The Presocratic Reader

Orpheus

DK 1

Tap a Greek word for an LSJ definition.

Original textTranslation
DK 1 B 1

Available translations: English

1. PLAT. Phileb. 66 c (nach Aufzählung der fünf Güter) ἕκτηι δ’ ἐν γενεᾶι, φησὶν Ὀρφεύς, καταπαύσατε κόσμον ἀοιδῆς, ἀτὰρ κινδυνεύει καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐν ἕκτηι καταπεπαυμένος εἶναι κρίσει.

SOCRATES: And now, as Orpheus says,

'With the sixth generation cease the glory of my song.'

Here, at the sixth award, let us make an end;

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Philebus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The excerpt ends at the same clause as DK; the semicolon is retained from Jowett

Published passage: Plato, Philebus 66c

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Philebus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 2

Available translations: English

2. PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC ὥσπερ αὖ Ὅμηρος Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσίν φησιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν [Ξ 201]. οἶμαι δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος [Theog. 337]. λέγει δέ που καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ὅτι Ὠκεανὸς πρῶτος καλλίρροος ἦρξε γάμοιο, ὅς ῥα κασιγνήτην ὁμομήτορα Τηθὺν ὄπυιεν.

Compare the line in which Homer, and, as I believe, Hesiod also, tells of

“Ocean, the origin of Gods, and mother Tethys.”

And again, Orpheus says, that

“The fair river of Ocean was the first to marry, and he espoused his sister Tethys, who was his mother’s daughter.”

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Jowett’s parenthetical note about the extant works of Hesiod is omitted from the quotation and preserved here: “the line is not found in the extant works of Hesiod.”

Published passage: Plato, Cratylus 402b–c

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 2a

Available translations: English

λέγουσι ... οἶμαί τινες Ὁμηριδῶν ἐκ τῶν ἀποθέτων ἐπῶν δύο ἔπη εἰς τὸν Ἔρωτα, ὧν τὸ ἕτερον ὑβριστικὸν πάνυ καὶ οὐ σφόδρα τι ἔμμετρον· ὑμνοῦσι δὲ ὧδε·

τὸν δ’ ἤτοι θνητοὶ μὲν Ἔρωτα καλοῦσι ποτηνόν,
ἀθάνατοι δὲ Πτέρωτα, διὰ πτεροφύτορ’ ἀνάγκην.

there are two lines in the apocryphal writings of Homer in which the name occurs. One of them is rather outrageous, and not altogether metrical. They are as follows:

'Mortals call him fluttering love, But the immortals call him winged one, Because the growing of wings is a necessity to him.'

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Phaedrus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The source’s alternative-reading note (“Or, reading pterothoiton, ‘the movement of wings.’”) is kept outside the quoted verse

Published passage: Plato, Phaedrus 252b

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Phaedrus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 3

Available translations: English

PLATO Cratylus 400b–c καὶ γὰρ σῆμα τινές φασιν αὐτὸ εἶναι τῆς ψυχῆς [nämlich τὸ σῶμα], ὡς τεθαμμένης ἐν τῶι νῦν παρόντι· καὶ διότι αὖ τούτωι σημαίνει ἃ ἂν σημαίνηι ἡ ψυχή, καὶ ταύτηι σῆμα ὀρθῶς καλεῖσθαι. δοκοῦσι μέντοι μοι μάλιστα θέσθαι οἱ ἀμφὶ Ὀρφέα τοῦτο τὸ ὄνομα ὡς δίκην διδούσης τῆς ψυχῆς, ὧν δὴ ἕνεκα δίδωσιν, τοῦτον δὲ περίβολον ἔχειν, ἵνα σώιζηται, δεσμωτηρίου εἰκόνα. εἶναι οὖν τῆς ψυχῆς τοῦτο, ὥσπερ αὐτὸ ὀνομάζεται, ἕως ἂν ἐκτείσηι τὰ ὀφειλόμενα, ‘ σῶμα ‘, καὶ οὐδὲν δεῖν παράγειν οὐδὲ ἓν γράμμα.

For some say that the body is the grave (sema) of the soul which may be thought to be buried in our present life; or again the index of the soul, because the soul gives indications to (semainei) the body; probably the Orphic poets were the inventors of the name, and they were under the impression that the soul is suffering the punishment of sin, and that the body is an enclosure or prison in which the soul is incarcerated, kept safe (soma, sozetai), as the name soma implies, until the penalty is paid; according to this view, not even a letter of the word need be changed.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett; historical translation reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook 1616 (the source does not identify its print edition)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato
    Citation in the source record

    PLATO Cratylus 400b

    Check the source record ↗

    The source author is explicit; the work’s abbreviation has not yet been expanded.

    Citation in the selected reading.

  • Plato

    Cratylus · 400 BC

    Citation in the source record

    — — 400 BC

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 4th edition (1922), Diels 1922, fragment 3; historical running text, transcribed by Open Greek and Latin / First 1KGreek.
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The excerpt begins at “For some say” to match DK’s quotation. Jowett’s words are retained, including his explanatory transliterations

The source also compares Philolaus, DK 44 B14 and B15. Those passages appear in the Philolaus section; this translation is the Plato quotation

All existing modern-language translation text is preserved. The same quoted ancient passage remains paired.

Historical source verified independently of the previous Eulogikon link; translation unchanged.

Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 4th edition (1922), Diels 1922, fragment 3; historical running text, transcribed by Open Greek and Latin / First 1KGreek. View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett; historical translation reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook 1616 (the source does not identify its print edition). Published translation ↗

Related passages: DK 44 B 14 · DK 44 B 15

Original edition: Open Greek and Latin / First1KGreek; CC BY-SA 4.0 · Licence terms ↗

Available translations & credits

  • English · Benjamin Jowett. Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett; historical translation reproduced in Project Gutenberg eBook 1616 (the source does not identify its print edition).. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Original edition: Open Greek and Latin / First1KGreek; CC BY-SA 4.0 · Licence terms ↗

DK 1 B 4

Available translations: English

4. — Rep. II 363 C Μουσαῖος δὲ τούτων [Hesiod und Homer] νεανικώτερα τἀγαθὰ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ παρὰ θεῶν διδόασι τοῖς δικαίοις· εἰς Ἅιδου γὰρ ἀγαγόντες τῶι λόγωι καὶ κατακλίναντες καὶ συμπόσιον τῶν ὁσίων κατασκευάσαντες ἐστεφανωμένους ποιοῦσι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἤδη διάγειν μεθύοντας, ἡγησάμενοι κάλλιστον ἀρετῆς μισθὸν μέθην αἰώνιον. οἱ δ’ ἔτι τούτων μακροτέρους ἀποτίνουσιν μισθοὺς παρὰ θεῶν· παῖδας γὰρ παίδων φασὶ καὶ γένος κατόπισθεν λείπεσθαι τοῦ ὁσίου καὶ εὐόρκου. ταῦτα δὴ καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐγκωμιάζουσιν δικαιοσύνην· τοὺς δὲ ἀνοσίους αὖ καὶ ἀδίκους εἰς πηλόν τινα κατορύττουσιν ἐν Ἅιδου καὶ κοσκίνωι ὕδωρ ἀναγκάζουσι φέρειν ἔτι τε ζῶντας εἰς κακὰς δόξας ἄγοντες.

Still grander are the gifts of heaven which Musaeus and his son vouchsafe to the just; they take them down into the world below, where they have the saints lying on couches at a feast, everlastingly drunk, crowned with garlands; their idea seems to be that an immortality of drunkenness is the highest meed of virtue. Some extend their rewards yet further; the posterity, as they say, of the faithful and just shall survive to the third and fourth generation. This is the style in which they praise justice. But about the wicked there is another strain; they bury them in a slough in Hades, and make them carry water in a sieve; also while they are yet living they bring them to infamy

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Republic · II 363 C

    Citation in the source record

    — Rep. II 363 C

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — — 400 BC
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The excerpt stops at DK’s endpoint; no words from the following clause are added

Published passage: Plato, Republic 363c–d

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 5

Available translations: English

5. — — 364 E βίβλων δὲ ὅμαδον παρέχονται Μουσαίου καὶ Ὀρφέως Σελήνης τε καὶ Μουσῶν ἐκγόνων, ὥς φασι, καθ’ ἃς θυηπολοῦσι πείθοντες οὐ μόνον ἰδιώτας ἀλλὰ καὶ πόλεις, ὡς ἄρα λύσεις τε καὶ καθαρμοὶ ἀδικημάτων διὰ θυσιῶν καὶ παιδιᾶς ἡδονῶν εἰσὶ μὲν ἔτι ζῶσιν, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ τελευτήσασιν, ἃς δὴ τελετὰς καλοῦσιν, αἳ τῶν ἐκεῖ κακῶν ἀπολύουσιν ἡμᾶς, μὴ θύσαντας δὲ δεινὰ περιμένει.

And they produce a host of books written by Musaeus and Orpheus, who were children of the Moon and the Muses—that is what they say—according to which they perform their ritual, and persuade not only individuals, but whole cities, that expiations and atonements for sin may be made by sacrifices and amusements which fill a vacant hour, and are equally at the service of the living and the dead; the latter sort they call mysteries, and they redeem us from the pains of hell, but if we neglect them no one knows what awaits us.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Republic · 364 E

    Citation in the source record

    — — 364 E

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Republic 364e–365a

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 5a

Available translations: English

5ᵃ. — Legg. II 669 D ποιηταὶ δ’ ἀνθρώπινοι σφόδρα τὰ τοιαῦτα [unpassende Töne] ἐμπλέκοντες καὶ συγκυκῶντες ἀλόγως γέλωτ’ ἂν παρασκευάζοιεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅσους φησὶν Ὀρφεὺς λαχεῖν ὥραν τῆς τέρψιος.

But human poets are fond of introducing this sort of inconsistent mixture, and so make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of those who, as Orpheus says, 'are ripe for true pleasure.'

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Laws · II 669 D

    Citation in the source record

    — Legg. II 669 D

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — — 364 E
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Laws 669d

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 6

Available translations: English

ὁ μὲν δὴ θεός, ὥσπερ καὶ ὁ παλαιὸς λόγος, ἀρχήν τε καὶ τελευτὴν καὶ μέσα τῶν ὄντων ἁπάντων ἔχων, εὐθείᾳ περαίνει κατὰ φύσιν περιπορευόμενος· τῷ δὲ ἀεὶ συνέπεται δίκη τῶν ἀπολειπομένων τοῦ θείου νόμου τιμωρός, ἧς ὁ μὲν εὐδαιμονήσειν μέλλων ἐχόμενος συνέπεται ταπεινὸς καὶ κεκοσμημένος, ὁ δέ τις ἐξαρθεὶς ὑπὸ μεγαλαυχίας, ἢ χρήμασιν ἐπαιρόμενος ἢ τιμαῖς, ἢ καὶ σώματος εὐμορφίᾳ ἅμα νεότητι καὶ ἀνοίᾳ φλέγεται τὴν ψυχὴν μεθʼ ὕβρεως, ὡς οὔτε ἄρχοντος οὔτε τινὸς ἡγεμόνος δεόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄλλοις ἱκανὸς ὢν ἡγεῖσθαι, καταλείπεται ἔρημος θεοῦ, καταλειφθεὶς δὲ καὶ ἔτι ἄλλους τοιούτους προσλαβὼν σκιρτᾷ ταράττων πάντα ἅμα, καὶ πολλοῖς τισιν ἔδοξεν εἶναί τις, μετὰ δὲ χρόνον οὐ πολὺν ὑποσχὼν τιμωρίαν οὐ μεμπτὴν τῇ δίκῃ ἑαυτόν τε καὶ οἶκον καὶ πόλιν ἄρδην ἀνάστατον ἐποίησεν.

God, as the old tradition declares, holding in his hand the beginning, middle, and end of all that is, travels according to His nature in a straight line towards the accomplishment of His end. Justice always accompanies Him, and is the punisher of those who fall short of the divine law. To justice, he who would be happy holds fast, and follows in her company with all humility and order; but he who is lifted up with pride, or elated by wealth or rank, or beauty, who is young and foolish, and has a soul hot with insolence, and thinks that he has no need of any guide or ruler, but is able himself to be the guide of others, he, I say, is left deserted of God; and being thus deserted, he takes to him others who are like himself, and dances about, throwing all things into confusion, and many think that he is a great man, but in a short time he pays a penalty which justice cannot but approve, and is utterly destroyed, and his family and city with him.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Laws · 715e–716b

    Citation in the source record

    Plato, Laws 715e–716b

    Check the source record ↗

    Citation in the selected reading.

  • Plato

    Laws · IV 715 E

    Citation in the source record

    — — IV 715 E

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Plato, Laws 715e–716b, John Burnet, Platonis Opera V.1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1915), Perseus transcription.
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Jowett’s continuous Laws passage restores words abbreviated by DK’s ellipsis. The appended De mundo parallel is not reproduced with this reading

Published passage: Plato, Laws 715e–716b

Full carrier restores the guide-and-ruler clause omitted by the former Diels-style ellipsis but present in the unchanged Jowett translation. Removed reference label and corrected ἔχω ν spacing using Burnet text.

Additional source context is not reproduced here because its complete text has not been checked against the cited historical edition. The paired ancient text and historical translation are retained.

Plato, Laws 715e–716b, John Burnet, Platonis Opera V.1 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1915), Perseus transcription. View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Original edition: Perseus Digital Library / Tufts University; CC BY-SA 4.0 · Licence terms ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 6a

Available translations: English

6ᵃ. — — VIII 829 D E μηδέ τινα τολμᾶν ἄιδειν ἀδόκιμον μοῦσαν μὴ κρινάντων τῶν νομοφυλάκων, μηδ’ ἂν ἡδίων ἦι τῶν Θαμύρου τε καὶ Ὀρφείων ὕμνων.

Nor shall any one dare to sing a song which has not been approved by the judgment of the guardians of the laws, not even if his strain be sweeter than the songs of Thamyras and Orpheus;

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Laws · VIII 829 D E

    Citation in the source record

    — — VIII 829 D E

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    • — — IV 715 E
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Laws 829d–e

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 7

Available translations: English

7. — Symp. 218 B πάντες γὰρ κεκοινωνήκατε τῆς φιλοσόφου [Sokrates] μανίας τε καὶ βακχείας· διὸ πάντες ἀκούσεσθε . . . οἱ δὲ οἰκέται, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος ἐστὶν βέβηλός τε καὶ ἄγροικος, πύλας πάνυ μεγάλας τοῖς ὠσὶν ἐπίθεσθε.

all of you, and I need not say Socrates himself, have had experience of the same madness and passion in your longing after wisdom. Therefore listen and excuse my doings then and my sayings now. But let the attendants and other profane and unmannered persons close up the doors of their ears.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Symposium, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Symposium · 218 B

    Citation in the source record

    — Symp. 218 B

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    • — — VIII 829 D E
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Jowett’s continuous passage restores words abbreviated by DK’s ellipsis. The Justin parallel remains in the source dossier

Published passage: Plato, Symposium 218b

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Symposium, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Additional original-language witness

— Symp. 218 B πάντες γὰρ κεκοινωνήκατε τῆς φιλοσόφου [Sokrates] μανίας τε καὶ βακχείας· διὸ πάντες ἀκούσεσθε . . . οἱ δὲ οἰκέται, καὶ εἴ τις ἄλλος ἐστὶν βέβηλός τε καὶ ἄγροικος, πύλας πάνυ μεγάλας τοῖς ὠσὶν ἐπίθεσθε. Vgl. IUST. coh. 15 [Orph. fr. 4, 1] φθέγξομαι οἷς θέμις ἐστί· θύρας δ’ ἐπίθεσθε βέβηλοι.

Witness source ↗
Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 8

Available translations: English

8. — Tim. p. 40 D περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων δαιμόνων εἰπεῖν καὶ γνῶναι τὴν γένεσιν μεῖζον ἢ καθ’ ἡμᾶς, πειστέον δὲ τοῖς εἰρηκόσιν ἔμπροσθεν, ἐκγόνοις μὲν θεῶν οὖσιν, ὡς ἔφασαν, σαφῶς δέ που τούς γε αὑτῶν προγόνους εἰδόσιν . . . οὕτως οὖν κατ’ ἐκείνους ἡμῖν ἡ γένεσις περὶ τούτων τῶν θεῶν ἐχέτω καὶ λεγέσθω· Γῆς τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ παῖδες Ὠκεανός τε καὶ Τηθὺς ἐγενέσθην, τούτων δὲ Φόρκυς Κρόνος τε καὶ Ῥέα καὶ ὅσοι μετὰ τούτων, ἐκ δὲ Κρόνου καὶ Ῥέας Ζεὺς Ἥρα τε καὶ πάντες ὅσους ἴσμεν ἀδελφοὺς λεγομένους αὐτῶν, ἔτι τε τούτων ἄλλους ἐκγόνους.

To know or tell the origin of the other divinities is beyond us, and we must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods—that is what they say—and they must surely have known their own ancestors. […] In this manner, then, according to them, the genealogy of these gods is to be received and set forth.

Oceanus and Tethys were the children of Earth and Heaven, and from these sprang Phorcys and Cronos and Rhea, and all that generation; and from Cronos and Rhea sprang Zeus and Here, and all those who are said to be their brethren, and others who were the children of these.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Timaeus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Timaeus · p. 40 D

    Citation in the source record

    — Tim. p. 40 D

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    • — Symp. 218 B
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The bracketed ellipsis corresponds to DK’s omission

Published passage: Plato, Timaeus 40d–41a

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Timaeus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 9

Available translations: English

καίτοι εἰ ὡς λέγουσιν οἱ θεολόγοι οἱ ἐκ Νυκτὸς γεννῶντες ἢ ὡς οἱ φυσικοὶ ἧν ὁμοῦ πάντα χρήματα φασί, τὸ αὐτὸ ἀδύνατον. οἱ δὲ ποιηταὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ταύτηι ὁμοίως, ἧι βασιλεύειν καὶ ἄρχειν φασὶν οὐ τοὺς πρώτους οἷον Νύκτα καὶ Οὐρανὸν ἢ Χάος ἢ Ὠκεανόν, ἀλλὰ τὸν Δία.

If the case, however, stands as the Theologians affirm—I mean, those who are for generating all things from Night—or as the Natural Philosophers, who say that all things subsisted simultaneously, the same impossibility will ensue.

But the poets—those of the early ages—acted in a way similar to this, so far as they assert the dominion and the rule not of these first principles, such as Night, and Heaven, or Chaos, or even Oceanus, but of Jupiter.

John Henry M’Mahon · The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published English checked visually against printed pp.327 and405. The scan is the1896 reprint, not the first1857 impression; edition attribution records both

Modern Aristotle book numbering follows the source passage; M’Mahon labels modern XII as XI and modern XIV as XIII

Both separate sentences cited by DK are included, separated by a paragraph break

Published passage: Metaphysics XII.6, 1071b26; XIV.4, 1091b4

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: John Henry M’Mahon · The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896 Published translation ↗

Related passages: DK 59 B 1

Source pages: 1 · 2

Additional original-language witness

ARIST. Metaph. Λ 6. 1071ᵇ 26 καίτοι εἰ ὡς λέγουσιν οἱ θεολόγοι οἱ ἐκ Νυκτὸς γεννῶντες ἢ ὡς οἱ φυσικοὶ ἧν ὁμοῦ πάντα χρήματα [46 B 1] φασί, τὸ αὐτὸ ἀδύνατον. N 4. 1091ᵇ 4 οἱ δὲ ποιηταὶ οἱ ἀρχαῖοι ταύτηι ὁμοίως, ἧι βασιλεύειν καὶ ἄρχειν φασὶν οὐ τοὺς πρώτους οἷον Νύκτα καὶ Οὐρανὸν ἢ Χάος ἢ Ὠκεανόν, ἀλλὰ τὸν Δία.

Witness source ↗

English translation: Public domain: English translation first published 1857; checked 1896 reprint; translator died 1900. · Licence terms ↗

Available translations & credits

  • English · John Henry M’Mahon. The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Source pages: 1 · 2

    Translation: Public domain: English translation first published 1857; checked 1896 reprint; translator died 1900. · Licence terms ↗

DK 1 B 10

Available translations: English

εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἳ καὶ τοὺς παμπαλαίους καὶ πολὺ πρὸ τῆς νῦν γενέσεως καὶ πρώτους θεολογήσαντας οὕτως οἴονται περὶ τῆς φύσεως ὑπολαβεῖν· Ὠκεανόν τε γὰρ καὶ Τηθὺν ἐποίησαν τῆς γενέσεως πατέρας καὶ τὸν ὅρκον τῶν θεῶν ὕδωρ τὴν καλουμένην ὑπ’ αὐτῶν Στύγα τῶν ποιητῶν· τιμιώτατον μὲν γὰρ τὸ πρεσβύτατον· ὅρκος δὲ τὸ τιμιώτατόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀρχαία τις αὕτη καὶ παλαιὰ τετύχηκεν οὖσα περὶ τῆς φύσεως ἡ δόξα, τάχ’ ἂν ἄδηλον εἴη .

But there are some who suppose those who lived in the most ancient times, and far previous to the present generation, and who first formed schemes of theology, to have also entertained opinions after this manner concerning Nature; for these philosophers constituted both Oceanus and Tethys as the parents of generation, and water as the object of adjuration amongst the gods,—called Styx by the poets themselves; for most entitled to respect is that which is most ancient,—now an object of adjuration is a thing most entitled to respect. Whether, therefore, there is this certain early and ancient opinion concerning Nature, in all likelihood would be an obscure point to decide.

John Henry M’Mahon · The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896
How this fragment survives
  • Aristotle

    Metaphysics · A 3. 983ᵇ 27

    Citation in the source record

    — — A 3. 983ᵇ 27

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ARIST. Metaph. Λ 6. 1071ᵇ 26
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The English was checked against p. 14 of the 1896 reprint of M’Mahon’s translation, first published in 1857.

Diels’s inserted German gloss wie Thales is editorial context, not part of Aristotle’s sentence. It is omitted from the paired Greek but retained in the source dossier.

Published passage: Metaphysics I.3, 983b27–984a2

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: John Henry M’Mahon · The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896 Published translation ↗

Related passages: DK 1 B 2

Source pages: 1

Additional original-language witness

— — A 3. 983ᵇ 27 εἰσὶ δέ τινες οἳ καὶ τοὺς παμπαλαίους καὶ πολὺ πρὸ τῆς νῦν γενέσεως καὶ πρώτους θεολογήσαντας οὕτως [wie Thales] οἴονται περὶ τῆς φύσεως ὑπολαβεῖν· Ὠκεανόν τε γὰρ καὶ Τηθὺν ἐποίησαν τῆς γενέσεως πατέρας [66 B 2] καὶ τὸν ὅρκον τῶν θεῶν ὕδωρ τὴν καλουμένην ὑπ’ αὐτῶν Στύγα τῶν ποιητῶν· τιμιώτατον μὲν γὰρ τὸ πρεσβύτατον· ὅρκος δὲ τὸ τιμιώτατόν ἐστιν. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἀρχαία τις αὕτη καὶ παλαιὰ τετύχηκεν οὖσα περὶ τῆς φύσεως ἡ δόξα, τάχ’ ἂν ἄδηλον εἴη [s. n. 11] .

Witness source ↗

English translation: Public domain: English translation first published 1857; checked 1896 reprint; translator died 1900. · Licence terms ↗

Available translations & credits

  • English · John Henry M’Mahon. The Metaphysics of Aristotle, translated by John H. M’Mahon (1857), George Bell and Sons reprint, 1896. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Source pages: 1

    Translation: Public domain: English translation first published 1857; checked 1896 reprint; translator died 1900. · Licence terms ↗

DK 1 B 10a

Available translations: English

ἢ γάρ τοι ἅμα πάντα γίγνεται τὰ μόρια, οἷον καρδία πλεύμων ἧπαρ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον, ἢ ἐφεξῆς ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς καλουμένοις Ὀρφέως ἔπεσιν· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ὁμοίως φησὶ γίγνεσθαι τὸ ζῶιον τῆι τοῦ δικτύου πλοκῆι .

Either all the parts, as heart, lung, liver, eye, and all the rest, come into being together or in succession, as is said in the verse ascribed to Orpheus, for there he says that an animal comes into being in the same way as the knitting of a net.

Arthur Platt · Aristotle, De Generatione Animalium, Oxford translation (1910)
How this fragment survives
  • Aristotle

    Generation of Animals · B 1. 734ᵃ 16

    Citation in the source record

    — de gen. anim. B 1. 734ᵃ 16

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ARIST. Metaph. Λ 6. 1071ᵇ 26
    • — — A 3. 983ᵇ 27
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Generation of Animals II.1, 734a16–20

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Arthur Platt · Aristotle, De Generatione Animalium, Oxford translation (1910) Published translation ↗

Additional original-language witness

— de gen. anim. B 1. 734ᵃ 16 ἢ γάρ τοι ἅμα πάντα γίγνεται τὰ μόρια, οἷον καρδία πλεύμων ἧπαρ ὀφθαλμὸς καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἕκαστον, ἢ ἐφεξῆς ὥσπερ ἐν τοῖς καλουμένοις Ὀρφέως ἔπεσιν· ἐκεῖ γὰρ ὁμοίως φησὶ γίγνεσθαι τὸ ζῶιον τῆι τοῦ δικτύου πλοκῆι [vgl. ob. II 164, 1. 10] .

Witness source ↗
Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 11

Available translations: English · French

τοῦτο δὲ πέπονθε καὶ ὁ ἐν τοῖς Ὀρφικοῖς ἔπεσι καλουμένοις λόγος· φησὶ γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὅλου εἰσιέναι ἀναπνεόντων, φερομένην ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων.

And this is just what happens in the account of the soul given us in the Orphic verses, as we call them. For there we are told that the soul enters from the universe into individuals as they breathe, and that it is carried by the air.

William Alexander Hammond · Aristotle’s Psychology (London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1902), De anima I.5, p. 37
How this fragment survives
  • Aristotle

    On the Soul · A 5. 410ᵇ 22

    Citation in the source record

    — de anima A 5. 410ᵇ 22

    Preceding citation(s)

    • ARIST. Metaph. Λ 6. 1071ᵇ 26
    • — de gen. anim. B 1. 734ᵃ 16
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The full Orphic report quoted by Aristotle is paired here. His preceding discussion and the separate Philoponus, Aelian and Tatian witnesses remain in the source dossier. Hammond’s “air” renders the Greek “winds”; his historical wording is retained. The two sentences were checked visually on the printed page

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: William Alexander Hammond · Aristotle’s Psychology (London: Swan Sonnenschein, 1902), De anima I.5, p. 37 Published translation ↗

Source pages: 1

Additional original-language witness

— de anima A 5. 410ᵇ 22 φαίνεται γὰρ τά τε φυτὰ ζῆν οὐ μετέχοντα φορᾶς οὐδ’ αἰσθήσεως καὶ τῶν ζώιων πολλὰ διάνοιαν οὐκ ἔχειν. εἰ δέ τις καὶ ταῦτα παραχωρήσειε καὶ θείη τὸν νοῦν μέρος τι τῆς ψυχῆς, ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τὸ αἰσθητικόν, οὐδ’ ἂν οὕτω λέγοιεν καθόλου περὶ πάσης ψυχῆς οὐδὲ περὶ ὅλης οὐδεμιᾶς. τοῦτο δὲ πέπονθε καὶ ὁ ἐν τοῖς Ὀρφικοῖς ἔπεσι καλουμένοις λόγος· φησὶ γὰρ τὴν ψυχὴν ἐκ τοῦ ὅλου εἰσιέναι ἀναπνεόντων, φερομένην ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνέμων. Dazu Philop. p. 186, 24 λεγομένοις εἶπεν, ἐπειδὴ μὴ δοκεῖ Ὀρφέως εἶναι τὰ ἔπη, ὡς καὶ αὐτὸς ἐν τοῖς Περὶ φιλοσοφίας λέγει [fr. 7 Rose] · αὐτοῦ μὲν γάρ εἰσι τὰ δόγματα, ταῦτα δέ φασιν Ὀνομάκριτον ἐν ἔπεσι κατατεῖναι. Vgl. I 35, 7. AELIAN. V. H. VIII 6 τῶν ἀρχαίων φασὶ Θραικῶν μηδένα ἐπίστασθαι γράμματα . . . ἔνθεν τοι καὶ τολμῶσι λέγειν μηδὲ τὸν Ὀρφέα σοφὸν γεγονέναι Θρᾶικα ὄντα, ἀλλ’ ἄλλως τοὺς μύθους αὐτοῦ κατεψεῦσθαι· ταῦτα Ἀνδροτίων λέγει [fr. 36 FHG I 375] . TATIAN 41 p. 42, 4 Ὀρφεὺς δὲ κατὰ τὸν αὐτὸν χρόνον Ἡρακλεῖ γέγονεν, ἄλλως τε καὶ τὰ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐπιφερόμενά φασιν ὑπὸ Ὀνομακρίτου τοῦ Ἀθηναίου συντετάχθαι γενομένου κατὰ τὴν Πεισιστρατιδῶν ἀρχὴν περὶ τὴν πεντηκοστὴν ὀλυμπιάδα [580-577] . τοῦ δὲ Ὀρφέως Μουσαῖος μαθητής.

Witness source ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 12

Available translations: English · French

ἡ δὲ παρὰ τῶι Περιπατητικῶι Εὐδήμωι ἀναγεγραμμένη ὡς τοῦ Ὀρφέως οὖσα Θεολογία πᾶν τὸ νοητὸν ἐσιώπησεν … ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Νυκτὸς ἐποιήσατο τὴν ἀρχήν, ἀφ’ ἧς καὶ Ὅμηρος, εἰ καὶ μὴ συνεχῇ πεποίηται τὴν γενεαλογίαν, ἵστησιν· οὐ γὰρ ἀποδεκτέον Εὐδήμου λέγοντος ὅτι ἀπὸ Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Τηθύος ἄρχεται· φαίνεται γὰρ εἰδὼς καὶ τὴν Νύκτα μεγίστην οὕτω θεόν, ὡς καὶ τὸν Δία σέβεσθαι αὐτήν· ἅζετο γὰρ μὴ Νυκτὶ θοῆι ἀποθύμια ῥέζοι. ἀλλ’ Ὅμηρος μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς ἀρχέσθω ἀπὸ Νυκτός. Ἡσίοδος δέ μοι δοκεῖ πρῶτον γενέσθαι τὸ Χάος ἱστορῶν τὴν ἀκατάληπτον τοῦ νοητοῦ καὶ ἡνωμένην παντελῶς φύσιν κεκληκέναι Χάος, τὴν δὲ Γῆν πρώτην ἐκεῖθεν παράγειν ὥς τινα ἀρχὴν τῆς ὅλης γενεᾶς τῶν θεῶν. εἰ μὴ ἄρα Χάος μὲν τὴν δευτέραν τῶν δυεῖν ἀρχῶν Γῆν δὲ καὶ Τάρταρον καὶ Ἔρωτα τὸ τριπλοῦν νοητόν, τὸν μὲν Ἔρωτα ἀντὶ τοῦ τρίτου, ὡς κατὰ ἐπιστροφὴν θεωρουμένην. τοῦτο γὰρ οὕτως ὀνομάζει καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ἐν ταῖς Ῥαψωιδίαις …

But the cosmogony which is delivered by the Peripatetic Eudemus as being the theology of Orpheus, passes the whole Intelligible order in silence, … He commences from Night, which Homer also constitutes his first principle, if we would render his genealogy consistent. Therefore we must not put confidence in the assertion of Eudemus, that Homer makes it commence from Oceanus and Tethys; for it is manifest that he regards Night as the greatest divinity, which is implied in the following line, where he says that she is reverenced by Jove himself—

He feared lest he should excite the displeasure of swift Night.

Homer, therefore, must be supposed to commence from Night.

But Hesiod, when he affirms that Chaos was the first produced, appears to me to regard Chaos as the incomprehensible and perfectly united nature of the Intelligible. From thence he deduces Earth as the first principle of all the generation of the gods, unless, perhaps, he may regard Chaos as the second subsistence of the two principles: in which case Earth and Tartarus, and Eros (Love), compose the three-fold Intelligible, Eros being put for the third subsistence, considered according to its convertive nature. Orpheus also in his rhapsodies has adopted a very similar disposition, …

Isaac Preston Cory · Ancient Fragments of the Phoenician, Chaldaean, Egyptian, Tyrian, Carthaginian, Indian, Persian, and Other Writers, second edition (London: William Pickering, 1832), pp. 314–316; Damascius, De principiis
How this fragment survives
  • Damascius

    Problems and Solutions Concerning First Principles · 124

    Citation in the source record

    DAMASC. d. princ. 124

    Check the source record ↗

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Complete main Damascius excerpt on the Eudemian Orphic theogony, including the comparison with Homer and Hesiod. The opening ellipsis corresponds to the dossier’s omission; the closing ellipsis ends at the same point. The bracketed Rhapsodies parallel and the Achilles Tatius passage remain in the full source dossier. Cory’s historical interpretation “if we would render his genealogy consistent” is retained. The Greek Homer line inserted by Diels as a bibliographical parallel is excluded because it is not part of Cory’s translated Damascius passage

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Isaac Preston Cory · Ancient Fragments of the Phoenician, Chaldaean, Egyptian, Tyrian, Carthaginian, Indian, Persian, and Other Writers, second edition (London: William Pickering, 1832), pp. 314–316; Damascius, De principiis Published translation ↗

Source pages: 1

Additional original-language witness

DAMASC. d. princ. 124 [I 319, 8 Ruelle] ἡ δὲ παρὰ τῶι Περιπατητικῶι Εὐδήμωι [fr, 117 Speng.] ἀναγεγραμμένη ὡς τοῦ Ὀρφέως οὖσα Θεολογία πᾶν τὸ νοητὸν ἐσιώπησεν . . . ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς Νυκτὸς ἐποιήσατο τὴν ἀρχήν, ἀφ’ ἧς καὶ Ὅμηρος, εἰ καὶ μὴ συνεχῇ πεποίηται τὴν γενεαλογίαν, ἵστησιν· οὐ γὰρ ἀποδεκτέον Εὐδήμου λέγοντος ὅτι ἀπὸ Ὠκεανοῦ καὶ Τηθύος ἄρχεται [Homer Ξ 302 Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν]· φαίνεται γὰρ εἰδὼς καὶ τὴν Νύκτα μεγίστην οὕτω θεόν, ὡς καὶ τὸν Δία σέβεσθαι αὐτήν· ἅζετο γὰρ μὴ Νυκτὶ θοῆι ἀποθύμια ῥέζοι [Ξ 261] . ἀλλ’ Ὅμηρος μὲν καὶ αὐτὸς ἀρχέσθω ἀπὸ Νυκτός. Ἡσίοδος δέ μοι δοκεῖ πρῶτον γενέσθαι τὸ Χάος ἱστορῶν τὴν ἀκατάληπτον τοῦ νοητοῦ καὶ ἡνωμένην παντελῶς φύσιν κεκληκέναι Χάος, τὴν δὲ Γῆν πρώτην ἐκεῖθεν παράγειν ὥς τινα ἀρχὴν τῆς ὅλης γενεᾶς τῶν θεῶν. εἰ μὴ ἄρα Χάος μὲν τὴν δευτέραν τῶν δυεῖν ἀρχῶν Γῆν δὲ καὶ Τάρταρον καὶ Ἔρωτα τὸ τριπλοῦν νοητόν, τὸν μὲν Ἔρωτα ἀντὶ τοῦ τρίτου, ὡς κατὰ ἐπιστροφὴν θεωρουμένην. τοῦτο γὰρ οὕτως ὀνομάζει καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ἐν ταῖς Ῥαψωιδίαις . . . [Vgl. 123 (316, 18 R.) ἐν μὲν τοίνυν ταῖς φερομέναις ταύταις Ῥαψωιδίαις Ὀρφικαῖς ἡ θεολογία ἥδε τίς ἐστιν ἡ περὶ τὸ νοητόν, ἣν καὶ οἱ φιλόσοφοι διερμηνεύουσιν, ἀντὶ μὲν τῆς μιᾶς τῶν ὅλων ἀρχῆς τὸν Χρόνον τιθέντες, ἀντὶ δὲ τοῖν δυεῖν Αἰθέρα καὶ Χάος, ἀντὶ δὲ τοὺ ὄντος ἁπλῶς τὸ ὠιὸν ἀπολογιζόμενοι, καὶ τριάδα ταύτην πρώτην ποιοῦντες· εἰς δὲ τὴν δευτέραν τελεῖν ἤτοι τὸ κυούμενον καὶ τὸ κύον ὠιὸν τὸν θεὸν ἢ τὸν ἀργῆτα χιτῶνα ἢ τὴν νεφέλην, ὅτι ἐκ τούτων ἐκθρώσκει ὁ Φάνης· ἄλλοτε γὰρ ἄλλα περὶ τοῦ μέσου φιλοσοφοῦσιν . . . τὴν δὲ τρίτην τὸν Μῆτιν ὡς νοῦν, τὸν Ἠρικεπαῖον ὡς δύναμιν, τὸν Φάνητα αὐτὸν ὡς πατέρα . . . τοιαύτη μὲν ἡ συνήθης Ὀρφικὴ θεολογία. ACHILL. isag. 4 p. 33, 17 Maass. τὴν δὲ τάξιν, ἣν δεδώκαμεν τῶι σφαιρώματι, οἱ Ὀρφικοὶ λέγουσι παραπλησίαν εἶναι τῆι ἐν τοῖς ὠιοῖς· ὃν γὰρ ἔχει λόγον τὸ λέπυρον ἐν τῶι ὠιῶι, τοῦτον ἐν τῶι παντὶ ὁ οὐρανός, καὶ ὡς ἐξήρτηται τοῦ οὐρανοῦ κυκλοτερῶς ὁ αἰθήρ, οὕτως τοῦ λεπύρου ὁ ὑμήν.]

Witness source ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits

  • English · Isaac Preston Cory. Ancient Fragments of the Phoenician, Chaldaean, Egyptian, Tyrian, Carthaginian, Indian, Persian, and Other Writers, second edition (London: William Pickering, 1832), pp. 314–316; Damascius, De principiis. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Source pages: 1

    Translation: Public domain

  • French · Anthelme-Édouard Chaignet. Damascius, Problèmes et solutions touchant les premiers principes, tome II (1898), §124, p.125. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public domain

DK 1 B 13

Available translations: French

ἡ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Ἱερώνυμον φερομένη καὶ Ἑλλάνικον, εἴπερ μὴ καὶ ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν, οὕτως ἔχει· ‛ὕδωρ ἦν, φησίν, ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ὕλη, ἐξ ἧς ἐπάγη ἡ γῆ δύο ταύτας ἀρχὰς ὑποτιθέμενος πρῶτον, ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν … τὴν δὲ τρίτην ἀρχὴν μετὰ τὰς δύο γεννηθῆναι μὲν ἐκ τούτων, ὕδατός φημι καὶ γῆς, δράκοντα δὲ εἶναι κεφαλὰς ἔχοντα προσπεφυκυίας ταύρου καὶ λέοντος, ἐν μέσωι δὲ θεοῦ πρόσωπον, ἔχειν δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων πτερά, ὠνομάσθαι δὲ Χρόνον ἀγήραον καὶ Ἡρακλῆα τὸν αὐτόν. συνεῖναι δὲ αὐτῶ τὴν Ἀνάγκην φύσιν οὖσαν τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ Ἀδράστειαν ἀσώματον διωργυιωμένην ἐν παντὶ τῶι κόσμωι τῶν περάτων αὐτοῦ ἐφαπτομένην. ταύτην οἶμαι λέγεσθαι τὴν τρίτην ἀρχὴν κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἑστῶσαν, πλὴν ὅτι ἀρσενόθηλυν αὐτὴν ὑπεστήσατο πρὸς ἔνδειξιν τῆς πάντων γεννητικῆς αἰτίας

Mais la théologie qu’on rapporte à Hiéronymus et à Hellanicus, — si ces deux auteurs n’en font pas un seul, — s’explique ainsi : « L’eau, dit-il, existait au commencement, ainsi que la matière de laquelle a été tirée la terre solide. » Il suppose donc d’abord deux principes : l’eau et la terre […] Quant au troisième principe, engendré après les deux autres et engendré d’eux, je parle de l’eau et de la terre, c’est, dit-il, un dragon ayant les têtes d’un taureau et d’un lion accouplées ensemble ; — au milieu du corps, le visage d’un dieu, pourvu d’ailes aux épaules. Il s’appelle Chronos qui ne vieillit pas et aussi Héraclès : il a pour compagne Anankè, qui est la même nature qu’Adrastée, nature incorporelle qui se répand dans tout le monde et touche à ses deux limites extrêmes. Je pense qu’il veut dire par là le troisième principe existant selon la substance, sauf qu’il l’a fait mâle et femelle pour le faire concevoir comme la cause génératrice de tout

French · Anthelme-Édouard Chaignet · Damascius, Problèmes et solutions touchant les premiers principes, tome II (1898), §123 bis, p.123
How this fragment survives
  • Damascius

    123 bis

    Citation in the source record

    DAMASC. 123 bis

    Check the source record ↗

    The source author is explicit; the work’s abbreviation has not yet been expanded.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The witness includes quotation context. References within the original source text retain Diels’s 1922 numbering unless otherwise identified

The retained full witness contains two separate late accounts and their interpretation of divine names. In that fuller text, “Pan” also evokes the Greek word for “all.” Its final lines connect “Titans” with taking vengeance, an ancient wordplay rather than a modern etymology

Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek View original source ↗

Additional original-language witness

DAMASC. 123 bis [I 317, 15 R.] ἡ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Ἱερώνυμον φερομένη καὶ Ἑλλάνικον, εἴπερ μὴ καὶ ὁ αὐτός ἐστιν, οὕτως ἔχει· ‛ὕδωρ ἦν, φησίν, ἐξ ἀρχῆς καὶ ὕλη, ἐξ ἧς ἐπάγη ἡ γῆ δύο ταύτας ἀρχὰς ὑποτιθέμενος πρῶτον, ὕδωρ καὶ γῆν . . . τὴν δὲ τρίτην ἀρχὴν μετὰ τὰς δύο γεννηθῆναι μὲν ἐκ τούτων, ὕδατός φημι καὶ γῆς, δράκοντα δὲ εἶναι κεφαλὰς ἔχοντα προσπεφυκυίας ταύρου καὶ λέοντος, ἐν μέσωι δὲ θεοῦ πρόσωπον, ἔχειν δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων πτερά, ὠνομάσθαι δὲ Χρόνον ἀγήραον καὶ Ἡρακλῆα τὸν αὐτόν. συνεῖναι δὲ αὐτῶ τὴν Ἀνάγκην φύσιν οὖσαν τὴν αὐτὴν καὶ Ἀδράστειαν ἀσώματον διωργυιωμένην ἐν παντὶ τῶι κόσμωι τῶν περάτων αὐτοῦ ἐφαπτομένην. ταύτην οἶμαι λέγεσθαι τὴν τρίτην ἀρχὴν κατὰ τὴν οὐσίαν ἑστῶσαν, πλὴν ὅτι ἀρσενόθηλυν αὐτὴν ὑπεστήσατο πρὸς ἔνδειξιν τῆς πάντων γεννητικῆς αἰτίας . . . ὁ Χρόνος οὗτος ὁ δράκων γεννᾶται τριπλῆν γονήν· Αἰθέρα, φησί, νοτερὸν καὶ Χάος ἄπειρον καὶ τρίτον ἐπὶ τούτοις Ἕρεβος ὁμιχλῶδες . . . ἀλλὰ μὴν ἐν τούτοις ὁ Χρόνος ὠιὸν ἐγέννησεν . . . καὶ τρίτον ἐπὶ τούτοις θεὸν ἀσώματον πτέρυγας ἐπὶ τῶν ὤμων ἔχοντα χρυσᾶς, ὃς ἐν μὲν ταῖς λαγόσι προσπεφυκυίας εἶχε ταύρων κεφαλάς, ἐπὶ δὲ τῆς κεφαλῆς δράκοντα πελώριον παντοδαπαῖς μορφαῖς θηρίων ἰνδαλλόμενον . . . καὶ ἥδ’ ἡ θεολογία Πρωτόγονον ἀνυμνεῖ καὶ Δία καλεῖ πάντων διατάκτορα καὶ ὅλου τοῦ κόσμου· διὸ καὶ Πᾶνα καλεῖσθαι. ATHENAG. leg. 18 Ὀρφέως δὲ ὃς καὶ τὰ ὀνόματα αὐτῶν [der Götter] πρῶτος ἐξηῦρεν καὶ τὰς γενέσεις διεξῆλθεν καὶ ὅσα ἑκάστοις πέπρακται εἶπεν καὶ πεπίστευται παρ’ αὐτοῖς ἀληθέστερον θεολογεῖν, ὧι καὶ Ὅμηρος τὰ πολλὰ καὶ περὶ θεῶν μάλιστα ἕπεται, καὶ αὐτοῦ τὴν πρώτην γένεσιν αὐτῶν ἐξ ὕδατος συνιστάντος Ὠκεανός, ὅσπερ γένεσις πάντεσσι τέτυκται [Ξ 201] . ἦν γὰρ ὕδωρ ἀρχὴ κατ’ αὐτὸν τοῖς ὅλοις, ἀπὸ δὲ τοῦ ὕδατος ἰλὺς κατέστη, ἐκ δὲ ἑκατέρων ἐγεννήθη ζώιον δράκων προσπεφυκυῖαν ἔχων κεφαλὴν λέοντος 〈καὶ ἄλλην ταύρου〉, διὰ μέσου δὲ αὐτῶν θεοῦ πρόσωπον, ὄνομα Ηρακλῆς καὶ Χρόνος. οὗτος ὁ Ἡρακλῆς ἐγέννησεν ὑπερμέγεθες ὠιόν, ὃ συμπληρούμενον ὑπὸ βίας τοῦ γεγεννηκότος ἐκ παρατριβῆς εἰς δύο ἐρράγη. τὸ μὲν οὖν κατὰ κορυφὴν αὐτοῦ Οὐρανὸς εἶναι ἐτελέσθη, τὸ δὲ κάτω ἐνεχθὲν Γῇ· προῆλθε δὲ καὶ θεός τις δισώματος. Οὐρανὸς δὲ Γῆι μιχθεὶς γεννᾶι θηλείας μὲν Κλωθὼ Λάχεσιν Ἄτροπον, ἄνδρας δὲ Ἑκατόγχειρας Κόττον Γύγην Βριάρεων καὶ Κύκλωπας Βρόντην καὶ Στερόπην καὶ Ἄργην· οὓς καὶ δήσας κατεταρτάρωσεν, ἐκπεσεῖσθαι αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων τῆς ἀρχῆς μαθών. διὸ καὶ ὀργισθεῖσα ἡ Γῆ τοὺς Τιτᾶνας ἐγέννησεν· κούρους δ’ Οὐρανίωνας ἐγείνατο πότνια Γαῖα, οὓς δὴ καὶ Τιτῆνας ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσιν, οὕνεκα τεισάσθην μέγαν Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα.

Witness source ↗

French transcribed and visually checked against printed p.123. The explicit omission matches the DK omission after the two first principles. This excerpt ends at the generative cause; the remaining Damascius and Athenagoras witnesses are retained separately. The terminal comma in the continuing printed sentence has been omitted at the excerpt boundary

French · Anthelme-Édouard Chaignet · Damascius, Problèmes et solutions touchant les premiers principes, tome II (1898), §123 bis, p.123 Published translation ↗

Public domain

Available translations & credits

  • French · Anthelme-Édouard Chaignet. Damascius, Problèmes et solutions touchant les premiers principes, tome II (1898), §123 bis, p.123. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public domain

DK 1 B 14

Available translations: French · Italian

καὶ τὴν ἀπαραίτητον καὶ σεμνὴν Δίκην ἣν ὁ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας τελετὰς ἡμῖν καταδείξας Ὀρφεὺς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς θρόνον φησὶ καθημένην πάντα τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφορᾶν.

et la Justice elle-même, vénérable et inexorable, qu’Orphée, ce poète illustre, qui nous a enseigné les plus saints Mystères, nous représente assise près du trône de Jupiter, pour observer toutes les actions des mortels.

French · Athanase Auger, revised by Joseph Planche · Œuvres complètes de Démosthène et d’Eschine, tome VII (1820), Première harangue contre Aristogiton, p. 370, §11
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The witness includes quotation context. References within the original source text retain Diels’s 1922 numbering unless otherwise identified

Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek View original source ↗

Additional original-language witness

[DEMOSTH.] c. Aristog. I 11 καὶ τὴν ἀπαραίτητον καὶ σεμνὴν Δίκην ἣν ὁ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας τελετὰς ἡμῖν καταδείξας Ὀρφεὺς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς θρόνον φησὶ καθημένην πάντα τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφορᾶν.

Witness source ↗

Exact French wording checked against the printed page, with only the footnote marker removed and line-end hyphenation joined. This is the same dependent clause excerpted by DK

French · Athanase Auger, revised by Joseph Planche · Œuvres complètes de Démosthène et d’Eschine, tome VII (1820), Première harangue contre Aristogiton, p. 370, §11 Published translation ↗

Public domain

Available translations & credits

  • French · Athanase Auger, revised by Joseph Planche. Œuvres complètes de Démosthène et d’Eschine, tome VII (1820), Première harangue contre Aristogiton, p. 370, §11. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public domain

  • Italian · Michele Losacco. Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 136. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

DK 1 B 15

Available translations: Italian

15. MARM. PAR. A 25 ep. 14 S. 7 Jacoby 〈ἀφ’ οὗ Ὀρφεὺς ὁ Οἰάγρου καὶ Καλλιόπης〉 υἱὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ποίησιν ἐξέθηκε, Κόρης τε ἁρπαγὴν καὶ Δήμητρος ζήτησιν καὶ τὸν αὐτου〈ργηθέντα αὐτῆι σπόρον, ὃν ἐδίδαξε τὸ πλῆ〉θος(?) τῶν ὑποδεξαμένων τὸν καρπόν.

〈Dacché Orfeo, di Eagro e di Calliope〉 figlio, espose la sua poesia: il ratto di Core e la ricerca da parte di Demeter e la semina compiuta di propria mano da costei, che la insegnò alla moltitudine di quelli che ne raccolsero il frutto.

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 142–143
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The witness includes quotation context. References within the original source text retain Diels’s 1922 numbering unless otherwise identified

The angle brackets reproduce editorial restorations in a damaged inscription. The identification of the final feminine subject in the verse is not made more explicit than the Greek

Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker (1922). Digital text: Open Greek and Latin, First1KGreek View original source ↗

Additional original-language witness

MARM. PAR. A 25 ep. 14 S. 7 Jacoby 〈ἀφ’ οὗ Ὀρφεὺς ὁ Οἰάγρου καὶ Καλλιόπης〉 υἱὸς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ποίησιν ἐξέθηκε, Κόρης τε ἁρπαγὴν καὶ Δήμητρος ζήτησιν καὶ τὸν αὐτου〈ργηθέντα αὐτῆι σπόρον, ὃν ἐδίδαξε τὸ πλῆ〉θος(?) τῶν ὑποδεξαμένων τὸν καρπόν. Vgl. Themist. or. 30 p. 422 Dind. ORPH. ARGON. 26 Δήμητρός τε πλάνην καὶ Φερσεφόνης μέγα πένθος, θεσμοφόρος θ’ ὡς ἦν.

Witness source ↗

The first restoration is marked by angle brackets in Losacco. His translation prints the later restored clauses without restoration marks; the matching Greek retains the critical signs and question mark. The separate Argonautica line in the dossier is not translated here

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 142–143 Published translation ↗

Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

Available translations & credits

  • Italian · Michele Losacco. Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 142–143. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

DK 1 B 15a

Available translations: Italian

ἄφρονες ἄνθρωποι δυστλήμονες [οὔτε κακοῖο αἶσαν ἐπ]ερ[χομένου πρ]ογνώμονες οὔτ’ ἀγαθοῖο.

εἰμὶ δὲ Δημήτηρ ὡρηφόρος ἀγλαόδωρος. τίς θεὸς οὐράνιος ἠὲ θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων ἥρπασε Φερσεφόνην καὶ [ἑὸν φίλον ἤπα]φε θυμόν;

O dissennati uomini dalle molte sofferenze, che né il male imminente per destino prevedete, né il bene.

Io sono Demeter, che reca la stagione matura, che dispensa bei frutti. Qual dio celeste, o chi dei mortali uomini ghermì Persefone e ingannò il suo amabile cuore?

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 144
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 4th edition (1922), Diels 1922, fragment 15a; historical running text, Open Greek and Latin / First 1KGreek transcription.
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Square brackets preserve restorations or missing text in the papyrus and explicitly mark the modern editor’s summaries. The unusual final question is translated as printed, without replacing it with a more familiar hymn wording

All existing modern-language translation text is preserved. The same quoted ancient passage remains paired.

The 1922 papyrus restoration αἶσαν replaces the later restoration ὔμμιν; it accords with Losacco’s per destino. The rest of the two verse excerpts follows the historical Diels text. Untranslated carrier context is omitted pending separate verification.

The existing human translation is unchanged.

Additional source context is not reproduced here because its complete text has not been checked against the cited historical edition. The paired ancient text and historical translation are retained.

Hermann Diels, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, 4th edition (1922), Diels 1922, fragment 15a; historical running text, Open Greek and Latin / First 1KGreek transcription. View original source ↗

Original edition: Open Greek and Latin / First1KGreek; CC BY-SA 4.0 · Licence terms ↗

These are the actual quoted verses in Losacco’s discussion, extracted verbatim from the surrounding narrative (terminal punctuation normalized). The full papyrus commentary in columns 1–4 and Losacco’s explanatory paraphrase are not passed off as translated verse. The Greek’s restoration brackets remain visible; Losacco prints the reconstructed words continuously

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 144 Published translation ↗

Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

Available translations & credits

  • Italian · Michele Losacco. Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 144. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

    Original edition: Open Greek and Latin / First1KGreek; CC BY-SA 4.0 · Licence terms ↗

DK 1 B 16

Available translations: English

ἀν δὲ καὶ Ὀρφεύς λαιῆι ἀνασχόμενος κίθαριν πείραζεν ἀοιδῆς. ἤειδεν δ’ ὡς γαῖα καὶ οὐρανὸς ἠδὲ θάλασσα τὸ πρὶν ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισι μιῆι συναρηρότα μορφῆι νείκεος ἐξ ὀλοοῖο διέκριθεν ἀμφὶς ἕκαστα· ἠδ’ ὡς ἔμπεδον αἰὲν ἐν αἰθέρι τέκμαρ ἔχουσιν ἄστρα σεληναίη τε καὶ ἠελίοιο κέλευθοι· οὔρεά θ’ ὡς ἀνέτειλε, καὶ ὡς ποταμοὶ κελάδοντες αὐτῆισιν νύμφηισι καὶ ἑρπετὰ πάντ’ ἐγένοντο. ἤειδεν δ’ ὡς πρῶτον Ὀφίων Εὐρυνόμη τε Ὠκεανὶς νιφόεντος ἔχον κράτος Οὐλύμποιο· ὥς τε βίηι καὶ χερσὶν ὁ μὲν Κρόνωι εἴκαθε τιμῆς, ἡ δὲ Ῥέηι, ἔπεσον δ’ ἐνὶ κύμασιν Ὠκεανοῖο· οἱ δὲ τέως μακάρεσσι θεοῖς Τιτῆσιν ἄνασσον, ὄφρα Ζεὺς ἔτι κοῦρος, ἔτι φρεσὶ νήπια εἰδώς Δικταῖον ναίεσκεν ὑπὸ σπέος, οἱ δέ μιν οὔπω γηγενέες Κύκλωπες ἐκαρτύναντο κεραυνῶι βροντῆι τε στεροπῆι τε· τὰ γὰρ Διὶ κῦδος ὀπάζει.

and Orpheus lifted his lyre in his left hand and made essay to sing.

He sang how the earth, the heaven and the sea, once mingled together in one form, after deadly strife were separated each from other; and how the stars and the moon and the paths of the sun ever keep their fixed place in the sky; and how the mountains rose, and how the resounding rivers with their nymphs came into being and all creeping things. And he sang how first of all Ophion and Eurynome, daughter of Ocean, held the sway of snowy Olympus, and how through strength of arm one yielded his prerogative to Cronos and the other to Rhea, and how they fell into the waves of Ocean; but the other two meanwhile ruled over the blessed Titan-gods, while Zeus, still a child and with the thoughts of a child, dwelt in the Dictaean cave; and the earthborn Cyclopes had not yet armed him with the bolt, with thunder and lightning; for these things give renown to Zeus.

R. C. Seaton · Apollonius Rhodius: The Argonautica, Loeb Classical Library (1912), I.494–511
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Complete Orpheus song and its introductory clause, ending at the glory given to Zeus. The preceding dispute and the following narrative are excluded. Printed Greek line numbers are metadata and are omitted from the facing text

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: R. C. Seaton · Apollonius Rhodius: The Argonautica, Loeb Classical Library (1912), I.494–511 Published translation ↗

Source pages: 1

Additional original-language witness

APOLLON. RHOD. I 494 ἀν δὲ καὶ Ὀρφεύς λαιῆι ἀνασχόμενος κίθαριν πείραζεν ἀοιδῆς. ἤειδεν δ’ ὡς γαῖα καὶ οὐρανὸς ἠδὲ θάλασσα τὸ πρὶν ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισι μιῆι συναρηρότα μορφῆι νείκεος ἐξ ὀλοοῖο διέκριθεν ἀμφὶς ἕκαστα· ἠδ’ ὡς ἔμπεδον αἰὲν ἐν αἰθέρι τέκμαρ ἔχουσιν ἄστρα σεληναίη τε καὶ ἠελίοιο κέλευθοι· οὔρεά θ’ ὡς ἀνέτειλε, καὶ ὡς ποταμοὶ κελάδοντες αὐτῆισιν νύμφηισι καὶ ἑρπετὰ πάντ’ ἐγένοντο. ἤειδεν δ’ ὡς πρῶτον Ὀφίων Εὐρυνόμη τε Ὠκεανὶς νιφόεντος ἔχον κράτος Οὐλύμποιο· ὥς τε βίηι καὶ χερσὶν ὁ μὲν Κρόνωι εἴκαθε τιμῆς, ἡ δὲ Ῥέηι, ἔπεσον δ’ ἐνὶ κύμασιν Ὠκεανοῖο· οἱ δὲ τέως μακάρεσσι θεοῖς Τιτῆσιν ἄνασσον, ὄφρα Ζεὺς ἔτι κοῦρος, ἔτι φρεσὶ νήπια εἰδώς Δικταῖον ναίεσκεν ὑπὸ σπέος, οἱ δέ μιν οὔπω γηγενέες Κύκλωπες ἐκαρτύναντο κεραυνῶι βροντῆι τε στεροπῆι τε· τὰ γὰρ Διὶ κῦδος ὀπάζει.

Witness source ↗

English translation: Public domain

Available translations & credits
DK 1 B 22

Available translations: English

22. CLEM. Strom. v 49 (II 360 St.) οὐχὶ καὶ Ἐπιγένης ἐν τῶι Περὶ τῆς Ὀρφέως ποιήσεως τὰ ἰδιάζοντα παρ’ Ὀρφεῖ ἐκτιθέμενός φησι κερκίσι καμπυλόχοισι τοῖς ἀρότροις μηνύεσθαι, στήμοσι δὲ τοῖς αὔλαξι, μίτον δὲ τὸ σπέρμα ἀλληγορεῖσθαι καὶ δάκρυα Διός τὸν ὄμβρον δηλοῦν Μοίρας τε αὖ τὰ μέρη τῆς Σελήνης, τριακάδα καὶ πεντεκαιδεκάτην καὶ νουμηνίαν· διὸ καὶ λευκοστόλους αὐτὰς καλεῖν τὸν Ὀρφέα φωτὸς οὔσας μέρη. πάλιν ἄνθιον μὲν τὸ ἔαρ διὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀργίδα δὲ τὴν νύκτα διὰ τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν καὶ Γοργόνιον τὴν σελήνην διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῆι πρόσωπον, Ἀφροδίτην τε τὸν καιρὸν καθ’ ὃν δεῖ σπείρειν, λέγεσθαι παρὰ τῶι θεολόγωι. Vgl. 45 C 1. 2.

does not Epigenes, in his book on the Poetry of Orpheus, in exhibiting the peculiarities found in Orpheus, say that by "the curved rods" (keraisi) is meant "ploughs;" and by the warp (stemosi), the furrows; and the woof (mitos) is a figurative expression for the seed; and that the tears of Zeus signify a shower; and that the "parts" (moirai) are, again, the phases of the moon, the thirtieth day, and the fifteenth, and the new moon, and that Orpheus accordingly calls them "white-robed," as being parts of the light? Again, that the Spring is called "flowery," from its nature; and Night "still," on account of rest; and the Moon "Gorgonian," on account of the face in it; and that the time in which it is necessary to sow is called Aphrodite by the "Theologian."

William Wilson · Clement of Alexandria, translated by William Wilson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. II (1885)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Clement, Stromata 5.8 (DK 5.49)

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: William Wilson · Clement of Alexandria, translated by William Wilson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. II (1885). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922 source passages

These overlapping source passages retain the numbering of the 1922 edition. Their numbers are not modern DK references.

Diels 1922, fragment 1

Available translations: English

1. PLAT. Phileb. 66 c (nach Aufzählung der fünf Güter) ἕκτηι δ’ ἐν γενεᾶι, φησὶν Ὀρφεύς, καταπαύσατε κόσμον ἀοιδῆς, ἀτὰρ κινδυνεύει καὶ ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐν ἕκτηι καταπεπαυμένος εἶναι κρίσει.

SOCRATES: And now, as Orpheus says,

'With the sixth generation cease the glory of my song.'

Here, at the sixth award, let us make an end;

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Philebus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The excerpt ends at the same clause as DK; the semicolon is retained from Jowett

Published passage: Plato, Philebus 66c

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Philebus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 2

Available translations: English

2. PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC ὥσπερ αὖ Ὅμηρος Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσίν φησιν καὶ μητέρα Τηθύν [Ξ 201]. οἶμαι δὲ καὶ Ἡσίοδος [Theog. 337]. λέγει δέ που καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ὅτι Ὠκεανὸς πρῶτος καλλίρροος ἦρξε γάμοιο, ὅς ῥα κασιγνήτην ὁμομήτορα Τηθὺν ὄπυιεν.

Compare the line in which Homer, and, as I believe, Hesiod also, tells of

“Ocean, the origin of Gods, and mother Tethys.”

And again, Orpheus says, that

“The fair river of Ocean was the first to marry, and he espoused his sister Tethys, who was his mother’s daughter.”

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Jowett’s parenthetical note about the extant works of Hesiod is omitted from the quotation and preserved here: “the line is not found in the extant works of Hesiod.”

Published passage: Plato, Cratylus 402b–c

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Cratylus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 4

Available translations: English

4. — Rep. II 363 C Μουσαῖος δὲ τούτων [Hesiod und Homer] νεανικώτερα τἀγαθὰ καὶ ὁ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ παρὰ θεῶν διδόασι τοῖς δικαίοις· εἰς Ἅιδου γὰρ ἀγαγόντες τῶι λόγωι καὶ κατακλίναντες καὶ συμπόσιον τῶν ὁσίων κατασκευάσαντες ἐστεφανωμένους ποιοῦσι τὸν ἅπαντα χρόνον ἤδη διάγειν μεθύοντας, ἡγησάμενοι κάλλιστον ἀρετῆς μισθὸν μέθην αἰώνιον. οἱ δ’ ἔτι τούτων μακροτέρους ἀποτίνουσιν μισθοὺς παρὰ θεῶν· παῖδας γὰρ παίδων φασὶ καὶ γένος κατόπισθεν λείπεσθαι τοῦ ὁσίου καὶ εὐόρκου. ταῦτα δὴ καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐγκωμιάζουσιν δικαιοσύνην· τοὺς δὲ ἀνοσίους αὖ καὶ ἀδίκους εἰς πηλόν τινα κατορύττουσιν ἐν Ἅιδου καὶ κοσκίνωι ὕδωρ ἀναγκάζουσι φέρειν ἔτι τε ζῶντας εἰς κακὰς δόξας ἄγοντες.

Still grander are the gifts of heaven which Musaeus and his son vouchsafe to the just; they take them down into the world below, where they have the saints lying on couches at a feast, everlastingly drunk, crowned with garlands; their idea seems to be that an immortality of drunkenness is the highest meed of virtue. Some extend their rewards yet further; the posterity, as they say, of the faithful and just shall survive to the third and fourth generation. This is the style in which they praise justice. But about the wicked there is another strain; they bury them in a slough in Hades, and make them carry water in a sieve; also while they are yet living they bring them to infamy

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Republic · II 363 C

    Citation in the source record

    — Rep. II 363 C

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — — 400 BC
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The excerpt stops at DK’s endpoint; no words from the following clause are added

Published passage: Plato, Republic 363c–d

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 5

Available translations: English

5. — — 364 E βίβλων δὲ ὅμαδον παρέχονται Μουσαίου καὶ Ὀρφέως Σελήνης τε καὶ Μουσῶν ἐκγόνων, ὥς φασι, καθ’ ἃς θυηπολοῦσι πείθοντες οὐ μόνον ἰδιώτας ἀλλὰ καὶ πόλεις, ὡς ἄρα λύσεις τε καὶ καθαρμοὶ ἀδικημάτων διὰ θυσιῶν καὶ παιδιᾶς ἡδονῶν εἰσὶ μὲν ἔτι ζῶσιν, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ τελευτήσασιν, ἃς δὴ τελετὰς καλοῦσιν, αἳ τῶν ἐκεῖ κακῶν ἀπολύουσιν ἡμᾶς, μὴ θύσαντας δὲ δεινὰ περιμένει.

And they produce a host of books written by Musaeus and Orpheus, who were children of the Moon and the Muses—that is what they say—according to which they perform their ritual, and persuade not only individuals, but whole cities, that expiations and atonements for sin may be made by sacrifices and amusements which fill a vacant hour, and are equally at the service of the living and the dead; the latter sort they call mysteries, and they redeem us from the pains of hell, but if we neglect them no one knows what awaits us.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Republic · 364 E

    Citation in the source record

    — — 364 E

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Republic 364e–365a

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Republic, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 5a

Available translations: English

5ᵃ. — Legg. II 669 D ποιηταὶ δ’ ἀνθρώπινοι σφόδρα τὰ τοιαῦτα [unpassende Töne] ἐμπλέκοντες καὶ συγκυκῶντες ἀλόγως γέλωτ’ ἂν παρασκευάζοιεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων ὅσους φησὶν Ὀρφεὺς λαχεῖν ὥραν τῆς τέρψιος.

But human poets are fond of introducing this sort of inconsistent mixture, and so make themselves ridiculous in the eyes of those who, as Orpheus says, 'are ripe for true pleasure.'

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Laws · II 669 D

    Citation in the source record

    — Legg. II 669 D

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — — 364 E
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Laws 669d

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 6a

Available translations: English

6ᵃ. — — VIII 829 D E μηδέ τινα τολμᾶν ἄιδειν ἀδόκιμον μοῦσαν μὴ κρινάντων τῶν νομοφυλάκων, μηδ’ ἂν ἡδίων ἦι τῶν Θαμύρου τε καὶ Ὀρφείων ὕμνων.

Nor shall any one dare to sing a song which has not been approved by the judgment of the guardians of the laws, not even if his strain be sweeter than the songs of Thamyras and Orpheus;

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Laws · VIII 829 D E

    Citation in the source record

    — — VIII 829 D E

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    • — — IV 715 E
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Plato, Laws 829d–e

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Laws, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 8

Available translations: English

8. — Tim. p. 40 D περὶ δὲ τῶν ἄλλων δαιμόνων εἰπεῖν καὶ γνῶναι τὴν γένεσιν μεῖζον ἢ καθ’ ἡμᾶς, πειστέον δὲ τοῖς εἰρηκόσιν ἔμπροσθεν, ἐκγόνοις μὲν θεῶν οὖσιν, ὡς ἔφασαν, σαφῶς δέ που τούς γε αὑτῶν προγόνους εἰδόσιν . . . οὕτως οὖν κατ’ ἐκείνους ἡμῖν ἡ γένεσις περὶ τούτων τῶν θεῶν ἐχέτω καὶ λεγέσθω· Γῆς τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ παῖδες Ὠκεανός τε καὶ Τηθὺς ἐγενέσθην, τούτων δὲ Φόρκυς Κρόνος τε καὶ Ῥέα καὶ ὅσοι μετὰ τούτων, ἐκ δὲ Κρόνου καὶ Ῥέας Ζεὺς Ἥρα τε καὶ πάντες ὅσους ἴσμεν ἀδελφοὺς λεγομένους αὐτῶν, ἔτι τε τούτων ἄλλους ἐκγόνους.

To know or tell the origin of the other divinities is beyond us, and we must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods—that is what they say—and they must surely have known their own ancestors. […] In this manner, then, according to them, the genealogy of these gods is to be received and set forth.

Oceanus and Tethys were the children of Earth and Heaven, and from these sprang Phorcys and Cronos and Rhea, and all that generation; and from Cronos and Rhea sprang Zeus and Here, and all those who are said to be their brethren, and others who were the children of these.

Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Timaeus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription)
How this fragment survives
  • Plato

    Timaeus · p. 40 D

    Citation in the source record

    — Tim. p. 40 D

    Preceding citation(s)

    • PLAT. Cratyl. 402 BC
    • — Rep. II 363 C
    • — Legg. II 669 D
    • — Symp. 218 B
    Check the source record ↗

    The source author or work is repeated by ditto marks in the historical edition. The location is retained as printed and may abbreviate the preceding citation.

    Citation in a linked historical source record.

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

The bracketed ellipsis corresponds to DK’s omission

Published passage: Plato, Timaeus 40d–41a

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: Benjamin Jowett · Plato, Timaeus, translated by Benjamin Jowett (nineteenth-century translation; Project Gutenberg transcription). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits
Diels 1922, fragment 14

Available translations: Italian

14. [DEMOSTH.] c. Aristog. I 11 καὶ τὴν ἀπαραίτητον καὶ σεμνὴν Δίκην ἣν ὁ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας τελετὰς ἡμῖν καταδείξας Ὀρφεὺς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς θρόνον φησὶ καθημένην πάντα τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφορᾶν.

E l’inesorabile e veneranda Dike, della quale Orfeo, che c’insegnò i primi sacri misteri, dice che siede presso il trono di Zeus, per invigilare tutte le azioni degli uomini.

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 136
How this fragment survives

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading.

A source citation has not yet been identified for this reading in the reviewed records. The linked edition remains available below.

Original-text edition
Original witness retained from the separately linked Greek source; quotation boundaries are recorded below.
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Original witness retained from the separately linked Greek source; quotation boundaries are recorded below. View original source ↗

Additional original-language witness

[DEMOSTH.] c. Aristog. I 11 καὶ τὴν ἀπαραίτητον καὶ σεμνὴν Δίκην ἣν ὁ τὰς ἁγιωτάτας τελετὰς ἡμῖν καταδείξας Ὀρφεὺς παρὰ τὸν τοῦ Διὸς θρόνον φησὶ καθημένην πάντα τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐφορᾶν.

Witness source ↗

The quotation identity and full extent match the cited ancient passage. Losacco’s selection numbers are not treated as modern DK numbers

Italian · Michele Losacco · Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 136 Published translation ↗

Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

Available translations & credits

  • Italian · Michele Losacco. Michele Losacco, Introduzione alla storia della filosofia greca. Appendice di testi tradotti (Bari: Gius. Laterza & Figli, 1929), p. 136. Default reading. Published translation ↗ Paired original ↗

    Translation: Public-domain historical translation in the United States and life-plus-70 jurisdictions: published 1929; Michele Losacco (1871–1944).

Diels 1922, fragment 22

Available translations: English

22. CLEM. Strom. v 49 (II 360 St.) οὐχὶ καὶ Ἐπιγένης ἐν τῶι Περὶ τῆς Ὀρφέως ποιήσεως τὰ ἰδιάζοντα παρ’ Ὀρφεῖ ἐκτιθέμενός φησι κερκίσι καμπυλόχοισι τοῖς ἀρότροις μηνύεσθαι, στήμοσι δὲ τοῖς αὔλαξι, μίτον δὲ τὸ σπέρμα ἀλληγορεῖσθαι καὶ δάκρυα Διός τὸν ὄμβρον δηλοῦν Μοίρας τε αὖ τὰ μέρη τῆς Σελήνης, τριακάδα καὶ πεντεκαιδεκάτην καὶ νουμηνίαν· διὸ καὶ λευκοστόλους αὐτὰς καλεῖν τὸν Ὀρφέα φωτὸς οὔσας μέρη. πάλιν ἄνθιον μὲν τὸ ἔαρ διὰ τὴν φύσιν, ἀργίδα δὲ τὴν νύκτα διὰ τὴν ἀνάπαυσιν καὶ Γοργόνιον τὴν σελήνην διὰ τὸ ἐν αὐτῆι πρόσωπον, Ἀφροδίτην τε τὸν καιρὸν καθ’ ὃν δεῖ σπείρειν, λέγεσθαι παρὰ τῶι θεολόγωι. Vgl. 45 C 1. 2.

does not Epigenes, in his book on the Poetry of Orpheus, in exhibiting the peculiarities found in Orpheus, say that by "the curved rods" (keraisi) is meant "ploughs;" and by the warp (stemosi), the furrows; and the woof (mitos) is a figurative expression for the seed; and that the tears of Zeus signify a shower; and that the "parts" (moirai) are, again, the phases of the moon, the thirtieth day, and the fifteenth, and the new moon, and that Orpheus accordingly calls them "white-robed," as being parts of the light? Again, that the Spring is called "flowery," from its nature; and Night "still," on account of rest; and the Moon "Gorgonian," on account of the face in it; and that the time in which it is necessary to sow is called Aphrodite by the "Theologian."

William Wilson · Clement of Alexandria, translated by William Wilson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. II (1885)
How this fragment survives

These are source citations recorded for this reading or its linked historical source unit. They do not describe the complete manuscript transmission. A supporting record may include a longer passage or a different editorial text.

Original-text edition
Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes
Open the historical edition ↗

Notes & source

Published passage: Clement, Stromata 5.8 (DK 5.49)

Original text from the linked source, with the quotation boundaries recorded in the notes View original source ↗

English: William Wilson · Clement of Alexandria, translated by William Wilson, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. II (1885). Published translation ↗

Available translations & credits

Search the collection

Search words or phrases in any included language. Greek accents are optional.

Find a saying from a paraphrase →

Greek headwords, grammar & recurring phrases →

About this edition

LIDDELL · SCOTT · JONES

Greek dictionary

LSJ (1940) · Perseus Digital Library · Sources & licences