§1.94.1ῥητέον δʼ ἡμῖν καὶ περὶ τῶν γενομένων νομοθετῶν κατʼ Αἴγυπτον τῶν οὕτως ἐξηλλαγμένα καὶ παράδοξα νόμιμα καταδειξάντων.
We must also speak of the legislators who arose in Egypt, who established such unusual and extraordinary customs.
μετὰ γὰρ τὴν παλαιὰν τοῦ κατʼ Αἴγυπτον βίου κατάστασιν, τὴν μυθολογουμένην γεγονέναι ἐπί τε τῶν θεῶν καὶ τῶν ἡρώων, πεῖσαί φασι πρῶτον ἐγγράπτοις νόμοις χρήσασθαι τὰ πλήθη τὸν Μνεύην, ἄνδρα καὶ τῇ ψυχῇ μέγαν καὶ τῷ βίῳ κοινότατον τῶν μνημονευομένων.
For they say that, after the ancient establishment of life in Egypt, which is mythically said to have existed in the time of the gods and heroes, Mneves, a man great in soul and most public-spirited in his life of those remembered, was the first to persuade the multitudes to use written laws.
προσποιηθῆναι δʼ αὐτῷ τὸν Ἑρμῆν δεδωκέναι τούτους, ὡς μεγάλων ἀγαθῶν αἰτίους ἐσομένους, καθάπερ παρʼ Ἕλλησι ποιῆσαί φασιν ἐν μὲν τῇ Κρήτῃ Μίνωα, παρὰ δὲ Λακεδαιμονίοις Λυκοῦργον, τὸν μὲν παρὰ Διός, τὸν δὲ παρʼ Ἀπόλλωνος φήσαντα τούτους παρειληφέναι.
And they say that he pretended that Hermes had given these to him, as they would be the cause of great goods, just as they say that among the Greeks, Minos did in Crete and Lycurgus among the Lacedaemonians, the former claiming to have received them from Zeus, the latter from Apollo.
§1.94.2καὶ παρʼ ἑτέροις δὲ πλείοσιν ἔθνεσι παραδέδοται τοῦτο τὸ γένος τῆς ἐπινοίας ὑπάρξαι καὶ πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν αἴτιον γενέσθαι τοῖς πεισθεῖσι· παρὰ μὲν γὰρ τοῖς Ἀριανοῖς Ζαθραύστην ἱστοροῦσι τὸν ἀγαθὸν δαίμονα προσποιήσασθαι τοὺς νόμους αὐτῷ διδόναι, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς ὀνομαζομένοις Γέταις τοῖς ἀπαθανατίζουσι Ζάλμοξιν ὡσαύτως τὴν κοινὴν Ἑστίαν, παρὰ δὲ τοῖς Ἰουδαίοις Μωυσῆν τὸν Ἰαὼ ἐπικαλούμενον θεόν, εἴτε θαυμαστὴν καὶ θείαν ὅλως ἔννοιαν εἶναι κρίναντας τὴν μέλλουσαν ὠφελήσειν ἀνθρώπων πλῆθος, εἴτε καὶ πρὸς τὴν ὑπεροχὴν καὶ δύναμιν τῶν εὑρεῖν λεγομένων τοὺς νόμους ἀποβλέψαντα τὸν ὄχλον μᾶλλον ὑπακούσεσθαι διαλαβόντας.
And among several other nations also, it is handed down that this kind of device existed and became the cause of many goods to those who were persuaded; for they relate that among the Arians, Zathraustes pretended that the Good Spirit gave the laws to him, and among the people called Getae, who believe themselves immortal, Zalmoxis likewise pretended that the common Hestia did so, and among the Jews, Moses pretended that the god called Iao did so—whether they judged that the idea which was going to benefit a multitude of men was altogether wonderful and divine, or whether they believed that the crowd, looking to the superiority and power of those said to have discovered the laws, would be more obedient.
§1.94.3δεύτερον δὲ νομοθέτην Αἰγύπτιοί φασι γενέσθαι Σάσυχιν, ἄνδρα συνέσει διαφέροντα.
The Egyptians say that the second legislator was Sasychis, a man of outstanding intelligence.
τοῦτον δὲ πρὸς τοῖς ὑπάρχουσι νόμοις ἄλλα τε προσθεῖναι καὶ τὰ περὶ τὴν τῶν θεῶν τιμὴν ἐπιμελέστατα διατάξαι, εὑρετὴν δὲ καὶ γεωμετρίας γενέσθαι καὶ τὴν περὶ τῶν ἄστρων θεωρίαν τε καὶ παρατήρησιν διδάξαι τοὺς ἐγχωρίους.
He added other laws to the existing ones and regulated the worship of the gods with the greatest care; he was also the discoverer of geometry and taught the inhabitants the theory and observation of the stars.
§1.94.4τρίτον δὲ λέγουσι Σεσόωσιν τὸν βασιλέα μὴ μόνον τὰς πολεμικὰς πράξεις ἐπιφανεστάτας κατεργάσασθαι τῶν κατʼ Αἴγυπτον, ἀλλὰ καὶ περὶ τὸ μάχιμον ἔθνος νομοθεσίαν συστήσασθαι, καὶ τὰ ἀκόλουθα τὰ περὶ τὴν στρατείαν σύμπαντα διακοσμῆσαι.
Third, they say that King Sesoosis not only performed the most illustrious military exploits of any in Egypt, but also established legislation concerning the warrior class and regulated all the accompanying matters relating to military campaigns.
§1.94.5τέταρτον δὲ νομοθέτην φασὶ γενέσθαι Βόκχοριν τὸν βασιλέα, σοφόν τινα καὶ πανουργίᾳ διαφέροντα.
Fourth, they say that King Bocchoris was the legislator, a wise man and outstanding in shrewdness.
τοῦτον οὖν διατάξαι τὰ περὶ τοὺς βασιλεῖς ἅπαντα καὶ τὰ περὶ τῶν συμβολαίων ἐξακριβῶσαι· γενέσθαι δʼ αὐτὸν καὶ περὶ τὰς κρίσεις οὕτω συνετὸν ὥστε πολλὰ τῶν ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ διαγνωσθέντων διὰ τὴν περιττότητα μνημονεύεσθαι μέχρι τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς χρόνων.
He, then, regulated all matters concerning the kings and defined precisely those concerning contracts; and he was also so intelligent in his judicial decisions that many of his judgments, because of their excellence, are remembered down to our own times.
λέγουσι δʼ αὐτὸν ὑπάρξαι τῷ μὲν σώματι παντελῶς ἀσθενῆ, τῷ δὲ τρόπῳ πάντων φιλοχρηματώτατον.
But they say that in body he was altogether weak, and in character the most money-loving of all men.