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is in it, it will certainly be occupied with the opposite; for alienation from the good clearly demonstrates familiarity with evil. But do you say that neither this by chance nor that is a matter of concern to it? Therefore you say it is soulless and without free choice and insensible to both good and evil, if indeed it has neither soul nor free choice, nor is it considered as a proper 45 substance. This is testified by you to have such great power, that the insubstantial rules and governs beings with free choice, the non-participant those who partake of life, the soulless the ensouled, the one without free choice those who live by free choice, the one incapable of virtue those who pursue virtue, in short, the non-existent the existent? For in what is the substance of this famed name comprehended? It is not an animal, it is not seen in outline, it is not considered a god. For how can it be a god, which does not look to virtue and justice? But what is it, if it is none of these things? But it seems that by you the ever-present moment of time is called fate; for time extends along with every motion, whether of rivers or of stars or of men. But it makes no difference whether one, sitting by the water, marks out the indivisible segments of the ever-present time by the motion of the stream, or of a ship borne by the wind, or of men journeying, or of the moving stars. For there is one definition of motion for all things that move transitionally: the change from where it is to where it is not. But if neither the flow of streams, nor the motion of ships, nor the journeying of men, by marking the intervals of time, create fates, how do you fabricate the temporal signs of the motion of the stars into the generation of fate and say that this hour or the 46 fraction of the hour, which was marked by this sign of the stars' motion, becomes fate? Why then do not the births of men always coincide with every sign? For I will repeat the same argument again. For from whomever the cause of a man's being well or ill comes, from them also certainly comes the cause of his being. If therefore what comes after birth is from them, certainly from them also is birth itself; but if this is not in them, then certainly neither is what comes after this. But indeed, that birth is not in them is clear from this: from the fact that human births of those being born do not flow together uninterruptedly like a river with the continuous stream of passing time, but births occur at intervals; whereas of the generation of those fates which flowing time produces by the ever-moving course of the stars, there is not any interval to be perceived either by sense or by thought. What then is that fate, whether one more general fate or many fates refined into the segments of time, the argument has not yet been able to comprehend through any logical sequence. Do you say the stars move? For we too bring forward in response the motion of rivers. But those move continually. And these likewise, throughout. But those move in time. Neither are these outside of time. But it is not possible to find a temporal beginning of motion for those. And what beginning from time will you devise for these? But those always move in the same way and manner. Nor could one attest an opposite motion for these, since water by nature always 47 flows down from the higher place to the slope. So either concede that the motion of rivers also begets certain fates, or we too will not concede this power to the motion of the stars.

But Aries, he says, or Taurus has this power, and each of the planets has that. Therefore, when one of the wandering stars, carried around by the circle, periodically comes to be in one of these, either alone or with others, the conjunction of the powers has produced this particular life for the one who was brought forth at this hour at his birth. O, the empty talk! you call Taurus servile, as it may be, because this animal is subdued under a yoke, and Aries beneficent on account of the

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ἐστιν αὐτῇ, περὶ τὸ ἐναντίον πάντως ἀσχοληθήσεται· ἡ γὰρ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ ἀλλοτρίωσις τὴν πρὸς τὸ κακὸν οἰκειότητα σαφῶς ἐπιδείκνυσιν. ἀλλ' οὔτε τοῦτο τυχὸν οὔτε ἐκεῖνο διὰ φροντίδος εἶναι λέγεις αὐτῇ; οὐκοῦν ἄψυχον αὐτὸ φῂς εἶναι καὶ ἀπροαίρετον καὶ καλοῦ καὶ χείρονος ἀνεπαίσθητον, εἴ γε μήτε ψυχὴν μήτε προαίρεσιν ἔχει μήτε κατ' ἰδίαν θεωρεῖται 45 ὑπόστασιν. τοῦτο τοσαύτην μαρτυρεῖται παρ' ὑμῖν ἔχειν τὴν δύναμιν, ὥστε τῶν προαιρετικῶν ζῴων ἐπιστατεῖν καὶ κρατεῖν τῶν ὑφεστώτων τὸ ἀνυπόστατον, τῶν μετεχόντων ζωῆς τὸ ἀμέτοχον, τῶν ἐμψύχων τὸ ἄψυχον, τῶν προαιρέσει συζώντων τὸ ἀπροαίρετον, τῶν ἀρετὴν μετιόντων τὸ ἀρετῆς ἀπαράδεκτον, καθόλου τῶν ὄντων τὸ μὴ ὄν; ἐν τίνι γὰρ καταλαμβάνεται τοῦ θρυλουμένου τούτου ὀνόματος ἡ ὑπόστασις; ζῷον οὐκ ἔστιν, ἐν περιγραφῇ οὐχ ὁρᾶται, θεὸς οὐ νομίζεται. πῶς γὰρ θεὸς ὁ μὴ πρὸς ἀρετὴν καὶ τὸ δίκαιον βλέπων; ὃ δὲ μηδέν ἐστι τούτων, τί ἐστιν; ἀλλ' ἔοικε παρ' ὑμῶν τὸ ἀεὶ ἐνεστὼς τοῦ χρόνου εἱμαρμένη λέγεσθαι· πάσῃ γὰρ κινήσει εἴτε ποταμῶν εἴτε ἀστέρων εἴτε ἀνθρώπων ὁ χρόνος συμπαρεκτείνεται. διαφέρει δὲ οὐδὲν ἢ ὕδατι προσκαθήμενον τῇ κινήσει τοῦ ῥεύματος ἀποσημειοῦσθαι τὰ ἀκαριαῖα τοῦ ἀεὶ ἐνεστῶτος χρόνου τμήματα ἢ νεὼς δι' ἀνέμου κομιζομένης ἢ ἀνθρώπων ὁδοιπορούντων ἢ κινουμένων ἄστρων. εἷς γὰρ ἐπὶ πάντων τῶν μεταβατικῶς κινουμένων ὅρος κινήσεως, ἡ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἐν ᾧ οὐκ ἔστι μετάστασις. εἰ δὲ οὔτε ἡ τῶν ῥείθρων φορὰ οὔτε ἡ τῶν πλοίων κίνησις οὔτε ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων πορεία σημειουμένη τοῦ χρόνου τὰ διαστήματα εἱμαρμένας ποιεῖ, πῶς τὰ χρονικὰ σημεῖα τῆς τῶν ἀστέρων κινήσεως εἰς εἱμαρμένης γένεσιν πλάσσετε καί φατε τήνδε τὴν ὥραν ἢ τῆς 46 ὥρας τὸ ποστημόριον, ὅπερ τῷδε τῷ σημείῳ τῆς τῶν ἄστρων κινήσεως ἐσημειώθη, εἱμαρμένην γίνεσθαι; τί οὖν οὐχὶ πάν τως παντὶ σημείῳ καὶ γενέσεις τῶν ἀνθρώπων συμφέρονται; πάλιν γὰρ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐπαναλήψομαι λόγον. παρ' ὧν γὰρ ἡ αἰτία τοῦ εὖ ἢ κακῶς εἶναι τὸν ἄνθρωπον, παρὰ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ τοῦ εἶναι πάντως αἰτία ἐστίν. εἰ οὖν τὸ μετὰ τὴν γένεσιν παρ' ἐκείνων, πάντως παρὰ τῶν αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ γένεσις· εἰ δὲ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐν ἐκείνοις, οὐδὲ τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο πάντως. ἀλλὰ μὴν τὸ μὴ ἐν ἐκείνοις εἶναι τὴν γένεσιν ἐκ τούτου δῆλόν ἐστιν· ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ἀδιαλείπτως ποταμοῦ δίκην τῷ συνεχεῖ τῆς παροδικῆς τοῦ χρόνου ῥοῆς καὶ τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας συρρέειν τῶν τικτομένων γενέσεις, ἀλλ' ἐν διαλείμμασι μὲν εἶναι τοὺς τόκους· τῆς δὲ τῶν μοιρῶν ἐκείνων γενέσεως ἃς ὁ χρόνος ῥέων τῷ ἀεικινήτῳ τῆς τῶν ἄστρων φορᾶς ἐξεργάζεται οὐδ' ὁτιοῦν ἔστι διάλειμμα οὔτε κατ' αἴσθησιν οὔτε τῇ διανοίᾳ λαβεῖν. τίς οὖν ἐκείνη ἡ εἱμαρμένη, εἴτ' οὖν μία γενικωτέρα εἴτ' οὖν πολλαὶ αἱ ἐπὶ τοῖς τοῦ χρόνου τμήμασι συλλεπτυνόμεναι, οὔπω καταλαβεῖν δι' ἀκολούθου τινὸς ὁ λόγος δεδύνηται. κινεῖσθαι τὰ ἄστρα φατέ; καὶ γὰρ καὶ ἡμεῖς τὴν τῶν ποταμῶν ἀντιπροφέρομεν κίνησιν. ἀλλὰ διὰ παντὸς ἐκεῖνα. καὶ ταῦτα ὡσαύτως δι' ὅλου. ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα ἐν χρόνῳ. οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἔξω τοῦ χρόνου. ἀλλὰ χρονικὴν οὐκ ἔστιν ἐπ' ἐκείνων ἀρχὴν ἐξευρεῖν τῆς κινήσεως. ποίαν δὲ τούτοις ἐπινοήσεις τὴν ἀπὸ χρόνων ἀρχήν; ἀλλ' ἐκεῖνα κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ καὶ ὡσαύτως ἀεὶ κινεῖται. οὐδὲ τούτοις ἄν τις τὴν ἐναντίαν προσμαρτυρήσειε κίνησιν φυσικῶς ἀεὶ τοῦ ὕδατος 47 ἀπὸ τοῦ ὑπερκειμένου πρὸς τὸ πρανὲς καταρρέοντος. ὥστε ἢ καὶ τὴν κίνησιν τῶν ποταμῶν εἱμαρμένας τινὰς ἀπογεννᾶν συγχωρήσατε ἢ οὐδὲ ἡμεῖς τῇ τῶν ἄστρων κινήσει τῆς δυνάμεως ταύτης παραχωρήσομεν.

Ἀλλὰ τῆσδε, φησί, τῆς δυνάμεως ὁ Κριὸς ἢ ὁ Ταῦρος καὶ τῆσδε τῶν πλανητῶν ἕκαστος. ὅταν οὖν ἐν ἑνὶ τούτων γένηται ἢ κατὰ μόνας ἢ μεθ' ἑτέρων περιοδικῶς τις τῶν πλανηθέντων ὑπὸ τοῦ κύκλου περιαγόμενος, ἡ τῶν δυνάμεων σύνοδος τόνδε τὸν βίον τῷ συνενεχθέντι τῇ ὥρᾳ ταύτῃ κατὰ τὴν γένεσιν ἀπειργάσατο. Ὢ τῆς ματαιολογίας. δούλειον, ἂν οὕτω τύχῃ, τὸν Ταῦρον λέγετε διὰ τὸ ὑπὸ ζυγῷ τὸ ζῷον τοῦτο δαμάζεσθαι καὶ εὐεργετικὸν τὸν Κριὸν διὰ τὴν τῶν