(and he says that on their behalf he will inflict punishment on the aggressors.)
Πολλῶν δὲ εἰρημένων τοιούτων παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, δι᾽ ὧν ἔνεστι μαθόντας ὅπως χρὴ τιμᾶν καὶ θεραπεύειν τοὺς ἱερέας, εἰρήσεταί μοι διὰ πλειόνων ἐν ἄλλοις· ἀπόχρη δὲ νῦν, ὅτι μὴ σχεδιάζω μηδέν, [B] ἐπιδεῖξαι τήν τε ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ πρόρρησιν καὶ τὸ ἐπίταγμα τῶν αὐτοῦ λόγων ἱκανὸν ἡγούμενος. εἴ τις οὖν ἀξιόπιστον ὑπείληφεν ἐμὲ διδάσκαλον τῶν τοιούτων, αἰδεσθεὺς τὸν [pg 320] θεὸν ἐκείνῳ πειθέσθω καὶ τοὺς ἱερέας τῶν θεῶν τιμάτω διαφερόντως· ὁποῖον δὲ αὐτὸν εἶναι χρή, πειράσομαι νῦν εἰπεῖν, οὐχ ἕνεκα σοῦ· τοῦτο μὲν γὰρ εἰ μὴ τό νῦν ἠπιστάμην, ἅμα μὲν τοῦ καθηγεμόνος, ἅμα δὲ τῶν μεγίστων θεῶν μαρτυρούντων, ὅτι τὴν λειτουργίαν [C] ταύτην διαθήσῃ καλῶς, ὅσα γε εἰς προαίρεσιν ἥκει τὴν σήν, οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐτόλμησά σοι μεταδοῦναι τοσούτου πράγματος· ἀλλ᾽ ὅπως ἔχῃς ἐντεῦθεν διδάσκειν τοὺς ἄλλους, οὐκ ἐν ταῖς πόλεσι μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν τοῖς ἀγροῖς εὐλογώτερον καὶ ἐπ᾽ ἐξουσίας, ὡς οὐκ οἴκοθεν αὐτὰ νοεῖς καὶ πράττεις μόνος, ἔχεις δὲ καὶ ἐμὲ σύμψηφον σεαυτῷ, δοκοῦντα γε εἶναι διὰ τοὺς θεοὺς ἀρχιερέα μέγιστον, ἄξιον μὲν οὐδαμῶς πράγματος τοσούτου, βουλόμενον δὲ εἶναι καὶ προσευχόμενον ἀεὶ τοῖς θεοῖς. [D] εὖ γὰρ ἴσθι, μεγάλας ἡμῖν οἱ θεοὶ μετὰ τὴν τελευτὴν ἐλπίδας ἐπαγγέλλονται. πειστέον δὲ αὐτοῖς πάντως. ἀψευδεῖν γὰρ εἰώθασιν οὐχ ὑπὲρ ἐκείνων μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ἐν τῷ βίῳ τῷδε. οἱ δὲ διὰ περιουσίαν δυνάμεως οἷοί [299] τε ὄντες καὶ τῆς ἐν τῷ βίῳ τούτῳ περιγενέσθαι ταραχῆς καὶ τὸ ἄτακτον αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ ἀλλόκοτον ἐπανορθοῦν ἆρ᾽ οὐκ ἐν ἐκείνῳ μᾶλλον, ὅπου διῄρηται τὰ μαχόμενα, χωρισθείσης μὲν τῆς ἀθανάτου ψυχῆς, γῆς δὲ γενομένου τοῦ νεκροῦ σώματος, ἱκανοὶ παρασχεῖν ἔσονται ταῦθ᾽ ὅσαπερ ἐπηγγείλαντο τοῖς ἀνθρώποις; εἰδότες οὖν, ὅτι μεγάλας ἔχειν ἔδοσαν [pg 322] οἱ θεοὶ τοῖς ἱερεῦσι τὰς ἀμοιβάς, ἐγγύους αὐτοὺς ἐν πᾶσι [B] τῆς ἀξίας τῶν θεῶν κατασκευάσωμεν, ὧν πρὸς τὰ πλήθη χρὴ λέγειν δεῖγμα τὸν ἑαυτῶν ἐκφέροντας βίον.
(Now though there are many utterances of the god to the same effect, by means of which we may learn to honour and cherish priests as we ought, I shall speak on this subject elsewhere at greater length. But for the present it is enough to point out that I am not inventing anything offhand, since I think that the declaration made by the god and the injunction expressed in his own words are sufficient. Therefore let any man who considers that as a teacher of such matters I am worthy to be believed show due respect to the god and obey him, and honour the priests of the gods above all other men. And now I will try to describe what sort of man a priest himself ought to be, though not for your especial benefit. For if I did not already know from the evidence both of the high priest and of the most mighty gods that you administer this priestly office aright—at least all matters that come under your management—I should not have ventured to confide to you a matter so important. But I do so in order that you may be able from what I say to instruct the other priests, not only in the cities but in the country districts also, more convincingly and with complete freedom; since not of your own self do you alone devise these precepts and practise them, but you have me also to give you support, who by the grace of the gods am known as sovereign pontiff, though I am indeed by no means worthy of so high an office; though I desire, and moreover constantly pray to the gods that I may be worthy. For the gods, you must know, hold out great hopes for us after death; and we must believe them absolutely. For they are always truthful, not only about the future life, but about the affairs of this life also. And since in the superabundance of their power they are able both to overcome the confusion that exists in this life and to regulate its disorders and irregularities, will they not all the more in that other life where conflicting things are reconciled, after the immortal soul has been separated from the body and the lifeless body has turned to earth, be able to bestow all those things for which they have held out hopes to mankind? Therefore since we know that the gods have granted to their priests a great recompense, let us make them responsible in all things for men's esteem of the gods, displaying their own lives as an example of what they ought to preach to the people.)
Ἀρκτέον δὲ ἡμῖν τῆς πρὸς τοὺς θεοὺς εὐσεβείας. οὕτω γὰρ ἡμᾶς πρέπει τοῖς θεοῖς λειτουργεῖν ὡς παρεστηκόσιν αὐτοῖς καὶ ὁρῶσι μὲν ἡμᾶς, οὐχ ὁρωμένοις δὲ ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν καὶ τὸ πάσης αὐγᾶς ὄμμα κρεῖττον ἄχρι [C] τῶν ἀποκρυπτομένων ἡμῖν λογισμῶν διατετακόσιν. ὅτι δὲ οὐκ ἐμὸς ὁ λόγος οὗτος ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, διὰ πολλῶν μὲν εἰρημένος λόγων, ἐμοὶ δὲ δῆτα ἀπόχρη καὶ ἕνα παραθεμένῳ δύο δι᾽ ἑνὸς παραστῆσαι, πῶς μὲν ὁρῶσιν οἱ θεοὶ πάντα, πῶς δὲ ῍πὶ τοῖς εὐσεβέσιν εὐφραίνονται·
(The first thing we ought to preach is reverence towards the gods. For it is fitting that we should perform our service to the gods as though they were themselves present with us and beheld us, and though not seen by us could direct their gaze, which is more powerful than any light, even as far as our hidden thoughts. And this saying is not my own[519] but the god's, and has been declared in many utterances, but for me surely it is sufficient, by bringing forth one such utterance, to illustrate two things in one, namely how the gods see all things and how they rejoice in god-fearing men:)
Πάντη Φοιβείη τέταται τανυσίσκοπος ἀκτίς·
[D] Καί τε διὰ στερεῶν χωρεῖ θοὸν ὄμμα πετράων,
Καὶ διὰ κυανέης ἁλὸς ἔρχεται, οὐδέ ἑ λήθει
Πληθὺς ἀστερόεσσα παλινδίνητος ἰοῦσα
Οὐρανὸν εἰς ἀκάμαντα σοφῆς κατὰ θεσμὸν ἀνάγκης,