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of the signifiers, 2.1.399 that is, of verbs and nouns20. So great is the folly of the speech-writer, that he thinks the power implanted in nature by God is not sufficient for every method of rational activity, but unless they learned each particular thing, just as those who are taught the Hebrew or Roman language through words, they would be ignorant of what things are, not recognizing fire, nor water, nor air, nor the rest of existing things, if they did not acquire knowledge about them through the names 2.1.400 assigned to them. But we say that He who made all things in wisdom and who formed this rational creature into a living being, by simply committing 2.1.401 reason to nature, implanted all rational power. And just as we, having in our nature the power in the organs of sense from the one who formed the eye and planted hearing, use by ourselves each of the sense-organs for that to which it is naturally suited, and we need neither the one who named the colors, of which sight has the perception (for the eye is sufficient to be its own teacher of such things), nor for what we perceive through hearing or through taste or through touch do we need foreign teachers for our knowledge, having from within ourselves the criterion for each of the things that come to us through sensation; so we say that the intellectual power of the soul also, having become such from God, is henceforth moved by itself and looks to things, and so that knowledge might suffer no confusion, it imposes upon each 2.1.402 of the things designations through sounds, like certain seals. And this doctrine is confirmed also by the great Moses, when he said that the names were given to the irrational animals by Adam, writing thus in these words: And God further formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them; and whatever Adam called every living creature, that was its name; and Adam gave names to all cattle, and to all the beasts of the field. 2.1.403 But it seems that the nonsense composed by him against conception, like some viscous and sticky clay, holds us back and does not allow us to touch upon more useful things. For how could one pass over that serious and well-considered philosophy, in which he says 20that not only in the works is the magnificence of the creator revealed, but also in the names the wisdom of God is shown, who suited the 2.1.404 appellations to each of the created things appropriately and fittingly20? These things, having perhaps either encountered them himself in the Platonic dialogue Cratylus or heard them from someone who had encountered it, he stitches the chatter from there onto his own nonsense, on account, I think, of the great poverty of his thoughts, 2.1.405 doing something similar to those who gather food for themselves by begging. For as they, receiving some little thing from each of those who offer it, collect food for themselves from various and diverse sources, so too the argument of Eunomius, on account of its poverty of the true bread, collects for its own labor the crumbs of verbs and nouns from everywhere, and for this reason, being struck by the beautiful sound of the Platonic diction, he thinks it is fitting to make that man's philosophy a dogma of the church. 2.1.406 For in how many languages, tell me, according to the differences of the nations, is the creation of the firmament named? We call this *ouranos*, the Hebrew *samaeim*, the Roman *caelum*, and differently the Syrian, the Mede, the Cappadocian, the Maurousian, the Thracian, the Egyptian; nor is it easy to count the differences of the names, as many as happen to exist for the heaven and for the other things according to each nation. 2.1.407 Which of these, then, tell me, is the fitting name, by which the magnificent wisdom of God is shown? If you prefer the Greek one over the others, the Egyptian will perhaps oppose you, putting forward his own; and if you assign the first place to the Hebrew, the Syrian brings his own language out in opposition; nor the Roman to these the primacy

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τῶν σημαινόντων, ῥημά 2.1.399 των δηλαδὴ καὶ ὀνομάτων20. τοσαύτη <ἡ> παρα φροσύνη τοῦ λογογράφου, ὡς μὴ ἐξαρκεῖν ἡγεῖσθαι τὴν ἐντεθεῖσαν τῇ φύσει παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ δύναμιν πρὸς πᾶσαν μέθοδον λογικῆς ἐνεργείας, ἀλλ' εἰ μὴ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον μάθοιεν, καθάπερ οἱ τὴν Ἑβραίων ἢ τὴν Ῥωμαίων φωνὴν διὰ λέξεων διδασκόμενοι, ἀγνοεῖν τὰ πράγματα ὅ τι ἐστί, μὴ τὸ πῦρ, μὴ τὸ ὕδωρ, μὴ τὸν ἀέρα, μὴ τὰ λοιπὰ τῶν ὄντων ἐπιγινώσκοντας, εἰ μὴ διὰ τῶν ἐπικειμένων αὐτοῖς 2.1.400 ὀνομάτων τὴν περὶ τούτων γνῶσιν ἐκτήσαντο. ἡμεῖς δέ φαμεν ὅτι ὁ τὰ πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ποιήσας καὶ τὸ λογικὸν τοῦτο πλάσμα ζῳοπλαστήσας μόνῳ τῷ ἐφεῖναι τῇ φύσει 2.1.401 τὸν λόγον πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν λογικὴν ἐναπέθετο. καὶ ὥσπερ τὴν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητηρίοις δύναμιν παρὰ τοῦ πλά σαντος τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν καὶ φυτεύσαντος τὴν ἀκοὴν ἐν τῇ φύσει ἔχοντες ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν πρὸς ὃ πέφυκε τῶν αἰσθητηρίων ἓν ἕκαστον, πρὸς τοῦτο κεχρήμεθα καὶ οὐ δεόμεθα οὔτε τοῦ τὰ χρώματα κατονομάσαντος, ὧν ἡ ὅρασις τὴν ἀντίληψιν ἔχει (ἀρκεῖ γὰρ ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ἑαυτῷ γενέσθαι τῶν τοιούτων διδά σκαλος) οὔτε ὧν διὰ τῆς ἀκοῆς ἢ διὰ τῆς γεύσεως ἢ διὰ τῆς ἁφῆς αἰσθανόμεθα ἀλλοτρίων πρὸς τὴν γνῶσιν διδασκάλων δεόμεθα, οἴκοθεν ἔχοντες ἑκάστου τῶν κατ' αἴσθησιν ἐγγινο μένων ἡμῖν τὸ κριτήριον· οὕτω φαμὲν καὶ τὴν διανοητικὴν τῆς ψυχῆς δύναμιν τοιαύτην παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ γενομένην ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς τὸ λοιπὸν κινεῖσθαι καὶ πρὸς τὰ πράγματα βλέπειν, καὶ ὡς ἂν μηδεμίαν σύγχυσιν ἡ γνῶσις πάθοι, καθάπερ σήμαντρά τινα τὰς διὰ τῶν φωνῶν ἐπισημειώσεις ἑκάστῳ 2.1.402 τῶν πραγμάτων ἐπιβάλλειν. πιστοῦται δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτον δόγμα καὶ ὁ μέγας Μωϋσῆς εἰπὼν παρὰ τοῦ Ἀδὰμ ἐπιτεθεῖσθαι τοῖς ἀλόγοις τῶν ζῴων τὰς ἐπωνυμίας, οὑτωσὶ γράψας τῷ ῥήματι· Καὶ ἔπλασεν ὁ θεὸς ἔτι ἐκ τῆς γῆς πάντα τὰ θηρία τοῦ ἀγροῦ καὶ πάντα τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἤγαγεν αὐτὰ πρὸς τὸν Ἀδὰμ ἰδεῖν τί καλέσει αὐτά· καὶ πᾶν ὃ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτὸ Ἀδὰμ ψυχὴν ζῶσαν, τοῦτο ὄνομα αὐτῷ· καὶ ἐκάλεσεν Ἀδὰμ ὀνόματα πᾶσι τοῖς κτήνεσι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς θηρίοις τοῦ ἀγροῦ. 2.1.403 Ἀλλ' ἔοικε καθάπερ τις γλοιώδης πηλὸς καὶ ἐχέ κολλος ὁ κατὰ τῆς ἐπινοίας αὐτῷ συντεθεὶς λῆρος παρα κατέχειν ἡμᾶς καὶ μὴ ἐᾶν τῶν χρησιμωτέρων προσάψασθαι. πῶς γὰρ ἄν τις παραδράμοι τὴν σπουδαίαν ἐκείνην καὶ πεφροντισμένην φιλοσοφίαν, ἐν οἷς φησι 20μὴ μόνον τοῖς ποιήμασιν ἐμφαίνεσθαι τὴν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ μεγαλοπρέπειαν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῖς ὀνόμασι δια δείκνυσθαι τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ σοφίαν οἰκείως καὶ προσφυῶς ἑκάστῳ τῶν γενομένων τὰς προση 2.1.404 γορίας ἁρμόσαντος20; ταῦτα Κρατύλῳ τάχα τῷ Πλατω νικῷ διαλόγῳ ἢ αὐτὸς ἐντυχὼν ἤ τινος τῶν ἐντετυχηκότων ἀκούσας διὰ τὴν πολλήν, οἶμαι, πτωχείαν τῶν νοημάτων ἐρράπτει τοῖς ἰδίοις λήροις τὰς ἐκεῖ φλυαρίας, ὅμοιόν τι ποιῶν 2.1.405 τοῖς τὴν τροφὴν ἐκ προσαιτήσεως ἑαυτοῖς συναγείρουσιν. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι βραχύ τι παρ' ἑκάστου τῶν ὀρεγόντων δεχόμενοι ἐκ ποικίλων τε καὶ πολυειδῶν τὴν τροφὴν ἑαυτοῖς ἐρανί ζουσιν, οὕτω καὶ ὁ τοῦ Εὐνομίου λόγος διὰ τὴν τοῦ ἀλη θινοῦ ἄρτου πενίαν τὰς πανταχόθεν ψίχας ῥημάτων τε καὶ ὀνομάτων τῷ ἰδίῳ συνερανίζει πόνῳ καὶ τούτου χάριν περι κτυπηθεὶς τῇ καλλιφωνίᾳ τῆς Πλατωνικῆς λέξεως πρέπειν οἴεται δόγμα τῆς ἐκκλησίας τὴν ἐκείνου φιλοσοφίαν ποι 2.1.406 ήσασθαι. πόσαις γάρ, εἰπέ μοι, φωναῖς κατὰ τὰς τῶν ἐθνῶν διαφορὰς ἡ τοῦ στερεώματος κατονομάζεται κτίσις; ἡμεῖς οὐρανὸν τοῦτο λέγομεν, σαμαεὶμ ὁ Ἑβραῖος, ὁ Ῥω- μαῖος καίλουμ καὶ ἄλλως ὁ Σύρος ὁ Μῆδος ὁ Καππαδόκης ὁ Μαυρούσιος ὁ Θρᾷξ ὁ Αἰγύπτιος, οὐδὲ ἀριθμῆσαι ῥᾴδιον τὰς τῶν ὀνομάτων διαφοράς, ὅσαι κατὰ ἔθνος περί τε τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν πραγμάτων οὖσαι τυγχάνουσιν. 2.1.407 ποῖον οὖν, εἰπέ, τούτων τὸ προσφυές ἐστιν ὄνομα, ᾧ ἡ μεγαλοπρεπὴς σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ διαδείκνυται; ἂν τὸ Ἑλλη νικὸν τῶν λοιπῶν προτιμήσῃς, ἀντιστήσεταί σοι τυχὸν ὁ Αἰγύπτιος τὸ ἑαυτοῦ προβαλλόμενος· κἂν τῷ Ἑβραϊκῷ τὰ πρωτεῖα νείμῃς, ἀντιπαρεξάγει ὁ Σύρος τὴν ἰδίαν φωνήν· οὐδὲ ὁ Ῥωμαῖος τούτοις τῶν πρωτείων