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second, and as many numbers as one might wish to count it as the nth, being a change of a truly soulless body? Correctly. 12.51.15 Would we not then have spoken correctly and properly and most truly and perfectly in saying that soul came to be before body?, but body second and later, with soul ruling, being ruled according to nature. Most truly, indeed. 12.51.16 We remember, I'm sure, having agreed in what went before that if soul should be shown to be older than body, the things of the soul would also be older than those of the body. Certainly, indeed. 12.51.17 Then ways and characters and wishes and calculations and true opinions and cares and memories would have come to be before the length of bodies and breadth and depth and strength, if indeed soul is also before body. Necessarily. 12.51.18 Is it not necessary, then, after this to agree that soul is the cause of both good things and of bad, and of beautiful and ugly, and of just and unjust, and of all the opposites, if we are to posit it as the cause of all things? How could it not be? 12.51.19 Must we not say that soul, which administers and dwells in all things that are moved in any way, also administers the heaven? Why not? One or more? More; I will answer on your behalf. Let us posit no fewer than two, the beneficent one and the one capable of working the opposite. 12.51.20 You have spoken very correctly. Very well. Soul indeed leads all things in heaven and earth and sea by its own motions, whose names are to wish, to consider, to care, to deliberate, to opine correctly or falsely, while rejoicing, grieving, being confident, fearing, hating, loving, and by all the primary motions kindred to these, which in turn take on the secondary motions of bodies and lead all things to growth and decay and separation and combination, and to the things consequent on these—heats, colds, heavinesses, lightnesses, hard and soft, white and black, harsh and sweet, and by all the things which soul employs; when it takes to itself divine Mind, it always guides rightly for the gods, making them right and blessed, 12.51.21 all things, but when it consorts with folly, it in turn works out all the opposites of these. Shall we posit that these things are so? Or do we still doubt whether it is otherwise? Not at all. Which kind of soul, then, shall we say has become master of heaven and earth and the whole circuit: the one that is prudent and full of virtue, or the one which possesses neither 12.51.22 of these qualities? Do you wish, then, that we answer these things thus: If, my good sir, we should say, the entire path of heaven, together with its motion and that of all the beings within it, has a nature similar to the motion and revolution and calculations of mind, and proceeds in a kindred way, it is clear that we must say that the best soul cares for the whole cosmos and leads it along that very path. Correctly. 12.51.23 But if it proceeds madly and disorderly, the bad one. And this is most correct. What nature, then, does the motion of mind have? This question, my friends, is difficult to answer wisely. Wherefore it is right for you to enlist my help now for the answer. You speak well. 12.51.24 Let us not now make our answer by looking directly, as it were, at the sun, bringing on night at midday, as if we would ever see and know mind sufficiently with our eyes; but it is safer to see by looking at an image of the thing in question. 12.51.25 What do you mean? Let us take as an image that one of those ten motions which mind resembles, and having recalled it to your minds, I will make the answer jointly with you. You would speak most excellently. We remember this much, at least, of what was said then, that of all things, we posited some to be in motion and others to be at rest. Yes. 12.51.26 And of those things in motion, some move in one place, while others are borne through several. It is so. Of these two motions, the one that is borne in one place must always move about some center, being an imitation of circles turned on a lathe, and it is in every way as kindred and similar as possible to the revolution of mind. 12.51.27 What do you mean? The
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δευτέρα τε καὶ ὁπόσων ἀριθμῶν βούλοιτο ἄν τις ἀριθμεῖν αὐτὴν πολλοστὴν τοσούτων, σώματος οὖσα ὄντως ἀψύχου μεταβολή; Ὀρθῶς. 12.51.15 Ὀρθῶς ἄρα καὶ κυρίως ἀληθέστατά τε καὶ τελεώτατα εἰρηκότες ἂν εἴημεν ψυχὴν μὲν προτέραν γεγονέναι σώματος ἢ μή;, σῶμα δὲ δεύτερόν τε καὶ ὕστερον ψυχῆς ἀρχούσης, ἀρχόμενον κατὰ φύσιν. Ἀληθέστατα μὲν οὖν. 12.51.16 Μεμνήμεθά γε μὴν ὁμολογήσαντες ἐν τοῖς πρόσθεν ὡς εἰ ψυχὴ φανείη πρεσβυτέρα σώματος οὖσα, καὶ τὰ ψυχῆς τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἔσοιτο πρεσβύτερα. Πάνυ μὲν οὖν. 12.51.17 Τρόποι δὴ καὶ ἤθη καὶ βουλήσεις καὶ λογισμοὶ καὶ δόξαι ἀληθεῖς ἐπιμέλειαί τε καὶ μνῆμαι πρότερα μήκους σωμάτων καὶ πλάτους καὶ βάθους καὶ ῥώμης εἴη γεγονότα ἄν, εἴπερ καὶ ψυχὴ σώματος. Ἀνάγκη. 12.51.18 Ἆρ' οὖν τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο ὁμολογεῖν ἀναγκαῖον τῶν τε ἀγαθῶν αἰτίαν εἶναι ψυχὴν καὶ τῶν κακῶν καὶ καλῶν καὶ αἰσχρῶν δικαίων τε καὶ ἀδίκων καὶ πάντων τῶν ἐναντίων, εἴπερ τῶν πάντων γε αὐτὴν θήσομεν αἰτίαν; Πῶς γὰρ οὔ; 12.51.19 Ψυχὴν δὴ διοικοῦσαν καὶ ἐνοικοῦσαν ἐν ἅπασι τοῖς πάντη κινουμένοις μῶν οὐ καὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν ἀνάγκη διοικεῖν φάναι; Τί μήν; Μίαν ἢ πλείους; Πλείους· ἐγὼ ὑπὲρ σφῶν ἀποκρινοῦμαι. δυοῖν μέν γέ που ἔλαττον μηδὲν τιθῶμεν, τῆς τε εὐεργέτιδος καὶ τῆς τἀναντία δυναμένης ἐξεργάζεσθαι. 12.51.20 Σφόδρα ὀρθῶς εἴρηκας. Εἶεν. ἄγει μὲν δὴ ψυχὴ πάντα τὰ κατ' οὐρανὸν καὶ γῆν καὶ θάλατταν ταῖς αὑτῆς κινήσεσιν, αἷς ὀνόματά ἐστι βούλεσθαι, σκοπεῖσθαι, ἐπιμελεῖσθαι, βουλεύεσθαι, δοξάζειν ὀρθῶς, ἐψευσμένως, χαίρουσαν, λυπουμένην, θαρροῦσαν, φοβουμένην, μισοῦσαν, στέργουσαν καὶ πάσαις, ὅσαι τούτων ξυγγενεῖς πρωτουργοὶ κινήσεις δευτερουργοὺς αὖ παραλαμβάνουσαι κινήσεις σωμάτων ἄγουσι πάντα εἰς αὔξησιν καὶ φθίσιν καὶ διάκρισιν καὶ σύγκρισιν καὶ τούτοις ἑπομένας θερμότητας ψύξεις, βαρύτητας κουφότητας, σκληρὸν καὶ μαλακόν, λευκὸν καὶ μέλαν, αὐστηρὸν καὶ γλυκὺ καὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ψυχὴ χρωμένη, νοῦν μὲν προσλαμβάνουσα αἰεὶ θεῖον ὀρθῶς θεοῖς ὀρθὰ καὶ εὐδαίμονα παιδαγωγεῖ 12.51.21 πάντα, ἀνοίᾳ δὲ ξυγγενομένη πάντα αὖ τἀναντία τούτοις ἀπεργάζεται. τιθῶμεν ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχειν; ἢ ἔτι διστάζομεν εἰ ἑτέρως πως ἔχει; Οὐδαμῶς. Πότερον οὖν δὴ ψυχῆς τὸ γένος ἐγκρατὲς οὐρανοῦ καὶ γῆς καὶ πάσης τῆς περιόδου γεγονέναι φῶμεν τὸ φρόνιμον καὶ ἀρετῆς πλῆρες, ἢ τὸ μηδέτερα 12.51.22 κεκτημένον; βούλεσθε οὖν πρὸς ταῦτα ὧδε ἀποκρινώμεθα· εἰ μέν, ὦ θαυμάσιε, φῶμεν, ἡ ξύμπασα οὐρανοῦ ὁδὸς ἅμα καὶ φορὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ ὄντων πάντων νοῦ κινήσει καὶ περιφορᾷ καὶ λογισμοῖς ὁμοίαν φύσιν ἔχει καὶ ξυγγενῶς ἔρχεται, δῆλον ὡς τὴν ἀρίστην ψυχὴν φατέον ἐπιμελεῖσθαι τοῦ κόσμου παντὸς καὶ ἄγειν αὐτὸν τὴν τοιαύτην ὁδὸν ἐκείνην. Ὀρθῶς. 12.51.23 Εἰ δὲ μανικῶς τε καὶ ἀτάκτως ἔρχεται, τὴν κακήν. Καὶ ταῦτα ὀρθότατα. Τίνα οὖν δὴ νοῦ κίνησις φύσιν ἔχει; τοῦτο ἤδη χαλεπόν, ὦ φίλοι, ἐρώτημα ἀποκρινόμενον εἰπεῖν ἐμφρόνως. διὸ δὴ καὶ ἐμὲ τῆς ἀποκρίσεως ὑμῖν δίκαιον τὰ νῦν προσλαμβάνειν. Εὖ λέγεις. 12.51.24 Μὴ νῦν ἐξ ἐναντίας οἷον εἰς ἥλιον ἀποβλέποντες νύκτα ἐν μεσημβρίᾳ ἐπαγόμενοι, ποιησώμεθα τὴν ἀπόκρισιν, ὡς νοῦν ποτε ἤδη τοῖς ὄμμασιν ὀψόμενοί τε καὶ γνωσόμενοι ἱκανῶς· πρὸς δὲ εἰκόνα τοῦ ἐρωτωμένου βλέποντας ἀσφαλέστερον ὁρᾶν. 12.51.25 Πῶς λέγεις; Ἧι προσέοικε κινήσει νοῦς τῶν δέκα ἐκείνων κινήσεων τὴν εἰκόνα λάβωμεν, ἣν συναναμνησθεὶς ὑμῖν ἐγὼ κοινῇ τὴν ἀπόκρισιν ποιήσομαι. Κάλλιστα ἂν λέγοις. Μεμνήμεθα τοίνυν τοῦτό γε τοσοῦτον τῶν τότε, ὅτι τῶν πάντων τὰ μὲν κινεῖσθαι, τὰ δὲ μένειν ἔθεμεν. Ναί. 12.51.26 Τῶν δ' αὖ κινουμένων τὰ μὲν ἐν ἑνὶ τόπῳ κινεῖσθαι, τὰ δ' ἐν πλείοσι φερόμενα. Ἔστι ταύτη. Τούτοιν δὴ τοῖν κινήσεοιν τὴν ἐν ἑνὶ φερομένην ἀεὶ περὶ γέ τι μέσον ἀνάγκη κινεῖσθαι τῶν ἐντόρνων μίμημά τι κύκλων εἶναί τε αὐτὴν τῇ τοῦ νοῦ περιόδῳ πάντως ὡς δυνατὸν οἰκειοτάτην τε καὶ ὁμοίαν. 12.51.27 Πῶς λέγεις; Τὸ