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to worship common wood and beasts. And of those who are concerned with the nature of all things, some think that Being is only one, but others that it is infinite in number; and to some that all things are always in motion, but to others that nothing could ever be moved; and to some that all things come into being and perish, but to others that nothing would ever 15.62.5 come into being or perish. And concerning them he also considered these things: whether, just as those who learn human affairs believe that whatever they learn they will do for themselves and for whomever else they wish, so also those who seek divine things think that, when they know the necessities by which each thing comes to be, they will produce whenever they wish winds and waters and seasons and whatever else of such things they need? Or do they expect nothing of the sort, but it is enough for them to know only how each of such 15.62.6 things comes to be? So concerning those who were occupied with these things, he said such things; but he himself always conversed about human affairs, considering what is pious, what impious; what is noble, what base; what is just, what unjust; what is self-control, what madness.” 15.62.7 So much for Socrates. And after him, those around Aristippus the Cyrenaic, and then later those around Ariston of Chios, attempted to say that one ought to philosophize only on ethical matters; for these things are indeed possible and useful, while arguments concerning nature, on the contrary, are neither 15.62.8 comprehensible nor, even if they were perceived, have any benefit. For we shall have no advantage, not even if, raised higher than Perseus above the stream of the sea and above the Pleiades, we should look down with our own eyes upon the whole cosmos and the nature of existing things, 15.62.9 whatever it may be; for we shall not on this account be wiser or more just or braver or more self-controlled, nor indeed strong or 15.62.10 beautiful or rich, without which things it is not possible to be happy. Whence Socrates spoke correctly and very well, that of existing things some are above us, and others are nothing to us; for physical things are above us, and things after death are 15.62.11 nothing to us, but only human affairs are relevant to us. For this reason also, bidding farewell to the natural philosophy of Anaxagoras and Archelaus, he sought “what evil and good has been wrought in his halls.” 15.62.12 And in other respects, arguments about nature are not only difficult and impossible, but also impious and contrary to the laws, and contribute nothing to human character and the order of our life; for some think that there are no gods at all, others that there is the infinite or Being or the One, and anything 15.62.13 rather than those who are acknowledged by custom; and again, what great discord there is; for some declare the All to be infinite, others finite, and some 15.62.14 think that all things are in motion, others that absolutely nothing is. And indeed, if anything, it seems to me that Timon of Phlius has spoken best of all about these very matters in his Silli, as follows: For who drove these men to fight in destructive strife? The mob that runs along with Echo; for he who was angered at the silent stirred up the disease of talkativeness upon men, and many perished. 15.62.15 Do you see how the noble men now even mock one another? At any rate, in addition to what has been said, the aforementioned man describes their contentiousness toward one another, their battles and their divisions, in this way: And Strife, the plague of mortals, roams about, shrieking vainly, sister and companion of man-slaying contention, who wanders blindly over all things, but then she established her head among mortals and casts them into hope. 15.62.16 But since their sedition and battle amongst themselves has been demonstrated, and the natural philosophy and philosophy which has nothing to do with us, but is otherwise superfluous and not knowable by men, and the godless and false education and learning, and all the rest, in which the children of philosophers are still now held in solemn regard, have been refuted not by our proofs, but by their own, and since also the cause has been made clear for which we have turned away from their things and preferred the oracles of the Hebrews, some things

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ξύλα τὰ τυχόντα καὶ θηρία σέβεσθαι. τῶν τε περὶ τῆς τῶν πάντων φύσεως μεριμνώντων τοῖς μὲν δοκεῖν ἓν μόνον τὸ ὂν εἶναι, τοῖς δὲ ἄπειρα τὸ πλῆθος· καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἀεὶ πάντα κινεῖσθαι, τοῖς δὲ οὐδὲν ἄν ποτε κινηθῆναι· καὶ τοῖς μὲν ἅπαντα γίγνεσθαί τε καὶ ἀπόλλυσθαι, τοῖς δὲ οὔτ' ἂν γενέσθαι ποτὲ 15.62.5 οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀπολέσθαι. ἐσκόπει δὲ περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ τάδε· ἆρ' ὥσπερ οἱ τἀνθρώπινα μανθάνοντες ἡγοῦνται τοῦθ' ὅ τι ἂν μάθωσιν ἑαυτοῖς τε καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ὅτῳ ἂν βούλωνται ποιήσειν, οὕτω καὶ οἱ τὰ θεῖα ζητοῦντες νομίζουσιν, ἐπειδὰν γνῶσιν αἷς ἀνάγκαις ἕκαστα γίγνεται, ποιήσειν ὅταν βούλωνται καὶ ἀνέμους καὶ ὕδατα καὶ ὥρας καὶ ὅτου ἂν ἄλλου δέωνται τῶν τοιούτων; ἢ τοιοῦτο μὲν οὐδὲν οὐδ' ἐλπίζουσιν, ἀρκεῖ δ' αὐτοῖς γνῶναι μόνον ᾗ τῶν 15.62.6 τοιούτων ἕκαστα γίγνεται; περὶ μὲν οὖν τῶν ταῦτα πραγματευομένων τοιαῦτα ἔλεγεν· αὐτὸς δὲ περὶ τῶν ἀνθρωπείων ἀεὶ διελέγετο, σκοπῶν τί εὐσεβές, τί ἀσεβές· τί καλόν, τί αἰσχρόν· τί δίκαιον, τί ἄδικον· τί σωφροσύνη, τί μανία.» 15.62.7 Ταῦτα μὲν οὖν ὁ Σωκράτης. μετὰ δὲ αὐτὸν οἱ περὶ Ἀρίστιππον τὸν Κυρηναῖον, ἔπειθ' ὕστερον οἱ περὶ Ἀρίστωνα τὸν Χῖον ἐπεχείρησαν λέγειν ὡς δέοι μόνα τὰ ἠθικὰ φιλοσοφεῖν· εἶναι γὰρ δὴ ταῦτα μὲν δυνατὰ καὶ ὠφέλιμα, τοὺς μέντοι περὶ τῆς φύσεως λόγους πᾶν τοὐναντίον μήτε κατα15.62.8 ληπτοὺς εἶναι μήτε καὶ εἰ ὀφθεῖεν, ὄφελος ἔχειν τι. μηδὲν γὰρ ἡμῖν ἔσεσθαι πλέον, ἀλλ' οὐδ' εἰ μετεωρότεροι τοῦ Περσέως ἀρθέντες ὑπέρ τε πόντου χεῦμ' ὑπέρ τε Πλειάδα αὐτοῖς τοῖς ὄμμασι κατίδοιμεν τὸν πάντα κόσμον καὶ τὴν τῶν ὄντων φύσιν, 15.62.9 ἥτις δή ποτέ ἐστιν· οὐ γὰρ δὴ διά γε τοῦτο φρονιμωτέρους ἢ δικαιοτέρους ἢ ἀνδρειοτέρους ἢ σωφρονεστέρους ἡμᾶς ἔσεσθαι καὶ μὴν οὐδὲ ἰσχυροὺς ἢ κα15.62.10 λοὺς ἢ πλουσίους, ὧν χωρὶς οὐχ οἷόν τε εὐδαιμονεῖν. ὅθεν ὀρθῶς εἶπε Σωκράτης καὶ λίαν καλῶς, ὅτι τῶν ὄντων τὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς εἴη, τὰ δὲ οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς· εἶναι γὰρ τὰ φυσικὰ μὲν ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς, τὰ δὲ μετὰ τὸν θάνατον 15.62.11 οὐδὲν πρὸς ἡμᾶς, μόνα δὲ πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὰ ἀνθρώπινα. ταύτη δὲ καὶ χαίρειν αὐτὸν εἰπόντα τῇ Ἀναξαγόρου καὶ Ἀρχελάου φυσιολογίᾳ ζητεῖν ὅττι οἱ ἐν μεγάροισι κακόν τ' ἀγαθόν τε τέτυκται. 15.62.12 καὶ ἄλλως δὲ εἶναι τοὺς φυσικοὺς λόγους οὐ χαλεποὺς οὐδὲ ἀδυνάτους μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀσεβεῖς καὶ τοῖς νόμοις ὑπεναντίους καὶ μηδὲν πρὸς ἀνθρώπινον ἦθος καὶ κόσμον βίου τοῦ καθ' ἡμᾶς συντείνοντας· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἀξιοῦν μηδ' εἶναι θεοὺς τὸ παράπαν, τοὺς δὲ τὸ ἄπειρον ἢ τὸ ὂν ἢ τὸ ἕν, καὶ πάντα 15.62.13 μᾶλλον ἢ τοὺς νομιζομένους· τήν τ' αὖ διαφωνίαν παμπόλλην ὅσην· τοὺς μὲν γὰρ ἄπειρον ἀποφαίνειν τὸ πᾶν, τοὺς δὲ πεπερασμένον, καὶ τοὺς 15.62.14 μὲν ἀξιοῦν ἅπαντα κινεῖσθαι, τοὺς δὲ καθάπαξ μηδέν. καὶ μὴν εἴ τι καὶ ἄλλο, πάντων ἄριστά μοι δοκεῖ περὶ τούτων αὐτῶν ἐν τοῖς Σίλλοις καὶ ὁ Φλιάσιος Τίμων εἰρηκέναι τάδε· τίς γὰρ τούσδ' ὀλοῇ ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι; Ἠχοῦς σύνδρομος ὄχλος· ὁ γὰρ σιγῶσι χολωθεὶς νοῦσον ἐπ' ἀνέρας ὦρσε λάλην, ὀλέκοντο δὲ πολλοί. 15.62.15 ὁρᾷς ὡς ἤδη καὶ ἀλλήλους σκώπτουσιν οἱ γενναῖοι; τὴν γοῦν πρὸς ἀλλήλους φιλονεικίαν αὐτῶν τάς τε μάχας καὶ τὰς διαστάσεις ἔτι πρὸς τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὁ δηλωθεὶς ἀνὴρ τοῦτον ὑπογράφει τὸν τρόπον· φοιτᾷ δὲ βροτολοιγὸς ἔρις κενεὸν λελακυῖα, νείκης ἀνδροφόνοιο κασιγνήτη καὶ ἔριθος, ἥ τ' ἀλαὴ περὶ πάντα κυλίνδεται, αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα ἔς τε βροτοὺς στήριξε κάρη καὶ ἐς ἐλπίδα βάλλει. 15.62.16 Ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τῆς τῶνδε πρὸς σφᾶς αὐτοὺς ἀποδεδειγμένης στάσεώς τε καὶ μάχης τῆς τε μηδὲν ἡμῖν προσηκούσης, περιττῆς δὲ ἄλλως καὶ οὐ γνωστῆς ἀνθρώποις φυσιολογίας τε καὶ φιλοσοφίας τῆς τε ἀθέου καὶ ψευδοῦς παιδείας τε καὶ μαθήσεως τῶν τε λοιπῶν ἁπάντων, ἐν οἷς εἰσέτι νῦν ἀποσεμνύνονται φιλοσόφων παῖδες, ἀπεληλεγμένων οὐχ ἡμετέραις, ταῖς δ' οἰκείαις αὐτῶν ἀποδείξεσιν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς αἰτίας εἰς φανερὸν τεθείσης, δι' ἣν τὰ τῶνδε ἀποστραφέντες τὰ Ἑβραίων λόγια προτετιμήκαμεν, τὰ μὲν