§12ἐξαίρετον χάριν παρὰ τοῦ δημιουργοῦ σπέρματα λαβών.
having received seeds as a special favor from the Creator.
τῶν οὖν ψυχῶν αἱ μὲν πρὸς σώματα κατέβησαν, αἱ δὲ οὐδενὶ τῶν γῆς μορίων ἠξίωσάν ποτε συνενεχθῆναι.
Now, of these souls, some descended into bodies, while others never deigned to be associated with any of the parts of the earth.
ταύταις ἀφιερωθείσαις καὶ τῆς τοῦ πατρὸς θεραπείας περιεχομέναις ὑπηρέτισι καὶ διακόνοις ὁ δημιουργὸς εἴωθε χρῆσθαι πρὸς τὴν τῶν θνητῶν ἐπιστασίαν.
These, having been consecrated and devoted to the service of the Father, the Creator is accustomed to employ as ministers and servants for the oversight of mortals.
§13ἐκεῖναι δ’ ὥσπερ εἰς ποταμὸν τὸ σῶμα καταβᾶσαι ποτὲ μὲν ὑπὸ συρμοῦ δίνης βιαιοτάτης ἁρπασθεῖσαι κατεπόθησαν, ποτὲ δὲ πρὸς τὴν φορὰν ἀντισχεῖν δυνηθεῖσαι τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἀνενήξαντο, εἶτα ὅθεν ὥρμησαν, ἐκεῖσε πάλιν ἀνέπτησαν.
But the others, having descended into the body as into a river, were at one time swept away and swallowed up by the force of a most violent whirlpool, while at another time, being able to resist the current, they swam up first, and then flew back again to the place from which they had started.
§14αὗται μὲν οὖν εἰσι ψυχαὶ τῶν ἀνόθως φιλοσοφησάντων, ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἄχρι τέλους μελετῶσαι τὸν μετὰ σωμάτων ἀποθνῄσκειν βίον, ἵνα τῆς ἀσωμάτου καὶ ἀφθάρτου παρὰ τῷ ἀγενήτῳ καὶ ἀφθάρτῳ ζωῆς μεταλάχωσιν, §15αἱ δὲ καταποντωθεῖσαι τῶν ἄλλων ἀνθρώπων ὅσοι σοφίας ἠλόγησαν ἐκδόντες ἀστάτοις καὶ τυχηροῖς πράγμασιν ἑαυτοὺς, ὧν οὐδὲν εἰς τὸ κράτιστον τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν, ψυχὴν ἢ νοῦν, ἀναφέρεται, πάντα δὲ ἐπὶ τὸν συμφυᾶ νεκρὸν ἡμῶν, τὸ σῶμα, ἢ ἐπὶ τὰ ἀψυχότερα τούτου, δόξαν λέγω καὶ χρήματα καὶ ἀρχὰς καὶ τιμὰς καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ὑπὸ τῶν μὴ τεθεαμένων τὰ πρὸς ἀλήθειαν καλὰ ἀπάτῃ ψευδοῦς δόξης ἀναπλάττεται ἢ ζωγραφεῖται.
These, then, are the souls of those who have philosophized genuinely, from the beginning to the end practicing dying to the life in bodies, so that they may partake of the incorporeal and imperishable life with the unbegotten and imperishable One; but those which were submerged are the souls of the other men, as many as have disregarded wisdom, having surrendered themselves to unstable and fortuitous things, none of which refers to the best part of what is in us, namely, soul or mind, but all to our natural corpse, the body, or to things more inanimate than this, I mean glory, wealth, offices, honors, and whatever other things are fashioned or painted by the deception of false opinion by those who have not contemplated things that are truly beautiful.
§16ψυχὰς οὖν καὶ δαίμονας καὶ ἀγγέλους ὀνόματα μὲν διαφέροντα, ἓν δὲ καὶ ταὐτὸν ὑποκείμενον διανοηθεὶς ἄχθος βαρύτατον ἀποθήσῃ δεισιδαιμονίαν.
If, therefore, you consider that souls, daemons, and angels are different names, but one and the same underlying subject, you will put away a most heavy burden, superstition.
ὥσπερ γὰρ ἀγαθοὺς δαίμονας καὶ κακοὺς λέγουσιν οἱ πολλοὶ καὶ ψυχὰς ὁμοίως, οὕτως καὶ ἀγγέλους τοὺς μὲν τῆς προσρήσεως ἀξίους πρεσβευτάς τινας ἀνθρώπων πρὸς θεὸν καὶ θεοῦ πρὸς ἀνθρώπους ἱεροὺς καὶ ἀσύλους διὰ τὴν ἀνυπαίτιον καὶ παγκάλην ταύτην ὑπηρεσίαν, τοὺς δ’ ἔμπαλιν ἀνιέρους καὶ ἀναξίους τῆς προσρήσεως καὶ αὐτὸς ὑπολαμβάνων οὐχ ἁμαρτήσει.
For just as the multitude speak of good and bad daemons, and likewise of souls, so also you will not err if you yourself suppose that as for angels, some are holy and inviolable messengers, worthy of the title, sent from men to God and from God to men because of this blameless and most beautiful service, while others, on the contrary, are unholy and unworthy of the title.
§17μαρτυρεῖ δέ μου τῷ λόγῳ τὸ παρὰ τῷ ὑμνογράφῳ εἰρημένον ἐν ᾄσματι τούτῳ· „ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν καὶ θλῖψιν, ἀποστολὴν δι’ ἀγγέλων πονηρῶν“(Psalm. 77,49).
And that which is spoken by the psalmist in this song bears witness to my argument: "He sent upon them the anger of his wrath, wrath and anger and affliction, a mission by evil angels" (Psalm 77:49).
οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ πονηροὶ τὸ ἀγγέλων ὄνομα ὑποδυόμενοι, τὰς μὲν ὀρθοῦ λόγου θυγατέρας, ἐπιστήμας καὶ ἀρετάς, οὐκ εἰδότες, τὰς δὲ τῶν ἀνθρώπων θνητὰς θνητῶν ἀπογόνους ἡδονὰς μετερχόμενοι γνήσιον μὲν οὐδὲν ἐπιφερομένας κάλλος, ὃ διανοίᾳ μόνῃ θεωρεῖται, νόθον δὲ εὐμορφίαν, δι’ ἧς ἡ αἴσθησις ἀπατᾶται.
These are the evil ones who assume the name of angels, not knowing the daughters of right reason, which are sciences and virtues, but pursuing the mortal pleasures, offspring of mortal men, which bring with them no genuine beauty, such as is contemplated by the mind alone, but a counterfeit comeliness, by which the sense is deceived.
§18λαμβάνουσι δὲ οὐ πάσας ἅπαντες τὰς θυγατέρας, ἀλλ’ ἔνιοι ἐνίας ἐκ μυρίων ὅσων ἐπελέξαντο ἑαυτοῖς, οἱ μὲν τὰς δι’ ὄψεως, ἕτεροι δὲ τὰς δι’ ἀκοῆς, τὰς δ’ αὖ διὰ γεύσεως καὶ γαστρὸς ἄλλοι, τινὲς δὲ τὰς μετὰ γαστέρα, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ τῶν πορρωτάτω διῳκισμένων ἀντελάβοντο τὰς μηκίστας ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τείνοντες ἐπιθυμίας· ποικίλαι γὰρ ἐξ ἀνάγκης αἱ ποικίλων ἡδονῶν αἱρέσεις, ἄλλων ᾠκειωμένων ἄλλαις.
But not all of them take all the daughters; rather, some take some out of the infinitely many whom they chose for themselves: some those that come through sight, others those through hearing, others again those through taste and the belly, some those after the belly, and many also took hold of things situated furthest away, stretching the longest desires within themselves; for the choices of various pleasures are of necessity diverse, some being suited to some, and others to others.
§19Ἐν δὴ τοῖς τοιούτοις ἀμήχανον τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ καταμεῖναι καὶ διαιωνίσαι πνεῦμα, ὡς δηλοῖ καὶ αὐτὸς ὁ νομοθέτης.
Indeed, in such as these, it is impossible for the spirit of God to remain and abide forever, as the lawgiver himself also declares.
„εἶπε“γάρ φησι „κύριος ὁ θεός· οὐ καταμενεῖ τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐν τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτοὺς σάρκας“(Gen. 6,3).
For "the Lord God," he says, "said: My spirit shall not abide in men forever, because they are flesh" (Gen. 6:3).
§20μένει μὲν γὰρ ἔστιν ὅτε, καταμένει δ’ οὐκ εἰσάπαν παρὰ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἡμῖν.
For it remains at times, but it does not abide altogether among the multitude of us.
τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἄλογος ἢ ἄψυχός ἐστιν, ὡς μηδέποτε ἔννοιαν τοῦ ἀρίστου μήθ’ ἑκὼν μήτ’ ἄκων λαβεῖν;
For who is so irrational or soulless as never, either willingly or unwillingly, to receive a conception of the best?
ἀλλὰ γὰρ καὶ τοῖς ἐξαγίστοις ἐπιποτᾶται πολλάκις αἰφνίδιος ἡ τοῦ καλοῦ φαντασία, συλλαβεῖν δ’ αὐτὴν καὶ φυλάξαι παρ’ ἑαυτοῖς ἀδυνατοῦσιν.
For indeed, even upon the most impious, there often hovers a sudden image of the beautiful, but they are unable to capture and preserve it among themselves.