Preparation for the Gospel 15.2.1–15.6.17
Greek text: Dindorf, Eusebii Opera 1 (Greek text: W. Dindorf, Eusebii Caesariensis Opera 1–2 (Leipzig: Teubner, 1867), digitized by the First Thousand Years of Greek project (Open Greek and Latin), CC BY-SA 4.0).English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0). Compare: E. H. Gifford, Eusebii Pamphili Evangelicae Praeparationis libri XV (Oxford, 1903), vol. 3 (English).
Preparation 15, chapter 2
15.2.1Dindorf 2:339
“Πῶς γὰρ οἷόν τε, καθάπερ φησὶν Ἐπίκουρος ἐν τῇ περὶ τῶν ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἐπιστολῇ, νέον μὲν ὄντα καταφαγεῖν αὐτὸν τὴν πατρῴαν οὐσίαν, ἔπειτα δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ στρατεύεσθαι συνῶσαι, κακῶς δὲ πράττοντα ἐν τούτοις ἐπὶ τὸ φαρμακοπωλεῖν ἐλθεῖν, ἔπειτα ἀναπεπιαμένου τοῦ Πλάτωνος περιπάτου πᾶσι παραβαλεῖν αὐτόν;
“Pōs gar hoion te, kathaper phēsin Epikouros en tę̄ peri tōn epitēdeumatōn epistolę̄, neon men onta kataphagein auton tēn patrǭan ousian, epeita de epi to strateuesthai synōsai, kakōs de prattonta en toutois epi to pharmakopōlein elthein, epeita anapepiamenou tou Platōnos peripatou pasi parabalein auton?
“For how is it possible, as Epicurus says in his letter On Pursuits, that when young he squandered his father’s property, then rushed into soldiering, and, faring badly in this, came to selling drugs, and then, when Plato’s walk was opened to all, presented himself there?
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristocles: Epicurus’ slanders on Aristotle’s youth are incredible.
- Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy, book 7 (fragment); Epicurus, Letter On Pursuits (fragment).
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion); Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.1 (Dindorf 2:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.2Dindorf 2:339
ἢ πῶς ἄν τις ἀποδέξαιτο Τιμαίου τοῦ Ταυρομενίτου λέγοντος ἐν ταῖς ἱστορίαις ἀδόξου θύρας αὐτὸν ἰατρείου καὶ τὰς τυχούσας ὀψὲ τῆς ἡλικίας κλεῖσαι;
ē pōs an tis apodexaito Timaiou tou Tauromenitou legontos en tais historiais adoxou thyras auton iatreiou kai tas tychousas opse tēs hēlikias kleisai?
Or how could anyone accept Timaeus of Tauromenium, who says in his Histories that late in life he shut the doors of an obscure and ordinary surgery?
Notes and citation
Summary: Timaeus’ slander that Aristotle kept a surgery is likewise false.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; Timaeus of Tauromenium, fragment.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.2 (Dindorf 2:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.3Dindorf 2:339
τίς δʼ ἂν πεισθείη τοῖς ὑπʼ Ἀριστοξένου τοῦ μουσικοῦ λεγομένοις ἐν τῷ βίῳ τοῦ Πλάτωνος; ἐν γὰρ τῇ πλάνῃ καὶ τῇ ἀποδημίᾳ φησὶν ἐπανίστασθαι καὶ ἀντοικοδομεῖν αὐτῷ τινας Περίπατον ξένους ὄντας. οἴονται οὐν ἔνιοι ταῦτα περὶ Ἀριστοτέλους λέγειν αὐτὸν, Ἀριστοξένου διὰ παντὸς εὐφημοῦντος Ἀριστοτέλην.
tis dʼ an peistheiē tois hypʼ Aristoxenou tou mousikou legomenois en tǭ biǭ tou Platōnos? en gar tę̄ planę̄ kai tę̄ apodēmią phēsin epanistasthai kai antoikodomein autǭ tinas Peripaton xenous ontas. oiontai oun enioi tauta peri Aristotelous legein auton, Aristoxenou dia pantos euphēmountos Aristotelēn.
And who would believe what Aristoxenus the musician says in his Life of Plato? For he says that while Plato was wandering and abroad, some who were strangers rose up against him and built a Peripatos in rivalry. Some think he says this of Aristotle, though Aristoxenus always speaks well of Aristotle.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristoxenus’ story of rivals building a school against Plato does not concern Aristotle.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; Aristoxenus, Life of Plato, fragment.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Πλάτωνος; έν γὰρ → Πλάτωνος; ἐν γὰρ.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.3 (Dindorf 2:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.4Dindorf 2:339
καταγέλαστα δʼ εἰκότως εἶναι φαίη τις ἂν καὶ τὰ ἀπομνημονεύματα τὰ Ἀλεξίνου ἐριστικοῦ. ποιεῖ γὰρ Ἀλέξανδρον παῖδα διαλεγόμενον τῷ πατρὶ Φιλίππῳ, καὶ διαπτύοντα μὲν τοὺς τοῦ Ἀριστοτέλους λόγους, ἀποδεχόμενον δὲ Νικαγόραν, τὸν Ἑρμῆν ἐπικληθέντα.
katagelasta dʼ eikotōs einai phaiē tis an kai ta apomnēmoneumata ta Alexinou eristikou. poiei gar Alexandron paida dialegomenon tǭ patri Philippǭ, kai diaptyonta men tous tou Aristotelous logous, apodechomenon de Nikagoran, ton Hermēn epiklēthenta.
One might reasonably call ridiculous the Memoirs of Alexinus the eristic too. For he makes Alexander as a boy converse with his father Philip, spitting on Aristotle’s arguments and accepting Nicagoras, who was surnamed Hermes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexinus’ fiction about the young Alexander is absurd.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.4 (Dindorf 2:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.5Dindorf 2:339
καὶ Εὐβουλίδης δὲ προδήλως ἐν τῷ κατʼ αὐτοῦ βιβλίῳ ψεύδεται, πρῶτον μὲν ποιήματα ψυχρὰ προφερόμενος, ὡς γεγραφότων ἄλλων περὶ τοῦ γάμου καὶ τῆς πρὸς Ἑρμείαν οἰκειότητος αὐτῷ ἔπειτα Φιλίππῳ φάσκων αὐτὸν προσκόψαι, καὶ τελευτῶντι Πλάτωνι μὴ παραγενέσθαι, τά τε βιβλία αὐτοῦ διαφθεῖραι.
kai Euboulidēs de prodēlōs en tǭ katʼ autou bibliǭ pseudetai, prōton men poiēmata psychra propheromenos, hōs gegraphotōn allōn peri tou gamou kai tēs pros Hermeian oikeiotētos autǭ epeita Philippǭ phaskōn auton proskopsai, kai teleutōnti Platōni mē paragenesthai, ta te biblia autou diaphtheirai.
And Eubulides clearly lies in his book against him, first bringing forward frigid poems, as if others had written about his marriage and his relationship with Hermias; then saying that he offended Philip, and was not present at Plato’s death, and destroyed his books.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eubulides’ charges against Aristotle are lies.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): οἰκειόητος αὐτῷ → οἰκειότητος αὐτῷ.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.5 (Dindorf 2:339; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.6Dindorf 2:339–340
τὴν μὲν γὰρ Δημοχάρους κατηγορίαν κατὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων τί χρὴ λέγειν; οὐ γὰρ Ἀριστοτέλην μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους κακῶς εἴρηκεν. ἔτι γε μὴν αὐτὰς τὰς διαβολὰς σκοπῶν ἄν τις ληρεῖν αὐτὸν φαίη. λέγει γὰρ ἐπιστολὰς Ἀριστοτέλους ἁλῶναι κατὰ τῆς πόλεως τῆς Ἀθηναίων, καὶ Στάγειρα τὴν πατρίδα προδοῦναι Μακεδόσιν αὐτόν· ἔτι δὲ κατασκαφείσης Ὀλύνθου μηνύειν ἐπὶ τοῦ λαρυροπωλίου Φιλίππῳ τοὺς πλουσιωτάτους τῶν Ὀλυνθίων.
tēn men gar Dēmocharous katēgorian kata tōn philosophōn ti chrē legein? ou gar Aristotelēn monon, alla kai tous allous kakōs eirēken. eti ge mēn autas tas diabolas skopōn an tis lērein auton phaiē. legei gar epistolas Aristotelous halōnai kata tēs poleōs tēs Athēnaiōn, kai Stageira tēn patrida prodounai Makedosin auton; eti de kataskapheisēs Olynthou mēnyein epi tou laryropōliou Philippǭ tous plousiōtatous tōn Olynthiōn.
As for the accusation of Demochares against the philosophers, what need to speak of it? For he spoke ill not of Aristotle alone but of the others too. And looking at the slanders themselves, one would say he talks nonsense. For he says that letters of Aristotle against the city of the Athenians were caught, and that he betrayed his native Stagira to the Macedonians; and further that, when Olynthus was razed, he pointed out to Philip at the sale of spoils the richest of the Olynthians.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Demochares’ accusations against Aristotle are nonsense.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy. “At the sale of spoils” renders the probable sense of the corrupt word in the text.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): Φιλίππω τοὺς → Φιλίππῳ τοὺς.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.6 (Dindorf 2:339–340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.7Dindorf 2:340
ἠλίθια δὲ διαβέβληκεν αὐτὸν καὶ Κηφισόδωρος, ὁ Ἰσοκράτους μαθητὴς, τρυφερὸν καὶ τένθην καὶ ἄλλα τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγων αὐτὸν εἶναι.
ēlithia de diabeblēken auton kai Kēphisodōros, ho Isokratous mathētēs, trypheron kai tenthēn kai alla ta toiauta legōn auton einai.
Cephisodorus, the pupil of Isocrates, also slandered him foolishly, saying that he was luxurious and a glutton and other such things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Cephisodorus called Aristotle a glutton.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.7 (Dindorf 2:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.8Dindorf 2:340
πάντα δʼ ὑπερπαίει μωρίᾳ τὰ ὑπὸ Λύκωνος εἰρημένα, τοῦ λέγοντος εἷναι Πυθαγορικὸν ἑαυτόν. φησὶ γὰρ θύειν Ἀριστοτέλην θυσίαν τετελευτηκυίᾳ τῇ γυναικὶ τοιαύτην ὁποίαν Ἀθηναῖοι τῇ Δήμητρι, καὶ ἐν ἐλαίῳ θερμῷ λουόμενον τοῦτο δὴ πιπράσκειν· ἡνίκα δὲ εἰς Χαλκίδα ἀπῄει, τοὺς τελώνας εὑρεῖν ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ λοπάδια χαλκᾶ τέτταρα καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα.
panta dʼ hyperpaiei mōrią ta hypo Lykōnos eirēmena, tou legontos heinai Pythagorikon heauton. phēsi gar thyein Aristotelēn thysian teteleutēkuią tę̄ gynaiki toiautēn hopoian Athēnaioi tę̄ Dēmētri, kai en elaiǭ thermǭ louomenon touto dē pipraskein; hēnika de eis Chalkida apę̄ei, tous telōnas heurein en tǭ ploiǭ lopadia chalka tettara kai hebdomēkonta.
But what was said by Lycon, who said he was a Pythagorean, surpasses all in folly. For he says that Aristotle offered to his dead wife a sacrifice such as the Athenians offer to Demeter, and that he bathed in warm oil and then sold it; and that when he went away to Chalcis, the customs officers found in his boat seventy-four bronze dishes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Lycon’s tales of Aristotle are the most foolish of all.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing lost in the digital text): Αθηναῖοι → Ἀθηναῖοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.8 (Dindorf 2:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.9Dindorf 2:340
καὶ σχεδὸν οἶ μὲν πρῶτοι διαβαλόντες Ἀριστοτέλην τοσοῦτοι γεγόνασιν· ὧν οἱ μὲν κατὰ τοὺς αὐτοὺς ἦσαν χρόνους, οἶ δὲ μικρὸν ὕστερον ἐγένοντο· πάντες δὲ σοφισταὶ καὶ ἐριστικοὶ καὶ ῥήτορες, ὧν καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα καὶ τὰ βιβλία τέθνηκε τῶν σωμάτων μᾶλλον. τοὺς μὲν γὰρ μετὰ ταῦτα γεγονότας, εἶτα δὲ τὰ ὑπʼ ἐκείνων εἰρημένα λέγοντας, παντάπασιν ἐᾶν δεῖ χαίρειν, καὶ μάλιστα τοὺς μηδʼ ἐντετυχηκότας τοῖς βιβλίοις αὐτῶν, ἀλλʼ αὐτοσχεδιάζοντας, ὁποῖοί εἰσι καὶ οἱ λέγοντες τριακοσίας ἔχειν λοπάδας αὐτόν. οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἂν εὑρεθείη περὶ αὐτοῦ τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν εἰρηκὼς τῶν τότε ὄντων ὅτι μὴ Λύκων. οὗτος μέντοι, καθάπερ ἔφην, εἴρηκεν εὑρῆσθαι λοπάδια πέντε καὶ ἑβδομήκοντα.
kai schedon oi men prōtoi diabalontes Aristotelēn tosoutoi gegonasin; hōn hoi men kata tous autous ēsan chronous, oi de mikron hysteron egenonto; pantes de sophistai kai eristikoi kai rhētores, hōn kai ta onomata kai ta biblia tethnēke tōn sōmatōn mallon. tous men gar meta tauta gegonotas, eita de ta hypʼ ekeinōn eirēmena legontas, pantapasin ean dei chairein, kai malista tous mēdʼ entetychēkotas tois bibliois autōn, allʼ autoschediazontas, hopoioi eisi kai hoi legontes triakosias echein lopadas auton. oudeis gar an heuretheiē peri autou toiouton ouden eirēkōs tōn tote ontōn hoti mē Lykōn. houtos mentoi, kathaper ephēn, eirēken heurēsthai lopadia pente kai hebdomēkonta.
And these, more or less, were the first to slander Aristotle; some lived at the same time, others a little later; all were sophists, eristics, and orators, whose names and books have died sooner than their bodies. Those who came later, then, and repeat what these said, we must dismiss altogether, especially those who have not even read their books but improvise, such as those who say he had three hundred dishes. For no one of the men of that time would be found to have said any such thing about him except Lycon. And he, as I said, said that seventy-five dishes were found.
Notes and citation
Summary: The slanderers were sophists whose works have perished; later repetitions are worthless.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy. The number varies in the text (seventy-four in 15.2.8, seventy-five here).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): ὣν οἱ μὲν → ὧν οἱ μὲν; παντάπασιν ἐὰν δεῖ → παντάπασιν ἐᾶν δεῖ.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.9 (Dindorf 2:340; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.10Dindorf 2:340–341
οὐ μόνον δὲ καὶ ἐκ τῶν χρόνων καὶ ἐκ τῶν διαβεβληκότων τεκμήραιτό τις ἂν ὅτι ψευδῆ πάντα τὰ εἰρημένα ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ κἀκ τοῦ μὴ πάντας τὰ αὐτὰ διαβάλλειν, ἀλλʼ ἕκαστον ἴδιά τινα λέγειν· ὧν εἴπερ ἦν ἓν ὁτιοῦν ἀληθὲς, ἐχρῆν δήπου ἀλλʼ οὐχ ἅπαξ αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν τότε ἀπολωλέναι.
ou monon de kai ek tōn chronōn kai ek tōn diabeblēkotōn tekmēraito tis an hoti pseudē panta ta eirēmena estin, alla kak tou mē pantas ta auta diaballein, allʼ hekaston idia tina legein; hōn eiper ēn hen hotioun alēthes, echrēn dēpou allʼ ouch hapax auton hypo tōn tote apolōlenai.
One might infer that all that is said is false not only from the times and from the slanderers, but also from the fact that they do not all make the same charges, but each says something of his own; if any one of these were true, he would surely have been ruined by the men of that time not once but many times.
Notes and citation
Summary: The slanderers’ disagreement shows their charges are false.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): ἕν ὁτιοῦν → ἓν ὁτιοῦν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.10 (Dindorf 2:340–341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.11Dindorf 2:341
φανερὸν οὑν ὅτι καθάπερ πολλοῖς καὶ ἄλλοις, οὕτω καὶ Ἀριστοτέλει συνέβη, διά τε τὰς πρὸς τοὺς βασιλεῖς φιλίας καὶ διὰ τὴν ἐν τοῖς λόγοις ὑπεροχὴν ὑπὸ τῶν τότε σοφιστῶν φθονεῖσθαι. δεῖ δὲ τοὺς εὖ φρονοῦντας μὴ εἰς τοὺς διαβάλλοντας ἀποβλέπειν μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς τοὺς ἐπαινοῦντας καὶ ζηλοῦντας αὐτόν· μακρῷ γὰρ πλείους καὶ βελτίους εὑρεθεῖεν ἂν οὗτοί γε.
phaneron houn hoti kathaper pollois kai allois, houtō kai Aristotelei synebē, dia te tas pros tous basileis philias kai dia tēn en tois logois hyperochēn hypo tōn tote sophistōn phthoneisthai. dei de tous eu phronountas mē eis tous diaballontas apoblepein monon, alla kai eis tous epainountas kai zēlountas auton; makrǭ gar pleious kai beltious heuretheien an houtoi ge.
It is clear, then, that, as happened to many others, so it happened to Aristotle to be envied by the sophists of that time because of his friendships with kings and his superiority in argument. But those of sound mind must look not only to the slanderers, but also to those who praise and emulate him; for these would be found far more numerous and better.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle was envied for his royal friendships and his eloquence.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.11 (Dindorf 2:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.12Dindorf 2:341
τὰ μὲν οὑν ἄλλα προδήλως πέπλασται· δύο δὲ ταῦτα δοκεῖ πιστεύεσθαι διʼ ἃ ψέγουσί τινες αὐτόν· ἓν μὲν, ὅτι Ἑρμείου γήμειε φύσει μὲν ἀδελφὴν, θετὴν δὲ θυγατέρα Πυθιάδα, κολακεύων αὐτόν· (Θεόκριτος γοῦν ὁ Χῖος ἐποίησεν ἐπίγραμμα τοιοῦτον Ἑρμείου εὐνούχου τε καὶ Εὐβούλου τόδε δούλου μνῆμα κενὸν κενόφρων θῆκεν Ἀριστοτέλης· ὃς διὰ τὴν ἀκρατῆ γαστρὸς φύσιν εἵλετο ναίειν ἀντʼ Ἀκαδημείας Βορβόρου ἐν προχοαῖς.) ἕτερον δὲ, ὅτι ἠχαρίστησε Πλάτωνι.
ta men houn alla prodēlōs peplastai; dyo de tauta dokei pisteuesthai diʼ ha psegousi tines auton; hen men, hoti Hermeiou gēmeie physei men adelphēn, thetēn de thygatera Pythiada, kolakeuōn auton; (Theokritos goun ho Chios epoiēsen epigramma toiouton Hermeiou eunouchou te kai Euboulou tode doulou mnēma kenon kenophrōn thēken Aristotelēs; hos dia tēn akratē gastros physin heileto naiein antʼ Akadēmeias Borborou en prochoais.) heteron de, hoti ēcharistēse Platōni.
The other things, then, are plainly fabricated; but two things seem to be believed, for which some blame him: one, that he married Pythias, the sister by birth and adopted daughter of Hermias, to flatter him (Theocritus of Chios, at least, made such an epigram: ‘This empty tomb of Hermias the eunuch and slave of Eubulus, empty-minded Aristotle set up, who, because of the incontinent nature of his belly, chose to dwell at the mouths of the Borborus instead of the Academy’); the other, that he was ungrateful to Plato.
Notes and citation
Summary: Two charges against Aristotle: his marriage to Hermias’ sister and ingratitude to Plato.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy; Theocritus of Chios, epigram.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text): Ἐρμείου γήμειε → Ἑρμείου γήμειε; ἐπί- γραμμα → ἐπίγραμμα.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.12 (Dindorf 2:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.13Dindorf 2:341
περὶ μὲν οὖν Ἑρμείου καὶ τῆς Ἀριστοτέλους πρὸς αὐτὸν φιλίας ἄλλοι τε πολλοὶ συγγεγράφασι καὶ δὴ καὶ Ἀπελλικῶν, οὗ τοῖς βιβλίοις ὁ ἐντυχὼν πεπαύσεται βλασφημῶν αὐτούς.
peri men oun Hermeiou kai tēs Aristotelous pros auton philias alloi te polloi syngegraphasi kai dē kai Apellikōn, hou tois bibliois ho entychōn pepausetai blasphēmōn autous.
About Hermias and Aristotle’s friendship with him, many others have written, and Apellicon in particular; whoever reads his books will stop blaspheming them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Apellicon’s books vindicate Aristotle’s friendship with Hermias.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.13 (Dindorf 2:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.14Dindorf 2:341
περὶ δὲ τοῦ γάμου τοῦ Πυθιάδος ἀποχρώντως αὐτὸς ἐν ταῖς πρὸς Ἀντίπατρον ἐπιστολαῖς ἀπολελόγηται. τεθνεῶτος γὰρ Ἑρμείου, διὰ τὴν πρὸς ἐκεῖνον εὔνοιαν ἔγημεν αὐτὴν, ἄλλως μὲν σώφρονα καὶ ἀγαθὴν οὖσαν, ἀτυχοῦσαν μέντοι διὰ τὰς καταλαβούσας συμφορὰς τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτῆς.”
peri de tou gamou tou Pythiados apochrōntōs autos en tais pros Antipatron epistolais apolelogētai. tethneōtos gar Hermeiou, dia tēn pros ekeinon eunoian egēmen autēn, allōs men sōphrona kai agathēn ousan, atychousan mentoi dia tas katalabousas symphoras ton adelphon autēs.”
About the marriage with Pythias he himself has made a sufficient defense in his letters to Antipater. For when Hermias had died, he married her because of his goodwill toward him, she being otherwise modest and good, but unfortunate because of the disasters that had overtaken her brother.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle married Pythias out of loyalty to the dead Hermias.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Topics: Marriage
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.14 (Dindorf 2:341; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.15Dindorf 2:341–342
Εἶθʼ ἑξῆς “Μετὰ δὲ τὴν Πυθιάδος τῆς Ἑρμείου τελευτὴν Ἀριστοτέλης ἔγημεν Ἑρπυλλίδα Σταγειρῖτιν, ἐξ ἧς υἱὸς αὐτῷ Νικόμαχος ἐγένετο. τοῦτον δέ φασιν ὀρφανὸν τραφέντα παρὰ Θεοφράστῳ καὶ δὴ μειρακίσκον ὄντα ἀποθανεῖν ἐν πολέμῳ.”
Eithʼ hexēs “Meta de tēn Pythiados tēs Hermeiou teleutēn Aristotelēs egēmen Herpyllida Stageiritin, ex hēs huios autǭ Nikomachos egeneto. touton de phasin orphanon traphenta para Theophrastǭ kai dē meirakiskon onta apothanein en polemǭ.”
Then next: “After the death of Pythias, Hermias’ sister, Aristotle married Herpyllis of Stagira, from whom his son Nicomachus was born. They say that he was brought up an orphan by Theophrastus and died in war while still a youth.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s second marriage to Herpyllis and his son Nicomachus.
- Aristocles, On Philosophy. “Married” translates ἔγημεν as the text has it; other sources say Herpyllis was his companion.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (breathing slip in the digital text): Ἐρπυλλίδα → Ἑρπυλλίδα.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristocles (Aristocles of Messene, On Philosophy; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.15 (Dindorf 2:341–342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.2.16Dindorf 2:342
Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν ἐκ τῆς δηλωθείσης Ἀριστοκλέους ἐκκείσθω γραφῆς· ἤδη δὲ καὶ τὴν δογματικὴν Ἀριστοτέλους φιλοσοφίαν θεωρῆσαι καιρός.
Alla tauta men ek tēs dēlōtheisēs Aristokleous ekkeisthō graphēs; ēdē de kai tēn dogmatikēn Aristotelous philosophian theōrēsai kairos.
But let these things from the work of Aristocles mentioned be set out; it is now time to view the doctrinal philosophy of Aristotle.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius turns to Aristotle’s doctrines.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.2.16 (Dindorf 2:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-2-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 15, chapter 3
15.3.1Dindorf 2:342
Μώσεως καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις προφητῶν τέλος εἶναι τοῦ μακαρίως ζῆν τὴν τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ γνῶσίν τε καὶ φιλίαν διʼ εὐσεβείας συντελουμένην ὑποθεμένων, εὐσέβειάν τε εἶναι ἀληθῆ διδαξάντων τὴν διὰ πάσης ἀρετῆς τῷ θεῷ εὐαρέστησιν, (ταύτην γὰρ εἶναι τῶν ἀγαθῶν αἰτίαν, ἐπὶ μόνῳ γὰρ τῷ θεῷ τὰ πάντα κεῖσθαι καὶ παρʼ αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα τοῖς θεοφιλέσι χορηγεῖσθαι) τοῦ τε Πλάτωνος τὰ συνῳδὰ τούτοις ὁριζομένου καὶ τέλος εὐδαιμονίας τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀποφαινομένου, τὴν ἑτέραν ὁδεύσας ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης οὐκ ἄλλως εὐδαίμονά τινά φησιν ἔσεσθαι ἢ καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ σώματος εὐπαθείας καὶ τῆς τῶν ἐκτὸς περιουσίας, ὧν ἄνευ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ὠφελεῖν. πρὸς ὃν ὅπως ἐνέστησαν διεψευσμένην αὐτοῦ τὴν ὑπόληψιν ἀπελέγχοντες οἶ Πλάτωνος γνώριμοι πάρεστι μαθεῖν διὰ τούτων
Mōseōs kai tōn parʼ Hebraiois prophētōn telos einai tou makariōs zēn tēn tou tōn holōn theou gnōsin te kai philian diʼ eusebeias synteloumenēn hypothemenōn, eusebeian te einai alēthē didaxantōn tēn dia pasēs aretēs tǭ theǭ euarestēsin, (tautēn gar einai tōn agathōn aitian, epi monǭ gar tǭ theǭ ta panta keisthai kai parʼ autou ta panta tois theophilesi chorēgeisthai) tou te Platōnos ta synǭda toutois horizomenou kai telos eudaimonias tēn aretēn apophainomenou, tēn heteran hodeusas ho Aristotelēs ouk allōs eudaimona tina phēsin esesthai ē kai dia tēs tou sōmatos eupatheias kai tēs tōn ektos periousias, hōn aneu mēde tēn aretēn ōphelein. pros hon hopōs enestēsan diepseusmenēn autou tēn hypolēpsin apelenchontes oi Platōnos gnōrimoi paresti mathein dia toutōn
Moses and the prophets among the Hebrews having laid down that the end of the blessed life is the knowledge and friendship of the God of the universe, accomplished through godliness, and having taught that true godliness is pleasing God through all virtue (for this is the cause of goods, since all things depend on God alone and all things are supplied by him to those dear to God); and Plato defining what agrees with these and declaring virtue the end of happiness; Aristotle, taking the other road, says that no one will be happy otherwise than also through the well-being of the body and an abundance of external goods, without which not even virtue benefits. How the disciples of Plato opposed him, refuting his supposition as false, may be learned from the following:
Notes and citation
Summary: Against Moses and Plato, Aristotle held that happiness requires bodily and external goods.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text): τὴν ἀρετὴν τὴν ἀποφαινομένου → τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀποφαινομένου; ὦν ἄνευ → ὧν ἄνευ; μα- θεῖν → μαθεῖν.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.3.1 (Dindorf 2:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-3-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 15, chapter 4
15.4.1Dindorf 2:342
“ Τῆς γὰρ συμπάσης φιλοσοφίας κοινῇ τῶν φιλοσοφησάντων τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην εὐδαιμονίαν ὑπισχνουμένης, τριχῆ δὲ διαιρουμένης κατὰ τὴν τῶν ὅλων ποιητικὴν διανέμησιν, τοσοῦτον ἀποδέων ἐν τούτοις τοῦ διδάσκειν τι τῶν Πλάτωνος ὁ Περιπατητικὸς ὀφθήσεται ὥστε, πλειόνων ὄντων οἳ διαφέρονται Πλάτωνι, μάλιστα ἐναντιούμενος αὐτὸς φανεῖται.
“ Tēs gar sympasēs philosophias koinę̄ tōn philosophēsantōn tēn anthrōpinēn eudaimonian hypischnoumenēs, trichē de diairoumenēs kata tēn tōn holōn poiētikēn dianemēsin, tosouton apodeōn en toutois tou didaskein ti tōn Platōnos ho Peripatētikos ophthēsetai hōste, pleionōn ontōn hoi diapherontai Platōni, malista enantioumenos autos phaneitai.
“For while all philosophy in common promises, for those who philosophize, human happiness, and is divided into three according to the productive distribution of the universe, the Peripatetic will be seen so far from teaching anything of Plato in these, that, though there are many who differ from Plato, he will appear most of all opposed to him.
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus: Aristotle is the most opposed of all philosophers to Plato.
- Atticus the Platonist, fragment 2 (des Places), from his work against those who interpret Plato through Aristotle.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.1 (Dindorf 2:342; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.2Dindorf 2:342–343
καὶ πρῶτόν γε ἀπὸ τοῦ κοινοῦ καὶ μεγίστου καὶ κυριωτάτου τὴν πρὸς Πλάτωνα παραλλαγὴν ἐποιήσατο, μὴ τηρήσας τὸ μέτρον τῆς εὐδαιμονίας, μηδὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν αὐτάρκη πρὸς τοῦτο συγχωρήσας, ἀλλʼ ἀπολισθὼν τῆς δυνάμεως τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀρετὴν, καὶ ἡγησάμενος αὐτῇ προσδεῖν τῶν ἐκ τῆς τύχης, ἵνα μετὰ τούτων ἕλῃ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν· εἰ δʼ ἐφʼ ἑαυτῆς ληφθείη, ὡς ἀδύνατον καὶ οὐκ ἐφικτὸν τῆς εὐδαιμονίας μεμψάμενος.
kai prōton ge apo tou koinou kai megistou kai kyriōtatou tēn pros Platōna parallagēn epoiēsato, mē tērēsas to metron tēs eudaimonias, mēde tēn aretēn autarkē pros touto synchōrēsas, allʼ apolisthōn tēs dynameōs tēs kata tēn aretēn, kai hēgēsamenos autę̄ prosdein tōn ek tēs tychēs, hina meta toutōn helę̄ tēn eudaimonian; ei dʼ ephʼ heautēs lēphtheiē, hōs adynaton kai ouk ephikton tēs eudaimonias mempsamenos.
And first he made his departure from Plato on the common and greatest and most sovereign point, not keeping the measure of happiness, nor allowing virtue to be sufficient for it, but slipping from the power of virtue, and thinking that it needs in addition the gifts of fortune, so as with them to attain happiness; but if taken by itself, finding fault with it as unable to reach happiness.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle denies that virtue alone suffices for happiness.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.2 (Dindorf 2:342–343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.3Dindorf 2:343
τὸ μὲν οὖν ἀγεννὲς καὶ διημαρτημένον τῆς γνώμης ἐν τούτῳ τε κἀν τοῖς ἄλλοις οὐ τοῦ παρόντος δεικνύναι καιροῦ· ἐκεῖνο δὲ οἶμαι πρόδηλον, ὅτι τοῦ σκοποῦ καὶ τῆς εὐδαιμονίας οὐκ ἴσων ὄντων οὐδὲ τῶν αὐτῶν κατὰ Πλάτωνα καὶ κατὰ Ἀριστοτέλην, ἀλλὰ τοῦ μὲν βοῶντος ἑκάστοτε καὶ κηρύττοντος ὅτι εὐδαιμονέστατος ὁ δικαιότατος, τοῦ δὲ μὴ ἐπιτρέποντος ἕπεσθαι τῇ ἀρετῇ τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν, ἂν μὴ καὶ γένος εὐτυχήσῃ καὶ κάλλος, ἀλλὰ καὶ χρυσὸν, ὃς καὶ χρυσὸν ἔχων πόλεμόνδʼ ἴεν, ἠύτε κούρη, ἀνάγκη κατὰ τὴν διαφορὰν τοῦ τέλους καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἄγουσαν φιλοσοφίαν διάφορον εἶναι.
to men oun agennes kai diēmartēmenon tēs gnōmēs en toutǭ te kan tois allois ou tou parontos deiknynai kairou; ekeino de oimai prodēlon, hoti tou skopou kai tēs eudaimonias ouk isōn ontōn oude tōn autōn kata Platōna kai kata Aristotelēn, alla tou men boōntos hekastote kai kēryttontos hoti eudaimonestatos ho dikaiotatos, tou de mē epitrepontos hepesthai tę̄ aretę̄ tēn eudaimonian, an mē kai genos eutychēsę̄ kai kallos, alla kai chryson, hos kai chryson echōn polemondʼ ien, ēute kourē, anankē kata tēn diaphoran tou telous kai tēn epi touto agousan philosophian diaphoron einai.
The ignobleness and error of his view in this and in other matters it is not the present occasion to show; but this I think is plain, that since the goal and happiness are not equal or the same according to Plato and according to Aristotle, the one always crying out and proclaiming that the most just is the happiest, the other not allowing happiness to follow virtue unless one is fortunate also in birth and beauty, and in gold too, ‘who went to war with gold, like a girl,’ the philosophy leading to the end must necessarily differ according to the difference of the end.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato and Aristotle differ on the end, so their philosophies differ.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Iliad 2.872.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): πόλεμονδʼ ἴεν → πόλεμόνδʼ ἴεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 2.872 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.3 (Dindorf 2:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.4Dindorf 2:343
μιᾷ γὰρ ὁδῷ βαδίζοντα, ἥτις ἄγειν πέφυκεν ἐπί τι τῶν μικρῶν καὶ ταπεινῶν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐλθεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ μείζω καὶ ἐν ὕψει κείμενα. Ὁρᾷς ἵνʼ ἐκεῖνος ὑψηλὸς πάγος, τρηχύς τε καὶ παλίγκοτος, ἐν τῷ κάθηται σὴν ἐλαφρίζων μάχην;
mią gar hodǭ badizonta, hētis agein pephyken epi ti tōn mikrōn kai tapeinōn, ouk estin elthein epi ta meizō kai en hypsei keimena. Horąs hinʼ ekeinos hypsēlos pagos, trēchys te kai palinkotos, en tǭ kathētai sēn elaphrizōn machēn?
For one walking on one road, which naturally leads to something small and lowly, cannot come to the greater things that lie on high. ‘Do you see where that high crag is, rough and hostile? On it he sits, making light of your attack.’
Notes and citation
Summary: The low road of Aristotle cannot reach Plato’s heights.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Archilochus, fragment 176 (West), from the fable of the fox and the eagle.
Extrabiblical texts: Archilochus, fr. 176 (Archilochus; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.4 (Dindorf 2:343; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.5Dindorf 2:343–344
ἐπὶ τοῦτον τὸν ὑψηλὸν πάγον τὸ δριμὺ καὶ πανοῦργον ἐκεῖνο θηρίον ἀνελθεῖν ἀδύνατον· ἵνα δὲ εἰς ταὐτὸν ἔλθῃ τοῖς ἀετοῦ γεννήμασιν ἀλώπηξ, ἢ τύχῃ τινὶ δεῖ χρησαμένους ἐκείνους πονηρᾷ καταπεσεῖν εἰς γῆν τῶν οἰκείων αὐτοῖς φθαρέντων, ἢ φύσασαν αὐτὴν, ἃ μὴ πέφυκε φύειν, λαιψηρὰ κυκλῶσαι πτερὰ, καὶ οὕτως ἀρθεῖσαν ἐκ γῆς ἀναπτέσθαι πρὸς τὸν ὑψηλὸν πάγον. ἕως δʼ ἑκάτερον ἐπὶ τῆς οἰκείας μένει τάξεως, οὐκ ἔνι κοινωνία τοῖς γῆς πρὸς τὰ οὐρανοῦ θρέμματα.”
epi touton ton hypsēlon pagon to drimy kai panourgon ekeino thērion anelthein adynaton; hina de eis tauton elthę̄ tois aetou gennēmasin alōpēx, ē tychę̄ tini dei chrēsamenous ekeinous ponērą katapesein eis gēn tōn oikeiōn autois phtharentōn, ē physasan autēn, ha mē pephyke phyein, laipsēra kyklōsai ptera, kai houtōs artheisan ek gēs anaptesthai pros ton hypsēlon pagon. heōs dʼ hekateron epi tēs oikeias menei taxeōs, ouk eni koinōnia tois gēs pros ta ouranou thremmata.”
Onto this high crag that sharp and cunning beast cannot climb; and for the fox to come together with the eagle’s young, either they must by some evil fortune fall to the ground, their own having perished, or she must grow what she is not born to grow, swift wings to wheel, and so, lifted from the earth, fly up to the high crag. As long as each stays in its own station, there is no fellowship between the creatures of the earth and those of heaven.”
Notes and citation
Summary: As fox and eagle have no fellowship, so Aristotle and Plato.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Archilochus, fragment 177 (“swift wings to wheel”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; line-end hyphen left in the digital text): πανοῦρ- γον → πανοῦργον; ἴως δʼ ἑκάτερον → ἕως δʼ ἑκάτερον; αὐ- τὴν → αὐτὴν.
Extrabiblical texts: Archilochus, fr. 177 (Archilochus; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.5 (Dindorf 2:343–344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.6Dindorf 2:344
Καὶ μεθʼ ἕτερα ἐπιλέγει “Τούτων τοίνυν οὕτως ἐχόντων, καὶ πειρωμένου τοῦ Πλάτωνος ἕλκειν τὰς τῶν νέων ψυχὰς ἄνω που πρὸς τὸ θεῖον, καὶ τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον προσοικειοῦντος μὲν τῇ ἀρετῇ καὶ τῷ καλῷ, τῶν δὲ ἄλλων ἁπάντων ἀναπείθοντος ὑπερφρονεῖν, φράσον ἡμῖν, ὠ Περιπατητικὲ, πῶς ἐκδιδάξεις ταῦτα; πῶς ὁδηγήσεις ἐπʼ αὐτὰ τοὺς φιλοπλάτωνας;
Kai methʼ hetera epilegei “Toutōn toinyn houtōs echontōn, kai peirōmenou tou Platōnos helkein tas tōn neōn psychas anō pou pros to theion, kai touton ton tropon prosoikeiountos men tę̄ aretę̄ kai tǭ kalǭ, tōn de allōn hapantōn anapeithontos hyperphronein, phrason hēmin, ō Peripatētike, pōs ekdidaxeis tauta? pōs hodēgēseis epʼ auta tous philoplatōnas?
And after other things he adds: “This being so, and Plato trying to draw the souls of the young upward somewhere to the divine, and in this way to make them at home with virtue and the noble, persuading them to despise all else, tell us, Peripatetic, how will you teach these things? How will you lead the lovers of Plato to them?
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus challenges the Peripatetic to lead souls upward as Plato does.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (quotation mark lost in the digital text): ἐπιλέγει Τούτων → ἐπιλέγει “Τούτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.6 (Dindorf 2:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.7Dindorf 2:344
ποῦ σοι τῆς αἱρέσεως τοσοῦτον ὕψος λόγων ὥστε τὸ τῶν Ἀλωαδῶν φρόνημα κτήσασθαι καὶ τὴν εἰς οὐρανὸν ὁδὸν ζητεῖν, ἣν ἐκεῖνοι μὲν ᾤοντο ὀρῶν ἀναθέσει δύνασθαι γίνεσθαι, τὸ δʼ ἄρʼ ἦν ἀφαιρέσει τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σπουδασμάτων γινόμενον, ὥς φησι Πλάτων;
pou soi tēs haireseōs tosouton hypsos logōn hōste to tōn Alōadōn phronēma ktēsasthai kai tēn eis ouranon hodon zētein, hēn ekeinoi men ǭonto orōn anathesei dynasthai ginesthai, to dʼ arʼ ēn aphairesei tōn anthrōpinōn spoudasmatōn ginomenon, hōs phēsi Platōn?
Where in your school is such a height of words as to gain the spirit of the Aloadae and seek the road to heaven, which they thought could be made by piling up mountains, but which in fact comes about by the removal of human pursuits, as Plato says?
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle offers no ascent to heaven like Plato’s.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Odyssey 11.305–320; compare Plato, Theaetetus 176a–b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): Πλάτωνʼ → Πλάτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Od. 11.305–320 (Homer, Odyssey; allusion); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.7 (Dindorf 2:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.8Dindorf 2:344
τίς οὖν ἡ παρὰ σοῦ πρὸς ταῦτα τοῖς νέοις βοήθεια; καὶ πόθεν τις ὁ τῆς ἀρετῆς συναγωνιστὴς λόγος; ἐκ ποίων γραμμάτων Ἀριστοτέλους; τίνος τῶν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ; ἐκ ποίων γραφῶν; δίδωμι γάρ σοι κἂν ψεύδεσθαι θέλῃς, μόνον τι νεανικόν. ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὔτʼ ἔχεις εἰπεῖν οὔτʼ ἂν ἐπιτρέψαι σοι τῶν ἡγεμόνων τῆς αἱρέσεως οὐδείς.
tis oun hē para sou pros tauta tois neois boētheia? kai pothen tis ho tēs aretēs synagōnistēs logos? ek poiōn grammatōn Aristotelous? tinos tōn apʼ autou? ek poiōn graphōn? didōmi gar soi kan pseudesthai thelę̄s, monon ti neanikon. alla gar outʼ echeis eipein outʼ an epitrepsai soi tōn hēgemonōn tēs haireseōs oudeis.
What help, then, have you for the young toward these things? And from where is the argument that fights alongside virtue? From what writings of Aristotle? Of which of his followers? From what books? For I grant you even to lie if you like, provided it is something vigorous. But you have nothing to say, nor would any of the leaders of the school allow you.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s school offers nothing to help the young toward virtue.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): ἑ κʼ ποίων → ἐκ ποίων.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.8 (Dindorf 2:344; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.9Dindorf 2:344–345
αἶ γοῦν Ἀριστοτέλους περὶ ταῦτα πραγματεῖαι, Εὐδήμειοί τε καὶ Νικομάχειοι καὶ Μεγάλων Ἠθικῶν ἐπιγραφόμεναι, μικρόν τι καὶ ταπεινὸν καὶ δημῶδες περὶ τῆς ἀρετῆς φρονοῦσι, καὶ τοσοῦτον ὅσον ἄν τις καὶ ἰδιώτης καὶ ἀπαίδευτος καὶ μειράκιον καὶ γυνή. τὸ μὲν γὰρ διάδημα, ὡς εἰπεῖν, καὶ τὸ σκῆπτρον τὸ βασιλικὸν, ὃ παρὰ τοῦ Δῖός ἔχει λαβοῦσα ἀναφαίρετον ἡ ἀρετὴ, ἐπεὶ οὐ παλινάγρετον‚ ὅττι κεν οὗτος τῇ κεφαλῇ ἐπινεύσῃ·) τοῦτο αὐτὴν ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τολμῶσιν.
ai goun Aristotelous peri tauta pragmateiai, Eudēmeioi te kai Nikomacheioi kai Megalōn Ēthikōn epigraphomenai, mikron ti kai tapeinon kai dēmōdes peri tēs aretēs phronousi, kai tosouton hoson an tis kai idiōtēs kai apaideutos kai meirakion kai gynē. to men gar diadēma, hōs eipein, kai to skēptron to basilikon, ho para tou Dios echei labousa anaphaireton hē aretē, epei ou palinagreton‚ hotti ken houtos tę̄ kephalę̄ epineusę̄;) touto autēn aphaireisthai tolmōsin.
Aristotle’s treatises on these matters, at any rate, entitled Eudemian and Nicomachean and Great Ethics, think something small and lowly and vulgar about virtue, and only as much as an ordinary person, uneducated, a youth, or a woman might think. For the diadem, so to speak, and the royal scepter, which virtue received from Zeus as something that cannot be taken away (‘for it is not revocable, whatever he nods to with his head’), this they dare to take away from her.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s ethics rob virtue of its royal self-sufficiency.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Iliad 1.526–527.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀναφαί- ρετον → ἀναφαίρετον.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 1.526–527 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Aristotle (Aristotle (works); allusion); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.9 (Dindorf 2:344–345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.10Dindorf 2:345
οὐ γὰρ ἐπιτρέπουσιν αὐτὴν ποιεῖν εὐδαίμονας, ὁμοίαν δὲ αὐτὴν καθιστᾶσι πλούτῳ καὶ δόξῃ καὶ γένει καὶ ὑγιείᾳ καὶ κάλλει‚ καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα κοινὰ τῆς κακίας. ὡς γὰρ τούτων ὁτιοῦν παρὸν χωρὶς ἀρετῆς οὐκ αὔταρκες εὐδαίμονα τὸν κεκτημένον ἀποφῆναι‚ καὶ ἡ ἀρετὴ κατὰ ταὐτὰ χωρὶς τούτων οὐχ ἱκανὴ ποιῆσαι τὸν ἔχοντʼ αὐτὴν εὐδαίμονα.
ou gar epitrepousin autēn poiein eudaimonas, homoian de autēn kathistasi ploutǭ kai doxę̄ kai genei kai hygieią kai kallei‚ kai hosa alla koina tēs kakias. hōs gar toutōn hotioun paron chōris aretēs ouk autarkes eudaimona ton kektēmenon apophēnai‚ kai hē aretē kata tauta chōris toutōn ouch hikanē poiēsai ton echontʼ autēn eudaimona.
For they do not allow it to make people happy, but make it like wealth and fame and birth and health and beauty and all other things shared with vice. For as none of these, being present without virtue, is sufficient to make its possessor happy, so likewise virtue without these is not sufficient to make the one who has it happy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle puts virtue on a level with wealth and beauty.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; repeated syllables in the digital text): ἐπιτρέπουσιν τρέπουσιν → ἐπιτρέπουσιν; εὐδαί- μονα → εὐδαίμονα.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.10 (Dindorf 2:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.11Dindorf 2:345
πῶς οὖν οὐ καθῄρηται καὶ καταβέβληται τὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀξίωμα; ναί· ἀλλὰ πολὺ τῶν ἄλλων ἀγαθῶν ὑπερέχειν τὴν ἀρετὴν λέγουσι. τί δὴ τοῦτο; καὶ γὰρ τὴν ὑγίειαν τοῦ πλούτου· ἀλλὰ τό γε χωρὶς ἀλλήλων μὴ ἀρκεῖν πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν πᾶσι κοινόν.
pōs oun ou kathę̄rētai kai katabeblētai to tēs aretēs axiōma? nai; alla poly tōn allōn agathōn hyperechein tēn aretēn legousi. ti dē touto? kai gar tēn hygieian tou ploutou; alla to ge chōris allēlōn mē arkein pros eudaimonian pasi koinon.
How, then, has the dignity of virtue not been brought down and thrown down? Yes, they say, but virtue far exceeds the other goods. What of that? So does health exceed wealth; but not sufficing for happiness apart from one another is common to all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Saying virtue exceeds other goods does not restore its sufficiency.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τοὺτο → τοῦτο.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.11 (Dindorf 2:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.12Dindorf 2:345
ὁπόταν οὑν τις ἐκ τούτων τῶν δογμάτων καὶ ταύτης τῆς αἱρέσεως διδάξειε τὸν ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ψυχῇ τὸ πᾶν ἀνθρώπινον ἀγαθὸν ζητοῦντα, εὐδαίμονά φησιν ἐπὶ τροχὸν οὐκ ἀναβαίνειν, οὐδὲ ὁ ταῖς Πριαμικαῖς τύχαις συνεχόμενος δύναιτʼ ἂν εὐδαίμων καὶ μακάριος εἷναι.
hopotan houn tis ek toutōn tōn dogmatōn kai tautēs tēs haireseōs didaxeie ton en autę̄ tę̄ psychę̄ to pan anthrōpinon agathon zētounta, eudaimona phēsin epi trochon ouk anabainein, oude ho tais Priamikais tychais synechomenos dynaitʼ an eudaimōn kai makarios heinai.
Whenever, then, someone from these doctrines and this school teaches one who seeks the whole human good in the soul itself, he says that a happy man does not go up on the wheel, nor could one caught in the fortunes of Priam be happy and blessed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle denies that the tortured or Priam could be happy.
- Atticus, fragment 2; compare Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 1.10.14; 7.13.3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): δο- γμάτων → δογμάτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.12 (Dindorf 2:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.13Dindorf 2:345
τὸν δὲ τὴν ἀρετὴν ἔχοντα τοιούτοις τισὶ περιπεσεῖν οὐκ ἀπεικός. τούτοις δὲ ἕπεται τὸ μήτε ἀκολουθεῖν ἐκ παντὸς τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν τοῖς τὴν ἀρετὴν ἔχουσι μήτʼ, εἰ γένοιτο, παραμένειν ἀεί. Φύλλα τὰ μέν τʼ ἄνεμος χαμάδις χέει, ἄλλα δέ θʼ ὕλη τηλεθόωσα φύει· ὣς ἀνδρῶν γενεὴ ἡ μὲν φύει, ἡ δʼ ἀπολήγει.
ton de tēn aretēn echonta toioutois tisi peripesein ouk apeikos. toutois de hepetai to mēte akolouthein ek pantos tēn eudaimonian tois tēn aretēn echousi mētʼ, ei genoito, paramenein aei. Phylla ta men tʼ anemos chamadis cheei, alla de thʼ hylē tēlethoōsa phyei; hōs andrōn geneē hē men phyei, hē dʼ apolēgei.
And it is not unlikely that one who has virtue falls into such things. It follows from these that happiness does not in every way follow those who have virtue, nor, if it comes, remain always. ‘Leaves the wind scatters on the ground, and the flourishing wood puts forth others; so the generation of men, one grows, another ceases.’
Notes and citation
Summary: For Aristotle happiness comes and goes like leaves.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Iliad 6.147–149.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ἀπολήγει.· → ἀπολήγει..
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 6.147–149 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.13 (Dindorf 2:345; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.14Dindorf 2:345–346
ἔτι σοι τὸ παράδειγμα μικρὸν καὶ ἄτολμον ὦ ποιητά· ἔαρος δʼ ἐπιγίνεται ὥρη. πολὺς ὁ μεταξὺ χρόνος καὶ ᾧ μὴ γίνεται. εἰ θέλεις ἀκριβῶς τὸ ἐπίκηρον καὶ σαθρὸν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης γενεὰς ἀπεικάσαι‚ παράβαλλε τὴν Ἀριστοτέλους εὐδαιμονίαν. ῥᾷον τῶν φύλλων αὕτη καὶ φύεται καὶ ἀπολείπει‚ οὐκ ἀναμένουσα περιτελλόμενον τὸν ἐνιαυτὸν‚ οὐδʼ αὐτοετεὶ, οὐδʼ αὐτομηνὶ, ἀλλʼ αὐτῆς ἡμέρας, αὐτῆς ὥρας καὶ γίνεται καὶ ἀπόλλυται.
eti soi to paradeigma mikron kai atolmon ō poiēta; earos dʼ epiginetai hōrē. polys ho metaxy chronos kai hǭ mē ginetai. ei theleis akribōs to epikēron kai sathron tēs anthrōpinēs geneas apeikasai‚ paraballe tēn Aristotelous eudaimonian. rhąon tōn phyllōn hautē kai phyetai kai apoleipei‚ ouk anamenousa peritellomenon ton eniauton‚ oudʼ autoetei, oudʼ automēni, allʼ autēs hēmeras, autēs hōras kai ginetai kai apollytai.
Your example is still small and timid, poet: ‘and the season of spring comes on.’ The time between is long, and in it nothing grows. If you want to compare exactly the perishable and rotten state of the human race, set beside it Aristotle’s happiness. This grows and fails more easily than leaves, not waiting for the year to come round, not within the year, not within the month, but on the same day, in the same hour, comes and perishes.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s happiness is even more fleeting than leaves.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Iliad 6.148.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip and stray mark in the digital text): παράβαλλε τὴ ’Αριστοτέλους → παράβαλλε τὴν Ἀριστοτέλους.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 6.148 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.14 (Dindorf 2:345–346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.15Dindorf 2:346
πολλὰ δὲ τὰ ἀπολλύντα, καὶ πάντα ἐκ τῆς τύχης. καὶ γὰρ αἶ τοῦ σώματος κῆρες‚ μυρίαι δὲ αὗται, καὶ πενία καὶ ἀτιμία‚ καὶ ὅσα τοιαῦτα· καὶ πρὸς οὐδὲν αὐταρκεῖ τὰ τῆς φίλης ἀρετῆς πρὸς βοήθειαν οὐχ ἱκανά· τὴν μὲν γὰρ κακοδαιμονίαν εἴργειν, τὴν δὲ εὐδαιμονίαν διασώζειν ἀσθενής.
polla de ta apollynta, kai panta ek tēs tychēs. kai gar ai tou sōmatos kēres‚ myriai de hautai, kai penia kai atimia‚ kai hosa toiauta; kai pros ouden autarkei ta tēs philēs aretēs pros boētheian ouch hikana; tēn men gar kakodaimonian eirgein, tēn de eudaimonian diasōzein asthenēs.
Many are the things that destroy it, and all from fortune: for the afflictions of the body, and these are countless, and poverty and dishonor and the like; and against nothing are the resources of dear virtue sufficient for help; for it is too weak to keep off unhappiness or preserve happiness.
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Notes and citation
Summary: For Aristotle virtue cannot protect happiness from fortune.
- Atticus, fragment 2. The words “and against nothing … sufficient” are partly corrupt; translated by sense.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.15 (Dindorf 2:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.16Dindorf 2:346
τούτοις οὑν τις ἐντραφεὶς, καὶ τούτοις ἀρεσκόμενος τοῖς λόγοις, τίνα τρόπον ἢ αὐτὸς συνᾴσεται τοῖς Πλάτωνος‚ ἢ ἄλλους πρὸς αὐτὰ ἐπιρρώσει ποτέ; οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ὅπως ἄν τις ἐκ τούτων ὁρμώμενος παραδέξαιτο τὰ Ἡράκλεια καὶ θεῖα ἐκεῖνα δόγματα, ὡς ἰσχυρόν τι καὶ πάγκαλον χρῆμα ἀρετὴ, καὶ οὔτε ποτε ἐνδέουσα πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν οὔτε ποτὲ αὐτῆς ἀφαιρουμένη‚ ἀλλὰ κἂν πενία, κἂν νόσος, κἂν ἀδοξία, κἂν βάσανοι, κἂν πίττα καὶ σταυρὸς, κἂν τὰ ἐκ τῆς τραγῳδίας ἅμα πάντα ἐπιρρυῇ‚ ἔτι ὁ δίκαιος εὐδαίμων καὶ μακάριος.
toutois houn tis entrapheis, kai toutois areskomenos tois logois, tina tropon ē autos synąsetai tois Platōnos‚ ē allous pros auta epirrōsei pote? ou gar estin hopōs an tis ek toutōn hormōmenos paradexaito ta Hērakleia kai theia ekeina dogmata, hōs ischyron ti kai pankalon chrēma aretē, kai oute pote endeousa pros eudaimonian oute pote autēs aphairoumenē‚ alla kan penia, kan nosos, kan adoxia, kan basanoi, kan pitta kai stauros, kan ta ek tēs tragǭdias hama panta epirryę̄‚ eti ho dikaios eudaimōn kai makarios.
One brought up on these and pleased with these arguments, then, how will he ever agree with Plato’s, or strengthen others toward them? For there is no way that one setting out from these could accept those Herculean and divine doctrines, that virtue is a strong and all-noble thing, never lacking for happiness nor ever deprived of it; but even if poverty, if disease, if disgrace, if tortures, if pitch and the cross, if all the evils of tragedy flood in together, still the just man is happy and blessed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato teaches that the just man is happy even under torture and the cross.
- Atticus, fragment 2; compare Plato, Republic 2.361e–362a; Gorgias 473c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐπιρ- ρυῇ → ἐπιρρυῇ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 361e–362a (Plato (works); allusion); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.16 (Dindorf 2:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.17Dindorf 2:346
ὑπὸ κήρυκι γοῦν αὐτῷ τῷ μεγαλοφωνοτάτῳ κηρύττει, καθάπερ ἀθλητήν τινα νικηφόρον‚ τὸν δικαιότατον, ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν εὐδαιμονέστατος‚ ὁ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς δικαιοσύνης τὸν καρπὸν τῆς εὐδαιμονίας δρεπόμενος. διαίρει τοίνυν, εἰ βούλει, καὶ ποίκιλλε τριχῆ καὶ τετραχῆ καὶ πολλαχῆ τὰ ἀγαθὰ διαστελλόμενος· οὐδὲν γὰρ ταῦτα πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον. οὐ δή ποθʼ ἡμὰς διʼ αὐτῶν προσάξεις τῷ Πλάτωνι.
hypo kēryki goun autǭ tǭ megalophōnotatǭ kēryttei, kathaper athlētēn tina nikēphoron‚ ton dikaiotaton, hoti houtos estin eudaimonestatos‚ ho ex autēs tēs dikaiosynēs ton karpon tēs eudaimonias drepomenos. diairei toinyn, ei boulei, kai poikille trichē kai tetrachē kai pollachē ta agatha diastellomenos; ouden gar tauta pros to prokeimenon. ou dē pothʼ hēmas diʼ autōn prosaxeis tǭ Platōni.
With the loudest herald he proclaims, like a victorious athlete, the most just man, that he is the happiest, he who plucks the fruit of happiness from justice itself. Divide, then, if you like, and embroider, distinguishing goods into three and four and many kinds; for this is nothing to the purpose. You will never bring us to Plato through them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato proclaims the just man happiest; Aristotle’s divisions of goods are irrelevant.
- Atticus, fragment 2; compare Plato, Republic 9.580b–c.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip): δικατοσύνης → δικαιοσύνης.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Resp. 580b–c (Plato (works); allusion); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.17 (Dindorf 2:346; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.18Dindorf 2:346–347
τί γὰρ εἰ τῶν ἀγαθῶν‚ ὡς φῄς‚ τὰ μὲν τίμια‚ καθάπερ οἱ θεοὶ‚ τὰ δὲ ἐπαινετὰ, ὧς αἶ ἀρεταὶ‚ τὰ δὲ δυνάμεις, ὡς πλοῦτος καὶ ἰσχὺς, τὰ δὲ ὠφέλιμα, ὡς αἶ θεραπεῖαι; τί δʼ, εἰ ταῦτα ἐλάττονι διαιρέσει διαστελλόμενος λέγοις τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὰ μὲν εἶναι τέλη, τὰ δὲ οὐ τέλη; τέλη μὲν ὀνομάζων ὧν χάριν τὰ ἄλλα‚ οὐ τέλη δὲ τὰ τῶν ἄλλων ἕνεκα λαμβανόμενα.
ti gar ei tōn agathōn‚ hōs phę̄s‚ ta men timia‚ kathaper hoi theoi‚ ta de epaineta, hōs ai aretai‚ ta de dynameis, hōs ploutos kai ischys, ta de ōphelima, hōs ai therapeiai? ti dʼ, ei tauta elattoni diairesei diastellomenos legois tōn agathōn ta men einai telē, ta de ou telē? telē men onomazōn hōn charin ta alla‚ ou telē de ta tōn allōn heneka lambanomena.
For what if of goods, as you say, some are honored, like the gods, others praiseworthy, like the virtues, others powers, like wealth and strength, others beneficial, like treatments? What if, distinguishing them by a smaller division, you say that some goods are ends and others not ends, calling ends those for whose sake the others exist, and not ends those taken for the sake of others?
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s classifications of goods do not touch Plato’s point.
- Atticus, fragment 2; compare [Aristotle], Magna Moralia 1.2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀγα- θῶν → ἀγαθῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.18 (Dindorf 2:346–347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.19Dindorf 2:347
τί δʼ, εἰ μάθοι τις ὅτι τὰ μὲν ἁπλῶς ἀγαθὰ, τὰ δὲ οὐ πᾶσιν; ἢ ὅτι τὰ μὲν ψυχῆς ἀγαθὰ, τὰ δὲ σώματος, τὰ δʼ ἐκτός; ἢ πάλιν ὅτι τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὰ μὲν δυνάμεις, τὰ δὲ διαθέσεις καὶ ἕξεις, ἄλλα δὲ ἐνέργειαι, τὰ δὲ τέλη, τὰ δὲ ὕλαι, τὰ δὲ ὄργανα, κἂν τὰς δέκα κατηγορίας παρὰ σοῦ μάθῃ τις δεκαχῆ διανέμειν τἀγαθὸν, τί ταῦτα πρὸς τὴν Πλάτωνος γνώμην τὰ διδάγματα;
ti dʼ, ei mathoi tis hoti ta men haplōs agatha, ta de ou pasin? ē hoti ta men psychēs agatha, ta de sōmatos, ta dʼ ektos? ē palin hoti tōn agathōn ta men dynameis, ta de diatheseis kai hexeis, alla de energeiai, ta de telē, ta de hylai, ta de organa, kan tas deka katēgorias para sou mathę̄ tis dekachē dianemein tagathon, ti tauta pros tēn Platōnos gnōmēn ta didagmata?
What if one should learn that some are good absolutely and others not for all? Or that some are goods of the soul, others of the body, others external? Or again that of goods some are powers, others dispositions and states, others activities, others ends, others materials, others instruments? Even if one learns from you to divide the good tenfold by the ten categories, what have these teachings to do with Plato’s view?
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the ten categories do not bring Aristotle to Plato.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated syllable in the digital text; stray stop in the digital text): οὐ πᾶσιν; σιν; ἢ → οὐ πᾶσιν; ἢ; ὄργανα,. κἂν → ὄργανα, κἂν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.19 (Dindorf 2:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.20Dindorf 2:347
ἕως οὗ γὰρ σὺ μὲν εἴτε ὁμωνύμως εἴτε ὅπως βούλει λαλῶν ἀγαθὰ τὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἄλλʼ ἄττα πρὸς τὴν εὐδαιμονίαν ὡς ἀναγκαῖα παραλαμβάνεις, τὸ ἱκανὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀφαιρούμενος, Πλάτων δʼ ἐκ περιουσίας περὶ τῶν ἄλλων ζητεῖ τὸ ἔκπλεον εἰς εὐδαιμονίαν ἀπʼ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀρετῆς ἔχων, οὐδὲν ἂν ὑμῖν εἴη κατὰ τοῦτο κοινόν· ἄλλων σοι δεῖ λόγων, ἄλλων τοῖς τοῦ Πλάτωνος.
heōs hou gar sy men eite homōnymōs eite hopōs boulei lalōn agatha ta tēs aretēs allʼ atta pros tēn eudaimonian hōs anankaia paralambaneis, to hikanon tēs aretēs aphairoumenos, Platōn dʼ ek periousias peri tōn allōn zētei to ekpleon eis eudaimonian apʼ autēs tēs aretēs echōn, ouden an hymin eiē kata touto koinon; allōn soi dei logōn, allōn tois tou Platōnos.
For as long as you, speaking of goods equivocally or however you like, take in certain things other than those of virtue as necessary for happiness, taking away the sufficiency of virtue, while Plato inquires about the others as a bonus, having from virtue itself abundance for happiness, there could be nothing in common between you on this point; you need other arguments, and Plato’s followers others.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since Aristotle denies virtue’s sufficiency, he and Plato have nothing in common here.
- Atticus, fragment 2.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR slip; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ἴως οὗ γὰρ → ἕως οὗ γὰρ; Πλά- τωνος → Πλάτωνος; Πλάτωνʼ → Πλάτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.20 (Dindorf 2:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.4.21Dindorf 2:347
ὡς γὰρ οὐκ ἔστι λέουσι καὶ ἀνδράσιν ὅρκια πιστὰ‚ οὐδὲ λύκοι τε καὶ ἄρνες ὁμόφρονα θυμὸν ἔχουσιν‚ οὕτως οὐκ ἔστι Πλάτωνι καὶ Ἀριστοτέλει φιλία περὶ τοῦ κορυφαιοτάτου καὶ κυριωτάτου τῆς εὐδαιμονίας δόγματος. διαμπερὲς γὰρ, εἰ μὴ κακὰ φρονέουσιν ἀλλήλοις, τά γε ὑπεναντία περὶ τῶν εἰς τοῦτο διαφερόντων φαίνονται λέγοντες.”
hōs gar ouk esti leousi kai andrasin horkia pista‚ oude lykoi te kai arnes homophrona thymon echousin‚ houtōs ouk esti Platōni kai Aristotelei philia peri tou koryphaiotatou kai kyriōtatou tēs eudaimonias dogmatos. diamperes gar, ei mē kaka phroneousin allēlois, ta ge hypenantia peri tōn eis touto diapherontōn phainontai legontes.”
For as ‘there are no faithful oaths between lions and men, nor do wolves and lambs have a like mind,’ so there is no friendship between Plato and Aristotle concerning the chief and most sovereign doctrine of happiness. For throughout, if they do not think evil of one another, they are seen at least to say opposite things about what bears on this.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato and Aristotle are as opposed as lions and men on happiness.
- Atticus, fragment 2; Homer, Iliad 22.262–263.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; capital letter in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text): Κορυφαιοτάτου → κορυφαιοτάτου; λἐγοντες → λέγοντες; δια- φερόντων → διαφερόντων.
Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 22.262–263 (Homer, Iliad; quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.4.21 (Dindorf 2:347; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-4-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 15, chapter 5
15.5.1Dindorf 2:347–348
Πάλιν Μώσεως καὶ τῶν παρʼ Ἑβραίοις προφητῶν, οὐ μὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ Πλάτωνος ἐν τούτοις συμφώνως, τὸν περὶ τῆς τῶν ὅλων προνοίας λόγον εὐκρινῶς διατεθειμένων, ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης μέχρι σελήνης στήσας τὸ θεῖον τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη περιγράφει τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ διοικήσεως· ἐφʼ οἷς καὶ ἀπελέγχεται πρὸς τοῦ δηλωθέντος‚ ὧδέ πη διεξιόντος
Palin Mōseōs kai tōn parʼ Hebraiois prophētōn, ou mēn alla kai Platōnos en toutois symphōnōs, ton peri tēs tōn holōn pronoias logon eukrinōs diatetheimenōn, ho Aristotelēs mechri selēnēs stēsas to theion ta loipa tou kosmou merē perigraphei tēs tou theou dioikēseōs; ephʼ hois kai apelenchetai pros tou dēlōthentos‚ hōde pē diexiontos
Again, though Moses and the prophets among the Hebrews, and Plato too in agreement with them, have set out clearly the account of providence over the universe, Aristotle, stopping the divine at the moon, excludes the other parts of the world from God’s government. For this he is refuted by the writer mentioned, who goes through it somewhat thus:
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle limits providence to the region above the moon; Atticus refutes him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text): Πἀλιν → Πάλιν; δια- τεθειμένων → διατεθειμένων.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.1 (Dindorf 2:347–348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.2Dindorf 2:348
“Ὄντος δʼ ἔτι μεγίστου καὶ κυριωτάτου τῶν εἰς εὐδαιμονίαν συντελούντων τοῦ περὶ τῆς προνοίας πείσματος‚ ὃ δὴ καὶ μάλιστα τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βίον ὀρθοῖ, εἴ γε μὴ μέλλομεν ἀγνοεῖν πότερον δίκᾳ τεῖχος ὕψιον ἢ σκολιαῖς ἀπάταις ἀναβαίνει ἐπιχθονίων γένος ἀνδρῶν· ὁ μὲν Πλάτων εἰς θεὸν καὶ ἐκ θεοῦ πάντα ἀνάπτει. φησὶ γὰρ αὐτὸν ἀρχήν τε καὶ μέσα καὶ τελευτὴν τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ἔχοντα εὐθείᾳ περαίνειν περιπορευόμενον. καὶ αὖ πάλιν φησὶν αὐτὸν ἀγαθὸν εἶναι, ἀγαθῷ δὲ μηδένα φθόνον ἐγγίγνεσθαι περὶ μηδενός. τούτου δὲ ἐκτὸς ὄντα πάντα ὅτι μάλιστα ἀγαθὰ ποιεῖν, εἰς τάξιν ἄγοντα ἐκ τῆς ἀταξίας. πάντων δὲ ἐπιμελούμενον καὶ πάντα κατὰ δύναμιν κοσμοῦντα πεφροντικέναι καὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.”
“Ontos dʼ eti megistou kai kyriōtatou tōn eis eudaimonian syntelountōn tou peri tēs pronoias peismatos‚ ho dē kai malista ton anthrōpinon bion orthoi, ei ge mē mellomen agnoein poteron diką teichos hypsion ē skoliais apatais anabainei epichthoniōn genos andrōn; ho men Platōn eis theon kai ek theou panta anaptei. phēsi gar auton archēn te kai mesa kai teleutēn tōn ontōn hapantōn echonta eutheią perainein periporeuomenon. kai au palin phēsin auton agathon einai, agathǭ de mēdena phthonon engignesthai peri mēdenos. toutou de ektos onta panta hoti malista agatha poiein, eis taxin agonta ek tēs ataxias. pantōn de epimeloumenon kai panta kata dynamin kosmounta pephrontikenai kai tōn anthrōpōn.”
“Since the most important and sovereign of the things contributing to happiness is the conviction about providence, which most of all sets human life right, if we are not to be ignorant whether ‘by justice the race of men on earth climbs the higher wall, or by crooked deceits,’ Plato attaches all things to God and derives them from God. For he says that he, holding the beginning and middle and end of all things, accomplishes them going straight round. And again he says that he is good, and in the good no envy ever arises about anything. Being free of this, he makes all things as good as possible, bringing them into order from disorder; and caring for all things and ordering all things as far as possible, he has taken thought for men as well.”
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus: Plato attaches all things to God, who is good and cares for men.
- Atticus, fragment 3 (des Places); Pindar, fragment 213; Plato, Laws 4.715e–716a; Timaeus 29e–30a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): “Ὅντος ὄντος δʼ → “Ὄντος δʼ; περιπορευ- όμενον → περιπορευόμενον; Πλάτωνʼ → Πλάτων.
Extrabiblical texts: Pindar, fr. 213 (Pindar (odes and fragments); quotation); Plato, Leg. 715e–716a (Plato (works); quotation); Plato, Tim. 29e–30a (Plato (works); quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.2 (Dindorf 2:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.3Dindorf 2:348
Καὶ μετὰ βραχέα “Καὶ ὁ μὲν Πλάτωνʼ οὕτως. ὁ δὲ τὴν δαιμονίαν ταύτην φύσιν ἐκποδὼν ποιούμενος, καὶ τήν γε εἰσαῦθις ἐλπίδα τῆς ψυχῆς ἀποτέμνων, τήν τε ἐν τῷ παρόντι πρὸς τῶν κρειττόνων εὐλάβειαν ἀφαιρούμενος, τίνα πρὸς Πλάτωνα ἔχει κοινωνίαν; ἢ πῶς ἂν ἐφʼ ἃ βούλεται Πλάτων παρακαλέσαι καὶ πιστώσαιτο τὰ εἰρημένα;
Kai meta brachea “Kai ho men Platōnʼ houtōs. ho de tēn daimonian tautēn physin ekpodōn poioumenos, kai tēn ge eisauthis elpida tēs psychēs apotemnōn, tēn te en tǭ paronti pros tōn kreittonōn eulabeian aphairoumenos, tina pros Platōna echei koinōnian? ē pōs an ephʼ ha bouletai Platōn parakalesai kai pistōsaito ta eirēmena?
And a little after: “And Plato thus. But he who removes this daimonic nature out of the way, and cuts off the soul’s hope of hereafter, and takes away reverence in the present toward the higher beings, what fellowship does he have with Plato? Or how could he urge to what Plato wishes and confirm what was said?
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle, denying providence and the soul’s hope, has nothing in common with Plato.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (quotation mark lost in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): βραχέα Καὶ ὁ μὲν → βραχέα “Καὶ ὁ μὲν; ι Πλάτωνʼ π → ι Πλάτων π.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.3 (Dindorf 2:348; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.4Dindorf 2:348–349
πᾶν γὰρ τοὐναντίον συνεργὸς ἂν οὗτός γε καὶ συναγωνιστὴς τῶν ἐθελόντων ἀδικεῖν φανείη. πᾶς γάρ τις ἄνθρωπος ὢν καὶ ταῖς ἀνθρωπίναις ὀρέξεσι κατεσχημένος, ἂν καταφρονήσῃ τῶν θεῶν καὶ μηδὲν νομίσῃ πρὸς αὑτὸν, ἅτε πόρρω μὲν αὐτῶν ἀπῳκισμένος ἐν τῷ ζῆν, ἀποθανὼν δὲ οὐδὲ ἔτι ὢν, ἕτοιμος ἂν ἔλθοι πρὸς τὸ χαρίζεσθαι ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις.
pan gar tounantion synergos an houtos ge kai synagōnistēs tōn ethelontōn adikein phaneiē. pas gar tis anthrōpos ōn kai tais anthrōpinais orexesi kateschēmenos, an kataphronēsę̄ tōn theōn kai mēden nomisę̄ pros hauton, hate porrō men autōn apǭkismenos en tǭ zēn, apothanōn de oude eti ōn, hetoimos an elthoi pros to charizesthai tais epithymiais.
On the contrary, he would appear a fellow worker and fellow fighter of those who wish to do wrong. For every human being, held by human desires, if he despises the gods and thinks they are nothing to him, as being far removed from them while he lives, and, when dead, no longer existing, would be ready to gratify his desires.
Notes and citation
Summary: Denial of providence encourages wrongdoing.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ὀρέ- ξεσι → ὀρέξεσι.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.4 (Dindorf 2:348–349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.5Dindorf 2:349
πίστιν γὰρ λαβεῖν περὶ τοῦ λαθεῖν ἀδικοῦντα οὐκ ἀδύνατον, ἄν γε ἀνθρώπους δέῃ λανθάνειν· οὐ μὴν ἀναγκαῖον ἐκ παντὸς λαθεῖν ζητεῖν, ὅπου γέ τις τῶν πεφωρακότων κρατεῖν δυνατός ἐστιν. ὥστε ἕτοιμόν τι χρῆμα πρὸς ἀδικίαν ἡ τῆς προνοίας ἀπόγνωσις.
pistin gar labein peri tou lathein adikounta ouk adynaton, an ge anthrōpous deę̄ lanthanein; ou mēn anankaion ek pantos lathein zētein, hopou ge tis tōn pephōrakotōn kratein dynatos estin. hōste hetoimon ti chrēma pros adikian hē tēs pronoias apognōsis.
For it is not impossible to gain assurance of escaping notice in doing wrong, if it is men one must escape; and it is not even necessary to seek by all means to escape notice, where one is able to overpower those who have detected him. So despair of providence is a ready thing for injustice.
Notes and citation
Summary: Without providence only men need be evaded, and the powerful need not even hide.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.5 (Dindorf 2:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.6Dindorf 2:349
ἐκεῖνος μὲν γὰρ καὶ πάνυ χρηστός ἐστιν, ὅστις τὴν ἡδονὴν ἡμῖν προτείνας ὡς ἀγαθὸν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ θεῶν ἄδειαν παρασχόμενος, ἔτι μηχανὴν πρὸς τὸ μὴ ἀδικεῖν πορίζειν οἴεται, ὅμοιόν τι ποιῶν ἰατρῷ τὴν μὲν ἔτι ζῶντος τοῦ κάμνοντος βοήθειαν παρέντι, μετὰ θάνατον δὲ πλέκειν τινὰς μηχανὰς πειρωμένῳ πρὸς σωτηρίαν τοῦ τεθνεῶτος.
ekeinos men gar kai pany chrēstos estin, hostis tēn hēdonēn hēmin proteinas hōs agathon, kai tēn ek theōn adeian paraschomenos, eti mēchanēn pros to mē adikein porizein oietai, homoion ti poiōn iatrǭ tēn men eti zōntos tou kamnontos boētheian parenti, meta thanaton de plekein tinas mēchanas peirōmenǭ pros sōtērian tou tethneōtos.
For that man is very good indeed who, holding out pleasure to us as the good and providing freedom from fear of the gods, still thinks he provides a device for not doing wrong, doing something like a physician who neglects help while the patient is alive, and after death tries to weave some devices for the saving of the dead man.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus, offering pleasure and freedom from divine fear, cannot restrain wrongdoing.
- Atticus, fragment 3. The opening is ironic.
Extrabiblical texts: Epicurus (Epicurus (sayings and fragments); allusion); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.6 (Dindorf 2:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.7Dindorf 2:349
παραπλησίως δὲ τούτῳ καὶ ὁ Περιπατητικός. οὐ γὰρ οὕτως ἡ περὶ τὴν ἡδονὴν σπουδὴ ὡς ἡ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον ὅτι κήδοιτο ἀπιστία τὴν ἀδικίαν ἐπιρρώννυσι. τί οὖν, φήσαι τις ἂν, ἐν ταυτῷ τάττεις Ἀριστοτέλην καὶ Ἐπίκουρον; πάνυ μὲν οὖν, ὥς γε πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον.
paraplēsiōs de toutǭ kai ho Peripatētikos. ou gar houtōs hē peri tēn hēdonēn spoudē hōs hē pros to theion hoti kēdoito apistia tēn adikian epirrōnnysi. ti oun, phēsai tis an, en tautǭ tatteis Aristotelēn kai Epikouron? pany men oun, hōs ge pros to prokeimenon.
And the Peripatetic is very like him. For zeal for pleasure does not so strengthen injustice as disbelief that the divine cares. What then, one might say, do you put Aristotle and Epicurus in the same rank? Certainly, as regards the matter in hand.
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus puts Aristotle with Epicurus on providence.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words run together in the digital text): καὶἘπίκουρον → καὶ Ἐπίκουρον.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.7 (Dindorf 2:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.8Dindorf 2:349
τί γὰρ διαφέρει πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἢ τοῦ κόσμου τὸ θεῖον ἐξοικίσασθαι καὶ μηδεμίαν ἡμῖν πρὸς αὐτὸ κοινωνίαν ἀπολιπεῖν, ἢ ἐν κόσμῳ τοὺς θεοὺς καθείρξαντα τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς πραγμάτων ἀποστῆσαι; κατʼ ἴσον γὰρ παρʼ ἀμφοτέροις τὸ ἐκ θεῶν ἀμελὲς εἰς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους, καὶ ἴση τοῖς ἀδικοῦσιν ἡ ἀπὸ τῶν θεῶν ἄδεια· τὸ δὲ ἐκείνων μενόντων κατʼ οὐρανὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς τι χρηστὸν ἀπολαύειν μάλιστα μὲν κοινὸν καὶ ἀλόγων καὶ ἀψύχων, ἤδη δὲ ταύτῃ γε καὶ κατʼ Ἐπίκουρον ὄνησις τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀπὸ θεῶν γίνεται.
ti gar diapherei pros hēmas ē tou kosmou to theion exoikisasthai kai mēdemian hēmin pros auto koinōnian apolipein, ē en kosmǭ tous theous katheirxanta tōn epi gēs pragmatōn apostēsai? katʼ ison gar parʼ amphoterois to ek theōn ameles eis tous anthrōpous, kai isē tois adikousin hē apo tōn theōn adeia; to de ekeinōn menontōn katʼ ouranon kai hēmas ti chrēston apolauein malista men koinon kai alogōn kai apsychōn, ēdē de tautę̄ ge kai katʼ Epikouron onēsis tois anthrōpois apo theōn ginetai.
For what difference does it make to us whether one banishes the divine from the world and leaves us no fellowship with it, or shuts the gods up in the world and removes them from affairs on earth? For with both alike there is the gods’ neglect of men, and equal for the wrongdoers is the impunity from the gods. That while they remain in heaven we too enjoy some good is common above all to irrational and soulless things; and in this way, even according to Epicurus, benefit comes to men from the gods.
Notes and citation
Summary: Excluding the gods from the world and confining them to heaven come to the same.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stop lost in the digital text): ἄδεια τὸ δὲ → ἄδεια· τὸ δὲ.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.8 (Dindorf 2:349; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.9Dindorf 2:349–350
τὰς γοῦν βελτίονας ἀπορροίας αὐτῶν φασι τοῖς μετασχοῦσι μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν παραιτίας γίνεσθαι. ἀλλʼ οὔτε τοῦτον οὔτε ἐκεῖνον δίκαιον ἐν προνοίας ἀριθμεῖσθαι λόγῳ. εἴπερ γὰρ καὶ κατʼ Ἐπίκουρον τὸ τῆς προνοίας οἴχεται, καίτοι τῶν θεῶν κατʼ αὐτὸν πᾶσαν κηδεμονίαν ὑπὲρ τῆς σωτηρίας τῶν οἰκείων ἀγαθῶν εἰσφερομένων, οὕτως ἂν οἴχοιτο καὶ κατʼ Ἀριστοτέλην τὸ τῆς προνοίας, εἰ καὶ τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἐν τάξει τινὶ καὶ κόσμῳ διοικεῖται.
tas goun beltionas aporroias autōn phasi tois metaschousi megalōn agathōn paraitias ginesthai. allʼ oute touton oute ekeinon dikaion en pronoias arithmeisthai logǭ. eiper gar kai katʼ Epikouron to tēs pronoias oichetai, kaitoi tōn theōn katʼ auton pasan kēdemonian hyper tēs sōtērias tōn oikeiōn agathōn eispheromenōn, houtōs an oichoito kai katʼ Aristotelēn to tēs pronoias, ei kai ta katʼ ouranon en taxei tini kai kosmǭ dioikeitai.
They say, at least, that their better emanations become joint causes of great goods for those who share in them. But it is not right to count either this one or that one in the account of providence. For if according to Epicurus providence is gone, although according to him the gods bring all care to the preservation of their own goods, so also according to Aristotle providence would be gone, even if the things in heaven are governed in some order and arrangement.
Notes and citation
Summary: Neither Epicurus nor Aristotle can be counted as teaching providence.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (elision mark lost in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; words run together in the digital text): παραι- τίας → παραιτίας; οὕτετοῦτονοὔτε → οὔτε τοῦτον οὔτε; τὰ κατ οὐρανὸν → τὰ κατʼ οὐρανὸν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.9 (Dindorf 2:349–350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.10Dindorf 2:350
πρόνοιαν γὰρ ζητοῦμεν ἡμῖν διαφέρουσαν, ἧς οὐ μέτεστι τῷ μήτε δαίμονας μήτε ἥρωας μήτε ὅλως ἐπιδιαμένειν δύνασθαι τὰς ψυχὰς συγκεχωρηκότι.
pronoian gar zētoumen hēmin diapherousan, hēs ou metesti tǭ mēte daimonas mēte hērōas mēte holōs epidiamenein dynasthai tas psychas synkechōrēkoti.
For we seek a providence that concerns us, in which he has no share who has allowed neither daimones nor heroes nor that souls can survive at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: Providence that concerns us requires surviving souls and higher beings.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.10 (Dindorf 2:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.11Dindorf 2:350
ἐκεῖνο δʼ ἐμοὶ κριτῇ καὶ αἰσχυντηλότερον ὁ Ἐπίκουρος δοκεῖ πεποιηκέναι· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀπογνοὺς δύνασθαι τοὺς θεοὺς ἀποσχέσθαι τῆς ἀνθρώπων κηδεμονίας εἰς ταυτὸν ἐλθόντας αὐτοῖς καθάπερ εἰς ἀλλοδαπὴν ἀπῴκισε καὶ ἔξω που τοῦ κόσμου καθίδρυσε, τὸ ἀπάνθρωπον αὐτῶν τῇ ἀποστάσει καὶ τῇ πρὸς ἅπαντʼ ἀκοινωνίᾳ παραιτούμενος.
ekeino dʼ emoi kritę̄ kai aischyntēloteron ho Epikouros dokei pepoiēkenai; hōsper gar apognous dynasthai tous theous aposchesthai tēs anthrōpōn kēdemonias eis tauton elthontas autois kathaper eis allodapēn apǭkise kai exō pou tou kosmou kathidryse, to apanthrōpon autōn tę̄ apostasei kai tę̄ pros hapantʼ akoinōnią paraitoumenos.
That, in my judgment, Epicurus seems to have done more modestly; for as if despairing that the gods, if they came together with men, could refrain from caring for them, he removed them as into a foreign land and settled them somewhere outside the world, excusing their inhumanity by their withdrawal and lack of fellowship with everything.
Notes and citation
Summary: Epicurus at least removed the gods from the world to excuse their indifference.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.11 (Dindorf 2:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.12Dindorf 2:350
ὁ δὲ περιττὸς ἡμῖν οὑτος τῆς φύσεως εὑρετὴς καὶ τῶν θείων πραγμάτων ἐπιγνώμων ἀκριβὴς ὑπʼ αὐτὴν τὴν ὄψιν τῶν θεῶν τὰ ἀνθρώπινα πράγματα ὑποθεὶς εἴασεν ἀτημέλητα καὶ ἀφρόντιστα, φύσει καὶ οὐ θεοῦ λογισμῷ διοικούμενα. ὅθεν εἰκότως ἂν καὶ αὐτὸς οὐδʼ ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἔγκλημα ἐκφύγοι, ὃ κατʼ Ἐπικούρου τινες μαντεύονται, ὡς ἄρα μὴ κατὰ γνώμην, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸ πρὸς ἀνθρώπων δέος τοῖς θεοῖς κατένειμεν ἐν τῷ παντὶ χώραν ὥσπερ ἐν θεάτρῳ θέαν.
ho de perittos hēmin houtos tēs physeōs heuretēs kai tōn theiōn pragmatōn epignōmōn akribēs hypʼ autēn tēn opsin tōn theōn ta anthrōpina pragmata hypotheis eiasen atēmelēta kai aphrontista, physei kai ou theou logismǭ dioikoumena. hothen eikotōs an kai autos oudʼ ekeino to enklēma ekphygoi, ho katʼ Epikourou tines manteuontai, hōs ara mē kata gnōmēn, alla dia to pros anthrōpōn deos tois theois kateneimen en tǭ panti chōran hōsper en theatrǭ thean.
But this extraordinary discoverer of nature of ours and exact judge of divine things, placing human affairs under the very eyes of the gods, left them unattended and uncared for, governed by nature and not by God’s reason. Hence he too would reasonably not escape the charge some divine against Epicurus, that it was not by conviction but through fear of men that he assigned the gods a place in the universe, like a seat in a theater.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle left human affairs under the gods’ eyes yet uncared for, perhaps admitting gods only from fear.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; words run together in the digital text): εὑρετὴςκαὶ → εὑρετὴς καὶ; κατʼ Ἐπικουρου → κατʼ Ἐπικούρου; μὴ κάτα γνώμην → μὴ κατὰ γνώμην; κατέ- νειμεν → κατένειμεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.12 (Dindorf 2:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.13Dindorf 2:350
τεκμήριον δὲ ποιοῦνται τῆς γνώμης τἀνδρὸς, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἀφεῖλε τὴν πρὸς ἡμὰς ἐνέργειαν, ἐξ ἧς μόνης τὸ εἶναι τοὺς θεοὺς ἔμελλε τὴν δικαίαν πίστιν ἕξειν. τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτο καὶ Ἀριστοτέλης ποιεῖ. ἀποστήσας γὰρ καὶ παραδοὺς ὄψει μόνῃ τὴν πίστιν πραγματείᾳ κρίνειν ἀσθενεῖ τὰ ἐκ τοσοῦδε διαστήματος τάχʼ ἂν αἰδοῖ δοκοίη λέγειν ἐνταῦθα εἶναι θεούς.
tekmērion de poiountai tēs gnōmēs tandros, hoti autōn apheile tēn pros hēmas energeian, ex hēs monēs to einai tous theous emelle tēn dikaian pistin hexein. to gar auto touto kai Aristotelēs poiei. apostēsas gar kai paradous opsei monę̄ tēn pistin pragmateią krinein asthenei ta ek tosoude diastēmatos tachʼ an aidoi dokoiē legein entautha einai theous.
They take as evidence of the man’s view that he took away their activity toward us, from which alone the existence of the gods would have had just credence. For Aristotle does this very thing. For having removed them and handed over belief to sight alone, a faculty weak to judge things at such a distance, he might seem to say out of shame that there are gods there.
Notes and citation
Summary: Like Epicurus, Aristotle removed the gods’ activity toward us and left them only to sight.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong comma in the digital text): τἀνδρὸς‚ ὅτι → τἀνδρὸς, ὅτι.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.13 (Dindorf 2:350; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.5.14Dindorf 2:350–351
οὐ γὰρ ἀπολιπὼν ἔξω τι τοῦ κόσμου‚ ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ τοῖς ἐπὶ γῆς προσαγαγὼν τοὺς θεοὺς, ἀνάγκην ἔσχεν ἢ παντάπασιν ἄθεος εἶναι ὁμολογεῖν‚ ἢ τὴν τοῦ δοκεῖν ἀπολιπεῖν θεοὺς δόξαν ἀνασώζειν‚ ἐνταῦθά που τοὺς θεοὺς ἀποικίσας. ὁ δὲ τὴν τῶν κρειττόνων ἀκρίβειαν παραιτησάμενος τῇ ἀμιξίᾳ ἔοικεν εὐσχημόνως ἀπιστεῖν τοῖς θεοῖς.” Ταῦτα ὁ Ἀττικὸς πρὸς Ἀριστοτέλην χρεοκοποῦντα τὸν περὶ προνοίας λόγον. ὁ δʼ αὐτὸς ἔτι καὶ ταῦτα τοῖς εἰρημένοις προστίθησι‚ πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν ἀποτεινόμενος μὴ βουλόμενον γεννητὸν εἶναι τὸν κόσμον.
ou gar apolipōn exō ti tou kosmou‚ allʼ oude tois epi gēs prosagagōn tous theous, anankēn eschen ē pantapasin atheos einai homologein‚ ē tēn tou dokein apolipein theous doxan anasōzein‚ entautha pou tous theous apoikisas. ho de tēn tōn kreittonōn akribeian paraitēsamenos tę̄ amixią eoiken euschēmonōs apistein tois theois.” Tauta ho Attikos pros Aristotelēn chreokopounta ton peri pronoias logon. ho dʼ autos eti kai tauta tois eirēmenois prostithēsi‚ pros ton auton apoteinomenos mē boulomenon gennēton einai ton kosmon.
For not leaving anything outside the world, nor bringing the gods near to things on earth, he was compelled either to admit that he was altogether an atheist or, to preserve the appearance of not having abandoned the gods, to settle the gods somewhere there. But Epicurus, by excusing the higher beings from strict care through their separation, seems to disbelieve in the gods decently.” So Atticus against Aristotle, who cheats the account of providence. And the same adds this too to what has been said, addressing the same man, who would not have the world to be generated:
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s gods are a decent cover for unbelief; Eusebius introduces Atticus on the creation of the world.
- Atticus, fragment 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀπο- λιπεῖν → ἀπολιπεῖν; ἀπι- στεῖν → ἀπιστεῖν; ἀποτει- νόμενος → ἀποτεινόμενος.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.5.14 (Dindorf 2:350–351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-5-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
Preparation 15, chapter 6
15.6.1Dindorf 2:351
Πάλιν Μώσεως γεννητὸν εἶναι τὸν κόσμον ὁρισαμένου‚ ποιητήν τε καὶ δημιουργὸν τοῖς ὅλοις τὸν θεὸν ἐπιστήσαντος‚ τοῦ τε Πλάτωνος τὰ ἴσα Μωσεῖ φιλοσοφοῦντος‚ τὴν ἐναντίαν κἀν τούτῳ ὁ Ἀριστοτέλης ὁδεύσας ἀπελέγχεται πρὸς τοῦ δηλωθέντος συγγραφέως‚ ὧδε πρὸς ῥῆμα γράφοντος
Palin Mōseōs gennēton einai ton kosmon horisamenou‚ poiētēn te kai dēmiourgon tois holois ton theon epistēsantos‚ tou te Platōnos ta isa Mōsei philosophountos‚ tēn enantian kan toutǭ ho Aristotelēs hodeusas apelenchetai pros tou dēlōthentos syngrapheōs‚ hōde pros rhēma graphontos
Again, while Moses determined that the world came into being, and set God over the universe as Maker and Creator, and Plato taught the same as Moses, Aristotle, taking the opposite road in this too, is refuted by the writer mentioned, who writes thus word for word:
Notes and citation
Summary: Against Moses and Plato, Aristotle held the world uncreated; Atticus refutes him.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; stray mark and broken word in the digital text): δημιουρ· γὸν → δημιουργὸν; τοὐ τε Πλάτωνος → τοῦ τε Πλάτωνος; δηλωθέν- τος → δηλωθέντος.
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.1 (Dindorf 2:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.2Dindorf 2:351
“ Πρῶτον δὴ περὶ γενέσεως κόσμου σκοπῶν, καὶ τὸ τῆς προνοίας τὸ μέγα τοῦτο καὶ πολυωφελὲς δόγμα πάντα ζητεῖν ἀναγκαῖον ἡγούμενος, καὶ λογισάμενος ὅτι τῷ μὴ γενομένῳ οὔτε τινὸς ποιητοῦ οὔτε τινὸς κηδεμόνος πρὸς τὸ γενέσθαι καλῶς χρεία, ἵνα μὴ ἀποστερήσῃ τὸν κόσμον τῆς προνοίας ἀφεῖλε τὸ ἀγέννητον αὐτοῦ.
“ Prōton dē peri geneseōs kosmou skopōn, kai to tēs pronoias to mega touto kai polyōpheles dogma panta zētein anankaion hēgoumenos, kai logisamenos hoti tǭ mē genomenǭ oute tinos poiētou oute tinos kēdemonos pros to genesthai kalōs chreia, hina mē aposterēsę̄ ton kosmon tēs pronoias apheile to agennēton autou.
“First, then, examining the origin of the world, and considering it necessary to seek every means to secure this great and most beneficial doctrine of providence, and reckoning that what did not come into being has no need of any maker or any guardian to come into being well, so as not to deprive the world of providence he took away its being ungenerated.
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus: Plato made the world generated so as not to deprive it of providence.
- Atticus, fragment 4 (des Places).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): λογι- σάμενος → λογισάμενος.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.2 (Dindorf 2:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.3Dindorf 2:351
παραιτούμεθα δὲ νῦν μὴ ἐμποδὼν ἡμῖν τοὺς ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς ἑστίας εἶναι‚ οἶς ἀρέσκει καὶ κατὰ Πλάτωνα τὸν κόσμον ἀγέννητον εἶναι. δίκαιοι γάρ εἰσιν ἡμῖν συγγνώμην νέμειν‚ εἰ περὶ τῶν δοκούντων Πλάτωνι πιστεύομεν οἷς αὐτὸς Ἕλλην ὢν Ἕλληνας ἡμᾶς σαφεῖ τε καὶ τρανῷ τῷ στόματι διείλεκται.
paraitoumetha de nyn mē empodōn hēmin tous apo tēs autēs hestias einai‚ ois areskei kai kata Platōna ton kosmon agennēton einai. dikaioi gar eisin hēmin syngnōmēn nemein‚ ei peri tōn dokountōn Platōni pisteuomen hois autos Hellēn ōn Hellēnas hēmas saphei te kai tranǭ tǭ stomati dieilektai.
We ask now that those from the same hearth not stand in our way, who hold that according to Plato too the world is ungenerated. For they ought in fairness to pardon us if, about Plato’s views, we believe what he himself, a Greek speaking to us Greeks, has said with clear and distinct mouth.
Notes and citation
Summary: Atticus rejects Platonists who read Plato as teaching an uncreated world.
- Atticus, fragment 4. He means Platonists such as Taurus who read the Timaeus figuratively.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (words run together and accent slip in the digital text): σαφεῖτε καὶ τρανῶ τῷ → σαφεῖ τε καὶ τρανῷ τῷ.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.3 (Dindorf 2:351; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.4Dindorf 2:351–352
“παραλαβὼν γὰρ, φησὶν, ὁ θεὸς πᾶν ὅσον ἦν ὁρατὸν‚ οὐχ ἡσυχίαν ἄγον‚ πλημμελῶς δὲ καὶ ἀτάκτως κινούμενον‚ εἰς τάξιν ἦγεν ἐκ τῆς ἀταξίας, ἡγησάμενος τοῦτο ἐκείνου πάντως ἄμεινον. ἔτι δὲ καὶ μᾶλλον ὅτι μὴ διʼ αἰνιγμάτων‚ μηδʼ ἐπὶ τοῦ σαφοῦς χρείᾳ τὴν γένεσιν παρεδέξατο, δηλοῖ διʼ ὧν ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῷ τῶν πάντων διείλεκται περὶ τούτου μετὰ τὴν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργίαν.
“paralabōn gar, phēsin, ho theos pan hoson ēn horaton‚ ouch hēsychian agon‚ plēmmelōs de kai ataktōs kinoumenon‚ eis taxin ēgen ek tēs ataxias, hēgēsamenos touto ekeinou pantōs ameinon. eti de kai mallon hoti mē diʼ ainigmatōn‚ mēdʼ epi tou saphous chreią tēn genesin paredexato, dēloi diʼ hōn ho patēr autǭ tōn pantōn dieilektai peri toutou meta tēn tōn holōn dēmiourgian.
“For God,” he says, “taking over all that was visible, which was not at rest but moving discordantly and without order, brought it into order from disorder, thinking this in every way better than that.” And still more, that he did not accept generation in riddles or for the sake of clarity, he shows by what the Father of all says to him about this after the making of the universe.
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s Timaeus plainly says God brought the world into order, and so teaches its generation.
- Atticus, fragment 4; Plato, Timaeus 30a.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; wrong comma and lost quotation mark in the digital text): παραλαβὼν γὰρ ‚ φησὶν → “παραλαβὼν γὰρ, φησὶν; διʼ ὦν ὁ πατὴρ → διʼ ὧν ὁ πατὴρ.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 30a (Plato (works); quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.4 (Dindorf 2:351–352; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.5Dindorf 2:352
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ, φησὶ, γεγένησθε‚ (λέγει δὲ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς) ἀθάνατοι μὲν οὐκ ἐστὲ οὐδʼ ἄλυτοι τὸ πάμπαν, οὔτι μὴν δὴ λυθήσεσθε τῆς ἐμῆς βουλήσεως τυχόντες.
epeidē gar, phēsi, gegenēsthe‚ (legei de pros tous theous) athanatoi men ouk este oudʼ alytoi to pampan, outi mēn dē lythēsesthe tēs emēs boulēseōs tychontes.
“For since you have come into being,” he says (he speaks to the gods), “you are not immortal nor wholly indissoluble, yet you shall not be dissolved, having obtained my will.”
Notes and citation
Summary: The Creator tells the generated gods they endure only by his will.
- Atticus, fragment 4; Plato, Timaeus 41b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word broken in the digital text): οὐκ ἐστὲ οὐ δʼ ἄλυτοι → οὐκ ἐστὲ οὐδʼ ἄλυτοι.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 41b (Plato (works); quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.5 (Dindorf 2:352; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.6Dindorf 2:352
ἀλλʼ, ὅπερ ἔφην‚ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἔνδον ἡμῖν ὑποφθεγγομένους, ἅτε φίλους ὄντας, φιλίως τε καὶ μεθʼ ἡσυχίας πραέσιν ἐλέγχοις διακριθεῖμεν ἄν. ἔοικε γὰρ καὶ τούτους Ἀριστοτέλης μεταθεῖναι‚ τῇ μὲν κατηγορίᾳ τοῦ δόγματος ἀντισχεῖν ἀδυνατήσαντας‚ τὸ δὲ ἁλῶναι δόξαν ὡς ψεῦδος οὐ βουληθέντας ἀναθεῖναι Πλάτωνι.
allʼ, hoper ephēn‚ pros men tous endon hēmin hypophthengomenous, hate philous ontas, philiōs te kai methʼ hēsychias praesin elenchois diakritheimen an. eoike gar kai toutous Aristotelēs metatheinai‚ tę̄ men katēgorią tou dogmatos antischein adynatēsantas‚ to de halōnai doxan hōs pseudos ou boulēthentas anatheinai Platōni.
But, as I said, with those who speak under their breath among us, being friends, we might settle the matter in a friendly way and quietly by gentle refutations. For Aristotle seems to have changed these too, since they were unable to withstand the accusation against the doctrine, and did not wish to attribute to Plato an opinion shown to be false.
Notes and citation
Summary: Some Platonists, swayed by Aristotle, denied that Plato taught a generated world.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray mark in the digital text): ἐλ· έγχοις → ἐλέγχοις.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.6 (Dindorf 2:352; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.7Dindorf 2:352
κατὰ δὲ τὴν ἡμετέραν ἀκοὴν, ἀξιοῦντος Πλάτωνος τὸν κόσμον γεγονέναι κάλλιστον ἔργον ὑπὸ τοῦ καλλίστου τῶν δημιουργῶν‚ καὶ περιθέντος τῷ τοῦ παντὸς ποιητῇ δύναμιν διʼ ἧς καὶ οὐκ ὄντα πρότερον ἐποίησε τὸν κόσμον‚ καὶ ποιήσας εἰσαεὶ βουλόμενός γε σῶον διαφυλάξει‚ καὶ ταύτῃ δὴ γεννητοῦ καὶ ἀφθάρτου κατʼ αὐτὸν ὑποκειμένου τοῦ κόσμου‚ τίς ἡμῖν τῶν Περιπατητικῶν ταῦτα βεβαιοῖ;”
kata de tēn hēmeteran akoēn, axiountos Platōnos ton kosmon gegonenai kalliston ergon hypo tou kallistou tōn dēmiourgōn‚ kai perithentos tǭ tou pantos poiētę̄ dynamin diʼ hēs kai ouk onta proteron epoiēse ton kosmon‚ kai poiēsas eisaei boulomenos ge sōon diaphylaxei‚ kai tautę̄ dē gennētou kai aphthartou katʼ auton hypokeimenou tou kosmou‚ tis hēmin tōn Peripatētikōn tauta bebaioi?”
But according to what we have heard, since Plato holds that the world came into being, the finest work of the finest of craftsmen, and attributes to the Maker of the universe a power by which he both made the world, which did not exist before, and, having made it, will preserve it safe forever if he wishes, and so the world is supposed by him to be generated and imperishable, which of the Peripatetics confirms this for us?”
Notes and citation
Summary: Plato’s world is generated yet imperishable by God’s will; no Peripatetic supports this.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): γεν- νητοῦ → γεννητοῦ.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.7 (Dindorf 2:352; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.8Dindorf 2:352–353
Δεῖ δὲ παραμυθήσασθαι τὸν συναγωνιστὴν τούτων, ὅτι οὐ πάντως‚ εἰ τι γέγονεν, ἀνάγκη τοῦτο φθαρῆναι, πάλιν δʼ οὐδʼ εἴ τι μὴ φθαρήσεται, τοῦτο ἀναγκαῖον ἀγέννητον εἶναι. οὔτε γὰρ μίαν αἰτίαν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀγεννήτου συγχωρητέον οὔτε τῷ γενομένῳ τὴν εἰς ὄλεθρον μεταβολὴν ἀβοήθητον καταλειπτέον.
Dei de paramythēsasthai ton synagōnistēn toutōn, hoti ou pantōs‚ ei ti gegonen, anankē touto phtharēnai, palin dʼ oudʼ ei ti mē phtharēsetai, touto anankaion agennēton einai. oute gar mian aitian tǭ aphthartǭ tēn ek tou agennētou synchōrēteon oute tǭ genomenǭ tēn eis olethron metabolēn aboēthēton kataleipteon.
“One must encourage the one who fights alongside these views, that it is not at all necessary that if something has come into being it must perish, nor again that if something will not perish it must be ungenerated. For we must not grant that the imperishable has only one cause, that of being ungenerated, nor leave what has come into being helpless against change into destruction.
Notes and citation
Summary: What comes to be need not perish, nor need the imperishable be unborn.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τῷ γενομένω → τῷ γενομένῳ.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.8 (Dindorf 2:352–353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.9Dindorf 2:353
πόθεν οὖν ἐκ τῶν Ἀριστοτέλους λάβωμεν βοήθειαν εἰς ταῦτα, ἀνδρὸς οὐ τηνάλλως οὐδὲ καθʼ αὑτὸν περαίνοντος τὸν περὶ τούτων λόγον, ἀλλʼ ἐξ ὀρθοῦ πρὸς Πλάτωνα ἐναντιουμένου, καὶ τό τε γενόμενον εἰς ἀνάγκην τοῦ ἀπολέσθαι περιιστάντος, τό τε μὴ ἀπολλύμενον ἐκ μόνου τοῦ μὴ γενέσθαι λέγοντος κρατύνεσθαι τὸ ἄφθαρτον, οὐ μὴν οὐδὲ δύναμιν ἀπολείποντος αὐτοῦ περὶ τὸν θεὸν, ᾗ χρώμενος ἀγαθὸν ἂν τι ποιήσαι; ὃ γὰρ οὔπω πρότερον γέγονε, τοῦτο, φησὶν‚ οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο.
pothen oun ek tōn Aristotelous labōmen boētheian eis tauta, andros ou tēnallōs oude kathʼ hauton perainontos ton peri toutōn logon, allʼ ex orthou pros Platōna enantioumenou, kai to te genomenon eis anankēn tou apolesthai periistantos, to te mē apollymenon ek monou tou mē genesthai legontos kratynesthai to aphtharton, ou mēn oude dynamin apoleipontos autou peri ton theon, hę̄ chrōmenos agathon an ti poiēsai? ho gar oupō proteron gegone, touto, phēsin‚ ouk an genoito.
From where in Aristotle’s writings, then, should we take help for this, from a man who does not complete his account of these things casually or by himself, but sets himself directly against Plato, and brings what has come to be under the necessity of perishing, and says that what does not perish has its imperishability secured only by not having come to be, and does not even leave a power to God by which he might make anything good? For what has not come into being before, he says, could not come into being.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle denies God the power to create anything new.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): περιιστάν- τος → περιιστάντος.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.9 (Dindorf 2:353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.10Dindorf 2:353
τοσοῦτον δὲ ἀποδεῖ διὰ τούτων βοηθεῖν τῷ Πλάτωνος λόγῳ ὥστε ἤδη τινὰς καὶ τῶν περὶ Πλάτωνα ἐσπουδακότων φοβήσας, οἷς εἶπεν, ἀπέστησε τοῦ δόγματος, οὐ δυνηθέντας συνιδεῖν ὅτι κατὰ μὲν τὴν αὐτῶν φύσιν τῶν πραγμάτων ἦν ἄνευ θεοῦ βουλήσεως καὶ δυνάμεως ἐπινοῆσαι οὔτε τὸ γενόμενον ἄφθαρτον οὔτε τὸ μὴ φθαρησάμενον γεννητὸν ὄν.
tosouton de apodei dia toutōn boēthein tǭ Platōnos logǭ hōste ēdē tinas kai tōn peri Platōna espoudakotōn phobēsas, hois eipen, apestēse tou dogmatos, ou dynēthentas synidein hoti kata men tēn autōn physin tōn pragmatōn ēn aneu theou boulēseōs kai dynameōs epinoēsai oute to genomenon aphtharton oute to mē phtharēsamenon gennēton on.
He is so far from helping Plato’s doctrine by these that he has already frightened some of Plato’s devotees with what he said and turned them away from the doctrine, since they could not see that according to the nature of things themselves, without God’s will and power, it was not possible to conceive either what had come into being as imperishable or what would not perish as generated.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle’s arguments led some Platonists astray; only God’s will makes the generated imperishable.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (repeated word and words run together in the digital text): πραγμάτωνἦν ἦν ἄνευ θεοῦ βουλήσεωςκαὶ → πραγμάτων ἦν ἄνευ θεοῦ βουλήσεως καὶ.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.10 (Dindorf 2:353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.11Dindorf 2:353
ὅταν δὲ τὴν ἀρίστην τις αἰτίαν ἐπιστήσῃ τὴν ἐκ θεοῦ, δεῖ ταύτην ἡγεμόνα τῶν πάντων λαβόντα μηδὲν αὐτὴν τῶν ἄλλων αἰτίαν ἀποφαίνειν χείρονα. γελοῖον γὰρ διότι μὲν γέγονέ τι, διὰ τοῦτο φθαρῆναι, εἰ δὲ ὁ θεὸς βούλεται, μὴ φθαρῆναι, καὶ διότι μέν τι ἀγέννητόν ἐστιν ἔχειν ἰσχὺν τοῦ μὴ φθαρῆναι, τὴν δὲ παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ βούλησιν ἐνδεῖν πρὸς τὸ ἄφθαρτον τηρῆσαί τι τῶν γενομένων.
hotan de tēn aristēn tis aitian epistēsę̄ tēn ek theou, dei tautēn hēgemona tōn pantōn labonta mēden autēn tōn allōn aitian apophainein cheirona. geloion gar dioti men gegone ti, dia touto phtharēnai, ei de ho theos bouletai, mē phtharēnai, kai dioti men ti agennēton estin echein ischyn tou mē phtharēnai, tēn de para tou theou boulēsin endein pros to aphtharton tērēsai ti tōn genomenōn.
But when one sets the best cause, that from God, he must take it as leader of all things and show it no worse than any of the other causes. For it is ridiculous that because something has come into being it should perish, even if God wills that it not perish; and that because something is ungenerated it should have the strength not to perish, while the will of God should fall short of keeping imperishable anything that has come into being.
Notes and citation
Summary: It is absurd to make God’s will weaker than the mere fact of being unborn.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.11 (Dindorf 2:353; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.12Dindorf 2:353–354
καὶ ὁ μὲν οἰκοδόμος ἱκανὸς οὐκ οὖσαν οἰκίαν κατασκευάσασθαι, ἱκανὸς δέ τις καὶ ἀνδριάντα μὴ ὄντα πρότερον ποιῆσαι‚ καὶ ναῦν ἄλλος ἐξ ὕλης ἀργοῦ τεκτηνάμενος παρέσχε τοῖς δεομένοις‚ καὶ τῶν ἄλλων τεχνιτῶν ἕκαστος‚ ὅσοι γε τὰς ποιητικὰς μετίασι τέχνας, δύναμιν ταύτην ἔχουσιν‚ ὥς τι τῶν οὐκ ὄντων ἄγειν εἰς οὐσίαν, ὁ δὲ παμβασιλεὺς καὶ ἀριστοτέχνης οὐδʼ ὅσον ἀνθρωπίνου τεχνίτου δυνάμεως μεθέξει, ἄμοιρος δʼ ἡμῖν πάσης ἔσται γενέσεως; οὔκ, ἐάν γε καὶ κατὰ βραχὺ θείας αἰτίας ἐπιλογισμὸν οἰοί τε ὦμεν λαβεῖν.
kai ho men oikodomos hikanos ouk ousan oikian kataskeuasasthai, hikanos de tis kai andrianta mē onta proteron poiēsai‚ kai naun allos ex hylēs argou tektēnamenos paresche tois deomenois‚ kai tōn allōn technitōn hekastos‚ hosoi ge tas poiētikas metiasi technas, dynamin tautēn echousin‚ hōs ti tōn ouk ontōn agein eis ousian, ho de pambasileus kai aristotechnēs oudʼ hoson anthrōpinou technitou dynameōs methexei, amoiros dʼ hēmin pasēs estai geneseōs? ouk, ean ge kai kata brachy theias aitias epilogismon oioi te ōmen labein.
And the builder is able to construct a house that did not exist, and someone is able to make a statue that did not exist before, and another, having fashioned a ship out of idle material, provides it to those who need it; and each of the other craftsmen, all who practice the productive arts, have this power of bringing something that does not exist into being. Shall the King of all and best of craftsmen not share even as much power as a human craftsman, and be for us without part in any coming-into-being? No, if we are able to take even a little consideration of divine causation.
Notes and citation
Summary: If human craftsmen can make what did not exist, so can God.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text; repeated word in the digital text): μὴ ὄντα πρότερον ὄντα ποιῆσαι → μὴ ὄντα πρότερον ποιῆσαι; οὒκ, ἐάν → οὔκ, ἐάν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.12 (Dindorf 2:353–354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.13Dindorf 2:354
ἀλλὰ ποιῆσαι μὲν ἱκανὸς καὶ βουληθῆναι τὰ καλὰ, (ἀγαθὸς γὰρ, ἀγαθῷ δὲ οὐδεὶς φθόνος περὶ οὐδενός) τηρῆσαι δὲ καὶ διαφυλάξαι τὰ γενόμενα οὐ δυνατός; καὶ μὴν καὶ οἶ λοιποὶ τεχνῖται πρὸς ἄμφω ἱκανοί. ὁ γοῦν οἰκοδόμος καὶ ὁ ναυπηγὸς οὐ μόνον καινὰς κατασκευάζονται ναῦς καὶ οἰκίας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῖς ὑπὸ χρόνου διαφθειρομέναις ἱκανοὶ βοηθεῖν, ἕτερα τῶν πεπονημένων ἀντικαθιστάντες αὐταῖς·
alla poiēsai men hikanos kai boulēthēnai ta kala, (agathos gar, agathǭ de oudeis phthonos peri oudenos) tērēsai de kai diaphylaxai ta genomena ou dynatos? kai mēn kai oi loipoi technitai pros amphō hikanoi. ho goun oikodomos kai ho naupēgos ou monon kainas kataskeuazontai naus kai oikias, alla kai tais hypo chronou diaphtheiromenais hikanoi boēthein, hetera tōn peponēmenōn antikathistantes autais;
But is he able to make and to will what is good (for he is good, and in the good there is no envy about anything), but unable to keep and preserve what has come into being? And yet the other craftsmen are able to do both. The builder and the shipwright, at any rate, not only construct new ships and houses, but are able to help those damaged by time, putting other worked pieces in their place.
Notes and citation
Summary: God can preserve what he made, as craftsmen repair theirs.
- Atticus, fragment 4; Plato, Timaeus 29e.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 29e (Plato (works); quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.13 (Dindorf 2:354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.14Dindorf 2:354
ὥστε καὶ τῷ θεῷ πάντως τό γε τοσοῦτον συγχωρητέον. ὁ γάρ τις ὅλον ποιῆσαι δυνατὸς‚ τοῦτο πῶς ἂν ἐκ μέρους ἀδύνατος εἴη ποιεῖν; καὶ γενέσθαι τοίνυν τι δεῖ καινὸν, εἴπερ μέλλοι τις ὅλως ποιητὴς, καὶ τὸ καλὸν ἔργον πρὸς ἅπαν διασώζεσθαι· τὸ γὰρ εὖ γενόμενον ἐθέλειν λύειν κακοῦ.
hōste kai tǭ theǭ pantōs to ge tosouton synchōrēteon. ho gar tis holon poiēsai dynatos‚ touto pōs an ek merous adynatos eiē poiein? kai genesthai toinyn ti dei kainon, eiper melloi tis holōs poiētēs, kai to kalon ergon pros hapan diasōzesthai; to gar eu genomenon ethelein lyein kakou.
So this much at least must be granted to God too. For how could one who can make the whole be unable to make it in part? Something new must come into being, then, if one is to be a maker at all, and the fine work must be preserved for all time; for to wish to undo what has come into being well belongs to the wicked.
Notes and citation
Summary: The good Maker both creates and preserves.
- Atticus, fragment 4; Plato, Timaeus 41b.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent slip in the digital text): τὸ γὰρ εὑ γενόμενον → τὸ γὰρ εὖ γενόμενον.
Extrabiblical texts: Plato, Tim. 41b (Plato (works); quotation); Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.14 (Dindorf 2:354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.15Dindorf 2:354
μείζων δὲ ἄλλος εἰς σωτηρίαν τῶν γενομένων δεσμὸς οὐκ ἔστι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ βουλήσεως. ἢ ἀνθρωπίνης μὲν σπουδῆς καὶ βουλήσεως μεταλαβόντα πολλὰ, καὶ ἔθνη καὶ πόλεις καὶ ἔργα, μένει χρόνον ἀμήχανον ὅσον γενόμενα μηκέτʼ ὄντος τοῦ θελήσαντος, τὰ δὲ τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ μετασχόντα γνώμης καὶ διʼ αὐτὸν καὶ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ γενόμενα, ταῦτα δὲ ἄρα παρόντος τοῦ ποιήσαντος οἰχήσεται καὶ οὐ παραμενεῖ;
meizōn de allos eis sōtērian tōn genomenōn desmos ouk esti tēs tou theou boulēseōs. ē anthrōpinēs men spoudēs kai boulēseōs metalabonta polla, kai ethnē kai poleis kai erga, menei chronon amēchanon hoson genomena mēketʼ ontos tou thelēsantos, ta de tēs tou theou metaschonta gnōmēs kai diʼ auton kai hypʼ autou genomena, tauta de ara parontos tou poiēsantos oichēsetai kai ou paramenei?
There is no greater bond for the preservation of what has come into being than the will of God. Or do many things that have received human effort and will, nations and cities and works, remain an immense time after they have come into being when he who willed them no longer exists, while the things that have received God’s purpose and came into being through him and by him will pass away and not remain while their Maker is present?
Notes and citation
Summary: If human works outlast their makers, God’s works endure by his presence.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.15 (Dindorf 2:354; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.16Dindorf 2:354–355
τίνος αἰτίας βιασαμένης τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ γνώμην; πότερον τῆς ἐξ αὐτῶν τῶν γενομένων ἀνάγκης; ἀλλʼ αὐτή γε τῷ προσέσθαι τὸ κοσμηθῆναι τὴν ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ προσωμολόγησεν ἧτταν. ἀλλʼ ἔξωθέν τινος αἰτίας ἀνταγωνιζομένης τῷ θεῷ; ἀλλʼ οὔτʼ ἐστὶν οὔτε ἐν οἷς ἔφθη κρατήσας καὶ κοσμήσας ὁ θεὸς ἔτι ἄξιον ἐν τούτοις αὐτὸν ἐλαττοῦν τινος, εἴ γε μὴ παντάπασι λανθάνομεν ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς περὶ τῆς μεγίστης καὶ θειοτάτης δυνάμεως διαλεγόμενοι.
tinos aitias biasamenēs tēn tou theou gnōmēn? poteron tēs ex autōn tōn genomenōn anankēs? allʼ autē ge tǭ prosesthai to kosmēthēnai tēn ek tou theou prosōmologēsen hēttan. allʼ exōthen tinos aitias antagōnizomenēs tǭ theǭ? allʼ outʼ estin oute en hois ephthē kratēsas kai kosmēsas ho theos eti axion en toutois auton elattoun tinos, ei ge mē pantapasi lanthanomen hēmas autous peri tēs megistēs kai theiotatēs dynameōs dialegomenoi.
By what cause forcing God’s purpose? By the necessity from the things that came into being themselves? But this, by accepting being ordered, has already admitted its defeat by God. Or by some cause from outside contending with God? But there is none, nor is it right, in the things God has already mastered and ordered, to make him inferior to anything, unless we are altogether unaware of ourselves in discussing the greatest and most divine power.
Notes and citation
Summary: Nothing can force God to let his work perish.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (word broken in the digital text): λανθάνο μεν → λανθάνομεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.16 (Dindorf 2:354–355; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
15.6.17Dindorf 2:355
ἀλλὰ γὰρ εἰς τὸν περὶ τῆς ἀληθείας λόγον ἐοίκαμεν ὑπὸ προθυμίας ἐκφέρεσθαι. δῆλον μὲν καὶ ὃ προυθέμεθα, ὡς οὐκ ἂν εἶεν διδάσκαλοι περὶ κόσμου γενέσεως οἱ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν γένεσιν ἀπολιπόντες αὐτῷ.” Καὶ μὴν καὶ περὶ τῆς τῶν σωμάτων πέμπτης οὐσίας, ἣν εἰσηγήσατο Ἀριστοτέλης, ταῦτα παραθετέον
alla gar eis ton peri tēs alētheias logon eoikamen hypo prothymias ekpheresthai. dēlon men kai ho prouthemetha, hōs ouk an eien didaskaloi peri kosmou geneseōs hoi mēde tēn archēn genesin apolipontes autǭ.” Kai mēn kai peri tēs tōn sōmatōn pemptēs ousias, hēn eisēgēsato Aristotelēs, tauta paratheteon
But we seem to be carried away by eagerness into the account of the truth. What we proposed is clear: those who do not even grant the world a beginning of generation could not be teachers about the world’s generation.” And moreover about the fifth substance of bodies, which Aristotle introduced, this must be set out:
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle cannot teach the world’s creation; Eusebius turns to his fifth element.
- Atticus, fragment 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): παραθε- τέον → παραθετέον.
Extrabiblical texts: Atticus (Atticus, Against Those Who Interpret Plato through Aristotle; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 15.6.17 (Dindorf 2:355; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/15-2-1/#p-15-6-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.