The gods

But the gods, my son, the eternal gods, know all things, both what has been and what is and what shall come to pass as a result of each present or past event;

But whatever it is not possible for man to learn, nor for human wisdom to foresee, that you may find out from the gods by the soothsayer’s art, and thus prove yourself wiser than others;

never go into any danger either to yourself or to your army contrary to the omens or the auspices, and bear in mind that men choose lines of action by conjecture and do not know in the least from which of them success will come.

Having heard this welcome speech pronounced by Brahmā, all the gods and great ṛṣis were then greatly rejoiced.

Then the gods, together with the gandharvas, the siddhas, and the great ṛṣis assembled in due order for the reception of their shares.

Those deities, having duly assembled in that sacrificial hall, addressed a great speech to Brahmā, the maker of worlds.

That rules of justice vary is not absolutely true, but only with qualifications.

Claims of justice exist between persons who share in things generally speaking good, and who can have too large a share or too small a share of them.

This is most manifest in the case of the gods, whose superiority in every good attribute is pre-eminent;

And this constitution promises freedom from rashness, kinship with men, and obedience to the gods.

And if there are no gods, or if they take no care for human affairs, why should I wish to live in a universe empty of gods, empty of providence?

That it was brought home to me clearly and often what a life in accordance with nature is, so that, as far as the gods are concerned, and the gifts, the help, and the inspirations that come from them, nothing now prevents me from living in accordance with nature — though I still fall short of it through my own fault, and through not keeping in mind the reminders, almost the instructions, of the gods.

But if you should join me, I think that with the aid of the gods I could easily recover my realm.

Then he went back and sacrificed to learn whether the gods permitted of his endeavouring to take the army to Seuthes.

In the name of the gods let us not be mad, nor let us perish disgracefully as enemies both to our native states and to our own friends and kinsmen.

Nor breed of mortals, nor holy limbs of gods

Then Nature, delivered from every haughty lord,

Rid of all gods.

1 But, that I may not hold another discussion sidelong, the gods bestow upon us very many and very great benefits with no hope of recovery, since neither do they lack what is bestowed nor can we bestow anything upon them;

1 Add now, that no external things compel the gods, but their own will is to them an eternal law.

4 We ask the gods, whom no thing escapes the knowledge of, and our vows do not prevail upon them, but admonish them.

But surely the transgressors of the laws ordained by the gods pay a penalty that a man can in no wise escape, as some, when they transgress the laws ordained by man, escape punishment, either by concealment or by violence.

Truly, Socrates, it does appear that the gods devote much care to man.

Well, no doubt you know that our first and foremost need is light, which is supplied to us by the gods?

But I have come trusting first in the gods, then in the laws and in you, believing that with you no scheming preparation can override law and justice.

And if the gods permit, and the jurors give us an impartial hearing, and I am able to call to mind all that I know about you, I confidently expect to show to the jury that for the safety of the city it is the gods who are responsible, and the men who in the crisis have treated the city with humanity and moderation;

For example, the law directs that priests and priestesses be subject to audit, all collectively, and each severally and individually—persons who receive perquisites only, and whose occupation is to pray to heaven for you;

The gods have bestowed milk upon me;

The gods have bestowed vigor upon me;

He nourishes by austerity all the gods — the thirty-three, the three hundred, the six thousand.

And he believes not only in gods, but also in good daemons and heroes—the souls of good men, which have changed from their mortal nature;

And indeed, conscious within himself that he will never accept a gift from wicked men, he believes that the gods too do not delight in the offerings or sacrifices of unjust men, but accept what is given only from the good.

And first and above all he will worship the divine, not only confessing but persuaded that there are gods, that he too may have rulers worthy of him.

All the gods watched them, and the sire of gods and men was the first to speak.

but the blessed gods looked down in pity from heaven, and urged Hermes, slayer of Argos, to steal the body.

This nine days past the immortals have been quarreling about Achilles waster of cities and the body of Hektor.

And yet all sensible men would do well to pray the gods to endow as many of our people as possible with the power of getting means from abroad in order to make themselves serviceable to the city, even as I have done.

For I know that I have spoken with so just and clear a conscience both towards the city and our ancestors, and above all towards the gods, that if it be true that the gods concern themselves at all with human affairs I am sure that they are not indifferent to my present situation.

No, you ought to believe rather that those are better off now and will receive the advantage in the future at the hands of the gods who are the most righteous and the most faithful in their devotions, and that those receive the better portion at the hands of men who are the most conscientious in their dealings with their associates, whether in their homes or in public life, and are themselves este …

But I marvel if anyone thinks that those who practise piety and justice remain constant and steadfast in these virtues because they expect to be worse off than the wicked and not because they consider that both among gods and among men they will have the advantage over others.

On the other hand, they are of all men most afflicted with unreason who concede that justice is a way of life more noble and more pleasing to the gods than injustice but at the same time believe that those who follow it will live in worse case than those who have chosen the way of evil.

For some of us appear to me to be over zealously bent on war, as though having heard, not from haphazard counsellors, but from the gods, that we are destined to succeed in all our campaigns and to prevail easily over our foes.

for I should be ashamed, as I have already said in another place, when all other men are of the opinion that not even the gods are free from guilt, were I to strain my conscience and attempt to persuade you that our commonwealth has never erred in any instance whatsoever.

For he commanded an army which had come together from all the cities of Hellas, a host whose size may be imagined since it contained many of the descendants of the gods and of the direct sons of the gods —men who were not of the same temper as the majority of mankind nor on the same plane of thinking, but full of pride and passion and envy and ambition—, and yet he held that army together for ten …

For I have had my share of the greatest goods of life—the things which all men would pray the gods to have as their portion:

So to the gods also, it seems, the unjust man will be hateful, but the just man dear.

Then, said I, Glaucon, there can no longer be any objection, can there, to our assigning to justice and virtue generally, in addition, all the various rewards and wages that they bring to the soul from men and gods, both while the man still lives and, after his death?

Such then while he lives are the prizes, the wages, and the gifts that the just man receives from gods and men in addition to those blessings which justice herself bestowed.

As for your old vows, you may release the gods from them;

It bids us remember that the gods are witnesses of all things;

They whisper the most shameful prayers to the gods;

and the gods, having assembled, said to them, "The child has spoken rightly to you.

from the ancestors, the gods and men;

the fire-oblation is the sacrifice to the Gods;

For I reckon this gift is not altogether human, but divine—this power to win willing obedience:

Well, Socrates, I think you are right when you bid me try to begin every undertaking with the gods’ help, since the gods control the works of peace no less than of war.

and for the business of husbandry do you think it less necessary to ask the blessing of the gods?

Even one who, having begun the practice of the path to {{paramārtha|supreme reality}}, has not [yet] attained [the full state of] yoga — he too, indeed, [becomes] an enjoyer of the enjoyments of the world of the gods and, glad of mind, rejoices for a very long time.

As a king who is universal sovereign over [his] domains is honored by all people, so one who has fallen [short] of yoga is, throughout the worlds, honored by all the gods.

for although I stood disgraced in the eyes of the gods, they, it seems, had more pity on me than did men;

And if another shall slay such an one, I will deem him to be without sin in the eyes of the gods and powers above, as having slain a public enemy.

Is it conceivable that the gods saved me from perils of that nature, only to let themselves be championed by Cephisius, the biggest scoundrel in Athens, whose citizen he claims to be when he is nothing of the kind, and whom every one of you sitting in this court knows too well to trust with any thing belonging to him?

We are asked to believe that the only object of the gods in saving me from the dangers of the sea was, apparently, to let Cephisius put an end to me when I reached Athens.

The first of the forms of justice is that toward the gods, then that toward the lesser divinities, then that toward fatherland and parents, then that toward the departed;

Impiety is wrongdoing concerning the gods and the lesser divinities, or also concerning the departed, and concerning parents and fatherland.

Least of all shall we attend to them when they discourse about the gods, and especially when they treat of them as many, and these not even of one mind.

And the adulteries of the gods, their loves and open unions—and these above all of Zeus, the chief and highest of them all, as they themselves say—things at which one would blush even to speak of beasts: