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to that which is unscattered and indissoluble and substantial and constituted in incorruptibility, 11.28.2 how would it not be of the genus according to the paradigm? For whenever, of two clearly opposite extremes, such as the rational and the irrational, something else is disputed as to which part it belongs, this too was one mode of proof, by showing to which of the opposites it is similar. For thus, although the human race is held in irrationality in its first age, and many abound in the errors of irrationality even until old age, nevertheless because it bears many 11.28.3 similarities to the purely rational, this race was believed from the beginning to be rational. Since, therefore, the system of the gods is manifestly divine and undefiled and inviolable, and again, that which is earthly is clearly dissoluble and lies in corruption, and since it is disputed by some to which of the aforesaid parts the soul belongs, Plato thought it necessary to trace out the truth from its similarity. 11.28.4 And since it in no way resembles that which is mortal and dissoluble and unintelligent and without share in life, and for this reason tangible and perceptible and coming into being and perishing, but resembles the divine and immortal and invisible and intellectual, that which is living and akin to truth and all that he reasons about it, it seemed wrong to concede that the other similarities of God are in it, but to wish to deny the resemblance of substance from it, 11.28.5 on account of which it has happened that it also obtained these things. For just as things dissimilar to God in their activities were immediately also different in the constitution of their substance, so it is consistent that things that somehow share in the same activities should possess a prior similarity of substance. For because the substance is of a certain quality, the activities are also of a certain quality, as if flowing from it and being its offspring.” 11.28.6 Boethus, then, taking away the force of this argument, listen to what he did right at the beginning of his argument, writing thus: 11.28.7 “If the soul is immortal and a nature superior to all destruction, 11.28.8 one must declare it after waiting for and going through many arguments. However, that nothing among things concerning us is more similar to God than the soul, one would believe without needing much trouble, not only because of the continuous and unceasing 11.28.9 motion which it imparts in us, but also because of the mind which is in itself. Looking to this, the natural philosopher from Croton also said that it is immortal and all 11.28.10 by nature shuns rest, just like the divine bodies. But also, in general, the form of the soul, and especially the ruling mind in us, what great counsels and what sorts of impulses it often sets in motion, to one who understands, a great similarity to God would appear.” 11.28.11 And he adds next: “For if the soul is shown to be the most similar of all things to the divine, what need is there anymore to require other arguments as a preamble for the proof of its immortality, and not also count this one among the many, since it is sufficient to convince the reasonable, that it would not have of the things similar to the divine 11.28.12 shared in the activities, unless it were itself also divine? For if, although buried in what is mortal and dissoluble and unintelligent and in itself dead and always perishing and flowing away into the change of destruction, it both acts and holds it together and displays its own divine substance, although being obstructed and hindered by the utterly destructive creature set before it, how, if it were separated from the irrational, like gold from the clay plastered around it, would it not immediately reveal its own form as being similar to God alone, but also because it is a partaker of him and preserves the similarities in its activities, and in its most mortal part, as it is when confined in the mortal, it is for this reason not dissolved, because it was of a nature unallotted to corruption?” 11.28.13 And going down a little he says: “And reasonably it appears both divine from its likeness to the indivisible and mortal from those things by which it approaches the mortal nature; and it descends and ascends and

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ἀσκεδάστῳ καὶ ἀδιαλύτῳ καὶ οὐσιωμένῳ καὶ συνεστῶτι ἐν ἀφθαρ11.28.2 σίᾳ, πῶς οὐ τοῦ γένους ἂν εἴη τοῦ κατὰ τὸ παράδειγμα; ὅταν γὰρ δύο τινῶν ἄκρων ἐναργῶς ἐναντίων, οἷον λογικοῦ τε καὶ ἀλόγου, ἄλλο τι ἀμφισβητῆται ποίας ἐστὶ μερίδος, εἷς ἦν καὶ οὗτος τρόπος ἀποδείξεως διὰ τοῦ δεῖξαι τίνι τῶν ἀντικειμένων ὅμοιον. οὕτω γάρ, καίπερ ἐν ἀλογίᾳ κατὰ πρώτην ἡλικίαν τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου γένους κατισχημένου πολλῶν τε ἄχρι γήρως ἐν τοῖς τῆς ἀλογίας ἁμαρτήμασι πλεοναζόντων, ὅμως διὰ τὸ τῷ καθαρῶς λογικῷ πολλὰς 11.28.3 ὁμοιότητας φέρειν λογικὸν εἶναι τὸ γένος τοῦτο ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐπιστεύθη. ὄντος οὖν θείου συστήματος καὶ ἀκηράτου καὶ ἀλυμάντου προφανῶς τοῦ τῶν θεῶν, ὄντος δὲ πάλιν ἐναργῶς τοῦ χθονίου καὶ λυτοῦ καὶ ἐν διαφθορᾷ κειμένου, ἀμφισβητουμένης δὲ παρά τισι τῆς ψυχῆς τίνι τῶν προκειμένων μέρει προσκεχώρηκεν, ἐκ τῆς ὁμοιότητος ᾠήθη ὁ Πλάτων δεῖν ἀνιχνεύειν τὴν ἀλήθειαν. 11.28.4 καὶ ἐπειδὴ τῷ μὲν θνητῷ τε καὶ λυτῷ καὶ ἀνοήτῳ καὶ ζωῆς ἀμετόχῳ καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἁπτῷ τε καὶ αἰσθητῷ καὶ γινομένῳ καὶ ἀπολλυμένῳ οὐδαμῶς ἔοικε, τῷ δὲ θείῳ καὶ ἀθανάτῳ καὶ ἀειδεῖ καὶ νοερῷ ζῶντί τε καὶ ἀληθείας συγγενεῖ καὶ ὅσα ἐκεῖνος περὶ αὐτῆς ἀναλογίζεται, ἐδόκει μὴ τὰς μὲν ἄλλας ὁμοιότητας τοῦ θεοῦ ἐνεῖναι συγχωρεῖν, τὸ δὲ τῆς οὐσίας ἐμφερὲς ἀπ' αὐτῆς ἐθέλειν ἀθετεῖν, 11.28.5 δι' ὃ καὶ τούτων αὐτὴν τυχεῖν συμβέβηκεν. ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ ταῖς ἐνεργείαις τῷ θεῷ ἀνόμοια εὐθὺς καὶ τῇ συστάσει τῆς οὐσίας ἐξήλλακτο, οὕτως ἀκόλουθον εἶναι τὰ τῶν αὐτῶν πως ἐνεργειῶν μέτοχα φθάνειν τὴν ὁμοιότητα τῆς οὐσίας κεκτημένα. διὰ γὰρ τὴν ποιὰν οὐσίαν ποιὰς εἶναι καὶ τὰς ἐνεργείας, ὡς ἂν ἀπ' αὐτῆς ῥεούσας καὶ αὐτῆς οὔσας βλαστήματα.» 11.28.6 Τούτου τοίνυν τοῦ λόγου τὴν δύναμιν περιαιρῶν ὁ Βόηθος ἐπάκουσον εὐθὺς ἐν ἀρχῇ τοῦ λόγου ὃ πεποίηκε γράφων οὕτως· 11.28.7 «Εἰ μὲν ἀθάνατός ἐστιν ἡ ψυχὴ καὶ παντὸς ὀλέθρου κρείττων τις φύσις, 11.28.8 πολλοὺς ἀναμείναντα χρὴ καὶ περιηγησάμενον λόγους ἀποφήνασθαι. τὸ μέντοι τῶν περὶ ἡμᾶς ὁμοιότερον μηδὲν γενέσθαι θεῷ ψυχῆς, οὐ πολλῆς ἄν τις δεηθεὶς πραγματείας πιστεύσειεν, οὐ μόνον διὰ τὸ συνεχὲς καὶ ἄπαυστον 11.28.9 τῆς κινήσεως, ἣν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνδίδωσιν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ καθ' ἑαυτὴν νοῦ. εἰς ὅπερ ἀπιδὼν καὶ ὁ Κροτωνιάτης φυσικὸς εἶπεν ἀθάνατον αὐτὴν οὖσαν καὶ πᾶσαν 11.28.10 ἠρεμίαν φύσει φεύγειν, ὥσπερ τὰ θεῖα τῶν σωμάτων. ἀλλὰ καὶ καθάπαξ τὴν ἰδέαν τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ μάλιστα τὸν ἄρχοντα ἐν ἡμῖν νοῦν, ὁπηλίκα βουλεύματα καὶ ὁρμὰς πολλάκις ὁποίας ὑποκινεῖ, τῷ κατανοήσαντι πολλή τις ἂν πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ὁμοιότης ὑποφανείη.» 11.28.11 Καὶ ἑξῆς ἐπιλέγει· «Εἰ γὰρ ὡς ὁμοιότατον τῷ θείῳ πάντων χρημάτων ἡ ψυχὴ δείκνυται, τίς ἔτι χρεία τῶν ἄλλων δεῖσθαι λόγων εἰς ἀπόδειξιν τῆς ἀθανασίας αὐτῆς προοιμιαζόμενον καὶ μὴ καὶ τοῦτον ὡς ἕνα μετὰ τῶν πολλῶν καταριθμοῦντα, ἱκανὸν ὄντα ἐντρέψαι τοὺς εὐγνώμονας, ὡς οὐκ ἂν τῶν ἐμφερῶν τῷ θείῳ 11.28.12 μετέσχεν ἐνεργειῶν μή τοι θεία γε οὖσα καὶ αὐτή; εἰ γὰρ καίπερ ἐν τῷ θνητῷ καὶ λυτῷ καὶ ἀνοήτῳ καὶ καθ' ἑαυτὸ νεκρῷ καὶ ἀεὶ ἀπολλυμένῳ καὶ διαρρέοντι εἰς τὴν τῆς ἀπωλείας μεταβολὴν κατορωρυγμένη αὐτό τε ποιεῖ καὶ συνέχει καὶ τὴν ἑαυτῆς θείαν ἀναδείκνυσιν οὐσίαν, καίπερ ἐπιπροσθουμένη καὶ ἐμποδιζομένη ὑπὸ τοῦ προκειμένου αὐτῇ πανωλέθρου πλάσματος, πῶς εἰ τοῦ ἀλόγου χωρισθείη, ὥσπερ χρυσίον περιπεπλασμένου πηλοῦ, οὐκ αὐτόθεν ἂν τὸ ἑαυτῆς εἶδος ἐκφήνειεν ὡς ἐμφερὲς ὂν μόνῳ τῷ θεῷ, ἀλλὰ καὶ διὰ τὸ μέτοχον αὐτοῦ εἶναι καὶ τὰς ἐν ταῖς ἐνεργείαις ὁμοιότητας διασῷζον καὶ ἐν τῷ μάλιστα θνητῷ αὐτῆς ὥσπερ ἐστὶν ὅταν ἐν τῷ θνητῷ καθειρχθῇ διὰ τοῦτο μὴ διαλυόμενον, ὅτι φύσεως ἦν τῆς ἀμοίρου φθορᾶς;» 11.28.13 Καὶ ὑποκαταβάς φησιν· «Εἰκότως δὲ καὶ θεία φαίνεται ἀπὸ τῆς πρὸς τὸν ἀμέριστον ὁμοιώσεως καὶ θνητὴ ἀφ' ὧν προσπελάζει τῇ θνητῇ φύσει· καὶ κάτεισι καὶ ἄνεισι καὶ