Preparation for the Gospel 14.19.1–14.24.6
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 14, chapter 19
14.19.1Dindorf 2:310
“Ἑξῆς δʼ ἂν εἶεν οἱ λέγοντες μόνα τὰ καταληπτά· τοῦτο δʼ εἶπον ἔνιοι τῶν ἐκ τῆς Κυρήνης. οὗτοι δʼ ἠξίουν, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ κάρου πιεζόμενοί τινος, οὐδὲν εἰδέναι τὸ παράπαν, εἰ μή τις παραστὰς αὐτοὺς παίοι καὶ κεντῴη· καιόμενοι γὰρ ἔλεγον ἢ τεμνόμενοι γνωρίζειν ὅτι πάσχοιέν τι· πότερον δὲ τὸ καῖον εἴη πῦρ, ἢ τὸ τέμνον σίδηρος, οὐκ ἔχειν εἰπεῖν.
“Hexēs dʼ an eien hoi legontes mona ta katalēpta; touto dʼ eipon enioi tōn ek tēs Kyrēnēs. houtoi dʼ ēxioun, hōsper hypo karou piezomenoi tinos, ouden eidenai to parapan, ei mē tis parastas autous paioi kai kentǭē; kaiomenoi gar elegon ē temnomenoi gnōrizein hoti paschoien ti; poteron de to kaion eiē pyr, ē to temnon sidēros, ouk echein eipein.
“Next would be those who say that only feelings can be apprehended; some of those from Cyrene said this. These held, as if pressed down by some torpor, that they knew nothing at all, unless someone standing by struck and pricked them; for when burned or cut, they said, they knew that they were undergoing something, but whether what burned was fire or what cut was iron, they could not say.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles: the Cyrenaics said only feelings are known, not their causes.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy. The digital text reads “only the apprehensible things”; “feelings” is supplied by sense.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.1 (Dindorf 2:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-1). (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.
14.19.2Dindorf 2:310
τοὺς δὴ ταῦτα λέγοντας εὐθὺς ἔροιτό τις ἂν εἰ δὴ τοῦτο γοῦν ἴσασιν αὐτοὶ, διότι πάσχουσί καὶ αἰσθάνονται. μὴ εἰδότες μὲν γὰρ οὐδʼ εἰπεῖν δυνηθεῖεν ἂν ὅτι μόνον ἴσασι τὸ πάθος· εἰ δʼ αὖ γνωρίζουσιν, οὐκ ἂν εἴη μόνα τὰ πάθη καταληπτά. τὸ γὰρ “ἐγὼ καίομαι” λόγος ἦν καὶ οὐ πάθος.
tous dē tauta legontas euthys eroito tis an ei dē touto goun isasin autoi, dioti paschousi kai aisthanontai. mē eidotes men gar oudʼ eipein dynētheien an hoti monon isasi to pathos; ei dʼ au gnōrizousin, ouk an eiē mona ta pathē katalēpta. to gar “egō kaiomai” logos ēn kai ou pathos.
One might at once ask those who say this whether they themselves know at least this, that they undergo and perceive. For if they did not know, they could not even say that they know only the feeling; but if they do know, feelings would not be the only things apprehended. For “I am being burned” was a statement and not a feeling.
Notes and citation
Summary: Knowing that one feels is already more than a feeling.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words run together in the digital text): “ἐγὼκαίομαι” → “ἐγὼ καίομαι”.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.2 (Dindorf 2:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-2). (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.
14.19.3Dindorf 2:310
ἀλλὰ μὴν ἀνάγκη γε τρία ταῦτα συνυφίστασθαι τό τε πάθος αὐτὸ καὶ τὸ ποιοῦν καὶ τὸ πάσχον. ὁ τοίνυν ἀντιλαμβανόμενος τοῦ πάθους πάντως αἰσθάνοιτʼ ἂν καὶ τοῦ πάσχοντος. οὐ γὰρ δὴ ὅτι μὲν εἰ τύχοι, θερμαίνεται γνωριεῖ, πότερον δʼ αὐτὸς ἢ ὁ γείτων, ἀγνοήσει· καὶ νῦν ἢ πέρυσι, καὶ Ἀθήνησιν ἢ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ, καὶ ζῶν ἢ τεθνεὼς, ἔτι δὲ ἄνθρωπος ὢν ἢ λίθος.
alla mēn anankē ge tria tauta synyphistasthai to te pathos auto kai to poioun kai to paschon. ho toinyn antilambanomenos tou pathous pantōs aisthanoitʼ an kai tou paschontos. ou gar dē hoti men ei tychoi, thermainetai gnōriei, poteron dʼ autos ē ho geitōn, agnoēsei; kai nyn ē perysi, kai Athēnēsin ē en Aigyptǭ, kai zōn ē tethneōs, eti de anthrōpos ōn ē lithos.
Moreover, these three must necessarily exist together: the feeling itself, and what acts, and what undergoes. So one who grasps the feeling would surely perceive also the one undergoing it. For he will not know that he is, say, being warmed, but not know whether it is himself or his neighbor; and now or last year, and in Athens or in Egypt, and living or dead, and further whether he is a man or a stone.
Notes and citation
Summary: To grasp a feeling is to know the one who feels it.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.3 (Dindorf 2:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-3). (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.
14.19.4Dindorf 2:310
οὐκοῦν εἴσεται καὶ ὑφʼ ὅτου πάσχει· καὶ γὰρ ἀλλήλους γνωρίζουσι καὶ ὁδοὺς καὶ πόλεις καὶ τὴν τροφήν· οἴ τʼ αὖ τεχνῖται τὰ ἐργαλεῖα τὰ αὑτῶν οἴδασι, καὶ οἶ ἰατροὶ καὶ ναυτικοὶ σημειοῦνται τὰ μέλλοντα, καὶ τῶν θηρίων οἶ κύνες εὑρίσκουσι τοὺς στίβους.
oukoun eisetai kai hyphʼ hotou paschei; kai gar allēlous gnōrizousi kai hodous kai poleis kai tēn trophēn; oi tʼ au technitai ta ergaleia ta hautōn oidasi, kai oi iatroi kai nautikoi sēmeiountai ta mellonta, kai tōn thēriōn oi kynes heuriskousi tous stibous.
Then he will also know by what he is affected; for indeed they know one another, and roads and cities and their food; and craftsmen know their own tools, and doctors and sailors foretell what is to come, and among beasts dogs find tracks.
Notes and citation
Summary: Men and even dogs know the causes of their experiences.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): οὐκ- οὐν εἴσεται → οὐκοῦν εἴσεται.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.4 (Dindorf 2:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-4). (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.
14.19.5Dindorf 2:310–311
ἔτι γε μὴν ὁ πάσχων τι πάντως ἢ ὡς οἰκείου τινὸς ἢ ὡς ἀλλοτρίου πάθους ἀντιλαμβάνεται. πόθεν οὖν ἔξει λέγειν ὅτι τοῦτο μέν ἐστιν ἡδονὴ, τοῦτο δὲ πόνος; ἢ ὅτι γευόμενος ἢ ὁρῶν ἢ ἀκούων πάσχοι τι; καὶ τῇ μὲν γλώσσῃ γευόμενος, τοῖς δʼ ὄμμασιν ὁρῶν, τοῖς δʼ ὠσὶν ἀκούων; ἢ πῶς ἴσασιν ὅτι τοδὶ μὲν αἱρεῖσθαι χρὴ, τοδὶ δὲ φεύγειν; εἰ δὲ μηδὲν τούτων γνοῖεν, οὐχ ἕξουσιν ὁρμὴν οὐδʼ ὄρεξιν οὕτω δʼ οὐδʼ ἂν ζῷα εἶεν. γελοῖοι γάρ εἰσιν, ὁπότε λέγοιεν ὅτι ταῦτα μὲν αὐτοῖς συμβέβηκεν, οὐ μὴν ἴσασί γε πῶς καὶ τίνα τρόπον. οὗτοι γὰρ οὐδʼ εἰ ἄνθρωποι πεφύκασιν, οὐδʼ εἰ ζῶσιν, ἔχοιεν ἂν εἰπεῖν· οὐκοῦν οὐδʼ εἰ λέγουσί τι καὶ ἀποφαίνονται.
eti ge mēn ho paschōn ti pantōs ē hōs oikeiou tinos ē hōs allotriou pathous antilambanetai. pothen oun exei legein hoti touto men estin hēdonē, touto de ponos? ē hoti geuomenos ē horōn ē akouōn paschoi ti? kai tę̄ men glōssę̄ geuomenos, tois dʼ ommasin horōn, tois dʼ ōsin akouōn? ē pōs isasin hoti todi men haireisthai chrē, todi de pheugein? ei de mēden toutōn gnoien, ouch hexousin hormēn oudʼ orexin houtō dʼ oudʼ an zǭa eien. geloioi gar eisin, hopote legoien hoti tauta men autois symbebēken, ou mēn isasi ge pōs kai tina tropon. houtoi gar oudʼ ei anthrōpoi pephykasin, oudʼ ei zōsin, echoien an eipein; oukoun oudʼ ei legousi ti kai apophainontai.
Further, one who undergoes something surely grasps the feeling as either his own or alien. How, then, will he be able to say that this is pleasure and that pain? Or that he undergoes something by tasting or seeing or hearing? And tasting with the tongue, seeing with the eyes, hearing with the ears? Or how do they know that this is to be chosen and that avoided? If they knew none of these things, they would have no impulse nor desire; and so they would not even be living beings. For they are ridiculous when they say that these things have happened to them, but they do not know how or in what way. For these men could not say whether they are men by nature or whether they live; nor, therefore, whether they say or declare anything.
Notes and citation
Summary: Without knowing more than feelings, the Cyrenaics could not choose, act, or even speak.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (page subdivision letter leaked into the digital text): ταῦτα μὲν b αὐτοῖς → ταῦτα μὲν αὐτοῖς.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.5 (Dindorf 2:310–311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-5). (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.
14.19.6Dindorf 2:311
πρὸς δὴ τοὺς τοιούτους τίς ἂν εἴη λόγος; θαυμάσαι μέντοι τις ἂν εἰ ἀγνοοῦσι πότερον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἰσιν ἢ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ· πολλῷ δὲ θαυμασιώτερον εἰ οὐκ οἴδασι, καὶ ταῦτα φάσκοντες φιλοσοφεῖν, ἆρά γε τὰ τέτταρα πλείονά ἐστιν ἢ τὰ τρία, καὶ τὸ ἕν καὶ τὰ δύο πόσα ἐστίν. οὐδὲ γὰρ ὁπόσους ἔχουσιν ἐπὶ τῶν χειρῶν δακτύλους οὗτοί γε δύνανται εἰπεῖν, οὐδὲ πότερον ἕκαστος αὐτῶν εἷς ἐστιν ἢ πλείους.
pros dē tous toioutous tis an eiē logos? thaumasai mentoi tis an ei agnoousi poteron epi tēs gēs eisin ē en tǭ ouranǭ; pollǭ de thaumasiōteron ei ouk oidasi, kai tauta phaskontes philosophein, ara ge ta tettara pleiona estin ē ta tria, kai to hen kai ta dyo posa estin. oude gar hoposous echousin epi tōn cheirōn daktylous houtoi ge dynantai eipein, oude poteron hekastos autōn heis estin ē pleious.
What argument could there be against such people? One might wonder if they do not know whether they are on earth or in heaven; and much more wonderful if they do not know, while claiming to philosophize, whether four are more than three, and how many one and two are. For these men cannot even say how many fingers they have on their hands, nor whether each of them is one or more.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Cyrenaics could not even count their fingers.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): εἰς ἐστιν → εἷς ἐστιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.6 (Dindorf 2:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-6). (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.
14.19.7Dindorf 2:311
ὥστε οὐδὲ τοὔνομα τὸ ἴδιον εἰδεῖεν ἂν, οὐδὲ τὴν πατρίδα καὶ τὸν Ἀρίστιππον. οὐκοῦν οὐδὲ τίνας φιλοῦσιν ἢ μισοῦσιν, οὐδὲ τίνων ἐπιθυμοῦσιν· οὐδʼ εἰ γελάσαιεν ἢ δακρύσαιεν ἕξουσιν εἰπεῖν ὅτι τόδε μὲν εἴη γελοῖον, τὸ δὲ λυπηρόν. δῆλον οὖν ὡς οὐδὲ τί νυνὶ λέγομεν ἡμεῖς συνίασιν. οὐδὲν οὖν οἴ γε τοιοῦτοι διαφέροιεν ἂν ἐμπίδων ἢ μυιῶν, καίτοι κἀκεῖνα γνωρίζει τὰ κατὰ φύσιν καὶ παρὰ φύσιν.”
hōste oude tounoma to idion eideien an, oude tēn patrida kai ton Aristippon. oukoun oude tinas philousin ē misousin, oude tinōn epithymousin; oudʼ ei gelasaien ē dakrysaien hexousin eipein hoti tode men eiē geloion, to de lypēron. dēlon oun hōs oude ti nyni legomen hēmeis syniasin. ouden oun oi ge toioutoi diapheroien an empidōn ē muiōn, kaitoi kakeina gnōrizei ta kata physin kai para physin.”
So they would not even know their own name, nor their country, nor Aristippus. Nor, then, whom they love or hate, nor what they desire; nor, if they laughed or wept, would they be able to say that this was laughable and that painful. Clearly, then, they do not understand what we are now saying either. Such men, then, would differ in no way from gnats or flies, though even these know what is according to nature and what is against it.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Such men would be no better than flies.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): πάρα φύσιν → παρὰ φύσιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.7 (Dindorf 2:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-7). (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.
14.19.8Dindorf 2:311
Πρὸς δὴ τοὺς οὕτω διακειμένους εἰ καὶ μυρία λέγειν ἔνεστιν, ἀλλʼ ἀρκεῖ γε καὶ ταῦτα. ἕπεται τούτοις συνεξετάσαι καὶ τοὺς τὴν ἐναντίαν βαδίσαντας, καὶ πάντα χρῆναι πιστεύειν ταῖς τοῦ σώματος αἰσθήσεσιν ὁρισαμένους, ὧν εἶναι Μητρόδωρον τὸν Χῖον καὶ Πρωταγόραν τὸν Ἀβδηρίτην.
Pros dē tous houtō diakeimenous ei kai myria legein enestin, allʼ arkei ge kai tauta. hepetai toutois synexetasai kai tous tēn enantian badisantas, kai panta chrēnai pisteuein tais tou sōmatos aisthēsesin horisamenous, hōn einai Mētrodōron ton Chion kai Prōtagoran ton Abdēritēn.
Though one could say countless things against those so disposed, these suffice. It follows to examine together with these those who took the opposite road and defined that one must trust all things to the senses of the body, among whom are Metrodorus of Chios and Protagoras of Abdera.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius turns to Metrodorus and Protagoras, who trusted only the senses.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.8 (Dindorf 2:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-8). (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.
14.19.9Dindorf 2:311–312
τὸν μὲν οὖν Μητρόδωρον Δημοκρίτου ἔφασαν ἀκηκοέναι, ἀρχὰς δὲ ἀποφήνασθαι τὸ πλῆρες καὶ τὸ κενόν· ὧν τὸ μὲν ὂν, τὸ δὲ μὴ ὂν εἶναι. γράφων γέ τοι περὶ φύσεως εἰσβολῇ ἐχρήσατο τοιαύτῃ οὐδεὶς ἡμῶν οὐδὲν οἶδεν, οὐδʼ αὐτὸ τοῦτο πότερον οἴδαμεν, ἢ οὐκ οἴδαμεν.᾿ ἥτις εἰσβολὴ κακὰς ἔδωκεν ἀφορμὰς τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα γενομένῳ Πύρρωνι. προβὰς δέ φησιν ὅτι πάντα ἐστὶν, ὃ ἄν τις νοήσαι.
ton men oun Mētrodōron Dēmokritou ephasan akēkoenai, archas de apophēnasthai to plēres kai to kenon; hōn to men on, to de mē on einai. graphōn ge toi peri physeōs eisbolę̄ echrēsato toiautę̄ oudeis hēmōn ouden oiden, oudʼ auto touto poteron oidamen, ē ouk oidamen.᾿ hētis eisbolē kakas edōken aphormas tǭ meta tauta genomenǭ Pyrrōni. probas de phēsin hoti panta estin, ho an tis noēsai.
They said that Metrodorus had heard Democritus, and declared the principles to be the full and the void, of which the one is being and the other non-being. Writing On Nature, at least, he used such an opening: “None of us knows anything, not even this very thing, whether we know or do not know.” This opening gave bad starting points to Pyrrho who came after. Going on, he says that all things are whatever one might think.
Notes and citation
Summary: Metrodorus began his book by saying no one knows anything.
- Metrodorus of Chios, fragment B 1 (Diels–Kranz).
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.9 (Dindorf 2:311–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-9). (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.
14.19.10Dindorf 2:312
τὸν δὲ Πρωταγόραν λόγος ἔχει κεκλῆσθαι ἄθεον. γράφων γέ τοι καὶ αὐτὸς περὶ θεῶν εἰσβολῇ τοιᾷδε ἐχρήσατο ‘περὶ μὲν οὖν θεῶν οὐκ οἶδα οὔθʼ ὡς εἰσὶν οὔθʼ ὁποῖοί τινες ἰδέαν· πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι τὰ κωλύοντά με ἕκαστον τούτων εἰδέναι.᾿ τοῦτον Ἀθηναῖοι φυγῇ ζημιώσαντες τὰς βίβλους αὐτοῦ δημοσίᾳ ἐν μέσῃ τῇ ἀγορᾷ κατέκαυσαν. ἐπεὶ οὖν οἵδε μόναις δεῖν ἔφασαν ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι πιστεύειν, τὰς πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἀντιρρήσεις θεασώμεθα.”
ton de Prōtagoran logos echei keklēsthai atheon. graphōn ge toi kai autos peri theōn eisbolę̄ toiąde echrēsato ‘peri men oun theōn ouk oida outhʼ hōs eisin outhʼ hopoioi tines idean; polla gar esti ta kōlyonta me hekaston toutōn eidenai.᾿ touton Athēnaioi phygę̄ zēmiōsantes tas biblous autou dēmosią en mesę̄ tę̄ agorą katekausan. epei oun hoide monais dein ephasan tais aisthēsesi pisteuein, tas pros autous antirrēseis theasōmetha.”
The story has it that Protagoras was called an atheist. Writing about the gods, at any rate, he too used such an opening: “About the gods I do not know either that they are or what they are like in form; for many are the things that hinder me from knowing each of these.” The Athenians punished him with exile and burned his books publicly in the middle of the marketplace. Since, then, these said that one must trust the senses alone, let us view the objections to them.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Protagoras doubted the gods; the Athenians exiled him and burned his books.
- Protagoras, fragment B 4 (Diels–Kranz). The closing quotation mark stands in the text.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.19.10 (Dindorf 2:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-19-10). (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.
Preparation 14, chapter 20
14.20.1Dindorf 2:312
“Γεγόνασι δέ τινες οἱ ἀξιοῦντες τῇ αἰσθήσει καὶ ταῖς φαντασίαις μόναις δεῖν πιστεύειν. ἔνιοι μέντοι φασὶ καὶ τὸν Ὅμηρον αἰνίττεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτο πάντων ἀποφαίνοντα τὸν Ὠκεανὸν ἀρχὴν, ὡς ἐν ῥύσει τῶν πραγμάτων ὄντων· ὧν δʼ ἴσμεν ἔοικε μὲν καὶ Μητρόδωρος ὁ Χῖος τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο λέγειν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλʼ ἄντικρύς γε Πρωταγόρας ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης.
“Gegonasi de tines hoi axiountes tę̄ aisthēsei kai tais phantasiais monais dein pisteuein. enioi mentoi phasi kai ton Homēron ainittesthai to toiouto pantōn apophainonta ton Ōkeanon archēn, hōs en rhysei tōn pragmatōn ontōn; hōn dʼ ismen eoike men kai Mētrodōros ho Chios to auto touto legein, ou mēn allʼ antikrys ge Prōtagoras ho Abdēritēs.
“There have been some who held that one must trust only sense perception and impressions. Some say that Homer too hints at such a view in declaring Oceanus the principle of all things, as if things were in flux; of those we know, Metrodorus of Chios seems to say this same thing, but Protagoras of Abdera does so outright.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles: some, notably Protagoras, trusted only the senses.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy (fragment).
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.1 (Dindorf 2:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-1). (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.
14.20.2Dindorf 2:312
οὗτος γὰρ ἔφη μέτρον εἶναι πάντων χρημάτων τὸν ἄνθρωπον, τῶν μὲν ὄντων ὡς ἔστι, τῶν δʼ οὐκ ὄντων ὡς οὐκ ἔστιν· ὁποῖα γὰρ ἑκάστῳ φαίνεται τὰ πράγματα, τοιαῦτα καὶ εἶναι· περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων μηδὲν ἡμᾶς δύνασθαι διισχυρίσασθαι.
houtos gar ephē metron einai pantōn chrēmatōn ton anthrōpon, tōn men ontōn hōs esti, tōn dʼ ouk ontōn hōs ouk estin; hopoia gar hekastǭ phainetai ta pragmata, toiauta kai einai; peri de tōn allōn mēden hēmas dynasthai diischyrisasthai.
For he said that man is the measure of all things, of those that are, that they are, and of those that are not, that they are not; for as things appear to each, so they also are; and about other things we can affirm nothing firmly.
Notes and citation
Summary: Protagoras: man is the measure of all things.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; Protagoras, fragment B 1.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ὄν- των → ὄντων.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.2 (Dindorf 2:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-2). (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.
14.20.3Dindorf 2:312–313
πρὸς δὲ τούτους εἴποι τις ἂν ἃ καὶ Πλάτων ἐν Θεαιτήτῳ· πρῶτον μὲν, τί δήποτε, τοιούτων γε δὴ τῶν πραγμάτων ὄντων, ἠξίωσαν εἶναι μέτρον τῆς ἀληθείας τὸν ἂνθρωπον, ἀλλʼ οὐ σῦν ἢ κυνοκέφαλον; ἔπειτα δὲ πῶς ἔλεγον εἶναι σοφοὺς ἑαυτοὺς, εἰ δὴ πᾶς τις αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ μέτρον ἐστὶ τῆς ἀληθείας; ἢ πῶς ἐλέγχουσι τοὺς ἄλλους, εἴπερ ἑκάστῳ τὸ φαινόμενον ἀληθές ἐστιν; ἀγνοοῦμέν τέ τινα, καίτοι πολλάκις αἰσθανόμένοι, καθάπερ ἐπειδὰν τῶν βαρβάρων ἀκούωμεν;
pros de toutous eipoi tis an ha kai Platōn en Theaitētǭ; prōton men, ti dēpote, toioutōn ge dē tōn pragmatōn ontōn, ēxiōsan einai metron tēs alētheias ton anthrōpon, allʼ ou syn ē kynokephalon? epeita de pōs elegon einai sophous heautous, ei dē pas tis autos heautǭ metron esti tēs alētheias? ē pōs elenchousi tous allous, eiper hekastǭ to phainomenon alēthes estin? agnooumen te tina, kaitoi pollakis aisthanomenoi, kathaper epeidan tōn barbarōn akouōmen?
Against them one might say what Plato also says in the Theaetetus: first, why, if things are such, they held man to be the measure of truth, and not a pig or a dog-headed baboon; then how they said they themselves were wise, if each one is himself the measure of truth for himself; or how they refute others, if what appears to each is true. And we are ignorant of some things, though often perceiving them, as when we hear barbarians speak.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles, following Plato, refutes Protagoras: why not a pig as the measure?
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; compare Plato, Theaetetus 161c–162a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): πρῶ- τον → πρῶτον; αἰσθανό- μένοι → αἰσθανόμένοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Theaet. 161c (Plato (works); allusion); Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.3 (Dindorf 2:312–313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-3). (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.
14.20.4Dindorf 2:313
ὅ γε μὴν θεασάμενος ὁτιοῦν, εἶτα μεμνημένος, οἶδε μὲν, αἰσθάνεται δʼ οὐκέτι. καὶ εἰ θατέρῳ μὲν ὀφθαλμῷ μύσαι, θατέρῳ δʼ ὁρῴη, δῆλον ὅτι ταὐτὸ καὶ εἴσεται καὶ οὐκ εἴσεται.
ho ge mēn theasamenos hotioun, eita memnēmenos, oide men, aisthanetai dʼ ouketi. kai ei thaterǭ men ophthalmǭ mysai, thaterǭ dʼ horǭē, dēlon hoti tauto kai eisetai kai ouk eisetai.
And one who has seen anything and then remembers it knows it, but no longer perceives it. And if he shut one eye and saw with the other, clearly he will both know and not know the same thing.
Notes and citation
Summary: Memory and partial sight show that knowledge is not perception.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; compare Plato, Theaetetus 163d–165b.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.4 (Dindorf 2:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-4). (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.
14.20.5Dindorf 2:313
πρὸς δὲ τούτοις, εἰ τὸ φαινόμενον ἑκάστῳ καὶ ἀληθές ἐστιν, ἡμῖν δὲ οὐ φαίνεται τὰ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων λεγόμενα ἀληθῆ, καὶ τὸ μὴ εἶναι πάντων πραγμάτων μέτρον τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἀληθὲς ἂν εἴη.
pros de toutois, ei to phainomenon hekastǭ kai alēthes estin, hēmin de ou phainetai ta hypʼ ekeinōn legomena alēthē, kai to mē einai pantōn pragmatōn metron ton anthrōpon alēthes an eiē.
Besides, if what appears to each is also true, and what they say does not appear true to us, it would be true also that man is not the measure of all things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Protagoras’ doctrine refutes itself.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.5 (Dindorf 2:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-5). (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.
14.20.6Dindorf 2:313
καὶ μὴν οἵ γε τεχνῖται τῶν ἀτέχνων διαφέρουσι καὶ οἱ ἔμπειροι τῶν ἀπείρων, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μᾶλλον προορᾷ τὸ μέλλον ἔσεσθαι κυβερνήτης καὶ ἰατρὸς καὶ στρατηγός.
kai mēn hoi ge technitai tōn atechnōn diapherousi kai hoi empeiroi tōn apeirōn, kai dia touto mallon proorą to mellon esesthai kybernētēs kai iatros kai stratēgos.
And indeed craftsmen differ from those without craft, and the experienced from the inexperienced, and for this reason the pilot and the doctor and the general foresee better what will be.
Notes and citation
Summary: Experts know better than non-experts, so not all appearances are equal.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.6 (Dindorf 2:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-6). (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.
14.20.7Dindorf 2:313
ἁπλῶς τε ἀναιροῦσιν οὗτοί γε τὸ μᾶλλον καὶ τὸ ἧττον καὶ τὸ ἐξ ἀνάγκης, καὶ τὸ ἐνδεχόμενον, καὶ τὸ κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ τὸ παρὰ φύσιν. οὕτω δʼ ἂν εἴη ταὐτὸ καὶ ὂν καὶ οὐκ ὄν. οὐδὲν γὰρ κωλύει ταὐτὸ τοῖς μὲν εἶναι φαίνεσθαι, τοῖς δὲ μὴ εἶναι· καὶ ταὐτὸ ἂν εἴη ἄνθρωπος καὶ ξύλον· ἔσθʼ ὅτε γὰρ φαίνεται ταὐτὸ τῷδε μὲν ἄνθρωπος, τῷδε δὲ ξύλον.
haplōs te anairousin houtoi ge to mallon kai to hētton kai to ex anankēs, kai to endechomenon, kai to kata physin, kai to para physin. houtō dʼ an eiē tauto kai on kai ouk on. ouden gar kōlyei tauto tois men einai phainesthai, tois de mē einai; kai tauto an eiē anthrōpos kai xylon; esthʼ hote gar phainetai tauto tǭde men anthrōpos, tǭde de xylon.
In short, these men do away with the more and the less, and the necessary and the possible, and the natural and the unnatural. So the same thing would both be and not be; for nothing prevents the same thing from appearing to some to be and to others not to be; and the same thing would be both a man and a piece of wood; for sometimes the same thing appears to one a man and to another wood.
Notes and citation
Summary: Protagoras’ view abolishes all distinctions.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; accent slip in the digital text): καἰ οὐκ ὄν → καὶ οὐκ ὄν; τῷδε μὶν → τῷδε μὲν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.7 (Dindorf 2:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-7). (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.
14.20.8Dindorf 2:313
ἅπας τε λόγος ἀληθὴς ἂν εἴη, διὰ τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ψευδής· καὶ οἶ βουλευόμενοι καὶ δικάζοντες οὐκ ἂν ἔχοιεν οὐδὲν ποιεῖν. καὶ τὸ δεινότατον, ἔσονται γὰρ οἶ αὐτοὶ σπουδαῖοι καὶ μοχθηροὶ καὶ ταὐτὸ κακία καὶ ἀρετή. πολλὰ δὲ καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτά τις ἂν ἔχοι λέγειν· ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐδὲν δεῖ πλειόνων λόγων πρὸς τοὺς οὐκ οἰομένους ἔχειν νοῦν καὶ λόγον.”
hapas te logos alēthēs an eiē, dia touto de kai pseudēs; kai oi bouleuomenoi kai dikazontes ouk an echoien ouden poiein. kai to deinotaton, esontai gar oi autoi spoudaioi kai mochthēroi kai tauto kakia kai aretē. polla de kai alla toiauta tis an echoi legein; alla gar ouden dei pleionōn logōn pros tous ouk oiomenous echein noun kai logon.”
And every statement would be true, and for this reason also false; and those who deliberate and judge could do nothing. And, most terrible, the same men will be good and wicked, and vice and virtue the same. One could say many other such things; but there is no need of more words against those who do not think they have mind and reason.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Protagoreanism would make virtue and vice the same.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (broken word and accent slip in the digital text): οἰομέ- νοῦς ἔχειν → οἰομένους ἔχειν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.8 (Dindorf 2:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-8). (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.
14.20.9Dindorf 2:313–314
Εἶθʼ ἑξῆς “Ἐπεὶ δʼ ἔτι νῦν εἰσί τινες οἶ πᾶσαν καὶ πᾶσαν φαντασίαν ἀληθῆ λέγοντες εἶναι, μικρὰ καὶ περὶ τούτων εἴπωμεν. ἐοίκασι γὰρ οὗτοί γε δεδοικέναι μήποτε, εἰ ψευδεῖς εἴποιεν αἰσθήσεις εἷναί τινας, οὐκ ἂν σχοῖεν τὸ κριτήριον καὶ τὸν κανόνα βέβαιον οὐδʼ ἐχέγγυον· οὐχ ὁρῶσι δὲ ὡς οὐκ ἂν φθάνοιεν οὕτω γε καὶ τὰς δόξας ἁπάσας ἀληθεῖς ἀποφαίνοντες· πολλὰ γὰρ δὴ καὶ ταύταις πεφύκαμεν κρίνειν· καὶ οὐδὲν ἧττον ἀξιοῦσιν αὐτῶν τὰς μὲν ἀληθεῖς εἶναι, τὰς δὲ ψευδεῖς.
Eithʼ hexēs “Epei dʼ eti nyn eisi tines oi pasan kai pasan phantasian alēthē legontes einai, mikra kai peri toutōn eipōmen. eoikasi gar houtoi ge dedoikenai mēpote, ei pseudeis eipoien aisthēseis heinai tinas, ouk an schoien to kritērion kai ton kanona bebaion oudʼ echengyon; ouch horōsi de hōs ouk an phthanoien houtō ge kai tas doxas hapasas alētheis apophainontes; polla gar dē kai tautais pephykamen krinein; kai ouden hētton axiousin autōn tas men alētheis einai, tas de pseudeis.
Then next: “But since there are still some now who say that each and every impression is true, let us say a little about them too. For they seem to be afraid lest, if they said some perceptions are false, they would not have a firm and reliable criterion and rule; but they do not see that by the same reasoning they would soon be declaring all opinions true; for we judge many things by these too; and they think none the less that some of them are true and some false.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles turns to those (Epicureans) who say all impressions are true.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.9 (Dindorf 2:313–314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-9). (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.
14.20.10Dindorf 2:314
ἔπειτα δὲ σκοπῶν ἴδοι τις ἂν οὐδὲ τῶν ἄλλων κριτηρίων ἀεὶ καὶ διὰ παντὸς ἀψευδὲς οὐδὲν, οἶον λέγω ζυγὸν, ἢ τόρνον, ἤ τι τῶν τοιούτων· ἀλλʼ ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ὡδὶ μὲν ἔχον ὑγιές ἐστιν, ὡδὶ δὲ μοχθηρόν· καὶ τουτονὶ μὲν χρώμενον τὸν τρόπον ἀληθεύει, τουτονὶ δὲ ψεύδεται. καὶ μὴν εἴ γε πᾶσα αἴσθησις ἀληθὴς ἦν, οὐκ ἔδει τοσοῦτον διαφέρειν αὐτάς. ἄλλαι γάρ εἰσιν ἐγγύθεν καὶ πόρρωθεν, καὶ νοσούντων καὶ ἐρρωμένων, καὶ τεχνιτῶν καὶ ἀτέχνων, καὶ φρονίμων καὶ ἀφρόνων. τὰς δὲ δὴ τῶν μεμηνότων παντάπασιν ἂν εἴη ἄτοπον λέγειν ἀληθεῖς εἶναι καὶ τὰς τῶν παρορώντων καὶ παρακουόντων· εὔηθες γὰρ ἂν ἦν τὸ λεγόμενον, ὡς ὁ παρορῶν ἤτοι ὁρᾷ ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷ· φαίη γὰρ ἄν τις ὅτι ὁρᾷ μὲν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ὀρθῶς.
epeita de skopōn idoi tis an oude tōn allōn kritēriōn aei kai dia pantos apseudes ouden, oion legō zygon, ē tornon, ē ti tōn toioutōn; allʼ hekaston autōn hōdi men echon hygies estin, hōdi de mochthēron; kai toutoni men chrōmenon ton tropon alētheuei, toutoni de pseudetai. kai mēn ei ge pasa aisthēsis alēthēs ēn, ouk edei tosouton diapherein autas. allai gar eisin engythen kai porrōthen, kai nosountōn kai errōmenōn, kai technitōn kai atechnōn, kai phronimōn kai aphronōn. tas de dē tōn memēnotōn pantapasin an eiē atopon legein alētheis einai kai tas tōn parorōntōn kai parakouontōn; euēthes gar an ēn to legomenon, hōs ho parorōn ētoi horą ē ouch horą; phaiē gar an tis hoti horą men, allʼ ouk orthōs.
Then, on consideration, one would see that none of the other criteria either is always and in every case free from error, such as a balance, or a lathe, or anything of the kind; but each of them in one state is sound, in another faulty; and used in this way it gives the truth, in that way falsehood. And indeed, if every perception were true, they ought not to differ so much. For they are different from near and from far, of the sick and of the healthy, of the skilled and the unskilled, of the wise and the foolish. And it would be altogether absurd to say that those of madmen are true, and those of people who see or hear wrongly; for it would be simple-minded to say that one who sees wrongly either sees or does not see; for one would say that he sees, but not rightly.
Notes and citation
Summary: No criterion is infallible, and perceptions differ greatly.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.10 (Dindorf 2:314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-10). (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.
14.20.11Dindorf 2:314
ὁπόταν μέντοι φῶσιν ὡς ἡ μὲν αἴσθησις οὖσα ἄλογος οὐδὲν προστίθησιν οὐδʼ ἀφαιρεῖ, φαίνονται τἀμποδὼν οὐχ ὁρῶντες· ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ ἐρετμοῦ τοῦ ἐν τῷ ὕδατι, κἀπὶ τῶν γραφῶν καὶ μυρίων ἄλλων, ἡ αἴσθησίς ἐστιν ἡ ἀπατῶσα. διὸ καὶ μεμφόμεθα πάντες ἐπὶ τῶν τοιούτων οὐ τὸν νοῦν ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ τὴν φαντασίαν. ἐλέγχει γὰρ ὁ λόγος αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ἀξιῶν ἅπασαν ἀληθῆ φαντασίαν εἶναι. τὴν γὰρ ἡμετέραν, διʼ ἣν οὐκ οἰόμεθα πᾶσαν εἶναι τοιαύτην, ψευδῆ πάντως ἀποφαίνει. συμβαίνει τοίνυν αὐτοῖς ἅπασαν φαντασίαν ἀληθῆ καὶ ψευδῆ λέγειν εἶναι.
hopotan mentoi phōsin hōs hē men aisthēsis ousa alogos ouden prostithēsin oudʼ aphairei, phainontai tampodōn ouch horōntes; epi gar tou eretmou tou en tǭ hydati, kapi tōn graphōn kai myriōn allōn, hē aisthēsis estin hē apatōsa. dio kai memphometha pantes epi tōn toioutōn ou ton noun hēmōn, alla tēn phantasian. elenchei gar ho logos autos heauton axiōn hapasan alēthē phantasian einai. tēn gar hēmeteran, diʼ hēn ouk oiometha pasan einai toiautēn, pseudē pantōs apophainei. symbainei toinyn autois hapasan phantasian alēthē kai pseudē legein einai.
When, however, they say that sense, being irrational, neither adds nor takes away anything, they seem not to see what is in the way; for in the case of the oar in the water, and of paintings and countless other things, it is perception that deceives. That is why in such cases we all blame not our mind but our impression. And the argument that holds every impression to be true refutes itself. For it declares ours, by which we think that not every impression is such, to be altogether false. It follows, then, that they say every impression is both true and false.
Notes and citation
Summary: The bent oar shows that perception deceives; the claim that all impressions are true refutes itself.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.11 (Dindorf 2:314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-11). (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.
14.20.12Dindorf 2:314–315
καθόλου δὲ ἁμαρτάνουσιν ἀξιοῦντες ὁποῖα ἂν ἡμῖν φαίνηται τὰ πράγματα, τοιαῦτα καὶ εἶναι. τοὐναντίον γὰρ, ὁποῖα πέφυκε, τοιαῦτα φαίνεται, καὶ οὐχ ἡμεῖς αὐτὰ ποιοῦμεν οὕτως ἔχειν, ἀλλʼ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων αὐτοὶ διατιθέμεθά πως. ἐπεὶ καὶ γελοῖον εἴη ἂν εἰ διανοηθείημεν ἡμεῖς, ὥσπερ οἶ ζωγράφοι καὶ πλάσται, σκύλακας ἢ χιμαίρας, ἀξιοῦν εὐθὺς εἶναι ταῦτα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο φαντάζεσθαι καθάπερ εὐτρεπῆ παρεστῶτα.”
katholou de hamartanousin axiountes hopoia an hēmin phainētai ta pragmata, toiauta kai einai. tounantion gar, hopoia pephyke, toiauta phainetai, kai ouch hēmeis auta poioumen houtōs echein, allʼ hypʼ ekeinōn autoi diatithemetha pōs. epei kai geloion eiē an ei dianoētheiēmen hēmeis, hōsper oi zōgraphoi kai plastai, skylakas ē chimairas, axioun euthys einai tauta, kai dia touto phantazesthai kathaper eutrepē parestōta.”
In general they err in holding that things are such as they appear to us. On the contrary, they appear such as they are by nature; and we do not make them be so, but are ourselves affected in some way by them. For it would be ridiculous if, when we imagine, like painters and sculptors, puppies or chimaeras, we should hold that these at once exist, and for this reason are pictured as if standing ready before us.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Things appear as they are, not as we imagine them.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): ὐπʼ ἐκείνων → ὑπʼ ἐκείνων.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.12 (Dindorf 2:314–315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-12). (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.
14.20.13Dindorf 2:315
Διότι μὲν οὖν οὐκ ὀρθῶς λέγουσιν οἱ φάσκοντες εἶναι πᾶσαν αἴσθησιν καὶ πᾶσαν φαντασίαν ἀληθῆ δῆλον ἐκ τούτων· ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τούτων οὕτως ἐχόντων αὖθις οἶ περὶ τὸν Ἐπίκουρον ἐκ τῆς Ἀριστίππου διαδοχῆς ὁρμώμενοι πάντα ἡδονῆς ἐξῆπτον καὶ αἰσθήσεως, μόνα τὰ πάθη καταληπτὰ καὶ τέλος ἀγαθῶν τὴν ἡδονὴν εἶναι ὁριζόμενοι.
Dioti men oun ouk orthōs legousin hoi phaskontes einai pasan aisthēsin kai pasan phantasian alēthē dēlon ek toutōn; alla gar kai toutōn houtōs echontōn authis oi peri ton Epikouron ek tēs Aristippou diadochēs hormōmenoi panta hēdonēs exēpton kai aisthēseōs, mona ta pathē katalēpta kai telos agathōn tēn hēdonēn einai horizomenoi.
That those who say every perception and every impression is true do not speak rightly is clear from this. But, these things being so, the followers of Epicurus, setting out from the succession of Aristippus, again made everything depend on pleasure and perception, defining that only feelings are apprehensible and that the end of goods is pleasure.
Notes and citation
Summary: The Epicureans, heirs of Aristippus, made pleasure the end.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.13 (Dindorf 2:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-13). (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.
14.20.14Dindorf 2:315
λέγεται δὲ ὁ Ἐπίκουρος ὑπὸ μέν τινων μηδενὸς ἀκηκοέναι, ἐντυχεῖν δὲ τοῖς τῶν παλαιῶν συγγράμμασιν· ὑπό τινων δʼ ὅτι ἤκουσε Ξενοκράτους, ὕστερον δὲ καὶ Ναυσιφάνους τοῦ Πύρρωνος γενομένου γνωρίμου. τίνα δὴ οὖν τὰ καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀντειρημένα τυγχάνει θεασώμεθα.
legetai de ho Epikouros hypo men tinōn mēdenos akēkoenai, entychein de tois tōn palaiōn syngrammasin; hypo tinōn dʼ hoti ēkouse Xenokratous, hysteron de kai Nausiphanous tou Pyrrōnos genomenou gnōrimou. tina dē oun ta kai pros auton anteirēmena tynchanei theasōmetha.
Epicurus is said by some to have heard no one, but to have read the writings of the ancients; by others, that he heard Xenocrates, and later Nausiphanes, who had been a pupil of Pyrrho. Let us see, then, what has been said against him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus’ teachers; Eusebius introduces Aristocles’ critique.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): Ναυσι- φάνους → Ναυσιφάνους.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.20.14 (Dindorf 2:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-20-14). (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.
Preparation 14, chapter 21
14.21.1Dindorf 2:315
“Ἐπειδή ἐστι γνῶσις διττὴ, ἡ μὲν τῶν πραγμάτων, ἡ δὲ τῶν ἡμῖν αἱρετῶν καὶ φευκτῶν, ἔνιοί φασι τῆς αἱρέσεως καὶ φυγῆς ἀρχὴν καὶ κριτήριον ἔχειν ἡμὰς, τὴν ἡδονὴν καὶ τὸν πόνον· ἔτι γέ τοι καὶ νῦν τοιαῦτά τινα λέγουσιν οἱ περὶ τὸν Ἐπίκουρον· ἀναγκαίως οὖν ἔχει καὶ περὶ τούτου σκέψασθαι.
“Epeidē esti gnōsis dittē, hē men tōn pragmatōn, hē de tōn hēmin hairetōn kai pheuktōn, enioi phasi tēs haireseōs kai phygēs archēn kai kritērion echein hēmas, tēn hēdonēn kai ton ponon; eti ge toi kai nyn toiauta tina legousin hoi peri ton Epikouron; anankaiōs oun echei kai peri toutou skepsasthai.
“Since knowledge is twofold, one of things and the other of what is to be chosen and avoided by us, some say that we have pleasure and pain as the principle and criterion of choice and avoidance; and the followers of Epicurus say such things even now. It is necessary, then, to examine this too.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles: Epicureans make pleasure and pain the criterion of choice.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τοιαῦτα τινα → τοιαῦτά τινα.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.1 (Dindorf 2:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-1). (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.
14.21.2Dindorf 2:315
τοσούτου τοίνυν ἔγωγε δέω λέγειν ἀρχὴν εἶναι καὶ κανόνα τῶν ἀγαθῶν καὶ τῶν κακῶν τὸ πάθος, ὥστʼ ἔμοιγε δοκεῖ τοῦτο αὐτὸ κριτηρίου δεῖσθαι. διότι μὲν γάρ ἐστιν ἑαυτὸ δείκνυσιν, ὁποῖον δʼ ἐστὶν ἑτέρου δεῖ τοῦ κρίνοντος. εἰ μὲν γὰρ οἰκεῖον ἢ ἀλλότριον ἡ αἴσθησις λέγει, πότερον δʼ αἱρετὸν ἢ φευκτὸν ὁ λόγος.
tosoutou toinyn egōge deō legein archēn einai kai kanona tōn agathōn kai tōn kakōn to pathos, hōstʼ emoige dokei touto auto kritēriou deisthai. dioti men gar estin heauto deiknysin, hopoion dʼ estin heterou dei tou krinontos. ei men gar oikeion ē allotrion hē aisthēsis legei, poteron dʼ haireton ē pheukton ho logos.
I am so far from saying that feeling is the principle and rule of goods and evils that it seems to me that it itself needs a criterion. For that it exists it shows of itself, but what it is like needs something else to judge it. For whether it is akin or alien, sense says; but whether it is to be chosen or avoided, reason.
Notes and citation
Summary: Feeling needs reason to judge whether it is to be chosen.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.2 (Dindorf 2:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-2). (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.
14.21.3Dindorf 2:315–316
αὐτοί γε τοί φασιν οὐ πᾶσαν ἡδονὴν ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ πάντα πόνον ἐκτρέπεσθαι. τοῦτο δὲ συμβέβηκε καὶ μάλα εἰκότως. τὰ μὲν γὰρ κριτήρια καὶ ἑαυτὰ δείκνυσι καὶ τὰ κρινόμενα, τὸ μέντοι πάθος ἑαυτὸ μόνον. ὅτι δʼ οὕτως ἔχει μαρτυροῦσιν αὐτοί. καίπερ γὰρ ἀξιοῦντες ἅπασαν ἡδονὴν ἀγαθὸν εἶναι καὶ πᾶσαν ἀλγηδόνα κακὸν, ὅμως οὐκ ἀεί φασι δεῖν τὴν μὲν αἱρεῖσθαι, τὴν δὲ φεύγειν· μετρεῖσθαι γὰρ αὐτὰ τῷ ποσῷ καὶ οὐ τῷ ποιῷ.
autoi ge toi phasin ou pasan hēdonēn aspazesthai kai panta ponon ektrepesthai. touto de symbebēke kai mala eikotōs. ta men gar kritēria kai heauta deiknysi kai ta krinomena, to mentoi pathos heauto monon. hoti dʼ houtōs echei martyrousin autoi. kaiper gar axiountes hapasan hēdonēn agathon einai kai pasan algēdona kakon, homōs ouk aei phasi dein tēn men haireisthai, tēn de pheugein; metreisthai gar auta tǭ posǭ kai ou tǭ poiǭ.
They themselves, at least, say that they do not welcome every pleasure and avoid every pain. And this happens very reasonably. For criteria show both themselves and the things judged, but feeling shows only itself. That it is so they themselves bear witness. For though they hold every pleasure to be good and every pain evil, they say that one must not always choose the one and avoid the other; for they are measured by quantity and not by quality.
Notes and citation
Summary: Even Epicureans weigh pleasures by quantity, which requires reason.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.3 (Dindorf 2:315–316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-3). (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.
14.21.4Dindorf 2:316
δῆλον οὖν ὡς τό γε ποσὸν οὐδὲν ἀλλʼ ἢ ὁ λόγος κρίνει· τὸ γὰρ ἄμεινόν ἐστιν ὑπομεῖναι τούσδε τινὰς τοὺς πόνους, ὅπως ἡσθείημεν ἡδονὰς μείζους, καὶ τὸ συμφέρει τῶνδέ τινων ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν ἡδονῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀλγῶμεν ἀλγηδόνας χαλεπωτέρας, καὶ πάντα τὰ λόγος ὁ κρίνων ἐστίν.
dēlon oun hōs to ge poson ouden allʼ ē ho logos krinei; to gar ameinon estin hypomeinai tousde tinas tous ponous, hopōs hēstheiēmen hēdonas meizous, kai to sympherei tōnde tinōn apechesthai tōn hēdonōn, hina mē algōmen algēdonas chalepōteras, kai panta ta logos ho krinōn estin.
Clearly, then, it is nothing but reason that judges quantity; for “it is better to endure these pains so as to enjoy greater pleasures,” and “it is advantageous to abstain from these pleasures so as not to suffer harder pains,” and all such things: reason is the judge.
Notes and citation
Summary: Reason, not feeling, judges between pleasures and pains.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): χαλεπωτέραςʼ καὶ → χαλεπωτέρας, καὶ.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.4 (Dindorf 2:316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-4). (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.
14.21.5Dindorf 2:316
τὸ δʼ ὅλον αἶ μὲν αἰσθήσεις καὶ αἱ φαντασίαι καθαπερεὶ κάτοπτρα καὶ εἰκόνες ἐοίκασι τῶν πραγμάτων εἶναι· τὰ μέντοι πάθη καὶ αἶ ἡδοναὶ καὶ οἱ πόνοι τροπαὶ καὶ ἀλλοιώσεις ἡμῶν αὐτῶν. ταύτῃ δὲ αἰσθανόμενοι μὲν καὶ φαντασιούμενοι πρὸς τὰ ἔξω βλέπομεν, ἡδόμενοι δὲ καὶ ἀλγοῦντες ἐπιστρέφομεν ἐπὶ μόνους ἑαυτούς. τὰς μὲν γὰρ αἰσθήσεις ἡμῶν τὰ ἔξω ποιεῖ· καὶ ὁποῖα ἂν ᾖ ἐκεῖνα, τοιαύτας ἀπεργάζεται καὶ τὰς φαντασίας, τὰ δὲ πάθη ποιὰ ἄττα γίνεται διʼ ἡμὰς καὶ ὡς ἂν ἡμεῖς ἔχωμεν.
to dʼ holon ai men aisthēseis kai hai phantasiai kathaperei katoptra kai eikones eoikasi tōn pragmatōn einai; ta mentoi pathē kai ai hēdonai kai hoi ponoi tropai kai alloiōseis hēmōn autōn. tautę̄ de aisthanomenoi men kai phantasioumenoi pros ta exō blepomen, hēdomenoi de kai algountes epistrephomen epi monous heautous. tas men gar aisthēseis hēmōn ta exō poiei; kai hopoia an ę̄ ekeina, toiautas apergazetai kai tas phantasias, ta de pathē poia atta ginetai diʼ hēmas kai hōs an hēmeis echōmen.
On the whole, perceptions and impressions seem to be like mirrors and images of things; but feelings, pleasures and pains, are turnings and alterations of ourselves. So in perceiving and imagining we look to things outside, but in feeling pleasure and pain we turn back on ourselves alone. For external things make our perceptions, and whatever they are like, such they make our impressions; but feelings become of a certain kind because of us and according as we are disposed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Perceptions reflect the world; feelings reflect only ourselves.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.5 (Dindorf 2:316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-5). (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.
14.21.6Dindorf 2:316
διὸ ταῦτα ποτὲ μὲν ἡδέα, ποτὲ δʼ ἀηδῆ φαίνεται, καὶ ἔσθʼ ὅτε μὲν μᾶλλον, ἔσθʼ ὅτε δὲ ἧττον. ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων εὑρήσομεν, εἰ ἐθέλοιμεν σκοπεῖν, ἄριστα τὰς τῆς γνώσεως ἀρχὰς ὑποτιθεμένους ὁπόσοι καὶ τὰς αἰσθήσεις καὶ τὸν νοῦν παραλαμβάνουσιν.
dio tauta pote men hēdea, pote dʼ aēdē phainetai, kai esthʼ hote men mallon, esthʼ hote de hētton. hōn houtōs echontōn heurēsomen, ei etheloimen skopein, arista tas tēs gnōseōs archas hypotithemenous hoposoi kai tas aisthēseis kai ton noun paralambanousin.
That is why these appear at one time pleasant, at another unpleasant, and sometimes more, sometimes less. This being so, we shall find, if we are willing to consider, that those lay down the principles of knowledge best who take both the senses and the mind.
Notes and citation
Summary: The best philosophers use both senses and mind.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.6 (Dindorf 2:316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-6). (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.
14.21.7Dindorf 2:316–317
ἔοικε δʼ ἡ μὲν αἴσθησις ταῖς ἄρκυσι καὶ τοῖς δικτύοις καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις τοῖς τοιούτοις θηράτροις, ὁ δὲ νοῦς καὶ ὁ λόγος τοῖς κυσὶ τοῖς στιβεύουσι καὶ μεταθέουσιν. αὐτῶν μέντοι τούτων ἄμεινον φιλοσοφεῖν οἴεσθαι χρὴ τοὺς μήτε ταῖς αἰσθήσεσιν, ὡς ἔτυχε, χρωμένους μήτε τὰ πάθη παραλαμβάνοντας ἐπὶ τὴν τἀληθοῦς διάγνωσιν. ἢ δεινόν γʼ ἂν εἴη πεφυκότας ἀνθρώπους ἡδοναῖς καὶ πόνοις ἀλόγοις ἐπιτρέπειν ἑαυτοὺς, ἀφέντας τὸν θειότατον κριτὴν νοῦν.” Ταῦτα ἀπὸ τῶν Ἀριστοκλέους.
eoike dʼ hē men aisthēsis tais arkysi kai tois diktyois kai tois allois tois toioutois thēratrois, ho de nous kai ho logos tois kysi tois stibeuousi kai metatheousin. autōn mentoi toutōn ameinon philosophein oiesthai chrē tous mēte tais aisthēsesin, hōs etyche, chrōmenous mēte ta pathē paralambanontas epi tēn talēthous diagnōsin. ē deinon gʼ an eiē pephykotas anthrōpous hēdonais kai ponois alogois epitrepein heautous, aphentas ton theiotaton kritēn noun.” Tauta apo tōn Aristokleous.
Sense is like snares and nets and other such hunting gear, while mind and reason are like the dogs that track and give chase. One must think, then, that those philosophize better than these who neither use the senses at random nor take feelings for the discernment of the truth. Or it would be terrible for those who are men by nature to entrust themselves to irrational pleasures and pains, letting go mind, the most divine judge.” So much from Aristocles.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sense is the hunter’s net, reason the hound; mind, not pleasure, must judge.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.21.7 (Dindorf 2:316–317; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-21-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Preparation 14, chapter 22
14.22.1Dindorf 2:317
Καθʼ ἓν ἕκαστον τοίνυν τῶν τριῶν πρὸς τὴν ἡδονὴν καὶ τὸν νοῦν κρίνωμεν. δεῖ γὰρ ἰδεῖν ποτέρῳ μᾶλλον ξυγγενὲς ἕκαστον αὐτῶν ἀπονεμοῦμεν. Κάλλους καὶ ἀληθείας καὶ μετριότητος πέρι λέγεις; Ναί. πρῶτον δέ γε ἀληθείας λαβοῦ, ὠ Πρώταρχε, καὶ λαβόμενος, βλέψας εἰς τρία, νοῦν καὶ ἀλήθειαν καὶ ἡδονὴν, πολὺν ἐπισχὼν χρόνον, ἀπόκριναι σαυτῷ πότερον ἡδονὴ ξυγγενέστερον ἢ νοῦς ἀληθείᾳ.
Kathʼ hen hekaston toinyn tōn triōn pros tēn hēdonēn kai ton noun krinōmen. dei gar idein poterǭ mallon xyngenes hekaston autōn aponemoumen. Kallous kai alētheias kai metriotētos peri legeis? Nai. prōton de ge alētheias labou, ō Prōtarche, kai labomenos, blepsas eis tria, noun kai alētheian kai hēdonēn, polyn epischōn chronon, apokrinai sautǭ poteron hēdonē xyngenesteron ē nous alētheią.
“Let us judge, then, each of the three in turn in relation to pleasure and mind; for we must see to which of the two we shall assign each as more akin. You speak of beauty and truth and measure? Yes. First take truth, Protarchus, and having taken it, look at three things, mind and truth and pleasure, and after pausing a long time answer yourself whether pleasure or mind is more akin to truth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato (Philebus): Socrates asks whether pleasure or mind is more akin to truth, measure, and beauty.
- Plato, Philebus 65b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ἀπονεμουμεν → ἀπονεμοῦμεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 65b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.1 (Dindorf 2:317; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.2Dindorf 2:317
Τί δὲ χρόνου δεῖ; πολὺ γὰρ, οἶμαι, διαφέρετον. ἡδονὴ μὲν γὰρ ἁπάντων τὸ ἀλαζονέστατον· ὡς δὲ λόγος, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡδοναῖς ταῖς περὶ τὰ ἀφροδίσια, αἳ δὴ μέγισται δοκοῦσιν εἷναι, καὶ τὸ ἐπιορκεῖν συγγνώμην εἴληφε παρὰ θεῶν, ὡς καθάπερ παίδων τῶν ἡδομένων νοῦν οὐδὲ τὸν ὀλίγιστον κεκτημένων· νοῦς δὲ ἤτοι ταὐτὸν καὶ ἀλήθειά ἐστιν ἢ πάντων ὁμοιότατόν τε καὶ ἀληθέστατον.
Ti de chronou dei? poly gar, oimai, diaphereton. hēdonē men gar hapantōn to alazonestaton; hōs de logos, kai en tais hēdonais tais peri ta aphrodisia, hai dē megistai dokousin heinai, kai to epiorkein syngnōmēn eilēphe para theōn, hōs kathaper paidōn tōn hēdomenōn noun oude ton oligiston kektēmenōn; nous de ētoi tauton kai alētheia estin ē pantōn homoiotaton te kai alēthestaton.
What need of time? For they differ greatly, I think. Pleasure is the greatest impostor of all; and, as the saying goes, in the pleasures of love, which seem to be the greatest, even perjury has received pardon from the gods, as if pleasures, like children, possessed not even the least bit of mind; but mind is either the same as truth, or of all things most like it and most true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mind is akin to truth; pleasure is the greatest impostor.
- Plato, Philebus 65c–d.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): αἱ· δὴ → αἳ δὴ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 65c–d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.2 (Dindorf 2:317; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-2). (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.
14.22.3Dindorf 2:317–318
Οὐκοῦν τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο τὴν μετριότητα ὡσαύτως σκέψῃ, πότερον ἡδονὴ φρονήσεως, ἢ φρόνησις ἡδονῆς πλείω κέκτηται; Εὔσκεπτόν γε καὶ ταύτην σκέψιν προβέβληκας. οἶμαι γὰρ ἡδονῆς μὲν καὶ περιχαρείας οὐδὲν τῶν πεφυκὸς ἀμετρότερον εὑρεῖν ἄν τινα, νοῦ δὲ καὶ ἐπιστήμης ἐμμετρότερον οὐδʼ ἂν ἔν ποτε.
Oukoun to meta touto tēn metriotēta hōsautōs skepsę̄, poteron hēdonē phronēseōs, ē phronēsis hēdonēs pleiō kektētai? Euskepton ge kai tautēn skepsin probeblēkas. oimai gar hēdonēs men kai perichareias ouden tōn pephykos ametroteron heurein an tina, nou de kai epistēmēs emmetroteron oudʼ an en pote.
Next, then, will you consider measure in the same way, whether pleasure has more of it than wisdom, or wisdom than pleasure? This too is an easy inquiry you have proposed. For I think one could find nothing by nature more measureless than pleasure and great joy, nor anything ever more measured than mind and knowledge.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mind is more measured than pleasure.
- Plato, Philebus 65d.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 65d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.3 (Dindorf 2:317–318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.4Dindorf 2:318
Καλῶς εἴρηκας. ὅμως δʼ ἔτι λέγε τὸ τρίτον. νοῦς ἡμῖν κάλλους μετείληφε πλέον ἢ τὸ τῆς ἡδονῆς γένος, ὥστε εἶναι καλλίω νοῦν ἡδονῆς, ἢ τοὐναντίον; Ἄρʼ οὖν φρόνησιν μὲν καὶ νοῦν, Σώκρατες, οὐδεὶς πώποτε οὔθʼ ὕπαρ οὔτʼ ὄναρ αἰσχρὸν οὔτε εἶδεν οὔτʼ ἐπενόησεν οὐδαμοῦ οὐδαμῶς, οὔτε γιγνόμενον οὔτε ὄντα οὔτε ἐσόμενον; Ὀρθῶς.
Kalōs eirēkas. homōs dʼ eti lege to triton. nous hēmin kallous meteilēphe pleon ē to tēs hēdonēs genos, hōste einai kalliō noun hēdonēs, ē tounantion? Arʼ oun phronēsin men kai noun, Sōkrates, oudeis pōpote outhʼ hypar outʼ onar aischron oute eiden outʼ epenoēsen oudamou oudamōs, oute gignomenon oute onta oute esomenon? Orthōs.
Well said. But still tell the third. Has mind a greater share of beauty than the race of pleasure, so that mind is more beautiful than pleasure, or the reverse? Is it not true, Socrates, that no one ever, awake or dreaming, saw or imagined wisdom and mind to be ugly anywhere in any way, whether coming to be, or being, or about to be? Right.
Notes and citation
Summary: No one ever thought wisdom ugly.
- Plato, Philebus 65e.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): οὔτώ ἐπενόησεν → οὔτʼ ἐπενόησεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 65e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.4 (Dindorf 2:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-4). (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.
14.22.5Dindorf 2:318
Ἡδονὰς δέ γε δήπου, καὶ ταύτας σχεδὸν τὰς μεγίστας, ὅταν ἴδωμεν ἡδόμενον ὁντινοῦν, ἢ τὸ γελοῖον ἐπʼ αὐταῖς ἤ τὸ πάντων αἴσχιστον ἑπόμενον ὁρῶντες αὐτοί τε αἰσχυνόμεθα καὶ ἀφανίζοντες κρύπτομεν ὅτι μάλιστα, νυκτὶ πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα διδόντες, ὡς φῶς οὐ δέον ὁρᾶν αὐτά.
Hēdonas de ge dēpou, kai tautas schedon tas megistas, hotan idōmen hēdomenon hontinoun, ē to geloion epʼ autais ē to pantōn aischiston hepomenon horōntes autoi te aischynometha kai aphanizontes kryptomen hoti malista, nykti panta ta toiauta didontes, hōs phōs ou deon horan auta.
But pleasures, and those almost the greatest, when we see anyone enjoying them, seeing either the ridiculous attending them or the most shameful of all, we ourselves are ashamed and hide them away as much as possible, giving all such things to the night, as if the light ought not to see them.
Notes and citation
Summary: The greatest pleasures shame us and are hidden in the night.
- Plato, Philebus 65e–66a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): δι- δόντες → διδόντες.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 65e–66a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.5 (Dindorf 2:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.6Dindorf 2:318
Πάντη δὴ φήσεις, ὦ Πρώταρχε, ὑπό τε ἀγγέλων πέμπων καὶ παροῦσι φράζων ὡς ἡδονὴ κτῆμα οὐκ ἔστι πρῶτον οὐδʼ αὖ δεύτερον, ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μέν πη περὶ μέτρον καὶ τὸ μέτριον καὶ τὸ καίριον καὶ πάνθʼ ὁπόσα χρὴ τοιαῦτα νομίζειν τὴν ἀΐδιον ᾑρῆσθαι φύσιν. Φαίνεται γοῦν ἐκ τῶν νῦν λεγομένων.
Pantē dē phēseis, ō Prōtarche, hypo te angelōn pempōn kai parousi phrazōn hōs hēdonē ktēma ouk esti prōton oudʼ au deuteron, alla prōton men pē peri metron kai to metrion kai to kairion kai panthʼ hoposa chrē toiauta nomizein tēn aïdion hę̄rēsthai physin. Phainetai goun ek tōn nyn legomenōn.
In every way, then, Protarchus, you will declare, sending it by messengers and telling it to those present, that pleasure is not the first possession nor even the second, but that the first is somehow about measure and the measured and the timely, and all such things that we must think have taken on the eternal nature. So it appears from what is now said.
Notes and citation
Summary: Measure ranks first among goods; pleasure is neither first nor second.
- Plato, Philebus 66a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (letter lost in the digital text; words run together in the digital text): Πρώταρχ, ὑπό → Πρώταρχε, ὑπό; ᾑρῆσθαιφύσιν → ᾑρῆσθαι φύσιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.6 (Dindorf 2:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.7Dindorf 2:318
Δεύτερον μὲν περὶ τὸ σύμμετρον καὶ καλὸν καὶ τὸ τέλειον καὶ ἱκανὸν καὶ πάνθʼ ὁπόσα τῆς γενέσεως αὖ ταύτης ἐστί. Ἔοικε γοῦν.
Deuteron men peri to symmetron kai kalon kai to teleion kai hikanon kai panthʼ hoposa tēs geneseōs au tautēs esti. Eoike goun.
Second is about the proportioned and beautiful and the complete and sufficient, and all that belongs to this kind. So it seems.
Notes and citation
Summary: Proportion and beauty rank second.
- Plato, Philebus 66b.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.7 (Dindorf 2:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-7). (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.
14.22.8Dindorf 2:318
Τὸ τοίνυν τρίτον, ὡς ἡ ἐμὴ μαντεία, νοῦν καὶ φρόνησιν τιθεὶς οὐκ ἂν μέγα τι τῆς ἀληθείας παρεξέλθοις. Ἴσως.
To toinyn triton, hōs hē emē manteia, noun kai phronēsin titheis ouk an mega ti tēs alētheias parexelthois. Isōs.
The third, then, as I divine, if you put mind and wisdom, you would not stray far from the truth. Perhaps.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mind and wisdom rank third.
- Plato, Philebus 66b.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.8 (Dindorf 2:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.9Dindorf 2:318–319
Ἀρʼ οὖν οὐ τέταρτα, ἃ τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἔθεμεν, ἐπιστήμας τε καὶ τέχνας καὶ δόξας ὀρθὰς λεχθείσας, ταῦτʼ εἶναι τὰ πρὸς τοῖς τρισὶ τέτταρα, εἴπερ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἐστι μᾶλλον ἢ τῆς ἡδονῆς ξυγγενῆ, Τάχʼ ἄν.
Arʼ oun ou tetarta, ha tēs psychēs autēs ethemen, epistēmas te kai technas kai doxas orthas lechtheisas, tautʼ einai ta pros tois trisi tettara, eiper tou agathou esti mallon ē tēs hēdonēs xyngenē, Tachʼ an.
Fourth, then, are not the things we assigned to the soul itself, sciences and arts and what were called right opinions, these being fourth with the three, if indeed they are more akin to the good than to pleasure? Perhaps.
Notes and citation
Summary: Sciences, arts, and right opinions rank fourth.
- Plato, Philebus 66b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; wrong mark in the digital text): ἔθε- μὲν → ἔθεμεν; Τάχ΄ ἄν → Τάχʼ ἄν.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66b–c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.9 (Dindorf 2:318–319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.10Dindorf 2:319
Πέμπτας τοίνυν ἃς ἡδονὰς ἔθεμεν ἀλύπους ὁρισάμενοι, καθαρὰς ἐπονομάσαντες τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐπιστήμας, ταῖς δὲ αἰσθήσεσιν ἑπομένας. Ἴσως.
Pemptas toinyn has hēdonas ethemen alypous horisamenoi, katharas eponomasantes tēs psychēs autēs epistēmas, tais de aisthēsesin hepomenas. Isōs.
Fifth, then, the pleasures that we set down, defining them as painless, calling them pure sciences of the soul itself, following on perceptions. Perhaps.
Notes and citation
Summary: Pure painless pleasures rank fifth.
- Plato, Philebus 66c.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66c (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.10 (Dindorf 2:319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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14.22.11Dindorf 2:319
Ἔκτῃ δʼ ἐν γενεᾷ, φησὶν Ὀρφεὺς, καταπαύσατε κόσμον ἀοιδῆς, ἀτὰρ κινδυνεύει καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐν ἕκτῃ καταπεπαυμένος εἶναι κρίσει. τὸ δὲ μετὰ ταῦθʼ ἡμῖν οὐδὲν λοιπὸν πλὴν ὥσπερ κεφαλὴν ἀποδοῦναι τοῖς εἰρημένοις. Οὐκοῦν χρή.
Ektę̄ dʼ en geneą, phēsin Orpheus, katapausate kosmon aoidēs, atar kindyneuei kai ho hēmeteros logos en hektę̄ katapepaumenos einai krisei. to de meta tauthʼ hēmin ouden loipon plēn hōsper kephalēn apodounai tois eirēmenois. Oukoun chrē.
“But in the sixth generation,” says Orpheus, “end the order of your song”; and our argument too seems to have come to an end at the sixth judgment. What remains for us after this is nothing but to put a head, as it were, on what has been said. So we must.
Notes and citation
Summary: The ranking ends with a line of Orpheus.
- Plato, Philebus 66c–d; Orphic fragment 14 (Kern).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing lost in the digital text): κόσμον αοιδῆς → κόσμον ἀοιδῆς.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66c–d (Plato (works); quotation); Orpheus (attributed), Orph. frag. fr. 14 (Orpheus (attributed), Orphic poems (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.11 (Dindorf 2:319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-11). (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.
14.22.12Dindorf 2:319
Ἴθι δὴ, τὸ τρίτον τῷ σωτῆρι τὸν αὐτὸν διαμαρτυράμενοι λόγον ἐπεξέλθωμεν. Ποῖον δή; Φίληβος τἀγαθὸν ἔθετο ἡμῖν ἡδονὴν εἶναι πᾶσαν καὶ παντελῆ. Τὸ τρίτον, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὡς ἔοικας, ἔλεγες ἀρτίως τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπαναλαβεῖν δεῖν λόγον.
Ithi dē, to triton tǭ sōtēri ton auton diamartyramenoi logon epexelthōmen. Poion dē? Philēbos tagathon etheto hēmin hēdonēn einai pasan kai pantelē. To triton, ō Sōkrates, hōs eoikas, eleges artiōs ton ex archēs epanalabein dein logon.
Come, then, let us go through the same argument a third time, calling the Savior to witness. What argument? Philebus set down for us that the good is all and complete pleasure. The third time, Socrates, as it seems, you meant just now that we must take up the argument from the beginning.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates recalls Philebus’ claim that pleasure is the good.
- Plato, Philebus 66d. The third libation was to Zeus the Savior.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): δια- μαρτυράμενοι → διαμαρτυράμενοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66d (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.12 (Dindorf 2:319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-12). (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.
14.22.13Dindorf 2:319
Ναί. τὸ δέ γε μετὰ τοῦτο ἀκούωμεν. ἐγὼ γὰρ δὴ κατιδὼν ἅπερ νῦν διελήλυθα, καὶ δυσχεράνας τὸν Φιλήβου λόγον οὐ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλων πολλάκις μυρίων, εἶπον ὡς ἡδονῆς γε νοῦς εἴη μακρῷ βέλτιόν τε καὶ ἄμεινον τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων βίῳ. Ἠν ταῦτα.
Nai. to de ge meta touto akouōmen. egō gar dē katidōn haper nyn dielēlytha, kai dyscheranas ton Philēbou logon ou monon, alla kai allōn pollakis myriōn, eipon hōs hēdonēs ge nous eiē makrǭ beltion te kai ameinon tǭ tōn anthrōpōn biǭ. Ēn tauta.
Yes. But let us hear what follows. For I, seeing what I have now gone through, and annoyed at the argument not only of Philebus but often of countless others, said that mind was far better and more excellent than pleasure for human life. That was so.
Notes and citation
Summary: Socrates had held mind far better than pleasure.
- Plato, Philebus 66e.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66e (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.13 (Dindorf 2:319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-13). (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.
14.22.14Dindorf 2:319–320
Ὑποπτεύων δέ γε καὶ ἄλλα εἶναι πολλὰ εἶπον ὡς, εἰ φανείη τι τούτων ἀμφοῖν βέλτιον, ὑπὲρ τῶν δευτερείων νῷ πρὸς ἡδονὴν ξυνδιαμαχοίμην, ἡδονὴ δὲ καὶ δευτερείων στερήσοιτο. Εἰπες γὰρ οὑν. Καὶ μετὰ ταῦτά γε πάντων ἱκανώτατα τούτοιν οὐδέτερον ἱκανὸν ἀνεφάνη. Ἀληθέστατα.
Hypopteuōn de ge kai alla einai polla eipon hōs, ei phaneiē ti toutōn amphoin beltion, hyper tōn deutereiōn nǭ pros hēdonēn xyndiamachoimēn, hēdonē de kai deutereiōn sterēsoito. Eipes gar houn. Kai meta tauta ge pantōn hikanōtata toutoin oudeteron hikanon anephanē. Alēthestata.
And suspecting that there are also many other things, I said that if anything appeared better than both of these, I would contend on the side of mind against pleasure for the second prize, and pleasure would be deprived even of the second prize. You said so. And after this it appeared most sufficiently that neither of these two was sufficient. Most true.
Notes and citation
Summary: Neither mind nor pleasure alone is sufficient.
- Plato, Philebus 66e–67a.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 66e–67a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.14 (Dindorf 2:319–320; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-14). (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.
14.22.15Dindorf 2:320
Οὐκοῦν παντάπασιν ἐν τούτῳ τῷ λόγῳ καὶ νοῦς ἀπήλλακτο καὶ ἡδονὴ, μηδὲ τἀγαθὸν αὐτὸ μηδέτερον αὐτοῖν εἶναι στερομένων αὐταρκείας καὶ τῆς τοῦ ἱκανοῦ καὶ τελέου δυνάμεως; Ὀρθότατα. Φανέντος δέ γε ἄλλου τινὸς κρείττονος τούτοιν ἑκατέρου, μυρίῳ γʼ αὖ νοῦς ἡδονῆς οἰκειότερον καὶ προσφυέστερον πέφανται νῦν τῇ τοῦ νικῶντος ἰδέᾳ. Πῶς γὰρ οὔ;
Oukoun pantapasin en toutǭ tǭ logǭ kai nous apēllakto kai hēdonē, mēde tagathon auto mēdeteron autoin einai steromenōn autarkeias kai tēs tou hikanou kai teleou dynameōs? Orthotata. Phanentos de ge allou tinos kreittonos toutoin hekaterou, myriǭ gʼ au nous hēdonēs oikeioteron kai prosphyesteron pephantai nyn tę̄ tou nikōntos ideą. Pōs gar ou?
Then in this argument both mind and pleasure were set aside entirely, neither of them being the good itself, since they lacked self-sufficiency and the power of the sufficient and complete? Most right. And when something else better than either of them appeared, mind has now appeared ten thousand times more akin and closer than pleasure to the form of the victor. Of course.
Notes and citation
Summary: Mind is far nearer than pleasure to the good.
- Plato, Philebus 67a.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 67a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.15 (Dindorf 2:320; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-15). (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.
14.22.16Dindorf 2:320
Οὐκοῦν πέμπτον κατὰ τὴν κρίσιν, ὡς νῦν ὁ λόγος ἀπεφήνατο, γίγνοιτʼ ἂν ἡ τῆς ἡδονῆς δύναμις. Ἔοικεν. Πρῶτον δέ γε οὐδʼ ἂν οἱ πάντες βόες τε καὶ ἵπποι καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ξύμπαντα θηρία φῶσι τῷ τὸ χαίρειν διώκειν· οἷς πιστεύοντες, ὥσπερ μάντεις ὄρνισιν, οἱ πολλοὶ κρίνουσι τὰς ἡδονὰς εἰς τὸ ζῆν ἡμῖν εὖ κρατίστας εἶναι, καὶ τοὺς θηρίων ἔρωτας οἴονται κυρίους εἶναι μάρτυρας μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς τῶν ἐν μούσῃ φιλοσόφῳ μεμαντευμένων ἑκάστοτε λόγων. Ἀληθέστατα, ὦ Σώκρατες, εἰρῆσθαί σοι νῦν ἤδη φαμὲν ἅπαντες.”
Oukoun pempton kata tēn krisin, hōs nyn ho logos apephēnato, gignoitʼ an hē tēs hēdonēs dynamis. Eoiken. Prōton de ge oudʼ an hoi pantes boes te kai hippoi kai ta alla xympanta thēria phōsi tǭ to chairein diōkein; hois pisteuontes, hōsper manteis ornisin, hoi polloi krinousi tas hēdonas eis to zēn hēmin eu kratistas einai, kai tous thēriōn erōtas oiontai kyrious einai martyras mallon ē tous tōn en mousę̄ philosophǭ memanteumenōn hekastote logōn. Alēthestata, ō Sōkrates, eirēsthai soi nyn ēdē phamen hapantes.”
Then the power of pleasure would be fifth in the judgment, as the argument has now declared. So it seems. And not first, not even if all the oxen and horses and all the other beasts together should say so by pursuing enjoyment; trusting them, as seers trust birds, the many judge pleasures to be most powerful for our living well, and think the loves of beasts more authoritative witnesses than the loves of arguments divined each time in the philosophic Muse. That you have now spoken most truly, Socrates, we all say.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Pleasure is fifth, whatever the beasts and the many say.
- Plato, Philebus 67a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): φιλοσόρῳ → φιλοσόφῳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Phileb. 67a–b (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.16 (Dindorf 2:320; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-16). (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.
14.22.17Dindorf 2:320–321
Ταῦτα ὁ Πλάτων. ἐγὼ δέ σοι καὶ Διονυσίου, τῆς κατὰ Χριστὸν φιλοσοφίας ἐπισκόπου ἀνδρὸς, ἀπὸ τῶν Περὶ φύσεως βραχέα τῶν πρὸς Ἐπίκουρον ἀντειρημένων παραθήσομαι. σὺ δὲ λαβὼν ἀνάγνωθι τὰς οὕτως ἐχούσας αὐτοῦ φωνάς
Tauta ho Platōn. egō de soi kai Dionysiou, tēs kata Christon philosophias episkopou andros, apo tōn Peri physeōs brachea tōn pros Epikouron anteirēmenōn parathēsomai. sy de labōn anagnōthi tas houtōs echousas autou phōnas
So Plato. And I shall set before you also a few of the arguments against Epicurus from the work On Nature of Dionysius, a bishop of the philosophy according to Christ. Take and read his words, which run thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius introduces Dionysius of Alexandria’s On Nature against Epicurus.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): Πλάτωνʼ → Πλάτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.22.17 (Dindorf 2:320–321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-22-17). (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 14, chapter 23
14.23.1Dindorf 2:321
“Πότερον ἕν ἐστι συναφὲς τὸ πᾶν, ὡς ἡμῖν τε καὶ τοῖς σοφωτάτοις Ἑλλήνων Πλάτωνι καὶ Πυθαγόρᾳ καὶ τοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς στοᾶς καὶ Ἡρακλείτῳ φαίνεται, ἢ δύο, ὡς ἴσως τις ὑπέλαβεν, ἢ καὶ πολλὰ καὶ ἄπειρα, ὥς τισιν ἄλλοις ἔδοξεν, οἳ πολλαῖς τῆς διανοίας παραφοραῖς καὶ ποικίλαις προφοραῖς ὀνομάτων τὴν τῶν ὅλων ἐπεχείρησαν κατακερματίζειν οὐσίαν, ἄπειρόν τε καὶ ἀγέννητον καὶ ἀπρονόητον ὑποτίθενται;
“Poteron hen esti synaphes to pan, hōs hēmin te kai tois sophōtatois Hellēnōn Platōni kai Pythagorą kai tois apo tēs stoas kai Hērakleitǭ phainetai, ē dyo, hōs isōs tis hypelaben, ē kai polla kai apeira, hōs tisin allois edoxen, hoi pollais tēs dianoias paraphorais kai poikilais prophorais onomatōn tēn tōn holōn epecheirēsan katakermatizein ousian, apeiron te kai agennēton kai apronoēton hypotithentai?
“Is the universe one connected whole, as it seems to us and to the wisest of the Greeks, Plato and Pythagoras and the Stoics and Heraclitus, or two, as perhaps someone supposed, or even many and infinite, as some others have thought, who, with many derangements of thought and varied coinages of words, have tried to fragment the substance of the universe, and suppose it infinite and ungenerated and without providence?
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: is the universe one, or many and infinite as some suppose?
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (fragment).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and lost quotation mark in the digital text; breathing slip in the digital text): Πότερον ἴν ἐστι → “Πότερον ἕν ἐστι; ῾Ελλήνων → Ἑλλήνων.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.23.1 (Dindorf 2:321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-23-1). (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.
14.23.2Dindorf 2:321
οἶ μὲν γὰρ ἀτόμους προσειπόντες ἄφθαρτά τινα καὶ σμικρότατα σώματα πλῆθος ἀνάριθμα, καί τι χωρίον κενὸν μέγεθος ἀπεριόριστον προβαλόμενοι, ταύτας δή φασι τὰς ἀτόμους ὡς ἔτυχεν ἐν τῷ κενῷ φερομένας αὐτομάτως τε συμπιπτούσας ἀλλήλαις διὰ ῥύμην ἄτακτον καὶ συμπλεκομένας διὰ τὸ πολυσχήμονας οὔσας ἀλλήλων ἐπιλαμβάνεσθαι, καὶ οὕτω τόν τε κόσμον καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ, μᾶλλον δὲ κόσμους ἀπείρους ἀποτελεῖν.
oi men gar atomous proseipontes aphtharta tina kai smikrotata sōmata plēthos anarithma, kai ti chōrion kenon megethos aperioriston probalomenoi, tautas dē phasi tas atomous hōs etychen en tǭ kenǭ pheromenas automatōs te sympiptousas allēlais dia rhymēn atakton kai symplekomenas dia to polyschēmonas ousas allēlōn epilambanesthai, kai houtō ton te kosmon kai ta en autǭ, mallon de kosmous apeirous apotelein.
For some, calling them atoms, some imperishable and very small bodies, countless in number, and positing a certain empty space of unlimited size, say that these atoms, carried at random in the void and colliding with one another spontaneously through a disorderly rush, and becoming entangled because, having many shapes, they take hold of one another, so produce the world and the things in it, or rather infinite worlds.
Notes and citation
Summary: The atomists say atoms colliding at random produce worlds.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.23.2 (Dindorf 2:321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-23-2). (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.
14.23.3Dindorf 2:321
ταύτης δὲ τῆς δόξης Ἐπίκουρος γεγόνασι καὶ Δημόκριτος· τοσοῦτον δὲ διεφώνησαν ὅσον ὁ μὲν ἐλαχίστας πάσας καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀνεπαισθήτους, ὁ δὲ καὶ μεγίστας εἶναί τινας ἀτόμους ὁ Δημόκριτος ὑπέλαβεν. ἀτόμους δὲ εἶναί φασιν ἀμφότεροι καὶ λέγεσθαι διὰ τὴν ἄλυτον στερρότητα.
tautēs de tēs doxēs Epikouros gegonasi kai Dēmokritos; tosouton de diephōnēsan hoson ho men elachistas pasas kai dia touto anepaisthētous, ho de kai megistas einai tinas atomous ho Dēmokritos hypelaben. atomous de einai phasin amphoteroi kai legesthai dia tēn alyton sterrotēta.
Of this opinion were Epicurus and Democritus; they differed only so far as the one supposed all atoms to be very small and therefore imperceptible, while Democritus supposed that some atoms are even very large. Both say that they are atoms, and so called because of their indissoluble solidity.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus and Democritus differed only on the size of atoms.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ’Επίκουρος γεγόνασι → Ἐπίκουρος γεγόνασι; τοσοῦτον δὲ δὲ διεφώνησαν → τοσοῦτον δὲ διεφώνησαν.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation); Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion); Democritus (Democritus (fragments); allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.23.3 (Dindorf 2:321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-23-3). (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.
14.23.4Dindorf 2:321–322
οἶ δὲ τὰς ἀτόμους μετονομάσαντες ἀμερῆ φασιν εἶναι σώματα, τοῦ παντὸς μέρη, ἐξ ὧν ἀδιαιρέτων ὄντων συντίθεται τὰ πάντα καὶ εἰς ἃ διαλύεται. καὶ τούτων φασὶ τῶν ἀμερῶν ὀνοματοποιὸν Διόδωρον γεγονέναι· ὄνομα δὲ, φασὶν, αὐτοῖς ἄλλο Ἡρακλείδης θέμενος ἐκάλεσεν ὄγκους, παρʼ οὗ καὶ Ἀσκληπιάδης ὁ ἰατρὸς ἐκληρονόμησε τὸ ὄνομα.” Ταῦτʼ εἰπὼν ἐξῆς ἀνασκευάζει τὸ δόγμα διὰ πολλῶν, ἀτὰρ καὶ διὰ τούτων
oi de tas atomous metonomasantes amerē phasin einai sōmata, tou pantos merē, ex hōn adiairetōn ontōn syntithetai ta panta kai eis ha dialyetai. kai toutōn phasi tōn amerōn onomatopoion Diodōron gegonenai; onoma de, phasin, autois allo Hērakleidēs themenos ekalesen onkous, parʼ hou kai Asklēpiadēs ho iatros eklēronomēse to onoma.” Tautʼ eipōn exēs anaskeuazei to dogma dia pollōn, atar kai dia toutōn
Others, renaming the atoms, say they are partless bodies, parts of the universe, from which, being indivisible, all things are composed and into which they are dissolved. And they say that Diodorus was the coiner of the name of these partless bodies; but Heraclides, they say, gave them another name and called them ‘masses,’ from whom Asclepiades the physician also inherited the name.” Having said this, he next refutes the doctrine at length, and among other ways by the following:
Notes and citation
Summary: Others called atoms partless bodies or masses.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.23.4 (Dindorf 2:321–322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-23-4). (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.
Preparation 14, chapter 24
14.24.1Dindorf 2:322
‟Πῶς αὐτῶν ἀνασχώμεθα τυχηρὰ λεγόντων εἶναι συμπτώματα τὰ σοφὰ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τὰ καλὰ δημιουργήματα; ὧν ἕκαστόν τε καθʼ ἑαυτὸ γενόμενον ὤφθη τῷ προστάξαντι γενέσθαι καλὸν καὶ συλλήβδην ὁμοίως ἅπαντα. καὶ εἶδε γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ θεὸς τὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησε, καὶ ἰδοὺ καλὰ λίαν.
‟Pōs autōn anaschōmetha tychēra legontōn einai symptōmata ta sopha kai dia touto ta kala dēmiourgēmata? hōn hekaston te kathʼ heauto genomenon ōphthē tǭ prostaxanti genesthai kalon kai syllēbdēn homoiōs hapanta. kai eide gar, phēsin, ho theos ta panta hosa epoiēse, kai idou kala lian.
“How can we bear them saying that wise and therefore beautiful works are chance coincidences? Each of these, as it came into being by itself, was seen by him who commanded it to come into being to be good, and likewise all of them together. For ‘God saw,’ it says, ‘all things that he had made, and behold, they were very good.’
Gen 1:31 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Dionysius: the world’s beautiful works are not chance; God saw they were very good.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature; Gen 1:31.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὣν ἕκαστόν → ὧν ἕκαστόν.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.1 (Dindorf 2:322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-1). (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.
14.24.2Dindorf 2:322
ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ἀπὸ τῶν μικρῶν τῶν συνήθων καὶ παρὰ πόδας νουθετοῦνται παραδειγμάτων, ἐξ ὧν δύνανται μανθάνειν ὅτι χρειῶδες μὲν καὶ πρὸς ὠφέλειαν ἔργον οὐδὲν ἀνεπιτηδεύτως οὐδὲ συμβατικῶς ἀπεργάζεται, ἀλλὰ χειρουργούμενον εἰς τὴν πρέπουσαν ὑπηρεσίαν καταρτίζεται· ὅταν δὲ εἰς ἄχρηστον μεταπίπτῃ καὶ ἀνωφελὲς, τότε διαλυόμενον ἀορίστως καὶ ὡς ἂν τύχῃ διασκίδναται, ἅτε μηκέτι μεταχειριζομένης μηδὲ διαταττούσης αὐτὸ τῆς σοφίας, ᾗ τοῦ συνεστάναι τοῦτο ἔμελεν.
allʼ oude apo tōn mikrōn tōn synēthōn kai para podas nouthetountai paradeigmatōn, ex hōn dynantai manthanein hoti chreiōdes men kai pros ōpheleian ergon ouden anepitēdeutōs oude symbatikōs apergazetai, alla cheirourgoumenon eis tēn prepousan hypēresian katartizetai; hotan de eis achrēston metapiptę̄ kai anōpheles, tote dialyomenon aoristōs kai hōs an tychę̄ diaskidnatai, hate mēketi metacheirizomenēs mēde diatattousēs auto tēs sophias, hę̄ tou synestanai touto emelen.
But they are not admonished even by small, familiar, and everyday examples, from which they could learn that no work that is useful and beneficial is produced without design or by chance, but is fitted by handiwork for its proper service; and when it falls into uselessness and unprofitableness, then it breaks up without order and is scattered as it may happen, since the wisdom that cared for its holding together no longer handles and arranges it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Useful works are made by design, and fall apart when design is gone.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.2 (Dindorf 2:322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-2). (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.
14.24.3Dindorf 2:322
ἱμάτιόν τε γὰρ οὐ χωρὶς ἱστουργοῦ συνισταμένων τῶν στημόνων οὐδὲ τῆς κρόκης αὐτομάτως παρεμπλεκομένης ἀνυφαίνεται· εἰ δὲ κατατριβείη, τὰ λακισθέντα διαρριπτεῖται ῥάκη. οἰκία τε ἀνοικοδομεῖται καὶ πόλις οὐ τοὺς μέν τινας δεχομένη θεμελίοις αὐτομολοῦντας λίθους, τοὺς δὲ ἀναπηδῶντας εἰς τὰς ἐπιβολὰς, ἀλλὰ κατὰ χώραν ὁ τοιχοδόμος τοὺς εὐθέτους ἐπιφέρει· καταρριφθείσης δὲ, ὡς ἂν παρείκῃ, κατενεχθεὶς ἕκαστος ἀπεσφάλη.
himation te gar ou chōris histourgou synistamenōn tōn stēmonōn oude tēs krokēs automatōs paremplekomenēs anyphainetai; ei de katatribeiē, ta lakisthenta diarripteitai rhakē. oikia te anoikodomeitai kai polis ou tous men tinas dechomenē themeliois automolountas lithous, tous de anapēdōntas eis tas epibolas, alla kata chōran ho toichodomos tous euthetous epipherei; katarriphtheisēs de, hōs an pareikę̄, katenechtheis hekastos apesphalē.
For a cloak is not woven without a weaver, the warp threads standing by themselves and the woof weaving itself in spontaneously; and if it is worn out, the torn rags are thrown away. And a house is built, and a city, not by receiving some stones that desert of their own accord into the foundations and others that leap up into the courses, but the builder brings the well-fitted stones into place; and when it is thrown down, each stone falls and is dislodged as it happens.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cloaks and houses require makers; ruins fall at random.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray word in the digital text): κατʼ καταρριφθείσης → καταρριφθείσης.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.3 (Dindorf 2:322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-3). (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.
14.24.4Dindorf 2:322–323
καὶ κατασκευαζομένης νεὼς οὐχ ἡ μέν τις ὑπέβαλεν ἑαυτὴν τρόπις, ὁ δὲ κατὰ μέσην ἑαυτὸν ἱστὸς ὤρθωσε, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον ξύλων ἣν ἔτυχεν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ θέσιν κατέλαβεν· οὐδὲ τὰ λεγόμενα ἑκατὸν τῆς ἁμάξης ξύλα καθʼ ὃν εὗρε κενὸν τόπον ἕκαστον συνεπάγη, ἀλλʼ ὁ τέκτων ἑκατέρας συνεκόμισε καίριον· εἰ δὲ διαλυθείη ἡ ναῦς ἐνθαλασσεύουσα, ἢ φερομένη κατὰ γῆν ἅμαξα, ὅπη τύχῃ τὰ ξύλα τὰ μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν κυμάτων, τὰ δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς συντόνου ῥύμης διασπείρεται.
kai kataskeuazomenēs neōs ouch hē men tis hypebalen heautēn tropis, ho de kata mesēn heauton histos ōrthōse, kai tōn allōn hekaston xylōn hēn etychen ex heautou thesin katelaben; oude ta legomena hekaton tēs hamaxēs xyla kathʼ hon heure kenon topon hekaston synepagē, allʼ ho tektōn hekateras synekomise kairion; ei de dialytheiē hē naus enthalasseuousa, ē pheromenē kata gēn hamaxa, hopē tychę̄ ta xyla ta men hypo tōn kymatōn, ta de hypo tēs syntonou rhymēs diaspeiretai.
And when a ship is being built, the keel did not lay itself down, nor did the mast set itself upright in the middle, and each of the other timbers take whatever position it happened to of itself; nor were the so-called hundred timbers of a wagon each fixed in whatever empty place it found, but the carpenter brought each together at the right time. But if a ship breaks up at sea, or a wagon on its way on land, the timbers are scattered wherever it happens, some by the waves, others by the violent rush.
Notes and citation
Summary: Ships and wagons are built by design and broken up at random.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature. “A wagon has a hundred timbers” is a proverb from Hesiod, Works and Days 456.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation); Hesiod, Op. 456 (Hesiod, Works and Days; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.4 (Dindorf 2:322–323; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-4). (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.
14.24.5Dindorf 2:323
οὕτως ἂν ἁρμόζοι λέγειν αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰς ἀτόμους, ἀργὰς μενούσας καὶ ἀχειροποιήτους καὶ ἀχρήστους, εἰκῆ φέρεσθαι. ὁράτωσαν γὰρ τὰς ἀθεάτους ἐκεῖνοι καὶ τὰς ἀνοήτους νοείτωσαν, οὐχ ὁμοίως ἐκείνῳ, ὃς φανερωθὲν ἑαυτῷ τοῦτο ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁμολογεῖ τὸ ἀκατέργαστόν σου εἴδοσαν οἶ ὀφθαλμοί μου.”
houtōs an harmozoi legein autois kai tas atomous, argas menousas kai acheiropoiētous kai achrēstous, eikē pheresthai. horatōsan gar tas atheatous ekeinoi kai tas anoētous noeitōsan, ouch homoiōs ekeinǭ, hos phanerōthen heautǭ touto hypo tou theou pros auton homologei to akatergaston sou eidosan oi ophthalmoi mou.”
So it would suit them to say that the atoms too, remaining idle and unwrought and useless, are carried at random. Let them see the invisible atoms and think of the unthinkable ones, not like him who confesses to God what was revealed to him by God: ‘Your eyes saw my unwrought substance.’”
Ps 139:16 (138:16 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The atomists claim to see the invisible, unlike the psalmist who confessed God’s knowledge of him.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature; Ps 139:16 (Septuagint 138:16).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τἀς ἀτόμους → τὰς ἀτόμους.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.5 (Dindorf 2:323; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-5). (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.
14.24.6Dindorf 2:323
ὅταν δὲ καὶ ἅ φασιν ἐξ ἀτόμων ὑφάσματα γίνεσθαι τὰ εὐήτρια, ταῦθʼ ὑπʼ αὐτῶν ἀσόφως καὶ ἀναισθήτως αὐτουργεῖσθαι λέγωσι, τίς ἀνέξεται τὰς ἀτόμους ἀκούων ἐρίθους, ὧν καὶ ὁ ἀράχνης ἐστὶ σοφώτερος χειροτεχνῶν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ;
hotan de kai ha phasin ex atomōn hyphasmata ginesthai ta euētria, tauthʼ hypʼ autōn asophōs kai anaisthētōs autourgeisthai legōsi, tis anexetai tas atomous akouōn erithous, hōn kai ho arachnēs esti sophōteros cheirotechnōn ex heautou?
And when they say that the well-woven fabrics they claim come from atoms are worked by them without wisdom and without perception, who will bear hearing of atoms as weavers, when even the spider, working with its own hands from itself, is wiser than they?
Notes and citation
Summary: The atoms are less wise than a spider.
- Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature. The section numbering here passes from 14.24.6 to 14.25.7 in the staged text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (elision mark lost in the digital text): ὑπαὐτῶν → ὑπʼ αὐτῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Dionysius of Alexandria, On Nature (Dionysius of Alexandria (letters and fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 14.24.6 (Dindorf 2:323; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/14-19-1/#p-14-24-6). (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.