ORPHIC FRAGMENT 245

OTTO KERN

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For links to many more fragments: The Orphic Fragments of Otto Kern.


SUMMARY: This fragment consists of a number of spurious quotations, mostly from by Christian authors, who try to convince their readers that Orpheus retracted his beliefs.

245. (4) (Pseudo Justin) Περί Μοναρχίας τοῦ Ἰουστίνου μάρτυρος c. 2 p. 104 e – 105 b (III 132 Otto) prefaced with these words:

μαρτυρήσει δέ μοι καὶ Ὀρφεὺς ὁ παρεισάγων (παρεισαγαγών or προεισαγαγών Lobeck I 364) τοὺς τριακοσίους ἑξήκοντα θεοὺς ἐν τῶι Διαθῆκαι (διαθήκαις C, διαθήκης I. A. Goez.) ἐπιγραφομένωι βιβλίωι, ὁπότε μετανοῶν ἐπὶ τούτωι φαίνεται ἐξ ὧν γράφει.

“Even Orpheus, too, who introduces three hundred and sixty gods, will bear testimony in my favour from the tract called Diathecæ (Testament), in which he appears to repent of his error by writing the following”

(trans. George Reith, 1885)

They wrote these things just said (Pseudo Justin) Λόγος παραινέτικος πρὸς Ἕλληνας τοῦ Ἰουστίνου μάρτυρος c. 15 p. 15 c-16 a (III 59 Otto):

Ὀρφεὺς γοῦν, ὁ τῆς πολυθεότητος ὑμῶν ὡς ἂν εἴποι |60 Otto τις, πρῶτος διδάσκαλος γεγονώς, οἷα πρὸς τὸν υἱὸν αὐτοῦ Μουσαῖον καὶ τοὺς λοιποὺς γνησίους ἀκροατὰς ὕστερον περὶ ἑνὸς καὶ μόνου θεοῦ κηρύττει λέγων, ἀναγκαῖον ὑπομνῆσαι ὑμᾶς. ἔφη δὲ οὕτως.

“At all events, we must remind you what Orpheus, who was, as one might say, your first teacher of polytheism, latterly addressed to his son Musæus, and to the other legitimate auditors, concerning the one and only God.”

(trans. Marcus Dods, 1885)

~ κατὰ Ἰουλιανοῦ τοῦ Κυρίλλου Ἀλεξανδρείας I 25 (p. 25 Aubert; Migne 76, 541) which mentions vs. 1-13 and μεθ’ ἕτερα πάλιν (“back after the others) vs. 17-21 and introduces them with these words:

Ὀρφέα μὲν οὖν τὸν Οἰάγρου δεισιδαιμονέστατόν φασι γενέσθαι τῶν ἄλλων καὶ φθάσαι μὲν τὴν Ὁμήρου ποίησιν, ἅτε δὴ καὶ ἐν χρόνοις ὄντα πρεσβύτερον, ᾠδὰς δὲ καὶ ὕμνους τοῖς ψευδωνύμοις ἐξυφῆναι θεοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀθαύμαστον ἐπὶ τούτωι τὴν δόξαν ἑλεῖν, εἶτα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ δογμάτων κατεγνωκότα, συνέντα τε ὅτι μονονουχὶ τὴν ἁμαξιτὸν ἀφεὶς |26 Aub. ἐν ἐκβολῆι γέγονε τῆς εὐθείας ὁδοῦ μεταφοιτῆσαι πρὸς τὰ βελτίω καὶ τοῦ ψεύδους ἀνθελέσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν φάναι τε οὕτω περὶ θεοῦ· (Compare Herm. Schrader Archiv Gesch. Philos. I 1888, 361, and on the passages of Cyril [Anton?] Elter 178 bis n. 4)·

Φθέγξομαι οἷς θέμις ἐστί· θύρας δ’ ἐπίθεσθε βέβηλοι

πάντες ὅμως. σὺ δ’ ἄκουε, φαεσφόρου ἔκγονε Μήνης,

Μουσαῖ'· ἐξερέω γὰρ ἀληθέα· μηδέ σε τὰ πρὶν

ἐν στήθεσσι φανέντα φίλης αἰῶνος ἀμέρσηι.

εἰς δὲ λόγον θεῖον βλέψας τούτωι προσέδρευε 5

ἰθύνων κραδίης νοερὸν κύτος· εὖ δ’ ἐπίβαινε

ἀτραπιτοῦ, μοῦνον δ’ ἐσόρα κόσμοιο ἄνακτα.

εἷς ἐστ’, αὐτογενής, ἑνὸς ἔκγονα πάντα τέτυκται·

ἐν δ’ αὐτὸς αὐτοῖς περιγίνεται, οὐδέ τις αὐτὸν

εἰσοράαι θνητῶν, αὐτὸς δέ γε πάντας ὁρᾶται. 10

οὗτος δ’ ἐξ ἀγαθοῖο κακὸν θνητοῖσι δίδωσι

καὶ πόλεμον κρυόεντα καὶ ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα.

οὐδέ τις ἔσθ’ ἕτερος χωρὶς μεγάλου βασιλῆος.

αὐτὸν δ’ οὐχ ὁρόω· περὶ γὰρ νέφος ἐστήρικται.

πᾶσιν γὰρ θνητοῖς θνηταὶ κόραι εἰσὶν ἐν ὄσσοις, 15

ἀσθενέες δ’ ἰδέειν Δία τὸν πάντων μεδέοντα.

οὗτος γὰρ χάλκειον ἐς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται

χρυσέωι εἰνὶ θρόνωι, γαίης δ’ ἐπὶ ποσσὶ βέβηκε

χεῖρά τε δεξιτερὴν ἐπὶ τέρματος Ὠκεανοῖο

πάντοθεν ἐκτέτακεν· περὶ γὰρ τρέμει οὔρεα μακρά, 20

καὶ ποταμοὶ πολιῆς τε βάθος χαροποῖο θαλάσσης.

“They say that Orphéfs (Ὀρφεύς), (the son) of Íagros (Οἴαγρος), was the most religious of all the others, and that he anticipated the poetry of Ómiros (Ὅμηρος), being that he was in years the elder, and wove songs and hymns for the false gods, and, unsurprisingly, won fame for this; then, having observed the folly of his own doctrines, and having understood that it is as if he is giving up the high road by throwing out the straight road, he changed course towards the better and chose truth over falsehood, and spoke thus concerning God:

‘I will speak to whom it is suitable and right; and close your doors, all you profane

together. And you listen, light-bringing child of the moon,

Mousaios! for I will tell the truth; don’t (allow) the former things

appearing in your heart to deprive you of your beloved life.

Having looked to the divine word, keep watch on this,

guiding the intellectual vessel of your heart; tread well

on the path, and behold the sole lord of the world.

he is one, self-produced; from this one, all the offspring have been generated;

amongst them, he is superior, but none

of the mortals see him, but he sees all.

And this God, after (giving) good, gives evil to mortals

and chilling war and tearful pains.

There is no other apart from the great king.

But I cannot see him; for a cloud has firmly set around him.

Because mortals have mortal pupils in both their eyes,

and too weak to see Zefs (Ζεύς) the ruler of all.

Because he is firmly established in the copper sky

on a golden throne, and he stands on earth with his feet

and he has stretched out his right hand on the edge of Okæanós (Ὠκεανός)

from every side; for great mountains tremble about,

and the rivers and the depth of the grey-blue sea.’ ”

(trans. by the author)

Follows fragment 239 b.

Herm. I; Lobeck I 438; Elter 153. 178 ss.; Wobbermin Religionsgeschichtl. Stud. sur Frage der Beeinflussung des Urchristentums durch das antike Mysterienwesen 1896, 130.

For verse 1 compare fragment 13 (Συμπόσιον Πλάτωνος 218 b), further on to fragments 246 and 247 and that which W. Kroll has collected in De oraculis Chaldaicis 59 n. 2. It seems that the first of all to imitate the Orphic verse on mystic silence was Empedocles. Fragment 4 verse 4, Diels I3 225, 1 (to the Muse):

ἄντομαι ὧν θέμις ἐστὶν ἐφημερίοισιν ἀκούειν

“I entreat you for that which is suitable and right for mortals (ἐφημερίοισιν) to hear.”

(trans. by the author)

(Compare to Kern Archiv Gesch. Philos. I 1888, 504).

For verse 8 ss. compare Die Oracula Sibyllina III 11 p. 47 Johannes Geffcken:

εἷς θεός ἐστι μόναρχος ἀθέσφατος αἰθέρι ναίων

αὐτοφυὴς ἀόρατος ὁρώμενος αὐτὸς ἅπαντα

“God is one, the sole ruler, inexpressible, dwelling in the aithír (αἰθέρι),

self-originating, invisible, he sees all things.”

(trans. by the author)


In the same place Prol. 94 p. 5, 1:

εἷς θεός, ὃς μόνος ἄρχει, ὑπερμεγέθης, ἀγένητος·

ἀλλὰ θεὸς μόνος εἷς πανυπέρτατος, ὅς πεποίηκεν

οὐρανόν ἡἐλιόν τε καὶ ἀστέρας ἡδὲ σελήνην

“One God, who rules alone, immensely great, uncreated;

but the one, only God, highest of all, who made

the sky, both the sun and the moon and the stars.”

(trans. by the author)

IV 12 p. 92:

ὃς καθορῶν ἅμα πάντας ὑπ’ οὐδενὸς αὐτὸς ὁρᾶται

“Looking down upon everyone at once, he is seen by no-one.”

(trans. by the author)

Fragment 1, 7 p. 227 s.:

εἷς θεός, ὃς μόνος ἄρχει, ὑπερμεγέθης, ἀγένητος

παντοκράτωρ ἀόρατος ὁρώμενος αὐτὸς ἅπαντα,

αὐτὸς δ᾽ οὐ βλέπεται θνητῆι ὑπὸ σαρκὸς ἁπάσης.

“One god, who reigns alone, immensely great, uncreated;

almighty invisible, alone seeing all things,

but he is not seen by any mortal of the flesh.”

(trans. by the author)

For verse 12 compare to Θεογονία Ἡσιόδου 227:

(αὐτὰρ Ἔρις στυγερὴ τέκε μὲν Πόνον ἀλγινόεντα)

Λήθην τε Λιμόν τε καὶ Ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα

(“But abhorred Strife bore painful Toil)

and Forgetfulness and Famine and tearful Sorrows.”

(trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914)

Die Oracula Sibyllina III 603 p. 79 Johannes Geffcken:

καὶ πόλεμον καὶ λοιμὸν ἴδ’ ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα.

“And war and plague and tearful pains.”

(trans. by the author)

Also in the same place Fragment 1, 32 p. 229:

εἷς θεός ἐστι βροχὰς ἀνέμους σεισμοὺς ἐπιπέμπων

ἀστεροπὰς λιμοὺς λοιμοὺς καὶ κήδεα λυγρά

καὶ νιφετοὺς κρύσταλλα.

“One is the god sending rains, winds, earthquakes,

lightning, famine, plagues, and mournful troubles,

and snows and ice.”

(trans. by the author)

And fragment 3, 20 p. 231 Geffcken. [Compare to fragment 247 n. 13.]

For verse 13 compare to Λόγος Στρώματα Κλήμεντος του Ἀλεξανδρέως V* 14, 133, 1 (II 416, 5 Staeh.):

ὧι (that is, to Orpheus as alleged in vs 13) πειθόμενος ὁ κωμικὸς Δίφιλος (CFA II fragment 138 p. 580) γνωμικώτατα

‘τὸν ὄντα πάντων’ φησί,

πατέρα τοῦτον διὰ τέλους τίμα μόνον,

ἀγαθῶν τοσούτων εὑρετὴν καὶ κτίστορα.

“In accordance with whom (that is, to Orpheus as alleged in vs 13), the comic poet Diphilus (CFA II fragment 138 p. 580) says very sententiously, the

‘Father of all,

To Him alone incessant reverence pay,

The inventor and the author of such blessings.’ ”

(trans. William Wilson, 1885)

*Translator’s note: Book 5.14 of the Strómata of Clement is concerned with the so-called plagiarism of the Greeks. Clement discusses numerous quotations in which he claims that the ancient Greek authors stole from Jewish scripture, often trying to prove that anything good in Greek religion was actually plundered from, in particular, Moses. It seems to me that the Christians were increasingly afraid of Orpheus as they approached late antiquity; I assume that this was because of the popularity of Orpheus even among Christians and on account of certain parallels between the theology of Orpheus and that of Christianity.

For verse 17 compare to Θεογονία Ἡσιόδου 778 on Styx:

ἀμφὶ δὲ πάντη

κίοσιν ἀργυρέοισι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἐστήρικται.

“She lives apart from the Gods in her glorious house vaulted over with great rocks and propped up to heaven all round with silver pillars.”

(trans. Hugh G. Evelyn-White, 1914)

See ahead fragment 247 for verse 29 p. 264.

With verse 18 Clement (v. fragment 246 p. 260) rightly compares to Is. 66, 1.


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