§106ΤΙ. ὡς ἅσμενος, ὦ Σώκρατες, οἷον ἐκ μακρᾶς ἀναπεπαυμένος ὁδοῦ, νῦν οὕτως ἐκ τῆς τοῦ λόγου διαπορείας ἀγαπητῶς ἀπήλλαγμαι.
Timaeus: How gladly, Socrates, as if rested from a long journey, have I now thus delightfully escaped from the passage through the discourse!
τῷ δὲ πρὶν μὲν πάλαι ποτʼ ἔργῳ, νῦν δὲ λόγοις ἄρτι θεῷ γεγονότι προσεύχομαι, τῶν ῥηθέντων ὅσα μὲν ἐρρήθη μετρίως, σωτηρίαν ἡμῖν αὐτὸν αὐτῶν διδόναι, παρὰ μέλος δὲ εἴ τι περὶ αὐτῶν ἄκοντες εἴπομεν, δίκην τὴν πρέπουσαν ἐπιτιθέναι.
And I pray to the god who was created long ago in actual fact, and just now in words, that, of the things said, so many as were spoken moderately, he himself may grant us their preservation, and if we have said anything about them out of tune unwillingly, that he impose the fitting punishment.
δίκη δὲ ὀρθὴ τὸν πλημμελοῦντα ἐμμελῆ ποιεῖν·
And the correct punishment is to make the one who is out of tune in tune.
ἵνʼ οὖν τὸ λοιπὸν τοὺς περὶ θεῶν γενέσεως ὀρθῶς λέγωμεν λόγους, φάρμακον ἡμῖν αὐτὸν τελεώτατον καὶ ἄριστον φαρμάκων ἐπιστήμην εὐχόμεθα διδόναι, προσευξάμενοι δὲ παραδίδομεν κατὰ τὰς ὁμολογίας Κριτίᾳ τὸν ἑξῆς λόγον.
Therefore, in order that we may speak correctly in the future concerning the generation of gods, we pray that he give us the most perfect medicine, and the best of medicines, knowledge. And having prayed, we hand over, according to our agreements, the next discourse to Critias.
ΚΡΙ. ἀλλʼ, ὦ Τίμαιε, δέχομαι μέν, ᾧ δὲ καὶ σὺ κατʼ ἀρχὰς ἐχρήσω, συγγνώμην αἰτούμενος ὡς περὶ μεγάλων μέλλων λέγειν, ταὐτὸν καὶ νῦν ἐγὼ τοῦτο παραιτοῦμαι, μειζόνως δὲ αὐτοῦ τυχεῖν ἔτι μᾶλλον ἀξιῶ περὶ τῶν μελλόντων ῥηθήσεσθαι.
Critias: Indeed, Timaeus, I accept it. But what you also used at the beginning, requesting indulgence on the grounds that you were about to speak on great matters, this same thing I also now request; and I think I deserve to obtain it in an even greater degree for the things that are about to be said.
§107ΚΡΙ. καίτοι σχεδὸν μὲν οἶδα παραίτησιν εὖ μάλα φιλότιμον καὶ τοῦ δέοντος ἀγροικοτέραν μέλλων παραιτεῖσθαι, ῥητέον δὲ ὅμως.
Critias: And yet, I know well enough that I am about to request an indulgence that is very ambitious and more boorish than what is proper, but nevertheless I must speak.
ὡς μὲν γὰρ οὐκ εὖ τὰ παρὰ σοῦ λεχθέντα εἴρηται, τίς ἂν ἐπιχειρήσειεν ἔμφρων λέγειν;
For as to the claim that the things said by you were not well spoken, what sensible person would attempt to say that?
ὅτι δὲ τὰ ῥηθησόμενα πλείονος συγγνώμης δεῖται χαλεπώτερα ὄντα, τοῦτο πειρατέον πῃ διδάξαι.
But that the things about to be said require more indulgence because they are more difficult, this I must try to show in some way.
περὶ θεῶν γάρ, ὦ Τίμαιε, λέγοντά τι πρὸς ἀνθρώπους δοκεῖν ἱκανῶς λέγειν ῥᾷον ἢ περὶ θνητῶν πρὸς ἡμᾶς.
For to speak about gods to human beings, Timaeus, and to seem to speak adequately, is easier than to speak about mortals to us.
ἡ γὰρ ἀπειρία καὶ σφόδρα ἄγνοια τῶν ἀκουόντων περὶ ὧν ἂν οὕτως ἔχωσιν πολλὴν εὐπορίαν παρέχεσθον τῷ μέλλοντι λέγειν τι περὶ αὐτῶν· περὶ δὲ δὴ θεῶν ἴσμεν ὡς ἔχομεν.
For the inexperience and complete ignorance of the hearers concerning matters in such a state afford great facility to the one who is about to speak anything about them; and concerning the gods, we know how we stand.
ἵνα δὲ σαφέστερον ὃ λέγω δηλώσω, τῇδέ μοι συνεπίσπεσθε.
And that I may show more clearly what I mean, follow me in this way.
μίμησιν μὲν γὰρ δὴ καὶ ἀπεικασίαν τὰ παρὰ πάντων ἡμῶν ῥηθέντα χρεών που γενέσθαι·
For indeed, the things said by all of us must surely be an imitation and representation.
τὴν δὲ τῶν γραφέων εἰδωλοποιίαν περὶ τὰ θεῖά τε καὶ τὰ ἀνθρώπινα σώματα γιγνομένην ἴδωμεν ῥᾳστώνης τε πέρι καὶ χαλεπότητος πρὸς τὸ τοῖς ὁρῶσιν δοκεῖν ἀποχρώντως μεμιμῆσθαι, καὶ κατοψόμεθα ὅτι γῆν μὲν καὶ ὄρη καὶ ποταμοὺς καὶ ὕλην οὐρανόν τε σύμπαντα καὶ τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν ὄντα καὶ ἰόντα πρῶτον μὲν ἀγαπῶμεν ἄν τίς τι καὶ βραχὺ πρὸς ὁμοιότητα αὐτῶν ἀπομιμεῖσθαι δυνατὸς ᾖ, πρὸς δὲ τούτοις, ἅτε οὐδὲν εἰδότες ἀκριβὲς περὶ τῶν τοιούτων, οὔτε ἐξετάζομεν οὔτε ἐλέγχομεν τὰ γεγραμμένα, σκιαγραφίᾳ δὲ ἀσαφεῖ καὶ ἀπατηλῷ χρώμεθα περὶ αὐτά·
But let us look at the image-making of painters concerning divine and human bodies, in respect to ease and difficulty in seeming to the beholders to have imitated them sufficiently, and we shall see that, first, with respect to earth and mountains and rivers and woods, and the whole heaven and the things that exist and move around it, we are content if anyone is able to imitate them even slightly in likeness; and in addition to this, since we know nothing accurate about such things, we neither examine nor scrutinize the drawings, but we employ an obscure and deceptive shadow-painting concerning them.
τὰ δὲ ἡμέτερα ὁπόταν τις ἐπιχειρῇ σώματα ἀπεικάζειν, ὀξέως αἰσθανόμενοι τὸ παραλειπόμενον διὰ τὴν ἀεὶ σύνοικον κατανόησιν χαλεποὶ κριταὶ γιγνόμεθα τῷ μὴ πάσας πάντως τὰς ὁμοιότητας ἀποδιδόντι.
But whenever anyone attempts to represent our bodies, sharply perceiving what is omitted because of our constant familiarity with them, we become harsh judges to the one who does not render all the likenesses completely.
ταὐτὸν δὴ καὶ κατὰ τοὺς λόγους ἰδεῖν δεῖ γιγνόμενον, ὅτι τὰ μὲν οὐράνια καὶ θεῖα ἀγαπῶμεν καὶ σμικρῶς εἰκότα λεγόμενα, τὰ δὲ θνητὰ καὶ ἀνθρώπινα ἀκριβῶς ἐξετάζομεν.
We must see that the very same thing happens also in the case of discourses: that on the one hand, concerning heavenly and divine things, we are content if they are spoken with even a small degree of probability; but on the other hand, we examine mortal and human things accurately.
ἐκ δὴ τοῦ παραχρῆμα νῦν λεγόμενα, τὸ πρέπον ἂν μὴ δυνώμεθα πάντως ἀποδιδόναι, συγγιγνώσκειν χρεών· οὐ γὰρ ὡς ῥᾴδια τὰ θνητὰ ἀλλʼ ὡς χαλεπὰ πρὸς δόξαν ὄντα ἀπεικάζειν δεῖ διανοεῖσθαι.
So if, speaking as we do on the spur of the moment now, we are not able to render what is fitting completely, it is necessary to forgive; for one must think of mortal things not as easy, but as difficult to represent to opinion.