Folia Theologica 19. (2008)
Perendy László: Judging Philosophers - Theophilus of Antioch on Hellenic inconsistency
194 PERENDY, László contradict himself and say that souls pass into other men and, in some cases, into irrational animals? How is it possible that his teaching will not seem evil and unlawful for those who possess reason, when he holds that one formerly a human being will become a wolf or dog or ass or some other irrational animal? Pythagoras also spoke nonsense which agrees with Plato, in addition to rejecting providence [Diels, Dox. 589, 7: Epicurus]." (Ill 7) EIAaxcov 8è, ó Sokcûv 'EAAfjvcov oocpœxepoç yeyevfjo0at, eiç nôor|v cpÀuapiav éxœpr|oev. ’Ev yàp xaîç noAaxeiaiç aùxoû èm- ypacpopévaiç pr|xcoç Keîxai Àiyovxoç- "(ncôç), eï ye (ë)p£v(£v) xáSe oûxcoç (xôv) Ttávxa ypovov cbç vûv StaKoapEÎxat, Kaivôv av eûptcKExô Tioxe (Kai) ôxioûv; Toûxo oxt pèv pupiàKtç pupia exp 8ieA.dv0avcv dpa xoùç xôxe- yi?aa 8’ à(p’ ou yéyovev rj 8îç xocaûxa exp, xà pèv àiiô AaiSaXon Kaxacpavrj yéyovev, xà 8e àno 'Opcpéooç, xà 8è àno HaXapriSouç." Kai xaûxa einoov yeyevrja0ai, xà pèv puptaKiç popia ëxr| àno raxaK^oapoú ëœç Aat8àA.ou 8r|A,oî. Kai noXXà (pr|aaç népi nôÀ,£cov (Kai) KaxoiKiapSv Kai oiKrjaeœv Kai è0vœv, ôpoA,oyeî EÍKaapffi xaûxa eipr|Kévav A,éyet yàp- "Ei youv, a> Çév£, xiç f|pîv únóa%r|xai 0eôç œç, àv ènixEipfjocopEV (xô SeùxEpov) xrj xfjç vopo0£oiaç aKÉ\|/£i, xœv vûv Eipryiévcov (Xóy- cûvoù yeipouç où8’ ÈÀàxxouç àKoooôpE0a, paKpàv av ëÂ,0otpt ëycoye)." ArjA.ov oxt eÍKaapS (xauxa) ëcprp ei 8è EÎKaopœ, oùk àpa àÀ,r|0rj I èaxiv xà ón’ aùxoû Eipripéva. Aeî ouv paÂAov pa0r|xf|v yevÉG0ai xfjç vopo0Eoiaç xoû 0eoû, Ka0cbç Kai aùxôç œpoÀ,ôyr|K£v àAAcoç pfj 8ùvao0at xô äKpißeq pa0EÎv, èàv pp ó 0eôç 8t8à^p 8tà xoû vopou "And Plato, who is thought to have been the wisest of the Greeks - to what nonsense did he not attain! For in his book entitled Republic it says explicitly [Leg. iii. 677 c-d]: 'If these things had remained for all time just as they are now arranged, how would anything new ever be found? On the one hand, they must have escaped the knowledge of those who lived then for a myriad myriad years; on the other, one or two thousand years ago, some things have been discovered from the time of Daedalus, some from that of Orpheus, and some from that of Palamedes/ When he says that these things took place, he indicates that his 'myriad myriad years' are from the deluge [cf. Leg. iii. 677 a] to the time of Daedalus. And when he makes many statements about the various cities in the world and the habitations and nations, he admits
