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do I accept? On account of which, it seems, someone will say that I err. Now then, if these things seem good also to you, who know well about such matters, it is necessary, it seems, for us also to agree. For what indeed shall we say, we who ourselves confess to know nothing about them? But tell me, for friendship's sake, do you truly believe these things happened in this way? And things even more wonderful than these, O Socrates, which the many do not know. 13.4.3 And so you believe there was in reality war among the gods against each other and terrible enmities and battles and many other such things, as are told by the poets and with which our other sacred places have been adorned by good artists, and indeed at the great Panathenaea the robe full of such embroideries is carried up to the Acropolis. Shall we say these things are true, O Euthyphro? 13.4.4 Not only these, O Socrates, but as I just said, I will also tell you many other things about the gods, if you wish, which I know well you will be astonished to hear.” This is from Plato in the *Euthyphro*. And Numenius clarifies the thought in his work *On the Secrets in Plato*, speaking in some such way as this.

13.5.1 5. FROM NUMENIUS, *ON THE SECRETS IN PLATO* “If Plato, proposing to write about the theology of the Athenians, then found fault with it and accused it of having dissensions among themselves, and unions with some of their children, and the devouring of others, and in return for these, punishments for fathers and celebrating brothers against brothers and other such things; if Plato had taken these things and openly accused them, he would seem to me to have given the Athenians a reason to become evil again by killing him too, just as they did Socra13.5.2 tes. But since he would not have chosen to live rather than to speak the truth, and he saw that he would be able to live and speak the truth safely, he placed in the character of the Athenians Euthyphro, being a boastful and sycophantic man and one who, if anyone, theologizes badly, but Socrates himself over him and in his own character in which he was accustomed to refute each one he conversed with.”

13.6.1 6. THAT ONE MUST NOT PAY ATTENTION TO THE OPINIONS OF THE MANY, NOR CHANGE ONE'S OWN PURPOSE THROUGH FEAR OF DEATH; FROM THE

CRITO

“O my dear Crito, your zeal is of great value, if it were with some rightness; but if not, the greater it is, the more difficult. We must therefore consider whether we should do these things or not, since I am one of those who not only now, but always, am persuaded by nothing of my own but the argument which on reflection seems to me to be the bes13.6.2 t. The arguments which I used to state in the past I cannot now cast away, since this fortune has befallen me, but they appear to me nearly the same, and I revere and honor the same ones as before; and if we have nothing better to say at present, know well that I will not agree with you, not even if the power of the many were to frighten us like children with more than the present bogies, sending upon us imprisonments and deaths and confisca13.6.3 tions of property. How then might we examine these things most reasonably? If we first take up this argument which you state, the one concerning opinions, whether it was rightly said on each occasion or not, that one must pay attention to some opinions, but not to others; or was it rightly said before I had to die, but now it has become clear that it was for the sake of argument otherwise

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ἀποδέχομαι; δι' ἃ δή, ὡς ἔοικε, φήσει τίς με ἐξαμαρτάνειν. νῦν οὖν εἰ καὶ σοὶ ταῦτα συνδοκεῖ τῷ εὖ εἰδότι περὶ τῶν τοιούτων, ἀνάγκη δή, ὡς ἔοικε, καὶ ἡμῖν συγχωρεῖν. τί γὰρ καὶ φήσομεν, οἵ γε αὐτοὶ ὁμολογοῦμεν περὶ αὐτῶν μηδὲν εἰδέναι; ἀλλά μοι εἰπὲ πρὸς φιλίου, σὺ ὡς ἀληθῶς ἡγῇ ταῦτα οὕτω γεγονέναι; Καὶ ἔτι τούτων θαυμασιώτερα, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἃ οἱ πολλοὶ οὐκ ἴσασι. 13.4.3 Καὶ πόλεμον ἄρα ἡγῇ τῷ ὄντι ἐν τοῖς θεοῖς πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἔχθρας γε δεινὰς καὶ μάχας καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα πολλά, οἷα λέγεταί τε ὑπὸ τῶν ποιητῶν καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀγαθῶν γραφέων τά τε ἄλλα ἱερὰ ἡμῖν καταπεποίκιλται καὶ δὴ καὶ τοῖς μεγάλοις Παναθηναίοις ὁ πέπλος μεστὸς τῶν τοιούτων ποικιλμάτων ἀνάγεται εἰς τὴν ἀκρόπολιν. ταῦτα ἀληθῆ φῶμεν εἶναι, ὦ Εὐθύφρον; 13.4.4 Μὴ μόνα γε, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀλλ' ὅπερ ἄρτι εἶπον, καὶ ἄλλα σοι ἐγὼ πολλά, ἐάν περ βούλῃ, περὶ τῶν θεῶν διηγήσομαι, ἃ σὺ ἀκούων εὖ οἶδ' ὅτι ἐκπλαγήσῃ.» Ταῦτα ὁ Πλάτων ἐν τῷ Εὐθύφρονι. διασαφεῖ δὲ τὴν διάνοιαν ὁ Νουμήνιος ἐν τῷ Περὶ τῶν παρὰ Πλάτωνι ἀπορρήτων ὧδέ πη λέγων.

13.5.1 εʹ. ΝΟΥΜΗΝΙΟΥ ΕΚ ΤΩΝ ΠΑΡΑ ΠΛΑΤΩΝΙ ΑΠΟΡΡΗΤΩΝ «Εἰ μὲν γράφειν ὑποτεινάμενος ὁ Πλάτων περὶ τῆς θεολογίας τῆς τῶν Ἀθηναίων εἶτα ἐδυσχέραινεν αὐτῇ καὶ κατηγόρει ἐχούσῃ στάσεις μὲν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, τέκνων δὲ τῶν μὲν μίξεις, τῶν δὲ ἐδωδάς, τῶν δὲ ἀντὶ τούτων πατράσι τιμωρίας ἀδελφῶν τε ἀδελφοῖς ὑμνούσῃ καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα· εἴπερ ὁ Πλάτων ταυτὶ λαβὼν εἰς τὸ φανερὸν κατηγόρει, παρασχεῖν ἂν δοκεῖ μοι τοῖς Ἀθηναίοις αἰτίαν πάλιν κακοῖς γενέσθαι ἀποκτείνασι καὶ αὐτὸν ὥσπερ τὸν Σωκρά13.5.2 την. ἐπεὶ δὲ ζῆν μὲν οὐκ ἂν προείλετο μᾶλλον ἢ ἀληθεύειν, ἑώρα δὲ ζῆν τε καὶ ἀληθεύειν ἀσφαλῶς δυνησόμενος, ἔθηκεν ἐν μὲν τῷ σχήματι τῶν Ἀθηναίων τὸν Εὐθύφρονα, ὄντα ἄνδρα ἀλαζόνα καὶ κοάλεμον καὶ ὅστις, εἴ τις ἄλλος, θεολογεῖ κακῶς, αὐτὸν δὲ τὸν Σωκράτην ἐπ' αὐτοῦ τε καὶ ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ σχηματισμῷ ἐν ᾧπερ εἰωθότως ἤλεγχεν ἑκάστῳ προσομιλῶν.» 13.6.1 ςʹ. ΟΤΙ ΜΗ ∆ΕΙ ΤΑΙΣ ΤΩΝ ΠΟΛΛΩΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΧΕΙΝ ∆ΟΞΑΙΣ ΜΗ∆Ε ΤΗΣ Ι∆ΙΑΣ ΜΕΤΑΤΙΘΕΣΘΑΙ ΠΡΟΑΙΡΕΣΕΩΣ ∆ΙΑ ΘΑΝΑΤΟΥ ΦΟΒΟΝ· ΑΠΟ ΤΟΥ

ΚΡΙΤΩΝΟΣ

«Ὦ φίλε Κρίτων, ἡ προθυμία σου πολλοῦ ἀξία, εἰ μετά τινος ὀρθότητος εἴη· εἰ δὲ μή, ὅσῳ μείζων, τοσούτῳ χαλεπωτέρα. σκοπεῖσθαι οὖν χρὴ ἡμᾶς, εἴτε ταῦτα πρακτέον εἴτε μή, ὡς ἐγὼ οὐ μόνον νῦν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀεὶ τοιοῦτος οἷος τῶν ἐμῶν μηδενὶ ἄλλῳ πείθεσθαι ἢ τῷ λόγῳ ὃς ἄν μοι λογιζομένῳ βέλτι13.6.2 στος φαίνηται. τοὺς δὴ λόγους οὓς ἐν τῷ ἔμπροσθεν ἔλεγον οὐ δύναμαι νῦν ἐκβάλλειν, ἐπειδή μοι ἥδε ἡ τύχη γέγονεν, ἀλλὰ σχεδόν τι ὅμοιοι φαί νονταί μοι, καὶ τοὺς αὐτοὺς πρεσβεύω καὶ τιμῶ οὕσπερ καὶ πρότερον· ὧν ἐὰν μὴ βελτίω ἔχωμεν λέγειν ἐν τῷ παρόντι, εὖ ἴσθι ὅτι οὐ μή σοι συγχωρήσω, οὐδ' ἂν πλείω τῶν νῦν παρόντων ἡ τῶν πολλῶν δύναμις ὥσπερ παῖδας ἡμᾶς μορμολύττηται, δεσμούς τε καὶ θανάτους ἐπιπέμπουσα καὶ χρημάτων ἀφαι13.6.3 ρέσεις. πῶς οὖν ἂν μετριώτατα σκοποίμεθα αὐτά; εἰ πρῶτον μὲν τοῦτον τὸν λόγον ἀναλάβοιμεν, ὃν σὺ λέγεις, τὸν περὶ τῶν δοξῶν, πότερον καλῶς ἐλέγετο ἑκάστοτε ἢ οὔ, ὅτι ταῖς μὲν δεῖ τῶν δοξῶν προσέχειν τὸν νοῦν, ταῖς δὲ οὔ· ἢ πρὶν μέν με δεῖν ἀποθνήσκειν καλῶς ἐλέγετο, νῦν δὲ κατάδηλος ἄρα ἐγένετο ὅτι ἄλλως ἕνεκα λόγου