reached us lately that you had held a long discussion on these subjects with strangers at ,lebadeia2 but our informant ,sidenote3 ,d did not clearly remember any of it4' #8,do not be surprised at that1' ,i said1 #8for there were many interruptions and much was going on1 because it was a day of consultation and sacrifice1 which made our conversation fragmentary and intermittent4' #8,but now'1 said ,ammonius1 #8you have listeners with full leisure1 and eager to inquire and to be told4 ,there is no question of rivalry or faction1 and you see what a frank full hearing has been accorded to every view4' ,,xxxix4 ,the others joined in encouraging me1 and after a few minutes of silence ,i went on3 #8,i must begin by saying ,sidenote3 ,e that it so happens that you1 ,ammonius1 have given me a sort of opening for bringing forward now what ,i then said4 ,for if the souls which have been separated from the body or have never had commerce with one at all1 are daemons as you say1 and ,god-like ,hesiod#ahc also3 ,holy visitants of ,earth and guardians sure of mortal men1 on what principle do we deprive souls while in their bodies of that faculty whereby the daemons know and declare beforehand things to be8 ,it is not likely that any power or new part accrues to souls when they leave the body1 which they did not possess before4 ,rather1 they always have it1 but in a weak degree while they are intermingled with the body2 it is sometimes quite invisible and veiled1 sometimes weak and dim1 and1 as with those who see through a mist or who try to move in a marshy place1 inoperative and dull1 demanding much attention to the virtue that is in them1 and much pains to raise and remove and purify the obstructing veil4 ,the sun when he chases the clouds away does not then become bright2 he is bright always1 ,sidenote3 #dcb but to us through the mist his light appears dim and struggling4 ,even so the soul does not assume the prophetic power when it passes out of the body as out of a cloud2 it has it even now1 but is blinded by its close admixture with the mortal state4 ,we should not be surprised or incredulous1 if only because we see the great energy which ,memory1 as we call the faculty in the soul which answers to prophecy1 exhibits1 in preserving and protecting things that are past1 or rather things that now are1#ahd since of things past none is or has substance2 all things ,sidenote3 ,b come into being and at the same time perish1 all actions1 words1 and feelings1 as time like a river bears each along4 ,but this faculty of the soul1 ,i know not how1 gets a grasp of them1 and invests with appearance and being that which is not present4 ,the oracle given to the ,thessalians about ,arne#ahe bade them attend to ,that which a deaf man hears1 a blind man sees4 ,but ,memory is the hearing of things to which the ear is deaf1 the seeing of things to which the eye is blind4 ,wherefore1 as ,i said1 it is no marvel that1 as it grasps things which no longer are1 so it should anticipate things which have not yet come into being4 ,for these touch it more nearly1 and with these it has sympathy2 it confronts the future and attaches itself ,sidenote3 ,c thereto1 whereas it is quit of things past and finished1 saving only to remember them4 ,,xl4 #8,having then this inborn power yet dimmed and hardly appearing1 souls nevertheless break out and are uplifted1 in dreams some of them or when nearing initiation1 as the body becomes pure1 and takes on a temperature1 so to speak1 which is suitable1 or whether it be that the rational and intellectual part is relaxed and discharged from the present things1 and so with the irrational and imaginative they reach towards futurity4 ,that line of ,euripides#ahf is not true3 ,the best of prophets he who guesses well4 ,no1 the prophet is the sensible man1 he who follows the rational part of his soul in the road where it leads him with probability4 ,divination1 like a scroll with no writing or method1 in itself ,sidenote3 ,d indeterminate1 but capable of receiving fancies and presentiments by the feelings1 gets touch with the future1 yet not by inference1 when it passes most completely outside the present4 ,it passes out through such a temperament and disposition of the body as produce a change called by us inspiration4 ,often the body attains this disposition of itself2 but the earth sends up many streams of many potencies1 some which bring trances1 diseases1 or death1 others beneficial1 mild1 and serviceable1 as is proved on those who chance upon them4 ,of all the currents the stream1 or breath1 of prophecy is most divine and holy1 ,sidenote3 ,e whether it be drawn from the air direct1 or come mingled with the moisture of a spring2 for when absorbed into the body it produces in souls a temperament unfamiliar and strange1 the special quality of which it is hard to state in clear words1 though reason suggests many conjectures4 ,probably1 by heat and dispersion1 it opens certain passages to admit imaginings of the future1 just as the fumes of wine bring many other stirrings1 and unveil words and thoughts which were stored away and unheeded1 ,sidenote3 ,f ,for in the wine-god's votary's mood1 ,as in the madman's1 lies much prophecy1 says ,euripides2#ahg when the soul1 warmed and set on fire1 rejects the caution which human prudence brings1 to avert inspiration1 as it so often does1 and to quench it4 ,,xli4 #8,after all1 it might be not unreasonably asserted that a dryness introduced with the heat subtilizes the current and makes it ethereal and pure4 8,best a dry soul01 says ,heraclitus2#ahh moisture not only dulls sight and hearing1 but if it ,sidenote3 #dcc touch a mirror or raises#ahi a mist upon it1 takes away brightness and lustre4 ,as the opposite to this1 it is not impossible that1 by a sort of chilling and condensation of the breath of air1 the organ of prognostication is made tense and keen1 like steel out of the bath4 ,or again1 as tin when melted in with copper1 itself rarefied and full of apertures1 welds it together and condenses it1 and yet in the result makes it brighter to the eye and purer1 so there is nothing to prevent the prophetic exhalation1 ,sidenote3 ,b wherein is something congenial and akin to souls1 from filling up their rarefied places1 and inserting itself1 and pressing all together4 ,for certain things are congenial and proper to certain other things2 thus an infusion of the bean into the dyer's bath seems to assist its efficacy for purple1 of nitre for saffron4 ,scarlet is mingled for the pearly weft1 says ,empedocles4 ,but about ,cydnus1 and the sacred sword of ,apollo at ,tarsus1 we used to hear the story from you1 dear ,demetrius1 how ,cydnus cleans that steel best1 and no other water suits the sword4 ,and again1 at ,olympia1 water from ,sidenote3 ,c ,alpheus is poured on the ashes to make them adhere to the altar in a mass1 and the water of no other river which has been found has the power of cementing the ash4 ,,xlii4 #8,it is not to be wondered at1 then1 that of the many streams which the earth sends up1 these alone affect souls with inspiration and give them imagination of the future4 ,certainly legend agrees with reason as to this4 ,in this very place it is related that the prophetic virtue was first made manifest by the accidental falling into it of a shepherd1 who thereupon uttered sounds as of one inspired4 ,these passed at first unheeded by those present2 but afterwards1 when the things which the man foretold had happened1 there was astonishment4 ,the most learned of the ,delphians even mention ,sidenote3 ,d the man's name1 which was ,coretas4 ,i am1 however1 myself strongly of opinion that a soul acquires a temperature congruous with the prophetic current1 such as the eye has with light sympathetic to it4 ,though the eye possesses the power of seeing1 this cannot act without light2 and the prophetic organ of the soul needs1 as the eye does1 a congenial medium to help in kindling its flame1 or whetting its edge4 ,hence most of the older generations used to think that ,apollo and the sun were one and the same ,god1 while those who knew and honoured that beautiful and wise proportion1 8as body to soul1 so sight ,sidenote3 ,e to intellect1 so light to truth01 would add the conjecture 8so the power of the sun to the nature of ,apollo01 declaring the sun to be his offspring and scion1 the ever becoming of the ever subsisting4 ,for the sun kindles and enhances and helps to excite the visual power of the sense1 as the ,god that of prophecy in the soul4 ,,xliii4 #8,it was natural1 however1 that those who take the view that they are one and the same ,god should have dedicated this oracle to ,apollo and ,earth in common1 thinking that the sun produces in the earth the disposition and temperament from which come the prophetic exhalations out of her4 ,we ,sidenote3 ,f then1 like ,hesiod1#aij who understood the matter better than some philosophers1 when he called her ,unshaken base of all1 consider her to be eternal and imperishable4 ,but of the powers which are about her it is to be expected that some should fail here1 and others come into being there1 and that there should be shiftings from place to place1 and cross-currents1 and that such cycles should often revolve within her if we take time as a whole2 and the phenomena point to such an inference4 ,for in the case of lakes and rivers1 and still more frequently in that of hot springs1 there have been failure and entire disappearance in some places1 in others a retreat so to call it1 and an absorption2 ,sidenote3 #dcd then they reappear at intervals of time in the same places1 or bubble up in their neighbourhood4 ,again1 we hear of mines where the ore has been exhausted and then renewed1 as in the silver mines of ,attica1 and the copper lodes of ,euboea1 out of which the chilled sword-blades used to be manufactured1 as ,aeschylus#aia has said ,th' ,euboean blade1 self-tempered1 in his hand4 ,then there is the rock at ,carystus where it is only lately that the yield of delicate thread-like filaments of mineral has ceased4 ,i think some of you will remember having seen towels1 and nets1 and caps made of these1 which were non-inflammable4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,any which were soiled by use were placed in a flame out of which they came bright and clear4 ,now there has been an entire disappearance of these1 and scarcely a few fibres or thin filaments run in streaks about the mines4 ,,xliv4 #8,yet ,aristotle#aib holds that exhalation is the operative cause within the earth of all these things1 that is1 of the natural effects which necessarily fail1 shift place1 and break out concomitantly4 ,the same view must be taken of prophetic currents2 the power which they have is not perennial nor ageless1 it is liable to changes4 ,probably they are extinguished by excessive storms of rain1 and dispersed by thunderbolts ,sidenote3 ,c falling upon them2 above all1 when the earth is shaken1 and subsidence or conglomeration takes place in her depths1 the exhalations are shifted or wholly lost to view2 thus the effects of the great earthquake which actually overturned the town are said to be permanent here4 ,in ,orchomenus they say that there was a pestilence in which many men perished1 and that the oracle of ,teiresias then wholly failed1 and remains to this day idle and voiceless4 ,if the like happened also to those in ,cilicia1 as we hear it did1 there is no one1 ,demetrius1 who could tell us about it more clearly than you4' ,,xlv4 ,demetrius said3 #8,i cannot say how things are now1 for it is a long time since ,i left home1 as you know2 the ,sidenote3 ,d oracle of ,mopsus was in full force when ,i was there1 and also that of ,amphilochus4 ,i can tell you of a very remarkable thing which happened to that of ,mopsus1 in my presence4 ,the propraetor of ,cilicia was himself still of two minds about religious questions2 from the weakness of his scepticism1 ,i imagine1 for his general character was violent and bad2 but he had about him certain ,epicureans1 professed mockers at all such things on the strength of their fine physiology4 ,he sent in a freedman1 equipping him like a spy going into an enemy's land1 with sealed tablets inside which was written the question1 but no one knew what it was4 ,the man spent a night in the ,sidenote3 ,e sanctuary1 as the custom was1 and went to sleep4 ,the following day he reported a dream1 which was this4 ,he thought that a handsome man stood over him1 and said the one word 8,black01 nothing more1 and went straight away4 ,this appeared to us strange1 and caused much perplexity4 ,however1 that propraetor was struck with consternation1 and worshipped2 then he opened the tablets and showed us this question written inside3 8,shall ,i sacrifice a white bull or a black80 ,even the ,epicureans ,sidenote3 ,f were confounded at this1 and he himself completed his sacrifice1 and ever afterwards held ,mopsus in reverence4' ,,xlvi4 ,after saying this1 ,demetrius was silent4 ,as ,i wished to bring the discussion to a head1 ,i glanced again at ,philippus and ,ammonius1 who were sitting together4 ,they appeared to me to wish to exchange some remarks1 and again paused4 ,then ,ammonius spoke3 #8,philippus has also something to say on our past discussion2 his own view1 as that of most people1 is that ,apollo is not a different ,god from the sun1 but the same4 ,sidenote3 #dce ,my own difficulty is a greater one1 and turns on greater matters4 ,just now we managed to let the argument take its own way with due solemnity1 to transfer prophetic art simply from ,gods to daemons4 ,but now it seems to me that we are thrusting the latter out in their turn1 chasing them hence from oracle and tripod1 and resolving the origin--,i would rather say the existence and power--of prophecy into winds1 and vapours1 and exhalations4 ,what we have heard about temperatures1 and ,sidenote3 ,b heatings and sharpenings1 withdraws no doubt the credit from the ,gods1 but thereby suggests the inference as to cause which the ,cyclops in ,euripides#aic draws3 ,the earth by force1 whether it will or no1 ,bringing forth grass1 fattens my flocks and hinds4 ,only he says that he does not sacrifice to ,gods1 but to myself1 ,and this great belly first of deities1 whereas we sacrifice and pray to get our oracles2 and why do we do it1 if souls carry within themselves a power of prophecy1 which power is stirred up by temperature of some sort in air or breeze8 ,and then the condition of the priestesses1 what does ,sidenote3 ,c that mean1 and the refusal to respond unless the whole victim from the hoof-joint up be set quivering when it is sprinkled8 ,for it is not enough1 as in other sacrifices1 for it to shake the head1 the shivering must be in all the parts1 and with a tremulous sound2 otherwise they tell you that the oracle is not giving responses1 and do not bring in the ,pythia4 ,now1 if they ascribe the cause mainly to a ,god or daemon1 it is reasonable to do and think thus1 but on your view it is not reasonable4 ,for the exhalation1 if it be there1 will produce the transport whether the sacrifice quiver or not1 and will affect the soul1 ,sidenote3 ,d not only of the ,pythia1 but equally of any chance comer who has physical contact with it4 ,thus it is mere folly to employ one woman only for the oracles1 and to take trouble to keep her chaste and holy all her life4 ,for that ,coretas who fell in1 as the ,delphians tell you1 and was the first to make evident the virtue of the place1 was in no respect different1 as ,i think1 from the other goatherds and shepherds1 always supposing that this is not a story and an idle fiction1 which ,i think it is4 ,then1 when ,i reckon up the great benefits of which this oracle has been the cause to the ,greeks1 in wars1 in the founding of cities1 in ,sidenote3 ,e times of pestilence and of failure of crops1 ,i think it dreadful to ascribe its discovery and origin1 not to ,god and ,providence1 but to ,chance and automatic causes4 ,it is this point'1 he added1 #8that ,i want ,lamprias to argue2 will you not wait8' #8,indeed ,i will1' said ,philippus1 #8and so will the others1 the discussion has stirred us all4' ,,xlvii4 ,i turned to him4 #8,stirred us1 ,philippus8 ,it has confounded me1 to think that before so large and so grave a company ,i should seem so to forget my years as with a show of plausible rhetoric to upset and disturb any view about religion which is established in truth and holiness4 ,i will ,sidenote3 ,f defend myself by producing ,plato1 as witness and advocate in one4 ,plato#aid found fault with old ,anaxagoras because he attached himself too much to physical causes1 and because1 in his constant pursuit of the working of necessary law in all which affects bodies1 he dismissed the better causes or principles1 the ,final and the ,efficient4 ,he himself1 first of the philosophers or more than any of them1 went into both sets1 attributing to ,god the origin of all things which are according to reason1 but ,sidenote3 #dcf refusing to deprive matter of the causes necessary for their production2 he recognized that in some such way the whole sensible universe is organized1 yet is not pure nor free from admixture1 but has its origin in matter involved with reason4 ,now look at this first in the case of the artists4 ,take1 for instance1 the famous base or stand1 called by ,herodotus#aie 8cup-stand01 of the bowl here2 it had its physical causes1 iron1 steel1 fire to soften and water to temper it1 without all which the object could not possibly be produced2 but the more potent principle ,sidenote3 ,b which stirred the others and was working through them1 was furnished to it by ,art and ,reason4 ,now the name of the maker or artificer has been inscribed on these several figures or works of imitation3 ,here ,polygnotus1 son of ,aglaophon1 ,the ,thasian1 painted towering ,ilion's sack4 ,you may see it for yourself4 ,but without pigments crushed and compounded it would be impossible to present such a composition to the eye4 ,does then the man who seeks to grasp the physical principle1 investigating and laying down the effects and ,sidenote3 ,c the changes of a mixture of ,sinopic red earth with yellow1 or ,melian gray with black1 rob the painter of his glory8 ,or he who follows out the processes of tempering or softening steel1 how it is weakened by fire and submits itself to be drawn and hammered1 then1 plunged into fresh water and compressed and densified by the cold1 because of the softness and rarefication induced by the fire1 acquires temper and consistence--8the iron's might0 ,homer#aif calls it--does he any the less preserve for the artist his part in the causation8 ,i think not6 ,there ,sidenote3 ,d are those who criticize the properties of medical appliances2 they do not overthrow the art of ,medicine4 ,as1 for the matter of that1 ,plato#aig in proving that we see by means of the flash of our eyes mingling with that of the sun1 and hear by the pulsations of the air1 did not rule out the fact that we have received our sight and our hearing in accordance with ,reason and ,providence4 ,,xlviii4 #8,the whole matter1 as ,i maintain1 stands thus4 ,all becoming has two causes1 of which the most ancient theologians and poets chose to turn their attention to the stronger only1 pronouncing over all things the universal refrain3 ,zeus first1 ,zeus middle1 all things are of ,zeus1#aih while they never approached the necessary or physical causes4 ,their successors1 called physicists1 did the very reverse2 they ,sidenote3 ,e strayed away from that beautiful and divine principle1 and refer everything to bodies1 and pulsations1 and changes1 and temperaments4 ,hence the systems of both are deficient2 they have ignored or neglected1 the latter the person through whom and the agent by whom1 the former the things from which and the means through which4 ,he who first distinctly grasped both1 and attached by necessary law the subject affected to the rational ,maker and ,mover1 relieves us as well as himself from any charge of contempt or detraction4 ,we do not make ,sidenote3 ,f prophecy a godless or irrational thing1 when we assign to it for its matter the soul of man1 and for its instrument1 or harp-quill1 the inspiring current and the exhalation4 ,for1 in the first place1 the earth which breeds the exhalations1 and the sun who gives to earth all power of temperature or of change1 are reckoned ,gods in the traditions of our fathers4 ,further1 in leaving daemons to preside over and guard this temperature1 as though it were a melody1 to relax the strings in due course ,sidenote3 #dcg or to tighten1 to clear away that excess of ecstasy and agitation which it causes in the worshippers1 and to leave excitement a painless and harmless compound1 we shall not be thought to do what is irrational or impossible4 ,,xlix4 #8,nor can we allow that in offering the previous sacrifice1 or crowning the victim1 or pouring on it lustral draughts1 we do anything repugnant to this view4 ,for when the priests and holy men sacrifice the victim1 and sprinkle it1 and watch its movement and its trembling1 they do not profess to get from it an intimation of anything but the one fact that the ,god is giving answers4 ,for the thing offered in sacrifice must be pure both in body and in soul1 and free from any injury or taint4 ,as to body1 it is not very difficult to make ,sidenote3 ,b out visible proof2 the test of soul is to offer corn to the bulls1 pease to the he-goats2 an animal which refuses is reckoned out of health4 ,for the she-goat it is cold water2 a soul in a normal state cannot be apathetic and motionless under the sprinkling4 ,for my own part1 even if it be certain that trembling is a sign that the ,god is ready to give responses1 the contrary that he ,sidenote3 ,c is not1 ,i see no disastrous consequence4 ,as ,i said before1 every natural force produces its result better or worse according to season2 if the right season is escaping us1 it is to be expected that the ,god should signify the fact4 ,l4 #8,i think1 further1 that the exhalation is not always the same1 it has times of relaxation and of intensity4 ,in proof1 ,i can bring forward witnesses1 many of them strangers1 and all the members of the temple staff4 ,for the room in which they place consultants of the ,god1 is1 at intervals1 which are not frequent or fixed1 but come as it may happen1 filled with fragrance and a sweet gale1 such as the most costly spices might emit1 which are thrown up1 as out of a well1 from the sanctuary4 ,sidenote3 ,d ,we may suppose that they burst out by the action of heat or of some other force within4 ,or1 if this does not seem to you convincing1 you will at least grant that the ,pythia herself appears to show at different times different states and moods of that part of the soul which is in contact with the current1 and does not present throughout one temperament1 like a melody which never changes4 ,many conscious troubles and excitements1 more which are unnoticed1 seize her body and stream on into the soul2 and when she is charged with these1 it is better for her not to go in1 not to present herself to the ,god when she is not perfectly pure1 like an instrument well strung and tuneful1 but is passionate and disordered4 ,wine does not always affect ,sidenote3 ,e the hard drinker in the same way1 nor the flute one susceptible to its music2 the same men are stirred to tipsy revelling1 now less now more1 according to difference of temperament4 ,the imaginative part of the soul seems1 more than any other1 to be controlled by variations in the body1 and to change with it4 ,this is clearly shown by dreams2 sometimes we find ourselves among many visions of every sort in our sleep1 at others again there is a perfect calm and relief from such illusions4 ,we know ,sidenote3 ,f ourselves ,cleon here of ,daulia1 who says that in the many years which he has lived he has never once seen a dream-vision4 ,in an older generation the same is recorded of ,thrasymedes of ,heraea4 ,the cause is bodily temperament1 just as1 on the other side1 there is that of melancholic persons1 all dreams and phantoms2 although these are supposed to have the gift of dreaming right1 for their imagination turns them this way or that1 ,sidenote3 #dch just as those who shoot often1 often hit4 ,,li4 #8,when then the imaginative and prophetic faculty of the soul is attempered to the current as to a drug1 the inspiration must be brought about in the persons who are to prophesy1 when not1 not2 otherwise the result will be a distortion by no means free from trouble and disturbance1 as we know was the case with the ,pythia who lately died4 ,a deputation came from abroad to consult the ,god2 the victim remained motionless and impassive under the first sprinkling1 then the priests in ,sidenote3 ,b excess of zeal persisted1 and at last it did give in when drenched with their shower-bath4 ,what happened to the ,pythia8 ,unwillingly and with no alacrity1 they say1 she went down into the vault4 ,in her very first answers she made it clear by the hoarseness of her voice that she could not bear up2 she was like a ship driven by the wind1 filled with a dumb bad spirit4 ,at last she became all agitation2 with a terrible cry she made towards the door of exit1 and dashed against it1 so that not only the members of the deputation fled1 but also the prophet ,nicander and the holy persons present4 ,however1 after a short ,sidenote3 ,c time1 they went in and recovered her4 ,she was then in her senses1 and lived on for a few days4 ,for these reasons1 they keep the person of the ,pythia free from intercourse1 and from any sort of communication or contact with strangers2 and they take the signs before proceeding to the oracle1 thinking that it is quite clear to the ,god when she has the temperament and condition which will allow her to undergo the inspiration with impunity4 ,for the force of the exhaled air does not affect all persons1 nor the same persons always in the same way2 it only provides fuel1 a foundation1 as has been explained1 for ,sidenote3 ,d those who are fit to be subjected to the change4 ,it is essentially divine and daemonic1 not however exempt from failure1 or destruction1 or age1 nor is it capable of enduring through that infinite space of time in which all things between moon and earth are exhausted1 according to our theory4 ,some go on to say that the things also which are above the moon do not endure1 but fail in presence of the eternal infinite1 and suffer abrupt changes and new births4 ,,lii4 #8,these things'1 ,i continued1 #8,i commend to your repeated consideration1 and my own1 as offering many openings for objection and many suggestions of an opposite view1 which the present opportunity does not allow us to follow out in their ,sidenote3 ,e entirety4 ,let them stand over then1 and also the problem raised by ,philippus about the sun and ,apollo4' ,footnote #abh3 ,whose account is1 for convenience1 somewhat recast and amplified4 ,the fact is understated4 #8,there cannot be more than five solids1 each of which has all its faces with the same number of sides1 and all its solid angles formed with the same number of plane angles4' ,todhunter1 ,spherical ,trigonometry1 c4 #aea4 ,footnote #abi3 ,il4 #aj1 #agc1 and ,leaf's note4 ,footnote #acj3 ,od4 #c1 #cfg-h4 ,footnote #aca3 ,il4 #aj1 #cid4 ,see p4 #bfe4 ,footnote #acb3 ,herodotus1 #h1 #acc-e4 ,i have followed ,w4's reconstruction4 ,footnote #acc3 ,see ,life of ,aristides1 c4 #ai4 ,footnote #acd3 ,w4 and ,d4 #aii4 ,footnote #ace3 ,see p4 #bca4 ,footnote #acf3 ,fr4 #adi3 see above1 p4 #gg4 ,footnote #acg3 ,herod4 #i1 #bh 7and see ib4 c4 #ba74 ,footnote #ach3 ,fr4 #gbi4 ,cp4 ,o4 ,c4 #fjg4 ,footnote #aci3 ,the words #8and here--heroes' have been supplied from a quotation in ,eusebius1 ,praep4 ,evan4 #e1 #d4 ,footnote #adj3 ,from a fragment1 ,gaisford1 ,poetae ,minores1 ii1 p4 #dhi 7cp4 ,ausonius1 ,id4 #ah2 and ,sir ,t4 ,browne1 ,vulgar ,errors1 #c1 #i74 ,footnote #ada3 ,fr4 #afe4 ,footnote #adb3 ,as ,ausonius1 loc4 cit4 ,footnote #adc3 ,fr4 #hg4 ,footnote #add3 #a #b #a #c #a #bb #cb #bc #cc #ed4 ,footnote #ade3 ,see ,timaeus1 #ce4 ,footnote #adf3 ,il4 #bj1 #h-i4 ,footnote #adg3 ,see ,heraclitus1 ,fr4 #cd4 ,footnote #adh3 ,inserting1 with ,mezirius1 before 4 ,footnote #adi3 ,the meaning is simply that #dj #ce #igbj1 and #8triangle-wise' seems irrelevant4 ,footnote #aej3 ,fr4 #ifa 7from the ,phaethon74 ,footnote #aea3 ,sympos4 #bjb ,f4 ,footnote #aeb3 ,w4 and ,d4 #abe4 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,crat4 #cig4 ,footnote #aec3 #b1 #aga4 ,footnote #aed3 ,pindar1 ,fr4 #bjh 7cp4 ,sympos4 #g1 #e1 #d74 ,footnote #aee3 ,suppl4 #bad4 ,footnote #aef3 ,fr4 #gcj4 ,footnote #aeg3 ,see additional note1 p4 #cab4 ,footnote #aeh3 ,cp4 ,life of ,timoleon1 c4 #a4 ,footnote #aei3 ,cp4 ,herod4 #b1 #ade4 ,footnote #afj3 ,see p4 #ed4 ,footnote #afa3 ,reading 7#8nihil secum trahit impossibile'4 ,xylander74 ,see ,preface1 p4 vi4 ,footnote #afb3 ,timaeus1 #ee4 ,footnote #afc3 ,as ,aristotle1 ,de ,caelo1 ,i1 #h1 #bgf a #ah4 ,footnote #afd3 ,od4 #ba1 #cig4 ,footnote #afe3 ,il4 #ae1 #ahi4 ,footnote #aff3 ,tim4 #ca ,a1 #ee ,c4 ,footnote #afg3 ,reading1 with ,madvig 7partly anticipated by ,emperius7 444 444 ,footnote #afh3 ,see e4 g4 ,de ,caelo1 #a1 #f1 #bge b #bi1 and ,burnet1 ,early ,greek ,philosophy1 p4 #cig note2 see also p4 #bgj foll4 ,footnote #afi3 ,inserting 1 with ,meziriac4 ,footnote #agj3 ,il4 #ac1 #a foll4 ,footnote #aga3 ,see p4 #aae4 ,footnote #agb3 ,tim4 #ee ,e1 foll4 ,footnote #agc3 ,there is a play on the words for #8fire'1 #8,pyramid'4 ,footnote #agd3 ,soph4 #bdi ,b4 ,footnote #age3 ,is4 et ,osir4 c4 #ab4 ,footnote #agf3 ,de ,caelo1 #b1 #d1 #bhf b #aj4 ,footnote #agg3 ,tim4 #ee ,c4 ,footnote #agh3 ,tim4 #eg ,c4 ,footnote #agi3 ,tim4 #eb ,e4 ,footnote #ahj3 ,fr4 #ibe4 ,footnote #aha3 ,see p4 #gj4 ,footnote #ahb3 ,w4 and ,d4 #abd4 ,footnote #ahc3 ,w4 and ,d4 #abb4 ,footnote #ahd3 4 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,philebus1 #cc1 4 ,footnote #ahe3 ,see ,thuc4 #a1 #ab4 ,footnote #ahf3 ,fr4 #ifc4 ,footnote #ahg3 ,bacchae1 #big-h4 ,footnote #ahh3 ,fr4 #ge4 ,footnote #ahi3 ,the text is corrupt1 but probably contained 4 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,sympos4 #gcf ,a4 ,footnote #aij3 ,theogon4 #aag4 ,footnote #aia3 ,fr4 #cga4 ,footnote #aib3 ,meteor4 #a1 #c1 #cdj b #bi4 ,footnote #aic3 ,cyclops1 ,i4 #ccb-c 7,shelley's tr474 ,footnote #aid3 ,phaedo1 #ig ,c4 ,footnote #aie3 #a1 #be1 where the work is ascribed to ,glaucus4 ,footnote #aif3 ,od4 #i1 #cic4 ,footnote #aig3 ,rep4 #f1 #ah1 #ejg ,c4 ,footnote #aih3 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,laws1 #gaf ,e4 ,,on ,,the ,,instances ,,of ,,delay ,,in ,,divine ,,punishment ,,introduction ,the ,dialogue on ,delay in ,divine ,punishment stands somewhat apart from the others4 ,it deals gravely with grave matters1 the ways of ,providence with man1 and the #8last things'4 ,the method is ingenious and satisfactory4 ,an ,epicurean1 after scoffing at ,providence in a manner which deeply offends the company1 leaves them abruptly4 ,we are reminded of the departure of the ,cynic ,didymus at ,delphi 7p4 #abd71 and of the immortal episode of ,thrasymachus in the ,first ,book of the ,republic of ,plato4 ,the small family party which remains1 ,plutarch1 his brother ,timon1 his son-in-law ,patrocleas1 and an intimate friend ,olympicus1 take up the points suggested by the attack1 not contentiously1 or in the language of the ,schools1 but with a view to ascertain whether there is anything in them which concerns reasonable men4 ,the friends successively raise these points3 the slowness of the ,gods in punishing1 and their purposes in the delay2 the justice of visiting the sins of parents upon children1 or of a city upon a new generation of citizens2 the persistence of the soul after physical death here4 ,in all cases it is ,plutarch who supplies the answer1 whereas1 in the other long ,dialogues1 there is some distribution of parts and an interplay of character4 ,in the tone of the dissertations1 which is sustained1 and little relieved by humour1 the piece most nearly resembles the essay ,on ,superstition4 ,plutarch's argument is marked by truly academic caution1 and an admission of man's ignorance and limitations1 which might have come from the pen of ,bishop ,butler4 ,when ,plutarch has sufficiently established #8to demonstration' the #8probability' of his position1 he adds1 at the urgent desire of the company1 a myth1 which he had already offered to produce4 ,the #8myth' is a device of which ,plato has many examples1 intended to give symmetry to the ,dialogue1 #8that it may not go about without a head'4 ,but it is more than a literary device2 it is a satisfaction of the desire for something poetical and constructive which mere ,dialectic can never feed4 ,the myth about ,thespesius here must be compared with that of ,timarchus in the ,genius of ,socrates and with the traveller's tale of the ,island of ,cronus in the ,face in the ,moon4#aii ,of ,platonic myths1 we are first reminded of that of ,er1 which closes the ,republic1 and raises to a higher plane the question whether the just man or the unjust has the best of it4 ,there are necessarily strong points of resemblance to the magnificent judgement myth of the ,gorgias1 and much of the imagery recalls the ,phaedo4 ,the ,timaeus is not perhaps so conspicuously before ,plutarch's mind here as it is in other works4 ,while there is so much which can be referred to ,plato1 there is nothing to suggest that ,plutarch set himself to make a patchwork out of the stores of his retentive memory1 still less that he sought to imitate the master from whose genius his industrious and curious mind lay poles apart4 ,his honesty and his common-sense forbade any such attempt4 ,it is fortunate that we possess a fragment 7redeemed for ,plutarch by ,wyttenbach7 of a ,dialogue with the same speakers1 and perhaps intended to follow immediately1 in which1 as though in #8calculated contrast'1 writes ,m4 ,grard 7p4 #bib71 to the grim details contained in the ,dialogue before us1 we have a delightful picture of what awaits the just beyond the grave1 the truly #8initiate'4 ,as all the questions discussed in the main ,dialogue are raised in old ,greek writers1 ,homer1 ,pindar1 the ,tragedians1 supplemented by the philosophers1 and the myth1 in its stern imagery1 is on all fours1 for instance1 with the ,eumenides of ,aeschylus1 so the comfortable vision of the initiate in the fragment is anticipated by ,greeks who wrote four hundred or five hundred years before4 ,thus we have the lines of the ,frogs of ,aristophanes 7#aed foll41 tr4 ,g4 ,murray73 ,then you will find a breath about your ears ,of ,music1 and a light about your eyes ,most beautiful--like this--and myrtle groves1 ,and joyous throngs of women and of men1 ,and clapping of glad hands4 ,and the still more famous picture of ,pindar 7,ol4 #b1 #fh-gd1 tr4 ,g4 ,moberly73 ,but who in ,godlike strife ,have dared to keep their secret souls from sin1 ,thrice tried in either life1 ,e'en to old ,saturn's tower their bright way win4 ,there with melodious din ,light breezes1 ,east and ,west1 ,fan with soft breath the ,islets of the ,blest2 ,and golden flowerets breathe1 ,some from the ,island-trees1 ,some floating on the ambient seas1 ,with which their twind arms and brows they wreathe4 ,perhaps it would hardly be untrue to say that the whole of ,plutarch's daring speculation owes its origin to the words of ,heraclitus1 with which the fragment closes1 as to the surprises which await man after death4 ,there is one distinct note of date1 in the ,sibylline prophecy quoted in c4 #bb1 that the emperor of that day should die in his bed4 ,vespasian1 who was doubtless meant1 died in ,june1 ,a4,d4 #gi1 and the great eruption of ,vesuvius 7by which1 however1 ,puteoli does not appear to have suffered specially7 took place in ,august of the same year4 ,the ,dialogue must have been written later than these events4 ,on the whole1 if we may venture a conjecture where all is uncertain1 we may perhaps suppose it to have followed the ,symposiacs at a comparatively short interval1 and to have been an early attempt to apply the method of dialogue to elaborate discussion of great themes4 ,it has characteristics of its own which enable us to understand how ,erasmus 7,adagia7#bjj felt doubts as to its genuineness1 though we have the confident assurance of ,wyttenbach that there is ,plutarch's seal upon it4 ,readers should consult ,mr4 ,oakesmith's pages on this work 7,the ,religion of ,plutarch1 pp4 #ajc foll471 and1 on the myth1 ,bishop ,westcott's ,essay on ,the ,myths of ,plato 7reprinted in ,history of ,religious ,thought in the ,west71 or ,professor ,j4 ,a4 ,stewart on ,the ,myths of ,plato4 ,,on ,,the ,,instances ,,of ,,delay ,,in ,,divine ,,punishment ,a ,,dialogue ,,the ,,speakers ,,patrocleas1 ,plutarch's son-in-law4 ,,plutarch4 ,,timon1 ,plutarch's brother4 ,,olympicus1 a friend 7see ,sympos4 #c1 #f74 ,i4 ,having spoken to this effect1 ,quintus1 before any one ,sidenote3 #edh ,b replied--we had just reached the far end of the colonnade--,epicurus took himself off4 ,we stopped our walk for a while1 in silent surprise at the oddness of the man1 then glanced at one another1 turned back1 and resumed it4 ,patrocleas was the first to speak3 #8,which is it to be1' he said1 #8are you for dropping the inquiry1 or shall we answer the argument as though the speaker of it were present1 though he is not present8' ,timon interposed3 #8,well1 suppose he had thrown a spear and gone away1 it would not do quietly to let it lie4 ,brasidas1#bja we are ,sidenote3 ,c given to believe1 drew the spear out of his wound1 and with it struck and slew the thrower4 ,now perhaps it is no business of ours to punish those who have discharged a monstrous or a false argument at us2 enough if we eject it from ourselves before it has taken hold4' #8,then what is it'1 ,i asked1 #8which has moved you most1 in what he said8 for there were a number of things1 a disorderly mass1 which the man drew from all quarters1 to let them off against ,divine ,providence in his rage and fury4' ,,ii4 ,then ,patrocleas3 #8,the slowness and procrastination of ,divine ,justice in the punishment of wicked men appears to ,sidenote3 ,d me especially terrible4 ,at the present moment1 after what we have just heard1 ,i seem to come 8all fresh and new0 to this 7,epicurean7 view2 but long ago ,i used to feel indignant when ,i heard ,euripides#bjb telling how ,the ,gods delay1 the ,gods are ever slow4 ,yet it does not become the ,god to be slack in anything1 least of all in dealing with wicked men2 they are never slack or procrastinating in evil-doing1 but are borne on by the passions at racing speed into their iniquities4 ,again1 8,vengeance1 when ,sidenote3 ,e it follows most closely upon the wrongs10 to use the words of ,thucydides1#bjc at once blocks the road against those who are in the fullest enjoyment of successful vice4 ,no debt so surely as the debt of justice1 if left unpaid till the morrow1 at once depresses the person wronged by enfeebling his hopes1 and enhances the boldness and self-trust of the miscreant2 whereas the punishments which meet audacious acts promptly are checks against future offences1 and have a sovereign virtue to encourage the sufferers4 ,thus ,i often feel distressed when ,i recall the saying ,sidenote3 ,f of ,bias4 ,it appears that he told a certain wicked man that he had no fear of his escaping retribution1 he did fear that he himself might not be there to see4 ,what did the ,messenians gain by the punishment of ,aristocrates1 when they had been already slain8 ,he had lost the battle at the ,trench#bjd by treachery1 reigned over the ,arcadians for more than twenty years undiscovered1 and was at last found out and punished1 but the ,messenians were no more4 ,what consolation to the ,orchomenians1 who had lost children1 friends1 and kinsmen through the treason of ,lyciscus1 was the disease which fastened upon him long years afterwards1 and devoured his body8 ,he had once and again dipped both feet into the river1 with prayers and imprecations ,sidenote3 #edi as he wetted them1 that they might rot away if he had done any wrong or treachery4 ,at ,athens1 when the corpses of the 8,accursed0 were thrown out1 and set beyond the frontier1 it was not possible even for the children's children of the victims to see it done4 ,hence it is strange that ,euripides#bje should have used such thoughts as these to deter men from wickedness3 ,justice shall never strike thee to the heart-- ,fear not her footfall--no1 nor any man ,that does the wrong2 with silent foot and slow1 ,when the day comes1 she'll stalk the sinners down4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,the very phrases--are they not8--which bad men might use to give themselves encouragement and assurance to set hand to lawless acts1 since they show injustice yielding her harvest ripe and ready1 and punishment lagging late and far behind the enjoyment4' ,,iii4 ,when ,patrocleas had done1 ,olympicus spoke next3 #8,take another point1 ,patrocleas2 what a grave absurdity these delays and hesitations on the part of ,heaven involve6 ,the slowness takes away all assurance of a ,providence2 and when misfortune comes to bad men1 not on the heels of each wicked ,sidenote3 ,c deed1 but later on1 they set it down to mischance1 and call it a calamity1 not a punishment2 they do not profit by it1 they are annoyed at the things which befall them1 but do not repent of the things which they have done4 ,it is so with a horse2 the touch of whip or spur which follows immediately on a stumble or blunder sets him up and brings him to his duty2 whereas tugs and checks and ratings later on1 after an interval1 seem to him to have some purpose which is not education1 they irritate1 but do not school him4 ,and so with vice2 if punishment ,sidenote3 ,d from switch or rein follow every trip and tumble1 vice will have the best chance of becoming thoughtful and lowly1 and getting the fear of ,god1 as of a ,judge who stands over men in their acts and their passions1 and does not wait till the day after to-morrow4 ,whereas1 the ,justice which moves calmly1 8with a slow foot01 as ,euripides put it1 and falls upon the wicked 8when the day comes01 resembles an automaton rather than a ,providence1 in her vague1 procrastinating1 unmethodical procedure4 ,thus ,i do not see what use there is in those 8mills of the ,gods0 which ,sidenote3 ,e 8grind slowly01 we are told1#bjf for they make the form of ,justice dim1 and the fears of the wicked evanescent4' ,,iv4 ,when all this had been said1 and while ,i was deep in thought1 ,timon said3 #8,shall ,i intervene and with my own hand add the crowning stone of difficulty to our argument1 or shall ,i allow it first to win through for itself against what we have already heard8' #8,what need'1 ,i said1 #8to let in the 8third wave0 and sluice the argument anew1 if it prove unable to force aside the first objections and escape them8 ,in the first place1 then1 we will start from our own ancestral hearth1 from the ,sidenote3 ,f reserve1 ,i mean1 which the philosophers of the ,academy show in speaking of what is divine2 and reverently clear ourself from any claim to speak with knowledge about these matters4 ,it is a graver mistake than for unmusical persons to discuss music1 or civilians a campaign1 if we mere men are to scrutinize the things which belong to ,gods and daemons2 the inartistic trying to track the inner thought of the artist1 by fanciful and random conjecture4 ,if it is hard for a layman to guess at the reasoning which led a doctor to use the knife later and not sooner1 or to apply a lotion to-day and not yesterday1 surely it is not easy for a mortal to speak with any certainty about ,god1 more than this--that ,sidenote3 #ecj he best knows the proper time for the curative treatment of vice1 and applies the due punishment1 as a medicine1 to each man accordingly2 for vice admits of no measure common to all1 the proper time is not the same for every case4 ,that the medical treatment of the soul which we call 8,right0 and 8,justice0 is of all arts the greatest1 we have the testimony of thousands of witnesses1 ,pindar#bjg among them4 ,he acclaims the sovereign ruler of all the ,gods as 8in art most excellent01 because ,justice is of his workmanship1 and to her it pertains to determine the 8when0 and the 8how0 and the degree of punishment for every offender4 ,and ,plato#bjh tells us that ,minos1 who is a son of ,zeus1 has become a learner of this art2 showing that it is not possible for one who has not learnt1 and acquired ,sidenote3 ,b the knowledge1 to go straight in questions of right1 or to apprehend the guiding principle4 ,even the laws which men frame are not everywhere1 and on the face of them1 reasonable2 some enactments appear simply ludicrous4 ,in ,lacedaemon1 for instance1 the ,ephors1 when they first enter office1 make proclamation that no one is to grow a moustache1 and that 8men should obey the laws1 that the laws may not be hard upon them04 ,the ,romans1 when they release slaves 8into freedom0 give them a tap with a light reed4 ,when they draw a will1 they make one set of persons 8heirs0 and 8sell0 the property to others1 which appears strange4 ,strangest of all is the enactment ,sidenote3 ,c of ,solon1 that the man who takes neither side in a party contest1 but stands out1 should lose the franchise4 ,one might go on to mention many legal absurdities1 where the intention of the lawyers and the reason of the provisions are out of our knowledge4 ,then1 if human codes are so inscrutable1 what wonder that1 in speaking of the ,gods1 we cannot lightly lay down the principle upon which they punish some offenders later1 some sooner8 ,v4 #8,all this is no pretext for evading the issue2 but it is a plea for indulgence2 that the argument1 having its harbour of refuge in sight1 may rear itself confidently from the depths to meet the difficulty4 ,now first consider that1 as ,plato#bji shows1 ,sidenote3 ,d ,god sets himself before us for a pattern of all good things1 and implants in those who are able to follow ,god that human virtue which is1 in a sort1 likeness to himself4 ,for ,universal ,nature1 while yet unorganized1 found the beginning of its change to a world of order in assimilation to the idea and excellence of ,god1 and in a measure of participation therein4 ,the same ,plato#baj tells us that ,nature kindled in us the sense of sight1 in order that the soul1 by gazing in wonder at the bodies which move through heaven1 may become accustomed to welcome what is shapely and well ordered1 to abhor ill-regulated and ,sidenote3 ,e roving passions1 and to eschew1 as the origin of all vice and naughtiness1 whatever is random and fortuitous4 ,for man has no greater natural enjoyment of ,god than to imitate and pursue all that in him is fair and good1 and so to attain to virtue4 ,therefore is ,god slow and leisurely in inflicting punishment on the bad1 not that he fears mistake on his own part if he punish quickly1 or any repentance2 rather he is putting away from us all brutish vehemence in the punishments we inflict1 and teaching ,sidenote3 ,f us not to choose the moment of heat and agitation1 when ,high over reason temper leaps supreme1#baa to spring upon those who have vexed us1 as though glutting a thirst or a hunger2 but to copy his own gentleness and long-suffering1 to be orderly and staid when we set our hand to punishment1 taking ,time for a counsellor who will never have ,repentance for his consort4 ,for it is a smaller evil1 as ,socrates ,sidenote3 #eea used to say1 to drink turbid water in our greediness1 when we find it by the way1 than with the reason still muddied1 full of wrath and frenzy1 before it has settled down and run clear1 to glut ourselves in the punishment of a body which is of one race and tribe with our own4 ,it is not1 as ,thucydides would tell us1 the retribution following most closely on the injury received1 but that most remote from it1 which really exacts what is its due4 ,for as temper1 according to ,melanthius1#bab ,does dreadful deeds1 and banishes good sense1 so reason1 on the contrary1 employs justice and moderation1 setting passion and temper afar4 ,so it is that even human examples make men gentle1 as when we hear that ,plato stood long over his servant with rod uplifted1 correcting1 as he said ,sidenote3 ,b himself1 his own temper2 or1 again1 as ,archytas1 informed of some disorderly behaviour of his workmen in the field1 and feeling himself unusually irritated and harsh1 did nothing1 but just said1 as he went away1 8,well for you that ,i am feeling angry40 ,if sayings like these and anecdotes about men drain away what is rough and violent in our anger1 much more when we see ,god1 in whom is no fear nor any sort of repentance1 yet reserving punishment and abiding his time1 may we well become ,sidenote3 ,c cautious in such matters1 and deem the gentleness and lofty patience which he exhibits a god-like part of virtue4 ,by his punishment he corrects a few1 by the slowness of his punishment he helps and admonishes many4 ,,vi4 #8,let us now turn our attention to a second point1 which is this3 ,all kinds of human retribution deal out pain for pain and stop there4 8,suffering for the doer0#bac is their principle1 and beyond it they do not go4 ,so they follow sin like a howling pack which hunts on the heels of the offences4 ,whereas ,god1 we may suppose1 when he sets his hand to punish a soul that is sick1 ,sidenote3 ,d scrutinizes its passions1 if perhaps they may be bent aside1 and a way opened to repentance2 he fixes a time1 in cases where the wickedness seated within is not absolute or inflexible4 ,he knows how large a portion of virtue1 proceeding from himself1 souls carry with them when they pass to birth1 how powerful within the noble principle naturally is1 and how ineffaceable2 that it may flower into vice contrary to nature1 when nurture and company are bad and corrupting1 yet is afterwards cured in some persons and recovers its own proper state4 ,and so he ,sidenote3 ,e does not bring down punishment equally upon all4 ,what is incurable he at once removes out of the life and prunes away1 because1 happen what may1 it is injurious to others1 most injurious of all to a man's self1 to consort with wickedness all his time4 ,where the sinful principle may be supposed to exist through ignorance of the good rather than from deliberate preference for the base1 he gives them time for reformation2 but if they persist1 they1 too1 receive punishment in full2 for he has no fear1 we may be sure1 lest they escape him at the last4 ,now consider how many changes take place in human character and life4 ,and this is why that in them which changes is called 8tropos0 7turning7 and 8ethos0 7thos71 because habit 7thos7 finds its way in so often1 and masters them so mightily4 ,i think ,sidenote3 ,f myself that the ancients called ,cecrops 8double-shaped01 not1 as some say1 because from a good king he became a very dragon of a tyrant1 but1 on the contrary1 because he was1 to begin with1 perverse and terrible1 and afterwards became a mild and humane ruler4 ,this instance may be an uncertain one1 but we know of ,gelon at any rate1 and ,hiero in ,sicily1 and ,pisistratus son of ,hippocrates1 how they won power by wickedness1 but all used ,sidenote3 #eeb it virtuously2 came to rule through unlawful ways1 but turned out fair and patriotic rulers2 introduced the reign of law and of careful agriculture1 found their subjects men of jest and gossip1 and made them sober and industrious4 ,gelon1 moreover1 fought nobly at the head of his people1 won a great battle against the ,carthaginians1 and refused them a peace when they sued for one1 until he had bound them in a covenant to give up the practice of sacrificing their children to ,cronus4 ,then1 in ,megalopolis1 there was a tyrant ,lydiadas1 who changed ,sidenote3 ,b his ways in the actual course of his reign1 and in disgust with his own injustice restored to the citizens their laws1 and fell gloriously fighting for the country against its enemies4 ,suppose some one had slain ,miltiades while tyrant in the ,chersonese1 as he first was1 or had got a conviction for incest against ,cimon1 or had robbed ,athens of ,themistocles by a prosecution for his riotous passage through the market-place1 as was done with ,alcibiades later on1 where would be our ,marathons1 our ,eurymedons1 that noble ,artemisium1 ,sidenote3 ,c where ,athens' sons ,set firm the shining base of ,liberty8#bad ,for great natures produce nothing petty2 their vehemence and energy cannot rest for very intensity1 they toss about on the surge before they settle into their solid and abiding character4 ,as then one ignorant of husbandry would not welcome the prospect of a piece of land full of thick undergrowth and weeds1 with many wild creatures on it1 and streams of water1 and deep mud2 whereas1 to one who has learned to use his senses and to discriminate1 those very things suggest strength and fatness and everything that is good in the soil1 so it is with great natures4 ,they break out early into many strange bad growths1 ,sidenote3 ,d out of which we1 in our intolerance1 think it our duty to cut away and stunt all that is rough and prickly2 but the ,judge who is better than we and who sees the good and generous crop to come1 waits for ,time1 the fellow-worker with ,reason and ,virtue1 and that ripeness whereby ,nature yields the proper fruit4 ,,vii4 #8,so much for this4 ,now do you not think that some of the ,greeks are right in copying the ,egyptian law which enacts that a pregnant woman who has been condemned to death should be kept in custody until she has borne a child8' #8,certainly'1 they said4 ,i went on3 #8,next1 suppose a person not pregnant with children1 but able1 if time be given1 to bring into ,sidenote3 ,e the light of the sun some secret action or design1 either by denouncing a hidden evil1 or by becoming the promoter of a salutary policy or the inventor of some needful expedient1 is it not the better course to let punishment wait on convenience rather than to inflict it too soon8 ,it seems to me to be so4' #8,and to us'1 said ,patrocleas4 #8,and rightly1' said ,i1 #8for consider that if ,dionysius had paid the penalty at the beginning of his reign1 no ,greek settler would have been left in ,sicily1 because the ,carthaginians would have devastated it4 ,so neither ,apollonia1 nor ,anactorium1 nor the ,leucadian peninsula would have been occupied by ,greeks if ,periander had ,sidenote3 ,f been punished without such a long interval4 ,i think that ,cassander also had a respite in order that ,thebes might be re-established4 ,most of the foreigners who helped to seize this temple crossed over with ,timoleon into ,sicily2 and when they had conquered the ,carthaginians1 and put an end to the tyrannies1 met deservedly miserable deaths themselves4 ,surely ,heaven uses some bad men to punish others1 like executioners1 and afterwards crushes them1 and this has been the case1 ,i think1 ,sidenote3 #eec with most tyrants4 ,for as the gall of the hyaena1 the refuse of the seal1 and other products of disgusting animals1 have their specific use in disease1 so there are some who need the sharp tooth of chastisement2 on whom the ,god inflicts a bitter and implacable tyrant1 or a harsh rough ruler1 and only removes this torment when he has relieved and purged their ailment4 ,such a medicine was ,phalaris to the ,agrigentines1 and ,marius to the ,romans4 ,to the ,sicyonians the ,god declared in plain terms that their state needed beadles with whips1 because they had taken by force from the men of ,cleonae a boy named ,teletias1 who was to be crowned at the ,pythian games1 as being their own citizen1 and torn him in pieces4 ,the ,sicyonians got ,sidenote3 ,b ,orthagoras for a tyrant1 and after him ,myron and ,cleisthenes1 who put an end to their bad ways1 while the ,cleonaeans1 who never found such a remedy1 have come to nothing4 ,listen to ,homer1#bae who says somewhere ,so sprung from meaner sire a nobler son1 ,skilled in all art and excellence4 ,yet that son of ,copreus has left us no brilliant or signal achievement1 while the posterity of ,sisyphus and ,autolycus and ,phlegyas burst into flower of glory and virtue in the persons of great kings4 ,pericles at ,athens came of a house which was under a curse4 ,pompey the ,great1 at ,rome1 was the son of ,strabo1 whose corpse the ,romans cast out and trampled ,sidenote3 ,c in their hatred4 ,what is there strange then if ,god acts like the farmer1 who does not cut down the thistle till he has picked the asparagus1 or like the ,libyans who do not burn the dry stalks before they have collected the gum2 who spares to destroy a bad and rough-grown root of a noble race of kings till the due fruit has issued from it8 ,for it were better for the ,phocians that ,iphitus should lose tens of thousands of cattle and horses1 or that even more gold should leave ,delphi1 and silver too1 than that ,ulysses should never have been born1 or ,asclepius1 or ,sidenote3 ,d the other brave men and mighty benefactors who have come of bad and vicious lines4 ,,viii4 #8,but do you not all think it better that punishments should fall in the fitting time and manner than hastily and at once8 ,there is the case of ,callippus1 who was slain by his friends with the very dagger which he had used to slay ,dion in the guise of a friend4 ,again1 there is ,mitys#baf of ,argos1 killed in a party quarrel1 whose brazen statue in the market-place fell on the murderer during a public performance and killed him4 ,and ,i think you know all about ,bessus the ,paeonian1 ,patrocleas1 and ,ariston of ,oeta1 the commander of foreign troops8' ,sidenote3 ,e #8,indeed ,i do not1' he replied1 #8but ,i want to hear4' #8,ariston1' ,i said1 #8with the consent of the tyrants1 took down the ornaments of ,eriphyle1 deposited here1 and carried them off to his wife for a present4 ,then his son1 enraged with his mother for some reason1 set fire to the house1 and burnt up all who were within it4 ,bessus1 it appears1 slew his own father1 and for a long time escaped detection4 ,afterwards1 having come to some friends for supper1 he put his spear through a swallows' nest and brought it down1 and destroyed the young birds4 ,all present exclaimed1 as well they might3 8,man1 what has ,sidenote3 ,f possessed you to do such a monstrous thing80 ,to which he replied3 8,have they not been telling lies against me this long time1 shrieking that ,i have killed my father80 ,astonished at such a speech1 they informed the king1 an inquiry was held1 and ,bessus suffered4 ,,ix4 #8,so far'1 ,i said1 #8we have been speaking1 as was agreed1 upon the assumption that some respite is really granted to wicked men4 ,for what remains1 you must suppose that you are listening to ,hesiod1#bag laying down1 not with ,plato#bah that punishment is ,sidenote3 #eed 8suffering which waits on wrongdoing01 but that it is a contemporary growth1 springing up with sin1 from the same place and the same root1 ,bad counsel to the counsellor is worst1 and ,who plots 'gainst others1 plots his heart away4 ,the corn-beetle is said to carry in herself an antidote compounded on a principle of opposites1 but wickedness as it grows breeds its own pain and punishment1 and suffers the penalty1 not by and by1 but in the very moment of insolence4 ,in the body1 every criminal who is punished#bai carries forth his own ,sidenote3 ,b cross2 but vice fabricates for herself1 out of herself1 all the instruments of her chastisement2 she manufactures a terrible life1 piteous and shameful1 with terrors and cruel pains1 with regrets and troubles unceasing4 ,but there are persons just like children1 who see evildoers on the stage crowned and caparisoned1 as often happens1 in gold and purple1 and dancing heartily2 and gape and gaze1 as though these men were happy indeed2 until they are seen goaded and lashed1 and fire issuing out of those gay and costly robes4 ,most bad men are wrapped as in a vesture ,sidenote3 ,c of great houses1 and eminent offices and powers2 and so it is unperceived that they are being punished1 until1 before you can think1 they are stabbed or hurled down a rock1 which is not to be called punishment1 but the end or consummation of punishment4 ,for as ,herodicus of ,selymbria1 who fell into a hopeless decline1 and1 for the first time in human history1 combined gymnastics with medicine1 made death1 in ,plato's#bbj words1 8a long affair for himself01 and for similar invalids1 so has it been with bad men4 ,they thought to escape the blow at the time2 the penalty comes1 not after more time1 but over more time1 and is lengthened1 not retarded4 ,they were not punished after they ,sidenote3 ,d came to old age1 but became old under punishment4 ,i speak of length of time in a sense relative to ourselves1 since to the ,gods any span of human life is as nothing4 8,now01 instead of 8thirty years ago01 for the torture or hanging of a criminal1 is as though we were to speak of 8afternoon0 not 8morning02 the rather that he is confined in life1 a prison where is no change of place1 no escape1 yet many feastings the while1 and business affairs1 and gifts1 and bounties1 and amusements1 just as men play dice or draughts in jail1 with the rope hanging over their heads4 ,x4 #8,yet where are we to stop8 ,are we to say that prisoners ,sidenote3 ,e awaiting execution are not under punishment until the axe shall fall8 ,nor he who has drunk the hemlock1 and is walking about while he waits to feel the heaviness in the legs which precedes the chill and stiffness of approaching insensibility8 ,yet we must say so1 if we think that the last moment of the punishment is the punishment1 and leave out of account the sufferings of the intervening time1 the fears1 and forebodings1 and movements of ,sidenote3 ,f remorse1 in which every sinner is involved4 ,this would be like saying that a fish when he has swallowed the hook has not been caught until he has been roasted by the cook1 or at least sliced up1 before our eyes4 ,every man is in the grasp of ,justice when he has done a wrong1 he has nibbled away the sweets of ,injustice which are the bait2 but he has the hook of conscience sticking there and1 as it pays him out1#bba ,like spear-struck thunny makes the ocean boil4 ,for the forwardness and the audacity of vice of which we hear ,sidenote3 #eee are strong and ready till the crimes are committed1 then passion fails them like a dying breeze1 and leaves them weak and abject1 a prey to every fear and superstition4 ,thus the dream of ,clytaemnestra in ,stesichorus#bbb is fashioned true to the reality of what happens4 ,it was like this3 ,she thought a serpent came on her1 his crest ,dabbled with gore1 and1 lo1 from out it peered1 ,child of the race of ,pleisthenes1 the ,king4 ,for phantoms of dreams1 and visions of midday1 and oracles1 and thunderbolts1 and whatever has the appearance of being caused by a ,god1 bring storms and terrors upon those who are in such a mood4 ,so it is told that ,apollodorus1 in his sleep1 saw ,sidenote3 ,b himself being flayed by ,scythians and then boiled1 and that his heart murmured out of the cauldron the words1 8,i am the cause of this to thee40 ,and1 again1 he saw his daughters all on fire1 and running around him with their bodies burning4 ,then ,hipparchus1 son of ,pisistratus1 a little before his death1 saw ,aphrodite throwing blood at his face out of a sort of bowl4 ,the friends of ,ptolemy 8,thunderbolt0#bbc beheld him called to justice by ,seleucus before a jury of vultures and wolves1 and ,sidenote3 ,c dealing out large helpings of flesh to his enemies4 ,pausanias had wickedly sent for ,cleonice at ,byzantium1 a maiden of free birth1 that he might enjoy her person in the night1 then1 as she approached1 he killed her out of some panic or suspicion2 and he would often see her in his dreams1 saying to him3 ,to judgement go2 man's lust works woe to man4 ,when the phantom never ceased to trouble him1 he sailed1 as it appears1 to ,heracleia1 where is the ,place of ,summons of ,souls1 and with soothing rites and libations set himself to call up the soul of the girl2 she appeared to him and told him that he 8will cease from his troubles when he reaches ,lacedaemon02 and1 directly he got there1 he died4#bbd ,,xi4 #8,then1 if nothing remains for the soul after death1 but ,sidenote3 ,d death is a limit beyond which is neither grace nor punishment1 we should rather say that bad men who are punished quickly1 and who die off1 are used gently and indulgently by ,heaven4 ,for if it could be held that there is no other evil for the bad while life and time last1 yet even so1 when injustice is tried and proved an unfruitful1 thankless business1 which yields no return for many and great struggles1 the mere sense of these upsets the soul4 ,you will remember the story of ,lysimachus1 how1 under ,sidenote3 ,e great stress of thirst1 he surrendered himself and his power to the ,getae1 and1 when now their prisoner1 said as he drank3 8,wretch that ,i am1 for so brief a pleasure to have lost so great a kingdom60 ,and yet to resist the physical compulsion of appetite is very hard4 ,but when a man1 by grasping at money1 or in envy of political reputation and power1 or for the pleasure of some union1 has wrought a lawless dreadful deed1 and afterwards1 when the thirst or frenzy of passion has left him1 sees1 as ,sidenote3 ,f time goes on1 the disgrace and terror of iniquity becoming permanent1 with nothing useful1 or necessary1 or delightful gained1 then is it not natural that he should often reckon up and feel how hollow is the glory1 how ignoble and thankless the pleasure1 for which he has upset all that is greatest and noblest in human codes of right1 and filled his own life with shame and confusion8 ,simonides#bbe used to say in jest that he found the chest of silver always full1 but that of gratitude empty2 and so bad men1 when they look into the wickedness within them1 find that1 through the pleasure which has a short-lived return1 it is ,sidenote3 #eef left void of hope1 but filled to the brim with fears and pains and joyless memory1 with suspicion of the future1 and distrust of the present4 ,so ,ino on the stage1#bbf when she is repenting of what she has done3 ,say1 maidens1 how may ,i start clear1 and dwell ,here in the house of ,athamas1 as though ,i had done nothing of the deeds ,i did8 ,such thoughts we may suppose that the soul of every bad man rakes up within itself1 while it calculates how it may escape ,sidenote3 ,b from the memory of its misdoings1 and cast out conscience1 and become pure1 and lead another life as from the beginning4 ,there is no confidence1 nothing free from caprice1 nothing permanent or solid1 in the designs of wickedness1 unless1 save the mark6 we are to call wicked-doers philosophers of a sort6 ,but where love of wealth or pleasure1 as of great prizes1 and envy undiluted1 are lodged by the side of hate and ill-temper1 there1 if you look deep1 you will find superstition seated1 and softness to meet toil1 and cowardice to meet death1 and a rapid shifting of impulses1 and a vain-gloriousness which comes of arrogance4 ,they fear those who censure them1 and equally fear those who ,sidenote3 ,c praise1 as being victims whom they have deceived1 and who are the bitterest enemies of the bad1 just because they praise so heartily those whom they take to be good4 ,for hardness in vice1 as in bad steel1 is unsound1 its rigidity is soon broken4 ,hence more and more1 as time goes on1 they discover their own condition2 they are vexed and discontented1 and spurn their own life away4 ,we see that a bad man1 when he has restored a pledge1 or gone bail for an acquaintance1 or given a patriotic subscription or a contribution which brings him glory and credit1 is immediately seized with repentance1 and grieves at ,sidenote3 ,d what he has done1 so shifty and unsettled is his judgement4 ,we see others when applauded in the theatre at once groaning inwardly1 as ambition subsides into greed of money4 ,and did not1 think you1 those who sacrificed men to get a tyranny1 or to advance a conspiracy1 as ,apollodorus did1 or who robbed their friends of money1 as ,glaucus the son of ,epicydes did1 repent1 and hate themselves1 and suffer pain at what had been done8 ,for my own part1 if ,i may be allowed to say so1 ,i think that the doers of unholy deeds need no ,god nor man to punish them2 their own life is sufficient1 when ruined by vice1 and thrown into all disorder4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,,xii4 #8,but keep an eye on the discussion1' ,i said1 #8for it may be running out beyond our limits4' #8,perhaps it is1' said ,timon1 #8if we look on1 and consider the length of what remains to be said4 ,for now ,i am going to call up the final difficulty1 as a champion who has been standing out1 since those which came forward first have pretty well had their round out4 ,turn to the charge so boldly thrown at the ,gods by ,euripides1#bbg ,the parents' trips upon their offspring turned1 and take it that we too who have so far been silent adopt his arraignment4 ,if1 on the one hand1 the doers paid the penalty ,sidenote3 ,f themselves1 then there is no need to punish those who did no wrong1 seeing that justice does not allow even the doers to be punished twice for the same offences4 ,if1 on the other1 the ,gods1 out of indolence1 have allowed the punishment to drop1 as against the wicked1 and then exact it late in the day from the guiltless1 the set-off of tardiness against injustice is all wrong4 ,you will remember the story of what happened to ,aesop in this place2 how he came with gold from ,croesus1 to sacrifice to the ,god magnificently1 and make a distribution among the ,delphians1 four minae apiece4 ,there was some angry difference1 it appears1 between him and the brotherhood2 so he ,sidenote3 #eef performed the sacrifice1 but sent the money back to ,sardis1 judging the men unworthy of the bounty4 ,they worked up a charge of sacrilege against him1 thrust him down from the rock called ,hyampeia1 and killed him4 ,then1 in his wrath at this1 the ,god brought sterility on their land1 and every form of strange disease2 so that they went round the ,assemblies of the ,greeks asking by repeated proclamation that any who chose to come forward should punish them on ,aesop's behalf4 ,in the third generation1 ,iadmon1#bbh a ,samian1 came1 no blood relation of ,aesop1 but a descendant of those who had bought him at ,samos2 and to him they paid certain penalties1 and ,sidenote3 ,b were set free from their troubles4 ,from that time the punishment of sacrilegious criminals was transferred to ,nauplia from ,hyampeia4 ,not even those most devoted to ,alexander1 among whom we reckon ourselves1 commend him for throwing the city of ,branchidae into ruins1 and putting its inhabitants to the sword1 because of the treacherous surrender by their forefathers of the temple at ,miletus4 ,then ,agathocles1 tyrant of ,syracuse1 derided with open laughter the ,corcyraeans who asked 8why he plundered their island80 8,because1 of course10 he said1 8your fathers sheltered ,ulysses40 ,and1 in like manner1 when the ,ithacans complained of his soldiers taking their sheep1 8,why1 ,sidenote3 ,c your king01 he said1 8came to us1 and blinded the shepherd too60#bbi ,now is it not even more monstrous of ,apollo to destroy the ,pheneatae#bcj of the present day1 by blocking the pit which took their water1 and deluging all their land1 because1 a thousand years ago1 as the story goes1 ,hercules snatched away the prophetic tripod and brought it to ,pheneus8 ,and what of his promise to the ,sybarites of release from their troubles when they should have propitiated the wrath of the ,leucadian ,hera 8by three destructions08 ,again1 it is not long since the ,sidenote3 ,d ,locrians have ceased to send those maidens to ,troy1 ,who with no trailing robes1 feet bared1 as slaves1 ,at early dawn must sweep ,athene's fane1 ,no veils1 though grievous eld were drawing near1#bca because of the misbehaviour of ,ajax4 ,where do you find the reasonableness and justice here8 ,certainly we do not praise the ,thracians1 because they still brand their own wives to avenge ,orpheus1 or the ,barbarians living about the ,eridanus for wearing black1 in mourning for ,phaethon as they say4 ,it would have been still more ridiculous1 ,i think1 if the men living when ,phaethon perished thought nothing about it1 and then those ,sidenote3 ,e born five generations or ten generations after the sad occurrence began to change into mourning clothes for him6 ,yet there is nothing but stupidity in that1 nothing terrible or beyond cure2 but the angers of the ,gods pass underground at the time1 like certain rivers1 then afterwards breakout to injure quite different persons1 and bring the direst ruin at the last4 ,what reason is there in that8' ,,xiii4 ,at the first check1 ,i1 in terror lest he should go back to the beginning and introduce more and greater cases of ,sidenote3 ,f anomaly1 at once proceeded to ask him3 #8,come1' ,i said1 #8do you take all these things for true8' #8,suppose that they are not all true1 but that some are1 do you not think that the same perplexity comes in8' #8,perhaps'1 said ,i1 #8it is as with persons in a violent fever1 who feel the same heat1 or nearly the same1 whether they are wrapped in one cloak or in many1 yet we must give some relief by removing the excess4 ,if you will not allow this1 drop the point 7though to my thinking1 most of the instances look like myths and inventions72 but call to mind the recent ,theoxenia1 and that 8fair portion0 which is set aside and ,sidenote3 #eeh assigned by proclamation to the descendants of ,pindar1 and how impressive that seemed and how pleasant4 ,who could fail to find pleasure in that graceful honour1 so ,greek and so frankly of the old world1 unless he be one whose ,black heart of adamant ,was wrought in chilly fire1 in ,pindar's#bcb own words8 ,then ,i pass over'1 ,i said1 #8the similar proclamation made at ,sparta1 in the words1 ,after the ,lesbian bard1#bcc in honoured memory of old ,terpander1 for the case is the same4 ,but ,i appeal to you1 who claim1 as ,i understand1 precedence among the ,boeotians as ,opheltiadae1 and among the ,phocians ,sidenote3 ,b because of ,daiphantus2 and who stood by me formerly1 when1 speaking in support of the claim of the ,lycormae and ,satilaeans through their ancestor to receive the honour and wear the crown due to the ,heraclidae1 ,i argued that those sprung of ,hercules had the strongest right to be confirmed in the honours and prizes1 because their ancestor received no worthy prize or return for his good deeds to the ,greeks4' #8,and a noble contention it was1' he said1 #8and worthy indeed of ,philosophy6' #8,then pray drop'1 ,i said1 #8that vehement tone in your arraignment1 and do not make it any grievance that some born of bad or vicious ancestors are punished2 or else never rejoice or applaud in the other case1 when noble birth is honoured4 ,for ,sidenote3 ,c if the gratitude due to virtue is to be kept active for the benefit of the family1 it is logical and right also that the punishment for crimes should never be exhausted or fail1 but should run a parallel course1 so that payment should follow deserts under either head4 ,any one who finds pleasure in seeing honour done to the descendants of ,cimon at ,athens1 but makes it a grievance that those of ,lachares or ,ariston are banished1 is too soft and too careless1 or1 as ,i would rather say1 is quarrelsome and captious in all his attitude to ,heaven4 ,he challenges1 if the children of an unjust and evil man appear to prosper1 and he challenges if the families of the bad are abased or extinguished2 he blames ,sidenote3 ,d the ,god equally if the children of a good father are in trouble1 or of a bad one4 ,,xiv4 #8,there1' ,i said1 #8let all this serve for so many dykes or barriers against those bitter and aggressive assailants6 ,now1 let us go back1 and pick up the end of the thread in this dark place with its windings and wanderings2 ,i mean our argument about the ,god4 ,let us guide ourselves with quiet caution towards what is likely and reasonable1 since certainty and truth are beyond us1 even as to our own actions4 ,for instance1 why do we order the children of persons who have died of consumption ,sidenote3 ,e or dropsy to sit with both feet dipped into water until the corpse is consumed8 ,the idea seems to be that1 if this is done1 the disease does not shift its seat or approach them4 ,or again1 why is it that1 if one goat have taken the herb eryngium#bcd into her mouth1 the whole flock halts until the goatherd comes and takes it out8 ,and there are other occult properties1 with ways1 whether of contact or of dissemination1 by which they pass1 with incredible speed and over incredible intervals1 through one to another4 ,yet we find intervals of time wonderful1 but ,sidenote3 ,f not those of place2 although it is really more wonderful that a disease which began in ,aethiopia#bce infected ,athens1 where ,pericles died and ,thucydides took it1 than that1 when ,delphians and ,sybarites had been wicked1 the punishment circled round to attack their children4 ,there is correspondence of forces from last to first1 and there are connecting links1 the cause of which1 unknown1 it may be1 to us1 produces in silence its proper effect4#bcf ,,xv4 #8,not but that the public visitations of cities by the wrath of ,heaven can be readily accounted for on the score of ,sidenote3 #eei justice4 ,a city is a thing one and continuous1 like an animal1 which does not cease to be itself in the changes due to growth1 nor become1 as time goes on1 different from what it was2 it is always consentaneous and at one with itself1 and awaits all the consequences1 whether censure or gratitude1 of what it does or did1 so long as the association1 which makes it one and complex1 preserves its unity4 ,to divide it1 according to time1 into many cities1 or1 rather1 into an infinite number of them1 is like making many men out of one1 because he is now elderly1 was formerly younger1 and1 still further back1 was a boy4 ,or ,sidenote3 ,b rather1 the whole idea is like those tricks of ,epicharmus out of which the 8,increasing ,fallacy0 of the ,sophists sprang4 ,the man who formerly received the loan does not own it now1 for he has become a different person4 ,the man who was asked to dinner yesterday1 comes an unbidden guest to-day1 for he is some one else4 ,yet the stages of growth produce greater variations in each one of ourselves than they do in cities as wholes4 ,any one who had seen ,athens thirty years ago would recognize it to-day2 manners1 movements1 amusements1 business1 popular gratitude1 and resentments1 all quite as of old4 ,whereas a man would hardly be recognized in figure by friend or relation who should meet him after an interval1 while the changes in character so easily produced by anything--a word1 an ,sidenote3 ,c exertion1 a feeling1 a law--produce an effect of strangeness and novelty even to one always in his company4 ,yet he is spoken of as one man from birth to the end2 and we insist that a city1 which remains the same in exactly the same sense1 is liable for the reproaches incurred by ancestors1 by the same title as it claims their reputation and power4 ,otherwise we shall have everything1 before we know it1 in the river of ,heraclitus1#bcg which he says a man cannot enter twice1 because ,nature disturbs and alters all things in her own changes4 ,,xvi4 #8,but if a city is a thing one and continuous1 ,i take it that a family also depends from a single origin which assures ,sidenote3 ,d a certain pervading force of association4 ,an offspring is never separated from its begetter1 as is a piece of man's handicraft2 it has been made out of him1 not by him2 thus it has in itself some permanent portion of him1 and whether it be punished or honoured1 receives what is its due4 ,if it were not that ,i might seem to trifle1 ,i would say that graver injustice was done to the statue of ,cassander when it was melted down by the ,athenians1 and to the corpse of ,dionysius when it was thrust out beyond the frontier by the ,syracusans1 than to the descendants of those men in the punishments which they received4 ,for there is nothing of the nature of ,cassander in the statue1 and the soul ,sidenote3 ,e of ,dionysius has quitted the corpse2 whereas in ,nisaeus1 and ,apollocrates1 and ,antipater and ,philip1 and similarly in the other sons of bad men1 the determining part of their parents is inborn in them1 and is there2 it is not quiescent or inactive1 since by it they live and are nourished1 are directed1 and think4 ,there is nothing strange or remarkable if1 being of them1 they have what was theirs4 ,in a word1 as in ,medicine1 what is ,sidenote3 ,f serviceable is also just4 ,it is ridiculous to talk of the injustice of cauterizing the thumb when the pain is in the hip1 or scarifying the region of the stomach for a tumour inside the liver1 or of oiling the ends of the horns of cattle1 if there is softening of the hoofs4 ,so it is with punishments2 to think that there is any other justice than what heals the mischief1 or to be indignant if the treatment be applied to one set of persons through another set 7as in opening a vein to relieve weak eyes7 is to see nothing beyond the range of sense1 to fail ,sidenote3 #efj to remember that a schoolmaster who chastises one boy teaches a lesson to many boys1 and that a general who executes one man in ten1 brings all to their duty4 ,and thus not only one part through another part1 but also soul through soul receives certain dispositions1 be they of deterioration or amendment1 in a truer sense than body through body4 ,in the case of body1 the affection arising must be the same1 and the alteration produced must be the same2 whereas soul is led by its own imaginings in the way of assurance or fear1 and so becomes permanently worse or else better4' ,,xvii4 ,while ,i was still speaking1 ,olympicus broke in3 #8,it seems to me'1 he said1 #8that your argument relies on a great ,sidenote3 ,b fundamental assumption--the permanence of the soul4' #8,subject to your consent1 it does1' ,i replied1 #8or rather to your consent already given2 for1 from the initial supposition that ,god dispenses to us according to our deserts1 the discussion has proceeded to its present stage4' #8,then'1 he said1 #8you think that1 because the ,gods survey and administer all our affairs1 it follows that our souls are either wholly imperishable1 or1 permanent for a certain time after death4' #8,oh no6 good friend1' ,i said1 #8but the ,god is so petty1 so important a trifler1 that1 dealing with men like us1 who have nothing in us divine or like him in any way1 or persistent1 or solid1 but who wither away altogether 8like leaves01 as ,homer#bch said1 and ,sidenote3 ,c perish within a short span1 he makes us of so great account6 ,that would be like the gardens of ,adonis which women nurse and tend in crockery pots2 souls of a day springing up within a pampered flesh wherein no strong living root finds room1 and then at once snuffed out on the first pretext4 ,but1 if you will1 let the other ,gods be1 and look at our own ,god here4 ,knowing that the souls of those who die perish at once1 like mists or smoke-wreaths exhaled from the bodies1 does he1 think you1 require men to bring so many propitiations for the departed1 ,sidenote3 ,d and such great honours to the dead1 deceiving and tricking his believers8 ,for myself1 ,i will never give up the permanence of the soul1 unless some one like ,hercules shall come1 and remove the tripod of the ,pythia1 and lay waste the place of the oracles4 ,but in our own time so long as many such prophecies are given as once were delivered to ,corax the ,naxian1 it is nothing less than impious to condemn the soul to death4' ,here ,patrocleas asked3 #8,but what was the prophecy delivered1 and who was this ,corax8 ,the fact and the name are equally strange to ,sidenote3 ,e me4' #8,not at all1' ,i said1 #8the fault is mine for using a by-name instead of the real one4 ,the man who killed ,archilochus in battle was called ,calondas1 it appears2 ,corax was a by-name given to him4 ,turned out1 at first1 by the ,pythia1 as having slain a man sacred to the ,muses1 then1 having put in a plea of justification1 accompanied by prayers and supplications1 he was ordered to go to the 8dwelling of ,tettix0 and propitiate the soul of ,archilochus4 ,this place was ,taenarus2 for thither1 they say1 ,tettix the ,cretan went with an expedition1 and there he founded a city1 and dwelt near the 8,place of the ,sidenote3 ,f ,passage of ,souls04 ,so1 when the ,spartans had been ordered to propitiate the soul of ,pausanias1 the 8,conductors of ,souls0 were sent for out of ,italy1 and1 after having done sacrifice1 ousted the ghost from the temple4 ,,xviii4 #8,thus'1 ,i continued1 #8the argument which assures the ,providence of ,god and also the permanence of the human soul1 is one only2 it is impossible to remove either and to keep the other4 ,but if the soul exists after death1 it becomes more probable that a requital is made to it in full both of honours ,sidenote3 #efa and of punishments4 ,like an athlete1 it is engaged in a contest during life2 the contest done1 it then receives in its own self all its due4 ,however1 what rewards or what chastisements it there receives in its own self1 are nothing to us that are alive1 they are disbelieved or are unmarked4 ,but those which pass through children or family are manifest to those who are here1 and turn away many bad men and pull them up short4 ,but to prove that there is no more disgraceful and grievous punishment than for a man to see his own descendants suffering on his account2 and that when the soul of an offender against piety or law looks after death1 and sees1 not the overthrow of statues or ,sidenote3 ,b memorials effaced1 but sons or friends or kinsmen involved in great misfortunes1 all because of itself1 and paying its penalties1 it could not be content1 no1 not for all the honours which are given to ,zeus1 to become a second time unjust and profligate1 ,i can tell you a story which ,i have lately heard2 yet ,i hesitate lest it may appear to you a myth1 so ,i confine myself to showing the probability4' #8,on no account6' said ,olympicus1 #8give us the whole of that story too4' ,as the others made the same petition1 #8,let me make good'1 said ,i1 #8the probability of the view1 then we will start the myth1 if myth indeed it be4 ,,xix4 #8,now ,bion says that it would be more ridiculous ,sidenote3 ,c if ,god were to punish the sons of wicked men1 than for a doctor to drug a descendant or a son for the disease of a grandfather or a father4 ,but the cases are dissimilar in one respect1 though closely alike in another4 ,the treatment of one person does not relieve another from disease2 no patient with eye disease or fever was ever the better for seeing an ointment or a plaster applied to another4 ,the punishments of the wicked are exhibited to all1 because the effect of the reasonable operation of justice is to restrain some through the punishment of others4 ,but the point of resemblance between the parallel adduced ,sidenote3 ,d by ,bion and our problem he failed to observe2 it is this3 when a man has fallen into a sickness which is bad but not incurable1 and afterwards through intemperance and self-indulgence has surrendered his body to the malady and has died of it1 then1 if there be a son1 not evidently diseased but only with a tendency to the same disease1 a physician1 or relative1 or trainer1 or a kind master who has learnt the state of the case1 will put him upon a strict diet and remove made dishes and drinks and women1 and use regular courses of physic1 and harden his body by exercises1 and will thus disperse and expel the symptoms1 and ,sidenote3 ,e not allow the little seed of a great trouble to reach any size4 ,is not that the tone which we adopt1 entreating sons of fathers or mothers with a tendency to diseases to pay attention to themselves1 and to watch out1 and not be careless1 but to get rid at once of the first beginnings in the system1 taking them in time while they are easy to move and loosely seated8' #8,it is indeed'1 they said4 #8,then we are doing nothing out of place1 but a necessary act1 one which is useful and not ludicrous1 when we introduce the sons of epileptic or bilious or gouty sires to gymnastic exercise1 diet1 and drugs1 not when they are ,sidenote3 ,f suffering from a disease but in order that they may not take it2 for a body which proceeds out of a vitiated body deserves no punishment but rather medical care and watching2 if any one in his cowardice and softness chooses to miscall that punishment1 because it removes pleasures and applies the sharp prick of pain and trial1 we have nothing more to say to him4 ,now then1 does a body1 the issue of a faulty body1 deserve treatment and care1 and yet we must endure to see the likeness of a kinsman's ,sidenote3 #efb vice springing up within a young character1 and making its growth there1 and to wait until it be spread over his system and manifest itself in his passions1 ,and show the evil fruit ,of mind awry1 as ,pindar#bci says8 ,,xx4 #8,or is the ,god in this to be less wise than ,hesiod1#bdj who exhorts and charges3 ,ne'er after gloomy burial1 of life ,sow thou the seed1 but fresh from heavenly feasts1 meaning that the act of generation admits not only of vice and virtue1 but also of grief and joy and the rest1 and therefore he would bring men cheerful and pleasant and open-hearted to the task8 ,but the other matter does not come out of ,hesiod1 nor is it the effect of human wisdom1 but of the ,god1 ,sidenote3 ,b to see through likenesses and differences of temperament1 before they stand revealed by a plunge through the passions into great crimes4 ,for the cubs of bears while still tiny1 and the young of wolves and apes1 show at once the character of their kind1 there is no disguise or pretence2 but the nature of man is plunged at once into customs and rules and laws1 and often conceals the bad points and imitates the good1 so that the inborn stain of vice is entirely effaced and removed1 or else is undetected for a long time2 it assumes a sheath or cloke of ,sidenote3 ,c cleverness1 which we fail to see through4 ,we perceive the wickedness with an effort each time that the blow or prick of the several misdoings touches us4 ,in a word1 we think that men become unjust when they commit an injustice1 become intemperate when they do a violence1 become cowardly when they run away4 ,it is as though we should think that the scorpion grows a sting when he strikes1 or vipers their venom when they bite1 which would be simple indeed6 ,take any single bad man1 he does not become bad when he appears bad2 he has the vice from the first1 but it comes out as he gets opportunity and power1 the thief1 of thieving1 the born tyrant1 of forcing the laws4 ,but ,god1 by his own nature1 apprehends ,sidenote3 ,d soul better than body2 and we may be sure that he is neither ignorant of the disposition and nature of each1 nor waits to punish violence of the hands1 or insolence of the tongue1 or profligacy of the body4 ,for he has himself suffered no wrong2 is not angry with the robber because he has met with violence1 does not hate the profligate because he has been assaulted2 but1 as a remedial measure1 he often chastises the man whose tendency is to adulterous crime1 or to greed1 or to injustice1 thus destroying vice before it has taken hold1 as he might an epilepsy4 ,,xxi4 #8,yet we were indignant a little while ago1 that the wicked are punished so late and so slowly4 ,and now we complain ,sidenote3 ,e because ,god sometimes cuts short the habit and disposition before any wrong is done1 not knowing that the thing to come is often worse and more alarming than the thing done1 what is hidden than what is apparent1 and unable to calculate the reasons why it is better to leave some alone even after they have committed an offence1 and to be beforehand with others who are still meditating one2 exactly as drugs are of no use for certain persons when sick1 but are of service to others who are not actually sick1 but are in a state still more dangerous4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,so it is not always a case of ,the parents trip upon their offspring turned ,by ,heav'n's high hand4#bda ,if a good son be born of a bad sire1 as a healthy child of a sickly parent1 he is relieved from the penalty of race1 saved by adoption out of vice4 ,but the young man who throws back to the likeness of a tainted race ought1 surely1 to take to the debts on his inheritance1 that is1 to the punishment due to wickedness4 ,antigonus was not punished because of ,demetrius1 nor--to go back to the heroes of old--,phyleus for ,augeas1 nor ,nestor ,sidenote3 #efc for ,neleus4 ,these all came of bad sires1 but were good4 ,but where natural disposition has embraced and adopted the family failing1 in those cases ,justice pursues and visits to the uttermost the likeness in vice4 ,for as warts and spots and moles of parents disappear in their children1 but return on the persons of grandchildren2 as again a ,greek woman had borne a black child1 and when charged with adultery1 discovered that she was of ,ethiopian parentage in the fourth degree2 and as1 yet again1 out of the sons of ,nisibeus1 lately dead1 who was reported to be related to the 8,sown ,men0 of ,thebes1 one reproduced ,sidenote3 ,b the mark of a spear on his body--family likeness re-emerging from the depths1 after such long intervals--1 even so it is often the case that characteristics and affections of the soul are concealed and submerged in the early generations1 but afterwards break out again in later individuals1 and ,nature restores the familiar type1 for vice or for virtue4' ,,xxii4 ,when ,i had spoken thus ,i remained silent4 ,olympicus laughed quietly1 and said3 #8,we are not applauding you1 lest we should seem to be letting you off the myth1 as though the demonstration of your view were sufficient without it2 when we have heard it1 we will give judgement4' ,so ,i went on to tell them3 #8,thespesius of ,soli1 a kinsman and friend of that ,protogenes who has been with us here1 after an early life ,sidenote3 ,c of great profligacy1 quickly ran through his fortune1 changed his ways perforce1 and took to the pursuit of wealth2 when he had the usual experience of the profligates who do not keep their wives when they have them1 but cast them away and try wrongfully to get their favours when united to other men4 ,he stopped at nothing disgraceful if it led to enjoyment or gain1 and in a short time got together an inconsiderable fortune and a mighty reputation for evil4 ,what hit him hardest was an answer ,sidenote3 ,d delivered to him by the oracle of ,amphilochus4 ,it appears that he had sent to ask the ,god 8whether he will do better the rest of his life80#bdb ,the answer was that he 8will live better when he has died04 ,and sure enough this1 in a way1 so fell out not long afterwards4 ,he fell over from a high place1 upon his head2 there was no wound1 but he appeared to die of the mere blow1 and on the third day1 at the very time of the funeral1 revived4 ,he quickly recovered his strength1 and came to himself1 and the change of life which followed was incredible4 ,for the ,cilicians know of no man more fair in all business relations1 or more holy in religious duties1 so formidable a foe or so faithful a friend4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,hence those who were brought into contact with him were very curious to hear the cause of the difference1 thinking that a character so completely remodelled must have been the result of no trifling experience4 ,and so it truly was1 according to the story related by him to ,protogenes1 and other equally considerate friends4 ,for1 when sentience left his body1 he felt affected by a change1 as a helmsman might do when first plunged overboard into the depth of the sea2 then1 recovering a little1 he seemed to himself to breathe all over and to look around1 while his soul opened like one great eye4 ,but he saw ,sidenote3 ,f nothing of what he had been seeing before1 only stars of vast size1 at infinite distances from one another1 each emitting a ray of marvellous colour and of a tonic force1 so that the soul1 riding smoothly on the light1 as though over a calm sea1 was carried easily and quickly in every direction4 ,passing over most of the sights he saw1 he said that the souls of those who die make a flame-like bubble where the air parts as they rise ,sidenote3 #efd from below1 then the bubble quickly bursts1 and they emerge with human form but light in bulk1 with a movement which is not the same for all4 ,some bound forth with marvellous agility1 and dart upwards in a straight line1 while others whirl round together like spindles1 now with an upward tendency1 now a downward1 borne on by a mingled confused agitation1 which after a very long time1 and then with difficulty1 is reduced to calm4 ,most of them he did not recognize1 but seeing two or three persons of his acquaintance1 he tried to approach them and speak4 ,they would not hear him1 and ,sidenote3 ,b appeared not to be themselves1 but to be distraught and scared out of their senses1 shunning all sight or touch1 while they roamed about1 first by themselves2 then they would meet and embrace others in like case1 and whirl round in random indefinite figures of every sort1 uttering unmeaning sounds1 like cries of battle mingled with those of lamentation and terror4 ,others above1 on the extremity of the firmament1 were cheerful to behold1 often drawing near to one another in kindness1 and turning away from those other turbid souls2 and they would signify1 as it seemed1 their annoyance by ,sidenote3 ,c out drawing close together1 but joy and affability by opening and dispersing4 ,there he saw1 he said1 the soul of a kinsman1 but not very certainly1 for the man had died while he was himself a child4 ,however1 the soul drew towards him1 and said1 8,hail ,thespesius60 ,he was surprised at this1 and said that his name was not ,thespesius1 but ,aridaeus4 8,formerly so10 was the reply1 8but from now ,thespesius4 ,for you are not really dead1 but1 by some appointment of ,heaven1 have come hither with your sentient part1 the rest of your soul is left within the body1 as a light anchor4 ,let this be a sign to you now and hereafter2 the souls of the dead make no shadow1 and their eyes do not ,sidenote3 ,d blink40#bdc ,when ,thespesius heard this1 he drew himself together in deeper thought1 and as he gazed1 he saw a sort of dim and shadowy line which wavered as he moved1 while the others were transparent within1 all set around with brightness1 yet not all equally4 ,some were like the full moon at her purest1 and emitted one smooth1 continuous1 uniform colour2 over others there ran scales1 so to call them1 or slender weals2 others were quite dappled and strange to look upon1 branded with black spots like those on serpents2 others again showed open blunted scars4 ,then ,sidenote3 ,e the kinsman of ,thespesius 7for nothing forbids us to designate the souls in this way by the names of men7 began to explain it all to him1 as thus3 8,adrasteia1 daughter of ,zeus and ,necessity1 has been appointed to punish all crimes in the highest place2 no criminal has there ever yet been1 so small or so great1 as to pass unseen or to escape by his might4 ,but there are three modes of punishment1 and each mode has its proper guardian minister4 ,some men are punished1 at once in the body and through their body1 and these swift ,retribution handles2 her ,sidenote3 ,f method is a gentle one1 and passes over many crimes which ask for expiation4 ,those whose cure is a heavier matter are passed after death to ,justice by the daemon4 ,the wholly incurable ,justice rejects2 and these the third1 and the fiercest1 of the satellites of ,adrasteia1 whose name is ,erinnys1 chases1 as they wander and try to escape in all directions2 and it is pitiful and cruel how she brings them all to nothing and plunges them into the gulf which is beyond speech or sight4 ,as to the ,sidenote3 #efe other two modes of justification10 he went on1 8that which is wrought by ,retribution during life resembles the usage of barbarian countries4 ,for as in ,persia they pluck off and scourge the robes and the hats of men under punishment1 while their owners implore them to stop1 so punishments through money or upon the person get no close grip1 they do not fasten on the vice itself1 but are mostly for appearance and appeal to the senses4 ,but whoever makes his way here from earth unchastened and unpurged1 ,justice firmly seizes him1 with his soul naked and manifest1 having no place into which to skulk1 ,sidenote3 ,b that he may hide and veil his wickedness1 but eyed from all sides1 and by all1 and all over4 ,and first she shows him to good parents1 if such he has1 or to ancestors1 a contemptible and unworthy sight4 ,if these are all bad1 he sees them punished and is seen by them1 and so is justified during a long time1 while each of his passions is dislodged by pains and toils1 which as much exceed in greatness and intensity those which are through the flesh1 as a day dream may be clearer than that which comes in sleep4 ,scars and weals left by particular passions#bdd are more ,sidenote3 ,c persistent in some men than in others4 ,and look01 he said1 8at those motley colours upon the souls1 which come from every source4 ,there is the dusky1 dirty red1 which is the smear made by meanness and greed2 the fiery blood-red of cruelty and harshness4 ,where you see the bluish grey1 there intemperance in pleasures has been rubbed away1 and a heavy work it was2 malice and envying have been there to inject that violet beneath the skin1 as cuttle-fishes their ink4 ,for down on earth vice brings out the colours1 while the soul is turned about by the passions and turns the body1 but here1 when these have been smoothed away1 the final result of purgation1 and chastisement is this1 that the soul becomes radiant all over ,sidenote3 ,d and of one hue4 ,but as long as the colours are in it1 there are certain reversions to passion1 with throbbings and a pulsation which in some is faint and easily passes off1 in others makes vigorous resistance4 ,of these souls1 some1 being chastised again and again1 attain their fitting habit and disposition2 others are transferred into the bodies of beasts by masterful ignorance and the passionate love of pleasure2#bde for ignorance1 through weakness of the reasoning part and inactivity of the speculative1 inclines on its practical side towards generation2 while the love of pleasure1 requiring an instrument for intemperance1 ,sidenote3 ,e craves to unite the desires with their satisfaction1 and to have share in corporeal excitement1 since here is nothing save a sort of ineffectual shadow1 and a dream of pleasure without its fulfilment40 ,having said this1 he began to lead him on1 moving rapidly yet covering1 as it seemed1 a space of infinite extent with unfaltering ease1 borne upwards on the rays of light1 as though by wings1 until he reached a great chasm which yawned downwards4 ,there he was deserted by the supporting force1 and saw the other souls in the same case4 ,packing together1 like birds1 and borne down and around1 they ,sidenote3 ,f circled about the chasm1 which they did not venture to cross outright4 ,you might see it within1 resembling the caves of ,bacchus1 dressed in wood and greenery1 and gay with blossoms of flowers of every sort2 and it exhaled a mild and gentle breeze which wafted odours of marvellous delight1 and produced such an atmosphere as wine throws off for its votaries2 for the souls feasted on the fragrant smells and were relaxed into mutual kindliness4 ,all around a bacchic humour prevailed1 and laughter1 and every joy which the ,muses can give where men sport and are merry4 ,by this way1 he said1 ,dionysus went up to the ,gods1 and ,sidenote3 #eff afterwards brought ,semele2 it is called 8the ,place of ,lethe04 ,here he did not allow ,thespesius to linger1 even though he would1 but kept drawing him away by force1 explaining to him as he did so that the sentient mind becomes wasted and sodden by pleasure1 while the irrational and corporeal part is watered and pampered and suggests recollection of the body1 and1 from that recollection1 a yearning and desire which makes for generation 7genesis71 so named because it is a leaning towards earth 7,ge-neusis7#bdf when the soul is weighed down by moisture4 ,having travelled another journey as long as the first1 he seemed to be gazing into a mighty bowl1 with rivers discharging into ,sidenote3 ,b it1 one whiter than foam of the sea1 or snowflakes1 another with the purple flush of the rainbow1 others tinged with different hues4 ,from a distance each showed its proper ray1 but as he drew near the rim became invisible1 and the colouring was dulled1 and the more brilliant hues deserted the bowl1 leaving only the whiteness4 ,and there he saw three daemons seated close together in a triangle1 mingling the streams in certain measures4 ,now the soul-conductor of ,thespesius told him that thus far ,orpheus advanced1 when he was questing ,sidenote3 ,c for the soul of his wife1 and1 from not rightly remembering1 put out an untrue account among men1 namely that 8there was an oracle at ,delphi1 held by ,apollo and ,night in common1 whereas ,night has nothing in common with ,apollo4 ,really10 he said1 8this oracle is shared by ,night and the moon1 having nowhere an earthly bound1 or a single habitation1 but roaming over men everywhere in dreams and phantoms4 ,from here it is that dreams1 which are mingled1 as you see1 with what is deceitful and embroidered1 get so much simplicity and truth as they scatter abroad4 ,the oracle of ,apollo01 he continued1 ,sidenote3 ,d 8you have not seen1 nor will you ever be able to see it1 for the earthly element of the soul does not mount upwards or allow that2 it is attached closely to the body and bends downwards40 ,and as he spoke1 he led him on1 and he tried to show him the light coming1 as he said1 from the tripod1 resting on ,parnassus between the breasts of ,themis4 ,earnestly desiring to see1 he saw nothing for the brightness4 ,but he heard1 as he passed1 a woman's shrill voice chanting in verse many things1 among them the time of his own death4 ,the daemon told him that the voice was that of the ,sibyl1#bdg who was singing about things to be1 as she was carried round on the face of the moon4 ,he ,sidenote3 ,e desired to hear more1 but was thrust off by the whirling of the moon to the opposite side1 as though caught in the eddies1 and only heard scraps1 one of which was about ,mount ,vesuvius and the future destruction by fire of ,dicaearcheia1 and a fragment of song about the emperor of that day1 how that so good a man ,shall die upon his bed1 and end his reign4#bdh ,after that1 they turned to the sight of those under punishment4 ,at first they met only with repulsive and piteous spectacles4 ,afterwards1 when ,thespesius found friends and relations and intimates1 whom he could never have conceived of as punished1 enduring sore sufferings and penalties both ignominious and ,sidenote3 ,f painful1 and pitying themselves to him and weeping aloud2 and at last saw his own father emerging from a certain pit1 all over brands and scars1 reaching out his hand towards his son and not permitted to be silent1 but compelled by the warders to confess his infamous conduct to some strangers who had come with gold--how he had poisoned them1 and had escaped detection there on earth1 but had been convicted here1 how he had already suffered part1 and was now led to suffer the remainder--1 then he did not dare to supplicate ,sidenote3 #efg or to entreat for his father1 so great was his consternation and horror4 ,wishing to turn about and flee1 he saw no longer that gracious and familiar guide1 but was thrust forward by others of terrible visage1 because it was necessary that he should go through it all4 ,there he beheld the shadows of those who had been notoriously wicked1 and who had been punished on the spot1 not savagely handled as were the former ones1 because#bdi their trouble was in the irrational seat of the passions4 ,sidenote3 ,b ,but those who had passed through life under a veil or cloak of the appearance of virtue1 were compelled by others1 who stood around1 laboriously and painfully to turn their soul inside out1 writhing and bending themselves back unnaturally1 as the scolopendrae#bej of the sea1 when they have gorged the hook1 turn themselves inside out4 ,others they would flay1 and fold the skin back1 to show how scarred and mottled they were beneath it1 because the vice was seated in the rational and directing part4 ,other souls he said that he saw intertwined like vipers1 by twos or threes or more together1 gnawing one another out of spite and rancour for what they had suffered ,sidenote3 ,c in life1 or done4 ,and there were lakes lying side by side1 one of boiling gold1 one of lead1 exceeding cold1 and one of iron1 which was rough4 ,over these stood daemons1 as it might be smiths1 with tongs1 picking up by turns the souls of those whose wickedness came of greed and grasping1 and plunging them in4 ,when they had become all fiery and transparent in the burning gold1 they were thrust into the bath of lead2 and when frozen till they became hard as hailstones1 they were shifted on to the iron1 and there they became hideously black1 ,sidenote3 ,d and were broken up and crushed1 so hard and brittle were they1 and their shapes were changed4 ,then they were conveyed1 just as they were1 back to the gold1 enduring dire pains in the transition4 ,most pitiful of all1 he said1 was the case of those who seemed already quit of ,justice and then were seized up anew4 ,these were the souls whose penalty had come round to any descendants or children4 ,for whenever any one of these last came up and met them1 he would fall upon them in anger1 and shout aloud1 and show the marks of his sufferings1 reviling and pursuing1 while the parent soul sought to flee and hide ,sidenote3 ,e itself1 but could not2 for the torturers would run swiftly after and bring them to ,justice1 and force them through all from the beginning1 while they bewailed themselves because they knew the punishment before them4 ,and there were some1 he said1 to whom a number of their offspring were attached1 clinging to them just like bees or bats1 and jibbering in wrathful recollection of what they had suffered on account of their parents4 ,last of all1 while he was looking at the souls returning to a second birth--how they were violently bent and transformed into animals of every sort by the executioners of this task1 ,sidenote3 ,f who used certain implements and blows1 here squeezing together the limbs entire1 here twisting them aside1 here planing them away and getting rid of them altogether1 to fit into other characters and other lives--1 there appeared among these the soul of ,nero1 already in torment1 and pierced with red-hot nails4 ,for it the executioners had prepared the form of a viper1 as ,pindar describes it1 wherein the beast is to be conceived1 and live1 after having devoured its own mother4 ,and then1 he said1 there shone out a great light1 and from the light came a voice commanding them to shift ,nero to some other milder species1 and to fashion a beast to sing around marshes and pools1 for that he had paid the penalty of his crimes2 and moreover some benefit was due to him from the ,gods1 because he had freed ,sidenote3 #efh the best and most ,god-loving race1 that of ,hellas4 ,up to this point1 ,thespesius had been1 he said1 a spectator4 ,but as he was about to return1 he suffered a horrible fear4 ,for a woman of marvellous form and stature seized hold of him3 8,come here1 fellow60 she said1 8that thou mayest have a better memory of these things40 ,then she brought near him a rod1 such as painters use1 red-hot1 but another woman prevented her4 ,he1 sucked up by a sudden violent wind1 as out of a blow-pipe1 fell on to his own body1 and just opened his eyes on the edge of the tomb4' ,footnote #aii3 ,see p4 #cac4 ,footnote #bjj3 ,on the proverb #8,post ,lesbium ,cantorem'4 ,footnote #bja3 i4 e4 in the battle of ,amphipolis4 ,see ,thuc4 #e1 #aj and ,plut4 ,life of ,nicias1 c4 #i4 ,footnote #bjb3 ,orestes1 #dbj4 ,footnote #bjc3 #c1 #ch4 ,footnote #bjd3 ,see ,pausanias1 #d1 #ag4 ,footnote #bje3 ,fr4 #ifi4 ,footnote #bjf3 ,the author of this famous line is unknown4 ,footnote #bjg3 ,fr4 #eg4 ,footnote #bjh3 ,minos1 #cai ,c4 ,footnote #bji3 ,no specific passage can be identified with the words in the text4 ,for the sequel cp4 ,timaeus1 #cj ,a4 ,footnote #baj3 ,cp4 ,rep4 #f1 #ejh ,a4 ,footnote #baa3 ,see p4 #aha n4 #a4 ,footnote #bab3 ,this line is a continuation of the quotation from ,melanthius above4 ,footnote #bac3 ,cp4 ,aesch4 ,cho4 #cac1 c4 ,footnote #bad3 ,quoted several times as from ,pindar 7see ,fr4 #gg71 but perhaps rather ,simonides4 ,footnote #bae3 ,il4 #ae1 #fda4 ,footnote #baf3 ,cp4 ,aristot4 ,poet4 c4 #i4 ,footnote #bag3 ,w4 and ,d4 #bff1 #bfe4 ,footnote #bah3 ,laws1 #e1 #gbh ,c4 ,footnote #bai3 i4e4 under ,roman law4 ,see ,smith's ,dict4 ,ant41 s4v4 ,crux4 ,footnote #bbj3 ,rep4 #djf ,b4 ,footnote #bba3 ,see ,h4 ,richards in ,class4 ,rev4 vol4 #bi1 p4 #bce1 and1 for the quotation1 the ,life of ,lucullus1 c4 #a4 ,footnote #bbb3 ,fr4 #db1 and see ,jebb's ,introd4 to the ,electra of ,sophocles4 ,footnote #bbc3 ,see ,life of ,aristides1 c4 #f4 also ,dion ,chrys4 ,orat4 #fd4 ,footnote #bbd3 ,see ,life of ,cimon1 c4 #f4 ,footnote #bbe3 ,again quoted1 ,de ,curiosit4 #ebj ,a4 ,footnote #bbf3 ,eur4 ,ino1 ,fr4 #djc4 ,footnote #bbg3 ,fr4 #igj4 ,footnote #bbh3 ,see ,herod4 #b1 #acd4 ,footnote #bbi3 i4 e4 ,polyphemus4 ,see ,od4 #i1 #cge foll4 ,footnote #bcj3 ,see ,herod4 #ff1 #gd1 and ,pausan4 #d1 #beb1 and #h1 #ah4 ,footnote #bca3 ,from an unknown poet2 ,euphorion and ,arctinus are suggested4 ,footnote #bcb3 ,fr4 #abc4 ,footnote #bcc3 ,hence a proverb applied to what was second-rate4 ,footnote #bcd3 ,arist4 ,h4 ,a4 #i1 #c1 #faj b #bi4 ,footnote #bce3 ,see ,thuc4 #b1 #dh2 also ,plague and ,pestilence in ,literature and ,art1 by ,raymond ,crawfurd1 ,m4,d41 chap4 #b and ,appendix4 ,footnote #bcf3 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,laws1 #d1 #gae ,a4 ,footnote #bcg3 ,fr4 #da4 ,footnote #bch3 ,il4 #f1 #adf4 ,footnote #bci3 ,fr4 #baa4 ,footnote #bdj3 ,w4 and ,d4 #gce-f4 ,footnote #bda3 ,eur4 ,fr4 #igj4 ,footnote #bdb3 ,i have transposed the verbs as suggested in ,wyttenbach's ,commentary4 ,footnote #bdc3 ,cp4 ,dante1 ,purg4 #c1 #ai foll4 ,the idea is ,pythagorean 7see ,quaest4 ,graec4 #dj1 p4 #cjj74 ,footnote #bdd3 ,cp4 ,plato1 ,gorg4 #ebd ,d4 ,footnote #bde3 ,see ,h4 ,richards in ,class4 ,rev41 vol4 #bi1 p4 #bcf4 ,footnote #bdf3 ,cp4 p4 #bae1 n4 #a4 ,footnote #bdg3 ,cp4 p4 #hi4 ,footnote #bdh3 ,probably a ,sibylline verse4 ,see ,suetonius1 ,life of ,vespasian4 ,footnote #bdi3 ,reading with ,c4 ,f4 ,hermann4 ,footnote #bej3 ,cp4 ,aristot4 ,hist4 ,anim4 #b1 #ad1 #eje b #ac1 and #aj1 #cg1 #fba a #f4 ,,from ,,the ,,dialogue #8,,on ,,the ,,soul' ,a ,,fragment ,preserved by ,stobaeus1 ,florileg4 #aai4bea ,i4 ,when ,timon had spoken thus1 ,patrocleas replied3 #8,your argument is as forcible as it is ancient1 yet there are difficulties4 ,for if the doctrine of immortality is so very old1 how is it that the fear of death is 8oldest of terrors0#beb8 ,unless1 of course1 it is this which has engendered all other terrors4 ,for there is nothing 8fresh or new0 in our mourning for the dead1 or in the use of those sad sinister forms of speech1 8,poor man60 8,unfortunate man60' ,,ii4 #8,but there'1 said ,timon1 #8we shall find a confusion of ideas between what perishes and what does not4 ,now when we speak of the dead as having 8passed away0 and being 8gone01 there is clearly no suggestion of anything actually harsh1 only of a change or transition of some sort4 ,where that change takes place for those who undergo it1 and whether it be for worse or better1 let us consider by looking into the other words used4 ,our actual word for death#bec1 in the first place1 does not appear to point to a movement downward1 or beneath the earth1 but rather to a mounting upward towards ,god of that which passes4 ,thus we may reasonably suppose that the soul darts out and runs upward1 as though a bent spring had been released1 when the body breathes it out1 and itself draws an upward vital breath4 ,next1 look at the opposite of death1 which is generation2 this word1 on the contrary1 expresses a tendency downward1 an inclination to earth#bed of that which at the time of death again speeds upward4 ,hence1 too1 we call our natal day by a name which means a beginning of evils and of great troubles4#bee ,perhaps we shall see the same thing even more clearly from another set of words4 ,a man when he dies is said to be 8released01 and death called a 8release0--if you ask the question 8from what801 a release from body#bef--;for body is called dmas1 because the soul is kept in bondage in it1 contrary to nature1 nothing being forcibly detained in a place which is natural to it4 ,a further play upon this 8bondage0 and 8force0 gives the word 8life01 as ,homer1#beg ,i think1 uses ,hesperus for the feminine 8evening01 and so1 in contrast to 8life01 the dead is said to come to his rest1 released from a great and unnatural stress4 ,so with the change and reconstitution of the soul into the ,whole2 we say that it has perished when it has made its way thither2 while here it does not know this unless at the actual approach of death1 when it undergoes such an experience as those do who are initiated into great mysteries4 ,thus death and initiation closely correspond1 word to word1#beh and thing to thing4 ,at first there are wanderings1 and laborious circuits1 and journeyings through the dark1 full of misgivings where there is no consummation2 then1 before the very end1 come terrors of every kind1 shivers1 and trembling1 and sweat1 and amazement4 ,after this1 a wonderful light meets the wanderer2 he is admitted into pure meadow lands1 where are voices1 and dances1 and the majesty of holy sounds and sacred visions4 ,here the newly initiate1 all rites completed1 is at large2 he walks at large like the dedicated victim with a crown on his head1 and joins in high revelry2 he converses with pure and holy men1 and surveys the uninitiate unpurified crowd here below in the dirt and darkness1 trampled by its own feet and packed together2 through fear of death remaining in its ills1 because it does not believe in the blessings which are beyond4 ,for that the conjunction of soul with body1 and its imprisonment1 are against nature1 you may clearly see from this4' ,,iii4 #8,from what8' said ,patrocleas4 #8,from the fact that of all our experiences sleep is the most agreeable4 ,first1 it always extinguishes any perception of pain1 because its pleasure is mingled with so much that is familiar1 secondly1 it overpowers all other appetites1 even the most vehement4 ,for even those who are devoted to the body become disinclined for pleasure when sleep comes on1 and when they slumber reject loving embraces4 ,why dwell on this8 ,when sleep takes possession1 it excludes even the pleasure which comes from learning1 and discussion1 and philosophic thought1 as though a smooth deep stream swept the soul along4 ,all pleasure1 perhaps1 is by its essence and nature a respite from pain1 but of sleep this is absolutely true4 ,for1 though nothing exciting or delightful should approach from without1 yet we feel pleasure in a sound sleep2 sleep seems to remove a condition of toil and hardness4 ,and that condition is no other than that which binds soul to body4 ,in sleep the soul is separated1 and speeds upward1 and is gathered unto itself after having been strained to fit the body1 and dispersed among the senses4 ,yet some assert that1 on the contrary1 sleep immingles soul with body4 ,they are wrong4 ,the body bears its witness the other way1 by its lack of sensation1 its coldness1 and heaviness1 and pallor proving that the soul leaves it in death1 and shifts its quarters in sleep4 ,this produces the pleasure2 it is a release and respite for the soul1 as though it laid down a burthen which it must again resume and shoulder4 ,for when it dies it runs away from the body for good2 when it is asleep1 it plays truant4 ,therefore death is sometimes accompanied by pains1 sleep always by pleasure2 in the former case the bond is snapped altogether1 in the latter it gives1 and is slackened1 and becomes easier1 as the senses are loosened like parting knots1 and the strain which ties soul to body is gone4' ,,iv4 #8,then how is it'1 said ,patrocleas1 #8that we do not feel discomfort or pain from being awake8' #8,how is it'1 said ,timon1 #8that when the hair is cut1 the head feels lightness and relief1 yet there was no sense of oppression at all while the hair was long8 ,or that men released from bonds feel pleasure1 yet there is no pain when the chains are on8 ,or why is there a stir of applause when light is brought suddenly into a banquet1 yet its absence did not appear to cause pain or trouble to the eye8 ,there is one cause1 my friend1 in all these cases2 that gradual habituation made the unnatural familiar to the sense1 so that it felt absolutely no distress then1 but felt pleasure when there was release and a restoration to nature4 ,the strangeness is seen at once when the proper condition comes1 the presence of what pained and pressed by contrast with the pleasure4 ,it is exactly so with the soul3 during its association with mortal passions1 and parts1 and organs1 that which is unnatural and strange produces no apparent pressure because of that long familiarity2 yet when discharged from the activities of the body1 it feels ease1 and relief1 and pleasure4 ,by them it is distressed1 and about these it toils1 and from these it craves leisure and rest4 ,for all that concerns its own natural activities--observation1 reasoning1 memory1 speculation--it is unwearied and insatiable4 ,satiety is nothing but a weariness of pleasure1 when soul feels with body4 ,to its own pleasures soul never cries 8,enough02 but while it is involved in body1 it is in the plight of ,ulysses4#bei ,as he clung to the fig-tree1 and hugged it1 not from love of the tree1 but fearing ,charybdis down below1 so soul clings to body and embraces it1 from no goodwill to it or gratitude1 but in horror of the uncertainty of death1 ,for life the gods conceal from mortal men1 says the wise ,hesiod4#bfj ,they have not strained soul to body by fleshy bonds1 one bond they have contrived and one encompassing device1 the uncertainty of what comes after death1 and our slowness to believe2 since1 8if the soul were persuaded01 as ,heraclitus#bfa says1 8of all the things which await men when they have died1 no force would keep it back40' ,footnote #bea3 ,where it is ascribed to ,themistius4 ,it was reclaimed for ,plutarch by ,wyttenbach in the ,preface to his edition of the ,de ,sera ,numinum ,vindicta--,leiden #aggb4 ,footnote #beb3 ,in the ,dialogue 7,ne suaviter quidem1 c4 #bf7 in which the ,epicureans are attacked1 the #8hope of eternal existence' or #8desire to be'1 is spoken of as the #8oldest and greatest of loves'4 ,footnote #bec3 -- 4 ,footnote #bed3 --1 4 ,cp4 p4 #baj1 l4 #f4 ,footnote #bee3 -- 4 ,footnote #bef3 ,reading 1 for 4 ,see the ,lex4-,plat4 s4v4 4 ,footnote #beg3 e4g4 ,od4 #a1 #dbc4 ,footnote #beh3 --4 ,footnote #bei3 ,od4 #ab1 #dcb foll4 ,footnote #bfj3 ,w4 and ,d4 #db4 ,footnote #bfa3 ,fr4 #abb4 ,,on ,,superstition ,,introduction ,the drift of ,plutarch's remarkable ,treatise on ,superstition is well given in the opening words of ,bacon's famous ,essay3 #8,it were better to have no opinion of ,god at all than such an opinion as is unworthy of him4 ,for the one is unbelief1 the other is contumely1 and certainly superstition is the reproach of the ,deity4' ,the word--the same which1 in its adjective1 ,st4 ,paul applies1 almost in a good sense1 to the ,athenians of his day#bfb--;is correctly defined by ,theophrastus1 in his #8character' of the superstitious man1 as timidity with regard to the supernatural1 and this timidity at once passes into cowardice4 ,there is in this treatise a fighting spirit and a directness of attack unusual in ,plutarch1 who mostly speaks with academic balance about conflicting schools of thought4 ,thus it has been suggested that one or other of his writings against the ,epicureans may be intended to supply the required study #8,on ,atheism'4 ,there are many passages in the ,lives and also in the ,moralia where the author is seen to mediate between credulity and scepticism1 superstition and atheism2 usually showing a tendency to #8the more benign extreme'2 there is more to be lost by an undue hardening of the intellect than by a wise hospitality to beliefs and ideas which lie beyond strict proof4 ,here the attack is one-sided and uncompromising4 ,at the end of the treatise true piety is exhibited as a middle path between superstition and atheism4 ,this is not to be understood of a quantitative excess or defect4 ,piety in excess may induce a habit which deserves the name of superstition1 such as has been the fair butt of satirists in all ages1 and of humorists like ,theophrastus4 ,but ,plutarch is thinking not of excess1 but of perversion1 a piety directed to wrong powers1 or to powers conceived of in the wrong way4 ,there is a striking instance in the ,life of ,pelopidas 7c4 #ba71 when some of the prophets invited that great soldier to obey the warning of a dream by slaying his daughter1 for which there were ancient precedents4 #8,but some on the other side urged1 that such a barbarous and impious oblation could not be pleasing to any superior beings2 that ,typhons and ,giants did not preside over the world1 but the general father of ,gods and men2 that it was absurd to imagine any ,divinities or powers delighted in slaughter or sacrifices of men2 or1 if there were any such1 they were to be neglected1 as weak and unable to assist2 such unreasonable and cruel desires could only proceed from1 and live in1 weak and depraved minds4' ,the situation is saved by the good sense of the augur ,theocritus1 the same who plays a quaint and gallant part in the enterprise described in ,the ,genius of ,socrates2 and a chestnut colt takes the place of the daughter4 ,and there is no doubt on which side of the argument ,plutarch's sympathies lie4 ,an admirable running commentary on ,plutarch's treatise is supplied by the ,discourse on ,superstition of ,john ,smith1 the ,cambridge ,platonist 7#afah-eb71 here printed as an ,appendix to it4 ,like ,bacon1 ,john ,smith has written also a ,discourse on ,atheism1 from which it may be sufficient for the present purpose to quote the words of the ,son of ,sirach appended as his conclusion3 #8,o ,lord1 ,father and ,god of my life1 give me not a proud look1 but turn away from thy servants a ,giant-like minde' 7,ecclus4 #bc1 #d74 ,see1 for this whole treatise1 ,dr4 ,oakesmith's ,chapter ,,ix1 pp4 #agi foll4 ,,on ,,superstition ,sidenote3 #afd ,e ,the stream of ignorance and of misconception about the ,gods passed1 from the very first1 into two channels2 one branch flowed1 as it were1 over stony places1 and has produced atheism in hard characters1 the other over moist ground1 and this has produced superstition in the tender ones4 ,now any error of judgement1 especially on such matters1 is a vicious thing1 but if passion be added it is more vicious4 ,for all passion is #8deceit accompanied by inflammation'2 and as dislocations are more ,sidenote3 ,f serious when there is also a wound1 so are distortions of the soul when there is passion4 ,a man thinks that atoms and a void are the first principles of the universe2 the conception is a false one1 but does not produce ulceration or spasm1 or tormenting pain4 ,another conceives of wealth as the greatest ,sidenote3 #afe good2 this falsity has poison in it1 preys on his soul1 deranges it1 allows him no sleep1 fills him with stinging torments1 thrusts him down steep places1 strangles him1 takes away all confidence of speech4 ,again1 some think that virtue is a corporeal thing1 and vice also2 this is a gross piece of ignorance perhaps1 but not worthy of lament or groans4 ,but where there are such judgements and conceptions as these3 ,alas1 poor ,virtue6 so thou art but words1 ,and as a thing ,i was pursuing thee#bfc-- dropping1 he means1 the injustice which makes money1 and the intemperance which is parent of all pleasure--1 these it is worth our while to pity and to resent also1 because their presence ,sidenote3 ,b in the soul breeds diseases and passions in numbers1 very worms and vermin4 ,,ii4 ,and so it is with the subjects of our present discourse4 ,atheism1 which is a faulty judgement that there is nothing blessed or imperishable1 seems to work round through disbelief in the ,divine to actual apathy2 its object in not acknowledging ,gods is that it may not fear them4 ,superstition is shown by its very name to be a state of opinion charged with emotion and productive of such fear as debases and crushes the man2 he thinks that there are ,gods1 but that they are ,sidenote3 ,c grievous and hurtful4 ,the atheist appears to be unmoved at the mention of the ,divine2 the superstitious is moved1 but in a wrong and perverted sense4 ,ignorance has produced in the one disbelief of the power which is helping him1 in the other a superadded idea that it is hurting4 ,hence atheism is theory gone wrong1 superstition is ingrained feeling1 the outcome of false theory4 ,,iii4 ,now all diseases and affections of the soul are discreditable1 but there is in some of them a gaiety1 a loftiness1 a distinction1 which come of a light heart2 we may say that none of these is wanting in a strong active impulse4 ,only there is this common charge to be laid against every such affection1 that by stress of the active impulse it forces and ,sidenote3 ,d constrains the reason4 ,fear alone1 as deficient in daring as it is in reason1 keeps the irrational part inoperative1 without resource or shift4 ,hence it has been called by two names1 #8,deima' and #8,tarbos'1#bfd because it at once constricts and vexes the soul4 ,but of all fears that which comes of superstition is most inoperative1 and most resourceless4 ,the man who never sails fears not the sea1 nor the non-combatant1 war2 the home-keeping man fears no robbers1 the poor no informers1 the plain citizen no envy1 the dweller among the ,gauls#bfe no earthquake1 among the ,ethiopians no thunder4 ,the man who fears the ,gods fears everything1 land1 sea2 air1 sky2 darkness1 light2 sound1 silence2 to dream1 to wake4 ,slaves forget ,sidenote3 ,e their masters while they sleep1 sleep eases the prisoner's chain2 angry wounds1 ulcers that raven and prey upon the flesh1 and agonizing pains1 all stand aloof from men that sleep3 ,dear soothing sleep1 that com'st to succour pains1 ,how sweet is thy approach in this my need4#bff ,superstition does not allow a man to say this2 she alone has no truce with sleep1 and suffers not the soul to breathe awhile1 and ,sidenote3 ,f take courage1 and thrust away its bitter heavy thoughts about the ,god4 ,the sleep of the superstitious is a land of the ungodly1 where blood-curdling visions1 and monstrous whirling phantoms1 and sure penalties are awake2 the unhappy soul is hunted by dreams out of every spell of sleep it has1 lashed and punished by itself1 as though by some other1 and receives injunctions horrible and revolting4 ,then when they have risen out of sleep1 they do not scorn it all1 or laugh it down1 or perceive that none of the things which vexed them was real1 but1 escaped from the shadow of an illusion with no harm in it1 they fall upon a vision of the day and deceive themselves outright1 and spend ,sidenote3 #aff money to vex their souls1 meeting with quacks and charlatans who tell them3 ,if nightly vision fright thy sleep1 ,or hags their hellish revel keep1#bfg call in the wise woman1 and take a dip into the sea1 then sit on the ground1 and remain so a whole day4 ,ah6 ,greeks1 what ills outlandish have ye found1#bfh namely1 by superstition--dabbling in mud1 plunges into filth1 keepings of ,sabbaths1 falling on the face1 foul attitudes1 weird prostrations4 ,those who were concerned to keep music regular used to enjoin on singers to the harp to sing #8with ,sidenote3 ,b mouth aright'4 ,but we require that men should pray to the gods with mouth aright and just2 not to consider whether the tongue of the victim be clean and correct1 while they distort their own and foul it with absurd outlandish words and phrases1 and transgress against the divine rule of piety as our fathers knew it4 ,the man in the comedy has a passage which puts it happily to those who plate their bedsteads with gold and silver3 ,the one free gift of gods to mortals1 sleep1 ,why make it for thyself a costly boon8#bfi ,sidenote3 ,c ,so we may say to the superstitious man1 that the ,gods gave sleep for oblivion of troubles and a respite from them2 why make it for thyself a cell of punishment1 a chamber of abiding torment1 whence the miserable soul cannot run away unto any other sleep8 ,heraclitus#bgj says that #8waking men have one world common to all1 but in sleep each betakes him to a world of his own4' ,the superstitious has no world1 no1 not a common world1 since neither while he is awake does he enjoy his reason1 nor when he sleeps is he set free from his tormentor2 reason ever drowses1 and fear is ever awake2 there is no escape1 nor change of place4 ,,iv4 ,polycrates was a terrible tyrant in ,samos1 ,periander ,sidenote3 ,d at ,corinth1 yet no one continued to fear them when he had removed to a free and democratic state4 ,but when a man fears the sovereignty of the ,gods as a grim inexorable tyranny1 whither shall he migrate1 where find exile1 what sort of land can he find where no ,gods are1 or of sea8 ,into what portion of the world wilt thou creep and hide thyself1 and believe1 thou miserable creature1 that thou hast escaped from ,god8 ,there is a law which allows even slaves1 if they have despaired of liberty1 to petition to be sold1 and so change to a milder master4 ,superstition allows no exchange of ,gods1 nor is it possible to find a ,god who shall not be terrible to him who fears those of his country and his clan1 who shivers at the #8,preservers' and trembles in alarm before the beneficent beings from whom we ask wealth1 plenty1 peace1 concord1 a successful ,sidenote3 ,e issue for our best of words and works4 ,and then these men reckon slavery a misfortune1 and say3 ,a dire mishap it is1 for man or maid1 ,to pass to service of some ill-starred lord4#bga ,yet how much more dire is it1 think you1 for them to pass to lords from whom is no flight1 or running away1 no shifting4 ,the slave has an altar to flee unto1 even for robbers many temples are inviolable1 and fugitives in war1 if they lay hold of shrine or temple1 take courage4 ,the superstitious shudders in alarm at those very things beyond all others1 wherein those who fear the worst find hope4 ,never drag the superstitious man from temples2 within them is punishment and retribution ,sidenote3 ,f for him4 ,why more words8 #8,death is the limit of life to all mankind4'#bgb ,yes1 but even death is no limit to superstition2 superstition crosses the boundaries to the other side1 and makes fear endure longer than life4 ,it attaches to death the apprehension of undying ills1 and when it ceases from troubles1 it ,sidenote3 #afg thinks to enter upon troubles which never cease4 ,gates are opened for it into a very depth of ,hades1 rivers of fire and streams which flow out of ,styx mingle their floods2 darkness itself is spread with phantoms manifold1 obtruding cruel visions and pitiful voices2 there are judges and tormentors1 and chasms and abysses which teem with myriad evil things4 ,thus has superstition1 that ,god-banned fear of ,gods1 made that inevitable to itself by anticipation1 of which it had escaped the suffering in act4#bgc ,v4 ,none of these horrors attaches to atheism4 ,yet its ignorance is distressing2 it is a great misfortune to a soul ,sidenote3 ,b to see so wrong and grope so blindly about such great matters1 because the light is extinguished of the brightest and most availing out of many eyes when the perception of ,god is lost4 ,but to the opinion now before us there does attach from the very first1 as we have already said1 an emotional element1 cankering1 perturbing1 and slavish4 ,plato#bgd says that music1 whose work it is to make men's lives harmonious and rhythmical1 was given to them by ,gods1 not for wanton tickling of the ears1 but to clear the revolutions and harmonies of the soul from the disturbing impulses which rove within the body1 such as most often run riot1 where the ,muse is not or the ,grace1 ,sidenote3 ,c and do violence and mar the tune2 to bring them to order1 to roll them smooth1 to lead them aright1 and settle them4 ,but they whom ,zeus not loves 7says ,pindar7#bge ,turn to the sound a dim disdainful ear ,what time the ,muses' voice they hear4 ,yes1 they grow savage and rebellious1 as the tigers1 they say1 are maddened and troubled at the sound of the drum1 and at last tear themselves to pieces4 ,a lesser evil then it is for those who1 through deafness and a dulled ear1 are apathetic and insensible to music4 ,tiresias was unfortunate that he could not see his children and familiar friends1 but far worse was the ,sidenote3 ,d case of ,athamas and of ,agave1 who saw them as lions and stags4 ,better1 ,i think1 it was for ,hercules in his madness not to see his sons1 or feel their presence1 than to treat his dearest ones as enemies4 ,,vi4 ,what then8 ,comparing the feeling of the atheists with that of the superstitious1 do we not find a similar difference8 ,the former see no ,gods at all1 the latter think that they exist as evil beings4 ,the former neglect them1 the latter imagine that to be terrible which is kind1 that tyrannical which is fatherly1 loving care to be injury1 the #8unapproachable'#bgf to be savage and brutal4 ,then1 trusting to coppersmiths1 or marble workers1 or modellers in wax1 they fashion the forms of the ,gods in human shape1 and these they mould and frame and worship2 while ,sidenote3 ,e they despise philosophers and men who know life1 if they point them to the majesty of ,god consisting with goodness1 and magnanimity1 and patience1 and solicitude4 ,thus in the former the result is insensibility and want of belief in all that is fair and helpful1 in the latter confusion and fear in the presence of help4 ,in a word1 atheism is an apathy for the ,divine which fails to perceive the good1 superstition is an excess of feeling which suspects that the good is evil4 ,they fear the ,gods1 and they flee to the ,gods for refuge2 they flatter and they revile them2 they invoke and they censure them4 ,it is man's common lot not to succeed always or in all4 ,sidenote3 ,f ,they1 from sickness free and age1 ,quit of toils1 the deep-voiced rage ,of ,acheron for ay have left behind1 as ,pindar#bgg says2 but human sufferings and doings flow in a mingled stream of vicissitude1 now this way1 now that4 ,,vii4 ,now look with me at the atheist1 first when things cross his wishes1 and consider his attitude4 ,if he is a decent1 quiet person1 he takes what comes in silence1 and provides his own means of succour and consolation4 ,if he be impatient and querulous1 he directs all his complainings against ,fortune1 and ,sidenote3 #afh the way things happen2 he cries out that nothing goes by justice or as ,providence ordains1 all is confused and jumbled up2 the tangled web of human life is unpicked4 ,not so the superstitious3 if the ill which has befallen him be the veriest trifle1 still he sits down and builds on to his annoyance a pile of troubles1 grievous and great and inextricable1 heaping up for himself fears1 dreads1 suspicions1 worries1 a victim to every sort of groaning and lamentation2 for he blames not man1 nor fortune1 nor ,sidenote3 ,b occasion1 nor himself1 but for all the ,god4 ,from that quarter comes pouring upon him1 he says1 a ,heaven-sent stream of woe2 he is punished thus by the ,gods not because he is unfortunate1 but because he is specially hated by them1 all that he suffers is his own proper deserts4 ,then the atheist1 when he is sick1 reckons up his own surfeitings1 carouses1 irregularities in diet1 or over-fatigues1 or unaccustomed changes of climate or place4 ,or1 again1 if he have met with political reverses1 become unpopular or discredited in high quarters1 he seeks for the cause in himself or his party4 ,where my transgression8 or what have ,i done8 what duty omitted8#bgh ,but to the superstitious every infirmity of his body1 every ,sidenote3 ,c loss of money1 any death of a child1 foul weather and failures in politics1 are reckoned for blows from the ,god and assaults of the fiend4 ,hence he does not even take courage to help himself1 to get rid of the trouble1 or to remedy it1 or make resistance1 lest he should seem to be fighting the ,gods1 and resisting when punished4 ,so the doctor is thrust out of the sick man's chamber1 and the mourner's door is closed against the sage who comes to comfort and advise4 #8,man1' he says1 #8let me take my punishment1 as the miscreant that ,i am1 an accursed ,sidenote3 ,d object of hate to ,gods and daemons4' ,it is open to a man who has no conviction that there are ,gods1 when suffering from some great grief and trouble1 to wipe away a tear1 to cut his hair1 to put off his mourning4 ,how are you going to address the superstitious in like case1 wherein to bring him help8 ,he sits outside1 clothed in sackcloth1 or with filthy rags hanging about him1 as often as not rolling naked in the mud1 while he recites errors and misdoings of his own1 how he ate this1 or drank that1 or walked on a road which the spirit did not allow4 ,at the very best1 if he have taken superstition in a mild form1 he sits in the house fumigating and purifying himself4 ,the old women #8make a peg of him'1 as ,bion says1 and on it they hang--whatever ,sidenote3 ,e they choose to bring6 ,,viii4 ,they say that ,tiribazus1 when arrested by the ,persians1 drew his scimitar1 being a powerful man1 and fought for his life2 then1 when they loudly protested that the arrest was by the king's orders1 at once dropped his point1 and held out his hands to be tied4 ,is not this just what happens in the case before us8 ,other men make a fight against mischances and thrust all aside1 that they may devise ways of escape and evade what is unwelcome to themselves4 ,but the superstitious man listens to nobody1 and addresses himself thus3 #8,poor wretch1 ,sidenote3 ,f thy sufferings come from ,providence1 and by the order of the ,god4' ,so he flings away all hope1 gives himself up1 flies1 obstructs those who try to help him4 ,many tolerable troubles are made deadly by various superstitions4 ,midas#bgi of old1 as we are to believe1 dispirited and distressed by certain dreams1 was so miserable that he sought a voluntary death by drinking bulls' blood4 ,aristodemus1 king of the ,messenians1 during the war with the ,lacedaemonians1 when dogs were howling like wolves1 and rye grass sprouting around his ancestral hearth1 in utter despair at the extinction of all his hopes1 cut his own throat4 ,perhaps it would have been better for ,nicias#bhj1 the ,athenian ,sidenote3 #afi general1 to find the same release from superstition as ,midas or ,aristodemus1 and not1 in his terror of the shadow when the moon was eclipsed1 to sit still under blockade1 and afterwards1 when forty thousand had been slaughtered or taken alive1 to be taken prisoner and die ingloriously4 ,for there is nothing so terrible when the earth blocks the way1 or when its shadow meets the moon in due cycle of revolutions2 what is terrible is that a man should plunge#bha into the darkness of superstition1 ,sidenote3 ,b and that its dark shadow should confound a man's reason and make it blind in matters where reason is most needed4 ,glaucus1 see6 the waves already from the depth of ocean stirred1 ,and a cloud is piling upwards1 right above the ,gyrean point1 ,certain presage of foul weather4#bhb ,when the helmsman sees this1 he prays that he may escape out of the peril1 and calls on the ,gods that save2 but1 while he prays1 his hand is on the tiller1 and he lowers the yard-arm1 ,furls his mainsail1 and from billows black as ,erebus he flees4#bhc ,hesiod#bhd tells the farmer to pray to ,zeus below the earth and holy ,artemis before he ploughs or sows1 but to hold on to ,sidenote3 ,c the plough-handle as he prays4 ,homer#bhe tells us that ,ajax1 before meeting ,hector in single combat1 commanded the ,greeks to pray for him to the ,gods2 then1 while they were praying1 he was arming4 ,agamemnon1 when he had given orders to the fighters3 ,let each his spear set1 and prepare his shield1 then begs of ,zeus3 ,grant that this hand make ,priam's halls a heap4#bhf ,for ,god is the hope of valour1 not the subterfuge of cowardice4 ,the ,jews1 on the other hand1 because it was a sabbath1 sat on in uncleansed clothes1 while their enemies planted their ladders and took the walls1 never rising to their feet1 as though entangled in the one vast draw-net of their superstition4#bhg ,,ix4 ,such then is superstition in disagreeable matters and on ,sidenote3 ,d what we call critical occasions1 but it has no advantage1 even in what is more pleasant1 over atheism4 ,nothing is more pleasant to men than feasts1 temple banquets1 initiations1 orgies1 prayers to the ,gods1 and solemn supplications4 ,see the atheist there1 laughing in a wild sardonic peal at the proceedings1 probably with a quiet aside to his intimates1 that those who think this all done for the ,gods are crazed and possessed2 but that is the worst that can be said of him4 ,the superstitious man wants to be cheerful and enjoy himself1 but he cannot4 ,rife too the city is with heavy reek ,of victims slain1 and rife with divers cries1 ,the wail for healing and the moan for death4#bhh ,sidenote3 ,e ,so is the soul of the superstitious4 ,with the crown on his head he grows pale2 while he sacrifices he shudders2 he prays with a quivering voice and offers incense with hands that shake2 he shows all through that ,pythagoras#bhi talks nonsense when he says3 #8,we reach our best when we draw near to the ,gods4' ,for it is then that the superstitious are at their miserable worst2 the halls and temples of the ,gods which they approach are for them dens of bears1 lairs of serpents1 caverns of monsters of the sea6 ,x4 ,hence it comes upon me as a surprise when men say that ,sidenote3 ,f atheism is impiety1 but that superstition is not4 ,yet ,anaxagoras had to answer a charge of impiety for saying that the sun is a stone1 whereas no one has called the ,cimmerians impious for thinking that there is no sun at all4 ,what do you say8 ,is the man who recognizes no ,gods a profane person1 and does not he1 who takes them for such beings as the superstitious think1 hold a far more profane creed8 ,i know that ,i would rather men said about me that there is not1 and never has come ,sidenote3 #agj into existence1 a ,plutarch1 than that there is a man ,plutarch unstable1 shifty1 readily provoked1 revengeful over accidents1 aggrieved at trifles2 who1 if you leave him out of your supper party1 if you are busy and do not come to the door1 if you pass him without a greeting1 will cling to your flesh like a leech and gnaw it1 or will catch your child1 and thrash him to pieces1 or will turn some beast1 if he keep one1 into your crops1 and ruin the harvest4 ,when ,timotheus was singing of ,artemis at ,athens in the words3 ,wanderer1 frenzied one1 wild and inebriate6 ,sidenote3 ,b ,cinesias the composer rose from his place with #8,such a daughter be thine6' ,yet the like of this1 and worse things too1 do the superstitious hold about ,artemis3 ,she would burn a hanging woman1 ,she a mother in her pangs2 ,she would bring pollution to you ,from the chamber of a corpse4 ,in the crossways swoop upon you1 ,fix on you a murderer's shame4#bij ,nor will their views about ,apollo1 or ,hera1 or ,aphrodite be a whit more decent1 they fear and tremble at them all4 ,yet what was there in ,niobe's blasphemy about ,latona1 compared to what ,sidenote3 ,c superstition has persuaded fools to believe about that goddess1 how she felt herself insulted and actually shot down the poor woman's ,six daughters1 beauteous all1 six blooming sons1#bia so greedy of calamities for another woman1 so implacable6 ,for if the ,goddess had really been full of wrath and resentment of wickedness1 and felt aggrieved at insults to herself1 disposed to resent1 rather than to smile at human folly and ignorance1 why then she ought to have shot down those who lyingly imputed to her such savage bitterness1 in speech or books4 ,certainly we denounce the bitterness of ,hecuba as savage and beastly3 ,sidenote3 ,d ,in whose mid-liver ,i my teeth would set1 ,and cling and gnaw4#bib ,but of the ,syrian ,goddess superstitious men believe that if one eats sprats or anchovies1 she munches his shins1 fills his body with sores1 and rots his liver4#bic ,,xi4 ,how then8 ,is it impious to say bad things about the ,gods1 but not impious to think them8 ,or is it the thought of the blasphemer which makes his voice amiss8 ,we men scout abusive language as the outward sign of ill-feeling4 ,we reckon for enemies those who speak ill of us because we think that they also think ill4 ,now you see the sort of things which the superstitious think about the ,gods2 they take them to be capricious1 ,sidenote3 ,e faithless1 shifty1 revengeful1 cruel1 vexed about trifles1 all reasons why the superstitious must perforce hate and fear the ,gods4 ,of course he does1 when he thinks that they have been1 and will be again1 authors of his greatest ills4 ,but if he hates and fears the ,gods1 he is their enemy4 ,yet he worships1 and sacrifices1 and sits before their shrines4 ,and no wonder2 men salute tyrants also1 and court them1 and set up their figures in gold4 ,but #8in silence' they hate them1 #8wagging the head'4#bid ,hermolaus remained ,alexander's courtier1 ,pausanias served on ,philip's ,sidenote3 ,f bodyguard1 ,chaereas on that of ,caligula2 but each of them would say while he attended on his master ,sure thou shouldst rue it if my arm were strong4#bie ,the atheist thinks there are no ,gods1 the superstitious wishes that there were none2 he believes against his will1 for he fears to disbelieve4 ,and yet1 as ,tantalus would gladly slip from beneath the stone swinging over his head1 so is it with the superstitious and his fear1 a pressure no less sore4 ,he would reckon the atheist's mood a blessed one1 for there is freedom in it4 ,as things are1 the atheist is quite clear of superstition2 the superstitious is at heart an atheist1 only too weak to believe what he wishes to believe about the ,gods4 ,sidenote3 #aga ,,xii4 ,again1 the atheist is in no sense responsible for superstition1 whereas superstition provides atheism with a principle which brings it into being1 and then an apology for its existence which is neither true nor honest1 but is in a sense colourable4 ,for it is not because they find anything to blame in sky1 or stars1 or seasons1 or cycles of the moon1 or movements of the sun around the earth1 #8those artificers of day and night'1#bif or espy confusion and disorder in the breeding of animals or the increase of fruits1 that they condemn the universe to godlessness4 ,no6 ,superstition and its ridiculous doings and emotions1 words1 ,sidenote3 ,b gestures1 juggleries1 sorceries1 coursings around and beatings of cymbals1 purifications which are impure1 and cleansings which are filthy1 weird illegal punishments and degradations at temples--these give certain persons a pretext for saying that better no ,gods than ,gods1 if ,gods accept such things and take pleasure in them1 ,gods so violent1 so petty1 so sore about trifles4 ,,xiii4 ,were it not better then for those ,gauls#big and ,scythians to have had no notion at all about ,gods1 neither imagination nor record of them1 than to think that there are ,gods who take ,sidenote3 ,c pleasure in the blood of slaughtered men and who accept that as the supreme form of solemn sacrifice8 ,what8 ,were it not an advantage to the ,carthaginians to have had a ,critias or a ,diagoras for their first lawgiver and to recognize neither ,god nor daemon1 than to offer such sacrifices as they did offer to ,cronus8#bih ,it was not the case which ,empedocles puts against those who sacrifice animals3 ,father1 uplifting his son1 not marking the change of the body1 ,prays as he takes the dear life1 poor fool4 ,knowing and recognizing their own children1 they used to sacrifice them--nay1 the childless would buy children from poor parents and cut their throats as though they were lambs or chickens--1 and the mother would stand by dry-eyed and with ,sidenote3 ,d never a groan4 ,if she should groan or weep1 she would have to lose the merit1 and the child was sacrificed all the same1 while the whole space in front of the shrine was filled with the rattle of drums and the din of fifes1 in order that the sound of the wailing might be drowned4 ,suppose that ,typhons1 say1 or ,giants1 had turned out the ,gods and were our rulers1 in what sacrifices but these would they delight1 or what other solemnities would they require8 ,amestris1#bii wife of ,xerxes1 buried twelve men alive1 as her own offering to ,hades1 who1 as ,plato#cjj tells us1 is ,sidenote3 ,e kind and wise and detains souls by persuasion and reason1 and so has been named #8,hades'4 ,xenophanes1#cja the natural philosopher1 when he saw the ,egyptians beating their breasts and wailing at their feasts1 gave them a home lesson3 #8,if these are ,gods1 do not mourn them2 if men1 why sacrifice to them8 ,,xiv4 ,there is no sort of disease so capricious and so varied in emotions1 such a medley of opposite1 or rather conflicting1 opinions1 as is that of superstition4 ,we must flee from it then1 but as safety and advantage point1 not like men who run for their lives from robbers or beasts or fire1 never looking round or using their heads1 and plunge into pathless wastes with pits and ,sidenote3 ,f precipices4 ,for that is how some flee from superstition and plunge into a rough and flinty atheism1 overleaping ,piety seated in the middle space4 ,footnote #bfb3 ,polybius 7#f1 #ef7 points to #8,deisidaimonia' as the force which has held the ,roman ,commonwealth together1 and kept the ,romans honest4 ,footnote #bfc3 ,see ,nauck1 p4 #iaj 7,hercules speaks74 ,footnote #bfd3 --3 --4 ,footnote #bfe3 ,cf4 ,aristot4 ,eth4 ,nic4 #c1 #g4 ,footnote #bff3 ,eur4 ,or4 #baa-ab4 ,footnote #bfg3 ,nauck1 p4 #iaj1 ,fragm4 #cge 7probably from ,aeschylus74 ,footnote #bfh3 ,eur4 ,tro4 #gei4 ,footnote #bfi3 ,meineke #d1 p4 #fgj4 ,footnote #bgj3 ,fr4 #ie4 ,footnote #bga3 ,nauck1 ,fragm4 adespota1 #cgf4 ,footnote #bgb3 ,dem4 de ,cor41 s4 #ig4 ,footnote #bgc3 ,a difficult passage4 ,i follow ,w4's suggested restoration4 ,footnote #bgd3 ,tim4 #dg ,c1 c4 ,footnote #bge3 ,pyth4 #a1 #be4 ,footnote #bgf3 ,or perhaps #8that which knows no wrath'4 ,footnote #bgg3 ,fr4 #adc1 quoted twice elsewhere by ,plutarch4 ,footnote #bgh3 ,pythag4 ,carm4 ,aur4 #db4 ,footnote #bgi3 ,see ,life of ,t4 ,q4 ,flamin4 c4 #bj4 ,footnote #bhj3 ,life of ,nicias1 c4 #bc4 ,thuc4 #g1 #ej1 #hf4 ,footnote #bha3 i4e4 as the moon plunges into the shadow of the earth4 ,see p4 #bfi4 ,footnote #bhb3 ,archilochus1 ,fr4 #ed1 ,bergk4 ,footnote #bhc3 ,nauck1 ,fragm4 adespota1 #cgg4 ,footnote #bhd3 ,w4 and ,d4 #dfe foll4 ,footnote #bhe3 ,il4 #g1 #aic foll4 ,footnote #bhf3 ,il4 #b1 #chb1 #dad4 ,footnote #bhg3 #a ,maccab4 #b1 #cb foll4 ,footnote #bhh3 ,soph4 ,o4 ,t4 #d4 ,footnote #bhi3 ,see p4 #abc4 ,footnote #bij3 ,in the main from ,wyttenbach's reconstruction of this desperate passage4 ,footnote #bia3 ,il4 #bd1 #fjd4 ,footnote #bib3 ,il4 #bd1 #bab4 ,footnote #bic3 ,cp4 ,menander1 ,fragm4 of ,demiurgus1 ,meineke #d1 p4 #ajb4 ,footnote #bid3 ,soph4 ,ant4 #bia4 ,footnote #bie3 ,il4 #bb1 #bj4 ,footnote #bif3 ,plat4 ,tim4 #dj ,e4 ,footnote #big3 ,see ,strabo1 #d1 c4 #d4 ,footnote #bih3 ,cp4 p4 #ahc4 ,footnote #bii3 ,herod4 #g1 #aad4 ,footnote #cjj3 ,crat4 #djc ,a1 #djd ,b4 ,footnote #cja3 ,cp4 ,arist4 ,rhet4 #b1 #bc1 #bg1 #adjj b #e1 where the ,eleatae are named4 ,,appendix ,a ,,short ,,discourse ,,of ,,superstition ,by ,,john ,,smith ,,the ,,contents ,,of ,,the ,,ensuing ,,discourse ,the true ,notion of ,superstition well express'd by 1 i4e4 an over-timorous and dreadful apprehension of the ,deity4 ,a false opinion of the ,deity the true cause and rise of ,superstition4 ,superstition is most incident to such as ,converse not with the ,goodness of ,god1 or are conscious to themselves of their own unlikeness to him4 ,right apprehensions of ,god beget in man a ,nobleness and ,freedome of ,soul4 ,superstition1 though it looks upon ,god as an angry ,deity1 yet it counts him easily pleas'd with flattering ,worship4 ,apprehensions of a ,deity and ,guilt meeting together are apt to excite ,fear4 ,hypocrites to spare their ,sins seek out waies to compound with ,god4 ,servile and ,superstitious ,fear is encreased by ,ignorance of the certain ,causes of ,terrible ,effects in ,nature1 c41 as also by frightful ,apparitions of ,ghosts and ,spectres4 ,a further ,consideration of ,superstition as a ,composition of ,fear and ,flattery4 ,a fuller ,definition of ,superstition1 according to the ,sense of the ,ancients4 ,superstition doth not alwaies appear in the same ,form1 but passes from one ,form to another1 and sometimes shrouds it self under ,forms seemingly ,spiritual and more refined4 ,of ,superstition ,having now done with what we propounded as a ,preface to our following ,discourses1 we should now come to treat of the main ,heads and ,principles of ,religion4 ,but before we doe that1 perhaps it may not be amiss to enquire into some of those ,anti-,deities that are set up against it1 the chief whereof are ,,atheism and ,,superstition2 which indeed may seeme to comprehend in them all kind of ,apostasy and ,praevarication from ,religion4 ,we shall not be over-curious to pry into such foule and rotten carkasses as these are too narrowly1 or to make any subtile anatomy of them2 but rather enquire a litle into the ,original and ,immediate ,causes of them2 because it may be they may be nearer of kin then we ordinarily are aware of1 while we see their ,complexions to be so vastly different the one from the other4 ,and first of all for ,,superstition 7to lay aside our ,vulgar notion of it which much mistakes it7 it is the same with that ,temper of ,mind which the ,greeks call 1 7for so ,tully frequently translates that word1 though not so fitly and emphatically as he hath done some others37 ,it imports an overtimorous and dreadfull apprehension of the ,deity2 and therefore with ,hesychius and are all one1 and is by him expounded 1 1 1 an ,idolater1 and also one that is very prompt to worship the ,gods1 but withall fearfull of them4 ,and therefore the true ,cause and ,rise of ,superstition is indeed nothing else but a false opinion of the ,deity1 that renders him dreadfull and terrible1 as being rigorous and imperious2 that which represents him as austere and apt to be angry1 but yet impotent1 and easy to be appeased again by some flattering devotions1 especially if performed with sanctimonious shewes and a solemn sadness of ,mind4 ,and ,i wish that that ,picture of ,god which some ,christians have drawn of him1 wherein ,sowreness and ,arbitrariness appear so much1 doth not too much resemble it4 ,according to this sense1 ,plutarch hath well defined it in his book in this manner1 1 1 a strong passionate ,opinion1 and such a ,supposition as is productive of a fear debasing and terrifying a man with the representation of the ,gods as grievous and hurtfull to ,mankind4 ,such men as these converse not with the ,goodness of ,god1 and therefore they are apt to attribute their impotent passions and peevishness of ,spirit to him4 ,or it may be because some secret advertisements of their ,consciences tell them how unlike they themselves are to ,god1 and how they have provoked him2 they are apt to be as much displeased with him as too troublesome to them1 as they think he is displeased with them4 ,they are apt to count this ,divine ,supremacy as but a piece of tyranny that by its ,soveraign ,will makes too great encroachments upon their ,liberties1 and that which will eat up all their ,right and ,property2 and therefore are lavishly afraid of him1 1 fearing ,heaven's ,monarchy as a severe and churlish ,tyranny from which they cannot absolve themselves1 as the same ,author speaks3 and therefore he thus discloseth the private whisperings of their minds1 1 1 c41 the broad gates of hell are opened1 the rivers of fire and ,stygian inundations run down as a swelling flood1 there is thick darkness crowded together1 dreadfull and gastly ,sights of ,ghosts screeching and howling1 ,judges and tormentors1 deep gulfes and ,abysses full of infinite miseries4 ,thus he4 ,the ,prophet ,esay gives us this ,epitome of their thoughts1 chap4 #cc3 ,the ,sinners in ,zion are afraid1 fearfulness hath surprized the hypocrites3 who shall dwell with the devouring fire8 who shall dwell with everlasting burnings8 ,though ,i should not dislike these dreadful and astonishing thoughts of future torment1 which ,i doubt even good men may have cause to press home upon their own spirits1 while they find ,ingenuity less active1 the more to restrain sinne2 yet ,i think it little commends ,god1 and as little benefits us1 to fetch all this horror and astonishment from the ,contemplations of a ,deity1 which should alwayes be the most serene and lovely3 our apprehensions of the ,deity should be such as might ennoble our ,spirits1 and not debase them4 ,a right knowledge of ,god would beget a freedome and ,liberty of ,soul within us1 and not servility2 1 as ,plutarch hath well observ'd2 our thoughts of a ,deity should breed in us hopes of ,vertue1 and not gender to a spirit of bondage4 ,but that we may pass on4 ,because this unnaturall resemblance of ,god as an angry ,deity in impure minds1 should it blaze too furiously1 like the ,basilisk would kill with its looks2 therefore these ,painters use their best arts a little to sweeten it1 and render it less unpleasing4 ,and those that fancy ,god to be most hasty and apt to be displeased1 yet are ready also to imagine him so impotently mutable1 that his favour may be won again with their uncouth devotions1 that he will be taken with their formall praises1 and being thirsty after glory and praise and solemn addresses1 may1 by their pompous furnishing out all these for him1 be won to a good liking of them3 and thus they represent him to themselves as ,lucian1 in his ,de ,sacrificiis c4 ,i speaks too truly1 though it may be too profanely1 1 4 ,and therefore ,superstition will alwaies abound in these things whereby this ,deity of their own1 made after the similitude of men1 may be most gratified1 slavishly crouching to it4 ,we will take a view of it in the words of ,plutarch1 though what refers to the ,,jews1 if it respects more their rites than their ,manners1 may seem to contain too hasty a censure of them4 ,superstition brings in 1 1 1 1 1 1 wallowings in the dust1 tumblings in the mire1 observations of ,sabbaths1 prosternations1 uncouth gestures1 and strange rites of worship4 ,superstition is very apt to think that ,heaven may be bribed with such false-hearted devotions2 as ,porphyrie1 ,lib4 #b1 1 hath well explained it by this1 that it is 1 an apprehension that a man may corrupt and bribe the ,deity2 which 7as he there observes7 was the ,cause of all those bloudy sacrifices and of some inhumane ones among the ,heathen men1 imagining like him in the ,prophet that thought by the fruit of his body and the firstlings of his flock to expiate the sinne of his ,soul4 ,micah #f4 ,but it may be we may seeme all this while to have made too ,tragicall a ,description of ,superstition2 and indeed one ,author whom we have all this while had recourse to1 seemes to have set it forth1 as anciently ,painters were wont to doe those pieces in which they would demonstrate most their own skill2 they would not content themselves with the shape of one ,body onely1 but borrowed severall parts from severall ,bodies as might most fit their design and fill up the picture of that they desired chiefly to represent4 ,superstition it may be looks not so foul and deformed in every ,soul that is dyed with it1 as he hath there set it forth1 nor doth it every where spread it self alike3 this that shrowds it self under the name of ,religion1 wil variously discover it self as it is seated in ,minds of a various temper1 and meets with variety of matter to exercise it self about4 ,we shall therefore a little further inquire into it1 and what the ,judgments of the soberest men anciently were of it2 the rather that a learned ,author of our own seems unwilling to own that ,notion of it which we have hitherto out of ,plutarch and others contended for2 who though he have freed it from that gloss which the late ,ages have put upon it1 yet he may seem to have too strictly confined it to a ,cowardly ,worship of the ancient ,gentile ,daemons1 as if ,superstition and ,polytheism were indeed the same thing1 whereas ,polytheism or ,daemon-worship is but one branch of it1 which was partly observed by the learned ,casaubon in his ,notes upon that ,chapter of ,theophrastus 1 when it is described to be 1 which he thus interprets1 ,theophrastus voce et ,deos et ,daemones complexus est1 et quicquid divinitatis esse particeps malesana putavit antiquitas4 ,and in this sense it was truly observed by ,petronius ,arbiter1 ,primus in orbe ,deos fecit ,timor-- ,the whole progeny of the ancient ,daemons1 at least in the ,minds of the ,vulgar1 sprung out of ,fear1 and were supported by it3 though notwithstanding1 this ,fear1 when in a ,being void of all true sense of ,divine goodness1 hath not escaped the censure of ,superstition in ,varro's judgment1 whose ,maxim it was1 as ,s4 ,austin tells us1 ,deum a religioso vereri1 a superstitioso timeri3 which distinction ,servius seems to have made use of in his ,comment upon ,virgil1 ,aeneid #f1 where the ,poet describing the torments of the wicked in hell1 he runs out into an ,allegoricall exposition of all1 it may be too much in favour of ,lucretius1 whom he there magnifies4 ,his words are these1 ,ipse etiam ,lucretius dicit per eos super quos jamjam casurus imminet lapis1 ,superstitiosos significare1 qui inaniter semper verentur1 et de ,diis et ,clo et locis superioribus male opinantur2 nam ,religiosi sunt qui per reverentiam timent4 ,but that we may the more fully unfold the ,nature of this 1 and the effects of it1 which are not alwaies of one sort1 we shall first premise something concerning the ,rise of it4 ,the ,common ,notions of a ,deity1 strongly rooted in ,mens ,souls1 and meeting with the ,apprehensions of ,guiltiness1 are very apt to excite the ,servile fear3 and when men love their own filthy lusts1 that they may spare them1 they are presently apt to contrive some other waies of appeasing the ,deity and compounding with it4 ,unhallowed minds1 that have no inward foundation of true ,holiness to fix themselves upon1 are easily shaken and tossed from all inward peace and tranquillity2 and as the thoughts of some ,supreme power above them seize upon them1 so they are struck with the lightning thereof into inward affrightments1 which are further encreas'd by a vulgar observation of those strange1 stupendious1 and terrifying ,effects in ,nature1 whereof they can give no certain reason1 as ,earthquakes1 ,thundrings1 and ,lightnings1 blazing ,comets and other ,meteors of a like ,nature1 which are apt to terrifie those especially who are already unsetled and ,chased with an inward sense of guilt1 and1 as ,seneca speaks1 inevitabilem metum ut supra nos aliquid timeremus incutiunt4 ,petronius ,arbiter hath well described this business for us1 ,primus in orbe ,deos fecit ,timor1 ardua clo ,fulmina cum caderent1 discussaque moenia flammis1 ,atque ictus flagraret ,athos-- ,from hence it was that the ,libri fulgurales of the ,romanes1 and other such volumes of ,superstition1 swelled so much1 and that the pulvinaria ,deorum were so often frequented1 as will easily appear to any one a little conversant in ,livy1 who everywhere sets forth this ,devotion so largely1 as if he himself had been too passionately in love with it4 ,and though as the ,events in ,nature began sometimes to be found out better by a discovery of their immediate ,natural ,causes1 so some particular pieces of ,superstitious ,customs were antiquated and grown out of date 7as is well observ'd concerning those ,charms and ,februations anciently in use upon the appearing of an ,eclipse1 and some others7 yet often affrights and horrours were not so easily abated1 while they were unacquainted with the ,deity1 and with the other mysterious events in ,nature1 which begot those ,furies and unlucky ,empusas 1 in the weak minds of men4 ,to all which we may adde the frequent ,spectres and frightfull ,apparitions of ,ghosts and ,mormos3 all which extorted such a kind of ,worship from them as was most correspondent to such ,causes of it4 ,and those ,rites and ,ceremonies which were begotten by ,superstition1 were again the unhappy ,nurses of it1 such as are well described by ,plutarch in his ,de defect4 ,oracul41 1 1 1 1 c4 ,feasts and ,sacrifices1 as likewise observations of unlucky and fatall dayes1 celebrated with eating of raw things1 lacerations1 fastings1 and howlings1 and many times filthy ,speeches in their sacred rites1 and frantick behaviour4 ,but as we insinuated before1 ,this ,root of ,superstition diversely branched forth it self1 sometimes into ,magick and ,exorcismes1 other times into ,pdanticall ,rites and idle observations of ,things and ,times1 as ,theophrastus hath largely set them forth in his ,tract 3 in others it displayed itself in inventing as many new ,deities as there were severall ,causes from whence their affrights proceeded1 and finding out many appropriate to them1 as supposing they ought to be worshipt cum sacro horrore4 ,and hence it is that we hear of those inhumane and ,diabolicall sacrifices called 1 frequent among the old ,heathens 7as among many others ,porphyry in his ,de abstinentia hath abundantly related7 and of those dead mens bones which our ,ecclesiastick writers tell us were found in their ,temples at the demolishing of them4 ,sometimes it would express itself in a prodigall way of sacrificing1 for which ,ammianus ,marcellinus 7an heathen ,writer1 but yet one who seems to have been well pleased with the simplicity and integrity of ,christian ,religion7 taxeth ,julian the ,emperor for ,superstition4 ,iulianus1 ,superstitiosus magis quam legitimus sacrorum observator1 innumeras sine parsimonia pecudes mactans1 ut stimaretur1 si revertisset de ,parthis1 boves iam defuturos3 like that ,marcus ,caesar1 of whom he relates this common proverb1 1 1 4 ,besides many other ways might be named wherein ,superstition might occasionally shew it self4 ,all which may best be understood1 if we consider it a little in that ,composition of ,fear and ,flattery which before we intimated3 and indeed ,flattery is most incident to base and slavish minds2 and when the fear and jealousy of a ,deity disquiet a wanton dalliance with sin1 and disturb the filthy pleasure of ,vice1 then this fawning and crouching disposition will find out devices to quiet an angry conscience within1 and an offended ,god without1 7though as men grow more expert in this cunning1 these fears may in some degree abate74 ,this the ancient ,philosophy hath well taken notice of1 and therefore well defin'd by 1 and useth these terms promiscuously4 ,thus we find ,max4 ,tyrius in his ,dissert4 #d concerning the difference between a ,friend and a ,flatterer4 1 1 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 1 4 ,the sense whereof is this1 ,the ,pious man is ,god's friend1 the ,superstitious is a flatterer of ,god3 and indeed most happy and blest is the condition of the ,pious man1 ,god's friend1 but right miserable and sad is the state of the ,superstitious4 ,the ,pious man1 emboldened by a good ,conscience and encouraged by the sense of his integrity1 comes to ,god without fear and dread3 but the ,superstitious being sunk and deprest through the sense of his own wickedness1 comes not without much fear1 being void of all hope and confidence1 and dreading the ,gods as so many ,tyrants4 ,thus ,plato also sets forth this ,superstitious temper1 though he mentions it not under that name1 but we may know it by a property he gives of it1 viz43 to colloque with ,heaven1 ,lib4 #aj1 de ,legibus1 where he distinguisheth of ,three kinds of ,tempers in reference to the ,deity1 which he then calls 1 which are1 ,totall ,atheism1 which he saies never abides with any man till his ,old age2 and ,partial ,atheism1 which is a ,negation of ,providence2 and a ,third1 which is a perswasion concerning the ,gods 1 that they are easily won by sacrifices and prayers1 which he after explaines thus1 1 1 c41 that with gifts unjust men may find acceptance with them4 ,and this ,discourse of ,plato's upon these three kinds of ,irreligious ,simplicius seems to have respect to in his comment upon ,epictetus1 cap4 #ch1 which treats about ,right ,opinions in ,religion2 and there having pursued the two former of them1 he thus states the latter1 which he calls as well as the other two1 as a conceit 1 1 1 quod muneribus et donariis et stirpis distributione a sententia deducuntur1 such men making account by their devotions to draw the ,deity to themselves1 and winning the favour of ,heaven1 to procure such an indulgence to their lusts as no sober man on earth would give them2 they in the meanwhile not considering 1 1 1 1 1 that ,repentance1 ,supplications1 and ,prayers1 c41 ought to draw us nearer to ,god1 not ,god nearer to us2 as in a ship1 by fastning a ,cable to a firm ,rock1 we intend not to draw the ,rock to the ,ship1 but the ,ship to the ,rock4 ,which last passage of his is therefore the more worthy to be taken notice of1 as holding out so large an ,extent that this ,irreligious temper is of1 and of how subtil a ,nature4 ,this fond and gross dealing with the ,deity was that which made the scoffing ,lucian so much sport1 who in his ,treatise ,de ,sacrificiis tells a number of stories how the ,daemons loved to be feasted1 and when and how they were entertained1 with such devotions which are rather used ,magically as ,charms and ,spells for such as use them1 to defend themselves against those ,evils which their own ,fears are apt perpetually to muster up1 and to endeavour by bribery to purchase ,heaven's favour and indulgence1 as ,juvenal speaks of the ,superstitious ,aegyptian1 ,illius lacrimae mentitaque munera prstant ,ut veniam culpae non abnuat1 ansere magno ,scilicet et tenui popano corruptus ,osiris4 ,though all this while ,i would not be understood to condemn too severely all servile fear of ,god1 if it tend to make men avoid true wickedness1 but that which settles upon these lees of ,formality4 ,to conclude1 ,were ,i to define ,superstition more generally according to the ancient sense of it1 ,i would call it ,such an apprehension of ,god in the thoughts of men1 as renders him grievous and burdensome to them1 and so destroys all free and cheerfull converse with him2 begetting in the stead thereof a forc'd and jejune devotion1 void of inward ,life and ,love4 ,it is that which discovers itself ,pdantically in the worship of the ,deity1 in anything that makes up but onely the ,body or outward ,vesture of ,religion2 though then it may make a mighty bluster2 and because it comprehends not the true ,divine good that ariseth to the ,souls of men from an internall frame of ,religion1 it is therefore apt to think that all its insipid devotions are as so many ,presents offered to the ,deity and gratifications of him4 ,how variously ,superstition can discover and manifest itself1 we have intimated before3 ,to which ,i shall only adde this1 ,that we are not so well rid of ,superstition1 as some imagine when they have expell'd it out of their ,churches1 expunged it out of their ,books and ,writings1 or cast it out of their ,tongues1 by making ,innovations in names 7wherein they sometimes imitate those old ,caunii that ,herodotus speaks of1 who that they might banish all the forrein ,gods that had stollen in among them1 took their procession through all their ,country1 beating and scourging the ,aire along as they went27 ,no1 for all this1 ,superstition may enter into our chambers1 and creep into our closets1 it may twine about our secret ,devotions1 and actuate our ,formes of belief and ,orthodox opinions1 when it hath no place else to shroud itself or hide its head in2 we may think to flatter the ,deity by these1 and to bribe it with them1 when we are grown weary of more pompous solemnities3 nay it may mix it self with a seeming ,faith in ,christ2 as ,i doubt it doth now in too many1 who laying aside all sober and serious care of true ,piety1 think it sufficient to offer up their ,saviour1 his ,active and ,passive ,righteousness1 to a severe and rigid ,justice1 to make expiation for those sins they can be willing to allow themselves in4 ,,on ,,the ,,face ,,which ,,appears ,,on ,,the ,,orb ,,of ,,the ,,moon ,a ,,dialogue ,,introduction ,plutarch's ,dialogue on ,the ,face in the ,moon is not a scientific treatise1 and its author would have disclaimed any intention of writing to advance science4 ,it is discussion for the sake of discussion1 the #8good talk' of which ,plutarch wished that ,athens should have no monopoly1 any more than she had when the ,boeotian ,simmias and ,cebes were among the trusted friends of ,socrates1 or1 later1 when #8plain living and high thinking' could be exhibited in lofty perfection in the ,theban home of ,epaminondas4 ,a mixed company1 which includes an astronomer1 another mathematician1 a literary man1 and professed philosophers 7there is no ,epicurean here71 with ,lamprias1 ,plutarch's brother1 for president1 discusses the movements and physical nature of the moon1 from many points of view4 ,reference is made throughout to a previous discussion at which ,lamprias1 and ,lucius1 another of the speakers1 had been present1 when a person called #8,our ,comrade' had dealt faithfully with the ,peripatetic view1 endorsed by the ,stoics1 that the moon is not of substance like our earth1 but is a fiery or starlike body4 ,this discussion had wandered into mystical theories as to the moon's office in the birth and death of human souls1 and her connexion with #8daemons'4 ,sylla has joined the present company with a myth to relate bearing on these deep subjects1 which had come to him at ,carthage as a traveller's tale4 ,its production is delayed until the end of the ,dialogue1 which it closes after the manner of a ,platonic myth2 the phrases with which it is opened and dismissed may be compared with those of the ,gorgias4 ,this double device1 of referring part of the matter to a former conversation 7as the ,e at ,delphi is a recollection of an old discourse by ,ammonius71 and part to a new and strange tale1 skilfully relieves this elaborate ,dialogue4 ,some difficulty is caused by the imperfect1 or doubtful1 condition of the text of the opening chapter1 as no complete explanation seems to be given as to the place or time of the former discussion4 ,probably this abruptness is intentional1 but the text requires careful attention4 ,perhaps this ,dialogue throws more light on the views about the solar system accepted or under discussion in the first century of our era than a scientific treatise could have done4 ,no reference is made to the great astronomical work of ,ptolemy1 which belongs to the second century1 and closed most questions until the sixteenth4 ,the estimate1 e4g4 of the moon's distance 7#ef earth's radii7 is not ,ptolemy's 7#ei74 ,some of the geographical details1 as that of the ,caspian ,sea1 seem to show that ,ptolemy's geographical work was not known to the ,author4 ,it may be useful to enumerate some of the simpler of the accepted views about the heavens 3 7#a7 ,that the earth is a ,sphere was known to ,pythagoras and allowed by ,plato 7,phaedo #aaj ,b71 and affirmed by ,aristotle1 ,de ,caelo1 #b1 #ad1 #big b #ah4 ,the moon1 and1 according to ,aristotle1 the stars1 are also spherical4 7#b7 ,that the moon derived her light from the sun was a discovery due to ,anaxagoras 7fifth century ,b4,c474 7#c7 ,the true cause of eclipses was known to the ,pythagoreans1 and is stated by ,aristotle1 and1 with more precision1 by ,posidonius4 7#d7 ,the inclination of the equator to the sun's path is stated by ,oenopides of ,chios 7a little after ,anaxagoras74 7#e7 ,that the moon revolves round the earth at a moderate distance is stated by ,empedocles4 7#f7 ,the other planets 7including the sun7 revolve round the earth at a distance vastly less than that of the fixed stars4 7,no actual estimate of the distances or sizes is given even by ,ptolemy1 who is not able to state a parallax for any1 or an angular diameter47 7#g7 ,that the planets share in the 7apparent7 daily motion of the stars1 and also have an 7apparent7 motion of their own in the reverse direction was held by ,pythagoras4 ,all these refer to physical facts and can be stated without the use of mathematical language1 though many of the discoverers were expert mathematicians4 ,gradually1 and certainly from the time of the great astronomer ,hipparchus 7about #acj ,b4,c471 attention came to be fixed upon the accurate mathematical interpretation of observed apparent facts2 in a favourite phrase1 the object was #8to save the phenomena'1 irrespective of physical and actual fact4 ,in the case of the moon1 the two lines of inquiry are less sharply divided than in that of other bodies4 ,very correct statements as to her size and distance from the earth may be gathered from ,plutarch's ,dialogue4 ,a guess is even hazarded that she is lighter than the earth1 bulk for bulk1 because of the action of fire in the past4 ,the mathematical account of the movements of the moon has its history4 ,as we have seen1 it was early realized that she revolved round and near the earth in a circular orbit4 ,soon it appeared that there were irregularities in this movement4 ,the #8,first ,anomaly'1 a difference of speed observed at different parts of the orbit1 was well understood by ,hipparchus4 ,it could be expressed1 so as to #8save the phenomena'1 by either of two methods1 both resting on the assumption that no curve except a circle was admissible1 and both superseding the ingenious but cumbrous arrangement of #8concentric ,spheres' known to ,aristotle4 ,one was that of #8movable eccentrics'1 where the orbit of the planet was round a point outside the earth1 itself shifting4 ,the other1 which prevailed1 and was finally adopted by ,ptolemy1 was that of epicycles1 circles described round points in the primary orbit1 by means of which the planet's motion could be retarded or quickened at will1 and its position modified4 ,by this device1 the visible movement could be1 and was1 recorded with great accuracy1 but sometimes at the expense of physical truth4 ,thus the epicyclic arrangement for the moon's orbit involved1 if closely looked into1 the consequence that her distance from us at nearest must be half that at the farthest1 and her angular diameter double6 ,kepler1 after the work of a lifetime 7#aega-afcj71 discovered the cause of this #8anomaly' in the shape of the orbit1 which is elliptical1 not circular1 and substituted #8eccentricity' for #8anomaly' as the key-word4 ,newton 7#afdb-agbg7 proved that a body revolving round another must move in an ellipse1 with the larger body at one focus4 ,thus the wheel had come full circle1 and physical and mathematical inquiry met after two thousand years of separation4 ,the #8,second ,anomaly' due to the action of the sun 7the #8,evection'7 was indicated by ,hipparchus1 worked out as a phenomenon by ,ptolemy1 and its physical cause explained by ,newton4 ,the inclination of the moon's path to the sun's was known to ,hipparchus as #e1 and the recession of her nodes was familiar to him4 ,a third anomaly now known as #8,variation' is instructive because its discovery has been claimed for an ,arabian astronomer of about ,a4,d4 #ajjj4 ,after an exhaustive discussion during the last century 7#ahcf-ga71 it seems to be proved that the claim rested upon a mistake1 and that the sole credit is due to ,tycho ,brahe 7see ,dreyer1 p4 #beb74 ,in fact1 whatever in astronomy does not belong to modern science is ,greek1 after allowing for what the ,greeks may have learnt in early ages from ,chaldaeans or ,egyptians4 ,the ,romans contributed nothing1 the ,indians learnt much from scientific men who accompanied ,alexander1 and used it skilfully1 but did not advance it4 ,and the modern makes a really continuous whole with the ancient ,greeks1 for it is not only astronomy which should be considered1 but the essential preliminaries1 such as the study of the ,conic ,sections1 which1 in its geometrical form1 is purely ,greek4 ,one authority to whom ,plutarch twice refers by name requires special mention4 ,this was ,aristarchus of ,samos1 who belongs to the middle or later part of the third century ,b4,c4 ,he is the author of a work on #8,the ,sizes and ,distances of the ,sun and ,moon' which is extant4 ,it was well edited by ,wallis for the ,oxford ,press in #afhh1 and more recently 7#aiac7 and in a modern form1 by ,sir ,thomas ,heath1 ,f4,r4,s41 who has prefixed an invaluable history of astronomy prior to ,aristarchus4 ,the book is rigorously mathematical1 and contains six #8hypotheses'1 and eighteen propositions deduced from them4 ,the second of the hypotheses1 #8,that the earth is in the relation of a point and centre to the sphere in which the moon moves'1 is quoted by ,plutarch1 apparently as being accepted by ,hipparchus4 ,the sixth1 #8,that the moon subtends one-fifteenth part of a sign of the ,zodiac 7i4 e4 #b7#81 raises a curious point which is fully considered by ,sir ,t4 ,heath4 ,that ,aristarchus should at any time have thus exaggerated 7multiplied by four7 a measurement which seems open to some sort of simple observation1 and have based good work upon it1 seems very strange1 firstly1 because he must have considered the matter1 7since he is aware that the same figure may stand for sun and moon72 and1 secondly1 because ,archimedes 7#bhg-bab ,b4,c471 whose knowledge and good faith are beyond question1 says that #8,aristarchus discovered that the sun appeared to be about one seven hundred and twentieth part of the circle of the ,zodiac 7#cj7#81 which is roughly correct4#cjb ,the fourth hypothesis runs3 #8,that when the moon appears to us halved1 its distance from the sun is then less than a quadrant by one-thirtieth of a quadrant 7i4e4 is #hg74' ,from this is directly deduced 7,hypothesis #f is not here used7 ,prop4 #g1 an elaborate proof that #8the distance of the sun from the earth is greater than eighteen times1 but less than twenty times1 the distance of the moon from the earth'1 quoted by ,plutarch in c4 #aj4 ,the fact assumed does not appear to be open to observation2 perhaps ,aristarchus1 or a predecessor1 arrived at it by comparing the average times taken by the moon over the first and second quarters of her orbit4 ,the true 7theoretical7 figure is #hi #ej4 ,the sequel is very interesting4 ,hipparchus1 a century later1 adopted the result in calculating the parallax of the sun1 which he found to be #c of arc 7more than twenty times too much74 ,this was adopted by ,ptolemy in the second century ,a4,d41 and remained the official estimate until nearly ,a4,d4 #agjj1 though both ,hipparchus and ,kepler had protested1 the latter stating as his opinion that the parallax could not be greater than one minute of arc1 or the distance less than twelve millions of miles4 ,shortly before ,a4,d4 #agjj improved knowledge of the orbit and distances of ,mars enabled the sun's parallax to be reduced to #i-a_/b seconds of arc1 and his distance stated at eighty-seven millions of miles1 which is not very inadequate4 ,it was a great achievement of ,aristarchus1 though he led the world into error1 to state a reasoned figure at all1 and to think in such mighty units4 ,his cosmical speculation is even more daring4 ,it is known to us from this ,dialogue 7c4 #f7 and also from ,archimedes1 who records it in his 7extant7 ,arenarius without comment4 ,aristarchus proposed to #8disturb the hearth of the universe' by his hypothesis that the heaven of the stars is fixed1 while the earth has a daily motion on her axis and an annual motion round the sun4 ,it was a brilliant intuition1 possible in an age of comparatively simple knowledge1 which could not easily have been advanced when the complexity of the several orbits was increasingly realized 7see ,dreyer1 pp4 #adg-h74 ,dr4 ,dreyer 7p4 #ade7 makes the interesting suggestion that ,aristarchus took the idea from some early form of the system of #8movable eccentrics'1 and1 further 7p4 #aeg71 that if that system had prevailed against that of epicycles1 it must have flashed1 sooner or later1 upon some bright mind1 that there was one eccentric point1 namely1 one in the sun1 central to the orbits of all the planets4 ,it is to be observed that #8,heraclides of ,pontus' 7at one time a pupil of ,plato's7 discovered the movement of the two inner planets round the sun4 ,it is possible 7as contended by ,sciaparelli7 that he believed all the planets to move round the sun1 and the sun round the earth1 in fact anticipated ,tycho ,brahe4 ,further1 there is a statement that he anticipated ,aristarchus as to the movement of the earth2 but ,sir ,t4 ,heath1 who examines the evidence very fully1 concludes that the evidence has been misread4 ,aristarchus certainly contended for the diurnal rotation of the earth1 but this was rejected by ,hipparchus and passed out of account for many centuries4 ,the history of the emergence of the heliocentric theory has a curiously close counterpart in that of the circulation of the blood4 ,harvey communicated his discovery to the ,college of ,physicians on ,april #ag1 #afaf1 but he had kept it back for twelve years out of deference to the great and deserved authority of ,galen1 which it was dangerous to dispute1 as ,copernicus held back his #8,treatise of ,revolutions' for thirty years1 because it was very dangerous1 even for the nephew of a ,bishop1 himself the ,canon of a cathedral far north of the ,alps1 to question the findings of ,ptolemy4 #8,yet for years the profession had been in latent possession of a knowledge of the circulation4 ,indeed a good case has been made out for ,hippocrates1 in whose works occur some remarkably suggestive sentences' 7see ,the ,growth of ,truth1 the ,harveian ,oration of #aijf1 by ,sir ,william ,osler1 ,m4,d41 ,f4,r4,s474 ,bacon1 who #8writes philosophy like a ,lord ,chancellor'--i4e4 seeks to eliminate error from facts stated1 and then to apply the law 7see ,de ,morgan1 ,bundle of ,paradoxes1 p4 #ej7--1 would have none of the ,copernican hypothesis4 ,nor would ,sir ,thomas ,browne1 though he preferred ,dr4 ,harvey's discovery #8to that of ,america'4 ,but truth will out1 at her own time and through the ministers of her choice4 ,behind the horseplay of the ,stoics and ,academics1 on the subject of the centre of the universe and the laws which light and heavy bodies obey1 there seems to lie some real groping after a general cosmic law1 such as gravitation4 ,thus the earth and the moon draw bodies1 each from its own surface to its own centre1 and if the earth draws the moon1 it is as a part of herself1 once ejected and now reclaimed4 ,there is no direct evidence of the time or place when this ,dialogue is supposed to take place1 nor of the date of its composition4 ,much of the matter is common to it with the ,dialogue ,on the cessation of the ,oracles1 one passage of which has been thought 7by ,adler7 to be an extract from it4 ,lamprias takes the principal place in both1 and ,plutarch is not present1 at least under his own name4 ,the solar eclipse mentioned in c4 #ai as recent would give a clue if it could be identified4 ,ginzel 7,spezieller ,kanon7 has selected three for special consideration1 viz41 those of ,april #cj1 ,a4,d4 #ei1 ,march #bj1 ,a4,d4 #ga1 and ,january #e1 ,a4,d4 #ge4 ,by the kindness of ,j4 ,k4 ,fotheringham1 ,esq41 ,d4,litt41 ,fellow of ,magdalen ,college1 who has made the laborious computation1 ,i am able to state the respective magnitude of these eclipses at ,chaeroneia as #aajh1 #aahb1 #ajch 7totality #ab74 ,thus ,ginzel's preference for ,no4 #b is confirmed2 it was there a large partial eclipse1 and the time of greatest phase was #aa hours #da minutes local solar time4 ,several stars would become visible1 #ff_/fg of the sun's diameter being obscured2 a few might be visible during ,no4 #a1 none during ,no4 #c4 ,,persons ,,of ,,the ,,dialogue #a4 ,,sextius ,,sylla1 the ,carthaginian1 mentioned in the ,life of ,romulus 7c4 #ae7 as #8a man wanting neither learning nor ingenuity'1 who had supplied ,plutarch with a piece of archaeological information4 ,elsewhere 7,de cohib4 ira1 c4 #a7 he is addressed as #8,o most eager ,sylla6' ,in another ,dialogue he declines to be led into a discussion on all cosmology by answering the question #8whether the egg or the bird comes first8' 7,sympos4 #b1 #c74 ,he has a story1 or myth1 to tell about the moon1 which he is impatient to begin4 ,this story1 which he had heard from a friend in ,carthage1 is mainly geographical in interest4 ,the details remind us of those quoted from ,pytheas about his journeys to ,britain and the ,northern ,seas4 ,the whole conception of the globe is clearly earlier than that of ,ptolemy 7see especially as to the ,caspian ,sea1 c4 #bf74 ,the myth also introduces us to the worship of ,cronus as practised at ,carthage1 and connects it with the wonders of the moon1 and her place in the heavenly system4 ,in c4 #ag ,,sylla raises a good point1 about the half-moon1 which was being passed over4 #b4 ,,lamprias1 a brother1 probably an elder brother1 of ,plutarch directs the course of the conversation1 and himself expounds the ,academic view1 referring to ,lucius for his recollections of a recent discussion at which both had been present1 when the ,stoic doctrines on physics had been criticized4 ,in some of the ,symposiacs and other dialogues ,lamprias takes a similar place2 in others both brothers take part4 ,lamprias probably died early4 #8,evidently a character1 a good trencherman1 as became a ,boeotian1 one who on occasion could dance the ,pyrrhic war dance1 who loved well a scoff and a jest 444 and who1 if he thrust himself somewhat brusquely into discussions which are going forward1 was quite able to justify the intrusion4'--,archbishop ,trench4 #c4 ,,apollonides1 astronomer and geometrician2 perhaps the latter would be the more correct designation4 ,in another ,dialogue 7,sympos4 #c1 #d7 a #8tactician' of the name appears4 ,as ,apollonius1 the great mathematician 7living about #bjj ,b4,c47 was also a geometrician who contributed to astronomical theory1 not himself an astronomer1 it seems likely that the name ,apollonides has been coined by ,plutarch for #8one of the clan of ,apollonius'1 i4 e4 a young professor of geometry4 ,apollondes is treated rather brusquely by ,lamprias1 certainly with less respect than ,menelaus4 ,he seems to have cast in his lot with the ,stoics in their physical opinions4 #d4 ,,aristotle1 a ,peripatetic4 ,perhaps the name was given to him to mark the ,school to which he belonged4 ,in the ,dialogue ,on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment an #8,epicurus' is a representative ,epicurean4 #e4 ,,pharnaces1 a ,stoic1 who sturdily supports his physical creed against all comers4 #f4 ,,lucius1 an ,etruscan pupil of ,moderatus the ,pythagorean1 spoken of in one place 7,sympos4 #h1 #g and #h7 as #8,lucius our comrade'4 ,he is elsewhere reticent as to the inner ,pythagorean teaching1 but is courteous and ready to discuss #8what is probable and reasonable'4 ,kepler is inclined to complain of his professorial tone and longwindedness in the present ,dialogue4 ,this is hardly fair1 as he is for the most part reporting a set discourse heard elsewhere1 and that by request4 ,lamprias has to give him time to remember the points 7c4 #g74 ,in c4 #e he asks that justice may be done to the ,stoics4 ,he associates himself with the ,academics on physical matters4 #g4 ,,theon 7see ,preface1 p4 xii71 represents literature 7as he does in other ,dialogues1 notably in that on the ,e at ,delphi74 ,he is a welcome foil to the more severe disputants4 ,in c4 #bd he interrupts by moving the previous question--#8,why a moon at all8' and is congratulated on the cheerful turn which he has given to the discussion4 ,theon may sometimes recall to readers of ,jules ,verne's pleasant ,voyage autour de la lune the sallies of ,michel ,ardan the poet4 #h4 ,,menelaus1 a distinguished astronomer who lived and observed at ,alexandria4 ,observations of his1 which include some taken in the first year of ,trajan1 ,a4,d4 #ih1 are recorded by ,ptolemy 7,magna ,syntaxis1 #g1 #c1 p4 #agj7 and other writers4 ,,analysis ,the opening chapters are lost4 ,there must have been an introduction of the speakers1 with some explanation as to time and place1 a reference to a set discussion at which some of the speakers had been present1 and a promise of ,sylla to narrate a myth1 bearing upon the moon and her markings1 which he had heard in ,carthage4 ,this conversation had taken a turn1 prematurely as ,,sylla thinks1 towards the mythical or supernatural aspects of the moon4 ,but see note 7#a7 on p4 #cji4 c4 #a4 ,it is agreed that the current scientific or quasi-scientific views on the markings of the moon's face shall be first considered1 then the supernatural4 cc4 #b-d4 ,,lamprias mentions 7i7 ,the view that the markings are due to weakness of human eyesight4 ,this is easily refuted4 7ii7 ,the view of ,clearchus1 the ,peripatetic1 that they are caused by reflexion of the ocean on the moon's face4 ,but ocean is continuous1 the markings are broken2 they are seen from all parts of the earth1 including ocean itself 7and the earth is not a mere point in space1 but has dimensions of its own72 and1 thirdly1 they are not seen on any other heavenly body4 c4 #c4 ,the mention of ,clearchus brings up the view1 adopted from him by the ,stoics1 that the moon is not a solid or earth-like body1 but is fire or air1 like the stars4 ,this view had been severely handled in the former conference4 c4 #f4 ,,pharnaces complains that the ,academics always criticize1 never submit to be criticized4 ,let them first answer for their own paradox in confusing #8up' and #8down'1 if they place a heavy body1 such as the moon is now said to be1 above4 ,,lucius retorts3 #8,why not the moon as well as the earth1 a larger body1 yet poised in space8' ,,pharnaces is unconvinced4 cc4 #g-ae4 ,to give ,lucius time to remember his points1 ,,lamprias reviews the absurd consequences from the ,stoic tenet that all weights converge towards the centre of our earth4 ,why should not every heavy body1 not earth only1 attract its parts towards its own centre8 ,again1 if the moon is a light fiery body1 how do we find her placed near the earth and immeasurably far from the sun1 planets1 and stars8 ,how can we assume that earth is the middle point of the ,whole1 that is1 of ,infinity8 ,lastly1 allow that the ,moon1 if a heavy body1 is out of her natural place4 ,yet why not8 ,she may have been removed by force from the place naturally assigned to her to one which was better4 ,here the tone of the speaker rises as he lays down1 often following the thought and the words of ,plato's ,timaeus1 the theory of creative #8,necessity' and #8,the ,better'4 c4 #af4 ,,lucius is now ready to speak1 but ,,aristotle intervenes with a reference to the view1 held by his namesake1 that the stars are composed of something essentially different from the four elements1 and that their motion is naturally circular1 not up or down4 ,,lucius points out that it is degrading to the moon to call her a star1 being inferior to the stars in lustre and speed1 and deriving her light from the sun4 ,for this1 the view of ,anaxagoras and of ,empedocles1 is the only one consistent with her phases as we see them 7not that quoted from ,posidonius the ,stoic74 cc4 #ag1 #ah4 ,to an inquiry from ,,sylla whether the difficulty of the half-moon 7i4 e4 how does reflexion1 being at equal angles1 then carry sunlight to the earth1 and not off into space beyond us87 had been met1 ,lucius answers that it had4 ,the answer given was3 7i7 ,reflexion at equal angles is not a law universally admitted or true2 7ii7 there may be cross lights and a complex illumination2 7iii7 it may be shown by a diagram1 though this could not be done at the time 7such a diagram is supplied by ,kepler71 that some rays would reach the earth2 7iv7 the difficulty arises at other phases also4 ,he repeats the argument drawn from the phases as we see them2 and ends with an analogy3 ,sunlight acts on the moon as it does on the earth1 not as on the air2 therefore the moon resembles earth rather than air4 c4 #ai4 ,this is well received1 and ,,lucius refers 7a second analogy7 to solar eclipses1 and in particular to a recent one1 to show that the moon1 like the earth1 can intercept the sun's light1 and is therefore1 like it1 a solid body4 ,the fact that the track of the shadow is narrow in a solar eclipse is explained4 c4 #bj4 ,,lucius continues his report1 and describes in detail what happens in a lunar eclipse4 ,if the moon1 he concludes1 were fiery and luminous1 we should only see her at eclipse times1 i4 e4 at intervals1 normally of six months1 occasionally of five4 c4 #ba4 ,,pharnaces and ,,apollonides both rise to speak4 ,,apollonides raises a verbal point about the word #8shadow'2 ,,pharnaces observes that the moon does show a blurred and fiery appearance during an eclipse1 to which ,,lamprias replies by enumerating the successive colours of the moon's face during eclipse1 that proper to herself being dark and earth-like1 not fiery4 ,he concludes that the moon is like our earth1 with a surface broken into heights and gullies1 which are the cause of the markings4 c4 #bb4 ,,apollonides objects that there can be no clefts on the moon with sides high enough to cast such shadows4 ,,lamprias replies that it is the distance and position of the light which matter1 not the size of objects which break it2 c4 #bc4 ,and goes on himself to supply a stronger objection--that we do not see the sun's image in the moon--and the answer4 ,this is twofold3 7a7 general1 the two cases differ in all details2 7b7 personal to those who1 like himself1 believe the moon to be an earth1 and to have a rough surface4 ,why should we see the sun mirrored in the moon1 and not terrestrial objects or stars8 c4 #bd4 ,sylla's myth is now called for1 and the company sits down to hear it4 ,but ,,theon interposes3 ,can the moon have inhabitants or support any life1 animal or vegetable8 ,if not1 how is she #8an earth'1 and what is her use8 c4 #be4 ,theon's sally is taken in good part1 and gravely answered at some length by ,,lamprias4 c4 #bf4 ,the mention of life on the moon calls up ,,sylla1 who again feels that he has been anticipated4 ,he begins his myth1 heard from a stranger met in ,carthage1 who had himself made the northward voyage and returned4 ,once in every thirty years 7or year of the planet ,saturn7 an expedition is sent out from ,carthage to certain islands in the ,northern ,atlantic where ,cronus 7,saturn7 reigns in banishment4 ,the stranger had charged ,sylla to pay special honour to the moon1 cc4 #bg-bi4 instructing him as to the functions of ,persephone in bringing about the second death--the separation of mind from soul--which takes place on the moon1 and the genesis of #8daemons'1 c4 #cj4 to whom are assigned certain functions on earth4 ,,sylla commends the myth to his hearers4 ,,of ,,the ,,face ,,which ,,appears ,,on ,,the ,,orb ,,of ,,the ,,moon ,i4 ,here ,sylla said3#cjc #8,all this belongs to my story1 and comes ,sidenote3 #ibj ,b out of it4 ,but ,i should like to ask in the first place whether you really backed on to those views about the moon's face which are in every one's hand and on every one's lips4' #8,of course we did1' ,i answered1 #8it was just the difficulty which we found in these which thrust us off upon the others4 ,in chronic diseases1 patients grow weary of the common remedies and plans of treatment1 and turn to rites and charms and dreams4 ,just so in obscure and perplexing enquiries1 when the common1 received1 familiar accounts are not convincing1 ,sidenote3 ,c we cannot but try those which lie further afield2 we must not despise them1 but simply repeat to ourselves the spells which the old people used1 and use all means to elicit the truth4 ,,ii4 #8,to begin1 you see the absurdity of calling the figure which appears in the moon an affection of our eyesight1 too weak to resist the brightness1 or1 as we say1 dazzled2 and of not observing that this ought rather to happen when we look at the sun1 who meets us with his fierce strong strokes4 ,empedocles has a pretty line giving the difference between the two3 ,the sun's keen shafts1 and moon with kindly beams4 ,thus he describes the attractive1 cheerful1 painless quality of her light4 ,further1 the reason is given why men of dim and weak eyesight do not see any distinct figure in the moon2 ,sidenote3 ,d her orb shines full and smooth to them1 whereas strong-sighted persons get more details1 and distinguish the features impressed there with clearer sense of contrast4 ,surely the reverse should happen if it were a weakness and affection of the eye which produced the image2 the weaker the organ the clearer should be the appearance4 ,the very irregularity of the surface is sufficient to refute this theory2 this image is not one of continuous and confluent shadow1 but is well sketched in the words of ,agesianax3 ,sidenote3 ,e ,all round as fire she shines1 but in her midst1 ,bluer than cyanus1 lo1 a maiden's eye1 ,her tender brow1 her face in counterpart4 ,for the shadowy parts really pass beneath the bright ones which they encircle1 and in turn press and are cut off by them2 thus light and shade are interwoven throughout1 and the face-form ,sidenote3 ,f is delineated to the life4 ,the argument was thought to meet your ,clearchus also1 ,aristotle1 no less unanswerably2 for yours he is1 and an intimate of your namesake of old1 although he perverted many doctrines of the ,path4' ,,iii4 ,here ,apollonides interposed to ask what the view of ,clearchus was4 #8,no man'1 ,i said1 #8has less good right than you to ignorance of a doctrine which starts from geometry1 ,sidenote3 #iba as from its native hearth4 ,clearchus says that the face1 as we call it1 is made up of images of the great ocean mirrored in the moon4 ,for our sight#cjd being reflected back from many points1 is able to touch objects which are not in its direct line2 and the full moon is of all mirrors the most beautiful and the purest in uniformity and lustre4 ,as then you geometers think that the rainbow is seen in the cloud when it has acquired a moist and smooth consistence1 because our vision is reflected on to the sun1#cje so ,clearchus held that the outer ocean is seen ,sidenote3 ,b in the moon1 not where it really is1 but in the place from which reflexion carried our sight into contact with it and its dazzle4 ,agesianax has another passage3 ,or ocean's wave that foams right opposite1 ,be mirrored like a sheet of fire and flame4' ,,iv4 ,this pleased ,apollonides4 #8,what a fresh way of putting a view2 that was a bold man1 and there was poetry in him4 ,but how did the refutation proceed on your side8' #8,in this way'1 ,i answered4 #8,first1 the outer ocean is uniform1 a sea with one continuous stream1 whereas the appearance of the dark places in the moon is not uniform2 there are isthmuses1 so to call them1 where the brightness parts and ,sidenote3 ,c defines the shadow2 each region is marked off and has its proper boundary1 and so the places where light and shade meet assume the appearance of height and depth1 and represent very naturally human eyes and lips4 ,either1 therefore1 we must assume that there are more oceans than one1 parted by real isthmuses and mainlands1 which is absurd and untrue2 or1 if there is only one1 it is impossible to believe that its image could appear thus broken up4 ,now comes a question which it is safer to ask in your presence than it is to state an answer4 ,given that the habitable world is 8equal in breadth and length01#cjf is it possible that the view of the sea as a whole1 thus reflected from the moon1 ,sidenote3 ,d should reach those sailing upon the great sea itself1 yes1 or living on it as the ,britons do1 and this even if the earth does1 as you said that it does1 occupy a point central to the sphere in which the moon moves8#cjg ,this'1 ,i continued1 #8is a matter for you to consider1 but the reflexion of vision from the moon is a further question which it is not for you to decide1 nor yet for ,hipparchus4 ,i know1 my dear friend that ,hipparchus is a very great astronomer1 but many people do not accept his view on the physical nature of vision1 since it is probably a sympathetic ,sidenote3 ,e blending and commixture1 rather than a succession of strokes and recoils such as ,epicurus devised for his atoms4 ,nor will you find ,clearchus ready to assume with you that the moon is a weighty and solid body4 ,yet 8an ethereal and luminous star01 to use your words1 ought to break and divert the vision1 so there is no question of reflexion4 ,lastly1 if any one requires us to do so1 we will put the question1 how is it that only one face is seen1 the sea mirrored on the moon1 and none in any of all ,sidenote3 ,f the other stars8 ,yet reason demands that our vision should be thus affected in the case of all or of none4 ,but now1' ,i said1 turning to ,lucius1 #8remind us which of our points was mentioned first4' ,v4 #8,no2' said ,lucius1 #8to avoid the appearance of merely insulting ,pharnaces1 if we pass over the ,stoic view without a word of greeting1 do give some answer to ,clearchus1 and his assumption that the moon is a mere mixture of air and mild fire1 that the air grows dark on its surface1 as a ripple courses over a calm sea1 and so the appearance of a face is produced4' #8,it is kind of you1 ,lucius1' ,i said1 #8to clothe this absurdity in sounding terms4 ,that is not how our comrade dealt with it4 ,he said the truth1 that it is a slap in the face to the moon when they fill her with smuts and blacks1 addressing her in one breath ,sidenote3 #ibb as ,artemis and ,athena1#cjh and in the very same describing a caked compound of murky air and charcoal fire1 with no kindling or light of its own1 a nondescript body smoking and charred like those thunderbolts which poets#cji address as 8lightless0 and 8sooty04 ,that a charcoal fire1 such as this school makes out the moon to be1 has no stability or consistence at all1 unless ,sidenote3 ,b it find solid fuel at once to support and to feed it1 is a point not so clearly seen by some philosophers as it is by those who tell us in jest that ,hephaestus has been called lame because fire progresses no better without wood than lame people without a stick6 ,if then the moon is fire1 whence has it all this air inside it8 ,for this upper region1 always in circular motion1 belongs not to air but to some nobler substance1 which has the property of refining and kindling all things4 ,if air has been generated1 how is it that it has not been vaporized by the fire and passed away into some other form1 but is preserved near fire all this time1 like a nail fitted into the same place and wedged there for ever8 ,if it is rare and diffused1 ,sidenote3 ,c it should not remain stable1 but be displaced4 ,on the other hand1 it cannot subsist in a solidified form1 because it is mingled with fire1 and has neither moisture with it nor earth1 the only agents by which air can be compacted4 ,again1 rapid motion fires the air which is contained in stones1 and even in cold lead1 much more then that which is in fire1 when whirled round with such velocity4 ,for they are displeased with ,empedocles1 when he describes the moon as a mass of air frozen like hail and enclosed within her globe of fire4 ,yet they themselves hold that the moon is a globe of fire which encloses air variously distributed1 and this though they do not allow that she has ,sidenote3 ,d clefts in herself1 or depths and hollows 7for which those who make her an earth-like body find room71 but clearly suppose that the air lies upon her convex surface4 ,that it should do so is absurd in point of stability1 and impossible in view of what we see at full moon2 for we ought not to be able to distinguish black parts and shadow then2 either all should be dull and shrouded1 or all should shine out together when the moon is caught by the sun4 ,for look at our earth2 the air which lies in her depths and hollows1 where no ray penetrates1 remains in shadow unilluminated2 that which is outside1 diffused over the earth1 has light and brilliant colouring1 because from its rarity it easily mingles1 and takes up any quality or influence4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,by light1 in particular1 if merely touched1 or1 in your words1 grazed1 it is changed all through and illumined4 ,this is at once an excellent ally to those who thrust the air into depths and gullies on the moon1 and also quite disposes of you1 who strangely compound her globe of air and fire4 ,for it is impossible ,sidenote3 ,f that shadow should be left on her surface when the sun touches with his light all that part of the moon which is framed within our own field of vision4' ,,vi4 ,here ,pharnaces1 while ,i was still speaking1 broke in3 #8,round it goes again1 the old scene-shifter of the ,academy brought out against us2 they amuse themselves with arguing against other people1 but in no case submit to be examined on their own views1 they treat their opponents as apologists1 not accusers4 ,i can speak for myself at any rate2 you are not going to draw me on to-day to answer your charges against the ,stoics1 unless we first get an account of your conduct in turning the universe upside down4' ,lucius smiled3 #8,yes1 my friend1' he said1 #8only do not threaten us with the writ of heresy1 such as ,cleanthes used to think that the ,greeks should have ,sidenote3 #ibc had served upon ,aristarchus of ,samos1 for shifting the hearth of the universe1 because that great man attempted 8to save phenomena0 with his hypothesis that the heavens are stationary1 while our earth moves round in an oblique orbit1 at the same time whirling about her own axis4 ,we ,academics have no view of our own finding1 but do tell me this--why are those1 who assume that the moon is an earth1 turning things upside down1 any more than you1 who fix the earth where she is1 suspended in mid air1 a body considerably larger than the moon8 ,sidenote3 ,b ,at least mathematicians tell us so1 calculating the magnitude of the obscuring body from what takes place in eclipses1 and from the passages of the moon through the shadow4 ,for the shadow of the earth is less as it extends1 because the illuminating body is greater1 and its upper extremity is fine and narrow1 as even ,homer1#caj they say1 did not fail to notice4 ,he called night 8pointed0 because of the sharpness of the shadow4 ,such1 at any rate1 is the body by which the moon is caught in her eclipses1 and yet she barely gets clear by a passage equal to three of her own diameters4 ,just consider how many moons go to make an earth1 if the earth cast a shadow as broad1 at its shortest1 as three moons4 ,yet you have fears for the moon lest she should tumble1 while as for our earth1 ,aeschylus#caa has perhaps satisfied you that ,atlas ,sidenote3 ,c ,stands1 and the pillar which parts ,heaven and ,earth ,his shoulders prop1 no load for arms t' embrace4 ,then1 you think that under the moon there runs light air1 quite inadequate to support a solid mass1 while the earth1 in ,pindar's#cab words1 is compassed 8by pillars set on adamant04 ,and this is why ,pharnaces has no fear on his own account of the earth's falling1 but pities those who lie under the orbit of the moon1 ,ethiopians1 say1 or ,taprobanes1 on whom so great a weight might fall6 ,yet the moon has that which helps her against falling1 in her very speed and the swing of her passage round1 as objects placed in slings are hindered from falling by the ,sidenote3 ,d whirl of the rotation4 ,for everything is borne on in its own natural direction unless this is changed by some other force4 ,therefore the moon is not drawn down by her weight1 since that tendency is counteracted by her circular movement4 ,perhaps it would be more reasonable to wonder if she were entirely at rest as the earth is1 and unmoved4 ,as things are1 the moon has a powerful cause to prevent her from being borne down upon us2 but the earth1 being destitute of any other movement1 might naturally be moved#cac by its own weight2 being heavier than the moon not merely in proportion to its greater bulk1 ,sidenote3 ,e but because the moon has been rendered lighter by heat and conflagration4 ,it would actually seem that the moon1 if she is a fire1 is in need of earth1 a solid substance whereon she moves and to which she clings1 so feeding and keeping up the force of her flame4 ,for it is impossible to conceive fire as maintained without fuel4 ,but you ,stoics say that our earth stands firm without foundation or root4' #8,of course1' said ,pharnaces1 #8it keeps its proper and natural place1 namely the essential middle point1 that place around which all weights press and ,sidenote3 ,f bear1 converging towards it from all sides4 ,but all the upper region1 even if it receive any earth-like body thrown up with force1 immediately thrusts it out hitherward1 or rather lets it go1 to be borne down by its own momentum4' ,,vii4 ,at this point1 wishing ,lucius to have time to refresh his memory1 ,i called on ,theon3 #8,theon1 which of the tragic poets has said that physicians ,purge bitter bile with bitter remedies8' ,theon answered that it was ,sophocles4#cad #8,and physicians must be allowed to do so1' ,i said1 #8we cannot help it4 ,but philosophers must not be listened to1 if they choose to meet paradoxes with paradoxes1 and1 when contending against strange views1 to invent views which are more strange and wonderful still4 ,sidenote3 #ibd ,here are these ,stoics with their 8tendency towards the middle06 ,is there any paradox which is not implicit there8 ,that our earth1 with all those depths and heights and inequalities1 is a ,sphere8 ,that there are people at our antipodes who live like timber-worms or lizards1 their lower limbs turned upper-most as they plant them on earth8 ,that we ourselves do not keep perpendicular as we move1 but remain on the slant1 swerving like drunkards8 ,that masses of a thousand talents' weight1 borne through the depth of the earth1 stop when they reach the middle point1 though nothing meets or resists them2 or1 if mere momentum carry them down beyond the middle point1 they wheel round and turn back of themselves8 ,that ,sidenote3 ,b segments of beams#cae sawn off at the surface of the earth on either side1 do not move downwards all the way1 but as they fall upon the surface receive equal thrusts from the outside inwards and are jammed around the middle8 ,that water rushing violently downwards1 if it should reach this middle point--an incorporeal point as they say--would stand balanced around it for a pivot1 swinging with an oscillation which never stops and never can be stopped8 ,some of these a man could not force himself ,sidenote3 ,c to present to his intellect as possible1 even if untrue6 ,this is to make ,up down1 down up1 where ,topsy-,turvy reigns1#caf all from us to the centre down1 and all below the centre becoming up in its turn6 ,so that if a man1 by the 8sympathy0 of earth1 were to stand with the central point of his own body touching the centre1 he would have his head up and his feet up too6 ,and if he were to dig into the space beyond1 the down part of his body would bend upwards1 and the soil would be dug out from above to below2 and if another man could be conceived meeting him1 the feet of both would be said to be up1 and would really become so6 ,,viii4 #8,such are the monstrous paradoxes which they shoulder and trail along1 no mere wallet1 ,heaven help us6 but ,sidenote3 ,d a conjurer's stock-in-trade and show-booth2 and then they call other men triflers1 because they place the moon1 being an earth1 up above1 and not where the middle point is4 ,and yet if every weighty body converges to the same point with all its parts1 the earth will claim the heavy objects1 not so much because she is middle of the whole1 as because they are parts of herself2 and the inclination of falling bodies will testify1 ,sidenote3 ,e not to any property of earth#cag1 as middle of the universe1 but rather to a community and fellowship between earth and her own parts1 once ejected1 now borne back to her4 ,for as the sun draws into himself the parts of which he has been composed1 so earth receives the stone as belonging to her1 and drawn down towards herself2 and thus each of such objects becomes united with her in time and grows into herself4 ,if there is any body neither assigned originally to the earth1 nor torn away from it1 ,sidenote3 ,f but having somehow a substance and nature of its own1 such as they would describe the moon to be1 what is there to prevent its existing separately1 self-centred1 pressed together and compacted by its own parts8 ,for it is not proved that earth is the middle of the universe1 and1 further1 the way in which bodies here are collected and drawn together towards the earth suggests the manner in which bodies which have fallen together on to the moon may reasonably be supposed to keep their place with reference to her4 ,why the man who forces all earth-like and heavy objects into one place1 and makes them parts of one body1 does not apply the same law of coercion to light bodies1 ,i cannot see1 instead of allowing all those fiery structures to exist apart2 nor why he does not collect all the stars into the same place1 and hold distinctly that there must be a body common to all upward-borne and fiery units4 ,sidenote3 #ibe ,,ix4 #8,but you and your friends1 dear ,apollonides1 say that the sun is countless millions of stades distant from the highest circle1 and that ,phosphor next to him1 and ,stilbon1 and the other planets1 move in a region below the fixed stars and at great intervals from one another2 and yet you think that the universe provides within itself no interval in space for heavy and earth-like bodies4 ,you see that it is ridiculous to call the moon no earth because she stands apart from the region below1 and then to call her a star while we see her thrust so many ,sidenote3 ,b myriads of stades away from the upper circle as though sunk into an abyss4 ,she is lower than the stars by a distance which we cannot state in words1 since numbers fail you mathematicians when you try to reckon it1 but she touches the earth in a sense and revolves close to it1 ,like to the nave of a wagon1 she glances1 says ,empedocles1#cah which near the mid axle4444 ,for she often fails to clear even the shadow of earth1 rising but little1#cai because the illuminating body is so vast4 ,but so nearly does she seem to graze the earth and to be almost in its embrace as she circles round1 that she is shut off from the sun by it unless ,sidenote3 ,c she rises enough to clear that shaded1 terrestrial region1 dark as night1 which is the appanage of earth4 ,therefore ,i think we may say with confidence that the moon is within the precincts of earth when we see her blocked by earth's extremities4 ,x4 #8,now leave the other fixed stars and planets1 and consider the conclusion proved by ,aristarchus in his ,magnitudes and ,distances2#cbj that the distance of the sun is to the distance of the moon from us in a ratio greater than eighteen to one1 ,sidenote3 ,d less than twenty to one4 ,yet the highest estimate of the distance of the moon from us makes it fifty-six times the earth's radius1 and that is1 even on a moderate measurement1 forty thousand stades4 ,upon this basis1 the distance of the sun from the moon works out to more than forty million three hundred thousand stades4 ,so far has she been settled from the sun because of her weight1 and so nearly has she approached the earth1 that1 if we are to distribute estates according to localities1 the 8portion and inheritance of the earth0 invites the moon to join her1 and the moon has a next claim to chattels and persons ,sidenote3 ,e on earth1 in right of kinship and vicinity4 ,and ,i think that we are not doing wrong in this1 that while we assign so great and profound an interval to what we call the upper bodies1 we also leave to bodies below as much room for circulation as the breadth from earth to moon4 ,for he who confines the word 8upper0 to the extreme circumference of heaven1 and calls all the rest 8lower01 goes too far1 and on the other hand he who circumscribes 8below0 to earth1 or rather to her centre1 is preposterous4 ,on this side and on that the necessary interval must be granted1#cba since the vastness of the universe permits4 ,against the claim that everything after we leave the earth is 8up0 and poised on high1 sounds the counterclaim that everything ,sidenote3 ,f after we leave the circle of the fixed stars is 8down06 ,,xi4 #8,look at the question broadly4 ,in what sense is the earth 8middle01 and middle of what8 ,for the ,whole is infinite2 now the ,infinite has neither beginning nor limit1 so it ought not to have a middle2 for a middle is in a sense itself a limit1 but infinity is a negation of limits4 ,it is amusing to hear a man labour to prove that the earth is the middle of the universe1 not of the ,whole1 forgetting that the universe itself lies under the same difficulties2 for the ,whole1 in its ,sidenote3 #ibf turn1 left no middle for the universe4 8,hearthless and homeless0#cbb it is borne over an infinite void towards nothing which it can call its own2 or1 if it find some other cause for remaining1 it stands still1 not because of the nature of the place4 ,much the same can be conjectured about the earth and the moon2 if one stands here unshaken while the other moves1 it is in virtue of a difference of soul rather than of place and of nature4 ,apart from all this1 has not one important point escaped them8 ,if anything1 however great1 which is outside the centre of the earth is 8up01 then no part of the universe is 8down04 ,earth is 8up01 and so are the things on the earth1 absolutely ,sidenote3 ,b every body lying or standing about the earth becomes 8up02 one thing alone is 8down01 that incorporeal point which has of necessity to resist the pressure of the whole universe1 if 8down0 is naturally opposed to 8up04 ,nor is this absurdity the only one4 ,weights lose the cause of their downward tendency and motion here1 since there is no body below towards which they move4 ,that the incorporeal should have so great a force as to direct all things towards itself1 or hold them together about itself1 is not probable1 nor do they mean this4 ,no6 it is found on all grounds#cbc to be irrational1 and against the facts1 that 8up0 should be the whole universe1 and 8down0 nothing but an incorporeal and indivisible limit4 ,the other view is reasonable1 which we state thus1 that a large space1 possessing breadth1 is apportioned both to 8the above0 and to 8the below04 ,,xii4 #8,however1 let us assume1 if you choose1 that it is ,sidenote3 ,c contrary to nature that earth-like bodies should have their motions in heaven2 and now let us look quietly1 with no heroics1 at the inference1 which is this1 not that the moon is not an earth1 but that she is an earth not in its natural place4 ,so the fire of ,aetna is fire underground1 which is contrary to nature1 yet is fire2 and air enclosed in bladders is light and volatile by nature1 but has come perforce into a place unnatural to it4 ,and the soul1 the soul itself1' ,i went on1 #8has it not been imprisoned in the body contrary to nature1 a swift1 and1 as you hold1 a fiery soul in a slow1 cold body1 the invisible within the sensible8 ,are we therefore to say that soul in body is nothing1 and not rather that ,reason1 that divine thing1 has been made subject to weight and density1 that one which ranges all heaven ,sidenote3 ,d and earth and sea in a moment's flight has passed into flesh and sinews1 marrow and humours1 wherein is the origin of countless passions8#cbd ,your ,lord ,zeus1 is he not1 so long as he preserves his own nature1 one great continuous fire8 ,yet we see him brought down1 and bent1 and fashioned1 assuming1 and ready to assume1 any and every complexion of change4 ,look well to it1 my friend1 whether when you shift all things ,sidenote3 ,e about1 and remove each to its 8natural0 place1 you are not devising a system to dissolve the universe and introducing ,empedoclean strife1 or rather stirring up the old ,titans against ,nature1 in your eagerness to see once more the dreadful disorder and dissonance of the myth8 ,all that is heavy in a place by itself1 and all that is light in another1 ,where neither sun's bright face is separate seen1 ,nor earth's rough brood1 nor ocean any more1 ,sidenote3 ,f as ,empedocles says6 ,earth had nothing to do with heat1 water with wind2 nothing heavy was found above1 nothing light below2 without commixture1 without affection were the principles of all things1 mere units1 each desiring no intercourse with each or partnership1 performing their separate scornful motions in mutual flight and aversion1 a state of things which must always be1 as ,plato#cbe teaches1 where ,god is absent1 the state of bodies deserted by intelligence and soul4 ,so it was until the day when ,providence brought ,desire into ,nature1 and ,sidenote3 #ibg ,friendship was engendered there1 and ,aphrodite1 and ,eros1 as ,empedocles tells us and ,parmenides too and ,hesiod1#cbf so that things might change their places1 and receive faculties from one another in turn1 and1 from being bound under stress1 and forced1 some to be in motion some to rest1 might all begin to give in to the ,better1 instead of the ,natural1 and shift their places and so produce harmony and communion of the ,whole4 ,,xiii4 #8,for if it be true that no other part of the universe departed from ,nature1 but that each rests in its natural place1 not needing any transposition or rearrangement1 and never from the first having needed any1 ,i am at a loss to know what there is for ,providence to do1 or of what ,zeus1 8in art most excellent01#cbg is the maker and the artist-father4 ,there would ,sidenote3 ,b be no need of tactics in an army if each soldier knew of himself how to take and keep place and post at the proper time2 nor of gardeners or builders if the water of its own nature is to flow over the parts which need it1 and moisten them1 or if bricks and beams should of themselves adopt the movements and inclinations which are natural1 and arrange themselves in their fitting places4 ,if such a theory strike out ,providence ,sidenote3 ,c altogether1 and if it be ,god's own attribute to order and discriminate things1 what marvel is it that ,nature has been so disposed and partitioned that fire is here and stars there1 and again that earth is planted where it is and the moon above1 each held by a firmer bond than that of ,nature1 the bond of ,reason8 ,since1 if all things are to observe natural tendencies1 and to move each according to its nature1 let the sun no longer go round in a circle1 nor ,phosphorus1 nor any of the other stars1 because it is the nature of light and fiery bodies to move upwards1 not in a circle6 ,but if ,nature admits of such local variation as that fire1 here seen to ascend1 yet when it reaches heaven1 joins in the general rotation1 what marvel if heavy ,sidenote3 ,d and earthlike bodies too1 when placed there1 assume another kind of motion1 mastered by the circumambient element8 ,for it is not according to ,nature that light things lose their upward tendency in heaven1 and yet heaven cannot prevail over those which are heavy and incline downwards4 ,no1 heaven at some time had power to rearrange both these and those1 and turned the nature of each to what was better4 ,,xiv4 #8,however1 if we are at last to have done with notions enslaved to usage1#cbh and to state fearlessly what appears to be true1 it is probable that no part of a whole has any order1 or position1 or movement of its own which can be described in absolute terms as natural4 ,but when each body places itself at the disposal of that on account of which it has come into being1 ,sidenote3 ,e and in relation to which it naturally exists or has been created1 to move as is useful and convenient to it1 actively and passively and in all its own states conforming to the conservation1 beauty1 or power of that other1 then1 ,i hold1 its place1 movements and disposition are according to ,nature4 ,in man certainly1 who has1 if anything has1 come into being according to ,nature1 ,sidenote3 ,f the heavy and earth-like parts are found above1 mostly about the head1 the hot and fiery in the middle regions2 of the teeth one set grows from above1 the other from below1 yet neither contrary to ,nature2 nor can it be said of the fire in him that when it is above and flashes in his eyes it is natural1 but when it is in stomach or heart1 unnatural2 each has been arranged as is proper and convenient4 ,mark well the tortoise and the trumpet-shell1 says ,empedocles1 and1 we may add1 the nature of every shell-fish1 and ,earth uppermost1 flesh under thou shalt see4 ,yet the stony substance does not squeeze or crush the growth#cbi ,sidenote3 #ibh within1 nor again does the heat fly off and be lost because of its lightness2 they are mingled and co-ordinated according to the nature of each4 ,,xv4 #8,and so it is probably with the universe1 if it be indeed a living structure2 in many places it contains earth1 in many others fire1 water1 and wind1 which are not forced out under stress1 but arranged on a rational system4 ,take the eye2 it is not where it is in the body owing to pressure acting on its light substance1 nor has the heart fallen or slipped down ,sidenote3 ,b into the region of the chest because of its weight2 each is arranged where it is because it was better so4 ,let us not then suppose that it is otherwise with the parts of the universe2 that earth lies here where it has fallen of its own weight1 that the sun1 as ,metrodorus of ,chios used to think1 has been pressed out into the upper region because of his lightness1 like a bladder1 or that the other stars have reached the places which they now hold as if they had been weighed in a balance and kicked the beam4 ,no1 the rational principle prevailed2 and some1 like eyes to give light1 are inserted into the face of the ,whole and revolve2 the sun acts as a heart1 and sheds and distributes out of himself heat and light1 as it were blood and breath4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,earth and sea are to the universe1 according to ,nature1 what stomach and bladder are to the animal4 ,the moon1 lying between sun and earth1 as the liver or some other soft organ between heart and stomach1 distributes here the gentle warmth from above1 while she returns to us1 digested1 purified1 and refined in her own sphere1 the exhalations of earth4 ,whether her earth-like solid substance contributes to any other useful purposes1 we cannot say4 ,we do know that universally the ,better prevails over the law of ,stress4 ,how can the view of the ,stoics lead us to any probable result8 ,that view is1 that the luminous and subtle part of the atmosphere has by its rarity formed the ,sidenote3 ,d sky1 the dense and consolidated part stars1 and that1 of the stars1 the moon is the dullest and the grossest4 ,however1 we may see with our eyes that the moon is not entirely separated from the atmosphere1 but moves within a great belt of it1 having beneath itself a wind-swept region1 where bodies are whirled1 and amongst them comets4 ,thus these bodies have not been placed in the scales according to the weight or lightness of each1 but have been arranged upon a different system4' ,,xvi4 ,this said1 as ,i was passing the turn to ,lucius1 the ,sidenote3 ,e argument now reaching the stage of demonstration1 ,aristotle said with a smile3 #8,i protest that you have addressed your whole reply to those who assume that the moon herself is half fire1 and who say of all bodies in common that they have an inclination of their own1 some an upward one1 some a downward4 ,if there is a single person who holds that the stars move in a circle according to ,nature1 and are of a substance widely ,sidenote3 ,f different from the four elements1 it has not occurred to our memory1 even by accident2 so that ,i am out of the discussion1 and you also1 ,lucius4' #8,no1 no1 good friend'1 said ,lucius4 #8,as to the other stars1 and the heaven in general1 when your school asserts that they have a nature which is pure and transparent1 and removed from all changes caused by passion1 and when they introduce a circle of eternal#ccj and never-ending revolution1 perhaps no one would contradict you1 at least for the present1 although there are countless difficulties4 ,but when the theory comes down and touches the moon1 it no longer retains in her case the 8freedom from passion0 and the beauty of form of that body4 ,leaving out of account her other irregularities and points of difference1 this very face which appears upon her has come there either from some passion proper to herself or by admixture of some other substance4 ,sidenote3 #ibi ,indeed1 mixture implies some passion1 since there is a loss of its own purity when a body is forcibly filled with what is inferior to itself4 ,consider her own torpor and dullness of speed1 and her heat1 so faint and ineffectual1 wherein1 as ,ion#cca says-- ,the black grape ripens not2 to what are we to assign this1 but to weakness in herself and passion1 if passion can have place in an eternal and ,olympian body8 ,it comes to this1 dear ,aristotle2 look on her as earth1 and she appears a very beautiful object1 venerable and highly adorned2 but as star1 or light1 or any divine or heavenly body1 ,i fear she may be found wanting in shapeliness and grace1 and do no credit to her beautiful name1 if out of all the multitude in heaven she alone goes round begging light of others1 as ,parmenides says1 ,sidenote3 ,b ,for ever peering toward the sun's bright rays4 ,now when our comrade1 in his dissertation1 was expounding the proposition of ,anaxagoras1 that 8the sun places the brightness in the moon01 he was highly applauded4 ,but ,i am not going to speak of things which ,i learned from you or with you1 ,i will gladly pass on to the remaining points4 ,it is then probable that the moon is illuminated not as glass or crystal by the sunlight shining in and through her1 nor yet by way of accumulation of light and rays1 as torches when they multiply their light4 ,for then we should have full moon at the beginning of the month just as much as at the middle1 if she does not conceal or block the sun1 but allows him#ccb to pass through ,sidenote3 ,c because of her rarity1 or if he1 by way of commixture1 shines upon the light around her and helps to kindle it with his own4 ,for it is not possible to allege any bending or swerving aside on her part at the time of her conjunction1 as we can when she is at the half1 or is gibbous or crescent4 ,being then 8plumb opposite01 as ,democritus puts it1 to her illuminant1 she receives and admits the sun1 so that we should expect to see her shining herself and also allowing him to shine through her4 ,now she is very far from doing this2 she is herself invisible at those times1 and she often hides him out of our sight4 ,so from above for men1 as ,empedocles says1 ,sidenote3 ,d ,she quenched his beams1 shrouding a slice of earth ,wide as the compass of the glancing moon2 as though his light had fallen1 not upon another star1 but upon night and darkness4 #8,the view of ,posidonius1 that it is because of the depth of the moon's body that the light of the sun is not passed through to us1 is wrong on the face of it4 ,for the air1 which is unlimited1 and has a depth many times that of the moon1 is filled throughout with sunlight and brightness4 ,there is left then that of ,empedocles1 that the illumination which we get from the moon ,sidenote3 ,e arises in some way from the reflexion of the sun as he falls upon her4 ,hence her light reaches us without heat or lustre1 whereas we should expect both if there were a kindling by him or a commixture of lights4 ,but as voices return an echo weaker than the original sound1 and missiles which glance off strike with weaker impact1 ,e'en so the ray which smote the moon's white orb reaches us in a feeble and exhausted stream1 because the force is dispersed in the reflexion4' ,,xvii4 ,here ,sylla broke in3 #8,all these things no doubt ,sidenote3 ,f have their probabilities2 but the strongest point on the other side was either explained away or it escaped our comrade's attention2 which was it8' #8,what do you mean8' said ,lucius4 #8,the problem of the half-moon1 ,i suppose8' #8,precisely1' said ,sylla1 #8for as all reflexion takes place at equal angles1 there is some reason in saying that when the moon is in mid-heaven at half-moon1 the light is not carried from her on to the earth1 but glances off beyond it2 for the sun1 being ,sidenote3 #icj on the horizon1 touches the moon with his rays1 which will therefore1 being reflected at equal angles1 fall on the further side and beyond us1 and will not send the light here2 or else there will be a great distortion and variation in the angle1 which is impossible4' #8,i assure you'1 said ,lucius1 #8that point was mentioned also2' and here he glanced at ,menelaus the mathematician1 as he went on3 #8,i am ashamed1 dear ,menelaus1' he said1 #8in your presence to upset a mathematical assumption which is laid down as fundamental in all the ,optics of ,mirrors4 ,but ,i feel obliged to say'1 he continued1 #8that the law which requires reflexion in all cases to be at equal angles is neither self-evident ,sidenote3 ,b nor admitted4 ,it is impugned in the instance of convex mirrors1 when magnified images are reflected to the one point of sight4 ,it is impugned also in that of double mirrors1 when they are inclined towards one another so that there is an angle between them1 and each surface returns a double image from one face1 four images in all1 two on the right1 two on the left1 two from the outer parts of the surfaces1 two dimmer ones deep within the mirrors4#ccc ,plato#ccd gives the cause why this takes place4 ,he has told ,sidenote3 ,c us that if the mirrors be raised on either side1 there is a gradual shifting of the visual reflexion as it passes from one side to the other4 ,if then some images proceed directly to us1 while others glance to the opposite side of the mirrors1 and are returned thence to us1 it is impossible that reflexion in all cases takes place at equal angles4 ,they observe#cce that these images meet in one point1 and further claim that the law of equal angles is disproved by the streams of light which actually proceed from the moon to the earth1 holding the fact to be ,sidenote3 ,d far more convincing than the law4 ,however1 if we are so far to indulge the beloved geometry as to make her a present of this law1 in the first place it may be expected to hold of mirrors which have been made accurately smooth4 ,but the moon has many irregularities and rough parts1 so that the rays proceeding from a large body1 when they fall on considerable eminences1 are exposed to counter-illuminations and reciprocal dispersion2 the cross-light is reflected1 involved1 and accumulated as though it reached us from a number of mirrors4 ,in the next place1 even if we allow that the reflexions are produced at equal ,sidenote3 ,e angles upon the actual surface of the moon1 yet1 when the distance is so great1 it is not impossible that the rays may be broken in their passage1 or glance around1 so that the light reaches us in one composite stream4 ,some go further1 and show by a figure that many lights discharge their rays along a line inclined to the hypothenuse2 but it was not possible to construct the diagram while speaking1 especially before a large audience4#ccf ,,xviii4 #8,upon the whole question1' he went on1 #8,i am at a loss to see how they bring up the half-moon against us2 the point fails equally upon her gibbous and crescent phases4 ,for if the moon were a mass of air or fire which the sun illuminated1 ,sidenote3 ,f he would not have left half her sphere always in shadow and darkness as seen by us2 but even if he touched her in his circuit only in a small point1 the proper consequence would follow1 she would be affected all through1 and her entire substance changed by the light penetrating everywhere with ease4 ,when wine touches water on its extreme surface1 or a drop of blood falls into liquid1 the whole is discoloured at once1 and turned to crimson4 ,but the air itself1 we are told1 is not filled with sunshine by emanations or beams actually mingling with it1 but by a change and alteration caused by something like a prick or touch4 ,now1 how can they suppose that when star touches star or light light1 it does not mingle with or alter the substance throughout1 but only illuminates ,sidenote3 #ica those points which it touches superficially8 ,the circular orbit of the sun as he passes about the moon1 which sometimes coincides with the line dividing her visible and invisible parts1 and at other times rises to right angles with that line so as to cut those parts in two1 and in turn be cut by her1 produces her gibbous and crescent phases by the varying inclination and position of the bright part relatively to that in shadow4 ,this proves beyond all question that the illumination is contact not commixture1 not accumulation of light but its circumfusion4 ,but the fact that she is not only illuminated herself but also sends ,sidenote3 ,b on the image of her brightness to us1 allows us to insist the more confidently on our theory of her substance4 ,for reflexions do not take place on a rarefied body1 or one formed of subtle particles1 nor is it easy to conceive light rebounding from light1 or fire from fire2 the body which is to produce recoil and reflexion must be heavy and dense1 that there may be impact upon it and resilience from it4 ,to the sun himself the air certainly allows a passage1 offering no obstructions or resistance2 whereas if timber1 stones1 or woven stuffs be placed to meet his light many cross rays are caused1 and there is illumination all ,sidenote3 ,c round them4 ,we see the same thing in the way his light reaches the earth4 ,the earth does not pass his ray into a depth as water does1 nor yet throughout her whole substance as air does4 ,just as his orbit passes round the moon1 gradually cutting off a certain portion of her1 so a similar orbit passes round the earth1 illuminating a similar part of it and leaving another unilluminated1 for the part of either body which receives light appears to be a little larger than a hemisphere4 ,allow me to speak geometrically in terms of proportion4 ,here are three bodies approached by the sun's light1 earth1 moon1 air2 we see that the moon is illuminated like the earth1 not like the air2 but bodies naturally affected in the same way by the same must be themselves similar4' ,,xix4 ,when all had applauded ,lucius1 #8,bravo6' said ,i1 ,sidenote3 ,d #8a beautiful proportion fitted to a beautiful theory2 for you must not be defrauded of your own4' #8,in that case1' he said1 with a smile1 #8,i must employ proportion a second time1 in order that we may prove the moon like the earth1 not only as being affected in the same way by the same body1 but also as producing the same effect on the same4 ,grant me that no one of the phenomena relating to the sun is so like another as an eclipse to a sunset1 remembering that recent concurrence#ccg of sun and moon1 which1 beginning just after noon1 showed us ,sidenote3 ,e plainly many stars in all parts of the heavens1 and produced a chill in the temperature like that of twilight4 ,if you have forgotten it1 ,theon here will bring up ,mimnermus and ,cydias1 and ,archilochus1 and ,stesichorus and ,pindar#cch besides1 all bewailing at eclipse time 8the brightest star stolen from the sky0 ,sidenote3 ,f and 8night with us at midday01 speaking of the ray of the sun as 8a track of darkness0 and1 besides all these1 ,homer#cci saying that the faces of men are 8bound in night and gloom0 and 8the sun is perished out of the heaven01 i4e4 around the moon1 and how this occurs according to ,nature1 8when one moon perishes and one is born04 ,the remaining points have been reduced1 ,i think1 by the accuracy of mathematical methods to the one#cdj certain principle that night is the shadow of earth1 whereas an eclipse of the sun is the shadow of the moon when it falls within our vision4 ,when the sun sets he is blocked from our sight by the earth2 when he is eclipsed1 by the moon4 ,sidenote3 #icb ,in both cases there is overshadowing2 in his setting it is caused by the earth1 in his eclipses by the moon1 her shadow intercepting our vision4 ,from all this it is easy to draw out a theory as to what happens4 ,if the effect is similar1 the agents are similar2 for the same effects upon the same body must be due to the same agents4 ,if the darkness of eclipses is not so profound1 and does not affect the atmosphere so forcibly1 let us not be surprised2 the bodies which cause respectively night and eclipse are similar in nature1 but unequal in size4 ,the ,egyptians1 ,i believe1 say that the moon's bulk is one two-and-seventieth part of the earth's1 ,anaxagoras made her as large as ,peloponnesus2 but ,sidenote3 ,b ,aristarchus#cda proves that the diameter of the earth bears to that of the moon a ratio which is less than sixty to nineteen1 and greater than a hundred and eight to forty-three4 ,hence the earth because of its size removes the sun entirely from our sight1 the obstruction is great and lasts all night2 whereas if the moon sometimes hides the sun entirely1 yet the eclipse does not last long and has no breadth2 but a certain brightness is apparent around the rim1 which does not allow the shadow to be deep and absolute4 ,aristotle1#cdb ,i mean the ancient philosopher1 after giving other reasons why the moon is more ,sidenote3 ,c often visibly eclipsed than the sun1 adds this further one1 that the sun is eclipsed by the interposition of the moon1#cdc the moon by that of the earth and of other bodies also4 ,but ,posidonius gives this definition of what occurs3 an eclipse of the sun is a concurrence of the shadow of the moon with our vision#cdd 444 for there is no eclipse1 except to those whose view of the sun can be intercepted by the shadow of the moon4 ,in allowing that the shadow of the moon reaches to us1 ,i do not know what he has left himself to say4 ,there can be no shadow of a star2 shadow means absence of light1 and it is the nature of light to remove shadow1 not to cause it4 ,,xx4 #8,but tell me'1 he went on1 #8what proof was mentioned ,sidenote3 ,d next8' #8,that the moon was eclipsed in the same way'1 ,i said4 #8,thank you for reminding me'1 he said4 #8,but now am ,i to turn at once to the argument1 assuming that you are satisfied1 and allow that the moon is eclipsed when she is caught in the shadow1 or do you wish me to set out a studied proof1 with all the steps in order8' #8,by all means1' said ,theon1 #8let us have the proof in full4 ,for my own part1 ,i still somehow need to be convinced2 ,sidenote3 ,e ,i have only heard it put thus1 that when the three bodies1 earth1 sun1 and moon1 come into one straight line eclipses occur1 the earth removing the sun from the moon1 or the moon the sun from the earth2 that is1 the sun is eclipsed when the moon1 the moon when the earth1 is in the middle of the three1 the first case happening at her conjunction1 the second at the half-month4' ,lucius replied3 #8,these are perhaps the most important points mentioned2 but first1 if you will1 take the additional argument drawn from the shape of the shadow4 ,this is a cone1 such as is caused by a large spherical body of fire or light overlapping a smaller body also spherical4 ,hence in eclipses the lines which mark off the dark portions of the moon from the bright give circular sections4 ,for when one round body approaches ,sidenote3 ,f another1 the lines of mutual intersection are invariably circular like the bodies themselves4 ,in the second place1 ,i think you are aware that the first parts of the moon to be eclipsed are those towards the ,east1 of the sun those towards the ,west1 ,sidenote3 #icc and the shadow of the earth moves from ,east to ,west1 that of#cde the moon on the contrary to the ,east4 ,this is made clear to the senses by the phenomena1 which may be explained quite shortly4 ,they go to confirm our view of the cause of the eclipse4 ,for since the sun is eclipsed by being overtaken1 the moon by meeting the body which causes the eclipse1#cdf it is likely1 or rather it is necessary1 that the sun should be overtaken from behind1 the moon from the front1 the obstruction beginning from the first point of contact with the obstructing body4 ,the moon comes up with the sun from the ,west as she races against him1 the earth from the ,east because it is moving from the opposite direction4 ,as a third point1 ,i will ask you to ,sidenote3 ,b notice the duration and the magnitude of her eclipses4 ,if she is eclipsed when high up and far from the earth1 she is hidden for a short time2 if near the earth and low down when the same thing happens to her1 she is firmly held and emerges slowly out of the shadow2 and yet when she is low her speed is greatest1 when high it is least4 ,the cause of the difference lies in the shadow2 for being broadest about the base1 like all cones1 and tapering gradually1 it ends in a sharp1 fine head4 ,hence1 if the moon be low when she meets the shadow1 she is caught in the largest circles of the cone1 and crosses its most profound and darkest part2 if high1 she dips as into a shallow pond1 because the shadow is thin1 and quickly makes her way out4 ,sidenote3 ,c ,i omit the points of detail mentioned as to bases and permeations1 which can also be rationally explained as far as the subject-matter allows4 ,i go back to the theory put before us founded on our senses4 ,we see that fire shines through more visibly and more brightly out of a place in shadow1 whether because of the density of the darkened air1 which does not allow it to stream off and be dispersed1 but holds its substance compressed where it is1 or whether this is an affection of our senses2 as hot things are hotter when contrasted with cold1 and pleasures are more intense by contrast with pains1 so bright things stand out more clearly by the side of dark1 setting the imagination on the alert by the contrast4 ,the former cause appears the more ,sidenote3 ,d probable1 for in the light of the sun everything in the nature of fire not only loses its brightness1 but is outmatched and becomes inactive and blunted1 since the sun's heat scatters and dissipates its power4 ,if then the moon possess a faint1 feeble fire1 being a star of somewhat turbid substance1 as the ,stoics themselves say1 none of the effects which she now exhibits ought to follow1 but the opposite in all respects2 she ought to appear when she is now hidden1 and be hidden when she now appears2 be hidden1 that is1 all the time while she is dimmed by the surrounding ,sidenote3 ,e atmosphere1 but shine brightly out at intervals of six months1 or occasionally at intervals of five1 when she passes under the shadow of the earth4 7,for of the #dfe full moons at eclipse intervals1 #djd give periods of six months1 the remainder periods of five47 ,at such intervals then the moon ought to appear shining brightly in the shadow4 ,but1 as a fact1 she is eclipsed and loses her light in the shadow1 and recovers it when she has cleared the shadow2 also she is often seen by day1 which shows that she is anything but a fiery or starlike body4' ,sidenote3 ,f ,,xxi4 ,when ,lucius had said this1 ,pharnaces and ,apollonides sprang forward together to oppose4 ,apollonides made way to ,pharnaces1 who observed that this is a very strong proof that the moon is a star or fire2 for she does not disappear entirely in eclipses1 but shows through with a grim ashy hue peculiar to herself4 ,apollonides objected to the word #8shadow'1 a term always applied by mathematicians to a region which is not ,sidenote3 #icd lighted1 whereas the heavens admit of no shadow4 #8,this objection'1 ,i said1 #8is contentious1 and addressed to the name1 not to the thing in any physical or mathematical sense4 ,if any one should prefer to call the region blocked by the earth not 8shadow01 but 8an unlighted place01 it is still necessarily true that the moon when it reaches that region is darkened4 ,it is merely childish'1 ,i went on1 #8not to allow that the shadow of the earth reaches it1 since we know that the shadow of the moon1 falling upon the sight and reaching to the earth1 causes an ,sidenote3 ,b eclipse of the sun4 ,i will now turn to you1 ,pharnaces4 ,that ashy charred colour in the moon1 which you say is peculiar to her1 belongs to a body which has density and depth4 ,for no remnant or trace of flame will remain in rarefied bodies1 nor can burning matter come into existence1 without a substantial body1 deep enough to allow of ignition and to maintain it1 as ,homer#cdg has somewhere said3 ,when fire's red flower was flown1 and spent the flames1 ,which smoothed the embers4 ,for burning matter is evidently not fire but a body submitted to fire1 and altered by it1 which fire is attached to a solid stable mass and is permanent there1 whereas flames are the kindling ,sidenote3 ,c and streaming away of rarefied fuel which is quickly dissolved because it is weak4 #8,thus no such clear proof could exist that the moon is earth-like and dense1 as this cinder-like colour1 if it really were her own proper colour4 ,but it is not so1 dear ,pharnaces2 in the course of an eclipse she goes through many changes of complexion1 and scientific men divide these accordingly by time and hour4 ,if she is eclipsed at early evening1 she appears strangely black till three and a half hours have elapsed2 if at midnight1 she emits that red and flame-like hue over her surface which we know2 after seven and a half hours the redness begins to be removed1 and at last towards dawn she takes a bluish or light-grey hue1 ,sidenote3 ,d which is the real reason why poets and ,empedocles invoke her as 8grey-eyed04 ,now1 people who see the moon assume so many hues as she passes through the shadow do wrong in fastening upon one1 the cinder-like1 which may be called the one most foreign to her1 being rather an admixture and remnant of light which shines round her through the shadows1 than her own peculiar complexion1 which is black and earth-like4 ,but whereas we see on our earth that places in shadow which are near purple or scarlet cloths1 or near lakes1 or rivers open to the sun1 partake in the brilliance of these colours and offer many varied splendours because of the reflexions1 what wonder ,sidenote3 ,e if a great stream of shadow1 falling upon a celestial sea of light1 not stable or calm but agitated by myriads of stars and admitting of combinations and changes of every kind1 presents to us different colours at different times impressed on it by the moon8 ,for a star or a fire could not show when in shadow as black or grey or blue4 ,but our hills and plains and seas are coursed over by many-coloured shapes coming from the sun and ,sidenote3 ,f by shadows also and mists1 resembling the hues produced by white light over a painter's pigments4 ,for those seen on the sea ,homer has endeavoured to find such names as he could1 as 8violet0 for the sea1 and 8wine-dark0 and again 8purple wave01 and elsewhere 8grey sea0 and 8white calm04 ,but the varying colours which appear on land at different times he has passed over as being infinite in number4 ,now1 it is not likely that the moon has one surface as the sea has1 but rather that she resembles in substance the earth1 of which ,socrates#cdh ,sidenote3 #ice of old used to tell the legend1 whether he hinted at the moon1 or meant some other body4 ,for it is nothing incredible or wonderful if1 having nothing corrupt or muddy in her1 but enjoying light from heaven1 and being stored with a heat not burning or furious1 but mild and harmless and natural1 she possesses regions of marvellous beauty1 hills clear as flame1 and belts of purple1 her gold and silver not dispersed within her depths1 but flowering forth on the plains in plenty1 or set ,sidenote3 ,b around smooth eminences4 ,now1 if a varying view of these reaches us from time to time through the shadow1 owing to some change and shifting of the surrounding air1 surely the moon does not lose her honour or her fame1 nor yet her ,divinity1 when she is held by men to be holy earth of a sort and not1 as the ,stoics say1 fire which is turbid1 mere dregs of fire4 ,fire is honoured in barbarous fashions by the ,medes and ,assyrians1 who fear what injures them1 and pay observance or rites of propitiation to that1 rather than to what they revere4 ,but the name of earth1 we know1 is dear and honourable to every ,greek1 we reverence her as our fathers did1 like any other ,god4 ,but1 being men1 we are very far from thinking of the moon1 that ,sidenote3 ,c ,olympian earth1 as a body without soul or mind1 having no share in things which we duly offer as first-fruits to the ,gods1 taught by usage to pay them a return for the goods they give us1 and by ,nature to reverence that which is above ourselves in virtue and power and honour4 ,let us not then think that we offend in holding that she is an earth1 and that this her visible face1 just like our earth with its great gulfs1 is folded back into great depths and clefts containing water or murky air1 which the light of the sun fails to penetrate or touch1 but is obscured1 and sends back its reflexion here in shattered fragments4' ,,xxii4 ,here ,apollonides broke in3 #8,then in the name of ,sidenote3 ,d the moon herself1' he said1 #8do you think it possible that shadows are thrown there by any clefts or gullies1 and from thence reach our sight1 or do you not calculate what follows1 and am ,i to tell you8 ,pray hear me out1 though you know it all4 ,the diameter of the moon shows an apparent breadth of twelve fingers at her mean distance from us4 ,now1 each of those black shadowy objects appears larger than half a finger1 and is therefore more than a twenty-fourth part of the diameter4 ,sidenote3 ,e ,very well2 if we were to assume the circumference of the moon to be only thirty thousand stades1 and the diameter ten thousand1 on that assumption each of these shadowy objects on her would be not less than five hundred stades4 ,now1 consider first whether it be possible for the moon to have depths and eminences sufficient to cause a shadow of that size4 ,next1 if they are so large1 how is it that we do not see them8' ,at this1 ,i smiled on him and said1 #8,well done1 ,apollonides1 to have found out such a demonstration6 ,by it you will prove that you and ,i too are greater than the ,aloades#cdi of old1 not ,sidenote3 ,f at any time of day1 however1 but in early morning for choice1 and late afternoon2 when the sun makes our shadows prodigious1 and thereby presents to our sense the splendid inference1 that if the shadow thrown be great1 the object which throws it is enormous4 ,neither of us1 ,i am sure1 has ever been in ,lemnos1 but we have both heard the familiar line1#cej ,athos the ,lemnian heifer's flank shall shade4 ,for the shadow of the cliff falls1 it seems1 on a certain brazen ,sidenote3 #icf heifer over a stretch of sea of not less than seven hundred stades4 ,will you think then that the height which casts the shadow is the cause1 forgetting that distance of the light from objects makes their shadows many times longer8 ,now consider the sun at his greatest distance from the moon1 when she is at the full1 and shows the features of the face most expressly because of the depth of the shadow2 it is the mere distance of the light which has made the shadow large1 not the size of the several ,sidenote3 ,b irregularities on the moon4 ,again1 in full day the extreme brightness of the sun's rays does not allow the tops of mountains to be seen1 but deep and hollow places appear from a long distance1 as also do those in shadow4 ,there is nothing strange then if it is not possible to see precisely how the moon too is caught by the light1 and illuminated1 and yet if we do see by contrast where the parts in shadow lie near the bright parts4 ,,xxiii4 #8,but here'1 said ,i1 #8is a better point to disprove the alleged reflexion from the moon2 it is found that those who stand in reflected rays1 not only see the illuminated but also the illuminating body4 ,for instance1 when light from water ,sidenote3 ,c leaps on to a wall1 and the eye is placed in the spot so illuminated by reflexion1 it sees the three objects1 the reflected rays1 the water which caused the reflexion1 and the sun himself1 from whom proceeds the light so falling on the water and reflected4 ,all this being granted and apparent1 people require those who contend that the earth receives the moon's light by reflexion1 to point out the sun appearing in the moon at night1 as he appears in the water by day when he is reflected off it4 ,then1 as he does not so appear1 they suppose that the illumination is caused by some process other than reflexion1 and that1 failing reflexion1 ,sidenote3 ,d the moon is no earth4' #8,what answer then is to be given to them8' said ,apollonides1 #8for the difficulty about reflexion seems to apply equally to us4' #8,equally no doubt in one sense1' ,i answered1 #8but in another sense not at all so4 ,first look at the details of the simile1 how 8topsy turvy0#cea it is1 rivers flowing up stream6 ,the water is below and on earth1 the moon is above the earth and poised aloft4 ,so the angles of reflexion are differently formed2 in the one case the apex is above in the moon1 in the other below on the earth4 ,they should not then require that mirrors should produce every image and like reflexions at any distance1 since ,sidenote3 ,e they are fighting against clear fact4 ,but from those like ourselves who seek to show that the moon is not a fine smooth substance like water1 but heavy and earth-like1 it is strange to ask for a visible appearance of the sun in her4 ,why1 milk does not return such mirrored images1 nor produce optical reflexion1 the reason being the unevenness and roughness of its parts4 ,how can the moon possibly send back the vision off ,sidenote3 ,f herself as the smoother mirrors do8 ,we know that even in these1 if any scratch or speck or roughness is found at the point from which the vision is naturally reflected it is obscured2 the blemishes are seen1 but they do not return the light4 ,a man who requires that she should either turn our vision back to the sun1 or else not reflect the sun from herself to us1 is a humorist2 he wants our eye to be the sun1 the image light1 man heaven6 ,that the reflexion of the sun's light conveyed to the moon with the impact of his intense brilliance should be borne back to us is reasonable enough1 whereas our sight is weak and slight and merely fractional4 ,what wonder if it deliver a stroke which has no resilience1 or1 if it does rebound1 no continuity1 but is broken up and fails1 having no store of light to make up for dispersion about the rough and uneven ,sidenote3 #icg places4 ,for it is not impossible that the reflexion should rebound to the sun from water and other mirrors1 being still strong and near its point of origin2 whereas from the moon1 even if there are glancings of a sort1 yet they will be weak and dim1 and will fail by the way because of the long distance4 ,another point3 concave mirrors return the reflected light in greater strength than the original1 and thus often produce ,sidenote3 ,b flames2 convex and spherical mirrors one which is weak and dim1 because the pressure is not returned from all parts of the surface4 ,you have seen1 no doubt1 how when two rainbows appear1 one cloud enfolding another1 the enveloping bow shows the colours dim and indistinct1 for the outer cloud lying further from the eye does not return the reflexion in strength or intensity4 ,but enough6 ,whereas the light of the sun reflected from the moon loses its heat entirely1 and only a scanty and ineffectual remnant of its brilliance reaches us1 do you really think it possible that when sight has the double course to travel1 ,sidenote3 ,c any remnant whatever should reach the sun from the moon8 ,no6 say ,i4 ,look for yourselves'1 ,i went on4 #8,if the effects of the water and of the moon on our sight were the same1 the full moon ought to show us images of earth and plants and men and stars1 as other mirrors do4 ,if1 on the other hand1 our vision is never carried back on to these objects1 whether because of its own feebleness or of the roughness of the moon's surface1 then let us never demand that it should be carried by reflexion on to the sun4 ,,xxiv4 #8,we have now'1 ,i said1 #8reported all that was said then1 and has not escaped our memory4 ,it is time to call on ,sylla1 or rather to claim his story1 as he was allowed to be a listener on terms4 ,so1 if it meet your approval1 let us cease our walk1 and take our places on the benches and give him a seated ,sidenote3 ,d audience4' ,this was at once agreed1 and we had taken our seats1 when ,theon said3 #8,i want as much as any of you1 ,lamprias1 to hear what is now to be said1 but first ,i should like to hear about the alleged dwellers in the moon1 not whether there are any such1 ,i mean1 but whether there can be2 for if the thing is impossible1 then it is also absurd that the moon should be an earth2 it will appear that she has been created for no end or use1 if she bears no fruit1 offers no abode to human beings1 no existence1 no livelihood1 the very things for which we say that she has been created1 in ,plato's#ceb words1 8our nurse1 and of ,sidenote3 ,e day and night the unswerving guardian and maker04 ,you see that many things are said about this1 some in jest1 some seriously4 ,for instance1 that the moon hangs poised over the heads of those who dwell beneath her1 as if they were so many ,tantali2 while as for those who dwell on her1 they are lashed on like ,ixions by the tremendous speed4 ,yet hers is not a single motion1 but1 as ,sidenote3 ,f it is somewhere put1 she is a ,goddess of the ,three ,ways4 ,she moves in longitude over the ,zodiac1 in latitude1 and in depth2 one movement is revolution1 another a spiral1 the third is strangely named 8,anomaly0 by scientific men1 although there is nothing irregular or confused to be seen in her returns to her stations4 ,therefore it is no wonder if a lion#cec did once fall on to ,peloponnesus1 owing to the velocity2 the wonder is that we do not see every day ,fallings of men1 lives trampled to the dust1#ced men tumbling off through the air and turning somersaults4 ,yet ,sidenote3 #ich it is ridiculous to raise a discussion about their remaining there1 if they can neither come into being nor subsist at all4 ,when we see ,egyptians and ,troglodytes1 over whose heads the sun stands for the space of one brief day at the solstice and then passes on1 all but shrivelled up by the dryness of the air around them1 is it likely1 ,i ask you1 that people in the moon can endure twelve summers in each year1 the sun standing plumb straight above them at every full moon8 ,then as to winds and clouds and ,sidenote3 ,b showers1 without which plants can neither receive nor maintain existence1 it is out of the question to conceive of their being formed1 because the surrounding atmosphere is too hot and too rare4 ,for even here the highest mountain tops do not get our fierce and conflicting storms1 the air being already in turmoil from its lightness escapes any such condensation4 ,or are we really to say that1 as ,athena dropped a little nectar and ambrosia into ,achilles' mouth when he was refusing nourishment1 even so the moon1 who is called and who is ,athena1#cee feeds man by sending up ambrosia day by day1 in which form old ,pherecydes ,sidenote3 ,c thinks that the ,gods take food6 ,for as to that ,indian root1 of which ,megasthenes tells us that men1 who neither eat nor drink but are without mouths1#cef burn a little1 and make a smoke1 and are nourished by the smells1 how is it to be found growing there if there is no rain on the moon8' ,,xxv4 ,when ,theon had finished3 #8,well and kindly done1' ,i said1 #8to unbend our brows by your witty argument2 it makes us bold in reply1 since we have no very harsh or severe criticism to expect4 ,it is a true saying that there is little to choose between those who are vehemently convinced in such matters and those who are vehemently offended at them and incredulous1 and will not look quietly into the possibilities4 ,to begin1 supposing that men do not inhabit the moon1 it does not follow ,sidenote3 ,d that she has come into being just for nothing4 ,why1 our earth1 as we see1 is not in active use or inhabited in her whole extent2 but a small part of her only1 mere promontories or peninsulas which emerge from the abyss1 is fertile in animals and plants2 of the other parts1 some are desert and unfruitful owing to storms and droughts1 while most are sunk under the ocean4 ,but you1 lover and admirer of ,aristarchus that you are1 do not attend to ,crates and his reading3 ,ocean1 the birth and being of us all1 ,both men and ,gods1 covers the most of earth4#ceg #8,however1 this is a long way from saying that all has been brought into being for nothing4 ,the sea sends up soft exhalations1 ,sidenote3 ,e and delightful breezes in midsummer heat2 from the uninhabited and icebound land snows quietly melt which open and fertilize all2 earth stands in the midst1 in ,plato's#ceh words1 8unswerving guardian and maker of day and night04 ,nothing then prevents the moon too1 though barren of animal life1 from allowing the light around her to be reflected and to stream ,sidenote3 ,f about1 and the rays of the stars to flow together and to be united within her2 thus she combines and digests the vapours proceeding from earth1 and at the same time gets rid of what is scorching and violent in the sun's heat4 ,and here we will make bold to yield a point to ancient legend1 and to say that she has been held to be ,artemis1 a maiden and no mother1 but in other ways helpful and serviceable4 ,for1 surely1 nothing which has been said1 dear ,theon1 proves it to be impossible that she is inhabited in the way alleged4 ,for her revolution is one very gentle and calm2 which smoothes the air1 and duly ,sidenote3 #ici blends and distributes it1 so that there is no fear of those who have lived there falling or slipping off her4 ,if not this1 neither are the changes and variety of her orbit due to anomaly or confusion1 but astronomers make us see a marvellous order and progress in it all1 as they confine her within circles which roll around other circles1 according to some not herself stirring1 according to others moving gently and evenly and with uniform speeds4 ,for these circles and revolutions1 and their relations to one another1 and to us1 work out with very great accuracy the phenomena of her varying height and depth and her ,sidenote3 ,b passages in latitude as well as in longitude4 ,as to the great heat and continuous charring caused by the sun1 you will no longer fear these if you will set against the eleven#cei summer conjunctions the full-moons1 and the continuity of the change1 which does not allow extremes to last long1 tempering both extremes1 and producing a convenient temperature1 while between the two the inhabitants enjoy a climate nearly resembling our spring4 ,in the next place1 the sun sends down to us1 and drives home through her thick and resisting atmosphere1 heat fed ,sidenote3 ,c by exhalations2 but there a fine and transparent air scatters and distributes the stream of light1 which has no body or fuel beneath it4 ,as to woods and crops1 here where we live they are nourished by rains1 but in other places1 as far up as round your ,thebes and ,syene1 the earth drinks water which comes out of herself1 not from rain2 it enjoys winds and dews1 and would not1 ,i think1 thank us for comparing it in fruitfulness with our own1 even where the rainfall is heaviest4 ,with us1 plants of the same order1 if severely pinched by winter frosts1 ,sidenote3 ,d bring forth much excellent fruit1 while in ,libya1 and with you in ,egypt1 they bear cold very badly and shrink from the winters4 ,again1 while ,gedrosia1 and ,troglodytis which reaches down to ocean1 are unproductive and treeless in all parts because of the drought1 yet1 in the adjacent and surrounding sea1 plants grow to a marvellous size and luxuriate in its depths2 some of these called 8olive-trees01 some 8laurels01 some 8hair of ,isis04 ,but the 8love-come-back0 as it is called1 if taken out of the earth1 not only lives when hung up for as long as you please1 but also sprouts4 ,some are sown close on ,sidenote3 ,e to winter1 some in the height of summer1 sesame or millet for instance2 thyme or centaury1 if sown in a good rich soil and watered1 changes its qualities and strength2 both rejoice in drought and reach their proper growth in it4 ,but if1 as is said1 like most ,arabian plants1 they do not endure even dews1 but fade and perish when moistened1 what wonder1 ,i ask1 if roots and seeds and trees grow on the moon which need no rains or snows1 but are fitted by ,nature for a light and summer-like atmosphere8 ,why1 again1 may it not be probable that breezes ascend warmed by the moon and by the whirl of her revolution1 and that she is accompanied by quiet breezes1 which shed dews and moisture around1 and when ,sidenote3 ,f distributed suffice for the grown plants1 her own climate being neither fiery nor dried up1 but mild and engendering moisture4 ,for no touch of dryness reaches us from her1 but many effects of moisture and fertility1 as increase of plants1 putrefaction of flesh1 turning of wine to flatness1 softening of wood1 easy delivery to women4 ,i am afraid of stirring ,pharnaces to the fray ,sidenote3 #idj again1 now that he is quiet1 if ,i enumerate as cases of restoring moisture the tides of the ocean 7as his own school describes them71 and the fillings of gulfs when their flood is augmented by the moon4 ,so ,i will rather turn to you1 dear ,theon1 for you told us in explaining these words of ,alcman1#cfj ,dew feeds them1 born of ,zeus and ,lady ,moon1 that here he calls the atmosphere ,zeus1 and says that it is liquefied and turned into dew by the moon4 ,probably1 my friend1 her nature is opposite to the sun's1 since not only does he naturally consolidate and dry things which she softens and ,sidenote3 ,b disperses1 but she also liquefies and cools his heat1 as it falls upon her from him1 and mingles with herself4 ,certainly they are in error who hold that the moon is a fiery and charred body2 and those who require for animals there all the things which they have here1 seem to lack eyes for the inequalities of ,nature1 since it is possible to find greater and more numerous divergencies and dissimilarities between animals and animals than between them and the inanimate world4 ,and grant that men without mouths and nourished on smells are not to be found--,i do not ,sidenote3 ,c think they are--1 but the potency which ,ammonius himself used to expound to us has been hinted at by ,hesiod#cfa in the line ,nor yet in mallow and in asphodel ,how great the virtue4 ,but ,epimenides made it plain in actual experience1 teaching that ,nature always keeps the fire of life in the animal with but little fuel1 for if it get as much as the size of an olive1 it needs no more sustenance4 ,now men in the moon1 if men there be1 are compactly framed1 we may believe1 and capable of being nourished on what they get2 for the moon herself they say1 ,sidenote3 ,d like the sun who is a fiery body many times larger than the earth1 is nourished on the humours coming from the earth1 as are the other stars too in their infinite numbers4 ,light1 like them1 and simple in their needs1 may we conceive those animals to be which the upper region produces4 ,we do not see such animals1 nor yet do we see that they require a different region1 nature1 climate4 ,supposing that we were unable to approach the sea or touch it1 but merely caught views of it in the distance1 ,sidenote3 ,e and were told that its water is bitter and undrinkable and briny1 and then some one said that it supports in its depths many great animals with all sorts of shapes1 and is full of monsters1 to all of whom water is as air to us1 he would seem to be making up a parcel of fairy tales2 just so is it with us1 it seems1 and such is our attitude towards the moon1 when we refuse to believe that she has men dwelling on her4 ,her inhabitants1 ,i think1 must wonder still more greatly at this earth1 a sort of sediment and slime of the universe appearing through damps1 and mists1 and clouds1 a place unlighted1 low1 motionless2 and must ask whether it breeds and supports animals with motion1 respiration ,sidenote3 ,f and warmth4 ,and if they should anyhow have a chance of hearing those lines of ,homer3#cfb ,grim mouldy regions which e'en ,gods abhor1 and-- #8,neath hell so far as earth below high heaven1#cfc they will say they are written about a place exactly such as this1 and that ,hades is a colony planted here1 and ,tartarus1 and that there is only one earth--the moon--being midway between the upper regions and these lower ones4' ,,xxvi4 ,i had scarcely finished speaking when ,sylla broke in3 #8,stop1 ,lamprias1 and shut the door on your oratory1 lest you run my myth aground before you know it1 and make confusion of my drama1 which requires another stage and a different setting4 ,now1 ,i am only its actor1 but ,i will first1 if you see no objection1 name the poet1 beginning in ,homer's#cfd words3 ,sidenote3 #ida ,far o'er the brine an isle ,ogygian lies1 distant from ,britain five days' sail to the ,west4 ,there are three other islands equidistant from ,britain and from one another1 in the general direction of the sun's summer setting4 ,the natives have a story that in one of these ,cronus has been ,sidenote3 ,b confined by ,zeus1 but that he1 having a son for gaoler1#cfe has been settled beyond those islands and the sea1 which they call the ,gulf of ,cronus4 ,to the great continent by which the ocean is fringed is a voyage of about five thousand stades1 made in row-boats1 from ,ogygia1 of less from the other islands1 the sea being slow of passage and full of mud because of the number of streams which the great mainland discharges1 forming alluvial tracts and making the sea heavy like land1 whence an opinion prevailed that it was actually frozen4 ,the coasts of the mainland are inhabited by ,greeks living around a bay as large as the ,maeotic1 with its mouth nearly opposite that of the ,caspian ,sidenote3 ,c ,sea4 ,these ,greeks speak of themselves as continental1 and of those who inhabit our land as islanders1 because it is washed all round by the sea4 ,they think that those who came with ,hercules and were left behind by him1 mingled later on with the subjects of ,cronus1 and rekindled1 so to speak1 the ,hellenic life which was becoming extinguished and overborne by barbarian languages1 laws1 and ways of life1 and so it again became strong and vigorous4 ,thus the first honours are paid to ,hercules1 the second to ,cronus4 ,when the star of ,cronus1 called by us the ,shining ,one1 by them1 as he told us1 the ,night ,watcher1 has reached ,taurus again after an interval of thirty years1 having for a long time before made preparation for ,sidenote3 ,d the sacrifice and the voyage1 they send forth men chosen by lot in as many ships as are required1 putting on board all the supplies and stuff for the great rowing voyage before them1 and for a long sojourn in a strange land4 ,they put out1 and naturally do not all fare alike2 but those who come safely out of the perils of the sea land first on the outlying islands1 which are inhabited by ,greeks1 and day after day1 for thirty days1 see the sun hidden for less than one hour4 ,this is the night1 with a darkness which is slight and of a twilight hue1 and has a light over it from the ,west4 ,there they spend ninety days1 ,sidenote3 ,e meeting with honourable and kindly treatment1 and being addressed as holy persons1 after which they pass on1 now with help from the winds4 ,there are no inhabitants except themselves1 and those who have been sent before them4 ,for those who have joined in the service of the ,god for thirty years are allowed to sail back home1 but most prefer to settle quietly in the place where they are1 some because they have grown used to it1 some because all things are there in plenty without pain or trouble1 while their life is passed in sacrifices and festivals1 or given to literature or ,philosophy4 ,for the natural beauty ,sidenote3 ,f of the isle is wonderful1 and the mildness of the environing air4 ,some1 when they are of a mind to sail away1 are actually prevented by the ,god1 who manifests himself to them as to familiars and friends1 not in dreams only or by signs1 for many meet with shapes and voices of spirits1 openly seen and heard4 ,cronus himself sleeps within a deep cave resting on rock which looks like gold1 this sleep being devised for him by ,zeus in place of chains4 ,birds fly in at the topmost part of the rock1 and bear him ambrosia1 and the whole island is pervaded by the fragrance shed from the rock as out of a well4 ,the spirits of whom we hear serve and care for ,cronus1 having been his comrades in ,sidenote3 #idb the time when he was really king over ,gods and men4 ,many are the utterances which they give forth of their own prophetic power1 but the greatest and most important they announce when they come down as dreams of ,cronus2 for the things which ,zeus premeditates1 ,cronus dreams1 when sleep has stayed#cff the ,titanic motions and stirrings of the soul within him1 and that which is royal and divine alone remains1 pure and unalloyed4 ,sidenote3 ,b #8,now the stranger1 having been received here1 as he told us1 and serving the ,god at his leisure1 attained as much skill in astronomy as is attainable by the most advanced geometry2 of other ,philosophy he applied himself to the physical branches4 ,then1 having a strange desire and yearning to see 8the ,great ,island0 7for so it appears they call our world71 when the thirty years were passed1 and the relief parties arrived from home1 he said farewell to his friends and sailed forth1 carrying a complete equipment of all kinds1 and abundant store of provision for the way in golden beakers4 ,all the adventures which befell him1 and all the men whose lands he visited1 how he met with ,sidenote3 ,c holy writings and was initiated into all the mysteries1 it would take more than one day to enumerate as he did1 well and carefully and with all details4 ,listen now to those which concern our present discussion4 ,he spent a very long time in ,carthage4#cfg444 ,he there discovered certain sacred parchments which had been secretly withdrawn when the older city was destroyed1 and had lain a long time in the earth unnoticed2 and he said that of all the ,gods who appear to us we ought specially to honour the moon with all our substance 7and so he charged me to do71 because she was most potent in our life4 ,,xxvii4 #8,when ,i marvelled at this1 and asked for clearer ,sidenote3 ,d statements1 he went on3 8,many tales1 ,sylla1 are told among the ,greeks about the ,gods1 but not all are well told4 ,for instance1 about ,demeter and ,cora1 they are right in their names1 but wrong in supposing that they both belong to the same region2 for the latter is on earth1 and has power over earthly things1 the former is in the moon and is concerned with things of the moon4 ,the moon has been called both ,cora and ,persephone1 ,persephone because she gives light1 ,cora because we also use the same ,greek word for the pupil of the eye1 in which the image of the beholder flashes back1 as the sunbeam is seen in the moon4 ,in the stories told about ,sidenote3 ,e their wanderings and the search there is an element of truth4 ,they yearn for one another when parted1 and often embrace in shadow4 ,and what is told of ,cora1 that she is sometimes in heaven and in light1 and again in night and darkness1 is no untruth1 only time has brought error into the numbers2 for it is not during six months1 but at intervals of six months1 ,sidenote3 ,f that we see her received by the earth1 as by a mother1 in the shadow1 and more rarely at intervals of five months2 for to leave ,hades is impossible to her1 who is herself a #8bound of ,hades'1 as ,homer#cfh well hints in the words1 ,now to ,elysian plains1 earth's utmost bound4 ,for where the shadow of the earth rests in its passage1 there ,homer placed the limit and boundary of earth4 ,to that limit comes no man that is bad or impure1 but the good after death are conveyed thither1 and pass a most easy life1 not1 however1 one blessed or divine until the second death40#8 ,,xxviii4 #8,but what is that1 ,sylla8' #8,ask me not of these things1 for ,i am going to tell you fully myself4 ,the common ,sidenote3 #idc view that man is a composite creature is correct1 but it is not correct that he is composed of two parts only4 ,for they suppose that mind is in some sense a part of soul1 which is as great a mistake as to think that soul is a part of body2 mind is as much better a thing and more divine than soul1 as soul is than body4 ,now the union of soul with body makes up the passion or emotion1 the further union with mind produces reason2 the former is the origin of pleasure and pain1 the latter of virtue and vice4 ,when these three principles have been compacted1 the earth contributes body to the birth of man1 the moon soul1 the sun reason1 just as he contributes her light to the moon4 ,the death which we die is of two kinds2 the one ,sidenote3 ,b makes man two out of three1 the other makes him one out of two2 the one takes place in the earth which is the realm of ,demeter1 and is initiation unto her1#cfi so that the ,athenians used in ancient times to call the dead 8,demetrians01 the other is in the moon1 and is of ,persephone2 ,hermes is the associate on earth of the one1 of the other in heaven4 ,demeter parts soul from body quickly and with force2 ,persephone parts mind from soul gently and very slowly1 and therefore has been called#cgj 8,of the ,birth to ,unity01 for the best part of man is left in oneness1 when separated by her4 ,each process happens according to ,sidenote3 ,c ,nature1 as thus3 ,it is appointed that every soul1 irrational or rational1 when it has quitted the body1 should wander in the region between earth and moon1 but not all for an equal time2 unjust and unchaste souls pay penalties for their wrongdoings2 but the good must for a certain appointed time1 sufficient to purge away and blow to the winds1 as noxious exhalations1 defilements from the body1 which is their vicious cause1 be in that mildest part of the air which they call 8,the ,meadows of ,hades02 then they return as from long and distant exile back to their country1 they taste ,sidenote3 ,d such joy as men feel here who are initiated1 joy mingled with much amazement and trouble1 yet also with a hope which is each man's own4 ,for many who are already grasping at the moon she pushes off and washes away1 and some even of those souls which are already there and are turning round to look below are seen to be plunged again into the abyss4 ,but those which have passed above1 and have found firm footing1 first go round like victors wreathed with crowns of feathers called 8crowns of constancy01 because they kept the irrational part of the soul obedient to the curb of reason1 and well ordered in life4 ,then with countenance like a sunbeam1 and soul borne lightly upwards by fire1 as here1 namely that of the air about ,sidenote3 ,e the moon1 they receive tone and force from it1 as iron takes an edge in its bath2 for that which is still volatile and diffuse is strengthened and becomes firm and transparent1 so that they are nourished by such vapour as meets them1 and well did ,heraclitus#cga say that 8,souls feed on smell in ,hades40 ,,xxix4 ,first they look on the moon herself1 her size1 her beauty1 and her nature1 which is not single or unmixed1 but as it were a composition of earth and star4 ,for as the earth has become soft by being mixed with air and moisture1 and as the blood infused into the flesh produces sensibility1 so the moon1 they say1 being mingled with air through all her depth1 is endowed with soul and with fertility1 and at the same time ,sidenote3 ,f receives a balance1 lightness set against weight4 ,even so the universe itself1 duly framed together of things having some an upward tendency1 some a downward1 is freed from all movement of place4 ,this ,xenocrates apprehended1 it would seem1 by some divine reasoning1 having received the suggestion from ,plato4 ,for it is ,plato#cgb who showed that every star has been compounded of earth and fire by means of intermediate natures given in proportion1 since nothing reaches the senses into which earth and light do not enter4 ,but ,xenocrates says that the stars and the sun are compounded out of fire and the ,sidenote3 #idd first density1 the moon out of the second density and her own air1 and earth out of water1 fire1 and the third density2 and that as an universal law1 neither the dense alone nor the rarefied alone is capable of receiving soul4 ,so much then for the substance of the moon4 ,but her breadth and bulk are not what geometricians say1 but many times greater4 ,the reason why she but seldom measures the shadow of the earth with three of her own diameters1 is not its smallness1 but her heat1 whereby she increases her speed that she may swiftly pass through and beyond the dark region1 bearing from out it the souls of the good1 as they hasten and cry aloud1 for being in the shadow they no longer hear the harmony of heaven4 ,at the same ,sidenote3 ,b time there are borne up from below through the shadow the souls of those who are to be punished1 with wailing and loud cries4 ,hence comes the widespread custom of clanking vessels of brass during eclipses1 with a din and a clatter to reach the souls4 ,also the face1 as we call it1 terrifies them1 when they are near1 so grim and weird is it to their sight4 ,really it is nothing of the kind2 but as our earth has gulfs deep and great1 one here which streams inwards towards us from the ,pillars of ,hercules1 ,sidenote3 ,c outwards the ,caspian1 and those about the ,red ,sea1 even such are those depths and hollows of the moon4 ,the largest of them they call the ,gulf of ,hecate1 where the souls endure and exact retribution for all the things which they have suffered or done ever since they became spirits2 two of them are long1 through which the souls pass1 now to the parts of the moon which are turned toward heaven1 now back to the side next to earth4 ,the parts of the moon toward heaven are called 8the ,elysian plain01 those toward earth 8the plain of ,persephone ,antichthon04 ,,xxx4 #8,however1 the spirits do not pass all their time upon her1 they come down here to superintend oracles1 take part ,sidenote3 ,d in the highest rites of initiation and mysteries1 become guardian avengers of wrongdoing1 and shine forth as saving lights in war and on the sea4 ,in these functions1 whatever they do in a way which is not right1 from anger or to win unrighteous favour1 or in jealousy1 they suffer for it1 being thrust down to earth again and imprisoned in human bodies4 ,from the better of them1 the attendants of ,cronus said that they are themselves sprung1 as in earlier times the ,dactyli of ,ida1 the ,corybantes ,sidenote3 ,e in ,phrygia1 the ,trophoniades in ,udora of ,boeotia1 and countless others in many parts of the inhabited world2 whose temples and houses and appellations remain to this day4 ,some there are whose powers are failing because they have passed to another place by an honourable exchange4 ,this happens to some sooner1 to others later1 when mind has been separated from soul2 the separation comes by love for the image which is in the sun2 through it there shines upon them that desirable1 beautiful1 divine1 and blessed presence for which all ,nature yearns1 yet in different ways4 ,for it is through love of the sun that the moon ,sidenote3 ,f herself makes her circuit1 and has her meetings with him to receive from him all fertility4 ,that ,nature which is the soul remains on the moon1 preserving traces and dreams of the former life1 and of it you may take it that it has been rightly said3 ,winged as a dream the soul takes flight away4#cgc ,not at the first1 and not when it is quit of the body does this happen to it1 but afterwards when it becomes deserted and solitary1 set free from mind4 ,of all that ,homer has told us ,i think that there is nothing more divine than where he speaks of those in ,hades3 ,next was ,i ware of mighty ,hercules1 ,his ghost--himself among the immortals dwells4#cgd ,for the self of each of us is not courage1 nor fear1 nor desire1 any more than it is a parcel of flesh and of humours2 it is that whereby we understand and think4 ,the soul being shaped by ,sidenote3 #ide the mind and itself shaping the body and encompassing it upon all sides1 stamps its form upon it1 so that even if it is separated from both for a long time1 yet it possesses the likeness and the stamp1 and is rightly called an image4 ,of these1 the moon1 as has been said1 is the element1 for they are resolved into her just as are the bodies of the dead into earth2 the temperate speedily1 those who embraced a life of quiet and ,philosophy2 for1 having been set free by mind1 and having no further use for the passions1 they wither away4 ,but of the ambitious1 ,sidenote3 ,b and active1 and sensuous1 and passionate1 some are distracted as though in sleep1 dreaming out their memories of life1 as the soul of ,endymion2 but when their restless and susceptible nature starts them out of the moon and draws them to another birth1 she does not suffer it1 but draws them back and soothes them4 ,for no trifling matter is it1 nor quiet1 nor conventional1 when in the absence of mind1 they get them a body by passionate endeavour2 ,tityi and ,typhones1 and that ,typhon who seized ,delphi and confounded the oracle there by insolence and force1 came of such souls as these1 deserted by reason1 and left to the ,sidenote3 ,c wild wanderings of their emotional part4 ,but in course of time the moon receives even these unto herself and brings them to order2 then1 when the sun again sows mind1 she receives it with vital power and makes new souls1 and1 thirdly1 earth provides a body2 for earth gives nothing after death of what she received for birth2 the sun receives nothing1 save that he receives back the mind which he gives1 but the moon both receives and gives1 and compounds1 and distributes in diverse functions2 she who compounds has ,ilithyia for her name1 she who distributes1 ,artemis4 ,and of the three ,fates ,atropus has her station about the sun and gives the first impulse of generation2 ,clotho moving about the moon combines and mingles1 lastly ,lachesis1 upon the earth1 lends her hand1 and she has most to do with ,fortune2 for that which is without soul is powerless in itself and is affected by others1 mind is free from affection and sovereign2 soul a compound and a middle ,sidenote3 ,d term1 has1 like the moon1 been formed by the ,god1 a blend and mixture of things above and things below1 and thus bears the same relation to the sun which the earth does to the moon4' #8,such'1 said ,sylla1 #8is the story which ,i heard the stranger relate1 but he had it from the chamberlains and ministers of ,cronus1 as he himself used to say4 ,but you and your friends1 ,lamprias1 may take the story in what way you will4' ,,notes 7#a7 c4 #a1 #ibj ,b4 ,the opening of the ,dialogue is abrupt2 compare that of #8,on the ,instances of ,delay in ,divine ,punishment'4 ,many of the ,symposiacs open as abruptly1 and there a former conversation is sometimes resumed by the same speakers4 ,it seems not impossible that there had been a previous ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon1 and1 again1 that the preceded the ,de ,sera numinum ,vindicta4 ,wyttenbach reads for the ,,mss4 1 but suggests 1 which seems better4 ,sylla is not the author1 but the depository1 of the myth4 ,for 444 he reads 444 4 ,the past indicative is required by the which follows1 the reference being to the previous discussion 7see ,introduction74 ,the combination or is a frequent one4 ,if was altered to 1 the further alteration of the verb would follow4 ,sylla's language is nautical1 as in c4 #bf1 #8,did you really stop rowing1 and back-water on to the received views8' 7#b7 c4 #c4 #iba ,a4 ,for our sight4 is an old correction for of the ,,mss41 and is required by the context4 7#c7 c4 #d4 #iba ,c4 ,equal in breadth and length4 ,empedocles 7,fr4 #ag1 #bj7 has a line 1 4 ,this poetical quotation is introduced to indicate that the world is not a mere point1 but has sensible dimensions4 ,in literal truth1 the habitable world was held to be twice as long as it was wide 7i4 e4 ,n4 to ,s474 ,the words as to the earth occupying #8a point central to the sphere 7i4 e4 orbit7 of the moon' are quoted from the ,second ,hypothesis of ,aristarchus 7see ,introduction74 ,it has been proposed 7by ,dr4 ,max ,adler7 to substitute the name of ,clearchus for that of ,hipparchus4 ,but the quarrel of ,lamprias is not with philosophers but with astronomers and mathematicians1 represented by ,apollonides and ,menelaus4 ,the greatest of them is of absolute authority as to angles of reflexion1 c41 not so when he propounds a physical theory of vision1 which many find unsatisfactory4 ,for the theory itself see the quasi-,plutarchean ,de ,placitis1 #d1 #ac4 ,for the words 7omitted in the translation71 ,turnebus proposed 1 which is very attractive as to the letters1 but impossible1 unless the text be wholly reconstructed1 because ,lamprias is himself the speaker4 ,for discrepancies between the mathematically correct theory of reflexion and its physical application see chapters #ag and #bc4 7#d7 c4 #g1 #ibd ,b4 ,that segments of beams4444 ,the sense intended by the translation is this3 ,a beam is sawn into two segments on the earth's surface4 ,the two segments1 which at first are separated by a short interval1 move simultaneously towards the earth's centre1 but in converging1 not parallel1 lines1 and jam each other long before they reach it4 7,this is suggested by ,aristotle1 de ,caelo1 #b1 #ad1 #bif b #ah47 ,for ,dr4 ,purser suggests 1 which ,i have rendered2 7,aristoph4 ,lysis4 #ajjc71 #8to crouch aside'1 seems possible4 7#e7 c4 #i1 #ibe ,b4 ,perhaps the line of ,empedocles may run 7,l4 ,c4 ,p47 4 7#f7 c4 #aj1 #ibe ,e4 ,the ,,mss4 have 1 for which ,madvig 7,adv4 ,crit41 vol4 i1 p4 #ffe7 makes the admirable correction3 4 7#g7 c4 #ad1 #ibg ,f4 ,the growth within4 ,i read 1 which is sometimes confused with 4 ,cp4 ,ar4 ,eth4 ,n4 #c1 #ad1 #adi b #d4 7#h7 c4 #ai1 #icb ,c4 the moon 444 bodies also4 ,the words in brackets have been supplied from the substance of the passage of ,aristotle mentioned in the footnote4 7#i7 c4 #ai1 #icb ,c4 ,posidonius' definition is introduced because it contains an admission that the moon casts a shadow1 and is therefore an earthlike1 not a starlike1 body4 ,it has been proposed to alter into 1 and the construction with could be justified by ,platonic examples 7see ,r4 ,kunze in ,rhein4 ,mus4 vol4 #fd1 p4 #fce71 but the assumed corruption is improbable4 ,e appears#cge to read not 2 the clause introduced by the relative seems to contain a limitation of the phenomenon to #8those who experience the obscuration'1 i4e4 those in the track of the shadow over the earth's surface4 ,in this case1 the words may either have come from a marginal gloss on 1 or should be transposed with those words1 as suggested by ,dr4 ,purser4 ,this will be consistent with the account of a solar eclipse given by ,cleomedes 7#b1 #c1 p4 #agb71 doubtless after ,posidonius2 it is not 1 whereas an eclipse of the moon is 1 irrespective of the place of the terrestrial observer4 7#aj7 c4 #bd1 #icg ,f4 ,a lion4 ,kepler suggests that there was an old confusion between 1 a lion1 and 1 a stone4 7#aa7 c4 #bd1 #ich ,c4 without mouths4 ,the ,,mss4 have 1 but is an old correction adopted by ,w4 ,pliny1 ,n4 ,h4 #g1 #b1 #be1 quotes ,megasthenes for a mouthless people living near the sources of the ,ganges4 ,see also ,mller1 ,fragm4 ,hist4 ,graec4 #b1 #dbg 7,adler74 ,for the notion of living by smell cp4 ,heraclitus 7,fr4 #ch74 7#ab7 c4 #bf1 #ida ,a4 ,this interesting passage should be read by the side of ,de ,defectu ,oraculorum1 c4 #ah1 p4 #ai ,f 7p4 #ace above71 which has a close verbal resemblance1 and is perhaps extracted from it 7,adler74 ,briareus may have been named in the full text here1 as the son of ,cronus4 ,in ,hesiod1 ,theogon4 #adg1 he is the son of ,uranus1 and so ,eustathius on ,hom4 ,il4 #a1 #djc1 but a little later on ,eustathius mentions ,cronus as his father on the authority of ,arrian4 of the ,,mss4 is difficult4 ,adler would read 1 1 4 ,dr4 ,purser points out that the ,straits of ,gibraltar were first called the ,pillars of ,cronus1 afterwards the ,pillars of ,briareus1 and lastly the ,pillars of ,hercules 7,schol4 ad ,dionys4 ,perieg4 #fd in ,mller's ,fragm4 ,hist4 ,gr4 #c1 #fdj74 ,i have followed the reading of ,emperius 1 but without much confidence4 ,cronus could not well1 as ,dr4 ,purser points out1 have been in one of the islands1 and also beyond it4 7#ac7 c4 #bf1 #idb ,c4 ,i venture to suggest that the text may have run something as follows3 1 1 1 4 ,the long sojourn of the stranger in ,carthage would be explained if he owned mines there4 ,in the sequel may perhaps stand for and for 4 #djh ,f 7p4 #aaj1 l4 #ai74 4 ,if stands1 it should rather mean #8liable to take good faith 7like an infection7#81 a very common use of the adjective and its adverb in ,plutarch4 ,see e4 g4 #ffa ,b1 #fca ,c4 ,this seems rather a forced oxymoron here4 ,wyttenbach doubted1 and ,madvig proposed 1 a word said to be found in ,themistius4 ,on the passage see ,j4 ,h4 ,w4 ,strijd in ,class4 ,rev41 xxviii1 p4 #bai4 ,supplemental ,notes #aiah #dah ,a 7p4 #acb1 above74 444 77 1 1 1 1 4 ,i have followed ,amyot1 whose version is perhaps more intelligible than the ,latin1 but involves the change of to 7,turnebus7 and the transposition of ,tempe and ,thermopylae4 ,if can be retained1 the reference will be to ,dionysus and ,apollo1 the two gods connected with the sanctuary 7pp4 #fg1 #ach1 c47 and the purgation of the latter at ,tempe1 commemorated by periodical rites4 appears to correspond more closely to above4 #ibf ,c-,d 7pp4 #bga-b74 1 1 1 1 1 4 ,for ,w4 proposes 4 ,i have1 with great hesitation1 followed ,herwerden's 7,emperius 71 as the substantive agrees with the participle1 but the whole passage is difficult4 seems to be out of place 7can stand for something equivalent to or to ,madvig's 78 ,in the paper mentioned on p4 #ed ,dr4 ,max ,adler adduces an interesting passage from ,maximus ,tyrius 7diss4 #bb1 #f7 closely parallel to this1 as proving that ,plutarch was drawing upon ,posidonius4 ,the participle occurs4 ,footnote #cjb3 ,in c4 #bb ,apollonides is made to state the angular diameter of the moon at #ab #8fingers'1 i4 e4 one degree4 ,footnote #cjc3 ,see ,note 7#a71 p4 #cji4 ,footnote #cjd3 ,see ,note 7#b71 p4 #cji4 ,footnote #cje3 ,arist4 ,probl4 #ab1 #c4 ,footnote #cjf3 ,see ,note 7#c71 p4 #cji4 ,footnote #cjg3 ,see ,aristarchus1 ,magnitudes and ,distances1 ,hypothesis #b4 ,footnote #cjh3 ,see the ,homeric ,hymn to ,hermes1 #ii-ajj1 where the moon is the daughter of ,pallas 7#8the ,pallantean orb sublime'1 ,shelley71 cp4 p4 #bid4 ,footnote #cji3 ,as ,homer1 ,od4 #bc1 #ccj2 #bd1 #eci2 ,hesiod1 ,theog4 #eae4 ,footnote #caj3 e4 g4 ,il4 #aj1 #cid4 ,cp4 ,heraclides ,ponticus1 #ae4 ,footnote #caa3 ,p4 ,v4 #cdi4 ,footnote #cab3 ,fr4 #hh4 ,footnote #cac3 ,w4 reads 7,e has 71 but renders by #8cieri'4 ,footnote #cad3 ,fr4 #gcc4 ,footnote #cae3 ,see note 7#d71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #caf3 ,professor ,henry ,jackson has pointed out that the words form a hexameter line4 ,for the ,greek word see p4 #bia4 ,its introduction here is due to ,m4 ,bernardakis4 ,footnote #cag3 ,reading 1 with ,madvig4 ,footnote #cah3 ,see note 7#e71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #cai3 ,,mss4 ,footnote #cbj3 ,prop4 #g4 ,footnote #cba3 ,see note 7#f71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #cbb3 ,cf4 ,il4 #i1 #fc4 ,footnote #cbc3 ,reading 7,emperius1 ap4 ,ed4 ,teub471 for 4 ,footnote #cbd3 ,see additional note1 p4 #cab4 ,footnote #cbe3 ,see e4 g4 ,tim4 #cb ,c4 ,footnote #cbf3 ,theog4 #abj1 #aie4 ,footnote #cbg3 ,pindar1 ,fr4 #eg3 see p4 #agi4 ,footnote #cbh3 ,reading 1 with ,emperius4 ,footnote #cbi3 ,see note 7#g71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #ccj3 ,reading 1 with ,emperius4 ,footnote #cca3 ,ion ,chius1 ,fr4 #eg 7,nauck74 ,footnote #ccb3 ,reading 1 with ,madvig4 ,footnote #ccc3 ,i have followed the paraphrase of the ,greek words suggested by ,wyttenbach4 ,for the physical facts see ,ganot's ,physics1 #eaf4 ,footnote #ccd3 ,timaeus1 #df ,a-,c 7,plato does not discuss plane folding mirrors74 ,footnote #cce3 ,reading for 4 ,footnote #ccf3 ,kepler has supplied such a diagram 7in his translation1 p4 #aca74 ,footnote #ccg3 ,see p4 #bec4 ,footnote #cch3 ,pindar1 ,fr4 #ajg4 ,paean #i 7see ,oxy4 ,pap4 #aijh1 #hda74 ,footnote #cci3 ,od4 #bj1 #ceb and #ceg2 #ad1 #afb2 #ai1 #cjg4 ,footnote #cdj3 ,reading for 4 ,footnote #cda3 ,prop4 #ag4 ,footnote #cdb3 ,de ,caelo1 #b1 #ac1 #bic b #bj4 ,footnote #cdc3 ,see note 7#h71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #cdd3 ,see note 7#i71 p4 #caj4 ,footnote #cde3 ,reading with ,mr4 ,w4 ,r4 ,paton1 see ,class4 ,rev4 vol4 #bf1 p4 #bfi4 ,footnote #cdf3 ,strictly speaking1 both cases are of #8overtaking'1 but the results follow as stated4 ,footnote #cdg3 ,il4 #i1 #bab4 ,footnote #cdh3 ,see ,plato1 ,phaedo1 #aaj ,b-,c4 ,footnote #cdi3 ,od4 #caa4 ,footnote #cej3 ,soph4 7,lemnians71 ,fr4 #cdh4 ,footnote #cea3 is due here to ,meineke1 ap4 ,ed4 ,teub41 see p4 #bfg4 ,footnote #ceb3 ,tim4 #dj ,b4 ,footnote #cec3 ,see note 7#aj71 p4 #caa4 ,footnote #ced3 ,aesch4 ,suppl4 #icg4 ,footnote #cee3 ,see p4 #bfb and note4 ,footnote #cef3 ,see n4 7#aa71 p4 #caa4 ,footnote #ceg3 ,il4 #ad1 #bdf4 ,the second line appears to have been added by ,crates and is not in our texts4 ,footnote #ceh3 ,tim4 #dj ,c4 ,footnote #cei3 ,kepler would read #8twelve'4 ,footnote #cfj3 ,fr4 #dh4 ,footnote #cfa3 ,w4 and ,d4 #da4 ,footnote #cfb3 ,il4 #bj1 #fd4 ,footnote #cfc3 ,il4 #h1 #af4 ,footnote #cfd3 ,od4 #g1 #bdd4 ,footnote #cfe3 ,see n4 7#ac71 p4 #caa4 ,footnote #cff3 ,reading 1 with ,madvig4 ,footnote #cfg3 ,see n4 7#ad71 p4 #cab4 ,footnote #cfh3 ,od4 #i1 #efc4 ,footnote #cfi3 i4 e4 the words 1 are allied1 see p4 #bae4 ,footnote #cgj3 ,plato1 ,tim4 #ca ,b and end4 ,footnote #cga3 ,fr4 #ch4 ,footnote #cgb3 ,tim4 #ca ,b4 ,footnote #cgc3 ,od4 #aa1 #bbb4 ,footnote #cgd3 ,od4 #aa1 #fjj4 ,footnote #cge3 ,from a note made in #aiaj1 which cannot at present 7#aiaf7 be verified4 ,,note ,,on ,,the ,,myths ,,in ,,plutarch ,the three #8myths' which are found in these ,dialogues are all avowedly ,platonic2 they are introduced and dismissed in ,platonic formulae1 and much of the imagery is drawn from ,plato4 ,yet the treatment is ,plutarch's own1 and the style1 though dignified and elevated after his fashion1 never suggests an imitation of ,plato which could only be parody4 ,new matter is brought in1 mostly gleaned from the astronomy of his day4 ,the movements of the heavenly bodies have been an inspiration to later poets of verse and prose3 ,minerva breathes on me1 ,apollo guides1 ,and the nine ,muses point me to the ,bears4 ,to ,plutarch the subject was rather one of earnest curiosity1 as he turns to account the details and their theological application1 read by him in the philosophers of1 or nearly of1 his own age4 ,the purpose of the ,platonic myth is to carry the argument beyond and above the region of logic and analysis1 into that of poetry and constructive truth1 upon matters where strict proof was impossible4 ,the reader may be referred to ,bishop ,westcott's ,essay on ,religious ,thought in the ,west1 and to ,professor ,j4 ,a4 ,stewart's book on ,the ,myths of ,plato4 7#a7 ,it will be convenient to look first into the myth of ,thespesius in ,plutarch's ,dialogue ,on the ,instances of ,delay in ,divine ,punishment 7see pp4 #bje-ac of this book74 ,the motive is identical with that of the myth of ,er in the ,republic1 yet with a difference4 ,plato gives us an experience from the world beyond death1 granted to one who had been taken for dead during several days1 in order to carry to a higher plane his argument for the victory here and hereafter of ,justice over ,injustice4 ,plutarch1 as a moral teacher and #8physician of souls'1 concerned to restore individuals who have fallen1 and to keep the falling on their feet1 gives us the picture of #8,the ,rake ,reformed'1 taking an extreme instance of a vicious character restored to sanity by glimpses of penalties and of bliss beyond this life1 in order to deter and encourage others under temptation4 ,the name ,aridaeus1 changed to ,thespesius1 #8,the ,divine'1 as an earnest of the reformation1 reminds us of ,ardiaeus the tyrant1 in ,plato4 ,the language naturally falls into that of the ,judgement-myth in the ,gorgias4 ,it is introduced by a similar form of words3 #8,now listen while ,i tell you a very beautiful story 77 which you ,i think will call a myth 771 for all that ,i am about to say ,i wish to be regarded as true' 7,plato74 #8,i can tell you a story which ,i have lately heard1 yet ,i hesitate lest it may appear to you a myth4444 ,let me first make good the 8probability0 of my view1 then we will start the myth1 if myth indeed it be' 7,plutarch74 ,the details in ,plutarch are fuller and grimmer1 and the language1 though solemn1 lacks the stately reticence of ,plato4 ,we are often reminded of words and thoughts in the ,eumenides of ,aeschylus4 ,the celestial imagery is vague1 and does not seem to suggest any special source more modern than ,plato4 ,it has a general resemblance to a passage in the ,phaedo 7c4 #eh1 p4 #aji ,d1 ,e74 #8,we1 dwelling in a hollow of the ,earth1 think that we dwell upon the ,earth itself2 and the air we call ,heaven1 and think that it is that ,heaven wherein are the courses of the stars3 whereas1 by reason of weakness and sluggishness1 we cannot go forth out of the air2 but if a man could journey to the edge thereof1 or having gotten wings could fly up1 it would come to pass that even as fishes here which rise out of the sea do behold the things here1 he1 looking out1 would behold the things there1 and if his strength could endure the sight thereof1 would see that there are the ,true ,heaven1 and the ,true ,light1 and the ,true ,earth' 7,tr4 ,j4 ,a4 ,stewart74 ,the daemons are only mentioned as ,ministers or ,ushers in the after-world2 there is no threefold division of the man into body1 soul1 and mind1 only one into body and soul2 there is one reference to ,delphi and its oracle1 where a popular belief that ,night and ,apollo were partners is corrected4 ,an attentive reading will bring out a resemblance of words and phrases to those familiar to us in the ,sixth ,book of the ,aeneid1 the subject of ,e4 ,norden's fruitful and convincing study4 7#b7 ,the beautiful story of ,timarchus1 the young friend of ,socrates' son1 who passed into a trance in the cave of ,trophonius1 and saw things of the unseen world which were to be fully revealed to him three months later1 i4 e4 in actual death1 comes into the ,dialogue ,on the ,genius of ,socrates 7pp4 #cf-dj7 to explain the special correspondence during life between the ,god and those gifted souls who possess mind1 and become daemons or spirits after death4 ,here the three-fold division into body1 soul1 and mind 7see p4 #cjc7 is maintained4 ,a practical application of the myth is drawn by ,theanor1 the young ,pythagorean visitor4 ,as the supposed ,dialogue takes place in ,b4 ,c4 #cgh1 we do not expect to find in it the astronomy of ,plutarch's day1 though he would not have shrunk from any anachronism4 ,the general imagery is again that of the ,phaedo1 but there is a sea on which circular bodies1 the stars which are men's souls1 float4 ,the current which bears them is circular1 yet not completely circular1 not ending in the point where it started1 but describing a continuous spiral 7just as the moon does with reference to the earth's path74 ,this sea is inclined to the middle and highest point of the firmament by #8a little less than eight-ninths of the whole'4 ,this is puzzling2 it may suggest the inclination of the ecliptic to the equator1 or1 again1 that of the ,milky ,way to the ecliptic4 ,doubtless some explanation will be forthcoming4 ,an interesting detail is #8,styx1 a way to ,hades'1 clearly the shadow in a lunar eclipse1 since the moon #8only avoids ,styx by a slight elevation1 and is caught once in one hundred and seventy-seven secondary measures'1 the exact number of periods of twenty-four hours contained in six lunar months1 the normal interval between two eclipses 7see p4 #bhf74 #8,secondary measures' is a curious expression1 since ,plutarch elsewhere 7,plat4 ,quaest4 #c1 p4 #ajjf ,e7 calls periods of a day and a night #8the primary measures'4 ,it seems not impossible that here has replaced some word which the scribe could not make out1 such as 4 ,we have the four principles of birth and death1 as in the ,face in the ,moon2 only there ,clotho takes the moon for her sphere of office1 and ,lachesis the earth1 here ,lachesis takes the moon1 ,clotho the sun1 ,atropus the #8unseen'4 ,neither list agrees with the assignment of functions by ,xenocrates 7see the end of ,dr4 ,m4 ,adler's ,dissertation mentioned below74 7#c7 ,sylla's tale in the ,face in the ,moon 7pp4 #bii-cjh71 a traveller's story picked up in ,carthage from one of those curious characters found on the outer margin of the ,greek world in whom ,plutarch delighted1 is brought in with admirable dramatic fitness1 shown in ,sylla's eagerness to produce it at the very outset1 in the preparation for it by the skirmish between ,theon and ,lamprias1 and in the vivacity of the narrative4 ,it is dismissed with a ,platonic formula3 #8,such is the story which ,i heard the stranger relate4444 ,but you and your friends1 ,lamprias1 may take the story in what way you will4' ,compare3 #8,i am persuaded1 ,o ,callicles1 that these things that are told are true4444 ,perchance this shall seem to you an old wife's fable1 and thou wilt despise it3 well mightest thou despise it1 if by searching we could find out aught better and truer' 7,gorgias1 #ebf ,d1 #ebg ,a74 ,the astronomy of the myth is in the main that of the preceding ,dialogue1 and ,sylla shows considerable familiarity with ,plato and also with ,xenocrates4 ,it is perhaps noticeable how little interest ,plutarch shows in geographical detail1 contenting himself with such vague and antiquated views as sufficed for a setting to the story4 ,he appears not to name ,pytheas at all in the ,lives1 and only once 7on a question of the tides7 in the ,moralia4 ,the whole ,dialogue has been the subject of a careful study by ,dr4 ,max ,adler of ,vienna 7,dissertationes ,vindobonenses1 #aiaj74 ,without entering into his general view of the structure1 we may observe that ,dr4 ,adler seems to be very successful in establishing the close connexion between it and the ,dialogue ,on the ,cessation of the ,oracles1 which he is probably right--though he reserves the proofs--in regarding as based upon it1 and later in date4 ,this comes out especially in the passages about the captivity of ,cronus 7cp4 p4 #cja with pp4 #ace-f71 and the argument about #8the ,middle' 7cp4 p4 #bgj with p4 #add74 ,he produces a happy quotation from ,maximus ,tyrius to establish beyond doubt that the source of an important passage about mind 7pp4 #bga-b7 was in ,posidonius4 ,his general conclusion as to the myth1 is that it too is in the main from ,posidonius1 and that when ,plutarch draws upon ,xenocrates1 it is through ,posidonius4 ,the latter appears to have been a writer of great industry and encyclopaedic learning1 quoted as an authority on matters of history1 physical geography1 and what we should now call anthropology2 not an original force in ,philosophy1 but successful in reconciling systems and making them available for human needs2 one the aim of whose life-work was1 in the words of one of his most recent exponents1 to make men at home in the universe 7,stoics and ,sceptics1 by ,edwyn ,bevan1 p4 #ih74 ,any one who will read ,sylla's myth1 with a good map of the moon's surface before him1 will be able to locate for himself the #8,gulf of ,hecate'1 and the long valleys leading to the ,elysian plains1 which1 on her side remote from earth1 enjoy diffused sunlight4 ,there need be no idea of shafts or tunnels driven through the solid body of the moon4 ,cicero's ,dream of ,scipio1 written more than a century before ,plutarch's ,dialogue1 and also drawn from ,posidonius1 will be found an admirable companion piece1 enforcing1 in language of singular beauty and elevation1 those duties to country and ancestors which find inadequate expression in the ,greek thought of the first century of our era4 ,,note ,,on ,,the ,,plurality ,,of ,,worlds ,,and ,,the ,,five ,,regular ,,solids ,the opinion that our ,world1 or universe1 is not the only one in the ,whole1 is attributed1 in general terms1 to many of the early ,greek philosophers1 notably to ,anaximander4 ,the exact meaning of a #8,cosmos'1 in this connexion1 is perhaps not easy to fix4 ,aristotle is clear that the circle of the fixed stars is one and constant1 but the author of the ,stoical treatise on the ,cosmos1 found among his works1 takes stars to be a part of the 7one7 ,cosmos4 ,an earth1 such as ours with her atmosphere and moon1 is essential1 and a sun1 or access to sunlight1 and perhaps some planets4 ,in the ,dream of ,scipio our solar system1 with the earth in its centre1 is described with great distinctness as a unit in space4 ,the planets are always regarded as luminous points1 stars somewhat out of place 7see p4 #bfh71 possessing no definite magnitude or solid substance4 ,in theory the number of ,cosmi might be infinite1 but a shrinking from the vague #8,infinity'1 in later times associated with the ,epicureans1 led ,plato1 for instance1 to restrict the number to a possible five4 ,that he based this number upon that of the five regular solids may seem fanciful1 but the solid angles and forms observed in crystals might reasonably suggest the hypothesis that the ultimate constituents of the crust of the earth would be found in the most perfect solid structures known to theory4 ,in theory there is much that is attractive in these five solids4 ,to one coming fresh from a study of ,plane ,polygonal ,figures1 which exist in infinite number1 and1 when regular1 approximate more and more closely to the ,plane ,circle1 it comes as a surprise to find that1 in the next higher degree1 the number of solid bodies so approximating to the ,sphere is five only4 ,again1 it seems almost a paradox that1 of these five1 the nearest approximation to the ,sphere is attained1 not by the body with twenty fine faces1 but by that which shews only twelve1 and those comparatively blunted and unshapely 7pentagons74 ,it was perhaps from such considerations that the ,dodecahedron was held of special importance by the ,pythagoreans4 ,plato's study of the several faces of these solids1 as available for construction or reconstruction of a world1 leaves nothing to be desired1 assuming that a solid body can be built out of plane figures1 an assumption which appears to belong to the same habit of thought as that which makes the point the square of unity1 and the lineal measure corresponding to the number two the first rectangle4 ,as the pentagon defies the analysis available for the equilateral triangle or for the square1 the ,dodecahedron remains over1 a model or pattern of a stitch-work world1 as viewed from outside 7,phaedo #aaj ,b and ,timaeus #ee ,c2 see also ,burnet's ,early ,greek ,philosophy1 p4 #cda foll474 ,it may not be amiss to be reminded that ,kepler1 mathematician as well as astronomer1 spent many toilsome years in the endeavour to arrange the members of our solar system upon a plan based on the five solids4 #8,if ,kepler went out 8to seek his father's asses01 he found a kingdom1 for it was in the course of these speculations1 and through them1 that he discovered not only his own 8,third ,law01 but also the truth1 overlooked by ,copernicus1 that the orbit of each planet lies in a plane which passes through the centre of the sun4' 7,dreyer1 ,planetary ,systems1 p4 #daj47 ,the discussion of the plurality of worlds1 in the modern sense1 begins with the very attractive work of ,fontenelle1 brought out1 in its original form1 in #afhf1 a year before ,newton's ,principia1 being a series of conversations between the ,author and a witty and accomplished ,marquise1 as to the habitability of the several members of the solar system4 ,the argument which followed is distinguished by many great names1 those of ,newton himself1 ,bentley1 ,huyghens1 the ,herschels1 ,dr4 ,chalmers1 till it was brought to a head in the middle of the nineteenth century by ,dr4 ,whewell and ,sir ,david ,brewster1 writing respectively against and for the hypothesis4 ,the subject was then one 7as readers of ,anthony ,trollope will remember7 upon which any one might be called upon to take a side in a ,london drawing-room4 ,in more recent times interest has been concentrated upon ,mars1 who now possesses the distinction of having two satellites4 ,we are only concerned to invite the reader to compare the religious argument addressed to the ,stoics by ,plutarch 7p4 #adb foll47 with the religious argument drawn by ,dr4 ,chalmers and ,sir ,david ,brewster from the enrichment of the providential scheme for man upon our earth which would follow the conception of other earths tenanted by other beings perhaps of a higher order4 ,but it is natural that any such speculation should begin with the moon1 and in fact we find the question of her habitability discussed by ,theon and by ,lamprias 7pp4 #bic-i74 ,with the later treatises on this subject1 beginning with ,lucian's witty flight of fancy1 we are not concerned4 ,but an exception must be made for the very able works of ,savinien de ,cyrano1 known to us as ,cyrano de ,bergerac1 whose ,histoire comique des tats et ,empires de la ,lune appeared1 probably1 in #afej1 and was followed by a similar work about the sun4 ,cyrano appears to be familiar with ,plutarch3 thus he meets in the moon the #8daemon of ,socrates'1 who has also been the tutelary spirit of ,epaminondas1 of ,cato of ,utica1 and of ,brutus4 ,the idea 7due in the first place to ,heraclitus7 of being fed on smells1 is worked out with much vivacity4 ,but with so original and daring a writer1 it is not quite easy to settle how much is due to any hint from others and how much to himself4 ,a modern reader will not need to be reminded that ,cyrano was not a person of whom it was wise to give an outspoken opinion in his lifetime4 ,but ,i had wished to speak with nothing but respect of a man of real learning and genius1 who1 from whatever cause1 did not bring to perfection any work worthy of himself4 ,see1 on the general subject1 an ,essay by the late ,professor ,henry ,j4 ,s4 ,smith in ,oxford ,essays1 #ahee4 ,,index ,,of ,,persons ,,and ,,places ,,mentioned ,,by ,,plutarch ,,in ,,these ,,dialogues ,in this ,index the ,greek spelling of ei 7,lat4 7 has been usually retained4 ,all dates are ,b4 ,c4 unless otherwise stated4 ,the dates are often approximate and conventional4 ,other numerals refer to pages of this volume4 ,for the speakers in each ,dialogue see that ,dialogue passim and the ,introductions4 7,the #8,three ,pythian ,dialogues' are quoted under that designation ,see p4 #eb47 ,a4 ,academy1 ,academic1 the ,school founded by ,plato in #8the most beautiful suburb of ,athens' 7,thuc4 ii4 #cd71 #fe1 #ajd1 #agh1 #bfd4 ,acanthus1 ,acanthian1 a town of the ,chalcidice1 #id1 #ie4 ,achaeans1 #ajb4 ,achaeus1 #ie4 ,achron1 a river of the lower world1 #bbg4 ,achilles1 #bid4 ,admtus1 king of ,pherae in ,thessaly1 and husband of ,alcestis1 #acb4 ,adnis 7#8,gardens of ,adonis' were cut flowers planted in pots71 #aii4 ,adrasteia1 a name for ,nemesis1 #8the unescapable'1 #bjg4 ,aegna1 an island in the ,saronic ,gulf1 opposite to ,athens1 #ii4 ,aegon1 #he4 ,aegos ,potami1 a river1 and in later times a town1 in the ,chersonese1 famous for the sea-battle of #dje1 in which ,lysander defeated the ,athenian fleet1 #hh4 ,aemilinus1 a rhetorician1 #acd1 #ace4 ,aeolian1 #aba4 ,aeoldae1 #acb4 ,aeschylus1 tragic poet of ,athens1 7#ebe-def71 #fg1 #acb1 #afb1 #bfe4 ,aesop of ,samos1 writer of fables 7fl4 #egj71 a freedman of ,iadmon of ,samos1 #id1 #aib4 ,aetna1 ,mount1 in ,sicily1 #bga4 ,aetolians1 #ib4 ,agamemnon1 #abe1 #bcj4 ,agathcls1 #aic4 ,agv1 daughter of ,cadmus1 and mother of ,pentheus1 #bbf4 ,agenordas1 #ac4 ,agesianax 7or ,hegesianax71 a poet1 probably of ,alexandria1 third century1 #bfj1 #bfa4 ,agesilas ,,ii1 the lame king of ,sparta1 reigned #cih-cfa 7see his ,life7 #aa1 #ac1 #ia4 ,aglaonc1 #acj4 ,aglaphon1 #aff4 ,agrigentum 7,acragas71 a town on the south coast of ,sicily1 #ahd4 ,adoneus 7,hades71 #gg4 ,ajax1 #aic1 #bcj4 ,alcaeus1 of ,lesbos1 lyric poet 7fl4 #fjj71 #aah4 ,alcibides #dej-djd1 ,athenian politician1 #ai1 #ahc4 ,alcman1 lyric poet of ,sparta 7fl4 #fcj71 #big4 ,alcmna1 wife of ,amphitryon and mother of ,hercules2 7on her sanctuary1 in a grove near ,thebes1 see ,pausan4 ix4 #af4 #d71 #aa1 #ab1 #ac4 ,als1 #ab4 ,alexander1 the ,great1 #ie1 #aib1 #bcc4 ,alexis1 of ,thurii1 poet of the so-called #8,middle ,attic ,comedy'1 fourth century1 #acg4 ,alodes1 ,otus and ,ephialtes1 giant sons of ,iphimedeia1 wife of ,aloeus 7,od4 xi4 #cjg foll41 and ,il4 v4 #che71 #bhi4 ,alopcus1 #aji4 ,alphs1 a river of ,arcadia and ,elis1 #afj4 ,alyattes1 king of ,lydia and father of ,croesus 7d4 #efj71 #if4 ,alyrius1 #ajj4 ,amstris1 #bce4 ,ammon1 the temple of ,zeus ,ammon in an oasis of the ,libyan ,desert to the ,n4,w4 of ,egypt1 #aag1 #abj4 ,ammonius1 an ,athenian philosopher of the first century ,a4 ,d41 the instructor of ,plutarch4 ,a speaker in the ,first and ,third ,pythian ,dialogues4 ,see also #bih1 and cp4 ,sympos4 #c1 #a1 #b2 #h1 #c2 #i1 #a1 #b1 #e1 #ad2 and ,life of ,themistocles1 end4 ,amphiaras of ,argos1 prince and seer1 who accompanied the ,seven ,chieftains against ,thebes1 and was swallowed up by the earth there1 #aba4 ,amphictyons1 #8,dwellers around'1 whose council met at ,thermopylae and at ,pylaea1 a suburb of ,delphi1 #ie1 #aaj4 ,amphilchus1 son of ,amphiaras1 worshipped at ,malli in ,cilicia1 #afc1 #bje4 ,amphon1 the district of ,thebes between the rivers ,strophia and ,ismenus 7,pausan4 ix4 #af and #ag71 #aj4 ,amphipolis1 a town of ,macedon on the ,strymon1 taken by ,brasidas in #dbd1 #age n4 ,amphithes1 a ,theban patriot1 imprisoned by the ,polemarchs1 #aa1 #bi1 #dc1 #ej4 ,amphitryon1 father of ,hercules1 #ac4 ,anactorium1 a town and promontory of ,acarnania1 #ahd4 ,anaxagoras1 #dii-dbg1 a philosopher of ,clazomenae in ,ionia1 #ga1 #afe1 #bca1 #bgg1 #bhc4 ,andocdes1 #af4 ,androcleidas1 a ,theban patriot1 assassinated when a refugee in ,athens1 #df4 ,antichthon1 #cjf4 ,antignus1 younger son of ,demetrius ,sotr1 king of ,syria 7d4 #abe71 #bjd4 ,antipater1 son of ,cassander1 king of ,macedon1 succeeded his brother ,philip1 and was himself murdered1 #aih4 ,antiphon1 #ah4 ,aphrodit1 goddess of love1 #ahi1 #bcb1 #bgb4 ,apollo1 #ei1 #fb1 #fg1 #fh1 #gc1 #gf1 #gg1 #gh1 #hh1 #ic1 #id1 #if1 #ii1 #aba1 #acb1 #adf1 #afj1 #afa1 #agj1 #aic1 #baj1 #bcb4 ,apollocrates1 son of ,dionysius the younger1 of ,syracuse 7d4 #ced71 #aih4 ,apollodrus1 tyrant of ,cassandria 7,potidaea7 from #cgi1 #ahi1 #aia4 ,apollonia1 a town in ,illyria founded from ,corinth1 #ahd4 ,apollonia1 a town in ,pisidia1 #if4 ,apollonides1 a speaker in the ,face in the ,moon4 7,sympos4 #c1 #d74 ,arabia1 #big4 ,arcadia1 ,arcadians1 #agf4 ,arcsus1 ,lacedaemonian ,harmost1 #bi1 #ea4 ,arcsus1 of ,sicily1 #bb4 ,archelas1 king of ,macedon1 #dac-cii1 friend and host of ,euripides1 #ei4 ,archias1 of ,athens1 the priest1 #dg4 ,archias1 of ,thebes4 ,a member of the oligarchical party1 and made a ,polemarch by ,sparta1 #h1 #aj1 #bi1 #cb1 #dc1 #dd1 #dg1 #dh1 #ej4 ,archidmus1 an ,athenian1 #f1 #g1 #h1 #dd1 #de1 #dg4 ,archilchus1 #gad-fgf1 of ,paros1 lyric and iambic poet1 #fc1 #aii1 #bcj1 #bhb4 ,archnus1 #g4 ,archtas of ,tarentum1 mathematician and statesman1 fl4 #cjj 7see ,life of ,marcellus1 c4 #ad71 #ad n41 #aha4 ,argos1 ,argive1 #he1 #ahf4 ,aridaeus1 #bjf4 ,aristarchus of ,samos1 astronomer and physicist 7#caj-bcj71 #ih1 #bfd1 #bfi1 #bhc4 ,aristarchus1 critic1 of ,samothrace and ,alexandria 7fl4 #aef71 #bie4 ,aristocrtes1 king of ,arcadia 7stoned to death #ffh71 #agf4 ,aristodmus1 king of ,messenia 7d4 #gbc71 #bbi1 #bcj4 ,ariston1 #ahf1 #aie4 ,aristonca1 #ajd4 ,aristotle1 #chd-cbb1 founder of the ,peripatetic ,school at ,athens1 #fi1 #hd1 #hh1 #adc1 #afb1 #bhc1 #cah4 ,aristotle 7see p4 #bee71 a ,peripatetic1 who takes part in the ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon4 ,aristyllus1 an astronomer 7fl4 #bcc71 #ih4 ,arn1 a town in ,thessaly1 #aeh4 ,arslus1 #ach1 #aci4 ,artmis1 #adf1 #bcj1 #bcb1 #bfb1 #bie1 #cjh4 ,artemisium1 on the north coast of ,euboea1 where the ,greek fleet defeated that of ,xerxes in #dhj1 #ahc4 ,asclepius 7,aesculapius71 #ahe4 ,assyrians1 #bhh4 ,asterium1 #ib4 ,athmas1 #aij1 #bbf4 ,athena 7,pallas ,athene71 #af1 #ej1 #ajb1 #aci1 #aic1 #bfb1 #bid4 ,athens1 ,athenian1 #g1 #h1 #ag1 #ah1 #ai1 #bc1 #dj1 #dg1 #di1 #fb1 #fe1 #hh1 #ie1 #if1 #ii1 #agg1 #ahc1 #ahe1 #aie1 #aif1 #aig1 #bbi1 #cjc4 ,atlas1 a giant son of ,iaptus and brother of ,prometheus1 identified with a mountain in ,,nw4 ,africa1 #fe1 #bfe4 ,atrpus1 #cg1 #cjh1 #cae4 ,attca1 #afb4 ,augeas1 king of the ,epeans2 slain for bad faith by ,hercules1 and succeeded by ,phyleus1 #bjd4 ,ausonius1 a ,latin poet of ,bordeaux 7,a4,d4 #caj-ij71 #abg n4 ,autolycus1 son of ,hermes1 and grandfather of ,ulysses1 famed for his cunning1 #ahe4 ,b4 ,bacchus1 #bji4 ,bacchyldas1 #bj4 ,bacis1 an ancient ,boeotian seer1 connected in story with the ,corycian cave1 #ij4 ,bakerwoman1 the1 #if4 ,basilocles1 a speaker in the introductory part of the ,second ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,battus1 of ,thera1 founder of ,cyrene 7see ,herod4 #d1 #aej foll471 #ajc1 #ajh4 ,bessus1 #ahf4 ,bias1 sixth century2 of ,prin in ,ionia2 one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #fa4 ,bion1 a ,scythian philosopher and wit of the third century1 #hf1 #bja1 #bbi4 ,boeotia1 #g1 #i1 #ej1 #fe1 #abj1 #aid1 #cjf4 ,bothus1 a young geometrician and ,epicurean 7probably an ,athenian71 a speaker in the ,second ,pythian ,dialogue 7cp4 ,sympos4 #e1 #a and #h1 #c74 ,branchdae1 #aic4 ,brasdas1 the ,spartan general 7d4 #dbb71 #id1 #ie1 #age4 ,brireus1 #ace1 cf4 #bii4 ,britain1 ,briton1 #aag1 #acc1 #bfa1 #bii4 ,byzantium1 #ahi4 ,c4 ,cabirchus1 #dh4 ,cadmeia1 the citadel of ,thebes1 #h1 #aj1 #ab1 #cj1 #ea4 ,cadmus1 the founder of ,thebes1 #hg4 ,caesar1 the ,emperor ,augustus 7#fc-;,a4,d4 #ad71 #fb4 ,caligla1 #bcc4 ,callias1 a rich ,athenian1 see the ,symposium of ,xenophon and the ,protagoras of ,plato1 #ie4 ,callippus1 #ahe4 ,callistrtus1 of ,athens1 #di4 ,callistratus1 archon of ,delphi1 #aag4 ,calondas1 #aii4 ,capheisias1 of ,thebes1 son of ,polymnis and brother of ,epaminondas2 the chief speaker in the ,first ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,caria1 #ac4 ,carthage1 ,carthaginian1 #ia1 #ahc1 #ahd1 #cjb1 #caf4 ,carystus1 on the ,s4 coast of ,euboea1 noted for its marble and asbestos1 #afb4 ,caspian ,sea1 supposed until ,ptolemy to be an inlet of ,ocean1 though ,herodotus describes it as an inland water 7#a1 #bjb-c71 #cjj1 #cje4 ,cassander1 #ced-big1 king of ,macedon1 began the restoration of ,thebes in #cae3 #ahd1 #aig4 ,cbs1 of ,thebes1 a companion of ,socrates 7see the ,critias and ,phaedo of ,plato71 #ag1 #ce4 ,cecrops1 #ahb4 ,cephisodrus1 #de1 #dg1 #di4 ,chaereas1 #bcc4 ,chaermon1 an ,athenian tragic poet 7fl4 #chj71 #ajd4 ,chaeroneia1 in ,boeotia1 on the borders of ,phocis2 ,plutarch's native town1 #ce1 #aba4 ,chaldaeans1 #fb4 ,charillus1 #ag4 ,charon1 a ,theban patriot1 #h1 #i1 #bh1 #bi1 #cj1 #cb1 #dd1 #de1 #dg4 ,charybdis1 #bah4 ,cheiron1 the ,centaur1 instructor of ,achilles1 #fe4 ,chersonese1 the ,thracian1 #ahc4 ,chilon1 one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #fa4 ,chios1 #bge4 ,chius1 #ajh4 ,chlidon1 #ca1 #dd4 ,cleanthes1 a ,stoic philosopher1 b4 #cjj1 at ,assos in the ,troad1 #bfd4 ,clearchus1 a ,peripatetic philosopher of ,soli1 pupil of ,aristotle1 #bfj1 #bfb4 ,chonphis1 #ac4 ,chrysippus 7#bhj-bjg71 the ,stoic philosopher1 born at ,soli in ,cilicia1 #acd1 #adf1 #adg4 ,cilicia1 #afc1 #bje4 ,cimmerians1 #bca4 ,cimon1 #ahc1 #aie4 ,cinaethon1 #ajg4 ,cinsias1 dithyrambic poet of ,athens 7fl4 #djj71 #bcb4 ,cithaeron1 the mountain range between ,attica and ,boeotia1 #h1 #dc4 ,clazomnae1 a city in ,ionia1 #ci4 ,cleander1 of ,aegina1 #ii4 ,cleisthnes1 of ,sicyon1 #ahe4 ,cleobuln1 #ie4 ,cleoblus1 tyrant of ,lindus in ,rhodes1 sixth century4 ,one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #fa4 ,cleombrtus1 of ,lacedaemon1 a speaker in the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,cleon1 of ,daulia1 #afi4 ,clenae1 a city in the ,peloponnesus1 #id1 #ahe4 ,cleonc1 #ahi4 ,cleotmus1 #ii4 ,clio1 the ,muse of ,history1 #ig4 ,clotho1 one of the ,fates1 #cg1 #cjh1 #cae4 ,clytaemnstra1 #ahh4 ,cnidus1 a city of ,caria1 #ad1 #hh1 #abb4 ,conon1 #g4 ,copreus1 #ahe4 ,cora 7,persephone71 daughter of ,demeter1 #cjb4 ,corax1 #aii4 ,corcra1 ,corcyrean1 #aic4 ,cortas1 #afa1 #afe4 ,corinth1 #ea1 #fa1 #hc1 #ib1 #id1 #ie1 #bbd4 ,corn 7,crow71 #abb4 ,corybantes1 priests of ,cybele1 #cjf4 ,corycium1 the ,corycian cave1 on the slopes of ,parnassus1 #g-a_/b miles ,,ne4 of ,delphi1 and #c1ejj feet above it 7,pausanias x4 #cb1 #b71 #hb4 ,cosmos1 i4 e4 ,apollo1 #fg4 ,crates1 a ,cynic philosopher 7fl4 #cbh71 #id1 #ie4 ,crates1 a critic1 of ,pergamos 7born at ,mallus in ,cilicia1 fl4 #aee71 #bie4 ,cratylus1 a ,dialogue of ,plato1 on etymology1 #ga4 ,crete1 #aca1 #bjj4 ,cretnus1 #ajh4 ,critias1 of ,carthage1 #bcd4 ,croesus1 king of ,lydia1 d4 #edj 7see ,herod4 #a-c71 #if1 #aib4 ,crnus 7,saturn71 father of ,zeus1 #ace1 #ach1 #ahc1 #bce1 #bii1 #cjj1 #cja1 #cjf1 #cjh4 ,crotna1 a ,greek colony in southern ,italy1 #ba4 ,cyclops1 a satyric play of ,euripides1 #afd2 and see #aic4 ,cydias1 an early poet1 #bhb4 ,cydnus1 a river of ,cilicia1 #afj4 ,cylon1 ,cylonians1 #ba1 #bb4 ,cym 7,cumae71 a city on the coast of ,campania1 #ij4 ,cypslus1 of ,corinth1 tyrant #fee-fbe1 father of ,periander1 #id4 ,cyzcus1 a city of ,mysia1 #ad4 ,d4 ,dactyli1 workers in iron1 c41 of ,mt4 ,ida in ,phrygia1 #cjf4 ,daphantus1 #aid4 ,damocleidas1 #dc1 #dg4 ,daulia1 a town of ,phocis1 #afi4 ,deinomnes1 of ,syracuse1 #ii4 ,delium in ,boeotia1 battle of1 #dbd 7see ,life of ,alcibiades1 c4 #g1 and ,plato1 ,apol4 #bh1 and ,sympos4 #bba ,a74 ,dlos1 an island in the ,aegean1 sacred to ,apollo1 #ac1 #ad1 #fj1 #fc1 #gg1 #aba4 ,delphi1 #fj1 #fb1 #fg1 #he1 #id1 #aja1 #aaj1 #aag1 #aba1 #acb1 #ach1 #afa1 #afe1 #ahe1 #aib1 #aif1 #baj1 #cjg4 ,dmtr1 #bi1 #cjb1 #cjc4 ,demetrius1 a speaker in the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,demetrius1 king of ,macedon #bid-bhg 7,poliorcts71 #bjd4 ,democrtus1 a philosopher1 of ,abdra in ,thrace 7#dfj-cfa71 #acd1 #bgg4 ,diagras1 of ,melos1 a disciple of ,democritus 7fl4 #dbj71 #bcd4 ,dis 7plural of ,zeus71 #adf4 ,dicaearcheia1 the old name of ,puteli1 a city on the coast of ,campania1 #ij1 #baa4 ,dicaearchus1 a ,peripatetic philosopher and writer on questions of literary history1 contemporary with ,aristotle1 #ei4 ,didymus1 a ,cynic philosopher 7nicknamed ,planetides71 takes part in the opening of the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,diogenianus1 a speaker in the ,second ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,for his father1 of the same name1 cp4 ,sympos4 #g1 #g and #h1 #a1 #b1 #i4 ,dimede1 #ajb4 ,dion of ,syracuse 7d4 #cef71 see his ,life1 by ,plutarch1 #ahf4 ,dionysius1 the ,elder1 #dcj-cfg1 tyrant of ,syracuse1 #ahd1 #aig4 ,dionsus 7or ,bacchus71 the wine-god1 born at ,thebes1 #fg1 #fh1 #ach1 #aci1 #bji4 ,diotnus1 #de4 ,dirc1 daughter of ,helios1 wife of ,lycus1 whose sons by ,antiope1 ,amphion and ,zethus1 slew her and threw her body into a well at ,thebes4 ,the ,fountain of ,dirce was near the ,crenaean ,gate1 #ab4 ,r4 ,dirce was the westernmost of the three ,theban streams4 ,dolon1 #acb4 ,dorian1 ,doric1 #ach1 #adj4 ,dryus1 #ach4 ,e4 ,earth 7temple of1 at ,delphi71 #ig4 ,echecrts1 a #8prophet' of ,tegyra1 #aba4 ,echinds1 islands off the coast of ,acarnania1 #acd4 ,egypt1 ,egyptian1 #aa1 #ac1 #ad1 #ic1 #aag1 #abf1 #adj1 #aed1 #ahd1 #bce1 #bhc1 #bic1 #bif4 ,elis1 ,elean1 a state of the ,peloponnesus1 #id4 ,ellopion1 #ac4 ,elysian1 #cjb1 #cjf1 #cag4 ,empedocles of ,agrigentum1 philosopher and poet 7fl4 #ddd71 #af1 #ic1 #ih1 #acc1 #acd1 #acg1 #bce1 #bei1 #bfc1 #bfi1 #bgb1 #bgd1 #bgh1 #bhg4 ,endymion1 #cjg4 ,epameinondas1 son of ,polymnis1 brother of ,capheisias1 and friend of ,pelopidas 7fell at ,mantineia #cfb71 #a1 #f1 #i1 #ad1 #ae1 #bj1 #ba1 #bc1 #bd1 #be1 #bg1 #bh1 #cb1 #dj1 #dc1 #ej4 ,epicharmus1 of ,cos and ,syracuse1 writer of philosophical comedies 7#edj-dej71 #aif4 ,epicrus1 of ,samos1 #cdb-bgj1 philosopher and founder of the ,school of #8,the ,garden' at ,athens1 and ,epicureans1 #hf1 #hg1 #hi1 #ib1 #acf1 #acg1 #adf1 #afc1 #bfb4 ,a modern #8,epicurus' is introduced into the ,dialogue on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment1 but leaves before its beginning4 ,epicds1 #aia4 ,epidaurus1 a town and state next to ,argolis1 #ii4 ,epimendes1 of ,phaestus in ,crete1 a poet and prophet 7fl4 #fjj71 #aag1 #bih4 ,epitherses1 #acd4 ,erbus1 #bcj4 ,ersus1 a city of ,lesbos1 #adj4 ,eretria1 a city on the west coast of ,euboea1 #if4 ,erianthes1 #bi4 ,eridnus1 the river ,po1 #aic4 ,erinnys1 the1 #bjg4 ,eriphl1 #ahf4 ,ers 7,love71 #bgb4 ,erythrae1 an ,ionian city1 #ie1 #ii4 ,ethiopia1 #aif1 #bjd1 #bbb1 #bfe4 ,euboea1 #afb4 ,eudoxus1 of ,cnidus1 #djh-cee1 astronomer and mathematician1 and founder of the ,school of ,cyzicus1 #ad1 #ig1 #ih4 ,eumtis1 #ie4 ,eumolpdas1 #aj4 ,euripides1 #dhe 7or #dhj7-dje1 the ,athenian tragedian1 #ei1 #gj1 #gh1 #ajd1 #ajg1 #abi1 #aef1 #aei1 #afj1 #afd1 #agf1 #agg1 #agh1 #aib4 ,eurycleis1 #abf4 ,eurymdon1 a river in ,pamphylia2 in #dfi ,cimon defeated the ,persians on its banks1 #ahc4 ,eustrphus1 a speaker in the ,first ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,euthyphron1 a disciple of ,socrates 7see the ,dialogue of ,plato which bears his name71 #af1 #ag4 ,f4 ,fates1 the1 #cg1 #fa1 #cjh4 ,fortune1 #hi1 #ij4 ,g4 ,galaxidrus1 #ae1 #af1 #ag1 #ai1 #bj1 #cb1 #dc4 ,galaxius1 in ,boeotia1 #aaj4 ,gauls1 #bbb1 #bcd4 ,gedrosia1 a district on the ,indus and ,indian ,ocean 7,,se4 part of ,beloochistan71 #bif4 ,gelon1 tyrant of ,syracuse 7d4 #dgh71 #ii1 #ahb4 ,getae1 #aij4 ,giants1 #bce4 ,glauc1 #hg4 ,glaucus1 #aia1 #bcj4 ,gorgias1 of ,leontini1 #dhj-cih1 teacher of rhetoric 7see the ,gorgias of ,plato71 #bb1 #acg4 ,gorgdas1 #h1 #ab1 #dc1 #ej4 ,great ,mother1 the 7,cybele71 #ajg4 ,great ,year1 the1 #ach4 ,guides1 the1 of the temple and treasures of ,delphi1 apparently two in number1 #hc1 #he1 #hh1 #id1 #if4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #e1 #c1 and #h1 #d4 ,gullies1 the 7cp4 ,rhetiste71 #ai4 ,gyrean1 cape1 #bcj4 ,h4 ,hds1 #cg1 #ch1 #bbe1 #bce1 #bii1 #cjb1 #cjd1 #cjg4 ,haliartus1 a town of ,boeotia on ,lake ,copas1 #ae miles ,,nw4 of ,thebes1 #aa1 #ab1 #aji4 ,hamadryads1 #abg4 ,hecte1 #acj1 #cje1 #cag4 ,hector1 #bcj4 ,hecba1 #acj1 #bcc4 ,hegtor1 #acj4 ,helnus1 son of ,priam1 a prophet1 #da4 ,helcon1 of ,cyzicus1 mathematician and astronomer1 mentioned in ,plutarch's ,life of ,dion1 as having foretold a solar eclipse1 #ad4 ,helcon1 a mountain 7#e1jjj ft47 in ,boeotia1 #hi4 ,hellas 7,greece71 #abd1 #abe1 #cjj4 ,hephaestus1 the lame god of fire 7see ,il4 #a4 #eij71 #bfc4 ,hra1 #aic1 #bcb4 ,heracleia1 probably a town in ,phrygia1 #ahi4 ,heracleidae1 #aie4 ,heracleitus1 philosopher of ,ephesus 7end of sixth century71 #gc1 #gd1 #hg1 #aja1 #abg1 #aig1 #bah1 #bbd1 #cjd4 ,heraea1 the1 a festival at ,thebes1 #ca4 ,heraea1 a town of ,arcadia1 #afi4 ,heracleon1 of ,megara1 a speaker in the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,hercules 7,heracls71 #ac1 #ea1 #fe1 #id1 #ajj1 #abc1 #aca1 #ahe1 #aic1 #aie1 #aii1 #bbf1 #cjj1 #cjg4 ,hercls1 ,pillars of1 #cje4 ,herippdas1 #bi1 #ea4 ,hermes1 #ace1 #aci1 #cjc4 ,hermodrus1 #ci4 ,hermolas1 #bcc4 ,herodcus1 #ahg4 ,herodtus1 the historian1 of ,halicarnassus 7#dhd-djh71 #ajj1 #aca1 #aff4 ,herophl1 #ie4 ,hesiod1 the ancient ,boeotian poet1 eighth century1 #db1 #hf1 #ih1 #abc1 #abf1 #abg1 #abh1 #acj1 #aef1 #aeg1 #afa1 #ahf1 #bjb1 #bah1 #bcj1 #bgb1 #bih4 ,hesperus 7the ,evening ,star1 or planet ,venus71 #aed1 #bae1 #bfh1 #bgc4 ,hiro1 of ,syracuse1 brother of ,gelon 7d4 #dfg74 ,a munificent benefactor of ,delphi1 #hh1 #ii1 #ahb4 ,hiro1 the ,lacedaemonian 7killed in the battle of ,leuctra #cga71 #hh4 ,himra1 a town of ,sicily1 #adj4 ,hipparchus1 the astronomer1 of ,rhodes and ,alexandria1 native of ,nicaea in ,bithynia 7fl4 from #afj71 #ih1 #bfa4 ,hipparchus 7son of ,pisistratus71 #ahi4 ,hippocrtes1 #ahb4 ,hippostheneidas1 #bh1 #bi1 #cj1 #ca1 #cb1 #dd1 #ea4 ,hippys1 of ,rhegium1 an early ,greek historian1 #adj4 ,homer1 #da1 #fc1 #gj1 #gf1 #gg1 #he1 #hf1 #hg1 #hh1 #ic1 #ajb1 #abf1 #ada1 #adh1 #aff1 #aii1 #bae1 #bcj1 #bfe1 #bhb1 #bhf1 #bhh1 #bii1 #cjb1 #cjc1 #cjg4 ,hopltes1 river in ,boeotia1 #aji4 ,hyampeia1 one of two cliffs above ,thebes1 #aib4 ,hyptes1 #dg1 #di4 ,hypatodrus1 #bi4 ,i4 ,iadmn1 #aib4 ,ida1 ,mt41 in ,phrygia1 #cjf4 ,ius1 #8invoked with the cry i6 7or i paion671#8 i4 e4 ,apollo1 #gf4 ,ilithyia1 #cjh4 ,ilium 7,troy71 #aff4 ,indian1 #adj4 ,ino1 daughter of ,cadmus and wife of ,athamas1 a tragic heroine1 #aij4 ,ion ,chius1 a writer of plays1 and anecdotist 7fl4 #dej71 #bgf4 ,iphtus1 killed by ,hercules1 who had stolen the oxen of his father ,eurytus1 #ahe4 ,isis1 #bif4 ,ismenian1 a name of ,apollo1 #fj4 ,ismenias1 a ,theban of the popular party and ,polemarch1 arrested by ,leontides1 tried by a commission appointed by ,sparta1 on a charge of #8medizing'1 and executed 7see ,life of ,pelopidas71 #h4 ,ismenidrus1 #bj4 ,ismnus1 the principal 7most easterly7 river of ,thebes1 #ae4 ,isodaits1 #8equal divider1' a name of ,dionysus1 #fg4 ,ister1 a ,greek historian1 or antiquarian1 #ajj4 ,ister1 the ,danube1 #adh4 ,isthmus 7of ,corinth71 ,isthmian1 #id4 ,italy1 #ae1 #ba1 #bg1 #hh1 #bjj4 ,ithaca1 #aic ,ixon1 #bic4 ,j4 ,jason1 ,tagus of ,thessaly 7d4 #cgj71 known as #8,prometheus'2 7see ,plutarch ,on getting advantage from enemies1 c4 #f1 p4 #hi ,c1 and ,xenophon1 ,hellenica1 #b1 #c1 #ah7 #bc4 ,jews1 #bca4 ,l4 ,lacedaemon1 #ea1 #ih1 #ii1 #aag1 #agi1 #ahi1 #bbi4 ,lachrs1 an ,athenian demagogue 7fl4 #bif71 #aie4 ,lachs1 ,athenian general2 fell at ,mantineia1 #dah4 ,a ,dialogue of ,plato bears his name1 #ai4 ,lachsis1 one of the ,fates1 #cg1 #cjh1 #cae4 ,lamia1 #hi4 ,lamprias1 ,plutarch's brother 7also the name of his grandfather72 a speaker in the ,first and ,third ,pythian ,dialogues and in the ,face in the ,moon4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #b1 #b2 #d1 #e2 #i1 #ae4 ,lamprocles1 #ce4 ,latna1 #bcb4 ,law ,courts1 the1 #ag4 ,lebadeia1 near the western frontier of ,boeotia1 the seat of the oracle of ,trophonius1 #abj1 #aeg4 ,lda1 daughter of ,thestius1 and mother of ,helen and ,clytaemnstra1 ,castor1 and ,polydeuces1 #ie4 ,lemnos1 #bij4 ,leontdes1 one of the polemarchs at ,thebes1 #h1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 #dg1 #di4 ,leontni1 a city of ,sicily1 #bb4 ,lesbos1 #aid4 ,leschenorian1 #fj4 ,lth 7#8,oblivion'71 #bji4 ,leucas1 ,leucadia1 #ahd1 #aic4 ,leuctra1 a village of ,boeotia1 between ,thespiae and ,plataea 7famous for the battle between the ,spartans and ,thebans in #cga71 #hh4 ,libya 7,africa71 #ajc1 #ajh1 #ahe1 #bif4 ,lindos1 a town on the eastern coast of ,rhodes1 #fa4 ,livia1 the empress1 wife of ,augustus1 and mother1 by her first marriage1 of ,tiberius 7d4 ,a4 ,d4 #bi71 #fb4 ,locris1 #aic4 ,lucania1 #bb4 ,lucius1 a speaker in the ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon4 ,lycians1 #ach1 #aci4 ,lyciscus1 #agg4 ,lycormae1 #aie4 ,lycurgus1 the ,spartan lawgiver1 ninth century1 #ii4 ,lycuria 7an ancient name for the summit of ,parnassus71 a village near the ,corycian cave1 #hb4 ,lydia1 #aba4 ,lydidas1 #ahc4 ,lysander1 the ,spartan naval commander who finished the ,peloponnesian war4 ,he fell in battle against the ,thebans1 #cie1 at ,haliartus 7see his ,life1 c4 #bi73 #aji4 ,lysanordas1 #h1 #aj1 #ab1 #dc1 #ea4 ,lysimchus1 #ahi4 ,lysis1 a ,pythagorean teacher1 driven from ,italy to ,thebes1 where he died1 #g1 #ac1 #ae1 #ba1 #bd1 #bg4 ,lysitheides1 #g4 ,lysithes1 #dh4 ,m4 ,maeotic ,bay 7,sea of ,azov71 #cjj4 ,magi1 the1 #abf4 ,magnesia1 district of ,thessaly1 #if4 ,malis1 #hi4 ,marthon1 on the east coast of ,attica 7famous for the battle of #dij71 #ahc4 ,mardonius1 the ,persian general 7defeated and killed at ,plataea1 #dgi71 #aba4 ,marius1 #ahd4 ,medes1 #bhh4 ,megaloplis1 the chief town of ,arcadia1 #ahc4 ,megra1 a city on the ,saronic gulf1 #ah1 #if1 #abb1 #abd4 ,megasthns1 a ,greek writer on ,india 7fl4 #cjj71 #bid4 ,melanthius1 an ,athenian tragic poet 7fl4 #dbj71 #aha4 ,meltus1 one of the three accusers of ,socrates1 a poet1 #af4 ,melissus1 #bj4 ,mlon1 #h1 #cj1 #dg1 #dh4 ,melos1 an island in the ,aegean1 #aff4 ,memphis1 a city of ,egypt1 on the ,nile1 #ac4 ,menaechmus1 #ad n4 ,menelas1 a speaker in the ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon4 ,mercury 7the planet71 #aed1 cp4 #bfh4 ,merins1 #aca4 ,messenians1 #agf1 #bbi4 ,metapontium 7,metapontum71 a ,greek city in ,southern ,italy1 #ba1 #hh4 ,mtrodrus1 of ,chios1 a disciple of ,democritus 7fl4 #ccj71 #acg1 #bge4 ,midas1 a mythical king of ,phrygia1 #bbi4 ,miltus1 a city of ,caria1 #bc1 #aic4 ,miltides1 son of ,cimon1 the victor of ,marathon1 #ahc4 ,mimnermus1 elegiac poet1 of ,smyrna and ,colophon 7fl4 #fjj71 #bhb4 ,minos1 son of ,zeus1 king of ,crete1 and afterwards a judge in ,hades1 #agi4 ,mitys1 of ,argos1 #ahf4 ,mnesart 7,phryne71 #id1 #ie4 ,mnesino1 #ie4 ,moliondae1 the sons of ,actor1 by ,molione1 #id4 ,molus1 #aca4 ,mopsus1 founder of ,mallos in ,cilicia1 where he had an oracle1 #afc4 ,muses1 the1 #ce1 #hf1 #ig1 #ih1 #aii1 #bbf4 ,myrna1 an ,aeolian town on the west coast of ,mysia1 #if4 ,myron1 #ahe4 ,myrtl1 #ie4 ,mys1 a ,carian1 employed by ,mardonius to consult the oracles in ,greece1 #aba4 ,n4 ,nd1 the1 #abg4 ,nauplia1 the port of ,argos1 #aib4 ,navel1 the1 at ,delphi1 #aag4 ,naxos1 an island in the ,aegean1 #aii4 ,neleus1 father of ,nestor1 #bjd4 ,neobl1 #fc4 ,neochrus1 #aji4 ,neoptolmus1 son of ,achilles1 #de4 ,nero1 ,a4 ,d4 #cg-fh4 ,the ,roman ,emperor4 ,he visited ,greece 7the province of ,achaia7 in ,a4 ,d4 #fg1 and proclaimed its freedom at the ,isthmian games3 #fj1 #bac4 ,neschus1 #ajh4 ,nestor1 #bjd4 ,nicander1 a priest of the temple at ,delphi1 #fb1 #fc1 #gb1 #agj4 ,nicias1 the ,athenian general 7d4 #dad at ,syracuse1 see his ,life71 #bc1 #bbi4 ,night1 #baj4 ,night-watcher 7,nycturus71 the1 an early name for the planet ,cronus 7,saturn71 #cjj4 ,nib1 #bcb4 ,nisaeus1 #aig4 ,nisibes1 #bjd4 ,nyctelius1 #8nightly'2 used as a name of ,dionysus1 #fg4 ,o4 ,odysseus 7,ulysses71 #af1 #ajb4 ,oechalia1 a town in ,euboea 7according to the story followed by ,sophocles7 taken by ,hercules1 #aca4 ,oeta1 a mountain range in ,thessaly1 #ahf4 ,ogygia1 the name given by ,homer to the island of ,calypso 7,od4 #a1 #ej1 c471 #bii4 ,olympia1 in ,elis1 #afj4 ,olympias1 mother of ,alexander the ,great1 #ie4 ,olympicus1 a speaker in the ,dialogue on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment4 ,olympus1 a mountain 7#i1ged ft47 between ,thessaly and ,macedon1 the seat of ,zeus1 #gj1 #ic4 ,olynthus1 a town in the ,chalcidice 7taken by ,sparta #cgi71 #h4 ,onomacrtus1 an ,athenian poet and antiquarian 7#ebj-dhe71 #ajg4 ,opheltidae1 #aid4 ,opus1 ,opuntian1 a ,locrian town1 #if4 ,orchaldes1 #aji4 ,orchomnus1 a city of ,boeotia1 #afc1 #agf4 ,orestes1 son of ,agamemnon and ,clytaemnstra1 #ie4 ,orneae1 a town in ,argolis1 #ie4 ,orpheus1 of ,thrace1 a minstrel1 #ih1 #abf1 #aic1 #baj4 ,orphic1 #gb4 ,orthagras1 #ahe4 ,osris1 an ,egyptian deity1 #ach4 ,p4 ,paeonia1 a district of ,thrace1 #ahf4 ,pallas 7,athene72 her image at ,athens 7,palladium7 was believed to have been brought from ,troy by ,diomede4 ,another ,palladium stood on the ,acropolis 7,pausanias i4 #bh-i73 #hh4 ,palds1 the1 #acd1 #ace4 ,pan1 #acd1 #ace4 ,pandrus1 a ,lycian archer1 #ajb4 ,parmendes1 of ,elea in ,italy1 a philosopher 7b4 #eac71 #ih1 #bgb1 #bgg4 ,parnassus1 the mountain 7#h1jjj ft47 above ,delphi1 the highest point of a range of the same name1 #baj4 ,parns1 a mountain range near the northern frontier of ,attica1 #ai4 ,path1 the1 the ,peripatetic ,school1 #bfj4 ,patrocleas2 ,plutarch's son-in-law1 a speaker in the ,dialogues on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment and on ,the ,soul4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #b1 #i2 #e1 #g2 #g1 #b4 ,pausanias1 7#a7 ,spartan statesman and general 7d4 #dgj71 #ii n41 #ahi1 #bjj2 7#b7 the slayer of ,philip of ,macedon1 #bcc4 ,pauson1 a ,greek painter of the fourth century4 ,aristotle 7,poet4 c4 #b7 speaks of his style as that of caricature3 #hf4 ,paxi1 two islands south of ,corcyra1 #acd4 ,peace 7a woman's name71 #ii4 ,peisistrtus1 tyrant of ,athens1 7d4 #ebg71 #ahb1 #ahi4 ,pelopdas1 ,theban general and friend of ,epaminondas2 fell at ,cynoscephalae #cfd 7see his ,life71 #h1 #dc1 #de1 #dg1 #di4 ,peloponnesus1 #aba1 #bhc1 #bic4 ,penelope1 #ace4 ,peparthus1 an island in the ,aegean1 off ,thessaly1 #ac4 ,periander1 tyrant of ,corinth from #fbe2 one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #fa1 #ahd1 #bbd4 ,pericles1 ,athenian statesman 7d4 #dbi71 #ahe1 #aif4 ,persephn1 #cg1 #cjc1 #cjf4 ,persia1 #if1 #aba1 #bjh1 #bbi4 ,petraeus1 of ,delphi1 #aaa4 ,petron1 #adj4 ,phaestus1 in ,crete1 #aag4 ,phathon1 a son of the ,sun1 #aic4 ,phalanthus1 a ,lacedaemonian1 founder of ,tarentum 7about #gjh71 #ajh4 ,phalris1 tyrant of ,agrigentum from #egj3 #ahd4 ,phanaean1 #fj1 #gg4 ,phanias1 of ,ersus in ,lesbos1 a ,peripatetic philosopher1 and pupil of ,aristotle1 who wrote also on history1 #adj4 ,pharnces 7see p4 #bee71 a ,stoic1 speaker in the ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon4 ,pharsalia1 #hh4 ,pheidolas1 of ,haliartus1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ai1 #cb1 #ce4 ,phenetae1 #aic4 ,phens1 a town in ,arcadia1 #aic4 ,pherecds1 a learned man of ,syros 7fl4 #edd71 #bid4 ,pherencus1 #h1 #aj4 ,philbus1 a late ,dialogue of ,plato1 on ,pleasure1 #ga4 ,philnus1 a speaker in the ,second ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #a1 #f2 #d1 #a2 #e1 #aj2 #h1 #g4 ,philip of ,macedon 7d4 #ccf71 #bcc4 ,philip1 son of ,cassander1 king of ,macedon 7d4 #bif71 #aih4 ,philip ,v1 #bcg-agi1 king of ,macedon1 #ia1 #ib4 ,philippus1 historian 7of ,prusa871 a speaker in the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #g1 #h4 ,philippus1 of ,thebes1 #dc1 #dd1 #dh1 #ej4 ,philochrus of ,athens1 antiquarian and writer on legend 7d4 #bfj71 #ajj4 ,philolas1 an early ,pythagorean1 #bb4 ,philomlus1 #hh4 ,phlgyas1 of ,orchomenus1 a mythical hero1 slain for impiety1 #ahe4 ,phocis1 ,phocians1 #hh1 #ie1 #if1 #ajj1 #ahe1 #aid4 ,phoebdas1 a ,spartan general1 who treacherously seized the ,cadmeia in #chb3 #h4 ,phoebus1 #8,the ,bright'1 an appellation of ,apollo1 #fg1 #gf1 #ajg1 #ach4 ,phoenissae1 a play of ,euripides1 #ajg n4 ,phosphor1 ,phosphorus 7the planet ,venus71 #aed1 #bfh1 #bgc4 ,phrygia1 #abf1 #cjf4 ,phryn1 #ie4 ,phyleus1 #bjd4 ,phylldas1 #aj1 #aa1 #bh1 #bi1 #cb1 #dc1 #dh1 #ej4 ,pillars of ,hercules 7on the ,straits of ,gibraltar71 #cje4 ,pindar1 the ,theban lyric poet 7#eah-dch71 #g1 #gb n41 #gg1 #hg1 #ih1 #ajb n41 #ajd1 #aje1 #ajh n41 #abc1 #abg1 #aca n41 #agi1 #aid1 #bjb1 #bbf1 #bbg1 #bfe1 #bgc1 #bhb4 ,pisa1 a town in1 or adjoining1 ,elis1 #id4 ,pittcus 7#feb-efi71 patriot1 and sole-ruler 7#8aesymnete'7 of ,mytiln1 one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #fa4 ,planetides 7see ,didymus74 ,plataea1 a city of ,boeotia on the ,asopus1 near the frontier of ,attica1 #abd4 ,plato1 of ,athens1 #dcj-cdg1 founder of the ,academy1 #ac1 #ad1 #fc1 #gb1 #ajd1 #abf1 #abi1 #acd1 #acg1 #aef1 #aha1 #cah1 #cai2 ,cratylus1 #ga1 #acj1 #bce2 ,laws1 #ahf2 ,minos1 #agi2 ,phaedo1 #afe2 ,republic1 #afg1 #ahg2 ,sophistes1 #aea2 ,symposium1 #acj2 ,timaeus1 #fi1 #abh1 #aci1 #ada1 #adi1 #aed1 #aee1 #ahj1 #bbf1 #bgb1 #bgi1 #bic1 #bie1 #cje4 ,plato1 of ,thebes1 #ab4 ,pleisthnes1 son of ,atreus and father of ,agamemnon 7but there are variations in the story71 #ahh4 ,pleistonax1 a king of ,sparta 7d4 #djh71 #ii4 ,plutarch1 introduced only into the ,dialogues on the #8,e' at ,delphi 7,first ,pythian ,dialogue7 and on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment1 #bcb4 ,pluto1 #gg4 ,polycrtes1 of ,delphi1 #aaa4 ,polycrtes1 of ,samos1 #bbd4 ,polygntus1 of ,thasos1 painter1 chiefly of ,homeric subjects at ,athens and ,delphi 7fl4 #dej71 #aff4 ,polymnis1 of ,thebes1 father of ,epaminondas and ,capheisias1 #ac1 #ad1 #ai1 #bj1 #bb1 #bg4 ,polystyle 7e mute71 the1 #ej4 ,polyxna1 #ie4 ,pompey the ,great 7d4 #dh71 #ahe4 ,porch1 the1 the ,stoic ,school at ,athens1 #ic4 ,poseidon1 #hi1 #adf4 ,poseidonius1 of ,apamea in ,syria1 a ,stoic philosopher who taught ,cicero1 #bgh1 #bhc1 #caf1 #cag4 ,praxitles1 the ,athenian sculptor 7fl4 #cfd71 #ie4 ,priam1 #da1 #bcj4 ,procles1 tyrant of ,epidaurus and father-in-law of ,periander1 seventh century1 #ii4 ,promtheus1 son of the ,titan ,iaptus1 #fe4 ,prteus1 a mythical king of ,egypt 7,herod4 #b1 #aab71 #ac4 ,protognes1 #bje4 ,prytaneum1 the1 #gb4 ,ptolemaeus 7#8,ceraunus'1 the ,thunderbolt71 king of ,macedon 7d4 #bhj71 #ahi4 ,ptm1 a mountain on the eastern side of the ,copac lake1 with a sanctuary of ,apollo1 #aba1 #abd4 ,punic1 #ia4 ,pylaea1 a suburb of ,delphi1 #aaj4 ,pyrilamps1 a kinsman of ,plato1 #ah4 ,pythagoras1 of ,samos1 sixth century1 philosopher and traveller1 #ad1 #af1 #ba1 #bg1 #ff1 #abc1 #bbh n41 #bca4 ,pythia1 the1 #gb1 #hf1 #ajj1 #aja1 #ajc1 #ajf1 #aaj1 #aba1 #afd1 #afe1 #afi1 #agj1 #aii4 ,pythian1 #ei1 #fj1 #fd1 #aag1 #abb1 #abc1 #ahe4 ,python1 the serpent slain by ,apollo1 #ach4 ,pythns 7ventriloquists71 #abf4 ,q4 ,quintus1 the friend to whom the ,dialogue on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment is inscribed1 also that on ,love between ,brothers1 #age4 ,r4 ,red ,sea 7,mare ,erythraeum74 ,before ,ptolemy1 the term was used loosely to include the ,persian ,gulf1 c43 #aag1 #ach1 #cje4 ,rhea1 #aed4 ,rhegium1 a ,greek town in ,south ,italy1 #adj4 ,rhetiste 7cp4 the ,gullies71 #ai4 ,rhodes1 #ie4 ,rhodpis 7see ,herodotus ii4 #acd-e71 #id4 ,rome1 #ia1 #ib1 #ace1 #agi1 #ahd1 #ahe4 ,s4 ,samdas1 #di4 ,samos1 an island in the ,aegean1 #aib1 #bbd4 ,sappho1 the great woman lyric poet1 a ,lesbian1 of the seventh century1 #hg1 #ajd4 ,sardis1 the capital of ,lydia1 #aib4 ,satilaeans1 #aid4 ,scythians1 #ahi1 #bcd4 ,scythnus1 of ,teos1 an iambic poet of unknown date1 #if4 ,seleucus1 king of ,syria1 assassinated by ,ptolemy ,ceraunus in #bhj3 #ahi4 ,selnus1 a ,greek colony on the ,s4,w4 coast of ,sicily1 #ib4 ,selymbria1 a town of ,thrace1 on the ,propontis1 #ahg4 ,seml1 the mother of ,dionysus 7,bacchus71 #bji4 ,serapion1 or ,sarapion1 an ,athenian poet1 to whom the ,first ,pythian ,dialogue is inscribed1 and a speaker in the ,second4 ,serpis1 an ,egyptian deity1 #ajg4 ,shining-,one1 the1 a name for the planet ,cronus 7,saturn71 #cjj4 ,sibylla1 the ,sibyl1 the name of an early prophetess of ,delphi2 in later times an official title1 also applied to other prophetic women1 localized in various countries1 #hg1 #hi1 #ij1 #ie1 #ajd1 #baa4 ,siceliot1 of the ,greek colonies in ,sicily1 #ii4 ,sicily1 #ah1 #ii1 #adj1 #ahd4 ,sicyon1 on the south shore of the ,corinthian gulf1 #ie1 #ahd4 ,simmias1 a ,theban1 a companion of ,socrates1 and 7with ,cebes7 present at his death 7see the ,crito and ,phaedo of ,plato71 #h1 #aa1 #ab1 #ac1 #ad1 #ae1 #af1 #ai1 #bj1 #ba1 #bg1 #cb1 #da1 #db1 #dc4 ,simonds of ,ceos1 a lyric poet 7#eef-dfg71 #ig1 #aij4 ,sisyphus1 a knavish king of ,corinth2 some accounts make him father of ,odysseus3 #ahe4 ,skotios1 #8of darkness'1 i4 e4 ,hades 7,pluto71 #gg4 ,socrates1 of ,athens 7d4 #cii71 #g1 #af1 #ag1 #ah1 #ai1 #bj1 #cb1 #ce1 #dj1 #ie1 #ajd1 #ahj1 #bhh4 ,soli1 a city of ,cilicia1 #adi1 #bje4 ,solon1 #fch-eeh1 the ,athenian law-giver2 one of the #8,seven ,wise ,men'1 #fa1 #agi4 ,solymi1 a people of ,lycia1 #ach4 ,sophists1 a ,dialogue of ,plato's later period1 #ga4 ,sophists1 the1 #aif4 ,sophocles1 #die-dje1 tragic poet of ,athens1 #gh1 #ajc n41 #ajf1 #abe1 #acb1 #bff1 #bij n4 ,sphrn 7latter part of fifth century71 a mime-writer of ,syracuse1 #fc4 ,sparta1 #aa1 #bi1 #hh1 #ia1 #ajf1 #aid1 #bjj4 ,sparti1 the1 #8sown men'1 the armed men who sprang up out of the ground at ,thebes1 when ,cadmus sowed the dragon's teeth1 #hb4 ,spinthrus1 #dj4 ,spordes1 the1 a group of islands1 off ,britain1 #ace4 ,statuaries1 street of the1 #ag4 ,stesichrus 7,tisias71 #fcb-efj1 lyric poet of ,himera in ,sicily1 #gh1 #ahh1 #bhb4 ,stheneboea1 a play of ,euripides1 #ajd n4 ,stilbon 7the planet ,mercury71 #aed1 #bfh4 ,stoics1 the1 #acf1 #adf1 #adg1 #bfd1 #bff1 #bhe4 ,strabo1 cognomen of the father of ,pompey the ,great1 #ahe4 ,stratonc1 #ie4 ,styx1 #cg1 #ch1 #ig1 #bbe4 ,suitors1 the1 i4e4 of ,penelope1 #adj4 ,sybaris1 a ,greek town of ,lucania in ,south ,italy1 #aic1 #aif4 ,syn 7,assouan71 taken by ,eratosthenes to be directly under the sun at the summer solstice1 #aai1 #bif4 ,sylla1 a speaker in the ,dialogue on the ,face in the ,moon4 ,symblum1 the1 #af4 ,syracuse1 #hh1 #aic1 #aig4 ,syrian goddess 7,cybele871 #bcc4 ,t4 ,taenrus1 a cape and town in the south of ,laconia1 #aii4 ,tantlus1 #bcd1 #bic4 ,taprobne 7,ceylon71 #bfe4 ,tarentum1 a town in ,s4 ,italy1 #dj4 ,tarsus1 in ,cilicia1 #aag1 #afj4 ,tartrus1 the penal region of the lower world1 #dj1 #bii4 ,tegyra1 a village of ,boeotia1 near ,orchomenus1 #aba1 #abb1 #abd4 ,teiresias1 a blind prophet1 of ,thebes1 #afc1 #bbf4 ,teletias1 #ahe4 ,temp1 the gorge between ,olympus and ,ossa in ,thessaly1 through which the river ,penus flows1 #acb1 #ach4 ,tendos1 an island off the coast of the ,troad1 #ib4 ,terentius ,priscus1 the friend to whom the ,third ,pythian ,dialogue is inscribed1 #aag4 ,terpander1 of ,lesbos1 the father of ,greek music 7fl4 #gjj71 #aid4 ,terpsion1 of ,megara1 a disciple of ,socrates 7see the ,theaetetus of ,plato71 #ah4 ,tettix1 #aii1 #bjj4 ,thals1 of ,miletus 7seventh and sixth centuries71 an early philosopher1 one of the ,seven ,wise ,men1 #ab1 #fa1 #ih4 ,thamus1 #acd1 #ace4 ,thasos1 an island in the ,aegean off ,thrace1 #aff4 ,thenr1 a young ,pythagorean1 who came to ,thebes from ,crotona1 as a deputation1 #ba1 #bd1 #bg1 #bh1 #dj1 #dc1 #cae4 ,thebes1 the ,boeotian1 #g1 #h1 #ab1 #bb1 #bi1 #cj1 #dc1 #dd1 #dg1 #dh1 #ahd4 ,thebes1 the ,egyptian1 #bif4 ,thmis1 the goddess of ,justice1 for some time in charge of the oracle at ,delphi1 #ach1 #baa4 ,themistocles1 ,athenian statesman 7#ead-ddi71 #ahc4 ,theocrtus1 of ,thebes1 #8the prophet'1 #i1 #aj1 #aa1 #ab1 #af1 #ag1 #bj1 #bh1 #cj1 #cb1 #ce1 #dj1 #dc1 #dd1 #di2 see ,life of ,pelopidas1 c4 #bb4 ,theodrus1 of ,soli1 in ,cilicia1 a mathematician1 #adi1 #aej4 ,theognis1 of ,megara1 elegiac and gnomic poet 7#egj-dij71 #hd4 ,theon1 of ,hyampolis1 a family friend of ,plutarch1 a speaker in the ,first and ,second ,pythian ,dialogues1 and in the ,face in the ,moon4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #a1 #d2 #d1 #c2 #h1 #f1 and the ,dialogue ,non posse suaviter1 where the ,epicureans are attacked4 ,theophrastus1 born at ,ersus1 a philosopher of ,athens1 ,aristotle's successor1 #acf4 ,theopompus1 a ,theban patriot1 #dc1 #dh4 ,theopompus1 of ,chios1 historian 7d4 #cje71 #ajj4 ,therius1 a designation of ,apollo1 #gg4 ,theoxenia1 the1 #aid4 ,thera1 ,therasia1 islands off ,crete1 #ia4 ,thermopylae1 the coast pass between ,thessaly and ,locris1 famous for the defence of ,leonidas in #dhj3 #acb4 ,thespesius 7,aridaeus71 #bje1 #bjf1 #bji1 #baj1 #baa1 #bac1 #cac1 #cad4 ,thespiae1 a town of ,boeotia1 #bi4 ,thessaly1 #bc1 #bd1 #ic1 #ie1 #acj1 #aeh4 ,thrace1 #abf1 #adh1 #aic4 ,thrasyblus1 of ,athens1 #g4 ,thrasyblus1 tyrant of ,syracuse after ,hiero 7#dfg71 #ii4 ,thrasymds1 #afi4 ,thucydides1 the ,athenian historian 7d4 #dja71 #ih1 #aeh n41 #agf1 #aha1 #aif4 ,thunderbolt 7,ceraunus71 ,ptolemy1 king of ,macedon 7d4 #bhj71 #ahi4 ,thyml1 the altar of ,dionysus in the theatre1 #ajc4 ,tiberius ,claudius ,nero ,caesar1 ,b4 ,c4 #db-cg ,a4 ,d4 7,emperor from ,a4 ,d4 #ad71 #ace4 ,timarchus1 of ,athens1 #ii4 ,timarchus1 of ,chaeroneia1 #ce1 #cg1 #ch1 #dj1 #da1 #agb1 #cad4 ,timochris1 #ih4 ,timoleon1 ruler of ,syracuse 7d4 #ceg71 #ahd3 see his ,life4 ,timon1 ,plutarch's brother1 a speaker in the ,dialogues on the ,delays in ,divine ,punishment and on the ,soul4 ,cp4 ,sympos4 #a1 #b1 and #b1 #e2 and ,on ,love between ,brothers1 c4 #af4 ,timothes1 an ,athenian1 #g4 ,timothes1 of ,miletus1 musician and poet 7#ddf-ceg71 #bcb4 ,tiribazus1 satrap of western ,armenia 7d4 #che71 #bbi4 ,titans1 giant sons of ,uranus1 #ach1 #bgb1 #cja4 ,tityus1 a giant of ,euboea1 #cjg4 ,trench1 battle at1 #agf4 ,troglodytes1 cave-dwellers1 about the ,red ,sea1 c41 #aag1 #bic1 #bif4 ,trophonides1 #cjf4 ,trophonius1 tutelary hero of ,lebadeia and its oracle1 #ce1 #dj1 #cae4 ,trosobius1 #ach4 ,troy1 #ia1 #ajb1 #adh4 ,trunkmakers' street1 #ag4 ,tyndardae1 ,castor and ,polydeucs 7,pollux71 #adg4 ,typhons1 #ach1 #bce1 #cjg4 ,u4 ,udra1 #cjf4 ,ulysses 7,odysseus71 #af1 #adj1 #ahe1 #aic1 #bag4 ,urnus 7#8,heaven'71 the father of ,cronus1 #ach4 ,v4 ,venus 7the planet71 #aed1 #bfh4 ,vespasian1 #baa n4 ,vesuvius1 #baa4 ,w4 ,wise ,men of ,greece1 the 7see the ,dinner-,party of the ,seven ,sages by ,plutarch1 translated by ,professor ,tucker in this series71 #f1 #aaj4 ,x4 ,xenocrtes1 of ,chalcdon1 #cif-cad1 a philosopher1 associate of ,plato1 #abi1 #acd1 #cje1 #cae1 #caf4 ,xenophns1 philosopher of ,colophon1 fourth century1 #bce4 ,xenophon1 ,athenian general and historian 7d4 about #cei71 #ajc4 ,xerxes1 #bce4 ,z4 ,zagreus1 a name of the mystic ,dionysus1 #fg4 ,zns 7plural of ,zeus71 #adf4 ,zeus1 #if1 #abg1 #aci1 #adg1 #adh1 #afg1 #agi1 #bjj1 #bbf1 #bcj1 #bgb1 #bgc1 #big1 #bii1 #cja4 ,zeus ,agoraios1 #ce4 ,zodiac1 the1 #bic4 ,zones1 the1 #aed4 ,zoroaster1 ,persian sage1 of uncertain date1 #abf4 ,printed in ,england at the ,oxford ,university ,press ,transcriber's ,notes3 ,missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected4 ,typographical errors were silently corrected4 ,inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only when a predominant form was found in this book4 ,text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores 7italics74 ,text that was in bold face is enclosed by equals signs 7bold74 ,page references printed in the margin of the book have been moved into the paragraphs near where they appear1 contained in square brackets1 and begun with the word 8,sidenote04 ,footnotes have been moved to follow the chapters in which they are referenced4