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ἔοικε δὲ τούτοις καὶ τὰ Αἰγύπτια. τὴν μὲν γὰρ Ἶσιν πολλάκις τῷ τῆς
Ἀθηνᾶς ὀνόματι καλοῦσι φράζοντι τοιοῦτον
λόγον ‘ἦλθον ἀπ᾽ ἐμαυτῆς,'’ ὅπερ ἐστὶν αὐτοκινήτου φορᾶς δηλωτικὸν ὁ δὲ
Τυφών, ὥσπερ εἴρηται, Σὴθ καὶ Βέβων καὶ Σμὺ ὀνομάζεται, βίαιόν τινα
καὶ κωλυτικὴν ἐπίσχεσιν, ὑπεναντίωσιν ἢ ἀναστροφὴν ἐμφαίνειν βουλομένων
τῶν ὀνομάτων. ἔτι τὴν σιδηρῖτιν λίθον
ὀστέον Ὥρου , Τυφῶνος δὲ τὸν σίδηρον, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Μανεθώς, 1 καλοῦσιν:
ὥσπερ γὰρ ὁ σίδηρος πολλάκις μὲν ἑλκομένῳ καὶ ἑπομένῳ πρὸς τὴν λίθον
ὅμοιός ἐστι, πολλάκις δ᾽ ἀποστρέφεται καὶ ἀποκρούεται πρὸς τοὐναντίον,
οὕτως ἡ σωτήριος; καὶ ἀγαθὴ καὶ λόγον
ἔχουσα τοῦ κόσμου κίνησις ἐπιστρέφεταί τε καὶ προσάγεται καὶ μαλακωτέραν 2
ποιεῖ, πείθουσα τὴν
σκληρὰν ἐκείνην καὶ τυφώνειον, 3 εἶτ᾽ αὖθις ἀνασχεθεῖσα εἰς ἑαυτὴν
ἀνέστρεψε 4 καὶ κατέδυσεν εἰς τὴν ἀπειρίαν. 5 ἔτι φησὶ περὶ τοῦ [p. 537] Διὸς ὁ Εὔδοξος μυθολογεῖν Αἰγυπτίους, ὡς τῶν σκελῶν
συμπεφυκότων αὐτῷ μὴ δυνάμενος βαδίζειν, ὑπ᾽ αἰσχύνης ἐν 6 ἐρημίᾳ
διέτριβεν: ἡ δ᾽ Ἶσις διατεμοῦσα καὶ διαστήσασα τὰ μέρη ταῦτα τοῦ σώματος
ἀρτίποδα τὴν πορείαν παρέσχεν. αἰνίττεται
δὲ καὶ διὰ τούτων ὁ μῦθος, ὅτι καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ νοῦς καὶ λόγος
ἐν τῷ ἀοράτῳ καὶ ἀφανεῖ βεβηκὼς εἰς γένεσιν ὑπὸ κινήσεως προῆλθεν.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1889. 2.
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