§271ΝΕ. ΣΩ. γένεσις δὲ δὴ τίς τότʼ ἦν, ὦ ξένε, ζῴων;
YOUNG SOCRATES: But what kind of birth of living things was there then, stranger?
καὶ τίνα τρόπον ἐξ ἀλλήλων ἐγεννῶντο;
And in what way did they generate from one another?
ΞΕ. δῆλον, ὦ Σώκρατες, ὅτι τὸ μὲν ἐξ ἀλλήλων οὐκ ἦν ἐν τῇ τότε φύσει γεννώμενον, τὸ δὲ γηγενὲς εἶναί ποτε γένος λεχθὲν τοῦτʼ ἦν τὸ κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν χρόνον ἐκ γῆς πάλιν ἀναστρεφόμενον, ἀπεμνημονεύετο δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων προγόνων τῶν πρώτων, οἳ τελευτώσῃ μὲν τῇ προτέρᾳ περιφορᾷ τὸν ἑξῆς χρόνον ἐγειτόνουν, τῆσδε δὲ κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἐφύοντο·
STRANGER: It is clear, Socrates, that generation from one another was not in the nature of that time, but what was once said to be the 'earthborn' race was this very thing which at that time turned back again out of the earth; and it was remembered by our first ancestors, who bordered on the next time at the end of the previous revolution, and were born at the beginning of this one.
τούτων γὰρ οὗτοι κήρυκες ἐγένονθʼ ἡμῖν τῶν λόγων, οἳ νῦν ὑπὸ πολλῶν οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἀπιστοῦνται.
For these became the heralds to us of those stories which are now incorrectly disbelieved by many.
τὸ γὰρ ἐντεῦθεν οἶμαι χρὴ συννοεῖν.
For from this we must, I think, understand what follows.
ἑπόμενον γάρ ἐστι τῷ τοὺς πρεσβύτας ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ παιδὸς ἰέναι φύσιν, ἐκ τῶν τετελευτηκότων αὖ, κειμένων δὲ ἐν γῇ, πάλιν ἐκεῖ συνισταμένους καὶ ἀναβιωσκομένους, ἕπεσθαι τῇ τροπῇ συνανακυκλουμένης εἰς τἀναντία τῆς γενέσεως, καὶ γηγενεῖς δὴ κατὰ τοῦτον τὸν λόγον ἐξ ἀνάγκης φυομένους, οὕτως ἔχειν τοὔνομα καὶ τὸν λόγον, ὅσους μὴ θεὸς αὐτῶν εἰς ἄλλην μοῖραν ἐκόμισεν.
For it is consistent with the old men going toward the nature of a child, that in turn, those who have died and lie in the earth, being recomposed there and coming back to life, should follow the reversal, the generation being rotated back in the opposite direction together with it; and being born 'earthborn' necessarily according to this account, they should have this name and description, except those of them whom a god carried away to another destiny.
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν τοῦτό γε ἕπεται τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Absolutely indeed, this at any rate follows from what went before.
ἀλλὰ δὴ τὸν βίον ὃν ἐπὶ τῆς Κρόνου φῂς εἶναι δυνάμεως, πότερον ἐν ἐκείναις ἦν ταῖς τροπαῖς ἢ ἐν ταῖσδε;
But now, the life which you say was under the power of Cronus, was it in those reversals or in these?
τὴν μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἄστρων τε καὶ ἡλίου μεταβολὴν δῆλον ὡς ἐν ἑκατέραις συμπίπτει ταῖς τροπαῖς γίγνεσθαι.
For it is clear that the change of the stars and the sun occurs in both reversals.
ΞΕ. καλῶς τῷ λόγῳ συμπαρηκολούθηκας.
STRANGER: You have followed the argument well.
ὃ δʼ ἤρου περὶ τοῦ πάντα αὐτόματα γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἥκιστα τῆς νῦν ἐστι καθεστηκυίας φορᾶς, ἀλλʼ ἦν καὶ τοῦτο τῆς ἔμπροσθεν.
But what you asked about everything coming about automatically for human beings is by no means a feature of the now established motion, but this too was of the previous one.
τότε γὰρ αὐτῆς πρῶτον τῆς κυκλήσεως ἦρχεν ἐπιμελούμενος ὅλης ὁ θεός, ὣς δʼ αὖ κατὰ τόπους ταὐτὸν τοῦτο, ὑπὸ θεῶν ἀρχόντων πάντʼ ἦν τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη διειλημμένα· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ ζῷα κατὰ γένη καὶ ἀγέλας οἷον νομῆς θεῖοι διειλήφεσαν δαίμονες, αὐτάρκης εἰς πάντα ἕκαστος ἑκάστοις ὢν οἷς αὐτὸς ἔνεμεν, ὥστε οὔτʼ ἄγριον ἦν οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀλλήλων ἐδωδαί, πόλεμός τε οὐκ ἐνῆν οὐδὲ στάσις τὸ παράπαν· ἄλλα θʼ ὅσα τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶ κατακοσμήσεως ἑπόμενα, μυρία ἂν εἴη λέγειν.
For at that time, the god first governed the whole rotation itself, taking care of it, and likewise according to regions, all the parts of the world were divided by ruling gods; and indeed, the living things also were divided by divine daimons as shepherds according to kinds and herds, each being self-sufficient in all things for each of those whom he himself shepherded, so that there was nothing wild, nor eating of one another, and there was no war or faction at all; and as for other things that follow such an arrangement, they would be ten thousand to tell.
τὸ δʼ οὖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λεχθὲν αὐτομάτου πέρι βίου διὰ τὸ τοιόνδε εἴρηται.
At any rate, what was said concerning the automatic life of human beings has been said because of the following.
§272ΞΕ. θεὸς ἔνεμεν αὐτοὺς αὐτὸς ἐπιστατῶν, καθάπερ νῦν ἄνθρωποι, ζῷον ὂν ἕτερον θειότερον, ἄλλα γένη φαυλότερα αὑτῶν νομεύουσι· νέμοντος δὲ ἐκείνου πολιτεῖαί τε οὐκ ἦσαν οὐδὲ κτήσεις γυναικῶν καὶ παίδων· ἐκ γῆς γὰρ ἀνεβιώσκοντο πάντες, οὐδὲν μεμνημένοι τῶν πρόσθεν· ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν τοιαῦτα ἀπῆν πάντα, καρποὺς δὲ ἀφθόνους εἶχον ἀπό τε δένδρων καὶ πολλῆς ὕλης ἄλλης, οὐχ ὑπὸ γεωργίας φυομένους, ἀλλʼ αὐτομάτης ἀναδιδούσης τῆς γῆς.
STRANGER: The god himself shepherded them, ruling over them, just as now human beings, being another and more divine animal, shepherd other kinds more ignoble than themselves; and while he shepherded them, there were no political constitutions nor ownership of wives and children; for all came back to life from the earth, remembering nothing of the past; but all such things were absent, and they had abundant fruits from trees and many other plants, not produced by farming, but the earth giving them up automatically.
γυμνοὶ δὲ καὶ ἄστρωτοι θυραυλοῦντες τὰ πολλὰ ἐνέμοντο· τὸ γὰρ τῶν ὡρῶν αὐτοῖς ἄλυπον ἐκέκρατο, μαλακὰς δὲ εὐνὰς εἶχον ἀναφυομένης ἐκ γῆς πόας ἀφθόνου.
And naked and without bedding, living in the open air for the most part, they fed; for the climate of the seasons was blended without pain for them, and they had soft beds of abundant grass growing up from the earth.
τὸν δὴ βίον, ὦ Σώκρατες, ἀκούεις μὲν τὸν τῶν ἐπὶ Κρόνου· τόνδε δʼ ὃν λόγος ἐπὶ Διὸς εἶναι, τὸν νυνί, παρὼν αὐτὸς ᾔσθησαι· κρῖναι δʼ αὐτοῖν τὸν εὐδαιμονέστερον ἆρʼ ἂν δύναιό τε καὶ ἐθελήσειας;
You hear, Socrates, the life of those under Cronus; but this one which is said to be under Zeus, the present one, you yourself being present have perceived; but would you be able and willing to judge which of them is the happier?
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. οὐδαμῶς.
YOUNG SOCRATES: By no means.
ΞΕ. βούλει δῆτα ἐγώ σοι τρόπον τινὰ διακρίνω;
STRANGER: Do you wish then that I should in some way decide it for you?
ΝΕ. ΣΩ. πάνυ μὲν οὖν.
YOUNG SOCRATES: Very much so.
ΞΕ. εἰ μὲν τοίνυν οἱ τρόφιμοι τοῦ Κρόνου, παρούσης αὐτοῖς οὕτω πολλῆς σχολῆς καὶ δυνάμεως πρὸς τὸ μὴ μόνον ἀνθρώποις ἀλλὰ καὶ θηρίοις διὰ λόγων δύνασθαι συγγίγνεσθαι, κατεχρῶντο τούτοις σύμπασιν ἐπὶ φιλοσοφίαν, μετά τε θηρίων καὶ μετʼ ἀλλήλων ὁμιλοῦντες, καὶ πυνθανόμενοι παρὰ πάσης φύσεως εἴ τινά τις ἰδίαν δύναμιν ἔχουσα ᾔσθετό τι διάφορον τῶν ἄλλων εἰς συναγυρμὸν φρονήσεως, εὔκριτον ὅτι τῶν νῦν οἱ τότε μυρίῳ πρὸς εὐδαιμονίαν διέφερον· εἰ δʼ ἐμπιμπλάμενοι σίτων ἅδην καὶ ποτῶν διελέγοντο πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ τὰ θηρία οἷα δὴ καὶ τὰ νῦν περὶ αὐτῶν λέγονται, καὶ τοῦτο, ὥς γε κατὰ τὴν ἐμὴν δόξαν ἀποφήνασθαι, καὶ μάλʼ εὔκριτον.
STRANGER: If indeed, then, the foster-children of Cronus, having so much leisure and power to be able to associate by means of discourse not only with human beings but also with beasts, made full use of all these for philosophy, conversing both with beasts and with one another, and inquiring of every nature if any, having some peculiar power, perceived something different from others for the gathering of wisdom, it is easy to judge that those of that time differed ten-thousandfold in happiness from those of today; but if, filling themselves with food to satiety and drink, they discoursed with one another and the beasts such things as are indeed even now said about them, this too, to declare it at least according to my opinion, is very easy to judge.
ὅμως δʼ οὖν ταῦτα μὲν ἀφῶμεν, ἕως ἂν ἡμῖν μηνυτής τις ἱκανὸς φανῇ, ποτέρως οἱ τότε τὰς ἐπιθυμίας εἶχον περί τε ἐπιστημῶν καὶ τῆς τῶν λόγων χρείας· οὗ δʼ ἕνεκα τὸν μῦθον ἠγείραμεν, τοῦτο λεκτέον, ἵνα τὸ μετὰ τοῦτο εἰς τὸ πρόσθεν περαίνωμεν.
But nevertheless let us let these things go, until some adequate informant appears to us, as to how those of that time had their desires concerning knowledge and the use of discourse; but the reason for which we awoke the myth must be told, so that we may accomplish what comes after this into what lies ahead.
ἐπειδὴ γὰρ πάντων τούτων χρόνος ἐτελεώθη καὶ μεταβολὴν ἔδει γίγνεσθαι καὶ δὴ καὶ τὸ γήινον ἤδη πᾶν ἀνήλωτο γένος, πάσας ἑκάστης τῆς ψυχῆς τὰς γενέσεις ἀποδεδωκυίας, ὅσα ἦν ἑκάστῃ προσταχθὲν τοσαῦτα εἰς γῆν σπέρματα πεσούσης, τότε δὴ τοῦ παντὸς ὁ μὲν κυβερνήτης, οἷον πηδαλίων οἴακος ἀφέμενος, εἰς τὴν αὑτοῦ περιωπὴν ἀπέστη, τὸν δὲ δὴ κόσμον πάλιν ἀνέστρεφεν εἱμαρμένη τε καὶ σύμφυτος ἐπιθυμία.
For when the time of all these things was completed and there had to be a change, and indeed the whole earthborn race was now consumed, every soul having paid back all its generations, having fallen as many seeds into the earth as were commanded for each, then indeed the governor of the universe, letting go as it were the handle of the rudder, withdrew to his own watchtower, and the cosmos was turned back again by fate and innate desire.