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‘διὰ τί λευκὰ φοροῦσιν ἐν τοῖς πένθεσιν αἱ γυναῖκες ἱμάτια καὶ λευκοὺς
κεκρυφάλους;᾽’ πότερον ὡς τοὺς μάγους φασὶν πρὸς τὸν Ἅιδην καὶ τὸ
σκότος ἀντιταττομένους, τῷ δὲ φωτεινῷ καὶ λαμπρῷ συνεξομοιοῦντας
ἑαυτοὺς τοῦτο ποιεῖν: ἤ, καθάπερ τὸ
σῶμα τοῦ τεθνηκότος
ἀμφιεννύουσι λευκοῖς, καὶ τοὺς προσήκοντας ἀξιοῦσι; τὸ δὲ σῶμα κοσμοῦσιν
οὕτως, ἐπεὶ μὴ δύνανται τὴν ψυχήν: βούλονται δ᾽ ἐκείνην λαμπρὰν καὶ
καθαρὰν προπέμπειν, ὡς ἀφειμένην ἢδη καὶ διηγωνισμένην μέγαν ἀγῶνα καὶ
ποικίλον. ἢ τὸ μὲν λιτὸν ἐν τούτοις μάλιστα
καὶ τὸ ἁπλοῦν πρέπει; τῶν δὲ βαπτῶν τὰ μὲν καὶ πολυτέλειαν ἐμφαίνει τὰ
δὲ περιεργίαν οὐ γὰρ ἧττον ἔστι πρὸς τὸ μέλαν ἢ τὸ ἁλουργὸν εἰπεῖν
‘δολερὰ μὲν τὰ
εἵματα, δολερὰ 1 δὲ τὰ χρώματα’
τὸ δ᾽ αὐτόχρουν μέλαν οὐχ ὑπὸ τέχνης ἀλλὰ
φύσει βαπτόν ἐστι, καὶ μεμιγμένον τῷ σκιώδει κεκράτηται. μόνον οὖν τὸ
λευκὸν εἰλικρινὲς καὶ ἀμιγὲς; καὶ ἀμίαντόν ἐστι βαφῇ καὶ 2
ἀμίμητον: οἰκειότατον οὖν τοῖς θαπτομένοις. [p. 268] καὶ γὰρ ὁ
τεθνηκὼς ἁπλοῦν τι γέγονε καὶ ἀμιγὲς καὶ καθαρὸν ἀτεχνῶς οὐδὲν ἀλλ᾽ ἢ
φαρμάκου δευσοποιοῦ τοῦ σώματος ἀπηλλαγμένος. ἐν δ᾽ Ἄργει λευκὰ φοροῦσιν
ἐν τοῖς πένθεσιν, ὡς Σωκράτης 3 φησίν, ὑδατόκλυστα.
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1889. 2.
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