Preparation for the Gospel 3.10.1–3.11.51

Eusebius of Caesarea · Preparation for the Gospel · ca. 313–324 · Caesarea · 77 passages

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 3, chapter 10

3.10.1Dindorf 1:125

Ὁ δὴ οὖν ἐκ τούτων ὁρμώμενος ποιητὴς πόθεν, ἢ πῶς, ἢ παρὰ τίνος λαβὼν ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσι τὸν ἐπέκεινα τοῦ κόσμου θεὸν, καὶ τὸν ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης καὶ ἄστρων αὐτοῦ τε οὐρανοῦ καὶ τοῦ σύμπαντος κόσμου δημιουργὸν κατεβάλλετο; ἀσωμάτου δὲ ἡ γνῶσις αὐτῷ πόθεν;

Ho dē oun ek toutōn hormōmenos poiētēs pothen, ē pōs, ē para tinos labōn en tois epesi ton epekeina tou kosmou theon, kai ton hēliou kai selēnēs kai astrōn autou te ouranou kai tou sympantos kosmou dēmiourgon kateballeto? asōmatou de hē gnōsis autǭ pothen?

From where, then, or how, or from whom did the poet who started from these sources receive, and set down in his verses, the God who is beyond the world, the creator of the sun and moon and stars, of heaven itself and the whole universe? Where did he get the knowledge of an incorporeal being?

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius asks where the poet could have learned of a transcendent, incorporeal Creator.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.1 (Dindorf 1:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-1). (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.

3.10.2Dindorf 1:125

ἀλλʼ οὐ τούτων γε οὐδὲν εἰδὼς τυγχάνει· ὁ γάρ τοι τῶν ὅλων δημιουργικὸς νοῦς οὔτʼ ἐκ πλειόνων μερῶν συνέστηκεν οὔτʼ ἂν γένοιτο αὐτοῦ κεφαλὴ οὐρανὸς, οὐ σῶμα πῦρ καὶ ὕδωρ καὶ γαῖα, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ ὄμματα αὐτοῦ ἥλιος καὶ σελήνη. πῶς δʼ ἂν εἶεν ὦμοι καὶ στέρνα καὶ νῶτα καὶ νηδὺς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργοῦ θεοῦ ἀὴρ εὐρυβίης καὶ γῆ καὶ ὀρέων αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα; ἢ πῶς ὁ αἰθὴρ νοῦς ποτʼ ἂν ἐπινοηθείη τοῦ τῶν ὅλων ποιητοῦ, ἢ τοῦ νοῦ τοῦ δημιουργικοῦ;

allʼ ou toutōn ge ouden eidōs tynchanei; ho gar toi tōn holōn dēmiourgikos nous outʼ ek pleionōn merōn synestēken outʼ an genoito autou kephalē ouranos, ou sōma pyr kai hydōr kai gaia, allʼ oude ommata autou hēlios kai selēnē. pōs dʼ an eien ōmoi kai sterna kai nōta kai nēdys tou tōn holōn dēmiourgou theou aēr eurybiēs kai gē kai oreōn aipeina karēna? ē pōs ho aithēr nous potʼ an epinoētheiē tou tōn holōn poiētou, ē tou nou tou dēmiourgikou?

But in fact he knew none of these things. For the creative mind of the universe is not composed of many parts, nor could heaven be its head, nor fire, water, and earth its body, nor the sun and moon its eyes. How could the wide-ruling air, the earth, and the lofty peaks of the mountains be the shoulders, chest, back, and belly of God the creator of all things? Or how could the ether ever be conceived as the mind of the maker of the universe, or of the creative mind?

Notes and citation

Summary: The creative mind has no parts, so the hymn's body of Zeus cannot describe it.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): εἶδὼς → εἰδὼς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.2 (Dindorf 1:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.3Dindorf 1:125

ὅτι μὲν οὖν ταῦτα σεσόφισται τῷ τῶν ἐπῶν ἑρμηνεῖ οὐδὲν ἐπιλέγειν χρή. ἔγωγε μὴν τὰ ἔσχατα ἀσεβεῖν φημι τὸν φάσκοντα μέρη εἶναι τοῦ θεοῦ τὰ μέρη τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον τὸν ἀποφηνάμενον τὸν αὐτὸν εἶναι τῷ κόσμῳ τὸν θεὸν, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν ἡγούμενον τοῦ κόσμου νοῦν εἶναι τὸν τῶν ὅλων δημιουργόν.

hoti men oun tauta sesophistai tǭ tōn epōn hermēnei ouden epilegein chrē. egōge mēn ta eschata asebein phēmi ton phaskonta merē einai tou theou ta merē tou kosmou, kai eti mallon ton apophēnamenon ton auton einai tǭ kosmǭ ton theon, kai epi toutois ton hēgoumenon tou kosmou noun einai ton tōn holōn dēmiourgon.

That these things have been sophistically contrived by the interpreter of the verses, there is no need to add. But I say that the one who says that the parts of the world are parts of God commits the utmost impiety, and still more the one who declares God to be the same as the world, and besides these the one who thinks the mind of the world is the creator of the universe.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius calls it impious to identify God or his parts with the world.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.3 (Dindorf 1:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.4Dindorf 1:125

ποιητὴν μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸν καὶ σωτῆρα τοῦ κόσμου ἕτερον ὄντα τοῦ πεποιημένου εὐσεβὲς ἀποφαίνειν, νοῦν δὲ τοῦ κόσμου, ὥσπερ τινὸς ζῴου ψυχὴν, ἡνωμένον διόλου καὶ τὸ πᾶν ἠμφιεσμένον, οὐκέθʼ ὅσιον ἂν εἴη λέγειν.

poiētēn men gar auton kai sōtēra tou kosmou heteron onta tou pepoiēmenou eusebes apophainein, noun de tou kosmou, hōsper tinos zǭou psychēn, hēnōmenon diolou kai to pan ēmphiesmenon, oukethʼ hosion an eiē legein.

For it is pious to declare him the maker and savior of the world, being other than what he has made; but it would no longer be holy to call him the mind of the world, united throughout with it like the soul of a living creature and clothed with the whole.

Notes and citation

Summary: God is the maker of the world, distinct from it, not its soul.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.4 (Dindorf 1:125; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.5Dindorf 1:125–126

καίτοι παρεῖναι αὐτὸν τῷ παντὶ καὶ προνοεῖν τοῦ κόσμου παιδεύει τὰ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ἱερὰ λόγια, θεολογοῦντα ἐπαξίως καὶ θεοπρεπῶς διʼ ὧν φησιν ‘‘οὐχὶ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν ἐγὼ πληρῶ; λέγει κύριος.” καὶ πάλιν ‘‘ὅτι ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω.” καὶ πάλιν ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ καὶ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν· ” ἀλλʼ οὐχ ὡς ἐν μέρει τοῦ κόσμου, οὐδʼ ὡς ἐν ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ καὶ νοί·.

kaitoi pareinai auton tǭ panti kai pronoein tou kosmou paideuei ta kathʼ hēmas hiera logia, theologounta epaxiōs kai theoprepōs diʼ hōn phēsin ‘‘ouchi ton ouranon kai tēn gēn egō plērō? legei kyrios.” kai palin ‘‘hoti ho theos en tǭ ouranǭ anō kai epi tēs gēs katō.” kai palin en autǭ gar kai zōmen kai kinoumetha kai esmen; ” allʼ ouch hōs en merei tou kosmou, oudʼ hōs en psychę̄ autou kai noi;.

And yet our sacred oracles teach that he is present to the whole and exercises providence over the world, speaking of God worthily and as befits God, where it says: "Do I not fill heaven and earth? says the Lord"; and again: "For God is in heaven above and on the earth below"; and again: "For in him we live and move and have our being." But not as in a part of the world, nor as in its soul and mind.

Jer 23:24 (quotation, high confidence) · Deut 4:39 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 17:28 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture teaches God's presence and providence in the world without making him part of it.

Quotations: Jer 23:24; Deut 4:39; Acts 17:28.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): προ- νοεῖν → προνοεῖν.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.5 (Dindorf 1:125–126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.6Dindorf 1:126

ἀλλʼ εἰ χρὴ παραδείγματι χρήσασθαι, θεοπρεπέστερον καὶ ἀληθείας οἰκείως ὁ ἱερός που λόγος ἐξεφώνησεν ‟ὁ οὐρανός μοι θρόνος (εἰπὼν), ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου. ”

allʼ ei chrē paradeigmati chrēsasthai, theoprepesteron kai alētheias oikeiōs ho hieros pou logos exephōnēsen ‟ho ouranos moi thronos (eipōn), hē de gē hypopodion tōn podōn mou. ”

But if we must use an illustration, the sacred word has spoken more worthily of God and more fittingly to the truth, saying: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth the footstool of my feet."

Isa 66:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture calls heaven God's throne and earth his footstool.

Quotation: Isa 66:1.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.6 (Dindorf 1:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.7Dindorf 1:126

εἰ γὰρ χρῆν ὅλως προσωποποιεῖν ἀνθρωπινωτέρῳ λόγῳ, θέα τὸ διάφορον τῆς θεολογίας. ὁ μὲν γὰρ τὸν οὐρανὸν εἰπὼν θρόνον ἐπέκεινα τοῦ θρόνου καὶ ἀνωτάτω τῶν ὅλων τὸν παμβασιλέα θεὸν ἀφωρίσατο, οὐδὲ τὴν γῆν τῆς προνοίας αὐτοῦ χωρίσας· συγκατιέναι γὰρ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ τῇδε τῆς θεότητος τὰς προνοητικὰς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεις διδάσκει· διό φησιν ‟ἡ δὲ γῆ ὑποπόδιον τῶν ποδῶν μου.’’

ei gar chrēn holōs prosōpopoiein anthrōpinōterǭ logǭ, thea to diaphoron tēs theologias. ho men gar ton ouranon eipōn thronon epekeina tou thronou kai anōtatō tōn holōn ton pambasilea theon aphōrisato, oude tēn gēn tēs pronoias autou chōrisas; synkatienai gar kai epi ta tę̄de tēs theotētos tas pronoētikas autou dynameis didaskei; dio phēsin ‟hē de gē hypopodion tōn podōn mou.’’

For if one must personify at all in more human language, see the difference in the theology. The one who called heaven a throne set God, the universal King, beyond the throne and above all things, without separating the earth from his providence; for he teaches that the provident powers of his Godhead come down also to things here. Therefore he says: "and the earth the footstool of my feet."

Isa 66:1 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture sets God above the world while extending his providence to earth.

Quotation: Isa 66:1.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): τῖς προνοίας → τῆς προνοίας.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.7 (Dindorf 1:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.8Dindorf 1:126

ἀλλʼ οὔτε τὸ ὑποπόδιον οὔτε μὴν ὁ θρόνος σῶμα τοῦ καθιδρυμένου, οὐδέ γε μέρη ποτʼ ἂν αὐτοῦ λεχθείη. ὁ δὲ κεφαλὴν τοῦ θεοῦ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὰ ἐν τούτῳ φήσας καὶ νοῦν αὐτοῦ τὸν αἰθέρα, μέλη τε αὐτοῦ καὶ σῶμα τὰ λοιπὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη, οὔτε δημιουργὸν οὔτε θεὸν ἁλίσκεται εἰδώς.

allʼ oute to hypopodion oute mēn ho thronos sōma tou kathidrymenou, oude ge merē potʼ an autou lechtheiē. ho de kephalēn tou theou ton ouranon kai ta en toutǭ phēsas kai noun autou ton aithera, melē te autou kai sōma ta loipa tou kosmou merē, oute dēmiourgon oute theon halisketai eidōs.

But neither the footstool nor the throne is the body of the one seated, nor could they ever be called his parts. But the one who called heaven and the things in it the head of God, the ether his mind, and the other parts of the world his limbs and body, is shown to know neither the creator nor God.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Orphic hymn's description reveals ignorance of the true God.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.8 (Dindorf 1:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.9Dindorf 1:126

οὐ γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν δημιουργοίη, οὐδʼ ἂν ἔτι νοῦς λέγεσθαι δύναιτο οὗ νοῦς ἦν ὁ αἰθήρ. ποῖος δὲ καὶ εἴη ἂν θεὸς οὗ μέρη γῆ καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς ὄρη, ὄγκοι σωμάτων ἄλογοι; πῶς δὲ καὶ εὔλογον θεὸν ἀναγορεύειν τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ συγγενῆ πυρὸς καὶ ἀέρος καὶ ὕδατος, ἀλόγου καὶ φθαρτῆς ὕλης ἐκγόνων;

ou gar an autos heauton dēmiourgoiē, oudʼ an eti nous legesthai dynaito hou nous ēn ho aithēr. poios de kai eiē an theos hou merē gē kai ta epi gēs orē, onkoi sōmatōn alogoi? pōs de kai eulogon theon anagoreuein ton adelphon kai syngenē pyros kai aeros kai hydatos, alogou kai phthartēs hylēs ekgonōn?

For he could not create himself; nor could one whose mind was the ether still be called mind. What kind of god would he be whose parts are the earth and the mountains on the earth, irrational masses of bodies? And how is it reasonable to proclaim as god one who is brother and kin of fire, air, and water, the offspring of irrational and perishable matter?

Notes and citation

Summary: A god made of matter could neither create nor be truly god.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.9 (Dindorf 1:126; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.10Dindorf 1:126–127

εἰ δὲ καὶ ὁ νοῦς τοῦ Δῖός οὐδὲν ἄλλο πλὴν τοῦ δηλωθέντος αἰθέρος ἦν, αἰθὴρ δὲ ἀήρ ἐστιν ὁ ὑψηλότατος καὶ πυρώδης ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴθεσθαι, ὅπερ ἐστὶ καίεσθαι, ταύτην, ὥς φασιν, εἰληχὼς τὴν ἐπωνυμίαν, σώματα δὲ ἄμφω ὅ τε ἀὴρ, ὅ τε αἰθὴρ, ὅρα ποῦ σοι τοῦ Δῖός ὁ νοῦς ἀποπέπτωκε.

ei de kai ho nous tou Dios ouden allo plēn tou dēlōthentos aitheros ēn, aithēr de aēr estin ho hypsēlotatos kai pyrōdēs apo tou aithesthai, hoper esti kaiesthai, tautēn, hōs phasin, eilēchōs tēn epōnymian, sōmata de amphō ho te aēr, ho te aithēr, hora pou soi tou Dios ho nous apopeptōke.

And if the mind of Zeus was nothing other than the ether described, and ether is the highest and fiery air, having received this name, as they say, from aithesthai, that is, to burn, and both air and ether are bodies, see where the mind of your Zeus has fallen.

Notes and citation

Summary: If Zeus's mind is ether, his mind is a body.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.10 (Dindorf 1:126–127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.11Dindorf 1:127

καὶ τίς ἂν ἔτι προσείποι θεὸν τῶν εὖ φρονούντων τοῦτον ᾧ νοῦς ὑπῆρχεν ἄνους καὶ ἄλογος, εἰ δὴ τοιαύτη παντὸς σώματος φύσις; διόπερ ἡμῖν ἐν ταῖς θεολογίαις πάντα τοῖς εἰρημένοις τὰ ἐναντία παραληπτέον, ὅτι τε μὴ οὐρανὸς ὢν τυγχάνει, μήτε αἰθὴρ μήθʼ ἥλιος μήτε σελήνη, μήθʼ ὁ σύμπας τῶν ἄστρων χορὸς μήτʼ αὐτὸς ἀθρόως ὁ πᾶς κόσμος· ἔργα δὲ χειρῶν αὐτοῦ ταῦτα μικρὰ ἔτι καὶ βραχέα, ταῖς ἀσωμάτοις καὶ νοεραῖς δυνάμεσι παραβαλλόμενα· ὅτι δὴ πᾶν σῶμα φθαρτὸν καὶ ἄλογον, τοιαύτη δὲ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἡ φύσις· τὰ δʼ ἐπέκεινα ἐν ἀοράτοις λογικὰ καὶ ἀθάνατα, συνδιαιωνίζοντα τῇ τοῦ παμβασιλέως θεοῦ μακαρίᾳ ζωῇ, μακρῷ γένοιτʼ ἂν τῶν ὁρωμένων ἁπάντων βελτίω.

kai tis an eti proseipoi theon tōn eu phronountōn touton hǭ nous hypērchen anous kai alogos, ei dē toiautē pantos sōmatos physis? dioper hēmin en tais theologiais panta tois eirēmenois ta enantia paralēpteon, hoti te mē ouranos ōn tynchanei, mēte aithēr mēthʼ hēlios mēte selēnē, mēthʼ ho sympas tōn astrōn choros mētʼ autos athroōs ho pas kosmos; erga de cheirōn autou tauta mikra eti kai brachea, tais asōmatois kai noerais dynamesi paraballomena; hoti dē pan sōma phtharton kai alogon, toiautē de tōn horōmenōn hē physis; ta dʼ epekeina en aoratois logika kai athanata, syndiaiōnizonta tę̄ tou pambasileōs theou makarią zōę̄, makrǭ genoitʼ an tōn horōmenōn hapantōn beltiō.

And who among the sensible would still call him a god whose mind was mindless and irrational, if such is the nature of every body? Therefore in our theology we must take everything opposite to what has been said: that God is not heaven, nor ether, nor sun, nor moon, nor the whole choir of the stars, nor the whole world all together; but these are works of his hands, still small and slight when compared with the incorporeal and intellectual powers. For every body is perishable and irrational, and such is the nature of visible things; but the things beyond, among the invisible, are rational and immortal, living through the ages together with the blessed life of God the universal King, and would be far better than all visible things.

Notes and citation

Summary: True theology holds that the heavens and the world are God's works, inferior to the invisible rational powers.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): εὑ φρονούντων → εὖ φρονούντων; ᾡ νοῦς → ᾧ νοῦς; παν- τὸς → παντὸς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.11 (Dindorf 1:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.12Dindorf 1:127

εἰκότως οὖν τὰ θεῖα λόγια περὶ τῶν ὁρωμένων τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν ὧδέ πως παιδεύει ὄψομαι τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, ἔργα τῶν δακτύλων σου, σελήνην καὶ ἀστέρας, ἃ σὺ ἐθεμελίωσας.” καὶ πάλιν σὺ κύριε κατʼ ἀρχὰς τὴν γῆν ἐθεμελίωσας, καὶ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν σου εἰσὶν οἱ οὐρανοί.” καὶ αὖθις ‟ ἀναβλέψατε εἰς ὕψος τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἴδετε τίς κατέδειξε ταῦτα πάντα.”

eikotōs oun ta theia logia peri tōn horōmenōn tou kosmou merōn hōde pōs paideuei opsomai tous ouranous, erga tōn daktylōn sou, selēnēn kai asteras, ha sy ethemeliōsas.” kai palin sy kyrie katʼ archas tēn gēn ethemeliōsas, kai erga tōn cheirōn sou eisin hoi ouranoi.” kai authis ‟ anablepsate eis hypsos tous ophthalmous hymōn, kai idete tis katedeixe tauta panta.”

Rightly, then, the divine oracles teach about the visible parts of the world somewhat as follows: "I shall see the heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and stars, which you have established"; and again: "You, Lord, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the works of your hands"; and again: "Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has shown forth all these things."

Ps 8:3 (8:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 102:25 (101:26 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 40:26 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Scripture calls the heavens the work of God's hands.

Quotations: Ps 8:3 (8:4 LXX); Ps 102:25 (101:26 LXX); Isa 40:26.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.12 (Dindorf 1:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.13Dindorf 1:127

Ταῦτα μὲν οὑν εἰς τὴν πρώτην τῶν ἐπῶν ἑρμηνείαν εἰρήσθω· φέρε δὲ καὶ τὰ ἐξῆς διασκοπήσωμεν. ἐπεὶ μὴ οἷόν τʼ ἦν, φησὶν, εἰκόνα τοιαύτην δημιουργεῖν οἴαν ὁ λόγος ἐμήνυσε, διὰ τοῦτο ἀνθρωπόμορφον τοῦ Δῖός τὸ δείκηλον πεποιήκασιν, ὅτι νοῦς ἦν καθʼ ὃν ἐδημιούργει, καὶ λόγοις σπερματικοῖς ἀπετέλει τὰ πάντα.

Tauta men houn eis tēn prōtēn tōn epōn hermēneian eirēsthō; phere de kai ta exēs diaskopēsōmen. epei mē hoion tʼ ēn, phēsin, eikona toiautēn dēmiourgein oian ho logos emēnyse, dia touto anthrōpomorphon tou Dios to deikēlon pepoiēkasin, hoti nous ēn kathʼ hon edēmiourgei, kai logois spermatikois apetelei ta panta.

Let this be said, then, about the first interpretation of the verses; come, let us examine what follows. Since it was not possible, he says, to make an image such as the account indicated, therefore they made the image of Zeus in human form, because he was mind, by which he created and completed all things by seminal reasons.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius turns to Porphyry's explanation of the human-shaped statue of Zeus.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.13 (Dindorf 1:127; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.14Dindorf 1:127–128

καὶ πῶς εἰ μὴ οἷόν τε ἦν εἰκόνα τοιαύτην ποιεῖν οἵαν ὁ λόγος ἐμήνυσεν, ἐμήνυσε δὲ ἄρα τοῦ φαινομένου καὶ ὁρωμένου κόσμου τὰ μέρη, οὐρανὸν καὶ τὰ ἐν οὐρανῷ, ἀέρα τε καὶ γῆν καὶ τὰ ἐν τούτοις· εἰ δὴ οὑν τῶν ὁρωμένων τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν οὐχ οἷόν τε ἦν εἰκόνα συστήσασθαι, καθὸ νοῦς ἦν ὁ θεὸς, πῶς ἄν τις τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ δημιουργήσειεν;

kai pōs ei mē hoion te ēn eikona toiautēn poiein hoian ho logos emēnysen, emēnyse de ara tou phainomenou kai horōmenou kosmou ta merē, ouranon kai ta en ouranǭ, aera te kai gēn kai ta en toutois; ei dē houn tōn horōmenōn tou kosmou merōn ouch hoion te ēn eikona systēsasthai, katho nous ēn ho theos, pōs an tis tēn eikona autou dēmiourgēseien?

And how so? If it was not possible to make an image such as the account indicated, and the account indicated the parts of the apparent and visible world, heaven and the things in heaven, air and earth and the things in them; if, then, it was not possible to make an image of the visible parts of the world, how could anyone fashion his image insofar as God was mind?

Notes and citation

Summary: If the visible world could not be imaged, still less could the divine mind.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; accents misread in digitization): οἷόν τε ἣν → οἷόν τε ἦν; οἶόν τε ἣν → οἷόν τε ἦν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.14 (Dindorf 1:127–128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.15Dindorf 1:128

τί δʼ ἂν ἔχοι σῶμα ἀνθρώπειον ἐμφερὲς πρὸς τὸν τοῦ θεοῦ νοῦν; ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ οὐδὲ πρὸς τὸν ἀνθρώπινον ἡγοῦμαι· ἐπεὶ ὁ μὲν ἀσώματος καὶ ἀσύνθετος καὶ ἀμερὴς, τὸ δὲ βαναύσων ἀνδρῶν ἔργον καὶ θνητοῦ σώματος φύσιν ἀπομεμίμηται, καὶ ζώσης σαρκὸς ἐν ἀψύχῳ καὶ νεκρᾷ ὕλῃ κωφὴν καὶ ἄναυδον εἰκόνα καταγέγραπται.

ti dʼ an echoi sōma anthrōpeion empheres pros ton tou theou noun? egō men gar oude pros ton anthrōpinon hēgoumai; epei ho men asōmatos kai asynthetos kai amerēs, to de banausōn andrōn ergon kai thnētou sōmatos physin apomemimētai, kai zōsēs sarkos en apsychǭ kai nekrą hylę̄ kōphēn kai anaudon eikona katagegraptai.

What likeness could a human body have to the mind of God? I do not think it has any even to the human mind; for the mind is incorporeal, uncompounded, and without parts, while the statue is the work of craftsmen, imitating the nature of a mortal body, and has portrayed in lifeless and dead matter a dumb and voiceless image of living flesh.

Notes and citation

Summary: A statue cannot resemble even the human mind, much less God's.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.15 (Dindorf 1:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.16Dindorf 1:128

ψυχὴ μὲν οὖν λογικὴ καὶ ἀθάνατος καὶ νοῦς ἀπαθὴς ἐν ἀνθρώπου φύσει εὖ μοι δοκεῖ λέγεσθαι εἰκόνα καὶ ὁμοίωσιν ἀποσώζειν θεοῦ, καθʼ ὅσον ἄυλος καὶ ἀσώματος νοερά τε καὶ λογικὴ τὴν οὐσίαν συνέστηκεν, ἀρετῆς οὖσα καὶ σοφίας δεκτική.

psychē men oun logikē kai athanatos kai nous apathēs en anthrōpou physei eu moi dokei legesthai eikona kai homoiōsin aposōzein theou, kathʼ hoson aulos kai asōmatos noera te kai logikē tēn ousian synestēken, aretēs ousa kai sophias dektikē.

The rational and immortal soul and the impassible mind in human nature may well be said, I think, to preserve the image and likeness of God, insofar as it is immaterial and incorporeal, intellectual and rational in substance, and capable of virtue and wisdom.

Gen 1:26 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Only the rational soul bears God's image and likeness.

Allusion to Gen 1:26.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.16 (Dindorf 1:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.17Dindorf 1:128

εἰ δή τις εἴη δυνατὸς ψυχῆς ἄγαλμα καὶ μορφὴν ἐν εἰκόνι τεκτήνασθαι, δύναιτʼ ἂν οὗτος καί τι τῶν κρειττόνων· εἰ δὲ ἄμορφος καὶ ἀειδὴς καὶ ἀσχημάτιστος, οὔτε ὁράσει θεωρητὸς οὔτε λόγῳ καὶ ἀκοῇ τὴν οὐσίαν καταληπτὸς ὁ ἀνθρώπινος νοῦς, τίς ἂν μανείη τοσοῦτον ὡς τὸ ἀνδρείκελον ξόανον θεοῦ τοῦ ἀνωτάτω μορφὴν καὶ εἰκόνα φέρειν ἀποφήνασθαι;

ei dē tis eiē dynatos psychēs agalma kai morphēn en eikoni tektēnasthai, dynaitʼ an houtos kai ti tōn kreittonōn; ei de amorphos kai aeidēs kai aschēmatistos, oute horasei theōrētos oute logǭ kai akoę̄ tēn ousian katalēptos ho anthrōpinos nous, tis an maneiē tosouton hōs to andreikelon xoanon theou tou anōtatō morphēn kai eikona pherein apophēnasthai?

If anyone could fashion a statue and form of the soul in an image, he might also make one of the higher beings. But if the human mind is formless, shapeless, and without figure, neither visible to sight nor comprehensible in its substance by reason and hearing, who would be so mad as to declare that a man-shaped image bears the form and likeness of the most high God?

Notes and citation

Summary: Since the human mind cannot be depicted, no man-shaped image can depict the most high God.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.17 (Dindorf 1:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.18Dindorf 1:128

θεοῦ μὲν οὖν φύσις ἔξω πάσης θνητῆς ὕλης φαντάζεται, νῷ διαυγεῖ καὶ σιγῇ ψυχαῖς κεκαθαρμέναις ἐπινοουμένη· τὸ δέ γε τοῦ ὁρωμένου Δῖός ἐν τῷ δεικήλῳ σχῆμα εἴη ἂν θνητοῦ τὴν φύσιν ἀνδρὸς εἰκὼν, οὐδὲ τὸν ὅλον ἄνθρωπον, μέρος δέ τι τὸ χεῖρον αὐτοῦ μεμιμημένον, ὅτι μηδὲν ἴχνος ζωῆς καὶ ψυχῆς ἐπάγεται.

theou men oun physis exō pasēs thnētēs hylēs phantazetai, nǭ diaugei kai sigę̄ psychais kekatharmenais epinooumenē; to de ge tou horōmenou Dios en tǭ deikēlǭ schēma eiē an thnētou tēn physin andros eikōn, oude ton holon anthrōpon, meros de ti to cheiron autou memimēmenon, hoti mēden ichnos zōēs kai psychēs epagetai.

The nature of God is conceived apart from all mortal matter, contemplated by souls purified by clear thought and silence; but the figure of the visible Zeus in the statue would be the image of a man mortal by nature, imitating not even the whole man but a certain part of him, the worse part, since it carries no trace of life and soul.

Notes and citation

Summary: The statue of Zeus imitates only the lifeless body of a mortal man.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): γαῖ ψυχῆς → καὶ ψυχῆς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.18 (Dindorf 1:128; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.19Dindorf 1:128–129

πῶς οὖν ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς καὶ νοῦς ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸς εἴη ἂν ὁ αὐτὸς ὁ ἐν τῷ χαλκῷ ἢ τῷ νεκρῷ ἐλέφαντι Ζεύς; ὁ δὲ δὴ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργικὸς νοῦς πῶς ποτε αὐτὸς ἦν ἄρα ἐκεῖνος ὁ Ζεὺς ὁ τοῦ ἐξ Ἀλκμήνης Ἡρακλέους πατὴρ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐκ Δῖός μυθευομένων ἀνδρῶν, οἱ τὸν θνητὸν βίον κοινῶς ἅπασιν ἀνθρώποις καταστρέψαντες τῆς οἰκείας φύσεως ἀνεξάλειπτα τοῖς μετʼ αὐτοὺς μνημεῖα καταλελοίπασι;

pōs oun ho epi pantōn theos kai nous ho tōn holōn dēmiourgos eiē an ho autos ho en tǭ chalkǭ ē tǭ nekrǭ elephanti Zeus? ho de dē tōn holōn dēmiourgikos nous pōs pote autos ēn ara ekeinos ho Zeus ho tou ex Alkmēnēs Hērakleous patēr kai tōn loipōn ek Dios mytheuomenōn andrōn, hoi ton thnēton bion koinōs hapasin anthrōpois katastrepsantes tēs oikeias physeōs anexaleipta tois metʼ autous mnēmeia kataleloipasi?

How, then, could the God over all and the mind that created the universe be the same as the Zeus in bronze or dead ivory? And how could the creative mind of the universe itself have been that Zeus who was the father of Heracles by Alcmene and of the other men said in myth to be sons of Zeus, who ended their mortal life like all other men and left to later generations indelible memorials of their own nature?

Notes and citation

Summary: The creative mind cannot be the Zeus of bronze statues or the father of mortal heroes.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accents lost or misread in digitization; digitization slip; stray digit in digitization): καλκῷ → χαλκῷ; δημιουργικος νοῦς πως ποτε αὐτὸς ἢν → δημιουργικὸς νοῦς πῶς ποτε αὐτὸς ἦν; Ζεὺς 5 ὁ → Ζεὺς ὁ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.19 (Dindorf 1:128–129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.20Dindorf 1:129

Φοινίκων μὲν οὑν οἱ πρῶτοι θεόλογοι, ὡς ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ συγγράμματι παρεστήσαμεν, τὸν Δία παῖδα Κρόνου θνητὸν ἀπὸ θνητοῦ γενόμενον, ἄνδρα Φοίνικα τὸ γένος, ἀπεμνημόνευον, Αἰγύπτιοι δὲ ἐξοικειούμενοι τὸν ἄνδρα θνητὸν πάλιν αὐτὸν ὡμολόγουν, κατὰ τοῦτό γε Φοινιξιν ὁμοφωνοῦντες.

Phoinikōn men houn hoi prōtoi theologoi, hōs en tǭ prōtǭ syngrammati parestēsamen, ton Dia paida Kronou thnēton apo thnētou genomenon, andra Phoinika to genos, apemnēmoneuon, Aigyptioi de exoikeioumenoi ton andra thnēton palin auton hōmologoun, kata touto ge Phoinixin homophōnountes.

The first theologians of the Phoenicians, as we showed in the first book, recorded Zeus as the son of Cronus, a mortal born of a mortal, a Phoenician man by race; and the Egyptians, claiming the man as their own, again confessed him mortal, agreeing in this at least with the Phoenicians.

Notes and citation

Summary: Phoenicians and Egyptians both recorded Zeus as a mortal man.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; letters transposed in digitization): οἶ πρῶτοι → οἱ πρῶτοι; ἀπεμηνμόνευον → ἀπεμνημόνευον.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.20 (Dindorf 1:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.21Dindorf 1:129

ἀλλὰ καὶ Κρῆτες τάφον τοῦ Δῖός παρʼ ἑαυτοῖς δεικνύντες τρίτοι ἂν εἶεν τοῦ αὐτοῦ μάρτυρες· καὶ Ἀτλάντειοι δὲ καὶ πάντες οἱ πρὸ τούτου δεδηλωμένοι κατʼ οἰκείαν ἱστορίαν ἐξοικειούμενοι τὸν Δία πάντες ὁμοῦ θνητὸν ἀπεφήναντο, πράξεις αὐτοῦ θνητὰς καὶ ἀνθρωπείους, ἀλλʼ οὐ σεμνάς τινας οὐδὲ φιλοσόφους, αἰσχρουργίας δὲ ἁπάσης καὶ ἀκολασίας ἔμπλεως ἀναγράψαντες.

alla kai Krētes taphon tou Dios parʼ heautois deiknyntes tritoi an eien tou autou martyres; kai Atlanteioi de kai pantes hoi pro toutou dedēlōmenoi katʼ oikeian historian exoikeioumenoi ton Dia pantes homou thnēton apephēnanto, praxeis autou thnētas kai anthrōpeious, allʼ ou semnas tinas oude philosophous, aischrourgias de hapasēs kai akolasias empleōs anagrapsantes.

And the Cretans, who show a tomb of Zeus among themselves, would be a third witness to the same; and the Atlantians and all those mentioned before, each claiming Zeus according to their own history, all alike declared him mortal, recording his deeds as mortal and human, not dignified or philosophical, but full of every shameful act and licentiousness.

Notes and citation

Summary: Cretans, Atlantians, and others likewise recorded Zeus as a mortal of shameful life.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.21 (Dindorf 1:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.22Dindorf 1:129

τοῖς δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ σεμνότερον τοὺς μύθους τρέπειν ἐπηγγελμένοις τοτὲ μὲν ὁ Ζεὺς θερμή τις ἦν καὶ πυρώδης δύναμις, τοτὲ δὲ τὸ πνεῦμα· νῦν δʼ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως αὐτοῖς ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸς νοῦς ἀναπέφανται.

tois de epi to semnoteron tous mythous trepein epēngelmenois tote men ho Zeus thermē tis ēn kai pyrōdēs dynamis, tote de to pneuma; nyn dʼ ouk oidʼ hopōs autois ho tōn holōn dēmiourgos nous anapephantai.

But for those who profess to turn the myths to more dignified meanings, Zeus was at one time a hot and fiery power, at another the spirit; and now, I know not how, he has appeared to them as the creative mind of the universe.

Notes and citation

Summary: The allegorists keep changing what Zeus means.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.22 (Dindorf 1:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.23Dindorf 1:129

πευστέον τοιγαροῦν τίνα ἂν εἴποιεν τὸν τούτου πατέρα καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς τὸν προπάτορα· ἐπεὶ κατὰ πάντας τοὺς θεολόγους Ζεὺς Κρόνου παῖς ὁμολογεῖται, καὶ τά γε προκείμενα τοῦ Ὀρφέως ἔπη ‟ ὑπερμένεος Κρονίωνος” ἐμνημόνευσε, Κρόνος δὲ Οὐρανοῦ.

peusteon toigaroun tina an eipoien ton toutou patera kai tou patros ton propatora; epei kata pantas tous theologous Zeus Kronou pais homologeitai, kai ta ge prokeimena tou Orpheōs epē ‟ hypermeneos Kroniōnos” emnēmoneuse, Kronos de Ouranou.

We must ask them, then, whom they would call his father and his father's forefather; since according to all the theologians Zeus is admitted to be the son of Cronus (and the verses of Orpheus quoted above mentioned 'the mighty son of Cronus'), and Cronus the son of Ouranus.

Notes and citation

Summary: Zeus is the son of Cronus and grandson of Ouranus, as even the Orphic verses say.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; line-break hyphen rejoined): τοὐ Ὀρφέως → τοῦ Ὀρφέως; ὑπερ- μένεος → ὑπερμένεος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.23 (Dindorf 1:129; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.24Dindorf 1:129–130

δεδόσθω τοίνυν αὐτοῖς εἷναι ὁ Ζεὺς ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων θεὸς καὶ νοῦς ὁ τὰ πάντα δημιουργήσας. τίς οὖν ὁ τούτου πατήρ; Κρόνος. τίς δʼ ὁ προπάτωρ; Οὐρανός. εἰ δὲ πρῶτος ὁ Ζεὺς ὡς ἂν δημιουργὸς ἁπάντων, χρῆν δή που δευτέρους καταλέγεσθαι καὶ μετʼ αὐτὸν τοὺς ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ πεποιημένους.

dedosthō toinyn autois heinai ho Zeus ho epi pantōn theos kai nous ho ta panta dēmiourgēsas. tis oun ho toutou patēr? Kronos. tis dʼ ho propatōr? Ouranos. ei de prōtos ho Zeus hōs an dēmiourgos hapantōn, chrēn dē pou deuterous katalegesthai kai metʼ auton tous hypʼ autou pepoiēmenous.

Let it be granted them, then, that Zeus is the God over all and the mind that created all things. Who, then, is his father? Cronus. And who his forefather? Ouranus. But if Zeus is first, as the creator of all things, those made by him should surely be listed second and after him.

Notes and citation

Summary: If Zeus were the creator, his supposed father and grandfather would have to come after him.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.24 (Dindorf 1:129–130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.25Dindorf 1:130

εἴτε γὰρ χρόνος τις εἴη ὁ Κρόνος Οὐρανοῦ πεφυκὼς γέννημα, εἴτε δὴ ἅμα οὐρανῷ συνυπέστη χρόνος, εἴη τε αὐτὸς ὁ Κρόνου πατὴρ Οὐρανὸς καὶ χρόνος μετὰ τοῦτον, ἀλλὰ πρό γε τούτων ὁ τῶν ὅλων αἴτιος καὶ οὐρανοῦ καὶ χρόνου δημιουργὸς θεός. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο, οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο ὁ Ζεὺς τρίτος ἐξ Οὐρανοῦ.

eite gar chronos tis eiē ho Kronos Ouranou pephykōs gennēma, eite dē hama ouranǭ synypestē chronos, eiē te autos ho Kronou patēr Ouranos kai chronos meta touton, alla pro ge toutōn ho tōn holōn aitios kai ouranou kai chronou dēmiourgos theos. ei de touto, ouk an genoito ho Zeus tritos ex Ouranou.

For whether Cronus is time (chronos), born as offspring of Ouranus, or time came into being together with heaven, and Ouranus is himself the father of Cronus and time comes after him, still before these is God, the cause of the universe and creator of both heaven and time. If so, Zeus could not be third from Ouranus.

Notes and citation

Summary: The creator must precede heaven and time, so he cannot be the grandson of Ouranus.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.25 (Dindorf 1:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.10.26Dindorf 1:130

πῶς οὖν παρὰ πᾶσιν Αἰγυπτίοις καὶ Φοίνιξιν Ἕλλησι τε καὶ φιλοσόφοις τρίτος ἐξ Οὐρανοῦ γενεαλογεῖται ὁ τῶν ὅλων δημιουργὸς νοῦς; πεφώραται δὴ τοῦ φιλοσόφου τὸ πλάσμα, καὶ ἔτι μᾶλλον φωραθήσεται ἐξ ὧν ἐπιφέρει λέγων ὧδε

pōs oun para pasin Aigyptiois kai Phoinixin Hellēsi te kai philosophois tritos ex Ouranou genealogeitai ho tōn holōn dēmiourgos nous? pephōratai dē tou philosophou to plasma, kai eti mallon phōrathēsetai ex hōn epipherei legōn hōde

How, then, is the creative mind of the universe given a genealogy by all the Egyptians and Phoenicians, Greeks and philosophers, as third from Ouranus? The philosopher's fabrication has been detected, and will be detected still more from what he adds, saying this:

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry's identification of Zeus with the creative mind is exposed as a fabrication.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): ὣν ἐπιφέρει → ὧν ἐπιφέρει.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.10.26 (Dindorf 1:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-10-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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Preparation 3, chapter 11

3.11.1Dindorf 1:130

‟ Τὴν δὲ Ἥραν σύνοικον τῷ Διὶ πεποιήκασιν, τὴν αἰθέριον καὶ ἀέριον δύναμιν Ἥραν προσειπόντες. ἔστι γὰρ ὁ αἰθὴρ ἀὴρ ὁ λεπτομερέστατος.

‟ Tēn de Hēran synoikon tǭ Dii pepoiēkasin, tēn aitherion kai aerion dynamin Hēran proseipontes. esti gar ho aithēr aēr ho leptomerestatos.

"They have made Hera the consort of Zeus, calling the ethereal and airy power Hera; for the ether is the finest air.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry makes Hera the ethereal and airy power, consort of Zeus.

Porphyry, On Images, quoted in extracts with Eusebius's comments (3.11.1–51).

Extrabiblical texts: Porphyry, Imag. (Porphyry, On Images; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.1 (Dindorf 1:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-1). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.2Dindorf 1:130

Ἀνωτέρω μὲν ἐδήλου τὰ ἔπη τὸν νοῦν τοῦ Δῖός εἶναι τὸν αἰθέρα, νυνὶ δὲ ὁ λόγος τί ποτέ ἐστιν ὁ αἰθὴρ διορίζεται, ἀέρα λέγων εἶναι αὐτὸν λεπτομερέστατον· σῶμα δὲ ὁ ἀὴρ, καὶ πολὺ πρότερον ὁ αἰθήρ.

Anōterō men edēlou ta epē ton noun tou Dios einai ton aithera, nyni de ho logos ti pote estin ho aithēr diorizetai, aera legōn einai auton leptomerestaton; sōma de ho aēr, kai poly proteron ho aithēr.

Above, the verses showed that the mind of Zeus is the ether; now the account defines what the ether is, saying that it is the finest air. But air is a body, and the ether far more so.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius notes that the ether, said to be Zeus's mind, is defined as air, a body.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.2 (Dindorf 1:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.3Dindorf 1:130

ὁ δὴ νοῦς ἄρα τοῦ Δῖός ἐλήλεγκται σῶμα τυγχάνων, εἰ καὶ τὸ πάντων λεπτομερέστατον. καὶ πῶς ἂν ταὐτὸν ἐπινοηθείη σῶμα καὶ νοῦς κατὰ διάμετρον ταῖς φύσεσι διεστῶτα;

ho dē nous ara tou Dios elēlenktai sōma tynchanōn, ei kai to pantōn leptomerestaton. kai pōs an tauton epinoētheiē sōma kai nous kata diametron tais physesi diestōta?

So the mind of Zeus has been proved to be a body, even if the finest of all. And how could body and mind, which are diametrically opposed in nature, be conceived as the same?

Notes and citation

Summary: Mind and body cannot be identical.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.3 (Dindorf 1:130; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.4Dindorf 1:130–131

εἶτʼ οὐκ οἶδʼ ὅπως τῶν ἐπῶν ἐπιλελησμένος διαρρήδην φησάντων Νοῦς δέ οἱ ἀψευδὴς, βασιλήιος ἄφθιτος αἰθὴρ, ᾧ δὴ πάντα κυκλεῖ καὶ φράζεται, οὐδέ τις ἐστὶν αὐδὴ, οὔτʼ ἐνοπὴ, οὔτε κτύπος, οὐδὲ μὲν ὅσσα, ἣ λήθει Δῖός οὖας ὑπερμενέος Κρονίωνος. διʼ ὧν σαφῶς ὁ αἰθὴρ νοῦς ἀνείρηται ὢν τοῦ Δῖός.

eitʼ ouk oidʼ hopōs tōn epōn epilelēsmenos diarrēdēn phēsantōn Nous de hoi apseudēs, basilēios aphthitos aithēr, hǭ dē panta kyklei kai phrazetai, oude tis estin audē, outʼ enopē, oute ktypos, oude men hossa, hē lēthei Dios ouas hypermeneos Kroniōnos. diʼ hōn saphōs ho aithēr nous aneirētai ōn tou Dios.

Then, I know not how, he has forgotten the verses which said plainly: 'His mind is the unerring, royal, imperishable ether, by which he moves and considers all things; nor is there any voice, nor cry, nor sound, nor rumor, that escapes the ear of the mighty son of Cronus.' By these the ether has clearly been declared to be the mind of Zeus.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry contradicts the verses, which made the ether Zeus's mind.

Extrabiblical texts: Orpheus (attributed), Orph. frag. 168 (Orpheus (attributed), Orphic poems (fragments); quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.4 (Dindorf 1:130–131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.5Dindorf 1:131

ὁ δὲ τὴν Ἥραν πάλιν τὴν αἰθέριον καὶ ἀέριον δύναμιν εἶναί φησιν. ἔπειτα διαιρῶν ἐπιλέγει ‟ Καὶ τοῦ μὲν παντὸς ἀέρος ἡ δύναμις Ἥρα τοὔνομα ἀπὸ τοῦ ἀέρος κεκλημένη· τοῦ δὲ ὑπὸ σελήνην φωτιζομένου καὶ σκοτιζομένου ἀέρος ἡ Λητὼ σύμβολον· λήθω γὰρ αὐτὴν εἶναι διὰ τὴν κατὰ τὸν ὕπνον ἀναισθησίαν, καὶ ὅτι ψυχαῖς ὑπὸ σελήνην γινομέναις λήθη ξυνομαρτεῖ τοῦ θείου· διὰ τοῦτο δὲ καὶ μήτηρ Ἀπόλλωνός τε καὶ Ἀρτέμιδος, τῶν αἰτίων φωτισμοῦ τῇ νυκτί.’

ho de tēn Hēran palin tēn aitherion kai aerion dynamin einai phēsin. epeita diairōn epilegei ‟ Kai tou men pantos aeros hē dynamis Hēra tounoma apo tou aeros keklēmenē; tou de hypo selēnēn phōtizomenou kai skotizomenou aeros hē Lētō symbolon; lēthō gar autēn einai dia tēn kata ton hypnon anaisthēsian, kai hoti psychais hypo selēnēn ginomenais lēthē xynomartei tou theiou; dia touto de kai mētēr Apollōnos te kai Artemidos, tōn aitiōn phōtismou tę̄ nykti.’

But he says again that Hera is the ethereal and airy power. Then, making distinctions, he adds: "The power of the whole air is Hera, named from the air (aer); and of the air beneath the moon, which is lit and darkened, Leto is the symbol; for she is forgetfulness (letho), because of the insensibility of sleep, and because forgetfulness of the divine accompanies souls that come to be beneath the moon. For this reason too she is the mother of Apollo and Artemis, the causes of light by night."

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry makes Hera the whole air and Leto the air beneath the moon, mother of the light-bringers.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.5 (Dindorf 1:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.6Dindorf 1:131

Καὶ ἐν τούτοις ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης μητέρα φησὶν εἶναι τὸν ὑπὸ σελήνην ἀέρα· τοῦτον γὰρ εἶναι τὴν Λητώ. καὶ πῶς ἂν ὁ ἀὴρ γένοιτο μήτηρ τῶν αἰτίων φωτισμοῦ, μᾶλλον αὐτὸς γενόμενος ἢ ποιῶν; ἥλιος γὰρ καὶ σελήνη ἄλλοτε ἄλλως τὸν ἀέρα μεταβάλλουσιν.

Kai en toutois hēliou kai selēnēs mētera phēsin einai ton hypo selēnēn aera; touton gar einai tēn Lētō. kai pōs an ho aēr genoito mētēr tōn aitiōn phōtismou, mallon autos genomenos ē poiōn? hēlios gar kai selēnē allote allōs ton aera metaballousin.

And here he says that the air beneath the moon is the mother of the sun and moon, for this is Leto. But how could the air be the mother of the causes of light, when it is rather affected by them than acting? For the sun and moon change the air in different ways at different times.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius objects that air cannot be the mother of the sun and moon, which act upon it.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.6 (Dindorf 1:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.7Dindorf 1:131

πάλιν δὲ προιὼν ἑξῆς λέγει ‟ Καὶ τὸ μὲν ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς χθονίας δυνάμεως Ἑστία κέκληται, ἧς ἄγαλμα παρθενικὸν ἐφʼ ἑστίας πυρὸς ἱδρυμένον· καθὸ δὲ γόνιμος ἡ δύναμις, σημαίνουσιν αὐτὴν γυναικὸς εἴδει προμάστου. τὴν δὲ ῾Ρέαν προσεῖπον τὴν τῆς πετρώδους καὶ ὀρείου γῆς δύναμιν, τὴν δὲ Δήμητρα τὴν τῆς πεδινῆς καὶ γονίμου. ἡ Δημήτηρ δὲ τὰ μὲν ἄλλα κατὰ τὰ αὐτὰ ἔχει τῇ ῾Ρέᾳ, διενήνοχε δὲ, ὅτι αὐτὴ κυεῖ τὴν Κόρην ἐκ Δῖός, τουτέστι τὸν κόρον ἐκ τῶν φρυγανωδῶν σπερμάτων. διὸ καὶ κατέστεπται τὸ βρέτας αὐτῆς τοῖς στάχυσι, μήκωνές τε περὶ αὐτὴν τῆς πολυγονίας σύμβολον.”

palin de proiōn hexēs legei ‟ Kai to men hēgemonikon tēs chthonias dynameōs Hestia keklētai, hēs agalma parthenikon ephʼ hestias pyros hidrymenon; katho de gonimos hē dynamis, sēmainousin autēn gynaikos eidei promastou. tēn de ῾Rean proseipon tēn tēs petrōdous kai oreiou gēs dynamin, tēn de Dēmētra tēn tēs pedinēs kai gonimou. hē Dēmētēr de ta men alla kata ta auta echei tę̄ ῾Reą, dienēnoche de, hoti autē kyei tēn Korēn ek Dios, toutesti ton koron ek tōn phryganōdōn spermatōn. dio kai katesteptai to bretas autēs tois stachysi, mēkōnes te peri autēn tēs polygonias symbolon.”

Proceeding again, he next says: "The ruling part of the earthly power is called Hestia, whose image, a maiden, is set up on a hearth of fire; but insofar as the power is fruitful, they represent her in the form of a woman with prominent breasts. Rhea they called the power of rocky and mountainous earth, and Demeter that of level and fruitful earth. Demeter in other respects is the same as Rhea, but differs in that she conceives Kore by Zeus, that is, the sprout (koros) from the seeds of the plants. Therefore her statue is crowned with ears of grain, and poppies around her are a symbol of fertility."

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry makes Hestia, Rhea, and Demeter powers of the earth, and Kore the sprouting seed.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing lost in digitization): Εστία → Ἑστία.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.7 (Dindorf 1:131; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.8Dindorf 1:131–132

Κἀνταῦθα πάλιν σκόπει τίνα τρόπον τὴν Ῥέαν μητέρα θεῶν λεγομένην καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ Δῖός κάτω που περὶ πέτρας καὶ γῆν καταβέβληκε, καὶ πάντα φύρων τὴν αὐτὴν εἶναί φησι τῇ Δήμητρι, πλὴν ὅτι διενήνοχε, καθὸ, φησὶν, ἡ Δημήτηρ ἐκ Δῖός κυεῖ τὴν Κόρην, ὥσπερ οὖν ἡ πεδιὰς γῆ τὸν κόρον ἐκ τῶν φρυγανωδῶν σπερμάτων. ἰδού σοι πάλιν ὁ Ζεὺς εἰς τὰ φρυγανώδη σπέρματα μεταβέβληται.

Kantautha palin skopei tina tropon tēn Rhean mētera theōn legomenēn kai autou tou Dios katō pou peri petras kai gēn katabeblēke, kai panta phyrōn tēn autēn einai phēsi tę̄ Dēmētri, plēn hoti dienēnoche, katho, phēsin, hē Dēmētēr ek Dios kyei tēn Korēn, hōsper oun hē pedias gē ton koron ek tōn phryganōdōn spermatōn. idou soi palin ho Zeus eis ta phryganōdē spermata metabeblētai.

Here again see how he has brought Rhea, who is called mother of the gods and of Zeus himself, down somewhere to rocks and earth, and, confusing everything, says that she is the same as Demeter, except that she differs because, he says, Demeter conceives Kore by Zeus, as the level ground brings forth the sprout from the seeds of plants. See, Zeus has again been changed for you into the seeds of plants!

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius mocks Porphyry for turning Rhea into rocks and Zeus into plant seeds.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.8 (Dindorf 1:131–132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.9Dindorf 1:132

τούτοις ἑξῆς ἐπισυνάπτει λέγων ‟ Ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν εἰς γῆν βαλλομένων σπερμάτων ἦν τις δύναμις, ἣν ἥλιος περὶ τὸ κάτω ἡμισφαίριον ἰὼν ἕλκει κατὰ τὰς χειμερινὰς τροπὰς, Κόρη μὲν ἡ δύναμις ἡ σπερματοῦχος, Πλούτων δὲ ὁ ὑπὸ γῆν ἰὼν ἥλιος καὶ τὸν ἀφανῆ περινοστῶν κόσμον κατὰ τὰς χειμερίους τροπάς· ὃς ἁρπάζειν λέγεται τὴν Κόρην, ἣν ποθεῖ ἡ Δημήτηρ κρυπτομένην ὑπὸ γῆν.

toutois hexēs episynaptei legōn ‟ Epei de kai tōn eis gēn ballomenōn spermatōn ēn tis dynamis, hēn hēlios peri to katō hēmisphairion iōn helkei kata tas cheimerinas tropas, Korē men hē dynamis hē spermatouchos, Ploutōn de ho hypo gēn iōn hēlios kai ton aphanē perinostōn kosmon kata tas cheimerious tropas; hos harpazein legetai tēn Korēn, hēn pothei hē Dēmētēr kryptomenēn hypo gēn.

Next to this he adds, saying: "And since there was also a power in the seeds cast into the earth, which the sun, going round the lower hemisphere, draws down at the winter solstice, Kore is the seed-bearing power, and Pluto the sun going under the earth and traveling round the invisible world at the winter solstice; he is said to carry off Kore, whom Demeter longs for while she is hidden under the earth.

Notes and citation

Summary: Kore is the power in the seed, and Pluto the sun below the earth who carries her off in winter.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): ᾿Επεὶ → Ἐπεὶ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.9 (Dindorf 1:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.10Dindorf 1:132

τῶν δὲ ἀκροδρύων καὶ ὅλως τῶν φυτευτικῶν ἡ δύναμις Διόνυσος ὀνομάζεται. ὅρα δὲ καὶ τούτων τὰς εἰκόνας. σύμβολα γὰρ ἡ Κόρη φέρει τῆς προβολῆς τῶν κατὰ τοὺς καρποὺς ὑπὲρ τὴν γῆν ἐκφύσεων, ὁ δὲ Διόνυσος κοινὰ μὲν πρὸς τὴν Κόρην ἔχει τὰ κέρατα, ἔστι δὲ θηλύμορφος, μηνύων τὴν περὶ τὴν γένεσιν τῶν ἀκροδρύων ἀρρενόθηλυν δύναμιν.

tōn de akrodryōn kai holōs tōn phyteutikōn hē dynamis Dionysos onomazetai. hora de kai toutōn tas eikonas. symbola gar hē Korē pherei tēs probolēs tōn kata tous karpous hyper tēn gēn ekphyseōn, ho de Dionysos koina men pros tēn Korēn echei ta kerata, esti de thēlymorphos, mēnyōn tēn peri tēn genesin tōn akrodryōn arrenothēlyn dynamin.

The power of tree fruits and of plants in general is named Dionysus. See their images too: Kore bears symbols of the putting forth of the shoots of the crops above the earth; Dionysus has horns in common with Kore, but is of female form, indicating the male-female power in the generation of tree fruits.

Notes and citation

Summary: Dionysus is the power of tree fruits, represented as male and female.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray mark in digitization): ἔστι δὲ· θηλύμορφος → ἔστι δὲ θηλύμορφος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.10 (Dindorf 1:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.11Dindorf 1:132

Πλούτων δὲ ὁ Κόρης ἅρπαξ κυνῆν μὲν ἔχει τοῦ ἀφανοῦς πόλου σύμβολον, τὸ δὲ σκῆπτρον τὸ κολοβὸν σημεῖον τῆς τῶν κάτω βασιλείας· ὁ δὲ κύων αὐτοῦ δηλοῖ τὴν κύησιν τῶν καρπῶν εἰς τρία διῃρημένην, εἰς τὴν καταβολὴν, εἰς τὴν ὑποδοχὴν, εἰς τὴν ἀνάδοσιν. οὐ γὰρ παρὰ τὸ τὰς κῆρας ἔχειν βορὰν, ὃ δηλοῖ τὰς ψυχὰς, κέκληται κύων, ἀλλὰ παρὰ τὸ κυεῖν, ᾗ χορηγὸς ὁ Πλούτων, ὅταν ἁρπάσῃ τὴν Κόρην.

Ploutōn de ho Korēs harpax kynēn men echei tou aphanous polou symbolon, to de skēptron to kolobon sēmeion tēs tōn katō basileias; ho de kyōn autou dēloi tēn kyēsin tōn karpōn eis tria dię̄rēmenēn, eis tēn katabolēn, eis tēn hypodochēn, eis tēn anadosin. ou gar para to tas kēras echein boran, ho dēloi tas psychas, keklētai kyōn, alla para to kyein, hę̄ chorēgos ho Ploutōn, hotan harpasę̄ tēn Korēn.

Pluto, the ravisher of Kore, has a helmet as a symbol of the invisible pole, and the shortened scepter as a sign of his kingdom below; and his dog shows the conception (kyesis) of the crops divided into three: the sowing, the receiving, and the springing up. For he is called dog (kyon) not because he has the fates of death (keres) for food, which means the souls, but from conceiving (kyein), of which Pluto is the provider when he carries off Kore.

Notes and citation

Summary: Pluto's helmet, scepter, and dog are explained as symbols of the underworld and of germination.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): τἀς κῆρας → τὰς κῆρας.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.11 (Dindorf 1:132; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.12Dindorf 1:132–133

Ἄττις δὲ καὶ Ἄδωνις τῇ τῶν καρπῶν εἰσὶν ἀναλογίᾳ προσήκοντες. ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν Ἄττις τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἔαρ προφαινομένων ἀνθέων καὶ πρὶν τελεσιγονῆσαι διαρρεόντων, — ἔνθεν καὶ τὴν τῶν αἰδοίων ἀποκοπὴν αὐτῷ προσανέθεσαν, μὴ φθασάντων ἐλθεῖν τῶν καρπῶν εἰς τὴν σπερματικὴν τελείωσιν — ὁ δὲ Ἄδωνις τῆς τῶν τελείων καρπῶν ἐκτομῆς σύμβολον.

Attis de kai Adōnis tę̄ tōn karpōn eisin analogią prosēkontes. allʼ ho men Attis tōn kata to ear prophainomenōn antheōn kai prin telesigonēsai diarreontōn, — enthen kai tēn tōn aidoiōn apokopēn autǭ prosanethesan, mē phthasantōn elthein tōn karpōn eis tēn spermatikēn teleiōsin — ho de Adōnis tēs tōn teleiōn karpōn ektomēs symbolon.

Attis and Adonis belong to the analogy of the crops. Attis is the symbol of the flowers that appear in spring and fall before they bear seed (hence they also ascribed to him the cutting off of his private parts, since the fruits did not reach seminal completion); and Adonis is the symbol of the cutting of the ripe fruits.

Notes and citation

Summary: Attis stands for spring flowers that fall, and Adonis for the harvest.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): τόν τελείων → τῶν τελείων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.12 (Dindorf 1:132–133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.13Dindorf 1:133

ὁ δὲ Σειληνὸς σύμβολον τῆς πνευματικῆς κινήσεως, οὐκ ὀλίγα συμβαλλομένης τῷ παντί. σύμβολα δέ ἐστι τὸ μὲν φάλανθον καὶ στιλπνὸν κατὰ τὴν κεφαλὴν τῆς οὐρανίου περιφορᾶς, ἡ δὲ περικειμένη κόμη τοῖς κάτω μέρεσιν αὐτοῦ ὑπόδειγμα τῆς προσγείου περὶ τὸν ἀέρα παχύτητος.

ho de Seilēnos symbolon tēs pneumatikēs kinēseōs, ouk oliga symballomenēs tǭ panti. symbola de esti to men phalanthon kai stilpnon kata tēn kephalēn tēs ouraniou periphoras, hē de perikeimenē komē tois katō meresin autou hypodeigma tēs prosgeiou peri ton aera pachytētos.

Silenus is a symbol of the motion of the wind (pneuma), which contributes not a little to the universe. His symbols are the bald and shining head, for the revolution of heaven, and the hair around the lower parts, an emblem of the thickness of the air near the earth.

Notes and citation

Summary: Silenus symbolizes the movement of air.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.13 (Dindorf 1:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.14Dindorf 1:133

ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς μαντικῆς δυνάμεως τις μέτοχος ἦν δύναμις, Θέμις μὲν κέκληται ἡ δύναμις, τῷ τὰ τεθειμένα καὶ ἑκάστῳ κείμενα λέγειν.

epei de kai tēs mantikēs dynameōs tis metochos ēn dynamis, Themis men keklētai hē dynamis, tǭ ta tetheimena kai hekastǭ keimena legein.

And since there was also a power partaking of prophecy, the power is called Themis, from telling what is laid down (tethheimena) and appointed for each.

Notes and citation

Summary: Themis is the prophetic power.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.14 (Dindorf 1:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.15Dindorf 1:133

‟ Διὰ δὴ πάντων τούτων ἡ περίγειος δύναμις ἐξηγήσεως τυχοῦσα θρησκεύεται, ὡς μὲν παρθένος καὶ Ἑστία ἡ κεντροφόρος, ὡς δὲ τοκὰς ἡ τροφὸς, ὡς δὲ ῾Ρέα ἡ πετροποιὸς καὶ ὄρειος, ὡς δὲ Δημήτηρ ἡ χλοηφόρος, ὡς δὲ Θέμις ἡ χρησμῳδὸς, τοῦ εἰς αὐτὴν κατιόντος σπερματικοῦ λόγου εἰς τὸν Πρίαπον ἐκτετυπωμένου· οὗ τὸ μὲν περὶ τοὺς ξηροὺς καρποὺς Κόρη, τὸ δὲ κατὰ τοὺς ὑγροὺς καὶ τὰ ἀκρόδρυα Διόνυσος καλεῖται, τῆς μὲν Κόρης ὑπὸ Πλούτωνος τοῦ ὑπὸ γῆν ἰόντος ἡλίου ἁρπαζομένης κατὰ τὸν σπόρον, τοῦ δὲ Διονύσου τὰ πάθη τῆς δυνάμεως ὑπὸ γῆν μὲν νεωτέρας καὶ καλλιγόνου βλαστάνειν ἀρχομένου, ἐπιμάχου δὲ τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἄνθην δυνάμεως σύμβολον Ἄττιν ἐχούσης, τῆς δὲ κατὰ τὴν τελεσιουργίαν ἐκτομῆς τὸν Ἄδωνιν,

‟ Dia dē pantōn toutōn hē perigeios dynamis exēgēseōs tychousa thrēskeuetai, hōs men parthenos kai Hestia hē kentrophoros, hōs de tokas hē trophos, hōs de ῾Rea hē petropoios kai oreios, hōs de Dēmētēr hē chloēphoros, hōs de Themis hē chrēsmǭdos, tou eis autēn kationtos spermatikou logou eis ton Priapon ektetypōmenou; hou to men peri tous xērous karpous Korē, to de kata tous hygrous kai ta akrodrya Dionysos kaleitai, tēs men Korēs hypo Ploutōnos tou hypo gēn iontos hēliou harpazomenēs kata ton sporon, tou de Dionysou ta pathē tēs dynameōs hypo gēn men neōteras kai kalligonou blastanein archomenou, epimachou de tēs kata tēn anthēn dynameōs symbolon Attin echousēs, tēs de kata tēn telesiourgian ektomēs ton Adōnin,

"Through all these, then, the earthly power, once explained, is worshipped: as maiden and Hestia, she who holds the center; as mother, the nurse; as Rhea, she who makes rocks and mountains; as Demeter, she who bears green crops; as Themis, she who utters oracles; while the seminal reason that descends into her is represented in Priapus. Of this, the part concerned with dry fruits is called Kore, and that concerned with moist fruits and tree fruits Dionysus. Kore is carried off at sowing time by Pluto, the sun going under the earth; the sufferings of Dionysus signify the power that is young and fertile under the earth and begins to sprout; the power in the flower, which is open to attack, has Attis as its symbol, and the cutting off at maturity has Adonis;

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry sums up the earth's powers as Hestia, Rhea, Demeter, Themis, Priapus, Kore, Dionysus, Attis, and Adonis.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (stray digit in digitization): Κόρη 5 τὸ δὲ → Κόρη, τὸ δὲ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.15 (Dindorf 1:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.16Dindorf 1:133

καὶ τῆς μὲν πνευματικῆς διὰ πάντων δυνάμεως εἰς Σειληνὸν ἀναπλαττομένης, τῆς δὲ εἰς ἔκτασιν ἀπʼ αὐτῶν παραγωγῆς εἰς Βάκχην, ὥσπερ αὖ τῆς εἰς τὰ ἀφροδίσια ἐρεθιζούσης ὁρμῆς διὰ τῶν Σατύρων. διὰ δὴ τούτων τῶν συμβόλων ἡ περίγειος ἐκκαλύπτεται δύναμις.”

kai tēs men pneumatikēs dia pantōn dynameōs eis Seilēnon anaplattomenēs, tēs de eis ektasin apʼ autōn paragōgēs eis Bakchēn, hōsper au tēs eis ta aphrodisia erethizousēs hormēs dia tōn Satyrōn. dia dē toutōn tōn symbolōn hē perigeios ekkalyptetai dynamis.”

the power of the wind through all things is represented as Silenus, the drawing out from them into ecstasy as the Bacchante, as again the impulse that stirs to sexual pleasures is represented through the Satyrs. Through these symbols the earthly power is revealed."

Notes and citation

Summary: Silenus, Bacchantes, and Satyrs represent wind, ecstasy, and sexual impulse.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.16 (Dindorf 1:133; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.17Dindorf 1:133–134

Τοσαῦτα μὲν οὖν καὶ τάδε, ἃ καὶ ἀναγκαίως ἐπιτεμόμενος παρατέθειμαι εἰς τὸ μὴ ἀγνοεῖν ἡμᾶς τὰ σεμνὰ τῶν φιλοσόφων. οὕτω τοιγαροῦν κατὰ τὰ ἀποδεδομένα Κόρη μὲν ἡ τῶν σπορίμων, Διόνυσος δὲ ἡ τῶν ἀκροδρύων δύναμις, καὶ τῶν μὲν ἐαρινῶν ἀνθέων ὁ Ἄττις, τῶν δὲ τελείων καρπῶν ὁ Ἄδωνις σύμβολον.

Tosauta men oun kai tade, ha kai anankaiōs epitemomenos paratetheimai eis to mē agnoein hēmas ta semna tōn philosophōn. houtō toigaroun kata ta apodedomena Korē men hē tōn sporimōn, Dionysos de hē tōn akrodryōn dynamis, kai tōn men earinōn antheōn ho Attis, tōn de teleiōn karpōn ho Adōnis symbolon.

So much for this too, which I have necessarily abridged and set out, so that we may not be ignorant of the dignified doctrines of the philosophers. Thus, according to what has been explained, Kore is the power of the sown crops, Dionysus that of tree fruits; Attis is the symbol of spring flowers and Adonis of ripe fruits.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius summarizes Porphyry's equations of gods with crops.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.17 (Dindorf 1:133–134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.18Dindorf 1:134

τί δὴ οὑν ταῦτα χρὴ θεοποιεῖν εἰς τροφὰς σωμάτων τῶν ἐπὶ γῆς ζῴων πρὸς τοῦ τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ πεποιημένα; τί δὲ θρησκεύειν τὴν περίγειον δύναμιν προσῆκόν ἐστιν ἡμῖν, οἷς φύσις ἐστὶ ψυχῆς οὐρανία λογική τε καὶ ἀθάνατος παρὰ τοῦ παμβασιλέως τῶν ὅλων θεοῦ, διανοίας ὄμμασι κεκαθαρμένοις θεωρητική;

ti dē houn tauta chrē theopoiein eis trophas sōmatōn tōn epi gēs zǭōn pros tou tōn holōn theou pepoiēmena? ti de thrēskeuein tēn perigeion dynamin prosēkon estin hēmin, hois physis esti psychēs ourania logikē te kai athanatos para tou pambasileōs tōn holōn theou, dianoias ommasi kekatharmenois theōrētikē?

Why, then, should we deify these things, made by the God of the universe as food for the bodies of living creatures on earth? And why is it fitting for us to worship the earthly power, we who have from the universal King, God of all, a heavenly, rational, and immortal nature of soul, able to contemplate with the purified eyes of the mind?

Notes and citation

Summary: Rational souls should not worship crops made for bodily food.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): οἶς φύσις → οἷς φύσις; τοὐ παμβασιλέως → τοῦ παμβασιλέως.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.18 (Dindorf 1:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.19Dindorf 1:134

τὸν δὲ Σειληνὸν ἀκούων τὴν πνευματικὴν εἶναι κίνησιν, καὶ τὴν διήκουσαν διὰ πάντων δύναμιν, τοτὲ μὲν τὴν οὐράνιον περιφορὰν διὰ τῆς κεφαλῆς ἐπιδεικνύμενον, τοτὲ δὲ τὴν περὶ τὸν ἀέρα παχύτητα διὰ τῆς λασίας κόμης τοῦ γενείου, πῶς ἄν τις ἀνάσχοιτο τοῦτον μὲν ὁρῶν οὐδεμιᾶς ἠξιωμένον σεβασμίας τιμῆς, ὅν ἐχρῆν πρὸ τῶν πάντων θεοποιεῖν, Ἄδωνιν δὲ καὶ Διόνυσον, τοὺς καρποὺς δηλαδὴ καὶ τὰ ἀκρόδρυα, θεοποιουμένους;

ton de Seilēnon akouōn tēn pneumatikēn einai kinēsin, kai tēn diēkousan dia pantōn dynamin, tote men tēn ouranion periphoran dia tēs kephalēs epideiknymenon, tote de tēn peri ton aera pachytēta dia tēs lasias komēs tou geneiou, pōs an tis anaschoito touton men horōn oudemias ēxiōmenon sebasmias timēs, hon echrēn pro tōn pantōn theopoiein, Adōnin de kai Dionyson, tous karpous dēladē kai ta akrodrya, theopoioumenous?

And hearing that Silenus is the motion of the wind and the power that pervades all things, displaying now the heavenly revolution by his head and now the thickness of the air by the shaggy hair of his beard, how could one bear to see him counted worthy of no reverent honor, when he should have been deified before all, while Adonis and Dionysus, that is, the crops and tree fruits, are deified?

Notes and citation

Summary: By Porphyry's logic, Silenus, not the crops, should have been the chief god.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.19 (Dindorf 1:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.20Dindorf 1:134

τίς δʼ ἂν ὑπομείνειε σεμνολογουμένους ἀκούων Σατύρους καὶ Βάκχας, τὰ ἐν ἀνθρώποις αἰσχρὰ καὶ ἀκόλαστα πάθη, εἰ δὴ οἱ μὲν ἐδήλουν τὰς εἰς τὰ ἀφροδίσια ἐρεθιζούσας ὁρμὰς οἱ Σάτυροι, αἱ δὲ Βάκχαι τὰς εἰς ἔκτασιν τῶν περὶ ταῦτα συμβαινούσας παραγωγάς;

tis dʼ an hypomeineie semnologoumenous akouōn Satyrous kai Bakchas, ta en anthrōpois aischra kai akolasta pathē, ei dē hoi men edēloun tas eis ta aphrodisia erethizousas hormas hoi Satyroi, hai de Bakchai tas eis ektasin tōn peri tauta symbainousas paragōgas?

And who could endure hearing Satyrs and Bacchantes, the shameful and licentious passions among men, spoken of solemnly, if the Satyrs signified the impulses that stir to sexual pleasures, and the Bacchantes the transports into ecstasy that accompany them?

Notes and citation

Summary: Shameful passions are given solemn names.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization; breathings misread in digitization): εἰ δὴ οἶ μὲν → εἰ δὴ οἱ μὲν; ὁρμὰς οἶ Σάτυροι, αἶ δὲ → ὁρμὰς οἱ Σάτυροι, αἱ δὲ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.20 (Dindorf 1:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.21Dindorf 1:134

καὶ τί δεῖ κατὰ μέρος ἕκαστον ἀπελέγχειν, ἐπιδραμεῖν δέον ὡς ἂν μηδὲν ἡμᾶς τῶν ἀπορρήτων λανθάνῃ, καὶ τὴν τῶν ἑξῆς ἐπιτεμέσθαι φυσιολογίαν, ἣν ἐκτέθειται ὁ δηλωθεὶς συγγραφεὺς, τόνδε ἐπεξιὼν τὸν τρόπον

kai ti dei kata meros hekaston apelenchein, epidramein deon hōs an mēden hēmas tōn aporrētōn lanthanę̄, kai tēn tōn hexēs epitemesthai physiologian, hēn ektetheitai ho dēlōtheis syngrapheus, tonde epexiōn ton tropon

But why should I refute each thing in detail, when we should run over them, so that none of the secrets escapes us, and abridge the natural philosophy that follows, which the author mentioned has set out, going through it in this way:

Notes and citation

Summary: Eusebius continues with further extracts.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): τὴν τόν ἑξῆς → τὴν τῶν ἑξῆς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.21 (Dindorf 1:134; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.22Dindorf 1:134–135

‟Τὴν δὲ ὑδροποιὸν ὅλην δύναμιν Ὠκεανὸν προσεῖπον, τὸ σύμβολον αὐτῆς Τηθὺν ὀνομάσαντες. τῆς δὲ ὅλης ἡ μὲν τῶν ποτίμων πεποιημένη Ἀχελῷος αὐτοῖς κέκληται, ἡ δὲ τῶν θαλαττίων Ποσειδῶν, πάλιν τῆς θαλαττοποιοῦ, καθὸ γεννητικὴ, Ἀμφιτρίτης οὔσης. καὶ αἱ μὲν τῶν γλυκέων ὑδάτων μερικαὶ δυνάμεις Νύμφαι, αἱ δὲ τῶν θαλαττίων Νηρηίδες κέκληνται.

‟Tēn de hydropoion holēn dynamin Ōkeanon proseipon, to symbolon autēs Tēthyn onomasantes. tēs de holēs hē men tōn potimōn pepoiēmenē Achelǭos autois keklētai, hē de tōn thalattiōn Poseidōn, palin tēs thalattopoiou, katho gennētikē, Amphitritēs ousēs. kai hai men tōn glykeōn hydatōn merikai dynameis Nymphai, hai de tōn thalattiōn Nērēides keklēntai.

"The whole power that produces water they called Oceanus, naming its symbol Tethys. Of the whole, the power that makes drinkable waters is called by them Achelous, and that of the sea waters Poseidon, while Amphitrite is the power that makes the sea, insofar as it is generative. And the particular powers of sweet waters are called Nymphs, and those of sea waters Nereids.

Notes and citation

Summary: The powers of water are Oceanus, Tethys, Achelous, Poseidon, Amphitrite, the Nymphs, and the Nereids.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing and accent misread in digitization; breathing misread in digitization; repeated word in digitization): ‟Τὴν Τὴν δὲ → ‟Τὴν δὲ; ᾿Αχελῶος → Ἀχελῷος; ᾿Αμφιτρίτης → Ἀμφιτρίτης; αἶ δὲ τῶν θαλαττίων → αἱ δὲ τῶν θαλαττίων.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.22 (Dindorf 1:134–135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-22). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.23Dindorf 1:135

τοῦ δʼ αὖ πυρὸς τὴν δύναμιν προσειπόντες Ἥφαιστον ἀνθρωποειδὲς μὲν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἄγαλμα πεποιήκασι, πῖλον δὲ περιέθεσαν κυάνεον τῆς οὐρανίου σύμβολον περιφορᾶς, ἔνθα τοῦ πυρός ἐστι τὸ ἀρχοειδές τε καὶ ἀκραιφνέστατον. τὸ δὲ εἰς γῆν κατενεχθὲν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ πῦρ ἀτονώτερον δεόμενόν τε στηρίγματος καὶ βάσεως τῆς ἐφʼ ὕλης· διὸ χωλεύει, ὕλης δεόμενον εἰς ὑπέρεισμα.

tou dʼ au pyros tēn dynamin proseipontes Hēphaiston anthrōpoeides men autou to agalma pepoiēkasi, pilon de periethesan kyaneon tēs ouraniou symbolon periphoras, entha tou pyros esti to archoeides te kai akraiphnestaton. to de eis gēn katenechthen ex ouranou pyr atonōteron deomenon te stērigmatos kai baseōs tēs ephʼ hylēs; dio chōleuei, hylēs deomenon eis hypereisma.

Calling the power of fire Hephaestus, they made his statue in human form, and put a blue cap on him as a symbol of the heavenly revolution, where fire is most primal and purest. The fire brought down from heaven to earth is weaker and needs the support and base of matter; therefore he is lame, needing matter for support.

Notes and citation

Summary: Hephaestus is fire, lame because earthly fire depends on matter.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization; digitization slip): πέλον → πῖλον; περιφορὰς → περιφορᾶς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.23 (Dindorf 1:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-23). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.24Dindorf 1:135

καὶ ἡλίου δὲ τὴν τοιάνδε δύναμιν ὑπολαβόντες Ἀπόλλωνα προσεῖπον, ἀπὸ τῆς τῶν ἀκτίνων αὐτοῦ πάλσεως. ἐννέα δὲ ἐπᾴδουσαι αὐτῷ Μοῦσαι, ἥ τε ὑποσελήνιος σφαῖρα καὶ ἑπτὰ πλανητῶν καὶ μία ἡ τῆς ἀπλανοῦς. περιέθεσαν δὲ αὐτῷ τὴν δάφνην, τοῦτο μὲν ὅτι πυρὸς πλῆρες τὸ φυτὸν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπεχθὲς δαίμοσι, τοῦτο δὲ ὅτι λάλον καιόμενον, εἰς παράστασιν τοῦ προφητεύειν τὸν θεόν.

kai hēliou de tēn toiande dynamin hypolabontes Apollōna proseipon, apo tēs tōn aktinōn autou palseōs. ennea de epądousai autǭ Mousai, hē te hyposelēnios sphaira kai hepta planētōn kai mia hē tēs aplanous. periethesan de autǭ tēn daphnēn, touto men hoti pyros plēres to phyton kai dia touto apechthes daimosi, touto de hoti lalon kaiomenon, eis parastasin tou prophēteuein ton theon.

Taking such a power to belong to the sun, they called it Apollo, from the quivering (palsis) of its rays. The nine Muses who sing to him are the sublunary sphere, the seven of the planets, and one of the fixed stars. They put the laurel around him, partly because the plant is full of fire and therefore hateful to demons, and partly because it crackles when burned, to represent the god's prophesying.

Notes and citation

Summary: Apollo is the sun; the nine Muses are the spheres; the laurel represents fire and prophecy.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.24 (Dindorf 1:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-24). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.25Dindorf 1:135

καθὸ δὲ ἀπαλεξίκακός ἐστι τῶν ἐπιγείων ὁ ἥλιος, Ἡρακλέα προσεῖπον αὐτὸν, ἐκ τοῦ κλᾶσθαι αὐτὸν πρὸς τὸν ἀέρα ἀπʼ ἀνατολῆς εἰς δύσιν ἰόντα. δώδεκα δʼ ἄθλους ἐκμοχθεῖν ἐμυθολόγησαν, τῆς κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν διαιρέσεως τῶν ζωδίων τὸ σύμβολον ἐπιφημίσαντες· ῥόπαλον δὲ αὐτῷ καὶ λεοντῆν περιέθεσαν, τὸ μὲν τῆς ἀνωμαλίας μήνυμα, τὸ δὲ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ζῴδιον ἐμφανιστικὸν ἰσχύος.

katho de apalexikakos esti tōn epigeiōn ho hēlios, Hēraklea proseipon auton, ek tou klasthai auton pros ton aera apʼ anatolēs eis dysin ionta. dōdeka dʼ athlous ekmochthein emythologēsan, tēs kata ton ouranon diaireseōs tōn zōdiōn to symbolon epiphēmisantes; rhopalon de autǭ kai leontēn periethesan, to men tēs anōmalias mēnyma, to de tēs kata to zǭdion emphanistikon ischyos.

Insofar as the sun wards off evils from earthly things, they called him Heracles, from his being broken (klasthai) against the air as he goes from east to west. They told in myth that he toiled through twelve labors, giving this as the symbol of the division of the signs of the zodiac in heaven; and they gave him a club and a lion's skin, the one indicating the unevenness, the other showing his strength in the sign of the zodiac.

Notes and citation

Summary: Heracles is the sun, his twelve labors the signs of the zodiac.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.25 (Dindorf 1:135; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-25). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.26Dindorf 1:135–136

τῆς δὲ σωστικῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως Ἀσκληπιὸς τὸ σύμβολον· ᾧ τὸ μὲν βάκτρον δεδώκασι, τῆς τῶν καμνόντων ὑπερείσεως καὶ ἀναπαύσεως, ὁ δὲ ὄφις περισπειρᾶται, τῆς περὶ τὸ σῶμα καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν σωτηρίας φέρων σημεῖον· (καὶ μὴν ὑφιστάντες ἡμῖν τὸν κόσμον οἱ φυσικοὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν γῆν ἰλυσπώμενα τῶν ζῴων τῆς παχυτάτης καὶ γεώδους ᾐτιάσαντο οὐσίας·) πνευματικώτατον γὰρ τὸ ζῷόν ἐστι καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν τοῦ σώματος ἀποδύεται. δοκεῖ δὲ καὶ ἰατρικώτατον εἶναι· τῆς γὰρ ὀξυδορκίας εὗρε τὸ φάρμακον καὶ μυθεύεται τῆς ἀναβιώσεως εἰδέναι τινὰ βοτάνην.

tēs de sōstikēs autou dynameōs Asklēpios to symbolon; hǭ to men baktron dedōkasi, tēs tōn kamnontōn hypereiseōs kai anapauseōs, ho de ophis perispeiratai, tēs peri to sōma kai tēn psychēn sōtērias pherōn sēmeion; (kai mēn hyphistantes hēmin ton kosmon hoi physikoi ta peri tēn gēn ilyspōmena tōn zǭōn tēs pachytatēs kai geōdous ę̄tiasanto ousias;) pneumatikōtaton gar to zǭon esti kai tēn astheneian tou sōmatos apodyetai. dokei de kai iatrikōtaton einai; tēs gar oxydorkias heure to pharmakon kai mytheuetai tēs anabiōseōs eidenai tina botanēn.

Of his saving power Asclepius is the symbol. To him they have given the staff, for the support and rest of the sick, and the serpent coils around it, bearing the sign of the preservation of body and soul (and indeed the natural philosophers who explain the world to us have attributed the creatures that crawl about the earth to the thickest and earthiest substance); for the creature is most full of spirit and puts off the weakness of its body. It seems also to be most skilled in healing; for it discovered the remedy for keen sight, and is said in myth to know a certain herb of revival.

Notes and citation

Summary: Asclepius is the sun's saving power, with staff and serpent as symbols of healing.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.26 (Dindorf 1:135–136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-26). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.27Dindorf 1:136

τῆς δʼ αὖ χορευτικῆς τε καὶ ἐγκυκλίου κινήσεως, καθʼ ἣν τοὺς καρποὺς πεπαίνει ἡ πυρὸς δύναμις, Διόνυσος κέκληται ἑτέρως, ἡ τῶν ὑγροποιῶν καρπῶν δύναμις, ἢ παρὰ τὸ περιδινεῖν, ἢ διανύειν τὸν ἥλιον τὴν κατὰ τὸν οὐρανὸν περιφοράν. ᾗ δὲ περὶ τὰς ὥρας τοῦ κόσμου περιπολεῖ καὶ χρόνων ἐστὶ ποιητικὸς καὶ καιρῶν ὁ ἥλιος, Ὦρος κατὰ τοῦτο κέκληται.

tēs dʼ au choreutikēs te kai enkykliou kinēseōs, kathʼ hēn tous karpous pepainei hē pyros dynamis, Dionysos keklētai heterōs, hē tōn hygropoiōn karpōn dynamis, ē para to peridinein, ē dianyein ton hēlion tēn kata ton ouranon periphoran. hę̄ de peri tas hōras tou kosmou peripolei kai chronōn esti poiētikos kai kairōn ho hēlios, Ōros kata touto keklētai.

Of the dancing and circling motion by which the power of fire ripens the crops, Dionysus is named in another sense than as the power of the moist fruits, either from whirling round (peridinein) or from the sun's accomplishing (dianyein) its revolution in heaven. And insofar as the sun goes round the seasons (horai) of the world and is the maker of times and seasons, he is called Horus.

Notes and citation

Summary: Dionysus and Horus are also named as powers of the sun.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): πε- παίνει → πεπαίνει.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.27 (Dindorf 1:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-27). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.28Dindorf 1:136

τῆς δʼ αὖ γεωργικῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως, καθʼ ἣν αἱ δόσεις τοῦ πλούτου, σύμβολον ὁ Πλούτων. ὁμοίως μέντοι καὶ τὴν φθαρτικὴν ἔχει δύναμιν, διὸ τῷ Πλούτωνι συνοικίζουσι τὸν Σάραπιν, τοῦ μὲν δεδυκότος ὑπὸ γῆν φωτὸς τὸν πορφυροῦν χιτῶνα ποιούμενοι σύμβολον, τὸ δὲ ἠκρωτηριασμένον σκῆπτρον τῆς κάτω δυνάμεως, τό τε σχῆμα τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ μεταχωρεῖν εἰς τὸ ἀφανές.

tēs dʼ au geōrgikēs autou dynameōs, kathʼ hēn hai doseis tou ploutou, symbolon ho Ploutōn. homoiōs mentoi kai tēn phthartikēn echei dynamin, dio tǭ Ploutōni synoikizousi ton Sarapin, tou men dedykotos hypo gēn phōtos ton porphyroun chitōna poioumenoi symbolon, to de ēkrōtēriasmenon skēptron tēs katō dynameōs, to te schēma tēs cheiros tou metachōrein eis to aphanes.

Of his agricultural power, by which the gifts of wealth (ploutos) come, Pluto is the symbol. But he has likewise the power of destruction; therefore they set Sarapis beside Pluto, making the purple robe the symbol of the light that has sunk beneath the earth, the docked scepter the symbol of the power below, and the position of the hand the symbol of departure into the invisible.

Notes and citation

Summary: Pluto and Sarapis represent the sun's power of increase and destruction.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): φω- τὸς → φωτὸς.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.28 (Dindorf 1:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-28). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.29Dindorf 1:136

ὁ δὲ Κέρβερος τρικέφαλος μὲν, ὅτι τρεῖς αἱ ἄνω χῶραι ἡλίου, ἀνατολὴ, μεσημβρία, δύσις.

ho de Kerberos trikephalos men, hoti treis hai anō chōrai hēliou, anatolē, mesēmbria, dysis.

Cerberus is three-headed because the positions of the sun above the earth are three: rising, midday, and setting.

Notes and citation

Summary: Cerberus's three heads are the sun's three positions.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.29 (Dindorf 1:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-29). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.30Dindorf 1:136

τὴν δὲ σελήνην, παρὰ τὸ σέλας ὑπολαβόντες, Ἄρτεμιν προσηγόρευσαν, οἷον ἀερότεμιν· λοχία τε ἡ Ἄρτεμις, καίπερ οὖσα παρθένος, ὅτι ἡ τῆς νουμηνίας δύναμις προσθετικὴ εἰς τὸ τίκτειν.

tēn de selēnēn, para to selas hypolabontes, Artemin prosēgoreusan, hoion aerotemin; lochia te hē Artemis, kaiper ousa parthenos, hoti hē tēs noumēnias dynamis prosthetikē eis to tiktein.

The moon, taking the name from its brightness (selas), they called Artemis, as it were 'air-cutter' (aerotemis); and Artemis, though a virgin, presides over childbirth, because the power of the new moon is helpful for giving birth.

Notes and citation

Summary: Artemis is the moon, patroness of childbirth.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.30 (Dindorf 1:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-30). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.31Dindorf 1:136

ὅπερ δὲ Ἀπόλλων ἐν ἡλίῳ, τοῦτο Ἀθηνᾶ ἐν σελήνῃ· ἔστι γὰρ τῆς φρονήσεως σύμβολον, Ἀθρηνᾶ τις οὖσα.

hoper de Apollōn en hēliǭ, touto Athēna en selēnę̄; esti gar tēs phronēseōs symbolon, Athrēna tis ousa.

What Apollo is in the sun, Athena is in the moon; for she is the symbol of wisdom, being a kind of Athrena.

Notes and citation

Summary: Athena is the moon's wisdom.

A wordplay on Athena and a form meaning "observant" (compare ἀθρεῖν).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (accent misread in digitization): Ἀθρηνἀ → Ἀθρηνᾶ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.31 (Dindorf 1:136; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-31). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.32Dindorf 1:136–137

Ἑκάτη δὲ ἡ σελήνη πάλιν, τῆς περὶ αὐτὴν μετασχηματίσεως καὶ κατὰ τοὺς σχηματισμοὺς δυνάμεως· διὸ τρίμορφος ἡ δύναμις, τῆς μὲν νουμηνίας φέρουσα τὴν λευχείμονα καὶ χρυσοσάνδαλον καὶ τὰς λαμπάδας ἡμμένας· ὁ δὲ κάλαθος, ὃν ἐπὶ τοῖς μετεώροις φέρει, τῆς τῶν καρπῶν κατεργασίας, οὓς ἀνατρέφει κατὰ τὴν τοῦ φωτὸς παραύξησιν· τῆς δʼ αὖ πανσελήνου ἡ χαλκοσάνδαλος σύμβολον.

Hekatē de hē selēnē palin, tēs peri autēn metaschēmatiseōs kai kata tous schēmatismous dynameōs; dio trimorphos hē dynamis, tēs men noumēnias pherousa tēn leucheimona kai chrysosandalon kai tas lampadas hēmmenas; ho de kalathos, hon epi tois meteōrois pherei, tēs tōn karpōn katergasias, hous anatrephei kata tēn tou phōtos parauxēsin; tēs dʼ au panselēnou hē chalkosandalos symbolon.

The moon again is Hecate, the symbol of its changing phases and of its power according to its phases. Therefore her power is three-formed: that of the new moon bears the white robe, the golden sandals, and the lighted torches; the basket she carries on high is the symbol of the cultivation of the crops, which she nourishes as her light increases; and the bronze sandal is the symbol of the full moon.

Notes and citation

Summary: Hecate is the moon in its three phases.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip; line-break hyphen rejoined): Εκάταη → Ἑκάτη; τρί- μορφος → τρίμορφος; πανσε- λήνου → πανσελήνου.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.32 (Dindorf 1:136–137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-32). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.33Dindorf 1:137

ἢ καὶ ἐκ μὲν τοῦ κλάδου τῆς δάφνης λάβοι ἄν τις αὐτῆς τὸ ἔμπυρον, ἐκ δὲ τοῦ μήκωνος τὸ γόνιμον, καὶ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν εἰσοικιζομένων εἰς αὐτὴν ψυχῶν ὥσπερ εἰς πόλιν, ὅτι πόλεως ὁ μήκων σύμβολον. τόξα δὲ φέρει καθάπερ ἡ Ἄρτεμις διὰ τὴν τῶν ὠδίνων ὀξύτητα.

ē kai ek men tou kladou tēs daphnēs laboi an tis autēs to empyron, ek de tou mēkōnos to gonimon, kai to plēthos tōn eisoikizomenōn eis autēn psychōn hōsper eis polin, hoti poleōs ho mēkōn symbolon. toxa de pherei kathaper hē Artemis dia tēn tōn ōdinōn oxytēta.

Or from the laurel branch one might understand her fiery nature, from the poppy her fertility and the multitude of souls that dwell in her as in a city, since the poppy is a symbol of a city. She bears a bow like Artemis because of the sharpness of birth pains.

Notes and citation

Summary: Hecate's laurel, poppy, and bow are symbols of fire, fertility, and childbirth.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip): καθάπορ → καθάπερ.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.33 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-33). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.34Dindorf 1:137

πάλιν δʼ αὖ αἱ Μοῖραι ἐπὶ τὰς δυνάμεις αὐτῆς ἀναφέρονται· ἡ μὲν Κλωθὼ ἐπὶ τὴν γεννητικὴν, Λάχεσις δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν θρεπτικὴν, Ἄτροπος δὲ ἡ κατὰ τὸ ἀπαραίτητον τοῦ θεοῦ.

palin dʼ au hai Moirai epi tas dynameis autēs anapherontai; hē men Klōthō epi tēn gennētikēn, Lachesis de epi tēn threptikēn, Atropos de hē kata to aparaitēton tou theou.

Again the Fates are referred to her powers: Clotho to the generative, Lachesis to the nourishing, and Atropos to the inexorable decree of God.

Notes and citation

Summary: The three Fates are powers of the moon.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.34 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-34). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.35Dindorf 1:137

συνοικίζουσι δὲ αὐτῇ καὶ τὴν τῶν καρπῶν γεννητικὴν δύναμιν, ἥπερ ἐστὶ Δημήτηρ, δύναμιν ἐμποιοῦσαν αὐτῇ. καὶ ἔστι συνεκτικὴ τῆς Κόρης ἡ σελήνη. προσοικίζουσι δὲ καὶ τὸν Διόνυσον διά τε τὴν τῶν κεράτων ἔκφυσιν καὶ διὰ τὸν τῶν νεφῶν τόπον τὸν ὑποκείμενον τοῖς κάτω μέρεσι.

synoikizousi de autę̄ kai tēn tōn karpōn gennētikēn dynamin, hēper esti Dēmētēr, dynamin empoiousan autę̄. kai esti synektikē tēs Korēs hē selēnē. prosoikizousi de kai ton Dionyson dia te tēn tōn keratōn ekphysin kai dia ton tōn nephōn topon ton hypokeimenon tois katō meresi.

They also associate with her the power that generates the crops, which is Demeter, as a power producing in her; and the moon contains Kore. They also associate Dionysus with her, both because of the growth of horns and because of the region of the clouds lying beneath the lower parts.

Notes and citation

Summary: Demeter, Kore, and Dionysus are associated with the moon.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.35 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-35). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.36Dindorf 1:137

τὴν δὲ τοῦ Κρόνου δύναμιν νωχελῆ καὶ βραδεῖαν καὶ ψυχρὰν κατεῖδον, διὸ τὴν τοῦ χρόνου δύναμιν αὐτῷ προσανέθεσαν· ἀποτυποῦσί τε αὐτὸν ἑστῶτα πολιὸν, πρὸς ἔμφασιν τοῦ γηράσκειν τὸν χρόνον.

tēn de tou Kronou dynamin nōchelē kai bradeian kai psychran kateidon, dio tēn tou chronou dynamin autǭ prosanethesan; apotypousi te auton hestōta polion, pros emphasin tou gēraskein ton chronon.

They saw that the power of Cronus is sluggish, slow, and cold, and therefore ascribed to him the power of time; and they represent him standing and grey-haired, to show that time grows old.

Notes and citation

Summary: Cronus is the slow, cold planet and the power of time.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.36 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-36). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.37Dindorf 1:137

τῶν δὲ καιρῶν σύμβολα οἱ Κουρῆτες, τὸν χρόνον βουκολοῦντες, ὅτι διὰ τῶν καιρῶν ὁ χρόνος παροδεύει.

tōn de kairōn symbola hoi Kourētes, ton chronon boukolountes, hoti dia tōn kairōn ho chronos parodeuei.

The Curetes are symbols of the seasons, tending time like a herd, because time passes through the seasons.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Curetes are the seasons.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.37 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-37). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.38Dindorf 1:137

τῶν δὲ Ὡρῶν αἱ μὲν Ὀλυμπιάδες εἰσὶ τοῦ ἡλίου, αἳ καὶ ἀνοίγουσι τὰς κατὰ τὸν ἀέρα πύλας, αἱ δὲ ἐπιχθόνιοι τῆς Δήμητρος· καὶ κάλαθον ἔχουσι τὸν μὲν τῶν ἀνθέων σύμβολον τοῦ ἔαρος, τὸν δὲ τῶν σταχύων τοῦ θέρους.

tōn de Hōrōn hai men Olympiades eisi tou hēliou, hai kai anoigousi tas kata ton aera pylas, hai de epichthonioi tēs Dēmētros; kai kalathon echousi ton men tōn antheōn symbolon tou earos, ton de tōn stachyōn tou therous.

Of the Horae, the Olympian ones belong to the sun and open the gates of the air; the earthly ones belong to Demeter and have baskets, one of flowers, the symbol of spring, the other of ears of grain, of summer.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Horae are the seasons of heaven and earth.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): Ὀλυμπιά- δες → Ὀλυμπιάδες.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.38 (Dindorf 1:137; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-38). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.39Dindorf 1:137–138

τοῦ δὲ Ἄρεος τὴν δύναμιν καταλαβόντες διάπυρον, πολέμων ποιητικὴν καὶ αἱματουργὸν, βλάπτειν τε καὶ ὠφελεῖν δυναμένην ἐποίησαν.

tou de Areos tēn dynamin katalabontes diapyron, polemōn poiētikēn kai haimatourgon, blaptein te kai ōphelein dynamenēn epoiēsan.

Perceiving the power of Ares to be fiery, they made him the maker of wars and of bloodshed, able both to harm and to help.

Notes and citation

Summary: Ares is the fiery planet of war.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (digitization slip; line-break hyphen rejoined; accent corrected; repeated word in digitization): τοῦ δὲ δὲ Ἄρεος → τοῦ δὲ Ἄρεος; πολέ- μῶν → πολέμων; δυννμένην → δυναμένην.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.39 (Dindorf 1:137–138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-39). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.40Dindorf 1:138

τὸν δὲ τῆς Ἀφροδίτης ἀστέρα θεωρήσαντες γενεσιουργὸν, ἐπιθυμίας τε καὶ γονῆς αἴτιον, γυναῖκα μὲν ἀνέπλασαν διὰ τὴν γένεσιν, ὡραίαν δὲ, ὅτι καὶ Ἕσπερος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν οὐρανῷ ἵσταται ἀστήρ.

ton de tēs Aphroditēs astera theōrēsantes genesiourgon, epithymias te kai gonēs aition, gynaika men aneplasan dia tēn genesin, hōraian de, hoti kai Hesperos, hos kallistos en ouranǭ histatai astēr.

Observing the star of Aphrodite to be productive of generation and the cause of desire and offspring, they fashioned her as a woman because of generation, and beautiful because she is also Hesperus, 'the fairest star that stands in heaven.'

Notes and citation

Summary: Aphrodite is the planet Venus, cause of generation and the evening star.

The closing phrase is from Homer, Iliad 22.318.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): ᾿Αφροδίτης → Ἀφροδίτης.

Extrabiblical texts: Homer, Il. 22.318 (Homer, Iliad; quotation)

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.40 (Dindorf 1:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-40). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.41Dindorf 1:138

καὶ Ἔρωτα μὲν παρέστησαν διὰ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν. σκέπει δὲ μαστοὺς καὶ τὸ μόριον, ὅτι γονῆς αἰτία ἡ δύναμις καὶ ἐκθρέψεως. ἔστι δὲ ἀπὸ θαλάττης, στοιχείου διύγρου καὶ θερμοῦ, πολλὰ κινουμένου καὶ διὰ τὴν συγκίνησιν ἀφριῶντος, τὸ σπερματικὸν αἰνιττόμενος.

kai Erōta men parestēsan dia tēn epithymian. skepei de mastous kai to morion, hoti gonēs aitia hē dynamis kai ekthrepseōs. esti de apo thalattēs, stoicheiou diygrou kai thermou, polla kinoumenou kai dia tēn synkinēsin aphriōntos, to spermatikon ainittomenos.

And they set Eros beside her because of desire. She covers her breasts and her private part, because the power is the cause of birth and nurture. She comes from the sea, a moist and hot element, much agitated and foaming from the commotion, hinting at the seminal nature.

Notes and citation

Summary: Eros accompanies Aphrodite, whose sea birth hints at generation.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined): στοι- χείου → στοιχείου.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.41 (Dindorf 1:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-41). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.42Dindorf 1:138

τοῦ δὲ λόγου τοῦ πάντων ποιητικοῦ τε καὶ ἑρμηνευτικοῦ ὁ Ἑρμῆς παραστατικός. ὁ δὲ ἐντεταμένος Ἑρμῆς δηλοῖ τὴν εὐτονίαν, δείκνυσι δὲ καὶ τὸν σπερματικὸν λόγον τὸν διήκοντα διὰ πάντων.

tou de logou tou pantōn poiētikou te kai hermēneutikou ho Hermēs parastatikos. ho de entetamenos Hermēs dēloi tēn eutonian, deiknysi de kai ton spermatikon logon ton diēkonta dia pantōn.

Of the reason (logos) that makes and interprets all things, Hermes is the representative. The erect Hermes shows vigor, and indicates also the seminal reason that pervades all things.

Notes and citation

Summary: Hermes represents the creative and interpreting reason.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.42 (Dindorf 1:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-42). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.43Dindorf 1:138

λοιπὸν δὲ σύνθετος λόγος, ὁ μὲν ἐν ἡλίῳ Ἑρμῆς, Ἑκάτη δὲ ὁ ἐν σελήνῃ, Ἑρμόπαν δὲ ὁ ἐν τῷ παντί· κατὰ πάντων γὰρ ὁ σπερματικὸς καὶ ποιητικός. σύνθετος δὲ καὶ οἷον μιξέλλην καὶ παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις ὁ Ἑρμάνουβις. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ τῆς ἐρώσης ἦν δυνάμεως ὁ λόγος, ταύτης ὁ Ἔρως παραστατικός. διὸ παῖς μὲν τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ ὁ Ἔρως, νήπιος δὲ διὰ τὰς αἰφνιδίους περὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας ἐμπτώσεις αὐτοῦ.

loipon de synthetos logos, ho men en hēliǭ Hermēs, Hekatē de ho en selēnę̄, Hermopan de ho en tǭ panti; kata pantōn gar ho spermatikos kai poiētikos. synthetos de kai hoion mixellēn kai parʼ Aigyptiois ho Hermanoubis. epei de kai tēs erōsēs ēn dynameōs ho logos, tautēs ho Erōs parastatikos. dio pais men tou Hermou ho Erōs, nēpios de dia tas aiphnidious peri tas epithymias emptōseis autou.

Further, reason is compound: in the sun it is Hermes, in the moon Hecate, and in the universe Hermopan; for the seminal and creative reason is in all things. Compound too, and as it were half-Greek, is the Hermanubis among the Egyptians. And since reason also belonged to the power of love, Eros represents this. Therefore Eros is the son of Hermes, and an infant because of the sudden onsets of desire.

Notes and citation

Summary: Hermes, Hecate, Hermopan, Hermanubis, and Eros are forms of reason.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): ῾Ερμόπαν → Ἑρμόπαν; ῾Ερμάνουβις → Ἑρμάνουβις.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.43 (Dindorf 1:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-43). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.44Dindorf 1:138

τοῦ δὲ παντὸς τὸν Πάνα σύμβολον ἔθεντο, τὰ μὲν κέρατα σύμβολα δόντες ἡλίου καὶ σελήνης, τὴν δὲ νεβρίδα τῶν κατʼ οὐρανὸν ἀστέρων, ἢ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς ποικιλίας.”

tou de pantos ton Pana symbolon ethento, ta men kerata symbola dontes hēliou kai selēnēs, tēn de nebrida tōn katʼ ouranon asterōn, ē tēs tou pantos poikilias.”

Of the universe (to pan) they made Pan the symbol, giving the horns as symbols of the sun and moon, and the fawnskin as that of the stars in heaven, or of the variety of the universe."

Notes and citation

Summary: Pan symbolizes the universe.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.44 (Dindorf 1:138; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-44). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.45Dindorf 1:138–139

Καὶ τὰ μὲν Ἑλληνικὰ τοιαῦτα· τὰ δὲ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων πάλιν τοιαῦτά φησιν ἔχειν σύμβολα Τὸν δημιουργὸν, ὃν Κνὴφ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι προσαγορεύουσιν, ἀνθρωποειδῆ, τὴν δὲ χροιὰν ἐκ κυανοῦ μέλανος ἔχοντα, κρατοῦντα ζώνην καὶ σκῆπτρον, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς πτερὸν βασίλειον περικείμενον, ὅτι λόγος δυσεύρετος καὶ ἐγκεκρυμμένος καὶ οὐ φανὸς, καὶ ὅτι ζωοποιὸς, καὶ ὅτι βασιλεὺς, καὶ ὅτι νοερῶς κινεῖται· διὸ ἡ τοῦ πτεροῦ φύσις ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ κεῖται.

Kai ta men Hellēnika toiauta; ta de tōn Aigyptiōn palin toiauta phēsin echein symbola Ton dēmiourgon, hon Knēph hoi Aigyptioi prosagoreuousin, anthrōpoeidē, tēn de chroian ek kyanou melanos echonta, kratounta zōnēn kai skēptron, epi de tēs kephalēs pteron basileion perikeimenon, hoti logos dyseuretos kai enkekrymmenos kai ou phanos, kai hoti zōopoios, kai hoti basileus, kai hoti noerōs kineitai; dio hē tou pterou physis en tę̄ kephalę̄ keitai.

Such are the Greek doctrines; and those of the Egyptians, he says, have symbols like these: "The creator, whom the Egyptians call Kneph, is in human form, of a dark blue color, holding a girdle and a scepter, with a royal feather on his head, because the reason is hard to find, hidden and not visible, because it gives life, because it is king, and because it moves intellectually; therefore the feather's nature is placed on the head.

Notes and citation

Summary: Porphyry describes the Egyptian creator god Kneph and his symbols.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.45 (Dindorf 1:138–139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-45). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.46Dindorf 1:139

τὸν δὲ θεὸν τοῦτον ἐκ τοῦ στόματος προΐεσθαί φασιν ᾠὸν, ἐξ οὗ γεννᾶσθαι θεὸν, ὃν αὐτοὶ προσαγορεύουσι Φθὰ, οἱ δὲ Ἕλληνες Ἥφαιστον· ἑρμηνεύειν δὲ τὸ ᾠὸν τὸν κόσμον. ἀφιέρωται δὲ τῷ θεῷ τούτῳ πρόβατον διὰ τὸ τοὺς παλαιοὺς γαλακτοποτεῖν.

ton de theon touton ek tou stomatos proïesthai phasin ǭon, ex hou gennasthai theon, hon autoi prosagoreuousi Phtha, hoi de Hellēnes Hēphaiston; hermēneuein de to ǭon ton kosmon. aphierōtai de tǭ theǭ toutǭ probaton dia to tous palaious galaktopotein.

This god, they say, brings forth from his mouth an egg, from which is born the god whom they call Phtha and the Greeks Hephaestus; and the egg signifies the world. To this god a sheep is consecrated because the ancients drank milk.

Notes and citation

Summary: Kneph brings forth the world-egg from which Phtha (Hephaestus) is born.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): οἶ δὲ Ἕλληνες → οἱ δὲ Ἕλληνες.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.46 (Dindorf 1:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-46). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.47Dindorf 1:139

αὐτοῦ δὲ τοῦ κόσμου τὸ δείκηλον τοιόνδε ἀνέπλασαν· ἀνθρωποειδές ἐστιν ἄγαλμα, τοὺς μὲν πόδας συμβεβηκότας ἔχον, ἄνωθεν δὲ μέχρι ποδῶν ποικίλον ἱμάτιον περιβεβλημένον· ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς σφαῖραν ἔχει χρυσῆν διὰ τὸ μὴ μεταβαίνειν, καὶ διὰ τὴν τῶν ἄστρων ποικίλην φύσιν, καὶ ὅτι σφαιροειδὴς ὁ κόσμος.

autou de tou kosmou to deikēlon toionde aneplasan; anthrōpoeides estin agalma, tous men podas symbebēkotas echon, anōthen de mechri podōn poikilon himation peribeblēmenon; epi de tēs kephalēs sphairan echei chrysēn dia to mē metabainein, kai dia tēn tōn astrōn poikilēn physin, kai hoti sphairoeidēs ho kosmos.

Of the world itself they fashioned an image like this: it is a statue in human form with its feet joined together, clothed from top to feet in a many-colored robe; on its head it has a golden sphere, because it does not move from its place, because of the varied nature of the stars, and because the world is spherical.

Notes and citation

Summary: The Egyptian image of the world wears a many-colored robe and a golden sphere.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.47 (Dindorf 1:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-47). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.48Dindorf 1:139

ἥλιον δὲ σημαίνουσι ποτὲ μὲν διʼ ἀνθρώπου ἐπιβεβηκότος πλοίου, τοῦ πλοίου ἐπὶ κροκοδείλου κειμένου. δηλοῖ δὲ τὸ μὲν πλοῖον τὴν ἐν ὑγρῷ κίνησιν, ὁ δὲ κροκόδειλος πότιμον ὕδωρ, ἐν ᾧ φέρεται ὁ ἥλιος. ἐσήμαινε τοίνυν ὁ ἥλιος διʼ ἀέρος ὑγροῦ καὶ γλυκέος τὴν περιπόλησιν ποιεῖσθαι.

hēlion de sēmainousi pote men diʼ anthrōpou epibebēkotos ploiou, tou ploiou epi krokodeilou keimenou. dēloi de to men ploion tēn en hygrǭ kinēsin, ho de krokodeilos potimon hydōr, en hǭ pheretai ho hēlios. esēmaine toinyn ho hēlios diʼ aeros hygrou kai glykeos tēn peripolēsin poieisthai.

They sometimes signify the sun by a man embarked on a ship, the ship resting on a crocodile. The ship shows motion in a moist element, and the crocodile drinkable water, in which the sun is carried. So the sun was signified as making its circuit through moist and sweet air.

Notes and citation

Summary: The sun is shown in a ship on a crocodile, traveling through moist air.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.48 (Dindorf 1:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-48). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.49Dindorf 1:139

τῆς δὲ οὐρανίας γῆς καὶ τῆς χθονίας τὴν δύναμιν Ἶσιν προσεῖπον διὰ τὴν ἰσότητα, ἀφʼ ἧς τὸ δίκαιον· οὐρανίαν δὲ τὴν σελήνην, χθονίαν δὲ τὴν καρποφόρον, ἐν ᾗ κατοικοῦμεν, λέγουσι.

tēs de ouranias gēs kai tēs chthonias tēn dynamin Isin proseipon dia tēn isotēta, aphʼ hēs to dikaion; ouranian de tēn selēnēn, chthonian de tēn karpophoron, en hę̄ katoikoumen, legousi.

The power of the heavenly and the earthly earth they called Isis because of equality (isotes), from which justice comes; by the heavenly earth they mean the moon, and by the earthly the fruitful earth on which we dwell.

Notes and citation

Summary: Isis is the power of the moon and of the fruitful earth.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathing misread in digitization): ᾿Ισιν → Ἶσιν.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.49 (Dindorf 1:139; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-49). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.50Dindorf 1:139–140

τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ δύναται Δημήτηρ παρʼ Ἕλλησι καὶ Ἶσις παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις, καὶ πάλιν Κόρη παρʼ Ἕλλησι καὶ Διόνυσος, καὶ Ἴσις καὶ Ὄσιρις παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις. αὕτη δὲ τρέφουσα καὶ αἱροῦσα τὰ ἐπὶ γῆς· ὁ δὲ Ὄσιρις παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις τὴν κάρπιμον παρίστησι δύναμιν, ἣν θρήνοις ἀπομειλίσσεσθαι εἰς γῆν ἀφανιζομένην ἐν τῷ σπόρῳ, καὶ ὑφʼ ἡμῶν καταναλισκομένην εἰς τροφάς

to de auto dynatai Dēmētēr parʼ Hellēsi kai Isis parʼ Aigyptiois, kai palin Korē parʼ Hellēsi kai Dionysos, kai Isis kai Osiris parʼ Aigyptiois. hautē de trephousa kai hairousa ta epi gēs; ho de Osiris parʼ Aigyptiois tēn karpimon paristēsi dynamin, hēn thrēnois apomeilissesthai eis gēn aphanizomenēn en tǭ sporǭ, kai hyphʼ hēmōn katanaliskomenēn eis trophas

Demeter among the Greeks and Isis among the Egyptians mean the same, and again Kore and Dionysus among the Greeks, and Isis and Osiris among the Egyptians. She nourishes and takes away the things on earth; and Osiris among the Egyptians represents the fruit-bearing power, which they propitiate with lamentations as it disappears into the earth in sowing and is consumed by us for food.

Notes and citation

Summary: Isis and Osiris correspond to Demeter, Kore, and Dionysus as powers of earth and crops.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (line-break hyphen rejoined; stray mark in digitization): παρʼ ’ Αἰγυπτίοις → παρʼ Αἰγυπτίοις; Διό- νυσος → Διόνυσος.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.50 (Dindorf 1:139–140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-50). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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3.11.51Dindorf 1:140

λαμβάνεται δὲ καὶ ἀντὶ τῆς ποταμίας τοῦ Νείλου δυνάμεως· ἀλλʼ ὅταν μὲν τὴν χθονίαν γῆν σημαίνωσιν, Ὄσιρις ἡ κάρπιμος λαμβάνεται δύναμις, ὅταν δὲ τὴν οὐρανίαν, Ὄσιρίς ἐστιν ὁ Νεῖλος, ὃν ἐξ οὐρανοῦ καταφέρεσθαι οἴονται· πενθοῦσι δὲ καὶ τοῦτον, ἀπομειλισσόμενοι τὴν δύναμιν λήγουσαν καὶ ἀναλισκομένην. ἡ δὲ ἐν τοῖς μύθοις μισγομένη τῷ Ὀσίριδι Ἶσις ἡ Αἰγυπτία ἐστὶ γῆ διόπερ ἰσοῦται καὶ κυεῖ καὶ ποιεῖ τοὺς καρπούς· διὸ ἀνὴρ τῆς Ἴσιδος Ὄσιρις καὶ ἀδελφὸς καὶ υἱὸς παραδέδοται. ”

lambanetai de kai anti tēs potamias tou Neilou dynameōs; allʼ hotan men tēn chthonian gēn sēmainōsin, Osiris hē karpimos lambanetai dynamis, hotan de tēn ouranian, Osiris estin ho Neilos, hon ex ouranou katapheresthai oiontai; penthousi de kai touton, apomeilissomenoi tēn dynamin lēgousan kai analiskomenēn. hē de en tois mythois misgomenē tǭ Osiridi Isis hē Aigyptia esti gē dioper isoutai kai kyei kai poiei tous karpous; dio anēr tēs Isidos Osiris kai adelphos kai huios paradedotai. ”

He is also taken for the river power of the Nile. When they signify the earthly earth, Osiris is taken as the fruit-bearing power; when the heavenly, Osiris is the Nile, which they think comes down from heaven; and they mourn him too, propitiating the power as it fails and is used up. The Isis who in the myths unites with Osiris is the land of Egypt, which is made equal and conceives and produces the crops; therefore Osiris has been handed down as the husband, brother, and son of Isis."

Notes and citation

Summary: Osiris is also the Nile, and Isis the land of Egypt that he fertilizes.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (breathings misread in digitization): ᾿Οσίριδι ᾿Ισις → Ὀσίριδι Ἶσις.

Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 3.11.51 (Dindorf 1:140; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/3-10-1/#p-3-11-51). (abbreviation not yet checked)

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