Chapter II.—The Subject of Plagiarisms Resumed. The Greeks Plagiarized from One Another.

Before handling the point proposed, we must, by way of preface, add to the close of the fifth book what is wanting. For since we have shown that the symbolical style was ancient, and was employed not only by our prophets, but also by the majority of the ancient Greeks, and by not a few of the rest of the Gentile Barbarians, it was requisite to proceed to the mysteries of the initiated. I postpone the elucidation of these till we advance to the confutation of what is said by the Greeks on first principles; for we shall show that the mysteries belong to the same branch of speculation. And having proved that the declaration of Hellenic thought is illuminated all round by the truth, bestowed on us in the Scriptures, taking it according to the sense, we have proved, not to say what is invidious, that the theft of the truth passed to them.

Come, and let us adduce the Greeks as witnesses against themselves to the theft. For, inasmuch as they pilfer from one another, they establish the fact that they are thieves; and although against their will, they are detected, clandestinely appropriating to those of their own race the truth which belongs to us. For if they do not keep their hands from each other, they will hardly do it from our authors. I shall say nothing of philosophic dogmas, since the very persons who are the authors of the divisions into sects, confess in writing, so as not to be convicted of ingratitude, that they have received from Socrates the most important of their dogmas. But after availing myself of a few testimonies of men most talked of, and of repute among the Greeks, and exposing their plagiarizing style, and selecting them from various periods, I shall turn to what follows.

Orpheus, then, having composed the line:—

Homer plainly says:—

And Musæus having written:—

Homer says:—

Again, Musæus having composed the lines:—

Homer transcribes:—

Again, Homer having said:—

Archilochus and Cratinus write, the former:—

and Cratinus in the Lacones:—

Again, Archilochus, transferring that Homeric line:—

writes thus:—

As certainly also that line:—

He also, altering, has given forth thus:—

Also, translating the following:—

he openly encourages youth, in the following iambic:—

Again, Homer having said:—

Euripides writes in Erechtheus:—

Archilochus having likewise said:—

in correspondence with the Homeric line:—

Euripides says in Œneus:—

And I have heard Æschylus saying:—

And Euripides, too, shouting the like on the stage:—

Menander, too, on comedy, saying:—

Again, Theognis having said:—

Euripides has written:—

And Epicharmus, saying:—

and adding:—

Euripides1387    Ecclus. xxvii. 12.    In some lost tragedy. writes:—

Euripides having, besides, said in the Medea:—

Sophocles in Ajax Flagellifer utters this iambic:—

Solon having written:—

Theognis writes in the same way:—

Whence also Thucydides, in the Histories, says: “Many men, to whom in a great degree, and in a short time, unlooked-for prosperity comes, are wont to turn to insolence.” And Philistus1389    Prov. xxvi. 5.    The imitator of Thucydides, said to be weaker but clearer than his model. He is not specially clear here. likewise imitates the same sentiment, expressing himself thus: “And the many things which turn out prosperously to men, in accordance with reason, have an incredibly dangerous1390    1 Cor. ix. 22.    The text has, ἀσφαλέστερα παρὰ δόξαν καὶ κακοπραγίαν: for which Lowth reads, ἐπισφαλέστερα πρὸς κακοπραγίαν, as translated above. tendency to misfortune. For those who meet with unlooked success beyond their expectations, are for the most part wont to turn to insolence.” Again, Euripides having written:—

Critias writes: “For I begin with a man’s origin: how far the best and strongest in body will he be, if his father exercises himself, and eats in a hardy way, and subjects his body to toilsome labour; and if the mother of the future child be strong in body, and give herself exercise.”

Again, Homer having said of the Hephæstus-made shield:—

Pherecydes of Syros says:—“Zas makes a cloak large and beautiful, and works on it earth and Ogenus, and the palace of Ogenus.”

And Homer having said:—

Euripides writes in Erechtheus:—

Take, by way of parallel, such plagiarisms as the following, from those who flourished together, and were rivals of each other. From the Orestes of Euripides:—

From the Eriphyle of Sophocles:—

And from the Antigone of Sophocles:—

And from the Aleuades of Sophocles:—

Again, in the Ctimenus1393    As no play bearing this name is mentioned by any one else, various conjectures have been made as to the true reading; among which are Clymene Temenos or Temenides. of Euripides:—

And in the Minos of Sophocles;

And from the Alexander of Euripides:—

And from the Hipponos of Sophocles:—

But let us similarly run over the following; for Eumelus having composed the line,

Solon thus begins the elegy:—

Again, Euripides, paraphrasing the Homeric line:—

employs the following iambics in Ægeus:—

And what? Theognis1395    [See, supra, book ii. cap. ii. p. 242.] In Theognis the quotation stands thus:— Οἵνον τοι πίνειν πουλὸν κακόν ἢν δέ τις αὐτὸν Πίνη ἐπισταμένως, οὐ κακὸς ἀλλ᾽ ἀγαθός. “To drink much wine is bad; but if one drink It with discretion, ’tis not bad, but good.” having said:—

does not Panyasis write?

Hesiod, too, saying:—

Euripides writes:—

And in addition, Homer, saying:—

Euripides says:—

Besides, Callias the comic poet having written:—

Menander, in the Poloumenoi, expresses himself similarly, saying:—

And Antimachus of Teos having said:—

Augias composed the line:—

And Hesiod having said:—

Simonides said:—

Again, Epicharmas having said:—

Euripides writes:—

Similarly also, the comic poet Diphilus having said:—

Posidippus says:—

Similarly1400    The text has κατ᾽ ἄλλα. And although Sylburgius very properly remarks, that the conjecture κατάλληλα instead is uncertain, it is so suitable to the sense here, that we have no hesitation in adopting it. speaks to thee Plato, writing of man as a creature subject to change. Again, Euripides having said:—

Diphilus writes:—

Furthermore, Euripides having said:—

The tragic poet Theodectes similarly writes:—

And Bacchylides having said:—

Moschion, the comic poet, writes:—

And you will find that, Theognis having said:—

Aristophanes, the comic poet, writes:—

For Anacreon, having written:—

Euripides writes:—

But not to protract the discourse further, in our anxiety to show the propensity of the Greeks to plagiarism in expressions and dogmas, allow us to adduce the express testimony of Hippias, the sophist of Elea, who discourses on the point in hand, and speaks thus: “Of these things some perchance are said by Orpheus, some briefly by Musæus; some in one place, others in other places; some by Hesiod, some by Homer, some by the rest of the poets; and some in prose compositions, some by Greeks, some by Barbarians. And I from all these, placing together the things of most importance and of kindred character, will make the present discourse new and varied.”

And in order that we may see that philosophy and history, and even rhetoric, are not free of a like reproach, it is right to adduce a few instances from them. For Alcmæon of Crotona having said, “It is easier to guard against a man who is an enemy than a friend,” Sophocles wrote in the Antigone:—

And Xenophon said: “No man can injure enemies in any way other than by appearing to be a friend.”

And Euripides having said in Telephus:—

Thrasymachus, in the oration for the Larissæans, says: “Shall we be slaves to Archelaus—Greeks to a Barbarian?”

And Orpheus having said:—

and Heraclitus, putting together the expressions from these lines, writes thus:—

And Athamas the Pythagorean having said, “Thus was produced the beginning of the universe; and there are four roots—fire, water, air, earth: for from these is the origination of what is produced,”—Empedocles of Agrigentum wrote:—

And Plato having said, “Wherefore also the gods, knowing men, release sooner from life those they value most,” Menander wrote:—

And Euripides having written in the Œnomaus:—

and in the Phœnix:—

Hyperides says, “But we must investigate things unseen by learning from signs and probabilities.” And Isocrates having said, “We must conjecture the future by the past,” Andocides does not shrink from saying, “For we must make use of what has happened previously as signs in reference to what is to be.” Besides, Theognis having said:—

Euripides writes:—

Hyperides himself also says, “There is no feature of the mind impressed on the countenance of men.”

Again, Stasinus having composed the line:—

Xenophon1404    A mistake for Herodotus. says, “For I seem to myself to have acted in like manner, as if one who killed the father should spare his children.” And Sophocles having written in the Antigone:—

Herodotus says, “Mother and father being no more, I shall not have another brother.” In addition to these, Theopompus having written:—

And before him Sophocles in Peleus:—

Antipho the orator says, “For the nursing of the old is like the nursing of children.” Also the philosopher Plato says, “The old man then, as seems, will be twice a child.” Further, Thucydides having said, “We alone bore the brunt at Marathon,”1405    Instead of Μαραθωνίται, as in the text, we read from Thucydides Μαραθῶνί τε.—Demosthenes said, “By those who bore the brunt at Marathon.” Nor will I omit the following. Cratinus having said in the Pytine:1406    Πυτίνη (not, as in the text, Ποιτίνη), a flask covered with plaited osiers. The name of a comedy by Cratinus (Liddell and Scott’s Lexicon). [Elucidation I.]—

Andocides the orator says, “The preparation, gentlemen of the jury, and the eagerness of our enemies, almost all of you know.” Similarly also Nicias, in the speech on the deposit, against Lysias, says, “The preparation and the eagerness of the adversaries, ye see, O gentlemen of the jury.” After him Æschines says, “You see the preparation, O men of Athens, and the line of battle.” Again, Demosthenes having said, “What zeal and what canvassing, O men of Athens, have been employed in this contest, I think almost all of you are aware;” and Philinus similarly, “What zeal, what forming of the line of battle, gentlemen of the jury, have taken place in this contest, I think not one of you is ignorant.” Isocrates, again, having said, “As if she were related to his wealth, not him,” Lysias says in the Orphics, “And he was plainly related not to the persons, but to the money.” Since Homer also having written:—

Theopompus writes, “For if, by avoiding the present danger, we were to pass the rest of our time in security, to show love of life would not be wonderful. But now, so many fatalities are incident to life, that death in battle seems preferable.” And what? Child the sophist having uttered the apophthegm, “Become surety, and mischief is at hand,” did not Epicharmus utter the same sentiment in other terms, when he said, “Suretyship is the daughter of mischief, and loss that of suretyship?”1408    Grotius’s correction has been adopted, ἐγγύας δὲ ζαμία, instead of ὲγγύα δὲ ζαμίας. Further, Hippocrates the physician having written, “You must look to time, and locality, and age, and disease,” Euripides says in Hexameters:1409    In the text before In Hexameters we have τηρήσει, which has occasioned much trouble to the critics. Although not entirely satisfactory, yet the most probable is the correction θέλουσι, as above.—

Homer again, having written:—

Archinus says, “All men are bound to die either sooner or later;” and Demosthenes, “To all men death is the end of life, though one should keep himself shut up in a coop.”

And Herodotus, again, having said, in his discourse about Glaucus the Spartan, that the Pythian said, “In the case of the Deity, to say and to do are equivalent,” Aristophanes said:—

And before him, Parmenides of Elea said:—

And Plato having said, “And we shall show, not absurdly perhaps, that the beginning of love is sight; and hope diminishes the passion, memory nourishes it, and intercourse preserves it;” does not Philemon the comic poet write:—

Further, Demosthenes having said, “For to all of us death is a debt,” and so forth, Phanocles writes in Loves, or The Beautiful:—

You will also find that Plato having said, “For the first sprout of each plant, having got a fair start, according to the virtue of its own nature, is most powerful in inducing the appropriate end;” the historian writes, “Further, it is not natural for one of the wild plants to become cultivated, after they have passed the earlier period of growth;” and the following of Empedocles:—

Euripides transcribes in Chrysippus:—

And Plato having said, in the Republic, that women were common, Euripides writes in the Protesilaus:—

Further, Euripides having written:—

Epicurus expressly says, “Sufficiency is the greatest riches of all.”

Again, Aristophanes having written:—

Epicurus says, “The greatest fruit of righteousness is tranquillity.”

Let these species, then, of Greek plagiarism of sentiments, being such, stand as sufficient for a clear specimen to him who is capable of perceiving.

And not only have they been detected pirating and paraphrasing thoughts and expressions, as will be shown; but they will also be convicted of the possession of what is entirely stolen. For stealing entirely what is the production of others, they have published it as their own; as Eugamon of Cyrene did the entire book on the Thesprotians from Musæus, and Pisander of Camirus the Heraclea of Pisinus of Lindus, and Panyasis of Halicarnassus, the capture of Œchalia from Cleophilus of Samos.

You will also find that Homer, the great poet, took from Orpheus, from the Disappearance of Dionysus, those words and what follows verbatim:—

And in the Theogony, it is said by Orpheus of Kronos:—

These Homer transferrred to the Cyclops.1411    i.e., Polyphemus, Odyss., ix. 372. And Hesiod writes of Melampous:—

and so forth, taking it word for word from the poet Musæus.

And Aristophanes the comic poet has, in the first of the Thesmophoriazusæ, transferred the words from the Empiprameni of Cratinus. And Plato the comic poet, and Aristophanes in Dædalus, steal from one another. Cocalus, composed by Araros,1412    According to the correction of Casaubon, who, instead of ἀραρότως of the text, reads Ἀραρώς. Others ascribed the comedy to Aristophanes himself. the son of Aristophanes, was by the comic poet Philemon altered, and made into the comedy called Hypobolimœns.

Eumelus and Acusilaus the historiographers changed the contents of Hesiod into prose, and published them as their own. Gorgias of Leontium and Eudemus of Naxus, the historians, stole from Melesagoras. And, besides, there is Bion of Proconnesus, who epitomized and transcribed the writings of the ancient Cadmus, and Archilochus, and Aristotle, and Leandrus, and Hellanicus, and Hecatæus, and Androtion, and Philochorus. Dieuchidas of Megara transferred the beginning of his treatise from the Deucalion of Hellanicus. I pass over in silence Heraclitus of Ephesus, who took a very great deal from Orpheus.

From Pythagoras Plato derived the immortality of the soul; and he from the Egyptians. And many of the Platonists composed books, in which they show that the Stoics, as we said in the beginning, and Aristotle, took the most and principal of their dogmas from Plato. Epicurus also pilfered his leading dogmas from Democritus. Let these things then be so. For life would fail me, were I to undertake to go over the subject in detail, to expose the selfish plagiarism of the Greeks, and how they claim the discovery of the best of their doctrines, which they have received from us.

Πρὸ δὲ τῆς εἰς τὸ προκείμενον ἐγχειρήσεως ἐν προοιμίου εἴδει προσαποδοτέον τῷ πέρατι τοῦ πέμπτου Στρωματέως τὰ ἐνδέοντα. Ἐπεὶ γὰρ παρεστήσαμεν τὸ συμβολικὸν εἶδος ἀρχαῖον εἶναι, κεχρῆσθαι δὲ αὐτῷ οὐ μόνον τοὺς προφήτας τοὺς παρ' ἡμῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν Ἑλλήνων τῶν παλαιῶν τοὺς πλείονας καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὰ ἔθνη βαρβάρων οὐκ ὀλίγους, ἐχρῆν δὲ καὶ τὰ μυστήρια ἐπελθεῖν τῶν τελουμένων· ταῦτα μὲν ὑπερτίθεμαι διασαφήσων, ὁπηνίκα ἂν τὰ περὶ ἀρχῶν τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εἰρημένα ἐπιόντες διελέγχωμεν· τῆσδε γὰρ ἔχεσθαι τῆς θεωρίας ἐπιδείξομεν καὶ τὰ μυστήρια· παραστήσαντες δὲ τὴν ἔμφασιν τῆς Ἑλληνικῆς διανοίας ἐκ τῆς διὰ τῶν γραφῶν εἰς ἡμᾶς δεδομένης ἀληθείας περιαυγασθεῖσαν, καθ' ὃ σημαινόμενον διήκειν εἰς αὐτοὺς τὴν κλοπὴν τῆς ἀληθείας ἐκδεχόμενοι, εἰ μὴ ἐπαχθὲς εἰπεῖν, ἀπεδείξαμεν, φέρε μάρτυρας τῆς κλοπῆς αὐτοὺς καθ' ἑαυτῶν παραστήσωμεν τοὺς Ἕλληνας· οἱ γὰρ τὰ οἰκεῖα οὕτως ἄντικρυς παρ' ἀλλήλων ὑφαιρούμενοι βεβαιοῦσι μὲν τὸ κλέπται εἶναι, σφετερίζεσθαι δ' ὅμως καὶ ἄκοντες τὴν παρ' ἡμῶν ἀλήθειαν εἰς τοὺς ὁμοφύλους λάθρᾳ διαδείκνυνται. οἱ γὰρ μηδὲ ἑαυτῶν, σχολῇ γ' ἂν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἀφέξονται. καὶ τὰ μὲν κατὰ φιλοσοφίαν σιωπήσομαι δόγματα, αὐτῶν ὁμολογούντων ἐγγράφως τῶν τὰς αἱρέσεις διανεμομένων, ὡς μὴ ἀχάριστοι ἐλεγχθεῖεν, παρὰ Σωκράτους εἰληφέναι τὰ κυριώτατα τῶν δογμάτων. ὀλίγοις δὲ τῶν καθωμιλημένων καὶ παρὰ τοῖς Ἕλλησιν εὐδοκίμων ἀνδρῶν χρησάμενος μαρτυρίοις, τὸ κλεπτικὸν διελέγξας εἶδος αὐτῶν, ἀδιαφόρως τοῖς χρόνοις καταχρώμενος, ἐπὶ τὰ ἑξῆς τρέψομαι. Ὀρφέως τοίνυν ποιήσαντος· ὣς οὐ κύντερον ἦν καὶ ῥίγιον ἄλλο γυναικός, Ὅμηρος ἄντικρυς λέγει· ὣς οὐκ αἰνότερον καὶ κύντερον ἄλλο γυναικός. Γράψαντός τε Μουσαίου· ὡς αἰεὶ τέχνη μέγ' ἀμείνων ἰσχύος ἐστίν, Ὅμηρος λέγει μήτι τοι δρυτόμος περιγίνεται ἠὲ βίηφι. Πάλιν τοῦ Μουσαίου ποιήσαντος· ὡς δ' αὔτως καὶ φύλλα φύει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα· ἄλλα μὲν ἐν μελίῃσιν ἀποφθίνει, ἄλλα δὲ φύει· ὣς δὲ καὶ ἀνθρώπων γενεὴν καὶ φῦλον ἑλίσσει. Ὅμηρος μεταγράφει· φύλλα τὰ μέν τ' ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δέ θ' ὕλη τηλεθόωσα φύει, ἔαρος δ' ἐπιγίνεται ὥρη· ὣς ἀνδρῶν γενεὴ ἣ μὲν φύει, ἣ δ' ἀπολήγει. Πάλιν δ' αὖ Ὁμήρου εἰπόντος· οὐχ ὁσίη κταμένοισιν ἐπ' ἀνδράσιν εὐχετάασθαι, Ἀρχίλοχός τε καὶ Κρατῖνος γράφουσιν, ὃ μέν· οὐ γὰρ ἐσθλὰ κατθανοῦσι κερτομεῖν ἐπ' ἀνδράσιν, Κρατῖνος δὲ ἐν τοῖς Λάκωσι· φοβερὸν ἀνθρώποις τόδ' αὖ, κταμένοις ἐπ' αἰζηοῖσιν καυχᾶσθαι μέγα. Αὖθίς τε ὁ Ἀρχίλοχος τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν ἐκεῖνο μεταφέρων· ἀασάμην, οὐδ' αὐτὸς ἀναίνομαι· ἀντί νυ πολλῶν, ὧδέ πως γράφει· ἤμβλακον, καί πού τινα ἄλλον ἥδ' ἄτη κιχήσατο· καθάπερ ἀμέλει κἀκεῖνο τὸ ἔπος· ξυνὸς ἐνυάλιος, καί τε κτανέοντα κατέκτα, μεταποιῶν αὐτὸς ὧδέ πως ἐξήνεγκεν· † ἔρξω· ἐτήτυμον γὰρ ξυνὸς ἀνθρώποισιν Ἄρης. ἔτι κἀκεῖνο μεταφράζων· νίκης ἀνθρώποισιν θεῶν ἐν † πείρᾳ κεῖται, διὰ τοῦδε τοῦ ἰάμβου δῆλός ἐστι· καὶ νέους θάρρυνε, νίκης δὲ ἐν θεοῖσι πείρατα. Πάλιν Ὁμήρου εἰπόντος· ἀνιπτόποδες, χαμαιεῦναι, Εὐριπίδης ἐν Ἐρεχθεῖ γράφει· ἐν ἀστρώτῳ πέδῳ εὕδουσιν, πηγαῖς δ' οὐχ ὑγραίνουσι[ν] πόδας. Ἀρχιλόχου τε ὁμοίως εἰρηκότος· ἀλλ' ἄλλος ἄλλῳ κραδίην ἰαίνεται, παρὰ τὸ Ὁμηρικόν· ἄλλος γάρ [τ'] ἄλλοισιν ἀνὴρ ἐπιτέρπεται ἔργοις, Εὐριπίδης ἐν τῷ Οἰνεῖ φησιν· ἀλλὰ ἄλλος ἄλλοις μᾶλλον ἥδεται τρόποις. Ἀκήκοα δὲ Αἰσχύλου μὲν λέγοντος· οἴκοι μένειν χρὴ τὸν καλῶς εὐδαίμονα– καὶ τὸν κακῶς πράσσοντα καὶ τοῦτον μένειν, Εὐριπίδου δὲ τὰ ὅμοια ἐπὶ τῆς σκηνῆς βοῶντος· μακάριος ὅστις εὐτυχῶν οἴκοι μένει, ἀλλὰ καὶ Μενάνδρου ὧδέ πως κωμῳδοῦντος· οἴκοι μένειν χρὴ καὶ μένειν ἐλεύθερον, ἢ μηκέτ' εἶναι τὸν καλῶς εὐδαίμονα. Πάλιν Θεόγνιδος μὲν λέγοντος· οὐκ ἔστι[ν] φεύγοντι φίλος καὶ πιστὸς ἑταῖρος, Εὐριπίδης πεποίηκεν· πένητα φεύγοντα φεύγει πᾶς τις ἐκποδὼν φίλος. Ἐπιχάρμου τε εἰπόντος· ὦ θύγατερ, αἰαῖ τύχας· συνοικεῖς ὦν νέῳ γ' ἔσσα παλαιτέρα, καὶ ἐπάγοντος· ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλην δῆτα λαμβάνει νεάνιδα, [ἃ δ'] ἄλλον δ' ἄλλῃ [δῆτα] μαστεύει τινά, Εὐριπίδης γράφει· κακὸν γυναῖκα πρὸς νέον ζεῦξαι νέαν· † ὃ μὲν γὰρ ἄλλης λέκτρον ἱμείρει λαβεῖν, ἣ δ' ἐνδεὴς τοῦδ' οὖσα βουλεύει κακά. Ἔτι Εὐριπίδου μὲν ἐν τῇ Μηδείᾳ εἰπόντος· κακοῦ γὰρ ἀνδρὸς δῶρα ὄνησιν οὐκ ἔχει, Σοφοκλῆς ἐν τῷ Αἴαντι τῷ μαστιγοφόρῳ ἐκεῖνό φησι τὸ ἰαμβεῖον· ἐχθρῶν δ' ἄδωρα δῶρα καὶ οὐκ ὀνήσιμα. Σόλωνος δὲ ποιήσαντος· τίκτει γὰρ κόρος ὕβριν, ὅταν πολὺς ὄλβος ἕπηται, ἄντικρυς ὁ Θέογνις γράφει· τίκτει τοι κόρος ὕβριν, ὅταν κακῷ ὄλβος ἕπηται. ὅθεν καὶ ὁ Θουκυδίδης ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις εἰώθασιν δὲ οἱ πολλοὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων φησίν, οἷς ἂν μάλιστα καὶ δι' ἐλαχίστου ἀπροσδόκητος εὐπραγία ἔλθῃ, εἰς ὕβριν τρέπεσθαι. καὶ Φίλιστος ὁμοίως τὰ αὐτὰ μιμεῖται ὧδε λέγων· τὰ δὲ πολλὰ κατὰ λόγον τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εὐτυχοῦντα ἀσφαλέστερα [ἢ] παρὰ δόξαν· καὶ κακοπραγίαν **· εἰώθασι γὰρ μάλιστα οἱ παρὰ δόξαν ἀπροσδοκήτως εὖ πράσσοντες εἰς ὕβριν τρέπεσθαι. Πάλιν Εὐριπίδου ποιήσαντος· ἐκ γὰρ πατρὸς καὶ μητρὸς ἐκπονουμένων σκληρὰς διαίτας οἱ γόνοι βελτίονες, Κριτίας γράφει· ἄρχομαι δέ τοι ἀπὸ γενετῆς ἀνθρώπου· πῶς ἂν βέλτιστος τὸ σῶμα γένοιτο καὶ ἰσχυρότατος; εἰ ὁ φυτεύων γυμνάζοιτο καὶ ἐσθίοι ἐρρωμένως. καὶ ταλαιπωροίη τὸ σῶμα καὶ ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ παιδίου τοῦ μέλλοντος ἔσεσθαι ἰσχύοι τὸ σῶμα καὶ γυμνάζοιτο. Αὖθίς τε Ὁμήρου ἐπὶ τῆς ἡφαιστοτεύκτου ἀσπίδος εἰπόντος· ἐν μὲν γαῖαν ἔτευξ', ἐν δ' οὐρανόν, ἐν δὲ θάλασσαν· ἐν δ' ἐτίθει ποταμοῖο μέγα σθένος Ὠκεανοῖο, Φερεκύδης ὁ Σύριος λέγει· Ζᾶς ποιεῖ φᾶρος μέγα τε καὶ καλὸν καὶ ἐν αὐτῷ ποικίλλει γῆν καὶ Ὠγηνὸν καὶ τὰ Ὠγηνοῦ δώματα. Ὁμήρου τε εἰπόντος· αἰδώς, ἥτ' ἄνδρας μέγα σίνεται ἠδ' ὀνίνησιν, Εὐριπίδης ἐν Ἐρεχθεῖ γράφει· αἰδοῦς δὲ [κ]αὐτὸς δυσκρίτως ἔχω πέρι· καὶ δεῖ γὰρ αὐτῆς κἄστιν αὖ κακὸν μέγα. Λάβοις δ' ἂν ἐκ παραλλήλου τῆς κλοπῆς τὰ χωρία κἀκ τῶν συνακμασάντων καὶ ἀνταγωνισαμένων σφίσι τὰ τοιαῦτα, Εὐριπίδου μὲν ἐκ τοῦ Ὀρέστου· ὦ φίλον ὕπνου θέλγητρον, ἐπίκουρον νόσου, Σοφοκλέους [δ'] ἐκ τῆς Ἐριφύλης· ἄπελθε· κινεῖς ὕπνον ἰητρὸν νόσου, καὶ Εὐριπίδου μὲν ἐξ Ἀντιγόνης· ὀνόματι μεμπτὸν τὸ νόθον, ἡ φύσις δ' ἴση, Σοφοκλέους δὲ ἐξ Ἀλεαδῶν· ἅπαν τὸ χρηστὸν τὴν ἴσην ἔχει φύσιν, πάλιν Εὐριπίδου μὲν ἐκ Τημένου· τῷ γὰρ πονοῦντι καὶ θεὸς συλλαμβάνει, Σοφοκλέους δὲ ἐν Μίνῳ· οὐκ ἔστι τοῖς μὴ δρῶσι σύμμαχος τύχη, ναὶ μὴν Εὐριπίδου μὲν ἐξ Ἀλεξάνδρου· χρόνος δὲ δείξει [σ']· ᾧ τεκμηρίῳ μαθὼν ἢ χρηστὸν ὄντα γνώσομαί σε ἤ[τοι] κακόν, Σοφοκλέους δὲ ἐξ Ἱππόνου· πρὸς ταῦτα κρύπτε μηδέν, ὡς ὁ πάνθ' ὁρῶν καὶ πάντ' ἀκούων πάντ' ἀναπτύσσει χρόνος. Ἀλλὰ κἀκεῖνα ὁμοίως ἐπιδράμωμεν. Εὐμήλου γὰρ ποιήσαντος· Μνημοσύνης καὶ Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου ἐννέα κοῦραι, Σόλων τῆς ἐλεγείας ὧδε ἄρχεται· Μνημοσύνης καὶ Ζηνὸς Ὀλυμπίου ἀγλαὰ τέκνα. Πάλιν αὖ τὸ Ὁμηρικὸν παραφράζων Εὐριπίδης· τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πτόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες; τοῖσδε χρῆται τοῖς ἰαμβείοις ἐν τῷ Αἰγεῖ· ποίαν σε φῶμεν γαῖαν ἐκλελοιπότα πόλει ξενοῦσθαι τῇδε; τίς πάτρας θ' ὅρος; τίς ἔσθ' ὁ φύσας; τοῦ κεκήρυξαι πατρός; Τί δ'; οὐ Θεόγνιδος εἰπόντος· οἶνος πινόμενος πουλὺς κακός· ἢν δέ τις αὐτῷ χρῆται ἐπισταμένως, οὐ κακὸν ἀλλ' ἀγαθόν, Πανύασ[σ]ις γράφει· ὡς οἶνος θνητοῖσι θεῶν πάρα δῶρον ἄριστον, πινόμενος κατὰ μέτρον, ὑπέρμετρος δὲ χερείων. Ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἡσιόδου λέγοντος· σοὶ δ' ἐγὼ ἀντὶ πυρὸς δώσω κακόν, ᾧ κεν ἅπαντες τέρπωνται, Εὐριπίδης ποιεῖ· ἀντὶ πυρὸς δὲ γὰρ ἄλλο πῦρ μεῖζον καὶ δυσμαχώτερον βλάστον γυναῖκες. Πρὸς τούτοις Ὁμήρου λέγοντος· γαστέρα δ' οὔ πως ἔστιν ἀποπλῆσαι μεμαυῖαν, οὐλομένην, ἣ πολλὰ κάκ' ἀνθρώποισι δίδωσιν, Εὐριπίδης ποιεῖ· νικᾷ δὲ χρεία μ' ἡ κακῶς τε ὀλουμένη γαστήρ, ἀφ' ἧς δὴ πάντα γίνεται κακά. Ἔτι Καλλίᾳ τῷ κωμικῷ γράφοντι· μετὰ μαινομένων φασὶ[ν] χρῆναι μαίνεσθαι πάντας ὁμοίως, Μένανδρος ἐν Πωλουμένοις παρισάζεται λέγων· οὐ πανταχοῦ τὸ φρόνιμον ἁρμόττει παρόν· καὶ συμμανῆναι δ' ἔνια δεῖ. Ἀντιμάχου τε τοῦ Τηίου εἰπόντος· ἐκ γὰρ δώρων πολλὰ κάκ' ἀνθρώποισι πέλονται, Ἀγίας ἐποίησεν· δῶρα γὰρ ἀνθρώπων νοῦν ἤπαφεν ἠδὲ καὶ ἔργα. Ἡσιόδου δὲ εἰπόντος· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι γυναικὸς ἀνὴρ ληίζετ' ἄμεινον τῆς ἀγαθῆς· τῆς δ' αὖτε κακῆς οὐ ῥίγιον ἄλλο, Σιμωνίδης εἶπεν· γυναικὸς δ' οὐδὲν χρῆμα ἀνὴρ ληίζεται ἐσθλῆς ἄμεινον οὐδὲ ῥίγιον κακῆς. Πάλιν Ἐπιχάρμου εἰπόντος· ὡς πολὺν ζήσων χρόνον χὠς ὀλίγον οὕτως διανοοῦ, Εὐριπίδης γράφει· τί δήποτε ὄλβῳ μὲν μὴ σαφεῖ βεβηκότες οὐ ζῶμεν ὡς ἥδιστα μὴ λυπούμενοι; Ὁμοίως τοῦ κωμικοῦ ∆ιφίλου εἰπόντος· εὐμετάβολός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπων βίος, Ποσείδιππος· οὐδεὶς ἄλυπος τὸν βίον διήγαγεν ἄνθρωπος ὢν οὐδὲ μέχρι τοῦ τέλους πάλιν ἔμεινεν ἀτυχῶν. καὶ κατάλληλά σοί φησιν ὁ Πλάτων γράφων περὶ ἀνθρώπου [ὡς] εὐμεταβόλου ζῴου. Αὖθις Εὐριπίδου εἰπόντος· ὦ πολύμοχθος βιοτὴ θνητοῖς, ὡς ἐπὶ παντὶ σφαλερὰ κεῖσαι, καὶ τὰ μὲν αὔξεις, τὰ δὲ ἀποφθινύθεις, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅρος κείμενος οὐδεὶς εἰς ὅντινα χρὴ τελέσαι θνητοῖς, πλὴν ὅταν ἔλθῃ κρυερὰ ∆ιόθεν θανάτου πεμφθεῖσα τελευτή, ∆ίφιλος γράφει· οὐκ ἔστι βίος ὃς οὐ[χὶ] κέκτηται κακά, λύπας, μερίμνας, ἁρπαγάς, στρέβλας, νόσους. τούτων ὁ θάνατος καθάπερ ἰατρὸς φανεὶς ἀνέπαυσεν τοὺς ἔχοντας ἀναπαύσας ὕπνῳ. Ἔτι τοῦ Εὐριπίδου εἰπόντος· πολλαὶ μορφαὶ τῶν δαιμονίων, πολλὰ δ' ἀέλπτως κραίνουσι θεοί, ὁ τραγικὸς ὁμοίως Θεοδέκτης γράφει· τὸ μὴ βεβαίους τὰς βροτῶν εἶναι τύχας. Βακχυλίδου τε εἰρηκότος· παύροισι δὲ θνητῶν τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον δαίμων ἔδωκεν πράσσοντα[ς] ἐν καιρῷ πολιοκρόταφον γῆρας ἱκνεῖσθαι, πρὶν ἐγκῦρσαι δύᾳ, Μοσχίων ὁ κωμικὸς γράφει· κεῖνος δ' ἁπάντων ἐστὶ μακαριώτατος, ὃς διὰ τέλους ζῶν ὁμαλὸν ἤσκησε[ν] βίον. Εὕροις δ' ἂν καὶ Θεόγνιδος εἰπόντος· οὔτοι χρήσιμόν ἐστι νέα γυνὴ ἀνδρὶ γέροντι· οὐ γὰρ πηδαλίῳ πείθεται ὡς ἄκατος, Ἀριστοφάνη τὸν κωμικὸν γράφοντα· αἰσχρὸν νέᾳ γυναικὶ πρεσβύτης ἀνήρ. Ἀνακρέοντος γὰρ ποιήσαντος· Ἔρωτα γὰρ τὸν ἁβρὸν μέλπομαι βρύοντα μίτραις πολυανθέμοις ἀείδειν· ὅδε καὶ θεῶν δυνάστης, ὅδε καὶ βροτοὺς δαμάζει, Εὐριπίδης γράφει· Ἔρως γὰρ ἄνδρας οὐ μόνους ἐπέρχεται οὐδ' αὖ γυναῖκας, ἀλλὰ καὶ θεῶν ἄνω ψυχὰς ταράσσει κἀπὶ πόντον ἔρχεται. Ἀλλ' ἵνα μὴ ἐπὶ πλέον προΐῃ ὁ λόγος φιλοτιμουμένων ἡμῶν τὸ εὐεπίφορον εἰς κλοπὴν τῶν Ἑλλήνων κατὰ τοὺς λόγους τε καὶ τὰ δόγματα ἐπιδεικνύναι, φέρε ἄντικρυς μαρτυροῦντα ἡμῖν Ἱππίαν τὸν σοφιστὴν τὸν Ἠλεῖον, ὃς [εἰς] τὸν αὐτὸν περὶ τοῦ προκειμένου μοι σκέμματος ἥκει λόγον, παραστησώμεθα ὧδέ πως λέγοντα· τούτων ἴσως εἴρηται τὰ μὲν Ὀρφεῖ, τὰ δὲ Μουσαίῳ, κατὰ βραχὺ ἄλλῳ ἀλλαχοῦ, τὰ δὲ Ἡσιόδῳ, τὰ δὲ Ὁμήρῳ, τὰ δὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῶν ποιητῶν, τὰ δὲ ἐν συγγραφαῖς τὰ μὲν Ἕλλησι, τὰ δὲ βαρβάροις· ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκ πάντων τούτων τὰ μέγιστα καὶ ὁμόφυλα συνθεὶς τοῦτον καινὸν καὶ πολυειδῆ τὸν λόγον ποιήσομαι. Ὡς δὲ μὴ ἄμοιρον τήν τε φιλοσοφίαν τήν τε ἱστορίαν, ἀλλὰ μηδὲ τὴν ῥητορικὴν τοῦ ὁμοίου ἐλέγχου περιίδωμεν, καὶ τούτων ὀλίγα παραθέσθαι εὔλογον. Ἀλκμαίωνος γὰρ τοῦ Κροτωνιάτου λέγοντος ἐχθρὸν ἄνδρα ῥᾷον φυλάξασθαι ἢ φίλον ὁ μὲν Σοφοκλῆς ἐποίησεν ἐν τῇ Ἀντιγόνῃ· τί γὰρ γένοιτ' [ἂν] ἕλκος μεῖζον ἢ φίλος κακός; Ξενοφῶν δὲ εἴρηκεν· οὐκ ἂν ἐχθροὺς ἄλλως πως βλάψειεν ἄν τις ἢ φίλος δοκῶν εἶναι. Καὶ μὴν ἐν Τηλέφῳ εἰπόντος Εὐριπίδου· Ἕλληνες ὄντες βαρβάροις δουλεύσομεν; Θρασύμαχος ἐν τῷ ὑπὲρ Λαρισαίων λέγει· Ἀρχελάῳ δουλεύσομεν Ἕλληνες ὄντες βαρβάρῳ; Ὀρφέως δὲ ποιήσαντος· ἔστιν ὕδωρ ψυχῇ, θάνατος δ' ὑδάτεσ[σ]ιν ἀμοιβή, ἐκ δὲ ὕδατος [μὲν] γαῖα, τὸ δ' ἐκ γαίας πάλιν ὕδωρ· ἐκ τοῦ δὴ ψυχὴ ὅλον αἰθέρα ἀλλάσσουσα· Ἡράκλειτος ἐκ τούτων συνιστάμενος τοὺς λόγους ὧδέ πως γράφει· ψυχῇσιν θάνατος ὕδωρ γενέσθαι, ὕδατι δὲ θάνατος γῆν γενέσθαι, ἐκ γῆς δὲ ὕδωρ γίνεται, ἐξ ὕδατος δὲ ψυχή. Ναὶ μὴν Ἀθάμαντος τοῦ Πυθαγορείου εἰπόντος ὧδε ἀγέννατος παντὸς ἀρχὰ καὶ ῥιζώματα τέσσαρα τυγχάνοντι, πῦρ, ὕδωρ, ἀήρ, γῆ· ἐκ τούτων γὰρ αἱ γενέσεις τῶν γινομένων ὁ Ἀκραγαντῖνος ἐποίησεν Ἐμπεδοκλῆς· τέσσαρα τῶν πάντων ῥιζώματα πρῶτον ἄκουε· πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γαῖαν ἰδ' αἰθέρος ἄπλετον ὕψος· ἐκ γὰρ τῶν ὅσα τ' ἦν ὅσα τ' ἔσσεται ὅσσα τ' ἔασιν. Καὶ Πλάτωνος μὲν λέγοντος διὰ τοῦτο καὶ [οἱ] θεοὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπείων ἐπιστήμονες, οὓς ἂν διὰ πλείστου ποιῶνται, θᾶττον ἀπαλλάττουσι τοῦ ζῆν Μένανδρος πεποίηκεν· ὃν οἱ θεοὶ φιλοῦσιν, ἀποθνῄσκει νέος. Εὐριπίδου δὲ ἐν μὲν τῷ Οἰνομάῳ γράφοντος· τεκμαιρόμεσθα τοῖς παροῦσι τὰ ἀφανῆ, ἐν δὲ τῷ Φοίνικι· τὰ ἀφανῆ τεκμηρίοισιν εἰκότως ἁλίσκεται, Ὑπερείδης λέγει· ἃ δ' ἐστὶν ἀφανῆ, ἀνάγκη τοὺς διδάσκοντας τεκμηρίοις καὶ τοῖς εἰκόσι ζητεῖν. Ἰσοκράτους τε αὖ εἰπόντος δεῖ δὲ τὰ μέλλοντα τοῖς προγεγενη μένοις τεκμαίρεσθαι Ἀνδοκίδης οὐκ ὀκνεῖ λέγειν· χρὴ γὰρ τεκμηρίοις χρῆσθαι τοῖς πρότερον γενομένοις περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ἔσεσθαι. Ἔτι Θεόγνιδος ποιήσαντος· χρυσοῦ κιβδήλοιο καὶ ἀργύρου ἄ[ν]σχετος ἄτη, Κύρνε, καὶ ἐξευρεῖν ῥᾴδιον ἀνδρὶ σοφῷ· εἰ δὲ φίλου νόος ἀνδρὸς ἐνὶ στήθεσ[σ]ι λέληθεν ψυδρὸς ἐών, δόλιον δ' ἐν φρεσὶν ἦτορ ἔχει, τοῦτο θεὸς κιβδηλότατον ποίησε βροτοῖσι, καὶ γνῶναι πάντων τοῦτ' ἀνιαρότερον, Εὐριπίδης μὲν γὰρ γράφει· ὦ Ζεῦ, τί δὴ χρυσοῦ μὲν ὃς κίβδηλος ἦν, τεκμήρια ἀνθρώποισιν ὤπασας σαφῆ, ἀνδρῶν δὲ ὅτῳ χρὴ τὸν κακὸν διειδέναι, οὐδεὶς χαρακτὴρ ἐμπέφυκε σώματι; Ὑπερείδης δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς λέγει· χαρακτὴρ οὐδεὶς ἔπεστιν ἐπὶ τοῦ προσώπου τῆς διανοίας τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Πάλιν Στασίνου ποιήσαντος· νήπιος ὃς πατέρα κτείνων παῖδας καταλείπει, Ξενοφῶν λέγει· ὁμοίως γάρ μοι νῦν φαίνομαι πεποιηκέναι, ὡς εἴ τις πατέρα ἀποκτείνας τῶν παίδων αὐτοῦ φείσαιτο. Σοφοκλέους τε ἐν Ἀντιγόνῃ ποιήσαντος· μητρός τε ἐν Ἅιδου καὶ πατρὸς τετευχότων, οὐκ ἔστ' ἀδελφὸς ὅστις ἂν βλάστοι ποτέ, Ἡρόδοτος λέγει· μητρὸς καὶ πατρὸς οὐκ ἔτ' ὄντων, ἀδελφὸν ἄλλον οὐχ ἕξω. Πρὸς τούτοις Θεοπόμπου ποιήσαντος· δὶς παῖδες οἱ γέροντες ὀρθῷ τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ πρό γε τούτου Σοφοκλέους ἐν τῷ Πηλεῖ· Πηλέα τὸν Αἰάκειον οἰκουρὸς μόνη γερονταγωγῶ καὶ ἀναπαιδεύω [πάλιν]· πάλιν γὰρ αὖθις παῖς ὁ γηράσκων ἀνήρ, Ἀντιφῶν ὁ ῥήτωρ λέγει· γηροτροφία γὰρ προσέοικεν παιδοτροφίᾳ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ φιλόσοφος Πλάτων· ἄρ', ὡς ἔοικεν, ὁ γέρων δὶς παῖς γένοιτ' ἄν. Ναὶ μὴν Θουκυδίδου λέγοντος Μαραθῶνί τε μόνοι προκινδυνεῦσαι ∆ημοσθένης εἶπεν· μὰ τοὺς ἐν Μαραθῶνι προκινδυνεύσαντας. Οὐδὲ ἐκεῖνα παραπέμψομαι· Κρατίνου ἐν Πυτίνῃ εἰπόντος· τὴν μὲν παρασκευὴν ἴσως γινώσκετε, Ἀνδοκίδης ὁ ῥήτωρ λέγει· τὴν μὲν παρασκευήν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, καὶ τὴν προθυμίαν τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῶν ἐμῶν σχεδόν τι πάντες εἴσεσθε. ὁμοίως καὶ Νικίας ἐν τῷ πρὸς Λυσίαν ὑπὲρ [παρα]καταθήκης τὴν μὲν παρασκευὴν καὶ τὴν προθυμίαν τῶν ἀντιδίκων ὁρᾶτε, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, φησίν, καὶ μετὰ τοῦτον Αἰσχίνης λέγει· τὴν μὲν παρασκευὴν ὁρᾶτε, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, καὶ τὴν παράταξιν. Πάλιν ∆ημοσθένους εἰπόντος ὅση μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες Ἀθηναῖοι, σπουδὴ περὶ τουτονὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα καὶ παραγγελία γέγονεν, σχεδὸν οἶμαι πάντας ὑμᾶς ᾐσθῆσθαι Φιλῖνος τε ὁμοίως· ὅση μέν, ὦ ἄνδρες δικασταί, σπουδὴ καὶ παράταξις γεγένηται περὶ τὸν ἀγῶνα τουτονί, οὐδ' ἕνα ὑμῶν ἀγνοεῖν ἡγοῦμαι. Ἰσοκράτους πάλιν εἰρηκότος ὥσπερ τῶν χρημάτων, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἐκείνου συγγενὴς οὖσα Λυσίας ἐν τοῖς Ὀρφανικοῖς λέγει· καὶ φανερὸς γέγονεν οὐ τῶν σωμάτων συγγενὴς ὤν, ἀλλὰ τῶν χρημάτων. Ἐπεὶ καὶ Ὁμήρου ποιήσαντος· ὦ πέπον, εἰ μὲν γὰρ πόλεμον περὶ τόνδε φυγόντες αἰεὶ δὴ μέλλοιμεν ἀγήρω τ' ἀθανάτω τε ἔσσεσθ', οὔτε κεν αὐτὸς ἐνὶ πρώτοισι μαχοίμην οὔτε κε σὲ στέλλοιμι μάχην ἐς κυδιάνειραν· νῦν δ', ἔμπης γὰρ κῆρες ἐφεστᾶσι[ν] θανάτοιο μυρίαι, ἃς οὐκ ἔστι φυγεῖν βροτὸν οὐδ' ὑπαλύξαι, ἴομεν, εἴ κέ τῳ εὖχος ὀρέξομεν, ἠέ τις ἡμῖν, Θεόπομπος γράφει· εἰ μὲν γὰρ ἦν τὸν κίνδυνον τὸν παρόντα διαφυγόντας ἀδεῶς διάγειν τὸν ἐπίλοιπον χρόνον, οὐκ ἂν ἦν θαυμαστὸν φιλοψυχεῖν, νῦν δὲ τοσαῦται κῆρες τῷ βίῳ παραπεφύκασιν ὥστε τὸν ἐν ταῖς μάχαις θάνατον αἱρετώτερον εἶναι δοκεῖν. Τί δ'; οὐχὶ καὶ Χίλωνος τοῦ σοφιστοῦ ἀποφθεγξαμένου ἐγγύα, πάρα δ' ἄτα Ἐπίχαρμος τὴν αὐτὴν γνώμην ἑτέρῳ ὀνόματι προηνέγκατο εἰπών· ἐγγύας ἄτα ['στι] θυγάτηρ, ἐγγύα δὲ ζαμίας. Ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ ἰατροῦ Ἱπποκράτους ἐπιβλέπειν οὖν δεῖ καὶ ὥρην καὶ χώρην καὶ ἡλικίην καὶ νόσους γράφοντος Εὐριπίδης ἐν ἑξαμέτρῳ τινὶ ῥήσει φησίν· ὃς οἶδ' ἰατρεύειν καλῶς, πρὸς τὰς διαίτας τῶν ἐνοικούντων πόλιν τὴν γῆν [τ'] ἰδόντα τὰς νόσους σκοπεῖν χρεών. Ὁμήρου πάλιν ποιήσαντος· μοῖραν δ' οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν. ὅ τε Ἀρχῖνος λέγει· πᾶσι μὲν ἀνθρώποις ὀφείλεται ἀποθανεῖν ἢ πρότερον ἢ εἰς ὕστερον, ὅ τε ∆ημοσθένης· πᾶσι μὲν γὰρ ἀνθρώποις τέλος τοῦ βίου θάνατος, κἂν ἐν οἰκίσκῳ τις αὑτὸν καθείρξας τηρῇ. Ἡροδότου τε αὖ ἐν τῷ περὶ Γλαύκου τοῦ Σπαρτιάτου λόγῳ φήσαντος τὴν Πυθίαν εἰπεῖν τὸ πειρηθῆναι τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὸ ποιῆσαι ἴσον γενέσθαι, Ἀριστοφάνης ἔφη· δύναται γὰρ ἴσον τῷ δρᾶν τὸ νοεῖν, καὶ πρὸ τούτου ὁ Ἐλεάτης Παρμενίδης· τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ νοεῖν ἐστί[ν] τε καὶ εἶναι. Ἢ οὐχὶ καὶ Πλάτωνος εἰπόντος ἡμεῖς δὲ τοῦτο λέξοιμεν ἂν ἴσως οὐκ ἀτόπως, ὅτι ἀρχὴ μὲν ἔρωτος ὅρασις, μειοῖ δὲ τὸ πάθος ἐλπίς, τρέφει δὲ μνήμη, τηρεῖ δὲ συνήθεια, Φιλήμων ὁ κωμικὸς γράφει· ὁρῶσι πάντες πρῶτον, εἶτ' ἐθαύμασαν, ἔπειτ' ἐπεθεώρησαν, εἶτ' ἐς ἐλπίδα. ἐνέπεσοι· οὕτω γίνεται ἐκ τούτων ἔρως. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ∆ημοσθένους εἰπόντος πᾶσι γὰρ ἡμῖν ὁ θάνατος ὀφείλεται καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς, ὁ Φανοκλῆς ἐν Ἔρωσιν ἢ Καλοῖς γράφει· ἀλλὰ τὸ Μοιράων νῆμ' ἄλλυτον, οὐδέ ποτ' ἔστιν ἐκφυγέειν, ὁπόσοι γῆν ἐπιφερβόμεθα. Εὕροις δ' ἂν καὶ Πλάτωνος εἰπόντος παντὸς γὰρ φυτοῦ ἡ πρώτη βλάστη, καλῶς ὁρμηθεῖσα πρὸς ἀρετήν, τῆς ἑαυτοῦ φύσεως κυριωτάτη τέλος ἐπιθεῖναι τὸ πρόσφορον [Ἔφορον] τὸν ἱστορικὸν γράφοντα· ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων φυτῶν οὐθὲν ἡμεροῦσθαι πέφυκεν, ὅταν παραλλάξωσιν τὴν νεωτέραν ἡλικίαν. Κἀκεῖνο τὸ Ἐμπεδοκλέους· ἤδη γάρ ποτ' ἐγὼ γενόμην κοῦρός τε κόρη τε θάμνος τ' οἰωνός τε καὶ εἰν ἁλὶ ἔλλοπος ἰχθύς, Εὐριπίδης ἐν Χρυσίππῳ μεταγράφει· θνῄσκει δὲ οὐδὲν τῶν γινομένων, διακρινόμενον δ' ἄλλο πρὸς ἄλλο μορφὴν ἑτέραν ἐπέδειξεν. Πλάτωνός τε ἐν Πολιτείᾳ εἰπόντος κοινὰς εἶναι τὰς γυναῖκας Εὐριπίδης ἐν Πρωτεσιλάῳ γράφει· κοινὸν γὰρ εἶναι χρῆν γυναικεῖον λέχος. Ἀλλ' Εὐριπίδου γράφοντος· ἐπεὶ τά γ' ἀρκοῦντα ἱκανὰ τοῖς γε σώφροσιν, Ἐπίκουρος ἄντικρύς φησι· πλουσιώτατον αὐτάρκεια πάντων. Αὖθίς τε Ἀριστοφάνους γράφοντος· βέβαιον ἕξεις τὸν βίον δίκαιος ὤν, χωρίς τε θορύβου καὶ φόβου ζήσεις καλῶς, ὁ Ἐπίκουρος λέγει· δικαιοσύνης καρπὸς μέγιστος ἀταραξία. Αἱ μὲν οὖν ἰδέαι τῆς κατὰ διάνοιαν Ἑλληνικῆς κλοπῆς εἰς ὑπόδειγμα ἐναργὲς τῷ διορᾶν δυναμένῳ τοιαίδε οὖσαι ἅλις ἔστωσαν. ἤδη δὲ οὐ τὰς διανοίας μόνον καὶ λέξεις ὑφελόμενοι καὶ παραφράσαντες ἐφωράθησαν, ὡς ἐδείχθη, ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ φώρια ἄντικρυς ὁλόκληρα ἔχοντες διελεγχθήσονται· αὐτοτελῶς γὰρ τὰ ἑτέρων ὑφελόμενοι ὡς ἴδια ἐξήνεγκαν, καθάπερ Εὐγάμμων ὁ Κυρηναῖος ἐκ Μουσαίου τὸ περὶ Θεσπρωτῶν βιβλίον ὁλόκληρον καὶ Πείσανδρος [ὁ] Καμιρεὺς Πεισίνου τοῦ Λινδίου τὴν Ἡράκλειαν, Πανύασ[σ]ίς τε ὁ Ἁλικαρνασσεὺς παρὰ Κρεωφύλου τοῦ Σαμίου τὴν Οἰχαλίας ἅλωσιν. Εὕροις δ' ἂν καὶ Ὅμηρον τὸν μέγαν ποιητὴν ἐκεῖνα τὰ ἔπη· οἷον δὲ τρέφει ἔρνος ἀνὴρ ἐριθηλὲς ἐλαίης καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς κατὰ λέξιν μετενηνοχότα παρ' Ὀρφέως ἐκ τοῦ ∆ιονύσου ἀφανισμοῦ. Ἔν τε τῇ Θεογονίᾳ ἐπὶ τοῦ Κρόνου Ὀρφεῖ πεποίηται· κεῖτ' ἀποδοχμώσας παχὺν αὐχένα, κὰδ δέ μιν ὕπνος ᾕρει πανδαμάτωρ, ταῦτα δὲ Ὅμηρος ἐπὶ τοῦ Κύκλωπος μετέθηκεν. Ἡσίοδός τε ἐπὶ τοῦ Μελάμποδος ποιεῖ· ἡδὺ δὲ καὶ τὸ πυθέσθαι, ὅσα θνητοῖσιν ἔδειμαν ἀθάνατοι, δειλῶν τε καὶ ἐσθλῶν τέκμαρ ἐναργές, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς παρὰ Μουσαίου λαβὼν τοῦ ποιητοῦ κατὰ λέξιν. Ἀριστοφάνης δὲ ὁ κωμικὸς ἐν ταῖς πρώταις Θεσμοφοριαζούσαις τὰ ἐκ τῶν Κρατίνου Ἐμπιπραμένων μετήνεγκεν ἔπη. Πλάτων δὲ ὁ κωμικὸς καὶ Ἀριστοφάνης ἐν τῷ ∆αιδάλῳ τὰ ἀλλήλων ὑφαιροῦνται. τὸν μέντοι Κώκαλον τὸν ποιηθέντα Ἀραρότι τῷ Ἀριστοφάνους υἱεῖ Φιλήμων ὁ κωμικὸς ὑπαλλάξας ἐν Ὑποβολιμαίῳ ἐκωμῴδησεν. τὰ δὲ Ἡσιόδου μετήλλαξαν εἰς πεζὸν λόγον καὶ ὡς ἴδια ἐξήνεγκαν Εὔμηλός τε καὶ Ἀκουσίλαος οἱ ἱστοριογράφοι. Μελησαγόρου γὰρ ἔκλεψεν Γοργίας ὁ Λεοντῖνος καὶ Εὔδημος ὁ Νάξιος οἱ ἱστορικοὶ καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ὁ Προκοννήσιος Βίων, ὃς καὶ τὰ Κάδμου τοῦ παλαιοῦ μετέγραψεν κεφαλαιούμενος, Ἀμφίλοχός τε καὶ Ἀριστοκλῆς καὶ Λεάνδριος καὶ Ἀναξιμένης καὶ Ἑλλάνικος καὶ Ἑκαταῖος καὶ Ἀνδροτίων και Φιλόχορος ∆ιευχίδας τε ὁ Μεγαρικὸς τὴν ἀρχὴν τοῦ λόγου ἐκ τῆς Ἑλλανίκου ∆ευκαλιωνείας μετέβαλεν. σιωπῶ δὲ Ἡράκλειτον τὸν Ἐφέσιον, ὃς παρ' Ὀρφέως τὰ πλεῖστα εἴληφεν. παρὰ Πυθαγόρου δὲ καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν ἀθάνατον εἶναι Πλάτων ἔσπακεν, ὃ δὲ παρ' Αἰγυπτίων. πολλοί τε τῶν ἀπὸ Πλάτωνος συγγραφὰς πεποίηνται, καθ' ἃς ἀποδεικνύουσι τούς τε Στωϊκούς, ὡς ἐν ἀρχῇ εἰρήκαμεν, τόν τε Ἀριστοτέλη τὰ πλεῖστα καὶ κυριώτατα τῶν δογμάτων παρὰ Πλάτωνος εἰληφέναι. ἀλλὰ καὶ Ἐπίκουρος παρὰ ∆ημοκρίτου τὰ προηγούμενα ἐσκευώρηται δόγματα. Ταυτὶ μὲν οὖν ταύτῃ· ἐπιλείψει γάρ με ὁ βίος, εἰ καθ' ἕκαστον ἐπεξιέναι αἱροίμην τὴν Ἑλληνικὴν διελέγχων φίλαυτον κλοπήν, καὶ ὡς σφετερίζονται τὴν εὕρεσιν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς καλλίστων δογμάτων, ἣν παρ' ἡμῶν εἰλήφασιν.