EXCERPTS BY STOB^EUS. 101 



those upon earth, Tatius ! are not Truth, but imitations 

 of the Truth, and not all but these few, but others false- 

 hood and error, O Tatius ! and semblances of phantasy (a), 

 just like images standing together. But when from above 

 the phantasy has this influx, there Truth becomes imita- 

 tion of the Truth ; but apart from the energy from above, 

 there remains falsehood. Just as also the image shows 

 the body indeed in the drawing (Z>), but it is not body 

 according to the phantasy of the thing seen. And it looks 

 indeed having eyes, but it sees nothing, and hears nothing 

 at all. And the drawing has indeed all the other things, 

 but they are falsehoods, deceiving the eyes of the beholders, 

 of some indeed supposing to see truth. 1 If, then, we 

 thus understand and see each of these as they are, we 

 both understand and see a true thing ; but if beside the 

 Entity (c), we shall neither understand nor shall know 

 anything true. 



Is there, then, O Father ! Truth even in the earth ? 



And thou hast not blindly erred, O Tatius ! Truth is by 

 no means in the earth, nor can be ; but that some of the 

 men understand concerning Truth, to whom The God shall 

 have given the God-discerning (d) power. Thus I under- 

 stand and say, nothing is true on the earth ; all are ph&n- 

 tasies and semblances. I understand and speak true things. 



To understand and speak true things, then, ought we 

 not to caU this Truth? 



But, what? 



Ought one to understand and speak the Entities? Yet 

 there is nothing true upon the earth ? This is true, the not 



(a) So'ot/ (pavrsfcff/a;. (6) TV) 



(c) irotpoi TO 6'v. (d) 



1 Here is a manifest lacuna. Plato had written (Laws E, 7306;, 

 " Truth is esteemed by Gods as of all good things, by men of all things, 

 of which he about to be born may be immediately partaker, blessed 

 and fortunate from his beginning, so that he live through the most 

 time being true, for he is faithful; but he is faithless by whom false- 

 hood is willingly loveable, to whomsoever unwillingly he is mindless; 

 neither of which is enviable, for every one, both whoso is faithless 

 and foolish, is unloveable." 



