Preparation for the Gospel 6.9.1–6.9.32
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 6, chapter 9
6.9.1Dindorf 1:307
“ Διαιρεῖται δὲ τὰ τῶν γινομένων αἴτια εἰς τρόπους αἰτιῶν τέσσαρας, καθὼς ὁ θεῖος Ἀριστοτέλης δέδειχε· τῶν γὰρ αἰτίων τὰ μέν ἐστι ποιητικὰ, τὰ δὲ ὕλης ἐπέχοντα λόγον· ἔστι δέ τις ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἡ κατὰ τὸ εἶδος αἰτία· παρὰ δὲ τὰς τρεῖς ταύτας αἰτίας ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτοῖς αἴτιον καὶ τέλος, οὗ χάριν τὸ γινόμενον γίνεται.
“ Diaireitai de ta tōn ginomenōn aitia eis tropous aitiōn tessaras, kathōs ho theios Aristotelēs dedeiche; tōn gar aitiōn ta men esti poiētika, ta de hylēs epechonta logon; esti de tis en autois kai hē kata to eidos aitia; para de tas treis tautas aitias estin en autois aition kai telos, hou charin to ginomenon ginetai.
"The causes of what comes to be are divided into four kinds of cause, as the divine Aristotle has shown. For of causes some are productive, others have the character of matter; there is also among them the cause according to form; and besides these three there is among them a cause that is also an end, for the sake of which what comes to be comes to be.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander of Aphrodisias sets out Aristotle's four causes.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 3.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; misread letter and accent in the digital text): τὰ τόν γινομένων → τὰ τῶν γινομένων; αἰ- τίας → αἰτίας.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristotle (Aristotle (works); allusion); Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.1 (Dindorf 1:307; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-1). (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.
6.9.2Dindorf 1:307
καὶ τοσαῦται μὲν αἱ τῶν αἰτίων διαφοραί· ὅ τι γὰρ ἂν αἴτιον ᾖ τινὸς ὑπό τι τούτων τῶν αἰτιῶν ὂν εὑρεθήσεται. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὴ πάντα τὰ γινόμενα τοσούτων αἰτίων δεῖται, ἀλλὰ τά γε πλείστων δεόμενα οὐχ ὑπερβαίνει τὸν εἰρημένον ἀριθμόν.
kai tosautai men hai tōn aitiōn diaphorai; ho ti gar an aition ę̄ tinos hypo ti toutōn tōn aitiōn on heurethēsetai. kai gar ei mē panta ta ginomena tosoutōn aitiōn deitai, alla ta ge pleistōn deomena ouch hyperbainei ton eirēmenon arithmon.
So many are the differences among causes; for whatever is the cause of something will be found to fall under one of these causes. And even if not everything that comes to be needs so many causes, those that need the most do not exceed the number stated.
Notes and citation
Summary: Every cause falls under one of the four kinds.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong breathing and line-end hyphen in the digital text): αἶ τῶν αἰ- τίων → αἱ τῶν αἰτίων.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.2 (Dindorf 1:307; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-2). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.3Dindorf 1:307–308
γνωριμωτέρα δʼ ἂν αὐτῶν ἡ διαφορὰ γένοιτο, εἰ ἐπὶ παραδείγματός τινος τῶν γινομένων ὁραθείη. ἴστω δὴ ἐπʼ ἀνδριάντος ἡμῖν ἡ τῶν αἰτίων δεικνυμένη διαίρεσις. τοῦ δὴ ἀνδριάντος ὡς μὲν ποιητικὸν αἴτιον ὁ ποιήσας τεχνίτης, ὃν ἀνδριαντοποιὸν καλοῦμεν, ὡς δὲ ὕλη ὁ ὑποκείμενος χαλκὸς, ἢ λίθος, ἢ ὅ τι ἂν ᾖ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ τεχνίτου σχηματιζόμενον κατὰ τὴν τέχνην· αἴτιον γὰρ καὶ τοῦτο τοῦ γεγονέναι τε καὶ εἶναι τὸν ἀνδριάντα.
gnōrimōtera dʼ an autōn hē diaphora genoito, ei epi paradeigmatos tinos tōn ginomenōn horatheiē. istō dē epʼ andriantos hēmin hē tōn aitiōn deiknymenē diairesis. tou dē andriantos hōs men poiētikon aition ho poiēsas technitēs, hon andriantopoion kaloumen, hōs de hylē ho hypokeimenos chalkos, ē lithos, ē ho ti an ę̄ to hypo tou technitou schēmatizomenon kata tēn technēn; aition gar kai touto tou gegonenai te kai einai ton andrianta.
Their difference would become clearer if it were seen in the example of something that comes to be. Let the division of causes be shown for us in a statue. Of the statue, the productive cause is the craftsman who made it, whom we call a sculptor; the matter is the underlying bronze or stone, or whatever is shaped by the craftsman according to his art; for this too is a cause of the statue's having come to be and of its being.
Notes and citation
Summary: The example of a statue: the sculptor as productive cause and the bronze as matter.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀνδριαντο- ποιὸν → ἀνδριαντοποιὸν; σχηματι- ζόμενον → σχηματιζόμενον.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.3 (Dindorf 1:307–308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-3). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.4Dindorf 1:308
ἔστι δὲ καὶ τὸ εἶδος τὸ ἐν τῷ ὑποκειμένῳ τούτῳ γενόμενον ὑπὸ τοῦ τεχνίτου καὶ αὐτὸ τοῦ ἀνδριάντος αἴτιον· διὸ εἶδός ἐστι δισκεῦον, ἢ ἀκοντίζον, ἢ ἐπʼ ἄλλου τινὸς ὡρισμένου σχήματος.
esti de kai to eidos to en tǭ hypokeimenǭ toutǭ genomenon hypo tou technitou kai auto tou andriantos aition; dio eidos esti diskeuon, ē akontizon, ē epʼ allou tinos hōrismenou schēmatos.
And the form produced by the craftsman in this underlying material is also itself a cause of the statue; which is why it is the form of a discus-thrower, or a javelin-thrower, or of some other definite figure.
Notes and citation
Summary: The form given by the sculptor is also a cause.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.4 (Dindorf 1:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-4). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.5Dindorf 1:308
οὐ μόνον δὲ ταῦτα τῆς τοῦ ἀνδριάντος γενέσεως αἴτια, ἀλλʼ ἔστιν οὐδενὸς τῶν αἰτίων τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ δεύτερον τὸ τέλος, οὗ χάριν γέγονε, τουτέστιν, ἢ τιμή τινος, ἢ εἰς θεὸν εὐσέβειά τις. ἄνευ γὰρ τῆς τοιαύτης αἰτίας οὐδʼ ἂν τὴν ἀρχὴν ὁ ἀνδριὰς ἐγένετο.
ou monon de tauta tēs tou andriantos geneseōs aitia, allʼ estin oudenos tōn aitiōn tēs geneseōs autou deuteron to telos, hou charin gegone, toutestin, ē timē tinos, ē eis theon eusebeia tis. aneu gar tēs toiautēs aitias oudʼ an tēn archēn ho andrias egeneto.
And these are not the only causes of the statue's coming to be; second to none of the causes of its coming to be is the end for whose sake it came to be, that is, the honor of someone or some act of piety toward a god. For without such a cause the statue would not have come to be at all.
Notes and citation
Summary: The purpose of the statue is also its cause.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): εὐ- σέβειά → εὐσέβειά.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.5 (Dindorf 1:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-5). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.6Dindorf 1:308
ὄντων τοίνυν τοσούτων τῶν αἰτίων καὶ τὴν πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφορὰν ἐχόντων γνώριμον, τὴν εἱμαρμένην ἐν τοῖς ποιητικοῖς αἰτίοις δικαίως ἂν καταριθμοῖμεν, ἀναλογίαν σῴζουσαν πρὸς τὰ γινόμενα κατʼ αὐτὴν τῇ τοῦ ἀνδριάντος δημιουργῷ τέχνῃ.’’
ontōn toinyn tosoutōn tōn aitiōn kai tēn pros allēla diaphoran echontōn gnōrimon, tēn heimarmenēn en tois poiētikois aitiois dikaiōs an katarithmoimen, analogian sǭzousan pros ta ginomena katʼ autēn tę̄ tou andriantos dēmiourgǭ technę̄.’’
Since the causes are so many, and their difference from one another is clear, we would rightly count fate among the productive causes, as bearing the same relation to what comes about according to it as the sculptor's art does to the statue."
Notes and citation
Summary: Fate, if anything, is a productive cause.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): τορούτων → τοσούτων; σώξουσαν → σῴζουσαν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.6 (Dindorf 1:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-6). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.7Dindorf 1:308
‘‘Τούτου δὲ οὕτως ἔχοντος ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη περὶ τῶν ποιητικῶν αἰτίων ποιήσασθαι τὸν λόγον· οὕτω γὰρ ἔσται γνώριμον εἴτε πάντων τῶν γιγνομένων χρὴ τὴν εἱμαρμένην αἰτιᾶσθαι εἴτε δὴ καὶ ἄλλοις τισὶ παρὰ τήνδε συγχωρεῖν, ὡς οὖσι ποιητικοῖς τινῶν αἰτίοις.
‘‘Toutou de houtōs echontos akolouthon an eiē peri tōn poiētikōn aitiōn poiēsasthai ton logon; houtō gar estai gnōrimon eite pantōn tōn gignomenōn chrē tēn heimarmenēn aitiasthai eite dē kai allois tisi para tēnde synchōrein, hōs ousi poiētikois tinōn aitiois.
"This being so, it would follow to give an account of productive causes. For so it will become clear whether fate must be held the cause of everything that comes to be, or whether other things too besides it must be allowed, as being productive causes of some things.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander proposes to examine productive causes to see whether fate causes everything.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 4.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (stray full stop splitting a word in the digital text): τὸ. ν λόγον → τὸν λόγον.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.7 (Dindorf 1:308; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-7). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.8Dindorf 1:308–309
ἁπάντων δὴ τῶν γιγνομένων Ἀριστοτέλης ποιούμενος τὴν διαίρεσιν τὰ μὲν αὐτῶν τινὸς χάριν γίγνεσθαι λέγει, σκοπόν τινα καὶ τέλος τῶν γιγνομένων προκείμενον ἔχοντος τοῦ ποιοῦντος αὐτὰ, τὰ δὲ οὐδενὸς, ὅσα οὐ κατὰ πρόθεσίν τινα τοῦ ποιοῦντος γίγνεται, οὐδʼ ἐπὶ τέλος ὡρισμένον ἔχει τὴν ἀναφορὰν, τοιαῦτα οἷόν ἐστι καρφῶν τε τινῶν διακρατήσεις καὶ περιστροφαὶ, καὶ τριχῶν ἐπαφαί τε καὶ ἐκτάσεις, καὶ ὅσα τούτοις ὁμοίως γίνεται.
hapantōn dē tōn gignomenōn Aristotelēs poioumenos tēn diairesin ta men autōn tinos charin gignesthai legei, skopon tina kai telos tōn gignomenōn prokeimenon echontos tou poiountos auta, ta de oudenos, hosa ou kata prothesin tina tou poiountos gignetai, oudʼ epi telos hōrismenon echei tēn anaphoran, toiauta hoion esti karphōn te tinōn diakratēseis kai peristrophai, kai trichōn epaphai te kai ektaseis, kai hosa toutois homoiōs ginetai.
Aristotle, dividing everything that comes to be, says that some things come to be for the sake of something, the one who makes them having some aim and end set before him for what comes to be; and others for the sake of nothing, such as come to be not by any purpose of the maker and have no reference to a definite end, such as holding and twirling bits of straw, touching and pulling at hairs, and whatever else happens in the same way.
Notes and citation
Summary: Aristotle divides events into those with a purpose and those without, like idle fidgeting.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, drawing on Aristotle, Physics 2.4–6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (garbled letters in the digital text; line-end hyphen left in the digital text; word split by a stray mark in the digital text; wrong breathing in the digital text): τιωὁς → τινὸς; οἶόν ἐστι → οἷόν ἐστι; περι· στροφαὶ → περιστροφαὶ; Ἀρι- στοτέλης → Ἀριστοτέλης; τι- νῶν → τινῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Aristotle, Phys. 2.4–6 (Aristotle (works); allusion); Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.8 (Dindorf 1:308–309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-8). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.9Dindorf 1:309
ὅτι μὲν γὰρ γίνεται καὶ αὐτὰ γνώριμον· οὐ μὴν ἔχει τὴν κατὰ τὸ τέλος καὶ τὴν οὗ χάριν αἰτίαν. τὰ μὲν οὖν οὕτω γινόμενα ἀσκόπως καὶ ἀπλῶς γινόμενα οὐδεμίαν εὔλογον ἔχει διαίρεσιν·
hoti men gar ginetai kai auta gnōrimon; ou mēn echei tēn kata to telos kai tēn hou charin aitian. ta men oun houtō ginomena askopōs kai aplōs ginomena oudemian eulogon echei diairesin;
That these too come to be is clear; but they do not have the cause that is the end and the 'for the sake of which.' Things that come to be in this way, aimlessly and simply, admit of no reasonable division.
Notes and citation
Summary: Purposeless events admit no further division.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): οὑ χάριν → οὗ χάριν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.9 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-9). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.10Dindorf 1:309
τῶν δὲ ἐπί τι τὴν ἀναφορὰν ἐχόντων καί τινος γιγνομένων χάριν τὰ μὲν κατὰ φύσιν, τὰ δὲ κατὰ λόγον γίγνεται. τὰ τε γὰρ φύσιν αἰτίαν ἔχοντα τῆς γενέσεως κατά τινας ἀριθμοὺς καὶ τάξιν ὡρισμένην πρόεισιν ἐπί τι τέλος, ἐν ᾧ γιγνόμενα τοῦ γίγνεσθαι παύονται, εἰ μή τι αὐτοῖς ἐνστὰν ἐμποδὼν γίγνοιτο τῇ κατὰ φύσιν αὐτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ προκείμενον ὁδῷ.
tōn de epi ti tēn anaphoran echontōn kai tinos gignomenōn charin ta men kata physin, ta de kata logon gignetai. ta te gar physin aitian echonta tēs geneseōs kata tinas arithmous kai taxin hōrismenēn proeisin epi ti telos, en hǭ gignomena tou gignesthai pauontai, ei mē ti autois enstan empodōn gignoito tę̄ kata physin autōn epi to prokeimenon hodǭ.
But of those that have reference to something and come to be for the sake of something, some come to be by nature and others by reason. For things that have nature as the cause of their coming to be proceed by certain numbers and a definite order toward some end, at which, once they have come to be, they cease coming to be, unless something stands in their way and becomes an obstacle to their natural path toward the goal set before them.
Notes and citation
Summary: Purposeful events come about either by nature or by reason; nature proceeds in order toward an end.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): αὐ- τῶν → αὐτῶν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.10 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-10). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.11Dindorf 1:309
ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰ κατὰ λόγον γιγνόμενα ἔχει τι τέλος. οὐδὲν γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχε τῶν κατὰ λόγον γιγνομένων γίγνεται, ἀλλʼ ἐπί τινα σκοπὸν ἡ ἀναφορὰ πᾶσιν αὐτοῖς.
alla kai ta kata logon gignomena echei ti telos. ouden gar hōs etyche tōn kata logon gignomenōn gignetai, allʼ epi tina skopon hē anaphora pasin autois.
And things that come to be by reason also have an end. For none of the things that come to be by reason comes to be at random; all of them refer to some aim.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rational actions also have an end.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.11 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-11). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.12Dindorf 1:309
ἔστι δὲ κατὰ λόγον γιγνόμενα ὅσα ὑπὸ τῶν ποιούντων αὐτὰ γίγνεται λογιζομένων τε περὶ αὐτῶν καὶ συντιθέντων καθʼ ὃν ἂν τρόπον γένοιτο. οὕτω γίγνεται τά τε κατὰ τὰς τέχνας γιγνόμενα πάντα καὶ τὰ κατὰ προαίρεσιν·
esti de kata logon gignomena hosa hypo tōn poiountōn auta gignetai logizomenōn te peri autōn kai syntithentōn kathʼ hon an tropon genoito. houtō gignetai ta te kata tas technas gignomena panta kai ta kata proairesin;
Things that come to be by reason are those that come to be through their makers reasoning about them and working out how they might come to be. In this way come to be all things done by the arts and by choice.
Notes and citation
Summary: Rational actions include all works of art and choice.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.12 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-12). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.13Dindorf 1:309
ἃ διαφέρει τῶν γιγνομένων φύσει τῷ τὰ μὲν φύσει γιγνόμενα ἐν αὑτοῖς ἔχειν τὴν ἀρχήν τε καὶ τὰς αἰτίας τῆς τοιαύτης γενέσεως, τοιοῦτον γὰρ ἡ φύσις, καὶ γίγνεσθαι μὲν κατὰ τάξιν τινὰ, οὐ μὴν τῆς ποιούσης αὐτὰ φύσεως ὁμοίως ταῖς τέχναις λογισμῷ περὶ αὐτῶν χρωμένης.
ha diapherei tōn gignomenōn physei tǭ ta men physei gignomena en hautois echein tēn archēn te kai tas aitias tēs toiautēs geneseōs, toiouton gar hē physis, kai gignesthai men kata taxin tina, ou mēn tēs poiousēs auta physeōs homoiōs tais technais logismǭ peri autōn chrōmenēs.
These differ from things that come to be by nature in that things that come to be by nature have in themselves the principle and causes of such coming to be (for that is what nature is), and come to be in a certain order, but without the nature that makes them using reasoning about them as the arts do.
Notes and citation
Summary: Natural processes have their principle within and do not reason.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text; stray mark in the digital text): ἡ φύσις), → ἡ φύσις,; αἰ- τίας → αἰτίας.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.13 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-13). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.14Dindorf 1:309
τὰ δὲ γιγνόμενα κατὰ τέχνην τε καὶ προαίρεσιν ἔξωθεν ἔχει τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς κινήσεως καὶ τὴν αἰτίαν τὴν ποιοῦσαν, ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐν αὑτοῖς, καὶ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτῶν ὁ τοῦ ποιοῦντος ἡγεῖται περὶ αὐτῶν λογισμός.
ta de gignomena kata technēn te kai proairesin exōthen echei tēn archēn tēs kinēseōs kai tēn aitian tēn poiousan, allʼ ouk en hautois, kai tēs geneseōs autōn ho tou poiountos hēgeitai peri autōn logismos.
But things that come to be by art and choice have the principle of motion and the producing cause outside, not in themselves, and the maker's reasoning about them directs their coming to be.
Notes and citation
Summary: Works of art and choice have their principle in an external reasoning maker.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): κινή- σεως → κινήσεως; αὑ- τοῖς → αὑτοῖς.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.14 (Dindorf 1:309; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-14). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.15Dindorf 1:309–310
τρίτον δέ ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς ἕνεκά του γιγνομένοις καὶ τὰ ἀπὸ τύχης τε καὶ τοῦ αὐτομάτου γίγνεσθαι πεπιστευμένα, ταύτῃ τῶν προηγουμένως ἕνεκά του γιγνομένων διαφέροντα, ᾗ ἐπʼ ἐκείνων μὲν τὰ πρὸ τοῦ τέλους τοῦ τέλους χάριν γίγνεται, ἐπὶ δὲ τούτων τὰ μὲν γιγνόμενα πρὸ τοῦ τέλους ἄλλου χάριν γίγνεται, ἀπαντᾷ δὲ αὐτοῖς ἄλλου χάριν γιγνομένοις, ὡς τέλος, τὸ αὐτομάτως τε καὶ ἀπὸ τύχης γίγνεσθαι λεγόμενον.”
triton de estin en tois heneka tou gignomenois kai ta apo tychēs te kai tou automatou gignesthai pepisteumena, tautę̄ tōn proēgoumenōs heneka tou gignomenōn diapheronta, hę̄ epʼ ekeinōn men ta pro tou telous tou telous charin gignetai, epi de toutōn ta men gignomena pro tou telous allou charin gignetai, apantą de autois allou charin gignomenois, hōs telos, to automatōs te kai apo tychēs gignesthai legomenon.”
And third among the things that come to be for the sake of something are those believed to come about by chance and spontaneously. They differ from things that come to be primarily for the sake of something in this: in the latter, what comes before the end comes to be for the sake of the end; but in these, what comes before the end comes to be for the sake of something else, and there meets them, as they come to be for the sake of something else, as an end, what is said to come about spontaneously and by chance."
Notes and citation
Summary: Chance events are by-products of actions aimed at something else.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.15 (Dindorf 1:309–310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-15). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.16Dindorf 1:310
“Τούτων δὲ οὕτως ἐχόντων καὶ πάντων τῶν γιγνομένων εἰς τούτους τοὺς τρόπους νενεμημένων ἀκόλουθον ἐπὶ τούτοις ἰδεῖν ἐν τίνι τῶν ποιητικῶν αἰτίων χρὴ τιθέναι τὴν εἱμαρμένην.
“Toutōn de houtōs echontōn kai pantōn tōn gignomenōn eis toutous tous tropous nenemēmenōn akolouthon epi toutois idein en tini tōn poiētikōn aitiōn chrē tithenai tēn heimarmenēn.
"This being so, and everything that comes to be having been distributed into these modes, it follows next to see in which of the productive causes fate must be placed.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander asks where fate belongs among the causes.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 5.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.16 (Dindorf 1:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-16). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.17Dindorf 1:310
ἆρά γε ἐν τοῖς οὐδενὸς γιγνομένοις χάριν; ἢ τοῦτο μὲν παντάπασιν ἄλογον; ἀεὶ γὰρ ἐπὶ τέλους τινὸς τῷ τῆς εἱμαρμένης ὀνόματι χρώμεθα, καθʼ εἱμαρμένην τε αὐτὸ λέγοντες γεγονέναι· διὸ ἐν τοῖς ἕνεκά του γινομένοις ἀναγκαῖον τιθέναι τὴν εἱμαρμένην.”
ara ge en tois oudenos gignomenois charin? ē touto men pantapasin alogon? aei gar epi telous tinos tǭ tēs heimarmenēs onomati chrōmetha, kathʼ heimarmenēn te auto legontes gegonenai; dio en tois heneka tou ginomenois anankaion tithenai tēn heimarmenēn.”
Is it among the things that come to be for the sake of nothing? Or is this altogether unreasonable? For we always use the name of fate with reference to some end, saying that it came about by fate. So it is necessary to place fate among the things that come to be for the sake of something."
Notes and citation
Summary: Fate must belong among purposeful causes.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): παντά- πασιν → παντάπασιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.17 (Dindorf 1:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-17). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.18Dindorf 1:310
Ταῦτα αὐτοῖς ῥήμασιν ὁ προδηλωθεὶς ἀνὴρ διελὼν διὰ πλειόνων ἑξῆς συνίστησιν, οὐδʼ ἄλλο τι εἶναι τὴν εἱμαρμένην ἢ τὰ κατὰ φύσιν γινόμενα· μὴ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς κατὰ λογισμὸν ἡμέτερον καὶ κατὰ τέχνην ἐπιτελουμένοις τὴν τῆς εἱμαρμένης ἀνάγκην ἐπιθεωρεῖσθαι
Tauta autois rhēmasin ho prodēlōtheis anēr dielōn dia pleionōn hexēs synistēsin, oudʼ allo ti einai tēn heimarmenēn ē ta kata physin ginomena; mē gar en tois kata logismon hēmeteron kai kata technēn epiteloumenois tēn tēs heimarmenēs anankēn epitheōreisthai
Having made these distinctions in these very words, the man already mentioned next establishes at greater length that fate is nothing other than what comes about by nature; for the necessity of fate, he says, is not seen in what is accomplished by our reasoning and by art.
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius summarizes Alexander: fate is simply natural causation.
- Eusebius summarizing Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 6.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.18 (Dindorf 1:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-18). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.19Dindorf 1:310
φησὶ δὲ τῶν κατὰ φύσιν πλεῖστα ἐμποδίζεσθαι συμβαίνειν, ἃ καὶ καλεῖσθαι παρὰ φύσιν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἐν τοῖς κατὰ τὴν τέχνην τὰ παρὰ τὴν τέχνην λέγεσθαι. εἰ δὲ ὅλως παρὰ τὸ κατὰ φύσιν γίγνεταί τινα, γένοιτʼ ἂν καὶ παρὰ τὴν εἱμαρμένην, εἴπερ τὰ κατὰ φύσιν ταῦτά ἐστι τὰ καθʼ εἱμαρμένην.
phēsi de tōn kata physin pleista empodizesthai symbainein, ha kai kaleisthai para physin, hōsper kai en tois kata tēn technēn ta para tēn technēn legesthai. ei de holōs para to kata physin gignetai tina, genoitʼ an kai para tēn heimarmenēn, eiper ta kata physin tauta esti ta kathʼ heimarmenēn.
And he says that very many natural things happen to be hindered, and these are called contrary to nature, just as in matters of art what is contrary to art is so called. And if anything at all comes about contrary to what is natural, it would also come about contrary to fate, if indeed what is according to nature is the same as what is according to fate.
Notes and citation
Summary: Since natural processes can be hindered, things can happen against fate.
- Eusebius summarizing Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἐμ- ποδίζεσθαι → ἐμποδίζεσθαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.19 (Dindorf 1:310; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-19). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.20Dindorf 1:310–311
“Ὁρῶμεν γοῦν, φησὶν, ὅτι καὶ τὸ σῶμα τῷ τοιόνδε ἢ τοιόνδε εἶναι τὴν φύσιν ἐν νόσοις καὶ φθοραῖς ἀκολούθως τῇ φυσικῇ συστάσει γίνεται, οὐ μὴν ὁμοίως ἐπὶ πάντων, οὐδὲ ἐξ ἀνάγκης. ἱκαναὶ γὰρ ἐκκροῦσαι πολλάκις τὴν τοιάνδε ἕξιν ἐπιμέλειαι καὶ βίων ὑπαλλαγαὶ καὶ προστάξεις ἰατρῶν καὶ συμβουλίαι θεῶν.
“Horōmen goun, phēsin, hoti kai to sōma tǭ toionde ē toionde einai tēn physin en nosois kai phthorais akolouthōs tę̄ physikę̄ systasei ginetai, ou mēn homoiōs epi pantōn, oude ex anankēs. hikanai gar ekkrousai pollakis tēn toiande hexin epimeleiai kai biōn hypallagai kai prostaxeis iatrōn kai symbouliai theōn.
"We see, at any rate," he says, "that the body too, because its nature is of this kind or that, falls into diseases and decay in accordance with its natural constitution, yet not in the same way in all cases, nor of necessity. For care, changes in way of life, the prescriptions of physicians, and the counsels of gods are often enough to drive out such a condition.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander: bodily constitution inclines to disease but can be overcome by care and medicine.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 6.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): συμ- βουλίαι → συμβουλίαι.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.20 (Dindorf 1:310–311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-20). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.21Dindorf 1:311
κατὰ δὲ τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ψυχῆς εὕροι τις ἂν παρὰ τὴν φυσικὴν κατασκευὴν διαφόρους ἐν ἑκάστῳ προαιρέσεις καὶ πράξεις καὶ βίους ἐξ ἀσκήσεως καὶ ἀπὸ μαθημάτων καὶ ἀπὸ λόγων κρειττόνων βελτιουμένων....
kata de ton auton tropon kai epi tēs psychēs heuroi tis an para tēn physikēn kataskeuēn diaphorous en hekastǭ proaireseis kai praxeis kai bious ex askēseōs kai apo mathēmatōn kai apo logōn kreittonōn beltioumenōn....
In the same way, in the case of the soul too, one would find in each person choices, actions, and ways of life that differ from the natural constitution, as people are improved by training, by learning, and by better teachings....
Notes and citation
Summary: Likewise the soul can be improved beyond its natural constitution.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias. The dots mark Eusebius's omission.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): κατα- σκευὴν → κατασκευὴν; πρά- ξεις → πράξεις.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.21 (Dindorf 1:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-21). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Greek of Dindorf's Teubner text (1867; digital text First1KGreek, CC BY-SA 4.0), then compared section by section with the public-domain English of E. H. Gifford (1903); differences checked against the Greek.
6.9.22Dindorf 1:311
εἰπόντος γοῦν ποτὲ τοῦ φυσιογνώμονος περὶ τοῦ Σωκράτους τοῦ φιλοσόφου ἄτοπά τινα καὶ πλεῖστον ἀφεστῶτα τῆς προαιρέσεως αὐτοῦ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτοις ὑπὸ τῶν περὶ τὸν Σωκράτην καταγελωμένου, οὐδὲν εἶπεν ὁ Σωκράτης ἐσφάλθαι τὸν Ζώπυρον· ἦν γὰρ ἂν τοιοῦτος, ὅσον ἐπὶ τῇ φύσει, εἰ μὴ διὰ τὴν ἐκ φιλοσοφίας ἄσκησιν ἀμείνων τῆς φύσεως ἐγένετο.
eipontos goun pote tou physiognōmonos peri tou Sōkratous tou philosophou atopa tina kai pleiston aphestōta tēs proaireseōs autou tēs kata ton bion, kai epi toutois hypo tōn peri ton Sōkratēn katagelōmenou, ouden eipen ho Sōkratēs esphalthai ton Zōpyron; ēn gar an toioutos, hoson epi tę̄ physei, ei mē dia tēn ek philosophias askēsin ameinōn tēs physeōs egeneto.
When, for example, the physiognomist once said some outrageous things about Socrates the philosopher, very far from his chosen way of life, and was laughed at for it by Socrates' companions, Socrates said that Zopyrus had not erred at all; for he would have been such a man, as far as his nature went, had he not become better than his nature through the training of philosophy.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander cites Socrates and the physiognomist Zopyrus: philosophy overcame his nature.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (misread letter in the digital text): ἀφεοτῶτα → ἀφεστῶτα.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.22 (Dindorf 1:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-22). (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.
6.9.23Dindorf 1:311
Καὶ τοιαῦτα μὲν τὰ κατὰ φύσιν, ἃ καὶ μηδέν φησι διαφέρειν τῶν καθʼ εἱμαρμένην. “Τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τύχης τοιαῦτα, ὅταν ἄλλου τινὸς χάριν γενομένῳ τινὶ μὴ τοῦτο ἀπαντήσῃ οὗ χάριν ἐγένετο, ἄλλο δέ τι ὅπερ τὴν ἀρχὴν οὐδὲ ἠλπίζετο. θησαυρόν τε γάρ φησιν ἀπὸ τύχης εὑρηκέναι τινὰ, ὅταν ἄλλου χάριν ὀρύσσων, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῦ θησαυρὸν εὑρεῖν, θησαυρῷ περιπέσῃ· καὶ τὸ ἀργύριον ἀπὸ τύχης κεκομίσθαι τινὰ λέγουσιν, ὅταν εἰς τὴν ἀγορὰν προελθὼν ἄλλου τινὸς χάριν ἀργύριον ἔχοντι περιπεσὼν τῷ χρεώστῃ τὸ ὀφειλόμενον λάβῃ· καὶ ὁ ἵππος δὲ αὐτομάτως τισὶ λέγεται σεσῶσθαι, ὅταν τροφῆς μὲν ἐλπίδι, ἢ ἄλλου τινὸς χάριν, ἀποφύγῃ τοὺς κατέχοντας αὐτὸν, ἀπαντήσῃ δὲ αὐτοῦ τῇ φυγῇ καὶ τῷ δρόμῳ τὸ τοῖς δεσπόταις περιπεσεῖν.
Kai toiauta men ta kata physin, ha kai mēden phēsi diapherein tōn kathʼ heimarmenēn. “Ta de apo tychēs toiauta, hotan allou tinos charin genomenǭ tini mē touto apantēsę̄ hou charin egeneto, allo de ti hoper tēn archēn oude ēlpizeto. thēsauron te gar phēsin apo tychēs heurēkenai tina, hotan allou charin oryssōn, alla mē tou thēsauron heurein, thēsaurǭ peripesę̄; kai to argyrion apo tychēs kekomisthai tina legousin, hotan eis tēn agoran proelthōn allou tinos charin argyrion echonti peripesōn tǭ chreōstę̄ to opheilomenon labę̄; kai ho hippos de automatōs tisi legetai sesōsthai, hotan trophēs men elpidi, ē allou tinos charin, apophygę̄ tous katechontas auton, apantēsę̄ de autou tę̄ phygę̄ kai tǭ dromǭ to tois despotais peripesein.
Such are natural things, which he says differ in no way from what is by fate. "And things that come from chance are of this kind: when something has come about for the sake of something else, and what it came about for does not result, but something else that was not even expected at the start. For one is said to have found a treasure by chance when, digging for some other purpose and not to find treasure, he comes upon treasure. And people say someone recovered his money by chance when, having gone to the marketplace for some other reason, he comes upon the debtor who has money and receives what was owed. And a horse is said by some to have been saved spontaneously when, in hope of food or for some other reason, it escapes those holding it, and the result of its flight and running is that it comes upon its masters.
Notes and citation
Summary: Alexander explains chance events with examples: a found treasure, a recovered debt, a runaway horse.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 8.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἵπ- πος → ἵππος; τρο- φῆς → τροφῆς.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.23 (Dindorf 1:311; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-23). (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.
6.9.24Dindorf 1:311–312
ὧν οὕτως ἐχόντων οὐδὲ ταῦτα ἂν εἴη καθʼ εἱμαρμένην. καὶ ἄδηλα δέ ἐστί τινα αἴτια ἀνθρωπίνῳ λογισμῷ, ἃ κατά τινας ἀντιπαθείας γίνεσθαι πεπίστευται, ἀγνοουμένης τῆς αἰτίας διʼ ἣν γίνεται. ὁποῖα περίαπτά τινα ποιεῖν προείληπται, οὐδεμίαν εὔλογον καὶ πιθανὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ ταῦτα ποιεῖν ἔχοντα· ἔτι δὲ ἐπαοιδαὶ, καὶ τοιαῦταί τινες μαγγανεῖαι. τούτων γὰρ ὁμολογεῖται μὲν ὑπὸ πάντων ἄδηλος εἶναι ἡ αἰτία· διὸ καὶ ἀναιτιολόγητα λέγουσιν αὐτά.
hōn houtōs echontōn oude tauta an eiē kathʼ heimarmenēn. kai adēla de esti tina aitia anthrōpinǭ logismǭ, ha kata tinas antipatheias ginesthai pepisteutai, agnooumenēs tēs aitias diʼ hēn ginetai. hopoia periapta tina poiein proeilēptai, oudemian eulogon kai pithanēn aitian tou tauta poiein echonta; eti de epaoidai, kai toiautai tines manganeiai. toutōn gar homologeitai men hypo pantōn adēlos einai hē aitia; dio kai anaitiologēta legousin auta.
This being so, these things too would not be by fate. And there are some causes hidden from human reasoning, which are believed to work by certain antipathies, the cause through which they happen being unknown: such as certain amulets are supposed to produce effects, though there is no reasonable or persuasive cause for their producing them; and further, incantations and some such trickeries. For of these everyone agrees that the cause is hidden; which is why they call them inexplicable.
Notes and citation
Summary: Chance events and effects with hidden causes are not by fate either.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): ἀγνο- ουμένης → ἀγνοουμένης.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.24 (Dindorf 1:311–312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-24). (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.
6.9.25Dindorf 1:312
πολλὰ δʼ εἶναι παρὰ ταῦτα καὶ ἐνδεχομένως καὶ ὁπότερα ἔτυχε γινόμενα, ἃ οὐδὲ ταῦτʼ ἂν εἴη καθʼ εἱμαρμένην.
polla dʼ einai para tauta kai endechomenōs kai hopotera etyche ginomena, ha oude tautʼ an eiē kathʼ heimarmenēn.
And besides these there are many things that happen contingently and either way, and these too would not be by fate.
Notes and citation
Summary: Contingent events are not by fate.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.25 (Dindorf 1:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-25). (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.
6.9.26Dindorf 1:312
λέγεται δὲ ἐνδεχομένως γίνεσθαι ταῦτα ἐφʼ ὧν καὶ τὸ μὴ γενέσθαι χώραν ἔχει, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ ὁπότερα ἔτυχε λεγόμενον ποιεῖ γνώριμον· οἷον τὸ κινῆσαί τι τῶν ἑαυτοῦ μερῶν, καὶ τὴν τυχοῦσαν τοῦ τραχήλου περιστροφὴν καὶ τὴν τοῦ δακτύλου ἔκτασιν καὶ τὸ ἐπᾶραι τὰ βλέφαρα, καὶ τὸν καθεζόμενον στῆσαι, καὶ τὸν κινούμενον ἠρεμῆσαι, καὶ τὸν λαλοῦντα σιγῆσαι, καὶ ἐπὶ μυρίων εὕροι τις ἂν δύναμίν τινα ἐνυπάρχουσαν τῶν ἐναντίων δεκτικὴν, ἃ οὐκ ἂν γένοιτο ἐξ εἱμαρμένης· τὰ γὰρ ἐξ αὐτῆς οὐ δέχεται τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἐστι τὸ ἐναντίον.”
legetai de endechomenōs ginesthai tauta ephʼ hōn kai to mē genesthai chōran echei, hōs kai auto to hopotera etyche legomenon poiei gnōrimon; hoion to kinēsai ti tōn heautou merōn, kai tēn tychousan tou trachēlou peristrophēn kai tēn tou daktylou ektasin kai to eparai ta blephara, kai ton kathezomenon stēsai, kai ton kinoumenon ēremēsai, kai ton lalounta sigēsai, kai epi myriōn heuroi tis an dynamin tina enyparchousan tōn enantiōn dektikēn, ha ouk an genoito ex heimarmenēs; ta gar ex autēs ou dechetai tou en hǭ esti to enantion.”
Things are said to happen contingently in cases where not happening also has room, as the very expression 'either way' makes known: for instance, moving one of one's own limbs, a chance turn of the neck, stretching out a finger, raising the eyelids, a seated person standing up, a moving person resting, a speaking person falling silent. In countless cases one would find a power present that is capable of opposites, and these could not come from fate; for what comes from fate does not admit the opposite in the one in whom it is."
Notes and citation
Summary: Many acts, like moving a finger, could go either way and so are not fated.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.26 (Dindorf 1:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-26). (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.
6.9.27Dindorf 1:312
“Ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ βουλεύεσθαι τὸν ἄνθρωπον οὐκ εἰς μάτην αὐτῷ ὑπάρχει· ἦν δʼ ἂν εἰς μάτην βουλευτικὸς, εἰ ἐξ ἀνάγκης ἔπραττε τὰ πραττόμενα ἀλλʼ ἐναργῶς φαίνεται τῶν ἄλλων ζῴων ὁ ἄνθρωπος μόνος τοῦτο παρὰ τῆς φύσεως ἔχων πλέον, τὸ μὴ ὁμοίως ἐκείνοις ταῖς φαντασίαις ἕπεσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἔχειν τῶν προσπιπτόντων κριτὴν τὸν λόγον· ᾧ χρώμενος, εἰ μὲν ἐξεταζόμενα τὰ φαντασθέντα οἷα τὴν ἀρχὴν ἐφάνη καὶ ἔστι, συγκατατίθεται τῇ φαντασίᾳ, καὶ οὕτω μέτεισιν αὐτά· εἰ δὲ ἀλλοῖα φαίνεται, οὐκέτι ἔμεινεν ἐπὶ τῆς προλήψεως, ἐλέγξαντος αὐτὰ τοῦ λόγου, διὰ τὸ συμβουλεύσασθαι περὶ αὐτῶν.”
“Alla kai to bouleuesthai ton anthrōpon ouk eis matēn autǭ hyparchei; ēn dʼ an eis matēn bouleutikos, ei ex anankēs epratte ta prattomena allʼ enargōs phainetai tōn allōn zǭōn ho anthrōpos monos touto para tēs physeōs echōn pleon, to mē homoiōs ekeinois tais phantasiais hepesthai, allʼ echein tōn prospiptontōn kritēn ton logon; hǭ chrōmenos, ei men exetazomena ta phantasthenta hoia tēn archēn ephanē kai esti, synkatatithetai tę̄ phantasią, kai houtō meteisin auta; ei de alloia phainetai, ouketi emeinen epi tēs prolēpseōs, elenxantos auta tou logou, dia to symbouleusasthai peri autōn.”
"Moreover, deliberation is not given to man in vain; but he would be capable of deliberation in vain if he did of necessity what he does. Yet man plainly appears to be the only living creature that has this advantage from nature over the others: he does not follow impressions as they do, but has reason as the judge of what strikes him. Using it, if on examination the things imagined are such as they appeared at first and really are, he assents to the impression and so pursues them; but if they appear otherwise, he no longer holds to his first assumption, reason having refuted it, because he has deliberated about them."
Notes and citation
Summary: Human deliberation, judging impressions by reason, would be pointless if all were necessary.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate 11.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.27 (Dindorf 1:312; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-27). (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.
6.9.28Dindorf 1:312–313
“Βουλευόμεθα γοῦν περὶ μόνων ὧν δυνάμεθα πράττειν· εἰ δέ ποτε μὴ βουλευσάμενοι πράττοιμεν, πολλάκις μετανοοῦμεν καὶ μεμφόμεθα ἑαυτοῖς τῆς ἀβουλίας· ἀλλὰ κἂν ἄλλους ἴδωμεν ἀβούλως πράττοντας, ἐπικαλοῦμεν ὡς ἁμαρτάνουσιν, ἀξιοῦμέν τε συμβούλοις τοῖσδε χρῆσθαι, ὡς ἐφʼ ἡμῖν ὄντων τῶν τοιούτων.’
“Bouleuometha goun peri monōn hōn dynametha prattein; ei de pote mē bouleusamenoi prattoimen, pollakis metanooumen kai memphometha heautois tēs aboulias; alla kan allous idōmen aboulōs prattontas, epikaloumen hōs hamartanousin, axioumen te symboulois toisde chrēsthai, hōs ephʼ hēmin ontōn tōn toioutōn.’
"We deliberate, at any rate, only about things we are able to do. And if we ever act without deliberating, we often repent and blame ourselves for our thoughtlessness; and if we see others acting thoughtlessly, we reproach them as wrongdoers and think they should use counselors, since such things are in our power."
Notes and citation
Summary: We deliberate only about what is in our power, and blame thoughtlessness.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): πράτ- τοιμεν → πράττοιμεν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.28 (Dindorf 1:312–313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-28). (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.
6.9.29Dindorf 1:313
Ὅτι δὲ ψεῦδος ἦν αὐτῶν ὁ περὶ εἱμαρμένης λόγος, ἱκανὸν μαρτύριον τὸ μηδʼ αὐτοὺς τοὺς προστάτας αὐτοῦ δύνασθαι πείθεσθαι τοῖς ὑπʼ αὐτῶν λεγομένοις. καὶ γὰρ καὶ προτρέπειν καὶ διδάσκειν ἐπαγγέλλονται, καὶ μανθάνειν καὶ παιδεύεσθαι συμβουλεύουσιν, ἐπιτιμῶσί τε καὶ ἐπιπλήττουσι τοῖς οὐ τὰ προσήκοντα δρῶσιν, ὡς κατὰ προαίρεσιν ἰδίαν ἁμαρτάνουσιν.
Hoti de pseudos ēn autōn ho peri heimarmenēs logos, hikanon martyrion to mēdʼ autous tous prostatas autou dynasthai peithesthai tois hypʼ autōn legomenois. kai gar kai protrepein kai didaskein epangellontai, kai manthanein kai paideuesthai symbouleuousin, epitimōsi te kai epiplēttousi tois ou ta prosēkonta drōsin, hōs kata proairesin idian hamartanousin.
"That their doctrine of fate was false, sufficient proof is that not even its champions themselves can abide by what they say. For they profess to exhort and teach, they advise people to learn and be educated, and they rebuke and censure those who do not do what they should, as though they sinned by their own choice.
Notes and citation
Summary: The fatalists themselves teach, exhort, and rebuke, contradicting their doctrine.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): συμ- βουλεύουσιν → συμβουλεύουσιν.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.29 (Dindorf 1:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-29). (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.
6.9.30Dindorf 1:313
ἀλλὰ καὶ συγγράμματα πλεῖστα καταλείπουσι, διʼ ὧν ἀξιοῦσι παιδεύεσθαι τοὺς νέους. ἐπαύσαντο δʼ ἂν τῆς ἐν τοῖς λόγοις φιλοτιμίας, εἰ προσέσχον ὅτι καὶ συγγνώμης ἀξιοῦσι τοὺς ἀκουσίως ἁμαρτάνοντας, τοὺς δὲ ἑκουσίως πλημμελοῦντας κολάσεως, ὡς ἐπʼ αὐτοῖς δηλονότι τοῦ τε ἁμαρτάνειν καὶ τοῦ μὴ κειμένου.
alla kai syngrammata pleista kataleipousi, diʼ hōn axiousi paideuesthai tous neous. epausanto dʼ an tēs en tois logois philotimias, ei proseschon hoti kai syngnōmēs axiousi tous akousiōs hamartanontas, tous de hekousiōs plēmmelountas kolaseōs, hōs epʼ autois dēlonoti tou te hamartanein kai tou mē keimenou.
They also leave behind very many writings by which they think the young should be educated. They would have stopped their ambition in argument if they had noticed that they think those who sin involuntarily deserve pardon, but those who do wrong voluntarily deserve punishment, plainly because both sinning and not sinning lie in their power.
Notes and citation
Summary: Their distinction between voluntary and involuntary wrongs assumes free will.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias. The end of the sentence (τοῦ μὴ κειμένου) is garbled in the digital text; translated by sense.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.30 (Dindorf 1:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-30). (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.
6.9.31Dindorf 1:313
ὥστε καὶ κατʼ αὐτοὺς ἀναιρεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξ εἱμαρμένης ἀνάγκην, συνίστασθαι δὲ κατὰ φύσιν ἡμῖν ὑπάρχειν τὸ αὐτεξούσιον· μετὰ τοῦ πλεῖστα εἶναι καὶ τὰ μὴ ἐφʼ ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ τὰ κατὰ φύσιν, καὶ τὰ ἐκ τύχης, ἕτερα ὄντα καὶ αὐτὰ παρὰ τὸν τῆς εἱμαρμένης λόγον, καθὼς προδέδεικται.’’
hōste kai katʼ autous anaireisthai tēn ex heimarmenēs anankēn, synistasthai de kata physin hēmin hyparchein to autexousion; meta tou pleista einai kai ta mē ephʼ hēmin, hōsper ta kata physin, kai ta ek tychēs, hetera onta kai auta para ton tēs heimarmenēs logon, kathōs prodedeiktai.’’
So even on their own showing the necessity of fate is abolished, and it is established that free will belongs to us by nature; while there are also very many things not in our power, such as natural things and those from chance, which are themselves different from the account of fate, as has been shown before."
Notes and citation
Summary: Even the fatalists' practice proves natural free will.
- Alexander of Aphrodisias.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (wrong accent in the digital text): μετὰ τοὐ → μετὰ τοῦ; προδἐδεικται → προδέδεικται.
Extrabiblical texts: Alexander of Aphrodisias, Fat. (Alexander of Aphrodisias, On Fate; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.31 (Dindorf 1:313; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-31). (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.
6.9.32Dindorf 1:313–314
Τούτων ἡμῖν ἀπὸ πλείστων ἐπιτετμημένων, τῷ πολὺν εἶναι τὸν περὶ τοῦ αὐτεξουσίου λόγον ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἡμᾶς δόγμασιν· ᾧ καὶ τῶν φιλοσόφων συνέδραμον αἱ παρατεθεῖσαι φωναὶ, τοῖς μὲν καθʼ ἡμᾶς θείοις γράμμασιν ἐπιμαρτυροῦσαι, τὰς δὲ περὶ εἱμαρμένης οὐ μόνον τῶν πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν θαυμαστῶν χρησμῳδῶν θεῶν τὰς δόξας ψευδεῖς οὔσας ἀπελέγχουσαι·) καὶ τῶν μὲν πρὸς τοὺς γενναίους χρησμοὺς κυνικώτερον ἀποταθέντων, τῶν δὲ πρὸς τοὺς θαυμαστοὺς φιλοσόφους παρὰ τῶν αὐτοῖς γνωρίμων ἀντειρημένων, ὥρα καὶ τῶν ἐξ ἀστρολογίας πρὸς τοὺς Χαλδαίζοντας τῶν τὴν κακότεχνον ταύτην γοητείαν ὡς ἐν μέρει μαθήματος ἐπαγγελλομένων τοὺς λόγους ἐπισκέψασθαι· παραθήσομαι δέ σοι καὶ τῶνδε τὰς ἀποδείξεις ἐξ ἀνδρὸς Σύρου μὲν τὸ γένος, ἐπʼ ἄκρον δὲ τῆς Χαλδαικῆς ἐπιστήμης ἐληλακότος. Βαρδησάνης ὄνομα τῷ ἀνδρὶ, ὃς ἐν τοῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἑταίρους διαλόγοις τάδε πη μνημονεύεται φάναι
Toutōn hēmin apo pleistōn epitetmēmenōn, tǭ polyn einai ton peri tou autexousiou logon en tois kathʼ hēmas dogmasin; hǭ kai tōn philosophōn synedramon hai paratetheisai phōnai, tois men kathʼ hēmas theiois grammasin epimartyrousai, tas de peri heimarmenēs ou monon tōn pollōn anthrōpōn, alla kai tōn thaumastōn chrēsmǭdōn theōn tas doxas pseudeis ousas apelenchousai;) kai tōn men pros tous gennaious chrēsmous kynikōteron apotathentōn, tōn de pros tous thaumastous philosophous para tōn autois gnōrimōn anteirēmenōn, hōra kai tōn ex astrologias pros tous Chaldaizontas tōn tēn kakotechnon tautēn goēteian hōs en merei mathēmatos epangellomenōn tous logous episkepsasthai; parathēsomai de soi kai tōnde tas apodeixeis ex andros Syrou men to genos, epʼ akron de tēs Chaldaikēs epistēmēs elēlakotos. Bardēsanēs onoma tǭ andri, hos en tois pros tous hetairous dialogois tade pē mnēmoneuetai phanai
These have been abridged by us from a great many, because the account of free will is extensive in our own doctrines; and the passages of the philosophers quoted agree with it, bearing witness to our divine writings and refuting as false the opinions about fate held not only by the mass of people but also by the wonderful oracle-giving gods. Some of these were directed rather in the Cynic manner against the noble oracles, and others were answers to the wonderful philosophers from their own associates. It is time now to examine also the arguments drawn from astrology against those who play the Chaldean, who profess this wicked art of sorcery as a branch of learning. I shall set before you the proofs of these too, from a man who was a Syrian by race and had advanced to the summit of Chaldean science. Bardesanes was the man's name, who in his dialogues with his companions is recorded to have said something like this:
Notes and citation
Summary: Eusebius turns to Bardesanes' arguments against astrology.
- Chapter 10 quotes Bardesanes, Book of the Laws of Countries.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (line-end hyphen left in the digital text): αὐ- τοῖς → αὐτοῖς; ἀστρο- λογίας → ἀστρολογίας.
Extrabiblical texts: Bardesanes (Bardesanes, Book of the Laws of Countries; quotation)
Cite (SBL): Eusebius, Praep. ev. 6.9.32 (Dindorf 1:313–314; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/eusebius-praeparatio/6-9-1/#p-6-9-32). (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.