§4.8.1οὐκ ἀγνοῶ δʼ ὅτι πολλὰ δύσχρηστα συμβαίνει τοῖς ἱστοροῦσι τὰς παλαιὰς μυθολογίας, καὶ μάλιστα τὰς περὶ Ἡρακλέους.
And I am not unaware that many difficulties happen to those who write the history of ancient mythologies, and especially those concerning Heracles.
τῷ μὲν γὰρ μεγέθει τῶν κατεργασθέντων ὁμολογουμένως οὗτος παραδέδοται πάντας τοὺς ἐξ αἰῶνος ὑπερᾶραι τῇ μνήμῃ παραδοθέντας· δυσέφικτον οὖν ἐστι τὸ κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν ἕκαστον τῶν πραχθέντων ἀπαγγεῖλαι καὶ τὸν λόγον ἐξισῶσαι τοῖς τηλικούτοις ἔργοις, οἷς διὰ τὸ μέγεθος ἔπαθλον ἦν ἡ ἀθανασία.
For in the greatness of his achievements, this man is admittedly handed down to have surpassed all those who have been handed down in memory since the beginning of time; therefore, it is difficult to report each of the deeds according to its worth and to make the narrative equal to such great deeds, for which, because of their greatness, immortality was the prize.
§4.8.2διὰ δὲ τὴν παλαιότητα καὶ τὸ παράδοξον τῶν ἱστορουμένων παρὰ πολλοῖς ἀπιστουμένων τῶν μύθων, ἀναγκαῖον ἢ παραλιπόντας τὰ μέγιστα τῶν πραχθέντων καθαιρεῖν τι τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ δόξης ἢ πάντα διεξιόντας τὴν ἱστορίαν ποιεῖν ἀπιστουμένην.
But because of the antiquity and the incredible nature of the recorded events, since the myths are disbelieved by many, it is necessary either to omit the greatest of the deeds and thereby diminish something of the god's glory, or, by relating everything, to make the history disbelieved.
§4.8.3ἔνιοι γὰρ τῶν ἀναγινωσκόντων οὐ δικαίᾳ χρώμενοι κρίσει τἀκριβὲς ἐπιζητοῦσιν ἐν ταῖς ἀρχαίαις μυθολογίαις ἐπʼ ἴσης τοῖς πραττομένοις ἐν τοῖς καθʼ ἡμᾶς χρόνοις, καὶ τὰ δισταζόμενα τῶν ἔργων διὰ τὸ μέγεθος ἐκ τοῦ καθʼ αὑτοὺς βίου τεκμαιρόμενοι, τὴν Ἡρακλέους δύναμιν ἐκ τῆς ἀσθενείας τῶν νῦν ἀνθρώπων θεωροῦσιν, ὥστε διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν ἔργων ἀπιστεῖσθαι τὴν γραφήν.
For some of the readers, not using a fair judgment, demand exactness in ancient mythologies on an equal footing with the things done in our own times, and conjecturing the deeds that are doubted because of their greatness from their own life, they view the power of Heracles from the weakness of the men of today, so that, because of the excess of the greatness of the deeds, the writing is disbelieved.
§4.8.4καθόλου μὲν γὰρ ἐν ταῖς μυθολογουμέναις ἱστορίαις οὐκ ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου πικρῶς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐξεταστέον.
For in general, in mythologized histories, one must not examine the truth strictly in every way.
καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς θεάτροις, πεπεισμένοι μήτε Κενταύρους διφυεῖς ἐξ ἑτερογενῶν σωμάτων ὑπάρξαι μήτε Γηρυόνην τρισώματον, ὅμως προσδεχόμεθα τὰς τοιαύτας μυθολογίας, καὶ ταῖς ἐπισημασίαις συναύξομεν τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ τιμήν.
For indeed, even in the theaters, although we are persuaded that neither two-natured Centaurs from heterogeneous bodies existed nor Geryones with three bodies, nevertheless we accept such mythologies, and with our applause we help to increase the honor of the god.
§4.8.5καὶ γὰρ ἄτοπον Ἡρακλέα μὲν ἔτι κατʼ ἀνθρώπους ὄντα τοῖς ἰδίοις πόνοις ἐξημερῶσαι τὴν οἰκουμένην, τοὺς δʼ ἀνθρώπους ἐπιλαθομένους τῆς κοινῆς εὐεργεσίας συκοφαντεῖν τὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς καλλίστοις ἔργοις ἔπαινον, καὶ τοὺς μὲν προγόνους διὰ τὴν ὑπερβολὴν τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁμολογουμένην αὐτῷ συγχωρῆσαι τὴν ἀθανασίαν, ἡμᾶς δὲ πρὸς τὸν θεὸν μηδὲ τὴν πατροπαράδοτον εὐσέβειαν διαφυλάττειν.
For it is indeed absurd that while Heracles, when still among men, civilized the inhabited world by his own labors, men, forgetting the common benefit, should slander the praise for his most beautiful deeds, and while our ancestors, because of the excess of his virtue, unanimously conceded immortality to him, we should not even preserve our ancestral piety toward the god.
ἀλλὰ γὰρ τῶν τοιούτων λόγων ἀφέμενοι διέξιμεν αὐτοῦ τὰς πράξεις ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς ἀκολούθως τοῖς παλαιοτάτοις τῶν ποιητῶν τε καὶ μυθολόγων.
But indeed, dismissing such arguments, we shall relate his deeds from the beginning in accordance with the most ancient of both the poets and the mythologists.