55b The same author, Laws X (1)

“That gods exist and care for human beings has, I would say, been demonstrated by us quite adequately. But we must concede to no one that they can be won over by wrongdoers through accepting gifts; we must refute that claim in every way we can.” “Very well said; let us do as you say.”

“Come then, by the gods themselves: how could they be won over by us, if they could be? What sort of beings would they be? Surely those who continually govern the entire heaven must be rulers.” “Yes.”¹⁴⁹

55b The same author (2)

“But which rulers do they resemble? Or who resembles ⟨them⟩, among those lesser beings we can successfully compare with greater? Might they be like charioteers of racing teams, or helmsmen of ships? Perhaps they might also be compared to commanders of armies. They could resemble physicians guarding bodies against the assault of diseases, or farmers tending the growth of plants and fearfully awaiting the customary harsh seasons, or overseers of flocks.”

55b The same author (3)

“For since we have agreed among ourselves that heaven is full of many good things and many of their opposites, with those that are not good more numerous, we say that such a battle is unending and requires extraordinary vigilance. Gods and divine spirits are our allies, while we in turn are the possessions of gods and divine spirits. Injustice and insolence joined with folly destroy us; justice and self-restraint joined with understanding save us, dwelling in the ensouled powers of the gods.”¹⁵⁰

55c In the same work (1)

“Which of those just mentioned could anyone compare to the gods as guardians without becoming ridiculous? Helmsmen, perhaps, who are themselves swayed by libations of wine and the savor of burnt offerings, and so overturn ships and sailors?” “Certainly not.”¹⁵¹

“Nor surely charioteers lined up for a race who are persuaded by a gift to betray the victory to other teams.” “That would be a terrible image to use.”

“Nor generals, physicians, or farmers; nor herdsmen, nor dogs bewitched by wolves.” “Speak reverently! How could they be?”

55c In the same work (2)

“Are not all the gods our greatest guardians, concerned with our greatest affairs?” “By far.”

“Then shall we say that those who guard the finest things, and themselves excel in the virtue of guardianship, are worse than dogs and ordinary human beings, who would never betray what is just for gifts impiously offered by unjust men?” “Certainly not. The claim is intolerable. Of all those involved in every sort of impiety, anyone who clings to this opinion might most justly be judged the worst and most impious of all.”

56 Porphyry, On the Styx (1)

Indians who, in the reign of Antoninus, the emperor from Emesa in Syria [who had arrived], came into conversation with Bardisanes of Mesopotamia, gave the following account, as Bardisanes recorded it. Even now, they said, there is a lake among the Indians called the “place of testing.” If an Indian accused of wrongdoing denies it, he ⟨is brought into⟩ this lake. Certain Brahmans test him in this way.¹⁵²

They ask the man whether he wishes the examination to take place through the water. If he refuses, they send him away as liable to pay the penalty. If he accepts the ordeal, they bring him in together with his accusers; for these too go down into the water, to be tested as to whether their accusation is false.

56 Porphyry (2)

Those who enter the water then cross to another part of the lake. It is only knee-deep for anyone at all who enters it. When ⟨the⟩ accused enters, if he is innocent, he crosses fearlessly with the water up to his knees; but if he has done wrong, after going a little way he is submerged up to his head. The Brahmans pull him out of the water, hand him over alive to those bringing the case, and ask that he be punished without a death sentence.

They say that this happens rarely, because no one dares deny his wrongdoing in view of the exposure brought about by the water.¹⁵³

56 Porphyry (3)

Thus, they said, the Indians have this water as a test of voluntary wrongdoings. There is another test of both involuntary and voluntary wrongdoings, and of right living generally. About this Bardisanes writes as follows; I shall set down his own words.¹⁵⁴

“They also said there was a large natural cave in a very high mountain, almost at the center of the earth. In this cave stands a statue, which they estimate at ten or twelve cubits, upright with its arms spread in the form of a cross. The right side of its face is male, the left female; likewise its right arm, right foot, and whole right side are male, and its left side female. A person seeing it is astonished at the blending: how ⟨this⟩ difference between the two sides can be seen, without division, in a single body.”¹⁵⁵

56 Porphyry (4)

“They say that on this statue a sun has been carved at the right breast and a moon at the left, and along both arms, with ... artistry, a number of angels have been carved, together with everything in the cosmos: heaven, mountains, sea, rivers, ocean, plants, animals, and, in a word, everything that exists. They say God gave this statue to his son when he was creating the cosmos, so that he might have a visible model.”¹⁵⁶

56 Porphyry (5)

“I inquired,” he says, “what material it was made of. Sandales firmly declared, and the others supported his testimony, that no one knew the material of that statue. It is neither gold nor silver nor bronze nor stone nor any other material, but resembles extremely hard and decay-resistant wood; yet it is not wood.¹⁵⁷

“They added that one of the kings wished to remove a hair from those around its neck, and blood flowed. The king became so frightened that he scarcely recovered himself after the Brahmans had prayed. On its head, they say, there is an image of a god, seated as though on a throne.”

56 Porphyry (6)

“They also say that in hot weather this whole statue sweats. The Brahmans fan it, and the sweating stops; if they did not fan it, it would produce so much sweat that the ground around it would become wet.

“Farther inside the cave, a considerable distance beyond the statue, there is darkness. Those who wish enter with torches and find a doorway. Water comes out of it and forms a pool in the innermost part of the cave. They pass through that doorway as a test of themselves. Those who are free from baseness in their lives enter unhindered, as the doorway widens, and find a very great spring of exceptionally clear and drinkable water, from which that water flows.”¹⁵⁸

56 Porphyry (7)

“Those who stand condemned press hard to enter through that doorway but cannot, as it narrows against them. Under this constraint they confess before the others whatever wrong they have done, ⟨and⟩ ask the rest to pray for them. They fast for a considerable time.”

He says that Sandales’s companions reported that the Brahmans gather there on an appointed day. Some make their residence there; others come from elsewhere in summer and around autumn, when fruit is plentiful, to see the statue, to meet one another, and to test themselves as to whether they can pass through the doorway just described.¹⁵⁹

56 Porphyry (8)

They say that discussions take place there about the carving on that body. For it is not easy to attend to the whole representation, both because its subjects are numerous and because not all animals and plants occur in every country.

Such, then, are the Indians’ accounts of the testing water in their country. I think Apollonius of Tyana also mentioned this water: I mean the water in the cave. For, writing to the Brahmans, he swears an oath: “No, by the water of Tantalus, into whose mysteries you initiated me.” I think he calls it the water of Tantalus because it continually punishes with anticipation those eager to reach it and draw a drink from it.¹⁶⁰