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ἡ δὲ κρείττων καὶ θειοτέρα φύσις ἐκ τριῶν ἐστι, τοῦ νοητοῦ καὶ τῆς
ὕλης καὶ τοῦ ἐκ τούτων, ὃν κόσμον Ἕλληνες ὀνομάζουσιν. ὁ μὲν οὖν Πλάτων 1
τὸ μὲν νοητὸν καὶ ἰδέαν καὶ παράδειγμα
καὶ πατέρα, τὴν δ᾽ ὕλην καὶ μητέρα καὶ τιθήνην ἕδραν τε καὶ χώραν
γενέσεως, τὸ δ᾽ ἐξ ἀμφοῖν ἔκγονον 2 καὶ γένεσιν ὀνομάζειν εἴωθεν.
Αἰγυπτίους δ᾽ ἄν τις εἰκάσειε τῶν τριγώνων τὸ κάλλιστον ... 3 μάλιστα
τούτῳ τὴν τοῦ παντὸς φύσιν ὁμοιοῦντας,
ὡς 4 καὶ Πλάτων ἐν τῇ πολιτείᾳ 5 δοκεῖ τούτῳ προσκεχρῆσθαι τὸ γαμήλιον
διάγραμμα συντάττων. ἔχει δ᾽ ἐκεῖνο τὸ τρίγωνον τριῶν τὴν πρὸς ὀρθίαν
καὶ τεττάρων τὴν βάσιν
καὶ πέντε τὴν ὑποτείνουσαν ἴσον ταῖς
περιεχούσαις δυναμένην. εἰκαστέον οὖν τὴν μὲν πρὸς ὀρθὰς 6 ἄρρενι, τὴν
δὲ βάσιν θηλείᾳ, τὴν δ᾽ ὑποτείνουσαν ἀμφοῖν ἐκγόνῳ: 7 καὶ τὸν μὲν
Ὄσιριν ὡς ἀρχήν, τὴν δ᾽ Ἶσιν ὡς ὑποδοχήν, τὸν δ᾽ Ὧρον ὡς
ἀποτέλεσμα. τὰ μὲν γὰρ τρία πρῶτος περισσὸς
ἐστι καὶ τέλειος: τὰ δὲ τέτταρα τετράγωνος ἀπὸ [p. 531] πλευρᾶς
ἀρτίου τῆς δυάδος: τὰ δὲ πέντε πῆ μὲν τῷ πατρὶ πῆ δὲ τῇ μητρὶ
προσέοικεν, ἐκ τριάδος συγκείμενα καὶ δυάδος. καὶ τὰ πάντα τῶν πέντε
γέγονε παρώνυμα, καὶ τὸ ἀριθμήσασθαι πεμπάσασθαι λέγουσιν. ποιεῖ δὲ τετράγωνον ἡ πεντὰς ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῆς, ὅσον τῶν
γραμμάτων παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίοις τὸ πλῆθός ἐστι, καὶ ὅσων ἐνιαυτῶν ἔζη χρόνον ὁ
Ἆπις. 8 τὸν μὲν οὖν Ὧρον εἰώθασι καὶ Μὶν 9 προσαγορεύειν, ὅπερ ἐστὶν
ὁρώμενον: αἰσθητὸν γὰρ καὶ ὁρατὸν ὁ κόσμος. ἡ δ᾽ Ἶσις ἔστιν ὅτε καὶ Μοὺθ καὶ πάλιν Ἄθυρι καὶ Μεθύερ
προσαγορεύεται 10 σημαίνουσι δὲ τῷ μὲν πρώτῳ τῶν ὀνομάτων μητέρα: τῷ δὲ
δευτέρῳ οἶκον Ὥρου κόσμιον, ὡς καὶ Πλάτων χώραν γενέσεως καὶ
δεξαμενήν: τὸ δὲ τρίτον σύνθετόν ἐστιν ἔκ τε τοῦ πλήρους καὶ τοῦ αἰτίου: 11 πλήρης γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ὕλη τοῦ
κόσμου καὶ τῷ ἀγαθῷ καὶ καθαρῷ καὶ κεκοσμημένῳ σύνεστιν,
3 lacunam addidi. Fort. supplenda: τὸ κάλλιστον ζηλῶσαι πλεῖστον μάλλιστα κἑ
10 προσαγορεύεται Basileensis: προσαγορεύουσι
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1889. 2.
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