§89ΤΙ. τῶν δʼ αὖ κινήσεων ἡ ἐν ἑαυτῷ ὑφʼ αὑτοῦ ἀρίστη κίνησις—μάλιστα γὰρ τῇ διανοητικῇ καὶ τῇ τοῦ παντὸς κινήσει συγγενής—ἡ δὲ ὑπʼ ἄλλου χείρων· χειρίστη δὲ ἡ κειμένου τοῦ σώματος καὶ ἄγοντος ἡσυχίαν διʼ ἑτέρων αὐτὸ κατὰ μέρη κινοῦσα.
TI. On the other hand, of all movements, the movement produced in oneself by oneself is the best—for it is most akin to the intellectual movement and that of the universe—while that produced by another is inferior; and the worst is that which, while the body lies at rest, moves it in parts by means of other things.
διὸ δὴ τῶν καθάρσεων καὶ συστάσεων τοῦ σώματος ἡ μὲν διὰ τῶν γυμνασίων ἀρίστη, δευτέρα δὲ ἡ διὰ τῶν αἰωρήσεων κατά τε τοὺς πλοῦς καὶ ὅπῃπερ ἂν ὀχήσεις ἄκοποι γίγνωνται· τρίτον δὲ εἶδος κινήσεως σφόδρα ποτὲ ἀναγκαζομένῳ χρήσιμον, ἄλλως δὲ οὐδαμῶς τῷ νοῦν ἔχοντι προσδεκτέον, τὸ τῆς φαρμακευτικῆς καθάρσεως γιγνόμενον ἰατρικόν.
Therefore, of the purges and constitutions of the body, that through gymnastics is the best, and second is that through suspensions during voyages or whenever there are effortless carriages; but the third kind of movement is, though useful for one who is under extreme necessity at times, otherwise by no means to be accepted by anyone possessing intelligence: that which constitutes the medical purging by drugs.
τὰ γὰρ νοσήματα, ὅσα μὴ μεγάλους ἔχει κινδύνους, οὐκ ἐρεθιστέον φαρμακείαις.
For diseases, as long as they do not possess great dangers, should not be irritated by drugs.
πᾶσα γὰρ σύστασις νόσων τρόπον τινὰ τῇ τῶν ζῴων φύσει προσέοικε.
For every constitution of diseases is in a manner like the nature of living beings.
καὶ γὰρ ἡ τούτων σύνοδος ἔχουσα τεταγμένους τοῦ βίου γίγνεται χρόνους τοῦ τε γένους σύμπαντος, καὶ καθʼ αὑτὸ τὸ ζῷον εἱμαρμένον ἕκαστον ἔχον τὸν βίον φύεται, χωρὶς τῶν ἐξ ἀνάγκης παθημάτων· τὰ γὰρ τρίγωνα εὐθὺς κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἑκάστου δύναμιν ἔχοντα συνίσταται μέχρι τινὸς χρόνου δυνατὰ ἐξαρκεῖν, οὗ βίον οὐκ ἄν ποτέ τις εἰς τὸ πέραν ἔτι βιῴη.
For the compounding of these, having appointed periods of life, occurs both for the species as a whole and for each individual living being, which is born possessing its fated life, apart from necessary accidents; for the triangles, being constructed from the very beginning with the power of each, are capable of holding out up to a certain time, beyond which no one can ever live any further.
τρόπος οὖν ὁ αὐτὸς καὶ τῆς περὶ τὰ νοσήματα συστάσεως· ἣν ὅταν τις παρὰ τὴν εἱμαρμένην τοῦ χρόνου φθείρῃ φαρμακείαις, ἅμα ἐκ σμικρῶν μεγάλα καὶ πολλὰ ἐξ ὀλίγων νοσήματα φιλεῖ γίγνεσθαι.
The same mode, therefore, applies also to the constitution of diseases; which when someone ruins by drugs contrary to the fated time, many and great diseases are wont to arise simultaneously from few and small ones.
διὸ παιδαγωγεῖν δεῖ διαίταις πάντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, καθʼ ὅσον ἂν ᾖ τῳ σχολή, ἀλλʼ οὐ φαρμακεύοντα κακὸν δύσκολον ἐρεθιστέον.
Therefore, one must guide all such things by regimens, in so far as one has leisure, but must not irritate a difficult evil by employing drugs.
καὶ περὶ μὲν τοῦ κοινοῦ ζῴου καὶ τοῦ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα αὐτοῦ μέρους, ᾗ τις ἂν καὶ διαπαιδαγωγῶν καὶ διαπαιδαγωγούμενος ὑφʼ αὑτοῦ μάλιστʼ ἂν κατὰ λόγον ζῴη, ταύτῃ λελέχθω· τὸ δὲ δὴ παιδαγωγῆσον αὐτὸ μᾶλλόν που καὶ πρότερον παρασκευαστέον εἰς δύναμιν ὅτι κάλλιστον καὶ ἄριστον εἰς τὴν παιδαγωγίαν εἶναι.
And concerning the composite living being, and its bodily part, as to how a man, both guiding and being guided by himself, might live most in accordance with reason, let it be spoken in this way; but that which is to guide it must rather, and beforehand, be prepared as far as possible to be most beautiful and best for this guidance.
διʼ ἀκριβείας μὲν οὖν περὶ τούτων διελθεῖν ἱκανὸν ἂν γένοιτο αὐτὸ καθʼ αὑτὸ μόνον ἔργον· τὸ δʼ ἐν παρέργῳ κατὰ τὰ πρόσθεν ἑπόμενος ἄν τις οὐκ ἄπο τρόπου τῇδε σκοπῶν ὧδε τῷ λόγῳ διαπεράναιτʼ ἄν.
To go through these matters with precision would be a task sufficient in itself; but if one, treating it as a secondary task, follows the previous arguments and considers it in this way, one might not inappropriately conclude with the following discourse.
§90ΤΙ. καθάπερ εἴπομεν πολλάκις, ὅτι τρία τριχῇ ψυχῆς ἐν ἡμῖν εἴδη κατῴκισται, τυγχάνει δὲ ἕκαστον κινήσεις ἔχον, οὕτω κατὰ ταὐτὰ καὶ νῦν ὡς διὰ βραχυτάτων ῥητέον ὅτι τὸ μὲν αὐτῶν ἐν ἀργίᾳ διάγον καὶ τῶν ἑαυτοῦ κινήσεων ἡσυχίαν ἄγον ἀσθενέστατον ἀνάγκη γίγνεσθαι, τὸ δʼ ἐν γυμνασίοις ἐρρωμενέστατον· διὸ φυλακτέον ὅπως ἂν ἔχωσιν τὰς κινήσεις πρὸς ἄλληλα συμμέτρους.
TI. As we have said many times, that three forms of the soul have been housed within us in three places, and each happens to have movements, so in the same way now we must state as briefly as possible that whichever of them passes its time in idleness and keeps its own movements at rest must of necessity become weakest, while that which is in exercises becomes strongest; wherefore we must guard that they may have their movements proportionate to one another.
τὸ δὲ δὴ περὶ τοῦ κυριωτάτου παρʼ ἡμῖν ψυχῆς εἴδους διανοεῖσθαι δεῖ τῇδε, ὡς ἄρα αὐτὸ δαίμονα θεὸς ἑκάστῳ δέδωκεν, τοῦτο ὃ δή φαμεν οἰκεῖν μὲν ἡμῶν ἐπʼ ἄκρῳ τῷ σώματι, πρὸς δὲ τὴν ἐν οὐρανῷ συγγένειαν ἀπὸ γῆς ἡμᾶς αἴρειν ὡς ὄντας φυτὸν οὐκ ἔγγειον ἀλλὰ οὐράνιον, ὀρθότατα λέγοντες· ἐκεῖθεν γάρ, ὅθεν ἡ πρώτη τῆς ψυχῆς γένεσις ἔφυ, τὸ θεῖον τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ ῥίζαν ἡμῶν ἀνακρεμαννὺν ὀρθοῖ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα.
And concerning the most sovereign form of the soul in us, we must conceive of it in this way: that God has given it to each as a daemon, this which we say dwells at the summit of our body, and lifts us from earth toward our kindred in heaven, as being not an earthly but a heavenly plant, speaking most correctly; for from there, whence the first birth of the soul arose, the divine suspends our head and root and keeps the whole body upright.
τῷ μὲν οὖν περὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας ἢ περὶ φιλονικίας τετευτακότι καὶ ταῦτα διαπονοῦντι σφόδρα πάντα τὰ δόγματα ἀνάγκη θνητὰ ἐγγεγονέναι, καὶ παντάπασιν καθʼ ὅσον μάλιστα δυνατὸν θνητῷ γίγνεσθαι, τούτου μηδὲ σμικρὸν ἐλλείπειν, ἅτε τὸ τοιοῦτον ηὐξηκότι· τῷ δὲ περὶ φιλομαθίαν καὶ περὶ τὰς ἀληθεῖς φρονήσεις ἐσπουδακότι καὶ ταῦτα μάλιστα τῶν αὑτοῦ γεγυμνασμένῳ φρονεῖν μὲν ἀθάνατα καὶ θεῖα, ἄνπερ ἀληθείας ἐφάπτηται, πᾶσα ἀνάγκη που, καθʼ ὅσον δʼ αὖ μετασχεῖν ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει ἀθανασίας ἐνδέχεται, τούτου μηδὲν μέρος ἀπολείπειν, ἅτε δὲ ἀεὶ θεραπεύοντα τὸ θεῖον ἔχοντά τε αὐτὸν εὖ κεκοσμημένον τὸν δαίμονα σύνοικον ἑαυτῷ, διαφερόντως εὐδαίμονα εἶναι.
Now, for him who has been devoted to desires or rivalries and labors hard in these, all his thoughts must of necessity be mortal, and as far as it is possible for a man to become completely mortal, he must not fall short of this in the least, since he has nourished that part; but for him who has been earnest about love of learning and true wisdom, and has exercised these parts of himself most, he must of necessity, if he touches truth, think thoughts that are immortal and divine, and in so far as human nature can participate in immortality, he must not lack any part of it; and since he is always caring for the divine and keeping the daemon that dwells with him well-ordered, he must be exceedingly happy.
θεραπεία δὲ δὴ παντὶ παντὸς μία, τὰς οἰκείας ἑκάστῳ τροφὰς καὶ κινήσεις ἀποδιδόναι.
And there is indeed but one care for everything by everyone: to render to each its proper nourishment and movements.
τῷ δʼ ἐν ἡμῖν θείῳ συγγενεῖς εἰσιν κινήσεις αἱ τοῦ παντὸς διανοήσεις καὶ περιφοραί· ταύταις δὴ συνεπόμενον ἕκαστον δεῖ, τὰς περὶ τὴν γένεσιν ἐν τῇ κεφαλῇ διεφθαρμένας ἡμῶν περιόδους ἐξορθοῦντα διὰ τὸ καταμανθάνειν τὰς τοῦ παντὸς ἁρμονίας τε καὶ περιφοράς, τῷ κατανοουμένῳ τὸ κατανοοῦν ἐξομοιῶσαι κατὰ τὴν ἀρχαίαν φύσιν, ὁμοιώσαντα δὲ τέλος ἔχειν τοῦ προτεθέντος ἀνθρώποις ὑπὸ θεῶν ἀρίστου βίου πρός τε τὸν παρόντα καὶ τὸν ἔπειτα χρόνον.
And to the divine in us, the thoughts and rotations of the universe are akin; which thoughts and rotations each of us must follow, correcting the circular motions in our head that were corrupted at our birth, by learning the harmonies and rotations of the universe, so as to make the conceiving part like the conceived, according to its ancient nature, and having made them like, to achieve the end of the best life set before humans by the gods, for both the present and the future time.
καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ νῦν ἡμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παραγγελθέντα διεξελθεῖν περὶ τοῦ παντὸς μέχρι γενέσεως ἀνθρωπίνης σχεδὸν ἔοικε τέλος ἔχειν.
And indeed, the task prescribed to us from the beginning, to discuss the universe up to the generation of humans, seems to have almost reached its end.
τὰ γὰρ ἄλλα ζῷα ᾗ γέγονεν αὖ, διὰ βραχέων ἐπιμνηστέον, ὃ μή τις ἀνάγκη μηκύνειν· οὕτω γὰρ ἐμμετρότερός τις ἂν αὑτῷ δόξειεν περὶ τοὺς τούτων λόγους εἶναι.
For as to how the other living beings have been generated, we must make mention of them briefly, where there is no necessity to prolong the account; for so one might seem to be more moderate in his discourse about them.
τῇδʼ οὖν τὸ τοιοῦτον ἔστω λεγόμενον.
Let this matter, then, be spoken of as follows.