Πᾶσα μὲν οὖν ἀλήθεια καὶ πᾶς λόγος δυστέκμαρτός τε καὶ δυσθεώρητος· καὶ οἷον ὀργάνῳ μικρῷ μεγάλα δημιουργοῦμεν, τῆ ἀνθρωπτίνῃ σοφίᾳ τὴν τῶν ὄντων γνῶσιν θηρεύοντες, καὶ τοῖς νοητοῖς προσβάλλοντες μετὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων, ἢ οὐκ ἄνευ αἰσθήσεων, ὑφ’ ὧν περιφερόμεθα καὶ πλανώμεθα, καὶ οὐκ ἔχομεν γυμνῷ τῷ νοὶ γυμνοῖς τοῖς πράγμασιν ἐντυγχάνοντες μᾶλλόν τι προσιέναι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ τὸν νοῦν τυποῦσθαι ταῖς καταλήψεσιν. ὁ δὲ περὶ θεοῦ λόγος, ὅσῳ τελεώτερος, τοσούτῳ δυσεφικτότερος, καὶ πλείους τὰς ἀντιλήψεις ἔχων καὶ τὰς λύσεις ἐργωδεστέρας. 2 καὶ πάσαν] διὸ καὶ πάσαν e: ο καὶ ‘Reg. a duo Colb.’ || 4 ἱσταμένην] e ǁ 7 om ἅπερ d || ὡς] ισως ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 8 α] ἅπερ d ΙΙ 9 om κάτω def 21. 14 προσβάλλοντες] προβ. c2 || 15 περιφερομεθα και πλανώμεθα] περιπλανωμεθα καὶ περιφερόμεθα f 3. ἔσοπτρα κ. τ. αἰν.] 1 Cor. xiii 12. 4. ἰνδάλμασιν] ‘figures,’ ‘repre- sentations.’ 5. περιττὸς κ. περίεργ.] Cp. i 1. 7. ὑπῃνίσσετο ‘darkly intimated’; in John xvi 12. 8. τρανωθησόμενα] Cp. § 4. 9. χωρῆσαι τὸν κ.] John xxi 25. By a strange oversight, Gr. confounds the Forerunner with the Divine. φωνή, perh. with ref. to John i 23. 10. διωρίζετο] ‘to define’; so ‘to affirm.’ 21. All abstract ruth is hard to attain with such instruments as we possess, but above all the truth about God. So Solomon and St Panl confessed; and David, who despaired of knowing even himself. 14. προσβάλλοντες] Cp. § 16. Μετὰ τῶν αἰ., cp. §§ 12 § 26. 18. τὸν νοῦν τυπ. τ. κατ.] ‘to have our minds fashioned by what we perceive.’ 19. δυσεφικτ.] ‘harder to come at’ (ἐφικνεῖσθαι). 20. ἀντιλήψεις] From the general notion of ‘catching hold’ of a thing come the opposite meanings of ’helping’ (e.g. 1 Cor. xii 28), and (as here) of ‘objections,’ ‘difficulties.’ Plut. de Def. Orac. (11 438 D) has the expression ὡς ἔχοντα πολλὰς ἀντιλήψεις καὶ ὑπονοίας πρὸς τοὐναντίον. πᾶν γὰρ τὸ ἐνιστάμενον, κἂν βραχύτατον ἦ, τὸν τοῦ λόγου δρόμον ἐπέσχε καὶ διεκώλυσε, καὶ τὴν εἰς τὸ πρόσω φορὰν διέκοψεν· ὥσπερ οἱ τοὺς ἵππους τοῖς ῥυτῆρσιν ἀθρόως μεθέλκοντες φερομένους, καὶ τῷ ἀδοκήτῳ τοῦ τιναγμοῦ περιτρέποντες. οὕτω Σολομὼν μέν, ὁ σοφισάμενος περισσὰ ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς γενομένους ἔμπροσθεν καὶ καθ’ ἑαυτόν, ᾧ τὸ τῆς καρδίας πλάτος δῶρον θεοῦ, καὶ ἡ ψάμμου δαψιλεστέρα χύσις τῆς θεωρίας, ὅσῳ πλέον ἐμβατεύει τοῖς βάθεσι, τοσούτῳ πλέον ἰλιγγιᾷ, καὶ τέλος τι ποιεῖται σοφίας εὑρεῖν ὅσον διέφυγεν. Παῦλος δὲ πειρᾶται μὲν ἐφικέσθαι, οὔπω λέγω τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ φύσεως, τοῦτο γὰρ ᾔδει παντελῶς ἀδύνατον ὄν, ἀλλὰ μόνον τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ κριμάτων· ἐπεὶ δὲ οὐχ εὑρίσκει διέξοδον οὐδὲ στάσιν τῆς ἀναβάσεως, οὐδὲ εἴς τι φανερὸν τελευτᾷ πέρας ἡ πολυπραγμοσύνη τῆς διανοίας, ἀεί τινος ὑποφαινομένου τοῦ λείποντος· ὢ τοῦ θαύματος ἵνα καὶ αὐτὸς πάθω τὸ ἴσον)· ἐκπλήξει περιγράφει τὸν λόγον, καὶ πλοῦτον θεοῦ καὶ 11 οὔπω] + δε e || 12 om ὂν c || μόνον] μόνων c2e ǁ 14 πολυπραγμοσύνη] + τῃ e 1. ἐνιστάμενον] ‘obstruction.’ 2. ἐπέσχε κτλ.] ‘gnomic’ aorists: ‘it lets and hinders.’ 3. ῥυτῆρσιν] ‘reins’: ἀθρόως, suddenly, cp § 2. 5. σοφισάμενος] 1 Kings iv 31 (LXX. 111 Kings iv 27 Swete) ascent never stops,’ i.e. i ἐσοφίσατο virkp π. 6. τοὺς γεν. ἔμπροσθεν] 1 Kings iii 12. Καθ’ ἑαυτόν might be (as in § 19) ‘after his pattern’; but the connexion is in favour of ‘in his time.’ 7. καρδίας πλάτος] 1 Kings iv 29 (iv 25 Swete). Sw. reads χύμα καρδίας; and Gr.'s χύσις directly after seems to show that he read the same, πλάτος being his interpretation. Χύσις, ‘spread,’ ‘expanse.’ 9. ἰλιγγιᾷ] ‘reels.’ ib. τέλος τι π. σοφίας] ‘makes it as it were the end (perfection) of wisdom to find henv far it ὁ περὶ θ. λόγος) has escaped him.’ Gr. refers to such passages as Eccl. vii 23 foll., viii 17, and perh. xii 12 foll. 13. κριμάτων] Rom. xi 33. ib. στάσιν τῆς ἀν.] ‘that the ascent never stops,’ i.e. is endless. 15. ἀεί τινος ὑποφ. τ. λ.] lit. ‘something remaining ever dimly disclosing itself.’ 16. ἴνα κ. αὐτός] By his exclamation, Gr. has dramatically put himself beside St P. 17. περιγράφει τὸν λ.] ‘He concludes his discourse with astonishment.’ βάθος τὸ τοιοῦτο καλεῖ, καὶ ὁμολογεῖ τῶν τοῦ θεοῦ κριμάτων τὸ ἀκατάληπτον, μονονουχὶ τὰ αὐτὰ τῷ Δαβὶδ φθεγγόμενος, ποτὲ μὲν ἄβυσσον πολλὴν ὀνομάζοντι τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ κρίματα, ἦς οὐκ ἔστι τὴν ἕδραν ἢ μέτρῳ ἢ αἰσθήσει λαβεῖν, ποτὲ δὲ τεθαυμαστῶσθαι τὴν γνῶσιν ἐξ ἑαυτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἑαυτοῦ συστάσεως λέγοντι, κεκραταιῶσθαί τε πλέον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ δύναμιν καὶ περίδραξιν.

Ἵνα γὰρ τἄλλα ἐάσας, φησί, πρὸς ἐμαυτὸν βλέψω, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν καὶ σύμπηξιν, τίς ἡ μίξις ἡμῶν; τίς ἡ κίνησις; πῶς τὸ ἀθάνατον τῷ θνητῷ συνεκράθη; πῶς κάτω ῥέω, καὶ ἄνω φέρομαι; πῶς ψυχὴ περιγράφεται; πῶς ζωὴν δίδωσι, καὶ πάθους μεταλαμ- βάνει; πῶς ὁ νοῦς καὶ περιγραπτὸς καὶ ἀόριστος, ἐν ἡμῖν μένων, καὶ πάντα ἐφοδεύων τάχει φορᾶς καὶ ῥεύσεως; πῶς μεταλαμβάνεται λόγῳ καὶ μεταδίδοται, καὶ δι᾿ ἀέρος χωρεῖ, καὶ μετὰ τῶν πραγμάτων εἰσέρχεται; πῶς αἰσθήσει 6 ἑαυτοῦ] αὐτοῦ ce 22. 8 γὰρ] ’δε e || 12 περιγράφεται] περιφέρεται ac 1. τὸ τοιοῦτο] ‘such a thing,’ i.e. the field which his mind surveys. 3. ἄβυσσον π.] Ps. xxxvi 6 (xxxv 7). By ἕδρα Gr. seems to mean the ‘bottom.’ 5. τεθαυμ] Ps. exxxviii (exxxix) 6. ‘That That the knowledge even of his own constitution was too wonderful for him.’ It is possible, however, that Gr. misunderstood the ἐξ to mean that it was the contemplation of his constitution which made the knowledge of God seem overwhelming. 6. κεκρατ.] ibid. ἐκραταιώθη, οὐ μὴ δύνωμαι πρὸς αὐτήν. Περίδρ., ‘grasp.’ 22. Well might David despair; for how marvellous is man's constitutuion,—his birth, his sustenance, his instincts, his continuity, his very organs and the media in which they act, a microcosm in himself. 8. φησι] sc. David. 11. κάτω ῥέω] by decay and death: ἄνω φ., prob. Gr. means by contemveys. ib. ψυχή] without the art., points the contrast between the nature of the soul and its limitations. Περιγράφεται, because confined in the body; 12. ζωὴν δίδ] sc. to the body; and yet it receives from the body a share in its πάθη. 13. ἀόριστος] Though our intelligence works within limits, those limits are themselves capable of indifinite extension. 14. ἐφοδεύων] ‘visiting.’ 15. δι’ ἀέρος χ.] Perh. by means of speech. 16. μετὰ τῶν πρ.] Intelligence ‘enters in with the things us, because we learn by them. is further expressed by αἰσθ. κοιν.; it is ’in partnership with sense,’ though capable of withdrawing itself from the senses. κοινωνεῖ, καὶ συστέλλεται ἀπὸ τῶν αἰσθήσεων; καὶ ἔτι πρὸ τούτων, τίς ἡ πρώτη πλάσις ἡμῶν καὶ σύστασις ἐν τῷ τῆς φύσεως ἐργαστηρίῳ; καὶ τίς ἡ τελευταία μόρφωσις καὶ τελείωσις; τίς ἡ τῆς τροφῆς ἔφεσις καὶ διάδοσις; καὶ τίς ἤγαγεν ἐπὶ τὰς πρώτας πηγὰς καὶ τοῦ ζῆν ἀφορμὰς αὐτομάτως; πῶς σιτίοις μὲν σῶμα, λόγῳ δὲ ψυχὴ τρέφεται; τίς ἡ τῆς φύσεως ὁλκὴ καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα σχέσις τοῖς γεννῶσι καὶ τοῖς γέννω μένοις, ἵνα τῷ φίλτρῳ συνέ- χηται; πῶς ἑστηκότα τε τὰ εἴδη καὶ τοῖς χαρακτῆρσι διεστηκότα, ὧν τοσούτων ὄντων αἱ ἰδιότητες ἀνέφικτοι; πῶς τὸ αὐτὸ ζῶον θνητὸν καὶ ἀθάνατον, τὸ μὲν τῇ μεταστάσει, τὸ δὲ τῇ γεννήσει; τὸ μὲν γὰρ ὑπεξῆλθε, τὸ δὲ ἀντεισῆλθεν, ὥσπερ ἐν ὁλκῷ ποταμοῦ μὴ ἑστῶτος καὶ μένοντος. πολλὰ δ’ ἂν ἔτι φιλοσοφήσαις περὶ μελῶν καὶ μερῶν, καὶ τῆς πρὸς ἄλληλα τούτων εὐαρμοστίας, πρὸς 2 πλάσις ἤμων καὶ σύστασις] σύστασις ἤμων df || 9 χαρακτῆρσι] + τὰ f ǁ 10 διεστηκότα] + καὶ e ǁ 11 μεταστάσει] μεταποιήσει ‘Reg. Cypr.’ || 14 φιλοσο- φησαις]σπερμολογήσαις b ‘Coisl. 2’ 2. ἐν τῷ τῆς φ. ἐργ.] ‘in nature's laboratory? the mother's womb. 3. τελευταία μ.] ‘the finishing touch,’ sc. before birth. 4. ἔφεσις κ. διάδοσις] the instinct which impels the babe to seek its nourishment, and the provision (lit. ‘distribution’) which supplies the need. 5. ἀφορμάς] ’means’: of course the breast is meant. Αὐτομάτως, ‘instinctively.’ 7. ὁλκὴ] ‘attraction,’ from ἕλκειν. Ἵνα is not used here in a ‘final’ sense. Cp. § 7. 8. ουνέχηται] sc τὰ γεννῶντα κ. τὰ γεννώμενα. 9. etSrj] ’forms.’ How, Gr. asks, is the common form so constant while appearing with such a variety of distinguishing features; and in all that variety the peculiarities of each individual remain untouched, so that no two men are exactly alike? 11. τὸ αὐτὸ ζῶον] ‘animal’ for ‘kind of animal’; as we talk of ’the ’ ’the ’ Gr. is speaking of the deathless persistence of the species, not of the restored existence of the specimen. His wonder is that the type endures. It never passes into another ζῶον. Μετα- στάσει, ‘removal’ by death. 12. ὑπεξῆλθε] gnomic aor. 13. ὁλκῷ] There seems to be no instance of ὁλκός=ὁλκή, which might mean the flow or current of the river. Suidas gives an interpretation ὁδὸς ἢ ἀγωγὸς ῥεύματος, and quotes the phrase rbv ὁλκὸν τοῦ ὕδατος ἔκοψεν. Here then it would mean ‘as in the channel of a river, which (river) never stands still, yet is ever there.’ This is in accordance with the common meaning of ὁ. = sulcus. χρείαν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ κάλλος συνεστώτων τε καὶ διεστώτων, προεχόντων τε καὶ προεχομένων, ἑνουμένων τε καὶ σχιζομένων, περιεχόντων τε καὶ περιεχομένων, νόμῳ καὶ λόγῳ φύσεως. πολλὰ περὶ φωνῶν καὶ ἀκοῶν· πῶς αἱ μὲν φέρονται διὰ τῶν φωνητικῶν ὀργάνων, αἱ δὲ ὑποδέχονται, διὰ τῆς ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ἀέρος πληγῆς καὶ τυπώσεως ἀλλήλαις ἐπιμιγνύμεναι. πολλὰ περὶ ὄψεως ἀρρήτως κοινωνούσης τοῖς ὁρατοῖς, καὶ μόνῳ τῷ βούλεσθαι καὶ ὁμοῦ κινουμένης, καὶ ταὐτὸν τῷ νοὶ πασχούσης· μετὰ γὰρ τοῦ ἴσου τάχους ἐκεῖνός τε μίγνυται τοῖς νοουμένοις καὶ αὕτη τοῖς ὁρωμένοις. πολλὰ περὶ τῶν ἄλλων αἰσθήσεων, αἳ παραδοχαί τινές εἰσι τῶν ἔξωθεν, λόγῳ μὴ θεωρούμεναι. πολλὰ περὶ τῆς ἐν ὕπνοις ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ τῆς δι’ ὀνειράτων ἀναπλάσεως, μνήμης μὴς τε καὶ ἀναμνήσεως, λογισμοῦ τε καὶ θυμοῦ καὶ ἐφέσεως, καὶ συντόμως εἰπεῖν, ὅσοις ὁ μικρ·ὸς οὗτος κόσμος διοικεῖται, ὁ ἄνθρωπος.

Βούλει σοι καὶ τὰς τῶν ἄλλων ζώων διαφορὰς πρός τε ἡμᾶς καὶ πρὸς ἄλληλα, φύσεις τε καὶ γενέσεις καὶ ἀνατροφάς, καὶ χώρας, καὶ ἤθη, καὶ οἷον πολιτείας καταριθ- μήσωμαι; πῶς τὰ μὲν ἀγελαῖα, τὰ δὲ μοναδικά; τὰ μὲν ποηφάγα, τὰ δὲ σαρκοβόρα; τὰ μὲν θυμοειδῆ, τὰ δὲ ἥμερα; τὰ μὲν φιλάνθρωπα καὶ σύντροφα, τὰ δὲ ἀτίθασσα καὶ ἐλεύθερα; καὶ τὰ μὲν οἷον ἐγγύτερα λόγου τε καὶ μαθήσεως, τὰ δὲ παντελῶς ἄλογα καὶ ἀμαθέστατα; τὰ μὲν πλειόνων αἰσθήσεων, τὰ δὲ ἐλαττόνων; τὰ μὲν ἀκίνητα, τὰ δὲ μεταβατικά; τὰ μὲν ταχύτατα, τὰ δὲ παχύτατα; τὰ μὲν ὑπερβάλλοντα μεγέθει καὶ κάλλει ἢ τῷ ἑτέρῳ τούτων, τὰ δὲ βραχύτατα ἢ δυσειδέστατα ἢ καὶ ἀμΦότερα; τὰ μὲν ἄλκιμα, τὰ δὲ ἀσθενῆ; τὰ μὲν ἀμυντικά, τὰ δὲ ὕποπτα καὶ ἐπίβουλα; τὰ μὲν φυλακτά, τὰ δὲ ἀφύλακτα; τὰ μὲν φίλεργα καὶ οἰκονομικά, τὰ δὲ παντάπασιν ἀργὰ καὶ ἀπρονόητα; καὶ ἔτι πρὸ τούτων, πῶς τὰ μὲν ἑρπυστικά, τὰ δὲ ὄρθια; τὰ μὲν φιλόχωρα, τὰ δὲ ἀμΦίβια; τὰ μὲν φιλόκαλα, τὰ δὲ ἀκαλλώπιστα; συζυγῆ τε καὶ ἀζυγῆ; 23. 1 διαΦορας] ἀναστροφὰς ’Reg. a' || 3 καταριθμησωμαι] σομαι df: -σωμεν e || 10 τὰ μὲν ταχύτατα τὰ δε παχυτατα] τὰ μὲν ταχύτατα tantum a: τὰ μὲν παχυτατα tantum b: τὰ ’δε ταχύτατα tantum cdef || 1 1 και] η e || 13 τὰ μὲν αλκιμα] τὰ ’δε αλκ. e ΙΙ τὰ μὲν αμυντικα] τὰ ’δε ἁμ. a || 14 om τὰ μὲν φυλακτὰ bef || 16 ερπιστικα ab: ερπηστικα def || 17 τὰ μὲν φιλόχωρα, τὰ ’δε φίλ’. c 23. Hcnv wonderful the variety of the beasts! 6. ἀτίθασσα] or ἀτίθασα, ἵκοι disposed to be tamed'; ἐλεύθερα, cp. Job xxxix 5. 17. Φιλόχωρα] ‘attached to a place'; it seems an imperfect antithesis to ἀμφίβια, but prob. Gr. means that the latter class are so little attached to a place that they are indifferent even to an element. 18. φιλόκαλα] Gr. seems to be anticipating what he says in § 24 about the peacock; it would not be easy to point to a quadruped which is markedly φιλόκαλον unless Gr. refers to such things as the way in which a cat washes itself. Isocrates advises a man to be φιλόκαλος in regard to his dress, but not καλλωπιστής, which he says would be περίεργον. Ἀκαλ- λώπ. cannot mean ‘unadorned, which would be no antithesis to Φιλόκ., but ‘not given to adorning themselves.’ σώφρονά τε καὶ ἀκόλαστα; πολύγονά τε καὶ οὐ πολύΥονα; μακρόβιά τε καὶ ὀλιγόβια; κάμνοι ἃν ἡμῖν ὁ τοῖς κατὰ μέρος ἐπεξιών.

Σκέψαι μοι καὶ νηκτὴν φύσιν τῶν ὑδάτων διολισθαίνουσαν, καὶ οἷον ἱπταμένην κατὰ τῆς ὑγρᾶς φύσεως, καὶ τοῦ μὲν ἰδίου σπῶσαν ἀέρος, τῷ ἡμετέρῳ δὲ κινδυνεύουσαν, ὥσπερ καὶ ἡμεῖς ἐν τοῖς ὕδασιν· ἤθη τε καὶ πάθη, καὶ μίξεις καὶ γονάς, καὶ μεγέθη καὶ κάλλη, Φιλοχωρίας τε καὶ πλάνας, συνόδους τε καὶ ἀποχωρήσεις, καὶ ἰδιότητας μικροῦ τοῖς ἐπιγείοις παραπλησίας, ἔστι δὲ ὧν καὶ κοινωνίας καὶ ἰδιότητας ἀντιθέτους, ἔν τε εἴδεσι καὶ ὀνόμασιν. σκέψαι μοι καὶ ὀρνέων ἀγέλας, καὶ ποικιλίας ἔν τε σχήμασι καὶ χρώμασι, τῶν τε ἄλλων καὶ τῶν ᾠδικῶν· καὶ τίς τῆς τούτων μελῳδίας ὁ λόγος, καὶ παρὰ τίνος; τίς ὁ δοὺς τέττιγι τὴν ἐπὶ στήθους μαγάδα, καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ τῶν κλάδων ᾄσματά τε καὶ τερετίσματα, ὅταν ἡλίῳ κινῶνται τὰ μεσημβρινὰ μουσουργοῦντες, καὶ καταφωνῶσι τὰ ἄλση, καὶ ὁδοιπόρον ταῖς φωναῖς παραπέμπωσι; τίς ὁ κύκνῳ συνυφαίνων τὴν ᾠδήν, ὅταν ἐκπετάσῃ τὸ πτερὸν ταῖς αὔραις, καὶ ποιῇ μέλος τὸ σύριγμα; ἐῶ γὰρ λέγειν τὰς βιαίους φωνάς, καὶ ὅσα τέχναι σοφίζονται κατὰ τῆς 24. 9 om ἀποχωρήσεις καὶ ce || 10 om μικροῦ usque ad ἰδιότητας f || ὀρνίθων be ’Or. I' || 13 ἄλλων] ἀλάλων df || 17 μουσουργοῦντος e || 18 οδοιπορον] τ8 οδοιπορον] ’τον ὁδ’. c || παραπέμπουσι e || 19 om Tr την cf 24. The fish; the fowl. 4. νηκτὴν φ....διολ.] Cp. ἑ 12. ‘Ιπταμένην ’flying under the liquid element'; cp. § 16 καθ’ ὕδατος. 6. τοῦ ἰδίου ἁ.] Gr. seems to mean the water ὥσπερ ἤμ’. ἐν τοῖς ὕδασι). The gen. is partitive. 10. μικροῦ] ‘nearly'; παραπλ. ‘re- sembling in number? ’as numerous as,' — a signification sometimes found in class, authors; τοῖς ἐπ’. for ταῖς τῶν ἐπ’. 11. κοινωνίας κοινωνίας κ. ἰδ. ἀντ.] ’common features, and peculiarities of an op- posing kind? Elias is prob. right referring to the differences between scaly and scaleless, crustaceous and otherwise. 15. μαγάδα] the ’bridge’ of a κιθάρα. Gr. treats the τέττιξ as if it were a bird. 16. τερετίσματα] ‘chirping.' Γᾶ μεσημβρ. sc. μουσουρΥήματα. 18. παραπέμπωσι] ‘escort.' 20. τὸ σύριγμα] ’ turns his hissing into a melody.’ 21. τὰς βιαίους φ.] ’forced notes'; i.e. the unnatural sounds made by birds which are taught to speak and to whistle. ἀληθείας. πόθεν ταῶς, ὁ ἀλαζὼν ὄρνις καὶ Μηδικός, οὕτω φιλόκαλος καὶ φιλότιμος, ὥστε (καὶ γὰρ αἰσθάνεται τοῦ οἰκείου κάλλους), ὅταν ἴδῃ τινὰ πλησιάζοντα, ἢ ταῖς θηλείαις, ὥς φασι, καλλωπίζηται, τὸν αὐχένα διάρας, καὶ τὸ πτερὸν κυκλοτερῶς περιστήσας τὸ χρυσαυγὲς καὶ κατάστερον, θεατρίζει τὸ κάλλος τοῖς ἐρασταῖς μετὰ σοβαροῦ τοῦ βαδίσματος;

Ἡ μὲν οὖν θεία γραφὴ καὶ γυναικῶν θαυμάζει σοφίαν τὴν ἐν ὑφάσμασι, Τίς ἔδωκε, λέγουσα, γυναιξὶν ὑφάσματος σοφίαν καὶ ποικιλτικὴν ἐπιστήμην; ζώου λογικοῦ τοῦτο, καὶ περιττοῦ τὴν σοφίαν, καὶ μέχρι τῶν οὐρανίων ὁδεύοντος.

Σὺ δέ μοι θαύμασον καὶ ἀλόγων φυσικὴν σύνεσιν. καὶ τοὺς λόγους παράστησον. πῶς μὲν ὄρνισι καλιαὶ πέτραι τε καὶ δένδρα καὶ ὄροφοι, εἰς ἀσφάλειάν τε ὁμοῦ καὶ κάλλος ἐξησκημέναι, καὶ τοῖς τρεφομένοις ἐπιτηδείως; πόθεν δὲ μελίσσαις τε καὶ ἀράχναις τὸ φιλεργὸν καὶ φιλότεχνον, ἵνα ταῖς μὲν τὰ κηρία πλέκηται καὶ συνέχηται δι᾿ ἑξαγώνων συρίγγων καὶ ἀντιστρόφων, καὶ τὸ ἑδραῖον αὐταῖς διὰ τοῦ μέσου διατειχίσματος καὶ ἀλλαγῆς ἐπιπλεκομένων ταῖς εὐθείαις τῶν γωνιῶν πραγματεύηται, 1 ποθεν + δε e || 2 ωστε] ος c || 3 om η bc || 4 καλλωπιζηται] -ζεται bcdf || 6 θεατριζει] -ζη b: -ζειν f || 11 ουρανιων] ουρανων ‘in quibusd.’ 25. 12 φυσικην] φυσιν και f || συνεσιν] κινησιν b ‘tres Colb.’ || 13 λο- γους] + ει δυνασαι df i.e. the unnnatural sounds made by birds which are taught to speak and to whistle. 4. τὸ πτερόν] seems to mean ‘his plumage,’ not ‘wing,’ as above. So Philostratus says of the peacock, τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ πτεροῦ τὴν τῶν ἄστρων διακόσμησιν ἀναπλάττεται. Kατάστερον from κατά and ἀστήρ. 6. θεατρίζει] a favourite word of Gr.’s, but not very common elsewhere, ‘to show off,’ as upon the stage; cp. Heb. x 33. Σοβαρός, ‘pompous.’ 8. καὶ γυναικῶν] Job xxxviii 36 (LXX.). If such skill is wonderful in women, much more in creatures without reason, like the foll. 25. The sagacity of animals ; the bee, the spider, the crane, the ant. 13. καλιαί] ‘bowers’; a poetical word for ‘nests.’ It is a somewhat bold phrase to say that they make rocks and trees their nests. Ἐξησκ., cp. § 6 ἠσκ. 18. ἑξ. συρ. κ. ἀντιστρ.] ‘by means of hexagonal pipes complementary to each other, and the fabric secured (lit. the firmness is effected) by means of the dividing wall and the combi- nation ὁ the angles with the straight lines.' The ’dividing ’ is perh. the horizontal one between the upper and lower set of cells. But cp. Bas. Hex. viii p. 88 (Paris 1638). καὶ ταῦτα ἐν ζοφεροῖς οὕτω τοῖς σίμβλοις καὶ ἀοράτοις τοῖς πλάσμασιν· αἱ δὲ διὰ λεπτῶν οὕτω καὶ ἀερίων σχεδὸν τῶν νημάτων πολυειδῶς διατεταμένων πολυπλόκους τοὺς ἱστοὺς ἐξυφαίνωσι, καὶ ταῦτα ἐξ ἀφανῶν τῶν ἀρχῶν, οἴκησίν τε ὁμοῦ τιμίαν, καὶ θήραν τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων εἰς τροφῆς ἀπόλαυσιν; ποῖος Εὐκλείδης ἐμιμήσατο ταῦτα, γραμμαῖς ἐμφιλοσοφῶν ταῖς οὐκ οὔσαις, καὶ κάμνων ἐν ταῖς ἀποδείξεσι; τίνος Παλαμήδους τακτικὰ κινήματά τε καὶ σχήματα γεράνων, ὥς φασι, καὶ ταὐτὰ παιδεύματα κινουμένων ἐν τάξει, καὶ μετὰ ποικίλης τῆς πτήσεως; ποῖοι Φειδίαι καὶ Ζεύξιδες καὶ Πολύγνωτοι, Παρράσιοι τέ τινες καὶ ἈγλαοΦῶντες, κάλλη μεθ’ ὑπερβολῆς γράφειν καὶ πλάττειν εἰδότες; τίς Κνώσσιος Δαιδάλου χορὸς ἐναρμόνιος, νύμφη πονηθεὶς εἰς κάλλους περιουσίαν, ἢ λαβύρινθος Κρητικὸς δυσδιέξοδος καὶ δυσέλικτος, ποιητικῶς εἰπεῖν, καὶ πολλάκις ἀπαντῶν ἑαυτῷ τοῖς τῆς τέχνης σοΦίσμασι; καὶ σιωπῶ μυρμήκων ταμιεῖά τε καὶ ταμίας, καὶ 2 αι] οἱ b ’Or. I' || 4 ἐξυφαίνουσι abf || 5 ἀσθενῶν bdef || 6 τροΦης] τρυφῆς ’in quibused.' || 7 om ἐν c 1. σίμβλοις] ’hives’; translate, ’when the hives in which it is done are so dark and the structure itself is invisible.' 4. ἱστούς] ’webs’; ἀρχῶν, ’ends’ as in Acts χ II. 5. τῶν ἀσθενεστέρων] Cp. i 9. 7. Υρ. ταῖς οὐκ οὔσαις] ’ivith his imaginary limes.’ 8. τίνος Παλ. κτλ.] Παλ. depends upon τακτικά; τακτικά is nom. to ἐμιμήσατο understood, and κιν. κ. σχ. acc after it. The same verb must be supplied for ποῖοι Φειδίαι etc. Ὥς φασι implies (as in ἑ 24) that Gr. himself had not had opportunities of observing the crane and the peacock. The usual reading ταῦτα παιδ’. can only make sense, if at all, if κ. ταῦτα be taken as in § 19, ’and that, when they move': ταὐτά makes good sense, and the καὶ before it points on to καὶ μετὰ ποικ. ‘What Pal. drew up tactics to rival the movements and groupings of the cranes, which, so they tell us, without breaking rank go through the same drill- like movements, in ever so many figures of flight?’ 12. γράφειν κ. πλάττειν] Phidias πλάττειν, the rest γράφειν ᾔδεσαν. 13. Κνώσσιος] at Cnossus, or Gnossus, in Crete; νύμφῃ, Ariadne, see Homer II. xviii 592 foil. 15. δυσέλικτος] ‘hard to unwind.' Gr. apologizes for using so poetical a word. 16. ἀπαντῶν] ‘meeting.' θησαυρισμὸν τροφῆς τῷ καιρῷ σύμμετρον, τἄλλα τε ὅσα περὶ ὁδῶν καὶ περὶ ἡγουμένων καὶ τῆς ἐν τοῖς ἔργοις εὐταξίας ἔγνωμεν ἱστορούμενα.