The Commentaries on the Timaeus of Plato — trans. Thomas Taylor

And the hypotheses afford him this utility,

“When therefore, an artificer looking to that which possesses an invariable sameness of subsistence, and always employing’ a certain paradigm

• * There is an omission here, in the original, of ro οργανίκον.
• * For xporxoperos in this place, it isnecessary to read xporxpwperos.

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of this kind, expresses in his work the idea and power of it, then it is necessary that the whole should be a beautiful effect; but when he looks to that which is generated, employing a generated paradigm, then his work will not be beautiful.”

This also is in continuity with what has been said. For the paradigmatic is investigated after the effective cause; except that the before-mentioned axioms contribute to our discovering that there is a demiurgic cause of the universe, but the present axioms do not contribute to the discovery that there is a paradigmatic cause of the world, but to the knowledge of what kind of a paradigm it is, whether eternal or generated. For from there being an effective cause, it follows that there is also a paradigm, either pre-existing in the maker himself, or external to him, and either superior, or inferior to, or of the same rank with him, For universally, that which makes, being extended to a certain form, makes that which it wishes to insert in the thing made. This therefore follows. It is necessary however to find that which is next in order, viz. whether the mundane paradiem is eternal, or generated. But to this the proposed axioms contribute: and the whole of what is said, will be truly consentaneous to itself. If the universe is generated, there is a Demiurgus of it; if thereis a Demiurgus of the universe, there is alsoa paradigm. And ifindeed that which is generated is beautiful, it was generated on account of aneternal paradigm. But if it was not, that whichis generated is not beautiful. So that acontinued syllogism such as the following ts produced, The world was generated. Every thing generated, has a demiurgic cause. Every thing having a demiurgic, has also a paradigmatic cause. The world, therefore, has both a demiurgic and paradigmatic cause. And as in the first axioms there were two hypotheses, what perpetual being is, and what that is which is generated, and two other in the second axioms, viz. every thing which Is generated has a cause, that which has not a cause, is not generated ; thus also in these, there are two common conceptions, that which is generated on account of an ‘atelligible paradigm is beautiful, that which is generated on account of a generated paradigm is not beautiful.

Each also of these is perfectly true. For he who makes on account of the intelligible, either similarly, or dissimilarly, imitates it. And if indeed similarly, he makes the imitation beautiful: for there, that which is primarily beautiful, subsists. Butifdissimilarly, he does not make on account of the intelligible: for on the contrary, he falls off from the similitude. And he who makes any thing on accountnook 1] TIMAUS OF PLATO. pa as | of that which is generated, if he truly directs his attention to it, evidently does not make that which is beautiful. For this very thing is full of dissimilitude, and is not that which is primarily beautiful; whence that which is generated on account of it, is much more separated from beauty. Hence Phidias also, who made the [eclebrated] statue of Jupiter, would not have arrived at the conception of the Jupiter in ILomer, if he had looked at a generated resemblance of the God. And if he had been able to extend himself to the intellectual Jupiter, it is evident that he would have rendered his work still more beautiful. For from the paradigm indeed, beauty or the want of beauty accedes to the image; but from the maker, similitude or dissimilitude to the archetype is derived. With reference to both however, the image is said to be the image of the paradigm, but the work an eflect of the maker. On this account also Timeus, when he speaks of the paradigm, conjoins with itits image: for he says, “ Thus therefore we must speak concerning the paradigm and its image.” But when he speaks of the Demiurgus, he conjoins with hin his work : for he then says, “ Of whom [am the Demiurgus and father of works.”

Since however paradizms are triple; for there is either an eternal paradigm of an cternal thing, or an eternal paradigm of a generated thing, or a generated pa- γα ταν Of a generated thing ;—hence when there is an eternal paradigm of an eternal thing, that which is entirely eternal is the paradigm of that which is so in a certain respect, as intellect of soul. But when there is an eternal paradigm of a generated nature, this paradigm also is in a certain respect eternal, i.e. according to infinite time. And when there is an entirely generated paradigm of a generated nature, this falls off from eternity. For it is not possible that what is essentially generated, should be productive of eternal natares. ‘The former, therefore, participate froin their paradigms of beauty and order, as being imitations of a stable nature ; but the latter, as deriving their subsistence from things mutable and in motion, are not beautiful, and vet are not entirely deformed, but are alone manifested through the negation of beauty. Such things, therefore, as are the beautiful progeny of art, are not beautiful when compared with the beauty which accedes from an eternal paradigm to sensible paradigms." And perhaps on this account also, ‘Timwus does not say that what derives its subsistence according to a generated paradigm, is entirely deformed, but only that it is not beautiful. For that which is constituted according to artificial reason, does not subsist confonn-

* For ονύμασι here, it scems necessary to read, παραδειγμασι.

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ably to an eternal form, since there are not in intellect paradigms of things artificial. Hence, they are not simply beautiful, nor yet are they deformed, because in short, they derive their subsistence according to reason, [or that productive principle which ts in the mind, of the artist.) That these axioms therefure are true, we may through these observations be reminded.