On Dreams 311–341
Greek text: Krabinger 1.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 311
311Krabinger 1:311
ΥΙ. ΠΕΡῚ ἘΝΥΠΝΙΏΝ). ΠΡΟΘΕΩΡΙΑῚ᾿). Αρχαῖον") οἶμαι καὶ λίαν Πλατωνικὸν ὑπὸ προσχή- γ30 “ιατι φαυλοτέρας ὑποθέσεως κρύπτειν τὰ ἐν φιλοσοφίᾳ σπουδαῖα, τοῦ μήτε τὰ μόλις εὑρεθέντα πάλιν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ἀπόλλυσθαι, μήτε μολύνεσθαι δήμοις βεβήλοις ἐκκείμενα ). Τοῦτο τοίνυν ἐδηλώθη μὲν ὅτι μάλιτα τῷ παρόντι συγγράμματι" εἰ δὲ καὶ τούτου τυγχάνει, καὶ τὰ ἀλλα) περιττῶς εἰς τὸν ἀρχαῖον τρόπον ἐξήσκηται, ἐπιγινοῖεν ἂν οἱ μετὰ φιλοσόφου ἢ φύσεωρ αὐτῷ δ) συνεσόμενοι.
UI. PERI ENYPNIŌN). PROThEŌRIAI᾿). Archaion") oimai kai lian Platōnikon hypo proschē- g30 “iati phauloteras hypotheseōs kryptein ta en philosophią spoudaia, tou mēte ta molis heurethenta palin ex anthrōpōn apollysthai, mēte molynesthai dēmois bebēlois ekkeimena ). Touto toinyn edēlōthē men hoti malita tǭ paronti syngrammati" ei de kai toutou tynchanei, kai ta alla) perittōs eis ton archaion tropon exēskētai, epiginoien an hoi meta philosophou ē physeōr autǭ d) synesomenoi.
On Dreams. Preface. It is an ancient practice, I think, and very Platonic, to hide the serious matters of philosophy under the pretext of a humbler subject, so that what was found with difficulty may not again be lost from among men, nor be defiled by being exposed to profane crowds. This has been shown above all in the present writing. If it attains this, and in other respects has been exquisitely worked in the ancient manner, those with a philosophic nature will come to keep company with it.
Notes and citation
Summary: Synesius's preface to On Dreams: like Plato, he hides serious philosophy under a humble subject.
- This page is the opening of On Dreams (Synesius's own preface), not part of the Dion; it is staged with the Dion only because the two works meet on this page.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 311 (Krabinger 1:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/311). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/311
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 312
312Krabinger 1:312
Εἰ δὲ εἰσιν ὕπνοι προφῆται Ἶ) καὶ τὰ ὄναρ θεάματα τοῖς; ἀνθρώποις; ὀρέγουσι τῶν ὕπαρ ἐσομένων αἰνίγματα, σοφοὶ μὲν ἂν εἶεν, σαφεῖς δὲ οὐκ ἂν εἶεν, ὃ σόφον αὐτῶν καὶ τὸ μὴ σαφές. Ἀρύψαντε; γὰρ ἔχουσι θεοὶ βίον ἀνθρώποισιν... ἐν "Ἁπόνως μὲν γε) τῶν μεγίτων τυγχάνειν θεῖόν ἔσιν ἀγα-᾿. θόν" ἀνθρώποις δὲ οὐκ ἄρα ἀρετῆς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πάντων καλῶν ἱδρῶτα θεοὶ προπάροιθεν") ἔθηκαν. ]αντεία δὲ ἀγαθῶν ἂν) εἴν τὸ μέγισον" τῷ μὲν γὰῤ εἰδέναι, καὶ ὅλως τῷ γνωεικῷ τῇς δυνάμεως θεός τε ἀνθρώπου καὶ ἄνθρωπο; διαφέρει θηρίου. ᾿Αλλὰ θεῷ μὲν εἰς τὸ γινώσκειν ἡ φύσις ἀρκεῖ" ἀπὸ δὲ μαντεία! Β ἀνθρώπῳ πολλαπλάσιον παραγίνεται) τοῦ τῇ κοινῇ Ιδφύσει προίήκοντοι. Ὁ γὰρ πολὺ, τὸ παρὸν μόνον οἶδε"), περὶ δὲ τοῦ μήπω γενομένου τοχάδεται" ἡ δὲ
Ei de eisin hypnoi prophētai I) kai ta onar theamata tois? anthrōpois? oregousi tōn hypar esomenōn ainigmata, sophoi men an eien, sapheis de ouk an eien, ho sophon autōn kai to mē saphes. Arypsante? gar echousi theoi bion anthrōpoisin... en "Haponōs men ge) tōn megitōn tynchanein theion esin aga-᾿. thon" anthrōpois de ouk ara aretēs monon, alla kai pantōn kalōn hidrōta theoi proparoithen") ethēkan. ]anteia de agathōn an) ein to megison" tǭ men gar eidenai, kai holōs tǭ gnōeikǭ tę̄s dynameōs theos te anthrōpou kai anthrōpo? diapherei thēriou. ᾿Alla theǭ men eis to ginōskein hē physis arkei" apo de manteia! B anthrōpǭ pollaplasion paraginetai) tou tę̄ koinę̄ Idphysei proiēkontoi. Ho gar poly, to paron monon oide"), peri de tou mēpō genomenou tochadetai" hē de
If sleeps are prophets, and the visions of dreams hold out to people riddles of what will happen in waking life, they would be wise but not clear — and their unclearness is their wisdom. "For the gods keep hidden the livelihood of men." To attain the greatest things without toil is a divine good; but for humans the gods have set sweat before not only virtue but every fine thing. Divination would be the greatest of goods. For by knowing, and in general by the cognitive part of its power, God differs from man and man from beast. For God his nature is enough for knowing; but from divination a human being gains many times more than belongs to our common nature. For the many know only the present and guess about what has not yet happened; but divination …
Notes and citation
Summary: Dreams, like all divination, speak in riddles; divination is a great good, giving humans knowledge beyond the present.
- Synesius, On Dreams, written ca. 404–405. Krabinger's pages begin and end mid-sentence; each page is translated as far as its Greek runs. The OCR is rough: obvious misreadings are translated by sense; only larger slips and leaked notes are corrected.
- "For the gods keep hidden the livelihood of men": Hesiod, Works and Days 42. The page ends mid-sentence and the next page does not continue it; a line is probably lost.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): ΠΟΙῸΣ ΠΕΡΙΕΝΥΠΝΙΩΝ] ή. οουϊδε μὲν γε δθυρετεοτίρῖδο ΣΥΝΕΣΙΟΥ ΠΕΡῚ ἘΝΥΠΝῚ- ευπὶ ἰα Νίου. Ἑ. ὯΝ Ἑὰά. Ῥατῖβε. περὶ ἐνυπνίων 65. προπάροιθε Βοῖδν. 1.2. θυπι- Οοὰ. Μου. Ο. εἰ Ἐά. ΑἸά., ᾳυδὸ μεῖς πίων, Νοεῖος Ἴςοἰερ ται κεἰδἂάϊε ὃ τινὲς Συνεσίου εἶναι φα- ταῦτα Ἀυπο νοσβυτα ἰΐθπὶ οχ Ηεσὶν (. Ὠόεεῖ ἢ. 1. ἰπεοτίριϊο χἰοὰ, Ο. εἰ Ὦ. 287. ἴη Οοὰ. Ῥατ. ἃ., ἴω αὰο νδουδ 6. ΡΒατι. ὧν οἵαν. Ραδγ. 46. Νίθωη. τοϊϊοῖα εεἰ ᾿ἰπεα, ἰΐετι ἰπ Ἀεμὰ, ΡῈ, εἰ ἸΜίοεγτ. ἰϊοτφας Αἰά.ς εἰ Νίοη. Ε.; ποᾷυο ἰπ θυΐθ ΠΡ τὶ ἰηϊον τοτς. βυρρίοϊ. ΝΜοα, Ο. δδτη νἰἀείυν τοροτίθ86 ΕἸείπως. ἴθ 7. τῷ, χυοά δρεοὶ ἃ Νίοη. Β.» Οοἀά. δυίετα Νῖοπ. οἱ Νίεογαι. Ἰνγίοη. Β. βυρετβογίριυτη ἨδΡεῖ. ὩΪ αἰεὶ ὁ λόγος ρτδοβρίϊυτ. 8. περιγίνεται οπ, ΒΕ. Νεοττ. 6.». ἵ. 1. Ἡ. ν. ἃ. τ᾿ τω. ἴω -'. 0. οἷδε μόνον Ἀεδά, ΒΔ,]]Ὸ ἴοσ νετευθ μαροῖ Νίοη. Β. Ῥοθὶ εἰς ῥτὸ εἷς Μίοπ. Ὁ. Ῥατι. ἄρα → .
Extrabiblical texts: Hesiod, Op. 42 (Hesiod, Works and Days; quotation); Hesiod, Op. 289 (Hesiod, Works and Days; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 312 (Krabinger 1:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/312). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/312
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 313
313Krabinger 1:313
Ἐάλχα; εἷς ἄρα ἐν ἐκκλησίᾳ τῶν Πανελλήνων μόνος ἠἡπίςατο τά τ᾽ ἐόντα, τά τ' ἱσσόμενα, πρό τ᾽ ἐόντα. αὶ ᾿᾽Ομύήρῳ δὲ ἄρα διὰ τοῦτο τῇς τοῦ Ζ1ιὸς γνώμῃς ᾿δὲέξῆπται τὰ τῶν θεῶν πράγματα, ὅτι. πρότερος γέγονε καὶ πλείονα οἷδεν,. αὐτῷ δήπου τῷ πρεσβύτερος εἶναι. Ἑαὶ γὰρ τὴν ἡλικίαν εἶς τοῦτο οἶμαι συντείνειν τοῖς ἔπεσιν, ὅτι συμ- ΓΟ. βαίνει διὰ τὸν χρόνον πλείω γινώσκειν, ἐπεὶ τὸ γινώσκειν ἦν ἄρα τὸ τιμιώτατον. Εἰ δὲ τις ὑφ᾽ ἑτέρων ἐπῶν ἀναπείθεται δ) τὴν ἡγεμονίαν τοῦ Ζ]ιὸς χειρῶν ἰσχὺν εἶναι λογίξεσθαι, ὅτι, φησὶ, ΄ βίῃ δ᾽ δὄγε᾿ φέρτερος ἦεν, οὗτος φορτικῶς ὠμίλησε τῇ ποιήσει, καὶ ἀνήκοός ἔξι τὴς 1δκατ᾽ αὐτὴν φιλοσοφία,, τοὺς θεοὺς οὐδὲν ἄλλο νοῦς λεγούση. Ταύτῃ τοι προϊπερονᾷ πάλιν τῷ κατ᾽ ἀλκὴν περιεῖναι τὸ καὶ γενεῇ πρότερος, τὸν “]ία
Ealcha? heis ara en ekklēsią tōn Panellēnōn monos hēēpisato ta t᾽ eonta, ta t' hissomena, pro t᾽ eonta. ai ᾿᾽Omyērǭ de ara dia touto tę̄s tou Z1ios gnōmę̄s ᾿deexēptai ta tōn theōn pragmata, hoti. proteros gegone kai pleiona hoiden,. autǭ dēpou tǭ presbyteros einai. Heai gar tēn hēlikian eis touto oimai synteinein tois epesin, hoti sym- GO. bainei dia ton chronon pleiō ginōskein, epei to ginōskein ēn ara to timiōtaton. Ei de tis hyph᾽ heterōn epōn anapeithetai d) tēn hēgemonian tou Z]ios cheirōn ischyn einai logixesthai, hoti, phēsi, ΄ bię̄ d᾽ doge᾿ pherteros ēen, houtos phortikōs ōmilēse tę̄ poiēsei, kai anēkoos exi tēs 1dkat᾽ autēn philosophia,, tous theous ouden allo nous legousē. Tautę̄ toi proïperoną palin tǭ kat᾽ alkēn perieinai to kai geneę̄ proteros, ton “]ia
Calchas alone, then, in the assembly of all the Greeks knew "the things that are, that will be, and that were before." And Homer makes the affairs of the gods depend on the judgment of Zeus for this reason, that he was born first and knows more, by the very fact of being older. For I think he directs the mention of age in the verses to this point, that with time one comes to know more, since knowing was the most honourable thing. If anyone is persuaded by other verses to think that Zeus's leadership is strength of hands, because he says "but in might he was stronger," he has dealt with the poetry vulgarly and has not heard its philosophy, which calls the gods nothing but minds. So the poet again puts "he was elder by birth" ahead of prevailing in strength, calling Zeus
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer honours Calchas for knowing past and future, and makes Zeus rule because he is eldest and knows most; the gods are minds.
- Iliad 1.70 (Calchas); Iliad 13.355 ("elder by birth"); Iliad 15.165–166 ("stronger in might").
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 1.70 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Homer, Il. 13.355 (Homer, Iliad; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 313 (Krabinger 1:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/313). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/313
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 314
314Krabinger 1:314
νοῦν λέγων ἀρχεγονώτερον" νοῦ δὲ ἰσχὺς τί ἀν ἀλ. λο 3") φρόνησις εἴης Ἑαὶ δετις οὖν θεὸς ὧν ἄρχειν Ὁ ἀξιοῦται θεῶν, νοῦς ὦν, σοφίας περιουσίᾳ κρατεῖ, ὥςτε καὶ τὸ '.5 βίῃ δ᾽ ὅγε φέρτερος εἰς ταὐτὸ ἡμῖν τῷ πλείονα οἷδεν ἀνακάμπτει καὶ περιΐσαται. «“Πιὰ τοῦτο καὶ ὁ σόφος οἰκεῖος θεῷ, ὅτι πέειρᾶται συνεγγὺς εἶναι τῇ γνώσει, καὶ πραγματεύεται περὶ νόησιν, ᾧ τὸ θεῖον οὐσίωται. Αὐται μὲν ἀποδείξεις ἔσων τοῦ μαντείαν ἐν τοῖς ἀρίτοις εἶναι τῶν ἐπιτητ δευομένων ἀνθρώποι;. τον Εἰ δὲ σημαίνει μὲν διὰ πάντων πάντα, ἅτε ἀδελ.-. φῶν ὄντων τῶν ἐν ἑνὶ δώῳ, τῷ κόσμῳ, καὶ ἔξει) ταῦ- τ τα γράμματα παντοδαπὰ, καθάπερ ἐν βιβλίῳ τοῖς οὖσι, τὸ τὰ μὲν Φοινίκεια, τὰ δὲ Αἰγύπτια καὶ ἄλλα ᾿Ασσύρια" « ἀναγινώσκει δὲ ὁ σοφός σοφὸς δὲ ὁ φύσει μαθών᾽ καὶ
noun legōn archegonōteron" nou de ischys ti an al. lo 3") phronēsis eiēs Heai detis oun theos hōn archein Ho axioutai theōn, nous ōn, sophias periousią kratei, hōste kai to '.5 bię̄ d᾽ hoge pherteros eis tauto hēmin tǭ pleiona hoiden anakamptei kai periïsatai. «“Pia touto kai ho sophos oikeios theǭ, hoti peeiratai synengys einai tę̄ gnōsei, kai pragmateuetai peri noēsin, hǭ to theion ousiōtai. Autai men apodeixeis esōn tou manteian en tois aritois einai tōn epitēt deuomenōn anthrōpoi?. ton Ei de sēmainei men dia pantōn panta, hate adel.-. phōn ontōn tōn en heni dōǭ, tǭ kosmǭ, kai exei) tau- t ta grammata pantodapa, kathaper en bibliǭ tois ousi, to ta men Phoinikeia, ta de Aigyptia kai alla ᾿Assyria" « anaginōskei de ho sophos sophos de ho physei mathōn᾽ kai
a mind more primordial; and what would the strength of mind be but wisdom? So whatever god is thought worthy to rule the gods, being mind, rules by abundance of wisdom; and so "in might he was stronger" comes round, for us, to the same thing as "he knows more." That is why the wise man is akin to God: he tries to come near him in knowledge and busies himself with intellection, in which the divine has its being. These, then, are proofs that divination is among the best pursuits of human beings. If all things signify through all things, as being brothers in one living being, the cosmos, and these are letters of every kind written in beings as in a book — some Phoenician, some Egyptian, others Assyrian — and the wise man reads them (and wise is the one who has learned from nature), and
Notes and citation
Summary: Zeus rules by superior wisdom; knowledge makes the wise akin to God; all things in the cosmos are signs written like letters in a book.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): 26: περινόγσιν Νοη. Ο. εἰ Βάς. ΟΕ., τὸ Ἰοοο σδθο ἴῃ Νίοωη. Β. Ἐ᾿ Μοτδα τοοχ 8644. καὶ γενεῇ πρὸ- τ ὉΜ ' Ρ Ἂ τερος θυταρία εχ 1]. ΧΥ͂. 166. οἱ 28. εαΐται (μ197 (Ὅάοα, ΚΞ. Ῥτὸ 185 χίτιθ μαντείαν οά. οπλῃ68 οἱ ΝΣ Ἑὰ, ΔΙὰ, ντείας ἙΔὰ. Ρατῖεε, → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 314 (Krabinger 1:314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/314). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/314
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-314) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 315
315Krabinger 1:315
ὅ μὲν κατὰ συλλαβὰς, ὁ δὲ ἀθρόαν τὴν λέξιν, ὁ δὲ τὸν λόγον ὁμοῦ" οὕτως; ὁρῶσι σοφοὶ τὸ μέλλον, οἱ μὲν ἄςρα εἰδότε, ἄλλος τὰ μένοντα, καὶ ἄλλος τὰ πυρσᾷ τὰ διάττοντα" οἱ δὲ ἐν σπλάγχνοις; αὐτὰ ἀναγνόντε" ἘΒ οἱ δὲ ἐν ὀρνίθων κλαγγαῖς καὶ ᾿καθέδραι; καὶ πτήσεσι" τοῖς δὲ καὶ τὰ καλούμενα σύμβολα τῶν ἐσομένων ἕεὶν ἀρίδηλα γράμματα, φωναὶ τε καὶ συγκύρσει; ἐπ᾿ ἄλλῳ γινόμεναι, σημαντικῶν ὄντων ἅπασι πάντων" ὥ,τ᾽ ὃ), εἰ σοφία παρ᾽ ὄρνισιν ἦν, τέχνην ἄν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων, ὥιπερ ἡμεῖς ἐξ αὐτῶν, ἐπὶ τὸ ἐσόμενον συνεεήσαντο, Ἑαὶ γὰρ ὑμεῖς ἐκείνοις, ὥφπερ ἡμῖν ἐκεῖνοί γε), πάννεοι, παὶ προπάλαιοι, καὶ πανδέξιοι.. Ἔδει γὰρ, οἶμαι, τοῦ παντὸς τούτου συμπαθοῦ; τε ὄντος καὶ σύμπνου ν᾽ τὰ μέρῃ προςήκειν ἀλλύλοι;, ἅτε
ho men kata syllabas, ho de athroan tēn lexin, ho de ton logon homou" houtōs? horōsi sophoi to mellon, hoi men asra eidote, allos ta menonta, kai allos ta pyrsą ta diattonta" hoi de en splanchnois? auta anagnonte" EB hoi de en ornithōn klangais kai ᾿kathedrai? kai ptēsesi" tois de kai ta kaloumena symbola tōn esomenōn heein aridēla grammata, phōnai te kai synkyrsei? ep᾿ allǭ ginomenai, sēmantikōn ontōn hapasi pantōn" hō,t᾽ ho), ei sophia par᾽ ornisin ēn, technēn an ex anthrōpōn, hōiper hēmeis ex autōn, epi to esomenon syneeēsanto, Heai gar hymeis ekeinois, hōphper hēmin ekeinoi ge), panneoi, pai propalaioi, kai pandexioi.. Edei gar, oimai, tou pantos toutou sympathou? te ontos kai sympnou n᾽ ta merę̄ prosēkein allyloi?, hate
one reads by syllables, another the whole word at once, another the whole sentence together — so the wise see the future: some by knowing the stars, one the fixed ones and another the fiery shooting ones; some by reading it in entrails; some in the cries and perchings and flights of birds; for others the so-called tokens of what is to come are plain letters, voices and chance meetings that happen with another purpose, since all things are significant for all. So if there were wisdom among birds, they would have formed an art of the future from human beings, as we have from them. For we are to them, as they to us, "very young, and very old, and all-auspicious." For it was necessary, I think, since this whole is in sympathy and breathes together, that its parts should belong to one another, as
Notes and citation
Summary: The wise read the future in stars, entrails, birds and chance tokens, for in a sympathetic cosmos everything signifies everything else.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): Βεβὶ]. Νίαρη. ῬΙοι[αῖς. ῬΡ. 11. Νίοη. ΒΕ. ΕΝ Ξαροτδονῖ- Θαίακετο Ὀϊεβετίαϊί, ἀὸ Ν. Ὑν ρίθην μδβθὶ δ᾽ αἱ. τῷ. Βεπά. οἱ εἰγῖο Ῥ. 906. (ἴπ οἰυθὰ, ΟΡ.) ἔπ ἐπ πιρ. Ῥαγ. Ὁ. ΡῬσο νυΐᾷ. νέοι" ταθηίοτα γεηΐ! τοσαῦτα ὄψει. Ποῖα οχ Οοἀὰ, Ρατ. Ε. Μοη. ΒΕ. οἵ " φοιμίκεια (ι ἃ 8. τὰ. οὁΧ ἐ οοττθοῖο) ΝΜ δοται. τοοθρὶ πάννιοι»ν ᾳυοὰ ἴα ΜΜοα. Ο. φοινίκια Ῥατ. ΑῈ. Μοη. τ0}1. ΝΜίοπαοο. δαροτδοτίρίστα 16- ΒΕ. Μεοται. Νοχ ἀσύρια Βεμὰ, Εἰΐυτ. πένεοι τοοπάοθο ὀχμίδοηὶ εἰ Ιου. Ε. Ῥασ. ΑΒΟ. σύννεοι οἱ ἰπ τηρ. νἐὸ; ρ. πάννεοι ὅ, μα ἃ τὰ, Ῥτ., 6. ἴῃ τωρ: εἰ δι. Ὦ. ἐπὴν ι ἀδι Βεδὰ. ἄλλα Ἀεμὰ. Ῥτοχίπιθ ἄλλον ( οδὲ ἰῃ δας - ῳ Ῥιὸ μᾶλλον Νίοπ. Ἐ. Βοΐη ΜΒ Ἰῖδοτ καὶ πρόλιοιν ἴω ἡ 4. {τὰ εἀϊιϊ 15τὶ δὲ εχ οπηδπά. ταβ. οχίοτίοτο προτέλαιοι, ἴα ἰπ- Νίου. Ο. συγκυρήσεις Ἀεμά. Οοπε. ἰοτίοτο δυΐοσα γρ. νέοι καὶ προ- Οιαππ. 2. Δυοῖατ. Τιοχίοοσα; πάλαιοι. Ῥοείτοσιατα νοοδθυϊυσῃ ὅτδοοο, Ῥ. 140. συγκρίσεις οι. 6χ οοττ. Πδθεῖ Νίοη. Ο. πρόλεοι, Β, οἐ Νίθοντ. ν. ἰΐοτα Ρᾶσ, ΑΒΏΕ, ἰπ πῆρ. πεδοὶ Ρασ. Α. πάλλαιοι ᾳυοτασι Ὦ. συγκύρσεις ἱπ τὴρ.; (εἶ Ῥατ. Β.., ἱπ οαἷτθ οτὰ ποσυγκρίσες (εἶο ἸΝίοη. Ε. Τύχη ἰδἰα]ορυπίαν πδοο: οἱ μύτε δεξιῶς, γινόμέναι ἘΔὰ. Ῥατῖε. θιθῖμι σῃ- μήτε ἀρισέρωι πῇ ἱσάμενοι, μῇ-.- μαντικοῖς αν. Β. τε κατὰ διάμετρον, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκπροι → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 315 (Krabinger 1:315; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/315). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/315
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 316
316Krabinger 1:316
ἑνὸρ ὅλου τὰ μέλῃ τυγχάνοντα. αὶ μή ποτε αἱ μά- ᾿ γῶν ἴυγγες αὗται" καὶ γὰρ θέλγεται παρ᾽ ἀλλήλων, ὥιπερ σημαίνεται" καὶ σοφὸς ὁ εἰδὼς, τὴν τῶν μερῶν τοῦ κόσμου συγγένειαν. Ἔλκει γὰρ ἄλλο δι᾽ ἄλλου, Ὁ ἔχων ὃ) ἐνέχυρα παρόντα τῶν πλεῖτον ἀπόντων, καὶ φωνὰς, καὶ ὕλας, καὶ σχήματα, ὥςπερ ἐν ἡμὶν σπλάγχνου παθόντος ἄλλο συμπέπονθθε, καὶ τὸ τοῦ δακτύλου κακὸν εἰς τὸν βουβῶνα ἀπερείδεται πολλῶν τῶν ὃ) μεταξὺ μὴ παθόντων" ἐνὸς γὰρ ἦν ἄμφω δώου, καὶ ἔειν Ὦ αὐτοῖς τι μᾶλλον ἑτέρων πρὸς ἄλληλα. Ἀαὶ δὴ καὶ θεῷ τινὶ τῶν εἴσω τοῦ κόσμου λίθο; ἐνθένδε καὶ βο τάνῃ προιήκει, οἷς ὁμοιοπαθῶν εἴκει τῇ φύσει καὶ γοητεύεται, ὥςπερ ὁ τὴν ὑπάτην ψύήλα; οὐ τὴν παρ᾽ αὖὐτὴν, τὴν ἱἰπόγδοον, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐπιτρίτην καὶ τὴν ) νή- 15τὴον ἐκίνησε. Τοῦτο μὲν ἤδη τῇς προγενεεέρας ) ἐεὶν ὁμονοίας" ἔστι γάρ τις, ὡς ἐν συγγενείᾳ, τοῖς μέρεσι καὶ διχόνοια" οὐ γαρ ἔστιν ὁ κόσμος τὸ ἀπλῶς ἕν, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐκ πολλῶν ἕν. Ἀαὶ ἔσιν ἐν αὐτῷ μέρῃ μέρεσι προιήγορα καὶ μαχόμενα, καὶ τῇ: τάσεως αὐτῶν͵ εἰς τὴν τοῦ παντὸς; ὁμόνοιαν συμφωνούσῃ:, ὥςπερ ἡ λύρα σύεημα
henor holou ta melę̄ tynchanonta. ai mē pote hai ma- ᾿ gōn iynges hautai" kai gar thelgetai par᾽ allēlōn, hōiper sēmainetai" kai sophos ho eidōs, tēn tōn merōn tou kosmou syngeneian. Elkei gar allo di᾽ allou, Ho echōn ho) enechyra paronta tōn pleiton apontōn, kai phōnas, kai hylas, kai schēmata, hōsper en hēmin splanchnou pathontos allo sympeponththe, kai to tou daktylou kakon eis ton boubōna apereidetai pollōn tōn ho) metaxy mē pathontōn" enos gar ēn amphō dōou, kai eein Ō autois ti mallon heterōn pros allēla. Aai dē kai theǭ tini tōn eisō tou kosmou litho? enthende kai bo tanę̄ proiēkei, hois homoiopathōn eikei tę̄ physei kai goēteuetai, hōsper ho tēn hypatēn psyēla? ou tēn par᾽ auytēn, tēn hiipogdoon, alla tēn epitritēn kai tēn ) nē- 15tēon ekinēse. Touto men ēdē tę̄s progeneeeras ) eein homonoias" esti gar tis, hōs en syngeneią, tois meresi kai dichonoia" ou gar estin ho kosmos to aplōs hen, alla to ek pollōn hen. Aai esin en autǭ merę̄ meresi proiēgora kai machomena, kai tę̄: taseōs autōn͵ eis tēn tou pantos? homonoian symphōnousę̄:, hōsper hē lyra syeēma
being limbs of one whole. And perhaps these are the charms of the magi; for things are charmed by one another just as they are signified by one another; and the wise man is the one who knows the kinship of the parts of the cosmos. He draws one thing through another, holding present pledges of things very far away — voices, materials and figures — just as in us, when one organ suffers, another suffers with it, and the pain in a finger settles in the groin while many parts between feel nothing; for both belonged to one living being, and they have something more toward each other than toward others. So to some god among those within the cosmos a stone from here and a herb belong, by which, sharing its passion, he yields to nature and is enchanted — as one who plucks the lowest string sets in motion not the string next to it, a ninth above, but the fourth and the highest. This already belongs to the more original concord; for among the parts, as in a family, there is also discord. The cosmos is not simply one, but one out of many; there are parts in it friendly to other parts and parts at war, and their strife agrees in the concord of the whole, as the lyre is a system
Notes and citation
Summary: Magic works through the sympathy of the cosmos's parts, like pain passing through the body or strings resonating; the world is a harmony of opposites.
- The passage describes pagan magical theory as Synesius's argument requires; it is translated as written.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 316 (Krabinger 1:316; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/316). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/316
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 317
317Krabinger 1:317
φθόγγων ἱεὶν ἀντιφώνων τε καὶ συμφώνων " τὸ δὲ ἐξ ἀντικειμένων ἕν ἁρμονία καὶ λύρας καὶ κόσμου. ᾿Αρχιμήδης μὲν οὖν ἢ) ὁ Σικελὸς ὕτει χωρίον ἔξω τῆς γῆ,. ὡς ἑαυτὸν ἀντιταλαντεύσων ὅλῃ τῇ γῆ ἐν θαύτῃῇ γὰρ ὧν, οὐκ ἔχειν ὃ ἔφη δύναμιν πρὸς αὐτήν". ὁ δὲ ὁτιοῦν περὶ τὴν φύσιν τοῦ κόσμου σοφὸς, ἔξω τεθεὶς, οὐκ ἄν ἔτ᾽ ἔχοι τῇ σοφίᾳ τι χρήσασθαι" αὐτῷ Β γὰρ ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν χρῆται. “]ιεσπασμένης οὖν τῇς συνεχείας μάτην ἂν ἴδοι, καὶ ἄψυχα ἄν κατασημαίνοιτο ὃ) σύηβολα. Ἑαὶ ὅσον γὰρ’ ἔξω τοῦ κόσμου θεῖόν ἔσιν,, ἅπαν ἱεὶν ἀγούτευτον δ)" ᾿ ὁ δ᾽ ἀφήμενο; οὐκ ἀλεγίδει, Οὐδ᾽ ὄθεται. Ἢ γὰρ νοῦ φύσις ἀμείλικτος" τὸ δὲ παθυτικόν ἕξι τὸ θελγόμενον. Τὸ μὲν δὴ πλάτος; ἵν τε μαντείαις καὶ
phthongōn hiein antiphōnōn te kai symphōnōn " to de ex antikeimenōn hen harmonia kai lyras kai kosmou. ᾿Archimēdēs men oun ē) ho Sikelos hytei chōrion exō tēs gē,. hōs heauton antitalanteusōn holę̄ tę̄ gē en thautę̄ę̄ gar hōn, ouk echein ho ephē dynamin pros autēn". ho de hotioun peri tēn physin tou kosmou sophos, exō tetheis, ouk an et᾽ echoi tę̄ sophią ti chrēsasthai" autǭ B gar ep᾽ auton chrētai. “]iespasmenēs oun tę̄s synecheias matēn an idoi, kai apsycha an katasēmainoito ho) syēbola. Heai hoson gar’ exō tou kosmou theion esin,, hapan hiein agouteuton d)" ᾿ ho d᾽ aphēmeno? ouk alegidei, Oud᾽ othetai. Ē gar nou physis ameiliktos" to de pathytikon hexi to thelgomenon. To men dē platos? hin te manteiais kai
of sounds both dissonant and consonant; and the one out of opposites is the harmony of both lyre and cosmos. Archimedes of Sicily asked for a place outside the earth so that he could balance himself against the whole earth; for being on it, he said, he had no power against it. But whoever is wise in anything concerning the nature of the cosmos, if he were set outside it, could no longer make any use of his wisdom; for he uses the cosmos against itself. Were its continuity torn apart, he would look in vain, and the tokens would signify lifelessly. And whatever is divine outside the cosmos is all beyond the reach of spells: "he sits apart and does not care nor heed." For the nature of mind is inexorable; it is what can be acted upon that is charmed. The scope in divinations and
Notes and citation
Summary: Divination and magic work only within the cosmos; the divine mind beyond it cannot be charmed.
- Archimedes' "give me a place to stand"; the quotation is Iliad 15.106–107 (of Zeus).
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 15.106-107 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 317 (Krabinger 1:317; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/317). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/317
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 318
318Krabinger 1:318
τελεταῖς ἡὶ τῶν ἐν κόσμῳ παρέχεται πληθὺς καὶ συγγέ- Ὁ νειὰ " διασάντων μὲν. ἡ πληθύ," ἑνὸς δὲ ὄντων συγγίνεια. Καὶ τελετὰς μὲν, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ ὁ λόγος κινείτω, νόμῳ πολιτείας πειθόμενος" μαντικὴν δὲ ἀνεμέσηὅτον ἀποδέξασθαι. Ἑαὶ δὴ τὸ ὅλον αὐτῇς ἐκ τῶν ἑνόντῶν ἐγκεκωμίαεαι. Τὸ δὲ νῦν ἔχον ἔει τὴν ἀρίτην ἀποτεμόμενον ἐἐμφιλοχωρῇσαι τῷ περὶ αὐτὴν σκέμματι, χαρακτῆρα 'κοινὸν ἐπὶ πάσαις ἔχοντα τὴν ἀσάφειαν, ὠϊ μηδεμιᾶς ἀξιοῦν ἔλεγχον εὖ εἶναι τὸ ἐν ὁλοκλήρῳ τῇ. φίσει. θεωρούμενον.᾽ Ὁ δὲ λόγος ἐδείκνυ καὶ τοῦτο σεμνὸν, Ὦ ὥιπερ ἐν τελεταῖς τὸ ἀπόῤῥητον. ᾿Οὕτως οὐδὲ τὰ χρυξήρια πᾶσι συνετὰ φθέγγεται, “καὶ “οξίας ἐκεῖθεν ὁ Πυθοὶῖ χρησμῳδος, ὅτι τὸ ξύλινον τεῖχος ") ὃ τοῖς ᾽49ηναίοις ὁ θεὸρ ἐδίδου σωτήριον, μάτην ἂν ἤκουσεν ἐκκλυσιάξων ὁ δῆμος, εἰ μὴ Θεμιςοκλῆ; ἀνέγνω τοῦ χρῃσμοῦ τὴν διάνοιαν. “Ὥςτε οὐδὲ ἐνταῦθά γε ἀπόβλῃ: τος ἡ διὰ τῶν ὕπνων ἂν εἴρ μαντεία, 'κοινὴν ἔχουσα πρός τε τὰ ἄλλα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς χρησμοὺς τὴν ἐπίκρυψιν. ᾿Επιθετέον δὲ μάλιτα μαθήδεων ταύτῃ ") ὅτι παρ "124 ἡμῶν αὔτῃ, καὶ ἔνδοθεν, καὶ ἰδίᾳ τῇς ἑκάτου ψυχῇ. ΝΝοῦ, μὲν γὰρ ἕχει τὰ εἴδη τῶν ὄντων, ἀρχαία φι.,
teletais hēi tōn en kosmǭ parechetai plēthys kai synge- Ho neia " diasantōn men. hē plēthy," henos de ontōn syngineia. Kai teletas men, alla mēde ho logos kineitō, nomǭ politeias peithomenos" mantikēn de anemesēoton apodexasthai. Heai dē to holon autę̄s ek tōn henontōn enkekōmiaeai. To de nyn echon eei tēn aritēn apotemomenon eemphilochōrę̄sai tǭ peri autēn skemmati, charaktēra 'koinon epi pasais echonta tēn asapheian, ōï mēdemias axioun elenchon eu einai to en holoklērǭ tę̄. phisei. theōroumenon.᾽ Ho de logos edeikny kai touto semnon, Ō hōiper en teletais to aporrhēton. ᾿Houtōs oude ta chryxēria pasi syneta phthengetai, “kai “oxias ekeithen ho Pythoii chrēsmǭdos, hoti to xylinon teichos ") ho tois ᾽49ēnaiois ho theor edidou sōtērion, matēn an ēkousen ekklysiaxōn ho dēmos, ei mē Themisoklē? anegnō tou chrę̄smou tēn dianoian. “Hōste oude entautha ge apoblę̄: tos hē dia tōn hypnōn an eir manteia, 'koinēn echousa pros te ta alla kai pros tous chrēsmous tēn epikrypsin. ᾿Epitheteon de malita mathēdeōn tautę̄ ") hoti par "124 hēmōn autę̄, kai endothen, kai idią tę̄s hekatou psychę̄. NNou, men gar hechei ta eidē tōn ontōn, archaia phi.,
rites is provided by the multitude and the kinship of things in the cosmos — the multitude of things set apart, the kinship of things that are one. Rites my discourse must not touch, obeying the law of the state; but it is blameless to accept divination, and its whole range has been praised from what lies to hand. For now it is right to set apart the best kind and linger over the inquiry into it — a kind which has unclearness as a character common to all, so that we need not refute any of them, since what is seen in nature as a whole is well. And the argument showed this too to be solemn, like the ineffable in rites. So the oracles do not speak intelligibly to everyone; and as for Loxias, the oracle-singer at Pytho, the people in their assembly would have heard in vain that the wooden wall the god gave the Athenians would save them, had not Themistocles read the meaning of the oracle. So not even on this ground would divination through sleep be rejected, since it shares its concealment with the others and with the oracles. Above all, one must add this to its teaching: that it comes from us, from within, and is peculiar to each one's soul. Mind holds the forms of the things that are, says the ancient philosophy;
Notes and citation
Summary: Synesius sets aside religious rites, as the law requires, and turns to dream divination, whose obscurity it shares with Apollo's oracles.
- The wooden-wall oracle and Themistocles: Herodotus, Histories 7.141–143. Synesius's reticence about rites reflects the imperial laws against pagan sacrifice.
Extrabiblical texts: Herodotus, Hist. 7.141-143 (Herodotus, Histories; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 318 (Krabinger 1:318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/318). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/318
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 319
319Krabinger 1:319
Ἀοσοφία φησί" προιθείημεν δ'. ἂν ἡμεῖς, ὅτι καὶ τῶν. γινομένων ψυχῇ, ἐπειδὴ λόγος ἐεὶ τῷ πρὸς ψυχῆν,: διτίς τῷ ὄντι πρὸς. τὸ γινόμενον: ᾿Εναλλαξ οὖν πρῶτον πρὸς τρίτον καὶ δεύτερον πρὸς τέταρτον" καὶ ἀνάπαλιν δ᾽ λαβόντες, οὐδὲν ἦττον ἂν ἀληθεύοιμεν. ὅροις ἐπισήμης ἑπόμενοι. Οὕτω, ἂν ἀποδεδειγμένον εἴη τὸ ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἀξιούμενον, ὅτι - τὰ εἴδη τῶν γινομένων “ἔχει ψυχήν Β. Ἔχει μὲν οὖν πάντα, προβάλλει δὲ τὰ προιἤκοντα καὶ ἐνοπτρίξει τὴν φαντασίαν, δι᾽ ὑε' τύν' ἀντίληψιν Ἰθτῶν ἐκεῖ μενόντων ἴσχει τὸ ἃῶον. “Ὥγπερ οὖν οὐδὲ τοῦ νοῦ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν. ἐπαῖομεν, πρὶν τῷ 'κοινῷ “τὴν ἐπιτατικὴν δύναμιν ἀπαγγεῖλαι; καὶ τὸ μὴ. εἰς ἐκείνην ἧκον λανθάνει τὸ. δῶον, οὕτως οὐδὲ τῶν ἕν τῇ. πρώτῇ ψΨύχῃῇ τὴν ἀντίληψιν ἴσχομεν, ᾿πρὶν εεἰς φαντασίαν ἥκειν αὐτῶν ἐκμάγιϊα, Καὶ ἔοικεν αὔτη ξωΐ τις εἶναι“) : μιπρὸν ὑποβᾶσα καὶ ἐν ἰδιότηὶ φύσεως 'φάσαν Αἰσθη-α τήριά γέ τοι πάρεστι κατ᾽. αὐτήν. 'Κἀὶ γὰρ χρώματὰ ὁρῶμεν, καὶ ψόφων ἀκούομεν, καὶ ἀφῇς πληκτικω-
Aosophia phēsi" proitheiēmen d'. an hēmeis, hoti kai tōn. ginomenōn psychę̄, epeidē logos eei tǭ pros psychēn,: ditis tǭ onti pros. to ginomenon: ᾿Enallax oun prōton pros triton kai deuteron pros tetarton" kai anapalin d᾽ labontes, ouden ētton an alētheuoimen. horois episēmēs hepomenoi. Houtō, an apodedeigmenon eiē to hyph᾽ hēmōn axioumenon, hoti - ta eidē tōn ginomenōn “echei psychēn B. Echei men oun panta, proballei de ta proiēkonta kai enoptrixei tēn phantasian, di᾽ hye' tyn' antilēpsin Ithtōn ekei menontōn ischei to haōon. “Hōgper oun oude tou nou tōn energeiōn. epaiomen, prin tǭ 'koinǭ “tēn epitatikēn dynamin apangeilai? kai to mē. eis ekeinēn hēkon lanthanei to. dōon, houtōs oude tōn hen tę̄. prōtę̄ psPsychę̄ę̄ tēn antilēpsin ischomen, ᾿prin eeis phantasian hēkein autōn ekmagiïa, Kai eoiken autē xōï tis einai“) : mipron hypobasa kai en idiotēi physeōs 'phasan Aisthē-a tēria ge toi paresti kat᾽. autēn. 'Kai gar chrōmata horōmen, kai psophōn akouomen, kai aphę̄s plēktikō-
and we would add that soul holds the forms of the things that come to be, since what mind is to soul, that being is to becoming. Alternately, then, first to third and second to fourth; and taking it inversely we would be no less right, following the rules of science. So what we maintain would be proved: that the soul holds the forms of the things that come to be. It holds them all, then, but projects those that are fitting and mirrors them on the imagination, through which the living being perceives things that remain within. Just as we do not perceive the activities of mind before the attentive power reports them to the common sense, and whatever does not reach it escapes the living being, so neither do we perceive what is in the primary soul before its impressions reach the imagination. And this imagination seems to be a kind of life that has stepped down a little and come into a nature of its own. Sense-organs at least are present in it: we see colours and hear sounds and have the most striking perceptions by touch,
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul contains the forms of all that comes to be and projects some onto the imagination, which has its own inner senses.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): Βίτατ Ρατγανοπίά 68, Ρ. 152... γ4, Νδοσιω. Ὑοτθδ᾽ βεη6. λαβόντες, ὙΡγιϊεπδαοῖι. δὰ Ῥιιδεά. Ρ, 270. οὐδὲν ἧττον ὧν ἀεεαπι᾿ ἰη᾽ ΕΔ, Ογειχ. δὰ Ῥ]οιΐπ. Ρ. 60. ἃ. εἰ Αἰὰ. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 319 (Krabinger 1:319; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/319). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/319
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 320
320Krabinger 1:320
τάτην ἀντίληψιν ἴσχομεν, ἀνενεῤγήτων ὄντων τῶν ὀργανικῶν μορίων τοῦ σώματο. αὶ μή ποτε ἱερώτερον τοῦτο γένος αἰσθήσεων. Ἠατ᾽ αὐτό γέ τοι) καὶ θεοῖς τὰ πολλὰ συγγιψόμεθα καὶ νουτεθοῦσι καὶ χρῶσι καὶ τἄλλα προμηθουμένοι. “Ὥςτε εἰ μέν τῳ γέγονε θησαυρὸς ὕπνου δῶρον, οὐκ ἐν θαυματοῖ; ἄγω "ἢ οὐδ᾽ εἴ τις καταδαρθὼν ἄμουσο;:, ἔπειτα ἐντυχὼν ὄναρ χαῖ, ἩΙούσαιξ, καὶ τὰ μὲν εἰπὼν, τὰ δὲ ἀκούσας, ποιῃτής ἔτι δεξιὸς, ὥιπερ ὁ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνος ἦνεγ- 1θκεν, οὐδὲ τοῦτο τῶν λίαν ἱεὶ παραδόξων. ᾿Εῶ δ᾽ ἔγωγε καὶ ἐπιβουλὰς καταμηνυθείσας, καὶ ὅσοις ὕπνος ἰατρὸς ἐξάντῃ τὴν νόσον ἐποίησεν. ᾿Α4λλ᾽ ὅταν εἰς τὰς τελεωτάτας τῶν ὄντων ἐποψίας ὁδὸν ἀνοίξῃ τῷ Ψυχῦ τῦ μὴ ὁρεχθεῖΐσῃ ποτὲ, μηδὲ εἰς νοῦν βαλομένῃ 15τὴν ἄνοδον, τοῦτο ἂν εἴη τὸ ἐν τοῖς οὖσι κορυφαιότατον, φύσεως ὑπερκῦψαι καὶ συνάψαι τῷ νοητῷ τὸν ἐς τοσοῦτο πεπλανημένον, ὧς μὴ ὅθεν ἦλθεν εἰδέναι.
tatēn antilēpsin ischomen, anenergētōn ontōn tōn organikōn moriōn tou sōmato. ai mē pote hierōteron touto genos aisthēseōn. Ēat᾽ auto ge toi) kai theois ta polla syngipsometha kai noutethousi kai chrōsi kai talla promēthoumenoi. “Hōste ei men tǭ gegone thēsauros hypnou dōron, ouk en thaumatoi? agō "ē oud᾽ ei tis katadarthōn amouso?:, epeita entychōn onar chai, HēIousaix, kai ta men eipōn, ta de akousas, poię̄tēs eti dexios, hōiper ho kath᾽ hēmas chronos ēneg- 1thken, oude touto tōn lian hiei paradoxōn. ᾿Eō d᾽ egōge kai epiboulas katamēnytheisas, kai hosois hypnos iatros exantę̄ tēn noson epoiēsen. ᾿A4ll᾽ hotan eis tas teleōtatas tōn ontōn epopsias hodon anoixę̄ tǭ Psychy ty mē horechtheiïsę̄ pote, mēde eis noun balomenę̄ 15tēn anodon, touto an eiē to en tois ousi koryphaiotaton, physeōs hyperkypsai kai synapsai tǭ noētǭ ton es tosouto peplanēmenon, hōs mē hothen ēlthen eidenai.
while the organic parts of the body are inactive. And perhaps this kind of sensation is more sacred. Through it, at any rate, we often meet with gods, who advise us, give us oracles, and take thought for us in other ways. So if someone has received a treasure as a gift of sleep, I do not count it among marvels; nor if a man fell asleep unmusical and then, meeting the Muses in a dream, speaking and hearing, became a skilled poet, as has happened in our time — not even this is very strange. I pass over plots revealed, and those whom sleep, as physician, has rid of disease. But when it opens a road to the most perfect visions of beings for a soul that never longed for the ascent nor even thought of it, this would be the supreme thing among beings: to rise above nature and to join to the intelligible one who has wandered so far as not to know where he came from.
Notes and citation
Summary: Through dream-imagination people meet the gods, find treasures, become poets, are healed, and may even rise to the highest vision.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 320 (Krabinger 1:320; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/320). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/320
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 321
321Krabinger 1:321
Εἰ δὲ τις μέγα μὲν οἴεται τὴν ἀναγωγὴν }), φαντασίᾳ δὲ ἀπιτεῖ, μή τοι καὶ κατ᾽ αὐτήν ποτε πορισθῆναι τὴν εὐδαΐιονα συναφὴν, ἀκουσάτω τῶν ἱερῶν.λογίων, ἃ λέγει περὶ διαφόρων ὁδῶν. Μετὰ δὴ) τὸν Ἔ ὅλον κατάλογον τῶν οἴκοθεν εἰς ἀναγωγὴν ἀφορμῶν, παθ᾽ ὃν ἔξεςι τὸ ἔνδοθεν σπέρμα αὐξῆσαι" Τοὶς δὲ (φησὶ) διδακτὸν ἔδωκε φάου; γνώρισμα Β λαβέσθαι" Τοὺς δὲ καὶ ὑπνώοντας ἐδε ἐνεκάρπισιν ἀλκῇ. 10΄Ορᾳς ὅ), ἀντιδιέξειλεν εὐμοιρίαν μαθήσεων" ὁ μὲν ὕπαρ, φησὶν, ὁ δὲ ὄναρ διδάσκεται. ᾿4λλ᾽ ὕπαρ μὲν ἄνθρωπύς ἐσιν ὁ διδάσκων τὸν ὑπνώοντάδ) δὲ θεὸς ἐξῆν; ἕνε-
Ei de tis mega men oietai tēn anagōgēn }), phantasią de apitei, mē toi kai kat᾽ autēn pote poristhēnai tēn eudaïiona synaphēn, akousatō tōn hierōn.logiōn, ha legei peri diaphorōn hodōn. Meta dē) ton E holon katalogon tōn oikothen eis anagōgēn aphormōn, path᾽ hon exesi to endothen sperma auxēsai" Tois de (phēsi) didakton edōke phaou? gnōrisma B labesthai" Tous de kai hypnōontas ede enekarpisin alkę̄. 10΄Orąs ho), antidiexeilen eumoirian mathēseōn" ho men hypar, phēsin, ho de onar didasketai. ᾿4ll᾽ hypar men anthrōpys esin ho didaskōn ton hypnōontad) de theos exēn? hene-
If anyone thinks the ascent a great thing but distrusts the imagination, doubting that the blessed union could ever be obtained through it, let him hear the sacred oracles, what they say about different roads. After the whole list of resources from within for the ascent, by which one can increase the seed within, it says: "To some he gave to grasp the token of light by teaching; others, even while sleeping, he enriched with his strength." You see how it has distinguished two kinds of good fortune in learning: one man, it says, is taught awake, another in a dream. But awake, it is a man who teaches; the sleeper God
Notes and citation
Summary: The Chaldaean Oracles confirm that some receive divine light by teaching and others in sleep.
- The "sacred oracles" are the Chaldaean Oracles (fr. 118 des Places). There is no extrabiblical id for them yet; proposed in the report.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): -Οα». Υἱ. 1. τὰ ρτο ἀγωγὴν τὸ δάφθο τηυῖα8. εἰ οοη ἔιι848᾽, Ῥαν. Ὁ. εἰ Βεμά., εἰ πῆοχ τί ρσο υἱεηϊοηοτα τηοτγίτο ἀΐοοθτθ Ῥοβοὶθ τοι Ροβίοτίου Ἰίβεν, γεῦθα τοὶ καὶ νοϊθγαπὶ βοτὶ ριΐϊθ οοπθαΐατα, φυ κατ᾽ ἃ 8. τῇ. ἴῃ τῶθ. ἤδθεῖ Μοη. δοΐπι ἰ116 οατηΐηδ τοξετῖ, ρδτιΐπὶ Β. Ρασγι. καὶ δθεβὶ δίοη. Ο. πιυΐϊζατο ἀϊθεί πὶ Ἰΐα δυιαϊ,, ρδτιΐτι Ὠεῖη ρῖοὸ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν κοτίδίίας ἰπ Ὠίθεθ ὕοπ τοροτίαίυτι" (ὁ. ὁ ταύτην ἴῃ Ῥάτ. ΑΟῈ: εἰ Μου, ἴεταπι νἱά. 10. (αγοί. ΤᾺ ΪΪο Οοτα- Ε. Ῥδυ]ϊο ροβὶ λόγων Ρτο λογίων πιοηϊὰϊ. ἀθ σᾶε}0 δπιρυτθο, Βατσὶ. (τι Μοη. ΒΟ. ε οογζ, 5. πι,} Ρασ. ἴἱ. Ρ. 24. οττυρίο ἐνεγάφπισεν ἀλὴ ΄ εἰ κῦῇ Εἀὰ, ΑΙα. Β. Μου. Ε. Βομά.. Τα λέγου- 5. ὕετθα ὄρφι --- -- ἐνεκάρπισι (εἰ ἃ Φ. τὶ. βαρθίβοτ) ροβίετίος σὲν ἀλκῆς, υἱροίθ ἴα οοαίεχια "θὲς, λέγουσι Ῥαῶτ. Β, νος. ὁδῶν οπιίδ8α, ἴῃ π|ρ. 8ἃ 8. τΏ. Παθεῖ δηδίυι εχ εἰδῶν ἴθ Ποιά, Βεμὰ, Ῥορι ὁρᾷς ἱπιοτσορδηάὶ εἷρπο ἀϊειϊη ρυΐτατ ίη Ρᾶτ, ΑΒΟΕΕ. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 321 (Krabinger 1:321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/321). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/321
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-321) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 322
322Krabinger 1:322
κάρπισεν ἀλκῆς, ὡς ταὐτὸν εἶναι τὸ μανθάνειν τε καὶ τυγχάνειν᾽ τὸ γὰρ ἐγκαρπίσαι καὶ πλίον ἐξὶ τοῦ διδάξαι. ᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἡμὶν παρειλήφθω παρακατικὸν τῇς αξίας τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἐν φαντασίᾳ ξωὴν ἀ) δπρὸ; τοὺς ἀπογινώσκοντα; αὐτῇ, καὶ τὰ ἑλάττω, ὡς οὐδὲν θαῦμα οὕτω γινώσκειν ὑπὸ περιττῆς σοφίας προιτε- Ο τηκότα; τοὶς ὑπὸ τῶν λογίων 10. ἀποκηρύκτοι. Φησὶ "") γάρ" Οὐ θυσιῶν σπλάγχνων τ᾽ ὄθομαι τάδ᾽ ἀθύρματα πᾶντα, καὶ φεύγειν αὐτὰ παρακελεύεται.). Οἱ δὲ, ἄτε. ὄντες ὑπὲρ τὸ πλῆθος, τεχναὰς μὲν ἐπὶ τὸ ἐσόμενον ἄλλος ἄλλας ἀπολαβόντες, ἀξιοῦσιν ἐργάξεσθαι' ὀνείρων δὲ ὑπερορῶσιν, ὠς; προὔΐπτου πράγματος, οὐ μέτεςιν ὁμοτίμως ἀμαθεῖ τε καὶ σοφῷ. Τὶ αὖν, εἰ ταύτῃ σοφὸς, ὅτι τοῦ κοινοῦ πλέον τυγχάνει. Τοι γάρ τοι
karpisen alkēs, hōs tauton einai to manthanein te kai tynchanein᾽ to gar enkarpisai kai plion exi tou didaxai. ᾿Alla touto men hēmin pareilēphthō parakatikon tę̄s axias tēs kata tēn en phantasią xōēn a) dpro? tous apoginōskonta? autę̄, kai ta helattō, hōs ouden thauma houtō ginōskein hypo perittēs sophias proite- O tēkota? tois hypo tōn logiōn 10. apokēryktoi. Phēsi "") gar" Ou thysiōn splanchnōn t᾽ othomai tad᾽ athyrmata panta, kai pheugein auta parakeleuetai.). Hoi de, ate. ontes hyper to plēthos, technaas men epi to esomenon allos allas apolabontes, axiousin ergaxesthai' oneirōn de hyperorōsin, ōs? prouïptou pragmatos, ou metesin homotimōs amathei te kai sophǭ. Ti aun, ei tautę̄ sophos, hoti tou koinou pleon tynchanei. Toi gar toi
enriched with his strength, so that learning and attaining are the same; for "to enrich" is more than to teach. Let this be taken by us as a testimony to the worth of the life in imagination, against those who despair of it, and against those who, from an excess of wisdom, think it no wonder to know lesser things in this way, having become experts in what the oracles renounce. For it says: "I care nothing for these playthings of sacrifices and entrails," and bids us flee them. But these men, as being above the multitude, each take up different arts for foreseeing the future and think fit to practise them, while they despise dreams as a commonplace thing, in which the ignorant and the wise share equally. What, then, if one is wise in this, that he gets more than the common? For
Notes and citation
Summary: The oracle shows dream-learning is real attainment; the learned who scorn dreams as too common prefer arts the oracles reject.
- Chaldaean Oracles, fr. 107 des Places ("playthings of sacrifices and entrails").
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): Ὦ Ρατίθβ. εχῃί οι οω. Ὠ., Οοάὰ. ἰεγνεγ. ποϊδίο) ο. Εὰ Αἰά. Οοἀὰ Ρατ. ΒΌ0Ε. δίοη. Α. εἰ Εἀ. ΑἸά. δε. ΑΒΟΕΕ. οἵ ΔΊου δος. οαλ 68. τεοορὶ ἐδεν οὐἴτις ἰοσο ἴτ τὰ]. 10. λογίων οχ ἐπι. μδροὶ Μοι. Ρατγῖθε. ΝΜ οηδιο. Βομὰ. εἰ Μέοταν. Β. λόγων Μοη. Ε. “οτἰδίιαυς ἐφε. Τυπὶ αἀνεκάρπιδεν.. 11, φασὶ [λεἰνὰ, Νίου. Ἑ. ἐνεκάρπῃσὲν Βεϊνά, εἰ 12. τέτομαι Νίδοτιη. τὲ τομαὶ "εῖαν. 21. ἐγεκάρπιδεν ΑΙὰ, Ρτοχίπιαο ᾶγ, ΑΒΟΙ). εἰ ΜΙου. Π.», ἰτοπε ᾧ μὴ ταυτόν γρ. ὧι μὴ ταυτὸν Ῥεεῖϊ. δρ. Οα!!δειπι. Ρ. 94. “εἰ ὠςτ᾽ αὐτὸν Πεϊιάὰ. ὡς ταυτὸν οπ. καΙὰ Βά. τὶ τομαὶ τοῖ!. Μ«. δα Ο. ὡς ταυτὸν Μοπ, ΑΟΌΕ. ο, τὰ δ᾽ Ραγ. ΒΟ). ο. Ἀοϊνά. ταδ᾽ Ἰίδοταν, Εἰ ἴα ἐοῖτ εχ ὥςτ᾽ αὐ γοη.. Οοηΐ, Ποδεολ, ΔΒίδορΒ. τὸν ἰὰ Νίοη. Β. γρ. ὡς μὴ ταὐτὸν Τ' 11, Ρ. 1τ00ζ. Μοχ αὐτῷ ρεὸ τὴ. Μοη, Α. Ἰ)εϊπὰο τῷ μανθά- αὐτὰ Ρατ. Β. δ Σς νειν Ῥατ, Β. 12. παρακελεύονται Ἀεἢά. διδάξαι 44. ἄλλοι ρτο ἄλλος Ῥασ. Β. εἰ → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 322 (Krabinger 1:322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/322). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/322
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-322) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 323
323Krabinger 1:323
καὶ τὰ ἄλλα ἀγαθὰ, καὶ τούτων γε μάλλον τὰ μέγιτα κοινότατα πρόκεινται" ἡλίου γὰρ οὔτε θεσπεσιτερον ἐν τοῖς ὁρωμένοις οὐδὲν, οὔτε δημοσιώτερον. ΕΠ δὲ τὸ αὐτοπτῆσαι θεὸν χρῆμα εὔδαιμον, τὸ διὰ ὅ φαντασίας ἐλεῖν πρεσβυτέρας αὐτοψίας ἐείν. Αϊσθησις γὰρ αἰσθήσεων αὔτη, ὅτι τὸ φανταεικὸν πνεύμια ποινότατόν ἐςιν αἰσθητήριον καὶ σῶμα πρῶτον ψυχόν ας ᾿Αλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἐνδομυχεὶ καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔχει τοῦ ξώου, ἣν καθάπερ ἐξ ἀκροπόλεως " περὶ γὰρ αὐτὸ πᾶσαν τὴν τῇς κεφαλῆς πραγματείαν ἡ φύσις ὠκοδομήσατο. ᾿Ακοὴ δὲ καὶ ὄψις οὐκ εἰσὶν αἰσθύσεις, ἀλλ' αἰσθήσεως; ὄργανα τῇς κοινῆς ὑπηρέτιδες, οἷον πυλωροὶ τοῦ ἔώου, διαγγέλλουσαι τῇ δεσποίνῃ τὰ θύραθεν αἰσθητὰ, ὑφ᾽ ὧν “θυροκοπεῖται τὰ ἔξωθεν αἰσθητήρια, αὶ ἡ μὲν ἅπασι τοῖς μέρεσιν αὐτῇς αἴσθησίς, ἰσιν ἐντελύγ" ὅλῳ τε γὰρ ἀκούει τῷ πιεύματι καὶ ὅλῳ βλέπει, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ πάντα δύναται" διανέμει δὲ τὰς δυνάμεις, ἄλληνΒ κατ᾽ ἄλλο, καὶ προὔκυψαν ἐκ τοῦ δώου χωρὶς; ἑκά: τη, καί εἰσιν οἷον εὐθεῖαί τινες ἐκ κέντρου ῥυεῖσαι
kai ta alla agatha, kai toutōn ge mallon ta megita koinotata prokeintai" hēliou gar oute thespesiteron en tois horōmenois ouden, oute dēmosiōteron. EP de to autoptēsai theon chrēma eudaimon, to dia ho phantasias elein presbyteras autopsias eein. Aïsthēsis gar aisthēseōn autē, hoti to phantaeikon pneumia poinotaton esin aisthētērion kai sōma prōton psychon as ᾿Alla to men endomychei kai tēn archēn echei tou xōou, hēn kathaper ex akropoleōs " peri gar auto pasan tēn tę̄s kephalēs pragmateian hē physis ōkodomēsato. ᾿Akoē de kai opsis ouk eisin aisthyseis, all' aisthēseōs? organa tę̄s koinēs hypēretides, hoion pylōroi tou eōou, diangellousai tę̄ despoinę̄ ta thyrathen aisthēta, hyph᾽ hōn “thyrokopeitai ta exōthen aisthētēria, ai hē men hapasi tois meresin autę̄s aisthēsis, isin entelyg" holǭ te gar akouei tǭ pieumati kai holǭ blepei, kai ta loipa panta dynatai" dianemei de tas dynameis, allēnB kat᾽ allo, kai proukypsan ek tou dōou chōris? heka: tē, kai eisin hoion eutheiai tines ek kentrou rhyeisai
the other goods too, and the greatest of them most of all, lie open to all in common: of things seen nothing is more divine than the sun, and nothing more public. If to see God face to face is a blessed thing, to grasp him through imagination belongs to a higher kind of seeing. For this is the sense of the senses, since the imaginative spirit is the most common sense-organ and the soul's first body. It dwells in the inmost part and holds the rule of the living being as from an acropolis; for around it nature built the whole structure of the head. Hearing and sight are not senses but organs of sense, servants of the common sense, like doorkeepers of the living being, reporting to their mistress the sensible things outside, by which the outer sense-organs are knocked upon. But it is a complete sense in all its parts: it hears with the whole spirit and sees with the whole, and can do all the rest; yet it distributes its powers, one here and another there, and they peep out of the living being each separately, like straight lines flowing out from a centre
Notes and citation
Summary: The greatest goods, like the sun, are common to all; the imaginative spirit is the soul's first body and the true sense behind all the senses.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): σοφὸς ἴη Βεμά. ἐχρυηείαπι καὶ, ΠῚ.ν. 1. οἶἰδα9 ροθὲ κοινῆς ἴπ86ᾳυσά δρηοβουπηὶ Ράτ. ΛΒΟ. Ὠεῖπ ταῖϊ ργοβδηῖὶθ εἰΐατν δελαείετο ἴα τυγχάνοι ου. Β. εἰ Νίφεται. Ατὶδιό ἢ. ΡΊαϊ, εὰ, Ποπιβιογῆαθ. 1.6. μάλιτα Πενὰ. θιδιΐτν, κοι- [,1ρ6. ἰϊεταῖ, Ρ. 521., πο αἰϊὰ5 11νότατος Μοη. Ε. Πεΐποερε ρτὸ θτογιιπὰ τῆθηυ δοτὶρίοτι τη, 4π0νυ]ρ. πρόκειται ἰυ θοπιθυ5 Μ9ς95. τσὶ ἰθοϊΐοηεβ νᾶῖτ. ρΡ6ηεθ τῦθ οπγοΐθυ» εἰ Εὰ. ΑΙά. ἀεὰϊ πρό- ειπὶ, πεῆὰθ εὐϊιοτατα σοπΒτπιδί. κεινται. Ὧς 4πὸ υδὰ δρινὰ τούεη- Ρτὸ ὑπηρετέδες, φυοά ρεΐπηο Βᾶαἰονΐβ δοῖδίϊβ βετί ρίοτος ἢδυὰ εἶπ- Βεδαὶ Βεμὰ., 8ε0. τὰ. ἴῃ δοάετη δοϊίτο νῖά: δὰ λων πο: Ρ- 314. στο τεοῖο επλεπάἀανὶϊ ὑπρηρέτιδες. ποῖ. 532. ᾿ ᾿" Υἱὰ, δε)αεξετ. 1. ο. Τα πυλωροῦ 17: διὰ φαντασίαν Ῥείαν. 1:2. αν. Β. Ιαΐγα θυροσκοπεῖται Οοἀ. Ὕυπε εὐαύτοψίας {ε Μοη. Ἑ. Ρατ. Ε. εἰ Εἀ. ΑἸά. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 323 (Krabinger 1:323; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/323). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/323
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-323) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 324
324Krabinger 1:324
καὶ εἰς τὸ κέντρον συννεύουσαι, "αἰα μὲν πᾶσαι κατὰ τὴν κοινὴν ῥίδαν, πολλαὶ δὲ κατὰ τὴν πρόοδον. Ζωωδετάτη μὲν οὖν ἡ διά τῶν προβεβλημένων ὀργάνων αἴσθησις, οὐδὲ αἴσθησις οὖσα, πρὶν ἐπὶ τὴν ὅ πρώτην φθασῃ" ᾿ θειοτέρα δὲ καὶ ψυχῇ ) προξεχὴς ἡ ἄμεσος; αἴσθῃησι:. Εἰ δὲ τὰρ σωματικὰς αἰσθήσεις διὰ τὸ γινώσπειν τιμῶντες, ὅτι μάλιςα ἴσμεν ἃ τεθεάμεθα }), φαντασίαν. ἀποσκορακίδοιμεν, ὡς ἀπιεςοτέραν αἰσθήσεως, ἐοίκαμεν ἐπιλαθομένοι;, ὅτι μηδὲ ὀφθαλμὸς ἅπαντα ἀληθὴ δεί-Ο κνυσιν᾽ ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν Ὦ οὐδὲ δείκνυσιν" ὁ δὲ ψεύδεται, καὶ παρὰ τὴν φύσιν τῶν ὁρωμένῶν, καὶ δι᾿ ὧν ὁρᾶται" ταῖς γὰρ ἀποτάσεσιν' ἐλάττω καὶ μείξω ταῦτα" καὶ τὰ καθ᾽ ὕδατος μείξω, ἡ δὲ κώπῃ κεκλασμένῃ προπίπτει" καὶ παρὰ τὴν ἀδυναμιίαν τὴν αὐτοῦ αὐτὸ τὸ ὄμμα: λημὼν᾽ γὰρ συγκεχυμένα καὶ ἀδιάκριτα δείκνυσι. Ἀαὶ ὅδιτις οὖν τὸ φανταεικὸν πνεῦμα νοσεῖ, μὴ ἀπαιτείτω σαφῇ,, μηδὲ εὐκρινῇ ) τὰ θεάματα"
kai eis to kentron synneuousai, "aia men pasai kata tēn koinēn rhidan, pollai de kata tēn proodon. Zōōdetatē men oun hē dia tōn probeblēmenōn organōn aisthēsis, oude aisthēsis ousa, prin epi tēn ho prōtēn phthasę̄" ᾿ theiotera de kai psychę̄ ) proxechēs hē amesos? aisthę̄ēsi:. Ei de tar sōmatikas aisthēseis dia to ginōspein timōntes, hoti malisa ismen ha tetheametha }), phantasian. aposkorakidoimen, hōs apiesoteran aisthēseōs, eoikamen epilathomenoi?, hoti mēde ophthalmos hapanta alēthē dei-O knysin᾽ all᾽ ho men Ō oude deiknysin" ho de pseudetai, kai para tēn physin tōn horōmenōn, kai di᾿ hōn horatai" tais gar apotasesin' elattō kai meixō tauta" kai ta kath᾽ hydatos meixō, hē de kōpę̄ keklasmenę̄ propiptei" kai para tēn adynamiian tēn autou auto to omma: lēmōn᾽ gar synkechymena kai adiakrita deiknysi. Aai hoditis oun to phantaeikon pneuma nosei, mē apaiteitō saphę̄,, mēde eukrinę̄ ) ta theamata"
and converging on the centre: all one at their common root, many in their going forth. The most animal kind of sensation, then, is that through the outward organs, which is not even sensation until it reaches the first; more divine and nearer to the soul is immediate sensation. If, honouring the bodily senses for the sake of knowing, since we know best what we have seen, we were to send imagination packing as less trustworthy than sense, we would seem to have forgotten that not even the eye shows everything truly: some things it does not show, and others it falsifies, both through the nature of the things seen and through the medium by which they are seen — distance makes them smaller or larger, things under water look larger, the oar appears broken — and through the eye's own weakness, for when it is rheumy it shows things confused and indistinct. So whoever has a sick imaginative spirit, let him not demand clear and distinct visions;
Notes and citation
Summary: Inner sense is more divine than the outward organs, and the eye too deceives; a diseased imagination gives unclear dreams.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): τι! ἢ ἙΕἀά. Ρατγῖββ., ἰΐεπι Οοδάᾷ. Μου. 0..», 1. 1. ἅτε θεάμεθα Αἰά. ὨῈ, ΜοΙΐογοπι νοσθογιπν ογάϊποῦ ας ᾧ ρίδοραετυηι Οοάὰ. τοὶ]. οἵη τ "Σ ὁ δὶ Ρι ἀλλ σ ἡμὶν! Ρεΐ. Β. ἀπ οὐτι Βα, ΑΙά., ἤδυς δ] - δείκνυσι οἰδιΐπι Μοπ ᾿ [). Ἣν (ον ἰεροταηὶ Εἰείπις εἰ Ρἰεμοπῖωε, ὃ. περὶ τὴν φύσιν Νοΐ. Ε. Ρχγο- " → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 324 (Krabinger 1:324; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/324). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/324
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 325
325Krabinger 1:325
δὲ αὐτοῦ νόσος, καὶ οἷς λημᾷ καὶ παχύνεται, καὶ οἷς παθαίρεται καὶ ἀπειλικρινεῖται καὶ εἰς τὴν φύσιν ἐπάνεισι, τῇι, ἀποῤῥήτου ἡ φιλοσοφίας πυνθάνου, ὑφ᾽ ἡ; καὶ καθαιρόμλενον διὰ τελετῶν, ἔνθεον γίνεται. ΑἸ τε ὅ εἰρκρίσεις, πρὶν τὸν θεὸν ἐπειαγαγεῖν τὸ φανταςικὸν, ἐκθέουσι. αὶ ὅδιτις αὐτὸ διὰ τοῦ κατὰ φύσιν βίου τηρεὶῖὶ καθαρὸν, ἑτοίμῳ δ) χρῆται, ὡς ταύτῃ πάλιν εἶναι κοινότατον" ἐπαΐει γὰρ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦτο τῆς ψυχιμπῇ; διαθέσεως, καὶ οὐκ ἀσὐύμπαθές ἔει καθ᾽ αὐτὸ, κα- 109άπερ τὸ ὀςρεῶδες περίβλημα. Ἐκεῖνο μὲν γὰρ καὶ ἸΩ7 ἀντίθεσιν ἔχει πρὸς τὰς ἀμιίνους τῆς ψυχῆς διαθέσεις. ᾿Αλλὰ τοι τὸ πρῶτον αὐτῇς καὶ ἴδιον ὄχημα ἀγαθυνομένης μὲν λεπτύνεται καὶ ἀπαιθεροῦται" κακυνο- ᾿ μένης.) δὲ παχύνεται καὶ γαιοῦται. Ὅλως γὰρ τοῦτο μεταίχμιόν ἐσιν ἀλογίας καὶ λόγου, καὶ ἀσωμάτου
de autou nosos, kai hois lēmą kai pachynetai, kai hois pathairetai kai apeilikrineitai kai eis tēn physin epaneisi, tę̄i, aporrhētou hē philosophias pynthanou, hyph᾽ hē? kai kathairomlenon dia teletōn, entheon ginetai. AI te ho eirkriseis, prin ton theon epeiagagein to phantasikon, ektheousi. ai hoditis auto dia tou kata physin biou tēreiii katharon, hetoimǭ d) chrētai, hōs tautę̄ palin einai koinotaton" epaïei gar to pneuma touto tēs psychimpę̄? diatheseōs, kai ouk asyympathes eei kath᾽ auto, ka- 109aper to osreōdes periblēma. Ekeino men gar kai IŌ7 antithesin echei pros tas amiinous tēs psychēs diatheseis. ᾿Alla toi to prōton autę̄s kai idion ochēma agathynomenēs men leptynetai kai apaitheroutai" kakyno- ᾿ menēs.) de pachynetai kai gaioutai. Holōs gar touto metaichmion esin alogias kai logou, kai asōmatou
and about its disease — what makes it rheumy and thick, and what purifies and refines it and brings it back to its nature — inquire of the secret philosophy, by which, purified through rites, it becomes divine; and the intrusions run out before the god enters the imaginative spirit. Whoever keeps it pure by a life according to nature has it ready for use, so that in this way again it is most common to all. For this spirit perceives the disposition of the soul and is not without sympathy in itself, as the shell-like covering is; for that one is even opposed to the better dispositions of the soul. But the soul's first and proper vehicle is thinned and made ethereal when the soul is made good, and thickened and made earthy when it is made bad. For it is altogether a borderland between irrationality and reason, between the bodiless
Notes and citation
Summary: The imaginative spirit, the soul's vehicle, is purified or thickened as the soul grows better or worse; it is a borderland between reason and unreason.
- The page ends mid-sentence and the next page does not continue it; a line is probably lost in the OCR.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 325 (Krabinger 1:325; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/325). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/325
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 326
326Krabinger 1:326
τὰ θεῖα τοῖς ἐσχάτοις συγγίνεται.. Ταύτῃ καὶ χαλεπὸν ἔξιν αἱρεθῆναι διὰ φιλοσοφίας τὴν φύσιν αὐτοῦ, 'Ερανίξδεται γάρ τι προίῆκον, ὡς ἐκ γειτόνων, ᾿δάφ᾽ ἑκατέρου τῶν ἄκρῳν, καὶ φαντάξεται μιᾷ φύσει Β5ὶ τὰ τοσοῦτον ἁἀπῳκισμένα ᾽). Τὸ γὲ τὸι πλάτος τῇς φαντασικῆς οὐσίας ἰξέχεεν ἡ φύσις εἰς πολλὰς μοίρας τῶν ὄντων. αταβαίνει γέ τοι μέχρι δώων, οἷς οὐκέτι παρέσι νοῦς, οὐδὲ ἔστιν ὄχημα τότε θειοτέρας ψυχῆι, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτῇ ταῖς ὑποκειμέναις δυνάμεσιν ἐποχεῖται, αὐτὴ λόγος οὖσα τοῦ ἔώου, καὶ πολλὰ κατ᾽ αὐτὴν φρονεῖ τε καὶ πράττει δεόντως. αθαίρεταί γὲ τοι) καὶ ἐν ἀλόγοις, ὡς εἰφρεϊσθαὶ τε κρεῖττον" γένῃ τε ὅλα δαιμόνων οὐσίωται τῇ τοιαύτῃ ξων' ἐκεῖνα μὲν γὰρ καθ᾽ ὅλον αὐτῶν τὸ εἶναι, εἰδωλικά τε ὄντα καὶ τοῖς γινομένοις αὶ ἐμφανταδόμενα" ἀνθρώπῳ δὲ τὰ πολλὰ καθ᾽ αὐτὴν δ)
ta theia tois eschatois synginetai.. Tautę̄ kai chalepon exin hairethēnai dia philosophias tēn physin autou, 'Eranixdetai gar ti proiēkon, hōs ek geitonōn, ᾿daph᾽ hekaterou tōn akrǭn, kai phantaxetai mią physei B5i ta tosouton haapǭkismena ᾽). To ge toi platos tę̄s phantasikēs ousias ixecheen hē physis eis pollas moiras tōn ontōn. atabainei ge toi mechri dōōn, hois ouketi paresi nous, oude estin ochēma tote theioteras psychēi, all᾽ autę̄ tais hypokeimenais dynamesin epocheitai, autē logos ousa tou eōou, kai polla kat᾽ autēn phronei te kai prattei deontōs. athairetai ge toi) kai en alogois, hōs eiphreïsthai te kreitton" genę̄ te hola daimonōn ousiōtai tę̄ toiautę̄ xōn' ekeina men gar kath᾽ holon autōn to einai, eidōlika te onta kai tois ginomenois ai emphantadomena" anthrōpǭ de ta polla kath᾽ autēn d)
… through it divine things meet the lowest. For this reason it is hard to grasp its nature by philosophy; for it gathers what suits it, as from neighbours, from each of the extremes, and things so far apart are imagined in one nature. Nature has poured out the breadth of the imaginative substance over many ranks of beings. It comes down even to animals in which mind is no longer present, and then it is not the vehicle of a more divine soul but itself rides upon the underlying powers, being itself the reason of the animal, and by it the animal thinks and does many things fittingly. It is purified even in irrational beings, so that it passes into a better state. Whole races of daemons have their being in such a life, for they are imaginal in their whole being and appear in things that come to be; but in man most things by itself
Notes and citation
Summary: The imaginative spirit spans all levels of being, from animals, where it is their reason, to daemons, whose whole being is imaginal.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): γρ' καὶ δι᾽ αὐτοῦ Ῥάτ. Δ. ἴα τηρ., ῬΙοιΐπ, ἀδ ρυϊογί!. Ῥ. 210. 564. διὰ τῦτο ΝΜοπ, Ὠ. Ῥεοχίπιο συγ- εἰ δὰ εἰμφάοπι Ορρ. Ρ. 05, ἃ.᾽ Π Ἁ Οοηΐ. Ιασοδε. δὰ ΔΘΒ1]. Ται. ρ. γίνονται(ε ἃ 5. τῇ. δυ ρατβοτ.) Βεϊνά. ἡσο, εἰ Νοειγτὶ Ὠΐοα, μ- 42. Ο. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 326 (Krabinger 1:326; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/326). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/326
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-326) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 327
327Krabinger 1:327
οὐκ ἀφαντάεξους ποιούμεθα, πλὴν εἰ δή τις ἐν ἀκαρεῖ ποτὲ ἐπαφὴν ἔσχεν εἴδους ἀὔύλου, τὸ δὲ ὑπερκῦψαι ὃ) φαντασίαν χαλεπὸν οὐχ ἧττον, ἢ εὐδαιμον᾽ νοῦς γὰρ, φησὶ, καὶ φρόνησις ἀγαπητὸν ὅτῳ καὶ εἰς γῆρας ἀφίκοιντο, τὴν ἀφάνταφτον λέγων. ᾿ς ὃ γε προβεβλημένη ξω φαντασίας ἐξὶν, ἢ νοῦ φαντασίᾳ χρωμένου, Τὸ γὲ τοι πνεῦμα τοῦτο τὸ ψυχικὸν, ὃ καὶ πνευ- Ὦ ματικὴν ψυχὴν προςηγόρευσαν οἱ εὐδαίμονες, καὶ θεὸς καὶ δαίμων παντοδαπὸς καὶ εἴδωλον Ἶ) γίνεται, καὶ τὰς ποινὰς ἐν τούτῳ τίνει ψυχή" χρησμοί τε γὰρ ὁμοφωνούσι περὶ αὐτοῦ, ταῖς ὄναρ φαντασίαις τὴν ἐκεῖ διεξαγωγὴν τῆς ψυχῇ! προφεικάδοντε!, καὶ [9] φιλοσοφία
ouk aphantaexous poioumetha, plēn ei dē tis en akarei pote epaphēn eschen eidous auylou, to de hyperkypsai ho) phantasian chalepon ouch hētton, ē eudaimon᾽ nous gar, phēsi, kai phronēsis agapēton hotǭ kai eis gēras aphikointo, tēn aphantaphton legōn. ᾿s ho ge probeblēmenē xō phantasias exin, ē nou phantasią chrōmenou, To ge toi pneuma touto to psychikon, ho kai pneu- Ō matikēn psychēn prosēgoreusan hoi eudaimones, kai theos kai daimōn pantodapos kai eidōlon I) ginetai, kai tas poinas en toutǭ tinei psychē" chrēsmoi te gar homophōnousi peri autou, tais onar phantasiais tēn ekei diexagōgēn tēs psychę̄! propheikadonte!, kai [9] philosophia
we do not make them without imagination — unless someone has at some instant had contact with an immaterial form; and to rise above imagination is no less hard than blessed. "For mind and wisdom," he says, "one may be content if they come even in old age" — meaning the imageless kind. The life put forward is either imagination's, or that of mind using imagination. This spirit of the soul, which the blessed have also called the spiritual soul, becomes god and daemon of every kind, and phantom, and in it the soul pays its penalties. The oracles agree about it, likening the soul's existence there to the imaginings of dreams; and philosophy
Notes and citation
Summary: Few rise above imagination; the soul's spirit can become god, daemon or phantom, and in it the soul is punished after death.
- "One may be content if they come even in old age": Plato, Laws 2.653a. Krabinger prints a bracketed ἡ before "philosophy" as a word to be deleted; it is left out.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): νετιθωϊεβ μέγ ἰρεαπι. Οὐοὰ βεαυΐ- νοῦ καὶ διανοίας, Εἰ ἤγουν μετὰ ἴυγ καὶ ἃ 5. πι. ἢδθεὶ Μοη, Β νοῦς καὶ διανοίας ἔμεν ᾿ΐα, ΒΑτ. Ἐ. το καὶ Ἰαρίτυτ νὴ ἴῃ Ῥατ. ΑΏ. εἰ. 8. [τὰ φρεΐτηο τεεῖθ Μίοη, Ἑ. οη. ΟΕ.; ἰϊεπν ἴω Πομάὰ., ἰπ Ροβίρα νεγὸ ὕ σοτταρίιπι ἴα 4υο καὶ φιιρετγθογίρει π) ἐδ. ὑ. ἴῃ ὑπερκύψαι ἰϊότα οοηθρίτδης ᾿ δυ το]. 1ἰδτῖ ἰδὰν φορεῖ, φυδηλ. μιθ' ἱτέίρας δ΄ τἀπὰ τῆᾶηῖ εὐϊιὶ. εἰ φυρογδὰάϊια ρίοε54 ἤγουν δι΄ 0. [πιεὶϊ. Πλάτων, αυοὰ πονώμεως Ἀδδει Νίοη. Ο, μεθ᾽ ἐτέ- τὰθη Ρατγ, Ο. ἴῃ τὴ ρ. πάθοι. Νδπι ' ρας φτῖίωγο κοσίρίυτη νἱδοίωτ [286 νόγρυπὶ φησὶ 5μερᾳ6 ἰἰὰ υθατρδτί βοϊθὲ, υοὧὐ ποιπθη διυοίοσίθ, ἴη Μοη. Β.; ηδη} Ὃν νοεῖ ἐτέουἶιθ νοτθὰ ἰδυόδεαδηίιτ, ποῃ δᾷρου δ'τοῦτγ, τῇ. ρεοξεσίιν πὶ; πλᾶγἀαιυτς. Νίά, Βοϊδεοπαά. δὰ Ματίη. Εἷηαϊ δυῖδπν, υἱ ἱπ ἤώγ. Ὁ. εἰ νἷτ. Ῥγοοῖ ρ. 12. εἰ δὰ ΒυηΔΡ.. ΝΙοοτην., δάϊσεϊιπ) τοῦ νοῦ δη- Ῥ. 417. κ“ε4. Ογειιχεγ δά Ρίοιΐω. λονότι. νυϊραῖδαι ἰεοι ποτὰ ἴῃ εοπιοχία αυΐδεπι βογνανί Μοη. Ρ' 8» 8: εἴ 272, 3. Οὗ θυρτᾶ ρ- ΔΑ... ἴα οτὰ δυΐθην ὀχ έθειῖγρ. μεθ' 131. 0.Ψ [μοσυι9 Ριαϊοηΐους, {μδηι τέρας" ἤγουν “δυνάμεως. Βομά. τοεροχῖϊ Νορῖοτ, δὲ ἰη Ῥ 60. ον Ρ- 50. Ὁ. Οεϊοτυτο ρτὸ ἐφίκοιτο, ἀδι μεθ᾽ ἱτέρας (ου πιϊαυτι 1:- αηὐυοὰ οχρίδι ἐπ οἀϊεῖο Ῥφτῖδδ., τθτετῖς 8. τῷ, δωρετεοτίρίο, πθῆυθ βοεὶρεὶ ἀφίκοιντο εχ Οοἀά. οπιπὶἐο δεοίυς ἰηΐος νθῦθιι ρολίϊυσι Βυ8 εἰ Ἑἀὰ. ΑἸὰ. → .
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Leg. 653a (Plato (works); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 327 (Krabinger 1:327; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/327). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/327
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-327) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 328
328Krabinger 1:328
συντίθεται παρασκευὰς εἶναι δευτέρων βίων τοὺς πρώτους Ἶ, τῇς τε ἀρίξῃ: ἕξεως ἐν ψυχαῖς ἐλαφρίξοντος αὖτὸ καὶ ἐναπομοργνυμένη, ) κηλῖδα τῇς χείρονος. Ολκαῖ; οὖν φυσικαῖς ἢ μετέωρον αἴρεται διὰ θερμότητα δκαὶ ξηρότητα. αὶ τοῦτο ἄρα ἡ ψυχῇ: πτέρωσις )" " τὸ τε αὐγὴ) ξηρὴ ψυχὴ σοφὴ πρὸς οὐδὲν ἄλλο τῷ Ἡρακλείτῳ τεῖνον εὐρίσπκομεν" ἢ παχὺ καὶ ὑγρὸν γινόμενον τοῖς χῃραμοῖ; τῆς γῆ: ἐνδύεται ῥοπῇ φυσικῇ, φωλεῦον καὶ ὠθούμενον εἰς τὴν κατάγαιον ὃ) χώραν" τόπο, γὰρ οὗτος οἰκειότατος; ὑγροῖς πνεύμασι. Ἀακεῖ μὲν κακοδαίμων τε καὶ ποιναῖος ὁ βίος" ἔξεςι δὲ χρόνῷ καὶ πόνῳ ὅ) καὶ βίοις ἄλλοις καθηραμένην ἀναδὺ- Ψαι" γενομένῃ γὰρ ἀμφίβιον δίαυλον θεῖ καὶ παρὰ μέ
syntithetai paraskeuas einai deuterōn biōn tous prōtous I, tę̄s te arixę̄: hexeōs en psychais elaphrixontos auto kai enapomorgnymenē, ) kēlida tę̄s cheironos. Olkai? oun physikais ē meteōron airetai dia thermotēta dkai xērotēta. ai touto ara hē psychę̄: pterōsis )" " to te augē) xērē psychē sophē pros ouden allo tǭ Hērakleitǭ teinon eurispkomen" ē pachy kai hygron ginomenon tois chę̄ramoi? tēs gē: endyetai rhopę̄ physikę̄, phōleuon kai ōthoumenon eis tēn katagaion ho) chōran" topo, gar houtos oikeiotatos? hygrois pneumasi. Aakei men kakodaimōn te kai poinaios ho bios" exesi de chronǭ kai ponǭ ho) kai biois allois kathēramenēn anady- Psai" genomenę̄ gar amphibion diaulon thei kai para me
agrees that first lives are preparations for second lives, since the best disposition in souls lightens the spirit and wipes away the stain of the worse. So by natural pulls it is raised aloft through heat and dryness; and this is the soul's winged state; and we find that Heraclitus's saying, "the dry ray is the wisest soul," points to nothing else. Or, becoming thick and moist, it sinks into the holes of the earth by a natural tendency, lurking and thrust down into the underground region; for this place is most akin to moist spirits. There life is unhappy and full of punishment; but it is possible, purified by time and toil and other lives, to rise again. For having become amphibious, it runs a double course and in turn
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul's spirit, purified and dried, rises; made thick and moist, it sinks underground, but may rise again through purification and later lives.
- Heraclitus, fragment 118 (Diels–Kranz). The doctrine of successive lives is Platonic and is translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): τοοῖϊαθ οαὐἰταπὶ Ῥαᾶτ. ΑΒΟΌΕ. Ἑἰοτθηῖ. νοτίββί πιθ σοηΐοοὶ! αὐγῇ, Νου. ΒΕ. εἰ Νεοττι. Ουάτο τῶ 4υδαὶ οοπίθοϊαγδηι ερτορία οοαδοοϊυοδὶ,. Βεδρίοίϊπιϊ ἴδε Ρίαὶι. ἢτπιδὶ Ῥαᾶσγ, Β. Ὑετζίεγαι ἰδπὶ Εὶ- Ῥηδούου. Ρ. 67. Β. " εἶπμο: εἰ αριιὰ Ἡετγαοϊϊίιπι εἰρπῖὅ. πρώτη: Ῥοτ. ΟΕ. βατί. τε ο. βεαὶῖ ἰάεπι βρίεπαογν “ἴσοι, απίπια Ἑά. Δ]ά, ργδεβυεγιηι σοὰά, ο- ταρίεπς, Υἱά, δολ]εἰεγπιαοῖιεν. Ἡ 6τῆτθθ, Ἔχοορῖο Νίοη. ὮὨ., ἃ 4ιιο, τα]ιϊοἰϊοβ, ἀοσ ἀπ α]κοὶθ, νοῦ ἘρΡΠοαὖ ἂΡ οὐϊιὶβ Ραγίββ., δθεθῖς ἰερὶ- 408, ἴῃ ἰἶδτο, αυὶ ἰαδοτίδίτον Μαἴὰν οἰΐαπι ἰῃ πιρ. ἘΔ. Νίοτα!!. δου τὶ ἀογ ΔΙἰοτι θα πλθυν πο δι Ὀς Ἢ. 1. νἱἀοεῖβ ΡΙοείπ. Ἐπηθδὰ. νοὰ Ε. Α. Το! Γ ἀπά ΡΆ. Βωιε- ΙΥ, 3, 32. Ρ. 806. Ο. οο11. ὄγεμσ. 'παπη. Τ. ἵ. ρ. 5611. βεη4ᾳ. αὐτῇ οΟΙ. 1{Π1.. Ρ. 222. ταδί βογί δι Ρασ. Ὁ. αὖν οοτέ. ἤ. Ἰναπομοργνυμένη 4] τῇ ὧτ, ἐκ- τὰ. Ἀδθεὶ Ρασγ. Ε. Ὠεΐη ξηρὴ επαμασσομένης τὴρ. Ῥατ. Β. Ὠδ νεῖ- ἰἰπὶ ξηρὰ ἰπ Μου. Ε. Ρτο δο- Βοὸ Ρ]αιοηΐοο ἐναπομόργνυσθαι, φῇ πιδτρὶηὶ ΝΊοταΙ!. δὰ ἀϊτα πὶ εδὶ 4υὸ υἱἱίυς Νορῖον οἰΐδπὶ ἰηΐγι Ρ. ἀλλ, σοφωτάτη. → .
Extrabiblical texts: Heraclitus, fr. 118 (Heraclitus (fragments); quotation)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 328 (Krabinger 1:328; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/328). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/328
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 329
329Krabinger 1:329
ρος) ὁμιλεῖ τοῖς χείροσι καὶ τοῖς κρείττοσιν " ἣν δα: Β νεέξεται μὲν ἀπὸ τῶν σφαιρῶν ἡ πρώτῃ ψυχῇ κατιούσα, κἀκείνης "") ὥιπερ σκάφους; ἔπιβάσα, τῷ σωματικῷ - πόσμῳ συγγίνεται" ἀγῶνα δὲ ἀγωνίξεται τοῦτον ἢ ὅ συναναγαγεῖν, ὃ μή τοι συγκαταμεῖναι" μόλις -μὲν γάρ, ἀλλὰ γένοιτ᾽ ἂν ἀφεῖναι μὴ συνεπόμενον" οὐ γὰρ Θέμις ἀπιςεῖν ἐγνωσμένων τῶν τελετῶν" αἰσχρὰ δ᾽ ἂν ἑπάνοδος γένοιτο μὴ ἀποδιδούσαις τὸ ἀλλότριον, αἰλλὰ περὶ γὴν ἀπολιπούσαι,, ὅπερ ἄνωθεν ἡρανίσαντο. Καὶ τοῦτο μὲν ἑνὶ καὶ 'δευτέρῳ δῶρον ἂν γὲ - ψοῖτὸ τελετῆς καὶ θεοῦ, φύσιν δὲ ἔχει τὴν ἅπαξ ἐγκεκεντρισμένην εἰς αὐτὸ ψυχὴν ἢ ὁμοῤῥοθεῖν, κα ἔλ-. πεῖν, ἢ ἕλκεσθαι" πάντως γε ") μέντοι συνεῖναι μέ
ros) homilei tois cheirosi kai tois kreittosin " hēn da: B neexetai men apo tōn sphairōn hē prōtę̄ psychę̄ katiousa, kakeinēs "") hōiper skaphous? epibasa, tǭ sōmatikǭ - posmǭ synginetai" agōna de agōnixetai touton ē ho synanagagein, ho mē toi synkatameinai" molis -men gar, alla genoit᾽ an apheinai mē synepomenon" ou gar Themis apisein egnōsmenōn tōn teletōn" aischra d᾽ an hepanodos genoito mē apodidousais to allotrion, ailla peri gēn apolipousai,, hoper anōthen hēranisanto. Kai touto men heni kai 'deuterǭ dōron an ge - psoito teletēs kai theou, physin de echei tēn hapax enkekentrismenēn eis auto psychēn ē homorrhothein, ka el-. pein, ē helkesthai" pantōs ge ") mentoi syneinai me
consorts with the worse and the better. This spirit the first soul borrows from the spheres on its descent, and, boarding it like a boat, it keeps company with the bodily world. And it fights this contest: to bring it back up with itself, or at least not to remain down with it. It may happen — with difficulty — that the soul lets it go if it does not follow; for it is not lawful to disbelieve this, since the rites are known; but a return would be shameful for souls that did not give back what was not theirs, but left about the earth what they had borrowed from above. This would be a gift of rite and god to one or two; but nature holds that the soul, once grafted onto it, either rushes along with it and draws it, or is drawn. At any rate it must be with it until
Notes and citation
Summary: The soul takes this spirit as a vessel from the heavenly spheres and must strive to bring it back up, or at least not sink with it.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): εἷηΐ ἱἰηϊετρτοιδιϊο (εὐ ἀθηπι νετ- ἀλλ’ οὐ Βοτισν οτάΐποτν οοττ. θὲ [4- οὐ γὰρ θέμις Ῥάτ. Α. Δὰ- Νίοη. Ὠ.) ρτοὸ πόνῳ καὶ χρόνῳ, ἀΐων ἐσὶν ἰη Μοη. ΒΟΕ. εἰ Μίοοται. υοὰ Ἰερίίατ ἔπ οἀϊιῖς Ῥ τῖε. 8ιθιῖπι ἀγνωσμίνων ΑΙὰ, Υοοΐθ δ εΐηάθ ἄλλοις 4Βεεὶ ἃ Ῥασ. ΟΕ, τελεταὶ πὑρατῦ Ρ]διοπίουπι ἰἰ1ὰ- Μοπάοιε ἀναδύναι Νίοη. ΑὉ. δ{τ8ὶ Απέμς δὰ ΡΙδι. ῬΒδοάτ, ρ, → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 329 (Krabinger 1:329; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/329). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/329
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 330
330Krabinger 1:330
κάκη! συγκατασπᾷ τὴν ἐφεῖσαν αὐτῷ βαρυνθῆναι ψυχήν. αὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔειν ᾧ δεδίττεται τὰ λόγια τὸ νοἐρὸν ἐν ἡμὶν σπέρμα" 5. ᾿ΜΝΙγδὲ κάτω «νεύσῃ; εἰς τὸν. μελαναυγέα κόσμον, τῶι βυθὸς αἰὲν ἀπιτο; ὑπέερωταί τε καὶ “Αιδης [] ᾿Αμφικνεφής, ῥνυπόων, εἰδωλοχαρὴ;, ἀνόητοι. ΙΝῷ γὰρ πῶς καλὸν βίος ἔμπλῃκτο; καὶ ἀνόητος; Τῷ δὲ εἰδώλῳ διὰ τὴν ποιὰν τότε τοῦ πνεύματος σύ- 1θεασιν ἡ κάτω χώρα προιήκει" ὁμοίῳ γὰρ τὸ ὅμοιον ὕδεται. Ἑὶ δὲ ἕν ἐξ ἀμφοῖν τῷ συνδυασμῷ γίνεται, καὶ ὁ νοῦς ἂν ἐμβαπτισθείη ἢ) τῷ ἤδεσθαι. Καὶ τοι τοῦτο κακῶν ἄν εἴη) τὸ ἔσχατον, μηδ᾽ ἐπαΐειν κακοῦ πα- Ἰδρόντοι' τοῦτο γάρ ἱσι μηδ᾽ ἀναδῦναι ὅ) δητούντων,
kakē! synkataspą tēn epheisan autǭ barynthēnai psychēn. ai tout᾽ eein hǭ dedittetai ta logia to noeron en hēmin sperma" 5. ᾿MNIgde katō «neusę̄? eis ton. melanaugea kosmon, tōi bythos aien apito? hypeerōtai te kai “Aidēs [] ᾿Amphiknephēs, rhnypoōn, eidōlocharē?, anoētoi. INǭ gar pōs kalon bios emplę̄kto? kai anoētos? Tǭ de eidōlǭ dia tēn poian tote tou pneumatos sy- 1theasin hē katō chōra proiēkei" homoiǭ gar to homoion hydetai. Hei de hen ex amphoin tǭ syndyasmǭ ginetai, kai ho nous an embaptistheiē ē) tǭ ēdesthai. Kai toi touto kakōn an eiē) to eschaton, mēd᾽ epaïein kakou pa- Idrontoi' touto gar hisi mēd᾽ anadynai ho) dētountōn,
by its badness it drags down the soul that let itself be weighed down. And this is what the oracles frighten the intellectual seed in us with: "Do not stoop down to the dark-gleaming world, beneath which lies ever a faithless depth, and Hades, cloudy all round, squalid, delighting in images, senseless." For how is a frenzied and senseless life good for mind? But to the phantom, because of the spirit's condition at that time, the region below belongs; for like delights in like. And if the two become one by their union, mind too would be plunged into the pleasure. Yet this would be the last of evils, not even to perceive the evil that is present; for this is the state of those who do not even seek to rise again,
Notes and citation
Summary: The Chaldaean Oracles warn the soul not to sink into dark Hades; the worst evil is not to feel one's own degradation.
- Chaldaean Oracles, fr. 163 des Places.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 330 (Krabinger 1:330; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/330). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/330
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 331
331Krabinger 1:331
ὦνπερ ὁ σκίῤῥος τῷ μηκέτι λυπεῖν οὐδὲ ὑπομιμνήσκει τοῦ σώξεσθαι. αὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀναγωγὸν) ἡ μετάνοια. Ὃ γὰρ τὰ ἐν οἱ, ἔξει ἢ) δυιχεραίνων φυγὴν μηχανᾶται. Καὶ καθαρμοῦ) τὸ μέγιτον μέρος κἡὶ βούλῃὃ σις ταύτῃ γὰρ ὀρέγει χεῖρα τὰ δρώμενα τε) καὶ τὰ “. λεγόμενα" ἀπούσης δὲ ἄψυχος ἅπασα καθαρτικὴ τελετὴ, κολοβὸ; οὖσα τοῦ μεγίτου σγνθήματος. Ἑαὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῇδὲ τε κἀκεῖ") χρείαν τὴν μεγίτην τε. καὶ ἀρίσὴν τῇ τάξει τῶν ὄντων αἱ κρίσεις ') παρέχονται, τὸ λυπηρὸν ἀντεμάγουσαι καὶ τῇς ἐμπλήκτου χαρὰς τὴν Β. ψυχὴν ἐκκαθαίρουσαι" αἵ τε παρ᾽ ἀξίαν καλούμεναι συμφοραὶ μέγα μέρος συμβάλλονται πρὸς τὸ λῦσαι ἢ τὴν σχέσιν, ἣν ἔχομεν πρὸς τὰ τῇδε. Καὶ ἡ πρώτῃ πρόνοια διὰ τούτων εἰάγεται τοῖς ἔχουσι νοῦν, δι᾽ τό ὧν τοῖς οὐκ ἔχουσιν ἀπιξεῖται" ὡς οὐκ ἔεσιν ὅπως ποτ᾽ ἂν ἀποεραφείῃ τὴν ὕλην ψυχὴ, μηδενὶ κακῷ περὶ τὰ τῇδε προςκόπτουσα. “]ιὸ τὰς πολυθρυλήτου;
ōnper ho skirrhos tǭ mēketi lypein oude hypomimnēskei tou sōxesthai. ai dia touto anagōgon) hē metanoia. Ho gar ta en hoi, exei ē) duicherainōn phygēn mēchanatai. Kai katharmou) to megiton meros kēi boulę̄o sis tautę̄ gar oregei cheira ta drōmena te) kai ta “. legomena" apousēs de apsychos hapasa kathartikē teletē, kolobo? ousa tou megitou sgnthēmatos. Heai dia touto tę̄de te kakei") chreian tēn megitēn te. kai arisēn tę̄ taxei tōn ontōn hai kriseis ') parechontai, to lypēron antemagousai kai tę̄s emplēktou charas tēn B. psychēn ekkathairousai" hai te par᾽ axian kaloumenai symphorai mega meros symballontai pros to lysai ē tēn schesin, hēn echomen pros ta tę̄de. Kai hē prōtę̄ pronoia dia toutōn eiagetai tois echousi noun, di᾽ to hōn tois ouk echousin apixeitai" hōs ouk eesin hopōs pot᾽ an apoerapheię̄ tēn hylēn psychē, mēdeni kakǭ peri ta tę̄de proskoptousa. “]io tas polythrylētou?
as a hardened tumour, by no longer giving pain, does not even remind one to seek a cure. That is why repentance lifts us up: one who is vexed with what he has contrives a way of escape. And the greatest part of purification is the will; for the things done and said stretch out a hand to it, and in its absence every purifying rite is lifeless, lacking the greatest token. For this reason, here and there, judgments provide the greatest and best service to the order of beings, opposing pain to frenzied joy and cleansing the soul of it; and the misfortunes called undeserved contribute a great deal to loosening the attachment we have to things here. The first providence is brought in by these very things for those who have mind, and for the same reasons it is disbelieved by those who have none; for there is no way the soul could ever turn away from matter if it stumbled on no evil in things here. So one must think the much-talked-of
Notes and citation
Summary: Repentance and the will drive purification; suffering loosens the soul's attachment to the world and reveals providence to the wise.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): ἄ. Τὰ Ῥδγ. ΒΟῈ. ἀνάγωγον τε]]. Α. εἰ Ρίοιϊπ. ἵΨΝ. 8. 1. ». 460. Ο. ο. εὐἀϊιῖ». εθὐανάγωγον εοηΐ. Ηϊετ. ΜΡ. κράσεις. ἩΡοῖβι. Νορίεγ ἤγανῃ. ἰΥ͂. 256. 10. λυπρὸν Μοη, ΒΕ. δίδοτε, 5644: Ὠεΐα ἀντεάγουσαι Ῥατ. Δ. Ξεἰξίτω» φυψέτιν 41. τὰ Ρατ. ΒΟ. Μοα. ΒΕ.. “αΐμων ἴλας, Βελνά., ἰϊοσί]αο Εὰὰ, ΑἸά. εἰ Νοβθιω» «ἃ ἀναγωγόν)οδὲν 1411. λῦσαι Ὁοάὰ, τεῖ!. ο, Ἐάά, γὼ “αναχωγονλοῦον Τυτγη. εἰ Ρεῖᾶν. 1. 2. “)ιατιειχίξων. → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 331 (Krabinger 1:331; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/331). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/331
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 332
332Krabinger 1:332
εὐτυχίας οἴεσθαι δεῖ λόχον ἐπὶ ψυχὰς ἐξευρῇῆσθαι τοῖς ἐφόροις τῶν κάτω: “2:3᾽ ὅτι μὲν ἄν ἐξελθούσαις γέ- Ὁ νοιτοὸ πόμα λήθαιον, ἄλλος εἰπάτω" εἰρελθούσῃ δὲ εἰς τὸν βίον ψυχῇ λήθαιον ὀρέγεται πόμα τὸ τῇδε ἡδὺ ὅ καὶ μειλίχιον. Θῇσσα γὰρ κατιοῦσα τὸν πρῶτον βίον ἰθελοντὴς ἀντὶ τοῦ θητεῦσαι δουλεύει" ἀλλὰ " ἐκεῖνο μὲν ἦν λειτουργίαν τινὰ ἐκπλῆσαι τῇ φύσει τοῦ κόσμου θεσμῶν ᾿Αδρατείας ἐπιταττόντων " γοητευθεῖσα δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν δώρων τῇς ὕλης, πάθο; πέπονθε παραπλήσιον ἐλευθέροις ἐπὶ συγκείμενον χρόνον μεμισθω- Ὦ μένοις, οἱ κάλλει θεραπαίνηῃς ἐνσχεθέντες μένειν ἰθέλουσι, τῷ κυρίῳ τῇς ἐρωμένης δουλεύειν ὁμολογήσαντες. αὶ ἡμεῖς ἐοίκαμεν, ὅταν ποτ᾽ ἀπὸ βαθείας τῇς γνώμη: ῥὑσθῶμεν ἐπὶ τῷ τῶν περὶ σῶμα τε καὶ θυραίων 1ὅ ἀγαθῶν εἶναι δοκούντων, ὁμολογεῖν τῇ φύσει τῇς ὕλης, ὅτι καλή᾽ ἡ δὲ τὴν συγκατάθεσιν ἡμῶν γραμματεῖον ἀπόῤῥητον δέχεται κἂν ἀποχωρῆσαι ὡς ἐλεύθεροι ἂς.
eutychias oiesthai dei lochon epi psychas exeurę̄ēsthai tois ephorois tōn katō: “2:3᾽ hoti men an exelthousais ge- Ho noitoo poma lēthaion, allos eipatō" eirelthousę̄ de eis ton bion psychę̄ lēthaion oregetai poma to tę̄de hēdy ho kai meilichion. Thę̄ssa gar katiousa ton prōton bion ithelontēs anti tou thēteusai douleuei" alla " ekeino men ēn leitourgian tina ekplēsai tę̄ physei tou kosmou thesmōn ᾿Adrateias epitattontōn " goēteutheisa de hypo tōn dōrōn tę̄s hylēs, patho? peponthe paraplēsion eleutherois epi synkeimenon chronon memisthō- Ō menois, hoi kallei therapainēę̄s enschethentes menein ithelousi, tǭ kyriǭ tę̄s erōmenēs douleuein homologēsantes. ai hēmeis eoikamen, hotan pot᾽ apo batheias tę̄s gnōmē: rhysthōmen epi tǭ tōn peri sōma te kai thyraiōn 1ho agathōn einai dokountōn, homologein tę̄ physei tę̄s hylēs, hoti kalē᾽ hē de tēn synkatathesin hēmōn grammateion aporrhēton dechetai kan apochōrēsai hōs eleutheroi as.
good fortunes an ambush laid for souls by the overseers of the regions below. Whether a draught of forgetfulness is given to souls as they leave, let another say; but to the soul entering life a draught of forgetfulness is held out: the sweetness and gentleness of things here. For coming down as a hireling for its first life, it serves of its own will as a slave instead of a hireling. The first was to perform a service to the nature of the cosmos, at the command of Adrasteia's ordinances; but bewitched by the gifts of matter, it has suffered like free men hired for an agreed time who, held by the beauty of a maidservant, wish to stay, agreeing to serve the master of their beloved. So we too seem, whenever we are swept away from the depth of our judgment toward what seem to be goods of the body and of outward things, to agree with the nature of matter that it is beautiful; and she accepts our assent as a secret contract; and if we
Notes and citation
Summary: Worldly good fortune is a trap: the soul, hired to serve the cosmos, is seduced by matter like a hired man by a maidservant, and signs itself into slavery.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): 17. ἀλλ᾽ Ρατ. Β. εἰ Μοη. ΑΒ. ψνχαῖ" ἃ αἰ. φε. οι, (. θιαίϊπι Ἐς, χα ίδοτδν τη. ρε. τὰ ἸΜοῆ. ταῖν; ἐφόροι; Ῥασ. ΑΟ0Ό. Μοη. Β. τὴν ἀναποδράτου ἀνάγκης, 4.86 Μεοττη., ἔοι ῥτΐίσηο [ἰαά. νεῖ δες. το. ἀείενίι. Ἀοεροαίι → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 332 (Krabinger 1:332; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/332). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/332
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-332) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 333
333Krabinger 1:333
βουλευσώμεθα. φυγάδας εἶναί φησι “καὶ ἐπανάγειν πειρᾶται, καὶ ὡς δραπετευόντων ἀντιλαμβάνεται, τὸ γραμμιατεῖον ἐπαναγινώσκουσα. Τότε δὴ καὶ μάλιτα ῥώμης τε δεῖ") τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ ἀρωγοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ ὦ; οὐ μθ δ φαῦλος ἀγὼν ὁμολογίαν ἑαυτοῦ παραγράψασθαι, τυχὸν" δὲ καὶ βιάρφασθθαι. Ποιναί τε γὰρ ὑλαῖαι τότε δὴ καὶ παρ᾽ εἱμαρμένην κινοῦνται κατὰ τῶν ἀφηνιασάντῶν πρὸς τοὺς νόμους αὐτῇ!" καὶ τοῦτο ἄρα αἱ καλούμεναι πεῖραι, ἃς ᾿Ηρακλέα τε ἀνατλῇναί φὰσιν ἱεροὶ 10λόγοι, καὶ εἰ δή τις ξεερδὶ ἐλευθερίᾳ κατὰ. τὸ. καρτερὸν ἐπεχείρησε, μέχρις ἂν ἐκεῖ τὸ σνεῦμα διαβιβάσωσιν, οὗ μὴ φθάνωσιν αἱ χεῖρες τῇς φύσεω.. Εἰ δὲ ἐντὸρ" ὅρων τὸ ἄλμα γένοιτο, κατασπᾶται, καὶ δεῖ βαρυτέρων ἀγώνων" ἀφειδεῖ γὰρ ὦ; ἀλλοτρίων ἤδη" κἂν ἀπο-Β γνῷ τῇς ἀνόδου, δίκας αἰτεῖ τῇς ἐπιχειρήσεως, «καὶ προβάλλει βίου, οὐκ ἀπ᾽ ἀμφοῖν' ἔτι τῶν πίθων,
bouleusōmetha. phygadas einai phēsi “kai epanagein peiratai, kai hōs drapeteuontōn antilambanetai, to grammiateion epanaginōskousa. Tote dē kai malita rhōmēs te dei") tę̄ psychę̄ kai arōgou tou theou ō? ou mth d phaulos agōn homologian heautou paragrapsasthai, tychon" de kai biarphasththai. Poinai te gar hylaiai tote dē kai par᾽ heimarmenēn kinountai kata tōn aphēniasantōn pros tous nomous autę̄!" kai touto ara hai kaloumenai peirai, has ᾿Ēraklea te anatlę̄nai phasin hieroi 10logoi, kai ei dē tis xeerdi eleutherią kata. to. karteron epecheirēse, mechris an ekei to sneuma diabibasōsin, hou mē phthanōsin hai cheires tę̄s physeō.. Ei de entor" horōn to alma genoito, kataspatai, kai dei baryterōn agōnōn" apheidei gar ō? allotriōn ēdē" kan apo-B gnǭ tę̄s anodou, dikas aitei tę̄s epicheirēseōs, «kai proballei biou, ouk ap᾽ amphoin' eti tōn pithōn,
plan to leave as free men, she calls us runaways, tries to bring us back, and seizes us as deserters, reading out the contract. Then above all the soul needs strength and God as its helper; for it is no small contest to set aside one's own agreement, and perhaps even to use force. For material penalties are then set in motion, even beyond fate, against those who throw off her laws; and these are the so-called trials, which sacred stories say Heracles too endured, and anyone else who strove manfully for freedom, until they carry the spirit across to where the hands of nature cannot reach. But if the leap happens within her bounds, it is dragged down and heavier contests are needed; for she no longer spares it, as no longer hers; and if it despairs of the ascent, she exacts a penalty for the attempt and casts upon it lives, no longer from both of the jars,
Notes and citation
Summary: Matter pursues the escaping soul like a runaway slave; with God's help it must endure trials like Heracles, or be dragged back and punished.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 333 (Krabinger 1:333; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/333). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/333
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 334
334Krabinger 1:334
οὔ, "᾿Ομῃρος ἀποῤῥήτως αἰνίττεται μερίδας εἶναι δύο στῆς. ὕλη!" καὶ ὁ Ζεὺς αὐτῷ κατ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τῶν ἐπῶν θεὸς ὑλάρχιός ἱςι, τοῦ διττοῦ τῇς εἱμαρμένης διανομεύς, παρ᾽ Ἢν Τοῦ τὸ μὲν ἀγαθὸν οὐδέποτε ἀνεπίμικτον. ἤδη δέ τες δἀπράτου μετέσχε τοῦ χείρονος. ὮΝ “Ὅλως δὲ οἱ βίοι πάντες ἐν πλάνῃ }) τῇ μὴ κατὰ τὴν πρώτην κάθοδον ἀναδραμιούσῃ.. Θέα ω; δὴ πόσῳ τῷς μέσῳ τὸ πνεῦμα τοῦτο ἐμπολιτεύεται. 'Ῥεψάση,. Ὁ μὲν κάτω ψυχῇ ἔλεγεν ὁ λόγος, ὅτι ἐβαρύνθη τε καὶ ἔδυ,, μέχρις ἐγκύρσῃ τῷ μελαναυγεῖ καὶ ἀμιφικνεφεῖ χώ-
ou, "᾿Omę̄ros aporrhētōs ainittetai meridas einai dyo stēs. hylē!" kai ho Zeus autǭ kat᾽ ekeino tōn epōn theos hylarchios hisi, tou dittou tę̄s heimarmenēs dianomeus, par᾽ Ēn Tou to men agathon oudepote anepimikton. ēdē de tes dapratou metesche tou cheironos. ŌN “Holōs de hoi bioi pantes en planę̄ }) tę̄ mē kata tēn prōtēn kathodon anadramiousę̄.. Thea ō? dē posǭ tǭs mesǭ to pneuma touto empoliteuetai. 'Rhepsasē,. Ho men katō psychę̄ elegen ho logos, hoti ebarynthē te kai edy,, mechris enkyrsę̄ tǭ melanaugei kai amiphiknephei chō-
which Homer secretly hints are the two portions of matter; and Zeus, for him in those verses, is the god who rules matter, the distributor of fate's twofold lot, from whom the good never comes unmixed, while some have received the worse unmixed. In general, all lives are a wandering which do not run back up by the same way as the first descent. See, then, how much this spirit lives as a citizen of the middle. When the soul inclines downward, the account said that it was weighed down and sank, until it met the dark-gleaming and cloudy region;
Notes and citation
Summary: Homer's two jars of Zeus figure the two portions of matter; the soul's spirit lives in the middle and sinks with a downward-turned soul.
- The jars of Zeus: Iliad 24.527–533.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 24.527-533 (Homer, Iliad; allusion)
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 334 (Krabinger 1:334; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/334). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/334
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 335
335Krabinger 1:335
ρῳ: ἁνιούσῃ δὲ [καὶ] συνέπεται, μέχρις οὐ δύναμις ἔπεσθαι" δύναται δὲ, μέχρις ἂν εἰς πλεῖρον τὸ ἀντικείμενον ἧκῃ. ᾿Ακουεῦ) γάρ καὶ πρὶ τούτου τῶν λογίων λεγόντων" ΣΟὐδὲ τὸ τῇς ὕλης σκύβαλον 'κρημινῷ πμενλιθνε ᾿Αλλὰ καὶ εἰδώλῳ "μερὶς εἰς τόπον ἀμφιφάοντα:. Ὀ Οὗτος δὲ ἀντίθεσιν ἔχει πρὸς τὸν ἀμφικνεφῇ. Βαΐίτοι τι καὶ πλέον τις ἂν ἐν τούτοις ὀξυωπήσειεν". οὐ γὰρ “μόνην “) εἰς τὰς σφαΐρας ἀνάγειν ἔοικε τὴν ἐκεῖθεν ἤκου- 10σαν φύσιν, ἀλλὰ εἴ τι καὶ τῇς πυρὸς καὶ τῇ! ἀέρος ἀκρόἐητος εἰς τὴν ᾿εἰδωλικὴν φύσιν ἔσπασε κατιοῦσα, πρὶν το γήϊνον ἀμφιέσασθαι κέλυφος, καὶ τοῦτο, φησὶ, τῇ πρεΐττονι μερίδι συναναπέμπει" ῦλυρ γὰρ σκύβαλον οὐκ ἄν εἴν τὸ θεσπέσιον σῶμα. [αὶ λόγον "δ᾽ ἂν ἔχοὶ τὰ κοινωνήσαντα φύσεως 1.) καὶ "εἰς ἕν συντελέσαντα ἰμήτοι Ἀ παντάπασιν ἄσχετα εἶναι, καὶ μάλιφα σἷς ἐκ 'γειτόνων ἢ χώρα, καθάπερ πὺρ ἰφεξὴ; ἐξὶ τθ ρεύιλίῳ σώμιατι,
rǭ: haniousę̄ de [kai] synepetai, mechris ou dynamis epesthai" dynatai de, mechris an eis pleiron to antikeimenon hēkę̄. ᾿Akoueu) gar kai pri toutou tōn logiōn legontōn" SOude to tę̄s hylēs skybalon 'krēminǭ pmenlithne ᾿Alla kai eidōlǭ "meris eis topon amphiphaonta:. O Houtos de antithesin echei pros ton amphiknephę̄. Baïitoi ti kai pleon tis an en toutois oxyōpēseien". ou gar “monēn “) eis tas sphaïras anagein eoike tēn ekeithen ēkou- 10san physin, alla ei ti kai tę̄s pyros kai tę̄! aeros akroeētos eis tēn ᾿eidōlikēn physin espase katiousa, prin to gēïnon amphiesasthai kelyphos, kai touto, phēsi, tę̄ preïttoni meridi synanapempei" ylyr gar skybalon ouk an ein to thespesion sōma. [ai logon "d᾽ an echoi ta koinōnēsanta physeōs 1.) kai "eis hen syntelesanta imētoi A pantapasin ascheta einai, kai malipha sis ek 'geitonōn ē chōra, kathaper pyr iphexē? exi tth reuiliǭ sōmiati,
but when it ascends, the spirit follows as far as it is able to follow; and it can, until it comes fully to the opposite. For hear the oracles saying this too: "Not even the dross of matter will you leave to the precipice; the phantom too has its portion in the region bright all round." This is the opposite of the "cloudy all round." One might see something more sharply in these words: they seem to bring up to the spheres not only the nature that came from there, but also whatever of the summit of fire and air the soul drew into its image-nature as it came down, before it put on its earthy shell — this too, it says, it sends up with the better portion; for the divine body would not be dross. And it would be reasonable that things which shared a nature and contributed to one being should not be wholly without relation, especially those whose regions are neighbours, as fire is next to the heavenly body,
Notes and citation
Summary: The Oracles promise that even the soul's phantom, its subtle body of fire and air, may rise with it to the region of light.
- Chaldaean Oracles, fr. 158 des Places.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): Οεἰετυτη νὰ, δαρτα Ρ. 138. ἢ «8. τὶ Ρεῖαν." ὕχο" τὸ Ὀοάμὦ ἰδ. Ἐά, εἰ τάν, Ο. ΑἸὰ. ΜΕ]. εἰ Ῥεῖαν, 1. υ͵δο → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 335 (Krabinger 1:335; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/335). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/335
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 336
336Krabinger 1:336
πρείττω τοῖς χείροσιν εἴξαντα τῇς κοινωνίας ἀπέλαυσε, καὶ συνετέλεσεν. εἰς ἰλὺν σῶμα ἀκήρατον, ὥπερ ἰδιοποιηθὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ παραχωρηθέντο; ἐν τῇ συνόδῳ δ κρατεῖν, τάχ᾽ ἂν καὶ τὰ χείρω μὴ ἀντιτείναντα πρὸς τὴν ἐνέργειαν τῇς ψυχῆς, ἀλλ᾽ εὐήνια καὶ καταπειθῆ,Β αὐτά τε ὁμαρτήσαντα, καὶ τὴν μέσῃν φύσιν ἀπερίσπαδὸν παρασχόμενα “᾿ τῇ τὴς πρώτῃ: ἡγεμονίᾳ, συνεξαι-' θεροῖτο ἄν καὶ συναναπέμποιτο, εἰ μὴ μέχρι: παντὸς, 10αλλά τοι διαβαίνοι τὴν τῶν τοιχείων ἀκρόκῃτα, καὶ γεύσαιτ᾽ ἂν τοῦ ἀμφιφαοῦς" ἔχει γάρ τινα, φῃσὶν, ἐν αὐτῷ μερίδα, τοῦτ᾽ ἔστιν, ἐν τάξει τινὶ τοῦ κυκλικοῦ γίνεται" ᾿Αλλὰ περὶ μὲν τὴς ἐκ τῶν τοιχείων μοίρας ταῦτα εἰρήῴσθω, καὶ ἀπιρεῖν ἕξεσι καὶ πιξεύειν. Τὴν ῖ5 δὲ: ἐκεῖθεν͵ ὅκουσαν σωματικὴν οὐσίαν οὐδεμία μῃ-Ο χαγὴ κατὰ φύσιν ἀνιούση; ψυχῇ, μὴ οὐ συνεξᾶραι
preittō tois cheirosin eixanta tę̄s koinōnias apelause, kai synetelesen. eis ilyn sōma akēraton, hōper idiopoiēthen hypo tou parachōrēthento? en tę̄ synodǭ d kratein, tach᾽ an kai ta cheirō mē antiteinanta pros tēn energeian tę̄s psychēs, all᾽ euēnia kai katapeithē,B auta te homartēsanta, kai tēn mesę̄n physin aperispadon paraschomena “᾿ tę̄ tēs prōtę̄: hēgemonią, synexai-' theroito an kai synanapempoito, ei mē mechri: pantos, 10alla toi diabainoi tēn tōn toicheiōn akrokę̄ta, kai geusait᾽ an tou amphiphaous" echei gar tina, phę̄sin, en autǭ merida, tout᾽ estin, en taxei tini tou kyklikou ginetai" ᾿Alla peri men tēs ek tōn toicheiōn moiras tauta eirēǭsthō, kai apirein hexesi kai pixeuein. Tēn i5 de: ekeithen͵ hokousan sōmatikēn ousian oudemia mę̄-O chagē kata physin aniousē? psychę̄, mē ou synexarai
the better, yielding to the worse, enjoyed their fellowship and contributed a pure body to the slime; just as, made its own by what was granted to rule in the union, perhaps the worse too, not resisting the activity of the soul but obedient and docile, following along and offering the middle nature undistracted to the leadership of the first, would be made ethereal with it and sent up with it — if not all the way, at least crossing the summit of the elements and tasting the region bright all round; for it has, he says, a portion in it, that is, it comes into some rank of the circling body. But about the portion from the elements let this be said; one may disbelieve it or believe it. The bodily substance that came from there, however, by nature cannot fail, when the soul ascends, to be lifted up with it,
Notes and citation
Summary: If the lower spirit obeys the soul, it too may be purified and rise with it; the heavenly part of the soul's body certainly ascends.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 336 (Krabinger 1:336; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/336). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/336
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 337
337Krabinger 1:337
τοῦ πτώματος ἀναςᾶσαν,, καὶ ταῖς σφαίραις ἐναρμοσθῇῆναι, τοῦτ᾽ ἔσιν, εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν ὥςπερ ἀναχυθῆναι. ᾿Ἔσχαται μὲν οὖν αὗται δύο λήξεις, ἡ μὲν ἀμφικνεφὴς, ἡ δὲ ἀμφιφαὴς οὖσα, εὐμοιρίας τε καὶ κακο δαιμονίας τὰ ἄκρα νειμάμεναι. Πόσας δὲ) οἴει μεταξὺ χώρας ἐν τῷ κύτει τοῦ κόσμου, ἑτεροφαεῖς τε καὶ ἑπεροκνεφεῖ;"), ἐν αἷς ἁπάσαις δίαιταν ἔχει ψυχὴ μέτα Ὦ τοῦδε τοῦ πνεύματος, εἴδη τε καὶ ἤθη καὶ βίους ἀμείβουσα; ᾿Αναδραμοῦσα μὲν οὖν ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκείαν εὐγέ- 1θνέιαν ἀληθείας ἐεὶ ταμιεῖον" καθαρὰ γάρ ἔξει καὶ διαφανὴς καὶ ἀκήρατος, θεὸς οὖσα καὶ προφῦτι; δ)» εἰ βούλοιτο" καταπεσοῦσα δὲ, ἀχλυοῦται, καὶ ἀοριξεῖ, καὶ ψεύδεται" τὸ γὰρ ὁμιχλῶδες τοῦ πνεύματος οὐ χωρεῖ τὴν τῶν ὄντων ἐνέργειαν δ). ΜῆΊεταξὺ 'δὲ οὖσα, τῶν μὲν ] Ιδ ἂν ἁμάρτοι, τῶν, δὲ τυγχάνοι. Γνωματεύσαι; ἄν ἡ οὕτω ὅ) καὶ δαιμονίαν φύσιν ἐν ὑἡτινιοῦν τάξει. Τὸ
tou ptōmatos anasasan,, kai tais sphairais enarmosthę̄ēnai, tout᾽ esin, eis tēn oikeian physin hōsper anachythēnai. ᾿Eschatai men oun hautai dyo lēxeis, hē men amphiknephēs, hē de amphiphaēs ousa, eumoirias te kai kako daimonias ta akra neimamenai. Posas de) oiei metaxy chōras en tǭ kytei tou kosmou, heterophaeis te kai heperoknephei?"), en hais hapasais diaitan echei psychē meta Ō toude tou pneumatos, eidē te kai ēthē kai bious ameibousa? ᾿Anadramousa men oun epi tēn oikeian euge- 1thneian alētheias eei tamieion" kathara gar exei kai diaphanēs kai akēratos, theos ousa kai prophyti? d)» ei bouloito" katapesousa de, achlyoutai, kai aorixei, kai pseudetai" to gar homichlōdes tou pneumatos ou chōrei tēn tōn ontōn energeian d). MēIetaxy 'de ousa, tōn men ] Id an hamartoi, tōn, de tynchanoi. Gnōmateusai? an hē houtō ho) kai daimonian physin en hyētinioun taxei. To
rising from the fall and being fitted to the spheres, that is, poured back as it were into its own nature. These, then, are the two extreme lots, the one cloudy all round, the other bright all round, which have been allotted the extremes of good fortune and misfortune. How many regions do you think there are between them in the hollow of the cosmos, light on one side and dark on the other, in all of which the soul dwells with this spirit, changing forms, characters and lives? When it has run back up to its own nobility, it is a storehouse of truth; for it is pure, transparent and undefiled, a god and a prophet if it wishes. But when it has fallen, it is darkened, indefinite, and lies; for the misty part of the spirit does not admit the activity of the things that are. When it is in between, it will miss some things and hit others. In this way one might judge a daemonic nature too, of whatever rank. For the unerring
Notes and citation
Summary: Between the extremes of light and darkness lie many regions; the purer the spirit, the truer its visions; the fallen spirit sees falsely.
- The page ends mid-sentence; a line is probably lost before the next page.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): “3 ΑΙά. τοὐτέσιν ( Μοα. Ὠ. 51Ά4- ε ΡῈ αἶτι ὥςπερ εἰς τὴν οἰκείαν φύσιν 5. ἱτεροκναφεῖς (ε. ἃ 8. πι. δὺ- Αἰά, Ῥγὸ νι]. ἀναχθῦῆναι τεο6- Ρόῖ80τ.) οἰ. Πείηδα αἷς δ θεὲ οὶ ἀναχυθῆναι εχ Ρατ. ΟΕΕ. ἃ Μίοπ. Ἐ. Βιαιΐπι μετὰ δὲ του Μυη. ΒΟΕ. εἰ Νίεοσιω. οί ( πνεύματος ᾿άοπι Πδθεῖ ἴδεν. εἰΐατα ΕἸοίπαδ: ἐπ παίμταπι ργο- τοῦδε οτα. ΑἸά, Τυπι θη τε καὶ »τίαπι φμαεὶ τεϊωπαϊ, Οοηξ, ἀς εἶδη Ρᾶτ. ΔῈ. Μοπ, ΒΕ. Βεμὰ. Ῥεονΐϊά. ἵἴ, 1. ν. 80. Ὁ. Βεβρεχίι Μέεετίη. ἦθη τὲ καὶ ἤδη Ῥατ. Β. αἰπλῖτ. ἀυοίοσ ποδίεσ οσδοο, τηδ- 4. ίά, δὰ ὥδρ. ΧΙῖ.; τοί. 4. Εἰος. Ρ. 78. ἱπὶϊ., δὶ νἱὰ, ῬΙείθ, Ἡοχ ἔγαι ταμιεῖον οη. Β. Ρατ. Ἐχροθῖϊ. Ρ. 80. Ε: Μέεογπν. ΟΝ 5. προφήτης Ἀεμὰ, Ποΐη κα ρτο Ο.». ΧΙ, 4. ἐσχαται (οι τὰ- κἱ Αἱά, → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 337 (Krabinger 1:337; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/337). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/337
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-337) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 338
338Krabinger 1:338
ἢ πέλας τοῦ θείου. Τὸ δέ γε πλάνον. ἐν ταῖς προῤῥήσεσιν ἄληκτόν ἔστι τῶν ᾿ἀλινδουμένων εἰς ὕλην, ἐμπαθὲς καὶ φιλότιμον. ᾿ Ταύτῃ γὰρ ὑποδύεται τὸ σειὅραϊον.1}) ἀεὶ καὶ θεὸν καὶ πρεσβύτερον δαίμονα, “καὶ ἐνάλλεται, καὶ καταλαμβάνει τὴν εὐτρεπισθεῖσαν χώραν τῇ φύσει τῇ μείδονι. Ἔν ἀνθρώπῳ τε οὔσῃς ψυχῇς τάξιν ἀνὮ ἐνθένδε φωράσαιμεν. Ὅτῳ τὸ φαντατικὸν πνεῦμα καθαρὸν " 10καὶ εὐόρισον, καὶ ὕπαρ καὶ ὄναρ ἀληθῇ Ἶ τῶν ὄντων Β ἐκμαγεῖα δεχόμενον, οὗτος ἂν ὑπόσχεσιν ἔχοι, τόγε ἐπὶ ε«ῷ τῷ, ψυχῇς σχήματι, βελτίονος ληξεωρ οὐχ
ē pelas tou theiou. To de ge planon. en tais prorrhēsesin alēkton esti tōn ᾿alindoumenōn eis hylēn, empathes kai philotimon. ᾿ Tautę̄ gar hypodyetai to seioraïon.1}) aei kai theon kai presbyteron daimona, “kai enalletai, kai katalambanei tēn eutrepistheisan chōran tę̄ physei tę̄ meidoni. En anthrōpǭ te ousę̄s psychę̄s taxin anŌ enthende phōrasaimen. Hotǭ to phantatikon pneuma katharon " 10kai euorison, kai hypar kai onar alēthę̄ I tōn ontōn B ekmageia dechomenon, houtos an hyposchesin echoi, toge epi e«ǭ tǭ, psychę̄s schēmati, beltionos lēxeōr ouch
… is near the divine. But error in predictions never ceases for those who wallow in matter, passionate and ambitious; for by this means the material spirit always disguises itself as god and higher daemon, leaps in and seizes the place prepared for the greater nature. In man too we might detect the rank of the soul from this: one whose imaginative spirit is pure and well defined, receiving true impressions of the things that are, awake and asleep, would have a promise, as far as the condition of his soul goes, of a better lot.
Notes and citation
Summary: Those sunk in matter are deceived by spirits posing as gods; a pure imagination that sees truly awake and asleep promises a better lot.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 338 (Krabinger 1:338; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/338). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/338
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 339
339Krabinger 1:339
ἥκιστα δὲ ἀπὸ τῶν φαντασμάτων, ἃ προβάλλει καὶ περὶ ἃ καταγίνεται, ὅτε μὴ ἔξωθεν ὑφ᾽ ἑτέρου κινεῖται, ἐν ὁποίᾳ διαθέσει τυγχάνει τὸ ψυχικὸν πνεῦμα θηρῶμεν, χορηγούσῃ; φιλοσοφίας εἰς τοῦτο κριτήρια, 5. ὡς καὶ δεῖ τρέφειν αὐτὸ καὶ συνεπιμελεῖσθαι, αὔτοι ποτὲ πλανηθῆναι. Τροφὴ δὲ δ) ἀρίτῃ κατὰ τὴν ἐπιβλητικὴν δύναμιν ἐνεργεῖν, καὶ καθάπαξ νοερὰν εἶναι τὴν προβολὴν τὴς δωῦῇ,, ὅσῃ δύναμις, τὰς τῶν ἀ-( τόπων καὶ λχροπετῶν φαντασμάτων ὁρμὰς προλαμβάνον- 10τα,: τοῦτο γὰρ ἔσι Ὦ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἐεράφθαι καὶ ἄσχετον εἶναι τοῦ χείρονος, ὅσα ἀναγκαῖα, μόνον προτομιλοῦντα. Ἰγοερὰ δ᾽ ἐπιβολὴ χρῆμα τῶν συνιξαμένων ἐπὶ τὸ πνεῦμα τμητικωτατον" λεπτύνει ἦ γὰρ ἀῤῥήτως αὐτὸ καὶ πρὸς θεὸν ἀνατείνει" τὸ δὲ γενόμε- 1ὔνον ἐπιτήδειον ἕλκει τῇ συγγενείᾳ πνεῦμα θεῖον εἰς ὁμιλίαν ψυχῆ, ὦιϊπερ, ὅταν ὑπὸ πάχους συνειληθῇ καὶ γένηται μεῖον, ἢ ὥςτε πληρῶσαι τὰς ἀποδειχθείσα! Ὦ αὐτῷ χώρας ὑπὸ τῇς διαπλασάσῃ: προνοίας ἀνθρωπον" αἱ δέ εἰσιν ἐγκεφάλου κοιλίαι" τότε τῇς φύσεως οὐκ ἀνεχομένης ἐν τοῖς οὖσι κενοῦ πονηρὸν πνεῦμα εἰςκρίνεται. αὶ τί οὐκ ἄν πάθοι γενομένῃ συνέξιος ἢ) ἀποτροπαίῳ κακῷς τὰς γὰρ ἐπὶ αὐτῷ τούτῳ γενομένας
hēkista de apo tōn phantasmatōn, ha proballei kai peri ha kataginetai, hote mē exōthen hyph᾽ heterou kineitai, en hopoią diathesei tynchanei to psychikon pneuma thērōmen, chorēgousę̄? philosophias eis touto kritēria, 5. hōs kai dei trephein auto kai synepimeleisthai, autoi pote planēthēnai. Trophē de d) aritę̄ kata tēn epiblētikēn dynamin energein, kai kathapax noeran einai tēn probolēn tēs dōyę̄,, hosę̄ dynamis, tas tōn a-( topōn kai lchropetōn phantasmatōn hormas prolambanon- 10ta,: touto gar esi Ō pros to kreitton eeraphthai kai ascheton einai tou cheironos, hosa anankaia, monon protomilounta. Igoera d᾽ epibolē chrēma tōn synixamenōn epi to pneuma tmētikōtaton" leptynei ē gar arrhētōs auto kai pros theon anateinei" to de genome- 1ynon epitēdeion helkei tę̄ syngeneią pneuma theion eis homilian psychē, ōiïper, hotan hypo pachous syneilēthę̄ kai genētai meion, ē hōste plērōsai tas apodeichtheisa! Ō autǭ chōras hypo tę̄s diaplasasę̄: pronoias anthrōpon" hai de eisin enkephalou koiliai" tote tę̄s physeōs ouk anechomenēs en tois ousi kenou ponēron pneuma eiskrinetai. ai ti ouk an pathoi genomenę̄ synexios ē) apotropaiǭ kakǭs tas gar epi autǭ toutǭ genomenas
And not least from the images it projects and busies itself with, when it is not moved from outside by something else, let us track down in what condition the spirit of the soul is, philosophy supplying the criteria for this — so that we may nourish it and care for it and it may never go astray. The best nourishment is to act by the power of attention and, in short, to make the projection of life intellectual as far as possible, forestalling the impulses of absurd and rash images; for this is to be turned toward the better and detached from the worse, keeping company with it only as far as necessary. Intellectual attention is the most cutting of the things that act upon the spirit; for it thins it ineffably and stretches it up toward God; and once it has become fit, it draws a divine spirit by kinship into fellowship with the soul. Just so, when the spirit is rolled up by thickness and becomes too little to fill the regions assigned to it by the providence that formed man — and these are the ventricles of the brain — then, since nature tolerates no void among beings, an evil spirit slips in. And what would the soul not suffer when it lives with an abominable evil? For the regions made for this very purpose
Notes and citation
Summary: Nourish the imaginative spirit with intellectual attention, which refines it and draws in a divine spirit; a thickened spirit leaves room for an evil one.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 339 (Krabinger 1:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/339). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/339
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-339) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 340
340Krabinger 1:340
τοῦ πνεύματος εἶναι χώρας, φύσις ἐσὶν, ἢ χείρονος ἢ βελτίονος εἶναι πλύρεις. ᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μὲν ἀθέων δίκῃ τῶν μολυνάντων τὸ ἐν αὐτοῖς θεῖον" ἐκεῖνο δὲ τέλος εὐσεβείας, ἢ ὃ τι ἀγχοῦ τοῦ τέλους. δ΄: Ἡμεῖς μὲν οὖν περὶ ἢ) τῇς δ ὀνείρων μαντικῇ 1.3 λέγειν ἐπιβαλόμενοι, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἀτιμάδοιεν αὐτὴν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐπιτηδεύδιεν οἱ ἀνθρωποι, χρείαν τῷ βίῳ παρέχουσαν, ἐπὶ τούτῳ τὴν φανταεικὴν φύσιν περιειργάσμεθα. ἡ Ἐκ δὲ τοῦ λόγου τὸ μὲν ἐνθάδε χρειῶδες ἔλαττον ἀναπέφηνε " καρπὸς δὲ ἀμείνων ὑγιοῖς πνεύματος; ἀναγωγὴ ψυχῇ!, ἱερὸν ὄντως κέρδος" ὧιτε καὶ μελέτῃ «ι, εὐσεβείας ἐσὶ πειρᾶσθαι μαντικὸν ἡμῖν αὐτὸ εἶναι. Ἑαΐ τινες ἤδη διὰ τὸ τοιοῦτο λιχνείᾳ δελεασθέντες προγνώσεως τράπεδάν τε ἀπὸ φλεγμαινούσης δ) ἱερὰν καὶ ἄτυφον προὔθεντο, καὶ κοίτην ἠσπάσαντο καθαρὰν Β καὶ ἀμόλυντον. Ο γὰρ ὅσα τῷ Πυθοὶ τρίποδι τῇ κλίνῃ χρησάμενος δ) πολλοῦ δεὶ μάρτυρας ἀκολασίας,
tou pneumatos einai chōras, physis esin, ē cheironos ē beltionos einai plyreis. ᾿Alla touto men atheōn dikę̄ tōn molynantōn to en autois theion" ekeino de telos eusebeias, ē ho ti anchou tou telous. d΄: Hēmeis men oun peri ē) tę̄s d oneirōn mantikę̄ 1.3 legein epibalomenoi, hōs an mē atimadoien autēn, all᾽ epitēdeudien hoi anthrōpoi, chreian tǭ biǭ parechousan, epi toutǭ tēn phantaeikēn physin perieirgasmetha. hē Ek de tou logou to men enthade chreiōdes elatton anapephēne " karpos de ameinōn hygiois pneumatos? anagōgē psychę̄!, hieron ontōs kerdos" hōite kai meletę̄ «i, eusebeias esi peirasthai mantikon hēmin auto einai. Heaï tines ēdē dia to toiouto lichneią deleasthentes prognōseōs trapedan te apo phlegmainousēs d) hieran kai atyphon prouthento, kai koitēn ēspasanto katharan B kai amolynton. O gar hosa tǭ Pythoi tripodi tę̄ klinę̄ chrēsamenos d) pollou dei martyras akolasias,
for the spirit are by nature full either of the worse or of the better. The one is the punishment of the godless who have defiled the divine within them; the other is the goal of piety, or something near the goal. We, then, undertaking to speak about divination from dreams, so that people may not dishonour it but practise it, since it is of use to life, have for this purpose examined the imaginative nature closely. From the argument, the usefulness here has proved the lesser thing; the better fruit of a healthy spirit is the ascent of the soul, a truly sacred gain; so that it is also a practice of piety to try to make it prophetic for ourselves. Some, lured by a greed for foreknowledge, have already set before themselves a table sacred and simple instead of an inflamed one, and embraced a pure and undefiled bed. For one who uses his couch as a Pythian tripod is far from making the nights in it witnesses of licentiousness;
Notes and citation
Summary: Dream divination is useful, but its greater fruit is the soul's ascent; seeking prophetic dreams leads people to sober food and a chaste bed.
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 340 (Krabinger 1:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/340). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/340
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-340) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 341
341Krabinger 1:341
τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ νύκτας ποιήσασθαι' ὁ δὲ καὶ προιεκύνησε θεὸν καὶ προτηὐξατο. Γίνεται δὲ πολὺ τὸ κατὰ “μικρὲν συντιθέμενον, καὶ τὸ δι᾽ ἄλλο γινόμενον' εἰς μεῖξον ἀπετελεύτησεν, ἐρασθῆναι θεοῦ προϊόντα, Ὗ, καὶ ὃ συναφθῆναί ποτὲ τοὺς οὐκ ἐπὶ τοῦτο τὰ πρῶτα ὁρμή- “ σαντας. Οὔκουν ἄξιον ἀμελεῖν μαντικῇς ὁδοιπορούσῃ; ᾽) ἐπὶ τὰ θεῖα καὶ παρυφιφάμενον ἐχούσης τῶν. ἐν ἀν- ᾿ θρώπου δυνάμει τὸ τιμιώτατον. Οὐδὲ Ὁ γὰρ διὰ τοῦτο ἐλάττων ἡ τῇδε χρεία τῇ συνημμένῃ ψυχῇ τῷ. Θεῷ, ὅτι τῇς ἐπαφῇς τῶν κρειττόνων ἡξίωται" οὔτε - γὰρ ἀνεπίερρεπτόις ἐξι τοῦ δώου, καὶ ἐκ περιωπῆς ἀποσκοπεῖται τὰ κάξω πολύ που τρανότερον, ἢ μετ᾿ αὐτῶν οὖσα καὶ συμπιφυρμβνῃ τοῖς χείροσιν, ὦξτε μένουσα ἀἁτρεμὴς δώσει τῷ δώῳ τὰ τῶν γινομένων ἰνδάλματα. αὶ τοῦτ᾽ ἔξει τὸ λεγόμενον, κατιόντα αὐ διικατιέναι, ὅταν ἀσχέτως ὁ κρείττων ἐπιμελῆται τοῦ ᾿ ἐν ἀνθρώ-
tas en autę̄ nyktas poiēsasthai' ho de kai proiekynēse theon kai protēuxato. Ginetai de poly to kata “mikren syntithemenon, kai to di᾽ allo ginomenon' eis meixon apeteleutēsen, erasthēnai theou proïonta, Hy, kai ho synaphthēnai pote tous ouk epi touto ta prōta hormē- “ santas. Oukoun axion amelein mantikę̄s hodoiporousę̄? ᾽) epi ta theia kai paryphiphamenon echousēs tōn. en an- ᾿ thrōpou dynamei to timiōtaton. Oude Ho gar dia touto elattōn hē tę̄de chreia tę̄ synēmmenę̄ psychę̄ tǭ. Theǭ, hoti tę̄s epaphę̄s tōn kreittonōn hēxiōtai" oute - gar anepierreptois exi tou dōou, kai ek periōpēs aposkopeitai ta kaxō poly pou tranoteron, ē met᾿ autōn ousa kai sympiphyrmbnę̄ tois cheirosin, ōxte menousa haatremēs dōsei tǭ dōǭ ta tōn ginomenōn indalmata. ai tout᾽ exei to legomenon, kationta au diikatienai, hotan aschetōs ho kreittōn epimelētai tou ᾿ en anthrō-
rather he worships God and prays first. Much is built up little by little, and what was done for another reason has ended in something greater: those who did not set out for this at first have advanced to loving God and at times being joined to him. So it is not right to neglect a divination that travels toward the divine and has as its companion the most precious of the things in human power. Nor is the use here any less for the soul joined to God because it has been thought worthy of contact with higher things; for it is not turned away from the living being, and it surveys things below from a watchtower much more clearly than if it were among them and mixed up with the worse; so that, remaining unmoved, it will give the living being images of what is coming to be. And this is the saying, "descending without descending," when the better cares without attachment for the
Notes and citation
Summary: Seeking prophetic dreams can lead people to love and union with God; the soul joined to God sees earthly things even more clearly from above.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR: Krabinger's apparatus leaked into the text): Μέεετπν, Ροεὶ ἀκολασίας αἀάϊιυτς ΒΌΡετβοσ) ἰά. Ὠεΐπο τῶν ἀνθρώκαὶ ἴῃ αν. Β. πὸ πο Ῥερει καὶ ἴα Βομά, Τα ον 8: Ὁ. πραμφσε δυῖονα δᾶ: προιενόνε, 2. οὐ Μοιι. Β. εἰ Βεϊιά. Ῥεοχί- Ῥαωτ. Α. θεὸν (6 δοῦν σ. τ.) τὴ τῦς συνρμμένηε ψυχῆς Ρᾶτ, Μου. 8. ΑΒΟΏΌΕ, δοη. ΒΟΕ. εἰ ΝΜ δεττα.; → .
Cite (SBL): Synesius, Insomn. 341 (Krabinger 1:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/341). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/synesius-de-insomniis/341
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-synesius-de-insomniis-341) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of a re-OCR of Krabinger's edition (Landshut, 1850; corrections logged). No public-domain English translation was available, so each batch was re-read against the Greek.