Taylor - Eleusianian and Bacchic Mysteries.pdf - Platonic Philosophy

Bacchic Mysteries. 69ing formed from the ashes or sooty vaporof the smoke ascending from their burningbodies,out of this mankind were produced.It is unlawful, therefore, to destroy ourselves,not as the words of Plato seem to import,because we are in the body, as in prison,secured by a guard (for this is evident,and Plato would not have called such anassertion arcane), but because our body isDioiiysiacal,*or of the nature of Bacchus:for we are a part of him,since we arecomposed from the ashes, or sootyvapor of the Titans who tasted hisflesh. Socrates, therefore, as if fearful ofdisclosing the arcane part of this narration, relates nothing more of the fablethan that we are placed as in a prisonsecured by a guard :but the interpreters relate the fable openly.",Kai s;it TO(bpavoo,TOIOOTOV.TO>QapawOp<piiuapa8iSovtai. IlpaycTj [xsv, YJTJV6Kpovoc 8ie8ea co, exi:|xa>vai8ota TOO TraTo^. Ms-caSYJTOVKpovov,*From Dionysus, the Greek name of Bacchus, and usually sotranslated.i