On the God of Socrates

— 9 —

...living in certain inner sanctums of their own dignity, with all witnesses removed. For familiarity breeds c?ontempt, while rarity gains admiration. Apuleius is explaining why the gods remain hidden from human sight; constant exposure would lessen our respect for them.

23 V "What then," someone might object as an orator, "shall I do after this celestial but almost inhuman sentiment of yours? If humans are utterly repelled far from the immortal gods 5 and are relegated to these hellish depths of earth in such a way that all communion with the heavenly gods is denied to them—so that || no one || from the number of the heavenly ones visits them, as a shepherd, or a groom, or a cowherd (busequa) Apuleius uses rustic terms to suggest the gods should look after humans as caretakers look after livestock. visits flocks of bleating, neighing, or lowing animals, 130 to restrain the fierce ones, heal the sick, or help those in need? No god," you say, "intervenes in human affairs. 24 To whom then shall I address my prayers? To whom shall I dedicate a vow? For whom shall I slaughter a victim? 10 Whom shall I call upon throughout my life as a helper for the wretched, a patron for the good, or an adversary to the wicked? Finally—and this is most frequent—whom shall I call upon as a witness for an oath? Or shall I swear as original: "Vergilianus Ascanius" Vergil’s Ascanius did: 'I swear by this head, by which my father was once accustomed'? A quote from Vergil's Aeneid, book 9. Ascanius (also called Iulus) was the son of the hero Aeneas. But indeed, O Iulus, your father could use this oath among the Trojans, who were his kin, and perhaps among the Greeks, who were known to him in battle; but indeed among the recently met Rutulians, if no one believes in this 'head' of yours, 15 what god will stand as your guarantor? Or shall I swear by my right hand and my weapon, like the most fierce Mezentius? 25 For these alone were || the things he worshipped ||, by which he fought: 'My right hand is my god, and the weapon 131 that I balance as a missile.' Mezentius was a 'contemner of the gods' in the Aeneid; he claimed his own strength and spear were his only deities. Away with such blood-stained gods! A right hand weary with slaughter and a weapon rusty with blood; neither is suitable for you to swear by, nor should one swear by such things, since this honor belongs properly to the highest of the gods. For an oath is called the 'oath of Jove' 132 as an oath, as Ennius says Ennius (c. 239–169 BCE) was an early Roman poet often cited as the 'father' of Latin literature.. What then do you think? Shall I swear by 'Jupiter the Stone' original: "Iovem lapidem" according to the most ancient Roman rite? 20 And yet, if Plato’s opinion is true—that a god never communicates with a human—the stone will hear me more easily than Jupiter."

"Not quite so"—for Plato would respond with my voice on behalf of his own opinion—"not 26 VI quite so," he says, "do I proclaim the gods to be so separated and alienated from us that I think even our vows do not reach 25 them. For I have not removed them from the care of human affairs, but only from direct contact. However, there are certain divine intermediate powers between the highest ether and the lowest lands in that intervening space of air, through which both our desires and our merits pass to the gods." 133

1 "Familiarity... admiration": Vincent of Beauvais, Instructional Mirror VI, 38 and Historical Mirror IV, 7. — 12 Vergil, Aeneid IX, 300. — 16 Vergil, Aeneid X, 773 f.: "My right hand is my god, and the weapon that I balance as a missile, let them now be present!"
19 Cicero, On Duties III, 29, 104: for Ennius says excellently: 'O nurturing Faith, fitted with wings, and the oath of Jove'.
23 [Plato] Epinomis 984 D and E.

1 "suae" omitted in manuscript M — 3 "I pray you," Mercerus — 4 in "mortalibus" [mortal men] F¹ — 5 "religantur" [relegated] M — 6 "neque" [nor] I have written; "ne" or "nec" commonly — "equiso" [groom] Elmenhorst; "equisitio" M; "equitio" F — 7 † "innientium" [neighing] M — "intervisat" [visit] M — 9 "votu nuncubabo" [dedicate a vow] M ("nuncupabo" M²) — 10 after "bonis" [for the good] a space of 16 letters remains empty in M — 11 "deque" M¹ "iureiurando" [oath] M — "virgilianus" O — 12 "iule" FM² "uilo" M — 14 "enim" omitted in the Vulcanian edition — "rutilos" M
15 "ut se" O; "se" omitted in the Roman edition — 16 "adveneratus erat" [had worshipped] I have written; "advenerat" O — "michi" [to me] F — 17 "apage" [away with] "istā" M, corrected by M² — 18 "ne ut" Mercerus; "neue" O — 19 "iovis iurandum" [oath of Jove] omitted in F — 20 "iurandum" [oath] removed by Brant — "ut ait Ennius" [as Ennius says] removed — 21 "atqui" Colvian edition; "atque" O — 25 "illos a cura" [them from care] Scioppius; "illa sacra" O — 26 "aethera" [ether] (aeth rewritten M¹) M — 27 "intersito" [intervening] Elmenhorst; "intersitae" O — "ad deos" [to the gods] common; "ad eos" [to them] O