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εἴπερ οὖν οἱ δοκιμώτατοι τῶν φιλοσόφων οὐδ᾽ ἐν ἀψύχοις καὶ ἀσωμάτοις
πράγμασιν αἴνιγμα 1 τοῦ θείου κατιδόντες; ἠξίουν ἀμελεῖν οὐδὲν οὐδ᾽
ἀτιμάζειν, ἔτι μᾶλλον οἴομαι τὰς ἐν αἰσθανομέναις καὶ ψυχὴν ἐχούσαις
καὶ πάθος καὶ ἦθος φύσεσιν ἰδιότητας
ἀγαπητέον 2 οὖν, 3 οὐ ταῦτα τιμῶντας, ἀλλὰ διὰ τούτων τὸ θεῖον, ὡς
ἐναργεστέρων ἐσόπτρων καὶ φύσει γεγονότων, ὡς 4 ὄργανον ἢ τέχνην ἀεὶ 5 τοῦ πάντα
κοσμοῦντος; θεοῦ νομίζειν: καὶ ὅλως 6 ἀξιοῦν γε 7 μηδὲν ἄψυχον ἐμψύχου μηδ᾽
ἀναίσθητον αἰσθανομένου [p. 552] κρεῖττον εἶναι, μηδ᾽ ἂν τὸν
σύμπαντά τις χρυσὸν ὁμοῦ καὶ σμάραγδον εἰς ταὐτὸ συμφορήσῃ. οὐκ ἐν
χρόαις 8 γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἐν σχήμασιν οὐδ᾽ ἐν λειότησιν ἐγγίγνεται τὸ θεῖον, ἀλλ᾽
ἀτιμοτέραν ἔχει νεκρῶν μοῖραν, ὅσα μὴ
μετέσχε, μηδὲ μετέχειν τοῦ ζῆν πέφυκεν. ἡ δὲ ζῶσα καὶ βλέπουσα καὶ
κινήσεως ἀρχὴν ἐξ αὑτῆς ἔχουσα καὶ γνῶσιν οἰκείων καὶ ἀλλοτρίων
φύσις κάλλους τ᾽ 9
ἔσπακεν ἀπορροὴν καὶ μοῖραν ἐκ τοῦ φρονοῦντος, ‘ὅτῳ 10 κυβερνᾶται τὸ 11
σύμπαν
’ καθ᾽ Ἡράκλειτον. 12 ὅθεν οὐ χεῖρον ἐν τούτοις εἰκάζεται τὸ θεῖον ἢ
χαλκοῖς 13 καὶ λιθίνοις δημιουργήμασιν, ἃ φθορὰς μὲν ὁμοίως δέχεται καὶ
ἐπιχρώσεις, 14 αἰσθήσεως; δὲ πάσης φύσει καὶ συνέσεως ἐστέρηται. περὶ μὲν
οὖν τῶν τιμωμένων ζῴων ταῦτα δοκιμάζω
μάλιστα τῶν λεγομένων.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1889. 2.
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