Chapter XXX.—Homer’s knowledge of man’s origin.

And he was obviously deceived in the same way regarding the earth and heaven and man; for he supposes that there are “ideas” of these. For as Moses wrote thus, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” and then subjoins this sentence, “And the earth was invisible and unfashioned,” he thought that it was the pre-existent earth which was spoken of in the words, “The earth was,” because Moses said, “And the earth was invisible and unfashioned;” and he thought that the earth, concerning which he says, “God created the heaven and the earth,” was that earth which we perceive by the senses, and which God made according to the pre-existent form. And so also, of the heaven which was created, he thought that the heaven which was created—and which he also called the firmament—was that creation which the senses perceive; and that the heaven which the intellect perceives is that other of which the prophet said, “The heaven of heavens is the Lord’s, but the earth hath He given to the children of men.”71    Ps. cxv. 16. And so also concerning man: Moses first mentions the name of man, and then after many other creations he makes mention of the formation of man, saying, “And God made man, taking dust from the earth.”72    Gen. ii. 7. He thought, accordingly, that the man first so named existed before the man who was made, and that he who was formed of the earth was afterwards made according to the pre-existent form. And that man was formed of earth, Homer, too, having discovered from the ancient and divine history which says, “Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return,”73    Gen. iii. 19. calls the lifeless body of Hector dumb clay. For in condemnation of Achilles dragging the corpse of Hector after death, he says somewhere:74    Iliad, xxii. —

And again, somewhere else,75    Iliad, vii. 99. he introduces Menelaus, thus addressing those who were not accepting Hector’s challenge to single combat with becoming alacrity,—

resolving them in his violent rage into their original and pristine formation from earth. These things Homer and Plato, having learned in Egypt from the ancient histories, wrote in their own words.

Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς καὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου σφαλεὶς φαίνεται: καὶ τούτων γὰρ εἰδέας εἶναι οἴεται. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ Μωϋσῆς οὕτω γέγραφεν: Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν, εἶτα παραυτὰ συνάπτει λέγων: Ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος, ᾠήθη ὅτι ταύτην μὲν περὶ ἧς ἔφη Ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν τὴν προϋπάρχουσαν εἰρῆσθαι γῆν, ἐπειδὴ Μωϋσῆς ἔφη: Ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος: ταύτην δὲ περὶ ἧς λέγει Ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ᾠήθη ταύτην λέγειν αὐτὸν τὴν κατὰ προϋπάρχον εἶδος ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γενομένην αἰσθητήν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ γενομένου οὐρανοῦ: τὸν μὲν πεποιημένον οὐρανόν, ὃν καὶ στερέωμα ὠνόμασεν, τοῦτον εἶναι τὸν γενόμενον αἰσθητόν, ἕτερον δὲ εἶναι τὸν νοητόν, περὶ οὗ ὁ προφήτης ἔφη: Ὁ οὐρανὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τῷ κυρίῳ, τὴν δὲ γῆν ἔδωκε τοῖς υἱοῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Καὶ περὶ ἀνθρώπου δὲ ὁμοίως: πρότερον μὲν ὀνόματος ἀνθρώπου μέμνηται Μωϋσῆς, εἶτα μετὰ τὰ πολλὰ τῶν κτισμάτων περὶ πλάσεως ἀνθρώπου πεποίηται μνήμην, οὕτω λέγων: Καὶ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν ἄνθρωπον, χοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς. Ὠιήθη γοῦν τὸν μὲν πρότερον ὀνομασθέντα ἄνθρωπον προϋπάρχειν τοῦ γενομένου, τὸν δὲ ἐκ τῆς γῆς πλασθέντα ὕστερον κατὰ τὸ προϋπάρχον εἶδος γεγενῆσθαι. Ὅτι δὲ ἐκ γῆς ἄνθρωπος πέπλασται, καὶ Ὅμηρος ἀπὸ τῆς παλαιᾶς καὶ θείας ἱστορίας μαθών, τῆς λεγούσης Γῆ εἶ καὶ εἰς γῆν ἀπελεύσῃ, τὸ ἄψυχον τοῦ Ἕκτορος σῶμα κωφὴν ὀνομάζει γῆν. Ἔφη γάρ που κατὰ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως μετὰ θάνατον τὸ τοῦ Ἕκτορος σύροντος σῶμα: Κωφὴν γὰρ δὴ γαῖαν ἀεικίζεις μενεαίνων. Καὶ αὖθις ἀλλαχοῦ που τὸν Μενέλαον λέγοντα τοῖς μὴ ἑτοίμως δεξαμένοις τὴν τοῦ Ἕκτορος περὶ τῆς μονομαχίας πρόσκλησιν: Ἀλλ' ὑμεῖς μὲν πάντες ὕδωρ καὶ γαῖα γένοισθε! δι' ὑπερβάλλουσαν ὀργὴν εἰς τὴν ἀρχαίαν αὐτοὺς ἐκ γῆς ἀναλύων πλάσιν. Ταῦτα ἀπὸ τῶν ἀρχαίων ἱστοριῶν ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ μεμαθηκότες Ὅμηρος καὶ Πλάτων ἐν τοῖς ἑαυτῶν γεγράφασι λόγοις.