BOOK II. XXIII. 4-9
is seen? And what messenger is so swift and so attentive as the eye? And did He to no purpose make also the intervening air so active and so intent[1] that the vision passes through it as through some tense medium? And did He to no purpose create light, without the presence of which all else were useless?
5Man, be neither ungrateful for these gifts, nor yet forgetful of the better things, but for sight and hearing, yes and, by Zeus, for life itself and for what is conducive to it, for dry fruits, for wine, for olive oil, give thanks unto God; and at the same time remember that He has given you something better than all these things—the faculty which can make use of them, pass judgement upon them, estimate the value of each. For what is that which, in the case of each of these faculties, shows what it is worth?[2] Is it each faculty itself? Did you ever hear the faculty of sight say anything about itself? Or the faculty of vision?[† 1] No, but they have been appointed as servants and slaves to minister to the faculty which makes use of external impressions. And if you ask, what each thing is worth, of whom do you ask? Who is to answer you? How, then, can any other faculty be superior to this which both uses the rest as its servants, and itself passes judgement upon each several thing and pronounces upon it? For which one of them knows what it is and what it is worth? Which one of them knows when one ought to use it, and when not? What is the
- ↑ That is, firm, taut, elastic, so as to be sensitive to the action of the spirit of vision, and not dull and yielding like mud or putty.
- ↑ For the general theme, see I. 1.
- ↑ The words μή τι πυρῶν; μή τι κριθῶν; μή τι ἵππον; μή τι κυνός; "Or wheat, or barley, or a horse, or a dog?" which follow at this point in S, were deleted by Schenkl (after Schweighäuser) as being out of keeping with the context.
