'If I should take wings, and abide in the utmost parts of the sea; there also shall Thy hand lead me.' Also this: "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth His C handy-work.' And again, this in Isaiah: 'Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who shewed all these things.' Also this: From the greatness and beauty of created things in like proportion is their first maker beheld.' And this: For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and godhead.' Also this, 'I was envious at the wicked, when I saw the prosperity of sinners,' seems to me to have been paraphrased by Plato in the passage, 'You PLATO must also take the same account of those others, those, I mean, whom you saw grown from small to great by unholy deeds, or d any such practices, and supposed that they had passed from misery to happiness.' Also all the other passages expressed like these in the words of the Hebrews anticipated the interpretation put forth at length by Plato. And so you will find, by carefully examining each of them point by point, that it agrees with the Hebrew writings. And by doctrines of the Hebrews I mean not only the oracles of Moses, but also those of all the other godly men after Moses, whether prophets or apostles of our Saviour, whose consent in doctrines must fairly render them worthy of one and the same title. b 8 Pa. xix. I 05 Rom. i. 20 02 Is. xl. 26 8 Pa. lxxiii. 3 • 4 Wisdom xiii. 5 Preface . p. 639 a p. 639 d p. 641 a I. How Plato exposed the absurdity of the Greek theology. From the Timaeus. II. Further on the same subject from the dialogue Epinomis p. 640 d III. Further on the same subject from the second Book of the Republic; also that God is not the cause of evils IV. That nothing else than indecent fables were contained in the narratives concerning the gods of the Greeks, for not believing which Socrates was put to death by the Athenians. From the Euthyphron V. Numenius on the same subject, from The Secrets in Plato. p. 650 d VI. That one must not heed the opinions of the multitude, . p. 649 d . p. 651 b VII. That we must not retaliate on those who have en- IX. What will be the disposition of the man who through p. 663 d XIII. How Clement in like manner proves that the noble XV. That Plato was not altogether right in his conduct of the XVI. That Plato did not on all points hold right opinions con- XVIII. That Plato was not altogether right in his opinions con- p. 694 e p. 696 b p. 700 € P. 703 b p. 706 a XX. Plato's directions in the Phaedrus concerning unlawful XXI. Concerning the laws of murder in Plato, which were . p. 709 e . p. 711 b SINCE it has been seen in the preceding Books that the philosophy of Plato in very many points contains a translation, as it were, of Moses and the sacred writings of the Hebrews into the Greek language, I now proceed to add what is still wanting to the argument, and to go b through the opinions expressed upon the several topics by those who were before me, and at the same time to free myself from a plausible charge of reproach, in case any one should accuse me. Why then, he might say, if Moses and Plato have agreed so well in their philosophy, are we to follow the doctrines not of Plato but of Moses, when we ought to do the reverse, because, in addition to the equivalence of the doctrines, the Greek author would be more congenial to us as Greeks than the Barbarian? Being loth to make a retort to this charge from respect to the philosopher, I defer this question to a later period, and will first examine those points which I mentioned first. Take then and read what sort of opinion Plato c used to put forward concerning the Greek poets and PLATO d writers on religion, and how he used to reject all the traditional notions concerning the gods, and thoroughly expose their absurdity. CHAPTER I 'To tell of the other divinities, and to learn their origin, is beyond our power; but we must give credence to those who have spoken in former times, who being, as they said, the offspring of gods, had certain knowledge, I suppose, of their own ancestors. It is impossible therefore to disbelieve children of the gods, even though they speak without certain or probable proofs: but as they declare that they are reporting family histories, we must in obedience to the law believe them. 'On their authority then let the origin of these gods be admitted and stated thus. The children of Gé and Uranus (Earth and p. 640 Heaven) were Oceanus and Tethys, and their children Phorcys and Kronos and Rhea and the rest of them; and of Kronos and Rhea sprang Zeus and Hera, and all whom we know as their reputed brethren, and still others who were their offspring.' In exhorting us hereby to believe the fables concerning gods, and the authors also of the fables as being forsooth the children of gods, in the first place by saying that 'the poets are the offspring of the gods,' it seems to me that he scoffingly implies that the gods also had been men, b and of the same nature as their children. And next he brings a direct charge against the theologians, whom he had declared to be the offspring of gods, in the assertion which he adds, 'even though they speak without probable or certain proofs,' and by the addition of the words 'as they said.' He seems too to be jesting when he says, they had certain knowledge, I suppose, of their own ancestors': and again, It is impossible to disbelieve children of the gods.' Also he expressly shows that he speaks thus against his own judgement on account of the laws, by confessing that it was necessary 'to believe them in obedience to the law.' 689 di Plato, Timaeus, p. 40 D, quoted also p. 75 d 5, and p. 602 o i And in proof that this was his meaning, hear how in c open and undisguised language he reproaches all the would-be theologians, smiting them in the Epinomis with the following words: ་ CHAPTER II 'WITH regard therefore to the origin of gods and of living PLATO beings, as it has been misrepresented by those of former times, it seems necessary for me in the first place to give a better representation in the subsequent discourse, taking up again the argument which I have undertaken against the impious.' That he has good reason for repudiating the theology of the earliest writers, he shows in the second Book of the Republic, where it is worth while to fix the attention upon the number and nature of the statements which he makes concerning the same poets and theologians, from the traditions handed down from old times concerning the Hellenic gods, speaking in the very words that follow: CHAPTER III 'IN the greater fables, said I, we shall discern the lesser also: p. 641 for the general character and the effect of both the greater and the less must be the same. Do you not think so? Yes, I do, said he: but I do not even understand which you call the greater. Those, said I, which Hesiod and Homer and the other poets used b to tell us. For they, I suppose, used to compose and tell, and do still tell, false stories to mankind. 'What kind of stories do you mean, said he, and what fault do you find with them? The fault, said I, which before and above all we ought to reprove, especially if the falsehood is unseemly. 'What is this fault? 'When a man in his discourse concerning gods and heroes misrepresents their nature, as when an artist paints what is not at all like the things which he may wish to imitate. 640 o 5 P8.-Plato, Epinomis, 980 C quoted again p. 692 d 9 641 a Plato, Republic, 377 C, |