ὁ πατὴρ δὲ ὁ Ζεὺς ἐκέλευσε καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν τὴν ἀμήτορα, τὴν παρθένον ἅμα τῷ Ἡλίῳ τὸ παιδάριον ἐκτρέφειν. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἐτράφη καὶ νεανίας ἐγένετο

(And father Zeus bade Athene also, the Motherless Maiden, share with Helios the task of bringing up the child. And when, thus reared, he had become a youth)

[pg 138]

κατανοήσας τῶν κακῶν τὸ πλῆθος. ὁπόσον τι περὶ τοὺς ξυγγενεῖς αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἀνεψιοὺς ἐγεγόνει, ἐδέησε μὲν αὑτὸν εἰς τὸν τάρταρον προέσθαι πρὸς τὸ μέγεθος τῶν κακῶν ἐκπλαγείς. [B] ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἥλιος εὐμενὴς ὢν μετὰ τῆς Προνοίας Ἀθηνᾶς ὕπνον τινὰ καὶ κάρον ἐμβαλὼν τῆς ἐπινοίας ταύτης ἀπήγαγεν, αὖθις ἀνεγερθεὶς ἄπεισιν εἰς ἐρημίαν. εἶτα ἐκεῖ λίθον τινὰ εὑρὼν μικρὸν ἀνεπαύσατο καὶ πρὸς αὑτὸν ἐσκόπει, τίνα τρόπον ἐκφεύξεται τῶν τοσούτων κακῶν τὸ μέγεθος· ἤδη γὰρ αὐτῷ πάντα ἐφαίνετο μοχθηρά, [C] καλὸν δὲ οὐδὲν οὐδαμοῦ τέως. Ἑρμῆς οὖν αὐτῷ· καὶ γὰρ εἶχεν οἰκείως πρὸς αὐτόν· ὥσπερ ἡλικιώτης νεανίσκος φανεὶς ἠσπάσατό τε φιλοφρόνως καί, Δεῦρο, εἶπεν, ἡγεμών σοι ἐγὼ ἔσομαι λειοτέρας244 καὶ ὁμαλεστέρας ὁδοῦ τουτὶ τὸ μικρὸν ὑπερβάντι τὸ σκολιὸν καὶ ἀπότομον χωρίον, οὗ πάντας ὁρᾶς προσπταίοντας καὶ ἀπιόντας ἐντεῦθεν ὀπίσω. καὶ ὁ νεανίσκος ἀπιὼν ᾤχετο μετὰ πολλῆς εὐλαβείας ἔχων παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ ξίφος τε καὶ ἀσπίδα καὶ δόρυ,245 γυμνὰ δὲ αὐτῷ τέως ἦν τὰ περὶ τὴν κεφαλήν. [D] πεποιθὼς οὖν αὐτῷ προῆγεν εἰς τὸ πρόσω διὰ λείας ὁδοῦ καὶ ἀθρύπτου καθαρᾶς τε πάνυ καὶ καρποῖς βριθούσης ἄνθεσί τε πολλοῖς καὶ ἀγαθοις, ὅσα ἐστὶ θεοῖς φίλα, καὶ δένδρεσι κιττοῦ καὶ δάφνης καὶ μυρρίνης. ἀγαγὼν δὲ αὐτὸν ἐπί τι μέγα καὶ ὑψηλὸν ὄρος, Ἐπὶ τούτου, ἔφη, τῆς κορυφῆς ὁ πατὴρ πάντων κάθηται τῶν θεῶν. ὅρα οὖν· ἐνταῦθά ἐστιν ὁ μέγας κίνδυνος· ὅπως αὐτὸν ὡς εὐαγέστατα προσκυνήσεις, αἰτήσῃ δὲ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὅ, τι ἂν [pg 140] ἐθέλῃς· [231] ἕλοιο δέ, ὦ παῖ, τὰ βέλτιστα. ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἀπέκρυψεν ἑαυτὸν Ἑρμῆς πάλιν. ὁ δὲ ἐβούλετο μὲν παρὰ τοῦ Ἑρμοῦ πυθέσθαι, τί ποτε αἰτήσασθαι χρὴ παρὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τῶν θεῶν, ὡς δὲ πλησίον ὄντα οὐ κατεῖδεν, Ἐνδεὴς μέν, ἔφη, καλὴ δὲ ὅμως ἡ ξυμβουλή. αἰτώμεθα οὖν ἀγαθῇ τύχῃ τὰ κράτιστα καίπερ οὔπω σαφῶς τὸν πατέρα τῶν θεῶν ὁρῶντες. Ὦ Ζεῦ πάτερ ἢ ὅ,τι σοι φίλον ὄνομα καὶ ὅπως ὀνομάζεσθαι· δείκνυέ μοι τὴν ἐπὶ σὲ φέρουσαν ὁδὸν ἄνω. [B] κρείττονα γάρ μοι τὰ ἐκεῖ φαίνεται χωρία παρὰ σὲ μαντευομένῳ τὸ παρὰ σοὶ κάλλος ἀπὸ τῆς ἐν τούτοις ὅθεν πεπορεύμεθα τέως ἀγλαΐας.

(he learned numerous disasters that had befallen his kinsmen and his cousins, and had all but hurled himself into Tartarus, so confounded was he by the extent of those calamities. Then Helios of his grace, aided Athene, Goddess of Forethought, threw him into a slumber or trance, and so diverted him from that purpose. Then when he had waked from this he went away into the desert. And there he found a stone and rested for a while thereon, debating within himself how he should escape evils so many and so vast. For all things now appeared grievous to him and for the moment there was no hope anywhere. Then Hermes, who had an affinity for him,246 appeared to him in the guise of a youth of his own age, and greeting him kindly said, “Follow me, and I will guide thee by an easier and smoother road as soon as thou hast surmounted this winding and rugged place where thou seest all men stumbling and obliged to go back again.” Then the youth set out with great circumspection, carrying a sword and shield and spear, though as yet his head was bare. Thus relying on Hermes he went forward by a road smooth, untrodden and very bright, and overhung with fruits and many lovely flowers such as the gods love, and with trees also, ivy and laurel and myrtle. Now when Hermes had brought him to the foot of a great and lofty mountain, he said, “On the summit of this mountain dwells the father of all the gods. Be careful then—for herein lies the greatest risk of all247—to worship him with the utmost piety and ask of him whatever thou wilt. Thou wilt choose, my child, only what is best.” So saying Hermes once more became invisible, though the youth was fain to learn from him what he ought to ask from the father of the gods. But when he saw that he was no longer at his side he said, “The advice though incomplete is good nevertheless. Therefore let me by the grace of fortune ask for what is best, though I do not as yet see clearly the father of the gods. Father Zeus—or whatever name thou dost please that men should call thee by,248—show me the way that leads upwards to thee. For fairer still methinks the region where thou art, if I may judge of the beauty of thy abode from the splendour of the place whence I have come hither.”)

Εὐξαμένῳ ταῦτα εἴτε ὕπνος τις εἴτε ἔκστασις ἐπῆλθεν. ὁ δὲ αὐτῷ δείκνυσιν αὐτὸν τὸν Ἥλιον. ἐκπλαγεὶς οὖν ὁ νεανίσκος ὑπὸ τῆς θέας, Ἀλλὰ σοὶ μέν, εἶπεν, ὦ θεῶν πάτερ, τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ τούτων [C] ἕνεκα πάντων ἐμαυτὸν φέρων ἀναθήσω. περιβαλὼν249 δὲ τοῖς γόνασι τοῦ Ἡλίου τὰς χεῖρας ἀπρὶξ εἴχετο σώζειν ἑαυτὸν δεόμενος. ὁ δὲ καλέσας τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν ἐκέλευε πρῶτον ἀνακρίνειν αὐτόν, ὁπόσα ἐκόμισεν ὅπλα. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑώρα τήν τε ἀσπίδα καὶ τὸ ξίφος μετὰ τοῦ δόρατος, Ἀλλὰ ποῦ σοι, ἔφη, ὦ παῖ, τὸ Γοργόνειον καὶ τὸ κράνος; ὁ δέ, Καὶ ταῦτα, εἶπε, μόγις ἐκτησάμην· οὐδεὶς γὰρ ἦν ὁ ξυμπονῶν ἐν τῇ τῶν συγγενῶν οἰκίᾳ παρερριμμένῳ. Ἴσθι οὖν, εἶπεν ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος, ὅτι σε πάντως χρὴ [D] ἐπανελθεῖν ἐκεῖσε. ἐνταῦθα ἐδεῖτο [pg 142] μὴ πέμπειν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖσε πάλιν, ἀλλὰ κατέχειν, ὡς οὐκέθ᾽ ὕστερον ἐπανήξοντα, ἀπολούμενον δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἐκεῖ κακῶν. ὡς δὲ ἐλιπάρει δακρύων, Ἀλλὰ νέος εἶ, ἔφη, καὶ ἀμύητος. ἴθι οὖν παρ᾽ ὑμᾶς, ὡς ἂν μυηθείης ἀσφαλῶς τε ἐκεῖ διάγοις· χρὴ γάρ σ᾽ ἀπιέναι καὶ καθαίρειν ἐκεῖνα πάντα τὰ ἀσεβήματα, παρακαλεῖν δὲ ἐμέ τε καὶ τὴν Ἀθηνᾶν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους θεούς. [232] ἀκούσας ταῦτα ὁ νεανίσκος εἱστήκει σιωπῇ. καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος ἐπί τινα σκοπιὰν ἀγαγὼν αὐτόν, ἧς τὸ μὲν ἄνω φωτὸς ἦν πλῆρες, τὸ δὲ ὑποκάτω μυρίας ἀχλύος, δι ἧς ὥσπερ δι᾽ ὕδατος ἀμυδρὸν τὸ φῶς διικνεῖτο τῆς ἐκ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐγῆς Ἠλίου, Ὁρᾷς, εἶπε, τὸν ἀνεψιὸν τὸν κληρονόμον; καὶ ὅς, Ὁρῶ, ἔφη. Τί δέ; τοὺς βουκόλους τουτουσὶ καὶ τοὺς ποιμένας; καὶ τούτους ὁρᾶν εἶπεν ὁ νεανίσκος. [B] Ποταπὸς οὖν τίς σοι ὁ κληρονόμος φαίνεται; ποταποὶ δ᾽ αὖ οἱ ποιμένες τε καὶ βουκόλοι; καὶ ὁ νεανίσκος, Ὁ μέν μοι, ἔφη, δοκεῖ νυστάζειν τὰ πολλὰ καὶ καταδυόμενος250 λεληθότως ἡδυπαθεῖν, τῶν ποιμένων δὲ ὀλίγον μέν ἐστι τὸ ἀστεῖον, τὸ πλῆθος δὲ μοχθηρὸν καὶ θηριῶδες. ἐσθίει γὰρ καὶ πιπράσκει τὰ πρόβατα καὶ ἀδικεῖ διπλῇ τὸν δεσπότην. τά τε γὰρ ποίμνια αὐτοῦ φθείρει καὶ ἐκ πολλῶν μικρὰ ἀποφέρον [C] ἄμισθον εἶναί φησι καὶ οδύρεται. καίτοι κρεῖττον ἦν τοὺς μισθοὺς ἀπαιτεῖν ἐντελεῖς ἢ φθείρειν τὴν ποίμνην. Ἂν οὖν, ἔφη, σὲ ἐγὲ μετὰ ταυτησὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, ἐπιτάττοντος τοῦ [pg 144] Διός, ἀντὶ τοῦ κληρονόμου τούτου πάντων ἐπίτροπον τούτων καταστήσω—; πάλιν ἐνταῦθα ὁ νεανίσκος ἀντείχετο καὶ πολλὰ ἱκέτευεν αὐτοῦ μένειν. ὁ δέ, Μὴ λίαν ἀπειθὴς ἔσο, φησί, μή ποτέ

(When he had uttered this prayer a sort of slumber or ecstasy came over him. Then Zeus showed him Helios himself. Awestruck by that vision the youth exclaimed, “For this and for all thy other favours I will dedicate myself to thee, O Father of the Gods!” Then he cast his arms about the knees of Helios and would not let go his hold but kept entreating him to save him. But Helios called Athene and bade her first enquire of him what arms he had brought with him. And when she saw his shield and sword and spear, she said, “But where, my child, is thy aegis251 and thy helmet?” “Even these that I have,” he replied, “I procured with difficulty. For in the house of my kinsfolk there was none to aid one so despised.” “Learn therefore,” said mighty Helios, “that thou must without fail return thither.” Thereupon he entreated him not to send him to earth again but to detain him there, since he would never be able to mount upwards a second time but would be overwhelmed by the ills of earth. But as he wept and implored Helios replied, “Nay, thou art young and not yet initiated. Return therefore to thine own people that thou mayst be initiated and thereafter dwell on earth in safety. For return thou must, and and cleanse away all impiety and invoke me to aid thee, and Athene and the other gods.” When Helios had said this the youth remained silent. Then mighty Helios led him to a high peak whose upper region was filled with light but the lower with the thickest mist imaginable, through which, as through water, the light of the rays of King Helios penetrated but faintly. “Thou seest,” said Helios, “thy cousin the heir?”252 “I see him,” the youth replied. “Again, dost thou see yonder herdsmen and shepherds?” The youth answered that he did. “Then what thinkest thou of the heir's disposition? And what of his shepherds and herdsmen?” “He seems to me,” replied the youth, “to be for the most part asleep, sunk in forgetfulness and devoted to pleasure; and of his shepherds a few are honest, but most are vicious and brutal. For they devour or sell his sheep, and doubly injure their master, in that they not only ruin his flocks but besides that they make great gain and return him but little thereof, while they declare with loud complaint that they are defrauded of their wages. And yet it were better that they should demand and obtain their full pay than that they should destroy the flock.” “Now what if I and Athene here,” said Helios, “obeying the command of Zeus, should appoint thee to govern all these, in place of the heir?” Then the youth clung to him again and earnestly entreated that he might remain there. “Do not be obstinate in disobedience,” said Helios,)

καὶ ὁ νεανίσκος, Ἀλλ᾽, ὦ μέγιστε, εἶπεν, Ἥλιε καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ, σέ τε καὶ αὐτὸν ἐπιμαρτύρομαι τὸν Δία, χρῆσθέ μοι πρὸς ὅ, τι βούλεσθε. [D] πάλιν οὖν ὁ Ἑρμῆς ἄφνω φανεὶς ἐποίησε τὸν νεανίσκον θαρραλεώτερον. ἤδη γὰρ διενοεῖτο τῆς τε ὀπίσω πορείας καὶ τῆς ἐκεῖσε διατριβῆς ηὑρηκέναι τὸν ἡγεμόνα. καὶ ἡ Ἀθηνᾶ, Μάνθανε, εἶπεν, ὦ λῷστε, πατρὸς ἀγαθοῦ τουτουὶ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐμὸν βλάστημα. τοῦτον, ἔφη, τὸν κληρονόμον οἱ βέλτιστοι μὲν οὐκ εὐφραίνουσι τῶν ποιμένων, οἱ κόλακες δὲ καὶ οἱ μοχθηροὶ δοῦλον καὶ ὑποχείριον πεποίηνται. συμβαίνει οὖν [233] αὐτῷ παρὰ μὲν τῶν ἐπιεικῶν μὴ φιλεῖσθαι, παρὰ δὲ τῶν νομιζομένων φιλεῖν254 εἰς τὰ μέγιστα ἀδικεῖσθαι; σκόπει οὖν ὅπως ἐπανελθὼν μὴ πρὸ τοῦ φίλου θήσει τὸν κόλακα. δευτέραν ἄκουέ μου παραίνεσιν, ὦ παῖ. νυστάζων οὗτος ἐξαπατᾶται τὰ πολλά· σὺ δὲ νῆφε καὶ γρηγόρει, μή σε διὰ τῆς τοῦ φίλου παρρησίας ὁ κόλαξ ἐξαπατήσας λάθοι,255 χαλκεὺς οἷά τις γέμων καπνοῦ καὶ μαρίλης, [B] ἔχων ἱμάτιον λευκὸν καὶ τὰ πρόσωπα τῷ ψιμυθίῳ κεχρισμένος, εἶτα αὐτῷ δοίης γῆμαί τινα τῶν σῶν θυγατέρων. τρίτης ἐπάκουέ μου παραινέσεως, καὶ μάλα ισχυρῶς φύλαττε σαυτόν, αἰδοῦ δὲ καὶ ἡμᾶς μόνον, ἀνδρῶν [pg 146] δὲ ὅστις ἡμῖν προσόμοιός ἐστιν, ἄλλον δὲ μηδένα. ὁρᾷς ὅπως τοῦτον τὸν ἠλίθιον ἔβλαψεν αἰσχύνη καὶ τὸ λίαν ἄγαν εἶναι καταπλῆγα;

(Then said the youth, “Do thou, O most mighty Helios, and thou, Athene,—and thee too, Father Zeus, do I call to witness,—dispose of me as ye will.” Then Hermes suddenly appeared once more, and inspired him with greater courage. For now he thought that he had found a guide for the journey back, and for his sojourn on earth. Then said Athene, “Attend, good youth, that art born of myself and of this god, thy noble sire! The most virtuous of the shepherds do not please this heir, for flatterers and profligates have made him their slave and tool. Thus it is that he is not beloved by the good, and is most deeply wronged by those who are supposed to love him. Be careful then when thou returnest that he make thee not his flatterer rather than his friend. This second warning also do thou heed, my son. Yonder man slumbers, and hence he is often deceived, but do thou be sober and vigilant,256 lest the flatterer assume the frankness of a friend and so deceive thee; which is as though a smith covered with smoke and cinders should come wearing a white garment and with his face painted white, and thus induce thee to give him one of thy daughters in marriage.257 My third warning to thee is this: do thou very zealously keep watch over thyself, and reverence us in the first place, and among men only him who resembles us, and no one besides. Thou seest how false shame and excessive timidity have injured this foolish man.”)

Καὶ ὁ μέγας Ἥλιος αὖθις τὸν λόγον διαδεξάμενος εἶπεν. [C] Ἑλόμενος φίλους ὡς φίλοις χρῶ, μηδὲ αὐτοὺς οἰκέτας μηδὲ θεράποντας νόμιζε, πρόσιθι δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐλευθέρως τε καὶ ἁπλούστατα καὶ γενναίως, μὴ λέγων μὲν ἄλλα, φρονῶν δὲ ἕτερα περὶ αὐτῶν. ὁρᾷς ὅτι καὶ τοῦτον τὸν κληρονόμον τοῦτο ἐπέτριψεν, ἡ πρὸς τοὺς φίλους ἀπιστία; φίλει τοὺς ἀρχομένους ὥσπερ ἡμεῖς σέ· τὰ πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἡγείσθω σοι τῶν καλῶν ἁπάντων· [D] ἐσμὲν γάρ σου καὶ εὐεργεταὶ καὶ φίλοι καὶ σωτῆρες. ἀκούσας ταῦτα ὁ νεανίσκος διεχύθη καὶ δῆλος ἦν ἅπαντα ἤδη τοῖς θεοῖς πειθόμενος. Ἀλλ᾽ ἴθι, ἔφη, πορεύου μετὰ ἀγαθῆς ἐλπίδος. ἡμεῖς γάρ σοι πανταχοῦ συνεσόμεθα ἐγώ τε καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ καὶ Ἑρμῆς ὅδε καὶ σὺν ἡμῖν οἱ θεοὶ πάντες οἱ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ καὶ οἱ περὶ τὸν ἀέρα καὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ πᾶν πανταχοῦ τὸ θεῖον γένος, ἕως ἂν τά τε πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὅσιος ᾖς καὶ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς φίλους πιστὸς καὶ τὰ πρὸς τοὺς ὑπηκόους φιλάνθρωπος, [234] ἄρχων αὐτῶν καὶ ἡγούμενος ἐπὶ τὰ βέλτιστα· ἀλλὰ μήτε ταῖς σεαυτοῦ μήτε ταῖς ἐκείνων258 ἐπιθυμίαις δουλεύων ὑπεικάθηις. ἔχων οὖν τὴν πανοπλίαν,259 ἣν ἐκόμισας πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἄπιθι προσλαβὼν ταύτην μὲν τὴν δᾷδα παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ, ἵνα σοι καὶ ἐν τῇ γῇ φῶς λάμπῃ μέγα καὶ μηδὲν ἐπιποθῇς τῶν τῇδε, ταυτησὶ δὲ Ἀθενᾶς τῆς καλῆς τό τε Γοργόνειον [pg 148] καὶ τὸ κράνος· πολλὰ γάρ, ὁρᾷς, ἐστὶν αὐτῇ, καὶ δίδωσιν οἷς ἂν ἐθέλῃ. [B] δώσει δέ σοι καὶ Ἑρμῆς χρυσῆν ῥάβδον. ἔρχου οὖν τῇ πανοπλίᾳ κοσμηθεὶς ταύτῃ διὰ πάσης μὲν γῆς, διὰ πάσης δὲ θαλάττης, ἀμετακινήτως τοῖς ἡμετέροις πειθόμενος νόμοις, καὶ μηδείς σε μήτε ἀνδρῶν μήτε γυναικῶν, μήτε τῶν οἰκείων μήτε τῶν ξένων ἀναπείσῃ τῶν ἐντολῶν260 ἐκλαθέσθαι τῶν ἡμετέρων. ἐμμένων γὰρ αὐταῖς ἡμῖν μὲν ἔσῃ φίλος καὶ τίμιος, αἰδοῖος δὲ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς ἡμῶν ὑπηρέταις, φοβερὸς δὲ ἀνθρώποις πονηροῖς καὶ κακοδαίμοσιν. [C] ἴσθι δὲ σεαυτῷ τὰ σαρκία δεδόσθαι τῆς λειτουργίας ἕνεκα ταυτησί. βουλόμεθα γάρ σοι τὴν προγονικὴν οἰκίαν αἰδοῖ τῶν προγόνων ἀποκαθῆραι. μέμνησο οὖν, ὅτι τὴν ψυχὴν ἀθάνατον ἔχεις καὶ ἔκγονον ἡμετέραν, ἑπόμενός τε ἡμῖν ὅτι θεὸς ἔσῃ καὶ τὸν ἡμέτερον ὄψει σὺν ἡμῖν πατέρα.

(Then mighty Helios took up the tale and said, “When thou hast chosen thy friends treat them as friends and do not regard them as thy servants and attendants, but let thy conduct towards them be generous, candid, and honourable: say not one thing about them while thou thinkest another. Thou seest that it was treachery to his friends that destroyed this heir. Love thy subjects even as we love thee. Prefer our worship to all other blessings. For we are thy benefactors and friends and preservers.” At these words the youth became calm and showed plainly that he was already obedient in all things to the gods. “Come,” said Helios, “now depart with good hope. For everywhere we shall be with thee, even I and Athene and Hermes here, and with us all the gods that are on Olympus or in the air or on earth and the whole race of gods everywhere, so long as thou art pious towards us and loyal to thy friends, and humane towards thy subjects, ruling them and guiding them to what is best. But never yield to thy own passions or become the slave of theirs. Keep the armour that thou hast brought hither, and depart, but first receive from me this torch so that even on earth a great light may shine for thee and that thou mayst not long for the things of earth. And from fair Athene here receive an aegis and helmet. For as thou seest she has many, and she gives them to whom she will. And Hermes too will give thee a golden wand. Go then thus adorned in full armour over sea and land, steadfastly obeying our laws, and let no man or woman or kinsman or foreigner persuade thee to neglect our commands. For while thou dost abide by them thou wilt be loved and honoured by us and respected by our good servants and formidable to the wicked and impious. Know that a mortal frame was given to thee that thou mightest discharge these duties. For we desire, out of respect for thy ancestor to cleanse the house of thy forefathers. Remember therefore that thou hast an immortal soul that is our offspring, and that if thou dost follow us thou shalt be a god and with us shalt behold our father.”)

Τοῦτο εἴτε μῦθος εἴτε ἀληθής ἐστι λόγος οὐκ οἶδα. τὸ παρὰ σοῦ δὲ πεποιημένον, τίνα βούλει τὸν Πᾶνα, [D] τίνα δὲ εἶναι τὸν Δία, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο,261 ὡς ἐσμὲν ἐγώ τε καὶ σύ, σὺ μὲν ὁ Ζεύς, ἐγὼ δὲ ὁ Πάν; ὢ τοῦ γελοίου Ψευδόπανος, γελοιοτέρου μέντοι νὴ τὸν Ἀσκληπιὸν τοῦ πάντα μᾶλλον ἢ Διὸς ἀνθρώπου. ταῦτα οὐκ ἔστιν ἀτεχνῶς ἐκ μαινομένου262 στόματος οὔτι τὴν ἔνθεον, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἔκπληκτον μανίαν; οὐκ οἶσθα, ὅτι καὶ ὁ Σαλμωνεὺς ἔδωκεν [235] ὑπὲρ τούτων τοῖς θεοῖς δίκην, ὅτι ἄνθρωπος ὢν ἐπεχείρει Ζεὺς εἶναι; τὸ δὲ ἐκ τῶν Ἡσιόδου λεγόμενον ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀνομασάντων [pg 150] ἑαυτοὺς τοῖς τῶν θεῶν ὀνόμασιν, Ἥρας τε καὶ Διός, εἰ μήπω καὶ νῦν ἀκήκοας, ἔχω σοι συγγνῶναι· οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπαιδοτριβήθης καλῶς οὐδὲ ἔτυχες καθηγεμόνος, ὁποίου περὶ τοὺς ποιητὰς ἐγὼ τουτουὶ τοῦ φιλοσόφου, μεθ᾽ ὃν ἐπὶ τὰ πρόθυρα τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἦλθον ὑπ᾽ ἀνδρὶ τελεσθησόμενος, ὃν νενόμικα τῶν [B] κατ᾽ ἐμαυτὸν πάντων διαφέρειν. ὁ δέ με πρὸ πάντων ἀρετὴν ἀσκεῖν καὶ θεοὺς ἁπάντων τῶν καλῶν νομίζειν ἡγεμόνας ἐδίδασκεν. εἰ μὲν οὖν τι προὔργου πεποίηκεν, αὐτὸς ἂν εἰδείη καὶ πρὸ τούτου γε οἱ βασιλεῖς θεοί· τουτὶ δὲ ἐξῄρει τὸ μανιῶδες καὶ θρασύ, καὶ ἐπειρᾶτό με ποιεῖν ἐμαυτοῦ σωφρονέστερον. ἐγὼ δὲ καίπερ, ὡς οἶσθα, τοῖς ἔξωθεν πλεονεκτήμασιν ἐπτερωμένος ὑπέταξα [C] ὅμως ἐμαυτὸν τῷ καθηγεμόνι καὶ τοῖς ἐκείνου φίλοις καὶ ἡλικιώταις καὶ συμφοιτηταῖς, καὶ ὧν ἤκουον ἐπαινουμένων παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ, τούτων ἔσπευδον ἀκροατὴς εἶναι, καὶ βιβλία ταῦτα ἀνεγίγνωσκον, ὁπόσα αὐτὸς δοκιμάσειεν.

(Now whether this be a fable or a true narrative I cannot say. But in your composition, whom do you mean by Pan, and whom by Zeus unless you and I are they, that is, you are Zeus and I am Pan? What an absurd counterfeit Pan! But you are still more absurd, by Asclepius, and very far indeed from being Zeus! Is not all this the utterance of a mouth that foams with morbid rather than inspired madness?263 Do you not know that Salmoneus264 in his day was punished by the gods for just this, for attempting, though a mortal man, to play the part of Zeus? Then too there is the account in Hesiod's poems of those who styled themselves by the names of the gods, even of Hera and of Zeus, but if you have not heard of it till this moment I can excuse you for that. For you have not been well educated, nor did fate bestow on you such a guide to the poets as I had—I mean this philosopher265 now present: and later on I arrived at the threshold of philosophy to be initiated therein by the teaching of one266 whom I consider superior to all the men of my own time. He used to teach me to practise virtue before all else, and to regard the gods as my guides to all that is good. Now whether he accomplished anything of real profit he himself must determine, or rather the ruling gods; but at least he purged me of such infatuate folly and insolence as yours, and tried to make me more temperate than I was by nature. And though, as you know, I was armed267 with great external advantages, nevertheless I submitted myself to my preceptor and to his friends and compeers and the philosophers of his school, and I was eager to be instructed by all whose praises I heard uttered by him, and I read all the books that he approved.)

οὕτως ἡμεῖς ὑφ᾽ ἡγεμόσι τελούμενοι, φιλοσόφῳ μὲν τῷ τὰ τῆς προπαιδείας με τελέσαντι, φιλοσοφωτάτῳ δὲ τῷ τὰ πρόθυρα τῆς φιλοσοφίας δείξαντι, σμικρὰ μὲν διὰ τὰς ἔξωθεν ἡμῖν προσπεσούσας ἀσχολίας, [D] ὅμως δ᾽ οὖν ἀπελαύσαμεν τῆς ὀρθῆς ἀγωγῆς, οὐ τὴν σύντομον, ἣν σὺ φής, ἀλλὰ τὴν κύκλῳ πορευθέντες· καίτοι νὴ τοὺς θεοὺς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀρετὴν οἶμαι ὅτι σου συντομωτέραν ἐτραπόμην. ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ αὐτῆς, [pg 152] εἰ μὴ φορτικὸν εἰπεῖν, ἐπὶ τοῖς προθύροις ἕστηκα, σὺ δὲ καὶ τῶν προθύρων εἶ πόρρω. σοὶ δὲ ἀρετῆς ἢ τοῖς σοῖς ἀδελφοῖς—, ἀφελὼν δὲ τὸ δύσφημον τὸ λειπόμενον αὐτὸς ἀναπλήρωσον· εἰ βούλει δέ, καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν αὐτὸ ἀνάσχου πρᾴως λεγόμενον,—τίς μετουσία; [236] πᾶσιν ἐπιτιμᾷς αὐτὸς οὐδὲν ἄξιον ἐπαίνου πράττων, ἐπαινεῖς φορτικῶς ὡς οὐδεὶς τῶν ἀμαθεστάτων ῥητόρων, οἷς διὰ τὴν τῶν λόγων ἀπορίαν καὶ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν εὑρεῖν ἐκ τῶν παρόντων ὅ, τι φῶσιν, ἡ Δῆλος ἐπέρχεται καὶ ἡ Λητὼ μετὰ τῶν παίδων, εἶτα κύκνοι λιγυρὸν ᾄδοντες καὶ ἐπηχοῦντα αὐτοῖς τὰ δένδρα, λειμῶνές τε ἔνδροσοι μαλακῆς πόας καὶ βαθείας πλήρεις, ἥ τε ἐκ τῶν ἀνθέων ὀδμὴ καὶ τὸ ἔαρ αὐτὸ καί τινες εἰκόνες τοιαῦται. [B] ποῦ τοῦτο Ἰσοκράτης ἐν τοῖς ἐγκωμιαστικοῖς ἐποίησε λόγοις; ποῦ δὲ τῶν παλαιῶν τις ἀνδρῶν, οἳ ταῖς Μούσαις ἐτελοῦντο γνησίως, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχ ὥσπερ οἱ νῦν; ἀφίημι δὲ τὰ ἑξῆς, ἵνα μὴ καὶ πρὸς τούτους ἀπεχθανόμενος ἅμα τοῖς τε φαυλοτάτοις τῶν Κυνικῶν καὶ τῶν ῥητόρων προσκρούσαιμι· ὡς ἔμοιγε πρός τε τοὺς κρατίστους τῶν Κυνικῶν, [pg 154] εἴ τις ἄρα ἔστι νῦν τοιοῦτος, καὶ πρὸς τοὺς γενναίους ῥήτοράς [C] ἐστι φίλα268 πάντα. τῶν μὲν δὴ τοιούτων λόγων, εἰ καὶ πολὺ πλῆθος ἐπιρρεῖ· καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὅσον οὐχὶ λέγειν ἐθέλων τις ἐκ πάνυ δαψιλοῦς ἀντλήσειεν ἂν πίθου· τῆς προκειμένης ἡμῖν ἀσχολίας ἕνεκεν ἀφέξομαι. μικρὰ δὲ ἔτι τῷ λόγῳ προσθεὶς ὥσπερ ὀφλήματι τὸ ἐνδέον ἐπ᾽ [D] ἄλλο τι τρέψομαι, ταυτηνὶ τὴν ξυγγραφὴν αὐτοῦ που πληρώσας.

(Thus then I was initiated by those guides, in the first place by a philosopher who trained me in the preparatory discipline, and next by that most perfect philosopher who revealed to me the entrance to philosophy; and though I achieved but little on account of the engrossing affairs that overwhelmed me from without, still for all that I have had the benefit of right training, and have not travelled by the short road as you say you have, but have gone all the way round. Though indeed I call the gods to witness, I believe that the road I took was really a shorter road to virtue than yours. For I, at any rate, if I may say so without bad taste, am standing at the entrance, whereas you are a long way even from the entrance. “But as for virtue, you and your brethren—,”269 omit the ill-sounding phrase and fill in the blank yourself! Or rather if you please, bear with me when I “put it mildly”270—“what part or lot have you in it?” You criticise everybody, though you yourself do nothing to deserve praise; your praises are in worse taste than those of the most ignorant rhetoricians. They, because they have nothing to say and cannot invent anything from the matter in hand, are always dragging in Delos and Leto with her children, and then “swans singing their shrill song and the trees that echo them,” and “dewy meadows full of soft, deep grass,” and the “scent of flowers,” and “the season of spring,” and other figures of the same sort.271 When did Isocrates ever do this in his panegyrics? Or when did anyone of those ancient writers who were genuine votaries of the Muses, and not like the writers of to-day? However, I omit what I might add, lest I should make them also my enemies, and offend at once the most worthless Cynics and the most worthless rhetoricians. Though indeed I have nothing but friendly feelings for the really virtuous Cynics, if indeed there be any such nowadays, and also for all honest rhetoricians. But though a vast number of illustrations of this sort flow into my mind—for anyone who desired to use them could certainly draw from an ample jar272—I shall refrain because of the present pressure of business. However I have still somewhat to add to my discourse, like the balance of a debt, and before I turn to other matters let me complete this treatise.)

Τίς οὖν ἡ τῶν Πυθαγορικῶν εὐλάβεια περὶ τὰ τῶν θεῶν ὀνόματα, τίς δὲ ἡ Πλάτωνος; ποταπὸς δὲ ἦν ἐν τούτοις Ἀριστοτέλης; ἆρ᾽ οὐκ ἄξιον αὐτὸ ἰδεῖν; ἢ τὸν μὲν Σάμιον οὐδεὶς ἀντερεῖ τοιοῦτον γενέσθαι; καὶ γὰρ οὔτε τὸ ὀνόματα θεῶν ἐν τῆς σφραγῖδι φορεῖν ἐπέτρεπεν οὔτε τὸ ὅρκῳ χρῆσθαι προπετῶς τοῖς τῶν θεῶν ὀνόμασιν. εἰ δὲ νῦν λέγοιμι, [237] ὅτι καὶ εἰς Αἴγυπτον ἐπορεύθη καὶ Πέρσας εἶδε καὶ πανταχοῦ πάντα ἐπειράθη τὰ μυστήρια τῶν θεῶν ἐποπτεῦσαι καὶ τελεσθῆναι παντοίας πανταχοῦ τελετάς, ἐρῶ μὲν ἴσως ἄγνωστά σοι, γνώριμα μέντοι καὶ σαφῆ τοῖς πολλοῖς. ἀλλὰ τοῦ Πλάτωνος ἄκουε· τὸ δ᾽ ἐμὸν δέος, ὦ Πρώταρχε, πρὸς τὰ τῶν θεῶν ὀνόματα οὐκ ἔστι κατ᾽ ἄνθρωπον, ἀλλὰ πέρα τοῦ μεγίστου φόβου. καὶ νῦν τὴν μὲν Ἀφροδίτην, ὅπῃ ἐκείνῃ φίλον, ταύτῃ προσαγορεύω· [B] τὴν δ᾽ ἡδονὴν οἶδα ὡς ἔστι ποικίλον· ταῦτα ἐν Φιλήβῳ λέγεται, καὶ τοιαῦτα ἕτερα πάλιν ἐν Τιμαίῳ· πιστεύειν γὰρ [pg 156] ἁπλῶς ἀξιοῖ καὶ χωρὶς ἀποδείξεως λεγομένοις, ὅσα ὑπὲρ τῶν θεῶν φασιν οἱ ποιηταί. ταῦτα δὲ παρέθηκα, μή ποτέ σοι παράσχῃ πρόφασιν, ὥσπερ οἶμαι τῶν Πλατωνικῶν πολλοῖς, ὁ Σωκράτης εἴρων ὢν φύσει τὴν Πλατωνικὴν ἀτιμάσαι δόξαν. ἐκεῖ γὰρ οὐχ [C] ὁ Σωκράτης, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ Τίμαιος ταῦτα λέγει ἥκιστα ὢν εἴρων. καίτοι τοῦτό γέ ἐστιν οὐχ ὑγιὲς μὴ τὰ λεγόμενα ἐξετάζειν, ἀλλὰ τοὺς λέγοντας, καὶ τὸ πρὸς τίνας οἱ λόγοι γίγνονται. βούλει δῆτα273 τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο τὴν πάνσοφον ὑπαγορεύσω σειρῆνα, τὸν τοῦ λογίου τύπον Ἑρμοῦ, τὸν τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι καὶ ταῖς Μούσαις φίλον; ἐκεῖνος ἀξιοῖ τοὺς ἐπερωτῶντας ἢ ζητεῖν ὅλως ἐπιχειροῦντας, εἰ θεοί εἰσιν, οὐχ ὡς ἀνθρώπους ἀποκρίσεως τυγχάνειν, ἀλλ᾽ ὡς [D] τὰ θηρία κολάσεως. εἰ δὲ ἀνεγνώκεις τὸν συστατικὸν274 αὐτοῦ λόγον, ὃς ὥσπερ τῆς Πλάτωνος, οὕτω δὴ275 καὶ τῆς ἐκείνου διατριβῆς προυγέγραπτο, ἔγνως ἂν πρὸ πάντων, ὅτι τὰ πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβεῖς εἶναι καὶ μεμυῆσθαι πάντα τὰ μυστήρια καὶ τετελέσθαι τὰς ἁγιωτάτας τελετὰς καὶ διὰ πάντων τῶν μαθημάτων ἦχθαι τοῖς εἴσω τοῦ περιπάτου βαδίζουσι προηγόρευτο.276

(I ask you then what reverence for the names of the gods was shown by the Pythagoreans and by Plato? What was Aristotle's attitude in these matters? Is it not worth while to pay attention to this? Or surely no one will deny that he of Samos277 was reverent? For he did not even allow the names of the gods to be used on a seal, nor oaths to be rashly uttered in the names of the gods. And if I should go on to say that he also travelled to Egypt and visited Persia, and everywhere endeavoured to be admitted to the inner mysteries of the gods and everywhere to be initiated into every kind of rite, I shall be saying what is familiar and obvious to most people, though you may not have heard of it. However, listen to what Plato says: “But for my part, Protarchus, I feel a more than human awe, indeed a fear beyond expression, of the names of the gods. Now therefore I will address Aphrodite by whatever name pleases her best; though as for pleasure, I know that it has many forms.” This is what he says in the Philebus278 and he says the same sort of thing again in the Timaeus.279 For he says that we ought to believe directly and without proof what we are told, I mean what the poets say about the gods. And I have brought forward this passage for fear that Socrates may furnish you with an excuse,—as I believe he does to many Platonists because of his natural tendency to irony,—to slight the doctrine of Plato. For it is not Socrates who is speaking here, but Timaeus, who had not the least tendency to irony. Though for that matter it is not a sound principle to enquire who says a thing and to whom, rather than the actual words. But now will you allow me to cite next that all-wise Siren, the living image of Hermes the god of eloquence, the man dear to Apollo and the Muses?280 Well, he declares that all who raise the question or seek to enquire at all whether gods exist ought not to be answered as though they were men but to be chastised as wild beasts. And if you had read that introductory sentence which was inscribed over the entrance to his school, like Plato's, you would most surely know that those who entered the Lyceum were warned to be reverent to the gods, to be initiated into all the mysteries, to take part in the most sacred ceremonies, and to be instructed in knowledge of every kind.)

[238] Σὺ δὲ ὅπως ἡμῖν μὴ τὸν Διογένη προβαλὼν ὥσπερ τι μορμολυκεῖον ἐκφοβήσεις.281 οὐ γὰρ ἐμυήθη, φασίν, ἀλλὰ καὶ πρὸς τὸν προτρεπόμενον μυηθῆναι, Γελοῖον, εἶπεν, ὦ νεανίσκε, εἰ τοὺς μὲν τελώνας οἴει ταύτης ἕνεκα τῆς τελετῆς κοινωνήσειν τοῖς ὁσίοις τῶν ἐν ᾅδου καλῶν, Ἀγησίλαον [pg 158] δὲ καὶ Ἐπαμεινώνδαν ἐν τῷ βορβόρῳ κείσεσθαι. τοῦτο, ὦ νεανίσκε, βαθὺ λίαν ἐστὶ καὶ δεόμενον ἐξηγήσεως, [B] ὡς ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, μείζονος, ὁποίας282 ἡμῖν αὐταὶ δοῖεν αἱ θεαὶ τὴν ἐπίνοιαν; νομίζω δὲ αὐτὴν ἤδη καὶ δεδόσθαι. φαίνεται γὰρ ὁ Διογένης οὐχ, ὥσπερ ὑμεῖς ἀξιοῦτε, δυσσεβής, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκείνοις, ὧν μικρῷ πρόσθεν ἐπεμνήσθην, προσόμοιος. ἀπιδὼν γὰρ εἰς τὴν περίστασιν τὴν καταλαβοῦσαν αὐτόν, εἶτα εἰς τὰς ἐντολὰς βλέπων τοῦ Πυθίου καὶ συνιεὶς283 ὅτι τὸν μυούμενον ἐχρῆν πολιτογραφηθῆναι πρότερον καὶ Ἀθηναῖον, [C] εἰ καὶ μὴ φύσει, τῷ νόμῳ γε γενέσθαι, τοῦτο ἔφυγεν, οὐ τὸ μυηθῆναι, νομίζων αὑτὸν εἶναι τοῦ κόσμου πολίτην, καὶ ταῖς ὅλαις τῶν θεῶν οὐσίαις, αἳ τὸν ὅλον κοινῇ κόσμον ἐπιτροπεύουσιν, ἀλλ᾽ οὐ ταῖς τὰ μέρη κατανειμαμέναις αὐτοῦ, διὰ μεγαλοφροσύνην ἀξιῶν συμπολιτεύεσθαι· τό τε νόμιμον οὐ παρέβη αἰδοῖ τῶν θεῶν, καίτοι τἆλλα πατῶν καὶ παραχαράττων· αὑτόν [D] τε οὐκ ἐπανήγαγεν, ὄθεν ἄσμενος ἠλευθέρωτο. τί δ᾽ ἦν τοῦτο; τὸ πόλεως μιᾶς δουλεῦσαι νόμοις ἑαυτόν τε ὑποθεῖναι τούτῳ, ὅπερ ἦν ἀνάγκη παθεῖν Ἀθηναίῳ γενομένῳ. πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἔμελλεν ὁ τῶν θεῶν ἕνεκεν εἰς Ὀλυμπίαν βαδίζων, ὁ τῷ Πυθίῳ πεισθεὶς καὶ φιλοσοφήσας ὥσπερ Σωκράτης· φησὶ γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς εἶναι Πύθιον οἴκοι παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ, ὅθεν αὐτῷ καὶ ἡ ὁρμὴ [pg 160] πρὸς φιλοσοφίαν ἐγένετο· [239] παριέναι τῶν ἀνακτόρων εἴσω καὶ μάλα ἀσμένως, εἰ μὴ τοῦτο ἐξέκλινε τὸ ὑποθεῖναι νόμοις ἑαυτὸν καὶ δοῦλον ἀποφῆναι πολιτείας; ἀλλὰ διὰ τί μὴ ταύτην αὐτὴν εἶπε τὴν αἰτίαν, ἐκ τῶν ἐναντίων δὲ τὴν παραιρουμένην οὐ σμικρὰ τῆς τῶν μυστηρίων σεμνότητος; ἴσως μὲν ἄν τις τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ Πυθαγόρᾳ μάλιστα ἐπισκήψειεν, οὐκ ὀρθῶς λογιζόμενος. οὔτε γὰρ ῥητέον πάντα ἐστίν, αὐτῶν τε οἶμαι τούτων, ὧν θέμις φάναι, ἔνια πρὸς τοὺς πολλοὺς σιωπητέον εἶναί μοι φαίνεται. [B] φανερὰ δὲ ὅμως ἐστὶ καὶ τούτων ἡ αἰτία. κατανοήσας γὰρ ἀμελοῦντα μὲν τῆς περὶ τὸν βίον ὀρθότητος, ἐπὶ δὲ τῷ μεμυῆσθαι μέγα φρονοῦντα284 τὸν παραινοῦντα αὐτῷ τοιαῦτα, σωφρονίζων ἅμα καὶ διδάσκων αὐτόν, ὅτι τοῖς285 μέν, οἷς ἀξίως τοῦ μυηθῆναι βεβίωται, καὶ μὴ μυηθεῖσιν οἱ θεοὶ [C] τὰς ἀμοιβὰς ἀκεραίους φυλάττουσι, τοῖς δὲ μοχθηροῖς οὐδέν ἐστι πλέον, κἂν εἴσω τῶν ἱερῶν εἰσφρήσωσι περιβόλων. ἢ γὰρ οὐ ταῦτα καὶ ὁ ἱεροφάντης προαγορεύει, ὅστις χεῖρα μὴ καθαρὸς καὶ ὅντινα μὴ χρή, τούτοις ἀπαγορεύων μὴ μυεῖσθαι;

(And do not try to frighten me by bringing forward Diogenes as a sort of bogey. He was never initiated, they tell us, and replied to some one who once advised him to be initiated: “It is absurd of you, my young friend, to think that any tax-gatherer, if only he be initiated, can share in the rewards of the just in the next world, while Agesilaus and Epameinondas are doomed to lie in the mire.”286 Now this, my young friend, is a very hard saying and, I am persuaded, calls for more profound discussion. May the goddesses themselves grant us understanding thereof! Though indeed I think that has already been bestowed by them. For it is evident that Diogenes was not impious, as you aver, but resembled those philosophers whom I mentioned a moment ago. For having regard to the circumstances in which his lot was cast, and next paying heed to the commands of the Pythian god, and knowing that the candidate for initiation must first be registered as an Athenian citizen, and if he be not an Athenian by birth must first become one by law, it was this he avoided, not initiation, because he considered that he was a citizen of the world; and moreover such was the greatness of his soul that he thought he ought to associate himself with the divine nature of all the gods who in common govern the whole universe, and not only with those whose functions are limited to certain portions of it. And out of reverence for the gods he did not transgress their laws, though he trampled on all other opinions and tried to give a new stamp to the common currency. And he did not return to that servitude from which he had joyfully been released. What servitude do I mean? I mean that he would not enslave himself to the laws of a single city and submit himself to all that must needs befall one who had become an Athenian citizen. For is it likely that a man who in order to honour the gods journeyed to Olympia, and like Socrates embraced philosophy in obedience to the Pythian oracle,—for he says himself that at home and in private he received the commands of that oracle and hence came his impulse to philosophy287—is it likely I say that such a man would not very gladly have entered the temples of the gods but for the fact that he was trying to avoid submitting himself to any set of laws and making himself the slave of any one constitution? But why, you will say, did he not assign this reason, but on the contrary a reason that detracted not a little from the dignity of the Mysteries? Perhaps one might bring this same reproach against Pythagoras as well, but the reasoning would be incorrect. For everything ought not to be told, nay more, even of those things that we are permitted to declare, some, it seems to me, we ought to refrain from uttering to the vulgar crowd.288 However the explanation in this case is obvious. For since he perceived that the man who exhorted him to be initiated neglected to regulate his own life aright, though he prided himself on having been initiated, Diogenes wished at the same time to reform his morals and to teach him that the gods reserve their rewards without stint for those whose lives have earned them the right to be initiated, even though they have not gone through the ceremony, whereas the wicked gain nothing by penetrating within the sacred precincts. For this is what the hierophant proclaims, when he refuses the rite of initiation to him “whose hands are not pure or who for any reason ought not!289”)

Τί πέρας ἡμῖν ἔσται τῶν λόγων, εἰ ταῦτα μήπω σε πείθει;

(But where would this discourse end if you are still unconvinced by what I have said?)