116

they were taught lessons, and from earliest infancy they handed 11.5.3 down to them recitations of sacred words, and narratives of venerable histories, and metrical compositions of odes and songs, and further, problems and riddles, and certain wise and allegorical contemplations with beauty of style and eloquent delivery in their own language. Yea, and of the primary lessons they had also certain repeaters of traditions, for so they are pleased to name the interpreters of their scriptures, who made manifest by interpretation and explanation the things that were veiled in riddles, if not to all, at least to those who were fit to hear them. 11.5.4 In this way again Solomon, who was wisest among them, made from some such source the beginning of his book of Proverbs, all but teaching that this was his reason for writing, by the very words in which he said that every man must “know wisdom and instruction, and perceive words of understanding; and receive the turnings of words, and understand true righteousness, and direct judgement; that I may give,” he says, “to the simple subtlety, and to a young man sense and understanding. For a wise man when he has heard these things will be wiser, and the man of understanding will acquire guidance, and will understand a parable and a dark saying, and the sayings of 11.5.5 the wise and riddles.” And such then were the promises of the book that has been mentioned; but as for the propositions stated in detail, and their solutions, and the logical treatise conveyed through all their prophetic scriptures in a manner appropriate to the wisdom and language of the men, he who will may learn by the reading of these, taking the books at his leisure into his 11.5.6 hands. And if one should have a scholarly experience even of the language itself, he would see, among barbarians, what very logical men they are, in no way 11.5.7 inferior to sophists or orators in their own tongue. They would also have metrical poems, like the great Song of Moses, and the 118th Psalm of David, composed in what is called by the Greeks heroic meter. For they say that these are hexameters, made of sixteen syllables. And their other poems are said to be composed in lines of trimeters and 11.5.8 tetrameters according to their own language. And while their diction possesses logical intelligence in this way, their thought cannot be compared by men; for they have included oracles of God and of truth itself uttered through them, divine decrees and prophecies, and pious lessons, 11.5.9 and doctrines for the knowledge of things that are. You might take as proofs of the logical accuracy among these men the correctness of their imposition of names, concerning which Plato also would be seen to bear witness to the opinion of the Hebrews, and to be in this very point in harmony with the philosophy of these men, as is at least easy to discern from what follows:

11.6.1 7. CONCERNING THE CORRECTNESS OF NAMES AMONG THE HEBREWS

Since Moses first, long before the name of philosophy came to the Greeks, treated of countless matters concerning the imposition of names throughout all his writing, and at one time arranged the appellations of all among them most naturally, and at another referred to God the judgement of changing the names of pious men, and taught that names are applied to things by nature and not by convention, Plato, following him, agrees with the same doctrines, only mentioning barbarians, and saying that this method is preserved among them, perhaps alluding to the Hebrews, since it is not easy 11.6.2 to find this theory preserved among any other barbarians. So he says in the Cratylus: “And that is not a name which some people, having made an agreement to call it, so call, of their own voice

116

μαθήματα παιδευομένους, λόγων τε αὐτοῖς ἱερῶν ἀπαγγελίας ἱστοριῶν τε σεμνῶν διηγήματα ᾠδῶν τε καὶ ἐπῳδῶν ἐμμέτρους συνθέσεις καὶ ἔτι προβλήματα καὶ αἰνίγματα καί τινας σοφὰς καὶ ἀλληγορικὰς θεωρίας μετὰ κάλλους εὐεπείας καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν γλῶτταν εὐφραδοῦς ἀπαγγελίας ἐξέτι νηπίας αὐτοῖς παρε11.5.3 δίδοσαν ἡλικίας. ναὶ μὴν καὶ τῶν πρώτων μαθημάτων δευτερωταί τινες ἦσαν αὐτοῖς οὕτω δὲ φίλον τοὺς ἐξηγητὰς τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς γραφῶν ὀνομάζειν, οἳ τὰ δι' αἰνιγμῶν ἐπεσκιασμένα, εἰ καὶ μὴ τοῖς πᾶσι, τοῖς γοῦν πρὸς τὴν τούτων ἀκοὴν ἐπιτηδείοις δι' ἑρμηνείας καὶ σαφηνείας ἐξέφαινον. 11.5.4 ταύτη τοι πάλιν ὁ σοφώτατος παρὰ τοῖσδε Σολομῶν ἐνθένδε ποθὲν τὴν καταρχὴν τοῦ τῶν Παροιμιῶν ἐποιήσατο συγγράμματος, μονονουχὶ τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτῷ τῆς γραφῆς ταύτην εἶναι διδάξας δι' ὧν αὐτοῖς ῥήμασι δεῖν ἔφησε πάντα ἄνδρα «γνῶναι σοφίαν καὶ παιδείαν καὶ νοῆσαι λόγους φρονήσεως δέξασθαί τε στροφὰς λόγων νοῆσαί τε δικαιοσύνην ἀληθῆ καὶ κρίμα κατευθύνειν, ἵνα δῶ,» φησίν, «ἀκάκοις πανουργίαν παιδί τε νέῳ αἴσθησιν καὶ ἔννοιαν. τῶνδε γὰρ ἀκούσας σοφὸς σοφώτερος ἔσται, ὁ δὲ νοήμων κυβέρνησιν κτήσεται νοήσει τε παραβολὴν καὶ σκοτεινὸν λόγον ῥήσεις τε 11.5.5 σοφῶν καὶ αἰνίγματα.» καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς τοῦ δηλωθέντος συγγράμμα τος ἐπαγγελίας τοιαῦτά τινα ἦν· τὰς δ' ἐν μέρει τῶν λεχθέντων προτάσεις καὶ τούτων τὰς ἐπιλύσεις τήν τε λογικὴν πραγματείαν οἰκείως τῇ τῶν ἀνδρῶν σοφίᾳ τε καὶ φωνῇ διὰ πασῶν τῶν παρ' αὐτοῖς προφητικῶν γραφῶν φερομένην, ὅτῳ φίλον, τῆς τούτων ἐντεύξεως τὰς βίβλους ἐπὶ σχολῆς μετὰ χεῖ11.5.6 ρας λαβὼν εἴσεται. εἰ δέ τις καὶ τῆς γλώσσης αὐτῆς φιλοκάλως γένοιτο ἐν πείρᾳ, ἴδοι ἄν, οἷα παρὰ βαρβάροις, ἄνδρας λογικωτάτους οὐδὲν 11.5.7 σοφιστῶν οὐδὲ ῥητόρων ἀποδέοντας τῇ οἰκείᾳ γλώσσῃ. εἶεν δ' ἂν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἔμμετροι ποιήσεις, ὡς ἡ μεγάλη Μωσέως ᾠδὴ καὶ τοῦ ∆αβὶδ ὁ ριηʹ Ψαλμός, τῷ καλουμένῳ παρ' Ἕλλησιν ἡρῴῳ μέτρῳ συντεταγμένοι. φασὶ γοῦν ἑξάμετρα εἶναι ταῦτα, δι' ἑκκαίδεκα συλλαβῶν πεποιημένα. καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ δὲ τὰ παρ' αὐτοῖς στιχήρη δι' ἐπῶν λέγεται τριμέτρων τε καὶ 11.5.8 τετραμέτρων κατὰ τὴν οἰκείαν αὐτῶν συγκεῖσθαι φωνήν. καὶ τὰ μὲν τῆς λέξεως αὐτοῖς ὧδέ πη λογικῆς συνέσεως ἔχει, τὰ δὲ δὴ τῆς διανοίας οὐδ' ἔστι παραβαλεῖν ἀνθρώποις· θεοῦ γὰρ καὶ αὐτῆς ἀληθείας λόγια δι' αὐτῶν ἐκπεφωνημένα, θεσπίσματα καὶ προρρήσεις μαθήματά τε εὐσεβῆ 11.5.9 καὶ τῆς τῶν ὄντων ἐπιγνώσεως δόγματα, περιειλήφασι. τεκμήρια δ' ἂν λάβοις τῆς παρὰ τοῖς ἀνδράσι λογικῆς ἀκριβείας ἀπὸ τῆς ὀρθότητος τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων θέσεως, ἧς πέρι καὶ ὁ Πλάτων τῇ Ἑβραίων μαρτυρῶν δόξῃ δῆλος ἂν εἴη καὶ κατ' αὐτό γε τοῦτο σύμφωνος ὢν τῇ κατὰ τοὺς ἄνδρας φιλοσοφίᾳ, ὡς γοῦν ἐκ τούτων διαγνῶναι ῥᾴδιον·

11.6.1 ζʹ. ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΠΑΡ' ΕΒΡΑΙΟΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΟΝΟΜΑΤΩΝ ΟΡΘΟΤΗΤΟΣ

Πρώτου Μωσέως μακρῷ πρόσθεν ἢ τὸ φιλοσοφίας ὄνομα εἰς Ἕλληνας ἐλθεῖν διὰ πάσης αὐτοῦ τῆς γραφῆς μυρία περὶ τῆς τῶν ὀνομάτων θέσεως πεπραγματευμένου καὶ τοτὲ μὲν φυσικώτατα τῶν παρ' αὐτῷ πάντων τὰς ἐπωνυμίας διατεταγμένου, τοτὲ δὲ τῷ θεῷ τὴν κρίσιν τῆς τῶν εὐσεβῶν ἀνδρῶν μετωνυμίας ἀναθέντος φύσει τε, ἀλλ' οὐ θέσει τὰ ὀνόματα κατὰ τῶν πραγμάτων κεῖσθαι πεπαιδευκότος, ἑπόμενος ὁ Πλάτων συμφέρεται τοῖς αὐτοῖς, οὐκ ἄλλως ἢ βαρβάρων μνησθεὶς καὶ παρὰ τοῖσδε φήσας τόνδε σῴζεσθαι τὸν τρόπον, τάχα που τοὺς Ἑβραίους αἰνιττόμενος, ἐπεὶ μηδὲ 11.6.2 παρ' ἑτέροις βαρβάροις ῥᾴδιον τὴν τοιάνδε παραφυλάξαι θεωρίαν. λέγει δ' οὖν ἐν Κρατύλῳ· «Καὶ οὐ τοῦτο εἶναι ὄνομα ὃ ἄν τινες συνθέμενοι καλεῖν καλῶσι, τῆς αὑτῶν φωνῆς