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Unwisely you also came to sack your fatherland, 6.7.30 or if not this one, then the other, having heard those other sophistries of Euripides: Then the sun and night serve mortals, but you will not endure to have an equal share of the house, 6.7.31 how would they have joined together and fought, and the whole house of Laius have passed through blood? But indeed, you will say, these things have happened. They have happened; but by what path did you come to the knowledge of these things? Or do you not see how often the power in us who complete the drama has interrupted the whole drama? And so, taking whatever hypothesis you wish, I will cut through 6.7.32 your chain of events and show it to be impossible. But you say you know the final outcomes of the hypothesis, while the whole hypothesis is constructed from a power that interrupts the chain of events. 6.7.33 Or do you not understand what I am saying? But in each hypothesis, O prophet, living creatures either often making few beginnings or many within it. And the beginnings, having always interrupted what came before them, themselves bring forth other events; and these can proceed so far, as long as another beginning, arising from somewhere, does not command what comes after it 6.7.34 to follow not what went before, but itself. A beginning could be a donkey, a dog, or a flea; for you will not, by Apollo, take away the power even of the flea, but the flea will have some impulse of its own, which, sometimes becoming entangled with human affairs, will present itself as the beginning of some path. But you, though you make use of this kind of thing, do not perceive it. 6.7.35 You sacked Trachis, the city of divine Heracles, O Locrian; and to you Zeus gave ruin and will yet give it. What do you say? Was it not fated by you for it to be sacked? And why are we to blame, and not your necessity? You do not act justly, O Apollo, nor do you rightly rebuke 6.7.36 us who do no wrong. And this Zeus, the necessity of your necessity, why does he punish us, and not, if at all, himself, for having decreed that necessity be such? And why does he even threaten us? Or why do we, as if masters of this, starve? But either it will be resettled by us or not; and whichever it is, 6.7.37 this has been fated. Cease then, O famine-making Zeus, from your anger; for what has been fated will be, and your chain of events has been commanded to do this; and we are nothing in comparison to it. And you too, Apollo, stop delivering vain oracles; for what will be, will be, even if you are silent. But we, O Zeus and Apollo, what are we to suffer, being in no way the cause of your law-giving, that is, your necessity-giving? And what have we to do with your ruins, which you yourselves justly deserve to have for what we were compelled to do? 6.7.38 Oetaeans, do not hasten with recklessness of mind. But we are not hastening, O Apollo, but are being driven, not by recklessness, but 6.7.39 by your necessity. And how, O Apollo, do you praise that Lycurgus, who was not good either willingly or by choice, but unwillingly? If indeed anyone becomes good unwillingly. And what you are now doing is like someone who would praise and honor those who are beautiful in body, 6.7.40 but blame and punish the ugly. For the wicked could justly say to you that 'You did not permit us, O gods, to become good; and not only that, but you even compelled us to be wicked'; and if the good were to walk about with their elbows sticking out, someone would not permit them, but would say: 'O Chrysippus and Cleanthes and all of that chorus—for you have been made to be good—I 6.7.41 for my part praise virtue, but I do not praise you who are virtuous.' But also Epicurus, whom you, O Chrysippus, have often slandered, I, for your part, acquit of the charges. For what should he suffer, who was not willingly soft or unjust, as you often reviled him for being? 6.7.42 To the life of well-ordered mortals the gods are gracious, and from the pious they accept holy sacrifices and honors. But you seem to me as if you would not say these things, unless you were persuaded that they proceed to what they proceed to not unwillingly, but willingly. But whatever they might will, neither god nor human sophist, things having been so predetermined, will dare to say that it is subordinate; or we will no longer make arguments against him, but taking some stout leather strap, as if for an unruly child, we will thoroughly card his ribs.” 6.7.43 So much did Oenomaus say in reply to the oracle-monger. But if you do not delight in such a thing, take and read what is from the other philosophers concerning fate, not only of the

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ἀσύνετα δ' ἦλθες καὶ σὺ πορθήσων πάτραν, 6.7.30 ἢ εἰ οὗτος μὲν μή, ὁ δ' ἕτερος, τῶν Εὐριπιδείων ἀκούσας σοφιστευμάτων ἐκείνων τῶν ἄλλων· εἶθ' ἥλιος μὲν νύξ τε δουλεύει βροτοῖς, σὺ δ' οὐκ ἀνέξῃ δωμάτων ἔχειν ἴσον, 6.7.31 πῶς ἂν συστάντες ἐμάχοντο καὶ Λαΐου πᾶν δῶμα ἔβη δι' αἵματος; ἀλλὰ μήν, φήσεις, γέγονε ταῦτα. γέγονεν· ἀλλὰ σὺ ποίᾳ ὁδῷ εἰσῆλθες εἰς τὴν τούτων εἴδησιν; ἢ οὐχ ὁρᾷς ὡς πυκνὰ διακέκοφε τὸ ὅλον δρᾶμα ἡ ἐν ἡμῖν τοῖς τὸ δρᾶμα συμπληροῦσι δύναμις; οὕτω δὲ καὶ ἣν βούλει ὑπόθεσιν λαβὼν διατεμῶ 6.7.32 τὸν εἱρμὸν ὑμῶν ἀποφανῶ τε ἀδύνατον ὄντα. ἀλλὰ σὺ τὰ τῆς ὑποθέσεως ἔσχατα εἰδέναι λέγεις, ἡ δὲ ὑπόθεσις ἐκ διακοπτικῆς εἱρμοῦ δυνάμεως ὅλη 6.7.33 συντέτακται. ἢ ὃ λέγω οὐ συνιεῖς; ἀλλὰ καθ' ἑκάστην ὑπόθεσιν, ὦ μάντι, τὰ ζῷα ἢ ὀλίγας πολλάκις ἀρχὰς ποιούμενα ἢ πολλὰς ἐν αὐτῇ. αἱ δὲ ἀρχαὶ αἰεὶ τὰ μέχρι αὐτῶν διακόψασαι αὐταὶ ἄλλα προάγουσι πράγματα· τὰ δ' ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον προχωρεῖν δύναται, ἐφ' ὅσον ἐὰν μὴ ἄλλη ποθὲν ἐπιστᾶσα ἀρχὴ τὰ 6.7.34 μετ' αὐτὴν μὴ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἀκολουθεῖν, ἀλλ' ἑαυτῇ κελεύσῃ. εἴη δ' ἂν ἀρχὴ καὶ ὄνος καὶ κύων καὶ ψύλλα, οὐ γὰρ παραιρήσει οὐδὲ τῆς ψύλλης, μὰ τὸν Ἀπόλλω, τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ' ὁρμήσει τινὰ ἰδίαν ὁρμὴν ἡ ψύλλα, ἣ καὶ τοῖς ἀνθρωπίνοις πράγμασιν ἐνίοτε συμπλακεῖσα ἀρχὴν ἑαυτὴν παρέξεταί τινος ὁδοῦ. σὺ δὲ χρώμενος οὐκ αἴσθῃ τῷ γένει τούτῳ. 6.7.35 Τρηχῖν' ἐξεῖλες πόλιν Ἡρακλέος θείοιο, ὦ Λοκρέ· σοὶ δὲ Ζεὺς ἄτας δῶκ' ἠδ' ἔτι δώσει. τί φῄς; οὐ γὰρ ἐπέπρωτο ὑφ' ὑμῶν ἐξαιρεθῆναι αὐτήν; καὶ τί αἴτιοι ἡμεῖς, ἀλλ' οὐχ ἡ ὑμετέρα ἀνάγκη; οὐ δίκαια ποιεῖς, ὦ Ἄπολλον, οὐδ' ὀρθῶς ἐπιτιμᾷς 6.7.36 τοῖς οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦσιν ἡμῖν. ὁ δὲ Ζεὺς οὗτος, ἡ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀνάγκης ἀνάγκη, τί ἡμᾶς τίνυται, ἀλλ' οὐκ, εἴπερ ἄρα, ἑαυτόν, ὅτι τοιαύτην κατέδειξεν εἶναι τὴν ἀνάγκην; τί δὲ καὶ ἀπειλεῖ ἡμῖν; ἢ τί ἡμεῖς, ὡς ὄντες τούτου κύριοι, λιμώττομεν; ἀλλὰ καὶ ἤτοι ἀνοικισθήσεται πρὸς ἡμῶν ἢ οὔ· ὁπότερον δ' ἂν ᾖ, 6.7.37 τοῦτο πέπρωται. λῆξον δή, ὦ Ζεῦ λιμοποιέ, τοῦ θυμοῦ· ἔσται γὰρ ὃ πέπρωται, καὶ τοῦτο προστέτακται ποιεῖν ὁ σὸς εἱρμός· ἡμεῖς δὲ πρὸς τοῦτον οὐδέν ἐσμεν. παῦσαι δὲ καὶ σύ, ὦ Ἄπολλον, μάταια χρησμῳδῶν· ἔσται γὰρ ὃ δὴ ἔσται, κἂν σὺ σιωπᾷς. ἡμεῖς δέ, ὦ Ζεῦ καὶ Ἄπολλον, τί πάθωμεν, οὐδὲν ὄντες αἴτιοι τῆς ὑμετέρας νομοθετήσεως, τουτέστιν ἀναγκοθετήσεως; τί δ' ἡμῖν καὶ ταῖς ὑμετέραις ἄταις, ἃς αὐτοὶ ἔχειν δίκαιοί ἐστε ὑπὲρ ὧν ἡμεῖς ἠναγκάσθημεν; 6.7.38 Οἰταῖοι, μὴ σπεύδετ' ἀτασθαλίῃσι νόοιο. ἀλλ' οὐ σπεύδομεν, ὦ Ἄπολλον, ἀλλ' ἐλαυνόμεθα, οὐδὲ ἀτασθαλίαις, ἀλλὰ 6.7.39 τῇ ὑμετέρᾳ ἀνάγκῃ. τὸν δὲ Λυκοῦργον ἐκεῖνον πῶς, ὦ Ἄπολλον, ἐπαινεῖς, ὃς οὐκ ἦν ἀγαθὸς οὔτε ἑκὼν οὔθ' ἑλόμενος, ἀλλ' ἄκων; εἴπερ που καὶ γίνεταί τις ἀγαθὸς ἄκων. ἔοικε δὲ ὃ νῦν ποιεῖτε, ὡς εἴ τις τοὺς μὲν καλοὺς τὰ σώματα 6.7.40 ἐπαινοίη καὶ γεραίροι, τοὺς δὲ αἰσχροὺς ψέγοι καὶ κολάζοι. δίκαια γὰρ εἴποιεν ἂν πρὸς ὑμᾶς οἱ πονηροί, ὅτι οὐκ ἐπετρέψατε ἡμῖν, ὦ θεοί, ἀγαθοῖς γίνεσθαι, οὐ μόνον δέ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐβιάσασθε εἶναι πονηρούς· οἵ τε ἀγαθοὶ εἰ ἐξηγκωνισμένοι περιπατοῖεν, οὐκ ἐπιτρέψει τις αὐτοῖς, ἀλλὰ φήσει· Ὦ Χρύσιππέ τε καὶ Κλέανθες καὶ ὅσοι τούτου τοῦ χοροῦ ὑμεῖς γὰρ πεποίησθε εἶναι 6.7.41 ἀγαθοί, ἐγὼ μὲν ἀρετὴν ἐπαινῶ, ὑμᾶς δὲ τοὺς ἐναρέτους οὐκ ἐπαινῶ. ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Ἐπίκουρον, ὃν σὺ πολλά, ὦ Χρύσιππε, ἐβλασφήμησας, ἐγὼ τό γε ἐπὶ σοὶ ἀφίημι τῶν ἐγκλημάτων. τί γὰρ πάθῃ ὃς οὐχ ἑκὼν ἦν μαλακὸς οὐδὲ ἄδικος, ὥσπερ πολλάκις αὐτὸν ἐλοιδόρησας; 6.7.42 Εὐτάκτων θνητῶν βιοτῇ θεοὶ ἵλαοί εἰσιν, εὐσεβέων θ' ἁγίας θυσίας τιμάς τε δέχονται. δοκεῖτε δέ μοι οὐκ ἂν ταῦτα λέγειν, μὴ πεπεισμένοι ὅτι οὐκ ἄκοντες, ἀλλὰ βουλόμενοι χωροῦσιν ἐφ' ἃ χωροῦσιν. ἃ δ' ἂν βουληθῶσιν, οὔτε θεὸς οὔτε ἄνθρωπος σοφιστής, οὕτω προεληλεγμένων, τολμήσει λέγειν ὅτι ὑποτέτακται· ἢ λόγους μὲν οὐκέτι πρὸς αὐτὸν ποιησόμεθα, σκύτος δέ τι τῶν εὐτόνων λαβόντες, ὡς ἐπ' ἀνάγωγον παῖδα, τὰς πλευρὰς εὖ μάλα καταξανοῦμεν αὐτοῦ.» 6.7.43 Τοσαῦτα πρὸς τὸν χρησμῳδὸν ὁ Οἰνόμαος ἀπετείνατο. σὺ δ' ἀλλ' εἰ μὴ τῷ τοιῷδε χαίρεις, λαβὼν ἀνάγνωθι τὰ ἐκ τῶν ἄλλων φιλοσόφων περὶ εἱμαρμένης οὐ μόνον τῶν