50

From what I have written to remind you, understand and take care, that you never grieve your lover; since, having done the opposite to what is due to gods and lovers, and having been judged impious, you will undergo the fitting punishment. but if you offer yourself to every lover, as if imitating the gods, you will obtain their kindness. As for the rest, dearest, remembering the mysteries which I revealed to you, show me your decision by letter. Farewell. I then, having received this book from Appion as if I would really send it to his beloved, fabricated a reply to it as if from her, and on the next day when he came I gave to Appion what was supposedly the reply from her, which was as follows: [Copy of a letter to Appion, as if from his beloved.] I wonder how it is that, having praised me for wisdom, you write to me as if to a fool. For wishing to persuade me to your passion, you drew your examples from the mythologies about the gods, not fearing to blaspheme Love, the most ancient of all (as you said), in the sight of all gods and men, so that you might corrupt my soul and outrage my body. For the love that is in desires is not the originator of the gods. For if he desires willingly, he is his own passion and punishment, and one who suffers willingly would not be a god. But if he unwillingly loves union and, passing through our souls as through the instruments of our bodies, is carried to intelligible unions, then the one who makes him love and carries him is greater than he; and again, if that one who carries is himself carried by another desire, another greater one is found who carries him, and there arises an infinite regress of lovers, which is impossible. Thus there is neither the one carrying nor the one being carried, but it is the desiring passion of the lover himself, which is increased by hope and diminished by despair. But those who are unwilling to control a shameful desire lie against the gods, so that by pointing to the gods as having first done the things which they themselves do, they may be freed from blame. For if the so-called gods committed their adulteries for the sake of begetting children and not out of licentiousness, why did they also have intercourse with males? But, he says, to gratify their beloveds, they made them into constellations. Were there then no stars before this, until on the pretext of licentiousness heaven was adorned with stars by adulterers? And how is it that the descendants of those turned into constellations are punished in Hades—Atlas being weighed down, Tantalus tormented by thirst, Sisyphus pushing a rock, Tityos having his entrails dug out, Ixion being whirled unceasingly on a wheel? And how is it that the lovers, being gods, made those whom they had defiled into constellations, but did not grant this favor to themselves? They were not gods, then, but allegories about tyrants. For a certain tomb of Cronus is shown in the Caucasian mountains (not in heaven, but on earth), the tomb of a savage and child-devouring man. And indeed a tomb of the licentious Zeus, the mythical one, who likewise swallowed his daughter Metis, is seen in Crete. and of Plouton in the Acherusian lake, and of Poseidon <in Tenos>, and of Helios in Atros and of Selene in Carrhae, of Hermes in Hermopolis, of Ares in Thrace, of Aphrodite in Cyprus, of Dionysus in Thebes

50

ἐξ ὧν σοι γράψας ὑπέμνησα συνεῖσα ἔπεχε, μήποτε ἐραστήν σου λυπή- σῃς· ἐπεὶ ὡς θεοῖς καὶ ἐρῶσιν τὰ ἐναντία πράξασα ἀσεβὴς κριθεῖσα τὴν προσήκουσαν ὑφέξει τιμωρίαν· ἐὰν δὲ παντὶ ἐραστῇ ἑαυτὴν παράσχῃς, ὡς θεοὺς μιμουμένη τῆς παρ' αὐτῶν τεύξῃ εὐεργεσίας. τὰ δὲ λοιπά, φιλτάτη, μεμνημένη περὶ ὧν σοι ἐξέφηνα μυστηρίων, διὰ γραμμάτων μοι τὴν σὴν δεῖξον προαίρεσιν. ἔρρωσό μοι. Ἐγὼ τοίνυν λαβὼν τὸ βιβλίον τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ Ἀππίωνος ὡς ὄντως διαπέμψων αὐτὸ τῇ ἐρωμένῃ, ἐπλασάμην ὡς ἐκείνης πρὸς ταῦτα ἀντιγραψά- σης, καὶ τῇ ὑστεραίᾳ ἐλθόντι αὐτῷ ἀπέδωκα τῷ Ἀππίωνι ὡς δῆθεν τὴν παρ' ἐκείνης ἀντιγραφὴν οὕτως ἔχουσαν· [Ἀντίγραφον ἐπιστολῆς πρὸς Ἀππίωνα ὡς παρὰ τῆς ἐρωμένης.] Θαυμάζω πῶς ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ με ἐπαινέσας ὡς ἀνοήτῳ γράφεις. εἰς γὰρ σὸν πάθος πεῖσαί με θελήσας ἐκ τῶν περὶ τοὺς θεοὺς μυθολογημάτων ἐποιήσω τὰ παραδείγματα, ἔρωτα τὸν πάντων πρεσβύτατον (ὡς ἔφης) ἐπὶ πάντων θεῶν καὶ ἀνθρώπων βλασφημῆσαι μὴ φοβηθείς, ὅπως τὴν ἐμὴν φθείρῃς ψυχὴν καὶ τὸ ἐμὸν σῶμα περιυβρίσῃς. ἔρως γὰρ θεῶν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀρχηγέτης ὁ ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις. εἰ γὰρ ἑκὼν ἐπιθυμεῖ, αὐτός ἐστιν ἑαυτοῦ πάθος καὶ κόλασις, καὶ θεὸς οὐκ ἂν εἴη ὁ πάσχων ἑκών· εἰ δὲ ἄκων ἐρᾷ τῆς μίξεως καὶ τὰς ἡμετέρας διερχόμενος ψυχὰς ὥσπερ δι' ὀργάνων τῶν ἡμετέρων σωμάτων εἰς τὰς τῶν νοητῶν φέρεται συνουσίας, ὁ τοῦτον ἐρᾶν ποιῶν καὶ φέρων μείζων αὐτοῦ τυγχάνει· καὶ πάλιν αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου τοῦ φέροντος ἑτέρῳ πόθῳ φερο- μένου, μείζων ἄλλος ὁ φέρων ἐκεῖνον εὑρίσκεται καὶ εἰς ἀπέραντον ἐπανα- φορὰ τῶν ἐρώντων γίνεται, ὅ ἐστιν ἀδύνατον. οὕτως οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε ὁ φέρων οὔτε ὁ φερόμενος, ἀλλ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐρῶντος τὸ ἐπιθυμητικόν ἐστιν πάθος, ἐλπίδι αὐξόμενον καὶ ἀπογνώσει μειούμενον. οἱ δὲ κρατεῖν αἰσχρᾶς ἐπιθυμίας μὴ βουλόμενοι τῶν θεῶν καταψεύδονται, ἵνα περὶ ὧν πράττου- σιν τοὺς θεοὺς ὡς προτέρους δράσαντας ὑποδεικνύντες ἀπαλλάσσωνται τῆς μέμψεως. εἰ γὰρ παιδοποιίας ἕνεκεν καὶ οὐκ ἀσελγείας οἱ λεγόμενοι θεοὶ τὰς μοιχείας ἐπετέλουν, τί καὶ τοῖς ἄρσεσιν ἐμίγνυντο; ἀλλὰ χα- ριζόμενοι (φησίν) ταῖς ἐρωμέναις κατηστέριζον αὐτάς. οὐκοῦν πρὸ τούτου οὐκ ἦσαν ἀστέρες, μέχρις ὅτε ἀσελγείας προφάσει ὑπὸ μοιχῶν ὁ οὐρα- νὸς ἄστροις ἐκοσμήθη; πῶς δὲ καὶ οἱ τῶν κατηστερισμένων ἔκγονοι ἐν ᾅδου κολάζονται, ὅ τε Ἄτλας βαρούμενος καὶ ὁ Τάνταλος δίψῃ ἀνιώμε- νος καὶ ὁ Σίσυφος ἐρείδων πέτραν, Τιτυὸς τὰ σπλάγχνα διορυττόμενος, Ἰξίων περὶ τροχὸν ἀπαύστως κυλινδούμενος; πῶς δὲ καὶ οἱ ἐρασταί, θεοὶ ὄντες, οὓς ἐμίαναν κατηστέριζον, ἑαυτοῖς τοῦτο μὴ χαρισάμενοι; οὐκ ἄρα ἦσαν θεοί, ἀλλὰ τυράννων αἰνίγματα. Κρόνου γὰρ ἐν τοῖς Καυκασίοις ὄρεσιν (οὐκ ἐν οὐρανῷ ἀλλ' ἐν γῇ) τάφος τις δείκνυται, ἀνδρὸς ἀγρίου καὶ τεκνοβόρου. ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἀσελγοῦς ∆ιός, τοῦ μυθικοῦ, τοῦ ὁμοίως τὴν θυγατέρα Μῆτιν καταπιόντος, ἐν Κρήτῃ θεωρεῖται τάφος. καὶ ἐν τῇ Ἀχερουσίᾳ δὲ λίμνῃ Πλούτωνος καὶ Ποσειδῶνος <ἐν ΤΉνῳ>, Ἡλίου δὲ ἐν Ἄτροις καὶ Σελήνης ἐν Κάρραις, Ἑρμοῦ δὲ ἐν Ἑρ- μουπόλει, Ἄρεως ἐν Θρᾴκῃ, Ἀφροδίτης ἐν Κύπρῳ, ∆ιονύσου ἐν Θήβαις