Stephanus 22

22a and questioning once, about ancient things, the priests most experienced in such matters, he found that neither he himself nor any other Greek, so to speak, knew a single thing about them that could be brought to light. And once, wishing to lead them on into talk of ancient times, he undertook to tell the most ancient things among us—about Phoroneus, said to be the first man, and Niobe, and after the flood again about Deucalion 22b and Pyrrha, how they survived, and to trace the line of their descendants; and as he told it he tried, keeping careful memory of the years, to count up the times that had passed. Then one of the priests, a man well stricken in age, said: "O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children; there is no old Greek." And when he heard this and asked how he meant it—"You are all young," he said, "in your souls; for you hold in them no old belief handed down by ancient report, and no learning grown gray with time. And the cause is this: 22c there have been many destructions of mankind and there will be—the greatest by fire and water, and lesser ones by countless other means. That story told among you, how once Phaethon, the child of Helios, yoked his father's chariot, and because he could not drive it along his father's path burned up all that was on the earth, and was himself struck by the thunderbolt and perished—that is told in the shape of a myth; 22d the truth of it is a swerving of the bodies that move around the earth in the heavens, and after long intervals a destruction of things on earth by violent fire. Then those who dwell in the mountains and in high places and in the dry perish more abundantly than those who live by rivers and the sea; and as for us, the Nile is our savior in other ways too, and at such times delivers us from this distress. But when again the gods cleanse the earth with waters and drown it, the herdsmen and shepherds in the mountains are saved, while those in the cities of your land are swept into the sea by the rivers; 22e and here in this land, neither then nor at any other time, does water flow down upon the fields from above; the contrary is its nature—to rise up from below."

Critias: This is why the things preserved here are said to be the most ancient; whereas the truth is that in every place where extraordinary winter or extraordinary sun does not hold them back, the stock of men is sometimes more,

22a and also that once, when he was asking the priests who were the most learned about such matters about the times of long ago, he found that neither he himself nor any other Greek knew practically anything about such things. And once, wanting to draw them out into talk about the ancient past, he tried to tell them the oldest stories of our own land: about Phoroneus, who is said to have been the first man, and about Niobe, and after the flood about Deucalion 22b and Pyrrha and how they survived, and to trace the family trees of their descendants, and to work out the number of years and try to reckon the dates for the things he spoke about. Then one of the priests, a very old man, said: "O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children, and there is no Greek who is old." When Solon heard this he said: "What do you mean by that?" "You are all young in your minds," he said. "You have no old belief in them that comes from ancient tradition, and no knowledge grown gray with time. The reason for this 22c is this: there have been many destructions of mankind in many ways, and there will be more, the greatest ones by fire and water, and others, lesser ones, in countless other ways. For the story that is told among you too, how once Phaethon, the son of Helios, yoked his father's chariot but was not able to drive it along his father's path, and so burned what was on the earth and was himself struck by a thunderbolt and killed—this story has the form of a myth, but the truth 22d is that there is a shift of the things that travel around the earth in the heavens, and after long stretches of time a destruction of the things on the earth by a great fire. At those times, those who live in the mountains and in high and dry places are destroyed more than those who live near rivers and the sea. But for us the Nile is a savior in other ways and at those times too: it saves us out of that trouble by overflowing. And when the gods flood the earth and cleanse it with waters, those in the mountains survive, the herdsmen together with their flocks, while those in the cities 22e near you are carried down to the sea by the rivers. But in this land neither then nor at any other time does water flow down onto the fields from above; on the contrary, everything by nature rises up from below."

Critias: That is why, and for these reasons, the things preserved here are said to be the oldest. But in truth, in every place where extreme cold or heat does not keep people away, there is always a race of human beings, sometimes more,

22a as were most versed in ancient lore about their early history, he discovered that neither he himself nor any other Greek knew anything at all, one might say, about such matters. And on one occasion, when he wished to draw them on to discourse on ancient history, he attempted to tell them the most ancient of our traditions, concerning Phoroneus, who was said to be the first man, and Niobe; and he went on to tell the legend about Deucalion and Pyrrha after the Flood, and how they survived it, and to give the geneology of their descendants; 22b and by recounting the number of years occupied by the events mentioned he tried to calculate the periods of time. Whereupon one of the priests, a prodigiously old man, said, O Solon, Solon, you Greeks are always children: there is not such a thing as an old Greek. And on hearing this he asked, What mean you by this saying? And the priest replied, You are young in soul, every one of you. For therein you possess not a single belief that is ancient and derived from old tradition, nor yet one science that is hoary with age. 22c And this is the cause thereof: There have been and there will be many and divers destructions of mankind, of which the greatest are by fire and water, and lesser ones by countless other means. For in truth the story that is told in your country as well as ours, how once upon a time Phaethon, son of Helios, yoked his father’s chariot, and, because he was unable to drive it along the course taken by his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth and himself perished by a thunderbolt,—that story, as it is told, has the fashion of a legend, but the truth of it lies in 22d the occurrence of a shifting of the bodies in the heavens which move round the earth, and a destruction of the things on the earth by fierce fire, which recurs at long intervals. At such times all they that dwell on the mountains and in high and dry places suffer destruction more than those who dwell near to rivers or the sea; and in our case the Nile, our Saviour in other ways, saves us also at such times from this calamity by rising high. And when, on the other hand, the Gods purge the earth with a flood of waters, all the herdsmen and shepherds that are in the mountains are saved, 22e but those in the cities of your land are swept into the sea by the streams; whereas In our country neither then nor at any other time does the water pour down over our fields from above, on the contrary it all tends naturally to well up from below.

Critias: Hence it is, for these reasons, that what is here preserved is reckoned to be most ancient; the truth being that in every place where there is no excessive heat or cold to prevent it there always exists some human stock, now more, now less in number.