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11.28.14 he is mortal-like and resembles the immortals. For a man is also one who stuffs his own belly and is eager to be sated like the beasts; but a man is also one who is able to save a ship at sea in dangers through knowledge, and one who saves in sicknesses, and indeed one who finds the truth, and has contrived both for the attainment of knowledge the discoveries of fire-lighters and the observations of horoscopes and 11.28.15 having devised imitations of the works of the demiurge. For man has conceived how to create on earth the conjunctions of the seven with their motions, imitating by contrivances the things in heaven. For what has he not conceived, demonstrat11.28.16 ing the divine and god-like mind within himself? From which things, displaying the exploits of one Olympian and divine and in no way mortal, he has persuaded the many—who, through self-love of their own downward tendency, are not able to see him—to think him mortal-like, like themselves, from the external appearances; this being one kind of consolation that comes from wickedness, to persuade themselves, while finding rest in the counter-balancing of their own wretchedness through external appearances, that all men are the same, both outwardly and inwardly.” 11.28.17 Moses has been revealed as the teacher of all these things, who, by describing the first creation of man in the aforementioned words, established the arguments concerning the soul’s immortality through its assimilation to the 11.28.18 divine. But since the things concerning the incorporeal and invisible substance have been established as consonant and of the same opinion for Moses and Plato, it is time also to examine the remaining parts of Plato's philosophy and to show the man to be in all respects a friend to the Hebrews, unless perhaps, having been turned aside, he was led to say something more humanly than according to the true 11.28.19 account. At once, of the things that have been said, whatever has been spoken successfully by the man would concur with the doctrines of Moses, but whatever he supposed that was not pleasing to Moses and the prophets would not have a coherent argument. And this will be demonstrated by us at the proper time. For now, since what has been set down has been shown to be consonant and harmonious in the contemplation of intelligible things, it is time, returning again to the natural philosophy of perceptible things, to briefly survey the man’s agreement with the Hebrews.

11.29.1 30. CONCERNING THE WORLD BEING CREATED Since Moses declared that this universe was created, having come into being by God—for he says at the beginning of his own writing: “In the beginning God made the heaven and the earth” and after the particulars he adds: “This is the book of the generation of heaven and earth, when it was made, in the day that God made the heaven and the earth,”—hear how Plato does not deviate from this thought, writing something like this himself: 11.29.2 “Now everything that comes into being must of necessity come into being by some cause; for it is in every way impossible for anything to have generation without a cause.” 11.29.3 And he adds: “Now the whole heaven or world—or whatever other name it might most accept, let this be its name for us—we must then consider about it first, that which it is established one must consider about everything in the beginning, whether it was always, having no beginning of generation, 11.29.4 or has come into being, beginning from some beginning. It has come into being; for it is visible and tangible and has a body, and all such things are perceptible, and perceptible things are apprehended by opinion and have been shown to be created. And for that which has come into being, we say it is necessary for it to have come into being by some cause. Now to find the maker and demiurge of this universe is a difficult task, and when one has found him, it is impossible to speak of him to all.” 11.29.5 And again he says in succession: “Thus, then, according to the probable account, we must say that this world, a living being, ensouled and intelligent, truly came to be through the providence of God.”

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11.28.14 θνητοειδής ἐστι καὶ τοῖς ἀθανάτοις ἐμφερής. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ καὶ ὁ γαστρίζων ἑαυτὸν καὶ κεκορέσθαι σπουδάζων ὡς τὰ κτήνη· ἄνθρωπος δὲ καὶ ὁ σῴζειν ἐν πελάγει δι' ἐπιστήμης ἐν κινδύνοις οἷός τε ὢν τὴν ναῦν καὶ ὁ σῴζειν ἐν νόσοις καὶ ὅ γε τὴν μὲν ἀλήθειαν εὑρίσκων, μεθοδεύσας δὲ καὶ πρὸς γνώσεως καταλήψεις πυρείων τε εὑρέσεις καὶ ὡροσκοπείων τηρήσεις καὶ 11.28.15 μιμήσεις τῶν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ ποιημάτων μηχανησάμενος. ἄνθρωπος γὰρ ἐπενόησεν ἐπὶ γῆς συνόδους τῶν ἑπτὰ μετὰ τῶν κινήσεων δημιουργῆσαι, διὰ μηχανημάτων τὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ μιμούμενος. καὶ τί γὰρ οὐκ ἐπενόησεν, ἀποδει11.28.16 κνὺς τὸν θεῖον καὶ θεῷ παρισωμένον ἐν αὑτῷ νοῦν; ἀφ' ὧν Ὀλυμπίου τε καὶ θείου καὶ οὐδαμῶς θνητοῦ τολμήματα διαφαίνων τοὺς πολλοὺς διὰ φιλαυτίαν τῆς αὐτῶν εἰς τὰ κάτω ῥοπῆς ἰδεῖν αὐτὸν οὐχ οἵους τε ὄντας ἐκ τῶν ἔξωθεν φαινομένων ὁμοίως αὐτοῖς θνητοειδῆ δοξάζειν αὐτὸν ἀναπέπεικεν· ἑνὸς ὄντος καὶ τούτου τρόπου τῆς ἐκ κακίας παραμυθίας, τὸ τῇ ἀντανισώσει τῆς αὑτῶν ἀθλιότητος διὰ τὰ ἔξωθεν φαινόμενα προσαναπαυομένους πείθειν ἑαυτούς, ὅτι ὡς τὰ ἔξω καὶ τὰ εἴσω πάντες ἄνθρωποι.» 11.28.17 Τούτων ἁπάντων διδάσκαλος πέφηνε γεγονὼς ὁ Μωσῆς, ὃς διεξιὼν τὴν πρώτην ἀνθρωπογονίαν κατὰ τὰς προτεθείσας λέξεις διὰ τῆς πρὸς τὸ 11.28.18 θεῖον ἐξομοιώσεως τοὺς περὶ ψυχῆς ἀθανασίας λόγους ἐπιστώσατο. ἀλλ' ἐπειδὴ τὰ περὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου καὶ ἀφανοῦς οὐσίας σύμφωνα καὶ ὁμόδοξα Μωσεῖ καὶ Πλάτωνι συνέστη, ὥρα καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ μέρη τῆς κατὰ Πλάτωνα φιλοσοφίας ἐπιθεωρῆσαι δεῖξαί τε τὸν ἄνδρα Ἑβραίοις κατὰ πάντα φίλον, ἐκτὸς εἰ μή που παρατραπεὶς ἀνθρωπινώτερον ἢ κατὰ τὸν ἀληθῆ φάναι τι 11.28.19 προήχθη λόγον. αὐτίκα τῶν εἰρημένων ὅσα μὲν ἐπιτυχῶς λέλεκται τῷ ἀνδρὶ συντρέχοι ἂν τοῖς Μωσεῖ δεδογμένοις, ὅσα δὲ μὴ ἀρέσκοντα Μωσεῖ καὶ τοῖς προφήταις ὑπέλαβεν, οὐκ ἂν ἔχοι συνεστῶτα τὸν λόγον. τοῦτο δ' ἡμῖν ἐν καιρῷ τῷ δέοντι παραστήσεται. τέως δ', ἐπεὶ πεφώραται ἐν τῇ περὶ τῶν νοητῶν ἐποπτείᾳ συνῳδὰ καὶ σύμφωνα τὰ τεθειμένα, ὥρα ἐπανελθοῦσιν αὖθις ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν αἰσθητῶν φυσιολογίαν ἐν βραχέσι τὴν πρὸς τὰ Ἑβραίων ἐπιδραμεῖν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς συμφωνίαν.

11.29.1 λʹ. ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΓΕΝΗΤΟΝ ΕΙΝΑΙ ΤΟΝ ΚΟΣΜΟΝ Μωσέως γενητὸν ἀποφηναμένου τόδε τὸ πᾶν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ γενόμενον λέγει δ' οὖν ἀρχόμενος τῆς ἑαυτοῦ γραφῆς· «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν» καὶ μετὰ τὰ κατὰ μέρος ἐπάγει· «Αὕτη ἡ βίβλος γενέσεως οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς, ὅτε ἐγένετο, ᾗ ἡμέρᾳ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν», ἄκουε τοῦ Πλάτωνος ὡς οὐκ ἐκπίπτει τῆς διανοίας ὧδέ πη καὶ αὐτὸς γράφων· 11.29.2 «Πᾶν δὲ αὖ τὸ γινόμενον ὑπ' αἰτίου τινὸς ἐξ ἀνάγκης γίγνεσθαι· πάντη γὰρ ἀδύνατον χωρὶς αἰτίου γένεσιν ἔχειν.» 11.29.3 Καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «Ὁ δὴ πᾶς οὐρανὸς ἢ κόσμος ἢ καὶ ἄλλο, ὅ τι ποτὲ ὀνομαζόμενος μάλιστα ἂν δέχοιτο τοῦθ' ἡμῖν ὠνομάσθω· σκεπτέον οὖν περὶ αὐτοῦ πρῶτον, ὅπερ ὑπόκειται περὶ παντὸς ἐν ἀρχῇ δεῖν σκοπεῖν, πότερον ἦν ἀεί, γενέσεως ἀρχὴν 11.29.4 ἔχων οὐδεμίαν, ἢ γέγονεν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς τινος ἀρξάμενος. γέγονεν· ὁρατὸς γὰρ ἁπτός τέ ἐστι καὶ σῶμα ἔχων, πάντα δὲ τὰ τοιαῦτα αἰσθητά, τὰ δ' αἰσθητὰ δόξῃ περιληπτὰ καὶ γενητὰ ἐφάνη. τῷ δ' αὖ γενομένῳ φαμὲν ὑπ' αἰτίου τινὸς ἀνάγκην εἶναι γενέσθαι. τὸν μὲν οὖν ποιητὴν καὶ δημιουργὸν τοῦδε τοῦ παντὸς εὑρεῖν τε ἔργον καὶ εὑρόντα εἰς πάντας ἀδύνατον λέγειν.» 11.29.5 Καὶ αὖθις ἑξῆς φησιν· «Οὕτως οὖν δὴ κατὰ λόγον τὸν εἰκότα δεῖ λέγειν τόνδε τὸν κόσμον ζῷον ἔμψυχον ἔννουν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ διὰ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ γενέσθαι πρόνοιαν.»