§273ΞΕ. πάντες οὖν οἱ κατὰ τοὺς τόπους συνάρχοντες τῷ μεγίστῳ δαίμονι θεοί, γνόντες ἤδη τὸ γιγνόμενον, ἀφίεσαν αὖ τὰ μέρη τοῦ κόσμου τῆς αὑτῶν ἐπιμελείας·
STRANGER: Therefore, all the gods who ruled along with the greatest daimon in their respective regions, having already perceived what was happening, in turn let go of the parts of the cosmos that were under their care.
ὁ δὲ μεταστρεφόμενος καὶ συμβάλλων, ἀρχῆς τε καὶ τελευτῆς ἐναντίαν ὁρμὴν ὁρμηθείς, σεισμὸν πολὺν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ποιῶν ἄλλην αὖ φθορὰν ζῴων παντοίων ἀπηργάσατο.
And the cosmos, turning back and colliding, driven by a momentum opposite to its beginning and its end, and producing a great shaking within itself, in turn brought about another destruction of all kinds of living things.
μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα προελθόντος ἱκανοῦ χρόνου, θορύβων τε καὶ ταραχῆς ἤδη παυόμενος καὶ τῶν σεισμῶν γαλήνης ἐπιλαβόμενος εἴς τε τὸν εἰωθότα δρόμον τὸν ἑαυτοῦ κατακοσμούμενος ᾔει, ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ κράτος ἔχων αὐτὸς τῶν ἐν αὑτῷ τε καὶ ἑαυτοῦ, τὴν τοῦ δημιουργοῦ καὶ πατρὸς ἀπομνημονεύων διδαχὴν εἰς δύναμιν.
But after this, when sufficient time had elapsed, already ceasing from its noises and confusion, and catching a calm after the shakings, it went on its way, being ordered into its own accustomed course, holding care and mastery itself over the things in itself and of itself, remembering as far as possible the instruction of its creator and father.
κατʼ ἀρχὰς μὲν οὖν ἀκριβέστερον ἀπετέλει, τελευτῶν δὲ ἀμβλύτερον·
In the beginning, then, it performed this more accurately, but in the end more dully.
τούτων δὲ αὐτῷ τὸ σωματοειδὲς τῆς συγκράσεως αἴτιον, τὸ τῆς πάλαι ποτὲ φύσεως σύντροφον, ὅτι πολλῆς ἦν μετέχον ἀταξίας πρὶν εἰς τὸν νῦν κόσμον ἀφικέσθαι.
The cause of this for it was the bodily element of its mixture, which was innate to its ancient nature, because it partook of much disorder before coming into the present cosmos.
παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῦ συνθέντος πάντα καλὰ κέκτηται· παρὰ δὲ τῆς ἔμπροσθεν ἕξεως, ὅσα χαλεπὰ καὶ ἄδικα ἐν οὐρανῷ γίγνεται, ταῦτα ἐξ ἐκείνης αὐτός τε ἔχει καὶ τοῖς ζῴοις ἐναπεργάζεται.
For from its builder, it has acquired all beautiful things; but from its former state, whatever harsh and unjust things come about in heaven, these it both holds itself as derived from that state, and produces in the living things.
μετὰ μὲν οὖν τοῦ κυβερνήτου τὰ ζῷα τρέφων ἐν αὑτῷ σμικρὰ μὲν φλαῦρα, μεγάλα δὲ ἐνέτικτεν ἀγαθά· χωριζόμενος δὲ ἐκείνου τὸν ἐγγύτατα χρόνον ἀεὶ τῆς ἀφέσεως κάλλιστα πάντα διάγει, προϊόντος δὲ τοῦ χρόνου καὶ λήθης ἐγγιγνομένης ἐν αὐτῷ μᾶλλον καὶ δυναστεύει τὸ τῆς παλαιᾶς ἀναρμοστίας πάθος, τελευτῶντος δὲ ἐξανθεῖ τοῦ χρόνου καὶ σμικρὰ μὲν τἀγαθά, πολλὴν δὲ τὴν τῶν ἐναντίων κρᾶσιν ἐπεγκεραννύμενος ἐπὶ διαφθορᾶς κίνδυνον αὑτοῦ τε ἀφικνεῖται καὶ τῶν ἐν αὑτῷ.
Therefore, while rearing the living things within itself in company with its governor, it produced few bad things and great good things; but when separated from him, during the time nearest to its release, it always conducts all things most beautifully, but as time goes on and forgetfulness arises in it, the affection of the ancient disharmony dominates more, and at the end of the time, it breaks out, and mixing in a small amount of good and a large mixture of the opposites, it arrives at the danger of destruction both of itself and of the things in itself.
διὸ δὴ καὶ τότʼ ἤδη θεὸς ὁ κοσμήσας αὐτόν, καθορῶν ἐν ἀπορίαις ὄντα, κηδόμενος ἵνα μὴ χειμασθεὶς ὑπὸ ταραχῆς διαλυθεὶς εἰς τὸν τῆς ἀνομοιότητος ἄπειρον ὄντα πόντον δύῃ, πάλιν ἔφεδρος αὐτοῦ τῶν πηδαλίων γιγνόμενος, τὰ νοσήσαντα καὶ λυθέντα ἐν τῇ καθʼ ἑαυτὸν προτέρᾳ περιόδῳ στρέψας, κοσμεῖ τε καὶ ἐπανορθῶν ἀθάνατον αὐτὸν καὶ ἀγήρων ἀπεργάζεται.
For this very reason, indeed, at that time, the god who ordered it, seeing it in difficulties, and caring lest, tossed by the storm of confusion and dissolved, it should sink into the infinite sea of dissimilarity, again taking his seat at its rudders, and turning back what had become diseased and dissolved in the previous period of its independent motion, he orders and corrects it, rendering it immortal and ageless.
τοῦτο μὲν οὖν τέλος ἁπάντων εἴρηται·
This, then, has been told as the end of all.
τὸ δʼ ἐπὶ τὴν τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπόδειξιν ἱκανὸν ἐκ τοῦ πρόσθεν ἁπτομένοις τοῦ λόγου·
But what is sufficient for the demonstration of the king is within our grasp from what went before, as we lay hold of the argument.
στρεφθέντος γὰρ αὖ τοῦ κόσμου τὴν ἐπὶ τὴν νῦν γένεσιν ὁδὸν τὸ τῆς ἡλικίας αὖ πάλιν ἵστατο καὶ καινὰ τἀναντία ἀπεδίδου τοῖς τότε.
For when the cosmos was turned back again onto the path toward its present generation, the course of age again stood still, and rendered new things opposite to those of that time.
τὰ μὲν γὰρ ὑπὸ σμικρότητος ὀλίγου δέοντα ἠφανίσθαι τῶν ζῴων ηὐξάνετο, τὰ δʼ ἐκ γῆς νεογενῆ σώματα πολιὰ φύντα πάλιν ἀποθνῄσκοντα εἰς γῆν κατῄει.
For those of the living things which were on the point of vanishing because of smallness began to grow, and the bodies newly born from the earth, having grown gray, died again and went down into the earth.