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and in many others, in which but a small remnant of the human race was left. Therefore, all such a thing is very plausible to everyone. 12.15.3 Come now, let us consider this one of the many, the one that happened in the flood. Having conceived what sort of thing about it? That those who then escaped the destruction would be almost some mountain-dwellers from the pasture-lands, small sparks of the human race preserved somewhere on the mountain tops. Clearly. 12.15.4 And indeed, it is necessary that such men be inexperienced in the other arts and in the devices of the city-dwellers against one another for greed and rivalry and all the other wickednesses they devise against one another. It is likely, at any rate. Let us suppose, then, that the cities in the plains and those dwelling by the sea were utterly destroyed at that time. Let us suppose. Therefore, shall we not say that all instruments were destroyed and if anything of art had been laboriously invented, or of politics, or of any other wisdom, that all these things perished at that time?” 12.15.5 And after other things he says: "Therefore, let us say that at that time, when the destruction occurred, the state of human affairs was a certain myriad and terrible desolation, and a very great abundance of boundless land." 12.15.6 Having said these and other such things, he goes through the lives of the men after the flood; then, just as Moses connects the constitution of the God-beloved Hebrews of old to the narrative after the flood, so Plato likewise after the lives of those after the flood attempts to treat the antiquities of the Greeks, as that one did those of the Hebrews, and he mentions the times of Troy and the first constitution in Lacedaemon and of the Persians and of those among them who lived either rightly or not; then after the history of these things he begins the disposition of the laws, in this also following Moses.

12.16.1 10. THAT OUR DOCTRINES RIGHTLY, BEGINNING FROM DIVINE THINGS, END IN HUMAN AFFAIRS; FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF THE LAWS

OF PLATO. Since Moses referred his whole legislation and the constitution according to him to the piety of the God of all things, and made the beginning of his legislation from the creator of all things, and then taught that human goods flow from divine goods, and referred divine things to the ruling mind of all, that is, the very God of all things, see how the philosopher also, walking in the same steps, finds fault with the lawgivers of the Cretans and Lacedaemonians, but teaches the law that is pleasing to Moses, saying thus: 12.16.2 "At what point, then, would I still wish you to speak, having made a distinction, and I to listen—do you want me to tell you? By all means, stranger. It was necessary to say: The laws of the Cretans are not without reason especially well-regarded among all the Greeks; for they are correct, making those who use them happy. 12.16.3 for they provide all good things. But goods are of two kinds, the human and the divine; and the one depends upon the divine. And if a city receives the greater, it acquires the lesser also, but if not, it is deprived of both. The lesser are those of which health is the leader, beauty second, third is strength for running and for all other movements of the body, and fourth is wealth, not blind, but sharp-sighted, if it follows along with 12.16.4 prudence. And indeed, the first and leading of the divine goods is prudence; second is a temperate disposition of soul with intelligence; and from these being mixed with courage, the third would be justice, and fourth is courage. And all these are by nature ranked before those, and indeed must be so ranked by the lawgiver. 12.16.5 After these things, the other ordinances for the citizens should be for them looking to these things

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καὶ ἄλλοις πολλοῖς, ἐν οἷς βραχύ τι τῶν ἀνθρώπων λείπεσθαι γένος. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν πιθανὸν τὸ τοιοῦτον πᾶν παντί. 12.15.3 Φέρε δή, νοήσωμεν μίαν τῶν πολλῶν ταύτην τὴν τῷ κατακλυσμῷ γενομένην. Τὸ ποῖόν τι περὶ αὐτῆς διανοηθέντες; Ὡς οἱ τότε περιφυγόντες τὴν φθορὰν σχεδὸν ὄρειοί τινες ἂν εἶεν νομῆς, ἐν κορυφαῖς που σμικρὰ ζώπυρα τοῦ τῶν ἀνθρώπων διασεσωσμένα γένους. ∆ῆλον. 12.15.4 Καὶ δὴ τοὺς τοιούτους γε ἀνάγκη που τῶν ἄλλων ἀπείρους εἶναι τεχνῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν τοῖς ἄστεσι πρὸς ἀλλήλους μηχανῶν εἴς τε πλεονεξίας καὶ φιλονεικίας καὶ ὁπόσα ἄλλα κακουργήματα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐπινοοῦσιν. Εἰκὸς γοῦν. Θῶμεν δὴ τὰς ἐν τοῖς πεδίοις πόλεις καὶ πρὸς θαλάττῃ κατοικούσας ἄρδην ἐν τῷ τότε χρόνῳ διαφθείρεσθαι. Θῶμεν. Οὐκοῦν ὄργανά τε πάντα ἀπόλλυσθαι καὶ εἴ τι τέχνης ἦν ἐχόμενον σπουδαίως εὑρημένον ἢ πολιτικῆς ἢ καὶ σοφίας τινὸς ἑτέρας, πάντα ἔρρειν ταῦτα ἐν τῷ τότε χρόνῳ φήσομεν.» 12.15.5 Καὶ μεθ' ἕτερά φησιν· «Οὐκοῦν οὕτω δὴ λέγωμεν ἔχειν τότε, ὅτε ἐγένετο ἡ φθορά, τὰ περὶ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους πράγματα, μυρίαν μέν τινα φοβερὰν ἐρημίαν, γῆς δὲ ἀφθόνου πλῆθος πάμπολυ.» 12.15.6 Ταῦτα καὶ τοιαῦτα ἕτερα εἰπὼν ἐπεξέρχεται βίους τῶν μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ἀνθρώπων, εἶθ', ὥσπερ Μωσῆς τὴν τῶν πάλαι θεοφιλῶν Ἑβραίων πολιτείαν ἐπισυνάπτει τῇ μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν ὑφηγήσει, καὶ ὁ Πλάτων ὁμοίως μετὰ τοὺς βίους τῶν μετὰ τὸν κατακλυσμὸν τὰ Ἑλληνικὰ πειρᾶται ἀρχαιολογεῖν, ὡς ἐκεῖνος τὰ Ἑβραίων, τῶν τε ἐπὶ Τροίας μνημονεύει καὶ τῆς πρώτης ἐν Λακεδαίμονι πολιτείας Περσῶν τε καὶ τῶν παρὰ τούτοις εἴτε ὀρθῶς εἴτε καὶ μὴ βεβιωκότων· εἶτα μετὰ τὴν τούτων ἱστορίαν ἀπάρχεται τῆς τῶν νόμων διαθέσεως κἀν τούτῳ Μωσεῖ κατακολουθήσας.

12.16.1 ιʹ. ΟΤΙ ΤΑ ΤΗΣ ∆Ι∆ΑΣΚΑΛΙΑΣ ΟΡΘΩΣ ΗΜΙΝ ΑΠΟ ΤΩΝ ΘΕΙΩΝ ΑΡΧΟΜΕΝΑ ΚΑΤΑΛΗΓΕΙ ΕΙΣ ΤΑ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΑ· ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥ Αʹ ΤΩΝ ΝΟΜΩΝ

ΠΛΑΤΩΝΟΣ Μωσέως τὴν πᾶσαν αὐτοῦ νομοθεσίαν τήν τε κατ' αὐτὸν πολιτείαν εὐσεβείας τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ ἀναρτήσαντος ἀπό τε τοῦ πάντων δημιουργοῦ τὴν καταρχὴν τῆς νομοθεσίας πεποιημένου, ἔπειτα τῶν θείων ἀγαθῶν ἐξέχεσθαι τὰ ἀνθρώπινα διδάξαντος τά τε θεῖα ἐπὶ τὸν πάντων ἡγεμόνα νοῦν, αὐτὸν δὴ τὸν τῶν ὅλων θεόν, ἀναθέντος, θέα ὅπως καὶ ὁ φιλόσοφος τοῖς αὐτοῖς βαίνων ἴχνεσιν ἐπιμέμφεται μὲν τοῖς Κρητῶν καὶ Λακεδαιμονίων νομοθέταις, τὸν δ' ἀρέσκοντα Μωσεῖ νόμον ἐκδιδάσκει, λέγων οὕτως· 12.16.2 «Πῆ δὴ οὖν σε ἔτ' ἂν ἐβουλόμην διελόμενον λέγειν αὐτός τ' ἀκούειν, βούλει σοι φράζω; Πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ὦ ξένε. Χρῆν εἰπεῖν· Οἱ Κρητῶν νόμοι οὐκ εἰσὶ μάτην διαφερόντως ἐν πᾶσιν εὐδόκιμοι τοῖς Ἕλλησιν· ἔχουσι γὰρ ὀρθῶς τοὺς αὐτοῖς χρωμένους εὐδαί12.16.3 μονας ἀποτελοῦντες· ἅπαντα γὰρ τὰ ἀγαθὰ πορίζουσι. διττὰ δὲ ἀγαθά ἐστι, τὰ μὲν ἀνθρώπινα, τὰ δὲ θεῖα· ἤρτηται δὲ ἐκ τῶν θείων θάτερα· καὶ ἐὰν μὲν δέχηται τὰ μείζονα πόλις, κτᾶται καὶ τὰ ἐλάττονα, εἰ δὲ μή, στέρεται ἀμφοῖν. ἔστι δὲ τὰ μὲν ἐλάττονα ὧν ἡγεῖται ὑγεία, κάλλος δὲ δεύτερον, τὸ δὲ τρίτον ἰσχὺς εἴς τε δρόμον καὶ εἰς τὰς ἄλλας πάσας κινήσεις τῷ σώματι, τέταρτον δὲ πλοῦτος οὐ τυφλός, ἀλλ' ὀξὺ βλέπων, ἄνπερ ἅμ' 12.16.4 ἕπηται φρονήσει. ὃ δὴ πρῶτον τῶν θείων ἡγεμονοῦν ἐστιν ἀγαθῶν, ἡ φρόνησις, δεύτερον δὲ μετὰ νοῦ σώφρων ψυχῆς ἕξις, ἐκ δὲ τούτων μετὰ ἀνδρίας κραθέντων τρίτον ἂν εἴη δικαιοσύνη, τέταρτον δὲ ἀνδρία. ταῦτα δὲ πάντα ἐκείνων ἔμπροσθεν τέτακται φύσει, καὶ δὴ τῷ νομοθέτῃ τακτέον 12.16.5 οὕτω. μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα τὰς ἄλλας προστάξεις τοῖς πολίταις εἰς ταῦτα βλεπούσας αὐτοῖς εἶναι