Chapter V.—Opinions of Plato and Aristotle.

But possibly those who are unwilling to give up the ancient and inveterate error, maintain that they have received the doctrine of their religion not from those who have now been mentioned, but from those who are esteemed among them as the most renowned and finished philosophers, Plato and Aristotle. For these, they say, have learned the perfect and true religion. But I would be glad to ask, first of all, from those who say so, from whom they say that these men have learned this knowledge; for it is impossible that men who have not learned these so great and divine matters from some who knew them, should either themselves know them, or be able correctly to teach others; and, in the second place, I think we ought to examine the opinions even of these sages. For we shall see whether each of these does not manifestly contradict the other. But if we find that even they do not agree with each other, I think it is easy to see clearly that they too are ignorant. For Plato, with the air of one that has descended from above, and has accurately ascertained and seen all that is in heaven, says that the most high God exists in a fiery substance.16    Or, “is of a fiery nature.” But Aristotle, in a book addressed to Alexander of Macedon, giving a compendious explanation of his own philosophy, clearly and manifestly overthrows the opinion of Plato, saying that God does not exist in a fiery substance: but inventing, as a fifth substance, some kind of ætherial and unchangeable body, says that God exists in it. Thus, at least, he wrote: “Not, as some of those who have erred regarding the Deity say, that God exists in a fiery substance.” Then, as if he were not satisfied with this blasphemy against Plato, he further, for the sake of proving what he says about the ætherial body, cites as a witness him whom Plato had banished from his republic as a liar, and as being an imitator of the images of truth at three removes,17    See the Republic, x. 2. By the Platonic doctrine, the ideas of things in the mind of God were the realities; the things themselves, as seen by us, were the images of these realities; and poetry, therefore, describing the images of realities, was only at the third remove from nature. As Plato puts it briefly in this same passage, “the painter, the bed-maker, God—these three are the masters of three species of beds.” for so Plato calls Homer; for he wrote: “Thus at least did Homer speak,18    Iliad, xv. 192. ‘And Zeus obtained the wide heaven in the air and the clouds,’ ” wishing to make his own opinion appear more worthy of credit by the testimony of Homer; not being aware that if he used Homer as a witness to prove that he spoke truth, many of his tenets would be proved untrue. For Thales of Miletus, who was the founder of philosophy among them, taking occasion from him,19    i.e., from Homer; using Homer’s words as suggestive and confirmatory of his doctrine. will contradict his first opinions about first principles. For Aristotle himself, having said that God and matter are the first principles of all things, Thales, the eldest of all their sages, says that water is the first principle of the things that exist; for he says that all things are from water, and that all things are resolved into water. And he conjectures this, first, from the fact that the seed of all living creatures, which is their first principle, is moist; and secondly, because all plants grow and bear fruit in moisture, but when deprived of moisture, wither. Then, as if not satisfied with his conjectures, he cites Homer as a most trustworthy testimony, who speaks thus:—

May not Thales, then, very fairly say to him, “What is the reason, Aristotle, why you give heed to Homer, as if he spoke truth, when you wish to demolish the opinions of Plato; but when you promulgate an opinion contrary to ours, you think Homer untruthful?”

Ἀλλ' ἴσως οἱ τῆς ἀρχαίας καὶ παλαιᾶς ἐκείνης ἀποστῆναι μὴ βουλόμενοι πλάνης οὔ φασι παρὰ τῶν προειρημένων, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τῶν ἐνδοξοτάτων καὶ τελειοτάτων ἐν ἀρετῇ νομισθέντων εἶναι παρ' αὐτοῖς φιλοσόφων, τὸν περὶ τῆς θεοσεβείας παρειληφέναι λόγον, Πλάτωνός τε καὶ Ἀριστοτέλους: τούτους γὰρ τὴν τελείαν καὶ ἀληθῆ φασι μεμαθηκέναι θεοσέβειαν. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ἡδέως ἂν πυθοίμην τῶν ταῦτα λεγόντων, παρὰ τίνων αὐτοὺς μεμαθηκότας εἰδέναι φασίν: ἀδύνατον γὰρ τοὺς τὰ οὕτω μεγάλα καὶ θεῖα μὴ παρά τινων εἰδότων μεμαθηκότας ἢ αὐτοὺς εἰδέναι ἢ ἑτέρους δύνασθαι διδάσκειν ὀρθῶς. Δεύτερον δὲ οἶμαι δεῖν καὶ τὰς τούτων ἐξετάσαι δόξας: εἰσόμεθα γάρ, εἰ μὴ καὶ τούτων ἑκάτερος τἀναντία θατέρῳ φανήσεται λέγων. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τούτους μὴ συμφωνοῦντας ἀλλήλοις εὕροιμεν, ῥᾴδιον οἶμαι καὶ τὴν τούτων ἄγνοιαν γινώσκειν σαφῶς. Πλάτων μὲν γάρ, ὡς ἄνωθεν κατεληλυθὼς καὶ τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἅπαντα ἀκριβῶς ἑωρακώς, τὸν ἀνωτάτω θεὸν ἐν τῇ πυρώδει οὐσίᾳ εἶναι λέγει. Ἀριστοτέλης δέ, ἐν τῷ πρὸς Ἀλέξανδρον τὸν Μακεδόνα λόγῳ σύντομόν τινα τῆς ἑαυτοῦ φιλοσοφίας ἐκτιθέμενος ὅρον, σαφῶς καὶ φανερῶς τὴν Πλάτωνος ἀναιρεῖ δόξαν, οὐκ ἐν τῇ πυρώδει οὐσίᾳ τὸν θεὸν εἶναι λέγων: ἀλλά, πέμπτον αἰθέριόν τι καὶ ἀμετάβλητον ἀναπλάττων σῶμα, ἐν τούτῳ αὐτὸν εἶναί φησιν. Γέγραφε γοῦν οὕτως: Οὐχ ὡς ἔνιοι τῶν περὶ τὸ θεῖον πλημμελούντων ἐν τῇ πυρώδει οὐσίᾳ τὸν θεὸν εἶναί φασιν. Εἶτα, ὥσπερ μὴ ἀρκούμενος ἐπὶ τῇ κατὰ Πλάτωνος βλασφημίᾳ, καὶ τὸν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ τῆς πολιτείας ἐκβληθέντα ὡς ψεύστην καὶ τρίτον τῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀληθείας εἰδώλων, ὡς αὐτὸς ἔφη, μιμητὴν ὄντα Ὅμηρον εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τῶν ὑπ' αὐτοῦ περὶ τοῦ αἰθερίου σώματος λεγομένων καλεῖ μάρτυρα. Γέγραφε γάρ: Οὕτως γοῦν καὶ Ὅμηρος ἔφη: Ζεὺς δ' ἔλαχ' οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἐν αἰθέρι καὶ νεφέλῃσιν: βουλόμενος ἐκ τῆς Ὁμήρου μαρτυρίας ἀξιόπιστον τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δεικνύναι δόξαν, ἀγνοῶν ὅτι, εἰ Ὁμήρῳ πρὸς ἀπόδειξιν τοῦ ἀληθῆ ἑαυτὸν λέγειν μάρτυρι χρῷτο, πολλὰ τῶν αὐτῷ δοξάντων οὐκ ἀληθῆ φανήσεται ὄντα. Θαλῆς γὰρ ὁ Μιλήσιος, ὁ πρῶτος παρ' αὐτοῖς τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἄρξας, τὴν πρόφασιν παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβὼν τὰς πρώτας αὐτοῦ περὶ ἀρχῶν ἀθετήσει δόξας. Αὐτοῦ γὰρ Ἀριστοτέλους θεὸν καὶ ὕλην ἀρχὰς εἶναι τῶν πάντων εἰρηκότος ὁ πρεσβύτατος τῶν κατ' αὐτοὺς ἁπάντων Θαλῆς ἀρχὴν τῶν ὄντων ὕδωρ εἶναι λέγει: ἐξ ὕδατος γάρ φησι τὰ πάντα εἶναι καὶ εἰς ὕδωρ ἀναλύεσθαι τὰ πάντα. Στοχάζεται δὲ πρῶτον μὲν ἀπὸ τοῦ πάντων τῶν ζώων τὴν γονήν, ἀρχὴν οὖσαν, ὑγρὰν εἶναι: δεύτερον δὲ ὅτι πάντα τὰ φυτὰ ὑγρῷ τρέφεται καὶ καρποφορεῖ, ἀμοιροῦντα δὲ τοῦ ὑγροῦ ξηραίνεται. Εἶθ', ὥσπερ μὴ ἀρκούμενος οἷς στοχάζεται, καὶ τὸν Ὅμηρον ὡς ἀξιόπιστον μαρτύρεται οὕτως λέγοντα: Ὠκεανός, ὅσπερ γένεσις πάντεσσι τέτυκται. Πῶς οὖν οὐκ εἰκότως ὁ Θαλῆς πρὸς αὐτὸν φήσει: Δι' ἣν αἰτίαν, ὦ Ἀριστότελες, τὰς μὲν Πλάτωνος ἀναιρεῖν ἐθέλων δόξας, ὡς ἀληθεύοντι προσέχεις Ὁμήρῳ, ἡμῶν δὲ τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀποφηνάμενος δόξαν οὐκ ἀληθεύειν Ὅμηρον οἴει;