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This is the forgetful one, because you, 11.6.15 O God, remember him, even though he is forgetful? And as for “or son of man, that you visit him”: “or son of Adam” is found in the aforementioned, so that Adam and Enos are the same, with the carnal being represented by Adam, and the rational by Enos. 11.6.16 And the Hebrew oracles, indeed, distinguish the etymology in some such way; but Plato says that man in the Greek tongue is named from ‘looking up,’ saying: “And man at the same time has seen, that is, opope, and looks up at and reasons about that which he has seen, so that he is one ‘looking up at what he has seen.’” 11.6.17 Again, the Hebrews call a man EISH. And this name is derived by them from ESH, by which they signify fire, so that man is named from the warm and fiery 11.6.18 nature of the male. And the woman, since she is said to have been taken from the man, also shares her name with the man. For woman is called ESSA among them, just as man is EISH. But Plato says that man is named from the upward flow; and he adds: “And woman seems to me to signify birth.” 11.6.19 Again, Moses appropriately calls the heaven in the Hebrew tongue “firmament,” from its being the first solid and perceptible body of this world after the incorporeal and intelligible substance. But Plato says that the name heaven 11.6.20 is rightly given because it makes us see what is above. Again, the Hebrews say that the highest, proper name of God is unutterable and unspoken, not even comprehensible by the imagination of the mind; but that very name by which we call him God, they call Elohim, from El, as it seems; and this they interpret as strength and power; so that among them the name of God is derived from the power and strength around him, by which he is conceived as all-powerful and all-strong, as having established all things. But Plato says that God and the gods are named from “running,” that is, to run, referring to the luminaries in heaven. 11.6.21 Such then, to speak in outline, are the matters precisely defined among the Hebrews and among Plato concerning the correctness of names. And Plato says that the appellations among men were also established with some meaning, and he attempts to give the reason, somehow saying that Hector was so called from “having” and “ruling,” because he was king of the Trojans; and Agamemnon because he “greatly abided” and vigorously and steadfastly abided by the decisions about the Trojans; and Orestes because of the “mountainous” and wild and beastly nature of his character; and Atreus because his character was “baneful”; and Pelops as one seeing not things far off, but only those “near” and close by; and Tantalus he says signifies “most wretched” because of the misfortunes concerning him. 11.6.22 These and countless other such things you would find said by Plato, who attempts to teach that names were established for the first things by nature, and not by convention. 11.6.23 But you would not say that the things in Moses are forced, nor indeed made according to some sophistic word-finding, learning that Cain among the Hebrews is translated as “jealousy” among the Greeks, and the one indicated was deemed worthy of this name because he was jealous of his brother Abel. 11.6.24 And Abel is interpreted as “mourning,” he himself having become the cause of such suffering for his parents, who according to some divine foresight gave these names to the children who were born. 11.6.25 What if I should bring forward Abraham to you? This man was an astronomer and knowledgeable in the observation of the stars and the heavenly sciences before, when he partook of Chaldean wisdom, and he was called Abram; 11.6.26 and this in the Greek tongue signifies “exalted father.” But God, leading him from things here to things unseen and beyond things visible, used an appropriate change of name, saying, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you a father 11.6.27 of many nations.” But what meaning this has is a long
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οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ ἐπιλήσμων, ὅτι σύ, 11.6.15 ὦ θεέ, μιμνήσκῃ αὐτοῦ, καίπερ ὄντος ἐπιλήσμονος; τὸ δὲ «ἢ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου, ὅτι ἐπισκέπτῃ αὐτόν»· «ἢ υἱὸς Ἀδάμ» κεῖται παρὰ τοῖς δηλουμένοις, ὡς εἶναι τὸν αὐτὸν καὶ Ἀδὰμ καὶ Ἐνώς, τοῦ μὲν σαρκικοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἀδάμ, τοῦ δὲ λογικοῦ διὰ τοῦ Ἐνὼς παρισταμένου. 11.6.16 Καὶ τὰ μὲν Ἑβραίων λόγια οὕτω πως διαιρεῖ τὴν ἐτυμολογίαν· ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνθρωπον τῇ Ἑλλήνων φωνῇ παρὰ τὸ ἀναθρεῖν φησι κεκλῆσθαι λέγων· «Ὁ δὲ ἄνθρωπος ἅμα ἑώρακε, τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν ὄπωπε, καὶ ἀναθρεῖ καὶ λογίζεται τοῦτο ὃ ὄπωπεν, ἵνα ᾖ ἀναθρῶν ἃ ὄπωπε.» 11.6.17 Πάλιν Ἑβραῖοι τὸν ἄνδρα ΕΙΣ καλοῦσι. παρῆκται δὲ αὐτοῖς τοὔνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ ΕΣ, δι' οὗ σημαίνουσι τὸ πῦρ, ἵνα ᾖ παρὰ τὸ θερμὸν καὶ διάπυρον τῆς 11.6.18 τοῦ ἀνδρὸς φύσεως ὁ ἀνὴρ ὠνομασμένος. ἡ δὲ γυνή, ἐπείπερ εἴρηται ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εἰλῆφθαι, καὶ τὴν προσηγορίαν ἐπικοινωνεῖ τῷ ἀνδρί. ΕΣΣΑ γὰρ ἡ γυνὴ λέγεται παρ' αὐτοῖς, ὥσπερ ΕΙΣ ὁ ἀνήρ. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τὸν ἄνδρα παρὰ τὴν ἄνω ῥοὴν ὀνομάζεσθαι λέγει· καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «Ἡ δὲ γυνὴ γονή μοι φαίνεται βούλεσθαι εἶναι.» 11.6.19 Πάλιν Μωσῆς τὸν οὐρανὸν ἐτύμως τῇ Ἑβραίων γλώσσῃ «στερέωμα» προσαγορεύει, παρὰ τὸ πρῶτον εἶναι μετὰ τὴν ἀσώματον καὶ νοερὰν οὐσίαν τοῦδε τοῦ κόσμου στερεὸν καὶ αἰσθητὸν σῶμα. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τῷ οὐρανῷ 11.6.20 φησιν ὀρθῶς ὄνομα κεῖσθαι διὰ τὸ ἄνω ὁρᾶν ποιεῖν. πάλιν Ἑβραῖοι τὸ μὲν ἀνωτάτω τοῦ θεοῦ κύριον ὄνομα ἄρρητον εἶναι καὶ ἄφθεγκτον οὐδὲ φαντασίᾳ διανοίας ληπτὸν εἶναί φασιν· αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο καθ' ὃ θεὸν ὀνομάζομεν, Ἐλωεὶμ καλοῦσι, παρὰ τὸ ἤλ, ὡς ἔοικε· τοῦτο δ' ἑρμηνεύουσιν ἰσχὺν καὶ δύναμιν· ὥστ' εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τοὔνομα παρ' αὐτοῖς ἀπὸ τῆς ἀμφ' αὐτὸν δυνάμεώς τε καὶ ἰσχύος ἐπιλελογισμένον, δι' ἧς νοεῖται παντοδύναμος καὶ πάντα ἰσχύων, ὡς ἂν τὰ πάντα συστησάμενος. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων θεὸν καὶ θεοὺς παρὰ τὸ θέειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶ τρέχειν, τοὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ φωστῆρας ἐπικεκλῆσθαί φησι. 11.6.21 Τοιαῦτα δή τινα, ὡς ἐν τύπῳ φάναι, τὰ παρ' Ἑβραίοις καὶ τὰ παρὰ Πλάτωνι περὶ ὀρθότητος ὀνομάτων διηκρίβωται. καὶ τὰς ἐν ἀνθρώποις δὲ προσηγορίας μετά τινος διανοίας φησὶν ὁ Πλάτων τεθεῖσθαι καὶ τόν γε λόγον ἀποδιδόναι πειρᾶται, οὐκ οἶδ' ὅπως τὸν μὲν Ἕκτορα κεκλῆσθαι εἰπὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἔχειν καὶ κρατεῖν, διὰ τὸ βασιλέα εἶναι τῶν Τρώων· τὸν δὲ Ἀγαμέμνονα διὰ τὸ ἄγαν μένειν καὶ τοῖς δόξασι περὶ τῶν Τρώων εὐτόνως καὶ καρτερῶς παραμένειν· τὸν δὲ Ὀρέστην διὰ τὸ ὀρεινὸν καὶ ἄγριον καὶ θηριῶδες τοῦ τρόπου· καὶ τὸν μὲν Ἀτρέα διὰ τὸ ἀτηρόν τινα γεγονέναι τὸ ἦθος· τὸν δὲ Πέλοπα οἷόν τινα οὐ τὰ πόρρω, ἀλλὰ μόνα τὰ πέλας καὶ ἐγγὺς ὁρῶντα· τὸν δὲ Τάνταλον ταλάντατόν τινά φησι διὰ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν δυστυχήματα ση11.6.22 μαίνειν. ταῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα μυρία ἄλλα εὕροις ἂν εἰρημένα τῷ Πλάτωνι, φύσει τεθεῖσθαι, ἀλλ' οὐ θέσει τοῖς πρώτοις τὰ ὀνόματα διδάσκειν 11.6.23 πειρωμένῳ. ἀλλ' οὐ καὶ τὰ παρὰ Μωσεῖ βεβιασμένα ἂν εἴποις οὐδέ γε κατά τινα σοφιστικὴν εὑρεσιλογίαν πεποιημένα, μαθὼν ὡς ὁ μὲν παρ' Ἑβραίοις Κάϊν «ζῆλος» παρ' Ἕλλησι μεταλαμβάνεται, τούτου δ' ἠξιώθη τοῦ προσρήματος ὁ δηλούμενος διὰ τὸ ζηλῶσαι τὸν ἀδελφὸν τὸν Ἄβελ. 11.6.24 καὶ ὁ Ἄβελ δὲ ἑρμηνεύεται «πένθος», τοῦ τοιοῦδε πάθους γεγονὼς καὶ αὐτὸς τοῖς γονεῦσιν αἴτιος, οἳ κατά τινα θειοτέραν προμήθειαν γενομένοις 11.6.25 τοῖς παισὶ ταύτας τέθεινται ἐπωνυμίας. τί δ' εἴ σοι τὸν Ἁβραὰμ παραφέροιμι; μετεωρολόγος τις οὗτος καὶ τῆς τῶν ἄστρων θεωρίας τῶν τε κατ' οὐρανὸν μαθημάτων εἰδήμων τὸ πρίν, ὅτε τῆς Χαλδαϊκῆς μετεποιεῖτο σοφίας, γεγονὼς Ἅβραμ ἐκαλεῖτο· τοῦτο δ' Ἑλλήνων φωνῇ πατέρα μετέωρον ση11.6.26 μαίνει. ἀλλ' ὁ θεός γε αὐτὸν τῶν τῇδε ἐπὶ τὰ ἀφανῆ καὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἐπέκεινα προάγων εὐθυβόλῳ κέχρηται μετωνυμίᾳ, «Οὐκέτι,» φήσας, «κληθήσεται τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἅβραμ, ἀλλ' Ἁβραὰμ ἔσται τὸ ὄνομά σου, ὅτι πα11.6.27 τέρα πολλῶν ἐθνῶν τέθεικά σε.» τοῦτο δὲ ὁποίας ἔχεται διανοίας μακρὸς