# Protrepticus 21.31

Iamblichus, Protrepticus, Chapter 21. Ancient Greek.

Canonical: https://interlinea.aeterna-institute.org/library/greek/iamblichus/protrepticus/21.31

λαʹ Τούτῳ δὲ ἔοικε καὶ τὸ ἐγκέφαλον μὴ ἔσθιε· καὶ γὰρ αὐτὸς οὗτος ἡγεμονικόν ἐστι τοῦ φρονεῖν ὄργανον. αἰνίττεται οὖν ὡς οὐ δεῖ καλῶς βεβουλευμένα πράγματα καὶ δόγματα διασιλλαίνειν μηδὲ διαδάκνειν, καλῶς δʼ ἂν εἴη βεβουλευμένα τὰ διὰ φρενῶν καὶ τοῦ κατʼ αὐτὸ τὸ νοεῖν ἡγεμονικοῦ συνεσκεμμένα, ἴσον τῷ ἐπιστημονικά. οὐ γὰρ διὰ τῶν τοῦ ἀλόγου τῆς ψυχῆς εἴδους ὀργάνων, καρδίας καὶ ἥπατος, ἀλλὰ διὰ τοῦ καθαροῦ τοῦ λογιστικοῦ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἐθεωρήθη· διόπερ ἀβουλία τὸ ἀντικόπτειν αὐτοῖς. σέβεσθαι δὲ μᾶλλον κελεύει τὸ σύμβολον τὴν τῶν φρενῶν πηγὴν καὶ τὸ τῷ νοεῖν προσεχέστατον ὄργανον, διʼ οὗ θεωρίαν τε καὶ ἐπιστήμην καὶ τὸ σύνολον σοφίαν κτώμεθα καὶ ὡς ἀληθῶς φιλοσοφοῦμεν, καὶ μὴ συγχεῖν μηδὲ ἀφανίζειν τὰ διʼ αὐτοῦ ἴχνη.

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Iamblichus, Protrepticus, ed. Ermenegildo Pistelli. Text: The Greek Library, from the Perseus Digital Library and other open sources, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: apostrophes normalised and the text divided into reading sections by Interlinea.
License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Source: https://thegreeklibrary.pages.lisn.upsaclay.fr/works/tlg2023.tlg002.local001/.