Epinomis

Name: Epinomis
Author: Plato

Ancient Greek with an independent English translation.

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EpinomisEpinomis · 984c–985b

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Ancient Greek Page · Branch 18 of 32

Epinomis · 984c–985b

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Ancient Greek

p. 30

ζῴων, καὶ τὸ τρίτον ἐξ ὕδατος. πάντα δὲ δημιουργήσασαν ταῦτα ψυχὴν ζῴων εἰκὸς ὅλον οὐρανὸν ἐμπλῆσαι, χρησαμένην πᾶσι τοῖς γένεσι κατὰ δύναμιν, πάντων μὲν μετόχων τοῦ ζῆν γεγονότων· δεύτερα δὲ καὶ τρίτα καὶ τέταρτα καὶ πέμπτα, 984d ἀπὸ θεῶν τῶν φανερῶν ἀρξάμενα γενέσεως, εἰς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἀποτελευτᾶν.

Θεοὺς μὲν δή, Δία τε καὶ Ἥραν καὶ τοὺς ἄλλους πάντας, ὅπῃ τις ἐθέλει, ταύτῃ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν τιθέσθω νόμον καὶ πάγιον ἐχέτω τοῦτον τὸν λόγον· θεοὺς δὲ δὴ τοὺς ὁρατούς, μεγίστους καὶ τιμιωτάτους καὶ ὀξύτατον ὁρῶντας πάντῃ, τοὺς πρώτους τὴν τῶν ἄστρων φύσιν λεκτέον καὶ ὅσα μετὰ τούτων αἰσθανόμεθα γεγονότα, μετὰ δὲ τούτους καὶ ὑπὸ τούτοις ἑξῆς 984e δαίμονας, ἀέριον δὲ γένος, ἔχον ἕδραν τρίτην καὶ μέσην, τῆς ἑρμηνείας αἴτιον, εὐχαῖς τιμᾶν μάλα χρεὼν χάριν τῆς εὐφήμου διαπορείας. τῶν δὲ δύο τούτων ζῴων, τοῦ τ’ ἐξ αἰθέρος ἐφεξῆς τε ἀέρος ὄν, διορώμενον ὅλον αὐτῶν ἑκάτερον εἶναι—παρὸν δὴ πλησίον οὐ κατάδηλον ἡμῖν γίγνεσθαι—μετέχοντα δὲ 985a φρονήσεως θαυμαστῆς, ἅτε γένους ὄντα εὐμαθοῦς τε καὶ μνήμονος, γιγνώσκειν μὲν σύμπασαν τὴν ἡμετέραν αὐτὰ διάνοιαν λέγωμεν, καὶ τόν τε καλὸν ἡμῶν καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἅμα θαυμαστῶς ἀσπάζεσθαι καὶ τὸν σφόδρα κακὸν μισεῖν, ἅτε λύπης μετέχοντα ἤδη—θεὸν μὲν γὰρ δὴ τὸν τέλος ἔχοντα τῆς θείας μοίρας ἔξω τούτων εἶναι, λύπης τε καὶ ἡδονῆς, τοῦ δὲ φρονεῖν καὶ τοῦ γιγνώσκειν κατὰ πάντα μετειληφέναι— 985b καὶ συμπλήρους δὴ ζῴων οὐρανοῦ γεγονότος, ἑρμηνεύεσθαι πρὸς ἀλλήλους τε καὶ τοὺς ἀκροτάτους θεοὺς πάντας τε καὶ πάντα, διὰ τὸ φέρεσθαι τὰ μέσα τῶν ζῴων ἐπί τε γῆν καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ὅλον οὐρανὸν ἐλαφρᾷ φερόμενα ῥύμῃ. τὸ δὲ ὕδατος πέμπτον ὂν ἡμίθεον μὲν ἀπεικάσειεν ἄν τις ὀρθῶς ἀπεικάζων ἐξ αὐτοῦ γεγονέναι, καὶ τοῦτ’ εἶναι τοτὲ μὲν ὁρώμενον, ἄλλοτε

Epinomis

p. 31

of living beings, and the third from water. And it is likely that soul, having crafted all these, filled the whole heaven with living beings, making use of all the kinds as far as it could, all of them having come to share in life; and that the second and third and fourth and fifth, 984d beginning their coming into being from the manifest gods, end in us human beings.

As for the gods, Zeus and Hera and all the others, let anyone set them down where he wishes, by the same law, and let him keep this account fixed; but as the visible gods, the greatest and most honored and the sharpest-sighted everywhere, the first, we must speak of the nature of the stars and all the things that we perceive to have come into being along with them; and after these, and below them, next, 984e the daimons, and the kind of air, holding the third and middle seat, the cause of interpretation, we must very much honor with prayers for the sake of the auspicious passage.¹ Of these two living beings, the one of ether and the one that is next in order, of air, each of them being wholly such as to be seen through — and, though near at hand, it does not become plain to us — but sharing in 985a a wonderful intelligence, since they are of a kind quick to learn and of good memory, let us say that they know all our thought, and that they at once welcome the fine and good among us wonderfully, and hate the very bad, as already sharing in pain — for the god who has the completion of the divine portion is outside these, pain and pleasure, but has a share in being intelligent and in knowing in every respect — 985b and, the heaven having indeed become full of living beings, that they interpret everyone and everything to one another and to the highest gods, because the middle living beings are carried along both to the earth and to the whole heaven, carried along with a light rush. As for the fifth, which is of water, one who likens rightly would liken it to a demigod, as having come into being from it, and as being sometimes seen, and at other times

About This Reading Edition

The complete Epinomis, 973a–992e: the Athenian stranger, Clinias, and Megillus examine wisdom, number, the soul, and the ordered heavens. Burnet’s Greek faces a new Diotimos Editions English translation, with an introduction, key words, outline, glossary, critical apparatus, and linked translator notes. Transmitted under Plato’s name, the dialogue’s authorship is disputed; the supplied Introduction presents the question without deciding it.

Historical Text and Translation

Greek: Epinomis, transmitted under Plato’s name, with disputed authorship, in John Burnet, Platonis Opera, volume V, part II (Oxford, 1907; a later impression printed by John Johnson, issued 1936–1945). The words were taken from the Perseus Digital Library transcription and checked against the printed pages by the supplied edition; Burnet’s lineation and critical apparatus are retained. The digital Greek transcription and its modifications are attributed to the Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University, under CC BY-SA 4.0. English translation and editorial matter: Diotimos Editions, 2026.

About Diotimos Editions

This historical edition credits Diotimos Editions as its English translator.

Rights

The ancient Greek work and Burnet’s printed edition are in the public domain. The Perseus digital Greek transcription and its modifications are reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. The new English translation and editorial matter are credited to Diotimos Editions, 2026; no open license is stated in the supplied edition.