158 l/-23
prove that everything in this cosmos is wonderfully governed by the
intelligence and deliberative ability of the gods for the purpose of the
well-being and preservation of all.
- Here someone will ask, for whose benefit was such a complex
system created? For the sake of trees and plants, which despite their lack
of sense-perception are nevertheless sustained by nature? But surely that
is absurd. For the beasts then? It is no more likely that the gods should
have worked so hard for mute animals which understand nothing. So
for whose sake will we say that the cosmos was made? Surely for the
sake of those of those animals which use reason, and those are gods and
men; surely nothing is better than they are, since reason is superior to
all other things. So it turns out to be plausible that the cosmos and
everything in it were created for the sake of gods and men.
It will be easier to see that man has been well provided for by the
immortal gods if the entire structure of a human being is considered
along with the entire form and perfection of human nature .... - This catalogue of nature's painstaking and intelligent providence
could be greatly enriched by a consideration of how many rich and
splendid gifts have been bestowed on men by the gods. First of all, she
lifted men up from the earth and gave them a lofty and erect posture,
in order that they might gaze upon the heavens and so acquire knowledge
of the gods. For men come from the earth, not to be its inhabitants and
tenants, but to be, as it were, spectators of higher, indeed celestial, things,
the contemplation of which belongs to no other race of animals ....
145 .... All of man's senses are far better than those of the lower
animals. First, in those crafts in which the eyes make the crucial distinc-
tions, painting, sculpture and engraving, and also in distinguishing bodily
motion and gestures, [in all of these] the [human] eye makes many
distinctions more subtly; for the eyes judge the beauty and order and, I
may say, the propriety of colours and figures; and there are other, even
more important distinctions which it makes, since it recognizes the virtues
and the vices, and an angry or friendly person, a happy or sad one, a
brave or cowardly one, a bold or timid one. 146. The ears too possess a
remarkably craftsmanlike sense of judgement, by which we can distin-
guish, in vocal music and in wind or string instruments, timbre, pitch
and key, and a great many vocal qualities as well: a melodious or 'dark'
voice, a smooth or rough one, a flexible or inflexible one. These distinc-
tions are made only by the human ear. Smell, taste and touch also possessgreat powers of judgement ....
- Moreover, he who does not see the divine effort which was put
into the perfection of man's mind, intelligence, reason, deliberative ability
and prudence, seems to me to lack these same qualities. And in discussing