Humanitext Reader

Theophrastus · Fragments §148.1

The Earliest Sacrifices of the Ancient Egyptians

Passage 153 of 196 · Greek

Summary

The author notes that even the slanderer of Christians (Porphyry), quoting Theophrastus in his work, records that the ancient Egyptians did not use expensive spices for their earliest sacrifices to the gods.

§148.1Fr. 148 Ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς γεγονὼς αὐτὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ταῖς καθʼ ἡμῶν λαμπρυνόμενος δυσφημίαις ἐν οἷς ἐπέγραψε περὶ τῆς τῶν ἐμψύχων ἀποχῆς καὶ τῶν παλαιῶν ἀρχαιότητος, τὴν μνήμην ὧδέ πως αὐτολεξεὶ Θεοφράστῳ μάρτυρι χρώμενος παρατίθεται· ἀνάριθμος μέν τις ἔοικε χρόνος ἀφʼ οὗ τό γε πάντων λογιώτατον γένος, ὥς φησι Θεόφραστος, καὶ τὴν ἱερωο τάτην ὑπὸ τοῦ Νείλου κτισθεῖσαν χώραν κατοικοῦν, ἤρξαντο οἱ πρῶτοι ἐφʼ ἑστίαις τοῖς οὐρανίοις θεοῖς θύειν οὐ σμύρνης οὐδὲ κασίας καὶ λιβανωτοῦ κρόκῳ μιχθέντων ἀπαρχάς. "
Fr. 148 But even that very man, who belongs to our times and is famous for his slanders against us, in his writings which he entitled On Abstinence from Animal Food and On the Antiquity of the Ancients, presents the record almost word for word, using Theophrastus as a witness: 'It seems that an unreckonable time has passed since the most rational race of all, as Theophrastus says, who inhabit the most sacred land created by the Nile, first began to sacrifice to the heavenly gods upon their hearths, not the first-fruits of myrrh, nor of cassia and frankincense mixed with saffron.'

Notes

  1. §148.1τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς — The temporal expression 'of our times' (τῶν καθʼ ἡμᾶς) is contrasted with the hostile expression 'against us' (καθʼ ἡμῶν) in the following clause. The author uses the former to indicate that Porphyry was a contemporary of the Christian community and the latter to condemn his anti-Christian stance.
  2. §148.1ἐν οἷς ἐπέγραψε — The relative pronoun οἷς (neuter plural) with an omitted antecedent refers to Porphyry's 'writings' or 'volumes'. The following περὶ... phrases specify the subjects or titles of these works.
  3. §148.1γένος ... ἤρξαντο — While the collective noun γένος (and its modifying participle κατοικοῦν) is singular, the verb ἤρξαντο and the subject complement οἱ πρῶτοι are plural. This is a constructio ad sensum (construction according to sense) rather than grammatical agreement.
  4. §148.1ἀπαρχάς — This is the direct object (accusative) of the infinitive θύειν (to sacrifice). The preceding genitive nouns (σμύρνης, κασίας, λιβανωτοῦ) and the participle μιχθέντων qualify this ἀπαρχάς, meaning 'the first-fruits of...'.
  5. §148.1ἱερωο τάτην — The form ἱερωο τάτην in the text is likely a scribal or printing error for ἱερωτάτην (superlative adjective, feminine singular accusative), meaning 'most sacred'.

Cite this passage

Theophrastus, Fragments §148.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0093.tlg010x09.humanitext-grc1:148.1

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