Preparation for the Gospel 12.48.1–12.50.11
Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 1 (Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 1–2 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: E. H. Gifford, Eusebii Pamphili Evangelicae Praeparationis libri XV (Oxford, 1903), vol. 3 (English).
Preparation 12, chapter 48
12.48.1Dindorf 2:133
Τῆς παρὰ παισὶν Ἑβραίων πάλαι πρότερον συνεστώσης βασιλικῆς μητροπόλεως, ἄποθεν μὲν θαλάσσης οὔσης, ἐν ὄρεσι δὲ κατῳκισμένης, πάμφορόν τε γῆν κεκτημένης, καὶ ὁ Πλάτων τοιαύτην τινὰ εἶναι δεῖν φησι τὴν πρὸς αὐτοῦ κατοικιζομένην ἐν τοῖς Νόμοις. λέγει δὲ ὧδε
Tēs para paisin Hebraiōn palai proteron synestōsēs basilikēs mētropoleōs, apothen men thalassēs ousēs, en oresi de katǭkismenēs, pamphoron te gēn kektēmenēs, kai ho Platōn toiautēn tina einai dein phēsi tēn pros autou katoikizomenēn en tois Nomois. legei de hōde
The royal capital of the sons of the Hebrews, established long before, was far from the sea, settled in the mountains, and had a land producing all things; and Plato says in the Laws that the city founded by him should be of some such kind. He speaks thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: Jerusalem’s site resembles Plato’s ideal city site.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): καὶ ὁ Πλάτωνʼ τοιαύτην → καὶ ὁ Πλάτων τοιαύτην.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.48.1 (Dindorf 2:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-48-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.48.2Dindorf 2:133
“ Τόδε δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς ἐστὶν ὃ βουλόμενος μᾶλλον ἐπερωτῶ, πότερον ἐπιθαλαττίδιος ἔσται τις ἢ χερσαία. Σχεδὸν, ὦ ξένε, ἀπέχει θαλάττης γε ἡ πόλις, ἧς πέρι τὰ νῦν δὴ λεχθέντα ἡμῖν, εἴς τινας ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίους. Τί δέ; λιμένες ἆρʼ εἰσὶ κατʼ αὐτῆς, ἢ τὸ παράπαν ἀλίμενος; Εὐλίμενος μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ γε, ὡς δυνατόν ἐστι μάλιστα, ὦ ξένε.
“ Tode de peri autēs estin ho boulomenos mallon eperōtō, poteron epithalattidios estai tis ē chersaia. Schedon, ō xene, apechei thalattēs ge hē polis, hēs peri ta nyn dē lechthenta hēmin, eis tinas ogdoēkonta stadious. Ti de? limenes arʼ eisi katʼ autēs, ē to parapan alimenos? Eulimenos men oun tautę̄ ge, hōs dynaton esti malista, ō xene.
“This is what I ask about it, wishing rather to know: will it be on the sea or inland? — The city we have now been speaking of, stranger, is about eighty stades from the sea. — What then? Are there harbours along it, or is it entirely without harbours? — It is as well provided with harbours as possible, stranger.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s city is eighty stades from the sea.
- Plato, Laws 4.704b; through 12.48.5.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; breathing and accent slips in the digital text): βουλόμενος μὰλλον → βουλόμενος μᾶλλον; Σχεδὸν, ὠ ξένε → Σχεδὸν, ὦ ξένε; Εύλίμενος μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ γε, ὡς δυνατόν ἐστι μάλιστα, ὠ ξένε → Εὐλίμενος μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ γε, ὡς δυνατόν ἐστι μάλιστα, ὦ ξένε.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 704b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.48.2 (Dindorf 2:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-48-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.48.3Dindorf 2:133–134
Παπαῖ, οἷον λέγεις. τί δέ; περὶ αὐτὴν ἡ χώρα πότερα πάμφορος, ἢ καί τινων ἐπιδεής; Σχεδὸν οὐδενὸς ἐπιδεής. Γείτων δὲ αὐτῆς πόλις ἆρʼ ἔσται τις πλησίον; Οὐ πάνυ, διὸ κατοικίζεται· παλαιὰ γάρ τις ἐξοίκησις ἐν τῷ τόπῳ γενομένη τὴν χώραν ταύτην ἔρημον ἀπείργασται χρόνον ἀμήχανον ὅσον. Τί δέ; πεδίων τε καὶ ὀρῶν καὶ ὕλης πῶς μέρος ἑκάστων ἡμῖν εἴληχε; Προσέοικε τῇ τῆς ἄλλης Κρήτης φύσει ὅλῃ. Τραχυτέραν αὐτὴν ἢ πεδινωτέραν ἂν λέγοις; Πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Papai, hoion legeis. ti de? peri autēn hē chōra potera pamphoros, ē kai tinōn epideēs? Schedon oudenos epideēs. Geitōn de autēs polis arʼ estai tis plēsion? Ou pany, dio katoikizetai; palaia gar tis exoikēsis en tǭ topǭ genomenē tēn chōran tautēn erēmon apeirgastai chronon amēchanon hoson. Ti de? pediōn te kai orōn kai hylēs pōs meros hekastōn hēmin eilēche? Proseoike tę̄ tēs allēs Krētēs physei holę̄. Trachyteran autēn ē pedinōteran an legois? Pany men oun.
— Alas, what you say! But what of the country around it: does it produce all things, or does it lack some? — It lacks almost nothing. — Will there be a neighbouring city near it? — Not at all; that is why it is being settled; for an emigration from the place long ago has left this country deserted for an immense time. — What then? How much of plains, mountains, and woodland has fallen to our lot? — It resembles the nature of the rest of Crete as a whole. — Would you call it rugged rather than level? — Certainly.
Notes and citation
Summary: The land is fertile, rugged, and without neighbours.
- Plato, Laws 4.704b–c. A phrase in the middle is printed in Latin letters in the digital text (a transliteration of the Greek); translated from the sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek printed in Latin transliteration and OCR slip in the digital text): εν τῳ τοπῳ genomenh thn xwran tauthn erhmon ἀπείρηασται → ἐν τῷ τόπῳ γενομένη τὴν χώραν ταύτην ἔρημον ἀπείργασται.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 704b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.48.3 (Dindorf 2:133–134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-48-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.48.4Dindorf 2:134
Οὐ τοίνυν ἀνίατος ἂν εἴη πρὸς ἀρετῆς κτῆσιν. εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἐπιθαλαττία τε ἔμελλεν εἶναι καὶ εὐλίμενος καὶ μὴ πάμφορος, ἀλλʼ ἐπιδεὴς πολλῶν, μεγάλου τινὸς ἔδει σωτῆρός γε αὐτῇ καὶ νομοθετῶν θείων τινῶν, εἰ μὴ πολλά τε ἔμελλεν ἤθη καὶ ποικίλα καὶ φαῦλα ἕξειν τοιαύτη φύσει γενομένη· νῦν δὲ παραμύθιον ἔχει τὸ τῶν ὀγδοήκοντα σταδίων.
Ou toinyn aniatos an eiē pros aretēs ktēsin. ei men gar epithalattia te emellen einai kai eulimenos kai mē pamphoros, allʼ epideēs pollōn, megalou tinos edei sōtēros ge autę̄ kai nomothetōn theiōn tinōn, ei mē polla te emellen ēthē kai poikila kai phaula hexein toiautē physei genomenē; nyn de paramythion echei to tōn ogdoēkonta stadiōn.
— Then it would not be incurable for the acquisition of virtue. For if it were to be on the sea, well harboured, and not producing all things but lacking many, it would need some great saviour and divine lawgivers, if it were not to have many varied and bad characters, being of such a nature; but as it is, the eighty stades are a consolation.
Notes and citation
Summary: Distance from the sea protects the city’s virtue.
- Plato, Laws 4.704d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line number leaked into the digital text): νομοθετῶν θείων τινῶν 5 εἰ μὴ → νομοθετῶν θείων τινῶν, εἰ μὴ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 704d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.48.4 (Dindorf 2:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-48-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.48.5Dindorf 2:134
ἐγγύτερον μέντοι τοῦ δέοντος κεῖται τῆς θαλάττης, σχεδὸν ὅσον εὐλιμενωτέραν φὴς αὐτὴν εἶναι. ὅμως δὲ ἀγαπητὸν καὶ τοῦτο. πρόσοικος γὰρ θάλαττα χώρᾳ τὸ μὲν παρʼ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἡδὺ, μάλα γε μὴν ὄντως ἁλμυρὸν καὶ πικρὸν γειτόνημα· ἐμπορίας γὰρ καὶ χρηματισμοῦ διὰ καπηλείας ἐμπιπλᾶσα ἑαυτὴν, ἤθη παλίμβολα καὶ ἄπιστα ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐντίκτουσα, αὐτήν τε πρὸς αὑτὴν τὴν πόλιν ἄπιστον καὶ ἄφιλον ποιεῖ, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους ὡσαύτως. παραμύθιον δὲ δὴ πρὸς ταῦτα καὶ τὸ πάμφορος εἶναι κέκτηται, τραχεῖα δὲ οὖσα δῆλον ὡς οὐκ ἂν πολύφορός τʼ εἴη καὶ πάμφορος ἅμα. τοῦτο γὰρ ἔχουσα, πολλὴν ἐξαγωγὴν ἂν παρεχομένη, νομίσματος ἀργυροῦ καὶ χρυσοῦ πάλιν ἀντεπίμπλατʼ ἄν· οὗ μεῖζον κακὸν, ὡς ἔπος εἰπεῖν, πόλει ἀνθʼ ἑνὸς ἓν οὐδὲν ἂν γένοιτο εἰς γενναίων καὶ δικαίων ἠθῶν κτῆσιν.” Ἀλλὰ γὰρ τοσούτων ἡμῖν καὶ μέχρι τοῦδε ἀποδεδειγμένων σκεψώμεθα ὅπως τὸν τῆς παρʼ Ἑβραίοις παιδείας τρόπον διʼ ὧν εἰρήκαμεν ἀποδεξάμενος τὸν Ἑλληνικὸν παραιτεῖται, γράφων ἐν τῷ δεκάτῳ τῆς Πολιτείας ὧδε
engyteron mentoi tou deontos keitai tēs thalattēs, schedon hoson eulimenōteran phēs autēn einai. homōs de agapēton kai touto. prosoikos gar thalatta chōrą to men parʼ hekastēn hēmeran hēdy, mala ge mēn ontōs halmyron kai pikron geitonēma; emporias gar kai chrēmatismou dia kapēleias empiplasa heautēn, ēthē palimbola kai apista tais psychais entiktousa, autēn te pros hautēn tēn polin apiston kai aphilon poiei, kai pros tous allous anthrōpous hōsautōs. paramythion de dē pros tauta kai to pamphoros einai kektētai, tracheia de ousa dēlon hōs ouk an polyphoros tʼ eiē kai pamphoros hama. touto gar echousa, pollēn exagōgēn an parechomenē, nomismatos argyrou kai chrysou palin antepimplatʼ an; hou meizon kakon, hōs epos eipein, polei anthʼ henos hen ouden an genoito eis gennaiōn kai dikaiōn ēthōn ktēsin.” Alla gar tosoutōn hēmin kai mechri toude apodedeigmenōn skepsōmetha hopōs ton tēs parʼ Hebraiois paideias tropon diʼ hōn eirēkamen apodexamenos ton Hellēnikon paraiteitai, graphōn en tǭ dekatǭ tēs Politeias hōde
It lies nearer the sea than it should, about as much as you say it is well harboured. Still even this is acceptable. For the sea, neighbour to a country, is pleasant day by day, but in truth a salty and bitter neighbour; filling the place with trade and money-making through retail, it breeds shifty and faithless characters in souls, and makes the city faithless and unfriendly to itself and likewise to other men. A consolation for this, too, is its producing all things; and being rugged, it clearly could not be both very productive and all-producing. For having this, providing much export, it would be filled in return with silver and gold coin; than which, so to speak, no greater evil could come to a city, one thing for another, for the acquisition of noble and just characters.” But since so much has been shown by us thus far, let us consider how, having accepted the Hebrew way of education through what we have said, he rejects the Greek, writing thus in the tenth book of the Republic:
Notes and citation
Summary: The sea breeds faithlessness and wealth corrupts; Eusebius turns to Plato’s rejection of Greek poetry.
- Plato, Laws 4.705a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; breathing slip in the digital text; letter lost in the digital text): εὐλιμενωτέραν φῄς αὐτὴν → εὐλιμενωτέραν φὴς αὐτὴν; ἀνθʼ ἑνὸς ἕν οὐδὲν → ἀνθʼ ἑνὸς ἓν οὐδὲν; ἀποδεδειγμένω σκεψώμεθα → ἀποδεδειγμένων σκεψώμεθα.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 705a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.48.5 (Dindorf 2:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-48-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 12, chapter 49
12.49.1Dindorf 2:134–135
“Ὡς μὲν πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰρήσθω, οὐ γάρ μου κατερεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς τῆς τραγῳδίας ποιητὰς καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας τοὺς μιμητικοὺς) λώβη ἔοικεν εἶναι πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα τῆς τῶν ἀκουόντων διανοίας, ὅσοι μὴ ἔχουσι φάρμακον τὸ εἰδέναι αὐτὰ οἶα τυγχάνει ὄντα. Πῇ δὴ, ἔφη, διανοούμενος λέγεις; Ῥητέον, ἦν δʼ ἐγὼ, καίτοι φιλία γέ τίς με καὶ αἰδὼς ἐκ παιδὸς ἔχουσα περὶ Ὁμήρου ἀποκωλύει λέγειν.
“Hōs men pros hymas eirēsthō, ou gar mou katereite pros tous tēs tragǭdias poiētas kai tous allous pantas tous mimētikous) lōbē eoiken einai panta ta toiauta tēs tōn akouontōn dianoias, hosoi mē echousi pharmakon to eidenai auta oia tynchanei onta. Pę̄ dē, ephē, dianooumenos legeis? Rhēteon, ēn dʼ egō, kaitoi philia ge tis me kai aidōs ek paidos echousa peri Homērou apokōlyei legein.
“To speak among ourselves (for you will not denounce me to the tragic poets and all the other imitators), all such things seem to be a corruption of the minds of the hearers, of those who do not have as a remedy the knowledge of what they really are. — What are you thinking of in saying this? he said. — It must be said, I said, although a certain love and reverence for Homer, held from childhood, keeps me from speaking.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato: imitative poetry corrupts the mind; even Homer must be judged.
- Plato, Republic 10.595b; through 12.49.14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR and accent slips in the digital text; breathing missing in the digital text; stray comma in the digital text): τοὺς μιμητικοὺς, ) λώβη → τοὺς μιμητικοὺς) λώβη; Πῆ δὴ, ἴφη → Πῇ δὴ, ἔφη; περὶ Ομήρου → περὶ Ὁμήρου.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 595b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.1 (Dindorf 2:134–135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.2Dindorf 2:135
ἔοικε γὰρ τῶν καλῶν ἀπάντων τούτων τῶν τραγικῶν πρῶτος διδάσκαλός τε καὶ ἡγεμὼν γενέσθαι. ἀλλʼ οὐ γὰρ πρό γε τῆς ἀληθείας τιμητέος ἀνὴρ, ἀλλʼ ὃ λέγω ῥητέον. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ἔφη.”
eoike gar tōn kalōn apantōn toutōn tōn tragikōn prōtos didaskalos te kai hēgemōn genesthai. allʼ ou gar pro ge tēs alētheias timēteos anēr, allʼ ho legō rhēteon. Pany men oun, ephē.”
For he seems to have been the first teacher and leader of all these fine tragedians. But a man must not be honoured above the truth, and what I mean must be said. — Certainly, he said.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Truth must come before honour to Homer.
- Plato, Republic 10.595b–c.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 595b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.2 (Dindorf 2:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.3Dindorf 2:135
Εἶθʼ ἐξῆς ἐπιλέγει “Τῶν μὲν τοίνυν ἄλλων πέρι μὴ ἀπαιτῶμεν λόγον Ὅμηρον, μηδὲ ἄλλον ὁντινοῦν τῶν ποιητῶν, ἐρωτῶντες, εἰ ἰατρικός τις ἦν αὐτῶν, ἀλλὰ μὴ μιμητὴς μόνον ἰατρικῶν λόγων, τίνας ὑγιεῖς ποιητής τις τῶν παλαιῶν ἢ τῶν νέων λέγεται πεποιηκέναι, ὥσπερ Ἀσκληπιὸς, ἢ τίνας μαθητὰς ἰατρικῆς κατελίπετο, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος τοὺς ἐκγόνους· μηδʼ αὖ περὶ τὰς ἄλλας τέχνας αὐτὸν ἐρωτῶμεν, ἀλλʼ ἐῶμεν.
Eithʼ exēs epilegei “Tōn men toinyn allōn peri mē apaitōmen logon Homēron, mēde allon hontinoun tōn poiētōn, erōtōntes, ei iatrikos tis ēn autōn, alla mē mimētēs monon iatrikōn logōn, tinas hygieis poiētēs tis tōn palaiōn ē tōn neōn legetai pepoiēkenai, hōsper Asklēpios, ē tinas mathētas iatrikēs katelipeto, hōsper ekeinos tous ekgonous; mēdʼ au peri tas allas technas auton erōtōmen, allʼ eōmen.
Then next he adds: “About the other matters let us not demand an account from Homer or any other of the poets, asking whether any of them was a physician and not only an imitator of medical talk, whom any poet of old or new is said to have made healthy, as Asclepius did, or what pupils in medicine he left, as he left his descendants; nor let us ask him about the other arts, but let them be.
Notes and citation
Summary: Poets are not judged on medicine or the arts.
- Plato, Republic 10.599b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and missing quotation mark in the digital text): ἐπιλέγει Τῶν μὲν τοίνυν ἄλλων πέρι μὴ ἀπαιτῶμεν λό- γον → ἐπιλέγει “Τῶν μὲν τοίνυν ἄλλων πέρι μὴ ἀπαιτῶμεν λόγον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 599b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.3 (Dindorf 2:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.4Dindorf 2:135
περὶ δὲ τῶν μεγίστων τε καὶ καλλίστων, ὧν ἐπιχειρεῖ λέγειν Ὅμηρος, πολέμων τε πέρι καὶ στρατηγιῶν καὶ διοικήσεων πόλεων, καὶ παιδείας πέρι ἀνθρώπων, δίκαιον που ἐρωτᾶν αὐτὸν πυνθανομένους, ὦ φίλε Ὅμηρε, εἴπερ μὴ τρίτος ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας εἶ ἀρετῆς πέρι εἰδώλου δημιουργὸς, ὃν δὴ μιμητὴν ὡρισάμεθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ δεύτερος, καὶ οἷός τε ἦσθα γινώσκειν ποῖα ἐπιτηδεύματα βελτίους ἢ χείρους ἀνθρώπους ποιεῖ ἰδίᾳ καὶ δημοσίᾳ, λέγε ἡμῖν τίς τῶν πόλεων διὰ σὲ βέλτιον ᾤκησεν, ὥσπερ διὰ Λυκοῦργον Λακεδαίμων καὶ διʼ ἄλλους πολλοὺς πολλαὶ μεγάλαι τε καὶ σμικραί.
peri de tōn megistōn te kai kallistōn, hōn epicheirei legein Homēros, polemōn te peri kai stratēgiōn kai dioikēseōn poleōn, kai paideias peri anthrōpōn, dikaion pou erōtan auton pynthanomenous, ō phile Homēre, eiper mē tritos apo tēs alētheias ei aretēs peri eidōlou dēmiourgos, hon dē mimētēn hōrisametha, alla kai deuteros, kai hoios te ēstha ginōskein poia epitēdeumata beltious ē cheirous anthrōpous poiei idią kai dēmosią, lege hēmin tis tōn poleōn dia se beltion ǭkēsen, hōsper dia Lykourgon Lakedaimōn kai diʼ allous pollous pollai megalai te kai smikrai.
But about the greatest and finest things of which Homer undertakes to speak, wars and generalships and the administration of cities and the education of men, it is surely just to ask him: ‘Dear Homer, if you are not third from the truth about virtue, a maker of an image, whom we defined as an imitator, but second, and could know what pursuits make men better or worse in private and public, tell us which of the cities was better governed through you, as Lacedaemon through Lycurgus and many cities great and small through many others.
Notes and citation
Summary: Which city did Homer improve?
- Plato, Republic 10.599c–d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): καὶ παιδ· είας πέρι → καὶ παιδείας πέρι; πυνθανομένους, ὠ φίλε Ὅμηρε → πυνθανομένους, ὦ φίλε Ὅμηρε.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 599c–d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.4 (Dindorf 2:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.5Dindorf 2:135–136
σὲ δὲ τίς αἰτιᾶται πόλις ἀγαθὸν νομοθέτην γεγονέναι καὶ σφὰς ὠφεληκέναι; Χαρώνδαν μὲν γὰρ Ἰταλία καὶ Σικελία, καὶ ἡμεῖς Σόλωνα· σὲ δὲ τίς; ἕξει τινὰ εἰπεῖν; Οὐκ οἴομαι, ἔφη ὁ Γλαύκων· οὔκουν λέγεταί γε, οὐδʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν Ὁμηριδῶν. Ἀλλὰ δὴ τίς πόλεμος ἐπὶ Ὁμήρου ὑπʼ ἐκείνου ἄρχοντος ἢ συμβουλεύοντος εὖ πολεμηθεὶς μνημονεύεται; Οὐδείς.
se de tis aitiatai polis agathon nomothetēn gegonenai kai sphas ōphelēkenai? Charōndan men gar Italia kai Sikelia, kai hēmeis Solōna; se de tis? hexei tina eipein? Ouk oiomai, ephē ho Glaukōn; oukoun legetai ge, oudʼ hypʼ autōn Homēridōn. Alla dē tis polemos epi Homērou hypʼ ekeinou archontos ē symbouleuontos eu polemētheis mnēmoneuetai? Oudeis.
What city credits you with having been a good lawgiver and benefited it? Italy and Sicily credit Charondas, and we Solon; but who you?’ Will he be able to name any? — I think not, said Glaucon; none is spoken of, even by the Homeridae themselves. — But is any war in Homer’s time remembered as well fought under his command or counsel? — None.
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer neither gave laws nor led wars.
- Plato, Republic 10.599d–600a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent missing in the digital text): Ἀλλὰ δὴ τίς πολεμος → Ἀλλὰ δὴ τίς πόλεμος.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 599d–600a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.5 (Dindorf 2:135–136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.6Dindorf 2:136
Ἀλλʼ οἶα δὴ εἰς τὰ ἔργα σοφοῦ ἀνδρὸς πολλαὶ ἐπίνοιαι καὶ εὐμήχανοι εἰς τέχνας ἤ τινας ἄλλας πράξεις λέγονται, ὥσπερ αὖ Θάλεώ τε πέρι τοῦ Μιλησίου καὶ Ἀναχάρσιδος τοῦ Σκύθου; Οὐδαμῶς τοιοῦτον οὐδέν.
Allʼ oia dē eis ta erga sophou andros pollai epinoiai kai eumēchanoi eis technas ē tinas allas praxeis legontai, hōsper au Thaleō te peri tou Milēsiou kai Anacharsidos tou Skythou? Oudamōs toiouton ouden.
— But are many ingenious inventions in the arts or other practical matters told of him, as of a wise man in deeds, as of Thales of Miletus and Anacharsis the Scythian? — Nothing of the kind at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer invented nothing practical.
- Plato, Republic 10.600a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Ούδαμῶς τοιοῦτον → Οὐδαμῶς τοιοῦτον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.6 (Dindorf 2:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.7Dindorf 2:136
Ἀλλὰ δὴ, εἰ μὴ δημοσίᾳ, ἰδίᾳ τισὶν ἡγεμὼν παιδείας αὐτὸς ζῶν λέγεται Ὅμηρος γενέσθαι, οἳ ἐκεῖνον ἠγάπων ἐπὶ συνουσίᾳ καὶ τοῖς ὕστερον ὁδόν τινα παρέδοσαν βίου Ὁμηρικὴν, ὥσπερ Πυθαγόρας αὐτός τε διαφερόντως ἐπὶ τούτῳ ἠγαπήθη, καὶ οἱ ὕστεροι ἔτι καὶ νῦν Πυθαγόρειον τρόπον ἐπονομάζοντες τοῦ βίου διαφανεῖς πη δοκοῦσιν εἷναι ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις;
Alla dē, ei mē dēmosią, idią tisin hēgemōn paideias autos zōn legetai Homēros genesthai, hoi ekeinon ēgapōn epi synousią kai tois hysteron hodon tina paredosan biou Homērikēn, hōsper Pythagoras autos te diapherontōs epi toutǭ ēgapēthē, kai hoi hysteroi eti kai nyn Pythagoreion tropon eponomazontes tou biou diaphaneis pē dokousin heinai en tois allois?
— But if not in public, is Homer said to have been privately in his lifetime a leader of education to some who loved him for his company and handed down to later men a Homeric way of life, as Pythagoras was himself especially loved for this, and his successors, even now calling their way of life Pythagorean, seem somehow distinguished among the rest?
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer founded no school as Pythagoras did.
- Plato, Republic 10.600a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τρόπον ἐπονομάζοντες τοὐ βίου → τρόπον ἐπονομάζοντες τοῦ βίου.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.7 (Dindorf 2:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.8Dindorf 2:136
Οὐδʼ αὖ, ἔφη, τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν λέγεται. ὁ γὰρ Κρεώφυλος, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὁ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ἑταῖρος, τοῦ ὀνόματος ἂν γε- λοιότερος ἔτι πρὸς παιδείαν φανείη, εἰ τὰ λεγόμενα περὶ Ὁμήρου ἀληθῆ ἐστί.
Oudʼ au, ephē, toiouton ouden legetai. ho gar Kreōphylos, ō Sōkrates, ho tou Homērou hetairos, tou onomatos an ge- loioteros eti pros paideian phaneiē, ei ta legomena peri Homērou alēthē esti.
— Nothing of that kind either is told, he said. For Creophylus, Socrates, Homer’s companion, would appear even more ridiculous in education than in his name, if what is said about Homer is true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer’s disciple Creophylus was a nonentity.
- Plato, Republic 10.600b. Creophylus’s name suggests “meat-lover.”
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὁ γὰρ Κρεώφυλος, ὢ Σώκρατες → ὁ γὰρ Κρεώφυλος, ὦ Σώκρατες.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.8 (Dindorf 2:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.9Dindorf 2:136
λέγεται γάρ που ὡς πολλὴ ἀμέλεια περὶ αὐτὸν ἦν ἐπʼ αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου, ὅτε ἔζη. Λέγεται γὰρ οὖν, ἦν δʼ ἐγώ. ἀλλʼ οἴει, ὦ Γλαύκων, εἰ τῷ ὄντι οἷός τε ἦν παιδεύειν ἀνθρώπους καὶ βελτίους ἀπεργάζεσθαι Ὅμηρος, ἅτε περὶ τούτων οὐ μιμεῖσθαι, ἀλλὰ γινώσκειν δυνάμενος, οὐκ ἄρʼ ἂν πολλοὺς ἑταίρους ἐποιήσατο καὶ ἐτιμᾶτο καὶ ἠγαπᾶτο ὑπʼ αὐτῶν;
legetai gar pou hōs pollē ameleia peri auton ēn epʼ autou ekeinou, hote ezē. Legetai gar oun, ēn dʼ egō. allʼ oiei, ō Glaukōn, ei tǭ onti hoios te ēn paideuein anthrōpous kai beltious apergazesthai Homēros, hate peri toutōn ou mimeisthai, alla ginōskein dynamenos, ouk arʼ an pollous hetairous epoiēsato kai etimato kai ēgapato hypʼ autōn?
For it is said that Homer was much neglected by that very man while he lived. — It is said, I said. But do you think, Glaucon, if Homer were really able to educate men and make them better, being able not to imitate but to know about these things, he would not have made many companions and been honoured and loved by them?
Notes and citation
Summary: If Homer could truly educate, he would have had many disciples.
- Plato, Republic 10.600b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ἀλλʼ οἴει, ὠ Γλαύκων → ἀλλʼ οἴει, ὦ Γλαύκων.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.9 (Dindorf 2:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.10Dindorf 2:136–137
ἀλλὰ Πρωταγόρας μὲν ἄρα ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης καὶ Πρόδικος ὁ Κεῖος καὶ ἄλλοι πάμπολλοι δύνανται τοῖς ἐφʼ ἑαυτῶν παρεστάναι, ἰδίᾳ συγγινόμενοι, ὡς οὔτε οἰκίαν οὔτε πόλιν τὴν αὐτῶν οἰκεῖν οἷοί τε ἔσονται, ἐὰν μὴ σφεῖς αὐτῶν τῆς παιδείας ἐπιστατήσωσι, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτῃ τῇ σοφίᾳ οὕτω σφόδρα φιλοῦνται, ὥστε μόνον οὐκ ἐπὶ ταῖς κεφαλαῖς περιφέρουσιν αὐτοὺς οἱ ἑταῖροι.
alla Prōtagoras men ara ho Abdēritēs kai Prodikos ho Keios kai alloi pampolloi dynantai tois ephʼ heautōn parestanai, idią synginomenoi, hōs oute oikian oute polin tēn autōn oikein hoioi te esontai, ean mē spheis autōn tēs paideias epistatēsōsi, kai epi tautę̄ tę̄ sophią houtō sphodra philountai, hōste monon ouk epi tais kephalais peripherousin autous hoi hetairoi.
But Protagoras of Abdera and Prodicus of Ceos and very many others can persuade their contemporaries, in private intercourse, that they will be unable to manage either their household or their city unless they themselves supervise their education; and for this wisdom they are so loved that their companions all but carry them about on their heads.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sophists were adored for their teaching.
- Plato, Republic 10.600c–d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word split and breathing slip in the digital text): περι- φέρουσιν αὐτοὺς οἶ ἑταῖροι → περιφέρουσιν αὐτοὺς οἱ ἑταῖροι.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600c–d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.10 (Dindorf 2:136–137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.11Dindorf 2:137
Ὅμηρον δὲ ἄρα οἱ ἐπʼ ἐκείνου, εἴπερ οἷός τε ἦν πρὸς ἀρετὴν ὀνίναι ἀν- θρώπους, ἢ Ἡσίοδον ῥαψῳδεῖν ἂν περιιόντας εἴων, καὶ οὐχὶ μᾶλλον ἂν αὐτῶν ἀντείχοντο ἢ τοῦ χρυσοῦ, καὶ ἠνάγκαζον παρὰ σφίσιν οἴκοι εἶναι, ἢ εἰ μὴ ἔπει- θον, αὐτοὶ ἂν ἐπαιδαγώγουν, ὅπη ᾔεσαν, ἕως ἱκανῶς παιδείας μεταλάβοιεν;
Homēron de ara hoi epʼ ekeinou, eiper hoios te ēn pros aretēn oninai an- thrōpous, ē Hēsiodon rhapsǭdein an periiontas eiōn, kai ouchi mallon an autōn anteichonto ē tou chrysou, kai ēnankazon para sphisin oikoi einai, ē ei mē epei- thon, autoi an epaidagōgoun, hopē ę̄esan, heōs hikanōs paideias metalaboien?
And would the men of Homer’s time, if he were able to benefit men toward virtue, have let him or Hesiod go about reciting, and not have clung to them more than to gold and compelled them to stay at home with them, or, if they could not persuade them, followed them themselves wherever they went until they had received enough education?
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer would not have been left to wander if he could teach virtue.
- Plato, Republic 10.600d–e.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing and capitalization slips in the digital text): ὅμηρον δὲ ἄρα οἶ ἐπʼ ἐκείνου → Ὅμηρον δὲ ἄρα οἱ ἐπʼ ἐκείνου.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600d–e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.11 (Dindorf 2:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.12Dindorf 2:137
Παντάπασιν, ἔφη, δο- κεῖς μοι, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀληθῆ λέγειν. Οὐκοῦν τι- θῶμεν ἀπὸ Ὁμήρου ἀρξάμενοι πάντας τοὺς ποιητι- κοὺς μιμητὰς εἰδώλων ἀρετῆς εἷναι καὶ τῶν ἄλλων περὶ ὧν ποιοῦσι, τῆς δʼ ἀληθείας οὐχ ἅπτεσθαι; ἀλλʼ ὥσπερ νῦν δὴ ἐλέγομεν, ὁ ζωγράφος σκυτοτό- μον ποιήσει δοκοῦντα εἶναι, αὐτός τε οὐκ ἐπαίων περὶ σκυτοτομίας, καὶ τοῖς μὴ ἐπαίουσιν, ἐκ τῶν χρωμάτων δὲ καὶ σχημάτων θεωροῦσι;
Pantapasin, ephē, do- keis moi, ō Sōkrates, alēthē legein. Oukoun ti- thōmen apo Homērou arxamenoi pantas tous poiēti- kous mimētas eidōlōn aretēs heinai kai tōn allōn peri hōn poiousi, tēs dʼ alētheias ouch haptesthai? allʼ hōsper nyn dē elegomen, ho zōgraphos skytoto- mon poiēsei dokounta einai, autos te ouk epaiōn peri skytotomias, kai tois mē epaiousin, ek tōn chrōmatōn de kai schēmatōn theōrousi?
— You seem to me, Socrates, he said, to speak entirely the truth. — Shall we, then, set down that all the poets, beginning from Homer, are imitators of images of virtue and of the other things they make, and do not touch the truth; but, as we were just saying, the painter will make what seems a shoemaker, knowing nothing of shoemaking himself, to those who know nothing either, but look at colours and shapes?
Notes and citation
Summary: Poets imitate images of virtue, like painters of shoemakers.
- Plato, Republic 10.600e–601a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (Greek letter misread as Latin in the digital text; breathing slip in the digital text): (h Σώκρατες → ὦ Σώκρατες; ἀπὸ Ὀμήρου ἀρξάμενοι → ἀπὸ Ὁμήρου ἀρξάμενοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 600e–601a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.12 (Dindorf 2:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.13Dindorf 2:137
Πάνυ μὲν οὖν. Οὕτω δὴ, οἶμαι, καὶ τὸν ποιητικὸν φήσομεν χρώματα ἄττα ἑκάστῳ τῶν τεχνῶν τοῖς ὀνόμασι καὶ ῥήμασιν ἐπιχρωματίζειν αὐτὸν οὐκ ἐπαίοντα, ἀλλʼ ἢ μιμεῖσθαι, ὥστε ἑτέροις τοιούτοις ἐκ τῶν λό- γῶν θεωροῦσι δοκεῖν, ἐάν τε περὶ σκυτοτομίας τι λέγῃ ἐν μέτρῳ καὶ ῥυθμῷ καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ, πάνυ εὖ δο- κεῖν λέγεσθαι, ἐάν τε περὶ στρατηγίας, ἐάν τε περὶ ἄλλου ὁτουοῦν ’
Pany men oun. Houtō dē, oimai, kai ton poiētikon phēsomen chrōmata atta hekastǭ tōn technōn tois onomasi kai rhēmasin epichrōmatizein auton ouk epaionta, allʼ ē mimeisthai, hōste heterois toioutois ek tōn lo- gōn theōrousi dokein, ean te peri skytotomias ti legę̄ en metrǭ kai rhythmǭ kai harmonią, pany eu do- kein legesthai, ean te peri stratēgias, ean te peri allou hotououn ’
— Certainly. — So, I think, we shall say that the poet too colours each of the arts with certain colours by his words and phrases, not understanding them except to imitate, so that to others like him, looking from the words, if he speaks of shoemaking in metre, rhythm, and harmony, it seems very well said, or of generalship, or of anything else;
Notes and citation
Summary: Poetry colours ignorance with metre.
- Plato, Republic 10.601a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (syllables repeated across a line in the digital text): φήσο- φήσομεν → φήσομεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 601a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.13 (Dindorf 2:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.14Dindorf 2:137
οὕτω φύσει αὐτὰ ταῦτα μεγά- λην τινὰ κήλησιν ἔχειν, ἐπεὶ γυμνωθέντα γε τῶν τῆς μουσικῆς χρωμάτων τὰ τῶν ποιητῶν, αὐτὰ ἐφʼ ἑαυ- τῶν λεγόμενα, οἶμαί σε εἰδέναι οἷα φαίνεται. τεθέα- ’σαι γὰρ, ἢ οὔ; Ἔγωγʼ, ἔφη.”
houtō physei auta tauta mega- lēn tina kēlēsin echein, epei gymnōthenta ge tōn tēs mousikēs chrōmatōn ta tōn poiētōn, auta ephʼ heau- tōn legomena, oimai se eidenai hoia phainetai. tethea- ’sai gar, ē ou? Egōgʼ, ephē.”
so great a charm do these things by nature have; since, stripped of the colours of music, the works of the poets, spoken by themselves, you know, I think, how they appear. You have seen it, have you not? — I have, he said.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Without music, poetry’s emptiness appears.
- Plato, Republic 10.601a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): Ἔγωγʼ, ἴφη → Ἔγωγʼ, ἔφη.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 601a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.14 (Dindorf 2:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.49.15Dindorf 2:137–138
Καὶ τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων εὖ μοι ἔχειν δο- κεῖ βραχέα ἄττα τῶν Πλάτωνος διελθεῖν, διʼ ὧν λο- γικώτερον τὸν περὶ θεοῦ καὶ προνοίας συνίστησι λό- γον, τοῖς Ἑβραίων κἀν τούτῳ παριστάμενος δόγμασι. πρῶτα δὲ θεασώμεθα ὅπως τὰς δόξας τῶν ἀθέων ἐκτίθησι·
Kai toutōn de houtōs echontōn eu moi echein do- kei brachea atta tōn Platōnos dielthein, diʼ hōn lo- gikōteron ton peri theou kai pronoias synistēsi lo- gon, tois Hebraiōn kan toutǭ paristamenos dogmasi. prōta de theasōmetha hopōs tas doxas tōn atheōn ektithēsi;
This being so, it seems good to me to go through a few of Plato’s passages in which he establishes the doctrine of God and providence more rationally, siding in this too with the doctrines of the Hebrews. First let us see how he sets out the opinions of the atheists:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius turns to Plato on God and providence, beginning with the atheists’ views.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing missing in the digital text): τοῖς Εβραίων κἀν τούτῳ → τοῖς Ἑβραίων κἀν τούτῳ.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.49.15 (Dindorf 2:137–138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-49-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 12, chapter 50
12.50.1Dindorf 2:138
“Λέγουσί πού τινες ὡς πάντα ἐστὶ τὰ πράγματα γιγνόμενα καὶ γενόμενα καὶ γενησόμενα τὰ μὲν φύσει, τὰ δὲ τέχνῃ, τὰ δὲ διὰ τύχην. Οὐκοῦν καλῶς. Εἰκός γέ τοί που σοφοὺς ἄνδρας ὀρθῶς λέγειν. ἑπόμενοί γε μὴν αὐτοῖς σκεψώμεθα τοὺς ἐκεῖθεν τί ποτε καὶ τυγχάνουσι διανοούμενοι.
“Legousi pou tines hōs panta esti ta pragmata gignomena kai genomena kai genēsomena ta men physei, ta de technę̄, ta de dia tychēn. Oukoun kalōs. Eikos ge toi pou sophous andras orthōs legein. hepomenoi ge mēn autois skepsōmetha tous ekeithen ti pote kai tynchanousi dianooumenoi.
“Some say, I think, that all things that are coming to be, have come to be, and will come to be, come to be some by nature, some by art, and some by chance. — Is that not well said? — It is likely, surely, that wise men speak rightly. Following them, however, let us consider what those on that side really have in mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s Laws: some ascribe all things to nature, art, and chance.
- Plato, Laws 10.888e; through 12.50.11.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 888e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.1 (Dindorf 2:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.2Dindorf 2:138
Πάντως. Ἔοικε, φασὶ, τὰ μὲν μέγιστα αὐτῶν καὶ κάλλιστα ἀπεργάζεσθαι φύσιν καὶ τύχην, τὰ δὲ σμικρότερα τέχνην, ἣν δὴ παρὰ φύσεως λαμβάνουσαν τὴν τῶν μεγάλων καὶ πρώτων γένεσιν ἔργων πλάττειν καὶ τεκταίνεσθαι πάντα τὰ σμικρότατα, ἃ δὴ τεχνικὰ πάντες προσαγορεύομεν.
Pantōs. Eoike, phasi, ta men megista autōn kai kallista apergazesthai physin kai tychēn, ta de smikrotera technēn, hēn dē para physeōs lambanousan tēn tōn megalōn kai prōtōn genesin ergōn plattein kai tektainesthai panta ta smikrotata, ha dē technika pantes prosagoreuomen.
— By all means. — It seems, they say, that nature and chance produce the greatest and finest of them, and art the lesser; which, receiving from nature the generation of the great and first works, moulds and fashions all the smaller ones, which we all call artificial.
Notes and citation
Summary: They say nature and chance make the greatest things, art the lesser.
- Plato, Laws 10.889a.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 889a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.2 (Dindorf 2:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.3Dindorf 2:138–139
Πῶς λέγεις; Ὦδʼ ἔτι σαφέστερον ἐρῶ. πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν καὶ ἀέρα φύσει πάντα εἶναι καὶ τύχῃ φασὶ, τέχνῃ δὲ οὐδὲν τούτων. καὶ τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα αὖ σώματα, γῆς τε καὶ ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης ἄστρων τε πέρι, διὰ τούτων γεγονέναι παντελῶς ὄντων ἀψύχων· τύχῃ δὲ φερόμενα τῇ τῆς δυνάμεως ἕκαστα ἑκάστων, ᾗ συμπέπτωκεν ἁρμόττοντα οἰκείως πως, θερμὰ ψυχροῖς, ἢ ξηρὰ πρὸς ὑγρὰ καὶ μαλακὰ πρὸς σκληρὰ, καὶ πάντα ὁπόσα τῇ τῶν ἐναντίων κράσει κατὰ τύχην ἐξ ἀνάγκης συνεκεράσθη, ταύτῃ καὶ κατὰ ταὐτὰ οὕτως γεγεννηκέναι τόν τε οὐρανὸν ὅλον καὶ πάντα ὁπόσα ἂν κατʼ οὐρανόν, καὶ ζῷα αὖ καὶ φυτὰ ξύμπαντα, ὡρῶν πασῶν ἐκ τούτων γενομένων, οὐ διὰ νοῦν, φασὶν, οὐδὲ διά τινα θεὸν οὐδὲ διὰ τέχνην, ἀλλʼ ὃ λέγομεν, φύσει καὶ τύχῃ.
Pōs legeis? Ōdʼ eti saphesteron erō. pyr kai hydōr kai gēn kai aera physei panta einai kai tychę̄ phasi, technę̄ de ouden toutōn. kai ta meta tauta au sōmata, gēs te kai hēliou kai selēnēs astrōn te peri, dia toutōn gegonenai pantelōs ontōn apsychōn; tychę̄ de pheromena tę̄ tēs dynameōs hekasta hekastōn, hę̄ sympeptōken harmottonta oikeiōs pōs, therma psychrois, ē xēra pros hygra kai malaka pros sklēra, kai panta hoposa tę̄ tōn enantiōn krasei kata tychēn ex anankēs synekerasthē, tautę̄ kai kata tauta houtōs gegennēkenai ton te ouranon holon kai panta hoposa an katʼ ouranon, kai zǭa au kai phyta xympanta, hōrōn pasōn ek toutōn genomenōn, ou dia noun, phasin, oude dia tina theon oude dia technēn, allʼ ho legomen, physei kai tychę̄.
— How do you mean? — I will put it more clearly thus. Fire, water, earth, and air, they say, all exist by nature and chance, and none of them by art; and the bodies that come next, of earth and sun and moon and stars, came to be through these, which are wholly soulless; carried by chance, each by the force of each, as they happened to fit together in some suitable way, hot with cold, or dry with wet, and soft with hard, and all that by the mixture of opposites were blended by necessity according to chance, in this way and on these terms they have begotten the whole heaven and all that is in heaven, and all animals and plants, all the seasons arising from these; not through mind, they say, nor through any god, nor through art, but, as we say, by nature and chance.
Notes and citation
Summary: The atheists derive the cosmos from soulless elements by chance.
- Plato, Laws 10.889b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (no change): κατʼ οὐρανὸν, καὶ ζῷα → κατʼ οὐρανόν, καὶ ζῷα.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 889b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.3 (Dindorf 2:138–139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.4Dindorf 2:139
τέχνην δὲ ὕστερον ἐκ τούτων ὑστέραν γενομένην, αὐτὴν θνητὴν ἐκ θνητῶν, ὕστερα γεγεννηκέναι παιδιάς τινας ἀληθείας οὐ σφόδρα μετεχούσας, ἀλλʼ εἴδωλʼ ἄττα ξυγγενῆ ἑαυτῶν, οἷα γραφικὴ γεννᾷ καὶ μουσικὴ καὶ ὅσαι ταύταις εἰσὶ συνέριθοι τέχναι. αἳ δʼ εἴ τι καὶ σπουδαῖον ἄρα γεννῶσι τῶν τεχνῶν, εἶναι ταύτας ὁπόσαι τῇ φύσει ἐκοίνωσαν τὴν αὑτῶν δύναμιν, οἷον αὖ ἰατρικὴ καὶ γεωργικὴ καὶ γυμναστική. καὶ δὴ καὶ τὴν πολιτικὴν σμικρόν τι μέρος εἶναί φασι κοινωνοῦν φύσει, τέχνῃ δὲ τὸ πολύ. οὕτω δὲ καὶ τὴν νομοθεσίαν πᾶσαν οὐ φύσει, τέχνῃ δὲ, ἧς οὐκ ἀληθεῖς εἶναι τὰς θέσεις.
technēn de hysteron ek toutōn hysteran genomenēn, autēn thnētēn ek thnētōn, hystera gegennēkenai paidias tinas alētheias ou sphodra metechousas, allʼ eidōlʼ atta xyngenē heautōn, hoia graphikē genną kai mousikē kai hosai tautais eisi synerithoi technai. hai dʼ ei ti kai spoudaion ara gennōsi tōn technōn, einai tautas hoposai tę̄ physei ekoinōsan tēn hautōn dynamin, hoion au iatrikē kai geōrgikē kai gymnastikē. kai dē kai tēn politikēn smikron ti meros einai phasi koinōnoun physei, technę̄ de to poly. houtō de kai tēn nomothesian pasan ou physei, technę̄ de, hēs ouk alētheis einai tas theseis.
And art, arising later from these, itself mortal from mortals, has later begotten certain playthings sharing little in truth, images akin to themselves, such as painting and music produce and the arts that work with them. And the arts that do produce something serious are those that share their power with nature, such as medicine, farming, and gymnastics. And statecraft, they say, is a small part sharing in nature, but mostly art; and so all legislation is not by nature but by art, and its enactments are not true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Art is later and mortal; law, they say, is mere art.
- Plato, Laws 10.889c–e.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): αἴ δʼ εἴ τι καὶ σπουδαῖον → αἳ δʼ εἴ τι καὶ σπουδαῖον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 889c–e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.4 (Dindorf 2:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.5Dindorf 2:139
Πῶς λέγεις; Θεούς, ὦ μακάριε, πρῶτον εἶναί φασιν οὗτοι τέχνῃ, οὐ φύσει, ἀλλά τισι νόμοις, καὶ τούτους ἄλλους ἄλλῃ, ὅπη ἕκαστοι ἑαυτοῖς συνωμολόγησαν νομοθετούμενοι. καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ καλὰ φύσει μὲν ἄλλα εἶναι, νόμῳ δὲ ἕτερα· τὰ δὲ δὴ δίκαια οὐδʼ εἶναι τὸ παράπαν φύσει, ἀλλʼ ἀμφισβητοῦντας διατελεῖν ἀλλήλοις καὶ μετατιθεμένους ἀεὶ ταῦτα· ἃ δʼ ἂν μετάθωνται καὶ ὅταν, τότε κύρια ἕκαστα εἶναι, γιγνόμενα τέχνῃ καὶ νόμοις, ἀλλʼ οὐ δή τινι φύσει.
Pōs legeis? Theous, ō makarie, prōton einai phasin houtoi technę̄, ou physei, alla tisi nomois, kai toutous allous allę̄, hopē hekastoi heautois synōmologēsan nomothetoumenoi. kai dē kai ta kala physei men alla einai, nomǭ de hetera; ta de dē dikaia oudʼ einai to parapan physei, allʼ amphisbētountas diatelein allēlois kai metatithemenous aei tauta; ha dʼ an metathōntai kai hotan, tote kyria hekasta einai, gignomena technę̄ kai nomois, allʼ ou dē tini physei.
— How do you mean? — Gods, my blessed friend, these men say first exist by art, not by nature, but by certain laws, and these different in different places, as each people agreed among themselves in legislating. And the noble things are by nature one thing and by law another; and the just things are not by nature at all, but men go on disputing with one another and always changing them; and whatever they change, and whenever, then each is in force, coming to be by art and laws, but not by any nature.
Notes and citation
Summary: They say gods, morality, and justice exist only by convention.
- Plato, Laws 10.889e–890a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent and breathing slips in the digital text): Θέους, ω μακάριε → Θεούς, ὦ μακάριε.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 889e–890a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.5 (Dindorf 2:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.6Dindorf 2:139–140
ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν, ὦ φίλοι, ἅπαντα ἀνδρῶν σοφῶν παρὰ νέοις ἀνθρώποις, ἰδιωτῶν τε καὶ ποιητῶν, φασκόντων εἶναι τὸ δικαιότατον, ὅ τι τις ἂν νικᾶ, βιαζόμε- νος. ὅθεν ἀσέβειαί τε ἀνθρώποις ἐμπίπτουσιν νέοις, ὡς οὐκ ὄντων θεῶν οἴους ὁ νόμος προστάττει δια- νοεῖσθαι δεῖν, στάσεις τε διὰ ταῦτα, ἑλκόντων πρὸς τὸν κατὰ φύσιν ὀρθὸν βίον, ὅς ἐστι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ κρα- τοῦντα ζῆν τῶν ἄλλων, καὶ μὴ δουλεύοντα ἑτέροισι κατὰ νόμον. Οἶον διελήλυθας, ὦ ξένε, λόγον, καὶ ὅσην λώβην ἀνθρώπων νέων δημοσίᾳ πόλεσί τε καὶ ἰδίοις οἴκοις.”
tautʼ estin, ō philoi, hapanta andrōn sophōn para neois anthrōpois, idiōtōn te kai poiētōn, phaskontōn einai to dikaiotaton, ho ti tis an nika, biazome- nos. hothen asebeiai te anthrōpois empiptousin neois, hōs ouk ontōn theōn oious ho nomos prostattei dia- noeisthai dein, staseis te dia tauta, helkontōn pros ton kata physin orthon bion, hos esti tę̄ alētheią kra- tounta zēn tōn allōn, kai mē douleuonta heteroisi kata nomon. Oion dielēlythas, ō xene, logon, kai hosēn lōbēn anthrōpōn neōn dēmosią polesi te kai idiois oikois.”
These, my friends, are all the sayings of men wise in the eyes of the young, both prose writers and poets, who declare that the most just thing is whatever one can win by force. Hence impieties fall upon young men, as though the gods were not such as the law commands us to think them; and factions arise for this reason, as men draw others toward the life that is right by nature, which is in truth to live mastering others and not serving others according to law. — What an account you have gone through, stranger, and what a ruin of young men, publicly for cities and in private households!”
Notes and citation
Summary: Such teaching corrupts the young and breeds impiety and faction.
- Plato, Laws 10.890a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν, ὠ φίλοι → ταῦτʼ ἐστὶν, ὦ φίλοι; ἑτέροισι κάτα νόμον → ἑτέροισι κατὰ νόμον; διελήλυθας, ὠ ξένε → διελήλυθας, ὦ ξένε.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 890a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.6 (Dindorf 2:139–140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.7Dindorf 2:140
Καὶ μεθʼ ἕτερά φησιν “Ἀλλά γε δὴ πάλιν λέγε μοι, Κλεινία, καὶ σύ· κοινωνὸν γὰρ δεῖ σε εἷναι τῶν λόγων· κινδυνεύει γὰρ ὁ λέγων ταῦτα πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν καὶ ἀέρα πρῶτα τῶν πάντων ἡγεῖσθαι εἶναι, καὶ τὴν φύσιν ὀνομάζειν ταῦτα αὐτὰ, ψυχὴν δʼ ἐκ τούτων ὕστερον. ἔοικε δὲ οὐ κινδυνεύειν, ἀλλʼ ὄντως σημαίνειν ταῦτα ἡμῖν τῷ λόγῳ. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
Kai methʼ hetera phēsin “Alla ge dē palin lege moi, Kleinia, kai sy; koinōnon gar dei se heinai tōn logōn; kindyneuei gar ho legōn tauta pyr kai hydōr kai gēn kai aera prōta tōn pantōn hēgeisthai einai, kai tēn physin onomazein tauta auta, psychēn dʼ ek toutōn hysteron. eoike de ou kindyneuein, allʼ ontōs sēmainein tauta hēmin tǭ logǭ. Pany men oun.
And after other things he says: “But tell me again, Clinias, you too, for you must share in the discussion: the one who says this seems to think that fire, water, earth, and air are the first of all things, and to call these very things nature, and soul to come from them later. And he seems not merely to suggest but really to declare this to us in his argument. — Certainly.
Notes and citation
Summary: The atheists make the elements first and soul later.
- Plato, Laws 10.891b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (opening quotation mark missing in the digital text): μεθʼ ἕτερά φησιν Ἀλλά γε → μεθʼ ἕτερά φησιν “Ἀλλά γε.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 891b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.7 (Dindorf 2:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.8Dindorf 2:140
Ἆρʼ οὖν πρὸς Διὸς οἷον πηγήν τινα ἀνοήτου δόξης ἀνευρήκαμεν ἀνθρώπων ὁπόσοι πώποτε τῶν περὶ φύσεως ἐφήψαντο ζητημάτων; σκόπει πάντα λόγον ἐξετάζων· οὐ γὰρ δὴ σμικρόν γε τὸ διαφέρον, εἰ φανεῖεν οἱ λόγων ἁπτόμενοι ἀσεβῶν ἄλλοις τε ἐξάρχοντες μηδὲ εὖ τοῖς λόγοις, ἀλλʼ ἐξημαρτημένως χρώμενοι. δοκεῖ τοίνυν μοι ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχειν. Εὖ λέγεις· ἀλλʼ ὅπη δὴ, πειρῶ φράζειν. Ἔοικε τοίνυν ἀηθεστέρων ἁπτέον εἶναι λόγων. ”
Arʼ oun pros Dios hoion pēgēn tina anoētou doxēs aneurēkamen anthrōpōn hoposoi pōpote tōn peri physeōs ephēpsanto zētēmatōn? skopei panta logon exetazōn; ou gar dē smikron ge to diapheron, ei phaneien hoi logōn haptomenoi asebōn allois te exarchontes mēde eu tois logois, allʼ exēmartēmenōs chrōmenoi. dokei toinyn moi tauta houtōs echein. Eu legeis; allʼ hopē dē, peirō phrazein. Eoike toinyn aēthesterōn hapteon einai logōn. ”
— Have we, then, by Zeus, found as it were a spring of the foolish opinion of all men who have ever handled inquiries about nature? Consider, examining every argument; for it makes no small difference if those who handle impious arguments and lead others on are shown to use their arguments not even well but wrongly. Now it seems to me that this is so. — Well said; but try to explain how. — It seems, then, that we must touch on rather unfamiliar arguments.”
Notes and citation
Summary: This is the spring of all foolish opinions about nature.
- Plato, Laws 10.891c–d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing and accent slips in the digital text; breathing slip in the digital text): Ἄρʼ οὖν πρὸς Δῖός → Ἆρʼ οὖν πρὸς Διὸς; εἰ φανεῖεν οἶ λόγων → εἰ φανεῖεν οἱ λόγων.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 891c–d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.8 (Dindorf 2:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.9Dindorf 2:140–141
Καὶ μετὰ βραχέα ἐπιλέγει “ Ψυχήν, ὦ ἑταῖρε, ἠγνοηκέναι κινδυνεύουσι μὲν ὀλίγου ξύμπαντες οἷόν τε ὂν τυγχάνει καὶ δύναμιν ἣν ἔχει, τῶν τε ἄλλων αὐτῆς πέρι καὶ δὴ καὶ γενέ- σεως, ὡς ἐν πρώτοις ἐστὶ σωμάτων ἔμπροσθεν πάντων γενομένη, καὶ μεταβολῆς τε αὐτῶν καὶ μετακοσμήσεως ἀπάσης ἄρχει παντὸς μᾶλλον. εἰ δʼ ἐστὶ ταῦτα οὕτως, ἆρʼ οὐκ ἐξ ἀνάγκης τὰ ψυχῆς συγγενῆ πρότερα ἂν εἴη γεγονότα τῶν σώματι προσηκόντων, οὔσης γε αὐτῆς πρεσβυτέρας ἢ σώματος; Ἀνάγκη.
Kai meta brachea epilegei “ Psychēn, ō hetaire, ēgnoēkenai kindyneuousi men oligou xympantes hoion te on tynchanei kai dynamin hēn echei, tōn te allōn autēs peri kai dē kai gene- seōs, hōs en prōtois esti sōmatōn emprosthen pantōn genomenē, kai metabolēs te autōn kai metakosmēseōs apasēs archei pantos mallon. ei dʼ esti tauta houtōs, arʼ ouk ex anankēs ta psychēs syngenē protera an eiē gegonota tōn sōmati prosēkontōn, ousēs ge autēs presbyteras ē sōmatos? Anankē.
And after a little he adds: “Almost all of them, my friend, seem ignorant of what soul is and what power it has, both in other respects and especially as to its origin: that it is among the first things, having come to be before all bodies, and governs every change and rearrangement of them more than anything. And if this is so, must not the things akin to soul necessarily have come to be before those belonging to body, since soul is older than body? — Necessarily.
Notes and citation
Summary: Soul is older than all bodies and governs their changes.
- Plato, Laws 10.892a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; line number leaked into the digital text): Ψυχὴν, ὠ ἑταῖρε → Ψυχήν, ὦ ἑταῖρε; Ἀνάγκη. 5 → Ἀνάγκη..
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 892a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.9 (Dindorf 2:140–141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.10Dindorf 2:141
Δόξα δὴ καὶ ἐπιμέλεια καὶ νοῦς καὶ τέχνη καὶ νόμος σκληρῶν καὶ μαλακῶν καὶ βαρέων καὶ κούφων πρότερα ἂν εἴη· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ μεγάλα καὶ πρῶτα ἔργα καὶ πράξεις τέχνης ἂν γίγνοιτο, ὄντα ἐν πρώτοις, τὰ δὲ φύσει καὶ φύσις, ἣν οὐκ ὀρθῶς αὐτοὶ ἐπονομάζουσι, τούτου ὕστερα καὶ ἀρχόμενα ἂν ἐκ τέχνης εἴη καὶ νοῦ. Πῶς οὐκ ὀρθῶς;
Doxa dē kai epimeleia kai nous kai technē kai nomos sklērōn kai malakōn kai bareōn kai kouphōn protera an eiē; kai dē kai ta megala kai prōta erga kai praxeis technēs an gignoito, onta en prōtois, ta de physei kai physis, hēn ouk orthōs autoi eponomazousi, toutou hystera kai archomena an ek technēs eiē kai nou. Pōs ouk orthōs?
Opinion, then, and care and mind and art and law would be prior to hard and soft, heavy and light; and indeed the great and first works and deeds would be those of art, being among the first, while things by nature, and nature itself, which they wrongly so name, would be later than this and governed by art and mind. — How wrongly?
Notes and citation
Summary: Mind and art are prior to what is called nature.
- Plato, Laws 10.892b.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 892b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.10 (Dindorf 2:141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
12.50.11Dindorf 2:141
Φύσιν βούλονται λέγειν γένεσιν τὴν περὶ τὰ πρῶτα. εἰ δὲ φανήσεται ψυχὴ πρῶτον, οὐ πῦρ οὐδὲ ἀὴρ, ψυχὴ δʼ ἐν πρώτοις γεγενημένη, σχεδὸν ὀρθότατα λέγοιτʼ ἂν εἶναι διαφερόντως φύσει. ταῦτʼ ἔσθʼ οὕτως ἔχοντα, ἂν ψυχήν τις ἐπιδείξῃ πρεσβυτέραν οὖσαν σώματος, ἄλλως δὲ οὐδαμῶς. Ἀληθέστατα λέγεις.
Physin boulontai legein genesin tēn peri ta prōta. ei de phanēsetai psychē prōton, ou pyr oude aēr, psychē dʼ en prōtois gegenēmenē, schedon orthotata legoitʼ an einai diapherontōs physei. tautʼ esthʼ houtōs echonta, an psychēn tis epideixę̄ presbyteran ousan sōmatos, allōs de oudamōs. Alēthestata legeis.
— By nature they mean the generation of the first things. But if soul is shown to be first, not fire or air, but soul having come to be among the first, it would most rightly be said to be pre-eminently by nature. This is so if one shows that soul is older than body, and not otherwise. — Most true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Soul, being first, is most truly “by nature.”
- Plato, Laws 10.892c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing missing in the digital text; line number leaked into the digital text; word split in the digital text): οὐδὲ 15 ἀὴρ → οὐδὲ ἀὴρ; σχεδὸν ὀρθό τάτα → σχεδὸν ὀρθότατα; Αληθέστατα λέγεις. → Ἀληθέστατα λέγεις..
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 892c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 12.50.11 (Dindorf 2:141; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/12-48-1/#p-12-50-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.