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Night-ravens shun the light as an enemy, but embrace the darkness as salvation. 2.3 A sensible person would not blame them for this; for nature indeed allotted such a life to them from the beginning. But what pardon could they reasonably obtain who voluntarily yoke themselves to the darkness, especially when the divine light has filled every continent and island with its ray and has taken hold of the very ends of the inhabited 2.4 world? For those who fell into this affliction before the divine manifestation have some moderate excuse, so to speak, in that the sun of righteousness had not yet risen, but they lived as if in the night and were lit only by the torch of nature. But since this sun has not only risen, but also, to speak poetically, has reached mid-heaven, what argument of defense is left for those who are now blind at midday and shut their eyes, so that they might not enjoy the light? 2.5 But the passion of conceit does not allow them to scatter the mist from their eyes. For they think they know the truth better than anyone, since they were brought up on the teachings of famous men, and they are unwilling to perceive that sea fish are raised in the greatest possible amount of brine, but nevertheless need salt for seasoning. 2.6 Nor indeed do they perceive that eloquence is not necessarily a teacher of truth. For what is more pleasant than the poetry of Homer? And what is sweeter than that eloquence? But nonetheless the best of the philosophers—and you have recognized, I suppose, the son of Ariston—after anointing him with myrrh, just as women do the swallows, sent him away from the city composed by him, calling him a teacher of licentiousness and impiety. 2.7 "For he teaches," he says, "the young to blaspheme and instills in them wicked opinions about the gods and implants evil and corrupt lessons in them while they are still impressionable." And he made very many other accusations against the chief of the poets. Therefore, not everyone who has practiced eloquence would be a trustworthy teacher of truth. 2.8 And if you put forward the philosophers to us, know well that these too endured very great error. For they did not all have one main road, nor did they follow in the footsteps of those who had gone before, but each cut his own path and they have devised countless [paths]; for the tracks of falsehood are surely many-branched. 2.9 And this will be shown explicitly at once. For Thales, the eldest of the so-called seven sages, supposed water to be the principle of all things, having trusted, I think, what Homer said: And Oceanus, the genesis of gods, and mother Tethys. But Anaximander, who succeeded him, said the infinite was the principle. And Anaximenes, his successor, and Diogenes of Apollonia 2.10 in agreement named the air as the principle. But Hippasus of Metapontum and Heraclitus of Ephesus assigned the principle of all things to fire. And Empedocles of Acragas said it was the four elements. Xenophanes of Colophon said the universe is eternal, and all things are from the earth. And Parmenides of Elea, his companion, likewise confirmed this account, and declared the judgment of the senses to be false, saying it falls far short 2.11 of attaining the truth. And Democritus of Abdera said the universe is infinite and uncreated. And Epicurus of Athens, the son of Neocles, said that the universe was composed from atoms from the beginning, but is without beginning and eternal. And Metrodorus of Chios and Zeno of Elea and Diogenes of Smyrna supposed different principles for the universe. For this very reason Socrates, the son of Sophroniscus, continually mocked them, because while strongly insisting they knew things unattainable by humans, they were always fighting with each other, championing new and contrary doctrines, as Xenophon says in his 2.12 *Memorabilia*. And Plato wrote in the *Phaedo* that he himself said: "For I, O Cebes, when I was young, had a wondrous desire for that wisdom which they call natural history. For it seemed to me a magnificent thing to know the causes of each thing, why each thing comes to be,

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νυκτικόρακες ἀποφυγγάνουσι μὲν τὸ φῶς ὡς πολέμιον, τὸ δὲ σκότος ἀσπάζονται ὡς σωτήριον. 2.3 Τούτοις μὲν οὖν δή τις οὐκ ἂν νεμεσήσειε σωφρονῶν· ἡ γάρ τοι φύσις αὐτοῖς τὴν τοιάνδε ζωὴν ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀπεκλήρωσεν· οἱ δ' αὐθαιρέτως σφᾶς αὐτοὺς τῷ σκότῳ ξυζεύξαντες ποίας ἂν τύχοιεν εἰκότως ξυγγνώμης, μάλιστα τοῦ θείου φωτὸς ἅπασαν ἤπειρον καὶ νῆσον τῆς ἀκτῖνος πληρώσαντος καὶ αὐτὰ κατειληφότος τῆς 2.4 οἰκουμένης τὰ τέρματα; οἱ μὲν γὰρ πρὸ τῆς θείας ἐπιφανείας τῇδε τῇ πάθῃ περιπεσόντες ἔχουσί τινα μετρίαν οὕτω πως παραί τησιν, τῷ μηδέπω τῆς δικαιοσύνης ἀνατεῖλαι τὸν ἥλιον, ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐν νυκτὶ διάγειν καὶ ὑπὸ μόνης δᾳδουχεῖσθαι τῆς φύσεως· ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὗτος οὐ μόνον ἀνέτειλεν, ἀλλὰ καί, ποιητικῶς εἰπεῖν, μέσον οὐρανὸν ἀμφιβέβηκε, τίς ἀπολογίας ὑπολείπεται λόγος τοῖς νῦν ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ τυ φλώττουσι καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς μύουσιν, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ φωτὸς 2.5 ἀπολαύσωσιν; οὐκ ἐᾷ δὲ αὐτοὺς τὴν ἀχλὺν ἀποσκεδάσαι τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν τὸ τῆς οἰήσεως πάθος. Πάντων γὰρ ἄμεινον εἰδέναι νομίζουσι τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἐπειδὴ τοῖς τῶν ἐλλογίμων ἀνδρῶν μα θήμασιν ἐνετράφησαν, καὶ ξυνιδεῖν οὐκ ἐθέλουσιν, ὡς οἱ θαλάτ τιοι ἰχθύες ἐν ἅλμῃ μὲν τρέφονται ὅτι μάλιστα πλείστῃ, ἁλῶν δὲ 2.6 ὅμως εἰς σκευασίαν προσδέονται. Οὐδὲ μὴν ἐκεῖνο ξυνορῶσιν, ὡς τῆς ἀληθείας οὐ πάντως ἡ εὐγλωττία διδάσκαλος· τί γὰρ τῆς Ὁμήρου ποιήσεως ἥδιον; τί δὲ τῆς εὐεπείας ἐκείνης γλυκύτε ρον; ἀλλ' ὅμως τοῦτον τῶν φιλοσόφων ὁ ἄριστος-ἐπέγνωτε δὲ δήπου τὸν Ἀρίστωνος, ὡς ἡγοῦμαι-μύρῳ γε ἀλείψας, καθά περ αἱ γυναῖκες τὰς χελιδόνας, ἐκ τῆς ὑπ' αὐτοῦ ξυντεθείσης ἀπ έπεμψε πόλεως, ἀκολασίας καλέσας καὶ δυσσεβείας διδάσκαλον. 2.7 "Βλασφημεῖν" γάρ φησιν "ἐκπαιδεύει τοὺς νέους καὶ πονηρὰς αὐτοῖς περὶ τῶν θεῶν ἐντίθησι δόξας καὶ ἁπαλοῖς ἔτι οὖσι μαθή ματα πονηρὰ καὶ διεφθαρμένα ἐνίησιν." Καὶ ἕτερα δὲ ἄττα κατη γορήματα πάμπολλα ἐποιήσατο τοῦ κορυφαίου τῶν ποιητῶν. Οὔκουν ἅπας εὐγλωττίαν ἠσκημένος ἀξιόχρεως ἂν γένοιτο ἀλη θείας διδάσκαλος. 2.8 Εἰ δὲ δὴ τοὺς φιλοσόφους ἡμῖν προβάλλεσθε, εὖ ἴστε, ὡς καὶ οὗτοι πλάνον ὑπέμειναν πάμπολυν. Οὐ γὰρ δὴ μίαν ἅπαντες λεωφόρον ἐσχήκασιν οὐδὲ τοῖς τῶν προωδευκότων ἠκολούθησαν ἴχνεσιν, ἀλλ' ἰδίαν ἕκαστος ἐτέμετο τρίβον καὶ μυρίας ἐπινενοή κασι [τρίβους]· πολυσχιδεῖς γάρ που τοῦ ψεύδους αἱ ἀτραποί· 2.9 καὶ τοῦτο διαρρήδην αὐτίκα δὴ μάλα δειχθήσεται. Θαλῆς μὲν γάρ, τῶν ἑπτὰ καλουμένων σοφῶν ὁ πρεσβύτατος, ἀρχὴν πάν των τὸ ὕδωρ ὑπέλαβεν, Ὁμήρῳ γε οἶμαι εἰρηκότι πιστεύσας· Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν. Ἀναξίμανδρος δέ, τοῦτον διαδεξάμενος, ἀρχὴν ἔφη τὸ ἄπει ρον· Ἀναξιμένης δέ, ὁ τούτου διάδοχος, καὶ ∆ιογένης ὁ Ἀπολλωνιάτης 2.10 τὸν ἀέρα ξυμφώνως ἀρχὴν προσηγορευσάτην· Ἵππα σος δὲ ὁ Μεταποντῖνος καὶ Ἡράκλειτος ὁ Ἐφέσιος τῷ πυρὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν πάντων ἀπενειμάτην· ὁ δὲ Ἀκραγαντῖνος Ἐμπεδοκλῆς τὰ στοιχεῖα ἔφη τὰ τέτταρα· Ξενοφάνης δὲ ὁ Κολοφώνιος τὸ πᾶν ἀΐδιον, ἐκ δὲ τῆς γῆς τὰ πάντα· καὶ Παρμενίδης δὲ ὁ τούτου ἑταῖρος ὁ Ἐλεάτης ὡσαύτως τόνδε τὸν λόγον ἐκράτυνε, ψεῦδος δὲ ἀπέφηνε τῶν αἰσθήσεων τὸ κριτήριον, ἥκιστα λέγων 2.11 ἐφικνεῖσθαι τοῦτο τῆς ἀληθείας· ∆ημόκριτος δὲ ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης ἄπειρον τὸ πᾶν εἴρηκε καὶ ἀγένητον· Ἐπίκουρος δὲ ὁ Νεοκλέους ὁ Ἀθηναῖος ἐκ τῶν ἀτόμων ἐξ ἀρχῆς ξυστῆναι τὸ πᾶν, εἶναι μέντοι ἄναρχον καὶ ἀΐδιον· καὶ Μητρόδωρος δὲ ὁ Χῖος καὶ Ζή νων ὁ Ἐλεάτης καὶ ∆ιογένης ὁ Σμυρναῖος διαφόρους ἀρχὰς τῶν ὅλων ὑπέθεντο. ∆ιά τοι τοῦτο καὶ Σωκράτης ὁ Σωφρονίσκου κωμῳδῶν αὐτοὺς διετέλει, ὅτι τὰ ἀνθρώποις οὐκ ἐφικτὰ εἰδέναι λίαν ἰσχυριζόμενοι, πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀεὶ διεμάχοντο, καινῶν προσ τατεύοντες καὶ ἐναντίων δογμάτων, ᾗ φησιν ὁ Ξενοφῶν ἐν τοῖς 2.12 Ἀπομνημονεύμασιν. Καὶ ὁ Πλάτων δὲ αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ Φαίδωνι γέγραφε λέγοντα· "Ἐγὼ γάρ, ὦ Κέβης, νέος ὤν, ὑπερφυῶς ὡς ἐπεθύμησα ταυτησὶ τῆς σοφίας, ἣν δὴ καλοῦσι περὶ φύσεως ἱστορίαν. Ὑπερήφανον γάρ μοι ἐδόκει εἶναι εἰδέναι τὰς αἰτίας ἑκάστου, διὰ τί γίνεται ἕκαστον,