§19καὶ ἔτι γε νάματα·
And furthermore, streams (they considered as gods).
καὶ εἶναί τε πάντα ἐνθένδε ὁπόσα γενέσεως μέτοχα καὶ ἀπιέναι πάλιν ἐκεῖσε κατὰ τὴν φθορὰν αὐτῶν, καὶ τοῦτʼ εἶναι τὴν ἀρὰν τὴν Ὁμήρου ἐπαρωμένου εἰς ὕδωρ πάντα ἐλθεῖν, ὡς ἔχει καὶ τὸ ἔπος
"ἀλλʼ ὑμεῖς γε πάντες ὕδωρ καὶ γαῖα γένοισθε,"
καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα τοιουτότροπα ὑπό τε ἀνδρῶν καὶ ποιητῶν σοφῶν εἴρηταί τε καὶ ἐξεύρηται, ταῦτα μὲν ἤτοι τέλεον ἡμῖν παρείσθω ἢ ἐπὶ τοσοῦτον εἰρήσθω ἐν γοῦν τῷ παρόντι.
And that all things that share in generation come from here, and depart thither again at their destruction, and that this is the curse of Homer when he prayed that all should turn to water, as the verse has it: "But may you all turn to water and earth," and whatever other such things have been said and discovered by wise men and poets, let these either be completely passed over by us or spoken of only to this extent, at least for the present.
ἃ δέ ἐστι κοινὰ πάντων καὶ γνώριμα καὶ ἐν τοῖς πάντων ὀφθαλμοῖς, τούτων δὲ καὶ νῦν ἄν πως πρέποι μνησθῆναι.
But those things which are common to all and well known and before the eyes of all, of these it would indeed be fitting to make mention even now.
ἔστι δὲ οὐδὲ ταῦτα καθʼ ἑαυτὰ, ἀλλὰ καὶ ταῦτα σὺν μάρτυσι τοῖς ποιηταῖς λεγόμενα. ὁμολογεῖται μὲν γὰρ Κρόνῳ τρεῖς παῖδας γενέσθαι ἐκ Ῥέας τῆς μητρὸς αὐτῶν, Ποσειδῶν καὶ Ζεὺς καὶ τρίτος ὃν ἐπὶ τούτοις ἀκούομεν.
Yet not even these are spoken of by themselves, but they too are told with the poets as witnesses.\nFor it is agreed that three sons were born to Cronus from Rhea their mother: Poseidon, Zeus, and a third whom we hear of besides them.
καὶ δῆτα διαλαχεῖν ἐπὶ τούτοις τὸν κλῆρον τοῦ πατρὸς, τὸ πᾶν τοῦτο νομῇ δικαιοτάτῃ δασαμένους.
And indeed, they divided their father's inheritance by lot among themselves, having distributed this whole universe by a most just division.
Δία μὲν σχεῖν τόν τε οὐρανὸν καὶ τὸν αἰθέρα καὶ τὰ ἐν τούτοις, καὶ αὐτόθεν ὁρμᾶσθαι, τὸν δὲ Ποσειδῶ τὴν θάλατταν, τὸν δὲ τρίτον ἀδελφὸν τὸν ὑπὸ γῆς τόπον.
Zeus obtained the heaven and the ether and what is in them, and makes his start from there; Poseidon, the sea; and the third brother, the place beneath the earth.
θεασώμεθα δὴ νῦν ἐν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς πότερος αὐτῶν τὴν ἀρχὴν φιλανθρωποτέραν ἐποιήσατο τὴν αὑτοῦ καὶ κοινοτέραν, πότερον ὁ μηδὲ μεταδοὺς μηδὲν αὐτῆς μηδενὶ, ἢ ὁ μεταδιδοὺς μὲν, οὐ πρότερον δὲ πρὶν ἢ οἴχεσθαι, ἢ ὁ ζῶντάς τε ὑποδεχόμενος ἅπαντας καὶ παρέχων ἑαυτῷ συζῆν καὶ συνεῖναί τε καὶ συμπολιτεύεσθαι, καὶ ἐπεργάζεσθαι τὸν κάλλιστον τῶν κλήρων τὴν θάλατταν, καὶ πάνθʼ ὅσα ἀγαθὰ ἀπὸ θαλάττης ἔκ τε αὐτῆς καὶ διʼ αὐτῆς ἐξεύρηται, καὶ δοὺς ἑαυτὸν εἰς ἅπαντα τῷ γένει τῷ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
Let us now observe among ourselves which of them made his own rule more benevolent to mankind and more open to all: whether the one who shared nothing of it with anyone, or the one who did share, but not before departing, or the one who welcomes all living men and allows them to live, exist, and share citizenship with him, and to work the sea, the fairest of allotments, and to enjoy all the good things that have been discovered from the sea, both from it and through it, and has given himself in every way to the race of men.
καὶ μὴν ἄνθρωπός γε τί μὲν τῶν δένδρων διέφερε τῶν ἐν τῇ γῇ τῶν αὐτοφυῶν, ἕως ἐν γῇ μόνον ἦν;
Indeed, in what did man differ from the self-grown trees on the earth, as long as he was only on the land?
τί δὲ ἦν αὐτῷ καλὸν, πρὶν παρανοῖξαι τὸν θεὸν τοῦτον τὴν θάλατταν, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ ἀναπετάσαι;
And what good did he have, before this god opened the sea a little, and then threw it wide open?
ἢ τί μὲν ἰδεῖν, τί δὲ ἀκοῦσαι;
Or what was there to see, and what to hear?
ὃς οὐδὲ τὴν γῆν αὐτὴν ἐν ᾗ ἦν ἠπίστατο, πλὴν τὰ ἐν ποσὶν, οὐχ ὅπως τὰ πέρατα §20αὐτῆς, ἢ τὴν ἑτέραν ἤπειρον, ἢ τὴν καταντικρύ. ἀλλʼ ἔζων τρόπον θηρίων οἱ πρότερον ἐκεῖνοι, κατὰ χειὰς καὶ χηραμοὺς καὶ δένδρα, οἱ μακάριοι καλούμενοι.
He did not even know the earth itself on which he was, except what was at his feet, not to mention its limits or the other continent, or the one opposite.\nInstead, those men of former times, though called "blessed," lived in the manner of wild beasts, in caves, clefts, and trees.
ὧν τί ἦν ἀθλιώτερον, μήτε εἰδότων μηδὲν μήτε ἑορακότων μήτʼ ἐχόντων, πλὴν ὅσα ἐφʼ ἡμέραν ἑκάστην ἐπʼ ἴσης τοῖς ἀλόγοις ζώοις;
Who was more wretched than they, who knew nothing, saw nothing, and possessed nothing except what was sufficient for each day, on an equal footing with irrational animals?
ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἀνεῖπεν οὗτος ὁ θεὸς φοιτᾶν παρʼ αὑτὸν θαρρούντως καὶ ἐπινέμεσθαι τὴν θάλατταν, καὶ τρόπον τε ὑπέδειξε διʼ ὅτου καὶ τὸ δεῖμα ἐξεῖλε τῆς ψυχῆς, ὃ καθάπερ πρὸς θηρίον δεινόν τε καὶ φοβερὸν εἶχον τὴν θάλατταν συναρπασθήσεσθαι προσδοκῶντες ἀεὶ καὶ αὐτοὶ καὶ τὴν γῆν σύμπασαν ἅμα τοῖς ἀνέμοις βλέποντες, τηνικαῦτα δὲ οὐδὲ εἰπεῖν τῷ λόγῳ ῥᾴδιον τὸ πλῆθος τῶν ἀγαθῶν τῶν φοιτώντων εἰς τὴν γῆν παρὰ τῆς θαλάττης.
But when this god proclaimed that men should visit him boldly and exploit the sea, and showed them the way and took away the dread from their soul—which they held toward the sea as toward a terrible and fearsome beast, always expecting to be snatched away, both themselves and the whole land together with the winds—at that moment, it is not easy for speech to tell the multitude of good things that came to the land from the sea.
συνελθεῖν τε εἰς ταυτὸν ἄμφω ταῦτα τὸ μέγιστον ἔργον Ποσειδῶνος, καὶ φιλίαν αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι καὶ ἐπιμιξίαν.
And to bring both of these together into the same place was the greatest work of Poseidon, and that friendship and intercourse should arise between them.
πρότερον δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἦν, ἀλλὰ πολεμίω ἤστην ἀλλήλοιν ἥ τε γῆ καὶ ἡ θάλαττα.
Previously, not even this existed, but the land and the sea were hostile to each other.
νυνὶ δὲ συνῳκισθήτην ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τούτου καὶ πόλεις τε ἐπολίσατο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις αὐτόθι, ἃς δὴ νήσους νυνὶ καλοῦμεν, ὡς μηδὲ ἐν θαλάττῃ ποθεῖν τὴν γῆν, μηδὲ ἄλλο τι ἢ ἐν γῇ εἶναι.
But now they have been brought into harmony by this god, and he founded cities for men there, which we now call islands, so that even in the sea they do not long for the land, nor feel any differently than if they were on the land.
καὶ πάντα τὰ ὄντα ἀνῆκε καὶ ζῶα παντοδαπά. ὅπου δὲ καὶ φυτὰ τὰ μὲν εἰς χρῆσιν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ, τὰ δὲ καὶ τέρψιν τε καὶ ἡδονήν.
And he produced all existing things and animals of every kind; and there are also plants, some for the use of man, and others for delight and pleasure.
καὶ μὴν καὶ τράπεζαν πολλῷ ἀφθονωτέραν παρέθηκε τῆς γῆς, ἀναπαύλας τε μυρίας ἐξεῦρε, καὶ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἁπλῶς εἰπεῖν πτηνὸν ἀπέδειξε, μόνον οὐχ ὡς πτεροῖς τισι διὰ τῆς θαλάττης χρώμενον, τάξας μετὰ τῶν ἀνέμων φέρεσθαι, καὶ οὐδὲ τούτου φθονήσας, οὐχ ὅπως ἄλλου τινὸς, οὐχ ὥσπερ ὁ πρεσβύτατος ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ ἕνα τὸν Περσέα παρεῖναι λέγεται εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν τὴν αὐτοῦ, καὶ τοῦτον μικρὸν ἀπέχοντα τῆς γῆς καὶ τῆς θαλάττης, καὶ τὸν Βελλεροφόντην τὸν ἐνθένδε μετὰ ταῦτα οὐκ ἐπὶ καλῷ.
Moreover, he set a table far more abundant than that of the land, discovered countless ways of rest, and, simply to speak, made man a winged creature, almost using the sea as wings, having ordered him to be carried along with the winds; and he did not grudge him this, let alone anything else, unlike his oldest brother, of whom it is said that he allowed only Perseus alone to enter his own dominion, and that too while remaining a little distance from the land and the sea, and Bellerophon after him from here, not with a good end.
οὗτος δὲ πάντα τινὰ τὸν βουλόμενον καὶ ἄνδρα καὶ γυναῖκα καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς παῖδας· καὶ ἔστι γε
But this god allows everyone who wishes, both man and woman, and the children themselves; and indeed...