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many, inferring from this that its substance is passible, say that it is mortal 13.17.6 and corporeal, but not incorporeal. But Plato was compelled to weave the passible substance into its impassible nature. But that it is neither way, from what both have said, Plato and the others, we will try by reasoning, adducing the powers that are active in us, to prove.” 13.17.7 Let these things from the Platonist Severus' *On the Soul* be set forth by me. But consider this also in addition to what has been said:

13.18.1 18. CONCERNING HEAVEN AND THE LUMINARIES THEREIN In agreement with the Hebrews he also gave the account concerning heaven and the things that appear in it, according to which it was established that they are created things, made by the cause of all things, and that they partake of corporeal and perishable substance, yet no longer like the Hebrews does he legislate to worship them and to consider them gods, speaking thus in the *Epinomis*: 13.18.2 “What god am I exalting when I speak, O Megillus and Clinias? Almost heaven, whom it is most just, as all other daimons and gods, to honor and to pray to pre-eminently; and that he has been for us the cause of all other good things, we would all agree.” 13.18.3 Then, continuing in the same work, he adds these things: “The visible gods, then, the greatest and most honorable and keenest-sighted in every way, we must call first the nature of the stars and all that we perceive has come into being with them, and after them and below them in order, the daimons, an aerial race holding a third and middle station, the cause of interpretation, whom it is very necessary to honor with prayers for the sake of their auspicious conveyance.” 13.18.4 Having stated through these words that the aforesaid beings are gods, concerning their first constitution he discourses on natural philosophy in the *Timaeus* as follows: “What fire is to air, this air is to water, and what air is to water, this water is to earth, he bound together and established a heaven visible and tangible. And for these reasons and from these four such elements the body of the world was created, which through proportion came to agreement and from these gained friendship, so that having come into unity with itself, it became indissoluble by any other than by him who bound it together.” 13.18.5 Then he adds: “And putting soul in its center he stretched it throughout the whole, and also enveloped the body with it on the outside; and he established a single, solitary heaven, a circle revolving in a circle.” 13.18.6 And again continuing he adds, saying: “From such reasoning and thought of God, therefore, for the generation of time, that time might be created, the sun and moon and five other stars, which have the name of planets, came into being for the defining and guarding of the numbers of time; and having made the bodies of each of them, God placed them in the orbits which the revolution of the Other was traversing.” 13.18.7 And he adds: “And being bound with living bonds, their bodies became living creatures and learned what had been commanded.” 13.18.8 And in the tenth book of the *Laws* he declares generally concerning every soul, speaking thus: “All things that partake of soul do indeed change, possessing in themselves the cause of the change; and having changed, they are carried along according to the order and law of fate. Those changing in smaller ways of character travel over a smaller surface of the region, but those that have changed in greater and more unjust ways fall into the depths.” 13.18.9 If, therefore, “all things that partake of soul change, possessing in themselves the cause of the change,” and heaven and sun and moon partake of soul according to Plato himself, then these things too would change, possessing in themselves the cause of the change, according to his argument. How then does he say again that they are eternal and for this reason gods, although they are in a perishable 13.18.10 body and are capable of being dissolved? For he speaks again in the *Timaeus*:

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μὲν πολλοὶ τούτῳ τεκμαιρόμενοι παθητὴν εἶναι τὴν οὐσίαν αὐτῆς, θνη13.17.6 τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναι λέγουσι καὶ σωματοειδῆ, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀσώματον. ὁ δὲ Πλάτων τῷ φύσει αὐτῆς ἀπαθεῖ προσηναγκάσθη τὴν παθητὴν οὐσίαν προσυφᾶναι. ὅτι δὲ μηδετέρως ἔχει, ἐξ ὧν ἑκάτεροι εἰρήκασι, Πλάτων τε καὶ οἱ ἄλλοι, πειρασόμεθα τῷ λόγῳ, τὰς ἐν ἡμῖν ἐνεργούσας δυνάμεις παραθέντες, προσβιβάσαι.» 13.17.7 Ταῦτά μοι ἀπὸ τῶν Σευήρου τοῦ Πλατωνικοῦ Περὶ ψυχῆς προκείσθω. σκέψαι δὲ πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις καὶ τόδε·

13.18.1 ιηʹ. ΠΕΡΙ ΟΥΡΑΝΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΑΥΤΩΙ ΦΩΣΤΗΡΩΝ Συμφώνως Ἑβραίοις καὶ τὸν περὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ἐν αὐτῷ φαινομένων ἀποδοὺς λόγον, καθ' ὃν γενητὰ εἶναι πρὸς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων αἰτίου πεποιη μένα μετέχειν τε τῆς σωματικῆς καὶ φθαρτῆς οὐσίας συνέστη, οὐκέθ' ὁμοίως Ἑβραίοις σέβειν αὐτὰ νομοθετεῖ καὶ θεοὺς ἡγεῖσθαι, ὧδε φάσκων ἐν Ἐπινομίδι· 13.18.2 «Τίνα δὴ καὶ σεμνύνων ποτὲ λέγω θεόν, ὦ Μέγιλλε καὶ Κλεινία; σχεδὸν οὐρανόν, ὃν καὶ δικαιότατον, ὡς ξύμπαντες ἄλλοι δαίμονες ἅμα καὶ θεοί, τιμᾶν τε καὶ εὔχεσθαι διαφερόντως αὐτῷ· τὸ δὲ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἴτιον ἀγαθῶν πάντων ἡμῖν αὐτὸν γεγονέναι πάντες ἂν ὁμολογοῖμεν.» 13.18.3 Εἶθ' ὑποβὰς ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ προστίθησι ταῦτα· «Θεοὺς δὲ δὴ τοὺς ὁρατούς, μεγίστους καὶ τιμιωτάτους καὶ ὀξύτατον ὁρῶντας πάντη, τοὺς πρώτους τὴν τῶν ἄστρων φύσιν λεκτέον καὶ ὅσα μετὰ τούτων αἰσθανόμεθα γεγονότα, μετὰ δὲ τούτους καὶ ὑπὸ τούτοις ἑξῆς δαίμονας, ἀέριον δὲ γένος ἔχον ἕδραν τρίτην καὶ μέσην, τῆς ἑρμηνείας αἴτιον, εὐχαῖς τιμᾶν μάλα χρεὼν χάριν τῆς εὐφήμου διαπορείας.» 13.18.4 ∆ιὰ τούτων θεοὺς εἰπὼν εἶναι τοὺς δηλωθέντας περὶ τῆς πρώτης αὐτῶν συστάσεως φυσιολογῶν ἐν Τιμαίῳ τοιάδε διεξέρχεται· «Ὅ τι πῦρ πρὸς ἀέρα, τοῦτο ἀὴρ πρὸς ὕδωρ καὶ ὅ τι ἀὴρ πρὸς ὕδωρ, τοῦτο ὕδωρ πρὸς γῆν ξυνέδησε καὶ ξυνεστήσατο οὐρανὸν ὁρατὸν καὶ ἁπτόν. καὶ διὰ ταῦτα ἔκ τε δὴ τούτων τοιούτων καὶ τὸν ἀριθμὸν τεττάρων τὸ τοῦ κόσμου σῶμα ἐγενήθη δι' ἀναλογίας ὁμολογῆσαν φιλίαν τε ἔσχεν ἐκ τούτων, ὥστ' εἰς ταὐτὸν αὑτῷ ξυνελθὸν ἄλυτον ὑπὸ τῶν ἄλλων πλὴν ὑπὸ τοῦ ξυνδήσαντος γενέσθαι.» 13.18.5 Εἶτ' ἐπιλέγει· «Ψυχὴν δὲ εἰς τὸ μέσον αὐτοῦ θεὶς διὰ παντός τε ἔτεινε καὶ ἔτι ἔξωθεν τὸ σῶμα αὐτῇ περιεκάλυψε, καὶ κύκλῳ δὴ κύκλον στρεφόμενον οὐρανὸν μόνον ἕνα ἔρημον κατέστησε.» 13.18.6 Καὶ πάλιν ὑποβὰς ἐπιφέρει λέγων· «Ἐξ οὖν λόγου καὶ διανοίας θεοῦ τοιαύτης πρὸς χρόνου γένεσιν, ἵνα γενηθῇ χρόνος, ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη καὶ πέντε ἄλλα ἄστρα, ἐπίκλην ἔχοντα πλανητά, εἰς διορισμὸν καὶ φυλακὴν ἀριθμῶν χρόνου γέγονε· σώματα δὲ αὐτῶν ἑκάστων ποιήσας ὁ θεὸς ἔθηκεν εἰς τὰς περιφοράς, ἃς ἡ θατέρου περίοδος ᾔει.» 13.18.7 Καὶ ἐπιλέγει· «∆εσμοῖς τε ἐμψύχοις σώματα δεθέντα ζῷα ἐγενήθη τό τε προσταχθὲν ἔμαθε.» 13.18.8 Καὶ ἐν τῷ δεκάτῳ τῶν Νόμων καθόλου περὶ πάσης ψυχῆς ἀποφαίνεται λέγων ὧδε· «Μεταβάλλει μέντοιγε πάνθ' ὅσα μέτοχά ἐστι ψυχῆς, ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κεκτημένα τὴν τῆς μεταβολῆς αἰτίαν· μεταβαλόντα δὲ φέρεται κατὰ τὴν τῆς εἱμαρμένης τάξιν καὶ νόμον. μικρότερα μὲν τῶν ἠθῶν μεταβαλόντα ἐλάττω κατὰ τὸ τῆς χώρας ἐπίπεδον μεταπορεύεται, πλείω δὲ καὶ ἀδικώτερα μεταπεσόντα εἰς βάθος.» 13.18.9 Εἰ δὴ οὖν «μεταβάλλει πάνθ' ὅσα μέτοχά ἐστι ψυχῆς ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κεκτημένα τὴν τῆς μεταβολῆς αἰτίαν,» οὐρανὸς δὲ καὶ ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη μέτοχά ἐστι ψυχῆς κατ' αὐτὸν τὸν Πλάτωνα, καὶ ταῦτα ἄρα μεταβάλλοι ἂν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς κεκτημένα τὴν τῆς μεταβολῆς αἰτίαν κατὰ τὸν αὐτοῦ λόγον. πῶς οὖν πάλιν ἀϊδίους αὐτοὺς εἶναι καὶ διὰ τοῦτο θεούς φησι, καίπερ ἐν σώματι φθαρ13.18.10 τῷ ὄντας καὶ λυθῆναι οἵους τε; λέγει δ' οὖν πάλιν ἐν Τιμαίῳ·