Chapter XXXVI.—True knowledge not held by the philosophers.

And if “the discovery of the truth” be given among them as one definition of philosophy, how are they who are not in possession of the true knowledge worthy of the name of philosophy? For if Socrates, the wisest of your wise men, to whom even your oracle, as you yourselves say, bears witness, saying, “Of all men Socrates is the wisest”—if he confesses that he knows nothing, how did those who came after him profess to know even things heavenly? For Socrates said that he was on this account called wise, because, while other men pretended to know what they were ignorant of, he himself did not shrink from confessing that he knew nothing. For he said, “I seem to myself to be wisest by this little particular, that what I do not know, I do not suppose I know.” Let no one fancy that Socrates ironically feigned ignorance, because he often used to do so in his dialogues. For the last expression of his apology which he uttered as he was being led away to the prison, proves that in seriousness and truth he was confessing his ignorance: “But now it is time to go away, I indeed to die, but you to live. And which of us goes to the better state, is hidden to all but God.” Socrates, indeed, having uttered this last sentence in the Areopagus, departed to the prison, ascribing to God alone the knowledge of those things which are hidden from us; but those who came after him, though they are unable to comprehend even earthly things, profess to understand things heavenly as if they had seen them. Aristotle at least—as if he had seen things heavenly with greater accuracy than Plato—declared that God did not exist, as Plato said, in the fiery substance (for this was Plato’s doctrine) but in the fifth element, air. And while he demanded that concerning these matters he should be believed on account of the excellence of his language, he yet departed this life because he was overwhelmed with the infamy and disgrace of being unable to discover even the nature of the Euripus in Chalcis.81    This is now supposed to be fable. Let not any one, therefore, of sound judgment prefer the elegant diction of these men to his own salvation, but let him, according to that old story, stop his ears with wax, and flee the sweet hurt which these sirens would inflict upon him. For the above-mentioned men, presenting their elegant language as a kind of bait, have sought to seduce many from the right religion, in imitation of him who dared to teach the first men polytheism. Be not persuaded by these persons, I entreat you, but read the prophecies of the sacred writers.82    Literally, “sacred men.” And if any slothfulness or old hereditary superstition prevents you from reading the prophecies of the holy men through which you can be instructed regarding the one only God, which is the first article of the true religion, yet believe him who, though at first he taught you polytheism, yet afterwards preferred to sing a useful and necessary recantation—I mean Orpheus, who said what I quoted a little before; and believe the others who wrote the same things concerning one God. For it was the work of Divine Providence on your behalf, that they, though unwillingly, bore testimony that what the prophets said regarding one God was true, in order that, the doctrine of a plurality of gods being rejected by all, occasion might be afforded you of knowing the truth.

Εἰ δὲ ἡ τἀληθοῦς εὕρεσις ὅρος τις λέγεται παρ' αὐτοῖς φιλοσοφίας, πῶς οἱ τῆς ἀληθοῦς μὴ τυχόντες γνώσεως τοῦ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ὀνόματός εἰσιν ἄξιοι; Εἰ γὰρ ὁ τῶν παρ' ὑμῖν σοφῶν σοφώτατος Σωκράτης, ᾧ καὶ τὸ χρηστήριον ὑμῶν, ὡς αὐτοί φατε, μαρτυρεῖ λέγον: Ἀνδρῶν ἁπάντων Σωκράτης σοφώτατος, ὁμολογεῖ μηδὲν εἰδέναι, πῶς οἱ μετ' αὐτὸν καὶ τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἐπηγγέλλοντο εἰδέναι; Σωκράτης γὰρ ἑαυτὸν σοφὸν διὰ τοῦτ' εἰρῆσθαι ἔφη, ὅτι τῶν λοιπῶν ἀνθρώπων ἃ μὴ ἴσασι προσποιουμένων εἰδέναι αὐτὸς οὐκ ὤκνει μηδὲν εἰδέναι ὁμολογεῖν. Ἔφη γὰρ οὕτως: Ἔοικα οὖν αὐτῷ τούτῳ τῷ σμικρῷ σοφώτατος εἶναι, ὅτι ἃ μὴ οἶδα οὐδὲ οἴομαι εἰδέναι. Μηδεὶς δὲ οἰέσθω εἰρωνευόμενον ἄγνοιαν προσποιεῖσθαι Σωκράτη, ἐπειδὴ πολλάκις ἐν τοῖς διαλόγοις εἴωθε τοῦτο ποιεῖν: ἡ γὰρ τελευταία ῥῆσις τῆς ἀπολογίας, ἣν ἐπὶ τὸ δεσμωτήριον ἀπιὼν ἔφη, δηλοῖ μετὰ σπουδῆς αὐτὸν καὶ ἀληθείας τὴν ἄγνοιαν ὁμολογεῖν. Ἔφη γὰρ οὕτως: Ἀλλὰ γὰρ ἤδη ὥρα ἀπιέναι, ἐμοὶ μὲν τεθνηξομένῳ, ὑμῖν δὲ βιωσομένοις. Ὁπότεροι δὲ ἡμῶν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄμεινον πρᾶγμα ἔρχονται, ἄδηλον παντὶ πλὴν ἢ τῷ θεῷ. Ἀλλὰ Σωκράτης μὲν ταύτην ὑστάτην ἐν τῷ Ἀρείῳ πάγῳ φωνὴν ἀφεὶς ἐπὶ τὸ δεσμωτήριον ὥρμησε, τῷ θεῷ μόνῳ τὴν τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν ἀδήλων πραγμάτων ἀναφέρων γνῶσιν, οἱ δὲ μετ' αὐτόν, μηδὲ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς γνῶναι δυνάμενοι, τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ὡς ἑωρακότες εἰδέναι ἐπαγγέλλονται. Ὁ γοῦν Ἀριστοτέλης, ὡς ἀκριβέστερον Πλάτωνος τὰ ἐν οὐρανοῖς ἑωρακώς, οὐχ ὥσπερ ὁ Πλάτων ἐν τῇ πυρώδει οὐσίᾳ τὸν θεὸν εἶναι λέγει (οὕτω καὶ αὐτὸς ἔφη), ἀλλ' ἐν τῷ αἰθεριώδει πέμπτῳ στοιχείῳ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἀπεφήνατο. Καὶ περὶ τούτων πιστεύεσθαι ἑαυτὸν διὰ δοκιμότητα φράσεως ἀξιῶν, οὐδὲ τὴν τοῦ Εὐρίπου φύσιν τοῦ ὄντος ἐν Χαλκίδι γνῶναι δυνηθείς, διὰ πολλὴν ἀδοξίαν καὶ αἰσχύνην λυπηθεὶς μετέστη τοῦ βίου. Μηδεὶς οὖν τῶν εὖ φρονούντων προτέραν ἡγείσθω τῆς ἑαυτοῦ σωτηρίας τὴν τούτων εὐγλωττίαν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὴν παλαιὰν ἐκείνην ἱστορίαν κηρῷ τὰ ὦτα φραξάμενος τὴν ἐκ τῶν Σειρήνων αὐτῶν ἐνοχλοῦσαν ἡδεῖαν φευγέτω βλάβην: οἱ γὰρ προειρημένοι ἄνδρες, ὥσπερ τι δέλεαρ τὴν εὐγλωττίαν προϊσχόμενοι, πολλοὺς ἀπάγειν τῆς ὀρθῆς θεοσεβείας προῄρηνται, μιμούμενοι τὸν τὴν πολυθεότητα τοὺς πρώτους ἀνθρώπους διδάξαι τολμήσαντα. Οἷς μὴ πείθεσθαι ὑμᾶς ἀξιῶ, ἐντυγχάνειν δὲ ταῖς τῶν ἱερῶν ἀνδρῶν προφητείαις. Εἰ δέ τις ὄκνος ἢ παλαιὰ τῶν προγόνων ὑμῶν δεισιδαιμονία τέως ἐντυγχάνειν ὑμᾶς ταῖς τῶν ἁγίων ἀνδρῶν προφητείαις κωλύει, δι' ὧν δυνατὸν μανθάνειν ὑμᾶς ἕνα καὶ μόνον εἶναι θεόν, ὃ πρῶτόν ἐστι τῆς ἀληθοῦς θεοσεβείας γνώρισμα, τῷ γοῦν πρότερον ὑμᾶς τὴν πολυθεότητα διδάξαντι, ὕστερον δὲ λυσιτελῆ καὶ ἀναγκαίαν παλινῳδίαν ᾆσαι προελομένῳ πείσθητε Ὀρφεῖ, ταῦτ' εἰρηκότι ἃ μικρῷ πρόσθεν γέγραφα, καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς δὲ τοῖς τὰ αὐτὰ περὶ ἑνὸς θεοῦ γεγραφόσι πείσθητε. Θείας γὰρ ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν προνοίας ἔργον γέγονε τὸ καὶ ἄκοντας τούτους μαρτυρεῖν τὰ ὑπὸ τῶν προφητῶν περὶ ἑνὸς θεοῦ εἰρημένα ἀληθῆ εἶναι, ἵνα παρὰ πάντων ὁ τῆς πολυθεότητος ἀθετούμενος λόγος ἀφορμὴν ὑμῖν παρέχῃ τῆς ἀληθοῦς γνώσεως.