§5ὡς δὲ καὶ θεῶν ὅσα φῦλα ἀπορροὴν τῆς Διὸς τοῦ πάντων πατρὸς δυνάμεως ἕκαστα ἔχει καὶ ἀτεχνῶς κατὰ τὴν Ὁμήρου σειρὰν ἅπαντα εἰς αὐτὸν διήρτηται καὶ πάντα ἐξ αὐτοῦ ἐξῆπται, πολὺ καλλίων ἅλυσις ἢ κατὰ χρυσῆν τε καὶ εἴ τινα ἄλλην τις ἐπινοήσειεν.
And the way in which all the races of gods have each a portion of the power of Zeus, the father of all, and are completely suspended from him according to Homer's chain, and all things are fastened to him, is a much more beautiful chain than a golden one or any other that one might devise.
ἔρωτά τε καὶ Ἀνάγκην, δύο τούτω συναγωγοτάτω τε καὶ ἰσχυροτάτω, ἐν τοῖς πρῶτα ἐγέννησεν, ὅπως αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα συνέχοιεν.
He begot Love and Necessity, these two most connecting and powerful forces, among the very first, so that they might hold all things together for him.
τό τε θνητὸν φῦλον οὐ μιᾶς οὐδὲ τῆς αὐτῆς ἅπαν μοίρας ἠξίωσεν, οὐδὲ ἀπηνήνατο μὴ οὐ καὶ ἀνθρώπων ὡς καὶ θεῶν εἶναι πατὴρ, ἀλλʼ ἐκ τοῦ αὐτοῦ γένους ὥσπερ νῦν οἱ τὰ μύρα σκευάζοντες, ὅσον ἦν οἷον ὑποστάθμη τε καὶ ἐμμεμενηκὸς κάτω, τοῦτο ὑπελείπετο ἀνθρώπου σπέρμα εἶναι, οὔτε τιμὴν ἴσην οὔτε δύναμιν ὁμοίαν ἔχον, οὐδὲ κακῶν εἰλικρινές τε καὶ ἄμοιρον, ὥσπερ ἦν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πρότερον γένος, ὅμως δὲ ἐντιμότερον τοῦ γε ἄλλου θνητοῦ γένους, ἅτε τοῦ λόγου κεκοινωνηκὸς καὶ οὐ παντάπασιν ἀπηλλαγμένον τῆς θείας μοίρας, ἀλλʼ οἷον ὀχετοῦ ἢ πηγῆς τὸ τελευταῖον ἐσχηκός.
And he did not deem the mortal race all worthy of one and the same portion, nor did he refuse to be the father of men as well as of gods, but from the same stock, just as those who now prepare perfumes, as much of it as was like dregs and remained below, this was left behind to be the seed of man, possessing neither equal honor nor similar power, nor being pure and free from evils, just as that former race was, but nevertheless more honorable than the rest of the mortal race, since it has shared in reason and is not entirely cut off from the divine portion, but has received as it were the last part of a conduit or a spring.
οὕτω δὴ προεδρίαν μὲν καὶ ἀρχὰς καὶ προστασίας δίδωσι θεοῖς, δεύτερα δὲ πολὺ ὕστερον καὶ ἀνθρώποις δίδωσι, τὰ δὲ μέσα ὅσα τε ἀέρος καὶ θαλάττης θρέμματα καὶ ὅσα λοιπὰ γῆς, ὑπʼ ἀμφοτέροις ἐποίησεν, ὥσπερ οἱ ἐν τοῖς στρατοπέδοις τοὺς μὲν ἀρίστους εἰς τὸ ἔμπροσθεν τάττοντες, τοὺς δὲ δευτέρους ἐξόπισθεν, τοὺς δʼ αὖ κακοὺς, τοῦτο δὴ τὸ λεγόμενον, εἰς μέσους.
Thus indeed he gives pre-eminence, rule, and leadership to gods, and second, much later, he gives them to men, and the intermediate ones, namely all the offspring of air and sea and all the rest of the earth, he placed under both, just as those in camps who marshal the best in front, the second in the rear, and the bad ones, as the saying goes, in the middle.
καὶ τοῖς μέν γε θεοῖς τὰς τέτταρας ἀπέδωκε χώρας, ὅπως μηδαμοῦ μηδὲν κενὸν εἴη θεῶν, ἀλλὰ πανταχοῦ πᾶσι παρῶσι τοῖς οὖσί τε καὶ γιγνομένοις, τὴν δὴ πρώτην πατρίδα τὴν οὐράνιον καὶ τὴν κατʼ ἀέρα καὶ τὴν ἐν θαλάττῃ καὶ τὴν ἐπὶ γῆς οἷον ὕπαρχοί τινες καὶ σατράπαι μεμερισμένοι.
And to the gods indeed he assigned the four regions, so that nowhere should there be anything empty of gods, but that they might be present everywhere to all things that exist and come into being, namely the first heavenly homeland, and that of the air, and that in the sea, and that upon the earth, like certain governors and satraps assigned to their parts.
τῆς δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν προνοίας οὐδὲν πλέον ἢ ἄνθρωπον μετέχειν ἐποίησε, πανταχοῦ σώζων τοῖς γένεσι τὴν ἀξίαν καὶ τὴν τάξιν οὐκ ἀνόνητον ἀξιῶν εἶναι.
And of the providence from them, he made man participate in nothing more than others, preserving everywhere the dignity of the races and not wishing their order to be useless.
ταῦτα εἰδότες ἄνθρωποι καὶ μεγάλην ὑπὲρ μεγάλων ὀφείλοντες χάριν, ὡς χρόνῳ ὕστερον §6ἀθροίζοντες ἀλλήλους πόλεις ᾤκιζον, τὰς ἀκροπόλεις ἐξεῖλον Διὶ, πρός τε τὸ τοῦ παντὸς παράδειγμα βλέποντες, ὅτι ἦν αὐτὸς τῶν ἄκρων τοῦ παντὸς οἰκήτωρ, καὶ ἅμα τῶν ἐπικαιροτάτων ἑκόντες ἐξιστάμενοι, ὡς μόνῳ τυράννων ἄρχειν εἰδότι.
Knowing these things and owing great gratitude for great benefits, when in time later, gathering together they founded cities, men set apart the acropolises for Zeus, both looking to the pattern of the universe, because he himself was the inhabitant of the summits of the universe, and at the same time willingly yielding the most strategic places to him, as the only one of rulers who knew how to govern.
καὶ τοῖς ἀρχομένοις σύμφορον εἶναι τοῦ γένους τὴν οἰκειότητα κἀνταῦθα ἐνεδείξατο ἡμῖν ἐκ τῶν δευτέρων· θεῶν μὲν γὰρ βία οὐχ ἅπτεται· διὰ τοῦτο νόμων οὐδὲν δέονται· ἀνθρώποις δὲ αὖ μόνοις τῶν ἄλλων ζώων ἐνόμιζε, φόνῳ τε ὅπως μὴ φθείρωνται καὶ ἁρπαγαὶ καὶ βίαι ὅπως μὴ γίγνωνται, ἀλλὰ δίκη βίας ἔμπροσθεν ᾖ.
And he showed us here too from the second things that the kinship of the race is advantageous to the governed; for violence does not touch gods, and therefore they have no need of laws; but for men alone of all other animals he established laws, so that they might not be destroyed by murder, and that robberies and acts of violence might not occur, but that justice might stand before violence.
ταῦτα δὲ ἐνομοθέτει Ζεὺς, ὅτε ἔπεμπεν εἰς ἀνθρώπους Αἰδῶ καὶ Δίκην μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων θεῶν, ἐπιμελησομένους ἀνθρώπων καὶ φυλάξοντας αὐτοῖς τὸν βίον.
And Zeus legislated these things when he sent Shame and Justice to men along with the other gods, to care for men and guard their life.
ἥ τε οὖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς γένεσις ἐκ Διὸς ἡμῖν, ὥσπερ καὶ τῷδε τῷ παντὶ, καὶ ἡ τοῦ βίου σωτηρία καὶ τέχναι καὶ νόμοι καὶ τὸ θνητὸν ὂν ἡμῶν γένος κατὰ μέρος ἀθάνατον εἶναι τῇ διαδοχῇ.
Thus indeed our origin from the beginning is from Zeus, just as is that of this universe, and so is the preservation of life, and arts, and laws, and the fact that our mortal race is in part immortal by succession.
καὶ ὁ περὶ αὐτῶν τούτων λογισμὸς Διός ἐστι μέρος.
And the reasoning about these very things is a part of Zeus.
Ὅμηρος δὲ πόρρω τοῦ καιροῦ μανικὸς ἦν, ὃς ἐποίησεν ἐν θεῶν ἀγορᾷ Δία κωλύοντα θεοὺς ἀνθρώπων ἐπιμέλεσθαι· ὁ δὲ οὐ τοῦτο ἐκώλυσεν, οὐδὲ μὴ κωλύσῃ γε, αὐτὸς αὑτὸν αἰδούμενος.
But Homer was mad and far from what was fitting, who depicted Zeus in the assembly of the gods forbidding the gods to care for men; but he did not forbid this, nor indeed will he ever forbid it, respecting himself.
οὐ γὰρ θέμις αὐτῷ μεταστραφῆναι οὐδὲ ἑτέραν γνώμην ἔχειν οὔτε ὑπὸ λήθης οὔτε ὑπὸ μετανοίας ἧς ἔσχεν ἐξ ἀρχῆς, ὅτε ἐποίει θεοὺς μὲν ἀνθρώπων ἐπιμελητὰς, ἀνθρώπους δὲ θεῶν θεραπευτάς τε καὶ ὑπηρέτας· ὃ δὴ μάλιστα πρέψειν τε καὶ συνοίσειν ἔμελλεν ἀμφοτέροις.
For it is not lawful for him to turn back nor to have another opinion, either through forgetfulness or through regret, than that which he held from the beginning, when he made gods the guardians of men, and men the servants and ministers of gods; which indeed was bound to be most fitting and advantageous to both.
ἔστιν οὖν πάντων δὴ τῶν ὄντων Ζεὺς αἴτιός τε καὶ δημιουργὸς, καὶ διὰ τοῦτον ἅπαντα γίγνεται ὅσα τε οὐράνια καὶ ὅσα ἐπίγεια, ὥσπερ καὶ τὸ ὄνομα αὐτὸ παραδηλοῖ, οὐ πόρρω τῆς αἰτίας λεγόμενον, ἐπειδὰν λέγωμεν Δία.
Zeus is therefore the cause and craftsman of all existing things, and through him all things come into being, both those in heaven and those on earth, just as the name itself indicates, being called not far from the cause, whenever we say "Dia".
Ζεὺς μὲν γὰρ ὅτι ζωῆς τε καὶ οὐσίας ἑκάστοις ἐστὶν αἴτιος κέκληται ἡμῖν, αὖθις δὲ καθὸ αἰτιώμενοι τινὰς ὀνομάζομεν, κατὰ ταύτην τὴν
For he has been called Zeus by us because he is the cause of life and essence for each, and again in according to how we name certain things when attributing cause, according to this...