θαυμάζοντος δʼ ἐμοῦ ταῦτα καὶ δεομένου σαφέστερον ἀκοῦσαι, πολλά εἶπεν ὦ Σύλλα, περὶ θεῶν οὐ πάντα δὲ καλῶς λέγεται παρʼ Ἕλλησιν. οἷον εὐθὺς ὀρθῶς Δήμητρα καὶ Κόρην ὀνομάζοντες οὐκ ὀρθῶς ὁμοῦ καὶ περὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἀμφοτέρας εἶναι τόπον νομίζουσιν ἡ μὲν γὰρ ἐν γῇ καὶ κυρία τῶν περὶ γῆν ἐστιν ἡ δʼ ἐν σελήνῃ καὶ τῶν περὶ σελήνην. κόρη δὲ καὶ Φερσεφόνη κέκληται τὸ μὲν ὡς φωσφόρος οὖσα,. κόρη δʼ ὅτι καὶ τοῦ ὄμματος, ἐν ᾧ τὸ εἴδωλον ἀντιλάμπει τοῦ βλέποντος,, ὥσπερ τὸ ἡλίου φέγγος ἐνορᾶται τῇ σελήνῃ, κόρην προσαγορεύομεν. τοῖς τε περὶ τὴν πλάνην καὶ τὴν ζήτησιν αὐτῶν λεγομένοις ἔνεστι […] ἀληθές· ἀλλήλων γὰρ ἐφίενται χωρὶς οὖσαι καὶ συμπλέκονται περὶ τὴν σκιὰν πολλάκις· τὸ δὲ νῦν μὲν ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ φωτί, νῦν δʼ ἐν σκότῳ καὶ νυκτὶ γενέσθαι περὶ τὴν Κόρην, ψεῦδος μὲν οὐκ ἔστιν, ὁ δὲ χρόνος τῷ ἀριθμῷ πλάνην παρέσχηκεν. οὐ γὰρ ἓξ μῆνας ἀλλὰ παρʼ ἓξ μῆνας ὁρῶμεν αὐτὴν ὑπὸ τῆς γῆς, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ τῆς μητρός, τῇ σκιᾷ λαμβανομένην, ὀλιγάκις δὲ τοῦτο διὰ πέντε μηνῶν πάσχουσαν· ἐπεὶ τὸν γʼ Ἅιδην ἀπολιπεῖν ἀδύνατόν ἐστιν αὐτήν, τοῦ Ἅιδου πέρας οὖσαν, ὥσπερ καὶ Ὅμηρος ἐπικρυψάμενος οὐ φαύλως τοῦτʼ εἶπεν ἀλλʼ εἰς Ἠλύσιον πεδίον καὶ πείρατα γαίης· ὅπου γὰρ ἡ σκιὰ τῆς γῆς ἐπινεμομένη παύεται, τοῦτο τέρμα τῆς γῆς ἔθετο καὶ πέρας· εἰς δὲ τοῦτο φαῦλος μὲν οὐδεὶς οὐδʼ ἀκάθαρτος ἄνεισιν, οἱ δὲ χρηστοὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν κομισθέντες αὐτόθι, ῥᾷστον μὲν οὕτω βίον, οὐ μὴν μακάριον οὐδὲ θεῖον ἔχοντες, ἄχρι τοῦ δευτέρου θανάτου διατελοῦσι.
At these things when I was amazed, and entreated him to declare and explain them a little more fully to me, he said: The Greeks, O Sylla, deliver many things concerning the Gods, but they are not always in the right, For first, when they tell us that there is a Ceres and a Proserpine, they say well; but not so well, when they put them both in one and the same place. For one, to wit Ceres, is on the earth, and the lady and mistress of all earthly things. The other, to wit Proserpine, is in the moon, and the mistress of all lunar things; and she is called both Cora and Persephone; Persephone, as being a bringer of light and brightness, and Cora, because the apple of the eye, in which the image of him who looks into it is represented, as the brightness of the sun appears in the moon, is by the Greeks called κόρη. And as to what they say concerning the wandering about of Ceres and Proserpine, and their mutual seeking of one another, there is in it somewhat of truth, for they long after each other, being separated, and often embrace in shadow. And that Cora is sometimes in heaven and light, and sometimes in darkness and night, is not untrue; only there is some error in the computation of the time. For we see her not six whole months, but every sixth month, caught in the shadow by the earth, as by her mother; and this rarely happens within five months, because it is impossible she should forsake Pluto (Hades), being herself the bound or limit of Hades; which Homer also covertly but not unelegantly signified, when he said, Into th’ Elysian fields, earth’s utmost bounds, / The Gods will bring thee; / for he has there placed the end and boundary of the earth, where the shadow ceases and goes no farther. Now into that place no wicked or impure person can have access. But good folks, being after their decease carried thither, lead there indeed an easy and quiet, but yet not a blessed and divine life, till the second death.
τίς δʼ οὗτός ἐστιν, ὦ Σύλλα; μὴ περὶ τούτων ἔρῃ, μέλλω γὰρ αὐτὸς διηγεῖσθαι. τὸν ἄνθρωπον οἱ πολλοὶ σύνθετον μὲν ὀρθῶς, ἐκ δυεῖν δὲ μόνων σύνθετον οὐκ ὀρθῶς ἡγοῦνται· μόριον γὰρ εἶναί πως ψυχῆς οἴονται τὸν νοῦν, οὐδὲν ἧττον ἐκείνων· ἁμαρτάνοντες, οἷς ἡ ψυχὴ δοκεῖ μόριον εἶναι τοῦ σώματος· νοῦς γὰρ ψυχῆς ὅσῳ ψυχὴ σώματος, ἄμεινόν ἐστι καὶ θειότερον. ποιεῖ δʼ ἡ μὲν ψυχῆς καὶ σώματος μῖξις τὸ ἄλογον καὶ τὸ παθητικόν, ἡ δὲ νοῦ καὶ ψυχῆς σύνοδος λόγον, ὧν τὸ μὲν ἡδονῆς ἀρχὴ καὶ πόνου τὸ δʼ ἀρετῆς καὶ κακίας. τριῶν δὲ τούτων συμπαγέντων, τὸ μὲν σῶμ̓ ἡ γῆ τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν ἡ σελήνη, τὸν δὲ νοῦν ὁ ἥλιος παρέσχεν εἰς τὴν γένεσιν […] ὥσπερ αὖ τῇ σελήνῃ τὸ φέγγος. ὃν δʼ ἀποθνήσκομεν θάνατον, ὁ μὲν ἐκ τριῶν δύο ποιεῖ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ὁ δʼ ἓν ἐκ δυεῖν, καὶ ὁ μέν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ τῆς Δήμητρος […] ἐν αὐτῇ τελεῖν, καὶ τοὺς νεκροὺς Ἀθηναῖοι Δημητρείους ὠνόμαζον τὸ παλαιόν· ὁ δʼ ἐν τῇ σελήνῃ τῆς Φερσεφόνης, καὶ σύνοικός ἐστι τῆς μὲν χθόνιος ὁ Ἑρμῆς τῆς δʼ οὐράνιος· λύει δʼ αὕτη μὲν ταχὺ καὶ μετὰ βίας τὴν ψυχὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος, ἡ δὲ Φερσεφόνη πράως καὶ χρόνῳ πολλῷ τὸν νοῦν ἀπὸ τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ διὰ τοῦτο μονογενὴς κέκληται· μόνον γὰρ γίγνεται τὸ βέλτιστον τἀνθρώπου διακρινόμενον αὐτῆς. συντυγχάνει δʼ οὕτως κατὰ φύσιν ἑκάτερον· πᾶσαν ψυχήν, ἄνουν τε καὶ σὺν νῷ, σώματος ἐκπεσοῦσαν εἱμαρμένον ἐστὶν ἐν τῷ· μεταξὺ γῆς καὶ σελήνης χωρίῳ πλανηθῆναι χρόνον οὐκ ἴσον ἀλλʼ αἱ μὲν ἄδικοι καὶ ἀκόλαστοι δίκας τῶν ἀδικημάτων τίνουσι· τὰς δʼ ἐπιεικεῖς, ὅσον ἀφαγνεῦσαι καὶ ἀποπνεῦσαι τοὺς ἀπὸ τοῦ σώματος ὥσπερ ἀτμοῦ πονηροῦ μιασμούς, ἐν τῷ πραοτάτῳ τοῦ ἀέρος, ὃν λειμῶνας Ἅιδου καλοῦσι, δεῖ γίγνεσθαι χρόνον τινὰ τεταγμένον· εἶθʼ οἷον ἐξ ἀποδημίας ἀνακομιζόμεναι φυγαδικῆς εἰς πατρίδα, γεύονται χαρᾶς, οἵαν οἱ τελούμενοι μάλιστα θορύβῳ καὶ πτοήσει συγκεκραμένην μετʼ ἐλπίδος ἡδείας ἔχουσι· πολλὰς γὰρ ἐξωθεῖ καὶ ἀποκυματίζει γλιχομένας ἤδη τῆς σελήνης, ἐνίας δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐκεῖ περικάτω τρεπομένας οἷον εἰς βυθὸν αὖθις ὁρῶσι καταδυομένας, αἱ δʼ ἄνω γενόμεναι καὶ βεβαίως ἱδρυθεῖσαι πρῶτον μέν, ὥσπερ οἱ νικηφόροι, περιίασιν ἀναδούμεναι στεφάνοις πτερῶν εὐσταθείας λεγομένοις, ὅτι τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἄλογον καὶ τὸ παθητικὸν εὐήνιον ἐπιεικῶς τῷ λόγῳ καὶ κεκοσμημένον ἐν τῷ βίῳ παρέσχοντο. δεύτερον, ἀκτῖνι τὴν ὄψιν ἐοικυῖαι, πυρὶ δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν ἄνω κουφιζομένην, ὥσπερ ἐνταῦθα, τῷ περὶ τὴν σελήνην αἰθέρι, καὶ τόνον ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ καὶ δύναμιν, οἷον τὰ στομούμενα βαφὴν, ἴσχουσι· τὸ γὰρ ἀραιὸν ἔτι καὶ διακεχυμένον ῥώννυται καὶ γίγνεται σταθερὸν καὶ διαυγές, ὥσθʼ ὑπὸ τῆς τυχούσης ἀναθυμιάσεως τρέφεσθαι· καὶ καλῶς Ἡράκλειτος εἶπεν ὅτι αἱ ψυχαὶ ὀσμῶνται καθʼ Ἅιδην.
But what is that, O Sylla? said I. Ask me not, he replied, for I am of myself going to declare it to you. The common opinion, which most persons hold, is that man is a compound subject, and this they have reason to believe. But they are mistaken in thinking him to be compounded of two parts only. For they imagine that the understanding is a part of the soul, but they err in this no less than those who make the soul to be a part of the body; for the understanding as far exceeds the soul, as the soul is better and diviner than the body. Now this composition of the soul with the understanding makes reason; and with the body, passion; of which the one is the beginning or principle of pleasure and pain, and the other of virtue and vice. Of those three parts conjoined and compacted together, the earth has given the body, the moon the soul, and the sun the understanding to the generation of man, […] as therefore brightness to the moon. Now of the deaths we die, the one makes man two of three. and the other one of two. And the former indeed is in the region and jurisdiction of Ceres, whence the name given to her mysteries (τελεῖν) resembles that given to death (τελευτᾶν). The Athenians also heretofore called the deceased sacred to Ceres. As for the other death, it is in the moon, or region of Proserpine. And as with the one the terrestrial, so with the other the celestial Mercury doth dwell. This suddenly and with force and violence plucks the soul from the body; but Proserpine mildly and in a long time disjoins the understanding from the soul. And for this reason is she called Μονογενής that is, only begotten, or rather, begetting one alone; for the better part of man becomes alone when it is separated by her. Now both the one and the other happens thus according to Nature. It is ordained by Fate that every soul, whether with or without understanding, when gone out of the body, should wander for a time, though not all for the same, in the region lying between the earth and the moon. For those that have been unjust and dissolute suffer there the punishments due to their offences; but the good and virtuous are there detained till they are purified, and have by expiation purged out of them all the infections they might have contracted from the contagion of the body, as if from. foul breath, living in the mildest part of the air, called the meadows of Pluto, where they must remain for a certain perfixed and appointed time. And then, as if they were returning from a wandering pilgrimage or long exile into their country, they have a taste of joy, such as they principally receive who are initiated in sacred mysteries, mixed with trouble, admiration, and each one’s proper and peculiar hope. For the moon drives and chases out many souls which already long after it. And some who are already come thither, and yet take pleasure in things below, are seen descending down as it were into an abyss. But those that are got on high, and are there securely seated, first go about as victors, crowned with garlands called the wings of constancy, because in their lives they restrained the unreasonable and passible part of their soul, rendering it subject and obedient to the curb of reason. Secondly, they are like to the rays of the sun in appearance, and like to fire in their soul, which is borne aloft by the clear air which is about the moon,—like fire here on the earth,—from which they gather strength and solidity, as iron and steel do by their being tempered and plunged in water. For that which was hitherto rare and loose is compacted and made firm, and becomes bright and transparent; so that it is nourished with the least exhalation in the world. And this is what Heraclitus meant, when he said that the souls in Pluto’s region have their smell exceeding quick.
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