Plato · Complete work
Stephanus 27d
Stephanus 27d of 125. Read it here for reference, or continue through the entire work without leaving the reader.
Open the complete readerOriginal Ancient Greek
δαίμονας οὐχὶ ἤτοι θεούς γε ἡγούμεθα ἢ θεῶν παῖδας; φῂς ἢ οὔ;πάνυ γε.οὐκοῦν εἴπερ δαίμονας ἡγοῦμαι, ὡς σὺ φῄς, εἰ μὲν θεοί τινές εἰσιν οἱ δαίμονες, τοῦτʼ ἂν εἴη ὃ ἐγώ φημί σε αἰνίττεσθαι καὶ χαριεντίζεσθαι, θεοὺς οὐχ ἡγούμενον φάναι με θεοὺς αὖ ἡγεῖσθαι πάλιν, ἐπειδήπερ γε δαίμονας ἡγοῦμαι· εἰ δʼ αὖ οἱ δαίμονες θεῶν παῖδές εἰσιν νόθοι τινὲς ἢ ἐκ νυμφῶν ἢ ἔκ τινων ἄλλων ὧν δὴ καὶ λέγονται, τίς ἂν ἀνθρώπων θεῶν μὲν παῖδας ἡγοῖτο εἶναι, θεοὺς δὲ μή; ὁμοίως γὰρ
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the complete Ancient Greek text across all 125 Stephanus sections for fidelity, philosophical precision, Socratic voice, legal clarity, and structure.
spirits to be either gods or children of gods? Do you agree, or not?
Certainly.
Then if I believe in spirits, as you say I do, and if spirits are a kind of god, this would be precisely what I say you were hinting at in your riddle and joking about: you say that I do not believe in gods and then, once again, that I do believe in gods, since I believe in spirits. But if, on the other hand, spirits are illegitimate children of gods, born of nymphs or of certain others who are said to be their mothers, what human being could believe that children of gods exist, but not gods? For that would be just as
Mouseia
Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from all 125 Ancient Greek Stephanus sections.
divine beings to be either gods or children of gods? Do you agree or not?
Certainly.
Then if I believe in divine beings, as you claim, and if divine beings are some kind of gods, this would be exactly what I say you are hinting at in your riddle and joking about: claiming that I do not believe in gods and then again that I do believe in gods, since I believe in divine beings. But if, on the other hand, divine beings are illegitimate children of gods, born either from nymphs or from some of the others who are said to be their mothers, what human being could believe that children of gods exist but not gods? That would be just as