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life, as full of inequality, and they hate death, which puts an end to inequality, and bestows equality of honor to bodies. And yet it was necessary for those who find fault with death to admire life, or for those who accuse life to praise death. For death and life are diametrically opposed. But they, blaspheme all things indiscriminately, and accuse all things alike; and when they are children, they call men blessed, but having become men, they call children enviable. And why must I say everything that is falsely accused by this wicked disease? For there is nothing that happens which does not receive a dart of abuse sent by their tongue. Come then, using medical methods, let us show them that the things that until now vexed them are most pleasant. Now, concerning wealth and poverty, and the inequality that seems to be in these, we have sufficiently gone through it in the preceding discourse, showing the usefulness of both this one and that one. But that the Creator Himself did not from the beginning divide nature into slavery and mastery, we will immediately make clear. Come then to this first formation of ours, and see one man being formed from the earth, but a woman, though similar, no longer similarly from the earth. For the Creator, taking one rib from him, so formed this race, that she might not be considered of another nature because of the difference of her form. Therefore one was formed from the earth, and the woman from the man, and from both the entire nature of human beings. For from the beginning the Creator did not assign slavery to some and mastery to others, but He created one race of all. And having commanded Noah to build an ark, and having provided for him salvation as a reward for his righteousness, He ordered him and his wife, together with their sons, and their wives, to enter into the ark that had been built, and no slave entered. For nature had not yet accepted this division; but 83.672 only those things which are truly slaves, the races of the irrational, which for this reason the Creator of all brought forth into this life. But since He saw much disorder in the things that came after, having arisen from anarchy, and every transgression being carried out fearlessly, He divided the race of men into rulers and ruled, so that the fear of the rulers might diminish the multitude of sins. For fear knows how to restrain the impulses of the irrational passions, and to blunt the soul's inclination toward what is worse; and often what reason did not help, fear has set right. For since nature had swerved toward what is worse, and the mind, overwhelmed by the passions, and having become submerged, like some unballasted vessel, left the body to be carried about in disorder, we were of necessity in need of laws, like some anchor, steadying the vessel, and preventing its forward motion, and allowing the pilot to surface and take hold of the rudders. But the establishment of these laws was not possible while there was equality of power and equality of law was practiced. For not even in the democratically-governed cities, where the people had authority over affairs, did all partake of equal things; but some were ordinance-setters, others were law-givers, others were generals, and others filled the rank of the ruled; and the demagogue ruled over both the magistrates and the leaders. And in the oligarchically-governed cities, the many filled the roll of the subjects; but the few, both excelling in wisdom and shining in virtue, were allotted to administer common affairs and the leadership roles; and some were ephors, some were admirals, some were harmosts; and they led the multitude wherever seemed best to them. Therefore, sin introduced the need for laws; and the laws required the authority of those who establish them, and not only of those who establish them, but also of those able to punish the transgressors. And sin introduced disorder; but the Ruler of all imposed order on disorder, and the rush of sin, as it were

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βίον, ὡς ἀνωμαλίας ἀνάπλεω, καὶ μισοῦσι τὸν θάνατον, τὸν τὴν ἀνωμαλίαν παύοντα, καὶ τὴν ἰσοτιμίαν τοῖς σώ μασιν ἀπονέμοντα. Καὶ μὴν ἔδει τὸν βίον θαυμάζειν τοὺς τῷ θανάτῳ μεμφομένους, ἢ τὸν θάνατον εὐ φημεῖν τοὺς τὸν βίον αἰτιωμένους. Ἐναντία γὰρ ἐκ διαμέτρου θάνατος καὶ ζωή. Οἱ δὲ, φύρδην ἅπαντα βλασφημοῦσι, καὶ πάντων ὁμοίως κατηγοροῦσι· καὶ παῖδες μὲν ὄντες, μακαρίζουσι τοὺς ἄνδρας, ἄνδρες δὲ γενόμενοι, ζηλωτοὺς ἀποκαλοῦσι τοὺς παῖδας. Καὶ τί δεῖ πάντα λέγειν, τὰ ὑπὸ τῆς πονηρᾶς ταύτης νόσου συκοφαντούμενα; Οὐδὲν γάρ ἐστι τῶν γινομέ νων, ὃ μὴ δέχεται λοιδορίας βέλος ὑπὸ τῆς τούτων γλώττης πεμπόμενον. Φέρε τοίνυν, ταῖς ἰατρικαῖς μεθόδοις χρησάμενοι, δείξωμεν αὐτοῖς ἥδιστα τὰ τέως αὐτοὺς ἀποκναίοντα. Περὶ μὲν οὖν πλούτου καὶ πενίας, καὶ τῆς ἐν τούτοις δοκούσης ἀνωμαλίας, ἀποχρώντως ἐν τῷ πρὸ τοῦδε λόγῳ διεξήλθομεν, καὶ ταύτης καὶ τούτου δεικνύντες τὸ χρήσιμον. Ὅτι δὲ εἰς δουλείαν καὶ δεσποτείαν οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ Ποιητὴς ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὴν φύσιν διέκρινεν, αὐτίκα δηλώσομεν. ∆εῦρο τοίνυν παρὰ ταύτην ἡμῶν τὴν πρώτην διάπλασιν, καὶ βλέπε ἕνα μὲν ἄνδρα πλαττόμενον ἀπὸ γῆς, γυναῖκα δὲ ὁμοίαν οὐκέτι ὁμοίως ἀπὸ γῆς. Πλευρὰν γὰρ μίαν ἐξ ἐκείνου λαβὼν ὁ Ποιητὴς, οὕτω τὸ γένος τοῦτο διέπλασεν, ὅπως μὴ φύσεως ἑτέρας αὐτὴ νομίζηται διὰ τὸ τοῦ σχήματος ἑτε ροῖον. Εἷς τοιγαροῦν ἀπὸ γῆς διεπλάσθη, καὶ ἐξ ἀνδρὸς ἡ γυνὴ, καὶ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν ἅπασα τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡ φύσις. Οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ὁ Ποιητὴς, τοῖς μὲν δου λείαν, τοῖς δὲ δεσποτείαν ἀπένειμεν, ἀλλ' ἓν ἁπάν των ἐδημιούργησε γένος. Καὶ τῷ Νῶε δὲ κιβωτὸν κατασκευάσαι κελεύσας, καὶ μισθὸν αὐτῷ τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὴν σωτηρίαν πορίσας, αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν ὁμόζυγα σὺν τοῖς υἱέσι, καὶ ταῖς ἐκείνων γαμεταῖς, εἰς τὴν κατασκευασθεῖσαν εἰσελθεῖν προσέταξε κι βωτὸν, καὶ δοῦλος οὐδεὶς εἰσελήλυθε. Οὐδέπω γὰρ ἡ φύσις ταύτην ἐδέδεκτο τὴν διαίρεσιν· ἀλλὰ 83.672 μόνα τὰ τῷ ὄντι δοῦλα, τῶν ἀλόγων τὰ γένη, ἃ τού του χάριν τῶν ὅλων ὁ Ποιητὴς εἰς τόνδε τὸν βίον παρήγαγεν. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ πολλὴν ἐν τοῖς μετὰ ταῦτα τὴν ἀκοσμίαν εἶδεν ἐκ τῆς ἀναρχίας γεγενημένην, καὶ πᾶσαν ἀδεῶς παρανομίαν ἐκτελουμένην, εἰς ἄρχοντας καὶ ἀρχομένους διεῖλε τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸ γένος, ἵνα τῶν ἀρχόντων τὸ δέος σμικρύνῃ τῶν ἁμαρ τημάτων τὸ πλῆθος. Οἶδε γὰρ φόβος χαλινοῦν τῶν ἀλόγων παθῶν τὰς ἀφορμὰς, καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς τὴν πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἀμβλύνειν ῥοπήν· καὶ πολλάκις ἃ λόγος οὐκ ὤνησεν, ὁ φόβος κατώρθωσεν. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ ἡ φύσις πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐξώκειλε, καὶ ὁ νοῦς τοῖς πάθεσι περικλυσθεὶς, ὑποβρύχιός τε γενόμενος, οἷόν τι σκάφος ἀνερμάτιστον, ἀτάκτως φέρεσθαι τὸ σῶμα κατέλιπεν, ἀναγκαίως ἐδεήθημεν νόμων, καθάπερ τινὸς ἀγκύρας, ἱστώσης τὸ σκάφος, καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ πρόσω φορὰν κωλυούσης, καὶ συγχωρούσης ἀναδῦναι τὸν κυβερνήτην, καὶ τῶν οἰάκων ἐπιλαβέ σθαι. Τούτων δὲ τῶν νόμων γενέσθαι τὴν θέσιν οὐχ οἷόν τε ἦν, ἰσοκρατίας οὔσης, καὶ πολιτευομένης ἰσο νομίας. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐν ταῖς δημοκρατουμέναις πόλεσιν, ἔνθα ὁ δῆμος ἔσχε τῶν πραττομένων τὸ κῦρος, τῶν ἴσων ἅπαντες μετελάγχανον· ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν ἦσαν θεσμο θέται, οἱ δὲ νομοθέται, οἱ δὲ στρατηγοὶ, οἱ δὲ τῶν ἀρχομένων ἐπλήρουν τὴν τάξιν· ὁ δὲ δημαγωγὸς, καὶ τῶν ἀρχόντων ἐκράτει, καὶ τῶν ἀρχηγῶν. Καὶ ἐν ταῖς ὀλιγαρχουμέναις δὲ πόλεσιν, οἱ μὲν πολλοὶ, τὸν τῶν ὑπηκόων ἐπλήρουν κατάλογον· οἱ δὲ ὀλίγοι, καὶ φρονή σει προὔχοντες, καὶ ἀρετῇ διαλάμποντες, τά τε κοινὰ διακονεῖν καὶ τὰς ἡγεμονίας διελάγχανον· καὶ οἱ μὲν ἔφοροι, οἱ δὲ ναύαρχοι, οἱ δὲ ἁρμοσταί· καὶ ἦγον τὸ πλῆθος ᾗ ἂν αὐτοῖς ἄριστα ἐδόκει. Οὐκοῦν ἡ μὲν ἁμαρτία τῶν νόμων τὴν χρείαν εἰσήγαγεν· οἱ δὲ νόμοι τῆς τῶν τιθέντων ἐξουσίας ἐδέοντο, οὐ μόνον δὲ τῶν τιθέντων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν κολάζειν τοὺς παρα βαίνοντας δυναμένων. Καὶ ἡ μὲν ἁμαρτία τὴν ἀτα ξίαν εἰσήγαγεν· ὁ δὲ τῶν ὅλων Πρύτανις τῇ ἀταξίᾳ τὴν τάξιν ἐπέθηκε, καὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ῥύμην, οἷόν