EXCERPTS Y STOB^EUS. 109 



VII. 



OF HERMES FROM THOSE TO AMMON (Stobazus, Physica, 

 188 ; Meineke, i. 48 ; Patrit., 38). 



BUT all things are generated by Nature and by Fate, 

 and there is not a place destitute of Providence. But 

 Providence is the self-sufficient Eeason of The God above 

 in heaven. But two are the spontaneous (a) Powers of 

 this, Necessity and Fate. But the Fate subserves (6) to 

 Providence and Necessity, but to the Fate subserve the 

 Stars. For neither can any one fly from Fate, nor guard 

 himself from the force (c) of these ; for the constellations 

 are the armour of Fate; for according to this all things 

 -are consummate (d) in the Nature and with the Men." x 



VIII. 



OF HERMES FROM THE THINGS TO TAT. 

 (Stdbasus, Physica, 249, 250; Meineke, i. 64; Patrit., 38). 



So also to discover about the three Times ; for neither 

 are they by themselves (e), nor are they united (/), and 

 again they are united and are of themselves. For if thou 

 supposest the present (g) to be apart from the past, it is 

 impossible to be present if it do not also become past ; for 

 out of that departing becomes the present, and from the 

 present comes the future. But if one must examine 

 further, we will reason thus ; that the past time departs 

 that it should no longer be, but the future does not exist (h) 

 in that it is not yet present, but that neither is the present 



(a) ocyTo^yt/f. (6) v'TrypsTei. (c) 



(rf) otTroTfiAovov. (e) x,at^ secvrovg. (_/) 



(g) rov fvsvTfJTot. (Ji) vircipxetv. 



1 See Poemandres, i. 9, and iii. 3, and notes there. Plato's expla- 

 nation of the operation of the Fates, Lachesis, Clotho, and Atropos, 

 will be found in his " Politica." 



