Stephanus 121

121a the goods at hand of little account, and bore lightly, as though it were but a burden they carried, the mass of their gold and of all their other possessions; they were not drunk with luxury nor, for all their wealth, without command of themselves and so brought low, but sober they saw clearly that all such things grow out of the common friendship joined with virtue, and that in the eager pursuit and honor of the goods themselves, both the goods decay and that friendship perishes away with them. By such reasoning, then, and with the divine nature abiding in them, everything we have passed through before grew great among them. But when the divine portion in them grew faint, watered down with a great measure of the mortal and 121b blended again and again, until the human temper gained the mastery, then at last they could no longer carry their fortune, and fell into unseemly ways; and to those who could see they showed themselves base, squandering the most beautiful of their possessions, the most precious, while to those who could not see the life that truly leads to happiness they seemed at that moment most supremely beautiful and blessed, brimming over with unjust greed and power. And Zeus, the god who reigns among the gods by law, since he was able to see such things, when he marked a noble race sunk in wretchedness, and wished to lay upon them 121c punishment, that chastened they might grow more orderly, gathered all the gods into his own most honored abode, which, standing at the center of the whole world, looks out upon all that has a share in becoming; and gathering them he said—

121a and they bore the weight of the gold and of their other possessions easily, like some load. They did not get drunk on soft living because of their wealth, lose control of themselves, and fall. Sober, they saw clearly that all these goods grow out of the common friendship joined with virtue; but when these goods are pursued with too much eagerness and honor, they waste away, and both the goods and virtue itself are destroyed together. Because they kept to this reasoning, and because the divine nature stayed with them, everything we went through before grew for them. But when the god's share in them grew faint, worn down by the great amount of the mortal, 121b blended with it again and again, and the human character took control, then they could no longer carry what they had, and they behaved shamefully. To anyone who could see, they showed themselves plainly foul, wasting the finest things from the most treasured. But to those who could not see the true life of happiness, they then seemed the most beautiful and the most blessed of men, as they swelled with unjust greed and with power. But Zeus, the god of the gods, who rules by laws, since he could see such things clearly, marked that a decent people was being put into a wretched state. Wanting to lay punishment on them 121c so that, once corrected, they might come back into better measure, he gathered all the gods into his own most honored home, which stands at the middle of the whole universe and sees from there all the things that have a share in becoming. And, gathering them, he said—

121a the burden, as it were, of the vast volume of their gold and other goods; and thus their wealth did not make them drunk with pride so that they lost control of themselves and went to ruin; rather, in their soberness of mind they clearly saw that all these good things are increased by general amity combined with virtue, whereas the eager pursuit and worship of these goods not only causes the goods themselves to diminish but makes virtue also to perish with them. As a result, then, of such reasoning and of the continuance of their divine nature all their wealth had grown to such a greatness as we previously described. But when the portion of divinity within them was now becoming faint and weak through being ofttimes blended with a large measure of mortality, 121b whereas the human temper was becoming dominant, then at length they lost their comeliness, through being unable to bear the burden of their possessions, and became ugly to look upon, in the eyes of him who has the gift of sight; for they had lost the fairest of their goods from the most precious of their parts; but in the eyes of those who have no gift of perceiving what is the truly happy life, it was then above all that they appeared to be superlatively fair and blessed, filled as they were with lawless ambition and power. And Zeus, the God of gods, who reigns by Law, inasmuch as he has the gift of perceiving such things, marked how this righteous race was in evil plight, and desired to inflict punishment upon them, to the end that when chastised they might strike a truer note.

121c Wherefore he assembled together all the gods into that abode which they honor most, standing as it does at the center of all the Universe, and beholding all things that partake of generation and when he had assembled them, he spake thus: