On The Essenes (Jewish Monastic Cenobites In Palestine ... - Courses

THE CHURCH in the PATRISTIC ERA (CH 583) Instructor: Fr. Luke Dysinger, O.S.B. PATRISTIC PRIMARY TEXTS (COURSE DOCUMENTS)
Plato: (Republic, selections)
The Parable of the Caves - - - - - - 2
The Myth of Er - - - - - - 8 Philo (selections) The Therapeutae (Vit. Contempl.) - - - - 20
The Essenes (Every Good Man is Free) - - - 23 Clement of Rome (selections) - - - - 26 The Letter of Barnabas (selections) - - 35 Cicero "The Dream of Scipio" (selections) - 46 Ignatius of Antioch (selections) - - - 51 The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve) (sel.) - - 67 Justin Martyr (selections) - - - - - 78 The Martyrdom of Polycarp (selections) 88 The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity (selections) - - - - - 98 Tertullian (selections) - - - - - - 111 Cyprian of Carthage (selections) - - 119 Pliny and Trajan, On the Punishment of Christians - - - - - - - - -
132
Irenaeus of Lyons (selections) - - - 133 The Inscription of Abericius - - - 143 Hippolytus (Apostolic Tradition) - - - 145 Plotinus (selections) - - - - - - 152 Clement of Alexandria (selections) - 156 Origen (selections) - - - - - - 164 Athanasius (selections) - - - - - - 178 Gregory Nazianzen (selections) - - - 195 Basil & Gregory of Nyssa (selections) - - 210 Evagrius and Cassian (selections) - - - 210 Syriac Father (Ephrem, Isaac of Ninevah, selections) - - - - - - - - -
- - 212 Benedict of Nursia (Rule, selections) - 220 Dionysius the Aereopagite, The Mystical Theology - - - - - - - - - -
- 221 Gregory the Great (Dialogues,homilies selections) -
- 236
Plato: The Republic
Book 7 - The Parable of the Caves Tr. Benjamin Jowett (New York: P. F. Collier & Son, 1901). TLG 59.030
Respublica cit Stephanus ser. Platonis opera, vol. 4, ed. J. Burnet
(Clarendon Press, Oxford 1902, rpr. 1968) cit. Stephanus 514a-541b. |Socrates - Glaucon | |
| | |
|AND now, I said, let me show in a figure |Meta\ tau=ta dh/, ei)=pon, a)pei/kason |
|how far our nature is enlightened or |toiou/t% pa/qei th\n h(mete/ran fu/sin |
|unenlightened: --Behold! human beings |paidei/aj te pe/ri kai\ a)paideusi/aj. |
|living in a underground den, which has a |i)de\ ga\r a)nqrw/pouj oi(=on e)n |
|mouth open towards the light and reaching |katagei/% oi)kh/sei sphlaiw/dei, |
|all along the den; here they have been |a)napeptame/nhn pro\j to\ fw=j th\n |
|from their childhood, and have their legs |ei)/sodon e)xou/sv makra\n para\ pa=n |
|and necks chained so that they cannot |to\ sph/laion, e)n tau/tv e)k pai/dwn |
|move, and can only see before them, being |o)/ntaj e)n desmoi=j kai\ ta\ ske/lh |
|prevented by the chains from turning round|kai\ tou\j au)xe/naj, w(/ste me/nein te |
|their heads. |au)tou\j ei)/j te to\ pro/sqen mo/non |
| |o(ra=n, ku/kl% de\ ta\j kefala\j u(po\ |
| |tou= desmou= a)duna/touj peria/gein, |
|Above and behind them a fire is blazing at|fw=j de\ au)toi=j puro\j a)/nwqen kai\ |
|a distance, and between the fire and the |po/rrwqen kao/menon o)/pisqen au)tw=n, |
|prisoners there is a raised way; and you |metacu\ de\ tou= puro\j kai\ tw=n |
|will see, if you look, a low wall built |desmwtw=n e)pa/nw o(do/n, par' h(\n |
|along the way, like the screen which |i)de\ teixi/on par%kodomhme/non, w(/sper|
|marionette players have in front of them, |toi=j qaumatopoioi=j pro\ tw=n |
|over which they show the puppets. |a)nqrw/pwn pro/keitai ta\ parafra/gmata,|
| |u(pe\r w(=n ta\ qau/mata deiknu/asin. |
|I see. |(Orw=, e)/fh. |
|And do you see, I said, men passing along |(/Ora toi/nun para\ tou=to to\ teixi/on |
|the wall carrying all sorts of vessels, |fe/rontaj a)nqrw/pouj skeu/h te |
|and statues and figures of animals made of|pantodapa\ u(pere/xonta tou= teixi/ou |
|wood and stone and various materials, |kai\ a)ndria/ntaj kai\ a)/lla z%=a |
|which appear over the wall? Some of them |li/qina/ te kai\ cu/lina kai\ pantoi=a |
|are talking, others silent. |ei)rgasme/na, oi(=on ei)ko\j tou\j me\n |
| |fqeggome/nouj, tou\j de\ sigw=ntaj tw=n |
| |parafero/ntwn. |
|You have shown me a strange image, and |)/Atopon, e)/fh, le/geij ei)ko/na kai\ |
|they are strange prisoners. |desmw/taj a)to/pouj. |
|Like ourselves, I replied; and they see |(Omoi/ouj h(mi=n, h)=n d' e)gw/: tou\j |
|only their own shadows, or the shadows of |ga\r toiou/touj prw=ton me\n e(autw=n te|
|one another, which the fire throws on the |kai\ a)llh/lwn oi)/ei a)/n ti |
|opposite wall of the cave? |e(wrake/nai a)/llo plh\n ta\j skia\j |
| |ta\j u(po\ tou= puro\j ei)j to\ |
| |katantikru\ au)tw=n tou= sphlai/ou |
| |prospiptou/saj; |
|True, he said; how could they see anything| Pw=j ga/r, e)/fh, ei) a)kinh/touj ge |
|but the shadows if they were never allowed|ta\j kefala\j e)/xein h)nagkasme/noi |
|to move their heads? |ei)=en dia\ bi/ou; |
|And of the objects which are being carried|Ti/ de\ tw=n paraferome/nwn; ou) |
|in like manner they would only see the |tau)to\n tou=to; |
|shadows? | |
|Yes, he said. |Ti/ mh/n; |
|And if they were able to converse with one|Ei) ou)=n diale/gesqai oi(=oi/ t' ei)=en|
|another, would they not suppose that they |pro\j a)llh/louj, ou) tau=ta h(gv= a)\n |
|were naming what was actually before them?|ta\ o)/nta au)tou\j nomi/zein a(/per |
| |o(r%=en; |
|Very true. |)Ana/gkh. |
|And suppose further that the prison had an|Ti/ d' ei) kai\ h)xw\ to\ desmwth/rion |
|echo which came from the other side, would|e)k tou= katantikru\ e)/xoi; o(po/te tij|
|they not be sure to fancy when one of the |tw=n pario/ntwn fqe/gcaito, oi)/ei a)\n |
|passers-by spoke that the voice which they|a)/llo ti au)tou\j h(gei=sqai to\ |
|heard came from the passing shadow? |fqeggo/menon h)\ th\n pariou=san skia/n;|
|No question, he replied. |Ma\ Di/' ou)k e)/gwg', e)/fh. |
|To them, I said, the truth would be |Panta/pasi dh/, h)=n d' e)gw/, oi( |
|literally nothing but the shadows of the |toiou=toi ou)k a)\n a)/llo ti nomi/zoien|
|images. |to\ a)lhqe\j h)\ ta\j tw=n skeuastw=n |
| |skia/j. |
|That is certain. |Pollh\ a)na/gkh, e)/fh. |
|And now look again, and see what will |Sko/pei dh/, h)=n d' e)gw/, au)tw=n |
|naturally follow it' the prisoners are |lu/sin te kai\ i)/asin tw=n te desmw=n |
|released and disabused of their error. At |kai\ th=j a)frosu/nhj, oi(/a tij a)\n |
|first, when any of them is liberated and |ei)/h, ei) fu/sei toia/de sumbai/noi |
|compelled suddenly to stand up and turn |au)toi=j: o(po/te tij luqei/h kai\ |
|his neck round and walk and look towards |a)nagka/zoito e)cai/fnhj a)ni/stasqai/ |
|the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the|te kai\ peria/gein to\n au)xe/na kai\ |
|glare will distress him, and he will be |badi/zein kai\ pro\j to\ fw=j |
|unable to see the realities of which in |a)nable/pein, pa/nta de\ tau=ta poiw=n |
|his former state he had seen the shadows; |a)lgoi= te kai\ dia\ ta\j marmaruga\j |
|and then conceive some one saying to him, |a)dunatoi= kaqora=n e)kei=na w(=n to/te |
|that what he saw before was an illusion, |ta\j skia\j e(w/ra, ti/ a)\n oi)/ei |
|but that now, when he is approaching |au)to\n ei)pei=n, ei)/ tij au)t%= le/goi|
|nearer to being and his eye is turned |o(/ti to/te me\n e(w/ra fluari/aj, nu=n |
|towards more real existence, he has a |de\ ma=llo/n ti e)ggute/rw tou= o)/ntoj |
|clearer vision, -what will be his reply? |kai\ pro\j ma=llon o)/nta tetramme/noj |
|And you may further imagine that his |o)rqo/teron ble/poi, kai\ dh\ kai\ |
|instructor is pointing to the objects as |e(/kaston tw=n pario/ntwn deiknu\j |
|they pass and requiring him to name them, |au)t%= a)nagka/zoi e)rwtw=n |
|-will he not be perplexed? Will he not |a)pokri/nesqai o(/ti e)/stin; ou)k |
|fancy that the shadows which he formerly |oi)/ei au)to\n a)porei=n te a)\n kai\ |
|saw are truer than the objects which are |h(gei=sqai ta\ to/te o(rw/mena |
|now shown to him? |a)lhqe/stera h)\ ta\ nu=n deiknu/mena; |
|Far truer. |Polu/ g', e)/fh. |
|And if he is compelled to look straight at|Ou)kou=n ka)\n ei) pro\j au)to\ to\ fw=j|
|the light, will he not have a pain in his |a)nagka/zoi au)to\n ble/pein, a)lgei=n |
|eyes which will make him turn away to take|te a)\n ta\ o)/mmata kai\ feu/gein |
|and take in the objects of vision which he|