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οἱ δὲ βασιλεῖς ἀπεδείκνυντο μὲν ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων ἢ τῶν μαχίμων, τοῦ μὲν
δι᾽ ἀνδρείαν τοῦ δὲ διὰ σοφίαν γένους ἀξίωμα καὶ τιμὴν ἔχοντος. ὁ δ᾽
ἐκ μαχίμων ἀποδεδειγμένος εὐθὺς ἐγίγνετο
τῶν ἱερέων καὶ
μετεῖχε τῆς φιλοσοφίας, ἐπικεκρυμμένης τὰ πολλὰ μύθοις καὶ λόγοις ἀμυδρὰς
ἐμφάσεις τῆς ἀληθείας καὶ διαφάσεις ἔχουσιν, ὥσπερ ἀμέλει καὶ
παραδηλοῦσιν αὐτοὶ πρὸ τῶν ἱερῶν τὰς σφίγγας ἐπιεικῶς ἱστάντες, ὡς αἰνιγματώδη σοφίαν τῆς θεολογίας
αὐτῶν ἐχούσης. τὸ δ᾽ ἐν Σάι 1 τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς, ἣν καὶ [p. 479] Ἶσιν νομίζουσιν, ἕδος ἐπιγραφὴν εἶχε τοιαύτην ‘ἐγώ
εἰμι πᾶν τὸ γεγονὸς καὶ ὂν καὶ ἐσόμενον καὶ τὸν ἐμὸν πέπλον
οὐδείς πω θνητὸς ἀπεκάλυψεν’ ἔτι δὲ τῶν πολλῶν νομιζόντων ἴδιον
παρ᾽ Αἰγυπτίοις ὄνομα τοῦ Διὸς εἶναι τὸν
Ἀμοῦν ὃ παράγοντες ἡμεῖς Ἄμμωνα λέγομεν, Μανεθὼς μὲν ὁ Σεβεννύτης 2
τὸ κεκρυμμένον οἴεται καὶ τὴν κρύψιν ὑπὸ ταύτης δηλοῦσθαι τῆς φωνῆς:
Ἑκαταῖος 3 δ᾽ ὁ Ἀβδηρίτης φησὶ τούτῳ
καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους τῷ ῥήματι χρῆσθαι τοὺς
Αἰγυπτίους, ὅταν τινὰ προσκαλῶνται: προσκλητικὴν γὰρ εἶναι τὴν φωνήν.
διὸ τὸν πρῶτον θεόν, ὃν 4 τῷ παντὶ τὸν αὐτὸν
νομίζουσιν, ὡς ἀφανῆ καὶ κεκρυμμένον ὄντα προσκαλούμενοι καὶ παρακαλοῦντες
ἐμφανῆ γενέσθαι καὶ δῆλον αὐτοῖς, Ἀμοῦν λέγουσιν. ἡ μὲν οὖν εὐλάβεια τῆς περὶ τὰ θεῖα σοφίας Αἰγυπτίων
τοσαύτη ἦν.5
Plutarch. Moralia. Gregorius N. Bernardakis. Leipzig. Teubner. 1889. 2.
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