Greek Texts & Translations

Admirably spoken: let us do as you say.

Come now, in the name of these gods themselves I ask—in what way would they come to be seduced by us, if seduced they were? 905eBeing what in their essence and character? Necessarily they must be rulers, if they are to be in continual control of the whole heaven.

True.

But to which kind of rulers are they like? Or which are like to them, of those rulers whom we can fairly compare with them, as small with great? Would drivers of rival teams resemble them, or pilots of ships? Or perhaps they might be likened to rulers of armies; or possibly they might be compared to physicians watching over a war against bodily disease, 906aor to farmers fearfully awaiting seasons of wonted difficulty for the generation of plants, or else to masters of flocks. For seeing that we have agreed ^note among ourselves that the heaven is full of many things that are good, and of the opposite kind also, and that those not good are the more numerous, such a battle, we affirm, is undying, and needs a wondrous watchfulness,—the gods and daemons being our allies, and we the possession ^note of the gods and daemons; and what destroys us is iniquity and insolence combined with folly, 906bwhat saves us, justice and temperance combined with wisdom, which dwell in the animate powers of the gods, and of which some small trace may be clearly seen here also residing in us. But there are certain souls that dwell on earth and have acquired unjust gain which, being plainly bestial, beseech the souls of the guardians—whether they be watch-dogs or herdsmen or the most exalted of masters—trying to convince them by fawning words 906cand prayerful incantations that (as the tales of evil men relate) they can profiteer among men on earth without any severe penalty: but we assert that the sin now mentioned, of profiteering or “over-gaining,” is what is called in the case of fleshly bodies “disease,” ^note in that of seasons and years “pestilence,” and in that of States and polities, by a verbal change, this same sin is called “injustice.”

Certainly.

Such must necessarily be the account of the matter given by the man who says that the gods are always merciful to unjust men 906dand those who act unjustly, provided that one gives them a share of one's unjust gains; it is just as if wolves were to give small bits of their prey to watch-dogs, and they being mollified by the gifts were to allow them to go ravening among the flocks. Is not this the account given by the man who asserts that the gods are open to bribes?

It is.

To which of the guardians aforementioned might a man liken the gods without incurring ridicule? Is it to pilots, 906ewho, when warped themselves by wine's “flow and flavor,” ^note overturn both ships and sailors?

By no means.

And surely not to drivers ranged up for a race and seduced by a gift to lose it in favor of other teams?

If that was the account you gave of them, it would indeed be a horrible comparison.

Nor, surely, to generals or physicians or farmers or herdsmen; nor yet to dogs charmed by wolves?

Hush! That is quite impossible. 907a

Are not all gods the greatest of all guardians, and over the greatest things?

Yes, by far.

Shall we say that those who watch over the fairest things, and who are themselves eminently good at keeping watch, are inferior to dogs and ordinary men, who would never betray justice for the sake of gifts impiously offered by unjust men?