[12,25] ὑπολαβόντες οὖν εἴπατε πότερον ἁρμόζων ὁ λόγος οὗτος καὶ τὸ ᾆσμα τῇ συνόδῳ γένοιτ´ ἄν, ὦ παῖδες Ἠλείων· ὑμεῖς γὰρ ἄρχοντες καὶ ἡγεμόνες τῆσδε τῆς πανηγύρεως, ἔφοροί τε καὶ ἐπίσκοποι τῶν ἐνθάδε ἔργων καὶ λόγων· ἢ δεῖ θεατὰς εἶναι μόνον τοὺς ἐνθάδε ἥκοντας τῶν τε ἄλλων δῆλον ὅτι παγκάλων καὶ σφόδρα ἐνδόξων θεαμάτων καὶ δὴ μάλιστα τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ {θρησκείας καὶ} τῷ ὄντι μακαρίας εἰκόνος, ἣν ὑμῶν οἱ πρόγονοι δαπάνης τε ὑπερβολῇ καὶ τέχνης ἐπιτυχόντες τῆς ἄκρας εἰργάσαντο καὶ ἀνέθεσαν πάντων, ὅσα ἐστὶν ἐπὶ γῆς ἀγάλματα, κάλλιστον καὶ θεοφιλέστατον, πρὸς τὴν Ὁμηρικὴν ποίησιν, ὥς φασι, Φειδίου παραβαλλομένου, τοῦ κινήσαντος ὀλίγῳ νεύματι τῶν ὀφρύων τὸν ξύμπαντα Ὄλυμπον,

[12,25] Answer, therefore and tell me whether the address I offer and the hymn would prove more suitable to this assemblage, you sons of Elis—for you are the rulers and the directors of this national festal gathering, both supervisors and guardians of what is said and done here—or perhaps those who have gathered here should be spectators merely, not only of the sights to be seen, admittedly altogether beautiful and exceedingly renowned, but, very specially, of the worship of the god and of his truly blessed image, which your ancestors by lavish expenditure and by securing the service of the highest art made and set up as a dedication—of all the statues which are upon the earth the most beautiful and the most dear to the gods, Pheidias having, as we are told, taken his pattern from Homer's poesy, where the god by a slight inclination of his brows shook all Olympus,

[12,26] ὡς ἐκεῖνος μάλιστα ἐναργῶς καὶ πεποιθότως ἐν τοῖς ἔπεσιν εἴρηκεν, ἦ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ´ ὀφρύσι νεῦσε Κρονίων, ἀμβρόσιαι δ´ ἄρα χαῖται ἐπερρώσαντο ἄνακτος κρατὸς ἀπ´ ἀθανάτοιο, μέγαν δ´ ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον. ἢ καὶ περὶ αὐτῶν τούτων σκεπτέον ἡμῖν ἐπιμελέστερον τῶν τε ποιημάτων καὶ ἀναθημάτων καὶ ἀτεχνῶς εἴ τι τοιουτότροπόν ἐστι, τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην περὶ τοῦ δαιμονίου δόξαν ἁμῃγέπῃ πλάττον καὶ ἀνατυποῦν, ἅτε ἐν φιλοσόφου διατριβῇ τὰ νῦν.

[12,26] as the great poet most vividly and convincingly has expressed it in the following verses : "He said, and nodded with his shadowy brows ; Wav'd on th' immortal head th' ambrosial locks, And all Olympus trembled at his nod". Or, should we somewhat more carefully consider these two topics themselves, I mean the expressions of our poets and the dedications here, and try to ascertain whether there is some sort of influence which in some way actually moulds and gives expression to man's conception of the deity, exactly as if we were in a philosopher's lecture-room at this moment ?