YSOC. Certainly that is quite consistent with what has preceded; but tell me, was the life which you said existed in the reign of Cronos in that cycle of the world, or in this? For the change in the course of the stars and the sun must have occurred in both. STR. I see that you enter into my meaning;-no, that blessed and spontaneous life does not belong to the present cycle of the world, but to the previous one, in which God superintended the whole revolution of the universe; and the several parts the universe were distributed under the rule. certain inferior deities, as is the way in some places still There were demigods, who were the shepherds of the various species and herds of animals, and each one was in all respects sufficient for those of whom he was the shepherd; neither was there any violence, or devouring of one another or war or quarrel among them; and I might tell of ten thousand other blessings, which belonged to that dispensation. The reason why the life of man was, as tradition says, spontaneous, is as follows:

ΝΕ. ΣΩ. Κομιδῇ μὲν οὖν τοῦτό γε ἕπεται τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν. ἀλλὰ δὴ τὸν βίον ὃν ἐπὶ τῆς Κρόνου φῂς εἶναι δυνάμεως͵ πότερον ἐν ἐκείναις ἦν ταῖς τροπαῖς ἢ ἐν ταῖσδε; τὴν μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἄστρων τε καὶ ἡλίου μεταβολὴν δῆλον ὡς ἐν ἑκατέραις συμπίπτει ταῖς τροπαῖς γίγνεσθαι. ΞΕ. Καλῶς τῷ λόγῳ συμπαρηκολούθηκας. ὃ δ΄ ἤρου περὶ τοῦ πάντα αὐτόματα γίγνεσθαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις͵ ἥκιστα τῆς νῦν ἐστι καθεστηκυίας φορᾶς͵ ἀλλ΄ ἦν καὶ τοῦτο τῆς ἔμπροσθεν. τότε γὰρ αὐτῆς πρῶτον τῆς κυκλήσεως ἦρχεν ἐπιμελούμενος ὅλης ὁ θεός͵ ὣς δ΄ αὖ κατὰ τόπους ταὐτὸν τοῦτο͵ ὑπὸ θεῶν ἀρχόντων πάντ΄ ἦν τὰ τοῦ κόσμου μέρη διειλημμένα· καὶ δὴ καὶ τὰ ζῷα κατὰ γένη καὶ ἀγέλας οἷον νομῆς θεῖοι διειλήφεσαν δαίμονες͵ αὐτάρκης εἰς πάντα ἕκαστος ἑκάστοις ὢν οἷς αὐτὸς ἔνεμεν͵ ὥστε οὔτ΄ ἄγριον ἦν οὐδὲν οὔτε ἀλλήλων ἐδωδαί͵ πόλεμός τε οὐκ ἐνῆν οὐδὲ στάσις τὸ παράπαν· ἄλλα θ΄ ὅσα τῆς τοιαύτης ἐστὶ κατακοσμήσεως ἑπόμενα͵ μυρία ἂν εἴη λέγειν. τὸ δ΄ οὖν τῶν ἀνθρώπων λεχθὲν αὐτομάτου πέρι βίου διὰ τὸ τοιόνδε εἴρηται.