is difficult to discover him, and that when discovered, it is impossible to speak of him to all men." Now therefore, I think, from what has been already said, it is evident even to those who are but in a small degree intelligent, that according to the decision of Plato, it is the great Jupiter, who is now celebrated by us as the demiurgus. For if, as we have ob- served, the kingdom of Saturn is the summit of the whole intellectual triad, and the intelligible transcendency of intellectuals, but the maternal and vivific fountain of Rhea, is the middle centre, and the receiving bosom • of the generative power in Saturn, it is manifest to every one, that the mighty Jupiter is allotted the end of this triad. For from the before- mentioned causes, one of which indeed is paternal, but the other gene- rative, he is the God having a paternal subsistence, who is said to reign, receiving the intellectual dominion of his father. If, therefore, it is ne- cessary that the demiurgus should convolve the end of this intellectual triad, as was before demonstrated, and to effect this, is the province of the royal power of Jupiter, we must evidently acknowledge that the Jovian empire is the same as that of the demiurgus, and that Jupiter is the demiurgus celebrated in the Timaeus.
If, however, it be necessary to consider this as worthy of further discus- sion, and to demonstrate that the theology in the Timaeus about the demiurgus, accords with what is elsewhere written by Plato concerning this God, let us in the first place assume what is delivered in the Critias, because this dialogue proximately follows the Timseus, and is composed according to an analogy to it, delivering the hypostasis of the same things in images, the primary paradigms of which Timaeus celebrates through
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368 ON THE THEOLOGY BOOK V.
the fabrication of the world. Here, therefore, Plato, (that I may derive what I say from the beginning) relating the warlike preparations of the Athenians, in former times, and the insolence and usurpation of the Atlantics, who were the progeny of Neptune, but destroyed the divine seed, through the mixture of human and mortal pursuits, and conducted themselves insolently to all men, collects indeed the Gods to a consultation concerning them, in the same manner as poets inspired by Phoebus, and forms a common assembly of the Gods. But Jupiter is the author of the whole polity of them, and converts the multitude of them to himself. And as in the Timaeus the demiurgus convolves all the mundane Gods to him- self, so Jupiter in the Critias providentially attending to the whole of things, collects the Gods to himself.
In the next place, therefore, let us consider what Plato says concerning this God, and how it accords with what was before said by Tinueus. ** But Jupiter the God of Gods who reigns legitimately, and who is able to perceive every thing of this kind, when he saw that an equitable race was in a miserable condition, and was desirous of punishing them, in order that by being chastized they might possess more elegant manners, col- lected all the Gods into their most honourable habitation, whence being seated as in the middle of the whole world, he beholds all such things as participate of generation." Here, directly in the beginning, king Jupiter being celebrated as the God of Gods, does it not accord with what is written in the Timaeus, where he is said to be the father and cause of all the mundane Gods? For what other God is it who reigns over all the Gods, except the cause of their subsistence and essence? Who is it also that calls the mundane deities, Gods of Gods ? Is it not him who binds to himself the principle of all fabrication ? If, therefore, he imparts to his progeny to be Gods of Gods, in a much greater degree it pertains to him to be celebrated as the God of all [the mundane]] Gods. To which, therefore, of the Gods prior to the world, does it particularly belong to punish offenders except to him who defines to souls all their measures, unfolds to them the laws of the universe, and legally institutes such things as arc fit concerning justice and injustice, in order that afterwards he may not be accused of the vices of each of them ? Moreover, to congregate.
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CHAP. XXII.
all the Gods into their most honourable habitation, from which the whole of generation may be seen, and which possesses the middle of the universe, is to attribute to him a providence exempt from multitude, but extending equally to the whole world ; which things indeed are the illustrious goods of the demiurgic monad. For to convert all the Gods to himself, and to survey the whole world pertains exemptly to the demiurgus of the universe. For what else is multitude able to participate proximately, except the monad from which it derives its subsistence? And who can convert all the Gods in the world to himself, but the fabricator of their essence, and of their allotment in the universe?
We must establish this, therefore, as one and the first argument in proof of the thing investigated. But if you are willing, we will derive a second argument from what is said by Socrates in the Cratylus, in which he discusses the meaning of the names, from which he may represent to us the essence of Jupiter. For he is not led to the nature of this God from one name, as he is in the names of other Gods, such as Saturn, Rhea, Neptune, and Pluto, but from two names which tend to one thing, and which divisibly indicate the one and united essence of Jupiter, he unfolds the power of this God, and the peculiarity of his hyparxis. For the common rumour concerning him, denominates him in a two-fold respect. And at one time calling him (&<a) dia, we worship him in our prayers and hymns ; but at another time we celebrate him as (fijwO zenat a word derived from life. Being therefore at the same time called zcits, and delighting in the appellation of dia, he is similarly denominated
Proc. Vot. I. 3 A
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Ojt the Theology
BOOK y.
from both names by the Greeks. And these names manifest the essence and order which he is al totted among divine natures. And neither of these names indeed, is by itself sufficiently able to make known the pecu- liarity of the God ; but when conjoined with each other and forming a sentence, they have the power of unfolding the truth concerning him. * How, therefore, from both the names the poweT of this king is signified, and the precedaneous order of his hypostasis in the Gods, we may hear Socrates himself saying, " That the name of his father" who is called Jupiter is beautifully posited ; but that it is not easy to apprehend the meaning of it, because in reality the name of Jupiter is as it were a sentence. Dividing it however into two parts, some of us use one part, and some another. For some indeed call him zena, but others dia. . And these parts collected into one evince the nature of the God, which we say a name ought to effect. For there is not any other who is more the author of life to us, and to all other things than he who is the ruler and king of all things. It happens, therefore, that this God is rightly denominated, on account of whom life is present to all living beings. But it is divided into two parts, as if I should say that there is one name from dia and zena." The mode, therefore, of collecting the names into one, and of rendering the hyparxis of this God apparent through both, is manifest to every one.
If, however, he is the supplier of life to all things, as he is said to be, and is the ruler and king of all such tilings as arc said to live, to whom can we assert this peculiarity pertains, if we omit the demiurgus? And is it not necessary, that according with what is said in the Timacus, we should refer to him the principle of vivification. For the demiurgus renders the whole world animated, endued with intellect, and an animal, and consti- tutes the triple life which is in it, one indeed being impartible and intellectual, another partible aud corporeal, and another between these, impartible and at the same time partible. It is he likewise who conjoins each of the celestial spheres to the circulations of the soul, inserts in each of the stars a psychical and intellectual life, and produces in the
1 For aura* it teems necessary to read avrw. 1 i. e. Of the father of Tantalus.
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Chap. Xxii. of Plato. 37i
-sublunary elements leading Gods and souls, and in addition to all these things, constitutes the divisible genera of life, and imparts to the junior Gods the principle of mortal animals. All tilings therefore in the world are'full of life, through the power of the demiurgus and father. And this world is one animal, denying its completion from containing all animals, through the never-failing cause of the power by which it was generated. And there is no other who is the supplier of life to all things, and through whom all things live, some indeed more clearly, but others more obscurely, than the demiurgus of wholes. For he also is intellectual animal, in the same manner as the all-perfect paradigm is intelligible animal. Hence likewise, these are conjoined to ea«h other. And the one indeed is paternally the cause of wholes ; but the other demiurgi- cally. And as animal itself constitutes intelligibly, all intelligible and sensible animals, according to one cause, thus also the demiurgus fabricates intellectually according to a second order, the animals in the world.
As animal itself likewise proximately subsists from intelligible life, so the demiurgus is generated from intellectual life, and is the first that is .filled with the rivers of vivification. Hence he illuminates all things with life, unfolding the depths of the animal-producing deity, and calling forth the prolific power of the intellectual Gods. If therefore, all things live through the demiurgic cause, they also participate of soul and intel- lect, and, as I may say, of all vivification, through the providence of this God. But he who pours the rivers of life on all things in the world from himself, and is the ruler and king of wholes, is the mighty Jupiter, as Socrates says in the Cratylus, and evidently appears to be the same with the demiurgus. And the divinely-inspired intellectual conception of Timaeus concerning the demiurgus, accords with the theology of Socrates about Jupiter. If likewise each of them denominates the knowledge of this God difficult to be apprehended, and one of them says that it is difficult to discover him, and when discovered, that it is impossible to speak of him to all men, but the other asserts that it is not easy 'to understand the name of Jupiter, do they not in this respect accord with each other in what they say concerning this God? Besides this also, the
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composition of the names, and the coalition of the two names into one hyparxis, appear in a remarkable degree to be adapted to the demiurgus. For a biformed' essence, and generative power, are attributed to him according to other theologists. For the duad sits with him, according to which he generates all things ; concerning which Timaeus also introduces him speaking to the demiurgi in the world, and saying, ** Imitating my power." And through this he produces and vivifies all things. Hence it is necessary through names also to consecrate the duad to him according to ancient rumour. For he glitters with intellectual sections, divides and collects wholes, and constitutes one indissoluble order from many things. And this the power of the names indicates, extending us from divided intellection, to one self-perfect and uniform theory.