Oration on the Dignity of Man

the criterion of measure, it rightfully prescribes the norm and rule for every virtue, as discussed in ethics. The famous "Know thyself" original: "познай самого себя"; the Greek gnothi seauton. urges and inspires us toward the knowledge of all nature, with which man is bound as if by marriage. For he who knows himself knows all things within himself, as was written first by Zoroaster Zoroaster was the legendary ancient Persian prophet and founder of Zoroastrianism, often cited by Renaissance philosophers as a source of "primeval wisdom." and then by Plato in the Alcibiades.

Then, enlightened by this knowledge through the philosophy of nature, and already close to God, uttering "El"—that is, "Thou Art" original: "ES"; a reference to the Greek letter 'E' inscribed at the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. Plutarch interpreted this as the greeting "Thou art," recognizing the eternal existence of the divine.—with a theological greeting, let us turn to Apollo joyfully and familiarly. But let us also consult the wisest Pythagoras, who was all the more wise because he never considered himself worthy of the name of a sage. First, he will advise us not to rest beyond measure—that is, not to leave the rational part of the soul, through which it measures, judges, and examines everything, in idle inactivity—but to govern it and constantly stir it with the exercises and rules of dialectic The art of logical argument and investigation into the truth of opinions.. He will further indicate that we must especially guard against two things: "do not urinate against the sun" and "do not cut your nails during a sacrifice."

Only after we have freed ourselves from an excessive passion for pleasures through morality, and removed the "nail clippings"—the sharp protrusions of anger and the stings of the soul, so to speak—will we participate in the sacrifice, that is, in those aforementioned mysteries of Bacchus, of which the sun is rightly considered the father, and only then shall we surrender ourselves to contemplation.

Then he will instruct us to feed the rooster—that is, to nourish the divine part of our soul with the knowledge of divine matters as true food and heavenly ambrosia. This is the rooster whose sight the lion—meaning all earthly power—fears and dreads. This is the rooster to whom intelligence is given, as we read in the Book of Job. When this rooster crows, the lost man comes to his senses. This rooster crows daily at the dawn of morning, when the stars praise God.

Socrates, when he was dying and was already beyond the reach of illnesses, and hoped that the divine part of his soul would unite with the supreme divinity of the world, said that he owed this rooster to Aesculapius Aesculapius was the Greek god of medicine. Socrates' final words in Plato's Phaedo—requesting a sacrifice to the god of healing—suggested that death was a recovery from the "illness" of earthly life., the healer of souls.

Let us look at the monuments of the Chaldeans Ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, famous in the Renaissance for their supposed expertise in astrology and occult wisdom. and we shall see (if they are to be believed) which sciences and arts open the path to happiness for mortals. The Chaldean interpreters write that Zoroaster said the soul is winged; it falls headlong into the body when its wings drop off, and rises to heaven when they grow back. When asked by his disciples how flying souls acquire feathered wings, he replied: "Water the wings with the water of life." And when they asked where to obtain this water, he answered according to his custom with a comparison: "The paradise of the Lord is washed and watered by four streams—draw the healing water from there."

The name of the one flowing from the north is Pishon, which means justice; the one flowing from the west is Gihon original: "Дикон" (Dikon); a variant or transcription error for Gihon, one of the four rivers of Eden., which means atonement; the one flowing from the east is Hiddekel, which means enlightenment; the one flowing from the south is Perat, which can be interpreted as piety.