Oration to the Greeks 9
Summary: The zodiac and fate are the demons' invention; Christians are above fate, and the constellations are absurd honors given to myths.
Greek text · Otto 6:40–44
Τοιοῦτοί τινές εἰσιν οἱ δαίμονες· οὗτοι οἳ τὴν εἱμαρμένην ὥρισαν. Στοιχείωσις δὲ αὐτοῖς ἡ ζώωσις ἦν. Τὰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἑρπετὰ καὶ τὰ ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι νηκτὰ καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τοῖς ὄρεσι τετράποδα, μεθʼ ὧν ἐποιοῦντο τὴν δίαιταν ἔκβλητοι τῆς ἐν οὐρανῷ διαίτης γεγενημένοι, ταῦτα τῆς ἐπουρανίου τιμῆς ἠξίωσαν, ἵνα τε νομισθῶσιν αὐτοὶ διατρίβειν ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλογον ἐπὶ γῆς πολιτείαν εὔλογον διὰ τῆς ἀστροθεσίας ἀποδείξωσιν. Ὥστε ὁ θυμικὸς καὶ ὁ ἐπίμοχθος, καὶ ὁ ἐγκρατευόμενος καὶ ὁ ἀκρατής, καὶ ὁ πτωχεύων καὶ ὁ πλουτῶν, ἀπʼ αὐτῶν ἐστι τῶν νομοθετησάντων τὴν γένεσιν. Ἡ γὰρ τοῦ ζωδιακοῦ κύκλου γραφὴ θεῶν ἐστι ποίημα. Καὶ τὸ ἐπικρατῆσαν, ὥς φασιν, ἑνὸς αὐτῶν φῶς τοὺς πλείονας παραβραβεύει· καὶ ὁ νικώμενος εἰς αὖθις νῦν ἐπικρατεῖν εἴωθεν. Εὐαρεστοῦσι δὲ αὐτοῖς οἱ ἑπτὰ πλανῆται, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν τοῖς πεττοῖς ἀθύροντες. Ἡμεῖς δὲ καὶ εἱμαρμένης ἐσμὲν ἀνώτεροι, καὶ ἀντὶ πλανητῶν δαιμόνων ἕνα τὸν ἀπλανῆ δεσπότην μεμαθήκαμεν, καὶ οὐ καθʼ εἱμαρμένην ἀγόμενοι τοὺς ταύτης νομοθέτας παρῃτήμεθα. Λέγε μοι πρὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, Τριπτόλεμος ἔσπειρε τοὺς πυρούς, καὶ μετὰ τὸ πένθος εὐεργετεῖ τοὺς Ἀθηναίους; Διὰ τί δὲ ἡ Δημήτηρ τῆς θυγατρὸς μὴ ἀπολωλυίας τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐεργέτις οὐκ ἐγένετο; Κύων ὁ τῆς Ἠριγόνης ἐν οὐρανῷ δείκνυται καὶ Σκορπίος ὁ τῆς Ἀρτέμιδος βοηθὸς καὶ Χείρων ὁ Κένταυρος καὶ ἡ ἡμίτομος Ἀργὼ καὶ ἡ Καλλιστοῦς ἄρκτος. Εἶτα πῶς πρὶν τούτους περὶ τὰς προειρημένας πράξεις γενέσθαι ἀκόσμητος ἦν ὁ οὐρανός; Τίνι δὲ οὐ γελοῖον εἶναι δόξει τὸ κατὰ μέν τινας διὰ τὴν Σικελίαν ἀστροθετούμενον Δελτωτόν, κατʼ ἐνίους δὲ τῆς τοῦ Διὸς προσωνυμίας πρωτότυπον στοιχεῖον; Διὰ τί γὰρ οὐχὶ καὶ ἡ Σαρδὼ καὶ ἡ Κύπρος ἐν οὐρανῷ τετίμηνται; Τίνος δὲ ἕνεκεν οὐχὶ καὶ τῶν τοῦ Διὸς ἀδελφῶν, οἳ διενείμαντο τὰς βασιλείας, γραμμάτων σχηματουργίαι κατεστηρίχθησαν; Πῶς τε ὁ πεδηθεὶς Κρόνος καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἔκβλητος γενόμενος τῆς εἱμαρμένης οἰκονόμος καθίσταται; Πῶς τε βασιλείας ὁ μηκέτι βασιλεύων δίδωσι; Καταβάλλετε τοιγαροῦν τὸν λῆρον, καὶ μὴ διὰ τὸ μισεῖν ἡμᾶς ἀδίκως παρανομήσητε.
English · Claude translation
Such are the demons; they are the ones who laid down fate. The basis of their system was the animal kingdom. For the creeping things on the earth, the swimming things in the waters, and the four-footed beasts on the mountains, among whom they lived after they were thrown out of their life in heaven, these they deemed worthy of heavenly honor, so that they themselves might be thought to dwell in heaven, and might make the unreasoning life on earth seem reasonable by the arrangement of the stars. So the passionate man and the toiling man, the self-controlled and the unrestrained, the poor and the rich, owe what they are to those who made laws for birth. For the drawing of the zodiac is the work of gods. And when the light of one of them prevails, as they say, it robs the majority of their prize; and the one who is beaten now is apt to prevail another time. The seven planets please them, like people amusing themselves at draughts. But we are above fate, and instead of wandering demons we have learned of one Lord who does not wander; and since we are not led by fate, we have rejected its lawgivers. Tell me, for God's sake: did Triptolemus sow the wheat, and does he benefit the Athenians after the mourning? And why did Demeter not become a benefactor of humankind before her daughter was lost? The dog of Erigone is shown in the sky, and the Scorpion that helped Artemis, and Chiron the Centaur, and the half-ship Argo, and Callisto's Bear. How then, before these did the deeds mentioned, was the sky without its ornaments? And who will not find it ridiculous that the Triangle is set among the stars, according to some because of Sicily, according to others as the first letter of the name of Zeus? Why then are Sardinia and Cyprus not honored in the sky too? And why have figures of letters not been fixed there for the brothers of Zeus, who divided the kingdoms among them? And how is Cronus, who was put in chains and thrown out of his kingdom, appointed steward of fate? And how does one who reigns no longer give kingdoms? So put away this nonsense, and do not break the law by hating us unjustly.
About this passage
Notes
Translation notes
- “Wandering” and “does not wander” play on πλανῆται (planets, literally “wanderers”).
- The Triangle (Δελτωτόν) was said to represent Sicily, or the letter Δ, the first letter of Διός (“of Zeus”).
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (accent: grave on οἳ before a following word; misprint: Τίνε for Τίνι (“to whom”)): Τίνε δὲ οὐ γελοῖον → Τίνι δὲ οὐ γελοῖον; οἵ διενείμαντο → οἳ διενείμαντο.
Cite this passage
Tatian, Or. Graec. 9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/9/).
Plain text
Tatian, Or. Graec. 9 (trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/tatian-oration/9/).
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