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should kill a clothes-stealer while defending himself, let him be pure.”

42. CONCERNING A BEAST OF BURDEN “But if a beast of burden or any other animal should kill someone, except for those which, while competing in the public games, do such a thing, let the relatives prosecute the killer for the murder, and let the country-magistrates, whomever and however many the relative shall appoint, judge the case, and having killed the convicted thing, banish it outside the borders of the country.” These things Plato says. But Moses, anticipating, says: “But if a bull gores a man or a woman and they die, the bull shall be stoned with stones and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the bull will be guiltless.”

43. THAT PLATO USED THE SAME EXAMPLES AS THE SCRIPTURE AMONG THE HEBREWS

The prophetic scripture saying: “Son of man, behold the house of Israel has become to me all mixed with bronze and tin and iron and lead; in the midst of a furnace they are silver mixed. Therefore say: Thus says the Lord: Because you have all become one mixture, for this reason I will gather you, just as silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin are gathered into the midst of a furnace, to blow fire upon them, to be melted,” and likewise hear what Plato says: 12.43.2 “Listen then to the rest of the myth. For we are all brothers in the city, as we will say to them in our tale, but the god who fashioned you, to those of you who are fit to rule mixed gold into their generation, because they are the most honored; to those who are helpers, silver; and iron and bronze to the farmers 12.43.3 and to the other craftsmen. Since you are all then kin, for the most part you would beget offspring like yourselves, but it sometimes happens that from gold a silver child might be born, and from silver a golden one, and all the others similarly from each other. 12.43.4 To the rulers therefore first and foremost the god commands that they be good guardians of nothing so much, nor guard anything so fiercely, as their offspring, observing what of these metals is mixed in their souls, and if their own offspring should be born with a portion of bronze or iron, they should in no way pity them, but assigning the status appropriate to their nature, they shall thrust them out among the craftsmen or the farmers, and if in turn from these one is born with a portion of gold or silver, honoring them they will raise them up, some to the guardian class, and others to the helper class, since there is an oracle that the city will be destroyed when the iron guardian or the bronze one shall keep watch over it. Do you have any device, then, for making them believe this myth?”

12.44.1 44. FURTHER CONCERNING SIMILAR EXAMPLES

The prophecy among the Hebrews saying to the leaders of the people: “O shepherds of Israel, do shepherds feed themselves? Do not the shepherds feed the sheep? Behold, you eat the milk and you slaughter the fat and you clothe yourselves with the wool and you do not feed my sheep and you did not seek the lost and you did not bind up the broken and you did not bring back the straying,” but also of the saving word

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λωποδύτην ἀμυνόμενος ἀποκτείνῃ, καθαρὸς ἔστω.»

μβʹ. ΠΕΡΙ ΥΠΟΖΥΓΙΟΥ «Ἐὰν δὲ ἄρα ὑποζύγιον ἢ ζῷον ἄλλο τι φονεύσῃ τινὰ πλὴν τῶν ὅσα ἐν ἀγῶνι τῶν δημοσίᾳ τιθεμένων ἀθλεύοντά τι τοιοῦτον δράσῃ, ἐπεξίτωσαν μὲν οἱ προσήκοντες τοῦ φόνου τῷ κτείναντι, διαδικαζόντων δὲ τῶν ἀγρονόμων οἷσιν ἂν καὶ ὁπόσοις προστάξῃ ὁ προσήκων, τὸ δὲ ὄφλον ἔξω τῶν ὅρων τῆς χώρας ἀποκτείναντας διορίσαι.» Ταῦτα ὁ Πλάτων. ὁ δὲ Μωσῆς προλαβών φησιν· «Ἐὰν δὲ κερατίσῃ ταῦρος ἄνδρα ἢ γυναῖκα καὶ ἀποθάνῃ, λίθοις λιθοβοληθήσεται ὁ ταῦρος καὶ οὐ βρωθήσεται τὰ κρέα αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ κύριος τοῦ ταύρου ἀθῷος ἔσται.»

μγʹ. ΟΤΙ ΤΟΙΣ ΑΥΤΟΙΣ Ο ΠΛΑΤΩΝ ΟΙΣ ΚΑΙ Η ΠΑΡ' ΕΒΡΑΙΟΙΣ ΓΡΑΦΗ ΚΕΧΡΗΤΑΙ ΠΑΡΑ∆ΕΙΓΜΑΣΙ

Τῆς προφητικῆς γραφῆς λεγούσης· «Υἱὲ ἀνθρώπου, ἰδοὺ γεγόνασί μοι ὁ οἶκος Ἰσραὴλ ἀναμεμιγμένοι πάντες χαλκῷ καὶ κασσιτέρῳ καὶ σιδήρῳ καὶ μολίβδῳ, ἐν μέσῳ καμίνου ἀργύριον ἀναμεμιγμένον εἰσί. διὰ τοῦτο εἰπόν· Τάδε λέγει κύριος· Ἀνθ' ὧν ἐγένεσθε πάντες εἰς σύγκρασιν μίαν, διὰ τοῦτο ἐγὼ εἰσδέξομαι ὑμᾶς, καθὼς εἰσδέχεται ἄργυρος καὶ χαλκὸς καὶ σίδηρος καὶ μόλιβδος καὶ κασσίτερος εἰς μέσον καμίνου, τοῦ ἐκφυσῆσαι εἰς αὐτοὺς πῦρ, τοῦ χωνευθῆναι» καὶ ὁ Πλάτων ὡσαύτως ἐπάκουσον ἅ φησιν· 12.43.2 «Οὐκοῦν ἀκούετε λοιπὸν τοῦ μύθου. ἐσμὲν γὰρ δὴ πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ πόλει ἀδελφοί, ὡς φήσομεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς μυθολογοῦντες, ἀλλ' ὁ θεὸς πλάττων, ὅσοι μὲν ὑμῶν ἱκανοὶ ἄρχειν, χρυσὸν ἐν τῇ γενέσει ξυνέμισγεν αὐτοῖς, διότι τιμιώτατοί εἰσιν· ὅσοι δ' ἐπίκουροι, ἄργυρον· σίδηρον δὲ καὶ χαλκὸν τοῖς γεωργοῖς 12.43.3 καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις δημιουργοῖς. ἅτε οὖν ξυγγενεῖς ὄντες ἅπαντες τὸ μὲν πολὺ ὁμοίους ἂν ὑμῖν αὐτοῖς γεννῷτε, ἔστι δ' ὅτε ἐκ χρυσοῦ γεννηθείη ἂν ἀργυροῦν καὶ ἐξ ἀργυροῦ χρυσοῦν ἔγγονον καὶ τἄλλα πάντα ἐξ ἀλλήλων οὕ 12.43.4 τως. τοῖς οὖν ἄρχουσι καὶ πρῶτον καὶ μάλιστα παραγγέλλει ὁ θεὸς ὅπως μηδενὸς οὕτω φύλακες ἀγαθοὶ γένωνται μηδ' οὕτω σφόδρα φυλάξωσι μηδὲν ὡς τοὺς ἐγγόνους, ὅ τι αὐτοῖς τούτων ἐν ταῖς ψυχαῖς παραμέμικται, καὶ ἐὰν σφέτερος ἔγγονος ὑπόχαλκος ἢ ὑποσίδηρος γένηται, μηδενὶ τρόπῳ κατελεήσωσιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν τῇ φύσει προσήκουσαν τιμὴν ἀποδιδόντες ὤσουσιν ἢ εἰς δημιουργοὺς ἢ γεωργούς, καὶ ἐὰν αὖ ἐκ τούτων ἢ ὑπόχρυσος ἢ ὑπάργυρος φυῇ τις, τιμήσαντες ἀνάξουσι τοὺς μὲν εἰς φυλακήν, τοὺς δ' εἰς ἐπικουρίαν, ὡς χρησιμοῦ ὄντος τότε τὴν πόλιν διαφθαρῆναι, ὅταν αὐτὴν ὁ σιδηροῦς φύλαξ ἢ ὁ χαλκοῦς διαφυλάξῃ. τοῦτον οὖν τὸν μῦθον ὅπως ἂν πεισθεῖεν ἔχεις τινὰ μηχανήν;»

12.44.1 μδʹ. ΕΤΙ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΟΜΟΙΩΝ ΥΠΟ∆ΕΙΓΜΑΤΩΝ

Τῆς παρ' Ἑβραίοις προφητείας φασκούσης πρὸς τοὺς προεστῶτας τοῦ πλήθους· «Ὦ ποιμένες Ἰσραήλ, μὴ βόσκουσι ποιμένες ἑαυτούς; οὐ τὰ πρόβατα βόσκουσιν οἱ ποιμένες; ἰδοὺ τὸ γάλα κατεσθίετε καὶ τὸ παχὺ σφάζετε καὶ τὰ ἔρια περιβάλλεσθε καὶ τὰ πρόβατά μου οὐ βόσκετε καὶ τὸ ἀπολωλὸς οὐκ ἐζητήσατε καὶ τὸ συντετριμμένον οὐ κατεδήσατε καὶ τὸ πλανώμενον οὐκ ἐπεστρέψατε,» ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ σωτηρίου λόγου