Chapter XXXII.—Plato’s doctrine of the heavenly gift.

And if any one will attentively consider the gift that descends from God on the holy men, —which gift the sacred prophets call the Holy Ghost,—he shall find that this was announced under another name by Plato in the dialogue with Meno. For, fearing to name the gift of God “the Holy Ghost,” lest he should seem, by following the teaching of the prophets, to be an enemy to the Greeks, he acknowledges, indeed, that it comes down from God, yet does not think fit to name it the Holy Ghost, but virtue. For so in the dialogue with Meno, concerning reminiscence, after he had put many questions regarding virtue, whether it could be taught or whether it could not be taught, but must be gained by practice, or whether it could be attained neither by practice nor by learning, but was a natural gift in men, or whether it comes in some other way, he makes this declaration in these very words: “But if now through this whole dialogue we have conducted our inquiry and discussion aright, virtue must be neither a natural gift, nor what one can receive by teaching, but comes to those to whom it does come by divine destiny.” These things, I think, Plato having learned from the prophets regarding the Holy Ghost, he has manifestly transferred to what he calls virtue. For as the sacred prophets say that one and the same spirit is divided into seven spirits, so he also, naming it one and the same virtue, says this is divided into four virtues; wishing by all means to avoid mention of the Holy Spirit, but clearly declaring in a kind of allegory what the prophets said of the Holy Spirit. For to this effect he spoke in the dialogue with Meno towards the close: “From this reasoning, Meno, it appears that virtue comes to those to whom it does come by a divine destiny. But we shall know clearly about this, in what kind of way virtue comes to men, when, as a first step, we shall have set ourselves to investigate, as an independent inquiry, what virtue itself is.” You see how he calls only by the name of virtue, the gift that descends from above; and yet he counts it worthy of inquiry, whether it is right that this [gift] be called virtue or some other thing, fearing to name it openly the Holy Spirit, lest he should seem to be following the teaching of the prophets.

Εἰ δέ τις καὶ περὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν παρὰ θεοῦ κατιούσης ἐπὶ τοὺς ἁγίους ἄνδρας δωρεᾶς, ἣν πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὀνομάζουσιν οἱ ἱεροὶ προφῆται, ἀκριβῶς σκοπεῖν ἐθέλοι, εὕροι ἂν καὶ ταύτην ὑπὸ Πλάτωνος ἐν τῷ πρὸς Μένωνα λόγῳ δι' ἑτέρου ὀνόματος κηρυττομένην: δεδιὼς γὰρ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ δωρεὰν πνεῦμα ἅγιον ὀνομάζειν, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ τῇ τῶν προφητῶν ἑπόμενος διδασκαλίᾳ ἐχθρὸς Ἑλλήνων εἶναι, τὸ μὲν ἄνωθεν αὐτὸ παρὰ θεοῦ κατιέναι ὁμολογεῖ, οὐ μὴν πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἀλλὰ ἀρετὴν ὀνομάζειν αὐτὸ ἠξίου. Οὕτω γὰρ πρὸς τὸν Μένωνα ἐν τῷ περὶ ἀναμνήσεως λόγῳ, πολλὰ πρότερον περὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς ζητήσας, πότερόν ποτε διδακτὸν ἡ ἀρετὴ ἢ οὐ διδακτὸν ἀλλ' ἀσκητόν, ἢ οὔτε ἀσκητὸν οὔτε μαθητὸν ἀλλὰ φύσει παραγινόμενον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τρόπῳ, ὕστερον αὐταῖς λέξεσιν οὕτως ἀποφαίνεται λέγων: Εἰ δὲ νῦν ἡμεῖς ἐν παντὶ τῷ λόγῳ τούτῳ καλῶς ἐζητήσαμέν τε καὶ ἐλέγομεν, ἀρετὴ ἂν εἴη οὔτε φύσει οὔτε διδακτόν, ἀλλὰ θείᾳ μοίρᾳ παραγινομένη ἄνευ νοῦ οἷς ἂν παραγίνηται. Ταῦτα, οἶμαι, σαφῶς παρὰ τῶν προφητῶν περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος μεμαθηκὼς Πλάτων, εἰς τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὄνομα μεταφέρων φαίνεται: ὁμοίως γὰρ ὥσπερ οἱ ἱεροὶ προφῆται τὸ ἓν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα εἰς ἑπτὰ πνεύματα μερίζεσθαί φασιν, οὕτως καὶ αὐτός, μίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν ὀνομάζων ἀρετήν, ταύτην εἰς τέσσαρας ἀρετὰς μερίζεσθαι λέγει, τοῦ μὲν ἁγίου πνεύματος οὐδαμῶς μνημονεύειν ἐθέλων, διὰ δέ τινος ἀλληγορίας τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου πνεύματος εἰρημένα ἀπαγγέλλων σαφῶς. Οὕτω γὰρ πρὸς τῷ τέλει τοῦ λόγου πρὸς τὸν Μένωνα ἔφη: Ἐκ μὲν τοίνυν τούτου τοῦ λογισμοῦ, ὦ Μένων, θείᾳ μοίρᾳ φαίνεται ἡμῖν παραγινομένη ἡ ἀρετὴ οἷς ἂν παραγίνηται: τὸ δὲ σαφὲς παρ' αὐτοῦ εἰσόμεθα τοῦτο, ὁποίῳ τινὶ τρόπῳ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις παραγίνεται ἀρετή, ὅταν πρότερον ἐπιχειρήσωμεν αὐτὸ καθ' αὑτὸ ζητεῖν, τί ποτέ ἐστιν ἀρετή. Ὁρᾶτε ὅπως τὴν ἄνωθεν κατιοῦσαν δωρεὰν ἀρετὴν μόνον ὀνομάζει: ἔτι δὲ ζητήσεως ἄξιον εἶναι νομίζει, πότερόν ποτε ἀρετὴν ἢ ἕτερόν τι αὐτὸ ὀνομάζεσθαι προσήκει, δεδιὼς αὐτὸ φανερῶς ἅγιον ὀνομάζειν πνεῦμα, ἵνα μὴ δόξῃ τῇ τῶν προφητῶν ἕπεσθαι διδασκαλίᾳ.